#he's gonna use his enemy's toes as bait

[ravensofcedar]

Dude, I thought König’s season 2 skin was a joke. I seriously thought everyone was just kidding around, but no! I looked it up, and that’s actually real! This goofy motherfucker is going into battle with his gear like he’s about to go fishing! How’s it feel to get shot down by a 6′10 outdoorsman wearing green rubber gloves and a fishing net over his head?

[moiraineswife]

Jasnah Meta - The Importance of Context

AKA: PLEASE stop saying that Jasnah is pro-genocide when she is. Not. At all. In any way. Shape or form. Whatsoever. 

TL;DR: Nowhere, at any point, in four ginormous books of text, does Jasnah ever say ‘you know what’s great? Genocide.’ She never even implies. It she never even actually, seriously, suggests it. Please stop saying she does as though it’s canon I lose 12 years of my life every time it’s mentioned. 

AND NOW FOR THE LONG VERSION BECAUSE Y’ALL KNOW I CAN’T LEAVE IT AT THAT!!!!! 

PLEASE NOTE! THERE WILL BE SOME MINOR RHYTHM OF WAR SPOILERS IN HERE. PLEASE AVERT YOUR EYEBALLS IF THIS IS A DISTRESSING CONCEPT TO YOU.

So first things first, let us discuss The Scene Itself: 

“Yes. The answer is obvious. We need to find the Heralds.”

Kaladin nodded in agreement.

“Then,” Jasnah added, “we need to kill them.”

“What?” Kaladin demanded. “Woman, are you insane?”

“The Stormfather laid it out,” Jasnah said, unperturbed. “The Heralds made a pact. When they died, their souls traveled to Damnation and trapped the spirits of the Voidbringers, preventing them from returning.”

“Yeah. Then the Heralds were tortured until they broke.”

“The Stormfather said their pact was weakened, but did not say it was destroyed,” Jasnah said. “I suggest that we at least see if one of them is willing to return to Damnation. Perhaps they can still prevent the spirits of the enemy from being reborn. It’s either that, or we completely exterminate the parshmen so that the enemy has no hosts.” She met Kaladin’s eyes. “In the face of such an atrocity, I would consider the sacrifice of one or more Heralds to be a small price.”

“Storms!” Kaladin said, standing up straight. “Have you no sympathy?”

“I have plenty, bridgeman. Fortunately, I temper it with logic. Perhaps you should consider acquiring some at a future date.”

So the only time Jasnah actually brings up this concept it’s to, hyperbolically, point out that asking the Heralds to return to Braize and trap the Fused may not be the worst idea.

She’s not actually suggesting this as a valid or legitimate tactic. It’s to contrast the plan Kaladin just called her ‘insane’ for suggesting (I bet that’s gonna hurt a million times more than it already does in 900 years when we get Jasnah’s book and backstory but hey. Back on topic) and point out that, in the face of the apocalypse, this is the kind of level they have to think on. 

I’ve already talked about the nuances of this scene at length here, so I’ll just do a quick summary: Jasnah is not as composed about any of this internally as she makes out to be - even what she suggests with the Heralds. 

When we see her alone with Ivory, reading Taln’s repeated mantra, Ivory notes that she’s troubled. The words (and where he was/how he was being treated when they were recorded) is enough to trigger a twenty year old flashback in her. 

This scene is one of the clearest moments (along with the Kharbranth thug scene, I suspect) where Jasnah’s outward projection of her internal feelings and thoughts least matches up with reality.

In spite of the inflammatory remark that sparks this all off,  she doesn’t want to assassinate any Heralds. She quite clearly says she wants to “see if one of them is WILLING to return to Damnation.” She wants to have a conversation with them, understand the Oathpact, and see if any of them would consent to buying them some time. She is not suggesting they knife one of the Heralds in a back alley. That’s Moash’s job.

This is supported by what she does in canon. Jasnah is actually the one who recognises Taln and Ash and, somehow, manages to persuade them to join her at Urithiru and help. She treats them with nothing but dignity and respect in her scenes with them in Rhythm of War, and tries to find out more about the Oathpact and their options - as she said she wanted to do.

But since Jasnah is a Kholin, which means the ‘D’ in her DNA stands for DRAMA, she doesn’t say that, instead she says: “let us find the Heralds and kill them.” (I love her so much y’all. Ahem. Anyway).

But there’s method to this madness, too. Please click the ‘keep reading’ button to discover why! (have to turn my own posts into clickbait bc they’re so long I have to put in a cut to spare ur dashboards). 

Jasnah likes to push people. She likes to force them to think, and consider all angles of a problem, and come to terms with their own thoughts and opinions. This is one of the things that frustrates Shallan about Jasnah in TWOK: 

Shallan caught a victorious glimmer in her eye. She wasn’t necessarily advocating ideas because she believed them; she just wanted to push Shallan. It was infuriating. How was Shallan to know what Jasnah really thought if she adopted conflicting points of view like this?

-TWOK 36

Jasnah doesn’t want to brutally murder the Heralds and force them to return to their maddening idea of hell. But in phrasing it as she does, she can get an insight into Kaladin. Despite the fact we know him very well at this point, this is, this is the first time Jasnah has interacted with him on-screen, and only the second time she’s met him ever. 

“That Windrunner. What do you think of him, Shallan? I find him much as I imagined his order, but I have only met him once. It has all come so quickly. After years of struggling in the shadows, everything coming to light—and despite my years of study—I understand so very little.”

Oathbringer, 33

Jasnah in that scene is deliberately being as exaggerated, ruthless, cold, and harsh as she can get away with. She’s trying to push Kaladin. She wants to bait responses from him, to get an idea of what kind of man he is, and what he stands for. She focuses entirely on him on that scene, and the reactions we as readers get see that as well. 

“If you wish, Captain,” Jasnah snapped, “I can get you some mink kits to cuddle while the adults plan. None of us want to talk about this, but that does not make it any less inevitable.”

“I’d love that,” Kaladin responded. “In turn, I’ll get you some eels to cuddle. You’ll feel right at home.”

Jasnah, curiously, smiled.

 Jasnah likes to be pushed as well. She likes to have people push back with her, and stand up for themselves, assert themselves, make their arguments. She all but encourages Dalinar to publicly do so in RoW. 

Socially, in spite of Kaladin’s rank or status as a Windrunner, it’s probably 100% Not Acceptable to ask an Alethi princess if she wants a basket full of eels to cuddle because she is one, effectively. But Jasnah’s unphased - and even pleased - by Kal’s response. She likes that she’s seeing this from him, that he’s unguarded, and passionate, and more than willing to go toe-to-toe with her, which few people are.

Also, because I foresee potential problems in this meta that I would like to nip in the bud right now, I don’t think that Jasnah is doing this to play with people? That’s not really in her nature or who she is. There’s a purpose to everything she does, and there’s a purpose to her doing this, too.

With Shallan it was to encourage her to think for herself and form her own thoughts and opinions. Just before in that scene, Shallan asked why Jasnah couldn’t just tell her what to think and what was the right philosophy to have in life. Jasnah replied it was something she had to discover for herself - and that’s how she approaches all of their studies. 

Jasnah never teaches Shallan what to think, or even what happened, despite that being the meat of her study. Instead, she teaches Shallan how to think, how to study, how to learn, how to critically reason, and how to form and argue her own thoughts and conclusions. 

With Kal, I think it’s a quick and brutal way of quickly getting to grips with a new, very important, element in what’s going on in her world. Remember, too, that one of Jasnah’s most obvious aims, aside from protecting the world, is protecting her family. And Kaladin is very close to everyone that she loves and holds most dear, while she knows nothing about him. 

However, something else that’s important to note, which, for me anyway, RoW all but confirmed: Jasnah has low cognitive empathy.

She’d come to realize, early in her youth, that she didn’t approach relationships the same way everyone else seemed to. Her partners in the past had always complained that she was too cold, so academic. That had frustrated her. How was she to learn what others felt if she couldn’t ask them?

Chapter 99 really was an absolute fucking gift, I mean really. Asexuality AND low empathy, all in one go. What a delight.

This little snippet can be read as her being asexual, potentially, but I actually think it reads more heavily and obviously about her being neurodivergent? And specially low cognitive empathy. Brandon says that, to him, Jasnah is not autistic spectrum, but you just keep giving me more evidence to say she is buddy!! Anyway. Diagnostic debates aside. 

I would guess some of y’all don’t know what the heck I mean by ‘cognitive empathy’ (I didn’t before I researched all of this a couple of years ago). 

There are two types of empathy, in strict psychology terms (and then there’s the colloquial way we use it to just mean ‘a good person with feelings’ which drives me BANANAS but that’s a rant for another day): 

Affective empathy - which basically means ‘this person around me is happy/sad/excited, I am also now feeling that way. Because emotion is infectious like a cold! How thrilling’. 

Cognitive empathy - is the ability a person has to pick up on/know what others are feeling without having to be told. Using tone/body language/facial expression etc etc. It’s something I, and a lot of other autistic people, are bad at. 

So is Jasnah! 

Her previous partners disliked her probably verbally vibe checking them every other week to find out where they were at. Jasnah was frustrated because how the heck else is she meant to know wtf?? What an absolute mood this woman is. Anyway. 

This revelation/confirmation makes a LOT of Jasnah scenes make a lot more sense. Including: chapter 64, and her insistence, to the point of it almost being illogical, that she fight without her Surgebinding to try and get as clear a picutre of what her soldiers are facing as she can. Jasnah starts off that chapter by saying she’s never actually been in a war before, and states throughout that she wasn’t prepared for what it was actually like. 

Her low empathy means that, without a personal context/experience to relate to and draw emotional experience from, she struggles to understand exactly what her troops are going through. 

Obviously she knows that ‘war is bad, battles are scary and not fun’. But she has no way of emotionally relating/truly understanding what they’re feeling. This is one of the reasons I think it’s so important to her, despite Ivory’s chiding, to do it that way so that she can understand. 

Similar thing is happening here with Kaladin. Jasnah struggles to instinctively Get Vibes from people, so she goes about things in a very scholarly way. 

She does research and makes notes (see: her little folio on the highprinces (which, by the way, misses out on several important aspects of them Shallan picks up on pretty quickly by the power of Intuition), she asks questions - and she sets up scenarios that push people into blatant emotion so she can observe and get an idea of what makes them tick. 

TL;DR TAKE TWO: Jasnah does not want to murder all of the Singers. Jasnah never says she wants to. Jasnah only uses it as a ‘see, asking the Heralds to go back to Damnation isn’t actually that bad now is it?’ hyperbolic counterpoint after Kaladin asked her if she was insane. Jasnah is not actually what she pretends to be in that scene. She is but a hapless gay who cannot detect emotions so she has to conduct her Vibe Checks differently from other people. She is highly valid in every way and i stan her.

[chrysalizzm]

!!SPOILERS FOR JANUARY 4TH FESTIVAL STREAM!!

disclaimer: i can’t talk about everything because i have final exams next week and really should be studying so i can’t exactly go back and watch all the vods; i watched the entire thing from ranboo’s perspective and his acting was immaculate good on him. everyone that i discuss in this ramble are, of course, their characters, and not the actual ccs.

holy shit holy SHIT i cannot THINK brain go brrrrrr

okay i need to split this up because i physically cannot disentangle the jumble my brain and emotions are in right now my mind is just a pile of scrambled eggs

predictions??? or well thoughts about tomorrow

one of the things i thought of right away was clingyduo losing their last canon lives together, though this is on shaky ground because i seriously doubt “season two” (for lack of a better word) of the dream smp would end so quickly after season one, and because tommy and tubbo are both such huge catalysts for events happening on the smp, this seems pretty unlikely (they’re both too important for them to end up as a casual death for the sake of moving the plot along, there are a lot of other characters who aren’t on their final canon lives or even some that are that might die if the writers really wanted that bit of oomf, though i don’t really think it’s necessary for any perma-deaths to occur tomorrow). that said, i think toward the end of the smp storyline, or at least once it’s hit a steady storyline or has been around for long enough, it might be really poetic for certain things to come to an end with clingyduo dying together - it ties up the first arc of the dream smp, how everything began, and now how everything ends (this is how the world ends, indeed). also, tommy kept bringing up the fact that he and tubbo are on their final canon lives, and while i think this is mostly just a “bait the audience to subvert expectations at the last moment” move (as happened today kind of with tommy joining tubbo’s side), it’s interesting to hear that particular half of clingyduo contemplating his own mortality.

i think there’s a pretty low chance of niki joining dream and techno, despite my wishful thinking because i think she’d be a great asset to those two in making the l’manberg side falter emotionally and because she’s excellent at organising her thoughts and presenting a really solid argument, something that both dream and techno are just kinda okay at. we saw from niki’s argument that she has torn loyalties - plenty of characters do, but she’s pretty unique in that neither of the reasons she’s fighting for line up that much with techno and dream (i also like that niki’s the one who comes out and says outright that her loyalties are torn because she doesn’t like tommy). she clearly makes the distinction between fighting with tommy and fighting for l’manberg - she’s fighting for l’manberg - and for her, l’manberg outweighs all else. that’s the reason why she’s fighting on tommy’s side - because she knows that dream and techno will destroy what she’s fought so hard to keep whole and safe all this time, throughout the time she’s been on the smp. enemy of my enemy is my friend, all that.

pandora’s vault. MATE. it’s huge and we all know it. i think it’s possible that dream wants to throw everyone who opposes him into the prison - it’s large enough and secure enough to accommodate - but i don’t think he will, because current dream (and i want to make a distinction between current and early dream, because they’re so polar opposite that i’m inclined to believe something’s going on behind the scenes, probably associated with the book schlatt gave him, shoutout to dr3 @dr3amt3am3 on twitter for writing an excellent analysis of dream’s character) is motivated around causing chaos by using everyone. think eris from greek mythology when she tossed the golden apple between athena, hera, and aphrodite - he dips a toe in the water and all the fish fucking jump. he doesn’t need to make the mess because one little push and everyone makes the mess for him. so, no, i don’t think pandora’s vault will be used to imprison all those who oppose him. i know a lot of theories have been floating around about whether it’ll be tommy or phil or techno - those three seem to be the top contenders - and i think i’d like to plump for tommy, who’s probably the one dream wants to see suffer the most and is capable of causing the most damage - after all, look at him rallying the people of l’manberg with just a few sentences after he spent the last month condemned by them.

there was probably more but i have sbi brainrot now let’s move on

wherein i become an staunch techno apologist

i may be on tommy’s side, but i don’t agree with his reasoning or how he acted today. yeah, i said it. yes, he’s been deeply traumatised since election night, arguably even further back, what with being the sole witness as wilbur spiralled and watching his best friend get brutally murdered and being unable to stop techno from razing the nation he helped plant the seeds of to the ground and seeing wilbur get stabbed by their father and exile, gaslighting, panic attacks, this kid needs a goddamn break. but i vibe with techno’s ideals and actions a fair bit more than i do tommy’s. the fact of the matter is, technoblade has always been completely transparent about why he was doing things the way he did them and what they were for (with the exception of a few lies of omission to tommy about what he wanted to happen to l’manberg). from day one he’s made it clear that he’s an anarchist and that what he wants is to abolish the government, and he genuinely believes that anarchy is for the greater good. from techno’s perspective, he’s not wrong - every single problem on the server can be traced back to some form of government or political turmoil, from l’manberg’s fight for independence to this latest festival fiasco. furthermore, when you look at it from an unbiased perspective, techno’s only ever really been used and discarded. he hasn’t instigated any conflicts on his own; he usually gets roped in by whoever’s running the movement, used as a weapon/items cache, then immediately thrown aside as the winners of the conflict establish exactly the opposite of techno’s beliefs. i have a lot of things to say about techno’s role in the smp because i get all angy about it, but for something zingy to leave you with - have you thought about how tommy and wilbur said “we have the blade” - a weapon, not a person?

rip community house ;-;7

yeah no it was almost definitely dream. tommy gains nothing from griefing the community house to that extent, especially not in this political climate (i know the argument can be made that he didn’t have to grief george’s house either, but that doesn’t have the connotations that the griefing of the community house does. no matter how reckless tommy is, i don’t believe that he’s stupid). dream has more to gain at this point from destroying the community house than tommy does, and this shows the audience a lot about current!dream; we know it’s true, now, what he said when he threatened tommy: “i don’t care about anything, actually.” he doesn’t. he said himself that the community house is the most sacred thing on the server, the oldest build, the first and only thing to have remained since the genesis of the dream smp, and so for him to have been the one to destroy it where he’s been so careful to preserve things from the old days of the smp (his pet fish, the community house, spirit) - shocking, the difference between early!dream and current!dream. he’s actually willing to go to literally any lengths to take tommy down, even at the cost of things he once valued above all else. interesting stuff. ((shakes the smug green bastard /smp)) TELL ME WHATS IN THAT BOOK YOU FUNGAL PIECE OF SHIT

applauding the smp members

because WOW that acting was SO FUCKING GOOD special shoutout to niki and ranboo because they fucking NAILED IT

okay i’m gonna go lie down and think about african lit for finals now thanks for reading this incomprehensible babble

[mattzerella-sticks]

Desperation, Baby! (coda to 15x19 “Inherit the Earth”, Dean & Lucifer, Dean/Cas, 2.3k, T)

ao3 link

Death took her sweet time parsing through Chuck's book, meaning Lucifer spent longer than he'd like surrounded by his former vessel, his brother, his son, and a man whose obvious longing made him want to vomit. Instead of returning with his prize, Chuck welcoming him back, he must waste his valuable time playing 'nice; with those he can't stand.

Not that it matters. They don't trust him, each member of this ragtag group of survivors watching Lucifer in shifts. Never leaving him alone.

It's Dean's turn now, and he's driving Lucifer up a wall by doing nothing at all save for broadcasting a never-ending supply of feeling. Can he cut the signal without showing his hand, or put Dean's heart to good use?

           It’s pathetic, truly. Lucifer huffs, deflating, sinking further into his seat. Weighed down by obscene amounts of longing that poured freely off Dean like a broken hydrant. Funneled into his awareness because its usual drain was cordoned forever. It flooded these now silent angelic air waves, Lucifer growing more annoyed with each, excruciating second. Until, finally, “Holy hell, can you please quit it?”

           Dean startles from where he stood, jaw tensing. Mouth flattening in a thin line as he glares, “What?”

           “Quit. It. Quitit!” He hisses, leaning forward. Stretches his arms across the table, reaching for Dean. Fingers twitching, Lucifer imagines Dean’s neck between them. “Seriously, you’re giving me a migraine with all your feelings.”

           “Good.” Dean surprises Lucifer with his response. No attempted denial, nor misdirection. His gaze unflinchingly pierced through Lucifer’s vessel, pride bolstering its blow. Lucifer cannot detect any shame that usually clings to his soul, none of that smell lingering. He’s grown since they’ve last seen each other. Stunning character development. “Deserve it, after that dick move you pulled earlier.”

           “You still upset about that?” Scoffing, Lucifer rises. Meanders across the room towards Dean, gaze never straying. Easy since it’s only them. “I thought my gift would have more than made up for that.” He grins, rocking on his heels. A breadth of space separates them now. “How else was I supposed to get in, anyway?” he continues, “Not like if I called as myself you’d’ve rolled out the welcome mat.”

           “But… Cas?” Lucifer savors the taste of his brother’s name, drenched in sadness. Ripped from Dean’s heart in a barely controlled sob.

           “Nasty habit,” he giggles, “Though the results speak for themselves. I mean – you know how easy it was smooth-talking little Sammy when I looked like his ol’ flame, Jess?” Dean doesn’t laugh, snarled lip suffocating Lucifer’s airy mirth. “You’re no fun.”

           “Sorry,” Dean growls, “why don’t you try later when the world’s not ending.”

           “It’s always ending. In one way or another.” Lucifer waves his hand and a chair drags itself over. He straddles it, gazing up at Dean. “If we waited for peace to enjoy life, there’d be no time. Better to… say what’s in your heart, even if it kills you.” He frowns, mockingly, “Or in Castiel’s case… did kill him.”

           Dean slams his fist against the wall. “You have no right –“

           “Timeout there,” Lucifer smirks, eyes glowing red. Reflection of Dean’s entire face, blood rapidly swelling his cheeks. “Don’t want to do anything you’ll regret…” He holds Dean there, frozen, waits until the other man seems calm. Dips his head, tries catching Dean’s gaze. “If I let you go, will you behave?” Dean remains silent, yet Lucifer hears him. Tunes into his frequency, actively sifting through his frenzied emotions. “Seriously,” he lets Dean go, hunter falling on his ass, “how are we supposed to work as a team if you’re not willing to cooperate?”

           “This… isn’t a team,” Dean spits, “you’re working… with the Empty.”

           “And the Empty’s trying to take Chuck out!” he argues, “So, enemy of my enemy is my friend or all that nonsense –“

           “Go to hell.”

           “I wish I could, but I’m kinda on a short leash.” Bored with Dean’s resistance, Lucifer threads his next few words with seriousness. “Listen, once Betty’s done with the book I’ll flit on out of here and one, two, three – humanity is saved from dear, ol’ dad! We can make this all painless if you’d just trust me, or we can keep doing what we’re doing. I, personally, am tired of this bullshit. Rather be napping back in the Empty, but no…”

           “You should be.”

           “Beg pardon?”

           Dean bares his teeth, roiling hatred knocking Lucifer back a few inches. “You should still be sleeping, back there,” he says, “if anyone were supposed to come back, it’d be Cas. Not… you…”

           “Ah, Castiel, yes…” Lucifer sighs, “that would make sense, wouldn’t it? Of course, he lacks my raw power and charm, but… yes, you’d trust anything that he said.” Hand on his throat, he affects his vocal cords. Mimicking the other angel’s gravelly tone again, “Dean, please go along with Lucifer’s wishes and help him –“

           “Enough!” Dean kicks at a chair leg, interrupting Lucifer. Tears threaten to pour, dangling from his lashes like morning dew. “If you really wanna play nice, you’d stop doing that.”

           “This is nice, buddy.” Lucifer pokes at Dean’s leg with the toe of his boot. “Why don’t you grow some thick skin, huh? Where’s the real Dean Winchester? That tough guy with endless bravado instead of this sad, sorry piece of shit that’s pining after some dead guy?”

           Dean turns, Adam’s apple bobbing. “That isn’t me. I… he never was.” An intimate confession whispered into ancient brickwork. Meaningful for a different crowd. Except Lucifer shows little care, sarcastic clapping shattering Dean’s moment.

           “Wow, Dean… really fantastic. Amazing!” He climbs off the chair, crouching closer. Tongue dragged over his lips, smile wide. “Your verbose diction astounds me… did you whip that together after my brother got dragged into super hell? Are you still workshopping it – okay if I give you a few notes?” Lucifer pinches Dean’s cheek, poking this rabid grizzly. “At least you’ve got that face. Clearly Cas didn’t fall for your emotional maturity, your observational prowess or timing…”

           He weakly bats Lucifer off him, “You don’t know anything…”

           “I think I know quite a lot,” Lucifer challenges him, “Between the both of us, only I managed to slip inside my tight-ass little brother. Probably why I knew all his little… perversions, although it was clear as day how he felt about you to everyone – well… almost everyone.” His hand settles on Dean’s chest, atop his heart. “Do you know amazing it was, when I slipped my blade through him? You were a buffet that night… fear, relief, hope… despair. I could’ve ended him in that other dimension, but I waited until he crossed back. Knew how much more painful it’d be.”

           “Monster,” Dean says, “Fucking psychopath.”

           “The old me, maybe.” Lucifer teleports, sitting on a nearby table. Legs absentmindedly pedaling, stirring confusion within Dean. “But I’ve been reborn on the right side, Dean. Nobler. I’ve got purpose.”

           “You’ve got a load of shit,” he accuses, standing on shaky legs, “that you’re trying to sell me. Us.”

           “Come on!” Lucifer groans, hands flying skyward, “Isn’t this supposed to be your eleventh hour? How can you be so stubborn? Here I come, with a Hail Mary, and you’re turning your nose up at me like some snob. Like you have better options waiting. All because you won’t work with the Empty –“

           “It’s not just that,” Dean corrects him, “I also don’t want to work with you.”

           He crosses his arms, pouting. “You’re gonna have to suck that up. So the Empty wouldn’t send your boytoy, do you blame them? For a broken, little thing he sure is popular. Who’s to say Cas’d come back once this all wraps up? At least the Empty trusts me.”

           “I guess something has to.”

           “You can, too, if you want.” Lucifer casts his reel wide, waiting. Eyebrows waggling like baited worms. “It’d be a hell lot easier than what you’re doing now. Come on…” he needles, “why is it so hard to believe in miracles?”

           “Please…” Dean says, hiding his face behind his knees. Arms circled around his legs, curled into a ball. “Stop talking.”

           He relents for the time being. Proud of what cracks in Dean’s armor he made. When Chuck sent him, he asked Lucifer to ruffle a few feathers. Mess with their heads, ensure this ragtag group of losers would stay down. Accept their fate, end this miserable experiment called humanity in sadness. “Don’t provoke them too much, though,” Chuck warned, fists curled along his jacket’s lapels, “Betrayals only work when the other side doesn’t expect them. Plot’s stretched thin as it is, bringing you back doesn’t really make sense –“

           “I love you too, dad.”

           “That’s why you need to lay it on thick,” he said, “steer them away from why, keep the action moving.”

           Lucifer stared down at his father, frowning. “Anything else you need?”

           “No,” Chuck clapped Lucifer’s shoulder, nodding. “Just be yourself.”

           Except none of them wanted him. Especially Dean. He wanted… Castiel.

           It’s a little off-script, but Lucifer bets Chuck will enjoy what he plans. Even if it’ll involve his least favorite character. Lucifer hops off the table, grace burning across his body. Razing this vessel’s form, stealing its characteristics and distinguishability. A tall mound of clay left that he molds into a new body. Darker hair, sturdier frame, and bluer eyes. “Dean,” he says, swallowing his laughter. “Dean…” He tries again, sounding exactly like him.

           Like Castiel.

           Dean tenses, “Cas?” Barely audible, Lucifer strained to hear his prayer. That hope, sweetness quickly bittering as Dean digests the scene. “No…” he sighs, mumbling into his legs. “Lucifer, thought I told you to quit it.”

           “Lucifer is gone, Dean,” he lies, kneeling. “I’m here… please, Dean, look at me.” Lucifer grabs at Dean’s head, thankful the other man lets him. Green finds masked-blue, their ‘reunion’ drawing a pained breath.

           “What?” Dean asks, a single tear slipping free. Trails along his cheek until it falls off his chin. “How – how is this happening?”

           “Because of you, Dean.” Lucifer’s hands shift, a thumb smearing that tearstain while he runs fingers through Dean’s hair. “You refused Lucifer’s help, even though what he said was true. The Empty saw and decided, if we were to truly end Chuck, the risk of sending me will be worth it.” Expression darkening, Lucifer leans into dramatics. Lips quivering as he recites his next line, “Though not without conditions, Dean – I… you know I can’t stay, right?”

           “You will,” he says, “Cas – we will… if this book really can end Chuck, and we take him out, what can the Empty do –“

           “Take you,” Lucifer cuts him off. “Take you… Sam, and Jack. I step even an inch out of line and we all get sucked into their being, with no hope of actually defeating my father.” He nearly breaks character, watching how the light in Dean’s eyes flickered before being snuffed. Lucifer regains composure, growling his next words. “You understand this, then? What it means?”

           Dean nods, snaking his hands across Lucifer’s wrists. “Means we don’t have long,” he barks, squeezing tight. “I have to set it right, right now.”

           “Dean –“

           “No, Cas,” Dean talks over him, guiding Lucifer’s hands off where they rested. Silences the disguised archangel by chaining him, making Lucifer a helpless victim. Awe real as he waits for Dean, cowed by longing powerful than his earlier annoyance. “I… I need to get through this because – well, the last time you didn’t let me get a word in edgewise and I, there was a lot left unsaid that I don’t want to stay that way. If we can’t have a future, then at least… at least we have here.” He laughs, choking on it. More tears dance their way down.

           “When you told me you loved me, I couldn’t believe it,” Dean confesses, “and then, when you told me why I – I was… I believed that less. I mean, you… you’ve listened to your heart more than I have. Even if a few of those times it was wrong, everything you did was for love. Knowing you was – that was my happiness. Having you, in whatever way you’d let me. Because there you were, this shining beacon, and for some reason you kept on letting me bask in your glow. I felt I… I didn’t deserve it. That I didn’t deserve you.”

           Dean brings Lucifer’s knuckles to his lips, pressing a light kiss along a patch of skin. The gesture disgusts him. “And you were right about how – I thought of myself so… so poorly, it kept me from saying and – and doing things I wish I’d done sooner. All my life I thought there were things I couldn’t have, rules I had to live by, and I never questioned them until you saved me from hell. Literal and figurative. Because of you, I wanted to be a better person. I wanted to be good. But I never believed I could. Then you tell me you loved me… because I was good. I already was the kind of person I thought seemed impossible. I couldn’t believe it. What’s stranger… I didn’t have to believe it, to know it’s true.” Dean smiles at him, Lucifer mirroring his gesture though it pained him. “I’m the person I always wished I could be, and even when you’re gone I’ll still be that person. I’ll miss you, Cas. Always. I’ll miss you, and I’ll love you. I’ll love you always.”

           It happens before Lucifer realizes. Distracted, nauseated by Dean’s powerful emotions, he missed how a hand snuck its way towards his neck. Pinched there, startling him. In that second, Dean forces Lucifer into an embrace. Lips crashing together, Lucifer stays frozen while Dean attacks his mouth. Mewling, whimpering.

           Disgusting.

           He pulls the curtains back, reverting to his previous form. Delights in how Dean senses the change, peeking with one eye as Castiel’s face vanishes. The other man violently hurls himself to the side, gaping at him. “Why Dean,” Lucifer grins, awkwardness heavy in his tone, “if I had known that’s how you felt about me…”

           Dean sobs, wiping at his lips. “How… what the –“

           “You really thought I was Cas, didn’t you?” Laughing, Lucifer towers over him. “I figured you’d catch on but… I underestimated you. And for that I’m sorry.” He devours these new emotions radiating from Dean, eagerly lapping them up. “I’m also sorry that you’ve convinced you deserve a happy ending,” he twists the knife further. Dean flinches, turning. Fleeing. Lucifer shouts at his retreating figure. “That’s not your story, Dean! Don’t ask for more, be happy with what you have!”

           Then, as he waits for his next babysitter, Lucifer’s eyes glow red. “Because soon enough… you won’t even have that.”

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Roguish Women Part 4

Summary: Kate Rosseau is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 4: Kate steps in when Tommy tries to make a sacrifice. 

       “So, what’s Boston like, then?” John slipped into a seat near Kate. A toothpick hanging from his teeth, a coy smile on his face. He liked the aura of the new girl. Fiery with a bit of mystique to her. It lit up the dull British morning.

           Kate was reading the newspaper in the betting shop, told by Tommy to wait for his meeting to be finished. “Not too different from here. Lot more Irish. Have to be careful where you drink, it’s never fun to have the police raid when the night’s still young. A shame, really. But if you know who pays the police off, then you’re safe.” Her eyes flicked up to the Shelby boy. “We prefer our tea in the harbor.” She winked.

           He chuckled. “Can see why Tom took a liking to you.” He tipped back in his chair, precariously rocking back and forth on two legs.

           “I actually don’t think he likes me all that much.” She replied, her eyes going back to the headlines. "His behavior towards me would point to someone who dislikes me very much."

           “Nah, he’s just a little wary of new people s’all.” He explained. "He always likes an intelligent bird, keeps 'im on his toes."

           “I'm flattered, but I genuinely think he's not very fond of me. But it must mean he really wants a slice of the American market.” Kate twisted around to look at the blackboard with all the odds written in chalk. “When’s the next derby? I’d like to go.”

           “Sunday,” John answered and plucked the newspaper from her hands. “Want to place a bet?”

           “I don’t bet on races I know will be fixed.” Kate smiled and patted her purse. “Unless I know which way they’ll be fixed.”

           Tommy always entered a room with a good deal of force. Not physical force, he didn’t go around pushing people to make his presence known. No, it was more of an energy about him, the way he moved attracted attention. At first, Kate thought he walked like a soldier. But the more she saw him, the less she believed that. Instead, it was predatory. He walked with such a manner of authority and power that people instinctually moved out of his path.

           “What’ve you got?” He arrived at the desk John and Kate were lounging around.

           “And a beautifully good morning to you too, Mr. Shelby,” Kate replied sarcastically.

           Tommy tugged off his gloves and held out an expectant hand. “Did you write anything down?”

           She smiled, appreciating that he didn't bend over backward and held his ground. She liked a strong leader. To appease him, she opened her purse. “I’ve detailed out important family members in each city. Names of speakeasies. Alliances. Rivalries.” She listed off with each sealed envelope she handed to him. "I've even added where they like to go out to lunch. That's where they make business deals. Should one of them go up in flames." She shrugged and clicked the tongue. "C'est la vie."

           John watched with a hint of apprehension. “Is this something you really want to be getting into?” He asked his brother. They had enough enemies on the home front to even think about going on the offense in America.

           Kate closed the latch on her purse. “These are experienced men.” She agreed with the younger Shelby. “They don’t run betting shops out of their apartments.”

           Tommy let the jab roll off his shoulder as he began to tear open the envelopes of information. “Come into my office.” He ordered firmly.

           John and Kate shared a humorous smile before she stood up to follow Tommy. “I’ve upheld my end of the bargain, so do I get protection from the Peaky Blinders?” She asked, sitting down and pulling out a cigarette.

           “You do if this information is useful.” He reiterated and shut the door. “But you said you wanted work while you were here.”

           “Sure, I’d like to keep busy and get a few extra coins in my purse.” She shrugged. “Have you got something for me?”

           “I do actually. The Derby’s coming up and I’d like for you to attend.” Tommy explained. “I’ll give you three quid for your trouble.”

           “Not bad for a single event, what’s the catch?”

           “Catch?”

           Kate frowned. “I’m smart enough to know that you’re not willing to pay me three pound out of pocket just for looking pretty at an event. Maybe two pounds but that's pushing it, I think.”

           “Actually, that’s exactly what I’m paying you for.” Tommy cleared his throat and reached for a cigarette. "I can afford to spend three pound on a pretty face."

           A familiar feeling of dread washed over her. “Ah.” She forced a knowing smile. “You mean to use my ‘expertise’ then.” The two stared at each other for a moment. Tommy coming to the realization that there was very little he could do to pull the wool over her eyes. She’d been around the block too many times. “I told you, Shelby, I’ve come to England for a different life. I won’t work as a whore for you, or anyone else. I’ll sooner sit out on the street begging before I go back to that life.”  

           “Apologies.” He said. “I misjudged you.”

           “Apparently.” Kate retorted coldly. “You can find someone else for this job. Once you realize that I’ve given you priceless information, I’m sure you’ll reconsider how you treat me.” She stood up and turned to leave.

           “Wait.” Tommy stopped her before she could get out the door. “I apologize. Forget about this job. I’d still like you to attend the derby, not as a job. Just as a welcome to Birmingham. Once I confirm the information you’ve given me, I’ll give you something proper to do.” He promised.

           Kate studied his face warily but nodded. “Alright.” She agreed. “I’ll attend the derby. But only for the fun of it.”

           “Of course.” He agreed. “Oh, and Kate, wear red.”

           She looked confused but nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~

           It was the first time Kate met Grace. She arrived at the derby before Tommy and the woman he was supposedly using in place of her. The bait, so to speak. She spent some time drinking and mingling with anyone who looked interesting or important to her.

           It just so happened she had caught the attention of a man with a red pocket square. He had bought her a few drinks and she’d sent him flashing smiles.

           Clearly, he was important. Sitting at a table with well-dressed men around him, some standing in a protective way behind him. No one ventured too close unless they were invited.

           Before Kate had the chance to make her move, Tommy arrived with a pretty blonde on his arm. He caught sight of her and ushered Grace over. “Kate, enjoying yourself?” Tommy asked.

           She glanced at the woman beside him. “This must be your barmaid.” She surmised by their body language. Close but cautious.

           “I’m Grace.” She nodded and went to shake the woman’s hand.

           Kate obliged. “Nice to meet you, I’ve heard a bit about you.”

           Tommy cleared his throat, not really wanting to get into the discussion they’d had in France. His relationship with Grace was very new and fresh. In fact, it hadn’t made that leap yet into what Tommy desired. Of course, he was risking it by using her in place of Kate.

           “Made any new friends?” Tommy wondered, steering the conversation.

           “Yes, a gentleman over there.” She pointed out her admirer.

           Tommy suddenly got a spark of victory and hesitation when she pointed out Billy Kimber. “Keen eye.” He said. “Grace, would you excuse us for a moment, maybe grab a table?”

           The blonde looked unsure but nodded. “Okay.” She agreed and made her way through the crowd.

           “Have you spoken to him?” Tommy asked in a low voice, standing close so she could hear him over the boisterous crowd and loud music. "Tell me you haven't approached him yet." He hadn't banked on Kate picking out the exact man he was targeting.

           “Not yet. I’m assuming he’s why you’re here.” Kate could already tell she had some leverage over him.

           “I’m returning some of Mr. Kimber’s money that was stolen from him.” Tommy nodded, relieved that his plan could still run smoothly. “Should be here any moment.”

           “And your barmaid?” She glanced over his shoulder to see Grace lingering innocently.

           He averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

           Kate just scoffed and rolled her eyes. “So, I was right before. You were just looking for a whore.”

           “She’s not a whore,” Tommy replied with a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

           “You’re certainly treating her like one.” She retorted and stood her ground, keeping her chin lifted. “You beat up my manager at the Moulin Rouge, why'd you think?”

           “Because he hit you.”

           “Because you thought what he was doing was wrong. Most men look at the men in charge and think nothing of it. ‘Whores will do as whores do. What’s the problem that some are tryna make a buck off them?’ Now you’re acting just like them.” Kate’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you had feelings for her. Now you’re gonna throw her to the wolves?”

           “This is business, she agreed to it.”

           “I’m sure you know that it’s not what she agreed to.”

           The two stood off for a few more moments before Tommy realized he was losing precious time. Arthur would be there any moment with the money.

           “Your invitation came without an agreement.” He replied. “Enjoy yourself and don’t worry yourself with what I’m doing.” He passed by her to retrieve Grace.

~~~~~~~~~~`

           Kate was smoking from the balcony, keeping her eyes sharp instead of enjoying herself as Tommy requested. Even though she couldn’t hear their conversation, she knew exactly what Tommy was playing as he closed in on the mustached man. Once he sat down at the table with money, the deal had begun. Then Billy Kimber stood up and approached Grace for a dance. It made Kate sick to her stomach. It was like when she was back in Paris. Watching young girls initiated into becoming a dancer. Their eyes were full of light caught up in the whirlwind excitement of the cabaret’s energy. Then a man took her behind closed doors. When she returned, the light in her eyes was snuffed out as if it had never been there in the first place. Kate wasn’t fortunate to see any of the girls gain that light back. She knew she wouldn’t ever find her light again.

           She’d be damned if she let Tommy Shelby wreak havoc on the barmaid. Mindset, she descending the stairs back to the dancefloor and pushed her way through the crowd. That’s when she noticed Grace and Billy Kimber making their exit.

           “Fuck,” Kate swore and found Tommy still at the table with a man in glasses. She grabbed him by the collar and forced him out of his chair. “You’ve got to be mad.” She hissed.

           Tommy was a bit caught off guard but shook her off. “I told you…”

           “Fuck off, you have no idea what you’re doing.” Kate snapped and went to chase after Grace. “Sar-Sarah!” She called.

           Grace, fortunately, turned around as did Mr. Kimber.

           “Oh, dearest me…” Kate feigned her best British accent and pressed a hand to her chest. “I thought you’d given me the slip, shame on you. You gave me such a fright.”

           The blonde woman looked extremely confused but Billy Kimber was the first to speak. “Who are you?”

           “I’m Lady Sarah’s sister, Lady Anna. I’m afraid I must accompany my sister, she’s younger, you see and I’m awfully protective over her.” Kate jutted out her lower lip as to not appear threatening but instead enticing.

           Billy took the bait and smiled. “The more the merrier, my dear.” He touched her shoulder and guided her and Grace toward the exit.

           Grace was looking to Kate for answers but the other woman simply forced a smile, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          “You’ve a lovely place, Mr. Kimber.” Kate batted her eyelashes as the man held a hand out for her, helping her step out of the car. It had been her plan ever since she haphazardly decided Grace would be spared. Instead of allowing the pretty blonde to meet with an unwelcomed situation, Kate would throw herself to the wolves. Or wolf.

           “Ever seen a place this big?” He leered at her, looking for praise and affirmation.

           It was all Kate could do not to roll her eyes. Men and their cocks. “Not in my life.” She put on a dainty smile and held out an arm to allow him to lead her inside.

           Grace lagged behind, still unsure what the woman she barely knew was doing. Kate glanced over her shoulder and met her eyes. She simply gave a silent nod of reassurance.

           Kimber led them upstairs to a billiards room where the gramophone was kept. Kate noticed that Grace was subtly glancing at something in her purse. It hinted at something protective.

           A gun.

           Maybe Tommy had armed the barmaid beforehand? It didn’t seem likely seeing as he was aloof with her well being.

           “I’m afraid we didn’t get to dance, Lady Anna.” Billy turned to her once the music began to play.

           A chill went down Kate’s spine and she tried to keep her breathing even-tempered. On the ship’s journey from Paris to England, she’d resolved herself that she would never allow another man to touch her without her consent. Moreover, she would never accept money in exchange for sex.

           Perhaps she was going against her resolution. But to protect a fellow woman? So be it.

           “Oh, I’m so awfully shy.” Kate bit her lip. “Maybe it could just be the two of us for a while? My sister can join us later.”

           Billy looked a little disappointed. The dominant man was looking forward to having two seemingly fragile women under his thumb for two hours. “Well, I suppose that’ll be alright.” He jerked his head toward the door, wordlessly ordering Grace out.

           She looked to Kate; a bit worried about her well-being.

           The other woman nodded again, noticing that Grace left her purse on the billiards table. Not by accident.

           Once the door closed, Kimber closed in on Kate. It was a hauntingly familiar feeling. Her personal space being invaded, the smell of a foreign man’s cologne permeating her senses and leaving her nauseous. He was not unlike other men. He was rough, not playing coy and easing into the affair.

           Kate reluctantly took his hand and stiffly moved to the music with him. His grip was far too tight around her waist and she wanted so desperately to let her defensive mechanisms kick in. She cleared her throat. “Was there any word on when Mr. Shelby would be joining us?” She asked as casually as she could.

           “Two hours, love, it can be just us for two hours,” Kimber growled into her ear. “Or if you’d like, call your sister up as well. Two pretty blondes would be such a treat. You want her to watch me fuck you, or-”

           Kate couldn’t help the knee jerk reaction. Tommy wouldn’t be there for another two hours. Sick to her stomach, she tried to pull away from Billy. Feigning innocence when she realized what she’d done, she tucked a curl behind her ear. “Maybe a drink?” She requested.

           Again, Kimber looked put off. It was clear the man liked being in control of everything. But he begrudgingly let go of her and retreated to the liquor cart by the gramophone.

           While his back was turned, Kate reached for Grace’s purse. As she suspected, inside was a small handgun. It wasn’t too different from the one strapped to her leg.

           “Now where did you say you and your sister were from?”

           Kate froze. She hadn’t been privy to all of Grace’s fictional backstory. “Does that matter?” She tilted her head to the side.

           Kimber turned around with a glass of whiskey. “It’s a simple question, dear.” He moved towards her like a dangerous predator. “Something I think you would know.”

           It was difficult to maintain a ruse when you weren’t in on said ruse. “I-I’d like to get to know more about you, Mr. Kimber.” Deflection was the only weapon she had, that and a bit of touch. She toyed with the lapel of his jacket as he got close enough. “Tell me everything.”

           He chuckled darkly and shook his head. “You are a clever one, aren’t you?” Without warning, he threw the crystal glass over her shoulder, making her flinch and yelp. The glass shattered on the opposite wall, shards clattering to the wood floor. Kimber grabbed Kate by the throat, backing her up against the billiards table. “Don’t you think I know who you are?” He hissed.

           Shaken, Kate grabbed at his wrist in an attempt to get him off. His fingers weren’t tight around her neck so she could speak. “I’ve no idea what you mean.” Her voice quivered. Maybe there was still one more sliver of hope left for the act to be maintained.

           Unfortunately, powerful men were always paranoid at those who would dethrone them. “You work for Shelby, yeah? Or are you just a whore he picked up off the street to try and distract me?” He shouted inches from her face. “What is he up to?!”

           At that moment, the door burst open and Tommy stumbled in past a hand.

           Kimber looked enraged. “What are you doing here, I still have another hour!” He snapped, his face nearly turning red.

           “Wait, just wait.” Tommy cleared his throat and looked to Kate almost searching for the words. “Listen to me, I-I was going to let you go through with it, but my conscience got the better of me. She looks good on the outside.” He swallowed and pointed at her. “But sh-but she has the clap.”

           Kate’s mouth popped open but she didn’t say anything else. Fine, if that’s how she was going to get out of the situation, she could let Tommy have it later.

           “Yeah, syphilis.” He continued as Billy looked disgusted and took a few steps away from Kate. “When you took a shine to her I thought I’d use her. She’s a whore.”

           The word stung more than Tommy probably realized. For a while, Kate had become so numb to it. But when she received what she felt was a new lease on life, she learned to abhor the term.

           “Go wait in the car,” Tommy ordered.

           Nauseated and irritated, Kate grabbed Grace’s purse and stormed out of the estate as fast as she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~

           Grace was already in the car in the front seat. She looked relieved when Kate came out. She opened the door for her, allowing her in the backseat. “Did he hurt you?” She asked.

           “No,” Kate replied in a huff and returned the purse to her. “Thank you for leaving that for me, but I carry my own.”

           Grace took the purse and peeked inside to see the gun was still there, untouched. She wasn’t sure what to say in response.

           A couple of minutes later, Tommy came out of the manor and got into the car. Neither one of them spoke until they were past the gates of Kimber’s property.

           “You carry a gun, why did you let him do that?” Tommy asked.    

           “Because he’s no use to you dead. At least not right now.” Kate replied.

           She didn’t get a reply.

~~~~~~~~~~

           With her bruised ego, it took Kate a few days to tolerate Tommy’s presence for more than a few minutes. Besides, the ball was in his court. He had the leads for America, so it was his turn to act on the information. But from what Kate could gather, the war with the Lees was heating up. There was very little the Brummies would disclose to her. They were a suspicious bunch who were apparently all waiting for Tommy’s all clear. Either she could be trusted or she would become an enemy.

           Still, Kate surmised that there was enough on Tommy’s plate. Too much to delve into more trouble. So perhaps the American leads were set aside for a rainy day. He was the type of man who could hardly go a day without getting into some sort of trouble, after all.

           In the end, Tommy was the one to end the stalemate between them. He arrived at her flat early one morning.

           “Yes?” Kate folded her arms across her chest.

           “Would you come take a drive with me?” He requested with a half-smoked cigarette in hand.

           “Where? Someone else wants to spend an evening with Lady Anna with the clap?” She accused sarcastically.

           Tommy had to have been expecting backlash. He sighed and tilted his head to the gray, dreary sky for a moment. “In fact, we’re going to negotiate with the Lees.” He waved an arm toward the car, urging her along.

           “Why would you want to bring me?” She narrowed her eyes with suspicion. After the stunt he pulled at the derby, she wasn’t keen on taking any open-ended offers from him. She wasn’t sure if he’d learned his lesson yet.

           “It’s nice to have a woman’s touch along. Evens things out.” Tommy replied. “They know I wouldn’t start a brawl with a woman in my company.”

           “You wouldn’t?” Kate raised an eyebrow with a simpering look. “Shocker.”

           “Will you come along?” He requested again, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

           “Go ask your barmaid.”

           “She isn’t exactly happy with me right now either.” He admitted with a grimace. “So if you would-” He gestured to the car again.

           “Four pounds.”

           Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. “Three pounds.”

           “Three and I get to drive.” Kate grabbed her coat and stepped out of the house before he agreed.

           He sighed and followed her to the car, not protesting when she got in the driver’s seat.

Permanent Tag: 

Masterlist 

[laadychat]

A Little Like Love

An ATLA Zutara Fic, cause I have no control.

-

The sun was near setting, illuminating the sea and those basking its warmth in orange and red. The war was finally over, and here they were, relaxing at Ember beach.

The adults had all but forced them to take at least a week to relax, for this war shouldn't have been so reliant on mere kids. The world will be there for their return but for now, a week of quiet and laughter was necessary. A little bit of fresh air before diving into their roles.

Katara was all for relaxing. It was just two years ago when she found Aang in that iceberg, and the war came to end just a handful of days ago. It still felt so surreal, not having to look over her shoulder, fearing the possibility of an attack. Sitting on the harbor, she let her feet tangle, toes dipping into the seawater. Hearing the laughter of her friends, she smiled. This was nice and she would definitely miss this as she makes her journey home.

Hearing the gentle footsteps approaching her, Katara tilted her head slightly towards the sound. She already knew who it was before they sat down right next to her.

They sat there, side-by-side, in peaceful silence and she felt herself relax further. Something about his presence made her feel... safe.

"Katara?" he asked, voice soft.

Her lips curled and looked down at the water. "Yeah?"

She knew her friend - well enough to understand what he was going to talk about before he even mentioned it. Besides, there was something about it she wanted to ask.

"I know you said you forgive me and all but..." His voice faded out before he cleared his throat. "I want to say I'm sorry again."

"Zuko, it's alright." She smiled as she finally turned to face him, resting her head on her raised knee, taking in the sight of him. How was it that he seemed even more breathtaking now?

"It's not-"

"Hey," she muttered, resting a hand on his arm and she straightened up. "Zuko, ever since you started the journey to find the Avatar, you just wanted to go home. And Azula offered you that. I understand why you would choose her."

"Katara..." he whispered, his eyes locked with hers, displaying the sorrow that he felt deep in his soul. He still is so ever grateful that this girl decided he was worth a second chance - a chance to be next to her once again.

Steading his shallow breathing, he left her gaze, sweeping is across the vast sea. He never told her about the main reason behind his journey to find the Avatar - not entirely. And taking in this view, plus the knowledge that he was able to help stop the war created by his forefather, it gave him the courage to share. To share what he kept inside, wishing for it to all wash away.

"I wasn't actually the best firebender when I was younger." He started, training his eyes to a certain point in front of him. "Azula was a prodigy, the beloved child of Ozai. Even though I was to inherit the throne, Ozai made it clear that he didn't think I had it in me. I mean, I couldn't even bend right." He muttered, placing his hands behind him as he tilted his head towards the sky, closing his eyes. "When I was thirteen, I beg Uncle to let me join in on the war meeting. It was then that I had a taste of how much of a psychopath Ozai is.

"Buijing was the High General at the time. He came up with this plan to defeat the earthbenders. Have the newly sworn-in soldiers fight at the frontline while the experience soldiers infiltrate from the back." He let out a shaky breath, the images of the meeting clear in his mind as if it happened merely yesterday.

He heard a sharp intake of breath and turned his face towards the waterbender next to him. When he opened his eyes, he noticed the horror-stricken expression and sighed. "He said they were the best bait to use and I couldn't stand to listen to any more of it. I spoke up, telling Ozai that using them like, like that," he snarled, feeling the anger rise once again. Knowing that the man who was his father was capable of such cruelty filled him with so much rage. "was a betrayal of their patriotism and honor."

"Oh, Zuko," came her quiet voice and instantly, the anger he felt washed away into a dull ache, throbbing in his chest. Despite wanting nothing to do with that man anymore, it still pained him to realize just how little he cared for him, his only son. "I just wanted his love, Katara.

"When I spoke out, this was seen as something highly disrespectful. I disrespected the High General and so I was told I will be participating in Agni Kai." He muttered, moving to slouch forward, arms now on his lap. "I agreed, thinking I would be going against Buijing, since it was his idea. Imagine my surprise when the man across the arena turned around and it was Ozai." He said bitterly, hunching in on himself further when she heard Katara strangled gasp. At this point, the emotions of that day were catching up to him, squeezing his throat, denying him any chance to continue down this path he started.

It was when Katara placed her hand against his arm that he was able to fill his lung with oxygen again. He gave her a small smile but it grew grim. "I begged to be spared, Katara. There was no way I could go against him. He found it dishonorable and called me pathetic." He chuckled, the sound so dry and humorless, his hand reaching for the scar covering his left face.

"He then scarred me, burned my face as a reminder of what I've done and banished me to roam around the world, with my only chance of coming back home requiring the capture of the Avatar." He finished, voice barely a whisper at this point, thick with the emotions he's tried to cover since that fateful day. "If I brought the Avatar home then maybe my father would love me."

He felt hands cup his cheeks and turn his head, his eyes landing on Katara. There was sorrow in her bright blue eyes, with anger lingering around the rims. But besides all that, he found understanding and acceptance of him and his breath knocked from him just then. He gulped, finishing what he started. "When I returned, it was nothing like how I wanted. My father welcomed me home and he allowed me to join in on the war meetings. But I couldn't stand him after he spoke about his plan to completely obliterate the Earth Kingdoms."

A soft sigh escaped the girl next to him as she shifted closer. "Zuko, you are the most honorable man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." She muttered, her thumb gently brushing against the edge of his scar and he closed his eyes, relishing in the caress. "This scar is proof of that."

He let out a breath he wasn't even aware of holding as the words washed over him feeling him with such admiration for this amazing woman in front of him. "I've accepted it. I got it because I stood up for my people."

As he stared in her eyes, he saw the realization spark in them. "The Avatar hasn't been seen in a hundred then..." The realization turned into shock, which quickly morphed into anger and Agni, did this girl captivate him.

"He didn't want me back." He voiced the conclusion she was beginning to understand.

"I will kill him."

He laughed, a genuine, short one. "Please don't, he isn't worth your time." He smiled, lopsided as he placed his hands on hers, moving them away from his face intertwined their fingers. "I want to thank you, Katara."

Not having expected this, Katara blinked at him. She was still plotting ways to make the previous Fire Lord's death an accident. "For what?"

"When I went back with Azula, I realized how wrong everything still was. I was home, but I was far from happy. I was more content as a tea server in Ba Sing Se," he shook his head, mildly surprised by this detail himself. "The whole time I was back, all I could think of was you. You were the first person, besides Uncle, who believed in me."

"I was invited to another one of my father's war meeting and it was then that I also realized he had to be stopped. This war needed to stop. On the day of the Black Sun, I confronted him. It was that day he tried to shoot lightning at me." He grinned at her horrified face, rubbing his thumb against her hands. "It was also that day I told him I vowed to help Aang defeat him."

"How'd you protect yourself from the lightning?" Katara asked, her eyes searching his for some clue. He squeezed her hands then dropped them, one side of lips twitching as he stood up.

"Like this," he demonstrated, moving his left index and middle finger against his right arm, creating a trail from there until he was pointing them in the opposite direction.

Her surprised gasp was all he needed before he plopped back down, a proud smile grazing his lips.

"That's a waterbending move," Katara mentioned, her eyes lingering on his face in awe.

"Uncle showed me. It's a way to redirect lightening. I used it on Ozai before I left."

There was a brief silence between them before Katara broke it. "I'm gonna kill him."

Shaking his head in amusment, Zuko was amazed with this woman next to him. "He can no longer have any control of me and now I'm the Fire Lord, the best firebender, while he's rottening in a jail without any bending abilities. The justice bestowed on him is a sweet one."

"Thank you, Katara. For showing me that compassion, even when I was just an enemy to you. Thank you for being someone who's so important to me." He finished, grabbing her hands, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

Back at Ba Sing Se, and at the Western Air Temple, she had him wanting to be best he could be. Whenever he was with her, he wasn't Prince Zuko, or the Enemy, but just Zuko - a boy who had just as rough of a past as them all.

"Zuko," her voice wavered and his grin widens as a wave of adoration for her washed through him.

He brought her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss there before speaking once again. "You've inspired me to fight for peace and harmony, you've broken Aang out of that iceberg, and you've kept this whole gang together. We might have all fought and won the war together but Katara, it's all because of you. We were able to take down Ozai because of you. Thank you."

Looking back up at her, he smiled once again as he brought his hands up to cup her face, wiping away the tears escaping her eyes.

Katara stared at this man in front of her, her heart beating wildly as the emotions in her stormed violently. La, how was he even more perfect right now? Those words he said... she knew how genuine he was, could feel it with every sentence that escaped her lips. He really believed her so fiercely, she couldn't stop the tears as they trailed down her cheeks. Her shaky hands rested against his, as she looked at him, following the waves of her emotions. And when he kept looking at her like that...

Tui and La, help her.

"Zuko," her voice sounded like she was very much whining but her heart warmed, watching as his subtle smile turned into a full blown grin.

He let his eyes wandered across her face, taking his time to drink in how beautiful she is. Even back when their journey began, with them being on opposing side, he always felt something tug him towards her. Zuko didn't understand, didn't want to understand what it was then but now? As his gaze fell on her parted lips, he understands.

His eyes seemed to be tracing her face and Katara felt herself flush under his intense gaze. Here was the man who kept invading her thoughts, even back when she thought she hated him. She only realizes why the incident in Ba Sing Se hurt her as much as it did. And when he looked at her lips, the longing in his eyes is what sealed the deal for her.

Tilting her chin up, she captured his lips with hers and they finally understood what this yearning for each other was.

 It seemed a little like love.

[movedkagen]

🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 KENTA GOJO INDRA CYRIL TENZIN

song meme   /   accepting .

KENTA  :   sunkissed   /   khai  dreams

So softly a tender breeze brush against my knees On a summer afternoon I get to thinking 'bout the hazy days Under August shade that I used to spend with you I didn't realize it was all I wanted, what I had My riddled heart, I had to cradle back together just to see It's all like magic to me, you do magic, baby When you love me, you're so lovely I can't help but fall for you, love When you love me, it's so lovely loving you

i  just  think  about  the  type  of  person  kenta  is .  the  loving ,  sweet ,  devoted  person  he  is .  how  being  around  him  is  like  carrying  a  warm  spring  day  with  you .  how  the  way  he  thinks  and  processes  emotion  is  very  simple .  and  yes ,  there’s  a  tinge  of  sadness  in  this  because  kenta  has  lost  the  simple ,  happy  part  of  his  childhood  that  he  loved  so  much  in  coming  to  the  city  but  at  the  end  love  trumps  loss  and  he’s  able  to  be  happy  again  !

GOJO  :  save the day   /   ski  mask  the  slump  god .

I pull up and save the day Don't want any problems, I'll be a call away I'm ready for action, fly without a cape I'm one of those ones, they'll never beat me, they'll never beat me 'Kay, okay how could I forget? Ayy It takes some courage to bet, ayy That must be why you in debt You take the bait and get caught in the net, ayy Evil will never prevail, suckers What is real will never fail to prosper Came from the ground to the top, helicopter I go hard just like the shell of a lobster They all missin' the message All of these people sayin' that they want the treasure Careful of the wishes you make up on your blessings Because the devil in you is plottin' against you And you'll find that your worst enemy is within you You could still be adopted even though you a sibling I'ma paint a vivid picture for all the children It's about time that we change how we livin', I get my prints in the ceilin'

this  song  just  has  gojo  vibes  ...  being  the  strongest  mf  in  the  room  and  knowing  that  but  also  knowing  u  got  enemies  because  of  that  and  toeing  the  line  between  being  boastful  and  simply  acknowledging  he’s  the  strongest ,  but  also  warning  that  people  who  want  to  be  the  best  don’t  know  what  they’re  asking  for  because  it  just  gets  harder  the  higher  you  go  and  how  he’s  going  to  make  that  painfully  clear  to  his  students . 

INDRA   :   what’s  up  danger   /   blackway .

Two-hundred miles-per-hour wit' a blindfold on Mama always askin', "Where did I go wrong?" What's up, danger? Ah, what's up, danger? Traveled two-hundred miles, I'm knockin' at your door And I don't really care if you ain't done wrong, come on What's up, danger? Don't be a stranger I like it when trouble brews, I won't dare change I like it when there's turbulence on my airplanes I like it when I sense things I can't see yet Swimmin' with sharks when they ain't feed yet

Can't stop me now I said, "I got you now" I'm right here at your door I won't leave, I want more What's up, danger? Yeah, what's up, danger?

it  was  so  hard  not  posting  this  entire  song  LMAO  ...  anyways  issa  anthem  for  her ,  indra  does  not  fear  danger  and  the  higher  the  stakes  are  the  harder  she  fights ,  this  song  is  an  ode  to  how  fearless  she  is  and  how  odds  are  never  gonna  stop  her ,  how  she  absolutely  will  know  knocking  on  the  devil’s  door  if  that’s  what  it  takes  to  win ,  how  she  is  unstoppable .

CYRIL   :    DNA.  /   kendrick  lamar .

I got, I got, I got, I got Loyalty, got royalty Inside my DNA Cocaine quarter piece, got war and peace Inside my DNA I got power, poison, pain and joy Inside my DNA I got hustle, though, ambition, flow Inside my DNA See, my pedigree most definitely don't tolerate the front Shit I've been through prolly offend you This is Paula's oldest son I know murder, conviction Burners, boosters, burglars, ballers, dead, redemption Scholars, fathers dead with kids And I wish I was fed forgiveness Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, soldier's DNA Born inside the beast My expertise checked out in second grade When I was nine, on cell, motel, we didn't have nowhere to stay At twenty-nine, I've done so well, hit cartwheel in my estate And I'm gon' shine like I'm supposed to antisocial, extrovert And excellent mean the extra work And absent-ness what the fuck you heard And pessimists never struck my nerve And that's a riff, gonna plead this case The reason my power's here on earth Salute the truth, when the prophet say

DNA.  is  my  favorite  song  for  Cyril .  the  conflicting  narratives  of  success  and  loss ,  pride  and  humility ,  anger  and  calmness  ...  calling  everyone  else  fake  but  not  being  worried  because  that’s  how  u  grew  up  ...  knowing  struggle  as  a  child  that  is  greater  than  some  shit  adults  have  went  through ...  coming  out  of  a  trial  by  fire  and  knowing  you’re  made  of  something  different  and  more  resilient  than  everyone  else .

TENZIN  :  lovely   /   billie  eilish  .

Thought I found a way Thought I found a way out But you never go away So I guess I gotta stay now Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here Even if it takes all night or a hundred years Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear Isn't it lovely, all alone? Heart made of glass, my mind of stone Tear me to pieces, skin to bone Hello, welcome home

a  tenzin  song  not  just  because  she  had  trouble  leaving  an  abusive  environment  that  she  was  trapped  in ,  but  also  because  well  after  leaving  it  tenzin  cannot  escape  the  pained  mentality  she  is  in .  she’s  a  very  timid ,  fearful  person  because  of  what  happened  to  her  and  she  didn’t  used  to  be  that  way .  tenzin  is  someone  who  is  soft  and  kind  despite  her  trauma  but  at  the  same  time  she  has  a  lot  of  difficulty  separating  her  identity  from  her  trauma  and  somedays  her  pains  and  fears  are  all  she  can  think  about .

[carrionkid]

here it is, the transcribed highlight reel of novel bullseye moments… this post is going under a cut because it’s gonna be like. long :(

“The magic of kevlar!” Bullseye crowed. “It’s a shame you’re not wearing any, Dario. But let’s make it fair. If you can put a bullet through one of my eyes, I’ll die for sure. Go ahead, take a shot.” Pennetta didn’t move. “Bullseye, listen, I’ll give you the disc. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just please don’t kill me,” he begged. “I’ll pay you twice what you’re getting for this job. Three times!” “God!” Bullseye said, waiving away Pennetta’s words. “That doesn’t even work in the movies.” (page 15)

The man was getting far too much pleasure from his allusions and political metaphors, and in the meantime, was confusing the hell out of Bullseye. (page 19)

He stood, staring at Miller, tossing the sai into the air and catching it by the blade, over and over again. It was calming for him, and likely near hypnotic for Miller, who waited to find out whether he was going to die. (page 19)

Bullseye’s mind was racing, several different voices having their say inside his skull, and he needed to shake some of them out so he could hear himself think. He needed to slow down. Ignoring Miller, he uncovered the gnocchi, which was thankfully still hot, and sat down on the edge of the bed as he lifted a forkful to his mouth. (page 20)

“Take it?” Bullseye shouted, leaping to his feet and holding an arm in the air like a politican preparing to lie. “Of couse I’ll take it!” Miller began to give him the details of the job and his first assignment, a sanction in Cairo. But though he looked Klaus Miller directly in the eye, though he tried to pay close attention, he could hear only every other word. Bullseye was going home. (page 21)

“This is gonna be fun,” he whispered to himself. In fact, the only thing that Bullseye was not happy about was that he was not wearing his costume. (page 93)

The man tried to pitch his wares in English, unaware that Bullseye spoke Arabic… a fact that Bullseye himself had been unaware of, or forgotten, until the previous day. (page 94)

Then another man emerged from the passenger side of the sedan, and Wiezak stopped thinking about the cops. If he hadn’t seen pictures, he would never have believed that this blond, average-looking citizen was one of the world’s deadliest assassins. He just looked too normal. At least, until you saw his eyes. They ruined the whole picture. Bullseye had crazy eyes. (page 104)

“You’re awfully quiet, Mr. Poindexter,” Wiezak said. “Something wrong?” “Other than the glass all over my lap, not a thing,” Bullseye said with a smile. “And my name isn’t Poindexter.” “Oh? Well, what shall I call you then?” Wiezak said condescendingly. “You know what to call me,” he answered with a sneer. (page 105)

Bullseye pushed through the door of the pub, a waitress screamed and dropped a tray of drinks. The bartender’s face blanched, and he started to reach under the bar, obviously going for some kind of weapon. “Not if you want to live,” Bullseye snarled, rain dripping from the tip of his nose. The two goons guarding Mallory were so surprised to see him, they were paralyzed for a moment. “Well,” he said, imitating Clint Eastwood, “You boys going to stand there and whistle Dixie, or are you gonna pull them pistols?” (page 217)

He walked out laughing, his back to the room in an insulting display of diffidence. Bullseye wanted to get back to Manhattan quickly; there was a lot more killing to be done today. Back on the street, he sang softly in the rain, a tune from a Broadway show he couldn’t recall. (page 219)

Diemer stepped carefully toward Bullseye’s still form, pistol aimed directly at his head. She nudged the body with her toe. Once, twice, again. Without turning, she said to Bryce, “I don’t see any…” “Blood?” Bullseye asked with a laugh, even as he arched his back and kicked her weapon away, grabbing her and holding her as a shield in front of him. It was an impossible move, and Bryce never got a clear shot. He couldn’t risk shooting Diemer, but he ought to have known the killer wouldn’t be taken down so easily. “Kevlar is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?” Bullseye said with a smile. (page 237)

“You’re lucky I’m feeling particularly lucid today, buckaroo,” he hissed. “Otherwise I might not have remembered to leave someone alive. See, somebody’s got to tell the press that I was responsible for this so Daredevil will know and come after me. That someone just happens to be you. But don’t worry, it doesn’t mean I won’t come back and kill you later.” Bullseye hauled back his right arm and slapped Bryce hard across the face. “That’s for shooting at me,” he said in a huff. (page 239)

It was just after nine o’clock. Bullseye sat on the roof of an old apartment building across from the one in which Karen Page had shacked up with her old flame, blind boy Matt Murdock. Bullseye snorted and hung his legs over the edge of the building. He was really enjoying himself tonight. Normally, on a job of this nature he was much more erious, more circumspect. Even now, knowing that Daredevil had a special interest in Murdock and Page and might come by, Bullseye was not nearly as alert as he would usually have been. (page 290)

The night was breezy and cool. He was warm enough in his costume, but the chill felt nice on his face. Every breath was exhilarating… On top of Page and Murdock’s building sat a water tower. More than likely, it was no longer in use, but the simple fact of its presence was a comfort to Bullseye. Whatever you want to do, sir, go on ahead, it seemed to say. I’ll still be here in the morning. Not as if he needed its permission. (page 291)

Then her arm flashed out, the pair of shuriken he’d hit her with buzzing towards him. He jerked his body to one side even as the stars whispered past his head, one thunking into the cement and the other just glancing off his cheek, dragging a thin slice through his skin. Astounded, Bullseye missed the next stair, and fell. (page 301)

Bullseye had seemed impatient throughout the night, with time itself, and with Wiezak’s power trip. Karen had come to realize that the crimelord was nearly as unstable as the assassin he’d hired. Bullseye stood at the sliding glass doors that led out onto the penthouse patio, barely paying attention, never speaking to her. He was waiting, she knew. Waiting for him. (page 355)

From time to time, she would hear murmuring and look over to see that it was Bullseye. He was apparently singing, or humming to himself, nonchalantly whiling away the time until his greatest enemy, the man he so desperately wanted to kill, would arrive. And Bullseye said Daredevil would come. Wiezak appeared uncertain and unconcerned. (page 356)

“Put that away,” he’d said sternly. “What?” Wiezak said, taken aback. “What the hell are you…?” “I said put it away,” the assassin had insisted. “She’s bait, you idiot. When Daredevil is dead, you can kill her. Not before.” “You work for me!” Wiezak had declared. “You can’t pay me if you’re dead. Put it away for both of us.” Wiezak had looked as if he were about to argue, and then Bullseye slapped him. Gary Wiezak’s head rocked back, his eyes wide with shock even as he went for the gun at his back. Bullseye held the sharp point of a sai to his chest and said, “Don’t even think about it.” (page 357)

“Deal with Bullseye?” the assassin was saying, “You can barely stand, how are you going to deal with me?” (page 361)

The hero’s head was ringing from several blows he’d been unable to avoid, but he’d had better luck with his enemy’s sai. Bullseye had tried half a dozen times already to feint in one direction and stab in the other and each time he’d received a kick in the gut or head or a tumble to the ground for his troubles. (page 365)

Daredevil backed up to the hot tub, and Bullseye must have imagined he saw an opening for he thrust then, left hand up to parry and right hand slashing a sai towards Daredevil’s heart. Daredevil sidestepped, the sai sliced through his costume and the skin of his side, just above where the glass had punctured him earlier. The hero reached out and laid hands on Bullseye, forcing him to continue his momentum straight into the side of the hot tub. “You’re trying to make a fool of me!” Bullseye screamed. “You’ve done it before, but no more! You hear me! It’s time for you to die!” (page 366)

All the air left Bullseye in a huff, but he twisted from Daredevil’s grasp and stumbled away. He pulled his remaining sai from behind his back and hurled it at Daredevil’s face. No tricks, just a straight-forward, panicked throw with deadly perfect aim and a speed a normal man would not have been able to notice, much less avoid. (page 367)

He heard a click, and his radar scoped ahead to find that Bullseye had unsnapped his holster and was pulling his gun.  Daredevil got angry. “What’s wrong, killer?” he asked, venomous sarcasm in each word. “Can’t win a fight man-to-man, can’t even win with hand held projectiles? You’ve got to have a gun, eh? I always knew you were a loser!” “Loser!” Bullseye shrieked, pulling the gun and beginning to take aim. “Loser?” (page 368) 

The patio, on the other hand, was empty.  Twenty-three stories up, Bullseye had somehow escaped. Daredevil was not surprised. (page 375)

Matt pressed the play button, and heard the tape rewinding. “Hey Murdock,” the voice began, and he knew it instantly as Bullseye’s. “Just wanted you and your ladyfriend to know that it’s not over. You can pass that on to your horn-headed buddy as well. This time was just target practice. So keep looking over your shoulder. I’ll be back.” (page 381)

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Squiggle Script #18: His Two Favourite Roses

Picture it. Ruby and Oscar are on a mission together in Atlas. Alongside their respective teams, the two smaller honest souls are assisting Weiss in investigating the rumours circling around her family company: the SDC. In a similar fashion to Sun and Neptune during the events of V2, Rose Fox (Oscar’s childhood friend and fellow student of Atlas Academy) happens to stumble in on JNPR and RWBY while they were making their reconnaissance plans and unceremoniously invites herself on the mission with Oscar awkwardly vouching for her inclusion to make peace.

During the mission, our heroes run into some trouble while tailing a lead leading to Ruby, Oscar and Rose being separated from their friends during the high speed chase. They are then cornered and ambushed by some thugs sent to take them out. Unfortunately for their opponents, all three huntsmen were more than capable of honing their own in a fight and easily take them down. Even Oscar proved himself well on his own.

This scene takes place during the aftermath of said clash where our trio are celebrating their victory. Well two of them at least. While Rose and Oscar joined each other in a triumphant high five, Ruby just looked on in awkward silence.

Rose: *cheerfully* That was A-MA-ZING!

Oscar: *equally excited; practically bouncing on his toes* Right! You were so cool Rose!

Rose: *punches Oscar on the shoulder playfully* Me? What about you Mr. Hunts-Man? Since when does a Munchkin know how to kick ass and take names, huh?

Her cheeky comment was rewarded with Oscar lightly shoving her back with a cheeky look of his own.

Oscar: Since he’s been travelling with other huntsmen, that’s what’s what. Ruby’s also helped me a lot with my training. I’d still be garbage if it weren’t for our training sessions.

Oscar smiled at Ruby warmly. Ruby couldn’t help but smile softly at the farm boy’s enthusiasm. Unfortunately, Rose Fox happened to notice their brief exchange; hands chivalrously on hips now.

Rose: Colour me impressed. Wait…so you two have travelled together and trained together?

Oscar: Yeah.

Rose: Alone?

Oscar: Uh huh.

Rose then made a face. It wasn’t precisely a negative expression. Just one that was a clear combination of amusement mixed in with something else that Ruby couldn’t put her finger on as it disappeared as quickly as it came; now replaced with a catty smirk as Rose glanced in her direction. Oscar, on the other hand, was innocently oblivious.  

Rose: Well…looks like you’ve been taking real good care of my boy over here Ms. Ruby Rose. I wonder what other moves you’ve taught him during your private sessions.

Ruby winced at the rather suggestive tone in Rose’s voice. ‘What is she getting at?’ Ruby thought in annoyance but before she could voice her aggravation, Oscar beat her to the punch as he poked Rose.

Oscar: Hey quit teasing Ruby! Not everyone is me and could stomach your buttheadness. Besides…she didn’t teach me all my moves. There’s still a couple in there that are Oscar Pine originals.

Rose: *giggles* Well, maybe we can have our own training sessions so you could show me those moves sometime.

Rose flashes a toothy smile making Oscar blush slightly, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. Although her face was as straight as a pin, Ruby felt herself mentally gag.

Rose: And speaking of moves, what of that move we did together, huh? Pretty badass, right?

Oscar: Yeah it was. Reminds me of when we used to play pretend huntsmen and tried coming up with own team attacks.

Rose: …And failed miserably because we were dumb kids.

Oscar: *laughs* True but…still great. Just like old times.

Rose: *beaming* Exactly. You know. We make a great team, don’t we?

Rose then boldly takes Oscar’s hand, smiling…bright and beautiful. In the presence of another young man, that smile would have won Rose his heart. Ruby knew this and couldn’t help but fidget, stomach contorting in awkward knots as she observed Rose batter her eyes at Oscar with all the allure of the clever vixen she was. But to Rose’s surprise, Oscar didn’t take her bait.

Oscar: Yeah we do. All three of us, right Rubes?

Oscar looks over at Ruby; face beaming. Rose stiffened and Ruby, in turn, blinked in surprise.

Ruby: *awkwardly* ...Uh...I---I don't think she meant me too Oscar.

Oscar: *incredulously* Are you kidding me? This trio isn't complete without you, right Rose?

Now Oscar turned his eyes back to Rose, waiting for her agreement. Rose blanched.

Rose: …Uh…of course. You know the ole saying. It’s takes three to tango. *laughs uncomfortably*

Rose then clears her throat to account for her sudden awkwardness.

Rose: Uh… isn’t there a mission we should be getting back to.

For once, Ruby actually agreed with the sly fox.

Ruby: Right. It looks like we took out the last of those thugs. They shouldn’t be bothering us anymore.

Oscar: *cautiously* What about you Rose? Picked up anything off?

With her nose to the wind, Rose inhaled sharply in inspection of their surroundings. Her fox ears flicked back and forth on high alert as she listened carefully for any further anomalies.

Rose: …No. Nothing smells off and I don’t hear anything unusual coming our way either so we should be all clear to go.

Ruby: We should probably check in with Weiss and the others. Make sure everyone made it safely to the rendezvous point. We may have lost track of the thugs but maybe if we all meet up, we can exchange what we found.

Rose: Just wish we didn’t have to turn up empty-handed.

Oscar: That might not be the case.

Oscar walked over to the nearest wall, preparing himself to climb.

Ruby: Where are you going?

Oscar: To check the upper building. While we were fighting, I saw one of the thugs chuck something up there that looked like a Scroll. If we’re lucky, it might contain some clues about the enemy. Gonna scope it out just to be sure. You guys stay down here.

Rose: *incredulously* What! You’re gonna leave two vulnerable pretty girls like us all alone in a dark alleyway at night?

Oscar: *rolls his eyes yet chuckles* No. I’m leaving two very competent huntresses who just finished wiping the floor with a bunch of armed goons who I trust can more than take care of themselves. Besides, better I go because if anything happens, at least I know you two are safe here and that’s what matters.

Ruby: …Oscar…

Rose: *gushing* Ooooh look at you sounding all noble and serious like a true blue commanding huntsman. That's a very attractive look on you Oscar.

Oscar staggered; nearly tripping on himself from Rose’s remark.

Oscar: *blushing and embarrassed* Wha---What? No! St---Stop teasing me Rose! I---I'll go check the thing now.

With that, Oscar climbed. You would think he wouldn’t be able to given his size and skill level but Oscar scaled the wall like it was a flat piece of cardboard as Ruby and Rose looked on in wonder. To her side, Ruby heard Rose exhale one long enthralled whistle. Ruby, on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile proudly. Her boy had come a long way since his early days.

Rose: You know he is so cute to tease.

She then turned her gaze on Ruby, lips curling in mischief as she sneered.

Rose: …Or maybe he's just cute in general, am I right?

There it was again. That suggestive tone. Ruby could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks and she avoided the Faunus girl’s eyes as she looked away coyly.

Ruby: ...I wouldn't really...

Rose: What? You don't think Oscar's cute?

Ruby: *fidgety*...I...I would much rather focus on the mission.

Rose: Right. The mission.

Rose then went quiet. For a few beats, Ruby welcomed the awkward silence between them. Sadly, it lasted as long as one would expect when talking to Rose Fox.  

Rose: You know when I said we before, you do realize I didn’t mean no trio, right?

Ruby swallowed. Her throat felt unpleasantly dry.

Ruby: *humourlessly* Yeah I…figured just as much.

Rose: Wow. I'm impressed and here I thought you were just a dainty little girl from Patch playing huntress. You're smarter than you look. And since you're so smart…

Now Rose was up in Ruby’s face, looking down at her dauntingly. It didn’t help that she was a whole foot taller than Ruby.

Rose: You should also know you can't spell team with three letters.

Ruby: *scoffs* Just as how there's no U and I in team either.

This earned her a laugh from Rose. Short. Sweet and completely condescending.

Rose: Well, well, two for two. Guess I’m not the only rose here with thorns. But careful Rubes, this rose also bites.

As if to prove her point, Rose smiled wide revealing her long, pointy canines.

By her imagination, she believed she had Ruby overwhelmed. But unbeknownst to Rose, Ruby Rose had faced dangers far more treacherous and impressionable than the likes of one Faunus girl trying to pull rank. 

Now it was Ruby’s turn to turn on Rose, countering her piss poor intimidation tactic with an aloof confidence of her own. She didn’t say anything. Not like she needed to. Her stern appearance and the way her silver eyes shone like cold steel under the coat of her unbridled indignation said all that she needed to voice on how she was prepared to not back down from whatever challenge the other rose was daring to propose.  

Her indifference only served to entice Rose’s hilarity as she gleamed; more entertained than she was before.

For a few more beats, the roses stood in their deadlock until an encroaching noise caught their attention. Both girls trained their gaze just in time to see Oscar land skillfully on the dirt not too far from them.

Rose: Aye look who’s back. What’d you find Munchkin?

Oscar answered Rose with a confidant grin, holding up something big and dark that was bigger than his own hand.  

Oscar: You gals should learn to trust my instincts more. Read em and weep.

Ruby: Is that a…

Oscar: Yup. A Scroll. Told ya.

Rose: That don’t look like no ordinary Scroll. At least not a model I’ve seen. Looks outdated too.

Oscar: You’re right. It’s probably a really old series that’s been modified by the enemy to suit their agenda. Whoever these guys are, they’re working with someone who knows their way around building tech. Definitely an engineer.

Rose: You got all that from a grandpappi Scroll?

Oscar:  Aren’t you glad one of us pays attention to Professor P’s lectures.

Ruby: Okay. Well did you find anything on it?

Oscar: …Well…yes and not exactly? Unlocking it was actually the easy part but…everything on here seems to be encrypted.

Ruby: What does that mean?

Rose: He means there’s nothing on it which means we got diddly squat.

Oscar: Wrong. There’s definitely something on here that the goons didn’t want anyone else outside their organization to know about. That’s why they tried to hide it. That’s why everything is encrypted. Whatever secrets they’re hiding, it’s written in a language that can’t be read by the normal human eye. Not unless you have something like…a hacking software or a decoder or something.

Rose: You wouldn’t happen to have one of those hacky-sacky decoder things on you right now, would you?

Oscar: No. Unfortunately I’m not a hacker. But…I think I might know someone who can help. Sorry I can’t give you better news though.

Ruby: Are you kidding? That’s the best lead we have. Let’s meet up with the others and let them know what we found out. *smiles at Oscar warmly* Great work Oscar.

Oscar smiles, humbled by Ruby’s complement. However his moment of appreciation from Ruby is only disturbed by Rose teasingly making a catcall whistle directed his way. If Oscar’s face were any redder, he’d put both Rose girls to shame.

Oscar: *blushingly* R---Rose I said stop it with that!

Ruby: Ahem! Can we get a move on now? 

Oscar:  Affirmative. Lead the way fearless leader.

Oscar flashed Ruby a smile. Bright and surprisingly…charming. Finding herself suddenly self-conscious, Ruby returned the smile, her cheeks turning slightly red under Oscar’s gaze besides herself. Thankfully Oscar didn't notice her blush. However Rose did and she only smirked knowingly.

Her attention then switched back to Oscar who now stood eyeing between Ruby and Rose with a grin so bright he was practically glowing gold.

Rose: What are smiling so bright and shiny about? 

Oscar: *happily* Nothing it's just been so cool having the three of us work together on a mission. 

Oscar then did something he’s never done before. He sandwiched himself between Rose and Ruby, linking their arms together as he pulled both girls into a hug.

Oscar: Me and my two favourite roses in the whole wide world. This is just so awesome! 

Rose: *cheekily* You hear that Ruby. His two favourite roses.

Though Ruby smiled softly at Oscar, her expression was soon replaced with a frown as she turned to Rose. Despite Oscar’s chipper demeanour, Ruby hadn’t forgotten the scene that transpired before his return. Neither did Rose as she leaned over Oscar’s head to ensure that her mouth was close enough to Ruby’s ear; whispering low enough for only her to hear.

Rose: Soon to be only one.

Rose then bared her fangs challengingly and Ruby glowered. This moment was soon interrupted by Oscar raising his head to look between Ruby and Rose; still ignorant of their secret feud.

Oscar: *inquisitively* Did you say something Rose?

Rose: *shrugs innocently* Oh nothing that concerns a Munchkin.

She then booped Oscar square on the nose and he blinked in confusion. On her end, Ruby just sighed.  

And scene

And there it is ladies and gents. My first RWBY Squiggle Script featuring my first ever RWBY OC: Rose Fox. For those of you unaware of who Rose is, please go check out my ‘Oscar’s Other Rose’ Pinehead headcanon. Since I’m currently in the works for making her full design, I wanted to create a Squiggle Script that also helps to give the readers a sense of the kind of personality Rose has or at least the one I had in mind for her.

When I picture Rose, I envision her sharing similarities with the Rose from the Little Prince. By my interpretation she’s supposed to be this character who is meant to be represent both the Rose and the Fox from the fairy-tale. For those of us who already know, in the Prince’s story he fell in love with a rose who was very vain and told the prince fibs that painted her as the only rose in existence despite the fact that she was the only rose that grew on the Prince’s planet. This then prompted the Prince to leave his planet to journey to other worlds. In his travels, the Prince learnt that his rose wasn’t the only rose and this ended up upsetting him because she had lied to him.

But through the lessons of a wise young fox that the Prince befriended did he soon learn that his rose is the one true rose to him. She is the rose he loved the most.

In the case of RWBY, with Oscar drawing inspiration from the Little Prince as some theorists believe based on his new huntsmen attire, the popular Rosegardening Pinehead theory is that this is a sign that Oscar is meant to fall in love with Ruby Rose, correct?

Well I thought it would be an interesting idea if the CRWBY shook things up a bit for Oscar’s story and introduced another rose character to the story shares a history with Oscar. Hence the creation of my Rose Fox OC who embodies that concept.

In the Little Prince, the Prince met other roses but ultimately came to learn that his rose was his one true love. I can see Oscar going through something like this where he has two Roses deemed very important in his life however ultimately it’s only one he falls in love with. His one true rose. We already know which Rose that’s going to be, right?

I know it’s only a Pinehead headcanon of mine but it’s one that’s become my favourite now. I just really love the idea of Oscar sharing a close bond with another Rose girl from his childhood back in Mistral who he happens to reunite with in Atlas.

We all know that Oscar loves Ruby but what could be fascinating to observe is seeing him come to that realization. Moreover, imagine if this affects Ruby as well. I really dig the idea of a Rose Fox character unintentionally forcing, perhaps even helping Ruby to realize her own feelings toward Oscar.

The idea I have in my head is that for most of her life, Ruby has generally been pretty sure about how she feels toward everyone she’s met. If they’re her friend, she loves them because they are her friends. If they’re her enemies then she dislikes them for they are her enemies. However I’m digging the thought of Oscar Pine coming to be special to Ruby in the sense that he is the one person Ruby has met where her feelings for him don’t remain consistent. They change drastically over time the more she gets to know him introducing emotions Ruby has never felt before with anyone else. These newfound feeling render Ruby very confused on how to handle them. In beginning, Ruby thought of Oscar as all of her other comrades---a friend that she loved and would do anything to protect.

But over time, Ruby’s affections toward Oscar changed. It went from her seeing him as a friend to…something else. Something more that she couldn’t understand at the time.

These new feelings confused Ruby but she didn’t think it wise to ponder about them too much; brushing them off. It wasn’t until she met Rosaline Fox---another Rose who was a close friend of Oscar and who is unapologetically in love with him where Ruby starts to really wonder what her newfound feelings meant as she suddenly finds herself unable to stomach Rose’s romantic advances toward Oscar. 

By my imagination, despite sharing the name of Rose, Rosaline Fox is everything Ruby Rose is and isn’t. Not only is she a young yet talented huntress (younger than Ruby being at 16 placing her much closer to Oscar’s age) but she is also fearless and the type of righteous person who fights for what she believes in.

Though vain at times, Rose, as vouched by Oscar himself, is a great and caring person who was the one friend who looked out for him growing up back in Mistral. Apart from that, Rose is beautiful and exerts an alluring feminine confidence that makes it hard for others, especially those of the opposite sex, to take their eyes off her. Oscar included. I love the idea of Ruby and Rose both being powerhouses that command the attention and respect of others but in completely different ways. 

By extension, they are both very lovely Roses, but beautiful in their own individual ways as perceived by those around them. That’s my concept.

I really love the idea of a character like Rosaline Fox challenging Ruby on subjects like her looks or how she might feel romantically toward someone she’s interested in. These are experiences Ruby has been omitted from and I’m curious to see how she would fair when placed in a scenario like this. I know it sounds too teeny-boppy and doesn’t scream RWBY at all. However, it’s not like the series hasn’t given us those slice of life, shoujo-manga/anime-esque episodes before.

We’ve just never gotten anything Ruby is the centric character in her own little love story and personally, this squiggle meister would very much like to see something like that done for Ruby. As entertaining as Ruby the spark of hope or Ruby the Silver Eyed Warrior is and has been for the past six seasons, I kind of want to see what Ruby the teenaged girl is like, y’know what I’m saying.

How does Ruby the teenage girl rank herself in the looks department? Does Ruby view herself as beautiful? Is she confident about it? Does she care at all? For me, my Ruby Rose headcanon is that she has a very Toph Beifong approach when it comes to her looks.  She prides herself on dismissing that kind of stuff. But just because she’s doesn’t focus on it doesn’t mean she hasn’t pondered the thought at least once. My hunch is that Ruby values herself as the least beautiful amongst the girls on her team.

Not putting down Ruby but the show has gone out of its way to highlight multiple times how other characters have found her teammates more desirable. How many times has Yang been hit on by a guy? How often is Weiss complemented about her prettiness? How many past suitors has Blake racked up in the span of six seasons?

How many times has Ruby been called beautiful? ONCE and it was by her own sister. How many characters have shown a legit  romantic interest in Ruby? The closest we’ve gotten is Oscar Pine with the way he just stared at her the very first time he laid eyes on her. Not to mention the time he literally blushed when she smiled at him. 

Take notes people; this is how you hint at a character potentially having a crush on Ruby Rose. This is what it looks like.

Not so much this.

Or this.

But this.

But y’know, I’m just a shipper. What do I know about facial expressions and romantic clues, right?

How would Ruby the teenage girl  react to finding out someone has a crush on her? How would Ruby the teenage girl react to being in the presence of a rival? How would Ruby the teenage girl react to being in love period?

I understand that not many Ruby Rose fans aren’t really invested in this kind of stuff for her character. Again, I know Ruby is a huntress/Silver Eyed Warrior/Leader of Team RWBY/Technically Leader and Voice of Reason/Spark of Hope within the JNR_QROWMBY, but that’s not all that she is.

 Bottom-line, Ruby is a teenage girl and it would be a nice change of pace to have the story kind of share stories where she’s allowed to be just a teenage girl and not just a huntress/Silver Eyed Warrior/Leader of Team RWBY/Technically Leader and Voice of Reason/Spark of Hope within the JNR_QROWMBY. At the moment, Atlas is my hope for that welcomed change in narrative. But that’s just moi.

Back to talking about Rose, I enjoyed writing this small script as it helps show-off the type of character I’d like Rose to be. If I were to describe Rose in a few words, I’d say she’s someone who is ‘very hard pill to swallow’ at first. She’s not a bad person. Just she can be a bit much at times.

She has a very upfront, outspoken, rowdy, extroverted personality that could either be endearing or exhausting depending on who she meets. She is the type of person that needs a buffer to siphon the exuberant amounts of vigour she often exerts or at least make her easier for others to take in.  

That’s why her friendship with Oscar worked so well. He was her buffer; patient but not afraid to pull her up when she’s overdoes it. Despite having her own huntsmen team where she’s the leader, dissimilar to Ruby Rose whose teammates are her friends and family, outside of Atlas Academy, Rose is basically a solitary fox.

Some folks could either be very put off by Rose’s personality or intimidated. That’s why she appreciates the small close circle of people she has in her life. They’re the ones who stuck around and care about her for who she is. That’s why Rose likes and fell in love with Oscar. He’s the one that put up with her demanding disposition and cared about her unconditionally. Sounds familiar?

Anyways, I know I made Rose seem like an annoying b****in this Script particularly to Ruby but…hey, foxes are known for being territorial and possessive creatures.

But relax, she isn’t the mean-spirited type. Rose may see Ruby as a rival but she isn’t malicious enough to thwart Ruby’s advances toward Oscar. If Rose knows Ruby’s feelings for Oscar are genuine then she’ll respectfully back off. Remember my quote from the headcanon post.

“…I may be the Rose he likes but I’m not the Rose he loves…”

I feel like that could be Rose’s mantra or key character quote. Still a damn good one too.

In my head, my concept is that Rose will recognize Ruby and Oscar’s clear feelings for one another. Unlike either, she’s a rather perceptive fox. She sees Oscar’s interest in the other rose, whether he’s willing to admit it out loud or not. However what Rose is questionable of are Ruby’s intentions. 

Look at it this way, Rose has feelings for Oscar but knows Oscar has feelings for Ruby and is perfectly content with that. She may love Oscar but at the end of the day, he’s still her best friend and his happiness means more to her. He’s one of the few people Rose would put above herself.

However, Rose also recognizes that Ruby might like Oscar too but unlike Rose, Ruby is hesitant in her feelings and Rose knows this.

So for the sake of ensuring that Ruby’s feelings for Oscar are sincere, Rose would boldly challenge Ruby. Rose knows only one rose can tame Oscar’s heart and be his one true love but is that what Ruby wants to be? Rose isn’t afraid to paint herself as a bad guy to prove this point.

It’s kind of a protective way for Rose to ensure Ruby doesn’t unintentionally hurt Oscar’s feelings. If Ruby loves Oscar too then Rose will be supportive for Oscar’s sake. But if she doesn’t then Rose will brazenly tell Ruby to stand down so that someone else who truly loves Oscar can have their chance.

That’s how I see Rose Fox. I hope this explanation and script helps sell her to anyone who might be interested in her as a fan-made RWBY Character. I’d like to do some more Rose Fox-featured Scripts but we’ll see how things go. Right now I have 5 new upcoming RWBY Squiggle Scripts. 4 WIPs and one coming soon.

In the meantime, I hope you guys liked this new one since it’s been a while. Also I hope you like this new Pinehead headcanon  about Rose that was shared within this Script. Getting more abundant with those too. Anyways, enjoy guys!

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[zombriekid]

Power [Alucard/Gender Neutral Reader]

Series: Hellsing 

Summary: after your gargantuan failure on the last mission, it’s time to pay the piper and take responsibility for your actions. pray you survive.  

  Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing is the very definition of elegance, the epitome of regal nobility, distinguished English aristocracy personified, and in everything she says and does and owns reflects that.

  You currently have the privilege of “holding council” in her office, and being surrounded by such extravagance makes you entirely all too aware of the sock peaking out of the toe of your eight year old shoe. The space of the room itself is about twice the size of your first apartment, with an ornate ceiling towering hundreds of feet above your head and bearing the weight of a series of glistening crystal chandeliers; the floor is made up of glossy black and white tiles that were installed in a checkered pattern, and though the style isn’t anything you would’ve chosen the quality of the polish delivers your reflection so clearly that you can almost make out the small coffee stain on your shirt. Stretching along the length of the room is a curtain of windows, the kind that are broken up into modest squares all of the same size, and due to the fact that none of them have any drapes there’s a surge of moonlight that is just flooding the space. And there, sitting behind a large desk made of dark wood and intricately carved filigrees is sir Integra in a matching chair with a high back.

  Chair, you ponder, more like a throne.

  “Hunter Murray, care to explain what exactly happened on the mission?” 

  You may have the honor of speaking to your boss in her opulent study but it’s the purpose of the meeting that fills you with dread. Sure, being in her presence never fails to induce some ripples of an anxiety attack, however you’re no stranger in dealing with the British upperclass- you’ve been in the Hellsing’s employment for the better part of a year after all, and hell even your former boss Mr. Holmward comes from a not-so-long line of nobility- so it’s needless to say that you can hold your own against old timey rich people who look down on your bargain-bin clothes. But that’s not the purpose of the meeting, is it?

  No... no, your current boss is asking about the mission you’ve just returned from, and why you shouldn’t be receiving any participation trophies for it.

  Do you dare lie to her face?

  Shit Murray, what the hell are you thinking?! She likely already knows. Just fess up, don’t ruin what goodwill you’ve managed to build up! 

  “Yes ma’am- uhh sir.” The temptation to stare at your shoes is, admittedly, rather strong considering that her one good eye is trained on you with no one else in the room to cushion the intensity of her attention. But you don’t, you maintain direct eye contact. “On the way to the location, I believe I may have offended mister Alucard in some way. Because of this He told me to hang back while He took care of the target, so I did... I... I stayed in the car. Mister Alucard did everything. You can verify this with both Him and the driver.”

  Sir Integra keeps staring at you, the lines marring her face relaxed as she steels her expression to preserve the usual air of cold aloofness she carries. Her hands fall behind the desk to open a drawer, and from there she takes out a small wooden box followed by some sort of silver contraption. Inside the box lies a neat pile of slim cigars, a brand that she’s often seen puffing on between her teeth, and she retrieves one only to slip the tip into the opening of the contraption. The gadget’s mouth closes around the cigar leaf, bites into it, and flings the loose piece away. She’s quick to chomp on the tobacco and light it with a match (likely from years of practice), and still she doesn’t look away when she draws in a mouthful of smoke. 

  (You’ve always hated the smell.) 

  “I have to say,” she starts, thin, willowy trails slithering from her lips around each word, and you brace yourself for what she says next, “I’m most disappointed in you, Murray.”

  Just nod, kid. You deserve every bit of this.

  “You’ve proven yourself a rather capable monster hunter, proven my initial conception of your mediumship to be false. In the past year you’ve had seven missions grand total, three solo, two with Hellsing soldiers, two with Seras- and all successful.

  “You work well by yourself, you work even better with a team, and you’ve shown that a partner’s species doesn’t matter to you. All this... and yet you personally failed on this mission. So why? Why did you not put in any effort?”

  Why indeed, that’s the million dollar question. Well the immediate answer is a vampire in red named Alucard; since the moment you were introduced to Him He’s regarded you with outright hostility, as if by merely existing you serve as some sort of huge offense to him, as if you’re an enemy, and one that He’s ready to snuff out at any given chance. So yeah, His hatred for you despite not having any goddang good reason to seems like the right answer. Can’t be the fact that He told you to stay in the car, your stubborn American pride wouldn’t allow that. It’s just... that’s not it, at least not entirely. 

  It didn’t occur to you until after the mission was over and you noticed the specks of blood peppering his pale skin simply dissipate into His pores. The reason He feels so different from other vamps, why He truly scares the holy hell out of you- why your instincts go absolutely apeshit whenever He’s near. 

  Hundreds upon hundreds of years of human evolution fine tuning your sense of self-preservation to prepare you for the very moment when you come face to snarling face with the most dangerous of predators. It’s primal, it’s ancient, and it’s name is Alucard.

  You’re scared of him; as simple and as basic as that sounds there’s no other way to describe it. He scares you. And that’s why you stayed in the car. 

  You explain all of this to sir Integra, who continues to puff on her cigar without interrupting you, and it’s only when you grow quiet that she cradles it in between her index and middle finger and removes it from her teeth. She decides to grace you with a single question.

  “Is Alucard your employer?” She asks.

  “I... what?” You respond, totally caught off guard and utterly confused. 

  “Is He your employer?”

  You can only gawk, an awkward moment that lasts about five heartbeats and three blinks, before you answer her. “N-no, sir Integra.”

  “No indeed. He is but a servant, a tool to be used at Hellsing’s discretion for the betterment of England; an effective, if not deadly, one but a tool nonetheless.” She loosely points the smoking end of the cigar in your direction, “you’re an employee, sworn under a contract that’s currently standing in my responsibility. Do you understand?”

  You think you do.

  With the silver moonlight casting in from the windows and bathing down on her platinum waves, green eye ablaze in the dark and mouth in a firm line, behind her desk sir Integra presents herself as a lord, a boss, and now you realize the true depths of her words. 

  Alucard is certainly a threat but only when His master allows Him to be. You’re an employee, you’re something of an ally and until you render yourself an enemy to the Hellsing organization you’ll be protected by the ironclad word of Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.

  So feel free to be afraid of all that He can do to you but it’s ultimately her that has all the power, and don’t you dare forget that.

  The corners of your mouth pull up ever so slightly, and you give her a nod followed by a simple bow. “Yes, sir Integra. I do understand. I’m sorry for my crappy work conduct this past mission, I’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

  In the shadows and through the smoke, you swear that you can see your boss smirk a little.

  “Good, see to that. Now unfortunately I’ll have to withdraw any payment considering the fact that you didn’t do anything, but perhaps I’ll find you another task to complete soon.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Very well then. You’re dismissed, hunter Murray.”

  In a corridor relatively close to sir Integra’s office is an old painting of an English queen. The contours of her face look nearly familiar to you, one of the Elizabeths you think- the one that never got married maybe? You at least know for a fact that she was a majorly influential figure in history and though you give her credit for being a strong monarch in ye olde patriarchal times... you always do your utmost best to avoid this part of the manor.

  See the painting is a front, a facade to conceal the doorway that lies behind the canvas. Where it leads to you can’t really say but one thing that’s for sure is this: that’s the entrance to Alucard’s lair and you may have newfound confidence fueled by a combination of trust in your boss and indignation of the mission- but yeah, you’re still going to stay out of Count Prickula’s way.

  Such a shame that He doesn’t feel the same.

  “It seems that my master has finally grown tired of this game,” He purrs somewhere from behind you. “She may yet cast you aside like the pathetic garbage that you are, revenant.”

  You don’t look for Him, don’t rise to His bait and turn around to confront Him mostly because you have yet to cope with your fear and you just know that, if you do, then you’ll more than likely lose what little faith you’ve gained from the meeting. So you just square your shoulders and clench your fists; you can’t look at Him, and His negative energy is still way too stifling, but you’ll be damned if you don’t defend your honor now.

  “You’re right, mister Alucard. I’m more than capable of handling a lone vampire and some ghouls so I should’ve done something. I didn’t- I should’ve, but I didn’t, and now the best thing I can do is move forward from here. Sir Integra has given me her blessing and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

  You feel ballsy enough to glance out of your peripheral and over your shoulder (and you don’t see anything but you know He’s there.) 

  “There’s only one person here that I’m trying to impress and I’ve been doing that for the past year, so you can hate me all you want, I don’t care, because it legitimately doesn’t matter anymore.” 

  Taking a moment to catch yourself before your rambling gets you into too much trouble, you decide to wait to see if Alucard wants the last word, afford him the basic decency He keeps denying you, but when you realize that He’s likely not going to say anything you wish him a goodnight.

  ...

  But damn your American southern pride!

  “Oh, one more thing. A revenant is either a revived ghost or an animated corpse, two things I’m obviously not, so I don’t get the reference. Maybe you can try using my name for now on? At least it’ll make sense.” 

  There’s a swell of anger, and cold air, and negative energy that rushes your back, and you’ll readily admit that it freaking terrifies you knowing that it’s coming from Him but now you understand the truth- the secret that you’re safe from Him as long as She wills it- and so it’s with that note that you keep striding forward, as if the most powerful monster that you’ve ever had the displeasure of encountering wasn’t currently picturing your demise. 

  This exchange will likely come back to bite you in the ass in the future, but for now you’ve got a date with a mound of plush throw blankets and you fully intend on keeping it.

a/u: so... this entry gave me such a freakin hard time but voila. sorry for the lack of alucard. i’m actually pretty damn proud of how this turned out, feels organic murray’s transition from petrified human to... well petrified human but now with enough backbone to kinda stand up to the count. hope y’all agree. like and reblog this ish if ya enjoyed it, and if you wanna see anything specifically then feel free to hit me up. 

[verdigrisprowl]

Jan 6 Bevel’s Movie Night - Star Trek: Discovery Ep. 3 & 4

This is actually the second time Bevel has screened Star Trek: Discovery. The first time, tragically, the chat log was lost. But Not This Time.

All I remember about the first stream is that there was a discussion about making ships out of dead bodies (fun fact: corpses make sub-par ship construction materials), and after the movie Bevel and Ratchet hung out a while talking.

I don’t remember much about this stream either, but that’s okay, because I don’t have to remember it, because I have the log!

Today Bevel 8:45 pm *this building is now officially her movie place, same set up as last time. it's no Dancitron, but enjoy the vaguely drive-in movie feel but with couches and stuff. treats and energon are on the table to the side* Ratchet 8:47 pm *pops in* Ratchet 8:48 pm *is this the first multiversal thing Ratchet has been to since Christmas, or the second? regardless, he's got a different frame than the last time he was HERE, specifically* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:48 pm *Soundwave follows almost on Ratchet's heels, ready to find out more about this timeline's history.* Bevel 8:49 pm Hiya! *waves to them both, yay the invitations went through* Ratchet 8:49 pm Evening! Bevel 8:51 pm You made it! I was hoping you would be able to. Ratchet 8:51 pm *Ratchet will scout out the snack table before taking a seat* Ratchet 8:52 pm Yep! Things have been settling down a little bit at home. I can take a bit of a break now and then. Bevel 8:54 pm Awesome. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:55 pm *Soundwave nods to them both and parks himself in a spot, minding not to knock his arm into anything as he does.*

[[Fewer casualties?]] Ratchet 8:55 pm For the time being, knock on.... uh. Bevel 8:56 pm ((gonna start in 5m, warnings for violence and some resident evil-esque grossness Ratchet 8:56 pm *is there any wood around, Bevel?* Bevel 8:56 pm *probably, she's basically brought any bits and pieces she thought anyone might want to either eat or fiddle with* *because she will probably fiddle with pieces of metal at random* Ratchet 8:57 pm *well if there's wood to be found, Ratchet will find it, and finish his thought* Knock on wood. Bevel 8:58 pm *giggles* Bevel 8:59 pm Fewer is good. Do you think it might mean the war could end? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm *Oh boy, what a lovely floor he's looking at.* Ratchet 8:59 pm Pfeh. No. Just means the 'cons are busy planning something. FakeProwl 9:00 pm *appears; immediately finds a corner seat to huddle in* Bevel 9:00 pm *frowns* *not at Prowl, Prowl gets a wave* FakeProwl 9:01 pm ((did we skip an episode?)) Ratchet 9:01 pm [[ quick question are captions possible ]] Bevel 9:01 pm ((yep, hit the wrong episode hold on ((they are i will put them on Bevel 9:03 pm ((there we go FakeProwl 9:04 pm *heard the word piezoelectric; he knows that word.* Ratchet 9:07 pm Lucky save. *also, belatedly, a wave to prowl* FakeProwl 9:08 pm *nods* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm *Greeting ping to Prowl, though he doesn't push anything beyond that. If Prowl sought out his own seat, Soundwave will obey that - and not bother Ratchet or Bevel either.* Bevel 9:08 pm We dealt with spores like that once. They were really annoying. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm [[When was that?]] [[...Did she call the prisoners animals.]] Bevel 9:10 pm She also called them garbage. FakeProwl 9:11 pm *there's a bit of a delay before he pings Soundwave back.* Bevel 9:11 pm It was about three decades ago by my time. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm *Already does not like the ones calling names and being rude about Vulcan martial arts. The Michael human had the others beat, didn't she?* [[What happened when you ran into them?]] *THAT IS A TRIBBLE. WHY IS IT THERE.* Bevel 9:15 pm They killed one of us before we were able to figure out how to get rid of them. Bevel 9:17 pm Water? Ratchet 9:18 pm He's tall. I didn't notice last time. He must've been sitting the whole time. Bevel 9:19 pm I like his feet. He was standing on his toes. FakeProwl 9:21 pm *At least they're all very civil about their hard feelings.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm [[Ha.]] FakeProwl 9:23 pm *Well. MOST of them are very civil.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm [[The Tilly should not have chosen an easily disprovable lie, if she couldn't handle the Michael human's presence.]] Bevel 9:23 pm That was mean of her to lie. Bevel 9:25 pm Ooo pretty Ratchet 9:25 pm Wow. FakeProwl 9:27 pm She's been there a day and she's already violating curfew and breaking into places where she's been banned. Because, apparently, she's curious. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm *He likes her already.* FakeProwl 9:27 pm *His approval of her significantly dropped.* Bevel 9:28 pm *likes everyone but the human that called Michael garbage, that was mean* Ratchet 9:30 pm [[ i learned the word panspermia today watching bill nye and suddenly it is here ]] Bevel 9:30 pm ((it was meant to be ItsyBitsySpyers 9:32 pm *Leeeean.* FakeProwl 9:32 pm ... I'm missing something, why do they blame /her/ for starting the war. The Klingons showed up ready and eager to start the war. Her mutiny lasted for thirty seconds and consisted of giving an order, which the crew didn't carry out. Ratchet 9:33 pm Scapegoat? *those injuries are.... fascinating* *Ratchet would kind of like to get a better look at them* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm [[She is also the one who terminated the...]] *Repeats the Klingon word back to himself. He's slightly rustier with it than he is Vulcan.* [[Torchbearer?]] FakeProwl 9:34 pm Ah. Yes. That makes more sense. Ratchet 9:34 pm [[ is anyone having flashbacks to tfcon and dnd ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm ((MEEEEEE)) Bevel 9:34 pm ((lol FakeProwl 9:34 pm ((YEP)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm ((the giant poop!)) Ratchet 9:34 pm [[ omfg i forgot about the giant poop ]] FakeProwl 9:35 pm ((how could you forget about the giant poop)) ((im still proud of how we got rid of it)) Bevel 9:35 pm ((that we totally avoided 😀 Ratchet 9:35 pm [[ my memories of the night are more focussed on ratchet and skywarp's illicit affair ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm ((i mostly remember murderbeak, soundwave refusing prowl's request with an I NEEDED THAT, and the soap and towels on the floor)) FakeProwl 9:35 pm Of course, the torchbearer was before the mutiny, killed in self-defense, and almost undoubtedly left there as bait to deliberately start the war. Bevel 9:36 pm *laughs* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:37 pm [[It is easier to assign blame than to think rationally. Especially when Vulcans are discriminated against for their focus on logic to begin with.]] Bevel 9:38 pm *likes Michael a lot more now because that was awesome* FakeProwl 9:39 pm I know. Believe me, I know. I'm still going to relentlessly criticize it. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[Feel free. He doesn't mind.]] Bevel 9:39 pm *wonders if that ship is gonna get taken over by tribbles at some point* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:41 pm [[.........One moment. The Klingons later suffered from Tribble overpopulation, to the point of wiping their species out in 'wars'. Why do they not put the Tribble aboard the Klingon base?]] [[Then their enemies will be forced to turn their focus elsewhere.]] Ratchet 9:42 pm Perhaps the Tribble IS the biological weapon. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:42 pm *Yeeeaaah, no, he wouldn't enter a lockable room on the command of someone like this.* FakeProwl 9:42 pm *Oh, hey. Prisoner locked up for treason, gets offered a job that looks like a twisted version of her old position, turns it down on moral grounds. Is that familiar.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:43 pm *...Quietly taking notes, just on the off-chance this has some future use.* Ratchet 9:45 pm What happened to his eye injury? Bevel 9:45 pm I think he said he needs to adjust to light? Ratchet 9:46 pm There's been no indication of his having the lights adjusted for his comfort since his first introduction. Bevel 9:47 pm I do not know. FakeProwl 9:47 pm The lights haven't gone up and down around him. No need to adjust them if they're consistent. Ratchet 9:47 pm Hmm. Bevel 9:48 pm *kind of likes this Amanda person* Ratchet 9:48 pm Oh, he.... oh no. Bevel 9:48 pm Kitty. Ratchet 9:49 pm [[ it looks like a very large tardigrade ]] FakeProwl 9:49 pm If he did indeed lure her on board by disabling her shuttle—which he didn't deny—then that means he killed the pilot to do it. Something caused that pilot to become untethered. That's something she should have taken into consideration before agreeing to join him. Did she even remember that? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:51 pm [[Apparently not.]] Bevel 9:52 pm I hope not. Ratchet 9:52 pm [[ i get where people are saying this show isn't very, like....... star trek, tho ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:52 pm ((they said that about ds9 too back in the day)) FakeProwl 9:52 pm ((the most star trek part of the show is the name)) Bevel 9:52 pm ((I like to think it's focusing even further on the grey underbelly of the mythos ItsyBitsySpyers 9:53 pm *...Part of him wants to fly through wherever that was. Part of him knows it would be a terrible id--- oh. It's not land at all.* FakeProwl 9:53 pm ((once they have befriended Four (4) Brand New Alien Species i will accept this as star trek)) Bevel 9:53 pm ((lol FakeProwl 9:53 pm ((catching a xenomorph puma doesn't count)) Bevel 9:54 pm ...is that box going to keep chiming the whole time? FakeProwl 9:55 pm synthesize a pillow to put over it. Bevel 9:55 pm *giggles* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm [[Ultra Magnus.]] Bevel 9:56 pm ((my favorite ensign with the amazing hair ahhhhhhlovehersomuch FakeProwl 9:56 pm ... Mm. One of them. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:57 pm [[One of what?]] Bevel 9:57 pm That is a really cool tactic being able to teleport anywhere. FakeProwl 9:57 pm Ultra Magnus. Bevel 9:57 pm Kitty. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm [[Oh. Yes. The statement reminded him of ours.]] [][][]I remain unconvinced.[][][] *Lean again.* *What is this thing?* FakeProwl 9:59 pm Ah. I thought you were referring to his overall personality. Ratchet 9:59 pm Didn't he tell her she WASN'T here to create weapons that went against the Starfleet code? FakeProwl 10:00 pm Do we have any evidence that better knives and shields are against Starfleet code? Bevel 10:00 pm Better shields is good. Ratchet 10:01 pm Mm. I suppose. But I'd like to see her not have to do anything that goes against her convictions. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:01 pm *What is this, now...?* Ratchet 10:04 pm [[ it's a tardigrade ]] Bevel 10:04 pm Ripper haaa Ratchet 10:08 pm Why not make several jumps? Bevel 10:09 pm Maybe too many jumps is just as bad? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:09 pm [[Navigational stability problems, as he said. The time it would take between jumps might be too much.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm [[Or that might happen.]] Bevel 10:12 pm Oh no. That did not go well at all. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm [[Anyone who thinks knowing how something feels is unnecessary when trying to get it to fight has no business doing such work.]] FakeProwl 10:14 pm Indeed. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm *Nods to Prowl. Thank you.* [[She is nowhere near ready.]] [[She is having an emotional reaction to the -- there, you see.]] Ratchet 10:17 pm Her death was unnecessary. She caused it herself. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm [[Agreed.]] Ratchet 10:17 pm That wasn't a sacrifice, it was willful stupidity. Bevel 10:18 pm She should have made sure it was sedated. 😔 She should not have been trying to mutilate it either though. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm [[She /should/ have waited until her head was clear and /investigated/ the creature instead of throwing open the doors in an uncontrolled environment with no idea how to handle it.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:19 pm *He likes her, too.* Ratchet 10:20 pm [[ i like these two klingons and i ship them ]] FakeProwl 10:20 pm *Ah, a professional second-in-command.* Bevel 10:24 pm Yay she made a friend. FakeProwl 10:24 pm ((okay, they need to make friends with 3 more alien species and it'll be star trek)) Bevel 10:24 pm *cheers* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[It killed everyone aboard. He would not recommend its use as such.]] [[Evidently it did not enjoy it.]] Ratchet 10:28 pm Didn't they run into something after exiting the... myto-something plane? Bevel 10:29 pm She is not a very good second-in-command is she? Ratchet 10:29 pm [[ 😧 it looks sad ]] FakeProwl 10:29 pm The accident killed almost everyone on board. The creature escaped onto a ship of people that didn't know what it was—including Klingons, who enjoy killing things. The people it killed, it likely killed in self-defense. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm [[Perhaps. But it does not look happy now, in that cube.]] Bevel 10:30 pm Poor Ripper. FakeProwl 10:30 pm ... Perhaps that's another thing it was defending itself from. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm *Nods.* Bevel 10:31 pm I think Michael realized it is in pain. FakeProwl 10:31 pm Why does he want to "send the Klingons a message"? Wouldn't it be better if they DON'T get a message and don't know that Starfleet has a new threat? Bevel 10:32 pm Maybe he is not as good at war as he thinks. FakeProwl 10:33 pm Clearly. Bevel 10:38 pm *welp she's sad now* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *Kind of the Captain to have left her that. Though he supposes there wasn't time to change her will.* Bevel 10:41 pm I think that is enough tonight. There are still more files though so I can invite everyone again soon. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:41 pm *Light stretch.* [[Very well. Thank you again.]] Bevel 10:41 pm *nods and grins* Ratchet 10:42 pm Thanks, kiddo. See ya again next time, I hope. Bevel 10:42 pm It is fun. Is that why you do it all the time, Soundwave? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:42 pm [[One of many reasons.]] *Soundwave rises, offers everyone a nod and Prowl an extra ping goodnight, and gets ready to head home.* FakeProwl 10:43 pm ((another reason is sitting in the corner.)) Bevel 10:43 pm Definitely, Ratchet! FakeProwl 10:43 pm *returns the farewell ping* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 pm *Faster than before. That's promising. He'll be on his way now.* Bevel 10:45 pm ((I remembered not to close the room without saying anything \o/

[cielospeaks]

ok some headcanons for the vampire au

- my self insert became a vampire hunter after accidentally meeting nea, who trained her in it. but then revealed at the end that she is also a vampire and we had a big fight, with eventually my self insert about to stake? nea whos like “this is my last lesson to you..... just end it now” but since neas not a bad person my self insert doesnt kill her, instead letting her go. neas exhausted and trying not to look terrified but actually is, gasping as she slowly pulls herself up. she says the next time we meet it will be as enemies, and that ive got the skills to be a real vampire hunter now or something but ill never be one bc i didnt kill her, but shes actually happy neither of us died.

- stuffs pretty average i guess? tho in some large ish fight between a group of vampires vs vampire hunters i meet motes for the first time, and we exchange a few words before it officially starts, then going toe to toe in the actual big ass fight. but we end up kinda separate from the others (im imagining it being in some crumbly old gothic castle ruins or somethin) and things start getting unsafe terrain wise, in multiple instances we end up kinda saving each other (like a rock will fall or floor will give way and one of us is like “look out!” and barrel rolls the other out of danger)

- eventually something happens that knocks out motes, the rest of the hunters find us and say theyve driven the vampires back, think moz is there as a prisoner/to interrogate for information and one thing leads to another and -jazz hands- my kiiiiinks

- when motes wakes up im super embarassed but like have him in some shitty dungeon or something to in theory interrogate him but in actuality hes super cute and attractive and i want to thank him for helping me and want to make sure no one else hurts him, he starts teasing about being tied up or whatever, maybe i put a garlic thing in his mouth to keep him quiet? why does it always end up w me putting some foodstuff in his mouth? anywayyyyy that happens its like sexy but also funny/cute? idk? im like “oh shit im totally crushing on this cotton candy pervert vampire” maybe like idk? im supposed to keep questioning him for the night and have to stay w him, instead he gets reeally cuddly and snuggly and i cant not omg

- at some point maybe something happens and he breaks out, but acts all flirty and “ill see you again, my love” sorta cheesy ass shit and im like “wtf” blushing tho.

- like everyone in the show is in this au. sousuke probaby isnt a legit wrecking ball tho thats too mean. but like priest schuu for instance? totes canon. my self insert gets injured somehow, maybe protecting the church during some sort of attack, and schuu looks after me and we become friends. he probably doesnt have a lot of friends, hes super serious looking most of the time and terrible at approaching people, but is the same sweet dirty nature boy we love. hes got like the prettiest singing voice ever. no like the prettiest voice ever. and like super soothing and kind, i kinda feel like i have to prove myself/do something in return for him helping me but honestly? he feels the same way bc hes never like had a friend and stuff and doesnt know what do.

- eventually motes shows up too, maybe all three of us end up on the run or having to hide out somewhere. maybe motes expends his vampire energy and is kinda weak so the two of us have to look after him. schuu and motes dont get along to begin w and its made even worse bc of the whole priest vampire thing (cough cough like another priest and vampire combo why is it implied my romantic gothic ass self insert reads about dio and pucci) but schuu does feel like he owes it to motes for saving us. is schuu as self sacrificing in this au as in canon? implying he was gonna make himself live bait for whatever sorta thing we’re running from (is this like journey to the west rules where priests are like extra tasty. def not sweeney todd rules? or is it) but then motes was like “haha nevermind im gonna send out vampire bird waves” or whatever. motes is asleep and having a nightmare and looks so exhausted, schuu goes up and just slowly starts stroking his hair and singing softly. motes wakes up and says something silly and schuu makes an indignant sound. meanwhile me keeping watch “....sounds like theyre getting along”

[flightfright]

Rewrite the Stars Season 7+8 Redone Know Your Enemy: Prologue

Me @Dreamworks: Okay, so basically, um, what I was thinking of was, um- (Season 8 drops) Ah, fuck, I can’t believe you’ve done this.

You can find the rest of this fic on AO3, but I thought it would be cool to post it on Tumblr for y’all to see. Enjoy!

It had only been a few weeks after Lance and the others had become Paladins that he made a promise to himself.

This in itself wasn’t such a big deal, even if he did have a horrible track record for remembering things he needed to do or favors for his friends and family. The aspect that separated this vow from the rest of them was that for the next several years, it was the main force that pushed him to keep going, the extra energy that kept the spring in his step. During the times that he sniffled miserably to himself as he yanked his armor on and raced to his lion during an attack, he remembered his promise and carried on. On his team’s off days when he could barely get out of bed, he would think of his Mama and Papa back in Cuba, and his brothers and sisters and cousins and his abuelita. Then, he would get his ass up and go find something to do.

It didn’t matter what it would take for him to get back home, he would make it happen. Even if it took the rest of his life, even if he had to bring down the entire Galra Empire with his bare hands, he and his friends would be returning to Earth.

Lance tried to not think too much about what he would find once they did just that. How much time had passed? Was his abuelita still alive? Were any of them alive?

Nope. Don’t think about that. Nope, nope, nope.

“Hey, guys,” Hunk’s voice came in through Lance’s helmet comm. “Pidge finished the calculations for how long it’ll take us to get to Earth as Voltron.”

Lance silently thanked God for the existence of Hunk Garrett. “Is it a few more days? Please tell us we’ll be there by, like, the day after tomorrow. Whatever ‘days’ mean in the empty, endless void of space-”

“Uhhh… no. It’ll be like a month.”

Slowly, Lance slid down in his seat and hit his helmet repeatedly against the headrest.

“The only reason it isn’t six more months is because of those handy wings you and Keith formed,” Pidge chimed in. “Pretty cool, if I do say so myself.”

Oh, yeah. He hadn’t given the wings that much thought… well, he didn’t really want to. The split-second bond formed between him and Keith as they gave Voltron its wings was… man. There weren’t words for what it felt like. If he had to put a description to it, he supposed that it kind of resembled two souls momentarily combining into one. Sure, he had felt something like that when he had formed weapons with other teammates, but this was way different. It had been intense in ways that left him dazed and with dreams that burned through his mind like fire.

Then again, Keith was kind of like that. Lance figured any kind of wacky astral spirit-bonding with the guy was bound to be a little… interesting.

“Can’t you guys keep it down? I just managed to fall asleep,” a familiar, cranky voice growled through the comm, rough from tiredness.

“You’ve been sleeping for the last fifteen vargas, Keith. I keep track of everybody’s sleeping schedule. If you fall asleep again within the next ten hours I can and will get Coran to wake you up,” Hunk said matter-of-factly.

“Ugh.”

“Rise and shine, Mullet Man, it’s another beautiful day!” Lance sang.

Keith took the bait like a hungry stray cat. “Lance, I am this close-!”

“Dang, Keithy, you always make a boy blush.”

It was his own face that felt a little warm, but it was always fun poking fun at Keith. The guy was all bark and no bite, and the times they snarked at each other were beloved memories of his. Lance existed to be petty.

“… and you shouldn’t be talking about rising and shining! The first three months after we became Paladins you cried almost every day because you didn’t get to sleep in,” Keith finished with a huff.

Lance sighed, knowing there was no way in hell Keith was going to find out the real reason why he cried so much back then. “You got me there.”

“Uh-huh.”

He was about to remark on the fact Keith wasn’t that great of a morning person, either, but a sharp yelp of pain made him jump in alarm.

“Uh, Pidge? Was that you?” Lance asked, concerned.

“Yeah. Um. I’m fine; just electrocuted myself on a, uh. Circuit thing.”

Now he was suspicious. Pidge was just as good with words as she was with her technology. Something was definitely up.

“You want me to come over there?” he asked, already unbuckling himself. “I’ll bring my first aid kit.”

“No, I’m fine!” Her voice cracked.

“Pidge? What’s going on?” It was Shiro’s voice this time, stern but worried.

“Dude, I grew up with sisters. I know when girls are lying,” Lance told Pidge firmly. He pulled out one of the cubbies underneath the controls and grabbed his first aid kit.

“Piss off! I’m fi-ne!” Pidge’s protests were cut off with another gasp of discomfort. The doors slid open, and Lance carefully picked his way through the Red Lion’s torso, the available space greatly reduced by the countless transformations of the mech’s inner workings so that it could function as the right hand of Voltron. Not for the first time, Lance was grateful he was skinny, otherwise there was no way he’d be able to squeeze through the mess of machinery.

A quick leap over a gap in the Black Lion’s torso, another three-minute expedition through a crap-ton of gears and things he had no name for through the Green Lion, and stubbing his toe led him to the doors to the cockpit. Lance knocked.

“Go away!”

“Nope.”

“Ugh! I just… oh, shit.”

“Pidge?”

“… Lance, I think I’m dying!”

He was able to push the doors open and hurry over to the distraught Green Paladin. Pidge sat on the floor, her armor off and her bodysuit unzipped so she was just in her camisole and boxer shorts. She was staring in horror at her crotch, and as Lance crouched down next to her he quickly realized why.

Pidge was literally sitting in a pool of her own blood.

Lance did a few quick calculations, noting she wasn’t outwardly injured (as far as he could tell) and adding in a few memories of his his sisters and female friends of his. He looked to the roof of the cockpit, a habit picked up from his Catholic mother when she would look to the Lord for answers whenever he and his siblings did something stupid.

She had done that quite often.

“Pidge,” he said calmly. “Are you having cramps in your abdominal region right now? Possibly experiencing mood swings and sugar cravings? Have you noticed that your back hurts much more than it usually would sitting in a chair for several hours at a time?”

Pidge slowly turned to look up at him with wide eyes. “How… how did you know?”

“Pidge.” He brought a hand to the bridge of his nose and pinched it. “You’ve started your period.”

“My…” Wide brown eyes grew even wider. “No way. No frickin’ way.”

“Yep.”

Pidge’s mouth opened and closed several times before she winced, face screwing up in agony. It lasted for several seconds before the cramp released, and she slumped back against the pilot’s chair while gasping for breath. The metallic scent of blood registered in Lance’s head, something he had become very used to over the years, but he still had to lean away a little to keep his head clear.

Lance cringed in sympathy when another wave of pain wracked Pidge’s body, breaking him out of his thoughts. Busting out his first aid kit, he rooted around before finding the painkillers and handing them over to Pidge, who downed them like they were the only thing that would keep her alive.

He picked up his helmet. “Okay guys, we’re in the clear.”

“Pidge! Are you okay?” Hunk wailed.

“Wait, what just happened?” Keith mumbled, still sounding half asleep. Shiro said something Lance couldn’t make out over Romelle and Allura badgering him with questions. Then Kosmo decided that he needed to contribute to the conversation as well and started howling loud enough to make Lance’s ears ring.

He set his helmet down and fell back against the pilot’s chair with Pidge, groaning. The girl grunted in agreement, her brow beading with sweat as she accepted the towel Lance handed her. He made a mental note to never make period jokes again.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

Pidge turned to look at him with watery eyes before bursting into tears. “How come you’re always so nice? It’s making me cry!”

Lance suddenly had an armful of bawling paladin. He winced, nodding to himself as he patted her back, thanking all of his sisters and friends over the years that had given him experience with the… messier parts of female stuff.

Man, the rest of this trip was gonna suck.