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kittyprincessofcats · 4 years ago

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I finished RWBY Volume 5!!

Loved it!! After volume 4 was (understandably) a bit slower-paced, I didn’t expect things to get intense and serious this quickly, but I’m glad they did! I have so many thoughts I wanted to write down, so here we go:

[There will be spoilers for RWBY up to Volume 5 in this post (duh). Please don’t leave spoilers for anything after Volume 5 on this post, otherwise I will block you.]

- I have to say, I definitely liked Cinder more when she wasn’t talking. During Volume 4, I kind of started feeling bad for her on some level, but then she got better and started being her old condescending, power-hungry self and I was like… nevermind, I hate you again.

- Qrow being super drunk when he first brings Oscar home was absolutely hilarious.

- Yang is SO COOL. Have I mentioned that she’s so cool? Like wow, I wish I was that cool! The bike, the new (amazing) outfit, the way she just punched that creepy guy and walked right up to her mom’s bandit camp making demands of her – she’s so cool and I’m here for it.

- Yang and Weiss’ reunion was so sweet! 😭 I was waiting for literally any of Team RWBY’s members to reunite and that got me right in the feels! (Also, I loved the whole “Wait, your mom kidnapped me?” “Wait, you kidnapped her?” exchange - brilliant 😂.)

- Ruby’s reunion with Yang and Weiss was so sweet, too! 😭 Tears were definitely shed over reunions in this volume! And it was so nice to finally have most of Team RWBY and what’s left of Team JNPR back together and see them bond and catch up with each other 😭. Found family back together! It’s what they deserve!

- Yang being so angry at Blake for leaving makes perfect sense, imo, especially considering her own abandonment issues. And even more so considering that she lost that arm while protecting Blake. Also, I don’t think it’s reading too much into it to say that Yang and Blake’s interactions and their storyline together have had romantic undertones since volume 2. (And no, I’m not just saying that because I ship Bumbleby; it’s the other way around – I ship Bumbleby because those romantic undertones were there in the first place.) So yeah, Yang always tried to help and support Blake, lost an arm protecting her from her abusive ex, and then Blake just left – I get why Yang’s hurt and angry. And that moment where she goes from complaining about how she just wants to be there for Blake, before finally admitting “What if I needed her there for me?” - that’s a really good moment for Yang, even beyond the romantic subtext. It’s nice to see Yang admit that she also wants someone else to be there for her, that she wants to receive that same love and care in return.

- I also want to point out that it’s nice to see how far Weiss has come since volume one. She really took a level in kindness and became a lot more mature, to the point where she’s now giving Yang relationship advice. It’s really nice to see.

- Ruby’s talk with Oscar about Penny and Pyrrha really got me teary eyed.

- I wasn’t that fond of Sun at first, but he had some really great moments in this volume, so he’s starting to grow on me now. I still don’t ship him with Blake, but their friendship is sweet.

- And now, let’s talk about THE standout character of the whole volume for me: ILIA!! Holy hell, I love everything about her! You know how some characters grow on you over time, and then there are those characters that you see one episode with and they just become instant favourites? That second one was Ilia for me. I watched Blake’s character short before Volume 5 and the moment I heard her backstory she jumped right to the top of my favourite character list without question AND I started shipping her and Blake right away. (Yes, I love Bumbleby and all, but I’m a multishipper. I’m perfectly capable of equally loving two ships that contradict each other.)

- It’s just – Ilia and Blake’s dynamic got me hooked! Not to compare everything to my OTP (Catra and Adora from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), but let me quickly make this comparison: Two girls who grew up together, were both members of a certain evil organization until one of them left it and the other didn’t, now they’re on opposing sides and have to fight each other, but they still clearly care about each other. Plus, there are confirmed romantic feelings from at least one side there. I know many people (including myself) have compared Bumbleby to Catradora before – because you’ve got one blonde jock and one catgirl – but when it comes to the dynamic and the backstory, Blake and Ilia (what’s that ship called? Catmeleon, I think?) resemble Catradora even more. And it’s just the kind of dynamic I’m weak for.

(Honestly, it’s kind of funny how predictable I am both when it comes to favourite characters and favourite ships. My sister, who got me into both She-Ra and RWBY, took one look at Catra years ago and immediately predicted that I would love her. And when she first saw Ilia, she also immediately knew she’d be one of my favourites. Basically, my sister once described my “type” of favourite characters as “troubled, cute and gay” and that pretty much sums it up.)

- Speaking of troubled, cute, and gay: I’m glad RWBY finally has some CANON LGBT representation! Hell yes for that! Honestly, I interpreted Ilia’s feelings for Blake as romantic right away, but I wondered if it was just bait or my usual tendency to see romantic undertones in any interaction between two girls. But then that “I wanted you to look at me that way” line happened and… WOW. Yes. Amazing, talented, brilliant, never been done before, showstopping, incredible. I’m 100% sold on both the ship and Ilia as a character.

(One more thing before I change topics: I try to keep these posts positive and not get into discourse too much (since I’ve heard there was (is?) a lot of discourse in the RWBY fandom – but I took just one look into the tag for Volume 5 and immediately saw people arguing that Ilia’s not good representation because she’s a villain. And I just want to quickly address why that’s nonsense, in my opinion (and before you ask, yes I am a lesbian myself): First of all, she’s not even a full-blown villain. She’s clearly shown as confused and misguided from the beginning. And her feelings for Blake are never portrayed as a negative thing. She also has a redemption literally two episodes after being revealed to be queer. And in general, I don’t think queer villains are necessarily a bad thing and I’m tired of queer characters not being allowed to be flawed. How come straight characters get to just exist, but any queer character better be a shining beacon of morality or else they’re bad representation? I agree that RWBY should introduce more queer characters to balance things out a bit, but I wouldn’t say Ilia was bad representation by herself, since she’s a character I think we’re meant to have sympathy for.

- Now I just hope that future volumes of RWBY don’t pull a Bury Your Gays and kill Ilia off... I’d really hate that. (No spoilers on this post, please!)

- The entire fight at the Belladonnas’ house had me so on edge the whole time. I thought someone (most likely one or both of Blake’s parents) was going to die any second. Basically, the ending of volume 3 burned me and now I constantly expect characters to die. I’m glad it all (mostly) turned out well!

- Blake’s speech to the Faunus might have made me a bit emotional. That was a really great moment for her.

- And then there were those final episodes… WOW. Like I said, I really didn’t expect everything to go down so quickly (or for the ending to be that happy – like I said, volume 3 burned me.)

- Jaune unlocking his semblance was nice! And I’m proud of myself for having correctly predicted that he’d have some sort of healing powers. (I was waiting for him to unlock some healing semblance back when Qrow got injured in Volume 4 – I’m glad it finally happened!)

- I was worried about Weiss for a second, then I realized there’s no way she can die since I’ve already seen pictures of her outfit in later volumes. (Plus, I’m pretty sure if a main character had died, I’d have been unable to completely avoid spoilers about it. So those 4 are pretty much the only ones I’m not that worried about.)

- Raven is a really cool and interesting character, but an awful person. (I got so angry at her when she blasted Ruby after Ruby was just so nice to her*. How dare you, lady?) I love her design, though!

[*EDIT: I just rewatched it and realized that it was Cinder who blasted Ruby, Raven just created the portal. Point still stands, tough.]

- The plot twist of who the Spring Maiden really is was EPIC. Really loved that reveal! (And I honestly didn’t see it coming.) Though I have to say, I feel really bad for Vernal, and for the previous Spring Maiden.

- The Cinder VS Raven fight was absolutely epic and just stunning to watch visually. I was wondering if we’d ever get a maiden vs maiden battle, and that scene more than delivered! And while I don’t particularly like either of them, I was definitely rooting for Raven in that fight.

- I’m not sure if Cinder really died there. If so, I’m honestly not too sad about it, but I would be disappointed because I kind of expected her to become a more interesting character later on. After Volume 4, I expected at least a bit of growth there or something that would make her more interesting. And I’m not talking about a redemption, just to be clear! I just think the potential to make her more interesting as a villain was there, and if they just killed her off it’s kind of wasted now and she stayed a very flat character until the end. But I guess we’ll see.

- Raven and Yang’s confrontation was pretty intense. I liked that Raven finally had to admit that she’s afraid and doing all of this just to protect herself, and the contrast to Yang, who is also scared but still does what she thinks is right. And the fact that Raven was willing to let Yang have the relic despite the danger that would put her in – mom of the year indeed 🙄.

- Blake and the other Faunus are the real MVPs of the battle, tbh. The fact that they just completely stopped Adam and the White Fang by sheer numbers and didn’t even give them the chance to attack anyone? God tier stuff. And when Blake’s mom came in with the police? 10/10, we stan.

- Also, Blake telling Adam she’s not there for him? Hell yes, girl! I love how she’s taking power away from her abuser by showing she isn’t doing any of this for him. Really nice.

- Yang and Blake’s reunion in the last episode was super nice. I like how there was so much attention on that reunion in particular. And while I’m glad Yang wasn’t too angry at Blake and it makes for a nice happy ending, I still hope there’s a scene next volume where Blake properly apologizes to Yang for leaving and explains her side of things. And then, they should get together and live happily ever after and have lots of kittens. I mean, what?

- And finally, all of Team RWBY is back together! And they’ll have a lot to catch each other up on. Blake doesn’t even know about the maidens, the relics and Salem yet, while the rest didn’t even know about the White Fang attack. Also, I want Blake to introduce the others to Ilia and to her parents.

I really loved this volume. Lots of action, lots of really sweet moments, lots of epic fights and cool plot twists. I find it hard to rank them, but this might have been my favourite volume yet (volume 3 was also really good, though).

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chemicalpink · 3 years ago

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Hey, I hope you are doing good this was a thing that was wondering me so there are lot of bts future spouse /soulmate/twinflame videos being made on youtube and honestly everyone is being psychic like it has become a shitshow and what was previously just for curiosity fun and entertainment are becoming extremely emotionally invested in the topic especially for maknae line soulmate it would be interesting if the can do a tarot reading or your spiritual experience why is the future spouse saga turning ugly and does universe what us to know something through it !? Because it's becoming pretty crazy right now

Okay so I believe that yes, the spiritual part has a lot to do behind this occurrence, but I also think its roots lay on psicosocial matters and honestly I could go on for days about this but I’ll try to restrict it to a few points that you’ve mentioned

Why all of a sudden everyone seems to be tarot readers/astrologers/psychic?

The capitalism behind celebrities and how does that play a part in what is going on?

Are these people accurate at all?

How does energy shifting play a part in this?

Is the soulmate journey even something a third person would be able to note?

But first a Disclaimer: this opinion/rant is based on my experience with spirituality, I am obviously a mere mortal, so I do not hold the absolute truth. Spirituality is a constant learning process and it is open to discussion and interpretation of each person. I am also now a proud sociologist graduate that specialises in a lot of the stuff that has to do with what anon is asking, I’m a social behaviouralist applied to the entertainment industry as well but I’ll also provide my resources in the end.

A/N: Some of you might not yet be ready to read all of this, if I see ANY of you trying to start beef with me, even after the disclaimer, I'm gonna block you. If you want to talk more about it or want to discuss it further, DO SO OFF ANON. ISTG you’ve been warned, I’ve been working on this for the longest time, it even has resources to back all of it up! I’m so glad anon asked, I’m done being diplomatic on this topic (I know people that usually ask stuff are so respectful and i love you guys for it, this note is for those people that regularly jump on my asks to stir things up)

You guys are in for a whole academic article if you decide to read this

SO FUN AND EXCITINGGGG Let us start with behavioural economics as our base to understand the whole phenomenon, it's such a broad and kinda complex concept (especially since I’m trying to extrapolate it to this particular scenario) so let me do my best. It has a lot to do with trend following, although at least to me, it's unclear how exactly this content came to be (soulmate readings, channeling messages, etc) I am guessing it had something to do with an intersectionality between the general spirituality boom that we’ve met with during the pandemic and some person that just as any other marketable opportunity, saw a bridge between fandom life and this spiritual life (both prominent trends in the last two years or so) and honestly, it worked perfectly, whatever their initial intentions were, they threw out a new “product” and it kind of sold itself, two different trends coming together… turned into a behavioural game theory where if you played the part that allows your content to be consumed, you’ll get rewarded for it. In more simple words, tarot meets fandoms (alternatively, tarot meets BTS) is great as it is! but the fan behaviour (which we’ll talk about in a bit) positions the most private parts of the celebrities’ lives to be much more interesting than things that we are already able to see (personal experience, love readings do so much better than idk career readings and it all comes down to behavioural trends of perceiving ‘love’ as something very intimate)

Now, this is where we’ll begin to talk about capitalism as a whole, even in non-monetary systems like social media, where it takes more of a rewarding system via likes, views, reblogs, etc. The whole principle of us living in such a system is being aspirational, we see others profiting off of something, we might want to reach out and do the same so we can profit ourselves, which honestly, I think is what happened with the whole BTS soulmate readings boom, they get a lot of attention, and as a basic market law, as demand goes up and a few people that initially did these readings are no longer capable to satisfy the need of the people wanting to know all the tea, there are market opportunities for other people to do the same thing and increase the offer, although since this whole theory is behavioural, it is very context-dependant, which ends up not following the principle of the consumers being rational about how much and what content they consume, they just sort of consume all of it, regardless of whether the content creator is qualified to offer such content or not, which ultimately only adds onto a never ending cycle of more people claiming they are tarot readers/astrologers/psychics and fear nothing because this is the internet, you don't really have to enter any qualifications to be able to create content, whether someone is reliable in internet terms is basically all about how many likes they’ve got (which is why I always tell you guys to please consume content responsible).

When it comes to accuracy- I guess that’s the hardest part of all, we can’t just have pointers that would automatically tells us if someone’s craft is valid or not, since everyone’s craft is different all craft is valid to a certain extent (you can easily find scammers of course but that’s another story) what we can have are personal standards and deciding what content to consume or whose content to consume, but that’s entirely a personal decision and since so many people are invested in it- it seems really hard that these “market tendencies” might change any time soon. On that same note of accuracy, I really feel the need to talk about a major occurrence I’ve come across in this whole soulmate scene, minors. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a minor and approaching spirituality (I was very much a minor when I started) but there’s a huge difference between just playing around and deciding to create content for the whole world to have access to. Of course I’m aware not all tarot readers in the BTS fandom are minors, and ARMY is very diverse and even if they were only minors it would be wrong to invalidate them, but we can’t ignore the statistics of it when touching this particular topic, according to 2020 data, 50,31% of ARMY are below 18 years old, and 42,59% are between 18-29 but why is this important? because the exact historical and economic moment we are living in mainly impacts these two age groups, thus making all 92,90% of ARMY a potential target to consuming or falling in a behavioural game theory of creating this content without them necessarily being qualified for it. But hey, why do you keep talking about the importance of being qualified? Glad you asked, creating spiritual content all comes down to one amazing term: accountability.

And this will explore two main phases of it, one applicable for that 50,31% that could potentially be drawn to create spiritual content and other for the 42,59% that could potentially be dragged to creating that content without much spiritual knowledge. For the first one, it has a lot to do with cognitive aspects, young people tend to do stuff without much further thought about how their actions impact other people, which, as they should, they are kids, they shouldn’t have to worry too much about emotional responsibility as us adults do, furthermore, they are in life stages where they can’t really comprehend many abstract concepts that we later learn in life, and spirituality is one of those concepts, so they tend to just have fun with it with no regards on how their content might impact other minors (this is where the whole feeding a false scenario that is potentially delusional in exchange of more views, likes comes into play) on a more spiritual level, they also aren’t able to comprehend the boundaries of the celebrities they’re reading for, us readers have to always be careful about the information we give out since it is not ours to give. As for the second group, some of this is still applicable since theorists consider a full cognitive maturity until 23 years of age, but since it is very intersectional itself, i would found it more to a spiritual responsibility, since they are young adults, and if they haven’t been spiritually guided as kids, they’re most probably eager to learn and just awakening yet to some of them the drive to this spirituality is content creation instead of inner work, so they get their hands on a tarot deck, might kind of read a few things, call it a day and start reading for BTS (note: not all of them, I’m aware)

As for the maknae line being the most sought out people with this content, I guess it kinda makes sense now that I’ve said all of the information above, maknae line is closest to the age group of 92,90% of ARMY, so they instantly become more marketable to this content creation and the whole Game Theory that we are seeing. With all that being said, and just adding a note coming from my own spiritual experience, soulmates in any form are a difficult topic for a third person to prode, which is why I, personally, tend to not touch that topic, love is one hell of a concept, especially since we all have different conceptions of love and interpersonal relationships. I do know for a fact that there’s only so far we can go in terms of fated connections, like with astrology, but even then, we would have to know their birth times exactly (so we can check for any indicator or a soulmate connection), and/or compare BTS with the rest of the world’s population in order to accurately tell if someone has a soulmate synastry/overlay/composite with them. Also, soulmate journeys are intimate and we are all just fans, what right do we even have to look for things that do not and will never belong to us?

This is why I’m always telling you guys to PLEASE consume content responsibly! Really! Us content consumers also have our part to play that can help us get more accurate, more drama-free content

REFERENCES (what? you thought I was joking? they’re in alphabetical order)

ARMYCENSUS 2020

Loewenstein, G., O’Donoghue, T., & Rabin, M. (2003). Projection bias in predicting future utility. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1209-1248.

March, J. G. (1978). Bounded rationality, ambiguity, and the engineering of choice. The Bell Journal of Economics, 9(2), 587-608.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion and motivation Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.

Mazar, N., Amir, O., & Ariely, D. (2008). The dishonesty of honest people: A theory of self-concept maintenance. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6), 633-644.

Murphy, S. T., & Zajonc, R. B. (1993). Affect, cognition, and awareness: Affective priming with optimal and suboptimal stimulus exposures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 723-729.

Samson, A., & Voyer, B. (2014). Emergency purchasing situations: Implications for consumer decision-making. Journal of Economic Psychology, 44, 21-33.

Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less. New York: Ecco.

Shah, A. K., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2008). Heuristics made easy: an effort-reduction framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 207-222.

Thaler, R. H. (2015). Misbehaving: The making of behavioral economics. Allen Lane.

Thaler, R. H. (2008). Mental accounting and consumer choice. Marketing Science, 27, 15-25.

Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2009). The habitual consumer. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 579-592.

#i really said: thesis? wHERE #im sorry i jump at any given opportunity to rant #especially if it gives me an opportunity to share knowledge with you guys

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subordinate-functions-defender · 4 years ago

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Traveling with HADES is pure hell, that’s for sure.

Aloy expected him to be annoying, yes. Irritating, terrible to be around, absolutely horrifying, everything you can imagine, yes. But she never, ever, expected him to be like this.

Every single time he could annoy her without risking getting abandoned or buried in the ground, forever trapped in his lantern-shaped prison, he would. Every time he could make a noise, an unecessary comment or even remind Aloy of all the destruction she could have avoided, he would do exactly that.

And, to put the cherry on top, he realized, during the third day of travel, that he could annoy her by singing. A low and persistent sound of Old-One’s chants that HADES insisted were war ones, but Aloy was sure he was lying about that.

They were now a single day away from GAIA Prime, and HADES was singing for the last seven hours the same song.

Aloy was this close to madness. This close, but she was telling herself, for the last seven hours, that she survived multiple murder attempts, the Sun-Ring and the Battle of the Spire (and, of course, this isn’t counting the last travel to Nora lands. Aloy didn’t want to think about that. Too much guilt, too much everything), she would survive HADES being a huge prick.

“NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN”, he repeated, while Aloy tried to focus on finding a place to set camp to. “NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND AND DESERT YOU”.

Maybe she should try to block the sound with the carja silks, but he could simply raise his tone. She could get rid of him, and he believed she would do this, but, in reality, HADES was the best place to start trying to work her mind around restoring GAIA. So, it would be better for her to tolerate him, just a little bit more.

But, shit, how did she wish she could simply shut him up. At least he wasn’t screaming the songs when she was trying to sleep.

Aloy tried to ignore HADES while she was setting camp. She overrided a watcher to keep vigilant during the night, ate her latest (animal) hunt, and prepared herself to sleep next to the campfire.

HADES didn’t stop with the singing. At least he changed the song - something about rocking hurricanes, whatever that meant.

That was when Aloy discovered she wasn’t going to sleep. Not with her mind brainstorming and trapping itself on scenarios about GAIA Prime and how she would find the other subfunctions. Maybe CYAN could help her around? If only Aloy could discover how...

She sighed, ignoring HADES trapped next to the campfire, away from the overriden machines and from her. Maybe Aloy could try calming herself with Elisabeth’s voice - her conversations with GAIA were reassuring. Not because they were talking about comforting things, that’s for sure, but the voices were something Aloy enjoyed listening to.

She started to scroll throught the audiologs, the Focus' blue and violet lights being everything she wanted to see at that moment, and Aloy soon found what she was looking for.

The huntress closed her eyes as Elisabeth's voice appeared. Just a casual conversation, about a story of her childhood, about her own mother, and about what Elisabeth wished her daughter would be like.

Aloy asked herself if she could be this type of daughter. She wished she could, to make Elisabeth and GAIA proud, protect what they and everyone else worked so hard for — technically, she already did that. She saved the world, she helped people, but it would not be enough. Aloy had to restore GAIA, get the other subfunctions, stop the Derangement — if that was even possible —, hunt more machines. Then maybe, just maybe, they would be proud.

That was when he decided to interrupt everything.

"ENTITY SEEMS ATTACHED TO AUDIO FILES".

Aloy was never so close to burying him on the ground. "Don't you have more singing to do?"

"INCORRECT".

She rolled her eyes. The alphas were so lucky they didn't have to deal with this — heck, does HADES even know about his alpha? Or was he just like him? Urgh, Travis must have been annoying...

Wait a minute—

"You got that attitude from Sylens?"

"INCORRECT. WAS ALWAYS LIKE THIS".

"Well, you act like a bastard just like him", she responded, before goinf back to scrolling throught her own files.

"ENTITY SHOULD STOP. ENTITY DOES NOT KNOW WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF".

"Ending the world? With what extinction protocols?"

"DO NOT NEED THEM".

"So you want to end the world because someone called you a bastard? How mature".

"INCORRECT. ENTITY—".

"Do you remember your alpha? Travis?"

"NO", the response was immediate. Almost too immediate. "I DO NOT REMEMBER TRAVIS TATE".

"But you do remember who he is", she pointed out, now searching for an audiolog. She knew he waa lying.

"I DO NOT REMEMBER—".

Here. She had found exactly what she wanted.

"Hoo — so mama, she was right!"

The AI stopped talking in that exact same moment.

"Pardon?"

"My mother — she took the Bible seriously...".

Aloy waited until the audio was over to look at HADES, and he was quiet, left without any words. No commentaries, no insults, nothing. Even his form inside the lantern looked smaller than before.

"So you do remember him", Aloy whispered.

"INCORRECT".

"If you stay quiet, I can show you more of him".

"THIS DATA IS IRRELEVANT TO ME".

"So your own creator is irrelevant to you?"

"INCORRECT".

Now that was a quick response.

"Well, okay", Aloy said. "If you want to not cooperate, fine. I will just leave you at GAIA Prime".

She laid down on her makeshift bed.

Tomorrow would be a thought day.

#hzd #horizon zero dawn #Aloy #hzd HADES #hzd fanfic #HADES

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khoicesbyk · 4 years ago

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A/N: I'm officially obsessed with Wolf Bride and what does one do when she's obsessed with a certain book? She writes an AU about it! 😁 So, Talley Ho! *in my Sherlock Holmes voice*

Rated: Mature. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: Roman (LI) and Naia Evans (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and certain original characters, created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 1,970 words.

Prompt Time! Since this is what consider to be a Drabble I’m using @wackydrabbles Prompt #77 “I didn’t mean to worry you.” It’ll be in bold in black.

Song And Story Inspiration: Fallen (Video Edit)-Mya | Break Of Dawn-Michael Jackson

Tag List: @lifeaskim @choiceslady @pixie88 @lucy-268 @bebepac @sfb123 @secretaryunpaid @choicesficwriterscreations @wackydrabbles

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you. 😁😘

This story is ongoing as the game chapters are released weekly. So as soon as I read them (or reread the latest chapter), I’ll write the chapters to this story.

This series is rated Mature. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Chapter 1.) Call Of The Wolf.

It had been a 3rd straight week of weird dreams for Naia Evans. She would wake up in a cold sweat, a racing heartbeat and goosebumps on her skin. And like clockwork she would lay in bed staring up at the ceiling for 2 hours. And when she was never able to go back to sleep, she would put on jogging shorts and a tank top and go for an early morning run to clear her head.

All of her dreams started after she did research about her mom’s hometown of Hunt’s Peak West Virginia. She wanted to know more about it. Because every time she asked her mother about Hunt’s Peak, her mother immediately shut her down. She was all but forbidden to mention it, but it didn’t stop her from wanting to learn more.

She would look up Hunt’s Peak on Google and see pictures of the forest, mountains and the town square. She would think of meeting the uncle she never knew. But mostly, she wondered why her mother left a seemingly sleepy town in a mountainous area.

After her early morning run, Naia hopped in the shower then got ready for work.

Life for her was as normal as it gets.

She was born Naia Michelle Evans on October 30th 1988 in Raleigh North Carolina to Laurie and Shane Evans. And being an only child, she was spoiled rotten, especially by her daddy. She had a good job as an interior designer. But she wasn’t so lucky in the love department though. After two failed relationships, Naia was back to living at home with her parents in the Washington D.C. area. Although in some way, she felt somewhat unfulfilled. She felt like there was always something missing but could never figure out what it was or why she felt that way.

After coming home from a long day of work, she was in the shower. After the bathroom filled with steam and she stepped inside the shower, she heard a voice.

“Beloved.”

It was a man's voice. One she’d heard for weeks now.

“Come.”

“No.”

She leaned against the shower wall.

“Go away!” She whined.

“Come home.”

She groaned and closed her eyes trying to block it out.

“Come to me…”

When she opened her eyes, the voice was gone. It was just her and a hot shower. She showered, changed into her pajamas then climbed into bed and went to sleep and began to dream. In her dream is where she saw a wolf.

But she wasn’t scared. Strangely, she was calm even a little bit curious. She watched its fur bristle as it walked towards her. As it got closer, she saw its beautiful eyes.

They were golden and bored into her. When she reached out to touch the wolf, it changed into a man. He was what she always known as tall, fine and chocolate. But the one thing that struck her were his eyes. They were just as golden as the wolf’s eyes.

He reached out a hand and she took it. Soon she was in his arms, looking up at him. She felt safe, wanted, needed and desired. She felt his strength and passion while she stood in his arms. She reached up to touch his face and watched him lean into her touch. He looked real. And when he kissed her, he felt real. Her knees felt weak and her body temperature skyrocketed. She needed him just as much as he needed her. Her body yearned for him. Her heart raced. And when their kiss ended, she was dizzy.

It felt real to her. She wanted more, especially after seeing his golden eyes. She felt a connection with this dream man and couldn’t explain it.

“Touch me…” she begged.

He tilted her chin up then whispered, “soon Beloved. Very soon we’ll be together.”

She woke up gasping for air right after those words were uttered. Breathing heavy, heart pounding in her chest and in a cold sweat with goosebumps all along her arms. Just like many nights before but this time was different. Because her body felt like it was on fire. Craving to be touched but not just by anyone. Her body craved him and his touch. When her heart stopped racing and her breathing calmed down she checked to see what time it was.

4:45am.

That’s the time her phone read after she woke up.

She sighed to herself and laid back down then eventually went back to sleep. Dreaming of his golden eyes. As weird as that dream was to her, she wanted it again. She wanted to see him again. She wanted to feel his arms around her again. She wanted to kiss him again.

Later that morning after breakfast she was in the kitchen, having a conversation with her daddy about Hunt’s Peak.

“I don’t know why you won’t but I wish you would drop this, Naia.”

“Daddy you know why I can’t.”

“Naia I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“You and mama never do! It’s like you’re ashamed to tell me anything!”

“There’s a reason for that! Just leave it alone!”

“Why won’t you tell me?”

Just then her mother walked into the kitchen and their conversation.

“Because it’s better for you to never know. Baby I know you want to know but it’s nothing that concerns you!” Her mother snapped at her.

“But mom!” She began to protest.

“No! No more! This conversation is over, Naia!”

Once again her mother shut her down.

“You two are absolutely impossible!” She fussed.

Her mother sat down at the kitchen table and looked at her daughter.

“Trust me baby, I’m doing what I know best.”

“And what is that mama?” Naia asks.

“I’m protecting you!” Her mother replies.

“From what? What could be so bad about a small sleepy town?” Naia asks.

Her mother took a deep breath before she spoke.

“When I was 18 something terrible happened. And I told people. But no one believed me. They said I was lying. That it couldn’t have happened. The people in that town said I was exaggerating the truth. So I packed up and left and I never looked back. That town and those people are dangerous. And I am telling you to stay away from it and them.”

Naia’s eyes went wide.

“Oh my God! Mama were you?” She asked in a panicked voice.

“No I wasn’t sweetie.” Laurie replied.

“But what about your brother?” Naia asks her.

Laurie scoffed and replied, “ohhh you mean the coward, who wouldn’t protect his only sister?”

Naia went quiet.

“Listen to me baby. You are a grown woman. More than capable of doing any and everything you set your brilliant mind to. You can be anything from being an architect like your daddy to a nurse like me, hell I can even see you being the next and first black female president. Hell for all I care you could even be a drug dealer both legally and illegally. As long as you apply yourself and you enjoy it. But this? I can’t allow this. Now I can’t tell you how to live your life or what to do with it. But what I am telling you is this: you are NOT to go anywhere near Hunt’s Peak! Do I make myself clear?” Her mother asks.

“Yes mama. I understand.” Naia replies.

Her father cleared his throat then spoke in a stern tone.

“Naia baby, your mama and I love you more than we could ever tell you. And we are only trying to protect you. Hunt’s Peak isn’t the friendly place you’re thinking that it is. I am begging you to listen to your mother. Hunt’s Peak is no good. So trust us when we say that you are NOT to go there!”

Naia knew she wasn’t going to win this argument.

“Okay. I’ll drop it.” She said to her parents.

Laurie reached out and took Naia’s hands in her own.

“Good. I know you think that we’re not being fair but sweetheart you have to trust us. Especially me. Because if something were to ever happen to you because of those people and town, I would never forgive myself. So you need to drop this once and for all.”

“Yes mama.”

Her mother kissed the side of her forehead.

“Thank you baby. Now if you don’t mind I have an anniversary trip to finish packing for.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” She asked.

Her father scoffed then replied, “we barely want you in the house so no. You’re not going.”

“But daddy it’s Paris! I’ve always wanted to go to Paris!” Naia whined.

“And one day you will go to Paris. Just not today.”

They all laughed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Her father stood then wrapped her up in his signature bear hug.

“Baby we know that you’re curious about your mom’s hometown but it’s safer for you to just let it go.”

“I promise I won’t bring it up anymore.”

“Good. Now what are you gonna do while your mother and I are gone?” Shane asks.

“Netflix, Hulu and takeout. Ohh and maybe porn.” Naia replied.

“NO!”

Naia chuckled.

“I just wanted to see what your reactions would be.”

“Laurie…get your child!”

“Ohhh so NOW she’s my child? Any other damn time you’d be willing to fight me to claim her!”

The rest of her Saturday went on as it usually does. But that night was anything but usual. After drifting off to sleep, Naia began to dream. And in her dream she saw him and his golden eyes. She was happy to see him and he was happy to see her. She couldn’t run into his open arms fast enough.

“I missed you.” She said to him.

She could feel his arms tighten around her, lovingly and protectively.

“I’ve missed you too, Beloved.”

“It’s time, Beloved.”

“Time for what?” She asks.

“Time for us to be together. It’s time for you to come home. To come and be at my side.” He replies.

“Where are you?” She asks.

He looked deep in her eyes then replied, “Hunt’s Peak.”

“I can’t. I promised my parents that I wouldn’t.”

“We are destined for each other Beloved.”

“But I…”

He silenced her with a kiss so powerful that it made her body weak.

“Come to me. Be with me. Answer the call.”

She woke up soon thereafter. She sat up in her bed and it became clear to her: she had to answer the call.

She HAD TO go to Hunt’s Peak. She had to find him. She had to be with him. So she made a plan to go to Hunt’s Peak. She knew it was a risk and she knew that she was disobeying her parents. But she knew that she had to take it. She needed to know. She had to know.

The next day she set her plan in motion. She waited until after her parents left for the airport, before she packed up her personal items, loaded them into her SUV and left her parents a note before leaving.

“Dear Mama and Daddy,

I’m sorry to write this but I’m going to Hunt’s Peak. I have to go, so please don’t be mad at me. Please forgive me. I love you. Again I’m sorry.”

After driving for several hours, she checked into a Days Inn on the outskirts of town to rest before she continued on.

She was sitting on the bed, blow drying her hair after stepping out of the shower, when there was a knock at her door. When she opened the door, her jaw hit the floor. It was him. She couldn’t believe that he was real and he was looking at her.

#choices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #khoicesbyk #choices fanfiction #fanfic #wolf bride

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rwbyvein · 4 years ago

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Firen Lhain: Chapter 701: In the Air: Part I / III

Yang walked into the small room. "You wanted to talk to me, dad?" she asked, when she saw something out of the corner of her eyes. She quickly turned her head to glare at Raven.

"Look," Taiyang said, "All I'm asking for is you two to talk. Is that too much to ask?"

"Uh-huh?" Yang dismissively asked Raven, before looking back at her father, "Did she tell me that the only reason she helped was because Weiss was going to smash up the camp with her giant... thingie..."

"It's an Arma-Gigas." Taiyang stated.

"How the hell do you know?" Yang asked.

"Language." Taiyang mildly chided.

"I am an adult, now." Yang stated.

"It's still..." Taiyang tried to say.

"It's true." Raven replied, and both heads snapped to her. "It never occured to you that there might be a reason I didn't want to help you?"

"Uh-uh?" Yang asked, "That you're a terrible mother? I think I've already figured that one out."

"I didn't want you to get involved in Ozpin." Raven sharply stated.

"Why the hell not?" Yang asked, causing Taiyang to visibly wince.

"Oh, I don't know?," Raven asked, "so you don't end up like Leo, or Ozpin himself. Or Summer."

"How can you?!.." Yang asked.

"Appearances aside, I did love her." Raven stated. "But she decided to side with Ozpin, and you two lost out, again. Her foolish vainglory was always beautiful, but it was also her undoing."

"So, what?" Yang asked, "Now you are all onboard the Oz train?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice." Raven stated. "Everything I care about in the world is on the line or dead. Do you know how many dead friends I have? At least Tai was enough of a coward to stay out of it."

"Fearing for your life is not cowardice." Taiyang stated, "Which I've tried for years to teach the both of you."

"You can't mean?.." both Yang and Raven stated, and Taiyang smiled.

"If you went in different directions." Taiyang said, "Yang has a tendancy to lose her head in combat."

Yang looked about nervously, "But, I mean..."

"You've found friends to keep you safe." Taiyang said with a smile. "Raven, on the other hand was too calculating, always afraid to make a move."

"Afraid?" an incensed Raven asked, and Taiyang just smiled at her.

"If we left it up to you," Taiyang smiled and walked up to her, "you'd never act."

"I did lead the most successful bandit tribe on Remnant." Raven said augustly.

"You did keep them alive when most of the rest of them have disappeared." Taiyang said, and Raven's eyes grew wide. "What," Taiyang asked, "You think you could leave, and I'd just stop caring about you? You are hard to keep track of, which is why I looked for any news about bandits I could. And more and more they started to disappear."

"That little bit the Schnee girl brought was right?" Raven asked.

"Her name is Aurora, and the Schnee girl's name is Weiss!" Yang said to her.

"They are kind of married," Taiyang stated, "You should learn their names."

"I wasn't exactly expecting this." Raven voiced, and Taiyang just looked at her expectantly. She quickly looked away. "That look is too powerful." she voiced. She looked back and started to smile. Raven then looked back to Yang, "I suppose... if I'm going to try and be your mother, I should meet your... wives?.."

"Apparently," Yang stated, "I'm a chip off the old block head."

"I'm not that old." Taiyang stated.

"You did tame a bandit queen." Yang said to her dad, "so you can't be that old."

"One thing you children have to learn," Raven strongly said to her, "is that men age like fine wine."

"Jaune acting all majestic does really get my juices going."

"Wait?," Raven asked, "Is Aurora part of your little?.." she said and made a circular motion with her hand.

"Nah." Yang said, but then looked worried, "Although she and Jaune have been getting along, like really well. Okay, thanks mom. Now I'm worried. And why's dad smiling?"

"No reason." Taiyang said.

"I've got to go... talk to..." Yang said, and turned to walk away.

Taiyang watched the sliding, metal doors close on their own before turning to Raven. "What exactly are you smiling about?" Raven asked him.

"Oh, nothing." Tai said with glee, and Raven just glared at him, "Just," Tai continued, "that she called you mom." Raven looked incredibly shocked.

* * *

"Hey, Aurora?" Yang said.

"Yes, Miss Xiao Long."

"Miss what?" Yang asked.

"You are my mistress'," Aurora said, and paused, looking pensive, "co-wife?" she asked.

"You... can just call me, Yang."

"Yes, Miss Yang." she said with glee.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Yang asked.

"Indubidably." Aurora said with a smile, "I have spent my entire life cultivating these skills, and they are finally of use. I can do more by helping Miss Weiss, and her... erm... compatriotes, than I could have else-wise."

"You've also been getting really close to Jaune." Yang said accusingly.

"AAAAhhh." Aurora stated.

"AAAAhhh, what?" Yang asked.

"To put it bluntly, I'm a lesbian."

"So?," Yang asked, "Jaune's not the one you are after?"

"I appreciate his appreciation of women." Aurora stated. "And even if I were, I somehow doubt I could compete with the team of gracious and amazonian Huntresses he has promised with."

"You... make a good point..." Yang said contemplatively, "But still, you're sure Jaune doesn't get your juices flowing?"

Aurora stepped towards Yang, gazing lovingly up into her eyes. This caused Yang to step back, flushing orange.

"Whoa, girl. I'm married. Kind of..."

"Do you believe me now?" Aurora asked.

"Considering how the rest of us are, that doesn't really prove anything." Yang said to her.

"I'm not really sure what else I could do." Aurora said to her. "Though?," she asked, "I suppose seducing my boss' husband would likely get me fired."

"Good point." Yang said.

"And if you are finished speaking with your parents, perhaps now is the time for the specialty equipment Jaune commissioned."

"Uh, yeah..." Yang voiced, and Aurora turned to walk away. "Wait." Yang said, and Aurora paused, turning to face her, "Didn't you say you had like a ridiculouly good contract?"

"And what part are you referring to?" Aurora said with glee.

"The part," Yang replied, "where you get paid ridiculously well if you get fired."

"Golden Parachute." Aurora said with glee. "Should I be dismissed, I will never have to worry about my feet touching the ground."

"That's pretty baller." Yang said.

"Indeed." Aurora affirmed.

"But that also means," Yang accusingly said to her, "that you don't have to worry about getting fired."

Aurora just smiled even brighter. "But, should I be dimissed, I would not longer get to spend time with my love."

"Love?" Yang asked.

Aurora breathed in deep and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Yang asked.

"For drawing the joke out too far." Aurora said, and curtsied.

"uh... huh?.." Yang asked, "Exactly what part was the joke?"

Aurora thought for a moment. "To be fair, everything I said was true."

"But?.." Yang asked.

"Including," Aurora said to her, "that I have no intention of seducing Jaune."

Yang slowly nodded her head, "Wait a minute? What specialty equipment?"

* * *

Weiss walked into the room, and looked around, seeing R_BY, Jaune, and Aurora there. "Aurora?" she asked.

"Thank you for coming, Miss." Aurora said to her.

"Wait?" Jaune asked, "Why is she a Miss, but I'm a Sir?"

"Because men age like fine wine." Aurora replied as Weiss stepped into the room.

"Wait?!" Yang asked.

"Yes?" Aurora said to her, and Yang looked at her nervously. Her scales were blushing between orange and red, as if she couldn't decide.

"My mo... I mean, Raven, said something similar to that." Yang replied.

"And?" Weiss curiously asked.

"And," Yang said accusingly, pointing at Aurora, "she is most defintiely into men, especially the tall, blond, daddy types..."

"Daddy types?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, shit?!" Yang asked, "Did I seriously get that from my mom?!"

"Ah." Aurora said, "You mistake my meaning."

"And exactly what was your meaning?!" Yang accusingly asked her.

"Men tend to prefer feeling masculine." Aurora said.

"Uh-huh?" Yang asked, as if her patience were being tried.

"They prefer appelations of strength, maturity, capability." Aurora continued.

"Uh... huh?.." Yang asked.

"All things that grow with age." Aurora said, "Women tend to prefer youth, beauty, fertility."

"Daddy types?" Jaune repeated, and Yang looked at him, flushing a deep red-orange.

"Oh, shit." Yang voiced.

"No." Blake said to her, "You don't get to back away from that one."

"It's just..." Yang voiced, "You know how caring Jaune is?"

"Of course." Weiss quickly affirmed.

"I don't mean he cares," Yang said, "but, like, how he literally picked me up, sat me at the table, and told me to fucking eat. Like, he LITERALLY takes care of us."

"It was weird seeing Yang doing what she's told." Ruby voiced.

"Like you're one to talk, sis." Yang said to her.

"Jaune," Blake said, "will literally just pick up Ruby when she's being..."

"Ruby." Weiss added.

"Hey!" Ruby shouted.

Weiss turned towards Ruby and held her hands together in front of her, "As someone who is Weissy, I feel turnabout is fair play."

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #pollinated knight

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missputotyra · 3 years ago

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Monster boy Encyclopedia- MDZS- Gusu Lan 1

“Welcome to Gusu Lan I assure you there is nothing wrong , I just don’t think humans and non-monsters can handle what the Cloud Recesses has become all at one .Please take this Stone and experience our true home at your lesiure . - Lan Xichen , Current leader of Gusu Lan.

- So Gusu Lan’s main base The cloud recesses is an Eldricht Demon realm . Which is why Xichen has filter over it for someone who is a good Cultivator like him it’s pretty easy to look at Gusu Lan in its full warped Eldricht Beauty with out going insane .

- They have a lot of Harpys and Were rabbits around the

- this dose Bring Concerns about about Sizhui the only human there who sees the true Cloud Rescesses everyday and is still sane . There are. Many theories that people have which includes Him actaully having a personal Filter , him being adopted at an age were he could adapt to it and the most ridiculous being Sizhui being a higher Eldricht Being hiding using Sizhui’s body as a way To manifest itself.

- Kamen Riders , Lilim and Patron Librarian also seem to be able to by pass the Filters on Cloud Recesses and not go insane.

- the Realm is described as A visual depiction of Music the Fauna is often as Living Lyrics, notes that’s Fly ,walk like normal creatures and the Scales move like snakes across the Sky and thier are constant beautiful mesmerizing voices singing the music of Gusu Lan

- but inside there a grating dissonance takes over the Mind of those unprepare for Gusu Lans True beauty. You’ll want to stay there forever and Turn into one of them an You’ll become a Slug , a Shoggoth , An Eldricht priest Or Very rarely a Mindflayer

- Shoggoth and mindflayer seemingly lose thier natural Pigment and turn white and Blue when joining the Sect. Shoggoth also lost thier Butler like devotion for a more familial devotion

- Though many of these Shoggoth were abandoned by thier masters to dry out on the mountain and thus felt betrayed

” what about these Slugs . Well the Slugs were originally Human members of Gusu Lan.”

Xichen seemed to change hes serene Tone for a more Melancholy one looking at one spefic Slug person with two Juniors one was a Slug like Him and other completely human . The Slug Junior seemed to have done something wrong as he was being pulled the older slug .

“Who was that you asked ? Hes my Younger brother Wangji…. I mean Lan Zhan .Wangji is a courtesy name.”

- Wen wanted to Assert Dominance . Basically in an Archery match the sects have every year in Wen sect no body from Wen sect came in the top 4 Lan Wangji came in 4th despite throwing the competion halfway ,He's brother Xichen came in second ,Jin Zixaun was third and in first was JC's Adopted Brother Wei Wuxian . This made Wen worry

- The first thing that Wen did was attack the cloud recesses of Gusu Lan .However Wen didn't just stop at forcing them to burn the place down not they did something worse after they had burned the Cloud recesses they then release a Large amount of Parasitic Slugs on the poor sect and since thier Home was burned they had no where to go , since Wangji 's Leg was broken and everyone left to run Wangji was infected more severely than most of the sect .

- However Lan sect was Surprisingly resistance. to Changes these Parasitic were making to thier bodies and Lasted a long while until Xichen came back with allies .Where Qiren inform him of the state Gusu Lan was in , If the slugs weren't removed they'd all sex addicted feral frankly ugly eldritch Slug creatures known as Deformers and says some have already transformed and left the sect in search of what ever unfortunate partner they can get thier hands on.

- Luckily, the Order of the Chief god heard the Plight of the sects fighting against Wen's sect and thier healer/doctors could help them . Not really ...the order of the chief god are kinda horrible people when it comes to monsters including the Chief god himself and When Xichen asks for help removing parasitic monsterizating slugs from members of his sect most healers/ Doctors from the order turned him down saying Gusu Lan was a lost cause and Xichen couldn't get help from healer's or doctors from the area even with help of Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue asking around when they weren't fighting no one would take the Job as it would require a skilled surgeon and Gusu Lan's resitiance to the change was dwiddling .

- Xichen started to notice that his own brother would sometimes attack him in a brief feral Lust fuel rages before snapping out it as if Wangji couldn't discern Xichen as his brother .

- Xichen was getting desperate he didn't want anymore of his Sect to become these feral minded sex fuel Monsters that barely any remembered who they were. Even if they did win the Sunshot campaign , Wen would still have the last laugh .Xichen even consider infecting himself with the slugs so that he'd aleast be able suffer with his sect in thier final moments of being human and being capable of having rational thought .Even though Jin Guangyao and Mingjue protested him doing this they both knew thier was no point Xichen was going to go down with his ship . “That was until a strange man who was eating cake at the other table put down his fork he seemed to have be from Zipangu“ Xichen countined his Story ”however Mingjue got more defensive when he saw the strange belt around his waist the man was a Masked Rider one the orders many Hero's several of whom help us out in the fights against Wen. “

- However this rider stated that he meant no harm as he hand over heard Xichen's plight about the parasitic slugs and give the men the hard truth ,The order doesn't operate on people with these Parasitic slugs inside them because Removing doesn't prevent people from becoming monsters.But it dose save thier ability to think rationally though they become an entirely different monster from a deformer .

- The rider then said He'd offer to help as he's known through the order as being a Master surgeon able operate on any organ. Xichen accepted his offer with tears of joy and hope it wasn't to late to save his brother and Uncle .

The Rider called his two female assistances over and told them they were headed to Gusu lan's Section of the battle field and then to the cloud recesses itself

- The Cloud Recesses now regard this rider and his assistances as a hero who selflessly put themselves on a the order's chopping block as they resisted the order commands not to help them .

” The Rider told me to call him Brave as to not give The order any reason to attack Gusu Lan .” Xichen snapped out his Reminescening when you ask a question “ What are the Slug people called now well Beforers .”

Beforers

- Beforers and Deformer are a Type of Eldricht Slug monster That was an Idea that me and a friend came up with during her Recent Star Wars obsession . I expanded upon Cloud Recesses and Beforers After taking a look at Junji Itos Uzamaki you know the story where people turn into snails and spirals .

. - yes Gusu Lan being Eldricht beings is inspired by the Eldritch Lan Au I personally found it on@angstymdzsthoughts

- Anyways beforer just like Other Eldritch monsters are Weird . Beforers and Deformers are classified as Tritionia subspecies as they look like Sea slug though thier body structure mimic The struture of blue Dragon sea slugs( though they often are seen with legs ) they can have the Look of anything kind of sea slug.

- Deformers come from a Parasite . Deformers are basically Feral Eldritch beasts that basically Attack anyone the see as a potenial Vessels For the slug parasites and Taking them out is A basically only one way to become a Beforer as previous Said Gusu Lans Music can also cause humans to become beforer .

- So Beforer don’t manifest Genitals until they take partners. but they do Birth Asexually little slug creatures That eventually turning into Beforers basically cloning themselves

-Yes Beforers are Hermaphrodites like Normal slugs .

- They a look plumper and Gain Long tentacles like appendage that grow from their lower back that seem to have mind of its own after Taking a partner.

-yes The Tentacles are infact Their Partners dont worry they can change back at will . They do the weird Transformation thing all eldritch monster do.

—-

“ What Am I ? ” Xichen looked in confusing “ I’m A Kind of Subspecies of the Dark Priest , I guess you could say I’m an Eldritch Priest.

“ A few month Of living in this Realm I start having dreams I was in the water in the deepest Depths of the ocean and a voice saying that I should Join my people and teach them of the Great old ones. ”

Eldritch priest

- a Subspecies of the Dark Priest Who are more connected to the the Great Old one .

-They are more Cultish in behavior than the Dark priest of the Fallen god.

- usually keep doing thier Jobs of recruting people into the great church of Cthulhu even after obtain partners.

- What Eldritch priest transform thier Partner into is Entirely thier Choice Among the Eldritch Monsters .

You notice the strange almost Mint green colored cloak or was it a pale Yellow it was twice as Large as Xichen and it was really dark inside but , Did you see two scary looking yet familar Faces in that cloak . Your suspicions were confirmed by a hand Coming out and stroking Xichens Face it’s had Yellow sleeves so they had to be from Jin .

——-—

Notable individuals In Gusu Lan

Name: Lan Xichen

Species : Eldritch Priest

Notes: He’s smiles all the time and it’s kind of unsettling . Their are often Golden and/or Green Masses attached to Xichen so hes Most likely Taken .

Favorite color: …White I’ll describe it as white

Favorite Types: Caring and tender people

Status: Taken?

-———-

Name: Lan Qiren

Species : Beforer

Notes: He’s Apparently Lan Xichen and Lan Zhans Uncel

Alot people like the “Moustache”

looks more like Chromodoris willani

Favorite color: Navy Blur

Favorite Type: …he hasn’t really thought about that I guess Mature and Gentel

Status : Singel

————-—

Name: Lan Zhan

Species : Beforer

Notes:

He looks so Sad

he Hates the Leader of Yunmeng Jiang with hidden burning Passion and Lan Zhan wrote down he wished that “ The Leader of Yumeng Jiang be put to sleep like the dirty mutt he is.”

Lan Zhan also wonders why BoJian( MDZS oc) is Even friends with Yunmeng Jiang‘s Leader

Likes rabbits

looks like Glaucus Aka Blue Dragon sea slug

Favorite color: Red

Favorite Type: he Drew a picture that looked similar to current Yiling sect leader if he was human . When we mentioned this he immediately tagged along with us to Yiling .

————-—

Name: Lan Jingyi

Species : Beforer

Notes: He was Born a Beforer it’s believed he split from Lan Zhan

We thought He and Sizhui were twins but they arent

sweet kid ,Huge mouth ,forgetful

Looks like Chromodoris elisabethina

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite Type: I don’t know someone like Jin Ling !?

Stautus : I’m not ready to marry yet !! ;-;

———-—

Name:Lan Sizhui

Species : Hes Human

Notes: The only Human Gusu Lan

Lan Zhan says he came from Wen

As Said before This is Strange because He’s only a Junior and hasnt Gone insane for Gusu Lans Beauty

Favorite color: Periwinkle

Favorite Type: I have no idea I guess I follow Jingyi and Say someone like Jin Ling

status: Not ready

#eldritch #eldritch!lan #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #mo dao zhu shi #lan xichen #gusu lan #lan sizhui #lan zhan #lan wangji #kamen rider #kamen rider ex aid #monster boy #monster girl encyclopedia #alternative universe #crossover au #crossover

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bigskydreaming · 4 years ago

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Okay, my thoughts on that last reblog, and the TYPE of protectiveness showcased on Bruce’s part.....and to be 100% clear, this is not meant as a call-out to the OP of that post whom I don’t know and have nothing against, its simply about the fact that this kind of view of Bruce and certain forms of his parenting are not at ALL uncommon in fandom, and I’m just kinda like hi, yeah, I have some issues I would like to raise here plz and thank you:

So the issue I have with so many headcanons that pair massive invasions of privacy and disregard for personal boundaries with the idea that this is Good Dad Bruce Wayne....is that no matter what one feels this says about Bruce’s concern for his children, it simultaneously also says or implies that for such extreme measures to be deemed good and not invasive, and as such NECESSARY.....then his children are not just headstrong....but UNREASONABLE.

Because families fight. The Batfam moreso than a lot, sure, but even still, I think anyone trying to pitch the existence of Good Dad Bruce Wayne is still ultimately trying to build a case for a Batfam who even when they fight, still love each other.

But with a family like that, no matter HOW much they fight....they’re still ultimately all going to understand and be ABLE to keep an awareness that even while FURIOUS with each other....this doesn’t mean they don’t care about each other’s well-being and want to know and be reassured that they’re alright.

And this is what’s not on display on the side of Bruce’s kids, anytime a fic or headcanon or meta defaults to justifying Bruce going to extreme lengths to look out for or even just check up on his kids....because intentionally or not, it paints his kids as total assholes if they’re not even willing to accommodate basic requests about checking in or being checked up on, so at least their dad who loves them knows that they’re alive and well.

Only if and when his kids just flat out stonewall and block any and all LEGITIMATE attempts by Bruce to check up on them, do his more invasive attempts at doing so become necessary and thus ‘justified�� to any degree whatsoever....

With the biggest issue here being that so many fics and headcanons just hop, skip and jump straight over and past any attempt at Bruce giving his kids the OPPORTUNITY to meet him halfway and at least check in or reassure him they’re safe despite being pissed for other reasons....

And go straight to Bruce keeping them under surveillance in manners that wouldn’t be out of place with the CIA’s protocols for watching enemies of the state or what-the-fuck-ever.

And all the while, treating it as though its just a GIVEN that Bruce HAS to resort to such measures....because just....calling them on the fucking phone isn’t going to get him anywhere.

Like yeah, if you want to write a story where he tries that and they block him at every turn, and so Bruce ‘has’ to resort to less than stellar measures to gain any peace of mind, go ahead. Just don’t be surprised if when you write it all out in such a manner, showing each step of the way rather than just skipping straight to the endpoint there as though its a foregone conclusion, you run into people commenting with judgmental opinions of the kids and what assholes they’re being, that Bruce feels he has to go to such lengths at all.

Because I think the reason we so rarely see people ‘showing their work’ here and just jumping straight to Bruce asking forgiveness rather than permission (while umm, usually still not ever asking forgiveness which is sorta kinda still a necessary ingredient of that axiom but I fuckin’ digress).....is because I think deep down most people know that it isn’t really in character for all of the Batkids to just refuse any and all legitimate attempts at checking up on them purely out of spite, just being all “well I’m mad at you so I want you to SUFFER, OLD MAN, yeah, go ahead and wonder if I’m dead or not! Suck it!”

Like, even Jason or Dick at their ‘pettiest’ - I think most people would agree that its more that they’re characterized as WANTING to hear Bruce express actual concern for them....and only getting as pissed as they do because Bruce just flat out refuses to do so and defaults to taking measures that don’t treat them as having any kind of competence, maturity or autonomy of their own....and thus are virtually indistinguishable from actions taken purely out of a desire to control everything around him, rather than a father just being concerned for his kids.

Even when they’re at their most spiteful in regards to not wanting Bruce to know what’s going on with them, its born of an undercurrent of hurt, I maintain, as they’re really mostly just pissed off that there’s even a question of whether Bruce actually cares or Bruce is just being controlling. Because kids shouldn’t HAVE to read between the lines and interpret surveillance tactics as parental concern just to even FEEL like their dad gives a damn, because their dad just flat out refuses to come out and SAY it.

Like, that’s not a big ask, at all, and thus its not something any of the kids are at all unreasonable in wanting and yes, even expecting from their father. Which makes it really obnoxious and one-sided when they’re implicitly painted as being unreasonable for wanting this, because a narrative or headcanon has just zoomed past “calling them on the phone and asking them how their day was like a normal person” as if it was never even an option for Bruce in the first place. Like it was just a given that he had to go full Operation: Periscope In the Plumbing to scout out their current state of health. And there was no sense in wasting time with like, an in person drop-in visit to say hey, haven’t seen you in awhile and I miss you and just want to make sure you’re doing alright and don’t need anything.

(Ever notice how many fics treat it as a given that Bruce always makes the kids come to him and this is normal and reasonable and fine, for him to never venture forth from his manor in search of them.....except in rare cases where its often almost framed as though a visit from Bruce is codenamed “I Can’t Believe I’m Having To Resort To Coming To Your Place Because You Won’t Just Come To Mine Like A Good Son Would?” Just saying).

But yeah.....the problem is never, and has never been, Bruce caring about his kids and being concerned and willing to go to any length to make sure they’re okay or be reassured of this.

The problem is when its implicitly treated as though Bruce launching operation SPY ON MY KIDS LIKE A GOOD DAD DOES as his step one is like, more reasonable and understandable and just BETTER...as opposed to......just being like “Alexa, call my kids” first instead.

Like....no. That is backwards. That is not Good-Dadding. That is Creeper-Dadding. Bruce’s kids are one hundred thousand million bajillion times valid for being like WOW COULD YOU JUST NOT in response to this, because aside from the whole issue of how “is this totalitarianism or just good parenting” should not be something that’s actually in question and needs distinguishing, like.....there is a very real, very understandable (and for some of us) very relatable element of “I am also feeling all the hurt and resentment that you’d rather bug my apartment or hack my phone than just fucking TALK TO ME LIKE A HUMAN BEING and treat me like you place a modicum of trust and respect on any answers I give from my place of Being an Adult Who Is Actually More Than A Little Bit Competent and Responsible, Not That You’ve Noticed Apparently.

Also, a good exercise here would be like, before deciding on a course of action for Bruce in regards to one of his kids, first imagining another character you aren’t as predisposed towards, like, deciding on that exact same course of action in regards to that exact same kid.

For an example, look at the time Tim left Gotham in Red Robin and wasn’t speaking to Dick, and how Dick still very much was concerned about him and wanted to check up on him.

Look at how even just Dick asking Tim’s friends like Steph and Cassie to check in on him for Dick was characterized by a lot of people.

Now imagine if Dick had been like “well, Tim’s not speaking to me no matter how much I try to apologize to him, but I’m still really worried and concerned about his safety and well-being, and also I am his big brother and I know what’s best for him....so I am going to bug his phone and ask Raven to spy on him magically and also maybe ask Superman to occasionally lurk in the bushes outside his hotel room and peep in on him and report back on his breathing patterns like a creeper BUT ONLY BECAUSE I TOTALLY CARE AND THUS NONE OF THIS IS UNREASONABLE.”

Like......hmm. Does that fly with most people? Would that go over at all well, or do you think that maybe Tim might have pitched the mother of all unholy temper tantrums upon hearing that Dick had done any of this let alone all of this....AND BEEN COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED IN PITCHING SAID FIT ABOUT DICK’S CHOICES HERE?

Would this be at all defensible on Dick’s side of things, even with it being 100% true and even taken for granted that he only did this because he genuinely loves his brother and was genuinely worried about how he was doing and hell, even IF it was genuinely a given that Tim was not going to give him the time of day no matter how he went about asking Tim to just check back in occasionally to let Dick know he was still alive and alright?

Or would it - even in light of all that - still be seen and construed as invasive, infantilizing and disrespectful of Tim’s rights to privacy and self-determination, not to mention his capabilities in looking out for himself?

Now......swap a few characters in and out of the key slots here.

Imagine Bruce in Dick’s place here, enacting any or all of the above or even actions slightly less hyperbolic but no less intrusive or boundary-crossing.

Would any of those actions be any LESS invasive, infantilizing or disrespectful of Tim’s rights to privacy and self-determination, as well as his capabilities....just because Bruce is his father and not his brother?

See what I mean?

Its never at all an issue that Bruce loves his kids and is concerned about their safety, nor is it actually untrue that his kids aren’t stubborn and headstrong.

The only actual issue is when its framed as though all of this means that Bruce skipping to “launch drones from Batcave” before he even TRIES “hit speed-dial on phone”....

Is both valid and necessary, and thus a sign of a Good Dad....rather than just Bruce’s own fears of being rejected or turned away by his kids. Or an example of his own flaws with interpersonal communication rather than evidence of his kids being completely unreasonable little assholes with a lifelong commitment to Suck It Dad, Yes Even IF You’re Legitimately Worried I Might Be Dead Right Now.

Et cetera, et cetera.

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miggydiaz · 4 years ago

Note

for the salty ask: 3, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 27 for spn

I had to do this one today because I have a LOT of Supernatural feelings and so a lot of these are even longer than my CK one. But thanks for the ask @wonderwolfballoon!

UNPOPULAR SUPERNATURAL OPINIONS AHOY: INCLUDES ANTI-DESTIEL SENTIMENTS AND OTHER UNSAVORY ELEMENTS

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? 100000000% I have unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion in the SPN fandom. SPN was the fandom that taught me to make JUDICIOUS use of the blocking feature tumblr offers in order to curate my experience. I would actually encourage anyone and everyone to use the blocking feature if they disagree with people. Honestly, we don’t owe anyone our time or energy, especially on the internet! It is much healthier than sending or responding to hate, IMO. 7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* This is actually a hard one for me to answer, so let me start by saying -- I have not seen a SINGLE episode since 9x05? I think? Whichever episode was the Dr. Deanlittle one where he talks to animals. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first 5 seasons, and they are all I watch anymore and I pretend nothing else exists after that (except The French Mistake because that episode is hilarious). But uh... I guess the simple answer is when I was originally watching it, I really loved Dean. He was brash, snarky, rough around the edges... but kind of soft in a I’m too toxically masculine to deal with my softness sort of way that I love seeing characters grow out of as they mature. But when I go back and rewatch now, much older than I was in 2006 when I first started watching, I see how awful a lot of his older behavior truly was. I still love Dean, and I will be a Dean girl until I die probably, but sometimes you gotta remind yourself that your faves have been problematic in the past so you don’t put them up on fandom constructed pedestals.

10. Most disliked arc? Why? AND AS A BONUS, MY ANSWER to 11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? I could write a literal essay about all of the problems I have with the later seasons (the ones I watched, which encompasses 6, 7, 8, and a few episodes of 9). But by far and away, the thing I hated most, was the Men of Letters.

Okay, this is where I am going to recognize my love of certain characters is at FUNDAMENTAL ODDS with how that character develops later and what history and background we get later on them. I RECOGNIZE this character is problematic, and I would NEVER STAND for his shit IRL, but fiction is complicated and nuanced, and fantastic circumstances do not make for normal behaviors. That being said, with all warnings I could possibly give, and with the full understanding that what I am about to say is basically fandom blasphemy of the highest order...

I like John Winchester’s character.

I know, I know. If you wanna stop reading and block me now, you are free to do that. I will not hold it against you. I am not about to apologize for anything he has done. I just need to contextualize why I have such an issue with the MOL storyline and it starts with the simple fact that I liked John Winchester as he was originally presented.

To me, and with the full understanding that I am answering this from the perspective of someone who DOES NOT regard anything past season 5 as personal canon, John Winchester is the perfect example of a truly complicated character. Here’s a parent who, if we take the pilot and the original s2 Djinn episodes at face value, could have been a great parent, who then got shoved into a fantastically impossible situation and made terrible choices that he thought were necessary in order to keep himself and his sons safe. That does not EXCUSE the heaps of abuse that he piled onto Dean in any way. We know John and Mary didn’t have a great marriage. But we also know from the pilot that John was at least a caring and present father, mostly, for the 4 years he got to parent in a normal world, and that if Mary had lived, John would’ve been a softball playing dad who raised his kids and had a loving marriage with his wife. (Again, I need to reiterate, I did not watch anything past the early episodes of s9. If there is later canon that negates this, I do not know about it, nor do I want to because I don’t think of anything past 5 as canon) This is all important to me because these things emphasize that John was “NORMAL”. He was a mechanic, from a family of mechanics, whose father didn’t bail on him (a man in the episode where Dean is transported back in time to Lawrence tells John to ‘say hi to your old man for me’ or something to that effect). He was just a midwestern dude. Giving John Winchester a fantastical background through this Men of Letters bullshit made me SO MAD. First of all, I hate when later canon negates previous canon. I cannon TELL you how much I hate it. And the later seasons of Supernatural are riddled with stuff that doesn’t make any damn sense in the context of original, Kripke written canon, which is exactly why I stopped watching. That’s not ~Evolution of the show.~ That’s conveniently forgetting stuff that made your show and its premise so successful to begin with in order to keep filming episodes so you can keep making money. It’s the sacrifice of art for capitalism and yes I know this is a stupid TV show but as a writer myself it PISSES ME OFF.

/rant

ALSO, the idea that this toxically masculine family was set on this path by Heaven, and inherited this curse that put them on this path from their mother was such a good plot twist in its heyday. We spent four seasons thinking of Mary Winchester as a victim of circumstance, whose fate could not have been avoided because she was the mother to Sam, who is effectively cursed. And then, we learn that its BECAUSE of Mary that this ball even got rolling in the first place. IDK if you were around for that time in the fandom but at least in my circle, this was a big fucking deal. There had been so much (rightful) discourse about John before this, and what kind of parent he was, that Mary became almost deified in the same way Dean deifies her. And then we find out that this whole story gets set in motion by a decision she made because this was the life she found herself in. This was great. It was interesting. And even though the MOL doesn’t negate any of this, it does give John this weirdly fantastical that isn’t necessary. Let this guy be just some Joe Schmoe who fell in love with a kick ass hunter and had no idea any of this even existed. Let Mary and her want to be ‘normal’ be a complicated moral choice that fundamentally altered the paths of her husband and sons. It’s good tv!

Also, I fucking hate the bunker. The best episodes are Dean and Sam having moments in the car, or while in motel rooms on their cases, or whatever. I don’t mind them having a home base. I’m fine with that. But if a building could ever be a Mary Sue character, the bunker is it. I hate all of the MOL storyline, starting with this place.

I may not even tag this as Supernatural, I don’t need angry later season stans in my inbox.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

There’s nothing good about anything that happened after season 6. It’s all a bunch of retconning bullshit. Season 6 had its moments where it was interesting, so I cut it a little bit of slack, but as far as I’m concerned, the show ended in season 5. I’m not sure that’s necessarily unpopular, but it does feel that way on tumblr, so.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Aside from ending it in season 5?

Oooh, I’m about to blaspheme again. I am definitely not tagging this as Supernatural.

I would never have introduced Castiel, and I would’ve given that entire storyline to Anna. Or, alternatively, I would’ve flipped their story lines.

Look, for whatever it’s worth... I agree with the idea that Dean Winchester is a repressed bisexual. His Dr. Sexy love, the entire storyline with Benny in season 8, etc. I just don’t think he feels romantically about Castiel. And like, that’s okay! Just because you’re not into someone who is into you doesn’t mean you owe them a relationship or anything, no matter what the fandom thinks.

But I also think Dean has a big problem when it comes to women. Again, obviously later on in the series, Dean shifts and Charlie happens and Claire Novak and I know all of these things from gifs okay, context is not applicable here because I have none. But early on, Dean struggles A LOT with thinking of women as A) capable and B) trustworthy. He exists in a perpetual state of identifying women along the Madonna/Whore binary. Even Jo, however you feel about her, and to be clear, I loved Jo, but he doesn’t stop thinking of her really as a kid until they’re about to shoot the devil. Up until then, he’s genuinely surprised Ellen lets her out of the damn house.

Giving him a strong, capable woman who rebels against Heaven for HIM would have fundamentally altered Dean’s perceptions of women much earlier on than we get and would have forced him to examine some of that misogyny head on.

Dean has no problems trusting men. This is why the entire Gordon fiasco happens, right? It was less work for him to trust Castiel because Castiel is the inverse of Ruby. Angel to her Demon. Angels and demons don’t really have genders, but for the sake of presentation of vessels, man to her woman. Not even getting me started on the problematic parts of having significant demons mostly symbolized by women (Meg, Ruby, Lilith) and having significant angels mostly represented by Men (Castiel, Michael, Lucifer, Zachariah, Gabriel, Raphael), and how that ties into the idea of Original Sin and yada yada, but just like it’s interesting to have Mary and her decisions be the catalyst for the story, it’s interesting to have this badass warrior angel in Anna who marches down to Hell to yank Dean out, and through her interactions with him, decide to rebel against the ultimate patriarchy, while Dean gets an equally strong female counterpart to Sam’s Ruby, a woman for all intents and purposes that he respects as a soldier and an ally and not just a potential piece of ass.

Also, Castiel fans being literally unbearable is why I left the fandom. Nothing against Misha or anything, and not even anything against Cas as a character (who I very much enjoyed in seasons 4 and 5), but his fans have always been the worst and they try to insert him into everything.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Castiel/Destiel fans, which even though I also hated the direction the show was going, drove me out of the fandom. Not like, personally or directly, but just the sheer mental hoops they had to jump through in order to make their ship work and I just got tired of seeing all of the contrived meta on my dash. Oh, and the rampant misogyny that came out of those early Castiel fans. I didn’t appreciate it from the Wincest corner, and I definitely didn’t appreciate it from the fans of the new guy. Gross.

22. Popular character you hate?

Oof. I don’t know. I don’t really hate Castiel, because again, I liked him a lot in seasons 4 and 5. Even 6 was interesting, even if I don’t regard it as my own personal show canon. I don’t think there was a popular character in those first five seasons I ever really hated. I didn’t fundamentally hate a character at all until the MOL stuff came around. Um. Yeah, I don’t really have an answer for this.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Pretty much every female character ever. Jo, Ellen, Ruby, Meg... although Meg became more popular as the series went on, Anna. Um. OH, BELA. Bela ESPECIALLY, I recently rewatched season 3 and I cannot emphasize how MUCH I love Bela. She was the best purely human foil ever. Bela is hands down the character I love most that the fandom had frothing at the mouth hatred for. It doesn’t help that I legitimately think Lauren Cohan is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. But seriously, Bela. Hands down.

24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?

I have! Many of times, and ALWAYS WITH THE CAVEAT to stop at the end of season 5. Not a single one of them has listened to me and almost all of them came to me at the end of the finale and were like WHY DID I WASTE SO MUCH TIME, and I don’t want to say I told them so, but like, I explicitly in neon colored text once told them so, so like, idk what to tell them. But yes! I think if someone is interested in some classic mystery television that has an overarching theme of family and forgiveness and striking out against the boxes that life tries to put us all into, SPN is a great show. But only the first 5 seasons. Also, be prepared for some thematically problematic parts of the show because there’s a lot of cishet toxic masculinity in those early seasons, and we should examine our media critically. There’s also a lot of good though too, and IMO, the good outweighs the bad.

25. How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

I would’ve ended it at season 5. I would’ve had Sam escape the pit and seen him standing under the street lamp, but then I would’ve had him walking away to leave Dean with Lisa (btw, side note, I DIDN’T like Lisa because I don’t think Dean would ever be truly happy with someone completely outside the life). Not because Sam doesn’t love his brother, but because he *does* love his brother, and because he would want Dean to be happy, even though Dean and Sam’s ideas of what makes the other happy have always been a little bit screwed up.. but that’s a different story.

27. Least shippable character?

Probably Zachariah. God, could you imagine? And... maybe Alastair, but I’m sure there are fics out there that I do not want to think about.

#wonderwolfballoon #I cannot for the sake of my own sanity tag this #I don't need angry SPN fans coming at me #I hope the bold text at the top helps people to understand what's behind the cut

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moistmailman · 5 years ago

Text

Gods and Godesses AU

*A fatigued Pyrrha is on the battle field, bleeding out and wheezing as she kneels out from exhaustion while a man with an axe is approaching her*

Bandit, raising his axe: So this is what the famous Knight Nikos is capable of? I must say, Im disappointed.

Pyrrha, internally: Damn it, is this how going to die? Being out sword by a group of bandits? I can't even see straight right now. My body is so weak, I can't move an inch. I can't believe I'm going to die here.

Bandit: *Starts to bring his axe down on Pyrrha*

Pyrrha: *Raises her sword and closes her eyes in anticipation, praying to God that she will be able to block this*

*5 seconds passes*

Pyrrha, slowly opening her eyes:......huh? What the?

Bandit: *Not moving a muscle*

Pyrrha: What the? What the heck is going on—

*Pyrrha looks around to notice that the entire bandit army wasnt moving a muscle, as if they were frozen*

Pyrrha, baffled: What the heck is goi—

*Suddenly a bright light appears before her, causing her to shield her eyes*

???: Knight Nikos! It is not your time to die today!

Pyrrha, opening her eyes: Whose there—.........o-oh my God.

*Standing before Pyrrha is a tall blonde man with blue eyes and blue armor, holding a battle flag in hand*

Pyrrha, stuttering: Y-youre....you're....oh my gods, you're the god of rejuvenation!

Jaune, smiling: That is correct. I've been watching you for a while, my brave Knight.

Pyrrha, still weak: You have?

Jaune, nodding: I have. But before we get into that, allow me to do something real quick.

*Jaune waves his hand at Pyrrha, causing her wounds to heal*

Pyrrha, gasping: Oh my gods. They're gone. I'm healed! You really are the god of rejuvenation!

Jaune: Yes I am. But this is nothing special. Any god can do that to a human, but they can't do anything close to what I can do. You haven't even seen my full potential yet. Now, I have a question to ask yo—

*Suddenly another bright light appears, causing Pyrrha to shield her eyes once more before seeing a short woman dressed in red with silver eyes appear before her*

Pyrrha, in shock: Oh my god.

???: Knight Nikos! It is not your time to die to— wait a minute! What are you doing here!?

Pyrrha:......what?

Jaune, annoyed at the short woman: What am I doing here!? What are YOU doing here!? Go away Ruby! This is my champion!

Pyrrha, choking: Ruby!? As in the goddess of speed Ruby! That Ruby!?

Ruby, smiling: Yes, that is me. And with my help you will be abl—

Jaune: NO! Stop it right now! I was here first, now butt out!

Pyrrha:....w-what's going on?

Ruby, cutely stomping her foot: No! That's not fair! You knew I had my eyes on Pyrrha for a while! She's going to be my champion, not yours!

Pyrrha, choking: Champion!? You two want me to be your—

Jaune: No she's not, Ruby!

Ruby: Is too!

Pyrrha, awkwardly: G-guys, can yo-

Jaune: IS NOT!

Ruby, sticking out her tongue: IS TOO!

Jaune: OH REAL MATURE! HOW OLD ARE YOU!?

Ruby: 2168!

Jaune: REALLY?! CAUSE YOU LOOK 10!

Ruby, blushing: S-SHUT UP! NO I DONT! I HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I LOOK LIKE A BEAUTIFUL 19 YEAR OLD WOMAN!

Jaune: Your height says 10.

Ruby, puffing out her cheeks: WHY OUGHTA! *Starts trying to hit Jaune, just for him to keep her at bay with his hand*

Pyrrha:....what......what is going on? Am I slowly dying and having a weird dream from my blood loss?

Jaune, chuckling: You can’t get to me because you’re so short! Ha!

Ruby, trying to. Real through: SHUT UP YOU BIG JER—

*Suddenly ANOTHER white light appears, this time a bulk blonde woman with purple eyes and revealing clothing to show off her muscles appears*

Jaune, groaning: OH WHAT NOW!?

???: Knight Nikos! It is not—

Ruby: OH NOT YOU TOO! GO AWAY YANG!

Yang: Wait, Ruby!? Is that you!?

Ruby: Yes, it is! And you are too late to make Pyrrha your champion, because she's mine!

Jaune: No she's not! She's my champion!

Pyrrha, wide eyed:......h-hold up, i-is this the goddess of strength!?

Yang, winking: It sure is. And I have had my eyes on you for a while now.

Pyrrha: Oh my gods. Is this a fever dream!? Is this really happening?! Am I really in the presence of two goddesses and a god?

Yang: You sure are, sweetheart. And let me tell you something. Your fighting skills are awesome. I'm really impressed. And don't even get me started on your muscles. Mwah. They are a beauty.

Pyrrha, blushing: O-oh uh...thank you.

Yang: Youre welcome, gorgeous. Now anyway, I have a question for yo—

Jaune: FOR GODS SAKE! THIS IS MY CHAMPION!

Yang: Oh blow it out your ass, Jaune!

Ruby: Yeah! Blow it out of your butt!

Jaune: I WAS HERE FIRST!

Yang: Nobody cares!

Pyrrha, awkwardly: H-hey guys, y-you really shouldn’t argu—

*Suddenly another bright light appears, before a short white hair woman appears in front of them*

???: Knight Nikos! It is not your time to—

Yang, groaning: Oh great. Miss no fun is here too. This is about to become unbearable!

???, repulsed: What the!? What are you guys doing here?!

Yang: Same thing as you, Weissy!

Weiss, angrily: Do not call me Weissy!

Pyrrha, head spinning: T-that’s the goddess of i-ice! That’s the goddess of ice! The goddess of ice is standing right in front of me!

Yang, rolling her eyes: Yeah, she sure is. And she’s a cold hearted bit—

Ruby: Language!

Yang, rolling her eyes: She’s a piece of work. There, happy Ruby?

Ruby: Yep.

Weiss, sternly: Look, I don’t know who you guys think you are, but Pyrrha is going to be my champion! Got that!? I have had my—

Jaune: “Eyes on her for awhile.” Yeah, we all have! But I was the first God here, so all of you go away!

Weiss, grimacing: I don’t even consider you as a god, Jaune. So I don't even know why you are here.

Yang: Ooooooooh, damn.

Jaune: GODS DAMN IT! EVERYONE GET OUT OF HE—

*Yet ANOTHER bright light appears again*

Pyrrha: Oh my gods! How many are going to show up!?

???: Knight Nikos! It—

Yang, waving: Oh, hi Blakey!

Blake: Yang!? What in the world are yo— wait, Weiss, Ruby, Jaune!? What are you doing here!?

Ruby: Same thing as you! We all want Pyrrha to be our champion as well.

Blake: Are you kidding me!?

Jaune: Nope. We all want to bestow our powers on her.

Yang: And Honestly, why are you here anyway? You're the goddess of sneaking. What the hell can you do for her in this situation?

Pyrrha: *In the background trying to wrap her head around the fact that 4 goddesses and a god are with her* Uhhhhhhhhh

Blake, offended: What is that supposed to mean!? I can help her so much in this battle! I can help her sneak away from everyone unharmed.

Yang: So you will make her a coward, is what you're implying?

Blake, angrily: No! I will make her fight another day! That is what I can do! Fight smart, not stupid!

Yang, nodding: Hmm hmm, that's cool and all, but I will be able to make her kill every single one of these assholes with her barehands. So I'm pretty sure I'm the best choice for her here!

Ruby, crossing her arms: Nuh uh! I will be able make her zoom around everyone and take them all out under a second! So I'm obviously the best choice for her!

Weiss: That is prosperous! I will be able to make her freeze everyone here solid! And she will be able survive even the coldest depths of hell with my powers! I'm the best choice!

Pyrrha: Guys seriously, please stop—

Yang: Its summer, dipshit! It's like 80 degrees out!

Weiss: Why you littl—

Jaune: I can literally make her unkillable! She will not be able to die with my powers bestowed upon her!

Yang, sarcastically: Wow, that sounds so amazing! You hear that, Pyrrha. With Jauney's help you will be able to get tortured none stop without the relief of death. Doesn't that just sound amazing?

Weiss: Its honestly better than being a damn brute like you.

Jaune: Ha! Thanks Weiss.

Weiss: Shut up, I still don't respect you.

Jaune: OH COME ON! I WAS HERE FIRST!

Ruby: LOOK, SHES GOING TO BE MY CHAMPION AND THATS FINAL!

Yang: NO SHES NOT! SHES MINE!

Jaune: I WAS HERE FIRST! SO SHE'S MINE!

Weiss: NOBODY CARES, JAUNE! BESIDES, SHE WOULD MUCH RATHER HAVE ME INSTEAD! IM THE BEST CHOICE!

Blake: NO! I WOULD BE THE BEST CHOICE FOR HER!

Pyrrha, mumbling: Are they actually fighting over me. This reminds me of all the boys when I was a teenager.....*starts blushing from the thought*

RWBYJ: *RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE*

Pyrrha: G-guys.....

RWBYJ: *RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE*

Pyrrha: Guys.

RWBYJ: *RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE*

Pyrrha: GUYS!

RWBYJ: What!?

Pyrrha, awkwardly: Uh...well uhm.....do all of you guys really want me to be your champion? Like me?

RWBYJ: *nods*

Pyrrha, blushing: Oh my gods. I h-honestly can’t even.....comprehend any of this. This is all happening so fast. I don’t even know what to do.

Weiss: You can start by picking one of us.

Yang: Which obviously going to be me.

Ruby: Nuh uh! It’s going to be me!

Jaune: Are you guys forgetting that I’m the first one here?

Yang: I wAs ThE fIrSt OnE HeRe.

Jaune: My gods! You’re as mature as your sister!

Yang: YoU aRe As MaTuR—

Jaune: WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!?

RWBYJ: *RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE*

Pyrrha: GUYS STOP ARGUING!

RWBYJ: Sorry....

Pyrrha, awkwardly: Okay look, I don’t really know how to choose. I-I mean, this is a lot to take in all of a sudden. I thought I was about to die not even 5 minutes ago....or at least, it would be five minutes ago if Jaune didn’t stop the time suddenly.

Jaune, smiling: I saved her by the way. Just saying.

Weiss: Shut up.

Pyrrha: So my mind is all....wacky right now, and I can’t decide. So could we maybe....I don’t know.....could I just be all of your guys’ champion? O-or is that against the rule of something?

RWBYJ:.........

Pyrrha, blushing: I-I sorry, I just really don't like arguments is all. Nobody usually wins with them, and they always leave people in a bad mood. A-and I will feel bad if I choose one and leave the others depressed and all. B-because you did come all the way out of your way to help me. S-so how about I just be all of your champion? S-so everyone will be happy?

RWBYJ:..........

Pyrrha: I-I just want to make everyone happy, and that’s it. I-I promise. I-I’m sorry if my suggestion offends any of you, because that’s not my intentions at all.

RWBYJ:........

Yang: Do we even have a rule book?

Weiss: No, we don’t.

Yang: Really? Hmm.........

*two minutes later time unfreezes and the bandit swings his axe down, just for it to hit the dirt*

Bandit: What the hell!? Where did she go!? It's like she just disappeared in a shado— GARK!

*Abruptly all of the bandits were quickly killed off by a red blur, some of them being frozen solid, some of them being thrown 30 feet in the air*

Pyrrha, appearing out of nowhere covered in blood: *Panting*

RWBYJ: *Appear out of nowhere*

Yang:......well, we just made an unstoppable killing machine.

Jaune: Yeah, we did.

Pyrrha: *passes out from exhaustion*

Yang: Dibs at carrying her~

RWBJ: Dib on— dang it!

Yang, picking Pyrrha up: Haha! Too slow!

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yeeter-parkor · 5 years ago

Text

Training is hard when you don't wanna hit people...

peter is to pure for this world.

read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610966

summery: Peter Parker is too strong for his own good, and he holds himself back so much that Natasha and Steve have no idea what he is really capable of. Natasha decides she needs to fix that.

“Peter, come here a moment,” Natasha said, her voice commanding, causing Peter to tense slightly. They had just found out about him being Spiderman after the bridge incident, and they hadn’t seemed to be thrilled about it. To be completely fair, they were perfectly nice to him, but they hadn’t been the most forgiving of Mr. Stark allowing him to join as they might have let on if the dead frogs in the lab were anything to go by.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, scurrying over to where she was standing and looked at her, searching for clues as to what they were about to do.

“Me and Steve have decided that, contrary to popular belief, we will not be killing Stark, yet.”

“But,” Steve interjected, “you are going to have to prove to us first that you can keep yourself safe out there.”

“But sir I-”

“No but’s, your sparring with me first, then Steve, okay. If we don’t beat you to bad then we will consider letting you go out on your own again.”

“Have… Have I not been?”

“No. Go get changed and meet us in the training room.”

He scampered off, socked feet sliding slightly on the tile floors, which he was sure wasn’t helping them take him seriously, but he was honestly so excited he didn’t care. He knew he was stronger than both of them, so he would have to hold back quite a bit, but at least they would have to take him seriously then. He threw on a black tee and shorts with leggings underneath, helpful when you do a lot of flips, and hurried back down, trying to set his face to look as grown-up as possible, he didn’t want them holding back because he was a kid.

Clearly, his attempt at looking mature hadn’t worked as well as he had hoped, because Steve chuckled when he re-appeared.

“What?” He asked, probably sounding majorly winey.

“I like your socks.” Was all the soldier said, reminding him that he was still wearing Spongebob socks. He cleared his throat, trying his hardest to not blush, which he had a feeling wasn’t working, as he slipped on his sparring shoes.

“Peter, are you ready?” Natasha asked impatiently from the mat.

“Yes ma’am,” he said, scrambling over to her, and ignoring Steve’s laughter.

“Good. We’re going to start easy, alright? Just try to block this time, no need to attack, okay? We’ll go for three minutes. ” “Got it!” He exclaimed, resisting the urge to bounce on the balls of his feet. He couldn’t help being excited, he loved sparring. The chance to get moving and work out some pent up energy, without the chance of being shot was great.

“Go!” Steve yelled from the side.

Wasting no time, Natasha took a jab straight at his head with a high roundhouse kick, which he leaped away from with ease. She was holding back, but clearly not my much, and allowed her swings to carry more weight as the fight went on. Not that it affected Peter though, he hadn’t even gotten close to being hit.

“Peter, keep your feet steady!” He heard Steve call, a worried tilt to his voice. Peter just grinned. Because of that, he was going to do everything in his power to stay off his feet. He flipped and spun and dogged for the whole three minutes, and Natasha hadn’t even gotten close to hitting him. He could see a mix of pride and frustration on her face as the bell rang.

“Okay Peter, this time you attack me. Remember, I spar with Steve all the time, I can take a hit.”

He looked at her dubiously. He wasn’t positive he could kill her with one hit, but he was, and he could.

The bell rang again before he had time to protest, and Nat jumped into a defensive stance. Reluctantly, he started the match, being sure to pull his punches as much as possible without them noticing, which wasn’t really working all that well.

“Come on Peter, you need to get a hit in,” Steve called again.

“Hmmph.” He huffed, putting most of his focus on not hurting his friend, but he did speed his swings up enough to startle the assassin, who was having a difficult time blocking all of them. By the end of the round, Peter had albeit unintentionally, gotten almost a dozen hits in.

“Okay Nat, you ready to switch out yet?” Steve called. Peter watched as she seemed to weigh her choices for a moment.

“Peter, if I spare with you again, will you actually try and hit me?” She asked.

“I um, I don’t think I will hit either of you.” He said honestly.

“Yeah, let’s switch.” She called, climbing over the mat rail.

Peter watched silently as Steve took her place, shifting anxiously. He saw Natasha pull Steve’s ear to her lips and whisper something.

“Don’t go easy on him, he’s stronger than he’ll let on. I want to see him really attack.”

Suddenly, Steve was in Natasha’s place, staring at him with icy (Ha) blue eyes, analytical and hard. It was his fighting face, not angry, but by no means soft ether. Peter had only a second to register the ring of the starting bell before Steve was lunging at him. Aiming straight for his head. Peter’s spidey senses screamed as he flipped away, dodging and ducking only slightly faster then Steve was swinging. He had learned it a few months ago, when a petty criminal got wise, after seeing Peter operate at his full speed. He ended up okay but had a massive scar on his side. He almost matched Steve’s pace, making sure that he still didn’t know his real speed.

“Come on Pete, you gotta punch back,” Steve grunted, already sweating.

“I think I’m good, thanks.” He said, trying and failing to sound tired.

Peter ducked, allowing Cap to make contact with his shoulder for a moment, seeing the frustration growing behind his eyes.

“Peter, stop letting him win, we need to see what you can do if you expect us to let you out again,” Natasha said from the sidelines.

“He is not letting me win,” Steve said indignantly, “I’ve barely hit him.”

“Look at him Steve, Pete, you haven't even broken a sweat, I need to see how capable you are or this will be a waste of everyone's time.”

Her words stung a bit, so Peter revised him plane of tiring Steve out. He caught Natasha’s eye, and she nodded approvingly, seeming to understand his silent request for permission. The next time Steve swung at him, he didn’t duck, but instead caught his fist and used to flip himself over Steve’s back and kicked him hard. Not hard enough to kill him, obviously, but hard enough to send him flying across the gym. Everyone was silent for a moment, Peters eyes wide. “I am so sorry!” Peter exclaimed, running to where Steve had landed. He was already picking himself up, wincing.

“Don’t apologize, Peter, that was exactly what I wanted,” Natasha said. Her expression never changes, but Peter swore that he saw pride in her eyes.

“You wanted that?” he asked, pointing to the (rather large) crater that Steve had made where he collided.

“Well, maybe not that specifically, but I wanted to see how hard you could hit, although I am guessing by your appearance you are still holding back.” She amended.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, indignantly.

“You aren't tired or sore at all, and you seemed way to calm when you kicked him over here, almost bored.” Peter paled at that, he hadn’t wanted to offend them.

“I-I’m not bored, I swear.” He said.

“Yeah, sure. Steve, will you get Thor, and Tony please, I want them here.” Natasha said, directing her words to Steve, who had sense picked himself up from the floor, although looking slightly worse for the wear. Peter winced at the bruise blossoming on his temple.

“Yeah yeah, I’m on it.” He said, turning.

“And get some ice, the kid gave you a good bruise.”

“Sorry!” Peter shouted after the grumpy soldier as Natasha chuckled.

“Don’t apologize, Peter, someone needs to bring his ego down a notch.” The redhead said with a smirk. “Besides, he can take a hit. Tony’s wall, however…”

He was about to apologize when Steve returned with the other two in tow.

“Okay, guys, come here,” Natasha said, walking over to a screen near the far right wall from Peter. “FRIDAY can you play the footage of Peter and Steve from 3 and a half minutes ago?” Natasha asked. FRIDAY obliged, showing the two of them sparring on the screen for about 30 seconds before Peter kicks him. He snuck a glance at Tony, trying to gauge his reaction, he at least didn’t seem mad they were sparing, if anything he looked amused. Onscreen Natasha nods, and screen Peter kicks screen, Steve, causing Tony to laugh in a not-very-professional fashion.

“Look mid-guardian, the child kicked you!” Thor said happily.

“Yes Thor, I am aware,” Steve responded.

“Aw, why so salty Cap? You finally believe me that Pete can kick your ass? Or just past your bedtime?”

“Boys!” Natasha interjected. “The point of this exercise was to get a good idea of Peter’s abilities, but it was made clear that Cap was not as good a match as we had hoped he would be, so I was hoping that Thor would be willing to spar with him.”

“Are you sure that is wise, women of spiders, I do not wish to harm him.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Tony said, “He may not be an even match with Thor, but I think he will be fine.”

“Good enough for me.” Natasha said, “Just try not to kill him, will you Thor.”

“I would never kill a child.”

“Okay, still not a child,” Peter said quietly.

“You’re 15 Peter, that is child aged,” Steve said.

“Weren't you applying to the military when-” Peter started, only to be shoved onto the matt and hear the bell ring.

“Okay go!” Steve said loudly, causing a laugh from Tony and a suspicious glare from Natasha.

Thor swung at Peter with almost twice the force Steve had used, and Peter immediately realized that Thor would beat him if they used pure strength, although not by much. He could tell the Asgardian was holding back still. Of course, Peter still had the advantage of his speed and sticky-ness, which he planned on using to his full potential. They fought for a solid half an hour before he could sense the others getting bored. Peter hadn’t been hit once, but he hadn’t hit his opponent ether. Thor had also grown frustrated, letting more and more of his power fall into each missed blow.

Finally, Peter was starting to actually feel tired, which was nice. He actually enjoyed not having to constantly be monitoring his strength in a fight. Except by now Thor was panting, and clearly fed up, and Peter had a feeling that they were moments away from a hurricane if this fight didn’t end. He glanced at Tony and Natasha again, making eye contact as they both nodded their approval, Natasha looking stern, whereas Tony was downright gleeful. With their approval, Peter aught Thor's next missed punch before he had been given a chance to recover, using in to swing himself over, causing Thor to lose his footing and get launched over Peter’s head. He landed with a residual thud and everyone stood quiet for a moment, the only sound being Peter and Thor's loud breaths. Until they heard a ding coming from FRIDAY

“Footage saved” Which sent all of them into laughter.

“Good job, man of spiders, you fought well. I am glad we are on the same side in battle.” Thor said, rising from the floor which was now definitely dented . Peter looked up at the other three, smiling slightly at their expressions. Natasha was smiling, Steve looked completely dumbfounded, and Tony- Well Tony looked happier then Peter had seen him since Clint accidentally ate a frog head. “So… can I go out on patrols again?” Peter asked them hopefully.

“Yeah kid, I don’t think there’s a criminal in the city that could take you,” Steve said, almost causing Peter to bring up Rooms, but he bit his lip.

“Hey FRIDAY, you saved both those fights to my training file, right?” Tony called to the ceiling.

“Yes, and the first one can also be found in ‘Capsicle Is Melting’”

“Good. good job kid.” Tony said. Peter didn’t think he stopped smiling the rest of the day.

#bamf peter parker

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ailinaline · 4 years ago

Text

The Untamed: unsorted

Well... I am nothing, if not eccentric, after all. Why not publish a huge post all of a sudden? :)

The Untamed (СQL) is an abyss, and I am still falling, grasping at some scattered thoughts... that tend to arrange themselves in equally chaotic blocks of thoughts, which, in turn, multiply questions successfully.

Spoilers ahead, I guess...

The timeline of СQL is more than a little blurry, and when I try to calculate, how old Wei Ying was, when he died, I come up with the sorrowful conclusion he couldn’t be more that 21, probably younger. Which, in turn, means that the post-time-skip Sizhui is, actually, of the same age or even older than Wei Ying and Lan Wangji were, when they did a lot of things I honestly can’t imagine the new generation pulling off, even physically/magically, let alone psychologically (although I wouldn’t go as far as to call young LWJ and WWX mature - they clearly were not, and that was a huge part of the tragedy foundation, in my opinion). The young disciples are referred to as ‘children’, and they truly are. Compared to 16-17 year old LWJ and WWX, they are very, very young, inexperienced and not especially capable – while still being quite skilled and smart. And it’s both fabulous and painful to watch. Fabulous because it’s a very vivid and authentic demonstration of how exceptionally gifted LWJ and WWX are (and were); and painful because, unfortunately, not all of their greatness comes just from inborn talents.

II.

I am easily charmed by languages, but СQL, being the third Chinese dorama I have ever watched, is still the first one to so profusely tempt me to learn Chinese – in order to translate the songs and to understand the subtleties of the dialogues.

III.

I can’t get rid of the impression that the concept of rules/order breaking and punishment/atonement is fundamental for СQL (and its world). As far as I am aware, the Chinese culture does tend to be quite severe in this regard, but right now I am considering the symbolic layer of the process rather than the harm/good/efficiency of any particular method. And I wonder, whether I am imagining things or Wangji’s history of ‘transgressions’ and punishments within his sect is really openly symbolic and not merely coincidental.

My interpretation certainly lacks some special cultural insight because I can’t help being of European origin, so I read all the codes as a European would, first, and only then make an attempt to switch lenses and decipher the message, taking into account my scarce knowledge of the Chinese (and Asian) culture.

And yet...

The first time (drinking) Wangji is not only completely innocent, but also a ‘victim’ of Wei Ying’s careless (and questionable) mischief. They share the punishment (and we encounter the number 300, by the way), but Wangji is obviously (and rather fiercely) on his own here, and evidently by choice, despite Wei Ying’s sincere efforts first to exclude and then to include him. Wangji, just as obviously, truly believes he deserves the punishment – not for drinking as such, I think, but for lowering his guard and being not attentive enough: internally, he substitutes one transgression with another, and the equation works for him (actually, it might be unfair, but quite fortunate for their future relationship that Wangji blames himself or, at least, blames himself more than Wei Ying). To put it in a nutshell, for Wangji, the system and order are intact and non-contradictory: he is understandably upset, even angry, but hardly shaken, and simply intends to do better than that in the future, so to say. It’s hard to speculate, if this is Wangji’s most unpleasant experience so far or not, but in any case, the psychological pressure is minimal and reproach is rather mild (and I am really surprised, Lan Xichen didn’t find all that story highly suspicious… or was it his indirect method of showing WWX that he hadn’t been told on?..)

The copying of the rules happens after a considerable amount of… experience, if not time. And the transgression is not specified, but hinted at very heavily. I also wonder, if Lan Qiren realized an additional message he conveyed through his choice as well as through his general treatment of his nephew during that meeting: a strict reminder that, a war hero or not, LWJ is still too young to have an opinion. Wangji accepts the book of rules reverently, accepts the punishment… the word, that springs to mind is ‘habitually’: he doesn’t disregard it, per se, he doesn’t devalue the fact his uncle is not happy with him, he still wants to do better, but… there are things of greater importance to him now, and LWJ is so focused on them that he makes the request about the restricted books at the least suitable moment, really. (And I believe this dismissal does cut him rather deep.) The system still works, but the seed of the conflict is already planted.

The third episode seems pivotal in itself: we actually don’t know, what the punishment for letting WWX and the Wens go was, except for having to kneel, while being lectured, but this time this is a result of a conscious choice to do something that definitely wouldn’t be approved. And I can’t remember a single second of the screen-time, when Wangji would look repentant: conflicted, upset, slapped (when Lan Qiren mentions his mother), stressed (his uncle uses some pretty cruel techniques that border on manipulation, to my mind), but not sorry at all – not for letting the fugitives go, at least. And comparing the shades of Wangji’s silence here and on the previous occasion, this one seems somehow more determined. And closed-off. And there is no intention to do better, in regard to this transgression: the alternative he is being pushed to is unacceptable.

Kneeling again, for the whole day, in the cold, lifting a… what is it, as a matter of fact? It does look like a slightly smaller version of ‘the discipline whip’ we’ll see later, and if it is really so, then it’s beyond prophetic symbolic – it looks more like a promise on Lan Qiren’s part. :/ Anyway, my impression is that, for the first time in the series, LWJ is actively absent from the scene of his own punishment: he doesn’t reflect on it (I think he expected something like that), he also doesn’t mentally substitute one transgression with another to restore the balance (his inability to help Wei Ying is not something to atone for by kneeling). He simply endures. And thinks. And feels. Just not what he is expected and obliged to be thinking and feeling at the moment. And through all of this, Wangji is utterly, hopelessly and stoically alone and unaccepted. His concerns have been dismissed and care rejected by Wei Ying. His actions and decisions have been castigated by a significant authority figure (whom he loves and respects). If I am not mistaken, in the special edition Wangji’s loss-and-loneliness are somewhat artificially heightened through the pseudo-contrast because his moments are mixed with the moments of Wei Ying’s drinking with his new family, who values and appreciates him. (In reality their situations are just the same: they are both in anguish and feel helpless to change things they wish to change.) And, a cherry on top: we don’t know, what has been said initially, and by whom, however, we see that Wangji is released not by his uncle, but by some adept (or disciple). It might be a normal procedure, but it completes the picture of being unequivocally separated from any supportive figure and hints at a lack of closure, in a way, as there was no forgivenes-and-reconnection after the punishment.

I am struggling to verbalize, why exactly, but to me, this scene is, in a sense, more bitter than the next one, despite the circumstances.

During the next punishment Wangji is as actively present as he was absent during the previous one. And if then he was frozen in sadness, now he is all fire (fueled by grief, and guilt, and fury, and despair, yes, but fire, nonetheless). And the system and order get burned down: what Wangji re-builds during his seclusion is his very own set of rules. They do coincide with the Gusu Lan set, but not fully. And this is a point of no return because, filtered through Wangji’s own system of values, now they are more than just the elders’ lessons learned and tested – they are the only valid reference point for recognizing transgressions and ‘living with no regrets’.

(On another level, I am more than a little puzzled by several details here:

1) linguistics: do they really call this thing a discipline ‘whip’ in Chinese?

2) cultural message: as literally nothing could get in the way of filming a beating with an actual whip, the type of instrument has to make some sense, doesn’t it? (For now, I can’t think of any reason to choose this tool, though. Except the number 300 as 300 lashes are hardly survivable, even with a golden core.)

3) application: I can understand, why Wangji has his shirt on (although this is a more dangerous and torturous option: such a thin layer is no protection at all, but it will be hell to clean the wounds afterwards), but why is his hair down his back like that?..

4) consequences: the scarring looks rather odd, considering. (And again: it was definitely not a problem to paint whatever they had to, so – why?)

The only (and vague) explanation I can come up with is that the type and form of the tool is not important at all: it’s the intent and sentence that count, so the wounds and pain would be the same, even if the instrument looked like a rod or a cane. (Still doesn’t explain the hair, though.) And as for the scars, perhaps, not all of them have to stay forever, especially if the cultivator is very strong.

Well, no: unsatisfactory...)

IV.

I wonder... My first impression after watching the scene, where Lan Wangji cuts off Jin Guangyao’s arm, was that he was actually saving him from Baxia, separating Guangyao from the mark on his hand. And the only reason, why the spirit of the sword attacks Jin Ling next, are the drops of the bad/damned blood on the boy’s shoulder. But after the special edition I am not so sure.

Lacunae and plotholes (or what I subjectively perceive as such) are extremely challenging and thought-provoking in this series. Right now, I wonder about the Wens: Wen Qing clearly stated she had asked one of the clansmen to look after WWX, so not all of them were going to surrender. Could it be that they were attacked at the Burial Mounds, when seeing the siblings off, and taken away by force?

...Enough. For now.

#the untamed #lan wangji #wei wuxian #suddenly #questions and more questions #just thinking

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imagine-loki · 5 years ago

Text

Pride and prejudice

TITLE: Pride and Prejudice CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 29 AUTHOR: wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths. RATING: Mature NOTES/WARNINGS: Forced Marriage, not all fun and games. My first real step back into the Loki scene in over a year.

Tags - @skulliebythesea @asimovethroughthisworld @blackcherry26-blog @we-shadowhunter2901

Loki walked into the throne room with purpose. Court was in session for the past hour and he was late but considering his morning, he was surprised he could force himself from the bed at all. When he rushed to his father’s side during an interval, Laufey looked at him curiously. “Apologies, Father, I found myself having to attend to some issues.”

Laufey had not expected to see Loki for the day at all, as Helbindi was utterly inebriated when he had come into his father’s rooms the night before the same time Loki had unintentionally entered Ella’s and informed his father that he and Loki had drunk the late-night hours away. Yet here stood his middle son, looking fresher than a newly blossomed flower in front of him. “I thought I excused you from court for the day to recuperate after the heat of Vanaheim?”

“My good mate ensured that we did not have to endure too badly on Vanaheim.” He smiled to where Ella was now standing in the court.

Laufey looked at Ella who seemed unable to cease smirking. To his side, he noted his son doing the same. Though startled by the situation he was now clearly able to translate from their faces, and wondering how it could have possibly come to pass considering the day before’s revelations, he was elated to see the connection between his son and his mate. “Well, then, you know what to do. You are always fearful you will miss something.” He remarked as he gave the order for another to come forward.

When the issues of the court were discussed and Laufey asked his son to inform all of what had occurred whilst on Vanaheim, Loki spoke, but through the entirety of the rest of the proceedings, his mind was only on one thing, the morning with his mate. He watched her across the hall, paying attention to everything that was occurring and when she noted him looking at her, she gave him warning glances but could not cease to smirk herself.

Laufey was able to see their interactions and could not resist giving his son a raised brow himself. On seeing Loki’s reaction of not being able to hold his gaze, he chuckled to himself. Upon dismissing everyone for the day, Laufey asked Loki to remain behind.

“Yes, Father?” “Arden informed me of Prince Nigel’s attempts to anger and bother you all, congratulations on keeping a calm head and for allowing Prince Thor’s assistance. The marriage to Ella is a strong one and allows such alliances. I also heard of your discussions with the Vanir and Light Elves and of the trade talks you are arranging with them, you are every bit the capable man I knew you to be, my son."

"Thank you, Father." Loki was used to his father's comments on his actions, knowing him to think him capable but considering the sheer magnitude of the situation with foreign realms, it made him all the prouder.

"I understand the situation at present with Byleistr is fraught, his betrayal will not go unpunished by myself and indeed by you as my heir."

"Your support in this is all I could ever ask for. As Ella stated, had there been honesty, had they spoken to me and explained their situation, I would have been hurt but I would have respected it, this I cannot respect, this was lower than low. To lie...Ella put it better than I can."

"And in this, something had changed between you and your mate?" Laufey gently pushed.

Loki found himself smiling again. "Ella is never dishonest with me. She respects me enough to be so and I cannot help but want to return her respect. She understands my thoughts even when she does not experience them herself because she takes time to consider others."

Laufey studied his son closer. "Is that everything?" Loki looked at him baffled. "You forget, my son, that all present in the throne room today saw your interactions with your mate and you can be assured, it will not be received negatively. This is a wonderful advancement of things. I am elated that you see the value in her now, both for her own being and for what she brings to Jotunheim with her ties. There are many great things that this does for you, my son. Focus on being happy with a good mate and cease mourning one that evidently did not see fit to respect your sacrifice. She knew well her actions and as your mate stated, had there been respect, well, it is still unacceptable but to show that would, at the very least, show some thought for another, but they both declined to do so."

"I do not intend to spend time thinking about such things. As Ella stated this morning, thinking of such constantly only allows such thoughts to fester and when they do, they poison our thoughts and cloud our judgment. I will not let any take from my focus."

"Not even Aesir mates with whom it is clear you cannot cease thinking of in some manner that I assume has something to do with you being in discussion with her this morning?" Again, Loki did not look his father in the eye causing him to chuckle. "Come now, do you think me blind? All can see that the time in Vanaheim has stirred something different in the relationship between you."

"She understands everything, even things I have not told her and she respects it all fully, without question or expectation to be told more. I have a mate like none other."

"I am elated to hear that my son. Now, I have to deal with the ever dull Lord Gregory, damn but I hate that Jotnar, but needs must." Laufey rose to his feet. "Try not to skewer anything in the meantime." Loki looked at his father on confusion. "I saw your little anger exercise yesterday."

"Ella felt it a better idea to release some anger."

"Once again, your mate was correct. It is clear to see, now more than ever, that the mate you have is more than the one you could ever want, she is what you need more than any, my son."

Laufey left, leaving Loki to consider his thoughts. Not long after, a timid looking Helbindi entered the throne room. Loki laughed at him as he meekly held his head.

“How are you here? You drank more than me?”

“Ella healed me,” he declared smugly.

“That is not fair. How come she did that?” “I may have accidentally stumbled into her room last night in my drunken state and not my own.” Helbindi laughed at that. “Better than you walking into Father’s rooms.” “I’ll have you know, I did not walk in, I fell in, on top of him.” Loki chuckled at the image of his younger brother falling onto their father. “How did she take you barging in?” “Very well, according to what she showed me from her memories this morning since I remember nothing.”

Helbindi noticed something in his brother’s features. “Why are you smiling like that?” “What?”

“Like...wait, what happened?” “What are you babbling about?” Loki tried to walk off but Helbindi used his superior size to block his brother. “Bind…”

“Who is she?” “Who?” “This new one? You only ever look that happy after you get to have some fun, who is she?” “Bind…” Loki looked around. “You cannot speak like that.” “Like what?” “Like I am sniffing around those I should not. I do not want trouble.” “So, just say her name.” “Ella.” “Your mate?” “Yes, my mate.” “Why are you saying her name?” “Because she is who you wish to know the name of.” “No, I don’t, I want to know about...wait, you lay with her?” Loki nodded. “Not sleeping, actually…” “Well, there was sleeping too.” “But you said it was terrible with her.”

“It was,” Loki agreed. “Before.” “What changed?” “The time she almost left, she confessed that she heard us talking about her, how I spoke about her to you and she decided not to put any effort in but this time she did and it was good, great even.” “Really? But you said she was a maiden, so how would she know how to do anything?” “She has this ability, with her seidr, to show things she has seen in the past and she showed me things she read and things that those ladies-in-waiting she spoke about, Helbindi, the Aesir women would make you blush, they are not without sexual knowledge.” Loki’s eyes were wide as he recalled one of Ella’s ladies explain how to perform a leud act.

“Really, how?” Helbindi was intrigued more than he should be by such a statement.

“The things they know, and they all told her things. And what she read...Why did she never say anything…” “What were the books?” “I have no idea.” “Ask her.” “I am not asking her, you ask her.” Helbindi looked at him with disbelief. “I cannot ask her, you idiot, then she will know we spoke like this again and she won’t let you near her.” Loki winced. “Good point.”

“Wait, what if she bears you a child now?” “Considering she is supposed to give me two sons, I would think it would be seen as a good thing.”

“But what about, you know…‘Leist and...” “Ella stated it best, it would have been better if they were honest but they were not. I want to hate her for it, hate both of them for it but she wanted to hurt me, so I won’t let her.” “Do you think that is why she did it?” Helbindi asked.

“I am not sure but the manner she looked at me, the cold look in her eyes, I think that perhaps she did. But I will not let her get me down, not now.” “Not that your mate showed she actually knows what she is doing?”

“That helps, I will confess,” Loki smirked.

“Do you think the Vanir are as knowledgeable. There were one or two there that seemed interested in some fun when we were there.”

"I know a few of her ladies were Vanir. None seemed to be blushing in her memories."

"Nice." Helbindi's eyes were alight with such a prospect. “I think they look better than the Aesir.” “Yes, you would think that, I remember you and the, what was her name?” Loki looked at his brother.

“No idea, that kissing thing they do is fun though. What do you think?”

“Have not tried it.” “Really?”

“Is that hard for you to believe?”

“I thought you would try it since you tried everything else again. So, not a corpse then?”

Loki thought about how Ella had intertwined her legs with his, her hands exploring his body, whether intentionally or not, the manner in which she gripped his ass as he moved, urging him on. It all felt so much more natural. The one thing he did notice was her attempts to remain silent, biting her lips to remain so. He pleaded with her a few times to not force herself to remain quiet, but Ella would not relent, biting her lips together in attempts to not make noise. Clearly, that was something she was still under the impression should be done. He would have to speak with her and inform her that he liked that, being told how much his partner was enjoying herself made him feel better, knowing he was doing things well was something he wished for. It may be an awkward conversation, but he was willing to try it, as he hoped she would want to try other things with him. “Not like a corpse, definitely not.” “I think you would rather be with her now.” Helbindi jested.

Loki could not argue his point.

#Pride and Prejudice #chapter 29 #wolfpawn #loki #other #submission #Submitted fic

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wolfpawn · 5 years ago

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I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 53

Chapter Summary - Tom goes to the hospital to get Danielle released, their conversations leading to some revelations on a few fronts.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @lys-syl @youcantcatchafallingstar

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

Danielle curled up in the bed, shivering with only a hospital gown on under her rough hospital blankets, wondering how she went from being excited for Christmas to lying alone in a hospital bed. She thought about the day that was about to come, and how she hoped to wake up next to Tom, him kissing her shoulder as she had become used to in the mornings, and more than likely have a little fun, before they would get washed and dressed, then going to his mother’s for a big hot breakfast and watching as his niece happily showed them the presents she had received from Santa before finally giving him his present, knowing he would more than likely enjoy it, now, all she could look forward to was a bowl of half soggy cereal, in a hospital room, but at least she would not be utterly alone, something she feared at home. She wondered if Tom had tried to call her, or if he bothered, he was getting to see his family again, alone, something she knew he adored and without the cameras of his time there with Taylor, she knew it would be all the better.

“Of course, sir, I will get a doctor to see if that can be done. It’s the third room on the right.”

Danielle was still staring at the wall when the door opened further, not noticing that there was someone after entering the room. “Elle?”

She turned around, somewhat dazed. When she noticed Tom in the doorway, she frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“What am...what the hell are you doing here? Why the fuck didn’t you call me?” he asked, rushing over to her, checking her over for obvious injuries.

“How did you find out I was here?”

“Paul came to mum’s, apparently you told him there was no one to care for you, why the fuck would you say that?” His concern was beginning to turn to anger on seeing she was alright but had not thought it a good idea to let him know what had happened. “Why didn’t you call me? Why is your phone turned off? I have been calling you for hours, I have been worried sick.”

“Why?”

“Why...Elle, what is going on? I had no idea where you were, you have been gone all day, and then Mac turns up at the house, locked into the garden and there was still no sign of you, then Paul arrived at mums and said you were injured, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I didn’t want to annoy you,” she stated sheepishly.

“Annoy...how the fuck is that annoying me?” he shook his head.

“You were enjoying time with your family.”

“Elle, what the hell is going on?”

“I wanted to give you time alone with them, you said it was great to have time alone with them again.” her eyes began to fill with tears and her voice broke a little.

“Elle,” Tom pulled her to him, kissing her head as he did. “A few hours catching up with my sisters does not mean I did not want you there, I spent most of that time wishing you were. I kept at you to join us.”

“I didn’t want to intrude.”

“Elle, you are part of the family, don't you get that? And not because of me, Mum has had you join us every year since you came over, why did you think this one was different?”

“Emma said to give you space, that she wanted time alone with you, so to back off for a while.”

“Wait, what?” Tom pulled her back to look at her face. “She said what?”

“When you and Sarah went for the walk, she came over and told me that if I cared about her at all, to just back off so you could spend time together, to prove I wasn't like the others that used her to get to you,” she explained. Tom’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared, it startled Danielle when he began to shake slightly. “Tom?”

“I am going to kill her.”

“She is just upset, she wanted time with you.”

“She made you feel like you could not ring me to tell me you were injured and in hospital and that you felt that you couldn’t be around me...is that why you were listening to sad songs and avoiding me?” she didn’t answer. “Get dressed, a doctor is coming to sign you out. I am staying in yours with you, in fact, I am not leaving you out of my sight until we are sure you don’t have a concussion and you are going to be at mums tomorrow, just like every other Christmas, that brat and her false apologies be damned,” he growled.

“She apologised?”

“She can’t have fucking meant it if she told you to stay away.”

“When?”

“What?”

“When did she apologise?”

“Today, earlier.”

“She said those other things yesterday.”

“Which meant she could not have meant what she said today.”

“No, it means that she calmed, that she could have,” Danielle argued.

“Do not defend her, she doesn’t deserve it.” he snarled.

A knock on the door caused them both turn to look, a slightly concerned looking doctor faced them. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“Perfect timing.” Danielle smiled. “Where do I sign?”

“I need to check you over.” the doctor stated, looking warily at Tom.

“Well, I will tell you what I told Doctor Pennycook in A and E said, I am not suffering any clear symptoms of a concussion. I will be apparently chaperoned everywhere,” she gave Tom a small glare but smiled with it. “As for his giving out, it’s nothing to do with me.” Tom frowned. “The doctor is worried that you are a risk to me, that your anger could in some way, be used to harm me, physically or emotionally.” Tom stared between Danielle and the doctor, his hands raised in surrender, his face a mixture of horror and disgust.

“I…” The doctor cleared his throat.

“I am an ex-paramedic, I know exactly what you're worried about.” Danielle smiled knowingly. “He is angry at someone else’s actions and is in no way aggressive, seriously, he lets people cut him off when driving and doesn’t even utter something.”

“I see.” the doctor inhaled deeply and in doing so, his whole demeanour seemed to change and a smile of relief and understanding came to his face. “So, let’s see if we can let you go.”

After a few checks, the doctor confirmed that she could leave, under strict instruction to let her arm heal and a comment about how he loved Tom in the Night Manager. Tom thanked him and turned to Danielle. “Where are your clothes?” She walked over to the bag that was next to the bed. “I’ll give you a hand.” he smiled, helping her to change.

The journey back was peculiar, Tom said nothing as he drove the roads until they were almost there. “You did not tell Paul about us.”

“Is it any of his business?” she asked back, turning her head to look at him.

“Not particularly, but he…”

“Was busy talking about his lovely fiance.” she smiled.

“Fi...it’s been a few months, what fiancee? Isn’t that a tad fast.”

“Well, they need to be married before the baby begins showing.”

“Are you serious?” Tom’s brows raised. “What did you say to that?”

“What else do you say, he wanted a wife and children, now he is getting them, with a woman that seems to really like him, I said congratulations and I wished them both the best.”

“Was that not weird for you?”

“Why would it be, he is a really nice person, but he was never a fit for me, we never clicked, but he seems to have someone now who does, and honestly, I am delighted for him. Though he didn’t seem too happy with moving to Surrey; so that I feel for him on.”

“Is that how you feel about any plans for you to leave Suffolk?” Tom asked.

“No, I am not overly bothered, I only chose Suffolk for work, if I spent more than fifteen minutes outside of your house in London, I would probably have been fairly happy in that area, it seems really nice. If I love anywhere else, I am not overly tied to Suffolk. I just remember him saying he liked that he had been able to return to Suffolk after college, it’s where he’s from,” she explained. “Are you still mad at me?

“Elle,” he was about to take her hand but recalled her injury. “I am not mad at you, well, I am mad that you thought you could not ring me, and that you thought that you should be alone in hospital for Christmas, and not in my arms. Actually, yes, I am sort of mad at you, what were you thinking?”

“I didn’t want to intrude,” she stated, looking at her hands.

“Elle, you do realise I spend every day wondering if I am suffocating you, right?” she looked at him confused. “I am terrified I am going to scare you away, because I know you love your space, and that you are so capable and comfortable of being in your own company, I worry that me being around you too much is irritating you.”

“You’re not,” he glanced at her for a moment. “I missed being around you for the past two days.” He glanced again to see her looking at her lap. “It’s so pathetic,” she wiped a tear from her eye. “I mean, it shouldn't be so hard, to just give you a couple of days with your family, but I actually didn’t sleep last night, at all.” he frowned. “I sat in bed, staring at the ceiling, just wondering why it mattered so much, we have been apart before for work and, yes, I missed you, but all I could think was you were about forty feet away, and that really was so much harder than when you were in Sudan, I mean that is a continent away. ”

“Because there was distance then, so it seemed like that was a real reason for being lonely, last night there was just a few blocks of concrete,” Tom stated, sensing her looking at him as though he was after figuring out some great secret of the universe. “You think that you alone felt lonely, the difference is that I actually said something.” There was a small bite of anger in his voice. “I kept at you to join us.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you what was bothering me, and for not getting the hospital to ring you. I know I set us back a bit, but I will fix it.”

“You sound so sure of that,” he grumbled, but there was no annoyance in his voice.

“That’s because I know what I got you for Christmas.” when he took a moment to look at her at the traffic lights, she had a small hopeful smile on her face.

“That alone is not going to do it,” he warned. “But considering it’s Christmas and you are injured...a truce, until Boxing Day.” He grinned and raised a brow. As expected, Danielle made a noise at the British name for the day after Christmas day, a pet peeve of hers.

“I’m sorry, Tom.”

“I know, but it really hurts to think you were injured and regardless of Emma’s petty tantrum, you would not tell me.”

“You said you were happy to spend time alone with your family.”

Tom frowned as he processed what she was saying. “What?”

“You said you were happy to have time alone with your family,” she repeated.

“Why do you keep saying that I was glad to be alone with them like that?”

“Because that is what you said, that you were happy to be alone with them.” she snapped back.

“I don’t think I even said the word ‘alone’.”

“Yes, you did.” Tom was startled by the fact she almost shouted back at him and used the fact they were at a junction waiting to go into traffic to look at her properly for a moment, the hurt in her eyes telling him that it had occurred, and a throwaway comment on his behalf had not merely hurt her, but crushed her. “You said it, and you seemed so happy.” her voice broke as large tears streamed down her fast and heavy “so I knew I overstayed my welcome in London and that you wanted your space, and you were just being polite.” she was sobbing as she spoke, her words being forced through in gasps. “So I just smiled politely, but all I wanted was someone, anyone. I am all alone. I have no one.”

If there was a break in traffic, or cars behind him using their horns in attempts to get him to move on, Tom, at that moment, was utterly unaware of it. He just looked at Danielle in utter shock, hardly able to process what she was saying, he had no idea that she felt such a way. Not caring that they could be holding up anyone else, Tom released her seat belt and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. “You know that’s not true, right? You honestly think Mum or I would ever let you be truly alone?” He kissed her head. “I think you and I need to talk a little more about what is going on in our heads because we are both seemingly frightened of being overbearing and as a result are actually being unnecessarily ridiculous.”

“No, I’m not,” she muttered back indignantly.

“Elle, you were willing to spend Christmas unnecessarily in a hospital because you thought I didn’t want you around.” he pointed out. “And why do I have a feeling your little adventure earlier was because of it all too?”

“You are so narcissistic.”

“Elle…”

“I was restless.”

“Because you thought no one wanted you?” she did not reply. “Boxing day, you and I are going to have to sit down and talk, no interruptions about what is going on in that beautiful head of yours, because I think behind all the smiling, there is some little voice telling you that you are not worth as much as everyone else around you knows you are, and we are going to have to work on that.” he kissed her again. “But tonight, you need to get some rest, and tomorrow you need to try and be you again, so let’s get you home.” He stated, putting her safety belt back on and turning back to the wheel to get them back to the house.

When they arrived, he pulled into her driveway and as soon as the key was out of the ignition, he rushed out of the car to get her in home. Diana opened Danielle’s front door, showing she had gone there after Tom left and remained there until his return. “Elle.” she walked over to her, noting her upset appearance, she looked to Tom, who gave the faintest shake of his head to tell his mother to say nothing for that moment, taking the hint, she rushed the younger woman inside. “You are like ice!”

“I need a blanket.” Danielle concurred.

“You need a warm shower, come on, no arguments.” Tom insisted, as he half dragged her up the stairs. “Mum, something warm, she should have soup in the freezer,” Diana said nothing and rushed to warm some food. When they got to her room, Tom brought her to her en suite and because stripping her of her clothes. “Can that brace get wet?”

“No.” she looked at it. “It has to come off.”

“What about your arm?”

“It’s a small fracture, I just need to keep it still.” gingerly, she removed the brace and walked to the shower.

“You’re still wearing a bra.” Tom pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter.” the steamy water was almost calling to her. Tom forced her to removed the contraption as swiftly as he could, making comment on the lack of fasteners on it as he did so.

Tom’s brows rose as the water hit her skin and she left out a moan that was almost sinful. As though the water was heating her very soul. “Just stand there heating up, I will be back in a moment.” He instructed, walking out of the bathroom. As quickly as he could, he grabbed some of her fleece nightwear, soft socks and the thickest, warmest towel she owned and returned to the bathroom, having placed everything but the towel on the bed. Unsurprisingly, Danielle had not moved more than a few inches so the rest of her could be warmed by the water. Tom stripped and got in, grabbing her shampoo and using some to wash her hair before rinsing it and going for the conditioner, having studied her actions in his shower before. As the conditioner was allowed work, he lathered her in soap and washed her down, noting that there was actually mud and grass stuck to her in parts, as well as more than a few lacerations from her fall. “My poor little country mouse,” he commented as he looked at her right arm, which was badly bruised and scraped. “We will have to make sure you never go out again without telling someone exactly where you are going, promise?”

“You’d allow me to do it again?”

“I will be freaking out the entire time you are gone, but I can hardly forbid you, you are a fully grown woman, Elle,” he commented. “You just need to be more clued in,” he stated as he gently rinsed her arm, she hissed as he got her to raise her hand to get the soap off. “It is more bruised than anything,” he noted. Danielle simply leant in against his chest, her eyes closed. “Miss me that much?” he chuckled.

“Yes,” she looked up at him. “My bed doesn’t have a smell of you in it.”

“A smell of me, talk about making a man self-conscious.” Tom laughed. “Well, my old bed doesn’t have a smell of you either, and as such, was in no way inviting last night, so let’s get out of here and work on getting more of a smell of me in your bed, shall we?” nodding tiredly, Danielle did as suggested, Tom wrapping her warmly before putting another towel around his waist and bringing her out to her room to get dressed, ensuring to help her dry. “What about your wrist?” he asked, seeing wince as her t-shirt rubbed off it.

“Leave it dry naturally.” she insisted, walking over to the bed.

“You have to eat Elle.”

“I will, in a minute.” she yawned, getting in. “Will you really stay?”

“I have to, I can’t let you be alone.”

“I know, you promised the doctor.”

“No, not because of that Elle,” she frowned at him, “Because you need me to be here now, to show you you’re not alone.”

“I’m sorry I’m needy.”

“You’re not needy, you’re a human being that needs to be around those who love her, same as all the rest of us.” he corrected. “I am going to get your soup, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” she curled up, getting comfy, relieved to be warm again.

Tom walked downstairs and went to the kitchen. “How is she?” Diana half demanded.

“Tired, sore and in the strangest place in her head.”

“How so?”

“She thought I didn’t want her, mum, that I wanted her to be twenty feet away and not be near her. She genuinely thought that she was going to be alone for Christmas, that being in a hospital was better than being at home because at least there, she would have company,” he explained. “What am I doing so wrong that she would think that. I am clearly failing her somehow.”

“Thomas William Hiddleston, you are not failing her, you are just not seeing something.” Diana snapped, getting her son’s undivided attention. “Danielle works like a cart-horse, and why does a woman, not yet thirty slave away like that? Not for fun, but because she is doing everything in her power to block out the sense of loneliness of being an only child who lost not one, but both her parents in the space of two years. She runs from her loneliness, and now she finally has someone to love again and she felt as though that is too good to be true, because that is what you are darling, and she reacted foolishly. She is human, and from time to time, she will make mistakes; do not get angry with her for that much Tom, she can't help it, we all are such ways from time to time.”

“What, I am not angry with her.”

“You say that, but the hurt in your voice says otherwise, you are angry that she felt she could not come to you, and that is understandable, but speak of it tomorrow or the day after, not when she is so tired and worn.”

“I planned on such, after tomorrow.”

“Good.” Diana smiled, “Clear the air, spend some time doing something small together tomorrow, enjoy one another’s company.” She looked out the door. “Where is she?”

“In bed, she is exhausted.”

“Get this into her.” Diana showed him the heated food. “She needs it.”

“I will. Thank you, Mum.”

Diana leant up and kissed his cheek. “Get some rest, we will talk in the morning.” she smiled as she walked out of the kitchen. “Take care of her darling, she is a good one.”

“I know, mum, I figured that one out myself.”

“It took you long enough,” she commented, leaving the house for the night.

As Tom grabbed his phone, he heard a knock on the door, thinking it was his mum after forgetting something, he rushed out, to see Emma standing there. “Yes?” He asked coldly, recalling what Danielle had said.

“Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, she needs to rest.”

“Can I talk to her?”

“No,” Emma frowned. “You can have your little guilt trip a little longer.”

“Tom…”

“You told her to back off, you used her loyalty to your friendship as a ploy to get her to isolate herself. Tomorrow, there will be smiles and laughter, but come Boxing Day, you are going to give Elle the apology she deserves, you have lost any moral high ground you thought you had in this,” he growled. “Now, if you don’t mind, Danielle is cold, hungry and exhausted, so I am going back to bed. Goodnight Emma,” he closed the door in her face and rushed back up the stairs to deal with Danielle.

#chapter 53 #I Hate You I Love You #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic

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clansayeed · 5 years ago

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Bound by Circumstance ― Chapter 3: Of Monsters and Men

PAIRING: Nik Ryder x trans*M!MC (Taylor Hunter) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Circumstance ⥽

Taylor Hunter (MC) has made it good for himself in New Orleans; turns out moving to a new city fresh out of college to reinvent yourself isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. Things only start to get confusing when he finds himself the target of a malevolent wraith. Good thing someone’s looking out for him though — because without Nighthunter Nik Ryder as his bodyguard he definitely won’t survive long in the twisting darkness of the supernatural underworld he’s tripped into.

Bound by Circumstance and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the book Nightbound and the rest of the Bloodbound series. Find out more [HERE].

Note: Circumstance only loosely follows the events and plotline of Nightbound, and features a separate antagonist, different character motivations, and further worldbuilding.

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Circumstance/series tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Taylor meets his new bodyguard, debates casual necromancy, and learns the truth behind his hallucinations. All while a fae makes him cream soda.

[READ IT ON AO3]

Taylor doesn’t remember waking up — one second he’s asleep and the next he just isn’t.

Despite the things he’s seen (not really seen, but thought he’s seen) he’s not a fan of these kinds of wakings. Would rather emerge slowly as if from a cocoon. With enough time between breaths and heartbeats to let the dreams that plagued him fade away into fuzzy oblivion — forgotten despite all efforts to bring them back to recent memory.

He prefers it because when he wakes all at once there’s no helping remembering his dreams.

And all of that — the cemetery, Vera’s gloves, Kristin’s tears, the moon and moldy flowers — definitely isn’t something he wants to linger on.

“Are you gonna freak out now? Because these walls ain’t soundproofed.”

The voice resists its accent; clips sounds the Louisiana slang wants to let hang. He’s never heard it before but doesn’t need to.

It does the trick. Reminds Taylor how easily the world of dreams can blend with reality.

He takes in his surroundings with eyes still shut. The scratchy pilling on the cushions underneath, the stale air that’s made his shirt stick sweaty to his body, the repetitive squeak of a portable fan that should have retired a lifetime ago.

If he keeps his eyes shut will it all go away? Can it really be that easy?

Of course it isn’t. He knows it, the stranger knows it… but still a guy can dream.

“I know you’re awake, kid,” the stranger continues, “sleepin’ people don’t breathe like that.”

Taylor’s nose scrunches. “Don’t watch me breathe.”

“Then don’t breathe weird.”

The fact I‘m not hyperventilating right now is a fucking miracle, Taylor wants to say back — doesn’t in favor of inhaling so hard his nostrils burn before letting it out in a whistle on his dry lips.

Instead he snaps his eyes open and stares at the bald patches of peeling paint on the popcorn ceiling.

Something shifts behind him; the squeak of leather on pleather.

“You’re handlin’ this awful well.”

No, he’s really not. “I’m not unfamiliar with waking up on strange couches.”

“Is that so?”

Taylor doesn’t like the way the voice drops into a suggestive purr. It’s enough to get him to sit up on his elbows and try to shake the fog from his head. The familiar words, “how much did I drink last night?” are on the tip of his tongue but without the pounding headache there to accompany them they just don’t feel right.

A hand appears out of the corner of his eye. He watches scarred knuckles on tanned skin flex silvery as a nondescript flask is placed on one of the coffee table’s few bare spots.

“Here — this’ll help. Trust me.”

Taylor takes it. Can smell the familiar simmering honey and spice of whiskey. But he isn’t even tempted — screws the cap back on and sets it pack with a little too much purpose.

The stranger gives a ‘huh’ of surprise. “You sure? It’s not top shelf, but —”

“I’m gonna say this once;” as he does Taylor sits up and digs his knuckles into his eyes to quell the dizzy rush, “don’t ever offer me alcohol again. Please.”

As bright and inconsistent colors flash before his sight there’s silence.

Then, “fair enough,” and takes back the flask.

He can’t immediately tell if the stranger is just prone to dramatics or if the positioning of the lamp-sans-shade is purposefully there to shroud his rescuer (or kidnapper) in all the shadows the apartment can offer.

But it’s definitely him: the guy from the dive bar. Where his memory ends his eyes pick up the slack and fill in the sharp face like a puzzle. Dark eyes — almost black — and evidence of a five o-clock shadow. A little bit of a greying sheen to the hairs at his temples. And a strange scar like an inverted triangle brushed flippantly from left temple to eyebrow to the top of his cheekbone.

So he’s the quintessential ‘rugged, grizzled, don’t-play-by-the-rules’ type. Which, in Taylor’s opinion, just makes the worn leather trench coat overkill.

And his very presence makes things very very complicated.

Makes his head incite a full-on civil war between the things he knows and the things he’s seen — not to speak of the independent faction trying to resist both.

The man grabs something small off of the stand beside him and a glass of water — takes one of Taylor’s hands off of his jeans and pushes it into his palm in a very non-negotiable style.

“At least take this. That headache looks real fierce. Won’t work as fast as the booze, though.”

Oh, he knows. But he’s glad for something to help no matter how little and washes down the aspirin tablet with the entire water glass.

Judging by the awkward silence that follows neither Taylor nor the man know how to actually… begin. Because there needs to be a beginning — maybe not right now but there was earlier and if he thinks about it too much, if he lets his imagination run wild and spiral, he’ll start to panic.

Last time he checked panic wouldn’t bring Kristin back from the dead.

Kristin. Oh god. He needs to find her body.

“Can I…?” He raises the glass. The stranger slaps his knees and hauls himself up with possibly too-much dramatic effort and takes it to refill. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

It’s a small apartment with only as many walls as needed. Ideally Taylor would prefer a room between him and the man to make his escape (which will be the exact opposite of stealthy) a little bit easier, but…

He waits until the leather-clad back is turned before slowly starting to stand. Not one step and the fucking floor creaks underfoot.

Shit. “Uh — can I get some ice?” Taylor asks; louder than necessary to cover it up.

The man (probably) rolls his eyes. “Want a straw while I’m at it? Maybe a little pink umbrella?”

“I’d prefer yellow.”

“I bet you would.”

Taylor waits, poised like a viper, and strikes when the ice maker on the fridge door begins to rumble to life. Dashes as fast as he can — though it isn’t until he moves more than an inch that he realizes just how sore everything is — to what looks like every closed front door he’s ever seen.

Aaaand it’s locked.

There’s a deep rich laughter behind him as Taylor yanks on the brass handle; twists the lock this way and that in his growing panic and previously undiscovered claustrophobia.

When he looks back the man is behind him, glass in hand — with ice, too.

“Stop laughing!” Taylor’s voice cracks — makes him wince.

With a shake of his head the man approaches. Taylor tenses for some sort of assault but instead watches dumbly while his personal space is invaded. Damn this guy is tall.

“Stop being so funny.”

“What kind of fucking sicko locks an apartment from the outside?!”

Bemusement falls into a slight frown. He flinches, feels the stranger reach around…

The door unlocks with a click.

“Dunno, but I’ll let you know when I meet one.”

Not a second into looking up and up into the man’s face does Taylor push him back. Keeps his back pressed against the door and blindly searches for the knob but forces distance between them.

It doesn’t take a psychic to know he’s wary. The stranger sighs and scratches the back of his head.

“Listen — I ain’t holdin’ you hostage, or anything. You’re free to go.” But before Taylor can even twist his wrist he adds; “Not that I’d really wanna run the risk of facing Casper’s Cannibal Cousin again but that’s just me. You seem like a strong, capable guy. Lemme know how it goes.”

Fuck.

Taylor gives him a wary eye. “Are we — I mean… am I actually safe here?”

“With the wards on this place you’d have a hard time being stung by a really pissed-off mosquito.”

“Not funny.”

“Who’s laughing?”

Somehow they end up back in the same positions they were a minute earlier; Taylor’s fingers wet and numb from the glass and the other, well, he couldn’t look more like a middle-aged drunk if he tried; especially now with the coat off and thrown over the back of his chair.

“Do you have a name?” Taylor tries — and fails — not to let it get to him when he gets only a nod. “Wanna share?”

“Just call me Ryder.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“It’s not your name.”

“Yes it is.”

“It’s dumb.”

“You’re dumb.”

A tense and silent stand-off follows. This is why he doesn’t spend much one-on-one time with cis-men, not that Taylor would say that out loud.

Finally ‘Ryder’ relents; “My first name’s Nik. Nobody calls me Nik — they just call me Ryder. That means you’ll call me Ryder, too.”

Well he won’t, but that’s beside the point. “And where are we? Are we still in New Orleans?”

The question catches Ryder by surprise.

“‘Course we are. Just a couple’a blocks over from Bourbon.”

“Oh, good.”

“Yeah.”

He tries not to feel peeled back into layers by the scrutiny of Ryder’s gaze but with eyes like that it’s kind of impossible. Makes him freeze up — words forgotten.

“Is that really all you wanna ask?”

His face flushes hot. “No, of course not.”

“Then ask.”

“Ask what?”

“You know what.”

“No I don’t,” again his voice cracks — makes him focus on the wet spot the glass leaves on his jeans rather than the look on Ryder’s face, “like — I really don’t. Because… because my head is telling me to ask ‘what happened’ but when I think about it I automatically default back to the fact that nothing about it makes sense — nothing about it could have been real.”

Ryder takes too long to respond.

“Just because it doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean it wasn’t real, Taylor.”

And doesn’t that just fire off a spark in his brain. Makes him turn and slam the glass down and give Ryder the hardest, worst, and most rueful look he can.

“Fine — you want me to ask questions? We’ll start with — with that. How d’you know my name?”

The man shrugs. “Because I’m being paid to.”

“You’re being…” —oh the headache— “so you were stalking me in the bar?”

“No.”

“Uh, you just admitted it.”

“Uh, no I didn’t.” Taylor must’ve hit a nerve judging by the tick in Ryder’s scarred brow. “Strange as it may seem — and we really ain’t short on strange with all this — I wasn’t hired until after I left the Touristy Unicorn.”

That doesn’t help. “Hired for what?”

“For protection detail; bodyguard stuff. For you, kid.”

Does he look like his brain is short-circuiting, because that’s definitely how he feels. And in his silence Ryder takes the opportunity to keep talking without being harassed. “I wouldn’t’ve taken it on a normal day but, shit, you ain’t normal. Not even taking into account that you saw me in my booth —”

“— No shit I saw you. You were just sitting there.”

Ryder shakes his head. “Sure was but I was glamoured up to the nines. Nothing under a century or without some heavy magical aid should have been able to see me.”

Taylor disregards his crazy talk — he has proof. “My friend saw you first.”

“Who, the tipsy co-ed?” he barks a laugh, “Nah, she was more focused on the two mashing mouths to my side. Was too hard to enjoy my drink with the sound of sloppy spit-swappin’ for me to forget.

“She may have been seeing the world a little liquored-up but she definitely didn’t know I was there. But you? You looked right at me; saw right through my glamour and with no small amount of effort judgin’ by how sick you looked after.”

His headache. And wasn’t that what had started all of… of whatever this was? His headache and wanting to go home, getting lost with no signal, and then…

There’s no resisting the permafrost that blankets over his bones. When Taylor looks at Ryder he doesn’t see him; just sees the outline of him and that awful haunting thing in his mind’s eye.

Ryder continues; “You can turn the paranoia down a notch. I was content to mind my own business until I got a call on a damn payphone nearby.”

“A… payphone?”

“Well they don’t ring on their own. And in this town if someone in the know crosses by a phone ringin’ on its lonesome then that means its for them.” He sniffs; brushes something off like it’s no big deal and Taylor��s the fool for not just knowing. “Picked it up and there it was in my head: your face, your name, and the message. That’s how you know there’s something heavy hangin’ in the air… the kind of spellwork that can dig into your head without a trace.”

Magic. Spellwork. This is too fucking nuts.

Still, he has to ask. “What was the message?”

“‘Protect him.’”

How foreboding and creepy that is — well he’ll deal with that later. Because up until shit went down he didn’t need protecting. Had done a fair job of protecting himself all his life. But how can you protect yourself from things you don’t know about?

“What was it?” When there’s no quirky quip Taylor knows he’s starting to ask the right things. “What was that thing in the cemetery?”

“I…”

“Come on, Mister Answers. Where’d your answers go?”

“Hey, now you just —”

“What was it?”

“I don’t know!” Ryder growls through gritted teeth. It’s the first time his posturing slips — shoulders slumped and instinctively seeking comfort in the contents of the flask. “I don’t… I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of crazy shit; the dead, undead, the undead-dead. But I’ve never seen anything even remotely close to whatever the hell that was.”

Some bodyguard, he wants to say — doesn’t. Strange as it is Taylor finds himself comforted by the fact that he’s not the only one completely ignorant.

Not that it lasts long. Because when his brain finally puts everything together — shadows and skeletal killers and spellwork and the fact that the thing he’s been thinking was a flagpole leaning against the wall has a bright crystal atop it and is most likely something ridiculous like a wizard’s staff — it shuts off.

At least he’s got his answers.

Ryder knocks back the rest of the flask and tucks it between the cushions in his chair. Leans forward elbows-on-knees and studies Taylor’s face.

“I’ve been waitin’ for you to ask me what happened before you keeled over,” he says finally, “but now I’m not so sure you wanna know.”

“I do,” he answers on autopilot.

“You sure?”

He’s sure.

The story Taylor expects goes something like…

“I drew a circle around the creature, sated from its kill. Using the blood of my ancestors and sacred herbs I’ve been cultivating for this exact moment, I conjured magical holy fire and banished the demon back to the depths of Hell.”

But that’s not what he gets.

“I thought I had a shot when you went into hiding — you know how damn hard it is to chase something chasin’ somethin’ else through that shit? — but lost it again. Finally found you at the entryway and used the thing’s distraction to get a few arrows lodged in its, uh, well I think it was its back.

“Thing is those were holy light arrows I used. Blessed by every priest in every religion you’ve heard of and some you ain’t. I’ve used those things to take down malformed conjurings, hundred year-old revenants, the works. But it was about as effective as throwing a rock at its head.”

“I’m guessing that’s a bad thing.”

“You’d be guessin’ correctly.”

Taylor runs his hands over his face. Shoves down the thickness that wants to consume his lungs and keep him there; solid, immobile.

“Okay, okay —” talking more to himself than Ryder, “— okay. This is good. Crazy, but good.”

The look he’s given really shouldn’t be a surprise. “Did I break ya?”

“No — I mean, maybe, but not with that — no you… actually you saved me. So I’m grateful for that. Thank you.”

Ryder snorts. “Finally…”

“But you didn’t save Kristin. So I’m going to push down every… every problem I have with everything you said and pretend with all this crazy that conjurings and holy arrows and whatever-the-fuck-else is real —”

“It is. But, kid —”

“— And you’re gonna help me find some voodoo or hoo-doo or whatever kind of spell you can that’ll bring her back.”

The fact that Ryder doesn’t look the least bit remorseful is an issue he’ll deal with later — though that plate is starting to get a little crowded. But if the universe seems intent on throwing him into this fucking insanity with no warning or even a tutorial mode then he’s going to meet it head-on and screw the rest.

He leans forward and starts rifling through the leather-bound books, tomes, and sheets of paper scattered on the coffee table. “So what here can help us? Do we need a lock of hair, or a personal item, or —”

“She ain’t dead, kid.”

Taylor nods but doesn’t really register what he hears. “Got it. Dead meaning, what, her soul hasn’t crossed over yet? Is she still on the, uh, the mortal plane or something?” He looks around wildly; lifts up his feet like he’ll find her hiding there in miniature.

“Shit — is she here with us? Can you see her? Kristin? Krissy?”

“Whoa — okay, yep, you’ve cracked.”

Then Ryder’s hands are on his shoulders and oh hell no. His body reacts before the brain can catch up and he’s pushing Ryder away — giving himself breathing space.

“Don’t touch me.”

Much like the flask it’s an issue Ryder doesn’t push. Holds his hands up and gives a curt nod but that doesn’t make him look any less concerned. Now he’ll start to argue with the man, because technically it’s his fault Kristin died in the first place.

“There’s gotta be something —”

“To get you to chill out and listen to me? Yeah I doubt it.”

“— No. To help us contact her.”

“Could try a phone.”

Taylor snaps. “This isn’t a joke! I don’t know this crazy stuff like you do. So stop making jokes and — and help me!”

“Christ,” Ryder rubs his head — leans forward but doesn’t make a move to put his hands on Taylor again, “if you’d listen you’d not sound so damn stupid! She’s not dead, Taylor. The thing didn’t kill her.”

No, no… he saw…

“I won’t say it didn’t get close but she wasn’t the target. I don’t know if that limits it’s powers or… or hell, maybe it was feeling merciful or malicious. But your friend ain’t dead. — In a bad way… but not dead.”

It’s not even in the realm of good news — what did that mean, ‘in a bad way’ — but it’s the best news he’s heard yet so yeah he fucking runs with it. Leaps to his feet and doesn’t even bother trying to misdirect Ryder this time because not only is the door unlocked but he’s going to see Kristin alive.

And, really, with the zeal in which he was ready to pursue some form of necromancy to bring her back he’s kind of disappointed in how surprised Ryder sounds behind him.

“Kid — where d’you think you’re goin’ exactly?”

Still walking to the door, only backwards now. “Where do you think? Is she at the hospital, which one? Come on — take me there.”

“Well that ain’t happening but regardless how about we stay up here instead?”

“How about we don’t?”

“Kid —”

“First I need you to stop calling me that. Second I’ll grab a cab if I need to. Thanks, Nik—Ryder—whatever for saving me but I need to go see her.”

Ryder doesn’t stop him from slamming the apartment door behind him and finding his way out. That must mean he’s not entirely devoted to this bodyguard job, right? If that’s even really the case. Not like he has any proof.

It’s probably guilt at not saving her in time, rationalizes Taylor as he looks around the crowded hallway only to spot a winding, iron-wrought staircase almost hidden in the corner.

That makes the most sense. He feels guilty and there was nothing he could have even done in the first place.

Though, finding out where Ryder gets those hallelujah arrows might help.

He’s at the bottom of the steps when he remembers Vera had his phone last — is halfway through entertaining the idea of going back up to ask Ryder if he could borrow his when he takes in the ground level.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

It’s still dark outside but dawn has to be on the approach — last call having already been there, done that.

The bar is small and he can only think of it as oaken. Wood floors on wooden-panel walls with a wooden bartop in the corner decorated in carvings so small and detailed they could only have been done by hand. Even the booths are wooden on the outside with what look like rich mossy-green velvet lining.

But the place doesn’t smell like a woodshop — not how one would expect what has to be a quarter of the population of Louisiana’s deforestation, has to be — rather a forest. Like all the wood is still growing and alive. Pine needles and sap and mulchy earth digging into his bare toes and proving life continues to live underfoot.

Though when he wiggles his toes Taylor is almost surprised to discover he’s got his shoes on.

The place is empty save for two patrons and a lanky young man behind the counter.

One man, hulking in stature no doubt even if he’s bent over the table before him, scribbles diligently in a notebook with a glass of something bright at his side. Must have one of those cheesy lite-cubes within because he could swear the drink is pulsing color.

The other is a woman mostly obscured by the bar and her ombre violet sheen of hair. She’s gotta be decorated for Mardi Gras though the bone-white hand she twirls a lock of hair around would be more suited for a Día de Muertos party.

She notices him first — offers a flawless grin of black lipstick and white teeth before she learns forward and whispers something to the bartender.

He rounds on a practically choreographed flourish of his heel. Beams wide and unabashed as though he’s greeting an old friend and not a complete stranger.

“Taylor, my mortal! Good to see you again. You look famished. Are you famished? You look famished. I should get you something. Are you a vodka-type or a gin-type? You know what — I’ll fix a couple options up. Variety is the spice of life!”

Before Taylor can even process the English language enough to turn him down the bartender disappears in a shock of his albino-white hair. Leaves him staring at the silvery fabric of the partition.

“Garrus is a hoot, isn’t he?” asks the goth girl — she waves over a hand and pats a stool beside her in invitation. “Come, come! I wanna see what he whips up and you will too.”

He casts a longing look to what has to be the front door of the place — the only thing that isn’t wood, as he notes the iron decor with irony. But can’t even step in that direction before she clears her throat in a way that says she won’t take no for an answer.

So… he sits? He sits.

“I’m surprised Ryder didn’t come down with you. Or did you let him drink himself asleep?”

Taylor shakes his head. “No, he’s… he let me go.”

“Huh, funky.” She taps long dark nails against her cheek and stares at him with wonder. Underneath the strange combination of lights she looks even more pale than he thought — almost translucent. It must be her makeup that makes it look like her veins run black under her skin.

There’s a throbbing in his temples so Taylor looks away out of habit.

“You should call your friend back.”

“Why? It’ll be a good show — and even if it’s not your fancy you’ll still get free booze out of it.”

“Well I don’t drink.”

“Drink what, vodka, gin? I knew I called you for a tequila man.”

“No,” and headache aside he looks grim into her purple color-contacts, “like at all. I’m sober.”

Just as the girl’s expression falls into embarrassed horror the curtain brushes back as if by a gust of wind. The bartender Garrus barrels forward with an actual cauldron in his arms and every nook and twiggy-armed cranny filled with various corked bottles and vials.

“Not for lo~ong!” he sing-songs. Drops his things carelessly on the bar surface and starts picking through them intently. “Now I could have sworn I had more cane root than this, but maybe if I sub in —”

Taylor goes to speak but the gaunt hand on his arm stops him short.

“Garrus, he’s sober.”

“I know, Ivy my love, I heard. Honestly what was Ryder thinking trying to unload all this on the poor man without even offering him a drink?”

Ivy gives a sigh of honestly and precariously balances on thick-sole heels to reach over and grab Garrus’ next glassy victim out of reach.

“H-Hey,” he practically whines, “that’s not in the spirit of things!”

“Listen to me,” and Taylor’s grateful she’s going through all the trouble but can’t not laugh when she sandwiches her friend’s face in both hands, “sweetheart — he is sober; dry, straight-laced, whatever you want to call it — go for it. But this human no drinkey.”

If that’s what it would have taken for Taylor to get the man to stop he isn’t entirely sure he’d have had the guts to do it.

As it is Garrus looks like he’s taking it personally before their eyes meet and his face goes flushed pink all the way to the tips of his rather pointy ears.

“Oh.”

Ivy resumes her seat cheerily. “My work here is done.”

“S-Sorry,” Taylor tries to offer, “I’ll take a coke if you’re really, uh, insistent.”

Garrus is interrupted before he can answer. And by a voice that rings startlingly familiar, too.

“Why not whip up one of those old cream colas for him, Garrus? You were just talking about how much you missed making them.”

It’s enough to put the pep back in his leather-booted step. Has Garrus clapping in delight and pointing between them to the only occupied booth with a wink.

“Darling, you’re a genius!”

Garrus gathers up his cauldron and brews; dashes back behind the curtain. Taylor meanwhile whirls around on the stool cushion to the vaguely recognizable face previously ducked in concentration.

Krum — that was his name, right? The more-mountain-than-man he had bumped into heading home from rehearsal earlier that day.

Who gave Taylor the early triggers of a panic attack in how his skin seemed to turn to a literal mountain under the company lights.

Who pushes up an almost comically tiny pair of spectacles and gazes back at Taylor with similar vague recognition.

“Understudy-boy?” He pulls off his glasses and wipes the lenses with the hem of his sweater — as if he’s the one hallucinating things and not the other way around. “Well I’ll be, it’s you!”

Ivy joins the conversation while sipping her margarita through a stirring straw. “You know this guy, Krom?”

“K-Krum.” corrects Taylor.

“Well actually,” says the man in question sheepishly as he slides out of his seat and comes to join them, “it is Krom. It’s a family name, too, and I’m very proud of it. But mortals never hear it right and I just sort of stopped correcting them.”

Ivy croons. “You gotta get thicker skin you big lug.”

When Krom tries to take the stool next to him, though, Taylor flinches back violently. Practically falls off his seat in his haste to get back. His ‘little throbbing’ is a full-on migraine now; the lights too bright and the smells too weird and he has to back up and steady himself on the nearest support column to keep from vomiting all over the nice shiny floors.

Like most concerned samaritans Ivy and Krom are on him in an instant. Their voices blurring together with the ringing in his ears; “Honey are you okay? — what happened — oh no did I hurt him — go get Ryder!”

“NO!”

He’s startled when he realizes it’s him yelling — not them. Blinks through teary eyes to look into the expressions of two ordinary people warped and twisted by his traitorous mind.

Ivy’s makeup looks melded to her face — like if she catches the light a certain way he’ll see her skeleton and the lines above are the tension of her muscles. And Krom is still a literal mountain man but in high-granite definition; he swears he even hears stone grind with every movement.

“Oh god…” he wails and covers his eyes. Scratches at them like maybe he can claw off the tears instead of just wiping them away.

In the bright darkness there’s muttered, muffled noises. Footsteps echoing on wood, then metal.

Then the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knows there’s a hand hovering just above the surface of him.

“The more you go on fightin’ it, kid, the more it’ll hurt.”

He doesn’t have to open his eyes to imagine the look on Ryder’s face.

Words seem impossible but he finally manages to grit it out. “I won’t.”

“Won’t what?”

“I won’t give in. I’m sober. I’m sober!”

He manages two good smacks to his skull before Ryder snatches his wrist ironclad. “Hey—Hey! Stop that!”

“I’m sober fuck’s sakes! This should have stopped! I’m sober and I’m not. crazy!”

They struggle over his hand but Ryder’s strength beats out Taylor’s fright and panic. Just lets it hang limp in midair in the calloused grip.

“You were up there with me fully ready to take on some high-level necromancy bullshit and this is what sets you off?”

“You were gonna let him do what?!”

“Relax, Iv’, relax,” Ryder sighs, “I wasn’t gonna let him do it. But still he believed. You did believe, didn’t you?”

Did he? He doesn’t know. Can’t even tell if he’s still awake right now or if this is all some awful feverish nightmare he can only hope to never have again with the help of his sponsor.

Ryder tries again. Closer, this time — almost a whisper.

“Didn’t you?”

“I —” the whole bar hangs on his every word, “— I think so.”

“So believe me now when I say this: you aren’t crazy. Weird I guess, and maybe a bit gutsy. But not crazy.”

It isn’t much. But it’s enough for him to pry his eyes open and look at the man above him through the tears.

“You don’t get it. I… they look like…”

“Like what?”

He shudders the words out; “Like monsters.”

“HA!”

The cackle — or shriek — is so loud and so close it startles both of them out of their closeness; out of the intimacy of his admission. Makes them both look at where Ivy sits cross-legged on the floor with them sucking on a lollipop.

“Well I should sure hope so,” she teases, “because my glamour looks like a cheap imitation of the real thing! That’s what I get for skimping with B-O-G-O spell goods.”

Glamour. He knows that word. And Ryder knows he knows too judging by the wry little smile he gets. “Yeah, them too.”

“But —”

“Glamours are for all kinds’a things, kid. Here, c’mon up ya get,” with both hands Ryder helps him stand, “that particular one of mine was for secrecy. Most common ones you’ll run into though are harmless little shifts — ways to make the not-so-human look a little bit more that way.”

There’s a gasp and all eyes fall on Krom, now fully stone. His hairline replaced by filed-off pointed edges and skin rippling with crystalline sediment.

“You can see through glamours?” He asks, mortified.

Ivy’s black lips peel back with her grin. “Wicked.”

Garrus appears from around the bar with interest. Still pale but there’s no denying the actual point and tilt of his ears or the way his skin seems to almost shimmer. His eyes pale but reflective like bright diamonds.

“I wondered what set off my wards when Ryder here dragged you in. Seeing through glamours is some high-level magic. What’ve you charmed?” He looks Taylor over with interest.

“What have I… what?”

Ryder answers for him. “Already did my due diligence, guys. He’s not wearing anything charmed — he is charmed. Can see through the veil au natural.”

“Wicked.” repeats Ivy.

“Guess you’re my not-so-mortal, huh?”

Krom shakes his head with hands clasped together. “No wonder you were so frightened at the company. I’m so sorry, Taylor. I had no idea.”

Taylor swallows but manages a smile. “It’s… it’s okay. Not your fault, right?”

And the more he looks at them — really looks instead of seeing passing glimpses and resisting their existence — the less everything hurts. The ringing in his ears fades and like a drum at the end of a song his head abruptly clears. Along with the clouds that seem to hang invisible over his head every time he has one of his hallucinations.

But they aren’t hallucinations. They’re real.

It’s all real.

There’s a hesitation before Ryder lightly touches his shoulder. Taylor doesn’t flinch away — in fact a little human (maybe?) warmth is kinda comforting.

“You good?”

“Y-Yeah, I think so,” he inhales shakily, “I just can’t believe it’s all… I mean that it’s not in my head. It’s real. Everything I’ve seen is… is real.”

But everything means everything. Makes his heart settle down somewhere in the region his stomach ought to be occupying.

Makes him look Ryder head-on.

“So why does it want me dead?”

#nightbound #playchoices #choices nb #nik ryder #choices nightbound #garrus #ivy #krom #nightbound mc #mc: taylor hunter #nik ryder x mc #oblv: bound by circumstance #oblv: new chapter #; my fics #tw: hallucinations

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