#or a punishment to his parents for their use of dark magic

[bet-on-me-13]

Unknown, the Wandering Hero

So! We all know the typical Vivisection AU, right? Danny is revealed to his parents and they take it in all the wrong ways. They capture him, Vivisect him, and eventually he manages to escape with the help of his friends.

But what about his Rouges?

Sure, we all like to think of some of the more friendly ones like Ember, or Sydney, or Johnny 13 and Kitty, but he has WAY more Evil Rouges than good ones.

Without Danny there to reign them in, the Rouges spread out across the world to fulfill their obsessions, unhampered by the Heroes and Villains of the world that have no means to fight them.

And Danny? He feels responsible. He was the one to open the Gate, he was the Sacrifice, the one to let them through. And when the going got tough he just up and left? No, that won't do.

His Obsession is Protection for a reason, and nothing has changed. All he needs to do is expand his area of focus a little.

Danny, after healing up, starts wandering the world in search of the Ghosts who have escaped into the Mortal Realm. He battles all of his old foes, as well as many new ones who he hadn't met before.

His travels take him far and wide.

He defeats Skulker in Metropolis, as he is trying to hunt down the Super Family for their pelts. They are the last of their race after all, so he is inclined to try and hunt them. Honestly dealing with Skulker was easy, dealing with the Rich Asshole who was funding him was a nightmare.

He chases down Spectra in Gotham as she tries to feed on the misery of an entire City. (Thanks to @impyssadobsessions for the idea, this Prompt specifically). She is actually a very tough fight, especially powered by both the Misery of an Entire City as well as his Own Misery, but he manages.

He defeats Technus is Central City, as he tries to Raid Star Labs for their advanced Tech. It actually took a while to beat him after he amped himself with all that Power, and he did need help from the Local Hero to deal with him. He's just thankful Technus is one of the more "Harmless" ones.

After every Victory, he sends them back to the Realms using the Banishing Spell that Sam taught him a while back (the only bit of magic he ever really managed to master).

He knows they'll eventually find their way back out, but it's all he can do anymore. It's his eternal Punishment for unleashing them out into the World in the first place. He was the Catalyst for this Situation, now he was tasked with Fixing it, no matter how long it took.

...

The Justice League is caught in a tricky situation a the moment.

In the past few months, they have been encountering more and more of these Extra Dimensional Beings known as Realms Ghosts across the World.

Justice League Dark has had some success in battling them, but even they are getting tired of having to deal with every single incident alone.

They did get approached by a Government Agency known as the Ghostly Investigation Ward that seemed to want to help, but it didn't take long to realize that their main Aim was to Genocide the entire Race. The JLA had quickly cut ties after realizing that, and took what little Tech and Information they had been able to gather.

Still, it wasn't easy to deal with these Entities.

Thankfully, they have had some outside help. An Unknown Being has been routinely showing up whenever a Realms Ghost appears and defeating them, before using a (as described by Constantine) "Rudimentary Banishing Spell held together by willpower and luck" to send them back to their home Dimension. There's honestly no way it should be functional, but he did make it work either way.

They don't know much about this Unknown, aside from the fact that he seems to be the only one able to consistently damage the Realms Ghosts. His Powerset leads them to belive he may be from the same Dimension, or at least drawing his power from the same Source, but as he actively avoids the League and takes every opportunity to not talk to them, they know they aren't getting any answers any time soon.

Over the past few months, they had affectionately started referring to him as Unknown, creative they know, because they could never get his Real Name. Sure, some of the Realms Ghosts seemed to recognize him, but they always called him stuff like "Whelp" and "Punk" and "Usurper", which were not very good names to use when referring to him. Although the last one was a bit concerning.

They had only managed to trade a few quick words with Unknown in the past few months, but it was enough to get the Gist of it. He was just doing his job, sending the Realms Ghosts back where they belonged. There was apparently a Tear in Reality letting them through, but he seemed hesitant to reveal what he knew about it.

After a few months of sparse interactions, they eventually managed to convince him to at least take an Emergency Communicator. Just in case. They even let him take it apart to look for any Tracking Devices, which earned them a small bit of trust. They took whatever wins they could.

Fortunately, it seemed he never did need it. In fact he was getting more and more efficient with every battle, defeating his foes in half the time it would have taken before.

Unfortunately, it didn't last forever. One day, the Communicator went off, a distorted voice quickly saying, "Need backup, some of them decide to Team Up" before cutting out.

They quickly rushed to his location, finding an active battlefield with no less that a dozen Ghosts battling Unknown. And he seemed to be on the ropes.

With their arrival, the combined force of the Justice League and Unknown eventually managed to defeat the Group of Ghosts. Justice League Dark volunteered to work on the Banishing Spells while the others cleaned up the damage from the Battle.

One of them approached Unknown to make sure he was ok, and froze.

During the battle, Unknown's Mask had been Torn off, and they could finally see the face of the Hero they had been working with for the past few months.

And he was a Child.

[raayllum]

She Must Pay the Price, or A Drop of Mercy :: A Rayla and Leola Meta

Quick:

You're a young elven girl, and you show mercy and compassion to a human that you definitely weren't supposed to. When it's found out, you're punished, with elves even calling for your execution (6x09, book 1 novelization). Your father does what he can, but there's only so much. You're put on trial. You're found guilty regardless of intent, and only by association. You die for this; you die for them. You're a star. A guiding light. There's even a Great Fall off a precipice (though only one of you hits the ground).

Your name is Leola, or Rayla.

You're the beginning and the end, respectively.

So let's talk about it.

Tests of Love

For years, I had wondered where Aaravos' assessment of "Those who fail tests of love are simple animals. They deserve to be motivated by fear" (2x09) came from, cause you don't drop in a line like that if it's not going somewhere. It's quite a statement and worldview, after all. Now, with Leola's trial, it seems we know.

We can see, then, perhaps that Leola's gift giving was the first test of love — are you willing to break the Natural Law, the Natural Order of things? — to help another? To show another a source of power in order to share, to be compassionate, and in Rayla's case, to be merciful (though we'll get more to that in a minute).

We also know that the love Leola had was powerful and all encompassing:

She didn't care to follow the order set in the stars. Though she was born an immortal being from the Heavens, she loved this world... and all its flaws. Her heart was warm and open.

And she befriended mortals. Animals, elves... and humans.

ETHARI: Who I love, where I love, what I love, are all specific. But to Runaan and those like your parents... love is rooted in all families, all creatures. Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close. (Bloodmoon Huntress)

Okay, so Leola and Rayla both have big compassionate hearts and befriend creatures from all over the place. So what? So do Callum, Ezran, Soren, and most of our other main good guy characters. Even Claudia to a degree (though she could work on not using magical creatures for spell parts).

Well, specifically, it's because of how they intersect currently more with anyone else on the concept of

Mercy

KOSMO: Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled. (6x05)

Rayla sparing Marcos, as noted in multiple interviews by the creators and by myself in previous metas, is ultimately the inciting incident / lynchpin of the entire series. Without it, there would've been no soulfang proposal or Ez running away to find the egg or any of the number of other elements that had to come together to make achieving peace possible.

While we still have details to discover regarding Aaravos' Fall and development of dark magic, we know that a lack of mercy was ultimately what sent him on his path of vengeance. Leola was not shown mercy, and while it seems there were already "flaws" for an imperfect world, things were (probably) better than they currently are in Xadia in a variety of ways. Then, to kick off the entire Saga, we have Rayla sparing Marcos in a soundtrack literally titled "Mercy" and have Kosmo, seasons and seasons later, spell out directly what a big deal this was for well, the ocean of time.

None of this is to say Rayla can't act out of revenge — she did ("when I first came here, I was on a mission for revenge") and she has ("but I became so obsessed with revenge"), much like Aaravos ("he isn't doing anything out of love, he's doing it for revenge") — but that her general compassion and love for others has always been stronger than her grief or rage, and that even when she had every social and personal reason to, she was and is fundamentally unable to hurt someone innocent.

Even when she's shamed or punished for it by herself or by others. RAYLA: The human looked up at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. RUNAAN: Of course he was afraid, but you a job to do! (1x01)

EZRAN: Yeah, but then you saw he was scared, and you knew he was a person, just like you. RAYLA: That shouldn't have mattered. I had a job to do. (1x08)

The Cosmic Council — and to a degree, the Silvergrove — say that the reasonings or motivations, the intentions, behind Leola and Rayla's actions do not and should not matter when it comes out to doling 'Justice'. So Leola faces her justice, being literally killed in the one manner that can kill a Startouch elf, and so does Rayla, being metaphorically Ghosted / 'murdered' by her community, regardless.

Neither are enough to ultimately quell their light or their love/power, however.

A Star

RAYLA: That beautiful shining star you just pointed out? We call it Leola's Last Wish. (5x02)

So both Leola and Rayla are stars in season 6, literally and metaphorically respectively. Leola's is more self-explanatory, whereas Rayla's is mostly about the role she has in Callum's life as a guiding light and star. I don't think it's a coincidence, though, that just as Rayla placed Callum on his path of being a primal mage, though, that Leola did the same for humanity. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Callum's love for Rayla restores Callum's own light and agency amid Leola giving humanity the same through light and fire.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted, and—though they looked to the stars for salvation—the stars, too, looked down upon them with disdain. Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. (TDP shorts, Ripples)

In this way, we see the manifestation of a repeating parallel of Rayla representing Leola, a gift giver of life, magic, light, unjustly punished/killed, and Callum representing humanity, looking to the kindest brightest star for guidance, magic, restoration, and salvation if he's just given the chance to grasp it. After all, presumably, Leola's last wish would have something to do with primal magic and humanity, and who represents that better than Callum, with two arcana under his belt and possibly more on the way? With that in mind, I want to return to another quote from earlier but with a different focus on

Ripples

Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled.

The wisest of the humans looked upon the water. His own reflection smiled back at him, and he dared to imagine what such power would feel like in his own hands, should he be allowed to hold it. Imagine, he thought, if I were more than what I am. With a trembling hand he touched the surface of the water. Ripples spread from his fingertips. [...] I hope the stars were watching. I hope they saw it: the moment their perfect reflections turned warped and ruined, churned to chaos by the touch of a single human hand. In this, the humans taught me another lesson. And so I touch the surface of the water. I watch the ripples spread.

Water in TDP is a strange beast, symbolically speaking. There are some more straight forward motifs (reflections, "don't try to control where the river [of life] goes, there's one thing you can know and control: yourself"). For Aaravos, it's connected to deep loss but also his own sense of patience in playing and winning his game, as illustrated above. For Rayla, it's linked to shame, self-reflection, bravery, and loss. Aaravos weeps and creates a sea upon losing Leola; Rayla says goodbye to her family by the lotus pond times three.

We don't know what water represents for Leola. Not distinctly, anyway. The best we can figure though, is that by following the through line of the Rayla and Leola parallels, that the ripples Leola wanted to send out or did send out — not the distortions caused by her father and his grief — are ones that Rayla received, and then continued.

Rayla has always been a foil to Aaravos, and this hasn't changed. She is the one who set Callum on the path initially of being a mage, which put him in Aaravos' machinations as prey; she retrieved his Key; and she's the reason Callum's done dark magic, twice. At the same time, much like the moon, Rayla carries Leola's light as much as she shoulders Aaravos' dark. She literally represents light in Callum's life, helps lead him through the darkness, and him being a primal mage and it's possible growth to other humans is the best possible thing that could've ever happened to Xadia.

Sol Regem says that "no one can save" Xadia or fix what is deeply broken. The Cosmic Council said that Leola had broken the Cosmic order and had to pay the price. Rayla has repeatedly been willing to pay the price for both hers and other's actions in hopes of making things right, of sparing others' pain. Sometimes to her detriment, but—if Rayla as Callum's one Truth could fix the darkness within him, if she's the lynchpin for breaking the Cycle, for bringing back Runaan and fixing her family's souls, in opposing and presenting mercy amid the Council's lack of mercy, in the face of Xadia's violence—

Then Rayla's act of mercy in 1x01, and potentially beyond in S7 with Callum, will be what fixes Xadia.

Leola's gift of magic is what 'broke' Xadia, and her execution is what literally did so, leading to the division of the continent. She wrongly paid the price in the absence of mercy and love. Rayla is therefore her thematic successor — welcomed this time as Light and Truth — as the carrier of Mercy and Love, and she will 'fix' Xadia through her ripples and dynamics. She will mend them back together. There will, at last, be no price to pay.

Misc. Thoughts / Predictions

One thing I was always curious about going forward into future seasons was the prospect of a 'trial' or reunification of the Silvergrove. It felt like a no-brainer the Silvergrove would have to change in order to reflect Runaan's character arc, much the way we see Katolis and the Sunfire elves change to better accommodate the new, more compassionate world order. Pre-S4 a trial felt a little strange as an idea, though post-S4 the parallels it could provide to the Lucia tribunal made more sense about why include either (or both).

However, Leola's trial seemed to hammer home the almost necessity (as this is still a prediction, after all, that may not happen) of Rayla and/or Runaan saying their peace to the Silvergrove leaders. This would be a great opportunity to provide a contrast to the Cosmic Council, reaffirming that Xadia is ultimately better than them because the Moonshadow elves and everyone else can change, and the Cosmic Council seemingly cannot or will not. But I guess we'll have to wait for S7 or beyond (#GiveUsTheSaga) to find out if this'll come to fruition or not.

I also wanted to touch on what we see with Leola ("I'm so scared!") and the repeated emphasis on "recognizing fear as a moment of empathy and personhood" and the horror that can come if you don't have that moment of recognition. This is something I've touched on before most notably as a striking difference between S1 Rayla and S5 Claudia, but I thought it was worth mentioning as S6 added to it specifically with Viren towards Soren and Lissa. This is another point in the "Rayla is an inversion of the Council's lack of mercy" column, as Leola's — a child's fear, and Aaravos willing to pay the price and take her place — earns her no mercy. Rayla, meanwhile, sees someone innocent that she has 'every right' to execute is afraid of her, and that strays her hand; it steadies her sword, and she spares him. Because if someone is afraid of you, it's worth asking yourself why, and what you might want to do instead.

Last but not least I wanted to talk about Leola's parallels to Callum and Ezran as well, since they are very much there (though yet not perhaps to the same extent).

Ezran has Leola's friendliness to animals and soft heart. He too is a child whose death is called for as a means of Justice, and he is granted mercy through Rayla and the discovery of the egg, able to live and grow and help usher in peace. He is, I think, what Leola might've been allowed to be if she'd lived in different times. Callum, meanwhile, carries the gift giving motif through his cube, staff, and tokens he both gives to (moon-phoenix bracelet) and receives (the moon opal necklace) from Rayla, and previous 'human-Leola' magic dynamic. Callum being able to break free fully from Aaravos' and dark magic's control in S7 and turn his eye instead to primal magic will be what helps bring true justice to Leola and hope for humanity / Xadia in righting the Cosmic Council's fundamental wrongdoing. Hopefully, anyway.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into some parallels and potential narrative goings-on between Leola and Rayla as characters. TDP loves its historical and ironic layers in TDP (Ez and the Orphan Queen, Viren's arc from S1 to S6) and I think this layered thematic dynamic between the two merciful young girls was a good, brilliant choice by the creative team. I'm excited to see where this thematic thread goes in the future and how it may continue to be woven into the story. As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next one.

[tomriddleslovergirl]

Spells from the Heart

Pairing: Tom Riddle x Fem!Muggle!Reader

Includes: mentions of war, memory loss, stalking, reader is naive, goes from third person to second, story is in Tom's p.o.v.

Word count: 1.2k

Summary: You come across something you shouldn't have, and Tom decides to keep you.

Passing through the war-wrecked streets of London, Tom made his way to his usual hiding spot where he could perform magic without being discovered.

It amused him to call it a hiding spot, because it was in fact a field, though — in all fairness — it was in the middle of the woods.

As Tom finally reached his destination, the smell of Earth surrounded him. He shut his eyes — a rare moment of vulnerability — and took in a deep breath, taking in the wet scent of soil and flowers with him.

He dropped his worn down satchel and discarded his coat on the ground. He sat atop his dark coat and grabbed an old book out of his bag. It was a book of spells that he was able to convince the Hogwarts librarian to let him borrow over summer break.

He scanned through the contents of the book, trying to decide on the first spell he would like to practice.

As a small bunny came into sight, Tom selected Vera Verto.

He stood up on his two feet and grasped his wand. He pointed it at the unsuspecting creature and whispered, “Vare-ah vore-toe,” pronouncing it as was written in the book.

Before his own two eyes, the bunny went from a living being to a goblet of water. Pride bubbled in Tom’s chest.

As he was about to mutter a spell to reverse it, a gasp from behind stopped him.

Clutching his wand, Tom turned around to find a girl around his age standing in shock from what she’d just witnessed. Like she’d come to her senses, she scrambled into a run.

Fortunately for Tom — but unfortunate for her — he was able to point his wand at her and yelled, “Kahr-pay ruh-track-tum.”

The girl was pulled towards Tom's chest, and with a grunt he wrapped an arm around her waist. She clawed at his arm like a feral animal and he had the urge to ask her to stop it.

With his free hand, Tom pointed his wand at the stranger again. “Obliviate,” passed through his lips and instantly her body went limp. He dropped her onto the damp grass.

Tom wasn’t sure when her consciousness would resurface, so he made quick work in putting his coat and satchel back on and stuffing his wand back in his pocket.

Before leaving, Tom looked down at the girl. Hair covered her face and Tom reached down to move it away. He noted that she was quite pretty. 

After being caught using magic, Tom hadn’t visited the fields in a few days. But, his fingers twitched to grab onto his wand. To point it at something and mutter a spell. The children at Wool’s Orphanage got on Tom’s, but of course he couldn’t punish them for it like when he was a child.

Done with being reminded of his predicament, Tom finally decided to go on a walk. It led him to the edge of the woods anyways.

He couldn’t help but think of you as he walked. He hadn’t used a spell on a muggle for so long, and doing so left behind a certain thrill.

Tom stopped walking and squinted. A little ways away from him, he caught sight of a house. It was hidden behind several large trees, casting a darkness upon it and hiding it from view.

As Tom got nearer to one of the windows, he saw a glimpse of someone. You.

He ducked under the window, and thought of how much of a fool he must have looked. He certainly felt like one.

The walls were rather thin, Tom learned as he listened to her hum. He recognized the tune. “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.” At times the song would play on the small radio during dinner time.

A few moments passed. In those few moments, Tom realized that you were home alone. You looked to be Tom’s age, and if he was right, that meant your parents weren’t home.

Tom walked up the steps to your front door and knocked. The humming stopped and Tom listened to the sound of hurried footsteps.

The door creaked open. You looked up at Tom with wide eyes. He supposed you were surprised. It was unlikely that many people visited your family much.

“Excuse me, Miss. If it’s no bother, I was hoping you could help me? I’ve seemed to have gotten lost.”

Your face relaxed as you took in Tom’s words. “Of course. Do you just need directions, or do you want to make a phone call to your parents? If you have a telephone, of course.”

Tom pretended to think for a moment. The latter would easily let him into your house. “Would you mind if I phoned my parents? They must be worried.” The lie slid off of Tom’s tongue like honey.

With a nod, you let Tom into the house.

Silly girl.

Tom followed you into a small living room. You pointed to the rotary dial resting atop the wooden table in front of the couch.

“I’ll wait in another room.” With that, you walked up the steps to what Tom assumed to be your bedroom. “I’ll be back in just a moment,” your distant voice called out.

Tom had no use for the telephone. Instead, he looked at what stood tall on the mantelpiece. It was the goblet he had created several days ago.

You must have been so confused when you awoke after being obliviated.

Tom picked up the cup and brought it closer to his face to inspect it. It was blue with carvings of seahorses and mermaids covering the upper half of it.

Tom placed the cup back to its rightful place. He’ll be kind and let you keep it.

Tom slowly walked up the steps, careful not to make the steps creak.

Once he reached the top, he scanned the three doors. One was yours, one your parents, and one the bathroom, he assumed.

Tom opened the first door. It was obviously not your parents, as the only way the bed could fit two people was if they crammed together. The sheets were pink, and books littered the vanity.

He picked one up. Pride and Prejudice. The copy looked like it had been well loved. He tucked it into his coat pocket.

He shut the door and proceeded to open the next one directly across from your room. Disappointingly, there was no sight of you in the small bathroom.

Tom shut the door again and walked towards the room at the end of the hall. He opened it up and saw you sitting on a chair, rummaging through a desk drawer.

You looked up in surprise as Tom entered, halting your movements.

Tom clasped his hands behind his back. “I just got off the phone with my father.”

You nod. “Um.. I’m just looking for my parents' map. I know they have one, and I thought I could give you directions to help you get back home.”

How sweet.

He walked over to where you sat, and took note of how your breathing quickened as he got nearer.

You would make a nice summer plaything. And the best part was you wouldn’t even remember.

a/n: that poor bunny stuck as a cup forever😭 Also, I loved going through the Harry Potter Spellbook to write this. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! divider creds: @saradika

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay so I saw this post about dark percy (really him reaching his Limit and fighting full strength with everything he had) and I was imagining the potential fallout of that. Pretty bad, as you can guess.

The thing is a lot of percys strongest moments happen out of view of the olympians, especially in hoo. The hurricane atop the glacier in alaska, the poison scene in tartarus, bending the depression river and the one in the palace of nyx.

Stuff like the St Helens eruption got him washed up on an inescapable island literally removed from reality until calypso gave him the OK, the achillies curse he got tricked into losing by hera. Smaller moments, the minotaur, fighting ares, the stolen pirate ship, walking on water vs hyperion, freshwater sources, him knowing both Latin and Greek, they're more easily brushed off or at least mostly due to cunning, sword skills and sheer luck and grit.

But basically the olympians don't actually know the full extent of percys strength and divine power. They have hints - percy standing on the throne, winning against ares, his many victories - but what they aren't willing to brush aside in the heat of (an important) battle there have been pretty strong consequences for.

Heck, just look at Frank, he's no prodigy with weapons, he's polite and respectful, but his distant relation to two olympians letting him inherit shapeshifting earned him direct divine meddling and his life force tied to a hunk of half toasted firewood. Man is a honey bear with lactose intolerance and he was punished with a mythical death curse for being too strong.

If Percy's true strength came out, he would risk losing everything. His freedom, most certainly. If he wasn't straight up executed he might wind up in a Greek myth style imprisonment, the way of atlas, prometheus, calypso, or something like the myriad of ways Greek heroes met their end. Good scenario he survives a dozen curses and gets on with life with a dozen new disabilities, best case scenario he's stripped of every inch of divine power and dropped back to the mortal world, not even clear sighted. Total separation from the Greeks and Romans. Oh, annabeth would marry him either way, and his friends would hardly abandon him despite the gods wishes, but they'd hardly be able to see him, and no long range contact without the ability to IM him or vice versa.

All of that to say Percy is hiding his true strength from the gods themselves - maybe not consciously, and it's not even power he particularly wants - but if they ever find out?

It's game over.

But why is he so strong? I don't know. What I do know is that the half bloods of the books are so much stronger than the ones of myth. Used to be that divine blood would get you divine favour and a great fate whether you liked it or not. Maybe some cunning and bow skills. A spot of spell casting if you were really lucky. Achillies got his curse after he was born, Perseus had a dozen magic artifacts, orpheus had something going on but hercules is to my knowledge an outlier. Now? Everyone in camp has some special power. Flight, fire, necromancy, hypnotism, dream walking etc. However it's happening, half bloods are slowly but surely getting a lot, lot stronger every century that passes. Meta? I mean I guess. But.

What no one has done before is something that their godly parent couldn't.

Except.

Except Percy.

Except Percy, in tartarus, at his mental, emotional and physical limit, controlling poison with his mind, overpowering the goddess of poison in her home, making misery choke on misery. Feeling something in his chest crack. Doing something poseidon could not, and doing it better than the person who could.

Down there, hidden away from the gods, he evolved. For that brief moment, he did something, was something new.

And that was how the gods overthrew the titans.

And that's why they must never find out.

[sarasade]

It's been pretty interesting to follow the

"Why Didn't Viren Get Redeemed vs Viren Got What Was Coming To Him"

discussion after The Dragon Prince's 6th season got released.

Hot Take

I think Viren got redeemed.

Because to me Viren humbling himself and acknowledging the hurt he has caused was redeeming. His conversation with Soren was the main event. His rather heroic death was only the cherry on top of the character development cake that has been baking since s4.

I think Viren dying wasn't as significant as what he did before that and how he tried to provide Soren with some kind of comfort and closure, you know, as a parent should, before going. Viren's redemption wasn't just him dying for Katolis but acknowledging his wrongdoings and trying to salvage what he could.

That was pretty redeeming for me at least. Viren did the right thing even when he knew there wouldn't be any reward for it. Even if he couldn't stop Aaravos from destroying Katolis or manipulating Claudia even after his death. Like, man, I kinda feel for the guy.

I think it has always pretty easy to feel sympathy for Viren. Viren wants to matter and wants to be important. However, his grandiosity, as psychologists would call it, keeps him from creating genuine connections with others. His friends, wife and children are only there to prop up his ego or get rejected if they fail to live up to his expectations. It's also pretty damn tragic that Viren opens up about his deep insecurities to Aaravos of all people. Someone who was the most likely person in the world to exploit these insecurities for his own gain.

Viren had to taste his own medicide but I don't think TDP says that's an objectively good thing per se or that we should enjoy this sort of revenge fantasy uncritically. Viren is still portrayed rather sympathetically and of course there is the part about his actions affecting others and the world in unpredictable ways. It's still a tragedy because Viren's actions and personal problems have caused so much collateral damage. The Why behind Aaravos exploiting Viren and Claudia is part of that tragedy, too. There are no winners here. In a way Viren is a victim of his own narcissistic tendencies, too.

This isn't just about the final episodes of Viren's arc. To me it's essential to ask What was Viren's biggest sin he should be redeemed or punished for? Depending on your answer you may have a relatively different reading of s6 story development compared to mine.

To me it's not a specific action he took but his whole worldview. Viren is a fictional character (duh!) so his story isn't exactly literal but metaphorical, a representation of certain values and morals real people and society holds. In s3 TDP draws a pretty straightforward, though brief, comparison between Viren and reactionary right-wing ideologues. It's not exactly subtle.

It's just one way TDP goes to show how toxic and abusive Viren's core values are. that gets reflected both in Viren's personal life aka how he treated Lissa, Soren and even Harrow and Claudia (last two more indirectly). Since he also had a ton of political power as a high mage and briefly as a king we see what he did with that power. It's a pretty clear take on people who dehumanise others, fetishise power and see all living things as something to exploit. TDP explores that both philosophically and psychologically through Viren. Dark magic encapsulates this philosophy well since using magical creatures like tools or objects is essential for it to work.

Also also- I don't really get why people see redemption or atonement as something black and white. It's not bad or anything but Redeeming Yourself For Your Sins is a very Christian concept and Christianity isn't the only way to understand villain story arcs. Like I wish there could be more discussion about WHY redemption is the main analytical framework we impose on villains when villainous characters have a ton of variety anyway.

I don't really have anything to complain about Viren's death itself and I'm not surprised that he ended up dying (for real this time). Aaravos seemed like someone who'd turn against Viren the moment he stopped being useful to him so Viren's life has been hanging by a thread since s4. Viren was the best part of TDP and every scene he's been in had been a delight, well expect the s5 dream sequence because it was too long-winded and obvious, anyway, I'm sorry to see him go and I look forward writing AU fix-it fics where he and Aaravos are married and run a hot brown morning potion shop with all their four totally not dead children. RIP Viren. You lived like a messy bitch and died like a messy bitch. Iconic.

[rosedere]

Flames of deception

(Rollo Flamme x Fem! Reader)

CW: implied noncon, implied stalking, Drugging, writer did not play Glomas-

-

“You aren't at all who you say you are (Name)”

 Facing the antique fireplace, you didn't turn around towards him, merely focusing on the embers shooting to life in the fireplace, illuminating the dark winter sky outside.

“What if I wasn't anyway?” You simply slipped out, rolling your eyes.

"Are you going to tell my parents or what?”

Rollo only watched you, his eyes illuminated by the fiery embers of the coals.

His eyes were on you like a target meets an arrow.

Rollo stayed looking at you with silent judgment. Good, you hated being bossed around by him anyway, only being chosen to be apart of the student council because of your unique lack of ties to twisted wonderland. It seemed they had to pick you for being so unique, as the council put it.

At least you could go back to being invisible.

 “I find it most entertaining,” he chuckled, still sitting firmly in his armchair before him in the cavernous room.

“You (name) the unmagical prefect with a secret,” he grabbed his colored handkerchief promptly moving it in front of his mouth.

“I never kept anything a secret anyway,” 

“You just never asked,” you shrugged, keeping your hands clasped in front of your uniform.

The silence befell the room once more.

 ”Why so much anger (name)”

He leaned in, seeming like he was going to get up from his seat.

But instead of hearing his feet firmly stand up on the ancient mahogany wood beneath him, you felt his hands reach your hips.

stiffening, you only turned to the side to then feel the bottom of your robe lift up abruptly.

”Just as I thought,” he began to tsk; You only tried to pick up your now exposed underwear, only for Rollo to swat your hands away.

”You fucking pervert; get your hands off of me,” you yelled.

You were about to slap his wrist when you felt the smoldering heat radiating from his hands.

Pulling back with haste, your hand closest to the hand using fire magic was convulsing, trying to fan the now-burn blossoming on your tender skin.

Rollo only smiled up towards you, his expression contorting into a sunken darkness.

”So, on top of using foul language, the intel I’ve received might also be true about you,” he shook his head back and forth with a nasty glare of judgment.

”Unless, when I take your very feminine-looking underwear off, I see you told me the truth, then I will only reduce your punishment for doubting you.” His fingers began to curl under the waistband of your underwear.

You mentally cursed yourself for not wearing your boxers today; every damn day you wore those things, but you woke up later than usual.

“Well? Not even trying to fight the allegations before you.”

 He gripped the top of your underwear.

”Maybe you secretly get a thrill thinking about me looking at your bare fruit.”

He only snickered as the blush grew on your face as you tried, in vain, to pull your robe over your thighs.

 ”hoping someone comes in to see you so exposed; the magic-less prefect of Nobel College.”

 "S-stop,” you finally snapped; you didn't care who he was anymore.

You kicked behind you blindly, aiming for his seated knee, causing a blowback between the two of you. 

 Eyes stunned, he looked up at you, but you didn't stay long enough for him to say anything, bolting past him into the hallways, covering yourself once more.

Coming to the barren hallway with the antique decor and brown wooden walls, you finally caught your breath.

He wouldn't be crazy enough to follow you, possibly…

Looking around, you didn't see any student council members in the area at all. You pondered to yourself, assuming he had probably sent them away for the evening since it was the winter break anyway.

Only you and him remained strangely enough.

Shaking your head, you went down the isolated staircase you’d taken many times. The polished wooden steps leading down to a secluded courtyard at the bottom were your destination.

or what should have been where you ended up.

You didn't miss your step; you felt your foot land on the third step to the landing in the chambered staircase.

But the next minute, you felt someone grab you from your side.

It was supposed to be impossible. There was a wall there.

but unbeknownst to you in your time at Nobel Bell College The school council president had extensive knowledge of all the corridors and passageways that had been in the school before Fluer City was founded.

Fighting in desperation, you were no match for the person in the wall as you felt your mouth become covered with a handkerchief. You tried to claw into the thick material draped around his forearm to let go, but this only led to a fiercer fight as he pressed the handkerchief into your face. 

The smell coming off of it was putrid as you tried your best to resist inhaling and taking shallow breaths, but unfortunately you succumbed to the smell.

You just felt a horrible wave of drowsiness overcome your eyes.

Your limbs went weak, and your tongue was numb within your mouth, unable to protest anymore. You only felt yourself being carried back up the horrid stairs you had just come down from below.

 

-

 

Rollo knew from the start you were a female.

The hesitancy to strip for gym class in front of the others because you were “too embarrassed” by a scar you had on your chest.

The few times he did see you wear your robes tighter, he could see the volumptious form your hips had as you swayed, going back and forth  carrying on with duties in the council room.

He was already quite fond of you, already seemingly docile like he was, keeping to yourself in the side courtyard beyond the statue of the righteous judge.

 And, of course, having no filthy magic in your blood.

It was just a bonus when he found out you were female.

He only knew since he waited patiently behind a statue in the walls of the dressing room for athletics.

He heard you walk in his breath, baited in anticipation, as he saw you look around to be sure no one was around.

After a couple of seconds, you carefully took your hair down from under your hat, followed by unbuttoning and shifting your robes.

The finale, he thought.

He hoped his observations were right; to be wedded to a magicless being would be his dream come true.

Submissive and ready to start a family with him to begin his purification.

his eyes lingering on your chest as you finally reached the last layer of your uniform.

And, of course, a plain binder and laced corset were what he was greeted with.

 Your chest carefully wrapped underneath it, saddened that there wasn't more underneath. He got his wish when he saw you strip your lower robes.

You wore laced underwear, which is only seen in the most famous boutiques in the city.

It seemed you wanted to look cute sometimes, he thought to himself with a smile.

In that moment, he had decided to betray his values.

Why tell everyone the magicless prefect was a girl? They would all salivate over you, and he’d never have a chance to be with the one he knew was the key to purifying the magic from twisted wonderland.

He knew he had until winter break to convince you to be his.

but it was clear you weren't interested in any of that. Yet.

”I'm sorry it had to be this way (Name)”

Rollo stood over your unconscious self as you lay against a wooden pillar in the beloved clock tower.

bounded in scarlet ropes against the worn pillar, he began to undress you as he had when you were in that room all those months ago.

Carefully peeling your numerous layers on top of your torso, finally reaching your tender, exposed chest, he undid your binder and corset.

Your plumb breast being exposed to him; it was unbelievable, he was able to see your symbol of being a woman.

He told himself it wasn't weird to stare, as you would be his bride soon.

but he had to feel you.

He reached for your slowly rising chest as he felt your squishy mound underneath his palm.

It was heaven.

 Too heavenly.

A touch became a squeeze, a squeeze turned into a kiss, and eventually you were completely naked as Rollo began to let his hands wander.

After an hour of coitus together, he realized what he had done.

 laid underneath a blanket he had brought, still bare and unconscious.

He only laid beside you in the cold tower, heaving from the energy it took him.

But it was okay, he told himself he knew you wanted this.

You were just as lonely as him in this world. No one understood you as much as Rollo flamme did.

Suddenly, he heard you mumble.

 It seems someone was awake.

 -

Note: btw I wasnt lying literally only know Rollo is based off my favorite disney movie 😭

Btw Requested by: Sallade on AO3 <3

[sjmvillainweek]

SJM Villain Week Prompts List (October 1st - 7th)

Day 1- Villain Origin Story/Sacrifice

Villain Origin Story:

There's always been a question of if evil is made or born. Were our Villains evil from their first breath, or did a forbidden Romance gone wrong create the bad guy? Or was it an abusive family, perhaps a curse?

Sacrifice:

What did our villains give up or lose to reach this point? Was it ripped from them or was it something they willingly gave? What did they gain from what they've lost?

Day 2- Planning/Weakness

Planning:

What went into making this happen? How did Maeve truly rise to power? Was it all warfare, or what shady deals were made and with who? Our villains can't be the origin of evil, so what happened beforehand to encourage this

Weakness:

Achilles had his heel, Percy Jackson has his loyalty, Aelin has self sacrifice. What is the villain's tragic Weakness? What would have brought them to their knees had the bad guys been able to find it out? How do they hide it? What have they done about it?

Day 3- Secret Skills/Deception

Secret Skills:

Is there a weapon they are skilled with? What does training look like for them? Do they have powerful magic? What does their spellbook collection look like? Do they have a hobby that has turned into an advantage for them? What is hiding in their arsenal?

Their Deception:

We got here somehow. Write that origin, that first lie that allowed our villains the position of power they've gained. Is there a lie they regret, or one they're proud of the most? Can anyone see through their lies?

Day 4- Their Reign/Behind Closed Doors

Their Reign:

We never truly see things from the villain's perspective. What did things look like Under the Mountain? What happened in Maeve’s throne room? What is the Eternal City like when just the Asteri are there? Was it all truly bad or was there fun? Did their Reign actually do anything potentially good?

Behind Closed Doors:

What's the villain like when they're truly alone? Are they lonely? Do they feel shame? Are they self righteous? Do they cuddle up with a glass of wine and their beloved secret pet? Do they have an odd habit that brings them joy?

Day 5- The Villain Wins AU/Aftermath

Villain wins AU:

Either in an AU world or the one we know and love, tragic news has broken: The hero has fallen (either by death or in love with our Villain) and hope has left the Maasverse. What happens now that no one stands in the way of evil? Will our hero and villain enjoy an unexpected mafia style romance, will they become the rulers or their world?

Aftermath:

What impact has the villain left? What will be their legacy, their infamy? What is the ancient story told about them to keep faelings from disobeying their parents? How has the world changed due to them?

Day 6- Afterlife/The Villains Sense Of Style

After life:

After the villain is gone, they've entered the world beyond their own. What does their fate look like? Is it filled with regret, punishment, finding peace? Was it worth all of this?

The villains sense of style: 

Most of SJM’s female villains are described as beautiful creatures. Maeve with her dark song and beauty, Amarantha is known as the “Never-Fading Flower.” We have even heard her refer to Beron as handsome in ACOTAR. What does our Villain do for their care routine? What's their fashion sense like? How high of a priority is their appearance?

Day 7- Free day

Self-explanatory, this is a day to go utterly wild. Write whatever your heart desires about our favorite villains. Their world is entirely in your hands.

Here is our list of Villains from across the SJM universe for reference.

And remember these prompts are just meant for inspiration, use them as loosely or as strictly as you want. With the Villains in the spotlight, who knows where they'll take you.

We'll see you in October.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 10 - Penpals

@wolfstarmicrofic July 10, word count 983

‘Dear Padfoot,

Wales is the most beautiful country and there are so many exciting things to do here, so why did my parents pick the most boring village to live in? It’s so dull here. I miss the chaos of our dorm room and the library. There’s a library van that comes here every two weeks, but the old duffer who drives it won’t let me take more than three books out at once. I need more than three!

How’s it going at home? You said in your last letter that your Mum caught you replacing her chinaware with nose-biting teacups. While I’d pay good money to see Walburga Black with a teacup stuck on the end of her nose, Sirius, we talked about this. Please keep your head down, we both know she doesn’t mess around. If you can’t go the next few weeks without causing some mayhem, please, keep it to your room. Maybe use that extra strong spellotape I gave you for Easter?

Don’t be a dick.

Moony.’

‘Dearest Moony,

Please find enclosed a photograph of one Walburga Black with a teacup attached to the end of her nose. Free of charge, I might add. You can keep your good money, this one’s on me. 

Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply, but I think you can guess why. It was totally worth it though. 

Your idea to use the spellotape you gave me was genius, Moony! I stuck all of Regulus’s bedroom furniture to his ceiling, it took them all night to get it down. Regulus took my bed while Kreacher worked on his room. But I just got in with him. He was not impressed. This house has ten bedrooms. I don’t know why he didn’t just use one of them. 

Prongs sent me some frogspawn soap, and I’m going to put it in my father's bathroom. Not pranked him for a while, I bet he’s missing it! 

I’ve sent you some of the lesser dark arts books from our library. Maybe don’t let Hope touch them, as I’m not sure if there are any antimuggle curses on them or not. Knowing my family there probably is. 

Love ya Moons,

Pads X.’

‘Dear Sirius,

I swear you get some sick thrill from being punished. WHY WOULD YOU PUSH HER!!! Although the picture is my new favourite thing. I got it framed, and it is now on my bedside table. It’s the last thing I see at night. 

Thanks for the books. I’ve hidden them from Mum just in case. They’re really interesting. Do you know that not all dark magic is bad, and it’s just a few idiots that gave it a bad name? According to this book, light and dark magic users used to live harmoniously until a dark wizard took it too far, and dark wizards have had a bad name ever since. It’s fascinating. Please send more if you can. I finished them far too quickly.

Sirius, please stop pranking your parents. Remember what happened last summer? Do you want a repeat of that? You can pull off a lot of looks, but a shiny bald head is not one of them. So knock it off, or they’ll send you back with hair like Snivellus!

There are three weeks left, Sirius, please, please, please stay out of trouble. 

Love you too,

Remus x.’ 

‘My sweetest, most handsome Remus,

It is not in my nature to behave. I am a natural prankster and I go into withdrawal if I don’t prank at least once a day. You know that!    

I’ve sent as many books as mine and Reggie’s owls could carry between them. Reg is going to kill me, but it’s for a good cause. He’s actually been alright with me this last week. We’ve been hanging out in the library together while I’ve been looking for new books to send you. We haven’t spent this much good time together since I went to Hogwarts. 

That’s what I’ve been telling you for years, it’s only pricks like Bellatrix that give dark wizards a bad name. But oh well, what can you do?

The weirdest thing happened, Remus. Father finally used the soap I swapped out in his bathroom and he laughed. I didn’t think Orion Black was capable of such things. It's unnerving. 

I will admit that I’ve taken to committing small pranks in lieu of bigger ones. I drew moustaches on all the portraits the other night while they were sleeping and so far no one has noticed. It’s been three days, Moony! 

I can’t wait for the summer to be over. I have a whole notebook filled with pranks for next year. Plus, I really need to stretch my legs if you know what I mean. These paws of mine are itching for a run. How about yours?

Love you 

Sirius XXX

P.S. How dare you, I totally pulled off the bald look! Mary did an excellent job of painting that lion on the back of it for our first Quidditch match!’

‘To the biggest pain in my arse,

Sirius, you are such a pest. STOP PRANKING!!! We can get as many Slytherins as you want when we get back to school. Hell, we can start on the train if you need to prank that badly. Thank Regulus for the use of his owl. I’ve nearly finished all the books you sent again. I just can’t put them down. Hogwarts should have some of these in the library. I’ve clearly been missing out on a fully-rounded education. 

Not much to report here. I baked a cake with Mum, and we ate most of it before Dad got home from work.

We have a run the first week back, so not long to wait. 

I miss you,

Remus X.’ 

‘Remus,

I can’t wait.

Miss you more than you know

Yours forever

Sirius XXX.’

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

they managed to massacre Aang's character and all the struggle and importance of his choice in the finale in a SINGLE page, and yet there are people who think the comics are good

and of course Katara's would have nothing to say on the matter, toootally in-character

Not to mention: yes, Zuko is right that a lifetime of indoctrination won't magically stop affecting him just because he's aware of it now, but the way the comics really said "If you're not perfect, you deserve to die. Not rehabilitation, not even incarceration despite it being an option, just straight to violent, lethal punishment" is horrying.

And lets not forget the blatant abuse apologism of having Zuko, the kid who was told by his abusive parent that his disfigurement and banishment was "for his own good" after he made one "mistake", turning to his closest friends and asking them to be his "safety net" by MURDERING HIM IF EVER STEPS OUT OF LINE - and said friends then agree to it.

Are you fucking kidding me? The real Aang would have double-down on the "You're NOT your father" bit, and the entire friend group would have been super concerned about Zuko because a victim of abuse saying they're as bad as their abuser thus deserve to die is one hell of a red flag as to how their mental health is going.

Speaking of mental health: I talk a lot about how Azula was constantly being abused by the supposed heroes in the comics, and how the justification of it is rooted in ableism, but this nonsense with Zuko asking to be put down like a dog is also peak victim blaming, and one of the few moments in which one can actually feel bad for comics!Zuko.

And it ties into a disturbing pattern I noticed among Avatar fans - and mainly Zuko fans. They don't truly understand that what Ozai put his children through was wrong, they simply think he chose the wrong kid as the escapegoat. They think Azula should have been the one that is constantly punished just for existing, while Zuko is the golden child that can do no wrong - or else.

This moment right here? With the people that he trusts agreeing to inflict violence on him if he ever makes a mistake? This is that "or else". This is literally the same mentality that led to Azula's breakdown because NO ONE CAN SURVIVE UNDER THAT MUCH PRESSURE.

And that leads us to the main reason why the comcis suck: Yang was using Zuko as a self-insert.

"Zuko‘s relationship with Ozai is something we – Mike, Brian, Dark Horse, Nickelodeon, and I – talked about extensively when we first started working together. There’s this strange thing that happens to people in power. The pressures of power often blur the lines between enemies. That’s part of what happens to Zuko here. Ozai is the only one who knows what it’s like to be Fire Lord, the only one who has the wisdom of experience. I also looked at my own life. I used to clash with my dad quite a bit when I was a teenager. However, as I grew up and found myself in roles that he used to have, I began to understand more and more of his decisions. My father isn't thoroughly evil, of course, but I imagine Zuko feels a little of the same pull."

Yang. My guy. My dude. The words "Ozai" and "wisdom" should NEVER be in the same sentence. Every single action of Ozai's as Fire Lord was based on him being an abusive piece of shit that finally got access to absolute power. He is not a stern dad, he is abusive. He's not misunderstood, he needed to be stopped and locked away. He is a human being with feelings and motivations, yes, but he is WRONG ABOUT LITERALLY EVERYTHING EVER. He NEVER had a point. Zuko has nothing to learn from him except what NOT to do. That's why he looks like an older, unscarred Zuko. A version of Zuko that never changed.

This is the core issue of the comics, and why it had so many moments of unintentional abuse apologism: they say Ozai is a villain, but they're going out of their way to constantly make the characters come dangerously close to saying "Maybe he had a point." That's why they have Zuko turn to Ozai for advice despite claiming he wants to avoid becoming like him - because the guy writting them couldn't understand that the bad guy was, in fact, bad and in the wrong and has no wisdom to offer to anyone.

Avatar, the series, is about the world moving past from the sick mentality people like Ozai had, and about his son realizing that he did not deserve to be abused. The Avatar Comics are about telling Zuko (and others) "Ozai isn't wrong actually, you'll understand when you're older."

No, Yang, they won't. Because there's nothing to "understand" here other than THE GUY THAT ABUSED HIS CHILDREN AND COMMITED GENOCIDE WAS WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING, YOU DUMBASS!

Saying "the villain had a point" does not make a story better unless it is true - and in Ozai's case, it simply isn't. Insisting otherwise doesn't make the story and characters more mature, it just means you couldn't understand a cartoon aimed at 7-year-olds despite being a grown-ass man.

And I won't even get into Bryke approving of this bullshit otherwise I'll start tearing my hair out in rage at how badly they seem to have lost touch with the message of their best work, so let me just use a simple statemet to make everyone understand just how much of a disaster this is:

Even M. Night Shyamalan didn't misunderstand ATLA to the point of thinking Ozai wasn't actually wrong, but Bryan, Mike and Yang did. The comics understand the show less than M. Night Shyamalan did.

I rest my fucking case.

[klonnieshippersclub]

Bound By Fate

Here's my entry for Day 3 and it's another longer one. Sorry, this is so late! I was surprisingly busy today. This was written for the prompt "Trapped." It takes place during season 3. Bonnie and Klaus can't escape a classroom at Mystic Falls High with magic holding them there against their will. They're basically being held hostage by Bonnie's ancestor Ayana.

“What the hell?” questioned Bonnie as she paced back and forth in the classroom. Neither Klaus’ physical strength nor Bonnie's magic would allow them to leave the room. Klaus had tried to bust down the door and smash windows but nothing would work. The familiar warmth of Bennett magic lingering in the air was the only thing stopping Bonnie from panicking. “Why would Bennett magic be trapping me in here with you?”

“It feels familiar. Ayana?” Klaus called out to the empty classroom and candles on the desk were magically lit as proof that his assumptions were correct. “Love, your ancestor must want us here for a reason.”

“Who is that?” asked Bonnie.

“Your ancestor. No one taught you about her?”

“You know I’m self-taught,” defended Bonnie as she wrinkled her nose. Her grandmother neglected to inform her of her powers until a year ago. If only Grams had told her the truth about her witch heritage instead of claiming they were drunken ramblings.  “I haven't gotten to her yet.”

“You should've started with her,” reprimanded Klaus from the desk chair he sat in. “It's important to know your history, little witch.”

“I think I've heard her name before and you seem to have known her but from when?” 

“It was long ago when I was weak and mortal. She was like a mother to me.” The fondness in his voice for Ayana caught Bonnie off guard. She could only imagine a mother figure to Klaus as being a nightmare, considering the monster he is now.

“So why are we here then? Was she malicious?”

“No, sweetheart, she was a healer and our village loved her.”

“Why does she want us here?”

“Relax and let her explain,” said Klaus as he stood beside Bonnie. He could sense the high schooler’s growing anxiety. He too was irritated but not with her. His aggravation was due to the feeling of being trapped as if he was caught in a spider’s web.

“No offense to Ayana but my ancestors haven't proven to be trustworthy.”

The lights in the classroom began to flicker. Blue smoke appeared and circled the center of the room. A tall, dark-skinned woman suddenly appeared in clothes from a different era. Klaus’ eyes widened at the sight of her. Bonnie eyed the woman suspiciously but deduced from Klaus' relaxed body language that she was not a threat.

Ayana appeared as regal as Bonnie expected, with her deep bronze skin and loc'd black hair cascading down her shoulders. Ayana maintained her orange dress and brown smock in the afterlife from her work as a healer.

“Bonnie, I did not do this to hurt you both.” Ayana expected Bonnie to be more excited about the new task. Every witch was tasked with being a servant of nature. Bonnie would be the leader of the millennium. 

“Ayana, it is good to see you.” 

“Niklaus, you certainly have not made me proud,” frowned the witch elder. He was such a sweet boy as a child and she hoped he would grow into a good man. He never had a chance with vampirism forced upon him by his parents. 

“I know you would never punish me.”

“A millennium ago, I did a spell that would bind two powerful beings; the perfect pair who would complete each other,” Ayana said with more enthusiasm. Hundreds of descendants have existed since then and Bonnie will fulfill the prophecy. 

“You performed it after Henrik died?” His family were at their lowest after Henrik was mauled by werewolves. It would only make sense Ayana channeled her grief into something stronger. 

“Yes, you are those beings.”

“Are you saying I’m stuck with him?” Bonnie murmured as she looked up towards the ceiling and silently prayed to God that she had heard wrong. 

“Exactly. Together, you two will end the war between vampires, witches, and wolves,” her ancestor divulged. Ayana didn’t find her prophecy vigorous, Niklaus had the potential to be a suitable partner and Bonnie was the strongest of their lineage. 

“I'm in high school and I'm supposed to end a war,” the cheerleader exclaimed, holding in her anger. This was not how she envisioned her senior year! 

“With the end of the war, the supernatural will need rulers to govern and lead.”

“Rulers as in royalty?”

“I always knew I was meant to be king,” boasted Klaus. He thought of himself as the king of vampires. Hell, he even practically wore a crown in New Orleans, since he ran the city, when he called it home. With Bonnie by his side, he would be Emperor of them all. “You're not up for the challenge, my little wife?” 

Bonnie hadn’t looked at Klaus since Ayana revealed they were bound. She refused to entertain Klaus’ referral to her as his wife and continued to ignore him.  “How exactly do we stop this war?” wondered the Bennett teen in confusion. She was a student, not a soldier. Or would she be a commanding officer technically? This was too much for her. She had exams to focus on, but Bonnie recognized the seriousness of the mission she'd been assigned 

Ayana disclosed, “Your victory will be ensured by creating a unified family and continuing your bloodlines with the help of your own coven and pack.” Family was power and it’s the key to their success.

“Excuse me?”

“It makes sense,” Klaus drawled and smirked when Bonnie finally turned to glare at him.

Ayana noted, “That is why I brought you two together.” She knew when she first met the Mikaelsons that her bloodline would join with theirs. It felt like an eternity until her vision came to fruition. 

“You sold me off to him!” choked Bonnie. Klaus was not the type of man she hoped for. He was too violent, too selfish. How would she survive life with him? 

“I never said you had to stop the war tomorrow, Bonnie,” sighed Ayana. Her descendant must put aside her feelings for the good of the supernatural world. 

“Klaus isn’t the person you remember!” 

“I do know how to behave,” teased Klaus as he caressed Bonnie's face, pulling back before she slapped his hand away. “Sometimes.”

“You can’t think a child would be safe with your problems.”

“As a Bennett witch, you’ve had enemies since birth and so will our child.”

“Thanks, Klaus,” said Bonnie sarcastically. That's another reason why she should have been taught magic as a child. She felt so far behind in her magical studies. If she had an upbringing like Greta or Luka, then she'd be more prepared for war.

“I thought you would appreciate honesty. Fate has decided your future and you can't fight it.”

“I’m tired of there always being something or someone choosing for me. I want to control my own fate.”

“I'm afraid that isn't an option, witch.”

“I should be able to decide for myself what my future is.  What if I don't want to be with you or if I don't want to be a queen or if I don't want to be a mother?”

Ayana stared at Bonnie's glassy eyes and offered no words of comfort. She remarked, “I never said you had to make those decisions today.”

“It is fine, Ayana,” Klaus interjected. Of all the witches to be bound to, fate was surprisingly kind to him and gave him the best. Bonnie’s physical qualities (her curvy and athletic figure), personality (clever and fierce), and magical power (she brought him closer to death than anyone had before) all made her the perfect mate for her. “I have time to change her mind.”

“How will you do that? Shove your tongue down my throat?” asked Bonnie.

“I'm going to be the husband you deserve.”

“I'll leave you two to it,” grinned Ayana. “And remember that you can't run from fate.” She knew Niklaus would make her kin change her mind. She made herself disappear, leaving them time to chat. 

“This is so unfair,” Bonnie pouted. She should be thinking of school dancers and not starting a family with her enemy. 

“You should be happy about being a queen,” stated Klaus who didn't understand her hesitancy. The throne was her rightful place as the strongest of her bloodline. 

“All I've ever wanted is to be safe and happy. Fighting some war while starting a family won't give me that.”

“You can't deny that you want this. Little Bonnie Bennett probably dreamed of starting her own family back when you were a young girl.”

“I thought I was normal then,” breathed Bonnie with a shrug.

“You're too extraordinary to be normal. You were born to be a queen.” Klaus smiled at the blood rushing to her cheeks. He made a note mentally to praise her more often. He liked the effect his compliments had on her. 

“With you as my king? What do you know about marriage?” Bonnie was sick of feeling confused and couldn't stop herself from asking questions.

“I know not to make the same mistakes as my father. A wife should be cherished, respected and listened to.”

“Did you treat your romantic partners like that in the past?”

“No, but I'd try for you,” Klaus whispered, reaching out a hand. 

Bonnie took his hand in hers as she accepted her destiny. “I guess we can try to make this work.”

“And inevitably we'll try for a baby too.” The door swung open.

[fafnir19]

Witchcraft isn't for Boys

As I walked into the house, I couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment towards my new stepmother, Sandra. I’m Luke and have recently turned 18. As I don’t have any income as student, I still live together with my dad. My father, Joe, had recently remarried, and now we were moving in with her. There was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was her overly cheerful demeanor or her constant need to be in control. Whatever it was, I couldn't stand her. Months went by, and Joe was away on another one of his business trips. It was during this time that I stumbled upon Sandra's dark secret – she was a witch. And not just any witch, but a powerful one. Sandra was faced with a dilemma. Should she kill me to protect her secret or train me to become a witch like her? Ultimately, she chose to train me, even though it was highly unconventional for witches to train boys. As my training progressed, so did my magical abilities. With each spell I mastered, my athleticism seemed to grow as well. I was transforming into an athletic jock.

One day, overwhelmed with heartbreak, I approached Sandra and asked if there was a spell that could make me more irresistible to the opposite sex. She gave me a choice - I could have the spell but at the cost of my name. After much contemplation, I decided that sacrificing my name was worth becoming utterly irresistible. The ritual was performed, and Sandra bestowed upon me the name Logan. The spell worked like a charm, and all the girls started chasing after me. However, the spell had some unintended side effects. My wardrobe underwent a drastic change; I found myself wearing tight pants, open shirts with rolled-up sleeves, and loafers. I looked like a character straight out of a trashy romance novel.

On top of that, since it was a parent's privilege to name their child, I now saw Sandra as my motherly mentor. I had transformed into Sandra's ideal son, a far cry from the teenager who detested her presence.

One day, out of the blue, Grandmaster Dorian paid us a visit, only to discover me by Sandra's side. Needless to say, he was livid that Sandra had taken it upon herself to train a boy without his permission. Sandra apologized and defended her decision, highlighting my great talent. A few days later, while Sandra was away, Dorian came by again, this time with a peace offering for me. He brought clothing more fitting for a wizard - tight black velvet pants, a form-fitting black silk shirt, and black slippers. Dorian suggested that I try on the clothes. Intrigued and flattered, I obliged, even if I thought they looked somewhat silly. Once I had the clothes on, I realized they were enchanted. My body hair vanished, and my family jewels shrunk. The silk shirt opened by itself, revealing my hairless chest.

To my astonishment, Dorian explained that it was my punishment for being trained without his consent. My shrunken balls would make me obedient to him, and the loss of body hair and exposed chest would serve as a reminder that I was merely a boy who needed to be guided by a strong man.

Dorian took me to his place, and with a snap of his fingers, I found myself on his couch. His magic compelled me to spread my legs as he positioned himself in between them, stating that he was going to make me his apprentice. Much to my surprise, my body responded with arousal. Dorian, wearing a wicked grin, remarked that it seemed my "engagement" with him had already been decided. Under Dorian's tutelage, I began to learn the art of dark magic. With every lesson, I became smoother, more conceited, and a bit of a bad boy. Dorian's plan came to fruition, for I transformed into a smooth-talking, snobbish bad boy. I now donned tight black pants, boots, and hip-length bomber jackets that accentuated my athletic physique. My hair was slicked back, and I had become a damn good-looking young, arrogant, and ruthless warlock.

Sandra was no longer viewed as a maternal mentor in my eyes. Dorian asked Sandra how she felt about what he had done to me. He insinuated that he had been too lenient with her in the past. Furthermore, he hinted her that he would soon make me her superior, eagerly awaiting the day I would rule her with an iron fist and cruelty.

[aimzicr]

Hunter The Parenting plot thoughts (because I love mysteries and roleplaying and I keep waking up at 2am Thinking About This Plot).

Things that seem important (in various nonspecific order, though somewhat from timeline of video):

Giles is a better fighter than his mates, actually showing some skill (compared to Simon's existence as a wet towel and Brok's brute force)

Harry's focus on Highland Legend seems a bit at odds with his muscles being 'just for lifting things', given the link in pop culture with Highlanders being warriors who fight to be the only one. Still, there's more to study beyond the Hollywood thoughts, and I'm very curious to see what Scottish myths get brought up (if any). He also has access to Storage and Security.

Followup thought: if all the characters are in the World of Darkness (specifically The Reckoning/Vigil), then perhaps each staff and student's respective areas of study reference specifically to one of the games. Fatigue with The Apocalypse/Forsaken, Elise with The Dreaming/Lost (Lost seeming more appropriate because 'I haven't found a single fairy'), and so on. Horse's prophecy referenced 'kine, kindred, garou, milklings, elohim', so that's Hunter, Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling and Demons specifically mentioned. Would Harry's 'highlander studies' be on Mages or Prometheans? Will we see Wraiths/Geists, now or in the future?

Elise does not have access to Storage and Security. Also, I will respect her pronouns at all costs.

The Doctor - Scholar of Psychotronic Studies - the has taken at least two bumps over the course of the night (visible residue on her face at Occam's collapse and just before Brok kicks the door down). You can't show any withdrawal symptoms if you're high on something else (though as Chapman mentioned, even high-level drugs 'don't even compare', but it might take the edge off for a while). Considering her academic focus, she might have been able to make herself a Very Powerful Cocaine. (Actually no 'psychotronic' refers to low-budget movies so WHAT??)

Lord Fatigue - of Lycantropy (not Lycanthropy? A typo, or something else?) - I saw someone posting about him being quickest to recognise the symptoms of someone going through a change, and I highly agree. He's also a lovely old man ('toffee pud', wreathed in golden light from the Archives, etc) so maybe he just doesn't want to see anyone suffer? Kindness often gets punished in WoD games.

Brok is sitting on a different chair. His mother's chair follows him everywhere he goes, does it?

I'm calling it, Chekov's M60s Mounted On A Bus. BUT. Not for this particular arc.

If there are keys to steal, in order to get into the Archives, they would be taken from Occam, Blacklaw, Dr Waters, or Lord Fatigue.

There are no other entryways to the Archives but there may be passages around, beneath, or above the Archives. Walls thin enough to use Vampire Magic through?

Giles knows that Spit is out of Ritalin, which serves as an explanation for Spit's symptoms and proof that the guys keep an eye out for each other.

Spit seems to be the biggest red herring. Something is very wrong with him but it isn't being Ghouled (and it isn't just something that can be managed with Ritalin). Still, when he gives his blood sample, he doesn't give two drops: he hides out of sight and only delivers a blood-smeared chalice. We don't see him giving blood, and the sample is darker than the rest. Older blood? Stored and poured?

It's Elise that pickpockets Giles of all his worldly possessions (while Spit is being consoled by Fatigue). She even takes one of the smokes for herself, having it in her mouth at the top of the stairs and then as she descends. So, then, she handed the smokes over to Olivia at some point. Maybe when Elise was 'looking for Grimal at the time'. A gift? A trade?

At some point after the 'I said FOLLOW MY LEAD' fight, Blacklaw and Brok work to get the Cold Tessellation out of the wall. Where the hell did D go (and why is it under the stairs, digging through old newpapers). How did he get out of that fight?

Grimal is in the Security Room, crying, when Occam is attacked. Could she have seen who attacked Occam, or did she miss it because of her tears? ('Noises of insecurity' in the Security room is pretty funny, I'm sorry.) HOWEVER. Grimal does NOT have access to Security, according to her chapter card... but Elise did steal Giles' keys, so perhaps Elise let Grimal into the Security room? Now the question is, was the door locked behind her? Did Elise leave other doors unlocked as well?

Spit says he knows where Giles' things are. How? A good nose for it? Or just an excuse to get out of the room (where a lot of dead animals are)? He then goes... downstairs, to the Music room. Lord Fatigue says he will go look for Spit, but goes upstairs to the Staff Break Room instead, diagonally above Occam. The minimap shows Spit stressed, Occam tense/in pain, and Fatigue with... the same facial expression. Is Giles doing something to the blood? Is Fatigue doing something to the blood? Is there some direct line of connection between the three? Is there really only one way into the Archives, or is there a way up from below, or down from above? The placement of Spit and Fatigue on the minimap feels incredibly important to figuring out who attacked Occam (even if that doesn't have anything to do with the ghoul).

Elise is in the middle of taking her ponytail out when Kitten returns from his pacing and fuming and brief stop in the kitchen. As a ponytail haver, the decision to NOT undo the hair after starting to do so is significant. But then again, maybe giving her a different animation model wasn't in the cards for the episode. (She's hot enough already idk).

There are large claw marks on a lot of walls and doors in the Chapter House…

There are 15 people in the Chapter House, but 16 cups are strewn about when Occam is found. All 16 cups are bloody. Someone else is present? Someone left an extra cup, some extra blood?

Kitten is focusing on 'who could have attacked Occam as we were leaving' but is that really the timing of the attack?

'Your papa could never take a punch like that' says the man who has been fighting Blacklaw all evening. Playfighting? They've been playfighting this whole time? Yet the man can handle a bottle being thrown at him by Marckus, so he at least has some grit.

"Look. It's the same. Indisputable." So if Blacklaw cannot tell the difference between 'a bleak British man and a middle-eastern meat-slab', either his eyesight is shitty and thus he cannot be trusted to give any trustworthy visual evidence, OR, he hasn't looked at D in actual decades because D is the Devil and must not be observed directly. Which is kinda countered by how often they face off and glare at each other, so.

Other things that might be of note and/or are things I noticed:

Amanda's blue gloves - does she have a latex allergy? Or does the Arcanum not provide boxes of disposable gloves for the staff and they have to just make do with one set each? As someone who worked back of house in hospitality, this seems... bad.

Both Blacklaw and D have yellow and black as a major colour to their outfits, but inverse to each other (jacket and tank top vs jacket and vest). IDK maybe that's something worth noting, or it shows how more alike than they like to admit.

Hardcore Kitten steadying inhale in front of the portrait of the dead knight made me think to how TTS ended... Then again, the man out here killed a vampire with a shove and an iron fence while being badly hurt so like. Man's badass enough on his own.

Git works with the Lady Regent's favourite daughter. Could Poly have slipped him something, made him a ghoul without his knowledge? Man can reverse-drink a beer but his favourite food being available at his place of work could lend itself to some Manager-induced tampering of the safety seals.

Kevin was invited to the 'funny phrenology library' but decided to stay in the basement. He might have recognised the ghoul right away. He also might have gotten D's family Blood Hunted AND targetted by the Coalition, if that were the case. For reasons of safety first, comedy second and plot third, Kevin stays at home.

Hey uh what's the Penis Explosion Room on the mini map and why is it Elite Access and also why is it there and why is there no doorway to it and also what

Harry being able to get dressed very quickly between listening in at the door and then D showing up with the keys. I know he doesn't really do Anime but I feel like that must have been a magical girl transformation somehow (/j)

Guy Chapman might be the most dangerous ghoul at the moment: 'sharpened senses, inhuman strength, even the power to bend minds' He did drink the blood of Kevin, a Vampire Wizard. I'm thinking about Marckus' night pubbing, and how Chapman heard the beginning of the vampire talk, as well as the fact that Brok's first and second knife broke dramatically. The cop did it, with his new vampire magic.

The portrait on the wall (when Elise is doing D's hair) - baby Occam is adorable, I'm sorry his mother is a Blacklaw but she seems far more hinged than Remold, is baby Brok okay, is Brok's mother the blonde woman from the interrogation room - if so who is the woman standing with Blacklaw? And the slacker behind her? A Blacklaw Family Drama photo, I'm very pleased.

'Amanda never sweats, she's lower class' I've never seen a Rich Bastard in media who thinks this, this is fascinating. Normally it's 'sweating is for the lower classes' but here we are in the reverse. Does Blacklaw think the 'lower class' are literal automatons or

Fatigue dies in the room where his younger Hunter self is immortalised in a portrait on the wall. Taller, younger, still with the same glasses, nose, and ears. Just how old is he?

Side note: 'did anyone find out if Mummies are real yet' - yes, Marckus, they did, in The Resurrection/Curse. You were right.

[thelampisaflashlight]

Some remade ghoul headcanons, because my lore is everchanging. Let's go.

-It's a well known fact that Dew is a hybrid, but the exact elemental shake out isn't as simple as half water, half fire. Physically, he has more traits associated with water ghouls; Gills, scales, a thicker tail for moving through the water, etc., but his magic is primarily fire based.

However, the main reason he's not completely 50/50, is because one of his mother's parents was an air ghoul, so he's really half water and then an equal measure of fire and air.

This technically classifies him as a multi-ghoul rather than a hybrid, but he has no air ghoul traits, so he rarely, if ever, brings it up.

-Rain is from Limbo -as is Zephyr- which isn't really considered part of Hell proper, but it exists within the same "sphere". It's a bit like being from a small town outside of a major city.

However, despite being from Limbo, Rain's family is pretty well connected in the depths, and there's rumors going around in the pit about them being somehow related to Lucifer himself, but Rain can neither confirm nor deny these claims.

-Mountain used to be human, but he committed "a terrible sin" in life and was thrown into the pit to undergo punishment for what he had done.

During his time in the pit, he did reflect upon his crimes, but even he isn't sure he truly deserves the freedom he has now, despite centuries having past.

And lastly;

-Swiss is half human, and was raised on the surface, so his knowledge of Hell and what it means to be a ghoul is minimal.

He knows the basics and pays attention during mass, but he's not exactly a practicing Satanist, and people are often perplexed as to how this is possible.

It's simple really; He doesn't care about/for the rigmarole, and he thinks his time is better used doing things he actually wants or needs to do instead of sitting in church.

He does the dark lord proud.

[spaceyaceface]

Gaunt Family Headcanons

Hi I have thought way too much about Ominis and his immediate family, and have come up with entire personalities and lives for each of them and how they interact with Ominis, so please enjoy this info dump.

Warnings: Abuse, cruelty, murder, suicide...

Cassius Gaunt - The Father

The name in Latin means "hollow" or "vain". Born in 1836. He was an intimidating man. When both of his parents died, he was left with the family fortune---or what was left of it. He forbade his sister Noctua from touching a single knut of the squandered wealth, and it was only because she didn't argue she ever stayed in good graces. He took a young bride, one of his second cousins, the moment her parents deemed her old enough to marry. A blood purist to the core, he wanted to make sure his children all knew the importance of the blood in their veins---the blood of Salazar Slytherin.

He had a desperate need for control, one that overtook him completely. As he children grew, he was quick to anger and 'correct' them in their mistakes. Magic was often used as punishment, and he was an expert of bending his children to his will. He encouraged competition between them, challenging them who could learn dark spells the fastest, preform them the best---but always favored his eldest. It was his worst kept secret.

His youngest, on the other hand... He had no love for. Whatever short supply he'd been born with had been used on the others already, and when Ominis was born, born blind, he had no sympathy. Of course, he tried to control him, just like the others. But he hardly mattered, in the long run. As long as he stayed in line, bowed down to his unyielding hand, there wouldn't be a problem.

Aurora Gaunt - The Mother

The name Aurora is the Roman goddess of daybreak. Why this name? It's so in contrast with Noctua. Born in 1847, Aurora was a young wife. Merely 16 when Cassius laid claim on her. She was an unfit mother. Manipulative to the highest degree. She could do no wrong---she was sure to make that clear. Any wrong movement could lead to an outburst of yelling or tears.

Ominis had not been expected. She wasn't planning on another child. But she adored the attention of being pregnant again, so she played the part of an happily expecting mother. When he was born, all hell broke loose. She screamed and fretted, and she was sure they tried everything---everything to cure his blindness. It was to no avail. When she realized that would be how it was, no matter what, she once again played a part---this time of the overly worried mother of the small pitiful blind boy.

She would tell Ominis how lucky he was to have her as a mother, how any other woman would have thrown him out, left him for dead. He was so dreadfully difficult to raise, she'd tell him. She loved him, she said, even if no one else ever would.

Marvolo Gaunt - The Eldest

The name "Marvolo" implies something "marvelous." "Volo" can also be taken as "I want", and in combination, may be read "I want to be marvelous." Born in 1865, he was the oldest of the Gaunts, and therefore, the promised heir of all their wealth. This led to him taunting and belittling his siblings constantly. In his eagerness to please his father, he quickly mastered dark spells and wasn't shy about using them---even on his kin. He was biding his time, a spoiled and cruel child, just waiting for the wealth to be his.

If only there was any wealth to be had.

By the time he came of age, it had all been spent. They had to start selling things, letting go of servants, just to keep the manor. His whole life he had been trained and told to be the perfect heir of the Gaunts, that he would live a life in luxury from his name alone. The cruelty and anger that had always been within him grew stronger and stronger.

It was a relief for Ominis when Marvolo found a cousin to take to wife and left the house, as he had been experiencing the brunt of his anger. His wife died after the birth of his second child, Merope, a fact he held against his daughter for the rest of his life.

Calidus Gaunt - The Second

The word "Callidus" in Latin means clever---a trait that the second son had plenty of. Born in 1867, he grew and discovered he was second in everything. Nothing he did was ever enough to please their father, and he grew to resent everyone in his house.

His cruelty wasn't as outward and bold as Marvolo's. Instead, it was carefully plotted. He'd sow seeds to arguments, spreading lies and rumors and watching from afar as the others came crumbling down. He grew to love the chaos he started, and it became his specialty.

He especially loved making Ominis's life harder in any way he could. It was easy to take frustrations out on him---he was so helpless when he was young.

Soon, Calidus moved out, determined to start life on his own. Like his brother, he took another cousin to wife. He used his skills in cheating and lying to start a shady business, and found success. The money he earned fueled his drinking, a habit he had picked up after marriage. He was the first of the Gaunt siblings to die. No one had heard from him in a while, nor his wife. A few short years after their marriage they were found dead in their bed. It was chalked up to a shady deal gone wrong. No one was ever charged for their murders.

Vidia Gaunt - The Dearest

The name Vidia stemmed from the word "Invidia", meaning "envy" in latin. Born in 1868. As the only daughter, she was treated differently. She wasn't pushed as hard to become anything, to be anyone. But she took after her brothers nonetheless.

Like her mother, she quickly learned that her emotions were the key to getting what she wanted. She threw tantrums like no other, feeling a constant need for attention. She was the youngest for quite some time---and she reveled in it. It wasn't a surprise that she hated Ominis from the moment he was born.

He took her attention from their mother. While she wasn't cruel with her actions, she used her words, belittling him and blaming him for everything that went wrong.

When she was whisked away and married off to a pureblood family, she was desperate for children. But that never happened. She was never able to conceive. Her husband was killed in a duel about 10 years after their marriage, and she was suddenly utterly alone. The small house she called home burned down in a bright blaze late one night, and judging from the way her burnt corpse was sat comfortably in her armchair, it was ruled as a suicide.

Ominis Gaunt - The Unwanted

"Ominis" is Latin for "Omen." Born in 1875, seven years after the next youngest, it was made clear from a very young age that he was a mistake. This, in combination with his blindness, made it feel as if the whole world was against him. In most ways, it was.

There was only one small bit of hope in his life---his Aunt Noctua.

He allowed her to change him. To steer him off the dark path his siblings had walked down. He had decided from a young age that he didn't want to be anything like them---Noctua's help was all he needed to follow through with that. She taught him the difference between wrong and right, and he forever regretting the wrong he had inflicted on others when he felt powerless.

He refused to be cruel. Refused to lead with hate, or envy, or pride. He wanted to be good. So he was.

He disowned his family name, taking the name Sallow because that was the only family he had ever known.

Bonus - Aunt Noctua - The Savior

The word "Noctua" means "Night Owl" in Latin. Everything that Aurora, the day, was, she was the opposite. The days that Aurora declared she's had enough, she was done trying to raise such a difficult child, Noctua would take Ominis into her home and remind him that he was worth more than he could ever know.

She taught him to read braille. To use that spell with his wand. To live. To love.

She tried to help each of the Gaunt children---but none of them would listen. None besides Ominis. She poured her soul out to him, determined not to let this child slip away like the others had.

Noctua never married. She disappeared, and her brother couldn't be bothered to look for her. But she'd left her mark on Ominis, a mark that would live with him always.

ANYWAYS there's my info dump, thanks for reading. This is the version of the Gaunt family I have for my Ominis fic Safety, and while I'm only touching on bits and pieces of it in the fic itself, I wanted all the thoughts and plans I'd made to go somewhere so here you go lol.

[maleyanderecafe]

I Hold the Tyrant's Heart (Webcomic)

Created by: Nobena

Genre: Isekai

I Hold the Tyrant's Heart or I Captured the Tyrant's Heart is one of those few isekais that I've read where the female lead actually does try to go back to her original world after being isekaied. The yandere hits pretty much straight off the bat, AND it has a crybaby yandere which is of course one of my favorite kinds. The story as of current only has about 13 chapters so far.

The story starts out with Euelle Haldrant starts with her dreaming of her past life, being rushed to the ER after being stabbed and then isekaied into this world. While she has a kind family, she wishes dearly to return back to her world and has been trying to learn magic to do so. She gets accepted into a magic school fairly easily and while being bullied by some girls, the crowned prince comes into defend Euelle. She is shocked to see how different he looks, as he used to be a blond boy. We get a flashback to where the two were children, where Euelle was still trying to find a way to her world, Tes (the crowned prince), seemed to be very attached to Euelle, however she had no interest in him as she was trying not to make any strong relationships in this world (as she was going to leave it), leading to her stating that Tes isn't really her type and that she prefers dark haired guys instead. In the present, Euelle prevents the girl from being punished by Tes and she and Tes walk around together. It seems that Tes was able to change his appearance to become closer to Euelle's type, even dressing up and telling her he'd change if she wished it. Euelle has a sword fight with one of her childhood friends Etil while talking to him about Tes. Despite Etil's warning not to get to close to Tes, Euelle accepts his invitation to the library as she wants to learn more about magic. We learn there are many rumors about Euelle trying to take power due to her close relationship with the crowned prince, and was one of the reasons they moved away when they were younger (and also because the king forced them too after having a breakdown). We learn also that Tes had been gathering books that Euelle liked as a child and we find out that he was able to change his appearance because he is connected to the land he's on, thus only changing his appearance for Euelle which is why nobody else seems to have noticed. We see that the reason for Euelle wanting to go back is because she feels like she can't leave her mother alone as she went through a lot, even asking her current mother about going to another world, to no avail. We see that in their past Tes continues to cling onto Euelle dearly, with her being the only person that could calm him down when he threw a tantrum. Even her mother tells Euelle to stay away from Tes, as her elf intuition is telling her. The last time that Euelle sees Tes before his transformation was at a ball, where the rumors about her seducing the crowned prince still reign true and Tes nearly throws a tantrum again for not being able to be near her, causing rumors to spread further. A thunder storm stops the ball, leaving the last image of Tes in Euelle's mind him passed out as her parents take her away to safety. Tes and Euelle continue to get closer, however, Euelle learns that the bully is about to get executed thanks to Tes, and revealing that Tes basically got rid of all the nobles while she was gone. The last couple of chapters is Euelle kissing Tes as a way to help the bully not get executed and seeing the bully's brother fall in love with her.

As I said, it's pretty rare for me to find isekais where the main female lead actually wants to go back to her world, although it feels like it's mostly out of guilt and obligation rather than missing her family. It does make me think at some point she will give up on her goal of going back. She also tends to run headfirst into anything that could possibly get to her goal, despite the numerous warnings of staying away from Tes from her parents, friends and others, which I'm sure will lead to consequences later on (or at least I hope it does). It's also nice that Euelle actually does have very kind parents that care for her, with one of them being a half elf, which hopefully means more in the future besides the fact that she's not under Tes's powers of illusion.

As for Tes, it is always fun to have a yandere who is willing to change not only their appearance but personality for their love, which in this case is a pretty big difference between from his past self, so I can understand why Euelle wasn't able to recognize him at first. It seems that he was pretty attached to Euelle even as a child, and it was Euelle's own words of what she liked that caused him to change (although I gotta say I'd love to see what an adult Tes who still acts more similarly to his child like self would look like). He already seemed to have yandere tendencies when he was younger, getting all of the households to look away when the two were together, but it mostly encapsulates when the two are older, with him not only killing off all of the nobles, but also using manipulation, emotional and otherwise to get her to stay with him. Whether that be crying, or using the bully's life to exchange with a kiss with Euelle. He also takes care to fill the library with books of what Euelle was into when she was younger and overall just changing the way he looks so that Euelle will be into him. It's no doubt that he is willing to kill for her if anyone gets in the way or tries to hurt her, so i bet it will be really bad when he finds out what Euelle needs those books for. Should play for a good conflict.

Overall, a good introduction to a yandere character, and it's always fun to see a yandere that is willing to change drastically to please the person they love. I'm curious to see how this will end up in the future, maybe more deaths? Maybe Euelle falling for Tes at some point? I guess we'll just have to see.

[hereforreadandwrite]

Chapter One

Masterlist

You were not a mortal like the others. Thanks to your abilities, you had become the protector of the lands of Midgard. You knew every corner, every inhabitant, every magical creature and other that there was in this Kingdoms. She was also known in all the other Kingdoms. You loved to fly. It was a feeling of ultimate freedom. You loved visiting Mimir and Sigrun in Asgard. You considered them your parents. Mimir had taught you his knowledge and Sigrun had taught you how to fight.

You had a happy life overall even if there was a dark spot on this idyllic picture.

Odin was interested in your intelligence, your secrets. He had become obsessed with this creature. You had the appearance of a young woman who had just reached adulthood, but your aging was much slower than normal, you had long (Y/H/C) slightly curled hair that reached to your shoulders, your (Y/E/C) eyes sparkling with life, full lips, you weren't very tall, but what was really intriguing was your immense black wings like darkness which made your size and that you could become a nightmare being when you wanted to scare your enemies. You were a divine creature, that he dreamed of having. He dreamed of dissecting you to know everything about you.

How were you born with wings?

How could you stay young for so long?

How can you take your nightmare form to scare your enemies?

Seeing that Odin was becoming more and more obsessed with you, Mimir and Sigrun asked you not to go to Asgard anymore, for fear that the Allfather would come after you. You were saddened by this request, but you obeyed. You had returned to Midgard, your Homeland, and you had not returned to Asgard. Odin became mad with rage. Upon learning that Mimir and Sigrun were responsible, he decided to punish them. He imprisoned Mimir in a tree on the top of a mountain, far from civilization, and cursed Sigrun and the other Valkyries. But that wasn't the only thing Odin did. He found you in Midgard. He had seen you take care of Jormungandr. To trap you, he took the appearance of Mimir. You had let your guard down. You were happy to see your adoptive father again after all this time. To celebrate your reunion, "Mimir" you had offered a Mead verse, but Odin had slipped in a drug powerful enough to keep you asleep. When you came to your senses, you felt that something was wrong. your back hurt excruciatingly. Dread filled you as you ran your hand down your back.

Your wings were no longer there.

That night, your cry of despair was heard throughout Midgard.

Because of Odin's obsession, you lost your parents, the Valkyries and your wings. You were alone and filled with sadness. You had left your human form behind, leaving only your nightmarish form visible, scaring away all people and creatures who tried to approach you. In your sadness, you had taken up residence in the council of Valkyries. You had discovered a breach where your adoptive mother was sealed. So you stayed there, protected your mother against anything and anyone who dared to set foot in your living space. But that didn't stop the God of War: Tyr himself from coming to meet you.

“You’re not welcome here, especially your kind,” you said through gritted teeth. “Go away before one of us gets hurt.”

“(Y/N)... what happened to you?” Tyr asked, saddened by seeing your pitiful state.

"You know what happened to me! Everyone knows what happened!" you yelled, turning towards Tyr and slowly moving closer to him. "Odin. Your bastard father tricked me and took everything I had! My father! My mother! My family! My wings! He took everything from me! Look at that! This is what's left of my mother. The Valkyries... have been sealed away... I don't know where or what happened to my father."

"You can't stay here, (Y/N). It's... unhealthy for you to live here, next to this breach."

“I’m protecting my mother,” you said, returning to the gap. “Go back to your father Tyr. And leave me to my sorrow.”

"The (Y/N) I knew would never have felt sorry for herself. She would have found a way to find her parents and her wings."

"Ah! I forgot about your sense of humor Tyr," you said, turning to the Norse God of War. "But I'm not suicidal. Remember, we're talking about your father. The Allfather. The one who knows everything and has mastered many techniques. Do you think I'm that stupid? Do you seriously think I could undo his curses? You think I haven't tried?! I tried everything to free my mother, but... there's nothing I can do. I don't know where the other Valkyries are locked up. I don't know what I should to do. I became... powerless."

You sat on one of the many thrones of the Valkyries, biting your lip, holding back tears. You were helpless. There was nothing you couldn't do to save your parents and the Valkyries. Tyr moved closer, sitting on the ground, facing you. He ran his fingers over your forehead, brushing a strand of greasy hair out of your eyes. How long have you been waiting here? How long have you been fighting those who had the misfortune to approach the breach? You no longer looked like the smiling, lively girl Tyr saw training with the Valkyries. He had seen you flying many times in the skies of Asgard and Midgard. Tyr sighed, running his fingers over your cheek.

"You must not be left alone with this sadness. Mimir and Sigrun would like you to continue living. They would not want you to stay here waiting for death to come and get you."

“How?”

"Come with me. I can help you. If you want, of course." Tyr stood up, extending his hand towards you.

You looked at the gap one last time before looking at Tyr. You placed your hand in his, accepting his offer. You rose from the throne, following the God Aesir outside the council of Valkyries. Tyr had taken you to safety. Where he was sure Odin wouldn't find you. He helped you build a house on the mountainside. He installed a magical barrier to protect you from Odin's evil eyes. It would come as no surprise that the Allfather spent his time observing your despair. Tire was sure to build you a sufficiently comfortable house. He had done everything alone. You stayed in your corner, brooding. Guilty for having abandoned the one who saved and educated you. Tyr had been patient with you. He didn't complain when he finished building your house and the furniture. He hadn't complained when you just laid back in the bed, not moving an inch.

Anger had given way to sadness.

Tyr had stayed with you, making sure you ate well and that you left the bed and the house for a bit. He had installed a five kilometer protective fence to allow you to go out a little and hunt in the woods.

“I understand your pain, (Y/N). More than you think,” Tyr said as he walked through the forest, alongside you. "You'll get through it. But for that, you also have to put in the work. It's not healthy to lie down all day either."

"To do what?" you asked resignedly. "I always trained with the Valkyries or father taught me his wisdom. Other than waiting for the norns to free me from this suffering, I have nothing to do."

"It's wrong!" Tyr exclaimed, glaring at you harshly. "You are the daughter of the Queen of the Valkyries and the smartest man of this Nine Kingdoms could bear! You were trained by the Valkyries! They would be ashamed to know what you have become!"

You felt your heart tighten upon hearing his words. Would your family be ashamed of what you have become? You leaned against a tree, sliding down the trunk, sitting on the ground. Tyr sighed, kneeling in front of you.

"Forgive me for raising my voice. But you can't let Odin win. You have to show otherwise. Take charge of your life. Even though he took away your wings, you are still capable of fighting back. fight, to be diplomatic. You are smarter than Odin. What he wanted by doing this to you was to see your reaction, to see what you were capable of doing when you were in the grip of despair ,” he said, taking your face in his hands. "This is all just a perverse game for him. A game that you are capable of winning. You are strong."

"Me? Strong?"

"Yes, you always were. You just forgot. I want to help you. But for that, you have to let me help you," he said, wiping a tear from your cheek. "Do not succumb to despair as Odin wishes."

"I... I don't know if I'm still capable of fighting. I... my mother and the Valkyries... I... I haven't finished my training. My father always had things to teach me.”

“I'm not saying I'm as good as the Valkyries or Mimir, but with my travels, I can teach you some things,” Tyr announced, letting go of your face. "Now you're going to get back up and become even better. You better be ready. I'm not going to let you down."

Tyr kept his word. The months in Midgard were punctuated by training. The God of War made you leave your bed at dawn to do yoga or tai chi. According to him, it allowed him to clear his mind and rethink his priorities. After that, he trained you in combat. Even though Tyr was peaceful, he wasn't the God of War for nothing. He had learned many things from his travels. The first fight was tough. You never thought you would be so exhausted and in pain. Every muscle in your body hurt so bad and the punch he delivered to your stomach had made you give up your meal. After that, you couldn't move. Tyr had to carry you back. You sighed, laying down on the ground, staring up at the sky. The Sun was setting, tinting the sky orange and pink. Tyr made his weapons disappear before sitting down beside you.

"You have made enormous progress in such a short time. This shows the training of Sigrun and your aunts," praised Tyr who was as out of breath as you.

“Thank...I guess,” you said, sitting up.

“I mean it,” Tyr replied, glaring at you. “You look better like this.”

"How so?"

"Haven't you noticed that you no longer have your nightmare form?"

You took out your sword, observing your reflection in the blade, seeing that Tyr was not wrong. You had your human form again. You ran your hand over your cheek putting your sword away.

“That’s a good thing,” Tyr said, smiling at you. “You’re taking back control.”

"But then... if I regain control. Does that mean it's over?" you asked, wrapping your arms around your legs. “Will you leave me alone?”

“In all honesty,” he began, moving closer to you. “Once we’re near you, it’s hard to let go of your presence.”

Following this confession, you blushed. You stood up abruptly, exclaiming that you were coming home first. You were in the house, slamming the door so Tyr would stay outside. You remained leaning against the door, not knowing what to do or think about this confession. Was it difficult for him to get rid of your presence? What did that mean? Why would Tyr say such a thing? It didn't make any sense. You jumped when you heard the God Aesir knocking on the door, asking to come in so you could discuss what he had just told you, but you were afraid to open the door. You were afraid of what Tyr might say or do. You weren't stupid, but with all the training and teaching you received, you never had time to be interested in men. Especially because of Odin's unhealthy and obnoxious behavior from his other sons and grandchildren.

"(Y/N)? Will you let me in?" Tyr asked, knocking on the door again.

"I...I can't do this!" you exclaimed, leaning against the door. "I... something is going to happen! I don't want anything to happen!"

"I'm sorry, (Y/N). I'm sorry for putting you through this embarrassment. I...what I meant was..."

"No! Shut up!"

Silence fell, you slid along the door, sitting on the floor. You buried your face in your arms, thinking about Tyr's words. You had lost everyone you loved. Were you willing to risk losing someone else? Were you ready to hear his words?

"You don't have to let me in, but know that it's not just empty words. I...I greatly enjoy your company. When you left Asgard, I looked for you. I was... I had to find you. I had to know that you were okay. I had to see with my own eyes that you were alive. I was... happy and relieved when I I saw the council of the Valkyries. I... I was ready to return the Nine Realms to be able to find you. I always appreciated your presence. I always appreciated our discussions. I enjoyed observing your training with the Valkyries. When you fought, you did it with such fervor that no one could look away. Once they see you, it's hard to look away."

You felt like your face was on fire. Why did Tyr have to tell you such things? You raised your head, looking at the door uncertainly. Should you open the door for him? But you knew that if you opened the door, it was going to be a point of no return. You stood up, staring at the door. You took a deep breath, grabbing the handle. You took a deep breath, opening the door.

A voice in your head told you it was a mistake to allow Tyr inside. She told you it was a mistake when he kissed you. She told you it was a mistake when he undressed you to make love to you.

You had decided to ignore that voice and allow Tyr to touch you like he did. You could still feel his warm hands caressing your body. You allowed him to love you and you allowed yourself to love him back.

You wanted to be happy and you were. You were happy with Tyr. You were happy when he proposed to you. Tyr managed to make your discomfort disappear. This joy has lasted several winters, until this day. One night, you woke up to find your husband standing in the wide open doorway. Tyr watched the wind blow fiercely and the rain crash onto the ground.

“Tyr,” you called, sitting up.

“This storm does not bode well,” Tyr said without turning his attention from the garden. "What do I have to do?"

You wrapped the blanket around your shoulders, leaving the warm bed to move closer to your husband. Tyr was taken out of his thoughts. He placed his golden eyes on your person. His stern expression softened when he saw you. He ran his hand over your cheek.

"I'll have to go to Asgard," Tyr announced.

"Asgard? Why would you go there?" you asked, feeling terror overcome you.

Why would Tyr want to return to Asgard? It was suicide. Odin was probably waiting for this moment to attack him. You shook your head, walking away from your husband. Tyr sighed, closing the door behind him, moving closer to you.

“(Y/N)…”

"This is what Odin is waiting for. He is waiting for you to come back so he can trap you!" you exclaimed, looking at him in horror. "He's already taken my wings, my parents and the Valkyries. If I lose you too, I... I don't know if I can handle it."

You sat on the bed, unable to imagine a world without Tyr. The God of War Aesir was all you had left in his Nine Realms. He had saved you. He had stopped you from falling into madness. If Odin were to take it away from you, you didn't know what you would be capable of against yourself or against Midgard. Tyr came to settle at your side. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you against him. He placed a kiss on the top of your head before pressing his cheek to it.

"I already told you: once we are near you, it is difficult to get rid of your presence. And besides, what kind of husband would I be if I abandoned my wife?"

“The kind of husband who will be chased by his wife so that she can kill him with her own hands,” you said, looking severely at Tyr who was smiling, laughing slightly.

“I don’t doubt it,” he replied, resting his forehead on yours. "I promise I'll come back to you, (Y/N). I'll only be gone for a few days."

It was all a lie.

Tyr never came back to you.

You waited. A moon passed, then two, then three and so on. Yet you continued to wait for him, crying in your bed, becoming cold from his absence. It took you three winters to realize that Odin probably didn't let him leave Asgard alive. The Allfather had succeeded. He had taken your beloved husband from you.