#it's very unlikely he would have jeopardized his family's position over it

[aurumacadicus]

Listen, Steve is grateful he gets to work at a Stark-funded hospital. He is. Not only is the prestige of working there even for a year going to carry him through his entire career, but if he stays for five years, the Maria Stark Foundation will pay off all of his student loans. Their clientele are people typically in poverty and he loves that he can help the less fortunate. It's all he ever wanted to do after watching his single mother scrimp and save as a nurse just to make sure they had a roof over their heads. He would never do anything to jeopardize his position or the reputation of the hospital.

"That custodian is going to be the reason you're fired," Natasha declares, and both Clint and Bucky spin from their nursing charts just in time to watch Steve almost fall over as he attempts to get one more glimpse of Tony's ass as he pushes his cart, whistling, toward the elevator. "Is this your way of getting out of the gala? Getting shit-canned the day before?"

"Are you going to tattle on me to Dr. Potts?" Steve asks her bluntly.

Natasha says nothing for several minutes, mulling the idea over in her head. Finally, though, she mutters, "I guess you're better than Hammer. He actually put his hands on Tony."

Steve doesn't know how to respond, because he'd only gotten his position after Dr. Hammer had groped Tony one too many times (apparently Tony had never reported it? It had actually been one of the nurses) and got fired for it. Again, he's grateful for the position, but he knows other doctors would shank him for the opportunity. He's just looking, but maybe he shouldn't look? Tony isn't a piece of meat. He's a respected member of the hospital staff.

Tony stops and bends over to pick up a piece of garbage on the floor, and even Natasha whimpers as his pants lovingly cup each of his cheeks.

Luckily, they're saved by one of the PR interns coming out of a hospital room and chirping, "Are you going to the gala tomorrow, Mr. Tony?"

"Peter how many times do I have to tell you," Tony begins, sighing, then shakes his head. "Yes, my mother is finally forcing me to show up for the gala."

Steve does a minute fist pump, and Bucky immediately drags him into a noogie that makes him squawk about his hair in probably the most unattractive manner possible.

--

"Gala" is probably too fancy a term for it. Unlike the Foundation galas, where the Stark family squeezes donations from the other wealthy elite for all they muster, this is more of a get-together between other hospitals to compare notes. Women are in cocktail dresses and the men are a healthy mix of suits and slacks-and-polos. The only people really decked out in formal wear are those with the foundation.

Steve is trying to be very casual as he keeps an eye out for Tony. He hasn't seen him yet, but he's hoping to ask Tony for at least one dance. Dr. Potts had said Tony liked to dance when he'd been talking with her and Natasha at the start of the gala. (She'd made really deliberate eye contact with him when she'd said so, too, so Steve figures she at least approves of him??? Even if she also kind of scares him.)

"Oh my God," Bruce whispers, wine dripping down his chin. He's gone ashen.

Steve and Thor turn to see what he's looking at, and Steve immediately understands. He feels as if he's just been simultaneously punched in the gut and head.

Because Mrs. Stark has finally arrived at her gala, dressed to the nines and yet somehow making everyone feel at ease in their own clothes. She's being escorted by a handsome man in a tuxedo.

The man looks a lot like Tony from the custodial department. But Mrs. Stark keeps loudly and proudly announcing that he's her son.

"I'm so fired," Steve whispers, voice cracking, as Bucky finally steps up beside him and claps him on the shoulder.

[ducavalentinos]

Alexander ended his investigation sooner than anyone had expected and forbade further inquiries into Juan’s death. In the fullness of time it would be suggested, and repeated in almost everything written about the Borgias, that he did this upon learning that the murderer was in fact Cesare. This is a logical inference- but only if one begins by assuming Cesare’s guilt. For at least a century now virtually every responsible student of the Borgias has found it impossible to assume anything of the kind. Scholars have concluded instead that Cesare was almost certainly not guilty (certainty being impossible in a matter of this kind). They finally noticed, if belatedly, that in the aftermath of his brother’s death Cesare was never so much as mentioned among the possible suspects, even by the gossips, and that when he began to be mentioned and then declared guilty, this was invariably done by propagandists and sensation-seekers. Cesare had actually stood to gain little or nothing from the murder. Juan survived by a wife, an infant daughter, and a small son who as third duke of Gandia inherited all of his father’s possessions in Italy as well as Spain. Cesare remained exactly what he had been when Juan was alive: a wealthy and restless young cardinal, ridiculously out of place in the vocation in which he found himself.

G.J. Meyer - The Borgias

[siderealscribblings]

“I am ninety-nine percent sure I know who Chat Noir is.”

It was a heck of a thing to drop out of the blue, but since Marinette revealed her identity to Ladybug, Marinette had gotten used to Alya texting or calling at odd hours with sudden revelations.

(“THAT’S how you knew Lila was lying?!”)

(“So when you skipped on our hangout sess a few months ago, was it because-”)

(“I’m just saying, I know I guy who might be able to doxx Hawk Moth.”)

Unlike her usual stunning revelations though, this one was not one Marinette already knew.

“Okay,” Marinette said, blinking to keep her eyes from completely bugging out of their sockets. “How do you-”

“I just felt like I should be honest, you know?” Alya chuckled. “Since...you know-”

“Yeah, no...thanks,” Marinette said, slightly dazed. “I...um...how do you know?”

“Well...let’s just say I noticed a pattern,” Alya said, chewing on the corner of her lip. “Do you want to know who-”

“No,” Marinett said, before quickly adding. “I mean...it would be better to keep things between us secret for now.”

Alya opened her mouth, an argument on the tip of her tongue, but seemed to swallow it with a nod. “Okay...yeah, sure, I get it.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him,” Marinette said quickly, maybe more for her own benefit than Alya’s. “I do! I swear! I just-”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Alya said quickly.

“And he’s wanted to reveal ourselves to each other for a long time,” Marinette muttered, ignoring Alya’s easy-out. “I was the one who insisted we keep our identities secret and I’m just...really, really not looking forward to the conversation where I tell him I was the one to break our no-sharing rule...you think he’ll be mad?”

“You tell me ,” Alya said, throwing her hands up. “He’s your partner-”

“He’s going to be mad ,” Marinette moaned, burying her face in her hands. “And hurt and-”

“And...so what?” Alya asked.

“So he’s my partner and we already have this...trust...thing between us,” Marinette sighed. “Long story short the last Guardian wasn’t a very good teacher to him and he’s had to deal with being locked out of the loop before...I just worry that I keep asking him to trust me while constantly keeping secrets from him.”

“And he’s keeping one from you,” Alya said gently. “Kind of a crappy situation all around but...well, let’s just say I think he’s a really understanding guy.”

“I don’t want to be in a relationship with someone who constantly has to just understand me though,” Marinette said with a wince. “Sorry, I don’t mean to keep dumping all my Ladybaggage on you.”

“I’ll tell you if I’ve had enough,” Alya said firmly, squeezing Marinette’s wrist. “I don’t mind; really.”

If she lived another hundred years, she would never stop trying to return the kindness and understanding Alya had displayed to her since revealing her identity.

“Thanks,” Marinette said,, the movie on the screen forgotten as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “So...n-not that I’m prying for details but...this guy you think is Chat Noir-”

“Sounds like you’re prying for details,” Alya snickered. “Don’t tell me you’re curious about him.”

“Of course I am!” Marinette huffed. “Wouldn’t you be?”

“I don’t need to be curious; I figured out my boyfriend’s identity by myself,” Alya said smugly. “You want covert deets?”

Marinette weighed her words carefully before speaking. “Is he...out of costume...when he goes home...is he happy?”

Alya’s expression was unreadable for a long moment. “Do you want the truth or...do you want me to say something that will make you feel good?”

“Well that tells me the truth probably sucks, doesn’t it?” Marinette sighed, rubbing her eyes. “He’s got...he’s got a lot of friends, right?”

“He has a...few really good ones,” Alya reasoned.

“And his family?” Marinette asked.

“His family...exists,” Alya said as diplomatically as she could. “Look, we’re treading on major spoiler territory here; can you tell me what you want to know so I can pull it out from all the other information?”

Marinette stared down at her hands thoughtfully for a moment. “...being the Guardian by myself has been one of the loneliest times in my life. I have you now; I had Master Fu for a lot longer than he did. It would make me feel better if I knew Chat Noir was...okay outside the suit. But I think you just answered my question.”

“Look, I can’t tell you how he feels,” Alya said, rubbing Marinette’s shoulder gently. “I can’t read minds, Mari...but-”

“You think I should tell him about me?” Marinette asked hesitantly.

“I think that’s your call,” Alya said. “Do you want my advice?”

“You think I should talk to him,” Marinette said, deflating a little.

“If he finds out from someone who isn’t you, it’s not gonna do wonders for the whole Trust thing you got going on,” Alya said. “And...look, I think it’s great you reached out to me. And I think whatever you want to do with your identity is your business...but I think he deserves the same opportunity to confide in someone. In fact...I think he really needs it.”

“But how do I know he’ll pick the right person?” Marinette blurted out. “What if he picks someone who Hawk Moth compromises and-”

“Didn’t you just say you trusted him?” Alya asked, stopping Marinette’s catastrophizing in her tracks.

“I do...I promise I do...but-”

“You either do or you don’t,” Alya said softly. “And telling him that you broke your rules and he can’t is not going to convince him you trust him. Saying you trust someone is like saying you’re going to work out; you don’t get the results unless you actually do it.”

“I could pick someone for him,” Marinette muttered, looking up at Alya. “Someone trustworthy.”

“Someone you trust,” Alya said. “This has to be someone he trusts. Or else what’s the point?”

“You already know though!” Marinette said.

“ Hey Chat Noir, I completely trust you with my life but also, I’m going to make the choice of who you can and can’t talk to about your personal business,” Alya said, watching Marinette’s nose wrinkle in irritation. “Tell me how that chat is going to go.”

“You know ignoring your advice is getting harder now that you know about me,” Marinette grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Ignore it if you want; just don’t be surprised if this pushes you apart,” Alya shrugged.

“It won’t, he’ll…” Marinette trailed off. “He wouldn’t stop being my partner over this, right?”

“And if he did?” Alya probed. “Just pick a new Chat Noir.”

“I don’t-” Marinette swallowed, shaking her head. “No...I don’t want another Chat Noir.”

“Then you’re going to have to keep this one,” Alya said, squeezing her shoulder. “That means being honest and fair with your partner; if not about your identity, then about his .”

Marinette nodded mutely, turning her gaze back to the movie as Alya stood up. “Want something from the kitchen?”

“I’m good,” Marinette said, fidgeting with her bracelet as she tried not to dread the conversation she knew she had to have.

---

To his credit, the storm of accusations she imagined would come out of Chat Noir’s mouth did not come; Ladybug might have felt better if they did.

Instead, her partner looked dazed, blinking and nodding as his gaze turned away from her. “...okay-”

“I swear this is not about you,” Ladybug said quickly, tugging on Chat Noir’s arm as he turned away from her. “And it doesn’t mean I don’t trust you! I swear I do.”

“No I...I understand,” Chat Noir said, the cheer in his voice becoming more and more forced. “Um...you know, I-I have a lot of homework to do tonight-”

“Chat...please look at me,” Ladybug said, tilting her partner’s face towards hers. Of course she had made him cry, but she tried to push down her guilt. This wasn’t about what she did; given the same choice, she would have picked Alya again, even if it meant hurting Chat Noir in the process.

“I know I don’t have a lot of opportunities to display how much I trust you,” Ladybug said, licking her lips. “So it probably feels like I just tossed aside a huge chance to show how much you mean to me...but this was about me doing what I needed-”

“You don’t need to...you’re the Guardian-”

“That doesn't make me your master !” Ladybug said emphatically, startling Chat Noir out of his daze. “That doesn’t mean I can control who you talk to and who you confide in! I still...I still think we’re too close and rely on each other too much to jeopardize our working relationship...but if there’s someone in your life you trust, I...I want you to have the same opportunity. To confide in someone you trust.”

“Not you though,” Chat Noir muttered.

“There has to be someone else,” Ladybug said almost desperately. “Tell me I’m not the only person in your life you can rely on…”

Alya had been such a positive force in her life since she had told her; she thought back to all the times they had stayed up late talking, all the times Alya had listened to her vent about akuma, all the nights she held her hand because she had watched Chat Noir die to save her yet again.

Was there no one Chat Noir could turn to when he was alone?

Chat Noir seemed to chew it over for a long moment, blinking back tears still as he tried to grapple with the fact his relationship with Ladybug had shifted out from underneath him yet again. “...do I have to tell you who it is?”

“I think it’s better if you don’t,” Ladybug said softly. “Sorry...if I knew who you trusted, I might be able to figure out who you are. This way...I’m not the only one keeping secrets-”

“I don’t want to keep secrets,” Chat Noir grumbled.

“I know,” Ladybug sighed. “And I promise, I swear, the minute Hawk Moth is gone, there will be no more secrets between us! This... mess of half-truths and half-lies will end and we can just be-”

The idea of being something to Chat Noir outside the mask was something not even Alya knew; a secret all her own that might never come to light.

“This is just for now,” Ladybug said firmly. “Not forever.”

Chat Noir nodded, once again resigned to a fate someone else had picked for him. “I get it...I do.”

“Are you mad at me?” Ladybug asked.

Chat Noir weighed the answer for a long moment. “...no,” Chat Noir said with a shrug. “Just...can we pick this up some other time? I wasn’t kidding about the homework.”

For the first time there was a real wall between her and Chat Noir and Ladybug was shocked by how much she detested it.

“I understand,” Ladybug said quietly. “But I meant what I said when I said you should find someone to turn to. I wish I could help you with everything, but-”

“For now...you can’t,” Chat Noir nodded, putting on a brave face. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Ladybug let Chat Noir slip out of her fingertips, momentarily reaching out to pull him back before thinking better of herself. She didn’t expect him to be sunshine and rainbows after telling him, but as firm as she was in her convictions, it still sucked to see him in pain.

Just deal with it yourself like he has to, Ladybug thought as she watched Chat Noir turn and dive off the roof of the building. Alya’s had enough on her plate...you don’t need to bother her with-

Her resolve lasted until she transformed, blinking back tears as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

---

“Did I do the right thing?”

Alya said nothing, running her hands through Ladybug’s hair as she laid her head on her lap.

“Sometimes...doing the right thing hurts people as a result,” Alya said carefully. “It’s just a sucky part of life.”

“I hate it,” Ladybug sniffed, wiping her eyes with another tissue. “I think he thinks I love keeping secrets from him but...I really hate it. It makes me feel so alone...and I don’t want him to feel that way either.”

“And he can figure out how to feel less alone himself now,” Alya said soothingly. “This guy...I know he has at least one really great friend.”

“Like you?”

“...maybe a little better,” Alya said fondly. “I know he’d move earth to put a smile on Chat Noir’s face, so maybe let this problem fall in his lap instead of yours. You don’t have to do everything to make everyone happy all the time.”

“I want to,” Ladybug muttered.

“ Everybody includes you ,” Alya said firmly. “Take care of yourself first ; let Chat Noir take care of himself now.”

“I worry about him though,” Ladybug said quietly.

Alya glanced down at her phone, seeing a message from Nino flash on her screen.

Nino: hey babe

Nino: can’t make it tonight

Nino: adrien sounds really upset and said he wanted to talk to me about something

“Don’t." Alya smiled as she laid the phone on the bed beside her. “He’s in good hands.”

Ao3 

[seriouslyblacklikemysoul]

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land - Bucky Barnes x Reader

MASTERLIST

Part I| Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V| Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

Part IX. One.

          There was something ominous in the weather. Dark clouds had covered the usually blue sky of Vienna. The cold air felt like razors on his face. He had one thing on his mind. You.             It was torturous; he knew that you would be the saddest part of him, you were still the oxygen he needed and if he couldn’t save you, he really didn’t have anything more to hope for. The only thing keeping him from letting go was the thought of you in his arms. He hated everything about this; you had been sent to an older and very much dead version of him – which you did like, he couldn’t lie about that, he was there, the receiver of your affection. He didn’t know back then, but he understood why you were reserved, and he had figured out who the man of many wars was. He knew though, that you wouldn’t stay as long as you had if you hadn’t liked him. No matter how many times you had told him and reassure him of your thoughts, he knew that that version of him could offer you something he could never. Stability, hope, peace, a family. He was never convinced that you were truly happy with this broken version of him. He had every reason to, since not a day went by without you telling him, but he also had every reason not to. He knew who he was. Maybe he has fooled you and you saw him through rose-tinted glasses, but he knew he was broken, fucked up and not a great influence. He knew he was the reason you were under Faustus captivity, and he knew that everything you went through were his fault. He should leave you alone, his mind screamed but his selfish heart was pretending to be preoccupied to listen to reason. He didn’t want to. He wanted the selfish, narcissistic, egocentric feeling. You had been the only light in his darkness and he would not forgive himself for this.             Having observed Faustus for over a week, he knew he had him. He wanted to do this all alone, but thinking about the possibility of him not succeeding in getting you out, he had called for backup. Backup that really cared about you as well. He wouldn’t jeopardize your life again, just for him to be okay that he saved you. No, that kind of pride was stupid.   Faustus walked towards the side door of Schönbrunn Castle, which was closed to the public every Tuesday, unlike today, a cloudy Friday. Bucky’s mind was racing. Had he really been keeping you there all this time? Then again, if he wanted to hide something valuable, he too, would hide in plane sight. You had been under their noses all this time… all those months. He would probably never forgive himself.            He hated the fact that he was using the things HYDRA had made him do. All those years, mutilated into a weapon, a killer… a monster. A monster you had never believed he was, a man you had thought of as perfect. And now, what would he find inside that place? What had they done to you? Had they tortured you, had they turned you into a soldier? Too many questions were left unanswered.             He waited in line to get inside. His glasses were tinted, and his jacket was covering his arms, while a beanie left no traces of hair. He wasn’t as noticeable as Steve or Tony, or even Natasha. He could very easily blend in with the crowd, making himself as unthreatening as he could, as small as he was able to. The tour was about to start and he had his ticket. It wasn’t the plan he wanted but it was probably the one that would get you out the safest. Everyone was in position. Steve and Tony were waiting right next to the side exits, while Natasha and Wanda had the back doors covered. Pietro was obviously the one who would run around the place, making sure no one left. Clint was a bit further away along with many Shield agents, ready to get Faustus and his group of friends, as well as provide a safe and fast way out.         Bucky walked inside the place, amazed by its architecture but also by the very disturbing fact that Faustus tortured you right underneath and no one seemed to know or care.          “The history of Schönbrunn and the buildings that previously stood on this site dates back to the Middle Ages. From the beginning of the fourteenth century, the estate as a whole bore the name of Katterburg and belonged to the manor of the abbey at Klosterneuburg. The estate boasted a corn-mill together with an arable farm and vineyards. Over the following centuries numerous lessees are documented, including a reference in 1548 to one Hermann Bayer, mayor of Vienna, who extended the property, transforming it into a substantial country estate. In 1569 the estate came into Habsburg possession through Maximilian II, and according to the title deeds included a house, a watermill and stabling as well as a pleasure garden and an orchard. He also, tended to the underground floor, the earlier version of this palace that had remained after the Roman ruins. Unfortunately, it remains closed due to renovations. Moving on” the guide informed the audience but Bucky only focused during the last part. You were right beneath his feet.         During the tour, Bucky quietly slipped away, ready to offer the bathroom excuse. Not many people were guarding the palace, but of course, he knew immediately, that when he approached the entrance to the closed floor, a couple of them would appear.          “Turning left and approaching entrance. Guarded. I am ready” he informed the others through the little thing in his ear. He did take a left turn and found the doors; locked and requiring face recognition. A guard stopped him. His English could have fooled someone who hadn’t spent that much time training in Russian. But not Bucky.       “I’m sorry. It’s closed to the public. Renovations” the guard offered but it was not all that friendly. Bucky nodded and excused himself. Pretending to turn away, he called a low “now” and in mere seconds, Steve and Tony were blasting the door open, while Bucky knocked out the guard. More than twelve soldiers appeared and tried to stop them, but he didn’t care. He just pushed them towards Steve and Tony, while he run further down the corridor.   He wasn’t paying any attention to the place, he was just looking for you. Too many doors, too many soldiers but no one of them moved. That made him freeze and swallow with difficulty. If they weren’t chasing them, they weren’t afraid of them. Moments later, Steve and Tony were standing right next to him, all wondering the same thing. If they weren’t afraid of them, who were they afraid of?       Faustus came out of a room. He didn’t seem surprised or worried. No, no. Bucky was trying to remain calm. No, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He even smiled at them.        “Greetings, friends. Welcome, welcome. I trust my men didn’t give you a hard time, seeing all of you still alive” he remarked. Tony wanted to answer in the same manner, but thankfully, one look from Steve, and he stopped. Bucky wouldn’t be able to stop, if he started punching him. Bucky didn’t know what to think. Faustus knew that.          “Where is she?” it was the only thing Bucky could ask. There was nothing else that mattered. Faustus smiled, but it was deeply ironic and asserting. He knew that you had been stained by whatever that man had put you through, of course he knew. How could he not?        “Of course. Follow me”. Faustus answered. Steve and Tony understood that it would be a trap, but they couldn’t convince Bucky. He got it too, he wasn’t stupid. But he needed to see you. He had to. Faustus entered a room. A prison cell, really, with a two-way mirror and a chair. Bucky was repulsed and nauseous. He couldn’t register the other two men walking inside as well. His eyes fell on the separator. It was dark and he didn’t want to see what was on the other room. He couldn’t.          No one was making a move, because they knew that he had probably predicted everything. Further risking your life was simply out of the question. For now.        “Every person's heart is unique. If you break someone's heart, you become the sole individual who has done so. Of course, others might break it later too, but a heart never quite repairs and while two cracks can be alike, they are never wholly the same. I, admittedly, delight in the poetic cruelty of that. Isn't it so satisfying? To be the person who has both owned and shattered something so delicate and extraordinary. If you claim you don't feel thrilled by that thought, you are lying to yourself. There is nothing comparable to the exhilaration of knowing you have so much power over a person only by owning a tiny part of their being. It is intoxicating - the understanding that in your fist rests something made of such fine matter and just by squeezing a little you can make another person dance for you like a puppet on a string. And if you squeeze too hard suddenly that fragile thing you are holding bursts into bits as sharp as diamonds.            All at once your hands are bloodied, as red as that piece of another's being that was entrusted upon you, reminding you of the destruction you have caused. And if you are smart, you will put back the pieces of that broken heart, glue them together with your blood, so that you can keep owning that most precious fragment of someone, and keep squeezing, and twisting, and breaking. A heart, broken so many times by your hand, will find itself always thinking of you since it has been so soaked in your blood and has grown so used to your hand that the thought of another holding it will never seem right. And thus, you become the sole owner of a unique relic that no one has or will ever possess, aside from you, at least not as fully. It is brutal, true, but aren't the most beautiful things in the world a product of human malice? That is perhaps the cruelest irony of life” Faustus went on and the only thing Bucky could think was how he had failed at everything. Risking your entire life, existence. Putting you in danger… No one hated him as much as he hated himself.

[colormeyondublue]

First fic ever! Honest feedback time!

This is my first ever fan fiction and I want your complete honesty. If you love it, great! If you hate it, that’s totally fine! If you have any tips or suggestions for a first time writer let me know!

Secrets: Yondu x Reader

A/u where Yondu survived Ego, and the guardians are still aboard the quadrant....

For a couple months now, Mantis could tell something was wrong with her best friend. You were always so cheery and up-beat. You would never tell her what was bothering you, no matter how much she asked. This was completely unlike you because you always told Mantis everything. She wanted to know what was making you feel and act so weary and tired. You seemed so stressed and the others started to notice too. Anytime someone would ask what was bothering you, you would just shrug it off and make something up. But the excuses were getting old.

“Come on y/n, I bet you would feel so much better if you just got it off your chest.” Peter poked you in the side as he bugged you about it for what felt like the millionth time. “Plus, I’m just super curious now. You’ve been sulking for weeks.”

“Just leave me alone Peter!” You snapped. You winced at your words and then took a deep breath. He was just trying to help. It’s not his fault you felt this way. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just dealing with something personal right now, and I would prefer to do it on my own.”

You heard those signature clunking boots come through the doorway behind you, “Do what on yer own?” Yondu asked with his hands on his hips and a quizzical look on his face.

Yondu and Kraglin were still hanging out on the Quadrant with the Guardians since the events with Ego. They were in the process of getting a new ship and a new crew after Yondu blew their old crew to all hell.

“Nothing. It’s absolutely nothing, Yondu.” You were irritated. Yondu was the one person you didn’t want to push away, but you felt like you had no other choice. You tried to push past him and leave the room, but his large hand caught your shoulder.

He looked you dead in the face, and you turned your eyes from him. You couldn’t keep your knees in check if you caught those crimson eyes for too long. His voice was low, “Hey, we don’t do solo missions and we don’t work alone. Ya got something ya have to do, ya take someone with ya. Ya already know that.”

“This isn’t about some mission.” You kept your stare at the floor between your feet as you continued. “I’m not going anywhere, just - leave me alone.” You pulled your shoulder away and quickly returned to your bunk.

You walked into the cabin that you and Mantis shared, throwing yourself onto the bottom bunk in a huff. You let out a long sigh with your face in the pillow. You were too emotional to think straight. You’ve never felt so many conflicting emotions at once and it was driving you insane! If you didn’t vent soon, you’d explode. Nervousness, happiness, guilt...the list goes on. Nervous, because Yondu gives you butterflies to which the likes couldn’t be described. Happy, because you get to spend every single day around him...but on the other hand you feel guilty because you don’t want to put anyone in a weird position. He’s Basically Peter and Kraglin’s dad! His age didn’t bother you one bit, but you certainly didn’t want to ruin any family dynamics going on around the ship. You could accept the truth in your head, but saying it out loud was a whole other matter. The truth was, you had fallen in love. Stupid, annoying, nerve wracking, inconvenient, love. Everything about this situation was so messed up.

Part of you wanted to just give in and fall straight into the arms of the man you’d fallen for. The other half of you was screaming at you to keep your mouth shut. So far, the screaming side of you has been winning. You honestly didn’t think he would return your feelings, and you genuinely thought he was way out of your league. He was brave, strong, smart, cunning, and downright gorgeous. You were short, clumsy, a little curvy, and the weakest of the team. The only thing you had going for you (and the only reason you were able to join the team) was your incredible shooting abilities. Back on Terra, you were super talented with firearms. The transition from guns to blasters wasn’t too bad. You knew Terran guns inside and out. You were definitely a good shot, and you weren’t afraid of anything - except maybe your feelings for the Centaurian on board. Over your time with the guardians you got really good with intergalactic weapons, with some help from Rocket of course.

“Y/n..........Y/N!”

You jumped out of your thoughts, sat up in your bunk and looked frantically at Mantis who was eagerly trying to get your attention. “Are you okay?” She asked with a curious, yet concerned, expression on her face.

“Ugh, yes, Mantis. I’m fine. For the thousandth time, I’m just fine.”

“I don’t believe you. Something is wrong, and you leave me no choice. You mean a great deal to me, and I need to help. I am very sorry, but I feel I have to do this.”

Before you could get another word in, Mantis had her hands gripped around your wrist. Just as you began to pull away, her antennae glowed their bright yellow light and her eyes burst open to look at you.

“Mantis, please, you are my best friend in this entire galaxy. Probably in the entire universe - you cannot tell anyone!”

She stared at you, wide eyed. She couldn’t believe what she felt. So many emotions at once. It was such a surprise! Regardless, she was very excited for you.

“Y/n, this is so exciting! It is happy news. But, also confusing. You feel so many things. Why must this be a secret?”

“Because!” You shouted, a little louder than you intended. “Mantis, this isn’t what you think. If this gets around it could jeopardize the entire team. He may not feel the same way I do, and that would be a humiliating disaster. Look, if it helps, all you have to do is wait until Yondu and Kraglin are able to leave with their own ship and crew, and then once that happens you can shout it to the stars. Deal?”

A low, raspy voice travels through the doorway interrupting your conversation, “so, what happens when Kraglin and I get our own ship and leave?”

You and mantis snap your heads toward the door with nervous expressions. Yondu’s presence and voice sends a chill down your spine. Butterflies are bursting into a frenzy in your stomach. You both just stare at him, completely unsure of what to say.

“Well?!” He boomed. “Why ‘ave ya been acting so fidgety ‘round me lately? And wha’s sis ‘bout waiting fer me and Kraglin ta leave?”

Mantis looked at you, then back at Yondu, and back at you again. “Y/n, you know I care for you very much, and you are my best friend, but I think this is something you two need to talk about.” With that, she ducked past Yondu and fled the room.

You stood up and yelled at her as she ran, “THANKS BESTIE! I’LL GET RIGHT ON THAT!”

You turned to look at Yondu, who was still sporting that classic scowl he wears all the time.

“What?” You snapped. You seriously hated being so crass with him, but building walls was your specialty, and it was the only way to protect this weird little family you’d grown to love. If Yondu ever found out how you felt, it could all come crashing down. Not only could you lose him, but everyone else too.

He eyed you suspiciously, “Ya know, I only known you for a coupl’a months, and you don’t seem right. Mind tellin’ me what that’s ‘bout?”

“No.” You said flatly. “I have nothing to tell.” Heat was rising to your cheeks as you lied right through your teeth.

“Ya lyin’. You’s a bad liar ya know it?”

“I’m not lying.”

“Fine, if ya won’t tell me, I guess I’ll go pry the information I need outta poor little ol’ Mantis.”

“Leave her out of this! She doesn’t know anything.”

“Ah, so there is somethin’? I knew you was lyin’.”

You began to get defensive. “Yondu! UGH just stay out of it! I don’t need to tell you anything! I don’t want to tell you anything.”

Yondu turned his back on you as if he were going to leave. You felt a quick moment of relief until you heard the door slam shut and the bolt click into the door frame. Shit.

He turned to face you again, he took one large stride toward you, and now he was just inches from you. Those butterflies from earlier were trying to come up your throat, but it was getting so tight you could barely breathe. Your mouth was dry, and you swallowed hard to push them back down.

“Now, ya gonna tell me what I wanna know. Why’sit so important that Kraglin and I leave? You plannin’ somethin’?” His voice was intimidating and came out as a rumble. His words made you realize that, even after all this time with the Guardians, he still didn’t trust you completely.

You put on your best poker face and said, “No, I’m not planning something. Stop being paranoid. I would never hurt anyone on this team. Especially not you!” You froze at your last words. Damn it...maybe he won’t think too much into it.

His eyes blazed into yours for what felt like an eternity. You broke eye contact by rolling your eyes and scoffed, “Ugh - I don’t need this.” You tried to push past him and unlock the door, but it was no use. He caught your arm and pulled you back to him. His touch lit your entire body on fire.

“Ohhh ho, no ya don’t. You ain’t gettin’ outta this. Spill. Now. There ain’t no secrets on this ship.”

“But you aren’t the Captain here, Peter is.” You protested.

He shrugged and crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Okay, yer right. I’m not the Captain here. But I am the one you’ll hafta get pass’ to unlock the door.”

“You’re so infuriating! Why are you even on this?! Why is this so important to you?!” You could feel yourself getting more and more defensive.

“I don’t like secrets.” Yondu said matter of factly.

Of course he doesn’t, you thought to yourself. He just dealt with a pretty nasty mutiny a few months ago. With a deep breath you relaxed, “Look, all I’ll say is this: I am not planning anything, I am not going to hurt anyone, and you really don’t need to worry. I’m going through some personal stuff and, like I told Peter, I just want to deal with it on my own.”

He pondered your words for a moment. “Fine.”

“Fine?” You asked.

“Yep, fine.” He turned to unlock the door and walked out, leaving the door open behind him.

That was definitely weird. He let it go just like that. It wasn’t like him to just let stuff go. You decide to keep to yourself for the rest of the day, buried in your thoughts.

Yondu, however, was not done with this. He waited a while before making his move. After an hour or so he went to find Mantis. She was up front on the flight deck chatting with Drax.

“Mantis, come ‘ere. I need to ask you somethin’.”

She looked at the Centaurian hesitantly. She stood and walked to him, fiddling with her hands. “Did you and y/n talk about what’s been bothering her? It was such a surprise to me, but I am very happy! I hope she will be happy too. You are a very good man.” She said discreetly.

Yondu just stared at her, totally lost. Mantis picked up on his confusion rather quickly. She began to fidget and shift nervously.

She leaned in and whispered softly so Drax wouldn’t hear, “She did not tell you? Oh, no. Well, I cannot tell you anything. I am her best friend and she is mine and I will not tell!”

Yondu lowered his voice as well, “Look girl, I’m juss as worried about ‘er as you are. All I’m askin’ is for a way to help.”

Mantis thought his words over, and hesitated. “I don’t know...she seemed very intent that you never find out. If she didn’t tell you, I don’t know if I should.”

“Come on girl, ya wanna make sure she’s alright, right? I thought you’s was friends. Besides, I sorta have an idea of what’s goin’ on anyways. Juss tell me.”

Mantis’s big, innocent heart won her over and she decided it would be best to tell him if it meant helping you.

“Y/n has been experiencing very much stress and anxiety because she likes you. More than likes you, loves you. There is very much love and sexual desire. She is nervous, excited, and happy, and angry, and sad, and feels guilty too. I felt it all right before you walked in on us talking about her conflicting emotions. It was very confusing. I certainly would not like feeling that way. She is afraid that if you found out, you would reject her and she would have to leave. But...I don’t want her to leave.” Mantis slumped her shoulders at her last words.

Yondu didn’t know what to say. You liked him? Loved him even? But why all that other stuff too? He had to find out. No more games, no more secrets. “Thanks girl, ya been a big help.” Yondu patted her shoulder and walked from the flight deck back to the bunking area.

Yondu sighed and knocked softly on the door. “Mantis, I told you I’m not talking anymore! I’m fine!”

The door quietly opened. “It ain’t Mantis.” Yondu said gently. “Can I come in?”

You sit up on your bunk and look at him, “Sure, feel free to lock the door while you’re at it.” You said sarcastically.

He grinned over his shoulder at you, and locked the door. “You and I gotta talk.”

You begin to panic, it’s happening. He knows, Mantis squealed. “What did Mantis say? I told her not to say anything!”

“Don’t blame her, it ain’t her fault. I made her tell me.” Yondu said with a sly smirk. “So - now that it’s out there, let’s talk.”

The butterflies were back in an instant and about to burst out of your mouth, but what came out instead was just plain sad, “Let’s just get this over with. You’re gonna tell me you know how I feel about you, and then I’m gonna say ‘yeah it’s true, I do like you - like a lot’, and then you’re gonna say, ‘well, sorry, I don’t feel the same way’, and then I’ll take that rejection and shove it way down into the depths of my soul. After that, you turn around and walk out, and I start packing. Okay, great. Are we done?” You stood up and walked toward your trunk that contained your belongings to hide your humiliation and distract yourself.

Yondu looked at you with slight surprise on his face and chuckled. “Uhh no. That ain’t what I was gonna say at all. What I was gonna say was, ‘m flattered. Truly. Women ain’t exactly chasin’ after me these days. I’m just a washed up ravager. No crew, no ship, and I ain’t as young as I used ta be.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he continued. “A pretty young thing like yasself shouldn’t be pinin’ over someone like me. I ain’t worth it.”

You snapped your head his direction and almost yelled, “EXcUSe ME?! Not worth it?! Do you even hear yourself?”

The Centaurian stood there, dumbfounded as you continued.

“Do you have any idea who you are?!” Here it comes - word vomit. You couldn’t stop, it all came pouring out like dumping water out of a bucket. “You are Captain Yondu Udonta. The fiercest Captain of the 100 Ravager Clans! You’re known across the galaxy! You have more experience in open space navigation, survival, and armed combat than I could ever dream of having. You’re incredibly strong, and cunning, and more charming than any man I’ve ever met. AND you’re just plain handsome. Not to mention that arrow of yours! Don’t ever sell yourself short, because you are more than worth it....if anything, I’m not worth it!

Before you could continue your rant, Yondu quickly stepped toward you, whirled you around and pulled you away from your trunk to kiss you passionately. His lips were the perfect combination of rough, yet soft. He tasted strongly of whiskey, and his hands roamed over your body until one twisted its way into your hair and the other pulled you into him by your waist. The kiss was open mouthed, hot, needy, and absolutely perfect. You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him back desperately and you felt a little chuckle fall from his lips as he pulled away, leaving you breathless.

“Ya have no idea how long I’ve been wantin’ ta do that.” He said.

“How long?”

“A few weeks after Peter introduced us. Ya started ta really prove yaself with this group a misfits, an’ the rest of ‘em really took to ya. Including me. I never imagined ya’d be fond of someone like me.”

You both stood in your bunk area holding one another closely. “Well, I have to be honest, I didn’t expect this to happen in a million years.” You admitted.

Yondu pushed you to arms length to get a better look at you. “Why’s that?” He asked.

“Well I mean....look at me? I’m just a dumb little Terran. I’m weak and I barely know anything about space. I’m so new to it all, and I don’t exactly fit in around here. You guys have such incredible abilities and talents. I’m just...me. Terran. What I wouldn’t give to be like...I don’t know, Gamora. She’s breathtakingly beautiful and a total badass! I’ve been contemplating going back to Earth anyway because I just feel like I’m holding you all back.”

Yondu looked over your body and face admiringly and said softly, “I am lookin’ atcha, and none ‘a that’s true. I’m glad your here, and I’m sure as hell glad we met.” He grinned down at you, showing off those gold capped teeth. He leaned in to kiss you once more, deeply.

He pulled away lightly to whisper on your lips, “I can show ya everythin ya ever wanted to see, and teach ya everythin ya ever wanted to learn about bein’ out here.

I ain’t lettin’ you get away.”

[tash-sho-sho]

MC with a demiangel son

I would have rather have someone else to do it, but none of my favorite writers have their requests open >m< I had to do it by myself! My English isn't the best... so if you are reading this, you are warned! Also lesson, 4, 6 and 16 spoilers. Just in case, don't read it unless you are in lesson 21, ok? ♡

The demons were waiting patiently waiting for Barbatos to summon the new human exchange student who were, unlike Solomon, a normal human. A dazzling light invade the room and finally, the human arrived. What they didn't have in mind was that behind them, a small child of 5 years with a strange aura, almost too familiar for the demons in the room.

Mc stand in front of their son trying to protect him from the unknown beings, knowing very well they weren't even humans, and they won't hesitated to protect their child, even if that means to fight demons.

->more under the cut

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Lucifer

Was a shock alone to have a human with a child, but the child having almost a... divine aura made Lucifer tense, what kind of human they brought to their program????!! And that child??? Lucifer sure will have an headache for the rest of the year. He is suspecting that child is not 100% human, he wants to throw them back to the portal. That's not a headache worth having, Diavolo!

Unfortunately for Mr. McPride, Diavolo thought they were perfect for the program, and he can't refuse an order from the next Demon King, the Prince being.... maybe too happy for his liking...

When they were in the House of Lamentation, he noticed Mc not living their son's side, and was especially aware of Mammon who was shouting saying this was a hassle and that the boy was too strange for him to protect... if they knew Mammon was stupid...

Later on what he was suspecting was confirmed... that wasn't in their human profile, he knew they had a son, let's be honest, but it didn't cross through his head that they had to bring him with them, and most importantly, he was half Angel, what Angel did Mc messed with?

Child well behave, he must admit, perhaps was because of his angelic parent, or because Mc was a really good parent. He never asked and Mc wasn't too fond of sharing information either.

He started to love Mc, so it was obvious he will also start to love their son, who was... a lap dog, just like Luke for Simeon. Baby angel will to follow him, Lucifer's head pats worth a lot 😤 and Lucifer may or may not invite him to sit on his lap while working, even sleep there, this boy is the calmness Satan--- well, cute angel warmth Lucifer's heart, even if he does not admit it.

He started to get worry, what if the Celestial Realm know about this half angel? Also, parent Angel didn't care or know about the consequences of falling in love with a human? Can you imagine having a child with a human? Now he is starting to believe not only their son is powerful, but also Mc, really, how can you make an Angel jeopardized their position for you?

Mammon

Hey! What does it mean he have to take care of two humans???? You know how he was complaining in the first call when Mc told him he was their caretaker? Well, he literally was screaming when Lucifer told forced him to watch two humans.

Mammon: I ain't watching humans for free!

Lucifer: What did you say, Mammon? :)

Mammon: Anything for you, big bro! ♡

Oí, Lucifer, what with this child? Why he have a pure presence? For a moment he begins to think human child were supposed to have that kind of power...

Parent Mc was alert of his every movement, he complained ALL. THE. WAY. BACK. To the House, he never shut up. That attitude last... three days. That boy was too well behaved for him to dislike him! And Mc was kind enough with him. He got attached really quick and was the first one who Mc trust enough let their guard down. His ego was over the moon and he started to use it against his brothers. Plus, this boy never called him dumb or idiot, that's Mammon's boy now, fight for your parent's right, Mc! He is stealing him.

He never suspect a thing until someone else point it out. Wait, do you mean my and Mc's child is not human? Like, completely? Everything started to make senses, that's why he was so.. so... divine? But, who is the angel?? He is curious and jealous, how did an Angel get to know Mc first than him? They audacity 😤😤 at least, they give to Mc a really lovely son. Always smiling for him and giving him homemade gifts. He cried a bit when the son gives him half of his cookie... He denied it, but everyone saw it. Don't worry humans, the Great Mammon is here to protect you!

Leviathan

He wasn't there, he was in his room playing games, not caring for the human he have to live with for the rest of the year. He only realized the human came with a pet when he ran to the front door to claim the money Mammon owed him.

Uhm... was that small version of the big human? Why it clings to the Mc like his life depends on it? Why his aura is SOO familiar? He wasn't prepare for that. Does it mean he have to socialized with no one, BUT TWO? He doesn't know how to talk to children!

He didn't care for them, and ignored both of them until they made a pact. He was lucky Diavolo had the decency to cover the boy's eyes when... you know... his jealousy took the best of him. Just like Mammon, he didn't thought much of it, but it made him think of his animes, those with a long ass name. Not that he mind enough because the child is his third player! Of course, Mc is his player number 2!

Henry and Henry Jr. That's his nickname now. He might be too young to play more complicated games, but don't worry guys, our shut-in have a lot of games, including family friendly. Be careful though... you might need to remind both of them to eat... and force your boy to stop playing... but overall, a really wholesome sight. If that's a beautiful sight, imagine them playing together with a cosplay....

The mini version of Mc is just as kind as them. He was scared at the beginning, fearing their son would hate him for being an otaku (sweety... you almost kill his parent...) but everything went well.

He was jealous because he had another parent besides Mc, can you imagine his surprise when he discovered he was half angel??? How he can win against an Angel??? Your tastes are too high for a worthless otaku like him! He is a demon, a fallen Angel! He needs reassurance, but if that's not your thing or it's not enough, just show him your baby puppy eyes, that's the trick ;)

Now, half Angel or not, Levi love the boy a lot. Do not fear, Mc! You have now Lotan to protect your baby!

Satan

Oh well, that's interesting. Lucifer's expression was enough to make Satan smile. He have to admit... A weak human trying to protect their child, that's cute, not that he cared enough to comment it. Satan is aware from moment 1 that this child can't be 100% human, much like Lucifer, but unlike him, he will not try to protect both of you if he isn't in charge, he will just see how much both of you can survive.

Poor, poor, Mc, they know a fake smile when they see one, and if it were for them, they will avoid their son to have any contact with him, especially since he is a half Angel, and Satan's not even trying to show interest to protect them, they can see his only interest is that their son have a unique presence, that's not helpful at all! I wouldn't trust him if I were Mc either.

Just like the rest of the brothers, when he started to get close to the Mc, same he does with Henry Jr. Both humans are like little kittens for him now. However, he ended up asking Mc if by any chance, their son was half something, he was surprised but not as much as Mammon or Levi, he kept the secret until it was revealed.

Bed stories now for the boy, or whenever he wants, Satan is more than happy to do so. There is nothing better than to share your knowledge and thousands of books with someone who's really interested in them, fortunately for our cat boy, the baby loves it, I mean, what can he expect from someone who came from the Mc? Surely nothing less, just pure kindness and beauty.

The child sometimes try to write stories for Satan, or read, but he struggles a lot, both Mc and Satan are dying out of cuteness while listening to him trying to read the stories his childish brain came up with. Cute? Childish? Cat onesie? Sure! The boy now have pajamas with cat prints in it. And prepare to have a future cat lover with Satan by his side!

He is worry for this child's future, just like the rest, but unlike the others, he was not an Angel nor he participated in the Celestial War. Satan might feel a little insecure because of this, he was never an Angel, and at least his brothers can share personal experiences with Mc and their son, not him. He will not show this side of him. Looking how Henry Jr. look at him and smile knowing he will tell him a story, it's hard to think he will care that Satan was born from Wrath.

Asmodeus

My, my! What a cute human they brought to the Devildom! With a child included! Wait, what?

That wasn't what he expect, they agreed with having just one human, do they have to rearrange everything to be child friendly? Asmo thought it was cute how their son look to everything really scared and holding Mc's clothing with his tiny hands. He did thought it was strange his son presence was slightly different from Mc, which made him a little more interested in their child than in Mc at first.

Lust close to their baby? Asmo! Chu, Chu! Stay away until Mc feels safe knowing you won't corrupt their son! Asmo lose interest very quickly, in 3 days. He was too focused on himself to pay attention to someone who he can't even be close to. He admitted the boy was great for Devilgram pictures but he was glued to Mc's leg, like he himself was a third leg and Mc take him to everywhere too, even the bathroom. That's until they trust Mammon enough to take care of him while they were out. And with Mammon there? Overprotectiveness, the audacity of his scummy brother to not let him hug the cute boy while his parent wasn't there 😔😔

After Asmo and Mc made a pact, it's over 😔 both Mc and the boy are now in Asmo's Devilgram quite often, Henry Jr. the most, you know how many cute outfits and likes a baby can have, Mc??? Please, Mc have to admit their baby looks cute but... why are you dressing him like yourself, HUH?

Mammon hates every time Asmo steals his humans attention...

He was quite surprise when it was confirmed Henry Jr. is half angel. Mc! Information, how can he flirt with an angel????? Don't be selfish Mc!! :(:(:( that information worth millions of Grimm.

He isn't too worry about Mc having a child with an Angel, I mean, look at him, he is perfect. He can show your lovely boy the importance of beauty and how take proper care of himself, even showing how to take great pictures! Children have the tendency to copy what adults do, which that's why it's cute to see Mc's child taking their D.D.D to take pictures together, as parent and son, and proudly showing to Asmo what he can do!

Also, not bad sense of fashion, always will have the best of the best-- even if that means to fight Satan! No! He can't always have cat theme as an everyday outfit! And no! He can't cosplay as a Henry!!

Beelzebub

Can he eat them?

No, really, that was his first thought, even the child, I bet he had eat it everything, his stomach doesn't judge, unless is Solomon's cooking but by that time he didn't know that. He was the main reason why Mc never left their child alone, you can't just say "they look delicious, I don't know if I can hold back my hunger" and not expect me to be wary of my and my son's well-being!

Nevermind what that child is, he is hungry, feed him before he goes crazy.

Humans must stay together... And maybe a little bit more closer to Mammon... Mc didn't trust Beel one bit, from all the brothers, Beel and Satan were the worst for Mc at the beginning. And it was a nightmare when their son being to cry when Beel LITERALLY destroyed the room! Thanks god they bring him with them!!! That wasn't a pleasant night for them, they couldn't sleep because they were scared to death Beel would try to eat boy.

That... didn't last long? Beel is another baby, they will get along very well, especially since Henry Jr. Is just as kind as his parent! He even sometimes gives Beel some of his food, what a baby! Quickly both of them goes to Beel's care, he swore to protect them both. And that's when he started to care and notice more Henry's Jr. Isn't as normal as the thought at first.

The boy sitting on his shoulder while Beel is either eating or walking to the kitchen are a normal occurrence now. Where is the boy now? If he is not with Mammon or Lucifer, probably on Beel's shoulders. They eat together and when the little human is full, he will give the rest to Beel! And you have a really, really happy Beel! Hugs from Beel are the best, your boy disappear. I'm not jealous of the baby, you are!

Mc will receive hugs too... Beel have free hugs! Only for his family and you both are lucky he love you both as a family!♡

Oh wait, Henry Jr. is... an angel? He is really really worry, he have a trauma since the Celestial War, he is scared something will happen to his new family members, you for having a baby with an Angel and your son for being half Angel. You, my Mc, will have to reassure this giant man that you both will be fine, or at least, that you have pact with the most powerful demons in the Devildom. It's not enough, but that determined look on his face tells you that he had promised to himself something.

Belphegor

.... well... this is.... awkward.

When Mc came to the Attic, they came with their son because... yes. And even though Belphie did sense he was weird, just knowing it was another human vermin inside his house, living in the Devildom, was enough to anger him and push that thought behind. Be a child or an adult, a human is a human, he hated them, just like a human could hate a cockroach no matter the size.

He didn't get to know the boy for much because Mc started to come alone, which Belphie assumed was because they trust his brothers enough to let them take care of the infant. And... yes, he was there... When Belphie decided to do that to Mc. Not the first part, because if not, the boy would have had the same fate, but he was there when everyone saw how Belphie tossed them on the floor... And let's be honest, that's a traumatic experience, Mc in the normal universe can forgive all they want Belphie, but this is not only Mc, is also their son, who saw how a demon, someone he knew his parent was trying to help, tossed them on the floor... all broken.

That would be the only time everyone could see the boy boiling with anger and sadness, crying and running to their parents arm once he saw them again without a scratch. He might be young but that's an ugly sight and he have some kind of understanding of that death means.

Ok, Belphie, good luck getting Mc to even let you near the baby, they or any of the brothers. Belphie is really sorry after all the Lilith explanation, but if your child isn't too fond of someone... Mc had all the rights to do the same. Mc starts to fear that their son may suffer the same fate as their other self. It takes... the rest of the year, thanks Belphie, you left the poor angel with an awful memory and your maniac laugh.

But that's only, and only if after forming a pact he can make the child to like him a little bit, he might also make Mc to like him more. Only after a pact, because a pact assure Mc they can stop Belphie. He really, really is sorry for what he did, he knows he deserves the coldness and dislike the angel gives him, but he wants to be friends with both of you, he is trying his best.

And he is so, so scare of Henry Jr's safety, and yours as well, what were you thinking having a child with an Angel??

If the little angel starts to like him, they will be sleeping together with Mc. Mc might wake up at any movement from both boys... you know... precautions.

Their relationship will improve, for now, sleep ☆

Well, it was longer than I expected, and I'm sleepy, it took me 5 hours @×@ I sometimes forget writing is just as hard as drawing

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[elephantinparis]

A Sky beyond a Storm Review

If I could give this book -∞ rating I would. This review won’t be spoiler free, so if you haven’t read the book don’t read further. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get into it.

First of all, I want to start by saying how sad and angry I am to be writing this because this series had become one of my favorites and it completely disappointed me in the end. I’m not sure disappointment is even a proper word for what I’m feeling at this point. I also want to mention that yes, I am a huge fan of Nightbringer, but I wasn’t expecting a hea for him. What I was expecting was an arc true to his character from previous 3 books. Instead, what I got was a complete character assassination. It all started from the very first chapter–Nightbringer kills a small child, but at that point I was still trying to defend the book and genuinely thought: yes, it fits his character since he despises scholars. So even though I didn’t like it I understood. But then the complete character destruction started. First, we had a moment when he saw a happy family and went: yeah, I’ll kill the mother and the kids out of nowhere because they remind me of my family and if I can’t be happy no one can. Now, let me explain why this is ooc behavior: The Nightbringer as we knew him always had a beef with scholars only. The family he randomly kills are not scholars. Another thing: why would he put someone through the same agonizing pain when he is always specific about the deaths having meaning to him and that he doesn’t kill in vain(scholar killings are not in vain for him) other people, however, don’t fall into that category. Another ooc behavior moment was when he put one of his jinn in chains (yes only for a second and yes the jinn tried to use her influence on him), but the Nightbringer I know would never put his people through that after them spending an actual millennia in a prison. He spent so long trying to get them out, he would never put them in chains again. Then the cherry on the top of the cake was that all throughout the book the author tried to drive it home how much Nightbringer wanted Laia dead and how much he wanted, and I quote: “Open her up.” Another inconsistency since in Reaper he saved her more than once and completely let her go (because we know he loves her). Yes, he wanted to know what magic she possessed since the moment in Torch, but he had multiple opportunities to kill her and he never did. But in this book, he more than once physically assaults her when she’s in no position to truly hurt him and from his previous behavior that’s ooc actions. And you can come and say: but wait a minute Laia is a real threat now and that’s why he wants to kill her after he “opens her up” and I’ll point you to the chapter where he finally learns of his wife’s betrayal and understands what magic Laia possesses. And what does he do? He walks away. The man who spent the entire book hunting her down has her vulnerable, alone, he finally figured out the mystery of her powers and I am to believe from all his previous actions that he’ll kill her, but he DOESN’T. Because, of course, it’s not in the nature of his character to kill someone he loves even if they’re trying to stop him. So, which is it Sabaa? The inconsistencies are jarring. It just drives it home how his actions in this book were character assassination. The final nail in Nightbringer’s metaphorical coffin (because of course in the end he gets no funeral, no established peace, nothing. Unlike Keris…but I’ll get back to that later) is the fact that his evil villain plan is to literally end the world…I’m sorry WHAT?! So, in the span of this book he went from wanting scholars dead, then wanting all humans dead and then wanting the whole world to end which would result in his people dying, too. What in the actual hell is this?? So many possibilities could’ve been taken with this character, even if the author didn’t want to give him a redemption arc, he could have been a much better villain with a good goal. Instead we get this. Please someone try to explain WHY would he do this when he just freed his people? They would suffer just as much from his plan, so it makes no sense at all. His entire character was about protecting the jinn, giving them a safe space once he freed them. Another thing I noticed is that in the previous 3 books Nightbringer was very much humanized, embers and torch focused on him feeling again, his growth once he fell in love with Laia and even in Reaper his actions were tied to her, but in this book it’s completely forgotten. He does monstrous things to other people who aren’t scholars which was never his goal before. He had a millennium to set his anger and hurt on others, but he focused on those he felt were responsible for his life being ruined – the scholars. And yes, he was wrong to try to take revenge on people who didn’t do anything, but the point remains the Nightbringer I knew would have never done anything to jeopardize the jinn’s safety. Even as a villain his story went in a very cruel direction. I never praised Leigh Bardugo’s depiction of her villain Darkling, but maybe I should’ve since she gave him the bare minimum and Nightbringer didn’t even get that. Funny that the author has said on more than one occasion he was her favorite character. I shudder to think what she would’ve done if she disliked him. 

Another character who was treated with cruelty all throughout the story is Helene. Now I’ve got to give credit where it’s due - Helene grew a lot throughout the series: she shed her prejudices, finally acknowledged she had been protecting the wrong people and that martials need to change, she also grew as an incredible leader and a warrior and when the people chose her to be their Empress I was so proud, but then…she made her vow. To never marry, to never have children (which is totally fine since it was even mentioned she didn’t want them earlier), to completely give herself to her duty to the empire. It rubbed me the wrong way immediately because a big part of her arc was love–love for Elias who rejected her, love for her family–who got slaughtered before her eyes, love for Avitas–who also was killed for no real reason other than to make her suffer even more. And what does this show? It shows to Helene that love isn’t her friend because it only brings her pain, she lets people in, loves them with every part of her soul and they end up dying. So, at this point we have a young woman who started the series thinking she wasn’t worthy of love end up thinking love itself wasn’t worth it. How messed up is that? Still as cruel as this arc was it was at least consistent or that’s what I thought. In her very last chapter, it’s heavily alluded she might have something with Musa. And if it was written as just two friends grieving their lost loves it wouldn’t have bothered me at all. But there were clear romantic undertones and then I was left thinking: what? I thought she chose only her duty. And though Avitas was barely a few weeks in the ground at that point I couldn’t even fault Helene for wanting to move on because I just wanted her to be happy again. But at the same time, I cannot ignore the inconsistencies. The cruelty she experienced was too much.

It’s ironic how two of my favorite characters got the short end of the stick.

I don’t really have much to say about Elias since he didn’t really have his own plot, he was just inserted into Laia’s. His ending was by no means earned and I know it’s hard to say that because he had gone through so much in the first 2 books. But ever since Torch he made a conscious choice to become the Soul Catcher. Sure, he only did it to save Laia’s brother, but he made a vow to serve and he completely disregarded his job after the fact. I think if the ghosts that got out in Reaper didn’t hurt anyone, he would have continued to ignore the duty he himself chose. Now in this book he could’ve had an interesting development since he didn’t remember his past life, but this was resolved in the very beginning when Cain somehow gave the memories back. Then in the very end for a quick resolve someone just took over his job and Mauth was okay with it. The person who took over was just brought back for plot convenience and it makes me so mad. He didn’t earn the freedom…

Then we have Laia. The problem I had with her character in general is the fact she disregarded her past with Nightbringer. She can be in love with Elias and acknowledge what she felt for Nightbringer. Alas, she only sees a monster, shows no compassion once she learns of his story and since she spent all the book trying to kill him and not just stop him the very end felt hollow when  she suddenly starts showing compassion to a suffering Nightbringer. Laia from Torch showed compassion and understanding in her own way toward Nightbringer and now it was just gone. She was still conflicted and in this she’s completely closed off. I don’t think her romance with Elias would’ve suffered if her very real past with Nightbringer was acknowledged properly.

I also want to talk about Rehmat (Nightbringer’s wife). We learn that she had a gift of seeing the future and once the war started and she lost their children she saw what Nightbringer would become. So, what does she do? Does she go to her husband and tell him what she saw, tries to change the future, show him that even when she’s gone, he can go on and be who he was always meant to be? Beloved. Hell no she goes to humans and uses blood magic to extract her essence and be put in the progeny of a random tribe. Then waits a millennium to kill her husband. What in the world is this?? The reason why she does this is never addressed. So, as a reader I must make assumptions that she never loved him. That she didn’t even try to change anything. She also could’ve told him of her plan so he could’ve found someone to awaken her sooner so they could once again be together. He was deeply hurt and alone without their people and she left him too. Tell me how you bring in this new force and you don’t even explain her actions? How is this good writing?

Now I want to talk about the death count and if the deaths had any meaning. Got to start by saying that only supporting characters were killed.  First, we have Darin. Killed by Nightbringer because he wanted Laia to kill him for his plan. See, the thing is Laia already wanted to kill him throughout the book, she got the weapon and she came there with the goal of killing him. Nightbringer didn’t need to “encourage” her by killing Darin. So, in my opinion the death was pointless and served no great purpose. It was a way to make the reader hate the villain, sympathize with the heroine and was done for shock value. Livia was another character to suffer a pointless death. She was the only person Helene had. There was no reason to do it same with Avitas. I guess for Avitas I could try to excuse it by saying it’s war and he did die on the battlefield. Keris had always been a great fighter and even Helene couldn’t take her on. But she already lost Livia and now this?? Too much. Too cruel. Livia’s ending could’ve also been written off as a war casualty, but she wasn’t actively participating in the war. Sure, she was the Empress Regent, but to me it’s just too much after her family. Both deaths only caused Helene pain and she didn’t gain anything profound from those losses. Lastly, I truly hated how the author tried to humanize Keris Veturia. And when I say tried, I really mean it because at least for me it didn’t work. The author suddenly had her saying she couldn’t kill Elias when time came even though she already had. She poisoned him and he died because of her. That woman first abandoned him, then tortured him throughout his time at Blackcliff and then in the end cost him his life. And Elias mourned her…She also had a lovely send off in the Waiting place where she found piece with her mother. So then if this villain deserved peace why didn’t the other one? At least Nightbringer had his reasons. We never knew hers.

In conclusion, I don’t understand how the story could’ve gone so wrong. As always everything you read is my personal thoughts and my humble opinion.

Tagging: @nightbringer @bookittothelibrary we suffered so much...I can’t.

[sepublic]

Ideas for a Blight Twins Episode

          Continuing off of some ideas from a previous ask;

           Jerbo and Edric isn’t a very popular ship (not disliked, just not widespread), and I know there’s no canon basis whatsoever for Vinira, alas... But I really do like the idea of Edric learning to be his own person, apart from Emira, WITHOUT necessarily finding this through romantic love? It’d be a way of showing that other forms of love are perfectly valid… And it kind of reminds of some of those aroace headcanons I saw for Ed, a while back!

           Maybe it could even tie into his insecurity of not wanting to be alone… Thinking that because he’s aroace, he’s somehow unlovable, and incapable of feeling loved; And his clinginess is a desperate way to avert this view of himself and his identity! So having Edric find meaning and identity by hanging out with, say, Lilith, Luz, and King… I think it’d be a great way for him to learn that not only is romance not required to ‘be your own person’, that you’re not somehow less grown up for not being in love… It’d also make him finally getting a ‘pet’ for himself more meaningful, too!

           (And I see Edric as a kid at heart who never really got to be himself and had to grow up fast, and even as a rebel he still doesn’t let himself relax.)

           And Edric is able to find solace in multiple different relationships at once, instead of clinging extremely to the one he has with Emira… Relationships with different meanings, with Lilith being a surrogate mother, Luz being a regular friend/sister-in-law, and King… Well, I’m not sure WHAT King is, a little brother? Regardless, it’d really expand Edric’s horizons and allow him to experience ‘love’ in a different way that isn’t necessarily related to just being a blood sibling… Which could alleviate his concerns about never having a bond as close as his with Emira.

           THAT could then tie to Edric realizing and understanding Emira’s desire to be her own person more… As for Emira and any interactions with Viney, she might simply recognize how Viney and the other Detention Kids found solace through solidarity and shared similarities, and interactions; But still manage to be their own people! Though, they aren’t siblings, so there might be more of a desire to meet someone who can make it clear to Em that, no, you aren’t going to lose your identity by being close with your sibling…. Again, this ties back to my idea of Eda being a good mentor to Emira as well.

          At the very least, being around Viney, Jerbo, and Edric, who are understandably more sensitive, could lead Emira to being a lot more mindful and understanding of how others feel, and not necessarily steamrolling over that like her mother Odalia would… THAT could translate to her paying attention to Edric’s concerns and at least respecting them, instead of just casually throwing them to the side; Even if she still disagrees, at least she considered his side of the story first!

           Emira is someone who got defensive, in her attempts to be ‘herself’, by feeling like she had to push Edric away and become closed-off… When Edric suggests discussing their worst fears, Emira looks away as she says something that shuts him down- Even if it WAS likely honest, she low-key discouraged any further openness between the two at that point. And while it’s important for Emira to be her own person… Perhaps by opening up to Viney and the others, she could realize she’s still her own person, and better able to appreciate that- Especially since Emira opening up allows herself to be, well, herself around Viney, instead of just the confident mask she’s put up as a charming Blight!

           And because the twins are more honest and open with each other… It could lead to them being even closer, as again- They no longer fear having to hide or suppress parts of themselves, in fear of jeopardizing their conformity (which they mistake as synonymous with their bond), and in turn, they can enjoy one another while being happier individuals… And NOT worry about losing themselves in the process, because they know who they are, they know the other twin respects that, and they have other connections as well!

           …Legit, I have to wonder how Amity would react to all of this. If she may feel obligated to step in, or just stand back and let the Twins figure themselves out… Obviously she’d CARE for the two and be concerned. But at the same time, they ARE closer to one another than Amity… And I can see Amity being afraid of either twin singling her out as a new sibling-bond to form in the absence of their other one, for Emira to get away from Edric’s in her case, and Edric to replace the one he can’t back with Emira. Maybe it could lead to either twin trying to be more appealing to Amity, being less themselves to get her approval; And Amity, who initially may find it amusing, quickly shuts them down because she sees herself in them… And she does NOT want to make others feel obligated to change themselves for her approval, because they feel like they have nobody else!

           Which, that’d likely lead to Amity either participating in encouraging either sibling to mature, to grow… But given how she’s got her own issues, more than likely she’d recognize that it’d be mutually health for them both to split off for now. At the very least, she doesn’t want to risk taking advantage of Emira or Edric… And either twin might feel disgruntled at Amity, but then remember they were also cruel to her in the past ‘for her own good’, but on the other hand, THAT hadn’t been for her own good after all- So who was to say that Amity was correct, pushing away the other twin and not accepting their friendship (laced with dependency) ‘for their own good’?

           Regardless- It’d probably make Amity feel worse if one twin, or both, began to depend on her. She already feels like she has to conform to what her parents expect of her, what Boscha and the others expect of her as the top student… So it’d just put more pressure on Amity to take care of others, VS herself; Especially since she admittedly is not responsible for Emira and Edric’s identity issues this time, unlike with Willow. Plus, she may not be in the right mindset to help them either, as she’s still figuring herself out with Luz…

           Not to mention, Emira and Edric may or may not have reservations about having to depend on their own little sister for help; And they might be too aghast at forcing Amity to take care of the other. Maybe they wouldn’t want to keep bothering her after everything else, after seeing how much they already hurt Amity, who tried to be both like AND unlike them, paradoxically, at the same time (tried to have the same talent but not be a rebel). There might be the insecurity from Ed and Em both that as lonely individual who barely have their own identity, they might just screw over Amity further… Amidst some pride and shame at being seen like in front of their little sister.

           Though, I can ALSO imagine a hilarious scenario where Emira and Edric viciously compete for Amity’s affection, offering incentives and favors, maybe aggressively downplaying the other and holding a bit of a grudge… Until for her own health, Amity tells them to STOP, and leave her alone and figure their own issues out, on their own- Or with literally anyone else!

           I can totally see them going to Luz for help, though… Or again, maybe not- They might see Luz as too cool for them by this point, since Emira and Edric DO seem legitimately fond of Luz, as someone who is likely their only friend outside of the family, and the only person who actively reciprocated friendship with them and wanted to earn approval! Emira and Edric might feel obligated to still be those too-cool-for-school twins, so they may avoid telling Luz about their own problems to ‘live up to her expectations’, afraid Luz would no longer like them as much for being so ‘pathetic’… When in reality, Luz likes the twins as whoever they are, whoever they choose to be! She’s interested in getting to knowthem, whether or not that identity matches the façade the Twins have put up or not; It makes no difference to her.

           Still, I can see Emira and Edric trying to start ‘fresh’ with a total stranger… But as I said before, Edric isn’t identical to Emira and vice-versa. So ultimately, while I think Emira would have more of those reservations about opening up to Luz, as I mentioned earlier; Edric is someone who’d just want companionship, and thus be more liable to others’ opinions for approval. In this scenario, this could be good for him, as then Edric would be more receptive to genuine, positive feedback from Luz… as well as Lilith, etc.

           Like, I’m just imagining a hypothetical episode of the Blight Twins doing some soul-searching, beginning with the separation and following Emira and HER misadventures with Viney… Emira assumes it’ll be oh-so-easy, that she can rely on that charm and confidence and just that, no being open or honest and vulnerable… Which then leads into that fan concept of Emira trying to connect with Viney, but because Em refuses to be up-front about her feelings because she thinks she has to be ‘cool’ to get affection from a stranger, Viney just thinks the girl is out to murder her!

          Emira gets more and more frustrated, ends up accidentally tormenting Viney while Jerbo and Barcus are forced to defend her… And eventually Luz or somebody else, maybe Willow, just throws in their two cents and tells Emira to be straight-forward; Exactly like that ‘Stop lying, stop manipulating, just be nicer’ meme, and Emira is just utterly lost and baffled; But she finally obliges and it works out! And after experiencing happy, formulating relationships, Emira appreciates Edric’s concerns more, and then wonders what happened to him and how he’s doing…?

          And then once THAT ends, we immediately cut to see what Edric was doing; And how alone and dejected after she basically ‘ditched’ him, we have a humorous montage of Edric wandering Bonesborough like a traveling vagrant without a home, connections, or identity…Even though he’s not, but he’s being dramatic! And as he sits by himself alone, he ends up picking up a pet or two that he befriends, because it just strolls up to him and sits down besides Edric in mutual solidarity, as he starts talking to it… Openly appreciating the company, and then maybe projecting some of his own insecurities regarding him and Emira.

          Then maybe the ‘pet’ leaves him by that point, and Edric starts crying out in abandonment! A mean yet hilarious wake-up moment, perhaps alluding to Edric pushing people away for being too clingy and projecting his needs onto them. Maybe Ed DOES find a proper pet, then or later…! Either way, his wandering leads him to the Owl House- Either he sees Eda and the others selling stuff and follows them, he just ends up there on his own, or he deliberates on his other connections, dismissing going to Mittens as ‘too desperate’, even for him; And then he brightens up and remembers Luz, remembers how she always makes people happy, including Mittens of all people! If Luz can help Amity, she can help Edric… And somewhere along the way, Edric is surprised to find himself valuing an unexpected bond with Lilith, and maybe the other Owl House residents as well!

           Certainly not Hooty, though, even if him and Edric may share issues of being ‘desperate’ for companionship. Hooty is a freaking war criminal. Actually… perhaps like Eda in Episode 9, talking to Hooty will help Edric realize where he messed up, and/or come to an epiphany of what he might become, or do to others! In turn, he appreciates Emira’s decision more… Maybe Ed bolts off, understanding how Emira may have viewed him, but he also still needs to figure out how to value himself, and Emira’s desires VS Emira just not wanting to be with someone so ‘desperate’, as it leads to Edric thinking he needs to be more confident just to win back his sister. Either way, Hooty is left in the dust mid-sentence, RIP. Maybe Edric even narrates his realization aloud, ending on him declaring that he doesn’t want to be like Hooty, right to Hooty’s accursed face!

           As Edric gets along with everyone, maybe he picks up a pet, possibly with Viney’s help… And he learns to respect wild animals as their own creatures with their own lives, and not just toys for him to kidnap and take into his own possession! Edric respects the autonomy of these animals, that they don’t owe him anything and he can’t just force a bond… And like with Emira, he better understands how his sibling felt!

          The two meet again, talk awkwardly, mention to their individual journeys in passing, possibly with the others watching- And they have a tearful reunion hug! Maybe Amity even joins in, because why not- She’s happy to see her older siblings healing like Luz did for her, and this could make all three Blight kids better with one another. Of course, Ed and Em ‘ruin’ the moment by teasing Amity but messing with her, but in the end everybody is happy, and Luz does that ugly-crying face from the end of Understanding Willow, reveling in and appreciating wholesomeness.

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

ᴊᴏᴇꜱᴛᴀʀ ꜱʏɴᴅɪᴄᴀᴛᴇ | Yakuza!AU | Head Canons | 19+ [𝕁𝕁𝔹𝔸]

[JOESTARS] [JOBROS i] [JOBROS ii] [JOBROS iii] [JOBROS iv]

Part 2 of the Joestar headcanons~! Here are the JoBros~! And honestly any side characters that make a significant sort of impact to the JoJo’s~! I hope you guys like these ones as well~!

» » Admin Ko

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𝔻𝕚𝕠 𝔹𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠 [28]

Jonathon’s step-brother. Despite being the same age, he doesn’t really like to associate himself with the Joestar name. 

He definitely enjoys the family business. In actuality, he was the first to show immense interest in the family business; that instead of originally murdering the family line, he choose to join it.

Dio was actually the one who managed to convince and persuade Jonathon into pursuing the family business. 

It happened on a whim when the blond witnessed something he never thought would occur from the usual gentle giant.

From that, it just furthered his own suspicions of Jonathon’s true nature. 

When the time came for the assignment of roles Dio was honestly pissed when he was told that Jonathon would be the head of the family. 

He actually went MIA for a month because of it. Though within that time he gained his own following and honed his own skills. He actually didn’t get to hear what his position was after he left in a blind rage.

He only found out later by his younger brother Diego, that Jonathon had actually given him the second in command position. Though with further interrogation and investigating, Dio was pleased to find out that he would be the head of the family whenever Jonathon was away on some sort of business.

It wasn’t as much as he’d like, but it was an essential step to get to the point he wanted. 

Unlike Jonathon, Dio has made base in both England and Japan. Though he prefers England as it’s his original stomping ground, as well as the fact that none of the other Joestar siblings have made a strong foothold in the country. 

He actually frequents chats and flies to Italy to see Giorno. (His favorite Joestar) 

Though he does dabble with the drug world, and Giorno vehemently will avoid the older if he’s in the middle of a transaction or in the process of shipments.

𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕞 𝔸. ℤ𝕖𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕝𝕚 [35]

Jonathon’s advisor and teacher.

While growing up, William was open and subjected to be put through various tasks and lessons. Despite being 8 years older than Jonathon, he holds a lot more experience in regards to fighting. Though initially, William wanted a simple life for Jonathon, he isn’t upset to see his life long friend and disciple by his side. 

Like Jonathon, William stays in Japan to help with the bigger controls around the business and will always update the younger with what has been going on with his siblings. 

William actually isn’t sent out on as many missions as he had when he first started helping the Joestar family. 

Practically everyday, he and Jonathon will spar and train to keep up with the demands of the business and the dangers that fell alongside it. 

ℝ𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕥 𝔼. 𝕆. 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕎𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 [29]

Jonathon’s go to assassin.

If anything arises that his siblings cannot handle or their leading commanders can’t handle, then SpeedWagon will be the one sent in to clean up the mess left.

He’s rather skilled in the art of the blade, and actually met Jonathon through his specialty.

It had been Jonathon’s first mission gone wrong, but was salvaged by the end thanks to SpeedWagon joining forces with the brute force that was a Joestar.

He has a very big distrust for the Brando siblings. Despite the work they do, SpeedWagon feels as though it’s uncanny how utterly perfect this chance came to the Brando siblings. 

He does tell his distastes to Jonathon, whom brushes it off, and will always avoid either one of them if they happen to come to the Joestar estate.

𝔼𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕟 [27]

One of the Joestar medics. Though she mainly helps work through injuries as a renowned doctor, she actually dabbles a bit in the art of torture via medical knowledge. 

She’s gotten advice from someone on Giorno’s assassination team. Despite being shocked at the incredulous amount of info and horrific experiments done, Erina will admit that it is effective in getting what information is needed from a mole / rat. 

She rarely uses the advice from the Italian, but when she does everyone is absolutely steering clear out of her way.

ℂ𝕒𝕖𝕤𝕒𝕣 ℤ𝕖𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕝𝕚 [25]

The right hand man of Joseph Joestar.

Despite getting off on the wrong footing, they’re a rather dangerous and chaotic duo.

Every other week (or day), they’re up to something that’ll not only give the world a terrifying reminder of the underworld, but many scarring incidents as well. 

Despite Josephs desire to cause chaos all over the world, Caesar is actually the one who keeps him in line with arguments pertaining to how utterly stupid it would be to get exposed so soon.

Instead, Caesar usually pitches in ideas to corrupt high ranking individuals to help further the Joestar name and terror the name brings.

𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕒 𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕒 [26]

Joseph’s go to assassin. 

In any case or scenario that any of the siblings need extra assistance, they’ll each send their most skilled assassin; and for Joseph’s case it’s LisaLisa.

Though no one really knows her true name-- except a select few -- she’s a well respected assassin within the Joestar ranks. She’s constantly teaching and providing feedback to those she deems worthy of being her students.

The moment Caesar needs someone to step in to keep Joseph from doing anything out of line she’s the first he calls. 

Will absolutely rip Joseph a new one if he tries to do anything remotely stupid that could jeopardize the whole family. 

In regards to her skills, she’s one of the few assassins who has a very large skill set and has practically mastered every skill she has learned / acquired with time. 

𝕊𝕦𝕫𝕚𝕖 ℚ [24]

The analyst and medic of Joseph’s team.

She’s brash and straight forward to the other male, and like Lisa Lisa, she’ll definitely put him in his place if he tries to do anything stupid.

Is the second person Caesar calls to stop Joseph from doing anything absolutely stupid. 

Suzie takes the time to learn more medical expertise from Erina whenever they decide to visit the Joestar estate in Japan. 

Like the others though, she will actively avoid going into the operating room if Cioccholata is on the premises. She’s honestly shocked that Erina doesn’t mind the mad doctor’s company. 

She definitely speaks to William whenever she can to get advice and teachings on new strategies and analytical measures for future use. 

𝕂𝕒𝕜𝕪𝕠𝕚𝕟 ℕ𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕜𝕚 [22]

Jotaro’s right hand man and main assassin. 

Unlike the rest of the Joestar siblings, Kakyoin is one of the three assassins that Jotaro has decided to take under his faction. 

His expertise lies in gun work and sniping rather than anything relative to close combat. 

He was actually the one who gave Jolyne the pointers in hanging rowdy inmates by their toes from the watchtowers. 

Besides being the main assassin, Kakyoin works alongside Jotaro with the cyber end of the underworld along with the transactions. 

𝕁𝕖𝕒𝕟 ℙ𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕖 ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕗 [23]

Second out of the three assassins.

He’s actually sent out the most on missions when shipments end up getting a little too...messy. 

He’s seen how annoyed Jotaro gets with the lack of brain cells a bunch of the suppliers and buyers don’t have and will order an execution with no hesitation if he sees a fatal mistake that could be detrimental to the business. 

Compared to Kakyoin, Polnareff is skilled with the wide variety of blades readily available to him. Though he prefers the simple long rapier to ensure precise cuts, he can work with just about any blade handed to him.

𝕄𝕦𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕕 𝔸𝕧𝕕𝕠𝕝 [24]

The last of the assassins within Jotaro’s precinct and the advisor.

He’s usually the level-headed and mediator out of the four of them, and will not hesitate to lecture or knock some sense into any of them if they allow their emotions to take a hold of their thought process.

Unlike Kakyoin and Polnareff, Avdol prefers a more...explosive route. With his assassinations, he imbeds bombs to the location. Majority of them being in public and covered up as a mishap.

Despite being a voice behind a fuzzy mic, he still delivers absolute fear to the victims .

[seokstyle]

critical condition (m) - 2

pair: hoseok x reader, light jungkook x reader (series) themes: med student!reader, nurse!hoseok, lots of medically-related flirting genre: smut, some fluff, future angst warnings: jealousyyyyy, alcohol, nothing too crazy (yet 👀)

you knew that your first rotation as a medical student was going to have its challenges. you did not anticipate one of those challenges to be dealing with a handsome ER nurse who won’t give you a break.

word count: 4k

part 1 |��masterlist

“No, I am not going to call in pretending to be your dad and tell the ER secretary you’re sick.”

“Some friend you are, huh Joon,” you slump back in the cafeteria chair. “You know I would’ve done the same for you. They would’ve bought it if I told them it was food poisoning! AND,” you point your plastic knife at him for emphasis, “I could have given them a differential on what I think caused my symptoms, but no,” you grumble.

“Oh, come on, you know they would never buy it,” Namjoon laughs as you pout. “Weren’t you telling me a few days ago about how things have gotten a little easier?”

“Well... they kinda had, but-”

“No, no buts!” He puts up his hands to stop your protests. “No more selling yourself short! You even got praise from the attending, right?”

You nod hesitantly. Yes, you had told your friend about how the case presentation had gone okay with the tough-to-impress attending earlier, and you definitely had been a little more relaxed on your rotations since that day. Riding the confidence boost from that performance, you had been impressing the resident and attending physicians more and more with each day since.

“See? Besides,” Namjoon continues, “what good would it do to avoid whatever is bothering you? We don’t run from our problems, Y/N. We face them head on!”

You listen quietly to your friend’s lecture, twirling spaghetti around your fork and cursing his tendencies to slip into motivational speaker mode. Unlike you, Namjoon was blissfully unaware of what had transpired that day with Hoseok.

But you were definitely, definitely aware of the last time you saw him. And also aware that the reason you had been so relaxed was that you hadn’t had overlapping shifts scheduled with Hoseok since then.

Until today, that is.

You had no idea what to expect. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your evaluations; you trusted him enough to know that. But still, a 12 hour shift with Hoseok on your team after that stunt he pulled? It was filled with too many uncertainties for you to stay calm at this moment.

“Hey, are you okay?” You snap out of your thoughts. Namjoon is looking at you, concern etched across his features. “I know I’m messing around, but you have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

You smile. “I’m okay, Joon, I promise.” You extend your pinky out to him, a gesture to show you really meant it. He grins, wrapping his pinky around yours and squeezing. “Now go! You’re gonna be late!”

“Ah, shit,” he curses as he glances at the cafeteria wall clock, springing up from his seat with his dinner tray in hand. “Good luck, you got this!” he calls out to you, as he makes a mad dash back to the pediatric wing. You slump back in your seat with a sigh. Yeah, you’re gonna need all the good luck you can get.

You had continued under Seokjin’s charge for the past few days, and he had been gracious enough to not bring up the elephant in the room of what he had walked into that night. He had texted you last minute this morning to let you know he was off today and you would be under another resident’s charge tonight. You were thanking your lucky stars. After seeing how red his ears turned when he opened the supply closet on you both, you don’t think either you or Jin could have survived a shift with all three of you there at once.

As your luck would have it though, you and Hoseok have arrived at the same time, and before the resident. So now you are both here alone. Together.

He’s standing off to your left, reviewing charts assigned to you both on the mobile computer station. “So, how was your week without me? I hope you didn’t miss me too much,” Hoseok teases. You stiffen in response, avoiding eye contact. Were you supposed to pretend like you hadn’t been caught in a supply closet together in a very implicated position a week ago? Suddenly the floor tiling pattern seems so much more interesting than it did the last time you were in this part of the ER.

Hoseok frowns. “Hey, is everythi-”

“Hi! Are you Y/N?” You startle, turning around to see who is calling you and have to physically stop your jaw from dropping open. Yet another incredibly handsome man in scrubs has appeared in front of you, trying to read your work badge to confirm your identity. Is it a requirement to be unbelievably attractive to work at this hospital?

Oh! This must be the resident Seokjin told you about!

“Yes, that’s me! And you must be Dr. Jeon?”

He laughs. “Please, call me Jungkook! I look forward to working with you,” he smiles and offers his hand. You shake it eagerly, noting the intricate tattoos adorning his arm. You hope you will be half as cool as him when you’re a resident. “Dr. Min had an emergent situation come up in trauma but he told me to handle admissions on our own for now.”

He turns his attention to the person behind you. “Hey man, it’s been a while since we worked shift together. How have you been Hoseok?”

“It’s been all right, it’s good to see you too,” Hoseok greets him, and you chance looking over in his direction. He grins at you and winks, and you feel your cheeks warm. Suddenly the floor pattern is of top interest again. “I think you’re going to enjoy working with Y/N, she always keeps me on my toes.”

Jungkook sent you in on the first case of the day alone. He said that he wanted to see how you perform so that he can better give you tips and pointers on how to improve, and that you can see the rest of patients that day together after he has an idea of what he’s working with. Hoseok is scribing for you, the mobile computer pulled over to the side of the room by the door while you work up your patient.

You list off whatever you’ve covered so far. You know you got HPI, social history, family history, past medical conditions, medications, and review of systems when you were taking the history. You performed the cardiology exam, pulmonary exam, abdominal exam (which you will never forget again), but nothing else seems to come to mind.

Still, you run through your mental list again in your mind to be sure. It was important to you to nail the first patient presentation of the shift. Making a good impression on the new resident was critical, especially seeing how it took days before the last attending had full faith in you again.

You turn to Hoseok out of habit to ask him. Before you can open your mouth, he turns and raises his eyebrows at you, staring back blankly. “Yes?”

You are taken aback, but press onwards. Surely he’ll be professional in front of a patient. “I just wanted to double-check with you if there’s anything you think might be pertinent that I might have overlooked?”

He raises his brow again, then turns back to type away at the computer. “I think you’ve made it clear you’re plenty capable of handling things without my help, don’t you think?”

Though he isn’t facing you anymore, you can hear the smirk in his voice. You turn away from him, annoyed. You were completely on your own for this one. You smile at the patient, who is wincing from pain and probably wants you out of his room as soon as possible. “I think I’ve asked and examined everything I need to at this time, sir! We will be back with the doctor shortly, and I’ll see if we can do something to manage your pain in the meantime.”

The three of you decide to set up shop at a computer station embedded into the emergency department hallways, just outside of the infamous conference room where you last made a fool of yourself in front of the attending and Seokjin. Hoseok is scribing off to the side, waiting for you to dictate your findings. He turns in your direction waiting for you to begin, and you nearly snap your neck trying to avoid eye contact with him.

“Okay, Y/N, ready when you are,” Jungkook says, smiling at you encouragingly.

You take a deep breath. “Our patient is a 55 year old male presenting with epigastric pain that radiates to his back. The pain began earlier this afternoon and was not relieved from taking Tylenol. He rates his pain as a 9 out of 10 in severity, constant and dull in quality, and the pain is relieved only from lying completely still.” Jungkook hums in agreement, scanning the chart while you present. You scan your mind for what else was most relevant from your discussion with the patient. “Social history is significant for alcohol use for the past 35 years, he says he drinks around 2-3 beers every evening. Family history was insignificant. Pertinent positives from review of systems include severe nausea and vomiting accompanying onset of pain earlier today.”

“Okay,” Jungkook muses. “That was a really thorough history, nice work. What about the physical exam?”

“Vitals showed a fever of 101.6°F, tachycardic at 110 BPM, and hypotensive at 110/70. On abdominal exam the patient had decreased bowel sounds and exhibited tenderness and guarding upon palpation of the upper quadrants, especially. Cardiac exam was regular rate and rhythm, no murmurs or rubs, and lungs were clear to auscultation bilaterally.”

Jungkook nods approvingly. “Very good! You’re a natural,” he remarks. “I liked how you organized info, and didn’t just word-dump everything or forget critical components. How long have you been in the ER?”

“This is my second week.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “Only week 2 and you already have your own style and prioritization put together? I’m impressed.” You beam from the approval, not noticing how Hoseok’s usually cheery disposition has been replaced by a sulk as he watches the resident praise your presentation skills.

“So,” Jungkook finishes going over the chart and turns to face you directly. You can’t help but feel a little nervous despite his praise, especially when all of his attention is on you. “What’s your differential?”

“Well,” you start a little nervously, “top of my list is definitely acute pancreatitis, especially since epigastric pain radiating to the back is textbook for that condition, along with heavy alcohol use and nausea & vomiting. But,” you add quickly, remembering how Seokjin advised you to not latch on to one diagnosis when examining a patient, “it could also be… acute peritonitis! Or a neoplasm!”

Jungkook laughs. “I appreciate you offering multiple differentials, that’s always good to get in the habit of thinking that way. Though it sounds to me like your original was pretty spot-on.” You smile again and Hoseok mopes a little more as he types away at the computer.

“Actually, do you want to know a tip on how to confirm acute pancreatitis while you’re still doing the exam?” “Of course! That would be great, if you don’t mind,” you answer excitedly.

He grins in response, getting up from his stool and motioning for you to sit down in his place. You do so, a little confused, and he comes around to stand beside you. You realize that he’s going to show you how to do the trick on you. Oh. “All you have to do is sit the patient upright like this,” he places his hands on your shoulders, “and bend them forward like this,” he gently pushes you over until you’re hunched over at a 45° angle. “The pain should be so much better because the pancreas won’t be stretched out as much!”

You know it’s strictly clinical, but you can’t help but blush at the close proximity and the feel of his hands on you. Right at that moment, you happen to look up and meet eyes with Hoseok. He turns away abruptly and you barely see it but his expression... was that… jealousy?

“See? It’s super easy!” He pulls you back up to a normal sitting position. “Sometimes those patients will even be in a fetal position because it does the same trick while they’re laying down. Neat, huh?” You nod eagerly. “Now go check in on your patient and see if that maneuver helps confirm your diagnosis or not.”

“Thank you so much, that’s so helpful! You’re the best, Jungkook, what would I do without you?” you gush, touching his arm lightly as you get up to leave. Maybe you’re overdoing it a little, acting too exaggeratedly. But it’s worth it to see Hoseok’s jaw set in annoyance as he keeps typing away at the computer.

Jungkook is taken aback slightly, but smiles and nods in response. “Of course, it’s no problem! Now let’s go check on your patient together and see what a good assessment and plan would be for him.”

The rest of the shift flys by, to your surprise, and before you know it’s already time to clock out. You’re finishing up the last of your notes at one of the computer stations when you see Jungkook approaching. Usually Jin says his goodbyes and leaves you for the last hour so he can finish up loose ends. Was he coming over because you messed up something? Did you forget the write-up for room 4? Or sign off on room 8’s chart incorrectly? Or bring someone apple juice instead of orange?

“Hey,” he interrupts your panicked mental checklist, “I wanted to say thank you for making my shift a little bit easier and a little bit more fun,” he says, smiling warmly. “Some of the other staff were talking about going out for drinks later if you wanted to join?”

You’re a little dumbfounded from the offer. The cool resident wanted to hang out with you? You must be taking too long to reply, because Jungkook starts offering more details unprompted. “No pressure of course,” he adds. “The other residents were inviting some students so I thought I’d ask, not to overstep any boundaries or anything,” he continues a little nervously, “and I had asked a few of the other nurses like Hoseok to come too -”

Hoseok was going?

“But seriously you don’t have t-”

“I’d love to come! It’s so sweet of you to invite me,” you respond suddenly, taking both of you by surprise. “I’ll uh, get your number from Seokjin, let me know what time and where. I look forward to it!” You swipe your badge and log out, done with your notes, leaving Jungkook behind in his confusion.

Jungkook had texted you the location and meet-up details right as you were leaving your house, having taken a quick nap and freshened up after your shift before heading out again for the night. As you enter, you spot Jungkook sitting in a booth with a few of the other ER staff. You spot some other familiar faces, like the two radiology techs always glued at the hip, and of course Hoseok. You involuntarily suck in your breath. His crisp, white button-down under a leather jacket paired with ripped black jeans is so simple, yet still puts his scrubs to shame. He looks up from his conversation with one of the radiology techs (was that one Jimin, or was it Taehyung, you can’t remember), as if he felt you staring, but Jungkook gets up before either of you can react.  

“Hey! You made it, Y/N,” he greets you excitedly. “Here, let’s sit over at the bar for a bit.” Not with everyone else? Not with Hoseok? “Thank you so much for coming, it’s good to see you.” He pulls the barstool back and gestures for you to sit down, in very chivalrous fashion.

“No, thank you! I forgot I haven’t been to this bar since before board exams, and I missed it so much,” you sigh. Many drunken birthday and post-exam celebrations were made here during your first two years of medical school. “I think I deserve a drink for what this rotation has put me through already,” you tease.

He laughs in response. “I think that’s only fair. What would you like?”

Wait he’s actually buying you a drink? You were just joking! “Oh no,” you protest, “that’s okay! You don’t have to do that!”

He laughs again sweetly. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to! Think of it as my treat for the fun I had thanks to you today.” He gets the bartender’s attention. “This place has the best green tea shots, would that be okay with you?”

You nod your consent a little tentatively, and Jungkook proceeds with his order. The last time you had green tea shots here was after your gross anatomy final. To this day, neither you nor Namjoon can remember what happened that night. You do know that you woke up with a tray of fries in your bed the next morning, so it must have been a good time either way.

“All right, here you are!” Jungkook passes you your shot glass. “To a great shift, and many more together!” He lifts the drink in cheers, clinking glasses with you.

Right as you are about to tip the drink back, you make eye contact with Hoseok over Jungkook’s shoulder. His eyes are steely and he looks like he is fuming inside. If Hoseok was jealous of you getting clinical skill tips from Jungkook, you can only imagine how riled up he must be from seeing him buy you a drink. You shouldn’t be excited, but you can’t help but feel a thrill run down your back by seeing him react like this.

You tip the drink down your throat, keeping your eyes locked with Hoseok the entire time. The burn from the alcohol feels good and the shot is sweet, but seeing his jaw clench in anger is even more delicious. Last time he got to be so bold with you, it was only fair for you to reciprocate, wasn’t it? “Here, Jungkook,” you turn to the resident, “how about another round? This one’s on me.”

Hoseok has had it.

It’s already been hard enough faking paying attention to whatever Jimin and Taehyung have been going on and on in some passionate discussion all night before you made your entrance. Something about a video game about animals? That cross over horizons? He couldn’t guess if he tried. But ever since you had arrived, he couldn’t stop glancing over to your and Jungkook’s silhouettes every few moments.

It also didn’t help that you had shared round after round of shots with Jungkook. Giggling away at whatever jokes he had been making, resting your hand on his bicep, fluttering your lashes at him. And still had the audacity to look over at Hoseok and bite your lip every once in a while. He was infuriated. You had been too meek and timid to talk normally when you were at work, to the point that he was worried he had upset you or made you uncomfortable. He didn’t even get a chance to check in with you and clear things up. But you suddenly had the nerve to send him suggestive stares while another man was buying you drinks?

He needed to clear his head.

He gets up and excuses himself for the restroom, leaving Jimin and Taehyung alone to fervently argue over the turnip economy crashing and Tom Nook’s capitalist ways. He enters the single stall bathroom, turning the faucet on to splash his face with cold water. He looks at his reflection in the mirror. Get a grip, dude, he thinks to himself. He would have to get your attention later, when you were sober, and finally talk things out. Maybe the next time you were on shift you would let him. He just had to prepare himself to get through whatever show you were trying to put on tonight.

He grabs the handle, takes a deep breath in, and turns it to come face to face with you, letting out a little “oh!” sound of surprise. He takes in your doe-eyed appearance and stops dead in his tracks.

He had thought you were pretty when you were running on 6 hours of sleep (on a good day) in your ratty hospital scrubs, hair tied up and errant loose strands strewn about your face, coffee in hand as you ran from end to end of the emergency department. But this blew that out of the water. The red jumpsuit you had picked had a tasteful level of cleavage, just the right mix of sexy but still classy enough to wear in front of professional colleagues. That combined with a red-stain pout, long lashes, and your black peep toe heels, he feels a little bit breathless as he drinks you in.

Actively ignoring how his heart skips a beat, he stops checking you out and instead steels himself to question you on why you are a) unwilling to talk to him, yet b) trying to eye fuck him AND the resident at the same time, and c) following him into the bathroom.

“What,” he starts firmly, “are you trying t-”

“I’m sorry!”

He’s startled from your sudden outburst. “What?”

“I just wanted to say I’m really really really sorry for lying about and saying that you were the one who messed things up when it was really me who messed things up,” you ramble. “And I made you look bad and you’re not bad, you’re always good to everyone! You’re always good to me!”

Hoseok can’t help but to chuckle, confusion coloring his laugh. “What are you talking about?”

You sway on your feet and stumble a bit forward towards him. He catches you, restoring your balance and holding you steady by the shoulders gently. It is very apparent that you are drunk, likely the drunkest you have been in a long time, but you don’t let that deter you. “The really bad day! Where I messed up the physical exam and said it was your fault!”

Oh. He is taken aback; he had no idea that you were carrying around so much guilt over this. Was that why you had been avoiding talking to him at the hospital? “Well,” he begins, “would it make you feel better to know that your apology is accepted?” You contemplate his words, humming to yourself, then nod. He smiles. “Okay good, because I really don’t mind that much. I didn’t know you were that upset about it though,” he adds.

“Well, I have been,” you huff. He bites his lip to keep a laugh from escaping. “That’s what I’ve been wanting to tell you for foreverrrrrrr but I didn’t get a chance!” You close your eyes, buzzing with contentment, a weight lifted off of your chest. He smiles for a split second at your reaction, until you suddenly open them again to eye him suspiciously. “Hey, wait a minute,” you exclaim, gears turning in your mind. “I didn’t get a chance because someone,” you poke him in the chest with your finger to emphasize your point, “decided to force me into a closet,” you poke him again, “and make me all hot and bothered instead of listening! So really,” another jab to the chest, “it’s your fault that I’m feeling guilty!”

“Hey, easy now!” Hoseok grabs your finger before you can poke him again. You pout at him, trying to free yourself from his grasp to no avail. It makes his heart melt, just a little. He pulls you in closer with the finger he’s holding, smirking at your surprised expression.  “If I remember correctly…,” he leans in to whisper in your ear, hearing your breath hitch, “I don’t think you had many complaints, did you?”

a/n: long time, no see, i know! i got caught up with school and studying this year but quarantine has my creative juices flowing again, so i’m planning on finishing this series soon (fingers crossed!!). thank you so much for reading,  i hope you enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it!! <3 

[legendsofthegffa]

Darth Plagueis Review

By Z.H. Brown

“Did you ever hear ‘The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise’?”

The Republic is in a Golden Age while the galaxy at large enjoys a peace that has lasted nearly a millennia. But beneath this prosperity, corruption and suffering fester; the Galactic Senate is almost universally filled with self-serving politicians or have been bought out by various, wealthy corporations and business; the Outer Rim is left almost completely at the mercy of organized crime, with violence, poverty and slavery running rampant. Over seeing this time of peace is the Jedi Order, which has become both completely reliant on the Senate for action while also being so wrapped up in their own meditations and traditions that all but a few have failed to notice the creeping spread of the dark side once more beginning to envelop the galaxy. And behind it all is the Order of the Sith Lords, operating both from the shadows and in public personas to facilitate this decay as the Grand Plan draws nearer to its culmination. This is the story of two of the most important Sith in the history of Bane’s Order; the Dark Lords that would enact their long-awaited revenge and once more bring Sith rule to the galaxy. This is the story of the Sith Lord that trained the most powerful Sith the galaxy had ever seen. This is the story of Darth Plagueis. 

The story opens with Plagueis’ on his final mission with his own Sith Master, Darth Tenebrous. While investigating a deposit of the lightsaber-resistant metal cortosis, the stumble upon a pocket of natural gas which triggers an explosion that threatens to bury them. The two use the Force to shield themselves from the cave-in, but Plaguies suddenly sees (or receives) an opening and allows his master to be crushed by some of the debris. Tenebrous is both impressed and disappointed in his apprentice, as while he acted exactly as the way of the Sith and the Rule of Two dictates, Plagueis himself is both wounded and now trapped deep underground. Plagueis assures him that he has enough strength and skill to escape as he watches the midi-chlorians within his master slowly fade back into the Force, though Tenebrous gets in one last dig by hinting that Plagueis was not his only apprentice, to which Plagueis finishes off his master himself. 

Plagueis does indeed escape, and eventually makes his way to a spaceport where he stows away aboard a ship heading in the general direction of Muunilinst, his homeworld. The crew discovers the Sith Lord, and while Plagueis tries to get them to get him to take him to where he needs to go, they prove resistant enough for him to resort to slaughtering the crew and commandeering their ship and droid, 11-4D. Plagueis takes the droid into his personal service before arriving at a gangster controlled space station to have his ship and evidence of his crime destroyed and to commander another craft. 

Plagueis finally makes it home, where he inducts his new droid into his experiments; Plagueis had long been fascinated in midi-chlorians and their connections to both the Force and life within organic beings. Plagueis has been attempting to influence the midi-chlorians in other beings in order to stave off death, but so far had been unsuccessful; with the Sith Grand Plan entering its final stages, Plagueis has grand plans of his own: to achieve immortality for himself, to bring the very Force itself to heel with the power of the dark side, and to rule the galaxy forever alongside his future apprentice and partner, as Plagueis also intends to discard the Rule of Two, believing that it has served its purpose but that the Sith must work together to bring their goals to fruition. 

Whilst attending a private gathering in his public persona as Hego Damask of the InterGalactic Banking Clan to tend to both personal and Sith business, Plagueis is drawn into a trap by none other than Tenebrous’ other apprentice, Darth Venomous. Venomous sees himself as Tenebrous’ true apprentice and attacks Plagues in a fury; the Bith is indeed a capable Sith Lord, but Plagueis is simply to strong in the Force to be overcome with a lightsaber and Plagueis turns him into another midi-chlorian experiment, bringing him to the very brink of death before slowly coaxing him back to life. The last loose end he has to tie up is Venomous’ own candidates for apprentices, though he finds none of them to be worthy of the title.

As Plagueis’ experiments and plans continue, he is drawn into a on the planet of Naboo as some of the Mid Rim world’s nobles are opposed to getting into bed with either the IGBC or the Trade Federation. However, Plagueis receives unexpected assistance in the form of extortion material from an unlikely source; the son of a minor noble named Palpatine. As Hego Damask, Plagueis reaches out to Palpatine and finds that not only is the boy strong in the Force but also already seeped in the dark side. Palpatine’s father tries in vain to stymie the friendship, but eventually the elder Palpatine pushes too far and his son gives into the dark side completely and murders his entire family. Plagueis takes the boy under his wing, shaping him into a politician that could one day sway the galaxy to embrace his rule, as well as inducting him into the Sith and dubbing him Darth Sidious. 

After years of training together, things begin to take shape for both Plagueis and Sidious; the Sith Master is slowly beginning to understand how to bend midi-chlorians to his will, while Palpatine has managed to rise to the rank of Junior Representative in the Senate for Naboo. Following the assignation of the previous Senator, Palpatine is promoted to the position, just as his Master begins his search for the tool that will be used to destroy the Jedi. His first candidates, the Yinchori proved not only ferocious fighters, but also highly resistant to Force-influence. Unfortunately, the reptilian species proves to be too un-pliable for the task, though Plagueis’ study into their unique midi-chlorian abilities gives him new insight into his experiments.

Plagueis also begins working on Jedi Masters that have proven to be outspoken on the corruption in the Senate and the Order’s subservience to the legislative body rather than actually doing their duty to protect and serve. Two such Jedi are Masters Dooku and Syfo-Dyas. Dooku has grown exacerbated and disillusioned with the Jedi because of their adherence to tradition and serving the Senate, while Syfo-Dyas has long been worried of a coming galactic war that Jedi would be unable to handle with their limited numbers. Plagueis both works on widening the split between Dooku and the Order as well as laying the seeds for Syfo-Dias to consider creating an army in secret to be used when needed. Plagueis also imparts on Sidious the necessity of turning the galaxy against the Jedi, so that when their destruction ultimately comes about, the citizens of the galaxy will celebrate their destruction; this stroke of genius leads Sidious to bequeath his master with the title he would forever be known by: Darth Plagueis the Wise. As the Sith grow in strength, they begin attempting to bend the Force fully to the dark side, while around this time, Sidious comes into the possession of an infant that Plagueis allows him to train to be their weapon, dubbing him Maul, though Plagueis insists that Sidious keeps his own master’s existence a secret.

As Sidious grows in both Force power and political power and Plagueis’ control over midi-chlorians increases to the point that he is able to heal his own body from grievous injuries sustained in an attempted assassination; Maul continues his training, turning himself into a devastating weapon of the dark side with a singular focus of slaying Jedi, while the Sith move their pawns in the Senate and corporations closer to both open conflict as well as sowing the seeds for secession amongst the dissatisfied and the greedy in the Republic.

After years of positioning Sidious for the spot of Supreme Chancellor, as well as weakening the current Chancellor’s position and prestige by engineering scandals of corruption, things come to a head on the world of Naboo. Just as a new queen assumes power, Sidious uses a new tax about to be levied on Outer Rim trade to convince the Trade Federation to blockade their trade partner in the name protesting the tax; the Sith intend to use this incident to finally get Palpatine elected after which he will appoint “Hego Damask” as Co-Chancellor, at which point the two would effectively be in position to rule the galaxy for an eternity.

However, things do not go as planned, as Chancellor Valorum secretly dispatches two Jedi to convince the Trade Federation to give up their blockade. The Jedi, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi survive an assassination attempt before making to the surface of Naboo and rescuing Queen Amidala before escaping from the planet completely; unfortunately, their hyperdrive is damaged in the escape, forcing them to land on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. Sidious is forced to dispatch Maul to capture the queen and return her to Naboo, but just as the Sith apprentice locates his prey, the Jedi mange to escape once again and this time make it back to Coruscant.

From there, everything comes to a head: Senator Palpatine manages to convince Queen Amidala that the Senate has become to ineffective to help, and that the only way to save Naboo is to replace the current leadership of the Republic via a vote of no-confidence in Chancellor Valorum. However, Sidious also learns of something that might potentially jeopardize their entire plan from his friend, Master Dooku; Qui-Gon discovered a boy on Tatooine so strong in the Force that he believed him to be The Chosen One of Jedi prophecy, believed to have been conceived by the midi-chlorians themselves. Sidious is flabbergasted by this, as he was in the boy’s presence multiple times and sensed absolutely nothing about him; Plagueis is likewise stunned by this news, and even considers the possibility that this boy, Anakin Skywalker, was created by the Force as a counter-action following his and Sidious’ attempt to bend the Force to their own will; Plagueis tries to peer into Anakin’s future, only to be overwhelmed by a deluge of intense sensations and dark premonitions. 

While, Amidala, Skywalker, Jinn and Kenobi return to Naboo to free the planet themselves, with the election for the new Supreme Chancellor pending, as Sidious and Plagueis shore up Palpatine’s support, Plagueis imparts upon Syfo-Dyas one last time his concern of an immanent galactic war, and that he believes he has found the means of creating the secret army he once spoke of in the form of the cloners of Kamino, though he imparts upon the Jedi Master that it would need to be Jedi to commission the army if it is to be used by the Republic. At long last, the Sith achieve one of their goals when Palpatine wins the election and is proclaimed the next Supreme Chancellor. Plagueis and Sidious retire to celebrate their victory privately, though as Plagueis overindulges in drink (and not having slept in nearly two decades due to his ability to refresh himself via midi-chlorian stimulation), Sidious takes this opportunity to turn against his master, mocking him with is moniker “The Wise” by revealing that Sidious never intended to share rule of the galaxy with him, and that he was merely using him to achieve ultimate power; something Plagueis had become blind to due to his belief that the Rule of Two had been ended and he and Sidious were considered equals. Sidious short-circuits Plagueis’ breathing apparatus before strangling him with the Force in order to make it seem like his death was due to natural causes. 

As Sidious celebrates his ascension to the highest office in the Republic, he laments the loss Darth Maul at the hands of Kenobi, though he has already started to move on, first by intending to induct now-Count Dooku into the way of the Sith, but also by keeping a close eye on Anakin Skywalker in order to watch for a potential threat to his plans or for a useful tool. But mostly, Sidious plots to bring about his ultimate victory by destroying both the Jedi and the Republic and ruling over the galaxy with an iron fist and the unstoppable power of the dark side.

Going into this book, I was already aware of most of the broad strokes, namely that this book is meant to tie up the loose ends and offer explanations for much of what we see in the Prequel era. However, despite ostensibly knowing what the book was about, getting into the nitty-gritty of it was still a fascinating read; not only do we learn about the life, accomplishments and philosophy of one of the most famous Sith never to appear in the films, but we also get to see all of the little maneuvers made to both weaken the galaxy and ensure their own ascension; whether its by backing Jabba the Hutt in his muscling in on Tatooine, stirring up resentment amongst the disenfranchised who have been marginalized by the Senate and convincing them to invest in weapons and other war material manufacturing, or even just operating in plain sight of the Jedi while completely hiding their true nature, seeing everything that went into the culmination of the of Grand Plan and the revenge of the Sith was impressive in just how much thought went into the politicking. 

Despite shedding light on many heretofore unknown machinations of the Sith, as well as clearing up some contention in the canon (namely that midi-chlorians do not correspond to one’s power in the Force, but rather one’s connection to the Force), there is still plenty left unanswered; I was surprised in that Palpatine’s first name wasn’t in this book, instead calling him by his family name by his own choosing; we also don’t get a definitive answer on Anakin’s creation, just speculation on the part of Plagueis; and despite being another book steeped in the lore of the Sith, we only get very brief mentions of Sith Lords that existed in the time between Zhanna and Tenebrous. While I know that the book already had a ton of information to cover and wrap-up in a satisfactory way, I will admit to being slightly disappointed at the lack of information concerning the history of the Order of the Sith Lords in an official work; however, that is a pretty small complaint, as the revelations we did get were still fascinating.

It’s also fascinating to see the beginning of Bane’s Order versus the near end of it; Bane had insisted on working mostly from the shadows, using intermediaries and only involving themselves directly when need be while also trying to keep the Republic mostly intact, in order to make it easier to conquer. Bane also was completely dedicated to his new Rule of Two, insisting upon the apprentice overthrowing the master once they had nothing left to teach them. While still working from the shadows, Tenebrous, Plagueis and Sidious all have very public, high-profile identities that often bring them into close contact with the Jedi, though by this point, the Sith have mastered the skill used by Zhanna when she infiltrated the Jedi Temple in her days as an apprentice. They are now also at the stage in their Plan where they are ready to implement a ‘divide-and-conquer’ strategy by whipping up every grievance planets, sectors and business have with the Republic. Also, this is a minor difference that I noticed, but while Bane and Zhanna both considered the adoption of a Sith title to be a personal choice to be made by the apprentice, Plagueis (and as we would later see, Sidious), bequeathed their Sith names upon their apprentices, seemingly after being inspired by the dark side. 

Darth Plagueis is an essential read for fans of the Sith, fans of the Prequels, fans of Star Wars novels, or anyone looking to find out about what was going on behind the scenes that ultimately led to the events of Episodes I, II & III. While some readers might be turned off by it being essentially an exposition piece, finally learning about both Darth Plagueis and the beginning of Emperor Palpatine’s career makes it a must read in order to fully understand the Star Wars saga. Next time, we continue our time exploring the Sith by looking at an incident briefly mentioned in this book when we cover Darth Maul: Saboteur. 

Connections to the GFFA

Since this is both another deep dive into Sith history and lore as well as explaining the minutiae of the Prequel era, there are quite a few references: 

After slaying his master, Plagueis mentions prior Sith having to be wary of their vanquished master utilizing essence transfer, which is indeed what happened with Bane and Zhanna in Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, though the technique had since been lost.

Plagueis also mentions another Sith technique: the ability to take life from others to extend one’s own, which is what Darth Vitiate did to become immortal and how he kept Reven alive for centuries as his prisoner in The Old Republic: Reven (though Plagueis himself is not entirely convinced on Vitiate’s “supposed” lifespan).

Amongst his collection of Sith artifacts is a piece from Queen Amanoa’s collection, who appeared in the Tales of the Jedi comic.

During his study of midi-chlorians, Plaguies also looked into the anti-Force abilities of the ysalimiri and the vornskrs, both of which would be utilized against Jedi decades later for this same reason by Thrawn and the Yuuzhan Vong, respectively. 

Plaguies mentions the exploits of prior Sith such as Naga Sadow destroying entire stars and binding his spirit to his sarcophagus, which we saw in the Golden Age of the Sith comic, as well as Exar Kun’s paralyzing of the entire Senate in the Tales of the Jedi comic.

Plaguies makes mention of Belia Darzu’s fortress on Tython, which Bane infiltrated in Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

Plaguies briefly encounters an Iktochi prophet is able to accurately predict the impending Clone Wars as well as the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Plaguies makes mention of several ancient names and entities at one point: he calls the light side of the force and the dark side by their original names – Ashla and Bogon, respectively. He also mentions the Celestials and their ability to move entire star systems (as was the case with the Corellian system) as well as the Rakata and their Star Forge, which was a major part of the first Knights of the Old Republic game.

When Sidious asks if the dark side will physically warp his appearance, Plaguies says it’s possible and points to King Omnim of Onderon (who appeared alongside his wife in Tales of the Jedi) as well as Darths Sion and Nihlus (two of the main antagonists in Knights of the Old Republic II).

Sidious’ lightsaber is partially made of phrik, a lightsaber-resistant metal like cortosis but of a lower quality; during the Clone Wars, Republic Commandos were dispatched to disrupt a Separatist production operation that was making battle droids with an alloy including phrik.

When Sidious expresses a desire to visit worlds important to the Sith, Plaguies lists off Korriban, Ziost and Droummund Kaas (all former capitals of the Sith), Yavin 4 (where Naga Sadow fled and where Exar Kun based his operation from), and Dxun (where the tomb of Freedon Nadd was located).

As previously mentioned, Plaguies insists on he and Palpatine learning to mask their Sith allegiance when in the presence of Jedi, just as Darth Zhanna did during her infiltration of the Jedi Temple in Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

He also mentions Sith ships imbued with consciousness, something that we’ll see waaaay down the line with Lumiya, Caedus and the Lost Tribe of the Sith.

Some Proto-Disney Canon tidbits: Both Mother Talzin and Savage are briefly mentioned (though the later not by name); they were of course created for The Clone Wars animated series. The Zillo beast also gets a roundabout shout-out as the name of a Malestare fuel company. The Senator of Rodia, Onnaconda Farr is also mentioned, though interestingly is described as a “typical militant Rodian.”

Plaguies introduced Palpatine to Sate Prestage, who would go on to become Grand Vizier of the Galactic Empire.

Ko Sai, the Kaminoan hunted by Clan Skirata in the Republic Commando series, was present during Plaguies preliminary plans for the Clone Army.

Palpatine mentions that there was a time when only Jedi were allowed to be Supreme Chancellor, which occurred during the Republic’s Dark Age and later Syfo-Dyas mentions the Ruusan Reformation by name, which ended the practice and effectively created the status quo amongst the Republic and the Jedi for nearly a millennia.

Following his near assassination attempt, Plaguies makes mention of other Sith Lords forced to rely on life-support, such as Darth Malak (who lost his lower jaw to his master, Darth Reven) as well as Darth Bane and his dependence on his orbalisk armor. 

The Stark Hyperspace War is briefly mentioned, as is the Battle of Galidran, in which Jango Fett slaughtered a dozen Jedi single-handedly, both of which occurred in the Republic comics.

Plaguies calls Maul’s lightsaber an “Exar Kun design; Kun was the first in recorded galactic history to wield a double-blade lightsaber. 

The Sun Guard, Plaguies’ personal protectors, refer to his abilities as “sorcererous ways,” which is how Darth Vader’s abilities are derisively described as in Episode IV.

Maul’s killer protocol droid, C-3PX, is briefly mentioned.

The events of both Cloak of Deception as well as Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter are briefly alluded to. 

Maul’s one-of-a-kind ship, the Scimitar, was designed by Darth Tenebrous and previously owned by Darth Plagueis.

It was Senator Orn Free Ta of Ryloth, who appears as a background character in the Prequels and is a minor character in The Clone Wars series, was the one to nominate Palpatine for the Chancellorship. 

The Jedi learned about the Rule of Two nearly a millennia ago from Darth Zhanna’s cousin, fittingly in the book Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

Final Score: 8.5/10

[jaqdawks]

added a short story bellow :)

content warnings: alcohol and implied nsfw acts, also mention of death.

—————————————

Nickolai awoke in someone else’s bed with a splitting hangover. He sat up and looked around the unfamiliar room. He checked if it was possibly Alcor’s, until he realized he didn’t know what Alcor’s bedroom looked like at all. He also didn’t know what most of Alcor’s flat looked like; he’d only ever been as far in as a single hallway.

For a few minutes, Nickolai fought the hangover to remember who he was with and what identity he’d assumed. All he could remember was Noah. He had a fake ID that said Noah, and his false identity as a Noah was a man who fixed computers. Noah was a common name though, and he couldn’t remember who the Noah here was.

He didn’t think about it much longer before he succumbed to the hangover and flopped back onto the bed—which Nickolai was alone in. The disturbed sheets on the spot next to him hinted to someone else having been in it earlier.

The door began to creak open, and Nickolai shut his eyes.

“Hey, it’s almost noon. I don’t want to be rude but you need to wake up,” sounded an unfamiliar voice.

Nickolai grumbled a little. He looked at the stranger, who had soft green eyes and curly red hair. He didn’t look untrustworthy, to Nickolai’s relief. Then again, Nickolai didn’t look untrustworthy either on a normal day.

“I have Advil if you need something for a hangover,” the stranger offered.

Nickolai sat up again, for real now. “Sorry, what’s your name?”

The stranger laughed. “I’m Joel. Were you too hammered to remember my name?”

Nickolai shook his head.

The stranger seemed concerned. “How much do you remember then?”

“I don’t know, I remember thinking I should get mad drunk in public instead of passing out on my couch. After that it’s just fuzzy.” Nickolai assumed he told Joel that his name was Noah.

Joel looked a little perturbed in an endearing way. “Ah, well, do you want me to fill the gaps or. . ?”

“Can I get some Advil first?”

“Yeah. I’ll go get some water for you to swallow it with,” Joel complied. “You should get dressed.”

Nickolai waited for Joel to leave before getting out of bed and tracking down all his clothes, which were strewn about the room. His shirt smelled like liquor to the point that Nickolai thought he might gag. However, he didn’t have any spare clothes and decided to just put up with it.

Joel was back a few minutes after Nickolai got dressed. It was clear he was trying to ignore the smell, but after Nickolai took the Advil, Joel asked if he needed to borrow something that didn’t smell so rancid. Nickolai obliged and was relieved to be able to rid the putrid button-down.

“Okay, so the parts you don’t remember,” Joel began. “I can’t say I remember it too well either, but I think I have a decent memory with these things.”

Nickolai nodded. “Go on.”

“So,” Joel continued. “It began when I think I saw the bartender cut you off on drinks, and I felt kind of bad about that. So I thought, hey, company’s much better than drinks, even though I was also drinking, like a lot. And I guess at some point we kinda started flirting, and I was like ‘should we take this back to your place?’ and you began to freak out. I think you said you have a dog that bites people or something? Is that true?”

“Nope.”

“Okay. Well anyways, you did not seem to be very happy with the idea of taking anyone to your place, so I took you to mine. And you can probably guess the rest, considering you woke up naked in my bed.”

Nickolai silently acknowledged the implications in his head. This wasn’t how he planned to start his weekend, but he could roll with it. “Yeah. Sorry for sleeping until noon, by the way. I’m not at all a morning person.”

Joel smiled with amusement. “How do you pull that off? I can’t even sleep past nine on a good day.”

“Sadness.”

Joel’s face went blank with a bit of underlying surprise at Nickolai’s off hand answer. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, no harm no foul.” Nickolai was vehemently aware that he may have used that saying incorrectly.

Joel veered the conversation away from the topic. “How does your head feel?”

“A little better.”

Joel was oddly kind. Nickolai wasn’t used to receiving this hospitality from strangers like him, but that probably had more to do with who Nickolai associated himself with and not people in general. Nickolai decided he liked Joel, even if he barely knew him.

“I would offer you some breakfast, but. . . it’s almost one in the afternoon. You’re probably hungry though, right?”

“Oh, you don’t have to.” Nickolai attempted to smile back at Joel but he was too tired to count off what would make it look genuine. Regardless, Joel didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m gonna do it anyway,” Joel decided. “Any allergies?”

“Strawberries.”

“Oh! That’s a rare one.”

Nickolai shrugged. “I seem to cash in on the rare things a lot. Albinism, an extra rib, and the strawberry allergy.”

“Casinos must hate you if you’re that lucky.”

Nickolai let out a genuine laugh. He decided he definitely liked Joel. He also felt a tinge of astonishment that someone like Joel casually hooked up with him, or generally anyone. He seemed like too much of an angel to even drink.

Nickolai followed Joel out of his room. Joel’s place was considerably nice, to the point Nickolai was in a bit of disbelief. He couldn’t have wound up in an upper class area if he had started last night at a shoddy bar, right? Joel didn’t act like he was rich, he didn’t seem like it either. But this place completely contrasted whatever Joel was like. Even Joel’s cat, a rather well groomed Norwegian forest cat—which was massive and somewhat intimidating—seemed to completely outclass Nickolai.

“Do you live here by yourself?” Nickolai asked as he surveyed the expensive wallpaper lining the kitchen walls.

“Nah, I have a housemate named Anwyll. He’s visiting family right now though.”

Nickolai froze. “Anwyll. . . As in Anwyll Tait?”

“That’s the one!”

Nickolai suddenly felt sick. “Oh fuck.”

“Is something wrong?”

Nickolai retched. Had his stomach not been empty, he had no doubt he would have thrown up all over the nice counter top.

Joel dropped what he was doing and crossed the room to Nickolai. “Are you okay?” He was suddenly at Nickolai’s side with his hand placed gently on Nickolai’s back.

Nickolai’s head spun. He knew he couldn’t tell Joel that Anwyll Tait took his brother’s life in the deathmatches. If he did, Joel would have a catalogue of every possible person Nickolai could truly be, and it would clearly point to Yuskol Voskoboinikov.

Nickolai ran through every excuse he could think up. He could say he hated the rich, but that could offend Joel. He could say the deathmatches made him sick, but Joel was obviously linked to them somehow if he was in league with a Tait. Joel felt like dangerous company, a double edged sword.

“Noah?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Nickolai croaked. “I think it’s just the hangover. I haven’t eaten since yesterday, so I guess I don’t have anything to throw up.”

That was the safest excuse.

Joel looked at Nickolai with pity. “Do you think you can eat right now?”

“Yeah.”

Nickolai felt somewhat content that he had definite confirmation that he had told Joel his name was Noah last night. The slight accent in his voice may throw off the authenticity in his identity as Noah Martin, but it wasn’t consistent enough to jeopardize him.

At the same time, the fact that he slept with someone of such high class alarmed him. Most public record photos of Nickolai Voskoboinikov’s face was outdated or somewhat photoshopped, but a Tait might be able to figure him out if they surveyed him for long enough.

“So, what’s your housemate like?” Nickolai asked. He tried to keep the nervousness from spreading to his voice.

“Anwyll can be such a jerk sometimes, but he’s also sorta nice. I’ve known him since I was little,” Joel said. “He doesn’t like new people that much, but I think he’d like you.”

“Dunno. I can be very unlikeable when I’m on my medication.” Nickolai knew with certainty that Anwyll would hate him no matter what. “Also I’m. . . lower class.” Nickolai also knew that Anwyll was a classist asshole.

“Lower class? That doesn’t matter,” Joel piped up. “The whole class thing is kind of stupid. I think the way it’s set up is interesting, but it won’t stop me from having friends from all kinds of walks of life.”

“I. . . yeah. I guess so,” Nickolai mumbled. He doubted Joel would be this positive if he knew of Nickolai’s illegal trades ties, the upper class notoriously hated brokers like him. They also especially hated him in particular.

Being there felt like the most dangerous stunt Nickolai had pulled, and he hadn’t even done it on purpose.

Joel set a ridiculously fancy, yet somehow definitely homemade, grilled cheese sandwich on a plate in front of him.

“Wow,” Nickolai mused. For a moment he wasn’t sure what to say. “This looks like something an expensive ass chef would make.”

“Thanks! I went to the top culinary school in the city, my parents say it was a waste of time.”

“Fuck what your parents say,” Nickolai replied before he took a bite. The sandwich tasted unreal. The last time he had food as good as this was when he posed as an intern for one of the deathmatch organizers.

“I’m glad you like it,” Joel smiled. Nickolai felt unease crawl back into his chest. Joel seemed so genuinely friendly, though a nagging suspicion told Nickolai it could be a lie. Nickolai couldn’t take a risk by being near him for much longer. At the same time, however, he felt captivated. Joel had that charisma that so many of the notorious upper class families seemed to unanimously mirror. He was a golden face among a sea of golden faces, all rotten under their skin. Nickolai knew what they were like.

Even then, Joel seemed to care a lot more than most would let on.

Nickolai took a deep breath. “I have to go home, sorry. I left my meds there, and I probably have people flooding my inbox about work and all that bullshit.”

“That’s alright. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your job?”

“I fix computers,” Nickolai lied. That was Noah’s persona, and a story that should hold up if Joel decided to try and look in to it.

To be polite, he exchanged phone numbers. Nickolai only had his burner phone on him, which was a relief. The calls and texts that flooded Nickolai’s personal phone daily would have definitely been suspicious.

Nickolai liked Joel, but he knew he wouldn’t call him. Nickolai had a hunch that Joel may not be the worst of his kind, but he knew he wouldn’t text him back. It felt harsh to shut Joel out like this, but Nickolai wasn’t going to risk identification simply because he had a good encounter. They waved goodbye, and Joel’s cheery expression was a reminder that Nickolai would have to be silently cruel.

Nickolai didn’t call for a cab, he walked until his hangover began to bother him again. Then he called Alcor—Alcor didn’t have Nickolai’s burner phone address, but he was a safer bet than any cabs in this place.

The phone rang for a while before Alcor picked up.

“Who’s this?”

Nickolai felt relief wash over him to hear a familiar voice. “It’s Nick. Can you come pick me up?”

Alcor’s words were laced with suspicion as he spoke over the phone. “. . . Sure. Where are you?”

Nickolai looked at the street sign. Of course he had to stop on Ivory Street—the richest and most notorious, and also the one Nickolai hated the most for almost no real reason. With a sigh, he said, “Ivory Street.”

“How the fuck did you get there?”

“Drunkenly and against my conscious knowing.”

“Is this going to be dangerous?”

Nickolai groaned. “Not as dangerous as standing in the house that belongs to the man who killed my brother. Now get over here, I don’t think it’d be safe to use public transport in this area.”

There was a silence on the other end, then Alcor replied, “I’m on my way.”

[aparecium-hq]

Welcome to Aparecium, Ira! You have been accepted for Justin Vane. Justin sounds like he has so much wonderful potential, and Kat and I can’t wait to see him interact with other characters, especially the other Quidditch players. Check out the new member checklist, and jump right in.

Character Basics

Birthday (Age): 25

Gender (Pronouns): He/Him

Sexuality: Straight

Blood Status: Halfblood

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Occupation: Quidditch Player: Chaser for the Montrose Magpies

Faceclaim: Tyler Posey

Biography:

The War had changed Romilda Vane. Once a bubbly air-head who thrived on gossip and the trivialities of teenage life, facing certain death and defending her school set her off on a journey to find her purpose. She backpacked across Europe - both magic and non-magic - with strangers who became friends. Though living like a muggle was extremely difficult at first, she was never one to give up on a challenge. Her true Gryffindor seemed to shine through. This is where she met and married a muggle, and had Justin soon after.

Justin was only 2 when his father abandoned the pair, and he never heard from the man in his life. Though it was just mother and son, Justin never felt like he was missing out on much. Quite the opposite, he was in fact the apple of his mother’s and grandparent’s eyes. His early days were spent reading about magical and muggle history (including his mother’s own works), playing wizard’s chess with his grandfather, being the center of their little village’s attention, and flying around on his Nimbus.

Going to Hogwarts was the most natural of transitions - Slytherin house was definitely a place where he would thrive. And thrive he did. With his cunning and charismatic words and resourcefulness, Justin was the favorite of many house-mates and teachers alike. But what really differentiated him was his singular, almost blinding focus on one thing: Quidditch. Though he had no known Quidditch players in his family, Justin became one of the youngest players to ever make the house team as Chaser. Even when other Slytherin players would sometimes find their way to the pack through bribes or influence, no captain dared bump “Vane, 09”’s spot for someone else. When his grandmother died in his 5th year, his focus on the game only became stronger.  He passed with the bare minimum in his academics and chased his ambition with even more conviction. Upon graduating from Hogwarts, Justin cut a deal with the best team in the League - The Montrose Magpies. The first few years out of school were him living his dream. Though his grandfather passed away, Justin was satisfied that he had gotten to see his grandson become a star. People were soon lining up to get his autograph and some rare “fans” would even track down his home address every four months or so.

Of course, being a star quidditch player so early in the game, Justin couldn’t help leverage the popularity. He garnered a repute for being a casanova, something he carried over from his days at Hogwarts. Though it never became anything serious with anyone. It was all mostly for a bit of fun and sometimes to satisfy his own ego. Girls found themselves in bed or on dates with him, but never once did he bring anyone back home to the Vane residence.

Justin loved every second of being a Quidditch player - being on the road, developing a bond with his team, the crazy fans. But most of all, he loved the sport. His dream life was, however, halted abruptly when Romilda became severely affected by illness.

To care for her, Justin has recently taken a hiatus from Quidditch. To their relief, a new hybrid technology apparatus at St. Mungo’s is showing positive results and his mother is getting better by the day. Given his history and values, he is quick to trust this new technology and welcome it into their life. Being one of the most successful Quidditch players on the scene and the son of a prominent writer on muggle subjects, Justin’s voice is quite influential. With the changing environment, he has been put in a unique position of power. Being a Slytherin, you can bet that he will play his cards exactly right.

Character Questionnaire

How does your character feel about their family? Justin’s personal ambitions and needs are second to one thing and one thing only - his family. His mother is the most important person in his life. Before their deaths, he shared a close relationship with his grandparents, with his grandfather often filling in the gaps of his father. They were the reason he didn’t completely fall off the rails at school. On the other hand, they are also the reason he became a little cocky and entitled, though they did their best to keep him grounded in his later years. He feels that he owes everything to his family, and considers himself kind of lucky that he did not have to take his father’s name so he can carry the Vane legacy forward.

How would your character describe their own work ethic? Is that an accurate measure of themself? Justin would describe himself as “keeping up” with the needs of being a Quidditch player. However, this is far from the truth. Justin has optimized almost every area in his life to become a better player - on and off the ground. He follows a strict diet and gave up alcohol almost as soon as he has started drinking it. He works out every single day and spends a minimum of an hour on a broom, a habit he has not missed for a day since his 6th year when he was made Slytherin Captain. Even socially Justin makes sure that he’s up to date with what’s going on with who so that a simple lunch date can turn into a stronger bond with his teammate, his coach, or whoever.  His work ethic is very much a good measure of himself. Of course, he is a gifted player. But Justin doesn’t take that for granted even for a second, fearing it could go away in the blink of an eye. This is what fuels him to work so hard every day.

How would a stranger who has just met your character describe them? A little conceited, definitely cocky, yet charming in a way that puts you off at first but makes you smile eventually.

Para Sample

“Mum, please. Stop trying to get up, will you?” Justin pleaded. Romilda’s frail figure couldn’t support itself as she reached out her hand to the brown box at the foot of her bed. “I told you, I’ll read you your beloved fan mail.” Sweat was dripping down his jersey as he sat on the other side, taking out a letter and reading the cover. He looked at his mother, confused.

“I’ve read plenty of my own fan mail.” A sly smile was at her lips. “Go on then, I’m listening.” Justin chuckled but began reading. “Dear Justin, I think I’m in love with you. I have watched every match you’ve ever played. I think about you all the time. I live in Little Haggleton, and nothing of importance ever happens in my town. All the boys are off working at the Ministry or managing shops. It’s so boring, I could die.” He paused and looked up, sporting a look which said ‘don’t make me read more.’ Romilda raised her brows, nodding. Her smile was growing wider with every word. “Attached to this letter is the address of a pub I go to every Friday evening for drinks and a picture of me.  If you like it, please consider coming to meet me.” Justin paused once more, raising a brow at Romilda. She nodded again. “I would love to marry you.”

No sooner had he finished his sentence, Romilda began to laugh. He couldn’t contain himself either, rolling his eyes. “Show me the picture, maybe she’s pretty.” “Absolutely not. Please stay in bed so I can reject all future marriage proposals at my own discretion.” “Well she’s got a point, Little Haggleton is very boring. Your wedding would be the most important event of the decade.” “Ma!” Laughter echoed through the room as Justin put the letter back in the box. “You ought to bring someone home sometime, JJ. Who knows how long I’m sticking around.” He flashed a disapproving look at her before speaking. “You moving on before I’ve found another woman to torture me for the rest of my life? Seems highly unlikely.” The two laughed again as he picked up the box. “But really, I’m taking this away before you promise my hand to some poor country maiden without my knowledge.” Justin kissed Romilda’s forehead before heading out of the room, a smile on his lips and a picture of a stranger in his hand.

Additional Information for Original Characters

Character Teaser

If he looked into the mirror of Erised, Justin would see himself holding the Quidditch cup, the captain’s badge shining on his chest, and a glorious smile on his lips. Or so he thinks. He’s spent most of his life chasing this dream to the world’s end. But every day he cares for his ailing mother, the vision wavers a bit in his mind. A golden childhood and a successful career seem to be enough for most people, but Justin’s still hungry for more. He knows sooner or later his Quidditch dreams will be fulfilled, and his career will be penned down for posterity. But what after that?

Feelings on Magical Integration

Justin is definitely an integrationist. Not only was his mother fascinated by muggle culture, married a muggle and learned to live in muggle society seamlessly - she also made a fortune by writing books on her experiences. Needless to say, she was one of the first people to support the movement. Now, personally reaping the benefits of Madley’s through his mother’s unique treatment, Justin is determined to support the movement in any way he can. As long as it doesn’t jeopardize his career, that is.

Connections

Fred Weasley: Justin and Fred formed the unlikeliest of friendships at Hogwarts. After a chance meeting and a brief conversation about muggles, they stayed in touch and became each other’s confidants. Justin supported Fred when he was in college, and even visited him occasionally.  

OPEN - (name) and Justin have had quite a few sexy escapades a couple of years ago, but the fire died down because of factors beyond their control.  

OPEN - Nothing like a friendly rivalry that can turn into cut throat competition to keep you on the top of your game, right? (name) and Justin trade tricks of the trade and push each other to the limit.

[summahsunlight]

We Belong to the Stars, CH.9

Word Count: 2668

Pairings: Poe/Evelyn (OC)

A/N: Here is the next chapter.  Links for the other chapters are provided below so you can catch up :)

Chapter One / Chapter Two / Chapter Three / Chapter Four / Chapter Five / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / AO3

Poe was standing at the holotable in the situation room when Evelyn entered; he couldn't stop the small smile that spread across his face as BB-8 and CB-2 followed behind her, like little bantha cubs.  He had wondered where his droid had gone, now he knew; BB-8 was with Evelyn.  His little companion had always been enamored with Evelyn because she treated him with respect, much like Poe treated him.  There were times Poe questioned if the droid loved her more than he did.

Evelyn looked up then and saw him smiling at her. Instantly, she blushed, which only made Poe's smile grow. She adverted her eyes as the other pilots began to file into the situation room.  It took a few moments for her to look back up, waiting while Snap and Jessika took their positions at the holotable.  Evelyn should have been surprised that he was still looking at her, still smiling at her slightly, but she wasn't.  For a brief moment, their eyes locked and it was as if she was the only other person in the room with him.  She felt her heart flutter; no one looked at her like the way Poe did.

He didn't look away until Leia entered the room, Major Caluan Ematt following behind her.  Poe immediately noticed Ematt's concern upon seeing Evelyn in that room.  The Major had been good friends with the Solos and Skywalkers, Ematt had watched the Skywalker children grow up.  Poe was certain that the former Rebellion solider was having trouble separating the little girl from the young woman she had become, but Poe knew that Evelyn was more than capable of the challenges ahead of them.  She's the daughter of two top notch pilots and one of which was a Jedi Knight. 

Leia approached the table and slipped a disc into the chip reader.  She pressed a button and the holoimage of a man, with white blonde hair and pale blue eyes appeared, hovering over the table. "Commander Dameron was already briefed earlier on this matter, we feel it's time to bring his squad in and take action. This is Agent Lothor.  Up until recently, he had infiltrated the First Order and had been gathering intel on the base they are building in the Unknown Regions.  We lost all contact with him about three days ago.  The First Order attacked his last known location.  Major Ematt has activated his tracker and we've located it on a habitable planet close to his last known location."

Ematt continued, "It is vital that Agent Lothor and the information is retrieved before the First Order finds him. This is a highly classified mission, Commander Dameron, so it's essential that you and your team keep this information from leaving this room. Do you understand?" 

"Of course, Major," Poe answered, with a curt nod. 

"Good. You leave first thing in the morning," Ematt replied. 

"Poe, the first sign of trouble, you get out of there," Leia informed him. "We cannot afford heavy losses."

"Yes ma'am."

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

Poe just gave her one of his trademark smiles. Leia somehow resisted the urge to roll her eyes.  For the most part, Poe reminded her of Luke—he had a good heart and always tried to do what was right—but there were other times, the handsome young pilot reminded her of Han.  

Instead of arguing with the leader of Black Squadron, Leia dismissed them.  They needed time to prepare; they had an important mission tomorrow, probably the most important mission for the Resistance to date.

Kaleb was tried.  All he really wanted to do was grab a quick dinner in the mess hall and then head to his bunk. However, upon entering the mess, the tension in the air was palpable. He jumped into the food line, grabbed a tray, and leaned into Joph's shoulder.  "What's going on?"

Joph glanced at him as he scooped some food onto his tray. "Rumor has it that Commander Dameron's squad is going out on a classified mission tomorrow morning; they spent a lot of time in the situation room today with Major Ematt. Yolo saw them take their dinner in there about an hour ago; they haven't come out yet.  My guess, mission prep."

"No one has any theories what the mission might be?" Kaleb questioned just as realization dawned him. The missing spy. 

"Well," Joph said, his cheeks getting slightly red, "they're too busy talking about Poe assigning Evelyn to his squadron."

Kriff, Poe, really? Kaleb thought, rolling his eyes.  He knew that Poe assigning Evelyn to his squadron was because he believed in her skills, he trusted her, hell he had been one of the ones to teach Evelyn how to fly but the rest of the Resistance, they didn't know those things.  To them, it looked like an attempt to get closer to Evelyn. Maybe, he wants that, but I know that's not the reason he put Evie in his squadron.  "Joph, trust me, Poe didn't assign my sister to Black Squadron to win her back or anything.  He taught her to fly; he knows how good she is."

Shrugging his shoulders, Joph grabbed his tray of food and went off to find his friends.  Kaleb sighed, heavily, letting his eyes sweep the mess hall. Knowing that his sister was about to go on a classified, highly dangerous mission, made him not so hungry anymore.  He needed to find Poe.

Moving through the base quickly and quietly, Kaleb found Black Squadron exiting the situation room, empty trays in their mechanic, Oddy's hands.  Kaleb set his jaw and grabbed Poe, roughly, by the arm. "We need to talk."

Poe started to smile but then seeing the serious look in his friend's eyes, stopped himself. "Okay," he said, letting Kaleb drag him off to a quiet part of the base.  "Does this have something to do with my assigning Evelyn to Black Squadron?"

"No," Kaleb replied, releasing Poe's arm. "But we'll get to that in a moment.  I know my aunt gave you the mission to find Lothor."

"Yeah, we leave in the morning," Poe replied, brow creasing with mild concern.  "This is about Evie, isn't it?"

"Besides my aunt and uncle, she's the only family I have left, Poe."

"Kaleb, I won't let anything happen to her."

Pain flashed through Kaleb's blue eyes. His mother was dead, his father vanished... and Ben... it hurt the most thinking about Ben.  So, Kaleb shook away the horrendous memories, and looked his friend straight in the eye. "Promise me, Poe, promise me that you'll make sure she comes back.  I can't lose her, too." 

Setting his jaw, Poe nodded, firmly. "I promise, Kaleb. I'll make sure to bring her home." He didn't need to voice it, both of them knew it; Poe would die before letting anything happen to Evelyn.  He would die to protect her if need be. "Something tells me though, she's going to be the one to be making sure I get home," he said, with a sly smile to break the grief filled tension. 

Kaleb chuckled, sadly. "Yeah, that's probably true."

Poe reached out and gripped Kaleb's shoulder. "She's a hell of a pilot; I should know, I taught her to fly."

"I know, and because of that, it's one of the reasons I'm terrified.  She can be just as reckless as you at times."

"Unlike me, she knows how to reign it in, not to mention she's a Jedi.  She has the Force on her side."

"You know she's shut herself off from the Force, right? That she has completely shunned that part of her identity..."

"I had my suspicions but I didn't want to push her."

Sighing, Kaleb nodded. He understood; Poe and Evelyn were actually on good speaking terms, in fact rumor had it that they were more than just on good speaking terms. Kaleb knew Poe wouldn't jeopardize his relationship with Evelyn asking such a heavy question, regardless of what kind of relationship they had at the current time.  "Ever since my father left, she's been avoiding that part of her.  She keeps her lightsaber locked in a compartment in her x-wing but I can't tell you the last time I saw her use it."

Poe had noticed that Evelyn didn't carry her lightsaber, something she had been so excited to complete just before the fall of the Temple. "Maybe she just thinks it the easiest way to handle everything that's happened, Kaleb."

Kaleb shot a glare at him. "Easiest? Nothing about our situation is easy, Poe. Kylo Ren is our problem to deal with and he's only going to be defeated if Evelyn stops being afraid and becomes the Jedi we both know she can be."

"Come on, Kaleb, you're asking her to face someone, possibly killing him, that she cared about at one point in her life."

"The person she cared about is gone, Poe; only Kylo Ren remains." 

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"You haven't been around here long enough to know two things, so I'm going to tell you them; one, don't piss my aunt off and two, don't talk to my sister about the Force."

He knew enough that you didn't make Leia angry, Poe had known Leia his whole life, but talking to Evelyn about the Force... she had always been so open to him about it.  He supposed that given everything that had happened in the last five years, talking about that part of her was difficult. "You just gotta give her time, Kaleb.  She'll come around."

Turning away from him, Kaleb sighed, heavily. He'd told himself that very same thing for the last five years, so far it had not come true yet. It wasn't fair that he was unleashing all this pent up frustration on his friend. "I'm sorry, Poe. I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you."

Poe reached out and clamped his hand down on Kaleb's shoulder.  He gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze to remind him that they were in this together, and that they were going to see this through to the end. No matter what that ending might be.

"General, you're going to want to read this."

Armitage Hux turned precisely on his heel.  He strode along the command deck of the Finalizer towards the nameless officer that had grabbed his attention.  "Yes," he said, "what is it?"

The officer handed him a data card. Hux knew the young boy had been in charge of finding out more information on the attack in the Uvoss System. The Supreme Leader had been furious Hux's men had let the pirates get away with the yacht. "It wasn't the Irving Boys that stole that yacht.  Rumor has it that it was the Resistance."

Of course, Hux thought.  He had read up on the logs his pilots had submitted and he'd been suspicious.  The pilots that had attacked the Senator's yacht had obviously been combat missioned trained.  Pirates wouldn't have attempted to charge a Regurgant-class Star Destroyer. He frowned at the names on the data pad. He knew little about Poe Dameron, but he knew enough that the man was reckless, but had the skills to back it up.  "Now that the Resistance has the yacht, they're going to know about Agent Lothor.  Make sure every last one of those transmissions is tracked down. Kill any of the recipients."

"And what if the Resistance sends out their own team to retrieve the information?" the officer questioned, swallowing slightly. 

"Do I have to honestly spell that out for you?" Hux snapped, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when the officer stood there, dumbfounded. "Kill them too; leave no survivors."

[the-citrus-scale]

Chaotic Neutrals: The Walking Dead Edition

Fandom always seems to flock to morally gray characters, or as we call them here at The Citrus Scale, chaotic neutrals. The Walking Dead, in particular, is a fandom made up pretty much only of chaotic neutrals, but some are a little more chaotic than others. In this edition of our feature, we’ll talk about my personal favorite chaotic neutral, Negan, and another character very similar to him that many might not view as a chaotic neutral, Rick Grimes. Negan and Rick both do many, many questionable things throughout the series that fans attempt to justify for the sake of not vilifying them. This is why they are both great, albeit infuriating, characters.

Analyzing any character from The Walking Dead is a little tricky. While most of them originally lived in a world that functioned like ours, they don’t live in that world anymore. Their rules are dramatically different. With Negan and Rick, there’s also another layer to worry about, and that’s the fact that they’re foils. That means that their backgrounds and character arcs mirror each other, but are just varied enough to highlight the differences between them. You also have the wrinkle of comics vs. television show. At this point, it’s really best to consider each version as separate from the other. There are too many differences in character development and plot that make it disingenuous to try to smash everything together and analyze it that way. Therefore, we’ll be talking about the television show versions of these characters today.

Ultimately, in the question of who’s better, it’s really a wash and Negan and Rick end up about the same. We know, we know. It doesn’t seem possible, right? Well, trust us, it is. Negan isn’t as bad as everybody thinks he is, and Rick isn’t as great as everybody thinks he is.

That’s largely because the two men are very similar. Both Negan and Rick had positions of authority in their original roles in the world. Negan was a teacher and Rick was a cop, and these professions show in the way they treat people. Negan views others during the apocalypse as in need of a protector and organizer, someone who will tell them exactly what they need to do to stay safe and thrive. However, much like a teacher in a classroom, Negan isn’t afraid to make his own rules. Rick sees himself as policing a societal structure that already exists, the same structure that the original world operated on. He is also very focused on actions that we would call illegal, despite the lack of that structure in the new world, whereas Negan is concerned with all actions and how they affect the whole. Rick is mostly concerned about those closest to him, particularly his family, and he has shown repeatedly that he will prioritize their safety over everything else. Negan, on the other hand, since he has no family left to care for, leans more toward the welfare of everyone, not just one person. Regardless of their methods, the big similarity between these two is that they are both working towards the same goal. They both want to reestablish order in a world that no longer has any. Their methods may be different, but they want the same result.

What fans generally take issue with, though, is that methodology, and that’s because, quite frankly, both Negan and Rick’s motivations do not excuse any and all actions. Justifying the protection of a few key people is not enough to warrant jeopardizing a larger group, but the protection of the larger group doesn’t excuse any and all actions either. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that Negan’s actions aren’t justified just because he has no family to protect. Both men, at various points, say that what they’re doing is for the greater good, but that’s not a blanket excuse that can be used to bury all sins. It’s also very easy for fans to argue that an action was justified because they know the result, but when you’re forced to consider all the ways that situation could have turned out, the justification becomes murkier. It’s also pertinent to point out that Rick’s supposed commitment to democracy, which conveniently vanishes when he doesn’t get what he wants, by the way, also does not make anything he does more excusable simply because we think we’d like his system better.

But I’m sure you want some specific examples, don’t you? Sure you do. Let’s break these two bad boys, so to speak, down.

Negan’s a little easier to tackle, so let’s take him first. Negan runs The Sanctuary in The Walking Dead. It is arguably one of the safest communities we see during the course of the series, especially considering that it’s heavily implied that Negan has been there for a long time. In addition, the people in The Sanctuary are actually equipped to deal with the apocalypse, unlike, for example, Woodbury, where most of the inhabitants lived in ignorant bliss and were unprepared for what happened when their walls came down. Rick tried to establish a permanent community like that from day one, but he never really managed. Even Carl is impressed by what Negan has built during his visit. This alone lets us see some of the good in him. However, Negan’s primary means of control are extreme psychological warfare and violence, which leaves a lot of fans with bad tastes in their mouths.

Certainly violence is justified in the new world of The Walking Dead. Pretty much every character has to use it at some point, no matter how hard they try not to. And don’t get us wrong, a lot of the people who have violence directed towards them on the show deserve it. But how much is too much? Clearly a line can be drawn. While Negan doesn’t resort to violence unless it’s the absolute last thing he can do, the fact that he starts off his interactions with other communities with threats still doesn’t sit well. Although Rick’s diplomatic approach doesn’t always have the best outcome either (Terminus, anyone?), it seems like there should be some sort of happy medium. This could lead to some less unsavory methods of running The Sanctuary for Negan as well. Maybe a little more freedom within his system would be good for everyone.

Not that Rick is running things much better, really. Let’s put his multiple failures aside for the moment and focus on a few key instances when he goes, well, a little bit off the rails. The first is when his group is staying at the prison. Rick, Michonne, and Carl come upon a lone hitchhiker who runs after their car asking for help. They drive past him not once, but twice. Later, they find his abandoned bag by the side of the road and simply take it without another thought. And okay, we get it. Other people are potentially very dangerous in this new world. But this was one guy. And they were living in a prison. A prison. With cells. That they could close and lock. They kept Merle Dixon, a known threat who was working for their enemy, in one of those cells, and they couldn’t give this random guy a chance? Just letting him die seems unnecessarily cruel. At The Sanctuary, he would have at least been given a chance, and his fate would have been up to him.

Then there’s Alexandria. When Rick and the others arrive at Alexandria, it seems like a dream, but Rick and his group quickly decide that Alexandria is being mismanaged. Despite his supposed commitment to democracy and making the world a better place, Rick simply says that if Alexandria won’t do things the way they like, they’ll just take it over, which is exactly what they do. Now, we’re not saying that Alexandria wasn’t being mismanaged, but this seems like a pretty rapid escalation, and if it was being done to Rick, he certainly wouldn’t have liked it. It was a power move, and it worked out in the end, but that still doesn’t mean that it was justified.

Which brings us to Oceanside. Yes, Simon definitely overstepped when he culled the population of Oceanside. No doubt about it. But it wasn’t Negan’s order, and he didn’t condone it, so let’s put that aside for the moment. What we do know is that Rick marches into Oceanside and demands that they comply with his demands. He wants to take away all of the defenses of a terrified group just because he wants to fight after he let Negan take away all of his defenses, and he somehow thinks this is justified because he’s fighting their former oppressor, and is therefore the ultimate hero crusading for the greater good. Um, no, Rick. Just no. When Oceanside disagreed and didn’t want to do it his way, he made them get on their knees just like Negan made him get on his and he took what he wanted. Not the greatest move, dude. For all his talk about doing the right thing, Rick is definitely willing to step into the gray when it gets him what he wants. That is not being a good leader. We’re not saying that means he doesn’t ever do anything good, but he’s not the morally upright character everyone imagines him to be.

But Rick often receives the gift of the morally upright image because of other traits that make Negan seem a little less appealing from that same perspective. Specifically, we’re talking about his wives. Negan has multiple wives, and since we don’t see a lot of them in the series, the implication we’re left with is that these women trade sex for survival. While it’s fairly obvious why this arrangement gives viewers pause, it’s also hard to really judge Negan on it when we don’t actually know how it operates. Despite the implication that the trade is sex for survival, there is never any confirmation of that. None of the wives mention that sex is part of the deal, and the only sexual contact we see between Negan and any of his wives is one kiss that was clearly more about psychology than desire. I have a personal theory about this one, in fact. I think that the wives are not about sex at all. I think they’re Negan’s loophole to help those who might not be able to support themselves within his system because they don’t have skills that are particularly useful in the apocalypse. Frankie, for example, was a masseuse. Well, that’s not really something people are going to be looking for in this new world. But Negan likes massages, so he lets Frankie trade them for survival. Okay, okay. It’s a headcanon. But it could make sense, right?

And we can’t forget where these characters are now in this discussion. Negan is obviously not devoid of morals. He cares about people, even if it’s in an abstract way, and his particularly vicious stance against rape is something any woman can honestly appreciate. And no, these things don’t excuse his character flaws and actions. But in the end, Rick doesn’t learn as much as Negan. His victory and subsequent torment of Negan simply teach him that his unilateral decision-making was right in the end. Yes, he sacrifices himself for the people he loves, and that is admirable, but Rick hasn’t changed that significantly since the beginning of the series. Negan, on the other hand, has had time for self-reflection and has come to realize his mistakes. He has already proven that he’s capable of redemption, and hopefully we’ll see some more from him before either his character arc or the television series is over.

No matter what, the moral of the story is that while both characters are flawed, you are allowed to like them, and no one is allowed to demand that you explain why or make a case for why a character is good enough to be liked. You do you, and they can do them, and no one has to get in anybody else’s way.

[camp-campus-universe]

Camp Campus AU: Part 2

Finally! It’s here, after like a week! This took longer than I thought it would, these characters are really hard to draw but I think I’m pretty satisfied with what I have right now. Since I finished this, that also means I dedicate more time to asks, specifically those that requests drawings! That also means I can focus on drawing comics and stuff revolving around their relationships, which I’m excited. I’m really excited to continue with this project and see it grow, and I’m so glad you’re all here to see it with me! You have no idea how grateful I am for all of the love that you’ve all sent so far! Thank you so much. Anyway, without further ado, here we go!

Maxwell/Max : Like many of his peers, Max hasn’t changed much since his time at Camp Campbell. Max is still as vulgar as ever and maintains his pessimistic outlook on life. However, many people think its all just an act now to keep up his reputation. Since Camp Campbell, Max’s life has honestly taken a turn for the better. He has a healthier home life, loyal companions, and Mr. Honeynuts. He is generally happier than he was 7 years prior. The only inner conflict Max truly struggles with now are his budding feelings for his best friend and whether or not he wants to jeopardize their friendship. Also Max is often teased for his “baby” hands, they’re really really small. 

Cornelius/Neil : Intelligent, cocky, and overly sarcastic, Neil plays the role of the parent when it comes to handling Nikki and Max. Unlike his friends, Neil was the only one who matured both physically and mentally and feels as if its his job to make sure Nikki and Max don’t wind up killing someone else or themselves. As mentioned before, Neil and Nikki remained close even after each summer brought an end to their Camp Campbell experience. The reason being his dad and Nikki’s mom eloping and combining the families. While Nikki is eager to invite Neil into her life as the older brother she never had, Neil harbors a sort of resentment towards his dad as a result of his parents’ divorce. Although he is glad to spend time with Nikki as well, Neil is still consciously struggling with his parents’ divorce and can’t help but to think that Candy is a homewrecker, even though he had admitted before that his parents’ relationship was awful. Outside of his home life, Neil can be a bit stuck-up and act like a know-it-all at times. He still harbors a deep loathing for Harrison, now mostly because Harrison claims to be a flat-earther. He’s also still incredibly annoyed by Space Kid, although he has no reason to be. Neil also runs a tutoring business at school in order to make a profit, but unfortunately for him (Or maybe fortunately) Tabii’s his only reoccurring customer. Neil is also Erin’s vice president in the Student Council and they seem to make a great team. He also has custom-made glasses because his nose is so fucking big.

Preston Goodplay : Preston is the stereotypical school thespian. Like at Camp Campbell, he’s outrageous and posses a larger than life attitude. He’s both over-dramatic and overemotional, but refuses to take any form of criticism. Preston is often cast as a main role in any school production and even takes it upon himself to critique his underclassmen in the drama department. Despite coming off as a total wacko, Preston is very talented and each performance that he gives is full of energy. Preston is very particular about his passion and is quick to anger if things don’t go his way. Preston acknowledges his relationship with his of his Camp Campbell peers, but doesn’t really willingly share his interest with any of them because of his fear that they might fuck it all up. However, he and Nikki do bond over some musicals that they both enjoy, although Nikki is usually more interested in the violent parts than the actual plot. 

Rudolph “Dolph” Houston : Dolph is the youngest of the cast and the only underclassmen in their friend group. Dolph continues to remain in high spirits and prefers to think positively than reflect upon the negative when faced with difficult situations. After High school, Dolph plans on attending a local Art College in order to truly embrace his career as a professional artist. Growing older, Dolph, like any other boy, went through puberty and grew facial hair. However, he ended up accidentally shaving it in an incident at Camp Campbell one summer and it never grew up correctly after that. Although an innocent mistake, the uncanny resemblance to Hitler disgusts Neil and causes him to keep his distance. Ironically being the youngest of the group, Dolph is a good friend with sole senior Ered. Dolph, like Nikki, has a great admiration for Ered and respects for activism. Using his artistic talent, Dolph often agrees to make protest signs for Ered or even help her vandalize the town to get a message across. Overall, Dolph is the same sweet boy he was years ago. 

Neil Armstrong Jr./Space Kid : Space Kid is just as optimistic and upbeat as he was before. However, he’s also gotten a lot smarter. Inspired by his great grandfather, Neil Armstrong, Space Kid decided to take up an internship at NASA and since then has put a lot of focus on his grades. Much to Neil’s annoyance, Space Kid’s GPA is practically the same as his, which is impressive. Although, the constant work has taken a toll on him and has made him absolutely exhausted. His exhaustion explains why he comes to school dressed comfortably in pajama pants (NASA merch of course TM) everyday. But regardless of overworking himself, Space Kid still tries his best to put on a happy face for his colleagues, even if they don’t appreciate it. 

Harrison : Exerting the same confidence and pride as before while still upholding his magical title, Harrison is the school’s sole illusionist. Although now his tricks aren’t seen as that impressive anymore among his peers, Harrison often attends parties and other small events and shows off his miraculous talent. He hopes that one day he’ll be discovered and whisked away to a life of fame and fortune. Harrison is kind to practically everyone he meets, but his rivalries with Neil and Nerris remain very alive. As a way to annoy Neil, Harrison often lies and says that he’s a Flat-Earther with no intention of listening to Neil’s explanation as to why the Earth is round. Harrison also rivals Nerris not only in magical skills, but also in opinions. As a die hard Harry Potter fan, Nerris had solely read the books and reluctantly turned to the films but found them to be distasteful. However, Harrison had never read the books and enjoyed the effects that the movies had, claiming that they’re superior. And by saying this, the two renew their fierce opposition to each other, but no one can stay mad at each other forever. Having a mostly positive attitude, many might not believe that Harrison actually has a secret, one that lies beneath his iconic white gloves. But it’s too soon to know for sure what it is yet. 

Gaylord “Nurf” Nurfington : Nurf ended up growing into a model citizen. After many anger management classes and corrective punishment, Nurf has finally turned his life around in the right direction. He and his mom currently live together and support each other, trying to rewrite their bad decisions from the past. Nurf often participates in volunteer work as well as lead a therapy group. He has also experiemnted more with his own identity and is comfortable admitting that he is in fact Bisexual. Nurf is also Quarterback for the school’s team and is known as one of their best players, alongside Nikki. Even though he is on his way to becoming an ideal person, Nurf still displays some aggressive tendencies and is very overprotective of his friends from Camp Campbell. 

The Wood Scouts (Billy “Snake” Nikssilp/Edward Pikeman/Jermy Fartz/Stephen van Petrol) : The Wood Scouts don’t play a particularly large role in this AU, but they still exist in this universe. Edward’s leader status has deteriorated in the group and has become co-dependent on Jermy and his newfound popularity. Jermy had gotten a major glow-up over the last Summer and is now considered to be the hottest guy attending the school. Because of his popularity, Edward now clings to Jermy in a one-sided friendship and uses his popularity as a way to elevate his own confidence (he wants clouts lmao).Snake and Petrol have both noticed this behavior from Edward and are disgusted by his attachment to Jermy. Edward often neglects his friendship with the two and refuses to associate with them. Snake still has a small crush on Tabii, but understands that she is completely invested in Neil and wants what’s best for her. Petrol plans to enroll in the military after graduation. He also struggles to find shirts that fit him.

David & Gwen : Here they are! In all of their glory! Unfortunately this time around, David and Gwen don’t play as large of a role in the campers’ lives, but are still actively present in this AU. Summers back, David had fully encouraged Gwen to leave Camp Campbell in search for other job opportunities in the hopes of making her a happier person. With some persuading, she eventually left and the two had little contact with each other since. Since then, David has been running the camp by himself. Now David is the proud father of one. And that one is Max. David had officially adopted Max a few summers ago to help him out of his bad family situation and now lives his life as a proud suburban dad. David then started to rely on Max to help him co-counsel the Camp during the summer, because he though it’d be a great father/son bonding experience and the rest is history. When he’s not a happy-go-lucky camp counselor during the summer, David spends the rest of his time as a Dental Assistant because he loves nothing more than to see people smile. Gwen, however, didn’t find the happiness she thought she would after leaving Camp Campbell. Searching for jobs endlessly, Gwen eventually was hired as a high school guidance counselor but was fired months after because of a incident where she made a student cry hysterically. Gwen was then stripped of her title and sentenced to a secretary position. Although thankful she still has a job, Gwen is as miserable as ever and has to deal with the kids she once knew from Camp Campbell. Most of her time is spent with Max, purely because he’s given a detention every other day, and she couldn’t hate her life more. Hopefully one day Gwen will find the fortune she deserves.