#[ ch: titans team ]

[persevereforahappyending]

Maybe in Another Life |8|

Pairing: Clarisse La Rue x Hunter of Artemis!Reader

Summary: You are a Hunter of Artemis, but you start to question what you truly want when you meet Clarisse and get to know her.

Warnings: Slight Titans Curse Spoilers

Word Count: 2.2k+

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8 | ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11 | ch. 12 | ch. 13 | ch. 14 | ch. 15 | ch. 16 | ch. 17

You trekked through the woods with your sisters until Artemis decided on a spot to settle for the night. It had been about two months since you left Camp Half-Blood, since you last saw Clarisse, since Zoe died and Thalia joined the Hunters, taking her place as lieutenant. You threw yourself into the Hunt as much as possible, focusing only on what you needed to. It didn’t work, you were still reminded of Zoe’s loss every time you looked up at the night sky. You thought the distance from Clarisse would kill your crush, if you weren’t seeing her every day and spending time with her, you figured your newly developing feelings would be quickly snuffed out and everything would go back to the way it was, you were wrong about that as well.

You should have known grieving Zoe wouldn’t be as quick as the others. Losing a sister was always hard, losing the person who’s been by your side for a thousand years, that pain was indescribable. You took risks during hunts, cutting it close a few times, a lot closer than necessary. All because you took chances Zoe would have never let you take.

Everyone handled grief differently, some moved on quicker, some, like you, were still dealing with the loss just as hard a few months later. Even in a group of Hunters, that traveled together, lived together, and were around each other every day, all grieved differently. A lot of your sisters came together, spending more time together and just appreciating each other more. You were the opposite, distancing yourself as much as possible. You’d still train with them, you could still work flawlessly as a team, but you didn’t talk to them, not really. Thalia was similar to you; she was clearly grieving Zoë as well. She was also still getting used to the whole Hunter thing, she was a natural leader but some of your traditions, you guess could call them that, she was still learning.

You helped your sisters unpack, setting up each of the tents around where the campfire would go. A few of your sisters were already in position around various points of the campsite to keep watch for the night. When everything was unpacked, and your sisters started gathering around the campfire next to Artemis, you made yourself scarce. You caught Thalia’s eye and gave her a nod to let her know you’d be back. She watched you for a second before returning the nod, redirecting her attention back to Artemis who she sat beside. You knew Thalia had questions or thoughts on what you did but she never questioned you, you appreciated that, you didn’t have anything to hide but you didn’t feel like discussing these things with her.

You made your way through the woods, the chatter of your goddess and sisters getting quiet the more distance you put between you and them. You smiled when you came upon the creek you had been anxious to get to. The trees opened up around the creek, revealing the night sky in its entirety. You looked up, your eyes instantly finding Zoe’s constellation. You sighed, before pulling out a gold drachma and your little mirror that helped you make a rainbow almost anytime you wanted.

You said your little prayer to Iris and tossed your gold drachma into the rainbow. It was only a few seconds before Clarisse’s face appeared in the rainbow. “Hey,” you said, smiling.

You and Clarisse had Iris messaged each other every week since you left camp. Usually multiple times a week, there were weeks you talked every day. You could only talk to her when you guys were making camp or taking a break, so communication was more on your front than hers, but she always answered. You always tried to give her a good idea when you’d be able to contact her again or when you knew you’d be out all night and wouldn’t have time. Your talks were a nice break from the day to day of hunting and failing to find what you were looking for; besides, it was just nice to talk to her still.

“Hey,” Clarisse greeted. “How’s the hunt going?”

You let out a tired sigh, despite immortality and all the other perks of being a Hunter, you could still get exhausted. “That good?” Clarisse chuckled.

“Castellan really knows how to hide,” you mumbled. “Not that he deserves the credit, he is having quite a bit of help.”

You didn’t know all the details about what happened on the quest, all you knew was that despite what Percy originally thought, Luke was still alive. When you and the other Hunters caught up with Artemis again, she informed all of you that your new mission would be tracking Luke, anyone working with him, and gathering whatever information you could. Despite the years of experience Luke had the help of Kronos, the monsters, and who knew how many others. Every time you guys got a lead Luke was already gone, days ahead of you.

“We made camp for the night,” you sighed. “It kind of reminds me of your spot.” You looked around at your surroundings, there was a stream under the moonlight, surrounded by trees. You could almost believe you were back at Camp Half-Blood, except for the fact that you were in a different state hundreds of miles away.

“How are things there?” you asked.

“Well, Jackson’s gone, so it’s been nice,” Clarisse stated plainly. You couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Annabeth and I have been working on something.” A smirk appeared on her face.

“You and Annabeth are friends now?” you raised an eyebrow.

Clarisse was quick to scoff. “Let’s not go that far.”

“Oh, that’s right you don’t have friends,” you said, laughing at your own joke.

Clarisse made sure to flip you off and throw a glare that would intimidate most people through an iris message. Good thing you weren’t most people, and you found her glares harmless, they were actually almost adorable.

“What have you and Annabeth been working on?” You questioned when your laughter died down. If Clarisse was working with Annabeth on something, then it had to be important.

“I can’t tell you,” Clarisse said, giving you an apologetic look. You tilted your head at that, there wasn’t much Clarisse would keep secret from you unless it was absolutely important. “But I’ll be going on a secret mission in a few days so I might be unavailable.”

That made your heart drop and not just because you might not be able to talk with Clarisse. That uneasy feeling you got when Zoe was given her last quest came over you. It wasn’t as strong or as dire as the one with Zoe, but a little red warning light was going off in your head. You weren’t sure why, demigods went on quests all the time and Clarisse was more than capable, maybe you were reading too much into it because of your feelings for the daughter of Ares.

You had expected your feelings for the Ares girl to disappear after getting away from her, but it seemed with each passing day you only fell deeper. Every conversation, every new thing you learned about her, made you like her even more. There weren’t many people you could talk to for hours, but she was one, you didn’t even have to talk, even during an iris message the two of you could sit in silence and be comfortable.

“Who’s going with you on your quest?” You questioned. “Annabeth? That what the two of you are working on?”

“Actually…” she started. You scrunched your eyebrow when you saw Clarisse avoiding eye contact, which she never did. “It’s not an official quest.”

That sent a shiver down your spine, making you stand straighter. The only time campers left camp was when they were part timers and were going home for the school year or when they were going on a quest. Chiron never let campers wander out otherwise, it was much too dangerous for a demigod.

“What?” Your voice sounded hollow as you asked, already knowing you wouldn’t like whatever she said next.

“It’s a scouting mission,” Clarisse said. “Chiron asked for me specifically.” She gave you an apologetic smile, she clearly knew the risk of this mission but even through the iris message you could see the pride in her eyes.

“And Annabeth’s going with you?” you knew you were grasping for straws, but you had to hold onto the little bit of hope you had.

“No,” Clarisse admitted, straightening her back. “This is a solo mission.”

You looked to the ground, nodding your head. “Not going to wish me luck?” Clarisse joked, giving you her usual arrogant smile.

You couldn’t help but smile, lightly chuckling. “Luck is for losers,” you said. “Just…” you sighed, looking up at the sky, your smile sure didn’t last long. “Stay alive.” You looked Clarisse right in the eyes. You knew you shouldn’t ask that.

“I promise.” You knew she shouldn’t promise that.

Demigods should never promise to stay alive; it was nearly an impossible task. Demigods were created to go on quests, to run errands for the gods, to fight their wars, and to die in their name. If Chiron was sending a camper on a mission, that couldn’t even be classified as an official quest, alone, you knew it must be of the utmost importance. You didn’t know Annabeth very well, just that you liked her more than Percy and Thalia. You also knew she was smart and if she was involved in helping set up the scouting mission then you had to assume the mission wasn’t meant to be dangerous. Not that that mattered, every mission and quest for a demigod was dangerous, just walking down the street could be the death of them.

“How’s the princess doing?” Clarisse asked, breaking you out of your thoughts.

You chuckled, Clarisse had taken to calling Thalia princess and you couldn’t deny that there were certainly times she acted like a princess, though she also commanded like one as well. “I mean…” you started, glancing behind you when you heard branches breaking. “She’s capable but it’s not like she’s the best lieutenant we’ve ever had.”

“Rude,” Thalia said, walking up behind you but staying far enough back that she didn’t overstep into your and Clarisse’s conversation.

You couldn’t help but scoff. “You think you actually compare to Zoe?” you glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow.

Thalia rolled her eyes but raised her hands. “I have no notions of competing with Zoe.” You gave her a sad smile. You respected that though she might have taken over Zoe’s position, she was clearly not trying to replace Zoe, she understood you were all still grieving her. “Artemis wants you back.”

You nodded, watching as Zoe stepped further back, out of earshot of you and Clarisse. “Duty calls,” you said, looking back at Clarisse.

Clarisse nodded. “I shouldn’t be leaving on my mission for a few days, talk before then?”

“Of course,” you smiled as you both ended the call.

You sighed, you were going to talk to her at least one more time before her solo mission, hopefully. You were sure you’d be anxious until you got a call from her telling you she was back from the mission. You would happily listen to her recount the tales of her mission, exaggerating how heroic she was in whatever she was meant to be doing, you would listen to her for hours if it meant she returned alive.

“You two seem to have gotten close,” Thalia commented as the two of you made your way back to the campsite.

“We’re friends,” you mumbled, shrugging off the nerves you got at someone else noticing how much you seemed to care for Clarisse.

“Annabeth’s my best friend and even I don’t talk to her that much,” she mumbled.

“What are you implying?” you spun around, pulling her back by the arm.

You kept your gaze firm as you glared at her. You hadn’t broken your oath, but you weren’t sure you could deny your evolving feelings for the daughter of Ares if someone directly asked about them. You swallowed as you saw Thalia’s eyes scan over your face, widening slightly, the only reason you noticed was because you were inches from her.

“Nothing,” Thalia said, shaking her head. You frowned when she took a step back from you, Thalia never backed down and it was clear she had something to say. She pushed past you to walk back up the hill. “There’s nothing wrong with your friendship with Clarisse,” she turned her head just enough to barely glance back at you.

You watched her walk back up the hill. You couldn’t help but feel like there was a second meaning to Thalia’s words. You shook off the tense encounter before following her up the hill. The fire with all your sisters gathered around quickly came into view. Thalia took her seat at Artemis’s side. You took your place on the other side of Artemis, this was where you belonged, you needed to focus on the current objective and not worry about Clarisse. Who knew, maybe no contact for however long her mission took would do you some good, maybe your little crush on her would finally die.

Taglist: @cxcilla @touchmyfracturedomens @luclue @manu-007s-world

[lotus-n-l0ve]

YOU WERE MINE, ARE MINE & WILL BE MINE

— Yandere!Eren Yeager x Female Reader

*⁠.⁠✧ SYNOPSIS : Your boyfriend Eren is no longer the sweet and caring man you once knew.

*⁠.⁠✧ WARNINGS & TAGS : Au, dark!eren, possesive!eren, yandere!eren, non-con, sexual assault, kidnapping, abuse, physical abuse, beating, yandere theme,1.8k words.

*⁠.⁠✧ — NAVIGATION // ATTACK ON TITAN MASTERLIST

DO NOT PRESS [READ MORE] IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE. MINORS DNI, IF YOU DO THEN IT'S YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.

Eren Yeager, Your boyfriend was not the same sweet and caring man you had met years ago. You met Eren through a mutual friend, Armin Alert, at a party. While he was the captain of Tokyo High's football team, you were an average student with only two close friends.

Though both your lives were polar opposite of each other, you two instantly it. By the end of the night you were parting away with each other's phone number and an already fixed date.

On your first date he brought you to a beautiful cafe on the outskirts. He told you occasionally visited the place. It was like a dream. He was the boyfriend every girl asks for. He would take you out on dates, buy flowers and gifts for you.

Always noticed every little thing about you. He knew things about you that even you didn't. He was always so affectionate to you. At first you were flattered that he was giving your relationship so much attention and love. But soon things turned really creepy.

He started to get more possesive over time. Someone stared at you too long. You stayed out too long outside. You should not be out that long. Why did a stranger ask you for directions? Why does your classmate sit so close to you?

In the beginning he would doubt others' intentions. He would say they have ulterior motives to harm you, harm your relationship. But soon he started doubting you too. The distance from your college to home is 19 minutes but why did you take 24 minutes? What did you do in that extra time?

Those doubts created cracks in your once beautiful relationship. Fighting became more frequent. From him saying shit about others to questioning your characters. Until everything went too far.

"Eren, Toru was just a classmate asking for notes." You shouted at the man standing in front of you.

"A classmate or the guy you keep on cheating on me with?" Eren glared back at you, qually angry.

"You know what? I'm done with your bullshit. Always accusing me of cheating. I'm leaving. Bye."

As those words left your mouth, the temperature of the room dropped. In a blink of an eye Eren was in front of you, breathing down your face. His hand clutching your jaw. He had never been much scarier.

"What did you just say?" He gritted out, "Leave me? You will leave me?"

"Eren let me go. You are hurting me." You tried to push him off of you but he ignored your pleas, "When did you get so bold huh? Is it that guy you are cheating on me with is giving you all this courage? I need to put you in your place before you decide to do something stupid and try to leave me."

He mumbled the last part before he threw you on the floor. You yelled when your head hit the marbled ground. Before you know it Eren was holding the standing lamp over his head and bringing it down on your left ankle with his full strength. He did that repeatedly ignoring when cry and scream in pain and beg him to stop, only mumbling —

"You need to know your place."

"How will you leave me when you won't even be able to walk?"

"That classmate of yours is trying to break us apart baby."

"I won't let him do that."

"I'm doing this for us."

"If you can't walk, you won't leave me. You can't leave me. I won't let you."

He hit you till your ankle broke. The pain was so immense that you wanted to faint and you did just that. The last thing you remember is Eren taking you in his arms and whispering how much he loves you.

The next time you woke up to the sound of various chirping of birds. Weird. Because the part of the city you live in doesn't have many of them because of all the pollution. You blinked your eyes open. A wooden ceiling coming in your view. But your bedroom's ceilings are white and definitely not made of wood.

Confused, you sat up on the bed when you felt agonising pain in your left leg. It was bandaged up in a cast. You sat up straight as the horrendous memory of Eren beating you like a beast came back.

What happened after you passed out? Where was Eren? And most importantly where were you?

Quickly you got down from the bed and limped to the window. You gasp as you push the blinds away. In front of you, you could only see trees in your view. Your heart filled up with worry and you felt nauseous.

Your body stiffened when the bedroom door opened and someone walked in, "Oh! You are up, love?"

He sounded surprised and just like the man when you had started dating years ago. You turned to face him.

"What the fuck is this? And where am I?" You snapped.

"Calm down love. Why are you getting all angry?" He talked as if nothing had happened, "Come sit on the bed. Your ankle is injured and needs rest."

He walked up to you and tried to hold your hand but you jerked his hand off of you, "Stop playing Eren."

"Listen love—" He tried to calm you down but you cut off his words, "Don't listen love me. You are accused me of cheating, you always fight with me and now you broke my fucking leg, Eren. I want to go back home. I don't want to be with you. I want to fucking leave."

"Why the fuck are you always talking about leaving me?" Eren sneered as he fisted your hair, making you yelp, "It's all because of him right? Don't worry. By the time I'm done, the only thing you would think about is me."

He pushed you back on the bed and hovered over you. That day for the first time you hated the feeling of his hand on you. The room echoed with your begging to be released and cry for help. But Eren didn't stop. He ripped off your clothes and laid you bare on the bed. Marked your body with red, purple bruises and the bites of his teeth.

He violated you, torn you apart, from inside and outside. After what felt like painful days but were really hours he stop. By that time you were numb, exhausted and unconscious.

Since then your days in hell started. You could not move for almost a week. That time he was all affectionate and caring towards you but you couldn't wouldn't trust him anymore. Not after what he had done to you. When you finally gained the energy to move you tried to escape.

Eren was out that day like you have observed the last few days and would not return till evening. You had plenty of time to get out of there. You somehow pulled yourself up and sat on the bed. Throwing off the blanket off you stumbled up, your left leg hanging in there air.

You lumped around the bed and opened the door. Looking both sides of the hallway, when you were sure there was no one, you decided to go to the right. The hallway was long and dimmed. At the end of the hallway you found stairs going down. The stairs led you to the living room. You could see the front door.

On checking you found the door unlocked so without any wait you ran out of the house and into the woods. All this while unaware of a certain pair of green eyes following your every movement through the many CCTV cameras installed in the house and as well as throughout the forest.

Eren snickered seeing your tiny figure running through the forest, trying to find your way out. He knew you would try to run away but poor you, you didn't know that you were so deep into the forest that there was not a single human being in 90 kilometres of radiation.

"I'm not that heartless. I will let you enjoy your freedom. For now." Eren muttered before averting his eyes to the bloodied whimpering figure tied to the chair, "Now, where were we, Toru?"

You ran and ran with your broken ankle as much as you could but you felt trapped. Wherever you see, there were only tall similar looking trees. You don't know how long it was before you stopped under a tree to rest. You leaned back on the tree, chest heaving up and down. The sun was already setting. Soon it was night and you didn't know what kind of wild animals were roaming around here.

Fear creeped in your heart. Was running away without any plan a bad idea? You wondered. But you could not stay there either. No with him. You didn't know what he would do. The sudden sound of leaves rustling startled you, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Y/N." He dragged you name, making you still, "Where are you?"

You slapped your palm over your mouth and stopped breathing to not make any noise.

"I know you are here."

"Come on. Come out already." He whined.

"Oh! I understand. We are playing hide and seek." He giggled as he stopped walking, "But you forgot something, love. You always get caught."

Your eyes widened and your heart stopped. He................He was standing behind you. You hasitentaly turned your head back. Your body was shaking as you lifted your eyes to meet his lunatic ones. His eyes were shaking, unfocused while his lips were curled up in a maniac smile.

You screamed as you got up and started running away with tears rolling down your eyes.

Eren's eyes followed as he snorted. You never understand do you?

"By the end of the night you truly will forget the word runaway."

Your vision was blurry but you didn't care. You had to get away from there. Away from him as soon as possible. His mad face flashed in your mind making you quiver. You could not recognise him anymore. He was not your Eren. Your Eren never scared you but-but you were scared of him.

Fast stomps followed you whichever turn you took. It was catching up on you. Suddenly your broken leg stepped on a branch and you fell on your face. Your head hit the solid ground. The lack of oxygen was making you dizzy as you slipped in and out of consciousness.

Eren walked up to you and crouched down beside you before picking you up in his arms. He started walking back to the wooden house with you in his arm—

Don't worry Y/N. I'll never let you go. You were mine, are mine and will be mine. That classmate who tried to separate us is already dead.

© 𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐔𝐒-𝐍-𝐋𝟎𝐕𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑, 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐃 — all content rights belongs to LOTUS-N-L0VE. do not plagiarise any works and do not repost or translate onto any other sites.

All the rights and credits of the characters, gifs, songs and pictures used here belongs to their rightful owners.

[ordinaryschmuck]

I think the reason why you often see more game/show/movie announcements for a random Marvel character you never heard of where DC primarily focuses on Batman and Batman related characters is because...Marvel built more trust with the obscure.

All the way back when they started the MCU, Marvel didn't have the rights to its more iconic, recognizable, and, more important, marketable characters. Spider-Man went to Sony, X-Men and Fantastic Four went to Fox, and even the Hulk was technically owned Universal. By the time the MCU was being conceived, Marvel only had its C-listers and D-listers. No one even HEARD of characters like Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and ESPECIALLY the Guardians of the Galaxy before the MCU. Even characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, characters considered Marvel's big three nowadays, characters who the MCU relied on, weren't as huge as DC's big three. Meanwhile, DC had access to ALL of its characters, relying on its most recognizable IPs like Batman and Superman...And, oh yeah, I guess Wonder Woman was there too...Sometimes.

But the biggest seller was always Batman. Because how could he not be? He looked cool, he had an impressive rogues gallery to make toys of, and is everything for DC as Spider-Man was to Marvel. Both Batman and Spider-Man could sell anything. But Marvel technically didn't have the FULL rights to Spider-Man and DC...didn't bother with its other characters. Batman made bank with his videogames, movies, and TV shows to the point where they could sell a Gotham prequel series to Fox and STILL make a lot of cash. Why bother making a movie about Aquaman or The Flash when it likely won't sell as well as BATMAN. Sure, you got a Green Arrow TV show on the same network as a Superman prequel series, but that didn't change how most of DC's other projects weren't connected to Batman in someway.

Teen Titans was a show that starred Robin, Batman's sidekick. Same with Young Justice. And the only time kids got introduced to other DC characters, it was for a campy show like Batman: The Brave and the Bold where BATMAN teamed up with a hero a week. Which would have been a smart way to bring other characters into the light, but it's still connected strictly through BATMAN. Even now, DC has what is best described as a Batman problem. The Flash was a movie that featured two versions of Batman, one of them bringing in nostalgia through a past Batman movie instead of focusing on an old Flash product. And with the last few years, the only video games were Batman related, with Gotham Knights starring Batman's sidekicks and that Suicide Squad game starring Harley Quinn, a BATMAN villain who goes to kill BATMAN that's actually the same BATMAN from an old BATMAN game.

And yeah...I love Batman. We ALL love Batman. He's the coolest character ever conceived and it's the easiest thing in the world to make a movie about him. It might not be a GOOD movie sometimes, but it's at least a movie that'll make billions. But with this over-saturation of Batman, it left DC unsure if they can make anything big WITHOUT him. Because how can they be sure it'll succeed without their signature character that gave them a shitload of money?

But let's go back to Marvel. Starting a cinematic universe without their most popular IPs was a risk. They SORT of had the rights to the Hulk, but...there was no way Hulk would have made more money than a Spider-Man movie. If they wanted to make a successful franchise, Marvel had to put more faith in its other characters, allowing to make good movies and hope that enough people would be interested to see more. And...it worked. Iron Man was a hit, Thor and Captain America got people interest, and the big pay off was the box office smash that was The Avengers. Everyone started to know these characters and it didn't stop there. Guardians of the Galaxy became popular enough to be another big franchise for Marvel, Black Panther became the most popular Black superhero after Blade (another Marvel character), and people were left BEGGING for Spider-Man and the X-Men to join this universe so they could see their old favorites interact with their NEW favorites. And that just...never stopped. Marvel kept pushing more and more characters to the spotlight, with it paying it off for them.

Before 2014, NO ONE would consider buying a Guardians of the Galaxy game. But due to the MCU's revamping of those characters, it was enough to make people willing to do so. And in a few years, we're getting games based on Iron Man, Captain America and Black Panther, and JUST Black Panther, all because the Marvel had enough faith to turn this C-listers into A-listers. As for TV shows, we've got connected MCU stuff like Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel, but also a really good and imaginative cartoon with Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

Now, to be fair, it's not paying off for Marvel, especially with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels causing the studio to lose bank. They're even thinking about cutting back on riskier stuff and focusing on their bigger franchises. Which...honestly sounds dumb to me not only because the MCU was founded on taking risks, but also because DC is exactly what you get when you focus on JUST the money makers. We're still getting nothing but Batman and Batman related characters or movies/universes that references nothing but Batman. To the point where I just want DC to retire Batman for a year, maybe TWO tops. Marvel proved that you can make a hit if you let other characters than the most marketable one. Even if it fails like The Marvels did, it's not because Captain Marvel isn't as iconic as Iron Man, it's because the movie wasn't as well-written enough. It was a fun time, sure, but not as strongly written as other MCU films. And that's what DC needs to learn and Marvel to remember: It's not about who's the most popular, it's about strong writing.

Hopefully we get more attention on lesser-known Marvel and DC characters in the future.

[abominable-space-they]

Team Dad Verse AU

OT3 Buggy/Mihawk/Shanks

A One Piece Au in which Roger & Garp raise their kids & crews together. The impact is far reaching

Part One Part Two Part Three

An Alternate One Piece History

40 ish years ago: Gol D Roger & Monkey D Garp meet to form a tentative truce for God Island incident hoping to keep more people on both sides of the marine divide alive. Through the danger and struggle they come to trust each other implicitly, a life long bond is created

In the aftermath of the incident Roger finds two mysterious toddlers both set adrift in the ocean. One is a sunny red headed, cheerful little boy with the looks of a Viking prince. The other is strange, difficult, overly busy, and perpetually unhappy. The only thing that seems to settle the odd blue haired little boy, is his red head friend.

Roger raises both both children aboard his ship as honorary Rogers Pirates. They're called Shanks & Buggy respectively. They're not his blood but they will inherit his pirate legacy. They're inseparable.

35 years ago: Garp & Roger marry in secret

30 years ago: increasing pressure from the world government causes a spiral of strain between increasing strife between Marines and pirates. Often men who'd been working working side by side in balance for years. Alliances, friendships, and romantic engagements crumble

27 years ago: Roger Pirates are disbanded. Shanks & Buggy have a falling out, each starting their own crews separately.

It's rumored they still occasionally see each other on Roger's lingering business. No one knows what that might be.

Dracule Mihawk & Red Hair Shanks teen friendship grows into a deeply knowing understanding

They trust and understand each other. A rarity among pirates.

Some say they're lovers

Some say neither man has a heart

Others say if they don't have them, it's because Buggy the Clown ate them.

None of them are concerned about the rumors

26 years ago: increasing tensions between pirates and Marines put titanic pressure on Roger & Garp. Neither of whom are willing to sacrifice their respective ways of life

25 years ago: The two men go their seperate ways permanently

Roger, who may or may not be terminally I'll, is arrested shortly after

The rumor mill can't keep up with the implications

24 Years ago: Gol d Roger is put to death, Garp mourns privately

In the months that follow, mutually distraught, Buggy & Shanks reconcile, sometimes running their crews together for periods of weeks or months at a time.

The two crews are known to be close associates of each other. It's an open secret that Red Hair Shanks & Buggy the Clown are lovers.

Mihawk is still around sometimes. No one knows what that means. No one's brave enough to ask.

23 years ago: Gol D Ace is born to Garp & Roger. A romantic story is woven to protect the child and his identity. A story about a woman who loves a man so much she held their baby inside her body until Roger had been in prison for much to long to be the baby's father. The baby is given his fictional mother's family name, Portgas.

Ace takes after Garp the most, fun loving, hearty, brave, loyal, stubborn, incredibly strong, and always absolutely starving.

If Garp seems like he has regrets no one is foolish enough to point that out to him

18 years ago: The eldest son of the GolD MonkeyD clan, a disillusioned Marine turned freedom fighter Monkey D Dragon, and a disenfranchised pirate turned mercenary spy code name Crocodile, cross paths in an unlikely turn of political events

Sparks Fly between Crocodile, & Dragon, two men with different but momentarily intersecting goals find common ground

A connection is made, a baby is conceived

17 years ago: Crocodile gives birth to a baby boy in absolute secret. The baby, an heir to unknowable power amongst both the pirates and the Marines, is in danger as long as he remains with either of his fathers.

The infant is a liability neither man is willing or able to take on, neither of his parents can reasonably or safely take care of the baby in their lines of work

The baby was given only a name, Monkey D Luffy and sent via wet nurse courier to the home base of his adopted family, Buggy & Shanks. Both men, foundlings themselves, with connections high up in both the Marines and the world's most powerful pirate crews. The baby can be safe there. And so he's raised, hidden in plain sight in Buggy and Shank's combined crew for three years.

Ace spends summers with Shanks and Buggy as well, both to reduce suspicions about his parentage and so the 2 little boys could be raised as family

14 years ago: Luffy, now much to spirited and strong to hide on any one ship, starts drawing dangerous questions from powerful people. A painful decision is made. Shanks & Buggy's crews will separate again, only working together in secret.

Shanks would take the toddler and set him up at a home base, a nowhere little backwater town called Windmill village, where he could keep an eye on the growing boy from an apparent distance.

Buggy would be out in the world spreading the wrong kind of rumors.

Ace, a bright and precocious child, spends summers bouncing between Buggy and Shanks, learning everything he can about the kind of freedom he dreams of taking for himself one day.

10 years ago: Luffy eats the gum gum fruit unintentionally causing an avalanche of cataclysmic change.

Shanks inability to produce this particular devil fruit puts him in the cross hairs of powerful government agents. Knowing the government and pirates alike would soon be making attempts on the the life of whoever ate the gum gum fruit, Shanks sends for Garp to take his grandson. He's now the only person with the power to hide Luffy from both the Marines and the secretive government officials the devil fruit was intended for.

To further protect Luffy, Shanks disappears with his crew amid rumors they started themselves that he'd double crossed his employers and eaten the devil fruit himself.

Shanks gives Luffy his hat before he goes and tells the boy to come find him when he's ready to become a great pirate in his own right

Luffy's dream is born

Garp collects Luffy, he raises and trains both Luffy and Ace as adopted brothers

Though Luffy doesn't remember being born into piracy, it's in his blood and bones, it's in his dreams

No matter what Garp does, he's unable to dissuade either his secret son or his grandson from the danger of following their family's grand pirate legacy

Rumors travel fast on the high seas, rumors get back to Buggy that Shanks has taken up with the Marine sanctioned freshly minted Warlord of the sea, the Privateer Dracule Mihawk... again.

Buggy is heartbroken and furious, he sinks deep into the weeds of retaliation and revenge, cutting off contact with the only extended family he's ever known

5 years ago: in a frustrated fury over ongoing power struggles with Garp, Ace leaves home. Whitebeard finds him, offers to make the boy his own son and legacy. Ace accepts, finally he has a family where he belongs

Hopefully

Time passes

Our story begins

Included Arcs:

The Beginning, Romance Dawn, Loguetown, Alabasta, Water Seven, Time Skip, Impel Down, Marine Ford

The Beginning:

A Clown Car Named Desire

Romance Dawn- Loguetown

Buggy/Mihawk focus

Pre OT3

Complete

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4

On The Grand Line:

Aces High Arc, Portgas D Ace Lives

Alabasta Hold 'em

Alabasta

OT3

Buggy/Mihawk/Shanks Focus

Strawhat pirate ensemble

Established Zosan

Ace Lives Fix it part 1

Complete

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4

Ace In The Hole (Jokers Wild)

Impel Down - Marineford fix it

Action Comedy

OT3 Mishuggy

Buggy, Luffy, Ace, Crocodile, Iva, & Cross Guild Focus

Newkama Queens ensemble

Ace Lives Fix it part 2

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3

[pasdasin]

Entanglement ch 7

levi x reader

summary: revaltions come to life

cw: hospital, wound, cursing, bad writing (didn't proof read)

an: omg finally done with finals and on spring break. curse u quater systems and sorry for not updating 😭

read under the cut

previous -- next

Levi stood in shock. The blood was seeping out of your wound slowly but the longer he stared he couldn’t move. He was going to loose you at this rate. Right when he got you back. Suddenly the door busted open and Hange looked at the sight in front of her. 

“Levi what are you doing? What happened?” Hange sprang into action trying her best to do a patch job with what they had available to them. Levi still couldn’t move. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Suddenly he was slapped in the face.

“Pull your self together or she will die.” Hange yelled at him. Levi was finally pulled out of his trance. 

“She was shot. I’m going after them.”

“Levi, no, she needs a hospital. C’mon there is a infirmary in the capital.” Without another word, Levi grabbed his 3DM gear, grabbed your unconscious body, and left. Hange was left in the room, surrounded by your personal effects and a giant pile of blood. 

She quickly looked around before leaving the room. As she left her eyes lingered on a small box on the dresser near the room. It seemed like a jewelry box but with what little was inside it, it could hardly be called that. However, a small velvet box stood open, and inside was probably the nicest ring she had ever saw. Shaking her head, she left the room and gathered the rest of the squad, telling them that they had to leave. It was no longer safe.

----

On the surface the squad quickly rushed to the closest military infirmary and met up with Levi. He was standing next to a room, his eyes were lost in thought. Hange called out his name and he looked up. 

He was an entire mess. His eyes were bloodshot and red from constant rubbing. His perfectly manicured hair more resembled a bird's nest, and his shirt was covered in blood. Your blood.

“Levi,” Erwin breathed out. “You have to tell us what is going on. This isn’t like you at all.” Levi looked into the eyes of his closest companions. Biting the inside of his cheek, he slid down the wall behind him and sat, his legs close to his chest. 

“Please captain,” Eren said, a hint of urgency in his tone. “Y/n wouldn’t want this. How can you act like this?” Levi sent a glare to the titan shifter. 

“How dare you? I am your captain. You don’t even know her.”

“If you’re my captain then act like it!” Levi gritted his teeth. Standing up he walked over to Eren, a newfound fire in his eyes, before kicking him in the shin. Eren smiled through the pain, happy to see his captain finally act like himself. 

Suddenly a nurse came out of the room. She looked at the group in front of her before her eyes went wide in amazement. 

“Captain Levi,” She called out, pushing a hair behind her ear. “She is ready for you now.” Levi directed his attention to the nurse and headed straight into the room. The rest of the team followed him in, Armin acknowledged her before closing the door behind him. 

Inside you were sleeping soundly. From the way you were wrapped up, you were gonna make it. Levi moved towards the head of the bed and sat in the chair. He grabbed your hand softly before turning his attention to the people in the room. 

“I guess I should be honest with you guys now. Especially after everything that just occurred.” The rest of his squad got comfortable while he tried to find the right words. Never in all of his time knowing these people did he ever think that he would be forced to be so vulnerable, so open. He took a big breath in and decided to just be blunt. 

“Y/n is my fiance.” The room got so quiet after that, you could hear a pin drop. “When I joined the survey corps, I had left her in the underground. I was going to bring her aboveground when I was told she was murdered. I only just found out she was alive.” Another round of silence filled the room. No one was sure what to say. How could they find the words to comfort their captain? They just found out about this whole new side of him. They didn’t need to find the right words though, since in the moment after he told them the truth, you had woken up. 

[numericalbridge]

Meta masterpost

+ Darius meta masterpost (wip) - specifically for Darius-centric meta

Liveblog:

#toh rewatch numericalbridge - general thoughts while rewatching | #darius rewatch meta - specifically about Darius

#toh rewatch liveblog - semi-liveblog tag:

Season 1: episodes 1-3 | episodes 4-5 | episodes 6-10 | episodes 11-15 | episodes 16-19 + season 1 thoughts

Season 2: episodes 1-2 | episodes 3-5 | episodes 6-10 + season 2a thoughts | episodes 11-15 | episodes 16-21 + season 2b thoughts

Season 3: episode 1 | episodes 2-3

General Meta:

Post (about minimal changes that would've improved my personal toh watching experience)

Post (what i would've liked to see about rebels, 'what if')

Post (about other wild witches, rebellion and worldbuilding)

Post (about the show's worldbuiliding, everything everything being based on modern USA, education and demons)

Ask re treatment of the demons

Ask re King's backstory

Ask reply rant about Whittebane fans

Post (about characters trying to eat someone)

Post (underrated unintentionally hilarious scene during Hunting Palisman, silly)

Fandom Rant:

Post (side eyeing the fandom when fans paint Hunter and the Whittebanes as something that elevated toh and made it special and more mature)

Post (about the double standarts of the way some Caleb fans treat Darius)

Post (about the way Perry is often excluded from the old hexsquad posts)

Luz:

Post (Hunting Palismen is good because of Luz)

Post (Luz and fanfic headcanons + general writing pet peeve)

Ask reply (rant about AUs where Caleb is suspicious of Luz)

Ask game reply (Luz, Scara and Darius)

Gus and Willow:

(listed together because they are the most side-lined out of the main kids and are often side-lined together)

Post (rant about the treatment of Gus and Willow and their friendship with Luz)

Post (Gus and his non-involment in Understanding Willow)

Post (mini-post, Gus could’ve easily joined the crew for the Echoes of the Past episode)

Post (Gus, the Clouds episode, unexplored trauma, side-lining)

Post (Willow, the switch when in the Clouds ‘Luz’ saves Willow)

Post (Willow's and Gus's roles in my Rot AU)

Camila:

Post (rant about Camila's treatment by fandom)

Post (Camila and Raine) + more about Ramila (ask game reply)

Eber:

Post (Eber vs Terra headcanon)

Post (some headcanons about Eber's character and their relationship with Darius)

Post (fan names for Eber’s ratworms)

Ask game reply about Eber

Post (Eber’s super vision spell + Gwen, silly)

Post (Eber dealing with Gwen, silly + Gwen and Coven Heads)

Post (Coven Heads banners in season 1)

Post (Eber as a traitor?! silly, AU)

Post (Eber in Oh, Titan, silly)

Post (funny faces during the Eber vs Mason fight in KT)

Post (mini-post, i don’t really see Eber as a parent figure for Hunter)

Post (Eber’s tail is not a tail, silly)

Post (Eber dealing with Gwendolyn, silly)

Old poll about Eber, silly

Raine:

Ask re Raine's characterization

Post (about Raine's reaction if someone actually successfully sacrificed themselves for the cause)

Post (the episode where Terra is introduced is also the episode where Eda prominently uses plant glyphs)

Post (about Raine not smiling during the CHs introduction and their and Darius's acting)

Post (silly post about Raine’s penstagram secret code)

Post (more sounds! silly mini post about writing Raine's PoV)

The Catts:

Post (a weird moment with Steve and Lilith in Oh, Titan - a hint that there might have been a rebellion that was going on for a longer time?)

Post (Draining Spell diagram, what did the rebels think)

Post (hints of team RED snooping around in s2b, headcanon)

Post (about the rebels using their magic together in HM, headcanon + observations)

Post - are Team RED’s disguises meant to be so obvious in-universe? (HM, semi-silly observations)

Post (Team RED's cloaks in HM)

Post (mini-post, Eber’s and Amber’s 1 second friendship)

Abominations:

Post (abominations as robots, headcanon)

Post (about Amity’s abomination looks different in the human realm + headcanons)

Post (abominations as an analogue for generative AI, silly pet peeve)

Post (mini-post, ok, just a picture of the baby plant abomination because its cute)

Other characters:

Post (thoughts on the Collector’s introduction)

Post (why s2 Amity does feel bland to me)

Post (Blight family gets too much focus)

Post (about Hunter and what he realizes about his situation with Belos)

Post (about Mason)

Ask re Lilith (Lilith's arc)

Ask game reply about Lilith (and dariraine)

Ask re Scara (headcanons)

Post (mini-post, funny Scara, Gus, Viney and Puddles screenshot)

Post (about Alador and infantilization)

Post (silly post, the way other palismen looke at Flapjack in s3ep1)

Post (about Severine, silly)

Post (one-sentence mini rant about canon Hunter and fanon Hunter being different people)

AU ideas:

Post (mini rant about the puppet plot + alternative to it where the characters are more active)

Post (Human!Willow AU)

Post (instead of puppets Collector turns the Coven Heads back into children)

Post (would it be possible to modify the grimwalker creation by introducing new elements)

Post (Perry and Raine interactions)

Post (Eda and Camila switching places)

Post (~ Hooty hanahaki disease ~)

Post (Eber raising Hunter)

Post (Villain time travel)

Post (Perrius AUs)

Post (what Raine would've done if Lilith never switched sides)

Post (Hollow Mind hodgepodge mindscape AU)

[simp999]

A New Home Ch. 14

Various Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.8k (whoops.)

A/N: This is the biggest headcannon in the story, I hope you guys are alright with this! (There was a hint at this earlier in the series! Did you notice the octopi and tentacle on his first banner?)

Back to the start! Previous Next

The next day, you ask your teammates if there's a library around. Yesterday, you read all three volumes of Naruto that Mask had given you, then put the book beside the plushie you had themed after him. It was very nostalgic, and reading it made you feel much more at home, but you wanted more.

"Oh, yeah! It's kinda small, but there is one not too far way. You'll still need the train to get there, though!" Milo sends you the address on your phone and you thank him, making your way to the nearest train station.

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

It's a small library, you note from the outside. You doubt that you'll find more from the Naruto series, but it's worth a shot. Once you enter, you see how filled to the brim with books it really is. It seems to be well kept. There aren't a lot of people here today, probably since the weather is nice. The sun can't be seen, but the rain has stopped. It's a nice kind of warm outside, perfect for some turfing. 

You browse around, looking for the manga section. It is still an old building, so lots of the signs can't be read easily. You also wouldn't be surprised if the manga section was only half a shelf in size. After a long enough time of searching, you decide to try to find someone that may know the place better. 

You go to the first person you see, and probably the only other one there, who appears to be in the recipies section. They have a book in hand, and you're about to tap them on the shoulder. 

Wait a sec, is that a special forces beret? And that color of jacket, definitely a forge inkling parka. Not to mention their ink color. It must be!-

"Ah, hello. May I help you with anything?"

He must have noticed your presence.

"Do you happen to know where the manga section is? Or rather, if there even is one?"

"Yes, I do believe it's just around the corner. This way," he begins to walk, almost march, towards a bookshelf a row or two down. Definitely Army. 

No wonder you missed this section, the manga only covers two shelves and is in the dead center of the aisle. You spot a couple of different series, ranging from Attack on Titan, Your Lie in April, to lesser-known series like Servamp.

You search a little higher up and there it is, Naruto! There are volumes 1-9, currently missing 8. You excitedly reach for volume 4, grabbing it off the shelf. You’re unsure of how many books you’re allowed to take out at once, so you turn to Army.

“Um, one last thing, Army?”

He turns back to you, and you ask him.

“We’re allowed three at once.”

“Oh…”

He notices how you lose part of your exciement, and quickly comes up with a solution. He’s quick on his toes, as expected.

“There’s a sitting area at the back of the library, you could always sit there and read the volumes you can’t bring home. If you’re uncomfortable being here alone, I have no problems sitting near you. I do have a few novels I’m interested in, after all.”

“That’s really kind of you! There’s no need for that though, I wouldn’t want to bug you.”

You laugh nervously, holding a couple volumes close to your chest.

“Oh. I was going to stay and read either way. I was not expecting that answer.”

You jump up a bit, surprised at how blunt he is.

“That’s okay too! I do have lots of respect for the S4 as well as team orange, so it’s completely fine!”

He gives you a curt nod, and goes off to presumably grab the novel he wanted to read. You try to find the back of the library, finally picking the seat of your liking. You’re about a chapter in when Army comes back, situating himself at a seat with a mini side table attached. He puts his bag down resting right beside his feet. It seemingly has a manual, post-it notes, pencils, inkling-safe water, and you could guess whatever else he may need throughout the day. He places his pencils on the table along with his manual, and you notice how he adjusts his pencils to be in order of tallest to shortest, then makes sure his manual is square in the corner of the table.

The two of you read in silence, every once in a while Army will jot down notes, probably about his novel.

You finish volume four, and you can tell he’s already nearly halfway through his novel. If you could guess, it’s probably 300-400 pages long. He’s a quick reader. The two of you continue like this until you’ve finished volume seven, and he’s finished his third, smaller novel. He’s just taking notes now on his last book. You stand up, going to put the books back where they came. He follows you, and you’re unsure of why. You make it back to the manga section, putting the books back and browsing the other series.

“I saw Mask read the ’Servamp’ title. It seems there are nineteen volumes in total, so they’re all here. He read until the end of volume nineteen, during a team meeting might I add, but that’s not important. I think you may want to check it out if you haven’t already.”

Just full of information, huh? Well, if Mask liked it, it’s worth a shot. You go to grab volume one, accidentally knocking down another book. You quickly go to reach for it, but apparently Army had the same idea, and the two of you bonk heads.

“Whoops, sorry! Are you o-”

He quickly catches his beret before it hits the ground, putting it back on his head and adjusting it to put it back in perfect place.

The two of you stand in silence, Army looking anywhere but at you.

“...You did not see anything…did you?”

You think for a moment, of course you saw. You’re a natural at taking in information at break-neck speed and adapting to it.

“I may have. Does it matter?”

“Please do not tell anyone, not even the S4 know.”

He analyzes your expression.

“You don’t seem to be surprised.”

“I would never tell anyone, you can trust that. And I might of had a hunch.”

You could tell he was nervous, afraid that somebody was now fully aware of his secret. You could see the way his shoulders just barely relaxed, and how he let out a sigh of relief at your words. His cheeks were still  tinged much more orange than usual, and he hasn’t looked you in the eye once, until he asked you his next question:

“What gave it away?”

You slowly walked back to the back of the library, making sure he was following you. You looked around to be certain again that no one was around, and even then, you kept your voice low out of respect for Army.

“Well, my teammate is a big fan of you, so I get to see lots of battles, posters, that kind of thing related to you. I’ve noticed that your ears are rounder than most, you frown to make your eyes appear smaller, and you often keep your mouth closed to hide your teeth. They’re not very sharp, but one of the teeth that ‘should’ be more defined is not. And I’m sorry about mentioning this, but, your height, too. I see that your Punk Cherries are taller than most pairs, so I’m assuming you have lifts in your shoes to make you a little taller. But even then, you’re much closer to average male octoling height than inkling’s.”

You realise everything you said, and you begin to twiddle your fingers and bounce your leg. Army also notices your face heat up.

“Damn, that makes me kinda sound like a weird fan, huh? I’m so sorry- I should probably mention that I draw too, so I really have to pay attention to details-”

He takes a minute to take in all the information, and the last sentence.

“No, I understand, I’m the same way. I didn’t feel the need to mention it, but I’m aware of your skills, I’ve seen a few of your battles. You were also at the ‘party’ after Team Blue and Purple’s battle, where we had the curry that I had made.”

Oh, he understands. ‘Thank cod that he doesn’t think I’m weird. I hope. Or maybe he’s just being nice.’

You continue to overthink, but his next question pull you back.

“Then what about the inkling mask?”

“You draw on the rest of your face paint daily, don’t you?”

Maybe his bluntness is rubbing off on you.

“That’s correct. I’ve done just about everything I could to hide my secret.  I find it impressive how you pay attention to detail, well done.”

You can still tell he’s nervous, and he has every right to be, had he run into anyone else. You are still somewhat of a stranger to him, you’d be nervous too. But you want to offer him the most comfort possible. You’re about to reach out and rest your hand on his shoulder as comfort, but decide against it.

“Army, hun. I swear to never tell anybody, not even my closest teammates. I understand how big of a secret this is, and how important to you is it that this doesn’t get out.”

You try to think of a way to reveal that you know about friendly octolings, then you think; just be honest. Well, kinda.

“I’ve also been to this new place called Inkopolis Square. They have lots of octolings, and the population is almost the same as inklings out there. All of the ones I’ve met have been very kind and friendly, so I hope that this assures you that my view of you has not changed. Really, you only confirmed my headcannon.”

The last part is quieter, and ends with you scratching the back of your neck.

“Well, I hope that I can trust you. Thank you for being truthful, and please, please, keep your word. This could change many inkling’s view of me. I don’t want to stand out any more than any other S4 member.”

“I’m aware.”

You don’t know how to make him any more comfortable, besides taking this secret to the grave. And that, you will.

“Thank you. I hope to see you in the near future and perhaps battle you. Your team is quite strong, you know.”

“Of course. Have a good day, Army. See you and the Orange Team soon.”

"Is your head okay, by the way?"

"...Yes, thank you for asking."

You check out a few volumes of Servamp, and make your way home. 

Next Part

May.4.23

[sergeantsporks]

Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 23/?: Gameplan

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17,  Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22

In which none of the previous golden guards or wittebro died, actually, they're all fine and living happily together as one big dysfunctional family

Ao3

Deep breaths.

Phoenix opened a door. “Terra. Glad you haven’t been turned into a puppet.”

“Hello, Rosebud. I see you’ve cooled down from your little tantrum. Here to get me to join your little owl house game?”

“Not quite yet. Where are the rest of the coven heads?”

Terra studied her nails. “I don’t know.”

Liar.

“Incredible. You lost them? The most senior of the coven heads didn’t keep track of her cohorts?” Phoenix shook his head. “I guess I came to the wrong place.”

She eyed him. “Adorable. Let’s cut to the chase and quit dancing around our objectives, shall we? You’re looking for allies. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to me. What are my options? What’s my standing right now?”

Equal exchange of information. Alright.

“You’re one option out of several to play the owl lady. The last one got turned into a puppet. High risk, high reward, Terra. If you get picked to play, you can get close to the Collector. But if you fail, you’ll lose everything.”

“Oh, are those the only stakes? I’ve been in that situation for fifty years now.”

“It’s not the same. You’re not dealing with an adult who has adult reason. You’re dealing with a child.”

“I’m excellent with children. Just look how you turned out.”

Hating your guts?

Phoenix shook his head. “With Belos, the blame and risk was spread out among coven heads. Now? It’s all concentrated. We need to get a scapegoat, maybe Graye?”

Wouldn’t hate seeing him turned into a puppet.

“You’re not fooling anyone, Rosebud.”

“I’m not trying to fool you.”

“You never were a good liar. You’re not looking for someone to spread the blame out, you’re looking for a coconspirator to plot with. One who isn’t a tiny dog thing.”

Phoenix kept his face still and neutral. “And you think you can be that partner?”

“Undoubtedly, but I’m certain you already have a particular abomination head in mind. One you’re fishing for information on. Like I said, you’re not fooling anyone.”

Right. One more card to play.

Phoenix took a step closer to Terra. He’d surpassed her in height a long time ago, and without her plants to stand on, she had to look up at him to meet his eyes. “I have the Collector’s ear. If I recommend you, he’ll loop you into the game. Is that something you want, or not?”

Her eyes glinted. “According to you, I’m safe here, but the game is a risk. What do you think?”

A vine grew out of the ground between them, pushing Phoenix back.

“You’re not the only choice I’ve got in this titanforsaken house. Make no mistake, I can find another ally. You’re rusty, Rosebud. And you were never had as good at keeping the coven heads in your pocket as your predecessor.”

Phoenix pushed the vine to the side. “Remind me which of us is a statue right now?”

Sorry, Petro.

“This isn’t the coven, Terra. The rules have changed, and you are not well adjusted to follow them. The Collector isn’t me, or any of the other kids you’ve taken interest in. He’s not going to be as easy to control as you think. If you want to stay free, I suggest you start following my lead.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” she purred, “Best of luck finding Darius.”

Phoenix’s gut clenched at the direct mention of his name, but he pushed out of the room without another word. A dead end. Not that he’d ever wanted to team up with Terra, but it wouldn’t hurt to have her at the very least not trying to actively sabotage him.

“I’ll just find them myself.” He opened the door to the puppet room. “Titan, I hope he’s not in here.”

Phoenix left the door open for light, gingerly stepping over puppets left strewn all over the floor. One’s hand rolled under his foot, and he winced, crouching down to make sure it wasn’t broken. “Sorry.”

“They’re not conscious, you know.”

Phoenix’s spine stiffened. “Odalia.”

She dangled her pendant from one hand. “You appear to have misplaced this. Again.”

“Oh, no, how careless of me,” he replied flatly, “My mistake.” Phoenix snatched it out of her hand, but didn’t put it back on. “You don’t know that they’re not.”

She sighed. “If they’re conscious then that means that they are intentionally being difficult when I have to put them away. And I’m sure—” she punctuated her words with a kick at the nearest puppet’s arm, sending it clattering to the side. “—that they would never intentionally do something like that.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Oh, what do you care, Rosebud?”

Phoenix jerked backwards. “Terra.”

So that’s what she meant by a choice of allies.

This is not going to be a good duo.

“She’s a very interesting woman. Had quite the insight on you.”

“You can’t trust Terra or anything she says, Odalia.”

“Oh, so I suppose you’re not here looking for Darius, are you?” Odalia pushed another puppet to the side with her foot. “You know, I’m hurt that you didn’t come to me for help with this. I have more time to explore this place than you, always out on the Collector’s little games, and of course we share equal concern for Darius’ well-being.”

What.

“We share what now.”

Odalia sighed. “Oh, now I’m disappointed you don’t remember me.”

Don’t… remember…

Phoenix slammed the heel of his palm into his forehead. “Odalia. You’re—titan—you are… a lot bigger than I thought you’d be. As in taller. Like, older, not—I’m going to stop talking now.”

She crossed her arms. “Well, I may never have seen under that mask, but you don’t exactly look like a seventy-year-old man. You must tell me your skincare routine. I hope it doesn’t involve burning half of my face off. Not that the look doesn’t work for you, dear.”

“I cannot believe you stuck with Darius this long.”

“If you must know, he ditched me a few months after your… disappearance. Accused me of using him. But obviously I still care abou—”

“HA!” Phoenix barked, “Good for him! Okay, maybe I didn’t know you’d be like… this… when I told him to stay away, but am I glad I did.”

“When you did what.”

Phoenix shoved Odalia’s pendant at her. “We’re done. My answer is no. I hope you and Terra have a lovely time trying to get close to the Collector without me.” When she didn’t take the pendant, he dropped it, letting it clink to the floor. “I’ll find Darius without you.”

“You may not need me, but you do not want me as an enemy,” she warned as he pushed past her, “You will regret this.”

Phoenix growled, turning and taking slow, threatening steps towards her. “No, Odalia. You don’t want me as an enemy. I am giving you and Terra the choice to stay out of my way. Try me, and getting turned into a puppet will be the least of your worries.”

She was the first to break eye contact, stepping backwards. Phoenix took another step closer.

“I’m the one the Collector considers a friend. You’re just ‘Mamadalia.’ When it comes down to the two of us, I am the one who has his ear. Your word against mine. Who do you think he’ll trust? Last warning, Odalia. Try to edge me out and the Collector will hear a little something about how you think you can control him.”

Phoenix spun on his heel, marching out the door. Outside of the archive house, lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder cracked. Phoenix let out a long hiss, leaning against the wall.

“Okay. Oooookay.” The wounds on his arms throbbed in time with the angry tempo of his heartbeat, and he put one hand on his chest. “Take a breath, Phoenix. Cool down.”

I have got to get out of here before things get worse.

Unless…

Maybe the way Odalia was going about it was wrong, of course it was, she wanted to control all of the isles and manipulate the Collector to do her dirty work. But since he was here, and the Collector did listen to him, at least sometimes, would it be so bad to run damage control? Maybe get the Collector to release some of the puppets?

I should get Terra and Odalia out of the way for sure. They’re going to be trouble.

Phoenix patted his face, pacing to shake off the thoughts. “Whoa,” he said firmly, “No. We’re finding Darius, saving Eda and Lilith, and then—”

“Heyo, Phoenix!” Collector pounced on his back, clinging to him. “We’re having an inside adventure today!”

Phoenix staggered under the weight with a little ‘oof,’ but readjusted quickly. “An inside adventure?”

“Yeah, it’s raining! Mortals like you have to stay indoors! Plus, we never have inside adventures. Inside can be fun. Just not toooooooooooo inside.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Nothing too fancy. Oh, I saw people play this one alllllllllllll the time, c’mon, c’mon! To the stairs! King’s waiting!”

Phoenix backtracked through the hallways to the main entrance. He shot a questioning look to King, who made an ‘I don’t know’ gesture in response. Collector’s legs kicked back and forth, and Phoenix let him down.

“We are going to have.” Collector inhaled deeply. “A tea party! Don’t worry, Phoenix, Terra isn’t invited. No poison tea.” He clapped his hands, and a china set appeared in the air. “And we are going to have our tea party iiiiiiiiin zero gravity!”

Phoenix’s feet lifted off of the ground, and tea started to drift out of the pot. “Whoa—Uh—” He clung to the stairs. “I don’t think—tea parties—are like this—”

Collector soared over, prying Phoenix’s fingers off of the railing. “But it’s more fun!”

Phoenix winced as his index finger popped under the Collector’s pressure and finally let go. “Ooookay.”

Collector pointed at the teapot, and the liquid splashed back in. “Geeze, okay, some gravity. Or else we’re not going to be able to drink this.”

Phoenix examined his knuckle, gingerly popping it back into place.

Right. I forgot that he flicked Uncle through the wall. I’m lucky he didn’t strangle me trying to get a piggyback ride. Or rip my hand clean off just now.

Phoenix kicked off of the stairs, grabbing a teacup for cover and soaring towards King. “How’re things going on the Eda front?”

King glanced at the Collector. “Well, I—”

“You know what would make this more fun?” Collector clapped his hands. “More friends!”

In a puff of smoke, puppets appeared. Graye’s face loomed in front of Phoenix’s, and he kicked out, connecting with the puppet’s chest and sending it flying. The force of the push sent him tumbling backwards.

“Ack!” Phoenix put out his arms to steady himself, noting symbols decorating each of the puppets.

Illusion. Healing. Potions…

Phoenix’s eyes landed on a purple cloak and his stomach churned at the sight of usually-shifting hair that had gone stiff and still.

Darius.

Something tugged on his sleeve. “Phoenix? Hey, Phoenix, buddy... You with me?”

Phoenix’s eyes moved slowly to King, who was tugging on his sleeve.

“Yes,” Phoenix’s voice said, “I’m with you.”

“You, uh. You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine,” his voice continued from far away, “Would you like some tea?”

How do I save him?

Can he even turn back?

What if…

When the tea party was over, the puppets disappeared. Phoenix drifted towards the hallway, thoughts stuck in an endless loop of “save him” “how?!”

“Phoenix!” King called, running after him, “I’ve got something to—”

“Do you know where the coven head puppets are?”

“Usually they guard the owl beast. Eda’s kept on the other side of the archive house, but about that—”

“Thanks. Keep the Collector from looking for me?”

“Yeah, okay, I will, but Phoenix—”

Phoenix ran down the hallway, his boots creating heavy thuds that echoed through the house like a heartbeat.

Thump

Thump

Thump

A row of puppets stood before an iron cage, lifeless.

“Darius?” Phoenix whispered, “Can you hear me?” He reached out, his fingers stopping just shy of the puppet’s face. “Titan. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I should have been there, I should have—I should have—I should have told you. I should have told you I was alive. We could have—we could have faced him together, we could have come up with a different plan, we could have done something.”

Phoenix’s hand dropped down to his side, heart twisting in his chest. “Or… maybe I would have just been a distraction. Maybe I would have just made things… complicated. You got pretty far without me. Maybe I would have made it worse.”

I probably would have made it worse.

Phoenix’s hands curled into fists, shaking. “I’m going to make it up to you. I am. I’ll explain everything, I’ll tell you what happened—I’m going to fix this. Somehow.”

“Holy mother of apple blood!” a voice yelped, “Lily, get out here, the golden nerd went through the world’s biggest growth spurt!”

Phoenix jumped, a flush spreading across his face. How much did—

“Wait,” he blurted, “People. Not puppet people. Not Odalia or Terra not puppet people!”

A woman with a poof of grey and white hair peered around the puppets. Her eyes were black voids dotted by glowing yellow irises, and feathers floated in her wake. “Heya, nerd, you look more beat up than usual. And bigger. Ah, wait—” she snapped her fingers (of her only hand, Phoenix realized). “You’re the Phoenix guy! I know your…” she waved a hand around for a minute. “…smaller you,” she finished, “Sort of. In passing. King told us about you! Man, that resemblance is uncanny.”

Her voice was uncanny, seeming to echo inside of her chest and vibrate with raw force, like a wild animal’s howl.

Another woman stepped delicately out of the iron cage, adjusting a pair of huge round glasses. “Edalyn, stay inside, we don’t know… if he’s…”

Her jaw dropped, and she fumbled her way into attention, snapping a perfect scout’s salute. “Gol—sir! You’re—you’re—”

Phoenix hissed in. “I’m… sorry… if I’m supposed to know…”

She let out a high-pitched nervous giggle. “Oh, no, no, no, I wouldn’t expect you to remember me, I was hardly a scout when you… I never introduced… my goodness.” She nudged ‘Edalyn.’ “Show some respect. He is the golden guard—the one before… the real golden guard.”

“Um…” Phoenix scratched the back of his head, the tips of his ears burning. “Please don’t—it’s fine. Phoenix is fine. I’m not… hi?”

Edalyn gave him a mock salute. “Alright, then. Hi, Phoenix. I’m Eda. This is Lilith.”

“Oh. Ohhhhh, King—you’re not a puppet! Or an owl beast!” Phoenix knuckled his forehead. “That’s what he was trying to tell me.”

Eda waved her hand. “Surprise! Lilith got transformed last night, and she brewed an elixir that turned me back this morning.” She coughed, and a feather floated out of her mouth. “Mostly.”

“I’m working on it,” Lilith insisted.

Phoenix seized Lilith’s hands. “How did you turn back?! Can you do it to other people?!”

“Oh…” Lilith extracted one hand from his grip, patting his fists. “I didn’t transform myself back. King just… convinced the Collector to turn me back. I’m sorry.” She glanced around the hallway. “Why don’t you come inside? Odalia prowls around here sometimes, and I don’t want her to see Eda.”

“Of course she does.”

Phoenix followed Lilith and Eda into the cage and a spacious cave beyond. “Wow. I’ve never… been this far over.”

Eda chuckled. “Well, based on what King told Lilith and Lilith told me, you’ve been getting knocked around for the last couple weeks. Belos, and then a slitherbeast, not to mention running around playing the Collector’s games—I’m not surprised you haven’t explored this whole house. I’m impressed you’re even still standing. You’ve got the world’s worst luck, kiddo.”

Lilith’s face twisted up as if in pain at the nickname. “Yes—well, King also says you’ve been working on a plan to get everyone out. We’re pretty strapped for ideas ourselves, so. Any input welcome.”

Eda shook her head. “The biggest problem is that we’re on constant surveillance. You two with the Collector, and Lily and I with those puppets.”

“I’m mostly worried about the drop. I’ve done some mapping of the area, and I think I can find my way out of the Collector’s playground, but getting down from the archive house to the ground safely is… going to be an issue.”

“Oh!” Lilith scrambled through her pockets, finally pulling out a notepad and pencil. “I can help with that.” She drew a glyph, handing the paper to him. “This will slow your descent, but only for a few moments, so be sure not to use it until you’re close to the ground. As long as you’re touching King, it will save both of you.”

Phoenix tucked the paper into his pocket, heart thumping wildly in his chest. A way out. A sure way to get out, one that doesn’t risk a deadly fall.

“What’s your plan for once you get out?” Eda asked. Her eyes moved over him in quick, sharp moments, “Where will you go?”

“I know a house. The people there… I haven’t seen them here, so I’m assuming they found a way to hide themselves from the Collector. We should be safe there, if we can make it. I think King and I can make up a game where we get a head start and we can get far enough from the Collector, but the puppets won’t be so easily distracted. We’ll have to find a way to lure them away from here—or to free them. Preferably to free them.”

Lilith and Eda glanced at each other, then back to Phoenix.

“I want you to just get him out of here,” Eda announced, “You focus on that.”

“What about you? What about Darius?”

“We’d… like… to free our friends and to escape,” Lilith admitted, “But… we want King to be safe most of all. And I’m sure Darius would want you to be safe.”

Phoenix spluttered. “I—you—are you sending me away?!”

“You are the only one of us who can leave the archive house without the Collector suspecting something! You’re the only one of us who knows where this safe house is, and, quite frankly, injured or not, I think you may be the most capable of getting him out of here safely—at least at this moment in time.”

“Then let’s wait,” Phoenix urged, “We can come up with a more solid plan, we can work on freeing some of the others…”

Eda shook her head. “Absolutely not, I’m not leaving King in danger a second longer than I have to.”

Phoenix took a deep breath. “What if I said… King and I aren’t in any real danger? Not for now, at least. The Collector is… not harmless, I won’t say that, but for now, he’s not going to hurt King or I. Not intentionally.”

“We still have to worry about that unintentional,” Lilith piped up, “And what if his mood changes? No, King needs to go somewhere the Collector can’t find him.”

“Collector won’t stop looking,” Phoenix warned, “He’ll try to hunt us down.”

“Do you want out of here or not?”

“I want out. I’m just wondering if this is more of a long game than a short-term problem.”

Lilith’s eyes widened just a bit, but just as quickly, her expression shifted back to a neutral one. “Phoenix, it’s… it’s not a game, whatever the Collector pretends. It’s not the coven.”

“What? I know, I’m just wondering if we could do some go—”

“No, Phoenix, listen. There’s not a way to win this if we stay, we’re just delaying the inevitable. The way we win this is by getting away, and figuring out a way to eliminate the threat. If we play this the way we played Belos’ game, we’re only going to get killed. He can’t be controlled, and he can’t be reasoned with.”

“I know he can’t be controlled, I don’t want to control him, I just…” Phoenix’s hands opened and closed helplessly, “There’s got to be a way to get everyone out of this. And I don’t want to leave until I’m sure that saving our allies is impossible.”

Lilith and Eda glanced at each other again. “Let us figure that out,” Eda said firmly, “Let us work on a way to save the puppets. But I will feel a lot better about it if I know King is safe and out of the line of fire.”

“And what about King? Do you really think he’s going to be okay with leaving you?”

Eda sighed. “No. But we have to try. Phoenix. Listen. I’m counting on you, alright? I’m counting on you to get him out of here, no matter what. I need you to protect him.”

“Jason. I need you… I need you to protect them.”

Titan. It’s not fair that King’s caught up in this. It’s not. I know I’d want him out.

Phoenix glanced back at the entrance to the cave. “Promise me that you will look out for Darius.”

Eda nodded. “I will.”

“And… if you can unpuppetify him, will you tell him—”

“You’ll tell him yourself,” Lilith interrupted, “Just get my nephew out of here.”

“I will.”

Eda sighed, seeming to deflate with her exhale. “Thank you.”

Phoenix gave her a nod and left, checking both ways for Odalia before heading back out and towards the main entrance to the archives.

Maybe… maybe I could leave King with Caleb and Evelyn, and then come back for Darius.

If they let me.

They have to let me.

But would the Collector buy it if I told him I just got lost? Would he take me back?

Collector floated in front of him, hanging upside down. “Heya, Phoenix. Where’d you go?”

“Oh. Kiiiiiiitchen?”

“Huh, were there not enough snacks at the tea party?”

“No, it was fine. I was juuuuuust… washing the dishes?” Phoenix took a deep breath.

Here we go.

No going back.

“Hey… Collector? How would you feel about playing a new game?”

[tomitsuya]

LOVE IS AN ALL OUT WAR!

EREN’S ROUTE, CH 7: SAME DIFFERENT

Synopsis: you’re the latest hire at Titan Co, joining the marketing department, under a team headed by Mr Ackerman. Something about this job, and all your strange encounters make you wonder if your love signs are off the charts this year? There’s no other reason for you to keep attracting the interests of the most eligible bachelors in Titan Co is there?

Genres: romance, rom-com (ish), workplace romance, smau, inspired by reverse harem anime  

Feat. Jean, Levi, Erwin and Eren, (supporting cast) Connie and Sasha

masterlist

[starsmuserainbow]

He had asked so many times, and so many times before did their meetings not work out because of some trouble calling her. Starfire could tell that this was not helping her rebuilding of the friendship with Moonshot, and he seemed a little angrier somewhere deep down each time that she met him, so this time she had made certain. She suggested for them to meet on the shore looking over to Titans Tower, had prepared a basket with everything they should need, and she had beforehand asked the team to leave her out of missions today unless she was really urgently needed. When Starfire came floating across the water, she could already see Moonshot awaiting her, and he fell onto his knees before she had even landed next to him. “Moonshot, please…” “My princess,” he only said, not reacting to her protest, and so she made a gesture with her hand next, to which he then stood up again. “I suggest that we go to a restaurant. I have asked in the one near the harbor, and I think that we can-” “Moonshot.” He stopped instantly when she spoke, and Starfire smiled a little before continuing. “I have hoped that I might choose our destination.” “Of course.” He nodded and bowed, before following Starfire as she took to the air again.

They flew quite a bit, over the city and then past it, before stopping on a hill a little away and higher. Starfire landed close to a few trees, and Moonshot landed too, looking around to check the surroundings. No one else was in sight, though, no cars or buildings either, so there wasn’t really anything to worry about, and so he turned back to Starfire just as she spread out a blanket and sat down on it. Her hand patted a place next to her, and Moonshot knelt down there, curiously eyeing the basket that she continued to take things out of. Tableware, multiple boxes and bags, a small lamp even that was placed in the middle of their blanket. “On Earth, this is called a picnic,” she explained as she opened some of the boxes and prepared the first part of their meal for today. “Picnic,” he repeated as if he needed to memorize the word. He watched her in silence for another moment or two, before speaking up again. “Kory, I-” “Please. We are on Earth, and it is better to speak the language that those around us can also understand, even with our names.” He looked around confused, to which she giggled. “Even when there is no one around.” Nodding, Moonshot started again. “Starfire, I don’t understand. We are, outside of the city, and I did not think that you would… that, ch… I expected that you would want to stay in your city.” She giggled lightly again, and Moonshot could feel himself melt a little more every time he heard this wonderful, warming noise. “I am often exploring Earth, and leaving the city much farther than this. I have merely hoped that if we do not stay within a city, that perhaps nothing will interrupt our togetherness this time.” For a moment, she took her focus away from the food and to him. “You always seem very saddened when I have to part from you earlier than it should be, and I do not like to cause you such emotions.” “Ko– Starfire…” “You may also simply say ‘Star’, if you prefer.” “Star…” Saddened was very much not the right word, of course, Moonshot was enraged, angry, furious, envious and jealous of the team, of him, always winning in the decision of her attention; but that Starfire chose this location, this type of togetherness, showed that she did care about Moonshot after all. And that made all these other times okay. A gesture towards the blanket brought him back out of his thoughts, and Starfire repeated her question that apparently had went straight past him. “Shall we begin, or are you still missing a thing?” “I have everything I want, here.” Mostly her, that meant, really, but the food seemed okay, too. “I tried to create very common earthen dishes. You do not have much experience with the earthen food yet, no?” Moonshot grunted in response. “Then this will be a good learning.” She handed him something, sleek on the outside, looking like something light brown-ish was wrapped around other things, and after inspecting it for a few moments, Moonshot took a bite out of it. He needed to pull a little to tear it off, but he began chewing on it while Starfire gasped and then giggled while uttering his name. “Moonshot! No! You need to remove the wrapping!” Her hands touched his to pull the thing away from his mouth, and he watched her remove the thin see-through foil around it. He started to pull on the brown wrap too - she spoke of removing the wrapping, after all - but Starfire stopped him. “That wrapping is part of the food. It is the foil that is needing to be removed beforehand.” She kept her hands on his while looking at him, and Moonshot absolutely would not have minded if time froze in this moment. It didn’t, though, and she continued a little later, with her head tilted sideways. “Are you well? You have swallowed some of the wrapping already!” “I’m fine. Tamaraneans are used to worse, no?” Starfire giggled in response, before letting go of his hands to take up her own wrap of similar look.

They ate in peace for a little while, mostly silent outside of Starfire explaining here and there what food it was or how it was supposed to be ‘used’. It was a wonderful little bit of time, and after a while, Moonshot lost the tension of expecting something to interrupt them, too. Even if he didn’t fully understand the jokes that Starfire made about the food or the funny stories she mentioned, Moonshot chuckled along, just feeling the wonderful relief and freedom that he hadn’t felt in so long. “It is very wonderful to see you so happy.” He was surprised to hear that from her suddenly, and, by some sort of reflex, quickly swallowed his smile to grunt to her words instead. “Kori. I… this is very nice.” He reached for her hand, and she hesitated for a moment before letting him take it. His free hand moved to gently brush over the back of her hand - just without touching it - and he continued. “I… I was doubting if you were… interested, in having togetherness with me.” “But of course I am interested! You are a very close friend to me!” His hand started to move a little higher, then skip the part of her gloves, and he could feel her slight flinching, so he stopped before reaching the upper part of her arm. “A friend. Yes, we are. But…” He let loose of her arm, allowing her to pull back if she wanted. But Starfire didn’t pull away, she looked at him with an expression he couldn’t quite define, and he decided to just continue. “I want… … … All these years, you have been my reason to survive.” He now started to gently brush over her upper arm, and didn’t dare to look up to her so he didn’t notice that she was blushing. “The thought of you has kept me sane, it gave me the strength to continue fighting. Ever since we met and talked for the first time, in the castle… you are my all. You are my sun, you are my world, you are my home.” He stopped briefly before reaching her shoulder, and since she still didn’t pull away or stop him, he moved onto there then, too. “It is through you only that I am more than just a warrior, through you I feel warm, happy, comforted.” He floated a little to position himself next to her now, his shoulder (slightly turned to make sure the spikes of his armor didn’t hurt her) against hers, and their arms touching all the way, too, while still holding her hand in his. “I… I know I should not say this. Not do this. I am only a warrior, and you are…” “Moonshot.” He stopped to her word, and looked over to her, she was blushing and smiling. “You are far more than simply a warrior. You might not be of royal state, but neither am I truly, after I have chosen to give away my rulership for Earth. I do not see any justification in you saying that you are lesser than me. And…” Her free hand moved to the side of his face, before she leaned in with hers, “I have never heard words as wonderful before.” Rather close as their faces were now, she half-whispered: “It is an earthen custom. But, as we are on Earth, and the movies and shows are depicting it as a very wonderful experience, would you agree to…” He grunted his confirmation without even hearing the full question, and Starfire erased the last bit of distance between them as her lips met his.

To Starfire, this was all rather surprising. She had intended to have a nice day with Moonshot, yes, but she had never thought that he was… that he wanted that of their connection. Sure, he had showed signs of it during their first re-union too, but, she had assumed that it had been merely an reaction of being over-joyed of seeing her again. She held him very dear, as the old friend he was, and his words were more than enough convincing that there was probably more than just that. Yes, it was wonderful, and Starfire was most thankful that Moonshot had done the first step - again. He had courage, he stood to his emotions, he didn’t all the time hesitate to act upon them - he was a nice change from how it seemed to be the default on Earth.

They stayed out here the whole day, and Starfire only returned to the Tower rather late at night. She would have to tell her friends about this, and discuss with Moonshot if he wanted to move into the Tower, or if he wouldn’t want that, she would have to ponder if she could bring it over herself to move out and find a home within Jump City for herself and Moonshot; but that all had time until tomorrow. For now, she was happy to fall to sleep, and dream of how wonderful this day had been, of how wonderful Moonshot had been to her.

[starstruckkittensweets]

what do you think mia would be like during the finale episode? i’m dying to know i was thinking about her story the whole time watching the episode 🫶🏻🫶🏻

Anon I'm so very sorry I'm so late with answering this ask! It's been stewing in my brain ever since I got it, I've been thinking and thinking about it, and I think I finally have an answer for you! (As organized as I can make it, because I'm still very emotional that AoT is finally over) 😭

I have an entire outline of the 4 year timeskip between seasons 3 and 4, it's all part of the third volume of AWWW (the second one is outlined to cover seasons 1-3). Maybe someday I'll compile all my notes into one big doc and share it on here, haha! But for now I'll share a few points that lead up to the final battle and epilogue. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible under a cut, so both AoT and AWWW spoilers ahead!

(Also as a disclaimer, some points may be changed once I finish writing the story, so don't count on everything mentioned below being 100% canon to AWWW)

Mia and Levi are married in the late summer/early fall of 851, during the expeditions to rebuild Shiganshina (Hanji insists on giving them time away from the Scouts to have a proper honeymoon, because priorities haha); Mia learns she's pregnant in May of 852, and their son Alexander is born (named after Mia's father)

They're able to live in peace until 854, after Eren leaves to infiltrate Marley on his own; in order to keep Alex safe from the inevitable war, they leave him in the care of Leyna's old friend Sara (who's also a volunteer at the farm Historia has for the orphans from the Underground City)

Skip to Levi having to babysit Zeke in the forest; he heads out on the mission while Mia stays behind with Hanji; he leaves her his original cravat (which she ties around her right wrist as a memento) and takes the one she sewed for him in AWWW (Ch. 46); (so that when Hanji finds him and patches up his injuries, she notices the words "for my captain" written on the edge - so even when they're apart, Levi always has a piece of Mia with him)

Mia is PISSED when she sees the Beast Titan in action in Shiganshina, even more so when she reunites with Hanji and she explains Levi's injured state. If she didn't want to kill Zeke before, she's out for blood now, nearly going off on her own just to slice his head off herself (but the kids hold her back, with Armin talking some sense into her) yeah and look where that plan got you Armin lol

Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto the finale:

Mia is 1000% supportive of Levi, no matter what. If he wants to fight, she'll let him fight. It's the same with Levi, as much as he wishes Mia was safe and sound back home on Paradis. They love each other too much to abandon the other, they both know damn well that their son won't have any chance at a normal life if they don't try to stop Eren. Even if it means putting their lives on the line. They're soldiers after all.

Oof, but Hanji's death? Absolutely devastating for Mia; Levi actually has to hold her back to stop her from going after her. Even when she knows it's what Hanji wants, she's still her best friend in the entire world. It's always been the two of them, since their days as clueless cadets. Mia barely has time to grieve during the battle, so the majority of it is saved for the aftermath. It takes her a long time to come to terms with it, though.

Levi/Mia/Mikasa team up at the very end. Mia and Levi buying Mikasa time in order to break through and finally kill Eren; also similar to the Eren/Armin conversation (as far as I know he had a similar convo with each and every one of the Scouts involved), Mia sees a sequence of her own; she sees her dream future: living peacefully with Levi and their children, far away from the hardships of war; she's unbelievably angry with Eren for putting them all in this position in the first place, but remarks that he's damn lucky for having a pair of friends like Mikasa and Armin to keep him grounded (and to stay by his side even when he's in the wrong)

As for the epilogue? I can see Levi and Mia staying in Marley afterwards (after making a secret trip back to Paradis to pick up Alex and to say their goodbyes to Sara and the others). They're seen as traitors to Paradis now, and I think apart from Mikasa (who's either living there in secret or under the protection of Historia) none of them would be welcomed back to Paradis any time soon. So it'll just be the three of them for a while, living in one of the newly rebuilt towns by the edge of the sea.

(As a side note, I can see Mia feeling obliged to join the alliance to fix things between Paradis and the rest of the world, but Armin’s the one to convince her to step down and enjoy the rest of her life in peace with Levi. He’s seen how hard they’ve fought over the years, how they’ve protected them through thick and thin, and he tells her it’s okay to rest. That he’s got it from here—and the rest of the Scouts do, too. And that’s when she realizes how much he’s grown, and she thanks him for understanding and begins to start a new life in Marley with Levi at her side.)

It's a struggle at first, dealing with all the memories of the last few years, Levi's new injuries from the battle, and raising Alex. A couple years later there are two new additions to the family: twin girls Izzy and Zoe (named after Isabel and Hanji, both born on September 5th). And slowly, they begin to build a new life for themselves. Eventually they split their time between caring for the orphaned children of the town and setting up their own little teashop. It’s simple and quiet, and honestly Levi and Mia wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the end, these are just my rough thoughts on the ending and Mia's role in it. I haven't fleshed everything out yet, and things are still subject to change at this point, but at this point in time this is the outline I have written down. I don't wanna give too much away because everything's still up in the air, and I may have a few things I want to add in later on.

Either way I hope you enjoyed this anon, and again I'm so sorry it took me so long to type this all out! I know I’m kinda late to the party but what did you think of the ending? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! ❤️❤️❤️

[kahluah]

Book 6 talk

Man it's just my Pomifiore team that just can't seem to beat their titan in ch 67... Like I think I just need to raise their spell levels since this is the only team composed of cards I never really used before. The 100th anniversary event allowed me to max level them all, so I'm good on hp, but most of the spells only being lvl 1 isn't helping me here 😔.

It just really sucks being held back by one team. I'm also just tired of all these alchemy lessons to raise spell levels because I really just want to raise Masquerade Malleus' card level right now lol. Wish I could sell all my extra notepads to get coins for the textbooks since that is what I always lack

[madraleen]

Attack on Titan - Season 3 A predictably long commentary and an unnecessarily long pre-analysis of s4.

(*full manga spoilers. so many spoilers. ending spoilers. all the spoilers.)

-hmmm the op is on point and also very melancholy

-he iS SO EXTRA, eren is, even when his duty is cleaning he's all RAWR CLEANING ARGH KYAAA

-i love how aot is sometimes "we interrupt your regular slaughter and depression for a levi-loves-cleaning infomercial"

-i understand it's a 2019 production and therefore by default improved, but everything looks so much richer and detailed and i just HOW DO I SOAK IT ALL IN

-what i'm getting from the levi vs kenny sequences is that someone on the animation team really REALLY loves levi. as they should ofc

-i love the moment in the op when child eren bumps into teen eren, i love it. and i love all the eren-mikasa-armin moments.

-i suppose it'll never not hurt seeing eren in chains

-completely unrelated, but i want everyone to remember that paradis went from thinking they were the last of humanity to having to deal with an entire world of nations that are 100% set on exterminating them. and they have four years to adjust to this shocking change of mindset, and to history and politics that's been known to everyone else for hundreds of years, and deal with it accordingly. they are not equipped for this. they don't have the knowledge, experience or background to know how to handle this.

-in the manga i started squabbling with eren at this point, during his 'i should just die' arc, but the VA is so good that i just can't get irritated

-the worst girl in the world <3

-also the way the VA acts eren's "EAT ME!" breakdown in the cave reminds me so so much of ch.139 eren that it makes me smile. like, ah yes. i see it. i understand. my crybaby baby.

-HAHAHA, Historia "Sure, I'll be the queen," haaaa. took a step back from having levi terrorize her, did you now.

-keith shadis to eren: "the fire you lit in your heart will no doubt burn you to ashes outside the walls." what a fine day to cry over aot again.

-YOU CAN SEE SPECKS OF DUST FLOATING IN THE SUNLIGHT IN THE BACKGROUND WHAT! WHAT!!

-i enjoy eren and jean's bickering so much omg.

-i think i'll always have a soft spot for the night before shiganshina chapter bc of the manga. it was such a relief to read it at that point.

-MIKASA AND ARMIN SMILING IN THE BACKGROUND AS EREN AND JEAN BEAT EACH OTHER UP STOP I LOVE THEM

-eren to armin and mikasa: "but would it kill you guys to look out for me better?" i love that. i love that he just says that, that their bond is so deep that looking out for each other is their baseline.

-technically eren did see the world with armin... technically :')

-susume :') :'( . dude, the s3 animation is so well-made though

-ARMIN AND HIS BOOK MADE EREN REALIZE HE WASN'T FREE, ARMIN IS EREN'S VILLAIN ORIGIN STORY PART 2! (/joke)

-it's kinda amazing how mikasa and armin are both the people who know eren the best, AND how they are completely blindsided because of it. which makes sense - yes, they didn't question eren's depression, but they also didn't have eren's facts; they assumed he was in a state similar to theirs. they did live together day in day out after all, why would they assume eren was experiencing something entirely different than what they were, especially when he's never hidden things from them before?

-IT'S SO DAMN SATISFYING SEEING THEM FLY!

-ERWIN KILLS IT IN SHIGANSHINA ASFJDF

-i'm pumping my fist again with this op

-i randomly heard hiroshi kamiya's actual voice, and my genuine reaction was "???". how... how does he do levi's voice, h...

-i am once again flabbergasted that armin didn't put eren in his place through facts and logic on their time-skip fight. armin is literally like STOP THE PRESSES, WE'RE NEGOTIATING WITH BERTOLT FIRST in shiganshina, this isn't a post-colossus thing, it's just armin, and eren knows this full well. and yet once again it comes down to how blindsided armin and mikasa were. it’s almost like they trust eren so much that his words give them actual pause, like “is he right?”

-i know technically mikasa is beyblade number too, but i think the parallel is armin=erwin and jean=levi rn. bc jean tells armin, "i'm all right at reading situations, but i don't have the faintest idea how we can get out of this. we're still ultimately relying on you for a plan" and i think that's a very levi thing. only, levi would add piss and shit remarks for good measure.

-i can see why people call the shiganshina part of the anime peak and i haven't even reached the injection part yet.

-"GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM AND DIE"

-daisuke ono kills it this season. he's magnificent.

-floch: "why am i alive?" me: to torture us post-time skip.

-dude this is so good, the animation and the VAs are killing it. also armin just sacrificed everything for eren, and legit post-time skip eren said 'hold my beer. you'll sacrifice your life for me? i'll give my life AND everyone else's too to save you, specifically (and a few other people)."

-aaah, eren knew armin first, then got to know mikasa, he's wearing The Scarf(TM), okay.

-levi's distress hits hard. dude THE VAs ARE KILLING IT.

-floch's right on the money though. the thing that defeats the titans *is* a demon of sorts, and he did survive to help do just that

-i love being reminded of eren's breakdowns and his expression during the breakdowns and i love how yuki kaji acts them out, they are exactly ch.139 eren (and this means a lot to me)

-double date in the basement~~~ (i'm sorry, idk what i'm saying, i'm sorry)

-yeah, basically, it’s all about the fact that nothing can stop violence. king fritz tried to stop violence through enforced/fake peace - didn’t work. talking it out wouldn’t work, deterrents wouldn’t work. eren tried to stop violence through violence - didn’t work (he secured his own goals for a time, but violence didn’t stop).

-why is aot so good? :')

-eren is such a good friend to armin, ffs (yes, yes, s4. i don't believe his friendship or the depth of it changed at all though, i don’t think anyone questions that.)

-eren is lifting armin up by telling him how there are infinite possibilities and freedom outside the walls, only to flashback to faye and such and realize there's no freedom to give to armin or to anyone outside the walls, there's only the world that wants their demise. armin is eren's villain origin story part 3. this has become a pattern, and third time's the charm.

-is it too bad that whenever i see birds i think of them as little erens

-yuki kaji. in the ocean scene. Perfection.

~~~

-Okay, so, to contextualize. Eren’s goals: 1) to exterminate all the Titans, 2) to be free, 3) a long life and happiness for his friends, even at the cost of his life. So at this point, in the sea sequence, Eren has seen glimpses of future events and knows that he will do the Rumbling. He does not know the concept of Mikasa’s Choice yet, just a few events out of context that will lead to the end of the Titans, which will lead to freedom. He hasn’t decided to do it, doesn’t know how he’s led to do it. He keeps this a secret. He tries to find alternatives, and low-key wants an out by letting Mikasa choose for him when he asks her what she is to him. But in the end there’s no alternative. It’s unclear when he realizes that he’ll be stopped on his 80%, but either way he means to or expects to be stopped at some point, because he wants to make his friends heroes from the get-go. He would go through with the 100% if left to his own devices because he wants to do it on a personal level, but he also knows it’s wrong and feels regret for the individual people that he considered enemies but now has gotten to know as people, despite the fact that it’ll give him what he wants (seen even post-Marley, when he tells his depressed self in the mirror to fight, seen in his reaction to Hange which I never saw as anything but despair- although screw you, Eren, don’t treat them like that); and the fact that he wants to make his friends heroes takes precedence.

From hereon, he presumably continues to receive memories, and his head gets progressively messed up because he’s lived parts of the past and future while living in the present.

Noteworthy is that Eren did not push away his friends pre-Marley. Before that, he was with them, albeit depressed, subdued and withdrawn; he lived and worked and traveled with them and made sure to make explicit how much he cares for them. His sudden leave must have blindsided them, but they still think that Eren is fully aligned with them. The major shift occurs after he comes back from Marley, where the world has specifically singled out him, Eren Yeager, as the biggest threat to humanity - not Paradis, Eren himself. Thus, Eren must become a completely separate entity from his ~precious friends, 1) to prevent them from becoming accomplices, prevent them from being dragged into his messes like they’ve done his whole life, bc they're supposed to be the heroes in all this, 2) to prevent them from stopping him too soon, 3) to convince them to fight him.

Another interesting thing is, Eren only fights with Armin and Mikasa once. When reading, I constantly perceived his stance as a personal offense on behalf of Armin and Mikasa, but technically, their personal fight only occurs once - after that, they’re just on opposing sides, it’s not personal. Considering he didn’t want to fight them and that he was very aware he was lying through his teeth, he purposely didn’t engage with them any more than he could bear, because I assume it wasn’t easy to fight them. But we’ll see how that plays out in s4, ‘cause my manga panels memories are hazy bc those arcs destroyed me.

So. In order for Eren to somewhat keep his sanity amidst overlapping timelines, a massacre that he dearly wants and deeply regrets, pushing away his closest people, wanting to make them heroes but not knowing if they’ll survive in the first place, becoming a mass murderer and the villain of the entire world, he regresses into a child form, where things are simpler. 

And the reason I’m basically summarizing s4 here is to remind myself what to actually look out for before I get wrapped up in the tragedy of it all all over again :’D

[kitwasnothere]

WHY, IT IS!! 😭😭😭 WHAT AM I SUPPOOSED TO DO IM ON THE LAST PART OF CH 67 THE TITANS?? WHAT ARE THEY?? HAS 20K MORE HP THAN MY TEAM!!! ITS NOT FAAIR SEBEK IM SORRRY....

[homefronttmoved]

“ in certain light , angie can plainly see a reflection of magnificence hidden in you and maybe herself . ” ( hope this is ok !! )

a  reflection  of  magnificence ?      yachi mulls over the words in her head over and over again like it’s a laundry cycle.  rinse.  repeat.  rinse  repeat.  what even constitutes magnificence?   she asks herself.  if magnificence is being able to  not crack under pressure  despite the visible shaking of her bones,  the twisting of her face into an expression that always borders crying,  the buckling of her knees whenever she’s called to do something fairly important  —  then she does not see it as that.  if anything,  yachi thinks that it’s  RUDE  of her to do that.  to be breaking under pressure beneath the surface of sunlit smiles and caring hands.  she does not have the right to do so,  she believes. 

           magnificence is to big a word to describe her pitiful attempts at trying to keep everything together.  she’s only brought to this as a necessity,  because they could not find anyone.  had there been more candidates,  then she’s sure that she would never even make the first cut.  no.  she is not magnificent in any way.   

          the word has lost all meaning in her head when she smiles,      “   that’s a nice thought to think about.   “      the smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.      \      @coruscatinc.   ♡  ;  always accepting.  

[preciouspatriots]

wait maybe i want the seahawks to win the super bowl...