#based on a friend of mine who's like this and refuses to acknowledge she's like scara

[fanaticsnail]

Donquixote Masterlist

Navigation Masterlist Here

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Donquixote Rosinante:

Despiértame mi Corazon (Dance Series) (Gift One-Shot)

You have been on the run from Donquixote Doflamingo, sheltering and caring for a young, sick child. Your emotions catch up with you as you process the change your life has led you to. You’ve left it all: family, career, friends - all to support Rosinante in his quest to cure the boy. Upon seeing you in this state, your Corazon will do anything to see you smile again. 

Donquixote Rosinante's Journey with Modern Slang (crack dialogue)

Mild background context: Law's skills as a doctor saved a person with the devil-fruit with the ability grant a single wish. Law used that wish to bring back Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante as he was: lying in the snow and unresponsive. He wanted the chance to use what he's learnt to save him, and save him he does. Both now in their 20s, Rosi is adjusting and attempting to learn the current slang to relate to his grown son.

Rosinante's Trip Down Under (one-shot)

Modern AU, Rosinante visiting your hometown in Queensland Australia. He is overwhelmed by the cultural differences, but loves to learn the slang.

I Like Matching (NSFW One-Shot)

Returning home from an away mission for your boss, you are immediately spirited away to the nearest unoccupied space and met with the lips, hands and grasp of Corazon. He missed you, and it was showcased in his neediness in every kiss and motion planted against you.

A bit of both (NSFW One-Shot)

You and Rosinante take your trust to a new level, engaging in two levels of weaving you had yet to use in sequence with one another. Kink-fic: bondage, gagging, praise (reader receiving. Gender neutral terms)

Close your eyes and breathe (One-Shot)

Struggling to find rest, you decide to take yourself to the kitchen in the marine base. You stumble upon your commander slouched over his desk and asleep on a pile of papers. Taking him to his quarters, he wants to help you find rest in slumber.

"Mine" (NSFW One-Shot)

Upon viewing you and your boss, Doflamingo, get a little too close to one another, Corazon feels the urge to finally state a claim over you. He loves you, and now wants you to understand one thing and one thing only: you belong to him. You are his, completely.

A day is all I need (One-Shot)

Serving as Trafalgar Law's chronicler aboard the Polar Tang, he convinces you to finally cast aside your former love for a man long since passed. In a bid to move on, you find an intriguing figure in the market who bore a striking resemblance to the man who held your heart.

Donquixote Doflamingo:

Pretty Red Ribbon (One-Shot)

After your birthday was ruined last year at the hands of a certain pink-feather-donning, glasses-wearing gentleman who you love to hate, your fellow warlord, Sir Crocodile, gives you a little gift you did not expect to darken your doorstep.

Play Stupid Games Win Stupid Prizes (NSFW 1/2)

Doffy is attempting to gain the upper hand against you. He's longed for you, yearned for you - in his own unique way. Considering you never give in to his flirtatious advances, he takes matters into his own hands and attempts to spike your drink. The problem? Your quick wit and nimble fingers switch whisky glasses with him, causing unforeseen problems that he has no cure for…

Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes (NSFW 2/2)

Doflamingo has been sending you gifts of flowers and trinkets over your time apart, but he refuses to acknowledge you in public. Attending a gala held at marine headquarters. He attends with two concubines on his arms, and you arrive with your friend on the arm of a marine. Doflamingo attempts to make you jealous, but you decide to play his little game by using his own methods against him. You invite Sir Crocodile to play this little game with you.

She Was Mine (One-Shot)

A new transfer is tasked with guarding Doflamingo as he visits the world government headquarters. Doflamingo becomes intoxicated and reminisces about the love of his life to this new transfer, confessing he still loves her and wants to be with her.

Doflamingo's Childhood Friend (Imagine)

Seat Number Four (One-Shot NSFW)

Mini-fic of what it would be like to be promised to Doflamingo in his youth, only for that bond to sever when Homing defects.

Apologetic Valentine (One-Shot NSFW)

Doflamingo has missed another Valentine's Day alongside anniversaries, holidays, and birthdays. He decides to make it up to you by gifting a variety of presents and indulges in watching you attempt to open it while his hands become a welcome distraction.

You are stuck on an eight hour flight between two gentlemen you have never met before. Unaware of their prior history and dislike for one another, you attempt to relax and watch a new series your friend recommended. The series was a little more raunchy than you had anticipated, and you become a little uncomfortable in your seat between the two attractive men. Doflamingo reassures you your need is nothing to be ashamed of, and he would be more than willing to help you out if you allowed him to teach the younger blonde how to best please you. Doffy x f!reader x Sanji

Teach Me (NSFW One-Shot)

As a Dressrosian concubine, you were accustomed to receiving all kinds of clients. The one you looked forward to the least was Doflamingo. Not because of who he was or what he's done. Simply for one reason. He was bad at sex, and you were bored.

Doflamingo Undergarments (NSFW mini-fic)

Doflamingo walks in on you, his administrative assistant, wearing nothing but his face plastered on your ass.

The Wall (NSFW Dead Dove One-Shot)

Growing tired of concubines and the complexities that arise from hiring them at inconvenient times, Doflamingo has procured an unlikely alternative. Alongside your other duties as house cleaning staff, all members of the maid and wait service takes turns in becoming 'The Wall'. It is your turn.

Happy Birthday Doflamingo (One-Shot)

Donquixote Doflamingo was in his own little world within the warlord meeting at the world government headquarters. Suddenly, an uncommon source reminded him what day it was, and he was left perplexed and pleasantly surprised.

Better than to break tradition (NSFW One-Shot)

Rival ranches, the Donquixote family and your own, find neutral ground after a successful rodeo tournament. Coming to your aid, at the crowning of a cap on your head, you and Doflamingo know far better than to break tradition. (Cowboy au).

Mirror Mirror on the Wall (NSFW One-Shot)

You were more to him than a simple assistant. You were someone who was so explicitly his that he confided everything more than you simply knowing where he was going: but what he was going to do. What he was going to do in this very evening, was show you just how beautiful you were when you watched his fingers slip inside you in front of your bedroom vanity mirror. 

Doflamingo x reader x Rosinante

Forge in Gold (Sapsorrow Au)

Two brothers and a young slave girl are bound now by the metalic band atop her unity finger. A spectral ghost, the promises of love, and lies and deceit have the three of them tangle in a bed of lies. There is no happiness to be found at the end of this tale, only sorrow and heartbreak.

Regrets (drabble)

Donquixote Doflamingo is on the sidelines for once, never learning the skill to woo you to the beat of a drum or swell of a melody. Rosinante had, and Doflamingo is regretting that decision.

Between Two Dragons (NSFW Alphabet and mini-fic)

As the bride of Donquixote Doflamingo, it was your role to satisfy your king. He would not allow a single hand to be laid on you other than that of the pure blood of his Donquixote celestial heritage. When Rosinante returned home to the Donquixote Pirates, and expressed interest in you romantically, Doflamingo was the first to suggest a non-conventional unification between the three of you.

Caesar Clown

It's not what it looks like! (NSFW One-Shot)

The ship has taken on a few more guests, the overcrowded Straw-Hat vessel now struggling to accommodate the number. Offering your room to the prisoner, Caesar Clown, you returned to find a sight you were ill-prepared to meet. Caesar had found your secret, and had them over his nose and mouth while chasing his high into his gloved fist.

Misc Drabbles:

You're Angry at the Tall Men: Drabble (One-Shot)

He knows what he did to earn your wrath; your fury ignited in your eyes and the flames physically tangible and searing the room with your scorn. Your brow was furrowed, your lips curling into a snarl to bare your pearled teeth at him.Buggy, Shanks, Mihawk, Sir Crocodile, Corazon, Doflamingo.

Dreaming of You (Drabble) NSFW

They couldn't help it. You looked so heavenly in their dreams. The way they had you wrapped around their body as a marionette in their minds, dancing for them as they awoke to sticky blankets when they jolted upright. Their thoughts got the better of them, and they are wracked with guilt. Doflamingo, Caesar, Rosinante "Corazon".

[fantasyinvader]

I think the one thing I don't like about Live A Live is the trials in the final chapter. Each character has their own trial, one only they can complete to obtain their best weapon. It's tied to their gameplay. Like how Sundown has a map with no encounters he has to find as much loot as he can before the boss shows up at the end of the countdown (or get out before the timer is done), or how Cube's is based on puzzle solving rather than combat. They're disconnected from the story, a sidequest more than anything.

…Aside from Akira's, where he meets the spirits of those Oersted had killed. You have the guards saying they were tricked by Oersted, the King blaming himself, Streibough pondering his own guilt, Hasshe admitting he saw a seed of darkness in Oersted and did nothing, Uranus calling everyone (himself included) fools, and a boy who never stopped believing Oersted wasn't the Lord of Dark. Oh, and the princess asking that you save Oersted because he doesn't know what he's become. The appearances of Hasshe, Uranus and the King are a bit surprising, as they died before Oersted was possessed and became Odio.

Hasshe's in particular stands out to me, "Within his heart I saw the seed of dark… Surpassing mine. Such anger. Sorrow. Hate…" Hasshe's "seed of dark" came from him becoming disillusioned with the people, that as part of his hero status they relied on him to do everything for them. I mean, the Queen gets kidnapped and it's a hunter that ends up saving her, not her husband who then proceeds to dump saving his daughter on Oersted. But with Oersted, at the time of Hasshe's death where exactly did that darkness come from? Was it the simple act of Alethea being kidnapped that created such darkness? Considering that he didn't know Alethea before that, she was simply his prize for victory in a duel, it really does make him look like an entitled jerk, and when his prize was taken away from him it created the darkness that would lead to him becoming Odio.

This would also align with the royal guards believing they were decieved by him, Uranus calling everyone fools, and that one kid being in denial over his supposed hero being the villain. You have the king blaming himself for failing his kingdom, the Minister blaming Oersted for turning on the country for it's destruction, while Streibough saying he led Oersted to this conclusion and wondering if it all could have been adverted if he had simply stepped aside for his "friend" once more. But the Princess also makes it clear that it's not just Oersted's doing and he has lost himself to Odio.

Oersted's downfall is complicated.

Oersted wasn't the hero we were led to believe. He was entitled, and that entitlement was his start of darkness. Hasshe saw this, but didn't properly mentor it. He just told Oersted to believe in the woman he won as a prize, possibly unaware of the true nature of Oersted's relationship with Alethea, believing there was genuine love there and that would be enough to save Oersted from the same loneliness Hasshe felt but really they were strangers. Uranus's final words just reinforced the idea of continuing on until the happy ending, himself either not seeing or acknowledging the darkness that Hasshe saw. Oersted's actions also led to Streibough secretly hating him, enough that the Lord of Dark could begin manipulating him but even then it was Streibough's choice to ruin his friend. His refusal to talk also meant that he didn't try to clear up the misconceptions, this is something that Jameson has called Spider-man out on in recent years saying that the webheads bad reputation is partially on him, and while fleeing the castle Oersted is the one who refuses to flee from combat when the guards catch him. He kills guards while heroic sounding music plays. People put faith in him simply because of his strength, but not his character…

Trial of the Heart really feels like it's a continuation of Cube's story, where people's worst qualities causes OD-10 to go nuts and try to kill everyone because they're the biggest obstacle to it's directive of ensuring a harmonious environment. That because of their worst, the people had to go in contrast to Cube, who does acknowledge the crew's good qualities and mourns their loss. Everyone contributed to the downfall of Lucrece, but Oersted lashed out at everyone else. Hard not to think about it in contrast to Sundown, whose cocky nature cost him everyone he cared about so he puts a bounty on his own head. But the Kid also learns that despite losing everyone, he can always find new companions and does so by deciding to not fight Mad Dog. That last bit also rings true to Oboromaru and his ability to avoid killing, something he would have done in the past without question due to his loyalty to his clan. But he can also choose to leave the clan and become Ryoma's bodyguard, acknowleding his own autonomy rather than just following whatever orders he's given like Oersted did. It's this that Akira calls him out at the end if chosen as the main character, telling Oersted he's also responsible because he lashed out in at the people and chose to see them in the worst light. Oersted didn't listen to Uranus and forgive. Hasshe and Uranus weren't the mentors Shifu was, leading to a very flawed pupil who people viewed as a hero simply because of his strength. However, Oersted's heart was weak in contrast to Masaru, who wasn't seeking any real prize in his fights and left his rivals on positive terms. And all of this was because Oersted felt entitled to a girl he didn't even know, in contrast to the simple Pogo discovering love as he spends time with Beru.

And all of this is great, but considering how much of it is locked to the Trial of the Heart which requires Akira to access, I feel like it does show a shortcoming of the game. The protagonist chosen is supposed to be your chosen rebuttal against Odio, but the only trial that reflects the plot is Akira's. They could have spread this out more, used each trial to contrast the Heroes to Oersted, but they didn't and I feel it's to the game's detriment. Instead, the hint that the player needs to save Oersted in order to get the happy ending is tied to accessing Akira's best weapon.

[deviantartdramahub]

2 notes

I don't think you know how babysitting works anon? Imagine if you were a parent who left their child with someone bc you had to go to work or something, but then the babysitter charges to your work place just to make you change your kid. Sounds crazy and insensible, right? Eh why am I trying to reason with you. I really hope no one ever trusted you with their kid XD

5 notes

Please, tell me how in the world this blog is "racist". Bet you won't cuz it's just another buzzword for your slander.

 2 notes

Hon please, you are fucking crazy. He never said kids can consent just bc he acknowledges pedophiles exist lmao. I think you broke both your legs due to the extreme jumping to conclusions...plus, what's the harm in him censoring words? It's completely understandable he doesn't want to say the whole thing, I think you're just pissy you can't get off on the word when it's censored.

4 notes

Dumbass, you acquired personal information of his and used it to threaten him. You completely deserve to be called out for that, you idiot. THE COPS VERY MUCH SHOULD BE CALLED ON YOU. And then you still have the nerve to say he's lying after you're straight up admitting to all this?? Dear God how could you be this stupid. Dox-threatening is a very bad thing hun-bun, even if you don't act on the threat. Imagine if someone sent you a death-threat, but everyone told you it's nothing to be upset about bc "YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY MURDERED, RIGHT?" So how about you shut up and admit you did something terrible...and the added blackmail based on slander is horrible. You put Club in danger whether you admit it or not. I really do bet you take pride in that though, you sick fuck...reasonable people know you're 100% in the wrong though.

0 notes

Loveless literally just came to DA to attack Club. He did NOTHING to her and she started harassing him, then for some reason got shocked when he called her out and started crying. We all know YOU are the victim-blamers here, that's one of your favorite things to do, smh.

3 notes

Got any proof the roleplay in question was an erp? No? Aight good day.

1 note

You wish, I bet you'd wank to it. Too bad Club would never do something like that.

3 notes

What evidence? And you're the ones who try to silence anyone who doesn't agree with you, lmao.

1 note

Explain to me how this was automatically Club's fault.

2 notes

Number one, that's a screenshot sweetheart. A screenshot that could've very well been manipulated. So remember, it isn't valid proof! ^w^

Number 2, proof that you refuse to give a voice to anyone who doesn't agree with you or even questions you. One of the reasons why this blog is 100% better. You just want to tune everyone out and surround yourself with yes-men while Tri lets everyone give their story, and gives everyone a fair chance. The fact you want everyone to only listen to you shows you aren't trustworthy.

3 notes

Roleplaying with people is always grooming?? Thus the logic of DADramaNow. Apparently all RPs are automatically sexual.

1 note

Lmao Sam doesn't have friends.

1 note

An example of DADramaNow using the "fetish mining" term on Club.

2 notes

You just contradicted yourself there. If Club didn't know that fetish existed, how could you accuse him of having it?? He's innocent and you know it, just give up already.

Another long one with many call-outs in one post let's gooo babyyyy.

I remember someone commented once to say that the thing about Mod S and college was a cover for being arrested by the FBI. Meanwhile, Club still has a presence here. Flawless victory.

[therubyreader]

Book Bites: Volume 3

~All of my book reviews~

Hello everyone! It’s been a minute, but I was super busy over the holidays, and I finally got some time to write some reviews so I’m going to do the last three from 2024 that I was meaning to do. I did spend the first month-ish of the year just rereading series so I'll start writing reviews for the new books I read in 2025 here soon now that I've knocked out a couple. But, in the meantime, hopefully you all enjoy these! 

Inferno’s Heir – Tiffany Wang ☆☆☆☆★ 

This book follows Teia, the princess of Erisia and half-sister of the soon to be king, Jura, a cruel man who's planning to kill Teia, as well as many others in his kingdom, after he’s crowned. In a last-ditch effort, Teia joins the rebels to betray them to Jura, promising her brother the rebel’s figurehead who is said to have control over fire, a power only the royal family has, in exchange for her life. Though after befriending them, she starts to have her doubts and considers destroying the monarchy once and for all, or perhaps even becoming queen herself. I honestly had a blast reading this book, it’s a unique spin on a concept that we see a lot of in YA fiction of a tyrant king who is opposed by an underground rebellion with a young female figurehead, but instead of following the figurehead we follow the princess of the kingdom who has a lot to lose, and gain, from the rebellion. The book asks the question, “do the means justify the ends” which is interesting to see in a YA fantasy book of this kind. There is also a genuinely morally gray main character, and not in the book-tok way of “ass hole man who’s an ass hole to everyone but is hot so the audience calls him morally gray” but Teia is actually morally gray, you don’t know if you should be rooting for her or not throughout most of the book. I did knock off one star though because the romance plot felt like more of an afterthought and honestly wasn’t fleshed out properly enough for me to care, though I do see potential for it to be a bigger plot point in the sequel which I’m excited for. I think if you’re in to books like Red Queen and Powerless this book is definitely for you, it has a tyrannical kingdom, magic powers, and a compelling main character, on top of good world building that will have you hooked.  

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller ☆☆☆☆☆ 

I finally caved to peer pressure, both from everyone on the internet praising this book and also a friend of mine who I accidentally keep making read my favorite books, so I need to start doing the same for them. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years, The Song of Achilles is an interpretation of the Iliad, telling the story of the mythological Achilles through the eyes of his friend, and lover, Patroclus. Everyone and their mother have read this book and given it rave reviews for a good reason, this book was written by a classics teacher who was able to take all the mythical elements of the story and ground them in an actual historical time period that makes it tangible despite all the magic going on. Also, the story has a unique perspective because we aren’t following the hero through his eyes, but through the eyes of the person closest to him who is extremely biased, so we see Achillies as a perfect hero who can do no wrong. It was such an emotional read, from the beginning when we learn about Patroclus’ troubled childhood through the end with the events of the Trojan War. This book also doesn’t shy away from Patroclus and Achillies’ romantic relationship, especially since a lot of modern retellings refuse to acknowledge that a great Greek hero like Achillies could be anything but straight, and we as the readers get to see how their relationship progresses from an innocent childhood love to a strong love that becomes a pillar of the Trojan War. I highly recommend this book if you want a good cry, because the ending will do that to you, and if you want to read a queer story based in Greek mythology.  

Where the Library Hides – Isabel Ibañez ☆☆☆☆★ 

Following the events of What the River Knows (shameless plug to my review for that), we’re reunited with Inez and Whit as they try to find Inez’s mother and take down her criminal empire while dealing with the ups and downs of their relationship. I will give the disclaimer that I read this book in a day which was a fever dream in and of itself since I was so engrossed in the story, I felt like I was actually there which is a compliment to the writing. Speaking of, in my review of the first book I mentioned how the writing was really only good for like the last fourth and I’m glad to say that the writing has vastly improved for this book and we got rid of the whole “forgetting to switch languages thing” that Inez kept doing in the first book. I also love how Whit gets a personality this time around that isn’t just “be hot and broody” he does things that have consequences with his relationship with Inez and he has to work to earn back her trust. I felt like this book was more character driven than the first one since the expedition wasn’t a part of this book, so we got to spend more time with the characters and watching them grow. I did knock a star off for the villain reveal because that was absolute bull shit and I hated it, for the sake of not spoiling it I’m not going to give any other details but if you all want to hear me rant about that, let me know. I absolutely loved the conclusion to this series and there was some for a possible spin-off series starring Whit’s younger sister which I will be anxiously waiting for if that is happening.  

[tetsunabouquet]

From the ask game

5. what made you start your blog?

6. What's the best and worst part of being a creator?

-Sevonnie <33

5. I actually explained that when I made a post about digitally restoring a drawing I made of an OC from an old friend of mine who ended up ghosting me years ago. She gently nudged me to start Tumblr as I wanted to post some of my projects like my sewing ones. As for coming back from a years long hiatus and re-starting as a fanfic blog that still posts my other art projects except for my doll related ones as I now have a seperate blog for that; it all started by reading fanfics on Tumblr during the summer after the pandemic was over when I was suffering from severe KNB brainrot.

I've mentioned a couple of times that I used to write fanfics in my teens but was basically bullied out of doing so by xenophobic readers who were just plain rude about me not being a native English speaker and my occasional hiccups. One even insulted me purely because I mentioned a Dutch term with an English explanation because it was apt and as far as I know this descriptive term doesn't exist in English. It was wild. But that summer sparked my want to write fanfiction again so now here I am. 6. The best part is all the love I get for my work and knowing it moves others and I've brought them joy, The worst thing is dealing with internet culture. For one, I hate the lack of nuance and just blindly painting something as good or bad. I've even lost a couple of mutuals and followers because I just refuse to participate in that game, they can cancel me for all I care. I've mentioned before how, during my creative writing studies, I developped a theory based on Freud's Id, Ego and Superego and internet culture like echo chambers and how the internet encourages people to achieve their Superego's with their Id and disregard their Ego entirely. Not acknowledging nuance is a factor tied to that very notion. This allows it to be easier to 'other' a group or a stance and eventually, demonize. Demonizing something online will eventually bleed through into your real life, wether it turns you into an enabler or downright toxic and discriminatory towards someone who is from that group or holds an opinion contrary to yours. And all of this, because demonizing the other group will hopefully bring more attention, profits of whatever benefits to the group that's doing the demonizing. This is one of the facets that I believe created the issue at hand. I really hate engaging with that kind of stuff.

[pokemonnovic]

Gym Leaders

Note: This is an OG chapter post from the Wattpad book for archival reasons only, I plan on doing a more comprehensive rewrite in the future)

These are the gym leaders of the Dranowa region. So far it's about halfway done. Another thing to note, A gym leader's ace Pokémon will only have both signature (TM Move) and a Duel type move on their ace at the same time on hard mode

Amphibole Town (First Gym)

Types: Ground, Steel, Rock

Badge: Drill Badge

Tm:

Duel Type TM:

Gym Leader(s): Eartha and Sten 

Bio: Sibling duo who run the Amphibole Town Gym. Eartha and Sten are the children of  Sterling, the founder of Amphibole's mining company, Driller Inc. Depending on the gender the player chose for their trainer marks which one of the duo you will face (this only applies to the main gym battle and not any subsequent battles afterwards as afterwards you will be able to face both of them):

*If you chose the female trainer then you will face Sten.

*if you chose the male trainer you will face Eartha.

(Something else to note (If anyone has any concerns about gender): There will be an option for the player to change their pronouns in the options menu at anytime (default will be set based on the initial character and all player outfits will be available for both male/female trainers).  Eartha/Sten will not be affected by whatever your pronouns are set as and only are dependent on which trainer you chose at the start of the game.

You are able to rebattle them both (single or double) post game with a way different team (Eartha's will favor more towards ground types while Sten's will favor towards rock types). Their dad is also battleable, favoring Steel types.

They will also appear as separate trainers in the Resort Area and be recruitable as separate partners for the Battle Resort.

Team (s):

Eartha's:

Drillbur

(Ace) Noggindrill

Sten's:

Cranados

(Ace) Noggindrill

—-

??? (Second Gym)

Type: Fighting 

Badge: Pawn Badge 

Tm: ???

Duel Type TM: ???

Gym Leader: Pawna

Bio: The oldest gym leader in Dranowa. Pawna is a world-renown chess player despite her age. She has a rivalry with Grimsley, who has lost to her every time they play chess.

Her gym is themed like a giant chess board and she uses both evolutions of  Rogallant on her team (rematches only).

Team (Three pokemon):

Rogallant (male)

Dranowan Bisharp

(Ace) Rogallant (female)

—-

Westpost Town (Third Gym)

Type: Poison

Badge: Plague Badge 

TM: Toxic Shock (Deals damage and has a change of inflicting poison, sleep, or paralysis)

Duel Type TM: Acid Rain (Water/Poison)

Leader: Vesper

Bio: Known as the "the poisonous masquerade". Vesper is an avid Pokémon contest goer. He's not as well known as Wallace or Fantina but does have a considerate amount of fans. His outfit is inspired by that of a plaque doctor and his ace Pokémon, Zhenogen.

He's a well known Pokémon Coordinator who often participates in Pokémon contests. Even managing to beat the likes of Wallace and won first place in the Dranowan Master Cup a few times. Vesper has a strong dislike for Tucker, mostly for his very narcissistic comments about himself (as seen in their post-game Battle Resort interactions, being one of the only times he snaps at someone).

Vesper is a generally friendly person, even to those who tend to be rather grumpy and trash talk him, such as Winton (who's he's actually good friends with). He's quite patient and doesn't get easily annoyed as he tries his best to keep his composure. Though rare, he will snap if the person in question constantly badgers him.

Later on it's revealed that him and Tucker are actually half-brothers, abet very distant (Tucker has no clue and Vesper refuses to acknowledge him as a relative. Both were raised regions apart, each a separate parent and family). Vesper will only tell this to the player this.

Team (Three pokemon in total):

Salazzle

Rosalia

Zhenogen (flying/poison)    ability: Corrosion

Moves: Acid, Peck, Acid Rain, toxic Shock

—-

Calamities Town (4th gym)

Type: Grass

Badge: Lotus Badge

TM: Giga Drain

Duel Type TM: ???

Leader: Hazel

Bio: ???

Team (total of four Pokémon):

Leafeon

Citrid

Servine (female)

(Ace) Aloewette (Grass Water)

—-

Oceanbreeze City (fifth gym)

Type: Water

Badge: Anchor Badge

TM: Deluge (Damaging water move who's power is upped in Rain)

Duel Type TM: ???

Leader: Marinus

Bio: A marine biologist and part-time gym leader. His gym is part of the aquarium he works at where he helps rehabilitate injured water Pokémon. Marinus was one of the previous champion's friends and rival when they were on their Pokémon journey. He's usually stern, quiet, and doesn't talk much.

Marinus is the only gym leader to currently use a Mega on his team.

Team (total of 5):

Crocanaw (Dranowian form) 

Sharpedo

Ominite

Hailpoon

Hydrolisk

(Ace) Delfineon (mega)

—-

Constallos City (Sixth gym)

Type: Light

Badge: Infrared Badge

TM: ???

Duel Type TM: Solar Burst  (Light/Fire)

Leader: Dexter

Bio: the youngest gym leader in the region. Dexter is your stereotypical nerd. He spends most of his time trying to come up with new inventions and is best friends with the professor's son and one of the player's rivals, Alvis.

Team (total of 4):

Heliolisk

???

???

(Ace) Aluereon

—-

Glaceice Town (seventh gym)

Badge: Cryo badge

Tm: Icicle Crash

Duel type Tm: ???

Leader: Winton

Bio: The hotheaded ice type gym leader from a once remote village. He is known to be rather grumpy and prone to loosing his temper. Yet underneath his ice cold outer shell, he's quite compassionate and friendly once he warms up to you.

Winton has very messy blue hair and wears very unfitting colored glasses that he's prone to throwing when he gets mad (yes that means he breaks them a lot). If he doesn't chuck them, they will usually end up crooked on his nose.

Winton loves ice skating to the point his shoes have a set of ice skates built into the soles that he can pop out at will. He likes to use this method to get to somewhere quicker, somehow managing to skate on other surfaces other than ice, even without his Pokémon freezing the ground along the way like he usually does. Also for his gym intro he puts on a little show once you reach him.

His grandma runs a clinic/hospital that has been in the family for years and as a result he has some knowledge  on how to do first aid. The clinic is also his home. His family descends from a rather famous healer and one of the original two Consolers to the King of an Ancient Dranowan civilization, and the handler of the legendary Pokémon Galasklisk. 

He's also best buddies with Flock, whom he considers a little brother since his Grandma took him under her wing as well. Both of them are orphans (he was abandoned by his parents at a young age while Flock was forced to flee his home region)

Team (total of 5 Pokémon):

(Ace) Wintigo (Ice/Dark)

Cryogonal

Smaiber 

???

Noctowl (Dranowan form)

—-

Brimestone Town (eighth gym)

Type: Fire

Badge: Incandescence Badge

TM: Blaze Tail (basically a fire type tail move)

Duel Type TM: ???

Leader: Amber

Bio: Wife of Team Nova's leader and Mother of your rival Trevor. Like the rest of her family, she has flaming red hair.

She's known for her flamboyant and fiery attitude despite being married to the founder of one the largest research groups in Dranowa and having two kids. It's more than ever evident when she's battling a trainer. (Poor Sirius tho gets so nervous when she starts acting like this in public, even in front of his employees/grunts and admins.)

Because of her husbands actions she has returned to her hometown, refusing challengers until Nova is stopped. Once the whole fiasco with Novatta is cleared up, she returns to Nova HQ seeming to have forgiven Sirius and reuniting with her family.

People from her hometown describe that when her an Sirius first met it was like love at first sight. "His brains and her..... personality. Those two were inseparable.". She also liked to embarrass him every time they went somewhere. Poor Sirius turned as red as a Tamato Berry every time she did so.

She also didn't let Sirius lay down that time they had a meeting with Arcadia and Ein (yes it's that Ein from team Cypher from Coliseum) where she embarrassed him big time. Ein had a hard time keeping his composure after, his wife, Arcadia's snarky comment, "Now there's you a women with some real potential, Siri. Maybe you should do some more research on that." 

Team (total of 5):

???

???

???

???

Peablaze (Fire/Flying)

[moremaybank]

BAD NEWS — k.m

pairing klaus mikaelson x fem!reader

summary a fic reminiscing on what it's been like to have spent the past thousand years being klaus's safe space as both his best friend and lover. (based on the song “bad news” by kehlani)

warnings none

author's note lowercase intended.

series ;; klaus masterlist

find the song here!

i watched you turn yourself to a made man

all the little things that make you

you can count the ways that i stay down

can't nobody tell me i ain't true

y/n y/l/n has been there through it all when it comes to klaus mikaelson. her best friend turned lover and, eventually, husband.

she's seen many sides of him, many of the personas he presented as the centuries went by.

the ten-year-old boy who crafted flower crowns out of every coloured flower he could get his hands on. the centuries-old vampire who hunted relentlessly for the dopplegänger that would free him from his curse. and now, the hybrid who had walked the earth for a millennium, bore a child by miracle and became a father that would do anything to protect his beautiful and powerful daughter.

she was always there for him — even if it meant harbouring the love she had felt for him for centuries — she never cared.

what she did care about, however, was watching her best friend lose himself. the once kind and gentle boy she had befriended at the ripe age of ten chose to hide everything she loved about him — at least when he was in the company of the people who feared him and the enemies he made over the years.

sure, there were glimpses of that sweet boy in him, but he refused to let his guard down, refused to let the best parts of him shine through the cracks of the villain role he bestowed upon himself.

still, that didn't halt her from loving him. it didn't scare her away, never threatened her to walk away.

no matter how heinous his actions proved to be, she never faltered when it came to the hope of his redemption.

he was still in there.

he was just fighting to be acknowledged.

seen.

take a little time from the wild out

you could slow the time down with me, babe

with me, babe

klaus hated to admit it, but he was always the one to allow his fear and paranoia to get the best of him.

so, y/n took the time to coax him; pulling him onto their shared bed, rubbing his back as he vented to her, stroking his face in an attempt to ease the frown plastered on his forehead.

the goal was to get him to disconnect from the world and all the duties he bestowed upon himself. to halt the plans he was concocting to frighten his enemies. to let go of all that troubled him — even if only for a short while.

she wanted them to remain in their own little bubble. a safe and loving space. a sanctuary.

the both of them had been each other's safe haven for a thousand years, and it would always remain that way.

no matter what.

all i want you to know

is i care, you best believe i care

you're out there, don't wanna be out there

no way, you wanna be right here

like always, so when i'm here, i make you wanna

when klaus found himself to be in pure villain mode, he tended to forget that he had people who loved and cared for him.

his inner saboteur told him that no one loved him and that he simply was not enough for anyone. so, y/n made sure he knew that she did.

she constantly proved to him that she would never abandon him. she would fight tirelessly to show him that the fear of losing her was utter nonsense.

if there was anything y/n wanted klaus to know, it was that she wasn't going anywhere.

not in a million years.

give all that shit up

make you wanna give all that shit up

make you wanna spend that time on us

make you wanna give all that shit up

make you wanna leave that world behind

make you wanna see your name on mine

make you wanna give all that shit up

make you wanna give all that shit up

all that shit up

y/n really just wanted klaus to let go. to allow himself to release the dark cloud of anxiety constantly looming over him.

she wanted him to pour all of his energy toward the family they'd started together. to the future they could build for themselves and for the supernatural phenomenon they had been lucky enough to call their daughter.

truthfully, y/n had hoped that the promise of an eternal life together would be enough to deter him from the life he currently led — one full of violence and hatred.

y/n believed in something better for klaus. an existence so bright and optimistic that klaus would never be able to conjure up himself.

don't wanna get no call with no bad news

i know all the stories from your tattoos

y/n was currently lying on klaus's chest. her dainty little fingers traced over the feather and birds etched permanently into his ivory skin. other times, she found herself gazing upon the triangle printed on the back of his shoulder.

klaus's body was something that y/n had taken the time to memorize over the years. she'd educated herself on it time and time again in moments of passion and pleasure. she absorbed every ounce she could of him, so much so that he had become a part of her. a pierce of her that had become vital.

she could never live without him.

so, whenever she contemplated the possibility of losing him, it scared the life out of her. the very last thing she wanted on this earth was to receive news that the man she'd spent an entire millennium loving and adoring would never come home to her.

there would be no more days spent in between the sheets, drinking each other in. no more talks about the future.

she would never be able to kiss the plump and rosy lips she lived for. she'd lose the ability to touch him, to find comfort in his familiar scent and in the steady rhythm of his undead heartbeat.

y/n loved klaus so profoundly that she knew a piece of her would die alongside klaus if he ever did so himself. so she urged him as best as she could. she tried like hell to make him see what she would go through if she lost him. she fought with everything in her to get klaus to understand that if he died, she would die too.

if they with the shit, then you with that too

if they with the shit, you with the—

oh, oh, take your time away from the bullshit

just be on some cool shit with me, babe

with me, babe

as much as klaus wanted to put the constantly-growing fear in his wife's mind to rest, there were still days when he had no choice but to plot against his enemies.

klaus would never admit it out loud, but he wanted to change his violent ways. not just for himself or y/n, but for their daughter. however, this wasn't always a feasible option for him. klaus would do anything to fight for and protect his family. there was nothing that would ever halt him from doing everything in his power to keep his loved ones out of harm's way.

in turn, on those days klaus found himself fighting in honour of his favourite girls, klaus would return home from battle, and y/n would be right there to make everything better.

she'd run a hot bath, climb into the tub with him, and shower him with all the love and affection she could muster.

sure, she didn't exactly love the idea of klaus waging war twenty-four-seven, but she did know that everything he did, he did it with their family's best interest at heart. his adoration for her and his daughter drove him to do the most reckless things, but his actions were always driven by love, and she consistently commended him on that. she was grateful for that.

having klaus love her as fiercely as she did him was a powerful and miraculous thing.

and all i want you to know

is i'm here, if no one else, i'm here

right here, i'm never scared, no fear

no way, when you're with me you're safe

like always, so let it fade and just go 'head and

klaus had his moments when he feared his actions would push his family over the edge and force them to give up on him.

yes, every cruel and harsh act he performed was all in the name of keeping his loved ones safe. but that did nothing to ensure that they would share the same views as him or support his choices.

over the centuries, klaus had wronged his siblings countless times. daggering them time and time again only proved to damage his relationships with them.

they all had their moments when they would choose to walk away from him, but they always came back for him. yet, klaus worried that one day, eventually, he would push them too far, and they wouldn't return.

things were different when it came to him and y/n, though.

y/n never shied away from telling klaus exactly how she felt, especially during times when she disagreed with his often irrational and rushed retaliations. in fact, they would fight for hours about her sentiments. screaming, objects being thrown, the whole nine yards.

but still, she loved him through everything.

there wasn't a thing klaus could do that would cause her to stop believing in his redemption, or make her afraid of him. even when he deliberately tried to push her away. she stayed and chose him every single time.

and for klaus, that was something as rare as the existence of his tribrid daughter. he had never, ever experienced that in his entire life. someone that stood by him, and chose him over everything.

and that's what made things so much harder for him. he despised angering y/n and choosing to go against her wishes, but klaus had to make it clear — if anyone dared to be brave enough to threaten those that klaus held dearly to his heart...they would be met with a cruel, cruel end.

give all that shit up

make you wanna give all that shit up

make you wanna spend that time on us

make you wanna give all that shit up

make you wanna leave that world behind

make you wanna see your name on mine

make you wanna give all that shit up

make you wanna give all that shit up

all that shit up

for centuries now, y/n's arms had been a place of refuge for klaus, and vice versa. after an entire millennium with them by each other's side, it would be surprising if that weren't the case.

that being said, even in times of trouble, klaus and y/n knew that they could always turn to each other.

it didn't matter what harsh words were exchanged between the two. their shared space would always and forever be a safe harbour for them. they could unwind, let go of all their troubles, and feel protected and loved unconditionally.

relationships tend to be tricky, but for klaus and y/n, the obstacles and the hardships didn't matter.

it was their love that did.

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

Rooftop Conversations (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader/ Yelena Belova)

Hi everyone!

This is a little shorter, but hope you all enjoy!

Summary: Reader shares a complicated history with Wanda. What will happen when Natasha introduces her sister to the problem? Who will reader end up with?

“Y/n.”

The closer you got the tower you called home; the more anxiety began to bubble in your chest. You had been away for over three months now and the entire time you were away Yelena refused to accept any of your calls. Admittedly they were few and far between due to circumstances, but the rare instances when you were able to get your hands on a phone, the other woman would always be miraculously busy.

You didn’t blame her.

Not in the slightest. Still, with every flimsy excuse Natasha gave you whenever you asked to speak to Yelena, you couldn’t help but feel that you were losing a part of yourself. Yelena was woven into your being and being shut off from her was something that was… entirely your fault.

It always made your heart ache though. To know she didn't want to even speak to you. To be away from her. There was so much about her you missed. Like her voice, her laugh, her jokes…

You just missed her.

“Y/n!” You jumped slightly and turned your attention to Steve who was glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. “Everything okay?”

All you managed was a weak nod as you focused back on the world around you. It was something you had to do often over the last few months. “Fine.” You replied, turning to face him as you awaited whatever it was he wanted to say.

“You can stop fidgeting with your necklace. We shut down all the bases. That’s all we could do.” He eventually said.

It wasn’t until Steve pointed it out that you realized that your fingers were fiddling absently with the charm that was hanging from the necklace Wanda had given you before you left. “What are you talking about?” you questioned, your brows furrowed in confusion.

Steve gestured broadly in your general area with one hand, while the other hand remained on the controls of the quinjet. “Whenever you get nervous you start fiddling with the necklace.” His hands returned to the controls as he shifted his attention. “Like a safety blanket.”

Grumbling absently, you folded your hands and looked out the window like a child who had just been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to. “Says the one with the pocket watch.”

In response, Steve shrugged. “Touché.”

You smirked and leaned back in your chair. “That’s what I thought." He chuckled. "Besides, I know we did all we could on the mission. I’ve come to terms with Dr. Wilkerson getting away, without his bases of support though he’s nothing.”

“Is that not what you were nervous about?” Steve prodded.

You shook your head. “I’m worried Yelena is going to hate me forever.” You admitted, your hand once again flying up to fiddle with the charm on your necklace.

Steve whistled lowly. “Still no word from her?” You shook your head again. “All you can do is be honest, kid. Earn her forgiveness. While you may have had good intentions, you lied. Even if it was to protect her. She reserves the right to be angry about it.”

“I know.” You replied. “I agree entirely, but… I don’t want to lose her. I can’t lose her. She-�� She means… Everything to me.”

There was a moment of silence. “Do you love her?”

It had been months since you had allowed yourself time to think about the inner workings of your heart, yet the answer remained the same and came with no hesitation. “Yes.”

Steve nodded. “Does that mean you’re over Wanda then?”

The question took you by surprise and suddenly the pendant burned under your touch, like every nerve ending in your body went haywire. Overwhelmed with the thought of the two women that unabashedly occupied your heart. You feebly let your hand fall back to your lap.

Again, silence hovered in the air until, “No.” You replied softly, knowing it was the truth. Knowing you had no reason to lie to Steve.

Again, there was no hesitation in your answer.

“Sounds like you still have a lot to figure out then, kid.” Steve reached over and pat your shoulder sympathetically, “Between you and me though, I always thought you and Wanda would find your way back to each other. You’ve always been like magnets you two.” He admitted. “Natasha disagrees with me. She seems to think that you and Yelena are the most irritatingly perfect match. Her words not mine.”

You narrowed your eyes slightly. “You and Romanoff better not be placing bets on my love life again. You remember what happened last time, Rogers.” You warned with a point of your finger.

Steve chuckled and raised his hands innocently. “No bets were made. I’m just telling you the information.” He paused slightly. “Though I will say if it was a bet, I'd probably win since I did say Wanda would be the one to ask you out originally because you’d be too nervous to even get a word out. You won me fifty bucks that day.”

You punched his shoulder. “I can’t stand any of you.”

“That’s what families do.” You rolled your eyes and chose not to respond as you both distracted yourselves with your own tasks.

Just over an hour later Steve spoke again. “Hope you got enough thinking done because we’re touching down at the compound in five minutes.”

You sucked in a breath as the clouds opened up and the sharp points of the familiar building filled the sky before you.

Suddenly it was as if you blinked, and Steve was lowering the quinjet onto the waiting platform. “It’s good to be home.” You mumbled as you gathered what little you had and walked off the jet with Steve.

Before you could get far, you were met with an armful of someone else causing you to drop everything in your arms to catch the other person.

When the familiar floral scent invaded your senses, you quickly relaxed and held on tighter, relishing in the moment. The comfort that you hadn’t felt in months. “I missed you too, Wanda.” You whispered into her ear as you tucked your chin over her shoulder.

“You have no idea.” Wanda replied as you both held tightly to each other. You faintly heard Steve mumble how he would take your things inside for you, but his words barely registered as you familiarized yourself with the touch you hadn’t felt in months.

Suddenly, it felt like you were grounded again. Like you had been drifting freely and now, being back by her side you felt anchored again. Connected to the world in a way that mattered again.

Sure, you had managed to speak to Wanda briefly a handful of times over the course of your mission, but those sparse minutes were nothing compared to the sensation of actually being in her arms once again.

“It’s good to see you again.” You said leaning back slightly and taking in her every feature, every speck of color in her eyes. This was the longest you had gone without seeing her since the day you both met. “How did you know we were coming back? We wrapped up a few days early, I thought it would fly under the radar.”

Wanda smiled sheepishly back at you, and you couldn’t help the way your own lips pulled up endearingly at the sight. “I may have convinced Tony to program a new feature to FRIDAY that would let me know when you landed.”

A small chuckle of amusement slipped pat your lips. “Yeah? How did you manage that?”

“I may have pulled the Stark missile card.” Wanda answered with a small shrug.

“Didn’t know you couldn’t be so devious, Maximoff.” You teased as Wanda playfully dusted the invisible dirt off her shoulders.

That was when another voice interrupted the moment. “Really? You didn’t?” You turned your head to find the source of the interruption, though from the voice you knew exactly who it was. “I’ve known for a while now.”

Wanda pulled away from you and looked away, rubbing her own arm uncomfortably. “Nat,” You warned. “I just got back; can we not fight first thing?”

Natasha looked between you and Wanda for another moment as if she was contemplating her choices before opening her arms in silent invitation. “Fine, I’ll play nice. Sorry Maximoff.” Wanda nodded in acknowledgment. You suspected she was still terrified of the other woman.

You glanced at Wanda to be sure she was okay before walking over to your best friend and embracing her just as tightly, finding comfort in her embrace. Comfort in knowing that they were all okay while you were gone. That was all you could have wanted. You missed this. All of it.

Regardless of how chaotic it could be at times.

“I assume you didn’t manage to play nice while I was gone. No wonder I stayed away so long.” You said playfully as Natasha pinched you side. You swatted her hand and pulled away in protest. “Is this how you show how much you miss me?”

Natasha rolled her eyes, “Miss you being an idiot? Sure.” She nudged you playfully. “It’ll be nice to have you back though, the compound hasn’t felt the same without you.”

“It really hasn’t.” Wanda agreed, wincing when she saw the blank look Natasha gave her.

You shook your head, “Nothing has changed.” You lightly rested your forehead on Natasha’s, so she could focus on you, so she could hear the sincerity of your next words. “I did miss you, you know? No need to be snappy.”

Natasha finally cracked a smile. “I know, I missed you too.” She lightly nudged your nose with her own before pulling away and ruffling your hair.

You smiled back at her but couldn’t help but look over Natasha’s shoulder a moment later. If Natasha knew you were back, then it was only safe to assume that… “Is- Is Yelena in her room?”

Amusement began shining in Natasha’s eyes. “Couldn’t even go ten minutes without asking about her, could you?” Heat quickly rushed into your cheeks. “She’s on a mission with Clint, should be back later today. Just light recon about a minor disturbance a few cities over.”

“Surprised you let her go without you.” You mumbled, already anticipating the moment of Yelena's return, mentally preparing all the ways you could earn her forgiveness.

“Tony had me on a separate assignment until this morning.” Natasha explained. “Besides, she’s with Barton, they’re both in good company. Safe.”

You nodded, if Natasha wasn’t worried then you had no reason to either. “I-” You lowered your voice. “Will you let me know when she’s back? Don’t tell her I’m here until I get a chance to talk to her, please, I don’t want her to avoid me anymore. I want to apologize. To make it up to her.”

Natasha analyzed you for a moment, analyzed your pleading tone before nodding. “I’ll give you this one shot because I know you only did what you did to protect her... I would have done the same.” She looked over your shoulder before looking back at you. “Now, I think I’ll head inside. We can catch up later. Don’t do anything that will make me have to kick your ass.” She warned.

Before you could utter a reply, your best friend had disappeared into the compound. “She actually talked to me once while you were gone. It was about a mission report, but still, she’s not ignoring me anymore.” You heard Wanda say from behind you.

You chuckled slightly as you turned to face her again, gesturing for her to follow behind you. “That’s actually great news to hear. I miss being able to spend time with both of you.” You leaned against the railing of the landing pad and let the wind traveling through the air be the only sound for a moment.

Wanda mimicked your position, her arms brushing yours, your own pinky shifting slightly to be in contact with hers.

It was like Steve said, there was something magnetic about you both and it felt even stronger after the separation. You couldn’t help but feel like you wanted to be closer. Your free hand raised to fidget with the charm on the necklace nervously.

“Still wearing the necklace, I see.” Wanda noted, her eyes shining happily in the light of day.

A faint blush quickly spread over your cheeks, and you managed a weak nod, your hand once again falling from the charm. “Steve says it’s my safety blanket.”

Wanda’s smile widened. “I didn’t know if you’d even use it since you had given it back to me after we broke up.”

You shrugged halfheartedly. “We’re past that. It represents more now. It represents you.” The sound of Wanda’s breath hitching caught your attention and you couldn’t help but feel your heart hammer in your chest. You just hoped she would change the subject, the vulnerability felt all too much in that moment. "It was nice to have on the mission."

“How did the mission go? I assume well since both you and Steve are back in one piece.” Wanda eventually asked, breaking the charged silence much to your relief. She always was good at reading your wants.

You nodded faintly, eagerly responding to the change of topic. “It did. We shut down every base we set out to, which was all of them.” You could see the happy smile form on Wanda’s lips, and you continued. “We did everything we set out to do except catch Dr. Wilkerson.”

Wanda’s smile fell almost immediately. She knew Dr. Wilkerson was your greatest enemy, your greatest fear. “Are you okay?” As the last word fell from her lips, her pinky moved to rest over yours, as if she herself wanted to be closer. To comfort you.

In response you turned you hand over in silent invitation and Wanda accept the offer immediately, her fingers tangling naturally with your own. “I feel okay, Steve still thinks we can catch him. He won’t get too far… I know he wants to take me back.” Wanda’s fingers tightened against yours. “Don’t worry, without the bases, without his minions? He’s nothing. Powerless. It’s only a matter of time.”

“The day he tries to come after you will be his last.” Wanda said seriously, her eyes darkening at the mere thought. “He won’t hurt you again, Y/n.”

You squeezed her hand, you knew Wanda would never hurt anyone, but her protective nature may change that. You’d never want to put her in that position. “I know, Wands. Don’t worry, Steve and I will find him. I’ll be okay.”

Her lips turned up faintly. “I know, I’ll be here to make sure of it. I’ll protect you, Y/n.”

“And even though you're infinitely stronger than me, I will protect you.” Wanda giggled slightly and you smiled back at her.

For a moment you both just stared at one another, allowing yourselves to get lost in the moment, moving closer and closer until you could feel her breath fan across your lips. You quickly looked away. Not ready to take that step. Not ready to ruin the leaps and bounds of progress you had made with her.

“Now fill me in on what I missed while I was gone.” You said in hopes of brushing over the minor traces of awkwardness that lingered in the air.

That was how both you and Wanda spent the remainder of the day, catching up on everything that had happened in the last few months, the hours slipping away with ease. There was only one thing that could ruin a relaxing evening like that.

And it was the sight of a smaller quinjet landing a few feet away. Your heart began hammering in your chest because the only other ones out on a mission were Yelena and Clint.

The woman that had occupied your mind so deeply was now just seconds away from you.

Except when the doors to the quinjet opened and Clint was the only one to step out, looking battered and bruised. Your stomach dropped at the sight.

You ran over, Wanda following closely behind. “Clint, where is Yelena?”

It was like Clint had just seen a ghost, his eyes widening even more than they already were. “Where is Natasha?”

“Whe-”

“WHERE IS NATASHA!” He yelled, his voice reverberating in the air around you.

Bile climbed up your throat in tandem with the panic you felt squeeze at your chest as the three of you ran into the compound in search of the other woman.

A few moments later you found her lounging in the main room of the compound with a notebook in her hands. Natasha immediately looked up when she heard the sound of panicked footsteps enter the room. “Clint, what-”

Clint quickly interrupted her, his panicked expression making you sick as you anticipated his next words.

“They took her. They took Yelena.”

And just like that, the world stopped.

And that's all folks! This chapter was more of a set-up for the unraveling of the remainder of this story which I now know will be 12 parts total. Sorry for no Yelena in this part. As always, thoughts and comments are always welcome!

Previous part: "Necessary Lies"

Masterlist: "Omen"

Tag list:

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@sighsam // @simonsbluee // @pxterstrk // @heyyoweveryone // @euphoriaszn2 // @nosense-blog // @stressed-but-a-mess // @tomy5girls // @prentisshoe // @ghostyfacey // @imasimpfornatashamaximoff // @3and30aresoultwins // @gayarchnemessis // @https-sunshine // @donnietarantino // @lezzzbehonesthere // @chaekhan // @cxld-blood // @loomontoia // @ouat2017 // @anxiousgoldengirl // @lostandsearching //@liladoesfanfics // @just-a-normalpersons // @wandamaximoffsrings // @marvelwomen-simp // @hopemikaelslay // @im-in-lesbians-with-u // @paumxmff // @hitchgoonie // @yelenabelovasgf // @psychadelichues // @amourtentiaa // @yeeterthekeeper // @daniescady // @iliketozoneout // @megsi98 // @cyberbonesworld // @liver-casserole // @Andy-aj-rose // @chonisbestmistake // @gaylor-okay // @rwritesstuff // @ithrewmypieforglee //

[wandaromanova]

Can you do a fluffy wanda one (with a little angst because of course) where reader and wanda are best friends, reader wants more, but thinks wanda is interested in vision so she doesnt say anything. And then one day a mission goes wrong, and reader gets into an accident that results in her getting powers, and it makes wanda wake up and confess her feelings?

Requited Love

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: cussing, injury, that’s all!

A/N: hello! i hope you enjoy what i’ve created out of your request, anon! sorry i couldn’t think about how i could incorporate the powers part of the request! not proofread, so i apologize for any grammatical errors! join my taglist here <3

Summary: Wanda Maximoff and Y/N L/N are your typical best friends who refuse to admit their feelings for each other.

Word Count: 3.3K (had a lil too much fun with this)

(gif is not mine)

You and your best friend, Wanda, had been friends practically since the moment she had joined the team. Being the youngest Avenger, you were so excited that there would finally be another member that was close to your age. Despite the events of Sokovia, you didn’t fear the woman. If anything, it only made the urge to get closer to her stronger.

Her powers absolutely mesmerized you. From the color of her powers to the different ways she could use them to her advantage; it was mind blowing how much power she had literally at her fingertips. As time went on, you and Wanda became very close. You’d always have movie nights together in your room, which eventually led to the Sokovian woman peacefully sleeping next to you in your bed.

Not only was Wanda drop dead gorgeous, but she was genuine and humble. She had confided in you about the many different traumas she had been through and expressed how the surreal amount of grief constantly consumed her. It broke your heart to know that such an amazing person was put through so much.

Her past could’ve easily turned her into a villain, but she decided to go the opposite direction. She came to the conclusion that her powers could help others and that’s what she had chosen to do in Sokovia and up to now. It was why she had agreed to join the Avengers in the first place. Wanda knew how awful the world could be and she wanted to be there for people the way that her family had been before they passed. The amount of respect you had for Wanda was immeasurable.

Over the span of two years, you and Wanda became joined to the hip. Wanda didn’t even sleep in her own bed anymore. Before, she would just accidentally fall asleep in your room or sneak into your room in the late hours of the night to sleep with you. But now, she just barged into your room every night and slept there. She said that you kept the nightmares she had at bay and you were more than happy to be there for her if it meant she got a full night’s rest.

You both jumped at any opportunity you guys could to be on the same mission as the other. You not only wanted to spend time with her, but you wanted to protect her. Lord knows that Wanda of all people could handle herself, but it kept you at peace when you were with her; knowing that she had you to back her up. Naturally, you fell in love with your best friend.

At first, you thought you were just confusing your special platonic friendship with Wanda for romantic feelings. But sometimes you caught yourself wanting to kiss Wanda. You knew damn well that friends don’t daydream about making out with each other. So, yeah, you definitely had feelings for Wanda, but there was one thing standing in your way; Vision.

Vision basically joined the team at the same time Wanda did. He was created during the Ultron situation and has been an Avenger since then. Wanda and Vision were very close. They weren’t as close as you and Wanda were, but he was a close second. They had a bond over the mind stone that you couldn’t ever compete with. This fact discouraged you and forced you to keep your mouth shut. You’d rather keep your feelings to yourself and suffer in private than risk your friendship with Wanda.

I mean, you didn’t even know if Wanda was into girls! She could be as straight as a wooden ruler and you would most definitely embarrass yourself if you told her. Vision wasn’t exactly a man by any means, he was a robot. If Wanda were to like Vision that must mean you had a chance right? Not to be an ass, but he’s literally a hunk of metal. Regardless of all these thoughts, you knew at the end of the day that you would have to hide your feelings for the sake of maintaining the relationship you currently have with the Sokovian.

You did pretty good at hiding your feelings for awhile. You acted as if everything was normal and not like you were emotionally crying out inside every time you saw Wanda with Vision. It began to get too much when you had caught sight of the pair cooking Paprikash in the communal kitchen. Cooking was something you and Wanda used to do together. It was kind of your thing. It may seem silly, but watching her do something with Vision that used to be sacred to you both hurt.

You began to distance yourself the closer Wanda and Vision got together. What sucked even more was that Wanda didn’t even acknowledge your sudden distance. She no longer slept in your room, opting to spend her nights with Vision. You were dying inside and Wanda didn’t even care to notice.

You had a mission to get to today. Usually, Wanda would be down in the hangar whenever you were going on a mission without her, but she wasn’t there today. She was probably off somewhere with Vision, again. It stung that Wanda didn’t even want to see you off. She was so preoccupied with Vision that she didn’t even give you a second thought. A toaster was stealing your best friend who you just so happened to be madly in love with away from you. And you couldn’t do anything to stop it.

So, you reluctantly got onto the Quinjet with Steve who was accompanying you on the mission. Fury only sent you two in for this mission because it was a simple one. It didn’t require the entire team to complete. You both were to capture and detain the scientist responsible for the latest human experimentations at the hands of Hydra. From the intel gathered by S.H.I.E.L.D, their security wasn’t that bad so it would be a walk in the park for you and Steve. You had just left and you already desperately wanted to go home and wallow in your own self pity in the comfort of your bed.

But first, you had to get this mission over with. The Quinjet landed a little far away from the small Hydra base. You and Steve made your way out of the jet and began to trudge your way toward the building. As you guys got closer, Steve stopped abruptly.

“No matter what, we stick together okay? Just because this should be an easy mission, doesn’t mean we should let our guard down. Understand?” He lectured you sternly as he stared at you intensely.

“Yeah. I got it, Cap.” You replied to him dismissively as you continued to make your way toward the building. You took note of the five guards that were guarding the entrance and gave Steve a nod before you both sprung into action.

After you guys had taken down the entrance guards, you both sneakily made your way into the building. It was pretty easy to find your target, seeing that the building was the size of a house. You and Steve barged into the room, the scientist whipping around quickly and freezing in shock at the sight of you both.

Steve quickly charged at the man and placed him into handcuffs. As Steve pulled the man up by the collar, forcing him to his feet, a thought crossed your mind. This is too easy. Only five guards and the professor was just conveniently in here? This had to be a setup.

Before you could voice your concerns to Steve, you felt a sharp pain rip through your shoulder as Hydra agents flooded into the room. You fell to your knees in pain as Steve threw the target to the ground. He quickly began to fight as many agents as he could. You stood up as you tried to temporarily forget the pain. You began to take on agents yourself. Despite being injured, you kicked their asses with ease.

You were down to the last agent while Steve was pulling the scientist back up to his feet, much more aggressively this time. For some reason, your thoughts went to Wanda. How would she react to your injury? Would she even bother to visit you to make sure you were okay?

Unfortunately, you had chosen the wrong time to become distracted by your thoughts of Wanda. While your thoughts were racing, you failed to notice the glint of a knife in the agent’s left hand. As you blocked one of his punches, he quickly stabbed you right in the stomach. At this, Steve jumped in to help you and made quick work of knocking out the man who stabbed you.

You fully fell to the floor this time, gasping for air. Not only were you shot, but now you got stabbed. Seriously? Did god decide you weren’t already having a shitty enough time? Steve quickly picked you up in his arms in a panic. He carried you to the Quinjet while making sure the scientist was following behind you both. Steve placed your body onto the medical table that was in the Quinjet, handcuffed the man to a railing, and sped off to the compound. He took note of how much blood you lost; it was a lot to say the least. If he didn’t get to the compound soon, he feared you wouldn’t make it; and that wasn’t an option.

The 30 minute trip to the compound turned into a 15 minute ride. Steve quickly rushed you into the medical wing of the compound and placed you into the care of Doctor Helen Cho. He knew he had to tell the team about what happened. The Avengers were a family, and you being the youngest meant you were like a child to them, well besides Wanda obviously.

Steve hurriedly made his way into the living room of the Avenger’s living quarters and made sure Jarvis informed everyone that it was an emergency. As Steve entered, everyone turned to face him with worry present on each of their faces.

“What’s wrong, Rogers? Is everything okay?” Natasha asked as she looked over his body. There was an insane amount of blood all over his star-spangled suit. “It’s Y/N.”

At Steve’s words, everyone in the room stood in shock as their jaws dropped. But no one’s feelings could compare to Wanda’s. She abruptly stood up from the couch and made her way towards Steve.

“What about her? What happened to her?” Wanda began to get angry as hints of her powers made their way to her eyes. Steve took a step back and looked at Wanda before returning his gaze back to the other people in the room. You could hear a pin drop in the silence of the room.

“We went on a mission together. It was supposed to be an easy in and out thing. But we were setup. She got shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the abdomen. She’s in the medical wing right now.” Steve spoke strongly, attempting to remain calm for the sake of the team, but he was terrified inside. Your state refused to leave his mind. Your limp body in his arms as your warm blood covered his hands.

Wanda didn’t say another word as she ran towards the elevator and impatiently hit the button to the medical wing. She didn’t bother to wait for anyone else. Nothing mattered right now except you.

Wanda had feelings for you. Ever since she met you, you were this light in the darkness that was her life. You could cheer her up when no one else could. You knew her better than she knew herself. You were not only her best friend, but you were the woman she was irrevocably in love with. She was terrified to tell you how she felt. She thought she would lose you if she had confessed how she truly felt for you. So, she remained quiet and tried to forget about her feelings for you by hanging out with Vision more. She wasn’t using Vision by any means, she genuinely did enjoy his company. But he wasn’t you.

Wanda didn’t even wait for the elevator doors to fully open as she squeezed herself through the small gap and made her way towards the medical bay doors. Before Wanda could open the door, Steve abruptly grabbed her hand, stopping her from going any further. He must’ve taken the stairs. Damn his super soldier abilities.

“Wanda. Stop. I know you’re worried about Y/N, we all are. But barging in there won’t be any help. You need to let Cho and her nurses focus on helping her.” Steve desperately tried to talk some sense into Wanda; it worked. Wanda’s shoulders slumped as she made her way towards the seating area that was right outside the doors. All she could do was sit, wait, and pray to whatever god there was that you would be okay.

Wanda didn’t even know you were going on a mission today. If she did, she would’ve went to the hangar and hugged you before she left, like she always did. Oh fuck, she didn’t even get to see you off and now look at your state. Now that she thought about it, she had been neglecting you for some time now. She let her fear of her feelings consume her. She spent more time with Vision than with you, and now she wasn’t sure if she would get the opportunity to be with you again. The thought of not being able to tell you how in love with you she was mortified her. This was the wake up call she needed.

——————————————————————————

2 hours later

After two agonizingly slow hours, Doctor Cho made her way towards the anxious group of heroes. Wanda shot up from her seat and approached Helen.

“How is she? Please, tell me she’s okay.” Wanda asks as she nervously chews on her bottom lip. “Y/N is fine. Luckily, the knife didn’t hit any major arteries. She won’t be able to make any sudden movements for the next few weeks which means no missions until I give her clearance.” At Cho’s words, the entire team was struck with relief. Wanda’s eyes lit up at the good news. You were okay. You were still here.

“Can we see her?” Steve asked from behind Wanda as he made his way to stand beside her. “Yes, shes awkward, but only one person can go in at a time. She’s very sensitive right now from the anesthesia.” Helen gave the team a smile before walking off.

Everyone looked at Wanda as she gave them a nod. Of course she had to go in first. You and Wanda may have been oblivious to each other’s feelings, but the team wasn’t. It was almost annoying how unaware you two were of how the other person felt.

Wanda quietly made her way into your room and almost let out a sigh of relief as she saw you laying on the table awake. You were trying to reach for a glass of water beside your bed, but the pain in your side made the small task a burden. Wanda quickly made her way to the table and handed you the glass of water. You were startled since you didn’t even hear her enter the room. You took the water from her hands and took a long sip before handing it back to her.

“What’re you doing here?” You asked coldly as you glared at the Sokovian woman. She was shocked at your animosity. You were never like this with her before. “I needed to make sure you were okay. I was worried sick.” Wanda frowned as she pulled a chair up to your bedside and sat in it.

“Oh. Now you suddenly remember I exist? It only took me nearly dying for you to notice me again.” You knew you weren’t being fair. You guys were just best friends and she was entitled to hang out and be with whoever she wanted. But the part of you that loved her and longed for more took over.

“Y/N. I’m sorry I haven’t been around as often. I got caught up hanging out with Vision when I should’ve been there for you.” Wanda’s eyes softened as she stared at your face. She missed you so much. She may have seen you around the compound, but she hasn’t been this close to you in what felt like decades.

“Yeah. You got caught up with Vision. Why don’t you just go back to him now. I’m fine.” You stubbornly spoke as you tore your eyes away from Wanda and stared out the window in front of your bed.

Wanda made a ballsy move and grabbed your hand in here. Thankfully, you didn’t move it away. “Y/N. I don’t care about Vision, I care about you. I love you and I mean that in more than a friendly way.” At Wanda’s words, your head snapped back to her as you looked over her features for any indication of a lie; you didn’t find any.

“I was spending time with Vision to try and forget my feelings for you. That obviously backfired and only solidified what I already knew I felt. I’m sorry it took such a terrible situation for me to finally grow the balls to tell you this. I love you Y/N.” Wanda squeezed your hand tightly as she stared at you full of love and adoration.

You were speechless. As cliche as it sounds, this was what you’ve wanted since the moment you laid eyes on her. She said the three words you’ve been longing to hear spill from her mouth. She loved you too.

“I love you too, Wanda. I’m sorry. I thought you had a thing for Vision and I let jealousy and insecurity get the better of me.” You looked down in shame as you tried to pull your hand out of Wanda’s hold, but she only gripped it tighter.

“Don’t be sorry. I completely understand. I’m so glad your okay and I’m so unbelievably happy that you feel the same way.” Wanda smiled brightly at you as you smiled right back. You guys must’ve looked like maniacs with your big, cheesy smiles, but you didn’t care.

Wanda began to slowly lean towards you. You attempted to meet her in the middle, but only ended up wincing in pain as you were reminded of your impressive stab wound. Wanda let out a laugh.

“Let me handle it, moya lyubov (my love).” Wanda said before closing the gap between you both and giving you a heated, desperate kiss. All the pent up emotions that you both had been withholding from each other were coming to light through this kiss. You guys were interrupted by the door swinging open abruptly and the sound of someone clearing their throat.

You both jumped apart as you cringed at the sting of your injuries. You turned to the door and caught sight of the team standing at the door with shit eating grins on their face.

“Sorry to interrupt you, lovebirds. But we wanted to check on Y/N too. Cho gave us the clear to come in now.” Natasha smirked at yours and Wanda’s flustered states.

“Pay up, Barnes.” Sam said as he held his hand out to Bucky, who groaned before placing 50 dollars in his hand. You and Wanda stared at the two confused, Bucky took notice of this and decided to fill you both in.

“We made a bet on when you two would get together. I said in the next two months, he said in the next two weeks. He won.” Bucky gave you both a shy, almost embarrassed smile.

Everyone in the room laughed, making you and Wanda turn even more red than before. You didn’t care about the inevitable, endless teasing you would have to endure after today. You would deal with the comments forever as long as it meant Wanda was by your side. You once thought that she didn’t feel the same, and you were so glad you were proven wrong. Sometimes, love can be requited after all.

[writer-room]

I humbly request more of the lost au pretty please

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECIEVE

credits to @yourpalwhale for giving me more ideas on the original post

more under the cut

Etho had shifted so far into Single-Player Mode that when he first sees another human being he just freezes like a possum trying to figure out if it should play dead or not. Makes eye contact with Beef in the distance before retreating back to his house like a skittish feral animal. Beef silently set up his house in the distance, only barely visible from Etho's house, and they haven't acknowledged each other since.

He also later found Bdubs wandering about. Managed to get his thoughts in order enough to wave at him before vanishing back into his forest like the cryptid he and most the other Hermits are. Bdubs was questioning the meaning of life and his own sanity for days afterwards, couldn't find Etho or Beef for the life of him.

Nobody ever sees Etho except in quick glances or in the vague distance, really. He's made himself scarce and only talks to people through signs and whatnot. Still isn't completely convinced he's not just hallucinating them.

Joe's the one who finds Xisuma in the Nether while he was trying to collect blaze powder. Xisuma was pacing around inside a room he made in a Nether fortress, quite literally going in circles debating if he should leave or not. Joe watched him for a bit before throwing a blaze rod at his head. Xisuma was so excited to see one of his Hermits again that Joe couldn't get rid of him for hours afterwards. It was sweet, but Joe was kind of working here, Xisuma.

Joe didn't even do any convincing. He just said "alright, headin' back to the Overworld" and Xisuma then kinda started talking out loud about going back up n Joe just Left while he was having a mental turmoil about it. Xisuma eventually strapped on all his best gear and decided to venture out on a Quest to find the rest of his Hermits. He proceeds to immediately get blown up by a creeper.

Tango runs into Iskall first, technically, but thinks he's an alien so he starts doing David Attenborough impressions while following him around. Iskall thinks he's actually losing his mind and starting to hear voices. Tango wanders around and finds a couple other people (Bdubs, Mumbo, etc) and always thinks they're weird aliens and freaks them out for a bit.

Hypno has become One With The Deep Dark. Fears sunlight, stares at people, and has become very attuned with his hearing, smelling, and touch. This is not helped by the fact that Hypno actually has the ability to hypnotize people with his eyes and has accidentally done so on multiple mobs, including a Warden. TFC finds him in one of his strip minds by accident and now Hypno pops up every time he emerges from his home to go mining like a homing beacon, following him around. Does he think TFC needs a protector? Is he just lonely? Is he curious? Who knows! But he adamantly refuses to go anywhere near the surface. TFC doesn't mind the company, Hypno's pretty quiet.

Cub went into full Hardcore Survivor Mode and made an entire base. It looks small and normal enough on the surface, but if you go down you'll see a giant megabase under the water. He's got a Guardian farm, he's Harnessed The Dolphins, he's talking to coconuts, all that stuff. Believes he's the only one alive and makes logs about his days. Has absolutely no idea that if he moved to the right, he'd be able to faintly see Ren and Doc's base in the distance.

Keralis actually did see Ren and Doc's base, just looked up one day and saw it. He stared at it for a bit before immediately turning around and going the other way. He's definitely going to tell everyone there's a haunted tower and to stay far, far away from it.

Cleo's made friends with the endermen and has like 10 pairs of elytra because she has nothing else to do in the End. Probably finding lost civilizations in there or something. Has been waiting for someone to find her in the End so she can immediately shove them into the Void for SO LONG

False left her eagle for TEN MINUTES and when she came back it was trying to eat Zed, who was just trying to study some flowers and instead got lodged in an overgrown birds throat. False easily knocked him out of there and now Zed follows her around because he is terrible at defending himself against the elements and False has everything worked out. Has resigned himself to listening to her talk about trying to find a way off the server to the next MCC for eternity.

Gem and xB accidentally came across each other while Gem was trying to get more cats for her horde. They just kinda stared at each other for a moment before xB slowly set down the ocelot he was holding in front of her so she could tame it. xB has since moved into her base and looks after the cats and farms while she's out making things look pretty.

Wels found Stress first, somehow. It was like one of those typical fantasy movies where he's trudging through the snow and comes across a castle made of ice he takes refuge in, unable to find the owner but at least happy to be out of the blizzard. He tries to eat some of the food on the table before Stress kicks the door in and he immediately slams into like 4 things in his haste to get his sword ready. She let's him hangout at the edges of the arctic.

Wels also happened to find the village where Jevin was, and together they both pissed off the iron golem trying to make more SOS signs for anyone passing through, so Jevin got kicked out. Stress opened her front door to see a puppy-eyed Wels holding a dejected, goopy Jevin in a bucket and asking if they could keep him.

Boatem is divided on what to do when they make it to the surface. Scar and Grian want to set up base and wait for someone to come across them, Mumbo and Impulse want to go searching for others, and Pearl is so happy that the moon is finally normal again that nobody can get her inside when it's night anymore so they had to build her a little glass enclosure so the mobs wouldn't get her. Your honor she is a patron of the moon and she is going to make that everyone elses problem.

It eventually ends in Scar and Grian getting on that building grind while Impulse and Mumbo search the surrounding area, so long they come back before dark. Scar has already made a scam shop. Grian is making a base of operations with no back to it. Pearl's decided to make a giant spyglass. They don't know what they're doing, but Grian is definitely preparing to make another war.

The words "I have an idea" are uttered from Grian and Doc instantly wakes up in a cold sweat, practically across the other side of the world. It Begins

[crazycatsiren]

Let's talk about witchcraft and emotions

This is something that's been on my mind for a while. I'm going to talk about this based on my own experiences and personal thoughts. This may or may not be the case for others, so take it and use it as simply my advice that may or may not be different from others.

My opinion: it is not only impractical, but also impossible, to perform witchcraft with a calm, still, blank, neutral, or peaceful state of mind every time and at all times. In fact, I think it is downright counterproductive and even hindering.

My magic works, because I pour so much of myself into it, and my emotions and feelings and states of mind are all parts of the package. My spells work, because every one of them carries a bit of me in it, and that includes me mentally and emotionally.

I'm going to give you an example dear to my heart here. One year ago, a very close friend of mine suddenly lost someone whom she'd known her whole life. A dear friend of hers died very unexpectedly and tragically in a car crash, and when the shock wore off, she was a puddle on the floor. She sought my help, because she desperately wanted to cope and to move on. So I brought her into my sacred room, cast a circle around the two of us, and the first thing I did was to give her a safe space to cry and let it all out. And I shedded my own tears with hers, because seeing my friend whom I love so much in such grief broke my heart. Then I performed my part of the ritual, and left her with instructions to perform her part. Later, after everything was complete, she came to me and told me that she was "back", that she had let him go, and that although she would continue taking her time to grieve for him, she was able to go on with her life and move forward from there.

Mental health professionals everywhere have their bits to say about human emotions. They will tell us that suppressing and refusing to acknowledge emptions is not healthy and not beneficial to anything. Humans are emotional beings. Emotions make us human. Our emotions make us who we are and give us our powers. Emotions are natural. Repressing emotions is the unnatural thing to do. Being as empathetic as I am, being able to feel so much and so deeply may sometimes feel like a curse. But over the years, I have learned to channel this ability and use it to help others.

There are witches out there with chronic illnesses and mental illnesses, for whom moments of complete and total tranquility are few and far in between. Negative feelings and emotions aren't all "bad". All positive all the time is simply not realistic. There's always going to be a balance, a contrast, a yin and a yang. As we mature, we learn how to process and moderate our negativities. For me, with the help of medications and therapy, I'm able to keep my negative feelings and emotions from consuming me and taking over my life. As a witch, with time and experience, I've even learned how to use them to my advantage.

Yes, there are times when I do need to "clear" my mind. There are times, when self control is a necessity on my part. Divination is the main case here. But this is a skill that's taken many, many years for me to hone and master. Mental clarity is not always without effort and control. When impartiality is called for, I am able to compartmentalize and put everything in my mind on the back burner. For my readings and interpretations to be accurate, objectivity is a priority. And if that means momentarily "emptying" my mind out and letting myself be in the state of a shell, well, it works for me. It's how I know that divination is my niche.

Allowing myself to naturally feel and emote is what fuels my magic. The fire in me is what makes me the artist that I am, and the witch that I am. If I were totally chill without an ounce of madness in me, I doubt I'd be successful at being either.

(Photo by Helen Warner)

[ack3rlady]

Hi, beautiful 😘❤️

Now I want to know how Erwin met your parents 🙈

only if you're in the mood ✨

Have a good day ^°^

Hmmmm what made you think I wouldn't be in a mood to self-ship, my lovely Charlotte? Hmm? Based on the story of how my IRL hubs met my parents. I'm going to replace his face with Erwin's in my memories after writing this.

Notes: Mentions of Dad Jokes. Mentions of a certain (painful but hilarious) incident from my childhood that I may or may not elaborate upon.

WC: ~ 1K

I like to believe that Erwin had the "first meeting" with my parents twice, since he refuses to acknowledge the first one.

He and I had been dating a few months. We'd been friends since college. So, our parents always knew about the other's existence. But, we didn't tell them anything more than that till we were sure where this was going. You know how they get...

He'd pick me up from work every evening, and we'd grab a meal together before he dropped me home. One such evening, we were standing in the elevator lobby of my apartment building, waiting to go upstairs to my place.

Erwin had one of his arms around me, while holding takeout in the other, and I had both of mine looped around his waist. I was stuffed from the dinner and practically falling asleep on his shoulder while standing up. If I remember correctly, we shared a lasagna that day.

A couple of minutes later, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Erwin politely greeted someone, which prompted me to open my eyes to see who it was. Maybe the nice couple from next door, or even better, the puppy who lived on the 4th floor.

But to my horror, my parents walked out, my mom staring daggers at me. My dad was about to say hello back to him but stopped after he noticed the position we were standing in. In a flash, my furious looking mom pounced forward, screaming bloody murder at me for not picking up my phone. I don't think she even noticed what my dad did.

Needless to say, there were 7 missed calls when I checked, not one of which I heard. The two of them came over to have dinner with me because mum cooked my favorite chicken curry, and got very worried when I didn't return home after work, unaware that I had a boyfriend who I regularly went out with. She was about to smack my shoulder before Erwin suddenly jumped in between us and her hand sharply landed on his arm instead.

Everyone was mortified. Too frozen to speak.

After what seemed like a short eternity of silence, he finally broke the ice and revealed himself to be my boyfriend. My parents were still too dumbfounded to respond to that news, wordlessly gawking at him. My mum was too shocked to even apologize for landing that blow. So they just said their quick greetings and left in a haste.

I know Erwin felt bad about their reaction but didn't make a big deal out of it. That's just how he is. So, I called my parents and asked them to make things right, stat! I expected them to be over the moon after the revelation since they absolutely adored him. Erwin was their favorite among all my friends and they even teased me about him sometimes. The perfect son-in-law for them, and husband for their daughter.

To smooth things over, they invited Erwin and me for dinner at their place over the next weekend. He insisted that it wasn't necessary. But they held their ground. In the days leading up to it, my mum hounded me over the phone to find out about his likes and dislikes. Like a typical Asian mum, she intended to apologize for smacking him, through food.

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach - this quote is taken very seriously in our household.

Jump to the evening of Saturday, August 18, 2018. I reached my parents' place early to help them prepare. They were on the edge, especially my mum who was fussing over the smallest of things. My dad was probably holding on to small shreds of patience as she ordered him around to dust and clean every exposed surface in the house while she cooked. I was left with the best task of them all. Dirty dish duty. 

The chaos died an instant death as soon as the doorbell rang. Erwin entered holding a gorgeous bouquet of baby pink peonies for mum and a box with pair of cufflinks for my dad. They were over the moon with his gesture; but still couldn't veil the look of terror on their faces. 

“Don't even think about apologizing," Erwin feigned sternness before my parents could get a word across. 

He was so sweet to them. Even cracked a few jokes that made me roll my eyes. But my parents were in fits of laughter. My dad found a new best friend. And my mom, a whole new person to cook for. It's just how she expresses love. 

Erwin bravely ate everything mom cooked. Bravely, because everything she makes is about seven times higher on the spice scale than what he is used to. Even finished the Rasmalai with no complaints. (Erwin also avoids dairy when he can. And Rasmalai is probably the most dairy-intensive Indian dessert there is) 

It was funny to me that I felt like I was the outsider here. The way the three of them got along like a house on fire gave me the illusion that I was the one being introduced to his family. It was endearing to experience how he fit in seamlessly with the people who raised me. How it took absolutely no begging or pleading like how they show on TV shows. I could already tell that my father was about to start calling him ‘beta’, meaning ‘Son’. My mom already did a few times. 

They proceeded to tell him embarrassing stories from my childhood and even pulled out a few albums from the attic. I was ready to melt into a puddle and slip through the drains. But Erwin calmed me by stroking his hand up and down my back every time he sensed me getting worked up. 

“You already know my parents are going to do this as well,” he whispered to me. 

That’s when my father completely forgot which one of us was his biological child and went on to ask a question that made steam blow out of my ears. 

“Why are you even with this brat?” he asked. “She got her head stuck in a gate for God’s sake. It took four people to free her.” 

My father looked smug. My mother, terrified. I probably looked like I was going to go on a rampage, given how Erwin firmed his clasp around my hand. But Erwin? He looked cool as a cucumber. 

“Well, this girl who got her head stuck in her gate is the same girl who makes me the happiest man in the world every day.”

[k-s-morgan]

The Evolution of Will Graham’s Darkness

This meta is mostly written for new viewers who find themselves confused by Will as a character. I’ll incorporate some bits of analysis I’ve written before into it. Let’s start with a thesis of a sort: Will is a dark character who had this darkness from the very start, even before his encounter with Hannibal: he was terrified and disgusted with it, but after meeting Hannibal, slowly, he began to embrace himself, getting bolder and bolder in his violence.

**Before the show**  

Will initially tried to get into the FBI but he didn’t pass the tests. It’s revealed in E1 of S1 when he’s ambushed by Beverly.

Beverly: Never been an F.B.I. Agent?

Will: Strict screening procedures.

Beverly: Detects instability. You’re unstable?

At the same time, Will became a police officer, working in the Homicide department. These decisions show that he's been stubbornly and rather hopelessly drawn to darkness, seeking ways to interact with it while remaining on the side of law. However, he had to leave the police, too, because he was incapable of pulling the trigger even when his life depended on it. He preferred to allow himself to get stabbed rather than to fight back and kill someone, which points to him having very serious issues with his violence. He knew that once the door in him opens, it might not close again, that if he kills or harms another person, he might be unable to stop (this is proven when he shoots Hobbs and then immediately tries to kill Stammets).

And still, Will chooses to stay close to darkness, only in safer ways. He becomes a teacher in the FBI Academy, letting himself delve into the ugliest cases from a theoretical perspective. This constant pull and struggle leave Will lonely and hostile to everyone. He avoids eye contact with people; Jack’s first impression of him was that he’s rude and arrogant (when they clashed about the name of the museum). Will is rude and haughty with his students, too – but more about it later. Alana refuses to stay alone in the room with him, thinking his instability is too fascinating and she might want to dissect it. Will has no friends; he lives in isolation with his dogs, someone who would never judge him. There are a lot of rumors about him going around, and most people don’t like him (based on Price’s and Zeller’s initial reactions as well as their later conversations on this topic). Will is lonely and pretty miserable.

S1

The first real words we hear from Will are:

Will: Everyone has thought about killing someone.

It is very demonstrative of his personality. We also get evidence right here that Will is drawn to darkness primarily, not to the idea of saving lives (although the latter helps him feel better about his urges). He delves into the minds of killers even when he isn’t involved in the investigation. He had no other reason to explore the Marlows’ murder like he did at the start of the episode, when he was simply teaching students. It’s proof that he willingly craves contact with violent and disturbed minds — it’s not like he actually tries to solve this case for real, he just imagined himself there.

Will’s first conversation with Hannibal speaks volumes about who he is — because Hannibal senses it seconds after meeting him.

Hannibal: Do you have trouble with taste?

Will: My thoughts are often not tasty.

Hannibal: Nor mine. No effective barriers.

Will: I make forts.

This exchange has Will confess that his thoughts are often dark and that he dislikes it. To hold this darkness at bay, he literally builds forts around it, not letting it spread to other parts of his mind.

Hannibal: Your values and decency are present yet shocked at your associations, appalled at your dreams. No forts in the bone arena of your skull for things you love.

Hannibal almost directly calls Will out on his struggle with his inner darkness. He’s saying that he sees it, that he knows it’s there, in Will, in his mind, and Will is very disturbed by this — because Hannibal is right. The script even explicitly backs it up:

Hannibal has just described Will Graham to a letter.

Will is immediately wary and hostile, and he ends the conversation with snappy,

Will: Please don’t psychoanalyze me. You won’t like me when I’m psychoanalyzed.

What does it mean? It’s simple: Will assumes that Hannibal is a typical psychiatrist who wants to dissect him, so he says that once it happens, Hannibal won’t like what he finds (darkness and ugliness Will carries inside).

His hostility to Hannibal lasts up until the moment when Hannibal acknowledges him as a predator and shows approval of it. This is how it happens: Hannibal tries to subtly tell him that it’s all right to be who he is, hinting that they are the same.

Hannibal: You and I are just alike. Problem free. Nothing about us to feel horrible about.

He’s obviously talking about their darkness, but Will doesn’t react, so Hannibal continues. He tells him that Jack views him as a fragile tea cup, and Will genuinely laughs, amused by this (which is also very telling). Then Hannibal says:

Hannibal: [I see you as the] mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.

Will grows quiet after this, and then his interactions with Hannibal become much more relaxed. Will takes him to search the property and even bothers to explain how they reached their conclusions and what they are about to do. Him grumbling, “What are you smiling at?” shows a much higher level of familiarity they now share. Something in Hannibal’s words made Will open up a bit, and everything indicates that it’s the acknowledgement of his predatory nature that played its part in it.

Will kills Hobbs by shooting him 10 times. This is his first kill, one he’s been trying to avoid for so long, ever since his police work. It’s not surprising that Hobbs haunts him later because his death became a breaking point for Will. A door did open in him, and he was unable to close it again.

In E2, Will is distraught. But first, we get a glimpse into how rude and insensitive he generally is. Look at how he treats his students. He tersely thanks them for clapping and then snaps for them to stop. He devises a little malicious test for them.

Will: It’s [Hobbs’] resignation letter. Anybody see the clue?

A few hands go into the air. Will ignores them.

Will: There isn’t one.

He looks so long-suffering with them, as if they are idiots. The fact that he asks a question, waits for people to think and raise their hands, and only then he tells them there is actually no answer is petty at best. He also admits to Jack that he doesn’t consider lessons socialization because he doesn’t have to actually talk to students, he talks at them. Not good for a teacher or even for a person who works with other people like this.

But Will has more serious problems. He keeps imagining Hobbs, and after his messy kill, Jack becomes worried about him. He makes Will go visit Hannibal for one-time evaluation. Will is naturally not fond of the idea, but he and Hannibal have a pretty personal talk. Hannibal ends it with an even more explicit hint at Will’s own darkness:

Hannibal: And Will… the mirrors in your mind can reflect the best of yourself, not the worst of someone else.

Hannibal is talking about Will’s personal brand of violence again. He’s trying to tell him that it’s fine to be a murderer in every way he can, that Will’s darkness might be the best part of him. He also gives him a fake official approval to work in the field, showing that Will can trust him. But their obligatory session ends and Will leaves — only to return after he tries to kill Stammets and misses (their talk about it was cut from the episode but is echoed in the conversation below).

Hannibal: [You are here to] prove that sprig of zest you feel is from saving Abigail, not killing her dad.

Will: I didn't feel a sprig of zest when I shot Eldon Stammets.

Hannibal: You didn't kill Eldon Stammets.

Will: I thought about it. I'm still not entirely sure that wasn't my intention when pulling the trigger.

This is a huge evidence of Will struggling with his violence. It proves that he had it before becoming actively involved with Hannibal — all Hannibal did was recognize it and coax it to come to the surface. Will has always been like this, and after finally killing a person, he found himself unable to stop because he liked the feeling too much.

Hannibal: It wasn't the act of killing Hobbs that got you down, was it? Did you really feel so bad because killing him felt so good?*

Will: I liked killing Hobbs.

Hannibal is pleased to receive the confirmation of what he sensed in Will. Seeing that Will is terrified about his own confession, he comforts him.

Hannibal: Killing must feel good to God, too. He does it all the time, and are we not created in his image?

Let’s be honest, every sane person would have run for the hills after hearing this. Hannibal literally justifies the fact that Will liked murder by drawing a parallel with God. That’s such a narcissistic, serial killer thing to do, and yet Will welcomes it with open arms. He’s happy to find someone who doesn’t think he’s a monster — he’s relieved to be able to finally discuss his darkest impulses freely. This is the reason why Will started coming back to see Hannibal on a constant basis, to Jack’s surprise.

The next huge proof of Will’s ever-present darkness is found in E5 (actually, every episode has some bits, but I’ll cover only the major ones). The Angel Maker, a killer-of-the-week, has a unique gift of being able to see if a person is good or evil. First, Hannibal tries to tell Will that he doesn’t have to self-destruct because of his darkness like he’s been doing.

Hannibal: Angel Maker will be destroyed by what’s happening inside his head. You don’t have to be.

When Angel Maker dies, Will suddenly sees himself through his eyes. And he sees a demon. He sees himself as evil. It proves that Will’s darkness is inherent since he hasn’t done anything really bad at this point. It also proves that he’s perfectly aware of who he is and the darkness he has. He has the following conversation with the imagined Angel Maker.

Angel Maker: I see what you are.

Will: What do you see?

Angel Maker: Inside. I can bring it out of you.

Will: Not all the way out.

So, Will acknowledges that his darkness is rooted so deeply inside him, it can’t even be extracted fully. It’s an inseparable part of him.

Will is shown admiring the Ripper’s murders, calling them elegant and referring to them as art. Meanwhile, he’s trying to half-heartedly flirt with Alana, but they don’t have a meaningful connection because Will can’t be happy with a person who doesn’t know him. He wants to be normal but he just isn’t. If you’re interested in my opinion about their relationship, it’s here.

Will’s next morally gray action happens when he agrees to cover murder for Hannibal and Abigail in E9. He agrees quickly and then he’s shown being fiercely devoted to it. He doesn’t seem to care that Abigail killed someone much — in fact, he basically threatens Freddie, another person who sees him for who he is, to make her write a book favorable toward Abigail.

In E13, Hannibal says what he wants from Will directly.

Hannibal: If you followed the urges you kept down for so long, cultivated them as the inspirations they are, you’d become someone other than yourself.

Will remembers this phrase (he later throws it back into Hannibal’s face), but for now, he’s too angry and bitter to listen.

S2

Will is healthy again and he struggles with realization that Hannibal betrayed him. He starts a dark game of his own: he pretends he’s vulnerable, moving Alana to tears in the process, and asks Hannibal for help. He’s still drawn to him, but he also wants to take him down — for himself and for Abigail.

In E1, Hannibal tells Will the purpose of all their past meetings, how they were aimed at helping Will Become.

Hannibal: Our conversations, Will, were only ever about you opening your eyes to the truth of who you are.

Alana tries to hypnotize Will to help him remember what happened.

Alana: Imagine yourself in a safe and relaxing place... safe and secure here, safe to relax completely...

What does Will imagine? He sees Hannibal’s room and them sitting at the murder table together. He’s freaked out by it, but it proves how twisted his perception is: regardless of the betrayal, a part of him understands that Hannibal is the only person who’s ready to accept him, and he feels safe with him. @bloodsmile wrote a great meta about it here.

Will coldly manipulates Beverly, refusing to help her save lives unless she helps him as well. In E5, he engages in yet another manipulation. He gets Matthew Brown to try to kill Hannibal. This is the first premeditated murder attempt Will is responsible for. That is why we see him growing horns, that is why he sees a sink full of blood — his darkness starts progressing in noticeable ways. By E7, Will has figured out that Hannibal really did everything to open his eyes to the truth of who he is and that he wants to be his friend, but as he still wants revenge, he decides to honey-trap him with Jack.

In E8, Will is dealing with his complex feelings for Hannibal and explores his darkness further. He admits that Hannibal made him feel less alone and that he doesn’t hate him, no matter what; that he has no idea what he feels for him. Then Will tries to kill Ingram in cold blood as revenge for Peter. He asks him to pick up the hammer, indicating that he plans for the murder to look like self-defense. Hannibal tries to talk him out of it, but Will still pulls the trigger. It’s by a miraculous accident that Hannibal manages to stop him. This is the second conscious murder attempt by Will.

In E9, Will has a dream about Hannibal, love, and darkness.

Dream Hannibal: Must I denounce myself as a monster while you still refuse to see the one growing inside you?

Meaning: Will is fully aware of both the presence of this monster inside him and his attempts to ignore it since this is his dream.

Dream Hannibal: No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them. By that love we see potential in our beloved. Through that love we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love, our beloved's potential comes true.

So, a part of Will realizes that Hannibal loves him, and that he really wants him to Become, to realize all his potential.

Will is shown as feeling bitter at Hannibal for not letting him kill Ingram.

Will: I regret what I did in the stables.

Hannibal (thinking Will means murder attempt): Then you were lucky I was there.

Will: Being lucky isn't the same as making a mistake. Mistake was allowing you to stop me.

Hannibal: So it’s not pulling the trigger that you regret. It’s not pulling it effectively.

Will: That would be more accurate.

Hannibal: I want you to close your eyes, Will, and imagine a version of events you wouldn't have regretted.

Will obeys, and he sees himself murdering Ingram. It proves that every word he says to Hannibal is true — he really does regret not killing him. But there is an even creepier dialogue ahead.

Hannibal: What did you see?

Will: A missed opportunity… to feel like I felt when I killed Garret Jacob Hobbs. To feel like I felt when I thought I killed you … a quiet sense of power.

This is disturbing. It proves once again that Will isn’t just a righteous killer, he enjoys the act of murder itself, and like many serial killers, he craves the feeling of power that comes with it.

He and Hannibal talk about the intimacy of murder, how Will was hiding behind a gun when he tried to kill Hannibal back in E5. Will takes note of it. Hannibal, remembering Will’s complaint about a missed opportunity, sends Randall to him as a gift. When Randall breaks into Will’s house, Will is shown thinking and then deliberately throwing the gun away. He doesn’t want to hide this time — he attacks Randall with his bare hands. This isn’t about self-defense or justice, this is about Will trying to experience a more intimate kind of murder. He beats Randall up until he’s incapacitated and then he snaps his neck, even though there was no reason to do it. He could easily call Jack and have Randall arrested at this point (since he was barely conscious and not fighting back). This could help him in his plan to catch Hannibal. But Will isn’t particularly concerned about it, he’s more interested in realizing his darkness.

He takes the body to Hannibal. This moment got deleted, but Will actually had to stick a note to it:

A piece of paper is pinned to his chest. On it is written: "Return to Sender."

Which excellently shows Will’s dark humor. He laughs with Hannibal a little as they talk about murder right above the corpse. Then Hannibal is treating his hands, and he says:

Hannibal: Stay with me.

Will: Where else would I go?

Nowhere — because Will understands that Hannibal is the only person who can understand his darkness and accept him for who he is.

Will: I've never felt more alive than when I was killing him.

This is, once again, huge. Will is a murderer who can get dangerously high on the act. The moment when he felt most alive is the moment when he took a life from another person — and he was vicious about it. Will is very, very dark in these scenes — and it’s going to get worse.

Will mutilates the body and places it in the museum. He keeps Randall’s suit in his house as a trophy, and he keeps his butchered parts of meat in his fridge. In the following discussion, Will confirms that he enjoyed doing all that. When Hannibal suggests that Randall’s killer felt disdain for him in front of Jack, Will disagrees.

Will: He isn't mocking him. This isn't disdain. He's commemorating him.

Hannibal: This killer has no fear for the consequences of what he's done.

Will: No guilt.

Then Will retreats into his mind to talk to Randall’s corpse.

Will: Hello again.

Randall: Come closer … Can you see you?

Will: Clearer and clearer.

This proves Will’s honesty in all his discussions with Hannibal. He really is exploring his violence, not just pretending to do it, coming to the realization of what kind of monster he is.

Will: You forced me to kill you.

Randall: I didn't force you to enjoy it.

This takes place in Will’s head, so every word is genuine.

Will: I gave you what you want. This is who you are. What you feel finally matches the reality of what I see.

Randall: This is my becoming. And yours.

Will shakes his head, this is not his becoming.

Will: This is my design.

So, what do we have here? Will calls murder, mutilation, and storage of Randall’s meat his design. It’s not his Becoming, not yet, Will isn’t ready to fully embrace himself, but this is a start. He understands his design now.

In the same E10, Will attacks Freddie when she discovered his trophies. We know he didn’t kill her, but would he have done it if she hadn’t called Jack? We can only guess. Will sure took his chance to be creepy and physically violent with her. At the end of the episode, he brought Randall’s meat to Hannibal and they cooked as well as ate it together. This was not about getting Hannibal to trust him. Hannibal already did, especially after thinking Will killed Freddie, so there was simply no need for it. Bryan Fuller confirmed Jack had no idea this happened, so Will was acting on his own, out of his genuine curiosity. This is where he willingly became a cannibal.

In E11, Will dreams of burning fake Freddie and hears himself screaming. It’s easy to interpret this dream: he feels guilty for betraying Hannibal. Alana comes by and Will is being deliberately creepy again. He gives her a gun for protection, but later, it almost becomes her undoing. Will is equally creepy during the funeral. He enjoys being dark, and he feels free to act like this because technically, he has an excuse.

In E12, Will is freshly angry at Hannibal. He fantasizes about murdering Hannibal in the most violent way possible. Then he makes three deals. The first one is with Mason: they agree to kill Hannibal together. The second one is with Hannibal: they tentatively agree to target Mason together. The third one is with Jack: they agree that when Hannibal tries to kill Mason, Will is going to arrest him. Will goes with his and Mason’s plan at first. Hannibal is kidnapped and presented in front of Will just like in his fantasy. But instead of acting on it, Will chooses Hannibal and frees him, getting all Mason’s people killed in the process. Later, he watches Hannibal mutilate Mason, approach him to kill him, and snap his neck. He does nothing: he ignores his deal with Jack completely and covers for Hannibal. Yet another proof that Will is siding with Hannibal more and more, and that his initial honey-trapping plan is almost a formality at this point. At the end of the episode, Will offers Hannibal to kill Jack.

In E13, Hannibal and Will are getting ready to kill Jack while Will and Jack are getting ready to arrest Hannibal. Will doesn’t seem to know on whose side he is until the end. At the same time, he lies to Jack about where the attack is supposed to take place. He helps Hannibal burn all evidence, even though he could have easily preserved some of it to use it later. He burns the evidence related to himself as well. Will doesn’t take Hannibal’s chance to run away before dinner, but he does hesitate and wonder about it. When the final moment comes, he calls Hannibal to warn him — he chooses him above everyone. Justice for Abigail, justice for himself, the desire to save other people — none of it matters to Will now. He made his choice, he chose his side, but he did it too late. When he goes to Hannibal’s house, Alana tells him that Jack is still inside, and Will takes out his gun. He doesn’t even try to point it at Hannibal. When Hannibal accuses him of lying, Will implies that he’s wrong.

Hannibal: I gave you a rare gift… But you didn't want it.

Will isn't so definitive.

Will: Didn't I?

Because yes, Will wanted it. He was ready to accept it. But he did so too late.

S3

Will’s thoughts are only about Hannibal and Abigail. He breaks into Hannibal’s empty house and sits there in silence. When Alana comes to find him and tries to talk to him, he coldly sends her away. He’s repairing a boat to go after Hannibal. When Jack comes to him to ask about his motivations, Will is very open — he doesn’t care about hiding any more.

Jack: Do you remember when you decided to call Hannibal?

Will: I wasn't decided when I called him. I just called him. I deliberated while the phone rang. I decided when I heard his voice.

Jack: You told him we knew.

Will: I told him to leave. Because I wanted him to run.

Jack: Why?

Will: Because he was my friend. And because I wanted to run away with him.

In Italy, Will is full of regret over his actions. He blames himself for what happened, admonishes himself for lying to Hannibal. E2 shows his state of mind perfectly – Hannibal is his everything and he admits he wants to be with him. He doesn’t care about justice at all.

Will: I do feel closer to Hannibal here. God only knows where I would be without him … He left [me] his broken heart. He misses [me]. [I] still want to go to him? Yes.

He admires the corpse twisted into a heart, touching it and then lying at the place where it was located. He intimidates Pazzi who tries to talk sense into him and indicates that he’s not here to catch Hannibal.

Will: You couldn't catch him when he was just a kid, what makes you think you're going to catch him now?

Pazzi: You.

A small, polite scoff from Will, unable to take his eyes off the small stairwell to the catacombs.

Will: What makes you think I want to catch him?

Later:

Will: You shouldn't be down here alone.

Pazzi: I’m not alone. I'm with you.

Will: You don’t know whose side I’m on.

Pazzi stares at Will, cautious.

Pazzi: What are you going to do when you find him? Your Il Mostro?

Will: I'm curious about that myself.

Pazzi: You're already dead, aren't you?

Other people realize how dark Will is, too.

Then we move toward Will’s trip to Lithuania in E3. His reverent attitude to Hannibal begins to change once he meets Chiyoh, but he admits the following:

Will: I’ve never known myself as well as I know myself when I’m with him.

Will learns that Chiyoh has been staying here for all these years because she doesn’t want to kill another person. He notes that they can’t be sure whether her prisoner really killed Mischa because Hannibal is the only person who knows the truth. Despite all this, Will sets Chiyoh up to kill or be killed, releasing her prisoner secretly. Chiyoh rightfully accuses him of it:

Chiyoh: You said Hannibal was curious if I would kill. You were curious, too.

He was, if he is honest with himself.

What Will did was cruel and violent. Hannibal just left Chiyoh be, he openly and boldly risked her life, not caring about her safety or about whether her tortured prisoner deserves this. Will stays behind to make the body into art in Hannibal’s style, in accordance with his own design from when he killed Randall. This Will is dark and confident, and very in touch with his dark side. He dreams of killing Chiyoh and keeps asking her whether she saw what a monster she was, unable to accept the idea that only he has real darkness while Chiyoh doesn’t and that murder didn’t make her feel good. He repeats to Jack that a part of him will always want to be with Hannibal. Sadly, he then sees Bedelia as his replacement, grows even bitterer, and tries to attack Hannibal with the knife.

In E7, Will bites into Cordell’s cheek and tears a piece of meat out of it. Then he looks at Hannibal to see his reaction, waiting for his pride. He shows zero reaction to the news that Jack is alive — he doesn’t care about it. He rebukes Alana and shows that he still sees himself and Hannibal as a team, referring to them as “we”.

Will: You helped Mason Verger find us.

Alana: I helped Mason find Hannibal. We followed Bâtard-Montrachet when we should have just followed you.

Will: Almost as ugly as what Mason wants to do to us is the fact that he can do it with the tacit agreement of people sworn to uphold the law.

Alana: I was trying to get to Hannibal before you. I knew you couldn't stop yourself. So I had to try.

Will: By facilitating torture and death.

Alana: I can abide the thought of Hannibal tortured, not necessarily to death. I'd say he has it coming, wouldn't you? Or maybe you wouldn't.

Alana can no longer deny Will’s twisted morals. Will tries to push Alana to a darker side, manipulating her into releasing Hannibal, by telling her almost exactly what he and Hannibal were discussing in S2.

Will: Then you have to evolve, Alana. You have to spill blood. By your own hand or someone else's.

After the escape, Hannibal says the words that define Will perfectly:

Hannibal: You delight in wickedness and then berate yourself for the delight.

This is exactly what Will does — he acts on his darkness again and again, but then he gets scared and makes two steps back. He’s not ready to fully let go of the idea of a normal life yet.

Will sends Hannibal away. When Jack arrives, Will doesn’t even bother to pretend he tried to arrest him — he just says that Hannibal is gone. Jack clearly has zero trust in him at this point since he sends people to break into Will’s house without asking his permission. Will has completely discredited himself, proving himself as someone dark and twisted.

But Hannibal gives himself up and 3 years pass. After the epic Europe failure and his new insecurities, Will tries to retreat again. He decides to try being normal one more time, despite his previous failures at suppressing his darkness and his feelings for Hannibal. So he marries Molly, and it goes as well as expected. Their relationship is shown as weak from the start. The first time we see them, they are apart: Molly and Walter have gone fishing, which is what Will loves and dreamed of sharing with Abigail, yet he stays behind. He didn't let go of the past. He subtly manipulates Jack into talking Molly into urging him to come join the investigation — he deliberately leaves them alone under a weak excuse, knowing very well what Jack is about to do. Will is bored with his normal life and he misses Hannibal, even if he isn’t ready to fully admit it yet.

His treatment of Molly deserves a separate mention: this is the woman he lies to through his teeth, the woman whose “I love you” he doesn’t bother to return and who he doesn’t want to interact with the second she raises the topic he finds personally uncomfortable, someone he leaves her at the first opportunity. He never told her the truth about himself. The way Molly tries to joke about him having a criminal mind proves that she knows nothing of Will's dark struggles, and the way Will immediately shuts down demonstrates their incompatibility and his unwillingness to be honest and open with her.

On the very first day, Will demands to see Hannibal, lying about having to restore his mindset. We know it’s a lie because we’ve just seen him reconstruct Francis’ murder perfectly. He just wanted to see him because he missed him, and both Hannibal and later Bedelia call him out on it.

E9:

Hannibal: You just came here to look at me. Came to get the old scent again. Why don't you just smell yourself?

E10:

Bedelia: Have you been to see him?

Will: Yes.

Bedelia: Haven't learned anything, have you? Or did you just miss him that much?

This is what Hannibal says about Will’s marriage — and another reference to his darkness:

Hannibal: How did you choose yours? Readymade wife and child to serve your needs. A stepson or daughter – (off his look) – a stepson absolves you of any biological blame. You know better than to breed. Can’t pass on those terrible traits you fear the most.

This is very accurate and Will doesn’t bother to deny it. He’s more concerned about stalking Bedelia and asking her about her relationship with Hannibal than anything else. He makes zero efforts to preserve his family, which shows how irrelevant they are to him. This makes him a very cold and cruel person. Also, the way he acts with Bedelia is very different from how he acts with others. With her, he can be himself. He’s dark, relatively confident, and dangerous — which is likely why he keeps coming back to her. With others, he still puts on a rather meek mask.

There is quite a solid idea that a part of Will knew Hannibal might target Molly and Walter and send Francis after them (it’s up to interpretation, though). Hannibal gives Will very clear hints.

Will: Tell me who [the killer] is.

Hannibal: I don’t know who he is. When you close your eyes, Will... is that your family you see?

[Will scoffs at this.]

Will: Do you know who they are?

Hannibal: Yes. 

Will: And you're willing to let them die.

Hannibal: They're not my family, Will. And I'm not letting them die. You are.

These are huge hints, and since Will is supposed to be an excellent profiler — more than that, a profiler who understands Hannibal intimately, it’s strange that he didn’t even suspect anything. Maybe a part of him subconsciously wanted proof that Hannibal is in love with him — since he goes to Bedelia with his question right after the attack. Maybe he wanted reassurance that the passion is still there. Maybe he even wanted an excuse to abandon Molly and Walter (and he does it very easily an episode later).

Ultimately, Will seems genuinely infuriated by the attack, but it’s possible that “the enemy inside him” secretly hoped for such outcome. He spends about a minute being truly angry at Hannibal — then he becomes concerned that he’s competing with Francis for Hannibal’s attention, which underlines the irrelevance of his family to him once more. When talking to Walter, Will doesn’t try to hug him or actually comfort him. They are like strangers, and Will shows resentment about having to explain some facts about himself to Walter later.

Will: He read about me in a Freddie Lounds article. I had to justify myself to an eleven year old.

Not “to my son”, but an indifferent and impersonal “11 year old”. Another reminder that Will is a cold person.

This attack made Will realize Hannibal is in love with him, and it finally started the process of his Becoming. Will is shown as full of resentment toward Jack and Alana. He callously sets up Chilton, an innocent person, for torture and death in E12. He explicitly says that he did it deliberately and doesn’t regret it.

Will: Damn if I'll feel … The divine punishment of the sinner mirrors the sin being punished. Chilton languished unrecognized until Hannibal the Cannibal. He wanted the world to know his face.

Bedelia: Now he doesn't have one.

At first, Will makes a half-hearted attempt at denial.

Will: I put my hand on his shoulder for authenticity.

Bedelia: To establish he really told you those insults about the Dragon? Or had you wanted to put Dr. Chilton at risk? Just a little?

Will: I wonder.

Bedelia: Do you really have to wonder?

Will: No.

Bedelia: You were curious what would happen, that's apparent. Is this what you expected?

Will sounds very ironic.

Will: I can't say I'm surprised.

Bedelia: Then you may as well have struck the match. That's participation. Hannibal Lecter does indeed have agency in the world. He has you.

Considering the timing, Chilton looks like Will’s courtship gift to Hannibal. This is the second time Will harms an innocent person, which makes him far darker than a righteous killer should be. And why? Just because. His darkness is really evolving.

When Will visits Chilton with Jack, he openly lies to him (Jack) and tells him Hannibal is responsible for what happened.

In E13, Will stages another deadly game. He plots with Francis to break Hannibal free — the immediacy of his plan makes it look like Will has already been thinking about it before. He lies to Jack and Alana. He hides the fact that Francis is alive from them, and when they discover it by themselves, he offers a plan: to use Hannibal as a bait and stage his escape. Jack begins to plan everything. If Will had actually followed this plan, it would have gotten Hannibal and Francis killed. But Will doesn’t care about justice — he wants Hannibal free and he doesn’t give a damn about the consequences. He shares his true intentions with Bedelia and threatens her.

Will: I don't intend Hannibal to be caught a second time.

Bedelia studies Will. Sensing where he might be going. Hoping she is wrong. A flicker of alarm plays in her eyes.

Bedelia: Can't live with him. Can't live without him. Is that what this is?

Will: I guess… this is my Becoming . I'd pack my bags if I were you, Bedelia. Meat's back on the menu … Ready or not… here he comes.

This is a crucial moment because while in S2, Will called Randall’s murder his design, now he’s finally Becoming. It’s the climax of everything. He leaks info about Hannibal’s transfer to Francis (who, if you recall, has attacked Will’s wife and her son). He gets many officers murdered by proxy; he sets up Jack and destroys him professionally again; he endangers Alana and her family as well as Molly and Walter. Without showing even an ounce of regret toward the dead officers, Will climbs out of the car. We don’t get to see it, but this is what he does according to the script:

Will takes the gun off the dead cop.

Still with no care, he watches how Hannibal throws another body out of the car and offers Will to take a seat. Will looks long-suffering and fond, even though he has just gotten about 5 people killed. He goes with Hannibal.

In the cliff house, he admits he’s not sure if he can “save” himself by killing Hannibal.

Will: I don't know if I can save myself. And maybe that's just fine. 

He intends to try, though, but when Francis attacks, Will naturally chooses Hannibal because he can’t see him killed. He reaches for his gun and the fight begins. Seeing Francis strangling Hannibal, Will pulls out the knife from his body and rushes to protect him. He and Hannibal kill Francis together, and Will plunges the knife into him with obvious relish. Then he admires the way the blood looks on his hand.

Will: It really does look black in the moonlight.

This is proof of how Will remembers everything Hannibal has ever said to him. He reaches out to embrace Hannibal, finally allowing himself this weakness, finally accepting that this is who he is and that there is no way back.

Hannibal: See? This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.

Will: It’s beautiful.

These words have a tremendous worth. Hannibal’s dream for them, the one he has been hoping for since early S1, has just become realized, and Will found it beautiful. The script confirms it additionally:

A moment as Will considers the brutal pack hunting he shared with Hannibal Lecter. He genuinely feels it is beautiful.

Upon this realization, Will gives the fate the last chance to stop himself and Hannibal, knowing that if they live, they’ll unleash their mutual darkness on the world. He pushes them off the cliff that has been confirmed to have no rocks by Hannibal, giving them a chance to survive. And they do — and they stay together and hunt. Will threatened Bedelia with being eaten and he kept his promise. The deleted epilogue to the series shows him and Hannibal in perfect harmony with each other.

Note that this is far from the only moments and details of Will’s long Becoming. There are many more, but if I addressed them, this meta would be even longer. However, here’s a quick analysis of Will’s softer sides — because they also aren’t as simple as it might seem at first. Will seems to sympathize only with people he can relate to personally, who remind him of himself in some way, and most often, they are murderers. He’s bitter about not being able to save killer-children in E4 because like them, he struggles with understanding what family means; he feels close to Georgia because he also thinks he’s losing his mind and no one can understand him; he’s gentle with Peter because he sees him as his fragile mirror; he’s soft with Reba because like Bryan said, they are both people in love with serial killers. With everyone else, Will is indifferent or cold. These traits were less visible in S1, but after he started to Become, they began to come to the surface. His softer sides still have a degree of selfishness to them.

So, Will has always had darkness in him. He has always been a rather cold person despite his genuine struggles, confusion, and the desire to be normal. Hannibal changed his life, helping him embrace himself and find unconditional love and acceptance. Will’s journey was very long, it had many setbacks, but in the end, he made it. They both did, and now they are free to enjoy their new life together.

Tagging some old fans who might be interested! @typicalher @hannibalized @bloodsmile @victorineb @he-s-dead-jim

[geeks-universe]

To The Stars...

Past Obi-Wan Kenobi x Jedi!Reader

Present Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) x Jedi!Reader

The One-Shot absolutely nobody asked for.

Italics for the past. Print for the present.

You were lost.

A fire had burned through every inch of your body, lighting each nerve burrowed beneath the red-hot agony engulfing your skin.

Pain.

It was all you knew, the entirety of what your fractured, scattered mind could piece together from the material it was given.

You cradled your body in the darkness, the brush of your hand against your arms hellish, blistering heat searing down your spine at the sensation.

Then it stopped.

Like the flame had been doused in a bucket of water, thoughts drowned in the sudden torrent of cool air. The burning was gone, replaced with the wispy smoke of unpleasant memories.

You opened your eyes, trying to ascertain your location to request for some sort of backup, or a possible extraction. Your head was pounding as light slowly filtered in, visions dancing like ghosts in the barren landscape around you. The cord that connected you to the life that breathed air into the atmosphere, that linked each soul to the ground they walked, was severed, like a knife to your very being. The constant, vibrant string in your mind, that tethered you to the creatures of the universe through the Force was quiet, muted as if the whole of existence was silenced.

“Zifri,” you choked out, your voice, raspy from the confines of pain, seeking out the presence of your Padawan.

As requested by the Jedi Council, you had entered the Temple of Aion, only to be locked within the confines. Your connection to the Force had pulsed through your veins, the rush of power mixing with the heat of destiny. The ground shook with possibilities, strings of fate illuminating the world around you. For a brief moment in time, you felt everything.

And then...

Nothing.

You had used the Force for many things throughout your life. Under the guidance of your master, you had learned to harness the abilities for both defense and offense, something typically advised against. Master Yoda understood the precariousness of your situation, and in an effort to gain mastery over the vastness of your abilities, had trained you in both Light and Dark.

When you were in the Temple of Aion though, you knew you had accessed a piece of the Force you’d never touched before.

The world you knew was gone.

“Zifri,” you repeated, louder, with more gusto as you grasped at any bit of the Force you could feel.

It was there, quiet, like a drum long forgotten. The lifeforms that dazzled the connection was gone, dimmed to a few scattered, unrealized potentials.

Something was wrong.

Upon realizing the startling truth that it wasn’t you who was disconnected with the Force, but rather the rest of the universe, you left in search of the truth.

“Master Kenobi.” 

His lips tugged upwards in acknowledgment of your presence, a dangerous sign, to be sure. He hadn’t met you until a couple of years prior, but from that moment on, he knew he was in trouble.

You brought with you a sense of peace he could never hope to find in your absence. The Light seemed to radiate from your presence, and his connection to the Force flared to life with each accidental touch of your hand. He had never been so allured by another, and the enchantment seemed to grow with every passing hour.

“Starling.”

Your lips twitched down at the nickname. He’d taken to calling you it since your first meeting, and you still weren’t entirely sure why.

“That,” you crossed your arms over your chest, glaring at the man, “is not my name.”

The look on his face was far too mischievous for the esteemed Jedi Master. You felt the beginnings of a smile threaten to overcome your pout, and fought hard against it.

“And Master Kenobi isn’t mine,” he reminded you, mirroring your stance.

Your eyes narrowed, before you crossed the distance to give his shoulder a gentle shove. It hardly affected him, but the press of your hand against him, even muted by layers of clothing, sparked a fire down his spine.

“Obi,” you laughed. There was a brief pause, where your gazes met, affection exchanged, even through the desperate denials. “I got a Padawan!”

His smile widened. He’d known that you were to be assigned a Padawan. You had finished your Jedi training in record time, and there was no doubt that you could guide a fresh face on their journey, even if they were more than half your age. 

“Hopefully your Padawan listens more than Anakin,” Obi-Wan joked.

He was caught off guard when you threw yourself into his arms. It wasn’t the reaction he was expecting, but he was quick to return the sentiment.

“I know you advocated for me,” you whispered, your breath hot against his ear.

A piece of his training chipped away that day. How could he believe that holding you in his arms, giving into the affection he had for you, was so wrong when nothing in the world had ever felt more right?

“Always,” he replied, voice not above a murmur.

The other words he wished to speak, the feelings he wished to reveal, died in his throat. Today, he would not break the Jedi Code.

He could not speak for tomorrow, though.

Slowly, through frightened whispers or reverent murmurs, you pieced together the chronicle of the reality you awoke to.

30 years.

A full 30 years had passed.

When you were in the Temple of Aion though, you knew you had accessed a piece of the Force you’d never touched before.

With the power that resonated at your core, and the energy that hummed in the quiet halls of the Temple of Aion, you had been able to step through time.

Master Yoda had always claimed you had a destiny, one you could never fully comprehend, but you hadn’t expected it to include time travel.

Anakin.

Anakin Skywalker.

The very same man you had grown close to, had both learned from and mentored, was responsible for the desolation of your people. It seared your heart to learn the truth.

And Obi-Wan.

Your Obi-Wan, a soul so full of Light, forced to shoulder the burden of guiding, and loving, the man accountable for the atrocities committed against the Jedi. It pained you to think of how alone he must’ve felt in a galaxy he’d spent his life protecting. He was suddenly without his Order, without his closest friend, and without you, his lover.

How would things have changed if you were there?

Would you have perished with the other Jedi, or would you have survived, forced to live a life without the structure you’d become accustomed to?

What happened to your Master? To your Padawan? To Ahsoka?

You sighed, holding the bowl of steaming broth you were sipping on a little closer.

Your hunt for others was not going well. You weren’t even sure if there were anymore Jedi. The silence in your mind through the Force had become deafening, and you couldn’t take it anymore. It was driving you to the brink of insanity, living so long with a string connecting you to the other lifeforms that the sudden disappearance of them was startling.

So, you cut your connection to the Force.

It was painful, and every day a piece of you desperately called out to it, to reconnect your soul, but you held firm.

“Jedi.”

It was a mutter, spoken in a quiet conversation a few seats down, but you still heard it. Curiosity got the best of you, and the small spark of hope stirred deep in your gut.

Against better judgement, you followed the Mandalorian who had inquired about Jedi out of the establishment, and towards, what you presumed to be, his ship. The Mandalorian in question was cautious, looking over his shoulder with every step he took. Had you not been as well trained as you were, you more than likely would have slipped up and ousted yourself.

Alas, you managed to navigate your way through the bustling streets of some backwater planet while keeping your identity concealed from the vigilant Mandalorian.

“Starling!”

Obi-Wan had taken to calling you his ever-affectionate nickname more so than your given name. Typically, though, the endearment was saved for teasing mutters, or mirthful mumbles.

The two syllables had never been filled with such worry before, and the instincts you’d adopted in your years of training flared to life. Ahsoka was beside you, having been volunteered to stay with the unit by her esteemed Master Skywalker.

Zifri, your Padawan, had gone with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Having as many Jedis (Padawans included) had seemed a bit overkill, especially with Master Windu already stationed at a nearby base, but as an assault began to rain down around you and young Ahsoka, you quickly realized why.

The enemy was fierce, unrelenting, and incalculable in size. Rex’s unit was with you and Ahsoka, but following Obi-Wan’s warning, he and the rest of the backup were effectively cut off.

The twin sabers in your hand sprang to life, purple light reflecting in the harshness of your gaze.

“Get her to safety,” you ordered, holding the frontline as the enemy poured the brunt of their resources into your position. “Now!”

Rex jumped at the suddenness of your command. He offered a brief nod, before he signalled his troops to fall back, and tried to get Ahsoka to do the same.

She stood firm, refusing to leave you.

“We’re stronger together,” Ahsoka argued, unsheathing her lightsabers in a valiant attempt to provide assistance.

Time froze, just for a fraction of a second, as you smiled at the young Padawan. She was a fast learner, and fiercely loyal. If you asked, she would stay, and she would fall. Your heart squeezed in your chest as you eyed the facility the enemy were housed in. If you could get inside, you could buy enough time for Ahsoka, Rex, and the entire unit.

Your decision was made before you ever made a move to enact it.

You thought of Obi-Wan then, as you forced the young Padawan backwards, and charged forward into the enemy.

He would be proud.

“What do you know of the Jedi?”

The words had barely left your mouth before a blaster was being pointed directly at you.

You eyed it cautiously, blinking.

“What are you doing on my ship?” The helmet made the Mandalorian’s voice a bit mechanical, but there was no denying the hostility in it.

“I asked first,” you held your hands up in surrender, a bit too much cheek.

“This is my ship,” the man before you felt the need to remind you.

“Well, yes,” you answered lamely, spying the little guy that peeked out from behind the man’s cape.

Your eyes widened, recognition flashing across your features as a face similar to your beloved master revealed itself. You took a step back inadvertently, your heart fracturing in your chest as a gentle gaze tore open old wounds.

The child cooed, carefully stepping around the Mandalorian to approach you. A part of him recognized the Force inside you, you were sure, as his tiny hand reached out for you.

In a daze, you bent down to meet him.

A stillness grew in the air, like the world was holding its breath, waiting to see the interaction.

The Child was attempting to make contact with you- not just physically, but through the Force too- and panic rose in you at the thought. Alerts blared red throughout your systems as you physically recoiled. The little guy wasn’t deterred though, and despite your absolute withdrawal from him through the Force, his small hand wrapped around your fingers.

He made a noise, one that could be interpreted as friendly, and looked back to the Mandalorian. The Mandalorian, for his part, had been patient during the exchange, but his finger hadn’t been removed from the trigger, an obvious sign of his mistrust.

“Who are you?”

His voice echoed in the small space of the ship. You cleared your throat.

“I heard you talking about Jedi,” you mentioned, holding onto the creature that looked so similar to your Master. “I’m looking for them.”

A pause.

“Why?”

You considered the question. Your identity had been a closely guarded secret. After all, you still weren’t entirely sure why you’d been propelled 30 years into the future, so you made the decision to keep quiet on the subject. This was no exception. 

“I want to know what happened to my family,” you gave a half-truth.

If he wondered why the Jedi would know, he didn’t question it.

“The kid seems to like you.”

It was an observation, though you could tell it was one he took to heart. The Mandalorian may have thought the kid had good intuition, but you knew it was his connection to the Force.

“I can help you.”

The twin lightsabers that were concealed in your robes burned, the handles icy to the touch from disuse, yet flaming with the sudden desire to be the person you had trained to be. They, too, had been untouched in the year that had passed since your sudden upheaval.

“...Okay.”

He was reluctant, and you were sure if it wasn’t for the pleading eyes of the youngling, he would’ve outright refused. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to embrace company, and you weren’t the type that liked to impose, but if there was a possibility of you finding a Jedi, you needed to take it.

“Perfect.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Snips.”

“If I had just-”

“My Master is as stubborn as she is strong, you wouldn’t have gotten through.”

“Rest, we must allow her. Watch over her, Master Kenobi will.”

The voices you’d been listening to had faded, and you were barely able to open your eyes to register why that was.

“Easy,” the familiar articulation above you was fraught with apprehension.

“Obi?” You inquired softly, his face a blur as you tried to adjust your vision more properly.

“Starling,” he breathed, relief palpable in the drawl he spoke with. The air grew lighter at the nickname, and you felt the tension melt from your body.

“Is everyone okay?”

Obi-Wan visibly flinched at the question. Hesitantly, after a moment of contemplation, he nodded. A smile began to tug at your lips and- despite your body heavily protesting the action, muscles groaning at the strain- you sat up.

“I’m sorry, I know-”

“It was reckless,” Obi-Wan reprimanded, staring down at where his fingers tapped against the edge of the bed. He had an air of agitation, but there was something else deep beneath his facade that you couldn’t quite read.

“It was necessary to save the people I…” 

His eyes snapped to you, imploring- no, begging- you to continue. Your voice went quiet, the atmosphere weighed down with the words you struggled to utter. You ran your tongue along your teeth.

“The people I love.”

Obi-Wan let the words simmer between the two of you. He was digesting them, critiquing them, and then embracing them. The beating of his heart matched the erratic thumping of yours.

“I was terrified,” he admitted on a whisper, as if divulging a secret. “But proud.”

The Child was still reaching out to you.

You had been vigilant in your effort to remain disconnected to the Force. With him so nearby, and more days passing without the connection so integral to your person, your defenses were struggling, but you refused to relent.

The kid knew it too.

A deep sadness reflected in his glossy gaze, chipping away at the armor you had locked around your heart. You stared at yourself through his eyes, at how battle hardened you looked. Throughout the Clone Wars, you had been an esteemed general, but you had a family- if not by blood, by choice- that kept you grounded. Since your stint with time travel, you had been alone, and as unfair as it was to leave the kid on his own, you couldn’t open yourself back up yet.

There was pain without the Force, but dammit, you didn’t know if you could handle the fresh hell your connection to it brought.

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” you apologized, holding your hand out for him.

He took it, waddling closer to better inspect you. He was desperate for the attachment you were denying. It likely had to do with the tidbit of information Mando had given you. He said the kid was 50, which meant, technically speaking, you were only five years his senior. Though, you didn’t really consider yourself to be the 55 the timeline suggested, considering you skipped 30 of those years, which left you with the appearance and memories of a 25 year old.

“Why the sorcerers?” The low, mechanical baritone of the Mandalorian asked from the doorway, his body sturdy and intimidating.

He had grown a fair bit on you, especially considering the long and bloody past between Jedi and Mandalorians. The look you pulled following his description of Jedi was one of indignation, however.

“Sorcerers?” You echoed, the words distasteful on your tongue. “Jedi are not magic. The Force isn’t some- some-”

Your argument was crashing, as you realized just how much you were implying about your past with each word used in defense of the Jedi. The Mandalorian had been suspicious, and you replying as spirited as you did, did nothing to convince him otherwise.

You cleared your throat.

“The Jedi are an ancient and respectable order tasked with maintaining balance across the universe,” you explained calmly, refusing to stare at the blank, chrome exterior of the beskar helmet the Mandalorian wore.

Instead, you looked at the youngling.

“I’m not entirely sure there are any left, but their memory still deserves admiration.”

The Child cocked his head to the side, like he was digesting the bit of information you’d given. Mando, however, let the silence breathe for a moment.

“Did you know any?”

You pressed your fingers to the baby’s cheek, a ghost of a smile curving on your lips at the reminder of the people you had surrounded yourself with.

“Many,” you admitted softly.

Mando had taken a step towards you, bending down to level himself with you. He reached out towards the Child, offering him a bit of warmth, as he assessed you beneath the armor he wore.

You wondered then- certainly not for the first time- what he looked like. You hadn’t had a whole lot of interactions with Mandalorians in the past. Between training, both your own training and your Padawan’s training, and your individual role within the Clone Wars, it hadn’t ever really occurred. Most of what you knew was what Obi-Wan had told you, and the occasional excited recount Ahsoka had regaled you with. 

“Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum,” the words were purposeful as they left the Mandalorian’s mouth, and though you weren’t quite sure of their meaning, you knew they were said with the intention of honoring the unmentioned Jedi you’d lost.

Your heart skipped a beat, and the coo the kid had released was softer than normal, like he was mourning your loss too.

You rested your hand on Mando’s, holding it against the small chest of the kid.

“There is no death, there is the Force.”

The Child perked up in recognition of the final words of the Jedi Code. He, like Mando, did not interrupt the moment. The culmination of two cultures, so starkly different from one another, were weaving together in the small child. While this might suggest some amount of concern, you could only see a chance to transcend the mistakes of history.

“Thank you,” you mumbled to the bounty hunter.

None of you moved, and for a quiet moment in time, all was right with the world.

“Focused, you must remain.”

Master Yoda was being cautious, trying to keep you on task, but worry was beginning to seep into your actions. You’d finished the Trials, and you were a fully fledged Master- with a Padawan currently under your care- but your training was still ongoing.

The Jedi Council wasn’t taking any chances with the sheer power you displayed in regards to the Force. If it weren’t for Master Yoda and Obi-Wan, the Council may not have even allowed your training to progress. They were concerned about the training, especially when Yoda revealed that he had been training you with Force abilities tied to the Dark side.

“I think-,” you sighed in frustration, “Maybe I need the day off.”

Master Yoda considered the request, and then conceded when he realized how deep your fear ran. Power bred fear, and he never wanted you to fear your own gifts.

“Time, you should take. Return, we will, after some rest.”

You bowed, then scampered away as quickly as you could. Tears began to blur your vision, as you ran to safety. Your feet were moving on their own accord, pulling you towards security- which, incidentally, brought you to Obi-Wan’s quarters.

You paused briefly, wondering if it was a good idea. The two of you had been growing close, toeing the line of what was allowed, and what was forbidden. Before you could turn away and retreat into less dangerous territory, Obi-Wan opened the door.

Concern was etched into the furrow of his brow, and the downturn of his lips looked unnatural in comparison to the joy he typically radiated around you. Without thinking, or even considering possible consequences, you shut the door and fell into his embrace.

It wasn’t the first time the two of you had been so close before, but every time you were, it drew you one step closer to engaging in feelings deemed off limits by the Jedi Council.

“Is there anything I can do?” Obi-Wan’s voice was soft, but fierce.

You pulled back just a fraction to meet his eyes.

It was the way he looked at you, like there wasn’t anything more sacred in the world than you. Your heart stuttered against your chest, and you surged forward, your lips meeting his in a long overdue kiss.

He responded like he’d been waiting his entire life for it. There was no hesitation, no worry, and no doubt about his feelings.

You knew that would come after, but for the moment, you had each other.

“Do you have a name?”

The Mandalorian leveled you with a stare. Even without seeing his face, you knew the expression he bore was something close to absolute bewilderment.

It’d been nearly seven weeks since you boarded the Razor Crest. The Mandalorian and you had grown somewhat closer, but he was guarded and you were secretive. The Child had taken to you immediately, drawn by the Force, and charmed with your sweet voice.

“Do you?”

You pursed your lips.

“Touché.”

Silence reigned supreme once more, save for the occasional coos of the Child. He was secure in your lap, alternating his hands between holding yours or reaching for something on the console.

“(Y/N),” you finally broke the silence, steadfastly ignoring his gaze as you focused on the little guy. The Child looked up to you curiously, tilting his head as he mumbled a vague string of syllables that sounded somewhat like your name mixed with babble.

“(Y/N),” the Mandalorian echoed. It felt nice to hear him say it, the way he pronounced it carefully, taking care to taste the name on his tongue.

“I think I should be more cautious with my identity,” you admitted, gesturing to his helmet. “We don’t really know what we’re walking into.”

Mando thought on the idea for a brief moment, before he huffed his assent.

“You can call me Starling,” you interrupted on a whim, almost regretting it the second the word left your mouth. “It’s an old nickname,” you explained, curling in on yourself at the way the Mandalorian watched you.

“Starling it is,” he said finally.

If he found your behavior odd, he didn’t comment. In fact, he wasn’t the least bit phased when you donned a mask to show him. It was a darker shade of silver than the chrome armor he wore, and there were intricate designs carved into the metal, the same carvings the hilt of your lightsabers bore. It would render you completely unseen, and thus a bit safer until you could discern whether the Jedi in question could be trusted with the truth or not.

Mando routed the ship for a new destination, flipping levers and pressing buttons like it was second nature. He didn’t pause, and his voice was so quiet you almost missed the soft utterance, but you heard it nonetheless.

“Din.” 

“We’ll see them again.”

Every ounce of strength and faith was released into that short sentence, a gentle reminder to the man you loved of your capabilities.

He studied you, tracing every inch of your face like it was the last time he’d see you, and he needed to memorize the curve of your cheeks, or the slope of your nose.

“I know we will.”

He tried to echo the sentiment of your voice, but it fell short. He was beginning to believe that your recent endeavor had taken a turn for the worst, and that the two of you might not find your way off the godforsaken planet you crashed into as easily as you believed you would. With the woods crawling with enemy droids, and not a single friend in sight, it wasn’t a horrible assumption.

“Obi,” you pressed, resting your hand against his cheek to get his attention. It worked. “We’re going to get out of this.”

It wasn’t often the man before you lacked the strength to carry hope, but in the times that he did, you were the only person that could spark conviction in him.

“What would I do without you?”

It wasn’t a question meant to be answered. He had found himself wondering what a life outside of the Order might be like since the day you kissed him- perhaps even longer, if he were honest with himself. A part of him longed to be selfish, to keep you from the world.

He knew then, though, or maybe he’d always known, your destiny was larger than him. You were born to soar above the fears and expectations of the Jedi Order. You were born to live a life of your own, not one defined by him, and he felt himself fighting a losing battle, trying to hold onto you for as long as he could.

It had come out as a rhetorical question- but, deep down, he knew the truth: one day you would be without him, and he wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to carry on.

You, though, were resilient.

You could carry on.

He needed you to.

Faded, silvery lines painted a picture on your back.

Each was a scar, a tragedy of a life long forgotten. There was a large print in the form of a gash from where you’d narrowly escaped a crashed ship, or a thin line that spanned the length of your shoulders from being thrown across a battlefield. The memories that came from the stories they told weren’t always pleasant. They were reminders of who you were and where you’d been, even if you were trying to run from the past, and deny the existence of the person you’d once been intimately familiar with.

There was a new scar too.

This one was where your shoulder met your collarbone. It was an angry, red wound that hadn’t quite scarred yet, but was just beginning to show the puckering of a lasting injury. You’d jumped in the line of fire to protect the youngling. Before that, you’d been effortlessly weaving through enemies, cutting them down with a staff you’d wrestled from the first to jump at you.

Would this scar prompt the same feelings the others did in the future?

You sighed, meeting your own gaze in the mirror. You looked different. Not in the sense that you’d drastically changed on the outside, but the way you carried yourself was different.

You had never been one to strictly follow the Jedi Code, but there wasn’t a trace of Jedi left in you anymore. The hope that used to light your eyes, the wonder that settled on your brow, the joy that tugged at your lips- it was all gone, replaced with a heaviness you couldn't quite carry.

A curse sounded from beside you, and the sudden appearance of Mando startled you. Despite what his exterior, and copious amount of armor, might suggest, the man moved surprisingly quiet when he wanted to.

You didn’t bother to shield your body at the sudden intrusion. You were decent enough where you weren’t exposed, but more skin was on display than normal. Mando awkwardly shuffled in place, torn between leaving and checking on you.

“I’m fine, if that’s why you’re here,” you decided for him, ghosting your fingers along the new wound.

“Good,” he muttered. Though his helmet shielded the direction of his eyes, you could feel his stare run the length of the skin on your back.

He had questions. They filled the silence, pressing the void with the desire to voice them, but not the strength required to.

“They’re from another life,” you explained, gazing at him through the mirror.

A breath.

“I was a-” you paused, changing the direction of the conversation last minute. “A general. War isn’t easy.”

Din inclined his head, the barest gesture of acknowledgement. Even though he wasn’t speaking, and not offering physical comfort, his presence made you feel at ease, like he could understand some amount of the pain you felt.

You turned to him then, cautious steps bringing you closer until you were nearly chest to chest- or chest to abdomen, if you were being honest with your height. Din hadn’t moved an inch, though his helmet was tilted down, and you knew beneath it, the eyes of a hunter were watching every movement you made.

Carefully, you lifted a hand to the side of his helmet, pressing it against the cool beskar, in direct opposition to the heat of your skin. It reminded you of your Order, and his, and the conflicting views of the two, how different it had formed you both. Though, you hadn’t really felt the opposite of him, but rather complimentary, like your opinions and actions lifted him up, and vice versa.

“Thank you, Din.”

By the time he’d really processed what you said, you were out of sight, leaving him alone in the dark, with nothing but the heat rising to his cheeks at your actions.

The Jedi Code was in place for a reason.

You knew that.

Obi-Wan knew that.

Yet it hadn’t stopped the affection from blossoming.

The early lights of a rising sun crept in through the window, shining down on the two of you, still entwined and bare from the previous night’s events. He pressed a kiss to your shoulder, heated skin meeting his lips in an action that spoke more than he ever could.

‘I love you’- not spoken in so many words, but conveyed through the soft brush of his hand, or the gentle press of his mouth. 

Time was your enemy, so long as you continued down this path, and you knew it wouldn’t last forever. Eventually, the Jedi Council would become aware of the blooming relationship. They would punish you. You would probably lose your Padawan, and maybe even your status. Obi-Wan would be in a similar situation, and as much as you wanted to care, it was difficult to.

He meant everything to you, and you meant everything to him. Nothing in the world made more sense than being together.

“We have to get up soon,” Obi-Wan reminded you, not quite ready to give up on the charade.

You understood. There was Anakin, Ahsoka, and Zifri to worry about.

“I know,” you agreed on a hum, running your fingers through his hair. His eyes slipped shut at the sensation, as they often did.

“Master Windu spoke of a mission you’re going on?” Obi-Wan inquired, his tone quiet as he reveled in your attention.

“Mmm,” you murmured, holding a kiss to his forehead, “The Temple of Aion, just a quick trip.”

“Be careful,” he warned, holding your hand in his. 

The words he should’ve said stayed silent, waiting for a different opportunity that would never come. That would be the last time you saw Obi-Wan, though you didn’t know it at the time.

Or maybe you had known, deep down, as you ran your fingers along his lips, committing his face to memory- so expressive and filled with love.

That was goodbye.

Bo-Katan had mentioned Ahsoka, and you had barely been able to breathe from that moment forward.

Din had picked up on the change in attitude. He wanted to ask about it, but he wasn’t one to pry. Instead, he’d been silently lending you strength.

The flight had gone off without a hitch, and typically you’d be thankful for the lack of interruptions, but the quiet had been slowly descending you towards a maddening cycle of imagining how Ahsoka would react to the revelation of your fate. Your imagination wasn’t being kind, and you were nearly convinced that she would blame you for everything that had happened with Anakin and the Jedi Order.

Your sweet, stubborn Ahsoka, who had meant so much to you, that you would willingly lay down your life for her. Would she think you a traitor? Would she understand what you’d gone through?

The tiny, gentle hands of the kid interrupted your thinking. His wide eyes were directed at you, and you could feel the Force inside you thump against the confines of your chest to get to him.

Ahsoka would know.

Even with your self-induced severance to the Force, she would know it was you, with or without the mask.

What would be the point then?

Should you tell Mando and the kid?

After all, they were searching for a Jedi to train the kid, and you were a fully-fledged Jedi, who, through a series of unfortunate events, had lost their Padawan. One of the kid’s own kind, Master Yoda, had been your teacher. For all intents and purposes, you were the perfect teacher for the kid. Mando wouldn’t need to be separated, and you could rekindle the fire of hope that the loss of the Jedi Order doused.

You would tell them, then. You would restore your connection to the Force, and you would aid Din, but only after you reunited with Ahsoka.

The kid, as if sensing your resolution, gave you a toothy smile. It pulled at your heart, reminding you of your own Master.

Tears welled in your eyes, and the gentleness of the creature before you, the worry, caused them to fall.

You mourned your people- Master Yoda, who taught you, Anakin, who joked with you, Zifri, who looked to you for guidance, and Obi-Wan, who loved you unconditionally.

You mourned the ever-progressing change that had transformed the galaxy from the one you knew, to the one you now learned.

And you mourned yourself- the girl full of hope, who found faith in the people around her, and spent her whole life trying to make the world a better place.

Din found you like that, holding tight to the Child while you let yourself mourn what you’d lost one last time before facing the future.

He didn’t know the full extent of your past, just as you didn’t know his, but the secrets kept in the dark of the night hadn’t distanced either of you.

“Ready?” He inquired.

You nodded, propping the kid on your hip as you stood to your full height, forgoing the mask you’d been wearing entirely.

You wouldn’t hide your identity any longer. The world wouldn’t scare you into submission. You were a Jedi, and it was high time you started to act like one.

There was a brief hesitation before Din’s gloved hand slipped into yours, igniting a strength you’d long since thought was gone.

You smiled down at the kid, and then where your hand met Din’s.

You’d been lost for so long, but now-

Now you were found.

[meggannn]

one thing that bugs me within HZD fandom—or at least in a lot of reddit threads and the occasional tumblr note—is how the discussion of Aloy as the chosen one because of the circumstances of her birth always gets reframed around [REDACTED] in a way that discredits Aloy.

I do love the “hero is a rando” stories as much as the next person, but what I like about HZD is that it sets up Aloy to be some incredible savior and then it turns out... well, she might do cool things, but she’s kind of a jerk, actually! and she has every right to not want to help most people when she’s been hurt and mistreated by them for all of her young life.

Aloy is a hero, yes, but not because of her birth, but because she chooses to be one. and it’s a hard choice for her, because her natural inclination is to help herself—which is an understandable trait now that she is old enough to try to give herself what she was denied for nearly twenty years—and I like that they keep stressing that.

now that we’re under the cut I’m gonna talk spoilers.

Aloy is a great fighter and impressive machine-hunter and she is very smart, but that’s not because she’s Elisabet’s clone, but because she had to develop those skills to survive. every part about her personality and skillset can really be attributed to a few key elements about her: being an outcast and shunned and judged for something out of her control, growing up in the wilds in a world full of dangerous machines, not being raised with any sense of family or friends or community, and her feelings of loneliness. everything about her personality and abilities has a tie back to one or several of those things, either as a way to explain them, or overcome them. those were things Aloy did because she chose to chase the mystery of her past, but her Elisabet genes didn’t do them for her.

so it really does bug me when people talk about it as if it’s Elisabet’s acumen that should be given credit when we talk about why Aloy is the hero of her own story. I think we are far enough as a culture that we can acknowledge nurture plays a much bigger role in someone’s personality than nature, even for clones. (and I think this is why the Lightkeeper Protocol was doomed to fail anyway.) I think GAIA, when awake, may eventually struggle with this initially, calling her Elisabet instead of Aloy because it’s Elisabet she misses and wants to see again, and she doesn’t know Aloy at all—but she is an AI, and can adapt quickly.

but why I think it bothers me so much is that this “she’s a natural hero” narrative goes against Rost’s last lesson that he teaches Aloy in the prologue. Aloy’s flaws are that she is selfish and often self-centered, and doesn’t rely a lot on others, often to the point of discrediting their abilities. she barges into the Hunters Lodge and demands Talanah take her on as a thrush based on her own assumption that she’s as good a hunter, if not better, than most of the people in the building. she says “I’m faster on my own” to Erend’s incredulity, implying others would just slow her down. they’re completely understandable foibles for someone who has been alone and shunned by the world her entire life and learned to survive because of it.

but Aloy isn’t strong or smart or brave because she was a clone of Elisabet. she could have walked away from seeking revenge against the Eclipse, and arguably, she might have even done it if she hadn’t had a personal interest in the matter: finding out who Elisabet was. Sylens even calls her out multiple times for her short-sightedness in focusing on “what happened to Elisabet?” instead of "what happened to the world?” (I think in ELEUTHIA-9 she says something like "This is interesting, but it's not why I'm here though" and Sylens says sarcastically "Right, what's the whole of human history compared to the origins of one girl?")

again: it’s completely understandable that the girl raised with no family is looking for, y’know, her family, but I think it’s also a pointed choice by the writers: Aloy doesn’t really feel like she belongs to a tribe, so she feels, in some sense, that she has nothing to lose by antagonizing and refusing help to anyone. what are they going to do, banish her? her one lifeline is Rost: it’s her love for him, and his last act of sacrifice for her, that propels her self-centered (though by no means wrong) desire of “I need to find where I came from” to “these people are killers who threaten what I believe in,” and “they will kill again, and even if they will hurt the people who hurt me, many of whom I still dislike, I must do my best to stop them.”

the biggest scene that shows her laser focus on her own interests to the extent of others’ is when Erend asks her for help tracking Ersa’s killer and she denies him without the player's input. I thought that was an interesting choice because the game is canonically telling us that Aloy will barge her way past allies to get what she wants, and she will not be nice about it. like, Erend, a man grieving, tries to get her to stop for two seconds to hear out his ask for help, and she says “Out of the way” and “That’s your war, not mine.” Normally games might give you a choice to say yes or no to helping an ally, even if the game will eventually force you help them to progress the story; but the writers made a choice to show her denying a friend help, just after he helped her. It shows she’s still at the point in her journey where she sees others either as allies to help her or as foes in her way, and she might help allies if she makes time for it on her own (side quests), but when she's impatient and picks up the scent of her prey, she’s willing to ignore others’ needs.

it’s honestly debatable if she would have even cared so much about seeking revenge against the Eclipse if Helis hadn’t killed Rost: certainly she may have been interested in seeing them punished for their ambush against a bunch of Nora teenagers, but she mentions Rost the most consistently when she talks about tracking down Helis, not even Vala or the other Braves (RIP). even to Sylens, who didn’t know any of them, she says “You [didn’t say you knew the man] who killed my... who almost killed me.” (also, sob forever that Aloy still can’t call him her dad even after he’s dead, only “the man who raised her.” Rost really did not teach her to ever call him “Dad.” it’s no wonder why she was so focused on finding at least one parent, a mother, who is centered throughout Nora culture.) but the Nora ambush, while a factor, is still kind of... a side thing. she is most interested in their connection to this mysterious woman-who-might-be-her-mother, and the mystery of why they tried to kill her. people just assume that she is after them out of vengeance for the Nora, and she does not correct them as she uses her Seeker title to explore her own interests.

and speaking of Sylens, I think they are great foils for each other just for this reason: Aloy immediately senses there’s something she doesn’t like about him from basically the moment he makes contact. he’s prickly, arrogant, impatient, unsympathetic, and hates to play nice or work as a team. but like... are they really all that different? I think that Aloy sees Sylens in her future if she doesn’t learn to get along with people. like Aloy, Sylens is definitely rude to you, but I hope you realize you, too, are also pretty rude to others as well! (though you could argue this is a game mechanic so she can ask the questions that the player might be wondering.)

this is not all to say that she’s dispassionate or uncaring, or that her mission isn’t sympathetic or understandable. she helps people out, but her goal driving the story, her True North in a way, is really her own interest to find out who she is and where she came from. one of the significant moments she grows in this regard is when she comes out of ELEUTHIA-9 and decides to fight for the Nora, and for the entire world. she just discovered the truth of her birth isn't what she wanted, and she even thinks afterwards that she’s “not a person, just an instrument.” she’s devastated. what on earth does it mean, that she’s a “recreation” of Elisabet? they don’t have words for “clone” in her world—she thinks it means she’s literally not a human being. she doesn’t want a grand destiny to save the world, she just wants to find her mother and have that sense of belonging she was denied for so long, and she didn’t find that—turns out, she never had that. and now she’s being expected to take on this huge burden about restoring GAIA and fighting subfunctions that she doesn’t understand. both of her “mothers" are dead and there are a bunch of people waiting outside the bunker for her to tell them what their goddess is saying.

so when she walks out of that bunker and sees a bunch of scared, hopeful faces looking at her for answers, her decision to fight HADES—not just on behalf of GAIA but on behalf of the Nora and Carja and Oseram and all others—is her accepting that even though she isn’t what she thought and didn’t get what she wanted, she needs to help others because she is a still part of this world and can make a difference. that’s what makes her heroic. her hero-worship of Elisabet is understandable, but it’s not what’s going to get her through the next challenges in her life—only her own growth and commitment to doing good will do that.

when she tells Rost “if I’m going to fight for something, it’s going to be something I believe in,” I think that was her saying “I’ll fight for that something, but if I find it, I think I’ll end up finding it on my own, and it won’t be with the Nora.” at that time in her journey, she was running the Proving to get something for herself, not to serve the Nora, which she would have been expected to do normally if she had successfully completed it. but she does find something to believe in, and it is with the Nora, both physically in the mountain, and in the spirit of any community: it’s not Elisabet herself, like she thought, but it is what Elisabet stood for, and died for. she may not fully understand what GAIA or the subfunctions are yet, but she knows that their survival and mutual cooperation are necessary for the betterment of people now and civilizations everywhere. she isn’t really fighting for Elisabet or the Old Ones, or I don’t think so, at least—I think it is a factor to do all of this in Elisabet’s memory, in some way, but mostly I think she’s fighting for people alive today. it’s the same conclusion Elisabet came to: the Old Ones are doomed, but people of the future might still have a chance, and that chance is worth her dedication.

but how how a lonely girl ends up fighting to save the world when she barely understands it or the people in it, is an interesting challenge. for this reason I also expect to see her faults in full display in the sequels. Aloy’s tactlessness is a big flaw of hers when it comes to her dismissiveness and occasional derision toward any religion/cultural traditions she doesn’t understand or value. she works through this in some way over the course of the story, like when she decides to spare the Nora the truth of their goddess with an easy lie after leaving ELEUTHIA-9, but particularly in the DLC (which can take place at any point in the story), she challenges a werak to become the chieftan of a tribe she knows very little about, just to get something for herself: she wants to further her goal of investigating AI. I expect this trait of hers will be something we see more of in future games, her barging into a community she doesn’t know anything about and telling them how to do things for their own good. (I call it the “Solas Problem” from Dragon Age Inquisition.) she might be right most of the time, but she also needs to learn how to talk to the people she’s trying to save, and learn how to save them without changing who they are.

[slytherinsnekxvii]

let's talk about severus snape. he's one of the most controversial characters the internet has to offer, with several blogs, channels and pages dedicated specifically to hating him, despite him having one of the most—if not the most—intriguing character arcs the series has to offer. so, as a result of me coming across far too many of said blogs, channels or pages, here's an extremely detailed explanation of why i like him and think he's easily one of my favourite characters :)

1. he's not that bad of a teacher.

just so you know, i'm a teenage girl fresh out of high school. so, my experience with teachers? still keeps me up at night :)

my family is pretty strict about religion. you can guess what that means. anything that was magic-adjacent, especially something that, god forbid, had an entire school dedicated to witchcraft and wizardry was a hard no if i wanted to have any sort of freedom over the media i paid attention to, and any opportunity to go about my life without being monitored to make sure i wasn't suddenly possessed or something. thanks to this, i ended up secretly reading the philosopher's stone in my last year of primary school. i would've been 11 at the time, just about to turn 12, so a little bit older than harry and co. going on what i'd heard from those who had already read the series, i went in expecting to absolutely despise this man. i went in expecting to read a demon. i finished the book and came out thinking... that really wasn't that bad.

my mom found out, so i didn't get to read the rest of the series until i ended up on the executive committee for my school's book club and my friends were appalled that i'd only read the first book. at this point, i'm still expecting him to get worse and... he just doesn't. when i was in primary school, i had multiple teachers break wooden meter-long rulers across my classmates' backs. the first time it happened, i was in infant year 2 (about 6/7 years old). i had teachers who would insult us, based on anything from hygiene to behaviour to intelligence if you looked at them wrong. my sister (who was three years ahead of me) had a teacher who kept her in hours after school was over because the teacher had a written a note in her workbook upside down, and when my sister corrected her, the teacher made her rewrite it, turning the book each time the note was written so it would never be done the correct way.

in secondary school, i had teachers who would actively humiliate us in front of the class if we didn't do as well as they wanted. i had teachers who would throw markers and whiteboard erasers at us if we did something they didn't like during class. i had a teacher who looked for a friend of mine who was petrified of attention and then mercilessly picked on her until she went to the bathrooms to cry. these are the kinds of teachers that i was used to. so, when i read harry potter and read snape, who would have probably been one of the nicer teachers i met in my lifetime, i thought to myself, he's really not that bad. he's just... strict.

antis claim that he traumatised every kid that ever went through his class, that he straight up abused them and... no. he didn't. all of them are comfortable talking back, they talk during his class, no one trembles when he walks past, except for neville, who usually bore the brunt of snape's anger because he was consistently messing up in a potentially lethal class.

after school, i hated the thought of formal education, so now i'm working until i feel ready to do university. coincidentally, one of my jobs is teaching maths and english to kids writing the end of primary and secondary school exams. given the sheer amount of annoyance i feel sometimes, i actually respect him for not being more harsh with them, especially when they're all running off into danger or exploding cauldrons.

he really isn't that bad of a teacher, and we know this, since his classes' owl results are said to be consistently good.

plus, he was written in the 90's when all this was okay behaviour for teachers. hell, compared to some of the teachers in text, given that he goes out of his way to make sure the students are always protected, he's a lot better than most people give him credit for.

2. i relate to him.

come on, the man grew up to be a dramatic, queer-coded, petty bitch who wears all black all the time and likely has at least one mental disorder. i'm a petty, emo bisexual with (actually diagnosed, don't worry) depression and anxiety and I'm in a theatre group. what did you really expect from me?

on a serious note, both of the schools i went to were considered "prestigious". i got into my primary school because of a teacher's recommendation (she was a family friend). the second school i got into was because i scored ridiculously high on the placement test that would determine which school i went to. in primary school, i was the poor, really awkward, really smart kid who got left out of everything, and my best friend was the only kid who was worse off than me.

in secondary school, i was just as smart as everyone else... but i was still poorer, and still more awkward and still got left out of everything.

i got that isolated feeling, that feeling of not being good enough, that feeling where life always seems to have it out for you and that's even though i still got dealt a better hand than snape ever did. so, i get it. i'm never ever going to have it as bad as he did, but i acknowledge what he went through and i sympathise, because i have a chance, but it only ever got worse for him.

3. i genuinely enjoy his character.

this dude went through absolute hell for basically his entire life. the best years he had were probably when he was neck-deep in the group of people who hated witches and wizards like him, but somehow managed to treat him better than the good guys.

all of that, and he still manages to be one of the most entertaining motherfuckers in the whole series, with one of the most interesting character arcs ever. it's the witty lines, the sheer dynamic of his character, the change from the twitchy, hypervigilant kid from the slums to the adult that managed to spy on the Dark Lord himself and save the wizarding world in the process, while still being a hot mess of a person. it's the managing to get shit done while everybody hated him and everything was going to hell. it's the everything, and i haven't even talked about how badass he is.

come on, potions prodigy turned master, exemplary duellist (cough, cough, winning 4-on-1 vs McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Slughorn, and leaving a scratch on nobody, while managing to not take a single hit himself, cough, cough), spellcrafter, spy and one of the only wizards to ever figure out unaided flight. dark arts master, proficient at healing (dumbledore would've been dead a lot sooner, if it weren't for him, most likely). he's one of the most powerful wizards of his time. i've said that any universe where he's actually a bad guy—or just legitimately loyal to the death eaters—is a universe where voldemort wins and this is why. if he was motivated by literally anything other than lily, the wizarding world was more than likely fucked.

the point is, i just think he's neat.

4. spite.

every time i appreciate snape, a snater feels like someone is walking over their grave. every time i appreciate snape, a snater turns blue out of sheer rage. every time i appreciate snape, a snater loses their mind looking for their non-existent reading comprehension.

the spite in my veins is tempered only by the broth of instant ramen and ungodly amounts of sugar, and i'm going to use them all in my mission to cause antis pain when they refuse to acknowledge their lack of critical thinking and analysis skills.

so, yeah. why do i actually like snape?

tl;dr: he's not that bad. for a teacher written in the 90's and compared to teachers i've had within the decade, the guy's just strict. sure, he's a dick (who i personally think is hilarious), but he always makes sure the students are safe and he didn't leave any lasting effect on any of the students. he's really not that bad of a teacher. and hell, he's not even that bad of a person. i fully admit that he was an asshole and i entirely believe he was prone to self-destructive behaviour, but he still tried to atone for his mistakes and he did, is the thing, even though the odds were stacked more or less completely against him. i like him because he entertains me, and because i relate to him, as a teen who went through some shit and probably would have joined up with some bad people if it weren't for my friends and family, and as a teacher who really can't stand my students sometimes. i also like him because it irritates people who don't like him :)

also, istg if any of you respond to this with "bUt hE was ObseSsED with LiLY and just WAnTEd to FUCK hEr," i'm crawling into your bedroom window with the most unrealistic, mangled interpretations of your favourite characters and making sure they haunt you in your dreams. meet me in the fuckin' pit, babe. reread the series, actually think about it and come with receipts that aren't Voldemort, because i don't think you want to have the same opinion as the character who canonically doesn't understand love, now, do you, sweetheart? when you do that, then, and only then, will i consider entertaining your bullshit :)

that's about it from me, thanks for reading!