#like oswald is the main reason i asked for the game to begin with

[wait----------what]

Probably screaming to the void here but dose anyone know how to get the 3D glasses in dreamlight valley? Like I've been stuck on it for a while and I'm wondering if I did something to screw it up?

I'd love to hear any idea

[rumata-est]

Impossible Girl Begins

Lack of a true character, Mary Sue, the worst companion, invention for the plot etc etc etc... This is a common description of Clara Oswald. But we already have the greatest Mary Sue of all the time and space, though for some reason we call them the Doctor. Why don’t we deserve two heroes?

The problem is Eleven openly delivers these very words: “We're running together, and she's perfect. Perfect in every way for me. Except she can't remember that we ever met. Clara. My Clara. Always brave, always funny, always exactly what I need. [..] I know how she came to be in my life, and I know what she will always mean.”

Well, she is special. And the audience doesn’t like it when the Doctor has someone special cause he has to be lonely and distant for nobody could ever match his high standards. But what if somebody really could? Let’s give Clara credit.

Clara Oswald, the original you might say. When we first meet her, the real one, she has a lot of sparkling energy, she is bold and confident, she isn’t complaining about her life as a nanny and not seeking escape. She desperately needs the Doctor to see she is in control despite the fact he owns a time machine. She doesn’t know whether he comes back or not but she still tells him “ask me tomorrow”. She can’t stand the Doctor pity her.

The Doctor doesn’t need to tell her they don’t go away for she already deals with two kids who lost their mum cause she has... guess what? A duty of care. Nevertheless, sometimes she doesn’t mind to put their lives at risk, probably, cause her beloved Marcus Aurelius wrote things like “Do not despise death, but be well content with it, since this too is one of those things which nature wills” or like “Look round at the courses of the stars, as if thou were going along with them; and constantly consider the changes of the elements into one another; for such thoughts purge away the filth of the terrene life”. 

Steven Moffat also notices Clara doesn’t know she’s inside the show about the Doctor, on the contrary, she assumes she is the main character. That sounds pretty much Doctor-y, and she really mirrors Eleven. Who is Eleven?

 According to River he is “an ageless god who insists on the face of a twelve year old”. The Doctor considers it’s his last regeneration so he choose to be childish, funny, weird, unpredictable, charming and very tip-toeing round people he cares about, despite his own quite vague concept of putting at risk. So, Clara and Eleven fit together cause they’re alike.

So, what do we have? Clara Oswald knows what she wants, she is clever, fast, brave, kind and confident which is good. She teases the Doctor and openly says unholy things like “the trick is don’t fall in love, sometimes I do this trick twice a day” out loud. Sounds like an impossible Mary Sue? Ok, there are some flaws as well: sometimes she is too reckless, irresponsible and bossy. She analyzes what people feel well enough to use it instead of being lead by it. Basically, the whole universe is like a big toy for her. Maybe, that’s why she is really capable to accept how the world works (at least, for humans).

The Doctor is not her life, he is her Wednesday hobby, but even though she understands his importance for the universe. Not for herself. She doesn’t seem to want to possess him or anything else. Why? Cause she’s trying to be happy with what she gets already. For greedy humans it means an incredibly expanded brain, doesn’t it? (Stoic philosophy detected)

So, one day she decides she was born to safe the Doctor cause it’s a really good thing to do. Why not? It’s a question of her own pride and self respect. She doesn’t expect him to be grateful. She is ready to die like Marcus Aurelius’s good man, and of course this experience changes her. She becomes more attentive and reserved cause she felt the Doctor’s hidden pain and doubts. This is the moment when she realises she has to be a teacher (and the Teacher sometimes).

She doesn’t expect him to be greatful after helping him to save Gallifrey either. Clara is so Doctor-y cause when she does something important, she doesn’t expect people to praise her. She just knows she’s brilliant. Maybe that’s why all three Doctors get along with her. In addition, she never fails to understand whether take things (including him) seriously or not, and when to step back. And every time she learns to seek a solution the way he does cause sometimes he forgets how to apply his own methods to himself.

In "The Time of the Doctor" she has the worst possible Christmas beyond limits. Naked dinner, naked trip to the Church, Trenzalore, war, the stubborness of her dearest friend who is willing to keep her safe against her own free will, time vortex, Trenzalore again, war, dinner, Trenzalore again 900 years later... the Doctor leaves her and lies to her twice for her own safety, but she already knows that nobody’s ever safe. She wantes to stay by his side in this dark hour despite the fact this whole situation probably drives her crazy. But that's not enough. 

The Doctor regenerates into someone else who immediately says rubbish like "oh, you remember, thingy, might be Clara might not be, potato height, actually, I'm busy, sort everything out somehow". And it's still the same day. The Christmas Day. So, she is mad at him, and then he leaves her the third time cause... she’s brilliant on adrenaline? And the forth time as well. Twelve assumes she trusts him, plus he actually has enough on his plate to play nice that’s why all of a sudden he starts telling the deeply buried truth: he is happy to play her game, he doesn’t want her to change, he considers her egomaniac and needy, and he’s very well aware she’s a control freak.

She isn't used to such kind of... respect from the Doctor. But she stands Vastra’s accusations, solves the riddle, and manages to do strategy. She's not a control freak for nothing, she really can handle the situation cause it's always about people.

And in the end of the day the Doctor confronts her with "I'm not your boyfriend, but relax it's not your mistake". What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm not your boyfriend, let no flirting stage begin? Or from now on I will push you to extrems just cause you're brilliant on adrenalin? Or I will not listen to you anymore? Or don’t you dare to control me? After all this mess it would be great to hear something like "I've changed and I've got some pretty tough time on Trenzalore but I'm still on your side, don't worry" from someone who has just claimed he “has lived for over 2000 years”. Instead the Doctor decides to count on his own previous sentimental phone call and dish out this "boyfriend" thing. Of course, she doesn't know him anymore, she's not a saint in the name of sanity.

Still she stays with him because of this “he needs you” wish just to be left in Glasgow for three weeks. Аnd then a new era begins.

But it’s a story for another day.

Part two

[justgotham]

In my experience, Gotham is a polarizing TV series. Any superhero-themed program is sure to bring its critics, but Batman is a character near and dear to the American heart—as he is the last universally beloved billionaire—and it was certainly a risk going with a prepubescent Bruce Wayne. I’m a big fan of Gotham, and even I’ll admit that I’m not completely sold on its interpretation of the franchise’s main character. But that’s OK, because Gotham isn’t about Batman. It’s about the villains. And they’re almost all great. This was not an easy list to compile.

Gotham just feels like Batman, and it’s in large part thanks to the carefully crafted, over-the-top performances in some marquee roles, so without further ado, let’s get to the best Gotham villains.

I should also note that it would be impossible to do this properly without some spoilers. I’ll avoid any spoilers from the last few episodes of this season, but if you’re not caught up on this season of the show, some of this will definitely get you up to speed on where everything stands as of the Season Four finale.

15. Captain Nathaniel Barnes Played by: Michael Chiklis Michael Chiklis just looks like a cop, and that alone qualified him for the role of Jim Gordon’s boss. And his evolution from hardened lawman to judge, jury and executioner in the face of the future Commissioner Gordon’s heroics provided this political science major with a stark analogy for the tradeoff between idealism and pragmatism out in the real world. Every conflict of Barnes vs. Gordon centered around the way things should be versus the way things are, and the finale of Chiklis’ arc (for now, no one in this show is ever truly gone) raised good questions about where the line between the vigilante justice of Batman and The Executioner really stands.

14. Ra’s al Ghul Played by: Alexander Siddig The spiritual father of the proceedings carries a heavy burden. Not only must he justify the spiritual aspect of the rise of Batman (and the Joker), but Siddig also has to pull off whatever a 2,000+ year old man looks like. It’s a difficult ask, and he’s not had enough screen time for Ra’s al Ghul to seem like anything more than a narrator guide from a video game, but he’s given plenty of major moments, and he hasn’t come up short yet.

13. Butch Gilzean Played by: Drew Powell What Powell does with a character limited to being the main muscle on the show is the embodiment of the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” He is one of the chief figures of strength on Gotham (and that was before he fell in a swamp filled with goop from Indian Hill), but his moments of vulnerability are what bring life to the character. His romance with a woman farther up on this list than he is reflects Butch’s limits, but perhaps new frontiers will be unlocked with his evolution into the famed Solomon Grundy from the comics.

12. Commissioner Gillian Loeb Played by: Peter Scolari Scolari brought a new face to this eternal foil of Batman and Jim Gordon, as the comics’ brusque blackmailer in the pocket of Carmine Falcone has been replaced with a shadowy figure in the pocket of Carmine Falcone. Scolari’s semi-detached performance is a fitting reflection of where our political reality currently resides, and he is very much a figure emblematic of the times.

11. Ivy Pepper Played by: Clare Foley, Maggie Geha and Peyton List Poison Ivy is still in development on the show—as evidenced by the three actors who’ve played her—but all three did well building a foundation for what should be a future supervillain the likes of which Gotham has never seen before. Both adult actors have provided the sex appeal intrinsic to the character’s strategy to exploit the stupid part of straight men’s brains, but it’s the child-in-an-adult’s-body aspect that makes this version of a hall-of-fame Batman character so compelling. After falling in dirty water (superhero origin stories would lead you to believe that the healthiest thing you can do is shower in uranium), Ivy Pepper’s accelerated womanhood might’ve been a missed opportunity for more comic relief, but her relationship with Selena is always engaging. Without it, neither of these characters would have the humanizing characteristics necessary to make their time on Gotham worthwhile.

10. Theo Galavan Played by: James Frain James Frain’s arc on the show was an original storyline, one that began with a plot to kill Bruce Wayne, then elevated him to Mayor, and culminated with him assuming the character Azrael from the comics. Frain’s smooth performance is underlined by an intense focus on a mission that all just feels Batman-y, even though this arc is not found in the comics.

9. Tabitha Galavan Played by: Jessica Lucas Theo was powerful, but his sister got the larger share of the badass genes in the family. Like her brother, Tabitha is an original creation of the show, and even though we’ve since lost Theo (granted, death is far from final in this universe), it’s difficult to envision Gotham without Tabitha at this point. Her romance with Butch is the only one on the show that’s convincing at all (a major new one is still TBD), and she was clearly placed in this universe to provide a positive role model for Catwoman—who did not make this list because she’s still stuck at the kids table with Bruce Wayne. Of all the major muscle on this show, Tabitha is the muscle-iest.

8. Hugo Strange Played by: BD Wong BD Wong has played so many doctors by now that part of me actually believes he is a doctor. Of all the doctors he’s played, my favorite by far is Strange. The main reason why no one on this show will ever die, Wong does a wonderful job of straddling the line between madman and genius—nailing the image of what Gotham’s mad scientist should look like.

7. Barbara Kean Played by: Erin Richards The NBA has a most-improved player of the year award, and Barbara Kean would have won Gotham’s MIP award the last two years. Initially, I lamented Richards’ on-screen demise as she was cast as the generic wet blanket to Jim Gordon’s hero (Kean was Gordon’s wife in the comics). Gotham almost lost me early on with their romance—as I just cannot take network TV’s portrayal of relationships seriously—but this new “take whatever she wants with a freaking glowing hand” version of Kean has unchained Richards, and her talents shine through in every scene. Gothamis right to structure a central narrative around her.

6. Mayor Aubrey James Played by: Richard Kind I’ll admit I’m biased on this one. I’m a politics writer here at Paste, and Kind’s performance as America’s bumbling mayor is a little too real to consider given the madness that America’s former mayor, Rudy Guiliani, is displaying every day on cable news. His portrayal of the character is the perfect summation of every empty-suit politician who ever lived, and it really resonates in a country overflowing with these vessels for the superrich. The mayor’s cowardice behind the scenes when contrasted to his stern public statements is just…*kisses fingers*

5. Victor Zsasz Played by: Anthony Carrigan The infamous hitman is a perfectly sardonic bit of comic relief, as Carrigan always finds the right kind of oomph behind his “Hey, boss, so when should I kill these guys?” salvos. A hyper-competent, semi-powerful character is a difficult needle to thread, as there must be a reason why Zsasz has yet to rise to the level of other A-list Batman villains, and it’s simply because Zsasz loves his job as an assassin-for-hire. It’s not about the power he could gain through his proclivity for mass murder, but the pure, utter nirvana that he derives from of every shootout.

4. The Penguin Played by: Robin Lord Taylor Oswald Cobblepot is not just an awesome name, but a fitting vessel for a character whose only real lasting public face is Danny de Vito’s snarling performance in Batman Returns. Robin Lord Taylor has brought a more refined air to the ringleader of Gotham’s underworld, and The Penguin serves as the yin to Jim Gordon’s yang. The universe of Batman is based on the premise that crime is a major industry in America—oftentimes involving our political leaders, as Mayor James demonstrates. Cobblepot likes to present himself a pragmatic choice in a chaotic world, and when the Gotham City Police Department finds itself with its back against the wall, some of the moral choices he presents are inescapably compelling. If crime is going to exist, why not try to bring some order to it? The GCPD can’t do that, but The Penguin can.

3. The Riddler Played by: Cory Michael Smith When arguing sports, I typically argue that numerical rankings should be eschewed for tiers. It’s difficult to compare a lot of similar folks, and drawing lines in between good, very good, and great is a far simpler task. I bring this up because this is where the top tier begins. Cory Michael Smith’s depiction of what I have always believed to be an underrated villain belongs in the Batman hall-of-fame—and frankly, it’s better than Jim Carrey’s semi-unhinged version (which I also enjoyed). It’s clear whether Smith is playing Edward Nygma or The Riddler simply from his posture and facial expression, which makes the Jekyll and Hyde-ian battle raging inside of him all the more engrossing. (Photo: Michael Lavine/FOX)

2. The Joker Played by: Cameron Monaghan Technically, we’re not allowed to call this character with a high-pitched laugh, a thirst for chaos and a bizarre love of Bruce Wayne (and now a purple jacket!) “The Joker,” as Monaghan revealed on Twitter. You know, copyrights, branding and all. TV stuff. Monaghan’s portrayal of The Joker would make fans of The Dark Knight proud. The choice to literally sew a new face on to Jerome evokes the same uncomfortable madness as Heath Ledger’s scars, and the amount of emotion that Monaghan is able to communicate through that mess with simply his face deserves some kind of award. “Jerome” is a delightful madman who brings an unbridled sense of joy to his criminality. I’m excited to watch this new, more serious iteration of this classic character, but I will desperately miss his home run performance as Gotham’s signature weirdo.

1. Fish Mooney Played by: Jada Pinkett Smith Stick this character in any gangster TV show or movie, and tweak the surrealism depending on context, and she’ll fit—that’s just how good Jada Pinkett Smith is. Fish Mooney did not originate in the comics, and the creators of Gotham should be universally commended for springing such a Gotham-y character to life out of the ether. Granted, Mooney likely wouldn’t be as engrossing if not for Smith’s electric performance. The woman completely owns every single scene she inhabits. Fish Mooney gives this show a good excuse to ignore the rules of death, because why would anyone want to take that out? Screw death and copyright law. Fish Mooney deserves to live on for eternity.

[kenobiwaned]

7, 9,10, 13 and 16 for the salty meme, please :)

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

Plot twists and deviation from existing Plot Exposition. Plot twists can be fun and keep your audience on their toes but when you have to twist and bend your characters/continuity into severely OOC forms to do it then you’ve devolved from ‘plot twist’ into ‘meaningless shockvalue’.Gotham (particularly in S1) sometimes does offer a descent plot twist that works within it’s characterization and narrative. The best example, Oswald playing both Falcone and Maroni in the Gang War (as we found out via Penguin’s Umbrella), was brilliant. Harvey Bullock originally aspiring to be a white knight of Gotham early in his career was another. As was Jerome Valeska turning out to be baby!Joker at the end of The Blind Fortuneteller. …And I’ll hand it to S3, Carmine Falcone helping to orchestrate Peter Gordon’s death worked really well (for me at least). As did the twist with Oswald turning Ed into his own personal frozen butterfly. Unfortunately, the bad plot twists have started to far outweigh the good plot twists on the show. Just to name a few:-Jim Gordon secretly wanting to kill (despite all evidence to the contrary).

- Mario’s deep dark secret being jealousy when he’s known Lee for like six months or something. As opposed to, oh I don’t know, struggling to live under (or above) the Falcone name? Honestly, a secret urge to kill had the potential to fit Mario and his family history a hell of a lot better than it fit Jim.

- Butch Gilzean secretly being Cyrus Gold. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that we get to keep Drew Powell….but there are people who have known Butch since childhood (Jimmy Saviano) and he has family that share his name (his nephew Sonny) who have never mentioned the name change from Gold to Gilzean. I suppose they could make it work but it takes some hand-waving.

- The mess with the Galavan family and the monks and how the Court of Owls would just stand by and let (probable) members of their organization annihilate each other, losing resources the court could have made use of.

- Isabella’s physical appearance, introduction, and death. Honestly, all of Isabella’s plot is one giant, senseless twist.

- The executioner/Barnes being okay with the spread of the Tetch Virus when a bunch of innocent people were bound to get killed by those infected by said virus. Yes, he’s out to punish the guilty but part of his reasoning for doing it is because he wants “the innocents to thank him”. 

-Falcone withdrawing the hit on Jim (the S3 hit) just because Lee asked him to.

- Of course, the worst plot twist of all is Alfred’s apparent love of quiche. I could literally be here all night writing bad plot twists. I’m very aware that I barely made a dent here but you get the picture.

Most disliked character(s)? Why?

Don Falcone. I was having a conversation with @mymycorrhizae about this here and I’m just going to copy and paste my reasoning: “The main reason I can’t hate Jim is because of his family. Or in this case, the lack of family and the way Jim’s image of family has been so abused. We need some flashbacks or exposition about Jim’s life after his father’s death like yesterday (this is one of the many problems that I have with Gotham’s writing). We don’t know much about Jim’s family, other than the fact that he over-idealized the memory of his father, which isn’t surprising given the manner of his death.What we do find is always revealed in a terrible manner. First by Carmine Falcone, who came along in the pilot episode to tarnish Jim’s father in the worst possible way for the most self-serving of reasons. Season One Jim, who hadn’t turned into a complete asshole yet, definitely didn’t deserve that-especially when you consider that Falcone helped orchestrate Peter Gordon’s murder. In retrospect, it’s nauseating to think of the way Carmine called Jim “son” and tried to cozy up to him like a father figure.

As a side note, I feel sorry for Mario but I really can’t dredge up an ounce of sympathy for Falcone for this reason and for Liza (I’m always going to hate Falcone for Liza).” As I said, do think that this is a genuinely good plot twist, one that fits in well with the snake-oil salesman approach that Falcone has always taken with Jim. Going back and watching the S1 scenes between the two of them is a genuinely repugnant, but oddly compelling experience. And Jim…well, I have my issues with Jim but one of the few things that he’s consistently cared about has been his father’s memory and it’s painful to think of how Falcone perverted that memory.

The same way it hurts to think of how Ed abused the corpse of Oswald’s dad, effectively spitting on the genuine devotion that Oswald displayed for his parents. Jim may not be the best person but there are some things that just aren’t okay.

Most disliked arc? Why?

The Dulmacher arc was pretty pointless but at least we got some very solid characterization for Fish, so I suppose it gets a pass. So I’m going to go with the most recent because it ties in to my answer for the next question. The whole Jim secretly wants to kill thing, as we’ve talked about before, it makes no sense. The events of the Red Queen and the trip into his psyche showed us that Jim wasn’t interested in killing. Instead we saw a Jim that was feeling depressed, terribly guilty, and was desperately trying to live up his childhood idealization of his deceased father. 

Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

1. This is more rarely discussed than unpopular but I do think that Jim still struggles with suicidal tendencies. Not as badly as he was at the beginning of this season but I believe that they’re still there. Barbara was right when she told Lee that Jim was “death obsessed” but it’s not other peoples deaths that he obsesses over most.

2. Barabara also called him a “sadist” but actually I think it’s the opposite, sadism requires forethought and intent that doesn’t really fit Jim’s actions. “Masochism” on the other hand…. I think Jim displays a certain level of purposeful masochism. (I’m not really talking about Sadism or Masochism in sexual terms, btw.)

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Tying into the two previous questions: I would have only hinted at Jim’s suicidal tendencies in the earlier Tetch arc and not given it (supposed) resolution so early in the season. Then in the final episode, when Jim was infected with the virus, I would have changed his (ridiculously OOC) desire to kill others into a struggle with his desire to kill himself. It may not have had the exciting fight scenes or all the hoopla that we got in the finale but there would have been a lot more in terms of emotional resonance. Jim coming to terms with his guilt and grief and finding genuine meaning and purpose in his desire to help Gotham City himself with the assistance of others (Harvey, Bruce, Lucius) and maybe a little self-realization that he might always struggle with his demons but the name of the game is progress not perfection. Don’t we all want to see Jim make some genuine progress, rather than the post S1 perpetual plunge that sets him ten steps back for his single step forward?

[themaleficperformers-blog]

Chapter X: Leopold / Ronan

The infirmary was a tucked away in what seemed like the darkest part of the Institute. Rot walked along the hallway with defined purpose. The only light came from half-melted candles scattered on the windowsills, ledges and along the floor. It was a dark and eerie place, resonating more with a warlock's keep or a demon's cave than where the sick and injured came to lick their wounds.

After High Inquisitor Oswald had given his rhetorical masterpiece, Rot had lingered in the darkness of the ballroom. The little space he had chosen was nestled behind the grand staircase, partially hiding him for the annoying merriment. He had dusted off his suit, finally ridding his sleeves of whatever the werewolf had past to him, trying to think of a way out. He opened the top button of his shirt as the Inquisitor spoke, the silvery words barely reaching his ears.

Rot did not care for the speech. He knew why he had been summoned to the Institute, there was absolutely no need to spell it for him.

The only people that saw him, sulking in the corner, were those that past by. Small groups came now and again to go further down the hall, chuckling to themselves and glancing in his direction. At one point, a few Shadowhunters even stopped halfway up the staircase, craning their necks over the banister to catch a glimpse of the High Warlock of Toronto. They would not get to see him otherwise.

He was hiding. There was no use denying it. The Institute was the last place he wanted to be. He had no time for all of this, but it had to be done. So, as the crowds began to slowly dwindle away, Rot had left the security of the shadows and took to the main hall again.

He sighed heavily. The crowds had only gotten more and more energetic with time, spurred on by whatever the Nephilim were serving. One young Shadowhunter, with dark hair and enough power in his stature to knock even the biggest of men off their feet, could barely keep his balance. He came tumbling past Rot, his lips curved into a drunken smile. Idiot. Rot hadn't paid much heed to the High Inquisitor, but he felt that the reason for this gathering was not to have a festival. There were three Shadowhunters dead. Three of their own - if it was looked upon as an attack on the Shadow community in Toronto. This was not a time for fun and games.

As he moved towards the centre of the room, more careful now to avoid any interactions, he heard the large doors of the Institute burst open. He turned on his heels, tilting his head to the side as a flash of scarlet darted into the night. A red-headed women had thrown the doors wide open, running frantically down the steps of the Institute. She's no Cinderella, he thought. Besides, it wasn't even midnight yet and Cinderella didn't leave with a look of determination etched onto her face.

He glanced around the hall. No one had noticed, or if they had, they didn't want to show it. They were too enthralled by their festivities. Simple minded fools. Then, as he caught sight of the High Inquisitor, Ronan Hightower began to run too, tearing past Rot's line of sight, following the red-headed Shadowhunter with equal determination.

Hightower's movement meant trouble. It was why he had informed the High Inquisitor. It was why he was on his way to the infirmary. It was why suddenly, he got worried. A young mundane on her way home had been attacked by a vampire, who now had an arrow sticking out of his black heart for his bloodlust. But, the violent act had not gone unnoticed. This wasn't the first time Rot had heard talk of a vampire making such a blatant attempt at a bloodmeal. There were rumours that a vampire was among the suspects - a possible three-time murderer in their midst. No Child of the Night had responded to the Clave's call, which only added unwanted strength to the whispers behind closed doors. Whether this was attempted murder number four, soon to be marked XII, or simple a vampire desperate for fresh blood needed to be deciphered.

He pushed on the door of the infirmary, closing it behind him as he stepped inside. The mundane was lying on a bed, her skin already beginning to show the blue-red rosettes of deep-seated bruising. Beyond her was Hightower, dressed in traditional clothing. A hoodie and a tracksuit bottom. Rot shook his head, smirking mischievously. He had known the sophisticated style would never last. In front of him, his daughter, Clara, stood staring into his eyes.

Ronan’s eyes flickered up when the doors opened once more. Again? However, this time, instead of an unwelcomed burst of energy from frightened Shadowhunters, it was the High Warlock, Leopold Rot. Ronan knew him, not well, but enough to know that he never enjoyed meddling in Shadowhunter affairs.

Clara’s eyes lit up at the sight of the man, though. She had only seen photos of him - not the real deal.

“Rot,” Ronan said, nodding towards Stella’s body. “I assume you’re here to attend to the Mundane?”

“Hightower,” Rot nodded, smiling brightly, more at Clara than at Hightower himself. “You assume correctly. It wouldn’t be the most difficult of detections, now would it? But, I also want to speak to you. We have much to discuss.”

Rot made his way to the bed, looking down at the young girl. The bruises were deep, set into the tissues and far beneath the skin. It wouldn’t be difficult. A few small spells. A few angelic runes would have been sufficient had she been Nephilim, and he would never he been called.

“How are you, Littletower?” Rot asked, glancing at Clara, her lighting up at the attention.

“She’s fine.”

“I can talk, dad,” Clara butted in. “I’m good, thank you.” She gave Rot a slight bow, something Tilly must have taught her during their lessons. Most Shadowhunters bowed to people like Rot. Ronan understood why, exactly.

Ronan’s eyes flickered up to the clock resting on the wall. “Clara. It’s nearly midnight. You need to get to bed.”

“But I’m not tired.”

“And I don’t care. Go find Tilly, she’ll tuck you in. I’ll be up shortly.”

Clara protested a little longer, but eventually was sent on her way. Ronan sighed, closing the door behind her and locking he and Leopold in. He turned, folding his arms over his chest, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his arm when he did so. The deep scrape on his cheek was slowly beginning to fade due to the iratze.

“What would you like to discuss?” Ronan muttered.

Rot smiled and nodded his head at the young girl, as she was sent away, disheartened, by her father. Hightower didn’t realise how lucky he was with her - she was always a good child. As Clara left, Rot bent over the young mundane, examining her carefully with expert eye. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully, but Rot could she the pain that had been inflicted on her.

His fingers began to glow in response to a few sweet, lilting syllables in an ancient tongue, light rolling onto the girl. A sky-blue mist washed over her, the bruises beginning to fade. “What’s her name,” he asked, not glancing away from her. Hightower was a cold and as callous as always. Like Rot himself. “Does she have any internal injuries? I can’t sense any.”

Rot eventually looked up. He couldn’t avoid speaking to the Head of the Institute. He wanted to make a bristling comment, see how Ronan Hightower reacted to being an underling in his house. But, he held his tongue. They would have to work together.

“I need to talk to the person in charge about these murders; how I can help you,” Rot said, noting the grimace Hightower made. He was hurt, he just did not want to show it. “But, most importantly, about an uninvited guest who slipped by your shitty wards.”

Ronan tightened his jaw, pacing over to where Rot was hovering over the Mundane. He looked down at her, at the mist that had cleansed her wounds. Out of every Downworlder species, Warlocks were by far the most impressive, and the most useful.

“Her name is Stella Burke. As for internal damage, none that we are aware of.” He examined her face, still unsure of what the course of action would be when she finally opened her eyes. If she ever did… He supposed that was the one good thing about not being Head for the time being: he didn’t have to make the decision.

“Oswald has retired for the night,” he finally muttered, stepping back so that he sat in his chair once more. “So, if you have anything to say, you can say it to me, and I will inform him.”

Rot nodded his head slowly, his magic pouring over the mundane. He could feel it falter, somewhere across her chest. As the bruises cleared, he gently ran his fingertips across her ribcage. The bones seemed to be okay, but he could sense that something was amiss. His magic seemed to dip somewhere along a rib, dropping like a stone into a crevice. One broken bone, he thought, the Shadowhunters must have missed that. Another quick utterance, full of dark sounds, forced the bones to mend themselves.

Flexing his fingers, the joints popping, Rot turned away to face Hightower, “Ms. Burke will be fine. She will recover in due time. She should be awake by the morrow, if not, the afternoon. Her side may be tender, that vampire had broken a rib. Your healers need to go back to the Shadow Academy.”

He moved across the room, sitting down gracefully in the chair beside Hightower. He took one last look at Stella Burke, pleased with his handiwork. It wasn’t common for him to cast magic on mundanes. For some spells, it was harder. Humans generally did not let the magic take. He put his left leg over his right knee and leaned back. “Yes, Oswald has taken over hasn’t he. How is that going down? Lots of chatter, you know.” Rot smirked - he knew this got under Hightower’s skin. He could see the jaw tensed tight.

“But, if you were to ask me opinion, he’s not in charge here. He never will be. I know him of old, he’ll end with a jade’s trick. You are the Head of the Toronto Institute. Fuck Oswald,” Rot explained, “He’s not from around here. He has no idea what he’s doing. It’s why I’m still with you, in this ghastly place.”

Ronan chuckled, tilting his head back. “Well, that makes one person on my side.” Although, if that one person is the High Warlock of Toronto, it couldn’t be all bad.

“We don’t really know enough about the murders to put many people to work,” he said, feeling the wound in his cheek fade completely now. “We’ve mostly been questioning those who could be suspicious, and sending out spare Shadowhunters on watch. We know the Night Children are involved now, at the very least.”

Rot smiled. He wasn’t expecting Hightower to chuckle. It sounded almost foreign. He remembered their first meeting, on the steps of the Institute. He had barely gotten the man to speak at all. Nevertheless, he nodded in agreement, “Unfortunately, it most certainly looks that way. Not a single one of them decided to show up this evening, and then, Ms. Burke gets attacked.”

Rot threw his head back, moving his fingers through his hair, “The Night Children will come looking for you. One of them has been killed. The leader of the clan will be demanding reasons, even if they are responsible for the murders. Vampires love to keep their appearances so sunny.”

Rot laughed, “Can we throw Oswald to them? Please? I would not mind throwing him on the martyr’s sword. It would help us both.”

Ronan didn’t look back to Rot. He simply kept his eyes trained in front of him, in Stella’s general direction. Something about the entire thing felt off. Vampires killed before, sure, but they were never alone… and the numbers. None of this felt normal. Ronan had dealt with murders before, but it was always quickly figured out and rectified.

“I…” Ronan caught his words in his mouth, unsure if he should finish his thought. It was a horrible thought to have, he knew, but what else could be done? “I think we may have to wait until more has been done on the murderer’s part. We can’t move forward without any more information. The Fey aren’t talking, the Werewolves say they haven’t heard of anything like this. We can see about confronting the Vampires, but… it’d be risky. We’d also need Oswald’s green light.”

Oswald’s green light? Has Hightower been clipped? Rot glanced in his direction. Hightower was right, in one regard. Rot understood the dark thought that broke the surface of both their minds. It had struck Rot way sooner, when the second murder had happened. Whoever the murderer was, they were killing and marking their prey. The markings would not come to an end unless the perpetrator was apprehended, or they simply ran out of numbers.  

“I am not suggesting you confront anyone,” Rot advised, keeping his cool. He steeled his voice, like he always did when things needed to get done. “We have no idea what the fuck is going on. Not a clue, Hightower. That vampire might have just been attracted to Ms. Burke in her little outfit, and went too far. We don’t know. But what I can tell you, is that the Fey possibly know more than they are willing to admit. One of the fairfolk attended this evening’s soiree, didn’t she? Lunaria, outcast of the Court?”

Ronan nodded. He didn’t know much about where Lunaria stood with the Court, but he had a feeling she wasn’t welcomed warmly, seeing as Sol was an ex lover of hers.

“She was here, yes. I spoke with her briefly.” He looked back over to Rot now. He had somewhat of a distant look in his eye. Something he noticed with Warlocks that had aged over a few hundred years. “I had a feeling she wasn’t telling me everything, but I don’t think she was lying. Still, we can’t cut the Fey out completely.”

“You do not need to worry about faeries and lies,” Rot said plainly, his eyes fixed on a distant spot. “Faeries cannot lie, that is a universal truth. But, there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. They must always tell the truth, however, they have their tricksy ways to get around that physiological weakness.” Rot sighed, his mind rolling back to the mercurial presence he had felt, just after Hightower and his red-haired friend had taken to Toronto’s streets.

“The truth is subject to what each person believes. I believe you have a cold stone for a heart, which is not true. But, I believe it. So, as a Fey, I could tell that truth and not be bound by natural laws. I believe Lunaria knows something - or knows something, she does not yet know she knows. That is partly why Duke Sol came to see her this evening, that silvery-eyed bastard. Slipped right under your defences and disappeared before I could get to him.”

Ronan furrowed his eyebrows about Rot’s ‘cold’ comment. That was the second time in less than an hour. He grunted, shaking his head, but perked it back up at the sound of Duke Sol’s name… and presence at the Institute.

“How…? No, that is impossible,” Ronan said, shaking his head. “Duke Sol was not invited, and the only way into the Institute is through the front doors. The Wards would keep anyone else away.”

“He was here,” Rot spat, bile rising in the back of his throat. Duke Sol cut no ice with him. None. He tricked too many of his kind in the last few years, since the day Leopold Rot was named High Warlock of Toronto. “He arrived just after you and the lady in the inappropriately big hat went out to play hero for our damsel in distress.” He thrust his head in the direction of the sleeping mundane.

“He was on the first floor balcony. He’d been leaning against the railing. I could smell it. Oh, if I had caught him,” Rot mumbled, a sharpness to the steel of his voice, “I would have ripped him from his stupid Seelie Court in Allan Gardens.”

Rot’s fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms. The dull pain triggered his relaxation, leaning back further in the chair. “I told you, Hightower. Your wards are shit! If he wanted in, he’s powerful enough to get his wish. Even, if only for a second.”

Ronan nodded to himself, his teeth grinding on each other. He’d been told countless times that they would ware out if he continued to do so, but the habit was unbreakable. He turned his head from Rot, exhaling slowly.

“I need to attend to my daughter. So, if you are done here, I ask that you make your leave.” He stood up, moving over to the large double doors, unlocking them. “If you learn of anything regarding the murders, do not hesitate to inform us.”

Rot bit hard on his tongue. He had let his emotions take control, his deep untrust of those around him seeping into his words and his actions. He sighed softly, shaking his head. “Of course, absolutely, of course. You have my full support, Hightower. I shall not detain you any longer.”

He stood slowly, offering Ronan Hightower a gentle smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little loonie coin. He flick it from his thumb into the air, ��Catch.”

As the coin arched, it began to glow. It shone brightly in the room, giving off a brilliant, white phosphorescence. It always reminded Rot of fireflies - it was why he loved the trick.

“Give that to young Clara,” he whispered, “Tell her it’s a gift from me.”