#but if u theorized enough. u knew it was a possibility. just as much as trickster/daughter of dead (which the ep even uses to add shock btw

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

just bc u didn't like the answer to the question doesn't mean the question didn't get answered

[chibishortdeath]

i absolutely love your tags on my post about the mysterious woman, it's nice seeing someone who's as passionate about her as me ❤️

Hehehe, thank u, I’m pacing around all happy about it rn (>.< ). I love Simon’s Quest and how genuinely odd everything that happens in it is.

And the Mysterious Woman doesn’t get talked about very much and y’all are missing out!!! She’s so so so fun to speculate about!

I ran into I think it might have been an old conversation on like Gamefaqs or some other comment section somewhere and there were a surprisingly large amount of people in the conversation who said that when the game came out they assumed that she was meant to be Selena, and that’s just aaaaaa so so interesting to me. And it wasn’t just American fans either, there was someone from Japan who assumed the same. It’s so awesome getting to see the perspectives of people who were there when the game was new and this theory has me going nuts sometimes lol. On one hand it makes sense for the ghost woman in the Belmont family graveyard to be someone from the family, but on the other hand is she really “mysterious” anymore if it’s someone Simon would know?

And why did the Mysterious Woman not mention the Tooth of Vlad and only the other five pieces that she knew would partially summon Dracula instead of the intended burning, burying, and breaking of the curse? Especially if she’s meant to be Selena/Simon’s wife or if you interpret her as Sara? Simon’s Quest really went for the twist of having the call to action character and the one to get Simon out of whatever rut he was in for 6 years in the first place be the first person to lie to him. Which is just so!!!! Aaaa!!!!!!!!!!! This also raises the question: is the Mysterious Woman actually a force of good? Or did she just know that Simon was desperate enough to believe what she was saying to him? I’ve seen some people theorize that she was some kind of Dracula cultist or even a possible form of Death because of this.

Or was she completely right that summoning and killing Dracula is the only way to break the curse? After all a lot of other games in the series that revolve around curses end in Dracula being brought back and defeated. But this is also a strange option as usually when Dracula is resurrected it’s by cultists or Death or whoever else and it’s not a good thing and is just for the purpose of having the evil dark lord do evil things. So that would make this game one of the few scenarios in which Dracula’s resurrection is justified which is so weird I just— thinking about Simon’s Quest to hard is gonna kill me one day lol X,,,,,D.

She also says that one line of “within your own heart, you might be able to defeat the evil if you wager your own life” and thinking about that along with the ominous vagueness of the endings all having different eulogies so similar that you could genuinely make an argument for any of them being the canon ending and the fact that almost all of Simon’s symbolism is related to self sacrifice and martyrdom is uh… interesting. Also a lot of people forget that the area around Castlevania is also cursed, not just Simon. The swamps are messed up, the towns get less saturated in color more empty the closer you get to the castle, and there’s monsters everywhere, this wasn’t entirely a selfish endeavor to save himself.

Anyway, the Japanese manual also talks about the Mysterious Woman in specific ways, appearing and disappearing with the mist. And maybe this is a way to keep her as mysterious as possible, but it’s an interesting choice of words. They could’ve said she walked away into the mist, but they specifically said “disappear”, which is an awfully ghostly thing to do. And it’s also weird cause we kinda do see another character suddenly appear out of thin air in a graveyard in who I like to call the Garlic Guy. The Garlic Guy is also massively under appreciated like what the heck is up with that whole interaction 💀💀💀. Go to the graveyard, only at night, and some hooded figure will suddenly begin to exist in front of you if you lay garlic on the ground and then give you a bag. And then like most things it’s completely unexplained and you just have to keep moving on. I’m thoroughly convinced Simon is just as confused as we are lol. And in a way she is also treated the same way as any other NPC: she does something unexplainable and is never mentioned or important again. The way the game is written I swear it’s designed to make you feel anxious and rushed, ya know like a guy who is actively dying would feel.

And the fact that none of this is ever explained is just so ominous. It adds to the tension of the game and themes of not being able to trust anyone. Nobody trusts Simon, Simon can’t determine who’s trustworthy, there’s NPCs that you don’t even get to know who or what they are, sometimes even the hint books aren’t particularly helpful, things happen and you just have to keep going as to not waste any time.

Hopefully any of this makes sense lol I ain’t reading all that again to check cause I gotta go have lunch cause I forgor about it whoops. Anyway I am very normal about Simon’s Quest and every character in it, please everyone play this game it’s good I promise— (;w; )

Edit: oh my god I did not realize how long this ended up oopsie—

[ootahime]

what is utahime’s role in the future? — a prediction (manga spoilers)

part 1 (unedited)

I WAS ABOUT TO POST IT BUT I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED IT AND I WAS SO HURT FR!!!!! I HAD REWRITE THIS ENTIRE THING </33

part 2 is here!

in this post, i will be analyzing the information we’ve been given about utahime so far to form a prediction about her future role in the jujutsu kaisen series. if you’re as interested in utahime’s character as i am, please feel free to keep reading :3 (i’ll also be talking about her relationship with gojo a bit too)

soukatsu_ on twt!

kaikaikitan on twt!

utahime iori is a semi-grade 1 sorcerer working as a student supervisor/teacher at kyoto jujutsu high school. she loves drinking beer and going to karaoke. she’s also close friends with shoko and she’s not particularly fond of gojo most of the time. what else do we know about her?

hates sweets (funny she’s the complete opposite of gojo)

she’s great at singing and it’s a huge part of her technique

squabbling with gojo became a reflex :3

everyone absolutely adores utahime

loves watching soccer and baseball

a terrible drunk (worse than naobito zenin)

gojo is her main source of stress

let’s dive into her personality and abilities!

chapter 65

before i get into it, i think it’d be best if i were to explain the timeline because a lot of people seem to be confused about this one particular thing. utahime is born on february 18th, 1987. contrary to popular belief, she is not 3 years older than gojo. it is november 2018 in the story because gojo was sealed on halloween. if gojo was born on december 7th, 1989, that would mean that right now, he is only 28 years old. he has yet to turn 29.

the year is 2007. gojo satoru is a second year at tokyo jujutsu high school. the japanese school year begins in april which suggests that gojo is only 17 at the time (even if it’s not april, it doesn’t look like winter yet so it’s unlikely that he’s already 18). utahime is 20 because it is past february. she is a 2nd grade sorcerer at the age of 20. that’s not bad at all!

chapter 65 introduces young utahime and mei on a mission together within a cursed site. in real time, they’ve been gone for two days which is a cause of concern for gojo, shoko, and geto because the two haven’t contacted anyone since the beginning of their mission.  the two begin to suspect something is wrong because the hallway markers they’ve set in place disappeared, and no matter how far they travel within the halls, the end is nowhere in sight.  mei theorizes that the cursed spirit is overlapping the space as they travel forward.  utahime agrees with this speculation and proposes a plan to escape the cursed spirit’s grasp by moving erratically.  notice how she says that if one of them should escape, they can try to attack from the outside or call for help.  if utahime was not capable of inflicting damage on anything then she would have told mei to escape and attack if she can while she waited to be rescued.  however, she didn’t.  she included herself in the sentence which leads me to believe that she is capable of going on the offense if needed.  

keep in mind that at this point in time, mei is a grade 1 sorcerer.  she is knowledgeable about all things involving jujutsu because she is experienced and skillful.  we can see this aspect of her character illustrated when she theorizes that the cursed spirit is messing with the space they’re in.  she chooses to go with utahime’s plan because she agrees that it’s the best action moving forward.  this verifies that utahime is an intelligent girl that’s able to get along with pretty much anyone.  

her intellect is demonstrated once again in chapter 79.  she was able to deduce the possibility of there being more than one traitor and the fact that one is probably a higher up.  she also narrowed down the mechamaru as the mole of kyoto not because he was acting suspicious but by process of elimination.  she thought thoroughly of his technique and how easy it would be for him to manipulate devices small enough to be undetectable.  

sure you can argue that she should already know all her students’ abilities and whatnot but you have to admit that it’s hard trying to sniff out the traitor when no one is acting suspicious.  in addition to that, how did she know that there was a traitor in the top brass?  i would have never guessed that tbh LOL (maybe bc im an idiot).

okay, now that we have established that she’s intelligent, let’s answer a more important question.  is utahime weak?

chapter 33

if gojo calls utahime weak, does that mean there is some truth to it?  well it is true that she is weaker than him because he’s the strongest and all.  in my opinion, he’s just teasing her.  he probably found that calling her weak is what really riles her up.  maybe i’ll talk about why he loves teasing her so much in a later post.  but anyway, gojo calls everybody and their mom weak.  he even said jogo was weak and we know how powerful that guy is.  gojo’s words alone do not indicate much about utahime’s power.  in fact, i don’t even think he has seen her use her technique yet.  he’s probably only ever heard of how it works.  this is what i think their conversation about her technique was like:

gojo: hm?  ur cursed technique is singing?  can u show me?

utahime: what!  no way!  

gojo: why not?

*one of the classmates tells him that she can only use her CT once in a while because it consumes a lot of energy*

gojo: hahaha!  u have to conserve cursed energy to use ur CT?  why are u so weak, utahime?

utahime: i!  am!  your!  senpai!  respect!  me!

what i’m trying to say is that gojo loves poking fun of people.  we should not believe him when he calls someone weak because compared to him, everyone is weak.  

this is a little off topic but let’s examine him telling her, “and you don’t have the nerves, utahime.”  i think he’s trying to say that there’s no way she’ll ever do something like that because she’s not the type to put her students in danger.  remember the soft expression and relieved smile on her lips when she said that she was glad the students were safe after the kyoto incident?  gojo was directly in front of her so not only did he hear her say that, but he could have seen the look on her face too.  even if he told her that she didn’t have the guts to betray the school to get on her nerves, he knew that utahime simply cared too much about the students so he ruled her out as a suspect right away.  this is why he ultimately decided to confide in her and ask her to help him.  

i’m a person who loves over-analyzing things.  i really enjoy the dynamic between gojo and utahime.  they’ve known each other for more than 11 years and although they always bicker, there is an unspoken feeling of trust between the two.  gojo can do anything and everything by himself because he is truly the strongest person alive, but he still knows when to rely on others.  him deciding to entrust utahime with such a job implies that he believes in utahime’s abilities.

chapter 52

she’s not using any cursed energy here--not to our knowledge at least.  this is just pure skill.  she was able to swiftly evade the swing from haruta.  he was surprised himself considering the fact that he was right behind her.  how do we know her CT isn’t speed?  after haruta swung at her, we can see that some of her hair got cut off.  if she was using her CT then speed should be her specialty.  she should have been able to completely avoid the attack altogether but she didn’t.  of course this isn’t a wow moment because jujutsu sorcerers should know how to dodge attacks, however, i’m just trying to get the point across that she’s not a defenseless person without her technique or others.  let’s not forget that semi-grade 1 isn’t a weak rank either.  you can’t simply be recommended to be a grade 1 sorcerer if you only can support others.  

chapter 48

i want to bring up this panel. it suggests that utahime and takuma are sorcerers who have not experienced black flash and therefore, do not understand the essence of cursed energy as well as those who have like gojo and nanami.  i find it strange how takuma and utahime were used to represent sorcerers who haven’t experienced it yet.  is the purpose to demonstrate that there is a clear difference in skill between adult sorcerers like utahime and takuma compared to gojo and nanami?  i could be nitpicking but the order of todo’s statement doesn’t line up with the sorcerers being shown.  let me explain in depth.  todo starts off by saying, “for those who have experienced black flash as compared to those who have not...” wouldn’t it make more sense to show gojo and nanami on the right side to represent sorcerers who have experienced black flash?  that was mentioned first, after all.  gojo and nanami should appear when todo says “for those who have experience black flash” while utahime and takuma should be shown right after to personify the second part, “as compared to those who have not.”  i’m just making it more complicated than it actually is LOLOL i’m sure it really just means they haven’t experienced black flash yet, which is completely fine.  i also find it fascinating how they used utahime to contrast gojo.  with nanami and takuma it makes sense.  nanami is someone takuma looks up to, he wants to gain nanami’s approval before he deems himself worthy of a promotion. what about utahime and gojo?  what’s the purpose of comparing those two together when it’s obvious that gojo knows more about the essence of cursed energy more than anyone else?  i might be delusional whoops

----

let me know what you guys think?  this is only a part 1 so i haven’t gotten around to answering the question.  i’m pretty much done with the second part, i just need to revise it a little.  i think after i post part 2, i’ll try to interpret all the gojo and utahime moments in the manga >.<

[hinaaspanda]

...and they were (more than) roommates! | njm

Pairing: Campus Pretty Boy + Roommate! Jaemin x Dancer! Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Word Count: 9576

Your easily distracted mind had made it maddeningly clear; no song, no matter what the tempo or melody, could take your mind off of your one and only roommate, Na Jaemin. 

a/n; hi! for this fic i tried adding my own oc (Hina) just to spice things up!! lol totally not to insert myself as jenos love interest or anything ahaha anyways please enjoy!

Huang Renjun never thought that breaking off one college relationship would be so detrimental to your heart. 

It really was such a small relationship, just one month of innocent pecks on the cheeks in between classes, weekend dinner dates, and trips around the city on your breaks. It was such a minute thing, yet your heart couldn’t get enough. You grew invested, never wanting to let go. Becoming dependent on mere goodbye kisses. And after one month of being together, you were stuck watching him drift away, fingers intertwined with that of someone new. Now, of course, one question remained; if it was such a short relationship, why in the world did it hurt your heart so much? 

You sat under the brisk afternoon sunlight, gnawing at the cafeteria food as your campus friends began bickering over god knows what. You tune out the ruckus before you, your mind wandering like a lost child between the aisles of a supermarket. An image of him swims into your mind as you curse under your breath. It didn’t matter how healthy your break up was, or how put together your persona must’ve seemed. The only thing you wanted was to be in Renjun’s arms once again. 

Suddenly, you felt the stares of a concerned Hina and Shotaro burning through you. Your shoulders shivering at the sudden thrust into the spotlight. Was your thinking face that miserable-looking? You sent a half-assed chuckle in the hopes of diverting their attention.

“Is something wrong-”

“You were thinking about him again, weren’t you?” Your childhood friend, Hina, began rather harshly, throwing off your more laid-back classmate, Shotaro. “About Renjun?” 

The soda that slid down your throat almost shot out of your lips, straight into the air as Hina stared you down, interrogating you. How obvious were you? You pondered for a little bit, your eyes now meeting Hina’s and Shotaro’s concerned ones. You couldn’t defy the truth to your overly caring friends, even if you tried. “...Yeah. I was.” 

The somber air around you thickened with each passing minute as you finished off your lunch for the day. You wince, fearing your friends would, out of disappointment in your inability to shut up about your failed love life, cut ties with you right then and there. You wouldn’t blame them, though. Even you were starting to get tired of your weak, measly heart. Shotaro breaks the silence, a sweet grin plastered on his face. 

“Don’t worry about it, y/n! You just need to find something to get your mind off of him!” Shotaro chirps, his upbeat demeanor infecting Hina beside him. Hina continues, a grin now lining her lips.

“How about another date? With someone new!” 

You almost scoff out loud. “Another date?”

The bold figure of Hina crossed her arms in disbelief. “There are other guys out there, y/n. What about your roommate? Isn’t he single?.”

“My roommate? No! We’re just friends, nothing else!” You quickly retort, waving your hands in a very strong denial. Hina’s head tilted in persuasion.

“You’ll never know until you try, y/n.” Your head hung low as you let out the fifth sigh that day. You loved Hina, you truly did, but with these outlandish ideas protruding from her head, you were convinced she was going crazy. 

...

“What? You gonna chicken out or something?” Donghyuck scoffed through a disgusting amount of food stuffed in his mouth. “You’re telling me the campus hottie’s too scared to go on a date?” Jaemin’s eyes sent nothing but death threats to the aggravating college student, sipping on the vending machine drink destructive to his health. He was offended, to say the least. Offended at how inaccurate his so called ‘friend’ was being, anyways. 

Na Jaemin had it all.  A decent fashion sense, heavenly proportions, good grades and work ethic. A face most people would classify as attractive, and a bright, luring smile to tie it all together. Some say he was the whole package, driving the women of the campus insane as they line up to get a simple glimpse of the school’s resident hottie. He was the campus pretty boy, but one question remained; why was he still single?

It’s been theorized by many, some believing in his virtuous desire to focus on his studies, while others believe he might just swing another way or simply not interested in the idea of romance. But one thing stayed true, Na Jaemin was not some coward who couldn’t get a date. 

The pretty boy sat before his set of now intrigued college friends, Donghyuck, Jeno, and Yangyang, all riddled with such an irritating curiosity it made Jaemin cringe. It was only Tuesday, Jaemin had a tower of school work waiting for him back at home, and the last thing he needed was three idiots challenging his love life. He reached for another sip of his drink, cursing at lack of said drink in the can. 

 “Don’t be stupid, Hyuck. I could get a girl if I wanted to. I’m just...busy right now, with schoolwork and stuff” 

“Oh really?” Donghyuck’s sly voice ticked a flame in Jaemin’s soul. He huffed out a disbelieving scoff as he leaned back on the cheap, plastic chair.   Was he really doubting him? He quite literally had the entire female population of the school at his grasp, and Donghyuck was doubting him? Lee Donghyuck was bound to eat his words, as gross as a child to their ice cream. 

“Yeah, I can get any girl around here, just watch. And if I don’t?” Jaemin’s eyes scour around, searching for a way out another stupid idea before finally landing on the trash pile that was Yangyang’s homework. “...I’ll do your guy’s homework for a week.” 

Everyone’s eyes widened at Jaemin’s proposal, a proposal that stunted even the slyest of prankers, Lee Donghyuck himself. Was he really going all out? Sacrificing a week of freetime for some measly bet? Even stupefying the once unbothered Jeno, trapped in his own, unexpectedly unfortunate love life. 

“Dude are you serious? Deal!” Donghyuck and Yangyang practically hollered, both sending Jaemin a crisp slap on the back. Na Jaemin, how much of an idiot are you?

“So, who do you think you're gonna go for?” Jeno gripped the strap of his school bag as him and Jaemin trotted away from their final class of the day. Jaemin huffed out what felt like the 100th sigh that afternoon. His eyes grazing the trees peeking through the campus windows. Surely he needed a plan, right? No matter how many girls relished in his good looks, he wouldn’t possibly survive without one. Jaemin’s palms grew cold, pupils shaking in a sudden fear. God, maybe he would be stuck writing Yangyang’s overdue essays for the next week. 

“What about that y/n girl?” Jeno suddenly chirped. “The quiet one from the dance department?” 

Jaemin froze in his tracks, looking synonymous to a deer caught in headlights. He tilted his head, puzzled, to say the least. “...y/n?” 

“Yeah, I heard she got out of a relationship recently.” 

Jaemin’s once boastful voice soon grew into a stuttering mess as Jeno walked past him, sending a heartwarming chuckle. Jeno turned around, giving one final look to Jaemin, currently bathing underneath the small snippets of evening sunlight. 

“It’s just something to think about, Jaem. Don’t worry about it too much.” 

...

Your legs were anything but stable as you stepped off the city bus that night. You loved to dance, but you wouldn’t be lying if you said it drained you faster than a mosquito sucking out your blood. The mustard streetlight effortlessly cascaded off of your frame as your wobbly figure began its long trek to your apartment. Sudden buzzes from your phone shook you awake一a sensation your exhausted self clearly needed一before you clicked on the notification. 

Roomie :) [7:34pm]: I bought us some dinner before I got home

Roomie :) [7:34pm]: sorry it’s frozen pizza lol I’m too poor :((

Roomie :) [7:36pm]: oh also I got a favour to ask when u get here

Your mind trails back to lunch, with a familiar phrase replaying in your head for the umpteenth time that day. 

 How about another date? With someone new?

You huffed out another somber sigh, something you found yourself doing a lot, lately. Could you really do it? Could you finally let go of the dead weight? Finally free yourself of the heartbreak tainting you? You feel your heart clenching inside you as you fumble with your house keys. Could your heart handle another simple date?

What about your roommate? Isn’t he single?

No, your roommate didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve being bombarded with the atrocity that was your failed love life. He was too sweet, too caring to deal with anything of the sort. Besides, with how gentle and pleasant he is, it was certain you didn’t deserve him. 

This wouldn’t have been the first time you held your roommate in such high regard. He really had it all, a kind personality, decent looks, and an exquisite taste in cheap, diabetes inducing food. He knew all the best coffee places and knew the perfect times to surprise you with your favorite drinks. He wasn’t just some rando who split the rent with you. He was your friend. A sudden rush of unwanted blood heats up your cheeks as you stop in your tracks. 

He was your friend. Nothing more. 

The golden light of your apartment blinded you as you strolled in. The figure of your roommate was cast before you, dawning his classic ivory shirt and grey sweatpants, paired perfectly with his undone hair, and a plate of steaming hot pizza, straight from the microwave. It looked nothing like the pretty boy image he left your apartment with before class this morning. It was surreal, really. Only you got the luxury to see him like this. It was one of the strange perks of being roommates with the one and only, Na Jaemin. 

“Welcome home!” Jaemin chirped to your sleepy figure. He thrusted the plate of pizza to you, a smile wiped across his cheeks. “Pizza?” 

...

Your heart almost leaped out of your chest.

Your trembling, sweaty palms couldn’t stop shaking since dinner, almost breaking one of your scarce dinner plates in the process of washing them. You couldn’t blame yourself, though. Na Jaemin’s proposal was nothing but calming.

“So, what were you gonna ask me, anyways?” You spat through your mouth full of rubbery pizza. God, you need to eat properly before practice. You glanced at our roommate, currently fiddling with the tips of some miscellaneous fork as he suddenly dodged your eyes. 

“Uh, yea, that.” He stuttered. So timid, it was unreal to you. Usually this man had no fear of asking for favours. Whether it was doing his laundry or fixing up dinner on his assigned day of the week, he would never show any hesitation on asking you to do anything. 

“Okay this is gonna sound weird, but…” Jaemin started, breaking into a cold sweat. “I need you to go on a fake date with me.” Jaemin finally exhaled before connecting his eyes with yours. The whites of your eyes spilled out, along with the juice that almost had the chance of successfully slipping down your throat. He wanted... what?

“Don’t worry! It’s just gonna be one date! I made this stupid bet with Hyuck, and if I don’t get a date soon, I need to do their homework for a whole week!” He gripped the locks of his hair as he slumped onto his side of the dining table.

You shuffled back to the dining room, clenching your paper towel tightly in your palm. Anything to help calm your rapid heart down, just for a moment. “And, you can use this as a chance to distract yourself from that Renjun asshole.”

A sudden pain struck your chest like a lightning bolt to a lanky tree, barren in a grassland. You wince at the sudden calling of that name, your taste buds growing sour. You let out another soft sigh. You really need to get over him, fast. You stretch up from your seat, hoisting up the now empty dinner plate as you trudge towards the sink. But not before stopping in your tracks, tilting your head in Jaemin’s direction. 

“I-uh-I’ll think about it.” 

Oh, you thought about it, alright. Screamed into your poor, innocent pillow about it, at least. 

It all zoomed too fast for you, too swift for your brain to handle. Your breathing grew short and shallow. You felt as if you could die, right then and there, gripping onto your bed sheets while freaking out about Na Jaemin, your bold roommate. No, you couldn’t take up his risque offer. You were in no shape to go on another date, even if it did have no actual meaning behind it. You were too tangled in your mess of a life, and this stupid move would only fan the fire. 

You can use this as a chance to distract yourself from Renjun. 

The phrase rang through your head more time than you would’ve liked. No matter how much you shielded yourself from his claim, Jaemin would still be right in that manner. You needed to distract yourself, sure. But was this the way to go? 

Another sigh escapes your lips as you rush down the hall of your apartment. Your steps, hesitant as ever, dripping in a mix of confusion, exhaustion and nervousness. It’s official. You are the worst at well thought-out decisions. 

“Hey” you huffed at your roommate, eyeing him timidly as he washes the dishes. Something your shaken figure couldn’t properly complete without breaking a glass that night. He shifts to face you, a slightly nervous expression painting him. You clear your throat before continuing, hoping that small cough would stop time in its tracks. 

“I-I’ll go on that date with you.”

His classic boisterous smile spreads across his face once again. If your mind wasn’t rushing around in four different places at once, you could probably admit that you found it the slightest bit cute. 

“Really? Thanks so much! How does this Saturday at 7 sound?”

You only had the mental energy to swiftly nod your head as you zoomed back into the confines of your room, your safe space. You couldn’t help but notice the heat rising back to your cheeks as you plopped back onto the bed, vigorously scrolling through your phone to find your saviours.

the gorls and shotaro [9:48pm]: guys I need help with something

the gorls and shotaro [9:49pm]: let’s meet at hina’s after class

...

“I don’t care if you’re just going on some fake date to lie to his friends, I still wanna make you look hot!” Hina never failed to leave you, Shotaro, and probably some people passing by her house, shaken by her booming voice. With her small, fragile looking frame, she was the last one you’d expect to have such a bold personality. 

“Please, that’s the fifth dress in your closet she’s tried already. It’s just a fake date, we don’t even need to try hard!” Shotaro challenges, his attention leaving a now grumbling Hina as it turns towards you. “Why did you even say yes, anyways?” 

“I dunno, I’m stupid?” You murmur, the hint of bitterness caught in your breath. You give a subpar twirl to your audience, a deadpan expression shielding your face. “I guess I wanna help him? It would suck to do all that homework for a week.” 

“Yeah, but he could easily ask any other girl on the campus. This is freaking Na Jaemin we’re talking about!” Hina once again hollered. An action that would guarantee her a slap on the head if you didn’t love her so much.

“Are you sure it's just for that stupid bet?”

You slip into the makeshift change room, which was really just blankets hung on coat hangers, propped across two sides of a corner in Hina’s room. After making your final decision for your outfit of the night, you change back into your own clothes, stalling your response to Hina’s question. You never knew why you felt the need to stall, though. You should know your answer by now, right?

“Yeah, it’s just for the bet, nothing else.” You find your voice trailing off at those last words of yours as you emerge from the corner, holding the destined outfit that made the cut. Hina sighed, plopping onto the bed like the main character of those dramas after they finally find out they’re in love. 

“Just make sure you aren’t lying to yourself, y/n. It could hurt you.”

“Oh really? Isn’t it time you listen to your own advice??” Shotaro provoked, Hina now shooting up from the bed in irritation. “How are things going with that Jeno guy, huh?” 

“I am going to murder you.” Hina’s voice stayed low, barely trembling before zooming through the door, chasing a now escaping Shotaro and his incredibly fast feet. You, however, couldn’t pray for Shotaro’s survival. Not with your mind stuck in it’s own rut, and your cheeks now glowing a violent pink. 

This was just for a bet, nothing else. You reminded yourself once again.

...

“This wasn’t too bad, right?” His soothing voice swam through your ears softly, but it did absolutely nothing to calm down your heart, which was currently pacing anywhere but your chest. You mustered up all the courage in the world to glance back at his eyes across the restaurant table, your breaths stopping in an effort to hide the sudden rush of blood flowing to your cheeks. With his unbothered eyes locking onto yours in an instant, Na Jaemin sent you another one of his heartache-inducing smiles. “Thanks for helping me with this.” 

This shouldn’t be affecting you this much. After all, the only thing you and Jaemin really did was sit under the restaurant roof, order dishes deemed perfect under the social media lens, and take pictures with said dishes, becoming the perfect pieces of evidence to show that Na Jaemin was no coward. However, with the romantic, first date type outfit draped onto your figure, and the general ambience of the room, you couldn’t help but feel just the slightest bit flustered. You shot him another smile, one hiding the forest fire that was your mental state. “Uh, yeah! No problem!”

Silence fell over the two of you as you listened to the clinks of glass sounding off from the dishwashing station behind you. A silence that you wanted to hold onto more than anything. But alas, Your roommate breaks it, glancing up from the ground. 

“You look great, by the way.”

Your cheeks flush a deep vermillion. They’ve been doing that a lot lately.

“Thanks, Jaem.” You barely muster out, dodging his eyes. “But you don’t have to say stuff like that, this is all fake, remember?” You took the time to remind him, not fully sure who truly needed it. You fiddled with your fingers as your ears picked up the sudden ruckus of obnoxious college students coming from down the dining hall.

“You should ask her out, Jeno!” a voice chirped

“No! Are you crazy? She probably thinks I’m weird or something”

“I doubt it, you’re hot! Plus, she’s in my department! I can alway ask-”

“Guys, quick, look! Over there!”

The voices grew closer and closer, the whites of your eyes spilling more and more in utter shock. You can’t help but check on Jaemin, the same expression now burning through you. You mirrored each other so much, you could tell the exact words running through his mind right now. Mostly because they ran through yours, too. Oh Shit.

“JAEMIN!!” The voice of an irritating Lee Donghyuck rang through your ears at an alarming, and unwanted rate. The hollers of an equally aggravating Liu Yangyang from Jaemin’s class, swiftly followed, leaving behind the only tolerable one, Lee Jeno behind. “I didn’t know you’d be here!” 

“Ahaha, hey!” Jaemin stuttered, panic overflowing in his eyes as the three intruders squished into the already occupied, two person booth. His eyes scanned the restaurant, grasping for any way to escape. Afterall, this was certainly not part of the plan. Donghyuck’s curious eyes scanned, too, his pupils finally focusing on you. “And who might this be?”

“I-I’m y/n” You stuttered out, your wrist feeling heavy as you began gesturing to the date in front of you. “I’m his da-”

A lightbulb jumped from Jaemin’s head, his shoulder jolting in response. Na Jaemin wasn’t one for outlandish pranks, especially if you were at the receiving end, which only made your thumping heart wonder; what the hell was he trying to pull now?

“She’s my date.”

Suddenly, your once isolated and vacant hand was tugged to the center of the dinner table before softly getting encased in his. His fingers, notably bigger than your nimble ones, interlocked with yours. Heat began to creep up at your ears. Who knew your hand fit so perfectly in his? You looked down, foolishly hoping that your cheeks would stop flushing into that embarrassing red if you hid it well enough. “See?”

“Oh!” Donghyuck lined his lips with a stupid grin, his eyebrows wiggling as he scoffs in disbelief. Yangyang riled up with excitement beside him, and even the calm Jeno couldn’t stop his jaw from falling to the floor. Na Jaemin did it. He really pulled it off. “I guess we’re disturbing something, then?” 

“No worries! We were just about to leave, anyways” Jaemin still held onto that panicked tremble in his voice as the two of you shuffled through the restaurant booth. He stalked behind you before handing you your coat. “See you guys tomorrow!” 

Your mind couldn’t help but focus on the light touch Jaemin’s palm left on the lower, small of your back as he gently escorted you from the restaurant. You felt like a princess, protected by your knight’s brute strength, as you tiptoed on your path of feathers.  That darned flushed heat wouldn’t leave your cheeks. Na Jaemin, your one and only roommate, was driving you crazy.  

The wind roughly brushes against your cheek as the two of you finally exit the restaurant. The breeze was the last thing you would’ve classified as comfortable, which was why you felt just the slightest twinge of disappointment once the warmth of his hand snaked away from you. His palm hugged the nape of his neck as his eyes softened from their former panic. 

“Sorry about that, I didn’t know they’d show up so randomly.”

No, he had nothing to apologize for. It was your fault for being so greedy. You instinctively widen the distance between you, saving yourself from a wave of embarrassment.  

“It’s fine.”

It’s official, you hated your weak heart more than anyone. 

...

Three. There were three instances in which your heart was set on fire the next day, by none other than the infamous Na Jaemin, of course. 

[10:49 am]

A violent GAME OVER! blasted through your ear drums as you slumped on the couch, watching your roommate die for the 70th time that evening. He let out an equally jolting groan, throwing the controller to the depths of your living room carpet before rushing to check if it was okay. You sat promptly on the couch he leaned against, mindlessly scrolling through your phone as if last night you didn’t experience the most heart-collapsing date in the 19 years of your life. 

Your heart still hasn’t properly healed from it, either. Every time you pass by him in the halls, whether it be a quick snack or a glass of water, your heart never fails to tense up, your throat tightening up in a cruel response. You swear, Na Jaemin was out for your blood the moment he asked you to stay in the living room with him, even if it was to simply watch him fail play. 

“Aw fuck me!” Jaemin suddenly blurted out as he examined the now loosened control button. As if on cue, an army of redness storms through your cheeks as you listen in, his simple word choice setting you off. Your head shakes vigorously enough to give you a pounding headache, before you get the chance to fill your head with certain spoiled thoughts. Wow, you really are evil. 

You didn’t spare him the explanation for your sudden departure from the living room couch. All you knew was that your mind and heart were running haywire, and the only thing that could stop you from thinking about your roommate as anything but your roommate was a deep rethinking of your own morals beside your castle of stuffed animals. 

[2:45 pm]

“Here, I’ll get that for you.” Jaemin’s towering figure shielded your back from the apartment kitchen as he stretched over, retrieving the ranging dish your pitiful frame couldn’t reach. He closed the air between you, his extended chest grazing your shoulder as you stood frozen, your mouth gaping open. He sends you a playful grin as he hands you the plate. “You should try growing a little more, y/n!”

You were too stuck in your questionable haze to tighten your grip on the glass plate, so it was only natural to feel the glass slip through your fingers, shards of the crisp material scattering around your bare feet. Frightened, Jaemin scurried below you, the gentleness of his fingers as he picks up each shard of glass sending butterflies to your stomach. 

“Oh my god! Y/n, are you alright!?” You wanted to scoff at his face. Of course you weren’t.

“Uh, yeah. I’m okay.” 

He glances up from below you, his fingers circling the new scratch on your foot that only surfaced from your astound clumsiness. 

“Be careful next time, alright?” 

You nod hesitantly, staying frozen as Jaemin swiftly works around you; throwing out the dangerous glass shards, running away to retrieve your first aid kit, and patching up your pathetic wound in what felt like one swift heartbeat. God, how pathetic were you?

[8:22 pm]

“Have you seen my hoodie? The blue one?” Jaemin showed no mercy to your innocent door as it swung straight into the wall beside it. You let out an award-winning shriek, your once calm figure jumping from its curled up position. “I think it’s in your laundry bin.”

What he actually had on was...minimal. Nothing but tousled, damp hair and a white towel hooked around his waist. You would let out another shriek if you wanted to, but the lack of air reaching your lungs, all from the utter shock of a half-naked Na Jaemin in your wake, stopped you from spitting out any kind of noise imaginable. You dig your fingernails into the flesh of your poor teddy bear as you shield your eyes from your door frame. 

“Gahh! What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh.” It finally clicked in his mind that his current appearance was not for the faint of heart. Not for yours, at least. You let out another ear- piercing wail. “Put on a shirt already!!” 

Jaemin let out a boastful, childish laugh. He leaned over, digging for your eyes, which were currently finding anything else to lay their attention on. “What, are you getting flustered?”

Your eyes finally meet up with his as he keeps you hostage with his stare. A familiar heat storms up your cheeks for the millionth time that evening as you grip the limb of another one of your stuffies on standby. With one final whine, you chuck the plush at his direction. Your lack of looking back all in an effort to hide your glowing red face, out for revenge. “Get out!”

“You’re so cute, y/n.” Jaemin teasingly hums as he slips out of your door frame. You let out an exhausted huff, your chest loosening so much, you’re convinced you haven’t been properly breathing before then. 

Na Jaemin will seriously be the death of you. 

...

You knew it was cowardly, but you just had to run away. Your weak heart wouldn’t be able to survive otherwise. 

You wisp into the barren walls of the dance studio, the flickering lights blinding your vision as you switch them on. You shuffle to the corner of the room, dropping your bag before fumbling with the music station. A soothing song swims through your ears as you settle down in the center of the room, an eye keeping watch of your posture. You close your eyes. Maybe this will finally calm your heart down. 

You start slowly, an arm traveling artistically through the air as your legs twirl around the floor. The melody of the music carries your limbs away, leaving your mind alone to think. 

They were just simple interactions, a simple slip up ending with a broken dish, a simple choice of words, a simple clasp of the hands to keep up with some measly lie. They were such small things, so why did your heart light up in flames everytime? Why did each instance leave a staining image of Jaemin in your mind, everytime? 

You think back to the man that held your heart, before brutally smashing it with his own fist. Huang Renjun. He hasn’t grazed your mind for quite some time now, but this familiar feeling wasn’t exactly pleasurable. Your heart soaked itself in that same lonely feeling, the desire to cling back. You froze from your dance, expecting full well your mind would submerge in a pool of sorrow. Yet, this week was just full of surprises, wasn’t it?

Another image of your horrid roommate flies into your mind, your head mentally swatting it away like a pestering insect. Nonetheless, it’s trailed back, persistent as ever, as you grumble your way to turn off the music. Na Jaemin, wins again. 

You could admit, Jaemin kept his promise at shielding your mind away from your failing love life, but he never warned you about the repercussions that were of him seeping into a corner of your heart. His risque, almost flirty behaviour, his teasing remarks, a smile that would brighten up a barren world. He just wouldn’t leave your mind. Yet, you knew you couldn’t have him. If your forest fire of a romance with Renjun had taught you anything, it was that you couldn’t love. You were too clueless, too childish to properly hold someone’s heart. You didn’t deserve anyone’s love. 

After gathering your belongings, you trek out the door. You were so lost in your thoughts, not even the thing you held to your heart so dearly, dancing, could pull you out of your rut. You were in no state to go back home just yet, so your fingers trace your phone screen to look for Hina, your resident childhood friend and therapist, apparently. And you wished you had the luxury of plopping onto Hina’s bed, screaming out all your anger into her pillow as she sneaks snacks up to her room, but your horrid life had other plans. 

A familiar figure stop’s in their tracks, their bag swaying in their grasp一a grasp that was almost loosened in pure shock一 as they connect their eyes to yours. You stay frozen, your breath hitching as you search for anything to say. And by the looks of it, they were doing the same. 

“Y-y/n?” The voice of a flabbergasted Huang Renjun rings through your ear. “W-what are you doing here?”

...

It didn’t take Jaemin long to realize you had left early that morning. Your dance bag left an awkward space beside your night stand in its absence, the dish drying rack was already occupied, with one simple plate and a glass turned over. But more importantly, Jaemin woke up with an empty, lost feeling rumbling inside him一something he only felt when you weren’t around. 

It first occurred during the third week of splitting rent, when you joined the school’s dance team. You had left the room without a trace, leaving Jaemin to search for you like a lost puppy to its reluctant owner, instead of getting ready for his afternoon class. He tried his best to brush it off as simple boredom, but with the way his vision simply lights up in your presence, even he started to get suspicious of himself. 

He couldn’t quite pinpoint it at first, the very reason you always trailed in his mind. It could have been anything. Your immense amount of talent, the wisp of anonymity that surrounded you, one he strived to break to get to know you better. The angelic personality he was first greeted with once he did break down that barrier. Anything about you could’ve easily pulled his heart closer to you. He was in love. 

Nevertheless, he clearly wasn’t obvious enough, as within weeks of beginning your college career, your figure was cradled in the arms of another man. Huang Renjun, resident A+ student and Jaemin’s childhood classmate.  

As the days pass by, and he becomes bombarded with endless homework, the two of you slowly drift apart, returning to the simple ‘roommate’ label on your contact lists. He resorts to the abundance of girls around the campus. Hoping each one he’d fool around with could finally get his head away from you. Yet, as he always comes home just to see your face, so did his heart, apparently. 

Don’t get him wrong, he felt terrible the night you trudged home in tears, the fresh sadness of a break up welling through you. And he tried everything in his power to make you feel better, though it never worked. But一 and he would rather kill a man than ever let this slip from his tongue一he couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit relieved that you were finally in his grasp once again.

“So, how serious are you? About her?” Jeno quizzed through the phone, a now distressed Na Jaemin on the other side of the line. Jaemin fell onto the bed, dust particles jumping into the air. 

“I really like her” Jaemin huffed.

“So? Then go tell her! You should be with her, not here blabbering about her to me. Look, you don’t have anything to worry about, Jaem. It’s not like she’s in a relationship anymore.”

Jaemin's eyes widen and Jeno’s nonchalant words. That's right. You weren’t taken anymore. Not trapped in the confines of another man’s arms. It was what he was fighting for, all those months ago. Na Jaemin finally had a shot with you. 

“Are you sure you like her?” Jeno pulled Jaemin back to reality as Jaemin scrambled to the bathroom. He placed the device down on the bathroom sink, his eyes locking in with his reflection from the bathroom mirror. “Yeah.”

He chuckled to himself before ending the call, an image of you rolling into his mind. ‘Like’ would be a deep understatement. He was in love, has been for months now, and he was finally ready to tell the truth. He probably looked like a little kid hungry for ice cream, but he didn’t care. He paced out the door. He was going to finally have you, once and for all. 

...

“She and I are good, yeah.” Renjun stuttered out, not looking past the drink he hastily purchased before the two of you sat down in the campus cafe. “What about you? How have you been?” 

With all your might, you stopped your throat from belting out a petty laugh. How have you been? Was he being serious? You’ve been pleasant, aside from all the inner turmoil ringing through your heart at the moment. You sent a bogus smile at the man in front of you. “I’ve been...alright.”

The awkward silence suffocated you, squeezing your throat so tight, not a single sliver of air could slip through. Why did he come across you now of all times? And why did he have to be so much more emotionally sound than you were? Renjun shifted around, clearing his chest with a small ahem! You knew he was always a man who would never beat around the bush, and today was no exception. 

“I’m sorry…” His sudden confession shook you to your core, the liquid inside your glass mimicking your shivering movements. Your eyes, out of pure shock, finally take the courage to graze across Renjun as he continues. “I’m sorry for leaving you like that, I know I didn’t give you that much of an explanation back then.” 

Your eyes retire back to the wooden table in front of you. He didn’t need to apologize. He didn’t need to explain himself at all, not when your greedy heart was at fault. “I knew I couldn’t give you what you wanted. I wasn’t enough for you.” 

“You don’t have to apologize, Renjun.” You were having enough trouble forgetting him as it is, you didn’t need this. 

“I didn’t wanna lie to myself, so that’s why I left you so abruptly like that.” He explains, his fingers turning white from his grip on the coffee cup. Your breaths grow short, your mind scurrying to find the hidden meaning behind his words. All this time, your mind retired to the idea of him running away from your clinging figure, claiming that now rash narrative as valid; correct. Tearing your heart up into little pieces in the process. 

“So we didn’t break up because I was being...selfish?”

“Selfish? Of course not.” He comforted. “You deserve someone else, someone way better than me.” 

Your mind trails back to your roommate once again, his smile growing more contagious. You find your lips sneaking in a small smile at the thought of him. Except, this time, no twinge of sorrow had followed. Like a bag of bricks lifted off your shoulders, you were finally free. You shined a genuine grin, your first in a long while. “So, we’re good?”

“Of course, y/n.”

You were so trapped in your own childish thoughts, you didn’t notice the hasty booming steps crash through the cafe door frame. 

“Y/N!” The voice of your roommate flew through your ears, striking you like a deer caught in blinding headlights. His volume was so loud, you wouldn’t be surprised if someone heard him from the outside of the cafe.  “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

...

Usually, Na Jaemin was laid back. Generally unbothered with a smirk lining his lips every now and then. It was one of the ways he stayed on top of the collective campus hierarchy for so long, he was always calm, cool, and collected. He always was, except for today. Instead, he was scrambling at his feet, thumbing through every inch of the school, looking for the infamous y/n. 

He finally skips to the cafe, the faint scent of coffee and flavouring overtaking him. He was a panting mess, his hands gripping at the bolts of his knees as he leaned over in pure exhaustion. It was weird, Jaemin always considered himself to be decently fit. It must’ve been you, suddenly turning his world upside down. 

She’s gotta be here. 

As if on cue, your head pops up on the corner of his eye, basking under the afternoon sunlight which generously seeped through the cafe window. Your eyes weren’t on him, but that wasn’t the worst of his problems. His eyes travel further down your direction, his limp legs mindlessly following like a puppet on two strings. Your eyes weren’t on Jaemin. They were on someone else. 

Renjun.

A familiar clenching feeling pulls on his heart harshly, so much so, that his hands reach up to palm the pain through his chest. He’s only felt this rude awakening one other time in the 19 years of his life; the moment you left the house on your first ever date with Huang Renjun. A flame ignites within him as he stalks up to the table. With his heaving breaths and awkward, stiff posture, it was inevitable he'd summon a couple of stares from various customers, but he couldn’t care less. 

Usually, Na Jaemin was laid back, but because of you, he became this gross, jealous, poor excuse of a man. 

“You didn’t have to be so loud, you know!” You found your voice peaking at the end of your sentence, probably gathering more attention than what you were currently lecturing Jaemin for. A blush stained the circles of your cheeks, though you were never quite sure whether it was the embarrassment of being the center of attention, or the fact that Na Jaemin came rushed and disheveled, looking for you. You cleared your throat to hide your obscene thoughts一a practice you’ve been getting the hang of, lately. “What did you need from me anyway-”

“Why were you with him.” Jaemin cut in. Although, with his stone cold frame now towering over you, his eyes; unassuming and distant, and shallow, hitched breaths, you weren’t even certain this was the same roommate you couldn’t get out of your head for the past week. You simply wave your hand away. 

“We just happened to meet up by accident, and we got to talk some stuff out, that's all.” You prayed that your calm voice could soothe the currently tempered man before you. Of course, however, it didn’t. 

“Was it really?”

“Yes! Okay, Jaem? What’s with you today?”

“Don’t visit him anymore.” His voice boomed towards the end of his sentences, startling even the finest of nature as two innocent birds fly away in fear. 

Something didn’t click, didn’t sit right in your head. Since when was he so demanding? So rude? You found yourself slowly backing away from his figure, an action you thought you’d have to do in your life. Before, he was always a safe space for you, even without your confusing feelings for him. He was always there for you. But now, the air around turned gray, and you were scared more than anything. You scoff, throwing Jaemin off. 

“Are you telling me what to do?” 

“I’m only worried for you, y/n.”

“Worried about what, exactly? That I’d get back with Renjun?” You stand firm before him. Y/n, what the hell are you doing now. To your own dismay, you continue. “Why would you care about that anyways?”

“Am I not allowed to care about you!?” He practically hollered at the top of his lungs. A fire welled up inside you, with no way of fanning it down. Who does this guy think he is?  

“Last time I checked, we didn’t have anything real! Everything between us was all a damn lie! So no, maybe you don’t!” 

You lay one final blow straight to Jaemin’s chest, knocking him down like a line of concurred dominoes. Your heart clenches in a cruel response. You were right, factually correct, but the truth always came with a price. Spectators began to crowd around the scene, as a fuming Jaemin stalks towards you, closing the distance between your shoulder blades and brick wall behind you. 

“WELL MAYBE I WANTED SOMETHING REAL!” Jaemin retorted, eyes holding a flame you never thought your calm roommate could ignite within him. The air around you grew cautious, the only things sounding off were the weary engines driving past the scene of the crime. His breath grew shallow as it brushed against your skin, your trembling figure watching as he let out an aggravated sigh. His fingers, laced in irritation, comb through his hair as he softens his voice into one final whisper. 

“But you don’t want anything like that, right? ‘Cause you’re still caught up with that Renjun asshole?” 

“Jae-”

“Forget it” Jaemin spits, his eyes finally dodging yours. He backs away from your trembling figure, his hands buried in his pockets as he quickened his pace away from you. Jaemin hissed under his breath, everything finally clearing up in his head. You didn’t want him, You were never ready to move on. It’s official, Na Jaemin couldn’t have you, and he never will.  

...

Your brain always had a knack for remembering things, keeping random nuggets of knowledge stored deep within random crevices of your head. Your brain always had a good memory, and today was no exception. 

Forget it.

You could probably liven up a lifeless desert with your endless tears that stained Hina’s pillows that night. It would be life or death to retire properly to your own home, not with the atrocity that was this afternoon still thriving in your wake. One more bottled emotion, and your body would simply burst out of existence. You could only properly pinpoint three of them; exhaustion welling up in your feet, confusion tearing through your brain, and guilt overflowing in your heart. 

“What am I gonna do?” you weep through the flesh of Hina’s teddy bear. After tossing the empty pop can into her makeshift trash can, Hina plopped onto her bed beside you, drilling a finger straight into her temple. “You need to tell him how you feel, y/n, you can’t just leave him in the dark like that. That’s probably why he got so riled up.”

Your eyes shake as they stay on the ground. Hina shuffles around arms crossing in a full interrogation. “You do know what you want, right?”

Slowly, and without much thought pulling at your strings, you slowly nod. “Well then, what is it?” 

An image of your roommate shines into your head once again. The kind roommate you had the great luxury of coming home to, the one always saving you a slice of frozen pizza for when you arrive, the one who reaches the irritating dishes at the top of the cupboard, the one you couldn't get out of your mind. His heartwarming demeanour, his charming smile, his everything. You can’t lie to yourself anymore. With a twinge of determination, you lock eyes with Hina.

“I want it all to be real. I wanna be with Jaemin.”

Hina rested her back onto the plump mattress, a smug grin lining her lips as she crossed her arms in pride. “So you’re finally gonna start listening to me, hm?”

...

“Are you sure about this, Jaem?” Yangyang has never一in Jaemin’s two years of knowing him一sounded so concerned for his friend’s wellbeing. It sent shivers down his spine, how pitiful Jaemin must’ve looked right now. His fingers grasped the horrendous stack of papers; one wrong move could easily decorate the floor with the homework, and Jaemin was...concerned, to say the least.

“Why are we even doing this? You won the bet!” Donghyuck hugged his own stack close to his chest as the three boys watched Jaemin’s head sink low to the floor, and watched his heart sink even lower. “Yeah, about that...”

Even if the truth hurts, it needs to be said, right?

“...Y/n wasn’t my date at the restaurant. I never asked anyone out, actually. The truth is… she’s my roommate. I only asked her out on a fake date so I could keep the bet going.”

Jaemin felt the confused, yet somber stares of Jeno burn through his skin. It only made sense that Jeno had a few questions; Na Jaemin’s beaten up, hunched over figure was nothing like the lovestruck, head-over-heels Jaemin he’d witnessed just a couple of days prior. “But it didn’t work out that well with her, so here I am, ready for the punishment.” 

It struck Jaemin’s chest more times that could count, slashing at his heart, his pride, everything he loved. How could he be so foolish? Convincing himself his simple crush could ever reciprocate his feelings. Could ever love him back. Nevertheless, it was more clear now than ever before. To you, he would always just have one label; a simple roommate. 

“Jaemin-” Donghyuck reluctantly brushed his palm on Jaemin’s shoulder, his best excuse for a peace offering. Jaemin, however, finally snapped, shooting a glare through the eyes of his rather persistent friends. 

“What? You were right, okay? I can’t get any girl I want. I really am just a coward, so I deserve this!” Jaemin slumped his figure一drenched in a sorrow he’s gotten quite familiar with, as of late一into a cheap, cafeteria chair, his heart leaping through his throat. 

“She was the only one I wanted, anyway, so what’s the point?” 

“I think you got a few things wrong there, buddy.” A familiar voice rang through Jaemin’s ears. The whites of his eyes spilled out of their sockets as Jaemin shot up. You couldn’t blame him, though. The last thing he expected to see was his childhood classmate, Huang Renjun, before him. “You still have a chance with y/n, Jaemin.”

Jaemin sent a rough hiss at Renjun before slowly backing down at Renjun’s unnaturally calm demeanour. “What?”

“I’m not after her anymore, nor is she after me.”

Jaemin’s eyebrows wrinkled. “Then why-”

“It was an accident, we didn’t mean to meet up like that. And that talk at the cafe? It was all for closure. It was something she and I both needed, a lot, if I might add.” 

“So… you weren’t trying to get her back?”

Renjun squinted at the utter dumbassary currently blinding him at the moment. “No, are you stupid? I have a girlfriend. And besides, when she first saw you barge into the cafe, her flustered reaction tells me she feels the same way, so I wouldn’t worry too much.” 

Heat rushed over to Jaemin’s cheeks, the cause being a 50-50 blend of pure embarrassment一from letting his jealous heart take over his mind一and the simple, but beautiful thought of you. Everything started to fall back in their rightful places. His head was finally cleared, his anger had finally wisped away. And more importantly, you were moment’s away from being his. Moments away from retiring the ‘roommate’ label. 

Donghyuck leaped from his seat. A directing hand pointed towards the dance department wing as Donghyuck shifted into his ‘fight or flight’ stance, riling up with energy. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CONFESS!!”  

Without any further hesitation, Jaemin shot from his seat, his eyes etched with determination, and his heart moments away from bursting through his chest. Donghyuck let out a defeated sigh, arms crossing in disappointment. “God, I can’t believe the campus playboy is such a wuss!” 

...

Your easily distracted mind had made it maddeningly clear; no song, no matter what the tempo or melody, could take your mind off of your one and only roommate, Na Jaemin. It also didn’t matter that you spent a whopping one night without his bedroom just across the hall from yours; as your heart was still drenched in the guilt you couldn’t seem to get rid of. However, one thing was made clear that night. Your heart purely and utterly belonged to Na Jaemin alone. Only one thing stayed in your way; he may more may not hate your guts now. 

Your palms dripped in a cold sweat as your limbs begrudgingly swam in the air. It was bad enough your dance instructor gave not one, but two lectures about getting distracted to blow your ears dry, but even after that public display of embarrassment, your head couldn’t stop recounting the different ways you could finally tell Na Jaemin the truth; the whole truth. 

I want the real thing with you

I don’t just want something fake, Jaemin

I wanna be with you

That last statement threw your cheeks into a heated, rosy frenzy. You cup your hands attempting to hide your horrid thoughts as your dance instructor, with a few deadpan words, sets your class free for the evening. You scurry to the corner, peacefully shoving your things into your bag when Shotaro’s voice suddenly rings behind your ear. 

“Y/n? Oh yeah, she’s right over there.” 

“Great, thanks.” 

  You freeze on the spot. You could recognize that voice from a mile away. It was almost concerning on your part. 

“Y/n!” The voice yelps, in a tone you hadn’t heard in a while. You smile under your breath. You missed his cheerful voice. You slowly prop up, dropping your bag to the depths of the dance room floor. You pivot on your heel, your chest coming face to face with none other than Na Jaemin, in the flesh. “I need to tell you something.” 

After scrambling out of the dance room, certainly not attracting the attention of any unwanted instructors, the two of you hide behind the studio entrance. Jaemin stood just centimeters before you, his breath shivering despite the warmer weather. Although, and you wouldn’t be surprised, but this warm sensation could simply be deriving from your cheeks, which was nothing new. 

“I’m sorry I lashed out at you yesterday, I never wanted to be mean to you or anything, I was just… heated, yeah.” Jaemin finally began, scratching the nape of his neck. You didn’t like the fact that he was the one apologizing to you, when you knew it should’ve been the other way around. “You don’t need to say sorry, Jaem. I lashed out too and-”

“I was being all selfish, when I really should’ve been thinking clearly. I-I was jealous when I saw you two together, and I couldn’t take it.” 

You stopped dead in your tracks. Jealous? He was jealous?

“Truth is… I’ve liked you for some time now, probably ever since we first met. And while the fake date was really fake…” His eyes finally lock yours up, keeping them hostage in his determined glare. “...I really wanted something real between us.” 

Jaemin’s hand reached down, cupping your nimble fingers in it as he kept his eye contact tight. His breath hitched as he eyed you, all flustered and adorable with your eyebrows furrowed in a hopeful confusion. Everything about you made him want to cradle you in his arms, never letting go, forever. 

“Can I be more than just your roommate, y/n?” 

You stayed frozen, mouth gaping wide open at every confession he threw at you. You stayed so still, the only thing visibly moving on your body was the rapid blush zooming through your ears and cheeks, except this time, you didn’t feel the sudden urge to hide such a sensation. Your mind didn’t carry the necessary brian capacity properly function, so naturally, your arms did the job for you. 

Your palms cupped the edges of Jaemin’s jaw, a sudden confidence surging through you as you pulled him closer. The tips of your noses collide moments before the surfaces of your lips. You melt into a passion filled kiss, a kiss that’s been pending since the day you first moved in together. Jaemin hugs the small of your waist as you hug his neck. Instinctively, your stomach tucks itself, hiding the embarrassing butterflies fluttering within it. You felt like a celebrity, kissing the campus’ pretty boy; Na Jaemin. Your eyes flicker open. 

“Of course you can.”

Your’s and Jaemin’s world crashes back into reality at the sound of a pestering holler, one which Jaemin could only sigh in grief to in response. You turn around only to find a snooping crowd right behind you. Shotaro, joined with two of Jaemin’s friends you first met at the restaurant; Yangyang and Donghyuck, jump for joy at the sight of you two, while a distressed Hina rips her hair out at the fact that she missed the most world shattering confession scene known to man. Jeno, to the right of her, calms her down in a heartbeat. Those two were really perfect for each other. You turn back to Jaemin, a wide grin now taking over his face. He tightens the grip around your hand, a hand that you noticed he’s never let go since he first arrived at your department. 

“Do you have another class after this?” “No, why?”

A sly smirk lines his lips as he raises an eyebrow. “Then, shall we go home, darling?” 

Gosh, he was such a dork. “Of course.” 

…

The long awaited kiss between Hina and Jeno was much more dramatic than any first kiss you could’ve imagined. In fact, it was practically ripped right out the current episode of the drama you and Jaemin had settled down to watch. The air was filled with cheerful hollers roaring from Yangyang and Shotaro and the pathetic wails of Donghyuck realizing that一with Shotaro’s crush on the new girl on campus and the random girl Yangyang met online一he would be the last one standing in the terribly single committeeTM. Jaemin grumbled beside you, his head tucked under your chin as you sat cradled in his arms

“Jeez, Jeno’s stealing my thunder!”

“Let them live, Jaem. They’re in love.” 

Jaemin huffed with over exaggeration. “I can’t believe Jeno would betray me like that!”

You pulled Jaemin’s chin up, his face now inches from yours. “Why don’t you forget about them, alright? Just focus on me instead.”

The two of you lean into a kiss, basking in the afternoon sunlight that was peeking through the campus roof. It didn’t matter who was around you anymore, whether they were random strangers or your annoying yet close knit friends. You had already won at life, being the girlfriend of the infamous Na Jaemin; your very special roommate.

[fenristheorem]

Hi! First of all... You are a LEGEND🤩! Your head cons are sooooooo good. When I read theme I really get into the story and can feel the emotion you put on the characters, 💖its amazing! Not that long ago you did a head con of Erika being ok with Leiftan being a Demon. So I was wondering... Could you do a head con of Lance accepting to take Erika with him, were she becomes a demon and enters the plot with Lance against the guard🤔? It would be very interesting to se that.😊 Hope u have a good day, evening or night!

Oh thank you so much! 😄 That’s so kind of you to say, I don’t think you truly know how much I value your compliment! You’re so kind! 😊

I originally considered nearly completely re-writing the plot from episode 15 (I believe that’s when she asks him to take her) for this ask, but then realized I would be re-writing half the plot of Origins lol. That would take way too long to write (while including different emotions and perspectives and requiring knowledge that’s too hard to hunt down or doesn’t exist) so I decided to write this with a very broad spectrum of headcanons, including some major alternative events (usually not including the guard since she’ll be holed up in a secret place so Lance doesn’t need to watch out for her every second of every day) and Lance and Guardienne’s overall compatibility.

This is probably my most bizarre ask yet, in the manner of how I’ve responded, so brace yourself because there’s a few crazy moments in this lol. Also, there’s a bit of swearing in this - I have a tendency to write stories / headcanons in a pretty crude style sometimes.

~Under the cut~

Guardienne joins Lance against the guard:

To start off with, when Guardienne asked Lance to take her with him, she didn’t know his identity. He was still Ashkore to her. That changed somewhat quickly.

I theorize Lance did actually have some sort of “home base” deep within a forest or the mountains somewhat near the guard. He did have to sleep and eat after all. And where do you think he was taking all those supplies on the night Guardienne asked him to take her with him? Where do you think he stored that frying pan so dear to him? Buried it in the ground? Hung it on a tree branch for a Sabali to find later? Sure, he moved around a lot, but he had to keep his stolen resources somewhere, so he must have had a main cabin or cave or something that no one knew about that he made a temporary home of sorts.

Assuming that; that’s probably where he kept Guardienne most of the time after she came with him. Of course, he would be sure to restrict her movements for a while - after all, she could have asked to come merely to find out what a day in the life of Ashkore is like and then tell that to the guard - but once he realizes that she truly was compliant and happy to be there, even helping him by providing information he didn’t know already and taking care of basic chores like cooking and such so he can spend more time screwing with the guard, he loosened up and let her roam around his domain.

He kept personal things well hidden; any old drawings, weapons, and clothing. Basically anything he didn’t want her to touch... which was most of his stuff... but he was reasonable and didn’t restrain her too much. Just as long as she didn’t bother him and continued to help he didn’t mind her presence... too much anyways.

But again, it wasn’t too long before Guardienne found out his true identity. In reference to the existing plot-line, I imagine her finding out his identity in this AU long before she found out in the existing plot-line. After all - they’re living together now, and he needs to take off his mask and armor sometimes. Do you think he always sleeps in his mask? And armor for that case? What about when he eats or bathes? Certainly he can do most of those things in private, but I don’t see Lance demanding she turn her back every time he removes his mask and armor. I can see him doing that to begin with - when she’s restricted - but once he realizes she truly wants to help, he’ll find it to be inconvenient to always hide himself whenever he wants to do anything without his mask and armor. He’ll probably still want her to call him Ashkore, though... and that’ll be the case until she realizes his identity and refuses to call him anything but Lance.

Now I forget if she knew about Lance’s existence at the time of asking to leave with him (I believe she did), but since she never got a description I imagine it would take her a small while to connect the dots once she's living with him. She would certainly have theories that Ashkore is Lance, and she would certainly irritate the utter crap out of him with countless questions regarding possible confirmation or hints to back up her theory, but she wouldn’t get many answers. Either he would ignore her, or turn to level his icy stare on her. She would quickly understand that he’s not interested in answering questions about his identity and past. He eventually threatened to cut her tongue out a few times if she kept asking nonsensical questions, but she didn't seem to care much and he eventually let it be; perhaps he realized that she would be even more irritating then. She wouldn't be able to speak easily without her tongue, but her resolve is steady, so she'd still try to find some way to speak with him - and then he'd still need to deal with her questions in whatever way she deemed fit, which included investing time to learn this new way of communication. Threatening her friends wouldn't work as she doesn't consider the guard her friends, so Lance came to recognize that's it better to just deal with her questions and ignore her.

However, he would answer general questions that couldn’t be used heavily against him if she were captured and questioned; why is he trying to destroy the crystal, what’s with his grudge against Eldarya, what does he know about the Blue Sacrifice? From his answers she can put a few logical pieces together. The Eldaryans don’t deserve to live? They’re disrespecting the kind gift of life the dragons gave them? They were apparently forced to sacrifice? Then hunted down after the sacrifice despite their generous gesture? Well he must be a dragon, since angels didn’t end up sacrificing and he speaks so passionately about them. And Valk said he was faelien, so either he lied and does know or Ashkore (being Lance in her theory) somehow found out their genetics while Valk remained clueless to it. And they look so similar, they would have to be brothers. Ashkore’s story started around the same time that Lance apparently died? Lance apparently fought valiantly and passionately for the things he believed in, like what she’s seen with Ashkore? Goodness are the pieces adding up now.

Guardienne would eventually approach him about her theory and he would respond with a cold hiss.

“What, you want a reward? A pat on the back and a ‘well done’? Why does my identity matter to you?”

He never said a direct yes - he was basically incapable of responding calmly or reasonably with touchy subjects - but she would know she has it right. 

You would think them being on different sides of the war would mean they’d be more likely to try and kill each other, right? Wrong. Them being around each other all the time, I believe, leads them to be more likely to kill each other. Why? Recall episode 26 - their overall chemistry. Regardless of if choices made increased the LOM or decreased it, bizarre, entertaining conversation between the two still ensued. The main thing with that episode was that Lance became emotionally vulnerable as time went on, so actual tender...-ish moments came about where both of them were taken seriously but gently. Now imagine both of them - neither of them in vulnerable moments - being around the other constantly, both working together but still stepping on each other’s toes. Guardienne wants to make a meal; where’s this ingredient? What’s the ingredient compatibility? What do these things taste like? That’s not a food, that’s an alchemy ingredient? AND WHERE IS THE GODDAMN FRYING PAN!? (*cue Lance in the background clutching the pan and hissing at Guardienne*). Now Lance - who’s holed himself up in a private room - needs to plan his next attack on the guard; he needs this map of the layout, and this item to help him plan. He can use this pathway to- “Hey Lance?” ... Silence - if he pretends he’s not in there she’ll surely leave... Anyways, this pathway will probably be the safest, and his destination is there. Leiftan can- “Lance, I know you’re there, don’t ignore me!” ... Leiftan can- “Where’s the corn!?” Oh by the Oracle! But what the hell is corn? He’ll go to the door and crack it open only enough to give her an odd look. “Small, yellow, hard grain but smooth? About the size of a fingernail?” ... “Back right, lower pantry.” He’ll slam the door and hover over the map again. Ok, Leiftan... yes, that’s what he was going to do. Then he’ll have access to- “Oh - where’s the big pot?” *SLAM* Pain will shoot up his arm from his fist as the table shakes and he turns his head to seethe at the woman through the door. “You’ve lived here for weeks, you know where it is!” “Well you seem to have an obsession with hiding things, so actually I don’t because everything is always moved around!” He’ll rush to the door and fling it open to glare down at her. The door and it’s frame creak unsteadily at his tight grip as he looms over her. “Find. It. Yourself.”  He’ll go to recede back into the room but she’ll grab his shirt and pull him into the room she’s in - he’ll snarl at her in response. “I’ve tried looking for it, it’s impossible to find.” She’ll hiss back at him with folded arms. “I’m busy planning.” He growls at her. “Well take a break then.” She snaps as they stare each other down... Silence again... “You make me want to kill myself.” “Don’t. You need to destroy the guard first.” He throws his hand back towards the door he was stolen from with a wild look in his scathing eyes; what did she think he was planning for in there!? “You gonna help me or what?” She speaks as if this is completely alright. He nearly shouts in rage as he slams his fist against the wall - pain shooting up his arm a second time - before pacing and clutching his head, eventually resigning to stomping towards the makeshift kitchen - not caring about whether she follows - and tearing through his stores to find the pot. He’ll throw it on the counter and cast a livid glare at her as he passes to head back to planning. “Well goodness, you didn’t need to throw a tantrum over it.” He whirls around and nearly leaps on her - she’s helping to destroy the crystal, she’s helping to destroy the crystal, she’s helping to destroy the crystal, WHY DOES A POT MATTER RIGHT NOW!?

So yes, they’re more likely to attempt to kill each other when on the same side; only because they’re alone and around each other more so they can chew on each other's nerves more.

However, as time carries on and they spend more time together, they actually begin to... enjoy each other's presence sometimes - not even sometimes; a good portion of the time. Sure they have moments where they argue and are a breath away from stabbing each other, but there are also moments where they aren’t treading on the other, by accident or purposeful. In these moments, they see a different side of each other - a good side of each other.

Guardienne quickly picks up on how passionate, resolute, and intelligent Lance is, noting that he’ll spend hours on end studying texts he’s found and maps of the areas the guard will be around next. He’ll carry these texts and maps around with him as he ghosts around their make-shift home, spending most of his days off curled up next to a small indoor fireplace and moving only for a few moments to take a quick break. Ironically, Guardienne leaves him alone to study more when he studies within her presence rather than when he locks himself alone in a separate area for hours, so in time Lance realizes he’s less likely to be interrupted if he studies in their living room/common area. As he begins to study more within her sight, Guardienne begins to see what he studies - and many of those things provide great insight for her regarding knowing Lance better. These things can range from different languages, histories and cultures, maps, geography, alchemy, mission reports (stolen from the guard of course) and even a few books touching on warfare, philosophy and psychology - what little of those latter texts exists in their world, at least. Guardienne begins to realize that, while Lance is very set on destroying the guard and the crystal, he’s also much more than just a man who wishes to exact revenge. He studies these texts to learn how to use it to his advantage, sure, but he also seems to have a genuine interest in these subjects. She even interrupted him one day - finding that he was oddly patient with answering this specific question - to ask if he perhaps ever grows bored of learning about these things, stressing that it’s a good idea to take a break from working constantly all the time - only for him to respond that he doesn’t view all of it as work. Some subjects he’s less interested in but are necessary to know for his agenda of revenge, but in the case where he’s feeling drained from that he’ll turn to reading another subject that he’s more interested in and go back to it later. She sometimes resigns to observing him as he studies - and she knows that Lance knows she watches him by the way his gaze will flick over to her every once and a while - but eventually she’ll begin to ask exactly what’s written in the books or what he’s thinking regarding the maps, asking to try to get to know his thought process better or just having nothing better to do at the moment. This is how Guardienne learns to grow closer to him; he doesn’t snap at her half as much when he explains what he’s studying, and he explains things in such a way that she doesn’t need to interrupt him to ask him to explain it better. In turn, she also begins to learn a bit about what he’s studying and can provide a bit of her own interesting input. Occasionally they debate these topics with one another, and Lance is actually very temperate when debating these things - he can speak in beautiful, grand tones about certain subjects, clearly showing just how much he’s interested in it. His eyes will glow with a warmth and passion that seems to dull even the indoor fire that burns with an eternal energy. These moments of enthusiasm actually entertain her greatly, and she begins to realize that she truly enjoys being around him in these moments. However, this also leads to minor conversations about his past, usually sparked from conversing about past experiences in these fields, and Guardienne witnesses firsthand the icing over of his personality from the reminder of his past. She’ll mention anything about his past; the village he lived in, his brother, his time in the guard, any memories he has, and the lively shimmer in his eyes will dull. His shoulders will drop and gaze will be cast to the floor as he bows his head slightly, a weight seeming to settle on him as he stares into a void for just a few mere moments. Then his facial features will harden, a stone cold look will invade his eyes and he’ll straighten again despite the clear effort it takes for him to stand tall. His formerly lively, sonorous tone will harden into cold, scathing words that are nearly spat out as he closes himself off, snapping and growling at her if she attempts to connect with him again. It’s from these continuous experiences that she recognizes something important; he's not truly as evil as he seems - he's wounded and aches for his reality to not be what it is now, and he seeks every day to ease that torturous pain, believing that that pain can only be eased by hurting others, by showing them just how much he’s hurt from his knowledge. Nobody is born evil, she realizes - he’s cruel only because he feels this is the only way he can deal with the pain of reality.

In turn, she tries her best to be understanding and comforting when she can. She understands, in some ways, his pain of knowing about the guard and sacrifice - she’s against the guard as well for her own reasons not too different than his - and seeing just how much Lance has broken because of the guard - just like her - only makes her want to burn it to the ground more. Lance notices this in time; where she once always pushed him to tell her more about his past and identity and reasoning, she’s now willing to drop the subject for a while or ask in a manner that’s more... considerate or empathetic. She begins to overlook his snapping and huffing at her, and instead focuses more on what he says and his reaction to those words instead of his irritation at her persistence. As Guardienne comes to understand Lance more, she realizes that he actually enjoys her company as well, even if he won’t admit it. He’ll jump at the chance to explain and debate his studies with her, and when she backs off of a sensitive topic she accidentally tread on for a while, he’ll be more temperate if she returns in a few hours and touches at the topic again, provided she approaches it in a neutral, tactful way. After all, the topic she wishes to speak about is a reminder of or is the exact reason he went from honorable and righteous to cruel and destructive - in his perception, if she doesn’t know how to approach it in a cautious, gentle manner then she doesn’t deserve to know exactly what happened and why it bothers him so much. However, she does learn this in in time, and he eventually allows her to listen to his most personal thoughts on... well, nearly everything. As they grow to understand each other better, she begins to provide a bit of support for him. He’s been alone for so long that sometimes he wonders if he’s truly losing his mind, but her presence reminds him that he’s not as lost as he thinks sometimes. Guardienne becomes a grounding force for him. She willingly - happily - listens to his rants and stories of his past if he agrees to talk about it, even if he’s fuming and raging the whole time, and eventually she can actually calm him down a bit. As much as he wishes to maintain a distance between them, in time he can’t help but grow a bit protective over her for personal reasons; her perspectives agree with his, she readily and willingly - even humorously, sometimes - puts up with his temperamental outbursts, eagerly speaks with him about basically anything, and wants to do something about what she feels is right or wrong. He refuses to fully acknowledge the hold she has on him - he’s not supposed to be attached to anyone in any way if his mission is to succeed- but when he stares at her as she nestles next to a stream, eyes bright and curious with innocence as she watches shimmering native fish glide by and turns to him to ask why they’re swimming up-stream instead of down, he can’t help but forget his past and feel normal with her.

She’ll eventually be made aware of Leiftan and Chrome as well. Not at first, but when Lance drags her half-way across Eldarya with him because he needs to fuck with the guard in foreign lands she’ll be dragged into their late-night-hang-out-meetings.

Leiftan quickly takes to her, Lance notices, and this is also how - in this version of the story - Guardienne finds out about her genetics. They need her strength in the war, so Leiftan will enlighten her and encourage her to train her abilities, even helping her in the few moments he can.

Lance quickly snaps at him, making sure he knows he can’t jeopardize his fake role within the guard to train her late in the night. He comes up with all sorts of excuses and aggressively reminds Leif that he can’t spend too much time around her. She’s supposed to not exist anymore and Leiftan needs to pretend like nothing is going on.

Really, though, Lance is just feeling threatened. He doesn’t want his personal source of information, good food, and entertainment to be wooed and stolen away. Good luck getting him to admit that, though.

Lance believes she’s safest with him; he’s the one outside the guard and his location and activities are unknown most of the time. All he needs to do is keep her veiled in that shroud of mysterious unknown to the guard and she’ll be impossible to find. Of course, she won’t want to just sit around forever. She’ll eventually want to be more proactive in helping him destroy the guard, and he’ll argue it at first until she becomes just so annoying that he can’t possibly stand it anymore! It’s either she helps or he kills her because she won’t shut up, so he trains her; hard and brutally. He’ll train her in how to master her demon abilities, how to gain the upper hand in any fight with any enemy, the most lethal points of different creatures, the most lethal tactics she could use, how to improve her strength, stamina, speed and stealth. He was once Chief of the Obsidian Guard; he knows how to turn a weak, scraggly runt into a masterful, fearsome warrior. When he finally sees fit, he’ll gift her with personalized equipment - bought or made specifically by him - so she can slink around the guard late at night with him. Of course, he’ll demand that she call him Ashkore on premises - or anywhere except home, really - but she’ll follow his lead in that case; she knows how important it is to remain unknown.

So how exactly do these restock or attack missions go? Well, she’s usually brought along for restock missions - where no one is supposed to know they were there in the first place - in which case her role is to stay quiet and help him throw stuff into the bag. She’ll typically be left to carrying the bags unless there’s one that’s too heavy for her to remain quiet - he’ll take the heavier bags. Lance will usually be busy designing their path out and planning their timing correctly while she focuses on following him. He doesn’t really take her on attack missions, though. He wants her to remain unknown. If a feminine figure is suddenly working with him not too long after Guardienne’s disappearance, especially since it was clear there was a rift between her and the guard, then suspicions will rise, and unfortunately those questions could then begin trace further back to reflect on Lance’s death and Ashkore’s appearance due to the similar time-frame of events. Basically, their stories and disappearance/death to villain appearance time-frame would begin to mirror each other. If she was to remain unknown then she can’t directly fight the guard, so no attack missions for her. However, Lance isn’t against turning a restock mission into a restock-attack mission if he sees the chance - he’ll just make sure she’s basically safe the rest of the way back home before enacting on it, even going as far as retracing his steps back to the guard to cause trouble.

In the original plot-line, it seems that most of the time when Lance, Leiftan and Guardienne are fighting each other it’s due mainly to the fact that Leiftan abandons the plans against the guard because he's in love with Guardienne, Lance wants Leiftan to continue against the guard, and then he realizes he needs Guardienne out of the picture so Leiftan forgets about her and so he can gain some other information he needs/use her as leverage against the guard. Since in this AU, she's happily on their side (so Leiftan isn't abandoning his plans against the guard and Lance has all access to her power/information) I can see a bit less of a rift among their team as their plans harmonize together. Instead of Leiftan and Lance fighting, Lance kidnapping Guardienne, Lance becoming reckless by putting off breaking the crystal, and many other things happening caused by the rift between them, they’d most likely collaborate and work together better, and they’d be more coordinated in attacks and better at getting to the crystal. Of course, it’s possible that Leiftan may have wanted Eldarya to be saved at some point so he could spend his life with Guardienne, but seeing how Leiftan would do nearly anything for her throughout the original plot-line, I wouldn’t be surprised if he continued his efforts against the guard knowing that she’d want him to in this AU. It would also help knowing that the guard hurt her many times in many ways, so he’d be seeking revenge for that as well.

Dragging Guardienne around Eldarya with Lance, however, has risks and consequences that could come down on top of them if not careful. One such issue is the fact that, while Lance is very good at evading the guard, occasionally he’s caught and is sent on a wild-goose chase trying to flee from them. This occasionally can put Guardienne at risk of being found out, as she’s nearly always close to him, but Lance has considered this possibility a long time ago and has already devised a plan during these times to avoid from any heavy repercussions falling back on them. He’s just fine with fleeing with her - he knows how to keep her out of sight and her equipment is lightweight enough so that she has no trouble moving swiftly and flexibly if needed - but he’s realized that it may not be the smartest idea to have her fleeing with him while clearly seeming to be working with him. Instead, Lance realized, it would be a good idea for her to act as though she’s a hostage if she’s about to be revealed. That way, if she’s captured at any point in the future, she can play the innocent victim who knows nothing, and the guard - while persistent in finding out anything she may know, no matter how little the information may be- certainly won’t hurt their precious Guardienne who has already been through so much while in the clutches of the evil Ashkore. If she’s seen as a hostage, she can use excuses like “I’m sorry, it just so hard to talk about so soon... can we continue this later”, “I honestly don’t remember much, I was so busy focusing on a possible way of escaping that I didn’t pay much attention to that detail”, and “He kept me locked away in a certain area, I don’t know if there were any landmarks around that could point to his location” to deter their questioning and buy time before she needs to reveal anything actually important, else she look like she’s protecting him. Acting as a hostage will also assure that she won’t be thrown in the prison and guarded the whole time; so being free to roam around the guard while buying time to keep important information a secret will allow Lance the time to plan a rescue mission - disguised as another easy kidnapping since she won’t be guarded - to return her to their side. This is merely a backup plan if they know she’ll likely be captured at some point, and it will only work if the guard is unaware of a female figure helping him out, but provided that everything goes smoothly it should be a solid plan with little negative effects. However, this can’t happen more than once or twice; the first time will be easily accepted by the guard, the second time she plays the innocent, panicking fool she’ll be walking the line between seeming suspicious or if she’s truly that foolish, and for her sake the second time she will need to reveal some important information. A third time and the guard would know that something is up.

These hostage situations can get quite amusing for Guardienne - despite how fragile the situation is - and, frankly, Lance would snap at her every time she snickers about this, except he finds these situations absolutely hilarious as well. They’ll be running around Eldarya, the guard occasionally cornering them before they flee, and Guardienne will do her best to attack Lance in ways that are weak enough to not actually effect anything, but are strong enough to make it look like she’s truly trying to escape. Is the guard within ear-shot and they know they’ll be found out eventually? Great, Lance has an escape plan to get out of there already, so Guardienne can throw a screeching hissy-fit at him to make it seem like she’s trying to escape. Sometimes this can aid them as well, as they can set up a maze that the guard will certainly come running through to find Guardienne, following the sound of her struggle, only to then be trapped somewhere because Lance has traps set up that Guardienne certainly couldn’t have known about since she’s a hostage. Other times she’ll do her best to attack Lance - but let’s face it, even if he did train her she would still have a hard time bringing him down if their fight was serious - and he’ll quickly disarm her in front of the guard before finding a way to gain distance from them again. This is all just to reconfirm the illusion that she’s a hostage to the guard, and of course they panic every time and believe it, but it’s knowing that they’re running circles around the guard - bringing them here and having her bait them to this location so Lance can attack them, or leading them to discover a certain fact at some point so they think they have a useful piece of information on Lance when in fact Lance is using that to draw them out in confidence so he can crush them - that they find truly amusing. The guard is being played this whole time and they keep falling for it. Even Lance can’t help but laugh at a few moments of running the guard around with Guardienne later, when they’re no longer in danger.

Of course, this all leads up to the grand finale; the final shattering of the crystal. I imagine this happening much sooner than in the original plot-line because Guardienne isn’t a hindering factor anymore, and I can see it happening with much more ease than how it originally played out. Perhaps they’ll lure the important members of the guard to another land - letting them think that they’ve caught Guardienne’s trail over there - and launch their final attack when no one who can stop them is around. They might decide to fuck with the guard one last time, running them around within the guard while Lance infiltrates the crystal room. Perhaps they decide to go out with a bang and capture the important members of the guard, binding them and closing off the crystal room so they can reveal their identities and the guard can watch as the people that were once held dear to them destroy their world while they’re helpless to do anything. It doesn’t matter much how it happens, though, at this point - with an angered dragon and two powerful demons - there’s nothing that the guard can do to stop them. In some ways it will hurt, knowing that this is the end of their beautiful story of revenge, but - no matter what happens after this - they’ll know they succeeded, and that will be the last truth Eldarya will ever know.

I think this may be one of the longer headcanons that I’ve written so far, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out! Also, Tumblr ate this ask while it was a draft once or twice (it was in the 3-draft radius of asks that were at risk of being eaten so it disappeared a few times) so it did take a bit longer to write than I’d hoped, but fortunately no progress had been deleted so I’m just fine with that.

Thank you for asking!

Have a request? Ask them here!

But first, please read the rules list for asks!

[regrettablewritings]

@locke-writes my love

ithasbeenalongassfewdaysandiamjustnowgettingtothissosorryiamtwash 💖 💖 💖

DJ x Reader Ship Meme

But fuck that guy :U

jfdjfdkjf i just appreciate how we all came together, took one look at this bastard who was in a film for a collective maybe 10 minutes maximum and decided that whatever material that shitty-ass getup of his was made from, we were going to make it boyfriend material one way or another

Though the fact that barely anybody writes for him or searches for him anymore indicates one of two possibilities: Either we are the strong who persevere even though he really doesn’t deserve it, or we are like raccoons digging in the trash and clinging on to this “neutral”, dirty bastard.

Foggy x Reader Ship Meme

We promote Foggy supremacy in this house. Sorry, Matt, but I’m not sorry.

Foggy is charming as FUCK and yeah, his realism can make him seem like a stick-in-the-mud between Karen and Matt, but there’s a reason his ass ain’t back-flipping around Hell’s Kitchen: It’s just not safe or sensible! Foggy is the grounding force of a group, and I think that’s something we don’t really appreciate enough because we’re so wrapped up in witnessing adventure that we don’t always recognize the importance of stability -- especially in the MCU or wherever the Netflix series are supposed to take place.

Pwease, somebody, give Foggy all the bagels and ice cweams. He stays put like a good boy and actually makes it on time to date night. 🥺 

Poe Dameron x Reader Ship Meme

. . . You’re not wrong, but hey!

Though to be fair, I think if the two of you were hiking through an area he knew based on previous explorations or information contained potentially threatening or nuisance flora, he’d be a bit more vigilant. However, the less of it there is, the more excitable he becomes -- which can easily distract him into slipping up and finding whatever the SW equivalent of poison oak is.

Nevada Ramirez x Reader Ship Meme

You are literally that meme of Ralph Wiggum going, “I’m in danger! 😀”

Nevada is just cussing and being kinda arrogant for a manlet and being aggressive and also eating. Lots of eating.

. . . You never considered the potential there is between the metaphor of Nevada being a feral/aggressive dog, turned guard dog to the one soul that tolerated him but also wouldn’t tolerate his bullshit? Of Nevada being the abominable Tarasque, reincarnated into the form of a man thousands of miles away, devouring souls in an endless fit of hunger until the hand of St. Martha quells him? . . . That sounds so nice and pure, teach me your ways and please free me --

Nevada: is 5′9″ and thus far taller than I Me: Fuckin shortass angry king, prolly needs a telephone book on his throne seat --

Nevada is not in the preference I’m referring to, unfortunately, but currently, as it stands, Dewey is at least??

Look, all I’m saying is that Nevada Ramirez’s silver palate does not extend to his taste in television. He’s very impatient and even though I can imagine him being a man of taste when it comes to food, I can’t really see him enjoying shows that require too much thinking or inside knowledge. He might be into Game of Thrones because haha tiddies and sex an’ shit, but I feel like the novelty would wear off relatively fast and he’d hop off early on. Apparently a bullet was dodged. Nah, he does enough thinking in his day-to-day, he believes. It just feels nice to turn off your brain and watch dumb, rich assholes proceed to be stupid, or hot, young twenty-somethings act like it’s the end of the world because someone they’ve only known for three days in close proximity decided not to continue sharing a bed with them. “People are dying, Kim,” Nevada says. “Because of me. I’m dying them. Count your blessings and suck it up instead of crying that you don’t get to suck him off.”

Okay so you’ve just tickled a fun fact out of me. My dad is a teacher and for years, he’s often been surrounded by women teachers. He recently revealed to me that at one point, he had free bells at the same time certain networks would broadcast soap operas his coworkers at the time followed, so the arrangement made was that he’d watch the episodes they would miss, write down info, and relay the plot back to them so they’d be caught up. I think they actually paid him. And if you knew my dad, you would find this startling because he’s such an intimating, manly type of guy at first glance? But hey, I cannot disrespect the hustle. Anywho, I feel like before streaming got big, Nevada would pay cronies to watch episodes of his telenovelas for him if he couldn’t be there to watch them himself. I really doubt dealers and gangsters have punch clocks or anything, but I feel like Nevada had a system in place where he’d know not to call, like, Luis or Rico at such-a-such-o-clock because that’s when Tierra de Pasiones would be on.

Bruh, I was searching for examples of telenovelas and like...Telenovelas just do not last long at all 😂😂 Granted, you can probably say that about a lot of shows, but the amount of telenovelas I looked at that never made it beyond one season is just tragic, yo.

Steve Harrington x Reader Ship Meme

Steve is a bit of a butt monkey to the point I theorize it’s his survival tactic. I mean, why my boy gotta keep losin’? He’s such an adorable goof! An uncreative goof if left to his own devices, but he means no harm by it!

For making a date night happen in a place like Hawkins, I think he deserves extra credit. Of course, this could just be me saying this from the stance of a person spoiled by the options provided in the 21st century compared to the 80s, but . . . Give him extra credit anyway, he deserves it for just being cute.

[evans-heaven]

I'm just....so tired lmao

(If rants aren't your thing then just scroll on by and continue w your life thanks cause this is exactly what that is)

I'm writing this at 2 AM so if it doesn't make sense please forgive me lmao

This isn't a post calling anyone out who simply thinks it may be PR. And this absolutely isn't a post calling out anyone who thinks it may be real. But, after the level of dissection and over analyzing I've been seeing, I figured it was time to open my mouth. Or rather, a new text post lmfao. I'm not saying anything I state here is right or fact, I just have as much of a right as anyone else to state my full on opinion (and it well remain clear that it is an opinion).

It's honestly amazing to me the way a fandom can be *so* divided by some photos. And by amazing I mean completely unsurprising. I've been down this road. Twice in the same fandom. The second time was enough to make me leave. I know how "fake" relationships, or simply paparazzi photos, can cause differing opinions to flood tumblr.

But honestly? With the way some of y'all are reacting to Chris and Lily? Over photos in a park? It almost scares me thinking of the wildfire that would've started if they were anywhere near Shawn and Camila's level. Honestly....yikes 😅

Anyway. Hate to break it to y'all, but we aren't on Chris' team. We don't work for Dailymail or backgrid and we weren't called to hide behind a bush and take some photos. We're outsiders, looking through a phone screen and drawing our own conclusions. Which is fine. But it becomes a problem (for me at least) when those conclusions are stated in a very factual way.

I don't see why backs need to be broken looking at every detail in those photos through a damn microscope. He's wearing a Patriots bandana? Cool. He pulled it down to eat icecream? Well...yeah, otherwise he would've ended up w a pretty dirty bandana. Hes laughing and smiling and laying on the grass with his potential girlfriend? What's the big fucking deal? Why are these simple ass things being picked apart? Why are y'all trying to prove something when we have little to no facts?

This is how I feel: Is it fake? It has the makings of it. Do I want to believe it's real? I already partially do. I'm not jumping through hoops wondering what this potential PR stunt could be for and why it could be happening. I saw those photos and took them for what they were. Two people who seem to be a couple taking a walk and having some ice cream. I didn't dissect their body language like a fucking dead frog. I'm mot looking at that fucking bright ass smile and calling it fake. They look ridiculously happy and cute together because what can you expect when you have two of the sweetest angels in the world in a photo??? I MEAN lmao

Yes, I talked to some people about the possibility of it being PR, as I said I do believe it has the makings of it. But I didn't immediately jump on that bandwagon. Why? Because I don't know shit. And I don't know Chris. And that should be something y'all admit instead of the overdone theorizing.

But, I'm not claiming to be better than anyone bc I understand this. No one who does should. Honestly, considering a few years ago on tumblr, I definitely felt like i knew shit. Like I knew Shawn. And, I didn't. So that current nasty ass PR stunt sank in easier than it did the first time bc I realized, favorite celeb or not, no one is above the industry standards and norms. It doesn't change who they really are, but it can change who we made them out to be. Granted this really is PR, of course. But reverting to this being what it seems on a surface level, without the psycho analyzing, well still don't fucking know. I think that's the only thing I'll admit I (and other people I'm sure) know to be a fact about this whole thing.

Please know I don't want drama, theres enough of that in the fandom rn. I'm just venting my frustrations and feelings on my blog and I'm not asking anyone to agree with me. I just wanna offer a new perspective (okay I got a lil snarky but can u blame me lmao) on what's happening. Sometimes, you just need to take things as they are and admit you're on the outside.

P.S. I'm not really in his fandom, but I think this can apply for Sebastian as well. If we're talking the PR speculation. But! If you insist on ripping into Chris, maybe keep the same energy for Seb bc these situations are very similar lmao.

[ahmedmootaz]

Hello! I saw you request of requests, soooo. Can I request a story and it can be however long you want it to be. The sort of prompt is what you think would or want to happen in the upcoming episode “The Phantom and The Sorceress”. It’s fine even if you don’t answer this ask, thanks for all your content and theories!

Dear Anonymous,

What, did you think that just because I replied one day before the episode aired that I wouldn’t do it?...Well, I was debating it, but this was a fun one. I really hope you like it, because I spent quite a bit of effort on it.

Beware of possible spoilers, however. I mean, it is all prediction, but you never know when you’re right. So, here’s the link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26551864

And here is the magical Read More button, for those who need it (Note that Tumblr doesn’t copy italics, for some reason):

It was a dark, cold night in the Forest Of...whatever. Lena couldn't care less about what its name was. It was damp, awful, cold, and filled with monsters. No wonder Magica would hide here; it was basically her dream home. Maybe it was a mirror, too. She trudged with her friends, Violet and Webby, who'd oh-so-kindly volunteered to help her on this mad quest of hers. She was going mad, that's what, and they were both ready to go mad with her. She really was lucky when it came to friends.

They kept trudging in silence, not wanting to reflect on the series of what must've been unfortunate events to lead them to searching for Magica DeSpell in the dark, cold night in the middle of a swamp. An ugly swamp, too...though, now that she thought about it, there weren't really 'pretty' swamps, so it wasn't like Magica chose a bad one; they were all bad.

Despite telling herself several times how she was over this, how she had no issues whatsoever about what they were doing right now and that it was for the greater good, she found herself contemplating any other choice. Just what, exactly, led them to this point?!

...Well, they all knew. It was a rhetorical question. An angry rhetorical question. Leave it to the McDucks to be attacked by a literal video-game monster that crawled out of the screen and treating it like another boring day. Which...yeah, it kinda was for them, but she'd gotten used to the calmer household she moved in. It wasn't like that was the biggest thing that happened today, either, it was more like...the appetizer, even though that wasn't really a correct statement, since it was like eating a whole roast duck only to be told it was an appetizer.

Still, it wasn't the tentacle-monster which they took down that led to this situation. It was the fact that Gladstone...Gladner? Something along those lines, showed up. Apparently, he was the boys' uncle, which made him someone she didn't know. Not that it mattered anyway, he came in, crying about how his luck left him forever before weeping on her arm, which was conveniently next to him. Her sleeve was never going to return to regular levels of salt after this.

It took a while before Scrooge managed to calm him down. It seemed like his luck...which was a thing she didn't know about, had left him. Normally, she was told, they would've chalked it up to some paranormal mystery and had to excuse themselves and send her home, but it went further then that...Almost everyone in Duckburg was losing their abilities.

They didn't really believe it at first, but when Scrooge's monetary abilities started going blank, the alarms blared loudly enough in everyone's minds. It wasn't just him, too; Gyro was losing his intelligence, so was Huey, Mrs.Beakly lost a good portion of her Agent skills, and Dewey lost the ability to Dewey, whatever the heck he meant by that.

It only left her and the rest of Team Magic to fend for themselves and figure out what was draining their powers. There was one teeny-tiny problem, however:

How would they do that? Webby was an amazing fighter, but their enemy, a certain Phantom Blot that Violet heard about, didn't leave a trace, much less a body to fight, and despite Violet's best efforts, nothing came out of her investigations to find where he hid, which left Lena to do the job. One issue, however: She couldn't.

She was a brilliant sorceress, or so she bragged, but there was still much she needed to learn before casting detection spells. And they, she theorized, didn't have that time. Violet was an amazing step-sister and a scarily fast learner, but even she came up empty-handed when it came to learning anything about that power. That left one magic user in Duckburg she knew. Ugh.

She shivered at the memory, snapping out of her mind due to some whimpering from Gladstone. He said he needed to find his luck or else he was a goner. She thought he was exaggerating at first, but then a boat nearly fell on him. 4 Kilometres away from sea. He promised he'd do them anything if she let him accompany them on this treacherous journey while the rest of the gang tried investigating using their own ways, and the agreed. How bad could he be, anyways?

-"U-Um...Lena? I don't know how to tell you this...but I...I hate swamps. I don't think I know how to walk in them. It was always my luck helping me out. I'm cold, scared, and humiliated."...well, not too bad, but he just wouldn't shut up! And while he seemed to amuse Webby and Violet, he was just getting on her nerves.

-"Well, nobody here likes swamp, either! And you've been listing the things your luck did for you for two hours now, is there anything you can do on your own, Mr.Gladstone?", she shot back, irked.

He used to argue and bicker with her, but as his luck kept worsening throughout the day (How on earth does one get mauled by a bear, an alligator, and then receive a speeding ticket because the alligator's death-roll was too fast??), he mostly stuck to paranoia to help himself. She couldn't help but feel bad for him, despite how much he annoyed her.

-"W-Well...I used to breathe well on my own...I could also walk...I think...", he mumbled, his voice a broken mess compared to his arrogant and proud tone, or so she was told by Webby. "A-And...I think I might need to learn how to go to the bathroom in the swamp.", he added, his exhaustion overpowering his embarrassment.

-"Pffft, don't worry about it, Gladstone! The entire swamp is your bathroom! You're basically the King of the swamp!", and there it was, the perky, energetic voice that was trying to keep Gladstone away from depression this entire trip.

-"Oh, quit with the lies! I am nothing without my luck!", he cried, seeming on the verge of tears for the...seventeenth time today? Lena couldn't remember. "B-But...It wasn't my choice! My luck was always there for me! Like...Like a-a stick! Something to lean on my entire life and now it is gone!", he lamented, slouching as his footsteps got a bit slower. For the sake of all them, Lena hoped he regained any of his luck soon.

-"Well, it is true; any being born with a condition, abnormal or not, that aids him throughout his life without any major work done from the part of the being will eventually get used to this condition, which could explain why you're taking this particular misadventure hard, Mr.Gladstone.", Violet bumped in their chat, checking the notepad on which they brainstormed the possible locations of Magica. "Still, I'd advise you to remain positive, as I sense we may be able to fix these conditions.", she added, giving him a small, encouraging smile which he didn't notice.

-"Yeah, probs.", the teenage witch agreed after she felt a nudge from the Vanderquack. Anything to cheer up her friend's friends' uncle. "Hey Vi, are we close or not?", she asked, trying to ignore the eye-roll from her shorter friend.

-"Well, I don't have a particularly detailed map, though I imagine that Magica would mark her camp with a particular sign; an X on the ground, perhaps, or perhaps we must deduce it from the surrounding environment-"

-"Or she might've carved her face on the bottom of an ancient tree!", the cheerful duck happily announced as they entered a clearing with a small dirt road that led to the mouth of Magica DeSpell. A wooden carving of her, anyway.

It was just as Webby said, large, reeking of pride and arrogance, and yet...oddly well done. The details were really nice and actually looked like Magica. If she had to give her 'aunt' something, it had to be that she apparently didn't suck at something in her life. Really though, wood carving, of all things? Was she a carpenter before becoming an evil, awful witch? Is she talented? She didn't have her magic...maybe she had someone else with her.

-"Alright, so, is everyone prepared to meet my homicidal aunt?", the tallest duckling asked with fake happiness, receiving a nod form everyone but Gladstone, who emitted  something of a sniff. Webby readied the axe she brought with her, patting the kitten at the top while Violet tightened her garlic necklace, while Gladstone...he stood there, steadying his back a bit. "Mr.Gladstone?"

-"Ah, forget about it, whatever she does to me, it can't be worse than having an anvil hit me from ten-meters.", he steadied his tone, managing to make it more bitter than desperate. Well, at least he wasn't going to cry when they see her.

She looked back at the tree's base, blocking out the various memories that gave her the urge to blast the door, and knocked. Harshly. Hey, she was going to give herself something. She felt both Webby and Violet's hands on her shoulders, and she anticipated the door opening. Now or never...they were going to convince her, and somehow, she didn't think it was going to be too easy.

Her mind raced, imagining all the awful things she could be plotting right now. She heard garlic was harmful to magic users, something she didn't know too much about, but was apparently true, as she figured out when her magical powers suddenly dimmed as she touched some garlic. Still, Magica could hit them form a distance...and what about that axe? Was going physical the ideal plan? Was-

 CRASH!

The quartet of ducks yelled, jumping back before they realized the door didn't even open. It was something from the inside. Someone, to be exact. A couple of curses came through the door as a metallic sound came through as well.

-"Bloody Hell! Who comes in this hour of the night, in this swamp, to this tree?! I don't even pay bills!", the angry yelling of her not-really-aunt came through. Yep, that was about the attitude she expected. "If you're the Magical Supplies Shop, I'm sorry, but if you couldn't tell, I lost my powers after following a wonderful plan of mine. I cannot pay you in whatever things you want. Now go away before I shoot you!", she answered with a sickeningly sweet tone. Even her voice brought Lena awful memories and forced her to frown.

-"You can do this, Lena. You faced her down before. She can't do anything to you.", Violet squeezed her shoulder, giving her a determined smile. Lena shot one back, before taking a step closer to the door.

-"Hey, this is Lena...Your...", she sighed, bringing a hand to her temple. "Niece?", she finished, awaiting a sick laughter or an undignified scowl at her for attempting to break free from being a shadow. Sorry-not-sorry, Magica. For moment, there was silence. Then there was laughter. Hysterical laughter. So much laughter Lena felt scared.

-"Ooooh, good one, person-who-is-trying-to-fool-me! I don't have a niece! My brother is dead and my sister cannot keep a worm alive! Now scram before my patience runs out!", she thundered from behind the door, leaving the ducklings and Gladstone in shock.

-"She has a brother?", Lena repeated with incredulity, looking at her two friends and Gladstone.

-"I don't know! How should I know? I thought she didn't have family!", Violet answered with equal confusion, shrugging.

-"I mean, technically she doesn't have a brother anymore.", Gladstone chimed in, his voice devoid of any enthusiasm. "Who's this woman anyway? And why does she sound like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed?", he asked, raising his voice a tad too much.

-"The wrong side of the bed?!", came the war-cry from behind the door, only leaving a moment before a couple of locks unlocked and it swung outwards, revealing Magica DeSpell . With a shotgun. Oh, well this was just lovely, wasn't it? "Alright, that does it, I will put more holes than you than there is in...swiss...cheese...", her speech slurred, looking at the three ducklings in front of her house.

The silence remained for a moment, with no one doing anything. Webby brandished her weapon, Violet made a threatening expression, and Lena ignited a spark in her hand. And Gladstone stood there, trying to take all this in. That moment gave Lena enough time to admire Magica's hut; a three-room lodging, more aptly. It was basically a sink, a gas-cooker, and some drawers, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf, all locally-made, apparently. There was also a toilet and a bath in the background. It was a pretty sorry place to live in, but it seemed functional enough.

-"Hi, Aunt Magica.", Lena greeted, gritting her teeth and delivering the widest, fakest smile she could possibly give. "I almost forgot how you looked! We haven't seen each other in such a long time. What a shame.", she continued, trying her best to remain calm and to look the elder sorceress in the eyes. Said sorceress was now surveying the ducks surrounding her, measuring her chances and keeping her hands on the shotgun's trigger.

-"Get out. Now!", the cape-wearing duck yelled, looking dangerously close to a rage-fit. "All three of you. Now!"

-"Three? Hello? I may have lost my luck, but I am certainly not invisible, lady!", Gladstone announced with an undignified tone. He got a glare that shut him up. "Yeah, sure, okay, talk with the people who really matter. Why wouldn't you?", he grumbled bitterly.

-"Listen, as much as we'd love to, we can't really do that.", the younger sorceress laid her hand on her waist, looking both bored and uncaring. At least, she hoped she did. The last thing she needed was for the awful, horrible duck in front of her to sense any weakness, something she assumed she excelled at.

-"Besides, we're already outside! Your evil mind trick won't work on us!", Webby boasted, swinging her axe a bit for intimidation purposes. They didn't seem to work all too well, but at the very least, they made Magica's shotgun point at her just a tiny bit. Was that a victory?...Probably not.

-"Fine then, get away from me! From this place! The last thing I need is to spend my night with a bunch of *McDucks*.", the gun-wielder practically screamed, her veins starting to bulge from the anger. Her voice was laced with venom dripping off of every word. It was honestly both terrifying and admirable how much hate she poured into every word.

-"I told you we can't.", Lena repeated calmly, trying to avoid a fight she saw she was coming.

And then, just as she hoped things would calm down, a loud, roaring BANG! filled the swamp. Every single member of her group jumped, looking frightened as they searched around for wounded. There were none, only four ducks staring at each other. She'd tricked them. And she didn't even have her magic. Lena frowned and turned her face back to her shadow's origin. Her...uh...creator? She was her shadow, did shadows have creators? Maybe a caster was a better term? As much as she hated it, 'Aunt Magica' rolled off the tongue far better than 'Caster Magica'.

-"Are you searching for fight? Because I'm not certain your chances would be very high with the four of us.", Violet spoke for her step-sister. Her new room-mate at this point, but Lena still appreciated the gesture with all of her heart. It appeared Magica actually fired a shot, even if it was only a warning shot. Everyone tried to make good on that statement, looking as threatening as they could. Even Gladstone lifted his fists, adding a grand total of 4% to how threatening they were.

-"Maybe you are! Why can't you get away from me? What do you want? I don't have any more plans for the moment, I didn't do anything illegal for the last month, and you're taking my books from my cold, dead, hands!", the former-Sorceress Of The Shadows barked back defiantly, still pointing at them with her gun. "I don't care if you kill me! I'll take at least two of you down before I-"

-"Could you shut up?!", Lena cried out, her eye twitching and doing everything she could to not attack Magica. "We're here because...because...", she couldn't say it. She couldn't bring herself to ask her for help.

-"...You want to buy something?", her 'aunt' guessed, gun still pointing at her head, but apparently curious.

-"No."

-"You want to brag?"

-"...No.", okay, maybe they did, but they couldn't do that. Not now, anyway.

-"Are we here to rent the room?", Gladstone chimed in, scratching his head. Lena was certain Violet explained to him on the way here...but he apparently forgot.

-"I NEED YOUR HELP!", there, she spat it. She couldn't believe she said it, covering her face afterwards. She felt Violet's hand pat her and heard Webby saying something along the lines of 'There, there'.

-"...I'm sorry? Is this...Listen, it's the middle of September, the swamp is humid as all Hell and I'm trying to set up a fan, if you're just here to brag,", she said before adding 'as you McDucks do.' under her breath, "Then you can come sometime else, these garments aren't exactly fun to wear when the humidity is 85% today so-"

-"No, we need the help. But you'd better watch your back, you witch, because if you try to betray us, I'll shove this axe right down your head!", Webby warned threateningly, patting the kitten once more. Magica actually remained silent and judged what she said, and Lena decided it was time to uncover her face again.

-"And why would you need my help?", the witch repeated, lowering her weapon. Lena could just feel smugness radiating off of her, and she hated it with every molecule of her being.

-"There's a thief in town. He's stealing everyone's abilities. Everything about them. He's stealing it. He calls himself the Phantom Blot.", Violet answered, looking rather impatient with Magica, who smiled with a hum.

-"And why should that concern me?", she smugly inquired and...well, she wasn't wrong. Lena hated that she wasn't wrong.

-"The Phantom Blot hates magic and its users. He wants to eradicate the both of them and you, if I remember correctly, are a witch, yes?", the hummingbird explained, gaining a bit more of a reaction this time: A chuckle. They really couldn't find anyone else, huh?

-"Listen, Purple, if you can remember so well, then you might as well remember that Lena over there stole all of my power. I'm in no danger of this Phantom Blot.", she shot back, a taunting smile on her beak and crossing her arms.

-"Alright, listen up you freak, maybe you don't realize this, but he doesn't know that you don't have your powers. All he knows is that you were the single biggest magical spell to hit this town less than a year ago. I'd say you're still on his hit list.", not taking any more of this back-and-forth, the younger sorceress quipped, closing her hands together and trying a smirk of her own to counter the furious frown and growl her 'aunt' gave her.

-"And you're still on our hit list, you monster! So don't try to even think about doing anything funny!", Webby added, giving her best-friends a reassuring smile, though a somewhat threatening one.

-"I don't think I care about that too much."...she didn't? Oh. Well. There goes the entire base of their plans. "My family isn't here, neither is my home, I don't have my powers, I struggle to eat half-decent food, and I can't even make any new plans after that piece of-", she stopped herself, "Sorry, after Glomgold took everything I had monetarily. In other words, life isn't looking too great for me.", she finished indifferently, though a bit sad and bitter. Huh. That's...really odd. Bitter yes, but sad? Lena wouldn't have ever expected that from her.

-"Tough luck, lady. There's a great pharmacy that sells anti-depressants on the next corner. You know. If you're like me and lost all the joy your life ever had.", the former-luckiest duck in the world suggested darkly, pointing a thumb somewhere. "Look, I don't know you, you don't know me, but please just do me a favour, alright? I need your help. Magic or whatever I just...I just need my luck bad. I need my life back. Can you please help us for the good of your heart?", he got down on his knees and begged, not showing too much emotion, but just enough to almost make you forget his bitterness a moment ago. Almost.

-"...Yeah, listen, the 'good of my heart' doesn't really exist, and even if it did, then I won't be giving it to you of all people.", well...Lena couldn't say she wouldn't say something similar to some duck she barely even knew. Unlike Magica, however, she'd actually accept. Probably. "But it seems Scrooge's thinking isn't there quite yet for all of you.", she stated, almost with disappointment, as she brought two fingers to her temple. "My life at this point is in danger...but that's not really what's motivating me here. What do I have to gain?", ah, straight to the point, are we?

-"What, keeping your life isn't enough for you?", her former-shadow snarked back, utilizing the opportunity to show no respect whatsoever. Ah, that felt good. It didn't feel good to see her nemesis laugh at her, however, as if she knew something she didn't.

-"Now, I may be misunderstanding this, but you don't have much time, yes? Phantom Bolt or whatever is already striking. Both of our lives are endangered, and if it means taking you out...well, I don't need to say much, eh?", oh, how Lena hated the smugness in her voice. They'd accounted for this, but she just wanted to punch her in her stupid beak so much!

-"Fine, does this make you any more inclined?", the younger witch pulled out a purple gem, dangling it from her finger and immediately making Magica's pupils widen.

-"My Sumerian Amulet!", she yelled, throwing herself on Lena, though not with so much force the latter wasn't able to repel her. Indeed, all the younger duckling had to do was raise a hand as her 'aunt' tried grabbing the amulet that was dangling so close to her.

-"There, feeling a bit more excited now?", the intelligent, sharp voice of Violet observed. "We know how much this means to you. Maybe you could even regain your magic with it, yes? This is as much as we're going to offer, so if you don't want it..."

-"...Fine!", came the near-instant response. Magica was biting her lower beak, looking majorly conflicted. "Alright, you have some of ol' Scroogie in you. You want my help? Fine. Fine, no really. How about we seal the deal, then? I help you with whatever it is you want to beat the Phantom Blot, you give me back my Sumerian Amulet, and we all try to kill each other sometime later, affaire conclue?", she extended a fingerless-ly gloved hand, looking all-too-gleeful about all of this. Lena knew the amulet was powerful, but the way Magica accepted their offer...it gave her second thoughts about giving her the amulet.

-"It means 'deal?', Mr.Gladstone.", she heard her step-sister tell the triplets' uncle. Apparently, he wasn't too fond of Magica's new terminology...but then again, neither was Lena. "Though I must wonder how you know of French, Magica.", the short hummingbird muttered as she extended a hand alongside the other three ducks.

-"I have some Savoyard cousins. You're not the only ones with a family here.", came the dry answer.

It took a moment of hesitation, with everyone almost certain that the other side will pull out at the last second. Then, suddenly, Webby's hand went forward and shook, or rather, grabbed Magica's. Violet soon followed, and Gladstone did as they did. That only left Lena, who stared at Magica. If she shakes this hand...she'll take orders from her again. She'll give her the amulet that will make her able to hurt her again. She didn't want to do this...but she had to. Not only for herself, but for her friends. For everyone who depended on her, she took a breath and forced her hand to shake with Magica's. It was...huh. Wow. Her fingers were tiny compared to Lena. How did she never notice?

-"Lovely. Now, you're trying to go after this Phantom Whatever, yes?", the cape-drapped witch asked, looking a bit more enthusiastic. She received a nod from everyone, Gladstone included. "Very well, I can make you an elixir to poison him, though it's going to take some-"

-"Woah woah woah, we're trying to defend ourselves here! Not everyone is a murderer like you!", Lena objected, waving her arms frantically just as her 'aunt' was going to enter her hut. She earned a disapproving stare. She hated them.

-"He's going to kill you, Lena. You're being naïve if you think showing kindness is going to change someone who's bent on murdering you.", the sorceress mocked, resting her hand on her hip. "Besides, why come here in the first place if you're all such big fans of Gandhi?"

-"We want you to teach Lena spell.", Webby replied, her axe still unsheathed, though it only gained an unimpressed look as her enemy got used to it. "We can defeat the Phantom Blot without resorting to your methods, and you'll see that yourself!", she proudly continued, lifting the axe a little higher.

-"A spell?", Magica repeated, mystified. "You...You want me to teach you a spell?! To be back where I belong? To rejoin my magical destiny-", oh, come on. Couldn't she stay clam for five minutes? Why was she acting like a hyperactive child all of sudden? That wasn't how she was supposed to act!

-"Yes, yes, all of that. Now if you could just-"

-"Ooooh, it feels good to be back!", deciding that two could play at the interruptions game, she ignored her 'niece' as she wrapped her cloak around her, covering her beak and moving her fingers for dramatic effect.

-"You are exhausting to be around, you know that?", Lena quipped, glaring at the far-too-gleeful duck in front of her.

-"I try. Now, what spell do you exactly want?"

-"We were thinking about trying a spell to locate the Phantom Blot.", Violet explained, and Lena couldn't help but notice Magica tilted her head just a teeny tiny bit. "We want to know where he is, and if possible, bring him to us.", she clarified, her dignified tone not wavering.

-"You seem worried, witch. Are you worried because you're trying to play us and now you can't?", Webby interrogated with her 'detective accent', looking suspicious to Magica's current indescribable expression.

-"No, it's not that, it's just...Locating people and things is more of a Teleporter thing...", she answered, almost begrudgingly.

-"Welp, we came to the wrong person. I told you! We needed a teleporter, we have a witch. And we made a deal. This is just fan-tastic.", ever the positive one, Lena ranted as she started walking around, waving her arms, exasperated.

-"Of course it would be you to not know magic-branches, Lena.", her 'aunt' scolded, noticing Webby's sudden axe-swing and trying to ignore the obvious threat. "Teleporting is magic. Just a branch of it. I'm more talented in the spells branch and the alchemy branch, alongside shadow-manipulation, of course. Teleporting...well, I can help you. I tried learning it, after all.", she boasted, mumbling the last part to herself more than to the ducklings surrounding her.

-"Branches, huh...And how can we know you're not just messing with us? You could be saying absolute mallarcky!", the seater-wearing duck accused, earning an undignified huff from the older sorceress.

-"I said I tried learning it, and not without some success.", she claimed, hoping to satisfy Lena's questions and just get closer to getting the darn amulet. She didn't. "Listen, my brother was a pretty good Teleporter. I'll tell you what he told me, alright?", she explained further, noticeably uncomfortable with what she was saying.

-"How come I never heard of him if he's so go-"

-"Because you've never spent more than two months in Europe, you brat! Don't you dare talk about the King Of Napoli like that!", she screamed, looking more threatening by the second. A full-blown beatdown was about to ensue if it wasn't for Gladstone, of all people.

-"Hey...I remember that name...He stole my car when I was on a trip in Europe! And my newly-won crown which I won in Barbaria!", he recounted, looking far-too-happy for what he was saying.

-"Bavaria.", Violet corrected.

-"Whatever, he just teleported in my car and stole it after throwing me out! And he had someone else with him, too!", the former-luck king continued, still looking inexplicably happy. "I never thanked him for his service! Some old lady saw the accident and thought I needed help, so she gave me one of her luxury jets to console me! Told me nobody was safe from the King Of Napopi.", he finished, a smile on his face. "That was before the whole...unlucky thing...", and now he was going to be depressed again.

-"See? Now just listen to what I tell you and you should be fine!", the elder duck ordered, apparently unable to sense the internal moment of struggle Lena had before she obeyed, taking a step forward.

-"Yes...Magica.", she muttered under her breath, standing in front of her arch nemesis' cold stare. Her friends were there to protect her. There was nothing to fear. Nothing to fear at all. This was just a forced training session. She was going to get through this.

-"I'd appreciate it if you call me Miss Magica.", and yet it didn't seem like her momentary teacher was willing to make this easy for the both of them. Holding her sly smile, she straightened her back and looked at her forced-apprentice for a second. "Let your magic run through you. Teleportation is a complex art, and all its branches need a constant flow of magic through one's self. Location is no different, let the magic run through your body.", she stated, trying to throw her cloak in a dramatic way.

-"Okay so...like this?", the tallest duckling asked, holding her right arm in front of her and sensing the tingling sensation of magic as it coursed through her. She came to control it after a multitude of attempts, so this wasn't much of a trial. "Oh, and since I might as well milk you for whatever you're worth, can I change this colour? I hate this purple.", she wondered, noting that she didn't get any reply before forcing her vocal cords to add "Miss Magica?"

-"Hmm, well, I don't know, the colour of one's magic is determined by both their will and their chosen Branch of Magic, I had to go through lots of training to change my magic's colour, and since this is my magic,", she pointed at the flame-like purple shape that surrounded her 'niece', "It's going to take a lot of time for you to change it back. But it's no special technique. Some can immediately change it, others cannot. It comes eventually.", she continued indifferently, paying attention to the magic that was radiating off of Lena.

-"Don't talk to Lena like that!", the Vanderquack reaffirmed her stance on Magica as she exchanged glares with the now-dysfunctional sorceress.

-"Webs, it's fine. I can deal with her.", her best-friend answered, turning her attention back to her teacher. Oh, how she hated that she had to refer to her as that! Nevertheless, she was surprised she actually got an answer. She expected some insults and nothing else, but it seemed that once they had a deal...she worked with it. It was...unnerving.

-"When it comes to searching for something, you must see it with your blind eye. You must both wish for it, see it in your mind, and release enough magical surges to clear the way for you. Only then will you sense where what you search for lies. For example, I have a red neckerchief in my house with a raven on it in my home. Try sensing where it is.", the DeSpell explained emotionlessly, guiding Lena a bit closer to her home.

She closed her eyes, as she was told, and tried seeing the neckerchief. Red...raven...yep, pretty plain alright. And yet...she tried releasing energy as she was told, but the only thing that was getting released was a bunch of aimless magical balls that deflated on the ground. She couldn't sense anything. She had the image in her brain, but she couldn't really...get 'it', if that made any sense.

-"Not good. As expected, you cannot properly use my magic. Perhaps you need to be more emotionally motivated to feel the 'click'?", of course it would be like Magica to benefit off this situation. Of course. Well, at least she was partially right. Lena grunted as a response, not wanting to give her trainer any more satisfaction than necessary. "Then we must up the risks a bit.", the elder sorceress claimed moving a bit to where her friends stood.

-"Listen here, Magica! Lena's trying her best, and we have no need for you! If you ever- Hey! My...bow...", in an instant, there was a 'splash'. The eldest of the ducklings turned around to see Webby without her iconic bow staring into the stagnant water of the swamp, shocked and furious at the same time. "That was a gift from my grandma!", she yelled back.

-"Oh, quit it, you want to help your oh-so-precious friends, yes? Then let me teach!", the witch shot coldly, evading an axe swing with relative ease, watching as the energetic duckling gritted her beak; they had no one to trust but her. "Now, Lena, this swamp is filled with alligators and all sorts of nasty creatures. If we don't find Debby's bow in five minutes, it might as well be gone forever. If you can find where I threw it, I'll go get it myself. Sounds good?", too good. Especially that last part. In fact, only that last part, since Lena had little faith that she could succeed.

When everyone around her went silent, the young witch turned her head to Webby. She looked distraught. Closing her eyes once more, she faced the swamp and tried sensing for the bow. Pink, small, and plain. It was a rather noticeable part of Webby. Something that clearly meant a lot for her. If she could find it...Then she'd have helped her friends. She saw it...she willed it...and she started releasing magical sparks. For a moment, just like last time, they merely deflated.

Then, all of a sudden...she felt 'it'. A guiding feeling...like an arm on her shoulders. It made her open her eyes, but she could still see the bow. She saw it. She felt it. It was pulsing...the pulsing pushed her to where it came from:...Away from the water? It was behind her. But the only thing behind her was...she turned around to look at Magica, who had a detestably smug expression on her face as she showed Lena her fingerless-ly gloved left hand. The glove had a small bulge near the wrist.

-"Seems as if I was correct.", was all she said. Lena didn't growl or frown this time. She had no reason to. It slightly angered her to agree with her 'aunt', but as far as correctness went, there wasn't much to critique here. "I learnt this little trick as a little girl. It can help you in a tough spot.", she added as she removed it from under her glove, throwing it into her student's hand. "There, I made good on my promise, right?"

...She did?...Well, yes, she did teach her. Lena thought that she didn't mention some things, such as the formula or how much energy one should dedicate, but in the end, those details were all discovered by her apprentice with no need for more external help. She, should she follow the instructions correctly, was now technically able to find the Phantom Blot.

Then why did she feel something wrong? She felt as if something wasn't quite...right, to put it simply. She expected a bigger fight with Magica. Harsher treatment. Little to no emotions, but it was just...meh. Nothing too big. She stared again the the elder witch. She was smiling. It was a smug smile alright, but it was a smile. It wasn't something she expected to see of Magica. Perhaps as a result of her disdain for her 'aunt' she, too, came to see her as incapable of being a person.

-"I guess so...", she murmured, knowing exactly where her former-teacher at this point was going. She prepared her amulet, not wishing to give it away. "Her name is Webby, by the way.", she added, not getting a response

-"I told you my brother was a good teacher.", her fifteen-minute trainer mumbled, more to herself than to anyone else, and Lena felt awkward. She stared back at her friends.

-"I...uh. Sorry about him. Dying. I guess.", she whispered but it caught the attention of Magica, and she looked positively shocked. "Don't look so shocked. Respect the dead and all that.", that came out wrong. So wrong. If she meant to disrespect him, she couldn't have done worse.

-"Heh...listen, sometimes faking death is a bit easier with magic on your side. If you're willing to share a bit more than the amulet, then maybe I can tell you about him.", she smiled again, though this was one of her more typical smiles, if still an actual smile. Huh. Curious

But just as the newly trained sorceress was about to say something, a 'zap' echoed in the swamp. There was light for a moment, and Magica had to jump to avoid the bolt that zapped a part of her hair and neck. Everyone turned in a split second to see a black-clothed figure with green eyes and a metallic glove on his right hand.

-"And I was just about to pick this four-leaved clover, too...", was the only sentence uttered for a solid minute. And by Gladstone of all people.

The Phantom Blot looked menacing. Pure, undiluted, unadulterated intimidation radiated off of his clothed figure. From afar, you wouldn't be blamed if you thought he was a medieval executioner. The metallic glove on his hand looked more electronic than medieval on closer inspection, but that didn't matter too much. His eyes, fully green by some method, conveyed little emotions, but there's something Lena sensed from him: Hatred.

-"Finally...", his clunky, distorted and terrifying voice announced, his footsteps calculated and his eyes focused. "It seems my searching has led me to the most vile of beings, at last.", he added, closing his fist.

-"The most vile of beings? Listen, I heard some nasty things about ducks, but come on man-", Gladstone tried countering, only to receive a bolt that knocked him over, making him grunt.

-"Not you, you imbecile! These WITCHES!", he cried, hatred drenching his words as he advanced. He most certainly had an accent...But Lena couldn't just pin-point it...though she thought she heard it sometime in the past...

-"These what now?", Magica repeated, apparently offended.

-"WITCHES!", he repeated, not slowing his advance as the group of ducks slowly backed off. "You come in with your magic, destroy cities with your undeserved power, and you...you're never satisfied! You always want more! You never leave something to the people who work for their power!", he ranted shooting a couple of bolts that forced the group the yell and retreat further to Magica's hut.

-"Oh. Witches. I think I still hate you, but a little less than when I thought you said-"

-"It would just be like you to show up now, huh?!", back to interrupting Magica, it was Lena who couldn't keep it in her head anymore. "I spend an hour with Magica to learn how to find you and you just show up like that?! Couldn't you have came in a little early?! Do you have any idea what kind of deal we made?!", she complained, ranting at him, and forcing him to do a double take on her words.

-"Not only are you a witch, but you are a sore loser. I could make my nonna's pasta with that much salt!", he mocked, doing a small laugh that almost sounded dead...like, the whole laughing part was there, but there was no spirit behind it. Just a sick, twisted glee.

-"Hey, hold it there for a minute, you're italian?", Magica asked, flabbergasted. Ah. Right. Sometimes Magica lost control of her British accent in front of Lena. Now she remembered. But really? This was the thing she asked about? Why would that matt-

-"Indeed, and my heart shall always remain there! It is why I find great pleasure and cleaning Napoli of your filth!", he growled, firing another shot which she barely avoided but backing her into the tree where her hut was located.

-"Oooh, you're digging your own grave here, you Blot! I am a proud Neapolitan, and the mere name is much more than wherever you're from!", she challenged, pointing an accusing finger as the other ducks stared at each other. They didn't know what exactly was unfolding in front of them, but it couldn't have been anything good.

-"Don't you dare insult Genova, you wretch!", he shot back, almost losing his nerves for a second before calming down. "No. I am much better than losing my nerves to a fiend like you! Prepare for justice!", he suddenly declared, and the speed of it made Magica unable to dodge the bolt he fired, punching her into Gladstone, who tried hiding behind her, and throwing the both of them into the trunk of her tree. She fell down with a hard 'crack', leaving Gladstone in a duck-shaped impression.

-"Wh-Why me...?!", he lamented before falling. The sorceress tried getting up but she limped.

-"Magica!", Lena yelled. Why did she yell? Why could she possibly yell?...Because if she dies, he's going after them. Definitely. She ran, trying to raise a shield to protect her from another, more frightening zap that would've hit her. Heck, even then, it shattered Lena's shield. Crud, this guy really isn't messing around anymore. But then a pink figure shined behind the Phantom. Yes! Webby was doing it!

-"How's this for justice!", she cried from behind him as she jumped, but he was good. Too good. He managed to spin his entire figure, raise his mechanical weapon and take a fighting pose at once, stopping his assailant's hit. Oh. This guy wasn't going to be any fun, was he?

-"You...Hah! It wasn't enough!", he bragged, pulling the battle-axe from his glove as his previous wielder suffered from the vibrations of hitting a metal. One powerful grab and swing from his glove sent Webby back to her friends, face in the dirt, and with no weapon.

-"What kind of justice are you hoping to achieve?!", cried Violet, hoping to buy them some time. It didn't work, and he only accelerated his assault, firing multiple electrical charges or whatever these were, forcing the ducks to separate.

-"Justice is not my primary concern, hummingbird. I am a criminal, after all, but if I can do my job and rid the world of this evil, then I shall take the initiative!", he calmly replied, not paying any attention to the fact that most of them were getting zapped or were running in terror. "But enough playing around, I do not wish to fail now!", he stopped, preparing what seemed to be a worse, more powerful form of his weapon.

-"Lena, do you think we can take him on?", Violet asked, trying to get them regroup.

-"Nope."

-"Webby, do you have any more weapons?", she turned to the Vanderquack, trying to assume to role of the leader.

-"Don't really think they're going to affect him.", she answered pulling out a few knives that looked like toothpicks comapred to her axe.

-"Mr.Gladstone-"

-"Don't have my luck; can't do anything.", came the reply.

-"...Magica?", she asked her voice a bit desperate.

-"My shotgun has one more round in it.", she declared, pointing it at their attacker, who finished upgrading himself and was about to shoot once again. "We're going to die, aren't we?"

-"Probably.", Lena answered her, watching the black-wearing man as he began shooting at them again.

Well. Nothing else to do but to face the music, as they say. Whoever 'they' is. And whatever that meant. And whatever that had to do with their situation. Oh, give her a break. She didn't have time to think about this fight of theirs. Magic versus one very wronged, apparently, and angry man and his technology. The fight of the century.

The Phantom versus The Sorceress. Time to see how long they can stay alive.

[smoliboops]

the egos as different (new who) incarnations of the Doctor: revisted

(havent written an analysis type of thing in a while, miss sharing ideas with people in general aha :’D)

originally 2am thoughts/concepts that i might draw aka revisiting the concept of the egos as different regenerations of the doctor (debate and additions are welcome):

schneeplestein- nine

(first regeneration after the time war and as such major guilt and lonliness from being the sole survivor who also had to be the one to end it. this paralleling to schneep’s 9 month disappearance and his possible guilt resulting from the events of say goodbye and moreso kill jse (as well as schneep probably doing risky things in the name of stopping anti). other things including, sass, calling humans “stupid apes”, rational, angry sometimes, but can appreciate the ancient human music that is tainted love, saving their friend/companion and telling them to live a good life as they head off to face their longtime enemy,the pain you see on his face when he gets compared to said enemy (”you would make a good puppet dalek), bananas being good source of potassium)

chase- ten

(is kind of a mess but a cool mess, generally the most emotional/human of the incarnations, starts off as a cool, charismatic type of guy but slowly goes downward into a spiral of sadness and lonliness as everyone he loved leaves (ya see the connection im getting at?), loses the girl he loved and missing the chance to tell her he loved her, ”im fine” he says as he just lost his best friend and is now alone standing in the pouring rain, accidentally quoting the lion king and harry potter but also “no second chances im that kind of man,” loves little shops and making things that go ding and silly made up words like “wibbly wobbly timey wimey”, literally Human Nature/Family of Blood shows how much he wanted a human life with a wife and kids and the episode "the doctor's daughter" where he finally gets a kid and loses her, the hero who goes from saving the universe with all his friends around him to him dying alone not wanting to go, literally called “the man that regrets” in dotd, listen to love don't roam on YouTube)

jj- eleven

(the doctor with the most confusing timeline, child-like wonder and the look of a young lad hiding the tired eyes of an old man who has seen and gone through so much, very protective of his fond family/people he loves, he literally snuck into a charlie chaplin film in s6′s immpossible astronaut, also stayed in Victorian london for a time which would be jj's aesthetic tbh, can be silly and clumsy and starry-eyed while also being capable of becoming the oncoming storm, “ Good men don't need rules, today is not the day to find out why i have so many.”, great with kids, like weird/unique hatwear, b o w t i e s, g o g g l e s, just wants to go home even if it’s the long way round, “every lonely monster needs a companion” (you can’t tell me jj probably would still feel like a monster cos of how closely related he is to anti), and also theres puppets in two episodes of his, despite the darkness and loneliness it just made him kind, the optimist, the hoper of far flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams )

marvin- twelve

(recognizing gender as a concept far beyond them obvs, he’s literally called a magician half the time lol, avoiding death by rocking out in the 1500s with an electric guitar on top of an army tank, “can you hurry up before i hit you with my shoe”, as a morally gray character that many theorize whether he’s good/bad, marvin relates well to twelve’s whole journey of questioning if he was a good man and willing to learn the extents of what that means, tried his best to not only do right but to try to help those who weren’t good people who he knew needed help, would fight robin hood irl with a spoon and have a sign saying “go away humans”, not totally great with social cues but he tries and that’s what counts, seemingly cold and harsh and grump but take time to know him and he’s actually warm deep down, "do you think i care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?", wiliing to "go to hell" for their friend, not only protective of the people he loves but is also willing to to things like repeatedly die over 8 billion years and almost cause the destruction of the universe for the sake of saving his friend, would sacrifice himself recklessly in the name of standing up for what he believed in)

jackieboy man-thirteen

(total ray of sunshine who also recognizes the dangers of being close to them (i.e. dying, forgetting, getting trapped in another time or parallel world, getting converted and dying, etc) and as such keeps those they love at a distance, literally not talking about who they truly were for a whole series cos they didn't want to wrap their family up into their own troubles they faced, adorably socially awkward/anxious but still perseveres in the face of danger and certain doom, "darkness never sustains, even though sometimes it feels like it might," would build their own gadgets, g o g g l e s, would eat dirt and bone dust for analysis, would save the day by becoming best friends with a sentient universe in the form of a frog, always tries to have a flat team structure but in reality "this team structure...it isn't flat. It's mountainous, with me, in the stratosphere, alone, left to choose. Save jack the poet, save the universe. Sometimes, even i can't win.", P U N S)

Bonus content: anti as sacha Dawhan's master

like *chefs kiss* (LITERALLY pretended to be the doctor's friend for years until revealing he actually killed him before she met him and took his place (that gif is him just throwing away that dude's minituraized dead body btw), the kneel scene, his s m i l e, maniacal g l e e as he destroys everything and kills people all to cover up the pain and sadness and anger he feels inside because of her *cough a piece of SPOILER being inside him and him not being able to stand it is definitely anti/jack vibes cough*, also imagine this small exchange but between jackieboy man and anti:

The doctor: "proud of yourself?"

The master: "Definitely."

The doctor: "all this death...Finally made you happy?"

The Master, smiling: "Ecstatic."

The doctor, closer to his face: "And has it calmed all the rage?"

The master, pausing and looking away: "...I don't think anything will ever do that."

Also pls watch that spyfall pt1 reveal scene (basically the whole ending tbh), again it's just *chef's kiss*

Ok that's enough blabbering from me. Still debating on drawing the egos as the doctor (ooh maybe a screen cap redraw would be fun if some people have suggestions for an ep to ref for each one (granted who knows if I'd have time to draw them all but I'm curious anyway lol)) ok time to head out *yeets*.

[midoriyaizukustan-inactive]

OH NO I JUST HAD A THOUGHT. nana fought afo. What if. What if he turned her into a nomu? Nomus cant die of old age, right? It could be possible fuck,,, FUCK.

WHY WOULD YOU SAY THIS OHHHhH FUCK

ohhh FUCK i do like this idea though that is EXACTLY what afo would do,,,ohhhOHHHH ohhh hh,,,oh fuck,,and it’s plausible bc no one saw afo finish her off,,,for all we know she didnt actually “die”

hey so yknow how people are like “toshinori’s gonna die!!” what if. wh. what if this. is. how w

bro im hurting my own FUCKIGN feelings but this is SUCH a good concept in the worst way possible yknow like SHIT

if this is canon i think she’d just be his first experiment (and thus subsequently a failure nd she dies a horrible death)(literally gonna kill afo) but the POSSIBILITIES if he was successful,,,ohhhhh oh that hurts

ok hear me out

say like during a battle, perhaps when afo is breaking out of prison (bc thats always my goto next ~big battle~), mido and the gang meet the nana nomu. and like, bc of the connection midoriya has w the previous users, he kinda gets like a zing when she shows up and starts fighting. he can tell theres smth Different abt her and cause midoriya is midoriya, he tries reaching out to her and probably almost dies

he doesnt give up tho he just knows he needs to help her. he tells toshinori abt it and how weird it felt to have a connection w a nomu of all things nd so he and toshinori theorize why exactly midoriya feels the connection. toshi calls up gran torino bc torino knows abt ofa and the experiences it brings as well. however no dice there bc ofc midoriya just keeps breaking boundaries w ofa, so he, gran torino, nd toshinori r all confused on why mido feels a connection. mido just knows he has to Help

so probably during his next internship, after a patrol nd mido is heading home, midoriya finds her. im thinkin once the connection between him and nomu nana formed, she broke through the haze enough to know she did Not want to be near afo but she doesnt know how to function on her own w no one telling her what to do, so mido just kinda finds her huddled up in some alleyway and dying of starvation/dehydration one night

after freaking out and then giving her some of his water nd probably a granola bar mido had in his utility belt, he starts to talk to her. nomu nana cant understand at first but eventually, mido breaks thro to her a lil bit bc the connection they inherently share w ofa, and she just starts weeping bc this is a fate worse than death and im just. i am in fucking agony dude

mido has to leave then, but he promises he’ll be back, so nomu nana just doesnt move. so they meet up like that a few times while mido tries to figure out where to go from here 

hes definitely gonna have to call aizawa nd toshinori to see where they can put her bc mido isnt gonna let her stay in this alleyway forever. btw that conversation is Very Long bc like toshinori knew mido was concerned abt the nomu but he didnt know he FOUND HER and aizawa didnt know any of this shit at ALL and so when mido is just like “hey can i bring a nomu home??” out of the fucking BLUE he knocks back six advils w a shot of tequila before turning to face his problem child

eventually smth is worked out tho. theyll meet mido and her at the front of ua w tsukauchi and some other pros (including gran torino HO) in case she acts out, nd then they’ll go from there

anyway so mido goes to bring her to ua one night after his patrol’s done, nd she starts trying to speak. nd mido is excited bc this is a first!! its progress whadda ya know. so he’s encouraging her and trying to guess what shes saying but eventually quiets down when he realizes how frustrated nomu nana is and how hard it is for her to try and speak

eventually tho she’s able to form a word, coincidentally right when they arrive at ua

“na...na”

toshinori and gran torino immediately bristle and so does nana bc she hasnt seen them since the last time she was herself which was like,,,probably over 30 years ago now

nd midoriya is just like “nana? who’s nana?” and well. toshi, torino, nd nana all have a rough night that night bc like torino tsukauchi and aizawa know that nomus can be made out of ppl obv, and im sure torino told toshinori smth abt that, so they know almost immediately what happened and who this is and oh, of course, it makes sense why mido had a connection w her now, and oh god

toshinori hasta head out for a bit (by that i mean he gets choked up nd cant look at nana) and gran torino just kinda slumps like a puppet w it strings cut. tsukauchi is trying to comfort both of them while keeping an eye on nomu nana bc he doesnt know if she’ll lash out over seeing these ppl from her past

meanwhile nana is like panicking internally bc oh shit memories and even more Bad Feelings abt afo but isnt she supposed to serve him now??  but she doesnt Want To and oh man. so she’s having her own issues and just starts mumbling her name over and over and mido is like “who is NANA hello??”

and just. toshinori eventually gets himself together enough to like lightly put a hand on mido’s shoulder and to gently take a step forward, and asks, “nana? shimura nana?”

nd nana nomu just nods her head bc she doesnt know hardly anything anymore, but she knows she has feelings, and that feels right, and she opens her mouth to say “nana” again but what comes out is 

“all...might”

cause she cant remember his name, only what afo called him, but she remembers his face -- just with more baby fat and eyes less sunken -- and she knows that she knows toshinori

and toshinori cries a bit (who can fucking blame him thats essentially his MOM) while mido is quietly questioning what tf is going on and if toshinori’s okay, but nana relaxes bc she knows that whatever happens now, she’ll be okay

after all, all might is here

god this hurt so fucking much but its SUCH a good idea ohhh echo what have u done

[asillydreamer-on-a-crazyworld]

So I’m a little annoyed at some of the comments I’m seeing about “Rio better not be a cheater”, do people really think he made that baby by himself! We can’t forget that although she is really unhappy, Beth is marred and cheating on her husband (no matter how much he deserves it). Why would anyone think he wouldn’t have anyone in his life. What are your thoughts?

ok, anon, about that.

*sighs*

FIRST: I hope Adelfa won’t get hate for a comment she probably shouldn’t have written and that she erased later. We all know there are ppl out there that take things to an extreme and cross the line between real life and a tv show that it’s NOT real, no matter how much you love it. I posted here once about Alison Tolman, the actress who plays Mary Pat, getting hate on TT bc of her character. And I say that bc this kind of shit happens all the time, no matter the fandom you’re in. Believe me, I was on TT and I already saw a few mean and angry comments about her.

That being said:

SECOND: I’ve seen people talking about more than one interpretation of that comment. In some of her interactions with fans, she is usually playful and charismatic. So far, this is what I saw people saying:

1- she really is playing his wife on the show too.

2- she was answering a fan with her usually playful mood and only meant that on set ( as in the place her  husband works) or offset she is his wife so, whatever…I don’t know if I made myself clear here so…

My opinion? Is that she probably meant she will be his wife in the show ( and Goddamn it, here goes my older posts saying that that hug looked more like a friends’ hug. In my defense, I didn’t get any romantic/sexy vibe from it. It rly looks like old friends hugging each other but like other people theorized here, she could also be his baby mama.). However, we all knew the guy has a life outside his criminal gangster persona and he had a life before Beth showed up, obviously, so sue him!

And I don’t think that Beth “forgot” he had a kid but she probably assumed something in the lines of what some ppl in the fandom also thought: baby mama was dead, was out of his life, or is actually his ex. Maybe she even thought about him having someone else but didn’t care bc she did not want to feel anything for the guy. I don’t think Beth is the kind of person to have sex with someone else without getting some feelings, however, so she will be surprised or angry with herself for feeling something more for him when she knows she shouldn’t.

Now, I’m not gonna lie, I got an entirely different view of Rio coz he didn’t seem the type to cheat with all that talk about loyalty and trust. Maybe he only applies it to his work but not personal life?  Or there is more to the story than we know. Manny said once Rio’s motivation is “family”. I always thought that “family”  involved a father, mother, sisters or brothers ( which he might have, at least one of his parents alive or both). I was surprised when I found out he also had a kid. And with a wife now in the picture? Hmm, I get why people are feeling kind of betrayed but, like I said, maybe there is more to the story than we know.

All this still feels odd to me to a point, bc, again, I never thought he’d be the type. And how this man finds time to do everything he does with a little family to care for? Holy shit, Rio, teach me how u do it, coz I need to learn that!

Rio is far from perfect and he was never a saint, to begin with. It was obvious to me since his kid appeared that Rio had a relationship with someone else at a moment in his life and it probably meant something special for him to have a kid with her, or don’t. The kid could be a result of a one night stand or a relationship without any prospects of lasting for long.

Now that there is the possibility of him being a cheater, I’d say that relationships are complicated and not all of them perfect, see Beth and Dean and how things are going down. Like you said, Beth is cheating too and even if Dean is a scumbag she could have chosen to not go down that road. She did it bc she wanted, and she doesn’t even know Rio or trust him enough but Beth is way aware of how things between them would get to that point.

Let’s be fair: Rio is a criminal, a killer, he almost killed Beth ( He thought about at least in that second episode), he breaks the law and does all kind of wrong things. Him being a cheater? It sucks but it would be just another thing to add to the list of all the reasons why Rio is the wrong guy to be involved with. Yeah, I know he has good points to his character too and that he is not a monster… We’ve talked about that already. No one in this show is a saint ( and I dare say not even Stan coz I know he means well but he is breaking the laws for Ruby already. He is getting hhis hands dirty too)

However, this thing he has with Beth is so strong and raw … It runs deeper, like, it’s instinctual and it’s getting out of control. No one can say that there is nothing going on between these two and I don’t think it’s sexual attraction only.

this brings me to another thought :

THIRD:

If there is a possibility of Adelfa deleting that comment bc she saw that ppl took it  the wrong way, and option 2 of my second line of thought is correct, this is only a misunderstanding and she is not actually his wife, but maybe an ex or someone else? Coz, again, Brio sells this show. It is so strong and powerful that the writers couldn’t let go of it - hell, let’s be honest, this show is incredible and it doesn’t need Brio to be so great as it is, but it’s what makes ppl go crazy about it and watch the show for them. I won’t be a hypocrite about that-. We know they won’t have a happy ending, I don’t see how it can end happily for everyone involved but there is always the possibility of Beth and Rio having a strong, unbreakable connection between them that will keep them together until the end.

This is all I think of what happened after that comment written on IG and what it means or could mean.

Honestly, tho? We are all here trying to find an answer to all that and losing our minds and having our heart broken in the process, but I‘d ask u this:

have you ever felt betrayed or even disappointed with GG writers or Jenna Bans in all this time watching the show?

Because if so, I’d say that is not my case. I trust them to give us just the best of the best here and they worked hard for that, I’m sure and I won’t let this turn me down, not when I didn’t even watch the episode or the rest of the season to really know what this whole thing between Beth and Rio is about.

Let’s wait and see, exercise our patience and not let our minds drive us crazy.

[spyroid101]

Silence is Safety (Part 1)

Guueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssss who’s been bit by the Lore plot bunnies!

(Hint, it me!!)

Tagging @jedicreed-fr​ for Elisydn, and....

Let’s just say, a few other upcoming surprises~ >u>

~Janto, Daasdrei, Salaeshar, and Azarhi also belong to @jedicreed-fr​ ~

________________________________________________________________

The Eldest Princess of the Executrix Empire was always very, very quiet.

Her younger sister was harsh and bossy, and her brother, though very bookish, could be gotten to kick up a fuss if his precious books were messed with...

...But the eldest Princess hardly ever seemed to make a peep, not even being a fussy baby. Some even rumored that maybe she was born mute...

But that was not true.

In fact, her first ever word was “Dada!”...

And that was what she learned to be her first ever mistake. For, you see, she wasn’t calling to Janto.

Instead, it was to the kind looking man that she’d see on the edges of the rooms every now and then. The one always dressed in bright, soft, purple and pink pastel silk... All around he was soft looking, minus the scratches on the one side of his face

She didn’t know who he really was, just that he seemed to radiate a sense of safety to her...

And so, upon seeing him in the doorway one day, the princesses little eyes lit up, she reached a tiny, little, baby paw out to him, and called:

“Dada!”

Before the Princess could even think any farther, the Princess’ mother, whom had previously been cooing and cuddling her and her siblings, had suddenly let out a snarl, grabbing ahold of the Princess’ mane, and sharply yanked it.

Mother was snarling and spitting. Something about “Better lineages” and “Dirty useless whores”, but the Princess was too young to have any idea what these words meant, nor could she even really pay attention to the words even if she could have.

For a baby, who was not even yet a year old, this was her first real experience of pain, and it was the most painful experience of her tint life.

And all she could do was scream.

Scream and cry and bawl so loud, you could have sworn it would be heard throughout all the Empire and beyond, and this only seemed to make her mother more cross.

Eventually, the Princess couldn’t cry anymore, her lungs burned, and her eyes were red and dried...All she could do was stare blankly at her scolding mother, holding back sniffles.

...And, soon after, her mother’s lecture ended, and the afternoon went on, as if it’d never happened.

From that early, early moment, it became clear in the Princess’ mind: If she’d just keep her mouth shut, she’d never say anything wrong in front of mother, and never have to experience such pain and fear, ever again...

And as she grew into her third year of age, she held firm to that belief, hardly ever saying a world, unless demanded to by her parents.

It didn’t matter if her mother wasn’t present hear any possible unrequested speech from her, as her mother had always told her and her siblings that she had eyes everywhere, and would always know what they were up to.

And, while her siblings took this as a bluff, the eldest Princess knew it was completely true. After all, she’d always seen one of them, ever since she was young.

A single, white, murky eye, surrounded by black mist. Always lingering, just out of obvious sight, glaring daggers at her, her siblings, her father, at Mrs Salaeshar...

No one else ever acknowledged the eye, and it always sent the same type of unsafe, sufficiently dark chills down the Princess’ spine that she’d often get around her own father...So, clearly, it must have been one of mother’s “Everywhere Eyes”...

And so, the eldest Princess simply did her best to ignore the eye, to keep her mouth shut, just in case it was lurking, and do her best to be a good daughter, and absorb all her lessons.

If she accomplished all this, everything would be fine, and her life would be perfect.

If only fate were so kind...

________________________________________________________________

Even after the incident with her first word, the Princess continued to catch glimpses of the soft, kind looking man.

Though, she’d never been given a chance to ever speak, or even see him up close. She didn’t dare, with the eye always lurking...

However, one day, that suddenly changed.

She was walking back from one of her classes alone, her brother asleep as he always was in the mornings, and her sister having to stay behind for misbehavior.

The Princess enjoyed the solitude, the nice, quiet calm...One where she couldn’t even feel the presence of that dreaded eye...

Walking past the palace gardens, the Princess couldn’t help but take in the beautiful sights and sounds, not paying attention to where she was walking...

Until she suddenly tripped.

Expecting to hit the ground, she’d quickly shut her eyes, and clamped her jaw shut, just in case she got the urge to make a sound in pain...

...Only, it never came.

Instead, she ended up getting caught up by soft, gentle hands.

The Princess opened her eyes to see herself face to face with the kind looking man.

A look of concern mixed with relief was in his eyes, as he gently made sure she’d gotten back on her feet, before uttering a quiet apology, and swiftly making an exit...Almost as if he was afraid of her...

The urge to go after him rose in the Princess, to go and thank him for helping her, but her feet felt like lead, knowing how much her mother supposedly hated him...

She didn’t want to make mother mad...

But...

But wasn’t it the proper thing to thank those that assist you...?

That’s what her lessons taught her, right??

And...Besides...

...She couldn’t see the eye anywhere...

“W-wait...” She croaked, her voice weak and soft from lack of use.

Now solidly making up her mind, she started to run in the direction she’d seen the go.

“Wait, pl-please wait... I just-”

And then, all of a sudden, a suffocating chill ran down to her bones...

The eye was there.

The Princess froze, completely locked, trembling in her tracks.

The eye wasn’t directly looking at her, but it knew. It must clearly know.

Mother knew everything, after all.

“Ma- ma- mama...” The Princess stammered.

The eye suddenly shifted, as if surprised she’d addressed it.

It was the first time she’d ever done so, after all.

“Ma’ I ju- I just- I” She whimpered as the eye’s shocked look soon transformed into an icy glare. “Pl- please, I’m sor-!!”

Within a second, the mist around the eye formed into several black ichor covered tendrils, that promptly slammed her into the ground.

Before she could even attempt to cry out in pain, the tendrils wrapped tightly around her neck, cutting off any attempt of make any sound as they drew tighter and tighter.

Out of reflex, she desperately kicked and clawed at the eye, just wanting to breathe, but her little baby claws didn’t even seem to phase it, much less make it let her go

Her struggles grew weaker and weaker, and just when she thought she’d black out, the eye’s tendrils suddenly flailed, roughly throwing her into the palace wall, hard enough to dent the stone work, and something in the Princess’ back SNAPPED.

And finally finding her voice, she opened her jaws, and SCREAMED.

....

...And that scream was the last time anyone within the palace would ever hear the Princess’ voice ever again.

________________________________________________________________

There were many theories as to what happened to the little Princess that day.

From kidnappings to assassinations... to even some theories of the Princess’ own family doing the deed.

Those in on the knowledge theorized that maybe her vampiric brother had killed her for food.

Some theorized that maybe Janto himself had gotten rid of her, perhaps she, even at such a young age, had stepped over a line...

And, even fewer floated around theories that Queen Daasdrei had caught wind of the little Princess coming into contact with Azarhi, and she’d “Punished” her for it.

Of course, none of these in-family theories left the most quiet of spaces, no one dare let them reach the ears of the Emperor.

All anyone knew, was that no matter what the truth was, heads were going to roll in punishment. Innocent or not.

Janto’s first born heir was gone.

Nowhere to be found.

Just blood.

A dent in the wall...

...

...And, the smallest...tiniest...hint of residue of the Shade left behind...

[thegreatyin]

U.04 Thoughts...basically a review/reaction. But also not. Because I'm a sarcastic narcissist.

So- I- WOW.

I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS RN

OH. MY GOD.

(spoilers ahead, be warned!)

(Also, I wrote this on my Kindle Fire, so expect spelling mistakes.)

(Also, this is vry long yes™, so it's under the cut. Read at your own risk.)

First off, I'm gonna clarify - this is my thoughts on the FIRST VIEWING. I'm gonna re-watch it later and think about stuff more then. I haven't watched it a single time after the first, because I needed to write this.

Second...

Ink was portrayed BRILLIANTLY in this episode. This is EXACTLY what he is- only in it for his own entertainment/benefit. He is Chaotic Neutral at best, and Chaotic Evil at worst. And here? He's at his worst. Straight up ELIMINATING the rest of the Multiverse, breaking the natural order of things- all because he was bored. Goddamn, I love/hate that asshole.

I gotta give props to the animation, as well- it was gorgeous. Jakei is an EXCELLENT animator, and this episode was WORTH the wait. I actually paused the episode at certain points just to appreciate how a character breathed, or how good they looked.

While the humor wasn't a prime focus, one always has to give it a HUGE shoutout. The joy, of course, usually came from my own squeals at Error's usual crazy reactions to things (imsorryilovehim) but there were also times where I took a break from my sobs just to laugh hysterically. Lots of them, in fact.

Enough praises though, lets give it a rundown. Skipping over the part that was previewed, we start in Underwap, with X-Tale Alphys. Now, what I noticed here is that Code Frisk seemed a bit surprised at all this- but I'll put that down to out-of-ut shenanigans. Anyway, X-Tale Alphys somehow uses one of the X-Tale TIMELINES to 'quarantine' Underswap, that's the main thing. Here, we also get an explanation for why Papyrus didn't come with them...there wasn't any point to it. Which is kinda a grim start for the episode, if you ask me.

Skimming over the Underfell bit- I don't have much to talk about there, surprisingly - lets discuss Nightmare and Killer and X-Tale Chara. Nightmare got a few chuckles out of me here, I have to say. Mainly from the look he gave Chara after they wanted to get the vial. It was the perfect embodiment of 'dude wtf' 

I find it interesting here that Nightmare says that he 'owns' Chara. I mean- once they get to full power, they could just OVERWRITE him away.

Then again, it won't happen if he kills Chara first. Which he plainly can, dear Lord.

Now, what REALLY gets me in this scene is what Killer said. Because they took Classic's soul, they interfered with the UT Universe, thus making a ripple effect across all the timelines connected to it. This way, Killer knew EXACTLY what was going down.

This makes me wonder- does that mean, currently, all the Sanses in the Multiverse will be aware of the X-Event? Or just the ones closely intertwined with the main UT universe, like Killer's? It's a shame they never touch more on this, I personally find it fascinating.

Anyway, we finally make our way to Outertale, where we stay for almost all of the remaining episode. Here, the Sanses, Swap, Fell, and Sans, decide that they're done with Ink's bullshit. They want to go home, and they miss their brothers.

Unfortunately, Ink went missing, because he's a little shit that can't stay in one place like a good boy. So Classic has to take a break from his beautiful, busy hair-brushing and babysit this douche. AKA, go find him.

While looking, Classic finds a meteor shower, which...has no real importance. I'm not even sure why I included it, it's just a nice moment. Followed up by a fart joke.

Long story short, Sans encounters Outer, who is actually really fucking chill??? And I love?????? Him?????????? So much????????????????

Skipping ahead a bit, Nightmare attempts to force-feed Chara some poor monster's soul, but Chara can't eat that shit. You know what they can eat? Their soul! That's right - Glitchlord, aka ERROR, is here to find Ink and beat the crap out of him.

Little personal note- I love how he goes from basically 0 to 100 in a second. "Sup Nightmare, WHERE THE FUCK IS INK."

Turns out, Ink isn't feeling things, because not even Nightmare, who can sense emotions, can find him. Which means that Ink didn't take his pills today- naughty boy.

It's a shame we don't get more of Outer, tbh- I really liked him. That's definitely one of this episode's flaws. Alas, Killer has to kill SOMETHING, otherwise his name means literally nothing.

Skipping ahead, since I, again, don't have much to say about anything else- the Error and Ink fight.

DEAR LORD, THE ERROR AND INK FIGHT.

This thing is BEAUTIFUL. It's basically a game of keep-away between a grumpy glitchlord, a mad artist, and a smol anger child. Because that's what it is- and it gave me CHILLS. Mainly Ink. He gives me chills. How he looks, the way he can effortlessly throw down everyone WITHOUT his brush, the cut Error gave him- this is what he really is, at heart. Or should I say, without one.

The fight pauses so Ink can give a speach, and now? Now, we have CONTEXT.

Record Scratch.

Freeze frame.

That context.

Ink did this all because he was going to be empty without new AUs. He sided with X-Gaster because he needed something new. Something interesting. Something to fill the emptiness that is eternally there, he did it because he was bored, he did this all to have something new, he did it to play a game that would never end- and I'll fight you on it, that is the most human thing he's done, ever. Period. Never again, I show ship Ink and X-Gaster, we're calling it Creation, you can't stop me, it's sailed, and I'm the captain.

But, you ask, why did he have to be soulless to do it? Because he would otherwise feel guilty about leaving behind Cross- a genuine FRIEND. And if that also isn't the most human thing to do, if you can find a better example I'll write a bad Jerry X Reader fanfic.

(I'm not joking. I will, please pm me if you find something.)

Anyway, the real takeaway here is that Ink successfully summons Satan, AKA X-Gaster. And he proceeds to murder everyone, shove Error in the Anti-Void for being bad, give Ink's brush back, shove Classic back into UT, kill the AUs (no, actually, Error did that, but shh-) and make Cross...come back?

Horray! Start the victory parade!

...but not really. Because, from what I can tell(?), almost everyone is in a 'Quarantine ' zone, probably to wait while Ink and the X-Tale crew break bread and make their new world. Infact, from what I can tell, the only people besides them who aren't there are Error (who's having a fit in the AV), Cross, Dream, Fresh, and Nightmare and Killer, but those last two might just be around because Nightmare blends in with the background WAY too much.

x-Faster leaves, giving Cross the option to join him, and...I hope he doesn't. I pray he doesn't.

But enough of that. Let's talk about 'Valiant Heart' for a second, huh ~?

(Putting a break to pretend like I'm organized)

Tbh, I actually thought that Dream would DIE in this scene. Really - Nightmare saw a chance to get rid of a KNOWN thorn in his side, and he took it. Luckily, Cross saved him, and they both escaped...

But this scene has other things to talk about. First off, it's beautiful. This is the only thing in Underverse (so far/as far as I know) that isn't fully animated, instead shone in quick images and only having GORGEOUS song lyrics. I LOVE this part, and it might just be my favorite out of the whole episode.

Although..... I'm 25% percent sure that Dream and Cross went to X-Tale to hide, and Nightmare and Killer are now left alone in the black space that used to be the Doodle Sphere. Do they stay there? Is Nightmare's castle still existing?? This is like Killer's line at the start- I want insight to this.

For the sake of keeping this (long) thing short, I'm gonna end here, but...wow. Things are BLEAK rn. I can't even theorize any good possibilities - I'm shook. What a way to end an arc.

....or, should I say, what a way to start one~?

[emeraldwaves]

Title: Eternity Together Rating: T Word Count:  8.107 Read on AO3 Summary:   When Cloud Strife gets his soulmark, he starts styling his hair a very particular way, in hopes of meeting his soulmate. Meanwhile Zack Fair struggles to find his own soulmate since his mark is the most generic phrase possible.

Full fic under the the cut!! @its-love-u-asshole and @youaremynewdream read this ahead of time and it’s based on the prompt  "the first thing your soulmate will say is written on your wrist" for the clack discord server challenge.

Cloud starts styling his hair for a reason.

Leaning forward, he brushes his fingers over the blond pieces which drape next to his cheek. The rest is styled into sharp blond spikes, done up with lots of gel and an excessive amount of hairspray. It takes him at least an extra thirty minutes every morning, at least.

But... it's worth it.

Yes, staring at his stupid face in the mirror for approximately thirty extra minutes is worth it to Cloud if it means he might have an easier time finding his soulmate.

The words had appeared on his wrist the day before his first day of high school. He'd winced, the letters searing into his skin like a tattoo encircling his wrist. He'd always been a little skeptical of the whole soulmate thing. Not everyone had one after all, and Cloud wasn't sure why he of all people deserved a soulmate, but now that he knew he had one, he couldn't really complain.

Though his sentence does leave a little bit to be desired.

 Your hair is so spiky!

At the time the message had appeared, Cloud hadn't even had spiky hair, so immediately he knew he'd have to change that if he ever wanted to meet his soulmate.

For the first few days of high school, he doesn't care much. Just because the words appeared before high school started doesn't mean he will find this person right away. In fact, it could be years before he actually finds the person who will say those fateful words to him.

Instead, he spends the first week leaving his hair flat and wearing a small bracelet to cover the black script on his wrist. Until you actually find your soulmate, most people wear something to cover it up; sweatbands, cuffs, bracelets, anything to keep the words hidden. Soulmates are intimate, and some people prefer not to speak about theirs. Some people wear bracelets simply to hide not having a soulmate; at least not yet.

For awhile, most theorized soulmate marks appeared when a person hit puberty, since many people's marks are inscribed around the middle or high school age. However, there are some people who don't get marks until well into their twenties or thirties, and some never get them at all.

Admittedly, Cloud is a little relieved he has a soulmate. The idea is, well, kinda cool? A person you're specifically meant to be with according to the universe? Cloud never really gave it much thought until now; when he starts styling his hair.

At least his hair looks good like this.

After the first week of school Cloud decides to give it a shot. It's high school after all, a perfect time to reinvent himself if he wants, and he sees no harm in at least trying. He isn't going to meet his soulmate by having flat, boring hair.

Tifa, of course, is especially shocked by the new look when he walks into school that first morning.

"Cloud!" she exclaims. She slams her hand on the flat top of her desk, making him jump a bit. "What did you do to your hair!?" Well, his soulmate isn't Tifa. He's already known for quite sometime, since he'd met her when they were kids.

His eyes flick towards her wrist, covered by a small black band. Does Tifa have a soulmate? He silently wonders what her wrist could possibly say.

He shrugs. "Nothing, just trying something different."

"Different?" she mutters, shaking her head. "It certainly... is different..." she mumbles, tilting her head to look at him.

"It's badass," he grumbles, folding his arms.

"Suuuure~" she hums, letting him have this one for now.

Maybe it looks stupid. He glances at the black wrist band and swallows. Whenever he reads the text, he always thinks of it being said in a positive tone; something like, 'Your hair is so spiky! WOW! So cool!'. But now he wonders if maybe it's said in disgust.. 'Your hair is so spiky... gross. Why would you do that?'

Turning his chair around fast, he glances at Tifa. "Does it look stupid?" he asks, mostly under his breath. It's not like he needs Tifa's approval to change his hair, but he knows she'll be honest with him.

"Mmmm..." she hums. Her arms cross over one another and she tilts her head back and forth, analyzing the various spikes. "Not exactly," she says finally. "I think it just surprised me. You look good," she chuckles. "Did I freak you out?"

Cloud's lips turn down into a pout. "No. I just... didn't run it by anyone before doing it."

"Your mom didn't have anything to say?" she asks incredulously.

"Nah... I left before she could see it," he shrugs.

"She might kill you, you know," she points out, and Cloud nods, turning back around. He'd considered that, but the consequences aren't enough to stop him.

The class starts, and Cloud immediately spaces out. Science has never been his strong subject. Then again, Cloud spaces out during most classes.

His eyes immediately fall on his black wristband. Sometimes when he's home alone, he traces his pointer finger over the gentle script which is ingrained in his skin. The text flows across his pale wrist, as though it's a natural part of his body, meant to be there since birth despite being added so much later.

He's imagined so many scenarios. A girl reaching up to try and touch the top of his head while she whispers in awe about how spiky his blond locks are. A guy telling him he wishes he had hair as cool as his. Okay, those two are probably a little ridiculous, but Cloud likes to dream.

Sometimes he tries to remember the first thing Tifa ever said to him. They've been friends forever, so in a way, it would make sense for her to be his soulmate, but he can't recall the words. Knowing Tifa, she was probably nagging him about something before she even met him. Supposedly, you're meant to get the mark before you meet your soulmate though. So, no, there's no way Tifa is his soulmate.

He sighs, his fingers rubbing at the hair lying against his cheek once again. It's becoming a bad habit.

That whole first day of his new hairstyle, Cloud feels so anxious he wants to throw up. Like he's on a train and his whole body is wobbling with the movement of the wheels clacking against the tracks. Anytime someone speaks to him he anticipates the sentence, but it never comes.

His soulmate is out there somewhere, he just doesn't know where to begin looking for them.

~~

The problem is, Zack has a soulmate, but he has no idea how to find them. His first sentence is incredibly generic. So much so, Zack often finds himself in a few awkward situations where he stares at the person he is talking to expectantly, as if they are the ones who are supposed to notice their potential soulmate is standing directly in front of them.

You see, Zack's wrist has one word on it and one word alone: Yeah. Nothing else, just 'Yeah'. And honestly, it's been a damn confusing mess ever since he got to high school a year ago.

Now a second year, he's over it. Mostly. He thinks about it from time to time when he talks to someone for the first time and they respond with a casual, 'Yeah', thinking nothing of it. A little spark of excitement flutters his heart, makes it skip a beat, but when the conversation continues like normal, Zack lets it go a lot faster than he used to.

"I know that look," Angeal Hewley says, leaning against the locker as Zack tugs his socks on. "Another?"

"Another," Zack sighs, flopping back against the bench. "Angeal," he whines. "You and Genesis are so lucky you found each other so easily."

"Ah yes. Lucky is definitely the word I would use," Angeal muses sarcastically. "Zack, it was a very different situation."

Zack shoots up and glances at the writing on Angeal's wrist. He can't quite make out what it says, but he knows it's a quote from Loveless. Poetic, like an actual tattoo someone would get, not just a soulmark. And Genesis, Zack knows what his says; 'Aren't you kind of young to have read Loveless?'

Apparently Genesis read the book the second his soulmark appeared right before middle school. He recited quotes upon meeting people, until he met Angeal that was. Still, the guy spewed off verses left and right anyway, much to Angeal's chagrin.

"Well yeah!" he sighs. "You guys had really specific things written on your wrists! There was no mistaking it. I feel like I think my soulmate is everyone I meet!"

"Maybe you should stop starting conversations by asking things that can be answered with the word 'Yeah'," Angeal suggests with a smirk.

Zack opens his mouth to retort, but quickly shuts it. It's not a bad idea, his captain has a point, but knowing him he won't remember when he actually goes to talk to new people. "Or maybe I should just stop talking to people altogether," he pouts.

Angeal sighs. "Zack, it's not imperative you meet your soulmate right now." Easy for him to say when he already knows who his is. He knows Angeal is right though. Some people don't find their soulmate until way into adulthood. He's lucky to have even gotten a mark in the first place. Still, Zack doesn't know how much more he can take of making assumptions when people respond to him for the first time with a simple 'Yeah'.

"Okay, but what if I miss them! What if they're right here all along and I graduate, head to the city and never meet them!" Everytime he thinks he's over it, he's not.

Angeal steps forward and places his hand on Zack's shoulder. "Wouldn't you say the point of having a soulmate is to eventually find them so you can complete each other or... whatever it is they say?"

Zack blinks and stares at Angeal for a moment. He supposes the third year is right, but Zack finds it hard to believe everyone finds their soulmate. There have to be some people that miss each other by some strange happenstance, right? What if he's in the .001% who never meet their soulmates?!

"But what if she's this super cute girl, and we could be dating right now?! Don't you understand I could be missing out!?" Zack exclaims. It's easier to laugh than to think too deeply about it.

Angeal's face falls and he shoves his shoulder. "Put on your shoes, practice is about to start." He turns from him to head to the lacrosse field and Zack scrambles to put his shoes on, chasing after his captain.

"Wait! Angeal!" he calls out, running up to him fast. "So... if you think that way about soulmates, does that mean Genesis completes you?" he asks with a playful smirk.

"No." Angeal answers immediately, and in a flat tone.

"Whaaaaat?" Zack asks, nudging his shoulder. "Why not?"

"We're... different," Angeal mutters, but Zack can see the slight hint of pink on his cheeks.

"Aw c'mon! I know you love him," Zack teases, and Angeal walks ahead of him in complete silence. Genesis may get on Angeal's nerves, but Zack's seen the way they interact; they need each other. Angeal keeps Genesis in check and Genesis helps Angeal loosen up a bit, it's perfect in their own weird way.

Glancing down at his knees Zack freezes. "Ah! Dammit, I forgot my knee brace!" he calls to Angeal. "I'll be right back."

"Hurry Zack," he snorts, but really Zack can tell Angeal is relieved he doesn't have to listen to Zack tease him about Genesis anymore.

He dashes back into the school, heading for the locker room when he practically slams into a shorter blond boy, their bodies colliding. Zack groans, stepping back as he rubs his face ready to apologize. Instead, he’s silent, unable to tear his eyes away from the blond's hair. It's so bright, a light blond Zack has rarely seen before, and it's so perfectly spiked, like each portion was set in place with the utmost care (way more defined than the messy black mop on the top of his own head).

The words slip out before Zack even realizes he's speaking. "Your hair is so spiky!"

The blond blinks his eyes a few times, his lips parting as he stares at Zack. His eyes are a beautiful bright blue color, standing out strongly against his pale skin and hair. He looks shocked, a little dazed maybe, still beautiful, but Zack wonders if he's hurt. Well, he did smack into the blond pretty hard...

Instead the boy opens his mouth and incredulously responds with a single, "Yeah."

~~

Everyone knows Zack Fair. Handsome, fun, great laugh, popular, Zack Fair is a giant list of things Cloud Strife is not.

And Zack Fair may or may not be Cloud's soulmate.

He says the line Cloud has been waiting to hear for weeks now: "Your hair is so spiky!"

And Cloud is honestly so shocked, his mouth open wide. "Yeah," he replies finally, after taking a long pause. The two stare at each other in complete silence, and time has stopped for them, if only for a moment.

Zack's blue eyes begin to sparkle, his shimmering blues looking far too excited for someone who just ran into someone else. "Yeah?" he asks, his smile large and he leans forward towards Cloud.

Cloud can tell his face is bright red, and his heart throbs against his chest. Of all the people to potentially be his soulmate... Zack Fair is far too attractive for his own good. Cloud swallows, his eyes darting to the side. "I, uh... I..." What the hell is he supposed to say? 'Hey! You're my soulmate!' No. That's far too awkward, and of course Zack will be disappointed. He's probably been waiting for so long...

Instead, Cloud bows his head. "I-I'm sorry..." Walking around Zack, he makes his way down the hall heading out to the front of the school. Zack calls after him, but Cloud doesn't turn around or stop. What's the point...

Zack is probably hoping for some cute girl, or, well, anyone cooler than Cloud is.

He runs a little faster, away from the school.

Cloud sees Tifa standing by the front gate, looking at her phone, and he knows she's waiting for him. They've been walking to and from school together for as long as Cloud can remember, but today he wishes he could breeze right past her. Tifa is too intuitive, especially when it comes to him, and Cloud knows she's going to ask about his strange behavior.

"Cloud!" she calls out, waving to him. She's got a big smile on her face, and she tucks her phone into her backpack. "You ready?"

"Uh, yeah..." he says softly. Maybe if he acts as naturally as possible, Tifa won't notice.

"You okay?" Dammit. She's peering towards him, her dark hair draping over her shoulder and Cloud continues walking.

"Fine," he replies as flatly as he can. He wishes he could calm his heart down at the very least, but he keeps thinking about Zack's blue eyes and the excitement they held within them.

"Nope! No way you're fine," Tifa says, shaking her head back and forth. "Something is bugging you."

"Tifa, I-"

"Your cheeks are totally red, you're walking way faster than normal, and you won't even meet my eyes. You're hiding something Cloud Strife!" she says, and he curses her stupid people skills. He really should've known there was no way to fool her.

He rubs his fingers over the bracelet on his wrist, shrugging. "I just... had a weird run-in is all."

"A weird run-in? With who?" He can feel her eyes all over his body, practically digging under his skin for information. Suddenly she gasps. "With your soulmate!" She points dramatically.

Jumping away from her, Cloud holds his hands up. "W-What?! No! Stop trying to make weird guesses about what's going on with me."

"Well," she grumbles, folding her arms. "It would be a lot easier if you could just talk to me about your feelings, but I know you won't do that. However, I do know you were playing with your wristband when you answered my question," she says looking rather proud of herself.

There's no escaping this, and Tifa will only be angrier later if Cloud doesn't tell her now.

He lets out a long drawn out sigh. "Fine, yes, I think I ran into my soulmate. Are you happy now?" he snorts, walking away from her as fast as he can.

"Oh my gosh! Who is it?! What did they say?!" she asks, immediately invested in her discovery.

"They don't know it's me..." he mumbles, "or at least I don't think they know."

"What?! How can they not know?" she asks. "I mean you had to have said the phrase on their wrist!"

Cloud bites his lip, just now realizing Tifa has point. But what the hell did he say to Zack? He thinks back on the interaction, the way his chest had slammed against Zack's and how he'd stared at him like a dumbfounded idiot when Zack had said the line written on Cloud's wrist. But what had Cloud said in response, that would've been the first thing he said to Zack...

He freezes.

"...I... I said... 'Yeah'."

"You... said... 'Yeah'?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah!?"

"Uh, yeah...?"

"Cloud!" Tifa yells. "Oh my gosh! This poor person has just had 'Yeah' on their wrist for years and probably has zero idea who their soulmate is. That could be anyone!" she exclaims.

"Well how was I supposed to know that would be what I said?!" he mutters indignantly.

"What does yours say?!" she asks, gently reaching forward to grab his wrist, but he yanks it back immediately. It's taboo to look at other people’s soulmarks before they reveal it themselves, and usually it's considered bad luck if someone else sees it before your soulmate does. Asking about it is normally frowned upon, but people talk about soulmarks all the time, so Cloud's actually a little shocked it took Tifa this long to ask him. She probably didn't want to be rude.

Gently rubbing at the wristband, he bites his lip. "It says 'Your hair is so spiky!'," he mumbles, knowing exactly how she's going to react.

A smirk pulls across her cheeks. "So that's why you changed your hairstyle."

"I dunno," he shrugs.

With a laugh, Tifa hooks their arms together, walking with him. "Aw Cloud! You're so cute! But explain something, if you just said 'Yeah', why didn't you tell them what your wrist said?" she asks. He can tell she's trying to be a little more understanding, her voice quieter.

"I... I dunno," he mumbles. "I just walked away..."

"That was silly!" she giggles. "You gotta tell them! They're not going to know it's you with just 'Yeah' written on their wrist," she snorts.

Cloud knows she's right, but he can't deal with seeing Zack's excited eyes fill with disappointment.

~~

"I know it's him," Zack sighs, flopping down into his seat, pulling out his lunch. It's been a week since his run-in with the adorable blond boy, and Zack can't stop thinking about him. He'd seen the way the blond had stared so intensely at him, his blue eyes wide and full of intrigue. It had taken him a moment to compose himself before he had spoken that fateful word, 'Yeah'.

"Then why haven't you said anything to him yet?" Aerith giggles, leaning towards him on her desk as she unties the small pouch she keeps her lunch in. "If you're so sure, that is."

Blushing, Zack leans back in his chair and folds his arms. "I haven't seen him!" he sighs. "But also... I dunno how to ask him. Especially cause I don't... exactly remember what I said to him first," he shrugs.

"That could be a problem," Aerith nods, and Zack sighs again.

"It's a big problem! It all happened so fast. I bumped into him accidentally... I think I said something about his hair... I dunno, but from the way he stared at me and said 'Yeah', I just know it's him! And damn Aerith, he is so pretty and so cute... I can't stop thinking about him!" he groans, rubbing his hands through his hair.

"I know, Zack," she says gently, her small fingers brushing over his arm. "You've told me the story every day for a week now."

"Oops..." he shrugs awkwardly. He knows he's being obnoxious. Genesis has told him to shut up on multiple occasions, and though Angeal and Aerith were far nicer and more tolerant of Zack's ramblings, he knew even they were getting sick of hearing about it. Mostly because no one understood why Zack wasn't talking to this boy already.

"It's okay," she smiles. "I just think you should talk to him."

"And say what?" he groans. "'Hey! We ran into each other the other day and you said 'Yeah' to me, which is on my wrist, but I don't remember what I said to you, so what's on your wrist? Are we soulmates?'" He takes a deep breath after pushing the long-winded sentence out on one breath.

"That sounds good," Aerith nods, her smile not changing.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Zack sighs, shaking his head back and forth.

"I bet Angeal thinks the same thing," she hums, her tone far too sing-songy for Zack's liking.

"Ugh," he groans. "He does..."

Aerith squeezes gently at his hand, her fingers close to where his mark is covered. "We just want you to be happy Zack. I know how long this has been bothering you, and if he's your chance to find your soulmate, I want you to take it," she nods.

"Yeah..." he whispers. "Me too." Curling his fingers into fists, Zack pulls his hand to his chest, looking determined. "Okay! I'll find him and I'll just... I'll just ask!" he smiles, realizing he shouted rather loud when people in the class turn to look at him.

"Maybe you could ask him at the dance tomorrow night," Aerith winks. "That would be pretty cute," she says.

Zack's lip quirks up into a smile. He can't help but imagine the cute blond in a suit, looking all fancy dressed up. He'd take him in his arms and pull him close, asking if he's his soulmate. The boy would say yes, and then they'd leave the dance and kiss under the stars! He sighs, his cheeks heating up. How perfect would that be!?

"Do it then," Aerith says, leaning forward to poke his cheek. "You obviously like the idea."

Rubbing at his face, he frowns. "Yeah, but what if he's not there..."

She gasps, her hand covering her mouth. "Who wouldn't want to go to the dance?!"

~~

"'M not going..." Cloud folds his arms, leaning against the door frame as he stares at a very angry Tifa.

"Cloud Strife! This is the most important school dance of our first year! We can't miss it! Plus," she smirks, leaning in towards him, "you know Zack Fair is going to be there."

It took almost a week, but Tifa finally got it out of Cloud that Zack Fair is most likely his soulmate.

They'd argued back and forth a bit about whether or not Cloud should approach him, but Cloud isn't really the 'approaching' type, and in the end Tifa had given up.

 "Zack Fair?! You gotta tell him! He's a really nice guy, I'm sure you two can talk it out."

 "No way, he's just going to be disappointed."

 "Ugh, Cloud. You don't know that! Plus, you're very handsome!"

 "Stop."

"So? I already told you I'm not saying anything to him," Cloud huffs.

"Okay, fine. I get it about Zack, but please don't make me go alone," she whines, and Cloud rolls his eyes, eventually caving to her like he always does. She's going to stand on his porch begging him to go all night, and then when he doesn't go he'll never stop hearing about how it's his fault for not getting changed and just going. So he saves himself the headache and changes into his suit.

Leaning forward in the mirror, his adjusts some of the spikes of blond hair.

 "Your hair is so spiky!"

He can't help but think of Zack, and the way those words left his lips so perfectly. His blue eyes held such admiration, just over his stupid hair. He wonders what would happen if Zack knew they were soulmates, would his eyes shimmer with that incredible excitement?

No. Cloud looks down, gripping the edge of the counter. There's no way Zack would ever be excited about being soulmates with him. He doesn't even know him! And Zack is so kind and friendly to everyone he knows... Cloud would only hold him back. No, Zack is definitely better off never knowing.

He swallows, his chest constricting at the thought. He's spent the last week unable to shake Zack from his thoughts. He's got a perfect smile, and he always seems so chipper and friendly. It's not a lie that everyone adores Zack. Hell, if he and Zack were together, there would definitely be a few very disappointed girls. He's strong, muscular, attractive... Cloud blushes just thinking about how good Zack often looks. His dark hair is messy, but suits his personality, and with his pale skin, Zack always looks so handsome and radiant, even in the shitty lighting of the school hallway. The truth is, Zack is everything Cloud wishes he could be.

Tifa would tell him he should at least give Zack a chance to respond, and deep down he knows she's right. It's not fair for him to walk around knowing the truth, when Zack will forever be in the dark.

Looking at his own blue eyes in the mirror, he bites his lip. He can imagine how sad Zack would be... in thirty years when he still hasn't found his soulmate. Maybe he'd be bitter, thinking the universe lied to him, when really it was Cloud who had...

But really what does it matter?

And who says they're even soulmates anyway? Pulling down the band, he glances at the text on his wrist, the script curling over his pale skin.

 Your hair is so spiky!

It's not terribly specific. Someone else could easily say that to him, especially with how he's styling his hair right now... But thinking about it... it's next to impossible to hear it in any other way than the way Zack said it. His vocal inflections are ingrained in Cloud's skin as much as the text is.

And a little voice echoes in the back of his mind...

 How could it be anyone else?

And Cloud wants it to be Zack. He wants it to be the kind, dark-haired boy who's smile made time freeze for just a moment. He wants to tell Zack and have his eyes light up with excitement. He'd pull Cloud into his arms, wrap around him close, his warm cheek pressed close as he nuzzles him, and slowly they'd fall together--fall in love with each other and start their journey as soulmates.

But he knows that's just a silly daydream. Reality is never as beautiful as he wants it to be.

"Cloud! Are you ready?"

"Uh... yeah! Just a second!" he calls down as he adjusts the dark turquoise tie. He supposes it looks fine. Unlike everyone else, Cloud has zero expectations for this night.

"You look nice!" Tifa smiles, cupping her hands behind her back. Her own black dress hugs her thin frame nicely, and Cloud can tell she spent some time styling her bangs. Her lips are a gentle red, and her mascara and eyeliner are darker than normal, Tifa looks good too.

"You too," he says softly.

"Thanks! I'm pretty excited, so let's go!" she tugs his hand out the door, and Cloud knows it's far too late to back out now. He's going to the school dance.

~~

"I told you he wouldn't come!" Zack whines, his eyes darting around the giant room filled to the brim with students.

"It's early," Angeal sighs, and between Zack and Genesis, Angeal is already over the dance.

"C'mon Angeal, I want to dance. Zack will be fine," Genesis hisses, glaring daggers at Zack.

"Gee, thanks Gen," Zack grumbles, folding his arms over his chest.

"You're ruining my time, puppy," he scoffs. "I want to dance with my boyfriend." Genesis hooks his arm around Angeal's possessively, leaning his head against his shoulder.

"Fine, fine, go!" Zack sighs with a smile, waving his hand at them. He wants Angeal and Genesis to have a good time, they deserve that much, especially with how often he's been complaining about this.

"Are you sure you're okay, Zack?" Angeal asks softly, gently touching his hand against Zack's shoulder.

"Yeah I'm fine, Angeal. Go dance with Genesis before he implodes," Zack snorts.

"Your fault!" Genesis calls out, dragging Angeal in towards the crowd of people.

He shouldn't be disappointed the blond boy isn't here. He had mentally prepared for this, or so he thought when he gave himself that small pep talk in front of the mirror earlier in the evening. But now that he's here and the blond is not, it hurts more than he realizes.

A few girls approach him about dancing, but he turns them down. Slinking his way over to the bleachers, he tucks his hands into his pocket. The music is loud, echoing throughout the room, but in the back where he sits, it doesn't hurt his ears as much. Other students are casually hanging out by the bleachers, ones who want to talk and relax, but Zack just wants to sit alone. The gymnasium is packed with students and there are silver stars and lights dangling from the ceiling, small twinkles dancing across the bodies and the floor.  Zack smirks sadly. "I really could've had that kiss under the stars."

"Why is Zack Fair sitting over here by himself all gloomy? Seems out of character," Aerith smiles, leaning down in front of him. Her long brown hair falls over her shoulder, swinging in front of her.

"Hey Aerith," he shrugs. "Angeal and Genesis went off to dance and I just... felt like sitting out for a bit. Kinda tired tonight, y'know?"

"The dance just started!" she frowns. "How can you already be tir-..." She pauses and stands on her tiptoes, glancing around the room. "Ah... You're sad because your blond boy didn't show yet!"

Zack immediately blushes. "Nah... I had a feeling he wouldn't come. He seems... too shy for this kind of thing," he mumbles. "I mean... I don't even know if he's my actual soulmate!" he laughs, covering his eyes with his hands. "I'm being real stupid, Aerith."

Tucking her skirt under her legs, Aerith sits down next to him, nudging him with her shoulder. "No, you're not. You're hopeful and excited!" She runs her fingers over the bracelet on her wrist. "And isn't that what having these marks is all about? Being excited and hopeful for a future with a person who is perfect for you?"

He blinks, wondering if Aerith knows who her soulmate is. "Zack," she says, gently touching his arm. "Do you believe this guy is your soulmate?"

Does he? Of course he does. It almost feels like a stupid question. Ever since he ran into him he can't stop thinking about him, and on top of that, never before had he locked eyes with someone for what seemed to be an eternity. "It... it really felt like it this time. I've been wrong before though! I mean, how am I supposed to know when people say 'Yeah' to me all the time!"

"True, but I've never known you to give up so fast," she smirks, gesturing towards the doorway.

Zack follows her finger to the entrance where he sees the blond boy stepping in with a girl in a dark black dress. His cheeks heat up, and he thinks the guy looks stunning. His blond hair sticks out against his dark suit, but he looks cute, especially when he seems to wince at how loud the music is. Zack chuckles, his heart pounding as the twinkle lights hit the boy’s pale skin. He's beautiful, and Zack needs to know his name.

It's him. It has to be. He can feel it in his bones, crawling under his skin. Soulmates are all about fate and fated encounters and Zack knows he can't be wrong, not this time, not with how his eyes can't tear away from how awkward the blond looks on the dance floor.

"He came," he whispers.

"Yup," Aerith giggles. "So go get him."

~~

"I'm going to sit down Tifa!" Cloud calls out over the crowd. He's been here for less than five minutes and he's already wanting to leave. The people keep bumping into him, and he's baffled as to how anyone could possibly enjoy this as an activity. Tifa seems to be having fun though, singing along with the songs and moving her body to and fro.

"What?!" she calls out, and he can barely hear her over the music.

"I'm going to sit down!" he yells, pointing towards the bleachers on the side of the room. She nods. He's not sure she understood, but he can feel the sweat rolling down his back, and he can't be around so many people for any longer.

Sighing, he plops down on the bench and brings his finger to the collar of his shirt, tugging on it. He takes a few deep inhales, trying to breathe. The gym is hotter and sweatier than when people run around in it during class, and Cloud regrets wearing what he wore, though all the guys seem to be in suits.

Groaning, he feels envious of Tifa in her much more open dress. His eyes scan the crowd for her, hoping she saw him take a seat, but after finding her, he realizes his eyes haven't stopped searching. He knows it's stupid to look for Zack Fair among the giant sea of people. More than likely he's not going to find him. He's probably dancing with a ton of people and having a grand time and it's not like he'd even remember who Cloud is, especially since Cloud barely said three words to him and-

"Hey!"

Cloud's rambling thoughts are broken immediately as his eyes trail up the body of the person standing in front of him. Tall, dark-hair, stunning blue eyes, of course it's none other Zack Fair, standing right in front of him.

Cloud knows he forgets to breathe, his mouth open wide as he stares at the other boy like a complete idiot. Why is he here? Is he mad about the other day? The questions rush through Cloud's brain as he tries to sort through them for a nature response.

"Uh... hey?" Cloud says, his voice turning the phrase into a question awkwardly.

"So, uh," Zack rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks oddly red. "Sorry again about running into you the other day. You okay? I didn't really... get to ask," he says.

Right. Because Cloud ran away so fast.

"Oh, uh, yeah? I'm fine... sorry too," he mumbles.

"Hey man, it's cool. But, uh, do you wanna dance? Let me make it up to you!" he says, a smile appearing across his lips. It's enough to make Cloud's entire heart melt into his chest, even with it beating a mile a minute.

He must forget to answer because Zack holds his hand out. "I promise I'm not terrible at it," he chuckles.

That's really not what Cloud's worried about. Actually it's the opposite. He knows he sucks at dancing and Zack's probably going to think he's even more of idiot than he already does.

But something in his body fights against his natural instinct to say no. Looking at Zack's outstretched palm, he sees the wristband covering his mark and Cloud is desperate to know what's underneath. Does it really just say 'Yeah'? He feels a little bad about that. It's probably been incredibly confusing for the guy. Cloud's eyes dart from Zack's eyes to his hand and then back again. He wants to. He wants to so bad. But should he?

Against his better judgement, he reaches forward and clasps their hands together, a warmth flowing through his body. Unlike the sweaty heat he felt before, he feels calm and comfortable, like his hand has been dying to touch Zack's for his whole life. It's right.

"Okay," he says softly, and he's not even sure if Zack hears him. But he pulls him up, and pulls Cloud close, their bodies touching as they fall into the sea of people. Zack's hips sway against his own, and Cloud can't stop staring at the soft features of his face. His blue eyes glow under the twinkling, silver lights, his lips are quirked into a smile, but still they look so kissable. It's hopeless.

Zack has to be his soulmate. Who else would ever make him feel like this? But he can only wonder if Zack feels it too.

"I'm Zack by the way!" he yells over the music, his hands coming down to rest on Cloud's hips. "I didn't get to tell you my name, or hear yours!"

"Cloud!" he yells back.

"Cool!" Zack says, his smile growing larger. The two move together with the fast thump, thump, thump of the music, and Cloud rolls his hips towards Zack, finally getting used to the rhythm. He still feels awkward, but with Zack so close to him, his body feels calmer somehow.

The music slows down, the lights dimming even more, and Cloud is about to pull away. Slow songs like this are usually for couples and they're not-

But Zack pulls him close, keeping their bodies locked tightly together. His hand wraps around Cloud's and he can tell Zack is trembling.

"You know... this is gonna sound stupid but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since we bumped into each other." His voice is quieter now the music is softer and Cloud can hear the gentle shake of tone. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about him? But... why? Cloud isn't anything special, he's nothing like Zack...

"Me too," he says, before he can stop himself, and Zack quickly pulls back, his hands taking Cloud's.

"W-Wait really?!" he asks. "Hold on!" he says over the slow piano. Yanking Cloud's hands, he pulls him towards the door, stepping out into the cool night air. The breeze blows around them, Zack's dark hair brushing across his forehead. Cloud’s thankful to get away from the loud music, he can actually hear Zack know. "This is gonna sound crazy but I kind of thought maybe you were my soulmate," Zack pants. He tugs off the band, showing Cloud the script on his wrist.

A simple Yeah. Just as he suspected. Zack's blue eyes look eager, waiting for Cloud to say something, anything, and when he can't quite find the words, his gaze falls to the ground.

"But it's stupid right?" Zack laughs sadly, lowering his wrist to his side. "I mean so many people say 'Yeah' to me. I've been wrong so many times..." His blue eyes tremble, as though he's about to cry and Cloud feels his chest tighten again.

No. This is exactly what he was trying to avoid. He never wants to see Zack looking so hurt, so upset...

"It's... It's not stupid..." Cloud whispers, reaching down to pull off his own wristband. "Mine... says exactly what you said to me when we ran into each other."

Zack's blue eyes widen and he grabs Cloud's wrist, gasping as he leans in close. "Your hair is so spiky," he reads, and hearing it in Zack's voice again, makes Cloud's heart leap into his throat. "C-Cloud... are... you my soulmate?" he asks.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he nods. "Yeah..." he repeats that stupid word, feeling dumb. Here it comes, the disappointment he expects. He's not a beautiful woman, he's not someone cool, he's no one; imperfect for someone like Zack.

Instead, he feels Zack's arm wrap around his body, pulling him close. "Why... didn't you tell me?" he whispers, and Cloud's eyes shoot open, bringing his own hands around Zack's body.

"I...I don't know! I thought you would be disappointed," he trembles.

"DISAPPOINTED!?" Zack yells, and Cloud winces as Zack grips his shoulders, pushing him back. "Why would I ever be disappointed?! Damn Cloud, you're cute as hell… actually... you're beautiful! And all week I couldn't stop thinking about you! I just wanted to know if I was right and more than anything I wanted to get to know you better!"

Zack's eyes twinkle with excitement in the moonlight. He looks so genuinely happy, and Cloud knows his own cheeks are bright red, as he tries to fully comprehend what Zack is saying. There's no disappointment, only a happiness Cloud thought he could only dream of.

"Really?" he asks, a small smile pulling across his face involuntarily.

"Really! I kept telling people I knew it was you but I didn't know how to ask!" he says, hugging him again. "I... I just can't believe I found my soulmate. With a phrase like 'Yeah', I thought I never would!"

Cloud snorts, hugging him back. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just... couldn't believe it was you saying 'Your hair is so spiky'. I was... really shocked."

"In my defense, that is totally something I would say," Zack laughs. "And hey, now we have all the time in the world to get to know each other," he chuckles. "You're my soulmate!" He grabs Cloud's hand and holds it up, turning towards the parking lot. "I FOUND MY SOULMATE!" he yells, looking so damn happy. No one answers, but it's obvious Zack doesn't care.

Suddenly Cloud regrets ever hiding it from him.

"Lets go dance then?!" Zack says, squeezing his hand, and Cloud wonders if Zack is ever going to let him go again. Admittedly, he wouldn't mind if he didn't.

"Okay," Cloud nods.

Following Zack's lead, Cloud can't stop smiling. This is more perfect than he ever expected, but Zack stops suddenly, and glances up a the sky. "Wait," he whispers, turning to him to cup at his cheeks. Leaning down he brushes their lips together and Cloud tenses, a new warmth rushing through his body, pink and joyous.

Zack's lips are soft, and he holds them against Cloud's, letting out a happy noise as he pulls away. "I... really wanted to kiss you under the stars tonight. Guess I got my wish," he says, and Cloud needs a moment to gather himself as he follows Zack back inside.

The dance doesn't feel as crowded now and Cloud's heart beats in time with the rhythm of the loud music as he dances close to Zack. His hands are on his waist and Cloud likes how weighted they make him feel, how strange how he feels so free whilst being so grounded.

He catches Tifa's eye from across the dance floor and she waves at him. The girl with her, a petite looking brown-haired girl in a pink dress, gives him the thumbs up and Zack immediately snorts.

"That's Aerith, she's one of my best friends. She's been bugging me to talk to you all week."

"Eh? You know her?" Cloud says, staring at Tifa while she dances happily with the other girl.

"Yeah! Why?"

"She's dancing with Tifa, my best friend." He fails to admit that she's really his only friend. "She's also been trying to... get me to talk to you too." His face is bright red, and he only hopes the lighting in the gym will hide it.

"Really?!" he laughs so hard. "I didn't know they knew each other! Small world, I guess!"

"Or... maybe they just met," Cloud muses. Tifa's looking at the girl so intensely, and her cheeks are red. He can't tell from this distance if she's embarrassed or just hot from dancing. Noticing his stare, Tifa waves her hand, and flicks her gaze towards Zack, winking.

He really should be paying more attention to the adorable boy in front of him.

"We'll have to ask them later! For now I wanna focus on you!" Zack yells over the music. "There's so much I wanna know about you! Though... I guess this is kind of a bad place to ask."

Cloud smirks, Zack is so eager and cute. His heart skips a beat looking at the excitement swirling in his blue eyes. He can't help himself; leaning up, he brushes his lips against Zack's, wrapping his arms around his neck. The rest of the world slowly disappears, the people mere background noise.

"Well, it's like you said, we have all the time in the world to get to know each other," he says, brushing their noses against one another. Zack's laughter is contagious as they smile together, the music suddenly seeming quiet.

Cloud could stay this close to Zack forever. He smiles, cause they really do have all the time they want; they have eternity.

~~

Zack sees his boyfriend standing on the sidelines of the lacrosse field and he's immediately distracted. Cloud is so cute, with his spiky blond hair, and excited blue eyes. His thin fingers are wrapped around the strap of his backpack and Zack's heart beats faster thinking about how perfect their hands fit together and how he loves intertwining their fingers. How can he resist looking at him?!

"Puppy! Pay attention!" Genesis snarls, smacking his lacrosse stick against Zack's, jolting him from his daze.

"Eh?! S-Sorry Genesis," he says, rubbing the back of his neck as he shrugs at Cloud. Cloud laughs, his smile wide and adorable. "I'll, uh, be right back!" he calls out, running over to the side.

"Hurry up, Zack!" Angeal chimes in. But they all know it's better to let Zack have his moment with his boyfriend when he apparently needs it, otherwise nothing will get done.

"Hey!" Zack says, leaning over the fence. "You here to watch me practice?"

"Yeah… Tifa and Aerith were studying together, so I thought I’d come watch... is that okay? " Cloud asks, a small smile still on his face. Zack loves getting to see the blond smile. They feel so rare, and genuine, like they're special and only for him.

"Of course it's okay!" Zack laughs. "You can come watch every practice if you want. Or I know! You should join the team!" he says eagerly.

Cloud's soft laugh feels like the perfect song to Zack's ears. "I think if I did that you would get absolutely nothing done."

"Ah... you're right, you're right..." Zack whines. "I just like when you're here!" He leans over the fence and brushes their lips together. For all those times he thought he would never find his soulmate, now that he has, Zack can't ever seem to let Cloud go. He's perfect, cute, intelligent, supportive, and he's got a few quirks, but Zack loves everything about him already, and it's only been a couple of weeks. "It took me so long to find you, I never want to let you go," he whispers, brushing his thumb over his cheek.

"I know, but... I'm here, supporting you, always."

"I know. And you know I always wanna support you too, okay?!" he says excitedly.

"Mhm," Cloud nods. "Now go, or Angeal is gonna yell at you again."

"Alright Spiky," he says, kissing Cloud one more time. "I'll see you after we're done. I can't face the wrath of Angeal!" He waves his fingers as if it's something insanely spooky.

"Exactly. Have fun," Cloud smiles, and Zack can barely tear his eyes away.

"Bye," Zack waves sadly.

"I'm gonna be right here, Zack," Cloud snorts, teasing him. "I promise." Zack knows Cloud isn't going to leave. He knows they have eternity together.

"I know," he sighs, and blows Cloud a kiss anyway. Cloud pretends to catch it, and rolls his eyes as he places his hand against his chest, knowing it's cheesy, but Cloud knows Zack loves that stuff.

They're soulmates.

And Zack thinks the universe couldn't have picked someone better.

[one-of-us-must-be-crazy]

For the “Send a character’s name to receive four different headcanons” thing... Samuels and Ripley of course!!

this is both long and bad so u were warned

Headcanon A:  realistic

Both of them were traumatized from what they’ve been through. Amanda in typical human fashion and Samuels in the way he’s become hyper sensitive to possible danger. His own well-being be damned, but this scared human is all he has, and he does recognize that he’s about all she has too; and efforts are made to act the role of security guard at night, for two weeks after they’ve found a mostly-permanent residence. Even after Amanda and he are intimate partners he still leaves her room to observe the rest of the flat; only returning to her if he hears her have a nightmare. For being so independent and alone, she’s now finding it hard to fall asleep without being held at least by the hand.

When she finally confronted him about this (and I wrote this whole thing as a fic at one point bc I’m not original enough to make a second realistic headcanon) and convinced him to at least try to stay with her, he found that her presence--alive and well and safe, right here--was calming too.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Neither of them knew. How could they? The pleasure models were brainless, and only programmed to react, unable to feel emotions or physical sensations. They’re behavior was binary, not whatever amorphous galaxy of a mess his internal workings had become. Typical models didn’t engage in such activities, and if they did, they and their operators kept it quiet.

There wasn’t even enough on synthetics yet for it to be considered a kink, it was just....taboo. Unseemly. Not something to mention or think on or theorize, let alone take pride in; not in the way that Ripley was still smiling down at him, beaming, proud, smug, content, loving all at once.

“......I-I don’t...That....that was not--Amanda did that just--”

“Did it feel nice? Bad?”

“........Initial scans show no internal errors but for a moment there was so much white noise and data and sensory---........I have nothing to compare that to. Amy what,” he has a vague sense that he can control his limbs now, after their tenseness had faded he didn’t even know if he could move them; and gently yet firmly held her hips in place when she started to slowly move on him. “Amy what the hell just happened?”

“Most likely orgasm, possibly system failure. Maybe both? Run a deeper systems diagnostics, and if nothing’s broken , I want to try that again.”

“I thought I died.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I thought I did.”

“Was it nice?”

“I’m---! .......I mean. It wasn’t unpleasant. Only. I don’t. It was. Ah.”

‘I said it at the start, we don’t ever have to do this again if you don’t like it.”

“NO!”

“Hmm?”

“...................................................iwanttodoitagain. please.”

at this point Ripley starts choking on apologies becuase she’s laughing to hard to formulate a real response.

Okay so that wasn’t really not realistic becuase as I said before. Their lives are both garbage and the very least (THE. VERY. LEAST.) the universe owes the poor sap is to be able to enjoy whatever they get up to.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Samuels outlives her, naturally. He knew he would, they both did, but it didn’t help, and the longer he put off ever contemplating the inevitable the more Ripley got nearly angry with him. Find someone else, someone younger, move on; those were her mantra of orders and even though she didn’t want to witness him falling in love again, she thought it’d be easier to die knowing that he wouldn’t be alone.

Amanda also knew, somehow, that he was being honest when he told her absolutely not. It was unrealistic she’d argue over and over, no matter how much you loved someone, they die, you fall in love again, people do it all the time. And there’d be a short moment of worry turned to confusion then I’m not a person, luv. 

It isn’t so bad either, not at first, when he indulges in week-long shut-downs, reliving days of memory play-back at a time; waking only to tend to their home and when he can be bothered, his own vitals. The pain is so strong during those moments that it’s almost numbing. But it can’t last forever, and whether its age, or pain, or too little use, he can sense the corrosion, decay of his abilities. Motion, speech, emotions, physical sensations all wear off, and he dedicates whatever power he has left to memory, begging whatever could possibly listen to a synthetic that Amanda, who never really believed in anything, prayed on her deathbed that he had enough of a soul to join her in wherever she was going. 

I just made myself even MORE depressed than i was already today and let me tell you that’s not an easy thing to do. Great.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

[COMING TOMORROW BC ITS HELLA LATE WHERE I’M AT RIGHT NOW]

[loving-villanelle]

I theorize Jess very quickly realized Sara was not returning. The woman made radical life changes & going back to GA really wasn't ever going to support those changes. Plus, u really don't write a character out by having them reorder their life for a new love or say u want to be w/ her 20 yrs from

Listen, I’m under no delusion that JCap and Sara were ever BFF’s or anything like that. I think they got along well enough and had a great respect for one another and a good professional relationship, but I don’t think they ever had the kind of friendship we’ve seen between some of the other cast members. That being said, friends or not, because of that professional relationship and mutual respect, I think JCap was very blindsided and probably a little hurt/upset by how Sara left. JCap had no warning, she found out right along with everyone. While Sara was under no obligation to explain herself to anyone, I think she knew full well that JCap would be the one left to deal with the fallout so it would’ve been nice for her to at the very least say “hey, i don’t want to get into details but I told Shonda I am leaving the show and I thought you should know before the news breaks.” That would have given JCap a heads up and allowed her to prepare herself for the fact that her scene partner for the better part of her time on the show was going to be exiting. Instead, she got no more notice than you or me. I think that had to be hard for her. I think she probably felt very disrespected, just in a professional sense, given how long and how much they had worked together. JCap made it clear that she and Sara have not spoken since then so I don’t know what she necessarily knew or didn’t know about the possibility of Sara returning, but I think everyone pretty much came to the conclusion that she wasn’t coming back