#given he set up the circumstances to allow this to happen it's likely for him to be responsible...

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

I apologise in advance, I just need to get this itch out of my brain.

Twice I've encountered the idea that Retinz/Reus didn't kill Manov Mistree. And every time, my mind comes back to these two moments:

Retinz describes Mistree as "but a fan". This is someone he's known for years but far from familiarity, he sounds almost dismissive of the boy. He does share his secret with him and allow him to carry his mantle though...

His self-described "grand illusion". It's what tips Apollo off to the idea that the murder had been committed via trickery. Retinz even goes so far as to hang this trickery over Trucy's head when he's defeated (even calling it HIS magic). At the same time, he might just be talking about his magic forged contract... which we also have little to no evidence for that being his doing specifically...

Now don't get it twisted. I don't think he's nearly as petty or flatly evil as I perhaps painted him in my mind - the guy was likely a member of the troupe from childhood and got kicked out years later for one mistake. His foray into pyrotechnics imply that his magic had been dangerous from the get-go but we don't get the impression he messed it up more than once.

Whether he actually murdered Manov Mistree is another point though. The way it's written makes it sound like he didn't think much of a fan he's known for several years, that he's proud that he managed to fool Trucy with this stunt. But then there's no direct evidence he tampered with the set - not the sword OR the coffin. Just that they were tampered with. We don't get a direct confession out of Retinz either, same way we would for a good chunk of other culprits.

Were the writers conscious that they had constructed a plausible argument for him not being guilty? Or were they simply writing another scumbag to put behind bars? It's not like Ace Attorney can't be complex - Matt Engarde and Marlon Rimes are good examples of more complicated culprits - but the truth is usually made apparent by the end of it all. We KNOW Matt hired de Killer and we KNOW Rimes had accidentally killed the Captain.

Retinz? There's enough wriggle-room to say he didn't do it. But he's written as if he did.

It's honestly a little eerie... a murder with no definite culprit is a rarity - if at all common - in Ace Attorney. That part tends to be the simplest, the one that can be most definitively proven; how you get there is the hard part.

Execution counts for a lot more than intent. It's the reason why I've harped about the phantom so harshly; I LOVE the intention behind him and I LOVE the ideas behind him. But he is so clumsy in execution that he ends up more flat and confusing in a way that really bothers me.

Retinz in hindsight is kind of the opposite of that; he comes across as pretty petty on first-blush, but the way he's written ended up making him open to an interpretation that is more interesting and even tragic in the right light.

After all...

There IS the fact the footage was edited to remove the ONE part that showed Trucy's complete sword-switch. There IS the fact that he had set up the circumstances for this plot to even be possible. Hell, there really doesn't seem to be any reason for the other characters involved to kill Mistree, save for Trucy as he stole her diary.

There's this uncanny valley effect of uncertainty lingering around this trial. All evidence pointing to Retinz isn't remotely as clear-cut as things like Manfred's shoulder bullet or Ken Dingling intentionally hiding Max's bust. And it bothers me.

Given the sheer volume of signs pointing towards Retinz it's clear enough the writing wants you to think he did it, and there's good odds that he did. AA culprits are no strangers to doing whacky things to remove culpability - that's half the point of each case after all! For all intents and purposes, Retinz is the murderer. I don't get the impression this is something the writers did intentionally to play with the ambiguity of it all. As far as the story is concerned, he's not important enough to warrant a more complicated answer.

Though the fact that there IS enough room to give a more complicated answer is interesting to me. Any excuse I have to talk about one of the 3D game's more fun antagonists is a good one, so I'm glad to have this brought to my attention at all.

[badasscoffeemug]

okay, so, i tried to pull as many interviews as i could to see if i could parse what the original plan for bucktommy was (or if there even was any), and subsequently, if there had been a pivot of any kind. now, we are not privy to any bts talk, and storylines are never set in stone, even from when they've been teased or promoted (henchim friction? hello?) but interviews are really all we have to go off of. so, idk, i compiled some quotes, all bolded emphasis is mine.

i kinda got the impression that it really was supposed to be a 4-episode arc for tommy, after which he would gracefully bow out and leave buck a newly realized single bisexual. for some reason, that changed and they chose to keep him around and extend that storyline (gelled rather well in the story? opening the door for potential future storylines?). except then they had them break up anyway, leaving buck in much the same place he would have been had they called it quits in 7x06, only much more heartbroken (essentially wasting over half a season's worth of buck storyline, except he's sadder now, i guess). but, judge for yourself.

march 28, 2024, TM: Showrunner Tim Minear also teased future episodes for Tommy. “He’s going to be around for a little bit. He’s not going to be a member of the 118 again, but he is going to be involved in some stories.”

april 4, 2024, TM: “I was kind of bored with the hamster wheel of the relationships [Buck] had been in. His story needed a slap. It needed some something fresh. This felt like it could be important to some people, and it felt like it was right for the character.”

OS: “I’ve always had in my head that I wanted a partner for Buck to be someone where it wasn’t easy”

TM: “That’s what I like about this. He’s not siloed off into some love interest story with a character who has nothing to do with the main characters.”

Minear noted that Tommy is currently an important romantic partner for Buck, largely because “it’s sort of the entry-level relationship.” Yet at the same time, he noted that he doesn’t think “anybody’s making wedding plans.”

“It really is a first fling for Buck right now. What that might amount to, only time can tell. But what I’m interested in is not something that’s fraught. I’m interested in something that’s tender and positive”

april 4, 2024, OS: “The focus was on it being important, but also not wanting it to feel like the bravest episode in television. We just wanted to tell a lighthearted love story that happens to be a queer love story.”

april 5, 2024, TM: “[what] I don't want to do is the mistake that I think we've made with some of the other love interests, which is siloing those characters off into their love life and they have no kind of organic connection to the rest of the characters in the story. [...] Going with Tommy allowed us to start to play a story without just inventing a whole new character just for the purpose of being the bi character or the gay character or the male love interest for Buck.”

april 12, 2024, TM: “that moment at the end of the episode where he sits down with Tommy and says, “You said I wasn’t ready. I don’t know what I’m ready for, but I’m ready for something. I’m just sure what that is yet.” But he feels safe with Tommy. So even though he doesn’t know exactly what road he’s stepping onto, he’s willing to roll the dice.”

april 12, 2024, LFJ: "So, it happens in phases. My manager said 9-1-1 called, and I was like, 'Cool.' And then he is like, 'All right, well, they called for an arc.' And I'm like, 'Four episodes? Cool.'

"Given the circumstances, we just kissed. There's something there. We go on a date, and then Eddie happens to show up because there's only one restaurant, I guess, in L.A., and I would totally understand if he was nervous and whatnot." (this quote has nothing to do with my point really i just think it's so fucking funny. this entire interview is so messy.)

"I have no idea," he explained when asked what the future could hold for the duo. "If the writers do choose to extend this storyline and make it into its own thing [...] I'm just as excited as you are to find out."

april 12, 2024, OS: "I just hope he continues down that path and I think we will see him opening up more and more, and being louder and prouder about it. I want to tell real stories where not everything is going to be straightforward, but I don’t want the angst or the trauma to be in these kind of negative troupes that we’ve seen before. I want them to have real world problems that couples or people who are first dating have, but I don’t want it to be rooted in outside people being homophobic or anything like that. Those are stories we have seen and we’ve told, and sure, of course, happen in the real world, but I want to tell a happy story between these people and a real story. They have issues and they have things to deal with, but I just want them to be real world, everyday relationship issues."

april 18, 2024, OS: "we want to tell it in an honest way where not everything is going to be easy and carefree. There are going to be issues, but we also don't want it to feel like it's down or too heavy. We want to tell this queer love story in a very honest way, but also in a very loving way."

"Tarlos is a beautiful relationship," Stark says. "I'm just honored to get to tell a story that can kind of partner up with that and maybe continue with a similar thread."

"I really want to see Buck continue to explore what it is that really speaks to him, and what he's into," Stark says. "He's obviously going to continue down this path with Tommy for now. I don't know what that story is going to end up being, but I would really like for Tommy to stay a part of Buck's life, regardless. He's obviously opened this door for him, and I think it would be really nice if [Tommy] was able to continue to hold [Buck's] hand and could help guide him through this process. As somebody who's a little older and more experienced, to kind of help shepherd Buck into this new phase of understanding who he is."

april 23, 2024, OS: “I really enjoy [Lou]. I really enjoy working with him. I think he’s been a great addition to the show, and I look forward to — assuming Tommy sticks around for a while — continuing to develop that relationship with him on-screen and off-screen.”

may 2, 2024, JLH: "I’m really excited for Buck, because I think he’s a person that has never quite settled into who he is. And if this is who he is, it’s beautiful,” Hewitt said. “I was so happy Maddie felt that way, because that’s how I would feel. And I’m really happy that she’s there for him. In Season 8, the actor hopes Maddie gets to “understand what all that means, be in that with [Buck], and get to know Tommy better.”

may 3, 2024, KC: “I think it was the brilliance of [co-creator] Tim [Minear]. Even introducing the storyline of Buck and Tommy, he said, "I don't want it to be this very special episode of 9-1-1. I'm going to make this a f---ing romantic comedy, man. You won't see it coming. It'll come out of left field." And I think that's the same thing he did with the revelation. There's no sit down, there's no big discussion or talk about it. It's what it would be. This guy has found love fina…. Well, I think love finally.”

may 3, 2024, KC: "When I heard about the storyline, I was super excited. And on a selfish note, I'm really happy because they brought Lou Ferrigno Jr. back. We've become really good friends, as he was in "Hen Begins," "Bobby Begins Again," and of course "Chimney Begins," and we formed a tight personal bond. I think he's a terrific actor, and I think this new dynamic brings this newfound energy into that storyline and into the show, and I'm excited to see how it blossoms."

not dated? post-7x06, KC: “It’s one of my favorite scenes,” Choi says. “It’s a reveal for most of the characters that Buck has found a love interest he’s actually interested in. It’s adorable, it’s cute, it’s perfect, and the audience is going to love it.”

OS: Stark likens Buck’s journey to “a hamster wheel”: “He’s been taking one step forward and two steps back, as is quite typical of being in your late 20s and early 30s, trying to find yourself,” the actor explains. “As we’ve moved into this seventh season, he’s found a way to really discover who he wants to be.”

july 8, 2024: 7x09 deleted scene released

september 9, 2024, TM: “They’re still getting to know each other a little better”

september 11, 2024, TM: Minear says not much time has passed between the events of the season 7 finale and the season 8 premiere, so there haven't been many developments in Buck and Tommy's relationship. "But we see that they're more comfortable together," he explains. "We'd definitely call them a couple. Obviously they're comfortable hanging out with Eddie, but when you couple with somebody, it takes up some of your time, so that also leaves Eddie a little bit out in the cold. Well, not out in the cold, but Buck doesn't have as much free time as he did before, let's put it that way." (yeah so, this barely happened?)

september 20, 2024, OS: “We don’t really have too much of a time jump moving into this season, so the relationship with Tommy is much where it was left off,” explains Stark. “It is in its early stages. They’re still learning and figuring things out about each other and what a relationship might or could look like.”

[thevoidstaredback]

Tales of Conquest, Warnings of Fools:

Letters Between Brothers

Damian Wayne, Dec. 24, 2011

Your forgiveness is more than I ever could’ve asked for. I still don’t think I deserve it, but I will take what you have given me, ahki.

You writing back was unexpected, but I’m so glad you did! Though, I guess this isn’t very secure, huh. Oh, well! As long as nothing incriminating is written down, we should be fine.

How’s father? And your siblings? I understand there are three kids father’s adopted. Also, what about your extracurriculars? Anything exciting going on that you can tell me about? It’s boring, crime wise, where I’m at. No murder mysteries or sex scandals or huge break-ins. Not that I want any of those to happen, but it’d be really fun to get to follow a case that isn’t twelve years old or four states over.

How are you adjusting at all, actually? It was a big culture shock for me for a while, especially because no one here speaks Arabic. Can you believe that? Some of the others still think I made up an entire language just to mess with them! I haven’t been able to speak with someone in our mother tongue in a while, but I’ve been trying not to forget any of it! Even if there’s an accent coming through.

Tell me about your life. Not what the media says. I want to know the real you. Do you have friends? Any pets? What about hobbies? Do you still have that dagger I made you that one time?

Anyway, I gotta go now. I hope to hear from you soon!

I don’t know what holiday(s) father and your siblings celebrate, so I’ll wish you a happy all of them!

سأسامحك دائماً يا أخي لقد وُضعت في أسوأ الاحتمالات وبذلت قصارى جهدك بما كان لديك من معرفة. كنت ستعرض نفسك للخطر فقط إذا عدت.

Danny Fenton

***

Danny had wasted no time in writing a response. Was he going to come off as eager? Probably, but he didn’t really care. His brother had responded to him! Granted, he thinks this is a trick, but there’s some part of Damian that believes Danny’s alive! He forgives him for not going home! It’s more than Danny could’ve ever allowed himself to hope for.

But, gods was he awkward! He hadn’t let Jazz read the letter at all. She didn’t know what he said the first time, she didn’t know what the response said, and she wasn’t ever going to read any of them if he had any say in the matter. Yes, they’re siblings and he loves her just as much as he loves Damian, but this was something she didn’t have any business poking her nose into. He liked to think that Damian would likewise keep this from his own siblings, though he’d totally understand if Dami shared purely because of the suspicious circumstances.

Anyway, Danny had read and re-read Damian’s letter for hours, trying to come up with the best response, only stopping when Jazz called him down for dinner. Sleep hadn’t come easily, either, because of the adrenaline from actually getting a response. He’d hoped he’d get one, but he was also sure that he wouldn’t get one.

But why did he have to be so awkward writing back? Damian’s his brother, not a total stranger! Damian probably wouldn’t care. Danny’s always been like that, awkward at all the wrong times. He’s just gotten used to not hiding it since he left, though it had taken a while.

He has to wonder, though, if Damian is with father, does this mean he’s left the Shadows? How had he done it? Obviously, he hadn’t faked his death. Father is a very public figure, so anything short of Damian leaving a massacre behind him as he left the Shadows would be unlikely. Unless he is still with the Shadows? In which case, Danny’s just doomed himself. Sure, the PO box was set up in the town over, and maybe he struck up a deal to have the letters sent from there to his house, but that wasn’t going to stop ninja assassins. Nothing short of death would stop ninja assassins!

No! Bad Danny! No use having second thoughts now; It’s too late. He just has to hope for the best. Gods, was he hoping, wishing on stars and everything! He wanted this to work out. He wanted to have a relationship with his older brother-

Damn, he’s still the younger sibling. He hadn’t thought much of it before, but both Jazz and Damian are older than him! If he counts father’s children, which he does only to prove his point this one time, then he’s the youngest of six kids! That’s not fair. Who decided that was a fair trade? Could be worse, he supposed. He could be stuck as a middle sibling. Shutter the thought.

“Danny?” Jazz opened the door with a knock, “You ready to send that letter?”

He groaned into his pillow. “I already did.”

“Really?” she wondered, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Yeah,” he rolled over to face her, “Finished it this morning and shipped it off.”

Jazz hummed. “I still don’t get why you won’t let me read them. I could totally help you with spelling and stuff!”

Danny sat up and stared at her with a dead look. “Jazz, I was taught by people who were the best of the best in their fields. There isn’t a single thing you could do to help me write or read those letters.”

“Why not?”

“Because they aren’t in English.”

“Liar!”

“I’m not lying!”

“Yes you are! I saw the one you got! It was in English!” She paused. “Except for that last bit. That just looked like a bunch of squiggles.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “That wasn’t a bunch of squiggles, Jazz. It was Arabic, my mother tongue.”

“First,” she adjusted to sit criss-cross on the foot of his bed, “Never say ‘mother tongue’ again; it sounds weird. Second, the simple solution is to teach me Arabic.”

Danny had to pause for a second to let the words register in his head. “You-you want to learn Arabic?”

She shrugged. “Sure. I mean, it can’t be that hard, right?”

“Yes it can,” he sighed, “You’d have to learn a whole new alphabet of letters and sounds. It’s not a Latin based language like English or Spanish.”

“I can do it!”

“I don’t doubt that, but I think an easier language would be better.”

She huffed. “You just don’t wanna share.”

True, but, “I could teach you Romanian? It’s a Latin derived language, like English, so it’s got the same alphabet.”

“Fine,” she agreed after a moment, “Where do we start?”

“Kids!” their dad called from the kitchen, “We have something for you!”

Danny and Jazz shared a grimace. “Down stairs, apparently,” he said. Quickly, they left the room and made their way down the stairs and to the kitchen. Their parents probably didn’t have any actual gifts for them, so they weren’t going to get their hopes up.

They were right, of course. Jack and Maddie Fenton were creatures of habit and obsession; workaholics, in simpler terms.

The two kids joined their parents at the table. “Mom,” Jazz greeted, “Dad.”

“Jazzypants!” Jack smiled, his voice booming, “Dann-o!”

“What’s up?” Danny asked. He wanted to go back to his room and stew over what he’d just sent to his brother. Seriously? ‘I’ll wish you a happy all of them?’ That’s so stupid! Beyond stupid, actually! He wanted to curl up and die. Can people die of embarrassment?

Maddie smiled kindly at her children, somehow matching her husband’s energy but not his volume. “We had another breakthrough in our research.”

“Oh?” Danny had been intrigued by the [now] Drs. Fenton’s research. It was all theoretical, of course, but they claimed to have proof of base for their research. He’d never seen it before, and they’d never offered to show him or Jazz, but they mentioned it in all of their papers. He’d never deemed it worth anything, so it had been pushed behind relevant information like literally anything else.

He still didn’t know how they’d gotten those papers published. They were the laughing stocks of the scientific and occult communities! An accomplishment in and of itself, really.

“Yes,” his mother nodded, “But that’s not what we called you two down to discuss.”

“It’s not? Jazz tilted her head to the side.

“Nope!” Jack’s smile somehow got bigger. “We’ve decided that the both of you are old enough-”

“-and responsible enough.” Maddie added.

“-do go down and see the lab!”

Jazz and Danny had two very different reactions to this statement. Danny was a bit excited to get to see whatever held his parents’ attention at all hours of the day. Jazz, on the other hand, was furious.

“What!” she demanded.

Jack and Maddie didn’t seem to even register her anger. “You two have both proven yourselves responsible in your school and house work, so we figured it was time to let you two in on the family business.”

“But, I don’t want to do lab work!” Jazz objected, now standing with her hands on the table and her chair pushed back aggressively.

“Nonsense,” Maddie waved her off easily, “You’ll love it. Besides, you’ve always wanted to help us in the lab, ever since you were a child.”

Jazz just screamed in outrage. “I’ve never said that!”

She was ignored. “Of course, we’ll have to go over the proper safety measures so that neither of you gets hurt.” Jack stated.

Throwing her hands up, Jazz stormed away from the table and stomped up to her room, the door slamming behind her. Danny has no doubts that she’s locked herself in.

“She must be tired,” Jack smiled fondly, “We’ve got some work to finish up down stairs, Dann-o, but we’ll be back up for dinner, alright?”

Danny nodded and the two left. Quietly, he whispered, “Liar.” to the empty main floor.

***

Danyal Fenton Dec. 27, 2011

Your definition of ‘incriminating’ must be wrong. You reaching out in the first place would’ve put us both in danger had your letter been intercepted. The same remains true for every letter we exchange, though I will not be the one to put a stop to the communication. It is nice to have physical evidence of your conversations, no matter how much time passes between each response.

I am still skeptical that you are my brother, but, as I said in my last letter, I will continue on with a shade pulled over my eyes, ahki.

I have done some research while living with father. My own experiences prove at least some of what they say is true. I never truly believed you had died. I always had a feeling that you were alive somewhere, safe, out of reach of Grandfather and Mother.

Father is well. In public, he is outgoing, drunk, clumsy, able to start a conversation from nothing and let it trail off into a slightly more useful nothing. In truth, he is standoffish, strong, able to talk circles around anyone. He is always ready for a fight and always prepared for the worst. He does not like surprises.

We have four siblings, and one honorary sibling. Richard Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown. Grayson is more outgoing than the others, though he has been with Father the longest, so he is just as skilled as him. Todd was dead and refuses to communicate with Father. Drake is smart, but that is all he has going for him. Cain was raised in the League like us, though not at any of the bases we ever visited. Brown was dating Drake, but has since become more of a sister to the Manor.

Alfred Pennyworth is the family butler. He raised Father and continues to stand by his side. He is a formidable foe, though I have yet to see him in actual combat. He, aside from Father and myself, is the most competent resident of Wayne Manor.

Again, you need to reassess your definition of ‘incriminating’. There is nothing I can share, without consequence, that hasn’t already been made public by the GCPD. I will say, however, that my position as the superior child remains unchallenged. Not that any of those bastards Father has taken in would ever pose any kind of challenge to me or you.

I must ask, you know where I am, so is it not fair that you tell me where you are? The return address you have used leads to a PO box in Elmerton, Illinois, but I doubt that’s where you really are. Your description of ‘boring’ in regards to the crime rate is fully expected of anywhere when compared to Gotham, though that goes nearly doubly so for the midwest.

It was a shock to me as well, though I have been handling it. None of the others have noticed any unease, so I will take it. It will not do to show weakness in the face of enemies. I can agree, however, that the lack of use of Arabic is disappointing. I do not fear that I will ever forget the language or our home, but I do regret to say that I have encountered similar problems you have.

Father insists that I go to school with others my age to ‘socialize’, though I do not see the point. It’s all thinly veiled insults from the adults we are placed in the charge of. I am much smarter than my peers, so I have not been able to have a single intelligent conversation with any of them. The exception, however, being Jon Kent. He is adequate company. Our Father and his father are friends.

I have a cat named Alfred, after the butler. I would like to get a dog, but Father has denied my request. I have, however, managed to hide Goliath in the cave. Father knows he is there, but the others remain oblivious.

As for hobbies, art is the only one worth mentioning. I have several sets of paints and colors and pencils, though I remain partial to charcoal. Paper is the easiest to use, but I prefer canvas.

Of course I still have that dagger, Danyal. I have many weapons, but that is the only one that has never left my person.

Father is Jewish, though he was raised Catholic, and is an atheist; Grayson is Christian; Todd was raised Catholic, but is atheist; Drake was born to a Christian mother, but he follows after his father as an atheist; Neither Cain nor Brown were born into religious families, so they don’t follow any religion, as far as I’m aware.

Pennyworth has decorated the Manor for all of the holidays, though the only tradition I’ve actually seen practiced is the gift exchange from Christmas.

Honestly, you must work on your formatting. You give almost no information in exchange for your questions getting answers. It makes your letters very short. So, I will turn all of your questions back on you. I expect them to be answered sufficiently.

أفضل ما لدي لم يكن جيداً بما فيه الكفاية كنت أعلم أنك لا تزال على قيد الحياة، ومع ذلك لم أفعل شيئًا سوى نشر كذبة وفاتك.

Damian Wayne

***

The letter was a surprise, especially considering it’s a page and a half, though he should’ve expected it. He found it hilarious that the first thing Dami had done this time was to insult him. At least he’d waited a few lines in the last letter! It hurt a bit that Damian still thought this was a trick, but Danny couldn’t find it in himself to blame him. He’d’ve acted the same way if their roles were reversed.

He liked hearing about Damian’s family. They’re so different compared to what the media says. Then again, he expected that. Most people are hardly ever exactly how they’re portrayed to bigger audiences. The Drs. Fenton being an exception.

And, yeah, he knew Dami was going to search the address, but did he really have to come out and say it like that? At least he knew the Shadows (League?) hadn’t gotten in the middle, otherwise he’d’ve been cut down by now. Small blessings.

Ah, Goliath the dragon bat. Danny remembers when they got Goliath. Hiding him was hard, but they managed. Though, he’s fairly certain that Mother knew they had him hidden in the caves of Nanda Parbat. That does beg the question, though, of how the hell Damian managed to get a - by now - fully grown dragon bat across continents and into a cave in New Jersey without being spotted? Did he even really want to know? Probably not.

Danny could remember the expression on Damian’s face when he realized that Goliath was getting bigger. They’d found him on their first mission for Grandfather after leaving the group that had been sent with them. They’d kept him moving between their rooms when they got back, never keeping him in one for more than a night before moving him to the other. Then suddenly, the creature they’d found that was no bigger than their forearms was as long as their arms from shoulder to fingertip! They had only been able to keep Goliath between their rooms for another month before having to hide him in the caves under Nanda Parbat.

And the food! Goliath, even as a baby dragon bat, could eat triple his body weight. It was a wonder no one found him! How does Damian keep him fed? And how have his siblings not noticed the dragon under their house? Thoughts for another time.

Danny closed his book as he finished it. It was the astrology one, clearly written for people new to the topic, but he wasn’t complaining. It was easy to understand and he found himself actually enjoying it more than he originally anticipated. He could see why the girls in his class liked it, too. He could see himself falling deeper into this rabbit hole, but he wasn’t upset about that.

He moved on to read the second book he’d gotten, the one about witchcraft. Briefly, he chuckled at the image that he was slowly coming to see as his future. “A witch,” he hummed with a smile, “Mother would be so disappointed.”

The book opened up with a brief history about the topic before going into a deep dive about different practices and how things had changed and improved throughout history. It also gave names to famous witches and witch hunters, one that he recognized.

Jack Fenton, about three years after Danny had been taken in by the family, had given Danny a full rundown of his and Maddie’s family histories. Fentonightingale had been the family name until Jack’s great-grandfather had changed it to Fenton when he married. John Fentonightingale was a well known witch hunter in Salem, Massachustes in 1600. He was best known for eating a slow acting poison in the form of - now extinct - flowers as evidence against an unnamed witch on trial. He died shortly thereafter, leaving his grieving wife and children.

The humor was not lost to Danny. “Looks like dad’ll be disappointed, too.”

“Knock, knock?” Jazz asked from the hallway, knocking her knuckle on his bedroom door.

“Yeah?” he called back, closing his book and putting it down.

Jazz opened the door. “Well, I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been hiding out here all day. No plans with Sam or Tucker?”

Danny shook his head. “Nah. Tuck’s spending the break with his family and Sam’s been forced to go to a rich person party somewhere in Washington.”

“DC?”

“State.”

“She’s not too far.”

“Too far for an emergency extraction.”

“You sound like she’s gonna get killed or something.”

Danny snorted. “Don’t jinx it, Jazzercise.”

“I’m not gonna jinx it, Danimal.” She leaned against the door frame. “Besides, even if she did die, she’d come back as a ghost just to haunt you.”

He groaned and flopped over onto his side. “Don’t even joke about that!”

“Why, ‘cause I’m right?” He groaned again. She laughed. “Alright, Dannibal Lector, since you’re obviously bored out of your mind, you wanna come watch a movie with me?”

“And risk mom and dad dragging us down into the lab?” He sat up, “No thanks.”

“Come on,” she goaded, “It’ll be fun! I’ll even let you pick the movie!”

“Hmmmm. A documentary on ghost hunting or a mockumentary on ghost hunting? Such a hard decision.”

Her arms dropped to her sides. “Come on, D! You can’t stay locked in here forever.”

“Actually, J, I think I can. I’ve got food, water, and entertainment. I’ll be fine.”

“What about when you have to pee or shower?”

“I’ll put a bucket in the corner and dump it out the window.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“And rainwater is clean enough.”

“It’s literally not, though.”

“Well, I won’t know unless I try.”

“You’re not gonna live in here by yourself!”

“Why? You wanna join me? Sorry, but there’s only enough pillows for a one person fort.”

She snorted and shook her head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“What’s hard to believe? Unless you’ve got pillows hidden up your-” He cut himself off with an exaggerated and mocking gasp. “Jazz! Do you have pillows hidden up your ass?”

“Danny!” she scolded, but her tone was fond, “Watch your language, brat!”

“What?” he giggled, “It’s a genuine question.”

Jazz rolled her eyes, “No, I do not have pillows shoved up my ass.”

“Language!” he mocked.

“Are you gonna come watch a movie with me or not?”

“Sure, sure,” he stood, “But if we get dragged down to the lab, I’m blaming you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

*

Danny was right. He was right and he was never listening to Jazz ever again. He could live in his room until he turned eighteen! That was totally something he could do. It wasn’t like he’d been raised to survive off of less in less space.

Instead of watching a movie they’d seen a million times before, the siblings had decided to watch YouTube on the TV. Halfway into Episode 4 of Buzzfeed Unsolved, their parents came up and dragged them down to the lab to show them their breakthrough from the previous night.

Looking at it, it was much less a breakthrough and more of ‘getting closer to the final picture’. The Ghost Portal had been a project that Jack and Maddie had been working on since college. A friend of theirs had gotten sent to the hospital for this project and had yet to be released. What had given them the idea that this was safe to build in their basement, let alone show their children? Regardless, it was too late now, so Danny and Jazz were forced to roll with it.

“We’re almost done with it!” Jack looked like a proud parent when he was looking at the thing.

The Ghost Portal, as it was now, was built directly into the furthermost wall of the basement. It wasn’t load bearing, thank the gods. The portal was ten feet deep, seven and a half feet tall, octagonal in shape. The paneling that covered the walls and ceiling was black with electric blue circuitry cutting through them. The blank spots where the paneling was not put up were gray, matching the cement floor of the lab. There were some work lights inside, white LED strips that lined the bottom seams where the floor met the walls. The floor itself was made of black tile and nearly completely covered in loose cables and unfinished paneling. There was a red button in place of one of the missing side panels that screamed ‘accident waiting to happen’.

“What is it?” Jazz asked, not daring to go closer than the stair doorway. Danny didn’t blame her.

“It’s the Ghost Portal, Jazzy!” Maddie’s grin was huge, taking up nearly her whole face. “We’ve nearly got it finished.”

“Yep!” Jack nodded excitedly, “All we’ve got left to do is finish the inside paneling, build the outer frame, and turn her on!”

“What about powering it?” Danny wondered just as Jazz said, “‘Her’?”

Jack still hadn’t taken his eyes off of the thing. “She’s already connected to the power grid; That’s why the circuitry in the paneling is glowing, see?”

Danny picked his way through the papers cluttering the table next to him, finding the portal’s blueprints on the very bottom. The handwriting in the margins was messy, obviously from two people and taking up almost every inch of the paper. The schematics of the portal itself was done in white and much neater than the black ink from his parents’ handwriting. A third person, probably their college friend, had been the one to draw the thing with the first basic formuli. Overall, it was messy and a hazard to look at.

“Are, uh, you guys sure that this won’t blow up our house?” Danny asked, unable to keep from scrunching his nose up at the sight of the blueprints.

“Positive.” Maddie sounded so serious, like it was the absolute truth.

“You wanna check out the inside?” Jack asked, practically bouncing like an excited puppy.

Jazz was quick to shake her head, going so far as to take a step back into the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Before Danny could follow her lead, though, Jack grabbed Danny and pulled him forwards.

“Go on,” the giant man urged.

Gulping, Danny complied. He was so going to lock himself in his room now. He didn’t plan on leaving until Sam and Tucker were both back in town! “Alright.” He hoped his hesitation was obvious enough for his parents to get the cue that he did not want to be doing this. Unfortunately, neither picked up on it. Jazz did, but she wasn’t about to risk moving closer in case Jack or Maddie got the idea of shoving her towards the thing, too.

Danny had a bad feeling about this.

Stepping into the tunnel that was the portal was like walking into a different world. Somehow, even though he was only half a foot in and there was light on all sides, it was dark in there. The blue from the paneling was nearly nonexistent, and the white LEDs lining the floor were so dim that they were useless. Was this a purposeful thing? How was this possible?

The cables and cords that had been visible from the outside were almost invisible in the somehow lower lighting of the portal tunnel, same with the unfinished wall panels on the floor. And, as a result of the hazardous mess on the floor and the near pitch dark, Danny tripped halfway through. His training didn’t let him fall, but his inability to keep up the rigorous schedule he’d been raised on made him reach out to steady himself on the wall.

Millimeters before his fingers so much as grazed the button he’d not been able to see after crossing the threshold, Danny heard the barely there whisper of “Time Out.” followed almost immediately by “Time in.” at the same volume.

Catching himself on the cold, softly glowing paneling of the wall, Danny was quick to straighten out and turn around. That thing gave him the creeps and he would much rather go back to reading his book, thank you.

“So, Dann-o?” Jack clapped his shoulder when he got back to them, “What’d ya think?”

Unable to disappoint the people he’d come to see as his parents, Danny plastered a smile on his face and said, “It’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s finished!”

Maddie cheered. “Right? As soon as it’s done, those assholes at Harvard will have to take us seriously!”

Danny seriously doubted they would. In fact, he doubted the portal would even work at all. It’s a hypothetical experiment that had the potential and huge likelihood of going catastrophically wrong. How much power would it take to even turn the thing on? Several city blocks at least, right? If that blows up, it'll take out not only their house, but probably half the city and everyone within the blast radius.

Danny should report this to somebody.

“That’s not even the best part!” Jack exclaimed, hurting over to what looked like an electrical box that had been set into the unfinished walls of the basement lab. Opening the small metal door revealed a hand scanner that Jack quickly placed his hand on. After five seconds, a small compartment just above the scanner opened up. Inside was a small glass phial of thick, glowing green liquid. Liquid that Danny recognised.

Shit.

“This is what’s gonna power the portal after the initial launch,” Jack explained, his voice reverent as he cradled the phial in his large hands, “Ectoplasm.”

Ecto-what? Danny knew that glowing liquid. He’d only seen it once, but he knew what it was. He could say, with full confidence and  a puffed chest, that what his dad was currently holding was a phial of Lazarus Water. The color and consistency were the same as the Pits. The stuff even glowed like the Pit Water! It was terrifying that Danny had encountered any of the stuff this far from the Shadows, and he found himself taking several steps back toward Jazz.

“That’s, um, that’s-”

“Awesome, dad!” Jazz said for him, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently pulling him back. He was so glad she had because he was sure he was seconds away from freezing in place. “Danny’s getting tired, though, and I’m a bit hungry, so we’re gonna head back upstairs now. Is that alright?”

“Sounds great, sweetie,” Maddie waved the two off in a clear dismissal, “We’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Danny rushed up the stairs, waiting for Jazz in the kitchen. When she joined him she muttered, “Liar.” under her breath before closing the door. “So,” she said to Danny.

“So.” he repeated.

“What made you so freak out down there?” she asked, “Not that I blame you. That portal thing freaked me out, too.”

Danny shrugged. “Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“It’s not healthy to bottle things up, Danny.”

“I know, I just don’t want to talk about it right now,” Or ever. “Bad memories.”

Jazz’s expression softened. “Alright,” she nodded, “Do you want some chips?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m gonna go to my room.”

“You can’t hide in there forever!”

He was halfway up the stairs. “I can try!”

Translation 1 - Arabic :: I will always forgive you, brother. You were put in the worst possible situation and you did the best you could with the knowledge you had. You would have only jeopardized yourself if you went back.

Translation 2 - Arabic :: My best wasn't good enough. I knew you were still alive, yet I did nothing but spread the lie of your death.

Part 1 Part 3

[snk-warriors]

Can't Stay Away

Levi Ackerman x F! Reader

Summary: After the war ended, Levi finds himself at a familiar doorstep.

Warnings: Bittersweet angst, smut, not proofread

A/N: This blog is still officially inactive, but this story is a little gift for my dear friend @antivan-dragon. It was a joy to write it for you! <3

This is wrong.

He shouldn't be here - not after everything that had happened.

How long has it been, ten years? More?

It's hard to tell when you're used to live from moment to moment. Never knowing whether the current day might be your last really messes up one's perception of time.

All Levi's sure of is that the brief time he had allowed himself with you was the happiest he's ever been - than he ever thought to be capable of.

And yet, from his very first breath, his fate was clear: To him, living had always been a fight. Whether it was in the underground for food and safety, or against titans and humans alike under the clear sky mattered very little in the great concept of things.

The only home he's ever known was on the battlefield - until he met you, at least.

And still, Levi went back to the frontlines again and again and again because it's all he's ever known, the power he's born with a burdening duty upon the weak...

...but what place does a soldier have now, in a society without war?

This is what he fought for, right? To achieve peaceful times. Avenge his fallen comrades, honor his commander and protect as many people as possible from the unnecessary suffering this cruel world eventually provided.

Protecting you, first and foremost.

Your wellbeing has always been his greatest priority, and yet at the same time Levi was the one responsible for so much misery. Back then he convinced himself it was for the better, that he was doing you a favor by removing himself from your life.

In the end, all that's left for him now is the bitter feeling of regret.

Levi was aware that you would've waited for him, no matter how long it'd take until his return...

...but he was certain that his death was inevitable - a sacrifice he'd gladly take if it'd meant ensuring you a long and fulfilled life. And even if the impossible case of his survival would occur, he'd be a different man by then.

Ultimatively, he has become exactly this: Unlike you remember him, and definetly nothing close to what you deserved.

Maybe even in different circumstances he could never live up to the expectations he had set in himself - at least when it came to you.

But he felt as if you were like pure sunlight and he was a moth, drawn to it. No, he was the moon - selfishly absorbing and covering your brightness.

So, in order to make things easier for you, he pushed you away despite his soul screaming for him to stay at your side until humanity would reduce itself to ashes.

When no words would dring through to your devoted self, he announced an engagement to Petra, efficiently shattering your heart in the process.

Nothing Levi had ever done was as hard a task.

Given time however you'd find someone worthy to give you the life he longed for so deeply but never could, at least that's what he thought...

...yet when he heard that you never married even after all this time, his rationality stands no chance against the aching of his own loneliness.

Just to look how you've been he told himself on the way, and for an overdue apology.

Your little cottage on the outskirts of Wall Rose still looks as if he never left. It always smelled of lavender and honey, and whatever you were baking at the time.

Levi switched from the wheelchair to his cane, still able to walk by himself at least for a short distance. Only a few stairs separated the two of you, and it was the longest he's ever took - not because of his disability, but rather to gather all of his courage.

Facing his enemies was a piece of cake compared to this right now.

Though it felt wrong to do so he peeked through the window, his face twitching into an almost-smile as he finally laid eyes upon you again. The inside was cleaned spotless as always, neatly yet minimalistic decorated. You on the other hand were currently preparing some pastries, contently humming to yourself.

It felt like he never left.

What about you, he wondered. Had there been others after him? What was your life like these days? He wants to know everything.

That goddamn cat was still alive as it seems, curiously pricking up it's ears as it recognized the familiar - altough mangled - face. You and him had argued a lot about letting feral animals into your home, due to Levi's concern for hygiene and especially that damn fur everywhere in the house.

One glare from the man and it hissed, jumping down from the front porch and bolting into the forrest. Shit.

Living alone and isolated from civilization was dangerous, especially for a single woman. So it was no wonder how hyper-aware you still are, immediately swinging the door open with a clocked rifle.

Oh, how much he missed that side of you. The perfect combination of cute but deadly.

"Levi..." His features immediately softened at the sound of your voice. To him that name had been reduced to a battle cry, something for his enemies to curse and his superiors yelled to wield their human weapon around.

But coming out of your mouth, he could listen to it all day even if it was just to hurl insults at him.

Instead you put your welcoming arms around him before the weapon even dropped to the ground, heartwrenching sobs echoing against the pinewoods. "God, Levi, you-you're back. You're finally back...I-I knew you'd come!"

The former Captain should be relieved, and frankly, he is - nevertheless, things shouldn't be this way.

He had left so you could live...and you simply didn't.

This wasn't fair. And it drove him insane. There was an immense fury at the pit of his stomach at the realization that his withhold was for nothing, that you had wasted both of your lifetimes through your stubbornness.

You should have found yourself a man that could give you a family, a stable life, goddamn it the whole fucking world shall you ask!

However the sheer fact that he was finally able to breathe the same air as you again overshadowed any grudge with pure gratitude.

His whole life Levi had been was a dedicated, dutiful combatant, unquestioning to his orders. Now that the war was over, there was nothing left for him to do, nowhere left to go.

This one time, he'll allow himself to be selfish.

A hand on the back of your neck pulled you to close the remaining distance between the two of you, sealing his mute promises with a longdue kiss.

Levi had kissed you before - always rough and demanding. That's how things were between you, after all: He came to your home solely to get a taste of what normalcry, being human, was like, just to disappear after having realized his mistake.

If it meant he'd stay in your life, if only feebly, that was more than enough for you.

But this kiss...it was different. Tender, savouring, unwilling to pull away even tor so much as breathing air.

When your lips finally parted, you placed another, small peck to the corner of his lips. Your hands reached for his face, cupping it on both sides as if to make sure he's really there.

For a moment he pulls back, doubting his decision.

After all, the man in front of you was a shell of his former self, old and disfigured and broken. Petra was long since dead, you'd heard about the tragic circumstance.

He never wanted to give you the impression that you were just a last resort for when everyone else had forsaken him.

Noticing his internal struggle - an amazing talent only you possessed, since his expression was as still as a statue - you clutch the fabric of his shirt, gently tugging him inside. He has to lean onto you for support, stumbling into the all-too-familiar room.

You feel calloused hands on your body, caressing every inch of your exposed skin and sliding under your clothes. "Tell me to stop" he speaks breathlessly, sternly, "And I will."

Instead you frantically shake your head as you moan into his ear, one leg wrapping around his waist as he pushed you against the wall, busying yourself with rising blood on the skin of your neck. Fuck, he's missed your scent.

"B-Bed" you manage to wring out as his hand slips under your skirt, fingertips tracing the wet spot between your legs. He was eager, intoxicated one might say, but you could clearly feel how his own legs were close to giving in.

The thrill of the moment was briefly overshadowed by the humiliation of his new reality. In the past he would've taken you anywhere in the house, would've been able to lift you up and throw you onto the mattress if you so desired.

Another jab at his conscience that he'll never be good enough for you. If only he knew this was the way you'd always wanted him: Slow, passionate, caring...

"Don't worry about me" he speaks nonchalantly, yet the determination in his glare makes you shiver. Levi dropped to his knees just like that, his hands wandering upwards each of your legs. "Let me worship you."

You half-laugh, half-whine when he sunk his teeth into the flesh of your upper thigh, remembering how much he loved leaving little marks like love-letters on your skin. Old habits die hard, even when trying to be gentle.

Without hesitating, Levi twirls his fingers around the hem of your already dripping panty, pulling it down just enough to put his mouth to work. His teasing made you a whimmering mess, taking his time tracing kisses around the area close enough to feel his breath on your clit.

"Shi-it, Levi!" you let out a scream as his tongue slid along your folds, muffling your own noises by a hand on your mouth until Levi tugs at your arms. "I need to hear you, love. It's been too long."

And so you did, begging and moaning shamelessly as Levi ate you out like a man starving, palming himself through his trousers with eyes never leaving yours.

Hearing you like this made something in him snap, and yet you tugged on his hair, tugging him away just before you'd fall apart in front of him. "Not like this" you pant heavily, head spinning from lust, "I need you. Completely."

He simply nods at the request, unable to keep his hands from you even the short way to your bedroom. Your gown fell to the floor as he watched, a low groan escaping his closed mouth at the sight.

Time sure had taken a toll on both of you, he thinks as his knuckles brushed along your cheek, diving in your features that had slowly faded in his memory over the years...

...but your eyes, those damn beautiful orbs that showcased the love you held for him, they didn't change a bit.

And their effect on him was also still the same.

Before you first met he was sure that all those hardships had turned his heart into stone, but now this yearning had become a dagger he desperately wanted to pull out, make his heart bleed in reverence.

Levi was a man that spoke through actions, however.

Your fingers intertwined when he aligned himself with your entrance, searching your face to which you gave a permissing nod. He entered you carefully, adoring every microexpression, every reaction of yours when he started at a slow pace.

Even in his current state, his skill lacked nothing from his former peak: It was as if you could feel his hands and lips were everywhere at once, hitting all of your weak spots as if your body was a map he had learned by heart.

"I love you."

Your pupils were blown wide at his declaration, those words you had already long since made peace with to never hear coming out of his mouth.

A look that could only be described as pure affection plastered on his face, kissing along your collarbone up to your ear. "I love you, Y/N" he speaks again, more firmly now and smiling sincere as never before now that this self-inflicted weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders. "Always did."

Tears dwelled in your eyes, vocal cords lost their ability to form anything else than sobs and moans as your lips found his again, smiling against his mouth.

Words were never needed when it came to the bond of you and Levi, after all.

As his thrusts became more clumsy, ragged breaths whispering sweet affirmations barely audible to your ear, burying his hips against your pelvis as he rode you through your high. He followed closely after you came undone, stiling above you without any intend to leave this sweet escape he found in your arms.

Your hands rested on his shoulder blades when he felt safe enough to collapse in front of you, his head lying on your chest as your heartbeat soothed him just like back then.

He was alive. And you were his.

"Please" you sniveled, anxiety preventing you to endulge in the afterwaves of your ebbing high, "Never leave again."

You clung to him for dear life, limbs entangled as if he was just a pleasant dream that would disappear as soon as you dared letting go.

That moment Levi made an oath to himself: No matter his insecurities, for the rest of his life he'd dedicate to become the man you see in him.

There was a lot to make up for.

"If you'll have me."

[erikftglitter]

Christmas in Winona Springs 🤍🎄

Terry Richmond AU

Created By: Erikftglitter

Terry’s car had been giving him trouble for miles. He was headed north to visit his great aunt. He was also fond of the thought of a change of scenery, but the flat tire had put an abrupt halt to his plans. The only thing that he could see through the hovering clouds were a few cabins nestled among the trees.

Terry figured that this would be the only way to fix his problem in the current climate. He would check the cabin out, take a look, and find someone to help.

To Terry’s surprise, as he got closer to the cabins, he discovered that it was an actual resort. It was home to many different cabins and lodges, as well as camping grounds, tents, and a connecting lake. In the midst of the inconvenience, Terry still took time to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

He was greeted upon arrival within seconds.

The gentleman was older, his face lined with years, but he was as welcoming as could be. He was dressed comfortably and typical for someone who ran a cabin business. He sported a red and black flannel shirt and khaki work pants. He greeted Terry with a warm smile and ushered him out of harsh winds of the evening.

After accepting the man’s hospitality and enjoying coffee, Terry eventually explained his circumstance. He figured that the man would know someone with car services. Terry would happily fix the tire himself but he couldn’t get the tire off without the proper equipment.

“It’s late. Thankfully your car knew where to cause trouble.” The man chuckled. “Why don’t you settle in for the night and we can revisit this in the morning?” He offered.

“Are you sure?” Terry felt hesitant. It was never his intention to expect a hand out. He had took care of himself since a child and wasn’t fond of being a freeloader.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I can just call a tow truck or—”

“Nonsense. You’re in a pickle. It happens to the best of us.” The man smiled. His morals refused to allow anyone to struggle in his presence. “Stay the night. Get you some food, and tomorrow, we’ll fix that tire. No worries.”

Terry wasn’t sure what to make of it, but something in the older man’s voice—the calm certainty—made him set aside any skepticism. He didn’t have many other options and at least he’d be warm and safe.

“Thank you,” Terry finally said. He let his eyes roam the longue. It was supplied with wooden tables, warm, brown furniture with blankets topped over them, and the faint smell of apples and cinnamon felt surprisingly homey.

“My name’s Lee, by the way,” the man said as he led Terry to a clean room. “If you’re up for it, I’ll make you a drink.”

After the many hours of driving, and the ultimate disappointment of not arriving at his destination, Terry allowed Lee to make him a drink.

They sat at the small resort bar for hours. Terry found Lee to be an entertaining man. They sat and talked about everything and nothing. Lee told stories about the craziest experiences that he’s had over the years. A runaway bride being the most memorable. He got a great laugh out of eating on the wedding cake for weeks.

Terry shared a little about himself as well, but he didn’t think of himself as really interesting. He talked about his great aunt, who he was going to visit, his brief time in the service, and that is all that Terry Richmond summed himself up to be. Lee listened to everything though, patiently, never pushing, never judging.

He hadn’t expected to find comfort in the middle of nowhere, but here he was—sitting across from a stranger who felt more like an old friend. Lee was a wise man.

That night, Terry sat awake in the small guest room Lee had given him, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the place. Tomorrow, he’d help out around the resort to show his appreciation. For the first time in a long while, Terry felt needed.

[Two Months Later]

Terry never had the chance to see his great aunt before she succumbed to her illness. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer wasn’t an easy battle, and he’s just relieved that she was no longer suffering.

When Lee heard of the news he insisted that Terry stay the week. Being the honest man that he was, Terry wouldn’t allow Lee to house him without helping out. Business was going to become busy again as skiing became more common during the cooler months and Terry was determined to make it easier for Lee. He couldn’t stand the thought of Lee being left to repair cabins in the unforgiving weather condition and snow.

He helped him locate leaks and level the floor inside of the noisier cabins. Lee’s resort in Winona Springs was well-loved. Terry would stop to admire the photos that Lee had around the longue of families who came and went. Some even went as far as sending Lee annual holiday cards. Deep down, Terry wondered how it felt to be so loved.

But just as quickly as the thought came it left Terry’s mind. This is how he operated. He was unpredictable and flexible. He hadn’t seen home in months. How could he be loved if he disappeared from time and time again? This was his thing. He knew that he was a lone wolf and spent his adult years not trying to fight it.

Terry often filled in the work orders for Lee. He took quite a fall a few weeks before and Terry found himself being more upset than the older man.

“Terry. I’m old. This is the unrelenting truth of age, bud.” Lee laughed, reaching his hand out for Terry who eagerly helped him off the freshly waxed surface.

“Yeah I get that Lee, but don’t you have a nephew or something to help you out.” Terry’s heartbeat quickened at the realization that Lee was in fact an old man. Their unlikely alliance seemingly provided youth to Lee in Terry’s eyes. He hadn’t thought about the fact that he was definitely old enough to be his father. Definitely too old to run a rigorous business like a cabin resort alone, where snow and ice were detrimental for someone of Lee’s age.

“A nephew? I wish.” Lee sighed. “My brothers died much too soon. They didn’t have time to have any children.” Terry listened. Lee rarely spoke of his own family.

“It’s just me and my little girl.” Lee smiled and reached into his pocket. Terry watched as Lee rummaged through the thick leather wallet before retrieving his point of interest. He offered Terry a photo of a little girl who was missing two front teeth.

“I’m assuming she’s no longer a little girl.” Terry asked, his tone laced with playful sarcasm.

“I’m afraid not. Baby girl’s big time in New York.” Lee sighed. “She visits every Christmas. I just miss the times when we did this together. Just me and her.” Lee looked down. He was starting to remember just how much he missed his family.

“Her mother died during a snowstorm.” Terry took a seat next to Lee. He hadn’t realized that he lost his wife so early on. He gave Lee is undivided attention.

“Car slid right off the road just before Christmas Eve.” Lee still didn’t look up from the floor where his eyes rested. Terry glanced back at the photo and back to Lee. The girl had his exact mocha colored skin tone. Terry wondered how much she resembled the older lad now.

“Is that why you allowed me to stay with you Lee?” Asked Terry. He knew that Lee came from a generation that was built on community, but Lee was more than polite to him. He took Terry in like he was his own.

“Yeah. I feel like she would want me to do that. I wish someone could have done it for her.” Lee admitted. Taking Terry in during a troubled time helped his conscious. He was more than happy to do it. “I had the space and the resources. So why not?” Lee smiled.

“You’re a stand up guy Terry Richmond.” Lee stated. Terry nodded at the praise. He was grateful for the opportunity to listen and learn from Lee.

“Hoping to be like you one day Mr. Parker.” They both laughed at the formality. They sat in silence for a while, silently watching the snow fall onto the ground. Terry wasn’t sure how long he’d be around but he knew that he wouldn’t be leaving his new friend alone anytime soon.

[fermented-writers-block]

Not gonna lie, with the Spot’s upcoming time mucking shenanigans as suggested by the flashes of the future in Miles’ vision, I would not be surprised if the dimensional collapsing theorized by Miguel to come from averting too many “Canon Events” will turn out to be a side effect of something the Spot will either do himself or set up to screw with Miles.

Particularly, with how much his origin monologue to Miles and Jeff centered around the idea that he made Spider-Man and vice versa, note how incredibly well that mentality would dovetail with Miguel and the Spider Society’s belief that the “Canon Events” are what made them Spider-Man.

@kindaorangey has a good post pointing out how the Spot’s mindset of “filling the hole with more holes” is a pretty apt metaphor for the way Miles, Gwen, and likely the other spider people diving into the identity of Spider-Man as a crutch for dealing with the isolation caused by said identity, but suffice to say, OP and @sir-adamus had these tags which I'd like to use as a jumping pad:

For this, we can analyze Miguel and Spot as two sides of the same coin, where Miguel’s side is about allowing canon events to play out through inaction, and Spot's side could potentially lead up to (as a side effect of his grudge against Miles) actively ensuring that only those canon events happen, with any deviations that don't fit into their views being cast aside.

The former position projects personal traumas as absolutely necessary and destined to happen onto others, the latter position rejects any possibility that things could go differently in a quite literal manner. But in the end, both ultimately are about "filling in the hole with more holes" and dictating what Miles "should" be like.

Miguel doesn’t think Miles is a real Spider-Man and that him becoming Spider-Man was a mistake that never should have happened, all from his obsessive mentality surrounding Canon Events. He and by extension the other Spider-Men stuck in their hole of guilt and fatalism, surrounding themselves with other Spider-Men stuck in their holes of trauma and grief to where they have formed an echo chamber that tells them Miles cannot save his father's life and that they cannot do anything to save people anymore.

And in the Spot's case, the metaphor already came from him, but it's all about obsessively centering his new, lonely existence around being not just A, but THE nemesis to Miles' Spider-Man. He lost everything and has nothing except his connection to Spider-Man. To fill that hole, he's not only only making himself a villain that Miles will actually respect. He's going to try his damnedest to make sure that Miles reaches his full potential as Spider-Man just like he talked about in Mumbattan, and fill the hole with more holes in Miles' life until Miles is devoid of everything except the Spot.

Given the flashes of future events in Miles’ vision, if and when the Spot inevitably hears about Miguel's theory of Canon Events, it would only be fitting if the Spot retroactively becomes responsible for all the previous dimensional destruction the Spider-Society dealt with. And thus, Miguel's theory obsession would be its own recursive creator.

A vicious cycle of telling themselves that things have to happen a certain way, of blaming uncontrollable circumstances on something they think they can and should control, and of refusing to let go of the spiral they've fallen into.

After all, Miles already had an Uncle Ben-type event and the Spot is trying to set up a Captain Stacy-type event. Since the logical conclusion to the themes of Miles choosing what kind of Spider-Man he wants to be and not allowing preventable tragedies to happen would be that Jeff lives, well…

It would only be narratively fitting for the Spot to try to set up a Gwen Stacy event later down the line.

Because if Miles being bit and the Spot getting caught up in the collider wasn't destiny, if the intersection of their lives was simply due to circumstances they had no control over, if the dimensional collapses weren't because preventing Canon Events is inherently destabilizing to reality in of itself, then Miguel and the Spot would have to look inwards and actually try to figure out how to fill the holes in their lives.

So Miguel tells himself that what he does has to be done, that only he is strong enough to do it, and that everyone should follow his lead and stop caring.

As for the Spot?

If he fails to kill Jeff and Gwen, and when it's proven to everyone else that Canon Events are not required lynchpins of reality like Gwen found, he might just decide to try to make them actual lynchpins across time and space.

Or at least, making it so that the only realities that can exist are ones where those events happen.

Aka trying to forcibly changing the multiverse so suffering huge tragedy becomes an inherently integral part of Spider-Man the concept, rather than a mere possibility. So many Spider-Men and their dimensions getting hurt in the crossfire, and all in the process of targeting Miles Morales specifically.

Truly, it would be quite resonant if and when the Spider-Society let and help Miles get to save his Captain and Gwen Stacy. Beating the Spot would no longer be about the concept of stopping a threat to the multiverse and their canon events, but about metaphorically ending the cycle of suffering and finding a way to move forwards beyond the guilt. They probably can’t actually change the past, but with this, they can fight to prevent it from happening to others.

[spooklies]

# Resident Evil - Yandere Chris Redfield (PROFILE)

Type of Yandere: Chris is someone who cares a whole lot about those he loves while pretending that that side of him doesn’t exist. He’ll show he cares for you in every way but verbally at first, but in moments where you two are intimate he’s not against confessing just how much he loves everything about you. And Chris also happens to be overly stubborn once he’s set in his ways, and that in turn will make it difficult to try and reason with the man when he’s decided over something. Control, a position he’s been given since he could remember, and one he’ll hold over you whenever possible. Wearing something he doesn’t like? He’ll all but demand you take it off and change out of it. And if you refuse? Then he isn’t against using other means to get his way. He’s never physical, not unless you want him to be. He’s a man of discipline and understands the importance of boundaries. No, he’ll tap into a side of him that was trained to be a negotiator. Or in simpler terms, he’ll manipulate his darling when they do or say something he disapproves of. Sometimes he’ll even do this without realizing it. Chris has an overwhelmingly dominant air to him that calls for attention and he’s well aware of it. 

Love Language: Chris can’t help but want to do everything for his darling, not wanting them to lift a single finger if it could be helped. He’ll treat you like royalty because in his eyes you deserve nothing but the best. He’s very big on touch and will often than not seek out your presence and find an excuse to put his hands on you. “Your shoulders look tense, allow me?” And without waiting for your permission will start massaging your shoulders with the skills of a certified masseuse. He’ll then playfully scold you for exerting yourself, explaining to you why it’s important to rest. “If you don’t keep taking care of yourself then I have no choice but to do it for you.”

Their Biggest Fear: Chris has seen a lot of shit, like shit people never come back from. But when he’s with his darling then it’s as if none of the traumatic events he’s experienced happened in the first place. He’ll often think to himself, “What’ll I ever do without you?” Because in his eyes a life without you isn’t one worth living. And that thought process alone is terrifying to Chris. He’s experienced what it’s like to lose people dear to him, but imagining his darling being the person he loses? Not a chance.

Kidnapping: If his darling ever tried to leave him then he’d definitely panic and jump to the worst conclusions about why you’d ever want to leave him. Those conclusions would then escalate into Chris convincing himself that someone is manipulating you and causing you to have these ‘intrusive’ thoughts. So what better way to keep his darling safe than to keep them at home – a sanctuary he’s created to be in your liking. He’s sure that with time his darling will come to understand why he needs to keep them home and the types of danger that lurks outside waiting to take them away from him.

How Easy is it to Escape?: Near impossible. Chris is an incredibly talented man with all the training a soldier could possibly need to bring an entire government to its knees. There will be locks on every door, safes containing possible escape tools, and even people Chris could rely on to have his back no matter the circumstances. Just hope that things don’t ever escalate that badly.

Punishments (SLIGHT NSFW BUT NOTHING GRAPHIC): “You just can’t help yourself, can you?” After one too many instances of his darling going against his direct orders – house rules, as he prefers to call them – he’ll see no other choice but to teach you the importance of listening to him through more intimate means. Your hands can sometimes end up cuffed to the bedpost, lovebites littering your skin as if you’d just been splashed with paint, and tears running down your face as you squirm and whine for his forgiveness through half-lidded eyes. “Oh I’ve already forgiven you, it’s about proving a point.” And he doesn’t stop until he’s done just that.

Difference to Other Yanderes: Despite how intimidating Chris can get, on the inside he’s a giant sap that often gets compared to a teddy bear more than the fierce grizzly bear the stuffed animal is based off of. He has a lot of powerful connections which also means he’ll be able to provide more than most partners. Ever been to the Grand Canyon? Sure, why not head there first thing Monday? And then right after that how about a trip to the Himalayas for the sake of going there? He’s so used to using these connections for the sake of humanity so it’s a nice change of pace to use them to prevent non-world ending threats from coming into fruition.

[not-5-rats]

@gatorboys22 's recent angst has given me so much inspiration, like omg (if you haven't read their stuff GO DO IT!!! I MEAN IT!! GO!! It's so sad, like dude I almost cried!) anyways it gave me so many ideas, so here's the first of those :3

☆×.------------------------.×☆

"Now with your body, my love too is buried"

☆---------------☆

The second he first saw them he knew he loved them. Sure their meeting was slightly awkward given he had thrown himself on top of them, though in his defense he had no clue Bug was laying there! Luckily it seemed they didn't mind too much, in fact they apologised to him! Marco knew, as soon as his eyes fell on the person laying in his bed, an apologetic smile shining on their face, he knew that he loved them.

He felt awful when he left them there that day, he knew he had to leave, he had places to go, things to find...but he couldn't help it. The thought of going away and potentially never seeing their gorgeous face again, it was torture. Eventually he managed to drag himself out of the house, though almost an hour after he originally intended on leaving. As soon as he stepped foot out that door he felt his heart drop, he missed their eyes, he missed the way their voice sounded...he missed everything about them.

For days after, no matter how hard he tried, Marco couldn't get the picture of them out of his head. He felt stupid, he had so many things he could be thinking of, so much to do...yet he just couldn't shake their image from his mind. He spent hours wondering how they were, questioning how their leg was doing...if they were okay. Which is why he freaked out slightly when he saw them near the arena.

His heart fluttered when he spotted them, but it quickly died down as Bug began to explain what had happened, why they were her. Panic set in, he tried to remain calm but he knew how dangerous this kind of thing was. He was worried about Timmy, he couldn't believe thus had happened, how on Earth was Timmy meant to survive in their! His little friend Timmy! More than that though think of what could happen to Bug if they went in there. Sure they used to be a Hunter, but they were injured, not to mention that they would be massively outnumbered by all the Guards and actual Hunters that hung around the arena! Trying his hardest to keep his cool, Marco reasoned with them, the look in his eyes silently pleading with them not to go in there, they kept resisting, arguing that they had to go, this was their fault so they had to go, but he just couldn't let them. What if he lost them? They had only known each other for such a short time! He couldn't let them go yet!!! Unfortunately it soon became clear that he couldn't stop them, they were so bloody determined...it was admirable...or it would be, in any other circumstances. He reluctantly agreed, but on the condition that he would be allowed to help, he would never let them go on their own.

So they snuck inside to converse with the rest of the crew, alot of information was suddenly thrown as Marco, so it was a bit of a struggle for him to catch up at the beginning...but he soon understood what was going on. Gosh he had been away for a while, he missed so much in his friends lives. But he couldn't think of that right now, they had to find a way out of here, that was the priority right now. So they thought up a plan, it was perfect, but they bad to be careful, and they must take haste, for one wrong move...and they would all end up in a very early grave, well maybe a huge pit if they were lucky given the location of their deaths.

It felt like forever as he waited for the day to come, patiently waiting in the shadows for that destiny defining night to finally arrive. As the sun set Bug appeared just within Marco's sight, he called out to them in a hushed voice. They hurriedly went over the plan before cautiously creeping into the arena. Eventually they reached the cages where their friends were being held, they all managed to sneak out with no issues. The group shuffled back through the arena, as silently as possible, escape was near, he could practically grasp it. But suddenly...something stood in their path.

It all happened so quickly, Marco couldn't tell you what actually happened, no matter how hard he tried. One moment they were almost out of this stupid arena, everyone was so close to being free...the next, blood. That's all he could see. The Guards must have noticed them, they must have known what was going on, they ambushed the group. Now they were all fighting for their lives. Rolden & Lora were working with Bodie on one side of the room, trying to ward a small group of Guards away as they each ushered Timmy away from the dangers. He tried to push against them, he wanted to help, but they wouldn't allow it...poor boy. All of then were drenched in red, not only their own but also the blood of one another and the Guards they were fighting. On the other side of the room Marco was trying to clear the exit, to make a path so they could run as soon as they got the chance, his arm was barely still attached, he was panicking...more than he ever had before. He was trying to focus on his own battle but he happened to glance to the side...Bug. The first thing he noticed was their leg...or rather their lack there of. They were laying on the floor as a couple of Guards surrounded them, they seemed to be desperately scratching at the floor trying with the slithers of strength they had left to pull themself away from their death...but slowly he saw their movements slow, their eyes seemed to be fluttering shut...as the blood flowed endlessly from the stump which once held the remnants of their leg. His heart sunk, he could feel his stomach rising into his throat, he tried to think of a way to help...but before he could even form half a thought he was swept off of his feet.

Before he realised what had happened he found himself on the familiar soggy plant floor of the swamps. Bodie has thrown him over his shoulders, the Guards must've been distracted...they saw a chance to escape...and took it. As he hit the floor he hurriedly pulled himself to his knees, scanning the surroundings until he spotted what he was searching for

"*Bug*!"

Scrambling across the floor, he reached out to the figure which lay still and stained on the floor. He held their shoulders tightly, shaking them, begging for them to come back to them, to come back to him. He trembled as his vision became blurred with tears, he had only known them for a short while...but be loved them more than anybody he had met in his entire life. He tried to keep it together...but there was no hope. A stern hand planted itself on his shoulder, trying to pull him away, to console him, there was no way for them to save Bug, they did their best...they all did, but there was no hope. Marco refused to believe it, he refused to accept that such a bold, ambitious, strong individual...was killed, was gone! Just like that. Torn from the world, far before their time, they still had so much to do, inspiration to spread to others, the way they spread it to all of them, they couldn't be gone yet!!

But as he lay there, a corpse lay beside him and there was no way for him to deny the truth ajy longer. Yet still he didn't leave their side, everyone tried to drag him away, Maria did all she could, cawing, pecking at his head to try and get him to go...but he would not. As they morning began to arrive the rest decided there was no point in trying to reason with him, so they left him there, to accept his grief, all but Maria, who remained, but perched on a tree nearby as to not disturb his grieving.

He spent hours beside them, trying to accept thag they were really gone. They weren't coming back, their voice would never reach his ears again, nor would their glistening eyes meet his, all of the things that made them unique, that made them admirable, all of them gone, never to be witnessed again. He couldn't stand it...he eventually realised he had to leave them, seeing them like this...seeing what was left of their physical form like this, it wouldn't help, it would only trap him in his grief. So he asked Maria to keep an eye on the dead, ensure no harm came to the soulless remains of his loved one...the one he loved...yet they never knew it.

He left then, he went back to the cottage, Bodie tried to offer some comfort but they quickly agreed it best to not speak of it for now. They could discuss that later, for now they ate. It bad been awhile since Marco had a meal such as this one surrounded by those he cared for, eating a meal prepared by those who cared for him as well, but the entire time he knew something was missing, somebody was missing. The meal was quick and quiet...nobody able to think of the words for their feelings. Afterwards it was time to face the facts, they had to discuss what to do with the body, Bug wouldn't have appreciated them just leaving them to rot...they had to have some form of funeral for their fallen friend. The event was arranged for the next week, they had to give themselves time to...acknowledge their own woes, until then the corpse would remain in a small shed nearby. Everyone would take turns ensuring they did not rot, or decompose.

Everyone was dreading it, but as the day neared, they all knew that they had to do this. The only way to accept that Bug was lost...was to bury what remained. The day arrived, the hole was dug and everyone stood around...them, their eyes were closed, their clothes torn and stained with blood and grit. The group felt it fit to bury them in the clothes they wore when they fell, they knew they would rather this over being dressed in finery or jewels, they were a fighter, they were a protector...and so they shall be remembered as such. Bodie & Timmy made comments on their friends, on how much they changed their lives even if they weren't present for long. Rolden and Lora made small remarks, they barely knew them, but they seemed a fearless individual.

The time came, Bug was gently placed in the grave, Marco offered to seal the grave, but asked to do it in solitude...so he could have a few moments with the deceased. Fortunately the rest agreed, Timmy was relieved to be away from the corpse...it pained him to see.

So now here we are, Marco holding a shovel and kneeling beside a ditch. He gazed down at the figure who lay there, now pale...distant, nothing like the lively, glowing person he had fallen for, he had fought for. He never got to tell them, they never got to know, he cared for them so dearly, and they died before he could say it. He reached into his bag and pulled a bunch of Gardenias to rest them upon the dead, he opened their hands and tucked them between their fingers. A sigh escaped him as he rested upon his knees, his eyes stared at the poor face down in the ground as he decided to give his final message to his love;

"Well, I hoped the worst wouldn't come that we would all make it out of there, but I guess that was wishful thinking wasn't it. Even if you had to die I simply wish I could have told you before you went, if I could see you for even a second longer I would confess in an instant, even if I could only say three words that would be enough...I love you, I loved you *Bug* I just wish you were still here to hear it"

He stood, beginning to scoop dirt back into the hole, aiming it so he could admire their face for as long as possible. As it finally began to cover them in their entirety he finished his little speach;

"And now with your body, my love too is burried, to be left as the world goes by, as life carries on, neither shall ever be heard of again...both left to decompose and become part of Earth, part of our history, I loved you *Bug*, more than I could have ever said, good night"

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

"If it feels like Alicent needs Rheanyra to suffer in order for her life to have meaning."

https://www.reddit.com/r/HouseOfTheDragon/s/6bMp4SmUpH

What's your opinion on this post?

I think the summary, "it feels like Alicent needs Rhaenyra to suffer in order for her life to have meaning" is kind of a misrepresentation of Olivia Cooke's quote cited in that reddit thread.

"Rhaenyra can just get away with anything, and it's so fine. The king turns a complete blind eye, whereas Alicent has always had to walk this tightrope for her whole entire life," Cooke explains. "Just the injustice of it that she feels, until things happen and she realizes that none of it f---ing matters. She looks around her family, and they're all f---ed up. She's like, 'I've been so perfect all my life. I haven't taken a step wrong, and it doesn't f---ing matter.' I think what we see in her evolution is this complete existential crisis."

“(rhaenyra) is the mother that alicent wishes she could be. i don't think there's empathy there. i think it is just another cause for alicent’s resentment, because it’s something she's doing better than alicent ever could.”

Alicent doesn't need Rhaenyra to suffer in order for her life to have meaning, what she needs is justice. She is married to the king and has given him three sons and a daughter, and she's treated no better than a mistress. Ironically, Alicent could have been a royal paramour, had royal bastards, and they would probably be safer as bastards than they are as trueborn children. It's blindingly unfair, and no one in Alicent's life recognizes that. Even her father cannot really acknowledge that Alicent personally has been done wrong because he had a hand in the doing.

I think what's left unsaid in the second part of that quote is why Rhaenyra is the mother Alicent wishes she could be. It's not because Rhaenyra is inherently a more loving, caring person. We see young Alicent is a very warm girl, with a lot of empathy for others, but by the time we catch up with her as an adult, she's been worn down by her circumstances. Even setting aside the fact that Alicent's children are not the product of a loving union like Rhaenyra's were, Alicent can't be this perfect caring, supportive mother when she is fighting for her children's lives. She can't let down her guard, nor can she afford to be too soft, or allow herself to become too attached, because her children are not simply her children, they're royal children who will be at the center of a succession crisis whether they like it or not. And unlike Rhaenyra, who has this incredible power of denial, Alicent has this anxious, hyper-vigilant personality and she can't just pretend her children won't one day be a threat to Rhaenyra''s claim. This is incredibly detrimental to Alicent's ability to effectively parent them!

And so of course Alicent resents the fact that Rhaenyra can just pretend everything is fine, that she can offer her kids this seemingly unconditional love and support, that she can ignore the elephant in the room when Alicent herself cannot ignore it. And the thing is, not only does Rhaenyra's refusal to acknowledge the problem put Alicent's kids in even more danger, it's not actually great for Rhaenyra's kids either. Just look at Jace, he's flying off the handle every time someone whispers the word bastard and already someone has lost an eye because of it. That kid harbors some deep insecurities, and his mother's absolute refusal to acknowledge his parentage, even privately, puts Jace in a really weird position. How can he prepare himself for his future as king, how can he learn how to face the whispers and the accusations, when his mother won't even utter the word? Alicent doesn't really have the ability at this point to see the flaws in Rhaenyra's parenting, but they're there.

So no, it's not that she wants Rhaenyra to suffer, she wants Rhaenyra to acknowledge that she understands the realities they're facing due to Viserys' decisions. Does Alicent want to feel like her own suffering matters? Of course! No one wants to feel like they wasted their life, that their sacrifices are unacknowledged and unappreciated. Look at how far Rhaenyra's "thank you and I'm sorry" went at the family dinner. Being gaslit is a maddening experience-- there's a reason why it's an abuse tactic-- and being gaslit over a period of years about something with life or death consequences would turn anyone bitter and resentful. But Rhaenyra's suffering in and of itself won't right the wrongs done to Alicent, and on some level Alicent has always been aware of that.

[starogeorgina]

Violent delights

Warnings: Swearing, character death

Pairings: Jacaerys Velaryon x oc

1.10

Notes: For the sake of fanfiction, let's pretend it only takes a few days to travel north 🤣

“Men like Aegon never change. They will always be monsters.”

“Precisely, that is why this plan will work.”

You twiddle with the ring that sits on your middle finger, a gift from your husband not long after you got married. The only time you’d taken it off was when your fingers swelled so much during your pregnancy with Rhaenys; they had become so puffy that the ring had begun to cut into your finger. You remember how happy you were when it finally fit on again because of how sentimental it was. Now, looking at it, you feel nothing but guilt.

Teary-eyed, you look at your stepfather and ask, “What if it goes wrong? What if I don’t ever get to see my children, mother, or Jace again?”

Daemon pinches the bridge of his nose. Lucery's death has affected him just as much as the rest of you. He loved Luke as if he were his own, but you feared his thirst for revenge was preventing him from thinking clearly. “I love Jacaerys too much to risk leaving him to raise our five children alone. I will help you seek justice any other way I can, but I cannot do what you are asking. I’m not strong enough to do what you are asking on my own. I’m sorry.”

Daemon places both hands on your shoulders and gives them a comforting squeeze. “My sweet Lyarra, don’t ever apologize for putting your family first.”

Although they aren’t unkind, his words upset you further. It was hard for you to process that, Lucerys was your family.

You awaken to the sound of your son's soft voice. You open your eyes to see him pointing out the carriage window excitedly, “Muña look, it’s Vermax.”

Groggily, you lean forward and see your husband’s dragon, Vermax, curled up into a ball on top of a small hill. A knot forms in your stomach. In different circumstances, seeing Jacery after spending time apart would have set your heart ablaze, but you felt dread. Lucerys wasn’t only his brother but Jace’s best friend, and telling him what happened would break his heart.

“Do you think we will be well received, princess?” Clara asks. “It’s known that northerners are suspicious of outsiders.”

It had crossed your mind how the north would accept a Targaryen when Jacaerys first left, given your very different customs, but the Starks were known for their loyalty, and since they had already sworn to your mother, you didn’t think they would break faith. However, you also didn't think they would understand siblings marrying each other.

“Our banners the right colours,” you say. Trying to lighten the tension, you add, “Cregan Stark isn’t much older than Prince Jacaerys, so I imagine they will have bonded already.”

Vermax suddenly lets out a loud screech while looking up at the sky; perhaps the dragon had spotted Viserion. It seems as if Viserion could sense your worry about being spotted, so he flew so high up into the sky that no human could see him from the ground. You had remained in disguise throughout your journey, which hadn’t been easy given that you had five children with you. There had been many stops and carriage changes along the way, and only when Winterfell came into sight did you allow for your house banners to be lowered to one side of the carriages.

Under different circumstances, you would have loved to travel to Winterfell and experience seeing your children walk in the snow for the first time. Or flying on your dragon and seeing how beautiful it looked from above, but that wasn’t how things worked out. For the only thing that mattered was finding jacery, then somewhere safe for your children to stay while you went back and fought for your mother's birth right.

—

Soon as you arrived within the gates of Winterfell, you were greeted by many lords and ladies who were fascinated by your appearances, mainly because the dye in your hair was wearing off, giving the illusion that you and your children had multi-coloured hair along with your unusual eye colour. Lady Gilliane, Cregan’s mother, escorted you inside immediately and had hot meals brought for you all while you waited for rooms to be ready for you as Jacery's belongings were being moved. The good lady had informed you that most hunts lasted a few days.

You sit across from Lady Gilliane, with Clara beside you, while the children sit at the table behind you. The three of you make small talk; you were intrigued by the stories of the north, mainly the one including direwolves. During mid-conversation, Clara whispers into your ear, “Princess, your milk is coming through.”

You glance down at your chest and see dark spots. Mortified, you hand Clara Daemon and put the thick, large cloak back on before taking him back into your arms.

“Would you like for me to send for a wet nurse?” Lady Gillian asks quietly. “You must be tired after all that traveling, and the nights are long here.”

At first, you were hesitant to accept, but given how kind she has been, you accepted. “Thank you, Lady Gilliane; you have been most kind to us.”

—

The quarters you were staying in had connecting rooms, which was quite pleasant. It meant you could keep an eye on your children without disturbing their sleep. All of your sons and Rhaenys were exhausted and had fallen asleep not long after they lay down. Rhaenys was currently snuggling into the middle of the bed you’d be sleeping in peacefully.

Your eldest daughter remains awake. You sit on the floor, feeling the soft fur beneath you as you braid Aemma’s hair. “You’ve been awfully quiet; is something wrong? Do you feel well?”

Slowly, she nods.

The last few days had been hard on your children; they weren’t used to being crammed together in such a small space, and it was difficult trying to explain why you had to go. You told them their Kepa had missed them so much that they were going to surprise him, which seemed to please them, but Aemma had hardly spoken since you left Dragonstone. Something else was going on with her; you knew she was deeply troubled by something but was too afraid to say what it was.

Perhaps she had learned of Lucery's death, which you had chosen not to tell them. You couldn’t bring yourself to tell them they had lost their beloved uncle and then drag them around while trying to find safety for them. “My sweet,” you say, finishing the braid. “There’s nothing you can’t tell me; you know that I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

Not answering you, she toys with threads of fur.

“Aemma, I cannot fix things if I don’t know what’s wrong,” you say softly.

Sighing, Aemma shuffles around so she’s facing you. Her eyes are wide and full of worry. “I don’t want to live in the red keep.”

You let out a loud gasp. “What?”

“I heard you and grandsire talking. You were crying, and he said Aegon would come to claim me. I'm a bastard, and people would say Aegon is my father.”

You watch as tears build in her eyes. You feel absolutely awful that she has overheard you and Daemon talking. She must have snuck out of her bedchambers and into yours and only picked up part of the conversation. You needed to now have a conversation that she was far too young for, but your daughter needed to know the truth, at least some of it.

“I don’t want to go with him,” she cries. “I want to stay with you on Dragonstone. Please don’t give me away, muña.”

You struggle to hold your own tears back. “Do you remember I told you that I lived in the red keep when you were born?”

“Yes,” she answers, cuddling by your side.

“When I was younger, it was arranged that I’d marry Aegon for political purposes. I lived in the red keep at the time, and then I fell pregnant with you.”

“And Rhaegar.”

“And Rhaegar,” you say, smiling before kissing the side of her head. Thinking about your son always hurt, but even more so now seeing how big his twin was. “I was very unhappy living in the keep and didn’t want you to feel the same way, so not long after you were born, I returned home to Dragonstone. But that meant I had to divorce Aegon.”

“So Aegon is my father?”

“Biologically, yes, but Jacaerys has loved you from the moment he held you in his arms and always considered you his daughter. And I promise he would never ever let anyone take you from us.”

“Would he frighten them away on Vermax?”

“He would burn the whole world to the ground if it meant you were safe.”

“So he won’t ever let Aegon take me?”

“No, sweet girl, he wouldn’t. You and your siblings are our whole being. Me and Jacaerys both share the blood of the dragon with our Velaryon and Targaryen heritage, which we share with you. You are our daughter, and you are so loved and that’s the only thing that truly matters.”

She wraps her arms around your neck and hugs you. You stay like that until the door slowly opens and your husband walks into the bedchamber. Aemma remains still in your arms for a moment before letting go of you and running to him and loudly yelling , “Kepa.”

You feel a wave of relief hearing her call him that. “Jace,” you wince, feeling pain in your stomach as you stand again. You suddenly notice the person standing behind him and assume it’s Cregan. “Lord Stark. I didn’t think you would be back for a few days.”

“When a dragon landed on our campsite, we decided it was time to head back,” Cregan chuckles.

Since Vermax was already at Winterfell when you arrived, you knew it was your own dragon who had ruined their hunt. Viserion definitely knew how to make an entrance.

“It’s an honor to meet you, princess. Prince Jacaerys has talked about you nonstop.”

“It’s an honor to be here. The stories I’ve heard don’t do Winterfell justice; your home is beautiful.”

“Thank you, princess.” He smiles watching as Jace picks your daughter up for a hug. “I shall leave you to rest; I only came to show the prince how to find his new quarters.”

As soon as Cregan is out of the room, Jace asks. “Lyarra, why is Aemma’s hair dark?”

You can see the fury in Jace’s eyes. He knew something was seriously wrong. You clear your threats. “Aemma, can you please go through to your bed?”

Aemma kisses Jace on the cheek before going through to the room she would be sharing with her brothers.

Jacaerys stares at you, waiting for you to answer; his eyes are wide and wild-like. You are glad your other daughter's snores alert him to her presence, so he lowers his voice. You lead him into another part of the quarts, where you begin to tell him but struggle to get the words out. “We dyed our hair so it was safer for us to travel without being spotted. The war has gotten worse and—”

“I knew from the moment I saw Viserion something was wrong. Is it our mother?”

You step closer to him and place your hand on his chest. Struggling to hold back tears, you say, “I’m so sorry, Jace, but Lucerys is gone. Aemond killed him.”

He steps back and begins frantically shaking his head. “No, no, he can’t be dead.”

“When Luke arrived at Storm’s end, Aemond was already there. Aemond threatened Luke, and Lord Borros did nothing to protect our brother—Luke fled and tried to come home,” you sob. “He tried to come home, but Aemond caught up to him on Vhagar.”

Jace stumbles back against the wall, as if the air had been sucked from his lungs. He remains silent for some time, then eventually says, “That doesn’t explain why you came here.”

Seeing the pain in his face, you try to spare him from it anymore. “It can wait till morning, my love.”

“Tell me why you came here.”

“It won’t—”

“Just tell me!” Tears stream from his bloodshot eyes. Jacaerys sinks further to the floor, crying and mourning in a way you’ve never seen from him before. “Please, just tell me.”

“The greens are coming for Aemma.”

In a blink of an eye, Jacaerys is out of the room, and you’re left on your own.

—

You are still sobbing into the pillow you’re holding close to your chest to muffle your tears when Jacaerys returns. The candles have burned out, so it’s difficult for you to see him, but you can hear him undressing before feeling the dip in the bed beside you.

“I’m so sorry; I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you,” he whispers. He feels for the bed to make sure he doesn’t crush your daughter before crawling in beside you. “And I’m sorry for leaving; I just needed a moment to get my head around...” You feel his wet cheek press against your shoulder. “I can’t believe he is gone.”

You understood Jace’s anger wasn’t directed at you; he was just torn up over Luke’s death. “Where did you go?”

“I went and spoke to Cregan. He has agreed to send an army south to fight for our mother.”

At least something had gone right.

“He had also agreed for our children to stay in Winterfell while we returned home to deal with the usurper. And in returning; I have betrothed Rhaenys to his son Rickon.”

You swallow thickly and say, “Oh.”

“I know you wanted to wait until they were older, but this could not wait. I needed to secure their safety.”

“I understand, my prince,” you say, kissing the back of his hand. “I’m just surprised; usually it’s the firstborn's hand that’s asked for.”

“I told him Aemma was already betrothed.”

Being careful not to wake your sleeping daughter; you spin around so you can face your husband. Even though it was dark, you were still trying to study his facial expression. “She is?”

“She will be betrothed to Aethan, our firstborn son. That way, nobody will ever try to usurp her for being a woman or question that she’s my rightful heir.”

You kiss him on the forehead. “When are we returning home?”

“I think we should wait a couple of days; make sure the children have settled and you have rested well.”

Jacaerys voice cracks as he talks; he rests his head against your chest, and you can feel him shaking. You stroke his hair as tears fall from his eyes. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through this.”

[f-imaginings]

Hi hi! Wow I was seeing your posts about the end of KMKY and the future Spin-Off and it makes me very happy, I really admire you for the wisdom of giving a "bad" ending to our KMKY!Billford. (Even though I created an entire AU just out of frustration that in KMKY they didn't have the special adventures together (cough cough)

Anyway! kMKY changed my brain chemistry and my view of them just like you wanted, and damn, I accepted the idea that: they are soulmates, they love each other more than anything, but they are not meant to be together It's their own fault.

Now the question! If this is at least one, about the Spin-offs, I didn't quite understand, will they be additions or "What if's"?

Anyway! Thank you for the chapter today, it was just the day I needed to take out my frustration on something because I had BROKEN MY GLASSES IN HALF, a tragedy.

Hi lovely! 🤗

The spin offs are at this point exploring what ifs, because the timeline of knowing me knowing you has a set direction.

The idea behind the spin off is for example "I know that Bill disappeared after Ford lashed out at him at the bibliosphere, but what would happen if rather than just burning up up and away, he grabbed Stanford and brought him back to the nightmare realm?" And then that storyline would play out.

Or "what would happen if rather than just leaving the Institute of Oddology Stanford stayed for longer and realised Alternate Bill was being used as a battery?" Or "what if after Lottocron 9 Stanford was willing to spend more time with Pyronica, would he go back with her to learn more about Bill at that point?" Or "what if Stanford managed to get through to Bill in his mindscape when the Pirahn Pirates attacked the Scrap Vandals, would Bill rescue him then and what would happen after?"

I want to pick points in the storyline where they don't suddenly depart from their existing characterisation, but instead the circumstances change very slightly to allow new events to play out.

I figure given the number of alternate dimensions out there in the multiverse, exploring things outside the doomed timeline of the fic might be fun, and will give ppl more kmky goodness without changing the directory of the story excessively.

I also really like the idea of, after all the high conflict dramatic what ifs play out, the last what if chapter is softer and back when things were good between them, and it's the what if of what if they could admit their feelings for each other sooner. That would be a what if I think would both break and heal the readers in fun ways.

Something to look forward to!

[reader6898]

New Beginnings

Pairing: Corrie guard Dogma x female reader

Summary: Dogma joins the coruscant guard after being saved by Fox and meets you: a sweet, caring, and beautiful assistant

Warning: none. Dogma being his cute self and getting all flustered around the reader

A/n: Dogma is safe and living his best life with the guard and you can't tell me otherwise because f**k canon. Also, I'm thinking of turning this into a mini series of some sort but I haven't decided yet 🤷

"thank you for doing this, Fox. It's just..after Umbara I didn't want anything to happen to him. He didn't deserve this." The two men walk down the hall to the cell and Fox stops for a moment to look at Rex. "Everything you and the others went through should have never happened. I'm glad that general is dead. He got what was coming to him." Rex couldn't agree more.

The two of them walked a little more and made it to the correct cell. Fox comms someone and the door to the cell opens. The person that was currently occupying the cell looked over and when he saw his former clone captain he stood up.

"Dogma." Dogma looks at Rex. "Sir, what are you doing here?" Rex and Fox look at each other before Rex turns to him. "I'm getting you out of here." Dogma looked at him with a shocked look. "You are?" "Let me explain. I am getting you out of here. They are letting you go. But..." Dogma looks at him. "But what?" "You're joining the guard." "I don't understand. I'm not allowed to join the 501st anymore?" Rex shakes his head. "Even though Krell deserved what he got the GAR doesn't see it that way and due to the circumstances you're no longer a part of torrent company."

"That's not fair, sir. Krell got what he deserved and I'm the one being punished?" Rex puts his hand up. "I know. I'm in agreement with you, Dogma. But they were going to decommission you and I didn't want that to happen. That's why I talked to commander Fox here. He's agreed to take you in and make you a guard." "So I'll be writing up tickets and hauling drunk people to jail." Fox steps in. "That's some of it but there's more to it than just ticket writing and drunk nat-borns." Dogma looks at Rex who gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Dogma. I did all I could. This was the only way." Dogma slumped his shoulders a little. "I understand, sir."

Rex places a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good soldier, Dogma, and I wished that things had turned out differently." Dogma agreed. "Me too." Rex pulls Dogma into a hug. "I wish you the best of luck, kid." Rex let's go of him. "Thank you, sir." Rex nods at Fox in a silent thank you before leaving the two clones in the cell. Dogma looks at the commander. "First things first: let's get you out of here, kid."

After being given a new set of armor and blacks to wear underneath Fox brought Dogma to the barracks and introduced him to everyone. Dogma felt like a shiny again but this time he would be starting all over. After Dogma was introduced Fox pulls him aside. "Tomorrow, you'll report with the shinies at 0900 hours. For now, get some rest. You'll need it." Dogma nods and Fox turns to leave. "Commander?" Fox turns back around and looks at him. "Yes?" "Thank you, sir. For letting me join the guard." Fox nods at him. "I couldn't just let you be forgotten. Well, get some sleep kid." Dogma salutes Fox and the commander leaves.

Dogma goes back to his bunk and crawls under the thin blanket. He lies there for a while as he listens to small conversations around him while others snore in their sleep. This time will be different. This time he's determined to make things right and prove himself, even if it's no longer with his old batallion. Dogma rolls over after a few minutes and eventually falls asleep.

The next morning he woke up, put his new armor on, and reports to commander Fox with the other shinies right at the scheduled time. "Welcome to the coruscant guard. My name is commander Fox and lead commanding officer. All of you have been chosen to protect the people of coruscant and represent for all that it stands for. All of you will be separated into groups among the commanding officers and will be training through them. This job won't be easy so if you can't handle it then I'll just send you right back to Kamino. You were chosen for a reason so I'd hate to see any of you back out now before you get started. Now, when I call out your number or name if you have one you will immediately report to your commanding officer. Understood?" All of them salute Fox. "Sir, yes, sir!" "Good. Now, let's begin."

After being assigned to commander Thorn Dogma learns the ups and downs of the guard and gets some training it. Everything was completely different than being on a battle field. It's definitely going to take some time to adjust but Dogma knows that he could handle it. Now, he was currently bringing some papers that his commanding officer needed to turn in to Fox's office. The only problem was is that he has absolutely no clue where it was located and Thorn never told him where it was. The senate building was huge and will take forever to find his office.

After a good thirty minutes of looking around and walking into offices that definitely weren't Fox's Dogma was frustrated. Thorn had told him that the papers had to be delivered right away and now Dogma was stuck. He wasn't even sure if he was on the right level. Dogma takes a second to himself before he officially loses his mind. He takes off his helmet and runs his hand through his hair as he takes a breather.

As he stands there he hears humming coming from down the hall and looks over to see a woman coming out of a room. She was wearing a long flowy dress and had her hair up. She was carrying some papers in her hands as she walked down the hall towards where Dogma was. She was breathtaking. Dogma comes out of his trance and clears his throat before speaking. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

You looked at him as you approached him. "Yes? What can I do for you trooper?" Your voice. You sounded like an angel. Dogma blushes before he realizes that he must look like an idiot. "I was..umm.. I uhh..I was wondering if you...possibly..uhh..know where commander...commander Fox's office was." You giggled a little and Dogma swooned. Who were you?

"Of course I do. Did you need him for something?" "Oh. Um yes actually. I uh..he needs these papers." Dogma holds up the papers in his hand and you glance at them real quick before looking back at him. "I'm actually headed there right now. I can show you if you like." Dogma blushes some more. "Yes. Yes, thank you. I appreciate that." You give him a smile and start to walk towards the elevator. Dogma watches you for a moment before doing a little jog and following you. The two of you walk into the elevator and you press the button that will take you to the floor that Fox is located on.

As the two of you rode up quietly you couldn't help but glance at the clone next to you. He was a typical clone with the same features of the man who's DNA flowed through all of them but the thing that made him stand out was the v-shape tattoo on his face. It made him unique and he was certainly very cute which you couldn't deny. You blush as you look forward. "If you don't mind me asking but what's your name? I've never seen you around here before." Dogma smiled at your question. "I'm new. Just joined the guard. And the name is Dogma." "It's nice to meet you Dogma." You give him your own name.

Dogma tests your name on his lips and in his head and he quite enjoyed it. It suited you. The elevator comes to a stop and the two of you get off. As you make your way to Fox's office you greet the clones in a friendly manner. Dogma has never met someone as nice as you before.

You finally come up to your destination. "Here we are." You knock and when you hear Fox answer the two of you walk in. Fox looks up and smiles at you as you approach. "My favorite assistant has returned." You roll your eyes. "I'm your only assistant Fox." You set the papers down in front of him. "You are my star. What would I do without you?" You chuckle a little. "Probably go crazy and burn this place to the ground." Fox laughs. "Yeah. You're probably right."

Dogma stands behind you quietly until Fox spots him behind you. "Dogma. What brings you hear?" Dogma salutes Fox and steps forward. "Commander Thorn sent me to bring you these papers, sir." Dogma holds up the papers. "Ah. Got it. Well, thank you Dogma. I'll take those from you now." Dogma hands Fox the papers and takes a step back with his hands behind his back. "I see you've met my assistant." "Yes, sir." "She's the best so I expect you to treat her with respect." "Yes, sir." You roll your eyes again at Fox but smile as you did.

Dogma's comm goes off and looks to see that he's being summoned by his commander. Dogma looks up at Fox. "Go ahead, Dogma. You're dismissed." Dogma salutes Fox. "Yes, sir." You look at Dogma as he turns to walk away. "It was nice meeting you, Dogma. Maybe we'll see each other around." Dogma blushes once more. "Yes. Maybe. It was nice meet you too..ma'am." You giggle as you smile. You give him a little wave and he hesitates before waving back. You blush as you turn back to Fox and Dogma leaves.

As Dogma rides back down to where he was needed Dogma thought about you. He's truly never met anyone like you before and this must be how his brothers feel every time they meet a woman at 79s. Dogma smiles to himself as he gets off to get back to work and for the rest of the day you were the only thing on his mind.

As he went to bed that night he dreamed of your smile and he honestly couldn't wait for your next encounter.

Tagging: @sinfulsalutations @523rdrebel @cw80831 @deejadabbles @moonlightwarriorqueen @anxiouspineapple99 @starrylothcat @techs-stitches @the-rain-on-kamino @the-bad-batch-baroness @wizardofrozz @wings-and-beskar @rexxdjarin @dystopicjumpsuit @eternal-transcience @cloneloverrrrr

[kogratorm]

QSMP's Candidates Statements (Translated)

From QuackityToo June 19th Stream.

DISCLAIMER: My native language is Brazilian Portuguese, not Spanish nor English. Due to that and the differences in language expression, I made some changes/paraphrases while translating to accommodate the context, but the overall understanding remains 98% loyal to each candidate’s speech.

BadBoyHalo

BBH proposes that he is the only person capable of carrying out the necessary decisions that the president of Quesadilla Island must take. He believes he is the only one who has the courage to make the difficult decisions necessary to keep the island safe and sound for the residents and prevent a dictator from taking power, all while protecting the eggs.

Foolish

Foolish is excited about the opportunity that the island has provided. He says he wants to enjoy and make the most of the situation because it's not every day that you end up on a crazy island with a diverse population speaking a variety of languages. Some people would prefer to get out of here [Quesadilla] as soon as possible, but he wants to make friends with everyone and enjoy everything the island has to offer.

Etoiles

Etoiles stated that he is charismatic, generous, and that the only negativity he carries is for himself and never for others. Etoiles sets out to explore the island in order to better understand the environment of where they are; he will visit as many dungeons as he needs to get a better understanding of the island.

Baghera

Baghera stated that she has her head screwed on the right way and wishes only the best for the islanders. She values communication and maintains positive relationships with everyone. Baghera believes she is capable of dealing with any fervor or rash situations that may arise. Quesadilla Island is where she was introduced to motherhood, and as a result, she has a specific goal. The place that gave her family and friends is one she must protect at all costs.

Felps

Felps work(ed) as a shipping officer, bus driver, artist, and gardener. What he wants to do is make everyone happy by giving more rights to eggs, noodles, and pasta.

Forever

Forever stated that he is one of the most active players on the island, and as such, he will always be there to protect the people's interests. As a professional Minecraft player, he has many ideas for community projects. Forever describes Richarlyson as one of the happiest things that has happened to him, as well as meeting all of the island's inhabitants (despite the fact that the French make a lot of noise at the egg hotel), given how everyone is very friendly and entertaining.

Mike

Mike promised to restore order to Quesadilla Island, his favorite aspect of the island being the islanders themselves. He would forbid the use of waystones, which would improve the island's dynamics by forcing players to build paths between their bases, allowing them to finally implement a railroad train system.

Cellbit

Cellbit has had prior work experience as a tribute (HG), murderer, prisoner, and detective. He claimed to be Roier's husband, capable of making eloquent arguments and pose intricate inquiries in various scenarios and circumstances. In summary, he believes he is a good president for the Island's future, both for introducing new creative ideas and new narratives to other content creators, as well as for protecting the eggs. His husband, son, and friends are his most valuable things on the island.

Gegg

I swear this isn’t bad translated; it is literally what has been said.

Gegg said he's a businessman, going door to door Gegging. He's a Geggwar criminal. He is an influencer of the family lifestyle. Gegg changes the world. What Gegg likes most about Quesadilla Island is the humidity, the damp places and caves. Gegg promises you freedom. Gegg promises the truth. Gegg promises you power. Gegg promises the abolition of all government rules, taxes and any existing laws. The government establishment holds us, so Gegg will release us. Just one geggrule: believe in Gegg, because Gegg believes in you.

El Quackity

His speech is about his character as well as the election scenario (from the perspective of a Content Creator, not a character). I decided to put it all together because it was somewhat scrambled and also because it was an important reminder for the community.

According to ElQuackity, there is a lack of organization and order. He believes that in the ideal scenario, this can be resolved. He believes that his candidacy in this work and position is critical, and that it will be the best possible. One thing to be clear about it: during his campaign, he will do whatever it takes to ensure that the people have a good president. Thus, he reminds and states that this election event isn’t predetermined, scripted, or planned, and there is no pre-written ending. Elections will be decided by the votes of creators, the efforts of creators, and the votes of the community. He warns that if If he decides to kill a candidate or an egg because it suits his political campaign, he will do so. And, if another candidate decides to kill him for their own benefit, it will be done. No one (except the creators) can say anything to encourage another narrative. We, as a community, need to understand that none of the creators will truly hate each other if one decides to attack the other or kill the other for their own campaign benefit. He encourages the community to support their favorite candidate, but if a creator decides to do something bad to another creator within the game at any time, those who send hate towards creators for actions taken by players in game will be rightfully banned and restricted from all QSMP chat streams. It is, after all, a game. It's a block game. The decisions made within the game will be made by the creators themselves. If the creators ever have a disagreement, it will be solved in private DMs. And nothing bad will ever happen because all the QSMP members are adults who understand that this is all for entertainment purposes. The QSMP Elections ARE for entertainment purposes ONLY.

[smallnico]

i'm in love with your durge

weird question, but do you believe that esper is technically immortal because of being crafted from bhaal's own flesh? i've seen the theory being thrown around before

WWWWWWWWWAAAUGGHHHhhh???

what the hell thank u so much i'm so happy,, i'm so happy you like my little guy.....

and oh my god not a weird question at all, i also think about this all the time. i have seen some of those theories and a lot of different fun takes on the concept of durge's mortality/divinity, and i do have my own esper mortality lore, so thank you so much for asking so i can talk about it!!

i don't think esper is immortal, but they are chronically unkillable. even before they were orin'd and tadpoled and had their guts all over the place in a necromancer den and eventually walked off that experience, bhaal's been keeping them alive and restarting their vital functions whenever they die somehow. it happened a Lot, especially when they were young, that esper would be burned alive or sacrificed to lolth or thrown off a cliff or otherwise keep going in spite of massive blood loss, and bhaal's divinity or interference would either prevent them from dying or bring them back from the dead. all this is flavoured on my part to comply with things like the last gasp of bhaal given to deathstalkers, or the boon of the unstoppable from bg3.

this is my headcanon for The Esper Timeline: the bhaalspawn of the crisis were created the old fashioned way, and because they were still mortal at the end of the day, they had some trouble holding the essence of the divine without dying -- enough to bring bhaal back and channel him, but not enough for him to stay there long. so durge (esper, in this case) was created to be a more perfect vessel, more divine, more robust. the way i've set up the circumstances of esper's birth is that they are bhaal's flesh, but they still needed to incubate for a little while in a mortal body in order to be born on the material plane. this is also the reason they're half-drow and have biological family in the underdark.

esper's physiology is, in my mind, similar in some ways to dame aylin's. that said, because bhaal is only a quasi-deity, he can't really Do an aasimar on his own. so esper isn't totally divine, but they are closer to the concept of a demigod or an aasimar than other bhaalspawn, and their innate divinity, like with aylin, prevents them from dying until they fulfil their purpose (kill the whole world, last one alive, sacrifice themself on the altar, yada yada). they have no idea if they have a normal half-elf lifespan, or if they physically could die of old age if they did, but they're only 38 years old (half-elf equivalent of ~28?) so they have a while before they get to find out. they heal relatively quickly compared to a normal person, and they have access to some healing magic, but they are still partly mortal, so in spite of being more or less not allowed to die -- brought back at 1hp just like if you lose the orin fight -- they still have to do a lot of the actual healing on their own. and like... they didn't really care to take care of themself in recovery, as long as their body was still physically functional. and all this is why they look Like That, lmao.

so yeah -- maybe not immortal, but not not immortal. they're doing better, though. they don't really remember all of the different ways their bhaalist existence was fundamentally exhausting and agonizing. they have friends and a support network now.

thank u for liking my fucked up little guy... have a bonus doodle. esper is also happy to hear people like them and they definitely will not exploit that fact for personal gain.

they need money for the museum gift shop i mean for therapy. please will you give them 1000 gold pieces

[snowjanuscentral]

Omg there so much potential Even sejanus reading into things that aren’t there and like thinking Coriolanus likes him more than he actually does and making a romantic move on avox corio lol

Literally I have so many thoughts about Avox!Coriolanus, I have a fic outline but i'm gonna treat you to some headcanons, i'm Not Okay about this

Setting:

(In this au, Gaul is even more psychopathic than she is in the book - she cares so deeply about the perpetual state of war, and a twisted fairness in the games, that she perceives Coriolanus' actions as unforgiveable, and effectively discards him. She can always find another star pupil to take under her wing)

Coriolanus is accused of being a traitor to the Capitol due to his aiding of Lucy Gray in the games. To preserve the sanctity of the games, Lucy Gray is pardoned, as she has been 'manipulated' by Snow's evil rebel tendencies. In reality, she takes a deal to return to District Twelve by throwing Coriolanus under the bus.

The footage of Coriolanus attempting to rescue Sejanus from the arena is heavily edited to make it appear as though Coriolanus snuck into the arena and killed Bobbin to give Lucy Gray an unfair advantage.

Sejanus' role in the arena break-in is forgiven due to Strabo making a sizeable donation to the games.

The Snow family reputation is irrevocably destroyed - thankfully, the Capitol public holds great pity for Tigris and the Grandma'am, as they appear to be such fragile and pathetic creatures.

Plot Points In My Brain That Will Not Leave Me Alone

Coriolanus is utterly broken by the whole situation. Even when he was almost destitute, he could rely on his wit, charisma, manipulations and lies to get him out of trouble. That has all been stripped away. His own selfishness and hunger has ruined everything

Mr and Mrs Plinth are offered Coriolanus by Dr Gaul, and they agree to take him, albeit for different reasons; Strabo, to teach Sejanus the lesson he still hasn't learned about the Capitol, and Mrs Plinth, to try and give Coriolanus an easier life than he would experience elsewhere. They keep this acquisition to themselves.

Coriolanus stays in a room at the end of the servants quarters. In the first week, he doesn't come out of his tiny box room. Sejanus visits him on that first night, but Coriolanus doesn't even acknowledge his presence.

There are other Avoxes in the Plinth household, of course, but they hardly interact with Coryo. He isn't obedient, he isn't anything bar borderline catatonic, and they've learned the hard way what that leads to.

Eventually Coriolanus is coaxed out into the greater Plinth residence, and Sejanus treats him nicely enough, but Coryo cannot bring himself to eat. It's too painful on his throat, the food given to him far too rich, Sejanus far too sweet. He cries.

They settle into a new normal, but Coriolanus struggles to pick up the sign language the avoxes use. Not that Sejanus would understand it. Sejanus procures a notepad and pen for Coriolanus to write out his thoughts. It is confiscated by Strabo.

Sejanus misinterprets Coriolanus' eventual acquiescence to his circumstances as comfort. He thinks Coriolanus is becoming content in his company; instead, he has allowed the overwhelm to consume him. Coriolanus feels safer in Sejanus' presence, but not safe.

Coriolanus has nightmares often, and sleeps poorly. It is late one night in Sejanus' room, and he is reading a book, Sejanus reading out the words. They are sitting next to each other, and Coriolanus tires, eventually nodding off with his head on Sejanus' shoulder.

Sejanus begins to enjoy having Coriolanus at his beck and call, just as Coriolanus becomes accustomed to following orders.

It is another late night when Sejanus' hands begin to wander. It is not something Coriolanus has anticipated. He lets it happen anyway.

(I literally have so many thoughts and feelings, I WILL WRITE THIS FIC I PROMISE!!)

[wardensantoineandevka]

I've threatened in the past to write a post about Spahr's passive narrative role, and I'm finally getting around to it because I've been talking to several folks about him and that passivity recently. I've covered this topic in broad level and as a specific element regarding Spahr in 1.18: A Good Man and in 2.11: Inside. I recommend reading that post as a companion piece to this, though you'll recognize a lot of quoting here of that post.

His passivity (as a narrative role) can be broadly divided into two categories: him not taking action for various reasons, and his mere presence being something that incites reaction.

The latter is a smaller category. Lark and Fuze see his ship arrive on Midst, then scramble to move and change the circumstances of the situation before he has time to do anything: Fuze by promptly writing a letter to arrange a meeting, Lark by murdering Fuze. Phineas reacts to his arrival at the cabaret before he does anything at all. Spahr's presence is, on its own, powerful. It's noteworthy that all three of these instances do not react to Spahr as a person, really. He's simply a looming concept. The Prime Consector Jonas Spahr, a concept of a man. While this is a smaller category, it does create a problem of a lack of agency for Spahr. (Put a pin in the concept of agency for a moment.) In these moments, Spahr is less an active agent within the narrative and more simply an inciting incident. He does not really ACT when he arrives on Midst (setting Fuze and Lark to act) or when he arrives in the cabaret (setting Phineas to act), he simply exists in the space. Jonas Spahr arrives, and others drive the plot in reaction, but he does not get to act. The event happens in reaction to him but without his input, and it goes on without waiting for him to do anything at all.

The former, him not taking action, is a much larger category, and it collects a lot of different things. But, at the heart of it, it is about Spahr's own inaction or failure to take action. This happens for a variety of reasons, ranging from purposefully ignoring what is happening in front of him to a failure to commit including out of fear, concern for his position, or other inability to speak up. As a result, his role in the narrative is a generally passive one that largely centers on watching and observing. It's the first thing he does as a player in this story. He steps back and watches how Phineas handles the Ginsberg situation, and the narrators remind us four separate times in 1.03: Mica:

Thing is, Spahr does a lot of watching but, until more recently, doesn't really SEE all that often. He is for a long time a passive, immovable, unreadable observer to events as the eyes of God the Trust. He is that witness for much of events he's involved in, for... well, worse. After Phineas attacks Sherman, Spahr himself is quick to identify this problem with himself in 2.02: Ascendancy, that he is watching and looking but he is, perhaps intentionally, not seeing and noticing:

Worse than simply watching: he ALLOWS. He ignores the signs of Phineas's desperation, so that he doesn't need to do anything. He allows Imelda to convince him to leave Phineas behind on Midst. He allows Imelda to push him into making a statement about how fine things are on Midst. He allows Hieronymous to pressure him into bending the rules. He allows Imelda to torture Weepe (he allows Imelda to do a lot of things), and he feels like he's allowed the circumstances for Weepe to become Tripotentiary. He doesn't defend himself at his court-martial. He allows Costigan talk to him however she wants. He allowed the Upper Trust to conclude that Phineas should be fired if he didn't immediately improve.

That last one is contentious, and having to explain why I interpret it that way is useful to unpacking the crux of Spahr's central flaw here. (A case study, if you will.) Many interpret that it is Spahr's idea to threaten to fire Phineas as a motivator, but given the pattern created by every other incident in the list, I don't agree. Spahr deeply struggles with disagreeing with those in positions of power and influence over him. He carries out, dutifully and without complaint, the orders given to him because he lacks the will to resist or to refuse. (Again, he doesn't even fight for himself against the Upper Trust.) I think of Spahr casually mentioning he was ordered not to help and his stumbling panic when Phineas is fearful. Because of this, it doesn't track for me the idea that Spahr formulated this idea to fire Phineas.

It feels much more in keeping with his character and the details of his behavior during the scene—and with his established shortcomings and timidity and his tendency to quietly allow and carry out what he does not want—that the Upper Trust decided this and Spahr could not bring himself to fight it and instead chose to carry out his orders against Phineas. For me, it more coheres if he abdicated the responsibility onto Phineas and asked him to do the impossible, shifting the burden from himself to Phineas, all because he couldn't summon conviction, because he lacked the courage to disagree and the spine to stand for what he believes or wants. Case in point toward this interpretation: the scene in the Arca.

Season two is about Spahr realizing that he allows. We see it as he begins to process having abandoned Phineas and having not stopped Imelda:

Spahr is someone whose role is largely passive, both within the Trust systems and within the narrative. Just as much as he is to be seen, he is also very much here to see—and to refuse to see. He makes himself a passive witness to these horrors and allows them, silent and impassive and watching. He can try to intervene, last minute, but he's already facilitated this. The cabaret, the Arca. Even Sherman feeling he needed to take Weepe's deal, with Spahr moving after it is all said and done, is a lighter echo of these two scenes. To quote myself: "it's been asked of him: What are you refusing to see, Jonas? What horrors and brutalities are you allowing to happen? Will you always be intervening much too late?"

Ultimately, Spahr struggles with agency. In the interest of space, I refer to this post collecting episode quotes on the topic. He chafes against the idea that he doesn't have his own authority and is being maneuvered around by the political players in the Trust—but at the same time, he defers his own agency and maintains his own inaction and passivity. It's an incredibly interesting contradiction. He is afraid to fight, to resist, to intervene, and he is unable to find the conviction or the mettle or the spine. He's stood by, he's pushed it onto others like Phineas, he's ignored the signs, he's arrived too late, he's remained silent, he's paralyzed with fear, he's refused to refuse. He, well, does as he is told because he can't bring himself to defy his orders. He yields, every time. His role in this narrative thus far is defined by the fact that he does not act, that he chooses not to act or see, that he is frozen in place by fear or status, that even when he does try to act he cannot complete the action for some reason, that events are passing him by. He has yet to successfully take an effective, decisive, active action because he is locked in place—by circumstance, by more active agents, most of all by his constant decision to aquiesce. He always chooses not to muster the courage to do something hard, difficult, and costly for what he believes is right while the fight still means something, before it is too little, too late. Weepe is right: the Trust had him on a leash, and he was very willing to heel.

Spahr's greatest sin is that he has repeatedly allowed all this. Hopefully, before this is all over, he'll find the strength to refuse to keep doing so. Dig in his heels and refuse to do as told.