#he still has Excalibur though

[albentelisa]

Hello! What if when Jim used the Khronosphere, he somehow ends up on Camelot Castle with Nari instead of waking in his room?

To make matters worse, he is in his half-troll body and with some help from Nari, finds out he time traveled to a year before Kanjigar falls.

Hi! I really like plans-gone-wrong kind of scenarios!

So, here the time travel is screwed, misplacing Jim and accidentally giving him the body he had at some point in time. Even the burden of knowing about the different timeline is heavy and here Jim has it even worse as there is nearly no one he knows to be by his side and giving the comfort unknowingly.

Jim tells Nari his story (without expecting her to believe him) and surprisingly she believes as the Kronisfere is something only a selected few know about.

After discussing the matter with Nari, Jim decides to go to the Trollmarket and be the onlooker until the right time comes. He still has his new amulet and Excalibur for some reason, and Nari believes that it may help to bring the change.

The trolls at the Trollmarket initially have some mixed feelings about the newcomer, but Jim quickly wins their hearts. He becomes Blinky's assistant at his library. Jim doesn't reveal his amulet though as he isn't sure how trolls will react to it. He also hides his origin, inventing a fake backstory about being from New Jersey.

The first complication starts when Jim realizes that he has bonded with Kanjigar too much and simply cannot let him die now (not to mention that because of Jim's intervention, Draal and Kanjigar finally manage to talk and go back to normal father-son relationship).

Jim's plan ends up to be saving Kanjigar and becoming his helper while trying to make everything work. The thing is - it doesn't work as planned as Jim miscalculates the supposed date of Kanjigar's death (it happens a day earlier).

And there is another thing Jim hasn't considered (or more like deliberately omitted thinking about it) - namely, his own human life. There is only one Jim in this timeline, so from humans' point of view, Jim Lake disappeared a year ago.

Both Barbara and Toby are devastated, never giving up on finding Jim. Strickler is upset too, but unlike Toby and Barbara, he believes that Jim is dead (between Bular, other changelings, and goblins, there are too many possible suspects who love human flesh too much). Strickler meets Barbara when she comes to the school looking for clues. Initially, he helps her with the investigation out of concern that she might stumble upon the supernatural, but gradually falls for her. Barbara starts to have feelings for Walter too and feels guilty for finding her personal happiness while Jim is not around.

Toby, on the other hand, gets close to Eli and starts believing in creeps, suspecting that those might be the reason for Jim's disappearance. Toby tries to stay positive, but deep inside he wonders if his best friend is still alive.

Toby and Eli snoop around a lot. Steve tries to follow them one day for a nasty prank - and ends up learning about the supernatural stuff too. He's still mean to both Toby and Eli, but joins them in their investigation (he is a self-proclaimed leader).

Those investigations lead the boys to the location of Kanjigar's death and Toby picks up the amulet. When Jim discovers that, he is devastated (even though it was his initial plan to have Toby as the Trollhunter). Jim comes to Toby's house together with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh, hoping to be a secret helper.

Toby, however, finds out Jim's true identity really fast. Jim has no choice but to confess, though he omits the time travel part and tells Toby he has no idea why he transformed one day. For now, Toby promises to keep it secret, even though he thinks that Jim should at least tell his mom he's fine.

Eli and Steve become a part of the team early on as Toby kinda drifts away from their previous activities after becoming the Trollhunter and they start investigating why which leads to them discovering everything. Eli is obviously excited to learn more about 'creeps', but Steve is annoyed that he isn't the chosen one. He grows a better person only after getting into several troubles and being saved by Toby and Jim.

Ironically, Steve is the second one to learn Jim's true identity and the first one who finds out about Jim's amulet as Jim is forced to use it to save him. After this, Jim tells the entire truth to his team (which consists of Toby, Eli, Steve, Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, Draal, and Vendel by that point).

There's also an issue regarding the situation with Enrique and his potential kidnapping, and Jim patrols near Claire's house hoping to prevent it. However, he doesn't know that the switch has already happened in this timeline (as Strickler discovered Nomura's Snatch earlier and used it to get himself another subordinate). Claire also starts to notice oddities with her brother earlier, which leads her to discovery of changelings' existence. She lands herself in trouble as she has discovered Strickler's true identity, but as Strickler prefers not to have another misterious disappearance, he just manages to silence her with blackmail. Strickler also uses Claire to investigate who is the human Trollhunter as he himself has no idea.

Claire accidentally notices Jim who is roaming near her house. Initially, she thinks he's one of the bad guys (as she has no idea there are good trolls and assume that all of them are on the same side as NotEnrique and Strickler). That is how Jim learns that he's failed to prevent another one of events he would rather avoid and Claire realizes that not every troll is evil. She propose the alliance and suggests leaking info on Strickler to Jim's team. While Jim is slightly reluctant at first (not wanting to endanger her life needlessly), he remembers that Claire is competent and smart enough so her plan should work.

Claire, however, tries to go beyond her initial plan and ends captured. Strickler uses her as the bait to lure the Trollhunter. There's the clash between the two sides. Jim fights Strickler, but (obviously) refuse to kill him, so Strickler escapes. Meanwhile, the rest of the team deals with Bular and Nomura. Bular is killed, and Nomura is captured.

While Strickler is out of Arcadia, and the team is planing entering the Darklands to save Enrique, Jim decides to contact Douxie and recruit him to the team. Douxie agrees after learning about everything and starts to teach Claire.

Jim isn't that worried about Strickler most likely freeing Angor as his plan is to have a proper talk with his teacher and set everything straight. Besides, Jim is sure that Strickler won't do anything dumb like using the binding spell in this timeline (as he has no idea that the half-troll who defeated him is Jim).

However, Jim hasn't considered that Strickler feels cornered and rather paranoid because Gunmar won't be kind to him and he has no tight bonds with the current Trollhunter Toby. Strickler believes that he is on his own now - and there's nothing to lose, so he is even more hostile and manipulative than in the original timeline, but it also leads to more missteps - including Angor getting free on his own and Barbara discovering Walter's secret.

Angor is deadset on killing Strickler, and only Jim's involvement stops him. Angor agrees that now that he's free, he has no reason to act like a villain and leaves to sort his feelings. Strickler is indebted to Jim though he still has no idea why this odd youngling has saved him. Jim has no choice but to tell him everything in hope to earn his trust.

Barbara is another person who figures Jim's identity herself. Initially, she is seriously upset that her son hasn't come to her once the transformation happened, but she forgives Jim eventually.

Now, that everyone is together in this, there is some thorough planning regarding the mission to the Darklands. After all, Enrique isn't the only one they will save, but other familiars too. Besides, they plan to talk to Dictatious and make him remember how he used to be (Blinky already knows about the situation and had enough time to make peace in his mind with this fact).

Strickler contacts other members of the Janus Orders (those who he believes to be willing to change sides) and warns them that they will lose their familiars soon. However, he misgudges some and those find the way to contact Gunmar and warn him too. Obviously, Gunmar doesn't care about the changelings, but for him it looks like the perfect opportunity to escape. He also has an ally in Usurna - and it turns out that some trolls at the Trollmarket would rather pick Gunmar's side too.

So, when the team marches into the Darklands, there is a riot at the Trollmarket and Vendel is imprisoned. The Trollhunters seemingly meet no resistance at the Darklands (minus several Gumm-Gumms and goblins) and save the familiars, but can't locate Dictatitious (as he isn't there at the moment). After some thinking, they decide to go back for now and return for the second time (as everyone is sure they have been stealthy enough).

Meanwhile, Gunmar has passed through the bridge with a good chunk of his elite forces and is greeted by his supporters who have control over the Trollmarket. So, when the Trollhunters are back from the Darklands, they get a nasty surprise. They manage to escape only because Claire summons a shadow portal (it's the first one for her in this timeline as she has learned different magic from Douxie). The lack of practice shows here and Morgana gets a link to Claire's mind.

Jim knows that Morgana can be redeemed but feels conflicted when he sees that Claire goes through the events leading to her possession for the second time (it's something he would rather prevent). Not to mention that Angor isn't that willing to forgive Morgana.

Jim contacts Nari, hoping that she might have an idea how to help Claire, but Nari admits that shadowmancy is beyond her competence (actually, beyond everyone's but shadowmancers). Jim decides to propose Morgana to possess him instead as he thinks that he might have a better resistance (spoiler: he hasn't).

Morgana uses Jim's body to come and bargain to Gunmar, reminding him about their alliance.

Meanwhile, Claire and Toby with Angor's assistance go to the shadow dimension to save Jim. On their way, Claire has a fight with Morgana and barely manages to win due to some quick thinking. Toby, Claire and Angor reach Jim and manage to break him out of the possession.

The team decide to fight Gunmar before Morgana starts the Eternal Night. The clash happens at the Trollmarket (some former members of the Janus Order, trolls from different clans and some local wizards come to help too).

After the fight is won, Jim realizes that they still need to reach Merlin and think about the further actions against the Arcane Order. And well, when Merlin is awake and learns about the time-travel, he isn't happy as he thinks that messing with the time has already lead to some horrifying consequences. He also isn't happy to learn that Jim still hopes to free Morgana and refuses to cooperate (which change nothing as Claire steals his staff).

Jim tries to talk with Morgana for the second time after she is free, trying to appeal to her former ideas about co-existence and asking if she actually wants to have the world destroyed. It works this time.

The team also contacts Aja and Krel when they arrive to the Earth, finally reuniting with the rest of the guardians and forming the united front. Together, they have less trouble dealing with Morando and later, Green Knight. Nari sees it as an opportunity to talk to Bellroc and Skrael and appeal to their common sense as the times have changed and humans proved to be able to co-exist with inhuman beings. Bellroc and Skrael are still skeptical but agree to wait and see.

As the peace is reached, Claire joins efforts with Morgana in the attempt to find the solution for Jim (and to some extent all the changelings who changed sides) to change forms and be able to enjoy human life.

[noneorother]

The puns are never ending : Aziraphale's miraculous "visable" bullet.

Aside from this closeup diagram of how to perform the bullet catch being objectively hilarious, it's also got a pretty fascinating *spelling mistake*.

If you look closely at the part of the pamphlet in red, you'll see that the bullet should be hidden in the mouth where it won't be visable. Not "not visible". Not visable. Seems innocuous enough right? But of course, the layers are never ending.

"Visable" is actually a Middle English word, *not* a modern English one. The last time it was used was before the printing press was invented, so pretty old. Here's a little background :

What's really fascinating though, is that just like the expression "dark horse", the word has two meanings : one is "Capable of good judgement, prudent" the other is "Tractable and docile".

There are also only two examples of the word in context that I can find, and they really should be sending you into orbit :

The first one is actually from Henry Lovelich's translation of the French epic poem "The Romance of Merlin" also known as the first English treatment of the Arthurian legends. It's modernized as "He was a worthy knight, valiant and visable in every fight." Which uses the "good judgment" meaning and sounds... a lot like Aziraphale in his role of guardian and protector.

Why do we care? They are standing literally in front of Excalibur, Arthur's sword.

The other one is from "Ipomadon", another middle English epic poem about a hidden identity romance between a beautiful but proud heiress, and her dark knight in disguise. "She was... visable and virtuous, meak and mild, and marvellous." Which clearly uses the "tractable and docile" meaning, but also... kinda sounds like Aziraphale in his damsel in his distress mode, which:

Ahahahah fuck off. But wait, there's more!

I originally twigged to this error because if you, like me, also happen to speak the language of la plume de ma tante, you know there's a reason why the uses happen in epic poems that originated in France: it's a loan word from old French, and still exists today in modern French, but it doesn't mean tractable and docile...

For the non-french speaking among you, it's a derivation of the verb "viser" :

Verb 1 To aim 1.To aim, to carefully direct one's gaze or a weapon towards a goal to throw something at it.

And so, if you happen to be, oh I don't know, a demon and have been alive for thousands of years and can definitely speak all the languages on earth and happen to have participated in the Arthurian age in England, when you read that pamphlet really carefully because someone is making you do a crazy stunt and there's a miracle blocker on, you could *conceivably* have read the instructions as:

"IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT YOU LOVE, DO NOT SHOOT AZIRAPHALE IN THE FACE." ________________________________________________________ Thanks to @thebluestgreen and @embracing-the-ineffable as always.

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

FIRST ROUND: 63rd Tilt

Uther Pendragon, Excalibur (1981) VS. Faramir, Son of Denethor, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Propaganda

Uther Pendragon, Excalibur (1981) Portrayed by: Gabriel Byrne Defeated Opponents: - Rilk [Jesse Lee Keeter], JourneyQuest (2016)

“i’m submitting him on behalf of my mom who says he is ‘gorgeous’ and just goes ‘ooooh’ when i show her pictures of him. she hopes that the Tumblr population will appreciate a man who ‘has intimate relations while in full armor’”

Faramir, Son of Denethor, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Portrayed by: David Wenham Defeated Opponents: - Richard Cypher [Craig Horner], Legend of the Seeker (2008-2010)

“THE prince of the series. Even though the movies did him a bit dirty, Faramir is still THE guy of all time. He puts up with so much, but never wavers. He is stalwart, he is clever, he is gentle. He is adored by all (except, his dad of course), and puts his men above himself every time. He is just as capable of fighting for you as he is reading to you in that soft voice that quivers with deep, deep emotion. He is, quite simply, flawless.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Uther Pendragon:

For Faramir:

“He's sweet, he's emotional, he's pure, he goes around in a hooded cloak and shoots arrows (hot)!”

[generic-sonic-fan]

Helloo!! If you're still doing the ship chart I have a fun one for you: arthurlot. And you may be thinking "wait, isn't that just sonadow?" but no. I mean the fake King Arthur, the titular black knight himself with Sir Lancelot - which is what I thought arthurlot was before I realised that people are cowards.

In terms of reasoning, well who doesn't love an evil king and a knight loyal to a fault? But genuinely King Arthur has more parallels to mainline Shadow than Lancelot does imo. Created by an older man with a granddaughter for the good of the world, a plan which goes very wrong - sounds familiar! King Arthur becoming corrupted by excalibur's scabbard is also reminiscent of the dark routes in shth05. So someone with a similar character arc to Shadow paired with someone who looks and acts like Shadow without that arc - it just compels me!

In actual Arthurian legends too, Lancelot is the one commonly known as the black knight, so it's an interesting switch to give Arthur that title instead. "The Black Knights" is the closest thing to a ship name I can give them that won't confuse ppl lmao.

Depending on the timeline, the knights of the round table in SatBK would have served Arthur since before he was corrupted. Lancelot was the one to stay the most loyal after that corruption, and isn't that a fun dynamic to explore? You're the king's closest knight, his right hand man, you trust everything he's doing even when your brothers in arms are expressing doubts and you can see the tyranny for yourself. If Sonic hadn't come along, I truly believe Lancelot would have been loyal to his king up until the very end.

Whatever the relationship, it's extremely unbalanced, filled with one sided devotion and no doubt manipulation. And what can I say, I'm a big fan of toxic yaoi!!

(Didn't think I had this much to say but I guess they've been very much on my mind recently afjgjfhfhdg. I filled this sheet out for them too tbh, so I'm curious to see how you do it!)

Honestly I have no idea what the Knight AU thing is that some people in this fandom are obsessed with and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.

This is really well written though! But I don't know these versions of the characters at all, so I'll pass.

[evol-astraea]

Handy dandy comparison between the "old" Hex models (from TennoCon 2024) vs. the "new" ones (from the Gemini skins trailer). Adding a small visual breakdown for each Hex under the cut.

Arthur: - Body proportions on the new model feel off compared to the old one. Shoulders look wider, waist and hips instead appear way smaller. - Same for the head size in relation to the shoulders. He also looks taller. Note: The angle is slightly different in the two pictures, though. In a way it could affect how the anatomy is perceived by the viewer. - Maybe the intent was to give his body shape a more pronounced "hero build" look. However base Excalibur's proportions already give that feel. - New armor bits added on the knees (those weren't there before). - Chest armor bits totally remodeled and retextured (visually more similar to Eleanor's). - Entirely new shoulder patch with sword logo (up until this point all the Hex but him had a customized logo somewhere). - Radio/transceiver has been totally remodeled (it looks visually more similar to Eleanor's). - Color channels look darker/black on the shoulders and torso compared to old model (base Excalibur's aren't that dark in those areas) - Neck emissives are gone. There might be new bits of armor there but I'm not sure. - Entirely new gloves (once again, visually similar to Eleanor's). - Hair texture looks more polished. Note: Ear piercing is still there! It may take some zooming in, but it can be seen badly clipping in Arthur's ear lobe in this picture. If you pause the Gemini skins trailer at the right moment you can clearly see it at its usual, old place.

Overall, it seems that the changes were made to make the Nightingale siblings visually similar.

Aoi: - Armor on the outer shoulder pauldrons looks duller/maybe changed from meta to a more "matte" color? - Eyeshadow toned down considerably. Noooooo! WHY?! - Neck emissives are more visible. - Hair texture looks more polished.

Amir: - Unsure whether it's the different lighting affecting it (old pic is warmer vs new pic is colder) but his skin looks duller/ashy now. O_o - Hair texture looks more polished. Eleanor, Lettie and Quincy: - I can't literally find anything too different aside from the (you guessed it) hair texture looking more polished? It seems at least their models, as well as Aoi's and Amir, didn't receive as many changes for some obscure reason. - Lettie has gained some height, though. If any of you spot more difference than I did, please share!

[viandclintbarton-supremacy]

The Unkillable Lion (GN Wrestler Reader x Russio)

Warning: Mentions of blood, swearing and bad writing

W/N = Wrestler Name

Your heart beat was bumping, nerves settled in, its happening!!

You are going to walk out at Wembley Stadium for the match of your life. A match in your home country, the biggest ever and in front of a sold out crowd. But not infront of your family....It sucked. Not only was your family stuck in Australia but your sister and girlfriend lost the finals of the Women's World Cup and all you could do was call and text them since thier flights were delayed. You could physically be here for them. You sighed resuming your stretching

*Crowd roars*

You glanced at the backstage monitor the screen just showed the graphic of the next match

For the Newly reinstated NJPW Intercontinental Championship

NO HOLDS BARRED

"The Unkillable" W/N

VS

"The King" Minoru Suzuki (C)

Excalibur on the commentary team "Up next will The King Suzuki be knocked off his throne? Or will The Unkillable be Killed on their home soil"

Jim ross would respond "There is no doubt that this match with be a slobber knocker"

You smiled before feeling a hand on your shoulder, you turn to see Kenny Omega

Y/N:"Great match out there today Kenny" He smiled

Kenny:"Do I ever have a bad match" giving you a really look

F/N:"Fair Point"

Kenny:"This crowd is red hot, they are gonna have your back I'd say even against Suzuki. And i have ni doubt your family and gal are gonna be watching from Australia"

You looked at him with a determined smile "Thanks Ken"

"5 minutes F/N" You hear from the gorilla position.

"Now go show them what the Elite is all about " you smirked and winked before leaving to go tear the house down

"Calm down mum, F/N will be fine."

"Well you know what i am like Jorge"

"They are a Bronze they will survive anything, right Luc?" Jorge would turn to his sister who had a far away look in her eye. Jorge slightly frowned, the impact of losing the World Cup final was still being processed.

"Luc?" Lucy felt a nudge of a leg moving her leg, she looked to her side to see Keira "Jorge was saying Bronze's can survive anything, personally i think he is correct" Bronze smiled as she looked at the tv and starred at her sibling face. She felt so much pride seeing her sibling being apart of something so big and living their dream.

"Yeah they will survive, though knowing Y/N there will be blood"

"BLOOD!" the room would jump at the sound of Alessia Russo sudden outburst.

"Bloody hell Les!" Ella Toone would say placing her arm on her chest from being startled "Sorry i just didn't know, i don't even know what this match actually is. will their actually be blood" Alessia would say looking at Bronze with slight worry but also embarrassment. She felt bad as she still didn't understand Y/N's job fully. She hated watching them get hurt but to star bleeding???

"Well basically a No Holds Barred Match is anything goes. No count outs they can use any sort of weapon, go anywhere in the stadium." Lucy would say earing the attention of some of the lionesses who were also watching and those new to the sport. Since the flights were delayed, the group decide to have a massive hang out with the team and families "And yes Y/N has a history being busted open" Lucy would say with grimace on her face. Making Alessia more nervous and scared for Y/N.

Alessia met Y/N on her first match for the Senior England Team, Y/N was supporting their sister Lucy during the match and the duo would have a brief encounter but would greet each other everytime. One of the things Russio like about Y/N was they always greeted everyone and shook peoples hands. no matter if they were players, team's family's or staff. As a wrestler Y/N always showed respect and etiquette to everyone.

It wasnt until Alessia moved to London after signing for Arsenal, That their paths would cross at a gym from there the duo would grow closer. Everytime Y/N would go across the country or abroad, Alessia would miss the charming wrestler. And when Russio did the same Y/N would miss the clumsy but talented footballer.

It wasn't until a gym session 2 months ago after the duo both hadn't seen each other for nearly two months that one thing led to another that the duo would engage in a heated night of passion..........in the gym bathroom.........and then Y/N's Car......and then Y/N's bed. Basically a LOT of PASSION happened that night.

The duo would become an item, keeping it on the low and eventually would tell thier families tho both were SCARED TO FUCK to tell Lucy. Given the fact that the last time Lucy found out F/N had a partner.....well F/N doesn't know actually their partner just vanished, no sign of where they went but it smelt of Lucy's involvement.

When the duo announced to Lucy, it was a surprise as she seemed to beam with happiness seeing her teammate and her siblings together. She knew Russio well and trusted her and when Lucy embraced Russio, she would whisper "If anything happens to them, remember it's very easy for me to find you" Before hugging her sibling leaving Les gulping slightly before smiling nervously.

Alessia's worry grew she struggles to watch F/N wrestle, seeing them getting hurt and thrown around scared her. and now blood? She would be lying is she said she understood wrestling. She was snapped out of her trance by a hand on her shoulder "Les? They will be ok. this is their job" Alessia turned to the voice and smiled at her best friend Ella Toone. "She's right. They will fuck that guy up" Russio smiled at Mary Earps comment.

*Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne plays at Wembley"

The crowd roars as the lionesses and focus on the screen.

You hear the rumble of the crowd, you wanted for your cue to leave, you couldn't wait to leave and see the crowd and start the walk to the ring.

Lucy breathed out, feeling nervous for you as Les got excited

You started to walk down the Hallway, every step the view of the crowd getting more and more in view. As you step out the crowd cheered like maniac and wanted for you to remove your hood and ignite your pyro.

"Oh my god, the colour of their gear" Stanway pointed out. Gaining the attention of the lionesses "Its the same colour scheme as our away kit" The lionesses couldn't help but feel flattered at the gesture whilst the Bronze family were filled with pride

You removed the hood revealing your face and the pyro went off to loud cheers as you screamed and shouted to the fans to cheer. you felt the breeze against your skin as you stood there for the moment to take it all in. you looked out to the sea of people. Your fellow countrymen and fans that came to see you. Lucy watched with pride, She knew the feeling you had right now. whilst Les smiled at the cute reaction you showed You nodded as you began to walk down the ramp high fiving the fans and kids in the front row.

"A year ago a team of Lionesses walked onto the pitch of Wembley and played with pride and passion to become champions of Europe. One of those Lionesses was Lucy Bronze" Nigel McGuiness paused. The lionesses ears were listening at the commentator with smiles. they may have lost the finals but they did achieve greatness with winning the euros. As Lucy's name was mentioned

"Now a year later, W/N Bronze walks into the same Arena. With the goal to become champion like their sister. This isn't a try and fail for Y/N this is a must for them. They HAVE to walk out of Wembley champion" Les couldn't help but the amount of pressure you must be under, she didn't think of the story of his match and started to worry what if you did lose. She has lost the finals of the World Cup, she couldn't bear to see you lose too "They need to win, so when they walked down the streets, people will come up to then and say. 'Hey you are the NJPW Intercontinental Champ, W/N Bronze right?.' And Not 'oh isn't Lucy Bronze your sister.'"

The group would frown as you entered the ring. Did the commentator really say that. They thought it was harsh, but Lucy knew. She hated seeing you accomplish so much but still be referred as the other sibling. Alessia also knew she would see interviews of you and every time you were undermined and Lucy was brought up you can feel your energy switch.

As you made your way to the ring, the crowd's energy continued to surge and you couldn't help but feel the support from your home country. The cheers and chants were overwhelming and it motivated you even more for the match. You knew that this was a critical moment in your career, and you had to give it your all and you couldn't LOSE

The Lionesses and your family continued to watch with bated breath. Lucy felt the pride of being your sister and couldn't help but recall her own moments of glory at Wembley. She understood the immense pressure you were under, and her heart swelled with hope for your success. Alessia, on the other hand, was torn between her excitement for you and her deep concern. She wasn't familiar with wrestling and seeing you in a No Holds Barred match with the potential for blood made her uneasy. The support and reassurance of her friends helped ease her worries, but she couldn't help but feel a knot in her stomach.

"F/N started in the outskirts of Sunderland before heading to Japan, Joining the Faction Chaos by recommendation of Will Ospreay, there Y/N would win multiple tag titles and tournaments before betraying Okada and leaving Chaos and Joining the Bullet Club. A year later F/N would be kicked out of the BC with the Elite and headed to AEW. And now to Wembley. What a journey for this Youngblood" Jim Ross said as he praised you. the commentary about your journey and the pressure to succeed struck a chord with Lucy, Alessia and your Family. They knew how much this meant to you, not just as a wrestler but as an individual trying to step out of your sibling's shadow.

The atmosphere in Wembley Stadium shifted as "The King" Minoru Suzuki made his way to the ring. He was a legendary figure in the world of professional wrestling, known for his no-nonsense, hard-hitting style and a reputation as one of the toughest men in the business.

Suzuki's presence alone exuded an aura of intimidation. His face bore the scars of countless battles, and his cold, unflinching stare made it clear that he had no intention of relinquishing his Intercontinental Championship without a brutal fight.

You watched as he swaggered down the ramp. You prepared yourself mentally as you knew he was gonna try and murder you but you were prepared to fight no matter the cost

The crowd which had been firmly behind you, was now divided. Some cheered for the local hero, "The Unkillable" W/N Bronze, while others cheered to the reigning champion, Suzuki, Hoping that he would tear you apart. The air was electric with anticipation and you could feel the weight of the moment pressing upon you.

The referee checked both competitors for any concealed weapons, making it clear that in a No Holds Barred match, anything could and would happen. The tension in the ring was palpable as the official signaled for the match to begin.

You and Suzuki locked eyes and for a brief moment, He tilted his head before smiling like a maniac, You replied with a smirk. Both of you understood the magnitude of the battle about to take place.

So you decided to throw a chop to the Japanese legend. A loud smack can be heard as Suzuki was caught off guard before accepting the challenge "Come on then wanker" You say trying goad him

Then he did, You felt the chop ripple threw your body sending electricity throughout your body. The each delivering thunderous knife-edge chops to the other. The sound of flesh meeting flesh reverberated throughout the stadium, and the crowd's cheers and gasps grew louder with each strike. Your chest and Suzuki's were both bright red from the onslaught of chops, and neither of you showed any signs of backing down. It was a test of willpower, a battle of endurance, and the audience couldn't believe the spectacle they were witnessing.

"Why why are doing this" Alessia had her hands to her face, During the chop off. She hated seeing you het hit like this and hearing the sounds of the smack echoing around the area "Fucking hit hm F/N" But lucy on the other hand was invested and wanted you to slap the shit out of your opponent

But in a sudden turn of events, Suzuki let out a deep, guttural laugh, his sadistic grin never leaving his face.

"Oh shit" You regretted your challenge

*Chop*

The crowd's gasps turned into collective exclamations of shock and your friends and family watched as the chop sent you to the ground like a bag of potatoes. Alessia squealed as she turned into her father's direction who was laughing at his daughters reaction. "Jesus Christ" Lucy would hear from her brother as he held his child in his arms. Meanwhile you laid there as Suzuki was taunting you "I think my chest is caved in" You would say feeling like you got shot. This was gonna be a war.

Many moments would happen during the match, You power bombing Suzuki through a table, him hitting you with a chair, brawling in the crowed. It wasn't until you took a barbed wire bat to the head that cut you open above the eye. Your family gave a grim look whilst Alessia shrieked and hid her face in Ella's shirt. You looked dazed as the blood dripped down your face and you spat out the blood that fell into your mouth. It was a site that made the crowd stare at you. The match went almost 28 mins before you found yourself in a Gotch powerbomb set up as he went to lift you, You countered with a DDT just as Alessia peeked out

"Focking hell" Toone would say as Your family and lionesses cheered. Alessia heart filled with excitement and amazement. You fighting with such passion made her heart flutter

And then you hit a Bronze Maker (Flatliner) when he ran for you

"BRONZE MAKER!! CAN THAT BE THE MOVE OT MAKE BRONZE, A GOLD MAKER!!" Nigel would say on commentary

As you laid down you heard the chants for you and the rhythm of claps from 81.000 strong behind you. The whole stadium was alive for Y/N Bronze. You staggered up and saw Suzuki now bleeding from the head was on one knee you had to stop him so you ran and dropkicked him into the corner

Alessia was in a trance.

Seeing your chance and the adrenaline pumping jumped to the top rope top, The crowd rumbling they knew what was next after sticking your tongue out with dried blood over your face, you hit your iconic The moonsault stomp "HERE IT COMES"

The crowd popped sending a massive shockwave throughout the arena

"HOLY SHIT!" Mary Earps said in shock

"THAT WAS FUCKING SICK" Stanway said in a hyped voice

"I FELT THAT ONE" Hemp would say as she grimaced

"GO ON Y/N" Millie Bright said a pumped up attitude

"COME ON Y/N" Lucy calm demeanour changed as she couldn't keep still and fully stood up bouncy.

"Come on babygirl/babyboy" Alessia whispered to herself

You stood over the body of your Suzuki and grabbed both arms and brought him to his knees "COME ON KID, MAKE A NAME FOR YOURSELF AND ARCHIVE GREATNESS" Jim Ross adding more excitement and goosebumps with his words and passion

"NIGHT NIGHT MOTHERFUCKER" You shouted as you used the last of your strength to drive your knee into Suzuki's head.

"LION KILLER!!!!" Excalibur shouted on commentary. The crowd roared with passion, as it was like a button you hit on Suzuki's head to make them roar. The room of Lionesses watched on with anticipation

You fall on top of Suzuki and pin him. You hear the referee land on the canvas. And everyone counted with him

"ONE" the ref screamed along with the crowd

"TWO" The Bronze's, Alessia and the lionesses screamed

It felt like forever that you watched the hand come down but eventually

Lucy had goosebumps all over her body. Could it be, Will she finally see you achieve your dream

Alessia was on the break of tears. The art of wrestling, her love and proudness of you was beaming

Finally

"THREE!" Your heart stopped. The crowd roared, your family was in a mixture of tears and joy.

Lucy was hugging and shaking Keira around with joy. She was overwhelmed by seeing you achieve your dream. She saw you start from a underdog to a champion. This meant more to her then the World Cup.

Alessia was tearing up as Ella and Mary were teasing but also cheering. She now understood the moments wrestling made and how it made fans feel. And to see you in such a moment made her cry and celebrate with her friends and lucy

"HE/SHE DID IT, W/N HAS ACHIEVED IMMORTALITY AT WEMBLEY" Jim Ross shouted with passio

You layed there, you did it. You thought looking up to the sky with the open roof of Wembley in view, you don't know how long it took until you realized the ref standing over you with the belt. You slowly sat up onto your knees and held the title staring at it like a new born baby. You then shot up with pride ignoring the pain and held it above your head and the crowd roared once again. A image will for ever be in the minds for Fans's Lucy and Alessia.

As the celebrations went on Omega, The Young Bucks, Ibushi and Hangman came out and praised you as you were lifted onto the Buck's Shoulders. Ella nudging Alessia as she saw the jealous look on her face. But then music hit

"Woah hold on here" Jim Ross said as out of the entrance way came Will Ospreay and members of the United Empire "Its Ospreay, we saw him earlier tonight when he beat Jericho." Excaliber would say "So is the Aussie Open and Jeff Cobbs but that snake Don Callis and Takashita are alongside them." You looked confused as the young bucks set you down. Kenny, Ibushi and Hangman glared at Takeshita and Don Callis due to Earlier events.

As they entered the ring, The Golden Elite stood behind you and the United Empire behind Ospreay as the two of you had a face to face. The stadium rumbled at the sight. Making this a match they wanted. Don would step forward and in response so would Kenny. A action that made Don step back. Kenny was now to you right making it Osprey's left. Kenny glared at will, He still wasn't done with the aerial assassin. As a gesture of he wasn't finished he held up the finger triggers to Ospreay

The Lionesses were Intrigued by this situation. Alessia was annoyed that you didn't get a full celebration and wanted you to have your moment. but Lucy knew something was off by your stance.

And then

"OH MY GAWD!" Jim Ross shouted

"WHAT!! Nigel was flabbergasted

Alessia was wide eyed as most of the Lionesses. Lucy eyebrow raised in surprise

You just SuperKicked Kenny

The arena was stunned, The Golden Elite were frozen. The United Empire then rushed The Elite and started to dismantle them. As you and Ospreay starred at each other, A growing smirk came to both of your faces

"Oh don't tell me" Jim Ross would say kn commentary. You would then make the United Empire hand sign and hug will laughing. "Oh that son of a bitch!" You both grabbed Kenny as you set him up for Will's hidden blade.

You would laugh and stick your tongue out

"Oh you two are definitely related" Lucy would hear Hemp say to which Lucy shrugged smirking "It's a family thing" . Alessia however was shocked at your evil side and couldn't help but blush at the cockiness you were showing.

You then decided to lift Kenny on your shoulders and hit him with his own move. The One Winged Angel

You sat there laughing with Ospreay as your girlfriend blushed more

"Oooh you like when your playmate is a baddie" Mary bumped Alessia making her more embarrassed.

There you stood at Wembley. With your new wrestling family and champion

A few days later

"BABY!!" Alessia was caught off guard but welcomed you picking her up and holding her "I missed you so much" you placed her down and kissed her to which see kissed you back after a minute of tongue twirling of you would part for breathe. "I missed you" You said to your girlfriend. "I missed you too sweetheart"

You smiled with pride " I am so fucking proud of you babe" You said. She smiled sadly but then she cupped your cheeks "Not as proud as me champ" You smiled smugly "Well i am a talented bastard." Alessia fought back a laugh before looking down and biting her lip. You placed your finger on her chin lifting her to look at you. "Whats wrong pet" You gave her a cocky smile. Alessia loved it and knew what was happening. One of her teammates blabbed to you about her liking your bad side. She inches closer.

"THERES MY BOY/GIRL!" all of a sudden you felt yourself picked up into the arms of you sister Lucy. To which you hugged back. The two of you started to playfight "LETS GO CHAMP" Lucy would start saying. You haven't seen her this happy since the Euros. You couldn't help but be happy with Lucy's reaction to your win. Ever since you were a child you wanted her approval and recognition. She was the best sister ever. You notice people at the airport started to look at you and so did lucy. Alessia couldn't help but smile at the cute behaviour before her

"YEAH MY BROTHER/SISTER IS A CHAMPION AND WHAT!" Lucy shouted as she wrapped her arm around your shoulder and leading you away. You reached out your hand to Alessia who grabbed her stuff and your hand and walked with you "Seriously Y/N i am so proud of you bro" Lucy squeezed you closer as you rested you head on her shoulder for a sec "Thanks Lu. I am proud of you two. You were amazing throughout" She smiled sadly before cheering up "Thanks child" You rolled your eyes "That reminds me i got both of you Souvenirs from the show and Keira also" The girls smiled, Lucy was extra thankful as you mentioned her partner is was having a hard time with her injury.

The duo mentioned they got something for you two as you walked out of the airport not before a squeak came from Alessia after you gave a cheeky squeeze to her bum, showing off the cocky side once more leading to you and Lucy laughing at her flustered look

The End

this took so long, like 2 - 3 months. kept dropping in and out of it but i hope my Wrestling readers and woso readers enjoyed it. If you are a fan of both then consider yourself spoiled.

but this leads to a question would you like more wrestling x woso? let me know

and all feedback is welcome.

[kayfabe-is-king]

I have thoughts from last night's Dynamite and this is all within kayfabe. It's disjointed and patchy but that's because my mind has been going a mile a minute for the past week. So once again, welcome to my Ted Talk!

It was very fitting that Mox and Co. (are we still calling them the Blackpool Combat Club because that doesn't seem extreme enough at this point) attacked during the match between The Elite and The Conglomeration. That match showed in stark detail the very best and the very worst of what AEW has become. The Elite concerned more with glory and money (literal money raining down on Okada as he walks down to the ring) than about what is best for the company as a whole. And truthfully, they're coming off like a joke now in comparison to Moxley's Death Squad. Meanwhile, The Conglomeration was born of betrayal and people coming together because they a) love this sport and b) still believe in All Elite Wrestling. I lost track of the number of times Excalibur, Nigel or Tony alluded to Orange Cassidy being a leader.

“Why aren’t they coming to help?” Schiavone asked. 

Because The Elite now represent exactly what Moxley is railing against - egos and fat paychecks. This new era is a direct response to The Elite's frankly laughable "take over" of AEW. Moxley watched them, said "hold my (non-alcoholic) beer" and then showed how you really take over a wrestling promotion.

During that horror movie trailer masquerading as a wrestling promo, Moxley mentioned all the wrestlers in the back not being given a chance while overblown egos are sitting atop the AEW food chain. This, to him, is a purpose... a cause. And if he has to hurt people to achieve said goal?

"It's the cost of doing business."

Thing is - Moxley's done this song and dance before. Remember this:

(credit to @softambrollins for the two gifs above)

Once again (much like with The Shield) in Moxley's mind, something he believed in has been corrupted. The difference is that now he has the power and the muscle behind him to do something about it. He feels like it's his moral obligation to stamp out the "corruption" that has infested AEW. Something he couldn't really do when The Shield fell apart. This is Moxley exorcising those ghosts... and you know, beating the shit out of people.

If you look at the people coming to The Conglomeration's aide last night, you'll see they have something in common. These are people in the back that haven't really been used properly in a while. Private Party, who really should have had a title run by now. The Dark Order, consistently being tossed around creative with no real direction since the death of Brodie Lee. Top Flight hasn't found it's groove even though they put on consistently great matches time and again (I did laugh my ass off when Action Andretti did that springboard from the ropes and Moxley was like "nah, bro" and clocked him in the back of the head).

And while Daniel Garcia has been given pushes lately, I don't think he's been properly and consistently booked until this angle (and if they don't take the belt off of Jack and give it to Danny, there's no justice in this world). I believe these choices were intentional. A way to pull people into a long running storyline that were floundering.

Even on the BCC's side, you have Marina Shafir - an excellent technical wrestler who AEW has batted around with no real direction. Moxley has said time and again how much he admires her, so of course he wanted her as a part of this angle. She is the perfect soldier - brutal, efficient and loyal. The look of devastation on her face when she was ejected from ringside at Wrestledream? That's the look of a dedicated soldier who has (in her mind) let down her commanding officer. She will go toe to toe against anyone who stands in Moxley's way. And am I the only one wondering about that key around her neck?

Here's something else to think about. Tony Schiavone has seen the attempted hostile takeover of a wrestling promotion before. He was ringside as the New World Order was born and watched their path of destruction in WCW. Imagine seeing history repeating itself and not being able to do anything about it. Even worse, imagine seeing history repeat itself... but worse. This is the nWo dialed to 11 and unencumbered by silly little things like laws against attempted murder. 

Someone at commentary also asked where the belt was. It was never about the belt and Moxley purposely handed it off to Claudio for that very reason. He doesn’t care about the glory. He genuinely believes what he’s doing is what is necessary. And there is nothing more frightening than someone so fine with committing acts of brutality because they truly believe that is the only way. 

Now we come to our most conflicted Moxley disciple. And if you don't think he's still very much conflicted, you haven't been paying attention. Wheeler using the Busaiku Knee on Orange Cassidy while dressed like Bryan was intentional. Sure, he may have drunk the new BCC’s kool aid, but he still very much respects Bryan. He saw what he did to Bryan at Wrestldream as mercy (whether or not you agree, it's still how he saw his actions). To him, he finally put Bryan to "rest" and now feels it is his responsibility to continue Bryan’s legacy.

And that is where him and Daniel Garcia will clash in glorious battle. They are the ying and yang to each other - both love this sport and both see Bryan as their hero. One is just following the darker path that William Regal himself has laid for the likes of Moxley. While the other one believes in Bryan's way. They are the next generation of the power struggle between Bryan and Moxley - their proxies if you will. This is the most elaborate game of Risk come to life.

I have seen some people say this new storyline is "going too far". I get it - it's hardcore and some people didn't grow up watching ECW. They may not know that Terry Funk did the plastic bag spot long before they were even born. But I vividly remember those days (I was ringside for some of them - Terry Funk is hands down one of the nicest wrestlers I've ever met). And I for one, love where all of this is going. I watched the nWo from its rise to its demise and this new paradigm shift blows it out of the water. This is the evolution of that iconic angle and they picked the perfect people to do it. 

Side note - shout out to Renee for consistently doing her job with a high level of professionalism. And also pretending like her husband isn't committing attempted murder every week. Imagine how awkward it's been for her around the water cooler lately.

[s10127470]

My X-Men Hot Takes

As I'm sure many of you who have been following me have seen, I'm a pretty big fan of The X-Men.

However, I do have some reservations with them.

And with their ongoing resurgence in mainstream popularity, I've decided to share my hot takes/unpopular opinions I have on the team.

Admittedly, I have some takes that are pretty commonly agreed by a majority of X-Men fans.

But still, I have a lot that would probably piss a lot of them off.

So without further ado, let's get started.

-Mutants have become less interesting/The X-Men have WAY too many characters.

This is basically a two-in-one, but I decided to do them together since they essentially connect with each other.

Mutants have just become a lot less interesting due to the writers keeping them largely huddled together in recent years.

What made mutants so cool was that they were widespread and that not all of them were connected to the X-Men.

Which just made the world feel a lot bigger and fleshed-out.

But over the last few decades, Marvel has developed this mindset that EVERY mutant needs to be connected to the X-Men.

Hell, it was the reason for arguably the worse thing to happen to the team.

This unfortunately has led to the issue of the X-Men just having.....way too many characters.

Like, remember when there were spin-off teams?

X-Factor? The New Mutants? X-Force? Excalibur?

Even though those teams are still around, they have the issue of being too connected to the X-Men now.

And this need to have all mutants to be connected to The X-Men, has lead to another major issue with mutants....

-Retconning mutant heritages.

Over the last decade, Marvel has infamously went out of their way to retcon the mutant heritage of several mutant characters who weren't all that connected to the X-Men.

The most infamous examples being in the case of The Maximoff Twins and Franklin Richards, the latter of which was the most notable example of a mutant that's not connected to the X-Men.

Once again, this makes the world feel somewhat smaller and makes the mutants a lot less interesting.

-For the Love of GOD! Stop with the romance/relationship drama!

Romance/relationship drama is one of the hardest parts of writing.

Largely because it's rarely ever done particularly well and often become incredibly annoying and usually makes the people involved look pretty bad.

Usually since it relies on stuff like cheating, infidelity, unfaithfulness, etc.

Which anyone with more than two brain cells would know isn't a good thing...

It's even worse when they try to make these actions actually come off as good and acceptable.

Which like....

But anyway, since the X-Men are essentially glorified soap operas, you better believe they have romance drama!

It's one of the best/worst examples of this I've seen in media.

They have it all!

Cheating. Unfaithfulness. Infidelity.

And since we're talking about the X-Men, we can't forget about their staple....

Love. Triangles.

Seriously, nobody in the X-Men are all that faithful to each other....

Except for Gambit weirdly enough.

But anyway, please just keep these guys in actual fucking stable relationships.

I cannot take ANOTHER FUCKING love triangle....

-The treatment of Magneto.

I like Magneto, but even I have to admit I cannot stand how he's been treated in recent years.

Over the last few decades, there's been a lot of favoritism towards him.

And I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, it's borderline dick-riding.

Like, if we're had to make a list of the most dick-roded characters in the fiction.

Magneto would be at least in the top 5 alongside Bakugo, Severus Snape and even The Joker.

A lot of this comes from people believing that his mindset and actions were actually justified.

Leading to the infamous phrase that was founded by incel Quinten Quire....

*sigh*

"Magneto was right."

As you could tell, I'm hate this phrase.

For two reasons.

It's been ran into the goddamn ground. Like, I've frequently check out the X-Men subreddit, and I swear, I still seen people saying that Magento was right. Even on Twitter, I see this! Which, after seeing it and hearing it so much and so often, you can't help but just go....

2. It's led to this habit of writers constantly painting Magneto as this savior who's always in the right and that his mindset and methods are truly the way to go for the sake of mutantkind. This also led to the effect of trying to make him seem like he was always secretly a good guy. Even retconning events from the earliest X-Men stories such as him stealing missiles from the base and saying that he was actually doing this so that the X-Men actually had an enemy to fight. Like, prior to all this, Magento was depicted as being a villain. Even when the legendary Chris Claremont took over and gave him more depth and made him a sympathetic villain, he was still depicted as being kind of a terrible person who has done legitimately terrible things. What really made Magneto such as great villain was that he was a tragic one as well. Not just because of his backstory, but because of the fact that he became the very thing he hated: a bigot who wants to subjugate an entire group of people, no matter what. But in a way, I know this is gonna sound insane, Magneto is even worse than the Nazis! They were trying to subjugate a group of people, he's trying to subjugate an entire species! They needed an army and forces to do all that, he doesn't. Magneto is literally a one-man army. Now don't get me wrong, they're both REALLY bad. But remember, Magneto is literally threatening like, half the life on the planet. And although him finally becoming a good guy was the way to go, I'm still not a fan of it. Largely because he never really gets a redemption arc. We never see him actually show any regrets towards his past actions, or realize that he was wrong. Because they did, then he wouldn't be right. And GOD FORBID Magneto could be wrong about anything. I'm sorry man, but you're never gonna be him....

-The mutant metaphor has become a bit of a problem.

Now this gonna be a real controversial one.

The mutant metaphor, while obviously well intentioned, is not exactly good....

99% of X-Men fans reading this:

When you really think about it, it doesn't really make much sense.

For starters, there's the obvious aspect about how most super-powered beings in the Marvel Universe tend to get a pass, but there's just no exceptions with the mutants.

Despite the fact that to the eyes of the average civilian, most of them could qualified as a mutant.

There's also the fact that having the mutants being a stand-in for minorities is kinda awkward given that most of the core members (not all of them mind you) are primarily white....and American.

I do think them being a stand-in for social outcasts does work, but even that's kind of an issue given that many of the core X-Men are incredibly and conveniently attractive.

Like, don't you dare even try to deny it!

I've seen you people simp for these guys!

So have I!

But the reason I say the mutant metaphor is problem is because there seems to be this mindset that this is all the X-Men are good for.

Just being an allegory, and nothing else.

And in all honesty, that's just incredibly restrictive from a writing standpoint.

Heck, if any of you've read my X-Men fanfic series, "X-Men: The Mutation", you'd probably noticed that the mutant metaphor, while there, isn't as present as most other adaptations, or even fanfics of the X-Men.

And that was because I wanted to focus on other aspects of the team and didn't want them to just be a walking allegory.

-The Fox X-Men films are not that good.

While the reception of these films seem to be mixed nowadays, I've never really cared for these films.

Since I'm among the group of people who actually look at adaptations as, well, adaptations, as such, the X-Men films are quite pitiful.

The films never captured the appeal of The X-Men.

That being The X-Men themselves!

Like, The X-Men are literally an afterthought in their own film franchise.

Largely thanks to Fox constantly focusing on one member solely and hardly anyone else.

First it was with Wolverine, and then it was with Mystique.

There's also the fact that they hardly pulled from source material, largely because they were embarrassed by it.

Like, they were not being subtle about that at all.

Do I need to even play that line again?

The only films in that franchise I would consider good would be the Deadpool films.

Because....

They were actually good

They wore the comics on their shelves rather than being embarrassed by it

They were the most disconnected from the X-Men films

Speaking of which, this franchise is infamous for its absolute clustefuck of a continuity.

You know things are not that good when they can't even keep a consistent timeline.

-The characterization of Cyclops.

Just like with Magneto, I really like Cyclops, but I'm not a fan of how he's been written for nearly 20 years.

Yeah, I'm not exactly big on Revolutionary Cyclops.

Apart from the fact that he emerged during the X-Men's roughest era, there's also the fact it's had quite the effect on any discourses surrounding the character.

Fans seem to believe that Cyclops can only be portrayed as a revolutionary in all forms of media.

Literally nothing else.

Hell, it's so bad that people are already begging for '97 Cyclops to become a revolutionary!

Look, I get that Cyclops wasn't too many people's favorite, specifically during the early years.

And the Claremont era didn't exactly do him too many favors since he would be slowly phased out along with the rest of the original X-Men.

But I feel like he really came into his own during the 90s.

Plus, '97 and Evolution Cyclops showed that Cyclops doesn't have to be a revolutionary in order to be a. engaging and interesting character.

There's also a few more issues that's arose from his characterization.

The last near 20 years have really highlighted Cyclops' skills, to show why he's the leader of The X-Men.

I get that you want to show that he is a competent fighter and leader.

However, it's gotten to the point where fans seem to believe that Cyclops can beat anyone in general, no matter how crazy powerful they are, with his ridiculous amount of plans and back-up plans.

Starting to sound familiar?

There's also that fact that fans and even the majority of X-Men writers seem to believe that Cyclops always has to suffer just to be interesting.

Essentially, he suffers the same exact problem as another major Marvel character.

And just like what people have said about him, Cyclops constantly suffering has gotten incredibly repetitive and stale.

You can only do it so much before it starts to become boring and tiring.

And lastly, him being the leader of all mutantkind and the one to unite them all....

I don't like this.

He should be ONE of the leaders, but not THE leader.

Is there literally no one else that could co-lead?

Also, with him being the leader and unifier of mutantkind.....

I wouldn't say it's white saviorism or a Messiah thing, but it does feel somewhat adjacent to that.

I kinda feel like all this was done as a form of compensation for how much of a punk the character has been portrayed as in just about every major X-Men adaptation of the last near quarter century.

Bar a few exceptions....

-COLOSSUS IS NOT A PEDOPHILE!

So over the last few months, some fans have discovered about the infamous age gap between Colossus and Shadowcat during their early years with the X-Men.

Colossus was like 19 at the time, while Kitty was 13 to 14.

Which, for anyone that isn't asking to be on a list, isn't good.

However, people have taken to claim that Colossus is actually a pedophile.

But here's the thing people seem to forget.

He was written by John Bryne.....

For anyone who doesn't know, Bryne is infamous among comics for his habit of pairing underage girls with grown men.

He did this with Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman, revealing the latter met the former when she was 12 years old and he was in college.

He had Superman kiss a 14-year old on the lips.

And perhaps most infamously of all, having Peter Parker lock lips with Mattie Franklin, a 15-year old.

While he himself was not only in his mid-20 around this time, but also still a MARRIED MAN.

(Fun Fact: This was one of the earliest attempts of Marvel trying to get rid of Mary Jane for.....obvious reasons)

(Also, I hate this panel with every fiber of my being. And I typically I don't like to wish death upon people, but I'm making an exception. Bryne needs to get drug out into the street and shot, because I'm starting to think he may possibly be the EDP445 of comic writers. Like, you can not write this shit and not expect people to notice a pattern and raise a few eyebrows)

But besides that, it seems that since the 2000s, they've quietly retconned all this (for obvious reasons) to have Colossus and Shadowcat be much closer in age.

The Summers Family Tree has become a problem.

Just about everyone knows that the Summers family tree is an absolute mess.

Like, there's only so many alternate reality children, alternate future children, and clones that you have before it seems to become old and tiresome.

There's also Mister Sinister's famous obsession with them.

Like dude, I understand that they're powerful.

But like, are just not any other powerful mutants you could be obsessed with.

What about Storm?

Iceman?

Hell, what about Magneto and his kids?

The treatment of Xavier.

This is basically the opposite of how Magneto's been treated.

Whereas Magneto's been depicted as a secret hero, Xavier's been depicted as a secret villain.

I get that Xavier is not perfect, but the dude has been so villainized over the last 20+ years and revealed to have done a lot bad things, he might as well be called Satan.

And frankly, it's become tired.

Like, how many times have they done the "Xavier has done something terrible" shtick now?

The most recent was in The Fall of X.

At this rate, why is he even still here?

Since he's apparently never done anything good for anyone, he should just leave already!

There's also the fact that apparently his dream was always bad and never what mutantkind needed.

And to that I must say.....

While he may have not approached it in the best way, his goal was far more noble and frankly, what mutants really needed.

Showing that humans and mutants can peacefully co-exist with each other.

Maybe not all of them, but still, being able to show that it is possible.

And in general, this would be a future where everyone wins.

Whereas Magneto's, wouldn't.

This would be the most obvious in the case of the humans.

But even for the mutants, there would be a bit of an asterisk for them.

Magneto has proven he's not as accepting towards all mutants as he lets on.

Like remember Toad?

He fucking hated him and treated him like shit!

The X-Men and their relationship with the much greater Marvel Universe needs to change.

To wrap this all up, we'll be talking about a big one.

Ever since the 2010s, the X-Men comics have become infamous how they characterize other major heroes of the Marvel Universe.

That being.....not in a flattering light.

Most of these guys are portrayed incredibly poorly, not acting like themselves at all.

The only exception to this is Spider-Man.

But then again, he gets written with more respect in every other title than his own.

This is obviously done in order to make the X-Men look good.

Plus it's pretty apparent there's a great bias towards them.

But however, I think this has the opposite effect.

All it does it make the X-Men look like egotistical, self-serving assholes who would gladly screw people over (no matter how disastrous) if it meant they got to survive/thrive.

"Yeah! I love seeing my favorite heroes being portrayed as selfish cowards!"

There's also this....

These panels are from the X-Men relaunch, and they've been quite infamous for....obvious reasons.

And apart from that, it just makes the X-Men also look like self-victimizing douches.

Basically saying that they're the only ones suffering, and that nobody else in the entire damn world knows what it means to struggle.

And as you can tell, they'll usually say it to people of color.

You remember that panel from Ultimate Spider-Man when Spidey cursed out the X-Men and called them out on their bullshit?

Yeah, can we get that for these versions?

They really deserve it.

Also, I recently saw a comment that said that X-Men comics are the only place where white writers can fulfill their fantasies of yelling at people of color and then cry about how THEY'RE oppressed.

And after seeing these panels, I wholeheartedly agree.

Well that's all I have for now.

These were some grievances I've been having with the X-Men for a while now, and I wanted to finally get them out.

I really hope that anyone who reads is able to respond to this in a civil manner and possibly not call me a racial slur.

But I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

I have a few more of these, but these were the ones I could only do for now.

And I'm planning do something similar to this for undoubtedly the biggest Marvel character of them all.

But until then, I'll see you guys around.

[queerofthedagger]

I'm really curious about the Uther things you mentioned?

Ahh hey! Yeah I can talk on that a bit (for context, I think I said that I do find his character intriguing and that my opinion on him has evolved quite a bit, influenced by mostly disagreeing with what a lot of people tend to say?)

So the thing about Uther is that I feel people tend to either go "He's evil, everything he does at any given time is evil, I hate him and there is nothing more to it," or they go "Oh but he loved his children!!!" in a kind of, redeeming-quality-kind of sense. I'm somewhat hyperbolizing, of course, but I do think fandom tends to a very black and white view.

Don't get me wrong, I hate Uther. I hate Uther with a burning passion, and I love to hate him. He's terrible. But I do think the show actually did go to quite an effort to make him complex beyond a simple "tyrannical son of a bitch" (that he was) or "Oh okay but he loved Ygraine and his kids 🥺" (which he did!).

Of course he is terrible. He murdered hundreds if not thousands of people over the guilt he could not bear to live with, that was, in the first place, the consequence of his own actions. I do believe he didn't know that the price would be Ygraine's life; he was still willing to sacrifice someone's life. Which is very Uther. Yes, at the root of that lies grief, and at the root of grief lies love, but the thing (and also imo the crux of Uther's character) is that being capable of loving people doesn't somehow, magically (ha. sorry) make you less of a bad person.

Terrible people can love other people. In fact, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find people no matter how atrocious their actions, who don't have people they love. And most people don't set out to "do something evil;" Uther, in all his atrocities, always had justifications to himself.

I think it says a lot that despite the brutal war he wrought, he was by and large not considered a bad king, per se, by his people and allies. We could dismiss all those instances where the show makes a point to reiterate this as fear of speaking up - and I'm not saying that didn't play a part - but I think that's making it too easy. There is a whole other essay on propaganda and how the war on magic worked, but I'll get to that another time. My main point is that, as uncomfortable as the thought may be considering just what horrors he wrought, he wasn't a frothing, mad bag full of cartoonish evil.

That doesn't mean that he "wasn't that bad, really." Which kind of brings me to the other side of things, the way people like to throw "Well, but he loved his kids," into the mix as a kind of. I don't know, counterpoint to the "tyrannical son of a bitch" side. And like, the thing is, he did. The thing is, that doesn't change a thing.

Yeah, Uther loved both Arthur and Morgana. We see enough proof of that through the seasons, whether it's in the Excalibur Episode where he fights in Arthur's stead at any cost, or in Le Morte d'Arthur where he openly weeps, or with Morgana in various instances to a degree where some people think he loved her more (and again, yet another essay on how his love for Arthur is tangled up so much in his guilt and the hatred that caused, but I digresss), not least in how her 'betrayal' broke him.

Ultimately, though, he also put Arthur in harm's way again and again. He certainly rarely ever told him he loved him, to the point where Arthur is shocked to hear it. He puts his children in chains and locks them away and drugs them and threatens them in all manners, he lies to them and hides the truth from them (Ygraine/Morgana's parentage in the first place) to the detriment of their well-being, and so on. His love is conditional. His love demands obedience and submission. We could argue until we're blue if that's really love in the first place, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter all that much.

People can love other people, and it can be entirely inconsequential, because frankly, most parents love/"love" their kids. That doesn't mean they're automatically good parents, or even good people. In Uther's case it really isn't a redeeming quality at all. It just makes him complex and interesting and multi-dimensional as the villain/antagonist. Because it makes us grapple with the really very unfortunate but inevitable fact that even terrible people are still people. They aren't some removed monster that no one can ever relate to. They love and they laugh and grieve, and they can still turn around and burn people in their frontyard on the daily without missing a beat. They can be willing to die for their children and threaten violence and exile in the next breath.

I think with Uther, at the end of the day, for me it's really both. His atrocities started out of love, and his love is steeped, inevitably, in the violence and twisted moral framework of his character; it's not an either/or thing at all, it depends on each other. And he is a goddamn son of a bitch, of course, even if every once in a bluemoon he still sheds honest tears for his unfortunate children.

[starrieisdelusional]

Merlin Fix It AU Season 2 Episode: Balinor

balinor lives in a cave and had planned on staying happily there until the end of times until the great dragon is yelling non-stop in his head for 24/7

Annoyed wasn’t even an overreaction. He feels like he’s going mad. He tried spells, potions, meditation, nothing seems to work. So he gave up and goes to Camelot to free him.

He tries breaking his chains but sadly it was enchanted. Only a weapon as powerful as excalibur or magic of the greatest warlock alive can free him. This goes on a few times until merlin stumble upon him and made it his life mission to assassinate this man.

Balinor didn’t go down without a fight, even calling his dragonlord powers, until merlin started using his magic. Balinor was dumbfounded, his magic feel similar to his, and there’s no doubt about it this is probably his son.

He look at kilgharrah and the dragon smirk. Balinor was pissed. He almost killed his son and the dragon didnt think it was an important information to tell him? If balinor was right, they might even kill each other and the dragon still wouldnt say anything.

“That’s my son” Balinor said

“Not really, you see, Merlin is a reincarnation of magic himself….”

Kilgharrah spout his usual bullshit and balinor flip him off. He made a truce with merlin since then and live in gaius’s chambers for the rest of the series.

(Merlin tried to kick him out a couple of times: “you can’t live here, this is the court physician chambers!”

“I don’t care”

And conveniently enough everytime someone enters the room balinor would disappear out of sight.)

(Additional) Character’s reaction when they found out that there’s a man living inside of Gaius’s chambers the entire time:

Gaius:

“Gaius? Is everything alright??” Merlin entered the chamber to see Gaius sprawled on the floor like a princess, unconscious.

“Hey I didn’t do anything” balinor shrugs, slurping his meal

Arthur:

“…so there’s a homeless man who started living in your bedroom?”

“He sleeps outside with Gaius but more or less yes”

When Merlin goes out to wash the dishes balinor put a hand on arthur’s shoulder “if i see you, lay one naughty hand on that boy, you’re dead.”

Arthur was more or less confused.

Gwen:

“Are you sure you’ve been feeding him Merlin?”

“Of course! I’m not that heartless! I always take my duties seriously”

“But you can’t seem to bring me food in time” Arthur snarks from the window

Before Merlin can retort, it was Balinor who reply instead “You should be with the girl, she’s much more polite, caring, and kind than the blond bastard over there”

“You can’t speak like that to a prince!”

“Yeah? Can you deny that you are a royal bastard though?”

Gwen has to take Arthur to his room because he wouldn’t stop sulking for the rest of the day.

Interested in my AU…?

or filter with the hashtag #must we really rely on fate?

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

QUALIFYING ROUND: 33rd Tilt

King Arthur Pendragon, Excalibur (1981) VS. Nicodemus Ravens, The Shamer’s Daughter {Skammerens Datter} (2015)

Propaganda

King Arthur Pendragon, Excalibur (1981) Portrayed by: Nigel Terry

“Item the first: I could lose myself in those soulful eyes. Item the second: those CHEEKBONES. Item the third: he makes me cry every! time! and his acting choices are subtle enough that I'm not sure I could even itemize why, but he kisses Guinevere under her veil and I want to protect him from everything and then, when he's standing on the battlements of Camelot and there are tears in his eyes and he just loves his friends so much I... it's just so much. I feel as though Nigel Terry understands that the character of King Arthur is about: 1) loving his friends So Much 2) UNBEARABLE SORROW."

Nicodemus Ravens, The Shamer’s Daughter {Skammerens Datter} (2015) Portrayed by: Jakob Oftebro

“Nicodemus is a sad young man, unjustly blamed for killing his family in order to let his evil stepbrother take the throne. Also, he's played by Jakob Oftebro, Norwegian actor of great hotness”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For King Arthur:

For Nicodemus Ravens:

“Listen, I don't know what to tell you. He's an angsty loser who has to be saved from execution by a little girl. But he can still get it, and even more so in the sequel.”

[the-kingshound]

Decision - part 2 of ?

TW: suicidal/self harming thoughts, description of violence, grief.

Time has lost all kind of matter or significance. After having torn the masked person apart limb by limb, slowly, until your clothes and your hair and your skin drip blood, still tasting metal in your mouth, you have functioned in an empty shell. Their screams weren't satisfying, they wouldn't be enough for the pain caused. The wound on your abdomen is closed, but pulses and doesn't hurt nearly enough.

You took down Arthur and Saraah's bodies. You hugged them and dry heaved. You weren't able to truly cry. It hurt too much, to hold their cold boneless body, so you didn't allow yourself any more contact than necessary.

It is your fault.

You stay in the room where it all happened. An unbearable amount of time later, someone finds you, kneeling in a pool of blood like a broken useless doll.

"Oh, no..."

It's Merlin. He gets you out. He enchants the bodies you hold not to rot, preserving them. When your mind starts revolting and clawing at your chest, Merlin shushes you like a small child.

"Drink," he tells you, placing a tea in your hand. You do, only because the warm smell of it compels you to as intended.

Merlin keeps you sedated for a while. Sometimes you wake, groggy, laid inside his tent. He is either working on your injury, or making potions and teas. He makes you drink something that pulls you into consciousness again. And again. Perhaps he wants to spare you, but from the very first conscious inhale you take when you wake, pain devours you whole and doesn't stop until you fall into magic induced sleep again.

The fourt time you wake up, he does allow you too stay awake. For good measure, he puts a warm cup in your hand.

"That is just for the nausea," he explains, somewhat avoiding your gaze. As if he knew it was your fault, as if he blamed you and he SHOULD he should blame you-

"I didn't make it in time," Merlin confesses, taking a steaming mug for himself. This time, he is looking at you, and he looks so old and tired. Guilty. "Mordred alerted me. Told me where to look. But I was too late and now..."

He takes a small sip of his tea. "I never though I would have to live past my boy. I hoped I wouldn't. I am old enough, as you can see."

Your heart breaks. You want to throw up, to destroy the tent, to tear up the entire kingdom.

Merlin then places the pomel of a sword in your hand. You feel a wave of anguish, instantly washed down in favour of warm consolation. Excalibur grieves, and yet it tries to soothe your pain.

"Here. Hold it. It wanted to stay with you."

You swallow, and this time you might cry. For a brief moment you feel an intense desire to cut your throat with Excalibur but you know it will stay blunt.

You have to bring your King and your brother home.

[bluebellhairpin]

Thou So Long Hast Mourn'd

Bruce Wayne X Batmom!Reader

Summary: After Jason's passing, your grief and anger combined causes you to leave Gotham - swearing only to return when you have a perfect chance to kill the Joker for what he did to your son. (Part 2 to 'Hell Hath No Fury')

Warnings: Loss and Grief (Mentions of a funeral and repeated mentions of Jason dying. We miss Mumma's Boy Jay a lot :( ). Bad coping mechanisms all round. Clark Kent acts as a marital buffer. (Reader is fem coded; has she/her pronouns; is referred to as ‘wife’ multiple times. Has the hero name of 'Valentine'.)

Listening to: 'Skyfall' By Adele - "I know I'd never be me without the security of your loving arms keeping me from harm."

Series Masterlist || Masterlist || Ko-Fi

Yes, thou shalt know, spite of thy past Distress, - 

Jason’s funeral was attended by a very small number of people. Yourself, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred all front and center. 

For days, weeks, the media pestered asking question after question. “A tragic accident.” Commissioner Gordon would reply. It became you answer too, like a well-rehearsed prayer. 

A tragic accident. Tragic. Accidental tragedy. Accident. 

Except it was no such accident. Someone killed Jason. A man, who still walked free, murdered your son. 

Even now, a month after you buried the child, as you sat listening to rain pat against the window panes in Wayne Manor, you remembered what you’d told Bruce the night he brought Jason home for the last time. 

“I’m going to kill him.” you said. “I’m going to kill the Joker.” You told Bruce you’d do what you’d vowed to never do again. You promised yourself to avenge your son, to make sure no one else would ever lose a child to that monster ever again. 

Ever since that night you’d felt a wedge slide between you and Bruce. Dick, only sixteen and having lost the closest thing he had to a brother was feeling it - you could see it on his face, and they way he held his shoulders at dinner. How you were feeling, how little Bruce was doing about it - none of it was doing Dick any good. 

Aside from the anger, you didn’t know how you were feeling. You never thought you’d ever be a mother - you had no idea what to do to help anyone. So you left. 

Bruce was out on patrol - he dove into Batman head first, a bitter feeling in your stomach had you thinking he was compensating. Dick was out - gymnastic practice, which Alfred was in charge of tonight. You were left alone in a huge house, and you couldn’t stand to stay there any longer. 

A small bag was packed with basics - clothes, cash, a few weapons from the cave, and a single family photo taken while on vacation just that past summer (stolen from its frame and folded into a jacket pocket close to your heart). As you walked past the main living space, you stopped, and looked up towards the item hanging above the fireplace. 

The sword - Excalibur - a god-given gift to humankind to exact true justice, now resting as a collectors antique catching dust. You knew if you took it that you would be able to do what you needed to. During your time using it there was no greater pull than to execute Joker - yet something always stopped you. 

You knew it was Bruce. 

Even already, your own guilt over what you meant to do wouldn’t let you take it with you. 

Naturally, on that night, Alfred brought Dick was home first. It was already nine thirty, and while Dick would be up for a long while, he knew the boy wasn’t sleeping proper anymore. 

Alfred sent him up to his room anyway, reassuringly with a hand on his shoulder, telling him to go try and get some rest. 

But Alfred knew something wasn’t right in the Manor the moment he stepped inside. It was too quiet. Like it had been empty as long as they’d been away - even though he knew full well you should’ve been there to keep the house alive. 

Although not trained, the butler had a sixth sense for a lot of things - he was a natural at whatever he sent his mind to (in his youth it was acting, and hence so seeing through lies and reading rooms (for improvisation, obviously) went with it). He set out to find you. Looked in all the usual places, and the unusual ones, in the big rooms and the small ones. 

In the last week or so you’d taken to spending time sitting in the walk-in-fridge. He worried about you a lot. While Dick still had school and his friends, and Bruce threw himself into Batman, you only really had yourself. It wasn’t healthy. 

But no matter how much he looked, or where he looked, you were nowhere to be found - not in the house, nor in the grounds. You’d said nothing about going out when he left, he would’ve remembered. In a last ditch effort to find you, he looked in one last place. 

But you hadn’t been in the Batcave since Jason came home. 

It was there, as he walked down a set of stairs, that he noticed a piece of paper haphazardly taped to one of the center computer monitors. 

He grabbed it, and flipped it open, reading quietly to himself the words inside, scrawled in your handwriting. 

‘Bruce, Don’t look, you know I won’t let you find me. I’m going to do something you will hate me for - probably forever. I can’t keep living like this knowing Jason’s killer is out there killing more mother’s sons. Take care of Dickie. Don’t take Alfred for granted.’

The older man found himself sinking into the chair beside him.

He had a hunch this was coming - he wasn’t in the cave the night Bruce brought Jason home, instead at the time he was upstairs taking a call from an excited Dick who was recalling his day spent doing a treasure hunt around Blüdhaven for a school camp trip that lasted the whole week. Alfred had no idea how you first reacted - he didn’t know how Bruce reacted to your reaction. 

He knew it wasn’t good. Especially since in your note you didn’t even say goodbye to your husband. 

You’d been hiding in a place you knew Bruce wouldn’t ever look - he always hated visiting Metropolis, the city was too bright.  

You knew no one there would snitch on you - most didn’t even recognize you, and the one person who did, conveniently the man who was the closest thing Bruce had to a best friend, wouldn’t ever snitch on you. Not for this. 

‘I needed a break,’ you’d lied, ‘Couldn’t handle being in Gotham after…’ You never finished, and you knew Clark could see through a lie like glass - but the grief he could see. He could also see the anger simmering underneath. He never called you out for it though. 

You’d been there a while, waiting, watching Gotham from a distance Bruce wouldn’t see you from. You kept tabs mostly on Batman - although interviews with Bruce having to explain where his wife went were entertaining (in a sick, satisfying way). Sometimes you were sick, others you were out of town, most times you ‘weren’t feeling up to it’ - the latter two would be closest to the truth, not that he’d know that. 

You often looked fondly at whatever information came though about Dick - he took out the gymnastics first place for his age bracket in the Gotham state. The picture made your heart ache - his smile was wide and toothy, but even though your printed newspaper you could tell it wasn’t reaching his eyes. 

Who you were watching most, though, was the Joker. You combed through old reports and new ones. Even called up Harley Quinn a few times, just to get a perspective on him from someone who was - at one point - much closer to him. She asked you why you wanted to know. 

“I need to know.” 

“O-kay. And where exactly have you been Val?” she’d said, voice crackling down the hotel landline, “You ain’t locking yourself up in that Mansion are ya?” 

“No. I’m not in Gotham right now.” 

“So what’s even the Joker to ya if you ain’t even here huh?” 

“When I come back,” you said, “I’m going to kill him.” 

You became a Joker expert in almost one night.

You got a late night visitor less than a week after that phone call. Clad in red and blue, with a gaudy cape and that stupid ringlet you and Bruce would always bitch about on late nights under bed covers. 

You were a little happy to see Clark - you actually had nothing against him, it was all just in jest (or solidarity because Bruce was your husband). He was let in pretty quickly. Mostly to avoid questions from the nosey couple who’d been staying in the room next to yours for the past three days. 

He stood around awkwardly while you watched him from the seat next to the room’s microwave, posture screaming Clark Kent, journalist, even though he looked like Superman, world-know superhero. 

“I’m, uh -” he started after you stared at him hard, wordlessly willing him to speak, “- I’m worried. I think you should go back to Gotham soon. To Bruce, specifically.” 

“And why’s that?” He looked at you like you’d just said you had Kryptonite in your pocket. 

“Because you’re in trouble.” 

“I’m here in Metropolis, I’m with you right now, I couldn’t be in less trouble if I tried.” 

“You know I have super hearing.” he said sheepishly. It was like he was telling his Ma he ran over her peonies with a bicycle. You put two and two together quickly though. 

“You’ve been spying on me?” 

“For me!” He said, stepping back with his palms towards the sky, “I feel better about not telling Bruce if I know what’s going on with you.” 

“And so what part of your spying brought you here tonight?” Both your arms and legs crossed, you could tell from his face he didn't mean for you to get so offensive so quickly. 

“You were talking to Harley Quinn?” 

“Oh that,” you scoffed with a wave of your hand, “Even Bruce does that. She’s not so bad. Taught me how to roller-skate you know.” 

“About the Joker?” 

“That happens often when my husband is being a pain in my ass,” you said, “Reminds me he could be much, much worse.” Clark motioned his head - ‘fair’, but then he returned serious once more. This time it wasn’t a question. 

“You said you were going to kill him.” 

You knew he couldn’t read your mind, but he could hear how your heartbeat picked up. He had to know you knew you’d been caught. He sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting for your answer in the most approachable way he knew in that moment. 

“I’d be doing everyone a favor.” 

“Bruce - I don’t know what he’d do. He could hate you.” 

“I’m sure he hates me right now anyway.” 

“You can’t believe that,” Clark said, looking up at you with blue eyes that almost looked like Bruce’s. “You don’t really believe he hates you right now?” You took a great interest in the patterned carpet. Clark said your name, and you reluctantly looked back at him. 

“He misses you.” 

“I miss my son.” You bit back at him bitterly. His face remained hard. This was suddenly no longer Clark. You were talking to Superman now. 

“I’m not sure how to say this kindly,” Clark said with a firm voice, “But you’re so focused on the child you lost that you’re abandoning the one that’s still here. Bruce misses you, but Dick misses you even more. He doesn’t need to lose another Mom.” 

His stare was hard, stubborn - he wasn’t going to let up. Your stare was hard too - sour and angry, not because you didn't believe him, but because you knew how right he was. 

“I think you can leave now.”

Two weeks later, after a late night grocery run that consisted mostly of chicken noodle cups and instant coffee, you found a lump of black sitting in the dark with its back against the door of your room. 

Clark told Bruce. 

He didn’t seem to notice your approach, but once you stood toe-to-toe with his polished Oxford shoes, you kicked his leg. 

“Get up.” 

His head of messy hair lifted, and when his brain fully processed you - his wife, finally! - standing before him, he almost jumped to his feet. Uncharacteristic of him outside his prior - and now ditched - playboy persona. 

He breathed your name, stepping forward with hands outstretched as if to hug you. You took a step back. Clark, apparently hadn’t told him everything - if he had, he was taking it very, very well. 

“Where’s Dick?” 

“With Alfred,” he said, hands falling to his sides again after you hummed in acknowledgment. You both stood in silence for a while, before you gestured to a door with a full hand. He got the hint, stepping away, then taking the bags away from one hand as you fumbled for your keys. 

The quiet continued as you let yourselves in, you sat the shopping on the bench, and he made himself at home at the table near the door. You sat back down in the microwave chair, the furthest place from him you could be while still staying in the room. 

“Been keeping busy, Bruce?” you asked, he turned to fully face you in his seat. 

“Not really,” he said, “I’ve been looking for you. Never thought you’d be here,” You almost smiled, thinking about how right you were for coming here. Almost. 

“Heard you went to Saudi Arabia while I’ve been gone.” 

“It was nothing. Really.” 

“You couldn’t have been looking too hard if you were able to take a ‘nothing, really’ trip to the Arabian Mountains.” 

“I’m not here to fight with you,” Bruce said, resting a palm on his knee, “I’m here to ask you to come home. We all miss you.” his last words came out very quietly. “It’s been months. Nothings going to get easier if you stay away.” 

“Are you listening to yourself?” you said with a soft scoff, “He who literally spent every single night after Jason died away from home. He who spends every moment he can down in a dark damp cave rather than with his family - I don’t think you get to tell me where I should be.” You felt tears well in your eyes - hot and fat if they fell, but you willed yourself not to let them. Bruce’s shoulders softened, and he stood and walked closer slowly, coming to kneel before you with his fingers just touching yours. 

“We both haven’t been doing well, have we?” his head shook and his voice was barely audible. It was like he was speaking to himself. His admission - finally, his own pride and stubbornness aside, and it made yours disappear like dust in the wind. 

“You need to see my bathroom,” you said. His head cocked, a sly smile twitched onto his lips. 

“Oh?” he said, “And what might I find there?” But you weren’t smiling. You were trying to be honest.

“Just go look.” you said, turning away from him, bringing your hand away. Telling him with your actions that you weren’t going to be talking until he did. 

He stood, opening the bathroom door behind you and flicking on the light. You could feel how still he was. Taking in the room, and what was inside it. 

All across the mirror and walls were taped up newspaper clippings and photos and articles printed off from the library, old and new, a few of him - Batman - but most of the Joker. Beside the toilet was a case - one he knew would hold parts of a rifle (parts he'd seen you pull apart and put back together in a minute flat) - and across the sink were knives and gun magazines. 

Bruce stepped off the carpet and onto the tile. There was a little list in the center of the mirror, written in red and with the last line underlined.

‘Kill the Joker’. 

When he returned to you, he was holding the list in one hand. 

“When were you planning on doing this?” he asked. You weren’t able to meet his eyes when you answered. 

“Whenever I go back to Gotham.” His body went rigid beside you. Audibly, he let out a breath.

“I’ve thought about it too. Just getting rid of him like that.” he admitted, voice quiet and with a rough edge, “But I know it won’t help. It won’t bring him back.” 

“This isn’t about bringing him back. If I knew it could bring Jason back I’d have done it weeks ago.” You looked up at Bruce as you spoke, watching as his face crinkled in disbelief. 

“You’re so serious about this.” 

“How could you still think I’m not serious?” you said, standing to help convince yourself you weren’t as unsure as you felt. “I will do it. A time will come when that monster dies - wherever it is I will be standing by watching.” 

He watched you. Analyzing your face and the way your eyes moved. His face set like stone, hard and sure and you knew he was much more upset now having found out than what he was when you were missing. He took a step back. 

Bruce was moving towards the door. 

“I won’t stop you. I couldn’t bear to.” he turned, hand on the door handle, “But Batman still will.”

As far as you knew, you’d made it back into Gotham City undetected. 

You knew the route’s Bruce - no - Batman, took while out on patrol. You knew the surveillance he constantly would check. You knew because for years you’d helped him do it all. 

Thankfully, you had a not-so-little little helper - Joker assassination aside, Harley was more than happy to put you up for a while. After you’d killed Joker you’d planned to turn tail and leave again - maybe hide someplace in Australia where no one barely goes. It wasn’t like you had to put up with her long anyway. 

Harley was great, but you’d have to love her a whole lot to live with her longer than a week. But you weren’t planning to stay that long. 

You’d tracked Joker to an apartment complex near Arkham - you knew he wouldn’t stay there forever, so you needed to act fast. 

Your weapons of choice were clean and ready to go, your escape routes A through to D were memorized, a hood and bandana combo were acquired to hide your identity long enough for no one around to know it was you. By all means and definitions you were ready to go. 

You left Harley’s place wordlessly. You were sure she didn’t even know you left. 

A cloak and the shadows of night concealed you from most passersby. Slowly, slowly you stalked towards where you knew the Joker to be. When you climbed the fire escape to find your vantage point, you almost didn’t make it all the way there because you saw Him. 

Sitting, lounging. Acting like there was not a single thing in the world to worry about. It made you so angry you could scream, claw your eyes out, you could do so many things all because that man couldn’t care less about your son dying. 

In fact, you didn’t make it to your original vantage point. 

You settled right there, three levels lower than planned, and took the rifle off your shoulder. Clipping on the scope, twisting the silencer on, packing the magazine in. Settled your body into a comfortable position, then raised the gun to look at your target through the scope. 

With greasy green hair and yellow teeth, you watched him smile through the crosshairs. With a sneer you flicked the safety off. You were ready to take the shot.

A flash of red, green and yellow came in front of the Joker. You frowned, confused. Pulling the scope back you looked again with a wider range and saw something that made your heart drop. Someone was tied up and presented to him like a present. 

The Joker had Robin. 

Your Robin. Your son. Your Dick Grayson. 

Suddenly this was more than just a chance to avenge Jason. A switch flicked inside your heart. This wasn’t a chance to avenge Jason anymore; this was you, saving the son you had left. This was you not giving that monster the chance to keep you in black. 

The lethal rifle was ditched right there on the fire escape, not caring if a lowlife found it before you could return. The knives you’d stashed - ‘just in case’ - were now your swords. Their piercing blades becoming the only thing shielding those who stood in your way a feral beating from bare fists. 

No one was standing in your way of taking Dick home safely. 

Your veins pumped white hot, you saw red all over. This was not going to happen a second time. It wasn’t ever going to happen again. 

A goon at the door stood in your way, he was met with a knee to the crotch and a wound to his shoulder to keep him down. More on the stairs were thrown over bannisters. One had his head smashed into the doorway of the Joker’s apartment. Another was given a hard elbow to the back of his neck. 

You weren’t aiming to kill - you were aiming to get them out of your way, and keep them that way. 

When you reached the room which window you saw through, there were only four other people aside from yourself, your son, and that murdering bastard. They all stayed quiet, goons waiting on a call to action from their boss. You missed the way Dick’s eyes widened as he realised his Mom was here. You were busy staring down the Joker, trying to make him feel just how much pure hate you had for him without a single word. 

“Give me Robin,” you said, voice low, venomous. Dangerous. 

“Well if you want him so bad, and since you asked nicely,” His smile spread wide and uncanny. “Come and get him.” 

So you did. 

Like a blur of back and blue, you had all four men either out cold or groaning on the floor. The Joker himself was under your kneeling form with his teeth now stained red and an eyes swollen shut. 

“Listen well because I’ll only say it once.” You said, your hand a rough fist in his hair to make sure he looked into your eyes and saw exactly how much of a threat your promise was. 

“I spared your life today. I will never do it again. I am not the Batman. The next time I find you trying to pull something with one of my Robin’s and you see me coming you'd better run the other way because I will kill you.”

After untying Dick, retrieving your abandoned gear, and throwing Joker into Arkham, you reconvened with Dick on a nearby rooftop. 

You barely stood upright on two legs before he barreled into you, arms thrown around your waist with his face squished right into your collarbone. He’d grown taller in the time you’d been away. You felt tears fall as your arms wrapped around him in kind. 

“I’ve missed you Mom.” he mumbled into your shirt, “Please don’t go away again. Please.” 

A hand raised to the back of his head as you pressed your covered nose into his hair. You took a deep breath with your eyes closed, then opened them, peeling you both apart just enough to take in each other's faces. Even with his mask on you could see how much he was pleading with you to stay.

You brushed his hair away from his face - he needed a haircut soon. 

You wanted to stay, you never wanted to leave him ever again, not after tonight. But would Bruce let you? 

Out the corner of your eye you saw a black drop fall onto the rooftop a little ways off. Batman. He stood, tall and intimidating. In that moment you had half a mind to take a step back even though he made no move closer to you. 

Instead you just held Dick a little tighter. 

Bruce's hand reached out to you, palm open, outstretched, and empty. Waiting for you to take it. 

“I think we can go home now.” he said, “We all can.” Like that, Batman disappeared. Bruce was here. You guessed he bluffed - when it came to you Bruce was always there. 

Things were not going to go back to normal. They weren’t for a while. But the best thing you could do was stay together, all together. As a family. 

Nothing was going to push that away from you again. 

- And all those Ills which thou so long hast mourn'd;

[evol-astraea]

Höllvania's national flag sure is interesting to look at.

It's displayed nearly everywhere in the tileset (heck, even on some of the manholes!). We players have already seen it first in the subway section in Whispers in the Walls and in the Höllvania Central Mall (on the floor, nearby the sliding doors to the Atomicycle/parking area). I wonder what is depicted on it means within the setting's context.

(personal musings under the cut)

The Sun-headed figure seems to be a lady. She has a noticeable slimmer build compared to her "partner" (for the lack of a better term) and wears a full length gown/dress with a mantle draped over he shoulders. The Moon-headed figure appears to be a knight. Now, I'm not entirely sure whether it's meant to be female or male, but they're definitely a knight! They're holding a Medieval great helm in one arm, wear some armor (visible on the ankles and feet) and a cape. Interestingly enough, the crescent used for their "face" represents the waning crescent Lunar phase. Both figures hold a Skana. The same sword often seen used by the Excalibur frame...As well as Arthur in 1999!

The first thing that immediately pops up in the mind is the concept of Dualism, and how important it was for the Orokin. The Sun and the Moon are are amongst the oldest, most ancient pair of "opposites" since the dawn of humankind. Different cultures of the world have, at various points throughout history, given different interpretations about them. Even from a linguistic point of view!

For instance, in Greek mythology (and Roman mythology by extension) the siblings Apollo and Artemis Diana for the Romans are the Sun and Moon deities, respectively. In Greek (ancient and modern), Latin as well as Romance Languages i.e. descended from Latin; like Italian, French, Spanish, Portoguese and Romanian "Sun" is a male noun, whereas "Moon" is a female noun. In other mythologies, religions and languages, however, the roles are swapped. Therefore you have male lunar deities and female solar deities. And then you have the linguistic wildcards where either one or both become "it" still linguistics-wise asdfghjkl (IMPORTANT NOTE: I could add TONS of examples here but, for the sake of keeping this reasonably "short" lenghty, I won't)

Now, in different moments in the TennoCon 2024 demo as well as the released 1999 demo, we can hear characters invoke the name of Sol. Arthur says "Sol help us if these end up Infested" about some games in the Arcade, during the TC2024 demo. Also Zeke (only heard), a few moments before the Technocyte Coda introduction. "For Sol's sake man, don't take this out on me!" (not sure I remember this one 100% right, though) I assumed it was a figure of speech at first (again, given this is not the real world/"Earth in 199 is not quite like ours" to semi-quote DE Reb) but...maybe it is not, after all? Which ties to this other point that caught my interest. (thanks, WF subreddit) There are posters mentioning curfew and authority being given over to Scaldra's Major Neci Rusalka, found in the tileset. They are signed by "the Sublime Majesties". Does this imply Höllvania is ruled by two rulers/sovereigns? Are they a king and a queen? Siblings? Perhaps a brother and a sister...or two sisters, even? Because if it turns out to be the latter...On this side of the Origin System we have the Grineer Queens, aka the Twin Queens. I don't think this is merely a coincidence. Last but not least musing, because who knows, maybe this, too, was thrown in there...Ngl, the first couple of I saw the figures in WitW/the mall my brain automatically went "Wait, are those two meant to be Operator and the Drifter?" Once more, another pair of "opposites". Then again, even the arrangement on the flag reminds of the Moral Alignement thing we've got in-game. Everything seems to be tightly connected to many things in Warframe. (which is why I love the game so much and all the small details added in each and every major update are a FEAST for my own curiosity)

That said, I'm really looking forward WF 1999 and all the things it will bring. >:)

[hannahhook7744]

got any Merlin hc for the rise of red ?

Merlin genuinely has no idea why teaching in modern English at Merlin Academy (where a lot of the kids' first language is not any variation of English) is a bad idea.

Merlin can change his age as he pleases.

He has two kids: a daughter named Stephanie and a son named Dragonet.

He genuinely thinks Morgie is a monster in the making. This is not at all related to anything Morgie or his friends actually did it's just because Morgie was friends with Merlin's daughter, Stephanie, around the time she disappeared and now the sorcerer thinks that he had something to do with it.

Thirteen year old Morgie, who had just lost his only friend at the time, very much did not but since he doesn't have any proof to the contrary Merlin's mind has not changed.

This dislike and suspicion of Morgie translated to his new friends, who Merlin already didn't like.

Morgana and Merlin still hate each other with a burning passion and this whole debacle has only worsened that.

Merlin, about two centuries later, still firmly believes that Morgie had something to do with his daughter's disappearance and does not want his son near him even though he doesn't have any proof that Morgie was involved.

Unfortunately for him, his son Dragonet very much does not believe that Morgie killed his sister and thinks (along with all his friends) that Morgie is friend-shaped.

Merlin is very stressed out running the school because he hasn't had to deal with very many children in his lifetime and generally does not remember much about being a child. So he doesn't have the slightest clue how to handle them. He tries his best but sometimes his bias clouds his judgement.

He has Excalibur in his office and is safe keeping it until the day Arthur returns.

He also has a pet dragon.

[justaz]

merlin still roams the earth thousands of years later yet arthur hasn’t risen. his hope has been waning for millennia and he’s been scraping the bottom of the barrel for centuries, his hope being a meager thing - barely tangible. it’s more caution than anything, he’s been getting by these last few decades on the thought “what if i give up right before he comes back?? just wait another year” and he’s held on for more than fifty years by that. then…nothing. absolutely nothing. not even a ripple in the lake. he’s still alone.

that’s when his barrel has been scraped clean, he has no hope nor caution to carry on anymore. the dragon got one last manipulation in before the end causing merlin to live for centuries upon centuries in agony and despair, held together by false hope that hurts more than arthur’s death did. though maybe that’s time talking, he’s pretty sure he was comatose for a couple of centuries after arthur died, but the sentiment remains.

he marches down to lake avalon and greets freya though she hasn’t responded since arthur passed. he requests excalibur, and she does not respond. he asks again. still nothing. again. nothing. he demands this time for her to give him the damn blade. she does not. for the first time in millennia, he uses magic to draw the blade out but something tugs the sword back, refusing him his last request.

he yells in frustration sending small waves across the still water. he tries again and again but freya doesn’t budge. he falls to his knees, tears escaping his eyes, and shouts for her to give him the sword so he can finally put an end to his agony. arthur isn’t coming back, he can’t keep wandering. he’s exhausted, he’s run out of hope. he just wants to rest. he gently attempts to coax the sword out with his magic one last time but freya still holds it from him.