reallybadlawyer

[lyculuscaelus]

So lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts asking people to stop trying to make Odysseus look nice in their works cuz he’s a “messed-up person in the mythology”. Your opinion is valid however I have but one thing to point out:

You want to know who started all this? Who started to “make Odysseus look nice” in the first place?

It’s Homer. It’s nobody else but Homer himself.

A non-Homeric Odysseus would try to murder people out of his own interests. He’d murder Palamedes without remorse (and we’d be cheering over this but it’s a murder after all), he’d attempt to murder Diomedes just to get the Palladium himself, he’d volunteer to kill Astyanax…meanwhile you wouldn’t find any mention of either Palamedes or Nauplius in Homer’s poems, neither did he mention anything abt the Palladium heist (and Diomedes necessity did not happen until Conon’s version), the death of Astyanax, the distribution of war prizes, etc. And all the details in the Odyssey seemed to deny the existence of Nauplius’s vengeance at all, so Odysseus would not take any of the blame.

A non-Homeric Odysseus would be depicted as “cruel, treacherous”, meanwhile in book 10 of the Iliad Odysseus was not mentioned to have killed anyone during the marauding, neither did he promise Dolan anything at all. The negative interpretations are denied by these details subtly put by Homer.

A non-Homeric Odysseus would be widely known as a “coward” for only shooting arrows from afar. But Homer gave him a spear and had him absolutely slaying in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. That part of Ajax’s speech was invalid already.

Most importantly—a non-Homeric Odysseus would be having kids everywhere else, and the loyalty to his own wife as seen in the Odyssey is no where to be found. Meanwhile his lineage was a single-son line made by Zeus in the Odyssey, and his love for Penelope was one of his main drives, especially seen in book 5 of the Odyssey. He loved his family as a loving parent—something you don’t get to see in most of the non-Homeric writings—for most of the time they followed a different tradition indeed, in which Odysseus wasn’t half as nice as in the Odyssey.

TL;DR: in case you haven’t noticed, the characterization of the Homeric Odysseus was quite different from a non-Homeric version of Odysseus. It’s not that Homer didn’t know of the existence of other versions—he knew them too well, which is why in his version of the story, you don’t get to see any mention of them.

[cienie-isengardu]

Bi-Han & Kenshi

I’m curious - if people think Bi-Han is the scum for breaking centuries old tradition of Lin Kuei’s servitude to Liu Kang and Earthrealm, do they also think Kenshi is a bastard for trying to break out his clan from Yakuza? Both men were raised in clans that supposedly pledged its loyalty to someone - Lin Kuei to Liu Kang/Earthrealm, clan Taira renamed as Takahashi to the Bakuto (Yakuza) and both at some point decided their people deserves better and waged war against their superiors to free their respective clans. 

I’m pretty sure some of fans may be outraged how I could compare Liu Kang to Yakuza but the thing is, so far story mode and tie-in material didn’t show much suggesting Lin Kuei’s relationship with Fire Lord was based on genuine friendship or even mutual respect. There is nothing even remotely close to how Liu Kang addressed Sindel or interacted with Royal Family and his Champions. Bi-Han’s title of Grandmaster is never used by Liu Kang, Tomas is never acknowledged either alongside his brothers (chapter 1) nor as Kuai Liang’s second in command in regard to Shirai Ryu (last chapter). Kuai Liang is not part of the final meeting between Liu Kang and his champions even though he led a major attack on the enemy's forces when Fire Lord was busy with his own task. Literally all story mode the Lin Kuei brothers’ interaction with Liu Kang is about them doing his bidding and nothing more. Considering the implication that

A) Umgadi system was Liu Kang’s own innovation (as stated in Geras vs Tanya intro dialogue) and said system is based on taking away a little girls from their families and indoctrinating them into loyal warriors whose main goal is to uphold Royal Family’s regime over Outworld 

B) Umgadi system and Lin Kuei has a lot pallares to each other, world-building wise

I can see why Bi-Han claims Earthrealm - and by extension Liu Kang, doesn’t deserve his loyalty.

Sindel: With one act, you betrayed two realms. Sub-Zero: Neither deserved my loyalty.

Ironically, from Kenshi and Johnny Cage's talk about history of Taira clan, we can conclude that Kenshi’s forefathers actually benefited from Yakuza, as it was Yakuza that provided them protection when every other noble house wanted them dead:

Johnny: "Four hundred years ago the Taira clan were one of Japan's first families. They lost Sento after getting slaughtered at the Siege of Aomori." Kenshi: "There were survivors. They hid themselves by shedding the name Taira for Takahashi. They joined the Bakuto for its protection." Johnny: The Yakuza's predecessors... From first family to crime family."

What is more, Kenshi’s backstory is not “Yakuza threaten my family and I must act to save them” but he was part of japanese criminal organization (implied by the tattoos on his body) that had a change of heart once he fell in love: 

Scorpion: Who was it that set you on the righteous path? Kenshi: Her name was Suchin.

and who needed to reclaim family ancient sword, Sento, because without it, he did not have full support of his people:

Kenshi (story mode): "I will break us free of the Yakuza's corruption. Reclaim our name and our position. But my clan won't follow me unless I prove that I can lead. That's why I need Sento."

Ironically, at this moment, sources strongly imply Lin Kuei - with exception of Kuai Liang and Tomas - willingly support Bi-Han and the breaking up with Liu Kang/Earthrealm. And like Scorpion suggested in story mode, some members like Sektor and Cyrax would still choose Bi-Han over the him or tradition, even when knowing that Sub-Zero let his own father die. Kenshi, on other hand, needs first to win over his own clan, which may imply that a great number of his family is not willing to either leave the Yakuza or lost its protection.

And sure, we may argue about morality of characters and organizations to which they belonged (Liu Kang’s protectors of Earthrealm and Yakuza), but it won’t change the fact that narrative wise, the story arc of Bi-Han and Kenshi is structurally the same. 

They served someone (Liu Kang/Earthrealm, leaders of Yakuza) to whom their respective clans pledged their loyalty centuries ago until something made them question their life and current political and economic state of their clans. In case of Kenshi, it was Suchin, in case of Bi-Han the reason is unknown yet the growing frustration didn’t come out of nowhere. Both took the first available offer that possibly could advance their cause after the just-meet strangers proved they have means to fulfill their promises (Liu Kang’s showcase of fire power, Shang Tsung presenting Dragon Army). And once they waged the war against their former bosses, none of them is willing to return to things as they were - whatever others approve or not. And as intro dialogues imply, their actions cost people’s lives.

Liu Kang: Your actions cost lives, Bi-Han! Sub-Zero: They were in the Lin Kuei's best interests.

and

Liu Kang: Your war on the underworld is taking innocent lives. Kenshi: Am I to blame for my enemy's wanton violence?

And apparently, both made alliances with people considered as criminal, cruel and/or dangerous to Earthrealm. Like Bi-Han’s alliance with Shang Tsung, General Shao and Nitara while Kenshi, according to intro dialogues, is involved with Black Dragons:

Geras: You have been warned about the Black Dragon. Kenshi: Don't worry. I know what I'm doing.

or

Kenshi: My war on the Yakuza has a new ally. Scorpion: You cannot trust the Black Dragon, Kenshi.

Through intro dialogues, BIO and story mode, we may even notice similar patterns in goals of Bi-Han and Kenshi. As in, them wishing to make their clan independent and finally out of the shadows:

KENSHI:

(story mode): "I will break us free of the Yakuza's corruption. Reclaim our name and our position. 

and

(story mode): "Not dead. Hiding. With Sento in my hands, I'll lead us out of the shadows."

or

BIO: "Once one of ancient Japan's most honored families, the Takahashis were decimated in battle. They lost everything, including the emblem of their power: the revered sword, Sento. Those who survived joined the Bakuto, a predecessor of the Yakuza, for its protection. Five centuries later, Kenshi is raised on the stories of his ancient family's exploits. Detesting his corrupt Yakuza life, he pines to free the Takahashis from the Yakuza's grasp and restore their name. But for his family to follow him, Kenshi must first fight to prove that he can lead. His first battle is to find and retrieve Sento."

Bi-Han

Mortal Kombat 1: "As the Lin Kuei's Grandmaster, Sub-Zero leads his ancient warrior clan in defense of Earthrealm from external threats. For centuries, it has been their solemn task. But Earthrealm hasn't been threatened in generations, and Sub-Zero see no point in limiting his clan to preparing for dangers that may never come. Under his leadership, the Lin Kuei will come out of the shadows and fight for its place as one of Earthrealm's great nations."

and

Sub-Zero: I've gained the Lin Kuei's freedom. Smoke: You've only earned them infamy.

Among other intro dialogues

or

Sub-Zero’s MK1 Ending: "I had broken the Lin Kuei free of Liu Kang's enslavement. We were now masters of our destiny and could take our place among Earthrealm's greatest nations [...]."

Which is why I’m curious - if people judge Bi-Han as “evil” for breaking up with what he considered an enslavement or exploitation of his family and clan, do they see Kenshi in the same light? Or is Kenshi by virtue of siding with Liu Kang the good guy and Sub-Zero is scorned because of his broken relationship with brothers more than anything else?

(Though if to support Bi-Han you need to bash Kuai Liang then please, don’t. If there is one thing that sources proved us about the Lin Kuei brothers is that both are dutiful men who put duty above the bloodties - and sadly their sense of duties isn’t compatible anymore.)

[i-dont-know-nor-care-go-away]

Justice for Joost

usually I don't like to be political but this is fucking stupid. I did block the person who wrote this post but I need to break down this stupid ass argument

"So I think Joost's actions were either xenophobia, antisemitism or a mix of both though leaning to a mix of both.

For those who are not aware, Eden Golan was being interviewed in the big second semi final panel and a report asked her if her participation was putting other contestants at risk. The question was gross as it is not her fault people would want to risk harming other contestants to harm her and people wanting to harm her is also not her fault as she is literally just an israeli women who exists and went to eurovision. Eden's manager said "you don't have to answer that" in response to the question and Joost (who had been covering himself with his flag during her turn being interviewed) uncovered himself and said "why not?". Eden did answer the question elloquently.

The issue I have with Joost's actions is that they were not about whether or not Israel should participate as that decision had already been made and Eden was already at Eurovision, but instead they were just him being xenophobic and/or antisemitic.

Eden Golan, just like every other contestant, is not her government.

If we were to act like every contestant was their government, then why did Bambi Thug not recieve backlash for Ireland's treatment of refugees? Why did the Azerbaijan contest not recieve the same level of backlash for their government trying to ethnically cleanse Armenians? Why did Slimane not recieve any talk about the Mali Wedding Airstrike (which killed children) that France did back in 2021?"

No, he was just against a fucking genocide. The contest this year is funded by morroco oil (https://eurovision.moroccanoil.com/) which is not from morroco, but from (you guessed it) the genociders !(https://en.hespress.com/84896-how-moroccos-argan-fueled-a-62-million-israeli-business-and-became-a-scientific-experiment.html#google_vignette) standing against genocide is not xenophobia. Its the right fucking thing to do.

Yeah israiel is not gonna be banned but taking is stand against their participation because of their FUCKING GENOCIDE is not unhelpful. Showing support is good. She is not just a person from Isreal competeing in Eurovision. She is actively and willingly representing a genocidal and colonial government, and willingly doing that on a huge stage is more than endorsing that. if she is so fucking innocent and not complicit, she would not be on that stage. People refuse to join the IDF and suffer the extreme consequences, she could've just not joined. That question was so fucking relevant. Why are we coddling the feelings of an adult woman represneting a colonial power that is currently commiting warcrimes. She is a terrible fucking person.

The other issues this post brought up are terrible. we should call these out. But also, You can't just bring up other genocides or bad things and be like "hm if you don't care about every other bad thing in the world then you don't really care about this one" A fucking mass genocide with war crimes is a seperate issue than Ireland's treatment of refugees. Ireland should be better, mistreating refugees is bad. Armenians should also get support,(https://www.armeniafund.org/) but you can't just change the subject to a different genocide in order to defend someone WHO IS ACTIVELY REPRESENTING A COUNTRY COMMITING GENOCIDE. The Palestinian Genocide is so bad right now and they need all the help they can get, but someone being kinda mean to someone complicit in a genocide is this issue here? we should hold every government accountable, but the fact that we started with the one that is actively commiting genocide is a good thing. The energy should be "its good to support palestine and lets keep holding governmetns accountable" and not "why are you getting mad at isreal if everyone else is just as bad? seems like you're playing least favorites"

(disclaimer: I do not condone any of the bad things that happened. They are bad. I don't agree with them being used to defend someone who is complicit in a genocide)

"Why is it okay for Joost and other contestants to treat Eden Golan like she is the Israeli Government whilst not holding other contestants to the same standard?

This goes even further once you bring in how after Russia invaded Ukraine, Joost collaborated with a Russian Artist CMH. Now, either CMH also represents the Russian government entirely and Joost supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine or, CMH does not represent the Russian government which makes his treatment towards Eden Golan even worse and reaffirms its antisemitic roots."

Little miss genocide is not the one being harrassed. The isreali officals are going around harrassing people and being dicks. She is in no way the vicitm here. (Allegedly) The isreali officals mocked Joost's DEAD PARENTS. As far as we know, Golan saw what her sad excuse for a country did and actively and willingly chose to represent that. Even if she was being harrassed, it would be because of her actions. But she really fucking isn't. she is not the one being kicked out of the contest. she can get the actual fuck over it. You cannot just ask "well what about the other contestents? their governments are also bad" Everyone is bad. No government has their hands clean. Bambi Thung representing Ireland (which needs to stop mistreating refugees) is not the same as someone representing Isreal (which is commiting genocide). Ireland is a country with a complex history and Bambi thug is not representing every single one of the many political opinions by representing her country. I think we can assume she would be against mistreating refugees. Isreal is a made up, totalitarian state in which every part of it's government is complicit in genocide. No one can seriously believe that little miss genocide supporter is not endorsing or ok with her country's actions. There is a huge difference if you actually think about it.

I looked up CMH. He doesn't seem to have ties to the russian government. CMH did not compete to represent his government. He makes music and is from russia. It is so different. the comparison doesn't even work. Maybe that supporting a Russian musican during the Ukraine thing was not like. a very good thing to do (sorry idk how to phrase it) but while it isn't great, it doesn't have the same effect as EUROVISION. Eurovision is international. I could barely find information on CMH. Yeah the morality of that collab is debateable, but why are you using it to defend the person representing a genocide??? CMH did not choose to go into a international competition to represent his country. He didn't go through mulitple competitions to represent russia. He is literally just russian. The collab was bad, fine, but representing GENOCIDE WILLINGLY is WORSE.

"Lastly, someone sent me an image of a Joost song (which is what I think spurred this current ask) where Joost has a hitler mustache. You can find that post and image here.

So lets put the evidence together, Joost treats Eden Golan as being the Israeli Government but doesn't hold anyone else to that standard,including a Russian artist right after Russia's invasion + he willingly took and the uploaded publically online, a picture of him with a Hitler mustache.

At the very best, he is just xenophobic, at worst he is antisemitic or a mix of both.

Am i sad that Joost is antisemitic? yes very. I really liked his song europapa and a few other songs of his. It always hits a bit harder when an artist you like turns out to be an antisemite. I was ready to get super into his music and then bam, i find out he is an antisemite."

I am gonna be honest, I am not really excited to address this. I'm not Jewish. I don't get to say what is offensive or not. I have seen the photo. It does look like hitler. It is antisemtic and yeah. I honestly even kinda took offense to it. But as the post below says, he took it down. It isn't playable. It's bad, and ignorant but it is also possibly just in poor taste. It could have been an attempt at a parody or just trying to get a rise out of people WHICH ARE BOTH BAD. He took it down. I can't find that image on any of his youtube. He doesn't have any other instances of something like this. He probably should apologise for it, but it seems like he grew. I THINK THAT IT WAS A BAD THING TO DO AND I DO NOT ENDORSE IT AT ALL. I THINK IT DESERVES AN APOLOGY.I AGREE IT IS ANTISEMTIC. It was taken down, and he hasn't done anything like it since. I think it is safe to saw that he grew (he should still like. apologize and address it though) I find it really weird that you're pulling out this isolated incident from what seems to be six years ago in order to defend someone representing an actual genocide. It's really weird. It is so dumb to imply Joost is speaking out against genocide only because he hates jewish people. I do not think that something from six years ago that he took down is indictive of his current views or his motivations for not supporting genocide.

"Yeah Joost fans is this your man?

Do you think his actions towards Eden Golan were purely anti israel still? Or are you finally willing to admit that he is not the innocent man yall think he is?

(btw i checked via reverse image search and the song which the picture is the album art for, feminist on da block, is taken down, but you can find the proof of it on spotify here, its just not playable)"

Yes he is still my man. His actions were probably purely anti Israel. He has not done anything wrong in his protest of a genocide. He was kicked out of a contest because of it. This weird "gotcha" thing where you point out all the problematic things he did pales in comparison to the people who were killed by isral. He has done bad things and he needs to address/apologize for them, but now he is trying to support those in need. People are facing genocide and because someone is being loudly against that, you want to point out all the reasons why he is bad? be so fucking for real right now. Children are dying. Babies are dying. Why the hell are you defending anyone that stands by that?

TDLR

yeah Joost is not an angel. He has done a couple problematic things in the past I DO NOT ENDORSE THEM, but Isreal is commiting genocide and the person representing that is far worse. We have more pressing issues

disclaimer

I support jewish people. I do not condone any antisemitism at all. People should not start attack jewish people for the actions of israle. The points I am attempting to make are (a) not everyone that supports palestine is anti semetic and (b) while antisemitism is bad, you cannot use that as an excuse for supporting a fucking genocide.

[midnightstargazer]

Regulus Black is probably my favorite Harry Potter character, but I don't understand why he's so often portrayed as being forced to join the Death Eaters.

Don't get me wrong, I totally get the desire to portray him sympathetically or give him a redemption arc. And I definitely think there's room for different interpretations as far as what he actually did as a Death Eater and why he betrayed Voldemort in the end. But there's really no ambiguity in whether he joined willingly or not. Every time he's brought up, including when the truth about his death is revealed, it's emphasized that he changed his mind, not that he was never loyal in the first place.

I know there's a popular headcanon that Sirius ran away to avoid being forced to join the Death Eaters, and I can see how that idea would naturally lead to Regulus being pressured to as well. But Sirius never actually mentions Voldemort or the Death Eaters when he explains why he ran away. He also tells Harry his parents were not Death Eaters, and while he indicates they were probably proud of Regulus for joining, he never suggests that they might have pressured him into it.

This is especially important because it's implied that Sirius had more nuanced feelings about Regulus than the rest of the family. (That's a topic for another day, but seriously, he put a hippogriff in his mother's bedroom and carelessly threw away dozens of family heirlooms, all while leaving his brother's room untouched). When he tells Harry about Regulus, Sirius shifts part of the blame for his poor life choices onto their parents, describing Regulus as a "stupid idiot" who was "soft enough to believe" their ideology. If he had any reason to believe they had forced Regulus to get the Dark Mark, and especially if that reason was that they had also tried to do the same to Sirius himself, why not say so?

The version told by Kreacher in Deathly Hallows reveals more about Regulus's decision to join: he expressed blood purist views, admired Voldemort, talked about him for years before joining, and was "so proud, so happy to serve." Again, nothing to indicate reluctance or coercion. He was certainly influenced by his family's ideology and most likely experienced peer pressure from his fellow Slytherins, but that's not the same as saying he was made to join against his will.

I wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of the first war, there were certain pure-blood families that expected their sons to become Death Eaters. Was there ever anybody who wasn't thrilled by that prospect, but went along with it because it wasn't easy to say no? Possibly. But I actually don't think Regulus is a good candidate for that. Aside from everything I mentioned above, he didn't go along with it. Just a year or so later, he was prepared to die to strike a blow against Voldemort. That's much easier to imagine coming from a true believer who for whatever reason had a change of heart than a reluctant Death Eater who only joined out of fear. And in my opinion, it's more interesting that way.

For what it's worth, I don't think he has to be forced into joining to be sympathetic or redeemable. Consider the following:

He was only sixteen when he took the Dark Mark, an age at which the human brain is not yet fully developed.

We're never told about any specific crimes he committed, and he was still a student at Hogwarts during most of his time as a Death Eater. He doesn't necessarily have to be guilty of extreme atrocities (although I tend to think he should be guilty of something beyond just going to meetings and having an ugly tattoo).

He was noted to be kind to his house-elf. Regardless of exactly what that looked like beyond not being cool with what Voldemort did to him, it creates an interesting contrast with the Malfoys and the way they treated Dobby. This suggests that Regulus didn't enjoy engaging in pointless cruelty just for the sake of being cruel. Which is admittedly a very low bar.

He did eventually turn against Voldemort, and none of the characters who provide accounts of this seem to fully understand why, making a wide range of headcanons plausible.

In an AU where he survives his trip to the cave, he would almost certainly end up going into hiding and/or changing sides, and therefore would be separated from the influence of his family and fellow Death Eaters, quite possibly surrounded by people who would challenge his views.

There are enough ambiguities and indications of nuance that (in my opinion) he can be portrayed as a morally gray character, set up for a redemption arc, or just humanized and portrayed with some degree of sympathy, without undermining the fact that he did make a really awful choice.

So what's the appeal of having him be a good person from the start? Like, I understand that morally gray characters are not everyone's cup of tea, but there are plenty of straightforwardly good characters in the series. What's the appeal of changing the narrative to make a Death Eater basically an innocent victim?

[krovscastlerpg]

Lorenzo "Enzo" Reyes | Staff | 2,000 | Siren (Lust) | Versatile

“Singin' like a siren, love me while your wrists are bound, you've been seeing me in your dreams but I'll be there when your reality drowns."

Born to a mermaid mother, Ava, and an incubus father, Raphael, Lorenzo (“Enzo”) grew up in ancient Mesoamerica near the ocean. His father was long gone before he was even born, so Enzo grew up with just his mother and the rest of their pod. Enzo was never short of paternal figures in his life since their pod treated each other like family, so he grew up being more than adequately looked after. Despite the paternal replacements, Enzo always did have questions about his actual father since he was different to most of the other merfolk. His demon side intrigued him a lot more than he would ever really admit, but other sirens within the pod helped and guided him when he needed it, teaching him how to feed properly to ensure that he was always at his strongest.

As he got older, Lorenzo grew up being trained like the rest of the men in his pod – to be a warrior, hunter and gatherer, and likely had an advantage at being all three thanks to the abilities that came with being half-demon. There would always be that curiosity in the back of his mind about his father, who he knew was named Raphael, but he had never acted upon that curiosity, mostly out of respect for his mother who he loved dearly.

During the Second War, their pod willingly joined the faeries’ army to fight against the vampires. The battles were nothing like Enzo had ever experienced in his long life, with all the gruesome and long-drawn fights and bloodshed. The war raged on and Enzo watched as friends and family – his dear mother included – were struck down. Their pod numbers dwindled down to single digits and Lorenzo disappeared into hiding to grieve while the vampires flaunted their victory and enacted their newest laws with slave castles. 

Once Lorenzo had rested and recharged, he kept himself to himself, figuring out ways to survive on his own and make money. It wasn’t exactly hard for him to charm his way through the world, with his cocky attitude, siren abilities and good looks that had mostly come from his father’s genetics, Enzo was able to make a fortune through organised crime and manipulation of others. It took him a while, and he had to be careful in case he was ever found out, but he shifted his alliance to the vampires, figuring it would benefit him more in the long run since he never wanted to be one of the unlucky victims that would end up as slaves. One way that Enzo actually did end up making quite a lot of money was through slave-hunting; trafficking unsuspecting victims by using his natural charm and good looks to lure them into a false sense of security. He did feel some guilt doing this, but he’d learnt to be selfish over the years.

Through his connections to the vampires and the trafficking of slaves, Enzo discovered that his father, Raphael De Luca, was still alive and was the Councilman of Italy. A true position of power that Enzo actually envied and admired. Lorenzo made it his focus to make it into the castle to confront his father -- the only relative that Enzo really had left -- and managed to get himself a position as a guard at Krovs Castle using his connections.

Positive Traits: Charming, ambitious, intelligent, confident, determined

Negative Traits: Deceptive, temperamental, snobbish, judgmental, arrogant

3 turn-ons: Edging, BDSM, Choking

3 turn-offs: Scat/Vom, Feminisation, Daddy Kink

[noperopesaredope]

My Slightly Cringey Transformers OC

Well, well, well. Look who decided to finally give in to their inner "cringe" and make a canon-non-compliant Transformers Prime OC.

Me.

It's me.

I'm the one who decided to make a dumb OC.

Now, let me start off by saying that I have only watched Rescue Bots and about half of Transformers Prime (I'm partway through Season 2). I don't remember much about the lore, and in this instance, I don't exactly care. This OC likely breaks some lore in relation to Cybertronian history and society, and I'm not really gonna do anything about it. It's also one of those OCs that I just kinda inserted into the team and pretend that she's always been there this whole time.

I did this purely for self-indulgent reasons, because I wanted to make a big cool robot who is morally grey and will help people with their redemption arcs. Please be understanding of that fact. I'm working on just allowing myself to create "dumb" and "cringy" OCs and stories, because this is all just for fun, and why should I limit myself?

So, with that out of the way, please enjoy.

Tireslash is a relatively liked member of the Autobots, but she has a few dark secrets that she constantly worries will get her kicked out of the group. Long before the war, Tireslash was a member of the infamous criminal group known as the Ground Shakers. They were essentially like a bank robbing gang, but instead of stealing money, they stole energon and resold it on the streets. It was a very organized criminal enterprise, with carefully planned operations, separated teams of thieves, and a network of distributors. And Tireslash wasn’t just a random grunt, oh no. She was someone working on the field, actively participating in robberies and some of the more violent stuff. She led her own team and personally knew the head of the Ground Shakers (though they weren’t super close or anything).

However, eventually the organization fell apart, and most of its members were arrested, including Tireslash, whose teammates were killed during a raid, the same one in which she was eventually caught (though it is later revealed that her second in command, Firewall, actually survived and went into hiding). Tireslash was sent to prison, where she reflected on her life and began to regret her crimes. 

She remained there for a long while, until one day, the war broke out. At a later point in the war, the war came to the area which her prison was in, and the prison wasn’t safe from the blasts as the battle raged on around it. The wall next to Tireslash’s cell ended up being destroyed by a stray blaster shot, and she and many other prisoners ended up escaping in the ensuing chaos. Somehow, Tireslash managed to find a small ship, and she stole it, escaping to another area across the planet. Due to this being later in the war, a lot of stuff had been destroyed, and many computers and systems with Tireslash’s criminal records in it were deleted.

Due to this (and being a more obscure criminal whose crimes occurred long ago), Tireslash was able to join the Autobots with few suspicions against her. She liked Optimus’ vibes and beliefs, and had heard about some of the more atrocious behavior of the Decepticons, something she no longer wished to be associated with.

I might make it so that Optimus has his suspicions about her past, and may have even found out about Tireslash’s crimes long ago, but after getting to know her, he was able to tell that she likely regretted her past, and had developed a good heart. He believes in second chances for many bots, and seeing how willingly Tireslash took that chance to do genuine good, Optimus decided to never mention his insight into her past. None of the other Autobots know Tireslash’s secret, and it is only at a slightly later point in the series that her past is revealed, about partway through.

This happens in an episode in which Bumblebee and Tireslash are patrolling an old ship that was a prisoner-transport-ship-turned-energon-transport-ship. Some of the old files were saved in the ship’s computer, and Bumblebee choses to go through a few of them while Tireslash continues to patrol the ship. Bumblebee accidentally ends up stumbling across Tireslash’s old prisoner files, which outline some of her past crimes and history. He is both shocked and unsure what to do with this information, and when Tireslash comes back into the room, he quickly clicks out of it and pretends he didn’t see it. This will lead to some drama later on, and at some point, while Tireslash is out, the truth will come out to the whole team, with the records appearing on the screen of the main computer and everyone staring at them. Tireslash then walks in, and freezes at the sight of her mugshot-type-picture.

She then proceeds to immediately flee the base, panicking. More drama ensues, and it is very fun (for me. Not for the characters).

But anyways, I should talk a bit about her personality.

When we first meet her, Tireslash has already had her reformation and redemption arc, so she is somewhat likable at this point (though she was already somewhat likable even back when she was a baddie). Very friendly and encouraging, Tireslash tries to see the best in almost everyone, and if any Decepticons happen throughout the series, she is likely to quickly welcome them in with open arms. She is very open minded and, despite having been a violent robber, very sympathetic when others talk about their feelings.

She also cares a lot about her friends and teammates, valuing them over everything else and protecting them with her life. This is why she was so well respected by her old team, and why she is well liked by her fellow Autobots. She puts a lot of effort into maintaining positive relationships with the people in her life, hanging out with them and lifting them up when they’re feeling down. She can also be a very good person to work with when trying to work with people who don’t work well with others and are often unfriendly. Tireslash is almost immune to feeling insulted, and even the most mean and sour of people will barely phase her. 

I actually initially thought her up because I was thinking about potential Starscream Redemption AUs, and I wanted to, for funsies, make a character on the team who quickly empathizes with him for personal reasons. So if I do have any kind of Starscream Redemption in an AU where she exists, she will immediately be like “well, I guess you’re part of the family now.” He could constantly be trying to insult her and act contrary, and she’ll basically laugh it off.

Tireslash is just very easy to get along with for many people, and it can be very fun in regards to character dynamics. However, she is not without her flaws.

While she tries her best, Tireslash can admittedly have some issues regarding understanding others, and will occasionally say some pretty hurtful or insensitive things by mistake. She means well and wants to do good, but she can occasionally forget how things like death have an emotional effect on people. 

In a Starscream Redemption AU, Tireslash and Arcee may have an argument over whether or not to forgive Starscream, and Tireslash unintentionally says something really insensitive things to Arcee in regards to Cliffjumper, resulting in a temporary rift in their relationship. Whilst she might be shown to have many very good points about redemption and forgiveness, Tireslash is explicitly presented as being in the wrong here. She later ends up apologizing to Arcee, and they make up, explaining their points more calmly.

Generally, Tireslash is good at working her way into people’s hearts through her friendliness and ability to shrug things off, forgiving and forgetting quite quickly. However, she is also somewhat socially awkward, and this can cause problems in a few of her relationships. She forgets about personal space a lot, which can get very uncomfortable very quickly. She is a bit too blunt, stating things that she really didn’t need to say aloud, and putting other people off.

When she was robbing and hurting people, she really didn’t seem to process the fact that her actions affect others, not thinking much about it or the morality of her actions. While she’s gotten better at that, she wasn’t always good at it. She just sometimes forgets that her actions have consequences, and that is a major flaw of her’s. Tireslash also has some impulse issues, and can be a bit triggerhappy. Again, she may be reformed and somewhat redeemed, but old habits die hard, and her slight violent tendencies is one of those habits. She can forget where to draw the line, and occasionally needs to be reminded to chill out a bit.

Tireslash is an experienced fighter, having been part of a crime syndicate after all, and while she’s developed a tamer fighting style that’s more fine tuned, her past still shows. Tireslash heavily relies on her weapons, but she actually doesn’t use her blasters all that often. That is because blasting at energon could be dangerous, and so she and her team were ordered to use their blasters as little as possible. This is why she’s best at using her blades and objects around her, tending to improvise in the middle of a fight.

She also does a lot of ambushing, trying to knock her opponents out before she even needs to fight them. But if she needs to fight, she will continue to focus on mainly knocking people out as quickly and efficiently as possible, aiming her punches more towards the head. Due to being quite clunky and large for a Femme, Tireslash often ends up being forced into the role of Tank, blocking attacks and even just hurling herself at the enemy. Her main form of attack is literally just body slamming people.

The main things that she brings to the team are fighting skills, but also her intense amounts of knowledge on Energon and gathering it, as well as conducting raids. Tireslash may be no scientist, but she was required to have a generally good understanding of it in order to do her job, so she knows a lot about how it’s stored, harvested, and how to transport it properly. She will also reveal random skills and knowledge (that make sense in the context of her backstory) which will serve as foreshadowing to her past.

Tireslash’s alt mode is probably gonna be one of those armored trucks that banks use for transporting money. This is quite useful at times, as Tireslash is able to carry various things with her, and this function is used quite frequently throughout the series when it comes to certain smaller items. She also has slightly thicker armor than most, which is very handy in battle and allows her to act as a bit of a shield for others.

Due to having been in many battles over the years, Tireslash does have a few scars, some of which cause her a bit of chronic pain. A particular example of this is one in which she got stabbed in the elbow, and really deep as well. At the time, she didn’t have much access to good medical services, so her old teammates tried to fix it themselves. 

Eventually, by the time she could have been able to have it fixed, it had already mostly healed/become old. So she now has a slightly wonky left elbow that she dislikes moving. Tireslash will still insist on “powering through” the pain, but there have been times where she’s been fighting for multiple hours, and her arm gave out on her. This is why her fellow Autobots occasionally remind her to not fight with that arm for too long, and Ratchet will scold her if she does.

Tireslash’s past does come back to bite her multiple times after the others have found out the truth, like when she discovers that her old second in command and longtime friend, Firewall, has joined the Decepticons. There is a lot of angst there, especially in regards to Tireslash trying to convince her friend to come to the side of good. They actually have an argument in which we learn some of the more unsavory parts of Tireslash’s past, specifically the murder of innocent people. Tireslash was a legitimately bad person, and though she has grown a lot over the thousands of years of war, it doesn’t take away what she’s done.

It even leaves some of the other Autobots feeling conflicted, because sure, they knew that she likely did some pretty bad stuff, but hearing the specifics makes it feel a lot more real.

There’s also some stuff tied to what caused these bots to join this group and become violent criminals. We look a bit into what things like poverty and desperation did to certain bots, and how some got wrapped up in a life like that. While we don’t get to know too much about them, there is a flashback episode in which we get to see the day most of Tireslash’s team dies and she is arrested. In that episode, we get to know a bit about her old team and their legitimately sweet friendships, their hopes and dreams. We see both the kindness and ruthlessness within Tireslash, and how she views things like death and revenge.

Tireslash’s past isn’t her whole character, but it does greatly shape it. I’m hoping to show an extremely nuanced and ~messy~ character who is nonetheless somewhat likable. A character who has a very specific kinda past. A character who has a somewhat sympathetic backstory, but not completely, and has a more unsympathetic backstory than a sympathetic one. A character who has a unique perspective in regards to the Decepticons without ever having been one.

Also, I just generally wanted to create a herbo with a dark past because I’m like that.

Hope you like her decently enough, or find her vaguely interesting. Please tell me what you think. I’m trying to just let myself make fun and silly OCs without caring what others think, but I do hope that people find this character to be potentially compelling. I might make a few more, each more cringy than the last, since I just do that with Transformers. I like big cool robots and I will make big cool robots if it’s the last thing I do.

So, TFP fandom, your thoughts?

[ravens-inquisition]

SESSION 3

III. Ramblings of a Bhaalist

Translation:

The Elf: Rahadin

The Big Guy: Pikehead

A Pool: Tser Pool

Fancy Guy: Prince Sergei

[The following is an out-of-character session recap]

Freshly plucked out of death row and having fought their way out of the burning prisoner wagon, the band of convicts dressed in rags were brought before Strahd in his office atop a castle in mourning. The deciding proposition was brought up: temporary servitude under the von Zarovich name for a bargain of freedom or favor. The convicts each made their requests:

Cain bargained for the freedom of his people that were previously under Barov's oppression. Strahd promised him a place in his court.

Caland asked that his order of knights -- The Order of the White Swan -- be pardoned for their crimes. Strahd not only apologized for the cannibalism amongst their ranks but expressed that he would grant the pardon willingly.

Violet wanted to be able to conduct her 'experiments' with ease. Strahd offered her the ability to do so under his law.

Frank wanted for nothing, suspecting there to be treachery.

Omen did not make a bargain, for his desire was not his own. Strahd only gave him a letter denoting a transfer of ownership from his previous master to his hand.

Pikehead only asked to serve again, this time under a much better hand than his previous superior, Lord Foltest. He was the first of the six to be knighted as Inquisitor of the Holy Office of Barovia, Ordo Solis.

Although not officially ordained by the Holy Office, with the six now carrying the title of Inquisitor, they were also expected to act under the Church of the Morninglord. Thus, they were briefed on their mission of conquest and inquiry throughout the Tsolenka Valley. Strahd informed them of the urgency, that half a year of resources had been stolen, constricting the war campaign to a very limited time window; they must be finished by winter or else everything will be lost.

The newly knighted Inquisitors were then shown a map of the valley alongside territorial divisions of the factions currently residing and involved in it. The map, alongside the legend, can be viewed here.

They were also introduced to established and potential allies across the valley:

The Vistani: Ally. They are merchants and nomads, saved Strahd's life and were given protection under him. They now reside at Tser Pool.

The Dusk Elves (Purple) : Neutral and does not want to take sides. Rahadin called them cowards indirectly.

Argynvostholt (Blue) : Defenders, will only offer protection if one is attacked. Residence of the Silver Dragon Knights.

Berez: Neutral, a town under the protection of the Silver Dragon Knights.

Vallaki: Ally, a town won over in huge part because of Prince Sergei and his ambassadorial duties under the Church of the Morninglord.

Afterward, the Inquisitors were tasked with their first mission: to prevent the assassination of the Baron of Vallaki. For this, they have about 4 to 5 days to reach the town, gather information, and devise a plan of action. They agreed to take a short visit to the Vistani camp at Tser Pool so that they could travel under the cover of merchants. They were treated to a feast and a brief respite before they had to depart atop 4 warhorses and 2 steeds on the same day. Not long after, Prince Sergei caught up with them and asked to join in the convoy, having needed to go towards Vallaki as well.

It was the first day of the Raven's Inquisition.

[kissofthemuses]

Freya's Verses

In her Father's Footsteps

After the death of her husband, Freya returns to her family home. While recovering and putting her life back together, Freya began to show an interest in the family business. Though her father tries to keep her from joining in, she's determined and ends up working for him. After some digging, she realized that the fire wasn't an accident. Fully believing that her husband was killed by someone outside her family, Freya is intent on using her position within the family to get revenge.

Star Wars

Freya's father is the leader of a smaller, but growing, crime syndicate. Born in the Underworld of Coruscant, Freya was brought up learning how to survive in a world and galaxy that largely didn't care about people.

As a child, she would stare up at the world of skyscrapers above and wish she could be up there. By the time she was a young woman, her family had moved up (literally) in the world and she began exploring more and more of it.

It was there that she met and fell in love with a young droid mechanic. They had a whirlwind romance and they eloped. But trying to keep ties with her family, he was eventually roped into the business. One day, things went wrong and he was killed during scuffle with some off-worlders who thought they could take them.

Freya was left torn between duty to her family and fleeing the violence she'd known all her life. In the end, it was decided that she would go off world to help "expand their reach", but she's really looking to avenge her late husband.

His Dark Materials

Freya is from a crime family in Muscovy. Her father was especially adept at smoothing things over when things pointed in his direction. She understood from a fairly young age that her father did things that other father's didn't, but, she was sheltered from the violence and truth of it for as long as possible.

Despite being kept in the dark, she learned things most young girls didn't learn: she learned how to fight and use firearms, the older men told her the best ways to break someone down. And it was her mother who taught her how to make a house look spotless, how to cook and bake, and how to clean blood out of any kind of fabric.

Eventually she did learn what her father and the people she grew up around did. Perhaps she'd always known, but had been willingly blind to it. But, when her eyes were finally opened to the realities of it all, it brought her whole world crashing down.

She had fallen head over heals in love with a scholar in the area. He was smart, funny, and the complete opposite of her family. He was a breath of fresh air. However, Freya’s parents were not impressed, as they saw Lucas as taking her away from them more and more. But, when Lucas proposed, she said yes and the two eloped.

They lived happily together for years until one day, tragedy struck. Someone showed up at their door that knew Lucas. But they didn't just know him, they knew who she was too. And who her father was. And they knew that the best way to get to both was to take Freya hostage. She would soon learn that Lucas was the son of one of her father's old rivals, but that he had run from his family and gotten out. She was not a very compliant hostage, though, and mouthed off a little too much, and got herself tortured for it.

When Lucas showed up, he gave himself up to try and save her. For his betrayal, he was killed. But, he served as a distraction for her father to get her out. She stayed with her family long enough to recover and then, one day, she ran as far as she could. But, just because she ran doesn't mean she didn't have a plan. She needed to bide her time, to get revenge.

Her daemon is a wolf with a tawny and black coat named Vedovok.

[providencehq]

Order and very quick design ideas for my version of the Reverse Robins AU. Descriptions of how they joined the Batfamily under readmore:

Duke Thomas aka Lark was the first to be taken in by Bruce Wayne after the incident where his parents and the Joker, Bruce didn't want someone like him to suffer the same fate of using anger to struggle through grief. Sadly, it's didn't work and Gotham ended up with the first person Batman willingly worked with, Lark. He ends up parting with Bruce after he slowly gets more kids to train and fill his shoes. Duke takes to working during the day, usually alone but sometimes Shadow/Cass will join him.

Next Bruce learns about the existence of a biological son who grew up in the League of Assassins. Bruce struggles raising him but Duke steps in and tries to help him. Damian soon takes on the name Robin and works to fill in another crime fighting spot next to Batman. Over the years Damian struggles to live up to Batman's impossible expectations and leaves Gotham to live in Bludhaven under the name Mockingjay (or maybe Magpie, I'm not sure yet.) He's quite distant from the family and tends to stay out of family drama.

Cassandra Cain aka Shadow joins the family next but isn't initially taken under the wing of Batman, no, she's initially discovered by Minhkhoa Khan/Ghost Maker. He tries to show her how to be like him and trains her. He does show her kindness where her father never did but they have two very different options regarding vigilantism and the morals and standards they must uphold. Khoa isn't a fan of leaving her be in his city as she might turn into a rival so he ends up dropping her off to Batman since their codes line up. She quickly becomes one of the bats. Her and Damian get along nicely since they were both raised as assassins, it's easier to understand another that way.

Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler aka Black Mask was never adopted into the Bat's family. Instead she became a close friend to Cass as a civilian but ends up running into Cass a few times as Spoiler while she's trying to take down her father. Things go well until she's 'killed' by Black Mask during a gang war she accidently started while trying to take down her father. Cass takes down Black Mask and he's sent to Blackgate. Steph comes back with a vengeance however and takes on Black Mask's old name in order to strike fear into the city and also to better control it. She doesn't want what happened to her to ever happen again so she takes on not quite lethal means to fight and protect her own but it's nearly lethal in all honestly.

Tim Drake aka Red Hawk is taken in as a ward by Bruce when his parents are killed by Captain Boomerang. Bruce doesn't want those he's close to know his second lifestyle and keeps Tim away from it the best he can. Tim discovers who Batman is and notices how much trouble he has taking down crime, now currently alone due to all of his children taking up heroism elsewhere. Tim confronts Bruce and forces him to train him. As Red Hawk, he helps out Batman and is later adopted by him.

Jason Todd was adopted by Bruce after he tried to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. Jason, compared to everyone else so far, is thriving under Bruce and his care. But Batman is currently struggling once more as he is left without a partner. Both Tim and Steph expose Batman's secret to Jason and more or less force him to take on the mantle to be his sidekick. Jason agrees but later dies at the hands of Joker. He comes via the Lazarus pits and uses the new name Shrike and attempts to get revenge on his siblings who failed to protect him. He's currently running amok in Crime Alley.

Lastly is Dick Grayson aka Robin aka Talon. Dick's parents died in Haley's Circus but Bruce wasn't there to control of the young boy and instead the Court of Owls got to him. They began to mold him to the next Talon but Batman intervenes as he's tracking down the Court of Owls. Dick is adopted by Bruce and takes on the mantle of Robin but struggles with heroism. Damian steps in since he was raised as an assassin and living the expectations of Dick. Damian helps Dick with the extreme adjustments he's facing while also trying to get Jason back to manor for some much needed interventions with what's he's doing in Crime Alley. Dick more or less acts a side kick to both Bruce and Damian when needed.

[bthehufflepuff208]

I googled “is Tony Stark a war criminal” hoping to find at least ONE post agreeing with me that he is not a war criminal.

Boy, was that a fucking mistake.

Also, everyone absolutely adores interchanging “war profiteer” with “war criminal” when it comes to Tony Stark; probably because they will always associate Tony with the word “criminal”

Now, I wish I could say he wasn’t a war profiteer, but the definition of a war profiteer is “any person or organization that derives profit from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war.”  Which he did, so he was.  

HOWEVER.

The definition of a war crime (or criminal) is “is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by the combatants, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostages, unnecessarily destroying civilian property, deception by perfidy, wartime sexual violence, pillaging, the conscription of children in the military, committing genocide or ethnic cleansing, the granting of no quarter despite surrender, and flouting the legal distinctions of proportionality and military necessity.”  Now, I know that there are one of these that anti-Tony people love to scream and shout.....but there’s something extremely hypocritical about their argument and their other MCU beliefs (which I’m going to talk about further down).

And they further push the belief “Tony Stark is a was criminal who deserved to be convicted and executed for his war crimes because he worked with the military.”

Which is fucking hilarious given their love and support for many other characters in the MCU.....who have had just as much involvement in the military as Tony (and by extension, Rhodey) have.

(Below is long, but I need to get it out)

SO, the sheer, absolute hypocrisy that so many fans of the MCU preach is their hatred of Tony working willingly with the military and making them weapons.  Many are enraged that Tony willingly made weapons for the military and believe he should be convicted for it.

But.

They absolutely love and support characters who willingly and happily joined the military, and carry their military stance with pride.

Those who willingly joined the military (Steve and Sam mainly), are seen as the true heroes while Tony is just a military monster pretending to play hero.....but like, huh?

So some arguments they'll make: 

“Steve and Sam (and other military MCU characters) wanted to help people! Tony just loved making weapons that just murdered people!” Um, do you seriously believe Steve and Sam willingly joined the military believing they would just be like servicing the underprivileged in other countries, giving out supplies and then be on their merry way?  Especially Steve, who was obsessed with watching the reels from the War; who saw all the violence happening oversees and reiterating the phrase “I don’t like bullies” with wanting to join the army.  You think Steve thought he would just give those Nazi’s a stern talking to and be on his way?

Steve and Sam (and others) were completely fine with killing others, because they were the enemy; they were the villains and it was their job.  Why is Tony different? Because he makes weapons that can kill more than Steve and Sam can kill with what they’re given?  And I know people will say “but Tony’s weapons killed innocents, Steve and Sam never did!” We don’t know that in a possible crossfire between the US enemy and the military, innocent people were killed from a gunfight or a modest bombing by the US military.  Veterans like Steve and Sam may have been in a battle with the enemy, and innocent bystanders could have very well been killed in the crossfire, even if that wasn’t the intention.  Do you honestly think Tony makes these weapons like “oooh, the US military can kill everybody, terrorist or innocent, using my weapons! Kill them all!”  Honestly, knowing the fans, they probably do believe that.  

But why are Steve and Sam seen as true heroes and Tony is a monster?  All of them were legally involved with the military and have killed.

And to add....what about SHIELD and the Avengers a part of it? What about Natasha, who has constantly talked about having “red in her ledger?” Who has constantly implied that innocents have been killed as collateral damage to her targets, or even on purpose?  Yes, Natasha was conditioned as a child into being a killer, I will not ignore that and say she could have stopped anytime.  But Clint was able to convince her to turn, which means that a part of her somewhere knew it was wrong.  Natasha’s arc was all about her trying to “wipe out the red in her ledger”. Why is it truly heroic when Natasha does it, but absolute bullshit when Tony’s arc was basically the same idea? Tony wasn’t tortured the way Natasha was, but Tony didn’t start this weapons manufacturing company; his abusive father did, his father who constantly pushed him into the role of taking over the company someday and continuing his “legacy.”  It’s not the exact same as Natasha’s situation; but their goals for the future were, but one was praised for their ability to change and want to do better and should be absolved, while the other one was seen as being full of shit and should be convicted for everything they’ve done.

And Clint? Who was an assassin who has killed who knows how many people? Before and after the snap? And I’m not talking about him being controlled by Loki, I’m talking about his days as Ronan; being hired to kill people who may have very well be innocent (or at least, didn’t deserve death).  Why is Clint absolved of all guilt, of having “changed”, of being seen as one of the “true heroes”?  Has Clint taken responsibility of his actions as Ronin, or did he just hide it away and try to pretend it never happened until his past caught up to him?  And even then, he is forgiven because he wasn’t the one who picked the targets, he just killed them on orders? Tony wasn’t picking and choosing who his weapons would kill; he had a legal contract with the military and made the weapons they requested.

Some will admit it, but most will pretend that’s not a reason; it has to do with money.  Steve, Sam, Natasha and Clint are relatable; they grew up poor, wanting better for themselves and their families.  Tony is a born into money billionaire, the favorite saying of “eat the rich.” If Tony was a poor kid who was maybe hired at the company and worked his way up into making the weapons, the opinions would probably shift.  But he’s not, and therefore, any attempts to do better are bullshit, while the others are absolved of any guilt.

Now, to go on to one of the qualifications of a war criminal and everyone’s sheer hypocrisy:

The only line in the definition that can really be applied to Tony is “the conscription of children in the military” with Peter.  Yes, Tony brining Peter to Germany was definitely irresponsible, but there’s something very funny about people’s absolute rage of “Stark brought a child into war!”

Your boy, the true hero Steve Rogers, said maybe a half hour or less earlier about your girlboss feminsit queen Wanda Maximoff “she’s a kid!” when Tony tried to confine her to the compound. Yet, in Age of Ultron, while Steve was weeping at the “poor children Maximoff twins” story of the murder Tony Stark murdering everyone, he was more than happy to add them on the Avengers and into the fight Ultron when they decided to save their own skins and switch sides. If your argument is “Wanda (and Pietro) chose to fight!  They wanted to help!  Steve didn’t do anything wrong, he just encouraged them!”  Peter’s been on the streets of Queens for months fighting crime.  Tony absolutely tried to persuade him to come to Germany, but never forced him.  Peter most likely just wanted to help too. Even in the movie, it doesn’t seem like Tony was expecting Peter to actually fully fight; this is the conversation that happens between Peter and Tony during the fight:

Peter: “Mr. Stark, what should I do?”

Tony: “What we discussed.  Keep your distance, web them up.”

And as soon as it looks like this fight is getting more intense for Peter than he thought it would, he tells Peter that he’s done. But everyone fucking ignores that and is totally cool with Steve encouraging his “sweet kid” Wanda to fight.  Why didn’t he tell Wanda when it was getting too much to back off if she’s “just a kid”?  

And the future of the MCU looks like there’s going to be a number of teenage superheroes being recruited.  America Chavez, Kamala Khan, and probably many more coming in the future.  So will the superheroes who recruit them also be seen as “war criminals”?  The answer: most likely not.

The massive problem with everyones rage and pushing of “Tony is a monster because he willingly worked with the military!” stance is one of the most hypocritical things I have ever fucking heard.  If you hate Tony because he willingly worked with the military, fine!  But then you have to add a whole list of a large portion of MCU characters who have also not only worked with the military, but are in the military and are so with pride.  

But they won’t; Tony was born into money billionaire, so, “eat the rich”; and thats all that matters to everyone.

So in conclusion:

[wehadariverboatinourlivingroom]

For just over ¾ of a century, Bill was my big brother. Of course, that means that I literally cannot remember a time when he wasn’t in my life. Before I say anything else, I want to say that No One ever had a better big brother. He was a role model, a caretaker, an entertainer and my partner in both care of our family and crime.

Because he was nearly 4 years older than I, he was my guide through the impenetrable mysteries of life. I followed him willingly because I knew that I could trust him completely. He could and did tease me, he could and did trick me, but I could be confident that he would never risk my safety.

I always knew that his world was larger than mine. He had friends throughout the neighborhood and, being older (and let’s face it, 75 years ago, because they were boys) they were allowed to roam at will. On the best days of all, they would allow me to trundle along behind them as they hiked through the woods on Grandma and Grandpa’s farm, or swung from the grape vines in the woods behind Spring Grove Cemetery. Luckily for me, I was not along on the day that they decided to roll in a patch of poison ivy to show who was the strongest and could resist the rash that was sure to follow.

I willingly carried the jars of pond water that he collected or carefully held the frogs and toads he captured. But on the occasion that one of his friends rode her bike over to show him the garter snakes she had found, I watched from a safe distance as they passed them back and forth.

Bill escorted me to the movies where he graciously allowed me to sit on the laps of various girlfriends. When he took me to see Alice in Wonderland, he was worried to find that I was frightened every time the Queen of Hearts appeared on the screen. He kindly ushered me to the snack bar in the lobby and seated me on a plush chair with a pack of candy cigarettes before he went back in to join his friends in the theater.

Over the course of one summer, he talked me into eating ten pounds of cottage cheese. The cottage cheese was part of a dairy promotion and Bill thought it would be fun to use the frosted mugs that came with each tub for root beer floats. The way he explained it, he made it seem like a small enough gesture for me to make on behalf of my whole family. He wanted those mugs and he really, he reminded me, did not like cottage cheese. I pitched in, proud to be able to help with a project that he simply couldn’t do on his own.

I enjoyed the privilege of making lemonade or cocoa in our kitchen and carrying it with cookies or pretzels to the attic of our huge old barn where he and his chums had a private club house. In order to stage the area, Bill knew that the overhead light bulbs had to be replaced so that the boys could enjoy being up there even on the darkest days. Bill didn’t like heights himself, so he braced an extension ladder against an overhead beam which was perhaps 20 feet over our heads. He then laid mattresses and blankets on the floor around the base of the ladder and sent my younger brother and me up to change the bulbs.

When our father decided that the base of our chimney needed to be cleaned out, he delegated the job to Bill. Bill in turn enlisted the help of us younger siblings. He hung a light bulb down through the floor of the fireplace in the living room, masked and booted us, and stuffed us through the little metal door near the floor in the basement that gave access to the chimney base. We had the fun of sweeping the ashes out of the chimney into baskets, which Bill then carried up the cellar stairs and emptied onto the appropriate flowers in the garden within the boundaries of our white picket fence.

Every summer he organized us as we set up our World War I army surplus dining tent in the backyard for sleepovers.

All the while he was doing all these things, he was also helping Mother with the laundry for the whole family, mowing the grass, disposing of the trash, helping us younger kids with school projects, and on one notable occasion, rescuing me and one of my friends from a group of bullies who were pelting us with snowballs on our way home from school. Bill organized friends who were baseball players from the Pony League. They made a snow fort, a huge pile of snowballs, and laid in wait to launch a surprise counter attack. The bullies fled in panic and did not bother us again.

He was a dedicated Boy Scout, and one summer Mother and Daddy drove the rest of us over to Camp Manatoc where he and our cousin were sharing a tent. They showed us the empty tuna can that they had filled with water to entice a raccoon into their tent. Then they showed us the spots of blood that the racoon had left after he cut his nose on the ragged edges of the can. That is the year that they earned their Order of the Arrow award. He didn’t tell us what they had done to deserve it, but I think it had something to do with their not being able to speak for several hours. I would really have loved to have witnessed Bill being silent for that amount of time.

When our youngest brother was born, Mother was in poor health and not able to care for both the baby and the rest of the family. Bill and I stepped up to help out. For weeks, Bill came straight home from school to do the laundry while I was in charge of carrying out the directions set out for me by our great friend and caregiver in meal preparation and kitchen cleanup.

Bill led us through game after game of Battleship and Categories. That was in the years before the games were marketed in plastic and Bill showed us how to fold papers lengthwise and then widthwise to make pressed grids to mark in.

He laid out obstacle courses with old tires, buckets of water and ladders laid out along the grass.

All of us kids often brought home injured animals and we always had pets. As the animals died, Bill set up an ever-expanding pet cemetery beside the barn in the shade of a large lilac bush.

As we grew older, I spent many nights lying awake waiting to hear Bill’s soft knock at the back door which was under the bedroom I shared with my younger sister. When I heard him, I hurried down to the kitchen to unlock the door and let him in, unbeknownst to our parents and long after his curfew.

I adored him. There really isn’t another word to describe my feelings.

After he left for college, of course, our lives began to diverge. Eventually I could cede my duties to Alice who seemed to enjoy his company as much as I had and took over the job of stalwartly supporting him in his many activities. Well, perhaps not the letting him in the back door late at night part.

My Big Brother Bill. I love him, I miss him, and I simply cannot imagine a world without him.

[dontbipanicjonsa]

Been thinking about Dark!D*ny and

I think for me, it comes down to two things:

The utter hypocrisy re: her supposed abolitionist ways

The escalation of her power and the destruction she wreaks

Because I can't really fault her for smothering Drogo. I can't really fault her for letting Viserys die. I can't really fault her for murdering the shit out of Kraznys. I can't fault her for freeing slaves (as if). I can't even fault her for wanting revenge.

Let me explain-

I think if we compare the capture of the Lhazareen and the capture of Meereen, it paints a very clear picture of where D*ny is headed.

The Lhazareen

Ok. First, the whole 'D*ny has no power' argument has to stop. She's the khaleesi. Her husband is the khal. Of course she has power.

I'm NOT saying Drogo isn't absolutely monstrous to her. I'm not saying she chose to marry him. I'm not commenting on their relationship at all.

In a patriarchy, (upper class) women gain property/power/control over others in exchange for sexual/reproductive service. So D*ny, simply by virtue of being the khal's wife, or simply because she's pregnant with his kid (neither of which were her choice) has power.

For comparison, Cersei, who is abused by her husband, the king, still derives power from her position as Queen and mother of the princes/princess. See what I mean?

?? Drogo decides they're gonna sail to Westeros and gives his rousing speech because D*ny was almost assassinated. The attack on the Lhazareen was done in service of D*ny's conquest of Westeros. Let's repeat.

The Lhazareen were attacked to further D*ny's interests.

The Lhazareen were attacked to further D*ny's interests.

No, it wasn't for Rhaego, he's a fucking foetus he doesn't HAVE interests. It's not for Drogo, he doesn't give two shits about Westeros. IT"S FOR D*NY. And that is her 'power' in action. Her power, that she derives through her husband, because PatRiarChy. But power.

And you know what? Sure. It's fine. She didn't know what a bloodbath it was going to be. That's not her fault. And yeah, she IS ready to accept the bloodshed as necessary collateral. That is...a bit more questionable. But she does try to help some women.

Does she only help them because she can see their suffering? Probably. There's plenty of suffering not in her direct line of sight that she allows. But ok. Sure. It's not her job to save everyone (nevermind that they're suffering to further her interests).

The whole 'save them by marrying them to their rapists' thing makes me more sad than enraged. It's tragic. It's D*ny, making women marry their rapists in the same book where she married her rapist...thinking she's ok, thinking they would be ok too. It's the cycle of abuse in motion, right before our eyes.

This is an explanation I accept. All that bullshit about how powerless D*ny is? Pls. Women and children are being enslaved right there on the same page, so D*ny can win the IT, and she's powerless ?? stfu

Ok. I get it. She's not powerless, but how far does her power extend? COULD she have gotten away with getting all the newly enslaved Lhazareen freed? We'll never know. Does that absolve her?

Slaves, Dany thought. Khal Drogo would drive them downriver to one of the towns on Slaver's Bay. She wanted to cry, but she told herself that she must be strong. This is war, this is what it looks like, this is the price of the Iron Throne.

NO.

This- the capture and enslavement of the Lhazareen people- is a direct consequence of Viserys' ambitions, which is a torch that D*ny has now willingly taken up. THAT ^^^ is a price she's willing to pay, or rather- make others pay.

Buuuut it's fine. She's inexperienced, and her power is certainly limited, and hey she tried. Sure. Moving on.

Meereen

(TW: mentions of rape)

Fast forward four books and D*ny is approximately 100x times more powerful than she was in the Lhazareen scene. Let's see how she does now-

A boy came, younger than Dany, slight and scarred, dressed up in a frayed grey tokar trailing silver fringe. His voice broke when he told of how two of his father's household slaves had risen up the night the gate broke. One had slain his father, the other his elder brother. Both had raped his mother before killing her as well. The boy had escaped with no more than the scar upon his face, but one of the murderers was still living in his father's house, and the other had joined the queen's soldiers as one of the Mother's Men. He wanted them both hanged.

I am queen over a city built on dust and death. Dany had no choice but to deny him. She had declared a blanket pardon for all crimes committed during the sack. Nor would she punish slaves for rising up against their masters.

xxx

A former slave came, to accuse a certain noble of the Zhak. The man had recently taken to wife a freedwoman who had been the noble's bedwarmer before the city fell. The noble had taken her maidenhood, used her for his pleasure, and gotten her with child. Her new husband wanted the noble gelded for the crime of rape, and he wanted a purse of gold as well, to pay him for raising the noble's bastard as his own. Dany granted him the gold, but not the gelding. "When he lay with her, your wife was his property, to do with as he would. By law, there was no rape." Her decision did not please him, she could see, but if she gelded every man who ever forced a bedslave, she would soon rule a city of eunuchs.

SO anyway how is D*ny rating on the 'tried to prevent rape' scale?

She even went so far as to summon Irri, hoping her caresses might help ease her way to rest, but after a short while she pushed the Dothraki girl away. Irri was sweet and soft and willing, but she was not Daario.

Oh look she's in the negative :/

How's she doing on the slavery front? She's got all the power now...

"Your slave Missandei." Jhiqui had a taper in her hand.

"My servant. I have no slaves." Dany did not understand. "Why does she weep?"

xxx

There was no slavery in the free city of Pentos. Nonetheless, they were slaves.

...

D*enerys spends five books gaining power. How does this affect the condition of her people? Is the condition of the Meereenese better than the condition of the Lhazareen had been, all the way back in the first book? No. It's worse.

People have still been raped. People have still been enslaved/remained enslaved. People have starved. People have been brutally murdered. And at a much larger scale than book 1.

This is what it comes down to. D*ny is a villain because her climb to power is characterized by death and destruction, always. Isn't that the trademark of a villain?

D*ny is a girl who truly believes in her own PR, but when you look at her words and actions-

"The Good Master has said that these eunuchs cannot be tempted with coin or flesh," Dany told the girl, "but if some enemy of mine should offer them freedom for betraying me . . ."

"They would kill him out of hand and bring her his head, tell her that," the slaver answered. "Other slaves may steal and hoard up silver in hopes of buying freedom, but an Unsullied would not take it if the little mare offered it as a gift. They have no life outside their duty. They are soldiers, and that is all."

xxx

"No," she pleaded. "Save him, and I will free you, I swear it. You must know a way … some magic, some …"

...how much of her actions are truly altruistic? How much is performative?

Despite her anti-slavery rhetoric, D*ny consistently benefits from slavery- and slavery flourishes.

Despite her 'oh no I don't wanna bring death and destruction anywhere', her actions continue to bring exactly that- and it never stops her from doing it all over again the next time.

Not to dismiss her internal struggle. But really. Being upset at the thought that you might be a bad person doesn't make you a good person. For that matter, being worried if you're going mad or not...doesn't mean you're not (not that I'm saying she is). Seriously, where did that logic even come from? Ultimately, her internal struggle makes her a more compelling character, sure, but it doesn't actually make her a better person.

The point is, her story is absolutely rooted in hypocrisy. Her destructiveness only escalates with her power. Her so-called good intentions never pan out- because her own actions undermine them. And because she has the self-awareness of a pigeon, she never gets better.

She IS the villain who thinks she's a hero. She isn't just a villain because she's done bad things, but because she's utterly unaware (or deliberately obtuse) of the bad things she's done, and so she's incapable of learning, and so she's only getting worse.

Take a step outside her POV and it suddenly becomes clear.

Let's recap.

D*ny has-

Wayy more power in Meereen. Less in Lhazareen

D*ny did-

Less to prevent rape in Meereen. More in Lhazareen

D*ny benefitted from-

Slavery in Meereen. Slavery in Lhazareen

D*ny was-

A slaver in Meereen. A slaver in Lhazareen

D*ny wreaked-

Death and destruction in Meereen. Death and destruction in Lhazareen.

D*ny, riding high on her power-

Ordered the murder of children. And much more.

Power is NOT good for D*ny.

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Love Cuts Deep

Chapter 1- She Ran With Wolves

Bucky Barnes x powered (f)reader Series Re-write (Civil War, Infinity War/Endgame, TFATWS)

Summary: You’re a survivor, always have been and always will be. After narrowly escaping the clutches of Hydra years ago, you’ve been keeping to the shadows for as long as time allows. With Hydra suddenly exposed and your secrets in the open, you’re on the hunt for the last part of your past, but is he ready to see you again?

Warning: angst, talk of violence, some fluff mixed in (a little); way more to come

Masterlist

Side note- This is a TFATWS Series Re-write!!! Obviously lol, anyways. Readers powers are heavily inspired by a certain Marvel badass and I just thought her powers would work so well for this. Also they’re cool as fuck.

September, 15th 2013

Location: S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters, Washington D.C.

This recent project Fury had sent her on was beginning to make itself quit the annoyance for Natasha this past of couple weeks, granted he always gave her the toughest assignments, understanding that no one else can dig up as much dirt as the Black Widow can.

But this? This was different, the target in question was practically a ghost, a legend among the ones lucky, or possibly unlucky enough to have been made aware of this dangerous individual. But no matter how much she asked around from her various secretive resources on the problem in question, this mystery person was simply just rumor to them. Or perhaps too much of a sour subject to seek into any further. Although one thing was always prevalent, people were scared.

But why?

The assassin leans back in her chair, a thoughtful expression crossing over her features as she stares bitterly down at the top secret file gifted to her by Fury himself. Suddenly a door closes, she shuts the file in an instant, only to be greeted with the apologetic face of Steve as he walks past her.

“Sorry. Fury told me you would be in here.” Begins Steve as he takes the nearby couch, something small and metal in his right hand, “Said you were assigned some impossible case. How’s it going so far?”

Letting out a jaded sigh, she shifts her gaze over to the window, “The absolute vagueness of this person is....frustrating to say the least. All I’ve been able to gather is that they’ve been part of some top secret experimentation on pregnant women. Somehow they’re involved with it....I just, gotta figure out how.” She adds with a conflicted expression dancing across her features.

Steve hums in thought, “Sounds complicated.”

“You have no idea.” Mutters Natasha unenthusiastically as her green irises shift back down to the annoying little file.

Steve palms the object in his hand before gaining his friends attention once again, “Here. Fury told me to give this to you.” Her brows furrow in thought as she reaches over and quickly accepts the strange hard drive looking object, “I think this will help. It has the location of the target and who they are. That’s it.....Well, the last reported location.”

“How did he?” She wonders aloud, face suddenly breaking out into an irked grin, “Fury you son of a bitch, about time I found a legitimate lead.”

——

Sitting on her comfortable apartment couch, Natasha sifts through the various encrypted files from the hard drive that’s currently plugged into her laptop. So far she’s spent about two hours breaking through the various encrypted file blockers and now at long last has finally made some real progress.

Studying the brightly glowing screen, she moves her finger, clicking another coded link that reads -V13X11- she’s immediately greeted with a black screen and the slightly blurred picture of a woman’s face who’s looking rather stoic and fearless against the camera flash. Her eyes are set and hard as stone, dark and almost angry behind lips that show the ghost of a forced smile. She’s noticeably an overall attractive woman, in kind of a terrifying and intimidating sort of way, like looking at a fierce lioness standing valiantly against a foe; nonetheless she stares defiantly at the person behind the camera. 

Her eye color, weight, date of birth, and presumably patient number, that's printed in big bold letters 00X13 on the glowing screen, right below her squared portrait. Furrowing her brows, Natasha scrolls down to see about a paragraph long of personal information given about the woman. Including, to the red heads tremendous surprise, a birth name, Y/N Valerious.

Oddly enough, the name indeed sounds a tad bit familiar, though she can’t quit place from where.

The file states that she was raised in a facility on the outskirts of Surinda, Russia; someplace in Siberia, close to the heart of the mammoth country. Trained by the organization Hydra and summitted into inhuman experimentation by the specific facility that held her, however the rest is all encrypted and impossible to translate into something comprehensible much to Natasha’s utter disappointment. 

Huffing in frustration, she slips out the hard drive before shutting down her laptop and slamming it shut. The room is darker by now with the sun gone, and tomorrow it appears that Natasha will be off to Sweden to confront this woman, Y/N, in hopes of gathering valuable intel into the people who created her, and any important information regarding her troubled past. 

If she’s willing to comply.

——

Closing your laptop, you stand and wander over to the opened window to stretch before taking a deep breath of freshly brisk winter air. The land here in Uppsala, Sweden is more beautiful and peaceful then you could have ever imagined since renting an apartment two months ago. In fact, this is probably the longest you’ve ever stayed in one spot since abandoning the life of an assassin many years ago.

Though you know it won’t be much longer until you leave again, but you can’t just yet, there happens to be a certain agent on her way to find you. Fury unknowingly received your encrypted hard drive with opened arms, foolishly under the impression it was sent from an old friend when he reached out for answers into your complicated history. Then when the Black Widow eventually clicked open your link, bam, you could see everything she was nosily sifting through. Everything you wanted her to see. You honestly wouldn’t be surprised if something dramatic happened to the people over in D.C. at this point, idiots, all of them.

For the past couple years S.H.I.E.L.D has become sort of a troubling snooping nuisance for you, constantly delving their way into your relatively uneventful lifestyle every couple of months, meddling around to figure out if you’re still currently active for Hydra and if not, are you willing to pay for your crimes or to join them like she did. Definitely not on your to do list any time soon.

Watching as a small black bird zips by, you quickly shut your window and close the dark colored curtains to block yourself from the rest of the chaotic world. Hastily making your usual rounds about the apartment to be absolutely certain all the possible openings are locked. Soon after you head for bed, ready to face the ex-assassin whenever she arrives in the following days ahead.

-

Seated at your kitchen table, you casually sip at your steaming hot tea while watching security footage from downstairs from when you hacked into their system, the same night you began renting the place. As expected, the notorious red head slips her way into the building and up the four flights of stairs until finally a light knock is heard at your old wooden door.

So she wants to do this cleanly.

Switching off the device, you stuff it in a nearby drawer before calmly walking down the tiny hallway over to the frontdoor and opening it, lock off and all. Her green eyes blink in curious surprise as you show her no indications of aggression; she’s about your height if not maybe slightly smaller, thick scarf and a winters coat about her person as she holds a normal sized black bag in her right hand. No doubt a gun concealed somewhere close, a light precaution in case things go south from here.

Trailing your wary gaze from her travel bag to her pale face, you raise an intrigued brow, “I assume you’re here for me?” You ask with the tinge of a confident Eastern European accent as she slowly nods, eyes calculated and calm as she studies your mellow yet slightly defensive stance.

Pursing plush lips together, she casually shrugs with a light hearted smile, “I only realized you must have sent that hard drive when I arrived in London...”

“Well I’ve gotten rather bored running away from your persistent bastards over in America.” You interrupt before opening up your door even wider, gifting her an open invitation instead of a fight, “Come in. I assume we have much to discuss.”

Following you to the table, she sets her bag on the closest chair as you take another sip from your tea. Cautious eyes trained on her every move as she shifts a bit uncomfortably in her chair, “So, I assume you’re not here to sell me that pretty bag of yours. Not that I’d want it.”

She smirks at your blunt sarcasm, pleased to know you’ve at least got a sense of humor after all you’ve endured, “No. I’m here to learn about who created you and if there are any more. Y/N, I’m well aware of how dangerous you truly are...but given the fact that you’ve had time to adjust, and let me into your home willingly. I came seeking answers. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Folding your hands together, you tilt your head at her thoughtfully, “Well that’s good. I didn’t really want killing the Black Widow on my conscience, though I’d speculate a few would be relieved.” You quip with a playful smirk before your face turns serious again, “I’ll tell you about the fuckers who made me. Then you leave and never bother me again. Understood?” You add in almost a growl.

Handing you a polite smile, she nods in agreement, “Of course. You have my word.” You take another sip of your tea as she reaches into her bag, a beige file suddenly plants itself atop your kitchen table. “This is the only surviving file on you. It’s enough, but there’s too many cracks that need to be filled. I need to know how they conducted the experiments and who else survived them. This is important for the safety of S.H.I.E.L.D and the rest of the world. Y/N, we’re trying to make sure something like this can never happen again. And well, any secrets on Hydra always helps.”

Setting your cup down, you smirk, “This should be filled with liquor if I’m going to be spilling some top secret Hydra business of this velocity.” You muse, setting aside your mug, your face quickly shifts to a more serious expression. “For starters this isn’t a very heartwarming story.”

“Neither is mine.” Begrudgingly admits the ex-assassin.

“Well, at least we have something in common then, Black Widow.” You assert with a pointed look before leaning back against the barred wood of your chair, thinking of where to start first. Your eyes trail over to the window as you begin your story, “This place, where they kept us. The scientists working for Hydra wanted to test out special DNA altering serums on the embryos of willing participants. Well, we weren’t willing....but they targeted the poor, feigning a program that would pay these mothers-to-be thousands if they participated. Plus a comfortable place to stay for awhile.” You reveal before taking another sip of your tea, “You see, I’m not originally from Russia, my home was some nameless village in Eastern Europe that I’ve forgotten the name of by now, it was so long ago. But anyways, I guess fate has a funny way of administering it’s business to the ones seeking safety in times of struggle. So my mother...” You take another sip of your tea to help clear your throat and head a little bit, God you hate talking about this.

Setting it down again, you continue, “Mine accepted. They took her and twenty-two others to this facility deep in the woods. This place was practically a paradise for them...” You chuckle miserably, “soon enough the scientists pumped them full of drugs and began their altering of the embryos DNA, genetic codes, and whatever else they saw fit to mess with. Nine months later we came into this world kicking and screaming.”

“Shit.” Mutters Natasha in astonishment, fully engrossed in your story as she starts to realize maybe her upbringing wasn’t as fucked as yours.

“They monitored us for the first few months, waiting to see if anyone acted strange....nothing, to their utter disappointment. Soon they drew blood samples and as it turned out, we all had altered DNA from the serum. Just as they’d planned.”

Her brows furrow in puzzlement before she asks, “How’d you get your powers then? I don’t think I missed anything.” Insists your guest questionably as you shake your head.

“You didn’t. But you have to understand that as we grew older, all of us basically became tiny super soldiers as fucked as that is, not only did they change our genetic code for meddling with later on when we got older. But this serum was so well developed that it completely fused with the fetuses genetic code, only causing us to grow stronger as we aged from toddlers to three-year-old's and up. Testing even revealed that it slowed down our ageing process just like with Captain America. But it wouldn’t be effective till we reached our mid to late twenties.”

Natasha takes a moment to process your words before she nods in acknowledgment, “Y/N. It’s my understanding that this is a buried secret from the organization for good reason, it’s just....what year did this all take place? It’s not in any of the records I was able to dig up, not even in yours, nothing except for your date of birth.” States Natasha curiously, stopping you before you speak of anything else.

Nodding you lean your arms against the wooden table, leaning in a bit closer now, “1953, after World War ll when people where still recovering from the heavy aftermath while the Cold War was still raging on when well, you know.” Giving her a lopsided shrug, you glance from an old faded picture on the wall then back to her, “Lets just say Russia wasn’t exactly having a stellar time, nor was my mother for that matter.” You Conclude before aimlessly pursuing your lips together, “Which yes, makes me at around 60 years old. Don’t I look pretty.” You add, voice dripping in sarcasm.

Natasha’s eyes concede silent astonishment as she blinks back surprise, “Even after all these years doing what I do, meeting the people that I have. I’m still left speechless every once in awhile. Y/N I can’t even imagine what you’ve seen.” Reveals the red head honestly as her green irises flicker from your file then back up to you, a conflicted expression dancing across her features, “How did they...how did you gain your powers, aside from what the serum gave you in the process?”

An apprehensive sigh escapes freely from your lips while you lean back into the creaky old chair, a troubled look darkening your features as you avoid her intrigued gaze, “They waited until we were twelve before testing us....in the meantime we lived as normal children; learning, playing, and training to survive. You know, the typical stuff.” You add with a small breathy laugh, though no humor finds your eyes, “We had our mothers until a year before they began the experiments. But it wasn’t that terrible of a loss since they trained us to adapt to our environment and never fully depend on anyone but ourselves.....it’s sick. And I’m not even sure what they did to them, I guess I never will.”

She nods as you make a disgusted face, an acidic hatred rising in your chest at the thought of your childhood, “I’m sorry, I can’t even imagine how traumatic that must have been.”

“Oh believe me, it gets better.” You joke bitterly, “In pairs of two they tested us, putting us into rooms where two doctors would strap us down and stick a needle into our skin. After that, they waited until something dramatic happened. Oh, and it sure as fuck did.” You conclude with a sneer.

Biting her lip anxiously, Natasha asks anyway, “How many survivors?”

Scoffing, you shake your head in revulsion for what those doctors did to everyone, an angry expression soon crossing your features, “One.” You sourly mutter, “All my other friends died of the new serum they gave us, either right then and there on the table, or in the following days. You see, it was supposed to blend with our altered DNA to create something powerful out of it, something beyond humans normal capabilities. It just ended up horribly mutating everyone except for me.” You whisper, clear sadness and hatred coating your very words.

Your eyes stare sharply at the peeling table top paint, a frown on your lips as you take in a deep breath before continuing, “What they did to me....no one should have to go through something so goddamn agonizing, I was only a child, just a little girl in a terrible place whether I knew it or not....and you know how it affected me?” She slowly shakes her head no as you smile miserably, your brows furrowed in pain, “I was gifted with bone claws that retracted out of my knuckles and one from each of my feet.” You confirm, eyes suddenly darkening in fury, “And you know what those goddamn bastards did to me afterwards? Like I hadn’t suffered enough from the pain of it all, they pumped me full of liquid Adamantium. Turning my claws to solid metal, the fucking strongest material on earth. Right in the body of an eleven year old child!” You shout furiously as she flinches back at your outburst, blinking hard, you let out a heavy breath before leaning back into your chair in defeat.

Calm down, Y/N. It’s just a memory now.

Strong brows dent her clear skin in thought as you await a response, after a few long moments does she soon gather her racing mind, lacing her fingers together she raises a brow at you, “That doesn’t explain how you’ve survived so long. The years working for Hydra, they turned you into a weapon....yet you’ve escaped and haven’t been killed yet. Not even a scratch to be found.....well, at least that I can see.”

Turning to face the puzzled assassin, you give her a lopsided grin, your chill composure coming back to you quickly enough, “I didn’t just get claws from the enhanced serum that fucked with my genetic make-up, it completely heightened my humanly abilities. Suddenly I was stronger, faster, and all my senses felt like they were on overload. Best of it all, I came to realize I had accelerated healing capabilities. Who would have thought that their shitty inhuman experiments would have gone so horrendously, yet with the one miracle of an exception. Me.”

“I had figured that branch of Hydra was meddling on dangerous ground, I hadn’t realized the extent of what they were doing. Did they try making any more like you?” She wonders.

“I was the last. Since I was the only compatible vessel, they didn’t want to waste anymore time or money on others who could possibly fail.” You explain with a shrug, “I became one of their most treasured assets.”

Pursing her lips together, she gives a slight nod before revealing a different file from her bag, you watch as she pauses for a moment before opening it up, you quickly take notice of the many white papers pinned together. Some with encrypted symbols and words while others are in plain English. Your brows furrow as she flips the first page to reveal...

“I know I came asking for answers about classified information, but this won’t be a complete mission if I don’t ask you about your time with Hydra.” Proposes the red head cautiously while she studies your face for any hostile reactions, not getting anything but skepticism, she continues, “I understand you were very important to them. It’s recorded you’ve completed about three dozen kills over an active period of about thirty-seven years.”

You scoff before muttering, “So it would seem. They gave me my first mission in 1971...when I was 17.”

“Right, but that’s not exactly what I’m seeking.” Her eyes immediately trail down to the files, “I assume you must have seen this man at least once...” She flips another page over and pulls out a playing card sized photograph, she turns it around and slides it closer to you. Instantly you recognize who he is, but how did she?..

“I haven’t seen him in years, nor heard of him for that matter.” You mutter, though your tone shifts to a more aggravated one.

Noticing this difference, Natasha continues, “That’s the look of someone who has met him for less then friendly reasons. What happened to the Winter Soldier?” You take a long moment to study his stoic face of icy blue and white, and black; its when he was in the Cryostacis chamber, the place where they would freeze him to keep their Winter Soldier locked away until he was needed for a new mission. All that you can fully witness is his sleeping face, though you know exactly what he looks like up close and with no ice crystals in his dark hair.

Letting out a heavy sigh, you slide the photograph back over to her folder, “I met him when I was 25 in 1979, Hydra needed us for a duel mission somewhere in South Africa, they needed their best. We were tasked with locating and stealing some precious metal which we later learned was Vibranium, because apparently they had used the last of the Adamantium on me.” You reveal with a casual shrug, “It went relatively well as expected...and well, we worked with each other many times after that, until I escaped and he was sent to kill me in 2009.”

“You knew him for almost twenty-nine years. Do you know where he might be now?”

Scoffing, you almost laugh, “Even if I did, you’d never get him. But if I’d have to assume, he’s probably frozen in some cryo tank somewhere in the middle of Russia. Waiting to be let loose again so he can take out a new enemy of the state.”

“Right.” Nods the Black Widow as she closes up her files, her green irises quickly on you again, “Thank you for your time, and for the heavy material you spoke of.”

“It was a long time ago, someone else should remember what those fuckers did to innocent mothers and their children. No one in this entire world knows except for me, you, and the doctors I haven’t killed yet.” You growl with venom lacing your every word.

Soon you watch as she swiftly rises to her feet, as you do the same, “I wish you well then.” Affirms the Black Widow as you follow her lead to the door, she stands on the other side for a moment before asking, “Is there any way I could find you again?”

Leaning against the door frame, you break out into a knowing smirk as she stands waiting expectantly, “If you’re lucky, you’ll never see me again. Goodbye agent Romanoff.” And with that do you gently close the door, leaving her in the hallway with a plethora of useful information, but still nothing significantly useful on the Winter Soldier, now only time will tell if he ever happens to show up on her radar again. Hopefully not, she thinks doubtfully before turning on her heels and sauntering off down the hallway.

——

Almost two whole years had passed since last you’ve spoken to the assassin, in that time you’ve watched her speak on live television when Hydra had finally been exposed to the world and all their secrets let loose for the prying hungry eyes of the public.

Even some of your own information had been leaked, the world knew who you were now, what atrocities you’ve committed for the organization during your time with them and that you’ve been M.I.A since 2009. Now you’re on an international watchlist. Fantastic. Apparently some very important leaders of the world and other prestige family members alike aren’t very fond of yourself for murdering their adversaries or filthy rich husbands. 

But it’s not like you had a choice, Hydra would always alter your memories when they shocked you into forgetting who you even were; thus you’d complete a mission and a couple days or so later would your mind stitch itself back together again the best it could from the electrical trauma. Only the killing part would be a dark and fuzzy memory, thus revealing itself to you in bits and pieces at a time. Soon everything blurred together and you just complied or face getting electrocuted multiple times a session, until your eyes remained empty and dangerous.

Considering you’ve been on the run since that information was released, in this time, you’ve tracked down past agents and doctors alike who had wronged you, considering you now had full access to their recent history. Hence increasing your body count as you went from one country to the next, making the world a tad bit lighter with their darkness whipped from existence.

Although soon enough you became unsettled with the loads of information expunged from Hydra, your mind inevitably making a one eighty back to a certain broody super soldier from your complicated past. He must be in the world somewhere, living as a secret civilian or whatnot. He has to be. And you’ve decided to find him before someone else does.

Maybe it was curiosity, or the fact that he was like you and shared a bloody history with Hydra, but your instinctual drive to find the Winter Soldier eventually drew you the beautiful city of Bucharest, Romania. Although he didn’t make finding him effortless in the slightest, after endless days hacking into network databases looking for even a snippet of information. You found a lead.

Turns out airport security footage is very useful, even more so, footage from around the city’s grant center; and from there you were able to track him to Romania. Eventually after a couple of days in the city, you were able to catch a glimpse of him at the local market place and thus followed him to his little shitty apartment without him as so much as noticing.

Once he left again, you slipped inside and began your wait for his eventual return. But will he even want to speak with you? Does he even remember you? Your memories hadn’t been continuously whipped like his were, granted you were forced into cryo more then once and electroshocked into forgetting your memories. It eventfully stopped once they realized your mind would just heal itself into remembering again, so instead they threatened you with a tracking device deep into your skin tissue that would blow up if you tried to run.

Clearly you eventually found a way around this, as terrible of a memory it gave you.

——

Looking out the window, your ears suddenly pick up the sound of boots stealthily walking down the hallway, they’re incredibly light against the tiles outside, perhaps he somehow knows you’ve been following him. A moment later the scent of a man fills your nostrils and you know he’s inside the apartment. You could barely hear the door.

He’s silent as a mouse, nothing indicating he’s even there except for his rapidly thudding heartbeat that pounds anxiously against his strong chest; you slowly turn to face him. His hat from earlier is gone, dark blue eyes stare warily on you while soft breaths emit from his slightly parted lips. He’s not afraid, but he is nervous.

Folding your arms over your chest, you take a glance around the room, “Nice place.” You confirm casually, eyes back on the Winter Soldier in a second as the corner of your lips pull into a humored half grin, “I’m not here to complete some personal Vendetta against you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Then why are you here?” His voice is more curious then cold, maybe he can be reasoned with after all.

Taking a step forward, you shrug, “Wanted to make sure you aren’t still on their side.”

He keeps silent for a moment as you watch him watch you, “I’m done with them.” Mutters Bucky, disgust dripping off his words. That’s exactly what you wanted to hear. Progress.

“Good.” You add with the tiniest of smiles before motioning towards his little kitchen table, “Mind if we sit and talk? As, well...I guess civilians now.”

Studying your face for any indication of falseness and hostility, he’s pleasantly surprised when he finds none. Bucky takes off both of his gloves and sits, metal hand shinning in the low lighting. A threat or a precaution? Maybe he just wants it off?

You follow his example, and soon the two of you sit not even three feet away from each other. Both yourself and Bucky hold an awkward silence for a long moment as the tension in the room rises, shifting your gaze from the counter behind him, you don’t really notice as he trails his eyes over your face, “I remember you.” Reveals Bucky to your great surprise, your eyes falling onto him in an instant, “They sent us on missions together, until you left and they woke me up to kill you for it.”

Smiling, you let out a humored breath of air, “Turns out you didn’t miss me after all. I gave you a nice scar for your troubles though, you still have it?”

Bucky purses his lips into the tiniest of shadowy grins, although no real joy is shown, “It’s a thin little line across my left rib cage. Just barely reached my bone.” Yeah, and I would have if you didn’t punch me in the eye socket first, you think to yourself from when the Winter Soldier had tracked you down. But that’s a long story.

“Glad it’s healed and they didn’t have you come after me a second time. I don’t think I would have let you live again.”

He thinks hard for a second as he processes your words, “You let me live? The first time?”

“Well,” You serenely admit, “I couldn’t exactly kill you...I guess, well....I don’t really know why I didn’t kill you when I had the chance. Guess I’m not as ruthless as Hydra wanted.” You mumble with a conflicted frown, the two of you keep silent before you break the odd tension, “Doesn’t matter now. I heard about what happened in D.C. just like the rest of the world. Gotta say, I was wondering what everyone over there had been getting themselves into.”

“They leaked everything.” Mumbles Bucky with a knowing flash of insight within his dark restless eyes.

“I know.” You add with a slow nod, “I’ve been traveling more cautiously for the past year and a half now. You’d think they’d let us live in peace, of course not. But I guess it means the world knows what a piece of shit organization Hydra is. So that’s something.”

“Yes.” Agrees Bucky, eyes trailing from your fingerless gloves to your face, of course he remembers what hides beneath, “What happened to you since you left?

Fumbling with your fingers as they lay against his table, you turn you head to the window, the ghost of a smile dancing across your lips, “Surviving. You?”

He shifts his gaze back down to his metal hand as you turn to face him, “About the same I’d say.”

Leaning back against your creaky wooden chair, you hand him a small yet friendly smile, “Well then. What of us now? Two ex-assassins alone in the world. With nothing but our wit and fists to keep us afloat.” You add with a low chuckle, he doesn’t crack.

Losing your smile, the two of you keep silent as ghosts for a long moment before Bucky shifts uncomfortably in his seat, “I got some tea.” Replies the admittedly handsome man now since you have a moment to really look; the briefest hint of a grin revealing itself against his lips for only but a flash of a second. But you still see it.

Fumbling with your fingers you give him a pursed lip grin, “I like tea.”

[aroolarill]

i started rereading black butler again!! i was looking at the tags abt baldroy's past, tho i think some takes on how natives were also awful need to be handled with a bit more light in order to provide context to the time period.

dont forget that the native americans were colonized, their culture and rights to their own homeland forcibly revoked from white colonizers. it didn't matter how benevolent other white farmers were to the native americans, the trauma of losing your right to live by your own life will never be cured by the exception. the native americans were expected to live by colonial ideals and traditions, standards that were completely unfair and non beneficial to the marginalized community. with how their people has been exploited for hundreds of years, in various degrees of crimes against humanity, why wouldn't they react violently?

the violence between natives and colonizers brought a shitload of casualties on both sides. losses were prominent on both sides. there were unspeakable murders on both sides, and obviously baldroy was a victim of this war. again, keep in mind the period this was set in, and keep in mind how wars are mistakenly "educated" to the people as a simple black and white matter. baldroy, in his grief, blamed the entire native community.

i personally think that toboso clearly showed baldroy's dark side. the war against native americans will always be bad, and baldroy had willingly participated in the war and fed into his hate. it wasn't just natives he killed, it was anyone who came into his path that he deemed as a threat. his humanity was basically burned with every conflict he joined, and it didn't help that he always came out alive in every fight, while his fellow soldiers always died.

toboso showed how monstrous baldroy was as a soldier, it wasn't meant to only fully sympathize with him; it showed a very flawed person in a traumatized individual. and while baldroy will never forgive those who killed his family, he grew to understand why they did. he started to recognize his white privilege was at the native americans' own expense, and that war wasn't as simple as he thought. again, he still couldn't forgive those who killed his wife and child, and that's obviously valid.

in meeting sebastian, baldroy was forced to grow out of his small bubble. the latter still thought the responsibility of cooking and cleaning was merely a woman's job, and sebastian had to call him out for his (ironic for the time period) outdated notion.

it's heavily implied that baldroy had a background of carrying a very backwards view of gender roles and racism. he's what you'd expect of a white american in his time period. however, with his admittance to the phantomhive household coupled with his post war guilt, his beliefs and "traditions" were constantly challenged.

you've got an asian maid whos clumsy as shit, but the best sniper with an owl-like vision he knows. you've got a teenager of a gardener who accidentally destroys plants, but is the best shield and brute force of all servants. then theres the japanese ex butler who's served the phantomhive family at every angle, and even the current butler (although not known hes a demon) who does EVERYTHING what both men and women are expected to do. sebastian especially is seen as a super progressive adult man of their period.

tldr i love baldroy bc u get to explore his very flawed character, and sebastian that practically bullied progressiveness into baldroy by going "i can change him", AND HE FUCKING DID.

[decennia]

i give u free reign to infodump ab all of the knights and the og army bc i am vv intrigued agjgssgsh

THERE IS SO MUCH HERE OMFG MORAL OF THIS STORY NEVER ASK ME TO INFO DUMP BECAUSE I WILL TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT—

I've separated it into sections:

The Knights of Walpurgis, and the motivations for their assigned sins.

Dumbledore's First Resistance, and the motivations for their assigned virtues.

The dynamics between the opposing contenders.

Given the sheer volume of information, I've included a cut. Please enjoy this manip that I am still very proud of.

THE KNIGHTS OF WALPURGIS (later known as Death Eaters) Tom Riddle (Pride)

Pride and arrogance were very large contributing factors to Tom Riddle's downfall in the end, and honestly, the whole idea for the gifset came from Florence + The Machines' Seven Devils playing while casually thinking of Dagrim and Tom, and then about how perfectly Tom would fit as Lucifer.

Dagrim Patil (Avarice)

When questioned about what she wants, and what Riddle promised her in exchange for her unwavering loyalty, her response is, quite simply: everything. Dagrim grew up starved not for affection, but recognition. And what she was denied in childhood, she would take in adulthood by force. Her philosophy is that if something is worth wanting, it is worth taking.

Cantankerous Nott IV (Lust)

We know so little about Theodore Nott's father from the source material, other than he was elderly, and he raised Theo himself. And that he was a Death Eater, of course. His name is an ode to his ancestor, the Cantankerous Nott who created the Sacred Twenty-Eight pureblood directory. I assigned him "lust" purely for the events leading to the conception of his son (sis, it gets messy).

Abraxas Malfoy (Envy)

Abraxas Malfoy envied Tom Riddle to the point of a half attempted mutiny. He was quickly put in his place, his co-conspirators made examples of, and spared only for his close friendship with Dagrim, who pleaded for his life. Riddle, who trusted Dagrim to a fault for all she'd done to earn it, conceded. Abraxas would later prove himself to Riddle again, regaining his seat among Riddle's favoured generals. He was the one who taught Lucius to never disobey the Dark Lord, and he was not a kind teacher.

Ulysses Mulciber (Gluttony)

Indulgence and excess, spoiled rotten and filthy rich. The Mulcibers were the richest of the Sacred at one point in their lives, rivalled only by the Malfoys. Ulysses never knew the meaning of "enough," and was a glutton not only in all manners of vice, but also for cruelty, dealing it out carelessly with little to no regard for the repercussions he was well protected from by his noble standing and wealth. He was one of Riddle's greatest allies and sponsors, and instrumental in his rise to power.

Carmilla Avery (Wrath)

Carmilla was in the year above Riddle, and was quick to anger and slow to calm. Her temper was legendary, and even her younger brothers – also admitted into the Death Eater ranks – feared her. She had an untempered fury, a rage at the world for no reason at all. She developed an unhealthy codependency with Abraxas Malfoy, who served to have a soothing presence over her. People seldom survive crossing her, as her reputation dictates.

Serafine Lestrange (Sloth)

Serafine is not lazy (as the sin "sloth" would suggest), she just lacks the motivations to pursue the goals that are expected of her. A particularly bright witch, and a wealthy one too, she never applied herself at school for she didn't see the need. Instead, she fell into a fascination of the Dark Arts, where she met Riddle, perusing the Restricted Section. She is rather discontented with life, disillusioned from already such a young age. She initially joins Riddle's gang for the excitement of it all.

DUMBLEDORE'S FIRST RESISTANCE (later known as the Order of the Phoenix in its official conception in 1970)

Albus Dumbledore (Patience)

Name a man more patient than Dumbledore, I'll wait. Better yet, he'll wait, because he's patient as hell. So patient, in fact, he waited until after Harry's supposed death to come to him as a hallucination and tell him about how he was a Horcrux.

Rathin Patil (Temperance)

Temperance is abstinence, and I wanted to explore the kind of toll having his sister so far gone into the dark would have on any man, let alone one who really cared for her and wanted to do right by her. Rathin is not a perfect man, he is still fallible, and unfortunately, he develops a dependent comfort in inebriation when Dagrim disappears with Riddle. He pulls himself back together, especially when he becomes Isaiah Moody's partner at the Ministry, and he begins to pursue Miraya.

Miraya Varma (Diligence)

Methodical and persistent, Miraya Varma earned herself a position at the Ministry immediately out of Hogwarts where she would later go on to form her own task force within the Ministry specifically designed for the interrogation and recommended sentencing of dark wizards and witches. She has been known to put her duty first, up until the birth of her son, Divyansh Patil, father to Padma and Parvati.

Isaiah Moody (Humility)

For a very long time, people seldom knew the Moody name, and that was the way Isaiah liked it. He believed that his line of work would endanger his loved ones (in spite of his wife being in the same profession) and so he never took credit for the numerous arrests he made. It was Isaiah who suspected something was strange about Morfin Gaunt's arrest while investigating the Riddle Massacre, and consulted Dumbledore about it. Once his identity was discovered and he was viewed as a threat by Riddle, an attack was made on his heavily pregnant wife, jeopardizing her and his unborn boy's (Alastor) life.

Minerva McGonagall (Chastity)

Mini Minnie is seventeen, my dudes. But not only that, Minerva grew up with a religious father (he was canonically a reverend), who probably taught her his values. Also given the fact that Minerva was the first of the younger generation to participate and involve herself in the war (she sought out Dumbledore and enlisted herself into his Resistance, fearing her family would be made into another statistic if she didn't at least do something to intervene), she really didn't have much time to think about something as arbitrary as the concept of virginity. Also, it's the 1950s.

Corinne Scamander (Kindness)

Corrine is honestly the greatest. She has all of the tenacity of Tina, and the best qualities of Newt. It was Dumbledore's previous bond with Newt that encouraged him to recruit her, and she willingly accepted, because of course she would. She'd always been the soft spoken girl with a tender touch and a love for life, and she was often the advocate for hope in the resistance. She was adept in a few healing charms she'd learned from her father, and was something of a specialist in magical beings, proving herself to be highly valuable while Riddle was expanding his ranks with all manner of dark creatures.

Declan Diggory (Charity)

Sacrifice is in the Diggory blood, and Cedric's grandfather, Declan, was not the first to prove it. He also, unfortunately, wasn't the last, but he sure was one of the best. Selfless to a fault, Declan would willingly get hypothermia if it meant someone else would have warmth. Diggory's contributions to the war effort consisted of offering sanctuary and shelter to muggleborns who received death threats, and orchestrating the evacuations of targeted muggle residences. He was the leader of a small faction of the resistance, including, but not limited to: Fleamont Potter, Enoch Longbottom, Wilhelm Shacklebolt, and Ramona McKinnon.

DYNAMICS (just the contenders for now because this is hella long)

Albus Dumbledore vs. Tom Riddle

Adversaries, a fair deal of mistrust and guilt from Dumbledore's side (upon reflection, he'd been the one to introduce Tom to the wizarding world; even though he knows that if Riddle had been left unchecked, the risk of him becoming an Obscurus would've resulted in catastrophe all the same). Riddle sees Dumbledore as nothing more than a foolish old man, a pest, and an obstacle to overcome at first, but learns to begrudgingly respect Dumbledore's strength and mastery of magic (after all, Riddle only knew him as the Transfiguration teacher before, and thought the accounts of Dumbledore's victory over Grindelwald had been exaggerated to great effect). Riddle's hubris was believing he could defeat Dumbledore on his own, thinking himself already stronger than Grindelwald ever hoped to be.

Rathin Patil vs. Dagrim Patil

Rathin had always been very protective of Dagrim, and loved her dearly, although his acts of affection were often misinterpreted as pity and condescension. This only served to push them further apart. When Dagrim turned to the Dark Arts and found solace in Riddle, it revolted Rathin, as he was hugely against the corruption the Dark Arts has on the performing witch or wizard, and wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy. He still very much loves her, and it hurts him to fight her. Dagrim, on the other hand, finds catharsis in duelling her brother, believing it to be justice for the way her parents treated her and the little he did to dissuade them.

Miraya Varma vs. Cantankerous Nott

A mutual respect and an academic rivalry, Cantankerous and Miraya were not friends by any means, but not enemies, either. Cantankerous even went as far as to warn Miraya of an impending attack, allowing her to evacuate the building. But although he knows she's clever, he also knows that she's incredibly stubborn, and displayed little surprise to find her awaiting him in the now vacant building. They are equally matched, and their unique relationship spans several decades, even into Cantankerous' failed run at Minister for Magic, and Theodore and the Patil twins' time at Hogwarts. She was present at his trial following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and watched as he was sentenced to life in Azkaban for his crimes as a Death Eater.

Isaiah Moody vs. Abraxas Malfoy

Given his profession, Isaiah has a lot of enemies on the Sacred Twenty-Eight who are loyal to the Dark Lord. One such enemy is Abraxas Malfoy. When Tom gets word of Moody's involvement in solving the Riddle Massacre, he sends Malfoy and a newer Death Eater, Evangeline Rosier, to hinder the investigation. Abraxas and Evangeline were responsible for the attack on Isaiah's heavily pregnant wife, who, if she hadn't been an Auror herself, would've never survived. Alastor Moody was prematurely born at St. Mungo's following the attack, and all of Isaiah's efforts were turned on exacting vengeance on those responsible. Malfoy went into hiding, but Isaiah, ruthless, managed to hunt down Rosier. She died under questioning, setting in motion a vicious cycle of vengeance between the Moodys and Rosiers. Once Isaiah had been killed by Evangeline's brother (Evan [who was named after her] Rosier's father), Abraxas deemed it safe to rejoin society.

Minerva McGonagall vs. Ulysses Mulciber

On the list of things Ulysses loathes, he would put half-bloods above muggleborns (although he turns a blind eye to his Dark Lord's blood status when it conveniences him). Half-bloods only serve as a reminder of the lowest and weakest of his kind; the unworthy muggleborns, the lecherous blood traitors, the vermin muggles. Mulciber prides himself as something of a "purifier," and finds great enjoyment in pruning family trees that have been poisoned by muggle blood into purity once more. He takes a great interest in Minerva McGonagall, given that she is an incredibly powerful witch at such a young age, and he wonders how glorious she would've been had she been a pureblood (a twisted and untrue belief among the Sacred Twenty-Eight during that time). Minerva, the threat of Mulciber weighing heavily on her, places her family under Dumbledore's protection. She vows to stop Mulciber and his perverse idea of justice.

Corinne Scamander vs. Carmilla Avery

It didn't take much to enrage Carmilla Avery, and Corinne had been caught in the tempest Carmilla's fury since the day they'd met. Carmilla, who took great pleasure in picking on people she deemed lesser, made a target out of Corinne, perceiving her kindness for weakness. During their time at Hogwarts, Corinne had gained the attention of Avery for being a blood traitor and a muggle sympathizer, which only strengthened Carmilla's vindication. Corinne, who had been friends with Rubeus Hagrid prior to his expulsion, and who had almost fallen prey to the basilisk when she had heard Myrtle Warren's cries from the bathroom, never lowered herself to Carmilla's level nor did she rise to any of the challenges. This hurt Avery's ego, as she thought this was Corinne's way of claiming herself better than her. It wasn't until after Hogwarts that Carmilla's growing resentment came to a head, and, without the protection the school offered Corinne, Carmilla was looking to finally put an end to the blood traitor line of Scamander.

Declan Diggory vs. Serafine Lestrange

Declan and Serafine were childhood friends who drifted apart during their time at Hogwarts, particularly when she fell in with Riddle's crowd. She is viewed by Dumbledore as having the power to sway the entire outcome of the war, for if Serafine could be persuaded into leaving Riddle, her cousins (one of whom is the father of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange) would surely comply, and the families who held the Lestranges in high regard would be inclined to follow. This makes Declan and Serafine key pieces in Dumbledore's game of strategy. However, Serafine was disowned long before she defected from the Death Eaters, leaving the Lestranges firmly in Riddle's grasp. Although Serafine claimed to feel nothing for Diggory, she still refused to deal any real harm to him when they duel, in spite of having ample opportunity to do so; something which Riddle picked up on. She was later forced to torture Declan in front of him to prove her loyalty to the Dark Lord, something which Declan permitted her to do, knowing she had very little choice in the matter. He was left for dead, but Serafine would later secretly return with Corinne to get him medical attention. She gives her son, Francis, "Declan" as a middle name.

[andypantsx3]

war paint | 3 | captain

pairing: Bakugou Katsuki / Reader

length: 27,765 words / 10 chapters

summary: Desperate times force you to disguise yourself and join the kingsguard. When a suspicious string of crimes strike the palace, however, Captain Katsuki Bakugou starts paying extra close attention. (spin off of in cinders)

tags: mulan AU, secret identity, romance, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, some violence, eventual smut

The first few weeks of your enlistment were inarguably the worst you’d ever lived.

If not on patrol, soldiers were awakened before dawn every morning and marched to the training pitch behind the castle where you drilled in different formations with various weapons. You were run through exercises that seemed designed to drop anyone with less than iron willpower, then set to menial tasks like cleaning the barracks or repairing any damaged weapons or equipment. The midday meal was the first break in your day, followed immediately by training in basic first aid and survival skills, then by more weaponry drills that took you until the dinner bell.

Between your extra training with Nishimura and the time you had to invest in sneaking off to use the lavatory or a spot to bathe in private, you were hardly resting. Even the time you did spend bathing, you spent in a constant state of anxiety, wondering if a random bunk check would reveal you missing. You hadn't chanced more than a wild, lightning fast scrub down in weeks.

At the end of the first week, you’d collected your enlistment fee with hands blistered from sword work, and it took you longer than you’d ever admit to count it out, stopping every few seconds when your eyes drifted involuntarily shut. You’d been happy to send it off to your family, though, with a short note that told them you were doing well.

Which was, of course, a lie.

You weren’t exactly the most popular among the kingsguard thanks to the show you’d put on when you arrived, and you had the misfortune of dorming in the same room as Nishimura. Despite Captain Bakugou’s warnings, he’d gone out of his way to make life uncomfortable for you, slipping bugs into your sheets and loudly discussing you in less than flattering terms well within earshot.

More than that, you were terrible at nearly everything and it was obvious. Kaminari helped you to the best of his ability, and so did Sero, the guard who’d poked fun at your age at the castle gates. Neither of them, however, could make up for the fact that as a woman, you were somewhat smaller and slighter, and hadn’t had the same opportunities building up muscle mass as men your age. Every sword felt like an anvil in your hands; lifting a mace like hauling a boulder.

The only thing you seemed to excel at was the first aid trainings. You found yourself listening with rapt attention as the court physician walked your battalion through wrapping injuries and cleaning wounds, noting which easily obtained herbs and flowers could slow blood loss or ease pain. Kaminari was always eager to pair with you during the practical exercises, as you were among the least likely to accidentally poison him with the wrong herbs. It was gratifying to be good at at least one thing.

Your favorite part of castle service, though, was the patrols.

After your first month of training, you’d been assigned thrice-weekly patrol routes and found that it was like wading into a cool river on a hot day. Patrols got you out of whichever drills were happening at the time and took you out from under Captain Bakugou’s purview and behind the relative safety of the castle walls.

Though monotonous, you only had to walk a specific route throughout the castle with a partner, and you were rarely supervised. On your first patrol with Kaminari, you also found that patrols were - for him - more of an opportunity to make social calls.

“L/N,” he said, nearly the minute you stepped inside the castle walls. “We’ve got an excellent route today.”

You raised an eyebrow in question.

He chuckled, gesturing you along. “Come on, our first stop is right over here.”

“Our first stop?” you echoed.

Kaminari grinned and grabbed your sleeve, pulling you into a side door. On the other side sat a cramped office stuffed with bright fabrics and colorful spools of thread. A woman with shocking pink hair hunched over a spill of pretty silk, working tiny, perfect stitches into the fabric.

“Mina!” Kaminari boomed and the woman sat up with a smile.

“Denki!” she said, reaching over to hug him. “It’s been a while since patrol took you over here! I have so much to tell you!”

Kaminari laughed and pulled you forward. “Me too. Mina, this is L/N! He lied about his age and wormed his way into the kingsguard.”

You whirled on him. “I’m old enough to be in the guard!”

The absolute wrong gender, but definitely the right age.

He gave you an innocent look. “I’m just passing on the popular opinion.”

Mina chuckled. “Oh, ignore him, L/N. We all do. It’s quite nice to meet you.”

Kaminari whined but Mina just laughed again, redirecting his attention to the dress she was making, saying it was for the princess-to-be. Apparently, Prince Shouto’s bride had been a kitchen girl that Mina and Denki had both been acquainted with, and they talked eagerly of the wedding they’d both been invited to and the food that would be there.

“Think old Bakugou will show up?” Kaminari asked at one point, making himself comfortable at Mina’s workstation. Mina met this with a shrug.

You gave them both a questioning look. “Why would the captain be invited?”

Kaminari turned to you conspiratorially. “Captain Bakugou and the prince grew up together - they’re something like old friends. Plus, Bakugou’s a marquis, he’s probably got an invitation just for political reasons.”

“He’s a marquis?” you asked. That explained the Lord appellation on your contract, then. “Why join the palace guard if he’s titled?”

Kaminari shrugged. “Probably not enough opportunity to torture innocent civilians in Musutafu. If he wants to hold the land, he’s got to be nice to them, hasn’t he?”

You grimaced, thinking of all the drills he’d run you through since you’d gotten here. That definitely wouldn’t endear him to anyone.

“Speaking of our favorite captain,” Mina said conversationally, “I heard he’s been meeting with the prince more often than usual.”

“Wedding stuff?” Kaminari asked, but Mina shook her head.

“As if he’d touch that mushy shit with a ten foot pole. He wouldn’t know romance if it pranced in front of him wearing a soldier’s uniform. No, I heard it’s because a bunch of papers and other valuables went missing from the prince’s study last Thursday night.”

Your mind wandered back to last Thursday, wondering if you’d been on patrol when it had happened. You only dredged up a memory of snuggling down into your bunk, relieved that Nishimura and his goon friend Hasumi were out on their own patrol and your bed was thankfully bug free.

Kaminari’s eyebrows went up. “Important papers?”

Mina raised a thin shoulder. “From what I heard, it seemed to be a weird selection. A couple letters, some wedding arrangements. But a land treaty disappeared as well. They think it’s a spy.”

Kaminari whistled. “Bet old Baku is pissed this happened on his watch. No wonder he’s been in such a foul mood lately.” He turned to you. “Don’t you think he’s been a little too happy when one of us gets clipped by the wrong edge of the sword?”

You thought back to his threats in the mess hall. “He seems normal enough to me.”

Kaminari mulled that over. “I suppose he’s usually that awful.”

Mina smiled. “Talking of which, shouldn’t you be getting on with your patrol? I’d hate to find out what he’d do if he found out you were in here gossiping.”

A spike of panic stabbed through your heart and you grabbed Kaminari’s sleeve. “Excellent observation, Mina. We really should be going. It was wonderful to meet you!”

You tugged Kaminari roughly back through the doorway. You thought it was a testament to his own fear of the captain that he went willingly enough.

The rest of your patrol proved uneventful, however, Bakugou thankfully never being alerted to your social stop. Your patrol ended just after the dinner bell and you ate quickly in the mess hall, then rushed off to the training pitch.

Today was also the last day of your punishment for fighting in the mess hall on your first day, and you thought dreamily of all the rested muscles and extra time you’d have on your hands once extra training ended. You might be able to sneak off to bathe at a normal time of the evening instead of in the dead of night, starting tomorrow.

Your good cheer faded quickly, however, as you arrived at the pitch to find Captain Bakugou there.

Nishimura was just behind you and he stopped short at your side. “Where’s our usual drill officer?” he demanded.

A horrible grin cut into Bakugou’s features, bearing his sharp canines. He looked like a wolf ready to tear into a nest of rabbits, and your stomach flipped. “Ojiro’s off duty tonight. Thought I’d see if you’d learned your lesson myself.”

You inhaled sharply, and Bakugou caught it, laughing. “Thought I’d forgotten about you two fucks, didn’t you?”

You lowered your gaze and took a deep, steadying breath. Just tonight. You just had to get through tonight and you would be free.

Nishimura seemed to steel himself as well, sweeping a hand through his dark hair. “What are our drills tonight, Captain?”

Bakugou’s crimson gaze flickered over you both. “Fight me.”

You looked up, startled. “Fight you?”

He looked you over disdainfully. “You’re a goddamn soldier, you telling me you can’t fight? Didn’t seem to stop you in the mess hall.”

You bit your lip, but Nishimura stepped forward, that violent gleam in his eye. “Yes, sir.”

Bakugou grinned. “I’m gonna fucking wipe this field with you.”

Nishimura didn’t dare correct his superior, but his hand went quickly to his sword and he leaned forward eagerly. Before you even had time to blink, the clash of metal rang out across the field and Bakugou had Nishimura on the defensive, pushing him back into step with you. You hadn’t even seen him go for his sword.

Swearing, you fumbled for your own blade, whipping it out just in time to catch the swipe Bakugou aimed at your side. You stumbled under the force of the strike, tripping backwards.

Nishimura growled and lunged again, but Bakugou was faster, parrying his attack and following up with his own. A low chuckle escaped him as he caught Nishimura with the back edge of his blade, winding him and sending him staggering back.

Bakugou whipped back to you, targeting you with another fast swipe that you barely caught in time. The strength of his blow almost knocked your sword from your grasp, shuddering up your arm and leaving you gasping.

“What the fuck are you in the kingsguard for if you won’t fight?” he snarled. Another swipe came your way and again you barely caught it. Your heart beat frantically in your chest and you tried to duck out of range of his arm.

“Come back here, pretty boy,” Bakugou taunted, advancing on you, but Nishimura cut in with another attack. Bakugou whipped the edge of his blade up again, faster than your eye could follow, catching the strike. You caught the curl of that savage grin on the corner of his mouth again before he moved, ducking under Nishimura’s arm and twisting his blade. It slid along the edge of Nishimura’s sword with an awful screech, then caught the hilt at an angle, ripping it straight out of Nishimura’s grip.

A kick from Bakugou had Nishimura on the ground and just as quickly he twisted back around, stalking back towards you. Your heartbeat quickened in fear as he approached, crimson gaze burning into you.

“You don’t belong here if you can’t face me,” he ground out. “Fight me or I’m discharging you. That’s a fucking order.”

You trembled, but lifted your blade. You needed the money to send back to your parents. It was too early to be discharged - if you left now, they’d have no way of clearing the debt.

You thrust your sword forward but Bakugou dodged easily. You quickly flicked through all the maneuvers you’d been drilling the past month, and followed up with a lunge. Bakugou grinned, flicking it aside with a quick twist of his wrist.

“Put your back into it, shrimp,” he demanded.

You gripped your sword with both hands, bringing it down on him with all the force you had in you. Bakugou deflected, and before you knew what was happening, your sword was rent from your grasp, skidding along the dirt of the pitch behind you.

The flat of Bakugou’s sword came up to tip your chin up to him.

“Pathetic,” he spat, “you fight like a damn woman.”

Your hands curled into fists at your sides. Bakugou’s sharp eyes caught it and he smirked. “You gonna punch me, pretty boy?”

You struggled to tamp down the hot anger bubbling up inside you like a spring from the earth. “No, sir.”

He eyed you distrustfully, pressing the flat of his blade into your chin a little harder. “I’d think seriously about what the fuck you think you’re doing here. This is the kingsguard and I don’t need weak little shits like you endangering the royal family or your fellow soldiers.”

You stared back at him, not daring to speak. Your blood rushed in your ears and your heart hammered wildly in your chest.

After a long moment he lowered his blade, sheathing it back at his hip. He looked over at Nishimura, who was delicately picking himself up off the ground.

“Disappointing,” Bakugou said roughly. “I’ve seen enough here. You’re both dismissed - back to your dormitories.”

You nodded, backing away from him. Nishimura stalked off, and you turned and picked your way gingerly back across the field, stopping only to pick up your sword and tuck it back into the belt at your waist. You set off slowly for the barracks, something like hot tears stinging at the back of your eyes.

You didn’t look back, but you swore you could feel a pair of crimson eyes on you as you slipped quietly through the dark.