#i just needed to spread my siblings propaganda <3

[traffic-smp-headcannons]

i may sound crazy for this but. skizz-lizzie siblings. no, jimmy and lizzie aren't siblings (not by blood at least), jimmy is pearl and grian's brother. but... ANYWAYS. I don't know where this idea came from but imo they're a very underrated duo so... ya :3

Ender/Fae genetics, Skizz got more of the first half of that and Lizz(ie) got more of the second. (And then Skizz died and came back able to shapeshift just like his sister could already do, but that's besides the point)

and of course if we play into one of my very favorite headcanons. imagine. the both of them growing up in the Seelie court (their land was much kinder to mortals, given that their ruler had fallen in love with one). skizz never quite fitting with the magical aspects, never understanding the thrill everyone else seemed to get from the Hunt. never quite perfecting the laws they have to abide by. meanwhile lizzie shaping up to be the perfect next ruler of the court, and yet still finding time for her little brother. helping him realize things about himself (*winks in transmasc*) even though she doesn't quite understand it (after all, the faeries are magical creatures, borne of it, exactly how they want to be in every way).

then one day skizz makes a friend on the edge of the forest's border! a mortal, half-demon and half-rock giant, who tries to kill him at first sight (before realizing that wait, nope, that's one of the fae, BAD IDEA). They get over it and become Besties. and skizz gives up some of that immortality, that magic, in order to well and truly live. mortality sounds fun! Lizzie, of course, sends him off with a smile and a reminder of her love in the form of some (non-magic-imbued) pastries. Skizz comes back two weeks later with some new friends in tow, stays a few days, leaves, comes back again. It continues.

And then one day, he brings another friend with him: a human, some kind of mage, with a streak of green in his hair. and gods, if lizzie isn't (internally) struck dumb at the sight of him!

At least she's subtle, though. The cute human is so obvious, turning into a blushing mess whenever he tries to talk to her, and honestly it's a little embarrassing at this point!

...doesn't change the fact that, a few years later, skizz comes back to the court for a very special occasion. Seems this lineage has a bad habit of falling for mortals, one way or another!

-mod enen

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group D Round 3: #D5 vs #D6

#D5: Three brothers work together to stop an ancient evil

#D6: Most adorable-dork villainess in dating game isekai

Details and poll under the cut!

*D6’s tagline has been changed.

#D5: Laughing Under the Clouds (Donten ni Warau)

Summary:

In the 11th year of the Meiji Era, the end of the samurai shogunate and the prohibition of swords has left Japan with lasting scars. Displeased by these recent changes, many former samurai plot against the new government, inciting a wave of bloodshed. To counter this movement, the government constructs a colossal prison in the middle of Lake Biwa.

Unofficially assigned to help the police arrest criminals, Tenka Kumou also serves as a ferryman to the Lake Biwa prison with the help of his two younger siblings: the ambitious Soramaru and the enthusiastic Chuutarou. Together with the former Fuma ninja Shirasu Kinjou, the Kumou brothers live a frugal and joyful life mostly dedicated to studying and training.

However, behind this relatively uneventful daily routine, the specter of the “Orochi” curse is starting to spread its shadow over the city of Oumi. According to legend, every three hundred years, Orochi reincarnates in a human vessel—and it is believed that this is the harbinger of an imminent catastrophe. As various groups clash in search of Orochi’s vessel, some aim to seal the curse, while others have darker plans in motion.

Propaganda:

I found this series absolutely entrancing when I originally watched it, the portrayal of the characters and themes is really interesting to watch.

It tells a fantastic story about trying to defeat a legendary evil that can corrupt those around it to do its biding, all the while mixing in comedy and really heartfelt moments between family. For a 12 episode series they did a really good job of tying up any loose ends and finishing the plot, some things could have been expanded upon a bit more, but for what it is they producers did a wonderful job.

The series might not be the most groundbreaking anime ever, but it does have some lovely moments and explorations of its characters. I really like the themes of family, and wanting to do anything you can to help the people you love, it’s always nice to see and I think it’s done really well in this anime.

Trigger Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Suicide.

#D6: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shiteshimatta…)

Summary:

Most people would prefer being the protagonist of a world full of adventure, be it in a game or in another world. But, unfortunately, a certain girl is not so lucky. Regaining the memories of her past life, she realizes that she was reborn in the world of Fortune Lover—one of the games she used to play.

Unfortunately, the character she was reincarnated into—Catarina Claes—is the game's main antagonist, who faces utter doom in every ending. Using her extensive knowledge of the game, she takes it upon herself to escape from the chains of this accursed destiny.

However, this will not be an easy feat, especially since she needs to be cautious as to not set off death flags that may speed up the impending doom she is trying to avoid. Even so, to make a change that will affect the lives of everyone around her, she strives—not as the heroine—but as the villainess.

Propaganda:

This show is so much fun. The protagonist is a lovable girl himbo, who is completely oblivious to everyone around falling in love with her. It’s a bit of a harem anime, but with equal opportunities: the girls are just as enamored with the main character as the guys are. The increasingly dumber ways in which she thinks she’s going to meet her doom (she is supposed to be the villain of the story, after all) are a delight to behold.

Trigger Warnings: Incest, Rape/Non-Con. The main character gets assaulted like two or three times, but it’s not graphic. One of these instances, where a kiss is forced on her, is by her adoptive brother, who is also her cousin, who is one of her main love interests.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[eveningcolor]

If you picked up these hcs I would be very pleased like hahaha YES MY PROPAGANDA SPREADS !

Anyway more thoughts!! Mmm thinking in terms of who knows Tart is a sys…

In his family, only his older 3 siblings are aware. He trusts them enough (also screw dad fr he sucks ass), and doesn’t think the younger siblings should need to be bothered w it.

In terms of Fatui—The Tsaritsa is of course aware, as is Pierro, Pulcinella, and Dottore. Pierro was made aware for work reasons and such, Pulcinella bc Ajax trusts him a lot and treats him as family, and Dottore…. Well he wasn’t at all supposed to know he just figured it out in his own way so. Ehg but what can ya do.

Outside both these methinkssss. Well his main other friends would be Traveler n Zhongli—and it may take a while before he admits anything about it..? But would prolly eventually come out 2 them yeah. Xinyan also hashtag sibling dynamicz

dottore /neg

and xinyan so sooo true i lveo sibling dynamics,,

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

So, this may sound weird, since I don't ship ZK, but I think the reason some dislike EIP is because they realize it was the first part of a busted enemies-to-lovers arc. EIP was part one, where Zuko and Katara see how others see them, and it weirds them out. Yet, Zuko insisted on sitting next to Katara and Katara pushes Aang away, suggesting there might be something there that they don't want to acknowledge. (1/3)

The first part of the finale was Part 2, where June reiterates the "Hey you're with your gf again!" Zuko and Katara deny it, but there likely should have been an undercurrent of 'Why do people think we're together? Do we act like it? Should we be? S/he is kind of cute.' During this time, Zuko defers to Katara and despite Toph likely being more helpful, asks Katara to be the one to take down Azula with him. (2/3)

Last part of the finale should have been the money shot, Zuko taking lightning for Katara, and in a parallel to CoD, Katara healing him. Dante Basco is right in that there probably should have been a kiss at that moment and the end scene of the gang at the Jasmine Dragon with Zuko and Katara shyly proclaiming their interest in each other. (3/4, sorry I have one more)

Again, ZK is not my ship, but EIP seemed to set up a ZK endgame that jumped the tracks at the end. By all the "rules" of a good narrative, Zuko and Katara should have ended up together, otherwise EIP should never have been countenanced or storyboarded. Full disclosure that I'm not a huge Kataang fan either, but Kataang was done a disservice by having EIP exist. It either should not have ever gotten written, or the ZK enemies-to-lovers arc should have been concluded. (end)

Disclaimer: I don’t care if someone ships Zvtara. Never have, never will. If the takeaway you (the general you, not anon specifically lol) get from this post is that Zvtara is “bad,” then I’m going to assume you didn’t actually read anything I wrote, because that is the farthest thing from my point here. Also, this post is strictly my personal response to these asks. I don’t expect everyone to read this and be like “YEAH” lmao. I am sure some people have different opinions, and that is a-okay!

In short, I think we will have to agree to disagree, anon.

Do some people consider EIP the beginning of a busted enemies-to-lovers arc? Of course they do, they’re “rabid zkers” who wear Zvtara shipping goggles 24/7 lmao. EIP couldn’t have been the beginning of an E-L arc because such an arc was never in the cards for them in the first place! Katara forgave Zuko in the previous episode. Trying to cram a romantic relationship into five episodes after months of hatred between Zuko and Katara would have been awful writing (and thus probably would have been a decision mercilessly criticized until the end of time, lmao). So it’s honestly better that Zvtara gets to spread its wings in fanon instead (much less pressure)! Also, realistically speaking, Katara and Zuko probably still had so many issues to work through in their friendship. Like yes, she forgave him and recognized he was trying to do better, but that doesn’t erase what Zuko has done to her and her friends. There is still plenty of forward progress they need to make before romance can even be considered between them. If that makes sense?

Also, let’s be real: EIP and bit with June afterwards were 100% ship bait. Just an attempt to add to the “drama” of who Katara would end up. A technique only effective while it was airing, for the record, because if you watch the show straight through, it becomes glaringly obvious that Zuko and Katara’s relationship - while gorgeous - was always meant to stay strictly platonic within the canon timeline.

Anyways. I’ll try to break down your ask one piece at a time!

“Zuko and Katara see how others see them, and it weirds them out”

Yes, they are definitely weirded out! The transcript says, “Zuko and Katara inch away from each other, slightly uncomfortable.” Which is just a longer way of describing that they were weirded out by the depiction of their relationship in EIP, lol. However, the play is not how others see them. The play is the Fire Nation’s imperialist propaganda, meant to demean the entire Gaang. I talk about in specifics how the entire Gaang is belittled here, but this is the key stuff I noted about Zuko and Katara:

it’s important to situate that and more importantly situate eip zuko and katara’s relationship within the context of the show. the fire nation is an imperialist country. the southern water tribe has suffered heavily beneath them. we know from “the headband” that fire nation individuals are fed pro-imperialistic propaganda from birth; that combined with zuko and azula’s degrading comment of “peasant” towards katara demonstrate very clearly how the fire nation views every other nation - put simply, they are superior and everyone else is inferior. that attitude is therefore reflected in the eip play:

- katara, an indigenous woman, is highly sexualized and portrayed as overly dramatic and tearful, because the fire nation objectifies women not of their own people and views them as less intelligent and less emotionally stable

- she is thus paired as having a “romance” with zuko in eip because naturally, via fire nation logic, zuko would be able to “score” an “easy” woman of one of the water tribes

- furthermore, the eip “romance” between zuko and katara emphasizes zuko’s position as a traitor to the fire nation; the implication is that as a traitor, he’d only be able to achieve a relationship with a “lesser” woman, e.g. a woman not of the fire nation

That is not how other people truly view Zuko and Katara’s relationship. That is how the Fire Nation depicts their relationship in order to degrade and dehumanize Zuko and Katara. To misinterpret that as “evidence” that Zuko and Katara should have been together romantically is… disturbing, in my opinion. (I really try to stay far away from zkers who use EIP as “proof” of supposed Zvtara interest in each other like honey that is imperialist propaganda please don’t 😭).

If you want to talk about how other people actually view Zuko and Katara’s relationship, look at the Gaang, who were around them most of all! They never tease the possibility of romance between their friends. Why? Because within canon, there wasn’t one. Simple!

“Zuko insisted on sitting next to Katara”

Nope! This is all the transcript says: “Zuko [Removing his hood.] Just sit next to me. What’s the big deal?” He doesn’t even mention Katara! Zuko is literally just like I’m already sitting. Why do I need to move? lmfao. It’s no thoughts head empty for our favorite firebender 😂

“Katara pushes Aang away”

I’m assuming this about the kiss, which I’m going to make a post about in the future because I am TIRED of the tomfoolery. Anyways, I’ll keep this brief - yes, she does push him away. She does not deny that she likes him. For Katara, the issue is the timing: “This isn’t the right time.” Both Katara and Aang know they like each other, plain and simple (which is why Aang doesn’t ask if he returns her feelings - he asks if they’d be together, because he knows their feelings are mutual). Katara pushes Aang away because, as she says, they’re in the middle of a war. She’s already seen Aang die once. He might die again. She doesn’t want that, of course, but it’s a reality Katara is forced to consider.

Anyways, her decision has nothing to do with Zuko. Lol.

“June reiterates the ‘Hey you’re with your gf again!’ Zuko and Katara deny it, but there likely should have been an undercurrent of ‘Why do people think we're together? Do we act like it? Should we be? S/he is kind of cute.’”

June’s assumption - especially because it is a repeat of a gag from earlier in the series, when it is incredibly concerning to assume a Fire Nation citizen would be with someone of the Water Tribes because of the war and its consequences - is comic relief. Not even good comic relief, lmao, because of the horrific implications I just mentioned that come with it, but it’s supposed to be comedy. There was no need of any “Zvtara” undercurrents there because a) Katara and Zuko had never expressed romantic interest in each other in the past, b) it wouldn’t track with the show’s narrative of Katara as Zuko’s surrogate sibling because of her position as Azula’s primary foil, and c) it just doesn’t make sense in general. Katara likes Aang. Zuko likes Mai. There was never a love triangle there, plain and simple. Fandom invented it.

And again, if you want to talk about how people actually see Zuko and Katara, don’t look at June, who has never had a proper conversation with either of them. As I said, the Gaang is a much better example, since they’re with the two 24/7. If they never tease Zuko and Katara about romance, why should we trust this random lady who doesn’t even know them?

“During this time, Zuko defers to Katara and despite Toph likely being more helpful, asks Katara to be the one to take down Azula with him.”

As I mentioned, Katara is Azula’s primary foil, so from a literary perspective she absolutely needed to be the one to take her down. Zuko needed to face Azula, but taking her down - again, from a literary pov - was always meant to be the end of Katara’s journey (she was the only person besides Aang who was ever a match for Azula, after all, as we see in CoD). Also, how would Toph be more helpful?? Not saying you’re wrong, btw, I just don’t understand what you mean. If I was Zuko, I also would have brought the waterbender that I’d already witnessed almost take down my sister already 😂. But even if Toph would have been more helpful, sometimes practicality must be sacrificed for a fulfilling narrative arc, lol!

“Last part of the finale should have been the money shot, Zuko taking lightning for Katara, and in a parallel to CoD, Katara healing him.”

Honestly, anon, this part of your ask baffles me 😂 I totally understand why rabid zkers might make this argument, but taking into account the rest of the show… It just doesn’t make sense? It’s been talked about a hundred times, but Zuko taking lightning out of romantic interest would ruin his redemption arc, regardless of if it was Katara or Aang or Sokka or anyone in the Gaang that he was taking it for, so that should be the end of discussion, full stop. I’ve talked about this issue here and here before, and someone else does a great job breaking it down in this post, too. But seriously. Zuko having romantic interest for anyone in the Gaang would ruin!! His!! Entire!! Arc!! I hate when people don’t understand that 😭 Zuko had to learn selflessness, to learn how to put others before himself, and to unlearn the imperialist rhetoric he’d been indoctrinated with from birth. Romantic interest during canon for Katara, Sokka, Aang, whomever, I don’t care, completely disregards all of his growth of breaking away from the Fire Nation. Plain and simple.

“Dante Basco is right in that there probably should have been a kiss at that moment and the end scene of the gang at the Jasmine Dragon with Zuko and Katara shyly proclaiming their interest in each other.”

I learned in a discord I’m in that Dante Basco apparently hadn’t seen the whole show until this year lmao. He didn’t know what energybending was nor did he know A:TLA ended with a Kataang kiss. Take that with a grain of salt, of course (you can watch the livestream this is revealed in here, and it was also mentioned in the recent StageIt A:TLA reunion), but I think it’s safe to conclude Dante Basco can be treated like any other Zvtara shipper. He likes the ship, which is totally cool, but he is not one of the writers, so his opinion meant naught in constructing the canon narrative.

ANYWAYS. My point is why would Zuko and Katara proclaim interest in each other if such interest would have to be crammed into five measly episodes?? Especially when four of those episodes were the finale?? That is awful writing, of course the A:TLA writers wouldn’t do that, lmao! They’d built up Kataang and Maiko already. Why scrap it and needlessly rush a romance from an excellent - and, important to note, a newly established - platonic bond? Nah.

“EIP seemed to set up a ZK endgame that jumped the tracks at the end. By all the ‘rules’ of a good narrative, Zuko and Katara should have ended up together”

Nope. Idk what rules people have been teaching you, anon, but they were lying!! You deserve better than people who would lie to you like that 😤. But yeah, narratively speaking, Katara and Zuko getting together would have made no sense. It would have undermined Zuko’s and Katara’s arcs, it would have completely disregarded Katara’s established feelings for Aang and Zuko’s for Mai, and again, it would have been totally rushed. Who wants that?? Normal people don’t, lmao. This might be hard to believe considering I occasionally rag about BNF zkers, but I actually have several friends who are Zvtara shippers! They agree that canon Zvtara would have made no sense, and that it’s better to play out a potential Zvtara dynamic in post-A:TLA fanon. I swear, it is only the rabid shippers who think Zvtara should have been canon, and trust me when I say no one should want to associate with them, lmao.

(And again, as I touched upon earlier, Zuko and Katara’s canon narrative relationship was surrogate siblings because of Katara’s position as Azula’s primary foil. The show wrapped their arc up perfectly! With a lovely bow and all. So no complaints from me!)

“otherwise EIP should never have been countenanced or storyboarded. Full disclosure that I’m not a huge Kataang fan either, but Kataang was done a disservice by having EIP exist”

What EIP did right:

- accurate (and horrifying) depiction of pro-imperialist propaganda

- recap of previous seasons

- a lesson on consent (Aang kisses Katara, it is depicted as wrong, and Aang reacts appropriately by admonishing himself and by giving Katara space afterwards. like, people call Aang an incel/entitled/whatever, BUT HE HAD THE PERFECT REACTION?? he literally backed off and never pressured her again. i would have killed for the guy who kept getting in my personal space during my junior year to have backed off when i told him to. spoiler alert: he didn’t)

- hit some good humor beats

What EIP did poorly:

- honestly it’s not very interesting just based on watching it (deconstructing it as propaganda gives it better depth), but that’s to be expected from filler

- stupid shipping drama

- not having an additional conversation/explicit apology between Aang and Katara

HOWEVER. This final point is actually very subjective. For one, A:TLA has a clear trend of not showing apologies on screen. Ex.: Katara doesn’t apologize to Sokka for what she said about their mother, Zuko doesn’t apologize for anything he did to the Gaang, Song, or really anyone (closest we get is “Hello, Zuko here” lmao), Ty Lee and Mai don’t apologize for putting the Kyoshi warriors in jail, etc. etc. So while an explicit apology would have been great, the lack of one admittedly tracks with the show’s pre-established standards. And two, while I of course would love a conversation between Aang and Katara (that’s literally MORE KATAANG. why would I refuse 😂), it isn’t… necessary, to be frank. Aang’s mistake is treated as such - kissing Katara was wrong and he should never have done that. Like I said, Aang acknowledges this error and gives Katara space afterwards. Thus, it is Katara who chooses to be with him when the war is over. She respects the time he gave her to come to a conclusion, and the choice she makes is that she loves him despite his poorly-timed kiss (I mean, she forgave Zuko for being complicit in Aang’s death. Katara is clearly a very forgiving person!). So like,, it gets to a point where if someone doesn’t recognize that, they’re probably the kind of weirdo who labels anything they don’t understand in a story as a plothole, lmao.

All of this is to say that EIP wasn’t a disservice to Kataang. It certainly could have been better, of course, and the kiss was obviously only put in to hype up drama (“will they, won’t they” blah blah blah), but overall it handled consent well for a kid’s show.

“It either should not have ever gotten written, or the ZK enemies-to-lovers arc should have been concluded.”

On the whole, EIP is absolutely an unnecessary episode, yeah. It was just a recap before the finale. The only important thing is its accurate depiction of pro-imperialist propaganda, but most people’s minds don’t immediately go to that, I’ll admit lmao 😂. And as I’ve already said, there was no Zvtara E-L arc - fandom completely made that up. Which is totally fine! That’s the point of transformative works. But they are still fanon. Plain and simple.

TL;DR - Zvtara was never in the cards for A:TLA. I wish rabid zkers would stop pretending it was and have fun in the sandbox like the rest of us 😭

And for the record, anon, you absolutely, 100% do not have to be convinced by any of this! It’s just my own, personal thoughts on the whole dealio. No worries either way!! 💛

[quillovesdbz]

Week 2 submission for @tpthvegebulmayhem

Clandestine Downfall

Chapters: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

Chapter 2: A Shark Among Koi

Summary: Bulma admires her family, and reflects on the danger she causes Yamcha. The Regent devises a plan to assassinate a King Vegeta loyalist who may spread propaganda to the influenceable prince.

Rating: T

Genre: Cloak and Dagger, Fantasy, Fairytale AU, Horror, Dark Fiction

TW: Violence, conspiracy for murder, assassination, injury description, poisoning, vomiting

Prompts: Trail of Breadcrumbs, Blood of an Englishman, The boy who lied

The attack was over in seconds. The great general had won the war with a simple stab in the back. There was no need for a bloody battle when King Vegeta had double agents on the inside. Nappa cradled the dying duke of Sadala in his arms.

“Forgive me,” he whispered lightly. The duke scratched at his throat, fighting for breath. But Nappa’s tiny dagger had been coated in a lethal poison. It was over in seconds for the duke. Sadala belonged to King Vegeta now. All its inhabitants would become slaves, or rebel and die. It was horrible business, but business nonetheless. The King's wife was with child for the second time, and nothing mattered more to him than providing for his people and securing a prosperous kingdom for his son to one day rule.

Nappa had spent most of his life loyal to the Duke of Sadala. But the king promised prosperity, wealth, and above all life. Yes, for the atrocious betrayal, the king promised not to kill General Nappa. The giant found himself unable to refuse when the price was his life. Coward. So he turned on his own friend, who had trusted him. His stomach felt heavy, his throat dry. He relaxed his hold on the duke, who rolled from Nappa’s lap and onto the cold stone floor. Nappa turned his head and clutched his stomach as he heaved. The bile seemed an endless stream, nearly suffocating the general. The taste was putrid and sour, the smell much worse. This is only the beginning of my punishment. Nappa lamented to himself. The hot sting of regret swept over him like waves of lava. His eyes could not contain the tears they fought to hold back. He let out an anguished scream, chilling and seemingly endless.

Then he awoke from the nightmare. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt drips of perspiration down his back and neck. His sheets were wet throughout. His heart pounded incessantly, filling his ears with a rhythmic beat. He could hardly hear himself think. “Guh…” he vocalized as he tried to catch his breath. He hadn't had a nightmare quite so realistic in a long time, in fact years.

This is my ongoing punishment. Nappa lamented to himself.

…

It had been years since Vegeta had heard Nappa’s blood curdling screams in the middle of the night. It jolted him awake nonetheless. They didn't last long, the general woke himself up quite quickly. But... the prince couldn't help but wonder what trauma this man had endured to trigger such violently horrific dreams. He knew that before his father's death, there were many a bloody battle, led by the great general. But these screams weren't battle cries, nor were they cries of pain or injury. These nighttime howls were deep suffering cries. Cries of acts unable to be undone. True and raw regret, sorrow and heartache. And they chilled the prince to the bone. Though, he dared not ask of them.

The prince had always known Nappa. For as far as he could remember, the lumbering, bald man had always been there.

Vegeta sat up in his bed, squinting at the bronze rays of sunlight dancing through the drapes. His stomach bayed angrily, a call that the prince did not normally refuse. But today he wanted to avoid people. Especially Nappa. So he sighed and fell heavily into the oversized wine colored pillows.

Nappa…

Lately the general had been sick. He was hacking and coughing all day, in every wing of the castle. Someone get that man a hobby. There had been a long peace. The war the king started ended shortly after his death, and the general had been on babysitting duty ever since. When Prince Tarble and the Queen had passed, the king became ferociously protective of his first born. The first order of business was appointing a personal bodyguard to the prince, which became General Nappa. In times of peace the general would protect and train the young prince. In times of war others would be tasked with the job while Nappa led the armies in battle. The most recent political turmoil was due to the emperor of France. A sniveling lizard of a man, with a fearsome army. Emperor Frieza had tried to take over the kingdom of Vegeta in an attempt to gain more territory for France. The armies clashed in many great battles but it was ultimately a stalemate. The Regent and reluctant General Nappa called an armistice for the time being, but the emperor was not one to be trusted. And thus the mandatory enlistment was enforced.

So in this long peace, the prince and the general had become close. Though neither would ever express that sentiment.

But together they created many fond memories. In a strange way, this enemy turned double agent became a sort of father figure to the lost and lonely boy. He was the solid ground for which the prince could stand. A ribbon to hold the strands of yarn that were the prince's insecurities together. And for Nappa the prince was redemption. A cloth to wash the sins of his past away, a chance at atonement. They needed each other, these funny two, as physically contrasted as they may be.

…

“So it will be by poison?” the assassin inquired.

“Arsenic,” the Regent replied, slyly.

The assassin held the bottle to the dim candle light and examined the fine gray powder.

“This isn't the way I normally do things. I would much prefer slicing a throat or a dagger in the back. This feels…”

“Dishonorable? Any kind of killing is dishonorable, Hit. This is just a more discreet way.”

The assassin, Hit, shifted in his boots. He wasn't uncomfortable with the request, but he felt safer doing what he knew best, and he didn't know poisons.

Hit was an outsider, an englishman. The Regent selected him for his renown, there wasn’t anywhere on earth you could go without word of his work. He was taller than expected, bald and dignified. He wore a long violet cloak that held his form tightly to the waist, and loosely in the skirt. His skin was pale, almost lavender in shade, and his eyes were a blood red.

The regent sensed the unease from the killer he hired.

“It can't be helped…” The Regent began. “One trail of breadcrumbs will lead to another, and we can't risk being found out. You will not spill the blood of this, or any other man. Arsenic is the most clandestine method, and which I command you to use.”

Without argument, Hit bowed to the black clad Regent, and took his leave.

It is done. The Regent sighed internally, gliding elegantly to the crimson covered mirror.

“Mirror, mirror,” the Regent chanted, lifting the veil of drapery from the golden mirror.

“M'lord?” it answered, with the accent of a regal gentlemen.

“Will this be enough to control the prince? I will have eliminated all of the old king’s allies with the pending murder of General Nappa. There should be no supporters of his left to fill the young boy with his false propaganda.” There was a sadness in his tone, and as his words came out they fell like heavy bricks.

The mirror was silent as it felt around the otherworld for the most likely outcome.

“This plan will work under one condition. The prince will meet a blue haired girl, and fall in love. He will trust her word over yours, ultimately ending in your death. You must make sure they never meet, or kill her as well.”

The Regent pressed his fingertips on his cheek, the cup of his hand covering his mouth. His hand reeked of garlic, a side effect of coming in contact with the arsenic.

The mirror flashed a vivid image of the blue haired girl. She was pale with pink lips and a slender nose. She had a small frame, but she was taller than most girls. She looked to be about 17, the same age as the prince. She was dressed in peasant garb, no doubt a lowly commoner. She's just a girl. A peasant. How much could she mean to anybody? It would be a great hassle to hide the prince away, securing a future where he never meets her. She too must die.

…

Bulma had a horrific experience on her trek home. The forest was pitch black and foreboding. The rain beat down on the earth, the trees and the girl. Traumatized from her recent encounter with the prince, her mind was racing.

What a horrible man! She recalled. I am so lucky I am not found out, an evil person such as he would have killed me on the spot.

With each step she quickened her pace to get home as soon as possible. With each step her heartbeat also quickened. She had the most exasperating feeling that she was being watched, but she knew it was just her anxiety, heightened by the encounter.

The once full moon was completely encased by the dense tree tops. The animals rustled in the distance more so than usual, likely due to the storm. Damn animals, she reassured herself. When she knew she was close to home she untied her navy ribbon to let down her hair. It was drenched, and fell heavily to her shoulder blades. Her lie was undone, and finally she made it home.  

...

Yamcha rose from bed early. He stretched his arms out and let out a long windy yawn. It was a gorgeous morning, having just rained the night before, the sun was out and dusting it's glittery dew on every leaf and blade of grass. He looked at the bed space behind him and noted its distinct emptiness. She sure was mad at me. He concluded. But just then he heard a splash coming from the washroom.

...

Bulma had stayed awake all night, frightened of the consequences she might have to face at the stables. And the trauma from the kick in her side was too painful to let her sleep. She instead watched her siblings sleep. Each one rested in their own unique way. Goku, a raven, wild haired boy, was sprawled out with a foot in Oolong’s rotund face. Oolong, a fat pink boy with short light red hair,  had a hold of Goku’s entire left leg, as if it were a delicious turkey leg waiting to be eaten. Launch, a blonde petite girl, curled into Tien’s arms, one half of her body tightly to his, the other half outstretched like Goku. Tien, who was the second oldest at 9 years, had always slept far from the others in his own private corner. That is until Launch came along and she appointed the light blond boy her personal stuffed animal. He didn't mind. Chichi and Krillin were 8 year old twins who couldn't be more different. Chichi slept on her belly, legs and arms tucked in and rear in the air. Her dark hair was nearly as long as she was tall. To avoid entangling the other children she kept it braided tightly during the night. On the other side of the room, as far from his sister as possible, Krillin was on his back, arms behind his head and legs outstretched, hanging of the bed. He kept his head shaven, as he aspired to be a monk for the monastery one day. And little Lazuli, the 6 year old mute blonde girl, slept as straight as a board, hands to her side and heels at attention. It was funny how she looked just like a tiny soldier, disciplined and fearless.

After hours of listening to their small snores, Bulma picked herself up and decided to bathe before they awoke.

The scar faced delinquent stood from the bed. While hesitant at first, he decided to join Bulma in the bathroom. She was never mad at him for too long. He tiptoed so as to surprise her. He pressed his dark skinned hand to the curtain that separated their chambers and their washtub. For a split second he listened, enjoying the subtle sound of a beautiful woman washing herself gently. I’m sorry Bulma, he prepared. He never was good at talking to girls, so he went over conversations in his head quite often. I’ll make it up to you. How’s breakfast? Yeah, I’ll make breakfast. Decided on an apology, he grasped the curtain and pulled it open.

Startled, Bulma looked up from the washtub, to see the boyish face she was so frustrated with the night before. Quickly, she grabbed her side so that Yamcha didn’t see the large still-forming bruise. Unfortunately she hadn’t seen the one on her cheek from being pressed into the ground under the boot of the monarch. “Yamcha,” she said with a sincere smile.

He blushed at her nakedness and her smile, but he couldn’t help but notice the wound on her cheek. Not only was it blue from bruising, it also had quite a lot of brown dirt surrounding it. And boy, did she reek or manure.

“Gee Bulma, you stink,” he said with a hearty laugh. He bent down to her level and prepared to ask about her bruise.

“Well!” She yelled, flustered and angry that he would point out her smell.

“What happened to your face, it's all dirty and bruised. Did you fall last night? I know it rained it must have been slippery and dark on the way home.”

“That’s exactly what happened,” she lied.

He knew her too well to believe her lie. But he also knew that she didn’t like to be prodded and decided to let it go. Whatever happened was in the past, and she clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

Bulma lifted her hands from her side, confident that Yamcha wouldn't prod her any further. She looked at her once feminine hands, and noted how worn they’d become. Over the last two years, working in the stables had barely fed her siblings, but had an immense effect on her youthfulness and beauty. Is this worth it? She thought as she looked spitefully at her calloused and short-nailed hands. No man will favor me when I am ready for a husband, she bemoaned.

Yamcha was bewildered by the apparent beating Bulma had taken. Yamcha began to feel the rage well up inside of him.

“Who did this to you?” he demanded at her.

She was silent and gave him a begging look, asking him to drop the subject.

“No! This is unacceptable!” he barked, some frustration leaking into the words he said to her.

“The quartermaster,” she lied, believably. If she had told him it was the prince, he’d surely get himself killed for her sake.

“I’ll kill him!”

“NO!” Bulma yelled as Yamcha stood from the tubside.

She quickly decided on the truth, because she believed Yamcha wouldn’t go after the prince, surely.

“It was the prince! I didn’t want to expose myself so I took his beating!” she pleaded.

Yamcha froze as he felt a fear make its way down his spine. All his worry and anxiety of being found out came to the surface.

When he first met Bulma, her first day working in the stables, he knew her secret. The only person she hadn’t been able to fool was Yamcha. He played it cool for a while but something drove him to confront her. When all the other stable hands had left for the day, he pinned her, like the smooth delinquent he was, and asked her why she did it.

“Why do you cross dress, Bull?”

He remembered how red and confused she became at the question. She couldn’t answer it. Her river colored eyes begged him to keep quiet. He reassured her he wouldn’t tell, so long as she promised to tell him why. So she took him home with her where he met all 7 reasons why.

Since then, their relationship was complicated at best. It was an on and off romance, but neither of them could commit. Bulma ended up relying on Yamcha for help entirely too much, a thought which now suffocated him. But she helped him too. She was the reason he stopped thieving in the night, a habit formed in his early years of being an orphan. She harbored him when he dodged the mandatory enlistment. She, and the children, became something he cared about other than himself. But they weren’t good for each other. He had a wandering eye, and he knew he couldn’t make Bulma happy. He surely couldn’t make enough money on his own to take care of all of them. She had to continue the lie, for her family, and he was the boy who lied for her.

And suddenly, it was becoming too much.

Bulma’s eyes followed the motionless boy. She wondered what went on inside that messy-haired head of his in this confusing conflict.

“I release you,” Bulma breathed. “you don’t have to keep my secret any longer. This isn’t your burden to bear, and I don’t dare to think what might happen to you if I was found out and you were charged as my accomplice.”

Her words relieved his stress slightly. He had to let go of this wild blue haired woman, that he knew. It would hurt, but there were many fish in the sea. She was releasing him, the koi fish, vibrant orange and black, into the sea. He could feel the waves of relief rush over him.

He smiled his crooked, bandit’s smile. “Thank you, Bulma. You be safe. Take care of those kids. One day, I’ll have many riches and I’ll return to you and you won’t need to dress up anymore.” He meant it.

Bulma smiled back, softly. She didn’t want him to leave her. He was safety embodied. And she was chaos and danger.

A shark among the koi.  

…

His muddy boots were kicked in the corner of the room, a product of the night’s storm. The Prince had been curious of the stable boy, and thought he might be a thief. Afterall, it was exceptionally odd that a servant would still be tending the horses after dusk…

He followed the boy through a beaten but not overly so path. He stayed as far behind as he could manage, as the forest was nearly jet black. The sound of the heavy rain helped to cover the noise he created in his pursuit. What intrigued Vegeta most was that the boy lived so far from the castle. He wondered why the boy even made the commute. It wasn’t until the cottage was in view that he realized where they were. It was the old hospital. Yes, the one the insane old doctor used to run before he lost it and started kidnapping slaves. Did the doctor have a son? Vegeta pondered. Come to think of it, he looked just like the old kook, a spitting image with blue hair and eyes. Vegeta surely would have known, for it was mandatory for boys to enlist in the military for two years, just after their 15th birthday. He must be evading the enlistment. Then something unforeseen happened. She let down her hair.

Vegeta thumbed through the memory like a book. The reveal was so astonishing that the Prince almost fell over. He left promptly with the secret, vowing to return the following day with punishment. The crime of impersonating a man was one thing. But to appear in the prince’s presence and lie was another thing entirely. But he was intrigued. Before enforcing his punishment upon her and the senile doctor, he would find out why.  

The prince felt a small pang of guilt when he remembered the beating he'd given the girl. He pondered about the double standard. I would've done it again regardless of gender. In fact, he began to imagine just what sort of punishment he would give her for her crimes. The old doctor may just receive a slap to the wrist. After all he was old and senile. But the girl knew what she was doing, and she did it deliberately. She would need to be jailed, and made an example of. A king can't have his subjects parading around as people they are not. Ridiculing her in the streets before her sentence would do the job. Then she could rot in a cell for all he cared.

Once he kicked off most of the crusted mud, he left his chambers in search of Nappa.

…

[tpthvegebulevents]

MAYHEM 2018 - WEEK 2 - [ANON E] “CLANDESTINE DOWNFALL” (2)

Title: Clandestine Downfall

Summary: Bulma admires her family, and reflects on the danger she causes Yamcha. The Regent devises a plan to assassinate a King Vegeta loyalist who may spread propaganda to the influenceable prince.

Rating: T

Genre: Cloak and Dagger, Fantasy, Fairytale AU, Horror, Dark Fiction

TW: Violence, conspiracy for murder, assassination, injury description, poisoning, vomiting

Chapter 3: The Great General Falls

(Chapters 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7)

Recently, the great general had been ill. It was a cold of sorts at first, but the blood that spewed from his persistent cough made him believe it was likely consumption, probably a few months left. A year if he was lucky.  He had no family to speak of, save for the young prince. I won't be sorely missed, I suppose. He lamented, whilst waiting in the dining hall for breakfast. I just wish I didn't have to waste away locked in here. I'd much rather die honorably on the field of battle.

After a short time of lonely contemplation, the prince entered the dining hall.

“I thought you'd be here, general.” The prince jabbed at Nappa's tendency to be continually hungry and always eating.

“And whatever can I do for you today, my prince?” Nappa jabbed back at Vegeta’s tendency to be spoiled.

Tch. “I've solved quite a crime. A crime that requires a most brutal punishment. I had hoped you would like to join me?”

Nappa loved to deliver well deserved punishment. Even in his deteriorating state, he could feel his adrenaline surging at the thought of some justice. It had been a while, and boy was the general thirsty.

But before he could accept, the maiden servants made their way from the kitchen hoisting a plethora of tasty looking food.

A whole roast pig was the main course, followed by a quail egg quiche with fresh garden vegetables. It all smelled so delightful and enticing. Fresh baked breads and rolls with butter displayed in baskets lined the table. There was even a sugary brown apple tart, its juices still simmering from its recent encounter with the ovens.

“This's fa’ you, Gen’ral Nappa,” purred a sultry maiden with hair like autumn leaves. She set the tart in front of him and turned with a wink. Nappa’s face was set ablaze with the not so subtle flirt. She was a southern Irish woman, new to the court. She arrived the same day that the new chef did. A pale man named Hit.

“Ugh, of course,” the prince groaned.

“Vegeta I'm starving just let me down this tart and we can go. Promise.”

This might be the last time we can play vigilante, kid. The general thought, doubting his longevity.

 …

 Yamcha tied his pouch around his waist and his scarlet headband around his long raven hair. The breakup was amicable, but it still hurt him. He pressed his old rusty sword gently into the worn leather sheath. He made one last somber look back at the old run down hospital, and began his journey to elsewhere.

There was no destination in his mind, just far enough to give them some space and start anew, away from the Kingdom of Vegeta.

But Yamcha never made it that far.

 …

 Vegeta and Nappa mounted their horses and made a swift journey into the forest. It was overgrown and muddy, an obstacle for the stallions. Though it made them slower, it was not by much.

“We will be there within the hour,” Vegeta claimed reassuringly.

Nappa gave a grunt. He was feeling immensely ill, much worse than this morning. The consumption can't be progressing this quickly. He soothed himself. But with that thought a new anxiety presented itself. What if something else is causing this…

His heart trembled noticeably. His stomach turned. The great general felt the precursory salivation that indicated it was soon time to vomit. Whether he wanted to or not.

Vegeta had to halt his jet black horse at the sound of Nappa heaving.

“Gods Nappa, get ahold of yourself. You are far to hardy and fortitudinous to let a small flu have control of your body like that!” he commanded.  “Maybe I'd have done the job better on my own,” the prince sneered.

Nappa could physically feel the prince get farther away. And as the prince was sucked away, so was his voice. It was like he was trying to say something to Nappa, but all he heard were faraway and increasingly distant words. His heartbeat became uneven, its pulse matched the twisting in his stomach. His vision began to darken. This is… I've been poisoned…

Without so much as a grunt from Nappa, the prince felt concerned for the first time since Nappa had fallen ill a few days ago. He quickly dismounted to check on the brutish general. Dammit I just cleaned these boots. When he came up to Nappa's older paint stallion he got a good look at his face. He was pale, and perspiring profusely, and he smelt of sour rotten apples. The stallion was calm, but teetered between his left and right hooves in a show of concern. Even the horse knew something was wrong with his rider.

Nappa was visibly unconscious, which sent a spark of fear down the Prince’s spine.

And then Yamcha happened upon the scene. Not recognizing either male, he asked if everything was alright.

“Get away from us peasant, he’s just had a pint too many, and we were headed back anyway.” The prince glared at Yamcha.

Peasant? Is he a duke? Or…?

It became clear to Yamcha that this must be an envoy sent by the prince to arrest Bulma. She'd been found out. And he was the only person who could save her.

“Well?!” Vegeta became louder, “move along boy!” he ordered.

“This is privately owned land, what exactly are you doing here?” Yamcha challenged.

The challenge was accepted with a devilish smirk from the black haired noble.

“I'm here to enforce punishment for crimes committed against the crown last night,” he breathed as he inched closer to the former bandit.

“If you stand in my way I'll be forced to charge you with interference in an ongoing investigation.” He threatened, his voice low and calm like the eye of the storm, smirk still firmly in place.

Yamcha stood frozen, not quite from fear but not quite standing his ground. Though the man was visibly shorter than he, Yamcha was clearly less fit. And if the drunk brute came to his senses, Yamcha would surely be no match. He contemplated his options.

Nappa suddenly gained some composure as the threat of another retch plagued his stomach. “Aaaggh ouuuh,” he groaned, aligning his body to a sitting position, rather than a slumped unconscious one.

Both young raven haired men turned their attention to the tall burly rider. The horse readjusted himself as well, gaining comfort that his partner was aware again.

“Nappa…” Vegeta trailed, waiting for a signal or response from the general.

“Vegeta… I need a hospital immediately. I've been poisoned.” Nappa shuddered, grasping his stomach.

“Poisoned?!” the two young men gasped in unison. Vegeta sent a growl and glare to Yamcha, as if to say how dare you speak when I speak!

Yamcha, taken aback by the odd encounter, had an idea. Maybe Bulma could help save this man, with her vast medical and scientific knowledge, not to mention the equipment the old hospital still housed. She could save this man as penance for her crime, and be saved whatever unjust punishment the prince had ordered.

“I- There's a hospital just up here, I'm sure it's where you were headed! There is a very knowledgeable maiden who can h-help this man,” Yamcha stammered.

“Oh, so you know her? And what of the old doctor? Is he not available? Has he fled the kingdom in embarrassment of his crossdressing daughter?” Vegeta prodded, rudely.

“...Doctor Briefs died a few years back. Bulma is taking care of the children he left behind on her own. But it's of no concern right now, we have to treat this man or he will die!”

Seeing no other option, the prince directed the boy to lead Nappa's horse and follow him to the old hospital.

 …

 The cottage was not far. Nappa was able to stay conscious for the remainder of the trip, though he was too weak for conversation. The two young men had an immediate dislike for each other, and thus a very silent and awkward journey was had.

Bulma was preparing breakfast for Goku and Tien when she heard hoof beats outside.  The sharp edge of her butcher's knife stopped halfway through the blood red apple she was slicing for the boys.

Sensing her fear the boys immediately stopped everything thing they were doing and waited silently for a reaction.

This is it. Bulma's worst fears were finally true. They were here to imprison her, and take her siblings away. Or worse…

Without hesitation she signalled the boys to quietly rouse the other 5 children, and meet in the cellar.

She was able to carry Launch without waking her, but Chichi was another story.  The petite girl quietly rustled, waking when she was lifted from her resting place.

“What's goin-"

“Shhh, Chichi, don't wake Launch.” Bulma interrupted her.

She pressed the two small girls into each arm, locking them in her protection, for what it was worth.

Tien had the apprehensive Krillin by the hand, almost dragging him behind. But Goku, Oolong and Lazuli were nowhere in sight.

And then there was a banging on the door. Bulma threw her hand over her mouth, looking at Tien. The boy's eyes were searching, for his siblings and for reassurance from his rock, his protector and older sister, Bulma. But she had no such reassurance to give him.

To be continued…

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[imaginesheaven]

Two drops of water - Jacob Frye x Fem! Reader

I really tried to write something during my depression. So I apologize for the shitty end and all mistakes you find in the story. Just enjoy it, please :3

"I bet you can scare Starrick away with that grim face of yours, brother dearest", you make your way towards the door swinging around the screwdriver in your hand amused. Alexander just ignores your comment about his bad mood, while he keeps writing in his little book about a bunch of dots and dashes, which result in a message.

The smile on your lips widens immediately as you see who your visitor is. Of course, you let Henry Green and his two companions in. "Ah, blast'em!", your brother mumbles under his breath not noticing anyone around him.  

"Aleck?", you call his name to get his full attention. "I have been intercepting nothing but poppycock propaganda about Soothing Syrup and what not. No, I swear to high heavens, if Starrick's monopoly continues-", he complains about the current situation.  

"-Aleck! We have guests", softly you put a hand on his shoulder to make up the harsh undertone in your voice. With raised eyebrows he looks at you then focus his attention at Henry. "I beg your pardon, these are friends of mine. Evie Frye and her brother, Jacob", the Assassin can introduce his friends finally.  

Almost a bit embarrassed about his rude behaviour Alexander lays away his book and pen to jump out of his chair. Swiftly he dances around his chair to stand right next to you, "Um... Alexander Graham Bell." A slight smile on his lips as he crosses his hands behind his back, "And this is my lovely sister-"

"- [Y/N] Bell", you tell the siblings your name yourself. "Linguists, inventors, and technical experts", Henry adds to your names. "Too much praise, Henry, I'm almost blushing", you make a dismissive gesture with the hand which is still holding the screwdriver.

"Aleck, [Y/N], I have something of a favour to ask of you-", Mr. Green continues to talk. "Can you fix this?", Jacob takes a few steps closer. Well, the man is definitely not beating around the bushes. The Indian Assassin seems to suppress to roll his eyes, while Evie lives her annoyance with every fibre of her body.

"That's a nice little toy you have there. Nothing easier than that", but before you can reach for the rope launcher, Aleck already has his hands on it. Both of you know he is a bit handicapped due to his injured hand. And still it doesn't stop him.  

"Aleck", your brother turns around pretending not to hear the warning undertone in your usually with sarcasm laced voice. "Hm... Looks like the casing is cracked", Alexander looks around for the screwdriver in your hands. "Aleck..." Not caring at all about your protests he grabs a wrench instead. What a stubborn man you have to deal with.

Your brother gets creative with holding the rope launcher lacking a second hand to use. "Oh, it comes apart", this time you are a bit faster than him taking a hold of the machine as it falls on the table. It wouldn't take long to get rid of the problems, if you wouldn't have another technical expert looking over your shoulder.

"You need to loosen-", Aleck starts to give tips but you cut him off by pointing the screwdriver at him, "I swear if you end this sentence, your left hand won't be your only injured body part." He raises his arms in defence smiling, "Go on, sweet sister. I could have used one of these to fit my fuses on top of Big Ben."  

You can feel four pairs of eyes on you. Especially Aleck's, who would love to take care of the launcher himself. But he knows you will make your warning true. "Aleck and [Y/N] are installing a new telegraph line for our Free Press Association", Henry explains for what you two need the fuses. "To combat the Starrick Telegraph Company", your brother adds happily.

"If we can mend the fuses connecting independent lines from Big Ben, Starrick will be weakened", he loves to talk about your projects, "Only, we are somewhat at a handicap."  

You turn around toying a sassy smile on your lips, "We? I only see your injured hand, brother. Here, I removed the mechanism so it may works with your bracer. Easier to handle during a fight or whatever you are doing in your free time."

You hold out the launcher for one of the twins to grab. "We've got a feisty one here. I'll put it to use immediately", Jacob won't let pass a chance like this. He turns around as Evie stops her brother right in time, "Jacob, wait. Mr. Bell, allow me to help you with your fuses."

A bit surprised you raise one of your eyebrows. "Oh, you will not find me too proud to accept, Miss Frye", glee sparkles in Alexander's eyes by now, "We can use my carriage. If you'd be so good as to hold the reins, though."  

"That's my carriage you are talking about, Aleck. Just to remind you if you forgot", you put away the screwdriver. Ignoring your statement once again he makes his way towards the door followed by Evie, who snaps the rope launcher out of her brother's hands.  

"Aleck? Aleck!", there is no way to stop him anymore now. A sigh escapes your mouth as Henry puts his hand on your shoulder friendly. "Thank you for your help. I'll see you later", and with that he is gone like your brother.  

"So, it's just me and you now, Mr. Frye", you close the door that got left open. Said Assassin looks at your experiments which are spread out of the table you work on. "I've got another rope launcher here. I kept that nice little toy hidden, because I'm pretty sure my brother would have killed himself on the top of Big Ben with it", interested Jacob looks over your shoulder as you grab the old whiskey bottle on your side of the table.  

"Luckily my brother isn't good friends with alcohol", the glass flask gets smashed on the wooden surface to reveal the said launcher. Jacob's brown eyes widen surprised, but he can't keep the slight smirk off his face. Not noticing the look he gives you, you work on his bracer.  

"Go for it. But, please, use the neighbour's house. Our roof is already a bit leaky. Apart from this, the old lady isn't really fond of me and Aleck", you know his puppy eyes just to well from Alexander. The Assassin can't wait to try out the rope launcher.

"[Y/N], you just turned into my favourite person", Jacob rushes outside grinning almost from one ear to the other one. He acts like a child who just got a new toy. You follow him out of your house just to see him already leaping of the ground. A slight appears on your face as you see Jacob jumping from roof to roof.  

Screams of children catch your full attention. It's nothing new in this part of borough and still you turn around worried about what is going on. Your smirk fades away immediately. A bunch of male blighters terrorize innocent little girls.  

"Hey!", anger washes over you as you rush towards the blokes. Teaching them a lesson without a weapon might be reckless, but you couldn't stand by and do nothing at all. Confident as always you stand right in front of the red dressed men. Second thoughts? Well, not yet.

Unfortunately, they are not scared of your small and fragile form as you look up at them. The children take the chance of distraction to run back home just as you wished. Laughing the Blighters stroll forward knowing you turned from pursuer to prey in a blink of an eye. "She likes to play with fire", one of them licks the cold metal of his brass knuckles.  

Before something probably bad happens the tables turn once again. With disgust marking your face you see how the blokes start to retreat. At first only a few steps, then they run for their dear lives like the devil is chasing them down the street.  

A quiet sigh escapes your mouth as you turn around to get back to your house. Your heart doesn't even get a chance to slow down for a second. Shocked you face a pretty sure broad and muscular chest. "Well, hello there, love", red dusts your cheeks because of Jacob's words, while his arm sneaks around your waist to pull you even closer.  

"You and your brother are nothing but trouble!", the voice of your old neighbour snaps the two of you out of the romantic moment. Rolling your eyes annoyed you dance swiftly around Jacob ignoring the lady for the first time you moved to London. The adrenaline still rushes through your veins. It might be because you can feel Jacob's eyes on you.

An incredible foolish idea comes to your mind so you stop mid-step. Jacob's chest collides with your back this time. Apparently the Assassin were lost in his thoughts. "Oi, something wrong, love?", he pushes back his top hat as you throw a sassy smirk over your shoulder. "Interested in some fun, Mr. Frye, until Aleck and Evie finish their mission?", oh, yes. You would everything to see a blushing Jacob again.  

"I toyed around with some chemicals the last days and created this", proud of your work you hold out the smoke bomb for the Assassin to grab, "We have a backyard all for us. Let's test this little beast." Jacob shares an amused smile with you loving the way you think.

And with that the time flies by trying out different types of bomb together. "Okay, that was way too much smoke", you can't suppress the coughed laugh. "What … Oh, sweet sister! Is that the new formula? It is not perfect but by golly it works!", Aleck claps his hands even happier than he was when he left.  

"Oi! You two will learn your lesson one day!", the old lady yells from her window once again. "How often already?", Aleck wants to know. "It might be the fifth time already. We should keep the experiments low for the rest of the day", you reply. The problems with the neighbour doesn't dull your smile at all.  

"However, if you ever need technical help, come and visit. And thank you again for the help, Miss Frye", you shake her hand glad that she brought back your brother safe and in one piece. "What a nice offer, love", Jacob tips the rim of his top hat before the twins leave.  

"Don't say a single word, Aleck", you warn your brother. "I wish I could, but the blush on your cheeks makes me speechless."  

"If we strike the two drops of water it might turns the effect from sleep to death", Aleck toys with the chemicals on the table, while you write everything down in a little book. "We are not creating a poison, brother. We keep the water", he can clearly hear the warning in your voice." "But it would indeed come in handy", a third voice joins the conversation.

"Mr. Frye, right on time as always. Four days in a row to be exact. So, what is it this time?", you don't bother to look up from your notes. "You hurt my feelings, love. It was you who offered technical help", confident Jacob pushes your chin up softly so you have to look at him and his gorgeous smirk.

"And what is this technical problem you have, Frye?", you wrap your hand around his to intertwine your fingers. It's like the two of you are made for holding hands with each other. Your small one fits perfectly into his rather large one.

"Might be the rope launcher. Might be the person behind the device", he press your hand against his chest so you can feel his unusual fast heartbeat. "Again? It was your excuse for the second say you were here. Apart from this, I don't have a solution for human problems", you can see behind his poker face he doesn't even try to hold up.  

"Maybe I only needed a reason to see you every day without looking like a inpatient fool in love", his deep brown eyes meet your [E/C] ones. "Let me tell you, Jacob, you don't need an excuse to visit. I enjoy your company", you say honest.  

"Have you seen Starrick's latest lies?", Aleck interrupts ignoring how close the two of you are. He holds the newspaper between your faces to break the love spell. Of course, Alexander is happy when you are, but he doesn't need you two flirting right in front of him. You are still his little sister he wants to keep safe from harm.  

Quietly sighing you let go of Jacob's hand to focus on your notes once again. Your brother keeps ranting about the latest problems to establish your new telegraph line. "Aleck, you are a genius", the Assassin praises his skills to create a new little toy for him.  

"Oh, well, I have to insist that it is also my work. We discovered that the serum adopts the form of a gas when subjected to heat. That was a terrifying incident we had", you share a brief smile with Alexander. Poor old lady running around in her backyard.

"Just when I think you two can't surpass yourselves... I see you tomorrow", Jacob winks at you as he turns around to get rid of your problems. "This time without an excuse?", you look over the edge of your book at him. "No, still with one. I long to see that beautiful face of yours", Jacob is charming as always.  

"…", your brother crosses his arms in front of his chest. You are not quite sure what the look he gives you means. "Two drops of water, Aleck", you remind him of the poison you two created together.  

An ice cold silence has lifted over the Bell household since Jacob's last visit a day ago. To be honest it scares him a little bit not to hear a single word of you or Aleck as he enters your home. Now everything makes sense for the Assassin. The two of you are busy taming the great chaos of destroyed furniture and experiments.

"Something gone wrong?", Jacob asks extremely relieved to see you safe. "Argh!", Aleck lets go of a piece of wood, which seems to be part of a chair. You instead bring up a knife to protect yourself in case of an attack and point it at the Assassin.

Amused he pushes the blade down with his gloved fingers, "Careful, love, or you might..." The smirk on his lips fades away immediately as Jacob notices the bruises on your usually flawless face. Yes, sometimes you might be dirty form your experiments but never hurt.

Softly he grabs your chin, while a disturbing coldness appears in his brown eyes. "Who did this?", Jacob runs his finger over the cut on your lip. The answer is more than clear. Aleck and you were helping the Assassins in a city ruled by Templars.  

"Starrick sends his men to persuade us. He is offering a ridiculous amount of money", Aleck explains him what is going on the last few days. "The last meeting with them didn't got as planned", you add avoiding the pleading eyes of your brother.  

"I didn't tell you a word to keep you safe from harm. I couldn't know you would beat up one of them so badly! I'm sorry, [Y/N]", Alexander just wanted to do the right thing as bigger brother. That he doesn't call you sweet sister shows you that Aleck means his apology.  

"Alright, but what do we plan to stop them? I don't let some blokes terrorize us", you withdraw your chin Jacob's sweet touch even if you don't want to actually. "Woah! No, no, I'll take care of them. I am the Assassin here, understood?", he takes the knife out of your hand matching to his statement.  

"We have been working on something that you might like. It's meant to stun an assailant, should the need arise", Aleck shows Jacob one of the new bombs. "Wait, we are not certain that it works. We can't give him all three kinds of bombs to test them out. There is no time during a fight", the Assassin loves how you try to protect him like he does with you.

"Don't worry, love. I'll be careful. Shall we?", Jacob winks at you smirking. Sometimes you can't believe his confidence. "Starrick is still transmitting false information. It won't be a lot of work to destroy them", Aleck knows the perfect mission for his new device. "And there will be a lot of Blighters", Jacob knows what your brother wants to say.

With that both of them look at you sharing the same worry in their eyes. "You can't stay in the house alone, but coming with us is also dangerous. Why don't you take a walk around the city?", Alexander suggests taking a step back in case you will throw something after him. "I'm too tired to start a fight with you. I will buy our lost chemicals once again, while you two are having fun without me", you suppress to roll your eyes annoyed.

Aleck gathers all the bombs they need to test out so his back his facing you. Jacob takes the chance to grab your hand softly. He presses a kiss on the back of your hand like a gentleman. Red dusts your cheek. Yes, the two of you fell hopelessly in love.

"We can take my carriage", Alexander interrupts the romantic moment once more. A sigh escapes your mouth, "My carriage, Aleck!" Smiling Jacob follows your brother outside ready for the new mission. You take a quick look over the remaining chemicals to see what you need to buy. The front door of the house gets opened, but you don't bother to throw a look over your shoulder. "You would forget your head if it wouldn't be attached to your body, Aleck." There is laughter of several men, which results in your heart skipping a beat.

"Now we will see if you still like to play with fire", you twirl around to prepare for your attacker, but you are way too slow. A large hand wraps around your throat tightly, while your back collides with the wooden wall. "Where did your confidence go, girl? You aren't that great without your Assassin friend, right?", the breath of the Blighter is even worse than his iron grip.

"All of you know I could beat you. Didn't you see what I did to your friend?", you hiss through your teeth as you kick with your feet, which are dangling a few inches over the ground. "I like women with fire in their eyes", the bloke leans closer to you to let his tongue flick over your cheek for a brief moment.  

"You should have accepted Starrick's offer. Let's have some fun until your brother comes home", another Blighter takes one of your still working experiment and throws the device on the ground. "You will pay for that!" … Hopefully when Jacob comes back right in time.  

The sound of wood crashing on wood catches the full attention of the Blighters. You can't tell for how long you are already enjoying their company, but it's enough now. The Bloke's grip loosens a little bit, which is your only chance probably. Your knee meets the crown jewels of this thug. Due to the pain he can't even release a single noise. You are free and ready to run outside, but instead you grab a wooden plank to make him pay like you promised.

The Blighter falls to the ground and spreads with his downfall surprise and fear among the other men. That's when you take your chance to flee out of the house. Adrenaline rushes through your veins so you don't feel the pain yet from the few punches you had to take. Your usual collected mind is blank and chaotic at the same time.  

It results in you almost running into a carriage that stops in front of the house. "I almost thought you would miss all the fun, Jacob", you don't want to but let yourself fall into his strong arms after the Assassin jumped down from the carriage.  Softly he strokes your head not knowing how he should comfort you otherwise with words. The Assassin just got a short glance at your bruised face but it's enough to make his blood boil.

The Blighters leave the house just like you a few moments ago. Even the beaten  man is on his feet again sending glares in your direction. Without a word Jacob pushes you softly into the safety of Aleck's arms. He needs to teach them a lesson what it means to touch the woman he loves.

Of course, they have no chance against the skilled Assassin. Within a few moments most of them lie bleeding on the ground and need to get dragged away from the companions. "If I ever see you here again you will die!", he warns them still fuming.  

"Wow, that was really impressive", your lovely but sassy voice snaps him out of this terrible state of anger. Nothing could wipe the amused smile off of your lips even if you notice the worry that marks his face. Jacob comes closer to take a good look at the bruises on your face. "So that's what you do for your living? Saving the damsel in distress, while looking handsome?", you lean into his hand as he strokes your cheek softly. The Assassin actually laughs about your joke, but the worry won't disappear from his eyes.  

"That was the last time they caught us off guard! Those bastards!", Aleck leaves the now calm horse behind. The poor animal got nervous during the fight and almost run away with the carriage. "You two can't stay here. The Blighters will come back probably with reinforcement", Jacob knows Starrick won't let go of you easily. Especially if he knows what the Assassin feels for you. An easy target to kidnap when he isn't around.

"Why not? We have the devices to keep them away. The Bells are not backing up", you stay confident as you cross your arms in front of your chest. "If I know someone who can do that, it's definitely you two. But I don't like it at all to leave you here, where Blighters can pass by whenever they want", Jacob cups your face with his gloved hands to empathize his statement. He can juggle with compliments and charm if he needs to do that, but right now words fail him. This is more than serious. You are in danger.

"And what are you proposing?", you reply melting under his featherlight touch once again. For a second he toys around with his thoughts. There is no going back now. "You can stay in the train hideout … with me", the last two words are whispered but you still hear them.

"Jacob, the train is too unstable for our experiments", you could slap yourself for not agreeing instantly. "I will buy you a workshop in every borough the train crosses if I need to. I just want to know you safe", Jacob won't let a chance like this pass. He won't let you slip away from him. You close the gap between the two of you and press your lips against his soft ones. He doesn't hesitate to wrap you up in his arms and kisses back with the same desire you bring into the kiss.  

"Sweet sister, not in front of my eyes!", Aleck exclaims shocked, which causes the end of another romantic moment. "Two drops of water, Aleck", you mumble under your breath a little bit annoyed. "That's my woman", Jacob places a kiss on your head smirking.

[thenixkat]

Titans headcanons?

(I literally stopped giving a damn about the canon around chapter 50-ish. These are stuff inspired from fanfics, interesting wmg, and my own thoughts I had while reading/watching.)

Titans are bioweapons created by an environmentalist group to curb the human population. Which they did, just much better than intended.

-The agent that caused the titanization was spread in tainted food products across the world. Several months later and titans, everywhere.

-Low levels of the agent result in mindless titans; high levels in titan shifters.

-The group that decided that humans needed to cut back all turned themselves and their allies into titan shifters well before the shit hit the fan and worked on protected, self sustaining environmentally safe hidey holes.

-Some members felt sorry for the humans given that the titans were far more effective than originally planned. So they made a natural reserve for humans using a fuck ton of huge titans to build some walls. And then they got some of the last humans to put in the park to preserve the species.

-Each major shifter settlement has an item designed to make titans less likely to enter its radius and thus the settlements attract much less mindless titans than they would otherwise.

Titan anatomy was inspired by plants. Titans get all of their energy requirements from the sun and can produce mass from molecules in the air. If deprived of sunlight, air, and/or water for long enough they go dormant and will revive when they get what they need again.

-Larger titans can hold onto a solar charge longer than smaller ones.

Titan shifters have much higher energy requirements than humans of the same size and build. To solve this they either need to eat more often, eat more energy dense foods (meats and fats), and/or bask in the sun.

-Shifters are fully capable of digesting raw meat with ease.

-Shifters generate a lot of body heat and generally dislike the cold.

-Shifters have 3 forms: human, titan, and an inbetween form that has traits of both. The inbetween form being the human body gone through internal changes to become more titanish rather than growing a whole titan around the body. Its less energy expensive than a full shift, not too large compared to the base human body, but bigger stronger and more inherently deadly than the more human body. However, in this form they aren’t exactly capable of human-like thought. Like they’re not dumb, the thought process is just very different.

--young shifters have a very hard time shifting into and out of this form. Prolonged starvation in human form can lead to involuntary transformations into this from to better get food.

Regular titans can become shifters by eating other titans and increasing the amount of the titanization agent in their bodies. Given that titans rarely mistake each other for food tends to only happen with titans eating shifters.

A union between a shifter and a human would likely result in a kid that’s either human or likely to randomly turn into a mindless titan. That is if the union is able to produce any children at all.

After time causes certain information to be lost and certain resources to be near impossible to acquire due to risk of being killed and eaten while trying to extract them, the shifters are only a bit more technologically advanced than the humans within the walls. With things like electricity for lighting and heating. 

-They are culturally more diverse with settlements all over the world and a somewhat lesser risk of dying while traveling than humans do. Trading is crucial to the survival of many villages and assorted nomadic groups.

-The various kinds of titan shifter are also vital for the survival of villages and groups.  With runners, colossal, and beastly titans as sentries using their speed, height, or heightened senses to detect and alert other of danger early. Armored and other athletic titans combating enemies directly to protect weaker members of society. Colossal titans forming walls and other barriers with crystallized chunks of their titan bodies.

Shifters don’t age in their titan bodies or in crystal hibernation. So a shifter could have siblings or children physically and/or mentally older than they are or parents and grandparents physically and/or mentally younger than they are. Age in years means much less than actual mental and physical maturity.

- younger shifters defer to older ones. Weaker shifters defer to stronger ones.

After about  century or so of isolation  from humans, most shifters generally consider them to be intelligent but dangerous wild animals. There are some in the opinion that they should finish what their ancestors started and just finish getting rid of them and others that are very against wiping out any kind of animal from the face of the earth. The general shifter public doesn’t much care either way.

ok so plot??

The shifter settlements on the same island as the walled human preservation area are convinced into believing that a human or group of humans has stolen their mindless titan repellant thing. And the only way to get it back is to flush out whoever has it, b/c they’d probably use it to try and ward off titans. Or if it cant be found, then to get rid of the dangerous humans living in the walls and seek shelter there themselves.

Asking the humans what the heckle is up and can we have our shit back, is generally off the table b/c humans are humans and tend to be a bit murdery.

Given that it’d be really damn hard for a human to get into a shifter settlement in the first place, let alone to know what to steal, there is a lot of disagreement and an investigation and stuff.

So the shifters that infiltrated the Walls to exterminate humanity are pretty much the kids of scared people that were convinced by fear mongers to participate in a half baked plan to save their own folks. Kids from more or less broken families that wouldn’t really be missed if they failed. Kids more or less raised on like anti-wolf/elephant propaganda but replace wolves/elephants with humans. 

Then these kids meet humans and grow up with some.