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rosemints · 4 months ago

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Clone OC's!!!

These guys are part of a team I made up that capture and investigate sith temples. They do this to take away places of power from the enemy, and to help their Jedi (who used to specialize in archiving and locking up Dark texts shadows brought in. All knowledge found will be archived, I think. Ultimate library.) investigate possible leads to who the Sith Master is.

Info on the gang thus far under the cut

First we got their Jedi, The Genral, as they know her. I like the idea that the Jedi order is an organization and a religion, so while they fundamentally try to do good and represent good ideals and such, not everyone is good, or will do good. Or even always agrees what the right thing is, despite sharing core tenants. Kinda how I think of my religion (Christianity). So I made The Genral a little weirdo with messed up morals. She kinda believes what you read without question if the source is something she deems reliable. She seems the government reliable. She hasn't really left the temple before this. If the government says the clones are less than droids, they are. The General actually believes driods should have rights, but the clones aren't droids. They are highly valuable expensive one of a kind tools. Due to their handmade nature, each has slightly different abilities and skill sets. Each and every one. It's silly to break something that took so long to make. But, at the end of the day, it's just a tool. That is the General's approach to the clones. She uses them to check for traps in temples, and while she avoids "breaking" them, she's not afraid to use them as the war machines they are if a routine capture turns into a siege.

Gore is a clone medic, named that because he likes citing gross medical facts and his med bay is covered in those diagrams of assorted areas of the body you see in doctors offices. He also painted his armour to be a diagram of human body systems. He hates Kamino and everything it stands for, and seeing as this group gets more "down time" than most(they usually go to some super rural planet, go through a temple, set up camp, leave a few clones to guard it and leave. If things get exciting then separatists find out they made a sith temple their base and try to take it back, or its already on use and they have to fight for it. They then return to corasaunt, and have time to vibe while The Genral plays detective with others on The Sith case), he rebels from their ideals every chance he gets. He doesn't even pretend to respect regulations like the rest of the team. He wears jewelry that makes it impossible to put on a helmet. He goes to parties and does drugs and makes himself an absolute nuisance for all the nat-borns around him. If it weren't for his batch mate Lamar and his skills at saving lives, he wouldve been decommed long ago. Obviously, doing drugs at parties has its consequences. He gets addicted. The long stretches in space wear on him. He gets by in between planets by abusing his access to medicines. I gave him a happy ending cuz his life in the army is depressing. When The Genral finds out about his addiction she is so impressed he was still able to do his job without her noticing faults while high out of his mind half the time she decides it would be better to see what he can do sober rather than replace him with someone less capable. While in addiction recovery order 66 happens. He doesn't hear the order. He gets out. He's confused. He's free. He assumes there was a clone revolt. About damn time. He makes a new life for himself on corasaunt and adopts a daughter.

Mary is named Mary because he is absolutely a Mary sue self-indulgent oc. That's fine tho cuz these guys are for me not everyone else. I shall not get into his whole Mary sue power up backstory. He is not actually a clone. He is the first vampire, turned back in the stone age. Ya know how everyone has seven dopple gangers? He just so happens to look like Jango Fett. Being alive from like- the invention of the wheel to light speed screws with your sense of well-everything. He will do anything to not be bored. And well, fighting in a war seems like good fun! Isn't it so funny he blends in perfectly with all these guys? I will say that his disguised as a clone era ends with him nobly "sacrificing" himself for the rebellion and hanging out in deep space by himself until Rey's time cuz no one knows to pick him up.

Bites is the one who started it all!!! He's a clone, he's a vampire, he wishes he were a clown and keeps his brothers spirits up with slapstick comedy! It's CT-5666(wow he actually has a number!). He was named bites before being transformed into a vampire in an accident involving traps and vampiric sith spawn. He earned it for biting people when provoked (aka their hand near his face) and getting bitey during spars.

Ketchup Timmy was named by my dear irl friends. In universe it was Chef that named him. He is the navigator for the ship! This was inspired by @rochenn 's thoughts on clones acting as an actual army and all the roles that aren't fighting soilders. A couple others are too, like Chef and Ammy. Ketchup Timmy is the lead navigator for the ship. He works tirelessly for to keep track of the ship and where it's going. I googled what navigators do and they have to know where the ship is at all times! Even with the fancy computer ships got these days! Idk why it'd be different in light speed. Needless to say, Ketchup Timmy is incredibly smart and constantly doing calculations. When he isn't working on the bridge and someone on the team under him takes over, The Genral has him follow her around. she likes him. When Ketchup Timmy is not working he's a lil fizzed out. You know you have a big test and work really hard and afterward your really tired and kinda loopy and honestly don't give a heck? That's Ketchup Timmy when he's not working. The Genral treats him as a pet. Because if this, he can usually be seen a step behind the Genral to the right of Captain Lamar. When order sixty six happened, based on the one (1) episode of the bad batch I watched the clones don't nesscarly think they are being mind controlled, and rather assume that yeah. This is how it's always been. What are you talking about. Therefore, when Ketchup Timmy killed The General despite being in a room full of other clones and also two inches tall by that point, everyone just assumed he finally got fed up and lost it.

Chef has no lore for during the clone wars. Like his name, he is the ships chef. He is genuinely loyal to the empire, mind control unneeded, or similar enough to his thoughts before hand that time doesn't give him a chance to notice it. A lot of the clones in this team don't notice. Because of their treatment, they thought the fall of the order was a revolt gone too far. Chef will gladly serve the Empire that freed him.

Altair is Bites older batchmate and one of the signature team big brothers who tries to keep everyone safe. He loves getting body modifications. He just liked how Altair sounded.

Conspiracy Theory is also technically not a clone. He is an ancient force ghost of long dead hero that was lingering in the temple of a long forgotten force sect the clones were investigating. He possessed a shiny that hadn't even had a chance to take his helmet off after arriving, hence no one noticing the body's eye color changing from brown to a vivid blue. Conspiracy Theory has fragmented memories of his old life, and was barely a lost echo, brain matter supposedly carries memories, so with his shattered past mixing with the shinny's knowledge, he blends in with the clones and truly believes he is alive, and the spirit of the shiny who's body he stole and whom haunts him, a malevolent spirit. He earned his name for saying crazy things about the temple he used to reside in that turned out to be true. He kept up this reputation thanks too...

Valhana. The shiny Conspiracy Theory posses. Valhana is incensed that Conspiracy Theory took and earned a name that was supposed to be HIS. The giving of a name is important, and that ghost took it away from him!!! Being named in his place!!! If that jerk would take away his name, Valhana would do it right back!!! And so he took the name Conspiracy Theory had in life. He may spend most of his time antagonizing Conspiracy Theory in a vain attempt to get his body back, but he loves and cares about his brothers safety. He goes as far as he can from his body and scouts the area. He comes back to whisper potential dangers in Conspiracy Theory's ear, so he can warn the clones. He tried his best to interact with his brothers and get their attention, but the team has dubious evidence at best that they are being haunted. I'm not sure this story has a happy ending.

Captain Lamar is in charge of the team of roughly 100 clones (as in on the ship to go out and do stuff, this is not including the ones they leave to keep temples secur, not to mention the ones replacing the temple guards) and is very stressed. He knows exactly what The Genral thinks of him and his brothers. He knows if they are not exceptional they will be recommsioned or decommissioned. He soends most of his time keeping the program running like a well oiled machine and suddley getting the Genral to be more lenenient with the more eccentric clones. He dresses in perfect regulation so when the Genral looks at the clone she sees the most she sees nothing but a perfect tool, and thinks the same of all his brothers. He chose his name cuz it was the first he could come up with off the top of his head.

Ammy is slightly force sensitive and slightly dark seeing as she is usually in the front lines of temple delving and no ones taught her to shield. I also figured out how to make her slightly cannon. I read the description of a legends book involving a secret batch of force sensitive clones to fight Jedi. The kamoians thought she turned out force null but didn't want to waste product. They kinda dumped her on the team. Ammy is A Woman and quite proud of it. She got her name when she was getting more supplies in a village and a child said "look mommy, Ammy!" The child couldn't pronounce armour right. Seeing as she was unamed, and the child pointed at her, she decided that was her name now. She acts as the ships quarter master. If she weren't a clone in the plot of Star wars she'd be a wonderful nanny.

Thanks for readi

#star wars #Rose Speaks #tw drug abuse #tw drug addiction #tw slavery #star wars clone oc

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mxvladdy · 4 years ago

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I would like to request! Can I request? Well I wish for you to consider what type of person/what kind of situation would cause the brothers to make a pact with someone. Maybe even what they would request in exchange? This can be before or after they met MC. With that out of the way, I totally binge read all of your works after my sister gushed to me about the True Form series, and just thank you??? It made me really happy reading them and it's always impressively detailed and well thought out.

Awww thank you! I’m glad it’s rave-worthy! I plan to add to it soon bc it was an absolute riot to write and research for lol

And wow this one is a toughie! I’ve actually never thought of what would make them want a pact! Hope ya like it!

Lucifer- Pact of Success

Absolutely the hardest brother to do business with, but that is probably a good thing. He is incredibly selfish with his contracts. Sure, they’ll benefit from his pact mark, but he will get the most out of it. Aside from MC he only takes requests for contracts from the human “elite”. They make wonderful feathers in his cap.

But also he takes some enjoyment in breaking them. They always get so cocky with his contracts thinking that they have him on the ropes and at their beck and call. It gives him a good chuckle, humans are so brazen considering their very short lifespan.

He destroys them slowly over time- all the little minutia he peppers in his legal bindings adds up. Not that his normal clientele ever read the fine print. But he designed it that way to make sure they don’t. All their requests are the same and so simplistic. Big boats, fancy cars, climbing the proverbial ladder faster than their friends or enemies - blah-blah-blah. At least the paperwork is easy to complete.

Very rarely does he find a contract he is excited to make. Those contracts are given to artists and craftsmen he sees potential in. He loves good art, and every artist should take pride in their work.

When it comes to the “price” of his pact it is worryingly simple. All he wants is some of their time. It sounds simple, and it is. Which is why it’s dangerous. The contract doesn’t specifically say how or the rules of it. How he takes your time is completely up to him.

Sometimes he simply comes for a drink and to ask how business is going. Or with the pacts he gives a damn about- he pops in to see progress on their artist visions or listen to their latest musings.

Other times if he grows tired of his pact holders’ ever-growing demands or ludicrous requests he comes and takes time right out of their lifespan. His visits leave them weak and fatigued though they can’t place why. He is a slow siphon of death and they are too foolhardy to notice. If he is feeling especially cruel, or sentimental he takes memories, things that a demon generally wouldn’t want.

Time with family, the first time they met the love of their life, a child’s birthday. He takes them all and leaves them with only a blurry recollection in his wake

When MC crosses his path though he is very apprehensive. He doesn’t want a pact or anything that could jeopardize Diavolo’s upcoming plans. But they make his skin itch with want. He doesn’t want them to be another trophy on his wall. He wants a mutually beneficial pact, one that almost leans in their favor and it grates him. Should/ when a pact is made he won’t use his powers on you as then he would have to take something in return. Instead, he takes his time and coaches them to be successful by their own right, though if he has to eliminate some obstacles- well they don’t need to know that.

Mammon- Pact of Riches

I love his man with all my heart, but even when he isn’t losing bets or getting tricked into pacts he still isn’t the most selective with who he conducts business with. He is the avatar of greed, after all. I guess it comes with the territory.

He scouts for already wealthy humans or people with a good head for numbers and is money smart. Some are too smart to deal with him, knowing that whatever monetary gain they are granted from him will backfire in the end (or their mama’s taught them not to make deals with strange demons). But a sucker is born every minute, and he has nothing but time on his hands.

His pacts are pretty simple and upfront. Sign on the dotted line and they get some of his wicked gamblers’ luck and more riches than one human life span could do much with. While he gets a glorified accountant and a nice percentage of their profits. It’s a win-win… for him.

See he forgets to mention that there are two sides to every coin, and his flip side is particularly detrimental to one’s health. He just so conveniently glosses over that his luck will wear out over time depending on how frequently the pact holder uses it.

But the hunger for more doesn’t. If anything that particular sensation grows into an all-consuming fire in the pit of their pitiful guts. It forces them back into the seedy basements or griming gambling halls. One more roll, one more stack of bills, just one more time and they will hit pay dirt surly! But the losses just keep coming. If one of his pact holders ends up face down in a ditch after one too many bad hands and uncontrollable greed… well ain’t nobody’s fault but their own.

He has a softer spot for humans that seek him out and treat him like a living being instead of some tool to be tossed around at will. It’s refreshing. He will actually take some care with these pacts and tell them to temper their use of his magic so they can get the most out of it in the long run. They still might run into misfortune and he is genuinely sorry for that but there is only so much he can do in the end.

With MC he doesn’t even tell them about what his pact can do or how to use it. He doesn’t want anything bad happening to his human. If they want something tell him he will do it himself no magic or pact summoning required. He wants to keep them happy and healthy for as long as his lifespan will allow.

If MC should find how to use his pact mark he will get pissed. Not so much at them but the situation in general. He’ll be upfront about the whole thing, judge him how they want but he refuses to let greed consume them too. He focuses a lot of time and energy on learning how to reel in his magic with them so they get some of the perks but none of the major downsides. Unlike with his other pacts where he lets it all just run wild (just means they use up their contact faster and he can move on to even bigger fish).

Leviathan- Pact of Wisdom and Skill

Surprisingly, despite his antisocial tendencies with “normies”, he gets around when it comes to contracts. Perhaps it’s jealousy at his other brothers or perhaps he finds collecting contracts a bit of a game on its own.

He has a small niche of people interested in his pacts. Pacts with him give people a strategic advantage in nearly any situation. Seemingly overnight his humans turn into near tactical geniuses. Because of that, he is very popular with military leaders and humans with dangerous careers.

He also makes mini contracts with foot soldiers and humans with dangerous oceanic jobs. They just want to make it out alive and he gets that. With contracts like these, he is more lenient and doesn’t ask for much. Make an offering of fancy food to Henry 2.0 or wait in line for a rare human figuring he wants. Wam-bam thank you ma’am kinda business.

This is completely different from his larger contracts. With the military contracts, he expects them to continue with their duties until they die in the field. Simple as that, he doesn’t mince words in his contract. It’s what he would do as General so he expects it from them. Should they try to define him he will get rid of them.

He takes delight in defiant contract holders. They think they are as clever as he is now. But they forget that they are using his magic. He could take his magic away right after they defy him sure...but he won’t. He lets them stew for a bit, thinking they have had the last laugh on envy. If they wish to play games with a General then he will make sure it’s good.

With MC he plays on easy mode, granting them insight and little touches of his magic during exam week or when playing a game against his brothers. He wants nothing in return from them but some quality hangout time.

Satan- The Pact of Retribution

As the only pure-blooded demon out of the seven, he does these pacts out of necessity like most other demons. While the others do it more so out of monetary gain and an obligation to the crown. Or if you’re Belphie, sheer enjoyment.

He does it because he hungers, it a hole in his very self that he is trying to fill. He hunts for one reason only- relief from his cardinal sin. He will never feel the calm after a storm of rage naturally. Patience and tranquility are the antitheses of his very creation. So he gets it artificially through his contracts.

He looks for the downtrodden, angry, and the most bitterly despondent humans he can find and gives them the chance to seek vengeance. He is very upfront with what his pact entails. Once the vengeance is complete his rage will consume them and they will become another soul for him to consume.

He isn’t cruel about the process or tries to trick a human into a mark. Very few of the ones he approaches turn him down even after hearing the details. It is possible that humans once shot to get even and he gets to feel bliss, to feel calm. He finds out that the longer or more obscure the plan for retribution is the sweeter the outcome is for Satan.

If he is feeling super ornery he will go after people affected by the outcomes of Lucifer’s pacts. They are easy prey and almost as wrathful as Satan himself. Bonus it aggravates Lucifer to no end when he has to go out of his way to clean up the mess Satan’s contract made of his own. Anything to piss him off makes Satan feel all the better.

With MC he doesn’t need to use his pact magic. Mostly because they are always around him in the Devildom, and no one is stupid enough to mess with someone Satan favors. If someone or something does irritate his MC he will take it out before it can fester into something his magic will try to latch onto. Keeping you calm and happy makes him feel almost tranquil as well.

Asmodeus- Pact of Gratification

Another very popular pact to try to get, and how could it not? He is fabulous~ But as much as people try to find him, he only goes for a certain type of contract. He has his perfectly manicured fingers on the pulse of the fashion and beauty industry.

His name is a whisper among the up and comers in the business. Many-while not looking for a pact - at least want to see him at least once. Many never will, they get cut from their agency or quit before they could get a foothold. It happens, and he hates to see it. Everyone deserves to feel gorgeous, or at least get a chance to be in the same room as him!

But for the ones the perceiver and climb the ranks get invited to one of his many parties. They can only get invited by someone wearing his mark. He trusts them to know who would be amenable to his contract.

His pact grants its bearer a glamor that can’t be broken by any meer mortal or mage. It makes them absolutely irresistible. How they wield that power is completely up to the user, he won’t judge or intervene.

Once they sign the contract all his holders see him frequently. He absolutely loves dropping in on their shoots or fancy dinners to say hi or get a recap on how they are fairing. Not because he is a nice demon or just super friendly (though they would like to think so). No, he just likes to watch.

His payment is slow, methodical and no one sees it happen until it is already complete. In exchange for beauty and the graduation of getting whatever their little hearts could as for he gets their ability to love, whether that be familiar or sexual. Asmo loves the feeling of being loved; he wants it in all ways possible.

Some pact holders don’t have an issue with this. They got their looks, a successful career, and people to manipulate to their heart’s content. Not having strong contentions with anyone works in their favor. But others don’t and while they search for him to try and get that little slice of humanity back he is long gone. He got what he wanted anyway.

MC is his darling. He can and will make a special contract just for them (reviewed by Lucifer). A beautiful new contract for a beautiful soul! He wants you as unchanged as possible because this MC is the one he fell for.

Beelzebub- Pact of Prowess

His pact is a very elusive one as he isn’t keen on going and looking for one. Beel isn’t a big fan of these trades, but he needs them every once and a while. Nothing is more filling than a contracted soul.

His trade is basic, make a pact and you get his strength. He, like Satan, is upfront about what his payment is and what side effects will plague them. He sees no reason to lie about it. The more they draw on his power the more the host's body gorges itself. Their bones will collapse in on themselves from the stress of it- the magic feeds on anything in the host bodies. It will deplete the iron in the blood, go after the calcium in the bones, sink its teeth in their muscle system.

It’s all rather gruesome and Beel does feel bad about it. He tells though who are still adamant about binding with him ways they can negate some of the side effects by taking supplements and augmenting their diets.

But it is like patching a deep cut with a bandaid, it just won’t work. His stomach is near bottomless- humans most certainly aren’t. They simply can’t eat enough to sustain their body like he can.

It surprises him that people still seek him out. To some, the pros outweigh that very huge cons. Some really do believe that they can find a loophole or find the right mix of medication to offset it.

He doesn’t get beaten up about it anymore but it gets on his nerves how obstinate humans can be about his very clear warnings. When his magic finally consumes them he takes both the body and soul back down with him and feasts on both.

With MC he keeps an eye out on them. Consistently checking in, making sure they don’t skip a meal, and join him at the gym often. He wants them to be strong and healthy enough to not ever want to use his pact. Though he does speculate that their angelic bloodline buffers both his and his brother’s magic a good bit.

Belphegor- Pact of the Visionary

Dreamers come in every shape and size and from different walks of life. But they are are all suckers to Belphie. He is known as the Lord of Decet for a reason.

He will promise them everything and anything their heart desires. That invention that will change the world? Done. A patent that is long overdue. Easy enough. A sudden rush of ingenuity to complete that nagging project. He is a devil of his word, it will be done. It- just won’t be done in the way they would want it.

See manipulating the physical realm is hard work. Like a lot of hard work. More than he would ever do for some stupid little human. It’s a lot easier to control outcomes in his realm.

The moment the contract is signed his hosts fall under his control and he takes it from there building a perfect little dream world for them to frolic in and believe they are getting what they want. He feeds off of them here, taking little sips from their energy and exploring these new fresh dream worlds. His dreamscapes get boring every once and a while, so having a new human under his influence is always refreshing.

While his humans thrive inside their minds their bodies waste away in bed as his magic draws them further and further into an endless sleep.

He doesn’t see anything wrong with his contracts. Who would argue with him that the dream realms aren’t real in their own sense? Did his humans not accomplish their goals in the end? He doesn’t think of the outside effects of his magic and pacts. Belphie really doesn’t care about what families he broke apart or lives he inadvertently affected.

MC is different to him though. He doesn’t keep them under his spell hardly ever (maybe if they are spending too much time with Dia or Lucifer. But he doesn’t push it with them.).He still walks into their dreams whenever he feels but he comes just to visit, not to change. He simply just enjoys keeping you company and relaxing in the little mini paradise you always seem to create in your dreams.

#obey me #request!#obey me luficer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #headcanon

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sixteenthshen · 4 years ago

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Episode 1 Notes/Meta

Contains minor spoilers up to Youtube's schedule and references to the novel

Since I don’t have any new episodes to watch until Friday, I decided to watch the drama all over again, very closely, to see if there’s anything new to discover.

Zhou Zishu's character:

Drama immediately sets the backdrop/tells us why his character is kinder, more compassionate than in the novel. We don't know that drama!ZZS is kinder yet at this time, but we can see that he's schemey and sneaky

He wears a mask of indifference as the Window of Heaven's leader (sorry ZZH, I was wrong. I thought your acting was stiff during one scene, but now I know better). It's one of the many subtle faces of ZZS.

Wen Kexing's character:

He must be a highly-skilled martial artist based on how easily he kills two ghosts and that he can spot another skilled martial artist from a distance (beggar Zhou)

He's quite schemey. First, when he orders all his subordinates out to hunt for a man he just killed. Next, when he lets Gu Xiang go to check on the beggar, he's also subtly using her to test that unknown person's martial arts skills.

Why they're soulmates:

WKX understood immediately what "beggar" Zhou was doing (suntanning)

They're both well-matched schemey bastards

Behind the cut, geographical details and some details about the supporting characters. This is a very text-heavy post FYI

In chronological order:

20 years ago, Rong Xuan was killed by the Five Lakes Alliance and the gathered heroes.

Prince Jin is based far away in the North (Hedong 河东), where he holds power. It implies most of the story later takes place closer to the south of China.

Prince Jin ordered the Window of Heaven (TC in short, for Tian Chuang) to assassinate the Military Governor of Zhenwu (Officer Li). The Zhenwu Army is located somewhere around Inner Mongolia today.

Prince Jin falsely claims the Military Governor is a traitor to the country and has him assassinated. Prince Jin harbours treasonous thoughts, and in turn, makes ZZS and TC traitors.

Officer Li recognized Zhou Zishu by sight (calls him Officer Zhou), which means that they must have met previously somehow. He is shocked to know that ZZS is the leader of TC, so TC must be a secret assassin/spy organization (like an ancient CIA)

Zhou Zishu gets a drop of blood on his sword and flicks it off – he does not like blood.

Princess Jing An knows ZZS and first calls him Zhou shixiong (her first instinct is to use a familiar address). She later changes it to Officer Zhou when she realizes what he did.

Princess Jing An quotes, "The flowers blossom in all four seasons, knowing everything in the world", which makes ZZS turn to look at her - he sees the hairpin that his shidi Qin Jiuxiao made for the one he loves. ZZS gets super sad.

This line of poetry refers to the Four Seasons Manor (ZZS's martial arts sect)

ZZS, during his time as a court official, intentionally has a blank mask, so his emo is seen only in his slightly teary eyes. Removing this mask is also part of the freedom he seeks. Possibly symbolic that he feels freer living behind a physical mask than he does with his face.

Prince Jin ordered ZZS to personally nail the seven nails into Bi Chang Feng (Uncle Bi). It seems somewhat cruel of the Prince. ZZS walks with 2 of his commanders – Duan Pengju and Han Ying.

Uncle Bi calls ZZS Manor Lord (庄主)*. He says he cannot help but suspect the motives of Prince Jin. ZZS shows a slight reaction to this. He knows the motivations of Prince Jin by now. Not only is he a traitor himself, but he dragged all his 81 men down with him.

This is the root cause of ZZS's different personality traits in the drama and novel. I think his character in both the book and drama adaption is similar, but his additional compassion stems from being placed in different circumstances.

Novel!ZZS did terrible things for the right reasons. As a result, he won't feel as guilty and has less reason to be so compassionate.

Drama!ZZS followed the wrong master, and the awful things he did were for treasonous reasons. There's no justification for the lives he took. Because he did worse things, he's better able to "see the light" and understand things in life better. Therefore, kinder.

The motto of the Window of Heaven (as requested by Prince Jin):

The members are to carry out their missions without leaving a trace (shadow without traces)

Once a person enters TC, they're never to leave (entry without exit.)

To know everything and to be everywhere.

When the camera cuts to ZZS's two senior officers, Han Ying shuts his eyes sadly while Duan Pengju has a slight smile on his face 🤨🤨.

Nails of Seven Torments (七窍三秋钉) – seven nails, each to be driven into the seven primary acupoints (for martial arts) in a person's body. After that, a person won't get to see more than three autumns. They would lose their martial arts ability entirely, and their five senses deteriorate over time, preventing the secrets of TC from being leaked. (see #2 of their motto)

ZZS does not like anyone who's not from his sect to call him Manor Lord, as it's a reminder of his failings. He doesn't think he has the right to be called that any longer since he ruined his sect.

Prince Jin calls ZZS by his name directly (Zishu); it implies a certain level of familiarity. However, ZZS hasn't been presented himself in front of Prince Jin in some time, suggesting he has already distanced himself from Prince Jin (and a certain level of disrespect)

From Duan Pengju, we learn that ZZS hadn't taken up his sword much in the past year due to a lingering injury; this time at the Military Governor's residence was the first time he wielded his sword in a while.

DPJ also uses this word again (又) in Chinese to describe ZZS aggravating his injuries again (that isn't in the YT subs), which implies that he has suffered other internal injuries before, not solely from QJX's death. DPJ is subtly suggesting to Prince Jin that ZZS is no longer very fit and not suitable for his role (shows us his ambition).

ZZS's current injury (that Uncle Bi refers to and why he coughed up blood in the snow) came about after Qin Jiuxiao's (shidi) death. He coughed up blood then and fainted.**

ZZS's residence is called Chongming Garden (重明苑), where he has a mural of 82 white flowers and the line of poetry about the Four Seasons Manor. He paints each flower red when one of his original sect members pass away. There's only one white flower left --- himself. See this link for a more detailed translation.

ZZS scolds a vision of his shidi not to cry. ZZS's assertion that men shouldn't cry comes up several times later. His eyes only get teary after this scene, and not a single tear falls again (still canon for now).

ZZS has an official court position. He's an Imperial Guard with some seniority, and it's likely why the Military Governor calls him Officer Li. (A governor would not call a low ranked Imperial Guard “Officer” 大人 daren)

ZZS has several battle wounds from a blade, but the ones on his back (shoulder blades) look messy. Not sure what they are yet, but I think it could become relevant later.

Prince Jin appears unstable when he talks about everyone leaving him. Yunxing and Beiyuan are both characters from Lord Seventh. Beiyuan is the titular character of that novel. When Prince Jin said, "Beiyuan is gone too", ZZS displays a minute reaction because he knows Beiyuan isn't actually dead.

Prince Jin says ZZS is ruthless, but he's even more so to himself (recurring description).

Here, we see that ZZS knows of DPJ's ambition to take over his job when he says they both get their wishes today. DPJ becomes the new TC leader.

Prince Jin lets ZZS go. As he watches ZZS leave, he recites two lines from a poem, which title roughly translates to "on one's deathbed/imminent death".***

“涓涓江汉流，天窗通冥室。谗邪害公正，浮云翳白日。” Small streams can become large rivers; even a window as small as a skylight can brighten a dark room. Rumours and evil can harm the public good; clouds can block the bright light of the sun.

There's some foreshadowing here. Prince Jin sees ZZS leaving as a threat. It could be that one person leaving TC "standing" may lead to an exodus or that ZZS knows too much to be left alive outside for long. Prince Jin sees himself as the righteous and the sun here. He follows the recital by saying he's only letting ZZS go for now.

ZZS's beggar styling is supposed to juxtapose his strict and neat dress as the leader of TC, including his hair and overall CBAssed-ness of how his clothes hang.

Hanged ghost died super quick. We see an arm covered in a red sleeve strangle him to death. Red sleeve dude seems to be the head of the Ghost Valley (yaaaaa we know who you are)

WKX lies to the masses about the Hanged Ghost and tells them to set forth out of the Ghost Valley. We can see that all of them are scared of him. He has a scheme -- but we don’t know what it is yet.

WKX and ZZS meet (yay!!!) in Yue (modern-day Zhejiang, in the south), far away from Prince Jin. We should note that this is very far away from the North, where Prince Jin and TC hold power.

ZZS would rather be a beggar than the Emperor. The freedom to live and do whatever he chooses is more important to him than riches or power.

WKX understood what ZZS was doing right away (while GX thinks he's a beggar). This is why they're soulmates!

Gu Xiang's cuteness comes off as a little forced here, but upon re-watching, I believe it's because she hasn't been out in the "human world" before. Her mannerisms are all learned from her life in the Ghost Valley. She's also about ten years younger than WKX, so she's supposed to be more energetic.

WKX allows GX to go down partly because he is curious about the beggar, who seems to be very skilled at martial arts. GX is quite a straightforward and innocent person. She's unaware that she's helping to test the beggar's skills for her master.

WKX notices the ZZS's martial arts and stands up right away. This scene is also more important than it seems to be at first. Later in episode 2, it's revealed that he recognized the beggar's particular martial arts as unique to the Four Seasons Manor sect. I think it's the first hint that beggar Zhou may be "Zhou Zishu". (We find out that WKX knows ZZS's real name in episode 6.)

ZZS intentionally hits himself to make himself seem like a poor injured beggar and GX a bully. It shows that ZZS is sneaky – and again, ruthless, even to himself.

* ZZS is not a real lord. He's the sect leader (Manor Lord comes about because his sect's name ends in Manor, and the address "my lord" comes from Manor Lord). ** This is a fictional type of injury, where people in Chinese historical dramas cough up blood when they suffer severe emotional shocks that cause some unexplained internal injury. *** 《临终诗》

#word of honor #word of honor meta #wen kexing #zhou zishu #not lying about text heavy #1800 words wtf

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draconicfaenerd · 5 years ago

Text

Obey Me Theory: In Which God is an Asshole and Solomon Might be a Good Guy?

Okay, here’s the deal. I have way too much time on my hands at the moment and was suddenly struck with inspiration, so I decided to cook up a little theory of my own.

Well, not so little. I’ve been writing this over the last few days, and this turned into something bigger than I was expecting.

Alright, here we go.

One of the great mysteries of this game: who the fuck wrote the whole Tale of the Seven Lords series? I mean, it foreshadows so much of the game’s plot twists that it’s absolutely insane! My initial thought was that Barbatos wrote it, especially since he’s the one who has a bunch of time travel/timeline powers that are, frankly, quite frightening. However, this theory leaves one gaping plot hole: how does Simeon know what’s gonna happen in the upcoming volume? Even Mammon and Satan take note of the fact that they have no idea why Simeon would know something like that. Who besides Barbatos could possibly have the power to see the future? Given this game’s penchant for foreshadowing, this is undoubtedly an important question we need to ask ourselves.

And I’d like to make you think about something as you answer that question.

While we know a fair bit about Barbatos’s power, we know practically nothing about the angels’ powers. Surely it doesn’t make sense that the demons have access to this wild reality-bending power that the angels don’t. Unless they actually do. How is this possible? Well, I turn to my knowledge of Christianity for this part of the theory.

According to many people’s interpretation of Judaism and Christianity, God is supposed to be an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing entity. He knows anything and everything that has happened, is happening, and can/will happen in the future. Additionally, He can set everything up so that events happen according to His plan. Pretty difficult to go up against, right? Now, granted, we don’t know a lot about the game’s interpretation of God (yet); there are enough twists on Biblical canon that it is difficult to determine what direction this is going to go in. However, I do expect that God is supposed to be a ridiculously powerful character in-game; maybe as powerful as (or even more so than) Barbatos.

Side note: However, he is not all-powerful, and here’s how I know: he wasn’t able to just erase Lilith. Yes, I’m sure he was powerful enough to kill her, but not so powerful that he could just kill her immediately free of consequences.

But more on this later; now back to my original point. God is the author of TSL. Or, at the very least, is the divine inspiration behind it (where one of the angels or a specifically chosen human is the one to transcribe it). This explains why an angel such as Simeon would have knowledge of the upcoming plot. Another piece of evidence to back up my point: exposure to divinity. One point that pops up a few times in the Bible is the idea that anyone/anything who comes too close to God’s presence directly will perish. A couple of examples of this are the burning bush that Moses faces and the Ark of the Covenant which the Israelites are forbidden to touch. Now, you may be wondering what these examples have to do with Obey Me. The answer is simple: the TSL soundtrack. Remember why Lucifer was so interested in this soundtrack in the first place?

First off, a scene where the Lord of Corruption places a curse on the heroes? I have a few thoughts on that, but I’ll get to that in a little bit. What I’d like to focus on is the mysterious composer and the people who die surrounding the soundtrack. Lucifer tells us on our final night in the Devildom that the record isn’t actually cursed:

But. Well. I don’t trust that. He’s (probably) not purposefully lying to us, but I don’t think this can be a coincidence. I think that TSL was divinely inspired (along with its soundtrack) and for some reason, this particular soundtrack was too much for ordinary humans to handle (we know that MC isn’t ordinary because of their amount of hidden power that has been discussed; more on that later.)

So I’d like to bring up something else. Propaganda.

God has already spread copious amounts of propaganda about the brothers. Why do I say this? Well, I’m going off the assumption that the human world MC comes from is pretty similar to the human world that all of you readers (and me, obviously) live in. Why does this matter? Religious texts. There’s no denying that Judaism/Christian and their respective texts have greatly influenced the course of world history. Which means, in canon, those same texts no doubt exist in the Human Realm. Now, assuming they were “divinely inspired” (another assumption, but one that seems to make sense to me), a plethora of lies were told. First of all, many of these texts paint Lucifer (the Morningstar) as: the original Fallen Angel, The Devil, the Prince of Hell, and the reason why Sin and Death entered the world (meaning he was the one who tempted Eve). In Obey Me canon, Lucifer was the leader of the rebellion, yes, but he is very different from how he would be painted in Biblical texts. First of all, the Devildom was around for a very long time before the Fall (leading to questions on the true power of the realms, but more on that later). Furthermore, Diavolo and the Demon King are more of what we consider to be “the Devil”; sketchy motives aside (which I’ve discussed in other posts), they are the ones that have the final say in the Devildom’s affairs. Not Lucifer. Yes, the brothers might hold the titles and responsibilities of being the “Seven Rulers of Hell,” but ultimately their will is overridden by Diavolo’s. Additionally, I’d like to talk about that last point: sin and death. In the Bible, Lucifer brought sin and death into the world by tempting Eve to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. However, in Obey Me canon, we know this is not the case; death existed long before the Fall. We know this because Lilith’s human lover was going to die, hence why she fed him forbidden food from the Celestial Realm. Then, God was going to have her erased and ultimately sparked the Rebellion against Him.

So. We know that God is plenty willing to pin plenty of shit on Lucifer. But other than causing an abnormal amount of daddy issues, what does this have to do with anything? Well, remember how I noted earlier with the TSL soundtrack that it was supposed to be used in a scene where the Lord of Corruption placed a curse on the heroes? Well, the Lord of Corruption represents Lucifer. So, given the game’s penchant for foreshadowing, it seems like Lucifer is going to place a curse on the heroes (forgive me for making yet another assumption, but I interpret MC and the brothers as the heroes). Given Lucifer’s love for his family (and later MC), this doesn’t really make any sense. My initial thought was that the whole attic debacle was the curse, but that doesn’t really make sense either. But. Remember what I just said about God pinning shit on Lucifer. What if God is the one planning to put a curse on the heroes? Just think about that for a bit, let it sink in.

Now, why would God place a curse on the heroes? We know that He and the angels were able to defeat the brothers before, so they could do so again if the need ever arose, right? And why place a curse on MC, an ordinary human?

Well, not-so-ordinary human.

Remember why Asmo made a pact with MC in the first place? Solomon talks to us about how everyone has magical power within them, and it manifests itself in some, but not in others (this is already suspicious as fuck to me that a power as strong as MC’s wouldn’t manifest itself, but our in-game knowledge of magic is vague enough that I’m not really gonna dance around that right now). Anyways, MC gets stuck with Mammon, Beel, and Levi in the underground labyrinth again, and they summon Asmo and draw out even more power than Solomon can. Pretty strange, right? Belphegor also alludes to MC’s great power with his whole “you have the power to control demons” speech.

So basically we have this incredible power. And, if I’m on the right track here, then we’re a threat to God. As I explain here, Lilith is the reason we were chosen for the exchange program in the first place. Additionally, when you meet her as you’re dying and you reply to her and ask her what she’s doing, she says this:

So… there’s a lot going on in her whole dialogue. Really. There’s so much to dissect. And frankly, I don’t think I can dissect it all. So for now, I’m going to focus on the snippets that stood out to me. “I’ve been waiting for so long, you see. I’ve been waiting for you to come find me.” Um, what? First of all, Lilith’s spirit has been around for several thousands of years, right? Granted, the Obey Me timeline isn’t super clear, but still. Even if Lilith has been waiting around for MC ever since their birth, MC is however old the player is (probably late teens or in their twenties since that’s the demographic the game is geared towards); but even if MC is supposed to be way older than that, their lifespan is a very short time compared to Lilith’s existence. Unless. Unless Lilith has been waiting for longer than MC is supposed to be alive. Unless Lilith knew that someone as powerful as MC would come into existence and… do whatever it is Lilith wants us to do. Still not completely sure about that. (Also take note that Lilith never tells us herself that MC is her descendant; make of that what you will).

Also, she says that she’s worried about all her brothers and tells us to “save them” and that she’ll “lend us her powers.” So at first, I thought she was worried about them emotionally, and that she wanted us to save them by serving as emotional support for them. But we didn’t need her for our consciousness to transfer, and Barbatos took care of our alternate self. So what did we need her power boost for? The answer: something that’s coming up in the future. What exactly? I’m not completely sure. But, I do know that Solomon has an idea of what it is, based on the text conversation with him right after leaving the Devildom.

Now, is it possible Solomon knows because of his pact with Barbatos? Yes, it absolutely is. I know that I’ve said time and time again that Solomon’s pact with Barbatos is going to prove to be crucial in future chapters, and I still firmly believe that. However, if something is happening on the Celestial Realm side of things, Solomon has a connection there which would allow him to know the goings-on.

So for those of you who grew up in religious families, you probably remember a little bit about King Solomon; the “man after God’s own heart” (different translations may say something slightly different, but that’s the version most of us probably heard) who, when he had the chance to ask for one gift from God, chose to ask for wisdom. Now, many clues in-game point to show that there’s a good chance that this Solomon is supposed to be that very same guy. Such clues include his mystical powers and his many pacts, particularly his pact with Asmodeus. Now, remember when Solomon told us near the beginning of the game about the Ring of Wisdom he received? He never tells us about the mystery person who gave it to him, but I personally think he received it from God; since in Biblical canon God “gave him wisdom.” Additionally, remember how he talked about getting drunk off its power at first? That piece of information coincides with my earlier point about how exposure to divinity is difficult for humans to handle.

Also, remember that Solomon is a VERY big fan of TSL. (Enough to impress Levi, and enough that he has that super-rare pendant of the Lord of Corruption’s wing). So, given that God is probably the one behind the creation of this series, it stands to reason that his connection to God has something to do with this.

Additionally, while on the topic of Solomon, there is yet another chat (the one that he sends you on your birthday) that shows that he seems to be well aware of something that you, the player, are not:

As I’ve said before, this game really loves its foreshadowing. So, we’re definitely gonna have to save Solomon at some point: now, I know I’ve called him shady many times before, and he really truly is. But.

Maybe he’s not nearly as evil as I originally thought. He has helped us before, but it’s admittedly difficult to pin down his motives. However, if saving him is going to be necessary to the plot, then Solmare probably isn’t gonna make us rescue a bad guy. Emphasis on probably.

Also… he says “first birthday here in the Devildom”... which leads me to believe that MC will have many, many birthdays with the brothers to come in the future. So. Now that I’ve talked about Solomon, I’d like to talk about Luke.

He sends you a chat that opens up some pretty good insight into the whole situation:

Now, we know that Luke is pretty fond of MC, and we’re led to believe that Simeon cares about MC too; however, this whole “charm that attracts both demons and angels alike” doesn’t sit quite right with me. Now, yes, both the in-game angels care about MC, but that doesn’t seem to quite cover Luke’s statement. But what if… There are other angels that have taken an interest in MC? And I don’t mean romantically, I mean… what if one or more of them know about our power? As I said before, Lilith gave us a power boost for something that’s coming up in the future. Something big. And if MC truly has a special sort of charm that attracts demons and angels alike, they could prove to be very dangerous if, say, there were to be another power struggle between realms. But what does this all have to do with Luke anyways? Remember who Luke works for? Michael. Yes, that’s right, the Archangel Michael. Probably the most powerful angel in all of the Celestial Realm. What does this have to do with anything? Well, after the exchange program ends, the higher-ranked angels (including Michael) are no doubt going to want reports of everything that happened during the exchange program… including information about MC. And really, who better to ask that information from than someone as utterly devoted to Michael himself as we’ve seen Luke is?

And if this is the case… Michael will probably hand all of that information right over to God. Given how the Obey Me God seems to be, this is not good news for MC or the brothers.

Now. Just because we can’t trust God doesn’t mean we should go blindly trusting Diavolo and Barbatos either. In fact, @phairfantooooom does a phenomenal job here explaining just how sketchy and terrifying they really are. Maybe I’ll have more of my own comments to add later if the mood strikes me, but for now I’m gonna leave it at that.

One final word: MC is being used as a pawn in a grander game between the realms for which they have no idea how to play, but they better figure it out fast.

Or maybe, just maybe, I’m losing my mind during quarantine and I really just want the sexy, shady sorcerer to not be a bad guy.

We’ll see. So... what do you all make of this? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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luimagines · 3 years ago

Note

I read in your tags about "the potential relationship thing" that would come with a human reader and the chain and would very much like to hear some of these ideas thank you, even if thier just snip bits I still wouldn't mind

It got long- under the cut it goes, especially for those who don't want to talk about this anymore.

Ok, so honestly Twilight probably fall first between them and Reader.

No issues with them being human and lives in a human society.

Reader would be right at home.

Easily the better choice out of all of them for a more simplistic happy ending- literally has the least problems involved.

Sky would be fine with it since he and his people wouldn't know any better, it's too far in the past to have an impact.

But Reader may have some trust issues in regards to living with only hylians but with time I think they'll learn to trust their new neighbors. Especially since they'll have the same attitude as Sky.

Wind would be shocked if his grandma had anything bad to say about Reader for sure but he would be the first to tell her wrong.

He doesn't want to go against his grandma's wishes but he can't see the problem with it. Reader is so nice and sweet and risked their life for him time and time again.

Maybe Tetra can take care of them until he can convince Grandma that everything they knew about Humans is wrong.

Time would be awkward after he discovered his feelings.

Super awkward.

So awkward that the others pick up on it.

So awkward that it might even let Reader give him a chance despite the previous encounters.

He clearly feels bad about it, and he lives in a fairly secluded place where no one will bother you. So he's certain he can provide for you.

Hyrule would start to think of any way for you to actually live peacefully with him. His world is dangerous as it is but he doesn't want to put you in a dangerous situation to a life or death one.

He has a lot to think about and won't act for a long time if ever on his feelings.

Reader would most likely have to be the first one to make a move.

Legend has a lot to atone for.

He's going to everything in his power to make it up to them without speaking to their face- so that's a challenge.

Legend also lives in a less than friendly place in regards to how humans are treated but he thinks about it and thinks some more and he doesn't have the best reputation anyway.

So screw them.

You can live with him and he'd fight anyone who'd dare touch you.

They're be quick to learn he didn't fight Ganon seven times for nothing.

Warrior also has a lot to atone for but he's in a different position than the Veteran.

His position has power, spectators and a target on his back.

Like Hyrule he probably wouldn't act on his emotions because you also already have a target on your back as it stands... he wouldn't want to put you in a more dangerous situation by being affiliated with him.

He doesn't care for his reputation as much anymore when it comes to dealing with humans but he'd hate for people to attack you as if it were an attack on him and have the government do nothing about it because you're human.

He won't have that.

Reader would also have to make the first move here.

Or convince him to come with them instead (Hyrule would have the same option obviously).

Wild doesn't care at all. He used to have and had to get past his prejudice but time are different for him.

While humans are no where to be found in his hyrule for the most part- if he were to do a bit of digging- it was the humans that kept the hylians from extinction even if their own numbers dwindled from the Calamity.

Magic doesn't effect humans remember?

So most of the hylians alive in his time are more or less part human.

No one would bat an eye- it's actually the hyrule where the least prejudice exists.

Four is similar to Warrior in where his home is not human friendly and he has a reputation to worry about- but he's lucky he's not on the high profile side despite being a hero.

He's not sure how he'd get past it but he knows that Reader is worth it. They can help out in the shop or maybe he can make them something to help them blend in if they wanted to go to town.

He'd have a stern talk to Dot and see if there something that could be done for them but, he has a lot of thinking to do before he'd be confident enough to make a move.

#pinky replies #i'm keeping this short since some people wanted to move on from this topic #but i figured this one would be a bit more light hearted.

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5-falsehoods-phonated · 4 years ago

Text

(Prompts with boxes have been taken, highlighted have been written)

Requests for this card are closed, thank you to anyone who sent in requests! If you don’t want to see these you can block the tag #false bthb. As always shoot me an ask if you wanna be tagged in future stories, whether it be for bad things happen bingo or any of the other series, one shots or in general!

I’ve been picking at this particular request since early December as the person who requested it had a lot of details they wanted put in making the writing process a bit more challenging. As a disclaimer, note that the chapter is split between present time and the past; with Logan recalling things in his past in an attempt to make the details requested for the story flow better. I received this request from AO3.

General taglist: @im-an-anxious-wreck

Experimental Socialization

Summary: Logan was raised by the government to be nothing more than an experiment and a weapon, utilizing his unique abilities as a mutant. When he finally escapes things are much different than he imagined they’d be but thankfully finds others like him willing to help guide him right where he needs to be.(Happy Ending)

Warnings: allusions to abuse, physical punishment and human experimentation, tw for weapons and fire, panic attack. If there are more please let me know

Prompt; Not Used To Freedom (requested by AngstyEmoGal on AO3)

Ships: Intrulogical, Logan x Remus

WC: 3432

“You just gotta breathe, Logan. In four, hold seven, out eight remember? You’re doing great, just keep going.”

Logan felt himself slowly coming back to reality as his breathing evening out, the raw panic that had gripped his chest easing slightly as Virgili continued coaxing him through the exercise. He felt the other slowly rub up and down his arm in a slow, steady beat that helped ground him further in reality and he smiled up at his friend gratefully and nodded to let xem know he was okay. Gripping his knees as Virgil’s voice trailed off he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and let out one last calming breath.

“Thank you, Virgil. I-” He struggled to find words, gesturing flippantly in the air making Virgil grin.

“It’s okay. Take your time, L.”

Logan puffed his cheeks out in frustration, thoughts swirling too quickly for him to comprehend anything but the apprehensive fear he held for the plans Remus had made for them later that evening. “I am- not used to being outside. Given my history and the threat I pose as a potential compromise to our place of hiding I fail to understand Remus’ reasoning for going out when we could just as easily celebrate our relationship here.”

“Hm.” Virgil leaned back on xyr hands and looked up at the low ceiling of their underground paradise. “Can’t really see the stars from here, no matter how many stickers Princey finds and puts up it can't really be compared to the real thing.”

Logan had made the mistake of going on a tirade of space facts a few months into his stay in the hideout, Remus patiently listening to the extensive infodump of constellation facts and space physics and planetary rotation. Having a limited amount of books to entertain oneself with for extended periods of time meant memorizing entire books on one subject, which Logan had used all too happily as a figurative escape from his situation in the past until he had actually managed to escape when he was 16. Hearing Logan speak so passionately about the subject had apparently made his mind up that he was taking Logan outside for their first “official” date to view the stars, which had then landed Logan in his current state of panic as he realized that date was today and he was decidedly not ready for what might lay in store outside of safety of the hideout.

“I can stay close by if you want. I won’t spy or anything and Remus won’t have to know.” Logan looked over as his thoughts were interrupted by the offer, Virgil turning invisible and reappearing a couple seconds later to emphasize xyr point. Smiling Logan shook his head, knowing the other derived as much joy from going outside as Logan felt about going himself.

“Thank you for the offer though, you’re very kind.” Letting his thoughts drift again he idly wondered when Virgil had discovered xe could disappear and reappear at will and if xyr parents had tried to hide it before the government had found out. His own parents-

-----

“Logan?” A very small Logan turned at his mother’s voice, losing his concentration which made the hidden jar of Crofters fall from its suspended place in the air and smash to the floor. His parents hadn’t known he possessed any sort of powers, and even as small as he was he still understood the position he’d put them in if they ever found out. Fearfully his hands dropped to his sides as his mother covered her mouth in shock, tears rolling down her cheeks as she took a step back.

Men in suits and long coats were there just a few hours later, speaking in hushed voices while both of his parents cried and he was ushered out the door and into an unmarked car, quiet as he understood yelling and crying would do him no good now. What’s done was done, all he could do was be compliant and hope to be treated gently.

-----

The room suddenly brightening with a flickering light brought him back out of his thoughts, Roman entering with his signature bright flame held proudly in his hand. The image of him in his rather scrapped together Princely outfit posing subconsciously in the doorway was almost enough to make Logan roll his eyes but he didn’t want Virgil to think it was because of xem so he managed to restrain himself.

“My dearest brother has been pacing in the same spot for two hours now and I haven't been able to calm him down soooo I thought to check on our resident nerd.” Roman declared with his usual flare. Logan actually did roll his eyes this time but Virgil did as well so he figured it was fine.

“The ‘resident nerd’ is doing fine, Roman. Though it's concerning to hear Remus is nervous as well considering he’s the one who suggested the date.”

Roman waved his hand at Logan dismissively. “He’s just a sap- moreso than me surprisingly. He doesn’t want to do anything to put you in danger but he wants to do something nice, so he’s worried that’s all. Remus is an idiot but I trust him with my life; believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about except his terrible sense of humor.”

Logan merely hummed in response, staring at the way the flame moved around as Roman gestured with his words.

-----

He panted as he rolled out of the way of another flamethrower, singeing the tips of his hair in the process but he couldn’t afford to slow down enough to worry about that. Years of training with different fighting styles had earned him incredibly fast reflexes but a good portion of his accuracy in knowing where to step and when was owed to him working even harder to focus his powers. Thoughts from others constantly surrounded him on a regular basis, getting more and more prevalent the older he grew. Learning to block out the constant string of stimuli was a useful skill to keep him sane but learning to hone in on specific thoughts to predict actions was what had kept him alive.

He ducked below another bullet and brought up his leg in the same motion, kicking a throwing knife to the side and sending it to clatter harmlessly between one of his assailants feet. A twirl to the side and a tilt of the head let another bought of flame boil the air beside him while another knife just barely brushed his ear. The constant bang of bullets and roar of flames and whistling of knives was overwhelming and made the air so thick he could barely draw a breath and it was becoming a struggle to concentrate the way he needed to and-

A high pitched alarm sounded one, twice, three times- a blaring flash accompanying it that left him blinking painfully. His shoulders slumped as the barrage finally ended, another successful training day completed. He watched as everyone began putting their weapons away, laughing and congratulating each other, clapping themselves on the back and discussing whatever they had planned after this. No one even spared the thing they had been firing at seconds before a spare glance, save for the director of the branch, who took long steps forward to stand in front of him only to snap his fingers and motion forward no doubt to see him back to his room until dinner. Absorbing the sounds around him he drank in as much praise as he could that wasn’t his and would never be for him; people rarely congratulated weapons after all.

-----

“Is this where we all decided to hide today?” Logan looked up to see Patton sitting cross legged on one one of the beams in the ceiling, grinning happily down at them even as their fluffy ears twitched nervously and even fluffier tail whipped back and forth in agitation. They must have come back from trying to calm Remus as well, Logan mused; Patton had never done well being in the same room as Remus who tended to voice his thoughts abruptly and without much care to how they might sound to others which always managed to set Patton on edge no matter how hard they tried not to show it.

Patton was a rare mutant in that as opposed to being born with abnormal traits or abilities they had been a science experiment from the start- an effort to create super soldiers rather than stealing them away from families and training them. Even rarer was the fact that the DNA splicing had taken extraordinarily well by pure chance as Patton was born with a mutation that left their DNA incredibly malleable- a mutation that never would have been discovered had cellular manipulation not been the reason for them being in the experimental branch that they were. They had tried cloning Patton at first to see if their power could be duplicated but when that failed to work they began trying to combine them with different animals to see if desirable traits would come forward. By manipulating them on a physical and anatomical level they were able to change some parts of them to be more cat like, intending, Patton had guessed, to turn them into a kind of stealth soldier but they got away before they completed it, leaving them with heightened agility and surgically coaxed cat ears and a tail. They were only a child when the lab had done this but somehow they were never bitter, simply preferring to leave their past alone and embrace whatever future they could make- a trait Logan greatly admired them for even if their unending optimism could be somewhat grating at times.

“Did Janus brush your tail out Pat? It looks fluffier today.” Patton preened at Virgil's compliment, their tail beginning to wave in a more relaxed manner as their mind was distracted from whatever it was Remus had been ranting about.

“He did! He found a cat brush and got it for me so I could finally get the undercoat out!” Jumping down and landing lightly on their feet they posed a little and flashed another wide grin.

“Beautiful as always, Patton.” Roman said genuinely as he lowered his hand into a barrel to light up the paper scraps and wood in it for the night, the dim sunlight that had filtered through the grated having long since died. The home was a modified branch of a sewer system, thankfully the part most removed from the city where it flowed without the stench and was sealed off inconspicuously enough that in the ten years Janus and Remus had been using it no worker had ever found it.

-----

It had been Janus and Remus who had found him, beaten and bloody from an escape attempt he had made just days before his real one. He had made a weak attempt to coax the scientists into a false sense of security, holding back the full scoop of his powers during training for a year in anticipation for his final escape. He had punished severely but had simply thrown him in his regular cell, assuming he wasn’t strong enough to do any more damage than they had seen him do already and trusting that they had beaten him down enough that it would be a while before he tried again- if he ever did. Not six days later the mangled metal of the front of his cell was tossed into a group of guards, walls torn apart in a straight line to the exit and the huge buzzing gates leading to the outside world thrown open wide and stuck there with varying amounts of heavy debris.

The outside world, as it turns out, was a lot bigger and louder and downright terrifying when you weren’t being sent out as a personal assassin or field missions or training sessions- all controlled on some level to keep him from being killed and compromised. Without the begrudged protection from the labs and moreover having to hide from said lab was another story entirely. The times they searched for him and how closely they came to his spots were random and made it incredibly hard for him to pick out their thoughts from anyone else’s in the city and figure out how close they were. On more than one occasion they passed right by him crouched under piles of garbage or laying low under a hedge, his breath held as he tried desperately to keep himself as still and quiet as possible, thoughts of what they would to him once they found him pounding against his head and making him squeeze his eyes shut to keep his terrified tears from falling.

That was how Remus had found him. It had been dark and hours had passed since the searchers had left that park he had been hiding in. He had still been hiccuping down his sobs as he rolled out from under the hedge that he hadn’t bothered to scope the area for anyone’s close by thoughts, having shut out as much as he could after they had left to try and block out any other hate fueled thoughts that may send him spiraling again. His heart had leapt in his throat so high his breath caught painfully, immediately shifting to offense as he tensed, ready to fight as long and hard as he could. He couldn’t go back- he wouldn’t. No matter what they did or promised him or punished him with; he’d go down fighting or not at all.

But Remus had only raised his hands in the air in a motion of peace, eyes widening as he locked onto the government issued bracelet that marked him as an experimental mutant. He had grinned impossibly wide then Logan remembered, briefly disappearing from his sight and reappearing a moment later, setting him even more on edge but curious nonetheless.

“I’m like you.” Remus had said quietly. “Basically I run real fast and the government hasn’t figured out how to get me yet.”

Logan had watched as he jiggled his wrists a bit for emphasis, bare save for colored chords that he assumed didn’t associate him with any government branch since they didn’t look official.

“Are you okay?” Remus had asked next and mutely Logan nodded, unsure of how to react to this fellow mutant who had never been caught by any sort of lab, apparently living as free as one could when you were as different as they were. He stepped back as another man appeared behind him, Janus he later learned.

“Liar.” Janus had hissed, making Remus reach around and smack the back of his head.

“It was a polite thing to ask that he tried to dismiss Jan. Let the adults speak for a second.”

Logan had noted the faint pout on Janus’ face though he was still trying very hard to look intimidating. And then all at once his eyes had turned cold as his attention was once again focused on Logan, glaring menacingly from beneath a black bowler hat. “I’m younger than you and yet I’m the one that has to put my foot down. He’s being chased clearly; we are not bringing him back with us.”

Remus has turned, Logan seemingly forgotten for the moment. “That’s not how it works! He needs help and we’re not leaving him to starve or be found in the middle of a park! What would Patton say?”

“Patton is a soft fool who needs to figure out where their morals stand. I myself am choosing not to compromise our place of hiding and three other people that you know those power hungry idiots would love nothing more than to get their hands on!”

Remus rolled his eyes so hard his head had lolled with it, face going pale as he watched something in the sky. It was then that Logan heard the telling sound of a helicopter flying low and getting closer but he had barely tensed before he found himself gripped around the middle and held vertically with the ground flying underneath him. They stopped abruptly and he was set down, blinking in rapid confusion as Remus grinned sheepishly at him.

“Welcome to the hideout?”

Logan’s eyes had widened and his breath had caught yet again, chest tightening as he shook his head vehemently. “You can’t- I need to go back! They’ll do anything to get me back-!”

He was stopped from going forward with a finger to his chest, his blue eyes locking with beautiful brown as Remus held his gaze. “And we will do everything to keep you safe.”

Safe. With that one word Logan was his. He hadn’t known why and he still didn’t quite understand it but he had trusted Remus with everything he had- and he still did. Even as Janus had stalked off grumbling and Virgil and Roman had kept their distance at first Remus had kept him close and showed him how much better his life could be, even if they were living in a modified sewer system.

Back in the present he looked up as a hand was thrust under his chin, smiling softly as he took Remus’ hand and let himself be led away from the others’ idle chatter. He counted himself extremely lucky in the end that Janus had eventually come around to him, seeing how happy he made Remus and how Remus made Logan feel it had been him to finally talk to Logan about it and get the two to officially talk about how they felt, going on about the being “hopeless gay idiots” when they had finally started to date officially. Logan wasn’t sure what he’d do without Remus at this point, just a year later and he was so attached to their small group of hideaways he wouldn’t trade for the world.

They approached the exit to the sewers, Remus swinging their hands between them. Logan held his breath right before they crossed the threshold, closing his eyes and letting it out slowly as his feet met grass and he opened his eyes to the darkened field. There were a few tunnels that lead out to different places depending on where they needed to go and this, Remus had told him, was his favorite because of how empty it was. The city lay far in the distance so there was almost no light pollution to block out the sky. Soft grass and flowers brushed his ankles as he scanned the area carefully, seeing nothing but trees lining the far end of the field with a road so far away he could barely, make it out in the darkness. Remus tugged his hand softly to get his attention, searching his eyes for any hint of discomfort.

“Is this okay?’

Logan took another breath and let it out, the last of his nerves fading away as he took in the quiet. “It’s perfect Remus.”

The other grinned and tugged a little harder this time, walking fast to the middle of the field where he stopped suddenly and raised Logan’s arm up to lead him into an impromptu twirl. Logan laughed quietly and then louder as he was dipped, secure in Remus’ strong hold as he reached up to grip the back of his neck. He was safe. He was free and safe and happy finally with someone who truly loved and cared for him. His breath caught in his throat again but this time in awe, Remus chuckling as he was laid down carefully tucked into his side, till with his arms around his neck.

The stars shone bright and winked lazily while swirls of color dusted faintly behind them. The moon was waning, a barely there light that let the beauty behind it show fully as the wind whisked away any clouds that dared to try and cover it. It was everything Logan had ever hoped it would be and more, excitement thrumming through him as he squeezed Remus tightly in an attempt to convey it. He felt Remus grin against his scalp where his face was buried in his hair.

“It’s beautiful isn't it?”

Logan looked back at him, light from the stars reflected in his eyes and wild brown hair framing his face. He leaned up slightly and kissed him, a faint brush of their lips that left them both grinning like the idiots they were. Placing a hand on Remus’ cheek Logan smiled at him, thumb brushing over his cheek in adoration.

“Absolutely stunning.”

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chalkrevelations · 4 years ago

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Episode 35 of Word of Honor, and I AM NOT OK. I think we all know how this is going to go, so we may as well get to it.

(Spoilers. Keep scrolling and come back later, if you want to watch it unspoiled.)

I dunno, maybe don’t expect any deep analysis in this one? I’m really just a mess of feelings, because THAT MOTHERFUCKING MOTHERFUCKER. You’re right, Wen Kexing, that it should have been a longer, more painful death. I forgive you, though, because I wanted to snap his neck, as some poetic justice. GOD, I could see it coming, as soon as Mo Huaiyang reached out and put both of his hands on Cao Weining’s jaw. As soon as his fingers touched Cao Weining’s face, there was a voice in my head, shrieking, “get him OFF of him, don’t let him touch him, he’s going to …” And what makes it even worse, if that’s possible, is that he had Cao Weining in such emotional distress before it happened. But, can we take just a minute and go back to this, the theme threaded through the show, this word of honor, embodied in these two men, Zhou Zishu and Cao Weining, reflections of each other, both of whom are now in the position of dying for the person they love, reflections of each other: I won’t fail you. And Cao Weining pleads this case to his shifu, kneeling in the sand and the dust and the barren rock of the Ghost Valley, where multiple women who have been failed, over and over, have sought refuge. Where a girl who was raised in all this could have had the chance to escape it, if Wen Kexing hadn’t turned out to be tragically, prophetically correct when he told her humans and ghosts can’t mix. In any kinder magical universe, fucking flowers would have sprung up around Cao Weining as he knelt in front of his asshole shifu and renewed the vow that he’d already made, multiple times, to the woman he loved, where he stood by it, even unto death, where he met his end in the Valley of Ghosts, in the land of the dead where his wife apparently wasn’t allowed to leave and he wouldn’t leave her behind. And then she follows him into death, just as he vowed he would follow her. In her own way, the way she knows how, she follows him into death. I suppose those bracelets from Wu Xi from the previous ep are supposed to be some comfort, particularly since we actually saw them closed around both wrists, and they echo, again, the vow Cao Weining already made to Gu Xiang, to be reincarnated with her, but right now, they are some cold comfort. This is not the pairing I expected to be torn apart over, when I started watching this show.

I have to give them props - especially, again, Zhou Ye - because I had about a minute and a half of grief, and then I, right along with A-Xiang, was consumed by rage that wanted nothing more than to see Mo Huaiyang die slowly and painfully. And then even as my heart was pushing for this, I kept remembering WKX’s conversation with Chengling in the last ep about the three Ghosts in the cold pool, and the philosophical conversation at the tip of Ye Baiyi’s sword in Ep 27 re: retributive vs. restorative justice, and the shift in WKX from wanting to burn down the world to being satisfied with exposing Zhao Jing, and how proud his shixiong was of WKX for not just stabbing Zhao Jing in the face right there in front of everyone, and the effect all of that must have had on Chengling. And then on the other other hand, even as all of this was going through my head, I wanted Mo Huaiyang flayed alive. His death scene was hella gratifying, I’m not gonna lie – this was the kind of catharsis I didn’t get from the interminable fight scene with Zhao Jing, and I’m trying to convince myself it was the pacing, and the fight choreography, not just the sated bloodlust that made the difference. But I felt that sneer on Gong Jun’s face, he was great in that scene, although I suppose it’s not great for WKX’s soul, to be back where we came in, in Ep 1, with the signature Ghost Valley Master choking move in the signature Ghost Valley Master blood-red robes. It sure did feel good, though, and I suppose that’s the seductive appeal of backsliding on your ethics.

I also was pretty impressed that as much as they’ve built up the zhiji relationship between WKX and ZZS, all of it disappeared for WKX in the face of his meimei’s death – as soon as he cradled his dying little girl in his lap, no, as soon as he saw her down on the ground, he was blind to anything else. I really appreciated it, that this little girl who WKX saved and was saved by mattered so much to him that nothing else mattered, to the point that as he’s getting ready to die, he tells her to wait for him because he’ll be there with her in just a minute, he’s on his way to her, without a single apparent thought for anything or anyone else he’ll be leaving behind. It gave their relationship so much weight - a weight that helped make both of them such complex characters, I think. During her death scene, I couldn’t help thinking about the last time we saw A-Xiang this wracked with emotion as they talked, the fear and pain in Ep 23, when she was curled up protecting all the tenderest, most vulnerable places, speaking not only for herself, but for all the things Wen Kexing couldn’t yet say and show, at that point, and now to see them both sobbing and curled into each other just about killed me, particularly when this episode was the realization of all the worst fears of that episode.

Also, yes, all the super-manipulative flashbacks scenes of Cao Weining and then Gu Xiang and then Cao Weining/Gu Xiang absolutely worked on me, along with both of A-Xiang’s goodbyes to WKX – including the one when ZZS apparently used the Drunk-Like-A-Dream on him and A-Xiang telling him she was OK and with her parents was the thing WKX wanted most in the world - and I spent a good part of the episode a snotty mess. I don’t know, did anything else actually happen in this episode?

Oh, yeah, the truth about the (lack of) Seven Nails came out, and while it was an appropriately emotional scene, although only about a minute long and lacking WKX’s reaction, boo show, it also was buried under a mountain of trauma that had already happened.

Other things that also happened:

Not precisely an other thing, but maybe tangential - I remember thinking, wondering - with a detached part of my brain that wasn’t shrieking a danger alarm, as I sat there watching Mo Huaiyang’s hands on Cao Weining’s face, KNOWING what was going to happen at any minute, and helpless to stop it – I remember wondering if this was some kind of commentary on religious (or other) fanaticism, on compulsions so strong that you’ll literally and figuratively sacrifice your own children in the most horrifying ways and think you’re righteous for doing it, and that reaction was only strengthened by Mo Huaiyang’s language to WKX that he needed to “cleanse” his sect. Wen Kexing wasn’t wrong when he said that evil doesn’t just reside in the Ghost Valley. Also, we’re told later in the ep that Mo Weixu is still missing – is that Cao Weining’s da-shixiong? Oh my god, Wikipedia tells me he’s Mo Huaiyang’s son. Wasn’t it implied then, that Mo Huaiyang killed him, too, along with Fan Shishu?

Oh, wow. So, when Liu Qianqiao said “Loser Boyfriend? I don’t know him.” she literally didn’t remember him. So, Water of Lethe, then? My dude was not expecting that, particularly after he just saved her. Well, I guess you’re dying together after all, you and your girlfriend and her girlfriend. (Rocks fall, everybody dies. That felt a bit meh.)

Finally, nope, we’re done, Xie’er. I mentioned at some point earlier that I had a hard limit, and that was hurting A-Xiang, and indirect responsibility COUNTS, with your little deal with Mo Huaiyang, and not even a double-cross gets you out of this, so you are dead to me. (I did like your moment over Beauty Ghost’s death, though. Are you having a little, tiny, digging-a-grave-with-a-sword moment? Y’all have been a little weird about each other since you met.)

#gu xiang #cao weining #wen kexing #zhou zishu #xie wang #word of honor #word of honor episode reax

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peterbparkerth · 3 years ago

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The Cloaked Rose ~Chapter 2~

Summary: What happens when a Psychic Nexus who feels anybody’s energy comes in contact with the Avengers but most importantly someone she thought she’ll never find.

Warnings: none I think.

Bucky X OC!Character

Avengers X Platonic!Character

A/N: The main character’s personality is based on myself and she’s not like Wanda just imagine the main character to be a different type of nexus and Wanda being just a witch not a nexus. Also it starts after Thanos dies meaning the falcon and winter soldier time but Tony and the rest are alive and Steve is a Nomad but the government is okay with him since He gave the shield to Sam. John Walker aka the US agent still exists but he’s on the down low. Loki is also an avenger now so chill.

Chapter 2

Alara’s POV

It has been two weeks since I moved in with the avengers and I can’t believe they’re way different than what they show people. Natasha had told me that she would be my training partner for a long time and we have grown close since then.

I had also grown close with others as Tony is usually the one who makes me laugh with his witty sense of humor and Steve gives me advice on any matter. Everyone is used to me now, everyone except James Buchanan Barnes. I have no clue as to what I did that made him despise me.

We were sitting in the lounge just doing normal stuff, when Tony spoke “alright avengers we have a mission, but only Sam Bucky and Alara are going.” he said. I spit the water from my mouth making everyone look at me, “I’m not going with Bucky, that old man hates me” I said and immediately Bucky spoke up “I’m not an old man, and I don’t wanna go with her either”.

Steve looked at Bucky signaling him to go while Wanda walked towards me and said “it’s alright Alara it’s just a few days and i will be here if you ever wanna call”. I smile at her and excused myself to get my bags packed.

A while later we were on the plane to an encrypted location and Bucky was arguing with Sam about having a plan, only for Sam to jump out without saying a word. That boy is on another level. Bucky was taking sometime to jump out of the plane so as soon as he ripped of his sleeve I pushed him out and heard him yell “I hate you Alara” making me laugh I jumped out of the plane but instead of falling, I use my power of flight making both Sam and Bucky confused.

“Yeah I can fly” I said and walked ahead of them. Bucky used his super speed to run to the building. Sam and him kept on bickering as I rolled my eyes and said “there are seven people and one hostage now we need a plan to save the person held hostage” Bucky sighed “yeah leave it up to me” he said as he ran faster than Sam and I would.

It turns out the hostage was the part of the group , she kicked Bucky out through the door: I smirked when I saw it happen. Bucky was being beaten up when I decided to have some fun.

I finally jumped on top of the truck and let my powers flow out of me. The orange beams got on my body as I finally showed my true self. Bucky looked at me and I saw a smile on his face as if he was proud of me.

During the fight Sam and Bucky were kicked out of the truck as the US agent came to the spot. Somehow Sam and Bucky hated John and I had no clue why until when we sat in his vehicle and he looked at me and said “miss you should join in with the best people here” and then touched my thigh. I grabbed him by his neck and punched him twice before Sam stopped me “Don’t you ever touch me again, you pathetic piece of a human” I said to Walker.

He looked terrified and I flew off with Sam and Bucky following me from down low. “They’re super soldiers guys” I shouted at them from above and Sam let us to a hotel room that Tony paid for us to stay at. Well let’s just say it was more of a suit than a room.

“We need to go to Madripoor” I heard Sam say as he ended his phone call. “Who was that?” Bucky asked and Sam replied “Sharon. She knows about people who would do such a thing”. Bucky looked at me and said “since when do you glow like a carrot” I rolled my eyes and replied “since hydra experimented on me and gave me powers that are unimaginable” “like what?” Sam suddenly asked, “I can open portals to other dimensions, I got my powers from Loki’s tassaract.” I clarified. They both looked amused and I chuckled at their reaction.

We came up with a plan till late when Sam told us to rest. Later that night I couldn’t sleep so I went to get something from the kitchen like area in the suite when I saw Bucky drinking a shot of tequila, he looked at me and smiled “got thirsty for something” he said and smirked “Ew no, I’m just hungry” I replied and searched for food.

I heard him take a deep breath and say “you know I don’t hate you” I looked at him confused “then why do you always treat me like you hate me?” I ask. He took the food plate from my hands and say “that’s because, something is drawing me towards you and I don’t want to hurt y-“.

I stopped him and quickly said “hurt me? You can never hurt me Bucky” he was so close to me that I could smell his perfume or odour if you can say. “Bucky, I trust you” I added, he looked at me and leaned down a bit to kiss my head, something I never expected to happen as I touch his dog tags . “Sleep Alara, we have a mission to complete” he said “Bucky I-” I said but he had already walked away from me.

I��m starting to like the mission we’re all on.

Bucky’s POV

The next morning when I woke up, I couldn’t shake away the memory of kissing Alara’s forehead. I had grown to like her a bit, she’s cool you know.

We were on our way to Madripoor when Sam said that Sharon told us to meet Shelby at a club. “You sure it’s a good idea” I say to Sam as we go to the bartender and ask him about Shelby. “You’re not welcome here” the bartender said. Alara groaned and just then a man grabbed her by the shoulder. “Let her go!” I said as I grabbed his hand and kicked him across the room. “Stop it Bucky!” I hear Alara say but I couldn’t as more men try to fight.

“Okay stop! Shelby will see you now” the bartender said I looked at Bucky and held his metal hand leading him behind Sam.

“Well well” I hear Shelby say as she sat on the sofa. “We want to know about the super soldier serum” I hear Alara say. “You need to go to Professor Negal, but since now-“ Shelby almost said something but someone shot her. I quickly grabbed Alara’s hand and ran out the club, with Sam following us behind. We were saved by Sharon who shot the men from a far.

“Sharon?” Sam said surprised, Sharon looked around before replying “follow me guys” and we nodded. She led us to her house, “how are you here Sharon?” I ask her “I stayed here after a mission I was given” she replied and got up “so I heard you wanted to know about Professor Nagel, I’m having a party tonight and I’ll find out about him. You guys get dressed” she added

Two hours later I hear the music playing out loud and then I spot Alara in a red dress dancing around in the crowd. Sam looked at me and smirked, I rolled my eyes and walked towards her “Alara you need to stop” I tell her. “No” I hear her say and she push me away.

I saw her pull a man towards her as she danced quite provocatively. I clenched my jaw as something took over me, I walked to her again but this time I pulled her away from the man and pulled her closer to me. I placed my arms around her and danced with her. She looked up at me surprised and smiled. I looked into her eyes seeing an orange spark, I let go of my body as I slowly leaned in close to her. “Bucky” I hear Sharon say and we both look at her at the same time “I have found where Nagel is” she adds and we along with Sam follow her.

I can’t believe what I was about to do

Taglist

@httpscarletwitch @madisondelstan

P.S this is what Alara looked like when she revealed her powers to Sam and Bucky. It’s orange beam unlike Captain Marvel who emits yellow beam

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underfell-crystal · 3 years ago

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~~Catch and Keep~~

An AU where Harp (named Fern in this AU) is stuck underground with @avtfol 's Fallen Soul crew, properly deemed the 'Fallen Soul AU'. Warning: I went a little crazy with this and it's super long.

TW: Starving, being chased, kidnapping kinda, a bit of swearing

Fern had been down here for five months. She honestly didn't know how she had survived. Each encounter with any monsters threatened to shatter the orange heart she'd learned was the culmination of her being.

Five months down here with barely any food had taken a toll on her body. She was far thinner and bonier than she would've liked, but hey, at least she wasn't dead yet.

She was on her daily route through the watery area of wherever she was, past the brutally cold snow. There was much more life here, not to mention warmer, if only by a bit. Learning which things she could and couldn't eat had taken some trial and error (another few close calls with death), but she had finally gotten most of Waterfall's plants categorized into 'edible' or 'non-edible'.

Crouching next to a glowing mushroom, she took out her pocket knife and carefully cut away a piece, tucking it into a fairly clean cloth. She continued to do this to a few more mushrooms, pausing to make sure there were no sounds of anything else moving nearby before crouching down and devouring the glowy, rubbery-feeling mushrooms. They didn't taste the best, but they kept her alive.

After eating her share of mushrooms, she stood up to get away from the path. Then she saw the shadow. Her gaze slowly traveled from the shadow to the shiny gold and aqua boots, going all the way up to the person's- skeleton's???- face. One green light and one red light stared back at her.

Shit.

She turned and bolted into the tall grass, a startled shout of surprise coming from behind her. Nope. Nuh uh. She would rather not have a near death encounter, thank you very much!

From what she could tell, the skeleton wasn't chasing her, so after a while she stopped to catch her breath. Stars, how tall had it been?? Much taller than her, she knew that. Seven feet? Maybe eight? She prayed this was a one time encounter. She didn't want to actually be involved in an encounter with it. Something that big would not pull its punches when fighting.

It wasn't a one time encounter. Fern kept running into the skeleton. After her first glimpse of him at Waterfall, she ran into him four other times at different places and times. She thought the skeleton was a 'he' from the alarmingly deep voice that came from his fanged jaws whenever he saw her. She never stuck around long enough to hear what he was saying, with the current encounter being no exception.

As she turned and started running away from the massive skeleton, she felt something whizz past her, and something suddenly appeared in her way. She shrieked in alarm and crashed into them, stumbling backwards in horror when she realized it was the same skeleton she was just running away from. How-?

He reached his arm out to her, and she scuttled backward, tripping over a root and landing on her behind. He looked unimpressed with her attempt to flee him again and strode closer. He picked her up like she weighed nothing, tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She squawked in fear, flailing around and trying to free herself. The skeleton seemed unfazed and started walking while she failed to free herself from his grasp. Stars, why did she have to be cursed with tiny arms and legs...

After a few minutes of struggling, she gave up and laid limply on the shoulder of the tall skeleton carrying her. Where was he taking her? Why didn't he just kill her? Was he taking her back to his place to eat her?? Wait, did monsters even eat humans?

She didn't even notice they had arrived at their destination until she heard the sound of a door opening, which snapped her out of her thoughts. Fern looked around, confused. He had taken her to some kind of house in.... what had the sign called it? Oh, right. Snowdin.

She felt the hand on her back move, and she was promptly pulled off the skeleton's shoulder and plopped unceremoniously onto the couch with a squeak. She just laid there, frozen, staring up at the skeleton looming above her. After a minute of him just staring at her, he sighed. "You're very dirty. You need a shower."

"I- huh??"

What? This guy had kidnapped her to... make her take a shower??? Okay, she knew she probably looked and smelled awful, but she hadn't been bothering anybody, so.... why was she here? He looked irritated. "Are you deaf?"

"No! I'm just..... Why am I here???"

He tilted his skull, looking down at her. "You would've died out there sooner or later."

She felt like there was something else that made him decide to go through all this trouble just to catch a human, but she decided to focus on what he'd told her. "What? I was doing fine on my own!"

"All it takes is one or two unlucky encounters with some monsters and you would've been a corpse."

Wow, okay, morbid much? "Uh....... Thanks? I think?"

"You can thank me once you no longer stink of rot and dirt."

Fern bit back her irritation. It wasn't like there were just showers in the middle of the woods and marshes, Mr. Skeleton. Plus, when she did shower under the waterfalls, she just got dirty again. And it wasn't like she was aiming to impress anybody with her looks. "Okay, fine. Where's the bathroom?"

"Second floor. First door. Leave your dirty clothes outside the door."

Keeping an eye on the monster, Fern made her way upstairs, following the monster's directions. Inside the bathroom, everything was slightly bigger than she remembered; probably to accommodate the eight foot tall Goliath downstairs. She shook her head. She could still see over the sink and into the mirror. She blinked at the dirty face in front of her. She barely recognized herself.

Shaking her head, she turned on the faucet to the shower and peeled off her gross, dirty clothes. Okay, yeah, they felt good to take off. She opened the door a bit to drop her dirty clothes outside the door before shutting and locking it. Steam slowly filled the room, and she could barely contain her glee as she stepped into the hot stream of water. Oh my stars.... It had been AGES since she'd had a hot shower. She noted there was no shampoo or conditioner (with the skeleton, she highly doubted there was a NEED for such things), but there was bar soap, which she seized and immediately started using to clean herself off. She could FEEL all the dirt and grime and 'wilderness' in general washing off her the longer she stood in the hot water.

She stayed in there for about an hour, scrubbing herself clean and letting all the dirt on her body wash off. It felt so nice to finally rub all that dirt off her face. Finally, when she felt sufficiently washed, she turned off the water and grabbed one of the large, fluffy towels hanging from the door. It easily covered her entire body when she wrapped it around her shoulders. Well... Being short in a house that belonged to a giant had SOME perks, she mused as she dried herself off.

Wait.

Clothes. Where....?

Making sure she was still wrapped up and covered, she opened the door and saw a neatly folded pile of clothes sitting next to the door. Oh. He had washed them. She grabbed them and brought them back inside the bathroom, changing back into her fresh (although worn) clothes. It had been so long since she'd been clean. She looked through the cabinets, and, surprisingly, she found a comb. The skeleton didn't have hair, but she decided not to question it, combing out her tangled, stark white hair. Detangling her hair was an entirely different beast that she managed to defeat in about fifteen minutes, finally letting herself examine her reflection in the mirror again.

Ah.

That looked more like the Fern she used to see in the mirror. Her face was still pale and thin, but it was... a start.

Oh right. There was still an eight foot tall skeleton downstairs, waiting for her.

Well, best not to keep him waiting...

She unlocked the bathroom door again and stepped out, descending down the stairs as quietly as she could. The skeleton wasn't in view. For a moment, she considered running for it. But, he hadn't tried to kill her yet, plus he had given her a hot shower. So, she sighed and sat on the couch to wait.

--Copper POV--

He was in the kitchen when he heard the faint sound of the bathroom door opening. Quiet footsteps made their way down the stairs, pausing before continuing for a moment, followed by the creaking of the couch. Good. The human hadn't tried to run off.

He walked out of his brother's room and down the stairs. The human was sitting on the couch, staring at him with large, light blue eyes, almost expectantly. He had to admit, without all the dirt and mud on them, they were fairly attractive. The human coughed. "So, uh..... Why am I here? Why are you being nice to me?"

He strode to stand in front of the human, folding his arms. "I brought you here because I want to test you."

".... On what? Math?"

"What? No. On your strength."

"Look, uh, Mr. Skeleton, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're almost twice as tall as me, and my arms look like literal twigs right now."

Oh, right. He knew he had forgotten something. Sustenance. Human bodies required a lot of upkeep. Without responding, he marched to the kitchen and hunted through the fridge for something to reheat, his multi-colored gaze landing on a tupperware full of spaghetti. Perfect. Pulling the plastic box out, he dumped the contents onto a plate and stuck it into the microwave, turning to observe the human again. "My name is Copper. Captain Copper."

"Uh.... Fern..."

Fern... An interesting name choice. "You were named after a plant."

Fern made a face at him, scrunching up her nose and sticking out her bottom lip. "You were named after a metal."

Well, his real name wasn't, but the human didn't need to know that. "... Fair enough."

"So, you kidnapped me just to make me take a shower and then... fight me?"

"If that's how you want to put it, then yes."

"And what if I don't want to fight you?"

The human was tense. Nervous. It was kind of endearing, how they tried to seem unafraid but were practically shaking. He briefly considered telling the human he would kill them if they didn't challenge him, but decided to have mercy on the skittish little thing. "It's not exactly a fight. An arm wrestling competition, if you will."

"Uh, my arms are still twigs, man."

"Correct. Which is why you'll be eating actual food and not those glowing mushrooms."

"You're.... Feeding me?"

"I can't have a fair fight if my opponent is withering away."

The microwave beeped, and Copper took it out, stirring it with a fork before walking back to the human and holding it out. The human gave him a suspicious look, and he rolled his eyelights. "It's spaghetti. It's not poisoned or anything."

"... Fuck it, I'll take my chances."

Copper had never seen anyone inhale their food quite as fast as the human inhaled the spaghetti. He didn't think they even chewed. In less than a minute, all the spaghetti had been sucked up and devoured by the ravenous human. He was... kind of impressed, if he was being honest with himself. They set the empty plate down, wiping their mouth free of the sauce. "... I haven't had actual food in AGES."

"How long have you even been out there?"

"Eh..... Five months, give or take."

Five months... Copper supposed he shouldn't have been surprised with how wild she looked, but jeez, five months was a long time for a human to survive down here on their own. "I see."

He turned away from the human. "For now, I will feed you and make sure monsters aren't actively trying to kill you. However, there will be rules if you're going to stay here. The first is that you're not allowed outside on your own until it has been established that no monsters will attack you. The second is that if I tell you to do something, you have to do it. If I say run or hide, you will do those things. The final rule is that you-"

As he turned to look at the human, he was met with their unconscious form draped over the cushions. He faltered, then sighed. The human was probably rather tired. Well, they clearly hadn't slept in an actual bed in a while. No use leaving them on the couch in that uncomfortable-looking position. With a sigh, he scooped up the human and went upstairs, laying them on his bed. They were so... small...

He shook his head out of his thoughts. Enough of that.

He had work to do.

#oc oneshots #oc short story #harp and copper #fern #fallen soul au #fern and copper

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obeymeluv · 4 years ago

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Hey ^^ may I please request something? If you won't do it then that's totally fine but could you maybe write about how the demon brothers would react if MC got kidnapped and cannot summon any of them? If you don't have time to do it that's totally fine and remember to take care ^^

Quick rundown on my headcanons for bonding with demons:

When I read this, it made me question whether bonded brothers would instinctively know if their pact mate/bonded person was in trouble? Would they be able to tell if the bonded person was unconscious instead of just...contained? I’d like to think that when demons bond to the point of making pact marks, they can kind of “tap in” or “tune in” to the bonded one to make sure things are okay. When they do, they feel what their pact mate is going through. The longer they stay connected, the more they can share.

For example: a 5 minute connection can allow the bonded pair to say a few things mentally, and would allow the demon to fully tap into their bonded one’s emotions. The telepathic capabilities only work when the two are in eye-sight; the connection grows stronger as the demon moves towards the pact mate.

Basic and superficial wounds can be felt at this point. Pulse rates sync up at about three minutes. If the pact mate is unconscious, the demons can try to push their consciousness into being awake or opening their eyes to try and see through them to figure out where they are (before the conscious mind kicks in, about 5-10 seconds). This connection will also allow them to connect to other senses but the demons will be overloaded and experience them all at once. If their human is conscious and they tap into their senses again, they can filter out senses or enhance certain ones for a short amount of time.

Being connected 10 minutes or longer allows for deeper or graver injuries to be felt, and might help with reflexes. Humans may also take on key attributes of a demon, like sharper teeth or claw-like nails. Subtle changes like being slightly more charming (if pulling from Asmo) or stronger (if pulling from Beel) would start to occur. Using this too much may cause mental or physical pains.

The effects of being connected for thirty minutes or longer are largely undocumented (despite Devildom society being 5,000+ years old) but are assumed to be dangerous for the human (pass out from mental exhaustion, borrowed magic fatigue, numbness or trouble moving limbs if reflexes are enhanced, etc.) Humans like Solomon, who are magically inclined or gifted, will not be harmed or taxed as much as a non-magical human. Connected demons hardly have any drawbacks, save for being sore depending on the extent of their bond mate’s injury if they connect to the point of being able to feel them.

I added all of that because my brain had to know how the bros would find MC. Plus, I’m stuck in chapter 20/21 and think there needs to be more lore about pact bonds/capabilities.

I couldn’t figure out how to squeeze this in anywhere above, but if the demon wants to locate a missing pact mate, they will have an internal compass of sorts. It’s a really strong compulsion to go a certain direction no matter who or what is in front of them. Their bonded one will be at the end of that feeling, and it will intensify the closer they get to each other.

Now, how they’d react:

Lucifer

He’s super pissed, obviously. You’re in trouble and he can’t just teleport to you?! What the hell did you get yourself into?!

Also worried. Did you piss off some figure (witch, etc.) that has magic capabilities or is this just a situation where you, as a human, do not feel safe to summon them?

Lucifer has been alive for 5,000+ years and is one of the strongest in the Devildom. He will use the above-mentioned brain push to get you to open your eyes and look around. He needs an idea of where you’re at (he’ll apologize about your migraines later)

I headcanon that he’s good with directions and has a strong memory, so he’d probably be able to recognize your surroundings and find you personally

When he sets out to find you, he’s a one man army. A one-man wrecking crew of death.

Considers that your captors may be magic-proficient or have some sort of anti-demon items (why else would they be stupid enough to take you?) so he packs an old fashioned, heavy-ass sword or dagger in case hand-to-hand fighting isn’t an option.

Those gloves come off, and he rarely takes his gloves off. Lucifer will make sure your captors suffer a long, slow, painful death that illustrates why he’s a demon and why they should be afraid of him

He fought bare-handed. The dagger/sword wasn’t necessary.

Mammon

WHO JUST TOOK HIS HUMAN? WHY? GET FUCKIN’ READY, BUDDY!

Stuck in an angry panic spin of ‘HUMAN IS MISSING? WHAT DO I DO? HOW DO I FIND HUMAN? GOD DAMMIT!’ until his brain kicks in

Doesn’t think to use the brain push thing. His first thought is: people will sell information

Mammon is the Avatar of Greed--he knows what people want and he knows how to manipulate them. He’s actually pretty slick in a ‘watch this hand, not this one’ kind of way

Also caught in the feels and will not hesitate to beat somebody up for that information.

If he feels asking around will waste time, he’ll teleport to one of his witch acquaintances and have them find you. It may cost him another favor, but it’s worth it. SOMETHING is keeping you from summoning him, so he has to find a way around it.

You’ll hear Mammon coming before you see him. He’ll be complaining the whole way--(”Making me come all the way out here to save you! What were you thinking?!”) but he’ll be kicking ass without breaking eye contact

Being the second-oldest of seven, he grew up fighting several brothers at once and learned how to wrestle in different ways. His reflexes are pretty on point. It’s a very efficient fighting style--hard hits or distance throws that give him time to pick multiple captors off individually

Unapologetic and threatening. Lots of demon noises

He’s pretty quiet and burnt out by the time he finds you. More of a relieved exhaustion than anything. Baby boy missed you and just wants to hold you.

A little paranoid for the next two weeks. You’re basically on lock down with your main man until he feels better about everything.

Levi

THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN ANIME AND MANGA AND IT DOES NOT END WELL!

Spends a solid 5-10 minutes hyperventilating BECAUSE SO MUCH COULD HAPPEN!

Has something already happened to you? What have they done?! Will he get a ransom note? A spooky encrypted video email?

WHAT WOULD HENRY DO?

That ‘admiral of Hell’s Navy’ personality kicks in and after a mild panic, he’s all business. He WILL figure out a way to find you

He’d use that “compass” connection I described. It goes well with his one-track mind/hyperfocus he tends to get.

This is one big ass-whoopin’ quest in the making and he’s fixing to get that achievement trophy

Levi’s more of a strategist than a tank. He’s basically banking on his demon form to help rip your captors to shred.

Were you held hostage by a decent-sized body of water that connects or is fed into by other bodies of water? He’ll be coming at your captors like a Sharpedo. You’re in the splash zone.

Has a very merciless and interesting fight style. It’s kind of cheating in that Levi’s biggest tactic is ‘don’t give anyone else room to fight’, but it works.

Be prepared to see his tail used in interesting ways. Boy has a built-in long-range weapon.

Whether it’s one person or a whole group of people, he may summon Lotan just because they pissed him off. You’ll be safe, of course.

Satan

Boy is big angry

YOU WERE STOLEN? HE CAN’T JUST GO TO YOU?

Satan just wants a nice, quiet, simple life with things that don’t make him angry. This makes him angry. There will be death.

Is very suspicious by nature, and an over-thinker, so he’s probably considered this would happen at one point. Actually already had a plan.

Would use a combination of the “compass” intuition and the brain push to see what you see. Instead of having you look at your surroundings, though, he wants you to look at people.

Does he recognize any of those fuckers? Who’s on his hit-list?

If there’s no immediate sense of a threat, he’s interrogating Asmo. Between the two of them, they WILL find the person/people who took you

There’s probably at least one book in his connection that works like the mirror from Beauty in the Beast where he just has to ask it about you and it will tell him.

When Satan comes in to rescue you, it’s all demon noises. He comes in terrifying and strong and leading with magic.

Probably smells like fire and blood. Is covered in the latter and basically none of it’s his.

Big fan of using his tail like a mace.

They get the horns (literally)

Asmo

Someone stole his precious darling?! Um, no. Not okay. THE FARTHEST THING FROM OKAY, ACTUALLY!

I feel like we don’t have a lot of character depth for Asmo. I’m hoping once I get un-stuck I’ll be pleasantly surprised with Asmo content. I can’t decide if he’d panic a bit or just go into straight, hardcore bitch mode.

The definition of “looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you”. Big dick energy. Big bitch energy.

I feel like Asmo wouldn’t be super organized because this isn’t usually a kind of stressor he deals with. What he lacks in tactical thought, he makes up for in connections

Boy would probably find you fastest out of all the bros because he can make a few posts across Devilgram, get some celebrities to do the same, and SOMEONE would find you.

Would stay mentally connected with you for as long as your body could handle it, and would be very soothing. A panicked kind of soothing, like pouring his heart out to you and just gushing, but soothing

Like “Baby, I love you so much! I’ll find you soon, I promise! We can even beat these assholes together!” ❤︎

Usually hates getting his hair or nails dirty, but he might just break off a nail in someone’s eye. Or, you know, come find you in a nice-ass pair of heels just to shove one down someone’s throat (or up someone’s ass).

He may look dainty and gorgeous but DO NOT be fooled. This boy has SATAN for an older brother and BEEL for a younger brother. He knows how to throw down.

In general, he’s just a vicious little shit. Asmo knows how to fuck people up physically. He just doesn’t like doing it.

Depending on how many captors you have, Asmo will charm them into killing each other and just watch. It’s not the most satisfying thing, but there is SOME satisfaction to it

Couple snuggles and major pampering after you’re back with him (and you’ve been checked out by medical staff). Lots of kisses.

He cries and it’s very quiet and heart-felt.

Beel

The worst thing to happen in the history of ever. Literally.

In Beel’s world there are two things YOU DO NOT DO: 1) eat his food, 2) fuck with his family

It’s hard for him to think rationally because he’s just so stressed/angry that he’s stumbling around in his demon form and he’s ruining everything.

His full strength is on display and he’s leaving cracks in walls, scratching up things--just general, accidental destruction. He’s breaking things on accident and trying to write out plans on paper that rips up and it’s starting to wear on him to the point of being genuinely destructive

Beel feels first and thinks second, which makes this a lot harder

Uses the “compass” thing. Becomes demon juggernaut.

Likes to fly and divebomb where possible, so someone’s getting knocked THE FUCK out

When he sees you, or gets to the end of that “compass” feeling, Beel’s football training kicks in and he just demolishes anyone that’s in his way.

People just get tossed around like rag dolls. He doesn’t check to make sure they’re down and out, just clears the way.

The type to try and hold you or touch you first. Then, if anyone’s still standing, he makes sure they get put down before going back to you.

Carries you all the way back, his wings buzzing and singing happily because you’re safe and everything’s okay

Once you’re back in the House of Lamentation his stomach goes off loudly. You guys have a big feast to celebrate.

Belphie

The list of things Belphie likes in this world: 1) Sleep, 2) Beel, 3) You. Do not mess with the things Belphie likes.

Is most pissed that one of his favorite people in the whole damn world have gone missing and can’t summon him. Is side-pissed that he’s losing so much sleep to come find you. It’s not your fault, but still

Someone will die, and only Belphie will have fun

Is sleepy enough that he doesn’t panic and awake enough to think

I headcanon that Belphie in particular has a special kind of brain push due to being the Avatar of Sloth and making people sleepy. When he pushes your brain, he can also pick through what’s at the forefront of your mind or your most recent conscious moments. It’s like being able to link up to dreams, just not limited to dreams.

Periodically uses the telepathic link as a radar of sorts Uses it in conjunction with the “compass” instinct to make sure he’s going in the right direction. Using the telepathic link once he’s in the general area just helps him find you faster

Belphegor, like Satan, has a lot of reserved anger. It will be well-used.

I bet his tail works like a real whip. It’d be demeaning as hell to get hit with it and Belphie wants to see your captor suffer. The tail will be used

Imagine the last thing you see or feel is getting hit by a demon cow tail. He’d definitely do that.

No holds bar when it comes to fighting. Your captor(s) signed their death wish when they took you.

Mostly fatal bites and deep scratches. Probably some limb tearing or pulling things out that should be kept inside the body. May definitely get a few nut shots with the tail if you have any male captors (you know, just because).

He doesn’t show up as bloody as Satan would, but there’s definitely blood on his face and under his fingernails.

Carries you out of wherever you’d been held. Gives you firm instructions not to look at anything. Just kind of gently pressed you into his chest before readjusting you and carrying out.

I hope you liked it :D

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beckzorz · 4 years ago

Text

down (one-shot)

Pairing, Words: Bucky Barnes/Reader, 1.1k Prompt/Warnings: “I might not go down in history, but I will go down on you.” Or, you tend to Bucky after a gruesome mission. ANGST, gore, swearing, references to sex. A/N: Written from a prompt for @the-ss-horniest-book-club’s quarantined drunk drabbles. Thanks so much to @jewels2876 for helping <3 I hope you enjoy! (Also, just pretend the header image isn’t OBVIOUSLY A STOCK IMAGE, it’s the best I could do lol)

Bucky grits his teeth as the plastic stitch slides through the needle-hole on his abdomen. The needle pierces his skin again, and he looks so far up his eyeballs hurt. It doesn’t make a lick of difference for the real pain, but at least he can count stars.

“How’s the view?” you murmur.

Another prick of the needle, another slick slow slide of plastic through his skin.

“Not much light pollution out here.” He lets out a slow breath, air whistling through his clenched teeth.

“Well, compared to New York.”

Your voice is gentle, teasing; Bucky closes his eyes and latches onto it, onto you. Your careful breathing, the way your breath fans his skin, how your heartbeat is solid and constant and just a hint quicker than normal. The pain of the needle and thread doesn’t go away—being super means super sensitive too, sometimes—but he can bear it.

He peeks down at the last bit of intestine still visible, then closes his eyes.

With you, he can bear anything.

—

The second Bucky’s head hits the pillow, he’s asleep.

It’s like this every time he suffers a big hit. His body wants to heal, not deal with the boring normal functioning stuff like thinking straight or walking. It was all you could do to keep him coherent, let alone awake, for the two-hour hike back to the safehouse.

Now, at least, his body can do its thing.

You sigh and wipe your hands together. Procedure dictates writing the report immediately, and you know just how little Fury cares about the blood caked under your fingernails.

Looking away from Bucky, lying with his lips parted and the skin across his stomach raw and his bruised face turned towards you, is harder than dirtying a keyboard.

But you do it. You do both.

You look away, and you dirty a keyboard with Bucky’s blood.

—

Steam curls in the air and water streams down your back, down your chest, off your fingertips. The shower is the best place to be after writing a report like that, one where you have to write just how many stitches and just how many staples and just how many feet of intestine.

Grenades don’t usually make such a mess. Usually, Bucky can catch them, toss them aside, use the metal of his prosthetic to shield himself.

Today wasn’t about shielding himself. Like the apocryphal tale of little, lawbreaking Steve Rogers flinging himself to protect his training squad all those years ago, today was a crowd of civilians, a horrible possibility, a split-second choice.

Bucky made the right choice. He always does.

Right for his sense of self, right for saving the civilians, right for every reason.

You shut your eyes against the humid heat of the shower and let yourself shudder.

It’s right for everything, for everyone, except you.

The shudders don’t stop. You collapse against the tile wall and scramble for a hold, silent sobs wracking your body as you slide down. Your throat burns.

Bucky—he—he’d been torn open, torn apart, all splayed out like a child’s splattered painting, blood painting the dirt and your hands and your heart. His intestines had slithered in your hands, pulsing with horrible irony as the man who’d thrown it lay dead at your hands barely a stone’s throw away.

And you couldn’t do a damn thing but fix it, fix him, staple him together and stitch him back up, because that’s your job, and you can’t have feelings—you shouldn’t have feelings! You’re not here to have feelings. You shouldn’t have anything but working fingers and supplies and the ability to use them.

You curl against the tub wall and let hot salty tears mix with hot clear water, soapy water swirling around your ankles.

Shouldn’t.

But you do. God, you do. Whether you want it or not, and you don’t know if you wish all those nebulous thoughts and wants would vanish or never leave. Would you turn into a robot, if you could?

Another pointless question. You’re human, and that’s all you’ll ever be.

You suck in a shaky breath, then another. Count to four breathing in, count to eight blowing out. You focus on your fingers and toes, draw your focus in and up until the shudders and tears stop. You settle back into yourself, one breath at a time.

There’s only one good thing about Bucky’s healing sleeps.

Without him, you can live your trauma in peace.

—

Rapid beeps, low and regular and just over his head, pull Bucky out of the dark.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” you say. The bed dips under your weight.

He hums in the back of his throat, his tension melting away. You always know the moment he’s awake. Always have.

“Time?” he rasps.

“Six hours, seven minutes.”

Bucky sighs. He pokes at the edges of the places that hurt. Progress, but still a ways to go. His stomach is still stitching himself together; his insides are still shifting back into place.

“Report?” he asks.

“Sent off, but you can add to it when you’re ready. The usual.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” you say drily.

Bucky cracks an eye open and admires your profile. “That, and to keep me in one piece.”

“Or to put you back into one piece,” you mutter.

You turn away and take a swig from a bottle he can’t see—he can’t smell any alcohol, but there’s something off about you. Something ruffled. Something disturbed.

“That too,” he says slowly.

He pushes himself up, grunting, and you suck in a quick breath. You’re at his side in a moment, a hand on his back and another holding his hand. It’s your job, yes, but he takes comfort in your hands on him. In you near him at all.

“Keeping my ragged ass going,” he adds.

You laugh, but it doesn’t last long. “Can’t have my favorite history project dying on me, can I?”

Bucky squeezes your hand. “You should go down in history too. Keeping me alive has gotta be at least as hard as what I do.”

“Probably.”

He doesn’t trust your smile. Doesn’t trust the calm on your face, or the solid beat of your heart. It isn’t soothing anymore.

It’s ominous.

You catch his eye—you’re as sharp as he is, and as soon as your smile looks more real he knows it’s ten times as fake. You lean in closer and trail your finger across his lips.

“I might not go down in history,” you tell him, “but I’ll go down on you.”

Despite himself, he’s interested. Diversionary tactic or not, you do know how to use those lovely lips of yours. Still…

“I don’t think my tummy could take it,” Bucky says mournfully. “Think you can stand to wait?”

“You’re a baby, Barnes.” You kiss his cheek. “Anything for my favorite patient. Now rest up.”

Five steps, and you’re gone, and Bucky’s alone with his thoughts, the weight of your absence, and nothing to do except wonder.

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky x you #bucky barnes x y/n #winter soldier imagine #becca writes #hbc drunk drabbles

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taeyongdoyoung · 4 years ago

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summary: the forest is your only escape from the everyday troubles with your family until you find danger lurking behind the trees. or rather, danger finds you. your fateful encounter with the vampire ravn leaves you wishing for a different life. you strike an unexpected deal with the stranger that will soon turn into something more…

pairing: vampire! human ravn x reader

side characters: seoho, xion, non-binary oc named robin inspired by the wonderful @byccn 💜

genre: vampire!au, romance, humour, FLUFF

warnings: i don’t think there are any?? just sweet tooth-rotting fluff, some biting, a few shakespeare references, some swear words and a lot of cheesy lines, i mean, they’re eating pizza in italy and it’s valentine’s day soo...

word count: 2.3k

author’s note: the final chapter of twilight has arrived, i just want to thank you all so much for embarking on this journey with me, for reading it and for leaving your comments, it truly feels like the end of an era but i hope everyone enjoyed reading my story as much as i enjoyed writing it, i don’t know what else to say other than “parting is such sweet sorrow” 🥺🥺💞💞

part one 🌙 part two 🌙 part three 🌙 part four 🌙 part five 🌙 part six 🌙 part seven 🌙 part eight 🌙 part nine 🌙 part ten🌙 part eleven 🌙part twelve

You felt like you were dreaming but no matter how many times you pinched yourself, you didn’t wake up, because this was reality. Ravn was safe and sleeping soundly, his arms wrapped around you. And he was so warm you’d have a difficult time getting used to it. But it didn’t matter, because you loved him for him and that was all that mattered. You ran a gentle hand through his dark hair. He was still so beautiful, still so soft, still your Ravn. And despite the fact that he, too, was mortal now, you had the strange feeling you had all the time in the world. And in a way, it was true. You were so far away from any dangers that this newfound sense of freedom seemed eternal.

“Are you watching me sleep?” Ravn murmured curiously.

You attempted to withdraw your hand, but his reflexes were still fast enough to catch you.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he opened his eyes and smiled at you fondly.

“I just can’t believe this. You’re alive,” you pointed out.

Ravn chuckled.

“Me neither. I’ve wished for this for so long that now when it actually happened it seems unreal.”

“Well, no use questioning it, let’s just enjoy ourselves,” you quickly kissed his lips and intended to get out of bed to brush your teeth, but Ravn stopped you by holding onto your hand and pulling you close.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He kissed you once more, this time more deeply and not willing to let go.

“Mmm, Ravn, darling…” you tried to argue.

“Stay a bit longer,” he pleaded sweetly.

“You’re impossible to resist,” you laughed and started kissing his neck, occasionally biting him gently, which amused him immensely.

“Oh, no, I’ve corrupted you entirely,” Ravn wailed.

You rolled your eyes and pressed your hands against his cheeks.

“I love you,” you said seriously.

“I would not wish any companion in the world but you,” Ravn replied and your eyes filled with happy tears.

“My favourite Shakespeare nerd,” you stroked his chin.

“Am I not the only Shakespeare nerd you know?” he challenged.

“Well, he will never admit it, but Seoho is secretly as much of a Shakespeare enthusiast as we are,” you joked.

“But you like me more, right?” he had to make sure.

“Of course, silly, is this even a question?”

“Let’s get up and annoy him about it, then!” Ravn suggested excitedly.

“Unbelievable,” you giggled and sneaked out of his arms. “Bathroom’s mine first!”

Ravn hurriedly chased you but to your complete amazement, you beat him to it. Now that he was human, too, it was all fair and square.

“Come on, sweetheart, let me in!” Ravn complained, knocking on the door.

You smirked triumphantly as you were putting toothpaste on your new brush.

“What will I get out of this?” you bargained, suddenly remembering one of your initial encounters. It felt like a century ago.

“More kisses? My undying affection? Anything you wish, I just really need to…”

You quickly opened the door upon hearing the desperation in his voice. He was only human, after all, the thought making you laugh.

“Thank you!” Ravn rushed inside. He was obviously on a mission.

A couple of minutes later, you were both out of the bathroom and dressing up for the day.

“Being a human is so hard,” he complained. “So many needs.”

“Come on, you’ve been human before,” you reminded him.

“How do you deal with all this?” Ravn asked, overwhelmed by everything new.

“It’s just life, I guess,” you shrugged. “Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough. And I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Unless when you lock me out of the bathroom,” he teased you.

“A mistake I won’t repeat again,” you chuckled. “We’ll have to share.”

“I can live with that,” he winked. “For the rest of my life.”

These were words you’d never expected to hear and yet, they’d somehow turned into the much needed reality.

🌙🌙🌙

“Now that Ravn’s human, you won’t say stuff like ‘all humans are trash’, will you, Seoho?” you joked over breakfast as you were spreading jam over a slice of bread.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been forced to change my mindset,” Seoho groaned and added under his breath. “Ugh, humans.”

“Hey, I heard that!” Ravn scolded him.

“I thought your super hearing was gone?” Seoho asked awkwardly.

“It is, but I can still hear shit,” he punched his friend playfully.

“Fine, fine, I’ll try not to be a dick.”

“Thank you very much,” you said. “I’m thinking of checking out the local bookshops today. Ravn, do you want to come with?”

“You know it,” he gave you a high five.

“Seoho, do you want to join us?” you offered politely, because after all, if it hadn’t been for Seoho’s magical abilities, you probably wouldn’t be here, in Verona, alive.

“So I can watch you lick each other’s faces between the bookshelves? I’ll pass,” Seoho scoffed.

“Hey, if it makes you uncomfortable, we’ll stop doing it in front of you,” you promised.

“Nah, it’s fine. I have other plans, anyways.”

“You do?” Ravn eyed him suspiciously.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Seoho finished his juice, got up from the table and grabbed his jacket. “Have fun, nerds!”

Before you could register where he was going, Seoho had teleported himself out of the room.

“Okay, that was weird,” you pointed out.

“Definitely. We’ll grill him for more information when he comes back,” Ravn vowed. “But for now, let’s finish our human breakfast and explore the town.”

“It would be my honour,” you smiled.

🌙🌙🌙

Seoho’s POV

Was I being too obvious? I knew that sooner or later I’d have to inform Ravn and Y/N what this was about, but I didn’t want to jinx it. After all, there wasn’t much to tell. Not yet, at least. The truth was that yesterday when I’d gone to buy pizza and pancakes for my friends, I’d seen someone that grabbed my attention rightaway. They had beautiful short hair, a vibrant smile and they were selling ice-cream. At the time, I couldn’t muster up the courage to talk to them, even though I was usually confident and carefree. There was something special about this person. And despite my previous distrust of humans, I realized I could no longer be so prejudiced about them. My best friend was now human and his girlfriend had proved me wrong countless times. Maybe it was because I was in a new town, where no one knew me. Maybe it was because after almost losing Ravn, I had realized that life was too short and precious and I had to make each day count. I don’t know what exactly came over me but when I lied to my friends about having plans, I decided I want to see the person selling ice-cream again. And this time, I would talk to them.

Luckily, I was good at finding my way around. I quickly remembered where the pizza place was and that the ice-cream stand was right around the corner. I felt a bit nervous, but I knew that I had nothing to lose, so I approached it. They were there. The minute I saw their smile I forgot everything that I had planned I would say. How I wanted to play it cool and tell them I really like their style and their hair and…Before I could open my mouth, they’d spotted me and spoke first.

“Hi, would you like to order some ice-cream?” were the cheerful first words they said to me.

“Um, hi, yeah, what would you recommend?” I asked.

“My personal favourite is chocolate,” they replied.

“Alright, then, I’ll have that.”

“Sure thing,” they smiled and started scooping up a ball of chocolate ice-cream as I placed the money on the table. Now was my chance to say something dumb or remain silent and regret it forever. Or I could just come back again tomorrow. I wouldn’t do that, right?

🌙🌙🌙

I was a fool. I did come back again the following day. And the day after. I came back to that ice-cream place every day for two whole weeks, without succeeding to say much to the person I was obviously crushing on, other than the usual small talk surrounding the process of buying ice-cream. I tried all the different flavours until one day the unimaginable happened.

“I’ll see you again tomorrow,” I murmured instead of goodbye.

“Actually, I won’t be here tomorrow,” they responded sadly. “You see, this was just a summer job for me and I’m going back to college so I won’t have time to work.”

“Oh, I see,” I replied dumbly. “Well, in that case…”

“Can I get your number?” they beat me to it. “Or at least your name?”

Internally, I was screaming with joy. Externally, I attempted to maintain a perfectly composed expression.

“Seoho,” I said, already writing down my phone number on a napkin. “And yours?”

“Robin,” they chuckled. “Wow, you’re so old-fashioned, you could have just typed it in.”

I shrugged and handed them the silly napkin.

“Better not lose it,” I warned them.

“No worries, I’ll treasure it forever.”

“Well, technically, the ink will probably wear off with time…”

“Wow, way to kill the mood,” Robin laughed and I could swear, I would never get tired of that beautiful sound.

“Sorry,” I looked down apologetically.

“I can’t help but wonder what took you so long?” they further amazed me with such a straightforward question.

“Um, I’m shy?”

“Me too, but it had to be done,” Robin winked.

In that moment, I had already made up my mind. Maybe humans weren’t so bad after all…

🌙🌙🌙

One year later

You were sitting next to your fiancé, holding hands under the table at a pizza restaurant because you didn’t want your engagement rings to show. You intended to surprise your friends Seoho and Robin and had kept it a secret for a while. A week had passed since Ravn proposed to you. He had booked plane tickets to Paris for a weekend getaway and what you thought was simply a short vacation turned into the best moment of your life. Forever the romantic, Ravn had completely amazed you with the unexpected question. An evening walk alongside the Seine River and under the city lights, French music playing all around…You had been so overwhelmed by positive emotions that you burst into tears before managing to respond. Ravn had gotten worried that he’d upset you and you’d somehow succeeded in letting him know you were happy crying and that of course you’d marry him. It felt like a dream come true.

As you were waiting for your friends to arrive, you and Ravn exchanged a knowing look.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Born ready,” you replied, completely certain of your feelings for him.

He squeezed your hand in support and soon after, your friends showed up.

“Hi, darling,” you hugged Robin tightly. “Seoho.”

“We have news,” Ravn announced directly.

“Can it wait?” Seoho inquired. “We kinda have a surprise that’s waiting outside.”

“Oh? You got us a puppy?” you asked, guessing wrongly.

“Nah, it’s not a puppy,” Seoho chuckled. “Much better, actually.”

“Come on, tell us already!” Ravn insisted.

“Okay, stay here, I’ll get the surprise rightaway. Robin, keep them occupied.”

Robin rolled their eyes.

“So bossy,” they complained affectionately after Seoho was out of earshot. “Anyways, how have you two been?”

“Splendid,” you squealed. “We can’t wait to tell you the big news, but apparently Seoho’s going to steal our thunder.”

“Yeah, so rude of him,” Ravn joked.

“Oh, trust me, it’ll be worth it,” Robin promised, already aware of who was standing outside.

“It better be,” you laughed.

As soon as you’d said that, Seoho returned, holding a young-looking guy you’d never seen before under his arm. The first thing you noticed was his pale skin that looked so out of place next to Seoho’s flushed cheeks. And your limited experience led you to the conclusion that this was probably a vampire.

“X-xion,” Ravn stammered in shock and quickly rushed to get up and hug his friend he hadn’t seen in way too long, completely forgetting about the secret you were supposed to hide under the table.

“It’s been a while,” Xion replied. “Sorry for showing up unannounced…but I wanted to see you.”

“Of course, it’s not a problem,” Ravn reassured him. “This is Y/N, my…fiancée,” he introduced you, dropping the other big surprise for the evening.

“HOLY SHIT,” Robin exclaimed, finally noticing the rings. “Congratulations!”

Seoho didn’t seem shocked at all, the magical bastard had probably read your thoughts a long time ago.

“T-thanks,” you murmured nervously. “And it’s really nice to meet you, Xion. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He shook your hand awkwardly and smiled.

“So, what brings you here?” Ravn asked his friend.

“Well, Seoho mentioned about…you know…how Y/N and you…and how you’re no longer…you know.”

“It’s okay, Xion,” Robin chuckled. “Seoho told me everything about the supernatural world, you don’t need to speak in riddles.”

The vampire scratched the back of his head bashfully.

“And like, I was wondering if it was possible for this miracle to happen to me, too. So I came to ask for advice.”

“You want to be human, too?” Ravn inquired. “Are you sure you’ve thought this through?”

You gave your fiancé and Xion an encouraging smile.

“There’s nothing I’d like more,” he confessed openly.

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, it’s not like I was planning for this to happen.”

“Anything can be helpful,” Xion pleaded. “Just tell me the whole story. How you met Y/N. How you fell in love. Don’t leave anything out.”

“It’s gonna be a long night,” you teased.

“Well, it all started at twilight…”

The end

#oneus #ravn #ravn x reader #ravn moodboard #twilight #oneus fanfic #kim youngjo #seoho #xion #ravn fluff #romance #vampire au #vampires #writing

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jackoshadows · 4 years ago

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I would like to address some posts I saw that talk about misogynistic double standards when it comes to Jon and Sansa regarding bullying - that Sansa gets criticized and taken to task for bullying Arya but Jon gets a pass for bullying fellow recruits at the Night’s Watch.

First of all, who is giving Jon a pass for bullying Grenn and the others? Are there like 5 page essays out there writing about POV traps and how Grenn was unfairly jealous of Jon and hence deserving of being bullied, how it’s just new recruits being new recruits and Jon did nothing wrong etc.?

Jon’s my favorite character, and I will outright state it - Jon bullied the other recruits at the NW because he was a privileged brat. He was wrong to do it. The text pretty much calls him a bully and unlike some stans, no one is twisting those words to argue otherwise.

And I have never seen anyone defend Jon’s actions there. In fact I have seen these same Sansa stans use Jon’s actions at the Wall to justify Catelyn’s emotional abuse of a child. That even though Jon is a bastard, he was better off than other NW recruits and hence should shut up and stop whining about Catelyn. That his treatment by Catelyn was okay because he had it better than most others in Westeros.

Jon’s actions at the wall are just not mentioned often because it’s accepted that he did wrong. The reason why Sansa’s bullying is often brought up is because Sansa stans write essays about how Sansa never bullied or mocked Arya, how it was just sibling being siblings, how it was because Arya was jealous and hated Sansa, how Arya’s wrong and biased POV is meant to trick readers into hating Sansa when Sansa never actually did anything wrong etc. So it’s book readers responding to this whitewashing of Sansa - because one can read the very real effects this bullying had on Arya’s self esteem and self worth.

In fact the only time Jon’s actions are brought up are when Sansa stans bring it up as whataboutism, to point fingers and accuse others of misogyny - even though no one is actually defending Jon Snow.

And you know what? Yeah, Jon was a bully. But he acknowledges that he did wrong, learned and grew from his mistakes. And I love that about Jon.

“No. They hate you because you act like you’re better than they are. They look at you and see a castle-bred bastard who thinks he’s a lordling.” The armorer leaned close. “You’re no lordling. Remember that. You’re a Snow, not a Stark. You’re a bastard and a bully.”

Donal Noye leaned forward, into Jon’s face. “Now think on this, boy. None of these others have ever had a master-at-arms until Ser Alliser. Their fathers were farmers and wagonmen and poachers, smiths and miners and oars on a trading galley. What they know of fighting they learned between decks, in the alleys of Oldtown and Lannisport, in wayside brothels and taverns on the kingsroad. They may have clacked a few sticks together before they came here, but I promise you, not one in twenty was ever rich enough to own a real sword.” His look was grim. “So how do you like the taste of your victories now, Lord Snow?”

“Don’t call me that!” Jon said sharply, but the force had gone out of his anger. Suddenly he felt ashamed and guilty. “I never... I didn’t think...” - Jon, AGoT

Jon noticed Grenn a few feet away. A thick woolen bandage was wrapped around one hand. He looked anxious and uncomfortable, not menacing at al . Jon went to him. Grenn edged backward and put up his hands. “Stay away from me now, you bastard.” Jon smiled at him. “I’m sorry about your wrist. Robb used the same move on me once, only with a wooden blade. It hurt like seven hells, but yours must be worse. Look, if you want, I can show you how to defend that.” - Jon, AGoT

Dareon gave him a look. “The stewards are fine for the likes of you and me, Sam, but not for Lord Snow.”

I never asked for this,” he said stubbornly.

“None of us are here for asking,” Sam reminded him.

And suddenly Jon Snow was ashamed.

Craven or not, Samwell Tarly had found the courage to accept his fate like a man. On the Wall, a man gets only what he earns, Benjen Stark had said the last night Jon had seen him alive. You’re no ranger, Jon, only a green boy with the smell of summer still on you. He’d heard it said that bastards grow up faster than other children; on the Wall, you grew up or you died. Jon let out a deep sigh. “You have the right of it. I was acting the boy... - Jon, AGoT

Jon Snow being hurt by words calling his mother a whore and later making Satin Flowers,a prostitute, his steward despite opposition.

“Words won’t make your mother a whore. She was what she was, and nothing Toad says can change that. You know, we have men on the Wall whose mothers were whores.” Not my mother, Jon thought stubbornly. He knew nothing of his mother; Eddard Stark would not talk of her. Yet he dreamed of her at times, so often that he could almost see her face. In his dreams, she was beautiful, and highborn, and her eyes were kind. - Jon, AGoT

Jon is constantly getting his worldviews and his privilege challenged at the wall. He is confronted by some ugly truths about himself and he then takes that advice and changes for the better. It’s the same when he goes among the Wildlings and recognizes that they too are human beings deserving of being on the other side of the wall. We get this gem from him:

“We look up at the same stars and see such different things.”- Jon, ASoS

That’s the difference between how Jon and Sansa are treated in book one. When Jon acts bratty and selfish, other characters call him out on his actions, he acknowledges this, apologizes and makes up for it.

With Sansa, on the other hand, we don’t really see anyone taking her to task over her behavior. Quite the opposite. Catelyn and the Septa only encourage it. Ned ‘both sides’ the issue, often talking to Arya about how she should get along with Sansa and behave like sisters. We never see him giving those same talks to Sansa.

Which is weird because most parents would talk to their elder kids to bring about peace in sibling disputes. But in this case, Ned keeps reasoning with his younger daughter instead of his elder one. Probably because everyone thinks that Sansa is the good girl and Arya is the problematic, unruly one.

And because she is never reprimanded over her behavior, Sansa continues to be a spoiled and selfish brat right till Ned is executed at the end of the first book.

Sansa does become more empathetic in the later books after she becomes sadistic Joffrey’s political prisoner and she tries to help where she can. But while GRRM said this about her:

Sansa was the least sympathetic of the Starks in the first book; she has become more sympathetic, partly because she comes to accept responsibility for her part in her father's death.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html?tag=westeros-21&ie=UTF8&docId=49161

I don’t think I have actually read Sansa showing true remorse or regret for tattling Ned’s plans to Cersei. Or even feeling bad about how she treated Arya. As late as ASoS she thinks of her dead sister as being unsatisfactory compared to beautiful, graceful Margaery Tyrell. In the Vale, she pretends to be a bastard and yet never once recalls the bastard brother she looked down on.

There is a lot of self pity in Sansa’s POV chapters and she reprimands herself for being naive and stupid. But she never acknowledges the way she treated Arya, the Trident incident and Mycah, betraying her family etc. She does reflect at one point on how she wrongly trusted the Lannisters and she would never do that again.

Other than that there is very little introspection in Sansa’s POV chapters. Jon feels guilt, Arya feels guilt, Dany feels guilt, even Catelyn feels a twinge of regret and guilt about her treatment of Jon after meeting Mya Stone. But this is something I find lacking in Sansa’s POV chapters.

But when readers point this out, we are labelled misogynistic haters who just hate Sansa and want her to suffer, and how Sansa has nothing to apologize for, she did nothing wrong, she’s flawless and blameless of everything.

I am hoping we get acknowledgement, regret and apologies from Sansa when the older, wiser sisters meet again and resolve their issues. There is nothing wrong in apologizing for bad behavior. Everyone does it. It does not make one a super villain. It would go a long way towards humanizing Sansa and making her more likeable, in my opinion.

So anyways this turned into an essay, but yes, Jon Snow was a bully in AGoT when he went to the wall and beat up some new recruits. There is no defense of that behavior and I am glad that Donal Noye gave him a good talking to and set him straight about his privilege.

#Jon Snow #Sansa Stark #AGoT #Night's Watch #asoiaf #GRRM

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ayuuria · 4 years ago

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Inuyasha & Yashahime Translation: Shounen Sunday Super December Edition

Takahashi Rumiko-Sensei’s Question Corner Rumic Question

From the many questions we received from readers via the web, we chose 20 questions for Takahashi Rumiko-sensei to answer!!

Q: The names of the characters in “Inuyasha” are not only original but fit them so well that you can’t think of any other name; peerlessly cool good taste! How did you come up with their names?

Once you name a character, you cannot change it so that’s what I worry about the most. Even if I give them a temporary name for when they make their debut, if it doesn’t stick I will think all the way up to the last minute. While all I can say is “That was the name that fit that character” … a name that is easy to call, draw, and remember. A name that fits the story. For example, in flower language, Kikyou means “Unchanging love” or how Kagome is like a children’s song and cute. I feel like Sesshomaru originally had a different name, but I forgot. On the other hand, I remember the outfit design solidified when I decided on the name.

Q: There are a lot of demons that appear in “Inuyasha” but who was the hardest and easiest to draw?

Magatsuhi was the hardest to draw. He didn’t have a solid form afterall. Also I drew them as I pleased so I don’t remember really struggling.

Q: Is Buyo a male or a female?

When serialization first started, I thought they were a male at first but as I continued to draw, I started to think “This cat might be an old lady”. They might be a female. Well Buyo is Buyo so I think it’s fine if everyone decides for themselves whether Buyo is a male or a female.

Q: I want to know how Sesshomaru and Jaken first met. Was Jaken an old man from the time they first met?

I remember their meeting being drawn in an original episode in the “Inuyasha” anime. I can’t remember which episode number though. According to that, Jaken was a demon leader who lost to Sesshomaru in battle and thus decided to follow him, I think that was the scenario. And I think he was an old man as well.

Q: If Kikyo had lived on, would she and Kagome have been good friends

As long as Inuyasha is around, I think it would be really hard for them to be friends like nothing happened… I imagine they would have this strange tension between them as they accepted the other while feeling uneasy. I don’t think Inuyasha could mentally handle that either.

Q: I like small creatures that appear in the Rumic World like Kilala and Shippou so could you tell us what you focus on when drawing these small creatures?

I make sure that they’re fundamentally cute in appearance. Also because of how small they are, they ride on a main character’s shoulder. Anyhow, I make sure they can share the spotlight.

Q: I think Tessaiga is a good sword that is considerate of the main character such as when it gives Inuyasha a warning so as not to hurt him but Inuyasha treats it so recklessly in comparison. (Though he acts like that fully trusting Tessaiga) If Tessaiga could talk, what do you think it would say to Inuyasha? I have loved “Inuyasha” since I was in elementary school and I’ve viewed the manga and anime but looking back, I feel Tessaiga was gallant in responding to Inuyasha’s recklessness… I was curious about this so I decided to ask.

Tessaiga is a sword forged from his (Inuyasha) father’s fang so while being Inuyasha’s “friend”, I would guess that it might be an existence of higher status. If it could talk, it would probably say “Hurry up and catch up to me”

Q: Thank for the Anime Support Project. “What a time to be alive to be able to send a question to Takahashi Rumiko-sensei” Is what I think (laughs). I’ve loved “Inuyasha” since I was a child and it’s my life’s “bible”. I admired Kagome and lived thinking that I want to be a kind, strong woman like her. Now here is my question: There was a scene where Sesshomaru said “I don’t eat human food” but for a demon that doesn’t attack humans, what does he eat to sustain his life? I mean Inuyasha and Shippou ate with Kagome and the others so do demons and humans eat the same thing? Was Sesshomaru by chance bluffing with that line? Lastly, I look forward to the serialization of “Hanyou no Yashahime” and “MAO”! Thank you for all the wonderful works.

Thank you for your support. Sesshomaru’s meals, I can’t imagine it after all. There’s a possibility he absorbs mists of “essence” or “energy” of the demons he’s defeated. Also fruits are another possibility.

Q: Within “Inuyasha”, is there a story that was most fun for you to draw? Also I would love for sensei to tell us your best (favorite) episode!

I have a lot of favorite episodes so it’s hard to decide. Black haired Inuyasha on the Night of the New Moon was refreshing and fun, and the stories of Inuyasha going to the Modern Era and loosening up as he took a break from fighting had me in many laughing fits. Also drawing the story for the Band of Seven made me excited. And, while fun may not be the right word, I put a lot of effort into Kagura’s death and Kikyou’s last moments with the idea that I wanted to give them a proper send off. The process of Kagome and Inuyasha and Miroku and Sango’s relationship gradually changing was also fun. Ultimately if I had to pick one, it’s probably the final episode. I finished drawing it feeling “I finally made it” and it was satisfying.

Q: I love the Band of Seven in “Inuyasha”! Did Bankotsu, who is the strongest member of the Band of Seven, scout the others? Bankotsu and Jakotsu seem close so are they the first members? I’ve always wondered this. I look forward to appealing enemies appearing in Yashahime.

I think all the other members of the Band of Seven most likely had enough strength to make it on their own. For all those people to come together would require a very strong leader at its core which is basically what Bankotsu was. Also, being together made jobs easier or they felt there may have been a merit. I feel like Bankotsu and Jakotsu being the founding members does indeed fit really nicely.

Q: I really like Monk Miroku and Sango in “Inuyasha” and I continue to support them even now. My question is in the end, how many children did these two, who said “Would you be willing to bear 10, 20 children?” when they purposed, have? If you have back stories and such for the children, I would love to hear them.

I only remember the twins and the newborn baby boy that appeared in the last chapter of “Inuyasha” making an appearance in Yashahime. In my mind, I didn’t think of anything beyond that but they are still a young married couple so I think there’s unlimited possibilities. I am happy that you like these two even now. Thank you very much.

Q: I have a question regarding the different use for “Scent” and “Odor”. The expressions for when Sesshomaru smelled something, for Rin it was constantly “scent” and for everything else it was “odor”. When they first met too, the expression was “A human’s scent”. Just as Inuyasha called Kagome’s smell a “scent”, is it because it is a “smell” that they like?

I had an image of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru differentiating between friend or foe with “smell”. Of course “scent” is friend while “odor” is enemy. In addition, keeping in mind of the image that comes to readers minds when they see these words, I fundamentally had “scent” used for female characters. I wanted readers to get a sense of purity and cuteness from it.

Q: If there’s an episode or scene in “Inuyasha” that ended up turning out differently than what was originally thought up prior to serialization, could you please tell us?

First, I only started the story with the idea of half-demon Inuyasha, getting back stabbed by Kikyou and getting sealed away, and having a sword that was his father’s memento. Everything else, I created while thinking on the week of. Thus, Naraku came after, as well as I thought of Shippou, Miroku, and Sango when they debuted. I had thought of Sesshomaru possibly dying after protecting a human but it seemed like such a waste and I became unable to kill him. The direction of the story was decided when the antagonist, Naraku, was born. I’m an adlib (improv) type person so I won’t be surprised by what I draw if I decide things too far ahead. It’s fun to imagine every week “What will they do, what will happen”.

Q: “Inuyasha” is my bible on life! When talk of Yashahime happened, what was your first thought?

In my mind “Inuyasha” was complete so when they spoke to me about this, I thought “You’re going to do this?”. However Sumizawa-san, who handled the scenario for the “Inuyasha” anime, is a person who, in addition to being adept and talented, does not make mistakes so I felt that I could leave it to him.

Q: In the final chapter of the original work, Sesshomaru was gifting Rin a kimono but how did he go about obtaining it? I’m really curious as to if Sesshomaru delivered something Jaken prepared or if he went and bought it himself?

I thought about this over and over after I received this question. I think after all, he would order Jaken to go buy it and to continue buying until he bought a kimono that fit his image. On top of that, he probably doesn’t tell him (Jaken) a precise image to begin with.

Q: In “Hanyou no Yashahime” we saw Grandma Kaede. Seeing her surprised me… she hasn’t changed from the time of “Inuyasha”! Is Grandma Kaede by chance a demon?

She’s a human. However she still has the role of advising the young folks and having them listen to stories from the past so maybe she doesn’t age because it’s something worth doing.

Q: In “Hanyou no Yashahime”, Inuyasha and Kagome’s child, Moroha, appears. Inuyasha is a half demon, Kagome is a human, and Moroha is cross between a human and a half-demon. Do the three of them age differently in the Feudal Era?

In the span of the story, they seem to age the same. I’m sure the results will gradually begin to show after a few decades.

Q: In “Hanyou no Yashahime” Moroha wears a red ribbon; is this ribbon something with Inuyasha’s ears in mind? Also why is it that Inuyasha, who is a half-demon, has dog ears but Towa and Setsuna, who are also half-demons, do not? I can under Moroha since she’s a quarter (demon)… is there a basis for the dog ears? Please tell us!

Just as you guessed, Moroha’s ribbon was a projection of Inuyasha’s image. In regards to the dogs ears for Towa and Setsuna, Sesshomaru takes a human form and reversely, Inuyasha was something like half beast. The half demons that appear in Inuyasha have all sorts of appearances so understand that it depends on the individual.

Q: Ever since I watched the anime, “Inuyasha”, when I was 5 years old, it has been my absolute favorite work. When I was young, whenever I looked at the sacred tree at the shrine, I always imagined “Was Inuyasha sealed to this tree?...” It’s been 12 years since the original work was concluded. 10 years since the anime “Final Act”. I’m so excited for “Hanyou no Yashahime” beginning this fall! What was the most important thing when you designed the half-demon princess, Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha?

Scenario writer Sumizawa-san asked of me the following images: Towa as a “White Sesshomaru” and Setsuna as a “Black Sesshomaru”. While they’re twins, they grew up in two completely different eras so I designed them as two separate individuals. In addition, while Towa wears a boy’s uniform, I thought it would be good if she had a feminine streak to her. Moroha strongly resembles Inuyasha and Kagome. She’s a cheerful character so I didn’t have any second thoughts when I drew her into what she is now.

Q: Is there anything in “Hanyou no Yashahime” that you would like readers to pay attention to?

Sunrise’s beautiful pictures and animations as well as the story is also entertaining. The previous generation will periodically make an appearance and I think Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha are each charming. I think it’s a work that both first time people and people who watched “Inuyasha” can enjoy. Also Wada Kaoru-san continues from “Inuyasha” as being in charge of music. I’m excited for this as well.

We received a comment, autograph, and illustration for all the readers from Takahashi Rumiko-sensei!

#Hanyou no Yashahime #Yashahime #yashahime: princess half-demon #translation #Inuyasha

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wienerbarnes · 4 years ago

Text

Old Friend

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Cheek to Cheek)

Word Count: 2,333

Warnings: nothing this time! warm feelings

A/N: ok so I have an idea but it'd kind of be a bigger plot point for this universe so I'm gonna try and do some head cannons to fill in some gaps before writing the next big part! feel free to send in any ideas! ill write em if they strike the inspo :)

MAIN MASTERLIST | CHEEK TO CHEEK MASTERLIST

“Bucky! You’re finally back!”

Your body jumped into his arms with excitement, happiness and joy radiating off of your body immediately causing a toothy smile to grow on his face. He caught you in his arms, wrapping both around your waist and lifting up off the ground, your arms curling around his neck.

“Sorry, I was longer than expected.” Bucky says, slowly letting you down back on your feet.

What was supposed to be a week long investigation in London turn into seven weeks as a string of human trafficking crimes were tied to more and more people, forcing him and Sam to extend their stay.

Bucky enters your apartment and makes his way to one of your cabinets, taking out two placemats, a set of plates, and silverware as he watches you make your way back to the stove. Regardless of the fact that he’s been away for a while, the two of you seem to fall back into rhythm as though nothing’s changed.

“I found this easy tomato soup recipe so I made it with some grilled cheese sandwiches,” You explain, slowly stirring the red liquid in the pot. You don’t turn around but Bucky can hear the proud smile in your voice. “I even remembered to wash my hands this time,”

“I missed you.” He says suddenly, seemingly not being able to hold himself back. You pause your stirring and look over your shoulder back at him, “I missed you, too, Bucky.” A wide smile spreading across your face.

Something changed in him the last seven weeks.

He couldn’t stop thinking about you. At first it was worry; constantly wondering if you were safe, if you had gotten yourself into any complicated situations without him around to help you. Everytime Sam’s phone would ring, a part of him was terrified that it was a phone call to inform him that you had been found and were being transported back to prison. You don’t have a phone or any other means of communication, so it was hard for him to constantly be worrying without any way of checking in on you.

Soon, the worry was replaced with longing. He began to miss your different colored hair, always changing it up for appearance, but also you making him guess what color you were going next before not telling him anyway. He missed the way you were always coloring your nails, changing out your earrings everyday with something new and colorful, the way you would tell him awful jokes he’d heard a thousand times before, jokes that would make blush and cringe, the way you’d tell him stories from your past; the fact that you trust him enough to do so in the first place.

Everything he saw in London reminded him of you in some way. Everything he saw, he wished you were there with him to share it with. He couldn’t wait to tell you about the people, the buildings, the food; he could only imagine the way you’d fake an accent to see how long you could get away with it around locals or the way you’d tease about how “they’re driving on the wrong side of the road.”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you, I did a thing!” You snap him out of his thoughts with the placement of the soup bowl and two sandwiches on the table in front of him. He sits down and his eyes widen as you pull down your pants.

He doesn’t have time to be distracted with your lime green cheeky underwear because he’s distracted by the large outline of a tattoo running down your leg.

There’s no shading or color, only black lines that outline countless flowers and leaves, lines filling in the spaces in between. The tattoo spans from the top of your thigh, disappearing in between your inner thighs and trailing down to your ankle. You twist your leg in a bit to show how it wraps around, and you're completely unaware of the look on Bucky’s face. He never knew he had a thing for tattoos until now.

He closes his eyes while you're not looking, trying to calm the heat he can feel against his neck and ears.

“How did- How did you even do that?” He asks, glancing up at the smile on your face as you stare down at your own leg.

“Okay, so- I found this cool tattoo shop, right? And I go in and they tell me that I need an ID and money, both of which I obviously don’t have, so I left. And then,” You pause to shove your tomato-soaked cheese sandwich into your mouth, red liquid dripping from the corners of your mouth, barely making it onto the plate and dirtying the cloth underneath.

“Then, this guy comes out of nowhere from the shop and he says that he’d be happy to tattoo me for free so he can build his portfolio! So, that’s what I did!” You finish explaining.

“Was he like… sterile?”

“Duh, Bucky. What kind of person do you take me for?” You reassure him.

He pushes both thoughts of another guy rubbing on your thighs and the amount of risk that came with pulling that stunt as you both catch up on each other’s lives. He tells you about London, you tell him about the tattoo experience, he tells you about London life, you tell him about your trips to the fresh market and how you’ve been getting better and better at cooking.

He’s washing the dishes while you towel dry them and put them away in your small cupboard when he brings up an idea to you.

“So, I want you to meet a friend of mine.” He suggests to you.

“Bucky, you know I can’t meet any of your friends.” You respond, deflated, after a moment of silence.

“I know what you're thinking, but I promise this guy is as safe as safe can be. I was thinking of taking a drive to visit him tomorrow, and I think you guys would get along well.” He continues soaping up the china in the sink, but doesn’t look at you; he can guess the nervous look on your face as he senses your tension and hears the increased beat of your heart.

“... Are you trying to set me up with this guy?” You ask, offense present in your voice.

A chuckle escapes him, “I think this guy is… a little out of your age range. Look,” He turns off the water as you dry off the last plate. “Do you trust me?”

“With everything.” You say without an ounce of hesitation.

“Then come with me tomorrow.”

After a moment of thought and consideration, you agree.

…

“I didn’t know you had a car!”

“Got it just for you, doll.”

“Is your license even in date? Have you had your vision checked recently, old man?”

He closes the door behind him and makes his way to the passenger side to open the car door for you, “We’ve got a bit of a drive, I figured this was more comfortable than the bike.”

You’ve dressed up today, a pair of shorts that show off your tattoo, with a large long-sleeved t-shirt adorning your frame, a mis-matched jacket and sweatshirt hanging off of your shoulders. He likes that you’ve got a thing for layers, and he’ll never get over the comfort you take in having fun with your appearance.

A two and a half hour drive leads you both to a reserved house, trees and bushes decorating the front of the property and a basic Welcome Home sign hanging from the door.

“Bucky… who do you know that lives all the way out here?” You ask as he parks. As much as she trusts him, she had nightmares about who she would be meeting today. Her biggest fear was Sam or Sharon. As full of love Bucky is, she wasn’t sure his friends would feel the same; they have a large responsibility and clearly value their job and their morals, which would make it hard for them to see her in the same light Bucky sees her in.

“You’ll see, babe. Just relax, c��mon.” Bucky says, turning off the car and opening the door. You can’t help the warmth flooding your face at the pet name and you hope Bucky doesn’t notice enough to tease you about it as he opens your door for you.

Bucky flips through his keys as you both approach the porch and he finally sticks a silver one into the lock, turning it to the left.

“Must know them pretty well to have a spare key.”

“You have no idea,” Bucky mumbles.

“Steve?” Bucky calls out into the house.

“Back here, Buck!” A raspier voice echoes back.

A elderly man steps out from a side hallway. A friendly smile sits on his face, and you return it, not being able to help it at the sight of a nice-looking old man in a sweater and soft looking slacks.

“I’m Steve. It's a pleasure to meet you.” He holds out a hand, and you shake it, replying with your name as well.

“Sweetheart, this is Steve Rogers.” Bucky informs you.

You freeze, smile dropping from your face and hand pausing in Steves.

“Steve… Rogers? The Steve Rogers? Like- Captain America? But… You-You died!” You exclaim.

“I did, didn’t I,” Steve laughs out, releasing your hand. “Have you eaten?” He asks.

“What the fuck?” You ask, seemingly more confused by that question than the fact that Steve Rogers is, 1: Old, and 2: Alive and well living in a beautiful home in the outskirts of New York.

Another laugh sounds from the older man, “Why don’t you have a seat, I’ll make you guys something, I’m sure you’re hungry after the drive.” He trails off, making his way to the kitchen.

“Wow, nice to see you're a chef now. You’ve come a long way from having no taste buds a century ago.” Bucky jokes, a light smile on his face as he makes his way after Steve towards the kitchen island.

This isn’t fucking real right now. Who else is the government hiding? Cobain? Kennedy? How the fuck am I in Captain America’s super nicely furnished-old-timey style-house that’s hidden away in paradise? It’s so different for you to see Bucky so relaxed. He looks incredibly carefree, joking around, teasing with his best friend. It makes you feel warm inside to see him this way, because as much as the two of you get along, it is rare to see him so happy and bubbly.

You glance around the walls, the place definitely embodying the aesthetic of Steve Rogers, with wooden accents to furniture and decor and copious amounts of pictures everywhere. Him and his wife, pictures of young adults and children, his kids and grand-kids and great-grand-kids you assume, some of Bucky, both old and new, some of Sam and Sharon.

As the three of you talk, Bucky realizes that he didn’t remember the fact that you were dusted in the snap as he was. You were in the prison when it happened, and it was where you returned when everyone was brought back, but it was large news that Steve Rogers sacrificed his life for the world, along with Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, and other heroes. He watches you and Steve interact easily, as though you’ve known each other forever, as he tells you about his time returning the stones, the way he lived when he returned to the forties for good, what it was like seeing life evolve as he already knew it in his mind.

You asked question after question, like a child meeting their favorite celebrity or going on a field trip to their favorite place. You were animated with your questions, exaggerating your thoughts with your hands, all while cursing like a sailor with your vulgar language, all of which Steve loved.

He knew the talking-to he was going to receive from Steve later, he saw it in the look he gave him when he entered the kitchen behind him. He has never brought anyone to see Steve, besides Sam, of course, let alone a girl. This most definitely looks like you and him are in some sort of relationship; this is pretty much the equivalent of meeting the family. Or at least, as much family as he can get away with for now.

He’s not going to know what to respond when Steve asks him about you. In regards to anything; whether or not you two are dating, whether or not he’s going to tell Sam or Sharon, what his feelings are for you. Does he have feelings for you?

The rest of the afternoon is spent sharing stories, looking at pictures, and more and he can see how happy you’ve acted since being here. It’s definitely been a change in your routine for the past two years as you’ve really grown into yourself again.

Bucky’s brain doesn’t shut up the entire drive back to your apartment. He thinks about long drives with you every weekend, he thinks about you meeting the other people that are important to him, he thinks about finding a way to get you a new identity, but cringes at the thought of having to call you another name other than your own. He constantly glances at your sleeping body in the passenger seat next to him, facial features soft as you dream, mouth open just a bit where he can hear the softest snores. You’re using his jacket as a pillow as your sock-covered feet are curled beneath you in the seat.

He sits in his car for a few minutes after dropping you off at the door of your apartment, refusing your invitation inside with a made-up excuse about checking on Alpine and needing to change her box and food, even though he’d bet anything that that cat is fast asleep on his pillow.

He takes a deep breath before taking out his phone and selecting a contact from his favorites. It rings twice before he hears a voice on the other end.

“Hey, Sam? You free? I wanna… I wanna talk to you about something.”

#Bucky barnes #Bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #Bucky barnes oneshot #marvel #Bucky x reader #bucky x criminal!reader #marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes series

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