#THE NEXT PRISONER. THE NEXT PRISONER IS LITERALLY A CHILD AND HE'S EVEN YOUNGER THAN AMANE

[linalilia]

[meet the prisoners!] prisoner 006: yoshioka eiko!

sorry guys some of these prisoners' image colors are very bright 😭

(also speaking of image colors. yes i know that shun and akio's image colors are very similar. i know. i tried to change shun's color recently but he just doesn't look that good with other shades of purple? and i refuse to change akio's image color, it just feels right to use that shade for him. so. yeah)

anyway, do you remember kei's personality description? good, now meet his female version. HNJSHJSJSJ i'm just kidding, even though kei and eiko are very similar (and they're kinda supposed to be like that because they're a pair, you know, 05 and 06), they have a lot of differences as well.

(also another note, sorry, but basically i was a little embarrassed about many of my ocs having names that start with the same letter or names that simply have the same letters, for example, akio, aimi and asahi or kei, eiko and eiji.. but then i remembered that like five out of ten canon prisoners have last names that start with "k" and three of them have last names that start with "ka". so.. yeah, i think i'm fine actually. I'M SORRY THIS IS JUST SO FUNNY TO ME LIKE.. THAT'S A LOT OF K'S)

Warnings: .. as you have probably guessed, this is what happens when you grow up with deco*27's songs: you kinda become obsessed with writing toxic relationships sjhskksls. so yes, we're dealing with destructive romance again this time! i promise not all of my ocs like that i swear the next four prisoners' crimes actually don't have anything to do with romance

General info:

Name: Yoshioka Eiko (吉岡 英子) (her last name means "good luck" and "hill" and her first name means "excellent" and "child")

Age: 23 y/o

Gender: Female

Status: Prisoner 006

Birthday: December 19 (Sagittarius)

Height: 168 cm

Blood type: B

Image color: #B4EFFF

Occupation: University student and a part-time model

Personality: At first Eiko really does look like Kei's "female version": she's flirty, playful, she's always ready to use her appearance to get what she wants and she's a very confident and talkative young woman. She also seems to be very interested in romance and even though she's literally in jail right now, she's still looking for a partner to "fill that void inside of her". However, that's where their similarities end. The thing is.. Eiko is actually much smarter than Kei. She doesn't lie, but it doesn't mean that she's always being 100% honest: she just doesn't mention some details on purpose. For example, sure, she will tell you everything about her victim, but she won't say anything about how she killed them. She actually has a potential to be the most manipulative prisoner here.. but she's too lazy for that, so she doesn't even try unless she absolutely has to. Like Akio, she doesn't take this whole thing seriously and when she met the guards, she thought that this is just some kind of roleplay and said that one of the guards enjoys punishing prisoners way too much for this to be real. And she actually decided to go along with it.

MV info:

Which canon Milgram song she would cover: No, Kei wouldn't cover Tear Drop even though he's literally wearing the same sunglasses from the MV. But Eiko would cover it! I don't have a deep reason for assigning her this song, it just has her vibes and I know she would do a great job covering it.

Which DECO*27 song she would cover: Relationship Scramble! You'll see why later.

If she could cover a song by a different Vocaloid producer, which one would it be: Cute Girlfriend by syudou. Again, you'll see why later <3

Her MV description: Just like Kei's MV, her MV would have very bright colors as well and the instrumental would sound a lot like something you could hear during a fashion show, if that makes sense?

The video starts with Eiko getting ready for something and we can see her trying to pick an outfit. She can't decide, so she turns to the mannequin she has in her room. The mannequin doesn't move and doesn't say anything, but she still smiles and finally makes a decision. When she's ready, it looks like she's about to leave.. but she doesn't and instead she just lies on her bed with a laptop and she looks really happy. She gets a notification and when she checks it, everything around her becomes the same color as her image color and it doesn't look "real" anymore, it's like everything around her is "digital". She's not home anymore, it's like she's walking around town and she finds everything very interesting. The lyrics mention her "taking a step into someone's world". She ends up buying some clothes and when she's back, she puts everything she bought on that mannequin from earlier. She looks proud and the lyrics say "I can't wait to finally see you".

She keeps going to that world and coming back with more stuff for that mannequin. Clothes, accessories, she even buys it things like books and games, like this thing actually has hobbies.. like this thing is actually a real person. She even hugs and kisses that mannequin and it looks like she really is in love with it. But it also looks like Eiko is sad for some reason and she finally decides to actually leave the house and not just go back to that digital world. This time everything around her is dull and gray and she doesn't pay much attention to her surroundings until she notices someone. When that happens, she just stands there, shocked and she can't look away from them.

Right after that, she goes home and when she turns the lights on, she walks closer to the mannequin and now it looks like she hates this thing and finds it disgusting. She starts breaking it, she starts tearing its head, arms and legs off and even beats the mannequin with its own limbs. She looks like she's really angry at it, but she's also crying at the same time? When she's finally done, she goes outside while holding a huge trash bag and throws it out. She goes back to her house and the MV ends with Eiko singing "I guess I'll just have to find someone new" and you can notice that her nails are actually painted the same color as Kei's image color.

Trailer 1 Voicelines:

"Hi~ My name is Yoshioka Eiko, nice to meet you! I'm still a university student, but I also work as a part-time model. Hmm, so you two are, like, the prison guards or something? Haha, so you enjoy being in charge? Ouch! Okay, okay, sorry~ So you want to know more about my crime too.. Well, I wouldn't call it a crime personally. I had to do it, I was lied to, after all."

".. Why is he not replying?.. I swear, he used to be online all the time before that incident happened. I guess I'll have to finally pay him a visit."

Trivia:

She doesn't care about her verdict, she just wants to see how everything will go. But she also thinks that she will most likely get an innocent verdict because "people love to see a woman suffer because then they can just say "oh, you poor thing" and make her depend on them so much that she won't be able to do anything without them".

She committed other crimes and not just murder, but she had only one victim.

She's very close with Kei and Prisoner 008 and she also tried flirting with Shun, but she left him alone after she found out that he has a girlfriend. But she said that Shun actually doesn't seem like the most loyal person and even though she wouldn't mind him having multiple partners (and she's more than okay with being in a poly relationship with him and Kei), she would prefer it if he stopped claiming that he can't just forget about his girlfriend and try dating someone else.

She's the only prisoner who managed to fluster Eiji, the guard who wants to vote everyone guilty, after she played along and went "Go on, punish me if you want, I don't mind". She thinks he's adorable.

She does share some traits with Mahiru, another Prisoner 006, but they're also very different. For example, Mahiru seems more interested in "emotional" love and she's more of a traditional hopeless romantic, meanwhile Eiko is more interested in "physical" love and even though she wants to have a boyfriend, she's not interested in "cutesy" and "lovey-dovey" stuff.

Personally, I feel like she's the least sympathetic female prisoner OC of mine? I made her sound like a girlboss and she kinda is, but when you think about her crime.. Yeah, this girl's morals are non-existent.

Kei and Eiko definitely have their own theme as well and honestly, it feels like they actually have two themes. I seriously can't decide which one should be their "official" theme, so.. It would either be something like "Idealization" (What if someone who you admired/loved so much turns out to be not as perfect as you thought they would be? Would you accept that? Or.. would you try to change that?) or "Betrayal" (If someone who is very important to you betrayed you, what would you do? Would you hurt that person back or would you rather hurt people around them to express your anger?)

[carlsdarling]

Could you write something where carl has always been super in love with the reader but she only starts paying attention to him after Beth’s death also can you include some smut once they get to Alexandria?

New friends & benefits

After losing your best friend Beth, you and Carl finally get closer and you show him your affection... Bit more of a plot, then sex. Everyone is 18 or over.

WARNINGS: smut, nsfw, oral (male receiving)

Beth had been your best friend, you literally shared everything; you had been inseparable - especially during your time in prison. Your cells were next to each other, and you stayed up late chatting together. Sometimes you told each other creepy stories, or you played cards, you put make-up on each other and did each other's hair.

Carl kept trying to join you, but you always sent him away. Sometimes you were pretty mean to him, but he got on your nerves. He was a little younger than the two of you, and you didn't know what to do with him. Plus, he was always gawking at you and peeping at you, whatever you were doing.

Beth often made fun of that. "Carl has a crush on you, Y/N. He literally adores you," she giggled. She was probably right about that, but it wasn't something you were proud of.

Then the day came when the prison fell, Hershel died, and you fled to all points of the compass. Not only had Beth and you been lost to each other; you found yourself completely alone in the wilderness, fleeing from a pack of walkers that the Governor had let loose before he died.

For weeks you wandered around, lonely, starving and thirsty; you were not used to being alone. Shortly after the apocalypse started, you had ended up on Hershel's farm, following the death of your parents, and he had taken you in. The farm had been a relatively sheltered place. And now he was dead, and you had no idea where Beth had ended up. Or the others.

Finally, Daryl and Carol found you on the bank of a river, and you fell weeping into Carol's arms. You learned from Daryl that he had been with Beth for a while until she disappeared. Kidnapped. That's what he said, anyway. They were going to free her.

And then the horrible thing happened. Beth was killed, shot to death. You were paralyzed with grief when Carol told you, and you didn't really realize that you had found Rick's group again. You and Maggie shared your sorrow and your loss, you missed Beth and Hershel so terribly, and for a long time you shut yourself off from everyone else.

One evening, when Maggie was already asleep, you were sitting by the campfire, and Carl surprisingly joined you. You looked at him in amazement. It had been perhaps half a year since you had been separated, but you hardly recognized him. He had grown so much, tall and lanky he had become, and he had developed some beard growth. "I'm so sorry about Beth, Y/N," he said sympathetically, putting his hand on your shoulder. "I liked her, too. Even though you two never liked me." He laughed humorlessly.

"That's hardly true, Carl," you replied, "Thank you. It's just... you were so young. How old are you again?"

"Seventeen," he replied, tossing a branch into the fire. "No longer a child," he pointed out, eyeing you. When you didn't respond, he said goodbye and went to sleep.

One year later

A lot had happened in the interim. You had gotten to Alexandria, and Carl and you had become close buddies. You were really starting to like him. Then Carl lost his eye and tried to push you away; he withdrew from everyone, but you wouldn't let him throw away your friendship and persisted in seeking his company, even though he kept saying mean things to force you away. "I've already lost Beth," you said heatedly, picking up the plate and the ham sandwich. Carl had slammed both against the wall and yelled for you to leave, that he didn't want you around. "I'm not going to lose you, too, Carl. No way," you vowed.

"Look at me, Y/N!" he yelled. "I look terrible! I'm not worth it!" The bullet wound hadn't completely healed and his bandage was still a little bloody.

"How can you say such a thing?" you said, affected. "I don't give a damn what you look like. You are, and will always be, my best friend. Period."

Carl sadly fiddled with a pillow. "And... and what if I still want to be more than besties?" he mumbled, barely audible, avoiding eye contact with you. "You know I've always had a little bit of a crush on you."

You held your breath. Several times over the last few months you had imagined that there could be more between you and Carl, you never thought it possible, but you had fallen a tad in love with him, which embarrassed you, especially because you had rejected him for years. So you didn’t admit it to him, and you also thought he had lost interest in you. He seemed to get along well with Enid, too well. Carl‘s accident didn't change your feelings at all, you only cared about him even more. "I'd be happy about that, Carl," you said, gathering all your courage.

He stared at you. Carl possessed such beautiful eyes - or, rather, a beautiful eye. "Are you kidding me? Before the accident you didn't want to be with me, why now? I do not believe you.“

You decided to prove it to him, and just pressed your lips to his. He flinched, taken aback, but then awkwardly returned the kiss. You embraced each other and continued your caresses. You were careful not to hurt Carl or touch the bandage. Carl was all tense from all the stress and suffering, his neck muscles felt rock hard. "Lie down on your back," you whispered in his ear, gently kissing his neck.

"What are you up to?" he wondered, but obeyed.

"Just let me do it. Relax," you commanded, shoving his shirt up a little and starting to kiss his stomach. Carl gasped excitedly. You played with his belly button with your tongue and licked along the line of soft dark hair leading way down, then undid his belt and jeans. Carl was already hard, and whimpering with arousal, he squirmed under you. "Lift your hips," you said, and he did, and you pulled his jeans and boxers down so that his cock was exposed. "Not bad, it's bigger than I thought," you teased, taking him in your hand and kissing the already slightly wet, reddened tip before sliding his shaft into your mouth. You massaged it with your lips and sucked gently on it, and Carl almost lost his mind. He moaned, thrusted vigorously into your mouth and tugged on your hair.

"I've dreamed of this for so long, Y/N," he confessed, tossing his head back and forth on the pillow, his eye closed. Tenderly you continued to suck Carl off. After a short while, he became fidgety. "I, I think I, I'm about to cum," he stuttered nervously. „Where? Y/N, I…“ Apparently he was apprehensive about cumming in your mouth.

"It's okay, Carl," you assured him, kissing him on the lips. "Just let go. Let yourself go." Again you took his dick in your mouth and sucked and licked on it, Carl was beyond close, he just sighed and whimpered, then his cum filled your mouth. A load squirted, then a second one and a third. You swallowed it all and waited until Carl was finally done with his load before you let his now softened cock slip out of your mouth, licking him clean and lay down next to him.

Carl snuggled up to you, his pants still pulled down, he was all sweaty and sticky. He glanced at you in love. "I didn't know you felt that way about me, Y/N," he whispered hoarsely.

"Yes, I do," you clarified, tugging the blanket over both of you and playing with Carl’s hair.

[turtleblogatlast]

okay so just so you know, im literally in love with your prison!leo au, yesterday i spent like over an hour scrolling through the tag and i think i read every post at least twice (more for the comics). its combining ‘prison dimension has permanent effect on leo, and not just mentally’, ‘immortality angst’, ‘object or place having a form of sentience’, AND ‘leo is somehow made significantly younger than his brothers which very much changes their dynamic without him wanting it to’ all into one which is just amazing.

i love how you combined comedy and tragedy very well!! like, for example the idea of leo being mistaken for the youngest brother, than a son, then a GRANDSON, is kinda funny for a second, but when you think about it for more than a couple seconds its also. really tragic. this poor kid may never be able to fully grow up - not only is he likely going to outlive his whole family but hes also permanently in the body of a child, lacking a fully developed brain and maybe never having the full maturity of an adult (at least in path b, until hes able to find a ‘cure’, if ever). its just. so good!!

anyways aldjsldkksld enough of the gushing (i mean i could keep doing it for like two thousand more words, but if i did it would probably devolve into keysmashes at some point from the Grip this au has on my brain). i am curious, what would happen if leo got sick? i know you mentioned that things like a common cold wouldnt really affect him that much, but what about one of those sickness is that leaves you pretty delirious/feverish and can take you out in a matter of a week? (could be a type of mystic sickness or curse as well, where you don’t know if the victim will survive or not and the only option is to wait it out.) what would happen? would they sort of just decide that its better to find a way to temporarily kill him so his body could regenerate as new, or would they try to take care of him and see if they could wait it out, since i imagine it would be the only time he’d really let his family take care of him in that way. thats all assuming his body wouldnt just automatically find a way to heal the separate curse and he’d be well again within an hour (still not fully sure as to how his healing works, sorry!)

anyways, love this au and im going to be obsessed with it for the next Month thanks

[ cw: discussion of murder / discussion of mercy kill / risky behavior implied / ]

Omg I’m

So touched???

Thank you for enjoying my AU so much, it really makes me happy to hear this :’) This whole AU was thought up exactly because of my interest in the concepts you mentioned - particularly the one regarding the Prison Dimension having a permanent and visible effect on Leo.

I know I haven’t updated it in a while, but I am still working on it and have even finished drafting the next comic, I can’t say when I’ll finish it but this ask definitely pushed me to work on it more so thank you so much <3

As for your question- it depends! In most regular illnesses, Leo would get over them very quickly, only experiencing the briefest brush with the symptoms before his body throws it away, if that. If the illness is mystic in nature then things get a little more complicated, as you’re right in that it could potentially end up as an endless loop of the first part of whatever weird sickness he gets. So if the illness is something that instantly affects you in the worst ways, and it’s something you just need to ride out until it leaves…that can potentially be harmful. Of course, it needs to be a powerful illness to bypass the prison’s curse to that extent though. …then again, maybe something would prefer that for him, should it appear beneficial :)

As for whether the fam would decide to just…’reset’ Leo to get rid of the illness…that’s a tough one. It really depends on how long Leo’s been back, and even then, it’s not something they’d just do, it’s hard for them to even imagine really. More likely, a sickly Leo would merely try to find a cure himself in his delirium, and end up ‘reset’ along the way.

I hope my wishy washy answer was enough! And really, thank you so much again for the kind words, they mean a lot :’)

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

july 7, 2021 1:15 p.m. grant's house

[colm] wait, how do you have this recipe then?

[grant] i literally don't know. i found the note with it when i moved to los angeles before and, uh, it just said "xoxo, your boyfriend" at the bottom. like i know vaguely where it came from but my memory stops there.

[grant] now stop deflecting!

[colm] you first.

[colm] but alright, alright. you know the basic shit about my life, right? single mom, dad out of the picture, three siblings all with different baby daddies, and no other family because they disowned my mother for getting pregnant with me as a teen. the white trash experience. but wait, it gets worse.

[colm] my mom’s oldest brother was kind of still there, but not in any real fashion. more like: “sure, ellen, i suppose your son can sit at the back table at my pub and watch hurley on the television until his sisters are done with their after school activities and can walk them home.”

[colm] bastard. hey, ellen, i know you’re nearly homeless and your nine year old son is reading on the internet at the library how to make macaroni and cheese for dinner for all of you while you're busy waiting tables, but i won’t come over to babysit or nothing.

[colm] still, he let me over in the afternoons and was nice enough to teach me how to pour beers and such when i was the right age to do it, so here i am.

[colm] it’s really the only skill i have. despite my degree in philosophy, i was always a terrible student. i have the worst dyslexia known to man and my other jobs in the past were doing security at an airport and moving furniture. real impressive. so, this is miles better in pay and for my sanity.

[colm] besides, if we’re getting real emotionally squishy here, i was so lonely all the time growing up. nothing’s better for your social life than your mom always out working, no other family around, and having to turn down your friends’ invitations to hang out most of the time because you have to look after your siblings.

[colm] going to my uncle’s place was the least lonely place i ever was because all the old men who came as regulars felt bad for me and would talk to me. mostly about sports, but i like sports, so that was fine. i suppose you could say this place i own makes me feel a little less lonely as well.

[grant] i'm sorry things were so–

[colm] ahh, cut that shit out, it’s fine! i'd rather the man with a mammy who beat him not apologize to me about my childhood. i'm over it. fucking sucks but whatever. at least my guardian wasn’t my biological father. that piece of shit’s in prison for life for murder.

[grant] mur–

[colm] he got in with organized crime because he was broke and out of work. oh, and he was way older than my mom. surprise, surprise. classic stab city in the 90s. he actually tried to murder my mother once after she broke up with him, too. that day's hard to forget.

[grant] man, that sounds pretty bad. like egregiously bad. major childhood trauma bad.

[colm] old ellen’s alive.

[grant] uhhhhh, well, some person out there isn’t.

[colm] people.

[grant] oh.

[grant] oh my god.

[grant] anyway, uh, i was just going to say that i'm sorry you suffered. you deserved to have your needs met and you deserved stability and safety. i know nothing can be done about the past but that’s not a fair way for a child to grow up, even if your mother has reasons and explanations for it. and you don’t have to minimize it on grounds of other people’s experiences. bad is just that: bad. it’s not the sad childhood olympics here.

[colm] i really don’t care. i left all of that behind when i came here to live with shannon. you all are very nice to me. you’re my replacement family. you all mean a lot to me.

[colm] maybe replacement sounds bad...but, ah, well...

[colm] i can't believe i'm telling anyone other than shannon any of this bullshit. i feel absolutely disgusting.

[colm] sometimes when i was younger i'd look at other families and wish i had that. i used to wonder what it was like to have a family, and i suppose i finally understand. and it's nice.

[grant] i'm glad that you know we love you. you are a part of us. you are family. hell, i love you dearly. you're a great friend and a great person and you make shannon happy, which is important.

[grant] do you ever talk to your family? like your biological family?

[colm] yes and no. i invited them to the wedding and clearly you know they came. you were there. the only one i talk to often is molly but it’s because they’re the youngest and, well, the most like me, so i try to steer them away from making the same mistakes as me. that is, please don’t become a delinquent and please tell someone you think something’s wrong with your brain when you think there is.

[colm] my mother just pisses me off. i know she loves me and always has but she tries so much harder to show it now that i'm an adult and i can’t stand it. it’s overbearing. it's like, where was all this affection twenty years ago, ellen? and my other siblings...one’s fine, the other i don’t get along with.

[colm] don’t go apologizing about that either.

[grant] i won’t. but i get it. family relationships are complicated. siblings are difficult sometimes.

[colm] do you have–

[grant] i have two sisters. and yes, i don’t talk about them, like, ever. now continue what you were saying!

[colm] don’t get me wrong, i love all of them. i'd die for them. i might not want to talk to them much but i'm not disloyal or nothing. but because i love them, i reserve the right to admit when they’re obnoxious or what they’ve done wrong. it’s a disservice to all of us to lie and say i'm so happy with them and that we get along swimmingly.

[grant] so...you’re admitting things weren’t great.

[colm] i'm alive and not all the way fucked up. that’s good enough.

[colm] but thank you. i know you mean it. you’re like shannon and you say it because you care, not because you pity me, which is what a lot of others do. i do appreciate it.

[icharchivist]

i think the thing that makes me so sad about da4 is that i wanted it to actually try to make me feel guilty for the horrors and it never did.

I kinda talked for years about how Solas was "a dragon age MC gone wrong, who had to face that his actions had unpredictable consequences and now he's in this position where he wants to go back on his previous save but can't so he is trying to find the next best solution to fix his worldstate",

using as a parallel specifically the way the Inquisitor feels in In Hushed Whispers when they end up in the future and gets to literally come back in time to totally rewrite this timeline bc they don't want to believe this is real, despite the people in this timeline making clear that to them it still was real,

and when they announced the story was about regrets and having Solas stuck in your head and Solas "seeing his younger self in you", i was genuinely excited about "oh Rook is going to fuck up dramatically and struggle to fix their mistakes and everyone will antagonize them for it to drive a parallelism with Solas and having to live with the guilt"

I was excited about the prospect of eating shit, having regrets, feeling genuinely guilty for everything that's going wrong even if it was outside my grasp to deal with, desperately trying to fix my own mistake,

... but the game didn't do that. If you express guilt for things you couldn't stop your companions are constantly reassuring you "you did nothing wrong king blame Solas for everything". There's a major plot point that resolve entirely on Rook going "i have no regret for what happened because everyone made their choices to die for me, therefore i'm better than Solas" that also doesn't acknowledge the initial fuck up (yknow unleashing 2 blights which led to countless of deaths everywhere). Even characters who are hurt by your action like Neve or Lucanis genuinely justify everything you do and never truly lash out at you. And very few people antagonize you about what you did and when they do it is usually paired with them being unreasonable on another topic specifically to frame them as being unreasonable to antagonize Rook, so much so those are also the characters Rook is allowed to punch later. for revenge and vindication. of course.

I wanted to feel guilty about my actions. My Hawke wasn't really responsible for a lot of the things that went wrong in Kirkwall but they ALWAYS had guilt and regrets about things they could have done differently. in Origins and Inquisition characters are constantly scolding you about what you should have done differently, whether they're right or not.

Meanwhile on the one game that earned the most to make you feel guilty about your actions, you're constantly coddled like a child who can't feel the weight of their actions because they can just point at someone else to blame everything.

When i started playing the game and started to tell some friends about some of the big choices (mainly Treviso/Minrathous, Harding/Davrin and Neve/Bellara) i was originally praising the game for putting me in a no-winning situation where whatever you do there will be consequences to haunt you and you can't always have the perfect run, you can't save everyone....

But it's once i reached the endgame and saw all the guilt that should have come from those events being completely brushed off (+ the Varric reveal), and the Regret Prison only featuring the people who CHOOSE to fight for you and not the People who Died From Your Mistakes (unleashing the Blight and the city you saved), only for Rook to be able to leave this prison because they can accept it bc "not my fault, you choose that, rip you i guess", I was totally dumbfounded and turned off.

Anything that could have been the set up for some interesting drama around the thematics they were going for ended up just being shock values that now just makes me depressed to think about. It means nothing if you can't actually feel bad for your actions.

And i was SO excited about the game making me feel like shit. I WANTED them to make me feel like i was genuinely fucking up. That i had to live with the fact i couldn't win them all.

But the game is so afraid that the player would feel upset for anything other than just sadness they can do nothing about that i feel talked down to as a person. I feel like a child being given a game full of children safety items. Imagine feeling bad about the stuff you do.

Like In DAI when Corypheus destroys Haven because of you, if you haven't befriended Vivienne by then she reproaches to you that it was a mistake to even have set up a base in Haven. And she's not wrong. I wish i had characters in DA4 making me humble by refusing to just agree with my shit. Someone should have been damn mad about me unleashing the Blight, damnit.

[saintcheesus]

Someone already pointed it out but Louis literally was already severely depressed BEFORE he met Lestat. The show doesn't do a good job of showing this bit,but Louis was actively suicidal! His family treats him like shit even though he's the breadwinner for them and has been since he was pretty much a teenager. Lestat knew that Louis was at his absolute most vulnerable. Above all, Lestat is a predator because that's what being a vampire is all about the end-game is that they drain SOMETHING from you slowly, sweetly, subtly.

Yes Lestat loves Louis VERY much but I'll even go so far as to argue that he didn't really get consent from Louis either to be turned. How much consent can a drunk man give really lol. He even says that he fell "fatally in love" with Louis, a large part being during one his worst points mentally.

Even in the ost for the show, Lestat's song is haunting, beautiful, and mesmerizing. Of course Louis fell for him. Would they fall for each other no matter what yes because they are soulmates and that's that, but most importantly Lestat found someone that NEEDED him.

Louis already had insecurity issues, he had legitimate panic attacks; lestat says that there are moments where Louis WAKES him up out of his sleep to get Lestat's reassurance that he still desired him, that he still loved him, that he wasn't going to leave him either (TVL, towards the end).

Of course Lestat loved that aboutbhim and also used that against him and Claudia SAW that. Claudia was more like Lestat than what Louis likes to admit. Claudia no doubt saw all the fights they had where perhaps Louis took a slap for Claudia if Lestat was riled up enough. Where Louis' hiding the marks from yet another row that she couldn't break up in time (of course the bruises are always gone before the next night), and most of all, and I want a lot of the new fans to accept, fuck what age the show makes her she's supposed to be five that's the entire point of her character is to be a child. She was TEN years old and younger probably when she had to stop them from legitimately ripping each other apart.

Like toxic is not the word lol, it was just Lestat literally keeping them prisoner, pretty birds in a gilded cage, for almost seventy years

[wisehq]

Mission Debrief: Chapter Forty-two

...It's all coming together.

I'm just going to come outright and say it; I had no idea what to write for this review- not because there wasn't anything to discuss, but rather this chapter gave us so much that I didn't know what to focus on first. Chapter forty-two has single-handedly thrown open the doors to a hundred different theories, and believe me when I say that after a whole night of redbull and theorizing I couldn't come up with any clear answers (the folks over at the Strix discord group can attest to that).

So here's what we're gonna do; I'm not going to focus on the chapter itself.

It was cute. Cardshark Anya is hilariously awesome. Damian is a little shit (whom I adore), and the chapters where the kids can just be kids are- in my opinion- the best.

That's all I'm going to say on the matter. For the rest of this review, I want to go over all the facts we know so far about the story and setting. All of the things Endo has been slowly building up in the background and the pieces that we can stitch together from them, starting with this chapter. Two key things stuck out to me.

In the entirety of the story up till this point, this is the first time we have heard mention of a royal anything- and not only that, but this chef is a former royal chef. This of course implies that a) said chef was fired (not likely given that Eden wouldn't likely associate with someone who was disgraced like that) or retired, or b) that there is no royalty anymore. Ostania is a totalitarian state and the main power of the government- from what we've seen- lies with the ruling political party, i.e the National Unity Party, a.k.a Desmond's party. Such a political structure would have no room for royalty in a governing capacity, and therein begs the question; is there still a royal/noble class- albeit in a non-governing sense- or was it abolished sometime in the recent past?

Classical language is not proper speaking and diction like I had originally thought. Classical language is a specific term typically used to describe a dead language or dialect (think Latin, or Hebrew before it was revived). I find this particularly interesting because under no circumstance would a child as young as Anya know anything about a dead language unless- as Loid points out- she was exposed to it as a toddler. It would have had to have been when she was very young, as she herself doesn't realize she knows this information. This would mean she likely learned it from her birth family; Anya was old enough to remember the lab and scientists, meaning she became Subject 007 later on in life- otherwise she would have remembered knowing classical language.

These two concepts are incredibly important to keep in mind, both now and later on as the story progresses. We now know that a royal class plays a factor in the political game that Twilight and everyone else is playing, and we know that Anya knows information that she shouldn't know otherwise (even with her mind-reading powers). So where does that leave us?

Honestly, for the first time...I'm kind of stumped?

Let's look back at the story and see what else we can piece together- maybe there's something in there we can extrapolate for our purposes. Another clue to point us in the direction that Endo is seemingly funneling us towards.

From chapter forty-one

Franklin Perkins was a man who believed in making his country a better place to live. In his eyes and from what he saw, Ostania wasn't going in the right direction- but why? He blames his lack of money for his mother's death, and we see him hold resentment towards the government over socialistic policies. Wealth is something to be shared with others, not hoarded for ones self. That seems to be where Ostania's moral compass is pointing towards, but is that really the case?

From chapter 39

Mr. Green mentions that people have been fleeing to Westalis; from the way he says this it sounds like this is happening currently- not in the past- and people are going so far as to travel through a third country just to get to Westalis. Such a journey isn't without its perils, so anyone attempting to crossover from Ostania would likely be taking a huge risk in doing so. Not only that, but most of what we've seen in the story is Ostanians loathing Westalins...so what would compel people to do this in the first place?

From chapter three As Anya reads the minds of people gathered at a politcal rally near the start of the manga, we see their disgruntled thoughts behind her. There's multiple mentions of losing jobs and not having enough money- some people are even hungry. Most of these people blame Westalis for their troubles, though not the leader of the rally, ironically.

Also from chapter 3

We find out (and often forget) early on that there are multiple political parties in Ostania. Donovan leads the National Unity Party, whereas the political rally we see here is hosted by the Nationalist Party. The latter preaches peace with the west, but many of the people gathered reject this outright. This is important; the N.U.P is the most successful political party in Ostania, which means a majority of the country's citizens approve of their platform. If we're to assume the Nationalist Party's platform is to advocate for peace with Westalis, then we must also assume that the N.U.P stands for the opposite; direct aggression with the west.

From chapter 31 The Zacharis Dossier, though ultimately a bust, hinted at rumors that have permeated East and West since the start of the cold war. We know for a fact that human experiments did indeed take place in Ostania, so it also stands to reason that there is at least a kernel of truth to the claims of P.O.W (prisoner of war) massacres conducted by the west. It's a heinous crime, and also one that leads to another question; why would any country go through with it in the first place? In addition, piggy-backing off the former point;

From chapter 19 While Loid details Project Apple, he uses the word 'regime' to describe the former Ostanian government. The literal definition of a regime is a government, especially an authoritarian one (Oxfrod Dictionary). I won't highlight all the specifics of what is and isn't authoritarianism, but essentially the point I'm trying to make here is that the current Ostanian administration is still very much a regime. Donovan acts as the authoritarian ruler (or would-be ruler; we don't know if he's actively in charge or is looking to usurp power for himself) and continues on the legacy of the former government. We know for a fact that this is the case because Anya is only at most 6 years old, likely even younger. That would mean the experiments being run on her had to have been recent, which fits with the time frame that we established at the beginning of this rabbit hole- it also aligns with what we know about what Donovan has been doing on the back end of things. Those who have kept up with my reviews know what I'm talking about; gloom pharmaceuticals, the truth serum, OSO-R, etc. All of that, which then leads us to...

...right back where we started. So...what then? What can we conclude from all this? At least a few things;

Anya is tied to Desmond- either directly or indirectly.

Anya's past is also Ostania's past; she's familiar with a dead language that's no longer spoken, and there's definitely a reason why no one speaks it anymore.

Ostania is in a period of political and economic turmoil. This also comes on the heels of a (possible) former monarchy, and the struggle of a country willing to embrace authoritarianism so long as it means staying alive.

WISE and Westalis are not innocent in this game of chess with Ostania and the SSS, and more than likely have committed atrocities that may or may not be directly tied to Ostania and- possibly- Anya's past.

And...this is as far as I can go. I've hit a wall, as have other people I've talked to. We're still missing pieces to the puzzle. Endo will of course provide us with more clues and theory fodder as the weeks and months progress, but for now this is as far as I can go on my own. On the one hand I feel defeated because I can't come up with a meaningful explanation for everything and present it in a neat little bundle for you all to read, but on the other hand I'm thoroughly enjoying this. I'm more engaged with this manga and story than any other I've read before; I'm at the edge of my seat every week, and I'm sure most of you are, too. For now, I'll leave the review here. I find it fitting to leave it open ended, just as Endo did with Loid's self-imposed question. Hopefully, like him, we can find answers in the near future.

Also, BONUS...

...No fun panel with a snappy comment this time. Instead, I’m going to humbly ask for your help.

If you have any ideas about where you think the story is going, theories as to how everything fits together, or just really want to discuss the manga with other fans- please check out our forum and share with us. We’d love to hear what you all think; not only that, but a lot more heads makes theorizing both more productive and a whole lot more fun. Check it out if you have the time, or- if you don’t feel like clicking on any links- you can always leave a comment either on this post or send us an ask or message. Anytime, any reason, we’d love to talk SxF.

Again, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you all next chapter!

[a-nonbody]

Family (part 1)

((December Writings Day 2: Reunion / Familie- Brahms))

Masterlist

Characters: Brahms x sibling! Reader

Length: 499

About: short story, angst/fluff

More of an au where Brahms had an older sibling that was sent away by his parents

siblings; no, the doll is not possessed here, the Heelshires are a bit older for plot reasons (not really mentioned), mention of death (parents), memories/ flashbacks,cursing ...

!EDITED!

It has been a while.

Actually-

It has been years since I last visited the place I once called home.

The mansion hasn't changed in the years I have not been around. I don't really know what drove me back to this place. After all, my parents sent me away when I was just 16, sending me to our family in America. So when I heard that my parents had died-

I only remember parts of the flight. And now I was standing in front of the house. The one I once lived in. The one I grew up in, lived in for 16 years. With my parents and my brother.

I haven't heard anything about him for 18 years. But I know he is alive. Even if everyone believed my parents' lie, he was and is very much alive.

Even though we had an age difference of 6 years, we were close. Really close. We almost did everything together when we were younger. Games, music, and sometimes even cooking and running outside, much to our parent's dismay. Climbing the trees, falling, and getting hurt. It was all part of our life. Part of us behaving like children, not thinking about how cruel the world could be.

Brahms always was the favorite child, being a boy and all. My parents adored him. They loved him so much, that they even hid him away in our house after he murdered someone. But when I made a small mistake, I would be put on house arrest and not be allowed out until the next day or if I apologized.

It all went from bad to worse that day. The day Brahms again "played" with his friend Emily Cribby. I despised Emily from the day I met her. She was around Brahms age and our parents adored her more than they could have ever loved me. In reality, she was a brat and commanded Brahms around whenever they were left alone. I was never allowed to play with them, even when he asked me to join. She was always there.

In all honesty, I wasn't surprised when Brahms snapped. It was an accident more than anything else. But our parents thought that he was possessed. He needed protection. So they put him in the walls. Literally, the safety of our, they said, much better than the hell he would be in if he ever got into prison.

The attic became his new room, and his porcelain doll became their new child. They replaced him with a doll. And their real son was in the fucking walls.

And about me? I survived this terror of new rules, sounds from the walls, and complaining parents for two more years until they send me away. Too much complaining. Maybe they just couldn't handle me trying to talk to the boy in the walls?

It's been years. And now I stand before the house. But without me knowing, I was being watched by the now older man through the windows.

[whitleyschn33]

Not Everything Can Be Wiped Away With A Hug

Or why I’m not happy with Weiss and Whitley’s reconciliation. 

Whitley and Weiss haven’t had a great relationship. From the first time we see him, the two are shown to not be comfortable with each other. Weiss’ tone when they meet is one of dismissiveness and wariness, even if the conversation ends on a technically hopeful note. As the show goes on, every interaction the two have is riddled with tension. Weiss accuses him of wanting her loss of status, Whitley gets angry and bites back. Whitley stops by her room to ask if she wants anything and twist the knife, Weiss asks if he’s jealous and slams the door in his face. When Weiss comes back at the party, she does everything she can to brush him off, clearly annoyed, while Whitley talks about what he’s been up to since she’s been gone. Weiss laughs when Whitley gets splashed with wine, Whitley storms off in a huff. Then Weiss comes back during the... siege(? I don’t know what to call this failed attempted at a Fall), commanders the house, shoves a weapon in Whitley’s face, sends him to his room like he’s a child, and then doesn’t acknowledge him again until he calls Klein. At which point she hugs him and all tensions disappears from their relationship. 

See what’s missing here? We have point A of massive hostility between the two with both parties having grievances with the other and point B of both parties having found a balance in their relationship. What’s missing is a strong connection between those two points. What’s missing is the meat of the actual arc, something between set up and pay off, and that’s ultimately the problem with their reconciliation. It wasn’t worked for, at least on Weiss’s end. There was no effort for any of their grievances to be addressed, talked about, and worked through. There was no point where they took the grievances that had been brought up and had the characters discuss or react to them in any meaningful way. It just fell into their laps - or rather, it fell mostly into Weiss’s lap. That’s the short version, anyway. Let’s discuss the long version.

In Volume 7, Weiss and Whitley’s relationship is tense, Weiss clearly annoyed and dismissive of her brother for being a snot towards her, and Whitley angry that Weiss ignores him and abandoned him to their neglectful/abusive parents. In episode 7, though, Willow flat out tells Weiss why Whitley acts the way he does to her. Willow gives us Whitley’s motivations - that he’s hurt and resentful towards Weiss. This is the set up for a reconciliation; Weiss has been given insight into Whitley’s point of view (had it literally shoved in her face), and has the chance to contemplate it so as to be able to find common ground later. 

Plot stuff happens, and the two are separated as Weiss deals with all that until Weiss needs a place to lay low. Armed with new information on Whitley’s disposition, Weiss... 

Whitley: Oh, you’ve picked a fine time to--

Weiss interrupts by pointing Myrtenaster at him, and he looks at the blade in fright.

Weiss: Not. Another. Word. We’re coming in.

Whitley steps aside and groans as Ruby’s group walks into the manor.

...threatens him after saying 7 words. Not even words of “you can’t come in” or anything to suggest he won’t let them in but, “oh great, this is a wonderful~ time to drop by”, venting frustration. Weiss doesn’t try anything else before shoving a weapon in his face (the face of an unarmed, defenseless, civilian minor that physically can’t stop her from coming in anyway) and forcing her way inside. 

Whitley: Things are already bad enough after what you did to father, now you want us to harbor fugitives too? Our family has a reputation.

He crosses his arms in annoyance. Blake, having set Nora down on the floor, looks at him.

Blake: That’s what you’re worried about? Your reputation?

Whitley: I’m just saying that we’ve already lost all the house staff, and Mother locked herself in her room.

Weiss: Maybe you haven’t figured out what’s going on, Whitley, but we’re busy trying to save Atlas.

Whitley continues to vent his frustration. Jacques, Whitley’s only source of familial attention, has been taken away by Weiss (”what you did to Father”), the staff has all vacated the estate (most likely a combination of their employer being carted away in the back of a military truck and then all hell breaking loose in Mantle and Atlas airspace), and Willow, the only other human being in the mansion, has locked herself in her room for several hours, up to almost 24 hours (I’m honestly lost on the timeline of this volume with how much it flip-flops between night and day, and I can’t be bothered to rewatch these episodes). 

Whitley has been left completely and utterly alone, and Weiss comes back not for him, but to use his resources to hide herself and her friends, all of which are wanted by the military. I don’t know what Atlesian policy is, but harboring fugitives is a crime punishable with prison sentences in the US, dependent on what the fugitive is charged with. She’s forcing him to risk being arrested and imprisoned for her crimes, after destroying his family’s reputation with Jacques’ arrest and causing everyone to vacate the manor and leaving him utterly alone (the way he follows up Blake’s response with “I’m just saying we’ve already lost all the house staff” makes me think he’s tying those two things together. With Jacques’s arrest, their reputation is falling, and everyone’s jumping ship, starting with the house staff. Any other family allies the Schnees might have legally and politically are likely to follow suit to save their own skin (ah, societal politics of the rich). Harboring fugitives and Whitley and possibly Willow arrested as well? The Schnees are sunk, dead in the water. They’re not getting out of that, they’ll be left to the dogs.). And how does Weiss respond?

Weiss: Maybe you haven’t figured out what’s going on, Whitley, but we’re busy trying to save Atlas. 

How in the absolute hell is he supposed to come to this conclusion? No, really, tell me. He knows two things: one, he knows there’s some kind of Grimm threat in the heatless Mantle and hovering around Atlas based on the news - maybe; we don’t know how much the news has reported about how bad it is outside of that one Mantle broadcast and how much Whitley has kept up with the news (he seems the type to absorb in as much information as possible, but he may not have been watching every waking second) - and two, he knows his sister and her friends have pissed off the military and are marked as fugitives. There is no way for him to know that the group of fugitives are doing anything to help Atlas, especially when he has no way to know what’s going on and what Weiss+co are up to. Weiss’ comment does nothing but imply that he’s too wrapped up in his own stuff to see the big picture, when he doesn’t have the knowledge that there’s even a big picture to look at. Rather than trying to reach out and reason with Whitley, Weiss snaps at him and treats him like he’s being self absorbed and shallow. His life is falling apart, he’s been left behind again by staff and his mother, and Weiss doesn’t just not respond to it, she gets mad at him for it. It’s Ruby that has to step up and tell him that they just need a place for their friend to heal and then they’ll leave (which turns out to be a bold-faced lie, but that’s another post). 

Whitley relents then, and asks what they want him to do. Weiss then tells him to “go to his room”. Let’s set this up - we don’t know how old Whitley is, but we can guess based on Weiss’s age. Weiss is 19, and Whitley is likely 2 to 3 years younger, as he seems a bit older than Oscar but most likely more than a year younger than Weiss. That makes Whitley at least 16 years old, possibly 17. Whitley is either just a year younger or the same age as Ruby, the girl Weiss is blindly following as a leader. Whitley is not a child. A minor, probably, but not a child (I consider “child” to be 12 and under, and minor to be 13 - 16/17 (depending on what the age of maturity is in Remnant, which I’ve always considered to be 17 based on Beacon admission ages) btw to clarify). Yet, Weiss tells the boy that she has no legal or emotional authority over that’s about the same age as her leader to go to his room, treating him like he’s a petulant child. She doesn’t want to have to deal with him, so she shunts him aside - makes it clear that she’s not going to break his isolation, she wants him out of her way. Alone.

The relationship between Weiss and Whitley was already tense and hostile, but this pushes that to the next level. Before, it was hurt feelings and snipping - valid hurt feelings on both sides - but this has escalated it. Physical threats of violence, forcing him into committing a possible felony, and then dismissing him like he’s a child shows a lack of respect for Whitley, and is the exact opposite of working towards reconciliation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Whitley’s anger and resentment towards his sister grew after this; that would be my reaction. 

“But wait!” You might be thinking. “That’s not really fair to Weiss - she’s worried about Nora who’s possibly dying and about being followed by Atlas’ military. She just wants to get under cover as fast as possible and then get to helping Nora! She’s stressed and tense, it makes sense that she’d be brusque to Whitley; we shouldn’t judge her so harshly.” To which I say - character is the choices you make under pressure, not when everything is just fine. Weiss resorting to the threat of violence immediately against someone she knows is no threat when faced with a tense situation where some diplomacy and respect would go a long way, it’s not a good look for who she is as a person. But alright, let’s play that game. Weiss is too worried about Nora to deal with Whitley at the moment. She gets Nora to bed, starts treating her as best she can, and then... 

Nothing. Weiss doesn’t speak to Whitley again until he calls Klein for Nora, presumably a day later (once again, I’m not entirely sure. They arrive at what I believe is sunset, Amity happening that night, then the sun rising or setting in Midnight (?) and in War it’s night again as Klein arrives, so I think that this has  to be the next night but it’s extremely difficult to tell and causes a crap ton of plot holes, thanks a lot CRWBY (I might skim through each episode to put together just how broken the timeline is)). That’s 24 hours where Weiss didn’t decide to ask Ruby or Blake (who I would have thought would be the one to have the most first aid knowledge of the three with her militia group experience) to watch over Nora for a few minutes while she seeks out Whitley to talk to him. 24 hours where she didn’t choose to apologize for threatening him, or go to talk to him about what’s going on, or follow up on Willow’s request, or ask if their mother is even alive still if she’s been locked up drinking for over a day, probably 2 (again, the timeline is fucked up). That’s not “I’m rushing and being harsher than I normally would out of concern for my friend”, that’s “I don’t regret or care about how I’ve treated my brother; I don’t see any reason to reach out to him” (And as side note - if Weiss had gone to see Whitley earlier, letting him know just how bad of shape Nora was in, Whitley might have called Klein earlier. By talking to her brother, Weiss could have gotten Nora the help she needed sooner, but she didn’t).

This is the next conversation Weiss and Whitley have after she threatens him and sends him to his room. I know I spent far too long breaking it down, but that was just one incident, the only one between  between Willow telling Weiss to not forget Whitley and their hug.

Weiss: You called Klein?

Whitley: That girl needs a doctor. (turns away from Weiss) I didn’t do it for you.

Weiss: I know. That’s why it means so much to me.

Whitely gasps as Weiss steps forward to hug him. After some hesitation, he sighs and embraces her back. Weiss gasps when she and the others hear an explosion from outside.

That’s it. That’s their reconciliation. After this point, Whitley shows no anger towards Weiss or brings up his issues with her, so we’re meant to think that this is it, the Weiss-Whitley reconciliation is over.

Now, on Weiss’s side, I could see this putting Whitley in her good graces (maybe). Weiss’ grievances with Whitley boil down to hurt feelings over him being a snot about her loss of inheritance and being annoying. Whitley was being a jerk about it when he came around in V4E9 to twist the knife, but we know why he did that (he was pushing his own situation in Weiss’s face, a “see how you like it, being stuck here alone like I was” type thing), Weiss does get an explanation for it later from Willow, and at the end of the day, that’s all he did. He didn’t betray her, act against her, try and get her in trouble with Jacques - he didn’t do anything to her. Gloating at the role reversal is petty, yes, but it’s not like Weiss doesn’t attempt to fire right back, and it’s not like she wasn’t plenty rude to him when accusing him of wanting it to happen. Weiss mentions “you never liked me” in V4E7, but we never get anything more specific than that, and implies that he was just bitter and snippy with her like he is in V4E9. Theoretically he could have been an absolute terror before, but since we’re never shown any of this or given any examples, it’s difficult to factor in anything Whitley may have done before V4 as a piece of Weiss’ attitude towards him. Point is, since I’m starting to ramble, is that ultimately Whitley hasn’t done anything but hurt Weiss’s feelings, and him calling a doctor for Nora purely because Nora needs one feels like it might be enough to put Whitley in Weiss’ good graces, even if it raises some uncomfortable implications - that Weiss only extends her love and affection when Whitley does something she likes and can revoke it if he does something she doesn’t (like make a light joke).

On Whitley’s end, though, this scene is an absolute mess of an ending. At the end of Volume 7, Whitley is angry and resentful towards Weiss (and Winter) for abandoning him to abusive and neglectful parents, and then arresting Jacques, taking away his only source of attention and dealing a huge blow to their family’s status. In Volume 8, Weiss comes back, threatens him physically, dismisses his concerns, treats him like a child by sending him to his room, and leaves him alone again until he does something she likes. At no point does Weiss do anything that would make his attitude towards her shift to the better; in fact, she does things that should only further alienate him. Why is Whitley no longer mad at her? Because she gave him a hug? That doesn’t change that she still (from his point of view) abandoned him without a second thought, blamed him for things he didn’t do, threatened him with a weapon, forced him to harbor them, and then talked down to him and pushed him aside when she didn’t want to deal with him - abandoning him again. Weiss has done nothing to make Whitley any less resentful. She hasn’t acknowledged how she’s hurt him, they haven’t discussed why he was so hurt by her leaving, there’s been no attempt for the rift between them to be mended. Weiss just hugs him, and somehow that makes everything better. I didn’t realize that Whitley was so completely starved for affection that a hug makes him forget everything leading up to it - a hug that he initially backed away from.

He has his hands raised defensively, he starts backing away, and his expression is completely shocked. His posture is completely stiff, his arms falling to his side and hands clenching into fists. He’s clearly not comfortable with this initially, before giving in with a sigh and hugging Weiss back - giving in and giving Weiss what she wants. 

Weiss is happy with him now, so Whitley can’t be upset. Weiss gives her approval, Whitley has been useful to her, so Whitley is “redeemed” in the eyes of the characters and the audience. What Whitley wants, what Whitley feels, what motivates Whitley? They don’t matter now that Weiss cares about him again. They aren’t discussed, they don’t continue to effect how Whitley acts and views Weiss, Weiss has forgiven him, so Whitley isn’t allowed to still be pissed with Weiss. Weiss didn’t have to do anything to reconcile with her brother, she doesn’t have to be humbled or acknowledge her own role in this dysfunctional relationship. She got to treat him with violence and like a child, and then hug him and act like everything is forgiven when by all reasonable logic, Whitley should be pushing her away, repeating that he didn’t do this for her and to back off.

Weiss didn’t work for this; Weiss didn’t earn this. Whitley’s own emotions and motivations were stripped away to let her get her brother on her side without her having to confront her own mistakes, because RWBY refuses to let its main girls make mistakes.

This isn’t the first time this has happened in RWBY, far from it. This isn’t even the only example of this happening with Whitley. Next episode and a few later, they do the exact same thing with Whitley and Willow! Whitley starts episode 8 rightfully pissed at his mother; she’s left him completely alone for two days straight to drink in her room, being less than useless, straight up neglectful. This anger carries on when she tries to call him, him turning to the door as the Hound approaches with anger. During the Hound attack, Willow grabs onto him, and he lets him. That makes sense, both of them were extremely frightened by this Grimm unlike anything they’d ever seen. What doesn’t make sense is that in episodes 11 and 12, Willow is still hanging onto him. I haven’t watched episode 11 for personal reasons (RWBY’s pissed me off), but I’ve seen the screenshots.

Willow’s holding onto him like she’s showing him off with pride. It’s a cute image - but why is Whitley allowing it? Why is Whitley not pulling away? Whitley was rightfully angry at his mother for neglecting him, for leaving him emotionally and mentally, right up until the Hound attack. Now, I know what you’re thinking; Willow saved his life. They killed the Hound together. Something like that, it can being people together. I agree - and I would even buy that being the spark for Whitley giving his mother another chance if there had been any kind of scene or even conversation on screen where we get to see this transition from rightfully anger at a drunk neglectful mother to a son giving a proud mother another chance at being his mother. It would have been incredibly easy to slip in, too! Like, and I’m just spitballing here -

Willow after the Hound is killed: Are you alright, Whitley?

Whitley: Oh, so you suddenly care. That’s nice to know.

Willow: I have always cared -

Whitley: Then you haven’t ever shown it! Whitley gets visibly angry. You’ve done nothing but leave me alone in this house with him while you drown yourself in your wine. You haven’t cared about me since I was 7 years old! Stop acting like you’re my mother! Whitley starts walking off. 

Willow: Whitley - ! Willow reaches out for Whitley and stops him I - she deflates - You’re right. I have been a horrible mother. I’ve left you alone, all this time, and if I had been even slightly more drunk tonight, you might have been killed.  ...I might have lost you for good, and it would have been my own fault. I’m sorry...

Whitley: He pauses, and falls silent. 

Willow: ...Please. I almost lost you tonight, and I don’t want to lose you to something I can fix. Is there anything I can do? Can I... Can I get a chance?

Whitley: .....he turns back to Willow, taking a deep breath, and looks up at her. ...One chance. You can’t - You can’t fix all of this, but... Whitley looks away ...I’ve wanted you back for 9 years. I don’t want to lose you either if I might get you back.

Willow: Willow looks surprised, before giving him a weak smile and pulling him into a hug. Thank you, Whitley. And I am so, so proud of you.

Whitley: Whitley stiffens with surprise, looking at his mother with shock, but returns the shaky smile and hugs her back.

One minute for this conversation, and I would be completely on board with Whitley and Willow seeming to reconcile as well. The same goes with Weiss, except a longer conversation.

If Weiss and Whitley had had even one talk where they both admit their faults and failings, apologize to each other, and agree to try again, I would be all on board with this Schnee family reconciliation. As it is now, though, with how it’s been written in the show, neither Weiss nor Willow have had to work to repair their relationships with Whitley; Whitley’s anger has just been wiped away. They set up the potential for reconciliation between Weiss and Whitley, between Willow and Whitley, acknowledging why Whitley is angry with both of them, but rather than have any of the characters take that knowledge and use it to reach out to Whitley, the writers skip all of that and let the characters treat Whitley however they want until they end up reconciled with one act. A single summon is treated like it makes up for years of neglect. A single hug because Whitley was useful to Weiss is treated like it makes up for abandonment, disrespect, and threats of violence. They don’t, and the lack of respect the writers’ have for the emotions of a male abuse victim sickens me.

[fafulous]

Take Me Home (1/5)

Andy Barber x Reader (Post!Defending Jacob)

Summary: After the unfortunate events of the trial and after, a depressed Andy Barber decides to call it quits and start a mundane life far away from Newton. He decides it is best to have a fresh start away from prying eyes and alone, but he never thought his caring neighbor (and her son) would change all of that.

Themes: MAJOR D.J. SPOILERS ((The series is following the BOOK ENDING and not Show)), Sad and soft Andy Barber, Single Mother Reader. Cursing.

a/n: I hope you guys like it. We all know Andy deserves some softness :’)

The one thing you cherished about your neighbourhood was its calming silence.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the 21st century fast pacers. It did not give you any force to lead a rush life. No matter how hard life was you enjoyed this serenity, just like your neighbours.

You were the only one relatively younger in your neighbourhood, for this place was normally owned by retired elderly after experiencing everything life had to offer. But for you and your three-year-old little son, it was a second chance at life. All your neighbours except for that one loner house beside you was occupied by retired veterans and war heroes.

But that soon changed.

A man by the name Andrew Barber had moved to the house beside you. You got to know one day when you saw a huge truck with people going in and out of the house with clean and neat furniture.

Seeing all that, your vivid imagination went running and tried to picture how this man would look. Judging by the furniture (which made no sense), you thought your new neighbour was someone who would be simple and felt it wasn’t going to be someone who was, you know, old.

Oh boy were you right.

Once those packers went by, you saw him.

Andrew Barber was nothing what you thought out to be. Tall and broad, his back muscles would tell you its own tale. From afar you noticed his biceps never failed him too, for his arms screamed whenever he went in and out with a huge piece of cardboard boxes. His facial hair was a bit messy, like he is just moving into his new abode right after a sloth nap. You weren’t sure but his blue eyes had a dull finish that were deep embedded in his sunken face.

You also took notice of his sleek black Audi A6 which was parked by his driveway; It was not easy to peel your eyes away from its beauty.

This was wrong. You’re a single mother with the most adorable kid you could’ve ever asked for. After a struggle of six months your son Nikolai and you have found a hint of stability; single parenting is never easy unless you get the hang of it.

And you did.

Before you could offer any refreshments, your neighbours beat you to it. They were too kind. They were the elderly parents whose snobbish kids only visited once a year. Hence you decided to fill the gap in their lives. They loved you and you loved them back.

So now you decided that maybe when the time is right, you could meet him in a day or two and get to know each other.

Right?

 —

This was new for Andy. Very foreign too.

To live a life without Laurie and Jacob was something he never expected to happen after the trial. It’s been a good handful of weeks since it happened. He did not even have the heart to think more about his son. His eyes would cloud with tears and the whole day would go wasted in drowning himself in sorrow and liquor.

He was still mourning after all.

So he decided to move. Move away from his house that reminded of his 17 years of a marriage that only seemed successful, only for it go wrong in an impulse. Move away from all of the local tabloids that hinted at himself being a next murderer. 

Move away from his unsuccessful lineage.

Scattered around him were boxes of his stuff at his new house, his stuff alone. Laurie’s stuff was nearly packed and sent away to her parents’ home, the last time he’ll ever associate himself with her family.

Yes, her family.

Andy did file for a divorce while she was in prison, but that was a long procedure until it became official. However hard it was to sign those papers; it was as hard to let go of Laurie. Because if he lets her go, he has nobody.

A lone sunken soul.

The packers truck got in half of his belongings, the remaining which will come tomorrow. It was difficult moving especially with one single person. His neighbours were all elderly, so surely, he could not ask anyone for help. Also, it was another reason he chose this locality, he could be alone while he knew he lived in a tightly knitted community filled with respected war veterans. 

He was extremely taken aback when many of his neighbours offered him freshly cooked food and refreshments to get over the day. He was thankful. They knew about his past and still they accepted him and asked him to reach out if any help was needed.

Andy’s day went ahead unpacking his clothes first, which took his time. He wondered if he’d ever need the fashionable suits and ties, he wore to work. There was a job opening at a swimming instructor at the local community gym; all he needs are those Speedos. But nevertheless, he kept then all back, trying to keep his mind preoccupied in cleaning.

But all that effort seemed futile for every memory crashed down when he unpacked his wedding tux.

He felt too claustrophobic, buried his hand in his face. He no longer had a marriage. He no longer had anyone to look after.

He no longer had anyone to look after him.

But amidst all this chaos in his foggy mind, he hears a lovely toothy giggle of a child. 

He peeks out of his window to see a young mother and her small son sitting in their backyard with a picnic spread in front of them, while the little boy kept tripping over the grass purposefully just so he could laugh and make his mother laugh too. Andy had no idea he had a middle-aged family living nearby.

Seeing you and the son spread this familiar warmth inside Andy, reminiscing how he had this. It reminded Andy of a happier time. 

Soon to be replaced with anguish. He would never have that again. He missed feeling the warmth of family, the love of a wife. Life never really gave second chances he believed.

He noticed you, a caring mother placing the little one on your lap while you fed him all the scrumptious food. He didn’t fail to miss how your eyes shined with happiness. A happy woman is always a pretty woman at heart; it is something he used to tell himself. A soft chuckle left out of Andy’s lips as he saw the boy eat the food messily, but you seemed to be patient, responding lovingly towards his naughty antics. 

Her husband is one lucky son of a bitch.

He could watch you two all day, but that would be extremely inappropriate. Right now, Andy wanted his newfound house to look like a home.

Next day went by and it didn’t seem like he was getting anywhere near getting his house ready. He was waiting for another truck to get more of his stuff while he sipped on some bear till the movers arrived. They unloaded most of his stuff at his lawn and went away.

“Need a hand moving those boxes?”

Andy turned around to a gentle voice of the same woman who had he had seen yesterday with the small child.

You.

A chilly afternoon, he wasn’t surprised you sporting a loose, fluffy knitted woollen pullover with black leggings. Your hair was tied up in a bun and then noticed that he was probably staring at you for a long time.

“Uh- No. I’m fine, thank you.”

But you kept standing there looking at him smirking. He was literally struggling to carry all those boxes “Your body language says something else.”

When he looked up you saw his sunken eyes with even more detail as though the man hasn’t slept in days, “Would I be desperate man if I said yes?”

You chuckled, “Not at all. I’m Y/N Y/LN.”

“Andrew Barber”, he stretched out his hand for a warm greeting with a firm handshake. The feeling of his rough palms sends small jitters to you, but you ignored it; and just like that you resumed. 

You helped him lift the bigger boxes to his house even though you knew he carried most of the weight. Two could always get the work done sooner. Both of you didn’t talk much for these 20 minutes but it was a comfortable silence while both of you took sneaky glances at each other’s features.

When you neared him, you realized he was lot more than just handsome. Sunken face was holding two blue eyes that would be enticing if he had put any effort to put any life in them. His beard was neatly trimmed although scruffy, just like you saw yesterday.

Andy on the other hand was just too despondent to, you know, check you out. He thought you to be a beautiful woman with a kind heart, especially after seeing you and your son yesterday.

He even thought of asking you about your son and family, but that would be too intrusive he wondered.

Andy thought you’d leave after moving the boxes but you insisted you’d stay to help unpack his stuff and maybe cook some lunch for him since he didn’t even unpack his kitchen utensils out. He was ready to accept the help only for a second.

The Andrew Barber he knew before the events of the trial would have gladly accepted, maybe even made lunch for the beautiful lady, instead of you, who graciously offered him help. He was divorced now so there was nothing stopping him.

But do you really deserve a fresh start with a lady Andy?

Would she be here if she knew who you really were?

His mind was plagued. He moved here with the intention of a fresh start but, he wondered if anyone would actually accept him. He decided for himself that they wouldn’t.

“It’s alright Y/N. Thanks for your help.”

There was no way a man could set up his home all alone you thought. “Mr. Barber, are you sure? I really have no problem. I’m completely unoccupied at the moment. Besides Nikolai-”

“No.”

You blinked at his curt reply.

“I’m good Y/N. I can take care of the remaining stuff here. You can go now.”

Looking at him made you realise how conflicted he was. His words likely meant that he didn’t require your presence but his whole demeanour looked like just wanted some god damn company. He didn’t mind your help at first, but at the same time now he was pushing you away. What changed?

So much for making acquaintances with the new neighbour, you thought.

Without saying anything you stiffly nodded, Andy realizing the offence written all over your face, and saw you walk away from his abode closing his door politely.

It was probably for the best to keep distance from a kind woman like you. He knew you were trying to get acquainted with him like any normal person would, but Andy was firmly grounded that he and normalcy would never go back again.

The minute you left he opened another beer bottle to sink himself. This fresh start for Andy was just bullshit.

–

You rushed back the minute you closed Mr. Grumpy Cat’s door and made a beeline to your home, only to see your son playing on the countertop with one your elderly neighbour. 

“Thank you, Mr. Arthur, for taking care of Nikolai. I hope he didn’t cause much trouble.”

“I’d do anything for you sweet pea, Nikolai was a sweetheart.” The old man chuckled and turned to leave, “By the way last weekend’s pot pie was delicious. I had to make it up to you.”

Returning a hug, you thanked your neighbour again and leaped your son in your arms, attacking him with kissed while he spurted giggles. “Mommy it tickles!”

“Guess what happened peaches? I met our new neighbour”

Nikolai clapped his hand “Mista Wandew Bahhba?”

Your son was hell bent on knowing the name of the newcomer after he laid his eyes on the stylish black Audi. Boys always know their toys.

You nodded, “He’s a grumpy man peaches. I have no idea what to do with him.” And just like that you began speaking with Nikolai. He was your only company to talk. He never really understood anything, but your talented son did a fairly good job of putting up a pretense to hear.

“I offered him help and he says yes. Then I kindly ask him if I can help him more, you know like cook homemade spaghetti. But instead he becomes snippy with me?”

“Woh no,” your son whispered to your exclamation, which in reality was for his superhero figurines falling on to the floor. “I like his cahr mommy.”

“So do I Niko, but I so do not like him,” you paused and gave him a kiss on the forehead, “Guess we’re the only sunshine in this neighbourhood peaches.”

—

Days went by and you rarely interacted with your new neighbour.

Oh and when it did, it really never went well for you.

The first time was when a few standard posts under the name of Mr. Barber arrived at your doorstep, since he wasn’t available at his house. Like any other hospitable neighbour, you signed the post and made sure to drop it by him when he gets back.

"Uh Mr. Barber the post man dropped this by at our doorstep since you weren’t available. I thought I should give it to you.”

Andy opened the door with a few knocks and saw you standing with a few posts in a fluffy cable knit sweater. He took the posts from you, gently brushing over your hands. He perused through them quickly and gave you that conflicted stern look.

“I appreciate it Mrs. Y/L/N, but next time I’d like to collect my own posts irrespective of its nature. You can tell them I can collect it from the post office”

Was this man for real?

You crossed your arms and gave him back that stern look too. He wasn’t going to get away without you throwing shade. “Oh you know Mr. Barber I was just trying to be a good neighbour. It’s not like I’m dying here to get associated with you.”

He gave you a nasty grin which triggered you to make you leave away from his threshold.

Andy thought for a moment that he already crossed the line with the wrong woman.

The next time you met him was probably the last time you would ever meet him.

Your shift at the library got too late, for you were the Librarian of the local Library. You didn’t have to worry much about picking up your son late for he was at Mr. Arthur’s.

But coming home realising that he was sitting on the front porch of Andrew’s house made you park your car haphazardly in your driveway and run up to your child, ignoring Andrew’s presence.

“I’m so sorry sweetie. What are you doing here Niko?”

Andy interrupted, “Mr. Arthur had to visit the hospital. He was catching the flu and he didn’t want to give it to Nikolai here.”

You didn’t want to meet his gaze, but you forced yourself for you were grateful for this kind gesture. Maybe this Grumpy Cat has a kind heart after all.

“Mr. Barber, thank you so much for taking care of Niko. My phone must’ve been on silent if Arthur wanted to contact me.”

“Oh, don’t thank me Mrs. Y/L/N. I am just filling in the gaps of irresponsible parenting.”

It felt like a blunt hit to your heart. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, you heard me.” he whispered so closely that you could smell his musky deodorant with a hint of beer. Your son was out of earshot, sipping on a glass of lemonade that was probably offered by this man. “Trust me I know what happens to a child that is always kept away from their caretakers.”

He quickly went on to say how Nikolai was a special child when your son came near you both and how your family should take more care in your child. You never really listened for your eyes threatened to pierce with tears. No way were you going to cry in front of this man.

“Thank you Mista Wandi.”

“Anytime buddy.”

He went up and shut the door, like it was a personal aimed at you.

And you just stood there feeling numb while Niko tugged on your work coat.

“Let’s go home Mommi.”

The audacity to tell you how to be a parent. Did he even have a child? Does he even know how to it is to take care of a child single handed?

But those questions never mattered. No matter how positive you are in life, its never nice to hear someone spew your flaws on to your face.

Meanwhile minutes passed when Andy soon realised how he had royally fucked up. Everyday around 5pm you and your child would come along to the backyard and have a snack ritual while both of you played or read story books. For Andy, though he chided himself for his stalking behaviour, it brought him a sense of peace to see your son scream with shrills of laughter when he ran around the lawn.

He had nothing against you, yet he was being selfish.

I be mean to her; I stay away from here. Simple.

Today however, Nikolai sat facing away from his ypu munching on freshly baked cookies while you sported a tear stained face. He felt a twinge when he saw you staring straight ahead with a blank stare while tears rolled down. His heart successfully sunked when he saw Nikolai trying to wipe your tears and hug you. Andrew then sat down dramatically on his chair when he saw you breakdown into your son’s fragile shoulders.

Apologies wouldn’t fix this. It would, but Andrew Barber the resilient thought that being obnoxiously rude to someone he wants to be close to will make them hate him.

He never thought it would hurt you.

He decided not to take any efforts in an apology; or it could take more than an apology.

—

A few weeks passed by and you tried your level best and succeeded in avoiding banters with Mr. Grumpy Cat. Whenever you saw him, a flurry of rage fell over you. Was it your mistake you were trying to be friendly to your only attractive neighbour?

Strike out attractive. A mean soul was never attractive.

Andrew Barber on the other hand dreaded what had happened; he was a little too late to the party to realise that your house had no male inhabitant, except for that one man who had made a visit.

He soon deduced that you were a single mother.

Too late rather Andy.

And when he recalled what he had said to you, he wanted you to slap him in the face. Hard enough to have a bruise that lasted for a year.

Nikolai and you always woke up late on a weekend morning. Both of you always shared and slept in the same room for Nikolai had regularly occurring nightmares.

You never realised but you and Niko woke up a small commotion outside your house, or probably his house.

Plus, the other day it so happened Nikolai’s father paid a terribly long visit, pleading you to take him back into your life. He felt apologetic for what he did. But that lingering memory was soon cut off by Grumpy Cat’s voice.

Knowing his tendencies to irate his neighbours, (or maybe just you exclusively) you ignored it and began serving late breakfast pancakes for your son. But you soon stopped when you heard a loud, hoarse bellow.

“GET OFF MY LAWN!”

You looked outside of your window to see a bunch of vans and the reporters standing outside Andy’s lawn. Niko ran up to you and carried him over your hip for the little one heard the scary yell too.

Andy’s car was parked haphazardly on the pavement. A pair or more of reporters were taking pictures of him and his vandalised garage door.

“Oh my god.”

You put down Niko and asked him to play with his toys. Yes, you hated Andrew but what you saw on his now tainted garage door made you want to retch. It was such a distasteful thing to do. It appeared as if a spray can paint was used to write whatever it was on the door:

MURDERER, YOU WILL ROT IN HELL TOO.

Andy crouched down on his knees, his hands covering his face and ruggedly running his hands through his hair, while he kneeled down in front of the vandalism.

The very reason he moved away from Newton was now on his garage door.

You wanted to go out and help him, but your ego wouldn’t let you. Why should you help a man who was nothing but mean to you all this while?

Luckily enough you saw Mr. Arthur and a couple of his old friends admonishing the press. They threatened that this community was filled with retired war veterans and that they would charge them for community trespassing and disrupting the lives of people who have lost a limb and more for this country.

Hearing that threat made the desperate amateur reporters leave from the vicinity as soon as possible.

Andy stood up and tried to process this whole situation, looking around for any sort of help, only to lay his eyes on the faint image you from your window.

You expected him to shout and rage and ask you to fuck off from staring at his pitiful state. But he didn’t. You would never forget those embarrassed sunken eyes, silently pleading for help.

He didn’t deserve this. You have no idea about his past or who he was to garner such attention, but this was just cruel. He soon averted from your gaze and went on to thank his fellow elderly friends and made his way inside home.

Later in the evening, you caught Andy scrubbing the ugly writings with cloth and soap water. After a while, he took a few steps behind and saw that they words were still there but faded.

“I had some grey paint for Nikolai’s nursery, but never got the chance to do it.”

Andy turned to that sweet voice of yours and hesitated in meeting your gaze. He was embarrassed, for you stood there, giving out an arm to help him again despite his foul behaviour. He saw little Nikolai standing behind you with his shabby brown hair that reminded him of Jacob, clutching onto your legs while he peaked at him. He didn’t understand what you mean by the whole nursery thing, but he stood up and finally, both of you took in each other’s gaze.

Andy’s eyes were even more sunken than he had when he arrived, his blue orbs sunk in a sea of red. He must have been crying. He saw you were missing your feisty eyes that you always sported. Maybe it’s because you despised him so much.

“It’s not the exact colour of your garage door but it can do the trick I suppose.”

The second you handed over the paint to him, you quickly turned around to head towards your home. But Andy didn’t want to push you further anymore by being a dick. He was ready to apologise.

“Hey please listen up! I really am s- “

“No no no,” your voice trembled; this habit of crying while you were angry was just exasperating you wondered, “I think its best we don’t hold conversation Mr. Barber. This will be probably my last interaction with you; what happened to you was horrid and ugly. You don’t deserve that. That much I know”

Andy was hesitant, embarrassed. “Mrs. Y/L/N- “

“Quit calling me a missus! I am not even fucking married anymore-” you said drawing quotes in the air, to be interrupted by a little tug at your coat. You realised that your kid was standing next to you. And you swore in front of him. Great parenting.

“Oh Niko,” you picked him up and peppered him with a few kisses, “Sorry for that language. Mommy won’t swear again okay. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah”, the kid nodded and buried his head into your neck and hugging you tightly.

"Let’s go, sweetie. I’m done with this man.”

As you went away the little boy who was wrapped around over your shoulder waved with his short hands to Andy. To Nikolai, Andy was the one who had the coolest car and made the best lemonade (which he had when he was made to wait for his mom). He never really understood the intensity of adults’ arguments. He was just a grateful child.

It was only then Andy realised he had to make it up to you by any means for he stood there alone feeling like a real douchebag with a paint can in his hands.

—

Part 2

—

Taglist (IS OPEN): @sinner-as-saint @captainscanadian, @kakakatey @bluevelvetsam

@mrsbarneswillseeyounow

@anqelicstarc @lcandothisallday @https-bucky @readermia @chrisevansforever @ruthyalva96 @thedarkplume @sammyfresh @bloglovelylady @stuckys-dirty-girl @rindaastridfreakinreign @buckys-plums3 @marvelouspottering @sweetlittlegingy @emilykjhgsj @poppunkdork @bval-1lovepeacefood

@captainchrisstan @hista-girl @xlanawriter

@denisemarieangelina @xoxabs88xox @adreamemporium @yoncevans @oceanlenny @ididntchoosethislife @evansinlove @ninaminaromina @sodonutnutnut @nickysurfer28 @captainchrisstan​ @charmed-asylum​ @lovepeacefood @trashboggart​

[theyapper0]

Amphibia season 1 rewatch + notes :)

So I just finished rewatching the ENTIRE season 1 of Amphibia and I have some notes on the episodes that stood out to me! There are some quick notes, a couple lengthy analyses and even some headcanons sprinkled in! It's like a written stew of season 1! I'll be doing a written Amphiba stew for season 2 too!!

It's kinda long so you could just skip this or hit the keep reading button and give it a read! 

S1: E2 Cane Crazy

Anne shows general disregard over other people's things

(Mimicking Hop Pop and breaking his cane, throwing all the wood carving things that Loggle made, even a coo coo clock that she even said was nice (And for him to say it took 20 years to make right after she broke it))

S1: E2 Flood, Sweat and Tears 

Anne would be the WORST during sleepovers and I LOVE IT!!! My girl is just being a tween, staying up late, playing would you rather and keeping everyone else up. I think that's ADORABLE and now I'm thinking about how sleepovers might've been back home with her, Sasha and Marcy… 

She also just stays up late in general?? She reads dumb magazines and eats CRUNCHY snacks. She is really just 13,,,

And it looks like Sprig does it too, not as much as Anne (probably because he is younger than her) but it seems like it has to be in his terms. Before, he looked to be annoyed with it when he was trying to sleep. But, if he was awake, like in the beginning or at the end of the episode, he had no problem staying up playing would you rather!!! 

S1: E3 Hop Luck 

Anne: Old things are dumb! 

And 

Anne:* violently GRABS Sprig and shoves him against the wall* don't you DARE talk about pineapple in my pizza… Ever…

Anne: 

Sprig: 

Anne: Okay! Let's go get these ingredients! 

HHHH ANNE!!! I love this funky little child SO MUCH!!! 

Hop Pop loves these kids so much that he was willing to put aside his old, traditional family recipes in exchange for making pizza with them. My heart is gonna explode I'm-

Anne please don't make your surrogate frog brother get married just to get some pizza dough I'M BEGGING YOU-

S1: E3 Stakeout 

Hop Pop: I'm a crisp 68!

Is Hop Pop actually 68 or does he mean more of 68 going on 80 68? Either way he looks great! 

Anne has Blam Berry Blitz ("the drink that punches you in the face and doesn't stop") in her bag along with all the OTHER stuff we already saw (air pump, toe nail clipper, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs, etc)

Anne is officially those friends that have EVERYTHING in their bag no matter what. 

I really like the relationship between Anne and Hop Pop, how they both in some way yearn for what was but in different ways (Anne wanting to go home and Hop Pop's olden ways when he was a little pollywog) but are still similar in how they try to remember. They try and try and try to keep what little family/friends they have safe and protected. They love the relationships they've formed with other people (And with each other) and would go great lengths to help and protect them!

Also I MAY be looking way too into it buuuut was Boulder-Tron (that rock dude that Polly hallucinated at the end) supposed to foreshadow Frobo??

S1: E4 Taking Charge 

Okay quick one, Anne nearly having a whole ass panic attack when her phone dies because she couldn't look at her photos or videos of home actually made me sad. This girl is only a CHILD and her entire home and everything is gone and she for real thought she couldn't ever get it back,,, 

Hop Pop: I mean, the part where the island itself is revealed to actually be…!

Sprig: No! 

Polly: Don't!

Anne: Spoilers 

I dunno why and again, I MIGHT BE LOOKING TOO DEEPLY INTO THIS, but maybe this is foreshadowing something with the land of Amphibia? That maybe there is more to this crazy land than we know? Maybe even a reason it, along with all the other universes even exists??? 

S1: E5 Breakout Star 

AHSBWJOA ONLY EPISODE 5 AND ANNE ALREADY HAS HER PHONE'S LOCK SCREEN OF THE PLANTER FAMILY I'M-

S1: E7 Dating Season 

Anne said that ⅔ of ALL soul mates start out as "just friends" 

…

I'm looking at you, team Sashannarcy 

S1: E7 Anne vs. Wild 

Hop Pop's behavior at the end of the episode when Anne finally shows them the calamity box is awfully sus…

He doesn't say anything but "may I?" To inspect the box and then is like "Nope, never seen it" I just feel like he knows something and then adding onto it with the whole burying it to protect his family just sounds like… he definitely knows something, maybe not a lot but there is something he's not telling the others 

Also, why would a book that HE has have information on the Calamity box?? 

(I fully support the Dr. P was a Planter and also possibly the pink frog who was friends with King Andrias theory)

S1: E10 Toad Tax 

At this point, Anne said that she has already been in Amphibia for over a month now. 

(And damn, Sasha's been in prison for like a month,,, yikes)

Also Hop Pop teaching Anne how to pay taxes is so adorable, she really is part of this family now guys,,,

And I love how Anne was able to win over the Wartwood people by being her natural, charming and not to mention caring self. Anne, like Marcy and Sasha, can be selfish because honestly what kid, especially a 13 year old, isn't. 

But what matters is that she always tries to make up for it. 

Yes she did join the arguably sketchy toads into getting the taxes from everyone in order to feel somewhat included in ANYTHING, but while she was doing it, she knew it was wrong. Anne knew it was wrong and tried to give back some of the stolen stuff. Hell, even at the end she risked her safety to protect people she felt didn't even LIKE her, like, Anne literally broke her arm from them because that's just how Anne is. 

S1: E10 Prison Break 

I always forget how like,,, SUPER cunning Sasha is. I mean, she was able to talk FIVE toads into quitting within a WEEK as a PRISONER. Like?? 

Grime: That's not a bird. It's a heron, a murderous predator that happens to love the taste of flesh 

Sasha: Cute 

The lines in this show I'M-

So Anne was a varsity tennis player and Sasha was a cheerleader and did Tai Chi. I still can't believe they were both jocks,,, 

(Well, Sasha I get but Anne? Sweet ol' lil baby with the lanky limbs Anne???) 

Hey um, why the FUCK does Grime have acid spit?

Sasha: *looking at photo of her, Anne, and Marcy* Hold on for a little longer, girls. I'm coming for you. And when I find you, we're gonna get home. But first, I think we're gonna have some fun with this place 

Okay so this line right here. Now I may not be even remotely correct but this line, this last piece of dialogue spoken by Sasha right before the episode ends leads me to believe that she… doesn't take this world seriously. 

At least not yet. 

I think the 3 girls all see Amphibia differently: Anne as more of an obstacle, a wall preventing her from being home, Marcy sees it as an escape from her life with constant stimuli, and Sasha, she sees it as just really another thing to control. Everyone and their mothers know that Sasha can be a little more than controlling and we all know that she liked being lieutenant just a little too much. 

This world is interesting to Sasha, not in the interesting that Anne sees it (who is interesting in the new people and the relationships she's formed) or Marcy (who is also interested in the relationships she's formed along with the thirst for knowledge and again, the constant stimuli in an environment where she isn't stifled and allowed to flourish). 

No, Sasha sees Amphibia as interesting because it gives her something to control. In a world that is not your own, a world that you will leave eventually, who would actually FOLLOW the rules put in place there? Especially a 13 year old who is basically like a war commander who, even if she does do something wrong or breaks a rule or two, the only person who might even dare to stop her is Grime, and even then, he might just encourage it because it is season 1 and they aren't that close and he doesn't really care for Sasha at this point. 

She also is actually very logical. Everything she does in Amphibia, all the morally questionable things she does, it is always for the same reason (or at least at first), to get her and her girls home. Wanting to sacrifice and kill Hop Pop at the end of season 1? Well The toads had promised if she helped, they'll help her find Marcy and bring the 3 of them home. She cares for Anne and Marcy SO MUCH that she is willing to go great lengths to help keep them safe. 

But even though Sasha didn't really care about anyone in Amphibia besides Anne and Marcy at first, it doesn't mean she won't ever. We see countless times throughout season 2 of Sasha caring. She feels regret with her impending betrayal on Anne and Marcy, she cares enough to try and warn Anne about King Andrias' evil plans. Hell, even in the season 3 intro we see her and Grime at Wartwood and it looks like they're gonna be starting another rebellion against the king to help all the amphibians in Amphibia. 

I just really like watching Sasha's appearance and knowing what will happen in the future with her character. 

S1: E13 Trip to the Archives 

Anne: I get this place. It's like a library from my world. Zoo books and manga, here I come! 

So whenever Anne goes to the library, presumably with Sasha and Marcy, she'd go straight to books on animals and manga probably while Marcy did whatever work they needed (if Anne's dialogue in season 2 with Marcy always doing the work for their group projects was anything to go off on)

I dunno, I think that's kinda cute that Anne liked reading books on animals and probably reading all the manga that Marcy recommended. 

Maybe Anne and Sasha would sit right next to each other while Marcy worked and read fun manga together and cackle with each other while Marcy tried SO HARD to concentrate and NOT infodump to them because she's read that specific manga 20 times and HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO THAT ONE PART WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER GOES- 

S1: E15 Wally and Anne

MOSS MAN!! 

When Anne wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to grab Wally at town square, her hood is up and it's dark. The only thing we can make out of her face are…

Glowing blue eyes.

Glowing eyes that share an uncanny resemblance to the moss men.

And Anne loves doing elaborate, silly handshakes? That's so CUTE! Too bad none of her friends liked them as much as she did :( 

When they finally reached the foggy mountain place, Anne noticed glowing blue butterflies and started to follow them, which led her right to the moss man.

WAIT ANNE ALSO DID ROCK CLIMBING BACK HOME?? FUCKING JOCK!!!

S1 E20 Reunion 

Okay I WAS about to say that there wasn't anything to say about this last episode that hasn't already been said before BUT

The last couple moments, when Anne is holding Sasha off the cliff and trying to pull her up with the Planters, there's a couple interesting shots that I would like to talk about. 

While the Planters were holding onto Anne, they say things like "Hang on, Anne! We got you no matter what!" 

And even when the stone cliff starts to chip and break, none of the frogs back off, they don't loosen their grips, they just keep holding onto Anne. 

And they will never let go. 

Because they love her. Because in only 3 months, Anne was able to get a surrogate frog family and dozens of other frog friends in Wortwood. Because Anne has this amazing support system both literally and metaphorically. Because Anne is Anne. And Sasha...

Isn't like Anne. 

Matt Bradly himself even said that both Sasha and Anne are different from Anne, Anne is the heart, the emotional connection in their logical worlds. Anne can make so many friends so easily and Sasha… Sasha became a war genral, she lost a fight against the one person who she thought would never fight back. 

Sasha doesn't have what Anne has. She doesn't have the kind of skills to make such strong relationships, the kind where you risk your life for the other, in such a short amount of time. 

Hell, they even play a song called "Lean on Me", Anne has people to lean on and they would lean on her just the same. She found these people, made these friends, formed amazing relationships, in only THREE months. 

"Maybe you're better off without me"

And Sasha was only dragging her down. 

Sasha loves Anne, she cares for her and would do anything to protect her. That's why she let go. She didn't want to drag Anne down, to hurt her more than she already has. 

Sasha would do anything for Anne, even die. 

Over all notes: 

Season 1 is SUPER FUNNY!! The lines hit and they don't rely on toilet humor to get the audience to laugh. They use great one liners and physical humor that isn't fart or butt jokes. They do an excellent job on showing how crazy the world of Amphibia is through humor like how the animals are always eating each other. 

I really like how the characters were crafted so carefully! And the storyline!!! You could notice things that get explored in season 2 and I can't WAIT to see how many bread crumbs were left to lead up to season 3!

HOW DOES ANNE KEEP SO MANY THINGS IN HER BOOK BAG??? 

That stuff is in her SCHOOL BAG, why would she bring it to school??? So far I've got an air pump, toe nail clippers, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs and an energy drink. WHY??? I wonder if she held on to any of Sasha or Marcy's things too or ever forgot to give them back

Also again, I'M STILL IN SHOCK OF ANNE BEING A JOCK. I don't even know why I am, I knew she played sports and stuff it's just,,, she's so lanky,,, 

Her and Sasha are jock buddies and WILL shove other jocks in lockers if they ever pick on their nerd Marcy.

I also am in LOVE with Hop Pop's screams lmao

Be ready for an analysis of season 2! 

[comingtothetree23]

Chrome Girl

Paring: Peter Parker x reader

Warnings: Swearing, not Mcu cannon, Infinity Train spoilers (Kinda), the usual.

Word count: 2k

Summary: You just wanted to be a person but the world doesn't want you to be. Everyone was against you, everyone except for Peter Parker.

A/n: Reader is based off the character ‘M.T.’ in the show ‘Infinity Train’ so if you haven’t seen the show you probably won’t get it. If you haven’t seen Infinity train you really should, it’s an amazing show.

"So uh, what is this thing exactly?" Peter asked he followed Tony and Strange. Strange just told the avengers that something escaped and they needed to find it.

"A sliver." Strange responded which confused Peter more than anything?

"'Sliver'?" Peter questioned as he walked faster to keep up with the two. 

"A sliver is a reflection that's gone rogue. They are never supposed to be in our world but this one escape and it's our job it gets it back."  Strange explains.

"So our reflection are people?' Peter questioned as he looks down at a puddle staring at himself.

"That's not the point, the point is we find-" There was a crunch in the distance making everyone freeze. Everyone froze and they listen around them. 

Peter frowned as his enhanced hearing picked something up, something only he can hear. He hears heavy breathing and mumbling from no too far away. He also heard his teammate's footsteps moving closer to the being.

"Hey! let me go!" They heard a voice scream. 

"We got it!" They heard Nat yell as they all run toward the sounds. Peter didn't know what to expect but it certainly wasn't this.

Nat and Sam were trying to hold the girl back, the girl had metal skin along with sliver hair even her clothes seemed to be made out of metal. He watched as the girl struggled against the two avengers.

"Let me go! I didn't do anything wrong!" You screamed as you looked at the people around you.

"You left your world, left your post, left your prime, just so you could what? Act as you belong here?" Strange questions as he steps forward.

"I am a person!" You screamed Peter frowned as he saw tears prickling your eyes.

"No, you're a reflection and that's all you'll ever be." Strange knelt down to make eye contact with you, "I'm sorry but you know what's about to happen." 

Your eyes widen at this before anyone could do anything you stomped your foot onto Sams, making him cry out and let go of your arm. With your freed arm you punched Nat before sprinting away.

"Get her, she can't escape!" With that they most of the team follows after you. Peter looks over at where Sam was kneeling, holding his injured foot.

"Are you okay, man?" He went to check on the injury but Sam gently moved his hand away. Sam let out a grunt as he looks at his foot.

"I'll be fine. Damn, that hurt like a bitch!" He cussed as he tried to stand up, making sure not to put weight on his bad foot, "She's actually made out of metal. She punches hard!" Peter frown as he looks to where you ran off too.

"...She's scared," Peter whispers, The look you gave when they cornered you made him feel awful. He doesn't know what happened but he wants to find out.

"She's definitely fight in 'fight or flight'," Sam grumbled as Peter stands up and swings away, leaving Sam there alone and injured, "Alright, man." 

~~

You panted as you run, where ever you could. You should have thought more about this when you left your world. You shook your head before tripping on a branch.

You look over to see a fallen tree a decent hiding place at best.

"She's here somewhere." You heard the man with the cape say your eyes widen as you roll over under the tree. 

"Strange, why do we need her so bad?" A different man says, you look over to see him holding a shield with a star on it. Your eyes widen as you recognize it from captain America, your prime always hated him, "What has she done?"

"It has messed with the order it's either she agrees with our terms or it has to be destroyed." You put your hand over your mouth to conceal your gasp.

"She is a child," Steve starts,

"it is a reflection that went out of line." Strange cuts him off, "Look, I don't like this any more than you do but it's what's right."

"She's no less than Peter's age!" Peter? Who's that? Maybe one of the Avenger's son, "This isn't right strange." 

"I know it is but it's-"

"Mr. Strange?" A new, younger voice speaks up meaning everyone turns to him. It was Spider-Man! Your prime loved Spider-Man so you knew a great deal about him, "What's going on?"

"Peter it's-" Steve starts but cuts himself off. Spider-Man was Peter? Alright, "We're just figuring something out." 'Peter' hummed as he took off his mask and... he was cute, really cute. 

"If it means anything," He started before pointing in a different direction, "I heard something over there, it might be the girl." You watch as all the Avengers follow the direction he pointed, except for him.

He stared right at you before walking over, You swore under your breathe as you tried to get out of the hiding place. It was good for hiding but not running. You jumped when you held a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright," You look over at Peter in fear as he looked at you, "I'm not gonna hurt you, it's alright." 

"What are you doing?" You whisper as you look around, "Is this a trap? why are you helping me?" 

"Because I don't know your story or even why I'm chasing you." He explains as he sits down next to you sitting in the uncomfortable little hole, "That's not fair to you." 

You didn't know how to react so you just stared at him in shock, no one ever listened to you before. Well, except for your prime you watch as he gives you reassuring smile as you fidget with your fingers.

"So what do you want?" You question as you look over at him giving him a look, making him chuckle. You weren't ashamed to admit Spider-mAn had a cute laugh.

"Your story." You look over at him, giving him suspiciously but all he did was give you a small smile back. You let out a sigh as you leaned your head against the tree behind you.

"My story huh? Well, most of my life I've been reflecting my prime." You looked up at the sky as Peter looked at you confused, "A prime is like you, a person but the thing is I'm a person." 

"But people don't believe that so when I escape with the help of my prime, they started hunting me down." Peter frown as he listens to your story, "I haven't even been here for that long but now I won't even get the chance." You whipped your hand against your eyes to get rid of the tears forming. 

"I don't even have a name." You whimpered as you lay your head between your knees, "I'm nothing, nothing at all." Peter shook his head as your shoulder's started to shake.

"No, your someone!" You look up in shock at his mini outburst, he looked angry genuinely angry about what happened, "Maybe if you come with me to talk with the avengers and explain everything, maybe they'll let you go." 

"Yeah, right." You muttered as you sat up straight and looked away from Peter, "The moment they see me they'll attack me. Won't even listen, just like everyone else." You rested your cheek against your knee as you hugged your knee.

"They won't, I won't let them," Peter reassured as he put a hand on your shoulder, "They'll listen to me and I listened to you right?" You look over at him with a shy smile.

"Yea.."

"Then we got this!" He smiled excitedly as he took both your hand and helped you stand up, "Everything will be fine." You give him a smile as he helped you out of the sticks you got yourself stuck in.

~~

"Where could she have gone?" 

"She's literally glowing in the sun, how can we not find her?"

"It couldn't have gone far."

"She seems to know the area." 

"I don't think this'll work." You mumble to Peter as you hid behind him, you held onto his shoulders tightly. Peter continued to walk forward toward his team. 

"Don't worry, I got this." He whispered back as you two entered the Avenger's eyesight, they all looked at the both of you, "Hey guys, as you can see I found her-"

"Peter get away from her!" 

"Don't let it get away." 

Before anyone could blink you were pushed away from Peter and the man's cap wrapped itself around you, making you unable to escape. Your eyes widen as you struggled against the fabric.

"H-Hey!" You look up at Peter with a look of betrayal, "You said you'd help me! You lied to me, I knew this was a trap!" Peter frowned at his friends as they all circle you.

"Okay, Chrome girl," Your eye twitched at the nickname but Tony didn't comment, "We'll give you a choice you back to where you came from or," his gauntlet lights starts to glow, making Peter panick.

"Mr. Stark Stop!" Before he could think about it he stood in front of you, shielding you from everyone. everything froze as you all stared at Peter in shock, "Mr. Stark...We can't hurt her."

"Peter..."

"She didn't do anything to deserve this." Peter looks around at his teammates, "If you had listened to her you would have known that. All she wants to do is live her life." He looks at Doctor Strange, "That doesn't mean she's a criminal." 

"Peter, She can't just be free..." Strange looked conflicted as he watches Peter protect you, "She can't just be let out in the world."

"S-she can!" protested Peter, "She can just uh,..." He looked around as he thought, "She can live with us at the tower!" Everything got quiet at his suggestion, "Think about it, we're the Avengers weird thing's happens with us all the time! A girl made out of metal shouldn't surprise anyone and then we can keep an eye on her too," He paused as he turned to look at you shyly,  "...at least if that's fine with you." 

You stare at him in shock as you felt warmth go to your cheeks. Living at the tower? That meant being confined to one place forever your own little prison. But living with Peter? That meant living with someone who actually listens and went out to protect you. You make eye contact with peter as you make up your mind.

"...I'm fine with that." You gave Peter a small smile as he beams at you before turning to the others.

"See she's okay with that!" He waved his arms around wildly, "Doesn't that sound like a good idea?" everything was once again quiet before Steve walks up to Peter and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I think that just might work, son." You looked at him shocked as the group seems to nod along with him. You look down as the cap suddenly lets you go to go back to Strange.

"Fine but the moment something goes wrong, we'll have to figure something out." Strange nodded as he makes a portal and steps through. 

"He could have made us one too," Tony rolled his eyes as they turn to walk toward the jet, "welcome to the tower I guess, Chrome girl." You looked at him with a deep frown.

"I'm not answering to that." You deadpanned at him. You felt arms wrap around your waist as Peter smiled behind you.

"See, what I tell you?" 

"That everything will be okay." You grumbled as you crossed your arms. Peter smiled as he took your hand and lead you toward the jet.

"Exactly, now C'mon I'm gonna show you around the tower!"

You smiled as you followed Peter toward the jet where Sam sat nursing his hurt leg. He jumped up when he saw you and Peter walk in, holding hands.

"What? What the fuck!?" He pointed at you as you smile sheepishly at him with a wave. 

"She's living with us," Peter responded as he raises your intertwined hands to show Sam. You gave Sam a smirk as you two go to sit down. 

"What the fuck did I miss?"

~~

 You shuddered as you shed the metal clothes that were a complete copy of your primes. You let them fall to the ground with an loud noise as you changed into normal clothes, that you chose.

You smiled at you looked at yourself in the mirror. You weren't your prime you weren't a criminal you were just you and you couldn't have it any other way.

"C'mon, let me see you!" You smiled at Peter's voice. You got out of the bathroom as Peter's eyes lit up at you, "Oh my god, You look amazing!" He jumped up to look at your outfit some more, "It looks really great on you."

"You know, I'm really like it." You pulled at the fabric with a smile, "much more comfortable than the other ones." You and Peter let out a laugh.

"So, did you finally figure out your name?" He questioned as he stood next to you to look at your reflections. You give him a smile before staring at yourself in the mirror.

"(Y/n). My name is (Y/n)."

[evehere]

2ha QWS-AU

I decided to try my hand at this AU! Hope you'll like it!

You can find the masterpost here. There's no need to have read QWS (Wife is First) or watched Minglan before, though I really recommend them (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

Spoilers of 2ha, but not of QWS or Minglan.

Warnings: character death, knife, blood.

Mo Ran 1.0

Mo Ran’s execution

Mo Ran made no move to dodge the stones thrown at him. One hit his eyebrow, and blood dripped down his face.

There was a flare of pain. But it didn’t hurt.

Nothing hurt since Chu Wanning had breathed his last.

Stones and rotten vegetables continued to rain over him, as people shouted around the cart Mo Ran was being carried in. The cart was a cage with wheels, letting everyone see the proud Taxian general reduced to this sorry, pathetic state, with his head and hands bound in a cangue and kneeling in repentance.

The fearsome, all-powerful general, Hero of the North, Marquis of Nanping.

A tiger without claws and teeth.

“Wasn’t he the one who drove the northern barbarians out of our lands?” A woman said in the crowd, asking his husband with a hand on his arm. “That didn’t count for something?”

“Not anymore,” he answered, spitting on the floor, “not since he tried to overthrow the emperor.”

I didn’t, Mo Ran wanted to say. I didn’t do it, someone framed me.

Yet what would he get saying it? Would Chu Wanning come back from the dead?

If there was a way to bring him back, Mo Ran would do anything. He would let them parade him like this fifty times if it was necessary. Chu Wanning had been the most innocent party of all this plot someone had staged to bring Mo Ran down. To this day, Mo Ran still didn’t know who to blame. Who to hate.

Who was he trying to trick? The fault for this whole situation and Chu Wanning’s death, ultimately, lay in him.

But hate was more easy to manage. Sometimes, regret and shame threatened to gobble him whole when he remembered the last eight years. He had spoiled his concubines and neglected his lawful husband, letting him have the worst kind of life for a proud and soft-hearted man. The worst sort of man for the schemes and plots that lurked in a household like Mo Ran’s.

Chu Wanning should have left him behind, like his concubines and servants had done. Mo Ran wouldn’t have blamed him.

“Have you seen him?” A scholar admonished his child, a big eyed boy no older than five. “Be an upright man, never act like this beast.”

The child merely nodded his head, struggling to understand what Mo Ran had done to deserve such treatment from the public. They were throwing dirty things at him! That was a rotten egg splashed on the man’s back!

“Traitor! Bastard!”

“Worse than pigs and dogs!”

“I hope you die a horrible death!”

The last one almost sparked a bit of amusement in Mo Ran. After all, he was on his way to a horrible death, paraded through the city, all the way from the imperial prison to the execution ground. This parade should serve as a reminder and a warning to all citizens, the soldiers had said.

Though it was more likely just a good way to dispose of their spoiled food.

Something hit him on his temple. Mo Ran looked down. It was a carrot, wrinkled and soft. What a waste, Mo Ran thought. It was overripe, but mostly good. He would have given everything to have something like this to bring to Chu Wanning in his last days, when they either got a broth that was merely muddy water or a mouldy bao for the two of them every couple of days.

It was funny, Mo Ran concluded, with no trace of hilarity. When he was the influential and wealthy Taxian general, with the world at his feet and whatever riches he desired at the grasp of his hand, he had given nothing to Chu Wanning. Well, nothing if you didn’t count eight years of suffering and grievances. It was much later, when he had lost everything, that he wished he had given Chu Wanning more.

Even if just to improve his health.

Perhaps, if Chu Wanning had been more selfish, he wouldn’t have died, Mo Ran ruminated. Maybe he’d have demanded Mo Ran to give him what he was allotted to as the husband of a Marquis, and his health would have been better when Mo Ran’s household collapsed. Maybe he’d have never entered the prison to be with his husband, for a crime he had nothing to do with. Maybe he wouldn’t deceive Mo Ran and let him have all the food when it got scarce.

Baobei, it was my fault, Mo Ran thought often. He hoped Chu Wanning could get a swift passing in the underworld and get a good reincarnation. Was the underworld a cold place? He wondered. Chu Wanning hated the cold.

No matter. He’d find it out soon.

When one was lost in their own thoughts, time flied. In no time, they were already at the execution grounds, a tall and thick post in the middle of a dusty arena. People surrounded the place, eager to observe how they carried out the execution of the infamous Taxian general.

Lingchi. The death by a thousand cuts.

Mo Ran let the executioners tie him to the post, offering no resistance. Briefly, he asked himself if it would be long. When the sentence arrived at his cell, he had already lost all his money and power, so he couldn’t pay the executioners to make a first cut in his neck, letting him bleed out quickly. Besides, he hadn’t really cared at the time, too busy letting his grief swallow him whole.

Chu Wanning had died the day before.

As he was tied, the executioner brought out an imposing knife, as long as his forearm, and dipped the blade in salt water.

“It will be quick,” the man said gruffly. “General Xue paid for a swift death.”

Xue-bofu, Mo Ran realised with a startle.

After his imprisonment, Xue-bofu and Xue Meng had really exerted all efforts to get them out, but to no avail. Mo Ran had felt an intense guilt for his estrangement and disrespect towards them in the last years. When he had fallen to his darkest, only Nangong Si, his wife Ye Wangxi and the Xue family had stayed with him.

A quick execution must have cost his uncle dearly as well, he sighed. He was thankful it was the last time he’d imposed on them like this.

Mo Ran’s numbed senses took a while to feel the first cut.

It was a lick of fire, heated and intense on the front of his thigh. His nerves caught on the fire seconds later, every inch of skin burning and in pain. His leg trembled, and he knew he’d have fallen if they hadn’t tied him to the post. He didn’t scream, he still had that pride.

Distantly, he felt the blood trickling down his leg.

The next one was on his chest, and another one on his shoulder. A sliver of his old impatience and ire flickered up, and he threw a dark look to the executioners. Wasn’t it supposed to be quick?

One of them shivered under the weight of his gaze, but the other, the one holding the knife, merely shrugged with an impish smile.

“Lord Mo must understand this humble one…” he whispered, holding in a snicker. “It’d look suspicious if we made it too quick and this humble one would get into trouble.”

Bah. Mo Ran merely closed his eyes and turned his head the other way. It wasn’t as if he could actually do anything about it. Let Xue-bofu ask him for a refund once Mo Ran was dead.

Though it didn’t ease his disappointment at the loss. He had allowed himself a bit of hope that he’d die before they degraded his body to the utmost. Maybe then he’d reach the underworld mostly intact, and he wouldn’t scare Chu Wanning too much when he saw him.

Given the circumstances, it’d be best if the deities sent him directly to hell, instead of letting his husband see his wretched state.

Finally, when Mo Ran had lost count and his forehead was covered in sweat, the executioner reached his knife to Mo Ran’s neck. Probably he found disappointing that he didn’t scream and decided to end things before lord Xue could complain to him.

As the blood covered him, Mo Ran was freezing. He was cold before, but now the chill bit into his flesh and seeped into his bones. He could feel his heart beating frantically in his chest, and his breathing catching up, trying to get more blood flow to his body. At least he was no longer in pain.

His eyelids weighted a lot. Soon, he had trouble opening his eyes, and the blood loss made him dizzy and sleepy.

Well. It wasn’t as if he wanted to open them again.

Wanning… it was my fault… will you forgive me?

You were a man of unmeasurable genius and grand ambitions… yet you had to spend your days locked up in the manor, like a forgotten toy in a corner.

I’m sorry…

If there’s a next life…

I will make it up to you.

***

Cangue: it was a device designed for public humilliation and punishment in Ancient China (and not so ancient times too). It's a must in c-dramas.

Bofu (伯父): uncle, especifically, father's elder brother. Remember Lan Zhan's shufu? That's your father's younger brother. Chinese genealogy 😂

Lingchi (凌迟): it's literally "death by a thousand cuts". People did pay executioners to make a cut on the prisoner's neck, asking for a quick death.

***

If you liked it, please support me by reblogging! Thanks!

[cl-01-kestis]

The Proposition

Dismay - Grand Admiral Thrawn x Rebel!Reader | Part 10

Summary: You seem to be growing closer to Thrawn with each day that goes by as you’re kept prisoner on Lothal, and after spending a late night with him, you receive an interesting invitation.

Warnings: this is a pretty long chapter, alcohol consumption

Cheunh Translations:

Nah = No

Mar = Yes

It was day 4 of being Thrawn’s ‘guest’. You’d grown accustomed to the monotone colours and lack of untidiness in the chamber you were cooped up in. Your holodevice had been repaired, you got it back last night and left it on your nightstand so you could use it in the morning when Thrawn woke up and went to do his job as Grand Admiral.

The feeling of waking up beside Thrawn every morning was something you had adjusted to very quickly whilst being held by the Empire. Neither of you would be touching, you’d be in your own sides of the bed, but your bodies would still be fairly close. He held you whenever you had a nightmare, or couldn’t get to sleep (mostly any chance he got to).

Today was Benuday, you knew because you were trying your best to keep track of the days that went by and the limited time you had left with Thrawn before the rebels made an attempt to rescue you. This morning, he made you breakfast but unfortunately didn’t have time to wake you up due to how busy his schedule was for today, so you woke up alone and in a cold bed. But hey, you got breakfast.

Thrawn wasn’t in his chambers when you showered and done your usual routine of walking around aimlessly and scrolling through your data pad. He left you a note in Cheunh saying that he was requested at the cock pit and wouldn’t be back for a while, so you had no other choice but to lounge about.

You thought a lot about how much you missed your daughter, and as well as Kallus and all the other rebels back on Yavin. It hadn’t even been a week and you hated it, you hated the Empire. But Thrawn’s company was the only medication to distract you from all the negativity you were experiencing. He comforted you when you were feeling upset, laughed with you at corny jokes, uttered a smile whenever you done literally anything, stole glances from you every chance he got, and treated you as an equal rather than someone below him.

The only thing that brought you peace at this moment in time was the fact that Thrawn hadn’t changed one bit. The only difference was his ageing appearance and wiser-sounding vocabulary. Aside from those things, he was the same boy deep inside you always knew and grew up to love. Now that was comforting.

As well as spending time with each other whenever he didn’t need to work and catching up on the 14 years the two of you were apart, you truthfully opened up to Thrawn about Omani. You told him her interests, stories you remembered of her whe she was a baby, the things she hated, what she wanted to be when she became an adult, and all the small details Thrawn had missed out on for so long. In a sense, you felt like you robbed him from fatherhood, he was so fond of having a family, only to miss out on his daughters entire childhood. It felt wrong.

He didn’t seem to show any signs of anger or disappointment towards that, but then again, he was excellent at hiding things, especially his emotions. Either way, he was infatuated by your stories of Omani’s birth, the things you went through during labour, all the hardships and trauma, but she was a healthy baby girl. When you told him that, his eyes sparkled. You could tell he already truly loved her, and he hadn’t even meet her yet. You hoped he would get the chance one of these days.

The little squeaky gurgles of a 6 month old Omani blasted out of the speaker of your holodevice as it projected a video you had kept for years, one of many that logged videos and photos of Omani’s growth and all the things she was up to throughout her childhood. In the video you were watching, you, looking much younger, had her perked up on your hip and swayed about as a song echoed in the background. You looked at the camera which was set down on a table in the cantina on the rebel base at Yavin 4, bouncing her on your hip and holding one of her tiny blue hands, her fingers wrapping around one of yours, proving how small she really was.

Ahsoka was in the background, not in the video much but you spotted her laughing and encouraging Omani to dance as she wriggled in your arms. At this time, she would’ve been talking by now. No other words apart from ‘Mama’, ‘Nah’ and ‘Mar’. But she laughed a lot in the videos, her cheeks bright and her face glowing as she looked up at you and tried to grab your hair with her small hands.

Thrawn sat beside you in his bed, his shift was finally over and he joined you in watching the videos on your holodevice. So far, he was absolutely loving it. His smile outshone everything in the room as he watched a younger version of yourself dance with your, then, 6 month old daughter. His smile seemed to widen every time you or Omani laughed, and whenever you took her hand and waved it at the camera.

The two of you watched a few videos of Omani’s childhood, heartfelt laughter and stolen glances rippled between you and Thrawn as you watched each video with a sense of comfort. There was currently one of Omani as a 7 year old, holding your device and walking around your apartment with a big smile on her face. You remembered this video well, it was for your 35th birthday and she surprised you that day by waking you up with a surprise. Her small giggles echoed from the speaker as she started jumping on your bed, and in a flash she was tackled to the mattress and you were blowing raspberry’s on her neck and cheeks, your hands tickling her sides which caused her to drop the camera at a perfect angle where the both of you were seen toppling over the bed and into the floor, you taking the impact of the landing and making sure she didn’t get hurt as you cradled her in your chest.

“You’re truly protective over her” Thrawn comments with a light tone, leaning on his elbow as he relaxed on his covers. He was still wearing his Admiral uniform, he was too curious to see what you were watching than to change first.

“She was so clumsy as a kid, I always had to watch out for her,” You smiled. “Scraping her knees was a constant” You commented, feeling your heart swell with sadness as you remembered how upset Omani got every time she tripped up and fell over. You and her were very similar, you fell over a lot as a kid - Thrawn could confirm - and one time you even face planted and left a small scar on your upper lip, one that isn’t even visible but if you pointed it out, someone would notice.

“I understand that, was she an active child?” Thrawn asked curiously. In reply you rolled your eyes and let out a chuckle.

“Active is an understatement, she was uncontrollable in some aspects. There were times she got stroppy though, if she didn’t get her way, and those were the times it was hard to be a parent,” You sighed. “She was a very fragile kid, if she didn’t get her way she would start getting angry and kicking her feet” You paused the video playing on your device, looking to Thrawn who was staring up at you from his position on the bed. He had his head tilted to the side very slightly, an eyebrow raised but not in an insisting manner.

“I think she gets that trait from you” You smirked, intending for the comment to be brushed aside but Thrawn huffed once he heard what you had said. “I admit I was a stroppy child, but I grew out of that phase quickly” Thrawn defended himself, leaning his head back on the mattress and moving his elbow away to cross his arms over his chest, looking up at the ceiling and immediately contradicting his words as he pursed his lips. You didn’t say anything, laughing instead and biting your tongue to make sure you didn’t say anything that would make him more agitated.

“Aside from that though, she grew up a lot quicker than I anticipated. One day, she’s this little bundle of joy in my arms, the next she’s a fully grown woman with her own blaster in her hands” You sighed in a mellow manner, hanging your head and doing your best not to let the facts upset you. Thrawn sat up from his position on the bed and hesitantly rested his hand on your shoulder.

“Childhood always slips by much quicker than everyone expects. Adding onto that, she’s a Chiss as well, and our childhood is shortened by 4 years compared to yours” Thrawn explains. You know about the Chiss ageing system, you’ve always known it, but something about Thrawn saying it made you calm down and come to terms with the fact that Omani was a different species compared to you, she was half human but her genes were dominated by Thrawn’s, there was no denying it. She aged the same as him, spoke the same as him and looked exactly like him, but her face structure and habits were all taken from you. That was about the only thing that made you two related. But either way, no matter how much she looked different compared to you, she was still your little girl.

Both you and Thrawn agree - and have spoke about a few times - is that Omani was unexpected in the best way possible. You certainly didn’t plan on being a mother for a long time, or ever. Thrawn wasn’t in a good position to be a father and if anything, you shouldn’t have been parents at all. But because of your escape, and because of your decision to have a child, you’ve grown into the best version of yourself that you could ever be. Omani’s brought out the goodness inside you, she made you forget about the person you used to be back in the Empire, back when you tortured and killed people unapologetically. She made you see things clearly, and because of that you were complete. You didn’t fear anything, not after giving birth and raising Omani up until she was 14. You hoped Thrawn felt the same.

“What time is it?” You asked, closing over your holodevice and setting it down on the bedside table before looking back to Thrawn with a tired gaze. He looked over at the alarm on his table and sighed.

“17:45, we should probably get ready for bed” Thrawn yawned, running his hand through his hair and immediately messing it up. He ruffled his navy strands, ruining the sleek gel look he always wore. You felt privileged to see it in all honesty, no one else saw him in this type of way apart from yourself. Well, back at the academy Eli saw him like this as well whenever you three sparred in the training rooms, but you didn’t have a problem with that.

Coming to think of it now, where was Eli?

You frowned as the thought came across your mind, and all of a sudden you couldn’t stop thinking about it. You had been so focused on building up a sturdy commonality with Thrawn once again that you didn’t even realise who else was missing. Eli.

“H-hey, quick question” You spoke up as Thrawn stood up to head to the refresher.

“Yes?” He raised a brow, his back turned to you as he took off his Admiral top, revealing his thin black vest that hugged his muscular form beneath.

“I meant to ask this sooner, but where’s Eli?” You felt nervous about asking, but you were eager to know.

Eli was such an important part of your time at the academy. Yes, Thrawn was very important to you back when you trained there but Eli was your best friend, through thick and thin. He was a human that spoke Cheunh ontop of that as well, and he became a massive part of your life back at the Empire. You didn’t see him much after you graduated because you had your own squad but there was the occasional time when the both of you caught each other at the cantina and stayed there, talking till you were both kicked out.

Thrawn stayed quiet for a while, his body going stiff but eventually he cleared his throat and let out a plain, emotionless sigh.

“He was transferred many years ago to another commanding officer” Thrawn’s voice was oddly upsetting, he seemed depressed by just talking about the issue, you ended up feeling bad about even asking about it.

“The Emperor felt that he was distracting me too much from my duties as Admiral, at the time, and Eli was transferred, I’ve never heard from him since” Was all Thrawn said before walking out of his bedroom and leaving you alone to bask in your thoughts and brainstorm his answer.

“The... Emperor?...” Your voice trailed off, hand reaching out but eventually coming back down as his words dawned on you.

The Emperor.

-

When Thrawn came back to his bedroom, you were in the kitchen preparing yourself a drink, an alcoholic one. Thrawn didn’t have many spirits in his cupboard, he mostly had Caf pods, milk, tea bags, and Dasani water. But you managed to find an expensive bottle of Spotchka at the back of the cupboard, hidden away for no one to find, but due to the glow of the blue neon beverage, you spotted it immediately. You poured yourself a small glass, making sure not to spill any considering it looked and smelled like it costed more than Thrawn cared to admit, but you didn’t pour too much in case he was saving it for a special occasion.

Putting the lid back on and screwing it tightly to make sure no spillage would occur, you turned around and leaned lazily on the kitchen counter, holding onto the half full whiskey glass. You carefully sipped at the blue liquid, the sharp taste hit your taste buds but you didn’t cringe or spit it out. Spotchka was a drink you weren’t very familiar with, you hardly ever drank considering you were Imperial in your younger years and done nothing but work, and then after that you were a mother, so there was no time to sit around and get drunk. You weren’t saying you’d never had a drink before, you did. You just never really got drunk.

“I see you’ve found the spotchka” Thrawn’s voice startled you, almost causing you to spill the drunk but thankfully it didn’t tip over the edge as you regained your posture.

“You need to stop sneaking up on me” You chuckled, placing your free hand on your chest and taking another sneaky sip of the Spotchka in your glass. Thrawn smiled, removing the wet towel which was hanging over his neck and bundling it up in his large hands. He was now in his lounge wear, black vest and joggers with wet hair and tired eyes. Even you couldn’t deny, the man looked like a kriffing god. He could do nothing and look absolutely incredible, even at his age of 47. You admit, you were jealous he even looked that good, you wish you looked the same as you did 14 years ago but motherhood wasn’t kind to you.

“I think I’ll join you” He said, walking up beside you and getting himself a glass of his own, opening up the bottle and pouring himself some Spotchka. Turning around and leaning on the counter to match your position, he raised his glass close to you. In return, you raised your own and clinked it softly with his, offering a small ‘cheers’ before sipping at the blue drink. Thrawn took a generous sip before clearing his throat and rolling his head around his shoulders, sighing in relief at the sound of popping as his tense muscles relaxed. You copied his actions with a smile, using the base of your palm to push your chin to the side and crack your neck.

The two of you shared a moment of blissful silence, happily drinking at your Spotchka as your shoulders touched. Neither of you moved away, occasionally sneaking glances at each other but not enough to make the moment awkward. Nothing was ever really awkward between you both, everything always happened naturally and nothing was ever forced.

“You know, I have a proposition for you, if you’d like to listen?” Thrawn spoke after Maker knows how long, swirling the remaining Spotchka in his almost empty whiskey glass as he turned his head to look at you. In return, you nodded whilst finishing off your own drink, hiking it back before placing the glass on the counter and looking up to Thrawn.

“There’s an event, tomorrow night at the Imperial Palace. Many people, including myself, will be going,” He started, crossing his ankle over the other as he finished off his drink and placed it next to yours.

“Many Senators and other parties will be attending- I- I was thinking maybe you might want to go with me as my... partner?” Thrawn sounded so nervous, you weren’t even sure it was him you were speaking to. You spent a few seconds thinking about it. An Imperial Party, with Senators and full of people You loathed. But ontop of that, you’d get to go with Thrawn and maybe make a statement about being a rebel and also being his partner for the night. But then again, you couldn’t be too sure that being a rebel would be your role at the party. If that were the case, an assassination would surely take place.

“It sounds good to me, but aren’t I your prisoner?” You raised a reading brow, nudging his side softly as he looked away and blushed very slightly.

“You were a prisoner when Pryce was in control of you, but with me you’re a guest,” Thrawn answered.

“I’d never see you imprisoned like that again, Rcati, seeing you like that in the prison cell made me angry but also scared” Thrawn was genuine with his words, but you could tell he was careful with the way he constructed his sentences. He was more than angry and scared, you knew it, he was just too hesitant to admit it. Either way, you didn’t force him to open up about anything and by the looks of it, he knew you knew he was holding back with his words.

“In that case, sure, but what happens when I meet people and they ask me my occupation? Haven’t I been missing for 14 years?” You chuckled dryly, still looking at Thrawn who sighed and turned to directly look at you.

“The people attending the ball aren’t part of the team on Lothal, so no one will know who you are apart from me, and Pryce if she’s going” Thrawn explained with a calm exterior, gesturing words with his hands and rubbing the back of his neck as he cleared his throat.

“Hmm... okay...” You hesitantly agreed. “But what about an outfit? I’m not too fond of showing up in an Imperial uniform” You frowned, fiddling with the hem of your shirt which belonged to the man standing beside you. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head, arms still folded as he blew a loose strand of hair away from his eyes.

“I’ll have a tailor come down and get your measurements now, we’ve got little time to get everything organised” His arms fell back down to his side as he sat up from the counter and walked out of the kitchen to fetch his coms device. Sighing, you took both of the empty whiskey glasses and cleaned them out, leaving them on the dryer as you let out a small yawn and left the kitchen to see where Thrawn had gone.

By the time the tailor had arrived, you had washed up in the refresher and had your hair up in a bundle as you stood in the middle of the room with barely anything on. Thankfully, Thrawn had his back turned to you, sitting in his chair and analysing work from days prior as you got measured for your dress. You were wearing nothing but a pair of briefs and a bra that Thrawn managed to get for you. The tailor was a woman in her mid 50’s, greying hair and very delicate fingers as she wrote down each of your measurements with intricate detail. You held in a gasp every time the cold sashe of tape wrapped around a part of your body, from your hips, to your arm, to your legs. She measured absolutely everywhere, but you didn’t say anything.

“So, what design are you looking for, my dear?” The tailor asked, you were almost startled by what she called you but then you remembered she didn’t know you were a prisoner.

“J-just a simple gown thank you, I’m not too fussed” You reply shakily, rubbing your upper arms at the cold as the tailor started sketching ideas on her notepad whilst switching her glance from the paper to your body shape. You felt very exposed, shivering in the cold as you done a little awkward tapping motion with your feet in an attempt to warm yourself up.

“I’ll work right on it, my dear, what’s your shoe size?” The tailor asked. “Oh, I’m a (S/S)” You replied with a smile, picking up the black T-shirt from the ground and slipping it back on.

“Is there anything else you request, Grand Admiral?” The tailor asked with a clear, confident voice. You shuffled in your spot and crossed your arms as Thrawn turned back around in his seat, looking prepared to cover his eyes in case you were undressed, but relaxing once he realised you were dressed again.

“That’s all, thank you” He dismissed the tailor with the wave of his hand and in a flash, she was out of the room without another word with her tape and scribbled notes.

“Well that was riveting” You joked, your teeth chattering as you tried warming yourself up. Thrawn closed his data pad and stood up from his seat, making his way over to stand at your side and smile.

“Is it always this cold here?” You complained, frowning slightly as you continued rubbing your arms and clenched your jaw unconsciously. Thrawn rolled his eyes instinctively at your comment, unexpectedly scooping you up in his arms and, without a word, carrying you to his bedroom and dunking you on the mattress. You didn’t say anything, too taken aback by his actions as you lay on his bed with a shocked expression. Thrawn hid a smirk as he looked at your face, placing the covers over you and patting your shoulder before exiting the bedroom.

“Aren’t you coming?” You yelled out to him with a confused frown. “I’ve still got work to finish!” He replied from the main office.

“But You finished work two hours ago?!” You yelled back, sitting up in his bed and cupping the sides of your mouth so your voice could project further.

“You keep forgetting I’m the person in charge of this facility, Rcati!” Thrawn said, this time a chuckle in his voice as he replied to your eager sounding question. Sighing at his answer, you lie back down on the mattress and close your eyes, eventually slipping into unconsciousness as the silence surrounded you.

Thrawn listened carefully from his office, his eyes looking at the open door even though he couldn’t see you. He heard soft snoring a few minutes after your loud exchange of words and he smiled to himself, pausing his work to admire you, and just you. He didn’t want to move from his spot in case you heard his footsteps, but he wanted to see your face.

Thrawn was in a dangerous position. Each and everyday you were with him, his feelings for you grew uncontrollably. Everything you did drowned him with undeniable affection and he knew that it wasn’t a good thing. Loving you came at a price, if someone from the Empire or New Republic found out about the way he felt towards you, his career and life would he on the line. It wasn’t that he prioritised his work over you and Omani, he was just scared in case either of you bit the dust undeservingly.

For the time being, he had to keep his distance.

-

It was the day of the party. After 11 hours of sleep, you woke up to find Thrawn packing clothes for the trip ahead. He didn’t have work today due to the party and the limited time both of you had to get to Coruscant on time.

“Are you sure this is appropriate for a woman my age?” You asked the tailor who suited you in a black dress. You couldn’t believe that she had made this dress in under 24 hours, it was so beautiful and elegant, but you felt like you were looking at another person as you stared at yourself in the body sized mirror in front of you.

“Nonsense, my dear, you are going to a ball after all” The tailor replied, tightening the thread on the corset that wrapped around your waist comfortably, but at the same time you felt very sucked in.

Thrawn was out of his chambers, fetching his medals to wear on his Admiral Uniform at the party to obviously show to others that he was important. The thought made you roll your eyes. Typical Thrawn.

The tailor sorted your hair out naturally, placing a black headpiece on your head and adjusting it until she was happy. You looked like a Senator, but you were comfortable with that. She fitted you with jewellery and two long, black gloves that reached your upper arm, as well as a pair of black heels.

You looked and felt different, this was different than all the other Senator outfits you wore throughout the past years, you no longer felt like a New Republic Senator. You looked like an Imperial, and you hated that. Your worse fear was for someone from the Rebellion to find yku looking like that, and also being with Thrawn. You’d be considered a traitor and no one would trust you anymore, that frightened you. This whole ordeal made you uneasy, you weren’t sure why you agreed to do it in the first place, maybe boredom? A need of new enviromnent? You couldn’t exactly remember.

You flattened the material of the dress skirt with your palms, avoiding the chance of your nails catching the material as you sighed at yourself in the mirror.

“Thank you for everything, this is truly beautiful” You thanked the tailor as she finished up on your dress, smiling at you through the reflection before taking a step back and bowing politely to you. You unconsciously done the same which earned you a large smile from the tailor who seemed impressed at your kindness towards her. No more words were exchanged as she took her belongings and had a stormtrooper escort her out of the room. The soldier clad in white armour looked at you for a brief second before clearing their throat and excusing themselves out of the room and the door sheathed shut.

You looked around Thrawn’s office, pulling the dress skirt up and trying not to trip over yourself as you walked over to his office table and pulled out one of the drawers. Your assumption of him keeping a blaster under his desk was confirmed and you didn’t hesitate for a moment as you hiked the skirt of your dress right up to your hip, with great difficulty, and tucked it into the stockings you were wearing. Once you were all set, you checked your appearance before Thrawn returned and escorted you to the ship which would be taking the two of you to Coruscant.

[bloededhoine]

world building cause twn doesn't part 7: the first northern war

this is actually the part that made me want to start this series! but a wise idiot told me that none of it would make any sense without a bit of exposition. well, 6 parts later, let's go!

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

masterpost

background

this war takes place entirely in ciri's timeline in twn, which is actually one of the most logical thing the showrunner's did

basically, nilfgaard is BIG into expanding and conquering new territories, cause sapkowski was actually kind of a comrade

in 1263, emhyr var emreis, the emperor of nilfgaard, turned his focus north, to the lovely kingdom of cintra. since nilfgaard already controlled all areas south of cintra, it was not at all difficult for them to get there

you probably remember this angular looking gentleman as cahir mawr dyffryn aep ceallach, a nilfgaardian vicovarian officer. he is SUPER important for twn, so here's what you need to know:

cahir's family is incredibly well established, even though they aren't "real" nilfgaardians. cahir's great aunt is even one of emhyr's favourite mages.

he is also a Lot younger than the show made him, like i think he's maybe 18, but he could be as young as 16. this is a literal child, but a very smart child, so emhyr tasked him specifically with capturing the cintrian princess, cirilla, and bringing her back to nilfgaard

invasion of cintra

the red line on the left is the nilfgaardian army's path from alba to the marnadal stairs, the only pass from the south to cintra. they were led by menno coehoorn, but we don't see him in twn (yet! he is super important for a ton of major battles).

the cintran army, led by queen calanthe and her bisexual trophy husband eist tuirseach, was waiting for them at the red star on the map on the right. unfortunately, eist was shot through the eye and killed, only a small group of survivors were able to escape

this group, including calanthe herself, were able to make it back to the capital (shown by the red line on the right) and warn the others that nilfgaard was coming

but, since calanthe had sent all her soldiers to the marnadal pass, there was no one left to defend the city and basically everyone was either killed or imprisoned, with queen calanthe committing suicide

pro tip: if a woman in the witcher makes a big mistake, such as leaving your capital entirely open to attack, and then commits suicide after having an emotional moment with her chosen daughter, something big is about to happen

BUT... princess cirilla fiona elen riannon, lion cub of cintra, heiress to inis ard skellig and inis an skellig, carrier of the hen ichaer, and all around badass, managed to escape with a small escort *whoah!*

by some weird coincidence (or destiny??), this escort ran right into cahir and his group. a scuffle ensued, with the only survivors being cahir and ciri

now, cahir's plan was already a little off the rails, so he just grabbed a terrified and screeching ciri and started running. lucky for him, she fainted pretty quickly

cahir disguised himself and (still unconscious) ciri with mud and shit and tried to join a refugee group, but he felt that this was too risky and decided to take ciri and book it (again)

when ciri woke up, cahir tried to calm her down, but since they didn't speak the same language this was pretty unsuccessful. like, imagine being 10 year old child and waking up covered in dirt with some random slightly-older-child speaking gibberish.

eventually, they both fell asleep, but ciri was able to run while cahir was sleeping. cahir moped back to nilfgaard, and was imprisoned for a year due to his spectacular performance.

obviously, this is very different from the show, but i need everyone to know how perfect my SON is

sodden

obviously, cintra was a massive victory for emhyr (aside from the missing heir to the kingdom he conquered).

next, coehoorn and his armies marched (red line) to upper sodden (red star) and had another huge victory. they were planning on conquering lower sodden (for some reason it's geographically north of upper sodden?), and therefore all areas south of the yaruga

BUT... temeria, redania, kaedwen, aedirn and a shit ton of other allies, including 22 mages, were ready to fight at sodden hill (blue star)

of the people we've met in the witcher, a huge chunk of them were at sodden. seriously. yennefer, triss, vilgefortz, foltest, sabrina, tissaia, yarpen zigrin, and crach an craite were all fighting for the north

despite nilfgaard's huge winning streak, manpower, money, and superior weaponry, the north won both the battle and the war

aftermath

emhyr was not happy. at all. he didn't throw menno coehoorn in prison, but he did put him in time out in cintra

this also gave emhyr a pretty hefty vengeance against mages, especially yennefer, triss, sabrina, philippa, and enid.

[bubbleyumss]

The Scorch - LOKI- BUCKY mini-fic.

Hi there! I haven’t posted any written works on here for years, so forgive me that my first one back may be a little rusty! I just want to share a small fic I wrote with some of you, hopefully you enjoy.

So its after Endgame, lets forget that Loki dies thanku v much, and Steve doesn’t have his ending either. It’s a lil messy as I’m not great with crossing storylines, I usually just insert the reader into already written ones.. This may eventually lead to a split off between Loki and Bucky, the reader will have to choose who they want! But for now, it’s very Loki based. Lmk if u like, and any suggestions on continuing. Thx:)

Warnings - Violence/use of blades/knives and fire/scalding/burning.

Word count - 4K

It was unimaginable that we would all make it back from Thanos's army, but we knew it was nothing short of a miracle and we were all insanely grateful for this. Tony wasn't the same, his body was withering faster than it would have done before, but he knew that this was nothing that he couldn't seek to fix, seeing as his mind was as quick witted as ever. Barton took off back to his family, bringing Natasha with him for some much-needed time off, though Nat was never one to back down if there was a mission that was needed to be handled. This was the stage that I was at these days.

I hadn't joined the team too soon before the snap, but when I did, I had already lost those dearest to me, finding my home within the Avengers compound thanks to Tony. Though I hadn't seen much of him through the years after the snap, as I was tasked with tailing Rogers, he had always told me that I was welcome at his cabin table with his wife and daughter, making his family such dear friends of mine.

The Avengers compound was my home now, even though Tony had permanently retired from the team, there were a few of us that still worked under Fury, choosing to live there so that we were safe. The Vision and Wanda lived here for now, until such a time that their new home was built, the Captain, Bucky and Sam dropped by from time to time, acting like they didn't want to be a part of any team but always finding themselves socialising happily when they did. Same went for Nat, as she found comfort in Bruce's room sometimes, much to the pretended ignorance of us all. Thor stopped by often, claiming that Norway may be good for comfort, but sometimes he needed the discipline to get him back in his head.

It was on one of these trips that he decided to bring the newest member of the team, his brother, Loki.

"You've got to be kidding me." Steve said, standing with his arms crossed in the lounge. Steve, James, Nat, and I sat within, prepping me for my next assignment in Argentina. "No way is he joining the team."

"Last time I checked you're not even on the team yourself, Captain." He raven-haired man smirked, glancing to me, then back to Steve. I had heard of Loki, mainly from Thor, but it was clear that everyone had some sort of opinion of him, and the majority of it was bad. I had always been intrigued, as before I joined the team, I was hardly the golden child, which was how I came onto Fury's radar in the first place, so I knew what effect the evil expectations had on a person.

"Not officially." He responded, looking down to Nat, "But there are people on the team that will have an issue." Loki then looked to Nat, eyebrows raised, expecting her to agree and wish for him not to join.

"Oh, come on, comrades, Loki is different now, trust me!" Thor smiled, clapping his brother on the back, much to his annoyance, "He's still miserable as ever, but he will fight with us, not against us."

"Fury clearly trusts me enough to allow me to join your little club." He smiled, raising his hands, "I just wish for the place to stay, since my home was blown up and the new home smells of cod." He sneered, looking at Thor's disapproving face. I looked to the faces on those who sat before me, knowing that they all were only here part time either way, realising that perhaps I should speak. I stood, making them all turn to me, Loki's eyes set on mine full of intent.

"Well, I think we should give him a shot." I shrugged, "I was allowed even though I burnt down a city or two, so, I don't see why not." I smiled at Steve, then down to Nat, all showing equally unamused faces, Bucky's especially. It was always odd looking at his face and remembering our past, though in times like this I could see his anger as a simple ruse, knowing that he agreed with me wholeheartedly. "He can come with me to Argentina, as a test run." I suggested, making Bucky scoff.

"No way." He muttered.

"Yeah, I agree, that's a terrible idea." Steve shook his head. I could feel a sense of anger boiling inside me, which wasn't unfounded; they often looked at me like a younger sister, just as they did with Nat, but I supposed as they knew her for longer, they knew that she could handle herself. I could too, they just hadn't seen that yet.

"Tough. He's coming with me." I replied, defying their looks of shock. "God of Mischief, you're with me. Argentina, small hydra starts up, do you think you can handle it?" I had made my way to him at this point, only within a couple of steps of him. He smirked, and suddenly I lost all confidence I had started out with; his eyes looked me up and down, drinking me in in such an intimidating way. He was a god, far more powerful than me, and for whatever reason I really wanted to know him better.

"Of course."

-

As much as I started out wanting to side with the God, one jet ride with him and I already regretted it. I decided to try and get to know him, to ask him some questions about himself, only receiving sarcastic remarks as his responses. I had asked him of his time in New York, though supposing that it was a sore subject I opted to talk about his powers and what he could actually do, as I had only heard, though when he told me that it was nothing that would interest a human, I grew inpatient. He wished to play around, not to let me know him at all, and so I decided to just stop talking.

"Your eyes, do they relate to your talents?" He then asked after nearly half an hour of silence. I nearly completely ignored him, feeling that similar rage that I had attempted to defend this guy, and all he repaid me in was rudeness.

"Kind of." I replied, not wishing to talk any more.

"Well, they are beautiful." He commented, taking me by surprise. This of course wasn't the only compliment I have ever had on my eyes, the gold sheen often took people by surprise, but why on earth did he think that it was appropriate to say now?

"Why won't you answer any of my questions about you?" I then asked, taking the attention off his own question. He was silent for a minute, "I took a chance taking you along, I could have said no."

"Don't act like you have done me a favour, I could find somewhere else to live if I needed to." He scoffed, angering me further. My knuckles tightened around the jets steering, trying to keep it together.

"I have done you a favour, you clearly want in this group or you wouldn't have shown up." I retorted, "Is it so bad that I want to know you a little more? We're both the odd ones out-"

"You do not know what it is like being me." He interrupted, gaining his own anger now, "Do not pretend you do, you are just a human with some magic tricks." I watched from the corner of my eye as he rolled his eyes, slouching back in his seat, "Tricks that I have not even seen, by the way, so please try not to need saving too much while we complete this mission."

I closed my mouth, not wishing for my anger to get the better of me just yet. I knew that I had to contain it and utilise it for the mission, so that I didn't have to rely on Loki at all. I felt a sudden rush of wanting to prove the god wrong.

"I really wanted to like you; you know." I said through gritted teeth, thankfully seeing our landing destination only a few miles ahead.

"And I knew that I wouldn't like you." He replied, his smirk heard through his words.

-

We stood either side of a large brick gateway, glancing behind it and trying to determine the best course of play. It was just a small branch of Hydra still floating around, those that had disappeared in the snap and had returned in a way to start up their resources again. There was a group of maybe fifteen men surrounding the compound, this compound that really was in the middle of nowhere and took us all of thirty minutes to sneak up to the gate, I looked over to Loki.

"You shapeshift, right?" I whisper-shouted, remembering Thor's stories of his brother turning to a snake. He nodded, face screwed, "Get one of those uniforms, take me in as prisoner." I suggested, watching as the cogs then whirred in his mind. "It's the easiest way." I tried to prompt him further.

"I don't like easy." He responded, then beginning to smirk, "I want to see your tricks." He motioned his hand to the gate, wishing for me to go in first. I furrowed my brows, allowing his arrogance to make my anger grow.

"Oh man, I really don't like you." I growled, coming to smirk after however, "But, if you insist."

I reached my hands over my shoulders to take a hold of my swords, watching Loki's eyes watch me as I pulled them in front of me, allowing my eyes to glint and set both blades alight. It was true that I had turned cities to ash before, and now it was clear to him that I had seriously and literally burnt them down. I turned, running as fast as I could into the sandy compound, managing to get near to the centre before any of them managed to turn their guns to me; before two of them could I allowed for my leg to spin out, spouting flames from the pad of my foot, catching the three that stood closest to me. They fell to the floor, rolling to get the burning away from them as their comrades began to shoot; I spun my swords in a way to deflect those bullets that came for me. Knowing that I couldn't stay on the ground any longer I pushed my legs, flinging me up about ten metres, coming down behind two of them and slicing their backs with my blades.

I could hear the fast footsteps of one of them attempting to come from behind, though he was stopped as I pointed my blade towards him, watching as the flames that encased the metal emerged from its tip to then surround the man. I smirked; it had felt good to get back in the action. I turned, quickly throwing one blade into the chest of another, running towards him and retrieving it from him before I spun the other, throwing those bullets back towards two others. I turned to look as two had retreated within, presumably to warn the others that worked inside; at this point I wondered if Loki had disappeared, or if he was simply lying-in wait for me to be done, either way, I heard the steps of more men barrelling towards me at pace. I threw my blades at two of them to my sides, one going through a chest, the other a stomach, leaving the last man coming for me head on.

He threw the first punch, easily missed by a duck to the right, and with only a knee to the stomach and an elbow to the back, the man was on the floor. I knew that these new hydra agents weren't going to be up to scratch, but I found it almost insulting that they were so terrible at fighting. I wrapped my hand around the man’s neck, picking him up to that his toes only touched the floor; I smirked, feeling the palm of my hand grow hotter and hotter as the man began to shout. Suddenly, the feeling of cold metal against the back of my head alerted me to the fact that I had missed a man, something to do with the distraction of fun that this had given me. I dropped the man to the ground, noting the boiled skin in the shape of my hand.

As I turned, the metal of the gun was dropped, as was the body of the man holding it. As his body fell, I saw the gold knife that was planted within his back slowly disappear, looking up to see Loki's smirking face as he walked towards me.

"See, if I was not here, you would have been dead." He raised his eyebrows, stopping short of laughing in my face. I growled, turning to retrieve my blades from the bodies nearby, dousing them before attaching them back to me. I looked around, seeing the scattered bodies, some still on fire and some not, but none remaining alive. "Nice tricks." He then said, trying to act as though he meant it. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on. We need to get whatever information we can."

-

It was one thing hearing of the powers that Loki possessed, and another to actually see them in action. The duplication, meaning one moment I thought I was talking and looking at the real him, only for it to vanish before my eyes and reveal he is several feet away from me. He had finally used his shapeshifting ability to change into one of the guards like I had suggested, letting himself into a room with ease before shooting down those inside. He seemed to like watching me watch him, I would stand back, impressed, after he would use his powers, and he would smirk at me once his show was over.

The control room was last, requiring us to actually fight together rather than one by one. I hadn't thought it would go as well as it did as he seemed to be someone who preferred to work alone, but as we fought it seemed we worked around each other well, him throwing his punches, grabbing a hold of an officer, and holding him up for me to burn.

"We seem to work well together, you and I." He said, panting once the last body had dropped. He smirked, having a look of surprise on his face.

"Or more I work well and you're a good sidekick." I shrugged, moving to the control computers where the officers from before had attempted to erase their hard drive. "They didn't manage to wipe it." I sighed a breath of relief, knowing that our fight hadn't been for nothing.

"Sidekick?" He questioned, coming to my side as I inserted the flash drive given to me before the mission.

"They have more start-ups." I then said, taking his attention away from me and to the screen. There was correspondence between them, showing at least five different locations to which, their information was coming or going. He leaned over, getting a better look, though as he did, I could suddenly feel his presence beside me. The smell of leather and whatever cologne God's now wore entered my nostrils, taking my brain away from what was before me. I thought Loki attractive, of course, but there is no way I could think of him in any other way than an annoying tagalong. not right now at least. "Brazil, Tunisia, the Ukraine." I sighed.

"Does that mean that we will have more missions together?" He then asked, attempting to sound disgusted. I rolled my eyes, trying not to smirk.

"No, it means that I will have more missions. I'm definitely not bringing you along." I scoffed, snatching the flash drive from the computer once it had finished downloading. I stood straight, only then realising how close he was to me. His eyes bore down at me, amusement shining within.

"That's good to hear. I don't think I could take any more of your little bonfire powers." He contested, trying not to break from his egotistical character. The hints of a smirk teased at his lips, and if the smell of burning flesh wasn't surrounding us both, and the urge to punch the smugness from his face wasn't growing in favour, I would have said we were having a moment.

"Let's get going then. Got to get you home so you can brush up on your magic act." I smiled a wry smile, pushing past him in attempts to leave. Though, the moment I came to the threshold of the door, I felt the searing burn of a blade being pushed through my chest. A soldier had stood by the door, waiting for his opportunity to strike, and finding it when I never bothered to check before stepping out. I dropped to my knees immediately, watching as a series of knives were then thrown into the chest of that very officer, forcing him to drop dead before me.

Loki suddenly came behind me, on his knees also, holding me up against his chest in a panic. He thought I was truly dying, and so I couldn't let this moment go by without playing him at his own game. I allowed myself to lean back, pulling the knife from my chest and throwing it to the floor before I looked up to him, taking in his look of worry.

"You can heal, right? You can heal..." He began to stutter, becoming even more shaky when I slowly shook my head. "No, you can't die, I-I will be blamed, this will be my fault." I scoffed, coughing as I did.

"You'll be blamed? Wow... you really do only care about yourself." I muttered, voice getting weaker as I spoke. "You can't even admit that you'd be sad if I died." I tried to muster a laugh, allowing it to make me cough further and forcing his grip on me to become tighter. His scent was intoxicating, so much so that I thought he must have done some magic to make it so; though what struck me most was the small flickers of green in his blue eyes, they were beautiful.

"You can't die." He then smiled, "I would have no one to vouch for me anymore." He whispered. This took me by surprise. My vouching for him must have actually meant something to him for it to affect him in such a way, though when thinking about it, I may have been the first one to do so in a very long time.

"You deserved the chance, Loki." I shrugged, wincing as the pain was still within my chest, his eyes held the torment that I was now putting him through, probably bringing up bad memories, I needed to bring this to an end, "I'd vouch for you again, you know... even if you don't like me." He chuckled.

"Of course, I like you," He smiled, "I wouldn't save the life of just anyone." The moment the words left his lips I sat myself up, wiping my chest of the dried blood from the knife. I heard no sound from him as I stood myself up, only turning to look at him when I had reconnected my swords to my back. He remained on his knees on the floor, looking up at me incredulously, noting the smirk on my face and trying to stop one coming to his own. "You weren't really dying?"

"Oh no, it takes a lot to kill me." I waved my hand dismissively, letting a smile grow on my face. It was only a second before he had gotten to his feet, placing his hand firmly around my neck and pushing me back against a wall.

"Not anyone can trick me." He growled, his voice hinting a slight tease. I smiled in his grasp, slowly raising my core temperature, and simply watching his eyes to see when he would notice. His hand gripped a little tighter and his eyes squinted, waiting as long as he possibly could before removing his hand in pain, blowing on it when he did.

"And not anyone can threaten me, your majesty." I smiled, "Time to go." I then suggested, turning away from him, and exiting down the corridor. His footsteps were quick to follow, coming to my tail as he sighed.

"So, what's the protocol for leaving? Do we just let the bodies be found?" He then asked, finally asking something about how we did things around here. He really did want to be a part of the team, and in reality, I was certain that he would fit in quite well. I smiled again, turning to him once we were facing the exit.

"Really Loki? Why do you think Fury sends me on these missions?" I asked, placing my fingertips to the wall. I started walking towards the exit, allowing my fingertips to dance along the wall, setting it alight in their wake. He followed close behind, the both of us only stopping when we were a few metres outside of the building, I looked to him as we relished in the spiralling flames, "Bonfire powers is pretty accurate, honestly." I shrugged, watching his smirk emerge.

-

"I am what some people call a 'mutant'. Nothing gave me my powers; I suppose I've always just hand them." I shrugged, "I burnt down my family home. Killing my family when I was five. I didn't know what I was doing." I didn't know why I suddenly felt the urge to tell Loki my whole life story on the jet ride home, but I think it had something to do with the fact that he had fought for me and with me, and that while he thought I was dying he really did try and make me feel better. "Then there were three foster homes after that that went down in smoke... a similar start up like that one was the only ones who took me in."

"Hydra..." I heard him whisper.

"Yes." I sighed, "But... I didn't need the brainwashing like the Winter Soldier... I did everything I did voluntarily." I coughed, shifting awkwardly. I knew that my story wasn't palatable to normal people, but as Loki wasn't normal and had enough blood on his hands for the both of us, I felt he could be trusted with the truth. "Fury said it was either work for him or be locked up somewhere. So." I shrugged. There was a long moment of silence, one, I assumed, because he wasn't sure as how to respond.

"I was forced into the New York invasion." He then said, breaking through the silence in one swing. "My brother doesn't even know the whole truth." He sighed. I glanced to him, his eyes remained forward, face stoic, "Thanos held me for months, training me to lead the Chitauri, though the training was simply torture and mind games."

"You were being controlled by the mind stone too..." I whispered, more to myself, but he had heard it. He looked to me, eyes soft, nodding. "Wow."

"If I didn't, he would have killed me, destroyed the Earth, and Asgard. I couldn't allow for that." He then sighed, sitting back in his chair, "There, I answered one of your questions. But you only get one." I scoffed.

"I tell you how I killed my family, and you think that answering one question makes up for that?" I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to stop my smile as he nodded. "What will it take for you to open up a bit? If we're to go on all of those missions together you're going to have to at some point." I raised my eyebrows, watching as he tapped his chin.

"I'll tell you what, I'll answer one question each time I save your life." He smirked, "I'm sure I'll have answered all of your questions before the summers end."