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mirage-05 · 2 years ago

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Sting and Lyanna [Fairy Tail]

So... it’s been a while since we do this, but seeing some likes on our Fairy Tail content lately couraged me to post another fanfiction collab between me and @eleanor-devil xD As usual, this is part of our bigger project.

This story take place after the Alvarez war and there are a few OCs in it, namely Rin ( @mirage-05 who you probably already know by now), Eleanor ( @eleanor-devil ) and one of the titular characters, Lyanna. We don’t want to give many spoilers, though, so I hope you enjoy reading x3

Oh and a small warning that by this time, StingYu (Sting x Yukino) and NaLu (Natsu x Lucy) are already a couple!

Feedback is, of course, highly appreciated. ^^

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For some reason, and it had to be a very good reason, Sting Eucliffe was quiet... for days. That never ever happened, not even Rufus had memory of such a thing happening.

Rogue and Lector had noticed this started happening not long after Sorano, Yukino's elder sister and former member of Crime Sorcière, having asked - she actually more like demanded along with her nuts of a knight boyfriend - to join Sabertooth.

Sting would still do his usual stuff, go to the bar, take walks, do Master stuff but just in a very quiet way, almost gloomy and nobody could understand why.

It wasn't that Rogue didn't ask him... time and time again what was bothering him, it had reached a point he'd give anything for Sting to act in his usual childish and annoying way - though it was not like he was gonna admit it to anyone, let alone to that knucklehead. The awful quietness of the White Dragon Slayer had started to worry him, so much so that it wasn't beyond him at this point to try desperate measures.

"Rogue... what is that?" Sting asked while raising an eyebrow, looking at the big envelope in the Shadow Dragon Slayer's hands.

Without ever changing his stoic expression, the young man answered. "Orga's baby photos." It shall remain a secret as to how he got a hold of said photos. He held up the envelope, knowing that under normal circumstances Sting would never say no to that. "You wanna take a look at it?" Honestly, anyone watching them from outside would think they've just swapped their personalities.

After a moment of silence and stares between his Twin Dragon Slayer and the envelope... Sting went back to what he was doing. "I have a lot of paperwork to deliver Rogue, I don't have time for that right now."

And that's how Rogue Cheney's jaw dropped... well... not literally but the Shadow Dragon Slayer was shocked, so shocked that he nearly asked what had the guy in front of him done to the real Sting... but he chose not to as he probably would get a not-very-Sting-like answer. So he just forcefully dragged his feet out of the man's office, without saying anything else to the blond; he faced almost the whole guild that was waiting outside for an answer and hopeful looks.

"...He refused the photos." The Dragon Slayer announced.

"Okay that's it, I'm calling him sick." said Eleanor.

The Master, in the meantime, sighed and rubbed his temples as soon as the door closed. He was aware that his friends were just trying to help him, but really, the problem was all in his head, and it wasn't something small that a little group therapy would solve. He was having a number of recurring dreams lately - not the same nightmares from a while ago, thank god -, all of them included the same three people, laughing and chatting with... well, a younger version of him. It was such a nice and warm atmosphere that there had been mornings he found it hard to get up and face the reality that those three people didn’t exist anymore.

Sting had no doubts about it...he had been seeing his real family, the one he had lost many centuries ago. A wave of sadness washed over him again at the memory, threatening to drown him...and that’s why he had decided to immerse himself in his Guild Master's duties, work to forget - that and well, the sense of responsibility that had finally kicked in -. If he didn't do anything to keep his mind busy...he felt like he would go crazy.

The blond didn't know how much time had passed while signing off the paperwork, but he suddenly heard chatter out of his office again. 'Sheesh...what does a guy have to do to get some privacy?' he thought to himself, mildly annoyed now.

And suddenly a familiar pink haired man burst into his office so fast that it even made some papers fly around the room - awesome..he had just finished organizing those...self-note to get some paper clips later… Attached to both his arms and practically dragging on the floor were both Lucy and Yukino, clearly they seemed to have been trying to hold back the Salamander from doing exactly what he had just done.

"Yoooo Sting! It's been a while!"

Sting just blinked a few times to see if he was actually seeing right. "Um... Natsu-san?"

Natsu moved closer to the Light Dragon Slayer, the girls completely forgotten on the floor, and patted him a few times in his head, maybe with a little too much strength as Sting was trying to hold back winces whenever he did that. "Drop the 'san' man, we're brothers aren't we?!"

Well... apparently some things were never going to change. "What brought you two here?" he asked instead of replying to the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Eh what, is it too weird to want to see my fellow Dragon Slayer?"

"You still shouldn't have interrupted his work though." Lucy pretty much chastised the pink head.

"I'm sorry, Sting... we tried." Yukino supplied her.

"Yeah, what's up with that, man?" Natsu continued as if he didn't hear the girls. "Your friends keep telling me that you're all work and no play lately. Or well what Rufus actually said was that you've become dull as Orga's songs."

Now his eye had begun twitching. Typical...leave it to Sabertooth to start rumors behind his back...

"There is nothing wrong with me." he said as he stood up from his chair. "And I haven't become dull either...! I am just being the Master I should have been for a long time, I don't have time for plays right now."

"Sting..." Yukino whispered, sweating at how harsh her lover was acting, this definitely wasn't him... she wished he would at least open up to her or Rogue...

"Now, what did you come here for?"

Natsu was just silent for a bit, not seeming bothered by his friend's bad humor, and then grinned. "Weeeell we have come here to invite specifically you - and a few more if they want to - on a job."

Sting raised an eyebrow. "Why would you ask another guild to come on a job requested to Fairy Tail?"

This time it was Lucy who talked, she stepped forward and held out the piece of paper that contained the information about the mentioned job "Actually it's because the client demands this job to be done by both Fairy Tail and Sabertooth mages, but don't ask me why, I have no idea. Plus the client decided to keep his face anonymous until we find what he wants."

"Oh, I think I've seen that job on our board," Yukino walked to another table in the office where there were a few recent job requests and looked through them. "Here it is, this is the copy but it's no doubt the same job." The request actually demanded Sting himself to participate in the job although like Natsu mentioned he was allowed to take more Sabertooth mages with him.

Yukino couldn’t help but find this strange, last time they had seen a request with specific demands it turned out to be a trap set to capture both Sting and Rogue.

"Well we came to pick Sting up for the job," Natsu crossed his arms behind his head and then grinned with tease. "But since he's so busy being Master I guess he won't have time to do it with us."

There were times the White Dragon Slayer wouldn't stand by and let a teasing pass over, but he didn't feel like it now. The blond didn't say anything for a moment as he took the job form from Yukino and glanced over it. His confusion only increased when he saw the location of the mission. "...Fairy Tail's library? Is Makarov-san okay with it?" After all, a guild's library held many things, including their secret archives most of the time. To allow another guild to walk in freely was something unheard of in the many years past.

"Yeah, uh...there won't be any problem regarding that." the blond celestial mage said while sweat dripped down her chin. To be frank, what led Fairy Tail's Master to accept the job was what the mission promised in the end...or so he said, even the reward was being kept a mystery.

"Find... a treasure hidden in the library?" Now this was becoming even more mysterious.

"Well? Are you in or not?" Natsu folded his arms, impatient.

Sting sighed, closing his eyes for a minute. "Fine. I'll come with you." He looked over at his girlfriend. "Are you coming too, Yuki?"

The girl shook her head. "I can't... I'm leaving on another job, but..." a sweat dripped down her cheek. "I... think there are already a flock of our members ready to take it on."

Sting just glanced at the door and he felt sweat drops on the back of his head when he saw nearly all the guild members at it with their hands up and even their eyes shining, he could only guess they wanted the mysterious reward more than just do the job itself.

But no he wasn't going to take the whole guild into Fairy Tail's secret library, Sting just sighed. "Okay... Rogue, Rin, you're coming with me on this job if you are free."

"Oh come on, you always pick them!" complained Orga, who now looked like a child pouting while he crossed his arms.

Sting raised his eyebrow. "Maybe because I know they won't destroy the entire library..."

"Touché," mumbled Rufus.

They set off to the train station... and the two girls of the group had their hands full considering they had to deal with not one but three motion sick Dragon Slayers during the trip back to Fairy Tail, it was so bad that Natsu wanted to jump out of the window and run there instead.

But finally, after what felt like hours... they were in front of the entrance of the library and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Sabertooth mages were awe-struck.

"Whoa, this place is huge," Sting said, voicing their thoughts. To be honest...during her recovery time in Fairy Tail, Rin had been allowed to visit the library to keep herself distracted so she was already familiar with the place. Still it was a sight to be amazed.

A normal person would be intimidated by the size of this mission, especially when they didn't know exactly what they were looking for. But Natsu Dragneel was not what you would say a normal person. He cracked his fingers, totally unperturbed. "Okay... let's get this going!"

"Wait, not just like that," Lucy interrupted, then she distributed to all of them what looked like marking devices. "Let's pick a section each. When you are done, you can use this to mark the shelves, so we know not to check there again."

"That's boring." The pink haired mumbled, boredom translating to his eyes and it only made the Celestial Spirit Mage angry.

"You would just destroy the library otherwise!"

Rin giggled at the two mages arguing, it was funny that theirs was such a fiery relationship whereas Sting-nii’s and Yuki-nee's was so calm and quiet, despite Sting-nii not being the most calm person when he was in his normal days of course.

"Next time you get your butt stuck in a cactus don't come ask me to take off the thorns!"

Those words for a reason ringed in Sting's mind, he couldn't explain why but he felt he had been in a similar situation before, well not exactly the argument between Natsu and Lucy but... something else...

~.~.~.~

"Ow! Ow!" the voice of a little boy rang through the air. "Can't you do that a little more gently??"

"Taking them off slowly only hurts more, dummy," a soft female voice answered back, amusement was clear in her expression as the little blond boy laying tummy down on her lap was trying to hold back the tears. "And you deserve this you know, how many times did mom tell you to not play near the cactus, Lys?"

"Don't call me that." the little boy said with a big pout curled in his lips while he folded his arms. The older girl laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should be calling you Lysander."

"Stop it."

"Lysandeeeer~"

"I hate you!" The boy said indignantly, and then another "Oww!"

"You know actually, now that I think of it... I think I know what I will call you from now on. I have the perfect idea."

There was a big moment of silence, it was apparent that the boy was trying his best to curb his curiosity. In the end though, he couldn't keep it in. "What...?"

"Since you keep falling on your butt in cactus... I will just call you Sting from now on."

~.~.~.~

"Ugh..." Sting brought his hand to his face as he felt a sudden headache settling in. Where did that come from?!

"Sting-nii, are you okay?" Rin immediately asked, concerned.

Rogue's attention was also on Sting, just what was wrong with him...? The worry for his brother in arms was becoming bigger.

"Nothing," of course he would say that, it had been his answer in the past few days. This time though, the young man rubbed Rin's head softly and gave her a soft smile, not his usual smiles but at least it was one.

'Rin... actually looks a lot like her...'

"Let's just get started, yes? We have a lot of work ahead of us." Sting pretty much dragged Natsu inside the library so that he and Lucy would stop arguing at once. Something that usually wouldn't bother the Light Dragon Slayer, it would actually amuse him, but not this time. Not with the headache he was having.

The group split up and began checking every single shelf in attempts to find... whatever they were looking for.

"It's hard to find something when you don't even know what you are looking for..." mumbled Sting as he took yet another book and blew away the dust on it, the job itself was just too strange. "Who is even the client again?"

Apparently no one knew the answer for that, and as Sting was about to put the book back in its place without much of a glance at it, the title suddenly caught his attention. "Dreyar Family Chronicles".

Maybe he shouldn't - this was nothing short of invading private space... but the Light Dragon Slayer still found himself opening the book. He would just take a quick peek... this couldn't hurt anyone, right?

For some reason he started from the end, looking at the current members of the Dreyar household, Laxus-san (with whom he was on neutral terms, the two of them really didn't have a lot of contact), his father Ivan (whom he believed was still in custody) and the current leader of the guild, Makarov-san. He flipped the pages forth, looking through various generations of the family, almost as if in a trance.

He was a bit caught off guard when he came across the photo of Makarov-san's father, Yuri, he looked a bit familiar even the way his spiky dark blond hair was done, the smile too.

Sting continued flipping the pages, seeing some family photos and then he just stopped when he saw the picture of a woman, immediately considering her really beautiful the Master took a look at her long and straight blonde hair, a bit darker but not as dark as Yuri Dreyar's and then her sharp shaped but gentle aquamarine eyes and an equally gentle smile.

It was her, the one he saw in his dreams…

His... mother...

~.~.~.~

"Lysander Eucliffe!" The voice of a woman echoed through the walls of the wooden house. "What in the world happened to you?" The woman bent down, holding her long dress as she did so, until she reached her son's height. The child was on the verge of tears and looked all battered, scratches and dark circles here and there.

"Have you been fighting again? God how many times have I told you to not do that?"

"But..." the child sniffed, trying his best not to cry.

"It's not his fault, mama..." A young girl approached the two, looking down, ashamed and sad. "It's mine... there were some kids messing up with me... Lys just tried to defend me..."

"Don't call me that." the child mumbled, raising a hand to wipe his tears but wincing as he touched one of the cuts.

The look in the woman's eyes softened a little, and she reached out to scoot both of her children to herself. "Lyanna, Lysander... I'm glad you are standing up for one another but-"

"Of course I will stand up for her! She is my sister!" The boy said defiantly, holding his hands in fists. "Those boys had what was coming for them! I will do it again if I have to!" Tears started falling down one by one, but he didn't care now.

His sister turned to him and flung her arms around his neck, also teary. "You are my hero." she whispered in his ear, and the boy felt a little blush spreading across his cheeks.

Their mother smiled fondly at them, her light colored eyes soft. "Okay... but now let's get this hero cleaned up, shall we?"

~.~.~.~

Sting blinked as he came back to reality, and was surprised that he had teared up too. The memory was still fresh... like it didn't happen centuries ago, but just yesterday... But the question was... why was the picture of... his mother in the Dreyar's family album? Granted he had never known other relatives from both his parents' sides but still... it was all too confusing for him. He flipped to the next page and there was another photo of his mother but this time she was in the company of a man, tall, strong body built, short but slightly spiked light blond hair and a pair of dark blue eyes. The man had an arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders while the other hand rested on her swollen belly, standing in front of them with both her hands also on the belly was a younger girl, Lyanna for sure.

This was becoming more confusing, why was his family depicted in this album? What could even be their connection to the Dreyars when his family had been gone for over 400 years?

Sting suddenly remembered a question he had once made to his father…

~.~.~.~

He had come with his father into the forest so they could cut and gather wood for winter. It was going to be a very harsh season, his father had said.

Lysander would often hear how those harsh and cold temperatures could kill someone and he didn't like the idea or the thought of his family dying, whether it was because of the cold or something else.

The child was now sitting on a trunk of a tree that his father had already taken down, he was waiting for him to finish cutting the wood they would be bringing back some. Wrapped in the warm scarf knitted by his mother, Lysander swung his little legs back and forth, watching with lack of interest how his breathing turned into a cloud right in front of his face and then slowly disappeared.

His attention then turned towards the cutting sounds that came from the impact between the wood and the axe on his father's hands. Suddenly a small pout formed on his lips.

"Daddy?"

The man stopped what he was doing and then turned his dark blue eyes towards his son "Hm? What is it?"

But Lysander then lost his guts to ask what he wanted... it was a silly question anyway "No... it's nothing."

Instead of hearing his father returning to his job, the boy heard the axe being buried one single time in the trunk and then the steady paces in the snow coming closer to him. Lysander raised his own dark orbs to meet his father's stern but at the same time soft look.

"What have your mother and I said about lying?"

He averted his eyes again "I'm not lying..."

"You wanted to ask me something, didn't you? So why did you suddenly back off?" He was now crouched down in front of him.

There was a time of silence before the blond boy finally spoke up, the pout still there "You will never die right...? We'll always be together... right?"

His father gave him a confused and surprised look. "What is this about?"

"It's just... I keep hearing about people... dying in our town... and I don't want that to happen to us…" There was a rosy blush on the cheeks of the boy though it was unknown if it was from embarrassment or the cold weather.

“I see, so you’re scared?” His father shifted his position to sit beside him but Lysander didn’t look up to him, the snow was suddenly something very fascinating to look at. “It’s alright to be scared, we are humans and it’s normal to feel that way.”

This got the child to finally look up at the man, a surprised look on his indigo orbs. “Even you are scared? But you never look like it...!”

The man laughed and pulled his son closer to him. “Of course I am scared, I am scared of losing you, your mother and your sister but feeling that way makes us stronger, it gives us strength to protect the ones we love.” He poked one finger on the child’s nose. “So never ever be afraid of showing how you truly feel, there is no embarrassment in showing that you are sad, scared or happy, understand?” Lysander nodded, a big smile finally reaching his lips and the blush on the cheeks spread further.

“Now, as for your other question. Death is something inevitable, it will come for us one day whether we like it or not but we just don’t know when. There is no way that we can be together forever in the physical world but ‘forever’ can be something that only this here…” and he touched the boy’s left side of the chest “...decides what it is and how it is.”

~.~.~.~

Sting couldn’t help the small smile that reached his face, it was an almost melancholic smile but at the same time a happy one. It seemed that even when he didn’t remember him, his father’s words had always accompanied and shaped how he was.

Moving to the next photo, the Master noticed how there was a woman, very similar to his mother but still with some differences, she was dressed in what looked like a beautiful white wedding gown.

Out of curiosity, Sting's eyes drifted to the description of the photo "Lyanna Dreyar on her wedding day". The Sabertooth Master's eyes widened in surprise, it couldn't be right?

Lyanna... was a very common name, it couldn't be her, she had died on that day along with their parents, he was sure of it...

Sting didn't even notice that his hands had started shaking, so much that the book dropped from his hands; it was still a sort of a big fall considering as Sting had been sitting on a tall ladder and it grabbed the attention of the remaining members of the group when the impact of the book on the floor echoed through the library.

"Oi, is everything okay Sting?" Natsu asked, approaching the ladder he was on and looking up at him. "Did you find anything?"

"U-umm... yes and no?" He really didn't know how to answer. Well yes the album became something very important for him but... they still had a mission to complete, which none of them knew if they were making progress or not. And yet, for him suddenly that album meant everything...

He quickly descended the stairs he was perched on, only to find out that the Fire Dragon Slayer had picked up the book and was... trying to open it to no avail - which made absolutely no sense, it was a goddamn book, how hard was it to open it?

"What is it with this book?" Natsu grumbled, not impressed. "Does Gramps want to keep all his family shenanigans to himself?" Just then a huge, mischievous grin lit up his features and he turned to his friend. "Oi Luce, you think we will find some embarrassing photos of Laxus in here?!"

"It's not like that!" Sting said almost indignantly as he grabbed the book out of the pink head's hands. All of their jaw dropped as the blond had no trouble opening the book at all.

Sting raised an eyebrow. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"You just opened the book when a second ago I couldn't that's why!" Natsu approached the Master and tried to flip a sheet of the book only to have it slam closed right into his hand; the Fire Dragon Slayer yelled both in pain and surprise, startling the others, and immediately removed the hand from the book. "Did you enchant the book or something?!"

"How would I do that, I don't even have Rune Magic."

"Um... well for some reason that book only opens with you," Lucy stated as she attempted to open the book herself. "So maybe we are on the right path to find the treasure..."

Natsu side eyed them. "How does gold fit inside a book?"

Everyone felt right in that moment the need to face wall at the pink haired’s brain work.

"Anyway..." Lucy spoke again. "Does the book say anything important? Maybe there's a clue..."

"Well..." Sting was suddenly very reluctant to share this private information for him. It was weird to explain, but it was almost this... instinct that he should protect this book and its contents to the last of his breath. Not that anyone in this room was an enemy or anything... but it was somehow private, personal.

It was then that he met Rin's eyes and that odd nostalgic feeling hit him again, that the little girl looked a lot like the sister he remembered... and maybe that was the reason why he started talking.

"I don't know if it's the special treasure the mission is talking about... it's actually some sort of photo album for your Master, Makarov-san..." he paused for a moment, a lump in his throat. "I know it sounds weird but... I saw the picture of someone... I thought it looked like..." his voice dropped, but he wasn't even aware of it. "...my sister..." It was weird, he didn't even know if his fellow Dragon Slayers remembered anything about their families...

"Sister?!" Everyone's voices echoed in Sting's already enhanced ears but the young man just nodded and re-opened the book right where he remembered the photo was.

"So... you remember your sister from..." Natsu tried to count with his fingers but it was too much. "400 plus years ago?? That's a good memory you have dude!"

Sting felt like rolling his eyes. "It's not like I've always remembered her... or my parents for all that matter, just... recently what I think are memories that started gaining shape in my mind, I can't explain how."

"Skiadrum and Weisslogia... they were the only dragons that choose to wipe the memories of their children before sending them to the future," Rogue began, a hand on his chin. "Could it be that the effects are wearing out? But I haven't had any memories of my original family."

"Wouldn't that mean that Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel would remember their past too?" Lucy pointed out.

"Well... I do remember my time with Igneel but I don't recall anything from my parents," Natsu put his arms behind his head casually. "The only thing I know is from when Zeref showed up in my mind or something."

"I... it doesn't make sense for me either..." The blond dragon slayer brought up a hand to rub his eyes, the headache pounding in his skull again. Still, he forced himself to talk about what to him was probably the most painful memory. "Because... my sister, I thought she didn't... survive the attack that separated us..."

As if on cue, the book in his hands suddenly started to glow faintly with a soft, golden light, once again attracting the gazes of all of them. "Whoa dude, what are you doing to that book?" Natsu asked him, now standing a couple of feet away from the book and his arms raised upon his head. Typical of the Fire Dragon Slayer to be freaked out by something as simple as a book...

"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything!" the Light Dragon Slayer said again. "I-..."

His voice was cut in by a soft, almost soothing sound coming from the book... and hearing it, a hushed silence fell upon the group, especially on Sting, who was looking at the object with an awed expression... he didn't know how... but he knew that voice...

"Year x396. This is the start of Lyanna Eucliffe's diary." There was a small pause before the imaginary woman continued, and they could all hear the smile in her tone now. "Well... I'm a Dreyar now. A little over twenty years have passed since I lost my precious family in the attack from the dragons... and now, as I continue my path with my new family, I would like to record all that made that little girl into the woman she is now."

Sting could feel his heart starting to beat faster, so fast that he was sure not only the other two Dragon Slayers present would be able to hear it but the other two ordinary girls as well.

"I was born on the Year x366 to Juliana and Ewan Eucliffe and six years later I received the best gift I could ever ask for, my little brother Lysander was born, I loved him so much... on the day he was born I promised I would always protect him no matter what... but..." The voice was getting teary. "...in the end I couldn't do anything as he was taken away by that dragon, nothing at all. He was always exploring, always getting his clothes dirty and making mom worry and sometimes angry, he even used to play around cactuses and would always fall on them, then would come crying to me and I would take all the thorns out." There was a soft laugh. "I started calling him Sting because of that, I think he actually preferred that over his real name."

Sting started feeling his eyes hot and a large lump forming in his throat, just... what was all this...? How...?

"Out of our family I was the sole survivor, I was just ten at the time and so I was taken to an orphanage but life was really complicated after the dragon attacks, so I lived there most of my life. When I was of age, I started traveling on my own but no matter where I went I couldn't find a place to call home, not without my family around. Then I met James and for the first time in years I felt truly happy... he helped me in many things, it is thanks to him that I am being able to record this diary now, it turns out I have magic that none of my family members had: Recording Magic." There was a pause. "...I am carrying our first child now, maybe if it's a boy I can name him Lysander."

"B-but... no, that's not possible..." Sting's voice was shaky as he frowned in denial, the book's glow dimming as the voice faded out. He was surprised how he could even still find his voice... it was like he just received a major blow, the pain in his chest was so real... "She... she died on that attack... that was the last thing I remember before that dragon took me...!"

The others were silent, both out of a profound respect for the diary's owner and loss of words in such a situation. "It seems that..." Lucy finally said in a sad tone, wiping a tear from her eyes. "...neither of you were aware that the other survived..." she couldn't even imagine the scope of the tragedy the blond was going through.

"But if Weisslogia rescued you from the attack... why would he leave your sister behind?" Natsu asked doubtfully.

"Natsu..." Lucy began in a warning tone, but Sting cut her in, shaking his head.

"No, it wasn't Weisslogia who took me away from the attack..." he whispered as another piece of memory came back.

~.~.~.~

Lyanna was holding her brother's hand tightly, both running through the ruins of what once was their village, now all there was fire, smoke and... death.

Their parents were both gone... their beloved mother crushed by the ceiling of their house... their brave father killed by the claws of a dragon. All that was left were the two of them and Lyanna was determined to keep her word, she would protect her little brother no matter what.

The two children were trying to stay strong, trying not to shed the tears that threatened to fall, trying not to sob out of fear of being heard by any nearby dragon.

Lyanna suddenly came to a halt and hugged Lysander close to her as they hid behind a broken pillar and wall, they heard footsteps, big footsteps and a roar nearby. There was a dragon closeby...

"Ly..." the girl put her delicate hand over her brother's mouth, signing him to hush. They stayed there for what seemed an eternity... and right when the dragon seemed to have gone away, the pillar behind them crumbled in the direction of the children.

Out of instinct, Lyanna threw her brother as far away as she could as the pieces of marble fell upon her. Lysander rolled a few feet away from the fallen pillar before looking up at where his sister once stood.

The little boy's eyes widened in terror as he tried to reach for his sister. "LYANNAAAA!!" he screamed out, his voice ringing around the area, and finally the tears came flooding down his cheeks... it was too harsh a reality for a four year old to realize that now he was all alone in the whole world... he had no one left from his precious family...this was everything he had always feared...

He didn't have a lot of time to proceed with his grief though. Big, heavy talons grabbed him and the kid screamed in pain as they bit into his shoulders. Despite the pain, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, his eyes were still fixated on the rubble beneath which his sister had disappeared, and he kept staring there even when it became a small speck on the ground, and even when he soared through and above the clouds... it was only the freezing wind that rippled through his thin clothing that finally made him snap out of his shock. That was when he heard a rumbling roar of laughter coming from the monster holding him... chilling him to the bone in a way no wind can.

"Heh... you, kid, ain't enough for my belly... but you'll make a fine meal for my cubs."

The little boy attempted to fight off the claws of that big monster but they were so tight on his tiny shoulder that the more he moved, the more they penetrated his thin skin making the child yelp in pain. It was over, he would be meat for baby dragons and there was nothing he would be able to do about it.

...Although it didn't matter anymore, he was all alone, maybe it was for the best now he would join his family and the pain of living alone in a world full of dragons wouldn't be a problem for him.

Just as the child's eyes started closing, he thought he heard a second roar tearing apart the skies and the dragon carrying him was suddenly covered by a shadow much bigger than itself. Then he felt it, the bigger dragon bumped into the other which caused it to let go the nearly unconscious boy.

The last thing he knew was that he was falling from the high skies, the last thing he felt was something grabbing him. Then it was all darkness.

...

When he opened his eyes again... the boy was a little surprised to find himself standing on a rocky place... surrounded by huge rock bodies everywhere. A mountain? Funny, in all of the stories he heard about heaven he was sure he didn't hear of mountains.

A sudden pain on his shoulder made him wince and put a hand on it. Something wet and sticky came to his hand, and he saw blood covering it. A chilled wind rushing through him also made him aware of the fact that his senses were pretty much intact.

"If this is heaven, I don't like it..." he mumbled under his breath as his lips turned in a pout. Where were mama and papa...? And Lyanna...

"I know no such thing as heaven," a loud, rumbling voice can be heard then, making Lysander jump a foot in the air. He saw a shadow moving behind a cave not too far from him. A big shadow... "But you are not dead, human child."

"A-are you...God?" the kid asked, his voice trembling. There was a low, chuckle-like sound.

"Well no, I don't think you would call me a god either."

Then the shadow moved again. Time came to a stop and the boy gasped in fright as the creature finally revealed itself.

It was a gigantic dragon, but actually very different from the one Lysander remembered that had taken him away from his burning village. This one was light-colored and had a large and long beard that resembled feathers; it also had two small antlers protruding from the top of his head. Compared to its feathery, windswept face the rest of the dragon's body was covered by thick scales and its belly looked really smooth. But what made the child open his mouth into a big 'O' was the wings of the dragon, they looked like those of an angel that his mother would often tell him about in bedtime stories.

Despite being in awe with the majestic and sage looking appearance of the gigantic beast, survival instincts kicked inside the small child and he reached for the first thing that he could find: a tiny and thin stick. Lysander stood up, although his shoulder burned like hell from the wound, and pointed the stick at the dragon as he attempted to keep his tears yet again at bay. "S-Stay back!"

The dragon once again grumbled. "Don't be ridiculous kid. What are you going to do with a stick?"

"I-I will hurt you," the boy was trembling from head to foot, but somehow he still stood his ground. "I will poke out your eye!"

"Uh-huh. And how is it wise to reveal your card to the enemy?"

Instead of answering the dragon, Lysander squared his shoulders and raised the stick again a little higher. "Don't underestimate me!" I had nothing to lose... was what he was about to add... but that thought almost made the tears fall and he didn't need that now.

"Relax, kid." the dragon's voice was weary now. "I don't eat humans. You folks don't even taste good."

"Eh?! I taste good too, you big-" realizing what he had just said, the little boy's hands flew to his mouth and his eyes widened in impossible size.

He heard the dragon growl. "Are you trying to tempt me now?"

Lysander trembled even more when the dragon moved forward and its head was now just a few inches away from him, again the child tried not to show his fear and also to not let his tears fall. He gulped when the dragon opened its mouth slightly... and then all he felt was a giant breath hitting his already fragile body.

...And he fell on his butt.

It was all it took for the child to finally give in to his fears and start bawling his eyes out, his cries echoing through the mountain they were standing in. He was scared, he was hurt, he was hungry... and he wanted his mama, his papa, his big sister.

The dragon breathed again in what looked like an exasperated huff... and then reached out with one of its paws, wrapping it carefully around the boy's body and pulling him closer.

"Uh... there there kid." it attempted to comfort the child but it was obviously not good at it. "You're quite brave for a human child."

"I-I'm not," the boy wailed as he brought his hands to rub his eyes, sobs tearing through his chest. "I-I couldn't even protect my family... m-my sister..."

"You couldn't do anything. Those dragons were some of the worst of our kind." Maybe it wasn't making it any better... so the dragon decided to change tactics. "Let's start this over, shall we? I am Weisslogia, the White Dragon. What is your name?"

Lysander hicked, trying to find his voice. "Lys-..." he stopped, and averted his eyes. "Sting. My name is Sting Eucliffe."

The dragon cocked its head to a side. Even among humans, as far as it knew, this was a pretty strange name... It decided not to comment on that though, since it already had a traumatized kid in its hands... "Alright... Sting Eucliffe... as long as you are with me, you are going to be safe."

~.~.~.~

He hadn't been aware of it until now, but Sting felt the tears wetting his cheeks as he came to the end of his story. Someone small came to his side then, and he felt Rin wrapping her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly. Somehow, he couldn't explain how... but her presence was reassuring.

Blinking himself back to reality, he used one hand to clean his face, now all tear stained - not that he cared much about others seeing him cry, it wasn't the first time it happened - while the other reached for Rin and caressed her head softly.

"Sad stories apart..." he finally said regaining his composure, he would ask questions later. "We lost too much time with this book, we still need to find what the client wants."

They suddenly heard a soft laugh coming from the top of the library's stairs, drawn to it the group looked up to see it was none other than the Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov.

"That's where you are wrong young man," he walked downstairs and soon reached the group. "That is exactly what I wanted you brats to find, more specifically you, young Master."

"Master..." Lucy mumbled. "W-Wait! That means you are the client?!"

"I am not understanding anything!!" Natsu cried out while he scratched his head with both hands.

Sting ignored his fellow Dragon Slayer and continued looking at Makarov. "How did you...?"

"Heh, I made my research after I saw the name of your sister in the book. Turns out there hasn't been a single person more bearing your surname since her, all it took was to do some math... and the knowledge that Lyanna-san made it so that only the Eucliffe family descendants could read it. My family is descendant from yours."

There was a silence as Sting looked back at the book, brushing the photo of his sister carefully. The moment though was broken with Natsu approaching them with a mocking face while he sneered.

"Well well well... so that means your real name is Lysander..."

Before the Light Dragon Slayer could reply in the appropriate manner though... Lucy was on her boyfriend, holding him by his ear and yanking him away through the doors of the library. "Are you a moron?! How can you be so inconsiderate, that was a touching moment!"

"How am I supposed to let him live this down?! Hey, Lysander, let's do this again sometime, this. was. fun! And hey, does it make you Gramps’..."

Makarov sighed in frustration and closed his eyes as their voices faded away. "I should apologize for Natsu... him and manners don't go hand in hand. But you are welcome to keep the book if you so wish, Master Sting. It is your right, after all."

The blond looked at the book longingly, but after a minute of indecision... left it on the top of the railings. "It was enough for me, what it had to offer... thank you very much." he said sincerely. He didn't know what else to say, and it was kind of a lot to take in that he was related to the Dreyars...

"So that was why you had been acting weird all this time..." Rogue remarked, his tone decidedly more understanding.

"Yeah... I'm sorry for making you guys worry."

"If you're apologizing then it is another cause of concern."

"Give me a break, will you?" Sting sighed... he couldn't be sure if with all these revelations, whether he would have a peace of mind any time soon... "Well in any case, let's get going. I still have a lot of paperwork to do."

"You can't be serious!" The blond raised an eyebrow at his friend's outburst. "That's all you can think about even now? Who are you and what did you do to the real Sting?!"

"C'mon man, you always complain about me leaving the official stuff to you."

Rin giggled softly at their antiques as she followed the Twin Dragon Slayers out of the library. Just at the doors though, she glanced back and her eyes met with Fairy Tail's master. She could've sworn that she saw Makarov-san wink at her. Feeling heat came to her cheeks, the young girl let the doors close behind her.

#fairy tail #sabertooth #sting eucliffe #yukino aguria #stingyu #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #nalu #rogue cheney #celestial light #starlight #sting x yukino #stiyu #yuking #stikino #my writing #fanfiction collab

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shkspr · 3 years ago

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hi. on your post where you may or may not have ended on 'moffat is either your angel or your devil' did you have maybe an elaboration on that somewhere that i could possibly hear about. i'm very much a capaldi era stan and i've never tried to defend the matt smith era even though it had delightful moments sometimes so i wonder where that puts me. i'd love to hear your perspective on moffat as a person with your political perspective. -nicole

hi ok sorry i took so long to respond to this but i dont think you know how LOADED this question is for me but i am so happy to elaborate on that for you. first a few grains of salt to flavor your understanding of the whole situation: a. im unfairly biased against moffat bc im a davies stan and a tennant stan; b. i still very much enjoy and appreciate moffat era who for many reasons; and c. i hate moffat on a personal level far more than i could ever hate his work.

the thing is that its all always gonna be a bit mixed up bc i have to say a bunch of seemingly contradictory things in a row. for instance, a few moffat episodes are some of my absolute favorites of the rtd era, AND the show went way downhill when moffat took over, AND the really good episodes he wrote during the rtd era contained the seeds of his destruction.

like i made that post about the empty child/the doctor dances and it holds true for blink and thats about it bc the girl in the fireplace and silence in the library/forest of the dead are good but not nearly on the same level, and despite the fact that i like them at least nominally, they are also great examples of everything i hate about moffat and how he approached dw as a whole.

basically. doctor who is about people. there are many things about moffats tenure as showrunner that i think are a step up from rtd era who! actual gay people, for one! but i think that can likely be attributed mostly to an evolving Society as opposed to something inherent to him and his work, seeing as rtd is literally gay, and the existence of queer characters in moffats work doesnt mean the existence of good queer characters (ill give him bill but thats it!)

i have a few Primary Grievances with moffat and how he ran dw. all of them are things that got better with capaldi, but didnt go away. they are as follows:

moffat projects his own god complex onto the doctor

rtd era who had a doctor with a god complex. you cant ever be the doctor and not have a god complex. the problem with moffats era specifically is that the god complex was constant and unrepentant and was seen as a fundamental personality trait of the doctor rather than a demon he has to fight. he has the Momence where you feel bad for him, the Momence where he shows his humility or whatever and youre reminded that he doesnt want to be the lonely god, but those are just. moments. in a story where the doctor thinks hes the main character. rtd era doctor was aware that he wasnt the main character. he had to be an authority sometimes and he had to be the loner and he had to be sad about it, but he ultimately understood that he was expendable in a narrative sense.

this is how you get lines like “were the thin fat gay married anglican marines, why would we need names as well?” from the same show that gave you the gut punch moment at the end of midnight when they realize that nobody asked the hostess for her name. and on the one hand, thats a small sticking point, but on the other hand, its just one small example of the simple disregard that moffat has for humanity.

incidentally, this is a huge part of why sherlock sucked so bad: moffats main characters are special bc theyre so much bigger and better than all the normal people, and thats his downfall as a showrunner. he thinks that his audience wants fucking sheldon cooper when what they want is people.

like, ok. think of how many fantastic rtd era eps are based in the scenario “what if the doctor wasnt there? what if he was just out of commission for a bit?” and how those eps are the heart of the show!! bc theyre about people being people!! the thing is that all of the rtd era companions would have died for the doctor but he understood and the story understood that it wasnt about him.

this is like. nine sending rose home to save her life and sacrifice his own vs clara literally metaphysically entwining her existence w the doctor. ten also sending rose with her family to save her life vs river being raised from infancy to be obsessed w the doctor and then falling in love w him. martha leaving bc she values herself enough to make that decision vs amy being treated like a piece of meat.

and this is simultaneously a great callback to when i said that moffats episodes during the rtd era sometimes had the same problems as his show running (bc girl in the fireplace reeks of this), and a great segue into the next grievance.

moffat hates women

he hates women so fucking much. g-d, does steven moffat ever hate women. holy shit, he hates women. especially normal human women who prioritize their normal human lives on an equal or higher level than the doctor. moffat hated rose bc she wasnt special by his standards. the empty child/the doctor dances is the nicest he ever treated her, and she really didnt do much in those eps beyond a fuck ton of flirting.

girl in the fireplace is another shining example of this. youve got rose (who once again has another man to keep her busy, bc moffat doesnt think shes good enough for the doctor) sidelined for no reason only to be saved by the doctor at the last second or whatever. and then youve got reinette, who is pretty and powerful and special!

its just. moffat thinks that the doctor is as shallow and selfish as he is. thats why he thinks the doctor would stay in one place with reinette and not with rose. bc moffat is shallow and sees himself in the doctor and doesnt think he should have to settle for someone boring and normal.

not to mention rose met the doctor as an adult and chose to stay with him whereas reinette is. hm. introduced to the doctor as a child and grows up obsessed with him.

does that sound familiar? it should! bc it is also true of amy and river. and all of them are treated as viable romantic pairings. bc the only women who deserve the doctor are the ones whose entire existence revolves around him. which includes clara as well.

genuinely i think that at least on some level, not even necessarily consciously, that bill was a lesbian in part bc capaldi was too old to appeal to mainstream shippers. like twelve/clara is still a thing but not as universally appealing as eleven/clara but i am just spitballing. but i think they weighed the pros and cons of appealing to the woke crowd over the het shippers and found that gay companion was more profitable. anyway the point is to segue into the next point, which is that moffat hates permanent consequences.

moffat hates permanent consequences

steven moffat does not know how to kill a character. honestly it feels like hes doing it on purpose after a certain point, like he knows he has this habit and hes trying to riff on it to meme his own shit, but it doesnt work. it isnt funny and it isnt harmless, its bad writing.

the end of the doctor dances is so poignant and so meaningful and so fucking good bc its just this once! everybody lives, just this once! and then he does p much the same thing in forest of the dead - this one i could forgive, bc i do think that preserving those peoples consciousnesses did something for the doctor as a character, it wasnt completely meaningless. but everything after that kinda was.

rory died so many times its like. get a hobby lol. amy died at least once iirc but it was all a dream or something. clara died and was erased from the doctors memory. river was in prison and also died. bill? died. all of them sugarcoated or undone or ignored by the narrative to the point of having effectively no impact on the story. the point of a major character death is that its supposed to have a point. and you could argue that a piece of art could be making a point with a pointless death, ie. to put perspective on it and remind you that bad shit just happens, but with moffat the underlying message is always “i can do whatever i want, nothing is permanent or has lasting impact ever.”

basically, with moffat, tragedy exists to be undone. and this was a really brilliant, really wonderful thing in the doctor dances specifically bc it was the doctor clearly having seen his fair share of tragedy that couldnt be helped, now looking on his One Win with pride and delight bc he doesnt get wins like this! and then moffat proceeded to give him the same win over and over and over and over. nobody is ever dead. nobody is ever unable to be saved. and if they are, really truly dead and/or gone, then thats okay bc moffat has decided that [insert mitigating factor here]*

*the mitigating factor is usually some sort of computerized database of souls.

i can hear the moffat stans falling over themselves to remind me that amy and rory definitely died, and they did - after a long and happy life together, they died of old age. i dont consider that a character death any more than any other character choosing to permanently leave the tardis.

and its not just character deaths either, its like, everything. the destruction of gallifrey? never mind lol! character development? scrapped! the same episode four times? lets give it a fifth try and hope nobody notices. bc he doesnt know how to not make the doctor either an omnipotent savior or a self-pitying failure.

it is in nature of doctor who, i believe, for the doctor to win most of the time. like, it wouldnt be a very good show if he didnt win most of the time. but it also wouldnt be a very good show if he won all of the time. my point is that moffats doctor wins too often, and when he doesnt win, it feels empty and hollow rather than genuinely humbling, and you know hes not gonna grow from it pretty much at all.

so like. again, i like all of doctor who i enjoy all of it very much. i just think that steven moffat is a bad show runner and a decent writer at times. and it is frustrating. and im not here to convince or convert anyone im just living my truth. thank you for listening.

#sorry if this is repetitive or makes no sense or if i got some details of the show wrong #i simply couldnt be bothered to put too much effort into this post #lest it become a research paper and take me several weeks to answer #anyway thats all my opinions #dw #ok to rb

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i-need-air · 4 years ago

Text

"Dude" — Bakugou Katsuki x Reader.

Summary: Your former bully, Midori, has confessed her undying love for one of the most famous guys at U.A.; you're just venting gossiping about it with Mei, not knowing Bakugou Katsuki is right around the corner, listening;

Warnings: None. Well, Bakugou Katsuki having various anger induced strokes > the normal > no warnings; light crackfic? subtle ending;

Word count: 4.5k;

[ Part 2 ];

"She confessed to him." You grinned, throwing a bunch of fries into your mouth like the absolute animal you were.

Mei on the other hand continued her work on whatever in the world her new prototype, or "baby", was. Still, you had the honor of having half of her attention, which was a compliment to say at least.

She just smiled, shaking her head, leading you to continue, not knowing a blond was quite literally behind the corner, just outside the door leading to the support department, frown on his face.

"She came to class giggling like an idiot saying she's got a plan." You made a face into the distance, remembering your classmate's obnoxious squeal. "Ugh, she started telling the Divas how she's gonna have The Bakugou Katsuki in the bag." An ugly snort left your body, which earned an amused chuckle from Mei.

Both of you were pretty well known to be very good friends, and as much as you hated to admit it, you were both quite the social pariahs too. She was a little bit strange or weird, as some called her, but not for a single second she cared, which was the reason you admired the girl so much in the first place. Meanwhile you've taken the role of the bitch of the whole school by far. Sadly, you were placed in the same class as your archenemy, only increasing your chances of being called said endearing term.

Middle-school was a nightmare to say at least, getting bullied for your looks, the way you spoke or dressed, anything really as long as you were the one being mocked. And who was the one doing the bullying? Midori. Stunning, graceful, baby-faced Midori. Petite yet elegant, a devil in disguise. Whoever crossed her path suffered her malice unless she had something to gain from them.

And now, sweet Midori was in the U.A.'s General Studies, coinciding with you in the majority but not all classes. It had to do with the tragedy that your quirk was so rare that the principal Nezu had to adjust a new schedule just for you. Just kidding, it was amazing. The actual tragedy was seeing her face every day.

Back to your heartbreaking backstory and origin; time made you tough, comments made you build a wall so tall and thick nobody could crumble it. Backstab after backstab made you learn that not everyone has good intentions, but in your loneliness you found Hatsume Mei. So honest and dedicated, so raw and passionate. A good person. The type of person your parents promised you'd someway cross paths with and gain such a strong friendship that nothing could tear it apart.

Becoming friends with her was easy, kinda. It took snapping back at Midori when she started her normal bullying routine on Mei, which ignored it without a care. You stepped in and the rest is history. It did feel good though, calling her a pathetic bitch before turning to the stranger with a cool gadget in her hands to compliment it. And, since she's a sucker for her babies, you had to deal with an hour of sparkly eyes and monologues about her plans and prototypes.

Funny girl, Mei. You remember thinking but the following day you passed by her usual spot to fill your curiosity, asking if she did solve the problem she was complaining about.

"He was the one she was planning to ask out?" She screamed at you, head inside a giant metal gauntlet and the reason you two started talking about said man in particular. News were extra-fresh anyway.

"Oh, yeah!" You shook your head, ashamed to exist in the same general proximity as a person like your former bully. "He's gonna be so rich and famous!" A high pitched squeal left your mouth as you tried to copy her voice. "Poor fucking guy, if only he knew."

"But people know she's a bitch!" She screamed again, repairing or adjusting something with almost all of her body inside the gauntlet. A smile, genuine and soft this time, formed on your face. The pink-haired girl wasn't one to talk bad about others or even care, but it was clear she wasn't particularly fond with Midori either, although the conversation was more for you to vent rather than gossip. Sure it was.

"Like the people from the Hero Department even care about us, the commoners." With a roll of the eyes, you followed. "If he's smart, he'll run away. If he's an asshole, he could use her too."

"What do you mean?" Pink flocks of hair suddently submerged from the gadget, eyes curious zooming on you. That probably got more than 50% of her attention and it was a new personal goal while she was at the workshop.

With shrugged shoulders, your answer came nonchalant. "He could date her and dump her like she's nothing. Would serve her right for all the shit she's talking about him." But the only response you got was a short quizzical look, followed by your exagerated sigh. "She's talking shit about him constantly, but then says he's hot and that his personality doesn't matter anyway. Money, fame, looks. She has a whole fucking life-plan! Then calls him a rabid dog!"

"Woah—" that surprised her.

"Woah indeed! Insane. It's insane. I don't know the guy but no one deserves that shit." When you got no response, you continued your speech, munching in the food with passionate hunger, words coming out almost indistinguishable. "Doubt he'd play her though. He looks like a smart guy. I've seen the Sports Festival—" you picked up your burger, giving it heart eyes. "—and I've seen the news. He's probably a good guy too, the issue is people don't see that and... Well, I understand what's it to be judged... Not many have what it takes to be a real hero but he does. Hope he finds happiness in life." Much talk for someone that doesn't know shit about the guy in particular, but even so faint, your gut instinct was trained well enough to spot malice and he lacked that. "And a therapist." And there's the little shit in you that had to drop a cheeky comment.

Mei's gaze turned downwards and even if you could see her brain do mental gymnastics to solve whatever problem she had in front of her super-eyes, she also contemplated your words with great care.

"He comes here from time to time—" she grins, smacking the grenade looking gauntlet with her weird utensil. "I noticed you two are similar." Your face twisted, eyes wide towards the girl.

Similar how? He was loud, bold with a foul mouth, definitely needed a therapist for those unresolved anger issues... But he was also bright as in whenever he went, people looked in his direction, like he shined; obviously strong, also from what you've heard smart, popular, lucky to be surrounded by kind people. Example being that very nice pink girl that had a joyous conversation with you the very first day of school and, much to your surprise, continued greeting and having sweet small talks with you every single time you saw each other. Or the blond haired guy that showed off a little bit too much and made dumb flirty comments with no bad intentions, the same blond that waved at you with enthusiasm when you'd cross paths. There was the red-head, Kirishima, that was an absolute gentleman, opening doors for you even if you had two functioning hands and smiled so bright it made your corneas burn, or also the dark haired guy, Sero, that you've seen helping literally anyone in need around the school campus with an easy going attitude and gentle grins. Bakugou Katsuki was surrounded by good people, good heroes just as amazing as him and if they liked him, he must've definitely had some good in him, right? Another point appeared in your mental presentation about the brash hero in the making was that he was way too attractive but the wise burried deep inside of you made that particular point dissappear. No need to think about that. Overall you weren't even remotely similar. Not even close. Two completely different human beings from two completely different worlds that would never collide. With that being said, there was the small chance that Mei hinted for you to get a therapist too, who knows.

"How even—"

"I mean!" She screwed something in place. "I mean in your— determination?"

"I wouldn't know that." You muttered.

"He screams I'm gonna be the best every time he's here—"

"Cute..." You vomit that endearment without thinking, but thankfully it got ignored.

"—and it always reminds me of you." A small chuckle left your mouth.

"Don't make fun of me."

"You say it too~"

"I just heal, Mei, it's not the same." Principal Nezu's speech, the speech he gave your parents months into the first year as they found themselves aware of your power made you hold your words. You had it in you. The potential. If incredible people like your teachers, like Shuzenji Chiyo or Principal Nezu twisted things around for your quirk, for how rare and powerful it is, you'd accept it.

"But you're gonna be the best healer ever, aren't you?" She taunted.

"Of course. Which reminds me—!"

"Hmm?" Her attention faded away slightly, but it wasn't a problem.

She cheered, both at you and at her finished masterpiece and proceeded to eat too, passing through the lunch hour without interruption.

"Recovery Girl is putting me on active duty at the infirmary from now on. Finally!"

Innocent pale purple eyes stared into deep crimson ones, furrowed brows covering them.

—

Bakugou Katsuki wasn't one to enjoy being annoyed or surprised and this extra managed to make him feel both things in a short notice.

Everyone around him froze in fear or wonder, awaiting his response without breathing or moving an inch. Meanwhile Whoever-she-was held a pink envelope in front of him, a perfume too sweet coming from it making him want to literally gag in the spot.

Another thing the boy did not appreciate was to have someone bullshit him. His senses were telling him to back off, alarms ringing in his head and those purple eyes held hidden intentions; he wasn't having any of it.

"Fuck off." He snapped, yet his stance was casual as he refused to move out of her way since she was the one that had the audacity to run into him.

Some gasps, even coming from his so-called idiotic friends, could be heard and an indignant Bakubro behind him as he got slapped in the shoulder but he did not care. Not until her lips started to tremble as she retreated her confession letter towards her chest dramatically. His eyebrow started to twitch at the sight.

It was a spectacle for anyone surrounding him.

"What's going on?" Shushes and whispers.

"Bakugou Katsuki just got a confession!" Gossip.

"What!? Who?!" Confusion.

"You said Bakugou Katsuki?!" Shock.

"Oh, she's pretty!" Awe.

"He told her to Fuck off! What an asshole!" Outrage.

"Is that Midori?" Surprise.

"The nerve—" Anger.

"Midori from—" Disbelief.

"Oh, my God, she's really doing it~!" Giggles.

He frowned deeper. If people were to talk about him, they should be talking about all the crap he's been doing and all the lives he saved, not because of a fake bimbo decided to cross his path.

Bakugou wasn't stupid either. With time he knew these things would eventually come in his direction, stuff he'd have to deal with in the future as fame would take over, but not now. He did not have time to entertain this show anyway.

There was only one destination in his mind and she was keeping him in the middle of the whole school cafeteria with prying eyes on them both.

"Bakugou, do something, she's about to cry!" Dunce Face harshly whispered, but turned towards the white haired girl that looked devastated in front of them. "Ignore him! Ask me out, I would never make you cry!"

He rolled his eyes so back in his head it almost hurt. With a need to hurl the food he just ate, he made a step to leave the scene but small hands with claw-like fingernails gripped his arm and he looked at her in utter disgust.

"No, I would never! He—" she sniffled but had no tears in her eyes. He gave her a scowl, trying to take his arm out of her grip but she scratched him in place with her tiny rat hands. "You're the one I love! I—" her bangs covered her face as she continued her show.

"Bakugou! Dude! Do something!" Shitty Hair said, his dumb and blind trust in people buying the act. A vein almost popped on Bakugou's forehead.

"I fucking said—" he pulled his arm so hard she fell on her knees by his side. "Fuck. Off."

Another set of gasps filled the room.

"Bakugou!"

One thing he did not want, even if he could tell it was a foul theater, was to hurt somebody. His asshole act ended at that but his pride stopped him from saying anything.

Glancing to see if she's hurt, Pink Idiot was by her side, helping her up and asking way too many fucking questions.

"No, I'm fine..." she said with such a meek voice he scoffed, also hearing all the shit everyone around him was talking.

"He's such a brute."

"What a mean guy—"

"She's crying!"

"Fucking asshole."

He gritted his teeth.

After the disaster with the League of Villains in the first year, people started to respect him for who he was yet one single, minuscule shit like this and they were all at his jugular.

"I took Bakugou-san by surprise." She excused his behavior to Ashido, which then suggested they should eat lunch together sometimes to make up for the trouble after apologizing in his behalf.

"Yeah, we'd love to have you around! Isn't that right, Bakugou?" The apologetic and almost pleading voice of his blond friend, if he ever was going to call him that anymore, just made him bare his teeth. If they wanted to get played like fools it was their problem, not his.

And that's how he found himself eavesdropping on the weirdo and an extra.

And with a single "Whatever." he left the cafeteria, going to check if his gauntlets were ready, annoyance oozing off him, making the sea of people part from his path. Except he didn't notice you rushing away a little bit in front of him, holding a bag of food, all amused.

Why the fuck was everyone talking about him? Can't they fucking keep his pretty name outta their mouths? With time and without finding a reason why the hell he was glued in place, he listened attentively, his suspicions confirmed and his ego hurt, but whoever was talking about him calmed his nerves a lot. He just needed to put a face to that voice. Just to see who's gossiping about him, nothing else.

—

With a full belly and a whole afternoon to study by Recovery Girl's side, you marched towards the infirmary after you bid your farewell to Mei. There was still time to walk around, grab something sweet for later and save any poor soul that Midori decided to sink her teeth in. It was common at this point, you getting in between her and her victims and taking the hit, yet somehow also being called a bitch by everyone. That's how high-school worked. She did have friends and they spread any word she spat. Vultures.

It was fine though. Hero [Y/N] is there to save the day no matter what. You scoffed at your own stupidity, turning the corner just to step on a leg that was sprawled on the floor.

He clicked his tongue, getting up with no worry in the world, but made no action to leave, settling for observing and analyzing you way too intensely.

"Watch where the fuck you're going, idiot." The man of the hour, the guy you've defended in front of your friend just screamed at you as he dusted off the imprint of your shoe left on his pants. Meanwhile you just paled in place before regaining your composture.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" You said, tilting your head with a frown, already knowing you will not apologize.

Unimpressed by what was going on, even if you truly couldn't point out what really was going on, you made an attempt to move past him towards the vending machines not far behind, but he caught your arm in a firm grip.

You blinked stupidly at the skin contact.

"Heard you were talkin' shit."

Your stomach dropped. Legs almost gave up too if it weren't for his iron grip holding you still. In the silence and at the satisfaction of the reaction you let out, he smirked and raised his chin, only Mei's singing voice coming from her workshop could be heard. Realization hit you. Hit you? Bitchslapped you in the face and left a mark for sure, because your cheeks started feeling heated, tingly.

He dragged you away, maybe to have the privacy to murder you in peace, but your common sense kicked in and you came back from the land of the mortified.

Much like he did before, action you saw with your two own eyes and repeated, you pulled out of his strong grip and stared as he turned towards you, mouth already opened to probably eat you alive.

"I wasn't talking shit about you, dude." You quickly spoke first.

"You don't fucking know me." He growled back, taking a step towards you but like hell you'd back down.

"Don't need to be besties to say what I said." Without understanding why he was so agitated, the only thing left to do after this beautiful turn of events was to defend the honor remaining in you, so you raised your chin to be at par with him. The action clearly took him by surprise, making him glare more, if even possible.

"I don't fucking appreciate when extras talk about me behind my back!"

"I don't give a shit what you appreciate, dude." Your laugh was the complete opposite of his menacing loud voice, like ying and yang.

"Bakugou, the name's fucking Bakugou, you extra!" Bakugou recovered quickly at your snappy self, getting more bothered as you talked.

"Okay, dude." His hands fisted, shaking in place as he stared you down but did not continue.

Silence; the hallway was now filled with silence as he boiled in his own anger and as you raised your brows in confusion. Now what? Was it time to leave? You've never met anyone like him, this was peculiar—

"NOW IT'S WHEN YOU FUCKING TELL ME YOUR SHITTY NAME, YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!"

A second passes; two; at the third you're wheezing your lungs out, laughing at the ridiculousness of the scenario.

"What the fuck are you LAUGHING AT?!" His voice got louder just to top your howling. You did not expect that.

Through a sigh, regaining your breath, you say "It's [L/N] [Y/N].", seeing him retreat in his form and cross his arms. He was still seizing you up.

"If you have shit to say to me, say it to my fucking face, understood?"

"I—... Say what now?"

"I—." He copied in a mock, getting an incredulous look from you. "You stupid or what?" Your upper lip lifted, ready to cuss him to infinity and beyond but he continued. "Like about that bitch from before and shit—" even if he still was loud, he placed his hands in his pockets and looked more interested in the way the tiles on the wall were placed instead of your person. "An' like you told the weirdo—"

No time to be shocked at the implied; his last word enraged you, making your body shake with rage. "Don't fucking dare to call her a weirdo ever again."

Like a challenge, he snapped his face back at you, ready to take it.

"Or what?"

"Listen here, fucker—" now that was a nice surprised face he was pulling. "Just because I gave you a pat on the back in there doesn't mean you can disrespect people just because you think you're the shit. You're not. Now get out of my fucking way." With a final push to his shoulder, your mind was focused on going to the infirmary, steam almost coming out of your nostrils.

"Hey, extra!"

Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him. went through your mind, marching away without a glance back. Not until—

"[L/N]! You're a healer, hah?" That's interesting. He stood where you left him, watching.

"What's it to you?"

Someone sane would've left at your tone but this guy walked towards you then showed you his arms, recently scratched. Images came back to you about the cafeteria incident but did not underst—... did he want to get healed?

You scoffed.

"They're scratches, dude."

"They annoy me. Now heal." All the energy you had left in your body was channeled towards the slow blink you threw at him, at which he scoffed. But they did look nasty— and Midori did them. It was a curse by itself to look down at your own arms and remember that face, so the guardian angel in you decided to take control and be the better person.

Gentle fingers barely tapped his muscular arm. Smile crept up on your lips, feeling absolutely delighted at his obvious stiffness at the skin contact and the clear interest in his eyes, specially when the scratches started disappearing into nothing, leaving smooth silk skin under.

"Hey— Wha— Where the fuck do you think you're going?!" raspy voice got lost in the distance and one thought in your head.

"Want a lollipop for being a good patient too?" You mock and his face explodes in all shapes of red. It would've been great to mock him more, enthralled by his reactions, but with that you turned and left, ignoring the tingling under your fingers that should not be there and your stomping heart.

Did he wait all the lunchbreak to talk to you?

—

A long queue was ahead of you, earning the longest sigh out of your lungs. Life was pain sometimes. Mei couldn't hang out, food was too far away, the delicious croissants Lunch Rush made ran out as far as you could see. Pain. Just pure pain.

And disappointment. When you walked away with your food in a bag, maybe to sit under a tree and enjoy some peace and quiet, you saw her. Midori sitting at a table you did not expect. At the same table where Ashido Mina, Denki Kaminari, Kirishima Eijirou and Hanta Sero sat at. Good people. Honest, good people about to get bitten by a snake. If she was there, then Bakugou decided—

"You. Sit."

Thinking about the boy somehow summoned him behind you. Food in hand and bored expression on his face, he passed you not without giving you a stink eye. Indeed, disappointment.

You shrugged, trying not to pay much attention to the pang in your heart as you moved forward, but a voice— his voice stopped you in your tracks.

"You. Get the fuck out of my face." His growl made everyone around him turn to watch, you being one of them. There was no excuse to what came next, no way to run away past it and dissappear. He nodded his head at you out of all people and pointed at the seat still occupied by Midori; her purple eyes big, shocked, running between your frame and the blond's.

Do you know what it felt to be put in the spotlight without warning? Well, congratulations because that was your life now.

"Ba—Bakugou-san?" Her voice, now highed up and meek followed, then a small scream as Bakugou slammed his food on the table. His friends sat there, wide-eyed, but made no attempt to interrupt.

"Did I fucking stutter, bitch? Or want me to turn into a rabid dog for fucking real?"

You choked on your own spit, bag of goodies about to drop on the floor once you saw her horrified face. She knew that he knew. And when her pale eyes, filled with sudden malice, act dropped, turned to you it's when you realized she figured out where he found out from.

Not like you cared, really, but the little shit that always had to poke out every time she was in the same room as you decided to finally show up, making you wave and send her a wink.

"I said MOVE!" now— that growl, raspy and filled with anger startled her. The orange juice in her hands spilled all over her uniform and woke her up from whatever delusion she was in. With zero time to reconsider, every belonging of hers was picked up with trembling hands and she ran away to her group of cockroaches.

A smile was already settled on your face; your brain was storing that whole interaction deep within, ready to bring it back up whenever you needed a good laugh.

Life was pain and disappointment, you say? No. Life was great. Or more importantly, Bakugou was. Not like he needed to know. But he was a decent guy as he proved—

"THE FUCK YOU STANDING THERE LIKE A DUMBASS?! I SAID SIT!" —to be a pain in the fucking ass and the bane of your existence.

You gave him a face then turned to walk away, even rushing more when you heard his chair screeching on the floor. The exit was so close, so near, freedom never felt this great, the sunlight kissing your skin giving you a new hope to live. But not for long because he grabbed your hand and started dragging you towards his table.

Your hand was in his hand and he was dragging you—

Your hand— his big, warm, a little bit sweaty hand—

How could you ruin such a beautiful moment? Eyes on you two, shocked, silence, his adorable red ears being the only thing you could see as he was completely in front of you, still dragging you towards his friends...

"Did you wait all lunchbreak yesterday to talk to me?" You collided into him as you finished the sentence, his way taller form stiffened so much you felt you single-handedly broke Bakugou Katsuki for good.

But when he turned... Oh, when he turned. Biggest deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes you've ever seen on anyone, cheeks painted so red you almost melted in the spot, lips trembling as his head worked a thousand miles per second just to find a retort. And you prepared yourself for—

"NO, I FUCKING DIDN'T! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU FUCKING EXTRA? I'D NEVER WAIT FOR SOMEONE LIKE YO— ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME!" Mina's waving hand caught your attention and smiled at her. Your hand was still in his, gripped harshly as he still hasn't noticed it's still there.

"Hey! [L/N], long time no see!" She cheered, ignoring the living shit out of her screaming friend, like she's used to it.

"FUCKING LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU—"

"Hey, chill, dude. Now let go of my hand, I wanna talk to Ashido." You smiled sweetly, making extra effort to wave your linked hands arond until he finally noticed. He zapped his hand away so fast, like he's been bitten by a wild animal. Maybe even a rabid dog, if you will.

You couldn't ignore your own flustered state as you walked past him, giving him a one up, adding the absolute scandalized face he had into the back of your mind for safekeeping.

"Come sit with us!" The pinkette offered.

"Oh, hey, I know you! You're by Hatsume's workshop all the time!" Kirishima intervened with a surprised face that broke into a grin. "Nice to officially meet—"

"I fucking said." he appeared, sitting in front of you. "My name's Bakugou."

"Ok, dude, but I'm talking to someon—"

"BAKUGOU KATSUKI!" Could be heard from the stratosphere.

Note: I just realized Midori means Green [ fucking duh ] but I'm not gonna change the name or her description. I think her parents fucking up her name was the start of many accidents leading into the Midori we all know and hate. Also, I know you understand. We all know a Midori in our lives. Much love.

Note 2: I keep editing it but tumblr dot com slash Install App on Phone fucks my editing and switches paragraphs all around! If you find any PLEASE tell me, I'd really appreciate it!!!

#bakugou katsuki x reader #bnha #noire writes #bakugou x reader #bnha x reader #i just wanted to make myself uwu #reader is op

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sttngfashion · 4 years ago

Text

5.26 and 6.1 - Time’s Arrow

Oh my god. Y’all. It’s a new Fashion It So post. In the year of our Picard 2020. Yes.

For literal years, Charlie and I have been like UGH WE NEED TO DO TIME’S ARROW PARTS 1 AND 2 BUT IT’S JUST SUCH A MONSTER.

Well, I’m doing a complete rewatch of the series with my partner and we just got to these two, so IT IS TIME.

We open in a cave in San Francisco, where Data and Picard are checking something out:

Rent for the cave is $6,000 per month

Showing them around is this guy in a Science Outfit:

He’s ready to go night biking

We’ve seen this look before in both Silicon Avatar and Devil’s Due, and it’s functional, yet cute. Basically a windbreaker in jumpsuit form.

They find a couple of items in the cave, including a pocket watch from 1889 and also:

I left my head in San Francisco

IT’S DATA’S HEAD!!! And it’s been there for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. What could have caused this? And why is Data’s head so absolutely terrifying?

Is that fondant

This head is, in a word, haunting. The 2020 of heads.

Data and Geordi chat in Ten-Forward about what the presence of Data’s head in the cave means. Data says it means he’s mortal; that someday he will die, and that’s comforting. Spoiler alert: that’s not what it means. But it’s a nice conversation.

Also, Guinan is here!!!

Merlot My God!!

Or maybe: Burgundy-lightful!! Or perhaps: De-Crimson-alize Sex Work!! Okay that last one was a stretch but I really think I missed my calling as a nail polish shade namer.

Anyway, she’s here in her classic look of a pizza-sized hat and a flowing gown/coat/top/robe. The collar here is a little too close to a mock turtleneck for my liking and honestly - this is a little staid for our friend Guinan. I want a TEXTURE or a SWEEP or some WIDE RIBBING or some PLEATS. Don’t worry, though...she will get plenty more later.

Then there’s some plot which frankly we DO NOT HAVE TIME to get into but let’s just say: the away team goes to a planet, there’s a temporal disturbance, and Data ends up here:

Huge mood

Where are we? Or should I say WHEN are we??

Well that old-timey font is a good clue...also the horse

Are we in the Old West land of an off-brand Disneyworld? Are we going to ride something called Large Lightning Mesa Train Tracks? What colorful characters will we meet here?

Winner of 1893’s Mustache Medal

This type of ‘stache is called a Fu Manchu, after the character Dr. Fu Manchu. It’s not...a great look? But it is memorable, which is sometimes enough. He’s also wearing a simple black cap, probably made of silk. He’s keeping it cazh.

So where are we?

SAN FRANCISCO, OPEN YOUR GOLDEN GATE / YOU’LL LET NOBODY WAIT / OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR

Yes, it’s San Francisco. And it’s *eyes popping out of head like a cartoon wolf seeing a busty babe* 1893!!!! That temporal disturbance was...disturbing.

So who else do we have hanging out?

Please check out our Vaudeville act, Knit Cap ‘n’ Bowly

These dudes understand those famous Bay Area MICROCLIMATES, amirite? We’ve got a Henley. We’ve got a buttondown. We’ve got a vest. We’ve got a coat. No matter which way the thermometer decides to go, THEY ARE READY. Also loving the pop of forest green on Knit Cap’s knit cap.

We also have a 49er:

No, it’s not Steve Young. I googled “famous 49ers” to complete this joke so if there is a more famous 49er please let me know

It’s a literal 49er. Since it’s 1893, this guy’s been hanging around in town for a while, and he’s also familiar with the layering techniques one must master if one is to conquer the Bay Area’s climate. He also has a kicky Colonel Sanders-type tie. He asks Data for money and gives him a few panhandling tips. He’s chill. We like him. But don’t get too attached if you know what I mean!!!!

Data decides he needs somewhere to stay, so he finds a hotel:

Brian.

Why is this so funny to me. Brian. Why would you name your hotel Brian. Brian!!!! I know it’s a last name but like...Brian. HOTEL BRIAN.

This bellhop’s name is not Brian:

Where’s your hat, bro

He’s giving us a classic bellhop look, complete with too many buttons. He gives Data the very important information that there’s a poker game happening in the back of the hotel, which means: Data is about to be RICH rich.

The poker game includes a few good looks:

Louie Anderson IS Wolverine IN a Lands’ End barn coat

Two plaids? Sir...I salute you

Colonel Sanders Goes to Carnaval

Data, of course, wipes the floor with them so hard that he wins their clothes:

Didn’t get that barn coat tho

Yes, that’s the actual vest and the actual hat of those guys from the previous scene. Oh, I love it. I love Data in a vest over his uniform and I love Data with a feather in his cap. Let’s call it macaroni.

Meanwhile, out on the street, the plot is happening:

Beige: inescapable

This is our first taste of the decadent 1890’s sleeves that appear in this episode, and these aren’t even the best sleeves!! These are an amuse-bouche of sleeves. An armuse-bouche, if you will.

Anyway, these two are aliens disguised as humans who are here to steal the 49er’s life energy.

Pew pew pew

I told you not to get attached!!!

Back on the Enterprise, Guinan is doing mixology:

She would never call it something as stupid as mixology though

She tells Picard that he needs to go check out the temporal disturbance, too, even though captains don’t normally go on away missions, and then she gives him this look:

It’s that serious

When Guinan looks at you like this, you do what she says.

Now this outfit is much better than the earlier one. We have some pleated sleeves, which I didn’t even think was a thing you could DO. We have some sort of functional(?) strap(??) across the front. We even have matching fingerless gloves which always make a look A LOOK. And if Picard wasn’t sure whether he needed to go on this away mission, she then gives him THIS look:

Okay now it’s REALLY serious

Back in 1893, Data is making something:

It’s actually just a really complicated and large music box that plays “I Left My Head in San Francisco”

He’s gotten his hands on some more period-appropriate clothing, including a bow tie and a vest. Since he’s not wearing arm garters and his sleeves appear to be the correct length for his arms, we can conclude that the shirt was custom-made, not ready-made, because Data is now a baller due to his poker earnings.

Then, Data sees this in the paper:

I know her!! From work!!!!

Yes, it’s Guinan. In 1893. In a hat!!!!

We cut to the literary reception, which is honestly not as well-attended as I thought it would be, considering it got a GIANT photo of Guinan on page THREE of the paper, but okay. And who should we spy there but:

You’ll love my secret blend of 11 herbs and spices

No, it’s not Colonel Sanders. (Sorry, I really have Colonel Sanders on the brain because of that Lifetime movie.) It’s Samuel Clements, AKA Mark Twain. I had an English teacher in high school who explained the origin of his pseudonym (it indicates a mark of two fathoms, aka twelve feet, on a steamboat) and for some reason she shouted MAAAARK TWAAAAAIN when she told us that story so now her delivery of that line is in my head until I die I guess.

Anyway, it’s Mark Twain.

He’s wearing his iconic white linen suit with a black bow tie, and he’s also wearing a lot of prosthetics, because the actor playing him (Jerry Hardin, AKA Deep Throat from The X-Files AKA Melora Hardin AKA Jan Levinson-Gould’s dad) (was that too many AKAs) (you get it, right?) didn’t look enough like Mark Twain, I guess? In conclusion: what if eyebrow wigs were a thing?

Twain is having a chit chat with “Madame Guinan,” who is wearing what can only be called a sumptuous gown:

It’s 11:30 and the gown is sumptin’ sumptin’

There are so many ELEMENTS to this look! First of all: the color. Royal purple. Fit for a queen. Appropriate.

Then: those sleeves! These sleeves are known as “leg of mutton sleeves” because they KIND OF look like a leg of mutton. Have you ever seen a leg of mutton? I haven’t. I’ve only seen these sleeves. Plus they have a stripe?? No, I don’t know why, but I LOVE IT.

The cuffs and the cravat bring this from “dress” to “lewk.” Top it all off with this hat and you have a true 1893 mood.

What bird is that feather even from

We get a few good extra looks in this scene as well:

Pink Lady is NOT wearing a corset

Look, sometimes you don’t have enough period-appropriate undergarments for all the background people and that’s fine. But I WILL notice.

Is that Loretta Lynn

I am loving all of this! That purple dress is fantastic, those stripes? I die. Military man has some fun flair on his shoulder, and there is a dude in a beautiful turban back there. Plus, another Black lady in addition to Guinan and That One Ensign Who Is On The Bridge Sometimes.

Data rolls in to the literary event in a different suit with a CRAVAT:

Craving a cravat

Data is like “we serve together on the same starship in the 24th century” and Guinan is like “huh” but then she’s like “okay” which...I’m not sure if I would believe that? But let’s just say it’s fine.

Over in the 24th century, the literal entire bridge crew is checking out the temporal disturbance and I DON’T LIKE THIS AT ALL:

Blue Man Group...on ACID

These beings are like ghosts but also like Dr. Manhattan but also like pure energy.

Then everyone goes through the temporal disturbance AND THE SEASON ENDS.

Fortunately for you, this post will continue...right now.

Okay, so we’re back in San Francisco in 1893. You can tell by the horses:

Also the fruit carts

Samuel Clemens is strolling around with a reporter, telling him that he has a great story for him that involves time travelers and, like, protecting the nation.

Here’s the thing about this episode’s version of Mark Twain: he’s kind of a dick. Was the real Mark Twain kind of a dick? I just feel like Mark Twain should be JAZZED about meeting time travelers and not acting like a fuckin’ time cop* and trying to put the Enterprise crew on blast.

Anyway I love his double-breasted vest.

See my vest

The reporter’s hat is technically period-accurate, but that style is SO associated with the 1930s-1950s that I would have gone with something else. He looks cute though.

Meanwhile, Data is wearing a three-piece suit:

My positronic olfactory synapses are interpreting something as...a fart

I hate brown, but this is fine.

Additionally, the beige baddies from before are back and this time, they’ve got a SNAKE CANE:

Love the snake cane, hate how they suck the life out of people

But we are not here for them, we are here to see our faves in period clothing. Our first look is at Riker, who is dressed as an actual cop, not a time cop like Mark Twain:

The past just had...so many buttons

I guess if you’re a time-traveling white man there are worse disguises than a cop. But WHERE DID HE GET THIS UNIFORM? I choose to believe that he found a cop with a similar large handsome body to his own and beat the shit out of him and stole his clothes. Now we can all enjoy imagining a cop being beat up.

The badge that Riker is wearing is a great historical detail; the SFPD started wearing them in 1886 and are reportedly the first law enforcement agency to have worn the seven-pointed star, which is now a common shape among sheriff’s departments across the United States.

But let’s move on to a better look: Dr. Beverly Crusher:

Curlz MT

Okay, now I have more questions. Beverly obviously wouldn’t beat someone up for their clothes, so where did SHE get HER outfit? And who did her hair? Did she do her OWN hair? Where did she get a curling iron? Does she know how to use a curling iron? Was it one of those ones that’s actually made of iron that you have to heat up in a fireplace?

We will get answers to zero (0) of these questions.

We actually get a much better look at her dress later, so let’s focus on that cloak!!! I love it and I also love her hat. Okay, I guess I had less to say about those than I thought.

Bev and Will, along with the rest of the officers, have somehow procured a room/apartment in some lady’s lodging house. It’s cute!

They gave it 5 stars on AirBnB

This also raises questions. How did they get this room? How many bedrooms does it have? Are they sharing one large bed? If so, who has to sleep crossways at the foot of the bed and why is it Geordi? We will get zero answers to these questions as well, so let’s move on to arguably the hottest costume in this two-parter:

I’ll be in Holodeck 4

Whewwwwwww. He’s giving us a rolled sleeve. He’s giving us a casual tweed vest. The pants? They’re perfect. And he KNOWS how that slouch is working. It’s working VERY well. But the Irish landlady? She’s having NONE OF IT.

Absolutely NO nonsense

She needs the rent, but Picard charms her and she leaves. So I guess that’s how they got the room. Her look is knitwear-forward:

Eileen Fisher does sound like an Irish name

She’s got a shawl AND a cardigan! The cozy factor is OFF THE CHARTS. She also has a brooch, because a touch of fancy is always welcome. I will say that her hair is a little more fashion-forward than I’d expect for a woman of her age and station. This is straight up 1890s hair, and she would probably still be rocking an 1860s look, which isn’t as sweepy and would likely involve more braids. Still, she looks lovely.

Geordi is also here looking dapper:

Make the collar as high as you can. I want to be sliced open by my own collar

You CAN go wrong with a three-piece suit, but it’s difficult to. He can’t wear his visor, so he has some kicky shades which we’ll get a better look at in a sec.

Back at the Hotel Brian (lol), the bellboy (who we learn in this scene is Jack London, inspired to be a writer by Mark Twain [citation needed]) lets Mark Twain into Data’s room and allows him to look around unsupervised. This is very bad hotel management.

Great Scott

Then Data and Guinan show back up, and Mark Twain hides in an armoire.

One short day in the emerald brocade

I think one reason I love Guinan’s looks so much, both in the 24th and the 19th century, is that our color palette is very similar. We’re both winters. Bold jewel tones are the vibe. This one is in a beautiful deep green fabric with what looks like a velvet flocking pattern on it. The collar is also velvet, and I love that sleeve with a flounce on top like there wasn’t already enough fucking fabric on the sleeve so they just added a random piece to be like “yes, bitch. I’m a sleeve.”

Naturally, the hat is also jaunty af:

San Francisco’s hottest milliner is: Madame Guinan

This hat has everything: feathers, netting, a brim, an angle that makes you think it’s going to fall off but it doesn’t. We stan.

Meanwhile, Picard is setting up a sensor in a hospital while wearing a hat:

I’m bowled over

We haven’t even asked where Picard got these clothes, but I would like to point out that he’s dressed as a lower-class guy, while Riker is a cop, and Geordi looks like a gentleman. Was there even a discussion they all had about how they would disguise themselves? Was Picard like “I just really want to wear a beat-up bowler hat” and since he’s the captain, they extrapolated from there? This episode is NOT CONCERNED about any of this. They all have clothes, end of story.

Bev even has TWO outfits!!

Hello nurse!!!!

I love this look. She still has her unlikely hairstyle happening, which means her nurse’s cap is sitting atop her voluminous hairstyle. (Not very practical, but realistic!) She’s sporting a simple striped dress and a button-on apron. (Look closely and you can see the two buttons holding the apron to the dress.) The fabric underneath might be cotton seersucker, but it’s likely a lightweight cotton or linen twill. You can see how closely her look matches these nurses from a similar time period:

Hello nurses!!!!

Deanna is also in this scene and this episode, but you wouldn’t know it from what she’s given to do. HUGE SHOCKER: TROI NOT GIVEN ENOUGH TO DO IN AN EPISODE. 🙃

She still looks beautiful:

Why aren’t capelets more popular

We never get a really GREAT look at her whole outfit, but I can tell you that it has a capelet, it’s in the red family, and the hat has a lot of business going on. For those reasons: approved. It has a flounce in the back too:

More fabric = more wealth

Sometimes I think about just how much fabric it took to make these old-timey dresses and I’m like...how did anyone get anything done?? It takes me like 4 weeks to finish a pair of leggings and those have like 5 seams and I own a serger. These historical bitches were sewing whole ass dresses in no time at all.

Okay, so Bev is in this hospital and here come some more energy-stealing aliens, disguised as healthcare professionals this time:

I cannot take a medical professional wearing a LIGHT BROWN TOP HAT seriously, sorry

Bev AND this energy-stealing alien have BOTH managed to get their hands on the SAME nurse’s uniform?? I guess in the case of the alien, she is a shape-shifter, so she got her clothes from...that. And her hair.

I hate this light brown top hat. If you’re going to wear a top hat, don’t DISRESPECT IT by making it BROWN, but if you’re going to make it brown, make it a good brown, like chocolate. Stupid energy-stealing aliens.

There’s a skirmish, the energy-stealing aliens disappear, and the real cops show up:

MOUSTACHE

Of course, the cops showing up is bad, because when has a cop showing up ever made a bad situation better? Never. Defund the police, but don’t defund handlebar mustaches. Those can stay.

Fortunately, Data has gotten a ping on that machine he was building before and shows up on a motherfucking HORSE:

Brent just wanted to show off

He’s back in his brown striped suit and red tie. Okay.

Everyone returns to the boarding house to suss out the situation, and we get a look at what Riker is rocking underneath his cop jacket:

Suspend me daddy

You can see very clearly here how the collar is not actually attached to the shirt. This was a thing people in the olden days did so they could wear their shirt for multiple days in a row and just switch out the collar and cuffs so they looked clean. As someone who is wearing the same sweatshirt for the third day in a row, I support this method. (If you’re interested on more info about collars, here is a very enjoyable article about them.)

We are also blessed with a better look at Deanna’s sleeves and bodice:

Black lace cuffs? Decadent!!!

You can also see Geordi’s shades, which suit him really nicely. One thing I’ve been enjoying on this rewatch is just how well LeVar Burton can act without having his eyes visible. He’s great. Let’s just all think about how great LeVar Burton is for a second

And also Bev’s dress:

I legitimately want this dress

I don’t think those buttons are functional. Can you imagine how annoying THAT would be? But I am absolutely in love with this dress. Two paisleys, Beverly???? A goddess. I’m also dying for that brooch with the chain. A+ look all around, great work.

Finally, FINALLY, Guinan meets the rest of the crew:

When you meet someone you won’t actually know for 500 years

She is wearing a hat that looks like a toilet paper cozy. Did your grandma have one of these? They’re so stupid and I love them so much.

Picard and Guinan meet for what is the first time for her, but not the first time for him, and honestly it is...sensual?????

If I got a m’lady from P. Stew I wouldn’t even mind

Patrick and Whoopi truly do some nice work in this ep. But we are here to yell about clothes, so: LOOK AT THIS DRESS ON AN EXTRA:

Gimme dat dress

I just want that dress to wear around my house. I legitimately bought an 18th century costume dress to do just that, so don’t think I won’t literally do this.

OKAY, WE ARE ALMOST TO THE END.

The crew, plus Guinan, go back to the cave where this all started:

Cave Club, the only club that meets in a cave

We get a nice look at the bodice of Guinan’s dress here and guess what: MORE BUTTONS. Buttons on the lapels, and also buttons on the front panel with the pointy top. I wonder if she has multiple front panels for that dress in different colors, like a Swatch watch.

Unbeknownst to them, Mark Twain followed them!! Then there’s a scuffle with the energy-stealing aliens during which a few things happen:

Data’s head flies off

Mark Twain gets sucked into the temporal disturbance

Guinan gets hurt

Picard stays behind to make sure Guinan is okay

So we end up with Mark Twain on the Enterprise, where he sees Worf, and he’s like:

Buh-WHAT

Worf is also confused:

This is...extremely perplexing

We have a few more looks back on the Enterprise, including Regular Guinan:

ShoulderSpreads™: The Bed Spread for Your Shoulders

I love love LOVE this outfit. The color is perfect, the shoulderspreads are perfect, the front draping is perfect. It looks like a velvet housedress from the 1960s except FANCY which is kind of my ideal aesthetic. And it’s red (my fave).

We get a quick glimpse at the barber uniform:

Bitch let me pass, idc if you wrote Huck Finn

This barber does. not. give. a. fuck!!!!

Geordi reattaches Data’s head, the one they already had, which means this whole thing was a ding dang closed loop. The reattachment also kind of diminishes the whole conversation they had earlier about how Data’s head in the cave meant that Data could die someday, because...he didn’t. He still might, but his head is back and he’s fine now.

Meanwhile, Picard is still back in 1893 and they have to go get him, but only one person can come back through the temporal disturbance, so Mark Twain is like “duh I’ll go get him.”

And finally Guinan and Picard can talk about how their friendship spans 500 years!!!!

Hey girl

Hey

YOU’RE WELCOME

*abolish the police

#SEASON 5 #SEASON 6 #TNG #TNG FASHION #STAR TREK #STAR TREK FASHION

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aotopmha · 4 months ago

Text

It's why I don't get the complaint about the Scions taking a back seat, either.

The literal setup is for everyone to play support here.

Spoilers!

However, to bring something up in my post I didn't (because I wanted to just focus on this one aspect of the story) and to play Devil's Advocate for a bit, I think a moment that is valid to bring up here is Gulool Ja Ja's death.

Wuk mentioned she didn't want to interfere because of it being a matter of honor, and I know some people take issue with this, but I'm fine with this because it is a very specific character motivation, and shown to be something she regrets/isn't exactly happy about.

It's also a perspective that might seem strange from the "outside", but seems pretty "normal" inside.

So part of the whole theme of understanding perspectives that seem strange this entire story is about. Maybe not entirely "intentional", either, but a reason.

Gulool Ja Ja was ultimately also caught off guard and so was everyone else.

But nobody even tried to stop Zoraal Ja. He just walked away.

There are explanations to this, too.

Someone that the characters cared about was presumably mortally wounded in front of them. Wuk kind of might've lost her father.

And Zoraal Ja's tech is also a complete unknown.

It makes sense and doesn't ruin anything for me, but I can at least understand this kind of good faith criticism.

I think some later moments sort of had this issue, too. But it always made sense to me because placing civilians and lack of knowledge first seems a fair enough approach, as well.

But you don't also get to say A Realm Reborn and Heavensward are "so much better" when in especially so much of the former we just do nothing for not even implied reasons while the primals are summoned.

I think Iceheart is the most egregious example of this. You sit there doing nothing while she is summoning Shiva and you sit there and let her leave for not even implied reasons.

I guess that she repeated Hydaelyn's words can be a reason? But nothing is ever really brought up about this in the story itself.

You see Thordan doing the coffin dance meme with his knights and go on this whole spiel of opening the coffin instead of trying to stop him.

These are not the expansion packs you want to throw into the comparison for "plot hole" reasons.

Shadowbringers and Endwalker are much better about this kind of stuff, but those stories also just have other issues.

I still think Thancred letting Ryne just summon Shiva as he did during the Eden raid seemed like pretty loose character writing, for example.

And at this point I take maybe some loose plotting over another fake death for Y'Shtola.

But this is also not the framing a bunch of the criticism has.

So much of it is strictly about us no longer being at the center of attention.

But nobody knows about us in Tural, so how would we be? And that's actually something that is really good writing and a super refreshing switch-up to me.

To loop back, I like actually being Azem and I love the sense of adventure of the first half of Dawntrail, even if I might have issues with some of the steps.

Living Memory also better stick because it is much-needed balance to characters always surviving, sometimes in very ridiculous ways.

I 100% hope they won't walk back on this new start in general because of some of this feedback.

Small Dawntrail thoughts:

Spoilers for all of the MSQ!

I do not get the complaint that the Warrior of Light is "just standing there" for "all of MSQ" I've seen around.

We get plenty of moments to be cool.

When we do hold back it is either for the purpose of teaching or... we don't.

We step up immediately when things do get more serious.

But the entire first half is about letting Wuk Lamat learn. We are here to be support.

And the thing is, I remember there being two very prevailing complaints around all the way from 6.0 to 6.5:

1) People were tired of the WoL being at the center of attention and this special Chosen One.

2) People wanted a break from the Scions and for the story to do "new stuff". SO MANY actually did want them dead, gone.

So they gave people exactly what they wanted and now they're unhappy.

0bviously, I do not know of the overlap of people in this. But it's all of the "very smart and critical" people that are here to tell you how much this thing you like is bad, just like a certain subset of people criticizing Endwalker.

And I think they struck such a good balance! I like the WoL being the mysterious, cool, strong teacher and adventurer. It's one of the strongest aspects of this expansion because it is new and a logical progression.

We haven't had an actual role switch since ARR.

But this is one of the criticisms I feel misses the point of the story the most.

#Final Fantasy XIV #Final Fantasy 14 #FFXIV #FF14 #FF #Final Fantasy #DT #Dawntrail

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tipsydipsydo · 4 years ago

Text

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Gender of the Reader: female

Word Count: 3.5k

Rating: 18+

Genre: Angst; Fluff; Smut

AU: Historical/Middle Age! AU

Warnings: arranged + forced marriage; gender roles according to the period; sexual themes + sexual language; Praising; Body-Worship; Nipple Play; Fingering; First experience of an orgasm; Loss of virginity (unprotected Sex)

Summary: You're getting married tomorrow and you want to say goodbye to your mare. There you met the stable boy Taehyung for the last time, who's your best friend and childhood crush at the same time. You will experience a stormy night full of love and passion and you'll give the biggest proof of love to him...

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That includes reposting my content on other social media platforms too, even when you link me as the original author.

Thank you.

With a thumping heart you peep around the corner, but the cold hallway with high stone walls lies quietly in front of you, only a few candles in their stands lit up the long corridor. The servants must have finally retired to their own rooms and even the last noises in the courtyard has fallen silent. It must be close to midnight, but you couldn't sneak away earlier. The danger of being caught has been too big. But now you grab the thin skirt of your white night gown and lift it a little bit up, so that you could walk as silently as possible along the corridor, across the courtyard to the horse stable. Light-footed you quickly put one foot in front of the other, the bright Full Moon guides you with its light the way to the stable. Quietly you open the small side door and slip in, where you’re greeted the familiar smell of horse, hay and leather.

Here, too, the torches were extinguished late. Just thinking about what a momentous day tomorrow will be will make you sick and silent tears run down your cheeks. Tomorrow you will be your wedding with a man who was already over thirty years old when you were born and whom you didn't even really know. He was here once two months ago so that you two could „get acquainted" with each other. Theobald, as he is called, has a bald head, an ugly potbelly and with every, almost frightening smirk you could get a glimpse of yellow teeth. At your first meeting, he had already patterned you with such a disgustingly lustful look that a cold shudder ran down your back and still makes you nauseous at the thought of it.

Your eyes are slowly getting used to the darkness, fortunately some Moonlight falls through the small ventilation hatches, so you can reach the last Box without tripping over something. Securely you open the door and gently push the butt of my beloved Grey Mare Estrilda to the side. Curiously, she lifts her big, noble head and turns a little to you. As if she knows what will happen to you tomorrow, she tenderly presses her head against your chest. Until now you had only cried quietly for yourself, but now, you bury your face in her soft, long mane and let your feelings run free. Why didn't your mother, when you were born, take action against being promised to such an old man?

But every time you asked her, she just shrugged with her shoulders helplessly and murmured softly,"that's just how it is, Y/N. I wanted to talk to your father, but he only saw the opportunity in finally reconciling two hostile Empires. With this marriage. You have to believe me, dear. I was hoping for something different for you. That you will be happier than I am. That you can live your life more in more freedom."

You have always been different, your curiosity, your stubbornness and your self-confidence do not correspond to the expectations one has of a daughter of the noble family. You love horses and riding, you can't do anything with jewelry, dresses out of expensive silk and velvet or perfumes. You loved to ride in the big hunt at least once a year and go hunting with your falcon Alan. You are not interested in the easy, comfortable life as the wife of a nobleman. You would much rather have helped once in the kitchen and learned how to cook a meal. But this was strictly forbidden to you, after all you are not a maid! Your wish is simply to be allowed to be as you want it to be. You do not care whether it is appropriate for a woman of your rank or not.

Your body slowly calms down from the convulsion and one last time you take the smell of your beloved mare deep into your lungs. Because she will stay here while you return to his estate with your new husband. That would become your new home. Although the wedding party will be celebrated here... but you will spend our wedding night with him on his castle. Then you will be trapped in the clutches of a sadistic, cruel and heartless ruler. You have heard some whisperings and rumors from the other Kingdom. The thought lies like a bitter, putrid taste on your tongue and your stomach twists at the thought that you have to show yourself naked to this disgusting man. You would rather burn at the stake as a wicked whore than surrender your virginity to him.

Suddenly, you hear the clatter of a fallen bucket and a dull cursing behind you, which is why you‘re startled and push yourself out of instinct into the darkest corner of the horse box. In vain, because the shadowy figure steps closer and opens the box door. Your heart beats fast, who is that and would he betray you for wandering around in the stable at night? But your anxious heart romptly calms down as you look into the soft and gentle face of Taehyung, the stable boy.

"Y/N? What are you doing here, wouldn't you have to sleep since a long time? After all, tomorrow is your wedding.", the last sentence spit Taehyung literally out. A relieved smile comes to your lips when you see your only and best friend. "Taehyung...", you murmur and fall into his arms, trying your best to suppress a sob. His muscular arms are wrapping themself around you, holding you and run tenderly his fingers through your hair.

The first time you met was on your eleventh birthday when you received Estrilda as a birthday present and he was assigned to look after the welfare of your horse. At that time he had already been fifteen, and now, nine years later, he has matured into a handsome twenty-Four year old man. He is the only one who ever understood you and even offered to run away with him when you found out about your marriage. But you would be looked for all over the country and everything would be more like a deadly skewer, which is why you sadly but thankfully refused. Above all, you do not want to expose your beloved mother to the cruel anger of your father, he would blame her if one morning you could no longer be found. It is inevitable that you must marry this disgusting, sadistic devil, whether you like it or not. But one thing you will decide for yourself...

Taehyung's masculine smell of sweat and horse calms you down more than ever and you snuggle up sobbing at his chest, steeled muscles from the daily hard work. You let your feelings run free and enjoys the gentle caresses he gives you. He is even more against the wedding than you and you have already guessed the reason for a long time. He develops feelings for you, which would go beyond your normal friendship-relationship. This assumption triggers a gentle flutter in your stomach and you wish you could be even closer to him than you already are. You both knew it, but you have never really said it out loud. For this fact requires no words. You’re in love with each other.

It was clear from the beginning that this fragile love has no future, and yet it feels so right, even though it is completely wrong. But he gives you the affection and attention that even your own mother could never give to you. Tonight, you want to give something to Taehyung that would belong to himcompletely alone. Nobody could ever steal it from him, this gift is irreplaceable.

It would be your virginity. If you have to marry such a cruel man, you want to give your innocence to someone who has proved to be worthy enough. Taehyung is worthy for it.

You detach yourself a little from his chest and look up into those beautiful dark brown eyes in which you‘re threaten to drown every time. Your fingers glide up to his strong neck, through his soft, black curls and tug on them gently until he moans softly.

“Tae... From tomorrow we will not see each other again. We only have this night left. I have already given you my heart, it will remain yours forever. But tonight I want to give you something else... My virginity shall be yours.”, you breathe softly against his lips.

Taehyung startles and looks down at you in disbelief. "B-But Y/N...I-I could never accept something like this! Such a thing like your virginity belongs to Theo-", he rambles overwhelmed and want to turn your opinion against that idea,but you just press your lips almost violently onto his.

"No. It should never belong to Theobald. If I already have to make the marriage covenant with him, then I want to be able to decide by whom my virginity will be token!", you reply to your lover and bite him hard into the lower lip.

He is still visibly surprised, but now your passion reaches him too and he respond with the same desire to your kiss. Your tongues find each other and starts a wild catching game. Heat rises in your bodies, reaches every pore of your body and makes this unknown feeling of pleasure pulsate through your veins. You long for Taehyung's love, one last time you want to feel his affection before you go to hell tomorrow. At least once you want to see heaven before you are banished to hell for the Rest of your life. The breath of your loved one becomes faster, he is panting, this kiss alone pushes you both in such a tremendous passion, which you have kept so forcibly hidden from each other otherwise.

"L-Let‘s go to the hayloft...", Taehyung murmurs at your neck in a deep, hoarse voice. You nod breathlessly, you are completely overwhelmed by the feelings that a simple kiss can trigger in you if you just love someone with your whole heart. Securely, you climb one by one the narrow wooden ladder up to the hayloft and you two throw tightly wrapped up into the hay. Your lips can hardly keep away from each other. The desire and longing for Taehyung increases every moment.

"Please...", you whisper in a whimpering voice, your body feels like it's on fire and this unknown longing for union drags you into a swirl. But Taehyung wants to get to know you and your breathtaking body, trying to memorize as much as possible. He never wants to forget how you look, feel, smell and taste. The cords of your nightgown are opened unnoticed by him, suddenly you just feel the scratchy hay under you and his loving hands on your skin.

"Beautiful.... So beautiful...", he mutters again and again under his breath. His eyes wanders over your exposed body, blown out eyes lingering on your breasts. Taehyung admired you silently since you’ve met for the first time, you always took his breath with your beauty away. Especially the last few years he realized what kind of effect you have on him, how you’ve grown up from the little wild princess to a confident young Lady. How his own and your Body has changed of the years and with it, how his maybe not so innocent desires awakened in him.

You are gorgeous, he can’t even describe your majestic body in words properly, you leave him speechless. You look better than in his sinfully fantasies he has at night, tossing his sweaty and needy Self around in Bed, trying to prevent those indecent thoughts about his own best friend. Well, his love of his life. He shouldn’t think that way about the princess, is he insane or something?! Still, he couldn’t reject his feelings for you, neither you could.

You both will end up in hell, you’re doing so sinful things right now but why they’re feeling so good? Why is it a sin to have such desires, to have the need to feel so close to each other, why are you sinning when you feel so much love, desire and pleasure that you couldn’t bear it anymore? You couldn’t understand and you would never.

„My royal highness, m-may I ask if you allow me to touch your Breasts?”, stutter Taehyung out, gulping hard and biting his lower lip in desperation. He knows he would hurt you somehow through fusion of your bodies but alone the thought of it hurts him right in his heart. Taehyung doesn’t wants to be the one who’s hurting you, he wants that you’ll keep this night as good as possible in your memory.

„O-Oh my god, Taehyung... d-don’t call me that, please just call me by my Name. ...and please, oh please touch me, I want to feel your Hands all over my Body!”, you pant out whimpering, arching your spine to encourage Taehyung in his actions.

A deep, longing moans leaves his lips, finally touching and kissing every conceivable part of your body. For the first time and probably also for the last time in your life, you will learn what this true love is. Something of which so many Minnesingers always sing about. It feels so indescribably good that the tears are just running down your cheeks, you can’t hold them anymore, you feel too good, too loved. Only this night you want to see heaven before you have to burn in hell as a deflowered whore until the end of your life. But this one time is worthy for you to sin. A lustful moan escapes your lips as his lips enclose one of your nipples and caress them tenderly with his tongue.

Countless whispers and pleads are falling from your slightly parted lips, you’re chanting his name like a mantra. Every noise that comes from your tongue let Taehyung‘s need to pleasure you even more grow. Almost helpless, as if you’re drowning, you grab Tae‘s strong Biceps and look up to him. Your eyes are sparkling from the tears which ran down your cheeks, the unconditional love in them is crushing Taehyung‘s Soul.

"Oh Y/N, I love you so much... I don’t know how to express them so they would portray the pure feelings I have for you in my chest, in my soul. Please let me show you something else...", he wispers into your ear, nibbling tenderly on your earlobe.

His other hand glides through the valley of your breasts, over your stomach down your sweet and hot center. You whine softly, you’re a little flustered, nobody touched you down there in such a way before. Almost automatically your thighs want to close again, just Taehyung’s gentle and caressing hand keep you from doing so.

"Shhh, my precious Angel, don’t be ashamed... you’re gorgeous and so beautiful, you can’t imagine how bad I want you. You smell so delicious, you’re driving me insane! Would you like to continue or should I stop? I will do whatever you want, just tell me..", murmurs Taehyung’s low voice, you can clearly hear the tremble of arousal in it. After you took a few deep breaths to calm your oversensitive nerves, you’re spreading slowly your thighs for him.

Taehyung‘s eyes are fixated on your face, watching patiently your facial reactions for any discomfort. Now, his hand is coming to life again and moves forward until it disappeared between your legs. His fingertips moves incredibly gentle over your soft pussy lips, slowly parting them and let his fingers soak in your lust juice. They run up and down, teasing your clit and preparing your entrance for his length.

Waves of Lust electrify your whole Body, every fiber and nerve is pumped full of sexual desire and you’re gasping for air. You’ve never felt that way before, you have no clue what kind of sweet spot that is but you want Taehyung to touch it over and over again.

Why does sinning feels so incredible good? You’re fallen for the devils work, you love sinning when it feels that amazing.

"Please, please, please... Taehyung, do that again, it feels so good-", you sob out, holding on his broad shoulders as if your life depends on him. Honestly, it does.

"Yeah? Does that feel good, my Princess? Do you want more?", rasps your beloved Taehyung. His fingers speeds up, flicking your cute little pearl with his thumb in a rapid pace now. His middle and ringfinger is pounding into your tight, pulsating channel and is stretching you open. His movement creates lewd squelching noises which makes you a little blush. The coil of lust in your abdomen grows unstoppable, you don’t know to handle this unfamiliar feeling. Your Body is shaking, whimpers and choked out whines filling the hay loft. You don’t understand what is happening, just pure unfiltered need and desire clouded your mind and you can’t think straight anymore.

"Oh my- Oh my god, Tae... I-I am... I don’t know what is happening-"

"I know Baby, everything is okay, just let yourself go... I‘m here, I will catch you when you’re falling apart..."

It just needs a few more strokes of his thumb on your oversensitive clit until the ball of pleasure bursts open and fills every pore of your body with pure ecstasy. You can’t hold your tears of pleasure back anymore, the small and so precious diamonds are rolling out of the corner of your eye until Taehyung’s Lips are catching them.

"Baby... are you alright? Did it felt good?", he asks quietly and rubs soothingly over the top of your thighs. Avoiding your center on purpose, he doesn’t want to overstimulate you even further.

"T-Tae... that- that felt so good... h-how did you do that? I-I can’t hold my tears back, I am sorry!" A weak sob leaves your lips and you bury your face into Taehyung’s chest. He caress you gently, whispering sweet nothings and praises into your ear, worshipping you to the fullest. Promising you to show you how you can make yourself feeling that good, teaching you how you can make love to yourself.

After you came down from your high, you gently grab the soft baby hair in his nape and move his face towards you.

"Taehyung, I want to feel you as close as possible, I want to merge with you, I want to make love to you- ...I want you.", you whisper and hold his face in your hands, looking him deep into his eyes.

"Oh, I will... I will serve you with everything you wants,my Dear. Please lay down and spread those beautiful legs for me again...", he answers and smile softly at you. The sweet love names he picked for you makes your stomach flutter und the blush on your cheeks is darkening. Taehyung gives you a last sweet smile full of love before your lips meet again and he pushes into you.

A short, stabbing pain flares through your body, but that was all. He holds still into you until you give him the permission to move. At first, it was a slow and gentle rhythm but your sweet moans and whimpers encourage him to go faster and in the end he looses all his control over his suppressed sexual needs. Making love to you in the most passionate way possible.

He shows you the heaven on earth and love takes on a whole new meaning for you. You trust him unconditionally and he shows you that you are equal. You are an equal woman, an equal person for him. He loves and respects you. All this is the most beautiful thing you have ever experienced in your life. You have given him your virginity and he has given you a son with these wonderful brown eyes and dark curls.

"Mother, why do you always cry when you see me? I didn't do anything today... ", asks your little six-year-old son and looked at you questioningly with those chocolate brown eyes that bring you to tears every time.

"You look so much like your father. Your real father."you say quietly.

"Did he hurt you, Mommy?", he asks with big fearfully eyes and you quickly shake your head.

"No, not at all! H-He had been the only man who had ever really loved me...“

„...the only one to whom my heart will forever belong."will you bring barely audible over your lips.

#btswritersguild #bangtanhq #bts smut #taehyung middle age au #bts x reader #bangtanarmynet #taehyung smut #bts medieval au #thehouseofbangtan #taehyung x reader #purplearmynet #bts x reader smut #bts angst #deflowered #bts fluff #bts x reader medieval

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straightlikewetspaghetti · 4 years ago

Text

Rancho Love

Pairings:

Main: Poppy x MC (Bea Hughes)

Secondary: Chloe x Veronica, Zoey x ??

Warnings: none

Love is a strong feeling, a bond, an interpersonal relationship that is difficult to clearly define and explain.

Hate is sometimes contrasted with love and described as an agonizing feeling, resulting from pain associated with feelings of hurt, revenge, hostility and deception.

It’s funny how thin line separates these two feelings...

At the beginning of the vacations, Bea went to her grandmother's ranch to prepare it for the arrival of unexpected guests. Today was the day of their arrival and the brunette sat on the porch, nervously shaking her leg.

It wasn't long before a black SUV belonging to her best friend pulled onto her property. In a flash, Zoey jumped out of it and locked Bea in a firm hug, even though it hadn't been that long since they last met.

Out of the corner of her eye, the brunette noticed Veronica and Chloe standing behind the black-haired girl. Bea and Veronica exchanged knowing glances, sparing each other unnecessary closeness, unlike Chloe, who had been acting like an overexcited puppy ever since she and Veronica got together. The blonde threw herself at Bea with a squeal and hugged her with a strength she would never have suspected. Despite the odds, it was a pleasant feeling.

When she released herself from the hug, she knew someone was missing. She glanced at Zoey, who only sighed. Bea took note of the dark circles under her eyes and obvious fatigue that was showing on her friend's face, which could mean that the princess had given her quite a hard time during the trip. "And what is the name of this little cutie." Chloe dropped to her knees and began exaggeratedly petting the overjoyed dog that magically appeared next to the brunette.

"Drake."

"Like the rapper?" the puzzled blonde asked.

"Never change, Chlo" Veronica laughed placing a soft kiss on Chloe's head.

"No, like a dragon, because his breath is murderous." the brunette playfully snapped her mouth and put emphasis on the last word as if she were talking to a small child.

The girls laughed and all the tension that was hiding inside Bea dissipated like a bad weather. She had forgotten that without Poppy, Chloe and Veronica were actually very bearable.

"How can you expect me to function under such conditions?" speaking of the devil, a clear high-pitched squeak pierced the silence of the ranch, causing even nearby grazing Sheridan to lay his ears down. Bea's head twitched involuntarily, a tic she had developed at the sound of that particular tone of voice. "Zoey! Come here!"

The girl looked pleadingly at Bea and mouthed silently "Help me." The brunette smiled in understanding and headed towards the car Poppy was standing by. Bea approached quietly, causing the preoccupied blonde to not even notice her. She took advantage of the peaceful moment to take a closer look at her.

Poppy was rummaging through the trunk, probably looking for something. Bea couldn't help but notice the way the girl's jeans perfectly framed her well-defined curves. In an instant, memories of that one night when Poppy had proved to her that she had to dominate on every level, began to flow into her head.

The girl standing before her was the picture of perfection. Her silky blonde hair was tied up in a heavy knot, revealing a slender neck that Bea loved to tease. Her entire outfit perfectly exemplified her sense of style and elegance, which she always groomed to a fault. Against the landscape of the countryside she stood out like a sore thumb.

"Do you want to go to the bathroom or do you always have such an idiotic expression on your face?" the malicious comment from Poppy snapped her out of her reverie and worked on her like a bucket of cold water.

"It's good to see you too Pops." she said in a calm voice, as if she hadn't literally fantasized about the girl standing in front of her a moment ago.

Poppy turned her head towards her and smiled flirtatiously, though Bea knew that smile hid disdain and annoyance. "I didn't feel the need to lie." she shrugged and went back to her previous activity.

Bea laughed under her breath and nodded. The audacity of this girl will be the death of her. "How can I help you?"

"You finally offered? What a wonderful woman you are!" Poppy sneered, placing an amount of baggage in Bea's hands that nearly knocked the brunette to the ground. "Jesus Christ Poppy, you came here for a month, not a lifetime!" Bea's voice was barely audible over the amount of suitcases crushing her person. Trying to take in the situation, her muscles tensed visibly and out of the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar glint in the blonde's eye. Poppy giggled innocently, but her gaze was wary and sharp. She scrutinized Bea from head to toe and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "You wouldn't handle me, Farmsville." "Is that a challenge?" Bea stood sideways and tensed as much as possible to dominate the blonde with her stature. A shiver of indefinable fascination ran through her veins at the thought of competition.

Poppy just rolled her eyes, but as she walked away, she ran her fingertips gently, almost imperceptibly, over the brunette's shoulder, which, along with the amount of baggage, made Bea's legs buckle more and more. With an idiotic grin on her face, the brunette watched Poppy's hips move mesmerizingly. In any normal situation she would have thrown her luggage and pounced on the blonde like a predator, but somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered that the girl was a first class manipulator. Only around Poppy did Bea feel that showing any emotion besides lust was a weakness. Their game of hot’n’cold had gone on for so long that Bea's feelings were lost as she herself was. And even after so long of their physical closeness, they hated each other to the marrow of their bones. Poppy Min Sinclair was one big game Bea felt she was losing. After less than an hour, each of the girls was put in their own rooms and once again they all met on the porch to come up with some common activity, much to Poppy's displeasure. "Howdy ladies! You are a blessing to the sore eyes of a man." Their conversation was interrupted by a low male voice and the clatter of hooves. They all fell silent and looked at the intruder, who was watching them from the back of his powerful steed with an all too friendly smile. Bea was the only one who reciprocated the smile and ran up to him with Drake faithfully at her side.

"Alex you corny chum! I didn't even know you were around." excited Bea waited patiently until the boy slid off his horse and embraced her tightly and a little too long, which didn't escape the girls attention, especially the peculiar blonde. The brunette pulled away from her friend and looked at the slightly amused girls "Ah, but where my manners are!"

"They don't exist." muttered the bored blonde, eyeing her manicure carefully, not even lifting her eyes to the brunette

Bea just rolled her eyes, but didn't let Poppy's grumpiness ruin the moment for her. "Girls, this is Alex, Alex this is Zoey, Veronica, Chloe and Satan, I mean..." she took a dramatic pause to make sure the blonde was paying attention. "Poppy." "The best thing for last." Poppy's voice was low, much lower than her typical squeak.

Bea sensed what was going on and stood between Alex and the blonde, creating a safe space. She looked at Poppy with a scolding look, but the corners of the girl's mouth were only twisted in a minimal mischievous grin that no one else noticed. "Keep it in your pants, Sinclair." Zoey spoke up with disdain as she observed the blonde's pathetic behavior. Alex, hearing this, laughed sincerely and then smiled coquettishly at Zoey. When she looked at him, he squatted closer to her, causing an outline of a blush to appear on her cheeks. She returned the smile. “Can we like, not fight for a sec?” Chloe shy and concerned voice broke through the tension. Veronica stood behind her, proudly holding her around the waist and measuring Poppy with a cautious, almost warning look. Poppy rolled her eyes and scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, but remained silent. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chloe smiling in her direction and even her emotionless facade couldn't ignore the smaller blonde puppy eyes. She felt weird, fuzzy feeling inside. "What brings you here pal?" Bea finally spoke up when the situation had calmed down somewhat and nobody was threatening to jump down each other throats. The boy tore his gaze away from a still blushing Zoey and looked at the brunette as if he had only now discovered that he had actually come to her with a reason. "Yeah, right..." he laughed nervously scratching the back of his neck and reluctantly stepping away from the black-haired girl. "Judy asked me to bring Spot." he pointed to a black and white mare that was nibbling the grass, looking with interest at Sheridan, who was grazing nearby.

"Even nana knew you were here and she didn't tell me?" Bea didn't hide her surprise at Alex's words.

"What a wonderful friend you are." sneered the blonde under her breath.

Alex chuckled, but stopped immediately when Bea flashed him a menacing stare. "Look, I wanted to use the element of surprise." "Of course." the brunette sighed. "While you're here, why don't we give the girls a tour of the ranch?" Bea looked smugly in Zoey's direction and Alex immediately caught what she meant.

"There's no way my foot is going to get anywhere near these... Stinky animals." Poppy wrinkled her nose with visible disgust on her face.

"I'm pretty sure they don't want it as much as you do." Zoey retorted, earning a nudge in the shoulder from Chloe. "All right..." Bea pushed Alex, Zoey, Chloe and Veronica towards the stables. "Go on now, and we'll join you in a moment."

It couldn't be without a mischievous smirk from the boy, but he didn't say a thing. Obediently he began to head towards the stables with the rest of them, Zoey noticeably walking closest to him. Bea lifted her eyes up and counted down to ten in her head to calm herself down. If it wasn't for Poppy's parents' pleading, she would never have agreed to her coming here, but somewhere deep down she hoped the blonde wouldn't be so problematic. She began to wonder for whom this was the bigger punishment.

She turned on her heel to say something to Poppy, but her voice froze in her throat when she saw, one of the most adorable scenes of her life: Poppy was kneeling beside Drake and vigorously scratching his stomach. Her voice was soft and gentle as she whispered sweet nothings to him.

Despite herself, the brunette smiled softly, remembering that even such a cold person had a weakness for dogs.

"I should charge you for looking." Poppy didn't look away from Drake, but Bea saw the gentle smile dedicated to her and not the dog. "I like this side of you." she began, slowly walking toward her. "The gentle and happy one. Why are you forcefully trying to make our lives difficult?"

Poppy's hand hovered over Drake's stomach and there was a heavy silence. Bea gulped nervously, expecting an outburst from the blonde that never came. Instead, Poppy rose from her knees and looked blankly in her direction. "There is no such a thing." her voice sounded incredibly flat, which was much more threatening than her typical screech. "I didn't ask to be here." she put her arms around her waist and turned dramatically to her side. For the first time Bea saw the real Poppy, the one she tries to hide under her harsh persona. She looked extremely lost and hurt, but the brunette couldn't be sure without knowing what was hiding in her head. And for the first time Bea wanted to know what the girl standing in front of her was thinking and feeling. And it was terrifying.

"You wouldn't have to be here if you weren't trying to act like a brat." it wasn't the most pleasant thing she could answer, but it didn't miss the truth.

"Trying?" Poppy looked at her with rising curiosity. "By what do you assume that I'm trying and I'm not like that?" she asked without waiting for an answer. "Since when do you know anything about me, other than the size of my underwear?" As much as she hated to admit it, Poppy had a point. She couldn't be sure which one was the real one, but she tried to go on. "Because you sound like a coward. And I know..."

"You know nothing about me." she snapped, unable to listen to the cruel truth.

"And I know..." Bea continued ignoring her and coming face to face with the blonde, who now seemed much, much smaller and dimmer. "That somewhere deep down, there is a real Poppy that I could..." fall for. The brunette didn't finish that sentence, again settling an awkward silence between them.

Poppy looked straight into her eyes, probably searching for something there. After a moment, she lowered her gaze and trembled. She sighed quietly and carefully grasped the brunette's hand. "Focus on the me you see there..." she pressed it to her chest, where her heart was pounding like a herd of galloping horses. "Because she's focusing on you too." Before she could answer anything, Alex's voice rang out: "Are you slowpokes gonna finally come here?"

"We're coming!" replied Bea, tilting her head toward him but not taking her eyes off the blonde. She felt Poppy withdraw her hand from her in a flash and put her typical look of annoyance on her face.

"You don't have to miss me like that!" The blonde almost purred those words and walked towards the stables, leaving an even more confused Bea alone.

#the end?#poppy min sinclair #poppy x mc #playchoices #choices #queen b #veronica lombardi #veronica x chloe #chloe st james

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yellowocaballero · 4 years ago

Text

Human Relations Snippet: Jon and Sasha versus Bad Telenovelas

This is a birthday request from @hihereami who wanted something very Latin American and an excuse to show me her favorite shows. This takes place in early Season 3, before Jude Perry but with Sasha working at the office. Jon fudged some stuff. It features incredibly stupid office dynamics, bad relationships, and a shared history that produced two very different people. Happy birthday, Ami!

CW as usual for Human Relations: explicitly discussed transphobia, references to 19th century racism, and a depiction of a platonic abusive relationship.

Sasha now understood that she was talking to an expert.

“Fine,” she said grudgingly, gathering the papers back up. She left out her great outline and timetable, though, because Martin should definitely appreciate it. “But the number one rule here is to keep up an active support system, right? Which means Jon needs more than just you.” Martin gave her a hilariously prissy look, which she responded with an equally prissy one. “He thinks we have a psychic bond or something.” They did but Sasha didn’t want to admit that. “Look, I’ve been harassing Jon for months about how shitty Jonah is. But if he’s going to listen to me, he needs to know that...I guess that I care about him more than I hate Jonah. That I’m not doing it out of spite or with some ulterior motive to get something out of him.”

Martin closed the manila folder, carefully attaching a label on it and writing down their coded filing system on the tab. “You don’t care about him more than you hate Jonah. You are doing this with ulterior motives. But it would be pretty hypocritical of me to care about that, so...he likes television? And he likes hearing about your life and the things important to you. He’s like this historical, cultural, political, anthropological sponge. I mean, he knows everything about everything, but it’s his passion. So if you want to combine the two…”

And, of course, once Martin said that then the answer was obvious.

Sasha liked to be the smartest person in the room.

The problem with people like Sasha was that, very frequently, they were the smartest person in the room. For seventeen years of her life Sasha had been remarkably and thoroughly assured that she would go places, she was really going to make all of us proud, she’s going to take care of us in our old age, Mrs. Pérez’s son just wastes every day with his girlfriend but here you are, studying all day with your complete lack of friends!

Once she skipped town - well, town, country, Americas, oceans - all of that had been replaced with shiny grades and the bragging rights of Oxford and the implicit looming pressure of her scholarship. Sasha had always been the smartest person in the room. She couldn’t afford anything else - not if she wanted someone to care, not if she wanted to get anywhere in life.

Every adult was somewhat of a child inside: happily ignoring a toy until it was taken away, at which point they would scream and scream. And when Sasha didn’t feel like the smartest person in the room - or, worse, others didn’t see her as the smartest person in the room - there was nothing tolerable about it.

Upon retrospect, workplace and academic discrimination, in addition to some healthy insecurity, bothered her so much that she sold her soul to the devil about it, but apparently this was an semi-common occurrence. Abuela had been right. Teach Sasha to doubt her again.

Mrs. Pérez’s son probably hadn’t accidentally sold his soul to the devil. He and his girlfriend were probably happy with their hard working but low-paying jobs, their cute little smattering of babies, and their mass every week. They’d have long, happy lives, and the amount of life-or-death situations they were put in were probably no more than usual.

Well. Sasha would literally rather die than do that, and that resolve had been tested very thoroughly. She stood by it. Sasha had never regretted a decision she made in her life, besides the ones that sold her soul to the devil, and also maybe some things about Tim. But most of her decisions were good. And even if they weren’t good, she stubbornly stood by them.

That’s why this was difficult. For all of Sasha’s insecurity reasons that, to be fair, had mostly drifted into the background of her life while she had been on the run for murder. And because it was Martin.

“Sasha, I’m not sure what help I can give you.”

Godfuckingdammit.

“Please?” Sasha slid into the seat across from Martin, giving him her best big cow eyes. “Don’t hog the emotional manipulation. You’re the expert in making Jon do what you want, just...work your magic!”

Martin looked up from the statement he was organizing shot Sasha an extremely flat look. Martin was extremely good at looking extremely unimpressed. “Because I’m the one who can magically make people do what I want.”

Sasha winced. “At least you didn’t sell your soul to a demon about it?”

“I know you tell yourself a lot of people do that to make yourself feel better about doing it, but literally nobody does that.” At Sasha’s double wince, Martin sighed. “Don’t listen to Jonah. You didn’t do anything a normal, non-satanic person wouldn’t do. If I could…” Martin trailed off slightly, staring a little in the distance, before shaking back to himself. “I’m not helping you manipulate Jon. That’s my place in this ecosystem.”

“Then we should team up,” Sasha wheedled. She reached into her briefcase - which nowadays contained little more than alcohol and Statements, she wasn’t sure that Georgie had been a good influence on her - and yanked out the print-outs before slapping it on the table. “See, I did research!”

Martin slid the papers closer to him, leafing through them quickly. Sasha waited for him to look very impressed and appreciative of how socially competent yet intellectual she was, but he didn’t look very impressed at all. “ “Help someone in an Abusive or Controlling relationship”, ‘3 ways to support someone stuck in a controlling relationship’, ‘How can I help someone in a toxic relationship’...”

“You aren’t going to deny it, are you?” Sasha asked heatedly. “Because Tim just does not get what I mean no matter how many leaflets I show him because he ‘framed me for murder’ or whatever -”

“Do not pretend as if you’re forgiven him for the murder thing.”

“I fucking hate his guts over it. I will never, ever forgive either of them.” Sasha’s heart spiked in her chest, and she forced herself to take a few calming breaths. “This is a problem. Jon and Jonah are a problem. I don’t think we’re in a position to take on Jonah right now - even if I am working on it. But Jon is a weak link here. We know he’s impossible to kill -” At Martin’s extremely alarmed look, Sasha quickly elaborated, “ - and I wouldn’t want to, although he would really technically deserve it with all of his human rights violations. It would be far easier, and a better use of our resources, if we got Jon to our side. Then hopefully those two could...blow each other up, or something.”

Martin stared at her, expression implacable. Sasha became abruptly aware that she had just threatened to blow up this guy’s semi-boyfriend, and resisted the urge to apologize. She wasn’t apologetic. This was what she had to do, and Sasha always did what had to be done. It didn’t matter if she hated Jon so much that she wanted him dead, when he would be more useful to her alive. It doesn’t matter if she knew that, deep down, Jon was an exceptionally kind and caring person who loved very deeply, and that who he was now was a product of a great deal of influences mostly out of his control. If he was who Sasha was going to turn into, given enough time.

She would stick to the plan. Sasha was going to get herself and her Assistants - including Melanie now, for some reason, who still refused to believe them about the psychic vampire thing despite how many times Jon confessed to it - out of this.

Finally, Martin said, “I’m not going to deny it, Sasha. I’ve printed out all those guides, I’ve read all of the books, I’ve done everything. I’ve been working on this since - I think since I decided that I loved Jon more than I hated him. I’ve got Jon’s trust. And, way more importantly, Jonah is convinced that I’m harmless. He doesn’t pay any attention to me. I think he, like, secretly hates it whenever Jon has someone - whatever. But he is obsessed with everything you do.” At Sasha’s disturbed look, Martin shrugged. “He micromanages. Jon complains about it. I don’t think Jon gets that he really spills the cards on all of Jonah’s plans when he gets drunk and bitches about him.”

Sasha now understood that she was talking to an expert.

“Fine,” she said grudgingly, gathering the papers back up. She left out her great outline and timetable, though, because Martin should definitely appreciate it. “But the number one rule here is to keep up an active support system, right? Which means he needs more than just you.” Martin gave her a hilariously prissy look, which she responded with an equally prissy one. “He thinks we have a psychic bond or something.” They did but Sasha didn’t want to admit that. “Look, I’ve been harassing him for months about how shitty Jonah is. But if he’s going to listen to me, he needs to know that...I guess that I care about him more than I hate Jonah. That I’m not doing it out of spite or with some ulterior motive to get something out of him.”

And, of course, once Martin said that then the answer was obvious.

*******

Sasha was now willing to admit that Martin was smarter than she was.

It was always kind of a crapshoot when looking for Jon. He was only around the Institute half the time, probably less, and he refused to buy a cell phone so anybody could stay in contact with him. Tim had also flatly refused, because Jon would inevitably go to him for help with figuring it out, and apparently that could take hours. Sasha had volunteered to help Jon with accessing some online archives, and apparently she had explained it so confusingly that Jon was left refusing to touch a computer for a month.

The farthest they could go was convincing him to take a Jitterbug for emergencies. Tim had taken great pains to explain the LifeAlert function, to Jon’s increasing lack of amusement. When Sasha had explained the adventure to Georgie, a known social media sensation over wine at their weekly girls night, she had found it hilarious and was very impressed.

“Jon must be really attached to you guys,” Georgie had said, carefully nibbling at her luxury chocolate. Girl’s nights with Georgie were decadent. “I mean, not that he doesn’t talk about all of you nonstop, but he can spend ten years incorporating the Beholding into every piece of technology in the country while willfully refusing to learn how to work a computer.”

Sasha hadn’t missed Georgie’s word choice - deliberately refusing instead of an incapability to learn - but something else in the sentence was stranger to her. “I thought he was all about all kinds of knowledge.”

“I hear that the future can be terrifying for a lot of people,” Georgie had said wisely. “No matter how much of it they experience.”

“Is it terrifying for you?”

“Goodness, no.” Georgie had flashed her a bright grin - not so much a showing of teeth as it was a peek at a bone-white skeleton. “I always know what the future holds.”

As it stood, Sasha got lucky today. She wasn’t forced to make Jon use his dreaded phone, and as a result she wasn’t forced to understand what the fuck Jon did all day. He was in the Magnus Institute, and when Jon was in the Institute there were three places he could be.

The Archives, which Sasha had just come from. The Institute Library, occasionally terrifying the graduate students and more frequently helping them write their papers. Sasha had heard that they had communally begun sacrificing one grad student to his hunger per week in exchange for study sessions. Which...she should discourage...whatever, it was probably ethical. Or, at the very least, voluntary.

The only other location Jon visited was Magnus’ office, where he could spend hours relaxing on the evil little bastard’s couch and annoying him. That was a last resort scenario, and was usually saved for complete and total emergencies.

Thankfully, today, Sasha found Jon in the ‘D’s. He was lying on his back, legs propped up on the bookshelf across from him, reading what looked like a very fascinating philosophy text regarding humanity’s search for aliens that Sasha silently resolved to borrow from him later. He didn’t look up when Sasha approached, so she carefully tipped a book off the shelf above him to fall on his head.

He yelped, dropping his book and sitting upright. He rubbed at his head, scowling, and Sasha saw that he had restyled his hair since the last time she had seen him. It had been growing long, but instead of cutting it and returning to his short twists styled into a loose curtain over his forehead he had pulled it back into a puffy bun. It was...somewhat more fashion forward than Sasha had ever seen from him. He had swapped his greatcoat for a primmer and shorter pea coat. Even his glasses were now thin-rimmed, circular, and kind of stylish.

“Oh my god,” Sasha said, “has Martin started dressing you?”

“Martin can barely even dress himself,” Jon said automatically. “It was Georgie. She said I have to ‘clean up nice’ if I ever ‘want a man’. What does any of that mean?”

“Isn’t it kind of weird that your wife is setting you up with someone?”

“The concept of monogamy becomes ridiculous after the first eighty years,” Jon said, also automatically. Then Sasha’s words sunk into his brain, and he flushed. “Georgie and I aren’t together right now! And she’s not setting me up with - how can you even consider - what makes you think I’m a homosexual -”

Sasha stared at him flatly. Jon gave up.

“Just let me know if I need to explain gay shit to you,” Sasha said. “It’ll cost a hundred pounds for me to explain queerness and three hundred if you want to learn about trans issues. Recompense for my emotional labor.”

“Young people think they invented these things. It’s ridiculous.” Jon stored the book back on the bookshelf behind him without looking, before carefully dropping his feet and rolling up. Sasha’s back ached in sympathy. Some people got all of the demon deal luck. “What does Martin say? ‘People are gay, Steven’? Historical figures are gay and trans, Sasha.”

“...are you a historical figure that’s -”

“I apologize for being a cisgender man that’s ruined your life, yes.” Jon arched an eyebrow at her as Sasha spent a second in confused agony over whether or not she was getting through to this guy. “I assume there’s no emergency, considering this conversation, so why are you here?”

There was no way to make this offer sound genuine. Jon would look for the catch - because there was one - or what she was trying to pull. There was something she was trying to pull, but she wasn’t about to admit it.

In the end, Sasha settled for a fragment of honesty in her heart. Jon always had a way of drawing that out of people.

“I haven’t watched my telenovelas in years. And I don’t know anybody else who speaks Spanish, and so much of it doesn’t translate that I refuse to watch it subbed with someone else, and they’re something I used to watch every night but now I haven’t seen them in years. And you speak Spanish. So.”

Jon stared at her, blinking owlishly, before his mouth twitched into a small smile. It flowered, moving from a hesitant movement of the lips into a real, close-lipped smile that sent his usually severe and sharp expression into something resembling excitement. Understated enthusiasm over novelty.

How weird, Sasha thought. That you could be 200 years old and still find excitement over something novel. Over something new. Or, maybe, over someone choosing to trust you with a part of their lives.

Or maybe it wasn’t that weird. How could someone keep living for that long if something as simple as this didn’t bring you joy? Sasha was only thirty four and she already felt so tired of life, all the time. Either tired or overwhelmed. She wondered if Jon still felt overwhelmed.

“Sounds like fun,” Jon said. “Can I bring my notebook?”

“...yeah, sure.” Sasha paused, almost uncertain. “Hey. When you get to, like, two hundred -”

“Technically two hundred and twenty.”

“When you get to two hundred and twenty, do you finally feel like an adult?”

Jon stared at her, faintly surprised, before his expression settled into something a little wry. “Anybody who says that they ever feel like an adult is a liar. That’s how you know that Jonah’s full of shit.”

Somehow, it was almost a little reassuring.

First time she had ever said that about Jon.

********

Their adventures, of course, were quickly throttled by practicalities.

Sasha suggested just watching it on a laptop, but Jon’s expression had wrinkled in distaste. Jon suggested just watching it at her place, but Sasha liked to pretend that he didn’t know where she lived. Far too much intimacy, and somewhat hilariously Jon seemed very awkward about being alone with a woman in her flat. Also they were still working, technically.

Martin, overhearing their argument in the Archives as Sasha collected her laptop, suggested Jon’s place, since it was pretty nice and cozy and close to the Archives. This forbidden knowledge, the shining proof that sometimes a little knowledge could be a terrible and traumatizing thing, the sheer mental image that imprinted itself behind her eyelids, shook Sasha to her core.

“For christ’s sake,” Martin said, “we are not fucking.”

“Sounds like someone who’s fucking our boss would say!” Tim called, from his position asleep on the break room couch. Sasha had spent roughly five hours yesterday convincing him that her plan to manipulate Jon’s psychological weaknesses was the most effective defense against evil fear powers that they had, and since he had lost the argument he was now resentfully napping on the couch. “If I walk in on you doing it in the office over a desk I’m going to fucking kill both of you and then myself!”

“Does this place have an HR?” Melanie asked, from where she was sitting at her desk actually trying to work. “Can I report all of you to HR? Please?”

“Jon can hardly fire himself,” Sasha told her sympathetically. “This shit will all make sense if you accept the fact that -”

“God, I get it, enough with the workplace hazing!” Melanie threw up her hands, as Jon unsubtly whispered something in Martin’s ear that made him blush. “You can all drop it now, it was never funny!”

“If Sasha just let me prove it to you,” Jon said, exasperated, “then you can see -”

Simultaneously, all three of them snapped, “Do not!”, cowing Jon immensely.

Tim was no help in problem-solving, since he was resentful that Sasha was doing this at all. He had been spending almost all of his time lately throwing himself into research into the rituals, into anything that explained the strange and obscure rigor of this universe. Jon only explained as much to them as Jonah let him, and the most he ever did was mysteriously drop off boxes that held a lot of information about clowns and sawdust.

He always seemed a little surly as he did it. Sometimes he looked very guilty. Sasha noticed, every time. She couldn’t afford not to.

All Sasha could try to do for Tim was help him. Their relationship had already been fractured by the way they kept secrets from each other, and although they both wanted to repair it they were forced to confront the fact that now they had to tell each other things. Accept help. Sasha hated acknowledging that she couldn’t do everything by herself, and Tim hated putting Sasha in the danger he relentlessly and suicidally threw himself into, but neither of them would let the other continue on their self-destructive path.

It wasn’t sweet. But it was the most solid and tangible proof Sasha had that they loved each other. Maybe it was the most solid proof anybody could have: that, in life or death, they’d choose wherever you were.

If Sasha followed Tim into whatever dangerous shit he was getting himself into, then he would be more careful. Tim wouldn’t survive it if he lost her, and she knew it.

Between her and Tim, and Jon and Martin...why did all of their relationships feel like mutually assured destruction?

Eventually, Jon’s solution was, as usual, the worst one. Jon’s solution to every problem always worked, but it was always the one thing that nobody wanted to do and that everyone hated. But anything else was either vetoed or improbable, and Sasha refused to back out once she committed to something, so that was how Sasha stuffed a laptop and an HDMI cable into her bag to trail behind Jon as they rode the elevator up to the third floor.

The number three rule of the Archives was not relevant right now (let Sasha have two cups of coffee before bothering her about how terrible their lives were). But the number two rule of the Archives was this: don’t fuck with Rosie. They both gave her their brightest grins as they passed, impeccably polite without actually asking if Jonah was inside. Rosie smiled munificently at them and complemented Sasha on her heels. They were in. They were now breaking the number one rules of the Archives.

The number one rule of the Archives was, of course, this: never talk to Jonah Magnus unnecessarily.

On the bright side, from this perspective Sasha could see how Jon worked his magic - that is, how he always entered Jonah’s office through kicking the door open and infuriating the other man tremendously. He actually took the time to open the door a crack first, completely silently and almost imperceptibly, before crashing it open in as annoying a way as physically possible.

“I need your fucking office!” Jon called.

When Sasha poked her head in behind him, she was treated to the sight of a terrified employee cowering in the hard plastic chair in front of Jonah’s desk. Sasha was well aware how that chair could feel like an electric chair. Across from him, Jonah looked distinctly unamused, already kneading his brow.

“I’m in a meeting, Jon.”

“Good for you.” Jon pointed at the door, and the employee silently scurried out. “Not anymore. Now fuck off, I need your office.”

Impossibly, Jonah looked even more unamused. “Fucking your Archivist on my desk in the middle of the day is a bit beyond the pale even for you, Jon.”

Sasha was immediately so fucking disgusted that she switched into Spanish and called him a great deal of incredibly rude things for an incredibly long period of time.

Talking over her, Jon said, “Take out your resentment over 1899 on someone else. We want your television, we’re watching Sasha’s programmes.”

“Right. Like how you and that boy Martin are always watching programmes -”

“Me cago en tu puta madre--”

“Honestly, Jonah, just because you had all of those men over for revision of your manuscripts doesn’t mean everyone’s as euphemistic as you are. And Sasha, that’s remarkably vulgar.”

For the first time, Jonah looked alarmed. “What is she saying?”

“Sólo porque tienes un rabo chiquito -”

“Go learn Spanish.”

“Ms. James, this is a professional office, and -”

“Melanie’s fucking right, we need a fucking HR.” Now this was a matter of pride. Sasha flounced into the office, collapsing onto one of the dumb uncomfortable leather couches facing one of those screens that rich people had in their offices to show their powerpoint slides or whatever. “I’m going to Stare you to death if you don’t leave us alone to watch telly.”

Hilariously, Jonah looked at Jon, alarmed. “Can she do that?”

Jon opened his mouth, before Sasha shot him a look. “She’s progressing amazingly rapidly. At this point, not even I know what she’s capable of.”

What a wingman. Jonah looked faintly uncomfortable, but he went back to his computer anyway instead of doing the rational thing and getting out. “This grant is due in three days, Jon, and I have no time for your little fancies. Do what you will, but leave me out of it.”

Sasha was not thrilled at the prospect of Jonah fucking Magnus hanging out in the background while Sasha and Jon watched telenovelas. She’d be outnumbered by the evil fear demons, for one. But Sasha had a sneaking suspicion, and maybe if she couldn’t genuinely stop this guy’s evil plans she could annoy him to death.

At the very least, it would make her feel better. Sasha was beginning to recognize the value of anything that just made you fucking feel better. Maybe Tim was onto something with constantly being a giant bitch all the time.

“Ignore that cunt,” Sasha said in Spanish, catching Jon’s attention as she stood up to plug in the HDMI cable and turn on the television. “I got crisps and chocolate in my bag, I’m putting on Marimar.”

“Is she insulting me again?” Jonah asked. “Jon, what’s she saying?”

“I’m afraid I only consume trauma,” Jon said, also switching to Spanish. His accent was fucking bizarre. He sounded like her great uncle, or an even worse version of Sucedió en La Habana. At her boggled look, he elaborated, “The Witness gifted me with understanding of all languages very early in my development, but it bestowed verbal fluency in...1910? Perhaps? I’m afraid that without a little practice and frequent use I’m a little bit stuck there. I was able to beat my Chinese and Russian into sounding modern, but I’m afraid that people now tell me my Chinese is somewhat 1960s and my Russian is fairly 1980s.” He scowled. “Why does modernity change so much?”

“I think telenovelas can fix this for you,” Sasha decided. She paused a beat as Jon sat down beside her, a careful distance away. “The Witness? Is that a weird translation thing? You called it the Beholding last time.”

Jon shifted, a little guiltily. In English, he said, “The term Beholding’s better...it’s more academic, and more people use it…”

“What are you two -”

“Is ‘The Witness’ your word?” Sasha asked, and to her horror she found her tone almost gentle. It was almost easier, in her own words.

This time Jon truly looked uncomfortable, and he shifted back into Spanish - perhaps, Sasha thought, because Jonah could not understand it. “Smirke contributed all of the nomenclature for this, and he never...well, none of Jonah’s little circle liked me very much.”

“Wow, wonder why.”

“Exoticism only gets you so far, I suppose,” Jon joked weakly, before sharply swerving the subject. “I always felt as if it gave me its own name. When I began to understand, really understand what it was and how we could feed each other...I felt as if it told me. And that’s what it told me. So it’s always been my name.”

Hm. Sasha wondered what it was like, to have your religion be - so tangible, so grounded. Sasha believed, and she had faith with all of her heart, but - well, you wouldn’t need faith if you had incontestable proof. Faith was about believing because you knew something in your heart. But Jon...when he had nothing else, maybe, he had this.

“I just put down ‘James’ because I thought it would make that small-dicked asshole more likely to hire me,” Sasha finally offered, her only equivalent for something like this. “Tell you what. Call me James Martinez, and I’ll curse the name of the Witness, okay? If you’d like me to.”

Jon brightened, and for a second Sasha saw her own faith in his brilliant green eyes. “My gift is shared with you, Sasha. Of course you can.”

It was not a gift. It was a terrible and disgusting curse, and it was one that Jon had inflicted upon her. But Sasha was playing nice...and this was knowledge, understanding Jon was knowledge that could save her life one day...and there was something strange about Jon’s hesitant and multi-barbed trust.

It had to be the trust of somebody who had it betrayed a hundred, thousand times. But he gave it so easily, and he reached out incessantly. Sasha knew lots of people who cared too much, although she had never been one of them - Tim and Martin, for one - but she could already see how it was making them a little bitter and jaded.

Jon wasn’t. Sasha didn’t know why.

So Sasha kicked off her heels, tucking her legs underneath her as she pulled up her favorite episode of Marimar on her laptop. It was a comfort show, having context wouldn’t help, she had rights.

“Okay,” Sasha began, a little aggressively, “we’re starting a lot of the way in, so I have to catch you up. Like a lot of telenovela protagonists, Marimar is a wholesome young girl who lives in a little sad hut shack on the beach and she can’t read. She’s raised by her grandparents and her dog talks. This is the essential premise of the show.”

“Wow,” Jon whispered, “just like me.”

“I - okay, you are not obligated to give me your backstory, but what?”

“Martin keeps calling me a ‘sad little Victorian orphan’,” Jon said defensively. “And dogs talk to me too!”

“...what do they say?”

“If you’d believe it, nothing interesting.” He paused a beat. “But Georgie’s cat is kind of a psychopath, if that helps.”

“That’s a stereotype against cats,” Sasha accused. “Just because humans don’t understand cat body language -”

“Oh, no, cats are lovely, my favorite animal. But the Admiral’s kind of a freak.”

“If you two are going to sit here and trash talk me in my own office,” Jonah said, aggravated, “then please at least take it outside.”

Actually, this was a great idea.

Sasha ran through the plot of Marimar, down to the love interest with the terrible chest hair (Jon and Sasha then got into an argument over chest hair that was so heated that Sasha suspected Martin had chest hair), the evil step-mother (they both agreed that women in soaps tended to fall within the madonna/whore complex), and the weird amounts of humiliation. Sasha loved to hate Mr. Douchey McChesthair in this one - he wooed Marimar and promised to raise her up from poverty, but he ended up ditching her when she wasn’t refined enough for him. She wins him back at the end with her nice dresses and inherited money, and they settle down with a baby and a big house. Sasha always hated the ending. Marimar should have become a career woman.

“It’s massively cheesy,” Sasha warned, finally playing the episode and letting the cheery theme song play, “so don’t sit here and point out the logical inconsistencies. We know. It’s part of the experience.”

But Jon just arched an eyebrow, unbuttoning his own pea cot to throw over the back of the sofa and lounge in his seat. “Watching telenovelas, in the office of the Director of the facility where you work, with his boss, in London, is the experience? And we’re all - how do you put it - evil fear demons?”

“You haven’t met my auntie,” Sasha said darkly. But she ended up shaking her head too, picking at her stockings a little. “The experience is...eleven pm, and the whole house is dark. The kitchen light is on, this flickering yellow thing that pops and buzzes. There’s cicadas outside, and somewhere you can hear someone playing music too loudly. Dad’s in his ripped up armchair, snoring. Mom’s on the couch, reading a magazine. They’re only half-paying attention, but it’s late, and you feel like you never get enough time with them. So you sit on the couch next to Mom, and because neither of them say anything you watch the show with all of your attention, just happy to be near them...it’s family bonding, you think. It feels like it.”

Jon was silent, staring at her. Not fixedly, or intensely - just looking, as if he was waiting patiently to see if she would say anything else. But Sasha trailed off, picking at her stockings, until she forced herself to stop. She didn’t want to say anything else. She was worried that he would know what she wasn’t saying. He always did.

“My grandmother couldn’t read,” Jon said finally, and Sasha fought the surprise. Jon never talked about this, not in any specific words. “But she would darn clothing by the fire at night. She did it for the neighborhood and earned some extra money.”

“What about you?” Sasha asked, hoping it was a safe topic. “What did you do?”

Jon grinned at her, sharp and amused. “I got into trouble.”

They both turned their attention back to the television, and Sasha silently mouthed the words along with the screen as Jon paid rapt attention.

It was later in the show, when Marimar was showing up all of the people who did her dirty when she was poor. She had a fine dress, lingering on the arm of her rich and kind of creepy father, and she walked around with her head held up high. Her old husband who treated her terribly saw her at the opera and he was stunned by how hot and cool she was now.

“Good for her!” Jon said abruptly. “Go find someone better, Marimar!”

“Oh my god,” Sasha groaned. “She ends up with him!”

“What!”

Quicker than Sasha would ever have expected, Jon got wrapped up in the episode. He gasped with her at the right parts, cheered at the screen whenever Marimar said something particularly sassy, and they booed whenever Douchey McChesthair showed up.

When Sasha glanced behind her - not that she did - she saw Jonah fixedly ignoring them. He was gritting his teeth a little. Every so often he would glance at the screen, obviously look terribly confused, then go back to his computer.

When the credits rolled Jon declared this second-hand trauma, which terrified Sasha deeply but raised interesting questions about her own future diet.

“It’s about the humiliation, fear, and voyeurism,” Jon told her. “Supernatural trauma and devastation tastes rather similar to these telenovelas.”

“...what do they taste like?”

Jon thought hard. “Taste, but if it was a feeling.”

“...what’s the -”

“What’s the feeling you have?”

Sasha was forced to concede the point, and put on another episode.

In this one, Marimar’s new dad tied tragically, and she very cunningly has him sign all of his money over to her. Sasha cheered her on very enthusiastically, and Jon agreed that Marimar was the definition of girlboss, but he found it kind of a dick move.

“I thought you hated pretentious, old money rich white Britons,” Sasha accused. She knew that Martin had been working on him and trying to convert him to socialism,, but it was slow going.

“I do hate entitled, old money people,” Jon said shortly. “But it’s hardly illegal to work your way up the social ladder and improve your station in life. Marimar isn’t putting the work in, she’s just inheriting all of this blood money. If she doesn’t make something of her life then what’s the point in all of that suffering?”

“You do know how social mobility is a lie fed to the lower class by the upper class to keep them complacently participating in the system, right?”

“I’m not saying many people do it,” Jon said, ignoring Marimar’s grotesquely fake sobbing, “but it’s possible. I’ve met plenty of people who worked hard and became successful.”

“Yeah, and those people were lucky. Most of us just sit around in poverty and suffer.” Sasha rolled her eyes, unwrapping her chocolate bar. “Not all of us can be Dr. Faust.”

“You didn’t sit around,” Jon said, turning to face her. Sasha didn’t meet his eyes, focusing on her chocolate instead. “You were smart, you worked your way up, you got your scholarship, and now you’re part of something far greater than yourself. You took what happened to you and you used to make you stronger, just like I did. Anybody can do it if they work hard enough.”

Sasha’s teeth clamped down on the chocolate.

Abruptly, stupidly, she got angry.

“I’m not better than the thousands of other trans women who got kicked out, Jon,” Sasha snapped, but Jon didn’t flinch. “I’m just luckier! I know I worked hard, but I’m not more - more worthy of what I have than the brave women back home who have nothing. And I’m not going to stomp on them to make myself feel better like you do!”

“I do not -” Jon started, outraged, but Sasha cut him off.

“You tell yourself that you worked hard for the security, money, education that you never got as a child! But you deserved all of that! That’s shit that anybody who lives deserves. But because you think of it as some kind of stupid reward, then it’s something that can be taken away. And when what you have can be taken away at any moment, then you have nothing!”

She cut herself off abruptly, unwilling and incapable of saying anything more. There were lines you couldn’t cross with Jon, and lines that she didn’t deserve to cross no matter how callous he was. She couldn’t accuse him of forgetting where he came from, or of betraying his people. Sasha knew well that Jon had never forgotten, not for a second.

He had just - twisted everything around. He had to justify to himself what he’d done, so he’d taken the truth and molded it to fit his own desires and call it holy.

It had killed her. It had killed her, how Jon told her that they were the same, but he did all of this shit to her anyway. But maybe that was no surprise: Jon hadn’t done anything to her that he hadn’t done to everybody else, and he hadn’t made any justifications to himself about his behavior towards her that he hadn’t made about everybody else.

You couldn’t live like he did with emotional honesty. Good people could do bad things - Sasha knew that better than anyone - but it required a truly disgusting level of willful blindness and cowardice that Sasha had never tolerated.

“Nobody gave me being a woman,” Sasha whispered, too full of - something, to even look at Jon. “I didn’t take it from anyone. I didn’t steal it. It was something that I always deserved, and that I always was. And because of that, nobody will ever take it away from me.” She exhaled heavily, forcing herself to stop shaking. “Nobody can make me something I’m not. Not even you.”

Jon stared at her, toxic green eyes wide and something foreign in his expression. It looked almost as if he believed her. Ha. “Sasha, I -”

“I swear, it’s like you two are making an effort to be as intrusive as possible. Jon, can’t you control your own Archivist?”

Jon almost jumped, as if he had forgotten that Jonah was in the room at all. Something in his chest seized closer, and a year ago Sasha would have just called it a twitch.

It wasn’t. It was an aborted, concealed cringe, seen only once before. But there was only one other person in this world who cared about that.

“Jonah!” Jon said, switching back to English immediately. “Sorry, we were just - having a really heated discussion about - uh, about -”

“Brujeria and how it changed when adopted by members of the Catholic church,” Sasha said smoothly. “I think his weird compulsion thing is just advanced witchcraft.”

“Yes! Yes, of course - you remember, I took inspiration from p - pagan rituals, you know, for our early work. I think you called it -”

“Bizarre?” Jonah asked, arching an eyebrow. “Jon, there were bones involved.” Jon silently pointed at the human skull taking up proud residence in Jonah’s cabinet of curiosities. “That’s different, a friend gave me that.”

“ ‘Have you seen Barnabas lately, Jonah’, I said. ‘He hasn’t seemed to have written lately’, I said. ‘Have you grown distant?’, I said. And you said -”

“Yes, he was very distant,” Jonah said dryly. “You hardly complained. You hated the man.”

“I hated all of your friends,” Jon said. He was smiling, once again relaxed with his arm spread over the back of the couch. Sasha furiously bit into a chip. “Didn’t mean you let them die.”

“Yes, but he was your least favorite, so I figured there was no harm done there.”

Improbably, Jon brightened. He smiled again, a curved slash of the mouth that had always been reserved for Jonah. It always spoke of secrets, a private joke. “You do care.”

“I’ll care more if you stop chattering when I’m trying to get us funded for another cycle.”

“Whatever.” Jon turned to face the screen again, letting the smile fall into a curiously blank expression. “Next episode, Sasha?”

“Sure,” Sasha said slowly. “But it only gets worse from here.”

It would never stop being weird how - well, maybe that was no wonder. How could Sasha begin to understand a relationship as strange and esoteric as theirs? Two hundred years in the making, forged by cruelty and passion? Two lives, intertwined so closely they fed in a parasitic loop, starving the other to feed themselves?

“Oh, I don’t mind a little tragedy,” Jon said. He spoke in English, vowels carefully rounded, posh accent meticulously stretching his words. “It’s the most entertaining.”

Sasha thought about print-outs. She thought about a many-eyed, malicious tumor of fear and pain consuming humanity alive. She thought about the face of God, and the tired and resigned face of Martin. When Sasha spoke, she stayed in Spanish.

“Even though she gets married to Mr. Douchey McChestHair at the end?”

“I’m sure he’s not all bad,” Jon said, and wouldn’t say anything more.

#my writing #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #sasha james #timothy stoker #jonah magnus #elias bouchard #tma #the magnus archives #tma fanfic #the magnus archives fanfiction #everything said about marimar is real #however inauthentic because I ended up using the funny or die recap #me: i am not writing any more hr #my friends: but what if you did?#been seeing so many weird takes about abusive friendships lately i feel the need to very pointedly ask the question #what is the nature of the power dynamic between jon and jonah?

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megashadowdragon · 3 years ago

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Warning: this theory contains HEAVY SPOILERS! If you’re not fully caught up with the manga, read at your own risk.

Since English isn’t my first language, I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Also, this is my first time posting.

It’s practically obvious to everyone that we will get a Kaido flashback in this arc, whether he dies or not: of course, there will be a part about his time in the Rocks Pirates, but we will also get to know possibly one of the most important people for him: his wife.

Because, let’s face it, Oda hasn’t done much yet to give his personality some depth and not being just an arrogant, cruel, child-beating antagonist with a penchant for alcohol and an obsession for death, and a figure such a woman he loved could be a great opportunity for doing so.

Some might speculate that she’s actually dead and that’s why Kaido started drinking.

It could be true but, knowing Oda, he would never introduce a deceased character of that importance out of the blue, without some sort of foreshadowing: a well-kept grave located in a secret place where an important character stumbles upon in the Onigashima raid (on screen, obviously), a framed portrait on a desk or a wall, a name seemingly being thrown offhandedly in a conversation… but there is nothing in Wano which even remotely resembles one of those things.

Therefore, she must be alive.

(Also, there are already too much fundamental figures in various characters’ history who ended up dead in flashbacks, such as Bellemere, Rocinante, Russian and so on. Come on, Oda.)

Is she going to be someone new, at least?

Well, that’s a possibility, however in next arc(s) new characters will be introduced and One Piece has got more than a thousand of them already… quite a lot, aren’t they? Consequently, there is a very good chance for her to be someone who has been already introduced into the story.

Of course, there must have been some sort of foreshadowing when she had been introduced, too: she was the lover of a Yonko, after all. Has there been a woman with an unknown lover in the past arcs?

Yes, actually.

It was her:

And I believe that the mysterious man she fell in love with was none other than Kaido himself. But wait, there’s more: Gloriosa has also eaten a Devil Fruit. An extremely powerful one.

Don’t worry, I will explain everything on the way. Now, hold onto your seat, because this will be quite the long ride.

Kaido and Gloriosa comparison

Kaido of the Beasts, Governor General of the Beasts Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, the Strongest Being in the world and Gloriosa, a former Kuja ruler. These two may have little to nothing in common... or have they?

Probably the most striking difference between them is their respective height: while Kaido easily dwarfs normal humans, Gloriosa is shorter than Luffy; however, both of their heights are currently not canonically stated.

Unstated as both of their ages are, although it’s clear that both of them are past their younger days: in Gloriosa this is highlighted by her grey hair and wrinkled face, but it’s clear that Kaido is not that young any more, too, having crow’s feet under his eyes and forehead lines. It is likely that these two are quite close in age, actually.

A notably interesting fact is, canon heights and ages of the various characters, along with things such as their favourite food, are revealed in the SBS corner in manga volumes. And yet, not even one of these little pieces of information has been revealed for both Kaido and Gloriosa.

It’s very unlikely that nobody has ever sent these question to Oda, or that the latter forgot to answer them; given the importance of the two characters in the arc where they have appeared, there must be a very specific reason why Oda didn’t tell us a thing. More than that, when Gloriosa talked about her Love Sickness in chapter 522, there was no flashback; not even silhouettes.

With these things and questions on mind, let’s move on to their position. Kaido is now an Emperor of the Sea, and Gloriosa was an Empress of the Kuja. Also, while Gloriosa was an Empress Kaido held no particular position, except by maybe being a pirate captain; and now the tables have turned, Kaido being an Emperor and Gloriosa being a nobody. A neat little parallel, isn’t it?

Now, let’s get to their Haki usage and knowledge: Gloriosa seems to have some knowledge about how it works and the characteristics of the people who are able to use the various Colours: in fact, in chapter 521 she comments about Luffy’s Haki, surprised by how he willingly bowed his head to Hancock to help those who saved him instead of a boat to leave the island without a second thought. She is not a confirmed user of any form of Haki; however, in a place where pretty much every powerful warrior can use at least Observation and Armament, it is hinted she is a wielder of these two colours at least and, since she used to be an Empress, there is also a chance she can use Conqueror’s, too. Kaido is a confirmed Observation, Armament and Conqueror user, and also one of the very few people, as he himself stated in chapter 1010, who can make the latter colour flowing through their body and coat their weapon(s). In the very same chapter, he also recognized Zoro’s illusions while performing Ashura as a manifestation of Conqueror’s Haki, revealing his in-depth knowledge about the subject.

Last but certainly not least... their strength. Kaido one-shot Luffy in Gear Fourth despite the Emperor being so drunk he could not stand on his feet properly; also, he was able to clash against a fellow Yonko for days and tanked pretty much both all the Scabbard’s hits and the majority of the Supernova’s attacks on the rooftop. Moreover, how can his absolutely epic introduction not be taken into account? He fell from a Sky Island literally 10000 metres above the sea level and he ended up with... a strong headache. I’ll tell you what: Gloriosa fell from a great height, too! In addiction to it, she landed without suffering any serious consequences, as shown in chapter 517, where she landed on her feet seemingly undamaged after Hancock quite literally threw her out of the Kuja Castle. As Gloriosa herself said, she might have grown old, but she is still a Kuja warrior. Also, being a former ruler where strength is beauty, she undoubtedly was a force to be reckoned with in her prime.

That being said*... Maybe they’re not so different, after all, huh?*

Mythology references

One Piece has loads of references to Japanese myths and folklore, however Wano is especially loaded with these; and how could it not be? It is inspired by Japan, after all.

Moreover, since Kaido can transform into a dragon, there must be some kind of reference to Japanese myths and legends regarding these legendary creatures.

There’s one in particular, which might be the key to Kaido’s backstory: the story of the Enoshima Dragon.

According to this myth, in the mountains near the Koshigoe village lived a five-headed dragon, called Gozuryu, who terrorized the inhabitants over a period of some-thousand years by provoking countless natural disasters such as huge storms, floods and earthquakes, as well as eating their children. The villagers kept praying and praying, until something happened: in 31st May, 552 AD, during a bigger and more violent storm than the usual, the clouds split in two and a rock began to emerge from the sea. A beautiful woman descended from a ray of light where the clouds slit and sat foot on the island just created, making it her home. The dragon, who assisted to the whole thing, immediately fell in love with her and asked her to marry him.

The woman, who was perfectly aware of the dragon’s evil actions, was none other than the goddess Benzaiten herself.

Benzaiten on a white dragon

Now, there are two versions of how the story ends: in one, the goddess turned him down at first, and told the dragon she would have considered his proposal only if he helped the people he used to terrorise. Gozuryu accepted and the village prospered thanks to their dual protection; in the end, the goddess agreed to marry him and the couple lived happily until the dragon met his demise. In the other version, Benzaiten straight up refused Gozuryu’s proposal due to his evil actions; ashamed for his wrongdoings, the dragon promised the goddess he would have never disturbed the village again, and retired in the mountains where he died of guilt.

Anyway, regardless of how the story goes, when the dragon died he fused with the land of Kamakura, creating the Dragon’s Mouth hill (Japanese: Tatsu no kuchi yama) facing south, the direction of the island where his beloved lived. Needless to say, the island of the myth is Enoshima.

The comparison between Kaido and Gozuryu is immediate: both are extremely cruel towards children, with the former having no qualms beating them, even his own, and the latter eating them. Moreover, the Emperor, much like the five-headed dragon, terrorizes the inhabitants of the place near where he lives (Wano Country and Koshigoe Village respectively) turning the land into completely inhabitable wasteland in the process, and is capable of causing huge storms; his apparition in chapter 921 is also being accompanied by a thunderstorm. Note that, in Chapter 1003, Zoro states that fighting Kaido was like “facing a natural disaster”, much like the natural catastrophes Gozuryu caused.

Now, let’s talk about Benzaiten.

Goddess of water (especially rivers), eloquence, and good fortune, Benzaiten is considered one of the protector deities of Japan, where she’s one of the most beloved and revered gods: every major city has at least one place for her worship and countless temples and shrines dedicated to her cult are present in many other areas across the country, all located near water sources such as rivers, ponds, lakes or even in the sea. She is part of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods, and she’s the only woman among them.

Benzaiten, however, is not originally Japanese: she is in fact a syncretic deity derived from the Hindu goddess Saraswati whose cult was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks who arrived in the VII century from China.

Due to her extreme complexity, only the most relevant facts to this theory will be reported.

She wasn’t very popular until the XI century, when her cult was fused with Ugajin’s, an obscure Japanese Kami of water, agriculture and good fortune, often represented as an old man with a snake body. Once this happened, her popularity skyrocketed as a goddess of water and by assonance ‘of everything that flows’: rivers, eloquence, knowledge, music, art and Haki. Even nowadays, Uga Benzaiten, the goddess with Ugajin on her head, is one of the most common Benzaiten representations.

Both lived in an island inhabited only by women: Gloriosa in Amazon Lily, and Benzaiten in Enoshima, since she was the sole inhabitant of said island and also a woman;

Benzaiten originated from an Indian goddess and Gloriosas, the flowers which Gloriosa was named after, grow in India too! Gloriosa superba is even Tamil Nadu’s national flower.

Due to being goddess of water, Benzaiten was naturally associated with animals connected with said element: snakes, turtles… and dragons. Especially the white ones, since this colour is linked with water in Japanese culture.

Snakes are a big part of Amazon Lily’s culture: almost every warrior on the island has her own Snake Weapon which can be used as a bow, the island’s dome is sculpted with snake motifs, the Perfume Yuda, Kuja Pirates’ flagship, is carried by two Yuda snakes, even Kuja, the name of the tribe, means ‘Nine snakes’

White snakes were considered to be Benzaiten’s main messengers and avatars and Gloriosa in Share the World opening appeared with a blue top and*...* a white snake.

Also, the traditional representation of the Black Warrior is a turtle intertwined with a snake, much like Kujas with their Snake Weapon. Due to these facts, I believe that Gloriosa has eaten the Mythical Zoan Kame Kame no Mi model: Genbu.

Timeline and character analysis – a PERSONAL take on what could have happened and when (and why)

For this section, other than time markings scattered throughout the story, Momonosuke’s (biological 8 – actual 28), Yamato’s (28), and Hancock’s (31) ages will also be taken into account for comparison.

It is known that the Rocks Pirates were defeated and subsequently disbanded 38 years before the current time. Also, Kaido was captured, and presumably sentenced to jail, eighteen times; given his reputation and danger, it’s pretty safe to assume that at least one of those nine prison ships he sunk was directed to Impel Down.

Impel Down is actually not that far from Amazon Lily: the journey takes one sailing week with an average ship, while Marine ones can make it in just four days, about half the time, because of the reserved currents. In my opinion, it makes sense thinking that Kaido has sunk a prison ship in the Paradise and somehow ended up in Amazon Lily.

Now, everyone here knows the supreme rule of the Island of Women:

NO. MEN. ALLOWED.

For any reasons.

So, by the laws of the island, he was imprisoned and, just like Luffy, was sentenced to death. But, like the latter pirate did, Kaido defeated/broke/knocked unconscious all the animal/things commonly used for executions on the island, therefore the Empress finally decided to take the matter into her own hands.

I believe the Kuja Empress at the time was Gloriosa. Why?

Well, it was stated that 33 years ago the remnants of the Rocks Pirates sent off to found their own crews, and probably Kaido arrived in Amazon Lily even earlier, between 38 and 33 years ago. As Hancock stated, Gloriosa is actually the former-former-former empress of Amazon Lily: this means that there were two Empresses between her and Hancock; since the latter is stated to have become Empress at the age of 18, 13 years ago, and given that the other two unnamed Empresses died of Love Sickness which probably is more likely to strike the unlucky rulers at a fairly young age, 20-25 years are more than enough for two Empresses to have reigned.

To estimate her actual force at the time, let’s analyse her name a bit.

Like all Kujas, Gloriosa is named after a flower (or a genus of those): Gloriosa is a genus of 12 flower species, widely spread in areas of the world such as Africa, the Arabic Peninsula and tropical parts of Asia. It can reach 3 metres in height and they display showy, vibrant-colored flowers with distinctively shaped petals, earning them the nickname of fire lily.

So, the question arises spontaneously: why is this short, wrinkly old woman named after one of the most beautiful (and tallest) flowers in the world? Given Oda’s attention even for the tiniest details, I highly doubt he chose this name randomly; at least, not for her.

Either she’s a grotesque parody of her own name… or it could be a foreshadow.

Gloriosa is also the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan word meaning ‘glorious’, if the subject it’s related to is feminine and singular. A truly fitting name for a ruler and the wife of a Yonko, isn’t it? And Kaido want his death to be… glorious.

Maybe Gloriosa in her prime was actually even more beautiful and stronger than the current Hancock, to the point where nobody had ever beaten her in combat.

Anyway, you know how the saying goes: if it’s one on one, always bet on Kaido.

Therefore, Gloriosa was defeated for the first time. By a man.

Hancock’s case probably gives us how Empresses fall ill with Love Sickness: it happens when a man catches them off guard by behaving in a totally and positively unexpected way, defying all the previous experiences the rulers have. Hancock fell in love with Luffy because he showed her kindness and didn’t judge her when she told him about her past; Gloriosa got Love Sickness because she fell in love with Kaido for his strength.

Because love… is always like a Dragon Twister hurricane!

How about Kaido?

It is common knowledge that he respects physical strength, even in his enemies.

That’s probably why he joined the Rocks Pirates in the first place: out of respect for Rocks D. Xebec, because he was actually the first person ever to defeat him in combat.

Just like Zoro with Kuina, or Douglas Bullet with Gol D. Roger (in the Stampede movie).

Gloriosa may have not defeated him in combat, but she surely gave him a very good run for his money, maybe she almost won. And he respected her for that, to the point where he actually accepted to leave Amazon Lily, even if he won. He stayed there for a little more, while a ship for him to sail the sea was being prepared, and lived peacefully (meaning: extensively touched and examined) with the Kujas.; what are the chances that one of his favourite (or least) foods is actually penne with Gorgonzola and Sea King’s meat, the island’s culinary speciality?

When he sat sail, he probably found out that the Empress snuck aboard his ship when he was far away from the island already. He thought of bringing her back, but, after listening to her reasons, he decided to let her stay with him because, let’s face it, Kaido is not Luffy, he actually appreciates the company of women.

The most beautiful woman in the world fell in love with him and contracted a mysterious illness which would have killed her if she didn’t go with him and follow him anywhere?

Oh no! /s

I’ll tell you what, I don’t think that Kaido was actually in love with her at first that much. He surely enjoyed spending passionate nights with her, and was amused by her curiosity due to Gloriosa knowing little to nothing about the external world.

There was a specific moment when he actually fell in love with her.

Have you noticed that, despite being often shirtless, Kaido's back is never fully uncovered even in his dragon form? He always wears a coat, a shirt, or both.

That hints that Kaido has some kind of mark on his back he wants to hide from public view, just like the Gorgon Sisters. Something must have happened that made him show her said mark, maybe Gloriosa caught a glimpse and asked him to see it. Anyway, Kaido was reclutant at first, but she had the right to know, she was his wife after all.

So he showed it to her, in a way that, when it will be shown in the flashback, might be a callback to when Hancock showed Luffy the Celestial Dragon hoof.

That mark meant that for the world he had and would always have been something inhuman, a failed experiment, a monster; even Big Mom, who has the best spy network in the world, calls him a 'thing'. But Gloriosa didn’t judge him for said mark, nor she believed he was a monster. For Gloriosa, he was just Kaido, the man who she had fallen in love with.

That's when Kaido fell for her. And he fell hard, probably to the point of no return.

At some point, the two conceived a child, and that's when Kaido decided that it was time to move to Wano instead of travelling the world: the pirate life is dangerous for grown people let alone for a child, plus he was one of the most wanted men by the World Government, meaning the child was in danger simply by existing.

But how did Kaido know about Wano?

He probably heard something about the Continent Puller and the ‘country’ he formed about 600 years before but, since it was a closed nation, he probably didn’t know much more until he met someone who escaped from said island: Kurozumi Higurashi.

41 years ago, she told Orochi that she fled the country because of the persecutions against the Kurozumi clan, and because she knew nothing about the outside world, joining pirates was the easier choice. Also, in that way she could have found allies and power for the Kurozumi cause easier.

The Mane Mane no Mi allows the user to create a perfect copy of a person whose face has been touched. She transformed in a woman, who, judging by the color scheme in the anime, is heavily hinted to be Bakkin and a young Shiki, both known members of the Rocks Pirates, so Higurashi may have traveled with said crew for a while. There she met Kaido, who she sensed he could have been a great help for the Kurozumis: big, powerful, and stupid, easy to manipulate.

A closed off country not part of the World Government: a perfect nation for Kaido to reside to ensure the safety of his family (mainly his child, because Gloriosa was more than capable of defending herself) and to use as a base for his operations.

When Oden went with Whitebeard 29 years ago, there were no factories in Wano, but they were there when Toki arrived in Wano with Momonosuke, who was 3 at the time, and Hiyori; so Kaido must have arrived in Wano three years earlier at last.

Gloriosa may not have been the Kuja Empress anymore, but had everything a woman like her could ask for: she was one of the heads of a soon to be powerful army, plus a devoted, loving husband and a child.

Why did she leave it all behind?

I have already talked about the parallels between Gloriosa and turtles in the mythology section, but here’s another one: in Chinese culture, turtle (especially turtle egg) is a very serious insult regarding the morality of one’s mother; that’s why Genbu is called Black Warrior instead of Black Tortoise.

This also expands one of Wano’s most prominent themes: betrayal.

Gloriosa was forced to leave Wano and Yamato behind because she cheated on Kaido. But with who?

Well, the Beast Pirates follow a card games and decks naming theme, and currently there is none named Ace; also, when Oden faced Kaido, Jack was only 8, so my hypothesis is that the third Calamity before him was called Ace. He probably had a crush on Gloriosa and when she went to him for comfort while Kaido was away, probably out to recruit subordinates or captured, he couldn’t resist.

But Kaido caught the two in the act, and was absolutely furious.

He killed Ace, and his position remained vacant for quite some time, until Jack finally took his place in the Calamities; that's why, in Episode 972, there were only King and Queen along with the fodder.

However, Kaido couldn't bring himself to kill his wife personally, so he offered her a choice: be dispatched by the hands of King or Queen, or leave and never return.

Gloriosa chose the second option.

She packed her things and left, only to realize she had nowhere to go: Wano obviously was not an option, but she couldn't just go back to Amazon Lily, not after she betrayed Kujas by abandoning them while she was an Empress. Plus, as a pirate, she was wanted by the Marine. So she lived on the run, continuously assuming new identities and never staying in the same place for too long.

Also, Love Sickness certainly has played its role in weakening her, making her age faster and dramatically decreasing her height in the process.

Taking a look at Hancock’s bed, it’s decisiverly oversized for her: said bed could comfortably fit a laid Boa Hancock together with her Snake Weapon, which is way larger than the others, her sisters, the doctor and Gloriosa, and still have room left for someone else to stand on it.

It is very likely that this bed was the Empress’s for a long time, and, since that position is not inherited, it had to fit Kujas of all sizes. So Gloriosa could have been taller in her youth, maybe a little shorter than Kaido, but still enough to handle him.

Anyway, Gloriosa managed to survive through sheer willpower, the same that allows her to snap out of Hancock’s charm much faster than the others, until her feelings for Kaido eventually faded away, thus healing from said illness.

When she finally arrived to Sabaody Archipelago, at least fifteen years ago, she was unrecognisable. Coincidentally, Shakky's Rip-Off bar was searching for new waiters, and Gloriosa applied because she needed money. The former pirate immediately recognised her.

How is that possible? Feminine intuition!

In chapter 591, she correctly predicted that Hancock would became smitten with Luffy despite not seeing her for thirteen years and every evidence in Hancock's behaviour pointing out the contrary. (Also in the very same chapter Hancock asks Gloriosa how to have a proper marriage while surrounded by monkeys wearing Wano's typical hat. Let that sink in).

Shakky understood that Kaido had no interest in her anymore and let her stay with her and Rayleigh, until the Boa sisters arrived and Gloriosa could finally return to Amazon Lily with the excuse of bringing them back home.

On the other hand, Kaido was devastated, to say the least.

Can you blame him? His beloved wife was cheating on him with one of his most trusted subordinates. He needed to forget, to get rid of all those negative feelings overwhelming him: that's why he started drinking.

However, Kaido isn't stupid. Okay, he may not be as smart as Benn Beckman, the most intelligent person introduced in the East Blue arc, but he surely has some brains: you don't reach and mantain high positions within a crew without some smarts, let alone being an Emperor of the Sea. Kaido soon realised that he caught the two relatively easily. Too easily.

Almost if they wanted to get caught in the act.

While Kaido was drinking his sorrow away, someone else was toasting to a risky plan gone smoothly.

The Kurozumi clan.

Higurashi may have lured Kaido into Wano and the alliance with the Kurozumi, but she didn’t predict that he would have arrived with a wife and a child. Gloriosa probably had a great influence on Kaido, who was (and maybe is still) regarded as little more than a muscle head; and the Kurozumis were actually afraid that she may have been plotting something. This impression was confirmed by the Onibanshu who spied the two pirates: probably Gloriosa wasn't happy about the shogun and suggested her husband some ways to dethronate him.

She was a threat, and they needed to get rid of her as soon as possible.

They sensed that one of Kaido’s top subordinates had feelings for Gloriosa, and they decided to use this fact to their advantage. So Higurashi transformed using her Devil Fruit powers and seduced the crew’s Ace, in a time and a place where she was sure Kaido could see them, while someone else distracted Gloriosa. In the end, everything went according to plan.

However, when Kaido saw the old hag using her powers some time after, he understood everything. But he had no concrete proofs, and certainly wasn't in the position to kill someone so important to his pawn based only on simple suspects; so he waited, until the perfect moment arrived.

Meanwhile, Kaido kept drinking, to forget his actions and to numb his guilt. At first, a little quantity of alcohol did the trick, but eventually he needed more and more, slowly falling into addiction.

You know, Gloriosas’ beauty is only matched by their toxicity: as proud members of the Colchicaceae family, they contain colchicine, a powerful metabolic toxin; all parts of these plants can be fatal if eaten, even a simple touch can cause skin irritation. Due to this, Gloriosa superba has been used for centuries to commit suicide.

Just like colchicine corrodes the body, alcohol, together with shame, guilt and anger, slowly eroded Kaido’s soul, corrupting him from within.

While Kaido's original plan for Wano was simply to make the island his operational base, after all that happened he decided to destroy and utterly annihililate it, just like Orochi destroyed his happiness. The shogun was fine with his ally’s devastations and never suspected that Kaido knew. The latter made Orochi believe he wouldn’t touch the Flower Capital, just to completely erase it from the face of Earth once his army would have been powerful enough to fight an all-out war. Revenge is a dish best served cold and then smashed on the forehead.

The rest is history.

Surely Kaido will be defeated, but he will not be completely dealt with in this arc.

Yamato probably got their kind, selfless nature from Gloriosa. The latter would have never approved of the terms of Kaido’s promise to Oden, let alone all the hostages and atrocities done by her husband; since Oden began to dance naked in the streets 25 years ago, probably Gloriosa was already gone at that time.

Because of this, Yamato has little to no memories of their mother, so they will likely ask Kaido about her at the end of the battle. However, Kaido himself doesn’t know her whereabouts because he didn’t send spies after her; at first, because he didn’t care about her anymore. When he realised his mistake, he still didn’t search for her because otherwise it would have shown that she was still important to him. He is not naive, he knows there are spies in his ranks, even at high levels; therefore he wants to avoid attracting unwanted attentions to her.

Plus, Kaido doesn’t even want to know, because Gloriosa probably is dead or has found another person to be with; and he deep down knows that those news would definitely break him.

However, there’s one little detail: Gloriosa’s speech quirk-nyon. Even if her appearance has changed quite a bit, she surely did nyot change her way of talking. Luffy would probably understand Kaido is talking about her because of this, and will tell them that she’s alive and well in Amazon Lily.

It is a known fact that our protagonist either kills the villains’ dreams or changes them: Kaido will change his goal too. He wouldn’t want to die yet, he will probably want to meet Gloriosa again to apologize properly for what he had done to her.

Thus, he will survive the battle and somehow, after almost thirty years, Kaido and Gloriosa will meet again.

Will Gloriosa forgive him? Will she not?

Only Oda will tell.

Other references

Black Maria Many people actually believe she’s a Kuja, and I admit, they have pretty good reasons for thinking so. Let’s start by her name: other than being a card game, Black Maria is also a variety of bougainvillea, a clear reference to Kuja’s floral naming theme; there is also a flower named Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata) referencing her Devil Fruit powers and Amazon Lily alike. Black Maria has also flowers in her hair; the most prominent ones, colored in red, have also five petals, much like the one Gloriosa wears in her hair! She is also the owner of a brothel in Onigashima and, also due to her size, it’s heavily implied that she and Kaido have a… passionate relationship, as Oda would put it (However, Kaido probably views her as nothing more than a distraction). Of course, Kaido and his wife must have had their passionate moments, since they have a child. Moreover, Benzaiten is almost always represented playing a biwa, and, as shown in chapter 992, Black Maria can play it very well. She also has a remarkable singing voice, a feature which was one of the basic requisites to become a geisha. Geishas also were protected by Benzaiten. All in all, Black Maria is actually the biggest reference to Gloriosa... in a literal and figurative sense! Oh, one last thing: the men tied to her webs in Chapter 1005 can be a symbol for Kaido’s soul, unable to move on and perpetually being trapped in the memories and regrets of his relationship with Gloriosa together with his alcohol addiction.

Kaido’s flagship Currently, Kaido’s flagship is the only one among the four Emperors’ which has yet to be seen or named. Some speculate that it’s actually Onigashima, but, in my opinion, that’s not the case: why would he travel with his entire home, with the concrete risk of it being destroyed every time he faces an opponent? Also, Yamato is in there: they have explosive handcuffs which doesn’t allow them to leave the island, but what if someone with internal destruction haki actually removes them thus freeing Yamato and letting them escape? Also, what if Yamato actually gets severely wounded, or worse, killed by invaders? Kaido actually strikes me as an overprotective dad, thus he will never directly expose his child to external danger. The handcuffs will explode if and only if Yamato actually tries to leave Onigashima: if they stay there, nothing will happen. Plus, in chapter 997, when Kaido started lifting Onigashima someone said that the island had never trembled like that before. Kaido actually has his flagship, and the reason why it hasn’t been shown is its name. I’ve said before that Gloriosa means glorious in some languages, therefore there’s a big chance that the ship will have in its name also the Japanese word of the same meaning. Maybe it’s called ‘Glorious Dragon’ in Japanese, or something like that.

Yamato Now, this will touch one of the most controversial topics within the community right now, which is Yamato’s gender; I wish not to discuss about it under this post, because this isn’t the time nor the place (IMO it’s better to delay the discussion at the end of this arc, when Yamato will hopefully detach from the Kozuki Oden persona and find their own identity). Regardless of all this, Yamato was born as a female: and Kujas give birth to female babies only.

Kaido and Big Mom comparison: Although they were part of the same pirate crew for some time and both of them being now Emperors, there are a lot of things about their characters which mark these two as counterparts: first of all, Kaido is male and Big Mom is female. Big Mom belongs to the older generations of pirates, while Kaido belongs to the new one (together with Shanks). Kaido drinks a lot while Big Mom eats a lot. Big Mom has more than 80 children, while Kaido just one*. Lastly, Big Mom has had many unknown husbands, who she married and treated as equals only to discard them when their children are born, revealing she had zero feelings towards them. With the previous comparisons in mind, it would make perfect sense for Kaido to have had only one wife who has already appeared in the story and who he has loved dearly and maybe still does.

*In my opinion, Katakuri, Oven and Daifuku aren’t Kaido’s sons. Even if the physical resemblance is uncanny, there are two major arguments against this supposed paternity: first, the triplets don’t display any type of horns, which Yamato, the known child of Kaido, has. Secondly, the Yonko’s age: he is surely younger than 68, since this is Big Mom’s age and she considers him like a little brother; however, being heavily implied that Shakuyaku was part of the Rocks Pirates as well and she was considered a pirate, while Kaido was only an apprentice, it’s implicitly stated that he must be younger than her, too. She’s now 64, and this puts his maximum age at 63; given the triplet’s age, 48, Kaido may have had them when he was 15, which is an age when men usually have reached their sexual maturity, but he may be even younger than that, so draw your conclusion.

I admit, this turned out a lot longer than I actually expected. My sincerest kudos to you, dear reader, for reading all this time-consuming post – I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it.

Please, let me know your thoughts, they are more than welcome!

TL;DR: Gloriosa is Kaido’s wife and Yamato’s mother, she has eaten the mythical variant of the Kame Kame fruit, Katakuri is not Kaido’s son and Gin will become Pirate King.

comments on reddit :

kaido has been revealed to be 59

I really want to know who yamatos mother was and I am willing to accept any theory for now

#one piece #op theory #one piece theory #one piece theories #kaido of the beasts #kaido one piece #op kaido #one piece kaido

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friday-night-unknown · 3 years ago

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Information undercut

Masterpost ▾ Inbox ▾ Main ▾ Discord

12(24) ▾ Sexless ▾ 01/01 ⌦ Tag: #un bf ⌦ Reference sheet

The World’s TRAITOR. A super-human artificially made in the lab to be part of humanity’s last resort against the Ć͢a̔͋̂t̡̉á́͒s̆̄͞t̾̈͝ro͞͞͠p̛̉͞h͈̉e͆̈̈́, but escape for his own entertainment. His lack of empathy unable him to understand why he should save this world from the Ć͢a̔͋̂t̡̉á́͒s̆̄͞t̾̈͝ro͞͞͠p̛̉͞h͈̉e͆̈̈́. Will kill without hesitation, but he has no mother to tell him not to taunt with his food. Heartless, but not quite evil. He’d save you if you are to his likings. Is here to live his life to the fullness and force everyone into a singing battle. If you can't sing, you die.

Very insecure about his eyes, wears a shade to cover them. Will kill you if you even DARE to mention them.

19 ▾ Female/Male ▾ ??? ⌦ Tag: #un gf ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable)

Is their name Ruby, or Rudy? Nobody knows, but BF001 keeps calling her ‘Girlfriend’.

She is the PLAYER. A girl dressed in red who comes from another WORLD, here in this world to explore all kinds of possibilities that HER FATHER prepared. She was stuck in a hopeless romance with a certain blue-haired boy, she yearned to enter the world and be in his embrace. Little does he knows, his love isn't what he expected. It was born out of lust and hatred, a twisted relationship, much like the Shepherd and the Lamb.

❝ The outside world is hard and cold, come in here and you shall find home. ❞

27 ▾ Male ▾ 31/03 ⌦ Tag: #un pico ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable)

Former SCIENTIST that was part of the scientist team that develops BF001. He initially grown to care for the boy as his own until he betrayed the world, leaving and throwing him into the pit of despair. All is gone in just one day, he is just UNLUCKY to be alive. Now trying his best to survive in this rotting world.

Seems to have develop mild PTSD but refuses to admit it. Lost his glasses during Ć͢a̔͋̂t̡̉á́͒s̆̄͞t̾̈͝ro͞͞͠p̛̉͞h͈̉e͆̈̈́, has bad eyesight.

7 ▾ Sexless ▾ 06/06 ⌦ Tag: #un hex ⌦ Reference sheet ▾ Playlist

Everyone's best friend. A ROBOT created to replace someone who is dead. A rich family recently gone through the lost of a son and so they commissioned the CREATOR to build a robot as a part of therapy. However, È͛͘ȑ͛̽s̤̿ä̍͑̃t̒̌͝t̞͋ doesn't like his identity. He doesn't want everything he does is being 'coded' and instead believe everything he does is by his own will. Because of that, he greatly suffered from identity crisis, and still is finding out his true identity. No one treated him like a human being except the CREATOR and his assistant. Unlike your ordinary robot, he is coded to have FLAWS. Always wanted to have a REAL body instead of a metallic one.

He has monophobia.

25 ▾ Male ▾ 25/03 ⌦ Tag: #un ruv ⌦ Reference sheet ▾ Playlist

Able to travel between timelines and alternate universe freely thanks to the left-over demon power by Sarvente. He is the HACKER, able to change the game codes on will. However, overusing the power will resulted in a state of withdrawal— coughing blood and flowers (a reference to Hanahaki Disease). It is a curse for him to bear. The flowers on his left eye is connected with Sarv's. His mortal body cannot comprehend with Sarvente's power, it is advised to not used much. He jumps from AU to AU, timelines to timelines; copying/stealing codes from other Sarvente to save his own — that including leaving the other Sarvente dead.

He is lactose intolerance.

Ageless ▾ Male ▾ 10/10 ⌦ Tag: #un whitty ⌦ Reference sheet

A ONE-WINGED ANGEL. Holds an immerse hatred towards demon and NEVER let him find out you are a demon. Lost his wing due to a contract, now he is stucked in the mortal realm because you cannot fly with just one wing. Determined to save this world. Extremely affectionate and protective to the person he cares for, but will never hesitate to break that friendship if you lied to him about your identity or betrayed him.

Has three forms: Normal, Ballistic, ???. Weapon is a double-handed electric guitar LITERALLY made out of electricity.

85(17) ▾ Male ▾ 11/09 ⌦ Tag: #un senpai ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable) ▾ Playlist

A famous TV HOST unquestionably died in the late 1950s. He has done so many shows, TV commercial and advertisement. Due to the Devil's contract he signed, he is doomed to trap in the virtual world. Extremely touch-starved and each day the urge to have a REAL body once more grows. He is known to drag people into the television, then God knows what he did with them, but they are never to be heard ever again. Possessed Hex for the body, as well as for the friendship, also work as his protector. A two-sided man, a jolly young man and a cries a lot, swears a lot. Was called 'Senpai' by Hex, but that wasn't his real name. For his real name has been forgotten.

Uses a lot of 1950s slang. (boob tube e.g.)

7 ▾ Sexless ▾ 07/07 ⌦ Tag: #un tankmen (collectively) ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable)

After BF001's escape, these SOLDIERS were created artificially in such a short time. Initially, they were just heartless soldiers following orders but slowly, they developed their own personalities due to the observation made on the scientist in the lab... including cock jokes. A team of 7 to save the world from the brink of death, however, they can only do so much.

Have an infinite amount of 'bodies' as their CODES are being made different, their ability to 'respawn' make them misunderstood the definition of DEATH until a small boy died by their hand and never come back. Unlike BF001, these soldiers grown to have empathy.

30 ▾ Male body▾ 07/05 ⌦ Tag: #un lemon ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable)

A MONSTER born from the Ć͢a̔͋̂t̡̉á́͒s̆̄͞t̾̈͝ro͞͞͠p̛̉͞h͈̉e͆̈̈́. With no memory nor identity, he roamed the earth aimlessly. Heavily in denial he has become a D҈e҈m҈k҈n҈. He only wish others to stay away from him so they do not get hurt. However, two children seems to acknowledge his human part instead.

He's 13'3ft tall. He has hunger pangs where he'll go frenzy to clench his hunger.

Ageless ▾ Male ▾ 17/04 ⌦ Tag: #un updike ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable)

A POWER ANGEL responsible for the world's peace and fends off evil demons. However, great POWER comes with great RESPONSIBILITY... ... as well as REGRETS. He believes in his words but he doesn't believe in his own. All he ever wants is to bring back an old friend and live how it was supposed to be. He descended from the sky and search through the mountains and sea, only to be engaged in a fight to the death by his dear friend. Oh lord, will he have his happy ending?

The sound of water calms him down.

Ageless ▾ Male ▾ None ⌦ Tag: #un garcello ⌦ Reference sheet (unavailable)

The DEATH for he who controls life and death of all living beings. May his body be immortal but his mind is not. Memories don't last forever, and as time goes by, he found himself forgotten a few IMPORTANT things... Especially the reason why he decided to take on this particular human form.

In the eyes of death, NOTHING lasts forever. He had given up trying to build a friendship, as it'll only bring more heartbreaks. He learn to seclude and isolate himself as to not get himself hurt.

Love... ... what a convincing illusion.

More to come.

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bondsmagii · 3 years ago

Note

I’m rereading Vicious and after knowing everything about Vengeful everything that Eli did on vicious makes so much sense.

The first time I read Vicuous I always wondered what exactly went through Eli’s head, what was he thinking? When he looked for Victor when Victor was about to replicate his experiment? Was Eli concerned about Victor or was Eli was acting for selfish reasons? What was he thinking and feeling after he got his powers? What was he thinking when Victor attacked him and why was he so quick to think Victor was a devil in disguise? What was his last thought when he was about to become an Eo and how does it relate to healing? What was his thought process when he was trying to give up his life to god and when he decided that killing EOS was the “right” thing to do?

And after reading Vengeful everything becomes so much clearer, his last thought was probably about how he wanted to be “healed and saved” he internalized so some much religious trauma that it affected the way he acted and his thogught porcess, he witnessed his mother suicide on a bathtub and that’s probably why he chose that method both times before and after becoming an EO, his father used to beat him as a kid because he supposedly “had the devil in him” and he does feels like one through his life, doing his best to act as “normal” as possible.

His mother death also explains why he was so worried about Victor and even in the first book Eli talks very fondly of him even referring to him as his best friend and he explains to Serena he thinks Victor died and something sinister replaced him after becoming an EO and this conclusion although rash, it make sense he would try to rationalize and in a way justify the awful things that Victor did after turning into an EO.

And even in vengeful he started imagining Victor to kept him company when he was going through hell, he admits to himself that Victor was the only person who ever truly “saw” him and understood him, pretty much confirming that the “rivalry” Victor and Eli had was mostly one-sided and Eli really did loved him and consider him his best friend.

This also explains his weird behavior towards Victor when Vic himself was trying to turn himself into an EO, Eli witnessed his mother death and probably didn’t wanted the same to happen to Victor after Eli himself almost died trying to recreate it.

The first book also explains that he tried to take his life a second time after Victor got arrested begging for God to take away his power if it had been a mistake, he seemed to externalize all of this negative experience and feelings through his purpose of exterminating the EOS because he sincerely believed that was the right thing to do, his faith although horribly used and mishandled seemed to be genuine based on how we was him literally begging to god to take his life back if everything had been a mistake.

Everyone one of his actions seem to be driven by his childhood and religious trauma and it’s incredible sad to me, he wan’t a sociopath or a psychopath he was just very broken and delusional individual.

And his experience with Serena who forced herself into him also didn’t helped the whole “EOS are devils in disguise” perspective , even since I read the first book (when I didn’t knew anything about Eli yet) I was very repulsed by what Serena was doing to him, to the point that even though I greatly disliked Eli at first I kind of hated Serena more for what she was doing to him. I am also a little disappointed in how the fandom barely acknowledges that what Serena did to Eli was incredibly wrong and messed up.

I have already said this, but the fandom seems to treat Eli very unkindly, they brush over all of his story and just label him as a “sociopath” or “psychopath” barely understanding and completely missing the point of why he behaved the way that he did.

I don’t mind if people hate his character, I did so at first, but the way everyone brush over all of his trauma and the way people completely misinterpreted his character and actions don’t set up right with me.

It’s a little surprising how people can praise Serena, Victor and Marcella despite their awful actions while they hate on Eli for the same reason, overall Eli seems to have been the one to receive the shorter end of the stick by the fandom.

honestly I've read this so many times because you're so right and it's such a relief to know that somebody else out there is capable of critical thinking skills lmao. I think the problem with people's response to Eli is that they think his backstory is an excuse, when in actual fact it's an explanation. go figure, kids who grow up in abusive households will turn into adults with a boatload of issues, and some of those issues are more likely than not going to cause harm of their own. it's totally possible to be both a victim and someone who causes harm; yes, Eli thinks he's in the right, but his actions are still wrong. it's possible to understand both of these things and it's possible to still like his character and sympathise with him, while still understanding that damn, he maybe needs to chill on the serial killing.

it wouldn't bother me as much if people didn't think that Victor was absolutely innocent. people seem to revere him, and it's because in the narrative he's set up as Eli's opposite. the whole point of the story is that there's no good men in the game, but because Victor wants to stop Eli, people see him as the good guy and overlook how cruel he was to Eli throughout their entire friendship, and also how cruel he is to the others. (Mitch is probably the only one there of his own free will. Sydney was an injured 12-year-old child when Victor picked her up, and he did so only because she had information that he wanted -- his first thought was to torture it out of her, but when she gave it willingly and kind of hero-worshipped him in the way a neglected child would hero-worship their saviour, he decided she could stay. Dominic is there by force, because he's a disabled man in constant chronic agony that Victor fixes with his EO abilities, and if he does something to displease Victor or leaves him, Victor has threatened to bring the pain back even worse.) people rewrite both Eli and Victor's personalities to fit this, with Eli being cast as this unfeeling psychopath and Victor the person standing up to his evil, and in actual fact Eli is absolutely not a psychopath -- he's a traumatised adult recovering from a highly abusive childhood -- and Victor is not standing up to evil; he's settling a score. a score he kind of started in the first place, by being a jealous asshole towards Eli's thesis, trying to dominate it because his own sucked, seeking glory off the back of Eli's hard work, and then when he succeeded in his goals and became an EO, immediately murdering Eli's girlfriend and torturing Eli because he was jealous Eli's idea was correct. like, Victor Vale is a little bitch, on god. the reason it ended like this was because he was a god-awful friend to Eli, who was literally Victor's only true friend because he was the only person who would put up with him. go figure that the only person who could deal with Victor's behaviour was a grown abused child. nobody who hadn't been indoctrinated into believing that behaviour was acceptable would ever voluntarily deal with Victor.

literally every decision and action Eli takes can be traced back to his trauma, but go figure that nobody on this website can treat trauma with the nuance it deserves. people on this site seem to think that if you're traumatised you're always innocent and vulnerable; if anyone acts outside of this idea, they're written off. I take Eli's treatment very personally because I've seen people quite literally do this to real life people, myself included. because I wasn't a quiet, easy-to-deal-with traumatised person, I got all kinds of shit. it's the exact same with Eli. because he acts badly, because he does bad things, people seek to dehumanise him and set him aside because he apparently makes abuse survivors look bad or whatever -- when in actual fact acting badly is a very common response among abuse survivors, because we were brought up in an environment where that was normal and we don't know otherwise. not to mention the fact that the kind of mental illness Eli shows -- PTSD, mainly -- has many symptoms that make for unpleasant actions. it's not a crime to show the impact these things have, but people take it so personally. I've even seen people say it's ableist to portray characters like Eli because it gives people with trauma or mental illness a bad name, but no. that's literally not how it works. people with trauma and people with mental illness act badly, they fuck up, they can abuse people, sometimes they do harm or even kill people. ignoring this isn't going to get us anywhere, and if anything's ableist, it's looking at a clearly traumatised, mentally ill person and saying that he's a psychopath and evil and irredeemable. like, come on.

Eli didn't catch a single break for his whole life. everyone he's ever met has abused him horribly. you don't have to like him, but the people who can look at this and see nothing sympathetic about him? genuinely I don't trust them.

#long post #vicious #vengeful #anon #asks

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hotchley · 4 years ago

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Congratulations on 300 sumayyyah!! That’s a really great milestone and I totally understand why they all follow you! Could I have 🐚 for Hotch, as well as ⚔️ and 🫀 (bau as teachers) I’m so sorry if the last one is a little overwhelming, and I would definitely understand if you don’t have enough time/ don’t want to do that one!

Aah thank youu!! That’s so sweet of you as well!

🐚 and a character and i’ll write some happy headcanons

so his favourite thing about the house he buys after he retires is that he can finally have the home library he always wanted and every shelf is filled with books from every genre ever

his favourite colour is actually yellow, but being unit chief means he has to look professional so it’s not really a good idea, but Penelope knitted him a yellow scarf that he wears every year without fail

although he may not seem like it, he’s really good at giving meaningful presents and all of the team, including the BAU kids are always in awe of just how good he is- especially when some of them don’t even know what they want

one of his favourite things to do is capture the soft and domestic moments of the team because it reminds him of the reasons why they do things so he just an entire album of them (they all know he does this and subtly take photos when he’s being domestic)

he’s not an idiot, so he knows when Jack is only pretending to be asleep, but he also knows he won’t be a kid forever, so he will always carry him into the house no matter how obvious it is he’s awake

⚔️ and i’ll give you an image from my novel board that reminds me of you

I knew what image it was going to be as soon as I saw it was from you, which makes a change

Because you like Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey and this just reminded me of being a hopeless romantic that wants to make things better and light so it was just a vibe <3

🫀 and the bau as *insert thing*

I’m doing the “Core 7″ because I... cannot be bothered to do everyone from Gideon up to Kate, I hope that’s okay!! And I only say Kate because I’m still on season 10 whoopsie

Also, I live in England so I’m doing it based on those stereotypes (I say stereotypes, I mean I’m turning them into teachers I’ve had)

Spencer: the absolute life-saver of a chemistry teacher. It doesn’t matter what day it is, whether it’s Friday after school or Tuesday morning, he’s there to help you. Will never make you feel stupid for not understanding “basic” concepts because he gets that sometimes things just don’t click and will help you until it does, no matter how long it takes or how many different ways you need to try it. Everyone’s favourite science teacher. Sometimes gives you more detail than you need, but it is always so the thing you’re learning about makes more sense.

JJ: the P.E teacher. But not the normal P.E teacher that literally doesn’t care so long as you make some sort of effort. No, she’s the P.E teacher that also coaches the netball team, and is absolutely obsessed with netball as always. Her favourites are the girls that play netball: she’ll gossip with them, tell them to help the others and get them out of lesson whenever needed. So it’s great if you play netball, but not if you don’t.

Derek: Hehe. Okay, so he’s a design technology teacher, but the really nice one that just supports everyone with whatever it is they’re doing. Really big on safety, but not in a patronising way, in a: guys if someone gets hurt it’ll be terrible way. Everyone loves him and hopes they get him for D.T because he’s just the best. Never judges you based off your abilities, only cares about whether or not you tried and will always use his lunch break to try and salvage your project.

Penelope: So you know how there are always two art teachers and one of them is always insane? Well, Penelope is the other art teacher that everyone genuinely loves. She really cares about the subject, but she’s not pretentious about it and she encourages the students to do whatever feels right. She loves showing the class photos of her cats, never snaps or shouts when people forgets thing and is always willing to demonstrate how to do something, no matter how many times she’s already done it before. Is an absolute angel, that always gets distracted by other more fun projects, and is definitely dating Derek.

Rossi: Your history teacher that was old enough to have actual memories of the things you’re learning about. Is a good enough teacher, but sometimes you do wonder whether you’re actually learning the stuff you need to. Is absolutely obsessed with creating debates over the smallest things, even though he always undermines the people that actually get involved. Unironically says he’s going to play devil’s advocate and definitely says some stuff he probably shouldn’t.

Emily: The french teacher that is somehow terrifying, lovely and somewhat inappropriate, all at the same time. She’s terrifying if you leave your speaking booklet at home, and if you don’t actually try and put on an accent, but will also bring in snacks for the last day of term and definitely has thousands of stories about the time she spent in France. Will destroy you if you don’t hand in your homework, or if you used google translate, but praises the people that hand it in, no matter how bad it was. Also lets you watch French films- defo makes inappropriate comments if there’s a kissing scene.

Hotch: the other history teacher that nobody really knows where they stand with because he’s a bit of a confusing character, but is deep down an absolute angel and is absolutely loved by the people he teaches. Seems to always be miserable and sad, but is actually just a front because when they like you, or when you’re nice, they get really happy and will willingly/deliberately make jokes, but not at anyone else’s expense. Is younger than the other history teacher but has no idea what pop culture is which means references go over his head. Will mark every exam question you give him way too harshly in preparation, but really does want you to do well. Will not accept people saying they’re bad at history, and is definitely the emotional support teacher for multiple people- doesn’t tell you that you’re overthinking when you cry, but will remind you that he has faith in you and is just an overall bean.

This low-key got out of hand, but I hope you liked it!!

#sumayyah has 300

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givemewritingorgivemedeath · 4 years ago

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An Analysis Series Pt. 2: Dancing with the Devil... The Art of Starting Over: Prelude

**TRIGGER WARNING**

This post contains language depicting addiction, drug use, trauma, sexual abuse, and rape which may be triggering for some. Please feel free to skip.

I have decided to do a reaction and slight analysis of Demi Lovato's new album Dancing with the Devil... The Art of Starting Over. It was released on April 2nd at midnight.

I will be doing the Prelude (first 3 songs) in this post. Then I will likely do The Start of Starting Over 4 songs at a time. This will be to avoid overly long posts. For some background on Demi Lovato or for a quick analysis of her Dancing with the Devil music video, you can read the first part of this series.

Dancing with the Devil... The Art of Starting Over (Prelude)

Track 1: Anyone

While Demi wrote "Anyone" before her overdose, she mentions in her docuseries that, ironically, this song describes exactly what she was feeling when she was in the hospital AFTER her overdose in July of 2018.

For me, this is almost the sequel to "Sober" released in April 2018. In "Sober", Demi admits that she is no longer sober and has been drinking alcohol; she mentions that it is becoming a problem and that she will be getting help. However, we know this didn't go to plan. In fact, after the song's release, Demi began singing "Sober" on the "Tell Me You Love Me" tour that she was on prior to the overdose. Days before her overdose, Demi "forgot" the last words of the song during a show, including "I promise I'll get help"; her docuseries alludes to the idea that she didn't forget, but was in a dark place and wasn't sure if she would be getting help from her addiction.

"Anyone" describes the state of mind that led to her relapse. She feels totally alone; she is desperate and needs help from a higher power, but she feels even God has abandoned her - "So why the fuck am I praying anyway?". She doesn't feel like she has any control of her life - "Nobody's listening to me". Demi is miserable (for many reasons discussed in the album and docuseries.) She also discusses how she used to crave everyone's attention, but she realized that what she was looking for is affection. Looking for attention only made her feel worse about herself, whether the attention is positive or negative. As she goes on press junkets about recovery and happiness, she is the most miserable she has ever been - "I feel stupid when I sing". During a show on her "Tell Me You Love Me Tour" (different from the one discussed earlier), you can hear Demi getting choked up about how important it is to live your truth and get help if you need it. At the time, the audience did not know she was no longer sober. At a show closer to the time of the overdose, Demi mentions that she no longer wants to talk about mental health during the show. While she justifies by saying that she has done it way too much, her docuseries mentions that she felt like a hypocrite preaching through a crowd about this while she was spiraling and unhappy.

She continues: Demi tries to wish on stars and pray to God to help her with this moment, but she doesn't seem to find the strength anywhere...

Track 2: Dancing with the Devil

This song, while describing the day of the overdose and how she felt, is in the perspective of the person that survived the overdose and is recounting the events. This is unlike "Anyone", which is in the perspective of before or during the overdose and is just describing her current feelings.

Verse and Chorus 1:

"Dancing with the Devil" starts with her mentioning that she started drinking, saying that if she only drinks a little, she will be okay. She didn't actually believe this, but she used this to justify her drinking because she thought that maybe she could control herself. We know from the docuseries that Demi relapsed on her sobriety because she didn't know why she was sober anymore given how miserable she still was even without the drugs. She did not mention her drug use to friends, but she did tell them that she would only do light drinking; she said she wanted to try what other people her age did, especially since she had yet to turn 21 before she got sober in 2012. We know now that she picked up the bottle and pills because she was dealing with emotional pain, not because she wanted to have a little fun; the push to drink is a big indicator of how things may turn out, especially for someone with a history of addiction.

Demi continues to try to convince others: "not like I want to do this every night." She justifies starting to drink again by saying that she's been good for 6 years and has earned the chance to have one glass of red wine. "Feels like it's worth it in my mind" could be describing that she thinks that some alcohol is worth it given what she's been going through emotionally (and physically with her eating disorder). We are explicitly told that all this is BS, and she KNOWS that it is when she says "I told you I was okay, but I was lying." She knows that this coping habit is the enemy and that she is gambling with her life and the health of her soul by falling into her addictions.

Verse and Chorus 2:

Demi begins to sing about drugs here instead of just alcohol. While verse 1 seems to be her convincing the people around her that the end of her sobriety is okay, this verse finds her trying to convince herself. We know this because her friends did not know that she was doing any kind of hard drugs during the months leading up to the overdose. She mentions how one "white line" can quickly turn into smoking a glass pipe. This verse also gives us a look at the types of drugs she is using: "tinfoil" can be used for drugs like heroin and methamphetamines. We also know from "white line" and "glass pipe" that she could also be using cocaine. Demi admits in her docuseries that she used crack-cocaine, heroin, and more during this period.

Demi continues by saying that doing these drugs already almost got the best of her. This is not the first time she thought she was going to die from doing too many drugs; Demi has come out to say that she was surprised she did not overdose the first night she relapsed after mixing drugs that she had never even done before. It is common for addicts to turn to even heavier drugs after relapse from sobriety. In the song, she says she hopes she doesn't reach the end of her life but continues doing drugs in her "twisted reality, hopeless insanity". The chorus has even more meaning after this verse: "It's so hard to say "No"" to drugs for a former addict trying to just do a "little".

Ending:

Demi mentions how she truly thought she was going to be able to stop once she started if she wanted to without getting carried away, but she knows that she is wrong and in trouble. She, again, mentions God. But this time, instead of wondering why she should even pray to Him for help, she apologizes to Him for giving in to her addictions again. Once again, she prays that he will help her find "better days" without the pain that brought her TO her drugs and the pain brought BY the drugs. She sings one final chorus, ending on and emphasizing that she is still struggling with her addiction: "It's so hard to say 'no' when you're dancing with the devil."

Track 3: ICU (Madison's Lullabye)

This track gives me so many emotions. Demi dedicated to her baby sister as a promise that she will always be there for her. It is in the perspective of Demi when she woke up in the ICU following the overdose. She heard someone calling out to her but didn't know who it was, not even recognizing the voice. Doctors realized that Demi was legally blind after suffering from 3 strokes caused by the overdose, and she wasn't able to see her little sister Madison sitting at the side of her hospital bed. For a little background, back when Demi went to rehab the first time when she was 18 years old, she was told that she would not be able to see Madison if she didn't get herself together. It ironically came full circle: she did not stop doing drugs and ended up literally unable to see her sister.

Verse 1 and Chorus:

The song starts with Demi saying that she never wanted Madison to "watch [her] fall from grace" or relapse and overdose again. "Fall from Grace" normally refers to losing admiration and respect for someone; this is the last thing Demi wants. Demi always wanted to be better for her sister; Madison says that even with all the things Demi has been through, Demi is her role model and hero. Still, Demi's lyrics mention that she wants Madison to be able to look up to her and make sure that Madison doesn't fall into the same patterns of addiction that she did. She also wants Madison to know that she wants to be by her side and be her support no matter what, even though she struggles with being a "good big sister".

The chorus begins, and you hear Demi's promise to Madison explicitly:

Tuck your hair behind your ear Until you fall asleep I'll say a prayer and keep you near You're always here with me I promise, I'll be there, don't worry

Demi mentions that Madison is always there for her, so she intends to do the same. She continues saying that she "was blind" but now she can see clearly. This is both her saying that she was wrong to make the choices that she made and that she lost her vision. She follows that up by saying "but now I see clearly, I see you." This could allude to the fact that Demi has regained her vision, though she still has blind spots. It could also mean that she recognizes where she failed and how clearly she can see how much her sister means to her and how amazing she is/how much she is to lose. The "I see you" is also, obviously, a play on ICU (or intensive care unit, the hospital unit Demi was in after the overdose.)

Verse 2, Chorus 2, and Outro:

This begins with Demi saying that although she sees herself in Madison, she knows that Madison is strong enough to not fall into Demi's destructive patterns. She believes that not only can Madison "overcome anything in [her] way" and "change the world", but she can continue to give Demi strength. She begins her promise/chorus again after telling her that Madison will always be her baby sister.

"ICU (Madison's Lullabye)" ends with Madison telling her big sister "I love you, Demi". We hear Demi respond: "I love you, too". And then in the remix, you can hear my sobbing and crying into the ether because I am so fucking emotional right now.

Side note: the Visualizer for this song is beautiful. It contains blurry and double-vision-like images of the ICU, brain images, and more, representing Demi's damaged vision following the strokes.

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