#Let a lady be angry without being painted as a villain for once!

[moon0shadow]

i think its mostly bc after the news of her being in the Dark Forest, a lot of people started to paint her as a victim (which she somewhat is) but too many focus on making her sad and sympathetic and ignore the fact she straight up called three children who loved and saw her like an aunt "half-clan creatures".

okay my frecklewish take is that shes actually an interesting character but the fandom is bizarrely obsessed with making her sad instead of mad. or smad. like she can be angry guys. a woman can be angry. can you hear me?

[jjmjjktth]

Chapter 3: Firsts Lead to Seconds

Lady Papilion sent a butterfly to the Eiffel Tower at the arranged time. She could sense the apprihensiveness and destruction of the Black Cat hero. Guiding her butterly to land on Chat’s baton, she felt the weak mindlink for between the two of them. “Hello, Chat Noir, I am Lady Papillion, your partner.” Chat started at the sudden voice in his head.

“Lady Papilion? What miraculous do you hold, how did you get it, and why are you able to be in my head?” Chat questioned.

“I am the weilder of the Butterfly Miraculous of Metamorphosis and Encouragement; the miraculous was put in my bag; and, the miraculous makes a mindlink for me to speak to you directly and give you power if we both agree.” She responded,”What miraculous do you hold and how did you receive it? I assume it has something to do with cats.” She decided to keep the fact that she knew so much about the miraculous a secret for now, she didnt trust him…. Yet.

“I am the wielder of the Black Cat Miraculous of Bad Luck and Destruction; the miraculous appeared on my coffeetable; and I can destroy anything with a touch.” Chat stated with the same amount of formality.

“We must discuss a plan for dealing with Paeon; maybe patrols of something like that. We will also need to speek with athoraties abou setting up an alert or something.”

“I agree, they need a way to contact us as well. For all we know it won’t always be obvious when there’s a…. what did you call it…. an amok?” at her nod, he continued. “Maybe we could talk to our kwamiis about communication devices and give the local government our numbers?”

“I could talk to Nooroo about that. What’s your kwamii’s name?”

“Plagg”

“Give me a few minutes I’ll detransform since I’m not in a public place.” Lady Papillion transformed without recalling her butterfly. She immediately gave Nooroo a flower petal.

“Thank You Miss Marinette.” Nooroo tiredly said.

“Nooroo is it possible for you to notify me of messages while detransformed?”

“Yes, I’ll know if a message is left while you’re not LP!” Nooroo chirped.

“Thank you Nooroo, let’s rest a bit. I told Chat we’ll be a few minutes.”

After a minute or two Marinette transformed to reconnect with her butterfly in Chat’s weapon.

“It is possible for us to communicate with the miraculous, our kwamii are able to notify us of any messages and relay responses even when we aren’t transformed.”

“Well, its settled then. Will you usually be contacting me from off-site?” The cat questioned.

“Yes, my miraculous is made to be used from outside the battles; therefore, I am not as wellprotected as you while transformed. I do have a place I can use as a base, though.”

“Ok. Can you recall your power so we can test our communicators effectively?” As soon as she heard his request, She called out her butterfly and released it from her service.

A few seconds later, her staff buzzed and beeped. Opening the top, she requested the message be read to her.

“One message from Chat Noir…. ‘How can I be of surrrvice, Lady Papillon.��”

“Respond to Chat Noir with, ‘Since this seems to be working, could you bring the contact information to the law enforcement?’”

“Responce sent…. New message from Chat Noir.”

“Read it please”

“‘On my way’” Smiling, she detransformed and retrieved a flower petal for Nooroo.

“Thank you!”

“No problem, lets make our way back to school though.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful compared to the morning; and people were flocking to Ivan to hear about how he beceme a superhero.

“I don’t have any power, guys, there was this lady in my head who gave me power and guided me through the battle!” He explained for the hundredth time. He sounded exasperated.

“This so-called ‘lady’ must be rediculous if she chose you. I would have ended it the moment it began. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” Chloé, it’s always Chloé. I could hear Ivan shaking in his seat.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Ivan roared, “MY LADY IS A WISE AND RESPONSABLE WOMAN AND YOU CALL HER ‘RIDICULOUS!’”

“Ivan.” I state, drawing on my calming aura. “Can you calm down? Paeon is still out there and, from what I observed, he gives strong emotions physical form.” I was too late.

Rose shreeked, “The feather! It’s back!” The blood drains from my face and I get up to leave the room. As I enter the hallway, I hear a faint “Yes, Paeon” followed by a stampede.

I ended up using a fire escape to get out of the building since no one semed to think of that. From there it was a simple affair to arrive at my greenhouse as it was somewhat out of the danger zone.

“Nooroo, did the amok take the same form?”

“Yes, it has also taken Chloé Borgeois and Mylené Harple captive.”

“Ok, Nooroo, wings rise!” The familiar warmth washed over her, leaving Lady Papillion in its wake. Feeling the rush of emotions, LP sought out Ivan once again. Bonding with a photo he had on him, she spoke, “Ivan, we meet again.”

“I am so sorry! I was just so angry at Chloé, she insulted you!”

“While I am honored you decided to defend me, Paris has changed. As much as I hate to admit it, it is no longer safe to feel negative emotions. That’s what makes Paeon so cruel.”

“I understand, My Lady.”

“Ivan, are you willing to become Ironheart once again to defeat the amok?”

“Yes, My Lady.” She smiled at his agreement and allowed her power to enter Ivan fully. Transforming him into Ironheart in a wake of lavender bubbles, she began to guide him towards the battle.

Chat Noir was already on the scene, arguing with the police.

“This isn’t a failure on our part! This is an entirely separate situation!”

“Then why is the same monster as earlier climbing the Eiffel Tower with the mayor’s daughter!”

“I don’t have all the information yet!”

“Ironheart, can you please open your palm?” I asked. When Ivan opened his palm, an image was projected into the air. Lady Papillion was siting on her throne of metal vines, her sceptre resting on her lap. One of her hands remained on the handle of the sceptre while the other was draped casually over the vines of the armrest. Around her thousands of butterflies, many different kinds, flew around her.  Giving her the image of a Lady in her keep.

“What seems to be the issue, officer….”

“Raincomprix, Leutenant Raincomprix.” the leutenant seemed to be a bit intimidated by the aura of power she gave off. At a nod of her head, he continued, “As a police department, we were concerned about the resurfacing of this morning’s villain despite you two supposedly defeating him.”

“I assure you, the resurfacing of the amok has nothing to do with Chat Noir and I. The man behind the attack, Paeon, posesses an ability to physically manifest any strong emotions into beings for him to control. The victim of this morning mearly got upset enough for Paeon to exploit them again. This will most likely become a common occurrence untill we track down Paeon and strip him of his power.” The leutenant’s face fell at her words.

“We have already left our contact information with the police department,” Chat chimed in.

“We must hurry, the amok has already caused enough damage as is.”

There is a sudden rustling of feathers as the amok put it’s chest towards the sky releasing millions of feathers from inside. The feathers, moving against the wind, rose into the air taking ther form of a man in a mask.

“I am Paeon, the man who controls this sentinel.” Paeon gestures toward the amok. “I have come to rescue you from the villains Chat Noir and the Butterfly. I must retrieve their miraculous to strip them of their power. Look around you, look at all the destruction they caused.”

“Ironheart, put your palms into the air please.” When Ironheart follower her instruction, a much larger projection than earlier filled the space above him.

“Paeon, how lovely to meet you.” Lady Papillion greeted with a sickly sweet tone. “I was wondering when I would have the pleasure of your acquaintance.” She relaxed onto her throne as Paeon scowled. “I am Lady Papillion, weilder of the Butterly Miraculous of Metamorphisis and Encouragement. Chat Noir and I have not caused the damage to uor beloved city, but Paeon tore through the city using a creature formed with the hurt and rage of an innocent teen. Doesn’t that sound more like the actions of a villain?” With that Ironheart lowers his hands and lept up the tower catching the feathers in his shield. A blinding light shone from the shield and the feathers were gone.

Sensing it was time to act, Chat Noir bounded after Ironheart. The battle was short after that. A well times cataclysm and two graceful catches ended the majority of the afternoons excitement.

As soon as the heroes reached the ground, they were surrounded by the press with their questions and flashing lights. It was definitely a new experience for the three.

“Lady Papillion! Ironheart, do you plan on working together for the time being?”

“Chat Noir! What do you think of Paeon painting a picture of you as a villain?”

“Chat Noir! How long do you plan on being a superhero, and how will it effect your daily life?”

“Lady Papillion! Why dont you show your face in person?” There were so many questions and so little space that Ironheart had to send out a little shockwave to get them to back off so the small image of Lady Papillion could speak.

“Ironheart and I will each take one question.” She stated with no room for argument. “I will not appear in person as, like Paeon, my miraculous is meant for distance and leaves me more vulnerable than the average miraculous weilder.”

“I dont know if I will be selected by my Lady again, but if I am, I will gladly accept it.” Ironheart stated and then left.

“Well done, Ironheart. Remember, your protectiveness is both your strength and your weakness. Be careful.” And with that she withdrew her butterfly and released it from her service. Before she could detransform, her septre buzzed.

“One new message from Chat Noir.”

“Read it.”

“‘Purrhaps you could send one of your butterflies to Arc de Triomphe, I would like to speak with mew, winky face.’” She sighed and sent out another butterfly with a kiss.

The butterfly made its journey to the Arc de Triomphe rather quickly and promptly joined with Chat’s golden bell. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes, I would like to see this base of yours so we can work together purrroperly.” Chat demanded.

“No, It would give away my identity or at least narrow it down for you. That is against what my kwamii told me.”

“Would knowing our identities not improve our teamwork, My Lady?”

“It also may hinder it Chat; so, I must say no.” she could feel his disappointment and anger rising.

“How can I trust you if I don’t know who you are?!”

“You will have to. I am goind to send a champion to heal the city. Good bye, Chat.” and she recalled the butterfly; but not before she felt his anger spike.

Feeling around, Lady Papillion searched for someone with the desire to fix everything. She sent her butterfly into a foreman’s clipboard.

“Hello, sir. I am Lady Papillion, what is your name?”

“Lady Papillion! Um…. I’m Rich Bordétte. It’s an honor to meet you My Lady.”

“Thank you Rich. I would like to offer you the ability to fix all the damage from today’s battles, even death.”

“Ok, call me….  The Worker!”

“Rich Bordétte, do you accept my offer to become The Worker”

“Yes, Lady Papillion.”  The lavender bubbles covered Rich; in the same way as Ivan, the bubbles gave him a sunflower-colored hardhat, a safety vest, and a toolbelt with only a drill on it.

The Worker rose into the air and raised his dril and without ceremony pressed the button. From the tip of the drill, various butterflies and moths streamed out to the city covering everything that was damaged and anyone who was hurt or worse. As soon as the last moth landed, The Worker cried out and all the bugs rose at once flying to the sky. Below, the city looked just as it did the day before. The rubble was gone, the people were healed and all evidence of Paeon was gone.

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Taglist: @novemberandmay @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @slytherinhquinn @blackroserelina  @buginetye @basenikon @moon5608 

Hello, Jjmjjktth here. welcome to my extremely irregular upload schedule filed by a mix of procrastination and The FeelsTM.

 WARNING!!! It may be one day to two or three months when i upload next!

please be patient :) 

Love y'all!

[cupcakegirlpower]

I haven't posted in ages so I thought I'd post a "Why Fredric Was the True Villain in S1 of TTS" and "Why Rapunzel Is Innocent". Aka, "Why I Love to Hate Fredric 2.0" This a rewrite of a Character Analysis I did on Wattpad.

Fredric Analysis 2.0

I am going to explain who the true villain of Tangled the Series Season 1.  No, it's not about Varian, we know what he did was obviously not good, but I don't see him as the main villain.  So who am I talking about then?  I'm going to talk about the person's decisions that caused the entire issue that led to Varian's downfall.

When I first watched the series I put the blame on Rapunzel; but as I rewatched it, the true villain was suddenly waving in my face in plain sight.  He was hidden before because I hadn't priced everything together and had forgotten minor details.  New things appeared before me that I had missed.

I am convinced that the true villain is none other than King Fredric.

I didn't hate Fredric at first.  In fact, I actually only saw him as an overprotective father.  A typical Disney father.  In the beginning of the series, I understood why he was like what he was and I realized that he just needed to learn to let Rapunzel breathe.  However, once he locked Rapunzel in the tower with iron bars on her window, I was done giving him excuses.

Rapunzel is an adult that has been trapped her entire life.  Now that she was free from the tower and her abusive kidnapper, she was being held back by a stranger.  She didn't actually know Fredric, but here he was keeping her in a castle.  Rapunzel basically traded her tower for a bigger cage.

Fredric had good intentions to protect his family, specifically, Rapunzel.  But there are times when you can take it too far when protecting the ones you love.  One way is by literally locking them away.  Another is when you harm innocent people for the sake of keeping them away from your family.  And there are more ways to cross the line (pun intended), but I want to discuss these two in particular.  Two boundaries that Fredric overstepped big time.

Fredric, by the end of season 1, has eventually made it to the point where he's no longer protecting Rapunzel.  Rather, he's no longer doing what's best for her, but doing what's best for himself without realizing it.  And he has very good reasons to want to protect Rapunzel, but he's recreating the very thing that kept his daughter from him.  Fredric basically imprisoned Rapunzel, which is absolutely awful; but the worst thing Fredric does is what he does to the people surrounding Rapunzel.  That is what we're going to talk about.

1. He took the sundrop flower after being warned what it would do to the kingdom.

Because of this, he decided to risk the lives of his kingdom for the sake of his wife and daughter.  Although he had good intentions to save two people, he also threw out the fact that he was willingly hurting good and innocent people for the sake of two.  Now if the majority kingdom had been in agreement with this decision, then it would be fine, but this was a hush, hush ordeal.

This act, I can forgive, though.  I really do understand how hard it is to choose between your loved ones and everyone else.  Putting myself in his shoes, I would have tried a different way, but he was honestly desperate.  However, it doesn't exclude the fact that he was hurting innocent people for the protection of Rapunzel.

2. Fredric killed people and was a tyrant king.

Although these people were criminals, they were given way too harsh of punishment, such as death.  Lady Caine's father is merely an example.  No doubt that there were others from how the people talk in the series. He was a petty thief, probably stealing for the sake of keeping his daughter alive.  Jail time was fine, but his death was uncalled for.  Fredric was a hypocrite to do this if this was true.

3. Fredric blames Varian, a mere child (his currently dead friend's son) for a crime he did not commit.

The series doesn't actually say this specifically, but the facts lead to it.  Fredric uses the rumor to give him the excuse to send the undercover guards to keep Varian and Rapunzel apart.  He did this because he read Rapunzel's diary, therefore learning that Varian had knowledge about the black rocks.  Thus, Varian was seen as a threat to Rapunzel's safety, even though he was not a threat at this time.

I originally thought the rumors were spread by Nigel, but when I thought about it, it doesn't make sense.  Fredric was the one that sent the guards after Varian, which means Fredric probably got the rumor from Nigel, but it wasn't exactly Nigel's fault.  Nigel gave the king his side of the story, and no doubt Fredric had Rapunzel's side of the story.  Fredric knew Varian was innocent.

It was important for Fredric to keep Varian away from Rapunzel, because the prodigy knew too much.  He had information on the black rocks, and black rocks meant danger for Rapunzel.  This is where my next point comes in.

4. Fredric lied to Rapunzel and manipulated her so that she wouldn't think about going to see Varian.

Fredric obviously had to keep Varian away from Rapunzel, but he also had to keep her away from Varian.  Originally, I was super angry at Rapunzel for not going to Varian directly after the storm, but I realized she didn't have the chance or choice.

Fredric told her that Varian's situation was taken care of.  He then tasked her with "Important Royal Duties".  Things that weren't actually important.  In fact, Nigel was even super confused and asked Fredric why he was making such a big deal about the Griffin.  Of course, Fredric gave an answer, his true reason was to make Rapunzel think that the fate of Corona depended on her to make Griffin agree to their terms.  He was also very forceful about the painting. He did this to keep Rapunzel from going after Varian, so I can't exactly blame her since Fredric made it sound like both these events were important for the entire kingdom's greater good even though they actually weren't that important.

Fredric made it very clear that he had no regard for helping Varian or even his own friend.  He was willing to lie and manipulate his own beloved daughter to keep her from doing so as well.

5. He sends Cassandra away.

Since he read Rapunzel's diary, he learned that Cass was the reason she learned about the black rocks.  So he sends her off to a covenant (which doesn't end up playing out).  This, much like what he did with Varian but not as extreme. The plan was to keep her away from Rapunzel, due to the black rocks.  Of course, this was under the agreement of the Captain of the guard.  However, in doing this, Cassandra's whole career that she wanted was ruined.  If this had played out, her dreams would have been utterly crushed as she was forced to live the life of a nun.  The life of a nun is something you should choose not be forced into, because once you commit yourself, there is basically no getting out.  Which is basically just unofficially locking Cassandra up.

Cassandra was a threat to Rapunzel's safety in Fredric's eyes.  She could sneak his daughter in and out without his knowledge, and he probably assumed that Cassandra influenced Rapunzel to want to go out.  He probably thought that separating them would solve Rapunzel's wish to explore beyond the walls of Corona.  The latter is more of a speculation, but I think that it's fine to assume that this was going through his head.

Season 3 was wise to erase his memories.  This gave us a new start with Fredric's character, and I like him much better in that season.  He was fun and even a little relatable in the Queen of Hearts episode.

[ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr]

WandaVision Episode 8 spoilers

Ok I heard this episode is sad so I’m prepared to cry and ruin my eyeliner.

I’m just emotionally preparing myself rq before I start I’m assuming a lots gonna go down cause the second episode is the finale.

I’m still not ready 2 minutes later lmao wait.

Okay hmm the title is called Previously On so we’re going back in time to her childhood based on the summary.

I think we’re gonna get more insight on her and Visions relationship and how it formed and hopefully get to see her relationship with her brother I’m starting now.

Ugh my TV is glitching

Okay we’re starting out in witch trials so it’s Agathas backstory the lady staring at her looks familiar. Oh it’s her mom

Her powers are blue here she’s into dark magic and the book in her basement is the stolen book from Doctor Strange im assuming she began learning dark magic from it l.

As they started to drain her. Her powers became blue and she starting to drain them back. I’m assuming the witches shared power and it was blue and now that it’s dark magic it’s purple.

Wow she killed her whole coven my draining them of their life and magic. Then she took her mother’s amulet so that’s the amulet she’s always wearing from the comics is. 

She admitted her thoughts weren’t available and she was never under control.

Her accent is back because she’s angry because of her children being missing.

She possessed the fake Pietro from another universe she didn’t say he was from another universe she just said she couldn’t get to his body so she had to do possession instead of necromancy.

She picked up the fly now she’s chanting in Latin

She’s mind controlling and talking about how thousands of people can be under your control and all interact with each other with complex storylines which makes me think she wants Wanda power because she’s jealous she can do everything like transformation and mind control without having to study all the spells

“Magic on autopilot,” Dhe wants to know how she did this and she wouldn’t tell her and now she’s manipulating her with her own loneliness. She took a piece of her hair so now she has her DNA 

Real reruns aka memories so she can look into them to see how she did it.

Her kids are crying out for in the basement so she’s gonna go with Agatha to save them I honestly don’t think the cries were her own.

OHHH MY GOD

All the movies her parents were going to sell were the decades and movies she did projected.

When Wanda walked into the memory she turned into her younger self,

The Dick Van Dick show is in the TV shape of the one Darcy used on the first episode so we know where she got her inspo for that one.

Everything outside makes me think this is the scene where her parents die.

The Stark bomb just hit and she’s looking around and can’t find her family yeah the Stark industry label is in front of her and she’s reverted back to Sokovian because she’s young and not the best at English yet I’m assuming.

The TV I’d still on and playing the show “At the end of the episode you realize it was all a bad dream,” I’m not sure why she said that part in English maybe because she’s referring to the show and movie nights are for English? 

Agatha is asking if she used a probability hex to stop the bomb because Wanda reached her hand out towards it and that’s how she uses her powers.

Maybe Agatha is hinting towards Wanda being a natural born witch?

“So what I see here a baby witch obsessed with sitcoms and years of therapy ahead of her. Doesn’t explain your recent hijinks,”

Wanda used her powers subconsciously there and she’s probably using her powers subconsciously to keep Westview running and she used them subconsciously to get it started. 

“The only way forward is back,”

She’s referring to Wanda not wanting to go back to Hydra I haven’t seen the scene yet but I’m assuming it’s because the testing was painful and because she now knows who hydra is and what it stands for.

“Don’t be scared you already lived it once,”

They have Loki’s sceptor of course im assuming they got it from SHIELD since they are SHIELD.

She didn’t have to touch the sample it just came to her on its own further proving she’s a witch but I don’t think she knows she moved it,

She touched the tesseract making the mine stone she then absorbed all its energy and passed out.

In isolation she’s watching another sitcom I just can’t figure out which it is.

I’m sure the episode on the TV is important “she hasn’t got any feeling,” maybe it’s about the Westview citizens or maybe it’s about vision being a doll or like a puppet and the brother is like “she hasn’t got any feelings” just like when Pietro or Fietro called Vision a popsicle an inanimate object 

“So little orphan Wanda got up close and personal with an infinity stone that amplified what otherwise would’ve died on the vine. The broken pieces of you are adding up buttercup I have a theory but I need more,” This is probably talking about how if you don’t use your powers or learn to control them you stop having them but the infinity stone just made the powers she already had stronger. The name Scarlett Witch is starting to make sense now. 

Another door another memory that I’d her watching Malcom in the middle.

She said the Avengers compound was the first home she had ever shared with Vision and with her family and country gone she felt alone so I’m assuming she’s with Vision cause he cured her loneliness.

Vision walking through the walls again she asking him to watch the sitcom with her. The sitcoms are important to her and she’s sharing them with him.

“So it is funny because of the grievous injury that man just suffered?” Vision

“No he’s not really injured,” Wanda

“How Can you be sure?”

“It’s not that kind of show,”

I think this is sort of related to the fact that nothing bad ever happens in Westview permanently like in Malcolm in the middle where the roof structure fell on the dad sure he got hurt but it wasn’t a detrimental injury.

He wants to comfort to her “The only thing that would bring me comfort is seeing him again,” Wanda about Pietro she felt the same with Vision hence why Westview is happening and why he’s back.

“I’m so tired, It’s just like this wave washing over me again and again it knocks me down and when I try stand up it just comes for me again and I can’t- it’s just gonna drown me,” How she explains her grief and depression we’re getting a glismpe of how she copes with death in her actual reality.

Vision says he’s always been alone he never experienced loss because he never had a loved one to lose.

“What is grief if not love preserving,” Okay damn Vision getting all deep.

Aww they just had a moment and now he’s laughing over the show how sweet. The awkward smile they did at eachother. How cute

Vision was dead and she wanted him back now we get to see how she stole Visions body back from her perspective.

All the news on the TV playing might not be revelant but it’s related to tamiles being reunited after the blip. So this is very shortly after the blip and some people might be right thinking it was almost directly after Tony’s funeral.

“He deserves a funeral at least I deserve it,”

They’re letting her take him probably to be able to paint her as a villain which is why Hayward cut out the first part of the footage.

She’s being shown him take apart and sawed she’s in pain seeing him practically dying again. Hayward called vision a weapon and Wanda is saying he’s not a weapon because he wasn’t and he didn’t want to be a weapon Hayward is hiding his true intentions of bringing him back to be his own weapon

“I just want to bury him. That’s all I want,”

She said she can’t do that she truly believes she can’t.

He won’t let her take $3 billion of vibranium to put in the ground she just wanted him to have a proper burial but Hayward provoked her and set her off.

She can’t feel him. A nod to how Vision said “I only feel you,” When he asked Wanda to kill him there is nothing left. She hot in the car and went to Westview she left and when she left she didn’t have Visions body.

She’s pulled up to place where she planned to grow old in with Vision and it’s been demolished this is the scene where she breaks down crying over it. And when she grieved she lets it get the best of her which is how she put the house back together without realizing she was doing it. Then that spread over the whole town and she is projected her own version of Vision. But I’m unsure if this is really Vision or not because then she’d be way more powerful than I ever believe to be able to create people own her own.

Oh wow she’s showing all the lights and it’s like she’s own set so she’s back to where Agatha had this all set up and she was the audience.

Agatha is choking the twins “I know what you are. You have no idea how dangerous you are. You’re supposed to be a myth. A being capable of spontaneous creation. and here you are using it to make breakfast for dinner.” Maybe Wanda was a prophecy before hand and she just never learned how powerful she really was and now Agatha is trying to feed off her powers I’m assuming she’s going to try to get Wanda to push her powers into her so she can drain her.

“Let go of my children,” Wanda with her accent coming back.

“Oh, yes your children and Vision and this whole little life you’ve made, this is Chaos magic Wanda. That makes you the Scarlett Witch,” Ugh yes one of those moments where they say a name of the movie or a character that’s basically it’s own movie I love it.

I’m gonna research Chaos magic and then I’ll reblog this again after I research some other things too.

End credits time. “Team is ready for launch,” They’re going to use Wanda own power to attack her using Visions actual corpse. He’s been brought back as the one thing he didn’t want to be. A weapon. I’m not sure who that was who powered it up but was it Monica’s contact?

Also doesn’t Agatha have Monica now if she was possessing Fietro? I have a lot of questions that I can’t get out right now

[docholligay]

Angst Prompt Day: Pharah / Mercy, "N I G H T M A R E"

2361 Words. I hope you enjoy! 

For most of her life, Pharah had avoided most mental scars related to her service. The human mind is a strange thing, and while seeing comrades killed in combat saddened her, and losing her arm had been painful in more ways than one, she had gone through the rocky periods of her life and come out quite unscarred. She held Mercy, when she cried, the high wind reminding her too much of that night, and she did Dva the favor of speaking softly when some too loud boom took her far away, and she was even known to grip Tracer’s shoulder tightly when a sharp cold got in between her ribs, and she trembled. 

But Pharah could not imagine what any of these things felt like on a personal level, because her mind had seemed to reject that precise method of injury. Tracer had grumbled that of course she didn’t, because Pharah was bloody fucking perfect all the time, and Pharah had shaken her head, and simply said there was no accounting for the way a mind reacted. But, in truth, she approached it with a mix of pride and fear, in ways she could not have potentially articulated to anyone but herself. There was, of course, a pride there, that she was strong, and she was resolute, and while any other normal person would have faced these consequences, Pharah was untouched. But there was the argument, of course, in the back of her mind. You are untouched because you are untouchable. You don’t feel things like other people do. You’re just like your mother. Cold. 

But Pharah was, above all things, a logical sort, and she could not change what did and didn’t affect her, and she did try very hard to show kindness and empathy, and so she put the worry to the side. She would be better than her mother, because she would try, and so she simply allowed that her brain was good at protecting her. 

Until it wasn’t. 

Moira broke Tracer, and it was a well known fact. That she had managed to claw her way back to a fully functioning human being was the sort of miracle that could only be explained by the very nature of Lena Oxton, a woman who would not be beat, who would only die when she was good and ready. Pharah loved that about her, that she was a tiny Jack Russell Terrier in human form. Seeing her bound back into the office a few months after being put in an induced coma, once again dirtying three different spoons because she couldn’t remember where she’d put the last one, yelling about how she was going to shoot Moira through the temple and see if she didn’t, gave Pharah a sense of stability in the world. 

But Moira broke Tracer, and everyone knew it. Pharah was very lucky not to be too seriously hurt. Tracer had been cobbled back together, but Pharah had only been deeply scratched. She was perfectly functional. 

And then she dreamed. 

During the day, it was very easy to distract herself from the sense of panic that rose up at the strangest times. A gate would clang shut at just the right tone, there would be the sound of a boot on a concrete floor, and all of a sudden she could feel the restraint at her wrist, the buzz through her body, the sound of Tracer screaming….but there was the warmth of a brick beneath her hand. There was the conversation fo the two old ladies behind her, complaining about Marks and Spencer’s, there was Tracer, putting an ice cube in her hand, and gently telling her, ‘you aren’t there, love.’ 

The night held none of this. The soft darkness was a canvas that her mind could work its will upon, and she traveled there, and she felt angry and betrayed by her own mind, how richly it painted the picture, how she could feel Moira’s breath against her cheek. She woke in a cold sweat, her chest tight, and often rushed herself down to the kitchen to panic quietly, to not bother Mercy, to click the spoon against the edge of her mug as she stirred and let it be the bell that chimed her home. 

Pharah was not generally unkind to herself, but she had a tendency to take all responsibility as hers and hers alone, and so it was her who would figure out the mess Moira had made of her, and wasn’t it self-pitying to even note the pain in her shoulder and the panic in her mind, against what had happened to Tracer? She didn’t complain, and so Pharah would put her head down and work this out. 

 What she had not counted on was the intense and deep love of her wife, and how little escaped her notice, even if she allowed things to pass without comment. It was foolish, Pharah would later chuckle, in the way that as her hair greyed, she laughed at herself more and more, to think she could hide her symptoms from an actual doctor, to not have known that Mercy was simply giving her time, but she could be very arrogant in that way from time to time. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to her, Mercy’s touch in the night, but it was all the same. 

It came one night, a handful of months after the incident itself. Pharah would often object to the absolute lack of creativity on the part of her mind, in the darkness. It never came up with anything novel, never played new parts or reminded her of different hurts, but came back to that same grey place. 

“You take so much for such a little thing.” 

Pharah heard that line, over and over, the villain of the picture entering stage right. She bucked against the restraints holding her, just as she always did, ignoring the searing, shooting, hammering pain running down through that shoulder that came to a stop. The movie progressed as always, with no response from the unfeeling leather around her. 

She wanted to yell, wanted to make some clever quip and science or Ireland or a football team or anything that would pull Moira away from her work. Tracer had come up with so many, her mind was so quick and agile, and Pharah could not remember if she had hated herself so much int he moment or if her ind had gently supplied her the hindsight, but she burned with rage that she was so logical and straightforward and had no real mind for sass. She had never considered it a military gift of Tracer’s, because she was a fool, and could not see things as expansively as her small teammate. 

“Oh fuck off, Moira, couldn’t even properly be doing this, ‘ad you not stolen Win’s work.”

Tracer’s voice was reedy, always, but filled with that biting contempt, too. Shut up, Pharah wanted to say, stop talking, stop making her want to hurt you. Don’t you dare say that next line--

“Win’s work, Ang’s...you’re not a scientist, just a bloody fucking thief, and you won’t learn nothing from doing this love, you’re a--” 

She screamed. She always screamed, when Moira hit the switch, when she dangled Tracer in between time and timelessness, seeing how long one could sustain in that space. Tracer only ever blinked for a second, maybe a second and a half if she was pushing her limits, but Moira just kept her there, letting it eat at her, but not releasing her into it either, playing tug of war with her body. 

Had Pharah yelled? Had she even tried? She felt like she must have, but she never did, here and so maybe she had been--

She sat up straight, gasping, cold sweat pouring down her back. There wasn’t any air in the room, she was still in that grey cold laboratory and it was running out of air, and she felt it begin to crush her. Then, there was a strong pull around her shoulders. A lamp clicked on. 

“Fareeha.” There was a voice in her ear, and it wasn’t quiet. “Fareeha, come here.” 

It was a command and it was her wife, and she felt the edge soften on the thought, because Mercy hadn’t been there, and if Mercy hadn;t been there than maybe. There was a pinch on the back of her hand, and the world started to come back into view, and for the first time she took a breath with air in it, and the tightness began to cease, slowly ebbing like the tide. 

“Fareeha look at me.” 

She turned around and there was Mercy, her face in opposition to all the command and ferocity of her demands that Pharah be released from the thought. 

“You are not there. Tell me what time it is.” 

Pharah turned her head and looked at the clock. “1:02.” 

“Yes, it is 1:02. Do you know what day it is? Tell me.” 

Pharah turned it over and over in her mind, the memory receding into the background as she imagined the calendar. “It has to be the 23rd, I think.” 

“What is four times six?” 

It was then that Pharah came back to herself enough, got enough air in her lungs, to realize what Mercy was doing, to love her so intensely that it cast out all other feelings and fears. She smiled. Moira faded in the background, having lost the battle in record time. How could a devil stand against this angel? 

“Twenty-four.” 

Mercy cupped her cheek gently. “Yes. How are you?”

She was still shaking, a bit, and the pour of sweat down her back was making her cold, but Pharah was back home, now, with her wife, and she was safe, and though her shoulder still hurt from what had been done to it, she was free now, and on the mend, and Tracer had lived, and she was mending. She remembered all these things, in a beautiful instant, like coming up from the deep water to see the sun. 

Pharah nodded, and then flushed. “I---I apologize.” 

It sounded silly even to her. She would never begrudge Mercy any of the love she had given her, when she had been struggling with fear, with the memories of what had happened to her, but she had been a child, and Mercy was very tender, and so it was much more natural that she would need help. Pharah was the anchor in a storm. She was iron. 

She looked at Mercy, who had taken her hand away. Her brows were furrowed and she was angry, maybe even hurt, as she assessed Pharah. 

“Why should you do this yourself? Why are you thinking you are stronger than all of us?” It came sharp, in that rare way Mercy used to call someone to account. “Do you not--do you not trust me with your feelings?”

Pharah had not taken it as the arrogance it was. She had not taken it as a mark of her attempts at invulnerability. She never would have taken it as an act of mistrust. She was helping, she had assured herself. She was not piling things on to people struggling with their own lives. She loved Mercy more than anything on this earth, and she was meant to help her, and she had already done so much with Pharah’s injury not one, but twice. She wanted to protect her, and not be the protected. 

She closed her eyes. It was frustrating, how she fell back into these traps. How she worked and worked at being more open, more soft, and yet, the moment there was trouble, she shut herself up again like an oyster, and she would be that alone, if she didn’t fight to keep herself open. And she had done it again, pledging that she would honor Mercy and then refusing to do her the love of trusting her with her most fragile things. 

But Mercy was good, and sensed her frustration, and touched her with great love, her voice soft and warm again. 

“Fareeha, I am here to be your partner, in life.” She ran her hand through Pharah’s scattered hair, “Your help. You have always helped with my burden.  Do not be thinking I want you to carry this yourself. Why, when we have four hands?” 

“Three.” Fareeha chuckled. ‘At night.” 

Mercy scooted close to her. “You are allowed to be hurt. You are allowed to need.” 

Pharah felt tears sting at her eyes, surprised by the rapier of tenderness that stuck between her ribs. Be strong, had been the ethos of her childhood. Be hard, be the rock that evil breaks itself upon. An Amari is an army in herself, she was told. Command requires firmness. 

“I love you, Angela.” Whatever she said, it was never enough, never the depth of what she truly felt, but as she laid her head on Mercy’s shoulder, she trusted that Mercy would know the all the meanings behind it. 

Mercy kissed her temple. “Let us help you. There is no shame in having to need it.” 

The Pharah that life had built argued inside her. No, it said, I am not the one who needs help. This is the weakness of a moment, and I will be fine in the morning. I am the helper. I am the one who brings order from chaos. I do not require the things that other people do. I am a wall. I am a rock. I am the sword that brings justice to this world. 

But there was another Pharah, too, one that she was growing, row by row, leaf by leaf. One that she was trying to nurture, and water, no matter the difficulty. And it was this Pharah who spoke now, two carefully chosen words.

“I’m struggling.”

[writers-blogck]

BNHA Imagines - Villains 01

Meeting for the First Time

Shigaraki: 

It was not pleasant the first time you meet Shigaraki. The first time you met him, you were tied to a chair with a pounding headache from whatever they had in that rag. You couldn't even remember who it had been that kidnapped you. Later you would learn it was Dabi since the League knew about your quirk. They decided Dabi was the best to get you since he could use his at a distance.

Oh, how you yelled and fought back in the beginning. None of it made sense to you and while they didn't hurt you (much), you couldn't help but panic. Being surrounded by villains you had heard about was terrifying. You had been going to U.A. college which focused more on specializations with a quirk. You had been training for high-risk situations due to your quirk, which erased other quirks temporarily.

You weren't helpless, that much as obvious. Dabi knew that from the personal experience. It had been hard getting you down without using his quirk. He still had more upper body strength than you and that was his saving grace, allowing him to grip your waist with one arm while using the opposite hand to cover your mouth with the drenched rag. After that, it was more of a nuisance that he had to carry you back to the League instead of having Kurogiri opening a portal. Your quirk was passive within five feet. Even knocked out, your body would erase any person's quirk as long as they were five feet or closer to you. Due to this, Kurogiri couldn't open a portal as it would only close when you got close enough. 

It would take quite a bit of time before he would actually call you by your name instead of the prisoner. He would be in denial about his feelings of hate beginning to fade away. The first time he thought of you as something more than a stranger in the Leauge was when you had somehow convinced him to play video games with you. He accidentally grabbed your shoulder with each finger and felt panic wash over him. He didn't want to hurt you, All for One would be angry if he did. When nothing happened, he was greeted with a new feeling. Relief and almost excitement that he didn't have to pay attention to his hands when you were close by. 

He would use this as an excuse to keep you close as time went on, whether that was the truth or not was still up for debate. 

Dabi: 

The rain covered your form as you tried to hide under a worn bus stop. It was still in use during the day but no one wanted to take care of it. The roof was covered in holes and it was hardly protection from the wind blowing the leaves to and fro. This wasn't the first storm you had to endure. After all, living on the streets with limited shelter meant you often ended up drenched by the end of any storm.  "Hey, take this." 

Before you were able to look up, something made of leather-covered your head. Scrambling to put the jacket on, you didn't look up until you were satisfied with how the jacket was fitting. It was large enough for you to pull some of the upper half over your head, raindrops dripping off of your damp hair. Your eyes were met with messy red hair and skin singed by flames from the past. They were recent but had some time to heal. The red of his skin matched his hair, yet his eyes were what stood out. Bright blue like the hottest of fires. 

"Who are you?" You asked, still pushed into the corner like scared prey. The boy made no move to inch any closer to you, instead opting to stand in the direct rain. He was getting soaked and his grey t-shirt was beginning to stick to his skin underneath. What was odd was the small amount of mist surrounding his body. No, not mist, steam. He still was getting drenched and yet it looked as if his body was drying his skin naturally. His clothing, on the other hand, was soaking up the rain. If you weren't so cold, you may not have accepted the jacket but the wind was so harsh against your drenched skin. 

"Does that matter?" 

His voice held a rough edge to it but his body gave no sign of a threat. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans, painted dark blue with the rain. It was covered in rips and tears and you couldn't tell whether they were intentional or if he had just worn this pair out. Slowly you shook your head, hands grasping the leather now slick with the water. 

"Keep the jacket." 

With those words, he began to walk away, leaving you with the sight of his back which was covered in the same steam you saw earlier. You assumed that would be the last time you would see the strange but handsome boy but after two days, he ended up at the same bus stop with two meals, saying his friend was supposed to eat with him but they canceled. That was the first proper meal you had in a long time. It was bliss.

The two of you would only grow closer as the time passed but there would come the day that he just disappeared. No matter how much you searched, you couldn't find him. The next time you would see him was years later, being dragged by the hand of a crazy blonde lady who decided you were going to be her new best friend. 

Toga:

You had been part of the League before Dabi or Toga joined. Shigaraki had a strange relationship with you, one similar to an overprotective older brother. You assumed it had to do with how long you had known him since he had been this way, after what happened with his family. He knew you the longest other than All for One, which caused him to form a strange bond with you. He still would shout and get angry but wouldn't allow anyone else to treat you that way. 

When Toga joined, it was her that noticed you first, already forming a crush. It started off more violent like her normal crushes, in which she wanted to see you covered in blood. She got to see that more than she thought she would when you used your quirk against others. As soon as they were connected to your body, you could hurt yourself and it would appear on their body just as it did your own. It was beautiful seeing you that way and yet, she felt different with you. You could only be allowed to get so bloody before she would begin to get upset. 

If you lost too much blood, then you would pass away and she didn't want that. Unlike with Stain, she didn't want to kill you. She didn't understand her feelings just as much as you were oblivious to them. When she seemed to be flirting with everyone, it was hard to tell when she directed it at you that it was different. Dabi, on the other hand, could see if from the moment the two of you met. He initially was worried she would end up killing you and then making Shigaraki pissed but the longer they stayed, the more he could see it was different.  It still couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing just yet. 

Toga decided to herself that instead of wanting to kill you, she wanted to protect you when you got too bloody for her taste. She looked at you like a doll, one she wanted to keep to herself and keep safe. No one wanted their prize doll to be ruined by someone else smashing it. If anyone was going to kill you, it would be her and she didn't want to do that right now. If she wasn't going to kill you, no one else was going to either! 

Overhaul: 

 (Your Mask: 44-226-M__88571.1573227477)

Chisaki was a terrible person and almost everyone could see that. Hell, with what he did to Eri, it was almost impossible to call him anything but a monster. You were the exception it seemed. He acted differently with you, but you were much more cooperative then Eri. She was scared, you could understand. You protected her and calmed the doctor down whenever you could. Yet, you knew he had to do work with her to get his cure, something that would save the world. In the end, he would go easier on the young child when you intervened, though he would never admit it had to do with you. He made his own decisions and no one could make him feel one way or another. That included you. Still, with how you clung to his arm and showed no signs of escape or discomfort, it was hard for him not to grow fonder of you. 

He had found you when his yakuza took down another ring, one even worse than his own. They had found you there, chained and starving with only ratty rags to call clothes. His members brought you to him and his first thoughts were to simply dispose of you. He changed his mind when he saw your quirk, which was self-healing. His mind filled with all the possibilities that he could do with you, even if you were sick as the rest of the population. 

With time, he would shift from that thought process to thinking you were like him - one of the few who weren't sick. In his mind, he had cured you of the disgusting issues with having a quirk. This had been a hard process for you to go through but you never blamed Chisaki. He saved you and kept you safe from the outside world. He was only doing what was best for you, so even if it hurt, he reassured you that one day you would be clean. When that day finally came, he gave you a filtering mask to wear all the time, the pattern covered with bees. He thought you would be more willing to wear that than a plague doctor mask. Since you stayed inside almost all the time, there was no need for you to have to keep up appearances. It was even rare for any of the members of his yakuza to see you. 

Most of the time, you were left in charge of taking care of Eri. She loved you but even she could tell that there was something wrong. She would only learn more about the terrible situation you were in once she escaped.  She would also be the first to inform Aizawa that you even existed. Chisaki kept you hidden like a precious jewel he refused to let be stolen. He had treated Eri similarly, but she was so rebellious, unlike you.

It broke your heart when she did but somewhere deep in your heart, you understood. You only knew the hints of violence that existed outside of the white walls you called home but the doctor would always comfort you. It was safer in here anyway. If you ended up getting out, your master (as you were forced to call him) from before would have a chance to take you back. That was what Chisaki said. That chilled you to the bone and kept you from ever even wondering what the world was like outside. 

Overhaul never did tell you that he had that entire yakuza killed, including your previous "master".  

Twice:

Meeting Twice had been a very confusing and yet entertaining experience. He was in his costume, a monochrome blur as he focused on the mission the League was supposed to be completing. Dabi, Toga, and he were in charge of stealing information from this computer analysis business. He had no clue what that meant but he knew he just needed to clear the place of workers. That should be easy to do, or he thought. That was before he walked in and saw you sitting behind the receptionist's desk. He had been told to kill whoever was there to get the point across but now he didn't want to. He was supposed to be a villain but he could have sworn he fell in love at first sight. 

"Hey! So, I know this is going to sound crazy but I need you to clear this place of everyone." The voice caused you to look up, eyes widening at the man covered in cloth from head to toe. That was not what you were expecting to see when you came into work that day. 

"We are here to rob it!" He blurted out, "So if you don't get your pretty ass out of here, my buddies might shoot 'cha if you're lucky I guess." 

"What the hell...?" Slowly you stood up, hands resting flat on your desk. This was not what you wanted your day to be like. You knew you should feel threatened but for some reason, you didn't. Maybe it was because you felt like you could take the masked man or maybe it was just the tone of his voice. Or, maybe you were just stupid, which seemed like the most likely option at that point. 

"Please just go and have everyone leave through the back and don't call the cops until like ten minutes has passed. We won't take long, promise. We will be in an out in a jiffy." He sounded excited, body jittering in place. He was acting like he had drunk three cups of coffee and was on a caffeine high. You had never met a villain this nice before, though you had never met a villain at all until that morning. 

With a small nod, you turned around and began to clear out the one-floor building, saying that a fire alarm check needed to be done. No reason to tell the truth and cause a panic. You would call the police in the end but wait an extra five minutes. Just to make sure they got away in time...Why? Could it be the monochrome man that had made you feel some sort of sympathy for them? It was confusing...

But you still waited the five extra minutes regardless.

[existing-on-cloral]

Brooklyn's Night Terrors

A Steve Rogers X Reader fanfiction

The pretty scientist working to eradicate a vigilante villain catches the eye of the former Captain America. He jumps back into the time machine, becoming young again in order to live out a new life with his best friends, and perhaps her.

Paradise has a price, however.

The tracked vigilante kidnaps Sam Wilson and leaves the shield for Steve to take up one last time. Reluctantly, Steve takes on the mantle of Captain America once more as he teams up with his old pal Bucky Barnes and the beautiful and deadly smart scientist.

"Lust can cloud the mind, but love makes it clear as day."

Chapter Two: All's Fair

After a discovery about the dangerous villain, you ask Sam out for coffee. Meanwhile, Steve and Bucky talk women to "help Bucky remember the 40s better".

"Well, you're starting the day off with a bang," Sharon greeted you as she entered the lab.

You waved the smoke off of the communicator you'd been trying to fix. "I pulled the wrong wire. Didn't expect for it to blow up in my face."

Sharon shrugged. "Just saying. Did you get the news?"

Still focused on waving away smoke, you shook your head. "Don't have time for much of anything anymore, with that villain woman taking over not only New York, but my schedule as well."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Sharon said, dropping a newspaper on the table. You picked it up and scanned the front page. A disturbing picture filled the top half, showing several dead bodies and a figure dressed in deep blue, a mask covering her face. The headline screamed, "Newest Villain Tormenting New York", and underneath the picture was the caption, "Photo courtesy of Peter B. Parker".

"The kid got a photo job for the Daily Bugle," you noted. "Thought that Jameson guy exposed him?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Where better to hide than right in plain sight? At least, that's what Parker seems to think." She opened the paper to the big story. "Anyway, this woman killed three men and four women that were stumbling out of a club, drunk. Left her usual message." Another picture advertised the trademark of the villain, six dots surrounding a skull's head. For the first time, you realized how familiar the symbol seemed.

"Agent Carter, get Mr. Rogers down here as fast as you can," you barked, sending Sharon sprinting from the room. You picked up the phone and made a quick call to Director Fury, which he surprisingly ignored.

Still, you were unperturbed and waited for the voicemail beep. Once it sounded, you began rambling. "Director Fury, I've found something on the new villain." You flipped through the story, noting that the reporter was taking the six dots to heart and referring to her as "the Blue Reaper". "They're calling her the Blue Reaper, but that's- that's everything to do with her symbol. And the symbol is everything. Director..." you trailed off as Captain Rogers- Steve- ran into the room. "It may be a coincidence, and Mr. Rogers just arrived to clarify-" you gave Steve a quick look and pointed to the symbol- "Her symbol looks very similar to that of HYDRA. She could be working for a new branch or something."

"Cut off one head, two more grow back," Steve muttered, tracing his fingers over the blue spray paint in the picture.

"Director Fury, please give me a call back soon, I'd like to discuss this further. Thank you." You hung up, still not entirely confident in the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve picked up the paper and stared at the symbol, trying to make sense of it. "I don't understand. I thought HYDRA was done and gone for good."

You exhaled sharply and slammed a hand on the table, which caused the already smoking communicator to completely blow itself up. "Dammit!" Now the stupid thing was most definitely beyond repair.

"I think you need a stress break," Steve suggested. "Take an hour or two, I'll analyze this and the article and get back to you."

Nodding, you picked up your bag and headed for the door. Steve was being so generous... then a thought came to mind.

"Steve."

He turned around, giving you his full attention, something the other workers and scientists barely ever achieved.

"Could you look at past articles? That might help your search as well."

Steve smiled. "It would be my pleasure. Go. Take some time."

You turned and stalked out the door, ready to run off to the nearest coffee shop and chug as many espressos as you could without achieving spontaneous combustion (like your communicator). As you were nearing the entrance to the building, however, you remembered your promise to Sharon. Luckily, Sam was in the lobby, bringing in some paperwork.

"Hey, Sam!" you called out. "Do you have some time to grab coffee?"

Sam dropped the paperwork at the front desk and grinned. "I absolutely have time for coffee! Especially for my favorite doctor." He offered you his arm cheekily, but even with his bad humor, you giggled and took it.

"Thank you. I stumbled upon something major in an article and Steve suggested I take some time to process it." You pushed open the door before Sam could get it for you, but to your surprise he looked genuinely disappointed. "In any case, I don't want to talk about vigilantes, or the Blue Reaper, or skulls, or HYDRA. I'd like to get to know you, as Sam, not Captain America."

"I'd love that!" Sam returned, giving you a bright smile. "I know this great coffee house that's within walking distance from here. The coffee is really excellent and cheap, too!"

You allowed Sam to lead you to the little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, where a sign over the door read, "The Falcon's Nest". Chuckling, you elbowed Sam. "Sure it's just for the cheap coffee? Or is there an ulterior motive?"

Sam shrugged. "I knew the owner back in my military days. He opened a coffee shop and after I became the Falcon, he changed the name to commemorate me."

"That's nice of him," you said, pulling open the door for Sam. He snapped his fingers and made a pretend angry face at you.

"One of these days, I'll show you chivalry isn't dead!" he vowed, propping the door open with his hand and refusing to let go until you walked inside. You did, smiling to yourself at Sam's cute antics.

Sam ordered for the two of you, insisting on paying for your drink. The barista recognized Sam immediately and gave him an over-the-counter hug, then asked, "Who's this lovely lady?"

With pride in his voice, Sam introduced you, tacking on, "My favorite doctor," before grabbing the drinks and making a beeline for a table.

"What was that all about?" you asked, taking your drink from Sam.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "That's my buddy. Ever since he got his leg blown off he jokes that it's his best way to pick up girls. I knew he'd start flirting with you, and to be honest, I wanted to talk to you before other men started making passes or anything."

A warm feeling bubbled up in your chest and you giggled. "That's sweet, Sam."

Sam grabbed your hand, pulling your arm a tiny bit so you leaned forward and across the table. "Don't tell me I'm the only one feeling this."

You shook your head. "You're not."

He relaxed, letting go of your hand. "I just thought that you'd prefer one of the others. A real Avenger, even."

"Are you kidding?" you scoffed. "Bucky's flirty, Bruce is a little too big, Thor is off who-knows-where, Parker is way too young for me, and Steve..." you trailed off, unable to come up with a good reason to prefer Sam over Steve. Mentally kicking yourself, you joked, "I'm not on the Carter family tree."

Sam laughed. "I'm glad, I suppose." He fell silent, staring down at the whipped cream in his latte. "Thanks for asking me to coffee," he finally said.

You took your own drink and held it out in a toast. "It was my pleasure, Sam. To this... whatever... that I feel for Sam Wilson!"

He clunked his own cup against yours, laughing. "To this... whatever I feel for my sweet doctor."

  "Women!" Bucky said, writing the word in big letters on the top of a college-professor-sized whiteboard. "Any questions so far? Don't worry, you'll have some."

Steve, sitting in the back of the room so Bucky would be forced to yell, returned, "I just want to know about one woman, you jackass!"

"Shut up, punk, school's in session," Bucky shot back, threatening Steve with an Expo marker. "As I was saying." He drew a line underneath the word women. "They are fickle creatures, sharing their love- otherwise known as THE FUCK-" "Language." "-with whoever they feel has big dick energy."

"Two things." Steve raised his hand. "One, it's whomever."

Bucky threw the Expo marker with amazing accuracy. It thonked Steve in the forehead and dropped onto his paper, leaving a big blue mark. "I'm an expert on women, not grammar. Let me teach."

"Second thing," Steve pressed on, "Big dick energy?"

"Yeah!" Bucky seemed far too enthusiastic for someone who was casually throwing around the word dick as if he was talking about a renowned actor or a king of England. "Peter taught it to me. It means you exude manliness and you're very masculine, or whatever. Anyway."

Steve groaned. When he had asked Bucky to teach him about how women worked and how you could ask one out, he had not expected a crash course in Bucky's idiocy from the forties. He swore up and down that he was still trying to help Bucky "remember his past" but he just wanted to work on his own future.

"To ask one out, make sure the timing is good." Bucky wrote timing underneath the big line. "If you ask a woman out at the wrong time, such as when you has just crashed her father's very expensive new car, you will get slapped, rejected, and possibly kicked in the balls."

Steve recalled the day Bucky had crashed his date's father's car on the way to a fair and burst out laughing. Another marker smacked into his chest. At least the lesson was helping Bucky too.

"The second thing is how you ask her out." Bucky wrote method. He turned to Steve, face completely serious. "Do not ask out a woman by singing your own rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' off key in front of her entire friend group. You will get laughed at, and possibly kicked in the balls."

"Hurry up, Barney Stinson, I have a woman I would love to ask out and I'd really like to know how," Steve griped, throwing the markers back at Bucky. Amazingly, one of them hit Bucky. Steve smirked, a little proud of himself.

Unfortunately, it had hit Bucky's metal arm, so he just picked it up and shot Steve a glare. "I understood that reference, and also, don't throw markers. It's disrespectful. Now, if you want to ask this wonderful-sounding lady out, just walk up to her and say- not scream- the words 'Hey, would you like to go out for ice cream sometime?' Works every time, because you're not implying that it's a date in any way." Bucky folded his arms and gave Steve a smug smile. At least he would have if Steve was still sitting in the back of the room. "Steve?"

The Steve in question was running down the hallway of S.P.E.C.I.A.L. headquarters, looking for the scientist that he couldn't get out of his mind. When he reached the lobby, he spotted Sharon and grabbed her arm. "Sharon, where's the doctor you came to look at the time machine with?"

Sharon gave him a Look. "We have more pressing things to worry about, Steve."

"Like what?" Steve asked. "Other than, you know, the Reaper terrorizing New York City."

"That's the problem," Sharon pulled a note from her pocked. "Our doctor just got back from a coffee date with Sam." Steve's heart sank, but he reminded himself that, technically, he'd been the one to tell you to get coffee. Sharon continued talking, slowly drawing a piece of paper out of her pocket. "But Sam didn't return with her. According to her, the Reaper kidnapped him and left her this note."

Steve grabbed the piece of paper, unfolding it until he could read the words written in blood-red ink. So much for Captain America.

His eyes narrowed, his lips pursed, and he threw the note to the ground. Steve looked up as his doctor ran in, looking so scared and yet so dangerously beautiful. "I need my shield," he said, locking eyes with her.

[2k18leo]

TMNT 2007 talk

Okie dokie since we’ve been on hiatus for a long long time, but I still want to talk turtles, I figured I’d talk about the TMNT 2007 film again. If you’ve been with my account for a while you may know what a huge fan I am of this particular movie (of course I love the other films and may talk about them at a later date, but this one just hits differently for me mainly because it’s what got me into the Ninja Turtles in the first place) 

So, I have already briefly covered my take on the 2007 film as a whole.  Aaaand, @my-sai-and-i _and_i wrote a post that goes in depth about the emotional scarring that the fight had on Leo and Raph. It’s a wonderful post and you should def check it out 👌🏼

I am currently watching the 2007 film (yet again (HA what is my count up to now? Can’t keep track. Lol moving on—)) and once again I am breathless at the climactic fight BATTLE that Leo and Raph have. Every single time I watch it, my love for the franchise grows even more. I think this may be because I’m actually such a fan of the TMNT trope that is the constant butting heads of the two oldest brothers (oof sorry not sorry 🤭). I’m also going to talk mainly about this fight scene because it’s literally the EXACT scene that I started watching when I was first introduced to tmnt. That is already talked about in another post, however 😂

Okaaay, let’s get into this thing. First off, the score for this chase scene is already making you very anxious for some sort of confrontation between the two boys. It gives you chills right off the back. Whenever Nightwatcher accidentally cornered himself I got to thinking what it would have been like if we had seen Leo and his trip out into the city instead of the diner scene with the 12th monster. Like, was he just out looking for Raph and heard police scanners saying there was an issue with the diner? Then he headed over to possibly help, but ran into the vigilante Nightwatcher. I can only assume he was already looking for Raph since Splinter right beforehand advised Leo that he needed to get off his high horse and work things out with Raph. Since April and Casey were in the lair, I’m sure Leo didn’t expect Raph to go back to their apartment. He probably went around to their old hangout places in the city (before Leo was sent to South America) but since he had been gone so long, maybe he figured his brothers didn’t hang out anymore since it wasn’t all four of them. Sure, Casey’s a great friend, but never a replacement for one of the turtles. Leo could have also gone back to the construction site that they had partly demolished with that first monster a couple nights prior. Raph did make a point in saying that they needed to find out who was responsible for the sudden burst of creatures in New York. Don’t get me wrong, learning where the 12th monster was when Raph fought it was important I guess? I mean, it made the stone generals stationed in the area, but still not THAT close to where Raph and Leo ended up (they ran quite a ways. A mile at least.)

Okay, back to the rooftop scene. The setting was beautiful and I just— *chef’s kiss* love it. The rain. The red glow of the Red Eye Club sign. Which, I’m just now thinking about this but if an English teacher was asking you what the red sign symbolized I do believe that that could be some sort of symbol/foreshadow that Raph will be the one who comes out victorious in the upcoming brawl. In case I’m not completely giving that a whole-ass stretch, I looked up the Red Eye Club to see if it was a real place but all I got were a bunch of pictures of marijuana so I’m gonna assume NOPE. It could be a minor detail or it could just be a coincidence 🤷🏽‍♀️ I mean the neon sign did not have to be red specifically. Lol don’t @ me 😂

Anyway, I love the way the rain falls on the metal of Raph’s armor. I can only imagine how much of a BITCH that rain was to animate. 

Leo starting off with the good cop persona is very in touch with his character and I like. He’s still the “talk first, shoot later” wise character we LOVE, while Raph is so much the opposite (which we LOVE JUST AS MUCH (ugh sorry im gushing again)). I like how Raph stayed silent. He didn’t give his identity up. He didn’t try to stop Leo from starting a fight. He WANTED to fight Leo. And this was the perfect opportunity without Leo holding back by being aware of his own brother under the suit. It’s sort of like a Red Hood/Batman type scene. And, it’s hardly audible but, Leo then continues to try and calm down the vigilante by saying “The road you’re on is a dead-end. Believe me, I’ve tried it.” He has no idea who is behind the mask. For all he knows, he’s talking to a complete stranger, yet he is still trying to be the voice of reason. The Nightwatcher could be a deranged murderer for all he knows. He is only aware of what the News has been recently saying. You can tell he doesn’t know everything about this vigilante (which, side note but, this all seems a bit hypocritical if I’m honest. Up until Donnie and Mikey got jobs, all the turtles/Casey/possibly April did was vigilantism. I mean, does Leo think that the Nightwatcher is correlated with the monster sightings? Is that his main reason for being a vigilante to stop a vigilante??) ALSO when Leo said “…believe me, I’ve tried it” is that referencing his time in South America? I know he “got caught up in his own world” and “forgot about everyone else” but does that necessarily correlate with what he’s talking about? Did something really bad happen in South America that we didn’t see? Did he become like Hawkeye (cough* Ronin) in Endgame? 

This also makes me wonder what would have happened if Donnie and Mikey had gone out to help Leo search for Raph. It could have been like a Teen Titans scene where Robin was posing as Red X and the rest of the titans unknowingly fought their ally because he was seemingly just another villain. If things played out that way, I’m not even sure that Raph would have put up much of a fight. He didn’t have any major beef with his younger brothers. The scene would have probably been way less emotional as well. Plus, Leo probs wouldn’t have been captured. 

Whenever Raph first wields his weapons, signifying he’s ready to fight, Leo gives a very small smirk. He wants to fight as much as Raph does. But for different reasons. Raph knows his opponent and is angry with him— furious even. Leo… I think deep down he loves to fight. He knows he’s good at it. He knows he’s going to win. But it’s probably been a long time since he’s actually felt that great adrenaline rush of a fight (yes, I’m aware he was in the fight with the first monster but that’s not a one-on-one duel) Which is why when he says “Trust me when I tell you. You don’t want to do this” he says it in a way that he’s still trying to be the voice of reason… BUT it’s also very much a threat. He’s been wanting a proper fight for a while. There’s a certain thrill I’m sure he gets when he’s faced with someone who is probably an even match for him. Even with the threat he gives, he’s fully aware that his opponent will strike. 

COCKY LEO. 

I’m not going to even try to get into the subject as to why on earth Leo cannot recognize his own brother under the suit because @my-sai-and-i already explained that WAY better. 

I mean, Leo is chuckling as the Nightwatcher does his second swing. It’s funny to him because he still knows he’s going to win this fight. There is no doubt in his mind that he will defeat this amateur clown in a costume. But this is the way, I’m absolutely positive, Leo acted as a teenager to common criminals on the streets.  He’s always known how good he was at fighting, so I can bet money he was cocky growing up. And yeah, it’s way different than how he was fighting the raiders in the beginning of the film. Back in South America he acted all dark and silent, more than likely trying to keep up the persona of the Ghost of the Jungle. If he acted all cocky and obnoxious to the raiders, I’m sure word would get out, which might frighten the villagers even more. Being his sneaky stealthy self, he was less likely to scare the villagers, and probably able to keep up the thought that he was just a peaceful legend (kind of like Katara as the Painted Lady in Avatar (I’m referencing soooo many other things, but it makes sense to me 😂)) So, now that Leo’s back in the place where he grew up, of course, his old cocky tendencies would come back. It’s almost nostalgic for him. 

Another thing. Leo is completely defensive for the majority of this fight. He hardly ever throws an actual blow. He jumps back out of the way when the Nightwatcher swings his chain at him again. Which is a completely smart move. Another reason to note that he KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING. He’s fought for about 20 years (we don’t actually know their ages in this movie (or do we ?) but I would guess around 18-20 ??) so he’s fully aware of the fact that one of the best fighting techniques is letting your opponent tire themselves out so you can then finish them off and become victorious. But Raph’s temper has always led him to go guns blazing. Shoot first, questions later. 

Leo continues to mock the Nightwatcher because he knows he’s going to get a rouse out of him. He spent a good enough time sparring with Raph to figure out how to egg on that temper. A temper that would then make Raph angry and thoughtless, thus becoming rash with his fighting technique. Ultimately becoming careless and in total defeat. Again, don’t get me started on how Leo has NOT recognized his brother yet. Even after Leo has eluded yet another strike from the chains and the Nightwatcher turns around, Leo still gives a CHUCKLE to his face. He’s begging for that temper to be released. He’s ready for a real fight. And Raph’s more than ready to finally kick his big brother’s ass. 

Raph absolutely takes on the offense with a full charge to Leo as he does three heavy swings. Leo eludes all three until coming back with a counter-attack on the third. Leo does a fair job of holding his defense until Raph throws a huge right hook to the side of Leo’s head. I mean, it’s enough to knock him back a few paces and shake it off. This is when his face really goes completely serious. He’s just been caught off guard. There’s something in him that’s telling him to quit the wise-guy act. I mean, it was a simple punch, something I’m sure he is mentally beating himself up for misreading. Yet, he doesn’t charge back. He stands his ground while Raph is still the offender. 

Then Leo tries to continue to coach this dude by telling him how anger is destructive. This is probably something Splinter did as they were growing up. Also, Leo never once unsheathes his weapons on the Nightwatcher (yes, he ultimately does with Raph, but that’s later on. Hold tight, my dude). Even when the Nightwatcher drew out his chains, Leo didn’t react by drawing his own blades. I feel like being able to hold your own during hand-to-hand shows power/strength, while fighting with weapons shows skill. Which is another reason why I think Leo teased him at the beginning of the fight; he didn’t really expect this vigilante to have had any actual training with these weapons. He’s probably just some punk who thinks it’s cool. Another Casey Jones or Purple Dragon that could probably be knocked on his ass in 3 hits max. 

Leo’s uppercut is powerful as hell. He shot Raph like 6 feet in the air. And that can’t be easy. I can’t imagine how much these boys weigh. They’ve got the mass of a typical bodybuilder + the weight of their shell + the weight of their weapons PLUS Raph’s entire armor. That’s heavy as hell. 

Okay. The “Goodnight, Dark Prince” line. I don’t like it. It doesn’t seem to fit. When has this character ever been referred to as the Dark Prince? The only other thing Leo has referred to this vigilante is Nightwatchmen. Though, I get that it would be kinda redundant to say “Goodnight, Nightwatcher.” 

That’s another thing. Leo never meant to kill this dude. Just knock him out to drop him off at the police station later. Leo doesn’t kill. I mean, the very beginning of the film where he had his one-on-one with the raider leader almost implied that he killed him. Because the shot changed as soon as Leo made contact with the guy and all you hear is a loud scream making a flock of birds fly away in fright. If he was dark enough to kill these types of men (because IF he killed him, that probably wasn’t the first guy he had killed) in South America, that’s most likely the “dark path” / “dead-end” that he was referring to earlier. But I guess being back in the city does make him revert back to his old tendencies (but it shouldn’t completely disregard whatever messed up shit he had done in South America. That stuff should still be carried with him). Not even Raph is low enough to kill criminals. In his first scene in the film all Raph does is knock out some burglars and chain them up for the cops to find later on. It makes me wonder what would it have been like if Raph had gone to South America instead of Leo, while Leo stayed in the city. Would Leo have taken on his role of his own Nightwatcher? In the 2012 series, we see him become some sort of vigilante but he’s got Karai and Shinigami with him. It doesn’t seem very in character for Leo to go solo like Raph did. Of course, Leo would still miss the fight, but I’m sure he’d wise up and get a job just like his younger brothers. 

Okay, here we go. Here’s that brother angst we’ve been waiting for. When Leo first realizes who’s actually behind the mask, he’s not angry. He’s not mad. Not even disappointed. He’s really just shocked out of his mind. Complete disbelief. He just walks closer to Raph in hopes to talk to him. Perhaps apologize for fighting him just moments before, that he truly had no idea. But Raph doesn’t even turn to face his brother before doing a powerful back kick to Leo’s chest. Which, of course, takes Leo by surprise. Sure they had had a couple arguments since he’s been back but honestly that’s how Leo remembered things being with Raph. He remembered small quarrels. Nothing serious. They had always butted heads. Even though Splinter warned Leo that Raph had taken Leo’s absence pretty hard, he didn’t really know what that meant until now. He didn’t understand why his brother had so much pent up rage toward him. 

And Raph is throwing all these words at Leo. Calling him out by saying that he believes the world revolves around him. That they couldn’t possibly survive without him. I’m sure these words sting a bit to Leo but that’s not what he’s focused on. He’s starting to register everything. THIS is why Raph has always had an issue with him. THIS is the reason for his younger brother’s constant attitude. And when Raph says that they got along just fine without Leo, for a split second, you can totally see the pain that causes Leo. Like, that shit hurted. But he raises his voice and retaliates by calling him out on his bullshit. He’s telling Raph how immature it is that he’s taken up this new persona (*cough* still a tad hypocritical since he did basically the same thing as Ghost of the Jungle) because it’s causing danger to their family. I mean, at least the villagers were never truly afraid of Ghost, but the citizens of New York are terrified at what the Nightwatcher is and his motives. It’s all they’re talking about on the News lately. Raph has been causing a panic without even realizing it because he’s been too blinded by his own good intentions. 

But Raph doesn’t want to hear it. Leo hasn’t been around. He left. He wasn’t there when the turtles were just sitting by without a leader while criminals still ran amok. I mean, Raph has been angry at the thought “why does Leo get to go?” “What are we supposed to do now?” And with Donnie and Mikey being too passive to stop Raph, there really isn’t anyone around to keep Raph from straying from this road. How can Leo honestly expect things to go back to normal?? How can this big shot waltz back into our lives after he’s missed the last year and a half? And how the hell does he think he’s still the boss of me? 

And now Leo is trying to explain to him that the reason for being gone so long was to better himself for Raph and the boys. It wasn’t up to him to go to South America and be gone for so long. He didn’t ask for it. Just like Raph never asked to be second best. He didn’t want someone to lead him. This is just how things turned out. Neither of them can help what they went through in the past. It’s just a recipe for disaster when one party is trying to be the best they can be for the other party and positively beats themselves up if they let the second party down. Aaand when the second party is completely resentful of the first party because they were chosen for the role the second party wanted. Leo can’t get over the fact that no matter what he does to better himself for Raph, Raph will still disregard it. And Raph can’t get over the thought of the living embodiment of perfection that is his older brother, so he’s angry with himself for not being as perfect and takes it out on Leo. 

And Raph has become his own leader. He’s become a lone-wolf that doesn’t need a leader anymore. He has good intentions (even though they are not being followed through quite right) and Leo is just coming back and messing everything up. Things have changed and Leo needs to realize this. But Raph also needs to take into consideration that Leo is trying to realize this. He’s been trying to reconnect with his brother. But Raph has put up such a strong wall around everyone that he thinks talking isn’t going to help.

Leo telling Raph that he isn’t ready to become his own leader is a tiny bit selfish in my opinion? I mean, I agree, but still. Like Leo sees that Raph never went on a hardcore training period off in some jungle halfway across the world. So, he thinks, how CAN Raph be ready if he hasn’t done that? But that’s the thing. Leo and Raph have their own way of doing things. Leo, in multiple iterations, tries so hard to have his brothers be exactly like him. If he achieves something a certain way, he expects his brothers to reach their achievements by doing it the exact same way. But Raph is fully capable of reaching his achievements his own way (same with Donnie and Mikey). That’s something that Leo has had a difficult time wrapping his head around. 

I also don’t feel like Leo outwardly staying that he’s better than Raph is true to his character. There’s no doubt in my mind that Leo believes that and has thought it on SEVERAL occasions. But with his “gotta be the bigger man” personality, it’s hard to believe he would stoop so low as to actually say it to Raph’s face. 

Now Raph laughs at this. And I feel like most of it is a fake laugh, but there’s still a part of it that’s real because he’s finally ready to show Leo that he’s better than him. This is the real fight that RAPH has been waiting for. The perfect match. The leader and the lone wolf. The Ghost of the Jungle and the Nightwatcher. Leo and Raph. 

Leo still tries to have him call off this fight. He’s confident in himself that he will win. Both parties are, in fact. They’ve both developed such different fighting styles since the time they’ve sparred together, that they’re basically strangers to each other now. They both know this isn’t going to end well. That things will be different after the dust (rain?) settles. Leo has a negative outlook on it. He doesn’t think that Raph will ever be happy towards him again. If anything, Raph will probably shun him. This defeat could push Raph over the edge. This could make Raph leave for real. He doesn’t want that. It pains him that he has to fight his little brother. But Raph? Raph has a positive outlook. He believes that after he defeats Leo, Leo will then see Raph’s true potential. He’ll be recognized as the best, no longer second-best. He finally gets to prove to Leo that things are different. 

Leo visibly sighs and shakes his head knowing there’s no getting out of this fight. His stubborn little brother won’t back down. It wouldn’t be honorable for Leo to stand down and admit defeat. It also wouldn’t be honorable to disgrace Raph by completely disregarding that he’s his brother and just going for the kill. He’s at a complete crossroads here. So, ultimately, he draws his swords. 

The shot of the two boys staring at each other from across the roof — I want that as a poster !! It’s so gorgeous. I’m just noticing this now but it’s split JUST down the middle in terms of color. It gives a very yin and yang type picture. Leo is on the side where the red neon sign is glowing bright, thus making him glow a faint red color. Raph, on the opposite end, is on the side where the shine of the moon is hitting down, making his armor almost glow a pale blue. Ugh so much symbolism I may cry.  Right off the bat you can tell the differences in the two boys. Raph has been in his ready-stance for a while. He’s been waiting for this. Leo stands tall with blades in hand but not in an attack stance. There’s still that sliver of hope that Raph will back down. It’s still early enough to put this behind them, but that window is fading fast. As the rain beats down around them, Leo realizes that the window is closed. Nothing will stop this fight. It’s happening. There is no going back. 

Per the theme this rainy evening, Raph is the first one to charge. He runs like the brute he has become, fists clenched around his sai so he’s ready to stab or punch. Leo charges in a very graceful samurai run. Also the music. The thundering drums that beat so deep and so fast. It’s such a powerful scene. 

The shot of the tip of Leo’s blade grazing the water on the roof is STUNNING. Honestly, who thinks of these details because I hope they got a RAISE back in 2007 😂 it’s beautiful 

I also love how they both jumped toward each other as their first move. This shows that they are now both on the offense. Something snapped inside Leo to make him change up his tactics a bit. Almost to throw off Raph, who has never been the best at a defensive position. His strong suit is in the offense. 

Still the differences between their fighting styles after the jump. Leo did a beautiful forward shoulder roll, which is a proper technique of coming out of a forward jump. It keeps your momentum going into your next attack. Raph landed on his feet which, may not be ideal, but gave him a split-second advantage to be on the offense for the next attack. Leo then had to block with his sword. This fight goes FAST. I’m watching it so carefully and I’m sure there are things that I’m missing. I love how Leo does a roll over Raph’s shell, and up until now I figured he had made contact with his shell, but he actually didn’t because just as Leo started his roll, Raph ducked forward out of the way. Then Raph does a couple kicks towards Leo’s head, which cause water to sprinkle EVERYWHERE and it’s gorgeous. Raph is just going ham and not letting up on Leo as he’s still going for those strikes. (Lol I took a stage combat course over the summer so I know a little bit of the lingo (but good god I am no expert so please call me out if you know I’m using improper terms)) Watching this scene makes me want to do a move chart with a list of moves they are doing and in the order they’re doing it haha. Finally, Leo is able to squeeze in two strikes towards Raph, both of which he ducks and then blocks. 

The camera angles are wonderful. Have I talked about that yet? I mean the shot of the two of them squaring off. The little shot of the two of them fighting between the E and the D in the neon sign. And even the upcoming shot from below when they’ve got their weapons locked together. So beautiful. 

This scene also really shows the details of the Nightwatcher suit. 

And when Leo is able to do an X cross block with his swords at the downward blow Raph is throwing with his sai, and the camera angles are just moving with the characters. UGH. Here you can see that Leo really is mad. The fury of the fight is showing through his eyes as he watches his brother with a predator-like stare. *frantically looks up synonyms for furious* and boy oh boy, Raph is just seething as he twirls his blades. This small segment of them circling each other (sort of like a Spaghetti western style) is a fighting trope that I really dig. Sais are actually a lot larger than I gave them credit for. Those sharp boys are HUGE. 

The way they have their teeth bared as they circle each other reminds me so much of two very dominate male animals fighting. Like two lions fighting for the pride. When Leo finally comes to a stop his eyebrows furrow just a tad bit more, almost impatiently waiting for Raph to make another offending move. Or possibly giving thought as if the fight was coming to its end. And Raph’s pupils are crazy dilated as he charges yet again. It’s like a sickness that has infested his mind, this constant need to one-up his older brother. It’s making him crazy. And the heaviness of that armor is making Raph charge like a rhino or something. And the shot of Leo tightening his grip on his blade gives the implication that there may have been a split second where he believed Raph was ready to be done with the fight. 

Their eye contact hardly ever breaks during this scene. Raph is wanting to see that split second of worry in his brother’s eyes. He’s wanting to see that hesitation. 

Now Leo charges and he has taken full offense. He strikes at Raph many times, closing him into the wall under one of the two signs. He throws seven blows before doing a jumping spin kick to Raph’s abdomen. You can tell that blow sent Raph back a ways, maybe even farther if that wall wasn’t there to stop him. He probably has some form of whiplash. And even as he’s starting to lock eyes with his opponent again, Leo’s sword comes RIGHT BY HIS NECK. Leo literally got so close to making a fatal would for Raph. And no, Leo had no intention of killing Raph. He was probably aiming to give Raph a nasty slash on his cheek. Just a warning. Something that would remind Raph to stay in his place. 

Now here it is. The locking of their weapons. The climax of the fight. Raph is enraged and is gritting his teeth so hard that he’s shaking. In the shot from below, you can see the absolute force that they are using to one-up the strength of the other as their muscles are just quivering. And Raph tries to make himself become larger to push Leo back. Leo gives a quick glance down to his weapon in fear that the thin blade will give out. Swords aren’t meant to withstand this kind of pressure. 

And when they do break. b o i. The shock and pain that sweeps through Leo is heartbreaking. He just lost. Even before Raph throws the final blow. Leo’s swords are finished, just as he is. His swords. The weapons he’s most likely had since he became leader all those years ago. A literal extension of his body. Taken away from him in an unforgivable instant. And right as Leo is taking a glance back up to Raph, Raph is already coming up to powerfully kick him straight through the jaw. Through his kick, Raph is still in his jump twirling around to deliver the fatal blow to his brother’s head. The spear of his sai is centimeters away from Leo’s head as he falls back and hits the concrete behind him. As soon as his eyes open after being knocked back, he registers how close that blade was to piercing his skull. He’s been around long enough to recognize a deadly shot. You can tell his mind is racing in that fraction of a second as he sees the blade and looks back up to Raph to question why on earth he would throw such a potentially devastating blow. And just like that, Raph standing above with Leo pinned to the ground, he has won. He has defeated Leo. Even still, you can see their expressions change numerous times as they process what has just happened. Raph still bares his teeth in anger/triumph. He’s finally showing Leo what he thinks of his “place”. Finally showing him that he is a worthy opponent to Leo. 

Again, Leo is in shock. All he’s thinking is “why” and “what” and many other synonyms for said terms. You can see his eyes flit between Raph’s own as he continuously tries to read what his brother is thinking. Then his brows furrow once more as it finally sinks in. Raph hated Leo for so long. Up until the point where he came close enough to kill him. It didn’t matter how much Leo trained to be better for Raph. Raph still hated him. Every fiber of his being. He’s confused and frightened still as to why. Just because they fought doesn’t mean there was any resolution. Leo is still left in the dark as to WHY his brother actually despises him. 

Raph, still seething, is beginning to shake all the way up to his face. Then it hits him. What he’s done. His pupils widen as his eyebrows slowly shift up. That’s Leo. That’s his older brother. That’s his family. That’s who he’s got pinned down. Who he nearly sent a sharp blade through the skull. Who he nearly murdered. Leo is still staring up at him, I’m sure wondering how someone could be filled with so much hate. Maybe for a split second, if the Ghost of the Jungle actually did kill those raiders in South America, Leo saw himself in Raph. Perhaps that scared him. This could have been the path Leo was headed down if it wasn’t for April coming and pleading for Leo to return home. No one was able to help Raph. No one tried to stop him from going too far down this path. Was it because he had been absent? Was this all because he left? This is what Raph really thinks of Leo, huh? 

I love how no words are spoken here, yet again. It’s brilliant what can be said without any actual words. There’s so much emotion between the boys after what just happened. 

And here’s Raph again. Still processing. He tries to shake it away as if it’s just a bad thought or a nightmare. He’s in disbelief of his own actions. He then starts to shy away from Leo as if in apology but honestly what’s to be said after that that will make everything better? He also looks a little to the right of Leo, but we don’t get to see what he’s looking at. Up until this point, I’ve always just figured he was just looking away in thought, not on anything in particular. But now, I feel like he could possibly be looking at the rain falling on the concrete roof as if to help him figure out that this is reality. That he’s actually here in this moment. And so is Leo. OR, he could be looking at Leo’s broken swords, which is also bringing him back to reality. He destroyed a part of his brother. He could have done so much more destruction. He gets up ever so gently as if Leo is a paper doll that will break under his weight or a sudden shift of movement. 

Leo still clutching onto his sword handles is probably subconscious instinct, like when something suddenly scares you and your muscles clench up and you hold tighter onto whatever. And here you can see that he’s actually showing that he’s in pain. His adrenaline is wearing off so the blows from just moments before are actually beginning to enflame his body. I’m sure there’s a part of him that’s scared of Raph now. Like there’s no more teasing or mocking. If he were to try it again, I’m sure he believes things could spiral out of control again. Something neither of them wanted anytime soon. His face is a little hard to read when he stands up, but mostly because he’s in pain and is showing that in his gestures and expression. Knowing Leo, he’s probably mentally asking so many questions. I’m sure he wants to talk. I’m sure he wants Raph to talk. But what on earth are either of them to say? 

They’re exhausted from the fight. Leo is visibly heaving his body. Raph is still stunned as ever as his eyes are fixed on his brother who is SOMEHOW ALIVE ?? He shakes his head slightly as the thought creeps through his mind again. As the more devastating idea enters. He doesn’t even want to consider what the aftermath would have been like. What if it actually happened. What if Leo wasn’t standing right in front of him? What if he was still on the concrete ground, covered in rain pellets, immovable. Just… still. With a single sai protruding from his head. No. He messed up. How could things ever be the same again? How could he move on from this? How could he go home and face his family? His brothers? Splinter? He feels like such a little kid. A scared child who’s worried about the consequences of his actions. He would be disowned. He would be shunned. He would be hated. What was he to do? He glances down at his weapons, still in hand, and gives a tiny gasp. These were almost murder weapons. Of his own brother’s death. So, he runs. Any specific destination, probably not. He just needed to be away from Leo. He has no idea if he’ll ever see him again. Or his family. He just messed up way too horribly. How would anyone be able to forgive him? How could Leo even be facing him?

As he turns away to disappear into the night, Leo inaudibly tries to call him back. Even after all that, Leo’s still trying to reach out to him. He doesn’t want Raph to leave. This is something they NEED to discuss. He’s not mad or angry at his brother. He’s confused. He could see it in Raph’s eyes that Raph was guilty about what he almost did. I’m sure he doesn’t audibly call out to Raph because he’s partially too exhausted to do so. Plus, I’m sure there’s still a bit of fear right on the surface. 

As Raph runs, he is most definitely ugly crying. But we can’t see that because of the pouring rain :’D so. And then Leo gets captured and yadayada. Wow. I think I may be FINALLY done talking about this 😂 I’m exhausted. If you read this much I’m honestly super proud of you and I appreciate you haha you’re amazing. If you have anything you want to talk about concerning the ninja turtles (preferably the 2007 film because it’s fresh on my mind, but I’m also down to talk about the other movies or the tv shows) don’t even hesitate to ask. I love talking about the turtles. We can debate certain topics, gush about OTPs, talk about issues we had with certain things. I love all that. 

[bakugou-tm]

Victorian Era Villain Bakugou x Reader

Okay okay this all sounds very strange and I’ve been in and out for so long which makes it even stranger but just b a r e witH me I think it’s a decent idea. I’ve been craving villain bakugou dawg don’t @ me blame @simplybakugou

The cool afternoon skies that surrounded your abundant kingdom never failed to amaze you. The way all the multitude of colors worked together to create one last beautiful painting for all to see before hiding away along with the sun for the day.

It had been this way ever since you were a little girl, being a princess under strict rules, it was one of the few things in life you were able to enjoy.

This wasn’t to say you minded all of the rules, as the future lady to your kingdom you understood the responsibilities held on your head. To the countless etiquette lessons you had to endure as a child to now the thousands of boring meetings you had to attend each day; you held up your duty and pushed through.

With this said, this doesn’t mean you weren’t... rebellious at times. Oh if you had a dime for every time you had been dragged back to the castle after attempting to make a midnight escape you’d be filthy rich, not that you weren’t already.

Luckily, for your parents mostly, the older you grew the less these childish antics began to fade away. Even then the guards made sure to always have a slight watch on you, as your mischievous side would always be apart of you.

Other than that, you were loved by all in your kingdom. Known as the Shining Princess to the locals, your personality was always one to be favored. Compared to your other stuck up family members, your cousins and such, you were more comfortable and kind with your loyal subjects.

Always defending the worthy in courts, offering help to those in need, and doing it all with a smile on your face. Between your radiant looks and charismatic personality, the rich and wealthy were in love with their Shining Princess.

Letting out a sigh you continued your path down the hall of your castle, the cool feeling of cobblestone hitting your bare feet always seeming to relax you after a stressful meeting. Reaching up you tugged out the rose colored ribbon that held your hair into a bun, feeling a sense of relief wash over you as your (h/c) locks cascaded down your bare shoulders.

Your choice of style always did seem to offend the wealthy of your nation, no matter how much the loved you. Often times you would walk around the castle sporting no shoes, with your hair loose and flowing across your dress. For some reason it just felt more natural and free. Especially after wearing heels all day long, it was certainly a rewarding feeling.

Stopping at one of the windows you stared at the sky one last time, feeling the breeze of the cool hallway sweep between your dress. This dress had been one of your favorites, the rose petal like fabric that draped the bottom train and edges of your dress made you feel like a fairy. With the chest piece cutting into a low V just above your chest, you loved how the sleeves draped off the shoulder and down your arm in a soft flowy manor.

One good thing about having long dreadful meetings was the wonderful feeling of being free after, being able to roam your kingdom without a care in the world.

Once you met your final destination you lifted your arms to press against the wooden backdoor before a whistle caused you to whip your head back around.

“My Princess (L/n), forgive me for bothering you but where do you think you’re going?”

Your wide (e/c) eyes suddenly softened at the sound of the familiar voice, your lips curving upwards into a goofy grin when you were met with one of your watch guards. Unlike the other strict watch guards, this man had been watching over you since you were able to walk.

He taught you how to read, how to fight, and all of the different secrets of the castle. With your parents being so busy often, he was like a second father to you.

“Marcus do not scare me like that, you wouldn’t want to give the princess a heart attack would you?” You replied with a taunting wink as Marcus walked up to you, his expression not seeming to buy your response, “Relax old man, I was just going out to the garden for my daily therapy session.”

Marcus let out a haughty laugh, his arms wrapping around his large stomach before he folded his arms across his chest, “Those meetings you attend aren’t that bad my princess, but if you try to run away I’ll make you actually need therapy sessions!”

With this comment you could only assume he was referring to the most recent time you ran away, your father was quite livid with him when he came back empty handed for the first time. You swore you were punished for almost an entire year.

“Oh please Marcus I haven’t run away since I was fifteen, I’m nineteen now!” You said with a grin before straightening up sarcastically, “I am a legal adult sir.”

With this Marcus just rolled is eyes, placing a soft flick on your head before waiving you off.

“Have a good afternoon princess, please do be back for dinner so your mother doesn’t have my head.”

Offering a warm smile and reassuring nod you waved him off before quickly slipping through the wooden door. Suddenly you were met with the wondrous sounds of nature; small birds chirping near the stone bench, water gently rushing into the small pond that surrounded the cave like arch at the center of the garden, the breeze blowing through the tufts of grass and flowers.

Walking down the continued cobblestone walkway you stopped just before the tip of the pond, wiggling your toes in the fresh grass beneath you before kneeling down. You made sure to lift your dress up so not to get the beautiful fabric dirty as you rested in the grass.

Closing your eyes you inhaled the fresh scent of nature one last time, loving the smell and atmosphere of your garden. After all this lovely place was dedicated after you, the kingdom’s precious flower. Though, even with all the peaceful sounds and views of your garden, you couldn’t help but admit that something felt... off.

As soon as you stepped outside you could sense the strange presence, as if some dark looming aura was watching you. Deciding to peak an eye open, a small smile curved on your lips when a small duckling decided to swim next to you.

“My my little duckling, did you run off from your mother again?” You questioned, knowing full and well the fragile creature wouldn’t answer, “Let’s see if I have any goodies for you today..”

Shoving your hand in the small pocket of your dress you grinned when you felt two crackers reach your finger tips, pulling them out you cut them two smaller pieces before gingerly feeding them to the duckling, “Lucky for you my granny made her world famous: Tasteless Crackers.”

Giggling softly at the fluffy bird’s soft quaking, you let your fingers glide around the water, a soft hum escaping your lips as you narrowed your eyes at the pond.

Perhaps this little bird was the cause of distress?

Shaking your head you scooped the duckling into your hands, ignoring the dripping water that fell on the skirt of your dress as you rubbed its soft head, “Now little duckling were you trying to scare me? First Marcus now you, perhaps I will get a heart attack someday.”

When the only response you received was an odd quack you simply laughed, placing the creature back in the water before letting out a sigh.

This probably was all your imagination, after all you had been having very strange dreams recently-

crack

The sudden sound of a pebble hitting a wall caused you to freeze, your head shooting up as you slowly looked around the area.

“Now I know I’m not loosing it...” You whispered, standing back up on your bare feet as you began to tip toe towards the stone arch way, “If you are one of my father’s guards please come out, I promise I am not angry I just wish to be alone at the moment.”

At hearing no response to this you narrowed your eyes, moving a bit faster till you were just about to peer into the stone archway until the sound of a trumpet filled the air causing you to jump slightly before whipping your head back.

The faint cry of one of your father’s guards was heard from the watch tower, the words “Castle Lockdown” being made out as you let out an annoyed huff.

“Great, raiders are here again. When will these rascals learn to behave themselves?” You muttered to yourself, reaching under your dress to pull out a small dagger with your name engraved on it. 

Along with Marcus teaching you basic fighting skills, he had awarded you a true ivory dagger that belonged to your father when he was just a young boy. The weapon had great significance to you ever since then, as your father was one of the most noble warriors you had ever met. There was no doubt you wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Just as you were about to make your way back inside, your entire body came to a halt when a warm palm wrapped around your wrist. Before you could make so much as a yelp your back was slammed against the smooth stone walls of the arch, your smooth lips being covered by the familiar palm.

“And where the fuck do you think you’re going?” You heard a sharp voice hiss, your (e/c) eyes fluttered for a moment after your vision going blurry from such a forceful hit, “A princess as angelic like you shouldn’t be interfering with raiders.”

Wincing a bit slightly you narrowed your eyes as your vision came back to you, only to be met with crimson eyes. You weren’t sure if it was the insane intensity the man carried or the dark shadow his ash blond hair offered, but his eyes almost seemed to be.. glowing.

“W..Who are you?” You questioned, looking the brute up and down. Based on his style of clothes there was no doubt this man was a thief, most likely the leader of the raiders attacking your castle at the moment. Though with those thoughts aside you couldn’t help but take in his muscular body, from his lean chest to his chiseled face, this man was made specially by the gods.

Just as you were about to finish your version of an inspection you felt your body freeze up. This was all making sense now. Crimson eyes like the blood of his enemies, ash blond hair the color of dull sand, cool pale skin...

“W..Wait a moment, you’re Bakugou Katsuki!” You shouted, only for your mouth to be covered yet again as the thief scowled before you.

“Gee shout out across the fucking world why don’t you!”

Narrowing your eyes you suddenly bit the man’s hand causing a string of curses to escape his lips before he jumped back to glare at you, only your glare was much more fierce.

“You’re Bakugou Katsuki! My kingdom’s number one enemy, how dare you make your presence known here! I’ll scream as loud as I want to get you away-”

Just before you could say another word, your body was pressed against the wall again, but this time not as peacefully. The ash blond looked down to your darkly, his arm against your neck while his other hand held your wrists.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you princess, I can get a lot fucking scarier...” Bakugou hissed before moving in close to your ear, “Believe me.”

Goosebumps ran over your arms as he held you close, a small string of saliva sliding down your throat before you nodded in assurance to him.

“Now, don’t you worry your little stockings off, I’m not here to attack your precious kingdom, I’m only here for their little flower.” Bakugou said with a smirk, his index finger lifting your chin up to meet his.

Your (e/c) eyes widened a bit as you stared at him with slight confusion mixed with fear, “M..Me? Why me?”

Bakugou slightly loosened up on you, his tongue clicking as he rolled his eyes down to you.

“Please don’t act dumb princess, I know you recognize me.” The ash blond hissed, but once he saw you continued dumbfound expression he let out a sigh, “Those strange dreams you’ve been having? Your mind deceiving you while you’re awake? Who the hell do you think that’s been?”

Blinking for a moment you soaked in his words, hating that you knew exactly what he was talking about. All those visions you had.. those late night dreams.. even the ones where you and the mysterious person...

Suddenly a bright flush reached your cheeks as you looked up to him disgustedly, “How dare you corrupt my dreams like that!”

For once the ash blond looked a bit shocked before his sharp glare returned, “Hey it’s not just me miss, you’ve been in all my shitty dreams too! You’re all I could ever fucking think about! You know how annoying it’s been?”

Stopping for a moment you looked him up and down, as much as you hated to admit it he was right, everything was beginning to add up. The only question left was... why?

“Why could we be sharing these intimate dreams with each other you might ask? Bakugou purred, sending chills through you as he either read your expression or read your mind, “My isn’t it obvious my dear princess, we were obviously born for each other. I mean just look at us! I’m the most powerful-

thief in the world, and you’re the most loved princess in the world. It’s the perfect example of opposites coming together to become one of power!”

Biting at your lower lip you looked down for a bit, your eyes fluttering due to the overwhelming amounts of information, “I..I...”

“Come on princess how could you be doubtful! Together we would be fucking unstoppable! Have you yet forgotten of our wonderful dreams?” Bakugou questioned, moving in close to you but not in a threatening way.. no his step had something else in mind as his left palm gripped your waist and his right palm reached up to your chin, his calloused thumb running against your lower lip, “Have you forgotten how I was able to bring that masterpiece of a body so much pleasure?”

At this you felt your jaw clench, your body locking up as his lips grew close to your ear, his warm breath dancing across your jawline, “How could I ever forget those harmonious sounds you made for me, I remember every inch and curve of your body princess.”

Biting your lip you winced at the feeling of his lips pressing against your flesh, how could something that felt and sounded so good feel so poisonous?

Coming back to your sense for a moment you shoved the boy back, his smooth words that were previously clouding your memory vanishing away.

“Whether you were truly the man in my dreams or not, I do not care!” You exclaimed, pulling out your dagger once again and pointing it at him, “You are a monster to my kingdom and it is my duty to take you down!”

Bakugou seemed to be a bit shocked at your actions, his crimson eyes widening just a bit before they narrowed, his previous swagger already returning.

“Oh but is it? You know along with these cursed dreams, I’ve been able to feel your thoughts as well...” Bakugou purred, moving closer to you as you continued to hold the knife to him, “I know you hate it here, this life isn’t meant for you princess. Though you have the radiance of a royal being, your soul is made for more, and you know this.”

Gritting your teeth you shut your eyes, refusing to listen to his words.

“Why do you try and avoid this my princess, do you really wish to continue living this hell of a life? I could offer you everything you want and more!”

At this point you couldn’t stop your hand from shaking, your body beginning to tremble in fear. But this time the fear wasn’t because of the man before you, it was because of the truth in his words. It was as if he was your own conscience talking to you.

The ash blond seemed to pick up this achilles heel in your immediately, his sinister smirk reappearing to his expression as he continued moving, his callous hand smoothly wrapping around your wrist before moving your arm so that you were pressing the knife against his neck.

“But please princess, if this is really what you desire...” Bakugou muttered, his crimson eyes looking deeply into your own, “Then do what you must.”

How could this all be happening? So quickly? So soon? These dreams had only been appearing since you were eighteen. You knew you should have told your parents, you should have told the magic makers, surely they could have fixed this curse you’ve been placed under.

But you didn’t, and now the curse was taking over your mind. Shaking furiously you attempted to press the knife up harder against his neck, gritting your teeth as you used every bit of will power you could before you let out a gasp, the dagger dropping from your hand and clanking against the stone floor.

With a dark chuckle the ash blond kicked the dagger away, now moving his body close to yours as he looked you up and down as if you were his prize at a carnival.

“Good girl.”

A chill seeped up your spine at these words, your body freezing has his palms moved up your sides before his lips reattached to your neck ever so gently.

“It feels good doesn’t it? Finally giving in to your body’s needs, giving into the fate you were destined with, hm?” Bakugou purred as he lightly nipped at your skin, soaking up every whimper that poured out of your mouth.

Moving back up to face you he smirked, loving the flustered expression mixed with confession and pleasure on your face, “This feels good doesn’t it (L/n)?”

God the sound of his words made you want to explode, the last bit of your sanity now holding on by a thread, the only thought in your mind now was unleashing this passion you’ve been bottling up all year on this man. But that small bit of sanity remained stubborn, that screaming voice in the back of your head telling you to run as far away as you could while you still could.

“If you want me to stop (L/n)...” Bakugou huskily whispered in your ear as his knee pressed up against your clothed crotch causing you to gasp sharply before he moved his lips close to yours, “Then all you have to do is say the magic words.”

You weren’t sure if it was the way Bakugou muttered those last words, the closeness of his lips with yours, or the way he was passionately looking into your eyes, but you were long lost after that.

Moving forward you pressed yourself up against the ash blond, your arms snaking around his neck and gripping onto the small hairs at the nape of his neck as you kissed him passionately.

All that was heard from Bakugou was a muffled ‘fuck yeah’ before he took your lips into his own. It only took him a few seconds to take complete control of your mouth, his body moving back to press you against the stone wall once more as he lifted you into his arms.

“You don’t know how fucking long I’ve waited for this my Princess (L/n),” Bakugou rasped in between kisses, his teeth now relentlessly tearing at your neck, your once pure skin being marked as his own, “Now you’re my corrupted flower you fucking hear me?”

Letting out loud gasps and moans you tugged at the tips of his wild hair, his name continuously slipping from your lips before they smashed against his own once more.

While those thoughts in the back of your mind were still echoing at you to stop, they were now trumped with the voices of acceptance. Everything about this just felt so right, almost as if you knew from the day you were born that this was supposed to happen.

This was the man you were supposed to be with, this was your soulmate.

Just as the ash blond broke from your lips he gave you his delicious smirk of mischief, his eyes glowing with power as he drank up your disheveled form. 

“My gods you are simply stunning my princess, please scream my fucking name so I know this is real.” Bakugou hissed, his lips tracing down your jawline as soft mewls escaped your lips.

Leaning your head back against the wall you allowed the thief more access to the crevices of your neck, “O..Oh Katsu-”

Just before you could get his name out of your lips the cry of your name echoed through the gardens, your eyes widening when you recognized the voice as your beloved watch guard.

Looking down to Bakugou with fear evident in your eyes, he only seemed annoyed with the inconvenience.

“For fucks sake I told shitty hair to take care of him...”

Suddenly your eyes widened at the sound of this, “W..Wait what?”

Without question, Bakugou pressed his finger against your lips to silence you.

“Tell your guard that one of the raiders tried to attack you but you scared him away, you never saw me correct?”

Blinking for a moment he looked at you with stern eyes, “Who did you never see?”

“B..Bakugou Katsuki, I never saw Bakugou Katsuki.”

The ash blond grinned, bending down to hand you your dagger before moving close to you, “That’s my good princess, now go back to your little friends.”

Frowning a bit you tugged at his shirt just as he began to walk away, his eyes softening for a bit when he saw your confusion, “What about you? Where will you-”

Before you could finish the ash blond smashed his lips up against yours, his tongue taking in every inch of your mouth, making sure not to pull away until you were a panting mess.

“I’ll be back for you soon enough don’t you worry,” Bakugou purred, a smirk on his face as he began to back away, “I do appreciate your eagerness, you’ll be seeing me soon...

...my corrupted flower.”

[animatical-fandoms]

Kwami Swap Week Masterpost

Long post ahead; buckle up!

TIKKI

Adrien/Catbug- Well, it’s going to be canon. He needs to call Mari “Kitty” and hearing him say “miraculous ladybug” will be amazing

Alya/Ladybird - My personal design for @lunian‘s Ladybird AU. It’s awesome, go read their work!

Nino/Ladybeetle - In this AU, Mari was too nervous, despite Chat’s belief, and gives Nino the ladybug miraculous. He and Chat!Adrien are the best of friends, and Adrien lowkey crushes on him almost as bad as Mari!Ladybug.

Chloe/Lady Scarlet - My interpretation of the wonderful @zoe-oneesama‘s Scarlet Lady AU. 

Luka/Redbug - Plain and simple, Master Fu showed up a few years earlier, and ran into this kindhearted musician before Mari. TBH Luka is one of my faves, so he’s going to show up for the majority of the week because I loved playing around with designs for him

Felix/Lord Coccinelle- He doesn’t get cursed with bad luck, but with a kwami that insists he be responsible and help poor Lady Noire (Bridgette) break her curse. He’s gentler, kinder as a bug than as Felix, always happy to help others and to calm akuma victims after a fight. He’s drawn to Lady Noire, ever melancholy and mysterious, and lets himself loose with an edge against Bridgette because that’s how he’s always been.

PLAGG

Marinette/Lady Noir - Again, based off of the leaked art. I just really, really hope she’ll call Adrien some version of My Lady, and make at least one cat pun.

Alya/Nina Noir - Instead of Master Fu picking Adrien, he asks New Ladybug who she would like by her side. Obviously Alya is the first choice, and she’s ecstatic to be a superhero, keeping the Ladyblog focused on Ladybug because, you know, she can’t record herself. Nino and Adrien crush HARD on the new superheroes, and while that frustrates Mari, Alya is absolutely delighted.

Nino/Felus - Adrien pulls a Marinette, afraid that he’ll get caught since he’s under so much scrutiny as a model with a ton of visibility, and though it physically pains him to not fulfill his magical girl dreams, he knows Nino would be an amazing hero. Nino takes it in stride, and he and Mari!Ladybug are the bros to end all bros. Alya, crushing on Chat!Nino, creates both the Ladyblog and another blog dedicated to Nino’s alter ego. His thought? Best girlfriend ever.

Chloe/Duchess Noir - Adrien did the above, but with Chloe, thinking her confidence would be an asset  Mari as Ladybug would be irritated by Duchess, but it becomes a series of growing moments for Chloe, because she gets to see what a force she really can be on people’s lives and gets better at the Friend Thing.

Luka/Pantheon - My boy omg this one was fun to draw. Kinda similar AU to him as Ladybug. 

Bridgette/Lady Noire - Reverse PV - Bridgette thought her luck was bad enough with her being unable to speak at a normal pace and pitch in front of her crush, not to mention her clumsiness makes her look like a fool during their dance classes. Now she’s cursed with a god of destruction and a Perfect Superhero Partner - well, at least her clumsiness disappears when she’s Lady Noire. A shadow to Lordbug’s light. She knows it’s as hopeless to try and break her curse with him as it is to get together with Felix, so she just stands aside as his protector.

TRIXX

Marinette/Fennette - See the Ladybird AU with Alya; I couldn’t help myself!

Adrien/Kitsune - In the world where Alya is Chat and Mari is Ladybug, the two need help against the multiplying twins, same as before. Except Mari goes to lonely Adrien who she knows would be amazing. And the nerd goes for an anime name immediately. 

Nino/Volpino - The above babysitting disaster happens to be Nino’s little cousin, Chris, rather than Alya’s sisters, so Mari offers the fox miraculous to him. He and Adrien get to be bros for all sides of the mask. Alya makes an entirely new blog dedicated to the new fox.

Chloe/Mistress Amber - She made like Queen Bee and stole it, thinking: I can do way better than Lila because I won’t be faking it.

Luka/Vulpes - He probably would get this if another akuma was the reason they needed the Fox - maybe if Fu gave it to Ladybug while his mom was akumatized and he was worried about everyone’s safety.

Felix/Reynard - He was free of the Black Cat’s curse, and the miraculous could no longer be his. It got passed to Adrien through Fu without him knowing, and as soon as he sees his little brother vaulting across the city in a catsuit (without stripper boots, what the hell Plagg why did you make me suffer this way) he storms up to Fu’s place and says give me the fox those are small children my god and becomes Mentor #1 to the new Chat and Ladybug. Naturally, no one catches on that he’s himself. He’s a professional at this secret identity thing.

WAYZZ

Marinette/Mlle. Bouclier - In the world where Nino and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat respectively, Alya has been chosen as the fox. During Anansi, though, she’s captured - so Nino’s like omg Marinette could be the turtle and Marinette, upon receiving it, is having major panic mode set in, but you know, she does her best. Adrien takes a look at her protecting them and is like omg my Lady, a la Alya knowing exactly who Carapace was, but he keeps it to himself, and becomes more comfortable and flirty with Mari.

Adrien/La Tortue - Don’t know if this fits in with any of the others … but probably Chat!Chloe verse, and Marinette is like please can you be my partner forever

Alya/Turtledove - Instead of her getting kidnapped during Anansi, it’s Nino, since Nora had a beef with him being too girly. She totally saves him and fangirls over being a superhero and he just knows.

Chloe - How did this happen? I’m not even sure.

Luka - Both Alya and Nino are unavailable during Anansi, so Marinette is like, Luka was super helpful on the boat and is super nice let’s do this.

Bridgette - Fox!Felix verse - she sees her boyfriend, who was once Chat, as a fox teaching the two bb heroes the ropes. She goes to Fu, stands in the door with her eyebrow raised.  Fu had meant for her to succeed him as guardian anyway, and she takes up a job at his place so he can still hang out with Wayzz. She becomes Mentor #2 and is basically Mulan in fighting style - totally unexpected strategies. (It’s her fault that identity reveals happen, idk how, but it is)

POLLEN

Marinette/Marigold - My version from the Lady Scarlet universe!

Adrien/Goldenbee - From the universe where Chloe ends up as Chat, Marinette is super protective of this sunshine bee boy

Alya/Honeybee - Marinette actually? Gets the Bee Miraculous to Alya instead of losing it to Chloe?

Nino/Bumble - Mari’s mind goes to Nino instead of Alya when the Bee is needed, and she makes it to him.

Alix/Piquer - After seeing her do so awesome with Reverser, Marinette turns to Alix for help as the Bee. 

Max - well, I don’t have too much of a headcanon for him, but @kwamiswaps did a fanfic, so that’’s what this design is for! (I did little suspender stripes without meaning to omg I really do like how it turned out)

DUSUU

Marinette/Bluebird - The Peacock wasn’t damaged, just disappeared - and, while visiting Adrien for a study session, she ends up with a new bird friend.

Adrien/La Paon - He inherits it from his mom okay??? Like, Fu has it and knows and is like your mother would have wanted you to have this. And this pisses off Hawkmoth to no end because he thinks whoever stole it is Definitely Not Adrien and is disgracing his wife’s name. Obviously a lot of drama. 

Alya/Ava Azure - Swap the Peacock for the Fox - let’s just say Hawkmoth had a direct source to mess with Lila. Instead of illusions on the night the twins start multiplying, she creates a summoned creature to lure them all together.

Nino/Plume - The Peacock was damaged still, but Nino was willing to risk that to save his girlfriend and the city after a really nasy attack

Chloe/Royal Blue - Somehow, since the Mayor was friends with Gabriel and his wife, he ended up in possession of the Peacock before Gabriel knew what it was. Chloe gets her hands on it relatively at the same time she would have gotten the Bee and is just as Extra(TM).

Jagged/Pavo - He deserves to be a flashy birb. His suit would have sequins if I’d had time. 

NOOROO

Marinette/Mariposa - Mayura is the main villain in this universe, and Emilie is comatose because of a damaged Ladybug Miraculous. Adrien is still Chat, but he makes “my wings” and “my little butterfly” comments rather than “My Lady”. Gabriel has Nathalie generally doing his dirty work, and he calls Emilie his lady. Mari uses her friends’ best qualities to fight against the beasts Mayura creates.

Adrien/Papillon - He’s been Chat for some time, but now Gabriel has been revealed to him and Mari, and he gets really, really angry, and steals the miraculous as Adrien. This is a Problem. Plagg is concerned Adrien is getting too angry to deal with powers of destruction full-time, so Adrien brings him to Fu and alternates between Plagg and Nooroo, and he confronts Gabriel a lot as the Butterfly because betrayal reasons. Ladybug is concerned, but she trusts him and that’s what gets him through.

Nino/Wingbeat - He is So Supportive of his friends, okay? He gets chosen as the Butterfly holder when, say, Bridgette has the Turtle and they manage to take it from Hawkmoth but still need help getting the Peacock or some other stolen one.

Chloe/Madame Monarch - Okay, this version of Chloe does not get a redemption arc, like, ever - she’s Hawkmoth. Straight up.  She starts every akuma purposefully, becomes a villain, etc.  Don’t ask why; I don’t know - attention? I prefer Redeemed!Chloe, but I feel like she’d totally be past saving as this particular supervillain.

Kagami/Painted Lady - Adrien gets to pick some new holders in my personal headcanon. Let’s say while the Mouse and Snake go to Mari and Luka, they get the Butterfly so Adrien chooses Kagami because she tried to help him and she wouldn’t let her emotions get in the way when she chooses people with her powers.

Felix/Hawkmoth - Brother!AU. He was Chat Noir when he was younger, has been abroad with Bridgette, and comes home to see the canon situation. He is Not Fooled by Adrien, Mari, anyone - he’s been there, and he has distance of not knowing most of the people involved, so he gets very, very, angry. He knows his father is Hawkmoth. So he steals the butterfly and sides with Ladybug and Chat Noir, who are both thankful but confused at this new Butterfly who’s So Angry - Adrien doesn’t figure it out, but he comforts Felix without meaning to and Felix is so touched. Felix eventually reveals that he knows who the previous Hawkmoth and the current (insert new villain identity) is - Gabriel Agreste. Obviously disbelief and angst, but he reveals himself and is like I am the last person to want Gabriel to actually be a supervillain  and Agreste brotherly bonding and HawkDad butt-kicking. 

Another universe idea I had was that Felix and Adrien share the cat and the butterfly, trading depending on what’s needed. 

That’s a wrap!

[j4gm]

Ted Anderson’s Adventure Time Season 11 AMA.

So Ted Anderson, writer of Adventure Time Season 11, unexpectedly hopped onto the Adventure Time Discord yesterday for an impromptu AMA. He talked a lot about what his plans were for the rest of Season 11 and beyond, and also talked about his other work including Beginning of the End, My Little Pony, Moth & Whisper, and Orphan Age. Here's most of his answers. I’ve rearranged them to be in a more coherent order.

You can read the full AMA on the r/adventuretime Discord.

Mordo: Before the cancellation, was the stuff with Finn and the humans going to be longer than 2 issues?

Ted: That particular story was always planned to be 2 issues.

The way S11 was going to work is, it would be broken into 3 chunks of 4 issues apiece. The first story was the Empress Marceline 4-issue story. The second chunk would be the 2-issue Humantown story, followed by two single-issue stories. Then there would be one big 4-issue finale story.

Also I should clarify the breakdown of the first arc: Sonny Liew wrote the story, but that was just a summary of events. I wrote the actual script and laid out the events and so forth. I think technically he's credited for Plot and I'm credited for Script?

The first single-issue story was already sort of revealed—that's the one about Jake and Jermaine. The second one would have been about Finn deciding he wants to make something, and going on a big adventure to make a new, handmade sword. And the 4-issue finale would have followed off of the Humantown story and wrapped up more of that.

I was actually already starting issue 8 before I heard it was canceled. Issue 7 is done, but unfortunately it can't see the light of day. It's the property of BOOM and Cartoon Network, not me.

[Issue #7] was a very standalone kind of issue: Jermaine is a successful painter and gets invited to a big fancy party, and Jake invites himself along. Jake ostensibly came to invite Jermaine to the family reunion [in the finale arc], but he knows that Jermaine doesn't like to travel. So he actually came to do a big mystery adventure. One of Jermaine's paintings gets stolen, so the two of them investigate to find out the truth. In the end it's revealed that the whole thing is a big setup by Jake, who wanted to give his brother a fun bonding experience, Mostly I wanted to write some done-in-one stories and get some Jermaine in there, because I like him.

Issue 8 would have been about Finn, who's feeling restless after making the cabin, and deciding he wants to make more stuff, so he decides to make his own sword. He meets various characters traveling around Ooo, checking in with them and talking about what he's doing now. I wanted to focus on Finn feeling adrift now that the biggest adventure of them all has happened, and he's kind of without a purpose.

Boulder/Stert: What would the comic's finale have looked like? What would the end of S11 have looked like had you made it there?

Ted: So thematically, I wanted to get to the idea that Finn was feeling useless as an adventurer. The world was getting more saved, things were getting rebuilt, people don't need a "kid with a sword" any more. But Finn would've realized that it's not about him as a lone adventurer—he's part of a community, a whole bunch of people who are working to make the world a better place.

The finale story would have revealed that Dr. Gross had been offered amnesty and was secretly working in Humantown, plotting a takeover of all of Ooo. Dr. Gross would've created a plague to affect the candy people and something called "GO Juice" [Genetic Optimizer Juice], which was just Finn's DNA injected into the humans to make them into adventurers too. But, crucially, it wouldn't have made them teammates—they would've just been a bunch of lone wolves. So when Jake and Lady and PB and Marceline and all the rest work together, they defeat the humans easily. Rather than fight Dr. Gross, [Finn] escapes and helps his friends, who are fighting everyone else.

There's a little bit of that story still in issue 5: Finn gets a scratch fighting the robot and Minerva patches it up, and that's how they would've gotten his DNA.

I was going to bring back Samantha the dog as a side villain. She would've taken over the Candy Kingdom with a dog army, in order to plunder their technology and lead a dog revolution in the Crystal Dimension, but really she was just being used by Dr. Gross.

Also Jake would've had a family reunion, because I really wanted to write all his kids. Originally it was going to be him and Lady finally getting married. [Cartoon Network] specifically said that Jake and Lady couldn't get married, because they were, and I quote, a "modern couple". I still have no idea exactly what that means, haha.

I had some thoughts about how I wanted to handle the humans. I didn't want them to immediately integrate into Ooo, but I didn't want them to be completely standoffish and weird, either. Issue 12 would've ended with them more or less being led by Minerva, and slowly putting themselves out there.

Something else I should make clear: I had absolutely no contact with the AT people, so I don't know if any of my ideas fit with what they wanted to do. All of this stuff is just out of my head.

Stert: Yeah I feel like you would've been good as long as you didn't straight up contradict the show.

Ted: Oh, speaking of contradicting the show, I got a funny note about the Empress Marceline story. Originally, in Sonny Liew's notes and my script, it actually took place 10,000 years in the future, not 1,000. But for some reason CN changed it to 1000. And I have no idea why, because all that does is mess with the timeline more. Like, if it's 1000 years in the future, it should have Shermy and Beth and look like that setting. But by the time CN changed it, it was too late for me to add in any of that stuff. So if you think it's weird that Shermy and Beth didn't show up, and Marceline wasn't trying to rescue Bubblegum from an ice prison: that's why!

SpaceGiraffe/Owlz: Were there any plans for Simon to meet with the humans and/or Minerva? I wanted to know if you had any plans for Ice King or if that was just Olivia's job?

Ted: Once I heard that Olivia was doing the Simon & Marcy series, I deliberately kept my hands off of Simon, just in case. I didn't quite know what I would want to do with him, either. He could play an interesting role in post-finale Ooo, but ... idk, he's been defined so much by tragedy and loss, it would've taken a while to build him back up again.

Stert: Do you know if Gross and Minerva would have interacted in these new comics?

Ted: I hadn't planned for Gross and Minerva to interact too much? Minerva would've come along with Finn when he infiltrated Humantown to find out what happened. Actually, my idea was that Minerva uses her "Mini-form," which is literally a six-inch-tall action figure of her that would ride on Finn's shoulder as he snuck through the vents, haha.

Stert: The final issue ends on a pretty negative note for Finn and humanity. He's very angry at Malloy lying to him and storms off not wanting to have anything to do with Humantown. Looking back do you think it's a good idea to end Finn's arc in these comics with the humans on a pretty downer note?

Ted: I don't think it's the best way to end S11, no. It makes sense because it's a natural story break, but it also leaves Finn angry and resentful, and deliberately separating himself from other communities. I do love those last two pages, because Mar Julia did some amazing art on them, but emotionally it leaves Finn kind of out in the cold. I did tweak issue 6 a little by adding the HW scene. Originally Finn went to see Aunt Lolly to see if she made the robot monsters. Frankly, the HW scene is better in every way, haha.

Owlz: Did you have ideas for Finn's closure with Huntress?

I like [Finntress]! I like a lot of Finn relationships. But I also like how it's very casual and not labeled. I should be clear: I really didn't change anything based on people's feedback from here. But the [Discord] server and poking around Tumblr reminded me that I needed to include some HW. I feel like their relationship has always been ambiguous, so I liked them not getting a super specific ending.

Boulder: Did you have anything in S11 for Mars?

Ted: I didn't have anything for Mars, actually! I should've! I like Mars a lot, mostly because we see so little of it and it's so dang weird.

Boulder/StephanFS: What plans did you have after S11, with or without a cancellation? If BOOM announced S12 with you as the main writer, what would you write?

Ted: I didn't have anything specific for after S11, since I already knew that it was probably going to be the last time I was going to write AT. I had some vague ideas of trying to bring back Fern, but like ... that's a very fanservice type of thing to do, haha. I probably would've brought him back just to let him die again, but this time with a little more closure. Also I might have done more stuff with magic? I love the weird elements of magic they've got set up in the show. Maybe doing something with four new elements of magic, one of which would have been grass. But that was just very vague thoughts.

Stert: Who did you like writing for most/have the most trouble with? Between Beginning of the End and the S11 issues you mostly handled Finn with a touch of Jake and the rest in smaller amounts, interested in if you were happy with that or wanted to play with other folks.

Ted: Jake was definitely the most fun to write, just because of his way of speaking. Whenever I did a line of his dialogue, I ran it through John DiMaggio's voice first to see if it sounded right. As for favorite in general, that's a tough one. I was told to try and keep the focus on Finn and Jake rather than the side characters, just because they're the main characters. But that suited me just fine. And yeah, for BotE I was also told to keep the focus on Finn and Jake. But that's what I was planning to do anyway. (And yes, I still plan to finish the annotations for BotE! One of these days! Promise!)

Stert: How well did you know the show before you started work on the comics?

Ted: So, total honesty: I loved AT and stuck with it until about season 5. Which, not coincidentally, is when Steven Universe started. I didn't ever stop loving AT, I just fell off the wagon for a while.

Stert: Tale as old as time 🤣

Ted: So once I got the news about BotE, I binged everything from the start. I didn't actually get to see the finale until after I'd started writing S11. CN was being very careful about leaks, so they wouldn't actually let their comics people watch upcoming episodes. But Whitney, my editor, had seen it, so she described it to me over the phone. Very weird experience.

Mordo: What is your view on Come Along With Me?

Ted: I feel like it was as good as it could be, under the circumstances. After hearing about their plans and how they thought they'd have another season, it made more sense. Like, if they'd had a bunch more episodes, they could've set up Gumbald and used the Candy Kingdom Haters some more (remember them???) The finale had a tough job to do: they wanted to give a satisfactory ending to as many of the threads in the series as they could, and yeah, some people didn't get as much as others. Again, I really wish they'd had another season.

Owlz: What do you think of characters like Martin or Ice King?

Ted: I would've LOVED to bring Martin in somehow. He never really got his comeuppance. I don't think I could've put him in S11, but if there had been a S12 or a miniseries or something, that would've been ideal. He's such a ****ty dad, haha. I hate him as a person but love him as a character. I probably would've brought him back by saying, like, "Oh yeah, I hung out with that transcendent being from beyond space, but she got sick of me after a week and dropped me off on an asteroid."

Stert: Were there any characters you were very intimidated to write for, like you thought you would screw them up?

Ted: Oh that's a great question. Honestly, I was a little worried about writing Marceline, because I feel like she's very specifically tied to the experience of being a teenage girl. Which I've never been. Like, the best stuff with Marceline is by Olivia Olson, or Meredith Gran, or Kate Leth, who have written about (and actually been) a teenage girl dealing with Feelings. So getting her right was a challenge.

Owlz: Who’s your favorite AT character?

Ted: Oh man, favorite? That's an impossible question, haha. I have a lot of fondness for Susan Strong. I like her as a kind-of counterpart to Finn, as well as a more driven and adventurous type. She also got to have a really neat arc that ended well, but also left open the door for future adventures. Her design is also great, and her backstory is really cool.

Stert: The stuff you did with her, Billy, and Fern to show off different avenues of heroism and stuff with Finn was very cool.

Ted: Yeah, that was super fun. I think I mentioned this in the annotations: originally it was just going to be Finn meeting a bunch of his alternate versions, like Farmworld Finn. But then I realized, wait, there are characters who are way more interesting than that. (Not to hate on Farmworld Finn! But he's no Susan Strong)

Owlz: What are your thoughts on Betty Grof? The show didn’t reveal much about her.

Ted: Oof. She deserved better. I wanted her to be developed more, frankly. But I sympathize with the creators. I don't think they had the time they needed to flesh her out. I wanted, like, an entire spin-off series about her learning the secrets of magic.

Stert: So to ask another possible impossible question, what's your favorite episode (or multiples)?

Ted: I really do like "Mama Said". It's maybe my favorite one-off episode, just for how surreal it is. Plot-relevant episodes ... I liked the one about Finn building a tower to tear off his dad's arm, haha. I have a real fondness for the wacky one-off episodes, like anything about Jake's kids. The Card Wars tournament episode, or the one about Bronwyn.

Owlz: What if AT got rebooted and you got to be a writer?

Ted: On the one hand, I would've liked creating a more coherent mythology, like exactly how this or that happened. On the other hand, the weird inconsistencies are what make this show so fun.

[While talking about some of the Easter eggs included in Ted’s comics, somebody posted this panel from BotE]

Ted: Part of that panel is actually a quote from Guillermo del Toro. The line about "animated by incredible humanism" is from the introduction he wrote to the Art of Ooo book. I love dropping in weird easter eggs. So when I started writing BotE, I caught up on the entire show, but I also tried to catch up on all the supplementary materials, too. That's why I slipped in that thing about Hunson's nickname of "Johnny Corndog," for example.

Owlz: You should also check out the AT official cookbook. It’s adorable.

Ted: I have! In fact, there's an easter egg from that in there! In issue 6, Minerva mentions something about making Finn her special macaroni and cheese, I think? That's her recipe in the book.

CharlesOberonn: I have a question regarding pacing in comic books. Specifically, how stretched out and slow pacing is in comic books today compared to comic books in the past. A story that would take 1 issue in the 1960s-80s could take 3 or 4 or even 5-8 issues today. What do you say about that?

Ted: Ah, pacing in comics. An old nemesis, haha. I like both the issue format and the book format for comics. You can do very different things with them, just like the difference between movies and TV. If you are writing something with issues, then I feel like every issue needs to give you a complete story, or at least a complete slice of a story. I definitely feel like attitudes have changed regarding how much story you fit into an issue of comics, but that can be both good and bad. A little while ago I reread the original Iron Man story where he confronts his alcoholism, and he goes through withdrawal in literally one page.

Stert: I know this kinda stuff is usually not answered straight up, but how much do you make writing for comics?

Ted: I'm not yet at the point where it's my main job. Right now I'm getting my teaching license so I can be a school librarian. And with licensed comics, I don't get any royalties, just a flat fee for writing the script. But it's a good gig regardless. I get to sit around and tell other people how to draw cartoons. I would absolutely love to write full time, and I'm in the process of getting together more projects to make that happen? But not quite yet. Which reminds me: I am currently trying to put together a pitch with Mar Julia, artist for both BotE and S11! But very different from AT.

Owlz: How long have you worked on comics?

Ted: I've been working on comics for ... something like 6 years? I think? My first professional comic was MLP, actually, which is not at all normal, haha. I was a big fan of the show, and I knew I wanted to write comics. I'm also friends with Zander Cannon, who's been a professional creator for decades and is a super cool guy. He knew someone who worked at IDW, who put me in touch with the MLP editor. I sent them some samples, I sent them some pitches, and bada bing bada boom, they let me write a story about Pinkie Pie. It's all about networking, baby.

Mordo: What’s your favorite TV series of all time?

Ted: Oh jeeze, that's a question. There are TV series that I love in different ways and for different reasons. AT is definitely one of my favorites, but I also love The X-Files, but for completely different reasons. Star Trek the Next Generation is also pretty high up there. Futurama is another one that I'm a big fan of. I should've included a reference to John DiMaggio from that, come to think of it. Showed Jake with a cigar and a beer, or something. Now there's a crossover I'd love to see. Oh, Gravity Falls is definitely up there too. Regular Show is another fun one. I pitched a couple RS ideas around the same time as BotE, but they were already transitioning to the Twenty-Five Years Later series.

Mordo: Not sure if this was answered earlier, but why was AT season 11 the one that had to kick the bucket when it was doing better than the other comics?

Ted: I really have no idea. It was a money thing, to the best of my knowledge—they expected the comics to sell X copies, and they didn't quite make it, so that was that. In the email they sent me, they emphasized that it was not a question of the quality of my writing, or how they were being received. I don't really know any more than that, unfortunately. Yeah, I have no idea how they calculate anticipated sales or anything. But I guess S11 just didn't hit the expected targets.

Mordo/StephanFS: What else do you write Ted? If you were to work on something original, what would it be?

Ted: I still do write for MLP, actually. I've got a three-issue miniseries starting next month. Plus I've got a couple creator-owned series: Moth & Whisper and Orphan Age. The trade collection of M&W comes out next week, and the first issue of Orphan Age came out this week. I have a lot more original stuff in the works, too. Not a lot of it is like AT, to be honest. I don't tend to write stories that are so .... weird? Nothing against weird! Obviously! But it's just not the kind of stories I tend to come up with. M&W is a cyberpunk heist thriller thing, and Orphan Age is a post-apocalyptic western.

That’s all for now. If you like Ted Anderson’s work, be sure to check out Moth & Whisper and Orphan Age. Catch them on ComiXology or wherever you get your comics.

Farewell for now!

[allyvampirelass29]

Chapter 5: A Good Night to Die

A HEROES Fanfiction   Angel Before the Fall Series By: Allyssa J. Watkins

“I am going to kill Sylar tonight."

Noah turned the iron spike over and over in his fingers, practically trembling with anticipation. It was red with rust and dried blood. The first time he'd held this spike, he was pulling it out of Sylar's skull. Tonight it was going back in for good. I am going to kill Sylar tonight. How many times had he said those words aloud, wielded them like his choice weapon, threatened it, savored it, promised it, to Claire as she sobbed against his shoulder, to The Company as he stood over the blood-stained carpet of yet another Special with the top of their head sawn off? Hundreds. And every promise, every vow had been a lie. Sylar was an infection, a cancer that he could never quite get all of, that kept coming back even stronger than before. Finally, after four grisly years, Sylar Gray had made a mistake. He'd fallen in love, and given Noah a heart to break, a weak spot to press and ultimately shatter. The plan was foolproof, flawless, and would end in Sylar's Death. It was an impending event, the only outcome, an actual definite. I am going to kill Sylar tonight.

He squeezed his fingers into a fist around the spike, his eyes sharp and focused as he imagined it dripping with Sylar's blood. That snarky psychopath had raised his lethal finger for the last time. I've got you, Gabriel. No more running, no more smart remarks or murderous parlor tricks. The chase is over.

"Hey Bennet, we got Ally to the cell, and gave your orders to the five guards in position. Man, your Primatech Paper Phonies, they make my brother's guys look like punk kids playing paintball!"

"Is she still unconscious? I need her completely blacked out, Sylar's already enough of a variable without adding Mrs. Smith too. In fact, I want all the intercom speakers to the detention wing silenced, alarms, emergency warnings, kill it all. When he comes, I do NOT want her to know. And Peter...... they aren't your brother's guys........ make no mistake, they're DANKO'S guys. Your brother is just the friendly face that legitimizes an ultra illegal operation. Don't forget that. I'm watching out for him. If we need anyone right now, it's Nathan Petrelli. He'll come around, you'll see. Killing Sylar is exactly the win we need to get him to stop this ridiculous witch hunt.

Peter got really quiet, biting the corner of his lip before looking at Noah with solemn eyes. "Thank you. Thank you, Noah. God....... I needed to hear that. It all comes down to tonight. I just want my brother back. Ally's down for the count, I'll tell the security guys about the intercom........"

"I have a question. What happens if someone comes here, actually wanting to buy some paper?"

Noah cracked a smile, as he pocketed the spike. "Good question, Parkman. You know, it's funny, in all my twenty plus years in the business, that has never once happened."

Noah stared at his flip phone on his desk, and Peter followed his gaze.

"Has he called yet?"

"Sylar? No, not yet, but it's coming. I can feel his hatred and rage from here. Rene hasn't checked in though, that's what's worrying me. I told him eight o'clock on the dot, or I'm deporting him."

"Relax. I just got off the phone with Claire, she's fine, she's having some kind of sleepover girls night with her dorm mates."

Noah whirled around, his features hard. "I didn't say anything about Claire, what do you mean you just got off the phone with CLAIRE!?"

"Whoah, Angry Dad, she called ME!! Your daughter's worried about you, Noah. C'mon don't give me that look, I played it cool, I didn't tell her anything about tonight. I'm her uncle too, remember? I told her Sylar was a near miss, and that The Haitian's there strictly as a precaution. Smart move by the way, Sylar's not getting anywhere near her with him hanging around.

"Perfect. Now you know my daughter's exact location, just what I wanted, and HELLO, "Cool Uncle Peter," how do you know that, "girls night sleepover," isn't the secret code for "college rager party with tons of strange boys," any one of them being SYLAR!? She's MY daughter, Peter, she may not have my actual DNA, but she inherited my lying ability pretty quick."

"I just want to say," Parkman started, looking at Noah earnestly, "I myself, didn't hear anything about where Claire may or may not be. And if she is where I don't know, Sylar's not getting it from me."

"Na, she's not trying to pull one over on you, Noah, I heard Notebook playing in the background, and at least one girl crying over some guy named Chad. I think we're good."

Parkman made a face, "Wait.......You've SEEN Notebook?"

"What? No......" Peter stammered, his cheeks turning red.

"How did you recognize it if you haven't seen it?" Parkman asked trying not to laugh.

"I..... I just guessed- I mean, I'm sure she told me the name of the- one of the other girls probably-

Both Parkman and Noah leaned in expectantly, with knowing smiles.

"Alright fine!!! I watched it with my mom one night when I got off late, she'd been fighting with my dad, and GEEZ it was just the one time, okay!"

"Did you fantasize about being Ryan Gosling?"

"No! Well, maybe a little....... Rachel McAdams is hot, alright?"

"Let's hope for the love of GOD you lie better to my daughter, than you do to us."

Suddenly the flip phone on Noah's desk rang, and a cold, deathly silence filled the room.

"That's him. Everybody out. It's showtime."

**********

Noah inhaled deeply, as he took the phone in his hands. The ring sounded angry, accusing. He flipped it open, his hand steady, and slowly brought it to his ear.

"Hello?"

Nothing at first. Silence. But it was the Sylar kind of silence, the calm before the storm, the kind of silence that was an obvious threat. He heard it then, the heavy, erratic breathing, and could almost picture Sylar, shoulders rising and falling as he struggled to keep his composure.

"Hey Syyy! I had a feeling you might check in. How's it goin' buddy? Thanks for the scar."

"......... Where......... is............ she?" Sylar's voice was seething, animalistic, and not at all human. It sounded the way you'd talk to someone right before you murdered them.

"I've got her, Gabriel. You want her back? You better be willing to make a deal."

Noah could practically hear Sylar's nostrils flaring on the other line, his fuming inhale as he tried to steady his breathing. More silence.

"Sylar?"

"DAMN you to HELL, Noah! You son of a BITCH, you have NO idea what you've just done!!!!"

"You kiss your girlfriend with that mouth? You'll be kissing her goodbye, if you don't start talking."

More silence

"Let me guess, Noah," Sylar responded venomously, saying Noah's name like it was an insult all its own. "This is the part where I break down sobbing, the distraught boyfriend, begging you not to hurt her, and offer myself in exchange, right? WRONG. I don't plan on dealing. This is a courtesy call. THIS is the LAST chance you'll EVER have to hand her over, before I raise hell all around you and take her anyway. You don't do every single damn thing I tell you, then you're in for the WORST night of your life, and oh GOD you're going to wish I'd just killed you." Sylar chuckled coldly, his voice dripping with dark sarcasm.

"You're not really in the position to be making any demands, right now, Sy." Noah smiled, his eyes razor sharp, practically feeling Sylar's back arch, disgusted. "I know you. You're playing it cool, chillin' like a villain, but you're going CRAZY without her, it's tearing you up inside, I can feel it, I can hear it, in the edge in your voice. You're off your handle, and you don't know what the HELL you're going to do........."

Sylar's nostrils flared with his fury, and he scrunched the burner phone in his hand as he lowered it against his cheek, tempted to crush it with his fist, his eyes flashing like wildfire embers.

He looked at the violent destruction all around him, half of it he didn't even remember doing, he'd been so blind with rage. It was one of his old haunts, a long ago abandoned hotel in Queens called, "The Rogue." The kind of place he would have never taken his lady. Dark blood spatter on the floor from previous kills, slashed paintings, broken ceramic pieces from lamps, ashtrays, soap dishes, anything he could throw, torn down wallpaper, green marble actually dug out from the floor, crumbling holes in the wall, shredded curtains and sheets, and an entire mattress torn clean in half, feathers still floating in the dusty air, after he'd ripped his way through the down pillows. Every single thing in the room had been ravenously demolished. His whole body shook with his deep hatred of Noah and how dead on he was. Damn right, he'd gone mental.

"Face it, Sylar. You're out of moves. Your shield is literally down. Checkmate, because I've got your Queen. Step away from the board and turn yourself in. You do that, and I might even let you say goodbye."

"What do you mean LITERALLY down!?" Sylar said far louder and much more concerned than he'd meant to. Damn it. He turned his head at an exact angle, feeling his chest expand. "No....... no, nice try, you wouldn't kill her before you got to me. Ha. Yeah right, Good Guy Noah Bennet. She's alive. I would know if you were lying. Besides, she probably reminds you too much of your precious Claire."

"Gabriel, you know better than anyone that Good Guys are capable of some very BAD things. She's not dead...... not yet. But if you don't give yourself up...... She will be. Especially if you even say Claire's name one more time."

Sylar waited for it, the reassuring tingle, his body signaling Noah's lie, his vision shaking. Noah was a good liar, but he wasn't a killer. He waited..... But it never came.

"I should have KILLED you in the alley, Noah. I had you. I had your throbbing jugular between my fingers, and I should have squeezed hard, until it burst open."

"You didn't have me, Gabriel. I had you. I had everything right where I wanted it. If you'd taken one step where you weren't supposed to be, I'd have shot her in the chest, her blood cloaking possibilities be damned."

"Please. No you wouldn't have. Even if you did, I can heal, or did you forget? You know who you can thank for that. One injection of my blood, and she'd be alive, and you'd be just another NYC homicide. You EVER shoot her, or so much as touch one curl, and I'll cut out your beating heart."

Noah grinned jovially. Oh he didn't know, didn't even realize it yet. He wished he could see his face as he told him. "Wrong. Your blood can't save her, you fool. One shot, she's dead. Her blood can't be altered by anyone but herself, or did YOU forget? You can give her every drop you've got, but she's not coming back. It doesn't matter if I killed her then, or if I kill her now, or if YOU kill her later. That's right, one day you're going to get in one of your moods, you're going to get angry, you're going to work out your aggression without thinking, and she's going to be standing too close....... Don't you get it!? You're going to kill her the same way you did your own sweet mother, the same way you killed VIRGINIA!!!!"

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY MY MOTHER'S NAME!!!!!!! Sylar screamed into the phone, his eyebrows slanted dangerously downward, his bottom lip shuddering, incensed. He punched another hole into the wall, with a yell, felt it crumble with the force of his fist, and watched his bruised and bleeding knuckles melt softly back into perfect skin. He was nauseous, his head swimming. He couldn't save Ally. If they took her life, he couldn't bring her back........

"You can save her, Sylar. Turn yourself in, and she goes free, untouched, safe, and you'll never have to worry about living through that trauma again. Her life for yours, it's that easy.

Noah could feel the uncertainty, the fear in Sylar's silence.

"You were right about one thing...... No matter how this goes down, I'll NEVER let you have her. You really think you deserve LOVE after all that you've done!? Villains never get the girl, Gabriel, there is NO happily ever after for you. After you DESTROYED my marriage there's no way in hell I'm just going to let you ride off into your twisted version of a sunset, with that girl, letting you use and abuse her to your black heart's content. I'd rather see her dead, than on your arm."

"You'll never take her from me again, Noah. I'm going to get her back, and when I do...... I'm going to punish you, ohhhh yes, I can make you feel pain that you'd never believe exists. You take away my dream, and I'll introduce you to your nightmare." Sylar felt his blood quicken, the killer within stirring, a slow smirk salaciously working its way across his lips. "The game's not over, it starts with me throwing away the board."

"Listen to you. You love it, don't you?" Noah said, a bit incredulous. "Sylar Gray, The Big Bad Boyfriend."

Sylar smiled, one eyebrow raised, his dark eyes positively sinful." It certainly makes the downtime more fun. So much more....... interactive."

"So you're sleeping with her?"

Sylar chuckled, brushing his thumb along his strong jawline, feeling his heart race at the thought. "Come, Noah, must you be so crass? It's called love-making and no. She's not that kind of girl."

"But you ARE that kind of boy. Don't think I didn't see you with Elle before that second eclipse. If you hadn't already killed her father, he would have killed you."

"Oh you know me, Noah, always plan ahead. Yes, I am, and I'm ready, but she's delicate, and worth waiting for...... besides you know how I love to have my imagination teased. The anticipation........ can be exquisite."

Noah felt his stomach writhe, thoroughly creeped out, and his voice was wildly unenthused. "Well..... lucky her. I suppose third time's a charm."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know EXACTLY what I mean. You're a literal lady killer, first Maya, then Elle, and now your new victim, Lovely Miss Ally."

Sylar rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Maya was a means to an end, and last time I checked still very much alive, I might add. The whole seduction was a ruse, and I didn't even have my powers then."

"Which didn't stop you from putting a bullet in her chest if I remember correctly."

"Insurance. If I hadn't, there would have been no way to know if Mohinder was giving me the right vial. I needed my powers back. And Elle....... Elle was your fault."

"Alright. I'll give you that one."

"Although........ I should thank you, really. If you and Elle hadn't pulled your messed up little stunt, I never would have become Sylar. You created me, Noah, and stopped poor Gabriel from killing himself."

"Like Frankenstein's Monster. There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret that. I should have let you hang yourself."

"Oh Elle....... If she hadn't used me, manipulated me, and outright lied to me about my parents, we might have worked. I think of her every time I'm electrocuting the life out of some poor soul......." He flipped his wrist, smiling fondly, and Noah could hear the crackle of blue lightning. "Oh yes, Elle's parting gift. It's funny...... at first, my little brunette seemed too good to be true as well. I threw her against the wall because I thought she was working for you. Fool me twice......"

"If I could have possibly known the hold she'd have on you, the unsettling fascination you'd have for her, she would be. Honestly, I imagined your taste in women much more malevolent. Nobody thinks the serial killer's going to fall for the girl scout. It sounds like a bad slasher flick. But then again..... what is it you call yourself? Sylar, The Great Defiler?"

"A lot of people call me that."

"No, it's just you. You make them good girls go bad, huh? Or is it opposites attract and all that?"

"Who says it can't be both? I just find it so sexy that the same girl and boy that always stayed in, unnoticed, unimportant, and spent every single night of their lives alone, are now the two most powerful beings in this world. Just warms ya up, doesn't it? I own the night now, Noah. And I own Ally.

"Not right now, you don't. You may have her fooled, with your tortured soul, misunderstood, all-I-need-is-love act, but as usual I see right through you. She's nothing but your next casualty. She belongs to The Company now, where her powers can be used for good, and not shielding worthless scum like you.

"Before you get too excited, Noah, about using her and get these grand delusions of invincible armies, allow me to enlighten you. "It won't work if you try to force her. She has to do it willingly. She has to want to do it. And she only has enough power to surround one person at a time."

"How the hell did you get her to do it for you that first time, then?"

"Hmmm.....It's killing you isn't it? I can't decide if it was my sexy eyebrows or my annihilating smile that convinced her. Huh. Probably both. You see, she has a thing for bad boys. And as it so happens, I have a thing for good girls. Especially when they have that little something extra y'know?

"Or much more likely, she showed you out of pure desperation so that you wouldn't kill her that first encounter. That's one to tell the grandkids."

"Yeah," Sylar smiled softly, remembering. She'd been so brave and instantly drawn to him, so willing and gentle. "That too...... God she's so clever. The moment she touched my chest, and I felt that inexplicable power pulsing through my veins, what can I say? She had me.

"And her little spell lasts about two hours doesn't it?"

Noah heard Sylar go dangerously silent on the other line. His breathing getting quiet, deadly.

"Yeah, that's right, I know about that too. Two hours, and it's been, what do you think, at least nine since your last power up?"

"Isn't that fortunate?" Sylar practically hissed, his snarky tone turning again cold and vicious. "You might actually have a fighting chance..... for once, Noah. Or at least a few hours longer than you deserve to live....... Well, it's been swell chatting, Bennet, but I'm bored. This is your last chance. Are you going to give me what's mine, or do we get to do this the fun way?

"You don't even know where I am, Gabriel. You'll never find her."

"I don't? You sure about that, Noah?"

A loud bang came from inside the closet and Sylar twitched like a predator that hadn't yet been fed.

"I know when you're bluffing, and I know when you don't know what the hell you're doing."

"Fun way it is. It's a good night to die, Noah. See ya in a few."

Sylar hung up, and Noah slowly lowered his phone. "Yes, Gabriel, it is."

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 26: On The Job

Chapters: 26/? Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: None Relationships: Loki x Reader (Let’s try this again) Characters: Loki (Marvel), Reader Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending (Canon-Divergent), Here Have My Favorite Corn Recipe, Seriously It’s Really Good, Oh Yeah A Major Crime Was Committed, Remember That? Summary: No really, it’s a very good recipe, you should all try it out.

“So, what you're telling me,” You said between bites of dried stockfish. “Is that this goddess, your sister, was around for like, three thousand years, and was apparently a favorite of the entire army. You have those little bits of fresco painting to show me. But in the span of like, a few decades, everyone had forgotten her?”

“Or, at least, refused to speak of her, yes.” Loki said, passing a plate of buttered, dark bread your way.

It was just the two of you this time, in a little room beside the kitchens. You could hear the cooks working on the other side of the wall.

“I'm a bit leery to show you the frescoes just yet.' Loki said. “They're extremely unpleasant, and frankly, embarrassing. I brought several bits of the paintings that came afterwards, and those are much nicer. For one thing, I'm in them.”

You smiled indulgently. “That's the important part, right? Just how much stuff did you grab on your way out?”

“Oh, quite a bit.” Loki waved his fork on the air. “Practically everything I passed by, actually. I have quite a bit of room, though I admit, I stretched things a bit. Transporting living things that way is rather difficult.”

“Living things?”

“Leynarodd. The pegasus, a few others. Certain objects I thought would come in handy later, such as Gungnir. A few books, a few artworks. All artifacts now.”

You scooped lingonberry preserves onto a little cup of skyr. “But the point I was making was, there are plenty of your people that are old enough to remember her. So how come nobody ever said anything? Why were there no precautions taken to prevent her return?”

“From what we've been able to put together, Hela did have many supporters, despite her murderous tendencies. She embodied the endpoint of all that Asgard valued, the culmination of the 'noble warrior culture'. When our father decided to change his tactics to more peaceful means, there was, initially, a split in support. The commoners supported Odin; it seems they were a bit weary of being sent off to die in endless wars, no matter how much honor it brought their families. The nobles supported Hela, as they were loathe to let go of even an ounce of their power, no matter the consequences.

Then, apparently, Hela did some things that lost her all support. Brunnhilde says she attempted a coup, and murdered everyone in the palace as she went-hundreds of people, including many of her noble supporters. Heimdall remembers, and has hinted that she did something even worse, but he will not talk about it, no matter what we do.

And that's how most of the older Asgardians are. Those who are old enough to remember will not speak of it. Those who were there went about erasing her name and hiding her from sight, as if it would somehow make her wither away into nothing. We can't force them to talk, not yet. The people are traumatized after all this. Some of them saw their lives destroyed twice by her. We will simply have to wait until someone is ready.”

Loki grabbed a small bunch of grapes, and split them between you.

“As for precautions, well, I don't know exactly why Father failed so badly there. But he always did seem to have a blind spot when it came to his children.” Loki snorted quietly. “Specifically, the left side. The more I think about it the more it makes sense that he reacted so severely to Thor and myself when we displayed a lack of concern for the lives of others. He must have seen her, growing within us. He must have been terrified that we would take the same path, that all of his children would share the same fate...”

He slammed his fist on the table, suddenly angry. You jumped.

“All he had to do was say one thing about it, and all of this could have been avoided! He didn't even have to tell me, if it came down to it. He could have told Thor, and Thor would have told me! That's probably why he didn't. After Hela, he probably couldn't bring himself to trust even in his own children. But all of this, literally everything happened because he just wouldn't tell us what he needed to!”

His moods were still mercurial as ever. You might not ever get used to it, but you'd better try. You reached out and took the hand he had slammed down. He blinked in surprise, all anger draining from his face. He uncurled his fingers just enough for you to dip yours into his palm.

“Forgive me.” He said quietly. “That was unbecoming.”

“This is a part of my job too, isn't it?” You asked. “To help out with this kind of thing?”

“Technically, yes. Council is a part of the job description. I hesitate to foist that burden entirely off onto you however. I am...difficult at times, and you are not without your own traumas.”

“That's true, but you've dealt with them pretty well so far.” You pointed out.

“I have, considering how many of them involve hitting me in the face.” He chuckled at your mumbled apology. “I am not worried about it. And you have nothing to fear either. My fury could burn the very stars, and I would still never raise a hand to you.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured you weren't the type. You seem above that kind of thing.”

“Do I?” He asked, sounding pleased. “Though if a woman were to come at me with a sword, I would not just stand there and get stabbed. We've no shortage of ladies with swords in Asgard, and then there is Freya, of course...”

“Yeah? The book said she was a fertility goddess?”

“Hmph. That book was kinder to her than it was to me, but it was still incorrect. Oh, she and her brother are connected to fertility, of course. Freyr is the fertility of the tilled earth, that is well kept and fruitful. Freya is the fertility of the battlefield. Blood makes the grass grow, and she reaps a crop of the dead.”

“Uh...poetic?”

“I'm saying she is a battle goddess as well. Associations with war and combat are also overwhelmingly common among Aesir. The twins make a particularly effective pair; while Freyr is no pacifist, he also dislikes violence for its own sake. However, so great is his connection to life, that the life-bringers, that is to say, women, can never come to harm in his presence. That works out very well for Freya, who relishes battle as much as any Asgardian, and can lead her armies to battle without the slightest fear when her brother is around. She doesn't show much fear when he isn't around either.”

“But isn't that how Hela was?” You asked.

“Oh no, not at all. Freya loves battle, not slaughter. She does not bring combat to those who are not involved with it, she accepts surrender, she knows mercy. Hela would kill anybody, and once she started, she wouldn't stop until the last drop pf blood was spilled. She didn't spare anyone. She intended to murder every soul in Asgard, and was on her way to doing so when I brought the ship to liberate them.”

“You did that too?” You asked. Why wasn't he still king? “You know, for a guy who attacked my planet, you sure are some hero.”

Loki preened. “I take my responsibilities to Asgard very seriously. Not always in a straightforward or officially sanctioned way, granted, but sometimes a more obfuscated method is necessary. Sometimes, you have to trick people into doing things that are good for them. And sometimes, that makes you seem like a villain. And sometimes, you think you know how to do something that would be good for everyone, but it turns out you were a bit...overzealous in your efforts, and perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all. And that can make you a villain as well.

Well, what I'm trying to say is that, both my brother and I have done decidedly villainous things, for reasons we felt were right. So it stands to reason, that we might both be capable of heroic things as well. And while I have not yet shown your planet anything but that villainous face, it is very likely that I eventually will.”

“Oh. Does that mean you've changed your mind about us? Most people think you kinda hate us.”

“I do not hate you.” He shrugged. “Nor your people. I don't think much of humanity, that's true. It's rather hard to, considering your relative briefness. Your constant moving and changing also makes it difficult to keep up, so why bother? Individuals, perhaps, but humanity as a whole? I'm not really interested. However...” He said, acknowledging your scowl with a tilt of the head. “Asgard is now Midgard. And so, to protect Asgard, I must also stand for Midgard. I will protect your mad planet, and you along with it.”

Heat washed across your cheeks. “That's, uh, quite a declaration.”

The two of you continued eating in silence, both ruminating over what Loki had just said. It ran over and over in your head, keeping your face hot. He would protect you, eh? Your whole world. Sure, he'd said it was for Asgard, but he'd made it sound so personal.

And the more magic you learned, the more you could help. If aliens invaded, you could teleport them into space! If robots attacked, you could...teleport them into space! Hey, it was fine to be a one-trick pony, if that one trick always worked.

“So, uh, what do we do next?” You asked. There were comfortable silences, and there were uncomfortable silences. This was beginning to feel like the latter, and you didn't want him to regret what he had said.

“The most important and prolific duty of royalty.” He stated gravely. “Paperwork.”

“Paperwork?”

“Paperwork.” He repeated. “Endless paperwork. That's what royalty is. Beneath all palaces, luxuries, and power, is a foundation of paperwork. I hope your eyes do not tire easily, because I want you to aid me with it. It will help you to understand the people a bit more.”

It made some kind of sense. Knowing what the people needed, or what they considered important enough to contact their most important people about, could tell you a lot about their values.

A small commotion could be heard rising from the kitchen next door; a great deal of laughter, complaints, and exclamations.

“What's that all about?” You wondered.

“Shall we investigate?”

                                                                      *****

The entire kitchen staff was gathered around a crate, chattering. A tired porter leaned against a chopping table, demolishing some kind of drink.

“The suppliers must have found something unusual this time.” Loki said. “They are mostly wondering what it is, and how they can prepare it.”

“Lemmie see.” You said. “If it's an Earth food, I might know what it is.”

Loki raised his voice over the din, requesting one of the strange foods be handed over for inspection. A green oblong, tightly wrapped in leaves, was presented to you.

You took a single look and burst out laughing in delight. “That's just corn!” You exclaimed.

“You're certain?” He asked. “I've had corn before, you know. It's tiny and yellow.”

“I'm not playing a prank or anything, look.” You stripped back the husks, causing several of the kitchen staff to move back in surprise at the sudden, rubbery sound. You proudly showed everyone the milky white and yellow kernels underneath.

“This grows all around where I live. Miles and miles of it. This is some particularly good stuff. Cook it right, and you will have something fantastic!”

The cook asked something. Loki answered with what you had just said, and the cook asked something else.

“She wants to know how you suggest it be prepared.” Loki said, not bothering to mask his own curiosity.

“Oh boy. Okay, so you take off these outer husks, okay? Put them in the compost, feed them to the animals, whatever. These inner husks you just pull down, but don't tear off. Now you get the silk off, these little strings, you see? That part can get messy. You can compost those too.”

The entire group watched you closely, as Loki translated your instructions, but you were so used to doing this that you could get the silk off in just a few passes.

“Now that you've got the corn clean, and there's no worms or fungus, you can just rub a little butter all over the kernels. Then you pull these husks back up around the corn to hold the moisture in. Cook this just like it is on really high heat, for about half an hour. Once that's done, pull the rest of the husks off, rub on more butter, sprinkle over a bit of salt and pepper, and it's done! It's really, really good that way, and you can cut off the kernels after that, or just eat it right off the cob, if your teeth are good.”

Some of the staff began stripping husks, while the cook thanked you for the information.

“Now, this is sweet corn, and it's only available for a month or so, probably less here in Iceland. Otherwise, you can sometimes find frozen cobs, and canned or frozen kernels. There's also harder, dryer corn, some for popping, and some for grinding into cornmeal. You can make different things from that.”

“I'm looking forward to dinner now.” Loki said, as you headed back to his rooms. “If your taste in corn is anything like your taste in baking, I've much to anticipate.”

“You're very sweet. I got good at that because it was a precious resource during the, uh...Well, the dent corn would keep, but the sweet corn wouldn't. So we ate it in big batches, and we all got pretty good at cooking it. The butter was pretty rare though. Only a few local cows made it through.”

“I see...Does it bother you to eat it?” Loki asked.

“Oh no, not at all. It was one of the only good times in that whole year. Properly cooked corn is amazing, and it was one of the few times I wasn't hungry.”

Loki patted your shoulder gently. “You won't have to worry about that again.”

You felt full.

                                                                         ******

“So why is it that the request for more concrete gets priority over the request for more tile grout?” You asked.

“Tiling is for decoration or waterproofing, and usually only in certain rooms of a building. Concrete has wider applications, and on the tighter budget and time frame we're currently working in, we need to get as much done as possible. So the tile grout will have to wait until winter.”

“What do we do in winter, anyway? I assume the snow is too high for construction.”

“The snow does get very high. Most of the construction workers either work on the interiors of buildings, or they practice their other skills. Winter will be the time when the painters go back to work, the jewelers and smiths go back to full time, the textilers can get a great deal done. Once the construction is done, all those people will go back to their regular jobs. That will be several years though. You and I will be able to pass the hours with study, and of course, ever more paper work.”

He stacked the materials requests neatly in their 'approved' or 'rejected' piles, all of the edges perfectly even.

“Now we have...Ugh, another one of these.” He snorted, annoyed.

“What? What's the deal?”

“The Vinnalings request that I meet with their daughter. I wonder if they mean the widow, or the one who is still practically a child?” Loki said sourly, laying the paper down on the rejected pile. “I'm sure they are both perfectly nice, but I'm not interested in playing favorites among the noble families right now. I'm certainly not interested in being wed to some noble I don't even really know.”

“Is that what it's about?”

“Yes.” His sigh was closer to a groan. “It is irritating. I long ago tired of parents who use their children for political maneuvering. I suppose I won't be able to avoid it forever, but I'm avoiding it for now. And even when I feel ready, I certainly won't be marrying someone who is still in mourning for her husband, nor someone who is still a literal child! Maybe I can't expect love, but I can at least demand someone I can get along with.”

“That's...really sad.” You said, slightly distressed. He sounded so resigned to it. Fear of a loveless, arranged marriage must have been hanging over his head for centuries.

“That's royalty. Part of it. We all dream of a love match, but we know that's tremendously rare. Knowing that it's one more thing my father got to have, that I will not is just so...Well, I've accepted it, I just expected that it would happen to Thor first. I don't know how many of these he gets, but I know they come across my desk far too often.”

“Then ignore them. You're building a kingdom right now, and I think it would be obvious you don't have time for this.” You suggested.

“Oh? Is that official advice?” Loki teased.

“Yup. Look, not to pass judgment on a culture I know very little about, but you guys are way too advanced for something as barbaric as forced marriages. Most of this 'primitive' planet did away with that many years ago.”

Loki quirked a dark, perfect eyebrow. “That is very judgmental. However, I agree with you. And so does Thor, and so did my father. He began phasing such things out a short time before he married my mother, which was probably the driving force behind it. I continued his work during the time I was king, and Thor has expressed his intention to do the same. Thor...also has his reasons. Well, the tradition has only really continued among the noble families.”

“I've never known anyone who was in a miserable relationship, who could also work as effectively as they could when they were in a happy one, or even alone. You have to be as effective as you possibly can be, right? And, you know, if you keep putting it off in favor of building up the city, maybe you and the king can get more laws prohibiting it in place, and neither of you will have to worry about it.”

Loki chuckled. “It's very cute when you try to be conniving. You're so blunt about it. Like an eager child.”

“Hey!” You exclaimed. “I'm trying here!”

“I know you are, and your concern for my future happiness is appreciated. It will likely be many more years before this city is anywhere near done, with all the hurdles we must leap. Look at this one; a request for more supplies for the horses. What do you think?”

“Do it.” You said quickly. “Buildings don't need to eat, and they won't die under bad conditions either.”

“Agreed.” Loki said. “Good to know we are in accordance on that as well.”

“What kind of hurdles are you talking about anyway? Enough housing for everybody, right?”

“Yes, and adapting to the extreme weather of Earth, the unfamiliar flora and fauna. The culture shock from outside, the culture war from inside. Convincing humanity that we have a place here, convincing Asgardians that we must find a place here. The inevitable consequences of humans and Asgardians intermingling. The rebuilding of our technology, our prosperity. Learning the technology of Earth. Preserving our culture without rejecting outside influence. Adapting our culture as to not cause undue conflict. Not isolating ourselves entirely. How to relate to the incredible diversity of humankind.”

“Geez.”

“Those are all big picture items, that will likely take several human generations to achieve. But we will achieve them. We must. Your presence here with speed some of this along, I believe. When the people see your accomplishments, see that you are not the primitive savage that some Asgardians fear humans are, then they will learn to accept. Your coming here was most fortuitous.”

You snorted. “What's fortuitous? You spirited me away!”

“Are you still angry?” He asked.

“...No. I'm okay now. I just hope I can live up to all the faith you've put in me.”

Loki shuffled through a few more papers. “That's the thing about advice. If I feel you are very wrong about something, I can just ignore you.”

“Rude.” You mumbled. Loki smirked, but the expression faltered as he looked over the next paper. “What? What is it? Another date request?”

“The trial will be conducted in two weeks.” Loki said. “Both you and I are to be there to give testimony.”

You shivered. “Oh.” You really, really wanted to get all of that behind you, but you also really didn't want to be in that murderer's presence ever again. Loki placed his hand on your arm.

“Do not fear. He is powerless now. This will be the last time anyone ever has to see him. He will go to prison, and he will be forgotten. You will never have to waste a thought on him after this.”

You knew you would though.

[acepalindrome]

I got tagged by @brightandshinynewstories!

Name ten favorite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people. 

These are not in any particular order, because I love all my favs in their own special ways.

1. Caduceus Clay (Critical Role.) My very special cow boy. I love his chill, I love how he takes on the caretaker role for his messy little found family, I love his 9 intelligence and getting distracted by moss in a life and death situation, I love his faith and belief in destiny, but possibly what I love the most is his views on nature that align so much with my own.

2. Oscar François de Jarjayes (Rose of Versailles.) Listen, Oscar spends all her time fucking with gender roles in 18th century France, fighting injustice, getting on board with the revolution and flirting with every woman in a 50 mile radius up to and including Marie Antoinette. She’s a big wlw icon and I long for a reboot where she ends up with Rosalie instead of fucking Andre.

3. Brienne of Tarth (ASOIAF.) Isn’t it a shame GOT ended after season 6, Gwendoline Christie is so gorgeous. Anyway, I was definitely too young to be reading these books in high school but I did anyway and Brienne was both my hero and fictional crush. She’s so strong and brave and more noble than any ‘true knight!’ I love Brienne with my whole damn heart.

[[MORE]]

4. Auron (FFX) God I love this bitter disillusioned undead ronin who’s consumed with guilt and self loathing because God Lied and he was fooled just like everyone else and he wasn’t able to save his lord who he was definitely in love with!! He literally fucking dies in a tragic desperate attempt to avenge Braska and the. decides that no, fuck this, he’s failed everyone else (in his mind) and he’s gonna keep one last promise to his friend and being dead is not gonna stop him!! He hates himself so much but he’s so goddamn loyal even death doesn’t stop him.

5. Sophie Hatter (Howl’s Moving Castle.) Book version, because Miyazaki did my girl wrong. Sophie’s whole story is about her assuming that she’s doomed to failure in everything so she never tries for a better life and just expects that her life is never going to amount to much of anything. And then she gets cursed and it ends up helping her realize how stupid a lot of her fears and insecurities were and she’s finally able to discover that all that shit about failure was just in her head! The only thing holding her back was herself!! Also she has really powerful magic in her own right and later gets to consult with kings and do important work and why did the movie take away all the best things about her!!!

6. Dr. Kenzo Tenma (Monster.) The poster child for ‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.’ Risks his whole successful career as a brain surgeon to save the life of a child and he’s rewarded for his altruism by getting sucked into the middle of a brutal murder mystery that paints him as the prime suspect. The thing that makes Tenma so special is that he starts off believing that all lives are equal, and after going through absolute hell and seeing the worst of humanity...HE STILL BELIEVES IN IT. It would be so easy to have him become disillusioned and abandon his ideals, but no! They’re challenged in the worst possible way, but at the very bitter end, he doesn’t lose his belief in the inherent value of all human life.

7. Granny Weatherwax (Discworld.) I want to be half as fierce and strong as Granny when I’m old. She’s not nice and she’s tremendously stubborn but she’s a DAMN good person who won’t let anyone take away another person’s free will and steps up to do the right thing when no one else will because she’s GOOD. Even when she doesn’t want to be. She’s powerful and proud and knows exactly who she is. She’s amazing.

8. Samwise Gamgee (LOTR.) FRODO WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN FAR WITHOUT HIS SAM. God, Sam is so full of love and strength and courage. He follows Frodo literally to the end of the damn world and when Frodo can go no further, Sam carries him on. I can’t think about Sam too long without crying. He’s so very good.

9. Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender.) So we all agree Zuko got the best redemption story of all time, right? It’s so, so good watching this angry mess of a kid grow and heal from his trauma and learn to open his heart and love and finally have the courage to confront his abusive father and tell him to his face that what he did was wrong! After spending so long trying to prove himself and win his father’s love on an impossible quest! Zuko’s growth is just the best. And he’s such a lovable awkward goof. That’s rough, buddy.

10. Beatrix (FFIX.) Did Beatrix make me gay as a wee innocent baby child? Probably. I fell in love pretty much the minute she shows up, calls you insects and completely destroys your party without breaking a sweat. She starts out as a villain but everything she does is out of misguided loyalty to her queen, and once she finally realizes how wrong she was she busts her ass to try to redeem herself! She loves Alexandria so much and she’s 100% willing to fight to the death when the city is attacked. She’s honorable and loyal to a fault and she’s absolutely the reason I’m weak for lady knights.

Tagging: @maeofthedead, @youngsterhammy, @saint-tibbles, @quarterpasttired, @disasterhumans, @skygemspeaks, @megneato, @kimabutch, @pastellieria, @fwishbone

If I didn’t tag you and you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged!

[dornishsphinx]

T, U, and Y!

T: Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Hmmm hard and fast headcanons that I’d die defending

From SOV, Conrad’s mother was a lady-in-waiting and close friend to Berkut’s mother who came with her to the capital when she married into the royal family. Lima was invited to the capital during the famine because the Rigelians were desperate. He saw her there and demanded she come with him in exchange for aid. (I may also be writing a fic on Conrad’s mother, watch this space ^_^)

Wrt Tellius, the United Bird Tribes eventually fall apart, the specific breaking point coming about due to arguments about over succession. The ravens end up putting forward Naesala and Leanne’s raven son and the hawk population are adamant that he not be considered (some going as far as to say that ravens in general shouldn’t be considered) due to lingering anger, the ravens getting angry in turn and moving to once again declare the independence of Kilvas (and taking a bit more territory with them this time since they’re in a stronger position.)

When it comes to Naesala and Leanne’s kids, the heron girl mostly takes after Naesala in personality, though the raven boy is more similar to Reyson than either of his parents (both also have traits from Leanne, but they’re less noticeable on first impression.) Both can sing galdr due to their mother but, especially for the raven boy, its effects are far weaker. (Maybe let’s say in gameplay terms that raven boy can buff and not actually refresh.) 

Their heron daughter on one occasion also accompanies Naesala on a diplomatic mission to Begnion, where she decides to learn beorc magic—with Sanaki’s blessing and occasional direct tutelage—as a way to bypass herons’ inability to fight the laguz way, even staying there for a while when he leaves for his next destination. This is a major scandal in the laguz world.

U: Three favourite characters from three different fandoms and why they’re your favourites.

Oh man, it took me a while to settle on who to talk about, but:

Jason Todd (DC Comics)

Jason is the reason I got into DC generally, so I was already biased, but Jason is interesting because he’s a counterpoint to the idea that Batman knows Gotham City better than anyone, as someone who actively grew up on its streets rather than in the safety of a mansion, and someone who came to a vastly different conclusion on what had to be done to make it safer without being painted (mostly) as a clear-cut villain. Also, he’s a literary nerd and it’s such a cute little detail which is never really brought up explicitly on page but is a recurring thing in the background. The antique book collection in UTRH, reading Pride and Prejudice while in jail, really liking school as Robin, and in other bits I can’t remember the context of. 

Where he gets fascinating is on a meta level though. We have the juxtaposition between what modern writers want Jason’s Robin to have been (I really love his run as Robin too, he’s such a cutie in comparison to what he becomes later) and how he actually was written, which kinda comes off as the characters themselves trying to convince themselves of something that isn’t true. And I’ve seen complaints about how people treat his death as being so much more important than others’ deaths when he’d hardly the only DC character to die, but it’s precisely because of real-world circumstances that it’s such a big deal–killed off by poll, left untouched for decades, his costume an ever-present ghost in the Batcave and for the Batfamily–it’s one of those things that can only happen in a big shared comicsverse medium.

I’ll never forgive the New 52 for being the reason we never saw, and can never see now, the Batfamily and Red Hood’s relationship develop.

He just became an ally again randomly in a way that screams editorial mandating “make them get along now, we don’t care how.” They just made everyone do a 180 without bothering to explain why or how and I hate it.

(Also, imo, grey morality Red Hood>outright villain Red Hood AND outright hero Red Hood.)

Laurent (Captive Prince)

Man, I know Captive Prince is controversial, but the story is just so good and even though it’s been a while since I read them, Laurent as a character has stuck with me. (I mean, I adore Damen too, but so many of the character concepts

I’ve come up with since reading the books have been Machiavellian princes shutting themselves off from their emotions, I’m pretty sure Laurent is the source.)

He’s had to adapt to survive the personal hell his uncle transformed the Veretian court into when he (and Damen) got the rest of their family killed—and, at the same time, anyone with the power or desire to protect Laurent from him—when he was just a little kid, and has just built up all the walls around himself. Seeing them slowly peel back and reveal the other sides to him he’s been forced to keep hidden for so long is one of the great things about the series. He’s such a well-realised character, and as you read along, you get to the point where you just need to see him succeed in taking Vere back from his uncle.

He always has the best comebacks too. Nearly everything he says when he’s not awkwardly trying to work his way around emotions he can’t properly express, usually when around Damen, is just pitch-perfect sarcasm even in dire circumstances.

Just a great character overall.

Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)

Last time I talked about a favourite Ace Attorney character it ended up being Ema, but I did say she only just beat out Franziska, so it’s her turn now. I’m so sad she’s not reappeared in any of the main games since the original trilogy, though at least we have Investigations. She still has to give Phoenix that card back!

But yes, I just love Franziska. She is very much part of the running theme of legacy families in Ace Attorney with her need to attain perfection and measure up to the Von Karma name, and her relationship with Edgeworth is sweet in a super competitive way. When she comes back later and spends the night trying to solve the puzzle locks to save Maya, you can also see that she has gone through a lot of development over the course of JFA and T&T.

(I maintain that 6-5 would have been vastly improved if she’d taken Edgeworth’s place, and am not entirely convinced it wasn’t originally written with her in mind. I mean, last time she appeared she was undergoing character development and trying to save Maya in a spirit medium-related setting, and this time had Maya being in a perilous situation in a spirit medium-related setting in a foreign country AND she has a history of working with Interpol. It would have actually made sense for her to show up as opposed to the Chief Prosecutor of a foreign country.)

(Also her design is amazing)

(Foolish fool)

Y: What are your second-hand fandoms (i.e. fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

Dragon Age is the big one I can think of. I played a little of Dragon Age Origins before Redcliffe became a never-ending zombie nightmare and I wasn’t able to progress, so I don’t count myself as having really played, but I pretty much know all the spoilers. And have even plotted out who I’m gonna romance when I finally do get around to it. Current plan: Alistair (while pouring one out for the F/F romance with Morrigan that could never be), Fenris and Josephine.

Also Marvel, kinda? I don’t really buy or keep up with Marvel comics anymore aside from going to see the movies. I’ll check it out, but usually it’s only on a whim. (If Agent of Asgard/JiM Loki ever get a run again, you can count on me jumping back in.)

[hellospunkiebrewster]

Flight Risk - Part VI

Author’s note: There’s a hundred million more things to be said in this chapter, but I didn’t want it to be a billion words long. Part VII will be dropping either tomorrow or Wednesday because of it. Thank you so much for sticking with me and if you need to catch up, here you go:

Prologue - Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV - Part V

Summary: The statements Liam recorded reach Cordonia and send the country into a complete whirlwind. The palace must deal with the unexpected effects of Liam’s declarations about them.

Perma-tags: @madaraism, @mfackenthal

Tags: @theroyalweisme, @viktoriapetit, @hopefulmoonobject, @captainkingliam, @captain-kingliamsqueen, @syltti78, @pbchoicesobsessed, @queencatherynerhys, @jamielea81, @bobasheebaby, @ranishajay, @blackcatkita, @jlouise88, @choiceswreckedme, @hamulau, @umccall71, @darley1101, @gardeningourmet, @ayo-minty-jess, @drakelover78, @jayjay879, @ehkw1989 (Please let me know if I missed anyone.)

The multiple statements that Liam recorded and released to the media played on Cordonian television and radio non-stop since their release. One statement for each day since the first one. The first one only scratched the surface, each subsequent one went into gory details about Constantine’s management of the crown’s finances, his manipulation of vulnerable nobles, and his meddling in the private affairs of his children. Liam even aired his own dirty laundry, maintaining a relationship with Lady Riley after his engagement to Madeleine, keeping it from the public, and supporting her in an investigation into the allegations. Regina had all but memorized them word for word. She found herself mouthing the words as he spoke them, as if they were a familiar song played on the radio in the background. Constantine had withdrawn entirely, feeling the pressure more than ever for him to explain himself and still he refused. The current climate painted him as the villain, the public saw him as enemy number one, and he knew his sons certainly felt that way.

Bastien’s contact had stopped notifying him when the new statements would go public. The television was now a permanent fixture in the suite, always tuned to CBC, always droning on about Liam’s statements. He varied the times of the statement releases, making them unable to preempt them. Correspondents flocked to New York City, hoping to be the ones to find him. Political analysts talked constantly about the meaning behind his words, behind his every gesture, and what it could mean for Cordonia. The public marveled at his bravery in being honest, how noble and sacrificing that was for his country. They adored his underdog love story and Riley was a press darling all through her time in Cordonia. Now he was polling off the charts, higher than thought possible. Crowds formed outside the palace and in the city square, calling for consequences for the King Father and begging for Liam to return.

A new hour starts on the CBC and with it the analysts and reporters start over with the same talking points they spoke on the hour previous. The hour starts with an excerpt from Liam’s latest statement, he’s clean shaven in the latest one, his hair in place:

‘When my father was king he saw fit to manipulate individuals in the nobility, in the guard, and members of the public. He had no regard for their feelings after the fact, once they’d realized what they’d done. Once others realized what they’d done. The actions of these people are something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives and unlike my father, they have a conscience.’

The analysts begin to again pick apart the statement. This one was the worst for Constantine. For generations before him, the crown lived extravagantly, an exclusive club for those lucky enough to be born into it. That lifestyle, those traditions, came with a cost. A high cost. It was to be expected Regina reconciles with herself. The public is now more aware of wealth disparity between themselves and the royals and it made them angry, but never like this. Manipulation, drawing innocent people into your schemes using information you might not even have, blackmail, the public found unforgivable. Regina could hear the dull roar of the chants outside even over the shrill urgency of the voices on the television, calling for them to leave, some calling for much worse.

Regina turns off the television, the drone of the crowd outside permeating the suite in it’s absence.

--

Madeleine is in the car on the way to Fydelia when her phone starts buzzing incessantly. Her mother, Kiara, Regina, Maxwell. Leo. She read the story pausing halfway through to listen to Liam’s statement. She could barely believe her ears. He was taking control of the situation, of the country, with just this brief statement. When she was first introduced to Liam, as her betrothed’s little brother, he seemed far too kind and sweet to be capable of something so bold and audacious. The family always knew he was the more level-headed of the two, but he was always quieter, always listening.

It appeared that he had been listening quite well all those years. She was almost proud.

Then the bitter taste of regret fills her mouth. She couldn’t be sure how she would weather this storm. After all the lying and manipulation, she couldn’t know what the public would think of her. There was so much more to the story than what he said in those few minutes. Could he, would he clear the air entirely?

Madeleine returns home still in shock that Liam had the balls to do it. He pulled the rug out from under the entire royal family, from under a good portion of the nobility. The public always valued honesty and selflessness. He had become a martyr in those short minutes, in those few paragraphs. She checks her messages for the first time since realizing something huge happened.

Kiara is in shock, worried not about the implications for her family but for the country for the world as a whole. She worried what it would do for Cordonia’s standing. Kiara’s family would be fine, they didn’t have a dog in this fight. Her father was never one to get wrapped up in the more shady dealings of Constantine’s even though they had once been good friends. 

Her mother, obviously drunk in her message, seems ready to let it all burn to the ground. She could live comfortably off of champagne from the savings in one of their accounts alone.

Regina’s message is angry. She spits vile names at her step-son and dotes over an ailing Constantine, not expecting him to take any responsibility for his actions. Her words aren’t for Madeleine, they’re for herself, reassuring herself that what he’d done had been in the best interests of the country. That the people would see that. Madeleine was almost shocked she had the gall to leave her a message.

Maxwell sounds almost celebratory. Happy to have heard from his friends and that he could finally stop holding in this secret. The secret of everything that happened since the Coronation. Finally, Leo’s voice comes through, rich and deep.

‘I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now, Liam’s in New York. He married Riley. I guess we Rys brothers have something for Americans.’ There’s a short laugh in his pause and it makes her smile. He sighs.

‘Maddie, I don’t know how to reach them. My brother and Riley. If you do could you let me know? I think it’s important he and I speak. No one else in the world knows what he’s going through right now better than I do. Thanks, I guess. Please, let me know.’

The message started off awkward and a little joking, but his last words were sad and desperate. A slight crack in his voice. All these years and they had thought Leo had moved on from this world, but Cordonia’s hurt obviously still got to him too. He always made himself scarce, choosing to stay at home, to take care of his family. Madeleine now realized that maybe, it had been because it was a bit too painful to see his family, to see her, to see his country without him in the picture. He couldn’t hang around, to truly be supportive of his brother. Staying would always force them to recall what happened, to always question Liam. Staying would mean people would ask him his opinion. The station of being king was never for him, the schedules and rules, but Cordonia was still his home. It was still filled with people he loved.

She struggled so much against herself to not call him again. It was the middle of the night there. She was positive he was sleepless, hoping for any news, but she didn’t have anything to offer him.

--

They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt where Liam and Riley were. Each of the videos were traceable back to a block in Chinatown. Bastien quickly had the members of the security detail who were sent overseas stationed nearby. They reported back to him on their actions within the city, having a few opportunities to bring them in to the consulate. Bastien told them time and time again to stand down. Each day presented a new and difficult challenge for him, to make it look like he had been trying to bring Liam home when in reality he kind of wanted him to live life for a while. He didn’t think Liam could stay away much longer, he had unfinished business here. He wasn’t one to avoid it.

The phone ringing pulls him from his thoughts, it’s an American number. He braces himself for the voice he thinks he’ll hear on the other end of the line. He answers and it’s not him, it’s the other Rys brother.

���How can I help you Leo?”

“That’s one hell of welcome. It’s nice to talk to you too Bastien.” He pauses expecting some sort of small talk from him. He doesn’t have anything else to say. Leo sighs and continues, “You must know where they are by now Bastien, you have to, or at least how to reach them.”

“I know where they are, they haven’t been in contact with anyone since they left. The first thing we’d heard was Liam’s statement.” He shouldn’t be telling him this. The entire investigation was supposed to be completely under wraps, no one was to know besides the King Father, Queen Mother, his closest agents, and himself but this was getting out of hand.

“I want to speak to him, I’m the only person who has even the tiniest idea what he’s going through right now. He’s let all this out and it’s cathartic of course, but it’s destroying his home. Our home.” Bastien notes a hint of desperation in his voice.

“In Manhattan, Chinatown, somewhere in the area of Mott and Canal. That’s the closest we’ve been able to pinpoint.” He lied slightly. That information was highly confidential but he did give Leo an approximate location. Leo chuckles lightly on the other end of the line.

“I have a feeling you’re not telling me the whole story, but I’ll make do.”

He knows he can make do, Leo is the only person who had been able to shake him as his tail on multiple occasions. Bastien doesn’t answer, his eyes close and his head rolls back against his chair. The secrets, the investigation, this was all so exhausting when there was a perfectly good remedy to this, one that would continue the monarchy without the entire thing spinning out of control like this. Constantine’s cousin. His sons. Constantine was too proud to entertain the thought and he was supported blindly by Regina. Bastien rubs the bridge of  his nose with his free hand as he continues to hold the phone wordlessly to his ear. Leo clears his throat on the other end of the line.

“Thank you.” He sounds as if he’s ready to say goodbye when something overtakes him. “Do you think I should come to Cordonia?”

Bastien pushes out a long exhale. “I’m not sure what good that would do now, without Liam here. Your presence will only remind people of your abdication, especially now, when there’s no one to throw your support behind. Since they refuse to move on.” Bastien takes a breath. “God knows why they like you so much.”

He can hear the smile in Leo’s voice when he responds, “They say it’s the eyes.” Another lull in the conversation, Bastien grins.

“Goodbye Bastien.”

Several days later he’d gotten word from one of his agents in the United States that Riley and Liam had left their apartment and got in a taxi headed to the airport. About an hour later, it was confirmed that they had purchased tickets at the airport to fly to Cordonia.

--

Liam feels only a slight lightening of his heart when the Cordonian airport comes into view. He wishes he knew what to expect at the gate. He is exhausted and completely spent from the past few days. This last week had been absolute insanity, throwing him from the highest of highs to the deepest lows constantly. He feels his shoulders ache with the stress they’re bearing. Riley’s slender hand had not left his since they left their apartment in Manhattan over twelve hours ago. She stole glances at him all flight, barely ate, worry and anxiety etched on her face. She wanted so badly to comfort him, to support this, but he could tell she didn’t know what would be coming to the both of them once their feet were firmly on the ground.

Her entire frame sagged with the weight of his decisions the closer their plane got to the gate. Every moment on the plane had been complete agony for her. She had been assaulted in this country, been told she was the one whose actions were in question. She was doubted and outright put through a hell that no other person involved in his life had been through. Every action, every word, every moment of hers was under a microscope from the very beginning. He hated to do it to her again. They would’ve been happy in New York if it weren’t for his father and Regina. He feels her hand squeeze his, as if she’s reminding herself why she’s subjecting herself to it all again.

The plane slides to a gentle stop and the familiar dings of the seatbelt light sound. There’s a flurry of clicks all around them as people rise to gather their things. Riley doesn’t move and neither does he, not until he knows she’s ready for this. He can hear her taking deep, measured breaths beside him, her hand still wrapped in his. People begin to file out of the plane, past them, not noticing them. Finally when it’s silent again, she speaks.

“Are you sure about this?” He’s heard her utter that question at least a hundred times. The first time, when he was only coming around to the idea of leaving the throne behind for her. Those times, her voice had been light with disbelief, like she was living in a dream. Surreal. Her words were heavy now. Somber. He can feel her eyes on the side of his face as he looks down at his lap.

“I don’t know.”

Silence again, before she speaks. She was always uncomfortable with silence. “In any case, I don’t think they’ll just turn the plane around and go back. So I guess we’ve got to get up.” He smiles in spite of himself. He can feel her shifting beside him and he looks at her. In an instant, her lips are on his and they tell him everything. He can feel her love for him, her support, her embrace, her complete, unwavering confidence in him, and some of her own self doubt. She pulls back.

“I love you.” She didn’t have to say it, he knows it in every tiny particle of his body that she does. Even in this singular painful moment. He’ll never tire of hearing it. She stands, still holding on to his hand. He wants to say something, anything, but there are no words for what he’s feeling. So incredibly grateful. Maybe. But it was so much more than that.

Outside of the plane at the gate it was a complete circus in the airport terminal. A crowd had gathered, people were cheering, screaming, the moment they came into view from the tunnel. Liam’s hand tightens around Riley’s before releasing it and putting his hand around her back, his hand resting on her hip, pulling her closer to him. Flashes blind them and shutters snap furiously. She looks at him in disbelief.

“We must’ve been spotted heading to the airport,” he says, so quiet in his complete shock. There’s a tiny gap in the action before someone shouts.

“Welcome home Your Majesty!”

“We love you Lady Riley!”

They make their way past the thickest part of the crowd before they’re greeted by Bastien and a couple members of the Royal Guard. Liam nods to Bastien, he figured if anyone got wind of their plans, it would be him. They’d be getting an escort to the palace, whether they wanted it or not. Bastien looked like he absolutely did not want to be there. One guard steps forward and grasps Liam’s free arm, pulling him from Riley’s side. He wrenches his arm from his grasp and in the exact same moment the other guard grabs the arm that had just been around Riley’s waist.

They could tell by Bastien’s eyes that his heart wasn’t in it any longer. His shoulders were slightly slumped from their usual place of confidence and authority. Sleeplessness was steeped in his eyes and his face bore the weight of the conflict inside of him. He’d sworn to serve, regardless of his feelings, but the cost had become too great.

“What am I being detained for?” he asks too tired to pull against the other guard’s grip on him.

“Sir, you’re being held as an enemy of the crown.”

“But I am the crown.”