#as a distraction to the fact that her whole life she has never actually chosen anything

[d0d0-b0i]

this entire convo to me is really interesting!

i wonder if this is partly just a way for the devs to tell us that we shan’t yet know all the romance routes, or if it’s a way to show yet again that melinoë continuously hates defining anything real about herself outside of “the mission”, due to a lack of being born into a weapon, and never having the will to choose anything at all really.

what about the mortals? ah who cares, but again, you have many mortal friends(+more) that you refuse to define your positions with because they’re the good ones

but what about the actual valid arguments all of your enemies have made so far? doesn’t matter, it’s either lies or attempts at misguiding you from “the mission”

but what about the fact that you and your group might be wrong? if that’s the case, the part of you that’s wrong can be remolded into something better, including core parts of yourself, so why go through the heartbreak of cutting off branches attached to a rotten tree?

why should gods have to choose, but why does melinoë choose to herself who’s bad and who’s good? what’s black and what’s white? who’s wrong or right? are there not grey areas here? certainly some who fall in line with chronos might actually have a good reason as to why, and mel seems to be fearing this truth.

what would happen if she ever made choices or ever defined anything in her life? all romantic interest is as it is who cares, nobody needs to care just vibe why be serious when there’s “the mission”, hecate is just her mentor-mom-teacher-guardian, nothing weird there that will never anything addressed no way siree! none of her relationships need to be defined because what if she views odysseus more as a brother than zagreus, hecate more as a mom than persephone? what then? what then??

a walking contradiction would have an easier time than her good lord

[obsessive-valentine]

The Beaumont Family (profiles)

The Beaumont's are a highly regarded name and are highly regarded people within vampire society. But while they hold great status and power they are a family first.

...

Soren

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown." – Shakespeare

Age: Appears early 40s | Actual age: ~2,500+ years

Appearance: Cold and calculating eyes, with an intensity that can feel unyielding. Dresses simply but impeccably, favouring tailored coats, waistcoats, and muted colours.

Personality: Pragmatic and stoic: He does what is necessary without indulging sentimentality, though his care manifests in practical ways. Authoritative: His presence alone commands obedience, though he’s never cruel. He values respect over fear.

Role: The Patriarch | The Provider

Soren is the reason the Beaumont name remains untarnished. He's an unshakable figure in vampire society. Not through charisma or brute force, but through sheer competence and intellect. When Soren speaks, others listen. His calm and measured nature commands attention, and those who might challenge him often find themselves outmatched intellectually. He is seen as a quiet pillar of strength—immovable, dependable, and undeniably dangerous when pushed.

Early Life: Born in Ancient Greece, with an appreciation for knowledge and philosophy, as he was born in a time of lots of great intellectuals. He was chosen by his maker since he was a highly regarded... and made to be the heir of the Beaumont name

-Lived many of those years basically alone which hardened him and even psychologically damaged him. The Beaumont's weren't a family but rather a 'group' of influential vampires.

-Utterly and hopelessly smitten for Lavinia, though not openly expressing it he's smitten. She knows he's wrapped around her finger.

Fun fact: Loves new inventions, from early clocks, optical illusions, automata, and prototypes of the latest inventions shipped in from all over the world -to toy-like curiosities like thaumatropes. He has a whole section of new inventions in his office that Lavinia calls his cupboard of distractions.

...

Lavinia

“A mother’s love endures through all.” – Washington Irving

Age: Appears mid-30s | Actual age: ~1,200+ years

Appearance: She's stunning, graceful and always dressed in the finest. Her hair is dark, wavy and long it's ethereal. She's almost always calm and composed, a disarming peacefulness about her -but not afraid to give someone a correcting glare or show her distaste for something or someone (not at her family). Very expressive eyes.

Personality: Emotionally intelligent: Sees through others with unsettling clarity. Dry humour: Her wit is subtle, often delivered with a faint smile or a lifted eyebrow. Fearlessly maternal: Adores her children and would go to the end of the earth for them.

Role: The Matriarch | The Heart of the Family | The Diplomat

Where Soren provides the foundation of the Beaumont’s power, Lavinia upholds their reputation with grace and warmth. She is not merely a “strategic type,” but a master of social diplomacy. Other houses genuinely like her, and this affection has proven invaluable in maintaining the family’s high standing.

Early Life: Born in the early medieval times to a debted family she was to be married off to pay the debt. Her childhood saw no warmth, and once she was old enough she was effectively sold to the highest bidder (a cruel baron far too old and horrible record with past marrages). Until she fell in love with Soren and ran away with him a few nights before her wedding.

-Lavinia’s gentleness is not naivety—it is deliberate and hard-won. Her kindness is a rebellion against the cruelty she endured.

-Her love for her family is fierce and unwavering because she knows what it means to feel unloved and unwanted. (These parallels between her and the girl are what causes this fierce protection and even obsession.)

Fun Fact: She collects letters. As the diplomat of the family, she often writes to other families and keeps up appearances. She keeps these letters organised in plies by family name and tied neatly with a ribbon, it's not really sentimental, more of keeping a record. You can learn a lot about someone through letters, and often people confide in her, so just in case, she has records -if she needs to use them. (it's strategic but it sounds like she lives for the gossip lol)

...

Lucien

“My friends think that I like to fight, but it’s just not true. Sometimes I loose my temper and blow off a little steam, but I’ve never enjoyed it." – Isle of Dogs

Age: Appears late 20s | Actual age: ~1,000+ years

Physical Appearance: Lean and tall, with sharp features that give him a naturally intense look -contemplative expression. Tendency to scowl or bear his teeth but usually is calm and in his own little bubble, though even then he has a resting face that still intimidates ( serious RBF )

Personality: Loyal and steadfast: Though he rarely expresses it, Lucien is deeply devoted to his family. Brooding and distant: His silence can feel cold, but it’s rarely cruel. Highly intelligent: -and disciplined, often buried in a book or trying to prove himself to Soren.

Role: The Reserved Brother | The Brooding Son

Early Life: Turned around the Dark Ages. Chosen as an heir by Soren because of his intelligence and leadership. But quickly became like a son and marked the beginning of the Beaumont's as a family.

Fun fact: Lucien often has a book with him, tucked under his arm or open in his hand. Though usually seen with practical and factual books, he has a private collection of fiction books he reads in his downtime. He likes to think no one knows.

...

Dorian

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats

Age: Appears early 20s | Actual age: ~500+ years

Physical Appearance: Bright, mischievous eyes that seem perpetually amused. Dresses casually but tastefully, often for comfort. He’s the most “modern” in appearance of the family. He's got a broader, more solid build, and soft features.

Personality: Protective: Despite his carefree demeanour, Dorian has a strong sense of loyalty and would fight fiercely to defend those he cares for, and can make himself look quite imposing. Restless: Dorian is a natural wanderer, always seeking excitement or distraction.

Role: The Wild Son | The Whimsical Brother

Early Life: Born during the Renaissance times. A close friend of Lucien, as they studied humanities together. His competence and unique look on life caught Soren's eye, and with a final nod of approval from Lavinia, who liked his lightness, he was turned. He's who made the Beaumonts feel like a more traditional family.

Fun Fact: Though not surprising -He will break into exaggerated theatrics when bored. When the family is feeling particularly lighthearted, Dorian will “host” (interrupt them with) silly performances—reciting poetry, or narrating ghost stories with exaggerated dramatics.

...

'The Girl' - You

"Maybe home is nothing but two arms holding you tight when you’re at your worst." - Yara Bashraheel

"Have courage and be kind" - Cinderella 2015

Age: Mentioned to be adolescent and still childish but in that transitional phase, so anywhere from mid-teens to young adult maybe 15-20.

Personality: Curiosity: Despite your hard childhood, you retained a quiet sense of wonder. Small, beautiful things fascinate you. In a world of old vampires, this humanity is endearing. Reserved Resilience: You are not outspoken or bold, but there is a quiet strength in you. Habits: you still, being a young vampire, cling to the Victorian traditions you were raised on and childish habits.

Role: Protector of Humanity | A Mother's Joy

Early Life: You grew up in a traditional working-class Victorian household in the early 1800s, a life devoid of tenderness or comfort. Most days were spent working in your father’s shop, as he believed girls had no place in school—still a new and rare concept. Your mother, overwhelmed by her own burdens, kept you out of sight and out of mind, your hands always busy with mundane cleaning and chores.

You fell gravely ill with tuberculosis (Consumption) and lingered on your deathbed before being turned. Despite the neglect and the scary transformation brought by vampirism, your kindness and quiet resilience endured.

It was this rare strength—your ability to stay soft in a harsh world—that made you worthy of being saved to Lavinia, and Soren trusted her judgement begrudgingly.

[supercorpkid]

The price of magic.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word Count: 2210.

Turns out the price of magic was higher than you had anticipated. You’ve been away for more than a year, but for your family it was nothing but a week. Sure they’ve missed you and they were out there looking for you with no clue of where you could have gone. But for you?

A year in Storybrooke was experiencing your life as you’ve always imagined. Being yourself in its totality. No Luthor name hanging over your head, no hiding yourself behind glasses or a red and blue superhero suit. It was being both Kryptonian and human at the same time, with no fear of judgment or dislike.

Storybrooke was like going on a super long vacation; so long it made you forget all of your problems. But that doesn’t mean that your problems went away. They came back as soon as you stepped foot in National City.

The price of magic was feeling guilty for being happier somewhere else. It was walking into your bedroom and feeling at home but also somehow not at all. It was walking around the craziness of National City and feeling suffocated like you’re in a crowded room full of empty faces. It was missing the words ‘honey’ and ‘sweetheart’ when people were referring to you. It was having a crazy number of options of take-out food but wanting nothing except the food in Granny’s diner.

And you weren’t the only one to pay the price. You can feel how high it was for Kara and Lena too.

“Mom?” You sit up on the bed, looking at Lena standing in your bedroom watching you sleep. “What are you doing creeping over my bed at-” You look at your alarm clock. “3 in the morning?”

“I had to be sure you were still here.” Lena says, sounding small and scared.

“Mom, I’m not going to disappear from my bedroom in the middle of the night.” You say, trying to reassure her, but it backfires you.

“You can’t blame me for thinking that, because you did.” She holds your arm, and you hear the cry in her cracked voice.

“Would you feel better if you stayed here with me?” You make space for her. Lena hum in agreement, lying next to you. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m even more.” She kisses the back of your hand. “A whole year without us. You were probably so scared we weren’t looking for you.”

“I knew you were.”

“You got so tall, and we weren’t even there to see it!” Lena complains and you give her a sad little smile, even though she can’t see your face at all in the darkness of your bedroom.

“Well, I chose a weird age to have a growth spurt .” You joke, but you don’t get a laugh in return. You sort of always knew when you would get taller. It was the same with Kara. You were always very anxious to turn 17, because that was the age she actually grew more. But the weird thing is that you’re not really 17 now. Like Kara is not really 70.

“Come here.” Lena hugs you and you settle back. You’re almost drifting off to sleep when she whispers. “Don’t ever leave again.”

You can’t promise that you won’t. Stranger things have happened in your life, you don’t really feel like you have control over that anymore. And weird as it may seem, you also don’t want to have control over that. Because if you had, if you could have chosen, you probably wouldn’t have met some of the people that you love so much now.

“Hey!” You walk in the kitchen, to both Kara and Lena still having breakfast despite how late already is. “What are you two doing?”

“Having breakfast.” Kara explains, like it isn’t obvious.

You look at the clock. “It’s nine.” You raise an eyebrow at them. “And it’s Monday.”

“Yes.” Lena agrees.

“On Mondays you go to work, and Kara does her usual Kara’ stuff.”

“You were gone for a week. Even if L Corp burned down in flames I wouldn’t leave your side today.” Lena answers you, and you smile softly. You look at Kara next.

“Oh, well, if L Corp was burning up in flames I probably would have to go to put out the fire.” She says but adds in a hurry. “But I would be here five seconds later!”

“Ok.” You chuckle. “I thought I would go see Jamie and Maya on their lunch break, but if you two want me to stay-”

“No! Baby, no. Go see your cousin and your girlfriend. They were missing you too.” Lena hands you your phone. “There’s a lot of texts from them.”

“Oh, a phone! God I haven’t had one in a while.” You smile scrolling through your messages, ignoring your moms questioning looks.

“So, maybe you could tell us how was your life there.” Kara asks, but you’re too distracted with your phone to notice. You haven’t used one in a while, not because there weren’t phones in Storybrooke, but because you didn’t need them. It was a super small city, you could find anyone easily, and because Emma and Charming were sheriffs, you all used radio transmitters to talk. “Hey? Little one, helloooo.”

“Sorry momma.” You put your phone down. “What did you say?”

“We want to know about your life there. I mean, for us it wasn’t that long, but for you it was a whole year. You probably did lots of things.” Kara says and you agree with your head.

“Yeah, I guess.” You shrug. “I used to help mom Emma out with the saving, and oh, mom Regina helped me with my panic attacks. And I’m a lot better at controlling them! Henry and I used to watch this awesome TV show that I probably won’t ever know how it ends now. And grandma taught me archery.”

“Oh, that sounds-” Lena thinks about it for a second. “Fun.”

“Yeah. It was so great. And every night all of us would get together at Granny’s diner and talk about our days, and sometimes I would go hang out with Belle in the library, so I read all the books there. And if I had stayed a little bit longer and turned 18 there, then grandpa would’ve taught me how to use a gun.”

“A little bit? It would’ve been a whole other year!”

“For me, I guess.” You shrug again. “Just another week for you. And I would’ve been cursed anyway, so it wouldn’t feel so bad.”

“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Kara stops you, looking confused. “You wanted to stay?”

“No!” You think about it for a second. “Not stay. No. Just-you know-If I had perhaps stayed longer then yeah, it would’ve been fun to learn that.”

“You can learn how to use a gun here!” Kara says, and Lena furrows her brows.

“No, she can’t.” She looks at you. “No, you can’t. Maybe when you’re older.”

“Right. Moms wouldn’t let me touch a gun either.”

“We are your moms.” It’s out of Kara’s mouth like she hadn’t given much thought to it. But you know she has, because she looks stung. You’ve noticed how she flinched every time you referred to Regina and Emma as moms, but it’s out of your mouth before you can stop yourself to think about it. For a year that’s what you’ve been saying every day. It’s hard to call them just anything else. Almost disrespectful even. But you don’t want to make Kara and Lena upset, so you have to watch out for that.

You try to say something after that. But it’s like your mind keeps erasing itself. ‘Ok, fine, sorry, sure you are momma!’ are all things that almost make it out of your mouth. Instead, you settle for, “Can I have some M&M pancakes?”

“Sure, babygirl.” Lena gets up and gets behind the counter. You go back to your phone, too embarrassed to look at Kara again. She doesn’t say anything about it either.

You talk about other things. They tell you how crazy it was to find you, and what they did all week while you were gone. Apparently it was mostly crying and blaming themselves for your disappearance.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To school. To see Jamie and Maya.”

“Where are your glasses?” Kara asks and you touch your face to realize that you haven’t been wearing them at all.

“Ugh.” You grunt and mumble right after. “I hate those stupid glasses. Can’t believe I have to wear them again.”

You run to your bedroom and find an old pair tossed around. Stupid disguise. Stupid glasses. Stupid secret identity.

“Ok. Can I go now?” You ask when you make it back to the living room.

Lena lets out a forced smile out of her lips, and Kara gives you the most awkward thumbs up in history. Well, there’s a lot to unpack there. So maybe leave it for later.

“Hey!”

“No way in hell!” It’s Jamie’s first response when she sees you in front of your old school. “You grew taller in a week?”

“Something like that.” You smile finally looking down on her. Rao, it feels so good to finally be taller than Jamie. You’ve been hearing about it for years! “Hey, babe.”

“Holy fuck, look at you!” Maya says with the biggest smile on her face. “I don’t see you for a week and you show up here looking like a superhero!”

“Well…” You give her a little side flirty smile. “Is that a good thing?”

“You look great, babe.” Maya’s arms go around your neck and she tiptoes to kiss your mouth. You hold her by the waist, making it easier for her to kiss you.

“God, I’ve missed kissing you.” You let out after you part your lips.

“It’s been a week, stop being so melodramatic.” Jamie rolls her eyes, and you smile, letting go of Maya to hug her too.

“I’ve missed you too, dipshit.”

“Oh.” Jamie lets out a surprised sound. “I guess you’re not so dramatic then.”

You want to tell them, right there, about how it was not just a week. About your different life in the past year. But the girls from your school who used to bully you pass right next to you, and your heart beats faster anticipating the teasing.

But they don’t say a thing. In fact, what they say after they pass you, and you catch using your super hearing, is that you must be a new student. You smile, relieved. Getting taller and cutting your hair. You wish you had known it would make your life a lot easier.

“Ice-cream?” You smile at them and get positive responses at that. Two hours with them and it feels like you’ve never left. Feels good to be with them. It makes you remember that even though your life in National City is not always easy, it’s still pretty great. And that you shouldn’t take that for granted.

You and Jamie walk Maya home, and you’re not even scared of her parents' reaction anymore. It’s not like they’ll recognize you, anyway. And later, you fly Jamie back to her house. You say a quick hello to Alex and Kelly, then fly back home.

“Hey.” You throw yourself on the couch between your moms, with a smile on your face. You look at the box of donuts in front of them, just sitting there waiting for you to arrive and your smile grows wider. “Sorry I was gone for a while. But can I make it up to you both with some hugs and forehead kisses?”

“Oh! Me first!” Kara asks and you smile, throwing your arms around her, and resting your chin on her shoulders.

“You’re my mommy. No one will ever take that away from you.” You whisper in her ear, and feel Kara’s body fully relax in your embrace, while she lets out a relieved sigh.

“I love you more than words can explain it, kid.” You smile and let her go a little, just to look into her eyes.

“I know the words.” You rest your forehead against hers and smile. “You’re my heart.”

“You’re my heart, little one.”

“Can I get a sweet moment like this too?” Lena asks and you chuckle, pulling her close for a tight hug.

“You also don’t have to worry about anyone taking your place.” You say softly in her ear. “You carried me inside of you for nine months, and I’ll carry you inside of me for the rest of my life.”

“Oh God.” Lena says, choking up and wetting the back of your t-shirt with her tears. “I swear this is the loveliest thing someone has ever told me.”

“It’s true.” You smile and kiss her forehead right after. “I love you mom.”

“Oh, I love you, babygirl.”

“And we’re stronger together.” You say, and feel their arms go around you at the same time, in a family hug.

Sure you will miss being called ‘honey’ and ‘sweetheart’, but nothing beats being called ‘little one’ and ‘babygirl’. And nothing ever will. National City may not make you feel as good as Storybrooke did, but the people here surely make up for that.

[officialleehadan]

Claxon Call

The Quasar was a ship unlike any ever built. In fact, it wasn’t built as a single ship at all, but was rather a series of destroyers that had been fused together. The garden domes, were added later, and so were most of the more serious weapons, and armor. All in all, it was a fortress, and not one that most people were willing to challenge.

So when the claxons sounded, and the shields dropped, Cuira called her handmaidens together, sat them down, and determinedly kept calm.

“There is nothing we can do to affect the battle,” Cuira told them as she took a seat beneath her lemon tree again, and reached for her basket. It held half a dozen half-finished projects of various sorts, and she chose one at random. The one that came to hand was her bobbin-lace pillow, and she got it settled on her lap with hands that barely shook. It wasn’t her first space-battle, and she was used to being left to wait and see what happened. “Better to get comfortable. Does anyone have anything to read aloud?”

“Bess has a book of poetry,” Mariza said. Like Cuira, she was afraid, but she hid it well. All of Cuira’s handmaidens had some combat training, but they were chosen to be decorative, and as a last chance for survival, not as warriors. She set her picnic basket in the center of their ring in case anyone got hungry. Cuira doubted any of them could stand to eat, but then, she didn’t know any of her six maids terribly well. Mostly, it was because they were a somewhat flighty lot. “Bess, would you read to us? It might- it might help with the noise.”

“Alright,” Bess said, braver than Cuira expected. She was afraid, like they all were, but given a little instruction, she seemed to do reasonably well. “If- If Your Majesty doesn’t mind, it’s mostly about flowers.”

“I don’t mind,” Cuira assured her. Given, poetry about flowers wasn’t her first choice, but they didn’t have much in the way of options unless someone happened to have a communications padd handy, which she rather doubted. Cuira herself preferred actual books in her hands, a product of a decidedly old-fashioned education that put emphasis on the permanence of physical knowledge. Go ahead if you like. The rest of you, talk as you will, but please keep your voices low for those who are listening.”

There was a murmur of frightened agreement around the circle, but some of the tension faded away. Bess was one of the youngest maids, but she read well, and the poems turned out to be about the small personifications of the flowers themselves, and was much more enjoyable than Cuira expected. The rest of the maids spoke quietly amongst themselves, and offered soft thanks when Cuira opened her craft-basket to them.

Anything that helped to distract frum the thunderous explosions that rocked the ship was welcome.

A claxon sounded in the distance, just near enough to be heard, and Cuira determinedly ignored it. Either there was danger, or there wasn’t, and there was very little chance any of them would be much help in any situation at present. Another claxon sounded, closer this time, and the garden dome shuddered furiously as something struck it.

It went on for more than an hour. The shudder of impact on the dome, and the ship around it. The claxons that sounded, and silenced, and sounded again somewhere else. The distinctive rumble of the Quasar’s huge engines roaring to life, ready to maneuver them amidst the unseen fight outside. Cuira determinedly kept her mind on her project, and her ears on Bess’s poetry as her maids talked nervously around her. When the battle came up as a topic, she gently steered them onto softer topics.

No need to allow themselves to become frantic.

Halfway through the battle, Cuira noticed the gardeners of the dome creeping closer, not out of aggression, but seeking what little stability they could find in the moment. She caught their eyes, one by one, and gave each a small nod of permission. One by one, they settled, politely distant from her circle of maids, but close enough to hear Bess.

Perhaps some would scold her for allowing the workers of the ship so near, but she knew these gardeners. They were often the friendliest faces she saw all day, and they never bothered her when she sought the peace of the gardens. Now, they were afraid, and she could offer them some comfort in return.

A massive explosion made the whole ship tilt, and the stabilizers fired. Cuira found herself tumbling sideways as the ground dropped away to her left. Flailing hands caught hers, and she pulled herself into a tight knot with her maids, supported by the planters to either side of them.

“Stay calm,” she instructed, even though her own heart pounded. She hoped it didn’t show in her voice. “His Majesty will settle matters soon enough. There is no reason to panic.”

Mariza snorted in her ear, and Cuira elbowed her, but didn’t comment. Soon enough, the ship tilted back to level, and Cuira breathed a sigh of relief. When no more explosions followed, she gathered her lace back onto her lap, and put her back to the planter just in case the ship listed again. It took Bess two tries to start reading again, but she managed it and Cuira gave her a smile of approval. Perhaps she had been too hard on her maids. They were doing their best, and she was not an easy charge.

Finally, the alarms silenced, and did not return. The explosions faded away, and the Quasar fell still, at peace once more. Cuira waited until Bess finished her latest poem, about the mischievous spirit of a chestnut tree, and then got to her feet. The rest of her maids scrambled to follow.

“It seems the battle is over,” she said, and shook her skirts out, before she tucked her lace away in her basket. It went over to redheaded Nina, who looped it over her arm without a word. “Mariza, Whiloh, Hanni, Brihn, with me. The rest of you, back to my chambers. With luck, I will return soon with news. Until then, be safe and stay out of the way if you can. We don’t know what new enemy has dared to attack our home.”

+++ Forging an Empire:

Cuira was sent to marry a man who would soon rule a substantial part of their galaxy. She would have been happier about it if she had a chance to meet him first.

Garden Dome

+++

More Stories!

+++

[wakatvshi]

roman holiday | porco galliard x reiner’s sister!reader. pt1.

warnings:  obviously season 4 anime spoilers

word count: 3316

gif credit: ackersoul

authors note: so this is the first part of my porco x reader fic! the reader is reiner’s sister and you can decide if you want to say they’re adopted/half-siblings/full siblings or not because I left that totally open for you! feedback is loved so if you like this let me know! also since we don’t know the exact timeline I’ve messed around with it but it’s still canonverse. 

summary: falling in love with porco galliard wasn’t a simple thing. keeping that love a secret wasn’t either. but telling your brother that you were in love with the man who did his best to make his life hell? even harder. 

Your hand was holding tightly onto your mothers arm as you stood at the gates. The soldiers had returned today, that meant your brother and cousin would be coming home. Should be coming home. In war anything could happen and where your mother assured everyone who would listen that Reiner was strong and would make Marley proud you couldn’t help but worry. The warriors' mission to Paradis proved that even titans could be taken down, it wasn’t something your mother ever accepted but you did. The idea that something could have happened to Reiner or Gabi and they wouldn’t come home wouldn’t leave you. 

As much as you wanted to believe, you knew your brother, you’d seen him wake up from nightmares and listened to him talk when he had a little too much to drink. No one but you seemed to actually notice that he wasn’t the same, he wasn’t as strong as your mother boasted. Not that you’d ever say anything to anyone, not even your mother. You’d tried to bring it up before, ask if she thought he was okay and she scolded you for doubting him when he was strong enough to be a warrior. Something she enjoyed reminding you, you weren’t. 

Those fears were erased when the gates opened and you watched Gabi walk in smiling. Relief filled you and you let yourself relax, even smile when she ran to your aunt and uncle. The other warriors filed in as well and your eyes locked onto a tall blonde but your mothers voice took your attention away from him. As Reiner walked towards you, you couldn’t miss how tired and worn out he looked. But still he smiled as he walked over to you, hugging you both. 

As soon as he let go of you, your mother was fawning over him. Walking towards your home you listened as she talked about the beard he was growing. He hummed and agreed quietly when she gave him time to speak. You were silently by your brothers side, the man still comforting to you. Reiner was the prize sibling and you knew that, he was the warrior, he was the reason you wore the red arm bands. You hadn’t wanted a titan, you’d never have voiced that to anyone but you were thankful you weren’t chosen and upset that he was. Upset that you’d lose your brother in two years now. 

When you were in the warrior program you’d failed spectacularly at the physical tasks, but your mind was where you shined. That was why when you were pulled out of the warrior program you were sent to learn with medics and hopefully you’d become a doctor when they deemed you ready. Hopefully that would be soon, they were letting you work with people on your own recently, with you researching titans more you could be placed with the warrior’s yourself. You were proud of that and you tried to talk to your mother about it, if you did well you could get a red arm band on your own, but Reiner had already done it and that was what mattered to her. 

The dinner that she’d planned with your family ended up worse than you’d expected. You’d been hoping for a calm dinner, getting to talk to Reiner and Gabi after them being gone for so long but that hadn’t happened. You had to listen to your mother talk about how proud she was that Gabi would be the one to take the armor, that her niece would eat her son. Then your uncle asked about Reiner’s time on Paradis and it ended in your mother blowing up. You’d heard him slip up like that before, not often but enough that as soon as he was asked about it you knew it was going to end badly, just as it did. 

You’d silently helped your mother clean up, she wasn’t in a talking mood and Reiner had long retired to his room. As much as you wanted to talk to your mother the look on her face made it clear she didn’t want any conversation. However when your eyes lingered too long on your brothers door she spoke. “Leave him.” Quickly your eyes fell to the plates in front of you as you washed them. “He’s not thinking right. He needs to get used to being out of war.” 

You wanted to laugh, he’d not been thinking right for a long time but she didn’t care about that. Not until he effected her and their image. But it was always easier to agree with her and let it go. “Gabi was lucky. She got to know what it’s like before she has to take on a titan.” Reiner’s titan. You didn’t want to think about that, you couldn’t think about him being gone. 

Your mothers hands were still you could see the slight shake in her hands but she distracted herself by smoothing out her skirt and walking back towards the table to clean up. “I can finish this myself.” You’d said something wrong. You didn’t know what but it wasn’t often that you really did know what was bothering her. Oh If you tried to help you got pushed away, she was stubborn, just like Reiner and yourself. 

The thought of going to talk to Reiner did enter your mind but you decided against it. You’d talk to him tomorrow when you didn’t have your mother hovering over your shoulder. It was raining when you stepped outside, the mist blowing in your face as you stood under the awning, happy that you were able to get away.. You weren’t a fan of confrontation, especially when it came to your family. As much as you wanted to play peacemaker, there was only so much you could do to help when Reiner wouldn’t talk and your mother never listened. So many times it felt like you were banging your head against the wall and there wasn’t really any escape for that. You craved freedom, any kind of freedom. 

There was one thing that you had that made you feel free, something you were desperate to cling to but afraid to share with the world. Afraid that if you did it would be taken away from you. When you heard footsteps there was a second where you panicked before you realized you knew the walk. A light smile came to your face as you turned to see the personification of your freedom walking towards you. 

“You’re going to get soaked if you stay out in the rain Galliard.” You teased as he walked towards you. You’d missed him more than you could ever say. Not being able to go to him at the gate was harder than you thought it would be. Everything in you had wanted to launch yourself at him but you had to stop yourself. No one knew about the two of you and you weren’t ready for anyone to know. It was selfish, you knew that but you didn’t want anything to ruin what you had. 

He raised an eyebrow as he looked at you on the porch, “You’re not looking all that dry yourself Braun.” You could tell something was off in his voice and it was pretty obvious what it was. “You wanna take a walk?” Porco wasn’t usually one to beat around the bush, he was always a direct person no matter what the consequence might be. The fact that he wanted to get away from your house was a clear sign that what was on his mind was important. 

Glancing back at the door you considered saying no, putting off any anger he might have. But after so long being apart from him, you wanted to be around him no matter what. Not to mentioned that with a few well-placed kisses he went from angry to kitten in seconds. “Yeah, I don’t think my mom will even notice I’m gone.” It was just supposed to be a passive comment but you couldn’t hide the slight venom in your voice. 

The rain wasn’t heavy, it felt kind of nice as the two of you walked. There was also the added fact that not many people were outside right now. You’d say it was romantic if Porco wasn’t as distant as he was. Usually he’d have you close to him if you were alone, even outside in public like this he’d have you at his side. Right now you walked behind him though, you’d tried to walk next to him but he didn’t pay you any attention when you did. You couldn’t just let yourself stand there and be rejected so you fell in step behind him. 

You knew exactly where he was taking you. There was a park that the two of you used to go to, to get away from everyone. Mostly elderly people went there to relax but the gazebo always ended up empty enough for you and Porco to be alone without people bothering the two of you. You’d come out here once since he’d left, sat in the middle and let yourself pretend for a few moments that you weren’t alone then. But the reality made you too upset and you avoided it. Going back with him while he was angry wasn’t something you really wanted to do. 

Following him up the steps you shook some of the water off yourself as he went to stand against one of the pillars. You could feel his eyes on you as you ran your fingers through your damp hair but the second you looked to him he was looking away. Letting out a soft sigh you spoke, “I’ve not been here in a long time.” You didn’t want the storm you knew was in his mind to grow anymore. “It feels wrong to come here without you.” He let out a hum but other than that was quiet, it was quickly getting under your skin. “Porco.” 

“You know you could have at least said hi or something. I don’t think it’s that hard I mean I was able to talk to my parents and Pieck’s dad.” When he was in a bad mood he wanted everyone to be in a bad mood. It hurt but there was truth in his words. 

Stepping closer to him you put your hands against his chest. Taking a moment to appreciate that he really was back. Porco was solid and in front of you, not one of the dreams you’d been having the whole time he was gone. If he’d let you, you’d wrap your arms around him and hold him there. But when he was in this mood you were lucky he was even letting you touch him. It was only because he missed you as well you were sure. 

“You know my mom. If I had moved and not looked… perfect while we waited she’d have been pissed. She got mad I was fidgeting too much as it was.” Stand there, always look like the perfect family, proud in your red armbands. A nice mask that she loved you and Reiner to put on. There was a little ease on his face, he knew enough about your mother from your talks about her. He was the only person you’d complain about her to other than Reiner. “And then as soon as Reiner got there we had to show off her big warrior hero.” 

As soon as the words left your lips he was rolling his eyes and stepping away from you. “Big hero warrior?” He snorted. “Yeah that’s funny.” Narrowing your eyes at your boyfriend you waited for him to say something else. You’d hated this rivalry they had going ever since Reiner was chosen for the Armor over Porco. That was part of the reason you wanted to keep it a secret. “No I’m serious! Your family should be thanking me. I’m the only reason he’s even alive!”

Your eyes widened and he looked guilty for a second, “What do you mean? How bad was he hurt?” Reiner wouldn’t have told you he got hurt. That was just like him, he never wanted anyone to worry about him when that was impossible for you. 

“He just took some heavy hits that’s all. He’s alive and he’s fine now so all I’m saying is that he’s alive because of me. So you should at least give me some credit.” The annoyance slipped off his face for a second and you could see the sadness in his eyes. “You didn’t even look at me Y/N.” 

Everything in you wanted to protest that, you had looked at him but he was with his parents when you did. But who could blame him for being focused on them. They’d already lost one son, the idea that they could lose Porco was probably a greater fear for them than it was you. You’d been there when that Ymir woman was brought back and Porco was told that she’d taken Marcel’s jaw. You’d offered to go with him when his parents found out but he’d declined your offer. It made sense to you later, that he was too emotional and didn’t like anyone seeing him like that. 

“I’m sorry. I tried but…” You didn’t really have a good excuse other than your selfishness to keep your relationship with him a secret. “I should have said something, I know that. Not being able to go to you drove me crazy. I just knew that you’d come to find me tonight.” 

He stared at you again, trying to figure out what to say. You could see the emotions cross his face before he ran his hand through his hair slicking it back more. A nervous habit of his that you usually found endearing. “I don’t want to do this anymore. The hiding I mean. It was fun for a while. Sneaking around and the whole thrill of being caught but not anymore.” He was right, you couldn’t hide this forever and you didn’t want to. You loved him, you wanted to be with him. Porco reached out and took your hand. You’d never seen this look in his eyes before and it scared you. “I’ve got nine years left.” 

Shaking your head you tightened your grip on his hand, “We don’t need to talk about that.” You kept those thoughts out of your head as much as you could. Your brother, your best friend and your boyfriend. Reiner, Pieck and Porco were all going to die because of this curse and it wasn’t something you were good at facing. 

“Yes we do! It’s happening and I don’t want to spend all this time hiding from everyone.” You didn’t want to think about it but Porco was right. As soon as you accepted that you felt anything for him that the time you had together was limited. It was why you were hesitant to start anything, no matter how big your crush on him had been. 

Still, you were hesitant to open up to people about it. Being with a warrior was an honor to other Eldians, but there was always mention of the short time you had together. You knew for a while that would be all you heard. Any event would be ‘cherish it while it lasts’. It would be a constant reminder. Not to mention your family. Oh your mother would be happy, she’d brag about it, probably insinuate how you’d finally done something right. Being in a romantic relationship with a warrior was more impressive to her than your own actions. 

But what held you back was mostly Reiner. He wouldn’t actually be angry at you but the fact that you were dating his biggest rival was probably not something he would enjoy. You’d been there for the fights they’d have at HQ when you were all younger. Or more like you’d be there when Porco would beat the hell out of him.  Then you’d listened to both of them when Reiner was chosen for the Armored Titan over Porco. The fights they’d had over that would get bad enough but Porco’s reaction to finding out that Marcel had died to save Reiner was something else entirely. After four years you’d waited for your brothers to come home and only yours had. 

Reiner’s reaction wasn’t something you could predict but you didn’t think it would be too positive. Even if he pretended it was for your benefit you would be able to tell if it was fake. You didn’t want the chance that he’d be disappointed in you. But you knew you had to, you loved Reiner and he was your brother. You’d do anything for him. But Porco? When you thought of your future it was with Porco. You threw away all of your hesitations when it came to him, every caution you’d ever taken to not get close to anymore of the warriors was gone and for him. 

Easing your grip on his hand you laced your fingers together, “You’re right.” Porco looked surprised for a few seconds but recovered when you kept talking. “I know you’re right, I just liked being alone with you. With no one telling me to count the years I have with you. People always love to remind me of that with Reiner already. I hate hearing it and I just… if no one knew no one could remind me.” 

Porco’s hand cupped your cheek and you leaned into his touch, it had been so long since you’d been near him and felt his touch. “Who gives a shit what they say? Who cares about how much time we have when we’re better than them anyway.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his words, “It’s true! The people who say that are the idiots who have nothing better to do than pay too much attention to everything we do. They don’t matter. We do.” 

Taking his hand you pressed a kiss to his palm, causing him to scoff and look away from you, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “We can tell people. And make a few people jealous in the meantime.” Porco always liked when you bragged about him, he’d like the idea of people getting jealous of the two of you and you knew that. “But I get to tell Reiner.” 

Porco pulled his hand away from your face as he rolled his eyes, “Who cares who tells him as long as he finds out?”

“I do. Because you’ll be an asshole about it and you can’t even deny that.” Porco would take too much pleasure in telling your brother and probably find some way to make it about sex just to bother him. Which was the opposite of what you wanted. The stern look on your face faded when you had to voice the second reason it had to be you who told Reiner. “And I’ve always told him everything. When he finds out I didn’t tell him about this… I don’t know if he’ll be upset that I didn’t tell him about this.” 

There had been so many secrets between the two of you since he got back. You knew why, you knew he wasn’t allowed to talk about his time on Paradis. But even beyond that you’d gotten almost nothing out of him. It was getting to the point where Gabi was worried and to her Reiner was some unbreakable force and even at her age she was starting to see through that. You’d seen it on her face at dinner.

“Fine. Just make it soon okay?” Before you could give a response Porco grabbed your chin and kissed you. It was just a simple press of his lips but right then it felt like everything. “I hated not being able to kiss my girl when I got back.”

[goldencorecrunches]

WHO’S READY FOR MORE QUICK-BANGED-OUT MODREN WANGNINXIAN

(Part I) (Part II)

--

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying have the kind of love that epic poems are built on. The kind that boils seas and tumbles mountains, that could raise the dead or put whole nations under the ground. The kind that little girls sigh about, and old men speak of in memory, a twinkle in their eye, gnarled hands and age-smoothed wedding rings. They are not dating. Wen Ning is the person who most often has to break this news, as the one who is most frequently around them both. He has worked out a system: people that matter get a “no, they’re not together, really,” followed by a return of the inevitable incredulous look. People who don’t matter, or who Wen Ning doesn’t expect they’ll ever see again, get a “yes,” because it’s the closest Wen Ning can come to describing who they are to each other without the long-winded explanation. (Once, three shots in at a bar—so not sober, but not drunk enough to find it amusing—he snapped and told a particularly persistent busybody that they were in fact both dating him, and then had to go hide in the toilets until he could face his friends again. Wei Ying laughed so hard, when Wen Ning shamefacedly came clean, that he spilled his violently pink mixed drink all down his front and Wen Ning and Lan Zhan had to dab him down with cocktail napkins. Wen Ning made the mistake of meeting the busybody’s eyes again across the room and was granted the sight of their poor beer-sodden brain finally deciding not to ask for a threesome.)

Trying to convince Lan Zhan in the middle of a twee café that his deep, life-defining romance is reciprocated is beyond Wen Ning’s ability even when he isn’t dead on his feet from back-to-back shifts. They should talk more about it, he knows, but the relief that Lan Zhan doesn’t hate him is so heavy it steals all his will to do anything else but put his head down on his crossed arms and nap. And then Wei Ying swings back within grabbing distance, draping an arm over Lan Zhan’s shoulders and setting a plate of some kind of honey cake in front of Wen Ning, and the window for the discussion is lost.

It may be for the best (it’s not for the best. Wen Ning knows enough about relationships to know that, but dammit it’s so hard to do what the “How To Interact With People Like You’re Not An Anxious Mess, You Anxious Mess” books he has piled ten deep on his nightstand tell him). Wen Ning is consumed with the thought that Lan Zhan doesn’t regret kissing him. That Lan Zhan liked it. That Lan Zhan might—do it again. Oh, fuck. It might happen again. Wen Ning never made a plan for this possibility, mainly because he didn’t think it was one. “You’re stressing,” his sister tells him, flat and to the point as usual. Maybe some time, long ago, A-Jie entertained nonsense, but by now she’s been sucked dry of ten women’s worth of patience, and she does not, as she tells people frequently, have time for that shit. She scoots across the floor, rubber tires squeaking, and pokes a finger in Wen Ning’s face. “Stop it.” Renting an apartment actually built with a wheelchair user in mind was the first, and so far the biggest, change he and A-Jie had made when A-Jie graduated and got a job and went from pouring all her money into the medical establishment to having the medical establishment pour some back.  The counters are lower than what is comfortable for Wen Ning’s considerable vertical reach, so as the person who does most of the cooking he stacks up thrifted cutting boards to make a chopping surface that doesn’t hurt his back to bend over. It is indicative of their respective characters that he is the one holding the ten-inch knife and yet A-Jie is the one making him flinch. “I’m not,” Wen Ning says, halfhearted at best; A-Jie narrows her eyes and humphs, and Wen Ning sighs and scrapes the diced tomatoes into the frying pain waiting on the burner. They crack and pop as they hit the oil, spattering; Wen Ning is immune to the splash by now, and he is, besides, wearing long sleeves. “What if it get-t, if tonight is weird?” He says, focusing on the contrast between his hands and the dark green leaves of the leeks, the thunk-thunk-thunk of the knife. They’re sandy, near the base; he has been distracted, if he forgot to wash these properly. Turning on the sink gives him something to do other than keep talking and wind his thoughts deeper into their spiral. “Then it’ll be weird,” his sister says, dismissive. Wen Ning looks at her, fanning the leaves under the tap, exasperated; she softens and nudges the faucet over so Wen Ning doesn’t have to reach so far. “Listen. The three of you are weird enough together that if it is weird, it won’t be anything strange. Weird but not weird, you know? They wouldn’t have invited you if they didn’t want you to come.” “Wei Ying might.” A-Jie snorts. “Okay, true. But Lan Zhan would definitely not.” She has him there. “I guess,” Wen Ning says, though A-Jie has cheered him up at least a little. He dodges the wet hand she tries to whack him with, skittering out of reach against the stove. “Hey! I’m making you dinner! Ungrat-teful!” “Always,” Wen Qing sniffs, putting her nose in the air, and Wen Ning breaks down and smiles. --

 Like most things, A-Jie is right about this. There’s a moment of awkward shuffling when Lan Zhan answers the door, the two of them doing their best not to meet each other’s gazes; but once Wen Ning has taken his shoes off and collapsed onto the couch with a can of the terrible soda Wei Ying likes and Wen Ning has been conditioned into liking as well, it doesn’t feel abnormal. They’ve had fights before, of course: all said this is a lot less uncomfortable than the prickly-polite aftermath of those, and by the time Wei Ying bounds from his bedroom, chosen movie raised like a holy book overhead, he and Lan Zhan have assumed their usual movie-watching position and Wen Ning has been regaled with a bitingly hilarious story of the client Lan Zhan has who smacks her lips every third syllable and will not stop. (If Wen Ning has to work a little bit harder tonight not to stare at the movement of Lan Zhan’s own lips, the quiet flicker of his tongue—well. That’s nothing abnormal, either.) Wei Ying sticks the DVD in, humming a tune Wen Ning is fairly certain he’s invented himself, and plops his lanky body sideways across the two available laps. Wen Ning gets his head, tonight, and sticks his soda-cold fingers on the back of Wei Ying’s neck to make him squeal and thrash. Lan Zhan grabs his ankles to keep from getting kicked in the face and together they manhandle Wei Ying into a position where nobody’s elbows are in anybody’s crotches. Of course, Wei Ying is as incapable of remaining still as Wen Ning is of unassisted flight, but it’s the routine of it all that matters.They make it all the way to the first big fight scene before Wei Ying and his tiny bladder demand a break. He rolls to the floor instead of standing, narrowly avoiding clonking his head on the coffee table (he has, before—Wen Ning has seen it), and half-crawls to the bathroom shouting dire threats if either of them press play without him. Wen Ning has both hands over his mouth to hide his laughter. Ah; he hopes Wei Ying never changes. There’s a whisper from the cushions next to him, and Wen Ning looks over to see that Lan Zhan has gotten a lot closer. He startles, and then turns his laugh on himself, deprecating; it’s not the first time he and Lan Zhan have gravitated towards cuddling on movie night. “Do you wan—” he starts, raising his arm, and he has a moment to see a hard determined look cross over Lan Zhan’s face before he’s being kissed. Again. But, it is not the same. Immediately Lan Zhan’s mouth is insistent, pressing Wen Ning back into the embroidered throw pillows that Wen Ning is vaguely sure Lan Zhan’s older brother gave him upon move-in and have not been changed since. He’s warm, all of him; his hands, bracketing Wen Ning’s cheeks; his chest, hovering above the oversized buttons of Wen Ning’s sweater; his knees, parted on either side of Wen Ning’s thighs as Lan Zhan crawls into his lap. Holy shit, Wen Ning thinks, through a muddled haze, he’s in my lap, and then decides he’d better focus on the kissing thing. The kissing thing—oh, the kissing thing. Lan Zhan kisses like a hurricane, and it is all Wen Ning can do to keep up. He is panting before he realizes it, little puffs of air across Lan Zhan’s lips, and then Lan Zhan dips his tongue into the heat of Wen Ning’s mouth and a zip of electric current crackles all the way from the backs of his teeth to his dick. He makes a truly embarrassing little whimper. That seems, if it is possible, to spur Lan Zhan on further; he slides one wide palm around to the back of Wen Ning’s head and pulls at the strands, and Wen Ning’s mouth falls so far open Lan Zhan has to bite at it to get him to focus. Wen Ning fumbles to press between Lan Zhan’s shoulder blades, urging him closer, and has just discovered the soul-changing revelation of sucking on Lan Zhan’s upper lip when the sound of the toilet flushing echoes down the hall. Wen Ning jerks back so hard it makes an audible smacking sound, when they separate. He can feel that his face is burning. Lan Zhan is looking at him quizzically, head tilted; he is not making any attempt to remove himself from Wen Ning’s lap. “Aahh,” Wen Ning says, strangled. He swallows, and tries again. “Wh—aah, isn’t, here mayb- not?” “Maybe not for what?” Wei Ying’s voice says, sing-song. The bathroom door slams; Wen Ning winces. He can’t seem to make his fingers let go of Lan Zhan’s waist. “Were you two planning a murder without me? I told you the best place to store bodies is in…the….” Perhaps, Wen Ning thinks wildly in complete and utter silence, this is all a dream. If it is, he should wake up…now. Now. Now! “Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying says, in a broken-down-toy-wagon of a voice. “Wen Ning?”

[stxleslyds]

MY TOUGHTS ON PART THREE OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY :)

A DC RENDITION OF THE SONG “MOTHER KNOWS BEST” FROM TANGLED.

Here I will leave the links to my reviews of Part 1 and Part 2

Well, here we are, three issues in this story of only six parts and i still cant tell if i like it or not. What i know for sure tho is that Zdarsky never read any Red Hood books, i had my suspicions but now i am at least 95% sure.

This Jason has been nerfed. We had a perfectly balanced Jason back in 2005 he was smart, skilled, confident and strategic. Then from 2011 to 2020 (let’s put the fact that Lobdell is trash aside for a moment) Jason was skilled, he had the whole “chosen one” thing going on with the all-castle, and in some moments you could even see him being quick witted and confident. But now in this first half of this story he is extremely insecure, his skill set and expertise is barely there and is presented as just reckless. 

The other day i was talking about how DC treats Jason, how they just can’t decide on who he is, what motivates him or what he wants. His personality is a whole ass mess, it was fine in 2005 and 2010 when Winick wrote him but then Lobdell from years 2011 to 2020 just couldn't decide what he wanted to do with Jason or his relationship with Batman and his rules. After Lobdell finally left Jason was passed around people who either only read Lobdell's work, or didn't read anything from him or didn't take into account Jason's life because their book was set in a future that may never happen. 

What i am trying to say is that Jason doesn't have a personality, and writers don't really add things to the Jason that we “know”, what they do is start his story from zero over and over again. There is no consistency to Jason's character and while you could argue that maybe this new start could be the definite version of Jason Todd/Red Hood i will point out that this nerfed version of him is a major disservice to the character that he was when he was brought back to DC.

It’s simply not nice. 

And in this particular issue the “Jason isn't that good at this whole vigilante gig” is even more pushed because of the whole “batman knows best” bullshit. I am not getting this (anthologies) book with a Red Hood story just for Batman to come in and be like “I am actually good at this job, you know nothing AND i have the moral high-ground”, this is NOT it.

If you are reading a Red Hood story chances are that you will be interested in Red Hood not Batman. 

Oh one more thing, Jason was an excellent Robin. He was kind, smart and skilled. I liked the flashbacks in UtRH because it showed Jason being all that but he also understood a couple of things about the kind of criminals that Gotham had, your common thug is easily scared of the concept of Batman but the dress-ups knew that no matter what they did the Bat would never kill them, that’s what Jason thought about criminals there.

This Robin Jason is treated rather poorly by Zdarsky at times, he feels insecure and inferior to Dick but he is also dismissive of him and the Robin mantle in the first issue, now in this one he is shown as way too reckless (which is kinda bad because it feeds into DCs favorite trope of “Jason’s death was Jason’s fault”) and his stance on “low level” criminals is weird, like it was made clear that drug related criminals are Jason’s biggest issue, thieves were not. 

Those are my general thoughts on this issue and the current state of Jason’s characterization. I have some panels from this issue that i want to talk about in more depth tho, so here we go. 

The issue stars were we left off once more, Tyler defends Jason and when Batman asks who he is Tyler says that he is the Blue Hood, that was really sweet of him, that child is adorable and he needs to be protected. 

Once the Bat distracts Tyler Jason tells the Bat that the man he killed was Tyler’s dad. 

There are a couple of things i want to point out from these panels, Jason feels incredibly guilty, not about killing Andy but about leaving Tyler in a situation that is similar to the one he was left in when his own mother died. He still believes that Andy was not a good man and deserved to be dead, after all he was drugging his own son and was the reason Tyler’s mom overdosed and is now in the hospital. It just hits incredibly close to home for Jason and i understand completely. 

The other thing i want to point out is that Jason says “I know your rules. No killing in Gotham” so, this is (to me) confirmation that Jason hasn’t killed in a long time and that he has been sticking to the Bat's rules (at least in Gotham). Andy (a drug-dealer) is the only person that Jason has killed since the events of UtRH (that are apparently canon in this story because it was mentioned in the first issue). 

Following this conversation the Bat says that he will take care of Tyler’s mother (yikes, i really thought in my last post that Jason was the one who would have tried to get her the help she needed, to me it seems more appropriate if Jason does it given that this is his story but what do I know) 

This is where this Red Hood story transforms into the Batman show.

Not only will Bruce take care of Tyler's mom but he will clean up the mess and shut down the making of the drug all by himself. Jason tells him that he will do it but the Bat tells Jason that if he wants to do it they will have to do it together because there is no way he is letting Jason out of his sight, he made a mess!

Yes, nothing like making the lead character look incompetent at his job. Love that for Jason.

Before the team up starts Batman and Red Hood go to Leslie's place to leave Tyler with her. This is a good moment only because there is a dog involved, well…Tyler, Jason and a dog are involved, best panel in the whole issue? I think yes.

Maybe I have a couple more panels that are my favs in this issue, here they are, a lil bit of positivity in this extra bitter post.

Now I will be honest, I hate Batman (Bruce’s Batman, love Dick Bats he was the MVP) so him saying that he is helping a Robin makes me want to shoot him. You are not helping; you are overtaking, as you do. Never a team player, the Batgod must always be the center of the show.

Back in the new cave Bruce talks to Jason about the drug and who he thinks might be behind it's production. He also makes sure to let Jason know that he is very smart and might be the only person outside of Crane's circle that knows how analyze a very unstable compound…weird flex but okay. He also teases Jason about his detective skills. Yay.

Flashback time! Get ready!

Robin Jason and Batman are at a crime scene and Jason doesn’t seem to be in the mood to play CSI: Gotham with Bruce.

At one moment Jason says “and then we will stomp the guy who did this” (“this” being murder), which makes Jim Gordon (who came to see if batman was done playing Sherlock Holmes) uncomfortable, so Batman tells Jason to wait for him. As Jason is going he sees someone acting suspicious.

Back to present day Batman and Red Hood are visiting the woman that created the compound that makes Fear Gas, the interrogation starts well but because this is the Batman show and Jason is bad at reading people and asking questions we have a scene that shows Jason being a bit too much.

I honestly thought that the first question was fair, but then after they leave the office they were in Batman basically goes on a rant about the things that Jason missed.

Ok, I get it Batman = good vigilante. Red Hood = Incompetent.

Zdarsky is honestly trying to make us believe that Jason hasn’t picked up any of those things, in his years as Robin with Batman AND Nightwing? They both taught him, there is no way Jason doesn’t know the basics of how to read people. Also do you guys remember Jason in UtRH and Lost Days? That guy read people perfectly, how is UtRH canon in this story, did Jason lose his skills in the explosion when he blew up the Joker?

As if that wasn’t enough Batman calls Red Hood reckless after they don’t agree on what to do next.

To this I say the following: Never again make me believe that Jason will willingly work with Batman. They don’t work together and neither are willing to meet each other halfway, even less let the other lead. This makes the idea of Jason following the Bat’s rules and him being part of the “Batfamily” the joke that it actually is.

They don’t work well together anymore; bring duality back to Gotham 2021.

Back in the past where the previous flashback is resumed we have Jim telling Batman that the new Robin seems a bit too rough around the edges. Did Jim ever meet Dick as Robin? I mean, don’t get me wrong, Dick was a sweetheart but he also beat criminals alongside batman every night. It just doesn’t feel like what Jason said was that much of a violent statement or anything, maybe I just don’t get it.

But don’t worry if you don’t get it, because we are shown Robin Jason going after that suspicious man, he is beating him asking if he knows anything about the murder or what exactly he was doing so close to the crime scene when Batman arrives. Through Batman we are told that that man was no longer a criminal, to which Jason says this, “…The guy is a jewel thief! He will always be a thief” and Batman responds “I refuse to believe that. Didn’t I meet you in the middle of stealing the Batmobile’s tires?”

I can’t believe Bruce went full “It’s over Jason. I have the moral high ground” on Robin Jason.

I mean Jason is OOC, we know this, but he has to be that way in order to make Batman look better when compared to a child. DC hates Jason Todd #Confirmed.

It kinda reminds me of that thing DC does with Dick and Barbara, Dick is skilled and smart as long as Barbara isn’t in the room, if she is then Dick will forget to check if there is someone inside his apartment and then be thrown across the room by her and then be told that he sucks at putting security in his living space.

Moving on...back to the present one last time Jason is interrogating a man while he dangles him from the edge of a building (did Dick teach him that? I bet he did.) After getting some information he calls Oracle so he can make sure that the place he is going to is safe. Oracle tells him the she will help him but she did not like the fact that the last time she helped him someone ended up dead.

Now, fair warning, Barbara and Jason big NO for me and after Geoff Johns and his antics in Three Jokers I have zero love for their “team-ups”.

Jason says this, 

Believing in him? Excuse me? Chonky, baby, she only helped you find a building.

All I can do at this point is pray to whichever god or whoever hears that this does not lead to Jason pinning for Barbara. We don’t need it (Barbara doesnt need it), I might be overreacting, I hope I am, but nobody wants that kind of drama right now, thanks.

When he arrives to the place he was looking for I think everyone can tell that it’s a trap, everyone but Jason apparently. 

How on earth does Jason not realize it’s a trap up until it’s too late? Are you joking? Is this a Red Hood story? Are we really doing this? Just how incompetent is Jason in Zdarsky’s eyes?

Freeze…is it Freeze? I don’t care but he is there, he freezes Jason and that’s the end of the issue.

Listen, I wish I could say that this is the worst Jason has been treated and that this book is horrible, I wish but I can’t. I can’t do it because this isn’t the worst characterization or book of Jason, this is still a pretty good story, could it be better? Yes.

I mean this story is written by someone who obviously doesn’t know Jason and that sucks but it still isnt the worst characterization and it messes me up. Three Jokers was worse than this, certain plot decisions in Future State: Red Hood were worse than this (in my opinion) and Lobdell’s New52 RHatO was pure trash (that is the worst book, just horrible please dont read it). 

I am saying this only to make it clear that even tho this issue was painful (mostly if you don’t like Batman) I still have hope that it can turn out to be good. I cant help it, i want and need this story to be good and there is still time for it to get better. 

Alright thats all i have to say, let me know what you thought about this issue and my review, bye!

[bookwyrminspiration]

the way forkle just dismissed sophie's unmatchable status like it didn't even matter made me so mad. like. she's already an outcast and lots of people are against her existence. and then boom. she's also kinda inevitably going to be a bad match if she gets married. and if she wants to fix said status, she'll probably have to do it herself by starting protests or initiating the idea to the incompetent councilors first. she's always the one who has to fix things and everyone else reaps the benefit

yes!! this!! it felt so...dismissive? that's not the right word but it is an accurate one. It has "because I say so" vibes, if that makes sense. it didn't feel like he actually heard Sophie out or listened to her concerns, he just told her how things we gonna work without trying to help her understand his reasoning. He had already made his decision and there was nothing anyone could do to convince him, so as far as he was concerned there was nothing Sophie could bring to the conversation.

like, this clearly has importance and meaning to her. she may not have wanted to go through the matchmaking process, but that didn't meant she wanted to be unmatchable (note: the fact that the computers have a setting specifically to say that someone is unmatchable makes me think she isn't the first one, so I wonder who else in the past has been unmatchable. because edaline and a few others also weren't surprised that it was a thing. just a thought I had). She is very obviously upset over this and thinks it's a big deal for many of the reasons you mentioned.

Sophie Foster has never fit in anywhere she exists. She didn't fit in with humans, she doesn't fit in with elven society, and she doesn't fit in with the Black Swan. And her unmatchable status, something that could possibly be fixed with the information Forkle has about her bio parents, is making it worse. the information isn't out yet and I doubt she ever wants it to come out, but that will change how people think of her. It's like the horse DNA thing all over again, just worse. She found out her DNA was modeled after an alicorn and expressed a discomfort with that, to which Mr. Forkle told her it wasn't as bad as she thought and it was never discussed again. And I think he may have wanted the talk about her bio parents to go the same way, but Sophie is older now and can advocate for herself better, and she can act on her own and find her own info a lot easier now.

the way you phrased it, "she's always the one who has to fix things and everyone else reaps the benefit" is very well said. you couldn't be more right, nonsie. With her unmatchable status there's first two choices, accept it or reject it. She rejected it. She doesn't want to live with that, and for good reason. Her life is already hard enough, I think she'd like one thing to go smoothly. if she had accepted it she'd either be forced to become a bad match, and she's already facing enough and doesn't want to do that. Or she could just not date. And we saw that she does want to date! She may not be ready for it right now, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want the option should she choose to put herself out there again.

but she didn't want to just accept it and move on. so to undo that status, she had to either work with the system and somehow provide the information on her genetic parents that she isn't allowed to have, or she can get rid of the entire system. that first one isn't working, and the second one is going to take a monumental amount of effort. like seriously?? starting an entire movement just so she can live her life in peace and have a socially accepted romance as a possibility? it's absurd. she doesn't want to do that. she just wants to live her life happily without drama, yet everything the Black Swan is doing just brings more and more drama into her life and she's frequently at the center of it.

when she tries to raise concerns about it or even just voice how she's feeling, there seems to be no understanding from the Black Swan. Like my good sir (insulting), why aren't you listening to her. She is voicing very valid emotions based on a lifetime of experiences as an outcast, and his response is that...society would suffer if that information was out there? That the Elven world would be brought to its knees? I think it partially ties back to the "I will do everything in power to help me world" and how he sees her accepting her unmatchable status as something that she should do to help her world, and she sees the information he is keeping from her as something she is owed.

I think to her it's just another way she doesn't have a say in her life and the Black Swan does. Less about her being unmatchable and more about the lack of choice and lack of respect she feels. Maybe she would've chosen to ignore the system, maybe she would've thrown out her match lists and done whatever she wanted. But she wasn't allowed that option because of someone else's actions. it has to get tiring, fighting again and again for things that feel like you deserve--like your memories. And she was already so nervous and embarrassed about the whole process--this was something she really opened herself up to despite her discomfort, and it just came back to bite her. Kinda feels like Forkle hit her while she was down.

Forkle felt like he was treating her like a kid who couldn't decide what was best for her or what she wanted, kinda just thinking fondly of her like she didn't have very real and relevant thoughts and emotions about it. Every day I hate Forkle more and more and today is no exception. I am just absolutely furious on Sophie's behalf for all the shit she's been forced through.

(i think I got a little distracted from your original point but I have so many thoughts on the topic it can be difficult to stay on track. thank you for the prompt!)

[behindheremeraldeyes]

DamiRae Week 2021 Monday, May 3rd - Pregnancy/ Parenthood & Family/ In-Laws

title: a cup of tea, please

summary: This is her first time being invited for dinner at the Wayne Mansion as his official girlfriend, and to say she’s nervous would be the understatement of the year. While she waits for them to arrive from an emergency call, perhaps, a nice cup of tea can calm her poor heart. Ao3 / ffnet

.

The path connecting the gates to the main entrance is probably the longest she ever remembers walking in a long time, and the clicking of her black heels against the concrete is starting to sound too loud in her ears. She’s miles away from Gotham, now, and the constant symphony of sirens that is always playing doesn’t reach her ears anymore. The garden is enveloped in peace and quietness, the moonshine bathing the statues and trees with its delicate light.

The Wayne Mansion is a spectacular construction, indeed. Her lavender eyes can’t stop looking around, carefully paying attention to all the details that make this place so impressive. The gothic style, the lit windows and the empowering towers make her feel incredibly small and she can’t help the shivers that run down her spine when she sees the massive water fountain in front of her.

Perhaps, she thinks, it’s a good thing that she came in alone. Raven doesn’t know what kind of face she is making right now, but she knows for sure that her boyfriend would make fun of her for reacting like that. Due to a sudden call from the GCPD requesting the dynamic duo, the empath ended up teleporting herself from Jump City on her own.Though she would always grow worried whenever they received those emergency calls, Damian did promise to meet her at the mansion in one piece so the three of them could have dinner.

Oh, right, the dinner. She feels her heart skipping a beat at the thought, and she has to suppress the urge to bite her lower lip in order not to ruin her lipstick. Of all the monsters and bad guys she has had to face in her life, Raven doesn’t recall ever being this nervous before. All of her primal emotions are screaming at her right now, and some of her inner demons— her father included— are telling her to run and hide in the depths of hell so she won’t have to face what’s to come.

She’s having dinner with the Waynes. However, it’s not just a simple dinner, no. It’s her first dinner as Damian’s official girlfriend— her first dinner meeting his father as his father. And even if she has already encountered Bruce Wayne many times before, she can’t help but think things would be much easier if she believed he was just a rich and eccentric man.

It would certainly be easier if she didn’t know he was, in fact, Batman.

Though she has never had any problems with Bruce since she’s joined the Titans, Raven must admit that she does feel intimidated by the fact that her father-in-law is the Gotham City’s very own Dark Knight. In all of their previous encounters, he has always been very cordial, never disrespecting her or any of her teammates. He is a good man, Damian says so himself. A good man with enough skills to go against every member of the Justice League without a single super-power.

He is a meticulous man, very precise and mysterious. He is her boss, and tonight, he is also her host.

It takes her a while to recompose herself from that wave of emotions, but eventually, Raven reaches the main entrance of the mansion. The mahogany doors are lustrous, and something tells her that the carved details were handmade decades ago. She takes one, last and deep breath, and finally, she reaches for the intercom with her index finger. A loud bell resonates inside the building, and before she has the time to rethink her choices, a muffled voice greets her.

“One moment, miss Roth.”

At those words, the empath is left slightly startled, as she starts playing with her fingers. Judging by the few things she was told her about the manor, Raven believes it’s safe to assume that voice on the speaker belongs to Alfred, the butler. According to her boyfriend’s stories, he has been in the family for at least three generations and he’s probably the one man who knows all of the secrets of the Waynes. Damian always speaks very fondly of him, saying he has always treated him like a boy instead of a potential assassin. Perhaps it wasn’t a very wise decision at the very beginning, but it says a lot about the man he is.

It doesn’t take long before the huge doors swing open in front of her, and as the lights start to creep out, it’s like a whole new world is revealed in front of her. She slowly walks in, her eyes marveled by all the elegance oozing from every corner of that entrance hall, which is probably larger than the house she grew up in.

There’s marble on the floor beneath her feet and a crystal chandelier hanging high above her head. Two spiral staircases unite the first and the second floors, and she notices as the walls are decorated with large, classical paintings of war and winter woods. There’s a brunet woman beautiful portrayed in one of those frames, and something tells her she must be Bruce’s mother. Though subtle, it’s undeniable that Damian shares a lot of his delicate features with her.

He has her cheeks, she thinks, a tender smile taking over her lips. It’s a pure emotion contrasting her current uneasiness, and right now, it’s enough to provide her some sort of comfort.

Even if Raven is completely absorbed by whole scenario around her, she’s quick to notice his presence in the room. Though her ears didn’t realize exactly when he arrived at the entrance hall, her senses are quick to detect the way his warm emotions mingle with hers. There’s a pinch of worry mixed with calmness, but mostly, she can feel a certain excitement building up inside him. It’s completely different from what she feels coming from the Wayne men she knows, for it’s lighter and consistent, and she can’t help but feel welcomed by that.

She still doesn’t even know his voice, but the empath is starting to understand why her boyfriend likes this man so much.

“Good evening, Miss Roth.” He starts, speaking politely and never taking his eyes away from hers. He’s dressed with a formal smoking, his black shoes perfectly shined and his gloves withe as the snow. “My name is Alfred, the butler. Welcome to the Wayne mansion. I apologize on behalf of Master Bruce and Master Damian, for they are still busy handling some matters in Gotham. They should be arriving shortly.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Alfred.” Her voice is steady and low, as she tries her best to cause a good first impression. “I'm sure they must be taking care of some important business. There’s no need for an apology. The city needs them, after all.”

“You’re a very kind, young lady. Please, allow me take your coat and walk you to the living room.”

She offers him a smile in response, carefully removing the black coat covering her petit body and revealing her outfit. She’s wearing a long, beige skirt that falls just above her calfs. Her onyx stilettos are giving her some extra inches, and a charcoal, sleeved shirt completes the set. For the material was a little transparent, it was possible to see her dark, lacy cropped beneath it, but according to Zatanna, it’s not indecent or anything. While preparing for tonight, Damian told her not to worry about futile details, but it only felt natural for her to want to look presentable for this evening’s event.

“Thank you, Alfred.” She handles him the coat, and she realizes how careful he is as he puts it inside a hidden closet.

“You're welcome. Now, if you could accompany me.”

"Of course.” She nods, following behind his footsteps. They walk down a large hallway with frames also decorating the walls, and even if she wanted to stay and look carefully at every single one of them, Raven knows better than to risk getting lost. Instead, she keeps paying attention to the composed man leading the way, observing in awe as the living room finally comes to view.

As expected, it’s another no by veryelegant room, filled with classical furniture and a gothic-themed fireplace that is responsible for keeping the area warm. Another large portrait hangs above it, and this time, that same woman is accompanied by a man very similar to Bruce himself. It’s a powerful painting for newcomers such as herself, but she knows it probably has a deeper meaning for those living inside those walls.

The carpets now are thick enough to muffle her heels, and while she’s distracted admiring the clocks spread around the living room, once more, his delicate voice bring her back to their reality. “Would you like a drink, Miss? Master Bruce has chosen a fine wine for the dinner, but feel free to ask me anything.”

“Uhmm.” She hums, pondering, her lips now pressed in a thin line. Though she doesn’t want to sound rude, Raven isn't really a fan of wine. She doesn’t hate it or anything like that, but it’s undeniable that she doesn’t have a high tolerance for alcohol. Once Bruce arrives, though, she will eventually have to share a glass with him, so, for now, she thinks it will be safer to avoid any liquor in order to prevent any embarrassing incident. “How about a cup of tea? I mean, only if it won’t cause you too much trouble, Alfred.”

“Non-sense. I will go boil the water immediately. Would you like any tea in particular?”

“Thank you very much, Alfred. And about the flavor… You can choose whatever you like, I guess. Damian once told me you know a lot about tea, so you probably know better than me when it comes to tea and the best choice for each occasion.”

His expression freezes for a fraction of second, a certain surprise now lacing his emotions. “Oh, did he?”

“Yes, he did.” She nods, offering him a soft smile. “He talks a lot about you, actually.”

“Good things, I hope.”

“The best, I assure you.”

“Who would have thought…” He nods, accepting her words and it’s as if she can sense a certain happiness in his voice. “Very well, I will go boil the water. If you need me, I will be in the kitchen. Please, make yourself at home.”

“I will, thank you.”

After nodding politely— because everythinghe does is polite— he turns around and walks away until he disappears in one of the many hallways she imagines this mansion to have. A soft smile takes over her lips as a warm sensation fills her chest. Alfred is really an amazing man. He’s thoughtful and his emotions are as transparent as Damian’s are filled with pride. Her first impressions on him are impeccable, and though he’s very different from the entire Wayne familiar circle, Raven is starting to understand why their dynamic works.

Maybe, with time, she will come to a full conclusion on that matter.

For now, though, she’s just happy to have finally met the man Damian always mentions whenever he’s talking about home. And now that she’s finally having the chance to add real images to his vague descriptions, well…

To say she’s just impressed would be the understatement of the year.

Though she has been in the mansion for a while now, Raven is still finding it hard to get used to her surroundings. Perhaps it’s the sepulchral silence or the fact that she’s all alone in Batman’s living room, but suddenly, she’s starting to feel a mild anxiety creeping around. She’s starting to feel self-conscious, as if she’s been watched— which is very likely to be happening, for sure— and even if Alfred has told her to make herself at home, the empath realizes it’s easier said than done.

She should’ve brought her book, damn it.

Her eyes are looking around in search of something to distract her from overreacting, but she soon realizes it’s useless. All of that subjective pressure is starting to get the best of her, and chances are that, if that continues like that, she will be teleporting back home before Damian even gets back.

Raven needs to calm down. She needs to stop overthinking and get herself together.

She needs Alfred, preferably with that tea. And even if she doesn't really know where the kitchen is, it’s not like she can’t use her powers to help her find the butler.

Without sparing a second thought, her eyes are already glowing and some loose locks of her purple hair are lifting up. With just a little concentration, she’s able to locate the only emotional human-being in the mansion and even if she doesn’t know which corridor will take her to him, Raven decides to improvise.

A dark energy envelops her body, and in a blink of an eye, the empath is teleported to a dim-lit room that is filled with a slightly bitter citric fragrance she’s very familiar with. It’s Earl Grey tea, she knows. The scent invades her nostrils and she can feel her body calmly responding to it. She takes a deep breath, then, and that’s when her eyes finally acknowledge the man responsible to that delicious aroma.

He’s standing in front of the stove, the boiling water working its magic on the leaves floating above it. As it appears, he’s following all the correct steps to brew the perfect Earl Grey and she doesn’t feel like she can thank him enough for that.

She stands a couple of feet away from him, near a wooden table that has a porcelain tea cup that certainly belongs to an english crockery set. There are four stools near her, and she also notices the many kitchen utensils displayed around the room. The newspaper is resting next to a pair of reading glasses, and she wonders if that’s what he was doing before she got here earlier this evening.

“Miss Roth, may I help you?” He speaks, not bothering to turn to face her, as he’s delicately blending the black tea with Bergamot oil. Though she has literally just appeared behind his back, she noticed how he remained calm and focused. Years of living with that family must do that to a person, she thinks.

“Oh, Uhm… It’s nothing, really.” She starts, stumbling upon her own words like a 5-year-old child who was caught stealing cookies from the jar. Apparently, Raven didn’t really think of a way to properly explain why she even bothered coming after him in the first place. “You see, Alfred, I was just… I was—“

“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?” He speaks, and suddenly, it’s like her worries dissipate in thin air. It’s funny how she’s the empath between them, and yet, he seems to know exactly what she’s feeling right now. He’s a good man, for sure.

“Yeah.” She sighs, a smile on her face. “I guess I just didn’t want to be alone in Batman’s mansion. Do you mind if I stay here with you until they get back?”

“Of course not, Miss Roth. Please, sit and make yourself comfortable. The tea is almost ready.”

“Thank you.” She says, choosing one of the stools for her to sit. Even if it’s not one of Bruce’s expensive armchairs, Raven is feeling a lot more comfortable here, with him. “Also, I see that you’ve chosen Earl Grey… It’s my favorite.”

“I know it is, Miss Roth.”

Her eyes widen for a moment, and slowly, she lets his words sink in. Few people in this world know such simple details about her life, and though she wouldn’t take Damian for one to chit-chat about his girlfriend’s favorite kind of tea, she’s not oblivious to what that means.

They do get along, she can tell. And even if she can only make guesses on that matter, she definitely wants to know more about that relationship.

“So, Alfred…” She starts again, not really sure how to ask him those questions without sounding too nosy. “How was Damian before he joined the Titans? He talks a lot about you, his father and Dick; but never really about himself.”

“Uhm… Master Damian is different from all the others.” He states, finally turning off the flame of the stove. He lets it sit for a couple of seconds, only then opting to pour it in the cup he had separated for her. The scent is stronger now, and she can’t wait for the temperature to drop just enough so she can take a sip of it. “He's the only one who wantedMaster Bruce to be his paternal figure, even if he might not be aware of that himself.”

“And did he get what he wanted?”

“You perhaps need to spend more time with Master Bruce, my dear.” He says, his voice laced with a certain sarcasm as his mustache slightly turns upwards.

“Well… I don’t know how it was before, but I think they’re starting to understand each other a little better now, right? At least that’s the impression I get every time he goes back to the tower after a night patrol.”

“I believe you’re right, indeed. Both of them are too similar in many aspects, and I think it’s safe to say they’re making progress as father and son. An old man such as myself can only hope for them to find a balance."

“Damian Wayne finding balance in life… That's something I would love to see.” She giggles, earning a side smile from him.

“He's changed a lot since the first time we met him. Master Damian is certainly no longer that irreverent child who’s constantly angry and lost.”

“Maybe that monastery did good for him.”

“Well, not only the monastery, Miss Roth.”

A comforting warmth creeps under her skin and she can't help but feel a sense of wholesomeness taking over her emotions. Though she doubts she’s had all of that effect on him, it’s nice to know she was able to make a difference, no matter how small it might have been.

Her boyfriend is a very complex man, filled with doubts and conflicts that might never come to an end. He struggles to become a new man without abandoning his past, and perhaps, that’s the one thing she loves the most about him. He’s unique, original in his own shape and colors. He’s not trying to please anyone, and yet, even if he doesn’t believe her words whenever she points it out, he’s trying to be a hero.

He will be a fine leader someday, and she can’t wait to be there by his side when his day arrives.

“Thank you, Alfred… For taking care of him when he was a little boy.”

“It was only my job as the family’s butler. I should be the one thanking you, Miss Roth. For taking care of him now that he’s no longer one.”

His old, wrinkled eyes are now looking at her, and there’s an emotion there that Raven can’t really name. It’s pure and laced with honesty, and for a moment, she thinks this is how grandparents are supposed to look at their grandchildren.

It feels special to be looked at like that. It feels warm and safe in a whole different level, and she feels encouraged enough to talk to him about anything in the world. Her tastes, her doubts, fears, and mostly, the things she loves.

At last, she’s beginning to understand the man behind the dynamic duo. At last, she beginning to understand why Damian loves him so much.

There’s an inch of expectation in his face as she finally takes a sip of the tea, and she hopes he can see the satisfied look on her face after that. It’s perfect, for sure. Perhaps the best Earl Grey she’s ever had in her life. As expected from a man such as Alfred Pennyworth.

“It's delicious, Alfred.” She nods, closing her eyes to savor the moment. “Would you like to drink with me?”

“Don't mind me, Miss. It’s still too early for my tea.”

“Oh, I see… Maybe next time, then?”

“Of course. Next time will be perfect.”

Neither of them really knew for how long they’ve been talking, but eventually, their ears capture the sound of rushed footsteps coming from down the hallway. Unalarmed eyes turn their attention to the source of the new sound that has disturbed their chit-chat, and in a matter of seconds, a raven haired boy dressed in his black turtle-neck shirt appears.

“Alfred, we’re home! He starts, sounding slightly breathless. “Have you seen Rav—“ Though he did seem bit exasperated, at first, once his emerald eyes meet her amethyst one, it’s as if time stops and he allows himself to breath. “Oh, there you are.”

“Hi.” She greets him, a warm smile now forming on her lips. “Took you long enough, Boy Wonder.”

“You see, everything was going just fine until those lunatics decided it would be fun to rob the Gotham museum. Penguin was behind this one this time.”

“And did you get him?” She asks, taking another sip of her tea.

“Not really… He escaped through the sewers, that bastard. Next time he won’t stand a chance, though!”

“You’ll get him next time, I’m sure.”

“Yeah…” He nods, running his fingers through his dark locks. “Sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Alfred here has kept me company while you were busy.” She states, looking at the butler so they could exchange an honest glance. “Though I believe he’s too polite to tell me to leave so I can stop distracting him from the important things he has to do."

“Nonsense, Miss Roth.” Alfred states, no hesitation in his voice. “Our talk has proven itself quite amusing.”

“I'm glad to know that. I really enjoyed our talk, too.” She states, taking the last sip of her tea before finally standing up. She takes a few steps to get closer to Damian, who almost instinctively, places his hand right on her lower back. Their eyes meet once more, and there’s a small smile playing on his lips.

“Good to see you two getting along. What were you two talking about?”

“You, of course.”

“Me?” He lifts an eyebrow, and she watches amusedly as confusion takes over his face. “Can you be a little more specific?”

“Sure. We were talking about this silly game you play with all the girls you bring home for dinner.” She teases, a sparkle lit inside her amethyst eyes. "Honestly, keeping us waiting all alone so close to Batman’s secrets isn’t a really good idea.”

“TT.” He scoffs, a pout decorating his face. “You're not funny.”

“I would have to disagree, Master Damian. She’s quite the spirituous one.”

“Thank you, Alfred.”

“You're welcome, Miss Roth.”

“I'm clearly outnumbered here.”

A giggle escapes her lips as she smiles at her new partner in crime. Alfred nods back at her, and once her attention returns tenderly towards her boyfriend, the butler clears his throat in order to get their attention. “Master Damian, why don’t you take Miss Roth to the living room to meet your father? I’ll be finishing the preparations for the dinner.”

“Great idea, Alfred.” Damian agrees, offering her his arm to hold as a true gentlemen would. “Shall we?”

“Of course.” She nods, accepting his offer and bringing her body even closer to his. Her emotions feel lighter, and her chest is warmer now that she is getting to know more about him and his life away from the Titans. Her conversation with Alfred was very pleasant and she really hopes she can get another chance like this in a nearby future. “Thank you for keeping me company, Alfred. It was a real pleasure meeting you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Roth.” He bows cordially, and she has no reason to doubt his words.

Both Alfred and Raven reach a mutual agreement, and carefully, she feels Damian carefully pulling her towards the corridor from where he came. The two lovers are about to walk away with their arms laced, but suddenly, the butler’s voice stops them in their tracks.

“Master Damian, if I may…”

“What is it, Alfred?” Damian asks, curiosity now taking over both of them.

“You've found yourself a very nice girl and my old heart can’t handle another emotionally inept Wayne. Don’t let her slip away.”

Her eyes widen at his statement and she can even feel a blush threatening to tinge her cheeks. A mix of feelings is running through her veins right now, and if anything, she feels her heart skipping a beat while waiting for Damian’s answer to this.

Is he going to laugh it off?

Is he going to opt for one of the rude answers he’s always giving Dick?

Is he going to—

Her train of thoughts is suddenly interrupted by the feeling of his other hand on top of her arm. His fingers caress her exposed skin, and for a moment, she hopes she doesn’t look half as dumbfounded as she is inside. His emerald eyes are now looking deep into hers and all of the words disappear from her mind.

“I won't, Alfred.” He answers, his voice an octave lower than before. “I certainly won’t.”

A soft smile slowly makes its way to her lips, and right now, she realizes how happy she is to be here. Not only she got to know the famous Alfred, but Raven also got the chance to know more about the man she holds so dear in her heart.

At last, they make their way to the dinning room where Bruce is probably waiting for them. They exchange smiles and a few words in order to catch up on the last couple of hours. There’s a chuckle, a sigh and even a muffled sound that shall be kept in secret by the walls of the mansion. Without a hurry in the world, their feet keep moving forward, their arms never once untangling.

fin.

------

a/n: Hapy Damirae week! This is my first time participating and I’m so excited!! Thanks to this ship, I’ve met so many wonderful people and all I want right now is for our beloved ship to be showered with all the love and affection it deserves! Thank you all who have made me feel so welcomed and let’s have a blast during this week! Hope you enjoy this one, and please, tell me what you think!

[anightflower]

Come and Find Me

Chapter One: I’m Stuck 

I won’t lie when writing the cute parts of the story I listened to “I’m Stuck” by Noah Cyrus.  

Spencer Reid x Reader

Warnings: None 

Read Prologue here   Masterlist

You stumbled into your favorite coffee shop. You were a mess this morning and it’s all because your alarm decided to fuck you over and not wake you up on time. Luckily your body didn’t completely betray you, naturally waking up an hour later than you had planned, but still giving you a half hour to get to your meeting. 

You had screamed when you saw the time, this meeting could be your next big break, and getting there late was not how you wanted to start a new design deal. At a mere 23 years old you were still making your way up into the world. After graduating college a semester early you had worked your ass off and started your own independent interior design business. You focused on designing office spaces for big businesses using workplace psychology to create an environment that brought up productivity and reduced the stress of workers. 

Your business was slowly gaining traction, but the company you were meeting today could really put your name out there. 

You had planned to wake up early, put yourself together and center yourself over a cup of coffee, however, life can never be that simple. So here you were, quick light makeup and your hair in a simple bun rather than the elaborate “I am a professional” look you planned. The one thing you did have going for you was your outfit, a white blouse that complimented your figure and tan capri pants, with a strappy heeled sandal. You had made sure it was spotless and ironed before your big day today, so at least you had that going for you. 

“Oh darling, you look a bit out of it, are you alright?” Your favorite barista and dear friend Ava, asked, her green eyes filled with concern. 

“Av, you would not believe the hell of the morning I’ve had.” You groaned. “I woke up late today and I have that huge meeting I told you about and all of the things I had planned to keep me grounded and ready flew out the window.”

Ava let out a tsk sound and patted your hand. “Oh babe, in that case, coffee’s on me. Take a deep breath. You’ve been planning for this meeting for weeks and with that amount of work and dedication, you’re definitely going to knock’em dead.” 

“Ave, you are the light of my life.” You said, already feeling lighter than you did when you first entered. 

“Oh babe, I know.” She winked, brushing a stray purple bang out of her eye. “I want an update on everything afterwards, you’ve got my number! James will have your coffee ready for you at the other end. Good luck!” 

“Thank you! I promise I will!” You grinned and made your way to the other end of the counter, where your coffee was waiting. 

Knowing your order by heart, James had already started your latte the moment you walked in, you thanked whatever God listening that it was ready so fast. James gave you a shy smile and handed you the coffee. “Here you go.”

“Thanks James.” You gave him a kind smile and turned to leave. Glancing down at your watch, you realized you had ten minutes to get to your meeting, but luckily it was just up the block so you would get there right on time. 

But like you said nothing is ever easy. You weren’t exactly paying attention as you walked out of the store, you were double checking your bag to make sure you had everything, so naturally you slammed into someone, causing coffee to get all over your blouse.

You let out a yelp, while a large hand came out to steady you. “I am so sorry! Are you alright?” A male voice asked. 

“Well, aside from the fact that I have a meeting that could change my life in 5 minutes and now I look like a disheveled mess with coffee on her blouse, I’m fine.” You grumbled finally looking at the face of your accidental attacker. Your heart stopped for a moment. 

He was stunning. Shoulder length curly brown hair, caramel eyes, and a TALL, fit body.

He was clearly flustered as your eyes met. His face had a gentle dusting of pink across it and his eyes could barely meet yours. “I really am sorry, I wasn’t paying attention- uh- here!” He began to shrug off his cardigan. “This should be able to cover up most of the stains.” He thrust the sweater towards you. 

Now it was your turn to be flustered. “Oh no, really, I can figure something out-” 

“You said this meeting is supposed to change your life right?” He interrupted before you could stutter out anymore excuses. You nodded. “While I don’t want to be the person that ruins your life. Just wear it to your meeting and uh, how about we meet back here tomorrow morning and you can just give it back to me then?” He blushed a deeper crimson, as a big smile grew across your face. 

“I would love that, thank you so much.” You put on his cardigan and buttoned it up. He was right, almost all of the stains were covered. “How do I look? Professional?” You asked him.

“Beautiful- I mean yes, professional, you look great!” He smiled, pushing a shoulder length curl behind his ear.

You blushed, but quickly forced yourself to regain your composure. “So I’ll meet you here at 7 tomorrow-” You paused looking at him for his name. 

“Dr. Reid, well, Spencer, call me Spencer.” 

“Spencer.” You smiled. “I will see you tomorrow then.” 

That was the first time you met Spencer Reid.

________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Spencer arrived 30 minutes early to the coffee shop to get a table, he felt fidgety and nervous. He hadn’t even caught your name yesterday before you left and he felt like an idiot. Of course he bumps into the most beautiful girl he has ever seen, spilt coffee all over her, AND forgot to ask her her name. Part of him was worried you wouldn’t even show up, it’s not exactly the best first meeting. 

30 minutes later when you walked in, he thanked a God he didn’t even believe in. You looked less bewildered than you did yesterday, but no less beautiful. 

You had chosen to go for a business casual look, your hair curled and flowing past your shoulders, a deep red blouse, black denim jeans, and black heeled boots. You had Spencer’s cardigan draped over your arm, you had made sure to wash it before giving back to him. 

You searched around the patrons until your eyes met Spencer’s, your whole face lit up as you made your way over to him. 

You had no idea that somebody else was watching you as you made your way over to him. You were too distracted by Spencer to feel the angry gaze that burned into your back.

“Hi.” You said shyly as you sat down. 

“Hey.” Spencer said smiling at you. 

“Were you waiting long?” You asked, a concerned look crossing your face.

“Oh no, not at all, I just came a few minutes early to get us a good seat.” Spencer lied, not wanting you to know how early he actually came. 

“Well you choose right, this is the best seat in the house. It’s right by the counter where you pick up coffee, but it’s the perfect window seat to people watch.” You explained. 

“Yeah, did you know coffee is actually a fruit?” Spencer asked you. “They’re actually the pit of a berry and grow on a bush. 

You let out a giggle, “No, I had no idea that was even a thing. At least I can use that as an excuse when I get chastised for drinking too much. Where did you learn that?” 

Spencer blushed. “I tend to pick up random knowledge here and there. Which reminds me, I never got your name yesterday before you ran off.” 

“Well Dr. Spencer Reid, my name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” You grinned offering him a hand. “No fancy title, but I am doing my best for simply being a Miss.” 

Spencer would usually avoid handshakes due to all the germs, however he wanted nothing more than to shake your hand, which was warm and soft. 

“(Y/N).” He tested your name out on his tongue. You smiled. 

“Have you gotten a coffee yet?” You asked him, getting up to head to order.

“I had one a bit earlier, but I could use another one.” Spencer answered, getting up to follow you. 

As you approached the counter you tried to ignore the smug look Ava gave you, praying she wouldn’t say anything. She gave Spencer a not so subtle up and down look, checking him out and obviously finding him attractive. You gave Ava a stern look that told her not to say a word. 

She just gave you a wink. Spencer had picked up on all of this, his profiler skills not missing a thing. A small smile crept across his face and he swallowed back a laugh. 

You gestured for Spencer to go first, “I’m buying, to thank you for letting me borrow your sweater yesterday.” 

Spencer looked at you in bewilderment. “No way! If anything I’m buying for destroying your coffee and spilling it all over your blouse before your ‘life changing’ meeting!”

You rolled your eyes at him. “Spencer, just order the damn coffee. I promise you it won’t break my bank. Especially after I got the design yesterday.” You grinned. 

 Ava let out a squeal. “You did not! Oh my god, I knew you could do it girl! All of your hard work paid off!” 

Spencer’s face lit up. “Congratulations! I’m glad our collision didn’t ruin anything.” 

You let out a laugh. “If anything I think your cardigan brought me good luck, I even got a couple compliments on it. I may just have to keep it.” You teased 

Spencer’s heart warmed at the idea of you wearing his clothes. “Well if it brought you that much luck, maybe I’ll just let you keep it.”

A voice behind the two of you cleared their throat. “Are you guys going to order? Some of us have places to be.” 

You glanced behind you at the woman, a small line had apparently grown behind you and Spencer.  “Sorry about that. Ava I’ll just do my usual. Do not let Spencer pay.” 

Ava raised her hands defensively. “I’m just here to make coffee love.” 

“I’ll just do a large coffee with extra cream and a lot of sugar.”  Spencer said. 

You went to grab your wallet from your purse, but Spencer cut you off, cash already in hand. 

“Spencer.” You whined and Spencer just shrugged. 

As you made your way to the counter, you found it a bit strange that James had just left your coffees there. Usually he would at least wait a moment to say hi before taking off to make more orders, but you shrugged it off, they did have a line right now so he probably had to focus on getting the coffees out to customers. 

Though the two of you only got to spend about an hour together, the two of you had immediately hit it off, completely unaware of the eyes that had been burning through you as they watched throughout what you and Spencer would later consider your first date. 

_______________________________________________________________

From there it was a whirlwind of dates snuck between cases and your design jobs. After a little over a month Spencer had asked to officially call you his girlfriend and you had obviously accepted.  

It was ridiculously cliche how quickly the both of you had fallen for each other, but you had just seemed to click right away. You loved Spencer’s logical mind that went on and on with random facts, he loved your creativity and energy. Your minds worked well together, helping each other out when the other got stuck. 

As your relationship progressed, you found yourself spending more and more time at each other's apartments.

“Ava, he's just a dream. I’ve never felt like this with anyone ever.” You explained joyfully. 

You had sat in your regular window seat, while Ava remained on the  other side of the service counter. It was a bit slow in the shop today, so she had come over to get all the details on “your smokeshow boyfriend.” Since she was the manager of the shop and beloved by her boss, she could get away with it.

“Oh hon, if he has a brother, let me know.” She purred, sneaking a glance over her shoulder to check on James who was holding down the fort for her. The boy stood by the register, poor thing looking a bit bored. 

James was a year younger than you and apparently starting grad school, but his shyness made him seem so much younger that you felt this slight protectiveness over him even if you only knew him from around the shop and stories from Ava. 

His eyes met yours and you gave him a sympathetic smile. He blushed deeply and turned away, scampering to busy himself. 

You looked back at Ava, giving a little nod towards James, “What about James? He seems sweet and he’s cute.” You waggled your eyebrows at her. 

Ava snickered. “(Y/N/N), he is sweet, but way too shy, he can barely look me in the eye. I need someone who’s more of a dom if you know what I mean.” She smirked. 

You pouted at her. “Poor James.” 

Ava shrugged, “He’ll find his someone. Anyway you’re switching the topic, back to your dreamboat. You said he was an FBI agent? That’s heroic and sexy.” 

You rolled your eyes at her. “Yes, he’s part of the Behavior Analysis Unit. They create profiles to help solve different criminal cases. It’s actually amazing. Spencer is giving a lecture about it at a college this Friday if you want to come with me.” 

“I’ll come, but only if I get to officially meet your sexy doctor superhero boyfriend.” Ava smirked. 

“Well obviously.” You smiled. 

________________________________________________________________

The boy’s breathing was heavy as he struggled to control his anger. He watched the Doctor’s tall form strutting across the stage, his long brown hair swinging back and forth as he broke down profiling and the criminal cases he and his BAU team had solved. 

From where he sat in the lecture hall he could watch the doctor while also keeping an eye on you. You were sitting near the front, your friend by your side.  It was hard to miss her with her deep purple hair, that’s how he always found you. Though to him, you outshined everyone in the room. Even the ridiculous doctor. 

He growled to himself as he observed your look of awe. He knew you two had made your relationship official. He knew almost every detail. Like how last weekend, the Doctor had come home early from a case and had surprised you with your favorite flowers: pink dahlias. You had spent the whole rest of the weekend together; you had brought him to your favorite Thai place, then went to both of your favorite bookstores. He knew everything. 

He knew where you lived, your schedule, the design projects you were working on. He watched and he listened. He followed you home some days. Other days, he would simply wait outside your apartment building. He knew what window to watch if he wanted to catch a glimpse of you. 

The worst days are when the Doctor would be with you. He would watch as you two joked around and kissed, it made him sick. 

He didn’t like the Doctor. He hated hearing him ramble on to you. Fact after fact, never shutting up. But he understood him as he had researched him, found his accomplishments; he was a prodigal, graduating high school at the age of 12 and earned three PhDs. He worked for the FBI, catching criminals and profiling them. The Doctor constantly had something to prove, how could you be with a man so weak?

The Doctor was someone who could hardly befriend anyone besides his books, so how had the Doctor gotten you, when he had always been there? The Doctor did not deserve you, the Doctor could not give you what he could. Yet here you were, giving this man a ridiculous moon-eyed look that he did not deserve. 

He couldn’t take it anymore. He got up and left. 

He made his way down the hall towards an all-too familiar office, one that he practically lived in. 

He was greeted by his usual cheery eyed professor, Professor Irving. 

Never one to miss anything, Professor Irving raised an eyebrow. “You’re back early, how was the lecture?” Professor Irving asked. “Isn’t that Dr. Reid something else?”

“He’s alright. Someone worth looking into for sure. I left early to get ahead of these reports you wanted me to help grade, I do have a life outside of classes.” 

Professor Irving smirked at him. “Son, I have known you too long, the only three places you go are classes, your job, and your apartment. I was hoping this lecture would show you how much the world has to offer, I mean look at Dr. Reid! He was one of the youngest to ever join the BAU-”

“ENOUGH about Dr. Reid!” He growled, interrupting his professor. 

Professor Irving just stared at his student, shell-shocked. 

The boy shook his head and rubbed his face. “I’m sorry professor, that was uncalled for, I have just been stressed lately.” The boy began picking up the papers he had to grade. He wanted to get through some of these as quick as possible, that way he could spend his weekend with you. 

Professor Irving solemnly nodded. “I understand. I know you’ve been stressed lately, is that girl of yours acting up still?”

The boy sighed as he shrugged on his bag full of student’s reports. “Something like that. Listen, I know you said Dr. Reid is going to continue to come back and give lectures every few weeks or so. I will go to those ones and actually stay for them. Who knows? Maybe it will help me with my thesis paper. I just- I just can’t focus tonight, but I will do better. I promise.” 

Professor Irving nodded. “Of course, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.” 

The boy nodded then left the room.

________________________________________________________________

TAGLIST:

@andiebeaword @haylaansmi @parkastoria @possessedjoker @amronsparty @generaltheoristexpert @sierraraeck @coniumalces @tamedbyafox @anotherr-fine-mess @adoregin @rainsong01 @canyonnmoonn  @mggshoe @boxofsparklingmuses @richardpapensmuse @deanlenaz​ @rainsong01 @goldentournesol @annesauriol @itsametaphorbriansblog @secretpickleprofessordean @shameleswhorehourstm @stepsofthefbi​ @iifloweringnightsii 

[frenchpuppycormier]

I'd Follow You Wherever

(ao3)

word count: 4k

rating: T

Once again a shoutout to @femmeluthor for being my number one fan and listening to me complain ;)

Lena stares unblinking at the object in her hands and thinks about where her actions have led her, and daydreaming about what her life has become. Never in a million years did she picture this is what she’d be doing in her thirties; preparing herself to travel across the galaxy to another dimension to rescue the woman she cares most about in the world. The universe.

“You sure this is going to work?”

“It has to,” Lena quivers. Alex nods in understanding. “I don’t know what else to do, Alex. Nothing feels right without her. I-I can’t sleep at all, I’m constantly thinking about her and how she is, I think my hair is falling out, I can’t walk by our favorite restaurant anymore without crying…I can barely eat, and when I do it just comes back up. All I feel is this constant, aching pain and it’s sucking me dry. I don’t know what to do,” she chokes out a sob and her hands start to tremble. “Alex, I have to do this!”

Sensing a panic attack of larger proportions on the horizon, Alex steps forward and pulls her into a gentle, yet firm hug. “Hey,” she squeezes her back with one hand while the other runs soothingly along Lena’s shoulder blade and arm. Resting her head against hers, Alex murmurs, “It’s okay. I understand. You gotta do what you gotta do. I just wish we had another way.”

Lena leans back and looks at her incredulously with pinched brows, “What, you don’t think I can do this?”

Alex huffs and lets out a soft chuckle. “Lena, no. That’s not what I’m saying.” Noticing Lena isn’t standing down from her natural defensiveness, she rolls her eyes. “You really don’t see it?”

“Please, enlighten me,” she gestures as if telling her to continue.

“Lena,” Alex shakes her head and rests her palms on Lena’s shoulders. “I already lost Kara; I can’t lose you too. I mean, I know you and I never really got a chance to make things right, but I’d like to think we’re friends, don’t you?”

A stray tear drops from Lena’s eye and she wipes it with her thumb before sniffling. She cracks a smile and deflects, “Since when did you become so sentimental?”

Alex releases her hold and laughs, “Well, having Kara as a sister does that to me. Lately it’s occurred to me that life’s too short to be a hard ass all the time, as cheesy as it sounds. And you know, Kelly is a therapist.” That gets a chuckle out of Lena. “I don’t know, I guess I just realized you’re the closest thing I have to Kara right now, and to be honest…I think you’re pretty special, Lena.”

The former CEO’s eyes widen with the admission. “Thank you,” her voice cracks. She clears her throat, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Alex jokingly salutes her but quickly grows serious again. She huffs loudly and her eyes dart around the room before settling on Lena’s face. The woman looks back with a worried gaze.

“What?” Lena asks. “Alex, what is it?”

“Nothing, I just,” she shakes her head and gathers her wits. She stands straighter and crosses her arms in front of her chest, and with her head held high she says, “I’m going with you.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Alex, no,” she states firmly. “We agreed—”

The auburn-haired woman shakes her head. “We,” Alex gestures her finger between the two of them, “Didn’t agree on anything. You strutted in here with your proclivities and decided what was happening without allowing the rest of the group any say in it.”

“Alex…”

“I’m going with. It’s final,” Alex states and saunters over to the control panel in the center of the tower.

Lena scoffs and follows her, yelling at her turned back, “The hell you are! The deal was I go and you stay here in case anything happens to me. That way, you still have a fighting chance to save Kara and I, I will have tried my best, but I did what I could and you’ll get to move on.” Lena pauses for a second and emphasizes, “With Kara.”

Alex whips her head around and shoots daggers at her, causing Lena to startle and shrink back. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” Lena’s nostrils flare in retaliation, but Alex keeps going. “I’m sick of you putting yourself on the line all the time. You’re just like Kara and it’s annoying as fuck!” She laughs tiredly as an epiphany enters through her brain. “You guys are perfect for each other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, Lena. You can’t be that dense,” Alex says, with mild exasperation. “Kara loves you, she’s in love with you, but she’s been too afraid to tell you because of the whole secret identity mishap. She already made a huge mistake which pissed you off, she didn’t want to risk losing you again, or your friendship, by speaking it into existence…And you!” she points accusingly at Lena. “You are too stubborn to admit your feelings out loud, so you bury them deep down inside because you think Kara will deny you or laugh at you, but if you actually think that then you really don’t know my sister at all.”

Lena’s mouth is hanging open by the time she’s done. She quickly closes it and swallows thickly before replying. “She loves me?”

Alex deflates and smiles softly. “Honey, she almost risked the entire timeline to tell you her secret earlier than when she actually did. I’d say she loves you.”

“Wait, what—”

“We’ll get to that part later, but for right now we’re running out of time,” Alex grabs the device from Lena. “So, ready to go rescue my sister?”

Lena eyes her suspiciously, “We’re not done with this conversation.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a girl scout,” Lena snatches back the device. “I’ll take that. Took me all night to make this. I’m not risking it in your hands.”

Alex smirks, “’Kay, so remind me how this works again? Just so everything’s clear?”

“Well…basically we open up a portal to the Phantom Zone, then once we step through, this,” Lena holds up the device, “Will allow us to track Kara and her location. I took the nanobots to map the brains of the progeny we have in containment. Then, I used q-waves to replicate Malefic’s powers, and M’gann’s sensing abilities, and with the help of Kara’s DNA I was able to calibrate the device to the right frequency, which is how we’ll find her. All of this to make one simple tracking device. Again. Y’know, since you stole the first one I made.”

Alex winces under Lena’s intense glare. “I said I was sorry.”

“No worries, all is forgiven,” the former CEO smirks.

Alex releases a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Okay, so then how will we know exactly where Kara is?”

“The device will chirp when we’re in her radius.”

“Is there any way we can narrow it down? Like to her exact coordinates or something? The Phantom Zone is a large place.”

“I wish I could say there was another way, but I’m afraid this is all we have,” Lena deflates. “You’re not about to back out already, are you?”

Alex purses her lips. “No way, Luthor. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Lena lifts her arm and presses the button to the portal watch. She glances at Alex and smiles, “Let’s go get our girl.”

.

.

.

Lena doesn’t know how long it takes them. Her watch tells her it’s been a week, but time in the Phantom Zone is different, so for all she knows it’s been a month since they’ve been roaming around searching for Kara.

Her feet are dragging with every step and she can tell Alex is just as exhausted and sluggish as she is. She knows they need to take a break and rest. She knows this. But she also knows the longer they wait, the longer they are away from Kara. The longer Kara has been here suffering by herself, and Lena can’t have that. No, she needs to get to Kara as fast as possible. Before it’s too late.

They pass a large boulder and after a minute of no random ramblings from Alex’s mouth, or fun facts to distract them, Lena frowns and stops. She turns around and sees no sign of the other woman. She squints and just barely notices a figure toppled over on their side, not moving. “Alex!”

Lena runs as fast as her legs can move her. She stumbles next to Alex and lands on her knees, the pain excruciating. Her synapses are firing throughout her body, but that’s the least of her worries right now. She shakes the older woman’s shoulders and cries out her name once more.

No response.

“Goddammit, Alex. Don’t do this to me. We’re so close!” Lena whips her backpack off and fumbles around the contents for her water bottle. Leave it to Lena to come extra prepared. She twists the cap off and pours a conservative amount on Alex’s face. It does the trick.

“Jesus, Lena!” she sputters and breathes heavily, wiping the liquid from her eyes.

“You fucking scared me half to death! What was I supposed to do?” Lena shrieks. If only her brother could see her now. He’d get a kick out of the way she’s freakishly reminiscent to a final girl and their antics.

Alex sits up with help from Lena. She swipes the bottle from her and takes a long swig, water dribbling down her bottom lip. “Thanks.”

Lena nods. “No problem.” She glances around them and shivers. “Now, I don’t know about you, but this place is giving me major Alien the movie vibes and we’re out in the open. So, how’s about we get a move on, hmm?”

“You don’t need to say ‘the movie’. You can just say Alien.”

“Alex…”

“Alright, alright,” Alex teases.

Rolling her eyes, Lena helps Alex to her feet with ease, and they continue the trek. It lasts about ten miles, until Alex needs another break. This time a chosen break. They settle along a bank of tall, pointy rocks. Lena reaches into her bag and downs a healthy amount of water.

“Hey! You gonna leave any for me?” Alex complains.

“Well maybe you should’ve brought your own!” Lena argues, but hands over the bottle anyway.

Alex thanks her and lowers herself to the ground. She grabs her ankle and winces. “Did you happen to bring a first aid kit in that bag of yours?”

Lena raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and huffs, “It’s like you don’t know me at all.” She crouches next to Alex, takes off her bag, and rifles through it. While she’s distracted, she barely notices her surroundings and doesn’t have time to react to the feeling of a slight pinch on her arm.

She slowly turns her head and looks over to see Alex retract her hand, which holds a syringe. A wave of nausea hits Lena hard and her vision blurs. The last thing she sees is a snarling Alex before she succumbs to darkness.

When she wakes up it’s to pitch black surroundings, save for a small fire burning by her feet. Sosmall, in fact, it shouldn’t even be considered a fire. It’s merely smoldering embers, wisps of smoke on the verge of dying. Lena goes to move her arms but they’re being constrained be something. She mentally catalogues the environment around her, and realizes her wrists are tied together behind her back with rope, and her arms are wrapped around a tree. The only tree for miles.

Why would Alex do this? she thinks. I thought we were friends. Or was she just playing me the whole time to get close to me? And when she finally gained my trust, she twisted the proverbial knife into my gut. But for what? There’s nothing her for her to gain.

Lena groans and struggles against her confines.

“Ah, you’re awake,” a voice startles her from her reverie. “Good.”

“Alex,” Lena croaks, her throat parched. “Why are you doing this?”

Alex laughs like a hyena catching its prey. “Can’t you see? You’re just a dumb, pathetic weakling who never learns. You trust too easily, even though you know everyone will eventually betray you. You’re worthless,” Alex spits. “Twisted and evil; you’re a Luthor, just like your brother. Who would ever love you?”

Lena trembles, tears prickling her eyes. “No…”

“Everything you touch turns to ash. Kara’s probably dead because of you. The world hates aliens, because of you. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done,” Alex’s face slowly morphs into Lex’s sneering face, and suddenly everything feels wrong. “We could’ve had it all, Lena. We could’ve built something together, but you had to go and play hero, didn’t you?”

“No!” Lena chokes.

Lex steps closer so he’s towering of her, the light from the fire burning shadows across his sunken face. “You never learn, Lena. You don’t deserve the Luthor name. Supergirl is mine and you can’t stop me.” He puts his hands in his pant pockets like he just landed a deal, the confidence radiating off him as he walks away.

“W-Where are you going?” Lena yells. “What are you going to do?”

He turns around to look at her one last time and says, “To do what you couldn’t; I’m going to kill Supergirl.” He struts off into the distance with the only sound being Lena’s screams echoing throughout the wide berth of the canyon.

Lena screams until her throat grows hoarse and all that comes out is thick, dry sobs. She shakes and trembles and pulls at her wrists to break free, but it’s no use. Exhaustion settles in her bones and takes over until her eyelids grow heavy, and the darkness encompasses her once again.

The next time she wakes it’s to blinding light. She squints and tries to rub her face, but remembers they’re tied behind her back. Her heart starts thumping rapidly in her chest as the panic swallows her whole. She’s all alone. Left for dead. With no way to escape. She supposes she deserves this. Alex said so herself, who would ever love her?

As the day goes on her limbs grow heavy and her body gets weaker and weaker. She sighs and lets the elements do their work and take over. The last thought running through her mind before she goes is that she never got to tell Kara how she felt. Closing her eyes, Lena hears a voice in the back of her mind repeating her name. It’s getting louder and louder, but she doesn’t care. All she wants to do is sleep.

She hears the same voice yell her name again, sounding so close, yet far away. The voice is muffled as if she’s underwater.

“LENA!”

With no warning, she feels a jolt of pain in her ribs, and like her body is shocked with adrenaline, her eyes blast wide open and she wheezes. The first thing she notices is Alex hovering over her with worried eyes.

Alex sags in relief, “Oh, thank God.”

“Get away from me!” Lena shudders and backs away on her hands, palms scraping against the rough terrain.

“Woah! Hey, what’s going on?” Alex pleads holding her hands out in a placating gesture.

“You left me for dead,” Lena whimpers, tears threatening to fall. “You just left me there, all alone.”

Alex frowns, “What? No, Lena. Hey, look at me,” Alex tentatively reaches her hand toward the brunette like one would when dealing with a spooked animal. She grabs her chin as those glassy eyes morph into something akin to tentativeness. “You’re okay. None of that was real. It was all in your head.”

After quiet contemplation and realizing what she’s saying holds true, Lena sighs deeply and nods. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. We were just resting and I heard you whimpering in your sleep. I thought something was seriously wrong.”

Lena stares blankly at her. “But I don’t remember falling asleep….”

Alex’s eyebrows pinch together. “What do you—”

That’s when Lena notices the phantom looming in the dark. Its eyes are glowing red and its hands are buzzing with an energy as if taking control of someone’s mind.

“It’s him. He was playing tricks on us!” Lena whisper shouts and shuffles to her feet in one swift motion. She grabs Alex’s hand and pulls her away before the phantom wakes up. “We need to go. Right now!”

.

.

.

They make it to the edge of a ravine and Lena stops short, her mind spiraling with confusion. It must show on her face, because Alex notices something’s off almost immediately.

“What is it?” Alex asks.

“I’ve been here before,” Lena mutters, mostly to herself. If it weren’t for their close proximity, Alex probably wouldn’t have heard her.

“What? That’s impossible…”

Lena shakes her head. “No, not literally. I was here in my dream,” she rolls her eyes at herself. “Or rather, what the phantom put inside my head. This has to mean something!” At that exact moment, the tracking device in Lena’s hands lights up and shrills harshly. “She’s close! Kara’s close!” she grins widely, excitement swelling her cheeks.

As Lena walks away, the device growing louder with each step, Alex grabs her by the elbow and pulls her back effectively stopping her in her tracks. “What if it’s a trap?”

“We’ve come this far. We can’t stop now,” Lena rips her arm away and trudges on, leaving Alex in the dust. Alex quickly catches up with her and wordlessly makes it known that she’s got her back.

The duo makes it to a point where the device is droning out a constant beep. “She’s here!” Lena exclaims. Here is a maze of jagged rocks and what can only be described as molten lava.

“Fuck! How are we supposed to find her in here?!” Alex rubs her temples.

“Shh,” Lena grabs her wrist. “Do you hear that?” Alex lowers her hands and listens for any noise in the vicinity. A quiet whimper emerges from somewhere to their left. Lena blames it on the lack of sun in the decrepit place, blames the lack of light for why they were unable to see a small figure leaning on the rocky wall, hidden in the shadows.

“Kara?” Lena gasps. She creeps forward careful not to startle her. “Kara,” she says, louder this time.

“Who’s there?” Kara asks, trembling slightly and shuffling away so she’s pressed up against the wall. Her normal demeanor is completely forgotten and it’s morphed into rigidity and stiffness.

Alex’s body betrays her and she collapses to the ground in a heap, her hands covering her mouth in shock. Tears trickle down her cheeks. Lena glances back over her shoulder and softens in understanding.

Lena crouches down closer to Kara and as soon as her eyes adjust to the dark, she chokes on her own breath. Kara’s once bright, sapphire eyes are now pale and grey. They’re slowly losing the light inside of her, and becoming something dark and lost. “Kara,” she whispers.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” Kara’s eyes dart around like she’s frantically searching for something.

“Hey, it’s me,” she sits on her knees facing her, itching to reach out and touch her. “It’s Lena. Listen to my voice.”

Kara shakes her head furiously, tendrils of hair bouncing off her shoulder. “No. No, Lena can’t be here. It’s not safe.”

“Darling, it’s me. Okay?”

“No. No, no, no, no,” Kara cries, her body shaking with every utterance.

Lena doesn’t fight it anymore and she clasps onto Kara’s flailing hands. “It’s me, Kara. I’m here. Your Lena,” she lifts Kara’s hands and places them on her own face. “I had to find you myself, I couldn’t trust anyone else to do it without fail. I supposed that’s selfish of me, but when it comes to you I’d do anything.”

Kara begins tracing over Lena’s features with deft fingers, every worry line and wrinkle. She starts with the eyebrows she’s become quite accustomed to, then continues with the swell of her cheekbones and sharp jawline, moving over to the slope of her nose, and finally settling her thumbs on plump, parted lips. Her favorite pair of lips. Lena’s breath hitches from Kara’s tender searching.

Once she’s done, Kara rests her forehead on Lena’s and faintly sobs, hands gripping underneath her jaw and along her neck. “It really is you,” Kara closes the distance and slowly, but with steady determination, kisses her. Lena’s lips are soft and warm compared to the acrid burning that’s constantly surrounded her since she’s been in this place. She sighs, causing a breathy moan to emerge from Lena, and she pulls back to breathe in the woman before her. “I never thought I’d get the chance to do that.”

Lena laughs and Kara melts at the sound, forgetting such a simple thing could cause her so much joy. Kara opens her eyes and she almost chokes on her breath from the shiny, emerald eyes gazing back at her with nothing but love. “Lena,” she breathes.

“Kara?”

“I see you. Rao, you’re so beautiful,” she gushes.

Lena’s cheeks become a light dusting of pink with that admission, and she dips her head bashfully. “You’re not so bad yourself, Supergirl.”

Kara grins and gently tilts Lena’s head up. She leans her forehead on Lena’s again, playfully bumping their noses against each other, while softly rubbing her thumbs over Lena’s cheeks, just below her eyes. “I really want to kiss you again,” she whispers.

“I look forward to doing a whole lot more of that, but let’s get you home first, yeah? I’m still concerned about getting you somewhere safe.” Kara nods mutely and smiles morosely. “Can you stand?”

“I think so.”

Lena stands and reaches for her hands. She’s not expecting Kara to be that light, so when she pulls her up Kara stumbles forward and nearly topples over her. Lena catches her fall and before she can say anything, the Kryptonian is encircling her arms around Lena and murmuring into her neck, “I missed you so much.” Lena tightens her hold and squeezes her back. “Me too.”

Kara pulls back and tilts her head to the side. “Are you here alone?”

Lena shakes her head, “No, Alex is here too. She’s right there,” she nods to her right and frowns at Kara. “Could you not hear her?”

“I was a little distracted…” she shrugs smugly.

Lena responds by unconsciously licking her lips. She catches herself and pushes the thoughts of strong arms and legs out of her head, and rolls her eyes. The raven-haired woman pulls Kara over to Alex and whispers, “Alex?”

The older woman wipes her eyes and stands up. When she takes in the sight of her sister, she completely breaks. “Kara!” Alex engulfs her in a hug, causing an oof to emerge from the hero. Kara responds by wrapping an arm around her sister’s neck, with one of Lena’s hands still connected with her free hand.

“Alex,” Kara weeps. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Are you kidding me?” Alex pulls back. “I couldn’t let this one over here take the reins,” she jabs a thumb toward Lena, who scoffs.

“Who was it that saved your ass? And got us here in the first place?” Lena claps back.

“Semantics,” Alex waves a hand nonchalantly.

Kara grins at the interaction between her sister and her best friend. She sure missed a lot while she was incapacitated in the Phantom Zone, but if this is one of the outcomes, she thinks maybe it was worth it. She’s only ever wanted for Lena to become a part of her family, and she’s giddy at the sight of seeing her get along so well with Alex. Even if things are bound to change, at least she has her two favorite women with her. It doesn’t matter what happens next if it means they’re by her side.

“Ready to go home, goofball?” the girl of steel questions.

Alex sticks out her tongue but smiles anyway. “Yes, please.”

Kara grabs a hold of Alex’s hand while her other wrapped around Lena’s waist. She squeezes her hip and kisses her temple. “Ready when you are.” Lena leans into her touch and lifts her wrist one last time. As she glances at the two sisters beside her, she smiles and thinks about how lucky she is. She presses the button and together they walk through the portal.

Back to National City.

Back to their family.

Back home.

[janetbrown711]

Can we see Angelina and Will's wedding?

Angelina didn’t know how to feel when her mother died. 

She couldn’t say she felt depressed- her mother was distant and sometimes outright cruel and abusive. She knew her death meant that she’d be allowed to marry whom she chose- that she and William could finally be happy and spend the rest of their lives together without fear of separation by stupid laws or rules. She would be in charge now. 

But still... something was lost when she heard of her mother’s passing. Perhaps it was foolish, but Angelina always swore deep down there was still some semblance of goodness within her. After all, her mother wasn’t always this callous, it was only after her father died her mother started to hit. 

Perhaps Angelina still believed that somehow she could still make her mother proud. She had spent years building up her defenses to pretend she didn’t but... Angelina wasn’t perfect. She cared a whole awful lot about what others thought. 

However, Angelina wasn’t one to dwell in her negative thoughts, and instantly distracted herself with something much more pleasant to think about: wedding planning. 

Sure, some might consider it “too soon” but Angelina figured she and William had been in love in secret long enough. If it had been up to her, she would’ve gotten married no more than a week after her mother’s passing, but she knew that was a bad idea (and not just for P.R reasons). 

Still, the moment she could, Angelina got right to work, planning out the music, the food, the flowers, the colors, and just about everything. Of course, she had William to help, but he was less picky than she was. In fact, Angelina spent almost every waking moment planning things out, never pausing to breathe or think (William remarked how it was funny that she hadn’t given this much thought to her own coronation, to which Angelina said “coronation, shmoronation, this is our wedding”). 

However, she was slightly getting perhaps a little burnt out, so when William invited his old friend Heloise Nerz to be his “best man” and live in the palace for a few weeks, and Angelina was glad to add her to the planning comity. In truth, she and the good-natured nurse hit it off quite splendidly. They talked and talked and talked while they talked about dresses and other plans. In fact, Angelina had even offered her a job in the castle, but she turned her down, saying she was already in a partnership with a doctor back in Acme Falls, which Angelina respected. 

And so all of this built up led to this- their wedding day. Angelina was excited, to say the least, but as her attendants helped dress her and do her hair, an odd and unsettling feeling resided in the back of her mind. She did the best to shake it off and be happy, but it wouldn’t leave. Eventually, she asked for her attendants to leave and said that she would do her own finishing touches and that she’d ring for them if she needed them, and of course, they obeyed. 

Once she was alone, she sat down in the makeup seat, and just sat and looked at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked beautiful but something still wasn’t right. Angelina sighed, taking in deep and slow breaths when she saw-

Her.

“You’re really styling your hair like that?” Her mother’s cold voice spoke. 

“Of course it’s you, it’s always you,” Angelina muttered to herself. “Even when you’re dead, I can’t get rid of you,” She glared at her mother’s ghost through the mirror. 

“I’m your mother, what exactly did you think would happen? Did you think I’d just ‘magically go away’? If so, you’re a lot more foolish than I previously thought,” Angelina the First’s expression didn’t change, but she laughed coldly. Angelina closed her eyes and stood, walking away from the vanity. 

“You aren’t really here. You’re a hallucination,” Angelina said. 

“Hallucination or not, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Her mother turned to face her once more. 

“How exactly am I embarrassing myself?” She crossed her arms. 

“For one, marrying that peasant boy. I mean, really Angelina, you couldn’t have possibly chosen from any of the actual eligible suitors I selected for you?” The dead queen raised her voice. 

“No, because I love William. I love him with all my heart and nothing you will ever say or do is ever going to change that,” Angelina glared. 

“Then you really are a foolish child.” Her mother shook her head. “You know... I expected so much more of you, Angelina.” 

Angelina found herself lacking a response, and her mother continued. 

“I gave you my name, thinking you’d do something with it, that you would somehow make me and your father proud. But look at yourself... marrying a nobody from a town in the middle of nowhere,” the ghost shook its head.

“You are wasting yourself and your talents, and what’s even worse is that you’re also dooming the kingdom.”

“What..?” Angelina blinked, suddenly finding herself very, very nervous.

“Well, let’s look at this factually. You chose a peasant boy from the middle of nowhere to become king, and in this process are snubbing many other politically beneficial and eligible suitors which can, and will, have repercussions. Not to mention, what if something should happen to you? You’re an only child. If you were to die, he’d be forced to take over, except he has no such experience, and the kingdom would fall into ruin. Is this what you wanted? Hm?” 

“I-i...” Angelina looked down.

“Do you really expect your precious ‘love’ to keep a kingdom running?”

“W-well-”

“Do you? Answer me, Angelina, it’s a simple question.”

“I-i-”

“It’s simple- do you believe your foolish little marriage is helping the kingdom? That denying several princes and noblemen who are actually worthy of a position that you’re willing to just toss to a local knight is good for the people of Warnerstock?”

“I-”

“Honestly, Angelina. you never think anything through! You just rush in with that thick skull of yours and do what you want, never thinking of your people. You’re so self-centered that I bet it didn’t even cross your mind until I said anything, didn’t it?”

“W-well, n-no b-but-”

“I knew it,” The old queen sighed. 

“You know, you’ve always been a disappointment, Angelina, but this little... ‘wedding’ you’re having here has only cemented it.”

Angelina froze, and a wave of guilt and shame washed over her. Suddenly- she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. 

“Hello? Your majesty?”

Angelina turned her head and saw none other than Heloise at the door.

“Are you alright?” She asked. Angelina turned back to where the ghost of her mother was, but it was gone. Angelina shook her head. 

“I need to see William. Where is he?” Angelina took off her long velvet gloves. 

“It’s against tradition-”

“To hell with the tradition. Where is William?” Angelina demanded. 

“He’s in the royal dressing room two halls over- are you alright, Angelina? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Hello Nurse frowned with concern. 

“I’m fine. I-i just... I need to see him,” Angelina said. Heloise nodded and stepped aside, and Angelina quickly walked out and made her way to his dressing room, ignoring the confused looks and whispers of the servants and other people she ran into. 

Eventually, she reached his door, and she went to knock but her hand hovered right before she hit it. 

“Do you really think this is best? Not just for you- but for the kingdom as well?” 

Angelina cursed herself for thinking that way, and forced herself to knock. 

“Yes..? Who is it?” William asked on the other side. Angelina bit her lip. 

“I-it’s me, William,” She said, twisting her gloves in her hands. 

“Lena..? Is everything alright?” She heard his footsteps and he got behind the door. 

“W-well, yes, b-but... I’m afraid I need to talk to you,” She said, a wave of emotions rising within herself again and she realized she was close to crying. 

“Lena, are you alright..? I’m not supposed to see you until the ceremony,” He said. Angelina looked at the ground. 

“Just let me in,” She said. There was a quick click of a lock, and Angelina was let into his dressing room. 

“Lena? is everything okay-? Wow, you look... amazing... b-but is everything alright?” William asked. Angelina put a hand on her forehead and looked around the room to see if anyone was there. Thankfully there wasn’t, and she turned to face William. 

He looked the most well-groomed Angelina had ever seen him look in her life. His fur was styled perfectly, his collar on his suit was perfectly straight, his pants freshly pressed, and not a single wrinkle on his shirt. He looked perfectly handsome. Angelina felt like a fool. 

“I-i...” Angelina couldn’t get a word out before she began to cry. William didn’t hesitate to wrap her in his arms. 

“Lena, dearest... you’re shaking...” He said. Angelina held him tighter. 

“I-i thought I was okay- I’ve been pushing away her a-and her comments my whole life b-but here I am- crying like some idiot over something that didn’t even happen- I-i mean- she’s dead for crying out loud,” Angelina laughed pathetically as she cried. 

“Lena, you aren’t an idiot. You’re the smartest person I know,” William said. Angelina sniffled and shook her head. 

“I don’t think things through. I’m selfish- just like my mother,” She cried. 

“Lena, you are nothing like your mother,” William pulled away and made her look him in the eyes. “Trust me when I say you are a million times more kind, intelligent, understanding, beautiful, elegant, and pleasant to be around than she ever was.” 

Angelina sniffled and William wiped away her tears. 

“What happened? Are you alright?” He asked. Angelina took a deep breath. 

“I-i... I saw her- my mother. Sh-she wouldn’t leave me alone a-and she said things a-and...” Angelina didn’t feel like she had to finish. William nodded. 

“I’m so sorry Lena,” He kissed her forehead. Angelina closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. 

“I just... I feel like such an idiot...” She said, while William grabbed her hands and they slowly started to sway to a nonexistent, slow song. 

“Was it something she said?” William asked. 

“Not really... I mean- she’s dead. She’s been dead for over a month,” Angelina sighed. 

“What did she say?” 

“She said that I’m making a fool of myself and dooming the kingdom by marrying you,” Angelina said. William nodded slowly. 

“Why?”

“Sh-she said that if I were to die you wouldn’t be a good ruler, since you have no experience and all,” Angelina felt bad for admitting. 

“What can I do to fix that?” He asked, looking down at her. Angelina shrugged. 

“I don’t know... Perhaps we should get you some lessons like I took when I was a child,” She shrugged. 

“Consider it done,” William didn’t even hesitate. 

“R-really?” Angelina looked up at him. 

“Of course, my love. I’d do anything for you, and if it makes you feel safer and happier, then of course,” He smiled softly and wiped away more of her tears. Angelina then hugged him as tight as she could once more. 

“I love you, William,” She said. 

“I love you too, Lena,” He hugged her back. 

When she was good and ready, Angelina let go, before looking at the clock on the wall and gasping. 

“Look at the time- I really have to go- especially if I want to fix... this... in time,” Angelina gestured to herself vaguely, knowing she probably looked like a mess. 

“You look amazing no matter what dear,” William said. Angelina rolled her eyes. 

“You’ll see me soon, I’m not going anywhere,” Angelina kissed his cheek. 

“Good, because for a moment there I really was scared,” He said. 

“Sorry,” She apologized. “And... thanks.”

“Anything for you my dear,” he winked and Angelina rolled her eyes and ran out the door and back to her own dressing room to quickly fix her hair and makeup, making sure to ring for her attendants so she wouldn’t have to do it alone. 

Thankfully, they all finished in the nick of time, and after Angelina thanked them all profusely, it was time for the ceremony. 

A part of her was still expecting the sinking feeling and her mother’s voice to still be in the back of her mind, but as she put on her gloves and took the bouquet, all she could feel was excitement.

She was getting married today to a man she loved very, very much. 

She honestly didn’t expect such a thing to be possible, and yet here she was. 

The doors opened, and she smiled. 

Music flooded the area and slowly yet gracefully, Queen Angelina II made her way down the long aisle and stood across her soon-to-be husband. 

“You look... wow...” William commented, his eyes already filling with tears. Angelina laughed a little, and the officiant began their long schpiel, but in truth, Angelina and William couldn’t have cared less, as they were utterly entranced in each other’s eyes. However, they did pay attention when it was time for them to give each other their vows. 

“Angelina... From the moment I first saw you I knew I was in love instantly. You’re intelligent, charismatic, graceful, witty, wild, and so, so much more than my simple words can describe. You are my sun in the morning, my moon at night, and everything else in between. Without you, I would be a different person entirely. Because of you, I’ve changed and grown so much, more than you could probably ever know. 

I love you, Angelina, and I promise to love and protect you with all I have in me, as long as we both shall live,” William said, as he put her ring on her finger. Angelina felt herself choke up and wished she had gone first. 

“William... oh goodness- what can I say? The moment I met you you immediately made a fool of yourself by tripping over a bucket of water that got everywhere in the stables, and from that moment, I knew we would be good friends,” She said, pausing for the laughter in the hall. 

“William, you are loyal, you are kind, you are strong, you are humble, you are optimistic, and you always know just what to say. I feel safe around you, and when I met you it wasn’t a feeling I was used to, but now it’s a feeling I can’t get enough of. 

William, I love you, and I promise to love and cherish you with my entire soul and being, so long as we both shall live,” She said, putting his ring on his finger, smiling a little at how much he was crying. 

“Sir William the Good of Acme Falls, do you take Queen Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca II to be your lawfully wedded wife?” 

“I do.”

“Queen Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Second, do you take Sir William the Good of Acme Falls to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“Then, by the power invested in me, I now declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride-” He said, but before he could finish, William had already dipped Angelina into a passionate kiss. 

Music began to play once more, the audience cheered, and wedding bells began to ring, and so the new couple took each other’s hands and ran out of the hall and into the beginning of their new life together, secure in the fact that they had each other no matter what. 

[rebellionbeach]

The Usami brothers and whole family as a whole are really interesting characters.  Due mostly by the fact of how different Haruhiko and Akihiko are yet similar in many ways as well.  Let’s start with rabbit boy.

Not only is this man extremely sexy but he’s also one of the most popular novelists in Japan believe it or not (not in real life guys)  Akihiko is the presumably biological son of Natsuko and Fuyuhiko and younger brother of Haruhiko Usami.  Growing up, he had always yearned for the attention of his parents, wanting to impress them and make them happy.  Haruhiko had actually been introduced to the Usami household at the age of 12 so Akihiko was 10 at the time and significant development seemed to grow from this change.  As shown from volume 21, everyone had been cheering Akihiko on as the legitimate heir of the Usami family meaning to take over the family business however he had never gotten this support from his parents before.  As a young child he had believed that if he just tried harder and became good at everything, then his parents would finally recognize him.  However, this wasn’t the case unfortunately as shown in the same volume once a young Akihiko came home from school gaining full marks on a test, eager to show his father when he caught him telling Haruhiko that he truly intended to make him the heir of the family business.  This impact was further felt once his mother, who had also witnessed this, declared that she should have never bore Fuyuhiko’s child which in the eyes of a young child must have been completely shattering.  An important seed was planted however and I believe that it was at this moment that Akihiko had started to evolve into the person he is today.  He poured all his emotion, pain, loss, suffering into his notebooks, his stories, proclaiming it to be his entire world.  Overtime we see that Akihiko grows to be very adept at the talent, being one of the top-selling authors from debut which occurred while still in high school and becoming a full-fledged novelist.  Doing this, he completely rejected his family and any connections he might have had to take over the business.  

Looking as Akihiko today it is very clear the type of individual he is, independent and self-serving, he’s his own boss and does only the things he wants to do.  From the first episode of season 2 we see this as there is a key event that takes place between the two Usami brothers in which a confrontation between two escalates into a full-out argument over Akihiko coming back to, as I assume, take over the lead of the Usami company and or serve there.  I will note later on Haruhiko’s tone and content of his language but it’s Akihiko’s response which truly stuck out to me as he stated that he had no inclination of going back to that house and if that Haruhiko truly didn’t like being there then why doesn’t he just leave as well.

This point may seem entirely irrelevant but I actually believe it highlights an essential part of Akihiko’s character that not only serves as his strength but also a blind spot in that of his independence.  Akihiko is the type of person who is able to do the things he’d like to do and encourages the people he cares about, basically Misaki, to do the same such as in episode 2 of season 3 where he is actually the one who encourages Misaki to enter into Marukawa after Misaki dismisses those thoughts as just a fantasy.  This is a thing for his relationship with Misaki as he allows the man a different perspective and in a way allows him, or at least encourages him, to be more selfish.  However this can also be seen as a flaw of his character as it can be interpreted that the only reason he has this lax and independent personality in the first place is because of his more well-off family and the fact that he’d had connections from the start.  In all honestly though, this part of Usagi-san’s personality is one of the main reasons why I actually enjoy his character, along with his thoughtful nature, as I believe that it’s a pretty unique and well-suited trait.

Let’s get into Harry Potter or the eldest brother of the Usami residence, Haruhiko.  Haruhiko isn’t Akihiko’s direct brother as stated before but rather a product of an affair that Fuyuhiko had with his mother.  For the first 12 years of his life, Haruhiko had actually been raised by his single-mother whom he loved very much.  During these times he had been seen to be much more happy despite living in poorer circumstances.  This is a large aspect that is pretty big onto why he is the way he is today.  After his mother tragically passing on, Fuyuhiko took him into to live in the Usami residence.  Now this in itself is absolutely devastating, living with a father-figure that had never truly been there for you with a new mother-in-law that despises your every existence because you’re the proof of the infidelities of her marriage and a new younger brother who seemed lifeless from the rest of this.  Top it all off with the devastation from losing the only person you truly loved and was there for you and damn I’m surprised that Haruhiko didn’t full out lose it.  

Now going back to the scene originally discussed with Akihiko’s backstory, let us switch perspective onto Haruhiko during this situation.  Your new dad just stated that the person he had truly loved in his lifetime was your dead mother and that he intended to make you, a 12 year old child, the heir of their family company that you had just learned about.  Not only this but everyone around you is your enemy as shown through all the people cheering on Akihiko to become the true heir and saying that Haruhiko stole his position.  There is basically no one there to support you, similar to Akihiko, and unlike Akihiko he actually was not used to this new circumstance making the situation even worse. 

I’d like to discuss the scene stated before during episode 1 of season 2.  Here, Haruhiko is visibly angry as Akihiko’s lack of care for his role in the Usami residence.  This is something we’ve never actually gotten to see ever since with Haruhiko barely showing any emotion at all.  However, if you take in the full context of his upbringing and circumstance to that point, you can see a fuller picture of what the man has gone through to become the stoic chosen one we know today.  Akihiko, after being hoisted by Isaka to finally start publishing his works, his entire being, finally achieved success independent from the Usami residence, marking himself finally as an individual allowing him to finally see that he only needs himself.  I think this is what caused Akihiko to cut most connection from his family, despite the occasional visits, and totally puts himself away from the idea of succeeding and become the heir of his family’s company.  This leaves Haruhiko with the burden of shouldering the entire Usami company’s future, something he never truly wanted to today with architecture being his main priority.  What he see’s in Akihiko is this lazy, selfish person who only thinks of himself, abandoning all his familial duties to a brother whom he barely batted an eye to during childhood.  This is what he hates in Akihiko, but also envies.  A very interesting point that season 2 makes with the connection between the Usami brothers is the inherent jealously Haruhiko feels toward Akihiko, with him trying to steal things from him during their upbringing together according to Akihiko.  Even Misaki finally has this revelation during episode 8 I believe when he was distracting him from Kaoruko.  I think his jealously mainly stems from the fact that Akihiko got his independence while Haruhiko is still confined to the Usami gates.  With all of Akihiko’s absent-minded behavior and to quote Haruhiko, “having the eyes of a dead fish”, Akihiko in the end still achieved that sense of independence that Haruhiko could only dream about having.  Add onto the fact that everyone around you hates that you got this position, lobbying for your younger half-brother who barely gives in the effort to succeed you, then baby that’s a recipe for childhood resentment if I’ve ever seen one.  

So what does this all mean, well nothing since this is an over-analysis on a yaoi manga but in a reality I think it comes to show the clear dynamic Haruhiko and Akihiko have on one another.  In recent chapters it is shown that Haruhiko is more and more aspiring in his own pursuits in architecture, even accepting his position as lead of the Usami household and accepting the fact that he’ll never get Misaki, wanting to stay as his ally instead (which is a lot more than I can say for a CERTAIN manga author).

I love Haruhiko AND Akihiko, they both are really great characters and I’d think it would be nice if in the future they could perhaps reconcile their relationship and kind of start to get along.  The Usami household fucked up a lot of kids but they are still going strong and who knows, maybe Haruhiko might get a lover in the future (AKA Todo)

Thank you and now I implore you to go listen to Nelson’s After the Rain album, 10/10 made me cry.

[misssophiachase]

prompt- AH Klaroline. we usually see klaus developing feelings for caroline while she's in a relationship with someone else. i would like to see something where klaus has been in an established relationship with another girl and caroline realizes that she's developed feelings for him. (if you don't have time to do this one, don't worry about it).

Thanks nonnie, I love it so much! Inspired really. Got a bit carried away too, see notes at the end.

Synopsis: One wedding and a completely confused best man and maid of honour.

“And all you never say is that you love me so.”

All You Never Say

Caroline Forbes, Maid of Honour, Invites you to celebrate:

The Bachelorette Party for

Katherine Pierce

On Saturday fifteenth of June, twenty-twenty one at Connaught Bar, Mayfair, London at 2000h

Dress: Party Attire

One week before the nuptials - Connaught Bar, London England, 10:21pm

“What happened to the Kitty Kat I knew who’d usually be dancing on the bar right now and showing the stripper just how it’s done?” 

Although her tone was light and teasing, Caroline was a little disappointed given this was her best friend’s bachelorette party and there wasn’t a tacky veil or penis straw in sight. 

Also, they’d been forced to hire out a venue to avoid unwanted media attention before the big day so the atmosphere wasn’t quite what she was expecting either. 

The word lacklustre seemed a good word to describe it all.  

Maid of Honour Caroline had been banned from most fun things when organising Kat’s last night of ‘freedom’. 

“She’s marrying one of the United Kingdom’s most eligible bachelors, not to mention the youngest Minister in the Government’s Cabinet. That doesn’t really go with the wholesome reputation she’s trying to portray, Care,” Bonnie offered, eating the olive from her martini. “Although, I think it’s a shame you can’t put those pole dancing moves we learned in Cabo to good use.”

“This is one pathetic stripper, just saying,” Rebekah offered, joining them at the bar and stealing Bonnie’s drink from her outstretched hands.

“I was on the other side of the world, I could only go by his rating on the internet,” Caroline argued. “Plus, I also had to find one who kept some clothes on and we all know what that means.”

“What’s underneath doesn’t match the whole package,” Bonnie finished. “We don’t need to tip him, do we?”

When Katherine called Caroline thirteen months earlier to say she was engaged to Elijah, Caroline couldn’t have been happier. They’d all met each other at private boarding school and had stayed in touch ever since and even though they seemed like opposites, Kat and Elijah complemented one another. 

Also, Katherine’s job as head neurosurgeon at one of London’s most prestigious private hospitals and her impressive family inheritance greatly helped matters when it came to swaying his parents on the engagement. 

The Mikaelsons. 

Mikael and Esther were extremely wealthy and well-connected in English society.  They came from family money and owned a large and impressive property portfolio spanning the entire globe and had sent their children to the best boarding school the US had to offer.  

Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. 

Caroline wasn’t wealthy like the rest of her friends. She’d be lying if that fact didn’t make her feel somewhat inferior. Her father owned the local general store and, if it weren’t for her scholarship, Caroline would have ended up in public school. Not that she would have minded but her father insisted it was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

Attending the exclusive boarding school had been an adjustment to say the least and not just because of the ugly and uncomfortable uniforms they had to wear. Caroline was assigned to a room with three fellow students. 

Katherine Pierce, although the daughter of a talented cardiothoracic surgeon and a world class architect, was wild and impulsive and constantly in trouble with the dean for her indiscretions like sneaking out to meet boys and smoking on occasion. 

Bonnie Bennett was the gorgeous but serious high achiever whose parents owned one of the biggest publishing houses in the world. She was taught never to take anything for granted and work hard for what she wanted in life. 

Rebekah Mikaelson, while strong-willed and passionate, was the odd one out from the beginning. She made it her aim in life to drive the other girls crazy with her brittle personality and unwanted opinions. Although it took a while, and a few choice fights that needed to be broken up between her and Katherine, the girls became best friends. 

Rebekah’s brothers all attended the school at the same time but in different years with Elijah the eldest followed by Klaus then Kol and youngest sibling Rebekah.  

The Mikaelson boys and their best friend from home, Enzo St John, were definitely the most popular and sought after by the female student body. Caroline, not being one to conform, refused to play that game. She had no intention of stroking their egos any further, especially head womaniser Klaus. 

There was no doubting he was gorgeous, it ran in their family after all, but he knew it. 

Caroline found that she could have a fun time with Enzo, a deep and meaningful discussion with Elijah and a joke with Kol but when it came to Klaus all he did was tease her and rile her up. 

Of course she told herself it was because he was an immature idiot but wasn’t overly convinced it was the only reason given the looks she’d send his way when she knew no one was looking.  Caroline hoped whatever weird thing was happening would dissipate when they graduated. 

Kol and Bonnie had dated for a year at school, but apart from them they all stayed friends. So much so, that after they’d all graduated and gone their separate ways in life they still caught up for most significant occasions. 

This wedding being one of many. 

Katherine and Elijah had reconnected in Boston and, even though she always said he was too serious, they fell in love and were now on the verge of marriage. 

Caroline was so excited, if not about the bachelorette party. 

“Who are we kidding? I got the wild stuff out when you three were all too busy being good girls in boarding school,” she scoffed. Caroline wouldn’t admit it aloud but she had a point. “And there’s nothing stopping you three from getting up there with the stripper.” 

“Pass,” all three replied, looking up at him ominously. 

“How about we get out of here and see what the boys are up to?” Katherine suggested a twinkle in her brown eyes. 

“Because I think that defeats the purpose of a bachelorette party, Pierce,” Caroline drawled. “And this is Elijah, no offence but poker doesn’t sound all that exciting if you ask me.”

“Says the girl with the special poker skills,” Kat smiled deviously. “Klaus likes to think he’s the best player but we all know you could give him a run for his money. I’d say watching you fleece him is a fun way to spend an evening.”

Caroline had to admit angering the best man and her wedding partner certainly had its benefits. They’d seen each other in passing the previous day on arrival but otherwise hadn’t connected much recently because she was based on the West coast in Los Angeles and him on the East in New York City. 

He was the CEO of a prominent stockbroking firm and, by all reports, had been dating a Texan oil billionaire’s daughter and model, Hayley someone, for the past year.  

Okay, her surname was Marshall. 

She may have read a few editions of Page Six and seen them attending premieres and openings. She was sort of attractive.

Okay, she was gorgeous with big, brown doe eyes and a glossy chestnut mane and legs for days. 

Caroline told herself that she didn’t care more times than she could count but there was also something lingering beneath the surface with Klaus. She would have endeavoured to forget him after school had it not been for something that happened two years earlier and changed her opinion of him completely. 

Bastard.

And with that came the insecurity she hated. Even though she’d carved out a successful career as a human rights lawyer, she’d never fit into his life because she didn’t have a rich family or a huge inheritance like Hayley. Not that she cared but she knew his family did. 

She noticed her friends giving her weird looks, clearly she didn’t realise how much of a Klaus trance she’d descended into. 

“Sure. Why not?”

American Bar, Savoy Hotel, London 11:07pm 

“This is lame,” Kol scoffed, throwing his cards on the makeshift poker table. 

“He’s only saying that because he’s losing,” Enzo laughed, pulling the chips towards him greedily. 

“No, I’m saying that because this is no bachelor party,” he huffed, standing up and going to the bar to make himself another drink. “You couldn’t even organise one, measly stripper?”

As with the girls, the guys had hired out the venue for privacy reasons, not that they were actually doing anything untoward. 

Klaus had won the most money so far but he’d left the table to take a call from Hayley letting Enzo win a few rounds in his absence. She was arriving the next day for the wedding and was calling to check on the arrangements. 

Klaus was certain he’d told her multiple times but she was someone who liked things just right. But she also liked to call. 

A lot. 

At first he thought it was endearing but after a year he was starting to realise it was largely overkill. So too, her obsession with all things materialistic and celebrity and having to be at the opening of everything and anything. Klaus liked to keep more of a low profile if he could and that trait only reminded him of his parents and their chosen life together.

When he’d met her during a wild weekend in Miami, Klaus was immediately taken with her. He even thought it was love but decided that was just the tequila talking and it was most definitely lust. Klaus didn’t do relationships and he assumed she would be a momentary distraction until his parents had taken a strong liking to her.  Or more accurately to her wealth and family connections and future prospects for them. 

With Mikael and Esther it wasn’t much about love but what you did for a living and how much money your family had. Their marriage was case in point. 

Klaus wasn’t one to do what his parents told him but he’d long felt the black sheep given his secret paternity and decided it would be good to earn their favour for a change.  

There was also another reason to entertain the relationship, one that had made him realise that, no matter what, he was always going to have to settle for second best. 

“Are we interrupting anything?” Klaus looked up into the eyes of his future sister-in-law. He and Katherine had acted like siblings from the moment they met so to him her marriage to Elijah was inevitable.     

“Great!” Kol growled from his vantage point behind the bar. “Not only do I have to sit through this poor excuse for a party but now the girls have arrived.”

“Nice to see you too, Kol,” Bonnie said, raising her eyebrows. Although they’d dated over ten years ago everyone seemed to think something was still very much happening between them. 

“As much as I’m glad to see my beautiful fiance,” Elijah smiled, standing so he could pull her into his arms affectionately. “I’m not sure this is the done thing.”

“Oh, you mean like strippers, brother?” 

“You’re more than welcome to our stripper, Kol, we only left him in Mayfair about ten minutes ago so you might be able to catch him if you’re lucky,” Rebekah teased, swiping a few of Enzo’s prized chips from the table.

“Oi, woman!” He muttered, attempting to take it back while she squealed in response. 

Rebekah and Enzo had been play fighting since he was eleven and she was nine.  The rest of the group all knew it was unresolved tension that would finally sort itself out some day so were just waiting for it to click into place. 

“So, what you’re telling me is that the girls were allowed to have a stripper?” Clearly, Kol wasn’t letting this one go easily. 

“Oh would you please shut up, little brother, does it shock you that Elijah didn’t actually want one?” Klaus barked, his brother wearing on his last nerve. 

For the most part his gaze had been surreptitiously trained on the maid of honour.  Attired in a little, black dress that hugged her in all the right places it was incredibly distracting.  She was also wearing her hair just how he liked it, loose and a little wild. How many times had he imagined running his fingers through those waves? Too many to count.

Yes, Caroline Forbes was his dirty little secret. One that he had every intention of keeping because it would do him no good to reveal it. 

“I promise that when you get married I’ll book out an entire strip club,” Enzo offered, stealing the chip from Rebekah’s grasp while she wasn’t watching and sending her a triumphant smirk. “Happy?”

“Are we playing poker or what?” Caroline asked. This got his attention. Klaus looked over at her, his eyebrows cocked curiously. 

“You play poker, love?”

“I dabble,” she replied, taking a seat at the table. “I mean, I used to play with my grandpa when I was about ten. Pretty sure the rules haven’t changed much since then.” It would have been adorable if Klaus wasn’t so competitive by nature. 

“We are playing for real money here,” he warned, giving her one last chance to back out. “I mean I wouldn’t want to take advantage.” 

“I’m a big girl and can take care of myself,” she shot back. “So, just deal the cards, Mikaelson.” 

The others took their place and the game was restarted, even Kol seemed to have gotten out of his funk to play. The first hand went like this:

“All red,” Rebekah smiled triumphantly, laying her cards on the table. After betting her entire bank it was sufficed to say she was out from the get-go. 

“All red? Seriously, little sister? Can you please take her away Enzo and never let her play ever again,” Klaus muttered through gritted teeth. How were they even related?

Second hand ended in Katherine and Elijah being expelled for too much PDA at the poker table. Neither of the love birds minded a little time out in the corner. 

Third hand came down to a poor display of bluffing from Kol while Bonnie complained because all she wanted to do was play Go Fish because it was more entertaining.

Then there were two.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just give in, Forbes?” Klaus asked, leaning back lazily in his chair.  She was studying her cards carefully. Most hands she’d folded before betting anything and he was starting to realise she was too careful, much like the girl he knew in real life.   

“Give me a minute,” she hissed, fastening a loose wave behind her ear. Klaus could tell it was a sign of a bad hand but at the same time he wished he was the one to place it there. 

“Okay, I want three cards,” she asked, placing the discarded ones face down. 

“Maybe you should just fold, love?” He asked, partly because he was concerned but also because Klaus knew he was that accomplished. His straight flush was looking extremely good right now. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell me what to do, ass,” she offered, noting his shocked look in response. “I was just trying to counter your love with something equally fitting.”

“Fine,” he murmured trying to pretend not to feel dejected. “Three cards.”

She took them and again studied them closely. Meanwhile the rest of the group had gathered around, no doubt sensing this was their last hand and everyone could finally go home. 

“Okay, how about we stop beating around the bush and I just bet everything I have,” she said pushing it all into the middle. 

“You’re bluffing,” he blurted out, knowing it was impossible she had a hand to beat his flush. 

“I guess you’ll have to bet to find out,” she smiled. All he wanted to do was kiss it off her face and that was just for starters. He shook his head reminding himself that he needed to relax. 

“Call,” she said, her expression serious. They held each other’s gaze for a prolonged period, Klaus telling himself it was to try and read the poker signs but that wasn’t it at all. He suddenly realised that he could stare at her for hours and never tire. 

Not just hours, forever maybe.  

He cleared his throat knowing that everyone was now watching in anticipation. 

“Straight flush,” he grinned proudly, laying it out on the table. She gave it a brief look before placing hers next to his. 

“All red.” Given it was a ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of diamonds, also known as a royal flush, she was clearly being facetious. 

“You played me, Forbes.” He finally uttered amongst the cheers and Rebekah’s insistence that she must have had a winning hand all along. 

She pulled the chips towards her happily choosing not to respond immediately. His eyes were still trained on her though, desperate for some kind of response.

“And you underestimated me, Mikaelson,” she murmured. 

Yes. Maybe he had underestimated her and everything else.

TBC - Next part will be up tomorrow PM..there’s a chance encounter in the middle of the night, a rehearsal dinner and a slight wedding mishap before the big day. But let me know what you think so far : ) 

Follow on AO3 HERE

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Hey, I saw your post about a head canon world where Lotor becomes the black Paladin, and it made me wonder how you feel about a different head canon, one that I personally don’t really have but find very interesting- the head canon of Lotor as a Blade of Marmora agent. How do you think that would change the plot of Voltron, and what do you think would happen with that? Just curious.

P.S. When’s the next chapter of Adrenaline Rush coming out? I love it so much and I’m at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens-

Hi, anon. Thanks for the note! I’ve definitely thought about Lotor as a Blade before, and a while back last year, I posted a little drabble called The Awakening introducing that plot bunny. You can read it here as well as access links for other BOM Lotor stories! 

Outside of that drabble, I do think transitioning Lotor to be a Blade pretty heavily shifts VLD. There’s probably a million interesting ways a person could write such a VLD AU, but I guess my initial thoughts would be something like this (heads up, this is a monster outline for a whole series rewrite):

After the disastrous end of the mining colony, Zarkon doesn’t just exile Lotor. He imprisons Lotor with the idea that Lotor either submit to “remedial training” or death.  

When Lotor chooses death over kneeling before his father again, the Blades are convinced that Lotor is in fact truly different from Zarkon. Kolivan moves in to save him, offering him a secondary life in the shadows as an operative.

Lotor rises to the rank of Lieutenant within the BOM and helps establish a surviving Altean colony. In doing so, he discovers the legends of Oriande. He spends his time convincing the Blades that there is deeper knowledge of the universe they could use to defeat Zarkon and his witch.

The Blades share that they are aware at least Blue Lion survived the destruction of Altea, and they suspect that more Lions still exist. Kolivan orders Lotor to stand down from pursuing Oriande in favor of uncovering the location of the remaining lions.

Lotor ends up working with Krolia to better understand how she came to find the Blue Lion on Earth. He grows to see her as something of a mother figure or role model and is aware that she had to leave behind a mixed-race son of her own to ensure the war would never reach Keith.  

Lotor warns that the pull to know one’s own heritage is significant, and that her half-human son will likely go to dangerous lengths to know the truth, especially if his more Galran attributes arise.

Krolia assures that her son’s father would keep the truth a secret and that Keith had no known signs of Galran blood.

Krolia missed that her son could sense things a normal human couldn’t.

All of that would be background information to be revealed in time.

VLD s1 would still pick up with Keith sensing the energy of the Blue Lion.

Lotor has by this time identified the location of the Red Lion, also following legends of a Lion Goddess upon Arus to suspect that perhaps more may exist on that planet. But Sendak has also picked up coordinates for the Red Lion. 

Kolivan orders Lotor to stay hidden and send out squadrons to extract Red Lion, only for the extraction to fail and for the Red Lion to fall officially into Sendak’s hands.

At this time, Shiro crash-lands back on Earth. Sendak’s squadrons were also trailing his escape. The witch Haggar turns her eye to Earth and senses ancient power—the Blue Lion.

Kolivan is at a crossroads to determine next best steps. Lotor convinces him that it’s better to let Red Lion go temporarily than to lose even more to Sendak. Lotor argues that an elite squadron be sent to Earth to extract Blue Lion, and that he receive approval to pursue his lead for a possible lion on Arus.

Kolivan approves Lotor’s plan and realigns assets to Earth and to Lotor’s extraction team. Some Blades on Lotor’s extraction team are in fact Alteans and other survivors of other planets they have rescued over the years. Backup teams suit up for battle.

Krolia volunteers to lead the Earth squadron. She fears that her son and his people may be in danger.

Hunk, Pidge, and Lance follow Keith and Shiro to the Blue Lion. But at this time, the Galra have already discovered the Blue Lion. Krolia is desperately attempting to fend them off, but the Galra had taken out several of her squadron members, and she herself is injured.

The Galaxy Garrison recognizes that alien squadrons have landed on Earth, endangering several cities with their warfare. In fear that Earth is under invasion, they activate various militarized assets to contain the problem and capture any aliens, dead or alive.

Keith, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance all panic, realizing they’re about to be caught in an alien war, the firepower of their trigger-happy superiors, and the biggest national security breach in human history. 

Krolia meanwhile, desperate, tosses some weapons over to the humans and begs for their help. She tells them that keeping this Blue Lion out of the hands of Emperor Zarkon is imperative to universal safety.

Keith and Shiro move in to assist Krolia. Pidge is trying to contact Galaxy Garrison about the situation, panicking in an attempt to explain that not everyone in the fire zone is an enemy. Hunk is hesitantly like, “Is this a real thing? Am I actually seeing aliens right now? Omg, is this actually a weapon? I don’t think I’m trained for this!” And Lance meanwhile is distracted. He’s sensing Blue Lion, and it’s responding to him, because out of everyone, he’s the only with the tenacity to actually get in this thing and fly it out of harm’s way.

Shiro realizes if they don’t get Krolia and her team out, the Garrison might not be so kind to her either. Once he sees Lance is able to operate controls, he agrees best thing to do is to get Blue Lion off Earth entirely.

The instant Krolia gets a good look at Keith, she realizes that he is her son and panics when she realizes she willingly begged for this boy to get involved in the battle.

Long story short, the future paladins + Krolia and the surviving Blades operatives escape through a wormhole using Blue Lion, which takes them back to the Castle of Lions on Arus. They narrowly escape both death at the hands of Galra and capture by Galaxy Garrison.

Galaxy Garrison is blaring alarms that Earth has experienced what appears to be its first true alien invasion. It recognizes that several cadets were caught up in the crossfire. They assume those cadets and Shiro to be Missing In Action and feared dead. Earth leaders convene to discuss defense strategies, in fear that this will not be the end.

Meanwhile, Lotor has already landed on Planet Arus with his team. But he soon realizes that this isn’t just the location of the Castle of Lions—it’s also housing the Black Lion’s energy force and the long-lost Princess Allura, the “Lion Goddess” that Arusians had seen through the glass of her pod.

Lotor makes the decision to wake up the princess and her Altean advisor, Coran. In fear that he would scare them as a Galran, he keeps his face mask on. He begs the princess to fly the ship to safety, as he does not know how to use a teladuv but understands what they are.

Princess Allura is very confused for a time, demanding to know who he is and what exactly is going on.

Sendak hears from Haggar that she senses new energy on Arus.

Lotor is distracted, attempting to reach Krolia and strategize a full, double-wormhole back to BOM headquarters with the Castle and Blue Lion in tow. The fight on Earth temporarily distracted Sendak, but with Blue Lion gone, Sendak is now racing his way back to the Castle’s position. Time is very limited.

Lotor stumbles a bit at the sight of Allura, who is very beautiful.

Coran is flailing about that Alfor’s plan to hide the lions is ruined—

At this time, the paladins + Krolia and team land on Arus via wormhole.

Keith is helping his mother to rush into the Castle of Lions for cover, as she is still injured.

Princess Allura is beginning to realize that Altea had been completely destroyed, and she is very distraught that Emperor Zarkon has become an unstoppable tyrant, killing and enslaving millions. 

Lotor kneels down beside her and convinces her that if she can operate the castle for just a very short time, then they can save the entire galaxy and take back a Lion from Zarkon, together.

The princess senses his goodwill and agrees, pulling herself together. She admits she knows where the other lions are, as Alfor had tied her life-force to all of the Lions.

Allura is surprised to realize that Blue Lion is just outside.

Lotor’s squadron guides the paladins and company into the heart of the Castle. Princess Allura is surprised again to discover that a human named Lance had bonded with the Blue Lion so easily. She begins to search out the bond ties of the other lions and realizes they are attempting to sort through options for new paladins.

Allura helps Keith with placing Krolia in a healing pod. She senses the energy between them is quite similar, and that they are perhaps related.

The Blue Lion and other Lions communicate to Allura that they need a fresh team that can function as one immediately. A team with new perspectives, a desire to protect, and without the painful history or conflicts of interest that resulted in Alfor’s leniency with Zarkon. They hone in on the humans, and Allura sees their auras as clearly aligned with their respective lions.

She communicates to the larger team that they are in desperate need of paladins for the other lions—and that the lions have chosen these humans who were willing to defend Blue and their home world.

Lotor hesitates, having had plans for those lions that didn’t involve humans. But he acknowledges that alchemical magic is above his understanding. He glances over at Keith, catching that his scent is similar to Krolia’s—and that his prophecy of a family reunion has come true in the strangest of ways.

Princess Allura quickly sets to revealing the location of the other lions and activating wormholes for them to retrieve them.

Meanwhile, the Castle has experienced 10,000 years of rust and degradation of lesser systems. Coran and Lotor team up to fix the particle barrier, anticipating that they may need to provide backup for the new paladins. Coran and Lotor bicker over many things, and Coran warns that he can see Lotor making cow eyes at the princess even beneath his mask. Lotor vehemently denies it.

Krolia, stubbornly moving her way out of a healing pod, pleads with Allura that Keith not be chosen to pilot Red Lion—that he might find a way to go back and be safe with his father.

Allura apologizes that she is not in control of the lions and that they choose their paladins. “If Red Lion chose your son, it is because Keith can save the universe. That it’s his destiny to be a part of this fight with us.” But Allura is unsettled too, as she’s actively trying to test systems with Coran and this mysterious, masked Blade whose name she doesn’t even know yet, except that his title is Lieutenant. Meanwhile, she’s also trying to keep the wormholes open for the paladins.

The new paladins return in time for the arrival of Sendak, who still has Red Lion in his grasp.

The newly minted Team Voltron make a stand with the lions they have available to reclaim Red Lion and activate Black Lion.

The BOM forces assist in the overtake and attempt to suppress the battle from affecting locals on the planet of Arus.

Lotor realizes that Keith is in significant trouble, as Sendak is moving in protect Red Lion himself. Lotor runs to activate his own ship as backup, knowing Sendak’s fighting weaknesses.

The battle ends up with Keith struggling to connect with Red Lion while Lotor fights off Sendak.

Sendak manages to knock Lotor’s face mask loose and startles in surprise to see Zarkon’s supposedly dead son.

Lotor uses the moment of surprise to critically injure Sendak, escaping up to the Red Lion that Keith has taken command of.

All lions and teams retreat back to the Castle of Lions, which wormholes out before Sendak’s forces can catch them.

Sendak haltingly conveys to Emperor Zarkon that his son yet lives, fighting in the armor of an unknown rebel group.

Zarkon whips into a rage that his darkest shame is still alive and fighting against him.

The witch, Haggar, promises to end Lotor’s life once and for all, and to reclaim the lions for Zarkon’s glory.

Team Voltron meanwhile celebrates their first win in a panic-relief that they were able to form Voltron.

Various Blade operatives take off their masks. Some are revealed to be Alteans, including a grown Bandor and Romelle who were rescued long ago and now fight as part of Lotor’s squadron. Princess Allura and Coran are comforted greatly to know that many Alteans yet live, and that there is a colony where juniberries grow too. 

Princess Allura still wants to know who the mysterious Lieutenant is who woke her up and managed to fight off Sendak.

Bandor, a big Lotor fan, nearly breaks the truth that “Lieutenant Lotor is—” and Romelle nudges him to be quiet, interjecting that their lieutenant is a very private person and that no one knows much about him.

Meanwhile, Kolivan is incredibly unhappy that Lotor has revealed himself on an active battle field.

Lotor argues that he did it to protect Krolia’s son, who was chosen to be the paladin of Red Lion—and isn’t that the more important objective?

Kolivan reassigns Krolia immediately to ensure that her ties to Keith do not interfere with Keith’s new mission. Keith still doesn’t know Krolia is his mother.

Kolivan then grounds Lotor from engaging in an active battle again, and admits that it is best if Lotor remain with Team Voltron in his own stylized armor. 

Lotor asks if this is a demotion for insubordination.

Kolivan hesitates and says it’s possibly a promotion, if he can help to keep these human children alive long enough to save the universe. If all goes well, then the Blades will back Lotor’s bid at the resulting Kral Zera after Zarkon’s defeat.

Lotor hesitates, then adds, “And my secondary mission, to search for Oriande?”

“…Approved.”

Lotor then asks if it’s in fact cruel to hide from Keith that Krolia is his mother, but Kolivan convinces him that sometimes, the consequences of knowing outweigh the consequences of ignorance.

Kolivan knows that Haggar is Lotor’s true mother, but corrupted.

He fears what Lotor might do with that information.

Lotor, meanwhile, designs new armor for himself that is separate from that of the Blades.

He appears to Princess Allura, offering to help train the new paladins in the art of war if she can assist them with the spiritual aspects of connecting with Voltron.

Princess Allura accepts, but corrects him to say that she knows quite a bit about the art of war, thank you very much.  

He searches her curiously and asks to see what she can do—as it is imperative she remain battle-ready herself.

The princess very casually grabs for his own sword and holds it to his throat, in a challenge for a duel.

Lotor’s lips split wide in a smile of delight. He likes this princess and her spirit.

He discovers that the princess really can hold her own, and it’s at that point he realizes he will struggle to remain objective about her in his missions.

Allura is not entirely unaffected either, fighting to maintain a level of professionalism around him.

At some point, Lotor’s cat Kova sneaks in from Lotor’s ship to the Castle of Lions. Kova is a lazy, happy cat who likes to hold a mouse in his mouth but doesn’t actually try to eat it. Princess Allura’s mice get used to be carried around in this way. Chulatt often rides atop Kova’s head.

Kova is something of a therapy cat for the whole team. He likes lots of scritches and the way Pidge rubs his belly. He often steals Hunk’s burritos and sleeps on Allura’s comfy pillow when she is busy. 

Dayak, Lotor’s old governess, hears through the grapevine of Galra High Command that Lotor is in fact still alive. Kolivan and other Blade operatives track her, debating if she could possibly be turned to their side. They believe she can be a very valuable asset for future missions. 

Meanwhile, it’s been a long time since Lotor had to train children.

The Castle of Lions still ends up with everyone in a food goo fight at least twice.

Shiro is suffering significant PTSD, and the reality is that this is something Lotor fights as well from his time under his father’s command. He tries to help when he can and forms a deep bond with Shiro too.

Lotor mother-hens the paladins because he made a promise to Krolia that he would keep her child safe, but soon, they all worm their way into his heart. He feels very protective of them, and of the princess, who has not yet had the opportunity even to see the colony of her people, safely tucked away in the Quantum Abyss.

Lotor activates Romelle and Bandor for their assistance in tracking down leads on the existence of Oriande or other helpful relics worth having or keeping out of the witch’s hands. Allura argues that Oriande is just a fairy tale, and Lotor argues in return that Alfor simply had to have advanced knowledge to build Voltron as he did. He begs Allura to at least be open to the possibility that more exists about Altean heritage than she ever thought possible.

Allura pauses, then quietly confesses that she is quite sure she’ll never be the alchemist her father was. That he had a gift no one else had ever seen.

Lotor grows impassioned to say that neither of them have to be limited by what their fathers did or accomplished. That they can be so much more, something different—he can feel it. He gets a little too close in saying this. Coran jumps in, noticing that Lotor’s usual strong command of Altean etiquette slips when around Allura.

In thanks for listening, Allura leaves a little juniberry flower for Lotor.

He spins it in his fingers, face in a flush over what it could mean. But he tries to stifle his emotions, knowing that the Princess of Altea would not accept an exiled son of Zarkon in such a way. 

Occasionally, Lotor feels like Black Lion is watching him. He can’t tell if it’s because he’s paranoid, or if it’s because Black Lion actually knows his true parentage. He struggles to be in the same space as it, often unsettled.

Princess Allura and Shiro both notice this.

Meanwhile, Haggar uses a significant barrage of robeasts to distract Voltron while she completes building the Komar and perfecting other means of quintessence manipulation.

Haggar convinces Zarkon that Lotor is better to them alive than dead, and that if they could simply capture him again for a short time, she could turn him into Zarkon’s most loyal soldier, and undo Voltron’s advantages from the inside out.

Zarkon hesitantly approves. He demands that Lotor still be killed immediately upon fulfilling such a role, as Lotor would no doubt attempt to dethrone him.

Meanwhile, Princess Allura often catches Lotor reading up voraciously in the library of the Castle of Lions while the paladins complete their assigned training. At first, she thinks this activity has to do with Lotor’s fixation on the legend of Oriande. But then she catches him reading a book about Altean cuisines and asking for Hunk’s help in reproducing them—and she starts to suspect that Lotor’s not entirely Galran.

Occasionally, Lotor assists in BOM side-work, whether it’s breaking from the paladins to assist on an Oriande lead or helping Kolivan to unravel Galran records and codes.

Lotor has incredibly strong opinions about modulation.

Lotor is also very good at acting as a representative while Earth flails over getting in contact with its lost cadets and aliens. 

He remains in communication with Krolia often, reporting on Keith’s progress. But Keith is starting to ask questions as well, about how the dagger he found in his father’s stuff one day has the same exact symbol as that of the Blades.

Krolia helps to continue funnel lost people of mixed heritage toward the Blades. As Team Voltron grows more confident in their abilities, Lotor is called away to help train new recruits named Acxa, Zethrid, Narti, and Ezor.

Keith joins along briefly because he wants to learn more about the Blades themselves and why his father would have a Blade dagger.

Lotor discusses Keith’s application for the Blades with Shiro, who tentatively agrees that training with the Blades could be a good way to start ramping Keith up with leadership skills and advanced tactical knowledge. Lotor agrees that the boy is more capable than what his mother would allow him to be.

Shiro was trained to always have a line of command in place in case someone falls. He knows he could very well fall, and Keith as his right-hand is the most worthy in the group to take on the mantle of Black Lion in that case.

Lotor and the Blades agree to train Keith as a Blade, in preparation for a future where Shiro might not be able to fulfill his duties.

Keith sees this as a serious honor and doesn’t want to screw it up.

Meanwhile, Princess Allura discovers a journal from her father, with one of the final notes mentioning that Zarkon had declared he was to have a son soon, and that his chosen name would be Lotor—his day of birth to be on the fourth quintant of the 11th phoebe.

Allura shakily realizes that Lotor’s eyes are Zarkon’s eyes even if they are blue. She keeps her discovery to herself, in surprise that Lotor had so firmly denied his father, and out of respect that he has not willingly shared this history. 

Meanwhile, Lotor keeps eyeing the Black Lion, then Shiro, wondering exactly why Shiro is so insistent about a replacement.

Shiro hesitantly admits that Black Lion has started sending him visions—that something is wrong on the astral plane, and that it will likely take everything Shiro has to burn it out.  

Lotor, fearful, goes to Allura and demands to understand more about the Black Lion, admitting that he’s felt watched by it.

Allura hesitates to admit the old history that Black Lion was once piloted by Zarkon, but that it should not be affecting Shiro’s connection with the lion…unless Zarkon were still somehow connected.

Lotor recalls that Shiro was missing his bayard—that this could be significant if it were still in Zarkon’s hands.

Cue a wild crash of shenanigans involving Haggar crashing in with Komar to drain Voltron while Zarkon attacks the Black Lion to take it over, while various forces of Sendak hone in on Lotor as an asset to capture for Haggar’s experimentation.

In the insanity, Lotor is captured.

Princess Allura, fearful that her team is breaking apart, unleashes a level of alchemical power that digs deep into her connection with Voltron and far outpaces any retaliation Haggar was expecting.

The Komar powers down, and Zarkon loses his connection to Black Lion, with Shiro overpowering him.

Haggar digs deep into Lotor’s mind, attempting to plant a dark entity within him. She extracts memories of his attempts to find Oriande.

Lotor might not have magical abilities, but his cheeks begin to glow with his Altean marks as he concentrates deeply on Blade and Altean practices for preserving the mind. But Haggar is relentless, and evermore curious about his marks.

He realizes he might have to die to protect Oriande and Team Voltron, in the way some Blades have gone before to protect the whole.

His fears do not pan out, as Team Voltron and Allura rescue Lotor from imprisonment, with help from the Blades. Allura is carrying Lotor out as the paladins provide cover. Zarkon is roaring that he will ensure his son dies the worst death possible for his treason.

Lotor is genuinely shaken for the first time since the Blades recovered him from Zarkon all those years ago. His secret is out for the whole of Team Voltron. Allura tries to comfort him that it’s alright, and that they would never leave him behind.

He looks up, and Allura confirms that she knows and accepted that he’s a son of Zarkon a long time ago, and that if he ever tries to kill himself again, she’ll kill him herself. She embraces him.

He as an emotional moment because she is the first outside the Blades to accept him upon discovering his parentage.

Meanwhile, Shiro regains the black bayard in a sneaky trick beneath Zarkon’s nose, cutting off any of Zarkon’s remaining connection to Black Lion. But the team discovers in their retreat that Haggar has all the pure quintessence it’d harvested from Voltron—and that she hasn’t used it yet. Pidge also had hacked into the mainframe to discover that the Galra had located a transreallity comet.  

During the breach into Zarkon’s flagship, Bandor and Romelle stole what they could of Haggar’s things, to keep power out of her hands. They grabbed a strange stone as part of their loot.

Cue another stream of shenanigans where Team Voltron attempts to keep the comet out of Galran hands unsuccessfully. But in the midst of that defeat, Allura and Lotor discover that the item found by Bandor and Romelle provides a map directly to Oriande.

Plot twist that Haggar had still managed to possess at least Kova and use his eyes to access insight into Team Voltron’s movements. She sees Oriande’s location and leaves for it immediately.

It’s Narti who senses something is deeply wrong with Kova and tries to alert the team.

They realize too late that Haggar has probably already reached Oriande.

They desperately wormhole to reach it, while keep Kova locked up, which is a painful thing for Lotor but necessary. Allura promises that she’ll help find a way to purge Kova of Haggar’s influence.

Lotor’s Altean marks light up just as Allura’s do as they reach Oriande.

Upon arriving at Oriande, the landscape has been corrupted entirely by Haggar. Its defense systems had degenerated over the years since no one had visited in over 10,000 years to bond with the larger life force keeping it intact. Because Haggar infused it with her own life force, it took on her personality and interests.

The White Lion is glitchy, sending both Lotor and Allura in circles around the island.

Allura and Lotor both see unnatural visions and experience harrowing dangers in an attempt to reach the summit with the temple. 

Allura isn’t sure that she can gain anything from Oriande if it is so truly corrupt by Haggar. Lotor tells her that he trusts her ability to see through all things, and to discover something that could end the witch’s reign.

Oriande is haunted by phantom beasts.

Lotor chooses to remain behind to fight off those beasts while Allura climbs into the decayed temple and completes the mission. The glitchy white lion is watching him and struggles in some way to assist Lotor before its power wanes. Lotor mourns its loss as a valuable fighting partner, even if it glitched at odd times.

Allura discovers the art of healing and of infusing objects with power, but she also discovers that at the heart of Oriande, Haggar had left an imprint of some of her own self behind.

Allura realizes with a startle that she sees some of Honerva of Altea’s own memories mixed in with Haggar’s imprint. She realizes quickly that Honerva was Lotor’s true mother, 10,000 years ago.

Meanwhile, Krolia has appeared alongside various other squadrons of the Blades, in an attempt to help Voltron hold off increasing numbers of Galran forces from attempting to enter the white hole entrance of Oriande, which has gone dark.

Krolia sees Red Lion take a critical hit. She breaks rank to place herself directly in front of Keith, to protect him while he recalibrates.

In doing so, she reveals that she is so proud of what he’s capable of doing—but that he still needs to learn to watch his six.

Keith is surprised for a few ticks, but then moves to help protect Krolia too, saying that he has a lot of questions when this battle is over, like why she mothers over him so much.

Krolia cannot believe her son is actually this oblivious since she’s been trying to send him messages that she is his mother, but she agrees to talk.

Haggar has at this time returned to Zarkon’s flagship, infusing it with alchemy and the pure quintessence, coaxing the transreality comet to do her bidding to melt into molten ore and cover the flagship. This converts it to a massive transreality mecha, with Zarkon at the helm.  

Voltron is at a disadvantage against the much larger, much stronger mecha.

Allura, in a last-ditch desperation, drops her hand to Oriande and activates its stone, begging Oriande to respond to her need for a second defender. The temples begin to adjust. She realizes that because Lotor had subconsciously infused part of himself in Oriande too, the resulting mecha is actually of his own design—Sincline.

The interface is slightly glitchy from Haggar, and Lotor affectionately calls it the White Lion, sensing that his friend is still somewhere in the stone. And even deeper, he senses the memories of all the Alteans who’d infused their lives into stone—resulting in him feeling a few uncorrupted memories from Honerva, before she became Haggar.

He isn’t quite sure what to do with that, but shoves the emotions down for now.

Allura and Lotor pilot the mecha out of Oriande. Because the stones are connected to the Life Givers and the Ones Who Came Before, it is interdimensional in a way the other mechas are not, even if it cannot take a heavy hit. Their addition levels the playing field

Zarkon accesses the quintessence field, discovering he can do so, and Voltron quickly follows behind.

Lotor and Allura follow to stabilize the rift before it can upset the space-time continuum, calling upon the Life Givers for help in holding the threads of the universe together.

Team Voltron manages to successfully beat back Zarkon within the quintessence field, with Allura and Lotor using Zarkon’s own energy against him in a moment of distraction.

The distraction happens because the rift creatures possessing him realize that they are back in their natural universe.

The rift creatures call in their buddies, who begin to cannibalize the great source of power in Zarkon’s mecha.

The paladins take the opportunity to fry Zarkon out of existence, taking a large chunk of rift creatures with him.

Meanwhile, Haggar is on a small ship trying to escape in the regular universe, slipping between Galran factions and Blade squadrons.

Team Voltron return and pick her up before she can run away.

The battle ceases without Zarkon to provide orders—Sendak orders a full retreat upon seeing Voltron return without Zarkon.

Post-battle, Allura performs something completely novel with quintessence. After being in the rift, she realizes she can see different motivations within quintessence. In doing so, she searches out Kova and purifies his mind of dark alchemy. Then she goes to the imprisoned Haggar and purifies out the rift creatures possessing her, who disappear on the material plane the instant they are outside a host body.

Honerva wakes up, fully confused and largely unaware of what she’s done or how much time has passed. She is very convinced that she should be pregnant with a son named Lotor, and that she needs quintessence to stabilize her pregnancy.

It takes Honerva quite some time to realize that it’s been 10,000 years, and a grown Blade named Lotor is in fact her true son.

Lotor is very hesitant with her but sees she was not in control as Haggar. He still can’t look at her. Honerva promises to find some way to make up for her past.

Allura gets to see the Altean colony, returning Honerva to it in hopes that maybe a larger group and some normality could help her recalibrate and reconnect somehow. Bandor oddly takes pity on her, his parents having died long ago. Lotor cautions to Romelle to keep an eye out on his mother, and Romelle promises she will do so.

Allura works with several others to heal and rebuild Oriande to its former glory, as a place of open learning for any who have a deep enough spiritual connection with reality to grasp its secrets. She realizes that most things in Oriande appear as gibberish otherwise to the unmagical.

The Blades and Team Voltron back Lotor for the Kral Zera, and Lotor becomes Emperor.

The human paladins get to go home and celebrate that everything is okay now. Their voices make the human governments stand down from actively firing on alien ships.

Lotor disbands his father’s enslaved planets from the empire, offering reparations and working with Kolivan, the Blades, and Team Voltron to provide assistance to those planets as they rebuild.

Some Galra remember Lotor mostly as a traitor to his father and a bad overseer of a mining colony. The Fires of Purification rise, in time with increasing concerns over how the Galra will sustain its reliance on quintessence without conquering and enslaving.

Princess Allura—now crowned Queen of the New Altean Colony—works on the strange, quite sentient Sincline mecha that she and Lotor had built. She removes any glitch left over from Haggar’s influence on Oriande and realizes that she has a mobile, self-protecting entity that is a direct connection to the Life Givers.

Allura makes a deal with the Life Givers through the Sincline mecha, that it will open the rift twice a movement for the leader of any planet, so that quintessence can be collected from the rift. In exchange, it would have the right to judge the heart of the leader and enact justice against any who abused such a position. And that its older sibling, Voltron, would continue to ensure that no one else abuse the power either in a way that would harm others.

The mecha agrees to the condition on the astral plane. Voltron softly chimes in, agreeing as well.

Lotor approaches as the first leader to test this new system. He tears up when he hears the voices of the Life Givers sing to him through Sincline and offer him a well of quintessence for his people. They ask that he one day return to Oriande so that they can embrace him.

The Galra grow to accept Lotor and his strange ways of doing things.

Lotor finds himself oddly in the same position that began his entire journey—leaning on Kolivan for guidance. But Kolivan is no longer his only ally in a sea of enemies. As a matter of fact, Lotor has deepened several bonds and made many friends.

Lotor goes to Allura and says they make a pretty good team, and that he’s feeling cute, how about they marry.

Allura says yes.

The paladins cry happily at their wedding, and for once in 10,000 years, the galaxy is united and at peace.

Dayak reappears in time for the wedding, and Kolivan reveals that she had been giving the Blades tips for how to operate in the background to get around Zarkon’s defenses, and that she had even been instrumental in Shiro retrieving the black bayard from Zarkon.

Dayak is emotional about seeing Lotor again after all this time.

She’s not the only one.

Kolivan’s eyes are twitching during the ceremony. He’s fond and protective of his operatives, but there is a lot of space dust in the air as he watches Lotor marry, remembering that fateful day he’d saved Lotor from imminent death.

Lotor one day tries to give his BOM dagger back to Kolivan, recognizing that he has not been in the field for a long time—and that managing a planet and helping with New Altea is quite a lot of work.

Kolivan gently presses the dagger hilt back into Lotor’s hand. “Once a Blade, always a Blade.”

Lotor tears up because Kolivan is probably the closest he has come to a true father figure.

Somewhere, Coran is still crying of space dust, and the paladins crash the scene to demand a beach party. Because once Team Voltron, always Team Voltron.

Krolia and Kolivan are watching over the group. 

There are gratuitous laugh scenes with two mechas standing guard in the distance, gleaming in the sunlight.  

The end!

(Ahhh yeah, so this was yet another unexpected and extensive rewrite of VLD, loll. I hope these long outlines don’t bother anyone asdljfsa. But I enjoyed the ask, thank you for the prompt! Also I’m still steadily trying to work on Adrenaline Rush in the background. For some reason, I’m just having some writer’s block with it. I hope to update it soon, though!)

[wangisking]

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐘

BASICS. FULL    NAME  :  Augustus Alexander Wang  NICKNAME  :  August and Gus ( in general ), Auggie, Ice Prince, and Guggie ( by Aurora ). Aug and Lestat  ( by Jack ),  NAME    MEANINGS  : Augustus is  Latin for  the great / the magnificent.  Alexander is also Latin and means defender of mankind. From what I know, Wang in Chinese means king.  HISTORICAL    CONNECTION ?  : Though, his dad did think of the Roman Emperor Augustus when they named him, they liked the meaning. It seemed to fit him. They weren’t wrong, he was an emperor and he still has that energy.   AGE  :  22. Like Aurora, he can’t age past 22. He wouldn’t have minded either way.    BIRTHDAY  :  5th  April ETHNIC    GROUP  :   Augustus is half Korean and half Brazilian.  NATIONALITY  :   British LANGUAGES  :   fluent  in  English and French. Conversational Latin. Broken Korean. Learning Urdu. SEXUAL    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual ROMANTIC    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual RELATIONSHIP    STATUS  :   Single and doesn’t want to mingle. He had only one serious relationship in the past with Aurora Shams from 2017-2019.  CLASS  :  Upper  class,  Wealthy but not private-jet kind of wealthy.  HOME    TOWN  /  AREA  :  London till he was 10 and Vancouver till he was 17 CURRENT    HOME  :  Los  Angeles PROFESSION  :   Drummer, songwriter, model, and student.    PHYSICAL. HAIR  :  long  and  wavy.  Chestnut brown. Here is an example. It goes down his earlobes in length.    EYES  :  piercing, almond-shaped eyes. Naturally brown, but he wears blue or green contact lenses.  NOSE  :   a Greek nose, straight without bumps. FACE  :  Oblong shaped, sharp and chiseled cheekbones, strong jaw. Masculine features. Example.  LIPS  :  not  full  nor  thin, heart shaped.     COMPLEXION  :  pretty pale. Example is same as the face section.  SCARS  :  one on his chest. TATTOOS  :  a very small ‘10/17′ on his left rib.   PIERCINGS:  earlobes HEIGHT  :  6′5″  or  195cm.   BUILD  :  Inverted triangle. Broad, tapered shoulders. Muscular. Defined, sculpted abs. Long limbs. Broad chest. He was naturally towards the muscular side with broad shoulders and chest. He’s never been on the skinny side. Example one and two   USUAL  HAIR  STYLE  :  he lets his hair do their thing, he styles them a little, but he prefers a messier vibe.  USUAL  FACE  LOOK  :  He looks generally bored. His eyes have a piercing look that seem to be drilling into the person before him. Like he can see right through you. There is an insolent smirk tugging at his lips like he thinks you’re amusing. Almost proud, like he thinks he is above you. There is depth and intensity in his eyes that stare skywards in thought. There is also mischievous, radiant glimmer in his eyes.   USUAL    CLOTHING  :  prince charming meets rockstar. Lots of jackets, darker colors, boots, necklaces and rings. Here is his wardrobe.      PSYCHOLOGY. FEARS  :  claustrophobia and the fear of ending up alone. He always had this creeping feeling that he’d be alone in the end and that he was always meant to be alone.  ASPIRATIONS  :   he doesn’t have any set aspirations. They change every now and then. However, his goals are just to keep his found family happy.  POSITIVE    TRAITS  :  extremely charismatic, intelligent,  academic and studious, alluring and attractive, quick-witted, charming and captivating, articulate and eloquent, adventurous, desirable, analytical, brilliant, friendly, enthusiastic, adaptable, observant, kind, mellow, competent, extremely caring and protective over those closest to him, clever, loyal, clear-headed, confident, humorous, courageous, imaginative and creative, a visionary, refined tastes and manners, daring, dignified, ebullient, deep, remarkable, surprisingly he’s very forgiving, forthright, gallant, logical, gentlemanly and sophisticated, perfectionist, popular, self-reliant, shrewd, witty, suave, curious, and resourceful.    NEGATIVE    TRAITS  :  egocentric, self-obsessed, idle, indifferent, selfish, defiant, arrogant, argumentative, rebellious, kinda lazy, stubborn, distracted, doesn’t really care for morals, blunt, can appear insensitive a lot, is insensitive at times, no filters, can be cold for those he doesn’t care for, emotionally immature, deflects emotions, suppresses his feelings, sorta detached, kinda pessimistic, and unknowingly self-sacrificing because he thinks it’s fair and he deserves it.   MBTI  :  ENTP  (  Ne  dominant,  Ti  auxiliary,  Fe  tertiary,  and  Si  inferior  —  this  means  she  can’t  use  Ni,  Se,  Te,  and  especially  can’t  use  Fi). He  perceives  the  world  by  connecting  dots,  thinking  of  never-ending  possibilities,  looking  for  pieces  of  a  puzzle,  and  finding  meaning  in  abstract.  He  makes  judgments  on  if  what  he  perceives  fits  his  internal  logic.          ZODIAC  :  Aries sun, Gemini rising, Sagittarius moon.  TEMPERAMENT  :  sanguine choleric  ANIMALS  :  parrots and cats because they’re both intelligent but little pieces of shit who enjoy making your life hell.  VICE  :   it’s either his ego or how he ends up detaching himself FAITH  :  currently, he’s Mu.slim. He was born protestant, became an atheist when he was 13, agnostic at 14. Bud.dhist at 15. Taoist at 16. Confucianist at 17. Mu.slim at 19. Doesn't practice it though.     GHOSTS  ?  :  yep.. AFTERLIFE  ?  :   yep REINCARNATION  ?  :  he guesses so. Went  through  it, but doesn’t remember. ALIENS  ?  :  hell yeah. POLITICAL    ALIGNMENT  :  liberal. ECONOMIC    PREFERENCE  :   upper class or upper middle class is good with him.  EDUCATION    LEVEL  :   MSci in Physics from the University of Cambridge. Is opting to specialize in astrophysics soon. FAMILY. FATHER  :  Edward Wang, owner of a chain of fine dining restaurants  MOTHER  :  Elisa Violeta Wang, psychiatrist, deceased  STEP MOTHER :  Chaeyoung Wang, lawyer.  SIBLINGS  :  Cassandra Wang, athlete EXTENDED    FAMILY  :  he is not close with his external family and doesn’t know his birth mother’s family at all. They never wanted him.  FAVOURITES. BOOK  :   Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Galactic Dynamics by James Binney, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Mukarami, Slaughter house Five by Kurt Vonnegut, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. MOVIE  :  Scott Pilgrim vs The World 5    SONGS :  All You Want - Dashboard Prophets, Tokyo Smoke - Cage the Elephant, Where is My Mind? - The Pixies, Sparks - Coldplay, Lithium - Nirvana, and Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra     DEITY  :  none.  Let him argue with one and ask for proof of their deity-ness. HOLIDAY  :  Halloween. It’s dramatic and fun. MONTH  :   October, because he met Aurora and Jack this month in 2017. SEASON  :  spring  and  summer. PLACE  :  he doesn’t have a specific place, but he prefers European architecture.  WEATHER  :  cloudy and windy. Sunny if it isn’t too hot. SOUND  :  drums and percussions, the sound of aurora and jack’s laugh, guitars, violins, the sound of wind roaring, music boxes, and the clinking of bangles and jewelry.  SCENTS  :  sage, rosemary, and damascus roses. TASTES  :  chocolate, strawberries, chilies, and fried food.       FEELS  :   the feeling of hitting the drums, wind in his hair, the cold night air, warm morning sun, grass against his fingertips, silk, and touching long hair.   ANIMALS  :  cats and dogs. NUMBER  :   8 COLORS  :  white, cherry red, pink, maroon, wine red, black, and silver. EXTRA. TALENTS  :  he is an extremely talented drummer, good at guitar and the piano, he is talented at songwriting, composing music, he’s exceptionally good at mathematics and physics, analytical skills, storytelling, knows a lot of facts, near photographic memory because he remembers all important historical events with dates and details, academic writing, and brainstorming ideas.  BAD  AT  :   cooking, not very good at driving because he gets distracted, doing one task at a time, playing videogames, actually listening to what people say, being humble, and actually being a good leader.  TURN    ONS  :  this is a complicated question. He needs a very strong emotional connection to feel sexual attraction towards someone. And he only felt it for one person in his whole life. But, what sparked that attraction was a brilliant mind and the ability to connect with his mind on a very different level. It’s not going to repeat with anyone else.  TURN    OFFS  :  literally everyone else. He’s not sorry, but I am. HOBBIES  :  playing the drums, writing and composing songs, reading, solving problems, listening to music, watching shows, getting people to do weird shit, and annoying people.      AESTHETIC  :  crowns, drums, broken drumming sticks, abstract art, the vast space, chess boards, album cases, thrones, the echoing sound of pianos, Greek sculptures, galaxies and nebulas, early morning sunrise through curtains, libraries, equations scribbled on napkins, empty museums, unmade white sheets, polaroid cameras, conspiracy theories, VHS tapes, antique books, cobblestone alleyways, night skies, cluttered books, calloused fingers, crumpled composition pages, guitar picks, vinyl, telescopes, and planets.      Basically: abstract, chaotic academia, cryptid academia, dark academia, indie, kingcore, light academia, musical academia, science academia, spacecore,   QUOTES  :   it’s weird but i can’t decide which one fits him.  FC  INFO. MAIN    FC  :  victor han  ALT    FC  :  n/a. OLDER    FC  :  he can’t age past 22, so he doesn’t need one. YOUNGER    FC  :  none  yet. VOICE    CLAIM  :  both speaking and singing (his accent is posh British with a slight hint of Canadian) MUN  QUESTIONS. Q1  :    If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what    would  it  be  called ,  what  style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about ?    A1 :  The same answer as Aurora, The Tale of Solis et Lunae that stars him alongside Aurora, Lunae, Jack, and Tate, plus more. A cosmic adventure / fantasy / coming of age / superhero / the reluctant hero / the chosen one.  His role is of Aurora’s best friend and her greatest support in emotional and supernatural dangers. He is the time traveler who ascends time and space, so he often also gives her insight and information like the sage. It’ll  expand across dimensions, worlds, and different states of existence. The scenes would be cinematic with a strong soundtrack. I imagine him to have some scenes like Quick Silver in the X-Men movies.       Q2  :   What would their soundtrack / score sound like  ?     A2  :   He would have a 90s grunge or spacey dream rock sound. It ties in with the end of the last answer because i see him in one of those scenes with 90s grunge or maybe classical music ?    Q3  :      Why did you start writing this character  ? A3  :    I made Augustus just a bit before Aurora. They were a two part deal. I don’t know when it began, I just had this image of a tall, long haired boy with piercing, intelligent eyes who’s a smart-ass and likes being a know-it-all nuisance. This character has been the same since he began in 2019 and refused to change. He was always a drummer, he always had the same fashion sense, the look, Gus was always half-Korean, he always had long fingers he wore rings on, and he was always Aurora’s best friend/partner in crime. He remains unchanged and that's why I wanted to write him. This very vivid image of this boy was something I had to pen down. And just my luck, I found a fc who looks exactly how Gus looked in my head.   Q4  :    What  first  attracted  you  to  this  character  ? A4  :   Augustus is just extraordinary. It’s something I always felt about him and Aurora and I don’t see any of my other characters coming anywhere close to them regardless of how much I spent time on them. But with Augustus, his entire image and looks and personality — down to his wardrobe and jewelry was always so vivid in my head. Like I knew this very chaotically handsome boy who was going to turn the world upside down.  His story is interesting, but what interests me more is his perspective on his story. The way he looks at his life and how he is quiet and doesn’t show his pain. How confused he always is. How much he aches but never seems so. The way he loves but doesn’t say even a quarter of the intensity he feels. And how sometimes he believes he deserves suffering because it makes sense to him. I also love the connections he makes and the way he loves so deeply and profoundly but underneath the surface. His connection, love, fears, and hopes with Aurora and Jack for their respective reasons are extremely beautiful.   Q5  :      Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.  ? A5  :  Augustus is unknowingly self-sabotaging. He let go the only relationship / love in his life that made him feel like real love just because he thought he didn’t deserve it. And because when he was provoked, it made “sense” to him. He bottles his emotions and pain so much despite their intensity. He never shows how much he really cares and really hurts. And how sure he is that he’ll end up alone without friends and that it makes sense to him. Q6  :      What    do    you    have    in    common    with    your    muse  ?   A6  :    Here’s a fun answer, because I bottle my emotions like him. I also interact with the carefree way he does even if I don’t feel peachy. He’s smart and witty and really hot and I don’t even have that going on for me. So, yikes. Only of Gus’ bad things I share.  Q7  :      How  does your muse feel about you  ?   A7  :  Gus loves interacting with people so he’ll definitely show up to annoy me. Maybe, he might think I’m fun to annoy? Or maybe, we’ll have a similar sense of humor. I think he won’t dislike me. Not sure if he’ll like me. I think he’d think I’m funny in a strange sort of way.  Q8  :      What    characters    does    your    muse    have    interesting    interactions  with  ? A8  :    Aurora, first of all. They have this same brain wave-length thing going on where they’re partners in crime and bffs forever more. He knows how she is feeling and what she’s thinking even before she utters it. If she is about to sneeze, he’d get a tissue ready. He can tell if she is hungry or sleepy with one glance. She can do the same, so they sorta have this weird understanding of each other.  Jack is this older brother figure Augustus loves. He won’t admit it, but he kinda wants to make Jack proud of him. He also wants to provide love and care to Jack that he thinks he deserves but never got. They’re his family now and he’ll never be alone or sad again. He annoys Jack a lot but behind it all, he just wants Jack to think he is needed and he belongs. That if he thinks Augustus is reliant on him, then he has this family he has to protect and care for. He can’t stand the thought of Jack feeling unloved, forgotten, alone.  Tida is another one. There’s this great respect and adoration Gus has for him. Almost like he looks up to him in some ways  He also has a lot of hopes and expectations attached. He feels Tida is everything that Gus himself lacks. He is the ideal boyfriend, kindest person, shows his emotions vividly, and is like a warm and cozy blanket personified. He is probably Tida and Aurora’s biggest supporter and first one to know. He can’t be happier than he is that Aurora found someone as good and perfect as Tida.   Taewon is one really fun character. Their two-way frenemy jealousy spans over years and started in Cambridge when they were both in love with the same girl they claimed to be best friends with. Though, trying to be calm, Augustus was constantly provoked and hurt, made to feel inferior and constantly in fear of his relationship being broken by Taewon’s schemes that he couldn’t say out loud. This dark period ended with a fist fight and baggage of guilt they both carry to this day for hurting each other and the one they claimed to love. Today, they’re way past that and frenemies who have funny quips and arguments for each other. They say they dislike each other. But if the lighting is good, one would be the photographer of the other. Q9  :      What    gives    you    inspiration    to    write    your    muse  ? A9  :  Music  helps  me  imagine  scenes  with  perfect  visual  details.  Any  scenes  from  shows  that  remind  me  of  my  storylines. Q10  :      How    long    did    this    take    you    to    complete  ?   A10  :  I don’t remember. It was many days and I didn’t count because it was in bits and pieces.