#it's thoroughly outside his realm of imagination

[commanderhorncleaver]

Spill it, Gaius! If you weren't a Legion charr, what do you think you could see yourself doing instead and where?

"I have no idea. I suppose it would depend on when I left..." The old charr stares at you for a long moment.

"I didn't have many talents when I was younger--despite my efforts, I have never been particularly of an engineering mind. Nor am I an especially capable marksman, so I couldn't even hunt. Which leaves me with killing, in one form or another. Monster hunting, mercenary work." Though his muzzle has dipped into a frown, his voice is thoughtful.

"Ah, well, I could have traded pelts--I can make up traps as good as any woodsman. It would be awfully droll, though."

[hxnbi]

⸻ ღ ❝ WHAT IF I... ❞

you pop the question, asking him, “what if i disappeared one day?" to gauge his reaction

ft. hayato suo, yamato endo, choji tomiyama, umemiya hajime, ren kaji, haruka sakura, kyotaro sugishita, jo togame x gn. reader (separate)

ღ HAYATO SUO ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

He tilts his head to the side. "Whatever do you mean by that?" A brief flash of confusion crossed SUO's face before the ever-present smile of his returned.

"I mean, like, what if I just, from out of nowhere, went poof one day? What would you do?" you clarified with a smile. 

You couldn't quite figure out what was going through his mind as he let out a pensive hum, his index finger rhythmically tapping against his cheek, appearing to be in a deep moment of thought. Granted, you never did know what Suo is thinking about, but something appeared to be different this time.

Suo knew that the question you asked was a mere hypothetical, similar to the ones where you'd find on random scenarios online—meant to be a casual inquiry intended to gauge his reaction, so he didn't give it much concern. In fact, he leaned into it.

"Well then, if that's the case, as your boyfriend." He leaned down to whisper in your ear, "It's only right for me to find you and make sure you’re safe, isn't it?" 

He says it so matter-of-factly with a hefty amount of confidence that undoubtedly makes your heart flutter. There's no hesitation, no doubt in his voice, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. But the outside is indeed never what it appears to be, but also what can be the most deceiving. Suo doesn't worry too much about your question upfront, but there would be times when his mind would wander, drifting back to that single conversation that haunted his thoughts. What implored you to ever ask him that? 

And so, over the next few days and weeks, Suo would watch you with even more attentiveness than he already did, which was already considerable. Being by your side meant everything to him, and he couldn't imagine life without you if that were to ever ring true. After a few days of thinking, Suo's answer has not changed and will never change, but the realm of possibility that you might disappear will forever linger in his mind.

ღ YAMATO ENDO ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

ENDO, with his piercing, sweatdropping gaze, doesn't even take a minute to look at you, and, instead, at himself. Not in the literal sense, but inwardly. He scrutinizes his every action, every word, trying to decipher what could he could’ve done or said to have prompted such a question from you.

"Disappear?" he asks with a tone of sharp curiosity as he finally meets your nervous gaze. "Is that what you really want?"

Cupping his chin, all with the expression that he's about to beat someone half to death, Endo takes a quiet moment to himself and thinks about your question more thoroughly, which only makes you more anxious, in all honesty. 

With a sheepish laugh, you attempted to steer the conversation to a different subject, but Endo was having none of it. His intense focus was right then and there for you to answer.

Endo sits back down, covering his face with his calloused hand, letting out a low chuckle, "You must be either naive or plain stupid if you ever think that's going to happen on my watch.”

"H-Huh?"

"Because you're never leaving me." Endo’s voice carries utter conviction, a lifelong promise wrapped in a singular statement.

Endo snickers a bit from your seemingly adorable reaction before fading into an expression of distaste. His eyes bore into yours, filled with an emotion you can't quite place. "I don't know what brought this on, but let me make one thing clear. You're not going anywhere. Not without me."

He reaches out, his hand finding yours, gripping it firmly. You can feel the roughness of his skin, the callousness from all his previous fights, the strength in his hold, and it grounds you. A chuckle escapes him as he leans back, the seriousness melting away as a mischievous grin spreads across his face from ear to ear. "Besides, who else is going to put up with your atrocious cooking?"

ღ CHOJI TOMIYAMA ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

CHOJI takes a moment to think. "Hmmm, well then. I'll just find you again! Simple and easy! Don’t you think?!”

You laugh alongside him, not having the heart to continue the conversation. But unbeknownst to you, Choji's light-hearted response hides a deeper concern. Choji may act childish, but he's not stupid. He knows that he's not perfect, and in fact, he's a very flawed human being who has done far more harm than he'd ever like to admit, and certainly not to his lover…

Thus, throughout the day, you would be subjected to Choji clinging onto you. Whether you like it or not, he becomes your shadow, sticking to you like glue. As for bathroom breaks? Well, sucks to be you, that's not going to happen without him hovering nearby like a mosquito.

You knew what this meant. Choji's playful manner masks the underlying fear of losing you, and he doesn't let you out of his sight. Whether it's following you to the kitchen or tagging along to every errand, Choji's constant presence lingering over your every move is both endearing and slightly overwhelming. He jokes and laughs, trying to keep the mood light, but you can see the worry in his eyes whenever he thinks you're not looking. It's clear that the thought of being without you is something he can't bear. Just thinking about how his life would be if you left was enough of a nightmare that he decides that possibility would never be considered.

Choji's answer remains constant, but don't let that fool you, his words are only the half of it. He'll never let you go, not on his watch.

ღ HAJIME UMEMIYA ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

UMEMIYA is immediately alarmed by your question, pausing right in the midst of caring for his plants to turn to you with a rather distressed frown that deepened with every second. He jumps to grab your arm, perhaps in fear of you leaving right then and there, and asks with a nervous laugh, "Ahah… you're joking, right?”

…Was this supposed to be some kind of dare from Hiragi or Tsubaki?

And his grip will not loosen until you tell him every single detail, tenfold. Unlike the usual energetic demeanour he broadcasts to the world, Umemiya doesn't even try to hide the fact that he's worried, scared, terrified even, with all but the absolute worst scenarios surfacing in his mind. Were you being threatened in some way because of him? Or… was it something about him?

On the surface, he knows that you asked that question in a hypothetical sense, but that doesn't lessen his fear that it could happen, and your bringing it up helped trigger it. His past memories come right back to haunt him again.

And without thinking, Umemiya embraces you in a bone-crushing hug. "I-I don't know what made you want to say that. Please… Hit me, get mad at me, yell at me, hate me even, but please, don't ever leave me.”

His grip tightens around you, desperation evident in the way he clings to you as if you might vanish at any moment. You can feel the tremor in his hands, the rapid beat of his heart against your ear. It breaks your heart to see him like this, so vulnerable and afraid. You gently stroked his back, whispering soothing words to calm his frayed nerves. Slowly, his breathing steadies, and he relaxes a bit in your arms, but the fear in his eyes still remains. It's clear that the thought of losing you terrifies him more than anything else.

His mind races, no, refuses to accept the thought of you ever disappearing from him. His answer was clear. He was never going to let that happen, not without a reason for closure. And so, Umemiya's efforts to spend more time with you would only be further amplified from there. 

Waking up in the morning? Umemiya would be out your door soon enough with a bed-in-breakfast. Getting groceries? Umemiya will once again be there to be your personal bag-handler and bodyguard. You'd have to reassure him plenty in order to convince him that nobody is out to get you and that you aren’t in danger by any means. But even then, that was not going to work either, oh no. 

As the leader of Furin, Umemiya would make sure that you were protected at all times, sending only the best and closest friends to watch over you and make sure that you were safe. Sakura would snort and mutter under his breath, clicking his tongue, "that guy is overdoing it," only to receive a stern but anxious look from Nirei and a withering glare from Hiragi and especially, if in the presence of the man himself, Umemiya, would receive a look that could shoot literal bullets right into his skull.

How on earth could you tell him by that point that it was all a joke…?

ღ REN KAJI ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

Admittedly, KAJI does not think much of it as he continues to listen to his music with your head resting comfortably on his lap. What do you mean you're just going to leave? Without him? Impossible. 

He hums before going back to indulging his lollipop, which, by all means, was his solace. But later on, Kaji's mind drifts back to the question you asked. His eyebrows fold into two thinly knitted lines as he processes what could ever be your reasoning for asking such a thing. Not even the most relaxing of music could calm his mind as he begins to overthink every little detail of your relationship, replaying every conversation, every moment you've shared, searching for clues or hints he might have missed that made you want to think that.

The thought of you leaving gnaws at him—a rather unsettling and even unfamiliar feeling that he can't shake off no matter how hard he tries. Kaji debates with himself whether to bring it up with you again or let it slide, not wanting to seem insecure but also desperate for reassurance and that what he heard wasn't actually true.

His heart races with each passing thought, and he finds himself pacing back and forth while outside your school building, awaiting you to come out, trying to make sense of his swirling emotions. That is, until you ask him with a confused frown what he was doing.

He doesn't wait for a response but instead pulls you straight into his arms. Kaji grabs both your shoulders and apologizes. He stares right into your wide eyes, and he finally confesses, "If you disappeared… then I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

Kaji gulps in the air like someone who's drowned. He hardly even knew what to do with himself, just pondering the answer about a mere possibility. If that ever came to fruition, he'd be utterly lost. Though he guards his heart carefully, he's unrestrained with his body, whether for comfort or for pleasure.

He holds you firmly. Implacably. He will hold you all night if needs must, and throughout the day. His grip shifts to a tight hug as if trying to squeeze out all the sadness with his strong arms. "So please, don't."

With a heartfelt sigh, the tightness in your shoulders relaxed and you caressed his back with a gentle hand, all while comforting with your voice—the same voice Kaji grew to love with all his heart.

ღ HARUKA SAKURA ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

Rolls his eyes. "What do you mean you're just going to disappear?" SAKURA clicks his tongue. "As if that's ever going to happen."

But in reality, despite his outward words, Sakura is far more concerned than he initially lets on. His composure can only stretch so far until he loses it. Quite literally. He may put on a brave face, but the thought of you vanishing haunts him. He starts by subtly interrogating your friends, your family, and anyone who might know something. His questions are cloaked in casual conversation—well, as casual as Sakura thinks—but the urgency in his eyes betrays his true feelings.

He becomes much more protective from then on, always by your side, watching you with a worried gaze that he often tries to mask. But you, in fact, do notice the change, the way Sakura hovers a little closer to you when he's, without exception, extremely volatile to physical touch, his touches lingering a little longer, and his blatant need for confirmation that you're not going to leave. 

Until, one day, out of nowhere, Sakura answered the question. "If you leave… then I won't stop until I find you. That's it," he muttered in a voice so low that you could hardly believe it, your eyes widening in surprise.

"Haru, could you say that again?" you asked, voice trembling with emotion.

“Huh?”

“Just now, could you repeat it?”

Sakura grumbled, scrunching his flushed crimson face into a grimace. "Y-You idiot!! I already said it!!!"

"But I want to hear it again…" you pouted, feigning sadness, making Sakura blush even further, his ears a deep crimson.

"Tch… I'm just telling you, if you disappear one day, I'm just going to find you, and I'll keep trying until I do."

ღ KYOTARO SUGISHITA ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

SUGISHITA is eerily silent. Usually, that wouldn't be as much cause for concern, but there was something different in Sugishita's expression that unnerved you. Disappearing? That was a joke, right? No… you probably meant something else. You did mention that you planned to go out to buy groceries later that week. Could it be because of that? Or perhaps…

Sugishita, in his inward panic, grabs your arm with a grip tight enough to completely cut off the blood circulation to the rest of your body. "You're… going to leave? How? …When? W-Why?"

You could see that Sugishita was becoming increasingly anxious, his mind seeming to be practically in another dimension. With a pat on his head, you reassure him that you meant it all as a hypothetical question and that you aren't going to leave by any means. But the damage had been done. Sugishita, being the worrywart, needed far more confirmation than just that.

And just like Choji, for the next few days, Sugishita would be watching your moves like a hawk, standing at your side, towering over you. His eyes follow your every move. His piercing eyes staring into your soul felt almost suffocating, but it was clear that he couldn't bear the thought of losing you, even for a single moment.

Umemiya, with his usual bravado, burst out into laughter as he claps Sugishita's flushed cheeks repeatedly, reassuring him once more that it was nothing but a mere misunderstanding and a curiosity for his answer on his part. Hiragi agreed, nodding his head along.

Nonsense, Sugishita thinks with a wry face. He will be the one to ensure your safety, replaced by a type of intensity that makes you feel, while protected, also slightly on edge with the burning stare that he insists on maintaining to keep watch, even when you shoo him away.

You knew that his actions came from a place of love from when you initially asked him that question, but even so, did you really need him to stand outside your classroom door…?

ღ JO TOGAME ─ ❀ °. ⁺ ♡

Your words would kick his mind into gear almost instantaneously. TOGAME's thoughts raced, his aloof demeanour spinning around in circles like a pertueral carousel as he considered the possibility. Togame eventually came to the harrowing conclusion that he wasn't enough for you, that you felt neglected, or worse, unhappy being with him. 

He stared at you, his eyes wide. "What do you mean by 'disappear'?" he asked, his voice trembling a bit despite his efforts to keep it steady.

Just the mere thought of that made his stomach churn and his chest tighten. He couldn't bear the idea of losing you, even if through the lens of a mere hypothetical question. Togame, usually so stoic and composed, felt his facade crumble before your very eyes. Regardless, he was still intent on proving his worth and winning you back, all in the name of rectifying whatever he had failed to do.

You could see the pure, unfiltered, raw emotion in his eyes, the sheer terror of losing you. "Oh no, Jo, I didn't mean it seriously! I was just curious," you said in hopes of soothing him, but the worry etched on his face didn't fade. Not in the slightest.

"...it's not something I can just ignore," he said, voice growing firmer. "If you ever feel that way, if you ever think about leaving, please, talk to me first and we can communicate… Let me fix whatever is wrong. l, whatever it is. Because the thought of you not being in my life is unbearable…" He reached out, taking your hands in his shaky ones. “You want to know my answer? I would search for you everywhere, and do anything to bring you back. You mean far too much to me to just let you go…”

His vulnerability was laid bare, even to your own surprise, who didn't expect this from a mere question. But that’s just it. It wasn’t a mere question to him.

Togame would do anything to prove his love to you, to ensure that you never felt the need to ask such a question again. And in that, he certainly succeeded, because you would never doubt his devotion to you again, not that you did to begin with, but knew that it was a slippery slope and a topic to avoid when with him.

But, for good measure, after that conversation fiasco, Togame had taken up a new hobby. And you were more than happy until you realized what that "hobby" of his entailed, as friends or practically anybody who was an unfortunate passerby, would immediately notice a bodyguard-like figure constantly by your side. That is, until they saw the brute clinging onto you like a man desperate for even a whiff of your attention.

©hxnbi. comments, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated ♡

[merakiui]

Hey hey I saw ur post with skulli and NNN.

Just wanted to throw in that in the Victorian Period it was normal for Maids to give young masters a Handjob to help them sleep soooo do whatever you want with that info. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Hope you have a nice day / night!

Ps: Love your content 💕

I had to research this a bit more because it's so wild it's almost untrue but also not completely outside the realm of possibility for that time period, but it really is a thing that happened. :O but also,, they couldn't have just used the tried and true bedtime story method instead??? 🤨 the traditions and thought process of olde really are fascinating.

Apparently, they also employed chambermaids who would complete normal household chores and duties (cleaning, laundry, etc), but they were also meant to be there as sexual relief for either the head of the house or the older boys in the family. Imagine being there as Skully's maid (and personal pussy). One minute you're doing his laundry or cleaning up in his bedroom and the next you're having to take your master's cock in your virgin pussy,, losing your virginity together in the hall..... orz no love (or so you think), just a lustful obligation to be fulfilled.

Now of course I need to apply this strange cultural moment to young master Skully who refuses to take a wife because he's still clinging to those stories of romance and true love from his childhood. But also because he's been in love with his personal nanny/maid since forever and stubbornly refuses to fall for anyone else. T_T he's at that age now where he should have been married and have had kids by now, but he's so awkward and not so charming when he's actually facing his potential suitors in the flesh. It's much easier to exchange letters, he thinks, but also no one understands him. >:/

Something something Skully who maybe has the most macabre nightmares and can never sleep, and nothing seems to help. So you're there to lull him to sleep with a handjob every night. Hehe maybe even getting down on your knees to wrap your lips around the head of his cock and he's a sputtering, blushing mess, insisting: "T-There's no need to go that far—!!!" But how else is the young master supposed to sleep unburdened by night terrors if he isn't completely, thoroughly satisfied? Waaa maybe even unbuttoning your dress and pulling your apron away to give him a titjob. Poor Skully who cums all over your face and he's so sorry, please forgive him, oh, he's an awful mess, please don't be cross with him, etc etc. >:) he cares about you so much,, maybe more than any master has ever cared for a servant before, but you're so much more than that to him. He wants you to be his wife so badly. T^T

He's so spoiled that now he can't sleep unless he's holding you in his arms (clinging like a koala) and his dick is kept warm in your snug, soft pussy. <3 this is not helping his crush on you,, if anything it only makes it so much worse. >_<

[wewebaggit]

"El never had romantic feelings for Mike"ers 🤝 "Mike had romantic feelings for El"ers

Y'all think y'all are arm wrestling bt it's actually called a handshake in most parts of the world.

Both come from some weird desire for romantic miIeven to have meant nothing/something for both.

Cuz everything has to be just right and fair and neatly tied in a bow. God forbid the gay boy have struggles with his sexuality or the straight girl get her heart broken in the process. Evil evil things. To have your feelings unrequited. Unless it's Will. Cuz he's single and has to stay single and pure and loyal and what not, and it's only temporary. Soon in a few years after the time skip at the end of the series he'll be rewarded for being reduced to a pathetic little sap with no social life beyond Jonathan, Mike and the horrors of having spidey sense for 2 seasons.

And yeah there will be cirque du soleil levels of acrobatics being performed to show why this story and narrative makes sense. And I'm not opposed to it for being that but just that on show that prides itself for show don't tell it neither shows nor tells and then there's outside the show telling by cast cuz inside the show showing was less subtle and more in the realm of not there at all.

MiIeven is NOT a "plot device" for Byler any more than Mike being revealed gay is a plot device for independent El. They're both self contained arcs for the respective characters. MiIeven thoroughly exploited the BSY dynamic with how their interactions were framed and played and okayed and filmed. It's incredibly condescending to fault the GA for buying into the self insert fantasy of nerdy boy gets supergirl when the show didn't shy away from profiting off of it. Regardless of Mike's impending sexuality. Especially because of the super ambiguity of Mike's sexuality it cannot be classified as anything but trope exploitation. Subversion where? Leaving some visuals here.

El initiating the kiss in S1E6

And I'd love it if anyone explains them to me that's not the tired af "El's idea of romantic love comes from her watching soap operas" cuz she was shown watching it once. She was stuck in a cabin with a TV so she watched TV most of the time and daytime is soaps. You know what she (also) watched regularly? Westerns. Miami Vice.

Also El did make the first move in s1e7 to kiss Mike. Before Mike ever kissed her in s1e8. And before the soap operas n all other things. Point being. The BSY has always been BSYing.

Poor babies being forced by Lucas, Nancy and daytime TV into making out and enjoying it. Tsk tsk. (S3E1)

A forced to be flustered and blushing El after talking to her boyfriend.

Time to make out some more. It hits different at 4:20. - Mike & El probably. Dunno it's on mute.

Naive but powerful fawn rebelling against father for nerdy boyfriend. Ya. White American thing cuz Mike would be pissing his pants if he were anywhere else or maybe anyone else. (Can you imagine Lumax this way?)

For God's sake your platonic soulmate and so called lesbian awakening's brother is dying there.

Don't even understand the point of this shot. Since Mike never looked Billy's way. Or comforted Max. A glance at El that, idk what it meant, no mike crow expressions to guide me.

Scenes from a Marriage (1973) dir. Ingmar Bergman

Scenes from a Marriage (2021) dir. Hagai Levi

There's an intentional way in which the MiIeven scenes (not just the kisses 🤮) are filmed in a more "adult" way as opposed to the "cute teenaged romance" way that some people purport it is in contrast to Lumax and Duzie. (I guess they didn't go through puberty.🤷‍♀️) Heck even Jancy, Stancy never looked this weird even though sex was shown/ implied. (Because they were played by actors born in the 20th century and even then they weren't 13 🤷‍♀️.)

MiIeven is not a plot device for Byler. It is fan service. The adults shipping them and comparing them to various other adult couples isn't outta nowhere. Please compute. Which is why it was stretched for 4 seasons.

As of NOW Mike's sexuality is still plausible deniability and the breakup too is neither here nor there. It's NOT straightbaiting. Lmao. Not at all. It's fan service. Leaving the OBVIOUS BSY aside, the point neither party were forced into anything nor were they doing it to keep appearances cuz canonically NOBODY cared. Not Dustin, not Lucas, definitely not Will and I'm sure neither did Max.

El was a willing participant and initiator and Mike was also not opposed to it until puberty monster/feelings caught up with him. El has shown her attraction to guys and it is okay. There's no need to take that away from her cuz that is also an experience of girlhood. She barely has any experiences anyway. Let her have that.

It's the same for Mike. He's not some evil monster for being gay. Not anymore than Joyce was for being with Bob out of convenience and the fact that she liked him n didn't hate him. Mike does love El and cares about her deeply as all of S4 shows.

So to sum it up. Yes I smooshed 2 posts cuz I couldn't be arsed talking about these 2 AGAIN. But Mike and El were independent agents when they decided to embark on their disastrous romantic journey and Born Sexy Yesterday is REAL.

P.S. If you find this shit cute and y'all roll your eyes over byler kissing n what not (even in fics goddamnit). Hit your head against a spiked wall till you can't no more. Piss and love. 💙💛

P.P.S. Mike's the clingy one. NOT Will.

[ladysternchen]

Headcanon explained/character study- Elu Thingol, part 5

Fine. So I’ve written myself into a corner with a project that I was once really really excited about- these headcanons. This is getting too much of a fic. It’s waffling. Like my current WIP is. Yay. But writers need to have their bad (really bad) phases, too, don’t they? But I’m still going to try for a  bit more momentum in here.

Now, I know that many people picture the meeting of Elwë and Melian as a bit of a ‘nick-the-elf’-move by Melian, something that she intended, an enchantment she placed upon him (the darker headcanons go towards making him her puppet after that encounter). 

I disagree to that. There is this one passage in the Silmarillion saying that they were hidden by an ‘enchantments of their own making’. Their own making. Their, not her. Now, I’m not saying Elwë had powers to match Melian’s, but I still think that something happened there to both of them, not only to Elwë.

They are the only couple of that kind, and so it’s hardly surprising that also their getting-to-know-each-other is somewhat unique. And they would certainly have got to know each other thoroughly while standing in that trance for two hundred years. More, even. They would likely go beyond getting to know each other, they would have got to feeling each other, and to become part of the other, of their past experiences, of their reasoning behind decisions, of their very essence. It was not Melian who somehow changed Elwë to her liking, (opposed to popular fandom opinion) but his becoming so very entangled in an Ainu’s self. He ‘appeared as he were a lord of the Maiar’ afterwards, after all. Now, Tolkien does not tell us what that means exactly, but I imagine those changes to be more internal than external.

Melian, on the other hand, learned the ways of the Children from an internal point of view. She experienced it, and so could make herself a being that could easily be mistaken as an elf, and would ever after remain an elf of sorts. 

They both became beings in between- Melian the Maia, yet also elf. Elwë the elf, yet touched so much by a Maia that he almost, almost became one himself. They both never again fitted into their people afterward, and I picture Elwë to be all too aware of this- he was one of the ambassadors, but had still not returned to Aman. He was lord of Moriquendi, yet was himself an elf of the light- though he would not fit among them, either. He was not elf, but most certainly no Maia. That made him unique, but also very vulnerable, fragile, one might say, a spirit in between the worlds. 

That ‘in-between’ accompanies his actions and his very being throughout times- he was Finwë’s dearest friend, and yet quite hostile to his sons and grandsons. He was lord of all Beleriand, yet the one least able to move freely within his realm, being confined instead to Doriath (not by Melian’s doings, but because she needed him so she could hold the Girdle, and he could not step outside it without risking to tear it asunder). He disliked Men, but nonetheless accepted Beren as his son-in-law whole-heartedly once he had proven himself. He almost succumbed to his grief when L��thien first died, and yet later chose to foster Túrin, and love him as a son. That is bordering on deliberate self-harm, considering that he knew that he would lose Túrin to the same fate as Lúthien. He was the only one of the elven lords of the First Age who remained undefeated by Morgoth, and yet died such a mundane, self-induced death. Tolkien himself calls him the mightiest among the Eldar safe Fëanor, and yet we never see him display his strength.

(Funnily enough, this very ambivalent air stays with him also in his perception within fandom- he is about as close to the POV character the Silmarillion gets, and yet hardly anyone actually identifies with him- quite the opposite. Who has read the Silmarillion and not at least once rolled their eyes and muttered something along the lines of ‘oh, not you again?!’? 

And yet his legacy within the legendarium stands firmly, even many many millennia after his death- be it as Aragorn repeats -presumably unknowingly- the words of his forefather “I can choose but for myself, and all my people shall do likewise!”, or when Elrond chooses to follow in Elwë’s footsteps rather than Turgon’s, or really when Elrond sets Aragorn just as seemingly unachievable a task as Elu Thingol set Beren)

To headcanon-storytelling, though:

When Melian and Elwë came out of their trance, they knew each other better than any other elf would know their spouse. They became almost one. And yes, if read from a modern view, this sounds incredibly toxic, but we cannot read the love of Elves, and even less that of the Ainur, like human love. Those relationships are meant for eternity, though some of them go through long periods of separation. Others however do always stay close to each other, so there’s nothing wrong with Elwë and Melian being clingy. (Sorry, I’m aware I’m still not headcanon-storytelling, but I HAD to make that point.)

Elwë understood, when he woke from the trance, what had happened. He knew instantly that everything was changed, that he had abandoned his people, even if it was unintended. He did not know what to hope for, that all his family and friends had left without him or that they had lingered. 

He was totally overwhelmed to find that so many had forsaken Valinor for his sake, but also felt incredibly guilty, especially where Nowë/Círdan was concerned. (He did overcome that eventually, at least mostly). Melian felt the same, and together they made a promise to their people- that they would guard and guide them to the best of their ability. They may have robbed them of the chance to go on to Valinor, but they would do their best to make sure they did not miss out on anything.

The first year after their return was tough. Much had changed during their unintended honeymoon, language being only one example. Another was that Elmo was now a father, and Elwë needed a while to wrap his head around that fact. But most of all, Elwë himself had changed, and he felt those changes heavily. The most irksome of these changes were his vastly sharpened senses that made sensory overload not only common but painful, and the fact that he had to re-learn how to eat (and THAT was in truth something he never fully managed, but hid well enough). Not that he had ever been fond of eating, but after the journey, where he had lived off lembas, and his trance in Nan Elmoth where magic had kept him alive, he struggled more than ever. 

But there were more important changes to his person. Time would no longer pass for him, not just very slowly (or rapidly, depending on the situation) as it did to Elves in general, but not at all. Seasons would wash over him like they did over Arda- to him, that was no more than breathing in and out.  

(Yes yes yes, I AM proud that I finally explained to myself Tolkien’s cryptic “In Beleriand King Thingol upon his throne was as the lords of the Maiar, whose power is at rest, whose joy is as an air that they breathe in all their days, whose thought flows in a tide untroubled from the heights to the deeps.”)

All that came at a heavy cost. Unable to forget anything, unable to arm himself against stimuli (as mentioned before), he would get overwhelmed easily, especially when under pressure. During that first year, Melian, Elmo or Círdan would regularly find him shaking and curled up as much as possible, desperately trying to shield himself. It got better, though, as he got used to this new way of life, and by the time Elwë, Elu now, and Melian were crowned King and Queen and their realm of Eglador established, he had learned to manage life. More or less. 

(Author’s notes: Ha ha ha ha… speeding things up. LOL. No, not happening apparently)

[delugenal]

𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄, coruscant was everything but. rain expected more from the pliant heart of every galactic regime that’d come before this newest of republics. millennia tall duracrete constructs without a touch of artistry disfigured an otherwise jewel-colored sky. blaring neon adverts soliciting everything from holodramas to suggestive delights accosted peripherals on every side street and thoroughfare. a city of automated aesthetics; designed by organics and built by dreamless machines. a city a creature like the queen mother might appreciate if anything outside her own abysmal perfection could touch her basal standards.

      although thoroughly unimpressed, there were pockets that fell within the realm of beauty. like the garden rain sauntered through. an illusion of nature’s glory, manicured by . rain heard the rapacious song of life all around him. a choir fueled by crystalline blood through chlorophyll veins. yet amid the jungle of harmonized chaos, the trail he followed like an instinct remained untouched.

      for a woman who spent the better part of her still fresh adulthood absconding herself from imperial clutches, leia organa was not a difficult woman to find. her presence called to his magic like an echo’s drip, cascading in silence off the walls and across the open air. even without the spectral current drawing him through assemblage of imported flora, the courtier imagined he’d trace her steps with the same patent ease. if he’d been subjected to the queen mother’s ego in the way organa had, he too would flee to a sanctuary inhabited by a merciful lack of mouths.

      ❝ you’ll find a hapan’s sense of time depends on her mood. ❞ his face was entirely obscured save his eyes beneath rich hues of violet and pale pelagic blues, but the upward turn of his voice was a clear companion to a smile delivering the jab.

      with a click of wood against the path, rain planted himself before a column a respectful distance from alderaan’s heir. vines like threads of jewels encircled the pillar he’d chosen as his post. at the end of each spreading limb was a heart-shaped leaf accompanied by a pair of delicate buds: one a dawn-soaked magenta, the other a twilight periwinkle. rain recognised them as totally innocuous in their natural state, but when crushed and combined with certain . . . obscure components, the wispy aroma that bloomed from their hearts became a nerve-crippling gas.

      ❝ i hope you don’t find us a tedious bunch, lady organa. i’d hate for the queen mother to fall on your bad side. you already brought one empire to its knees. ❞

                           moisture clung to the back of her hand as leia drew it across her brow, sinking onto the elaborately carved bench which thankfully appeared around one well-appointed garden turn.   painted lips curved earthward, a soft, chiding voice which sounded much like one of her late aunts echoing in her head.    ( you wouldn’t be sweating now if you had simply not run.   what princess sprints across a garden? )    grimace deepening, the senator allowed herself the most ungraceful of all movements: a full slump, leaning against the sturdy back.

                           relishing in how the relief stone bit through her thin gown into her spine, she let her head tip skyward.   this, this was something real, unlike every interaction since she opened her heavy lids this morning.   what was keeping her here?

                           obligation.

                           the same which kept the mantle of alderaan’s senator upon her shoulder, which led some tens of thousands of beings to still declare her princess even though nothing of their world remained.   the role which made her so attractive a candidate to the queen mother.   what could be more prestigious a match than to an heir presumptive who could never have total loyalty to their throne… because their throne no longer existed.

                           the faint brush of a mind against her expanded senses functioned like a fly caught on a spider’s web, leia straightening, composing herself into something merely mildly tired in a heartbeat.   just in time for one of the hapan courtiers to round the grassy bend.   out of no obligation to rise, the hint of a smile faded onto her lips, easily cloaking herself in sheepish chagrin.    

                           ❝  have i been gone that long already?  ❞

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ— @delugenal 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓

[unnerving-presence]

Oh I finally have an idea for a request.

Headcanons of The Oni, Ghostface, Michael and Frank getting brutaly killed by the survivor reader because they were fed up with being the hunted one. To the point were the entity doesn't let the reader in trials anymore

this is by far the coolest idea i’ve ever seen thank you for requesting anon!

i’m gonna guess reader isn’t dating them because i imagine that they would rather talk to them about it then… kill them lol.

i’m don’t know how to write murdering people in a cool way because i don’t murder people so i’m sorry if this isn’t that good 💀

this is quite a long chapter, so be aware

Kazan Yamaoka/The Oni:

The last thing he ever expected a survivor to do to him was kill him. He thought that nobody would dare oppose him, considering his large stature and deadly equipment. Though it seemed he was wrong.

He’s very surprised at first. His careless grip on his sword allowing you to easily knock it out of his grasp and take it for yourself. He makes a mental note to never make a stupid move like that again.

He may have had his kanabo, but he couldn’t grab it fast enough as you quickly slashed and stabbed at his body, slicing tendons and breaking skin. It’s obvious you didn’t know how to properly use a katana, but somehow your blind rage made it hurt all the worse.

It was like when he died all over again. Like the mob surrounding him again. Beating him, stabbing him, calling him names. And it seemed you knew exactly where to make it hurt also. Even reopening wounds. It’s quite pathetic that’s he’s dying like this, he thinks. All because he underestimated a survivor and let them catch him off guard.

After the Entity revives him from the dead, he gets quite angry that he even let a survivor lay a finger on him. He takes the time that he has alone to go thoroughly trash his realm. Crushing statues, ripping the foundations off some of the shrines. He messed it up so badly that he had to go to his granddaughters realm so the Entity could fix his up.

He seeks you out after finding that you’re not even allowed in trials anymore. As much as he wants to, he knows he can’t kill you outside of trials. So he takes you to Rin’s realm with him so he can talk with you about why you did what you did.

He can’t speak much english or really understand it, so he has Rin do the talking for him. After you tell him why, he sort of understands. He was like that at some point in his life. Tired of being targeted and treated like an animal. Just don’t do that shit again and you guys will be on pretty good terms. Hes still kind of angry at you though

Michael Myers/The Shape:

It takes a lot to kill someone like him. He’s not an easy target. He’s been burned, beat, shot, stabbed, bit. He’s been through it all, so when you manage to get your hands on something sharp, Michael didn’t really think much of it. How greatly he underestimated you.

He’s not one to visibly show emotion, but damn can you tell that he is angry. How can a shard of glass do this much to him? Why can’t he move his arms? What are you doing to him?

You stab every place you possibly could. His wrists, his neck, his arms, his stomach. Pretty much everywhere. You even stab his eye. The good one i mean. Until you know he’s dead, you’re not stopping your attacks.

He puts up quite a fight, managing to get his hand around your neck before you can stab it. He can’t really do much though, most of his limbs aren’t even functional at this point from how much you’ve stabbed them.

When he’s sent back to his realm alive and well, he quickly seeks you out. He’s going to make you suffer, no matter what the Entity says. Unfortunately the Entity says he can’t hurt you outside of trials. That’s not really stopping Michael though.

Definitely tries choking you to death the second he sees you but a quick stab in the arm from the Entity makes him rethink his actions. Now he just sort of.. stares at you. He probably doesn’t stop until he’s taken into another trial just to make you uncomfortable. Yeah he’s petty like that.

He can only assume that you’re not allowed in trials since he never even sees you in them anymore. This makes him ever the more angry since he can’t even kill you back. He forever holds a grudge against you. Prepared to be stalked from afar until Michael decides to stop being a petty bitch.

Ghostface/Danny Johnson:

I guess this is what he gets for being cocky all the time huh? He’s pretty confident in himself and thought this ‘game’ was well played on his part. The Entity even granted him the favor of killing a survivor. Until he was the one that was being killed.

He does give you a few punches and tries to get you under him, but a quick slash to his abdomen has him on the ground, holding himself up with one hand and desperately trying to search for his knife with the other. Damn it, you have it don’t you?

It takes more to kill him than you thought, but he’s not as tough as most killers. Finally thrusting the knife in through his neck quickly puts him out of his misery. Knowing he’s dead doesn’t stop you from stabbing him a few more times in his chest though.

Apparently he hadn’t studied you as much as he should’ve. He’s very impressed, he has to admit, but he’s been humiliated. In his eyes he has atleast. Looks like he needs to put you in your place and show you who the real killer is here.

Though finding out soon after that you haven’t been seen in any of the other killers trials, he sort of pissed. He can’t even get payback! He’ll probably whine to the Entity about it though he knows she won’t listen.

He’ll keep his distance for now. He’s sort of embarrassed that you, a puny survivor has killed him, a killer. It doesn’t sit right in his head and he’ll probably get a laugh or two if he tells the other killers so he just keeps it to himself.

Still pissed though. If he ever sees you wandering around he might insult you a bit but it’s all he can really do. I wouldn’t get too close though. He might have the courage to give you a stab in the chest if he’s feeling rebellious.

Frank Morrison/The Legion:

I imagine it goes how his mori would. He would try to swing at you but misses as you quickly duck to avoid the attack. He manages to stab your arm as you shove him back. Unlucky for him, his grip loosened on the knife and was now deep into your arm.

The pain didn’t seem to stop you from yanking the knife out of your arm, and giving him a taste of his own medicine, stabbing him in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground. Before he even has a chance to recover, you’re on top of him dragging the knife through his stomach before ripping his mask off and impaling him straight through his mouth.

He doesn’t have much of a chance to fight back. Your anger far surpassing his, caring about nothing more than making him suffer. In the little time he has to think, he wonders why the Entity is even allowing this. More importantly, why are you so damn strong?

He’s sort of scared of you to be honest, and it takes a lot for him to be scared. That look on your face as you clambered on top of him. You looked like you didn’t have even an inch of humanity left in you. Atleast in the moment you didn’t, not when you were so fed up with dying over and over again. He really felt like he wasn’t coming back after knowing you were going to kill him.

He might tell his friends about it, but nobody else. He trusts them enough to take it seriously and to comfort him. As much as a tough guy he is, he’s really just shocked about the whole thing. He’s never the one that has to die, so he’s never thought much about it, but when you’re in a situation like that, he understands how the survivors feel.

He’s sort of glad you aren’t in trials anymore. He doesn’t want his friends to be hurt, and he definitely doesn’t want himself to be hurt if that’s how you’re going to act near him. Though if you do manage to get near him and talk with him, he will start to understand why you did what you did. He’s not sure if he entirely forgives you, but atleast he knows you won’t hurt him again.

[sagurus]

Regarding a Common Misconception of Hakuba Saguru

Lately I've been doing some reflecting on Saguru & the various ways I've seen him portrayed, as well as the ways I've portrayed him in the past. And then I was rereading some MK manga, and had some realizations. I've been feeling like rambling about them! So here I go, rambling.

[Disclaimer: I'm not personally taking issue with anyone's interpretation or impression of Saguru - just sharing my own impressions! This is just for fun <3 ]

Misconception: Saguru is constantly accusing Kaito of being KID

It’s a generally accepted fact in a lot of fics I’ve read (and honestly, maybe some fics I’ve written -- I used to hold this belief too!) that Saguru just unendingly insinuates that Kaito is KID--alone, in front of other people, always.

I won’t cite any here, but I’ve seen nods in fanwork to Aoko feeling a little stressed/frustrated about the fact that Saguru thinks Kaito is KID and makes it known. I’ve also seen fanwork where Saguru explicitly calls Kaito KID, presses Kaito for information, or otherwise makes his beliefs clear, even when others are around.

There are only five scenes in the Magic Kaito manga where Saguru makes direct indication toward his knowledge of KID’s identity.

First, of course, we’ve got chapter 17 - the first chapter where Saguru puts together that Kaito is KID.

For a long time, when I’d consumed more fic than MK canon, I recall an image born in my head of Saguru singling Kaito out in class and making the claim that Kaito is KID in front of everybody. I don’t know if I ever read any such allusion in a fic, or if it’s just an assumption I drew based on portrayals I read, but imagine my surprise when he does nothing of the sort.

Now, to be fair, Saguru is A LOT in this chapter. MK is still heavily in gag manga territory, so his behavior is extra extra played up. But if we take away the visuals, the dialogue between Saguru and Kaito can be summed up thusly:

[First scene where Saguru makes direct indications as to KID’s identity]

Kaito: You look so tired. Haven’t gotten enough sleep after chasing KID for three nights In a row, huh?

Saguru: Hmph. Aren’t you tired as well?

And then, a few beats later in the conversation:

Saguru: I’d like to invite you to the Ochima Art Museum tonight, where KID’s declared his next target. Kaito: Eh? Saguru: Then, you’ll understand why I’m so tired. Or, do you have other plans tonight? Kaito: Okay, I accept your invitation. It’ll be great to see your work in action!

And that’s it, that’s the big class confrontation. Aoko is present for it, but she’s more interested in joining in on the fun, and while I do think Aoko pieces together that Kaito is KID, she prefers to live in willful ignorance of it until it becomes impossible for her to ignore. She’s bright enough to pick up what Saguru’s implying, but because he never brings it past implication, there’s no reason for her to look at it too hard. Anyway, I digress. That’s conjecture and headcanon talking. My point is that Saguru never makes any explicit claims, just invites Kaito along to the heist.

Another neat thing about this scene is that--while certainly not motivated by mercy in this case, Saguru does give Kaito an out: “Or, do you have an excuse not to go tonight?” Of course, if Kaito took it, it would be rather damning, but I do think it would have been enough confirmation for Saguru. I don’t think there would have been any arm-twisting to get Kaito to agree.

But Kaito and Saguru are competitive bastards, so here we are.

Let’s move on to the heist!

Once again, the manga certainly plays up the whole ordeal. Saguru is intense and waiting for his moment, and Kaito’s being, well, Kaito.

At the heist, there are a few points where Saguru has opportunities to make allusions to Kaito being KID in a way others would pick up on, or otherwise make his suspicions known, but he doesn’t.

First of all, is this exchange:

Nakamori: Why are you guys here? Aoko: Hakuba-kun invited us! Nakamori: What’s the meaning of this, Hakuba-kun? Saguru: I thought she might like to see if KID is arrested tonight. Nakamori: You’ll fail if you’re too cocky! Saguru: We’re well-prepared. Besides, who knows… KID may already be here.

Saguru does imply KID could be present, but he makes no indication that he means Kaito. His next opportunity to hint at Kaito being KID or otherwise make accusations is when Nakamori asks him to consult as a magician.

Nakamori: Kaito, since you’re here, do you want to use your magic against KID? Kaito: [laughing sheepishly] Saguru: Oh, I want to see that fight, too. If you really can do it.

Needling, yes. Saguru knows what he’s saying and so does Kaito. Accusations, no. This is well within the realm of something Saguru would have said even if he didn’t suspect Kaito, considering their dynamic up until this point.

And then, the most explicit Saguru ever gets in terms of literally calling Kaito out as being KID, beginning when Kaito excuses himself to go to the bathroom right before the heist:

[Second scene where Saguru makes direct indications as to KID’s identity]

Saguru: [handcuffs himself to Kaito] Kaito: Huh? Saguru: I won’t let you do that, Kuroba. Kaito: What do you think you’re doing?! Saguru: I got the report back from the lab. The hair I got from KID indicated that he’s a high school student. After I compared KID’s data with other high school students’ data in the database… Kuroba Kaito came up in the final list. Kaito: That’s a coincidence. Saguru: Really? We’ll see soon enough. Let’s wait until the time KID is stated to come. [Some heist hubbub occurs as officers get into position even though KID hasn’t arrived at the heist time] Aoko: What? KID’s not coming? Saguru: Ha! It looks like I win! You’d better confess who you really are.

And from there, of course, ‘KID’ (Akako in disguise) swoops in and takes care of the heist. That more or less wraps up chapter 17, the first chapter where Saguru understands that Kaito is KID. And I would argue this is the most aggressive Saguru ever is. In fact, rather than persist in trying to accuse/capture/implicate Kaito as KID, he straight up vanishes from the narrative for several chapters.

Saguru doesn’t show up again until the Chat Noir heist, in chapter 25, when he calls from France.

It’s also important to note that at this point, Magic Kaito’s narrative has experienced a slight tonal shift. At the very least, while still often comedic, it reads less like a gag manga. Between the last time we saw Saguru and now, we’ve learned the apparent motivation behind Toichi’s murder, we’ve met Snake (an albeit rather incompetent villain) and Kaito has faced down gunfire and the danger posed by Snake and his men.

The way Saguru is portrayed has also shifted to reflect the shift too. Instead of a hulking antagonist-like character in a Holmes cosplay, he’s dressed primly and presents more as a cheeky but polite character. He’s also more effectively emulating the charm that the story tried to imply he had early on (“Hakuba Saguru, at your service!”, the girls in class fawning over him, the newspaper calling him out as a famous detective making a long-awaited return to Japan).

The interaction is entirely less antagonistic, too. For reference, I’ll paste the exchange (sans Saguru’s massive info dump) below.

[Third scene where Saguru makes direct indications as to KID’s identity]

[At the heist for the golden eye] Kaito: [Hiding in a bathroom stall while putting on a disguise] [His phone starts ringing] Hello…? Saguru: Hi, it’s been a while. Are you still alive? Kaito: [Thinking] This sugary yet obnoxious tone of voice is... Hakuba?! Saguru: You’ve made quite the stir in Paris. They’re all talking about how France’s Chat Noir is going to go up against you in Japan. Kaito: Idiot! It’s not me. It’s Kaitou KID! Saguru: Ha… it doesn’t really matter. I’ll share some information that I gathered over here. [Info dump cut from dialogue] Well! That’s about all I have to say. Do your best. I don’t want to see you lose to anyone until I capture you myself. Kaito: Like I’ve been saying, I’m not KID! Saguru: Oops, it’s almost time for the Paris Fashion Week. See you! Kaito: H-hey…

The only part of this conversation that I could consider to fall into the territory of antagonistic is when Saguru says “I don’t want to see you lose to anyone until I capture you myself.” And more than anything, I think this is less reflective of a real desire to capture Kaito, and more reflective of his competitive nature. Not to mention, within the context of the conversation, it feels much more like teasing than anything.

Saguru’s motivation for making the call is clear: He doesn’t want Kaito to lose, and he wants to help ensure Kaito’s success.

And most interestingly (although I’d like to see the raw manga to confirm this, or otherwise a more literal translation) he never explicitly calls Kaito KID either. Outside of alluding to KID’s actions, Saguru doesn’t explicitly say Kaito is KID or mention KID at all. It’s Kaito who does that.

When Kaito points out that he is not, in fact, KID, Saguru doesn’t argue. He simply brushes off the denial and shares the information he’s collected.

So, to summarize what we’ve covered so far: after Saguru failed to arrest Kaito during chapter 17, he stopped troubling Kaito so thoroughly that the next time he features in the story isn’t until he’s calling from overseas to try to lend Kaito some helpful information. He’s not even playing a part in trying to capture this thief he allegedly wants to catch.

And then, Saguru dips back out of the narrative, although for a shorter period this time. The next arc he appears in is a few chapters later--the Nightmare Heist which he arrives in the middle of. But, there’s not any interaction between him and Kaito, nor any allusions made by Saguru about KID’s identity, so we’ll move on.

The fourth time Saguru makes any indication that Kaito is KID is during the Corbeau arc, when KID is being challenged by a clad-in-black KID lookalike.

Before jumping into that specific scene, though, there’s another interaction I’d like to call attention to--between Saguru and Nakamori. Not because of something Saguru says, but because of what he doesn’t say.

Nakamori: Hahaha! Looks like you let your guard down because you thought I was at home with a cold! Saguru: Our plan succeeded, it seems. Nakamori: But I only told Aoko I had a cold, so how does KID know…? Saguru: Hm...

If Saguru were wanting to make some kind of accusation, even a non-explicit one, he would have made some remark. Instead, he doesn’t say anything at all, which continues to speak to the fact that he isn’t really interested in implicating Kaito.

Anyway, the next time Saguru makes any sort of implication that Kaito is KID he is, once again, trying to help. Last time it was over the phone, so the conversation was private. This time, the conversation is in a classroom, although based on the panels, it seems like Saguru and Kaito are alone at the beginning--or at least, no attention is being paid to them.

[Fourth scene where Saguru makes direct indications as to KID’s identity]

Kaito: [Talking to himself] It must be the case, there’s no other way. There must have been some trick with the case.

Saguru: [Eavesdropping, apparently alone in the room with him] The case didn’t contain any hidden mechanisms. Kaito: Eh? Saguru: No hidden doors or things like that, as are often used in magic tricks. Kaito: W-what on earth are you talking about? Saguru: A new notice from Corbeau arrived this morning. ‘I’ll come and take the real Midnight Crow tonight.’ My name is Hakuba--so I don’t want a ‘white’ person to lose to some ominous black crow. [From here, Akako and then Aoko jump into the conversation.]

Surely a classroom is a risky place to have a conversation about KID, but the nice thing is that Saguru--once again--doesn’t bring up KID at all beyond saying that he doesn’t want the ‘white[-clad] person’ to lose to the black crow. From the outside looking in, all he’s doing is sharing information about the case with Kaito. It may also seem unwarranted from that perspective, but not at all implicating.

Also, another thing I’d like to call attention to is that when Akako joins the conversation (and seemingly blindsides Saguru, as if he wasn’t expecting anyone else to join), Saguru stops talking. He continues to be quiet when Aoko chimes in, and he doesn’t have any relevant dialogue for the rest of the scene.

Once again, Saguru’s clearly motivated to share information in the interest of helping Kaito. He has to share with Kaito’s civilian identity, since he can’t exactly arrange a conversation with KID, and this is likely the easiest way for him to do it. He makes no accusations, and this time he doesn’t even imply he wants KID caught.

So--Saguru is a part of the narrative again, but since rejoining the narrative he seems less interested in actually catching KID and far more interested in helping Kaito. And no accusations or incriminating allusions have been made since chapter 17, before Saguru’s first hiatus from the story.

The final time Saguru nods to Kaito being KID is from the Sun Halo arc. This is probably the interaction that’s closest to what fanon tends to depict when it comes to Saguru making subtle accusations that Kaito is KID. And even then, I tend to take this arc with a grain of salt if only because it felt less like Gosho was trying to add to the story and more like he was just trying to make a Magic Kaito addition that hit various fan expectations while still being wildly disappointing, lmao.

[Fifth scene where Saguru makes direct indications as to KID’s identity]

Saguru: [approaching and commenting on Kaito’s motorcycle] I see, a Suzuki GSX 250R. Akako: Ah, Hakuba-kun… Saguru: You’ve shown me something interesting. Perhaps this might help the police tonight. And could it be that you’ve forgotten… that the only motorised bikes we’re allowed to ride to school are scooters? Kaito: Eh?! For real?!

Once again, Saguru doesn’t explicitly mention KID at all--and segues from his mention of the police to pointing out that Kaito is breaking the rules right now, actually, which helps blend this teasing comment into the conversation.

Yes, later in the chapter Saguru does show up with a team of motorcycle experts. But that also means there’s more disguise opportunities for KID and more factors to account for, thus complicating things for, well, everyone--not just KID.

Also, I tend to dismiss that as Gosho throwing in some comedy, and as less to do with Saguru’s character. Call it cherrypicking if you like :P

To recount--there are five times where Saguru implies Kaito is KID.

The first two are in chapter 17, when Saguru first puts it together, and it is during this chapter that he gets the most explicit about calling Kaito out as KID, as well as the most aggressively he behaves about it. And he backs off so hard after that doesn’t work, that we don’t see him for several chapters.

The next two times he implies Kaito is KID are both in order to help him. No aggression or accusations, just the sharing of information. Even when teasing or suggesting he’s interested in catching KID, he’s good-natured about it, and when he realizes there are potentially people witnessing the conversation, he stops participating.

The final time he implies Kaito is KID is a tiny comment about finding something Kaito has shown him ‘interesting’ and ‘helpful for the police’ before smoothing into gently teasing Kaito for bringing an illegal vehicle to school.

In conclusion, Saguru may start off apparently aggressive in part thanks to early Magic Kaito’s overall tone, but rather than persevering in trying to catch Kaito after cornering him in chapter 17, he actually seems to back off. Once he’s playing a part in the narrative again, when he interacts with Kaito it’s almost exclusively to help him. Yes, he is on the task force and participating at heists, but where it matters, he’s less interested in catching the thief and far more interested in those the thief is opposing (excluding the police force).

[robininthelabyrinth]

Curse-breaker (Chapter 2/4)

- ao3 -

“If you can’t find him, that means it’s not meant to be,” the Nie sect leader said, and perhaps looked a little relieved somewhere beneath the grim scowl that had replaced the easygoing smile he had once had. “Let it be, then. Only…”

“Yes, Sect Leader?”

“I want our borders shut,” he said, his gaze distant, his hands tucked behind his back in stiffest formality. “Let no cultivator pass through; no scion or servant of any other sect, large or small.”

“Sect Leader…?”

“I don’t care what it does to our reputation,” he said, voice flat. “I don’t care if it hurts our commerce, makes everyone laugh at us as cowards – I don’t care about anything like that. That he’s well enough to evade us does not mean he is out of danger. If anyone else should find out…”

He shook his head.

“I have failed him enough already. I will not do so again.” He turned his head to stare at his subordinates. “Shut it down. All of it!”

They saluted, and went to enact his will.

-

Lan Wangji hadn’t been especially impressed with the Nie sect at first.

They were loud and constantly moving yet also guarded and standoffish, as if they couldn’t decide if they wanted people to pay attention to them or to leave them alone. He initially had thought it was arrogance the same way as the Jin sect, wanting to be looked at without wanting to admit it, but after some observation he’d realized that it really wasn’t like that at all. It was a little more, he thought, that they were naturally outgoing and extroverted, innately social in nature, and had to keep reminding themselves that they actually didn’t like any other people.

Certainly that was the impression the Nie sect heir gave off.

Nie Huaisang was Lan Wangji’s age, but he was much less accomplished – he talked a lot, smiled a lot, was a lot, and yet Lan Wangji didn’t think he’d ever actually said a single thing that really mattered. Lan Wangji hadn’t thought much about Nie Huaisang at all other than gritting his teeth and acting as his escort on the Nie sect’s first visit to another sect in years and years, thinking that if Nie Huaisang was any example, the Nie sect’s fearsome reputation for being as straight and unsubtle as their sabers was all a bunch of nonsense. Maybe he would have gone on thinking that, too, except that on the fourth day of their visit he discovered that Nie Huaisang listened as well as talked.

“I’m sorry,” Nie Huaisang said at one point, smiling. “Could you repeat that?”

Lan Wangji hadn’t really been paying attention, and he certainly hadn’t been speaking – he looked at Nie Huaisang in askance, wondering if he’d accidentally said something he wasn’t aware of.

“Your father,” Nie Huaisang clarified, and Lan Wangji tensed. “How often is he in seclusion?”

Lan Wangji frowned, cautious – that was a secret, of course, one of the family secrets. Everything behind what happened with his parents was secret. “Quite often,” he temporized. “He’s trying to focus on his cultivation –”

“That wasn’t what I asked,” Nie Huaisang said, cheerfully cutting him off without making it seem like he was doing that. “My da-ge says that he heard from – from somewhere, anyway, that he wasn’t just in seclusion often but always. He says that your father hasn’t used his sword in years, leaving it to rust on the wall, betraying all his old principles of swordsmanship.”

Lan Wangji bristled, thinking that it was an insult, but Nie Huaisang was looking at him, face open and sincere and, for once, serious, and looking over his words Lan Wangji had to admit there was more truth to it than lies. And wasn’t his uncle always saying do not tell lies?

“It’s not his choice,” he said, trying to defend it even as he wondered who was the da-ge that Nie Huaisang was referring to, since he was supposed to be the only heir of Qinghe Nie. “He has to be there, because of –”

He stopped.

“Because of what?” Nie Huaisang asked. His eyes were too sharp, too knowing, and suddenly Lan Wangji was sure he already knew. “Because of the broken sword buried under his house?”

“…my mother’s,” Lan Wangji said, and knew that he had admitted too much.

Except maybe keeping secrets the way he was supposed to wasn’t actually what he was supposed to do, because Nie Huaisang nodded and said, “My da-ge wouldn’t like that.”

Then he went back to his father and said something about how his da-ge wouldn’t approve of what was going on and the next thing Lan Wangji knew, Sect Leader Nie was striding through the Cloud Recesses with a terrifying scowl, going straight up to the house where Lan Wangji’s father was in seclusion and tearing the door right off the hinges.

“She’s dead already,” he bellowed, voice echoing right down the bones. “You should save your care for the living, or else you’ll blink and next thing they’ll be gone. Gone right along with the dead you’ve already lost. Don’t you dare throw away your chance the way I did!”

After that, all of a sudden, Lan Wangji had a father again.

-

“There are rumors, you know,” Lan Xichen said.

He was having tea in the garden in the small teahouse just outside of the Nie sect lands in Qinghe, the place where the Nie sect usually received its visitors now that the Unclean Realm and most of its surrounding environs were shut off from the world by fiercely patrolling guards. He was with Nie Huaisang, who barely stopped talking, and Lan Wangji, who almost never started; ever since the day old Sect Leader Nie had forced Qingheng-jun out of seclusion and back into the world, they had been the most unlikely pair of best friends he could have ever imagined. Whenever they were together, they fit together like two improbable puzzle pieces that should never have been separated.

When he was with them, Lan Xichen always felt a little lost, a little alone – like there was someone else that should have been there, too, someone who fit with him just right the way they fit together.

Perhaps, he thought, reflecting on what he had heard, there really should have been.

“About what?” Nie Huaisang inquired politely.

“The Unclean Realm,” Lan Xichen said, even though that was obvious there’d be rumors about that – there’d been people trying to sneak into there ever since it had been locked down, even though the Nie sect had announced that they’d imposed orders permitting any trespassers to be killed on sight, no excuses allowed. It hadn’t made that much of a difference; everyone wanted to know what they were hiding. “The – inheritance thereof.”

“Oh?” Nie Huaisang fanned himself lightly. “How interesting. What do the rumors say?”

“That you have an older brother,” Lan Xichen said, and noted with interest that neither Nie Huaisang nor Lan Wangji seemed surprised. “That he’s the real heir of Qinghe Nie. And that he’s…”

“That he’s what?”

“Subject to a curse,” Lan Xichen said, feeling bashful for even saying such a thing. It sounded like a children’s story told in the nighttime, not like anything a cultivator ought to be speaking of.

Except Nie Huaisang smiled a little, his eyes curving into crescents in a grim sort of humor, and he said, “Well, they’re not wrong.”

-

“I trust that this is an illustration of the reason we have rules against spreading rumors,” Lan Qiren said mildly, and noted that Nie Huaisang looked thoroughly abashed for once.

It didn’t happen very often: Nie Huaisang was in many ways utterly shameless, as shameless as his father had always been. As shameless as his mother, who Lan Qiren had met only twice, had been when in search of a snack, and given that woman’s force of personality (and, for that matter, appetite), that was saying something.

“I wasn’t expecting them to start talking about breaking the curse,” Nie Huaisang said bitterly. “I didn’t mean a curse like – like a kid’s story, or something! I just meant, you know…”

The qi deviations, he did not say.

“It could be seen as a curse, if you look at it in the right light,” Lao Nie agreed. He didn’t seem especially perturbed by the fact that his son’s conversation with Lan Xichen had been overheard and then spread out everywhere, nor that the secret of his eldest son’s improbable survival was being gossiped about all over the cultivation world. “It’s quite a reasonable way to describe it, really.”

Lan Qiren shot his old friend a frown. “I trust you’ve heard the rest of it, too?” he asked tartly. “They’re saying that you’d let the entirety of the Qinghe Nie go to whoever succeeded in breaking the ‘curse’.”

“Who says I won’t?” Lao Nie asked, and Lan Qiren turned to him fully to stare: he couldn’t be serious.

Lao Nie caught his glance and shook his head, and in the light he didn’t look grim and angry, the way he always was these days; he looked tired, and sad, and broken. “Oh, I’m quite serious, my friend,” he said. “If someone could bring me back my son, I would give them my head off my shoulders in a heartbeat.”

He was speaking hypothetically, Lan Qiren knew, and yet – with a sinking sensation in his heart – he knew, too, that they weren’t sitting somewhere as secret as he would have liked for a conversation like this. He knew that others had probably heard what Lao Nie had said, and instead of understanding that he was expressing regret for what had happened to his son, they would think…

Well.

They’d think a lot of things.

“Think of your health, instead of your death,” Lan Qiren finally said, shaking his head. He’d been helping Lao Nie for years now, fighting a rearguard action against Lao Nie’s own inevitable qi deviation, trying to win enough time for Nie Huaisang to grow up old enough to take over properly, but it was getting harder each visit, the treatment less effective, the healing slower.

It would not be too long now.

“They’re the same thing,” Lao Nie said, shaking his head. “I should have lost my life years ago, instead of losing him his…it’s been so long, Qiren. Every day I wake up is a day I live for him, not for me – living the way he would want me to, doing what he’d approve of. It’s the least I could do. If someone could bring him back to me…someone, anyone, anyone at all…”

His gaze was distant, and sad. Terribly sad.

“What Qinghe Nie? What Unclean Realm? What inheritance?” he finally said.  “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give for that. Nothing at all.”

-

Wen Ruohan was the first.

For some reason, Lao Nie hadn’t been expecting that, though perhaps he should have – the reason he’d first started liking Wen Ruohan so much all those years ago was purely because of how shameless the man was, arrogant and careless of the world in the way only the truly dangerous could be. He’d liked that aspect of his back then, and when he wasn’t lying to himself, he knew he liked it still.

But this?

This was too far.

“How dare you?” he roared, and there was a red haze over his vision of the sort that he knew boded extremely ill for his long-term health. “My Unclean Realm is closed – do you think that you would be welcome? You, of all people?”

Wen Ruohan had forced his way right up to their gate, bringing with him a small retinue rather than the invasion force Lao Nie’s elders were always a little concerned about. As a result, he was now surrounded, surrounded and outnumbered, but he did not seem afraid.

Detestable man.

Lao Nie hated him now. He hated him as much as he’d once liked him.

He hated that he couldn’t hate him more.

“I’m here about the curse,” Wen Ruohan said, and Lao Nie stared at him, utterly speechless. “You did say ‘anyone at all��.”

“You want Qinghe Nie?” Lao Nie asked blankly, though of course he would – Wen Ruohan’s ambitions to take over the entire cultivation world were hardly secret. No, even if that was the first thing that came to his lips, Wen Ruohan’s blatant overreaching wasn’t actually what surprised him.

No, what surprised him was –

“You know it’s not a curse,” he said.

“I do,” Wen Ruohan said, and when he lifted his eyes to meet Lao Nie’s, Lao Nie was surprised to find them bloodshot. Not the familiar sort, the qi deviations of rage the way all Nie sect leaders went eventually, but rather a sort that was even more common than that.

Grief. Sorrow. Guilt.

Regret.

That last one was a word Lao Nie would previously have put money on Wen Ruohan not knowing.

“You said ‘anyone at all’,” Wen Ruohan said again, and it occurred to Lao Nie that that was the part that Wen Ruohan had quoted, the part he was stressing: not the inheritance, not There’s nothing I wouldn’t give, but just that. Anyone at all, Lao Nie had said, and he’d meant it, too. Anyone at all meant anyone.

Even Wen Ruohan.

“Since when do you care?” Lao Nie asked. “You were the one who did it.”

“I did it,” Wen Ruohan admitted. “I was angry at you. I’ve been angry at you for years. I thought I’d cleansed myself of all feeling before you dug the heart out of me, and yet you treated me lightly, giving me only as much of yourself as you wished. I thought that if I could only get rid of you, I could seal my heart up again and be none the worse for it.”

“You would’ve gone mad,” Lao Nie said, feeling irritable. “I told you time and time again, the path of clarity is a dead end. No man can live without feeling emotions. Sorrow may try to trick you into thinking it’s preferable, but in the end...”

Wen Ruohan smiled, humorless. “Sorrow can be very convincing. But that’s not what you asked – you wanted to know why I was here.”

Lao Nie crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, then?”

“You’re still here,” Wen Ruohan said. “My heart is not dead. And I – I nearly murdered a child.”

That brother of his, Lao Nie thought, and he understood.

But what good would his understanding do?

“I have to try to fix it,” Wen Ruohan said. No, not said – he was nearly begging. “Lao Nie, you said anyone. I did it, I acknowledge it. I was wrong. I regret. Let me have a chance to try to fix it.”

“There’s no fixing it,” Lao Nie said, and turned away. “You ran a fool’s errand, Hanhan. He’s not even here.”

[littlespoonevan]

(Anon who started her ask with 'I find it so refreshing' here.) First of all i'm sorry, i didn't intend to prompt you to comment on "mean" people in the fandom, ofc we all have different experiences!

But anyway, yess you understand me! There would have to be textual confirmation first that both buck and eddie are lgbt before going into buddie. It's easy for us to see "hints", but casual viewers? I rewatched some of 911 with my mom and like yours, she is a great example lol. When eddie and ana started dating in s4, my mom was convinced eddie had found the love of his life, you can't just have him say "I am in love with buck" without thoroughly and unambiguously hinting at and pointing towards that first.

I imagine it would be a bit difficult to suddenly have two bisexual awakening story lines without having either of them seem "forced". I'm curious what you think would be good ways to have both sexuality story lines and canon buddie happen, in a realistic way? 👀

oh anon, you're fine!! i just don't tend to venture outside my corner of the fandom so i'm not really one for discussing wider conflicts and such 😅

as for your question, in terms of where canon is right now, i agree doing two sexual awakening stories at once probably wouldn't be the road they'd go down but i still think they could pull it off in way that would make sense for the wider audience. for example, i think what could work is if they focus on eddie first just because his storyline is so prevalent at the moment. i'm quite married to the idea of another character pointing it out to him, or at least observing eddie's feelings while he watches buck from the other side of the room. and then seeing a masterful face journey that i know ryan guzman could pull off as he realises just how important buck is to him.

like to throw out a hypothetical - if someone in the season finale (i'd love if it was hen or karen) made some comment about buck being there for eddie and chris or something similar to the ana "readymade family" stuff and then for eddie to not freak out before wondering why he's not freaking out, you know?? and then he looks at buck across the room with chris and there’s the realisation of oh - this is different. (and what a Stunning full circle moment that would be in comparison to 5x01)

and so if we had a season or half a season of eddie grappling with his feelings for buck they could also tie it in with his therapy and explore his sexuality that way??? like re: his parents and his idea of a family and toxic masculinity etc etc

on the flip side, even in canon, i've always sort of been team "buck knows he likes men". like, it would Not be hard to throw in a line about how back when he was travelling or during his 1.0 phase that he'd slept with men before. and y'know, i'm not a bisexual man so it's not my place to say he doesn't need to experience a big journey like eddie but oh i just think it would be so impactful if the thing that catches buck by surprise isn't his sexuality but his feelings.

like i want eddie to tell him he loves him and i want that to rock buck to his very core. because he's loved eddie so steadfastly and with such conviction for so long that i really don't think he realises just how deeply it runs or what it means because he's never taken the time to examine it. so buck suddenly questioning everything he thought he knew about love and what it means to be a partner and how he's been doing that with eddie the whole time without realising?? that would be DELICIOUS.

again, i do think it'd be a good way to bring his sexuality up organically and maybe spoon feed the audience about how Not Straight some of his and eddie's moments have been too. like if he's thinking back over their moments together and talking through them with maddie and then seeing their dynamic in a new light???

to me, that would all be pretty realistic and within the realms of possibility in the show but again it would probably take a season of commitment to it to get the general audience there, y'know?? idk, either way i think if they decide to go there they'll do it justice. this is just the best way i can envision it in my head 🥰

[artemis-entreri]

How in the world can you bring yourself to keep reading R.A Salvatore's books with the massive free-fall in quality? Like, even before the Neverwinter Saga they were bad, and then they became WORSE, and I can't even imagine how they are now - yet you're still reading the newest trilogy? What amazing will drives you so?

[[ I'm a glutton for punishment. :P

In all seriousness (although the more of these books I read, the more I wonder if my previous statement isn’t in fact the reason), these are the primary reasons that I continue to read these books, not in any particular order:

- I really REALLY care about the Forgotten Realms novel line. Drizzt is unfortunately the only one that wasn’t canned, even if the contents within are more often than not a middle finger to the Realms. People in the publishing circle say that if the Drizzt books continue to do well that it might serve as an incentive for WotC to bring the novel line back, especially if the upcoming D&D movie and streaming series do well too. In all honesty, I think this is most likely a load of bull aimed at selling these books. Heck, perhaps the massive freefall in quality is something Bob’s doing intentionally to make sure only his books continue being published. This strategy seems like one that’ll backfire, but he likely doesn’t care anymore. He’s older now, has made a lot of money off of these books, and when they stop selling well he’s probably more than happy to not write anymore and just sit on his ass and do whatever it is mediocre white men do.

- I’m deeply invested in a certain character (bet you don’t need three guesses as to who :P) and I care about keeping up with his canon. It is true that that canon is in a pitiful state and only continues to deteriorate, but sadly, those events are part of the real Artemis’ experiences. Perhaps one day I’ll finally have enough and throw up my hands, but I’ve always been of the belief that one should know something thoroughly before breaking it, and that’s not a belief that’ll change. Thus, whether want to know this stuff so that I can reconcile what’s going on or so that I can break it in some hypothetical future, I’d need to read it.

- I feel some sort of duty/obligation to since I’ve worked my way to be able to receive ARCs for major publications, of which the Drizzt books don’t belong, but they’re among the ARCs I receive. There isn’t a rule that you need to read ARCs that you receive, publishers send unsolicited ARCs to readers all the time, however my situation is such that at some point in the past, I agreed to read, review, and buy the books of the ARCs that I receive via the means that I receive the Drizzt ARCs. By this point, that agreement is just a technicality, no one’s going to come after me if I don’t do those things, so it’s really more of a personal sense of responsibility than anything else to keep my word.

- I enjoy meeting like-minded individuals who find me and the communities that I’ve helped build. My commentary on these books are what lead them here. This is by far the most important thing to me, and the biggest impetus for me to continue reading these books. I treasure people who have the capacity to objectively look at things that they like, love, are interested and/or invested in, who are able to recognize that criticisms for those things are not criticisms for them personally. People who care about the moral and ethics within the pages and how they impact the world outside the pages, who want the books and the author to be be better; who challenge him rather than being apologists for the problematic content in his books. I can’t continue to discuss these books if I don’t read them, and the prospect of continuing to meet the type of people I enjoy is enough to keep me going. The proportion of people of this mindset has been growing exponentially, and as long as they dip their toes in the FR fandom, they inevitably run into me. :P Who knows, maybe if I gather enough of us, we can actually convince Bob to fix his shit, but that’s really wishful thinking. I’m just happy to have a community of people who aren’t blind worshippers of Bob. ]]

[fullmetalscullyy]

day 12 - snow

24 days - 24 oneshots | a collection of oneshots to celebrate royai

rated: g | words: 875

read on ao3

“Roy,” Riza hissed from somewhere nearby.

Her voice was quiet, almost sounding muffled, which was strange, Roy thought. His head swivelled to search around the room to try and pinpoint her, but Roy couldn’t see her anywhere. A small crease appeared in between his eyebrows.

Did he imagine her calling his name?

“Roy!”

The sound was muffled again, but he could determine it was coming from right in front of him. Tentatively Roy pulled back the curtain in front of his desk in the living area of Master Hawkeye’s home. He started when she suddenly popped up into view through the window. He looked through the glass to see her bundled up tightly in layers, equipped with a woollen hat and scarf. Her smile was genuine, if not a little shy, but she still beckoned him outside with a frantic wave.

Roy shot her a confused look then very quickly realised why she wanted him to come outside. While surprised to see her appear from nowhere, his attention was drawn away from his new friend almost immediately with his realisation.

Because it had been snowing while he’d worked.

It had been snowing heavily.

He’d seen snow before in Central, but it never came to anything of worth. By the time it had lain and built up to a decent depth, the cars in the street and pedestrian footfall had churned most of it to mush. There was nothing clean and crisp about the snow in Central City. But here, at Riza’s house, it was a winter wonderland. So much of it had been untouched.

He couldn’t wait to stomp through it.

Without so much as a backwards glance he tore through the house to the front door and abandoned his work. He shoved his feet into his boots and tossed on his jacket haphazardly while he was already rushing out the door. His feet sunk into the fresh snow – much deeper than anticipated – with a satisfying crunch that caused Roy to let out a small sound of glee.

“You said you wanted to see the snow,” Riza commented quietly as she made her way across to him. Her demeanour still held a hint of shyness, but her smile was bright and reached her eyes. She was happy he was happy.

“I did, didn’t I?” Roy grinned and broke out into a run while he laughed.

Riza had told him about the winters they had in her part of the country, with deep snow and blizzards. Although the latter didn’t happen very frequently, he’d still dreamily voiced his desire to see it one day. It would be a spectacular sight, he was sure.

“Oh, Riza,” he breathed as he looked around the at ground before him. He had thoroughly traipsed through every untouched part of snow he could find. The urge had been too great to leave it be. He had to churn it up with his feet, to hear that crunching sound and feel the sensation of the flakes being compressed beneath his boots. And it remained white! It didn’t immediately turn to mush or change to grey or brown, thanks to the dirt on the streets. It remained crisp and compacted. It all brought him so much joy, he couldn’t explain it.

Roy didn’t know why he enjoyed it so much, but he did. It was so satisfying. Childish, Master Hawkeye might mutter, but Roy didn’t care. He and Riza were children, something the Master appeared to forget more often than not, so it was not out the realm of possibility. He’d tell him so if they were questioned about why he’d left his studies to play in the snow.

“Riza, thank you,” he grinned.

“For what?”

“For coming to get me, to show me. This is so cool! I can’t believe it.” Roy let out another laugh of disbelief as he looked around at the ground. He started walking again, huffing a laugh to himself happily. “It’s better than I hoped it would be.”

The sight of Riza’s pleased smile made him ecstatic.

Roy went back to his stomping, enjoying himself far too much.

“Sorry if I interrupted you,” she interjected. Her voice was almost a mumble. Roy’s head snapped up to look at her, seeing how her smile had fallen. The sight made him pause and dread pooled inside his stomach. “But I didn’t want you to miss it.” Her admission was timid and she didn’t meet his eyes.

Roy was touched she’d remembered what he’d said so long ago. That she’d sought him out to tell him so he didn’t miss out.

“You are always more than welcome to interrupt me, Riza,” he expressed.

Her eyebrows shot up towards her hairline and Roy knew what she was thinking. What would her father have to say about that kind of attitude, she wondered? But Roy didn’t care.

“I mean it,” he insisted. “I’ll always have time for you.”

Her cheeks flushed and she looked away. But she did give him a small nod.

“Do you want to build a snowman?”

Excitement surged within his body at the prospect as she proposed her hopeful question. His eyes lit up, he was sure, and Roy beamed at Riza. “I would absolutely love to, Riza.”

feel free to leave a comment and kudos on ao3 :)

likes and reblogs are much appreciated <3

[vi-is-short-for-violence]

New Frontier A Hollow Knight and Bug Fables crossover OC fic.

Full fic is under the cut!

PLEASE REBLOG!! MANY HOURS WENT INTO THIS AND I’D RLLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT!!

It had been a very interesting trip, taking the ferry from the continent Bugaria resided to the main continent known as The Outlands. Team Snakemouth, the heros of Bugaria were treated like celebrities everywhere they went. Everyone knowing them all by name and singing their praises, and if some weren't convinced of their greatness, many times bugs would contest them in combat and were quickly swayed into seeing their power. Vi especially enjoyed this attention.. being one of the first bees to truly venture beyond the Hive and find her place in the world as an explorer and rouge. The other two would often need to reel her in. Usually Leif did not mind Vi's more combative nature, so long as it wasn't a major risk.. though her pride is what both Leif and Kabbu would regularly keep in check. Leif appeared largely indifferent about their praise, but beneath his cold exterior, his friends knew he couldn't help but be grateful and flattered. Kabbu on the other hand loved the praise as much as Vi did, but unlike her, made sure to ground himself. If their mission around the legendary Everlasting Sapling taught him anything, it was that nothing was indestructible. Not the sapling, not his team, and certainly not him. After their first adventure however the one thing they all unanimously agreed on, was that they longed to continue their quests and even venture beyond Bugarias borders, and travel the mainlands.. The Outlands. They set sail into the world... the main continent.. the setting of their greatest adventures yet.

Team Snakemouth now walked on these ancient grounds.. and already the way they'd seen the world was beyond different than the world that came into view around them all. Chompy, the fourth and most beloved member of the team, who was resting comfortably around Vis neck and shoulders spread her autumn colored leaves.. taking in the bright sun. The other three gave a breath of pure awe.. The Outlands were full of rocky and mountainous terrain. Great mountains could be seen in the distance, their might and elegance seen plain and true even in the most distant horizons. "OOOUGH WHERE DO WE GO FIRST?! THE MOUNTAINS? THE PLAINS? THAT GIANT CLIFF?? OR- OR MAYBE WE COULD SEE WHATS OUT AT SEA OVER THERE!!" Squealed the VERY excited honeybee! "I'm not sure Vi! But my.. it is truly beautiful.. just as the tales foretold!" replied Kabbu. Looking just as giddy as Vi! The sun shining onto his iridescent green shell. "We feel like we've entered an entirely different realm. We can already feel an abundance of magic and energy here.." Leif remarked, spreading his navy blue and pale yellow accented wings. "Yeah yea, but can you imagine what kinda crazy treasure we could fine here? I heard this place is ancient as HELL!" "If I recall correctly Vi, The Outlands were settled eons before Bugarias continent was! It was filled with ancient scattered kingdoms." Kabbu knelt and placed his clawed hand on the ground, as if he were resting his claws on a monument of ancient history and peering into its secrets. "Hundreds of years ago, these lands were barren wastes. Polluted and corrupted with a dark substance.. These Outlands were once called The Wastelands, lawless and filled with mad bugs. That is why these scattered kingdoms existed. In a world devoid of life and law, someone had to do something." "Are these lands not still devoid of law? Law only exists in those kingdoms still we'd imagine." Inquired Leif. Kabbu stands back up and looks at his moth friend. "Well, yes and no. Some of the rulers of these lands keep an eye on the Outlands as a means of protecting potential citizens." Vi looked at Kabbu and raised a brow, "Jeez how do you even know all this stuff Kabbu?" "Well! If we planned on visiting this place, we might as well get to know it's history a little better." Vi shrugged, "Meh, fair. But hey, there's a lotta history in treasure toooo.~" "We anticipated a response like that. Lets not dally then. Kabbu, you know more about this place than either of us, do you know where we could head first?" Kabbu hummed wonderingly. "We could potentially head for the mountains, there are a fair few kingdoms there and we could stock up on supplies for the rest of our journey!" "FUCK YEA MOUNTAINS!!" Vi cheered, much to Kabbus displeasure hearing her curse like that again. "VI!! Watch your language!". Leif proceeded only to laugh.

It had been a long day, traveling to the base of the mountains. Bandits and beasts making attempts on their supplies and even their lives. Nothing they weren't used to really. Though there were a disturbing number of poachers. A dark stain from the Wastelands past economic practices; slaying bugs and selling valuable parts of them to the black market. Primarily wings, fluff, horns, hard shells and stingers, unique defenses of specific bugs, even certain pheromones to lure in bugs like ants. To say that their encounters with the poachers did not shake the group up a fair amount.. would be a dirty lie. They triumphed, but were still very on edge if they could harvest them. The sun began to set however, and the quartet was weary from the long day. Not a bad day, only a long one. Whimsy tainted by the reminder that the life of an explorer was still a dangerous one. Regardless, the team kept their spirits up. Knowing that the next day would bring great discovery! Following a nice meal and usual banter expected of their team, Team Snakemouth set up their temporary beds, and went to sleep for the night. Though one member of the team was far less of a deep sleeper than the others.. hearing faint, yet heavy footsteps, caused on of Vis antennae to perk up. She perked up, slowly looking around the area.. bathed in moonlight, yet sheltered from it in some areas with the rocks and shelter of the mountain and nearby terrain. But she could clearly see it. In the distance.. a tall, large and shadowed figure a fair distance from the team. It's silhouette was not one that Vi could identify, it appeared to have multiple horns, but the rest of its body held no defining traits. No abdomen, no wings, just a horned head and a long cloak.. as well as.. something spilling from its head that nearly dragged against the ground. Was... this even a bug? The lack of identifying features deeply frightened the bee. She remembered the last time she saw something like this. The reminder of the canniness of the Dead Landers shot a spine straight through her of pure fear and stress. This was... big. Not nearly as big as that.. thing with those large orange eyes was.. but it was still big whatever it was. Vi, now thoroughly terrified, slowly grabbed her beemerang and slowly approached the large rock that sheltered them from outside sight. Slowly she turned back to look at the figure. They appeared to sit down, back against the base of the mountain, sifting through items that Vi could not properly see due to the lighting. She squints to try and get a better look, before her heart was thrown into the base of her stinger. It looked at her. Two bright blue sparks for eyes stared directly at her. As quick as she could she immediately ducked back behind the rock, stifling any and every sound she made by desperately covering her mouth. Claws digging into her cheeks as fear overtook her. Dammit! Being stuck in this sort of situation scared the hell out of her, no, terrified her beyond words, but at this point she was starting to grow frustrated. They were fighters goddammit! Not cowards! Her and the others took out way worse than this, she- they could do this! So then why would her limbs not move an inch? Why was she still paralyzed with horror despite her frustration and rebellion against these intense feelings of fear?? She held her beemerang in a death grip, shaking intensely, which only grew worse when those footsteps began to approach once again. Move. MOVE! "VI! KABBU! CHOMPY! ON YOUR GUARD!" yelled out another voice. The familiar crack of Leifs magic smacking against the carapace of an enemy bug, as the large figure stumbled backwards with a grunt. Leif stood over his resting spot, glowing with that cold, blue magic. Kabbu and Chompy following suit. Chompy let out a horrendous roar, the chomper had grown in size since the teams first adventure, and while not as big as the mother she would eventually become, she was still quite formidable. Horrifyingly, the other "bug" let out an enormous and otherworldly sounding roar in response, as the appendages that came down its head flared up like black vines. Even Chompy recoiled at the sight. The creature leaped back, drawing a large sword and glaring with those bright blue eyes. "Vi!" Kabbu looked over to the trembling bee. "Come on, it's okay. Lets take care of this!" He held out his hand to help her up. Snapping out of her paralysis, she glared a serious look at Kabbu. "R-right!". The dark figure loomed over all four of them. Squinting at them as they readied for battle. "Four on one don't seem too fair.." it spoke.. it's voice, surprisingly normal sounding, though it had a sort of accent that struck the four as unfamiliar. "Yeah?! And NEITHER DOES SNEAKING UP ON A GROUP WHILE THEY'RE ASLEEP!!" Shouted Vi, anger and fear clear in her young voice. She threw the beemerang with all of her might, making a sharp CRACK as it made contact with the beast. It growled.. "I was doin no such thin' lil girl! I saw you gettin' a good look at me while I was lookin' through mah thin's!" Kabbus expression lightened a bit, "Wait- then maybe this was a misunderstanding?". The creature huffed, "S'fine. M' a big guy after all.. tend t'scare a few bugs out ere.. but since ya'll got up wantin' a fight then lets have one!" The creatures voice went from a gruff, tired and frustrated tone, to sounding as if it had all the energy in the world with the prospect of a battle. "BRING IT ON BIG GUY!! WE'LL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU!!" Vi angrily shouted. Kabbu and Leif looked to one another, Vi's rage evident in her tone and posture. Kabbu and Leif knew there was no bringing her back from that, but they couldn't simply leave her to fight alone. They straightened themselves out once more. The creature turned out to be quite quick for its size, and it was able to take one hell of a beating. The Team would need to react quickly to block and chip away at its health. Saving Team Points primarily for healing and reviving, as well as low cost special attacks. Unlike The Everlasting King, it could heal but it could not steal health from them, and healing spent its entire turn. What sucked however was that his defense was high and his attacks hit hard. It was tough for sure, multiple times the team would go down, but they got right back up thanks to Kabbus pep talk and Vis shared stash. Eventually, for as long as the fight went on, it eventually ended with Team Snakemouth as the victors. As the beast finally fell, the light of dawn spilled over the land. Everyone was weary and very injured. The beast chuckled, "Good fight... hh..hhh.. ain't had one like that n' a while I gotta say. Good job.." "Who.. hhh. are you.?" "And more importantly WHAT are you..?" Kabbu asked before quickly being interrupted by Vi. With the light of dawn more of the beat became visible. Its horned head was an off-white shell, that looked almost like a mask, even the right side of it had a long crack that stretched from the top of its head to the base of its chin with some grass stains littering it in some places. It wore a black and grey patchwork cloak with a blue medal clipped to it and lastly, it's eyes. Not fully blue, in fact mostly black with blue pupils that looked like sapphire rings. What spilled down from its head however? None of the bugs could identify. It wasn't antennae, or fur, and while they somewhat looked like vines, they were smooth and black and even appeared to glimmer as if they were wet. "M'names Finnley. M' from a far away Kingdom ere.. betcha mighta heard uh Hallownest. But guessin yer not quite sure what I am thats- actually a toss up huehue!" Kabbu perked up a little bit. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't help but be excited. "I have heard mentions of that place, yes! But its whereabouts and information I am unfortunately unaware of." It was hard to tell, but Finnleys face appeared.. vaguely happy.. despite lacking a mouth and appearing more like a mask. "Well. S'where me n all my kind 're from. We're vessels, n all of us 'r siblin's too! Ya might actually run intuh a few'uh us out ere!" Leif canted his head slightly, "Vessels. An odd name for a species of bug.." "Yeah and how are ALL of you siblings?" Vi interjected, skeptical of Finnleys claims. "Well it's a long ass story, one ion't think you'd wanna hear all of from me. But you stick round long enough you'll find out soon enough. S'pretty common knowledge ere." Finnley perks up a bit. "Oh! Shit I should probably heal yall up actually. Er, gunna need t' hold yalls hands t'do it though, if ya don' mind." Leif extended his hand, aware of what this could be. He's proven correct when white energy swirls around Finnley, moving over to Leif. Patching up his wounds. Soul focus. An ability utilized by only gods, higher beings and powerful mages. Kabbu and Vis eyes widened. "Woah what the hell?? How did you do that??" Asked Vi, amazed. "Soul Focus." spoke Leif. "But we believed only higher beings, gods and powerful mages could do something like that.. we did not take you to be any of those things." "S'a long story, again, like I said. But ey. S'th' least I can do after scarin yuhs." Finnley chuckles before healing Kabbu, Vi and Chompy as well. "Thank you kindly Finnley. We should likely introduce ourselves as well come to think.. My name is Kabbu. This is Leif, this is Vi, and this.." he lifts up the chomper plant. "Is Chompy!". Finnley giggles again, stroking Chompys head with his finger. "D'aw! Cutie pie! S'one hell of a murder machine but a cutie pie nontheless." "We agree wholeheartedly." Agreed Leif. After a while of speaking, Finnley gave the group a map of the Outlands, as well as what places to avoid, and a list of hotspots to rest up and stock up before actually making it to a kingdom. "If yer thinkin' uh goin up t'the mountains, ah'd suggest goin t' Xhalyun. Eroanne's nearby Xhalyun too n both 'r cold as hell, but Xhalyun shit is a helluva lot cheaper than Eroanne, closer too." Finishing that thought he handed Kabbu the map, to which he made a delighted squeak of excitement. "Thank you kindly, Finnley. Despite first impressions I am very glad to have run into you!" Leif nods in agreement as Finnley lifts up his bag. "Ain't no problem sir. I wish ya'll luck out there. N hey, maybe if we meet again ya'll can tell me shit bout Bugaria. Been wantin t'head over there myself someday." "Oh you'd love it there! It's a wonderful place.." Finnley nodded, before kneeling down to Vi. "Ay kid, sorry fer scarin' ya." He holds out his hand and Vi raises a brow. "Let's battle again sometime aight?" Vi hesitates for a second before her usual smirk returns to her, placing her hand in his for a handshake. "Abso-goddamn-lutely heheh!! Better be a bigger challenge next time though!!" Finnley gave a great laugh and stood back up again. "You too kiddo! If you ain't gettin better ain't no damn point in it! I'll catch ya'll later uh?" "For certain. Take care." remarked Leif with a smile, as both teams parted ways.

As the towering Vessel took his leave.. he chuckled to himself.. "..Seeker.. Wanderer.. I wish ya'll could come with me when I go t'Bugaria.. I know ya'll'd love diggin' intuh th' place.." "...Maybe one day we will.. I'd love that."  

[darlingpetao3]

House of W (Multiple!Wells x Reader, Chapter 4)

Rating: T

Summary: After having to deal with the deaths of an infinite number of Harrison Wells in the Multiverse, you, a magic-wielding meta, have a breakdown and unwittingly create a happy, fictitious sitcom life with some of your favourite men. In a world of comedy and cameos, can Team Flash and an out-of-town magician break through your powers to save you? And what if you don’t want to be saved...?

A/N: Alright! Here’s where we continue from where Team Flash left off. We’ll see Chapter 3 from their perspective, and somethings might make a bit more sense as well as raise more questions!

Tag List: @fandomdancer @bluesclues-1234 @pinkdiamond1016 @crissymadlock @firstofficer-tilly @disneyoncerlover815 @marvel-lady10 @thecaptainsgingersnap @noctvrnalmoth @alexxlynn @dontbedumb3 @heyl0lwhatsup @ryou-cosmos @arianalilyblack @sonnensplitter @imagine-yourself-happy​

PROLOGUE | CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3

Barry is the first to sprint out of the Cortex, leaving everyone else in the dust and papers flying.

The rest of Team Flash and Zatanna rush after the Speedster down the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs as fast as they can to the elevator. Only when they reach it are they met by Barry to inform them of your discovered whereabouts.

“She’s in the basement,” he tells them. “You have to see this.”

Indeed, they all take a ride down to the building’s lowermost level—an enormous concrete space and incredibly high ceilings. But there is one thing very much out of the ordinary here.

“Holy Forcefield, Batman…” Cisco says at the sight before them all.

A glowing, translucent purple sphere surrounds what looks to be an empty set—the set of your magical sitcom everyone had been watching for the past two episodes. It’s eerily dark and quiet. Chester can’t seem to resist its beauty and mystery as he walks even closer toward it and reaches out a hand.

“Careful Chester-!” Caitlin warns him a little too late. Chester yanks his arm back after touching the forcefield with a yelp. He looks at everyone.

“Are you hurt?” a concerned Barry asks.

“I…” Chester shakes his head in disbelief. “I saw something awful. It was, uh… from my childhood. I thought I’d forgotten it…”

“Why don’t you go sit down for a bit?” Caitlin ushers the poor traumatized man to a seat by the wall.

Meanwhile, Zatanna utters a few backwards phrases and moves her hands in the direction of the purple sphere. The gang waits to hear of what she’s learning.

“Just as I thought,” she says at last. “This forcefield (Y/N) has put up is embedded with Anarchy Magic. And it seems she’s made it so that whoever touches or tries to break through her magic will experience trauma and heartbreak from the trespasser’s life.”

“How tragically fitting,” Caitlin comments sadly as she thinks of you and all you’ve been through. Barry takes this information in and stares into the darkened sitcom set.

“What are we going to do?” Cisco wonders out loud.

“This could be our chance,” Barry says, already churning out the beginnings of a plan. “Zatanna, do you think you could breach through (Y/N)’s forcefield with your magic?”

“I’ll need a little more time to study it, but yeah,” Zatanna assures, “I think I can.”

“Great. We’ll prepare ourselves while we wait.”

“Wait for what?” Caitlin asks. Barry turns to her.

“For Episode Three.”

~ ~ ~ ~

The part of the S.T.A.R. Labs basement which Team Flash has access to has now been essentially transformed into half campground/half studio audience seating. The latter was Cisco’s idea, naturally.

Everyone had stayed the night on mats and foldable tents found in the Starchives. A certain longhaired engineer even made the correlation that this felt a lot like camping out in line in front of a theater for a much-anticipated movie release.

After staying up too late theorizing and plotting your safe return, the campers are rudely awakened by a jingle—a very groovy disco-sounding theme.

“Iiiiit’s startiiiing!” Cisco shouts, making sure to grab his pillow and a bag of pre-popped popcorn

The others—Caitlin, Allegra, and Chester grumble and mozy out of their sleeping bags, whereas Barry and Zatanna burst out of theirs with a raring purpose.

Through the forcefield, they can see a flurry of Wells men running around the house doing various tasks in preparation for your impending baby. It all feels very real to the onlookers, not fake or acting on any of the doppelgangers’ parts. They really do believe you’re having a baby.

Barry doesn’t want to fully believe it. Part of him still wants to believe this is all for show—a fictional world with pre-planned plots and storylines. It would be so much easier for him if that were the truth.

Because the other option was a lot more painful to deal with.

Even as everyone watches and laughs along at the antics, none of the ‘stars’ on the other side of the magic forcefield can hear them.

“She looks like she’s gonna burst,” Barry notes at your exponentially growing size. “At this rate, she’ll have the baby by the end of the episode. We need to help her. Zatanna, Caitlin, are you ready for what we talked about last night?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Caitlin says.

“Let’s do this,” Zatanna replies. 

“Great.” Barry sighs a worried breath. “Caitlin, I’m giving you this comms so that we can keep in contact even on the inside. Zatanna has bewitched it to look like an earring. And I’m going to let Cisco take the reins on walking you through what to say since he is apparently this show’s number one fan.”

“Gotcha, boss.”

“Uh, guys?” Allegra pipes up. “Her water just broke!”

“It’s now or never,” Barry exhales.

Zatanna holds out her palms toward Caitlin, then speaks in a clear voice, “Mlaer moctis eht edisni ylefas niltiaC dnes.”

At this, Caitlin vanishes before the team’s very eyes. Everyone can only hope she is safely on the other side of the forcefield.

“And now we wait,” Zatanna confirms.

“Popcorn?” Cisco proffers his bag to everyone.

“Shhhhh!”

With Caitlin now officially in the sitcom realm—clad in a white doctor’s coat and a stethoscope hanging around her neck—the door whisks open in front of her to reveal Nash Wells. Even for her, seeing his face again is a shock. While she and Frost were away with Doctor Tannhauser for a time, she had received word from Barry saying that Nash and the other Wells had sacrificed themselves.

And yet, here they all are, standing in the doorway with panicked eyes about the fact that you’re having their baby.

Oh, right! This is my cue, she thinks.

“Uh, hi,” Nash says, a little confused. “Who are you?”

~~“Remember, you can’t give your real name in case (Y/N) catches on. You have to play along,”~~ Cisco advises in her ear. She remembers that he, along with the rest of Team Flash, can see her on the other side of the forcefield. To her, however, she merely sees a plain wall.

“Yes, hi! My name is C… uhh...”

~~“Say Elsa, say Elsa, say El-”~~

“Elsa?”

Dammit, Caitlin curses mentally. Frost laughs in the back of her head while Cisco cackles in her comms. The doctor, now thoroughly annoyed, plays with her earring to turn off communication with the outside world. Cisco’s prank could have cost them big time. She’s going to do this herself. No distractions.

“I’m a doctor,” Caitlin continues. “I was making the rounds in the neighbourhood and heard some yelling coming from your home. Are you in need of a doctor?”

“Actually, yes,” Harry confirms. It’s so strange. He’s looking right at Caitlin—they all are—but they truly do not recognize her. It makes your friend realize just how powerful you really are.

Meanwhile on the outside, Team Flash is having mixed emotions about the birth of your baby. Barry is still in disbelief that he is becoming an uncle before his eyes. Cisco, Chester, and Allegra are fanboying and fangirling over the moment. And then there is Zatanna, watching with a neutral expression.

They watch Caitlin help deliver baby Liberty, although entirely and conveniently out of view from the “camera” and the transparent forcefield.

But when the surprise of Belle arrives, well, that earns literal applause from Cisco.

“Do you think they’re real?” Barry quietly asks Zatanna away from everyone else.

“I’m still unsure,” she answers. “They sure all look happy, though.”

Barry doesn’t respond to this.

Once the babies are safe with their cooing fathers and you’ve magically seemed to have cleaned up from the ordeal of birthing twins, you approach Caitlin.

“Doctor Elsa, I can’t thank you enough for your help today,” you say to Caitlin. For a moment, she forgets you’re referring to her with the accidental alias. “What a coincidence that you showed up at my door just as I was going into labour! You must have a sixth sense about these things.”

“It’s a gift!” she says pleasantly. “But really, how have you been doing? Are you well?”

You give her a curious look. “Yes, of course I’m well. I have two beautiful daughters and four wonderful husbands. A house full of love. I couldn’t be happier.”

Caitlin knows she shouldn’t press on anything about the ‘behind the scenes’ of your sitcom reality, but this is all so confusing and mysterious that her scientific mind can’t help but form a myriad of questions.

“What is it?” you ask.

Caity, I’m not sure… Frost begins to voice her worry in her head.

“It’s just…” Caitlin drops to a whisper so as to not let the Wells men hear, “how are they here?”

Your face drops. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Your husbands. They… died. Vanished. How did you do all of this?”

Your entire body glows with a purple aura, and Caitlin half-wonders if you’re starting to levitate slightly.

You look like a vengeful and magical angel of death.

“Get out,” you tell her.

“(Y/N), no, please, listen,” she tries, but it’s too late. A powerful blast of energy hits Caitlin in the gut, knocking the wind from her lungs and backwards. Her body comes in contact with something hard, then squishy, and…

“Ronnie?” she says. “No, please…”

What she sees is all around her as she’s pushed back through the forcefield—the death of her husband, Ronnie Raymond. It’s like it’s happening all over again, watching as he flies up into the windy vortex above the city as Firestorm. The last time she’ll ever see him alive again.

“Caitlin? Caitlin!” Barry worries over his friend. She looks totally out of it as she lays on the concrete floor, safely back in reality once more. “Are you okay?”

Caitlin grunts, her brow furrowed. She’s trying to keep everything she saw inside. For a second time.

“Yup, I’m good,” she claims. Allegra and Cisco help her up and over to their makeshift audience seats.

Barry sighs and soon becomes lost in thought. “You know what I still don’t get?”

“What’s that?” Zatanna replies.

“What about in the last episode where they were working at S.T.A.R. Toy Manufacturing? Those were our hallways upstairs. And I don’t see any extra sets. Do you think the forcefield, I dunno, moved with them?”

“If that’s the case, it would be as if (Y/N)’s magic is writing and rewriting itself. And if so, as she moves, everything around her gets recreated. Like the era-changing set. That’s what we see on screen. It’s like a battery that was left on.”

“So what, does that mean eventually she’s going to run out of power? Or short circuit?”

“That, I still don’t know. This kind of magic she wields is unlike anything I’ve seen before. I’m learning about it as much as you are.”

Cisco does a little jog over the two conversing theorists.

“How is she?” Zatanna asks the engineer.

“Not physically hurt… but I can see that she is inside. Emotionally.”

Barry’s lips press into a thin line.

“Hey, so, do you think the Wells can… get out of her forcefield radius?” Cisco asks the magician. Instead, Barry answers first.

“Knowing (Y/N), she wouldn’t have made that an option.”

[avengershumanresources]

blood 11 - Strange/Stark!Reader

Relationship: Dr. Strange/Princess!Stark!Reader

Rating: M

Warnings: Adult Themes, smut, adult language, implied sexual violence, general violence

Synopsis: Reader is the daughter of the legendary King Anthony Stark, Uniter of Lands, The Iron Defender, and leader of the realm. When the king disappears during battle, hope is lost and he is presumed dead.

When the late king’s uncle, Obadiah, takes the throne until your brother Peter is of age, he quickly arranges a marriage for you with a wicked king in a neighboring kingdom.

With the realms politics in question, and rumors of an upcoming siege to overthrow Peter’s rule before it starts, you quickly learn who is loyal to the crown and who is not.

part 10 - part 12

Masterlist

Chapter Playlist

11 - a battle cry

“Good as new,” Wanda helped Stephen sit up, her arm wrapped around his torso, his arm sling over her shoulders. 

“I feel like a horse ran over me,” he grumbled, pressing a finger to his temple. 

You’d long fallen asleep, though you’d been too stubborn to leave his side and sleep in a proper bed. Instead, you’d curled up in one of the ornate chairs and passed out, hand draped as close as physically possible to the injured sorcerer. 

“It was an herb from Brock’s kingdom that stopped the blooding from clotting,” Wanda explained, summoning the book she’d read the antidote in. “It’s rare, even for that kingdom, and she wouldn’t have had enough to cover all the arrows.”

“Someone must be bitter,” he commented dryly. “I don’t know why, I’ve been nothing but nice to the old witch.”

“You weren’t exactly subtle in your romancing of the princess,” Wanda reminded him with a knowing smirk. 

“Not a good enough reason to try and kill me,” he decided, standing and giving his arms and torso a stretch. The wound still tickled slightly when he shifted, a side effect of the magic used to seal the cut. “Now, do we have any idea why the princess is a homing signal of magical energy?”

Both of their eyes fell on you. Your seidr had spread, making gentle waves of violet light over your skin as you slept. It was almost overwhelming how powerful it felt to the magic users. Stephen felt almost suffocated and he didn’t miss how Wanda skirted the edge of the room, avoiding direct contact with you. 

“Loki sent a raven to Asgard,” Wanda supplied. “Hopefully Frigga has a suggestion.”

“It won’t matter if Amora keeps her wards up,” he huffed in frustration. “There’s nothing at Kamar-Taj on the subject that I’ve been able to find. The ancient Asgardians were effective in their campaign.”

“I’ve solidified the wards around the keep as best I could, but this is going to break through and Amora will know,” Wanda warned, chewing her bottom lip anxiously. 

Stephen tried reaching for your hand but the seidr snapped back at him like a guard dog ready to fight. He ran a tired hand over his face, shaking his head at the situation. This certainly was not ideal.

(—)

“We maintain our plan of attack,” Peter instructed, pouting around the base of the castle. “We’re going to use the tunnels.”

“The wards are all around the castle,” Loki protested. “There’s no way in.”

“My sister, Gods rest her soul, had snuck past every ward that every Master had put on the castle,” he pulled up the map Sam handed him and drew his finger across the page. “They’re outside the boundary lines and protected by older runes. The wards don’t effect them.”

“The problem is, we can’t bring enough men to thoroughly attack their forces from within,” Sam continued, eyeing Loki. “We have to take down Amora and break down the wards so our men can get through.”

“That’s a suicide mission,” Loki frowned. “She’ll kill anyone on sight.”

“And you trained under your mother as well,” Peter noted. “You know her tricks and capabilities. If anyone is getting close to her, it’s you.”

“Peter, I appreciate your enthusiasm but I’ve tried killing her numerous times in the past,” Loki replied tersely. “We’re evenly matched. If she has any other magic users with her, that’s it.”

“We need something more powerful then,” Thor reasoned pointed, looking to Loki with a knowing stare.

“Short of a miracle, we’re limited in what we have until more Asgardians arrive,” Peter countered. “We need to get inside and take back the castle.”

Loki had fallen silent. 

There was a way. A force of magic more powerful than any known user could imagine.

It was risky to say the least, and he knew at least one person would disagree.

(—)

“Absolutely not,” Stephen snapped throwing his hands up. “Have you lost your mind?”

“She’s going to be found regardless,” Loki directed the statement to Tony. “And intrinsically, her seidr will lower Amora’s defense enough for myself or one of us to get a move in edgewise.”

“It isn’t entirely unreasonable,” Wanda voiced, earning a glare from Stephen. “We send in the guard with her to protect her from a physical threat... certainly she would be able to handle any magical ones.”

“She’s untrained,” Stephen stressed again, looking to Tony for support. “What if, Gods help us, the seidr stops doing whatever it’s doing? We don’t know. It’s too unpredictable and unreliable to make a plan centered around it.”

The trio had tasked you with helping some of the wounded men while they debated Loki’s suggestion after he’d returned from the battle front. The general agreement had been that you would have immediately volunteered and that didn’t bode well for some of the logistic issues that needed to be brought up ahead of you charging headfirst into battle.

“It defeats the point of faking her death,” Tony agreed, looking to Loki for a rebuttal. 

“It doesn’t,” he insisted. “Amora won’t see it coming. Not until it’s too late.”

“That’s rubbish and you know it,” Stephen snapped back. “She could be across the kingdom and anyone with a speck of magic in their system would sense her coming. She’s a storm of uncontrolled energy.”

“Is she?” Loki asked innocuously, quirking a brow. “I certainly don’t feel anything in here... isn’t she only the next room over?”

Stephen froze. 

The Asgardian prince was right. 

He couldn’t feel your seidr anywhere in the room, outside of it, or within the castle walls at all. 

“What did you do?” he asked, dumbfounded. 

Loki held up a small amulet and he heard Tony suck in a breath of surprise. 

“Where did you find that?” the king demanded, standing from his chair and reaching for the necklace. Wrapping his fingers around the amulet himself, he ran his fingers around the edges while he listened. 

“Your late queen entrusted it to my mother,” Loki explained. “It arrived an hour ago with her written incantations to seal the seidr temporarily. It had to be taken by Lady Sif to the Asgardian border, then transported to Kamar-Taj by Mordo, and delivered to me by Wong. A lot of trouble went into getting it and I would hate to see it go to waste…”

Tony clutched the the chain of the amulet in his fist and held it up for Stephen to better see. 

It was definitely old, with weathered metal and jewels embedded in the ridges that had long lost their luster to time. 

“If there’s a chance, it would be in this,” he stated firmly in agreement. “Alexandra used it while she was still training her abilities with Frigga. It saved a lot of trouble while she experimented and on her death bed, when her powers were in a frenzy, this protected the kingdom from harm.”

He turned it over and showed the sorcerer the rune on the back. Stephen was, admittedly, unfamiliar with the symbol. It resembled old Asgardian, but the way the letters curved suggested another origin.

“Vanir,” Tony explained when Stephen flickered his gaze up curiously at the king. “She found it in an old temple on the outskirts of Asgard near the old Vanaheim border.”

“The princess keeps it with her, and we slip in undetected,” Loki continued. “We ambush Amora, and Peter’s troops break the siege and the castle is once again under the proper Stark royal.”

“I don’t see why the princess can’t remain here, with the amulet, undetected and safe while we deal with Amora?” Stephen seethed. 

“Stephen, it’s as best a plan we have,” Wanda urged, watching him with a steady gaze. “You knew the potential outcomes. It isn’t ideal, but this isn’t unexpected.”

“What?” Tony looked to her, furrowing his brow. “What do you mean? Was there more than you told me?”

“Nothing has changed in your destiny,” she quickly assured him. “But your children... their paths have been sporadic.”

“Explain, now,” Tony shot back. “Are they in danger?” 

“Your majesty, it’s best not to dwell on potential futures,” Loki cut in, slipping between the king and the sorceress with an arm. “They’re possibilities, not guarantees. Tampering to avoid certain outcomes is how you end up in a worse scenario than anticipated.”

“I want to know,” Tony snapped, looking to Wanda. “What else did you see?”

She looked up at Stephen uneasily and he finally relented, holding up a hand in her direction and taking over the explanation for her. 

“They were cloudy,” he replied. “The princess was in the throne room during the siege. Prince Peter was nearly overwhelmed by a wave of Northern Kree. They were vague and not necessarily connected.”

He left out the part where you were stabbed. 

Stabbed through the heart, more specifically, but Brock Rumow’s sword. It’d devastated him for days after Wanda had shown him the visions. He’d worked so hard to keep you out of the castle, to move you t safety, and avoid the very outcome. 

But it seemed the fates were not done with your part of the story. 

“You told me this ended with me by the throne,” Tony turned on Wanda. “My children out of harms way. Peter’s coronation.”

“Nothing is certain,” Loki caught him by the arm and spun him back toward him and Stephen. Tony from, fixing up the prince who dared touch royalty so directly. “The visions are murky. They’re not clear and if they were to be solidified by the decision we make, we would know.”

Tony looked to Wanda who nodded slowly in agreement. His boyd language softened.

“Is this truly the only chance we have at taking the castle?” he looked between the trio. 

Stephen saw something in the king’s eyes that begged for one of them to disagree. 

But even Stephen could see the inevitable. 

Amora was too powerful and too evenly matched against any or all of them.

Using your seidr was the only way to overwhelm her and kill her.

He hated it. Gods he hated it so much and had prayed, despite not necessarily being a religious type, that someone would have a better plan. Loki and Wanda were among the strongest after himself, after all. 

The room remained silent at the kings question.

When no one objected, Tony swallowed hard and nodded to himself. 

“Bring her in then,” he murmured. “We must move quickly.”

Stephen offered to retrieve you, quickly filling you in on the idea. 

And to no surprise, you readily agreed and volunteered your help in whatever capacity you could manage. Stephen sighed, weaving his fingers through yours while stopping outside the meeting room.  

No seidr was fighting back at his touch. 

Loki’s amulet was working. 

“I’d hoped you would put up more of a fight,” he confessed, lifting your hand and seeing none of the violet glow that once emitted from your body.  

“You nearly died,” you reminded him tersely. “I have a bone to pick with Amora. Not to mention, there’s nothing more I loved to see than Brock’s body skewered on the top of one of our men’s swords.”

There was a venom to your tone that seemed almost unnatural considering your usual caring personality. Never had Stephen seen you so determined to cause harm to another human, but perhaps he’d underestimated the fury you felt toward the enemy king. 

“Right,” he murmured, giving your hand a squeeze and pulling away. He opened the doors, ushering you inside while the others began detailing the plan. 

(—)

Peter was directing his men when a portal opened up and Loki stepped through with Stephen and a cloaked figure. 

“We need a distraction away from the base of the castle,” Stephen explained briskly, maneuvering his body so Peter couldn’t get a good look at the third figure. 

Assuming it was just Wanda, Peter turned his attention to the battalion nearby.  

“I can have them make a move for the western wall, but it’d be pointless if Amora’s sorcerers have up their barriers,” he explained, running an anxious hand through his hair. “They’ve barred us off.”

“We just need attention diverted long enough to slip through the tunnel system,” Stephen supplied, sending a knowing nod in Peters direction.

Three powerful magic users? Going in undetected? 

They were going to break down the barrier, Peter realized and immediately started rallying more men. 

“Thor! We need a distraction,” he called to the Asgardian prince. Thor reached for the large hammer on the ground next to him and lifted it to the air. 

The sky began to crackle above them, and Thor’s expression filled with an excited glee.

“That, my friend, I think we can manage,” he bellowed, grinning between Loki and Peter, turning to wake the Asgardian soldiers who’d been sleeping in the camp nearby. 

“I’ll start the first wave, give us thirty minutes to start an approach before trying to breach the tunnels,” he instructed, again trying to catch the eye of the cloaked figure. 

He couldn’t be sure, but he almost thought the person’s eyes were glowing violet, not red. 

Chalking it up to a lack of sleep, the group started toward the castle in the darkness at the edge of the forest, and Peter focused on readying his men. 

What Peter didn’t know was what his father had planned for after the shield fell. 

The Wakandans had finally arrived and in greater numbers than King T’Challa had originally promised. 

They’d remained discreet and undetected by Rumlow and Obidiah’s forces, and once the shield was down, they were prepared to storm the castle with the entire combined armies of Tony, Thor, T’Challa, Carol, and Peter. 

The final key was taking down Amora and her circle of magic users. 

Ultimately, once she fell, the others would quickly fall in turn and that was exactly why you were trudging through the forest with Loki and Stephen toward one of your preferred tunnels to the castle. While Peter and his men readied their attacks.

“Natalia and James are still inside posing as servants,” Stephen explained. “They have agreed to lead us to Amora. They sent a message through one of the kitchen maids’ sons.” 

“No one recognized them?” you asked in surprise. 

“We both know how talented they are at blending in,” he hummed with a sly smirk. “In fact, I seem to recall Natalia being the one to show you the tunnels in the first place. They didn’t garner their reputation for nothing.”

You let out a small breath of relief. Of course he was right. If anyone had a penchant for survival and adaptability it was Nat and James. Still, they were your friends and beloved companions, you were going to be worried about their well-being assassins or not. 

At least Peter was still in one piece. And Morgan and Pepper were in good spirits in Asgard, at least according to Loki. Your family was safe, but even so, Stephen had insisted upon accompanying you and Loki into the belly of the castle. 

You’d protested significantly. He was healing. He was a target. It was too dangerous with Amora, and he’d countered backwith similar arguments. 

In the end, your father made the final call, sending you both and joking the two of you would do well to protect one another. 

“Perhaps when this is over, you and your sorcerer can come to Asgard to train,” Loki murmured while Stephen scouted ahead for any stray troops. 

“And here I thought the offered had been rescinded after Stephen showed up and started to tutor me?” you teased, recalling the conversation you’d had with the prince at the ball honoring Stephen’s arrival all those years ago. 

“It was always there, you know that,” he replied, glancing you over. “You forget I was tasked to look after you. My mother would be pleased to see you both. When Strange studied in Asgard briefly, she had nothing but high praise.”

You could tell the compliment bristled your old friend and you set a hand on his shoulder. 

“Everything has changed, hasn’t it?” you asked quietly, watching Stephen’s darkened form maneuver the wilderness ahead. 

“The dawn is going to rise on a new kingdom,” he agreed. “My father will be disappointed in your selection of a groom.”

You felt your cheeks warm at the off handed comment, though you didn’t bother to object. Stephen was the one. Your heart couldn’t even consider another. Not now. Not after all you’d been through together and how he so lovingly knew you mind, body, and soul. 

“And your mother?” you asked lightly. 

“She’ll be thrilled regardless,” he hummed. “You’re the daughter she never had. She adored your mother, you know that, and promised to take care of you. Marriage or not.”

You paused, carefully selecting your next words. 

“What about you?” 

He stilled. You must have taken him by surprise, or maybe no one had ever asked him directly. Loki looked forward at the tree line ahead, taking a few moments longer than expected to give you an answer. 

“I’ll be fine,” he said quietly.

You were about to open your mouth to ask him if he really meant it, when Stephen reappeared in the shrubs in front of you. 

“The areas clear and I can hear Peter and Thor have started their attack. We need to move now,” he waved the two of you over and you sent a final glance to Loki who flashed a small, reassuring, smile before following shortly behind. 

One step at a time, you reminded yourself, your heart giving a small throb of guilt at his reaction. Marriage, betrothal, none of it mattered until your enemies fell. 

(--)

12- a memory 

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[astrowithkaro]

Hi ! Your birthday series is very interesting! Could you do November the 10th please? Thank you and I hope you have the best day!😊💕

Language Of Birthdays: November 10 - Scorpio

[You can find the rest of the series here; or check out my masterlist]

The Day Of Metamorphosis

Those born on November 10 are taken up with the most profound changes possible, both in themselves and the materials or products with which they work. Their personal transformation may at times seem extremely slow and can be quite painful, often involving a real struggle or wrestling in the final stages. Like the lowly caterpillar, November 10 people may need to isolate themselves from the world in a personal "cocoon" for quite a long period of time, even years, before they can one day emerge as a butterfly. Like the tadpole, they may at the onset bear little resemblance to the empowered being they will become.

Often November 10 people paradoxically give the impression of being very constant and unchanging. Yet, if one watches them as one would the minute or even hour hand of a clock, a barely perceptible but certain progression is in fact taking place. In their work also, November 10 people are endlessly searching, magically transforming humble materials into finished products, or energy into services.

Most November 10 people display an instinctive knowledge of how things work, admirable patience and a technical mastery of their medium. On the other hand, although they can be magnetic and attractive individuals they are usually lacking in understanding concerning people at large and may be socially inhibited and self-preoccupied. Those born on this day who realize the importance of social contacts and relying on the right people when necessary will be highly successful. Those who are overly concerned with their own growth to the exclusion of developing their career or place in the world may find life a continual struggle. The phrase "it's not what you know but who you know" may sound a bit mercenary or crude, but certainly holds more than a grain of truth.

At some point in their lives, November 10 people will probably take the rap for having an overly critical and intense nature which is not easily satisfied. Also, their characteristic high seriousness and idiosyncratic habits can rub some people the wrong way. It is true that friends, family or lovers will have to be extremely faithful and trusting in order to stand by them year after year.

The self-confidence of November 10 people is not always the highest when venturing out into the world, but even when they get depressed, they maintain a sense of pride and belief in their own worth. Although their personal interior space can be seen as dark from the outside by others, yet they themselves know it well and feel comfortable living in it. Like a blind person, they have thoroughly explored this inner world, and therefore have a realistic notion of their abilities and limitations. Not surprisingly they rarely overreach, but on the other hand may ultimately not reach far enough. Thus self-knowledge is usually both the cross and the salvation of these fascinatingly intricate people.

Strengths:

Creative

Self assured

Attractive

Weaknesses:

Phlegmatic

Particular

Repetitive

Advice

November 10 people are prone to chronic, rather than acute, physical problems. Usually whatever is wrong with them is no surprise, since they have suffered and lived with it for years. A penchant for internalizing their feelings can be a threat in the psychological realm, and in the physical sphere where it can result in problems with internal abdominal organs. Psychological work with a caring professional is generally helpful and may prove absolutely necessary. Those born on this day usually love to eat and are good with food. Indeed, the kitchen is the perfect place for their transformative wonders to take place November 10 people must keep their culinary imagination and sensuous appreciation within limits, however, especially if their access to nature or stimulating exercise is limited.

Be sensitive to the difficulties you create for others

Come out of yourself and share with the world

Don’t be afraid to shine

Open the emotional floodgates more often and allow yourself to be more trusting

Develop flexibility in your lifestyle