#involving the Wicked Witch

[hopepaigeturner]

Villainous Benophie: The Finale

Inspired by @orangepeelshortbreadcookies; BRILLIANT Villainous Viscount AU (read on AO3 here). So all creds go to her!

And while she has done a beautiful fic about Benophie in this universe, Thieves of Dusk (10% RECOMMEND A READ. Read on AO3 here). But we’ve been chatting about my own ideas for Benophie. So, with her blessing here’s the next part of my version.

Part 6 Here

As the Bridgertons sharpen their teeth and knives Sophie wakes up in a very recognisable room in Mayfair with Hyacinth tied by her side. Her heart turns to ice as Araminta Penwood walks in with her saccharine smirk.

How did they find her?

Well love makes fools of us and while Benedict is able to walk as if made of air, or can hide a million bad intentions in a smile—he forgot to hide his sketches of Sophie. And Benedict was right, there is no such thing as hope or luck merely opportunity, for one of Lord Hotham’s friends stumbled across the storeroom while looking for alcohol. And he just happened to mention it to Lord Hotham who set a close watch until they caught the pair. They’d waited a couple weeks to get a special license. Sophie was to be married the next morning with Hyacinth as collateral—and a bridesmaid if she wore a gag.

But Araminta will give Sophie one present. She’ll be generous and allow the rules around separating bride and groom to be bent—afterall he’s waited long enough.

Sophie tires to stand tall as the man of her nightmare steps out of the shadows.

Meanwhile the Bridgerton crime family is in full swing knives out and gunning for blood. Benedict like a bloodhound ready to tear to pieces anyone who tries to lay a hand on Sophie. Yet even as he checks the sword inside of his cane, Anthony Bridgerton seems unnaturally cool a façade for the clicking of gears within his brain of a plan…

Araminta leaves Lord Hotham and Sophie alone in the room and he wastes no time. Sophie struggles, tries to fight him off and her victory is within her grasp until a knife comes out and there is blood on her cheek and then—

Hyacinth, freed and feral, kicks the man in the balls sending him stumbling. He swings around but sje is gone apart from a peal of giggles that seem to lead down the corridor. The Lord runs off to grab his escaped quarry leaving Sophie alone—door still locked.

Just as the emotions threaten to crash over her, she hears a hiss of her name. She turns to find Hyacinth on top of the wardrobe, the remains of her ties dangling from her wrist and a set of keys in one hand.

For all of Anthony and Violet’s careful shielding, of all their hopes for hyacinth ot remain the most proper of ladies ready to flourish in the ton—Hyacinth is a Bridgerton through and through.

So, three flights down the stairs the Bridgertons storm the back door while Sophie and Hycainth steal down the shadows of the stairs.

All roads lead to the study where a confrontation is taking place. Birdgerton rabble against the ton as Araminta grandly announces as she and Lord Hotham mock the Bridgertons from behind the shileds of their status. Most comments are hurled at Benedict who has that ringing in his ear again, his hands fisted as if holding the strings of his anger—although those fists are quivering.  

Until Sophie and Hyacinth rush in, much to everyone’s surprise. But Benedict takes one look at the long cut on Sophie; s cheek—and the anger rolls over him once more. In an instant he has a knife to the man’s neck, and a gun pointed at Araminta the intention in his eyes so clear that Lord Hotham starts pleading.

Let him choke on his own blood, let her have each limb potholed bullet by bullet.

There is a pressure on his shoulder that he registers amidst all the ringing. There is a whisper then a voice filtering through.

“Ben, Ben look at me.”

He shakes his head.

“Ben, please.”

“They deserve pain and destruction seven times over for every scar they have put on you. They deserve nothing more than death.”

“I know, but not at your hand.”

“I have killed many.”

“But you have not killed any for me, and I do not wish to bear that stain on my soul nor for you to. I do not wish them to have any purchase over your soul—over our soul. Ben, please.”

“I have no choice.”

“Yes, you do, my love,” Sophie pleads, “this is not a kill as a Bridgerton but as Benedict, here you have the choice. You can either choose them or me—that is your choice.”

The knife quivers, little drops of blood on its edge.

But Benedict retreats, not without kicking over the chair and sending the Lord sprawling painfully to the ground. He turns and he is in Sophie’s arms, and he finds that she is shaking.

“Thank you,” she whispers against his shoulder, and he holds her tighter. Both stand together, tethered to each other.

Ofcourse Araminta must throw another jab.

“Might I muzzle her?” Benedict asks the room and Sophie giggles while Anthony gives the sliver of a smile before stepping towards the aristocrats.

“No need Benedict, what I have to say shall do the trick nicely.”

And then Anthony starts speaking and everyone’s mouths go wide.

Lord Hotham and Araminta are shocked to find themselves talking to their ‘new’ solicitor who took over their accounts a couple months prior—the night Benedict had visited him to tell him about Sophie.  They are even more shocked to find out that their ‘new’ solicitor has engaged them in certain faulty investments, little transactions that when added up so lead to a nice pile of charges. Charges such as embezzlement, treason, scandal will set alight all that power they hold so dear.

Yet Anthony will stay his hand and his lips if they agree to burn the marriage license—and hand over a significant sum of money. A very significant sum of money.

Cornered Araminta and the Lord acquiesce all those in the room watch as the license burns into ash.

Anthony gives them the Bridgerton smirk before tipping his hat and bidding them adieu.

Araminta makes a last jab at Benedict; a real low blow and the entire room is stunned when Sophie whirls around and punches her so hard Araminta’s nose breaks.

Finally, the night is over, and a celebration occurs at the Bridgerton household. And as the dawn finally greets them, Anthony hands Benedict the money they received that night. All of it.

Because no matter how much blood he has on his hands, no matter how terrifying one look Anthony Bridgerton give, Anthony promised their father to look after them, and their father always wanted a better life for all of them. And for Benedict that life is for Sophie

So, in the end, Benedict and Sophie move to a modest cottage in Wiltshire where Benedict becomes an apprentice to a frame maker, then an elusive artist who takes the ton by swarm not only fo rhis talent but due to his anonymity. Sophie becomes a governess before the children. The pair are beloved among the village, Benedict the charming husband and Sophie the sweet wife.

Although everyone knows that Sophie has an uncanny knack for cards and gossip, while if you need a certain certain something from a less reputable source then Benedict Bridgerton is your man...

And they live happily ever after.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Woop! I finally finished this little story that was supposed to be a drabble. Oopsie!

Ask box is open if you ever want to know more about this AU and as always all credit goes to the wonderful @orangepeelshortbreadcookies.

[hauntedorpheum]

"omg did you know that Nessa is supposed to be the other wicked witch? 🤯" yeah man, The Wizard of Oz (1939) told me that

[heartshattering]

I relate more to "brain melted" than "brain fried" lol like no my brain didn't "fry", it melted into a big pile of goop like moldy pudding. But yeah, I only see people say "brain fried".

[camelspit]

oh my god rosin you’re rebloging OUAT posts??? i used watched that allllll the time! we truly have lived the same life <3 (also this is random but have you seen this animated show on netflix called the deep?)

used to watch ouat with my mom RELIGOUSLY back in the day.. even back then i knew whatever emma and regina had going on was kinda 😳 she started rewatching it recently so its been on my mind

also i havent watched the deep 😔

[laplacemail]

by xxxS__N @ skeb

[rubycruzin4abruzin]

never been (stage) kissed

Summary: After years of being a struggling actress in Los Angeles, you finally land your big break! The only problem is, you’ve been cast opposite your longtime celebrity crush… Ruby Cruz. What will you do when the director demands a kiss between the two of you?

Pairing: ruby cruz x actress!reader

Contains: mature language, small amount of adult humor, kissing, fluff, thigh touching, in depth details of Hollywood movie shooting, anxious!reader, publicity tweets and comments, ruby being the sweetest girl EVER

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: This is a Real Person Fiction. I’ve included a mass disclaimer of RPF guidelines here. Make SURE to click the link before reading, it’s extremely important for the safety of all Real People involved in this fiction.

———

You stared at the movie script in your hand, biting your lip to stop from squealing. After being in Los Angeles for the past five years, you had finally landed your big break.

You had known that you wanted to act ever since your mother signed you up to be a munchkin in a community theatre production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Of course, being a stubborn elementary schooler, you fought her on it, saying the songs were “stupid” and the costumes were “itchy.” But as soon as opening night came, and the lights hit your face, you put on a smile and celebrated the death of the Wicked Witch like it was something you’d been waiting for your entire life.

After the song's last note, deafening applause echoed around the theater, causing adrenaline to course through your veins. In that moment, you decided to spend the rest of your life chasing that feeling.

When you reached middle school, you joined their drama department, taking theatre as an elective class while occasionally participating in the school plays. Once high school rolled around, you began to take some of the more advanced classes, and even competed in a couple One-Act Play competitions. A lot of the people you started taking classes with eventually got bored and left to pursue other hobbies, but over the years you just fell more and more in love with acting, and became completely dedicated to your craft.

Instead of attending college, after you graduated high school you packed up whatever you needed and moved across the country to a small town about half an hour away from Los Angeles. The area was slightly sketchy, your apartment was small, and you had to work two jobs while sharing with four other roommates just to make rent.

Los Angeles kinda… sucked. But you had stars in your eyes and couldn’t be happier.

Unfortunately, you were kind of in for a rude awakening once audition season rolled around. Back in high school, you would book leads left and right. Now, it seemed like the only gigs you could book were background work, maybe a role in a rinky-dink student film if you were lucky. You always took what you could get, but you longed for something that could get your foot in the door.

One day, one of the short films you starred in entitled “Attack of the Killer Zombie Prom Queens” got entered into some film festival, and not only did it win an award you couldn’t remember the name of, it ended up going viral on YouTube, and not in a bad way either. Your performance in that film was astounding.

Plus, not that this was the sole reason the film blew up, but as an actress in your early 20’s who tended to take care of herself, you were kind of… well… hot.

Suddenly, you were getting recognized in public, signed with an agency, and landing more notable roles. You were featured in a music video for an up-and-coming country artist, booked a commercial for a costume makeup company (in which you brought back your look from “Attack of the Killer Zombie Prom Queens”), and even starred in three episodes of a new series on HBO Max.

Just when you thought life couldn’t get any better, one day you were coming back from what was either your third or fourth audition of the day, when you got a call from your agent on the drive home. You groaned, almost certain she was calling to schedule another “last-minute” audition. Sure you appreciated how hard she worked to get you booked, but you were also so tired after a long day.

To your surprise, when you picked up the phone, she ecstatically announced that you had booked a huge role.

In a feature film.

Starring alongside your celebrity crush… Ruby Cruz.

You had to pull over on the side of a highway to keep from swerving out of excitement.

Ruby had been your celebrity crush since you saw her in the Disney+ series “Willow.” Her masculine ambience, her devil-may-care attitude, and the way she swung her sword had you absolutely drooling. Somehow, you finished the entire series in two days, and immediately ran to IMDB to add Every Single Thing she’s been in to your watch list.

Now, you stood in front of the building where your first read-through was supposed to take place, the script for “Aliens of Atlantis” resting in your shaking hands. You gulped as you pushed open the door, wondering how you were going to keep your cool around Ruby when the very thought of her practically sent you into cardiac arrest.

Walking into the reading room, you were met with several chairs arranged into a circle and sounds of chatter from the other actors. You recognized a few of them from some smaller projects, even recognizing one from a movie that had come out the previous year. Your eyes scanned the room for Ruby, heart beating out of your chest when they landed on the back of a choppy brunette bob.

When Ruby turned around, you swore her blue eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lights. She caught you staring at her from across the room, and shot you a wide toothy smile before walking over to you.

“Hey,” she started. “You must be Zephyra.”

You blinked at her. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Zephyra.” She repeated. “You’re playing the alien queen of Atlantis, right?”

She furrowed her eyebrows at you slightly and tilted her head, worried she may have gotten you mixed up with someone else.

Her words clicked in your head, finally. “Oh! Yes! I’m playing the role of Zephyra.”

Ruby’s smile returned as she let out a lighthearted chuckle. You swallowed, trying to keep your cool. You still had trouble wrapping your mind around the fact that you were standing in front of the Ruby Cruz, and having a semi-successful conversation.

She stuck out her hand, offering a handshake. “Hi, I’m Ruby. I’m playing Calantha.”

You took her hand, electric shocks vibrating through your body at her touch. “Nice to meet you.”

After removing her hand (much to your displeasure), she turned to walk back over to her seat, but not before flashing you a smile over her shoulder. “Can’t wait to work with you!”

God, why did she have to be so cool?

The table read went fairly well, in your opinion. The movie was about Calantha, an underwater adventurer, finding the lost city of Atlantis during an expedition. Once there, she finds the city being ruled by aliens who’s spaceship crashed near the area about 100 years ago. Calantha finds Zephyra, the alien queen, who makes her promise to keep their secret, and in return, Calantha will help her run the city.

You were playing Zephyra, of course, since being in “Attack of the Killer Zombie Prom Queens” proved you looked hot even in otherworldly makeup. You kind of thought there might be some romantic or even sexual tension between Calantha and Zephyra, but you brushed it off as you thought that might not be the artistic intention.

Once filming started, your days were basically exclusively spent on set. Not that you were complaining, you loved every second. Even after coming home at 1am when you left for work at 6am, a blissful smile would be painted across your tired face.

The only thing that bothered you was that you barely ever got to talk to Ruby on set. It was more your fault than hers. Every time you two were working together, your brain short circuited and you couldn’t get out anything more than a few dim-witted babbles. Ruby was always so sweet about it though, always lightheartedly chuckling at your barely-comprehensible speech, sometimes even giving your upper arm a squeeze if you felt especially nervous.

You knew she meant well, but any touch from your celebrity crush was sure to do the opposite of calming you down.

One day, during a filming session, you and Ruby were meant to be sitting especially close to each other. You were sure you felt some romantic tension between the two characters, but you chalked it up to your crush on the actress and tried to downplay it. The director, however, seemed very frustrated today, this was the nineteenth take of this particular scene and he still wasn’t happy.

“Cut!” He yelled, letting out a frustrated sigh as you and Ruby turned your attention towards him.

“Everything alright, sir?” Ruby asked, making you glad you weren’t the only one who noticed his irritation.

“This scene… it’s missing something.” He brought his hand to his chin and squinted at the both of you. “Do we think we could add a kiss? Right here?”

Your heart stopped, and all the moisture disappeared from your mouth.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t kissed people before. You had your fair share of dates back in high school, that wasn’t the problem.

You’ve kissed, but you’ve never stage kissed.

Sure you had plenty of acting experiences, but the roles you played never required kissing. Instead of playing Aurora, you made a fabulous Maleficent. While Elle Woods locked lips with Emmett, you were busy portraying a hilarious Paulette. And of course, nobody wants to make out with a zombie prom queen.

You had no idea if there was any difference between actual kisses and stage-kisses. Obviously, sex scenes in movies weren’t real. But kisses? What if there is a difference and you go to kiss Ruby on camera and make her uncomfortable? What if she pushes you away? What if she gets mad? You don’t know how you’d recover from something like that, and your mind swarmed with plans to flee the country if that did happen.

Ruby opened her mouth to answer the director, before looking at you for confirmation and noticing your overly-panicked state. She sent you a reassuring smile, and placed a gentle hand on your back.

She turned to the director. “Could we pick this up after lunch? I think my scene partner and I have some things to discuss.”

The director agreed, and since it was still about thirty minutes to lunch, decided to use that time to record some “room noise.” You and Ruby were meant to sit still and quietly, the only thing you heard being the echo of your heartbeat in your ears.

Suddenly, you received a text notification, causing sound to go off and the director to groan and shoot you an annoyed look. You mumbled a quick “sorry” before switching your phone to vibrate and looking to see who texted you.

After wolfing down a sandwich from the craft services table, you stood in front of the trailer with Ruby’s name on the door, wringing your clammy hands while deciding whether or not to knock. You took a deep breath, raised your knuckles, and knocked three times, taking a step back after.

She answered almost immediately, staring down at you with a comforting grin. “Hey, come on in.”

Walking up the stairs and into Ruby’s trailer, you couldn’t help but notice how much cleaner it was than yours. You weren’t necessarily sloppy, but your vanity was covered in various bottles of blue face paint, while your floor held multiple alien-like prosthetics. Ruby’s was tidier, with a small couch pushed up against the wall, and her vanity holding nothing but some makeup basics and a half-full can of Dr. Pepper she had been drinking right before you walked in.

Ruby took a seat in her vanity chair and took a sip from her Dr. Pepper, motioning for you to sit on the small couch. “What’s going on? You didn’t seem too comfortable with the kissing scene.”

You gulped, staring down at your lap. “It’s not that…”

Ruby sat up, leaning forward to gawk at you. “Oh my god… have you never been kissed?”

“What? No! Of course I have…” you trailed off. “I just… I’ve never stage kissed before, and I know you have, so is it any different from regular kissing? I feel so stupid for asking and I’m so sorry but I didn’t wanna do it wrong while filming and I’m kinda embarrassed that I don’t know the answer so that’s why I wanted to ask you privately because I didn’t wanna fuck up…”

Ruby stared at you, silent and wide eyed. You felt your heartbeat in your ears as you tried to decipher what she was thinking. Suddenly, she threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. Your heart sank. Here you were being awkward and vulnerable in front of your crush, and she was laughing at you.

Just before you decided to get up and walk out, Ruby calmed down, wiping away a tear and smiling apologetically. “I’m sorry, I promise I’m not making fun of you. I didn’t mean to laugh, really. You’re just so cute.”

You felt your cheeks burn at her words. She thinks you’re cute?

Ruby threw her soda away in a nearby trash can and moved to sit next to you on the small couch. She criss-crossed her legs, turning to face you while pondering how to answer your question.

“So… stage kisses are different from regular kisses, but they’re also not, you know? Like, we’re kissing but we’re not like… kissing.”

She peered over at you, studying your facial expressions. You looked more confused than ever, so she continued her explanation.

“So, if you’re asking if my lips will physically be on your lips… then the answer is yes, they will. But they’re not exactly like the real thing, because it’s more of a demonstration to the audience rather than an act of passion between two people.”

“A demonstration?” You cocked your head. Ruby nodded.

“Yeah, so say the camera was over there…” she pointed out in front of you. “…then you might cup my jaw, or cradle the back of my head. But if you were to grab my face or something like that, it’d look pretty awkward in a fifty-fifty profile shot.”

You nodded in understanding. “Ok… I think I get what you’re saying.”

“There are also different types of kissing.” Ruby continued. “Like, it should portray how your character feels about the other character. When Zephyra has scenes with Calantha, how does she feel?”

You gulped, focusing on your lap again. “Well, to be honest, it kinda feels like there’s a lot of romantic or sexual tension between our characters, but I’ve sort of been suppressing it because I’m not sure that was the intention.”

“But you feel like Zephyra is attracted to Calantha sexually?” Ruby asked. You nodded. “Great! You don’t necessarily have to make it explicit, but something like that can help you dive deeper into your character.”

Ruby scooted closer to you, taking your hands in hers. She gazed at you with half lidded eyes, causing your breathing to accelerate.

“I want you to kiss me.”

Ruby’s words barely resonated in your head, there was no way you heard her correctly. “You… huh?”

“For practice.” Ruby clarified, letting go of your hands. “Like you would during filming. Is that ok?”

An involuntary swallow forced itself down your throat as you nodded. You couldn’t believe you were about to kiss your celebrity crush, even if it was only for practice.

You pressed your hand into her warm cheek, pulling her close and quickly pecking her lips before retreating away. Your face burned from embarrassment while Ruby cocked her head, clearly confused.

“That’s it?” She asked. “My bad, I didn’t realize Calantha was your grandmother.”

Ruby moved closer and cradled the back of your head, entangling her fingers into your soft locks. You felt your hands sweat as her big blue eyes gazed into yours. “I was thinking maybe something more like this…”

She crashed her lips into yours, causing warmth to explode in your chest. Her fingers played with your hair as you began to kiss back, and your arms wrapped around her waist. Holy shit could she kiss! You could barely fathom how soft her lips were, tasting faintly of Dr. Pepper and vanilla lip balm. As hard as you tried to act professional and pretend there was a camera in front of you, every inch of your body screamed at you to succumb to your most primal instincts.

You lifted one hand from her waist and moved to rest it on her mid-thigh, causing a gentle moan to escape from her lips and a shiver to run down her body. Startled, you moved back, throughly convinced that you majorly fucked up.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” You exclaimed, pulling back your hand like it had touched fire. “I wasn’t thinking, fuck. I got too swept up in the moment. I shouldn’t have touched you, that was completely unprofessional.”

“Hm…?” Ruby blinked, still in a daze. “Oh. Oh! You’re good! Don’t be sorry. I liked it. Really.”

Ruby grinned at you shyly. You stared back at her, a question you weren’t quite sure how to ask lingering at the tip of your tongue. “Ruby, are we still… practicing?”

Her smile faded as her eyes went wide, her gaze dropping to her lap. It was her turn to be coy, a sight you’d never seen before.

She dropped her voice to a low whisper as she choked out her question. “Do you want to be?”

Before you could even open your mouth to answer, your phone alarm screeched from your jacket pocket. You took it out, groaning as you turned it off.

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What was that?”

“My alarm,” you answered. “I have to go.”

“But lunch isn’t over for another twenty minutes.” Ruby pointed out, trying to hide her disappointment.

“Yeah, but I have to head back early so they can touch up my makeup and fix my prosthetics.”

Ruby sighed in understanding. She supposed your costume might have a bit more upkeep than hers. Your prosthetics did look a little wonky after the lunch break, never mind your smudged blue lipstain that made her apprehensive to look in a mirror.

You collected yourself and turned to walk out, but looked over your shoulder before opening the door. “Uhm… Ruby?”

“Hm?” She answered.

You wrung your hands anxiously. “Do you think we could maybe… do this again? Sometime?”

Ruby’s head shot up to look at you, and a playful smile spread across her face. “Do what? More kissing lessons?”

You rolled your eyes as she chuckled, then gave you a lopsided grin. “I’d like that. Lunch again, tomorrow?”

A blush pink color sprinkled across the apples of your cheeks as you smiled back at her, trying your best to stay cool and suppress the giddy feeling that was bubbling inside of you.

“See you then.”

[itsabouttimex2]

Deep Sea Sympathies

Yandere Sun Wukong

(Syntax alphabet is up next, then an LSO + Primal . Feeling super down, so I wrote something a little sadder. The villain tiers post I spent two days writing and rewriting again and again got anonymously sent to another user, who skimmed the majority of it, left out my opening and ending points, and called at least one of my criticisms “ridiculous” and even has a reblogger claiming that I “hate Macaque”, that I want “everyone to hate Macaque” and that I’m “salty”. Maybe it’s childish, but that kind of hurts when I’ve spent literal months making content for the show (often involving Macaque) that I genuinely love. I only wrote that list because I wanted to give my honest opinions as a break from my usual content as I prepared to watch and write for Season Five. Maybe I’m in the wrong and my rant was just stupid? Do you guys want me to delete the “Season Five Prep” posts?)

“I still can’t believe MK got me back into this,” the simian before you chuckles. “But I’m kinda glad he did. I really missed drawing. I forgot how good it felt.”

“…I see,” you “answer”, maintaining a stiff and poised position, staring down at the collection of utensils that the hero is using. “Are you… having fun, then?”

“Aww, bud. Come and take a seat, okay? Look, I’ll even put out a little mat for you. Come and take a seat,” he invites, plucking one of his transforming ginger hairs to make a proper cushion for you.

His tail winds lazily around your leg, tugging you closer and closer to the squishy orange padding.

“C’mon, bud,” he says, cutting through your hesitation. His voice has a powerful edge under all the sweetness- reminding you that the Monkey King is someone you can’t say no to. “I want you to draw with me, kiddo.”

Wukong is fond of this- pulling you into little “bonding sessions” that take up the whole day and leave you without time to spend with anyone else.

It’s funny, though, really- you are the last person that need be manipulated away from others.

“The Great Witch of Gloom,” was the title that you had been assigned. Before you had a name, before you had taken a step, before you had so much as uttered a cry… your fate had been decided.

You were to be a wicked soul with dark motives and a darker heart.

As old memories flood into your ever weary mind, Wukong arranges a few sheets of paper in front your mat. The grip of his tail slowly tightens, and you cease all stalling.

Lowering yourself to the ground, the mat provides a cozy cradle to shield against the cold wooden floor.

“…it’s almost Winter,” you mildly comment, tracing a finger against a smooth plank. “It’s getting colder.”

“Oh,” the simian casually asks, scooting his mat closer to yours, “you like the snow?” Here’s chance he always adores- any rare tidbit of info you offer is a chance for him to spoil you, stocking up on presents and snacks in an attempt to drown you in platonic love.

It didn���t help that you always felt so indebted after he was done stacking gifts into your arms and bag.

“So, bud- what’re you gonna draw?”

The curiosity in his voice is almost innocent, almost sweet. He pushes the multi-tiered box of crayons towards you, smiling.

“C’mon, pick a few out!”

Awkwardly; and with a shaking hand to boot, you reach for the box.

It’s… not a comfortable sensation. Waxy paper around thick wax sticks makes for an awkward feeling in your hand, and you slightly recoil from the hueless cylinder.

“Aww, kiddo. No one draws with white- heck, you’d be better off eating it! Not that I’ve, uh, ever done that.”

“…I don’t know what to do,” is your blank confession that leaves Wukong quirking an eyebrow.

“What, you don’t know how to draw? You’vd never had… oh. Oh, kiddo.”

Realization colors his golden eyes, leaving the simian king with a sympathetic frown. Your parents wouldn’t have ever let you have something as fun and bright as crayons, would they? How could he have forgotten that?

It had been a nightmare for the Monkie Kids to pry information out of you, and a further mess to try pushing you towards a healing state.

And, honestly- Wukong’s doting ministrations really didn’t help. All the love and gifts in the world could not undo your traumas- but certainly left you feeling as though you were mired in debt.

Not that you had the words to voice those feelings, leaving Wukong to continue piling on with his affections- all in the futile hope that he could love away the demons of your past.

“Okay, bud. Maybe we stepped out of your comfort zone, huh? Alright, my bad. Tell me what you wanna draw, and I’ll pick out the crayons for you, okay?”

“…I don’t know what to draw, though.”

His frown deepens. It’s hard to think that someone as young as you could be so… he wouldn’t say broken. That was far, far too cruel a word for someone he loved so dearly. You were… “cracked”, maybe. A little “tarnished”.

Like you had given up on seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and decided to instead drift slowly along in a dark ocean.

…actually…

“Bud, don’t you like the beach? C’mon, why don’t you draw something from there, yeah?”

“…could I?”

Your little words break his heart. You shouldn’t have to feel like you need permission for something as simple as drawing a damn picture. But you *do*, so he answers with false cheer-

“Of course, kiddo! Draw anything you want!”

“…how do… how would I draw… a jellyfish?”

Finally, a real smile graces his lips.

“I didn’t know you liked jellyfish,” he says, in a too familiar voice that lets you know you’ll be receiving a loaded armful of themed plushes and stress toys in the very near future.

Another load of guilt, another load of debt.

“I’ll take you to an aquarium one day,” he tacks on, unaware of your growing insecurities. “And we can look at them together.”

To him, this is healing. Love and affection and unending comfort.

And certainly, Wukong is far better a guardian than your parents were. Instead of blaming you for powers you couldn’t control, he was always ready with praise and applause. Instead of resigning yourself to rotted garments rummaged from the trash, you had brand-new clothes and warm shoes. You were never hungry. You were never bored. You were never alone.

And, above all else- you were loved.

But you were not happy.

And you doubted that would ever change.

[mryoyo000]

Wicked book and musical: on Glinda (SPOILERS)

I waited a bit to write this until hopefully the Discourse™️ has settled a bit but I wanted to say something about Glinda in the novel “Wicked” vs. the musical/movie.

SPOILERS

One thing I’ve seen people talking about regarding the book vs. the show is expressing disappointment regarding Glinda as Maguire depicts her, versus how she is changed for the show. Glinda in the musical follows a fairly typical kind of character arc, beginning as the archetype of a superficial, popularity-obsessed rich girl, who grows in depth and maturity over the course of her life (kickstarted by her relationship with Elphaba) and by the end has become, if not the primary heroine of the musical (which is Elphaba), a character who we see has earned her title as the Good Witch.

I said this in my precious post, but again it bears repeating that “Wicked” the book and “Wicked” the movie have not only completely different target audiences but also completely different goals as stories. I’m not trying to criticize anyone who saw the show or movie first, and felt disappointed by the novel—or really anyone who didn’t care for the novel in general—but I think that some of the criticism the book has gotten recently, after the movie came out, doesn’t take into account that in many ways, the book and the musical are completely different works with the same character names and broad plot outline.

So I’ve seen some people expressing disappointment that in the book, Glinda “regresses”, that she’s racist, that she’s not actually a good person, etc. And I can definitely understand how this rubs people the wrong way—whether in comparison to the show or even just to the Oz books or the 1939 movie in general. Glinda in pop culture is about as synonymous with good as the Wicked Witch of the West is with evil, and seeing her depicted in such an unflattering way is probably not what a lot of people anticipate or necessarily enjoy reading.

(In my previous post I already addressed a different criticism, which is Glinda’s comparative lack of presence in the novel—she’s the POV during Elphaba’s time at Shiz and then largely fades out of the story before a final confrontation. I maintain my stance this is what works for the book, which saves Elphaba’s perspective for the end after showing us all of the people she’s lost first.)

But it is true that in the Maguire book, Glinda’s “goodness” is a cynical punchline for a character who, in her reunion with Elphaba, has become this:

[Glinda speaking] “‘Yes, I had been at an orphanage on the shores of Mossmere, and for a lark I thought I’d go to the game park—they have dragons there now, and I’d never seen a dragon—so I was scarcely a dozen miles away when the storm hit. We had terrible winds even there; I cannot imagine how a ceremony could have been in progress in Center Munch. In Mossmere there were whole sections of the park closed to visitors due to the fear of falling trees and escaping Animals—’ ‘Oh, so they call it a game park, with Animals?’ said the Witch. ‘You must go, dear, it’s a lark…’”

and this

“Glinda turned yellow-pink. ‘My dear,’ she said, ‘I was fond of Fiyero and he was a good man and a fine statesman. But among other things, you will remember he was dark-skinned…’”

Knowing about Elphaba’s history with Dr. Dillamond and general involvement with the cause of Animals makes Glinda’s casual mentions of Animals in game parks that she visits even more unpleasant. And while it is definitely indicated that Glinda was in love with Elphaba, I don’t think her comments about Fiyero here are some sort of deflection to hide her feelings about Elphaba—this would be overly convoluted and anyways Glinda could have denied the suggestion of an affair without making a racist comment.

Glinda here is an archetype that I think many people are familiar with especially in current discussions about society and politics: the idea of the supposedly “benevolent” elite, doing lots of public charity and good PR, while actually aligned with the forces of oppression out of convenience and material benefit. Elphaba explicitly calls her out on this:

“‘You are working in collusion with the Wizard to render Munchkinland ready for annexation,’ said the Witch. ‘You have no agenda of charity, Glinda. At least don’t fool yourself. Or are you really under some rusty spell of Madame Morrible, after all this time?’”

Glinda’s “goodness” in Maguire’s telling is the exact opposite of Elphaba’s “wickedness”—one is rewarded and praised for her participation in the Wizard’s regime where the other is ostracized and eventually treated as a criminal for her attempts to rebel and resist. The book “Wicked” is in some ways a story about failure, and while Elphaba’s lifelong failures are the focus of the story, Glinda adds to that thematic focus—she is yet another disappointment in Elphaba’s life (in addition to Nessarose, and Boq, and her father, and so on) and one that stings in particular because she could have been better. She was better, at one point. And Glinda has failed herself, too.

In the quote above, there is a nod to the suggestion that Glinda and Elphaba’s fate and even their actions as adults may have been influenced by Madame Morrible’s spell. But Glinda herself says to Elphaba: “‘I’m no pawn…you do have some choice.’” In that very same scene, in fact.

I can’t blame people who dislike the novel for being quite cynical and pessimistic in its outlook of humanity, but at the same time that cynicism is what drives a lot of the characterization. Glinda in the novel is not the friend to Elphaba or hero that she is in the musical, and she isn’t meant to be. Viewing the book primarily as a political satire, Glinda fits in well as a parody of a particular kind of figure, and it’s both intriguing (in my opinion) and controversial that Maguire uses a character so strongly associated with goodness to make that point.

[local-lamppost]

Wicked Part 2 Theory

The biggest problem with splitting the movies between the two acts is that act 2 really is the Wizard of Oz's background political shenanigans. So how do you make another film that isn't just the Wizard of Oz or thirty minutes long? You make the Wizard of Oz thirty minutes longer.

Really dumb point, but hear me out.

Have Dorothy get involved with the story; show her bonding with Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion, with Glinda, and have her learn about the Witch through others. It not only would be a great way to reenforce just how effective Oz's propaganda is, but you could also have a plot of kind, empathetic, and honest Dorothy learn the truth and be outraged by being used by the bullies instead of standing against them.

The Tin Man and Lion are vehemently against Elphaba, so you can have the three arguing over the bucket and Dorothy accidentally splashes the water to still have her 'kill' the Witch. An infuriated and distraught Dorothy confronts and demands the Wizard grant her and her friends' wishes, because otherwise it would have all been for naught. Maybe she learned from Elphaba that the Wizard is a fraud in some way, so she send Toto to find the real Oz behind all the fanfare to confirm that-once again-Elphaba was the only one truthful to Dorothy.

This would also help with the "I'll miss you the most" line she gives to Scarecrow, because if he was giving her hints throughout and trying to stop the Tin Man's wrath towards the Witch with Dorothy. I don't think Dorothy would be in on the faking Elphaba's death plan, but I could imagine the Scarecrow talking about the 'girl' he loves and hint at weather or not Dorothy figures out that Scarecrow's 'girl' and the Witch are the same.

Finally, you could include Dorothy in Glinda's dressing down of the Wizard and in a bit of development for Glinda. Dorothy tells Oz that he has to do something good in his life, that he has to help Dorothy after making her a part of his mess and having her kill the only person actually trying to do good.

With Glinda, Dorothy would act as a bit of a mirror and memory. Dorothy has Glinda's dreams and Elphaba's heart, Dorothy wants that somewhere over the rainbow but is not willing to sacrifice her family or the well being of others. You could have a scene before 'For Good' of Dorothy telling Glinda her values and Glinda remarking on how much Good-er of a Witch Dorothy would be, of how Dorothy is just like Elphaba in her morals and stubbornness. Glinda could even talk about her friend Elphaba without Dorothy realizing she means the Wicked Witch. Glinda would say how much she wishes she could be like her friend and Dorothy would tell her that she just needs to be the person her amazing friend saw her as. Then you have 'For Good' a scene or two later.

[niconebula]

I’m currently writing a college essay on the representation of Witches (and all Magical Girls) in Madoka Magica; I don’t know if I will be able to include this within the limits of the project so I wanted to share to Tumblr instead. It does not seem to be widely understood how much yonic imagery there is in the series and how important that is to the intended message.

For starters Kyubey is a walking uterus. The name of his species is literally Incubator (an enclosed apparatus providing a controlled environment for the care and protection of premature or unusually small babies; an apparatus used to hatch eggs or grow microorganisms under controlled conditions). He creates egg-shaped Soul Gems, and deposits the Grief Seeds back into his little receptacle. Why does he have such a weird design with two sets of ears? The lower ‘ears’ with the separated ends are actually modelled off of what Fallopian Tubes look like.

(Funny diagram but. It’s true! I’ll come back to this point at the end).

So then take this scene (thank god someone reuploaded it to YouTube):

“And you think a shit-for-brains hoe is going to be making that much in ten years? That body ain’t gonna last forever, you know.” “And then you dump ‘em, and they get all whiny!”

These two men are talking about the short term relationships they have with women, using them for their bodies and treating them like shit, and then dumping them immediately after - not understanding or caring as to how this upsets them.

It consistently baffles me how many people will completely throw out feminist readings of Madoka Magica. ‘Readings’ shouldn’t even be used - this is the main text of the goddamn show! You are free to argue that it failed at its message, or that the application was problematic, but for this scene in particular to fly over your head makes me discount opinions immediately.

Anyway, where have we heard this rhetoric before? “That body ain’t gonna last forever” - a young Magical Girl is always destined to turn into the Wicked Witch. “When you dump em’, they get all whiny!” - it is a Magical Girl at the peak of her despair who turns into a Witch, and Kyubey cannot and does not care for their human emotion.

The men cycle through their ‘hoes’ like Kyubey cycles through Magical Girls to get whatever his species supposedly needs to continue the universe.

I’m going to cut a break here for TW discussions of metaphorical rape and pregnancy involving minors, but this portion of the post is important.

Kyubey completely violates the concept of informed consent when he creates his magical girls - though he always argues that he did ask, and it’s in fact their fault (as fourteen year old girls) to not ask further questions.

Taking his form as a uterus alongside the yonic imagery of the show, it is implied that Kyubey has in some way ‘raped’ the girls. This is most evident in Sayaka’s arc; her insistence that becoming a Magical Girl has made her spoiled and that Kyousuke wouldn’t want to even kiss a girl like her.

Their transformations into witches further the idea that they have been ‘spoiled’, but also symbolize their transformation into adult women. Women who are ‘too adult’, and whose bodies are no longer attractive or useful to create babies anymore.

Goddess Madoka is even depicted as pregnant in the full Magia ending.

I feel like you could reason within all this symbolism that there’s a metaphor for specifically the coerced pregnancy and mothership of women. Something often considered the ‘ideal state’ for women and as you will see many conservatives argue, the necessary thing to continue society. In their minds, the subjugation of anyone they assign as women to these roles is necessary for society as they know it to continue for the imaginary people of the future who do not even exist yet.

Kyubey refers to the Magical Girls as cattle. He is there to help incubate and hatch the witch, and then throw the magical girl to the dust afterwards as she dies no longer useful. These girls are sacrifices to a far-off future that Kyubey promises them, he tells them that if no Magical Girls existed to hatch into Witches, humanity would not last long enough to see itself to the stars.

The incubator and his design, the soul gems and grief seeds, the pregnant madoka, the discussions about men liking their eggs a particular way by their homeroom teacher, it’s all very consistent. I’m not sure if my prospective readers have ever considered this within Madoka Magica - but try seeing it from this angle.

I didn’t find a way to work this into the post, but in addition: take the ancient myth of the wandering womb. This was the belief that so called over-emotional women were suffering from a condition where their uterus was moving in ways all across their bodies. It morphed into the more modern usage of female hysteria; hysteria coming from hystera- the Greek word for uterus. Kyubey thinks of the girls as constantly overreacting and overemotional. Hysterical.

[sasakisyndrome]

love the headcanon of the cat king being one of the (if not the only) familiars esther had before monty and love the headcanon that the cat king is a child of desire SO let me cook for a minute here:

a little cat familiar tired of being involved in wicked schemes for power and revenge. transformed from a simple cat into a handsome human to seduce and harm unfaithful men and women alike, at the will of his witch.

a little cat who now with these new huamn feelings, starts to feel emotions much stronger then before, and begins to long for something more, begins to desire a life of his own outside of being a witchs familiar.

a desire so strong that it catches the attention of a certain endless. who takes pity on, and has an utter fascination with this little cat, who was forced into being so much more then that. and takes him in as a child of their own, granting him the magic needed to be a guardian and protector of sorts to the animals (and cats in specific) in the dangerous magic hotspot, that is port townsend washington.

[forthegothicheroine]

Henchwomen Through the Ages

The "ages" of comics are not hard and fast things, and even comic book historians argue where they begin and end. They're more like moods than time periods, and your standard game of Henchwoman RPG will probably be set in a vague time period that could be anywhere from the thirties to today with an overall Silver Age mood. Still, let's take a look at how the roll of the Henchwoman has evolved, shall we?

Goldie is a gun-toting, cigar-chomping bank robber in victory rolls and a bullet bra. She's not called a henchwoman- she's called "Look out, that broad has a grenade!" She's loyal to the boss despite his dumb penny gimmick, but if he ever finked on her in court, he wouldn't live to see the sunrise. There's no Henchwomen's Union for her to join yet, but she's provided muscle for plenty of mob-backed unions. Goldie can't afford to be soft on heroes since they'd be just as happy to throw her off a roof as to arrest her, but she might be wooed by an appeal to patriotism- she ain't no Nazi rat! Her hobbies include matinee shows, swing dancing, and blasting coppers.

Sylvia is a competitive surfer and was a cocktail waitress until they fired her for slapping too many customers. Thanks to the newly formed Henchwomen's Union, she's treated much better by her current job, which usually involves crashing parties to steal themed jewelry. She and the heroes she fights have an understanding- they'll never be rough with her, and she won't check up on them after putting them in a death trap to see if they've died. On her off hours, she can go dancing in the same outfit she worked in- a silver jumpsuit, gogo boots and a purely decorative motorcycle helmet.

Brawny is a member of the Sisterhood of Wicked Witches, and she fights for a cause- or rather, several causes. These range from the reasonable (Save the whales!) to the less reasonable (A free ray gun for every child!) The Henchwomen's Union is strong enough to get her good pay, so many of her problems are philosophical- is she a good guy or a bad guy, and what do good and bad even mean? Brawny has to be a bit more careful than she would have been ten years ago, since death may well stick- but that also means she might really kill a hero, at least for a while, and that's what matters!

Tenebra prefers to be called a Dark Muse, a member of a vampire circle dedicated to bringing art to life, painted in colors of blood. Her eyeliner is swirly and her gowns are velvet, and she wears them onstage in her sideline darkwave band. Tenebra arranges her crimes in accordance with pre-raphaelite imagery, with victims displayed in heartbreakingly beautiful and mythologically-influenced poses. Her boss may technically be the Queen of the Vampires, and she may have a card with the Henchwomen's Union, but her true loyalty is to art itself.

Ferra is a mercenary with a separate pouch for each type of bullet, and she has a lot of types of bullet. Her stilettos are tall but her hair is taller, and she can strike intimidating poses that would break a normal person's back. The Henchwomen's Union had its own back broken by the bosses, and is now more of informal underground thing, but it still hooks her up with real deal bad guys. She'll kill without a second thought for her boss, but she's only one bad day away from turning her gun on him. It might even happen accidentally, since he and the heroes dress exactly the same. Ferra somehow has a heavy metal soundtrack even when there's no music playing.

Ally got a degree in psychology but until she can afford grad school, she gigs as a henchwoman. Her bosses are sillicon valley dickheads, but the first one to offer her real benefits will have her loyalty for life. Thanks to the resurgence of the Henchwomen's Union, Ally gets to wear big stompy boots instead of high heels, but she still has to wear a big day-glo logo on her leather jacket that might as well be a target sign. Her hobbies include pop culture conventions, smoking weed and credit card fraud.

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

A Song of Ice & Shadow

Part 8

You can read previous chapters here.

Summary: The Inner Circle prepares for war. Y/n and Azriel grow closer, and a shocking revelation unfolds on the battlefield.

Word Count: 3K.

“I was wondering when you’d finally arrive” Rhys’s first words greeted Azriel and Y/n as they returned.

“What did we miss?” Y/n asked, half-jokingly.

“Azriel missed nothing. I kept him updated. You, on the other hand, missed a lot” Rhys taunted, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Y/n looked between the two males, her playful tone replaced by a serious one, before directing her question to Azriel “What happened? And why did you not tell me?”.

“You can argue later. Right now you need to get ready. We’re leaving for Graysen’s estate in an hour” Rhys informed her, his tone brisk.

“Graysen? As in Elain fia- ex fiancé?” Y/n’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The one and only” Rhys confirmed.

“The fuck happened while I was gone?” Y/n demanded, exasperation in her voice.

“As I said, a lot. Now get ready, we don’t have time to waste” Rhys ordered, and this time Y/n obeyed, though only because it involved one of her sisters.

—

“Where is everyone?” Y/n asked as she descended the stairs, her dress rustling with each step.

“Waiting at the camp. You’re the last to get dressed” Rhys remarked, barely hiding a smirk.

“Forgive me for just finding out about what’s going on, or at least part of it, like fifteen minutes ago. Besides, it took time to find something suitable for the occasion” she retorted.

“You could’ve just worn pants”.

“I prefer my dresses. Besides, this one is practical. I made sure to choose the right one” she twirled around, showing him the practicality of the dress. The top was supple leather that formed a snug bodice, molded to her curve, while the skirt was made of a rugged yet supple fabric that flowed around, reaching her ankles. Lace-up heeled combat boots completed the look.

“And the heels?” Rhys raised an eyebrow.

“They’re chunky and very comfortable. And if I were to kick someone, it’d hurt more”.

“And running?”.

“Bold of you to assume I’d be able to run even in normal boots. In that area, I’m hopeless”.

“Shall we?” he shook his head before winnowing them out to the Illyrian camp.

As soon as they arrived, Y/n went to stand where her sisters and Mor were, a step behind the males. Rhys proceeded to give instructions, and Cassian added a few of his own. Azriel just stared down at them, his eyes full of hatred and disgust for his own kind, which did not go unnoticed by Y/n.

“So these are the female-hating pricks?” Y/n asked no one in particular.

“Yes, unfortunately” Mor answered, her voice laced with disdain.

After some time, one of the lords, Devlon, whom the three Illyrian warriors usually dealt with, noticed Nesta and asked if she was a witch. He wanted her to stay away from the females and children for some reason.

“She’ll do no such thing” Y/n took a step forward, but Feyre held her hand, warning her not to do anything reckless.

“Another witch?” Devlon questioned, his tone mocking.

“The most wicked one. The one who’d haunt your dreams and-”.

“Y/n, please” Feyre pleaded, and Y/n stopped from finishing the sentence.

Devlon glared at her and was about to say something when Rhys found another topic to discuss, allowing Feyre to guide her sisters to the war tent. From the looks of it, he had told Feyre down the bond to take them away before Y/n or Nesta said something that would offend Devlon or make him lose his temper. As much as Rhys would’ve loved to see them getting on Devlon’s nerves, now was not the time.

When they got to the tent, Nesta asked what the difference between Fae and witches was, and Mor explained to her that witches draw power beyond their natural reserve and use spells to get more power than the Cauldron granted.

“I think I want to be a witch” Y/n expressed nonchalantly, causing all four females to cast worried glances in her direction, their brows furrowed.

“What? Fae are no better. They enslaved humans, and when they were done, they just left them to starve, die, and fend for themselves. At least, as a witch, I’d be able to provide food for everyone” Y/n shrugged.

“Those powers come with a cost” Mor informed her.

“Like what? Sacrificing people? I’m fine with that. There’s a whole army outside I wouldn’t mind sacrificing. Theoretically speaking, if I were, I mean if a witch were to sacrifice a High Lord, for example, would she gain even more power?”.

“I don’t know if you’re joking right now or not. It’s scary” Mor remarked “but I suppose it would make sense since they possess more power”.

“Good to know. We can sacrifice your hideous ex first” Y/n turned to face Feyre.

“We’re not sacrificing anyone” Feyre stated firmly.

Y/n shrugged “hmph, speak for yourself”.

“Nice outfit” Cassian snorted at Y/n as he and his brothers joined the females.

“Fuck you” she quipped.

“Later. We have a war to prepare for, and I have an army to command” he winked at her.

“Ew” she gave him a disgusted look and feigned gagging.

“Did we miss anything?” Rhys asked Feyre.

“Nothing, just Y/n wanting to become a witch and sacrifice every Fae” Mor informed him.

“That’s not true. I might spare a couple” Y/n retorted.

Azriel bit back a chuckle and Rhys said “I suppose I’m not on the list of the people you’ll spare?”.

“Hmm, haven’t decided yet, but so far, no” she teased.

—

After winnowing into the mortal lands, Feyre briefly explained what happened and the reason Elain was going to see her ex was to convince him to give sanctuary to the humans who couldn’t flee.

When they arrived, Rhys put a shield around them for protection and glamoured Elain to look human. One of the guards guided them to the guardhouse, the farthest they’d be allowed.

When Graysen and his father entered, Elain became nervous and stuttered, but Nesta intervened, informing them that the walls were gone. At the sight of her pointed ear, Graysen questioned how that happened, and Nesta explained. He asked why Elain was in the company of Fae, and she told him she’s safer with them. When Elain begged them to open their home to humans seeking refuge, he noticed she was glamoured. 

Then Jurian appeared, the man who was at the King’s side when the sisters were turned. The man who put an arrow full of Faebane through Azriel’s chest. Y/n tensed at the sight of him but remained firmly standing, ready to jump on him at any minute.

He told them that he’d always been working for the humans and that he kept up the lies to gain more information on the King. He informed them that Tamlin went back to Hybern and that they plan to attack the Summer Court the next day. Azriel tapped Y/n’s shoulder, signaling her of his departure before disappearing to warn Cassian and tell them to move the legion.

Graysen was nothing but horrible to Elain the whole time they were there, and as much as Y/n wanted to interfere, she knew Elain wanted to sort this out herself. Their conversation wasn’t going well. Not only did he order her to take off her engagement ring, confirming that he wasn’t going to marry her, but he proceeded to insult her. When tears began streaming down Elain’s face, that’s when Y/n acted. She strode towards Graysen and slapped him across the face.

“You never deserved my sister, and if you ever speak to her like that again, I will kill you. The only reason you’re left breathing is because Elain cares about you, but insult her again and I will rip out your tongue” Y/n threatened, her eyes blazing with fury.

“You’re her eldest sister. I heard about you, about your hatred for Faekind, and now look at you, you’re one of them. Even threatening to kill humans” Graysen mocked.

“I was turned against my will, and my hatred still runs deep. It won’t change. But make no mistake, when it comes to my sisters, whether it’s Fae, human or any other kind of monster, I won’t hesitate” she turned away from him “I believe this concludes our business here”.

—

Unable to withstand seeing Elain crying any longer, Y/n left their tent and took a walk through the camp. It ate at her that there was nothing she could do to mend her sister’s broken heart, nothing she could do to help. She hated feeling helpless. 

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Azriel joining her until he spoke “You shouldn’t wander out here alone, especially not when you’re absent-minded” his voice was gentle but firm.

“I don’t think they’d dare do anything, not with your High Lord being here” Y/n replied, trying to mask her distress.

“Still it’s better to be safe than sorry” he insisted, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself… How are you feeling? Big day tomorrow” Y/n changed the subject, her voice tinged with concern.

“It’s not the first, and it won’t be the last battle I join” he responded, his tone neutral.

“Still, it must feel-”.

“Hard? It never gets easier, but I think about what and who I’m fighting for. It keeps me going” Azriel admitted, his eyes meeting hers.

“I never asked, but how are you feeling about being here? I know you don’t like your people. Today must have been difficult for you” Y/n observed, her brows furrowing in concern.

Azriel’s expression darkened “Dislike is an understatement. Honestly, it gets worse every time. To say I got used to it would be a lie”.

“It’s really a shame. You’d think as honorable warriors, they’d treat their females with respect at least… Are there others like you?”.

“Like me?” Azriel looked puzzled.

“Yes. Like you, your High Lord, and the General. You’re all Illyrians, yet you treat females like normal people… without discrimination. Are there other Illyrian warriors like that? Or are they all brutes?”.

“There are a few, but it’s very rare to see”.

“Back when we were at the Dawn Court, why didn’t you tell me about Elain and what they planned to do?���.

He seemed to contemplate before speaking again “You seemed happy. I didn’t want to ruin that, and it could wait. I knew if I told you, you’d have left immediately to be by Elain’s side. I knew what it meant to you to learn about how to make that powder, and I wanted you to do what you liked, what you enjoyed”.

“Why?” she genuinely did not understand why he was being considerate.

“War is coming and I thought you should be able to relax a bit before it got serious. We don’t know when things will get back to normal”.

“How very considerate of you” she said, half sarcastically, half seriously. 

“You should get some sleep” he advised.

“I should be the one saying this to you. You’re the one fighting tomorrow”.

“I don’t get much sleep before a battle” Azriel informed her, his jaw tightening.

“I won’t argue with you, but just this once” a serene smile graced her face and he couldn’t help but stare at her.

They walked in silence for a while before he finally inquired “How’s Elain?”.

“As can be expected. She’s heartbroken, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it” Y/n sighed, her shoulders slumping.

“It will get better. Give her time” Azriel reassured her, and all she did was nod. She hoped that his words were true, that Elain would get over Greysen soon and be happy.

“Where are your shadows? I don’t see them” she managed to change the subject again.

“They’re around, here and there. Don’t tell me you miss them?” his lips curled into a soft smile.

“I have grown accustomed to them. It might sound weird, but I don’t know, they give me a sense of peace and security” she declared.

“Oh? That’s exactly how I feel” he raised a brow, his face lighting up with amusement.

“Is that why you always stand in the corners where the shadows are?”.

“You’re quite observant” he gave her a proud smile, his eyes brimming with admiration.

“You’re not the only one who notices things others don’t”. 

As they walked through the camp, they almost forgot there was going to be a battle the next day. Being in each other’s presence often made them forget about the outside world, not that they often noticed.

It was getting late and Y/n was debating something, hesitant about. She opened her mouth to speak but then shut it again.

“Is something on your mind?” Azriel noticed her uneasiness.

“I- I got you something… when we were at the Dawn Court. This caught my eye and it reminded me of you. Something about it is just beautiful, and I didn’t want it to go to waste, so I got it for you” She opened her hand, revealing the black gemstone trinket. He reached out, his scarred fingers lightly touching hers as he took it. The smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by an unreadable expression.

“T- thank you. I don’t know what to say” his heart fluttered.

“You don’t have to say anything. The shop owner said it has protective properties, and while I don’t know if that’s true, just keep it on you tomorrow, will you?”.

“Are you worried about me?” he couldn’t hide his grin.

“Let’s just say I have a vast interest in keeping you alive”.

“And why is that?”.

“Well, for starters, to save me from your insufferable friends. You’re the only tolerable one. And to have someone to speak to occasionally while being locked up”.

He rolled his eyes at her last words “I’m not going to argue with you, but just this once” he repeated her earlier words to her.

“I should go now. Good night” she turned from him and started walking away before she halted and turned to face him again “and Shadowsinger? Good luck tomorrow”.

He kept watch on her until he made sure she arrived safely at her tent.

—

Y/n was pacing around in hers and her sisters’ tent when Feyre and Mor winnowed in. They informed them that they had won with little casualty before winnowing them to the battlefield. The place reeked of blood, and while the others waited for the tents to be rebuilt, Y/n went to offer assistance to the healers. 

When Rhys and Cassian returned, they were surprised to see her bandaging some of the warriors, her hands and clothes stained with their blood. When she exhausted all her energy, she came to sit by the fire, near Feyre. Nesta was bandaging Cassian’s wrist when he spoke “Did someone put a knife to your throat? Is that why you were patching up the wounded?” Cassian quipped, a smirk playing on his lips.

“I don’t have the energy for you” Y/n sighed, rubbing her temples.

“It’s just I thought you hated our kind and now you’re volunteering to help”.

“It’s not out of the kindness of my heart, if that’s what you think. We still need every soldier for the war. The faster they’re healed, the better, and I happen to have some experience in that area”.

“As a healer?” Cassian raised his brow.

“Where I worked, there was an infirmary nearby. They were often short of healers, and I happened to have spare time on some days, so I learned the basics”.

“So you have a heart after all” his smirk grew wider, and she glared at him.

The days after went well, the soldiers were healing and resting up. On the fifth day, Azriel came panting and informed them that Hybern was planning to attack the Winter Court. That day they discussed for hours about what to do and ended up with deciding on marching north while remaining hidden but making Hybern think that they stayed here.

—

On the battlefield, both sides were exhausted, and casualties mounted on both sides. As heavy rain poured, more Hybern soldiers appeared and began slaughtering many of their forces. Their lines were breaking apart, and Cassian was trying to reform them as he was surrounded by the enemy. Azriel rushed to his aid but he had difficulty reaching him with all the soldiers. Both warriors were fighting relentlessly. 

Y/n, Nesta, Feyre and Mor were watching from above. If this continued, they were going to lose, and many more warriors were going to die. Feyre decided to go find the Suriel to ask where Hybern’s true army was hiding. 

Mor had left for the front lines and landed right next to Cassian, just in time to stop a soldier from driving a sword through his back. Cassian kept charging without waiting for the others to get to him, and Mor and Azriel took a few blows. 

With each blow, Y/n’s anxiety and fear rose. It was building up to become something explosive. She paced around next to Nesta, one hand to her mouth as she nervously bit her nails. She hated watching helplessly from above as many soldiers were being slaughtered, as the people she grew used to were being attacked and barely managing to evade each blow. 

Cassian engaged one of Hybern’s commanders, who managed to deliver a near-fatal blow, had Azriel not arrived in time to hold his guts in for him. Mor was fighting that commander when another one snuck up on Azriel and was about to lunge his sword into Azriel’s chest from behind.

At the sight, Y/n exploded “NO!” her eyes turned white, and with the heavy rain, lightning crackled and thunder boomed as if the very heavens had opened up. A power she hadn’t known she possessed surged forth in a wave of raw emotion and primal instinct. 

The air crackled with electricity as bolts of lightning lashed out uncontrollably, striking down Hybern soldiers with blinding force. As the storm raged on, draining her of energy, she collapsed, unconscious, the toll of her unbridled power too much to bear. 

Taglist: @st4r-girl-official @judig92 @5onedirection5 @nayaniasworld @blackgirlmagicforever @stained-glass-eyes0708 @slytherintaco @aehllita @nebarious  @t0uch-starved-h0e @bravo-delta-eccho  @sylvermoon @going-through-shit @latinxbipride @i-am-infinite @azrielrot @fuckingsimp4azriel @theravenphoenix26 @hanatsuki-hime @fantanbietsson

[eve-reviews]

ㅤ Once Upon a Time is a thirteen-year old’s fanfiction that was found by the creators of Lost and stolen for a show in hopes of making some money off the teen population. If the half-formed faux-edgy characters or bad acting doesn’t sell you on just how poorly this show was made, the terrible CGI definitely will. The first season revolves around a character named Emma Swan, aka The Savior, coming to the town of Storybrooke where her son tries to convince her that the town is actually full of fairytale characters that are under a memory erasing spell. The show has a way of making you forget that you’re watching a fairytale story until later you realize that “Oh! They just had Prince Charming cheat on his wife with Snow White. And then The Evil Queen framed Snow White for the murder of Prince Charming’s wife by hiding that wife’s heart in a box in the place Snow and Charming would always meet.”

ㅤ While the first season seems Wild, each subsequent season tries to outdo itself. The following seasons follow a clear formula constantly trying to convince you that it’s a good show. The creator’s favorite persuasion is to twist the usual fairytale stories and then play a dramatic stinger underneath it as if to convince the viewer to say, “oh shit!” Each time it makes this attempt, I am met with an intense feeling, but not the intended one. It’s a burst of laughter, a burn of secondhand embarrassment, and the impulse to share it with a friend so I don’t have to go through it alone (and may I say, I think my friends are starting to get sick of me).

            The show is held together by attempts to be a show that makes the viewer sit at the edge of the seat waiting to see what happens next. These attempts often involve corrupting or redeeming a “good” or “evil” character respectively. While the show constantly brings in numerous characters from Disney movies or any other existing story for that matter (such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), it seems to forget this sometimes, so we are left with characters who have been corrupted and redeemed 6 times alone (in Rumpelstiltskin’s case).

            Might I also add that the show often does a twist saying that two fairytale characters were actually the same one. If we take Rumpelstiltskin as an example again, he is at least three different characters off the top of my head. He also happens to be the Crocodile from Peter Pan and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. This isn’t even counting the family tree. Please feel free to skip the rest of this paragraph while I sort that out. Rumpelstiltskin is the son of Peter Pan (who’s evil) and the Black Fairy (who’s the origin of all evil or something?). He has a grandson, Henry, who is also the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming. Henry also happens to be the adopted son of Regina, aka The Evil Queen. Regina if the daughter of the Queen of hearts and the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West. She’s also Snow White’s step-mother. Regina also happens to be soulmates with Robin Hood, who’s previous wife was sentenced to death by Regina before the curse. And Robin also had a daughter with the Wicked Witch but he didn’t know it was her at the time because she was pretending to be his dead wife.

            I’m stopping myself there. If you read any of that, you now hopefully know how complicated the lore is and how near impossible it is to explain. You may have also gleaned how fucking stupid it is. That was all just a small section of the family tree. The actual lore of this show involves people who are definitively good or evil (but they can be redeemed) and authors who are all powerful gods who control Everything but are also just Some Guy. And of course, a being of pure light magic called The Savior (Emma Swan aka Snow White and Prince Charming’s child) and a being of pure dark magic called The Dark One (Rumplestiltskin). I forced myself through the show. High out of my mind if I had to. And I gotta say, folks.

            I kinda love this show.

            At some point it starts to get confusing what the creators were thinking while making this show. You drive yourself crazy trying to put yourself in their heads. Do they know how dogshit it is? Are they trying to convince me this dogshit is actually fucking ratatouille? Or do they know it’s bad?

            By the end of season 6, I started to get the feeling that the writers had finally decided to accept that no one in the universe would consider this a good show; however, the show must go on so they may as well have fun with it. They finally left behind the attempts and just leaned into how bizarre the lore they’re spun truly is. They timeskip and they say. “Hey. We know that we’ve gone too far. We know we crossed a line somewhere along the way. But buddy? We’re not turning around. We’re gonna find throw back some brewskis and have a little fun.” And they decide to say that, “Actually? All those characters you just saw? The seemingly infinite number of them? That’s just the start. They’re just one of an actually infinite number of that same character that exists in the multiverse. We’re gonna make a new main character and she’s gonna be Cinderella. Yes, I know we already introduced Cinderella in season one. But this is a different Cinderella. From a different thirteen tear old’s fanfiction. “

            And so it becomes a show that clearly knows it’s bad. And I sit there and realize I had fun. And I realize that I’m still having fun. And I realize that that was the point. I spent the whole show taking everything so seriously, and for that, I partially blame the show for taking itself seriously. But somewhere along the way, the show stopped. And I followed suit shortly after. And it was fun.

            I loved watching Once Upon a Time.

[transbookoftheday]

🏳️‍⚧️🏴‍☠️ Trans Books To Read If You Love "Our Flag Means Death" 🏴‍☠️🏳️‍⚧️

Can't get enough of Our Flag Means Death? Read some trans pirate books!

On Mar León de la Rosa's sixteenth birthday, el Diablo comes calling. Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary teen pirate hiding a magical ability to manipulate fire and ice. But their magic isn't enough to reverse a wicked bargain made by their father, and now el Diablo has come to collect his payment: the soul of Mar's father and the entire crew of their ship. When Mar is miraculously rescued by the sole remaining pirate crew in the Caribbean, el Diablo returns to give them a choice: give up their soul to save their father by the harvest moon, or never see him again. The task is impossible - Mar refuses to make a bargain, and there's no way their magic is a match for el Diablo. Then Mar finds the most unlikely allies: Bas, an infuriatingly arrogant and handsome pirate - and the captain's son; and Dami, a gender-fluid demonio whose motives are never quite clear. For the first time in their life, Mar may have the courage to use their magic. It could be their only redemption - or it could mean certain death.

(The audiobook for "The Wicked Bargain" is narrated by Vico Ortiz!)

In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas. Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is headed to an arranged marriage she dreads. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian. Neither expects to fall in love. Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, double agents, and the all-encompassing Sea herself. Deftly entwining swashbuckling action and quiet magic, Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s inventive debut novel conjures a diverse cast of characters seeking mastery over their fates while searching for answers to big questions about identity, power, and love.

The Lost Boys say that Peter Pan went back to England because of Wendy Darling, but Wendy is just an old life he left behind. Neverland is his real home. So when Peter returns to it after ten years in the real world, he's surprised to find a Neverland that no longer seems to need him. The only person who truly missed Peter is Captain James Hook, who is delighted to have his old rival back. But when a new war ignites between the Lost Boys and Hook's pirates, the ensuing bloodshed becomes all too real - and Peter's rivalry with Hook starts to blur into something far more complicated, sensual, and deadly.

In the Christian Republic, homosexual people are given two choices—a camp to "fix" them, or exile to the distant islands populated by lesbians and gay men. Sixteen-year-old Jason chooses exile and expects a hardscrabble life but instead finds a thriving, supportive community. While exploring his identity as a transgender boy he also discovers adventure: kraken attacks, naval battles, a flying island built by asexual people, and a daring escape involving glow-in-the-dark paint. He also has a desperate crush on Sky, a spirited buccaneer girl, but fear keeps him from expressing his feelings. When Jason and his companions discover the Republicans are planning a war of extermination, they rally the people of the Rainbow Islands to fight back. Shy, bookish Jason will have to find his inner courage or everything and everyone he loves will be lost forever.

Book titles:

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

Rainbow Islands by Devin Harnois

[alice-angel12x]

Death is always around the corner

Azul + Death!Reader

Riddle, Leona, Azul, Jamil, Vil, Idia, Malleus

Let's set the Scene: Masterlist

🐙Azul Ashengrotto🐙

Y/n is a being of darkness, so they are aware of things that go on in the dark. Both Literally and metaphorically. So they were aware of Azul's involvement with Leona and the potion Azul made.

And they know of the plan Azul was going to do with the upcoming exams.

Y/n warned the boys of Azul and told them to do honest studying. Or even come to them for answers and to study.

Yet the boys did not heed Y/n's warning and went to Azul. Y/n only sighed and let destiny take its course. Y/n sat down and contemplated their next target.

For they understood Azul's pain, but now he has let his pain blind him to the amazing person he could become. And now he tries to fill that void with greed and power. And now he is as cruel as those who had bullied him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"What–!? I just suddenly said what’s on my mind–!! Ah…!?" the poor student gasped.

"Ah, what an upsetting result. I am so shocked. And right after I granted your wish in order to uphold the Sea Witch’s benevolence.  And yet you still call me wicked and scheming?" Azu sighed phoning hurt emotions.

"I-I’m sorry…! You’ve got it wrong, that was–!!" "Hm, it is already too late to take your words back! Floyd, come. It is your turn," Azul interrupted.

"You guys are finally done talking~? Can I start squeezing tightly?" Floyd laughed.

"Don't you think he's had enough," said a voice.

The group turned to see Y/n sitting at the bar counter, drinking something from behind the counter.

"What are you doing here?! The Lounge is not open to the public right now," Azul glared.

"I just let myself in," Y/n said simply. "Quiet the shakedown you doing here."

"Am Afraid you have to leave. Jade Floyd show them out," Azul commanded.

Y/n chuckled as they watched Jade and Floyd approach. Y/n slowly stood up and smiled up at the twins with no fear, and with one swift motion. All the air was knocked out of the twins, as they collapsed to the ground. Azul and the boy watched in horror as Y/n approached.

Y/n slammed their hand on the table and glared at the poor student.

"Remember this well, when you make a deal with anyone. Even the people you may despise, you should always be the bigger person and fulfill your promises and payments. Understood?" Y/n growled.

"Yes I learned my lesson. I'll never fall behind on my promises," The random student cried.

"Then scram," Y/n said as the poor student ran in terror.

Azul simply stared nervesly as Y/n sat in the chair across from him, and stared him down.

"So, how has your life been?" Y/n asked suddenly.

"You barge in here just to ask that. Well, I'm doing fine cause business has been doing great. If that is all, please leave," Azul asked as kindly as possible.

"Are content with life, with yourself?" Y/n asked.

"W-what are you talking about. Of course, I am. I'm well on my way to a very successful life," Azul smiled confidently.

"So what's with the side hustle then if your lounge is so successful. Why do you covet things that don't belong to you?" Y/n asked.

"What are you getting at, it's the suckers Um I mean, the customer's choice to agree to my terms," Azul corrected as he held a smug tone.

"What purpose do you have with these powers? Are you compensating for something?" Y/n asked with a smirk. Putting Azul on slightly and edge, as he slowly glared. "Tring to fill the void of self-worth?"

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about," Azul said as he stood. "Where done here."

When suddenly Y/n stood up and quickly shoved Azul back into the seat.

"Cause I can tell you this," Y/n said as their eyes glowed a deep red. "This will never be enough."

----------------------------------

Sadly Azul did not take Y/n's words to heart and continued with his plans.

Of course, Y/n did not feel sorry for the students who were scammed or gambled on the contract to hope for the best outcome.

So Y/n let the boys suffer for a bit to learn their lesson, much to Jack's approval. But Adeuc and grim not so much. Though after seeing and hearing about the treatment of the tricked students. Y/n thought that this was enough.

So Y/n and Jack went to speak with Azul. The Poor octopus boy was still a bit shaken up from the last visit. But he put on a brave face and wanted to get his own revenge on Y/n.

-------------------------------------------

"Oh? Do you want to make a deal with me? What an interesting idea," Azul smirked.

"Aha~ Viper fish's got some guts," Floyd laughed.

" Very well. I understand that you want to make a deal with me, however…  We have a little problem, see? If I remember correctly, you do not possess any magic. You do not possess a beautiful voice nor are you a royal country’s only heir. You are but a simple beastman.  If you wish to ask for something big, the collateral must be of equal value," Azul listed off.

"A collateral?" Jack growled.

"For example… giving me the right to use the Ramshackle Dorm that you are currently in charge of," Azul smiled, as he watch Jack grow frustrated.

"! You were after that from the start, weren’t you!?" Jack snarled. when suddenly the door to the VIP door slammed open, and a soap cover grim came running in.

"I’m on board with that decision! I-I’m tired of living like this, yanno! My fur is not made for dishwashing!" Grim shouted

"Listen to what your one dorm-mate is saying, Y/n-san. What do you say? Will you give the Ramshackle Dorm as collateral to make a deal with me?" Azul smirked, but that soon falter by Y/n's unbothered expression.

" Stop it, Y/n! It’s definitely going to be a contract disadvantageous to you!" Jack warned.

"I want to hear the conditions you have," Y/n yawned.

"It’s refreshing to hear that kind of confidence," Azul said forcing a smile through his irritation. "In three days’ time, I want you to steal a certain picture from the Atlantica Memorial Museum in the Coral Seas. It is the commemoration picture of Prince Rielle’s visit taken 10 years ago. It is positioned right near the entrance, so historically, it is of little importance. It is just that, a simple picture."

"And if I somehow fail?" Y/n asked.

"If you manage to bring me the commemorative picture from the museum before the sun sets on the third day… I will release all 225 of the servants that I have working under me right now. However, if you are not able to do so…  Ramshackle Dorm will be mine. And you both shall be working under me afterward," Azul smiled darkly.

" It’s a deal," Y/n smiled softly, like a mother simply indulging in her child's game of pretend.

"Very well! Now then, please sign here," Azul smirked, thinking he was won. He couldn't wait to crush their confidence and hope.

__________________________________________

Yet Y/n was not afraid. For they went ahead of time and snatched the picture before they even told the twins that they wanted to talk to Azul.

But they simply played along and let Jack help them and grim. Yet Y/n being Death, they had no need to sleep. So they simply patrolled the dorm. Coming across the twins.

With an eerie smile, they gave the twin a reason to run with their tails between their legs. Earning the respect of many of the Savanaclaw students. Some even suggested that they just transfer to their dorm.

When the twins returned they were sadly out of commission for that day. But Y/n was not down dishing out the tournament. When one night,

Late at night, Azul sat in his office counting his sales, contracts, and another important document. When suddenly there was a crash, and the sound of glass Shattering. Azul sighed, thinking that now of the slave anemone workers failed to properly put the glass away. Sadly with nobody else around he had to clean up this mess.

Yet as he swept up the glass, the light suddenly went out. And the light from the tank turned dark. Azul tried to light up his surroundings with a light spell, but the darkness seemed to just eat up the light.

Before Azul could even compose himself, he heard footsteps around him. Followed by the sound of scraping of steel, and a familiar haunting whistle. There was suddenly another shatter, and in a panic, Azul ran toward his office. In the darkness flashes of red Eyes followed him as hands randomly grabbed at him.

The VIP door was just in sight, and he quickly grabbed the nob and ran inside. Just when he thought it was safe, the whistle returned. He looked up to see Y/n sitting at his desk, in his chair. Dressed in a black robe with the hood covering her eyes. They were fiddling with the golden coins on Azul's desk, as they continued to whistle. Y/n finally looked up to Azul as they placed a golden coin over their eyes, and pointed their scythe at him.

Azul began started to become hysterical as hey fumbled with the door handle. Y/n’s shadow began to stretch out across the ground, and just stop before Azul’s feet. The poor octopus boy finally got the door open and barricaded himself in his room for the whole night.

—————————————————

(Final Day)

When the final day and Y/n had one more plan up their sleeves. While The first years distracted the twins Y/n rounded up some savanaclaw student to cause chaos in the lounge.

While Azul, shaken up, still believed that he was ahead of the game. And was still certain about his victory. But was horrified by the sudden burst of rowdy customers, and there was no Jade or Floyd to handle them.

So he went to get supplies from the safe, only to gasp to see Leona with the keys. Leona taunted the boy a bit before returning the keys and leaving. But when Azul opened the safe.

The All contracts were Gone. When Azul confronted Leona, he learned that Y/n was the true mastermind in all of this. And they had long won before the battle even began.

Azul watched helplessly as the lion prince turned all the contracts into sand. The poor boy snapped, as the blot consumed him.

————————————————

As life flashed before Azul’s eyes, he noticed in the infinite darkness a familiar door. The door to his VIP room. He swam through the darkness, but he finally reached the door and stepped in. It was his office, but sitting down at his desk was Y/n.

They were reading a book, with his name printed on the front cover.

“Ah, Mr. Azul you’ve arrived. Please have a seat,” Y/n smiled softly.

Azul slowly and nervously sat down in the chair as Y/n flipped through a couple pages. Then they finally spoke.

“Thank you for coming in today. We have some very important things to discuss,” Y/n said as they turned the book over to the final page. “ You were supposed to die today.”

“W-What?!” Azul gasped.

“But, because of your friends and enemies kindness. You are now at an impasse. You stand on the edge of life and death. And you have a choice to make,” Y/n explained, as they showed him the wanted poster of himself. “Just sign here or there.”

Azul held the bone fish pen. He hovered over the dead for some time, when he noticed something on the poster. It read, Azul Ashengrotto, greedy sleazy scam artist.

“That’s not who I am,” Azul mumble.

“What was that sir?” Y/n asked.

“This title. That’s not who I am,” Azul glared. “I want this changed.”

“Alright,” Y/n said simply, as they reached down into a drawer and pulled a paper with questions on it. “You don’t need to answer all, but fill out the best you can.”

Azul got to work on the paper, at first the questions were pretty standard. Name, date of birth, and parents, but then the questions started getting strange. For example, what are your skill you treasure? How should one live their life? How you you wish to be remembered, and why? And finally, what is your self worth?

Azul filled out the best he could, but he was unable to fill out the last question. He handed Y/n back the paper, and Y/n began to write something at the bottom of the paper. They soon returned the paper, and Azul saw where Y/n wrote. Under, What does Death think of applicant?

Slowly Azul read what was written

Azul Ashengrotto, a greatly insecure boy, who hides behind a business man act. This is how he might see himself, but he is so much more than that.

He is a bright young octopus with great potential in both the business world or culinary if he so desired. He is a smart, clever, and talented individual. I have high hopes for him.

-Signed

Y/n Death

“Death, that can’t possibly be your last name,” Azul said, trying to distract himself from the overwhelming emotions he was feeling.

“Your right Y/n is just a name I add in front of my actual name," Y/n smiled.

“So you're saying your name is Death. That's unfortunate,'' Azul commented.

Y/n raised a brow as they just stared at Azul, as he slowly processed all the clues.

“W-wait Your... Death. As in Death itself?" Azul asked nervesly, as Y/n simply nod. "Then if you're the reaper then why are you asking me all these things. Aren't you supposed to kill me, are you toying with me?"

“Do you think of me as just a heartless monster? I may reap the life of the living, but I don't do this out of enjoyment. And what I write is simply what I see in the person in front of me," Death said as they sat up straight. " So what do you plan to do?"

Azul stared down at the wanted Poster, and the title under the name. And signed Alive.

“I still have many people I need to get back at, and there's still much I want to do," Azul said as he laced the pen down.

Death smiled softly and closed Azul's book. And before they stood they decided to give one more word of Advice.

“And Be careful of what you tie your self-worth to. Make sure it is the things you've earned, and not the gifts of others you collect," Y/n said as they offered a hand to Azul. "And knowing you. You already have many qualities to you."

As he took Death's hand, the VIP door opened revealing a blinding light. Y/n walked Azul to the door, but then stopped him.

"Oh, before I go I have to give you something," Y/n said as they pulled the photo out from their coat.

"The Photo! But, when?!" Azul gasped as he grabbed the photo.

"Since the beginning. I couldn't pass up the chance just to mess with you," Y/n laughed as they pushed him into the light.

----------------------------------------

Azul would finally come too, much to the twin's relief. As Azul recovered Floyd revealed the secret behind the photo. Much to Azul's horror.

As Azul hide his face in embarrassment, he noticed Y/n standing off by themselves. Looked over the Papers Azul signed and put them back into the book.

With a small nod, Y/n turned and left.

After all was said and done, Azul somewhat changed...Not really. But at least he wasn't enslaving people or scamming people out of their talents.

The young boy would notice Y/n visit the lounge every once in and while. Usually off at the far corner way from most. Yet Azul would usually be the one to serve them.

This was one of the few ways they would relax before winter came.