#i don’t like the takes that him & alden are free of blame or not doing what they’re doing

[castleofravens]

i don’t like keefe in kotlc canon bc he’s manipulative often and everyone acts like it’s fine and nobody really calls him out on it and yes i am aware he’s a product of his environment and he doesn’t know he’s doing it however if i were to raise my hand and accidentally hit someone behind me or smth i still hurt them and that would still require an apology, just bc you didn’t intentionally do something doesn’t mean people weren’t harmed by it

[fadefromthelight]

No. 11 - Struggling

Summary: Claire doesn’t know what’s loss until she no longer has her wings.

Read on: Ao3

Claire lays against the cold, stone floor, her hand digging into the crook of her elbow. The inject site no longer hurts but the silence that it brought is suffocating. It’s as if all her senses have been muted, washed out to the point of barely resembling what they were before. Guilt pools deep within her chest, sticky and unbearably hot. They forced Julian to live like this for days on end. No wonder he was so irritable.

She shifts, her head falling to the right. The bars obstruct her view, cutting it into strips, but she can clearly see Ian in the cell across from her. She’s fairly certain that Ashlyn rests in the one beside her and Milo in the one diagonal. She can only assume that Michela, Ellie, and Julian are in the ones out of her vision.

If she had her magic, she would be able to tell without even opening her eyes.

Ian groans from his cell and she can hear the rustle of clothes. She stands up and presses her face against the bars. Luckily they don’t hurt her. “Ian!”

Ian sits up, his eyes narrowed. He glances over to her and stands quickly, practically stumbling into the wall. “Claire! What’s going on?” He looks between the bars, eyes darting.

“I don’t know.” Claire bites back the whimper building in her chest. “Can you see anyone else?”

“Ashlyn’s beside you.” Ian says. His voice strains as he leans out between the bars. “I think Ellie’s beside her.”

“Milo’s next to you and I think it’s Michela next to him.” Claire could barely make out the soft grey of Michela’s sweater.

“So the only one who’s missing is Julian.” Ian’s grip tightens around the bars, his knuckles whitening. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Just because he isn’t here doesn’t mean he’s with them.” But Claire couldn’t stop the growing doubt. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the only member of a Thieves Guild in their group is the one that isn’t there.

“It was his idea to come here in the first place.” Ian releases the bars and leans against the wall, staring at the ceiling. “And apparently his father is here as well.”

“Maybe if we let him explain himself, we’d know.” Claire tries. She doesn’t quite believe the words herself but it feels wrong to not defend Julian when he wasn’t present himself to.

Ian barks out a laugh, bitter and mirthless. “Don’t you start too. We already have Michela jumping up to defend him, we don’t need another one.”

“I’m not defending him.” Claire instinctively reaches for her magic and flinches when all she brushes is a chilling emptiness. “I just want to know what’s the truth.”

Ian gestures to the cell, the smile tight on his face. “The truth is that we’re here and Julian isn’t.”

“We can’t take this for face value.” Claire tries to keep the tremor out of her voice but slips through the cracks. “We have no idea where he is.”

“My point exactly.” Ian grins, self-satisfaction burning bright within it.

Claire crosses her arms over her chest, goose flesh riddling them. She looks away from Ian, unable to understand why he’s being so hard on Julian. Yes the circumstances weren’t shining a very favorable light on him, but she couldn’t put the whole blame of their situation on him. They did bind and drag him to the front door themselves. He might’ve led them here but they put themselves into this situation.

“Claire? Ian?” Ashlyn’s voice filters up from her cell, thick with confusion and disorientation.

Ian glances over to her with a side eye. Claire steps up to the bars, shoving her face through them. “Ashlyn! I’m next to you.”

Ashlyn sticks her head out and peers over to Claire. She flings out her hand and Claire responds in kind. Their fingers barely brush together. “Are you hurt?” Ashlyn asks, her voice thick with concern.

“No.” Claire twists more of her body through the bars and she can grab onto Ashlyn’s fingers. “They only suppressed my magic.”

Ashlyn nods and glances over to Ian. “They suppressed yours too?”

Ian didn’t look over to them, keeping his gaze firmly on the ceiling and his arms crossed over his chest. “Yeah.” Something flickers in his voice and it takes Claire a moment to realize it’s bitter self-deprecation and frustration.

Ashlyn turns to the cells on the other side of her. “Ellie’s beside me while Michela’s across from her.” Ashlyn gestures with her other hand to the cell in question. “The only person I don’t see is Julian.”

Claire looks over to Ian. His expression tightens but he doesn’t say anything. “I wouldn’t go there. All we know is that he isn’t here.” Claire says in lieu of an answer.

The question is clearly written on Ashlyn’s face but she doesn’t say anything further. They sit like this for a while, content with their hands brushing. Ian doesn’t look at them, electing to the glare at the door leading out.

The door clatters open and Alden walks in. A predatory smile rests easy on his lips, natural and instinctive. His eyes are cold and sharp and a shiver runs down Claire’s smile when his gaze lands on her. She tears her hand from Ashlyn’s and clutches it to her chest.

“I expected more of you to be awake.” Alden’s voice is smooth, almost enough to hide the falsity of it.

“Alden.” Ashlyn spits the name, glaring. Her hands shake at her sides. “What do you think you're doing?”

Alden steps forward, resting a hand on the lock of Claire’s cage. Claire stumbles back, pulling on magic that wasn’t there. Alden pulls a key out of his pocket. “I’d tell you, but I doubt you would understand. It’s obvious that foresight isn’t your strong suit.”

“Step away from that cell.” Ashlyn’s voice is low, dangerously so. It’s powerful even without the addition of her magic. “Or you’re not going to like who you’ll see.”

Alden unlocks the cell and Claire steps back into the wall, digging her fingers into the concrete. She desperately reaches for something that isn’t there. “You can’t scare me with Morgan’s name.” Alden says. “I’ve tamed much worse.”

He steps into the cell despite Ashlyn’s screams, which have become more nonsensical in her frustration. He reaches a hand to her like she’d willingly go anywhere with him. “Go away.” Her voice is unsteady and weak, holding nowhere near the strength that Ashlyn’s does. But she hopes that it gets her point across.

“Now Claire.” The way that Alden says her name chokes her breath in her throat. “No matter what you try, you’re still coming with me.”

“No.” This time the word is stronger. Claire adds a glare to punctuate it.

Alden sighs but it’s more resigned than dejected. “We can do it your way, if you want.”

Claire tenses but it still doesn’t prepare her for what Alden does. He pounces and grabs Claire’s wrist. She tries to wrench in free but he ignites his magic against her skin. Normally her magic responds in kind, flaring to protect her from the worse. But nothing stops the magic from brushing against her skin.

Pain runs up her arm and she screams.

Her knees buckle and Alden drags her out of the cell. Ashlyn yells out, with Ian joining her a moment later. Claire tries to kick at Alden, flailing out with her arms to scratch anything she can get purchase. But he carries her out in such a way that she can’t break free.

Alden drags her through hallway after hallway and she eventually stops struggling. She has to save whatever strength she had left for when Alden releases her.

He stops in a room, shoving her into a chair not unlike one used for massages. Alden binds her wrists and ankles. She tugs against them but they won’t budge.

Another set of footsteps echo in the room but Claire can’t turn her head to see. They speak, their voice low and rough. Dissimilar to Alden’s. “Is that her?”

It sounds like Julian’s father.

A hand rotates her wrist, exposing the pale underside. The touch is chilled against her skin. “Yes Raymond.” Alden says. Something twists inside of her. Wasn’t that the name of the Royal Scientist’s brother? “This is the Ayers. Her wings should be the same length as yours.”

A chill pools in her chest and she can’t breathe. “W-What are you guys doing?”

Metal clatters beside her. “Don’t worry.” Alden says. He brings a needle up to the soft inner flesh of her arm. He presses against her veins before pressing the needle into her skin. He pushes down the stopper.

Everything within her ignites with an unexplainable electricity. Her magic fights against her as she tries to wrangle it into control, it wanting to obey her commands and shrink away from her. She loses and her wings activate in a brilliant spark of magic.

Alden grabs two other needles with practiced ease and steps behind her. She feels his hands against her shoulders, running along the joint where her wings meet her back. He inserts a needle at the base of each wing, injecting the liquid beneath her skin. She tries to stop him but she can barely move with the restraints and her magic roaring in her body.

The moment her wings go numb she lashes out with her magic. Alden presses a hand against her throat. “I wouldn’t try that.” He says, his voice low and practically a hiss. “I don’t need you alive for what I’m doing.”

Dread settles deep into her bones and a sticky fear crawls up her spine. They may kill her. She could die.

“The less you move, the easier it’ll be for both of us.” Alden says. She doesn’t move, fearing a needle or something worse digging into her throat.

Alden positions on hand on her back and the other presumably on her wing. He twists and pulls, tearing it right out of its socket.

The pain runs deep, flaring all the way down her arm. She bits her lip, letting only a whimper escape. It’s only when Alden picks up the knife does something shatter within Claire. “No!” She screams, her voice raw and pulled thin with tears. “You can’t do that!”

Alden doesn’t say anything. “No! No no no...no.” Her words cut into pathetic sobs that tear through her throat. Raymond stands there, watching.

Alden presses the knife into Claire’s flesh and everything goes white. Pain filters in, fractured and muted. Her breath comes out in muddled gasps and she feels like everything is too loud.

Something thuds against the floor and she suspects it’s her wing.

(She knows it’s her wing but she can’t bring herself to accept it. If she does, then this is all real.)

Alden and Raymond leave, twin sets of footsteps accompanying them. Claire tests her magic, feeling for her wings. She knows they aren’t there but she had to be certain.

The connection between her wings is gone, broken threads fluttering in the void that used to contain her wings. It’s expansive and devours her in the inky darkness.

Her whole world shatters and all she can do is sob.

[thatmultifandommess]

Fitz Forgiven By Sophie Too Easily?

So, don’t get me wrong, I like Fitz as a character, but one thing that always makes me frustrated is how easily Sophie forgives Fitz when he blames her for something. It’s pretty obvious she likes him, and he likes her also. She always says that she understands why he was acting the way he was (which, yes, it was understandable). What makes me frustrated, is that she isn’t like that all the time with the others. Obviously Sophie will, probably, always forgive her friends because she cares about them (as we can see from situations such as Keefe “joining” The Neverseen) there are just certain things I didn’t quite get. For example, when Dex accidentally made the gadget that was going to be used by the council to take away her abilities until she was “ready” to be responsible with them. He would not intentionally hurt Sophie like that in any way, he just was happy to finally feel useful. And though Sophie knew Dex didn’t mean to do it, she still had a hard time forgiving him (but she eventually did). When Fitz, even though the circumstances were understandable, knew what he was doing and Sophie seemed to have taken it better (he did apologize though. That made me feel a lot better. The boy isn’t a jerk😂. I am also aware he was in a lot of pain because of Alden’s state). I know that the situations were MUCH different and Sophie had the right to feel bad or freak out as much as she wanted, I just felt like it may not have been as fair to my little baby Dex Dizznee over here. That’s just one situation out of a couple that I’ve found, and I just want to end this by saying that this is my opinion. I’m not trying to make you agree with me, I just feel this way personally. Please don’t freak out on me too much. Feel free to tell me your opinion on this subject. Coolio?