#no hate to cecile though i love her i just can’t stand this one power of hers

[aliveaudiencegang]

don’t want to be a hater but apart of me dies a little whenever cecile uses her ‘i can sense other people’s emotions’ powers

[addictedtojmanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - otome game isekai

So, after 10+ years reading shoujo manga, I’ve read over 1k titles, admittedly, a reasonable amount is one-shot (or at least a collection of), but nonetheless, over time I had to expand my interests.

Lately, I’ve started reading the otome game isekai genre, and decided it’d be nice to share the ones I thought were best.

Most of them are pretty much the same, but the best ones usually have a twist, so...

! Warning: You’ll most likely want to beat up 1 or 2 characters from each one, but worry not, so do I and the other characters

1. Fiancée's Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

Crown prince Cecil was so brilliant that everything in life was easy to the point of boring him, then one day, his fiancée Bertia suddenly said "Prince Cecil, I am a villainess!" Claiming that this world is the same as that of an "otome game" from her past life and that she is playing the role of the "villainess" in it, she aims to play her part well and have their engagement annulled. With that goal in mind, she sets about causing turmoil in Cecil's daily life.

This one definitely takes the gold for me. Super sweet and pretty funny.

2. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Most people would prefer being the protagonist of a world full of adventure, be it in a game or in another world. But, unfortunately, a certain girl is not so lucky. Regaining the memories of her past life, she realizes that she was reborn in the world of Fortune Lover—one of the games she used to play. Unfortunately, the character she was reincarnated into—Katarina Claes—is the game's main antagonist, who faces utter doom in every ending. Using her extensive knowledge of the game, she takes it upon herself to escape from the chains of this accursed destiny. However, this will not be an easy feat, especially since she needs to be cautious as to not set off death flags that may speed up the impending doom she is trying to avoid. Even so, to make a change that will affect the lives of everyone around her, she strives—not as the heroine—but as the villainess.

This one takes 2nd place! It has a different result than others, and the FL is great - everyone is, to be fair.

3. Of Course I’ll Claim Palimony

"I'll annul our engagement!" My fiancé suddenly declared?! Apparently he's in love with the recently transferred count's daughter and is planning on making me the villain in order to annul the engagement. Although I have no lingering attachments about the engagement, I do have to claim a hefty consolation fee don't I?

This is sooo good. The FL is spectacular and manages to stand out - even if just a bit - from the rest of the genre.

4. I’m a Villainous Daughter, so I’m going to keep the Last Boss

Avoid the BAD END! That's the goal of the villainess in this plot-twisting story!! She has been reborn into the world of an otome game as the villainess, Irene. Using her memories of her former life, she recognizes flags indicating she's en-route to the bad end, so she makes a plan to conquer the last boss (the evil king Claude), make him her lover, and see if she can open up a new route!

Pretty funny, and the FL is bold. Also, the ML is a bishounen.

It’s one of the few mangas from this genre that has been completely translated, and since it only has 13 chapters, it’s a good way to start out.

5. The Plain & Unnoticeable Me is No More

Elaine Lana Norris, who was born at the top of the aristocratic daughter, was declared abandoned by her second fiancé at the school's founding party. Lana, who has been made a villain daughter, is driven out of her home by a strict grandfather. But there is a secret in Lana that everyone doesn't know about?

I don’t want to give out any spoilers, however, it suffices to say that she accepts her role as the villainess.

Ok, I think these 5 are my favorite, but the ones below have been selected as well, so they’re still pretty good and worth reading.

6. The Villiainess Is Adored by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom    

Tiararose was supposed to be disengaged and exiled from the country. “This was the Otome game I had played!” She realized on the day before the story’s ending??……. Shall I wait for the judgment? But, I did not do anything too cruel……. Thinking so, the ending continues. But, during the judgement??something that was not possible in the game happened. The neighboring crown prince courted the villainous daughter Tiararose.

ML: 10/10 FL: 8/10 (too insecure for my taste)

7. Endo and Kobayashi’s Live Commentary on the Villainess

She’s always putting on that grumpy face even though she’s not actually that upset! Oh, why can’t she just be honest with herself…!??? She is a tsundere, after all? When her embarrassment levels exceed a certain limit, she will explode into anger. However, the point that she’s suppressing under the surface is that she wouldn’t mind that sort of thing if it were in a less public place.? As Endo-kun passionately reacts to the antics of Lady Liselotte, the villainess of an otome game, Kobayashi-san provides a painstaking breakdown of her tsundere behaviour. Suddenly, one person could hear their voices; Liselotte’s fiancée, Prince Siegward. That is where this story begins.

8. I’m the Villainess, but the Capture Targets are too Abnormal  

The villainess, Mystia, remembered her past life on her 10th birthday and has unwittingly turned the characters in the otome game "Kyun Kyun Love School" into yanderes! In order to avoid becoming the love rival of the "heroine" who will lead her to her downfall, she starts making every effort to break off her engagement with her "prince-like classmate"! That’s was what supposed to happen...But, because of her kind personality, her favorability increased instead!

It’s still in its beginning stages, but seems pretty solid.    

9. Though I May Be a Villainess, I'll Show You I Can Obtain Happiness!  

A collection of one shots.

Great way to start out, it has quite a few options, so if you don’t like one, give another one a try!

10.  The Villainess, Cecilia Silvie, Doesn't Want to Die, So She Decided to Cross-dress!      

I was reincarnated into the body Cecilia Silvie, the villainess of an otome game. According to the plot, what awaits me in the normal route is either a slow, painful death or an instantaneous one... Essentially, every route leads to my demise. Then I'll change my fate! And that's why I decided to become a man. However, I made a mistake during a certain event, and the story began to head down an unexpected path...?

I haven’t seen any other like this, and if you like gender bender, this one’s for you!

11.  I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History ― The More of a Villainess I Become, the More the Prince will Dote on Me

Alicia is the eldest daughter of the noble Williams family—a bloodline that excels in dark magic. Her jet-black hair and golden eyes command a powerful presence, but her most unique features are, without a doubt, her sharp tongue and malevolent nature. By all means, she is a villainess, but also a fictional character from an otome game!

12. I’m Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn’t Mean I’m a Bad Person!

The novel The Saint Beloved by the Prince is set in the land of Lacia, where spirits control the elements, each of which is overseen by a "Spirit King." On rare occasions, these Spirit Kings may bless a single human, granting them immense magical control over their respective element. The heroine, Amelia Logan, and the villainess, Claudia Leitzya, are two sides of the same coin, blessed by the Light and Dark Spirit Kings respectively. However, while Amelia is beloved, Claudia is hated and rejected due to her dark skin, ebony locks, and aptitude for dark magic. After dying in modern-day Japan, Sakura is reborn as an infant Claudia. While difficult at first, Claudia tries to adjust to this new life, all the while accompanied by the Dark Spirit King Gerald. But even this task is far from easy; people fear her at first glance, no matter how she acts toward them. Still, Claudia is set on changing her fate from the novel, proving she is a good person and breaking free from the shackles of a "villainess."

13. Rebirth of the Villainess: The Life of Letizia after the Engagement Annulment      

For some reason, the duke's daughter, Letizia, was plotting to break her engagement with the prince. Her plan succeeded and the prince, none the wiser. But shortly after the engagement was terminated... The King collapsed! In that moment, she recalled her memories of her past life as a nurse and she fully utilised her knowledge & experience as a nurse, to save the King's life. Thinking she had achieved what she wanted, she thought she could finally relax, drinking her favourite beverage and leisurely spend her time, she instead somehow keeps getting involved in incident after incident. The slow and peaceful life is now nothing but a dream!? Lazy daughter, busy seeking freedom and laziness!

14. I Won't Become a Villainess. I'm Just a "Normal" Duke's Daughter!

A Japanese person reincarnated into an otome game chock full of death flags for the villainess, Rosalind. "I'm going to live an enjoyable life in this world!" Making full use of the game knowledge to avoid death flags, for some reason events keep happening one after another?! Contracting with spirits, helping her father (the prime minister) with his work using her modern day knowledge, taking a walk with the holy beast... and on top of all that, even starting up the heroine's event...? Will Rosalind be able to smash through every unknown death flag that comes her way...?! And will she be able to be fluffy lovey-dovey with the supporting beastkin character she liked from her previous life?!

Cute. Has beasts.

15. Milady Just Wants to Relax      

She worked herself to death in her past life, but then she was reborn in another world as the villainess Ronia! As expected, her engagement is broken and she's expelled from society, but now she takes that chance to live peacefully, and even opens a cafe with the help of her fairy comrades, which is becoming unexpectedly popular with beast-kin...?

Also cute. Also has beasts.

16. I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!            

Violette, a proud and beautiful daughter of a duke, commits a crime out of jealousy towards her half-sister. Convicted, Violet faces her own heart with sincerity in a prison cell and regrets her sin. Then time rewinds to a turning point—to her first meeting with Maryjun one year ago. Violette makes a decision. She will not make mistakes this time. Without committing a crime and bothering anyone, she will live an ordinary, plain and inconspicuous life...! However, incidents contrary to Violette's expectations occur one after another...?!

17. I Became a Villain Daughter

On her 15th birthday, Hinase Kaede, a young girl who was working as a part-timer, perished in a traffic accident. Upon her death, a self-proclaimed “God” appeared, declaring that Kaede would be brought back to life. However, Kaede’s happiness was short-lived and her soul was thrown into Erika, the villainess of an otome game! In the original game, Erika became a saint candidate alongside the heroine, committed evil deeds over the course of the candidacy, and ultimately faced condemnation. Thus, Kaede decides that she will not get close to the main characters of the game so as to avoid the bad end, but yet——?

[shrinkthisviolet]

Thoughts on Flash s8

My biggest gripes:

—The Forces storyline was somehow made worse in s8. Negative Forces?? Isn’t the whole point that the Forces we know are the only ones, the fundamental ones in existence?? Isn’t the Negative SF supposed to be a perversion of the SF?? Also…this is an s7 problem (I think?) but the Forces having human Avatars is stupid. Also the fact that the heroes are able to stand any chance against them is extra stupid.

—Iris’s time sickness being a means for Thawne to come back is the most ridiculous explanation ever. I hate it so much. Like I can’t even specifically talk about why, it’s just…it’s just downright infuriating. I wish it had just been her pregnancy with twins or something.

—Barry killed Thawne, right? I didn’t imagine that? He harnessed the power of the Forces and killed Thawne? Okay, so why does the show keep acting like he didn’t?? He was right to do it, of course, but everyone keeps acting like he chose pacifism and Thawne killed himself. What??

—Gotta love that everything would’ve been fine if Barry had just killed Thawne in the s7 finale 🙃 as if I wasn’t angry enough about that already.

—Making Bart and Nora cry at the idea of Thawne dying…I shouldn’t have to explain why that’s infuriating.

—The fact that Meena was such a compelling character, a reluctant hero who takes up the mantle…only for the show to snatch that away from her by saying “oh actually none of that was your idea and you were just a means to an end, no more speed for you, sorry.” Like?? Excuse me?? You already whitewashed one comics speedster when you adapted her, and killed her off as unceremoniously as possible. Now you take away the powers of a speedster of color who was coming into her own and starting to embrace her powers?? 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

—Armageddon was a whole mess, check out @kitkatt0430’s posts about it if you want to know why (under the tag ArmageddonRevised, I believe)

—Caitlin is once again acting impulsively in grief because apparently she’s learned nothing from literally every other time this has happened 🤦‍♀️

—I’m sorry if you like Cecile, but at this point, I don’t!! Her powers have been exponentially increasing each season, she shows no remorse for when she accidentally steals the powers of other psychics (yes, accidentally, and only temporarily, but like?? She’s happy about it?? There’s no closure??). Not to mention that in Armageddon, she yells at Iris for “invalidating” her grief over Joe (even though Iris has known Joe longer, is his actual daughter, thinks Joe might still be alive, and has rarely been wrong)…and then in 8x20, she tries to talk Barry down from killing Thawne after Iris’s death and Thawne’s unrepentant mockery of Iris and Nora Allen 🙃

My compliment:

—I loved Impulsive Excessive Disorder. Absolutely lovely, no criticisms 🥰 I do wish they’d been twins, but 🤷‍♀️

This whole season comes down to: great start for every arc, weak middle, awful ending. Literally every single arc. That’s the theme of the season. It’s why I’m probably gonna stick to my guns and only watch clips of every episode, like I was doing for most of s8

(I only watched the Negative Forces arc in its entirety this season because I was interested to see what they’d do with resurrected-Legends-Eobard…he was interesting up to 8x18-19, then he immediately got worse when he was killed to resurrect Thawne)

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

Character Intro: Mika

My-kah

Medium brown skin, straight and thick dark hair. Hair is usually done in a braid or ponytail, and she dresses mildly preppy, an unassuming style.

“I don’t relish in every detail of a murder, thank you very much.”

-

“You going to tell on me?” She raised an eyebrow. I think she worded it childishly on purpose, to discourage me.

-

“And okay, I get it. Nyp, like okay. Zachary does the same thing, keeping his guard up. Honestly, most people do. But most of the time, even with him, it’s subtle. I still get a feeling of them, there’s just a suppression of some kind. But with you it’s like a freaking wall.”

Mika is a combination of petty and mothering. Unaffected, she feels all emotions very deeply, meaning when she's angry she's very angry and usually not afraid to tell people what she thinks of them. But for people she cares about she is deeply loving and protective of-- something that really does go hand in hand.

I say "unaffected." Mika, like her twin brother Raymond, is a Nyp, with powers over the mind. She's most in touch with emotions and is able to manipulate both other's and her own.

Although in actuality this is not true, this is how Mika knows things to be: both she and her brother were taken in by, manipulated by, and trained by Zachary, though Raymond always got more attention. Mika was used to following her brother's lead as a child, used to him getting more praise-- he was a natural at most things, but she never resented him for it, because they were always partners. Her caution balanced his determination.

But then Raymond made a decision on his own. When he decided he could no longer do what Zachary wanted him to do, he risked his own life to save a target. He did survive it, but with the betrayal came the punishment he seemed to accept: death. Leaving her there, alone.

Should she follow his lead? Is he a better person for dying for his morals, while she keeps her head down and does what is asked of her to survive? (And to protect her younger brother, but I may take out that character).

Sometimes I wonder, am I just too weak? Too scared to resist that I can’t do what’s right? I hate myself whenever I twist someone’s mind, taking their pain and extrapolating it. And everytime it comes back to Raymond died because he couldn’t stand to do this. 

But also? He left us for his morals. And I don’t know if I’m mad at him for it or admire him. But I’ve decided. I’m not too weak, I’m sticking it out, I’m not going to leave Cecil behind. Not until he’s safe. I can’t hate Raymond, though. I get it, I get him. I understand him better than anyone else, and being a Nyp makes it so I understand everyone really well.

Mika is greiving her brother, battling between anger and sadness. While her powers over emotions still give her value to Zachary, she hates what she does for it, but surviving is worth it. Rather than rebellion, she numbs herself to it-- turning off her own emotions when it's too much.

Raymond had hated when I did, after all. He said I’d left, that he missed me. And you know what, Raymond, I miss me too, but you left me alone here, where I have to pretend I’m okay, where I don’t get to be me anymore. Because being me, feeling things, it’s a weakness here. I can’t show it. Not to the person who ordered your death and the person who executed it. 

But okay. I won’t numb myself, not just because I hated you, but because I don’t have any other way of keeping you in my life. And I so want you in my life. 

She doesn't trust those around her, surrounded by her brother's killers and suck alongside them. But she's not trusted either, which frustrates her. Someone always watching her, partially because Raymond betrayed them and she never lets them think she doesn't hate what they have her do. Zachary doesn’t trust she's going to do what she's told. Terran doesn’t seem to trust her either. Mika grew up in a loving home where she could depend on others and now no one trusts her and she can't relax around anyone. Is it for the same reason no one trusts Nyps, because of what Raymond did, or something else, something about her? But why does she even care-- no one here is worth trusting because when it comes down to it none of them have any morals.

But can she really say that when she's doing the same thing? Does openly hating it really make a difference?

Sometimes all you can do is mess with other's plans in a way that keeps you out of it, keeps you from being the threat. No one here really deserves the kindness of keeping things to herself. Being angry at them is so much easier than questioning if they deserve it, so it's the best way to operate. Be annoying, get under their skin, reveal their secrets, make their lives more complicated, because it's their fault hers is.

Mika is aroace! Doesn't really come up much but she is. I think if she ever let herself get close to someone outside her family she may want a qpr, but no one in her life would be a partner for that and Mika's focus is on escape. She's prepared to live on her own, and may not be able to trust anyone else anyway.

Picrew

[seekeroftruthpromestein]

Well I beat up a bunch of Queens the other day. Now I guess I’m going to ask them to join me.  Maybe We’ll make heart bracelets and everything. 

First thing’s first a little snack.

Damn look at that chest!!!  I can’t believe it! 

That one. The unopened one. 

Well that explains some things. La Croix insists that she’s amazing. So let’s go test her out I guess.

Evidentally I need to explore the sea a bit more then huh.

Well.. I guess we have to find where she came from?? okay?? 

So I got a new ability from My Advanced Speech Job and... This is level 9?? That’s.. pretty damn worthless for a Level 9, Advanced Job. It’s not even Priority! 

Okay what kind of ridiculous thing do you want me to do?

I guess she wants to run a Buisness. Good thing I already completed Vanilla’s Quest! 

Thank you Cecil.

SHEEP!!! FOREST!! Didn’t screenshot it but I love those sheep. Now for some Alchohol.

That’s convenient.  

Sir that’s Racist. 

That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. 

Huh??

WHAT??!?!? OH GOODNESS!!

SONYA! DOn’T FUCKING DEAD NAME HER YOU BITCH!!

Clearly this is a bit lost in translation. Though its cute that they change the Icon. It’s only in the pub though it goes back to normal once you leave.

I never considered these two together but THIS is an incredibly powerful Combo all things considered. Sadly, it isn’t of much use for these one. These Queens just don’t have what i’m looking for.

Oh that’s fucked up.

Comical music is playing but this child just tried to kill herself!! 

WHY ARE WE JUST STANDING HERE WATCHING??

You know It really dawns on me that I don’t know how much time passes. We really did wait like several days huh?

It is cute though. 

Well shoot this is cute. El wiggled her way into a sot didn’t she?

I will protect this child.

You know what? This is cool. I don’t think I really am appreciating the fact that I’m really starting to take the bad guys from the first game that sort of gave up a chance at redemption and are now doing their bests...  Honestly. Welcome to the team!

W-what????????

So i’m doing the arena

THESE BITCHES DID THAT LAMIA DANCE! THE ONE THAT MAKES THEM RESIST MAGIC! MY OWN OP ABILITY USED AGAISNT ME! Well whatever. Completed 10 rounds of this nonsense. And got the Queen who sure does hate that pesky Coliseum. 

Yes yes. Of course. Maybe I should let you fight in the elf cup then?

Honestly not a bad option for dodge tanks like Fairies should I ever decide to get knuckle deep into the Labrinth of Chaos.

Her best move should hit about a 3600 base x 4 ... So against a single enemy about a little less then 15000... Not *Bad* for a physical attack.. But wait. She does have boosts... +30% and another +30%? So another +60% (If they stack) So.Each of those 3600 hits are now what? 5400 or so? 5500 let’s put it down as. That could be good against one foe where all four hits will do about 21k damage. But once again. Blalice does that casually... You know let’s just see her in action real quick.

This might honestly be the better move she has.

This is just an asshole move.

Well my math was off. Non-crit she did about 40k so... Okay. I’m gonna stop trying to calcuate literally any of this. 

Hey! Wow! There’s just FLOODING me with requests right now. 

I do love it when she’s happy.

BUNNI! ITS YOU! WOW! It’s been a WHILE

You bitch.

YOU BITCH!!

YOU LOVING BITCH I LOVE YOU!!

IM GONNA HAVE TO KILL SO MANY TREASURE CHESTS! YOU HAVE RESULTED IN THE DEATHS OF MANY INNOCENT MIMICS!!

So none of the battle fuckers then?

Oh no nevermind. Give some to all of them. 

This...is facinating.

I see.

Such threatening music. 

You know. This is just a good comedy beat. It’s been a while.

Yeah. Clearly it’s the marker face.

Jesus Christ.  Well. That’s a few side quests tackled. Still a few more. I’ll do those next time. 

[harperkent]

Time: Saturday, April 25th, 2020, early in the morning

Location: Rooftop

Harper was a morning person. She was the first one to wake up in their room and back at Georgetown with her roommates, she was the first one up. She would roll over, reach for her phone, and see the time staring back at her. 7:00 AM. Then she would do her morning routine and then start her day. But not today, today was different. Because she didn’t have her phone next to her to check the time, only knowing that it was way too early by how dark it still was. But no matter how many times Harper tried to close her eyes, she couldn’t go back to sleep. Too many things were running through her head, ready to jump out and cause her to burst. And she didn’t want to do that, not while Luce, Atty, and now Marlowe were in the room. 

Carefully and quietly as possible, Harper slid down from the top bunk, happy that nothing squeaked too loudly to catch the attention of the others. Once on ground level, she took the time to just stand there and look at her friends. Ever since the incident, Marlowe has decided to stay with them, not wanting to leave Luce’s side. Which was understandable and if it was Grace in that situation, Harper would’ve done the same in a heartbeat. For any of them honestly. It was just that her bond with Grace was deeper than the others. 

Picking up clothes to wear and other items, she got herself ready in the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged, hair pulled up into a bun and a basic outfit on. There was no need for her to put effort into her appearance, not when it was still dark out and no one to impress. She actually gave up on trying to impress and flex on the Gallagher students, the desire leaving her body once the truth was revealed. 

With her key to get back inside, Harper was careful not to wake her roommates when closing the door. The halls were quiet, as everyone was still sleeping. It was a Saturday morning, she could understand why everyone was clocked out. And not only that, it was too early. It was a miracle that even Harper was up this early and without the need of an alarm clock to get her up at this hour. 

She made her way down the hallway, away from the room that has become her “home” this semester. Though, it sure didn’t feel like it. Not being able to buy decorations for it, lights, or anything because they didn’t have the chance to do so. Then again, they just witnessed a bombing and then were whisked away by Gallagher. So the idea of getting decorations wasn't on anyone's minds, their safety being the number one concern.

The destination in mind was the rooftop, an area that universally everyone went to when they were emotional. It was something about the aesthetic of being on a rooftop to clear your head that meant something to everyone. Some went up there to smoke, others to look at the world below them. For Harper, well, it was to get away and feel like she had some power. Power over Gallagher, to just look down on the school, ya know? That was what she wanted.

What she did realize was how she rarely went to the rooftop when emotional. Not even at Georgetown, her crying destination was always her room. Because it was her safe space and she could freely cry without a bunch of people staring at her. It was difficult during her freshman year as she wasnt close to her roommate at the time. The two girls talked and went to one party together, but they werent close to the point where Harper could freely cry in front of her. It got a bit easier during her sophomore year and by her junior year, she got an apartment with friends and had a room of her own. It was in her room with the door locked that she could sit on her bed, tears rolling down her cheeks, snot that tried to break free, and Frank Ocean playing through her headphones. There was no screaming or noises that left her body, she was silent the entire time. None of her roommates ever aware that she was crying unless they were told.

There was a time that Harper did cry in public while with friends. It was during her sophomore year, finals week of their fall semester. Everyone decided to sit in Starbucks early on a Saturday morning and get work down together. It wasnt a massive group but there were more than four of them that could fit comfortably at a table so they had to do some rearranging. Pushing tables together, making sure everyone had enough space, and that they were ready to go. They could have easily gone to the school's library and done work there but decided against it. Because they wanted to chill in Starbucks. "It's for the aesthetic, Atty," Steph told their friend who brought up the school's library as another option.

The group was calm, working hard on preparing for exams and typing up papers. There were times that they would all break to get on their phones, to scroll through Twitter or to post on Snapchat, some more than others. For Harper, she seemed okay as she laughed with friends and posted on Snapchat. None of them realized either, as they were still feeling each other out as a solid group of friends. It wasnt until three hours in that she closed her textbook in frustration and a single tear gently hit the table with a plop. That was when they realized that she was frustrated and stressed out about her exam. It was Imogen who gently rubbed her back, Marlowe who talked to her calmly, Luce who showed her memes, and Hudson who bought her her favorite frappuccino. Everyone was trying to be there for her, showing that they cared and that they were there for her. It had been a while that she realized that maybe people did love her.

Of course, there were times that she cried over someone and was embarrassed by it. She cried over Michael, a lot this school year. But not as much as the day he broke up with her.

She could tell that something was off about her boyfriend at the time. He seemed distant, his text messages were dry and lackluster, and when they came back for school, it felt like he was avoiding her. The only time he talked to her was about their organization since they were president and vice president. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen but pushed those thoughts away. Because she was always so pessimistic, thinking of the worst of a situation. Harper always hated that about herself. How she was always so wary of everything and just believer that things were going to go south at any minute. It was just for her relationship, that had been going strong for a year and a few months, that she didnt want to believe was going to end.

Until it did and in the worst way. Just three weeks into school year, Michael showed up to her apartment with a solemn expression and his head lowered. "I'm sorry, Mariah," his voice rang through her ears, as if he was walking beside her at that very moment. "I just can't do this anymore."

What happened next was a blur, as she repressed the memory because of how pathetic she was acting during that time. What she did remember was calling Grace, choking on her words as she asked the other to come to her apartment. And when she did arrive, Harper clung onto her friend, crying into her shoulder as information about the end of her relationship was revealed.

Michael had became someone who she always went to when things went wrong. He was her number one supporter and the person she called when she needed comfort. He would show up to her apartment, pull her into his chest, kiss her forehead, and call her by her middle name. It was something that she only granted him permission to call her, outside of her family. He would always call her that, causing her heart to flutter whenever she heard it. And it was very much appreciated when crying and needed someone to calm her.

Maybe that was why she still went back to him, since Michael knew what to say to keep her calm. His presence and touches were always sought for her, especially when she was drunk and just needed attention. It was only when she woke up the next day, head pounding and in bed with Michael that she realized her mistake.

And while her friends would tell her not to go back to him, Harper couldnt deny how much she wanted him right now. To have him hold her, tell her that it was going to be okay, to call her "Mariah". That was what she needed at this very moment, someone to just stop her and tell her to calm down.

Once on the roof, Harper could see the sun in the distance slowing starting to rise. Okay, that gave her smile explanation on what time it was. She walked over to the edge, looking over once to see people walking. It was the added protection, as President Sutton decided to add more walking around and be on the look out for suspicious people. But how would they know who was suspicious when the person looked, talked, and acted just like them? It was like that with Cecil who was brought in as a mentor, none of them realizing at all about his true intentions.

Looking back up, Harper sat down, staring in the direction of the sunrise. She took in the colors that could be seen, how they were slowly pushing away the darkness, claiming their dominance. She could hear a few bitds chirping, up and ready to get to work. The sounds and looks of nature should have been calming her and give her strength.

But it only made her cry, a soft noise leaving her throat. The tears came down like a waterfall and the snot followed. Emotions about what had been happening hit her like a bulldozer. The thought of almost losing Luce, the truth about Gallagher, the safety of her friends, and the realization of how she ruined the few friendships that she formed here. How she called Grayson pathetic in the library, to seeing Jai cry in the middle of the hallway, to storming away from Caden and not caring to look back at him. Then there was Rafa and Grace, a relationship that she interfered in by calling out Rafa before talking to Grace about the situation. How she could tell how pissed off Rafa was and how Grace began to cry. God, what was wrong with her? Why was she like this?

She thought that after calling them out, that she would feel better. That all of her stress and worries would disappear right after. But it only made her feel worst. She was sure that they saw her some crazy bitch, probably happy that she was out of their lives. Who would want someone who was unstable and had bad anger issues like her as a friend? None of them, hell, not even Michael since he broke up with her.

That made her cry even more and become just a little louder. She needed to leave and go back home. Not to Gerorgetown but back to Washington. To be in the comfort of her childhood house. Sit inside of her room, listening to her uncle talking to friends, and her dad listening to R&B music in the kitchen. To be called Mariah again and told that she was loved. To have her family beside her and to have them hug her tightly. That was what she needed right and what she wanted.

But until then, she could only cry on a rooftop. Where the tears fell down like a waterfall, snot that ran loose like an escaped convict, no Frank Ocean being played, and no one to call her Mariah to keep her calm.

[unordinary-analysis]

Episode 159

So apparently “later in the week” means ‘literally next week’ for me digiudgg

Also, I won’t be able to post the day the comic comes out because christmas and all that and family idk so I just want to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS :DD hope you guys have a nice time :))

Honorable mentions:

Very happy that the theory is thriving

I love Arlo with all of my heart and soul there i’ve finally said it

Do we know yet if Arlo knows that Cecile is working with John? I can remember the superhero posse knowing it, but did the info ever reach arlo? Comment if i forgot something lol

I’ve talked about all of the possibilities of a joker impersonator in recent posts, so I won’t go into all of that again here. You see, it’s laziness. I’m sure you guys understand lol.

I literally don’t know how to write this in a detailed way which is why it’s in the honorable mentions, but I just feel that Cecile has to just snap soon right? I’ve been hyped about her character as a whole for so long ugh, I just need some developments

I say “anyways” a lot. Is it too much? lol

Okay, first of all: Elaine:

    Elaine, elaine, elaine, elaine, elaine, you’ve finally done it. You’ve interested me.

    Harsh, I know, but honestly, she hasn’t really been doing much. I thought her character was cool to read a couple of times when she was literally terrified to death of Joker, but now I feel that her intrigue is actually due to her own self if that makes sense? Anyways-

    Moving past the obvious difference in her hair (only because I’ve already pointed that out lol), In this episode, WE GET TO SEE ELAINE IN OFFENSE MODE OEIRHGIWUHIWUH

    I’ve been hungry for some good developments on people’s powers ugh. It’s been dry ever since we saw Isen fight like forever ago. Or maybe Cecile. I don’t know. I just like to see people fighting oof. Anyway, we don’t even get much of Elaine fighting, all we see is like a block and a punch, but that’s not even really the only thing I’m excited about seeing.

    More so than other characters, Elaine has always been this docile type, you know? She’s just there whenever anyone needs healing and whenever someone needs someone to yell at them for being stupid. All Elaine ever is is worried, scared, and submissive. Well, not counting the beginning of the comic because I’m still not over that loss. Her character at the beginning of UnOrdinary? Superb. She was bitchy and yet weak at the same time. Classic combo. Anyways~ ;-; 

    Elaine is usually terrified of something and rarely stands up for herself or anything else, so seeing her stand up for herself, kind of, in this episode was really something to see. It wasn’t something big but, it was just a breath of fresh air to see a defiant side of Elaine. I wonder, is she growing more and more fed up of being weak? Is she done being scared? I don’t even know if she has the power to stop being scared, but, I don’t know. I’m kind of intrigued by the possibility of Elaine just snapping, aren’t you?

My main man: Arlo: 

    It’s got to be so weird going back to school after everything that went down, huh? Yet, the way that the safety of the school is still on Arlo’s mind? Even after he was publicly dethroned and now that everyone is staring at him wherever he goes? That’s the real evidence of what a true leader Arlo was. The best king we’ve seen in the UnOrdinary world I said what i said. And now he’s not even king anymore? Sidfhsiufhsiguh

    And the fact that Elaine went straight to him when she found a problem? It’s obvious that everyone still thinks of Arlo as the king. 

    I’m just in awe that Arlo’s first priority seems to be the school. It really… just helps paint Arlo in this different light. I’ve made countless posts talking about how he is obsessed with order because of the influence left on him by Rei and Rei’s failure, but now that his hierarchy has fallen apart, he hasn’t exactly reacted in the way I always used to think he would. And, yes, this is very late considering how long ago John ruined the hierarchy, but I haven’t talked about it yet I think so I’m here now. 

    I used to think that Arlo loved order so much. That maintaining it was his ultimate goal. I’m positive I’ve said that a few times before at least. But, it’s easy to see now that it goes deeper than that. Arlo really loves his school or at least he feels he owes it something, something that runs deeper than the surface hierarchy. And I’m not even sure if he’s always been like that or if it’s changed over the course of the story. I can’t ever seem to tell, no matter what, if Arlo’s character really has developed, or if I just never saw an aspect of him. It’s infuriating and yet so interesting at the same time…

    Anyway.

    Arlo’s rage is also something I want to touch on. It’s not exactly something new, but compared to the beginning of the story, it’s definitely something much more common recently, even though he usually is able to maintain a cool now as well. In this episode, Arlo punched a wall hard out of anger, which wouldn’t exactly be news for characters like Blyke or John, and maybe wouldn’t be for Arlo either, but I can’t help thinking about how out of character it would be for the Arlo of the comic’s beginning, at the beginning of season one. I feel that anger is something that we’re only being introduced to in regards to Arlo, like easing yourself into cold water, you know? Yeah sure, it doesn’t feel too out of character for Arlo to get so angry he literally decimates a wall, but it feels like every time he loses his cool, it either gets more over the top or it is incited by smaller and smaller things. His tendency to turn to anger is getting bigger. Arlo is angrier now than he’s ever been. 

    But, Just as I just said. I can’t tell if this is a totally new thing for Arlo, the anger, or if it’s been inside of him all along, just brewing beneath the surface, repressed in a way, similar to John. Except John knows what he’s running from. I don’t really know what I’m saying I just really love that uru-chan is tapping into Arlo’s emotions more and more as the story goes on because I can’t tell if they really are new things for Arlo or if they’re finally getting the best of him.

    Wording is hard so I have no idea if that last section makes sense.

    So: summary: I’m currently waiting for some sort of enlightenment on Arlo’s emotional state and character growth because damn

We love our dark king John: 

    So, um. John.

    He’s really something, isn’t he.

    I can never just hate him… no matter what he does… because everything he does is just so interesting. 

    Anyway back on topic. John’s current motives are actually really interesting. I’m not sure if I’ve talked about this yet because to be honest every time I write one of these, I rarely ever go back to see what I’ve already written in previous weeks and I never just remember because once I post one of these, you can bet that it’s out of mind. I know that John really just wants to create chaos. That’s clear enough. He stated basically that Arlo when he said he was taking down the hierarchy. But the thing is, I really don’t get why John is so for chaos? Like? I understand taking down the hierarchy because everything John hates about life, about his life, it really has stemmed from this system, the hierarchy. And finally after Arlo proved once again that the hierarchy could do nothing but hurt him, John vows to destroy it. Makes sense. And when the hierarchy is destroyed, obviously chaos is going to occur. That’s inevitable. We saw something similar with Rei and just basic sense seems to suggest that people do not not know how to function when there aren’t rules to follow. That’s chaos. Got that. But while John’s hate for the hierarchy and motive to destroy it make sense and the natural path that follows that leads to chaos, it’s John’s particular want for this chaos that keeps throwing me off.

    I don’t get why John wants chaos. I don’t get it. I don’t, okay? You know, he was a lot easier to understand when the only things he had going on were a. Lie to sera and b. Take down the hierarchy. But, yay, he’s achieved those things (some more successfully than others), and now..?? Why would John want chaos?

    I’m just repeating myself in hopes of making sense of my own thoughts but I can’t. I really don’t know why John seems so keen for Wellston running itself into the ground.

    So I’m deadass going to leave this here until I can think properly or something iuwfisuhg. I don’t know. It’s kind of late and I have to be up early tomorrow.

Some developments on the imposter Joker theory:

    Yeah, so, this isn’t really a theory aymore. It’s kind of proven now, but still it’s an easy way to refer to the whole situation. Anyway, on my longer post before specifically on this, I pointed out that because it used to be a common belief among low-tiers that Tuesday (back when he still was Tuesday) was Arlo, even though Arlo’s eyes glow blue and John’s glow orange. So: I said that it was likely that students can’t see the color of the eye glow or whatever through the mask. 

    This was only supported by this episode because not once does Elaine mention the color of the imposter’s eyes when determining that it is indeed an imposter. She thinks, “Wait a minute…! Something isn’t right here! That’s not John! …. This imposter’s ability level is nothing compared to the real Joker!” And that’s about it. So. Yeah. I think I was right about the eye thing. Not much else to say lol.

        Something else I want to say about the Joker imposter thing is that it really doesn’t matter who each imposter is. We wasted breath trying to think of who the first imposter was and if they don’t keep the same one, it doesn’t really matter. So because this imposter was not the same as the last, I think we can move on from this particular guessing game.

[icedteaandoldlace]

Cisco's reaction to learning about the mirrorverse just solidified a notion I've had for a while now, which is that Cisco is the type of person who needs--or at least thinks he needs--to have a leader to look up to. I don't mean that in a "he can't think for himself/make his own decisions" or a "he's not leader material" way--far from it, actually. It's not about what he is or is not capable of, but rather what he is and isn't comfortable with.

I think it's partially due to a lack of confidence, and partially due to him just being used to having to follow someone else's lead. He's the youngest in his family, for starters, which automatically makes him more receptive to being told what to do, because that's just a part of life for younger siblings. And then when he started his job at S.T.A.R. Labs, he had Dr. Wells, Ronnie, and Hartley all working above him in some type of leadership position. Then along comes Barry with his newfound powers and the desire to be a superhero, and Cisco is just as thrilled as he can be to be Barry's behind-the-scenes sidekick, and it takes him a while to actually realize that Barry sees him as an equal and not as an underling.

So even though Barry tells Cisco that everyone will look to him while he’s stuck in the speed force, in all the time that Barry's gone, Cisco is perfectly content with letting Iris take up the role of team leader. That validation from Barry was just enough to give him the confidence to go behind Iris’s back to bring Barry home, but after that, Cisco resumes answering to Iris. Like when Barry and Caitlin got kidnapped at the same time; he relied on her to tell him which one of them to focus on saving, because he was afraid of making the wrong decision (and having already been forced to choose between Barry and Dante before, that’s not a position he was eager to be in again).

Then, in season 6, Barry chooses Cisco to lead the team post-Crisis, and all throughout that arc, Cisco struggles to make decisions for himself because he can't stand the pressure of what could go wrong if he makes the wrong one. But there are two moments in this arc that stand out as moments where he was a great leader, and that was when he realized there was no one else to do the job. The first was when Frost had a panic attack while Barry was fighting Bloodwork's virus, and the second was when the other Flash stole Barry's speed, and he had to make a choice between letting the other Flash sacrifice himself, or stopping him and risking the safety of the rest of the world in the process. Cisco really does not like being in charge, because he knows he’s going to second guess the hell out of any important decision he has to make, but damned if he’s gonna let that stop him from taking charge when others need him.

There are several other moments scattered throughout the series where Cisco steps up because the need to get something done is more pressing than the fear of making the wrong decision, or his instinct to wait until he's been instructed what to do. I think that's part of the reason why his powers don't get as much use as the others' (that, and the fact that he was more powerful than the writers knew what to do with), because while the rest of the metas on the team are out saving civilians on the daily (which, granted, Cisco has done, too), Cisco's powers are more often than not used to save other heroes. He lets Barry, Ralph, Frost, Wally, and even Iris when she had superspeed, be the ones who get to save the day, but when things don't go as planned and they end up in danger, Cisco swoops in just in time to save them.

So with all that being said, I think a big part of Cisco's frustration with Barry in the beginning of 6x18 is with not having someone to tell him what to do to get Kamilla and the others back. He's just had a major bomb dropped on him, and he's at a loss for a solution. So when the man who usually has a plan to save the day seems to have a passive attitude toward their problem (which is really just him feeling as hopeless as Cisco and trying to hold it together), it's more than he can handle. Because now no one has a plan for what to do, and if someone doesn't give him a reason to believe everything will be okay, he's going to be swallowed by his fear of losing someone he loves and there not being anything he can do to stop it--and after having recently lost Cynthia and Harry, no less. It’s Cecile’s interjecting when she did that stopped him from spiraling any further, and enabled him to change tracks and start thinking of a way to get to Kamilla, Iris, and Singh, instead of worrying that they could already be dead.

ETA: I started writing this right after seeing the 6x18 sneak peek. Now having seen the rest of the episode and thus his meltdown with Cecile, I feel this even more, and would like to add that Vibe is like a lifehack around this mindset that he has. He talks about Vibe almost like Caitlin talks about Frost, like he’s a different person, or a side of himself that he can’t access without his powers, and what he doesn’t seem to realize is that his powers aren’t what made him a hero. Vibe is just a nickname; the hero is and always has been Cisco, with or without his powers or his suit and gear, he is always the same person. His meta alias isn’t a different personality, it’s just a mask he hides behind, in part to protect his identity from villains, but also because really looking at his life and seeing himself the way his friends see him scares the hell out of him, because he doesn’t know how to recognize his own value as a person when it’s so ingrained in his mind to be his own worst critic. It’s easier to give the credit for his accomplishments to a conceptualized version of himself, than it is to overcome years of being diminished by his family, hated by his peers, and then used and betrayed by the first authority figure in his life to appreciate and validate his worth. It’s easier to separate his strengths from himself than it is to give himself permission to realize that despite everything in his life working against him, he’s actually amazing, and he can and has done great things on his own, and everyone who ever shot him down has been wrong the whole time.

[slytherin-puffskein]

little wish upon the waves.

If only we could be reborn. Let's play again then, okay?

for @hogwartsmysterystory

- - -

His palms were red, and his knuckles white as he kept clenching and unclenching his hands. His breath was stuck in his ragged throat. His eyes were stinging, too many tears have been shed. For a short moment, he considered this to be a huge mistake. For a short moment, he considered going back home, back to Barnaby, back to his Kneazle and Puffskein, away from all this pain and suffering.

But he couldn’t. He had to do this. He had sworn himself to do it, and would never forgive himself if he were to chicken out. He will do it, and walk away with a massive weight finally off his shoulders.

America is odd. Extremely odd. Different money, mannerisms, food, everything, and it didn’t fit quite well with Laurent King’s tastes. He would be considered a liar if he were to claim he enjoyed Michigan more than Kildare, and would definitely say the truth if he declared America sucked. However, it had to be taken into consideration that he might be biased. After all, maybe all of this it only felt bad because of the reason he was here. Maybe under different circumstances, he would have found the strength to smile, even laugh. But now, he only found himself wandering through grey streets with an ashen face and hunched shoulders, fingers nervously playing with his engagement ring as he tried to ignore his heart hammering against his chest.

All of his attempts to calm himself down weren’t giving out any satisfying results, however. If he were to be honest, he would have preferred to have Barnaby by his side, but he knew very well he couldn’t. He said it himself. Stay here, love. It’s... it’s something I need to deal with myself. Luckily, his fiancé has been understanding, but he still hugged him tightly before he left. Maybe he’s reliving memories, bad ones, and fearing them. Us parting away once again, and even though it’s under different circumstances he might be scared we won’t be reunited until a while. I must admit, I feel the same way as well...

The Battle of Hogwarts had carved deep scars onto their hearts.

Where it is... where it is... it’s supposed to be around here... The sound of waves crashing together filled his ears and irritated him, a reaction that made him stop in his tracks for a second. Usually anything coming from nature had the power to appease him and bring a smile on his face, but now he was just wishing for silence. How odd. That was his only wish, which contrasted heavily to the loud guy he generally was. However, if all sounds suddenly died down he would then be doomed to mull over his own thoughts, which he fervently wished to avoid.

There it is.

It wasn’t hard to miss, really, and Laurent felt pretty disgruntled that he hadn’t noticed it earlier. Maybe he has been too lost in his own head, too distracted to focus on anything. He had much to think about, after all. His eyes fluttered shut as he attempted to empty his mind, but only deformed faces from the war rushed through him. Bulging, bloody eyes, twisted mouth with rotten teeth, crooked fingers reaching for him, the suddenly pain of the spell hitting his leg... his unconsciously leaned down and touched his calf, feeling the hard metal underneath his pants.

The Battle of Hogwarts had carved deep scars onto his body.

He slowly stepped forward, gaze fixed on the grass, watching it slowly move under the soft breeze. It felt cold, and it nipped at Laurent’s cheek in the most unpleasant way possible.

Closing his eyes once again, he saw himself with his mother. His whore of a mother. He had learned many things about her, but yet he couldn’t bring himself to hate her. Not entirely. Not after all the advice she had given him.

One, specifically.

“Do you know how wishes are made, my love?” She has been speaking French that day, like they would do when they were home. Learning English has been a hard feat for her following her meeting with the British man who would become her future husband, and so she had never hesitated to speak her mother tongue to her son out of nostalgia and as a way to teach it to him. “You write a message on a piece of paper. It doesn’t matter how long it is. You write down your wish, and place it in a glass bottle. Then, you throw it in the ocean, and if you’re lucky enough it might come true.”

He had his wish. He had a bottle. He had Lake Michigan stretching out besides him.

And he had Ethren Acheron Whitecross’ grave standing before him, silent and almost mocking him with what it was implying.

Hi, your friend is dead.

Laurent quietly pulled out a letter from his coat’s pocket and, with shaky fingers, placed it in front of the cold stone. Looking at the green envelope, he smiled softly, but no joy was behind that simple action. The letter’s content floated in his mind, crushing his heart.

You are cordially invited to Laurent Dorian King and Barnaby Cecil Lee’s wedding.

Now, he had his wish to make. His letter. He slid it out from his other pocket along with the bottle, and rolled it before placing it inside. He sealed it carefully, and made sure it wouldn’t accidentally open from too harsh movements.

With trembling legs threatening to give out at any moment, he headed to the lake, its waves crashing against the shore and sounding like it was beckoning him to just get this over with already. A last look was given to the bottle before he kissed it gently, a tear rolling down his cheek. Once he managed to gather his courage together he took a few steps back, and tossed the message as hard and as far as he could.

Staring as it crashed into the merciless waves, he finally allowed himself to openly sob.

- - -

Dear Ethren,

I don’t know even know if you will receive this message. My mom told me this method might work, message in a bottle thrown in the sea and all that jazz, but we both know that she is quite unreliable. Still, I figured out it was worth a shot. Anything to talk to you somehow.

Talk. How funny. ‘You can’t talk to dead people’ was said way too many times to me, but people never considered how I couldn’t care less about their claims. This is my life, my business, my own shit to deal with, and no one else shall get a say about it. As you can see, I ignored their advice and proceeded to write this. 

I... don’t know how it works when you are dead. Obviously. But I always believed deceased people were somewhere, watching over us with a look filled with love... or judgment. After all, you probably judged me when you saw that Niffler bite me.

But you probably looked at me with the most sincere love as Barnaby proposed to me. If you didn’t, it’s fine, and it’s my way to announce it to you: I’m engaged. To Barnaby. Finally, right? I’m pretty sure you were convinced we’d end up married as soon as we started dating. I know for sure a lot of people thought so, so why not you?

Anyway, I’m getting distracted. Writing a letter is hard, I need to keep my ideas together, and you know very well how scatter brained I can be.

Ethren Acheron Whitecross. You’re dead. I finally accepted it, but it won’t stop me from inviting you to my wedding. Let me give you a rundown of what will now happen: I’ll visit your grave. I’ll throw this letter in the lake, I’ll place an official invitation on your grave.

And I’ll hope you will get my message and come to my wedding. You can’t physically come, but your soul can be around, right? Like Hogwarts’ ghosts, just not fully visible.

As I said I know little of death, but I know this: I want you to be here. You’re my friend, Ethren. Were, are, and will always be, no matter what happens. I love you, and no arrow through the heart can change this. You’re one of my closest friends, and it will be a shame to not invite you.

I don’t know what else to write. Maybe I should just say my wish again: please come. Somehow.

With love,

Lau

(Don’t be upset if Merula isn’t here. I couldn’t find and invite her)

[achangeinpriorities]

I don't know if you take the prompts,I had this idea.Len has returned from a mission with the Legends a few months ago.In Central there’s a new mayor,who hates vigilantes (perhaps bc during a crisis,they failed to save a person dear to him).So he will insert the task force again to capture the vigilantes,but his goal is flash.The mayor will be able to arrest Barry,the problem is if Cecile and his boyfriend (Len),will help to Barry out of prison? or will he stay in prison forever?

Hello friend! I do take prompts, and I’ll try to be quick to respond but I make no promises. I’ve cross-posted this one to AO3 if it’s easier to access there (link here), but here you go:

“So let me get this straight.” Leonard glowers at the tiny, fearless DA in front of him. Cecile Horton meets his eyes, sets her jaw, and doesn’t back down. “I’m gone for about a year, cruising the timeline with a madman in a timeship, and when he plops me back—late, I should add, he got us all back late—I find Central City with a mayor named Hanson who has a personal vendetta against the Flash and has arrested him.”

“That’s a pretty good summary, yes.” Cecile nods once, curtly. “He’s pushing to delay the trial, and I know why. They have Barry locked in the metahuman wing at Iron Heights. If the trial is delayed long enough…”

“One of his former villains is likely to get out and kill him.” Leonard runs his palm over the handle of the cold gun. He was no fan of Bellows—Lord knows the man deserved to be arrested—but if he ever gets his hands on this Mayor Hanson, vengeance will be swift and subzero. “Which, you understand, leaves only one option.”

“Push for a speedy trial?” Joe rumbles. He’s been standing guard in the background as though he doesn’t trust Leonard around Cecile. As though Leonard would hurt her when, for now, their goals align: free Barry, legally or otherwise.

“Break him out,” Len drawls. “Unless you want to risk your sweet little foster son coming back to you in pieces.”

“Yeah.” Cecile purses her lips. “I have to pretend I didn’t hear you say that, but if you’re set on that course of action, Cisco might be able to help you.” Before he can say another word, she holds up a delicate hand. “I can’t stay. I shouldn’t even have seen you. I need to go pressure Barry’s lawyer into rounding up character witnesses—honestly, they gave him some kid just out of law school, I doubt he could tell an exhibit from a motion…”

After she leaves, still muttering, Leonard turns to Joe with his iciest smile. “Well, Detective, are you going to walk me to the Cortex?”

In the Cortex, they find Cisco, Caitlin, Wally, and the Firestorm trio. Jax and Wally have their heads together, whispering. From the looks Stein and Ronnie keep throwing them, they’re discussing something unwise. Leonard clears his throat. “So who here will help me spring the Flash?”

“Captain Cold.” Cisco points a Twizzler at him. “The last person in the world I wanted to see, and yet the only one I’d actually trust to spring my friend from a maximum-security ward. Gather ‘round, gather ‘round. I have blueprints.”

Indeed he does. Leonard has seen the inside of a metahuman cell—only once and extremely unfairly—but he’d had no time to examine the broader layout. Now he sees the austere beauty of the metahuman wards. Cells are arranged in subunits of six around small open spaces; no doubt that central space constitutes a metahuman’s yard time. Each subunit is outfitted with power dampeners, and as a redundant measure, the food contains a temporary suppressor drug. Even if Leonard gets Barry out of range of the dampeners, there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to run.

“Oh, and, uh, as a little extra incentive…” Ronnie adds while they peruse the blueprints. “If Barry is convicted, all of us will be, too. The cops are looking for us. They almost got Frost the other day.” He reaches a protective hand out to Caitlin. She flashes him a brief smile.

“In that event, why not postpone the jailbreak?” Stein stares at them. “Right now, public opinion might sway the trial, but if there is a jailbreak…”

“You want to bet Barry’s life on public sentiment?” Leonard scoffs. “Professor, you and I both know people can love a hero one day and loathe him the next. Cisco, who else is in Barry’s subunit?”

“Uh…oh, you’re gonna love this. Sam Scudder, Rosa Dillon, Shawna Baez, and Mark Mardon.” Cisco grins. “There’s one empty cell, so guess where you’ll be going if this doesn’t pan out?”

“Hilarious.” Leonard contemplates the six-sided subunit. “I may have a plan.”

 *** 

Two days later, Cecile reports she’s successfully set a date for the trial. Unfortunately, it’s in two months’ time. Everyone is of the sentiment that they can’t afford to wait.

Jax, Wally, Iris, and Jesse Quick rally some of their friends for a protest outside the Mayor’s office on behalf of metahumans. Leonard doesn’t attend—he’s too busy planning—but he hears the turnout was massive, such that even the formidable Captain Singh stopped by. (This Wally reports with particular delight. Leonard entertains the unpleasant notion that the youngsters may be conspiring without him.)

Leonard calls Lisa and Mick for backup. Mick is less than thrilled when he hears the target (“I’m helping you break your booty call out of prison, Snart?”) but both he and Lisa are excited about a daring escape from under the noses of the police.

On the evening of the great escape, Cisco opens a breach into a small supply cabinet near the metahuman wing. “Now remember,” he says, “you go in there, you’re on your own. Barry can’t help you, and we sure as hell can’t help you.”

Leonard grins. It’s been months since he felt the ice-water clarity that comes with the start of a heist. He’s missed this. “Just the way I like it. I’ll be in touch.”

He steps through the breach, and the countdown begins.

Five seconds later, he swipes a security badge. Five seconds after that, he accesses the metahuman wing. Within a minute, he locates Barry’s subunit, enters, and locks the door behind him. They won’t be leaving through the hallway.

“Barry!”

There’s a clatter of activity from all five occupied cells. Shawna Baez rubs sleep from her eyes and pushes curls out of her face. Mark Mardon launches himself at the bars. Barry bolts out of bed with a heartfelt little “Len?” that breaks Leonard’s heart neatly in two.

“Hey Scarlet.” As much as he wants to go to the bars, catch Barry’s hand, and allow thirty seconds for a sweet reunion, he can’t show that kind of vulnerability around the other Rogues. “If I say ‘jailbreak,’ are you going to chide me for breaking the law?”

Barry’s pout speaks volumes. “I want to get out of here legally, Len. Not—”

Leonard shakes his head. He’s been the disadvantaged kid in the system; he knows how this works. “They’re burying your case, Scarlet. No way are you getting a fair trial. And trust me, Central City needs the Flash too much to let him rot behind bars.”

Five swipes of the keycard releases four irate metahumans and a reluctant little Flash. Mardon goes immediately to the exit. “You locked us in?” he demands.

“No.” Leonard strides to the center of the open area, kneels down, and pops a grate out of the floor. The opening is a little small, but with some work, they’ll fit. “After you.”

Shawna and Rosa have a brief, nonverbal standoff over who’s to be first down the grate. Shawna is first, followed by Rosa, Sam, and Mark. Barry lingers. “Len, I mean it. I don’t want to jeopardize…”

“You won’t.” Leonard shakes his head. “I released everyone else so, in a pinch, you can claim I broke out the Rogues and they took you captive. Now come on, Scarlet. We’re on a tight schedule.”

Reluctantly, Barry lowers himself into the hole. Leonard follows behind him. For a single, terrifying moment, he thinks he’ll get stuck; then someone gives a hearty tug on his ankle and pulls him down. He lands funny, twists his ankle, and bites through his lip to stifle a yell of pain.

“All right,” he says, his voice deliberately even. “Let’s go.”

The hallway into which they’ve dropped leads them through an unused lower level into which the metahuman wing will expand as it fills. For now, it’s abandoned; not even maintenance workers cross their path. At the end of the hall, a door opens into the yard.

“We’re going to have to make a break for it,” Leonard warns. “Don’t worry. In three seconds…” he consults his watch “…there will be a diversion.”

As he speaks, there’s the breathless whoosh of a fire igniting. Barry’s eyes widen. “You brought Mick?”

“Of course I did.” Leonard pushes open the door and beckons for the others to run. Then he grabs Barry by the arm and drags him along, pretending to have him captive. “Now go!”

As they’d planned, a fire blazes on the far side of the prison. By the time alarms sound about the escape, it’s too late. All of them have loaded into an SUV (“What took you so long, jerk?” Lisa greets him when he gets in) and have driven away.

They stop to switch cars. Lisa takes Shawna, Rosa, and Sam in a silver Odyssey that will by no means attract police attention. Mark takes the SUV on his own, despite Leonard’s warnings. Leonard drags Barry into a beat-up Mini, shoves him down in the back seat, and tells him to keep his head down until they reach STAR Labs.

Of course, they never do. They’re rounding the corner onto a quiet stretch of road when Leonard’s phone rings. He stabs the ‘answer’ button, puts it on speaker, and chides, “I’m driving.”

“Which of your Rogues did you tell to make an earthquake happen beneath the Mayor’s office?”

Earthquake under the Mayor’s office? “I…didn’t,” he says, nonplussed. “Although I would like to commend whoever did.”

“Well tell the Flash to get back here, get his suit, and get to work!” Cisco snaps. “If he rescues the Mayor, there’s no way they can arrest him!”

Leonard hangs up on him. “You don’t have to listen.” He glances into the back seat, where Barry has pushed himself up from the floorboards. “If your powers are still suppressed…”

His only answer is a crackle of ozone. When next he glances back, Barry is gone.

By the time Leonard reaches STAR Labs, the results of Barry’s heroics are on every television. There’s a particularly touching still of him holding the Mayor as he cries (Leonard neither wants nor needs the man’s tragic backstory; he can only applaud Barry’s patience). He’s prepared to turn the television off when a few-second clip airs of Barry holding the Mayor, clearly having just rescued him. The look of startled awe on the Mayor’s strangely familiar face makes a dark curl of possessiveness settle in Leonard’s gut.

“And you know what, I’m just gonna…turn that off, now.” Cisco dives for the remote. No sooner has the screen gone black than Barry, Wally, and Jax burst into the room at the same time. Leonard thinks they’re all celebrating until he sees Barry’s hand caught in the material of Wally’s suit.

“—Set up a resonation pattern?” he’s ranting. “The Mayor could have been killed, or someone on his staff could have died, and you and Jax and Hartley would have to live with that!”

Oh. The youngsters reached out to Pied Piper. It’s precisely the sort of chaos Leonard would wish upon the Mayor, but out of deference to Barry’s frustration, he doesn’t smile.

“If it works, will you still be mad at me?” Wally asks.

“If what works?” Barry asks. He doesn’t need to wonder long, because Cecile bursts into the room, her cell phone still in her hand.

“I just got permission from the Mayor to drop your case!” she pronounces. She spares a single, bewildered glance at Wally before pulling Barry into an embrace. “It only took five minutes of wheedling, and Iris may or may not have threatened to release a transcript of what he said to you while he was weeping on your shoulder, but you’re a free man! And better yet…” She pulls a sheaf of paper out of her bag. “I have the paperwork here to amend the operating constraints of the Metahuman Task Force. From now on, any associates of the Flash will be guaranteed immunity.” When there are general exclamations of joy, she beams. “Thank you, I only wrote it myself at two in the morning.”

“Babe, you’re a miracle worker.” Joe wraps his arms around her from behind. She leans back against him and closes her eyes in contentment. Joe spares her a fond look before leveling a wary stare on Leonard. “Don’t think Barry didn’t tell me about your…whatever the hell is going on. So if you have business with my son, take it elsewhere.”

“‘Business,’” Leonard drawls. If he thought for one second that Joe’s distaste for their relationship didn’t stem from his reservations about Barry dating a criminal, he would have icy remarks to make. “Such a discreet way of putting it. Well, Barry, I believe I owe you an explanation for the day’s goings-on. Shall we take our ‘business’ elsewhere?”

Barry snuggles readily into his side. Once they’re out of earshot of anyone in the Cortex, he mumbles, “I still don’t forgive you for the jailbreak. What if it hadn’t worked out like this?”

Leonard smirks. “You think I’m above bringing the Flash on the run with me? I’ve had several incredibly detailed fantasies about that very thing…”

“You’re the worst.” There’s a reluctant smile playing around the corners of Barry’s mouth. He wants to concede, so Leonard decides to give a little in return.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet, I understand how you feel. I just want you to understand that I was worried for you.” He presses a kiss to Barry’s temple. “I’ve had the system set against me. I couldn’t watch them damn you to rot in prison because of your powers.”

Barry’s expression softens. “I know,” he agrees. For a second, Leonard thinks he’ll try for a kiss. Then he tilts his head. “So, what do we do about the Rogues you let loose?”

Leonard laughs. “We’ll worry about them another day. Now come on, Scarlet—aren’t you going to welcome me home?”

[video-killed-the-radio-host]

My Love, Come and Save Me ch2

Warning for slight violence and Charles and Kevin being creepy. If there's anything else I need to tag just tell me and I'll do it!

@lady-dmaris

@whiny-top-alligned

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

Cecil's eyes snap open and he jerks upright. He's on a bed that isn't his or Carlos's in a room that wasn't his or Carlos's. The room has deep blue walls and a small window. The bed was soft, but too soft to be comfortable.

He pushes back the heavy black comforter and notices he is wearing clothes that aren’t his either. Instead of his light blue button down and khakis, he wore a dark purple tunic and a pair of black slacks that were a little to short. He reaches up and feels his neck for the chain that normally rested there. It held Carlos’s class ring. It was gone. After feeling for his glasses and putting them on, stands, bare feet hitting a soft carpet. Looking around, he noticed the room was well furnished with a dark oak dresser and bookcase. A desk was nestled in the corner, the same dark oak as the rest of the room. He makes his way over to the heavy door and just reached to open it when the door opened from the other side.Cecil steps back as a man enters the room. He was a little shorter than Cecil but held so much more power.

He had cold, calculating eyes and skin that was dark from long exposure in the sun. He had a long scar on his cheek, likely from a blade of somesort. Maybe a previous victim? His hair was slicked back neatly, not a hair out of place. He wore a crisp black suit that made him seem powerful. He steps forward and Cecil stumbles back, his movements sluggish due to a pain in the side of his neck.

“Who are you?” Cecil demands, voice shaking with poorly concealed fear. “Where am I? Where are my clothes? Where is-” He cuts off when the man touches his hair. He freezes.

“Oh, you are so much more beautiful when you’re awake.” The man murmurs, his accent thick. Cuban maybe?

“Who are you?’ Cecil  whispers, trembling.

“Oh you have no reason to be scared of me Cecil.”

Cecil hated the sound of his name on that man’s tongue.

“My name is Charles. My Kevin and I are going to take very good care of you.” He runs his fingers through Cecil’s hair, dragging the long blonde strands out between them. “Hm. We’ll have to cut this. It’ll get in the way.”

"Please don't." Cecil whispers as he tries to pull away. He gives a whimper when Charles grasps his hair and pulls.

"I didn't give you permission to speak."

"Let me go. Please. What is it you want? I-i don't have a lot of money. I teach kindergarten. I'm not even in a union-"

Charles's hand comes across his face. His head snaps to the side, knocking his glasses crooked. He tastes blood and he could feel the heat from the red mark on his cheek. Shaking, he looks back at Charles.

"If I want to hear you speak, I'll tell you."

"I just want to go home."

"This is your home now Ceec."

Cecil felt his blood run cold. Both at the nickname and the statement. That is the nickname Carlos calls him. But what mostly makes his breath catch is being told he can't leave.

“Why?” He whispers. “Why me? I’m not anything special. I’m just-”

Cecil flinches back when Charles brings a hand up to rest next to his throat, thumb pressing gently over his vocal cords. Cecil swallows dryly.

“Now don’t say that Ceec. You are special. I think so and so does Kevin.” Charles says softly, almost cooing.

“I don’t even know you. Or-or this Kevin-” he gasped when Charles presses his thumb down.

“Don’t talk like that Flower. It’s not good.” Before Charles could say more, he turned his head toward the sound of incoming footsteps. The pressure on Cecil’s throat lessens. “Kevin! I missed you.” Charles’s tone did a complete 180 when he spoke to the newcomer.

“Aw Charles.” The new voice purred, nearly a whine. The voice was sugary sweet. It reminded Cecil of artificial sweetener.  "You started without me?"

"Of course not Sunflower. He just woke up. I was just explaining how it's not nice to put oneself down."

The owner of the second voice came into Cecil's field of vision. The new man was a few inches shorter than Cecil himself,with jet black hair and dark eyes and naturally tan skin. Just seeing him made shiver shoot down Cecil's spine. He freezes, staring at the pair.

"See?" The man Charles called Sunflower- Cecil assumed this was Kevin that he seemed so fond of. "I told you this color is much more suited for him."

"Yes you did. You tend to be right a lot." Charles smiles. It was a cold smile that made Cecil whimper again. Charles looks back at Cecil. "He's going to take good care of you. Aren't ya Kev?"

Kevin lets out a giggle. "It's been a long time since I had a new toy."

"Mm. Well I have to get ready for work. So I'll leave you two be." Charles releases the hold on Cecil's throat. Cecil took that opportunity to scramble to the corner furthest away from his captors. He watches the two share a tender kiss before Charles whispers something and Kevin giggles again. Then Charles leaves and Cecil is left alone with Kevin.

Kevin walks towards him and Cecil tries to make himself smaller in the corner.

"Please don't hurt me." Cecil whispers, bringing his hand up to where Charles's had just been.

Kevin stops an arm length away and crouches down so their eyes meet. "Silly Cecil. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm your friend."

"If you were my friend, you'd let me go."

Kevin laughs this time. Not a giggle but a full on laugh. It was an eerie sound. "But this is your home now. Why would you want to leave?"

"I don't want to be here! I want to go home! I want Carlos…" the last part is whispered.

"You'll learn! Don't worry." Kevin giggles again and reaches out. Cecil flinches back again.

"Don't touch me."

Kevin clicks his tongue. "Rude rude rude. I'll have to teach you some manners."

Before Cecil could blink, Kevin's hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist. Despite the hand being bony and small, he held tight in an iron like grip. It made Cecil shake terribly again. He was yanked forward. Cecil yelps as he's thrown flat on his stomach. He tried to crawl away but Kevin pulls him back before sitting on the small of his back.

"Let me go." Cecil begs. "Please. You don't want me. I'm not anything special!"

"Ceec no one likes a Debbie Downer." Kevin says, leaning forward and gathering Cecil's hair in his hands. "So pretty. But alas it must go."

"Get your hands off of me!" Cecil tries to pull away. He manages to knock Kevin off of him but a moment later feels a pinch at his neck. His limbs lock up and he can't move.

"Cecil I hate to do this to you."

"Bullshit."

"But you must follow the rules or you will be punished." Kevin rolls Cecil back onto his stomach and takes his spot once more. He quickly works Cecil's hair into a braid before securing it with a hair tie. "See? Not so bad right?"

Then Cecil felt cold metal on the back of his neck and his heart stopped before he realized it was scissors. He hears a distinct snip then cold air on the back of his neck. He did it. He really did it.

He felt the urge to cry or curl up but he couldn't move and refused to give Kevin the pleasure of seeing him cry. So he just closes his eyes and stays silent.

"See? I told you it's so much better when you just listen. Good boy." Kevin kisses Cecil's head before standing. "I have something to take care of. See you soon~ don't go anywhere."

Cecil doesn't answer as Kevin leaves him alone. He feels numb and not just because of the drug. He whispers to himself that Carlos is looking for him. That he has Riley using her connections in the local law enforcement to help. Maybe they filed a missing person's report? But Cecil knew that over two thousand missing persons go unsolved every year. Forcing the bad thoughts back, he told himself again that Carlos would find him. He had to be strong for Carlos. Because without the promise of Carlos, he saw no reason to hold on.

"Hey boss man. A package came for ya!" Jason calls. "No return address though."

Carlos pushes back from his desk. "I'm coming." He calls, leaving the study. He finds Jason standing next to the kitchen table with a small box. He hands it over and Carlos sets it on the table, pulling out his pocket knife. Flipping open the knife, Carlos cuts open the box and looks inside. The knife slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor.  Coiled in the box was a long blonde braid. A braid that smelled like coconut and lavender. Cecil.

[areyouscarletcold]

‘i’m not going to hurt you.’ aka Len is somehow afraid of Barry Pretty please? xo

This is so so so so late for the ‘I love you’ prompts (just got back from my work trip ahh and I’ve done very little writing) but I hope you like it! This got far more angsty than I intended - and maybe out of character so…enjoy?

He really should’ve known better. Should’ve learned his lesson after the first run-in with Bivolo because really, this guy didn’t know when to quit, Rogue or not.

Barry needed to have that chat with Len again about their extracurricular activities, because this was getting out of hand. You’d think someone as smart as Len would be able to keep Bivolo in line.

Though, it might’ve had to do with Mardon as of late, who Len had hinted at being a loose cannon in that “I’m not helping you because I like you but because he’s a pain in both of our asses” sort of manner.

Which was utter bullshit and they both knew it, but hey. Barry was fine playing along if it soothed Len’s ego - and certainly nonexistent heroic streak.

Anyway.

He really should’ve guessed that Mardon and Bivolo were up to something when Cisco rang him about the alert while he was out having coffee with Joe. He’d even assured Joe he had things under control - Cisco, Iris, and Caitlin were already at the ready, they’d been working up a new pair of goggles to combat Bivolo’s powers and it wasn’t as if they hadn’t dealt with the rogue Rogues’ (and wasn’t that a mouthful) shenanigans before.

Barry hadn’t counted on his maybe-not-quite-boyfriend showing up with his sister in tow after Barry’s ass got lit up like a Christmas tree (thank goodness for superspeed healing but fuck, that was going to hurt for a while).

He also didn’t count on Len getting whammied by a flicker of baby blue amidst the streams of cold and taunts thrown on both sides, nor was he prepared for the harsh gasp torn from Len like a punch to the gut as he collapsed and curled in on himself.

Lisa caught the motion at the same moment Barry sped over, something awful churning in his chest that he didn’t want to name, and thankfully didn’t object, gilding Bivolo’s legs to the ground without a backward glance. He made a mental note to give her Cisco’s number later as thanks.

Iris informed him said engineer was on his way, maybe with some frosty back-up to handle Mardon’s not-so-fun flight abilities, and Barry must’ve replied with something because the next thing he knew his comms were off and he was being shoved away by a downright terrified Captain Cold, eyes wider than he’d ever seen them.

It was such an uncharacteristically off expression that the realization hit Barry like a freight train, a comparison he was far too familiar with at this point.

Fuck. They hadn’t even thought about Bivolo being able to manipulate anything aside from anger. Sure, it’d been years so he’d obviously have time for practice but anger was easier to use, so of course he would resort to making people fight each other first.

But anger wouldn’t work when Len was already pissed with Bivolo and Mardon, not when his version of rage was cold, for lack of a better term, and less impulsive than someone like Barry.

Blue, wasn’t it? So, that had to be -

There was that uncomfortable twist in his chest again, more angry than scared this time.

Yeah, he was going to have to give Lisa a hearty thanks later for gilding Bivolo to the road, where he was still shouting at Mardon for a helping hand, or Barry might’ve done worse to the meta himself.

If they weren’t sitting in the middle of the road in front of a gas station - and he could see some civilians pulling out their phones already, which really wasn’t going to help in the end-run - Barry would’ve been tempted to throw back his cowl and try and ease Len with a familiar face. Though, that might not have helped either, given how skittish the man looked, ready to bolt at the first twitch from Barry, good or bad.

Fear. 

Captain Cold, who always had a plan, always kept his composure even when things didn’t go his way, even when the Flash and his crew surprised him… Cold was scared.

Len was scared of him.

Barry swallowed hard, held eye contact with the trembling - Len never trembled, it was all so wrong - man on his ass before him, cold gun at Barry’s feet forgotten by both parties. Len had even lost his usual goggles, probably the only reason he was affected at all, maybe had decided they weren’t worth the trouble for a fight with his own Rogues.

He saw Cisco say something to Lisa out of the corner of his eye, the latter of whom was standing ramrod straight and hadn’t looked away from her brother since he’d been whammied. Mardon was now shouting, the suspicious sound of ice colliding with a few lightposts ringing out over the street.

There were too many people around for this. Len wouldn’t want to be this out in the open, on display with utter terror dancing in his eyes as he shrank back, breathing going shallow.

He caught Lisa’s eye, the unusual uncertainty blazing back at him, and Barry nodded toward Len in askance.

There must’ve been something desperate in his expression, enough for Lisa’s concern to soften ever-so-slightly and nod back, masking her feelings with that sly smirk as she pulled Cisco away to slap some goggles over Bivolo’s eyes.

Barry hated the way Len tensed in his grasp, no matter how gently he grabbed Len’s shoulders and tried to murmur assurances of “Just need to get out of here, it’ll be okay, trust me” under his breath. He could feel the fear radiating off of Len as he ran from the scene, headed straight for the Labs with electricity surging around them.

Iris was used to the mild breeze kicked up by Barry’s heels at this point - had to be, even with the plethora of paperweights Joe and Cecile had gotten them as a joke - and wasted no more than a moment once she spotted Len in Barry’s arms, hurrying for their emergency supplies. One good thing about having to deal with certain Rogues meant having back-ups on hand to reverse or counteract their powers.

Len, however, didn’t appreciate this much and Barry didn’t fight too hard as he pushed out of Barry’s grasp, stumbling against the wall when Barry unthinkingly moved to calm him. There were definitely tears in Len’s eyes now and the very sight made Barry sick.

“Is the flashlight in the infirmary?” Iris called, already halfway there.

“Should be.” Len flinched at the noise and Barry took a deep breath, lowering his hands so he didn’t scare Len further.

He did yank back his cowl now, meeting Len head-on, and he couldn’t help but think this was a sick perversion of their first face-to-face meeting in the woods years prior.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Barry whispered, his chest aching. “Iris is going to get that flashlight and take away the fear, okay? Everything is going to be okay.”

Len shook his head, still shaking. “N - No,” his voice came out like a half-sob, “can’t… Need to get away. Not safe.”

“Len, I won’t hurt you. I’d never hurt you, not like this,” Barry promised. Still, it hurt knowing the fear was real, felt real to Len, and he’d never once contemplated the idea of Captain Cold being this terrified of him. Bivolo’s power only amplified emotions and…gosh, if this was what Len felt every time they were together… “Iris will be back in a minute and everything will - ”

“No!” Len wedged himself against the wall further though Barry hadn’t budged an inch, his eyes growing wider, an impossible blue that seemed to glow alongside Bivolo’s influence. “No, y - you have to stay away.” He looked like he was ready to start rocking himself, hands clawing at his own parka to find something, anything to hold onto. “I can’t - I can’t… Barry, I can’t - ”

“Hey,” Barry tried to raise his hand, a lump caught in his throat around the apology he wanted to give, but Len just gave him this stare of such horror that he let it fall. “I’m not - whatever you’re feeling right now, it’s - ”

“I can’t hurt you, I can’t.”

Barry froze before he realized what he’d done, heard Iris’s rummaging through drawers halt.

Len sobbed, ragged and so unlike the cool mask he used around the world that it gave Barry whiplash. He pressed one of his knuckles against his mouth, as if trying to muffle his cries.

“One day I’ll - I’ll just…” Len gave a quiet whine and shook his head. “There’s too many chances, I’m not… I’m like him, I’ll fuck it up. If I h - hurt you…”

God, he hadn’t even thought - how could Len think - ?

Even after the whole debacle with Lewis, even after the brief stint in time with the Legends before he’d settled back in Central City, wrecking havoc but controlled havoc, like a child toying with its favorite playthings for a short while…

After those first nights Barry spent checking in on Len after Mick stayed with the Legends, the teasing banter and late nights and accidental flirting - though how accidental could it be with Captain Cold - that led to falling into bed and…

Well, Barry had hoped something more. Not that they’d discussed it or implied anything as such.

But Len’s sobbed declaration, the sincerity and bluntness of his words as if he knew better and maybe wanted -

Oh.

The ache in his chest dislodged itself, loosened only a little, and Barry stepped forward hesitantly. When Len didn’t react, he used the opportunity to edge closer until he was inches away from Len, within reaching distance, though he kept his hands to himself. No matter how badly he wanted to wipe away those tears, pull Len close like he’d never been able to.

“You’re not going to hurt me.” Len made to protest and Barry shook his head, moving his head down so he could catch Len’s face even as he attempted to hide in the fur of his hood. “I mean it. You won’t do that. I know you, you know yourself well enough to know it’s true. Len, you’re better than that.”

“I’m not - ”

Iris’s footsteps slowed behind them and Barry gave a silent thank you for her patience and caution. “You are. You always have been. Isn’t that why you agreed to the deal? Because it’s your city? Because you’re the best at what you do?”

Len’s breathing started to even out, but Bivolo’s influence was no easy thing to shake - Barry knew that all too well - and the man still looked petrified. Barry inched his hand forward, pushing the hood back from Len’s face and felt a rush of relief when Len didn’t recoil.

“If you wanted to hurt me - if you were going to hurt me,” Barry corrected himself when Len winced, “you would have done it long before now. And I think we trust each other enough to know that won’t happen.”

The soft buzz of the shoddy last-minute Anti-Raider flashlight - “The name’s a work in progress,” Cisco had snapped - cut through the air and Len tensed, eyes flitting between Iris and Barry. The vulnerableness of the motion somehow set Barry’s nerves at ease.

Not the situation itself, nor seeing the other so shaken by everything and anyone around him, no. No one should have to experience what Len was in tenfold right now.

It was just them. He just had to keep Len calm.

“Len.” The man glanced at him again, fright still evident in his expression. Barry’s hands brushed the back of Len’s and he hoped the contact was more soothing than terrifying. Given that Len didn’t bolt, it must’ve been the latter.

Though, in retrospect, it did seem like he was caging Len in. 

“We’re going to make the fear go away, alright? We won’t do anything you don’t want.”

It took a long moment, silent and taut with how clear the conflict was tearing Len apart, but neither Iris nor Barry moved, or dared speak. The shake of Len’s hand against his own was far from comforting.

Still, Barry nearly breathed a sigh of relief when Len nodded, a jerky movement that held none of his usual fluidity.

He stepped to the side as Iris let the counter-light flash rapidly, disorienting Len as he leaned back into the wall, but part of him was grateful for the hand still clutching his like a lifeline and couldn’t help but hope.

[friedesgreatscythe]

outside of the XIII-verse, which is your favorite FF?

i started answering this thinking you said of the xiii-verse lol so i’ll just post that at the end.

it’s hard for me to pick a favorite one of anything. it fluctuates a lot. i think xii is underrated and really fantastic, though there’s some things that hold it back from being truly wonderful. i love the gambit system, and i think it’s pretty cool how they brought the world of ivalice into a mainline final fantasy, and that localization was fucking amazing. i can’t remember what meter of poetry its written in, but that’s what gives the script its rhythm, and the choice to include so many different accents to create more personality and life to the different cultures and races really made it stand out. i love ashe’s story, and balthier, basch, and fran make for a good balance to the party. i think the occuria being petty gods desperately clinging to any chance of influencing humanity was pretty ballsy, too. but i can’t stand vaan and penelo, i think the game was wrong to make vaan the posterboy for it instead of settling with ashe (the rightful protagnist) or basch (who kinda got shafted despite having the second most compelling story in the cast).

i think vii is about as good as people think it is, but i still can’t stand or don’t care about half the cast, and sephiroth is an incredibly underdeveloped villain, so it falls short. i love the sci-fi body horror, and i think it paved the way for more science fantasy games in the final fantasy series (viii, xiii).

viii is weird but my kind of weird, and i really love ultimecia as a time traveling revenge-seeker, fighting back however she can against a world that is designed to fear and hate her, so she becomes the monster they fear. i’m a sucker for love stories, so seeing squall and rinoa bond and influence each other in all the ways they need really meant a lot to me, though its flaws still hold it back juuust a bit.

i think iv and vi are superb, too. i remember being really moved and shocked at cecil’s self-inflicted redemption arc, transforming from a dark knight into a paladin. plus how can you not love the lunar freakin’ whale? vi also had a cool world, and did a truly ballsy thing of ending it halfway through the story, so it wasn’t about stopping the apocalypse but ensuring that the world could possibly recover from it. i couldn’t stand some of the gimmicks in it--like sabin’s fucking blitz attack--and i also don’t think kefka is that great, but man... terra and celes? that operahouse scene? gorgeous.

sooo those are my favorites--iv, vi, vii, viii, and xii. the rest are disappointments.

now here’s the answer i wrote when i misread the ask.

ooh that’s hard to pick. i really like things specific to all three of them.

i enjoy the first one’s story, as it impacted me at a really painful time in my life. watching them all struggle with a curse that could neither be cured nor survived reminded me a lot of how it felt to have all the worst parts of my mental illnesses come back. sometimes it felt like i was fighting a pointless battle--fighting ‘fate’ if you will. and xiii helped me be angry enough to confront that.

i really like how they handle time travel in xiii-2, and all the branching endings that can happen. i love caius and lightning’s rivalry, and how caius is a genuinely sympathetic villain. i think xiii-2′s music is also exquisite, though i have a soft spot for origa (who does most of the singing). i don’t know if i’d say i enjoy the story or combat as much, however.

lightning returns is also really important because i love how bleak it is. the world’s clinging to the last remaining thread, lightning’s companions are scattered, hopeless, or in the case with snow and hope, a gutted shell of themselves. watching lightning literally beat the humanity back into snow was some powerful shit. and bhunivelze! holy fuck, don’t get me started.

[pinkletterday]

The Flash 5x4!!!

I am HYPED, you guys! FINALLY WE FIND OUT WHAT'S UP WITH MOMMA AND BABY.

Whatever it is Im going to deeply empathize with and love both of them.

Idk who this stupid af bitch is running straight into a blazing hail of fireballs and trying to take selfies but I hate her.

Iris. Iris. Baby. Hahahahaha Nora knows what a disaster her Mom is in the kitchen. I love you sfm Iris.

Hey Nora this version of your Mom just met you so hold back on the teenage sass, okay?

Ok this isnt funny anymore my heart is aching for Iris.

Young lady sit back down and eat that breakfast your Mom made for you.

"Make you a banana" lmaoooo this is why Barry does all the cooking. Gawd I love the domesticity.

I love that Iris can't cook. It just adds to her perfection. I guess I really am a fool in love, huh?

Oh God this guy. Shut up shut up shut up. Did this buffoon just call Cisco Ramon not brave???

I wish Ralph would take the lead here. That's right, I like Ralph now. This season is magic.

I would find this softball thing adorkable and hilarious if it wasn't for the fact that Barry is literally the Flash. It doesn't make a lick of sense. Would have been much more interesting if Barry had turned into a star athlete overnight and everyone just boggled.

Otoh it provides an interesting (read: hilarious) look at their dynamic growing up. Their different dorknesses cancel each other out.

I am irked. Why is the Flash a hopeless athlete? HE CATCHES KNIVES OUT OF THE AIR. How does he just switch off his co-ordination?

Kinda nice seeing all the ladies together like that though. Cecile is a gift.

NORA IS A GAY THIS IS NOT A DRILL WE HAVE A BABY QUEER IN THE HOUSE aaaaaand you are seriously trying my patience here. Be rude to your mother one more time. See how that goes.

Oooh Momma Bear is on the case! *hearteyes*

See, Baby Giraffe is already better at this than The Fraudulent Frenchie.

I hate to say it but based on that lumberjane chic I think we have another queer in the house. But this one we don't want.

Loool "like her size extra small". I hate to say it but thats a way better reason for her codename than "excess" ugh.

No it was different because she never knowingly put the people she was writing about in danger you asshat. God I wish you weren't so pretty.

Another black man wrongly accused. What up, America.

...Joe what. You guys. Jesse Martin looks bad. IS HE OKAY I AM SERIOUSLY CONCERNED.

Momma coaching Baby through speedster things! Because Barry taught her that one time she was a speedster. I can't handle this. My heart.

She FINALLY thanked her! Iris's smile.

My girls. I can't.

OMG SOMEONE REMEMBERS EARLY EDITION! I loved that show!

Also. Iris West, ace reporter, always better than fake hoes. Watch and learn, padawan.

Am sad we're not getting any Cisco Ramon. I hope Carlos is enjoying his mini-vacay. Otoh, I really like that Caitlin is included in the West-Allen circle this ep.

I wonder why Nora doesnt call Cait and Cisco Aunt and Uncle. They must be the godparents.

It's okay Ralph. Some leads don't pan out. If Shitloque was an actual detective he'd know that.

But I love that the heroes of Central City can walk around in public and interact freely. Oliver's team would need to break in and scare the bejesus out of some poor unsuspecting sod.

NORA IS A DISASTER LESBIAN CONFIRMED. Or probably a disaster bi like her Dad. I AM LOVIN' THIS.

THAT MOMENT WHEN THE PENNY DROPS FOR BARRY THAT HIS DAUGHTER IS A GAY LMAOOO

Fuck I love that Iris never even blinked when Nora said Spencer was cute. She probably sussed it way before. I love you Momma West-Allen.

Oh no oh no I was right. Iris pulled a Joe West. Goddamn it. I mean I get why, I get how traumatized and scared she must have been but IRIS NO YOU DON'T LIE TO YOUR CHILDREN TO PROTECT THEM. Remember how you felt when your Dad did that to you?

I am legit heartbroken, you guys. I really wanted to be wrong. I blame Joe West's goddamn patriarchal shitty parenting for perpetuating this cycle of lies.

I swear to God if this show tries to justify lying and manipulating your kid again I'm going to give up on it. It's triggering as all fuck (I still havent recovered from S1 and 2) and I need Iris to be held accountable when she fucks up, not let her turn into another Fefe who can do no wrong.

Jesus Christ Iris, trying to force a conversation with Nora by invading her privacy and ignoring her need for space is not okay. BOUNDARIES, girl.

Oh okay but she's holding herself accountable thank fuck. I mean, Barry's right she can't be blamed for what she might do in the future but IT'S STILL WRONG.

I was actually shaking. Friendly reminder that survivors of parental abuse and manipulation are also watching this show, some of us with CPTSD.

"What if my Dad did something like that to you"?? Er. Iris? Remember when he lied to you for twenty years about your mother being dead and you didn't talk to him for six months?

Oh here we go. You've stood there like a gormless beanpole for three episodes without so much as trying to intervene Barry and this is how you choose to comfort your wife. Not "yes, it's a bad thing and we can't know what led you to the choices future you made but in the here and now you know not to. We can learn from the future and make different choices, Iris."

PUNCH HIM IN THE THROAT, CAITLIN.

...I just meant for frightening Caitlin, but he actually wants to be punched?

Ooooh that was satisfying! Pretty sure her form was all wrong but can't argue with the results.

I love how fucking competent Iris is??? She knows how to use the entire STAR Labs tech arsenal. Although that Vibe device kinda defeats the whole purpose of breechers. It's like if they had a device lying around that could give just anyone super speed.

Not sure how Spencer thinks XS can kill Flash. One's a n00b and the other is veteran.

Wait, Baby Flash can do what now?

I don't like that they had to dumb Barry down so much to give Iris a chance to shine. A couple can both be competent at the same time! It's called being a power couple! Not one-half Idiot Ball couple!

So her phone got powers? Huh??

Ah yes. Dark Matter. More multi-purpose than Quantum.

Okay cool Ralph is getting his due. "Less right" LOL

"That puts meta-human powers in the hands of anyone" kinda like having a Breeching device, no?

We have meta-humans, meta-phones, meta-daggers (a tech dagger??) HOLY SHIT WHAT IF THE DARK MATTER HIT A HOME DEPOT?? How many people now have meta-vacuum cleaners? Meta-dishwashers?? Meta-can openers??

Oh God. No. Not this.

No. You do not lie and manipulate your kids to protect them. You do not do that. Love is no justification.

Don't Barry don't. Stop stop.

I can't watch this. FUCK YOU.

FOR GOD'S SAKE SHE'S CRYING AND SHAKING YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO COMFORT HER AND MAKE HER FEEL SAFE NOT STAND ON YOUR PILE OF BULLSHIT WITHOUT GIVING A FLYING FUCK.

No, cry all you want. I have no sympathy for either one of you callous asshats. You fucking destroyed that girl. Fuck Joe West for having raised you to think this way.

Yeah no Joe West is not who you want to go to in these matters, Nora.

I don't even care about Cicada anymore.

I should have known this show would never get any less gross.

Look, I was fully prepared to be sympathetic to Iris, traumatized, alone and single mother to a meta-child in a dangerous world to have made some bad decisions. And I do empathize. But I wasn't prepared for present-day Barry and Iris to justify and rationalize that shit. I thought they were going to say "That was a bad thing your Mom did. I'm sure she thought she was protecting you but she may have lost sight of how much it hurts to have your choices taken away from you. But I'm not that woman, Nora. I know I could never bear to see you hurting like this. I can still make better choices. Please give me a chance?"

Not "No I am your Mom and everything I do is right and good because I love you, I'm sorry if you feel hurt about it but them's the facts."

They did this when Barry and Joe lied to Iris all through S1, when Joe lied to Iris about her mother. This show is still all about apologia for lying and manipulation because LOVE AND GOOD INTENTIONS AND TO PROTECT YOU BY DISRESPECTING THE FUCK OUT OF YOU AND TAKING AWAY YOUR AGENCY.

Parental love is not a justification. Most abuse takes place at the hands of parents who really believe they're doing it for their children's protection. Please never say "your parents have every right to hurt you to protect you because they love you". Do you even care at all.

I'm not okay. Gonna take a break from fandom for a while. Can't deal with people taking Iris's side to protect their Westallen feels. Fuck both of them.

I'm posting this but please don't engage me to argue about it. Massively triggered.

[paganvamp]

Saving Grace: Chapter Four

Grace and her friends meet the new kid, but Grace realizes he might be hiding a dark secret.

This chapter is basically just a recap of the gang meeting Stefan for the first time, but with Grace involved CW: Language, brief mention of bullying?, mention of car accidents

2009 AD: The First Meeting

“Ow! Fuck!” Grace swore, cradling the tip of her burned finger to her chest.

“It’s a fire. You aren’t supposed to stick your hand in it.” Chloe’s voice was flat and unamused, a perfectly groomed brow raised as if questioning her sister’s intelligence.

“Yeah well you were supposed to put the fire out before I grabbed the candle!” Offering to teach Chloe how to control her magic had not been one of Grace’s brightest ideas. Chloe had just recently displayed signs of Tapping into her power, and as Grace had been practicing magic for the past four months, she’d felt qualified to teach her younger sister all about magic.

She had been wrong.

“Mom said if we blow up the house, she’s putting us both up for adoption.” While Grace’s control of her magic was vastly better than Chloe’s, it tended to slip when she became angry, irritated, or frustrated… all of which seemed to happen constantly around her sister. Another problem was that, while Grace had the basic magic skills that every witch had, she was also gifted with a completely different skill set to Chloe’s. As she’d found out four months ago, Grace had the rare ability of divination – essentially, she could see the past or future. Usually, her ‘visions’ came to her in dreams, like the one in which Elena had returned to school after her parent’s deaths. But her mother's grimoire had also mentioned a technique called scrying, or using a reflective surface to see the past, future, or even other people in the present. In addition to her divination skills, Grace was also an Empath, able to “read” the feelings and emotions of everyone around her with a touch, or simply by concentrating on them hard enough. Altogether, Grace’s particular talents tended to lie in psychic acuity.

Chloe, on the other hand, had demonstrated the much more common elemental manipulation. While all witches had a limited control of all four elements, such as lighting candles or making a feather float in the air, some had particularly strong control, usually over one single element. Chloe’s was air. For the past hour, Grace had been standing ten feet away from her sister in their basement, lighting a candle and waiting for Chloe to conjure a gust of wind strong enough to blow out the flame. When that had gotten boring, she’d switched to lighting the candle, then attempting to snatch it quickly away from its original spot so Chloe’s blast of air would have to flip on a dime. This particular time, Chloe hadn’t been fast enough, and Grace too careless, and she had scorched the tip of her finger.

“We’ve been at this forever, Gracie!” Chloe whined. “You made me get up at 5:00 in the morning for this. Can’t we just go get ready for school?” At the word school, a feeling similar to the one she’d felt that morning four months ago slammed into Grace. Elena’s coming back today. After Elena and Jeremy moved out of the Forbes’ house, where they had lived for a few weeks while their sudden new guardian Aunt Jenna found them a house of their own, Grace hadn’t seen much of either of them. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She saw plenty of Jeremy, high out of his mind and hiding from his aunt and sister around town. She had no doubt he’d find a spot in the Stoner Pit saved for him when he got to school.

“Yeah, alright,” Grace sighed, “We’re done for now.” Pleased with this, Chloe made her escape before her sister had the chance to change her mind, Grace following her upstairs much more slowly.

“How did it go?” Cecile asked in a voice that suggested she already knew the answer. Grace just made an irritated noise in the back of her throat while Chloe said,

“It was fine.”

“Gracie, come here, I want you to see this.” Cecile waved her eldest daughter over to the kitchen table, upon which several old books were laid out.

“What are these?”

“This one,” Cecile answered, pointing to a smallish book bound in red leather, “is my personal grimoire." This, Grace knew already, as her mother had let her read it after dropping the 'you're a witch' bomb. "And this one,” she pointed to a larger one this time, its deep brown cover cracked a bit, “is your dad’s.” As Cecile and Joseph had explained shortly after Grace’s horrifying realization that day four months ago – an event which she privately referred to as ‘The Incident’ – she had been entirely wrong about her childhood. Her parents were not Wiccans – or not just Wiccans, anyway. They were witches, with real magic, and that locked door at the end of the hall was filled with all their grimoires, amulets, herbs… anything that might have been linked to magic in any way was locked in that room, kept secret even from their own children. Because, while the Sinclairs were originally part of the Tremé Coven, they had broken from them due to their leader’s increasing violence and heavy use of Sacrificial Magic. So, they moved to the Quarter, where the King had an extremely strict no magic policy. Anyone caught practicing would be ‘dealt with’ in a highly unpleasant way. Which was why, eventually, they’d had to flee to Mystic Falls – the King had been coming for them, and he was pissed. In the four months since The Incident, both of her parents had been teaching Grace everything they knew. This was not to say the proverbial door at the end of the hallway was unlocked - her parents still had secrets, and whatever they were, they were holding them close to the chest.

“What’s this one?” Grace pointed to the biggest, and oldest by the look of it, book on the table.

“That’s Sheila Bennett’s ancestral grimoire. She’s allowing you to borrow it for a few days in the ‘spirit of learning’.” Grams is a witch? Logically, Grace had put together that ‘cousins from Salem’ had meant ‘cousins who are witches’, but she didn’t consider that the Mystic Falls Bennetts might be those witch cousins.

“Does that mean Bonnie…?”

“Only time will tell, Gracie, but the Bennett line is a powerful one.” It would be amazing to have a friend who was a witch, who she didn’t have to hide this from, who she could learn with. Chloe didn’t count, as their relationship was far too tenuous. They loved each other, of course, but they were so different it was hard for them to get along.

“Gracie! Are you giving us a ride or am I leaving your ass here?” Came Chloe’s irritated voice from the driveway, unknowingly proving Grace’s point to herself. Grace rolled her eyes.

“I’m coming, Chlo, relax.” Scooping up her bag and giving her dad a kiss on the cheek as she passed him, Grace made her way out to the car all three sisters had been forced to share since Chloe rear-ended Matt’s truck in their own driveway. His truck was fine, but Chloe’s car privileges had been revoked for three months, one for each dent in the hood of her Honda. Matt. That was another issue. After the crash, Elena had broken up with Matt and then basically ghosted everyone. He was convinced they’d be getting back together once the school year started up again and she’d had time to heal. Grace wasn’t so sure. It seemed that pushing Elena to decide regarding her future with Matt was the single good thing to come out of that night.

As she reached for the door handle, Grace glanced at her reflection in the mirror and felt the slight dizziness she had come to associate with what she called a ‘vision’, or a premonition of the future.

“Seriously, what are you so worried about?” Grace saw herself, sitting in a booth at the Mystic Grill across from a guy she’d never seen before.

“Shouldn’t you tell me? You know, with your magic superpowers and all?” The guy teased, clearly deflecting.

“That’s not how it works, and you know it, Stefan.” Grace reached her hand across the table, laying it atop his own in a gesture of comfort. “Don’t worry about Katherine, okay? That bitch is going down.”

“Grace? Gracie, are you okay?” Aimee’s face came into view, inches away from Grace’s. She looked concerned. “Did it happen again?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Aimes, it happened again.” Grace was shaken, not necessarily by the vision but by how close she had come to getting them all killed. “Maybe you should drive today.” Grace had barely gotten over her driving anxiety after the accident, and this close call set her heart racing.

“I second that.” Chloe stated, though Grace could tell from the way she bit at her lip that she was just as concerned as Aimee.

“Sure thing. What did you see?” The youngest Sinclair sibling asked as they piled into the car and out of the driveway.

“I’m… not sure.” Grace had no idea why she would have been plotting revenge against a girl she’d never met with a guy she’d never met, but she knew her visions tended to only go about a year or two into the future. Which meant whatever this Katherine girl had done would be happening relatively soon. “Some guy and I at the Grill.”

“Ooh,” Chloe singsong-ed from the backseat, “Like a date?”

“No, not like a date.” Grace’s visions also came with emotions, or impressions, a factor relating to her Empathic abilities most likely. She hadn’t felt any romantic attraction coming from either of them – but an intense bond, the kind of friendship borne out of hardships. Whoever ‘Stefan’ was, Grace trusted him with her life and hated to see him upset. Which was surprising, as Grace didn’t trust easily or quickly.

“But was he cute?”

“I don’t know, Chloe. That’s not what I was paying attention to.” Knowing that wasn’t the answer her sister wanted, Grace sighed in defeat. “Yeah, sure, he was cute. If you’re into the broody, quiet type. He had good hair.”

“I want to know the second you meet this guy. I think you might have just divined my future husband.” Highly doubting that, Grace agreed to her sister’s request anyway. As they pulled into the school parking lot and Aimee parked in Grace’s reserved spot, her attention shifted back to the more pressing issue – finding Elena.

“Chloe, if you have a class with Elena, I want you to act like everything is completely normal, okay? Don’t bring up… just don’t bring it up.”

“Yeah, because I figured ‘hey, remember a few months ago when your parents died’ would be an enjoyable conversation starter.”

“Neither of us will say anything, Gracie.” Aimee promised. “And we won’t let anyone else, either.”

“Good. And I swear, Chloe, if you’re twenty minutes late again, we’re going home without you.” With Chloe grumbling in protest, the three sisters clambered out of the car and headed off to their respective friends.

Elena had already arrived by the time Grace found Bonnie and Caroline on the front lawn. It was obvious Caroline had just walked up the two, and Grace heard the tail end of their conversation.

“How is she, is she good?”

“Caroline, I’m right here.” Elena pointed out. “And I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Really?” Caroline didn’t sound convinced.

“Yes! Much better.”

“You poor thing.” Caroline leaned over and hugged Elena, clearly shocking the other girl. “Grace! I was just making sure Elena was feeling better.”

“And I was just telling Caroline that I’m fine.” Elena sent Grace a look that clearly said she was not ready to deal with Caroline at such an early hour of the morning.

“Hey, Care, weren’t you supposed to show me the plans for the festival?”

“Oh my God, I almost forgot!” Caroline exclaimed, lighting up at the prospect of getting to show off party plans. She turned back to Bonnie and Elena. “See you guys later?” As she was dragged away, Grace looked over her shoulder to see Elena throwing her a thankful smile.

“So, I assume you’ve already done your customary run through of all the male real estate for the year?” Grace asked. Caroline knew everything about everyone, and sometimes used that power for good. Mostly, though, it was used to help herself and her friends determine if there was anyone worth dating, considering most of them had grown up together. Grace’s last relationship had ended two summers ago - July 13, 2008, to be exact - when a drunk driver slammed into her boyfriend Bryan’s car on the Wickery Bridge, killing him instantly. Grace had been in the passengers seat, and everyone had told her how lucky she’d been, to only end up in the hospital for a week. If only they knew…

Caroline, determined to help in the best way she knew how, had decided it was time for Grace to “get back on the horse” when it came to boys. Grace was trying to share her friend’s enthusiasm. Throwing a wrench in Caroline's plans, however, was the fact that while Grace was certainly not ugly, she tended to be "such a good friend" that she was rarely thought of as girlfriend material. Still, she might as well play along.

“Of course I have. I heard a rumor from Kelly Beech that there was a hot new guy in the office this morning, but so far I have yet to confirm.”

“Kelly Beech with the gross hair? We talk to her?” It wasn’t just Kelly’s unkempt hair that had kept Grace and her friends from associating with the girl, but it did contribute. Bonnie liked to say, ‘If you can’t bother to take care of yourself, why should I care about you?’ Possibly not their finest moment, but hey – it was high school after all.

“Uh, we do when she was the only student in the office this morning who might have noticed any new additions to the severely lame male population of our school.” Grace laughed.

“Okay, okay, fair point. But since we don’t have confirmation on whether or not she was telling the truth, doesn’t that put Kelly a step ahead of us?” Caroline came to an abrupt halt as if the thought were so horrific it froze her in place.

“You’re right.” She sounded scandalized. “I have to do some recon. We’ll go over the festival plans at lunch, yeah?”

“Only if you promise I’ll be the first to know whatever you find out.” Caroline smiled at her friend.

“You always are. See you!”

“Bye!” As Caroline headed off towards whatever she felt would give her information, Grace turned toward her locker. When she got there, she found it was situated next to possibly the worst person imaginable.

“Tyler Lockwood.” She groaned at the sight of the football jersey; his last name emblazoned on the back. She didn’t necessarily hate Tyler; she knew he was Matt’s best friend, and that had to mean something, right? He was just such a douche. Not to mention a giant reminder of her worst mistake, and her biggest loss. He smirked at her.

“Sinclair. You’re looking delicious this morning.” Whatever awkward guilt he had seemed to feel at last year’s bonfire had disappeared quickly, as though he had somehow done such a good job pretending it had never happened that he had convinced himself of the fact.

“Fuck off.” She rolled her eyes, nudging him to the side with her elbow so she could get to her locker. That’s when she noticed the locker on the other side of hers. And the person currently opening it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She muttered to herself. Vicki Donovan normally wouldn’t elicit any kind of reaction from Grace, positive or negative. But after Elena broke up with Matt, Vicki had decided Elena was a bitch and didn’t care who knew it. Which meant she thought that all of Elena’s friends were bitches, as well. Not to mention the fact that Jeremy followed her around like a lost puppy, which was just pathetic to watch.

“Grace Sinclair. What a lovely surprise.” Vicki clearly wasn’t any happier with this arrangement than Grace was. Grace consoled herself with the thought that Tyler would be spending most of his time on the football field, and Vicki in the Stoner Pit. She would barely have to interact with them. But even for a few minutes, standing between them made Grace want to throw up. The barrier she’d erected in order to block out others’ emotions was shaky at the best of times, and currently all she could feel was the pain and anger radiating off the two of them in waves. She’d felt the same pain in Matt’s presence, to a much lesser extent, and knew it had something to do with his and Vicki’s mom. She knew Tyler’s dad was an asshole. And, yeah, she felt bad for them. But that didn’t mean she wanted to deal with their emotions on the daily. She had her own to deal with, especially with Tyler around. Hurrying as quickly as possible, she filled her backpack up with everything she would need until lunch to ensure she wouldn’t have to come back here and risk running into either of them. It was possible she’d have class with Vicki - if Vicki showed up - but at least then she could put a whole classroom between them.

“Çe n’est pas juste.” She muttered to herself as she slammed her locked shut, falling back on an old habit of talking to herself in French. As is my lot in life, apparently…

Caroline was nowhere to be seen when Grace finally made her way into the lunchroom hours later. She was so busy looking for her, in fact, that she slammed right into the back of someone.

“Oh, fuck, I am so sorry!” She swore, whipping her head around to face the person she’d nearly knocked over. And that was when she froze completely. Jesus fuck. Those broody, dark eyebrows, blue-green eyes, and strong jaw had been lurking in the back of her mind all day. Stefan.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Fuck, had she said his name out loud?

“Uh, no. No, sorry, I guess I just… heard there was a new guy at school and figured it had to be you.” She didn’t think he believed her, but he pretended he did.

“Well, yeah. I’m Stefan Salvatore. Sorry about…”

“Oh, no, that was totally my fault!” He smiled her off and held out his hand for her to shake. But when she accepted it, an icy chill slid down her spine. Witches could sense life, part of being the Servant of Nature, or so her dad had told her. Where she would have felt a warm, pleasant hum on any other person, Stefan’s hand felt… wrong. Cold and dead. Lowering her psychic shield, she purposely dove as deeply as she could into his emotions, and it was all she could do to keep from physically staggering backwards. A maelstrom of guilt, pain, sadness, and curiosity barreled into her. There was a touch of anger, too, and hopelessness. Some paranoia, or at least anxiety that someone would find out something he didn’t want them to know. She hadn’t known it was possible for one person to feel so much, so negatively, in one lifetime. She almost instinctively slammed her shield back up, but just before she did, there was another emotion that niggled at her consciousness. A hunger, a yearning for… something, something that he knew he shouldn’t want. She pulled her hand from his grasp. “Um, if you’ll excuse me, I… I need to find my friends.” She heard her own voice as if from a distance, still trying to reel herself back into her own mind, her own emotions. She wanted to shake Stefan off like a dog does water. Before she could fully turn away, Stefan’s voice stopped her.

“Wait! I never got your name.” He smiled and it seemed so genuine, so kind, that it was hard to believe there was something so wrong inside of him.

“Grace. My name is Grace.” She turned and fled, not staying to look for Caroline. She didn’t want to know what Caroline had learned about Stefan Salvatore. She’d learned enough.

Grace sat in her car in the parking lot, a faint psychic headache thrumming at her temples. She’d gone too deep, spent too much power on Stefan, and was already bone tired. But she ignored the pain, ignored the fatigue. For the life of her, she could not reconcile her vision and apparent fondness and devotion for Stefan from that morning to the cold, slimy feeling of his hand in hers. She’d been doing this long enough to know what life and death felt like, and Stefan had felt like death. Adding to that the barrage of horrid, negative emotions swirling around his own head, she didn’t know what to think. Obviously, Stefan had some major secrets. Maybe they had something to with this Katherine girl from her vision? Either way, Future Grace clearly liked Stefan, so he couldn’t have been too bad… right? Grace was pulled quite abruptly out of her reverie when a knock sounded on her window. She turned her head to find Caroline doubled over, staring at her as if she had come unhinged. She motioned for Grace to roll her window down.

“What are you doing?”

“Sorry, Care, I just… needed some air.”

“’Some air’? What, you can’t answer your phone and get air at the same time?” Where is my phone? Grace distantly looked around the car, patting her pockets. Her phone was nowhere to be found. Shit. It must have fallen out of her pocket when she rammed into Stefan in the cafeteria.

“Sorry, Care. I think I dropped it. Did you happen to see it inside?” The other blonde rolled her eyes.

“I swear to God, Grace, you would lose your head if that was possible.”

“Well, you’d be there to screw it back on for me.” Caroline rolled her eyes again but couldn’t hide her smile.

“Do you have enough air yet? I wasn’t planning on spending all of lunch standing outside your car.” Resolving to deal with the ‘Stefan issue’ whenever it next became a problem, a la Scarlet O’Hara, Grace followed Caroline back inside. Of course, had she known how much of a problem it would become, she might have prepared herself a bit better.

It was customary for Caroline, Grace, Elena, Matt, and Bonnie to meet up at the Grill after school. Unlike the years before, today Elena had wanted to visit the cemetery beforehand, and it was a complete question mark as to whether Matt would even show up; Caroline, Grace and Bonnie decided to go together. Grace hadn’t run into Stefan since their original meeting in the cafeteria, and she wasn’t sure whether or not she was glad of that, but either way she barely held in her groan as Caroline repeated to Bonnie all she had managed to learn about the handsome newcomer.

“His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue.” Even for Caroline, that was impressive.

“You got all that in one day?” Bonnie scoffed; a tad incredulous.

“Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding.” Grace and Bonnie shared a look behind Caroline’s back as they settled into a booth. Conveniently, Grace found herself facing a booth holding both Matt and Tyler, and spotted Jeremy and Vicki conversing in the back. Shit, it really is the only local hangout isn’t it? The gang generally had movie night at Grace’s house every Thursday, but considering the Grill was chock-full of people Grace wanted to avoid, she was considering making movie night an every day thing. Matt spotted them then and, ensuring Elena was nowhere in sight, made his way over.

“Hey, Matt!” Grace smiled at him brightly. She’d hardly seen him all summer, despite living next door. Matt had buried himself in workouts with Tyler and hanging at the Grill while his sister worked, and Grace had her own things to deal with.

“Hey yourself, Margot.” Matt was the only person Grace allowed to call her by her middle name, and only rarely. This, the first sign of his mood finally improving, was one of those rare exceptions.

“Um, hello?” Caroline interjected. “What are we, invisible?”

“Hello, Caroline, it’s very good to see you.” That signature smirk seemed to Grace like the sun breaking the clouds. Maybe he really can move on. “How’s Elena doing?” Or maybe not. Bonnie answered for all of them.

“Her mom and dad died. How do you think? She’s putting on a good face, but it's only been four months.”

“Has she said anything about me?” Caroline and Grace exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“Oh, no. So not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her.”

“I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me.”

“Give it more time, Matt.” The sound of door opening drew everyone’s attention, and Elena herself walked in… with Stefan.

“More time, huh?” Before anyone could respond, Stefan and Elena reached their table.

“Hey, I’m Matt. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi. Stefan.” Elena smiled at Matt a bit awkwardly.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Grace looked imploringly at Caroline. The girl’s talkativeness had never been more helpful.

“Uh, so, were you born in Mystic Falls?” Some of the tension broke as Elena, Stefan, and Matt ended their mini stare-down. Caroline obviously already knew the answer to that question, but had to ask the guy something - she wasn’t about to admit she’d learned his entire life story without his knowledge.

“Mm-hmm. And moved when I was still young.” Caroline seemed to falter, so Bonnie picked up the slack.

“Parents?”

“My parents passed away.” Oh, shit.

“I’m sorry.” Elena told him, with grief evident in her voice. “Any siblings?” Grace took the banal conversation as an opportunity to lower her shields slightly, feeling out those around her. Caroline was her typical bundle of neuroses, with an unsurprising note of longing, likely for Stefan. Bonnie was also in her usual mood, quiet support supplemented with a tinge of humor and excitement. Matt, also, was dealing with expected feelings of jealousy, insecurity, hope, and an increasingly unrequited love. It was Elena and Stefan that threw Grace for a loop. If Grace had thought Matt’s jokes were like the sun breaking through the clouds, then the crack in Elena’s hard shell of grief was the goddamn aurora borealis. For the first time in months, there was hope, and humor, and… attraction. She’s into him. Stefan, too, had more positive emotions in him now than he had at lunch. There was hope and curiosity, and attraction, but… a strange attraction. Not quite an obsession, but something more than a simple crush. It was intense and was fueling a strong determination paired with an iron will. A strange thing to feel for someone you just met.

“Grace?” She snapped back into her own head at the sound of Stefan’s voice saying her name.

“You still in there, Margot?”

“I gave you one pass, Matthew.” She warned, using his full name to help make her point. “Don’t push it.” He held his hands up in surrender as she turned her attention to Stefan. “Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?”

“I asked if you lost anything at school today.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out her phone. She gasped, relieved beyond words.

“Oh my God, thank you! You’re a literal lifesaver!”

“Well, I couldn’t leave it in the cafeteria to be trampled.” Shaking off the horror of that mental image, Grace thanked Stefan once again. He smiled at her, genuinely, as he assured her it was no problem. Suddenly Caroline perked up with an idea.

“Grace, to show your thanks, why don’t you buy Stefan a drink for the party tomorrow night?”

“You mean ‘please provide us all with alcohol’?” Grace laughed. Grace was only a year older and certainly not able to legally buy alcohol, but both of her parents kept a large enough stash of wine and liquor they never noticed when a few bottles went missing. Not that there wouldn’t be plenty of kegs already there, of course. But why drink from a keg when you could have 15-year old bourbon?

“I’m missing something, what party?”

“It’s a back to school thing at the falls.” Bonnie shrugged, trying to make it seem like they didn’t look forward to this party all summer.

“Are you going?” He asked Elena. Always a matchmaker, Bonnie answered before Elena could even open her mouth.

“Of course, she is.”

[kakarmasobessioncorner]

Rambling time! More on the ancients and their caretakers, or to be more precise about each one individually. A few are OCs I have ideas of, and ideas for a story with. They will be obvious. The name in brackets is their Ghost name, and the other is their chosen ‘human’ names. Taken for when they need to go to the human realm and blend in. Gotta love how helpful baby naming sites are, ones that can be looked though by meanings.

A lot of this has to do with a thing I’m writing. So I’d love to hear what you think of the base ideas!

They will be done in order of their Caretaker’s ages. 

The elements and their caretakers in general

A caretaker can communicate with their own element, but not the others. However the elements can translate each other to their caretakers if they need to.

They aren’t controlled by their caretakers, they are their own beings and thus do occasionally mess with their caretakers. Just because they are ancient and incredibly powerful doesn’t mean they have to act it.

They never had to disclose their caretakers, and for the longest time no one knew about Pandora since hope kept rather quite about finding and choosing the young human woman until she died.

They grown and change as time passes to remain attuned to what they must do. Such as Creation becoming more fit to be called Dreams. Since with the world mostly formed and now in a state of maintenance, it needed to create things from scratch less and began creating goals, wants and potentials  for the creatures instead. Making their dreams.

The elements can’t be destroyed. Only changed.  However their caretakers can be ‘destroyed’ in the sense that who they were is mostly gone though so much damage they have to reform from scratch with no memories. This has only happened once before.

Not all the caretakers are known to the Spirit Realm. It’s common knowledge that Prophet, Vito, Lady Muerte, and Clockwork are caretakers, however they don’t know the others are. Notcturne is reclusive and little is known about him around the zone, Pandora is known to be powerful but no one knows a Ghost could be a caretaker, and GW and SD are thought to be ghosts when they are spirits and thus no one suspects them either.

Fate and it’s keeper, Cecil Tiresias. (Prophet)

Cecil is blind, but can see beyond normal sight to do his job.

Has no patience for people who won’t accept the obvious. 

Is otherwise very calm and kind. 

Reclusive. 

Fate’s direct mutation core type is Crystal. and this is where the use of crystal for seeing important events in the future came from.

Weak Point is his eyes made of foggy crystal balls. If attacked they can be cracked and it takes him out until they mend. 

Cecil is a name that means Blind, and Tiresias comes from greek mythology where Tiresias was a blind prophet of Thebes. 

Human form looks like a young boy, blind and pale like he never seen sunlight before. 

 Life and it’s keeper, Chayan Thanasis. (Vito)

Chayan is a slightly sadistic person. He says this is because he believes life can only truly be enjoyed with a little suffering to make the joy stronger. 

Vito means life, as does Chayan. While Thanasis is a commonly shortened form of ‘Athanasios’ which is a Greek name that means immortal.

Life is slightly bitter over the fact it only got domain over one of the three halfas. Since being half alive and half dead they had a 50/50 chance over whether they’d be under it or Death’s domains. It got Vlad.

Healthy young animals, pregnant creatures, and children find life, it’s keeper, and the one halfa under it’s domain very comforting. Calm in their presence and very agreeable. 

Dying creatures find them almost sickening.

Weakness is poisons, they won’t kill life or it’s caretaker, but the strong ones will weaken them a lot. 

 Death and it’s keeper, Morrigan Menahem. (Lady Muerte)

Morrigan is a very forgiving woman. 

Her name Morrigan is ‘derived from Irish Mór Ríoghain meaning "great queen". In Irish myth she was a goddess of war and death who often took the form of a crow.’ and Menahem apparently comes from a hebrew word meaning "the consoler" or "comforter".  Chosen for how she is a calm spirit whom does what she can to comfort newly departed souls how she can. 

She got domain over two of the three halfas. Danny and Danni. 

Healthy living creatures find her presence very unnerving and always flee her if able. Even humans feel the need to avoid her unless they are mediums, dying, or just accustomed to her. Dying creatures find her, and the two halfas in her domain, very comforting to be around.

Weakness is the antidotes to strong poisons that act much like poisons do to Life.  

Inspiration and it’s keepers, Andrew Riter (Ghost Writer) and Dumi Ellyda (Spirit Dancer) 

GW’s name was inspired by ibelieveinahappilyeverafter’s stories on fanfiction.net. I’m not a shipper of Iambic Prose really, but I enjoy their writing of it. I absolutely recommend going and checking them out. A lot of the ancient energy ideas I had were really undeveloped and nothing I felt I could write,but some of their writing helped encourage and even build these ideas up.

Dumi means 'the inspirer’ and Ellyda means ‘Small winged one’ and I chose Ellyda for it’s energetic sounding nature and how her being the performance muse it seems fitting since she’s light on her feet.

They caretakers are not siblings. they were just both chosen by Inspiration for different reasons. 

GW has a brother who is not a caretaker but very powerful in his own right named Randy seriously go read @Ibelieverinahappilyeverafter ‘s writing.

SD changes appearance a lot for parties, blending in, performing, and just plain having fun.

Her natural form looks kinda like a cross of Olivia from Fire Emblem Awakening and the muse with the long down hair from the cartoon Hercules movie. Y’know the muses that sung Gospel Truth. Tho I recommend this one the RL models are great.

SD is weak to places that muffle sounds, and GW has problems with things that don’t rhyme. 

SD can make her ecto-signature invisible to even the strongest sensors as long as she doesn’t use powers other than cloaking. 

Creation and it’s keeper, Morpheus Dremurr (Nocturne)

His lair is not a physical one like other spirits and ghosts. Rather the physical entrance leads to a bedroom with several bunk beds (for guests) and one king’s size poster bed. You fall asleep in there and enter the dream Realm.

Was asked by Clockwork to mess with Danny and really meant no harm by it. Clock work never gave a clear reason as to why it was needed but he trusts his judgement. 

Had fun acting the villain though. Something really fun about playing a bad guy. 

Only gets energy from good dreams and before going dormant for a long time after Pyrah Dark was sealed, he’d go out and travel the human realm to banish kid’s nightmares when he could and harvest energy. 

He helped make the coffin of sleep, but it took a lot out of him.

Often ends up having to go to the Clock Tower to make Clockwork at least take a nap. 

Pandora gave him a stuffed ram as a joke one year when it was well known that they were ‘mandatory for a goods night rest’ and he actually came to love it. Though if anyone questions it he tells a story about stuffed animals

Still has the ability to create land and spaces out of nothing, but doesn’t do much anymore.

Weakness is dream catchers, that weakens his powers. 

Time and it’s keeper, Horace Hidiyah. (Clockwork)

Here it comes I have a lot of ideas for him.

Horace means Timekeeper, and Hidiyah means ‘guide to righteousness’.

Is the only caretaker who wasn’t picked like the others. He was made for the job.

Time is a picky, chaotic, and (to those with a closed mind like the Observants) dangerously unpredictable.

In reality Time can always be trusted to try and aim for the path of the greater good even if it looks like the worse path at the time. 

Clockwork doesn’t hate the observants, just is more annoyed with them for not trusting that he, the one able to see far more than they could, didn’t know what he was doing.  The reason they don’t he doesn’t know. However time does know it’s because they worry he’d let his emotions effect his choices, since he has far stronger emotions than he was supposed to when he was made. They didn’t want care or love to get in the way of doing what had to be done... they pushed almost all those emotions away long ago to do their job.

Can hold one age for a while, but shifting is something he got used to and finds being so in touch with time that he moves with it so much to be comforting.

Time does like to play tricks or mischief on it’s keeper, and one way is to send his powers out of wack, sticking him in one age form and with limited powers to be babysat by one of the others. It’s for Clockwork’s own good, but it has fun with his frustration and embarrassment too. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s almost always his child form he’s stuck in.

Has a slight lisp (well that’t cannon but needs reminding) 

Had a lot of fun playing the bad guy when he and Danny first met.

Picked up baking from Pandora and kept it up seeing that it would be useful. 

Puts off resting as long as possible to keep working. Nocturne has taken it upon himself to visit and make sure he doesn’t pass out. It leads to bad situations for time.

Feels he has basically adopted the Phantoms and takes the responsibility very seriously. Especially after Danny’s future was made to be his responsibility. 

Asked Nocturne to pick a fight with Danny knowing that he wouldn’t actually hurt him, and that Danny needed to stay on his toes because something big was coming.

Also as revenge for how often Nocturne shows up to pester him into sleeping. He knew the chances of him standing even the slightest chance against Danny was almost nil even with all the dream powers. 

Hope and it’s keeper, Pandora Anesidora.

Pandora is the only ghost caretaker.

It was her idea for the others to pick out names that would fit in better with humans, rather than the names they used in the Spirit Realm. 

As such she is the only one without a ‘ghost name’ since she just uses her birth name.

I got her last name from her myth, since it’s apparently an alternate name for her. 

tried to keep up with the knowledge of the Human realm, but in order to keep guard of her box doesn’t get to go out much. 

Only one that has a hard time taking a human appearance without the help of some artifact due to once being human herself.

Sees Nocturne and Clockwork as younger siblings ever since she watched on in amusement as they bickered like children over something silly and she needed to step in to break them apart... the first time.