#also how did i disappear and come back and find that i have 310 followers i literally adore you guys-

[girlwithherheadinthestars]

the father figure prompts being popular warms my heart so much but also makes me sad bc i know how horrible it feels to crave that affection. my teacher (who said like 80% of the stuff i used in those prompts) is literally the best human ever i swear i wish i could get him to adopt all of us.

he signed my yearbook and made me cry again just by being a good person so guess what you guys are getting more prompts.

i just can't believe i have to go to uni and not see him everyday. it's tough. he said he'll miss me more but that just made me cry more 😭

anyway use this post to rant in the reblogs about whatever you want. love you guys <3

[silverflintdaily]

Schedule - udpates! Submit prompts and work on fills now through the end of the month! We’ll post a link to an ao3 collection closer to posting time.  Our main posting week is June 23rd to 30th! We’ll still reblog fills after that but want to have a week of new Silverflint stuff. :)

Submit prompts here: HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/LMGMVAYUHRAFZCVW6 Auto updated prompt spreadsheet: HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/YCGDCNNQ Full details here: https://tinyurl.com/y832muwv

FULL LIST OF PROMPTS AS OF 6/15/20 BELOW.

Ships/characters in bold

Max, Anne, Silver, and Flint They all go to burning man

Silverflint Instagram drama: Silver has crush on Flint, following with each other, Silver shove his love on Flint and Flint’s uncomfortable. Flint unfollowed him one day and Silver was devastated and disappeared from Instagram. Flint found out through friends and he must seek him before Silver did something stupid.

Silverflint Truth or dare

Silverflint  Canon era, one (or both) accidently calling the other one pet names

Silverflint (+sort of Flinthamilton)  Silver asking Flint, while having sex, to tell him about his sex with Thomas (in detail). I think canon era, placed after 310, would be better but it’s up to writer.

Silverflinthamilton + ?   summer vacation modern au - maybe they go somewhere warm (or not, as Flint burns so easily), maybe they meet some beautiful men there

Silverflint   post canon era reunion fic - fighting to kissing. they start out almost trying to kill one another

Silverflint   modern au - after a meet rude during the coronavirus lockdown they both can’t stop thinking about that handsome idiot they met. One of them tracks the other down online to apologize. how do they spend the endless weeks of shelter in place?

Silverflint  canon era - A small happy celebration with just the two of them.

Silverflintmiranda  canon era - Miranda survives the shot, convalesces with Silver

Silverflint  modern au where either Silver or Flint has an ASMR channel (or they both have) and they secretly love listening to the other. Could be distant pining or enemies to lovers etc.

Silverflint (+Hamilton[s])  tarzan au (you can choose who is on the island and who arrives there). Lord Thomas Hamilton and/or Miranda can also be included.

Silverflintmadi  “My name is (Long) John Silver. And I’ve got a long fucking memory [loss].”

Silverflintmadi  canon era. They go on a picnic and it starts to rain. Fluff or otherwise good times would be nice!

Silverflint    Flint is a cockslut and hasn’t had cock in ages. Silver is happy (and really fucking astonished) to present his for the taking. happens before Silver loses his leg, canon era.

Silverflint  Modern au with ‘there is only one bed’ trope and mutual pining. Silver is Flint’s long suffering sassy PA who’s been hiding a crush on his boss and friend forever.He has been successful so far. One day he has to accompany Flint on a business trip to let’s say Bahamas?! and there was a booking mistake - there were booked into a honeymoon suite. And since there is a summer festival there is no chance to get another room. Things happen!

Silverflint, Silverflinthamilton  7 years after their escape from Savannah plantation, James and Thomas are living a quiet, happily ever after life - money and jewels they grabbed on their way out were enough for decades of comfortable life which they now had. And almost everything was perfect-they had each other, got to know each other again,accepted each others’ demons and learned to handle each others’ nightmares and guilt. Flint long ago told Thomas about Silver and with time forgave, but didn’t forget him. After all Flint’s heart was broken on Skeleton Island and both him and Thomas knew deep inside he still loved John Silver. They talked about Silver-about the feelings Flint used to hide, about the pain and forgiveness and about love that didn’t had a happy ending. It was fine, discussing it all together, sharing these stories-past is in the past and that chapter of Flint’s life will remain there. Until one day the past refused to remain in the past and John Silver showed up on their doorstep, injured, delirious and looking for his own forgiveness.

Silverflint/Silverflinthamilton   Post canon S4: John Silver is no longer Long John Silver. Exiled from Madi and Maroon Island, he brought himself to somewhere nearby Savannah and disappeared. James Flint and Thomas Hamilton escaped from plantation, bought house and live happily together. 3 years later, Flint saw John Silver at tavern. But John Silver doesn’t remember him. Turns out he lost memories due sickness and always forget who he was everyday. Will Flint able bring John Silver’s memory back and reconcile?

Silverflint, Silverflinthamilton  Modern AU silverflint - Flint and Thomas are a happily married couple and Silver and Flint are bffs with a long history. But the thing is-Silver has been crushing on Flint forever and his pining is epic. He is also sure he is clever and no one figured it out. Only both Thomas and Flint did a while ago and Flint is determined to make Silver confess his feelings. He has turned Silver’s life into a living hell with his seduction techniques and jeans so tight they should be illegal in public. Meanwhile Thomas is having too much fun watching them two and making his own plans for their shared future together.

Silverflint  John Silver is 30 year old virgin and has never had a relationship and sex. Max and Jack decided to set him up with date at local bar. John Silver’s first date was James Flint, a loner and his last partner left him for indifference opinion. James Flint is working as cattle farmer (?) and their date went well. Except.. they are not rushing to have sex and taking time to know each other. There were lot confusion and miscommunication between them on next date. Will John Silver able to lose his virgin and will James Flint make first step to ask John Silver as his boyfriend? First kiss, first touch, sexting, first sex and hot smut.

Silverflint  smut ficlet to go with finnguala’s fabulous art

Silverflint post canon - old pirates having a day at the beach

Silverflint  Flint is distracted by Silver’s big hands.

Silverflint   Modern au: Flint found Silver’s missing childhood’s photo at Silver’s grandparent’s house. He told Silver about it and gave compliment on him (“you were cute as kid and I noticed how baby earsie you were and your smile was beautiful”) and Silver keep blush for non stop teasing. And then sweet, hot summer sex on bed ;)

Silverflinthamilton   pornstars au

Silverflinthamilton   After reunion. Thomas is trying to seduce Silver with a new, especially tight, pair of trousers.

Silverflint  Canon era. S1-S2 After an accident on the Walrus Silver and Flint end up being able to read each others thoughts. How does that end up going for them?

Silverflint + Miranda   just some porn where miranda is pegging one of them while the other watches them fall apart. canon or modern era, it doesn’t really matter.

Silverflint  Two idiots with mutual pining and obliviousness. Others try to help but it may not go so well at first.

Silverflint  canon era. After a really great haul the Walrus has a rum soaked celebration. The next morning Silver and Flint wake up together in the captain’s bed with no clothes.

Silverflinthamilton   After reunion. Silver finally appears on their doorstep, later they are talking over their dinner but something goes wrong and Silver and Flint start to fight. Thomas is trying to calm and separate them but Flint accidentally punches him instead of Silver.

Silverflint  Persuasion AU. An unmarried Silver encounters his former love Captain James Flint after he returns from battle.

Silverflint competing reality cooking show contestants

Silverflint  Silver and Flint have met before many years ago and even spent the night together. Now for reasons (there was a lot of rum that night, they’re both different people, memory loss etc.) neither of them remember. One of them has a nagging feeling when Silver joins the Walrus crew but one of them remembers nothing yet.

Silverflint   One of them needs to be restrained and dominated to truly let go. Writer’s choice who and what era.

Silverflint   Silver threatens to shave his head

Silverflint/Silverflinthamilton   (probably?)Post canon S4 and Treasure Island: Captain Flint’s ghost decided to haunt John Silver for revenge. However, Long John Silver was disappeared to nowhere. Fast forward for this year, Long John Silver’s great great grandson, John Silver bought property in Bristol. One day, he was haunted by ghost Captain Flint. Ghost Captain Flint wants revenge but ended up falling in love sweet, poor John Silver’s due social anxiety. Will they make up for loss done by his late ancestor? Happy ending for everyone. All depend on writer’s idea!

Silverflint AU Canon divergence during season 4. Madi really dies in episode 7; Thomas Hamilton is not found in Savannah. The war goes on, bolstered by an enraged Silver, fueled by the Urca gold. During this time of violence and grief, Flint and Silver become all each other has left in the world.

Silverflint   Sometimes one of them will keep the other on the edge for as long as he can stand. There is lots and lots of begging and pleading. There could be fingering and rimming and toys…

Silverflinthamilton Reunion fic where John finds James and Thomas in their home x nbr of years after s4, then realises he knows Thomas because they spent a month living together in Paris some years before Thomas met James and having a blast. John recognises Thomas who doesn’t recognise him until John shows a tattoo/mark placed somewhere there is no misunderstanding of why he recognises that part of him (because he’s seen john naked). Develops into threesome or twosome where the last person joins in later.

Silverflint  tentacles

SilverFlint / MadiSilverFlintHamilton  Post s4 Thomas and Flint are living together after escaping the plantation. Madi and Silver who are still together come to visit them. SilverFlint have palpable sexual/romantic tension and Madi and Thomas conspire to push them together. Afterwards when the tension is resolved Silver and Flint realize it was planned by their significant others all along and invite them into bed and the four of them have some fun

Silverflint    When drunk, Flint behaves like Toby Stephens’ Prince John in BBC Robin Hood.

Silverflint (hamilton)     Annihilation Au

Silverflint    Canon-compliant up til 4.06. When the Spanish attacks Nassau, Silver is the one who is thought to be dead and later revealed to have been captured (instead of Madi). Rogers tries to use to Silver to cause a rift between Madi and Flint, thinking that Madi will trade the treasure for Silver’s life while Flint will not. To everyone’s surprise, the opposite happens. Madi refuses to trade the treasure while Flint will stop at nothing to get Silver back.

Silverflint   firefighter au: silver keeps accidentally triggering the fire alarm while trying to improve his cooking (an actual fire may or may not be involved) and flint is the ridiculously attractive firefighter who has to deal with it

Silverflint   vigilante au: they’re both vigilantes watching over the same area and have a bit of a rivalry going on until they have to team up to take down a new threat.

Silverflint   modern au (amnesia): silver wakes up with amnesia and forgets that he was dating flint before the accident. as far as he remembers, they can’t stand each other, and he doesn’t understand why flint shows up at the hospital and seems genuinely worried about him. (roles could be reversed–author’s choice).

Silverflint   modern au based on this text post: How to kiss a boy 1)grab his waist 2)slip you hand in his pocket 3)steal his wallet 4)don't even kiss him 5)just run.

Silverflint    Fic set just after Silver loses the leg and Flint loses Miranda and they are stuck in the cabin together.

Silverflint    (Modern?) Soulmate AU (names on skin) - Flint knows Silver is his soulmate and thinks Silver either doesn't want him or doesn't have him as a soulmate in return, meaning a one-sided bond. In reality, Silver has no idea because his mark says James McGraw and all he does is wish the universe had given him a different James.

Silverflint (hamilton)    post series canon James is growing back his hair and gets a little teasing when it hits a truly awkward length.

Silverflinthamilton    Slow burn

Silverflint   Body swap!!! Preferably while they're interested but not yet together. Lasting long enough that they'll have to pretend to be one another for a little while.

Silverflint    One of them, or both of them, cries during/after sex.

Silverflint    knifeplay! let's just say that first meeting in the wrecks made quite an impression.

Silverflint + Silvermadi    madi pegs silver while he thinks abt flint

Silverflint    taking care of one another like tending to wounds post battle, caring for Silver's leg

Silverflint    Early s3 (probably during/after 3x01): Flint wears eyeliner on a raid, Silver doesn’t know about it until he gets back. He sees Flint wearing the eyeliner and is, unexpectedly and intensely, turned on by it. He wrestles with himself And his attraction but ultimately finds himself drawn into the captain’s cabin. Pining, angst, maybe smut? Writer’s choice!

Silverflint/Silverflintmadi   Silver and Hands do not escape Max and her men (Season 4, Episode 2). Hands is killed (?) and Max's henchmen drag Silver off and hold him prisoner somewhere until he can be secretly taken off the island. Bad things happen. Flint and/or Madi eventually locate Silver and find him alive and happy? dead and sad? half alive/half dead and thoroughly screwed up?

Silverflint/Silverflintmadi    Flint and the Maroons are defeated on the beach and Hornigold and the British make it through to the village (season 3, episode 10). Silver is captured whilst Madi retreats to the underground shelter to keep the villagers hidden. Hornigold proceeds to torture Silver to discover the location of the cache and to avenge Dufresne's death. Can Flint and the remnants of his forces mount a counterattack and save Silver? Can Madi sneak out of her hiding place and rescue him? Or is Silver doomed to die at the hands of a very angry, silver-haired grandpa?

Silverflint    Flint, Dooley and Joji are unable to rescue Silver at the wrecks (season 4. episode 3) and see him carted off to Nassau by the Redcoats. Rogers takes out all his frustrations on Silver during some rather brutal interrogations, and attempts to humiliate him and his cause by mocking the street for fearing/following a tiny, one-legged nobody. Somehow, Flint manages to rescue Silver before Rogers hangs him. Don't ask me how. I have no idea. But I have Great Faith in Flint.

[rosalind-of-arden]

The Canon Wolfe Trauma Reference Post

Since it looks like there’s some interest in distinguishing between canon and fanon where Wolfe’s torture is concerned, these are my notes on what we have from canon. Where relevant, I’ve noted where we have details that we specifically know apply to Wolfe himself vs details we know about the prison he was held in but don’t know for sure apply to Wolfe. I hope this will be helpful for tagging and for inspiring fics to explore the large amount of ground available to cover. Short notes first, then long list of relevant quotes under the link.

Notes:

In theory, the point of Wolfe’s imprisonment was reeducation. He was also tortured for information on his printing press research. The Artifex wanted to hurt Wolfe just to hurt him, ordering the torture to continue long past the point of achieving any other goal.

Wolfe’s research and journals were taken and put in the Black Archives and/or destroyed.

Wolfe was arrested in his house at night, taken to the Archivist’s office for questioning, then kept in a cell in the Serapeum and questioned further before being taken to Rome. Bit of ambiguity, but torture is likely here.

In Rome, Wolfe was held in a dark stone cell. No other canon details given on Wolfe’s cell specifically, but based on what is shown of the prison, it was probably solitary confinement, and he may have been kept chained.

Physical torture methods: Wolfe specifically refers to cuts, burns, and blows, no other detail given. He has scars, no detail given on where, how many, or what they look like (assuming none on his face, since that would have been mentioned). Based on what we see of the prison, probably any historical torture method is possible. While I’d say it’s generally being used metaphorically, “broken” comes up often enough to justify broken bones, depending on your reading.

Psychological torture methods: Being lied to, being told loved ones are dead, being given comfort (specifically better food, baths, clean clothes) only to have it taken away. Other forms of manipulation are possible.

Wolfe was given some amount of treatment for injuries while in prison. At a bare minimum, Qualls cleaned wounds.

Qualls was personally involved with all questioning and frightened Wolfe greatly. He worked for the Artifex but was given little information beyond the instruction to continue the torture. For unspecified reasons, he decided both he and Wolfe had reached their limits and arranged Wolfe’s release and his own retirement. Does not like the Artifex and threatened retribution if the Artifex imprisoned Wolfe again.

By the end of his time in Rome, Wolfe was so severely traumatized that he barely spoke. This continued at least for the first night after his release.

Wolfe returned home injured. He was bleeding and had difficulty walking. Santi cared for him, specifically bathing, clothing, and holding him. We don’t know any more about his condition or recovery process, other than the fact that he came out of it with PTSD and scars (again, no specifics on those) but no physical disabilities.

After his release, Wolfe is banned from research and publication. The Artifex continues to threaten him and the people he cares about. The Artifex repeatedly tries to kill him. Santi is also threatened.

Wolfe’s PTSD is triggered by memories, feeling trapped, anything prison-like, smells, darkness, and lack of sleep. Symptoms include suicidal thoughts, self harm, psychosomatic itching and pain, nausea, tremors, anxiety, panic attacks, hallucinations, intrusive memories, repressed memories, and trouble distinguishing reality from imagination/memory.

Detailed notes with direct quotes:

All page numbers are from US editions, paperback for the first three books, hardcover for the last two.

On the purpose of Wolfe’s imprisonment and torture:

Keria, on what to do with Wolfe after he invented the press: “He should be taken to a place of questioning and there made to see the error of his beliefs.” (I&B, p. 127)

On Wolfe’s disappearance and the destruction of his work:

Santi: “They took his research. And then he was gone.” (I&B, 322)

Santi: “They destroyed his research, his personal journals, everything.”  (I&B, 322)

The Archivist’s guard’s confession that Jess finds includes Wolfe being arrested and questioned, but no record of anything after that. It isn’t specified, but I’m assuming this is a record of what happened in Alexandria before Wolfe was taken to Rome, since it’s the Archivist’s guard. (P&F, p. 62)

Wolfe: “My device was destroyed, and I was charged with heresy. My work was erased. I was made to disappear, too.” (P&F, p. 63)

Wolfe was arrested in his house, taken to the Archivist’s office (he was questioned there, not specified whether torture was involved), then a cell below the Serapeum (implied he was tortured there, but not specifically stated), then to Rome. (P&F, p. 144-145)

Wolfe’s book on printing, at least, was not destroyed, but put in the Black Archives. Unclear what really happened to his journals and other work (P&F, p. 310)

Santi was in Belgium when Wolfe was arrested and would probably have been killed if he’d seen the press (A&Q, p. 134)

Wolfe on what his fellow Scholars ignored: “...he was dragged off in the night, when his work had been scrubbed from the shelves…” (S&P, 247)

On what happened in Rome:

Wolfe’s journal: “There are mornings when I wake and I am back in the cell, and I see nothing but the dark. Feel nothing but the pain. (P&F, p. 52)

Wolfe: “The pattern follows what they did to me: arrest, torture, prison, erasing me as if I never existed.” (P&F, p. 62)

Wolfe may have been drugged, specifically to keep him from remembering where he was held: “I don’t remember. Can’t. Believe me, I’ve tried. I can see pieces, but not… not anything significant.” (P&F, p. 66) (this memory loss might be drug induced, as Dario speculates, but torture itself can cause memory problems..)

Wolfe: “I can’t recall any useful details. What they did to me was very effective.” (P&F, p. 139) (As above, this memory loss might be from either drugs or the torture itself.)

Wolfe, mentioning physical torture methods: “I will happily remember every cut, every burn, every blow if it helps set that boy free.” (P&F, 140)

Being taken out of his cell in Rome was always (or at least usually) bad - Wolfe can handle remembering everything up until the Mesmer asks about what happened when he was taken out of his cell in Rome (P&F, p. 145-146)

Psychological torture method: “They lie [...] It’s their favorite tactic - I know it well - to break your mind and your spirit.” Specifically, falsely claiming that loved ones are dead. (p. 218)

Toward the end of his imprisonment, he seems to have become withdrawn: “there is no variety in his responses to questioning, whatever the particular tools we chose to employ. He rarely speaks at all now.” (S&I, p. 82)

As described by Qualls as of the day of his release: “if your plan was to break him, he is long past broken” (S&I, p. 82). “There are limits, and he has reached them.” (S&I, p. 83).

Qualls (hallucination) on some of what he did: “I’ve been with you in your darkest moments. I’ve cleaned your wounds. I’ve listened to you weep.” (S&I, p. 221)

The “gentle” questioning: “That had only made it worse, the times when the questions had been kind and soft, and there had been a cup of tea and a sweet pastry and a bath. Fresh clothes.” (S&I, p. 221)

Qualls did all questioning: “the questions always came, and always, always, the gray, pale shadow was there to ask them” (S&I, p. 222)

“He’d spent months in a cell like this, huddled and broken” (S&I, p. 224)

“...his body broken in the cells in Rome…” (S&P, 247)

Prison details that may or may not apply to Wolfe’s experience in Rome:

Prisoners are rewarded for good behavior with paper and books (P&F, p. 1)

Psychological manipulation: one guard was ordered to be friendly to Thomas to get secrets out of him (P&F, p. 1)

Cells, at least the one Thomas was in, have barred doors, stone walls and floors, a metal ring in the wall that prisoners can be chained to (P&F, p. 217)

Starvation is a possibility: Jess observes that Thomas lost weight in Rome (P&F, p. 217)

Limited availability of personal grooming and clothing options: Thomas’s hair and beard are a mess, clothes are an “oatmeal-colored shirt and trousers that were much worse for wear” (P&F, p. 217)

Prisoners are kept with wrists and ankles shackled for long enough durations that skin looks “raw” when the shackles are removed. Both Thomas and the other prisoner that Jess sees were chained. (P&F, p. 218, 221)

Torture room equipment: “Mechanical devices” with “spikes, straps, wheels, gears” (P&F, p. 221), “a particularly large construction that looked like a bed, but with gears and ropes and straps stained with old blood” (P&F, p. 222) (either a rack or some kind of restraint table?), “machines built to cut, to tear, to pull, to cause suffering and anguish. There was no other use for them.” (P&F, p. 225)

Rations in the prison in Alexandria seem nutritionally adequate, though it doesn’t mention quantities or say how often they’re delivered: “Meat, bread, cheese, figs, a small portion of sour beer and a larger one of water.” (S&I, p. 91). Wolfe doesn’t find the taste appealing (S&I, p. 92)

The Artifex threatens to shoot another prisoner to coerce Wolfe’s compliance (S&I, p. 94)

Mind games from the Artifex: “I will protect Santi if you take your own life” “if you don’t accept this bargain, I will see that he suffers every torment you can possibly imagine in your place. I’ll even have you brought along” (S&I, p. 98-99)

Prison conditions Wolfe does not think of as torture: “deprivation and the boredom and routine of prison”. He does, however, consider the looming threat of horrible execution to be psychological torture (S&I, p. 227)

Qualls:

Thought they had learned as much as they could from questioning Wolfe six months before releasing him (S&I, p. 82)

Did not want Santi dead (S&I, p. 82)

Did not know why the Artifex hated Wolfe (S&I, p. 82)

Does not consider himself a good person: “I am, as you’re aware, not a merciful person, or a kind one; I would not last long in this job if I had even a shred of such fine qualities.” (S&I, p. 82)

Has limits, does not specify what they are: “I have had enough.” “There are limits, and he has reached them. So have I, surprisingly.” (S&I, p. 82-83)

Very thorough in his plan to release Wolfe, exact sequence of events unclear: “I have personally released Scholar Wolfe, and I have seen the Archivist in person [...] The Obscurist Magnus has also been told.” Archivist allowed the release in part because Qualls had information on other prisoners in Rome, in part because Keria was furious. (S&I, p. 83)

Feels strongly enough about Wolfe’s release to threaten to expose Library secrets if the Artifex ever has Wolfe imprisoned again (S&I, p. 83)

Speaks to Wolfe in a creepily pseudo-comforting tone, at least while Wolfe is hallucinating him: “We’re old friends, you and I. I’ve been with you in your darkest moments. I’ve cleaned your wounds. I’ve listened to you weep. Remember?” (S&I, p. 221)

Hallucination Qualls describes the times the questioning was gentle as “the good times.” (S&I, p. 221)

Appearance: “the gray, pale shadow”, Even in full light, the man had always been terrifying. Something about him was dead, and it showed in his eyes, his smile, the not-quite-human way he moved.” (S&I, p. 222)

On the aftermath:

Santi: “It was more than a year before he turned up again. Middle of the night. He looked like he’d crawled out of hell.” (I&B, 322)

Santi: “He’s a walking ghost. He’s been a ghost since the day they finally let him go.” (I&B, p. 323) (could be a reference to his status with the Library, but I read some indication of his mental/emotional state into this, too)

Santi: “I was there when Wolfe crawled bloody to this door. I’m the one who saw what was done to him.” (P&F, p. 138)

Wolfe doesn’t blame Santi for not wanting to see the Mesmer session because “he remembers how I was after” (P&F, p. 141)

Keria was there when Wolfe was released: “She brought me home. To you. She left before you found me.” (P&F, p. 291)

Released by Qualls personally (S&I, p. 83)

“He’d come back from Rome a broken, shaking shell of a man” (S&I, p. 226)

Wolfe’s own memories of his return home: “A broken bone heals twice as strong, he told himself. Santi had taught him that mantra the night he’d stumbled in the door of their house. [...] Santi had bathed him, dried him, clothed him, held him through the night to whisper it in a constant, bracing refrain, because Wolfe had been unable to speak or explain where he’d been” (S&I, p. 230)

Continuing threats and punishment after Rome:

Pretty much every ephemera from the Artifex involves a threat or attempt to kill Wolfe.

Wolfe, to the Artifex: “I’ve done all that you have asked of me since my release. I’ve stood silent when you threatened my friends, my lover, destroyed my life’s work. I’ve borne every punishment.” (I&B, p. 160)

Wolfe: “Saddling me with your class was a kind of punishment. To teach me obedience.” (I&B, p. 286)

Santi: “They wanted him to find your secrets and turn them over. But he found your secrets and he never betrayed them. […] Little rebellions. Wolfe was meant to die on the trip to Oxford. He’s an embarrassment and a risk. Living on borrowed time.” (I&B, p. 323)

Journal monitoring, at least as far as Wolfe knows, began after Wolfe’s arrest. He’s afraid they’re monitoring Santi’s especially closely: “I was afraid you’d change what you were writing. If you had, they’d have taken you.” (I&B, p. 326)

Wolfe: “I was finally released, under the condition that I never again publish or pursue any lines of research that the Library deems dangerous. I live on sufferance.” (P&F, p. 64)

Trauma symptoms:

Suicidal thoughts:

““Better safe than dead, sir” [Glain] said. “As you well know.” “Do I?” His face, Jess thought, looked more set and grim than ever, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes [...] He looked thin and haunted.” (P&F, p. 34)

Santi: “It’s keeping you alive. That’s what I care about.” Wolfe: “Then you care too much.” (P&F, p. 58)

Wolfe: “I’m not insane [...] I’m not on the verge of it. I may be stretched to my limits - my limits being admittedly lower than they should be [...]”

Wolfe, in response to Santi saying he’ll support him: “That’s what makes me live when the alternative seems so peaceful” (A&Q, p. 269)

““Promise me that tomorrow, there’s no prison. No Qualls. If it comes to that-” “If it does,” Santi said, “then it comes for us both.” [...] Odd, that the promise of death would sound so inviting when put that way” (S&I, p. 349)

Self harm:

“He slammed the heel of his hand into the wall, again and again until he felt the skin break and smelled hot blood” (S&I, p. 99)

In prison again: “His skin itched so fiercely that he rubbed scars until they bled” (S&I, p. 220)

Tremors and other psychosomatic symptoms:

“There was a tremor in his voice now, and in his hands, too” (P&F, p. 58)

In prison again: “His skin itched so fiercely that he rubbed scars until they bled” (S&I, p. 220)

When remembering the nicer questioning in Rome: “Wolfe remembered it so vividly every scar began to ache” (S&I, p. 221)

“His hands trembled” (S&I, p. 220)

After the Qualls hallucination: “Wolfe held his head in his hands, shivering, sick, shaking from the onslaught of memory” (S&I, p. 222-223)

Being taken for questioning: “a wave of very real nausea and dizziness” (S&I, p. 230)

Trouble telling reality from hallucination:

Wolfe’s journal: “On those mornings, I am convinced I never escaped that place, and the life I have had since never existed at all, except as a fantastic illusion.” (P&F, p. 53)

Self-induced hallucination as coping strategy: imagining Santi to get himself to sleep while back in prison, he seems to lose touch with reality, and Saleh’s comments in S&P suggest he might have been talking out loud while doing this (S&I, p. 220)

Qualls hallucination (S&I, p. 220-222)

Cell door opening (S&I, p. 223)

Sphinx could also be a hallucination (I tend to see this one as real, with the automaton’s attention drawn by Wolfe’s one-sided conversation with Qualls and attempt to open the door, but ymmv. (S&I, p. 223-224)

In Rome, Wolfe hallucinated Santi with him and was sure it was real at the time (S&I, p. 224-225)

Hallucinates Santi comforting him when he’s in prison again (S&I, p. 225-226)

The morning after the Qualls hallucination, he thinks of it as “a vague dream” and hopes his conversation with Saleh was hallucinated as well (S&I, p. 227-228)

Saleh: “Wolfe spoke of him [...] well… not to me. I suppose better to say he spoke to him when Wolfe was… unwell [...] Prison was not good for the man” (S&P, p. 51)

Nightmares and intrusive memories:

Wolfe: “I see all this every night in dreams.” (P&F, p. 63)

In prison again: “A night when he wouldn’t close his eyes, for fear the past would smother him.” (S&I, p. 87)

In prison again: “relaxing brought the memories. He’d fought them every night, sometimes all night; lack of rest made them more vivid and compelling” (S&I, p. 220)

While hallucinating Qualls: “He remembered. And that was more frightening than the idea that this was a ghost, a phantom, a madness.” (S&I, p. 222) (could read this just as a statement on how traumatic the memories are, could read as repressed memories surfacing)

After the Qualls hallucination: “Wolfe held his head in his hands, shivering, sick, shaking from the onslaught of memory” (S&I, p. 222-223)

Repressed memories:

Wolfe, on where he was held prisoner: “I don’t remember. Can’t. Believe me, I’ve tried. I can see pieces, but not… not anything significant.” (P&F, p. 66) (this memory loss might be drug induced, as Dario speculates, but torture itself can cause memory problems..)

Wolfe: “I can’t recall any useful details. What they did to me was very effective.” (P&F, p. 139) (As above, this memory loss might be from either drugs or the torture itself.)

While hallucinating Qualls: “He remembered. And that was more frightening than the idea that this was a ghost, a phantom, a madness.” (S&I, p. 222) (could read this just as a statement on how traumatic the memories are, could read as repressed memories surfacing)

After the Qualls hallucination: “Wolfe held his head in his hands, shivering, sick, shaking from the onslaught of memory” (S&I, p. 222-223)

The morning after the Qualls hallucination: “He’d forgotten that he’d spoken to Saleh in the depths of his delusion. Or at least had hoped that the conversation had been imagined” (S&I, p. 228)

Seems like he’s already repressing the memory of the Qualls hallucination: “Something tugged at him, and for a second he felt a bubble of panic surface. Some memory clawing to the surface, something from the prison. Then he remembered, and a flinch ran through him.” (S&I, p. 348)

Not talking about Qualls more than once could be an effort to repress those memories, too (S&I, p. 2348)

Anxiety/Panic Attacks:

In the prison, Wolfe snaps at the kids, his voice breaks, and Jess observes trembling, sweat on his face even though the temperature is cool, and possible trouble breathing (“Wolfe dragged in a tormented breath”) (P&F, p. 220)

At the castle, Wolfe and Santi end up fighting because of Wolfe’s reaction to being trapped and fear of being captured “So we stay here, in this - overstuffed prison, waiting for the Archivist to turn the High Garda on us? I won’t. I can’t.” (A&Q, p. 267)

Wolfe, to Thomas: “You understand. Rooms grow small. Silence gets heavy.” (A&Q, p. 283)

When the Artifex ambushes the pack in the Iron Tower, Wolfe and Thomas both look “as if their souls had already left their bodies.” (P&F, p. 324)

Wolfe is oddly quiet when first locked up in Philadelphia (A&Q, no dialogue from p. 16-28, while others are discussing strategy)

When put in prison again: “A day of shuddering, flinching, imagining that every sound was a torturer coming for him again.” (S&I, p. 87)

When hallucinating Qualls: “He stopped breathing. Like a child, hiding in the dark from the monsters, that was all he could do.” (S&I, p. 221)

When the cell door “opens”: “something inside him twisted and screamed in terror at the thought. I won’t make it.” (S&I, p. 223)

Wolfe, learning he’s nominated for Archivist: “His eyes burned, and for a moment he thought it was with tears, but no, no, it was anger. He couldn’t speak. Could hardly breathe for the pressure of fury building in his chest.” (S&P, p. 246) (Dominant emotion here is anger, yes, but don’t these also sound like panic attack symptoms? And doesn’t Wolfe frequently get angry in response to feeling trapped?)

Triggers:

Memories, in general, trigger symptoms.

A list of triggers, smell being the worst: “He could ignore the darkness, the bars, the discomfort. But not the smell.” (S&I, p. 87)

Lack of sleep: “relaxing brought the memories. He’d fought them every night, sometimes all night; lack of rest made them more vivid and compelling” (S&I, p. 220)

[moonstomars]

Last Dance

Here is my piece for NNT Flashbang (@nntflashbang)! I worked with @kuronekotchiiiiouu (who was an amazing partner and made a wonderful drawing) and our prompt was “Soft”. We wanted to focus on Meliodas and Elizabeth’s last night in Liones before going to the Demon Realm, and we started working before chapter 310 came out, so the whole thing turned out way more bittersweet and angst that it should have been. You can find the fic also on AO3. Enjoy anyway!

Meliodas finally lets out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand while he scans the ballroom. It seems that finally things are getting a bit better; most of the guests are on the dance floor, dancing to the sound of the slow, soft air that the musicians are playing now – Meliodas knows it, he has heard it on many occasions, in different Kingdoms, palaces, times, but he can’t recall its name right now.

Not that it matters at the moment. What matters is that his friends finally stopped moping around and glancing at him with sad, unsure eyes and understood that even though this is a farewell party, it’s still a party. He can’t help but smile a bit when he sees Ban spinning Elaine, her wings shining under the light of the candles, the shadow of a smile on their lips, while not far from them, King and Diane are slowly dancing, holding each other, their feet barely touching the floor – is King floating? Really?, Meliodas wonders with an amused huff. He spots also Margaret and Gilthunder, her arms holding his neck and his hands on her waist, their eyes locked in a way that makes it clear that they only see each other. They soon disappear between the other couples, and so Meliodas takes his eyes off the dance floor, looking for the others.

Gowther is not far away, talking with King Bartra, and even though none of them seems amused they don’t seem sad either, not as before at least – Bartra had been in a pretty bad mood all the afternoon, not that Meliodas can blame him. Then his eyes catch a flash of pink – of course Hawk would have been next to the buffet table – before they meet Escanor. He is standing in the corner of the room, his hands joined and his eyes fixed on something in the distance. Meliodas knows what – who – he is watching even before following his gaze; he knows his friend and he knows the look in his eyes, so he is not surprised when he spots Merlin on the border of the dance floor, her black, long dress floating around her like a dark mist.

But he feels his heart pounding when his eyes meet Elizabeth. She is standing next to Merlin, talking with her, a soft and sweet smile on her lips – her smile; when she shakes her head, her silver hair follows her movements, fluttering around her like a silver curtain. He can’t help but stare at her, his gaze traveling on her figure. She is wearing a long, white dress that leaves her pale shoulders exposed, the long sleeves covering her arms; when she spread them – Meliodas wonders what exactly she is saying at this point – they almost look like her wings. He can’t help but think that she looks so much like the first time he met her, a white dressed Goddess with gentle eyes and a soft smile, looking almost too ethereal and innocent in that bloody, broken battlefield.

The party was her idea, of course; there is no way Bartra had the desire to celebrate – celebrate, like it was a good thing – the departure of his third daughter, but Elizabeth insisted, saying that it would have been the best, less traumatic way to say goodbye. And to be fair, she worked a lot on it; organizing a whole ball in a few hours is an almost impossible task, but she did it well. Everything is as it should be – the lights, the room, the food, the music – and it would be a success, really, if it wasn’t for the overall mood.

No one wanted to celebrate, not after they understood that Meliodas would have soon left them, and especially not after Elizabeth’s announcement – to be honest, not even Meliodas himself was in that mood to have a party, after that. Nevertheless, they are all here. The Sins, the Holy Knights, the friends they managed to invite, they are all here, because – Meliodas has realized not without some surprise – they love them, and they wanted to be there for them. Some of them even helped Elizabeth with the organization, Diane and Elaine above all. Meliodas is grateful for that, really. At least they are trying, even though they are not happy.

Still, he is exhausted. He passed all the evening trying to cheer the other Sins up, trying to smile and to joke as always, trying to pretend that everything was good because they deserved to think that. It should have been easy for him, he is so used to lie about the reality of the situation, to cage his emotions inside him and act like everything is fine. So he told them that it was good to him to finally return in the Demon Realm after so long, really, and they shouldn’t have worried at all, he would have been fine. He would even have Elizabeth with him, everything would have been great! None of them seemed convinced at all, but he has to keep doing it because if he doesn’t it will be worse for them. And after all, he faked for so many years by now. It shouldn’t have been difficult to do that only for another night.

It was. It is.

Meliodas purses his lips, suddenly feeling something like a weight on his chest that takes his breath away, making him feel dizzy and lost for a long moment. He is so tired to lie, so tired to tell even to himself that everything is fine because it isn’t. It isn’t at all.

He has to go, to be the King of a Realm of corruption and loneliness, a Realm he had never really wanted to rule, and this is not good; he has to leave this world, this beautiful world that still manages to surprise him, after all this time, an this is not good. And he has to leave them, his comrades, his friends, all those people he met during his long life and that he has to abandon forever, and this – this is not right.

And more of that, it’s not good that Elizabeth will come with him. When she announced it, holding him tightly, a soft, happy smile on her lips, for a moment he has thought she was joking – it was stupid, she would have never joked on something like this, but the other option was too absurd to be even considered. Of course, she meant it, she really wants to leave everyone and come with him, confining herself in a kingdom she doesn’t know and that is not made for people like her.

And all that was because of him.

How can he accept this? How can he accepts that the woman he loves will abandon every person important to her just to be with him? How can he accepts that he will ruin her life?

The only thought makes Meliodas shiver and stumble back, at the point that he almost fear to fall on the ground – but he recovers the balance just in time, his long, too long training taking over him. He inhales sharply, trying to calm his breath, and looks up. It seems like no one has noticed his current state, and that’s good because he doesn’t think he would be able to fake if someone approached him now. He has to go away. He needs to get some air and to move away from the crowd – all those people who apparently love him and he is hurting, at least for a moment, just a few moments. Then he will wear his happy, carefree mask again, at least until his departure. He can do this, really. He just … needs a moment.

It’s almost too easy to reach one of the large balconies that surrounds the hall of the palace without no one stopping him, but Meliodas knows how to move unnoticed when he wants, using his darkness to shelter himself from people’s gazes. When finally the cool air of the night hits face he can sigh of relief, rapidly reaching for the balustrade ad leaning his hands on it.

He breathes in and looks up, his gaze wandering on the night sky; he can’t really see the stars because the moon is full tonight, its soft, white light illumining the building of Liones; they look almost ghostly like this, a broken, ruined memory of what they were before. He looks away, his eyes on the moon again, admiring it. It’s better out there; he can still hear the music from the inside, but it’s not as loud as before, and above all, he can’t stop smiling. He can stop pretending that everything is fine.

A sigh escapes his lips as he buries his face in his hands. It’s not that he is not ready to go. He is. He chose to renounce to his freedom, and if that means to save Elizabeth’s life, he would do it again and again. Of course, it’s hard, but he can – he has to – bear it. But he hadn’t considered the fact that Elizabeth would have wanted to follow him. He simply hadn’t. She was free, after all, free from the curse that forced her to fall for him and to die because of him. It would have made sense if she had simply let him go, and then lived a happy, full life with her family and friends, maybe even a future lover – it would have hurt, but she would have been happy and that was the only thing that mattered.

And yet, she wants him. She still wants to be with him, to love him, even after all he did, even after what they have been through. He spoke to her, after she had announced her intent, trying to talk her out of it because it was insane, but she was so determined. She didn’t hesitate even once, looking right into his eyes with a determined, loving gaze, and she told him that she would have followed him wherever he would have gone. She meant it, he could say it, and he knew that she wouldn’t have changed her mind. Elizabeth can be terribly stubborn when she wants to, she has always been. Meliodas knows very well that he can’t simply go away without her. He doesn’t think he has the strength to do this to her, and anyway, he knows that she would find a way to come in the Demon Realm to reach him once more time like she always does.

But the thought kills him anyway; he tries not to think about it, but he knows that soon her light will extinguish because there is no way that it will survive to the Demon Realm, not for long. He doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want Elizabeth to lose herself for him, he doesn’t want to see her die a little bit every day because of the loss and the nostalgia, he doesn’t –

“Meliodas?”

He flinches and turns abruptly, and his heart loses a beat when he spots Elizabeth on the edge of the balcony, her head tilted and her eyes on him. Under the moonlight her hair seems to shine with its own light, her skin looking even paler and smooth, and when their eyes meet   Meliodas feels his heart beating faster. She is beautiful, so beautiful and pure, and above all she is real; for the first time for so long, he doesn’t have to worry that she will be dead in his arms in the blink of an eye.

“Meliodas,” she repeats, and then she purses her lips and moves towards him, her forehead furrowing and a hint of concern emerging in her eyes. “What’s going on? Are you all right?”

For a moment, Meliodas can’t speak, the words blocked in his throat – I’m not all right, there is nothing right in what I have to do, in what I’m forcing you to do – but luckily he manages to swallow them back and make her a large smile, clapping his hands and taking a step towards her.

“Elizabeth! Of course, I’m alright, I just needed to get some fresh air, you know, that room is too crowded. How many people did you invite, exactly? All the citizens of Liones?” He grins, the corners of his mouth are almost aching. He doesn’t want her to worry about him, she doesn’t need that now – now she should be inside, spending her last hours with her family and friends.

Elizabeth doesn’t smile at his poor attempt of humor. In a moment she is right in front of him, her eyes still on his face, gentle and caring as always but still worried and – and sad, he realizes. When she raises her hands and cups his cheeks Meliodas raises a brow, ready to say something else, something silly and fun that will show her that he is fine, really, she doesn’t have to worry. But then her finger is caressing his cheek and he is surprised to feel something wet on his skin – are her hands wet? But then he realizes that she just brushed away a tear. He didn’t notice that he has started cry, probably because – he tries to reassure himself – it was only a few tears. Still, Elizabeth doesn’t have to see them.

He immediately raises his hands, ready to wipe out all the traces of the tears from his face – and then acting like it didn’t happen, because that’s what he does, always, but Elizabeth’s voice stops him.

“Meliodas.” She whispers, her finger caressing her cheeks again, her lips curved in a soft, sad smile.

“Ah – Elizabeth, it’s nothing, really, just the smoke of the candles – ” He hurries to explain, but she doesn’t let him finish.

“Don’t lie to me, please. Not anymore.” Her voice is low and soft and sweet, and it sends a thrill through his spine, making impossible to him to deny – it wouldn’t make sense.

“I know you are used to do it,” she continues, when he doesn’t speak, “and I understand that, truly. You had to. But now – now we are free. You don’t have to lie to me anymore, so please don’t. Even though you think you’ll hurt me, I want you to be honest with me because nothing hurt me more than seeing you holding back.”

“I – ” Meliodas starts, but he doesn’t know what to say. His first instinct, he has to admit, is to lie, as he always does, to hide his feelings deep down so that no one – not even himself – can be aware of them, but at the same time he knows he shouldn’t – he can’t – lie to Elizabeth like this, not anymore.

So he breathes in and raises his hands, putting them on Elizabeth’s shoulders, rubbing his thumbs on her soft, warm skin, trying to draw strength from the contact. She rewards him with an encouraging smile, like she is ready to hear everything he will say, no matter what’s about, and probably it’s exactly that, her undying trust in him even after all he did – to her, to everyone – that finally push him to speak.

“It’s just … this entire situation,” he begins, hesitantly, looking away. “I understand why you wanted to organize this, really, and I think that our friends appreciate that, but I … I’m tired Elizabeth. I’m so tired to fake, to pretend that everything is okay.” Now that he said it out loud it sees easy to continue speaking, and the words start coming out from his mouth like a river hold back for too long by a dam. “I keep smiling and acting like that’s what I want, what I chose, but it isn’t. It all so wrong.”

“Oh, Meliodas,” Elizabeth murmurs softly, her thumb brushing his cheek. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. If I don’t, they’ll suffer, they’ll feel like they are abandoning me and maybe they’ll also try to find a way to save me, save us, but they can’t. There is no way. And that will hurt them even more, I can’t allow this.” His voice dies, almost a whisper when he says those last words.

“Meliodas. Meliodas, look at me.” He voice is firm now, and when he finally looks up to meet her eyes, they are still full of love and comprehension as they always are when she looks at him, but the way they shine under the moonlight and her slightly furrowed brows make him understand that she is also determined. “They are your friends. Our friends. You don’t have to keep them safe from this because they don’t want that. They want to be there for us, and lie to them is not the right way to handle this. They know you, they know that you are lying. It’s okay if you show them your emotions, if you show them that you are sad. It will be better.”

“But – ”

“Of course they will be hurt, they already are, but they will be better if they know that when you left them you trusted them and loved them.”

“But I’m the one who is making them feel like this! I – after all this time, I’m leaving them, and in addition, I’m taking you away from them! I’m taking you away from your own family, Elizabeth!”

She blinks and purses her lips, then she lets out a sigh. “We talked about this. It’s my choice to make, and I talked with father and sisters. They will be good.” She nods, and Meliodas wonders if she is trying to convince herself other than him. “Margaret and Gilthunder will probably take the lead of the Kingdom when my father will renounce to the crown, but they have time. And Veronica will be fine, she has Griamore. And – ”

“But what about you? Did you really think about this?” He stops her, shaking his head. He knows he already spoke to her about that, but he can’t stop himself from asking her again. “You are renouncing to all of this to follow me in a place of death and desolation. One day you’ll regret this, you’ll understand that you made the wrong decision and then you … you …” He can’t take himself to end the sentence, the words heavy in his throat.

“What I’ll do, then?” She asks, and when he shakes his head, she leans her hands on his shoulder and squeezing them gently. “Tell me.”

“You will hate me.” He finally whispers, not daring to look at her. Of course, he fears her slowly consumption in the Demon Realm and her death, but the thought that one day she will look at him with hate and rage makes his head spinning and his heart aching. He doesn’t know if he will be able to bear that.

For a moment, Elizabeth remains silent, her grip still firm on his shoulders. Then she lets out a sigh and let him go, moving her hands on his own, holding them, before. “Dance with me.”

He looks up abruptly, his eyes widening – did he hear wrong? “What?”

She holds his hands firmly and moves them on her hips, her eyes fixed on his. “The music is quite lovely, and we have enough room here. Dance with me.”

Then she ties her arms around his neck and starts moving, so Meliodas can’t do anything but follow her, holding her hesitantly. At first, they are clumsy, and Meliodas knows that it’s because his body is stiffened and unsure. But slowly, maybe because of the sweet melody that wraps and isolates them from the outside world, maybe because of Elizabeth’s fluid motions that lead him in the dance, he starts to relax. Soon he is moving in conjunction with Elizabeth, until he takes control and spins her, his lips spontaneously curving into a little smile. She returns in his arms with a giggle, her eyes shining, and Meliodas finally feels like the weight that burdened him all the evening is abandoning him, letting him free.  

He doesn’t know how long they keep dancing, adjusting their movements when the music changes but never stopping, without speaking but looking at each other, a smile on their face, when she finally speaks.

“Meliodas,” Elizabeth whispers, “I need you to understand something.”

“Hum?”

“I will never hate you. Never,” she quietly says, and her voice is firm and sure, but that doesn’t stop Meliodas from stiffening again, his mind returning to what awaits them tomorrow.

“You can’t know that,” he murmurs, looking down at their feet. “You can’t be sure without even having seen that place.”  

“I think I do, actually. I love you, I love you from so long, and I know that if I’ll let you go alone I will regret it forever. I’m choosing to follow you, and I will never – never – blame you for that. Or regret it.”

“Elizabeth, the Demon Realm – ”

“It’s not for Goddesses, you said that, but that doesn’t mean that things can’t change. At first, it won’t be easy, I know that, but we can make things better. After all, we challenged the Gods, together. And we just won against your father, together.” She stops abruptly and raises her hands to cup his face, making him look at her. She smiles at him, her eyes determined like the moment she told for the first time that she would have come with him. “And besides, I talked with Merlin about this. She will help us Meliodas, all the Sins will. And she actually thinks that it will be possible for us to visit sometimes! She is working on something, and you know how Merlin is, she will succeed soon or later.”

His eyes widen in wonder as he looks at her, speechless. She giggles. “What? You really thought I wouldn’t try to figure out how to makes things a little better for us? I know that you were likely to accept that destiny without a word, resigned to close yourself up in the Demon Realm and never return again, but I won’t allow you to do so.”

“Elizabeth, I …” He doesn’t know what to say. She is right, of course; he was ready to leave this world behind, not because he wanted to leave his friends but because he knew that seeing them once in a while would have made it worse, for him, for them – it was better for them to forget about him and for him to let them go. But with Elizabeth with him, he starts to realize, everything will be different. He won’t be alone again.

He heaves a sigh and raises his hand, caressing her cheek, smiling at her when she tilts her head a bit to follow his movement. And while he looks at her like this, her eyes shining of sapphire and garnet, her silver hair surrounding her head like a halo, he can’t help but remember how wrong he was the first time he had seen her, a lonely Goddess flying right in front of him, unarmed and vulnerable, her mouth full of words of hope and desperation.

He thought she was a fool, and above all he thought that she was soft – soft like the shape of her body, like the gentle look in her eyes – and that this was her greatest weakness, to have a heart too soft to bear the burden of the war.

But then he met her again and again, always ready to stand up to avoid fights and massacres, and he decided that yes, she was a fool and a softhearted, but maybe she was right. And then, the more he knew her, the more he understood that yes, Elizabeth was soft – and sweet and gentle and beautiful – but that didn’t make her weak. On the contrary, there was a strength in her softness, a force that he has never seen in any other person. It hit him, chained him, and it was one of the things that made him fall in love with her, not only that first time but all the times after, during those long millenniums under the curse. Her soft, gentle strength had always been there, in every single Elizabeth he had met.

Tonight, he can clearly see that strength almost pouring out of her, enveloping him and making him finally feel like he can really do this. A little laugh escapes his lips as he pulls her in his embrace, making her squeal of surprise. “Elizabeth, you are wonderful,” he murmurs in her ear, and he feels her relaxing in his grip, hugging him back. “Thank you.”

And holding her tightly, her warm, soft body in his arms, he realizes that he believes her. He always did and he always will. They will be all right.

[do-what-the-knight-tells-you]

Hey @halekingsourwolf, inspired by the discussion happening in your askbox, here’s my best recreation of the crazy crap that is Teen wolf timeline, esp re: events of Visionary, the Overlooked, and Alpha Pack. This got out of hand... but it’s kind of turned into my own personal headcanon/backstory for the series/manifesto. XD

 .

So in Visionary, after Deuc is ambushed and blinded by Gerard (who kills both all of his own hunters and all of Deuc’s pack who were with him), he is taken to the vet clinic. Deaton treats him. His last scene in that ep is Deaton unwrapping his eyes, telling him he’s blind. Deuc yells for everyone to leave him alone, gets them out of the room. One of his remaining betas stays. The man attacks him, and Deuc kills him, realising he can see with Alpha eyes. So whether he kills all his betas on Hale land, we don’t know, but probs not. But he does kill the first one and, it’s implied, is inspired to kill the rest.

 (My interpretation/headcanon is that it was initially self defense, his beta wanted the alpha power, and then maybe paranoia… I had a deaf dalmatian who was extremely aggressive and dominant, towards all other dogs. She always went for blood immediately, sometimes even if they were behaving what we thought was submissively. We believed it was a preemptive defensive thing, compensating for her hearing/the fact she was so easy to sneak up on. So Deuc maybe started like that, and then got to liking/having plans for that power.)

 310/The Overlooked: Jennifer canonically says, referencing the day Kali attacked her/was killing her/their pack, that the Nemeton’s power had been gone for years “But a few months earlier, something happened… Something that gave it a spark… The sacrifice of a virgin.”

 So “canonically” (for what that’s worth), it was, indeed, just a few months between the pack peace meeting/Deuc’s blinding/paige’s death and Kali killing her pack/Jennifer being attacked.

. 

So my headcanon/interpretation:

 Kali, Ennis, and Deuc all had packs near-ish Beacon Hills (how large are territories? Calif is big… “near” could be hundreds of miles or ten). The distillery where Derek/paige make out/the ambush happens is “just outside beacon hills” according to Peter and is canonically the same one where hunters execute the Beta of Ennis’ who killed someone, thereby inciting the conflict. (if the distillery is “just outside” Hale territory as well as Beacon Hills, maybe that’s why Derek picked it as a secret makeout spot-- someplace his parents/pack didn’t regularly patrol, and would be less likely to see/find/smell anything and give him shit for it)

 So maybe Ennis’ territory bordered/ended a few miles from Hale territory on the side where the distillery is. Kali’s borders the preserve/part of the preserve/ nemeton side. Deuc’s is a little further away, but still “near”. Tensions are rising, so all the California packs/nearby packs convene in well-respected Hale territory to negotiate with the local hunters/Argents. Maybe Deuc’s territory being a little further away is part of why he was so optimistic about the meetup-- he hadn’t been dealing with those particular hunters as much.

 Canon events go down. Canonically it is stated/implied (by Peter) that Ennis bit Paige: 1. as a favor to Derek (or Peter), 2. to get into Talia’s good graces (or possibly “back into” because it was a rogue member of his pack that started the incident with the hunters, and did it in/near Hale territory, hence distillery being the site of the execution, again, maybe because it was in an easement between territories), and 3. because he wanted another pack member to replace the one the Hunters killed (also maybe implying his pack was close, since her being in his pack presumably wouldn’t make it harder for her to date a member of Talia’s… and maybe even further strengthening the bond between his  & Talia’s packs/his standing with Talia, through that relationship esp if it stayed/got serious ala marriages of state. XD I would not put it past Peter to have implied such things when he approached Ennis about biting Paige in the first place )

 So Talia’s had a really shit week. A bunch of Alphas and packs who respected her met on her land to negotiate with a hunter clan who they were in at least a truce with… and now there’s been an incident and no one but the two men who survived, neither of whom is 100% trustworthy/sane now, nor trusted/respected by “the other side”, can say why a shitton of hunters and werewolves are dead. Additionally a human child/teenager was bitten and had to be mercy-killed, her young teenage son and foolish/slippery brother are tied up in that (specifically, her kid has now had a massive trauma they all have to deal with), and the Alpha who survived the mess was permanently blinded and immediately (as I’m sure it was played, and isn’t necessarily untrue) was forced to kill one of his remaining Betas who tried to take the alpha power/rank while he was debilitated.

 At some point in the few months that follow, the packs that used to border her and be her allies, are killed. And because she did nothing about it, I’m going to say she didn’t know the truth about why they were dying. Maybe the alphas are framing hunters, maybe hunters are actually waging war against Alphas. Maybe both of those.

 I’m going to say that Kali/Jennifer/nemeton/Darach goes down while Talia’s still alpha, before Kate. I’m going to say that because of the fact that Jennifer seems to have fled to Hale territory, and the Nemeton, but was surprised that the Nemeton wasn’t dead… so if it wasn’t the Nemeton she was seeking, what was it? I would say protection from the best respected/ last intact pack in the area and/or their Emissary/Deaton.

 Jennifer turing up mangled in their territory/ in the Beacon Hills Hospital… Maybe that was the moment Talia put together what was going on for sure. Maybe Jennifer even said as much when she regained consciousness in the Hospital or something.

 So then Talia knew the shape of the fight she was about to have.

 And perhaps her distraction over that, over pack politics and hunter politics and alpha packs and mangled emissaries is why she doesn’t notice Derek and Kate.

 And Kate was Gerard/the shitty Argents’ ace in the hole/ back up plan/something. Because Talia had been too honest or calm or smart or something to be flipped by their usual methods, and she was too respected by too many people (including, like, Satomi, who is presumably one plot of territory over, though secretive as hell) to be attacked, thinned out outright.

 But Talia’s unbelievably distracted, and she never sees Kate coming (never expected that she would have to defend her children from adults sexually exploiting them. Especially teachers which, thanks to her super-creepy crack to Allison about wanting to substitute-teach to be able to ogle the hot teenage boys, I think fandom has mostly assumed/agreed that’s how she got access to Derek in the first place. As his substitute teacher. Happily adding that abusive power dynamic on to the whole mess.)

 And maybe the Alpha pack had wanted Talia (or Peter, ooh, I like that) as one of them or on their side before they took out the Argents… so maybe in that power vacuum (and with Derek, Laura, and the Hale Alpha power fled to New York), they decide they are going to retreat and build strength for a while. Why fight the Argents when they can do literally anything else.

 This explains why we/the viewers/Stiles/Scott/the gang are so surprised about there being so many packs. Perhaps that was normal, that kind of every-hundred-miles-a-new-pack thing, but then hunters and the alpha pack wiped out a massive chunk of the werewolf population in the northern California area… and If werewolf packs are all usually as traditional/methodical/slow as everyone seems to imply, it would take a long time for them to expand to fill the void, especially if there was a stigma/fear around the events that took out all those packs, and especially since there were still a few of the highly-respected Hales alive, even if they weren’t in their traditional territory at the time.

 And it especially makes sense too if there’s a shorter window between the Kate Shit and Laura and Derek coming back… like six years or whatever (using Derek’s “fake” ID having him born in 88, and S1 happening in 2011). That’s really not a lot of time for other supes to fill a space that size… hence the rise in activity the further into the series we get/the stronger the nemeton gets. There’s still a vacuum being filled.

 So yeah, Teen wolf wiki has Deuc being blinded in fall of ‘03, right after Derek turns 15, Jennifer happening in spring of ‘04, and then Kate and the death of the Hales happening in January of ‘05 (referencing the webisode that suggests it went down during the Wolf moon, which was Jan 25 in ‘05, claiming that born wolves have massive reunions/celebrations for that full moon every year, thus explaining why everyone was together), right after Derek turns sixteen… so it would have been just over six years since all that, when S1 starts.

 But Peter’s comment is just that Derek was a Sophomore, and 15. While there are always exceptions, most folks I knew in California school systems, if they had a fall birthday, turned fifteen during their Freshman year. So I posit the timeline: Derek is 15 at the beginning of his Sophomore year, ‘03, when He and Paige start up. The shit with Deuc and the alphas and Paige’s death happens that fall, Derek has the shittiest sixteenth birthday, and Kate starts preying on him while he is exceptionally vulnerable that next semester (there’s probably some bullying/blowback/ostracization from his peers to deal with, if only because of his changed behavior, let alone any connections anyone has drawn to Paige’s disappearance and death, not to mention his mother’s distraction with pack politics and hunters, and him having gone from top-of-the-world to fuck-all self-esteem wise… plus, y’know, crushing grief and guilt). Kali attacks Jennifer that spring (2004), Talia is even more preoccupies there, and Kate makes her move sometime before the end of the semester, since Derek and Laura were presumably at a school function/practice/etc instead of home when the fire happened. This also Lets Derek and Laura be two years apart in school if she’s a senior, which I like better. Also lets her graduate (although, what a shit-show that probably was. Holy shit). And then it’s a full seven-years-and-a-summer before they come back and S1 starts (which would make him 23 when we meet him, instead of 22) (or, if you prefer, move all the years up one, duec attacked in 04, jennifer dies in 05, shorter time Derek and Laura were gone… or make Derek younger, make Paige happen his freshman year when he is 14/15, and Kate happen either that spring/summer he’s 15 or during his sophmore year, maybe, at 15/16).

 This ignores the webisode/Wolf moon breadcrumb, which attempted to explain why all the Hales were gathered together, but unless it was, like, a lunar eclipse, which it was not, why would they have been inside the house, instead of out running with the moon? I would expect a moon celebration to involve, y’know, being under the moon.

 I would argue that there doesn’t need to be a reason that they were gathered, at least, not beyond the fact that there were lots of dangerous things happening in the territory at that time. Maybe it was just a meeting to deal with that. Maybe it was a pretty regular occurrence, during times of strife like that, and so it was predictable. Hell, maybe they were in the house planning something for Laura’s graduation??? This is also suggesting that they didn’t all live there???

 However, if anybody digs the Lunar eclipse theory, I kind of went nuts with it over here....

 . 

 Points of confusion still for me:

.

 Why is Gerard in charge of the Matriarchal Argent family? My best guess is that Victoria is the actual Matriarch, until such time as she decides Kate is worthy, or Allison is ready. Perhaps Gerard and Kate are delegated to Beacon Hills while Chris and Victoria (and little Allison) are managing things Elsewhere, since Allison has never, as far as we know, been to Beacon Hills before. Perhaps bitterness about not being in charge officially, and maybe being outside the line of succession, is part of what drives Kate and Gerard’s unique take on the hunter manifesto.

@sixspades / @satisfythosethrills suggested an alternate power tier, though, Where Gerard’s wife was such a powerful matriarch, so committed and impressive, that when she passed/was killed he just kind of stepped in as regent (Feeling it was his duty to pass on all that knowledge and experience they had which she didn’t have an opportunity to teach everyone herself) in the aftermath and never really gave up that position.  He maintains power out of respect/the belief that he is doing things the way she would have done them, even as his own hatred of Werewolves begins to skew his interpretation of/adherence to their rules. 

.

 Where is Satomi? (other than “nowhere, because they didn’t make her up yet”) My best guess is her territory was traditionally (assuming they weren’t completely nomadic, which I would accept) just far enough away that she wasn’t involved in  the initial mess with the hunters, and/or her pack is secretive enough to have stayed off their radar, and powerful/incorruptible enough to not be a good target for the Alpha pack. Maybe she would have come to the aid of the Hales, and maybe not, but in the end… events in BH were too rapid and it was too late.

 .

Peter's actual age? If he has a kid Stiles' age (regardless of who that kid is or was intended to be), by this timeline, the kid's gotta be, like, eight when all this is happening (using teen wolf wikia’s timeline, Jackson would have been 9 at the time, in order for him to be old enough to drive his Porsche in S1) So Peter is probs not the nineteenish-year-old he makes himself out to be in the re-telling. Since he would have to have had a kid at 10. I like the idea that that is part of why Talia took his memories of his child, though. If he was young, a teenager (fathering a kid at 13-17 puts him at 22-26 during the Visionary flashbacks), and she felt he was unable to manage that situation… and if neither Derek nor Laura knew, since they would have been <10 when it happened, once the older pack members died, the knowledge was lost. (unless Deaton knew. Bet me Batman, Deaton knew)

 .

The desert wolf stuff??? I’m just going to put a pin in, since I haven’t watched all of that yet, I don’t think.

 .

Why no one is suspicious of Kate? As far as we know, she was not directly involved in the events leading to Gerard’s attack on Deucalion… but unless she was going under an assumed name, the Hale pack ought to have known she was an Argent and automatically been keeping an eye on her. Similarly, what kind of story must she have spun Derek, what kind of lies must she have told? Either to keep him from learning she was an Argent/hunter, or to persuade him she loved him and was trustworthy anyway.

 .

(of course the actual answer to most of these questions is that certain creators/writers/showrunners couldn’t be arsed to be consistent... but that’s not a very fun answer. ;)  It just means missed opportunities that we can fill. Case in point: killing off all the female members of a “matriarchal power structure” so it can just be about old white dudes anyway. Six suggested writing in/casting Gerard’s wife, instead of Gerard, the sweet old lady with steel underneath... and you can see how twisted Kate could be that way, how twisted and terrifying they could be together... uuuugh I’m in love with that idea...)

.

Thoughts, feelings, opinions? Anybody? Bueller?

[mmagazinetko]

The Devil‘s Inn

Page 1 The Realms Entrance

We have been walking for so many days, sent by the king of Klagorn to retrieve a powerful relic. I personally don’t believe in this old crap, but orders are orders. My legs are aching and the exhaustion made me feel heavy. The cold winter wind whispered through the woods and made all wild animals hide in their warm homes but that was no good for us, there’s barely enough food to feed the half of us. We haven’t even found the entrance to this wretched place. “Artemis!” a voice called from behind, “Your turn for hunting duty.” sir Belemora was one of the royal knights who came along, a first-class snob. One of those stereotypical knights with his golden hair and ocean blue eyes, no respect for anyone under his ranking. “Of course sir, I’ll leave at once.” I responded with a respectful bow, I hate that man’s guts but the slightest disrespect and he would cause too much trouble. I left, just like a few dozen other men who had received the same order. No sane animal was out in these conditions and the snow covered the ground with a thick white cloak, no footprints to be found, no lairs to be seen, no plants other than the winter trees. I followed a river north from where the others were setting up camp, if there is anything wandering about they’d be near the river, or so they would if the river wasn’t frozen solid. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a white rabbit. I snuck closely as silent as a shadow, it didn’t seem to notice me. I pounced like a sabretooth… “CLICK” “What in the seven gods?” I asked myself in astonishment. The rabbit was already dead, frozen by the biting cold and I laid in the snow for a moment. But what really surprised me was the rumbling beneath me, so strong that the men at the encampment must have felt it. I fell and there I was again lying in the snow. The frozen river crackled like thunder as the ground split in two. Stairs… Spiral stairs of stone each as big as a tree is tall and twice the width. “That was close.” I thought to myself. I stared in awe as my upper half hung over the ledge. I carefully brought myself back to my feet. I took another look at the enormous staircase, they went deep into the ground, miles below the surface. I followed the river back to the encampment. The snow storm had quieted down. “Back so soon?” Sometimes I felt like this bastard was following me everywhere I went. “Yes, sir Belemora.” “Empty handed?” He asked. “The animals are hiding in there wholes and caves, there are no berry bushes or fruit trees and the only rabbit I found was already dead for I too long to be good Sir. I have however-” “I don’t need excuses. Everyone here is hungry and you come back empty handed?!” His voice was calm but threatening. “Useless.” He spat the word like a snake, he grabbed me by the upper arm and brought me to commander Clegane. A tall and the most muscular man among us all. Belemora brought me here hoping that he’d accept to send me wandering alone in the white forest knowing that would be the same as killing me on the spot. With respect for the commander he explained what had happened with exaggeration. “You were given an order soldier, and you ignored it. What do you have to say for yourself.” I admire the man, a true hero who had fought in the eternal war. Luckily for us it wasn’t as eternal as everyone thought though it had been going on for many generations. “Commander Clegane, with all do respect sir Belemora hadn’t given me the chance to explain myself. I came back empty handed because I found an entrance with enormous stairs, each bigger and wider than the great hall of the king’s palace.“  Belemora was clearly raging but he kept silent. Clegane’s anger was something that everyone feared to awaken. I showed them the stairs and Clegane made the decision to leave at sunrise. He set some soldiers and Belemora around the stairs to guard it from any eventual explorers. After this long day I went back to my tent where I rested until sunrise.

Page 2 The Inn

We started climbing down the stairs, they were old and whispers were going around saying that they were built for the demon lords and the 7 corrupted gods of sin. There were lots of cracks and gaps to have a good grip… After climbing for several hours everyone was tired we had left most of our equipment behind and many of the soldiers had fallen to their deaths. And I took this opportunity to…dispose of a problem. I had already reached the bottom of a stair whilst Belemora was still climbing down. I stared at him and whispered in an ancient language in such way that no one could hear me “Emantur Ligna Lapis.” The word was used to shape stone at will, a simple spell if you knew the language. Everyone who could turned and stared as the snob knight Belemora fell screaming to his death. No one gave him much attention after that, even the commander didn’t bother with a proper burial for a royal knight. To him everyone present was equal and we had no time to bury every dead man. Especially because there was only stone around us. Like the others who had reached this step I had taken a rest and sat on the ledge and looked down. It was impossible to see the bottom of it. On one of the stairs there were huge red doors. By then only 5 of us including Commander Clegane continued, others feared for theirs lives and stayed behind. The doors reached half the height of the stair and were half as wide as the stairs. They were impossible to open by hand, as approached it though they opened by themselves. The room inside was dark but we went in regardless of that and the strange noises. When we stepped inside, the place lit itself up and I stood in amazement of how big the place was, it was a tavern. Three floors high filled with creatures of all kind, speaking in all kinds of languages, laughing and playing games and making bets and there were imps, spirits, celestial beings and demons alike also some creatures made of pure elemental energy and many more. Surprised we turned back and noticed the doors had disappeared. I felt something tugging on my shirt. I turned around to see an Imp serving what seemed to ale. “From the fella over there.” It said, pointing at a creature that looked like a giant snail who was sitting at the bar drinking its own drink. I took one of the filled tankards hesitantly and so did the others. We walked towards the snail to thank it, it bowed its head a little to say “Your welcome.”. On a pillar hung the rules. At first I couldn’t read it but after staring at it for a few seconds it seemed to have translated itself, a kind of magic was cast on it. There were only four rules.  “1. No Fighting,  2. No Conjuring,  3. No  Banishing,  4. No Magic” I called a bartender but there seemed to be no one, then all of a sudden another imp appeared in front of me. “What can I getch’ya?” it asked with a crackling old voice. “I-I was just wondering what happened to the doors.” “The doors will open once’ya got enough favours.” “Favours?” I asked curiously. “Favours are the main currency around this place, the entrance fee is 3 per person.” It opened a small door and walked through. “Wait how many favours do I currently have?”  Though the imp had already left and went around the place offering filled tankards to other creatures. A panel popped out of the bar table with “-3” written on it, it dived back into the wood after a few seconds. While I was explaining what I had found out to the 4 others some creatures got into an argument and everyone around them took as much distance as they could. The bar split in two and a small group of imps ran towards the two combatants, grabbed on to them and once they were both covered in imps a great big bang and green flames rained around the explosion. There was nothing left of the imps and the two creatures. “Better not break the rules.” Clegane said understanding that the punishment for breaking them is exactly what happened to those creatures. “All of you go do some favours and meet up here once you got the three you need to leave, we can’t waste too much time in here.” He ordered us. I turned to the snail and asked it if I could offer it help in exchange for a favour or two. “My brother. Kill him and I will reward you with 2 favours.” “Where can I find him?” I didn’t care about the lives of others, especially those of these impure creatures and I like a good killing, as long as no one sees me doing the deed I cannot be punished for it.“Room 371, the elevator is in the corner over there.” “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Page 3 Meliodas

 When I entered the elevator it automatically went up. I stepped out and there was a sign hanging on the wall for each hallway “300-309”, “310-319”, “320-329”… When I found the door I grabbed a small pot of salt that I saw downstairs at the bar, opened it and prepared my sword. “Knock, knock, knock.” A snail slightly different to the one at the bar opened the door. “What.” He said, clearly annoyed. “A gift from your sibling.” I threw the salt in his eyes and they quickly melt like runny eggs and before he could scream in pain I slashed his head off. The salt wasn’t necessary but even assassins can have a bit of fun time to time. I smiled, closed the door and returned to the other snail to report his brother’s death. “I hope he suffered.” “I’m sure he did, his eyes melted with the salt.” I responded coldly. The snail’s eyes widened. “You’ve earned your favours, now leave me.” He seemed scared when he said that. “Are surprised? I’ve done what you asked of me.” “Salt doesn’t kill my kind, it melts us to our core. The greatest pain we can feel, I hoped he’d suffer but that is a step too far. Now leave.” “You haven’t given me anything.” “It’s not like gold, favours aren’t made of any material. Ask the bar and she will show you.” I checked with the bar a piece of the wood popped out with “-1” carved on it. “Hello there.” A voice whispered behind my ear “Looking for a favour? I’m looking for my 7th wife, she’s tall and blue with 4 arms and 3 breasts, one of a kind. Bring her to me and I’ll give a favour.” It was a demon, dark red and he towered over me with his great horns and his mismatched eyes, one was light blue, one was black and one was bloodred and looked like someone had slapped it randomly on his face, it was moving around his face like a bug. “Any idea where she might be?” “Her friends are usually on the second floor, I’d go myself but I’ve got some other ladies that need my attention down here.” He made me think of Belemora, but that was none of my concern. I quickly found his wife, she was even taller than him and hard to miss. “Hello ma’am.” “What do you want, worm?” “Forgive me. Your husband has requested me to escort you to him.” This demon could easily rip me in half so I tried to show as much respect as I could. “I bet it’s Meliodas, isn’t it? The red one with the wandering eye.” “Yes, ma’am it is.” “I’ll tell you what if you can keep him busy for about two hours I’ll give you four favours. He probably offered you a cheap prize. My freedom is worth way more but unless you keep him busy for days I’ll give you four.” I didn’t need the extra favours but I thought that I could get some useful information with the extra, maybe some food and a bed to sleep in. “Sound like a fair deal to me, I’ll do my best ma’am.” She turned back to her friends after all as weird and unique as the other. I went back to Meliodas. “She wasn’t on the second floor.” “I’ll hold onto this favour than.” I already felt my blood boiling with rage but I didn’t want to end up like those two other creatures. “She’s quite the beauty. Where did you meet her?” He looked at me and lost complete interest in the ladies. “She’s my favourite.” He started, he talked and talked and talked. A good hour past. “Anyways,” he said “I’m going to go look for her myself I haven’t seen her in too long.” It was too early. “Don’t you want to play a game?” I asked as he got up. He turned around and all his eyes stared at me and with a big smirk he asked “What kind of game?” “I was hoping you had one, I’d say a card game but I lost them in the snow.” “Snow? You’re not from here are? No matter, I like you. I got a game. In room 137 there are three chests. One is empty, one contains a wish and the third will rip you apart. Open one and return…if you can.” A wish? Seems worth it. “Sounds fair.” “See you in a bit…or not.” He said as I left for the elevator again, I couldn’t see his face but I could feel his bloodred eye staring in my soul and his smile casting a long shadow past me. The hallways looked the same as the ones on the third floor. I quickly found the room, entered and saw the three chests. One looked old, one was as clean as the room and one was made of stone. I closed the door and whispered “Emantur Ligna Lapis.” I shaped the stone in such way that it that it would show the inside without opening the lid. It was empty. That left the old one and the clean one. My logic was that the one that would shred me to bits wouldn’t be able to be cleaned so I opened the clean one it latched onto my left arm. A mimic. My blood dripped from my armour.

Page 4 Skin

To avoid any attention I ignored the pain and kept my shouts sealed in. And whispered with a shaky voice “Ignis Corporis”, powerful flames ejected from all over my body and the mimic was set on fire but it resisted so I laid my right hand on It and whispered “Ignis Fragor” and the wood turned to ashes as a blast of fire was shot from my hand. My arm was bleeding but the pain did not bother me, I felt worse before. And now at least my armour had a bit of colour. When I looked for the third chest the room was empty except for the ashes. I guess the rules only applied if the imps could see it being done. “I see you chose the mimic.” Meliodas laughed when I returned. “Quite lucky to be alive.” He continued. “If you like I can give you a second chance, but this time there’s a small fee to pay if you want to play.” A big smirk crossed his face sideways as his bloodred eye grew in size. “What’s the price?” “I’m looking for a new skin, and I really like you. I’d take it after you opened a chest. Most painful of operations… but with a wish you could achieve absolute power.” I thought of ways around the fee and thought of several ways around it. “I accept.” His smile grew bigger and he whispered “You know what to do. Room 665.” When I entered that room it was different than all the others I’ve seen. The floor was made of bone and was covered in blood and bodies laid piled up in a corner of the room. Again three chests but this time there was a guard. An armoured humanoid creature, it stood there leaning on its two handed longsword. “Hello there darling. I’m lady Fiora. Meliodas sent you?” “Yes, lady Fiora.” I’m always polite when speaking to someone who could so easily destroy me. “No magic, no second choices, no running away. Choose one and then pay the price.” One chest was made of bone and was as bloody as the room, one was made of plated steel and the third was made of flesh. I’d melt the steel one if Fiora wasn’t there. I knew it wasn’t the bone one that had the same texture as the floor, I learnt from the last room that mimics adapted themselves to match the room. I grabbed my lucky coin, a coin a close friend gave to me, made of mithril. A metal that absorbed magic. I threw it in the air and as I prepared my hand to catch it, it fell by the flesh chest. “I choose the flesh chest.” She told me to open it and so I did. A blinding light came from the chest as I opened it. “Make a wish.” Fiora said. “I-I…” I wasn’t sure what to wish for. “Yes?” she asked. “I to know everything possible of this world.” The light from the chest enveloped me and it felt warm and comforting. I looked at Fiora and knew all there was to now about her, where she got her armour from, what she was, I could think of a million different spells, handy spells, weak spells, forbidden spells, I could tell what species were laying dead in the corner, I knew everything. “Take my hand.” She said. I knew I had to pay the price give up my skin, but I also knew that I could replace it with other, more useful things. Not only that but a deal with a demon must be met otherwise they’d gather a group and murder many people I care for and it would be physically impossible to protect everyone at the same time. So I took her hand and I was teleported to a room and attached to a table. Meliodas was there with his skinning knife and a smile even bigger than earlier. “Congratulations, my friend your wish has been granted. As we agreed on I will now take your skin.” Normally no human like me would survive a full body skinning but these two demons used spells and magic to keep me alive and awake. So I felt every cut of the searing hot blade melting through my body and as much as I screamed they wouldn’t stop until they were done. They’d made sure I wouldn’t move with a paralysis spell and with each scream of agony his smile would grow bigger and bigger, I could hear him giggle sometimes. I know he had casted a spell to keep me awake and conscious at all times. “No worries, we’re half way through.” He said after what felt for like an eternity. Fiora grabbed me and turned me over carefully to not ruin my skin. I could feel splinters from the table sticking to my muscle tissue and making it’s way towards the bone. But the knife made me forget about the splinters. When he was done he teleported me back to the room and let me go.

[nsschaintale]

Chain 6: 600 Plans

Tether trudged his way towards Catena's location at the electric maze he was building, but he was found by him halfway through.

Catena: OH, TETHER! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO FIND YOU! I'VE FINALLY FINISHED MY ELECTRICITY MAZE! HAVE YOU FINISHED YOUR PUZ- (gets hugged by Tether) ERR...TETHER?

Tether: You're a great brother. You know that..right?

Catena: WELL, OF COURSE, I AM! I AM THE GREAT CATENA, AFTER ALL!

Tether: ….I love you...you know that...right?

Catena (blushes orange): ERRR...W-WELL, I DO, TOO, TETHER. PLATONICALLY AND IN A BROTHERLY WAY, I MEAN!

Tether: Heh. I know. Everything's going to be okay soon. You know that...right?

Catena: TETHER? IS SOMETHING...

Tether (hugs tighter): Please....Catena...

Catena: … (pets Tether's skull) ..YES, OF COURSE, EVERYTHING'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

Tether: …..I'm....

Catena: YES?

Tether: I'm sleepy....

Catena: WELL, IF YOU JUST..

Tether: …..Catena....

Catena: …..WELL...YOU DO LOOK LIKE YOU HAD A BAD TIME, SO...

Tether (flinches a little): …...

Catena: ...I, GREAT BROTHER CATENA, SHALL HELP YOU ON OUR WAY HOME. (moves forward but is stopped) UM, TETHER, I CAN'T MOVE WITH YOU STILL ATTACHED TO ME.

Tether: ….Pick me up...?

Catena: OH, ALL RIGHT. (picks Tether up and holds him carefully as he wraps his arms around his neck and his legs around his torso) MY, I WONDER WHAT MADE YOU BECOME LIKE A BABY BONES. (walks his way to their house)

Tether (chuckles dryly): Even though you're younger than me.

Catena: WHA- ONLY BY A FEW HUNDRED YEARS! (huffs) HONESTLY.

Tether: Hey...even wonder how we were born, Catena?

Catena: CAN'T SAY I DO. WELL, MAYBE A LITTLE. MY MEMORY OF IT'S NOT THAT GREAT SADLY, EVEN FOR ME. BUT I DO REMEMBER GOING TO WATERFALL AND MAKING OUR WISH ONCE.

Tether: Whoa, you remembered that? I almost forgot.

Catena: YEP. MY WISH WAS TO GO TO THE SURFACE!

Tether (flinches): Yeah....that was a great wish....

Catena: IT WAS! DIDN'T YOU SAY IT WAS YOURS, TOO?

Tether: It was? Heh...maybe...

Catena: … WE'RE ALMOST THERE, BROTHER.

Tether: ….

It took a short while before the brothers quietly reached their home. After entering, Catena was about to put Tether down on the couch, but Tether just tightened his hold on the taller skeleton.

Catena: TETHER, I DO APPRECIATE A GOOD HUG OR TWO, BUT I MUST INSIST THAT YOU LET GO.

Tether: ok..

Catena: ….YOU'RE NOT LETTING GO. YOU HAVE TO MOVE YOUR ARMS AND LEGS TO DO IT.

Tether: ok.. (shifts his limbs a little)

Catena: ...YOU'RE STILL ON ME, TETHER.

Tether: i know.

Catena: WHY ARE YOU NOT MOVING?

Tether: 'cause i'm afraid you'll disappear if i do....

Catena: TETHER, I PROMISE I WON'T LEAVE YOU. I MEAN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF YOU?

Tether: I don't know, but you're right. You are a cool guy...

Catena: OF COURSE!

Tether: ...in those clothes. You're a real...ice guy in them.

Catena: DARN IT, TETHER!

Tether (chuckles darkly): But...seriously though, bro.....stay with me... at least until I fall asleep...

Catena: ….WELL, IT IS GETTING LATE, BY UNDERGROUND STANDARDS, BUT WHY NOT EAT FIRST?

Tether: …..Sure, bro.

Dinner was quiet for much of the evening. It was unusual for the brothers since Tether usually tends to drive Catena up the wall with pasta puns, and Catena screeching at him to stop. But tonight, it was just a relative silence with the exception of silverware touching plates and teeth and loose chains bumping against table and chair legs. Neither brother spoke to each other until they ended up in Catena's bed (Tether was adamant about it after reading “Puffy Dragon And The 88 Stars” to him), telling each other good night before drifting off into a dreamless sleep. Catena woke expecting Tether to be clinging onto him like he did before, but he was nowhere to be seen. He figured he went back to his room in the middle of the night, but when he checked, Tether wasn't there.

Catena: HUH, THAT'S ODD...

Catena decided to try and find Tether at his main station, but he found a note on the front door showing, “Gone to work on my puzzle. It's personal. -T”

Catena: JUST WHAT KIND OF PUZZLE WOULD PULL TETHER'S ATTENTION AWAY THAT MUCH? (scratches at his neck bones; a faint red mark in the chips of his vertebrae is visible) MUST BE A SUPER TOUGH ONE.

He decided to go and fix up his electric maze before moving on to fixing up the next puzzle given to him by a Doctor Kusari: a randomized color puzzle. He checked over and tested it out a few times, seeing the various combinations and reading over a list of rules on a piece of paper. Afterward, he decided to go find Tether and check on him. Meanwhile, Tether was back in his laboratory, reading over the notes he, or perhaps the Tethers from previous Resets..? He (They) wrote these notes most likely as records of what happened in the past Resets. He did come across the last Reset page of the 251-300 section that read 'why' and 'I have a plan'. Whatever plan his previous versions had must be important enough for some of the folders to be labeled oddly. Upon this, Tether did notice the folder with the pages of Catena's death was aptly named as such. The next folder he grabbed was named “RESETS 301-350: Ketju's End and The Case Study of Frisk + The Gloves and Shoes”. It was obvious he (or the he who wrote this) ran out of room with such a long title, but he sat down and read a small note stuck to the first page.

To the Tethers that come after me, I hope these future pages and folders will help you fight back. I advise you to try and add anything of significance to help the others, should these Resets continue. These pages may have additions like the plans and observations I and those before you have written. Learn them well and good luck. That kid needs to be dunked on.

-T of RESET 301

Tether: Let's see what's on these pages.

RESET 301

I followed the human throughout Waterfall. Before all of these, I had noticed something. Frisk had been wielding a pair of chains with a red dagger attached to them. Have they had them before? Did humans have Chain Arts like we do? There's no record of it.

RESET 302

I followed the human throughout Waterfall. Before all of these, I had noticed something. Frisk had been wielding a pair of chains with a red dagger attached to them. I saw them pick up a pair of orange gloves at two different occasions. Once from a box and the other from Victoria's shop. The thief.

RESET 303

I saw them try out the gloves. Unfortunately, they were used on the monsters. Their hits seem to deal a huge amount of damage, but it didn't look like they were using them much.

RESET 304

They've abandoned the gloves. Seems like it was just a test.

RESET 305

I'm not liking that they're doing this with Catena as part of the tests. They keep aiming for his Life Chain around his neck. Whether it's to pull it apart or just....choke him. They're sure determined to end his life... Watch out for the punches. They seem to be rolling with them.

RESET 306

They're using the gloves more. They didn't seem too concerned about the state of their hands.

RESET 307

They seem to be favoring the gloves. They're also wearing an orange bandanna with some lines on them. What are those?

RESET 308

They look stronger than they did before. The gloves are looking dangerous, too. There are orange chains wrapped around them. A new version of Chain Arts?

RESET 309

The human looks like they're starting to lose interest with killing everyone who stayed behind, including Catena. I just hope they lose interest in killing, period.

RESET 310

They've abandoned the gloves and bandanna. They're moving on now. Now's my chance to look at these items closer.

Added: I tried the items on. They did not feel good at all. One, they were worn by that human and two, my base stats rose more than I'd want them to be. I would have found these useful if they weren't just used by a murderer. Considering how they're fighting, I'd say that using these items gives them some sort of boost in stats.

Tether: Huh... So that's why they get stronger? (turns to the next page) Hmm... This looks like the real start of this folder's title.

RESET 311

I'm making my way through Waterfall right now. Because of my grief from Catena's death, I couldn't catch up to the human and study them properly. Sorry.

RESET 312

Had to walk through Waterfall. Been seeing dust mixing into the water and covering the ground. Not really much to write until I catch up with them.

RESET 313

Ended up at the entrance again.

Tether skipped ahead for several pages since they were mostly complaints about how he kept being pushed back to the entrance. The next page put a stop to that.

RESET 324

Managed to get further in without ending up at the entrance. It's faint, but I've been noticing something by my station at the entrance. I've been wondering what it was.

RESET 325

I saw one of those faint things again. I can't tell what they are. They're like lights.

RESET 326

I came across an odd spot on the boardwalk. It was black and dry. I've never seen this before.

RESET 327

I kept moving past a weird spot in the grass area. Cats and I used to play here when we were kids.

RESET 328

Saw another one of those faint lights again. I still don't know what they're for. Weird. They seem to be getting brighter each time.

RESET 329

I saw Frisk use one of those faint lights. Do they know something about them that I don't? I need to study this a little more.

Added: I kept watching them, but I don't see any real significance to the human's actions towards the lights.

RESET 330

I can't believe there are still monsters here! They should have been gone by now. Maybe they stayed behind to give the families some time to escape? If not, then what other purpose is it?

RESET 331

I've entered the Wishing Room. It's really quiet. Like the only thing you can hear is water quiet. Water situation this has turned out to be. We had a chance to live on the surface, but I guess even the real stars can't grant wishes. The surface seems to just be a dream now, while this reality is a complete nightmare.

Tether: ….. (skips a few pages of idle chat before stopping)

RESET 336

I've observed the human having a small concert with Shyren. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. I would have thought tha

Added: I am terribly sorry, but I can't write down my observation for Shyren's battle. The methods the human used to kill her are... not something to be written.

RESET 337

I came across another spot on another boardwalk. This one's bigger than the last one. Compared to my bone-white finger, the color of the substance looks red. The substance in question is undetermined, most likely from a very determined kid.

RESET 338

Saw another light in the garbage dump area. I still haven't pinpointed what they do exactly, but they're starting to become clearer. I came across a dummy with dust coming out of it. There may have been a ghost monster inside it. Judging by how there's dust coming out of it, the ghost may have been corporeal. I wonder if it was able to fight back.

RESET 339

Incorporeal ghosts cannot be harmed, but a corporeal ghost can be. As long as it has a body that is combined with, physical attacks can harm them. I'll remember that if I ever become a ghost. Which is impossible because I'm a skeleton.

Tether: Hmm...Not really much in plans... (skips several pages) ...as there are just observations and random chattering. Did the previous versions of me not get the first one's note? (stops on a page) Hmm... Here we go.

RESET 346

Frisk is fighting Ketju. It looks like they (Frisk) are using some kind of pink shoes. They're also wearing a dusty pink tutu. Ketju looks different as well. Her armor looks spiky. Let's watch the battle unfold.

Added: Based on this round's battle, it looks like Frisk is dodging Ketju's attacks like they're dancing. Whenever Ketju turns Frisk's Soul green, Frisk was able to block most of the moves flawlessly.

Result: Frisk Death

RESET 347

Frisk is steadily catching on, but is still slipping on some attacks. They seem to favor using the tutu/shoes combination, especially when only using their feet to attack. Disturbingly, the dust on them looks like falling snow whenever they move...

Result: Frisk Death

RESET 348

They seem to be studying Ketju's attacks and moving accordingly. She was getting frustrated but very determined. Does Ketju have DETERMINATION?

Result: Ketju Death

Tether (confused): Did she? Why would this one mention that?

RESET 349

The human's moves have become more precise than before. Ketju's having a hard time keeping up. This isn't good...

Result: Ketju Death

RESET 350

The human got violent. I didn't notice before because they were using the dancing items, but two long chains are around them. Does the human have Chain Arts like us? There is no record of humans utilizing Chain Arts.

Caution: There's a chance the human may be learning how to use Chain Arts. Use extreme caution when fighting them.

Result: Ketju Death

Tether (leans back): Learning Chain Arts? Why? (rubs his eye sockets, sighing) This is getting annoying. I'll just skim through these.

Tether got up to retrieve the rest of the folders and spent the rest of the night studying the relevant pages. The RESET Pages 351-400 had 40 pages documenting the Hotland monster fights. During these fights, the human was testing out a pan that looked like that one pan Catena destroyed while he first tried to cook with Ketju and an apron with strange stains on it. The results were terrible. A Pyrope got unraveled, a Vulkin was bashed multiple times, a Tsunderplane had been stabbed out of the air and pulled down, crashing in an explosion, and the two Royal Guards, Royal Guard 01 Moba and Royal Guard 02 Garrett, were both stabbed to dust. Most of the pages had tiny notes saying various things like “Make them stop” and “So much screaming”.

Tether: Those two were lovers, weren't they? …..Can't imagine how that feels...to lose a lover. Maybe like losing a family member...? Hmm...

Tether continued through the pages until he reached the ones which involved Kaede. The notes described something horrifying.

RESET 391

Frisk is not using their weapons! They're using their hands to kill Kaede. Are they trying to see if they can kill this way should their weapons break?

RESET 392

Frisk is still using their hands to pull Kaede's limbs off. They seem to be testing their physical strength. Did Frisk ever needed to use that?

RESET 393

They've started to use their pan. The sounds of metal hitting solid objects, crunching noises, and screaming is heard. Looks like they're smashing some of the spiders, too.

RESET 394

They've been using the pan to

(a long scribble line stretched across the page)

Tether: To what? (flips through four more pages stating the same thing then stops, hands shaking)

RESET 398

THEY'RE EATING THE SPIDERS IN FRONT OF KAEDE

RESET 399

They went back to using the chained knives again. Are they sentient?

RESET 400

THEY'RE EATING KAEDE

Tether just stared at the last page. He didn't eat the rest of his food for the rest of the time. He went to the next folder documenting Chaîne's battle. There was only ten pages in the folder. Most were just complaints about how the previous Tethers didn't want to be in the Core, but two pages caught his attention.

RESET 407

The human is using the stars for something. I keep seeing a black screen pop up whenever they touch them.

Added: Most likely using the HUD. Can't tell what branch they're using since it's quick.

RESET 410

They just shot Chaîne up close. I remembered seeing that gun before in the garbage dump. There was no ammo inside or around it. They didn't even bother with using their knives. Are they at a level where it's not necessary? If they continued to use the gun, they may be materializing the ammo required. How is unknown.

Tether: Wow, no wonder Chaîne got trashed so easily. What's next..? (moves the folder to the last one labeled “MEGALOMANIAC” RESETS 500-600) Megalomaniac? And why did it jump to 500? (gets up and looks through the folders and the cabinet, but nothing was found) Weird. (sits back down and opens the folder; nearly every single page has blotches of purple; an odd wave of nausea ran through him) This is...

The folder contained notes on the battles between Frisk and him. Most of the pages were either covered in purple or barely written. The ones Tether were able to read were very little.

RESET 523

They tried to stab me with a toy knife. It can be very dangerous like their chained knives. Their armor didn't look like much, a pink ribbon was what they wore. Try to stay out of the swing paths of their knives.

RESET 540

They have on pink gloves and a bandanna. Looks like they're throwing punches now. Dodge the punches. Had to throw them everywhere.

RESET 557

They're wearing the pink tutu and dancing shoes this time. They got faster with these and their kicks are swift. Time to do a little footwork myself.

Added: Dodging seems to work.

RESET 568

The human got out their pan and apron. It's odd that there's a heart on the apron. This kid doesn't have one. It looks they're lasting longer than normal. Too bad the Karmic Retribution's kicking their ass. Otherwise, my bony ass is cooked.

RESET 579

They're...screaming at me. What's that going to do? They did try to smack me with a notebook, so I smacked them with a bone. Can they even see me with those clouded glasses?

Added: WHOEVER SAID THE PHRASE “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” FUCKING LIED!!

Added: Words materialized from the book somehow.

Result: Death

RESET 583

They resetted. I would have figured they'd keep going after killing me that many times. Why? Now they have an odd-looking brown hat and that gun that was supposed to be empty. They really are putting their energy into it, making the bullets. Nearly bit the bullet and the dust there for a moment. Oh well. I got a bigger gun and its name is Bin Bon.

RESET 590

They got a different knife this time, and a gold heart locket. Their hand knife and chain knives look deadlier, too. The blades are red, the actual knife looks red. Everything looks red around them. Isn't that the color of DETERMINATION? If so, then I have to watch out. This kid's got plenty of it.

RESET 598

They've gotten me somehow. They were able to get past my attacks. I thought I saw Catena by the stairs. I need to

Added: The result was my death. Why are they resetting?

RESET 599

I could have sworn I saw the human crying.

RESET 600

There's something black standing behind them

Tether (looks around the room to see if there were more folders and pages, but there wasn't): That's it? That can't be it. There's gotta be more than this! What about that missing section, what Reset am I in?! What black thing? And they cried? How? They never shed a tear once. …..What is going on? (starts cleaning up the mess) From what I've gathered, the human can be strengthened by the weapons and armor they wear, can use Chain Arts somehow, and, by the one who mentioned the “black screen”, can access the HUD. But why? I do remember that Frisk (cringes a little) could only access the HUD, not Chain Arts too. It must have something to do with their LOVE. They were LOVE 19 when we fought and they had three chain knives. What happens if they reach LOVE 20...? (shivers) Don't think I want to find that out. (stops) But....I wonder if they're becoming like us...? (shakes his head) What am I saying, if this is the most I could do, then we're screwed. (sighs) I've done and found all I can. At least I have some idea of what's going on. (gathers his items and leaves the lab, locking the door behind him and walking off to his station)

As Tether headed towards the direction of his Snowdin station, he spotted Catena wandering aimlessly around the Snowball Golf game area until he spotted him. Catena charged at Tether and scooped him up, screeching about how he was worried and been searching for him all day. Tether apologized to him and they both headed home. Before they do, Tether suddenly stopped and looked around nervously.

Catena: IS SOMETHING WRONG, TETHER? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU SAW A GHOST.

Tether (turns to Catena and waves his hand like he's waving a thought away): N-Nah, it's nothing. Just a boo-reeze blowing through me.

Catena: YOU... I SWEAR, YOUR PUNS WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME! (stomps off to the house)

Tether (nervous): Eh heh heh... (glances around for a while then follows Catena)

Far in the distance, deep in the forest between Tether's station and the ruin doors, a shadow had ducked into the trees to keep out of sight.

CONTINUE?