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artist-issues · 3 months ago

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I’m bored and I really enjoy your opinions on Disney, so I thought you might have something interesting to say to get my brain ticking. I came across a post on Frozen and I was like, “Ah, a perfect starting place for dropping you an ask.” I’ve never really been that bothered by Frozen and I don’t know what it is that I’m just not fond about. Maybe it’s that I dislike the characters? Maybe it’s that they didn’t really have any established rules for the way magic worked in that universe and thus had anything they wanted happening? Maybe it’s the twist villain? I don’t know, it’s probably just the characters that they tried to make so cool and girlboss!

Elsa is made out to be this awesome protagonist that is never in the wrong and that grates me. She has flaws, but the film doesn’t act like they’re flaws. She runs away out of fear and shame for not being able to control her powers, but then two seconds later she’s singing “Let It Go” and making giant ice castles and bringing snowmen to life?! And “Let It Go” is super annoying for the fact that Elsa starts off worried and upset (fair enough, she’s just ran away from her home, her kingdom, her sister whom she hasn’t seen in years, she lost control of her powers) but then immediately turns round and is like, “Actually, it’s not my fault and I’m fine as I am and I don’t need any of those responsibilities!” Which would be fine, but she also finishes the film with the same attitude!

Anna, too! Naive and optimistic and perhaps a little too trusting, she never realises that even if Han hadn’t turned out evil, Elsa had every right to be worried over their marriage. She never realises that it’s partly her fault for revealing Elsa’s powers (and she definitely doesn’t apologise). There’s a lot she doesn’t realise, and the only lesson she takes away from it all is that Christoff loves her instead of Han.

Oh my days, I’ve just realised how ridiculously long this has gotten, super sorry! Have a lovely day!

Let’s do this! For fun!

1. They don't need to establish exhaustive rules for how magic works in their world.

Red Riding Hood doesn't explain how the Big Bad Wolf can talk-it just explains that he can. Cinderella doesn't explain how Fairy Godmothers work, or why the spell should only last until midnight—it just explains that she casts one, and it does only last until midnight. Beauty & the Beast does not explain how, after The Beast has died, the "breaking of the curse" could bring him back to life. After Belle confesses her love, he should just go from dead beast to dead human, for all the explanation they give.

Beauty & the Beast also famously refuses to explain (explicitly) why all of the household were cursed, along with the castle and the Prince. But what it does explain is, "there's a curse, it was put in place because of a defect in the Prince's character, and there's a time limit on it's ability to be removed, which can only happen if the defect in his character is overcome."

The whole point of having magic in the story is just as a tool...to create a plot. You don't have to explain everything; you just have to explain what will affect the characters. So, Frozen says, very plainly in the beginning: "you can either be born with magical powers or cursed with them in this world, and trolls are the experts on how magical powers work. The way Elsa's specific magical powers work is, they're beautiful, but powerful, and they're tied to her emotions. Therefore, if her negative emotions control her, her negative emotions control those powers. Also, if you're struck with magical powers in the head, the effects can be removed with memory alteration. If you're struck with magical powers in the heart, the effects can only be removed by an act of True Love.

Also, here's an explanation of what counts as 'True Love." They actually do way more explaining than the average fairy tale. And they set you up really nicely to receive that explanation by having the opening scene be a song that describes Ice Magic as “beautiful/powerful/dangerous/cold/ice has a magic can't be controlled.” Etc.

If you were wondering what limits there are on Elsa's powers, and whether or not she can just make anything out of ice, and how it's possible for her to bring inanimate snow to life

—well, you're focusing on the wrong things for this kind of story.

It's not that important for a fairy tale like this one. In a superhero story, limitations on powers would be important. Because the point of a superhero story is, "how am I going to take selfless responsibility for what I'm able to do?" And if you don't know the boundaries on "what I'm able to do," then you can't communicate that point clearly. That's why we need to know that Superman can see through just about everything, but not lead. That's why you need to know that Elastigirl can't stretch in the cold. You can't know how to take responsibility for your abilities if you don't know what they are and are not.

But Elsa? The point of Elsa having powers is not as a metaphor for her unique skills. That's what it would be in a superhero movie.

Like, in superhero movies, Spidey's ability to stick to walls is supposed to be a reference to like, your ability to...l don't know, draw really well. How is Spidey going to use his ability to stick to walls for the good of others = how are you going to use your ability to draw for the good of others, because it's something special and unique to you, you have something to offer, are you going to use it selflessly, etc.

But for Elsa, that's not what it's about. Her powers are just a metaphor for how what's going on inside of her effects everyone around her, relationally. And it's still relatable. But not in a "skills" way. Just like all of us non-superpowered people: "if you let fear control you, you'll hurt everyone around you. But if you let love cast out fear, you'll love and be loved."

That's what's so good about this movie. When you look at it like that, you realize the powers aren’t the point.

Elsa isolates because she thinks that'll keep her from hurting everyone (fear controls her) but actually, by isolating, she's still hurting everyone-nobody in the kingdom gets to see their beloved ruler, and her sister is hurt, relationally, and feels unloved and shut-out, enough to trust the first scoundrel she meets-etc. See how the powers just make the story interesting, but they're not the point of the story? If Elsa's powers were replaced by "frantic outbursts of human temper" the story could be told in a lot of the same ways. But that's a post for another time.

So I don't think you disliked it because of the powers not being "established." "Whatever they wanted to have happen" did not happen, in the story. They laid out the rules that were relevant—“if fear controls you, it'll lead to great danger/but an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."—and then they followed those rules in an interesting and consistent way.

2. The "twist" villain worked perfectly for the story.

A good villain is supposed to be the opposite of whatever your story's message is. Frozen's is, "Self-Sacrificial Love Casts Out Fear." Elsa is afraid she'll hurt everyone around her, and afraid that makes her unloveable-so she's a control freak over her circumstances. Anna is also afraid she's unloveable-simply because she's shut out and unknown-so she's always trying to control who she keeps in her life. Hans is both "unknown" and "controlling." He's "unknown" in two ways—1, nobody sees him in the shadows of his brothers in his own kingdom, and 2, nobody in Arendelle "knows" his true nature, especially not Anna. But the difference is, where our heroes don't like being unknown, Hans does, and uses it to his advantage, because he's also "controlling." But unlike our heroes, who learn that "control" is not the way to love, Hans is willing to do anything to stay in control. Which is, always, rooted in fear, too. Hans is just afraid he'll never get a throne. So. You see that he foils the two main characters perfectly.

But the main point of Hans is that he's not self-sacrificial, he's self-serving, which is the opposite of what the story claims "True Love" is.

Why's the "twist" part important? Because he uses the main characters' fears as a weapon to serve himself, and he couldn't have done that, for these two particular characters, by being anything but a liar. Anna is afraid she won't ever be loved, so he pretends to love her to get something for himself. Elsa is afraid she'll hurt everyone, so Hans pretends to be protecting everyone from her. And honestly, that's another core of the movie-love that is self-sacrificial, true love, can't be separated from truth. Anna can't really "truly love" Elsa in a way that HELPS Elsa feel loved if she doesn't know Elsa's flaws. Elsa can't "truly love" Anna if she's refusing to know Anna by always shutting her out. And Hans comes along and doesn't let himself be "truly known." Perfect.

So, the movie says "Self-Sacrificial Love Casts Out Fear" and Hans, the villain, says, "Self-Service Uses Fear As a Weapon."

So I don't think you disliked the "twist" villain. Because it wasn't just an empty "shock-jock, look how edgy we are, to make the Prince the bad guy" move. It was the right move, for this story and these characters.

3. I think your definition of "so cool" and "girlboss" might be different from what l understand those terms to mean, because none of the characters fit those descriptions.

Anna (as we understand her throughout the story) is introduced like this:

And she's constantly dropping stuff and getting into awkward social situations-and she basically makes zero correct decisions, for the entire adventure. Tries to fight wolves like a girlboss-and instead accidentally knocks her guide out of the sleigh and has to be thrown to safety while she ruins his livelihood. Tries to climb a cliff with zero experience-looks ridiculous and falls. Tries to talk her sister into lifting a curse and insists that she knows best because her sister would never hurt her-gets crippled, because her sister absolutely does hurt her, and totally fails. Tries to marry a handsome prince-really bad judgement of character, totally duped, basically would've died without help from the weakest and most mentally-confused character in the movie, Olaf. The only "girlboss" moment you could argue she had was punching Hans in the face at the end of the movie, and I would argue that that one moment, in the face of all her failures and humiliation throughout the movie, and in the face of him as a vile villain? That moment is okay.

Also, the whole way they pace that moment is still in-character for Anna. It's still like she's not doing the "dignified" thing. She delivers her little one liner, "the only frozen heart around here is you," and then turns around to walk away with her nose in the air, like she's

"above it all." Which frames the moment where she turns around and punches him like a joke. It frames that moment like it's a satisfying, but still "not decorous, not dignified," thing to do. It would've been "cool" and poorly received if Anna, the character who's always jumping into doing the emotional, awkward thing, had suddenly become the bigger person and risen above her hurt in that moment.

So instead, she punches him. And whatever. He deserved it, blah blah blah. The point is, even that moment isn’t supposed to be strictly “cool” or “girlboss.” It’s just supposed to be “in-character funny.”

See, usually a "girlboss" character knows exactly what the best thing to do is in a situation, and does it well. Or, she gets knocked down, but consistently gets back up and hits harder. Anna does not do any of those things. She keeps trying when she fails, yeah-but it's not because of an inner strength, it's because of an inner weakness. She keeps pushing because she's desperate, and insecure, not because she's awesome and never-say-die. Eventually, after Elsa strikes her and Hans betrays her, Anna does give up. She tells the snowman "we won't (come back.)" after Elsa strikes her. She tells Olaf she doesn't know what love is. It's not until she learns that lesson that anything she tries to do works—and she gives herself up to do it. And that's finally a moment of strength from her, not weakness. As for "cool"-gimme a break.

There's nothing "cool" about Anna. Anna's not good at anything except, at the very end, self-sacrificially standing in front of a sword and getting one punch in on a villain who's already disarmed, defeated and probably slightly concussed anyway. She's not supposed to be "cool" or "girlboss." She's supposed to be "Desperate to Love and Be Loved." And that's what she is, perfectly. "Desperate" is not a characteristic that fits the definition "girlboss" or "cool."

But maybe you just meant "Elsa is so cool and a girlboss." Okay, well, again, depends on what you mean by that. If you mean "having superpowers are cool" okay, well, are they? Is that what the movie is telling you? Because powers basically ruin all of Elsa's childhood and life until the last 3 minutes of the movie. You could be like "come on, she can make snow and ice monsters, glitter gowns, and an entire palace just by dancing. They totally tried to make her 'cool." That's like saying Simba's ability to eat bugs and belch and fight with Nala is "cool." She does all those things at her "Character in the WRONG" moment, in the story, just like Simba living in the Hakuna Matata jungle. Therefore the movie is not trying to tell you that Elsa is cool, it's trying to tell you that Elsa is wrong, but you can understand why she's wrong. You can understand why she feels triumphant for a moment-and then the movie shows you that triumph is misplaced.

I mean, she's taken out by her own falling chandelier. Every time she's confronted with a problem, she runs away. When she gets into "battles of wits," she says the wrong thing, or the shy, shut-down thing, not a girlboss one-liner that shuts the other person up. Elsa's not cool either. She doesn't have the answers, she doesn't save the day-she gets saved.

Both of these characters are desperate, open wounds-—they're needy and they're in the wrong, each in their own way, for the majority of the movie. They're weak, and they have to learn to find strength in love, for most of their story. There's nothing "girlboss" or "cool" about them.

I think maybe what some people make the mistake of is noticing the Frozen mania, and the fact that the two main characters are girls and one of them has superpowers and they other doesn't get with a Prince, and then they get the impression, from that, that the characters are "cool girlbosses." But like...that's like saying Dory from the first Finding Hemo movie is a girlboss. She's so totally not. She's a wreck. A funny, appealing, sometimes-relatable-human wreck. And a good character, but the hype doesn't change who she is, as a character. And who she is, like Anna and Elsa, is just a good character.

4. Elsa does not finish Let it Go with an "I'm Fine As I Am" attitude, and she doesn't finish the movie that way, either.

She finishes "Let it Go" with an "I'm fine up here, isolated from everyone," attitude. And then the movie very quickly proves her wrong by having Anna show up and reveal to her that no, actually, she is not fine up there, because the person she cares about most can still find her and be hurt by her, and the whole kingdom is still reeling from the problems she ran away from.

At the end of the movie the only thing I can guess you got the impression that she's "fine as she is" from was the fact that she's using her powers again.

But like. Elsa's whole problem was never her powers. She wasn't supposed to learn to stop using them. She was supposed to learn to stop living in fear. Instead, she was supposed to lean on love-love that sacrifices for her, flaws and dangerousness and all-and stop trying to control her image and what everyone knows about her.

Because in trying to control what everyone knows about her, she was controlling whether or not they loved her or treated her like a monster. And even running away and singing Let It Go was still an effort to control everything-by not being around people who could treat her like a monster or be hurt by her. Instead, accepting that she might hurt people because she can't always control everything, and trusting that they'll still love and forgive her, was her character arc.

She lives by faith in sacrificial love by the end, not by fear. That's the arc. She does that perfectly.

It was never, "I'm fine as I am." Because the point was never "there's* something wrong with me." It was, "I don't need to fear a lack of control, because true love covers what I can't control." That's all.

4. Anna does communicate to the audience that she's sorry and willing to understand the reasons behind Elsa's secrets.

The lesson Anna takes away from all of this is not "which guy loves me." It's "what is love?" And you know she's learned that because she demonstrates it. If Anna had died-frozen forever-or been cut down by Hans' sword, you realize that Elsa would never have been able to repay that gesture, right? But Anna still made that choice.

Even though it meant Elsa would never repay her. And the point is — excuse me, I know this is long enough, but I feel like you're missing out on something wonderful here—

Anna could have left Elsa to be killed and ridden off into the sunset with Kristoff.

They make it very clear that that is her goal when she stumbles onto the ice, free from the room Hans trapped her in. Elsa is no longer her motivation. She isn't looking for Elsa. She's not trying to get that love she's looked for, from Elsa, in that moment. She's trying to get it from Kristoff, not just for her emotional need-but for the "breaking of the curse" that's killing her in the moment. That whole scene where she realizes he loves her-truly loves her, because he fits the description Olaf gives-is in there to communicate to the audience that he could save her. He could give her what she needs.

And the reason that's important is that it proves that this is character development: when she chooses not to go to Kristoff, and to go to Elsa instead.

Because it's her, choosing to turn away from the person who could give her something (even if it is "love") and to turn toward the person who can't give her something (Elsa.) Who has repeatedly failed to give her something, for their entire lives.

Anna at the beginning of the movie would've run to Kristoff. That was the whole point of Hans, when it comes to Anna-he represents someone who can fulfill a need in Anna. But when Anna turns away from Kristoff and runs to save Elsa instead, Anna is demonstrating what she's learned —that love isn't about her own needs. It's putting someone else's needs before yours. She stands between Hans and Elsa, with the full expectation that she's not going to get anything out of it, not even a guarantee of E/sa's love in return. And her own needs will NOT get met if she puts Elsa's first.

And that's what she does. Whereas, at the beginning of the film, Anna would not have done that. Because that's not what she thinks love is. She hasn’t realized that yet.

She thinks love means closeness. And that does come with love. But that's not love. Love is, like Olaf says, putting someone else's needs before yours. But the whole movie, Anna is not working to put Elsa's needs before her own. She's working to change Elsa's mind, now that she knows the truth, so that she and Elsa can be "close again." She's climbing that mountain and arguing with Elsa, because she thinks that all that stood in their way before was this secret that's been uncovered. And sure, Anna has always been willing to “be there for” Elsa, but you have to see that Anna wanted that to come with Elsa being there for her, in return.

Which would be nice. But it's not true love. True love is being there for someone even when they refuse to be there for you. Because that's putting their needs before yours.

Thanks for the super long ask! That was fun! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as l enjoyed writing-I think sometimes we judge Frozen by the mania that followed, not the good quality that actually caused the mania, and deserved the mania, though. Anyway 😂

Guards! Take them away! Back to the theater with you! Watch the movie again!

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lololololchips · 6 months ago

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in which series with SEVENTEEN || a series of smaus where the SVT members tend to leak their relationship in various ways…

Yoon Jeonghan —> read here

4th member to get his relationship exposed

his gfs name is Bora 🙈

they’ve been dating since February 20, 2024 (meaning that jeonghan is one of the few guys that have recently just started being in a relationship in this smau)

his relationship got exposed by joshua aka his evil twin

mingyu kinda ratted him out, which led to joshua following him around as he was “exposing” him in his private twitter account

he then accidentally tweeted on the main SVT account where he revealed that jeonghan was in a relationship and that’s how carats ended up finding out

we love joshua tho!!

Jeon Wonwoo —> read here

first member to get his relationship exposed!

his gfs name is lily hehe

sneak peak for dino’s smau: she’s a BIG help when it comes to his relationship…

they’ve been dating since July 14, 2020

this relationship is one of the longest in this universe 💪

members/pledis knew about this relationship but DK accidentally exposed it to carats on live one day (sigh)

wonwoo had ZERO idea of what DK had exposed until the PR nightmare happened

after lots of PR work done (poor vernon) both wonwoo and lily just decided to reveal their relationship:)))

their relationship was revealed on new years 2024!!!!

Lee Jihoon —> read here

5th member to get his relationship leaked

his gfs name is hana!!

MY STEM GIRLY OMGGGG I LOVE HER

they’ve been together since April 2, 2023 (A YEAR MY BABIES HEHE)

no one ,but jun, knew about this relationship

woozi decided to release a song where he just talking about falling in-love, and this song has LOTSSSS of stem vocab so carats are a bit suspicious…

ofc rumors go around after the song is release but no one really knows if woozi is in a relationship or not

until… seokmin opens weverse live once again; a big thank you to DK the king of leaking relationships 👏👏👏

this live was supposed to be a cute one where dk, vernon, wonwoo, and joshua surprise woozi at his studio

spoiler alert: the guys surprise themselves cause once they walk in, WITH THE CAMERA FACING WOOZI, they see hana and him cuddling

no PR nightmare this time cause DK just ends up getting banned from lives (BRING BACK MY DISPATCH KING)

Kim Mingyu —> read here

2nd member to get his relationship leaked

his gfs name is anna!! (she’s been mentioned in a few smaus as well)

they’ve been dating since August 20, 2022

dispatch was actually the one that was originally going to leak this relationship 😾

this did not end up happening until mingyu got drunk and accidentally posted a pic of him and anna kissing

EVERYONE went crazy for this one oh my

pledis paid dispatch to stay quiet and here this man comes and does it on his own siiiiighhhh

but at the end everything was fine 😁😁

Xu Minghao —> read here

3rd member to reveal his relationship

his gfs name is jae!!!

they’ve been dating since December 16, 2023 (also one of the few guys that recently got into a relationship)

carat’s actually do not know he’s in a relationship 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

he decided to soft launch his relationship to the guys but literally only jun and vernon caught on LMAOOOO

jun became really close with jae so the guys started to think she was his gf >:(

BUT THIS LED TO JUN EXPOSING minghaos relationship (only to the members tho he’s not like DK)

#smau: in which svt series…#🐾

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halcyone-of-the-sea · 2 years ago

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Hi!

I just wanted to say that I absolutely love all of your COD fics! Your Price fics made me fall in love with him (I saw a recommendation for See No Evil on TikTok and just went down the rabbit hole from there (it’s also my comfort fic)) and Laughing Poets made me buy Ghosts for Keegan. Your writing is so beautiful and poetic and has inspired me to start writing again after a really bad writing’s block!

I also did want to put in a request for Ghost (because I love him so much) but given his hype, I understand if you don’t want to write for him or if it may be hard. But I was hoping that this hasn’t been done before (much) and that I could read it in your words since you are so amazing!

I was thinking of the reader being a CIA agent that was working undercover to get classified information and 141 was sent in to extract her after she was compromised. And her and Ghost don’t really get along at first, like they don’t hate each other but they could just care less about one another. But then they get separated and one of them is injured and the other fights tooth and nail to get to them, realizing how much they care. I was thinking that her callsign could be ‘Reaper’ but it can be anything else if it fits better. It can be angsty (because that’s the absolute best genre), fluffy, nsfw, whatever you want to do with it.

I know this is asking a bit much and I’m sorry for that. Feel free to change it as you see fit and do whatever you want with it, if you want to do it. I really appreciate and love your work!! Thank you!!

'Til it Hurts

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F!Reader

Synopsis: You thought that it would be easy - moving on and blazing your own trail, but at every step, memories seem to come back and haunt you. And the biggest memory takes the shape of a man with a skull mask. Can you still deny what you had always felt when he stands at your side once more?

Word Count: 12.5k

Warnings: This duology will be 18+ and contain the following: intense gore, blood, violence, vulgar language, angst, fluff, suggestive content, (smut, p in v sex, virgin!reader (relevant to plot) all in part 2), abuse of power in the past, toxic working environment in the past, copious flashbacks, soft!simon because I love him like that (I guess considered ooc), banter, etc...

A/N: Part 2 will be posted tomorrow after I edit it and the link will be added to this part as well for ease of access. But, anna, that's wild that people post about my work on tiktok, lmfao. I'm so glad I helped you out of that writer's block, though! Enjoy part 1, Love (I did change it around a bit)!

*I do not give others permission to translate and/or re-publish my works on this or any other platform*

You often think of the friends you had when you were six. The neighborhood you grew up in was full of other kids your age, and there was practically a horde of young boys and girls outside at any given moment. Early mornings were ripe for adventures – ears perking up from your pillows at the sound of bird songs and lawnmowers like an instinctual call to cause mischief. Days would run long and nights would end late with games of tag.

It was inevitable, at this point in your life, to not think about where your friends would be now. Were they happy? Starting families and getting married on island resorts; white sand underfoot and a gentle lapping of ocean water? You’d lost contact a long, long, time ago – never bothered to get back in touch, though you know things might be better if you had.

God, you’d never have friends like that again.

Selfless. Genuine. Without competition or a need to stab each other in the back. Friendships built on a childlike innocence that was never meant to stay or grow with the brutal stretch of years. People mature. They harden, sharpen.

They break themselves to fit a mold of what they want to be without even realizing…Or maybe that was just how you grew up.

Your feet pound against the cobblestone streets of Bergamo, Italy, as you make your way through the packed road of the Upper Old District. Under your chin, your fingers go up to grasp the scarf around your neck and pull the thick navy fabric up farther. Fast eyes flicker over faces as a fake plastered smile splays over your lips, and your jaw holds a tension that seeps into your shoulders.

Keep the act up, you have to remind yourself, fingers heavy at your hips, don’t let the facade slip, or else it’s over before it begins.

At your sides, past the unending sea of loudly speaking humans and loyal animals alike, the broad expanse of ancient architecture calls to the history of this city; red-terracotta roofing, extravagant greenery, and pillars as tall as the buildings themselves. A picturesque land filled with mysteries lost to time, stories never told beyond the scratch of a pen and moth-eaten parchment.

A city now filled with killers.

“Sitrep,” you grunt into the open channel, the earpiece fizzling as it sits in the clutch of your canal. No one answers and, slipping past a family of tourists, you glare at the ground; heart going so fast you feel like it could jump-start a car. “Damnit!”

The seconds draw on and as you pick up the pace, now shoving your way through the crowd, you feel eyes on you. Slithering over your skin like oil.

Not good.

Shit. Karver, where did you go!?

Karver ‘Rigs’ Massarini was an informant – someone who’d been giving you everything that you needed to know about the cell in this area; along with a grouping of eyewitnesses to a stash of ICBMs. A stash that could do some serious damage if they stayed here with the wrong people. Intel suggests that those very missiles were going to be shipped off to Mexico in only a few days, smuggled across the border into United States territory with the intent of doing some pretty awful stuff and framing the US.

If you and Rigs weren’t quick with this, so many innocents would suffer.

You’d already gotten into contact with Mexican Special Forces yourself, warning Alejandro Vargas and Rodolfo Parra of a possible breach and to watch for any unregistered shipments on the docks or coming in from the air.

But now Rigs was missing, and you had a funny feeling you were being trailed.

Back alley. You take a quick right, boots slamming to the ground and heart hammering. Get away from the civvies in case someone decides to go trigger-happy.

This cell was known for being deadly, Mr. Massarini had sent the file over to CIA headquarters before you were shipped out; Laswell had set you on it right away without even taking the time to read it entirely.

“Extremely high Kinetic; I’m giving you full Execute Authority on this, Reaper. We’re running out of time. Find those missiles.”

Torture, kidnappings, mutilations, the list went on for this group and how far they would go to keep secrets. No one had gotten any clear insight as to what their motives were – just that they needed to be put down in exactly the ways they had been doing to others. Ruthlessly, before they grew bigger or spread their influence beyond borders, and created a group that could rival what Al-Qatala had been.

So that was where you came in.

God, you wished Farah and Alex were here with you – at the very least you could rely on them to help, even if you sectioned yourself off from others more than a dying cat. There was a reason you preferred being sent in alone with only your wits.

Mostly because of situations like this.

“Rigs, sitrep. Where are you,” you try again, the close walls shrouding in your shadows. Throwing looks over your shoulders, you take down deep breaths, a growl gradually digging itself a hole in your esophagus. Desperately, you say, “I’m heading back to the safe house ASAP. Wait for me there.”

Your right hand gravitates to your pocket, slipping through the fabric and pushing aside the ripped seam at the bottom. The sheath at your thigh pinches you with every step, but you’ve endured it for years, calluses breeding where the leather had chaffed the flesh to toughness. To an ingrained perfection. Flinching when your fingers bump against the handle, the metal adornments feel cool to the touch despite the sweat dripping down your spine; temperature and nerves leaving your palms sweaty.

None of this was going to plan.

You caress the small Dirk blade strapped to you, and when the first footsteps enter the alleyway behind you, your hand clenched into a loose fist around it. Your eyebrows pull tight with annoyance.

Taking a slow breath as the trailing stranger begins to move faster, you take a corner, halting the second you were out of sight. You nonchalantly turn on your heel and lean into the wall, feeling your body conform to the building and the stone dig into your back.

The material is cold, and as you raise your Dirk up, you flip the blade parallel to your forearm, wrist lax, and fingers still. A slow breath flows from your barely-parted lips.

3 seconds. You don’t blink, only gazing out across the space and noticing the dark shadow gaining ground. 2…1…

Your body jerks forward, free hand snapping out and grasping the fabric of a shirt. Twisting your hips, you plant your feet and wrench the stranger around the corner, breath coming out in a loud snarl. Without a shout, you have the person’s back shoved to the building in an instant, blade held above an Adam’s Apple.

A man, then.

“I’m going to give you one full minute.” Your Italian was only surface level – far better at understanding others than speaking full sentences. But you think whoever this man is comes to a conclusion well enough. “Before I cut you open and watch the life spill from your eyes.”

You don’t recognize this person, his sharp face or dark, sly, eyes, and with a quick assessment of his large stature you figure out he’s the basic definition of a man sent to complete a job. One that would have left you dead if you were anything less than a contracted CIA Agent on a job. You had been trained among the best from your time in the Marines – years on Special Ops forces; taking point. Even if they were the worst times of your life, you still learned a great deal from them, particularly, how to know when to cut your losses.

With one look into his smug face, you know that this stranger would tell you nothing.

Your lips formed a grimace, teeth flashing under flesh at the rod-straight form of the man under you. He was smirking with eyes seeming to be laughing at you. Arrogant. Self-assured.

“You’ll get nothing out of me, Reaper. We are already on your trail.” Your head tilts, a numb huff escaping your throat and pushing the individual's hair back as a breeze would. There was a small pause; tiny shiftings of your feet as your blade digs ever deeper.

A thin trail of blood falls from the placement, and your muscles writhe under the epidermis. There’s no thought behind the laugh that enters the air, that cold, dark, thing that’s more of a bark from a hellhound. It was just a realization that no matter where you went, there could never be anything unique anymore. Everyone was always the same.

“You’ll never get it out of me-”

“Break my bones; rip my flesh, you will never make me talk-”

“If you want to see me beg, you’ll be disappointed-”

There were countless memories you could bring to the precipice of your mind and re-live; moments ingrained into your psyche like a tattoo is to skin. So you can only smile and nod, scarf swishing around your neck. The man looks confused now, if not slightly nervous. That self-assured attitude leaking to the ground. Eyes as dark as obsidian beginning to snap back and forth – looking for a saving grace in the make-up of ancient stone that wasn’t going to come.

You wondered how many people had died in this city throughout history. The stories lost to time. Have these alleys seen war? Famine?

Have they seen murder?

But you are a woman of your word. A minute passes in tense silence, your eyes never leaving his own and ears carefully in tune, twitching like an antenna, to the joyous shouts and laughter just a street over. Here you wait like a rat in a trap, though you like to believe yourself more of the metal Hammer than the unknowing participant in a dance of death and wits.

You tighten your grip on your Dirk, shrugging up at the man. Your face is nonchalant as an understanding smile grows. As simple as a server at a restaurant.

“I believe you.” And you run the knife’s edge across his flesh like a match to a striker before he can scream.

Stepping back, you’re suddenly thankful for the scarf over your sweat-slick neck because as the spray of blood splatters over your nose bridge and forehead, you swipe it away with one of the ends of the thick fabric. You let the body drop, watching large hands snap to the gushing wound like that alone would stop the cold grip of death.

Your mark has been met.

The External Carotid Artery was easy enough to cut, though you had to dig deep for it, and it seemed the man had moved mid-slice. Frowning while the man gasps and gurgles; flails as a fish would, you study your work as you flick the blade clear of blood. Your brows furrow.

“Nicked the Thyroid Cartilage, hm.” Sighing and shaking your head, you sheathe the Dirk and twist on your feet, still intent on making your way back to the hotel safe house and trying to find a lead on Rigs. The slumping of a body reverberates a moment later, a grandiose death rattle, and still, only a street over you hear animated conversations – the bustle of traveling feet, and the sound of the breeze.

You often think about the friends you had when you were six. But, now, instead of being the one who fought off the monsters at the ends of the beds, you had become it. The monster. The boogeyman.

The Reaper.

Oh, what would they think of you now?

You swipe at the blood along your fingertips, seeing the red bleed under your nails with such a numb feeling that it scares you more than anything. Taking down a gathering of saliva that feels more like a slug in your throat, you wonder when you lost the ability to value human life. Of course, the answer was slated in those early years in Special Ops, but you don’t dwell on those times.

In fact, it was better if you never thought of them at all.

Taking a left, you hum a tune under your breath and listen to the birds sing as the blood dries.

—

The meeting room wasn’t even a room, just a vacant air-craft hangar that had been fitted out with two rows of metal fold-out chairs and a projector. Shadows danced over the floor, long streaks of darkness over concrete.

“...I’ll be giving you full Execute Authority – but this mission is completely Black. Host weapons only. No Evac team.” Laswell’s voice echoes off the ceiling, and Ghost’s eyes flow over the projected intel, memorizing the faces and locations with nothing more than a blink of his blue eyes. Fluttering eyelashes caress the hard material of his mask before settling.

Task Force 141 was being sent off on another deployment again, deep into Belarus and near the Russian border.

“Time frame?” The Captain asks, standing a small distance away and leaning against a crate of ammunition. His arms are crossed; jaw is loosely set.

Kate looks at him, above the heads of Gaz and Soap, and nods her head before she comments, “one week.”

Gaz huffs from ahead of the hulking form of Ghost, and the silent man shifts his attention back to the group.

“One week, Kate? No offense, but we don’t even know if the bastard’s in Belarus.”

“‘fraid to get dirty there, Garrick? Ah, we’re good enough for it.” Soap elbows the male at his side, and the masked man releases a puff of breath one row back. The Scot twists in his seat, mohawk tendrils falling over his forehead, and smirks. “C’mon Lt. back me up here. We’ve got this in the bag already.”

“Bit confident, Johnny?” Ghost grunts out, accented voice low and muffled from under the black fabric over his lips. His hips shift over the chair, legs splayed and arms crossed as he reclines back; letting the bulk of his gear weigh heavy. “Just wait until you’ve got us sitting on a pile of dry leads and rotting corpses.”

“Eh, nothin’ we haven’t dealt with before.”

“Focus, you three.” Kate interrupts as Gaz rolls his eyes to himself, fixing his ball cap over his head with a fast flick of his wrist at the antics of the other two. “You’re going to be shipped out at 2000–”

An easily recognizable ringtone starts to play.

Blinking in surprise, Laswell takes a glance at the table that had been long forgotten and spies her phone buzzing over the metal. Her light brown hair, kept securely tied back, swished at the nape of her neck. She wastes no time.

Briskly walking over, the rest of the men in the room watched intently, heads perked up. Ghost couldn’t stop the pique of interest at the strange behavior, though his form remains still, only making a noise under his breath in contemplation. In the hold of his crossed arms, his fingers tighten.

“Not the person I’d imagine keeps her phone on for just anyone…” Gaz makes a slow comment, and John slides up beside him, hands hooking onto the sides of his combat vest. Watching.

“Hm,” their command affirms.

Kate picks up her phone and immediately answers, brows furrowed. She shifts her weight as an inhalation reverberates. The conversation on the other side was too muffled, a small droaning the only signal that someone was on the opposite.

Unconsciously, Ghost straightens in his chair as the rolled-back sleeves of his undershirt leave his black ink tattoos on display. A deep intrigue spilled in his chest but otherwise, he was still focused on the previous instructions for the next Op. This was just another cog in the wheel, perhaps a location change for their safe house, or an accelerated timeline. No matter, they would get it done regardless–

“Reaper?” Laswell speaks, and blue eyes slide to stare at the Captain, whose legs had tensed. “What’s happened–”

The Lieutenant knows something was wrong just by the simple fact that he’d never seen their Station Chief talk on her personal phone with that look on her face before – he’d seen it mirrored on the Captain and he’d clocked it from her just as simply. The wrinkled skin at the side of her eyes, and stiff-set lips peeled back in a frown. She’d always been serious, but the air was different.

Reaper? He runs through the database of his mind and ignores Gaz’s and Johnny’s muttered words and glances.

“Now who do you think that is, then?” Soap grunts out. Ghost doesn’t answer.

Brows furrow.

Sounds familiar, the man can’t help but admit.

“Patch me through. Now.” Kate slips to the computer a few steps away and opens a fresh tab, sorting through files and months of intel as if it mattered just as much as a bug under her heel.

“Kate?” Price prompts. The woman only holds up a finger and keeps the phone in between her shoulder and cheek, hands fast across the keys.

Soon enough, a feed pops up on the projector, and the three previously sitting all rise to their feet in an instant.

An open wound is in the process of being stitched and displays itself over the entire available space, violent red internal flesh puckering over the edges of…Ghost narrows his eyes, unphased.

Was that a fabric needle and thread being used for sutures? Resourceful, he admits.

“Bloody fuckin’ hell.” The manchester man levels thought the blandness of the tone contradicts itself. “Where’s this feed from, Laswell?”

“What the fuck…?” Soap growls out, and the Scot blinks at the screen in shock as the Brit beside him lets off a sound of disgust akin to a sick cat.

“Reaper, sitrep.” Kate doesn’t flinch, rushing off into procedure as steady hands delve back into flesh, blood falling from their fingers like water to splatter to a rundown wooden table. The world-away computer was most likely getting a rain of crimson all over the keys at this rate.

Price grunts under his breath.

“Shit,” a distinctly feminine voice wafts out, a harsh sigh held back, though the annoyed tone was noticed immediately, “can’t a girl stitch herself up in peace? Besides, Watcher-1 answer me this, huh?” The computer is jerked, its screen going staticky as Ghost watches with roving eyes to take in the background when the visibility returns. A bed, nightstand, and sitting by the floor of the front door, copious amounts of weapons. The man takes stock – an M13 assault rifle, X12 handgun, and Arctic .50 sniper rifle. Ammunition lines the floor in a way that leaves Ghost’s lips thinning under the mask.

Someone’s in a hurry. But from what?

“…what goddamn hotel doesn’t have mirrors in it?” Kate’s sigh can be heard a mile away. “No, I’m being serious here, Watcher – how the hell does that happen?”

Watching you take a step back, Ghost as well as the other three all blink in surprise when you come into view. Your top was off, only a sports bra covering your flesh, as your focus stays on the digging needle you send into yourself over and over.

Yet again a feeling of intense familiarity strikes the Brit in the chest. Your soft face, your hair, your voice. It was infuriating.

Who are you? The inability to call forth a memory leaves the fists at his sides gradually clenching under his gloves.

“Reaper.” Seriousness grows in the Agent’s voice, and Price lets out a slow chuckle that leaves Gaz turning to him in confusion.

“Sir?” But the inquiry is ignored.

“Still as stubborn as ever, then, Reap?” Everyone sees your hurried stitches stop, head snapping up as they clock a veiled panic behind the iris’.

Your eyes tell all the story they need, and Ghost’s body freezes as the color evokes a physical twitching of his hand.

“Holy hell,” he utters under his breath so silently no one even realizes he spoke; eyelids pulling back before settling like nothing had even happened.

“You know, you're the first person who’s been nice to me out here.”

“...Then I’d tell you to get better friends, Sergeant. I’m not sticking around.”

“I never said they were my friends, Ghost, and I never expected you to stay, anyways. That’s not how this works.”

“You’re right. It’s not.”

“Bravo-06?” You ask, voice sometimes cutting out over the line. A laugh breaks out, and a small smirk twitches the corners of your lips, “Hey, Old Man, how’s it going over there? Been a while.”

“What have you got yourself into now?” Price asks, chuckling under his breath with a groaned continuation, “and how do you need me to get you out of it?”

The spectral man now watches with a newfound fervency, blue eyes boiling so violently that if anyone had seen, they would have thought he was about to attack. Like a split second of eye contact with a wolf before it rushes. The build of his shoulders was still loose, however, and the only indication of shock was his optics; the mask shrouded all.

But there was a subtle movement of his hips, feet transferring over the floor to stand shoulder-length apart.

“Oh, this,” you point to your injury with a free finger, tying off a knot on the last line of sutures. “Nah, it’s nothing. A couple of assholes tried to get the jump on me a block back, one had a knife on ‘em.” Your hand tosses the needle and thread to the table, a muttered, thunk, sounding off. Looking down at your work with a raised brow, everyone watches. “Took care of it – they gave me a name, too, but with the trail of bodies I left today, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t pan out.”

A pause before you turn your head back up, face now completely serious as you focus on Laswell.

“But we have a bigger problem, Watcher. Rigs is gone; I think my position’s compromised. I’m going black.” Your form leans to the side, and a wrinkled t-shirt is thrown over your head. From your mouth, a stifled groan releases. Ghost blinks in surprise.

The Captain’s lips thin, and he looks at a tight-wound Kate.

“I have a contact in the lower levels, Reaper, meet up with her and she can have you out of the city by tonight. I’ll send over her info.”

“No can do, Watcher.” You sigh, and Ghost simply stares, following your figure as you back up, heading to the X12 and shimmying it into the back of your pants before looking over your shoulder. Kate hums under her breath. “If they’ve got Rigs,” Walking quickly back over to the computer, one of your hands grasps the top of the frame, thumb poking out from the corner. You tilt your head. “I ain't leaving without him right behind me. I’ll be in contact in a month – if I’m not, then I’m dead already.”

Your chuckle strikes a cord through the room and Soap snorts in answer.

“Glass-half-empty kind of person, then?”

“I’d say,” Gaz mutters.

Continuing, you’re about to say something else – lips already partially parted and breath sucked in – before your eyes lock onto Ghost. The atmosphere of the room flips like the page of a book.

You stare at him with what seems to be a million emotions flying past the glossiness of your optics; lids already peeled back and whites showing in a display that showed more than told. The man could only begin to imagine what you were thinking – how long had it been since he’d seen you last? You’d obviously gotten out of your Marines Special Ops unit.

Not quite how I remember you. It wasn’t hard to recall that small branch of the MRR – Marine Raider Regiment – and how they treated you. But that wasn’t any of his business. He’d been there to do a job, and he’d accomplished it. Quite thoroughly, if anyone would have checked the file after it was all over.

Ghost’s life was counted in the sands of an hourglass, small, molecular, bits hitting the bottom one after the other; rarely was that time wasted on pointless squabbles and words but at that moment, he was conflicted.

The Brit had never expected to see you again, and the sand briefly halted when you spoke. Hm.

Yes, he remembered that voice… he’d just never heard you this confident before.

“Ghost.” He watches the emotions on your face settle, and he was thankful for the mask covering his visage because he knows he would have left at least a small twitch of his lips slip. “Long time no see.”

“Mutt.” The Lieutenant nods in a monotone greeting but notices a slight jerk of your shoulders at the name. His eyebrows furrow, but mentions nothing as his pulse slows.

Your neck moves as you swallow, looking to the side as a dark curiosity fills the space in Ghost’s lungs; head nanoscopically tilting to the side like a vulture.

“Nice seeing you, Bravo-06,” You tilt your head toward the Captain before clearing your throat and addressing Laswell. “I’ll be around.”

It wasn’t hard to tell that the title had made you freak, a kind of bad cloud suddenly springing to life above your head.

Seems to bother her more than being in a Hot Zone, Ghost tells himself, the deep well of dark water in his gut still. That didn’t make any sense. He watches your hand slaps over the computer and the feed goes dark in an instant.

The room is more silent than Ghost is.

“Kate, she’ll need our help.” Price shakes his head from side to side; body moving to the front of the room. “I’m not asking.”

The two talk it over as Ghost’s mind trails, head tilting down more towards his chest as his eyelids narrow.

“Hm,” He grunts, arms tensing as his grip shifts. Soap turns around as Gaz goes to join the conversation between the Captain and the agent.

“What? Know ‘er or something, Lt?” The Scot asks, slapping a hand on the taller man’s arm. Ghost eyes lock on the grip before he blinks, looking back up and leveling the Sergeant with a dead stare. Johnny laughs awkwardly and moves his limb back to his side. “Just…didn’t peg you for the type to start relationships.”

The Lieutenant turns down the aisle of chairs and lets out a bland, “negative. Leave it, Sergeant.”

Why did you react badly to the namesake you’d gone by for the entire time you’d been in Special Ops? Mutt was when everyone had called you when he had been around for that short time.

He felt no great concern for you – no hatred or care – you were just another Agent that would probably end up dead like everyone else. Another time, maybe, he’d have gone in a heartbeat, and if the team decided to go after you, he’d follow. A mission was a mission, it wasn’t like it largely mattered.

But there was something in the back of his mind. Intrigue? Yes, perhaps. The blue-eyed Lieutenant wasn’t one to dwell on these types of things, but a colleague was still a colleague.

Whatever the outcome, he’d do his job with all the ruthlessness and tact he always did.

Ghost’s hand goes up to fix the position of his mask and glances at the blank projector stream, eyes boring into it as they darken. A moment later, he was leaning against the ammunition crate that Price had previously been on, arms crossed and ears twitching at the ongoing battle of wills; isolated to himself as his intimidating form towers ever upwards. Spine straight. Bones stiff. Eyes grim.

You’d been nice to him – a person that, for the limited time he’d interacted with, had left an impression that was only just starting to come back full force. Smart and resourceful; not too bad on the eyes.

He takes down a sigh. Stubborn…but undoubtedly loyal.

His thumb brushes your cheek, and you look up at him as if he wasn’t the one in a mask – as if his entire being was laid bare before you. He swipes away the trail of blood with one firm press. The gentleness of your skin is known even through his glove.

“You’ll live, Sergeant.” He utters, teasing in his monotone voice, “now, where the hell are we goin’? Gun’s itchin’ to lay a few out.”

Ghost would have smirked at the way your eyes dilated if he had the ability, but in the end, he brushes past. Because if he hadn’t, you would have seen his own do the same.

‘Reaper,’ he frowns, feeling the ammunition crate dig further into his hip, they never called you that one.

Perhaps the real battle of wills was happening inside of him – not five feet away between his Captain and his Station Chief.

—

You remember every interaction like it was yesterday, and although he might not, you can’t help the memories from flooding as you gather your gear. Stuffing guns into duffel bags and intel into crossbody sacks that weigh you down like boulders.

Fuck, you open the back window and shimmy out into the back streets, knowing that your position is compromised and not waiting any longer to test your luck. Your side burns something awful; horrible stitches peeling back skin as you groan in pain. What the fuck was Ghost doing with Price? I didn’t know they knew each other. And the two other men in the room…eh. Not the problem right now!

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” you pant, swinging your legs out of the window frame and sharply inhaling when a suture tears. “I’m never in the loop.”

In all honesty, you don’t want to be – too complicated. It’s better to just stick around and be told what to do.

Glaring down at the ground with glazed eyes, you only take a breath of hesitation and let off a curse before dropping.

Your knees take the brunt of the force, and the ricochets of landing on cobblestones travel up your ankles and leave your legs shaking. If you weren’t running on adrenaline, you would have come up with a dirty joke to mutter to yourself.

The discomfort can only last so long, you tell yourself, and ignore the spreading liquid on your side, only thinking of Rigs and the mission.

And Ghost.

Gritting your teeth, eyes vulnerable, you turn down the backroad and stay away from others, drowning in memories more deadly than blood. It had been a while since you had thought of it – the lockbox in the back of your mind keeping all under tight watch; guard dogs with metal teeth and chained necks.

But that title; that namesake you’d scrubbed your skin raw over. Mutt and all the others said in cruel breaths. Oh…but Mutt.

Mutt was the worst of them.

Your hands were vibrating, the tremors traveling up your wrists and arms – past elbows and bruised flesh under skin; bloodied nose and quivering lips. Why did they always yell at you? But worse, why did they always make you do the dirty work?

The Captain, everyone just called him Alke, was standing in front of you, berating your accuracy on the last round of target practice. Fortunately, this deep into the Unit itself, you’d found a way to let it go in one ear and out the next, eyes as blank as a starless sky.

You could see the spittle flying from the man’s lips and some even splashes across your cheeks like acid, but there was something artful to the way you didn't react. A culmination of crafted numbness that bleeds like trauma. It was a constant, everlasting, void.

What they were making you into was not what you wanted, but what possible other option was there? Resign? No, this was nearly an unimaginable position to be in at such an age. You deserve to be here. Should you report the blatant unprofessionalism and favoritism in the ranks? And be blacklisted by these people's friends so that you never ascend the line?

Your ears twitch.

“...You’re not sleeping until your marks are perfect – else we’re overthinking your position in this Unit. Can’t have a Mutt in our ranks, can we?” The last sentence is punctuated with a ruffling of your hair almost like a brother would; teasing, but you know that isn’t what it symbolizes. Harsh laughs and mocking remarks from the bystanders. “Least of all one that’s gonna get us killed. Tch.” When you don’t answer, staring off in a daze at his nose in a perfect image of formation, the Captain raises an eyebrow. “Affirmative,” he smirks, “Mutt?”

“Sir!” Your mouth shouts, though the action is more instinctual as your back straightens. He frowns at that, perhaps wanting to torment you more, but huffs and files out, ordering the rest to follow with one last call.

“I expect you to be up for morning drills an hour early. I’ll be checking your shots myself.”

“Sir!”

After everyone’s gone, you blink back to reality. There’s a second of confusion, creases forming in your forehead at the sound of birds and blowing glass. Head turning side to side, your lips thin at the absence of others as if only realizing how spaced out you’d actually been.

Flashing teeth and heated eyes flash through your mind before you blink them away. Signing away the tense nature of your chest, you clear your throat and relax your legs. Your vision slides to the corners of the concrete dugout, snapping past sectioned-off areas for privacy to search if there was someone who might have stayed back.

Not finding anyone, your hands, clenched behind your back, loosen and fall limp to your sides like bags of rock. One weakly goes to swipe at the trail of blood from your nose, wrecking your already wrinkled sleeve with crimson; but soon an identical trail drips off your chin regardless. Licking your lips and tasting copper, you take a shaky breath and nod to yourself.

You knew what shooting all night would bring on – lesions under the firing pad covering your shoulder; deep-rooted pain leading to nerve damage later on. Blisters that leak puss and blood onto your bedsheets. Not to mention the mental strain, the bags under your eyes burn from lack of rest.

Gritting your teeth, you walk over the tossed rifle on the floor and pick it up with shaky fingers, the tips flinching back from the cool metal before encompassing it tightly.

Silently, you get on your stomach and set the weapon in the crook of your already pain-laced shoulder. Your blood splatters the stock.

—

It had been two weeks with no luck in finding Rigs, and you were starting to get paranoid.

Staring at the dead body tied to the wooden chair, you growl and tear your Dirk from the woman’s chest angrily.

There had been increased police patrols from all the corpses you were leaving, so you’d compromised and limited the chance of being caught at the same time.

Bergamo, Italy, was an ancient place, and the underground was what you were now both metaphorically, and physically, exploiting. Sewer systems. Catacombs. You’d lost track of the paths you’d taken a million times over, and had started to hate the constant darkness only kept back by the small hand lamp you’d stolen.

But there were ups to this constant downward slope.

It made interrogations increasingly easier to pull off with multiple feet of stone all around you. The screams don’t meet the surface.

“Catello Tullio,” you mutter, caressing your sensitive side with your free hand and placing your blade on a turned-over piece of rock. The area reeks of blood and gore, a stack of bodies chucked carelessly in the corner beginning to reek something awful; even as you have another to add to the count. It wouldn’t be long before the rats came in droves.

Another given name, another score. But this one was new. Apparently, the title of the one that took Rigs while he was out getting more rations in the market.

You point a finger at the slumped body, “you better hope I don’t find you in hell if you gave me the wrong damn name.”

Grabbing your light, you stalk off down one side of the tunnel back to your camp, dodging drag lines that strike your eyes with their crimson streaks.

The raggedy blanket and gun-sack you’d been using for a pillow take form in the dark, and somewhere in the corridor a rat squeals; feet pitter-pattering until it disappears altogether. You didn’t even want to think of the spiders living down here. Files and notes are strewn along the floor, perfect hiding places for eight-legged monsters.

You couldn’t do anything until nightfall. It was just too risky.

Massaging your side as you bend down, you grimace at the partially healed wound and scoop up your pistol before plopping to the ground with a grunt. With the deadly object held in your lap, you take a moment to breathe and try to push away a growing headache in the back of your skull.

“This has to be one of the worst Ops on record, huh?” your small voice speaks back to you in bouncing waves of echoes as you begin to fiddle over the gun's small grooves and dents. “How did you manage this, Reap?”

Smiling blandly, the overwhelming quiet and nothingness all around you is like a curse. And in those pockets of a void, your mind always trails to him – or at least it had been for your time on the run. Ghost. That dark and brooding mass of horribly bleak humor and…well…you couldn’t call him mean.

Your eyebrows furrow.

He was never mean to me.

There were soft instances where you would question yourself as to if the Brit had possibly had some affection for you. It wasn’t a long shared history of course, but you had sworn that there was something about the way he looked at you…something that you remember so vividly…

You shake your head and stand after a small while, stretching your feet. Placing your pistol in the back of your belt, the weight brings you dull comfort.

Shining your light on the hand-held radio on the ground in passing, you rove back to it after you scan the perimeter. Its black metal mocks you.

No one’s coming to help ‘cept you. One voice says, and another grunts out, get it together, Mutt.

You turn on your heel to go and take a breather to disperse your dark thoughts but only make it three steps before your eyes widen, lips parting in awe. Nearly falling flat over yourself, you whirl around in an instant.

A static enters the air as if the gods above were laughing at you - toying with your fate like it was a rock tossed to the sky. The familiar British drawl causes your chest to tighten, though the sentence is broken and barely understandable.

Someone’s here for me! A smile slashes your face – fierce hope lighting your eyes. You hadn’t wanted anyone to explicitly come for you, but this was a welcome discovery. Someone to talk to!

“--eper…Copy?” Darting like a cat, you move so fast that you stumble over rocks on the way there. “Lead…cafe…red cloth…Out.”

By the time you snatch the small black object, the garbled and firm tone has already shut itself up. Your mouth parts.

“Shit!” You yell, shaking the thing in your hand with an iron grip, hissing like a snake. You look above you at the cracked ceiling of stone and a growled accusation.“I’m too deep…Fuck. Gotta get up there if I want to be able to respond.”

But it hadn’t all been fruitless. Lead. Cafe. Red cloth. You clip the radio to your belt and make sure your shirt covers your weapon; pat your thigh and tell yourself to stop forgetting your Dirk everywhere before setting off in a jog. The light flashes over dead eyes and stiff bodies.

You snatch the blade off of the stone as you pass it, slipping it into your cut pocket and hearing the satisfying clink of it sheathing.

“Let’s just hope I don’t smell too bad…” You say aloud, chuckling, and listening as the sound echoes off the stone. If no other company, you still had the sound of your own voice.

You couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing. But, you were getting side-tracked.

A Cafe with red cloth, then. Not exactly the place you’d go for an intel swap, but if someone had been trying to contact you for more than a week, you’d imagine they were getting desperate at this point.

If I had known…you frown.

Thinking over the multiple blueprints and pictures of the city in your files, you go through your internal cabinet of knowledge for color schemes - not what you’d have thought you’d be using it for, but, oh well. A lead was a lead.

“Golositá!” You laugh, sudden glee on your face as you dodge a pile of large stones; lips peeling back as you take a fast corner. “Gluttony! Of course, that’s the place.”

The bustling business on the upper side of Bergamo with red table cloths as well as red awnings extending into the street. Anyone would be a fool to miss it.

Like blood lining the street.

You force yourself to run faster.

—

You met him last, despite being a Sergeant. The Captain had you up late last night yet again – running the forest trail this time rather than shooting. In the back of your mind, you wondered if it surprised him when you were still up early with the others; from the looks that he was giving you, you just decided that, yes, he was. Or he was just pissed he didn’t have an excuse to get rid of you.

Blinking away fatigue, you keep your stance relaxed as a gargantuan shadow comes to loom ahead of you.

The man everyone had whispered about called himself ‘Ghost’ and, if nothing more, was certainly intimidating. Shoulders wider than a bench, arms as rounded and as strong as boulders; not to mention the tattoos that made him look like he took cross-country motorcycle rides in his spare time. Tan tactical gear and dark patches for the SAS, the red and white British flag. Gloves covered his large hands, straps carried knives on his biceps and thigh. Something akin to a tan cape that was loose around his hidden neck.

But the mask was what really caught your attention; your head tilting with an innocence that no longer lives in you.

Skeletal. Half a visage of a dead and gone intimidation of humanity. Sewn into a hood of black cloth from which only the eye sockets were open…But the eyes there were no different than if the holes had been empty in the first place; as if the person inside was as dead as sun-bleached bone. Was a corpse piloting this suit?

Ice blue. Freezing blue. Harsh. Colder than a grip of a phantom, you thought as you blinked up at him, colder than the nights you would stay awake working yourself to death. You watched this Ghost’s chest move in a steady inhalation and you stuck out a busted-knuckle hand. Foolish, maybe, but there were worse things to be afraid of than a mask. Then of those eyes that made your spine shiver.

But you didn’t look away.

“Pleasure, Sir.” There was a moment of tense silence where your Captain, at Ghost’s side, was frowning at you silently. The man could say nothing as long as this SAS member was here to assist in your next Op overseas. At your sides, your colleagues on the tarmac shuffle on their feet like nervous penguins.

Ghost glances at your hand, and you try not to show how fast your pulse is running when his eyes leave a cold trail as they grace your split knuckles and torn nails. He ends with a slow look at your name patch.

“Sergeant.” He says and slips past without another word. His shoulder brushes against yours, and you inhale smoke and ash; gun-cleaning solvent paired with a canvas tent. Dirt and metallic blood. Snickers bounce off air particles, striking your ears as an embarrassed heat rises to your cheeks, but that scent stays in your nostrils for days.

Your Captain scurries after.

“Erm, forgive, Mutt. She’s a helluva strange woman, that one.” You keep your sneer hidden, a hiss lodged in your throat and a twitching finger. But your anger isn’t directed at the masked beast that stalks away. That yapping bully of a Captain would hold all of it as long as you were here.

At that point, you were sure you’d seen the last of Ghost until the Op – not really getting the feeling he’s a people person so much as a ‘give orders and follow them’ type.

But that was fine by you, it didn’t change anything. You’d been told to go back to the firing range tonight for opening your mouth and ‘making an embarrassment of the Unit’....whatever that meant. All you did was welcome the guy with the barest hint of a good attitude.

You supposed manners were a foreign concept around here.

The world ahead of you was blurring, red circles in your eyes that gloss over with water every minute you force yourself to stay awake. The stars were out, sky dark, and the area was only lit by large lights situated around the base. In some sort of strange way, you enjoyed the sound of crickets and the cold breeze over your bare arms as if the only sense of peace you got was when you were half-passed out, nailing shots from a rifle.

The stock was where it always is, your cheek pressed to the side; staring down the scope at the multiple holes in the paper targets. Dots surrounded by multiple other dots like a slice of cheese. You suppose that made you the hungry mouse in that case.

‘A mouse with a fucking day before she drops.’ You frown, blink, and pull the trigger as the trees rustle. The force lands directly on your shoulder – the kickback is usually not one to bother you, but seeing as your appendage was one bad day away from being dislocated and forever damaged – you took it with a grit of your teeth.

And you took it because you knew you could. Just as you knew that you felt a pair of eyes on the back of your neck. Freezing, you remove your finger from the trigger and loosen your grip. Turning your head to the side, a free hand goes up and shifts the ear mufflers from your head to your neck in a single movement.

You swear your heart jumps to your throat when you see a skeleton’s icy blues numbly watching you; arms crossed while a nice-looking SA-B 50 Marksman Rifle sits against the wall at his side. How…long had he been there? Watching?

“What’re you doing, Sergeant?” Ghost asks sternly, that Manchester accent making him sound harsh. Grating like a rock being run against concrete. “I’m sure your Captain wouldn’t be thrilled at a scene like this, eh?”

Blinking, you remind yourself to breathe before answering – voice tough and hoarse.

“I have my orders, Sir. You’re free to join me.”

You turn back as a grunted huff falls from behind muted cloth. Ghost walks up to your laying form, standing on your left side and picking up the binoculars from the hanging hook in your station. As you look back through your scope you don’t know why, but you hold your breath; waiting for something.

“...Not a bad shot. You’re prone to firing more to the right, judging from the grouping. I’d fix that, less you miss a moving target runnin’ the opposite.” He lowers the object - staring from the side of his eye. From your position, your neck cranes to see his fingers twitch. “Wouldn’t want that, would we?” For someone you’d expected to be quite harsh – though you had no doubt he still was – Ghost was more sarcastic in his mannerisms.

Backhanded comments that wound sting if you got on the other end of them.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Sir.” Shifting your grip, you move the stock farther up your shoulder, feeling an immediate release of tension, though the expansive trauma still leaves needles in your tissue.

“Hm, pay attention and you just might learn something.” You feel yourself quirk a lip for the first time in months; your mouth doesn’t stop to think.

“You mentor a lot of people in the middle of the night, then?”

“Only the ones stupid enough to be awake.” He takes a step back, going to grab his own rifle as his footsteps don’t even make a sound.

‘Quiet for a guy with thighs that could choke me out.’

Your brows furrow at the heated thought, taking a slow breath and flexing your hands as the shadow disappears from over you. Why were your hands sweaty?

Were you…afraid? That…that wasn’t it.

“You’re up too, you know, Sir. Bit hypocritical.” This was the first time you’d had a full conversation with someone since you’d gotten in with this Unit. A mildly pleasant one, at least…you wouldn't really call this bonding.

“I can always leave ya’ to it, Sergeant.” Deadpanning the words, you clear your throat and fall silent at the threat.

‘No,’ you wanted to comment, ‘no, I want the company so badly it hurts.’

You swallow saliva and reposition your ear mufflers back over your head, heart bruising your ribs, as you bring down a calming breath of air to still your nerves.

The two of you don’t speak again, and you don’t ask why he takes the shooting cubby right next to yours, the nose of his rifle peeking out from the concrete wall. You certainly don’t ask why he’s up, either.

And in return, he doesn’t ask you the same.

—

When you find Golositá you’ve managed to sneak through the city unseen, taking every backroad and alley you could as the heat of the day increases to near sweltering. Panting, you stick to the thin shadows of the path across the street, eyes dancing over red cloth and flicking to faces; studying visages as one would a medical report.

Your chest hurts, and you run a hand over your side, feeling the raised skin under your shirt before digging into the aching ribs. All this running around and little food to help keep your normal strength was troublesome, and it would only get worse if this Op from hell continued.

I need new intel. Badly.

About to retreat, not finding anyone you recognize off the bat, a black-shrouded figure kisses the side of your vision as if a phantom.

On the outside table, the farthest removed, a man sits stiffly with an untouched teacup in front of him. Smirking, you can’t help but scoff at the thought of Ghost using the thing – you’d think his thumb and forefinger would break the delicate porcelain in an instant. Like a spine over his thigh.

Your cheeks heat.

He looked almost identical to what you remember – minus the gear, obviously – and your stomach twisted at the thought. Was a simple look enough to bring you to the breaking point? Why were your lungs tight?

As if feeling your stuck eyes, those icy blues shift from people-watching to lock onto yours immediately. As hollow as they always were, it seemed. He blinks and the blonde eyebrows on his sliver of visible forehead move.

Shit. Your hips trade weight. Look at you.

Loose shoulders under a rugged buttoned-down and painted balaclava make your breath go thin, not able to resist sneaking a glance at those tattoos you remember so vividly. Yes, that was still Ghost.

Jesus, is this how it felt to see someone you barely even remembered suddenly appear? Was it elation or caution that was making your heart race?

Ghost doesn’t look surprised. His eyes don’t widen; don’t soften or light up. They blankly watch you as you shake away the shock and raise a brow in return. A sarcastic finger goes to your head, and you mock salute.

What are you doing? You seem to ask, a mischievous expression growing as you start forward when he dismissively narrows his eyes. You look ridiculous. Are you asking to be spotted?

The man leans into the too-small chair he sits in, one hand going to hang off the back and the other resting on the tabletop. Gloved fingers tapping morse in slow measures.

Clear. Come here. He follows you with his gaze, head stationary, as you enter the flow of traffic, smiling at people at your sides and letting off polite greetings when you could. Steadily striding, you weave through groups and individuals like water, legs steady even as your ears pick up every little sound.

A comfortable middle point of visible excitement and strict business. Why were you so…happy?

When you approach Ghost’s table, you slip up beside him with a sly chuckle, pulling out the chair to his right. You, softy, lower yourself down into it, not turning to him but instead simply making sure no one had followed you with a quick scan. His heat only adds to the warmth of the day like a walk through damnation.

“Well, well, well,” you smile, addressing the SAS member with his shadow hanging over you once more; such a heavy thing, though you don’t mind. Your expression mellows to have it above you again. There was a safety to it, you had to admit. The cold comfort of death. “Trip to Italy, Sir? Take a little vacation?”

“Came to bail out a bird from my past,” You smell that scent again – smoke and ash; gun-cleaning solvent paired with a canvas tent. Dirt and metallic blood. “And if I ever went on a vacation, I sure as hell wouldn’t pick this place. ‘Bout to burst into flames; traumatize a few kids and their mums.”

Hadn’t he changed even a little bit?

“Now that’s dark.”

“Never said it wasn’t.”

Of course he hasn’t, you answer your own question, feet shifting and skin pliable, why would he? He isn’t like me – didn’t have to reinvent himself based on atoms and in the wake of silent nights.

There was a piece of you that believed that Ghost had always been this way, though you knew it was false. Nobody in this profession was just born like this, they were led to it. Whoever it was under the mask or balaclava didn’t matter anymore.

They had died a long time ago.

“Not a fan of the history, Brit?” You tease, bringing up a hand to itch at your undereye, finally taking a peak at the form that nearly swallows you.

Your lids try not to peel back, but you didn’t realize how close you’d sat next to Ghost – any closer and you would be in the crook of his arm; the relaxed spread of his knee bumping into yours and arm over the back of your seat. Trying to act nonchalant, you ignore the strange swirling in your gut with a hum and a twitching of your leg.

Stop that.

“Don’t care a smidge, just not a fan of the damn heat.” The gruff man responds with his inked arm on the table flexing, as though he was tenser than he showed. Ghost clears his throat, “needs a good downpour, eh?”

“Try living underground for two weeks. Literally. Sun’ll feel like a blessing.”

“Fuckin’ hell…That’s why the radio wasn’t working, then.” While this was all cute – re-learning each other like a shaken puzzle – there were dangers to being this open. The Brit would be fine, but if you got spotted, well, there would be worse things to worry about than an achy side and a pile of bodies in a tunnel.

“You got something for me, or are we here just to stand out like bullet holes in a forehead?” Feeling his head tilt to you, snaking down your form, your body leans forward, palms sweaty as they lock on the table. “Price with you? The other two I saw on the feed?”

“Negative. Op in Belarus. Sent me in alone.” Your knees brush, delicately; like a touch of down feathers. You refrain from taking in a shallow breath, knowing he’s analyzing every movement with a hidden mouth and gentle huffs of air that rises his sculpted chest. Through a grunted sigh, Ghost tells, “The Old Man insisted. Laswell thought you’d be alright by yourself, regardless,” and falls silent.

What was he doing? Why was he talking with that rasp in his tone? Your heart swells at the comment about Kate, but a confusing feeling settles in your lower body. Why did the air feel thick?

The warmth of the sun was making your skin perspire, leaving a sheen of sweat over your arms. But the thought of heat stroke fled as you became hyper-aware of the man beside you, keeping careful not to touch you, though his gaze still bore into the side of your face like prodding fingers anyways.

He can’t quite figure you out, he admits to himself. So much of you was different – and he couldn’t tell how.

She’s lighter, he tightens his face, not the same as when I left.

But there had been an utter satisfaction when he’d seen you in that alleyway, even if you were different in a million ways, that would never change. Ghost’s body had loosened, his clenched jaw let go, and snappy answers to servers stopped entirely.

Because those were still the same colored eyes that he remembered. He takes a long breath.

Through the haze under your creased skin, a red alarm starts to sound off. Not because of the confusing way you felt the chilled form of Ghost on a near internal level, but because of the hooded individual across the street.

When your eyes lock, they back up three paces and bolt down the adjacent street, vanishing into the crowd. Your expression darkens, and Ghost shifts his attention from your face to the streets.

His eyes blankly follow where you were looking.

“Come on,” you get to your feet, hand snatching at the SAS member's sleeve, dragging him with you as a mother would a toddler. It was ironic – if he resisted, you wouldn’t be able to force him to move, not in a million years, but he slid off his chair with fluid muscles.

He doesn’t question you when he’s brought into an offshoot of the road, vacant of tourists or locals besides a stray cat and a few scavenger birds. Flies jump off garbage cans, buzzing through the air above your heads as you level Ghost with a serious stare.

You nearly stumble over your words when you get to look at those long blonde eyelashes that you remember heatedly, but push through as they move to half-lid his blank eyes. Your heart skips beats as you spare looks up and down the space.

What the fuck is going on with me? Focus. This is serious.

But, Jesus, he should really stop looking at you like that.

“You said you had a lead over the radio – anything on someone called Catello Tullio by chance?” You ask, voice like stone.

“Tullio?” Ghost hums in the back of his throat, all business, hips moving under him as he goes to glance at the street. His balaclava moves as he speaks. “Someone made a mention of it. ‘Fore I put a knife in ‘em, ‘o course.” Nodding, he huffs out, “On me.”

Turning on long legs, he starts to walk farther down the path, and you follow at his side, peering up and eager to gain more intel. “You’ve caused quite a panic around here, Sunshine. Cell’s terrified of the ‘Reaper.’ I’m nearly impressed.”

He briefly flashes an optic to you, heart betraying him as he remains locked on your lips. Rotating his jaw, he turns back forward.

“Oh, my,” smirking slowly, you roll your eyes, “whatever will I do without your approval, great Ghost.”

“Dunno – kick the bucket probably.” Shaking your head in false annoyance, the slow, mocking, stain in the man’s tone leaks into your very DNA; coating it with honey. Like a warm sunrise, you clock a small hitch in his chest and equate it to muted chuckles when you laugh.

“Don’t go placing bets, now. I’m not so easily broken.”

“Oh, wouldn’t think of it, Sweetheart. Wouldn’t be my handiwork if it happened,” his tone goes light, “don’t wanna take credit away from you.”

“Brit.” You spit with fake venom.

“American.” He grumbles back, but you clock the small spark in his iris, cold blue bouncing silver light like snow.

He sounded…entertained? Snide in a sarcastic way.

Your mouth rises in a stupid, dopey, grin as you stare from the side of your vision, chest jumping in easy comedy. What a strange pair you two were, but you find you liked his company even more, this time around.

Or maybe he had changed slightly. Or maybe it was just you.

At the end of the day, you were relieved that it was easy to talk to him. Conversations with corpses are a bit one sided, after all.

Ghost’s lips had to be at least quirked under that dark fabric to achieve mischief like what he was spitting out, you leveled with yourself. At the minimum, the man wasn’t annoyed he’d been forced out of his own primary mission because of you.

You remember he wasn’t averse to cracking jokes – particularly dark ones – but it had…it had never felt like his before.

Strange, you admit with a raised brow and a cocked head, cheeks burning for no apparent reason. You’d gotten him to chuckle? Holy hell, you deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for that. I’d think he would be pretty pissed about being sent here. He’s never been one to fuck around.

You both continue in easy silence until you decide to speak once more, intent on asking where you were being led.

Ghost’s head had perked up in what you assumed to be soldier-like attention, but then his head had whipped behind the two of you. Oblivious to his shift in mood, like a dark cloud, you open your mouth.

“Well, where are we–”

“--Get down!” Hands slap on the back of your arm and jerk you to the opposite wall as a loud echo rings out. Whizzing over your head so close that you feel the breeze of it.

Gasping, the air is expelled from your lungs in one fell swoop; your spine grating over the rough stone as your legs scramble to keep upright. Wiping away the shock quicker than an eraser over a whiteboard, your neck snaps to the problem; brain already hardwired to get over being shot at and the adrenaline that floods your veins immediately after.

Across the way, Ghost’s fast hand was reaching to the back of his outfit – without a doubt going to grab a concealed weapon. Eyes fiery and arms tight. And as though you were seeing it happen in slow motion, you lock onto the hostile in the middle of the alley back the way you both came. And then onto the hooded silhouette ahead of you.

Boxed in.

Hyperfocused, all of it happens in only three seconds, two trained professionals protecting each other without even realizing it.

One, you realize how this will have to play out if you don’t act immediately. You don’t know how you can trust Ghost to take the other hostile while you focus on the one ahead, but you don’t question it. Two, your gun lays heavy in your hand as your legs pivot. Three, you fire double shots with a loose finger and hear mirrored gunfire from the man beside you.

You don’t bother watching him drop.

Snapping your head backward with a rageful expression to see Ghost’s corpse hit the floor with a cracking of a skull, shouts start to ring over the city. When you lower your weapon, you turn to notice the Birt examining your own downed hostile with a satisfied stare. If you hadn’t had his back, he would have been shot in it.

But what you didn’t know was that he was thinking the same thing about you.

Turning to stare at each other, your widened eyes lock; fingers twitching along the cool X12’s metal as those stormy iris’ only seem to darken further when they dart to your lips. Like staring into a wild animal’s gaze and pretending you’re not in a trance because of it – stuck in that moment of infinity and nothingness with not a single muscle moving. Waiting for either a mouthful of fangs around your supple neck or for the beast to turn away with grace and practiced steps.

You swore Ghost’s mouth parted under that damned balaclava, but whatever he was going to say was lost when the world came back in a violent storm of screams. Panicking, you gape at the entrance – seeing multiple shadows shoving through the crowd to get to you.

“On me!” Keeping your pistol in one hand, you bolt, hearing heavy footsteps pounding behind you as your mind begins to run.

Ghost trails without a single doubt in his mind as to why he’s following you, and it makes him cautious.

Catacombs, you decide, get under the city and backtrack to the outskirts. Survey and have Ghost tell me his intel before making a move…yeah!

“Where are we headin'?!” Ghost shouts, keeping right your heels as you turn corners. Gunshots ring over your heads as you jump up small groupings of tile steps, blood pounding in your ears. You try to remember the maps you had stored in your files underground. Left…no, two rights. Shit! I need to be higher – see the streets like a bird would! “Reaper?!”

“Do you trust me?!” You call over your shoulder, and though it seems deranged, a smile forms over your lips. “I’ll need an answer in the next few minutes, yeah? I’m on a time crunch!”

“What are you on, Girl?” The adrenaline speaks to you, propelling your legs faster and faster. You vault over a fallen trash bin and take the shock to your ankles as it travels to your thighs. Snickering, you feel the brooding man’s presence like you always could – just beside you like a loyal hound. His focus excites you as you put your gun away in the small of your back. “Bloody hell! Not giving me a choice?”

“Not if you don’t want to get shot in the ass!” Taking one more right, you find yourself rapidly approaching a dead end, tall walls, a balcony, and a large dumpster – the flap already closed overtop. Not answering the man as he barks out a comment, you throw yourself atop it with a puff of breath and spasming lungs.

Laughing, your hands don’t falter. Reaching up with eager fingers, you grab at the black metal front of the balcony a small distance above and suck down a hot breath. Your arms strain, sickly sweet sweat on the top of your lip, and eyes wide with glee despite the gaining footfalls rising like a battlefield cry. Jerking your body up with only your upper-body strength, you slide your abdomen over the railing with barely a second passing. Once your feet are firmly on someone's property, you twist around and slap your hands to the metal with a twinkle in your vision; face wrinkled with all the animated amusement.

A wide grin is stuck on you.

Ghost stares up with slightly widened eyes from the ground, arms poised on the garbage bin.

Oh, hell, when she smiles like that…

“But I can’t judge, can I?” Teasing, you extend a helping grip with a smirk. “Everyone has their fetishes, hm, Ghost? Maybe yours is just having a gun pointed at you.”

He blinks at that, but knowing the urgency in the back of your throat, he pushes himself up with a grunt. You try not to watch his muscles strain, but spy the way the veins in his forearms grow larger as his alluring hips flex. They situate themselves under him as he crunches before straightening in an instant.

Fuck, don’t drool, you scold, lips lightly parted like seven devils were flying in the back of your mind. Jesus, imagine the weight those things can carry…shit. Wouldn’t mind losing my virginity to that.

A leather-coated hand slaps into your awaiting one. You snap back to a screaming reality and stare down into hypnotic sheens of ice and…wait…did Ghost have fucking green flecks near his pupils?

“You sure it isn’t yours, Sunshine?” He harshly comments, and his balaclava moves with a rising of his eyebrow.

Clearing your throat, you murmur a weak reply as your face begins to feel like a blazing fire, squeezing his limb before pulling. He chuffs. Grunting violently, you know he does most of the work in helping himself up, though the Brit still slaps your shoulder in comradery when he’s stable. Kneeling down, he forces himself into the wall behind the two of you, fingers weaving to create a cuff over his knee.

Tossing his head up, he motions with urgency.

“C’mon. Be quick ‘bout it.”

Catching one foot in the basin of his clutch, you force down your illicit thoughts about Ghost and jump, pushing off with your opposite leg on his shoulder and his added boost. Scaling the wall, you arch and scramble - with a growing bite in your side – to the terracotta-shingle roof.

Following after and checking your six, the beast of a man joins just in time.

Shadows dart around the corner far on the ground, and the both of you are speeding animals over the rooftops in the meantime. Against better judgment, boots pounding the tiles, you release loud bouts of genuine laughter.

How long had it been since you’d had such fun? Enjoyed someone else's company like this? Running across homes, you look at your side, only to find Ghost’s eyes already digging into you. Unrelenting. Unmovable. Panting, you smile brightly, giggles making your sides hurt something awful but your pace doesn't slow for an instant.

All it took was a glance at the streets – you know where you are now.

“Enjoying yourself, Reaper?” He asks, arms pumping and barely winded, and you wonder for a moment how he breathes under that covering of his – it had to smell horrible by the end of the day.

“For…the first time in ages, Ghost.” He chuckles at that, and it is a betrayal of his nature. How could someone so violent, so cloaked in oceans of blood, produce such a soft sound? A genuine sound that makes your stomach flip?

His bewitched eyes rove back in front of him, and he can’t deny the simplicity of speaking to you. It wasn’t a chore, just a conversation with a person who he wouldn’t mind having on 141 at his side.

There were few people worthy of that.

You swallow thickly and take point, leading the shadow of death to your home underground so you can re-evaluate.

You can only wonder why you don’t feel nervous as he watches over you, skin marked with horrors but his hand had fit so well in your own. And you also wonder how you can come to care for someone you haven’t seen in ages so quickly, as if you’d both been around each other for years.

Had you really ever forgotten him? Or just tried to push the affection, both emotional and physical, for him out? But that was the problem, you tell yourself with a clenched jaw, that physical attraction. All of that was just…tied into a million knots. Complicated.

You’d never had sex before.

And, Ghost questioned himself as he watched your legs move, did he forget you out of necessity? Because those eyes of yours won’t leave him alone, and he so very much enjoyed looming over you.

He sighs heavily and follows in silence.

—

When you first joined them, they all created rumors. This was long before you were permitted solo Ops, long before half of your file was filled and bleeding with black ink that would shame a warlord. When everyone just thought you were signed up because you were some unhinged kid, brimming with unchecked problems and willing to throw everything away just for the chance to prove yourself. Who got into it for kicks.

They would say you enjoyed it, killing. Reveled in it, really. That it got you off when you were covered in blood and crimson guts as they pooled at your feet.

You suppose that was what turned you away from sex in general – those heavy comments said with no remorse that stuck with you. It was fear almost, a genuine twisting of your mind to make it your fault. It wasn’t your fault, you knew that; you could sleep with anyone you wanted and the comments weren’t a brand on your skin.

You could forget about it. You should.

But the words were so mean. Just cruel for the sense of being cruel. And it stuck with you.

If that was all anyone would see, why try and force them to look away? You kept to yourself, never spoke unless spoken to, and shoved all of it down like a kill switch. No sex, no relationships. Nothing to make you think about the rumors.

Getting off on death? You were horrified at the concept, horrified that people would play around like that with you – with your life!

You just ended up telling yourself you wouldn’t feel it until it hurt too bad. In a way, you were right…but you can only force emotions down for a while until they break forward like a fist to the mouth.

Besides Mutt, they had many names for you – titles and backhanded monikers. Rabid. Demon. Devil. Monster. Sometimes, beast.

But they all had the same meaning. Inhuman. Wrong.

It shouldn’t have bothered you that much. It…It shouldn’t have made you stay up at night still thinking about the way they would laugh and pinch your arms as you were left shaking; drowning in gore not your own because they sent you into the heart of the Hot Zone for a few jokes. Teasing you about how you probably touched yourself because of it.

But it was just an excuse to make you too scared to leave. Your reputation…

“There’s that Devil for ya’, always ready to slit some more throats for us. You think you could do the next few, Mutt? You’ll love it, I know you will. I’ll give you a good report if you do it without alerting the guards – see there… ‘Course you will. Fucking freak.”

Your eyes stare forward blankly, Dirk leaving a dotted fluid trail over the dusty ground.

Why did they do this to you?

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synergysilhouette · 11 months ago

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Everyone keeps talking about "traditional villains," but in retrospect, I wish Disney had gone in a different direction for the Revival Era. Hear me out...

King Magnifico's failed characterization and poor writing in "Wish" really bummed me out. I was looking forward to a complex villain who was kinda right. I was hoping it could usher in a new age of Disney villains who were more grey than black and white, who made the characer grow as a person because they challenged their perspective. But then I realized that the opportunity existed in earlier revival-era villains:

Dr. Facilier is a villain first and foremost, though thinking back on it, I do think he is kinda proto-Magnifico, granting people's wishes, only for them to find that what they wanted isn't what they expected. I do wish he tied a bit of truth in with his scams, mentioning (similar to Magnifico) how people's dreams are very difficult to achieve--especially in the post-WWI American South, particularly POC. Naveen is generally assumed to be a POC himself, so he could juxtapose this viewpoint as someone who's never really had to experience such hardships. Dr. Facilier could still be 100% villainous, but further emphasis on dreams, wishes, and hard work would be part of his character. However, this is the reverse of "Wish"; Tiana has already worked hard, but she's lost a lot of her innocence and light-heartedness trying to achieve it, thus causing her to reevaluate how important love is and how she may not have realized it, being more practical about her dreams. It all starts with a wish.

Mother Gothel was already right; the world can be dark and cruel, and will destroy any light it finds. However, similar to Magnifico, since she's completely evil, the protagonist she goes against doesn't really change to understand what she's saying. Rapunzel doesn't see the world as dark or dangerous anymore; it's the opposite, thanks to her experiences. Because of this, I do wish Rapunzel did have a bit more negative experiences independent of Gothel to prove Gothel's point rather than it being "hey, she's just saying that because she's the villain." Maybe Rapunzel tries healing someone and people start lusting after her hair.

Hans is DEFINITELY a missed opportunity. He was the anti-Anna; isolated and alone, and he became bitter and cruel because of it. It's mentioned that the deleted song "More than Just the Spare" was removed because it made Anna too much like Hans. I don't think that, and if anything, it furthers my point: Hans gave up on his brothers, who he felt overlooked by and pestered by (he doesn't even mention his parents). Maybe give Hans less brothers and feature them a little in the movie so we can see how they interact with Hans and how it's a "what could be" for Anna and Elsa. His evil character is exactly what Anna is trying to avoid, but she understands how he became this way rather than it simply being for shock value.

Yokai was a great villain to me, but the reveal happened too late. I'd have loved seeing a more thorough exploration of his character and parallels to Hiro (which were done great in the film; I just wish it was expanded on). Highlight how people quickly forget about the dead and don't always learn from history, how there's this cycle of loss and hatred that you have to break.

Bellweather was on a power trip, but I do wish she had a storyline similar to Judy and Nick, since--in an interesting twist--they come off as more interesting and complex than the villain. She doesn't really say what made her act like this, and comments that "fear always works." I wish we got more of that, especially to play the two sides card; Zootopia is mainly predator-phobic, and challenges to this, ie predators playing down predator-related crimes in order to get people to look past their identity (and the fact that many predators are in positions of power) may have caused Bellweather's abuse by predators to be overlooked, causing her to want them all gone.

Te Ka is interesting. Despite "Moana" being a great film, I do feel like Te Ka and Maui's storyline was underutilized. It's revealed Maui stole Te Ka's heart for humans, but from what we see, Moana lives in this ideal community where their heritage, culture, and nature is loved and respected. Maybe embrace the fact that Tala is the only one who tells the story of the ancestors and how being they became "comfortable" since they were no longer voyagers, being used to the hierarchy and their stagnant society. Highlighting some humans' selfish natures would've been nice rather than Maui just telling us about it, with Te Ka being a metaphor for the destruction and disregard for nature and love.

Namaari is such a missed opportunity. Despite caring about her community, she comes off as more villainous than an antihero since she doesn't show any sympathy or care for Raya--in fact, she seems rather smug about hurting her. By making her a villain burdened by expectations and love for Fang while slowly being redeemed would've been better to me, shifting her POV slowly, making Raya angry with Namaari but understanding her motives. Having some regret about her choices--even if she believed they were the right ones--would've gone a long way for Namaari's characterization.

Magnifico...well, you already know he could've been one of Disney's most complex villains. Horrifying backstory and powers that are the result of hardwork left him with a jaded view on wish granting. He wants to help others, but has MANY reservations about it.

This is just my POV, of course; some of you may disagree (or feel like the aforementioned villains already achieved what I ask for), but I do hope future Disney villains have that "they're kinda right, even if they're wrong" characterization. It'd be a nice new era as the successor to traditional villains and twist villains--though just like twist villains, this trope requires VERY good writing.

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discordsmuse · 1 year ago

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Discordsmuse Masterlist

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Hello friends! Finally putting together a masterlist to make it easier for you guys to find all my fanfics here since I only post to AO3!

These will be organized by fandom and character.

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Baldur's Gate 3

Canon/Canon

Halsin

• The Lady's Embrace, Shadowheart/Abdirak, Mature/18+, SH accept Loviatar's blessing.

dance me to the end of love, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav and Halsin admit to their feelings post-Moonrise and fuck on a balcony.

Silence, NSFW/18+ : Fem!Tav and Halsin fuck in a closet

Do Unto Others, NSFW/18+ : Fem!Tav wants to give Halsin some attention and convinces him to let her be the giver for once.

Enver Gortash

body more than just a flesh, you can sell it for success, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav is invited to dinner with the Archduke and things get a little heated.

i will give you all that you need, NSFW/18+: Sequel to the above, Fem!Tav and Gortash bathe together before Enver gets a little handsy.

gracious men are those who suffer, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav and Enver w/ a free use kink.

legacy with no memory, NSFW/18+: Fem!Durge and Enver Gortash w/a pregnancy kink

I wanna know my god, At least enough to fear Her, NSFW/18+: Fem!Durge and Gortash have a lil bit of hate sex

Gale Dekarios

be my nightfire, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav catches Gale mid-alone time. Feelings and sex ensue.

Abdirak

sanctify you bedsheets with the sweat along your hips, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav is fascinated by Abdirak and nervously asks him to teach her about Loviatar.

Raphael

delightful little detour, NSFW/18+: Canon rewrite for what happens when Fem!Tav tells Raphael he's bad at sex.

Let the Dream Begin, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav/Raphael Phantom of the Opera AU, slowburn

Office Hours, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav/Raphael College AU

she keeps the candle burning, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav/Raphael post-game

Haarlep

Ask prompt, Haarlep/Fem!Tav when Haarlep shows up at camp.

Rolan

i wanna have a home, i wanna share it, NSFW/18+: Fem!Tav and Rolan get together post-saving the tieflings from moonrise.

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Pirates of the Caribbean

Hector Barbossa

The Pirate Lord, NSFW/18+: Barbossa/Reader post-Elizabeth being kinged.

All That Glitters, NSFW/18+: Longform Barbossa/Reader canon rewrite pre-CotBP

Liar's Bet, NSFW/18+: Longform Barbossa/Reader canon rewrite during CotBP and DMC

feel the edges start to burn, NSFW/18+: Barbossa/Reader where reader is friends w/Carina

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Harry Potter

Severus Snape

isn't it lovely (all alone), NSFW/18+: Snape/Reader closet sex

no death in rebirth, NSFW/18+: Snape/Reader longform amnesia oneshot

Brought to Life, NSFW/18+: Snape/Reader marauder's era classmates to lovers lol

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Dead by Daylight

Canon/Canon

Contention, NSFW/18+: Ace/Meg against a tree hatesex

Breaking Point, NSFW/18+: Megmillan first time

It's Alright, Teen/16+: The survivors and killers recover post-entity

Anna/The Huntress

Not so much taming as growing accustomed, Mature/16+, Huntress/Reader friendship to lovers

Herman Carter/The Doctor

Untethered, NSFW/18+, The Doctor/Reader where reader annoying him but in the fun, bratty way

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Resident Evil Village

Karl Heisenberg

Business Partners with Benefits, NSFW/18+: Heisenberg/Reader where reader is Moreau's niece

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Spider Man

Dr. Otto Octavius/Doc Ock

Working Overtime, NSFW/18+: Otto/Reader where reader is his lab assistant

Bedside Manner, NSFW/18+: Otto/Reader where reader is Doc Ock's lover

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Labyrinth

Jareth the Goblin King

Midsummer, NSFW/18+: Jareth/Reader at the midsummer fae ball

don't leave me lonely, NSFW/18+: Jareth/Reader sequel to Midsummer

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The band Ghost

Papa Emeritus IV/Cardinal Copia

Better Than, NSFW/18+: Copia/Reader where he's a little insecure about Terzo being better than him

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Dracula

Dracula (lol)

Nice Costume, NSFW/18+: Dracula/Reader in a modern setting at a party

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Our Flag Means Death

Israel Hands

we do get desperate, now and again, Mature/16+: Fem!Reader/Izzy hurt/comfort unrequited love.

i wanna be yours, Mature/18+: Fem!Reader/Izzy first time together

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The Quarry (2022)

Travis Hackett/Laura Kearney

• fell in love with the fever, Explicit/18+: Travis and Laura are forced to spend some time together 6 months after the incident.

• perspiration and alcohol, Explicit/18+: Travis and Laura meet again and become gym buddies. Laura pushes the line as per.

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DC Comics

• to fear the solitary, Mature/18+ themes, Doctor Johnathan Crane flirts with his favorite intern.

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This list will grow/change as I write more :D Thanks for reading!

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mcrcki · 2 months ago

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back at it again with a massive combination plotting / starter call !!! very excited to throw characters into this fantasy medieval nightmare time we created. i just love this vibe so much and i can't wait to see how everyone interprets things and makes their own spin on things -- anyways before i keep rambling , quick housekeeping for my call + threads ; please like for plotting, and reply for starters. each character will be capped at FOUR THREADS, and THREE PER WRITER. i may adjust this depending on out of fandom requests and plotted starters. if you do not plot with me and just request, i'll dm you just for quick ideas. you gotta specify who you want starters from or i'm deadass ignoring you xoxo. ** please know that i am taking this opportunity to clear out a ton of threads throughout the week. so i'll be dropping things as time goes on and then when the event starts, i'll be dropping anything left over and starting fresh for post event! (lowkey going on my honeymoon right when this ends so i wont be around for post event stuff until after anyways, hence the big cleanout) but because i ramble, we're gonna stfu now and finally get to character plots !!

alani desilijic tiure | star wars - 1 / 4

she/they pronouns - alani believes dc has always been in this time period since she arrived here, and they work for their father still as a mercenary and helping to slowly infiltrate into higher society. higher risk, higher reward! ➳ potential plots ; clients, nobles she tricks, people she can employ

starters ; jester lavorre ( cassie )

charlie morningstar | hazbin hotel - 3 / 4

she/her pronouns - charlie also believes dc has always been like this since she got into the city from hell, and has fallen in line as whatever role the city deemed her to fill, which was a visiting princess from a neighboring kingdom. she's brought her court with her, as she's traveled here with her father. ➳ potential plots ; members of her court, friends within the castle, people she can help, someone to take her out into the world

starters : angel dust ( sunny ) , sir pentious ( britt ) , vaggie ( risa )

daniela dimitrescu | resident evil : village - 2 / 4

they/she pronouns - a harlot, deadass. she knows dc hasn't always been like this, and they think it's weird as hell, but they aren't going to question it too much. they're kinda having fun being a harlot and luring manthings to their death because ya know, a girl's gotta eat. ➳ potential plots ; people she can lure to eat, people they can menace, if you wanna be a harlot they can help ig

starters : evelyn serpeni ( anna ) , heidi volturi ( swan )

danika fendyr | crescent city - 3 / 4

she/they pronouns - knows dc is different, girl had a fucking gun like three hours ago and was on the phone texting bryce stupid ass memes, and now?? what?? the plague is an actual real problem and not just a joke they can say when they're too hung over? has found some work taking up bounties/monster hunting to keep supernaturals in line while they sort this out ➳ potential plots ; other people who know this isn't right, supernaturals she can track down, people with bounties, a drinking buddy

starters : jennifer check ( anna ) , zhao yunlan ( ollie ), baxian argos ( kasey )

elain archeron-vanserra | a court of thorns and roses - 2 / 4

she/her pronouns - elain is aware that something changed washington, but honestly, she's not really complaining. this is at least slightly closer to her normal life than modern dc was and she's alright with that. she's the sister of a noble lady, so she has just fallen into that world alongside her family. happy to still be doing her gardening and baking her spare time, but is definitely trying to help in some political capacity where she can. ➳ potential plots ; other nobles, friends within the court, anyone who knows anything about being a seer (pls girl is struggling with that)

starters ; satine kryze ( alex ), didyme volturi ( mario )

juliette monrose benoit | the vampire diaries - 0 / 4

she/her pronouns - juliette has no idea washington has ever been different, when she arrived here nearly a year ago, it's always been this time period.. hasn't it? she's an innkeeper, and is just happy to offer a helping hand if anyone needs it. ➳ potential plots ; patrons of the inn, maybe a tax collector she owes money to, someone to help her with her son during the day

kaya dura | star wars - 2 / 4

they/she pronouns - a knight. did we expect any fucking less? girl got dropped here from space and immediately traded lightsabers for swords. they have no idea that dc has been modern before, and is just assuming this is how it's always been. they're happy though, they have no problem just falling in line with the castle guards and protecting people ➳ potential plots ; other members of the guard, a noble they're assigned to protect, some protestor/criminal they can arrest, people they have arrested

starters : kaul hilo ( ollie ) , astrid hofferson ( cassie )

leia organa | star wars - 3 / 4

she/her pronouns - queen organa at your service. keeping life simple and having the presidency just shift to the royal family. leia does not things are different, she very much remembers modern dc, and would like to know how the magic there was able to accomplish this. but she grew up as royalty, this isn't a hard position for her to fill. if anything, it feels more natural than president. ➳ potential plots ; members of the court, other advisors, anyone else who knows something is wrong, citizens she can help, a failed assassination attempt (i don't want her dying i just like drama)

starters ; sheev/ahsoka ( kasey ) , xenia solo ( dee ) , han solo ( mario )

marley bishop | the vampire diaries - 4 / 4

she/they pronouns - local bog witch coming at you. marley is very much aware that things are not right, and thinks it's total bullshit. she just got used to modern dc and cellphones and now you're throwing her into fucking medieval times? she is taunting people to try and burn her at the stake because it's funny and this has to be some fucked up trip, right? ➳ potential plots ; others who think this is a fucked up trip or something, someone they actually convince they're some evil witch, someone who tries to get them to help them with magic, general menaces to society

starters ; dani bishop ( risa ) , mason bishop ( moon ) , quigley quagmire ( cap ) , flora bishop ( mario )

morrigan | a court of thorns and roses - 0 / 4

she/her pronouns - mor is completely unaware, both of her life back home in prythian, and of modern dc. she believes she's always lived here, a visiting lady of another nobles court, living within the castles court for years, rising in status with her ability to determine who is telling the truth and who is lying about their rumors and other gossip surrounding the court. ➳ potential plots ; people she's exposed, friends within the court, friends outside of royalty, someone to help her get her memories of home back, someone who hires her to spy for information

omega | star wars : the bad batch - 3 / 4

she/they pronouns - omega is also completely unaware of their life before dc, and they believe they've always been in this version of washington. they were an orphan here, until they were taken in by feyre, and has lived as a noble since. though, they still cling to some of those past tendencies, sneaking out and committing petty thievery, while occasionally taking on bounties under a different name ➳ potential plots ; their personal guard they escape from, someone who catches them stealing, bounties they've collected, friends within noble society that know about their other "hobbies"

starters : toph beifong ( sunny ), jorah mormont ( alex ) , mouse honrada ( moon )

rosemary winters | resident evil : village - 1 / 4

she/they pronouns - another one !! completely unaware !! rose still doesn't have their actual real life memories, and they also believe dc has always been like this. they're currently studying as an apprentice to an alchemist. has debated becoming a plague doctor but they don't think the outfits look comfortable enough ➳ potential plots ; the alchemist they're the apprentice of, someone to help them get their memories back, maybe other apprentices, friends

starters ; francis barton ( maria )

sella palpatine | star wars - 1 / 4

she/her pronouns - sella has no idea dc was ever different, and has lived in this world since waking up here. it was a strange adjustment at first, but honestly, she likes it enough to not complain. her father is a grand duke, and she follows whatever life he's lined up for her. while also still spending all the time she can be with a certain princess. ➳ potential plots ; friends in the court, her guard, artist friends they can paint with

starters ; serena van der woodsen ( dee )

sophie hatter | howl's moving castle - 2 / 4

she/they pronouns - sophie is aware that something is wrong, and dc has not always been like this, but doesn't know enough about portals and everything to figure out how.. still owns their flower/hat stand, and is happy to keep that for herself and their friends, while also bringing home whatever gossip people are spreading about their husbands castle in the woods. ➳ potential plots ; patrons of their stand/people to buy their hats, people who ask about the hidden castle in the woods, those who claim she's a witch, someone to help with morgan during the day, other employees of the stand

starters ; jesper fahey ( june ) , buttercup utonium ( maria )

sulpicia volturi | twilight - 3 / 4

she/her pronouns - add this to the list of things sulpicia does not like about this city. one moment it was modern, and the next? we're back in time to when she was a damn human? she's on edge, doing her best to hide in plain sight as a noble lady within the court here. ➳ potential plots ; someone who knows their vampire secret (good or bad), friends, the nobles she's in the court of, people they can drink from, perhaps an arranged marriage (she won't follow through with it she's already married but it might be funny)

starters ; phoenix volturi ( atlas ) , lucy westenra ( maria ) , chelsea volturi ( cap )

tatum riley | scream '96 - 4 / 4

she/her pronouns - tatum has no idea dc has been any different from this since waking up in the city, and she's doing her best to just make it through each day without making some comment about her home timeline that will label her as a witch. she's a tavern wench and like.. it's fine, she's fine, she just wishes corsets weren't so uncomfortable. ➳ potential plots ; patrons of the tavern, someone who over hears her talking about home and claims she's a witch, open to an arranged marriage situation

starters ; sanji ( alex ), lott jinrhu ( june ) , billy loomis ( britt ) , kol mikaelson ( moon )

vesta starkos | star wars - 1 / 4

she/they pronouns - vesta thinks dc has always been this way since she arrived, and is kinda loving it. it's so much easier to get people to be afraid of her little freak vibes in this time. she's mainly a thief, but also very much trying to convince people she's a witch just cause she thinks it'd be funny to try and get burned at the stake and then be able to escape :)) ➳ potential plots ; alright who's joining their cult? , people who are intrigued or put off from their awful vibes, someone who catches them stealing

starters ; astrid deetz ( cap )

victoria sutherland | twilight - 1 / 4

she/her pronouns - victoria showing up in dc, seeing the time period is exactly the same as when she was turned : i'm back in the fucking building!!! yeah, even though she's unaware, she also has no idea dc has been any different and man does she hate it. right now she's basically hiding in the woods, but if she can't find food from animals, she is debating just.. being a harlot to lure a meal to her ➳ potential plots ; whoever's getting her her memories back, someone she can drink from, a monster hunter who finds her in the woods

starters ; rosamund du prix ( cassie )

violet sorrengail | fourth wing - 1 / 4

she/her pronouns - violet is currently fully unaware, but once she wakes up here in this timeline of dc, her memories are going to smack right back into her. you can't exactly be a dragon rider and see a dragon and not immediately get vibe checked. she'll know dc is different, and is going to be spending her time trying to find her friends, and also attempt to teach people about dragons before they become ash.. will probably fall back into a scribe roll if she ever finds time for a job. ➳ potential plots ; someone she stops from getting fucking eaten by a dragon, other scribes, people who need help learning how to fight, just anyone confused and needing advice on creatures/procedures here in this time.

starters ; xaden riorson ( kasey )

#hw: plot call #hw: starter call #hwevent18

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uva124 · 6 months ago

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ASHA (MY AU)

Emmmmm how the hell do these types of blogs get started?

This post is just going to be me rambling on about what I want to do with Asha.

So let's get started?

INTRODUCTION: -As I said before I'm still developing this story (damn I don't even have an outline) but I wanted to start this rewrite (or plan it a little) because of something that really frustrates me about Wish, literally in a movie that commemorates 100 YEARS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STUDY OF ANIMATION IN THE WORLD and the topic of art has not been given the importance it deserved, you know? It's like, yes, Asha shows her sketchbook in certain scenes, but then what? It literally seems like it's just for decoration, damn, Disney could have done the same thing as with the Miles Morales sketchbook in Spiderverse, but I'm already getting distracted from the topic, so one of my goals with this was to emphasize how important art can be , and not just the drawing, but all the forms that exist of it.

-So Asha is a little different from previous Disney princesses.

2. HISTORY:

CHILDHOOD: Yup! I'm joining the angst ship, I don't really blame anyone *cough* *cough* Flicker *cough* Bo *COUGH* *COUGH* ANNY *cough*, damn my allergies are getting worse. So Asha at this stage is quite cheerful and positive, basically like Rapunzel, Moana, Anna and this princess trope, however this takes place in the modern world (the movie would be set like in the princess and the frog movie only the world It's a little more modern) Asha discovers her passion for drawing, and as she grows up she wants to dedicate herself to that and is full of a lot of dedication and determination, but what would happen if we corrupted her dreams?

PUBERTY: “It's fine as a hobby…but it won't work Asha”, “Don't you like doing other more…useful things?”, “Come on, you have so much talent, are you really going to waste it on this?” , “Have fun without having a future” “Really this is more important than your other things Asha?” ,Yes, I am adding this, Asha wants to dedicate herself to animation, so Asha at first, like every Disney princess with character, ignores these types of comments, which came from anyone in general, some said it with good intentions and in a calmer mode and others in a more aggressive way (you know, being idiots), but when you receive this type of comments your entire life, it will somehow affect the protagonist, and it will only get worse *Insert evil laugh*

ADOLESCENCE: I didn't mention it but I plan to include Asha's family, or at least at the beginning, she was living with her parents Sakina and Tomas as in the official movie (I'm still debating whether to add Sabino or not), her father gets sick as in the original movie, so Sakina and Asha do their best to help him, then Asha has less and less time to concentrate on practicing drawing and in general her hobbies (I also want to emphasize that here Asha was doubting more and more about drawing as a professional way and started to despise her talent a little bit, not completely but that little seed had already been inserted in her head), her father was her biggest motivation, he was a dreamer like his daughter, her mother was more down to earth but equally supportive of her family, Tomas was always the first to see his daughter's drawings.

So continued the life of our protagonist, studying, working a little and drawing in the little time she had, and in those jobs she met Magnifico and Amaya, I'm still debating how I'm going to write them, but I'm sure I want them to do a scene with Asha that I'll explain later, for now let's continue.

One day Asha's father can't take it anymore and dies…….. all Asha could do was watch her mother running to her room because she really didn't want her daughter to see her in that state.

With that you're probably wondering, “Well, Asha can get a motivation to keep being a dreamer and pursue her dreams to follow her father's legacy rigth? “ Well actually………no, Asha in my Au unfortunately had already endured TOO many comments that referred to her dreams of being an entertainer or artist, even her mother had referred to it in a not so positive way (no, Sakina is a good mother, she's not perfect, but she cares like every mother about her daughter's future) , and without her major support in life, that…..eso ended up deciding that she would just give up on those dreams… or at least until a certain day.

CURRENTS: In the movie Asha is presented as a girl who studies a career that she does not like for the most part, but she says to herself “It's too late to redeem herself, there is no turning back, I just have to continue and everything will be fine, for me and my family”, she also works as an assistant to Magnifico and Amaya, during years of having met them she was getting closer little by little, in fact they knew the protagonist's family for some years but they had distanced themselves, they also “tried” to help with Tomas' illness, but as it was shown before that did not work out, now they gave Asha this job opportunity and she is not going to waste it, since she still has to help her mother.

Let's say that Asha doesn't draw much anymore, she still makes small sketches because, well, when you are really passionate about something you keep doing it despite the adversities, right? Even unconsciously (you're understanding what I'm trying to say, right? ), besides, it's not like she still deep inside has not stopped wanting to fulfill her dream, although she every time says that making drawings will not lead her to anything or just saying “it's a hobby that will not lead me to anything useful or important” is just to have a constant reminder that she might not make it, that it's not worth it, that no matter how much she loves to create and draw, it just doesn't make sense anymore.

Remember I told you about a scene between the villain duo and Asha? well this is what I have in mind:

Asha somehow or another is going to end up asking Magnifico and Amaya for help, which would lead to Asha maybe not working with them anymore or something so she can pursue a small glimmer of hope of fulfilling her dream of being an animator (as I say before, this post is just me rambling), the villain duo simply proceed to manipulate the poor girl by making snide and manipulative comments about her “insignificant goals” and her “wasted talent”, if Asha herself was already quite doubtful about these issues, this just makes her worse, she's lost, she doesn't know what to do, she's afraid of her future, she doesn't want to let her mother down, she doesn't want to end up being a disappointment (maybe I overdo angst, it doesn't matter, it's important for ✨character development✨).

Now a multiversal cosmic thing happens (that I'm still thinking about) but the point is that my Starboy (Haedus) and his 2 protégé/small brothers (Nembus and Naos) arrive, at first Asha is VERY SCARED AND CONFUSED, I mean, this is not possible right, she must be confused from crying so much - I mean this only happens in the movies and fantasy stories she saw as a child right?! (lmao)

At first she doesn't get along with Haedus, not at all, with the little ones at first she is a bit distant, but little by little she starts to develop a great appreciation for them, the little starlets (and then Haedus) throughout the story bring back to Asha that dreamy and positive side of her.

Also Asha is not the type of person who makes derogatory comments when it comes to the goals or dreams of other people and her friends despite having received them all her life, no, she is not that type of person, of course everything she has lived through makes her more sarcastic or pessimistic at times, but she doesn't want someone else to feel like her, she doesn't want anyone to go through what she went through, and this is only reinforced with the arrival of the stars.

I have to mention that Nembus and Naos make Asha remember how she was as a child: cheerful, positive, dreamer, and seeing how the antagonists want to hurt them, how that can destroy the hopes and illusions of the little stars, that just makes her more determined to defend the little ones at all costs.

“They still have dreams, and they can still fulfill them, that's why I won't let others destroy those dreams, not like me.”

3.PERSONALITY:

-Sarcastic -Negative to a certain extent -Empathetic -Indecisive -Calm -Organized

FINAL COMMENTS:

That's all I have for now, I hope I haven't bored you, as I said before, this is all just my rambling, I still don't have an outline or plan for this, anyway, I hope you had a good time reading this, see you next time!✨✨✨

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verdemint · 4 months ago

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So after tony effe x motogp riders, we got another hyper specific italian post, THANKS TO @marquezista who basically was the other evil mastermind behind this, we got

ACADEMY BOYS AND MOTOGP RIDERS as ANNA new album!!!

(this is once again hyper specific coz Anna has become my entire summer yes thanku) (Anna TI AMO)

Starting out strong we have

-enea as INTRO

I mean: “ pesce grosso vengo dalla costa” (“big fish im from the coast”)

IF THIS IS NOT ENEA FROM RIMINI

Also “pink lipgloss mi vesto tutta rossa” ENEA AND HIS CUNTY FUCSIA 23 on that RED BIKE

-luca marini: once again my fav posh blondie is the cuntiest song on the album BIKINI > sono sexy senza bikini, tutti i ragazzi voglion darmi i bacini (im sexy without my bikini, all the academy boys want to kiss me )

“Sai che sono bella come una model yaeh yeah” no explantion needed

“Anche quando sbaglio non imparo” (“even when i make a mistake i never learn”) > luca on honda lol

-diggia as CHICA ITALIANA

NO EXPLANATION JUST VIBESSS, the american dream propaganda for sure got to diggia

-pecco: again pecco in his overconfident era or BADDIE PECCO

"VIENI DALLA BADDIE BADDIE" (I know pecco would rather choke than listen to this but thats the best part!!!)

-bezz: bezz contains multitudes but in the end HELLO KITTY SONO TROPPO KINKY, IL MIO BB NON METTE GLI SKINNY< bezz and his indie boy Calcutta complex would rather die than be with someone with skinny jeans so!

ALSO KINKY BEZZ TRUTH

(other good bezz candidates were: "tonight" for high fattone bezz (sto highhhhhh cit.) and for depre bezz “una tipa come me" (il mio mood va giù poi su, poi giù poi su poi cit.))

hello kitty bezz to me

-franky!: controversial but ABC esp thasup verse mostly for the cannetta vibes (we all know Franky smokes the best weed for sure)

-now we get to WHY THIS ALL THING STARTED: ALEIX AND/OR JORGE MARTIN AS 30°

i don't think ive ever seen aleix (or jorge tbh) wearing clothes on their insta, they’re always naked and SUPER TANNED so A ABBRONZATISSIMA E BELLISSIMA A A OCCHI COME IL MAR CORPO CHE TI FA FARE AHH

Bonus bonus: this album is actually an aleix/jorge fanfiction coz:

“si fa una chain con il mio name sono la best bitch ever” ( he wears a chain with my name on it, im the best bitch ever)

AND

bonus bonus bonus: migno rimasto al 2020 se gli chiedi ANNA ti dice solo BANDO

thank u @marquezista again for ur precious precious knowledge!!! I nostri neuroni si sono fusi insieme

and if someone has any ideas for CELE PLS LET ME KNOW! cele the most difficult baddie :(( is cele the ultimate baddie?

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dear-space-cadet · 2 months ago

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the human fear predictions, song-by-song

i see this album being a follow-up to right thoughts right words right action in a sense. a lot of the songs here started appearing, at least somewhat, in 2016. i think there were plans for a rtrwra follow up that was more 'on-theme' but it got scrapped due to ffs, and then alex got obsessed with disco for a little bit and hired a synthpop twink on guitar. now that we're back to somewhat normal, i think it's time for the post-rtrwra songs to shine. i also see a lot of the ychismb+2005 b-sides motifs happening here already (swallow smile, wine in the afternoon, l. wells, jeremy fraser, ghost in a ditch, walk away, fade together). alex appears to be the primary lyric writer now too so that influences everything you are about to read

overall -- rtrwra without the american southwest influence/rtrwra not produced by todd terje; ychismb+2005 b-sides with less edge and more age

playlist of what i think the general vibes will be

audacious

already out so i will not be doing this one. i personally rate it around a 3/10 for my own tastes

everydaydreamer (4/10)

another "children of the world" "be a good person" chorus

'political' but doesn't take an actual stance (like paper cages or huck and jim)

miaoux miaoux synth riff

really throws off the rest of my predictions but i feel like we ease into the farmhouse truck stop from peepeetown to poopooville shit in the back half

the doctor (6/10)

evil eye spiritual successor

a good song but the imagery will make me uncomfortable or alex will not be singing well so i'll just tune it out (similar to treason animals)

potential itao reference? (buckle up)

hooked (10/10)

THEE banger of the album

i have high hopes for this one

they let dino cook. and cook he will

potential spiritual successor to fabulously lazy. a girl can dream

build it up (5/10)

this is a crowd-pleaser live song and will not be made any better with a studio version

if you like it you like it. it will not be made any better or worse with a studio recording. why is this even on the album

night or day (8/10)

this might be the one where alex 'plays the game' lyrically

spiritual successor to right action. "now how can we leave you to a saturday night or a sunday morning"

alternatively it could be a very "i'm there for you" "be a good person" song and rank around 3/10 but i want to ignore the potential for that. i dont want that to be true

tell me should i stay (5/10)

either a typical alexing with all the usual alexisms or the spiritual successor to bullet

clara feature (they make audrey anna-prior-it-out live)

potentially just a nick/manuela diss track again, which is actually the better outcome

cats (2/10)

just the stupidest shit ever

likely instrumental

either a big band flop OR a julian synth moment (which would bump it to a potential 6/10)

could also be "frogs" from the 2016 LP5 tracklist, but renamed to represent the cat imagery in franz now. if so, very farmhouse, very truck stop instrumental moment. potential 6/10 there too

or alex doing an alex. time will tell. it will suck

i pray for a second steckrube mention but it's unlikely

black eyelashes (8/10)

in my heart this is a fade together/walk away follow-up. maybe an eleanor boots follow up

potential nick mccarthy diss track. they might hit the pentagon here

could also be a clara love track but i doubt it being so obvious after what happened with ms eleanor

i need to love this song sowwyyyy if it sucks it's not my fault

could also be a black tuesday/scarlet and blue revision (bc i see black tuesday as a revision of scarlet and blue already) but that is wishful thinking

bar lonely (9/10)

first seen in 2016 and likely written beforehand (nick + paul influence plus pent-up feelings)

idk if it'll be good, but i do have high hopes bc it's been in the chamber for so long

this could also be the one where they hit the pentagon on nick. likely not but the title gives roasting a guy. this could also be the bullet follow-up but i doubt it if it was written sometime between 2014-2016

the birds (7/10)

spiritual successor to the universe expanded

existential. a bit overdone, but that's whatever

also potential walk away tie-in bc of the alfred hitchcock's the birds post-war tie-ins there

maybe another 'political' yet stanceless song focusing on modern anxiety, like the theme of the birds

ends with birds chirping like fade together

that is all i have for you. feel free to add yours or tell me what you think. i'll come back to this in january

#says the trilobite #franz ferdinand #franz #hope you enjoyed my yap sesh #happy 9/11

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rollercoasterwords · 10 months ago

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I haven't seen many horror films and would like some recommendations. What are some must-watch horror movies for someone new to the genre?

oooh this is such a fun question but so hard 2 answer bc horror is like. such a versatile genre & where u should start depends a lot on like what type of movies u enjoy/what ur looking for….

like if u want sci-fi/alien horror then the obvious place 2 start is w alien (1979) and aliens (1986) (there are other sequels as well but the first 2 are the best) & then also the thing (1982) and its prequel film that came out in 2011 (also titled the thing). AND of course the fly (1986) is a must-see...and if u want something more recent nope (2022) or no one will save you (2023)...both a little more artsy and slow-moving than the 80s recs on this list but very very good <3

if ur interested in slashers then again start w the classics scream (1996) is SO fun it deserves its spot in the horror hall of fame...i know what you did last summer (1997) is also a fun & slightly older slasher; cabin in the woods (2011) is great if u want some meta-slasher-horror; ready or not (2019) isn't necessarily a conventional slasher but i'd still include it in this category & it's one of my faves

if found footage is ur jam PLEASE start w creep (2014) probably my fave found footage horror film ever...but also i'm not a huge found footage fan generally speaking lol. that being said the blair witch project (1999) is of course the classic here but it's not my personal fave; other good options if u want something genuinely freaky/scary are the bay (2012) hell house llc (2015) and gonjiam: haunted asylum (2018)

if u want like possessions & demons etc then. start with jennifer's body (2009) if u want horror-comedy it is SO fun & a staple of the genre atp but if u want something scarier then it follows (2014) is a popular one. there have also been a lot of good possesion movies coming out recently i thought smile (2022) talk to me (2022) and when evil lurks (2023) (<- literally JUST watched this one today lol) were all quite spooky

& sort of possession-adjacent but if ur more into hauntings, ghosts, etc then start w the babadook (2014) or his house (2020) both SO good. also the shining (1980) is a classic & la llorona (2019) is a personal fave of mine (NOT. the u.s. 'curse of la llorona' movie. the guatemalan one.)

if u want witches then start w the craft (1996) another sort of fun one <3 or if u want a classic then hungry wives (1972). the love witch (2016) if u want a visually beautiful & less scary one; the witch (2015) if u want a scarier one.

if u want eerie fantasy-horror then the company of wolves (1984) or tale of tales (2015). if u want a creature feature then blood red sky (2021) for vampires, ginger snaps (2000) for werewolves, and a quiet place (2018) for like post-apocalyptic creature invasion horror.

& SPEAKING of post-apocalyptic. if u want zombies i could make a whole separate post but. START w train to busan (2016) & seoul station (2016) the dynamic duo <3 & then if u want some classics from the genre of course night of the living dead (1968), dawn of the dead (2004...i haven't seen the original one u could watch that one too tho...), and 28 days later (2002). raw (2016) if u want an artsier one, the girl with all the gifts (2016) if u want a fun spin on zombie apocalypse, cargo (2017) if u want 2 cry. & if u want something funny then PLEASE watch zombie for sale (2019) or anna and the apocalypse (2017) or one cut of the dead (2017)

if u want kind of a slower-build psychological thriller then the invitation (2015) is one of my faves, but mother! (2017) is also good if u want an artsy pick & gerald's game (2017) and lyle (2014) are good as well

and then just a grab-bag of horror movies that didn't fit perfectly into any of these categories: barbarian (2022) if u want something really scary, piggy (2022) if u want slow-building horror, midsommar (2019) if u want sunshiney culty a24 aesthetic, us (2019) if u want something that'll freak u out & is slasher-adjacent, get out (2017) if u want slow-build thriller vibes, and teeth (2007) if u want teen-girl horror classic.

bear in mind that many of these films overlap between the categories i've divided them into 4 this answer, as is the nature of horror...if u were asking me 2 just like. force myself 2 choose a top 10 horror movies 2 introduce someone 2 horror w no preference 4 genre or vibe...i think my list would probably be (in no particular order):

alien (1979)

2. the fly (1986)

3. jennifer's body (2009)

4. ginger snaps (2000)

5. train to busan (2016) (<- pains me 2 say bc seoul station is my fave zombie movie of all time but if i had 2 choose just one zombie movie 2 introduce someone 2 the genre it would be this one...beginner zombie movie...)

6. scream (1996)

7. his house (2020)

8. barbarian (2022)

9. creep (2014)

10. us (2019)

#ask #SUCH a fun question 4 me 2 answer <3 #hope u find something u like on this list anon...#movie recs

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frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers · 1 year ago

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Elsa losing her powers & Hans' Redemption + backstory | Theory

Cover created by me

Since Frozen 3 has been announced, it's left us questioning; What more could be told of the sisters' story, especially Elsa's story now that after years of searching she finally found herself as the 5th spirit? But has she really found herself? What would she be without her powers? The very thing that defines her to most. How would the world see her? But most of all how would she see herself if she lost them, even if it was temporarily. Who would this time pull her out of this new found identity crisis and who would she then become and stay as?

[Long post alert]

Elsa's losing her powers

I've seen a few posts going around theorising and wanting Elsa to lose her powers by Ahotohallan being destroyed. And reading them and understanding their perspective, I start to love the idea more and more to be honest because I honestly feel Elsa is mostly loved by the audience for her powers or at least some of the people who know her in - universe see her for her powers but what we really need to see is who she really is without it too. I think that could be quite important to see. How would she continue to look out for her family, her people, her kingdom and her forest?

Frozen 3 has been debatable since its announcement because of Frozen 2's ending, also quite controversial. I personally am always generally excited for more movement in the franchise because I'll always love Frozen no matter what. Frozen will always be in my heart, especially the first movie. But yes I am unfortunately on that "disappointing ending for Frozen 2" boat but I also see that Frozen 3 could potentially fix some of things that have been bugging some of us as well as adding and keeping the things we love. Frozen 2 was originally going to be the last film I think given Jen Lee's words in one of the interviews back then but looks like they changed their minds and might possibly be listening to us and this new director of Frozen 3 could do just that. Jennifer has recently said that there's a strategy to 'more Frozen' and that is that if there's more to tell for the story, then more Frozen will happen. So they can't keep the sisters separated for too long and will expand on the characters growth which is a good thing because it gives them the opportunity to fix the things we don't like and add things we do want to see.

Some people don't quite understand Elsa's fifth spirit role, why she had become something so unclear to understand, and made a decision to live in the forest instead. I from a perspective can understand it. Though the podcast is non canon, it's still something Elsa would do and act in on a situation given as so. The spirits are quite mythical and powerful but can easily be in evil or someone who doesn't understand magic's eye's catch and make them rage, as we do see in the podcast with Disa. But at the same time as looking after the forest, she is also concerned about her own kingdom. My explanation includes spoilers from the Frozen Podcast so skip to the 'Reasons for powerless Elsa' part. Queen Disa lives in Arendelle after a flood encounters her kingdom. Anna with open arms accepts Disa and all her people to her kingdom while Elsa had her doubts on Disa over time with her uncertainty yet knowledge for magic but respects Anna's decision of course. But actually it's just Elsa who misses being Queen having her schedule, knowing what decisions to make, but she's not at all saying Anna's a bad Queen, she just missed the role. Weird shaped machines are found in the forest that cause the spirits to act up and Elsa deals with them with Anna's help. Disa eventually admits she put the machines there because she wanted to help Arendelle. When Anna tells Disa of her confession, Elsa still feels no good about Disa despite her good intentions. The point is that Elsa is mainly in the forest to keep it out of harm's way such as we see. Also because of the fifth spirit being the bridge between Arendelle and Northuldra. If you look at the scene where the sisters reunite you could say that Elsa actually means that the bridge, the fifth spirit is both her and Anna. While Anna looks after Arendelle, Elsa looks after the forest. But I do also wish to see Elsa return back to Arendelle permanently at some point. I'll expand more on Elsa's fifth spirit role in another post but what this has to do with powerless Elsa is you first have to understand what she is with those powers now to understand how she'll be once they go.

Reason for powerless Elsa

Elsa has recently got a lot of hate - well actually I really wouldn't say hate but rather less love than she used to get because looking at the franchise as a whole Elsa takes up some of the spotlight and her growth through her powers is evident throughout. Why not really show her development in the character she really is, by making her understand not what they're worth but what she's worth with and without them. She's first seen looking at her powers as a curse and feeling fear of accepting her powers completely and seeing it as a gift that it actually was in reward to Iduna's act of saving Agnarr, her people's enemy. She's always been the most popular between the sisters too within fans and stood out more in merchandise too partly because of these powers. You'd even see kids dress more as Elsa than Anna. And that in her iconic icy blue gown. But while Elsa lost some love, Anna has gotten more love. Throughout the franchise, we see Anna's growth through optimism through all her ups and downs, especially her deepest darkest moment in Frozen 2, given she thought she lost everyone and everything at that point. It's not easy being head steady and strong in such a situation but she really showed us that we can do it.

And no I'm not saying Anna had more character growth than Elsa or vice versa in any way - please don't get me wrong here. I love the sisters both equally - it's true! I'm saying we need to see the natural side of Elsa. We need to get to know her for who she is without them too. Just like how Anna was more than just the spare (as it goes in a deleted song for Frozen) and a few years later she became Queen because she did truly earn the role through everything she endured in that sequel, the same way I want to see Elsa being more than just her powers. And while you're at it let's give her another big solo, with most or all of it being without her powers showing her athletic abilities and strong determination that is already there and is enough to survive whatever situation goes on. That moment in the dark sea when Elsa faces the very sea that killed her parents was one of my if not number one favourite moments in Frozen 2. We got to see Elsa run and jump and dive and literally fight and tame at the same time, a water horse. Elsa had been wondering her whole life about her powers origin and now that she's so close to not only seeking the truth about that but about the past that could somehow destroy the future of Arendelle too. That determination to set things right, to find out who she is is what I want to see but extract the literal magical side of it.

And as far as the theory of Anna getting powers goes, I personally don't approve of it because I think it sends the wrong message if Anna becomes like Elsa. That would make people prefer one or another even more and create the typical 'whose more powerful' argument etc. Anna already has powers. It's love. Yes love. It may not be a literal thing she can shoot out her Hans like Elsa but like hers, it's in a way a true force of nature. It's the strongest power there and Anna shares that power with everyone. So instead of giving a character powers they should strip Elsa of her powers temporarily to get those who see her for just her powers, to see her as so much more than that.

The effect of losing her powers

Elsa losing her powers would make Elsa be in an identity crisis, thinking she's nothing without them. In Frozen, her identity crisis was about how she was with her powers, feeling too dangerous for this world. But she's grown since then and has come to terms with them so now instead of feeling relieved as she would've in the first movie, she feels anxiety of not being enough to protect this world. Everyone has mostly relied on her because of her magic, so she would fear everyone loving her less or thinking herself as useless without them or something along those lines. (In Frozen 2 we literally see her taking requests from a few of the citizens to make ice sculptures). Elsa then finds herself back to square one; Hiding from everyone, wanting to be alone or hating herself. And I'm not saying everyone, in Arendelle and around, love for her for her magic only but Elsa, losing her powers, would think that but now that she's embraced her powers, with Arendelle and Northuldra now looking onto her as their saviour, protector, warrior etc, it's natural for her to think so. I mean think about it - girl has been with these powers since she was born, they're literally a part of her. She hated them for most of her life ever since she first hit Anna with them, then she sees let's go of holding it back to finally seeing the beauty in them and then starts questioning it's purpose and if she was meant for more as she feels them growing so she starts to search for answers in a place where she meets other creatures similar to her feeling like she's not alone with being the only known magical being as a call comes from the North which leads her to finally finding the birthplace of her powers and finally embracing them but then.. they just go. Just like that. That would totally cause major trauma and grief and stress. She's relied on them for so long. She finally embraced them. Finally found out she was with them. They even saved her life multiple times. They were the very first gift. She thinks she's everything she is because of her powers; in Frozen, she thinks she can only harm with them, feeling like a monster and here she thinks she can only save and protect lives with them, feeling like a saviour/ protector. But through a journey she could have with Anna or even solo one similar to the journey to the North mountain (or rather to her building her ice castle) in Frozen or the journey to Ahotohallan in Frozen 2, she starts to see that she's more than just her powers. She learns to love herself for her true self, with or without them. That would mean she would learn to be less reliant on her powers and more of her natural elements. It's what's inside the heart that really matters. With everything she's been through so far she thinks she's finally found herself, finally embraced her magic, in Frozen 2, but no she really hasn't. I know she's the Fifth Spirit/ the Snow Queen and that's what her powers are of and that's what she is and you would think that would be her final destination of her journey of growth but no - fact is she is more than just her powers and she needs to see this.

How would she lose them?

Some of you might be wondering well, how would Elsa lose her powers? It would mean something bad happens to Ahotohallan. But no not necessarily because Ahotohallan could be the one testing her. It did give her the gift in the first place so it's much capable of taking it back too. But you also wonder, she finally finds who she is, what her role in life is, so how can she live up to it and fulfil her duties without her powers? Remember that these were a gift to her as a reward for Iduna saving Agnarr when they were younger. Let's not forget the most important part of it all that, Iduna saved Agnarr without any powers. From what we saw of her flashbacks, she had a close relationship with the spirits so they helped her in saving Agnarr. So Elsa should look back to that moment and believe she can still save the forest and her kingdom from any kinds of threats without her powers too. The spirits will obviously keep their bond with Elsa, if they're around depending on how Elsa loses her powers but she could too, like her mother, use the spirits' help but not for things that would take away the whole point of this test. That's one option to stripping Elsa's powers temporarily, a test from Ahotohallan to see her courage and determination to protect her kingdom and forest as well as those she loves, too see if she will still keep what she has learnt of the lessons she has learnt from last experiences. Another option could be a punishment from Ahotohallan. Perhaps Elsa takes her magic too far and gets carried away with it leading Ahotohallan to see Elsa being ungrateful. I mean she was originally in the concept set to be the villain if it wasn't for "Let it go"'s huge success and other reasons too. It would be interesting to see if Elsa takes a dark turn in believing whatever it is she's doing wrong is for the good. But I think the first option is more likely if Elsa were to lose her powers because it really pushes her limits and her character growth and shows everyone that she can be just as naturally strong like her sister and can depend on her one natural abilities and skills too.

The physical change

Speaking of Iduna, losing her powers would mean all those physical features of hers that show her powers would go making her go brunette like her mother, just like Anna has strawberry blonde hair similar to their father's and grandfather's. Her clothes would perish given they're mostly created with her own magic and so she'd have to rely on earth material clothes. Her skin would turn warmer from being as pale as the skin gets when one's cold. Her attire colour pall would de - transform from a bright and pale cool colour bright palette to a darker, desaturated one, still in cool colours to separate it from Anna's wardrobe but also to show that she still loves her cool colours. Anna has the greens and reds and warm pinks but I think Elsa will be similar to how she was locked up in her room with the dark pale blues and blacks representing the trauma and identity crisis within. It'll be a parallel to her trauma when being locked up. While her role-found gown is white, her no power attire should black. Then as she starts to understand the point of all this, starts to learn the lesson from this, her costumes start having more colour and perhaps when she's finally found herself it'll be blue and white showing the two parts of herself she found while struggling on a journey with her powers inn Frozen and Frozen 2.

Hans' role and redemption

Okay I know the very mentioned of Hans will blow some peoples heads off thinking “He's just a one time villain and joke” or “He tried to kill Elsa! Anna won't ever forgive him” or “Elsa mocked him in Frozen 2! She won't forgive him either” etc etc. But I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain why Hans deserves redemption and that he wasn't really evil or the real villain of the story, when the lovely @a13thprincefora13thprincess has taken hours out of her time to write the most beautifully written 13 part analysis on who Hans really is. It's incredible. It's what got me to really push on the call to Redeem Hans.

So while she breaks down Hans' true intention, I'm going to try and explain his return for redemption and his pivotal role in Elsa's identify crisis.

I think Hans would be quite important here and have a good parallel with Elsa's crisis here. How and what's his role in it? Well let me briefly explain Hans true intention first. Anna hates Hans, and everyone does too really for almost killing Elsa and attempting to overthrow Elsa's newly royal status as monarchy of Arendelle. But really if we look at the situation closely, the entire council including the Duke were begging Hans to kill her because she couldn't end it the winter herself and because they fear Elsa's powers could harm others. They wouldn't get off his back. Hans wasn't listening at first because in almost all the scenes Hans has encountered Elsa he's tried to convince her to not be what “they” [Citizens and the council] (not him) fear she is and try and stop this winter. But the more he saw Elsa controlling her powers by making a huge ice castle, a snow beast, a new attire, hurting Anna (seemingly intentional to him as by Anna's words), breaking out of the handcuffs and the prison cell and finally the blizzard having a sudden stop the moment he told Elsa Anna's dead, the more he saw that Elsa lied to him about not being able to control her powers which led to him eventually agreeing to kill Elsa seeing as innocent lives were in danger given the blizzard. Before the final straw, being the handcuff and prison break, he was gentle and kind, he never said anything mean about the sisters nor did anything against them til. Hans was stressed and put under pressure given the citizens of Arendelle freezing to death, the council begging him to execute Elsa, Anna going missing for days in freezing weather, begging Elsa to end this winter and Anna being the case of Elsa going rouge and freezing the kingdom by causing as scene at the coronation party. It was really a misunderstanding and his behalf. As I'm sure you've heard a few times in Disney media, villains aren't evil, just misunderstood. But really the council are the real villains of Frozen, not Hans. But then again seeing that kind of magic and the way her powers came out, one would feel scared and think she's some kind of Sorceress.

Hans' "villainy" reveal scene

When the kingdom was thawed, and Hans was surprised to see Anna alive, he said to her he thought Elsa froze her heart. I just want to go back to the scene where Hans "villainy" is revealed because I want to explain as briefly, as I can, how him being stressed was the cause of his bad decisions from that point after. Hans is surprised to see Anna alive, when she came to him for the kiss, because when his horse, who Anna rode to find Elsa, ran back to him he thought Anna didn't survive the cold and died. But Anna tells him Elsa froze his heart which genuinely surprises him because Anna before had told him Elsa would never hurt her and with such powers that Elsa had making everyone fear her, Hans genuinely believed Anna with that being said. What makes Hans think Elsa did this deliberately, is her lack of explanation, her precise words to Hans, who says she said herself Elsa wouldn't hurt her, being “Nope. I was wrong”. From this point Hans starts feeling confused as to what Elsa's intention is and realises that he has to kill Elsa before she hurts anyone else. As for Anna he starts thinking she deserved it because all of this was all Anna's fault because if she didn't create a scene at the coronation party, Elsa wouldn't have ran and accidentally cause the Kingdom to freeze and wouldn't have had the repetitive suggestions to kill Elsa and Anna too wouldn't have been hurt and Arendelle would've kept their respect for him. So it makes sense for Hans to burst under stress in anger on Anna leading him to go mad. Imagine it like this: You are put in charge of a kingdom. You have to make sure the citizens are warm and safe, but have to reason with the 'gone rouge' Queen and have to find the missing Princess all the while the Kingdom gets colder and people start to freeze to death. Stressful right? Not just for a ruler but anyone put in charge would feel the same kind of pressure in a situation like that.

Swapped roles and intended plot holes

Originally, Hans was supposed to be a good guy while Elsa was the Villain. The good and evil roles were swapped around after Disney heard "Let it Go". That's why Hans' villain reveal felt so sudden and was unexpected. And that's why Hans' is alongside Elsa, Aan, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf I'm some of the movie posters. That confirms that what we saw of Hans before this villain reveal was indeed genuine. They also wanted Hans falling for Elsa too, which is why they have that chemistry, that dynamic, those scenes that get us, Hesla fans, to ship them. That's why the plot holes such as how Hans brought Elsa to the castle and how and why he gave her the blanket in the dungeon etc exist. And speaking of those specific plot holes [events from Elsa's ice palace to the dungeon], we can almost say for certain that it was Hans who carried her to and on his horse and gave her the blanket in the dungeon. The chains could be Hans or either or the guards, believing that the chains would hold back Elsa's powers. What I say it was Hans is because why would the Weselton guards carry her when they hate her and follow the order to kill her, and why would her one Arendellian guards carry her when they fear her. Hans is probably the only one who doesn't fear her. He's really just shown doing his responsibility as the one in charge.

So really we, who want Hans redeemed, are just trying to make sense of Hans' character rather than accept that he's all of a sudden a villain when before he revealed it, it wasn't really shown, hence the twist of the movie.

Feeling the guilt

Back to the Frozen's real villains, the Duke's punishment was cutting off all trades with Weselton and Hans' punishment was being sent back home. When the guards send both of them in the boat (separately), the Duke tried to resist and get out of it making excuses but Hans didn't. He didn't even say nor do anything to resist being sent back home and leave Arendelle. It's like he was already feeling the heavy guilt and regret. So why is going home a cruel enough punishment for Hans whether or not Arendelle knew Hans' backstory? But more so what is Hans' backstory? Let's find out.

Hans' backstory and intention

Hans is a prince from the Southern Isles, a neighbouring kingdom to Arendelle. His family consists of both his parents, and 13 older brothers. Being the youngest and least important in a large family would be difficult for anyone, royal or not. He is the youngest of 13 brothers. In the book 'A Frozen heart', it's revealed that Hans' father and brothers excluding the third oldest, Lars, treated him harshly and disrespectfully both emotionally and physically because he was the youngest son and last in line throne and hence to their eyes, useless. To add to it, all of his brothers including Lars, are married excluding Hans making him more vulnerable to his father's and brothers despise for him. His mother however, loves Hans' nonetheless just like any mother would love her son. His father had a saying to him that goes something like “The strong should pick on the weak”, which was his excuse of treating Hans like so. Hans wanted to prove to his father and brothers that they are wrong about him, and in fact is capable of ruling a kingdom, of respect, of love. He had to face it; he's never going to get the throne of his own and feel loved, whether his brothers have offspring or not and as much as he tried he just felt neglected, so he decided to squeeze into a throne somewhere else. Lars was the youngest child for a while so he knows somewhat how Hans is feeling. With his help, Hans found out that he could fit into the throne of Arendelle hearing upon Elsa's coronation. While his brothers and father could care less about where or what Hans' was doing, I'm assuming he told his mother that he was going to Arendelle for the coronation as a guest on behalf of his kingdom.

So when he got to Arendelle, after Anna ran off to find Elsa after the incident and the coronation party, she left him in charge and that led the the kingdom and the council to rely on him and that is what made Hans feel important and feel like this is his chance to prove himself worthy of love and respect by giving the same to the people. But being put in charge of the kingdom also came with pressure of holding the responsibility such as making sure the princess and Queen are safe, making sure the people are looked after, etc. Having sent back home, after attempting to kill Elsa, instead of receiving respect and love from his family he originally thought he would do so by gaining or rather stealing the throne and proving his worthiness of love and attention, he instead will be recieving more despise and disappointment from them along with other punishments of their own too like we see in Frozen Fever. And as he faces punishment he would regret more and more giving in to the council's manipulation to attempt to murder Elsa and most of all for letting the people of Arendelle, who looked up to him and relied on him for care and warmth (metaphorically and literally), down. In fact no; the worst of punishments is his mother's disappointment in him. He let his own respect down from the eyes of everyone down.

Hans' role in Elsa's identity crisis

So now we can finally answer the question, 'How and what's Hans' role in Elsa's identity crisis?'. Given all that said about Hans' intention, a way for him to seek forgiveness would be doing the exact opposite of what he was going to do, which would be saving Elsa's life. He won't have this idea come to mind when going ot seek forgiveness but a situation may arise in which he does do so and rectifies his past mistake. Now many have theorised and hoped for Elsa's powers to disappear temporally leading Elsa to go on an identity crisis, given she's had her whole life with them, fearing them loving them and for them to go would cause chaos within her as I've explained above. If Hans returns for redemption, he would also be finding himself while trying to seek that forgiveness. Hans will never be king and he may not feel himself worthy to be king anyways after what he's done. He's the spare of all the spares. So what his purpose in life? All he can do to start the road to redemption is ask for forgiveness to Elsa and Anna by helping them somehow perhaps..? So while Hans has his identity crisis (his own redemption arc), Elsa begins hers too. Elsa is now just a regular girl and she would think everyone hates but Hans would tell her that no, she's more than just her powers as he knows what it feels like not being important anymore and feeling like you've let people down, losing everything of which you claimed as your identity. They'd share a moment of heart felt talks and understandings but perhaps before this moment he saves her from doing something that would kill her and he saves her knowing he might die instead because saving Elsa without a risk to himself would make Elsa not buy it as he has saved her once, before he trusted to kill her, which would rectify his crime in attempted murder of Elsa. Why would Hans want to die? Well as I just explained on what I believe Hans backstory to be of, and given the outcome the situation in Frozen, Hans' would have to accept that he will never be loved by anyone. So upon trying to see forgiveness from Elsa (and Anna), he doesn't think they'll accept it and just sarafices himself for Elsa because he now knows Anna can't live without her. He knows that they have a stronger sibling bond than he had with his brothers. But when they're both safe, they sit somewhere and have a conversation in the situation they're in, like mini conversation in the dungeon in Frozen, but more impactful and meaningful. It would make Elsa begin to see that there really is more to Hans than just his mistakes and he starts to grow on her. She has no reason to believe he's still after the throne or any kind of power because she's not Queen anymore and doesn't even have her powers but is instead just a regular girl (and Anna is taken anyways). Their interaction could go something like this: “I'm nothing. I'm not the Queen anymore, I don't been have my powers. I'm just.. a regular girl”/ “A regular girl who is a Princess who gave up her crown to someone who you thought deserved it more because you didn't want to take away the attention of being the 5th spirit and Queen from someone who loved so much, she save your life twice. That's a true nobility of a Queen.”. Those wondering how Hans would know what went down in Frozen 2, well, given that Arendelle has made peace with the Southern Isles (as written in a newsletter in the new Arendelle theme park in Japan), the King and Queen would be talking about it and Hans would know from them. If Elsa was still Queen there would be doubts that he is still after the throne or if Elsa has her powers, some might say he wouldn't love her without them or he's trying to study Elsa's magic etc. We know her own family, Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf would love her with or without powers and I'm sure the people of Arendelle and Northulra do but we need someone who would cause some doubts to people in order for Elsa to find herself. So that's why it's so perfect for Hans to come into the picture when Elsa loses her powers temporarily.

Learning from the situation

After she regains her powers, the lesson she would have learnt is that she is more than just her powers. And Hans would be the king to his Queen and gain his respect and love without actually being the king and having respect through being a monarch. And I think it fits in well with the story, making that part of the reason why Elsa gave up the throne to Anna; So that Hans would love her for who she is, with or without her powers, with or without the crown. Some might say Elsa is better off alone but I think not because one, love can happen to anyone even if they're an independent person, and two, I personally find it necessary for Elsa's partner to be one who loves her with or without the crown and her powers and as I just explained Hans is a perfect example of that. Just because Elsa seems alone doesn't mean she's not interested in men or isn't attracted to anyone. I believe she was just focusing on self discovery through her powers and family through Anna. Now that she's found herself and is assuming that Anna is well and about to enter a new life with marriage to Kristoff, it would be a great time to get Elsa to unintentionally explore romantic love. But anyways I think this theory, of Elsa having a love interest whose no longer after status, would fit in well because Anna deserves the crown for everything she is and has done for others with or without the crown and Elsa would be loved with or without her powers and the crown and by someone too. It would fit in with their individual arcs perfectly! Elsa and Hans need unconditional love from each other. Hans' biological family don't give him enough of that and Elsa needs it from someone other than family.

If Hans returns, which I believe is possible with all the hints lately, and if the writers feel like taking Elsa's powers away for some time, in the movie, then there you have it - my theory comes true.

Plus further reasons why Elsa and Hans are soulmates are these; Elsa is a North girl, while Hans is south. Elsa is born in winter and given Hans' hair colour and some people associate him with fire, but imma take that as an Autumn guy.

But alas until the run up to Frozen 3, updates of it, and/ or until we get further Frozen content with its 10th anniversary coming up in just 17 days, we can only keep hoping and joining the dots for more of a possibility.

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