#should have done the assassination at a later date

[whatifitookalilnap]

Amon: we need you to take out the Avatar

Equalist Asami: I understand

*three hours later*

Asami: alright, it’s done

Hiroshi, relieved: oh thank the spirits! I was worried about you!

Amon: tell me exactly what happened

Asami, smiling dreamily: well first I took her to this nice seafood place which she loved. Then we had a beautiful stroll at Yue Bay so we-

Amon, trying not to scream: when I said take out the Avatar, I meant an assassination! Not a damn date!

Asami, frowning: oh. You should have specified. Anyways I won’t be here next Tuesday I’m taking her out again

Hiroshi: this must be my cosmic punishment-

[heaven-is-in-your-arms-series]

The Desire to Protect a Loved One

Right at the beginning of the film we see several moments that demonstrate Khem's affection for Wan. He immediately steals something he knows Wan enjoys with an ease that suggests this is far from his first time.

But most importantly, we see this moment between them where he chooses to grab hold of the bloody knife that Wan pulled out of the assassinated noble.

We know that Wan is panicking and clueless about what to do but Khem realises that Wan should have left the knife in and he is the one that attempts to staunch the blood flow until he realises it is useless.

To me, this reads as him being willing to take the blame in that moment. He is protecting Wan at a potential cost to himself.

Of course the guards bursting in are going to see him with the knife and assume he is the killer and not Wan or the long escaped assassin. He is smart enough to realise that but he does it anyway.

So when we jump forwards to the end, I find it really interesting that we then see Chatra perform a very similar action for Khem.

Khem is going through it, my poor beautiful boy. His best friend has revealed himself as a key player in the troubles going on at ManSuang and he is threatening to blow up the whole place and kill everyone, including Khem.

Khem is conflicted, filled with grief, he wants to protect his friend but can see no way to do it, short of ordering him to leave and never come back. Which he tries and Wan ultimately refuses.

So Khem, in a moment of grief and agony, shoots Wan.

We see the shock on Chatra's face above as he stares across at Khem..it was not an action anyone was expecting from him.

Almost immediately, Chatra grabs the gun off of Khem. He doesn't need a gun, he still has his own and anyway, Wan is dead.

The only person he is protecting now is Khem. He takes the gun out of Khem's hand with no resistance..Khem is in a daze and unable to help himself so Chatra does it for him.

Look at their hands touching

One reason and the one that is most reminiscent of Khem's action of grabbing the knife at the beginning of the film, is that, should anyone else walk in right now, it is going to look like Chatra committed the murder and not Khem.

The other is that it is very possible that Chatra is worried that Khem might go on to hurt himself in this grief filled state. He knows Wan's importance to Khem, they talked about it on their date kite retrieving mission and Khem is clearly teetering on the edge.

Chatra's eyes never leave Khem for the rest of this scene, even though we do see Hong looking away in the background as Khem grieves.

Khem will later go on to burn the incriminating papers in an act that not only protects Chatra but also shows a complete disregard for his own life. (Failing the mission was a death sentence. Of course, Chatra doesn't let that happen but Khem had no way of knowing that when he set light to the papers so this shows that Chatra would be right to worry about Khem.) 🥺

So what I am basically saying is

❤️❤️CHATRA LOVES KHEM ❤️❤️

Bonus rambling on Khem shooting Wan

I think (and this is purely my personal ManSuang obsessed speculation here,) that Khem chooses to shoot Wan in a twisted action of kindness for his friend.

He is doing what he knows must be done with his own hands. If Khem hadn't acted, we know Chatra was right there with his own gun and likely would have done it. Something that would probably have been seen as yet another act of violence against him by the Chinese in Wan's eyes, justifying his actions.

I think that's why we specifically see that Wan turns around despite the fact he was originally walking away and sees it was Khem before he dies.

Khem takes on this terrible task for Wan's sake and it ruins him to do so 💔

[madhatterbri]

Threat | W.O.

Summary: Don threatens Y/N when Will leaves the Callis family. Peaky Blinders Era.

Author's Note: @hotgirlgraps . Please see this as a shameless attempt to get you to start writing again. (I will do another fic closer to our one year anniversary). When we meet at your Waffle House job, please remember I like my eggs scrambled and blueberries in my waffle. ❤️

Will Ospreay Masterlist

Taglist: @plentyoffandoms @theworldofotps @smallestsnarkestgirl @mrsarcherofinfamy

Will and Kyle lounged against the car they just brought back to life. Sleek and fast, the car was an absolute beauty. They managed to get the car for cheap and did the work themselves. Now they couldn't wait to test drive it.

Their boss, Don Callis, suddenly appeared at the garage. Will tensed, and Kyle noticed his friend's discomfort. This was now or never. Will had to leave the Don Callis family.

"You wanted to see me?" The older man asked. Kyle stepped backward a few steps to give them some space. He was still close enough just in case he needed to step in.

"Listen," he sighed. "After last week, when we took on the Senerchia family, and you wanted me to kill Tyler. I don't have the blood lust in me anymore,"

Will used to be that guy. The guy that Don Callis could call when he needed to "take care" of someone. Things changed when he met Y/N. She gave his life meaning and a purpose. Late nights out at the pub, and violence didn't do anything for him anymore.

"I don't know what to say," Don drifted off.

"You've given me everything. You took a boy off the streets and made me a man. I owe you my life. You have my loyalty, but I want out," he explained and looked in his sunglasses. "For good,"

The air in the room thickened. Will hoped he would take the news well. It wasn't an insult to him. The Assassin just had other priorities right now.

Don sighed and nodded. "Done. You have gone above and beyond for this family. We hate to see you go, and normally, i don't let people walk away from contracts. You know that. But I'd be happy to do you the favor,"

Will let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding in. Don Callis was one of the more ruthless men in the country. His contracts were always to be followed under strict scrutiny.

"Thank you," Will sighed in relief. The men shook hands and hugged. "Maybe one day I'll ask you for a favor,"

"Will!" Y/N's voice echoed in the garage. The English man turned to see his girlfriend bringing their lunch. They planned a picnic in the new car that morning. She noticed Don Callis and stopped. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no, darling, Kyle and I were just leaving," Don smiled. He turned his attention to Kyle. "Come with me,"

"Well, Kyle and I were going to-"

"You should go on the lovely picnic date with your girlfriend. We got family stuff to take care of," Don smiled. Y/N smiled back and hugged Will close to her.

As Don and Kyle walked away, the anger inside of him grew. Once out of earshot of the young lovebirds, Don pulled Kyle close to him.

"Get me everything you can on that woman. Looks like he'll be requesting a favor for me sooner rather than later,"

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Can I request a fluffy Tangerine imagine where the female reader works for Maria, but rather than being an assassin, she’s the driver of the getaway car for missions, and Tangerine has a thing for her and she picks him and Lemon up one day and Eye of the Tiger by Survivor plays on the radio and she sings along and Tangerine is shook because her voice is amazing and he didn’t know she could sing? I thought I should pick a song pretty much everyone knows, and Eye of the Tiger was the first one that popped into my head. 

Hey Anon,

Thanks for waiting so long. I hope this is alright! To feel something I may have been dipping into Christmas music and it may have bled into this fic. My apologies.

Warnings: FLUFF

“Fifty bucks.” He said into the phone hating himself for resorting to this. 

“Fifty bucks off a two million dollar job?” Maria spoke into the phone slowly and Tan pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Fine 50K.” He sighed and quickly looked over his shoulder to see if Lemon was in earshot. 

“50K?” The surprise in her voice only made him hate how stupid he was being even more. 

“Give her half as a tip.” He quickly added. 

“Deal. You know this is just a ride home right?” He kept his mouth shut trying to avoid being rude. Yes, he just spent 50K to sit in the car next to a girl he liked. Yes, he knew how stupid that was. 

“Talk to you later Maria.” He said quickly before hanging up the phone. 

_______

The job went off without a hitch and they were done slightly ahead of schedule. The item was secure, the dude was dead, and there was no threat of security as they stood near the front door waiting for you. He lit a cigarette and took a deep breath. He was more nervous for this than he was the job itself. 

“You got a drug problem?” Lemon asked in an unusually serious tone, his eyes were focused on his phone missing the way Tan’s face twisted up. 

“Not at all.” He answered easily. 

“You are either are back on the stuff, or you just paid 50K off your payout for….” His voice trailed off and his hand waved indicating the Tan should finish the sentence. 

A black hellcat pulled up infront of the door and Tand picked up the brief case motioning for them to go.

“Dibs on shot gun.” He blurted quickly like they used to when they were kids. Lemon gave him a look that reminded him that nothing was ever lost on him. He knew that after this ride home there would be a full investigation on you, string lines connecting all the information to which Thomas the Train you would be. 

He gave Lemon a stern “dont fuck this up for me” type of look and Lemon gave him a brotherly smile. They got into the car and your appearance hit him full force. 

You were in your PJ’s and your hair was pulled up into a messy blob on the top of your head. A pink fluffy bathrobe encasing your slender frame. 

“Howdy.”You said in a chipper voice pulling away form the curb the second the door shut. The cab of the car smelled like mint and settled into the space whishing this was a normal thing. Like they were all coming back from a party or had run to the shops for late night snacks. 

“Did we catch you at a bad time?” Lemon asked eyeing her robe. 

“Well, I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.” She smiled. 

“It’s-” Tan started but Lemon cut him off. 

“Is that so?” He said turning his gaze towards Tan. 

Tan swore your cheeks got pinker at the accusation. He wanted more than anything to turn around and slap Lemon. 

“Well, it’s nothing for peace of mind. Best driver there is. 95% of missions fail when leaving the site.” Tan had made that up.

“It’s an honor.” You smirked and his heart sped up. There was a moment of heavy silence and you turned the radio up. This was enough to buy him some time. He just paid 50K for a chance to ask her for a… what? A phone number? A date? Fuck. He ran a hand through his hair and looked out of the tinted glass. The city was a blur and his body gave into the familiar lurches of your fast driving. You were a part of this world, in enough danger without him so it’s not like he would be ruining your life. You always laughed at his jokes, you touched his arm that one time- 

“It’s the eye of the tiger.” You sang along with the song on the radio pulling him away from his misery. 

“Damn! Okay, girl.” Lemon said and he wished he could respond in some other way than to just look at you. 

“Come on everyone knows this song.” You said batting a hand in the air, as you hurled the car around a corner. 

“Not everyone can sing it like that.” Tan said grabbing the “oh shit handle” in the door as his body slid to the side. 

“Shut up.” 

“No seriously, find something harder then,” Lemon said from the backseat. 

“What?” You were blushing now and focusing on the road more than you normally did. Tan reached out to the dial on the car and waited a moment for you to bat his hand away. But your hands stayed on the wheel. He spun the dial and it landed on a Christmas station.

“YES” Lemon boomed from the backseat. You let out a laugh as the sounds of Christmas by Mariah Carey filled the small car. 

“Isn’t it a bit early?” You groaned and Tan felt it ripple through his body. 

“Nonsense. The best part about Halloween is when it ends.” lemon said causing you to laugh. 

“You boys better sing with me then.” Your eyes glanced at him and he would have done anything in that moment. You started to sing like an angel and he and Lemon mumbled along.

Sadly the ride was coming to an end as they approached the drop-off location. Lemon gave you a pat on the shoulder.

“Thanks, love. Get home safe.” He slid out of the car before you could respond. Your eyes moved to Tan’s and he knew this was his chance. 

“Want to get a drink?” Your eyes went wide and a thick flush covered your cheeks. 

“Maybe not like this.” You said gesturing to your PJs and he felt stupid for asking. “Unless you mind my place? The owner is pretty lax about the dress code.”

“Is that so?” He said cocking an eyebrow. You both held each other's gaze for a moment till Lemon tapped on the glass. Without breaking eye contact he lowered the window and handed the case to Lemon. 

“Oi, go easy on him.” Lemon winked at you before heading up the stairs. 

“My place it is then.” You smiled and reached across to lace your fingers in his.

[thequietkid-moonie]

Assassination Classroom Nagisa with a Bisexual female S/O who is exactly like Yor Forger from Spy x family and no..it isn't a joke whatsoever that S/O had ridiculous strength that can kill a grown man or knock them unconscious.

How would Nagisa's relationship be with his S/O and everything...

Naive bisexual!S/O has incredible assassin skills

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Nagisa Shiota ] [ Assassination Classroom / Ansatsu Kyoshitsu ]

× This is inspired in Yor (from Spy x Family)

Hmmm I feel like this doesn't fit much into the pride month event... I could have done it later in any case because i never specify to what gender you feel atracted to...

Anyways, im doing it just because i loved so fucking much the idea!!! AND I love Nagisa and Yor!! ❤️💜💙

I think i didn't talk much about the part of the skills but is because this was supoused to be for the pride month event... still I hope you like it as much as I did!!

Nagisa has never been in love or in a relationship before, even if he had a crush it take him a while to understand and accept his own feelings, for you two to start a relasionship had been a slowly process since both have being oblivous of their own feelings and nervous about what you should do with them, at the end you get some help from your friends to start a relasionship

Nagisa doesn't have much self confidence, he doesn't see himself as someone stronge or special so before you two start dating he was being insecure about it, he didn't though you would like him and when he found out that you are bisexual his worries increased a little since is more probably that you will find someone else, boy or girl, that you like more than him

Despite all his insecurities you two start dating at the end, being in a relationship with you flustered him a lot but it makes him feel an inmense happiness too, the fact that you accept him and even love him just the way he is makes him incredeably happy

As well he loves you the way you are, he finds your naive personality cute and amusing, he can't help but laugh a little when your innocence is present, still he always helps you understand the things you don't understand, always with a loving smile on his lips, he loves doing it, it makes him feel useful

It isn't until Karasuma start giving special training to Class 3-E when you finally have the chance to show off your habilities (without even noticing), it doesn't take you any time to get used to the new training and since the start you showed great habilities to every combat technique, from hand to hand combat to use diferent weapons, even when you don't think much of it everyone else do, everyone are truly impress by your skills, even Karasuma, Irina and Koro-sensei were really impress by it

Koro-sensei talked to you about this right away, asking how you were amazing at everything at what you answer that you had been training for a long time now (something that makes him worried but he didn't ask more because he got interrupted by everyone else), not you were just good with combat but also you have impeccable dexterity and agility and since that, and thanks to the fact that the class slowly start to get closer to each other you started to win some popularity, some of your classmates were always mesmerize and love seeing you in actions while others were constantly challenging you, some of them even ask you constantly how you do it and ask to teach them your amazing skills, and being the kind person you are you never decline to their asks

Nagisa was really proud of you, he really is, but he can't stop himself from feeling jealous and a little insecure when so much attention the others put you, is just that he is still your boyfriend and it bothers him that he can't spend time with you, and yet he doesn't feel with the right to tell you anything about this, you had win your amazing skills with hard work and if you are free to show them if you want

Is more probably that Nagisa won't say anything about how he feels about this situation because he doesn't want to upsed you or anything, but at the end of the day you always go to him again and talk to him with the same excited and loving voice of always (sometimes even asking for his opinion, like if his is the one you want to hear), without even noticing it just by wanting to be with him as always you give him the reasurance he needed and his worries start to go away (he will actually feel dumb for worring so much later)

His feelings can go unoticed by you but not to Karma and Kaede, they are close friends of him and they is really observant and while Kaede try to reasure him that you truly love him and even when you are getting so much attention you won't leave him so easily, Karma kinda reasure him too but he does it after teasing him a lot (he even tell Nagisa that he doesn't have to worry because you won't leave him when he is the full package for you, for being a boy but looking like a girl too)

After a while your classmates learn to leave the two of you your time alone, they totally respect your relationship and let the part of your skills to the training (and since everyone is improving their skills it becomes a friendly rivality with some of them)

As well, soon or later (when Nagisa proof his own skills too) you two start to win some nicknames as couple from your classmates and friends, calling you partners in crime and couple of assassins for how you two seem to have amazing assassin skills

[cherrycola27]

Star Spangled Seresin

Series Warnings: Language, alcohol consumption. Political situations. Unrequited love, one night stand, military and political inaccuracies. Smut. 18+ Minors DNI. Banner Credit: @thedroneranger

Series Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

...........................................

Chapter 1: (I was) Enchanted to Meet You:

After you had left the apartment, Jaycee decided to take some time to herself and get some writing done for work. She was halfway through her article when her phone chimed. It was a text from Jake.

She took a deep breath. She shouldn't have given Jake her phone number. Jaycee didn't do relationships. Not after what happened. But Jake was sweet and made her cum three times and then fixed her breakfast the next day. So, in a moment of weakness, she gave him her number.

She checked his text. It was a message checking to make sure she had made it home okay. After confirming, she was fine, he asked her about her day.

Feeling bold, she snapped a picture of herself with a messy bun, glasses, leggings, and her oversized Georgetown sweatshirt with her laptop. Jake chuckled when he received the image before texting her back a selfie of him in a US Navy tank at the gym.

Jaycee blushed before typing back, "I figured you'd be the kind of guy who works out shirtless 😉." Jake quickly replied, "Normally, I do, but my back had a run-in with some nails last night 😏."

Jaycee's face turned red. And before she could fire off a response, Jake texted her again, "When can I see you again?"

Jaycee sighed. She wasn't a second date or first date, whichever this was kind of girl, but Jake did seem sincere, a nice meal, and some good sex did sound appealing. Of course, she'd have to keep it a secret from you, but that shouldn't be too hard. So, before she could talk herself out of it, she texted him back that she was free on Monday.

Moments later, a smiling selfie of Jake graced her screen with the message, "Fantasic. Meet me at Marcel's at 7:30. The reservation will be under Seresin, party of two."

Jaycee collapsed against the throw pillows of the couch. Was she really about to do this?

The rest of the afternoon was spent texting with Jake. She learned all kinds of things about him, from where he grew up, to his time in the Naval Academy, to his career in the Navy, and some about his family. Jaycee shared more details about herself than she had in a long time. She was about to order some takeout and text you to see what you wanted when she got a message saying you'd be out late and wouldn't be home until after midnight. Something with the campaign.

Jaycee rolled her eyes at how dedicated you were to your job before placing her order.

She'd just settled down to enjoy her orange chicken when a FaceTime from Jake lit up her phone.

"Um, hi?" She said as she answered it. "Hey." Jake said smoothly. "Sorry, I probably should have texted to see if you were busy, but I really wanted to see you again." Jake said.

"It's fine. I just got some takeout and was about to watch some true crime." She told him. "Oh, true crime? Are you more unsolved mysteries or serial killers?" Jake asks. "Unsolved mysteries for sure. And I love a good conspiracy." Jaycee replies as she grabs her chopsticks.

"Conspiracy theories are fun. Once Bradley and I get elected, I can't wait to learn all the secrets they keep locked in the Library of Congress. After the inauguration, I'm heading straight for the JFK file." Jake says without missing a beat. "Why JFK? Is it because he was assassinated in Texas and you're from there, or is it because he was a Navy man, too?" She asks him with a mouthful of noodles.

"Both." Jake confirms

Jaycee snorts out a laugh. "You know that secret section of the Library or Congress is a myth, right?" She tells him. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Maybe you and I can look for it together after the election." Jake tells her with a bright smile.

"Yeah, maybe," Jaycee shifts uncomfortably.

"So, other than run for office and fly planes, what do you do for fun?" She asks, changing the subject.

"I like to hike. If I am back home, I love riding horses on my family ranch. A pickup game of football or basketball is fun every now and then. I'm a great bowler, but even better at darts and pool, and I'm a sucker for a good musical or theater performance. My sisters were in drama and dance in school, so I always went to their shows and then started seeing a few shows on my own." Jake tells her.

"Oh, so you have culture?" Jaycee teases him. "What's your favorite show?" She asks him. "Hamilton, obviously." Jaycee can't help but laugh. "Basic." She teases him. "But it could be worse. I figured you would have said something like Oklahoma." She says.

"No self-respecting Texan would ever say their favorite show is Oklahoma." Jake says in a serious tone.

"So what about you, other than grilling potential vice presidents, what do you do for fun?" Jake asks her.

"Um, I like hiking too, I've never rode a horse, I like yoga, and reading, and mini-golf, and kickboxing. And I, too, enjoy the theater."

"So, what's your favorite show then?" Jake asks her. She can tell he's waiting to tease her.

"Wicked." She admits sheepishly. "Oh, and I'm the basic one." Jake rolls his eyes dramatically. "Hey it's a great story about fighting for what you think is right and denying social norms!" Jaycee defends herself.

"If you say so. I've never seen it." Jake shrugs. "What!" Jaycee shrieks. "You said you have sisters. How have you never seen it?!" She asks him. "I tried once. The flying monkeys creeped me out." He admits.

"Okay, okay. I get that." She tells him. "So, I had a really good time with you last night." Jake tells her.

"So did I. Three really good times." Jaycee admits. "I was talking about at the bar. Like, don't get me wrong, the other stuff was great too, but I enjoyed getting to know you." He tells her.

Before Jaycee can answer, she hears keys in the door, and your voice calling out to her. "Jaycee, I'm home!"

"Oh, shit, Jake, I've gotta go!" Jaycee says before quickly ending the call.

"Hey! I thought you said you wouldn't be back until after midnight?" Jaycee asks you. "Yeah, Bradley and I finished up early. Who was that on the phone?" You ask her.

"Um, no one." Jaycee says quickly. "Wait—was that Mr. Tongue Tricks? You gave him your number? Where you guys having phone sex?" You ask her.

"No, no, and ew, no." Jaycee says as she cleans up her mess in the living room. "Okay, whatever you say." You sing-song back to her.

"Hey, do have plans Monday night? Candice and Talia are going to be in town and want to get drinks." You tell her.

"Actually, I do have dinner plans. Sorry." Jaycee tells you. "No worries." You respond before heading to your room.

All of Jaycee's Sunday is spent texting Jake. The two of them talk about everything under the sun. He makes her feel good— happy even, something she haven't felt from a relationship in quite a long time. But then—

Jake had brought up the topic of dumb things he did as a teen and told her about the scar on his ass from a bull. Jaycce laughed at him. Then, he texted, saying how he loved how she had turned her surgical scar into something beautiful. She asked him what he meant. And then he replied, "The one on your side, that's the quill tattoo. Did you have your appendix or something removed?"

Her heart sank, and she dropped your phone. The scar he was talking about wasn't from surgery. It was from the worst moment of her life. She quickly got up and went to the mirror in her room. Jaycce lifted her shirt and traced the jagged lines that ran across her right side.

You had convinced her to get the markings tattooed as a way to reclaim them, but even though she had tried to make them beautiful, they still carried ugly memories.

Flashes of that night flooded her brain, the yelling, the glass, the blood —so much blood. She shook the thoughts from her mind.

Jaycee quickly changed the subject, but suddenly, her heart wasn't in it anymore. Who was she kidding? She couldn't date Jake, she had too much baggage for a guy like him.

On Monday, she barely texted him. And that evening, just as you were able to leave to meet up with your friends, she came out of her room dressed to go out. "Hey, wait up!" She called to you. "You're coming? I thought you had plans?" You ask her skeptically.

"They got canceled. Let's go get drinks!" Jaycee cheered as the two of you walked out the door.

At 7:10, Jaycee, you, and your college friends got a table at the bar right across from Marcel's

At 7:15, she watched Jake enter with a bundle of flowers.

At 7:25, he texted her that he was there.

At 7:30, he asked if she was on her way, and if she was running late, that was fine.

At 7:40, he tried calling her, and she immediately sent it to voicemail.

At 7:45, she stopped checking her texts.

At 8 p.m., she watched a deflated Jake Seresin leave the restaurant. Jaycee finished her drink and excused herself to the restroom.

Once she was alone, she turned off her phone and allowed a single tear to slip down her cheek.

"This is for the best." She told herself in the mirror." But she knew she was lying to herself.

Okay! Here we go yall! Taglist: @daggerspare-standingby @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @hecate-steps-on-me @roosterscock @roosterbruiser @roosterforme @seresinsbabe @startrekfangirl2233 @soulmates8 @xoxabs88xox @avengersfan25 @blackwidownat2814 @loveforaugust @mak-32 @cottagecori @amysteryspot @heyimmadisonn @princess76179 @bradshawseresinbabe @sunlightmurdock @lewmagoo @cassiemitchell @die-cunt @mj-l4 @shipinabluebottle @malindacath @violyn20 @imawkwardlysoc @books-for-summer @blackroseboulevard @recordblues @desert-fern @luckyladycreator2 @katieshook02 @samhapner6 @sebsxphia @roosters-girl @diorrfairy @je-suis-prest-rachel @dakotakazansky @mizzzpink @a-linabean @amklibrary @gretagerwigsmuse @jstarr86 @actuallyazriel @krismdavis @bradshawsbaby

[epiphainie]

I agree with you. The break up was so hurtful, so out of the blue and so juicy. But I kinda think they should have let Tommy speak more: how he had to figure out his sexuality. How he came to terms with being a gay man. And sadly, as the writers are implying, Buck didn't do that because he was falling for Tommy (Buck not knowing what Kinsey scale is) And him actually coming to terms with sexuality took a backseat. Like Buck still not admitting that he is bisexual in conversation with a character or his own boyfriend is baffling. Having similar conversations as their first date: "Were you always out on the job?" Six months later "Have you ever been with a woman?" That's bad writing.

I wish Tommy had said outright that Buck should explore his sexuality or he explains he got his heart broken too many times

This is only my take on it. I really hope I didn't come off as homophobic or biphobic because that was not at all my intention. I just wish they treated Tommy like more than a Love Interest for an episode and explored such a complex situation. I think it would have been less traumatic for Buck.

(I only wish they don't assassinate Tommy's character off screen like they did with Abby. I didn't like all the jabs at her character.)

character assasination of tommy after he's gone is literally the one thing i fear the most atp. especially after the speech josh gave. and yeah that whole convo could be structured better and genuinely the entire dialogue in this ep. it's so silly how we're expected to believe 6 months into their relationship they haven't talked about their sexual history or labels esp with buck being all so new to this. but this show always had silly conversations so whatever i guess, the whole thing was very poorly done

[scotianostra]

John and Alexander Ruthven were dragged through the streets of Edinburgh, to the gallows, and hanged disembowelled and beheaded.

Sounds really gruesome eh! Well dont worry the brothers were already long dead, killed during an altercation at Gowrie House in Perth the previous August, the fifth to be exact, infact by rights the day should be remembered, or If you didn’t that date off your jurisdiction is ignoring the Scottish parliament’s 1600 decree: that; “in all times and ages to come the fifth of August should be solemnly kept with prayers, preachings, and thanksgiving for the benefit, discharging all work, labour, and other occupations upon the said day.”

The day in question was the date of the Gowrie conspiracy, a sketchy supposed assassination attempt on King James VI of Scotland. John Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie and his brother Alexander Ruthven were both slain on the spot during that event … but not until 15 weeks later did Parliament rule that “the said bodies of the said Traitors shall be carried, upon Monday next [i.e., November 19], to the publick cross of Edinburgh: and there to be hangd, quarter’d, and drawn, in presence of the hail People: and thereafter, the heads, quarters, and carcasses, to be affix’d upon the most patent parts and places of the Burroughs of Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee and Stirling.”

I've told you before that the Gowrie conspiracy is one of King James's realm’s best mysteries. It’s a maddeningly perplexing sequence of ambiguous (or altogether dubious) events related by interested, partisan sources.

The summary official version — and I.m skipping over such writerly red herrings as a mystery man in the turret, a still-stabled horse, and a wild fable about a pot of foreign gold — is that while staying at the Ruthven estates, James’s courtiers saw him shouting out the window, “I am murtherit! Treassoun! My Lord of Mar, help! help!”

While Lord Mar and others spent half an hour (!) trying to batter down a locked entrance to the regicidal turret, a page named John Ramsay found another staircase in, where he came upon the king and Alexander Ruthven grappling. Ramsay stabbed Ruthven about the head and neck, and Ruthven fled down Ramsay’s same staircase: there he careened headlong into more arriving royal retainers who killed him flat. Ruthven died exclaiming “Allace! I had na wyte [blame] of it!”

Meanwhile, the Lord Gowrie — quite possibly knowing nothing but that there was a commotion involving the king in his home — had rallied outside the courtyard with his own household and marched in swords drawn, passing the fresh-slain body of his little brother on the way. He must have been in an evil temper when he burst into the chamber, there to discover Ramsay and friends, and only them: the king had been locked in another room for his protection. Ramsay demanded Gowrie’s submission and the two crossed swords, with Ramsay running the elder Ruthven through, too.

“… if it be true”

“A very wonderful story, your Majesty, if it be true,” one lord is supposed to have replied to James upon hearing this amazing tale.

If it be true indeed! My main question is, if the King indeed was in danger of being murdered, as he had claimed, I am pretty sure, him being on his own there for some time, the Gowrie household cold have done the deed!

Suspicion was immediately rife that this “treason” stuff was a cover for the king to take out a rival noble. The Ruthvens had often been at odds with King Jamie’s own family; John and Alexander’s own father was beheaded in 1584 for trying to kidnap the then-teenaged king, and their grandfather had helped a gang of nobles destabilize James’s mother Mary by murdering her favorite courtier David Rizzio right before her eyes. And of course, the crown would be able to seize all the “traitors'” estates, nicely flipping around a significant cash debt owed to the Ruthven clan..

To this day historians throw their own theories as to what really happened that day in august.

Any way, the Gowrie brothers bodies were dealt with as those of traitors on this day in 1600.

A wee bit more about this can be found here https://www.thebookblog.co.uk/2013/01/the-gowrie-conspiracy/

[hard-times-paramore]

Assassin's Creed - Unity: Initiate OCs

Heyo everyone! You know how AC Unity has a co-op campaign where you can play with up to 3 other players? But lore-wise, none of those players are necessarily Arno, despite it being his same model, because the campaign happens parallel to the main story. They’re just called Initiates.

Well, I decided to make those up to four nameless Initiates into fully fledged OCs.

This drawing is already a couple weeks old. I've since tweaked their outfits and their heights. But not by much.

Under the cut, you can get to know my children. I will post their backstories separately as well later.

Étienne Castellane-Adrian - Noble

Clement Castellane-Adrian - Noble

Cristine Cabrol - Citizen (middle class)

Laurence Lamarche - Citizen (poor)

-

Cristine and Clement are dating.

Clement and Étienne are brothers.

Étienne is gay, Laurence is bi.

Laurence has Eagle Vision and is biracial.

According to the game mechanics they all should have Eagle Vision. But I'm not going with those mechanics, (for realism, since EV is supposed to be rare,) so only Laurence has it.

They all got inducted at 18 years old. Étienne in 1787, Laurence and Clement in 1788, and Cristine in 1789, just a few months before Arno.

Étienne is the veteran of the team, and therefore the leader, due to having more experience, though his brother Clement competes for the title. Cristine is still a Novice (hasn't done her first Assassination yet).

-

Étienne is gentle and introverted, quiet by nature. Best one at light step and strategy. Admires Clement for being able to lie so well, but still thinks himself the better leader. Wants to run for Master Assassin, by teaching Cristine and Laurence.

Clement is the best at listening, remembering and manipulation. He can be a little rash, but his impulsiveness makes up for Étienne's prudence, and together they balance it out quite well while on missions.

Cristine is the best at disguises, distractions and trespassing. Étienne taught her about noblewoman customs and etiquette, and sometimes she and Clement infiltrate balls and official buildings as a pair. Cristine distracts while Clement uncovers the secrets. This is how they developed feelings for each other.

Laurence is the odd one out of the group. He has Eagle Vision, which is the only thing that balances well with the rest of them. Is good at finding hidden routes for entering and exiting their assignments. Mostly follow orders, without much independent thinking. Étienne is trying to teach him to work better within the team.

[xfangheartx]

Summary- Blitzø and I.M.P. go back to work, and things do happen!

Preview:

  Business went on as usual after that night. Blitzø had shared the news with the rest of the I.M.P Gang about Fizz’s engagement to Ozzie and even revealed that they were all invited to the wedding, though there wasn’t exactly a specific date in mind since Ozzie had to find a place to hold the venue, not to mention the fact that he and Fizz hadn’t exactly made it public yet. Still, they were all very happy for the couple and couldn’t wait for the big day to come.

  For now, though, it was time to get back to doing what they did best: killing people and being paid for it.

  As Blitzø sat at his desk, waiting for any clients to come in, he drummed his fingers on the desk in boredom. While reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and swiped through his contacts.

  Still no word from Stolas. Not even a text.

  Blitzø sighed as he put his phone away. Of course, he still didn’t want to talk to him, right now. He thought maybe after another day had passed, he’d be okay, but it seemed that the prince was adamant about not speaking of him for a while.

  Still, it couldn’t hurt to check on him.

  The imp tapped on his phone before he held it up to the side of his head. The phone rang about eight times but then went straight to voicemail.

   “You’ve reached Prince Stolas of the Goetia. I can’t come to the phone at the moment but will be sure to get back to you at my earliest convenience. Please leave a message.”

  Beep!

  “Uh… hey, Stolas, it’s me,” said Blitzø. “Look… I-I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. I’m not gonna bug you or anything. I know that Halloween was really a rough night for the both of us, but I wanted to be sure that you’re okay, that’s all. You don’t have to call me back, either. I know you need your space right now, so just have Octavia call Loona or Buffy and they can tell me. I’ll see ya later… I mean, when you’re ready to see me.” He gasped. “Oh, and before I forget, I thought I should tell you that Fizz and Ozz are engaged. I mean, I’m pretty sure you knew already, but still. Okay, see ya.”

  With that, he hung up the phone and set it down, just as Buffy opened the door.

  “Daddy, our client’s here,” she said.

  “Thanks, sweetie,” said Blitzø. “Send him in.”

  That’s when this Sinner entered. He looked like a cockroach in a labcoat complete with this set of goggles and black trousers, and his coat had four sleeves to accommodate his four arms.

  “Are you the imp running this assassination establishment?” asked the Sinner.

  “Do you see any other imp around here?” asked Blitzø. “So, what’s your name?”

  “I am Dr. Osvald Pascal III,” said the Sinner in an almost posh manner. “I am here to send out a hit.”

  “On who?” asked Blitzø.

  “Not who, my good sir,” Dr. Pascal said as he put his hands on Blitzø’s desk and leaned forward, eyes narrowing in an almost threatening manner. “Rather, what . You see, being a scientist, I tend to run experiments… and well, this particular one might have gotten a bit out of control. In fact, it’s that beast that did me in.”

  “And whose fault is that?” asked Blitzø.

  “Look, I’ll admit, maybe I’m down here for a reason!” Dr. Pascal admitted. “I might have done some unsavory things when I was alive, but you have to understand something: even I wouldn’t unleash that creature upon the world! Look, I’ll pay you whatever it takes, but just make sure that… that THING dies!” He sighed as he looked at the floor. “There’s no telling what happened to my fellow researchers… I don’t know if any of them escaped or if they were slaughtered, as well.”

  “Fine, fine, we’ll take care of it,” said Blitzø. “I’ll call ya as soon as the job’s done.”

  “Here,” said Dr. Pascal as he handed him the coordinates. “You’ll find the research station here. Take care of it as quickly as possible.” With that, he turned and walked out.

[betterthanapokeintheeye]

Tomorrow aka Sat 1st July 2023, tickets for a lesser known but utterly amazing Discworld event will go sale.

Llamedos Holiday Camp is the place that the Discworld books put in the head of the Camp Director.

We are sure that at some point, the Goddess Narrartivia would have shouted about it very loudly at Terry in the hope he would have written about it, but she didn't get that chance so she seeded the idea in the Camp Directors head instead.

Llamedos Holiday Camp (LHC) is run by an ex assassin Rwby, she graduated from the Assassin's Guild in Ankh-Morpork with ease, but she liked the idea of going home to Llamedos and found herself running a camp for those who wish to be "A Disc-world away...."

She employed a tema she called her PurpleCoats, some of which are a local Druid known as Dai the Druid, Megghie the cleaner, Tim Vimes a comedian, Beryl Ogg and eventually Mistress Weatherwax showed up and announced herself as the Head of Entertainment.

Rincewind stopped in whilst running away from something and the camp found itself a head of sports as a result.

In the past there has been events at Llamedos Holiday Camp, the Dragon Trials (Crufts for Swamp Dragons) and a small WItch Trials commitee showed up one year and this year, the local Scout association the Llamedos Pathfinders, asked if they could run a Discworld Scout Jamboree at the camp.

So for 2024 the Llamedos Holiday Camp Scout Jamboree is the place to be!

With Scouts from all over Discworld convening on the camp, Rwby decided that they should provide some exclusive activity badges and make it a small but fun competition.

There are 10 Scout regions on the Disc, and Rwby thought they would enjoy the challenge of competing to be the Best of the Best of the Best Discworld Scouts

Llamedos Holiday Camp is an event designed and run for adults.

We always say that our camp guests are a bit like the Nac Mac Feegles, they drink, they swear, they fight and they have an absolute blast.

There are no talks or panels at Llamedos Holiday Camp, it is all activty based with some shows where YOU are the star guest.

With just 160 Campers at the event, it is a small event with a Big heart.

Now the facts.

Tickets cost £135 per person for the weekend.

Your ticket includes your evening meals on Friday and Saturday (main course only), a ticket to our Costume Ball on Sunday and a Jamboree Essentials Knapsack which contains a neckchief, woggle, Scout Handbook and a variety of items that you will need for completely those all important activity badges.

Accommodation is not included, but we do have some options available. We have two hotels and a lawn upon which you can actually camp if you so choose.

Location - Llamedos Holiday Camp is located at The Diplomat Hotel in Llanelli, Wales. Yes we are in "Llamedos" !

Dates - Fri 1st March - Sun 3rd March 2024 - We run until Midnight on the Sunday and you really wouldn't want to miss our infamous Costume Ball.

Whats left to tell you?

Tickets sell quickly - we do operate a waiting list in case someone wishes to sell their ticket on at a later date (all resales MUST be done via our system or we invalidate the ticket).

Llamedos Holiday Camp tuns every two years.

Llamedos Holiday Camp is FUN and is run by the same people who also run Discworld Monthly .

(Discworld Monthly does NOT run Llamedos Holiday Camp though - separate companies)

Check out our website and hopefully we'll see you at a future Llamedos Holiday Camp event!

[suedeonym]

Day V

My take on this:

"I'll be your waitress tonight. My name is Dorian. So, what can I start you two off with?"

Zené held his tongue as Marie ordered water and a glass of chardonnay. Zené just ordered a water, wanting Dorian to leave as quickly as possible. Dorian was Spike, a villain who liked to make his life miserable, coming up with some plan or another or just stealing something from the Embassy. He wasn't supposed to know her secret identity. It wasn't in her file. But he did. She wasn't supposed to know his. He was a hero. But she did.

"It looked like you knew that waitress. Who is she?"

"Just, uh, somebody I see sometimes. I come here, she waits my tables, she comes to the junkyard, says hi as she drops off some scraps or something."

"Oh, what do you do?"

"Um... Crusher operator at the junkyard. Half the time I'm rescuing perfectly good cars from people who think a dent's worth trashing 30+ thousand dollars of first car material. I'm also the unofficial salesman. Cheapskate parents'll come to the junkyard to buy some clunker, I sell a beauty of a '97 Camaro for $2,000. Half the time when it comes back, it's totaled. Fun times."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Yeah."

Dorian came back with menus and the drinks, then promptly left. Zené looked at the menu, so it wouldn't seem so awkward for Marie even though he already knew what he wanted.

"What do you recommend, Zené? I've never really been to a fancy restaurant."

"Oh. Well my go to is alfredo, either chicken or shrimp, or a well-done t-bone or sirloin. Expensive, but worth the convenience."

"Hmm." Marie flipped through the menu, locating the items he mentioned, rocking her head back and forth trying to decide. "I think I'll go sirloin with the special on the side"

"That's a great choice. Their specials are always amazing." About 15 minutes later, Dorian came back.

"Y'all know whatcha want?"

"Yeah. What's the special today?" Marie asked.

"We have chili soup and we have Naomi's Concoction, basically an alfredo casserole."

"Oooh. I'll have a side of, what was it, Naomi's Concoction? with a sirloin medium-well."

"Alright, medium-well. And for you, sir?"

"Chicken and shrimp alfredo, all in one, with a side of the chili special."

"Alright! Comin' right up."

Dorian walked off with a mischievous pep in her step. Zené noticed and sighed. Yet another date to-be-crashed. Just great. The only thing to do now was wait. Dorian never crashed his dates the same way twice. The first one was a simple case of bullying. Dorian came to the cafe as a "friend", making fun of everything the girl did. Another was an assassination as he walked the girl home. There were a few others, but each time Dorian was behind it and each time she made sure Zené knew.

Innocently, she brought the food to the table after about 20 minutes, the average time it took any amount of food to be made at The Golden Goose.

Zené dug in. He refused to stress out over what could be when he had no proof. Instead, he wanted to get it over with and he wanted to enjoy himself.

Dorian came by a couple times, as any good waitress should, not carrying any poisons or venoms on her. Marie commented on how good the food was and Dixie smiled politely.

Zené and Marie finished eating and sat back, full. Before long, Marie excused herself to go to the bathroom and that's when Dorian's plan sprang into action. She has planned it thoroughly, and was able to get her shift ended then. She changed into her normal clothes and sat where Marie was sitting, across from Zené.

"What're you doing? Aren't you on the clock?" Zené hissed.

"Nope, just got off. Works when you own the company."

"What-? You own this?"

"Yeah. How do you think I fund my villainy?"

Zené opened his mouth to respond, then closed it, nodding in acceptance.

"That girl. Marie. You'd really choose her over me?"

"Uh, yeah. You're a villain. I'm a hero. There's a big difference between us. I'm not gonna get with somebody who I'm gonna have to fight in the morning."

"Y'know, you wouldn't have to if we were married."

"No. And you know why."

"Let me guess: morality?"

"Precisely."

"Well, then it would be a shame if I stole you from your date, wouldn't it?"

Zené's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean. So don't try to deny it. I know your nature. And I will use it to my advantage every time."

Marie came out of the bathroom and took stock of what she saw before launching into a tirade.

"Get out of my seat. That boy is mine. And if I see you with him again, I just might do something you'll regret."

"Oh really?" Dorian hummed, chuckling, "You'll do something I'll regret? I would love to see that." She slinked around the table and latched onto Zené's arm, who, with a miserable attempt, tried to get her off. Tried to get away. But she held fast and kept him anchored to the spot.

Marie threw a punch and Zené sighed. No civilian had the prowess to be a villain of Dorian's caliber.

Dorian caught Marie's arm and pressed her to the table calmly, yet firmly. She handed the half-empty bottle of chardonnay to Dixie, who took a swig, then said, "I get what I want no matter what, so I recommend you don't make this any bigger of a scene than it already is and leave. Let me have my man, and you can take whoever else you want." She let Marie go, who sulked out of there, and the rest of the patrons clapped at how decisively and quietly it was handled. Dorian bowed, then took Zené by the hand and left.

The next day, Zené went about his day like nothing had happened. Until he was summoned, privately of course, by Dorian. Well, by Spike. So he went in as Generator.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, really. I've just noticed that your dates have looked more and more like me lately. Is that on purpose?" Generator thought about it. It hadn't been on purpose. But when your type is tall chubby hourglass goth, you look for that more than anything else. Generator set his jaw, annoyed by her accuracy.

"You can't just keep crashing my dates!" Generator blurted.

"Well, I mean, I keep doing it, so "can't" I don't think, is the operative word here." Generator scoffed.

"Stop crashing my dates."

"Oh, you don't go on them looking for a version of me that'll fit your moral code? Someone who looks like me and acts like me and who's similar enough that you can mold to be me without it being me?"

"...No."

"You don't want me to just claim you right then and there, pinning you to the table so we get removed and I take you to my place and we continue where we left off?"

"N-No."

"Oh. Then I'll stop."

"Wh-What?"

"I'll stop crashing your dates and flirting with you and we can go back to our hero/villain relationship while you find someone to marry. That's what you want, right? Of course, you could always say please."

"Say please?"

"Yeah. Say please and I'll pin you to the wall, kiss you breathless, and screw your pretty little brains into oblivion." Spike closed the gap, pouring two glasses of strawberry wine on her way. She offered one glass and Generator took it, taking a sip. It was good. Spike downed her glass, then set it on a nearby table. She advanced and Generator found his back hit a wall abnormally quickly. He took another sip of the wine.

"Just say you don't want this. It's that simple."

"No," Generator whispered. His nature made lying nearly impossible. It caused him to shake, like he was high or something. All that fixed it was the truth. Now, he could fool a lie detector and he could worm his way around the shaking, but he preferred not to lie.

The wine glass started to shudder, threatening to spill. He took another sip. Spike took the drink from him and set it on the table before settling her hand on the wall by his left shoulder. Generator knew one way to fix the shaking that was threatening to erupt out of him.

"Please~" he gasped, eyes unfocused as a wicked grin grew on Spike's face. She kissed him and he melted into it, supporting himself with her shoulder. She pressed him into the wall and got started on a hickey while he moaned and shuddered as the need overwhelmed him.

From then on, the only dates were with her in her office or her house.

Hi! Absolutely love your writing :) Would you be willing to do a enemies to lovers but with hero x villain? Maybe with like a controlling villain and the hero secretly likes it but is defiant externally? Sorry idk if that made sense lol

Thank you in advance though if you're able to!

"You can't just keep crashing my dates."

The villain glanced over their shoulder, raising an eyebrow in a mimicry of an emotion that didn't quite reach their eyes. "No?"

"No." The hero stalked closer, stopping in front of the villain, in time for them to turn. "I'm not yours."

"No?"

"No!" The hero's heart gave a little skip, at the possibility that the villain would then look at them and then say (in a growl, or devastatingly matter-of-fact, or in a teasing purr) 'yes, you are' or 'you're most certainly mine'. The villain had done it before.

The villain tilted their head, offering the hero one of the two glasses of wine they had just poured.

The hero took it, anticipating.

The villain didn't say anything, simply watching them as they took a steady sip.

The hero's face burned but they refused, stubbornly, to look away.

The villain set their glass down on the counter behind them. No rush.

The hero imagined the villain grabbing them, kissing them, as they had done before too. Twirling them, glass flying and wine sloshing, and pressing them up against the nearest flat surface. They would change every no to yes and please and more.

They both knew the routine, the dance of it. It didn't need saying.

"Your dates look increasingly like me," the villain murmured. "Have you noticed?" Their hands stayed, agonisingly, at their sides, as they leaned lazy against the counter.

The hero blinked, not expecting the comment. They took a sip of the wine instead of replying, hoping that perhaps an equally steady silence might come across as cool and mysterious instead of flabbergasted.

The villain smiled. "Say please."

"W-what?"

"Say please if you want me to screw your pretty brains out until you can't think straight."

The hero spluttered. "That's not - I'm not - that's not why I'm here." They undoubtedly would say please, but it had never been so close to the start, so when there wasn't any excuse they could possibly give for the desperate needing of it.

"No?"

"No." The hero swallowed.

"So you don't go on your little dates just to wind me up?" The villain finally straightened, taking a step closer.

The hero stepped back, but didn't run, didn't want to. Mesmerised. Their mouth felt very dry. "No." Such a lie.

The villain's smile grew. "You don't secretly wish I'd kiss you, claim you, in front of all of them?"

"No." The hero jutted their chin up. "I'm not a thing to be claimed."

The villain advanced; the hero back-tracked.

"You don't," the villain continued, a honeyed murmur, "say no, because you love all the ways I can persuade you. Because then you can pretend you don't want this. Because you like watching me take control of you."

The hero's back hit the wall. Miraculously, the wine didn't spill, still clutched uselessly in one hand.

"No."

"Mm." The villain set their palms on either side of the hero's shoulders, and the hero felt the very air between them might start vibrating with the urge to close the gap. "Perhaps I'll never crash one of your dates again then."

The thought was unbearable. The villain was bluffing, right? They had to be bluffing.

The hero wet their lips. The villain's gaze dropped to follow the movement, then flicked back up to the hero's eyes.

"You're a bastard," the hero whispered, because it was true and it wasn't no.

"Why yes," the villain's eyes gleamed, "I am." They waited.

The hero's stomach squirmed. "Are you actually going to make me say it?"

"I thought I didn't control you. I thought you weren't mine."

The hero shivered.

"So how could I," the villain leaned in to the hero's ear, still not quite touching, "possibly make you do anything?"

"...please."

"What was that, love?"

"I hate you."

"Do you?" The villain's lips finally pressed against their skin, kissing down their neck.

"Yes. So much." The hero's head fell back, offering more of their throat. The wine glass drooped in their hand.

"Don't spill on my floor."

The wine glass righted with titan concentration. There was nowhere to put it down.

The villain kissed them; soft, so soft, a promise of so much more to come.

"Would you like me to stop?" the villain asked against their lips.

"...no."

"No?"

"No."

The villain hummed and kissed them again, a little harder. The wine glass wobbled treacherously in the hero's hand once more. The hero's other hand clutched the villain's shoulder.

"I think we're done with the stage in our relationship where you pretend to date other people," the villain said, when they pulled back, breathless. They caught the hero's chin, and their stare was, for a moment, serious.

The hero scrambled past the kiss-drunk haze, brow furrowing. "It's actually bothering you?"

"No," the villain said, in the same tone that the hero said no, meaning yes.

"Okay." The hero leaned in to kiss them, just once, reassuring.

Tension eased out of the villain's shoulders. The wicked playfulness returned, and they shoved the hero back against the wall again. The next kiss was a consuming, hungry thing, and the hero could only chase after more than they were given, gasping.

The villain nipped the hero's neck, before giving a chiding click of their tongue. It once again sent an anticipatory shiver of delight down the hero's spine.

"Oh, would you look at that," the villain said, with soft and bewitching menace. "You spilled my wine. However shall I make you pay me back for that?"

"Make me?" The hero bit their lip. "You think you can make me do anything? Please."

The villain grinned.

There were no more dates with other people after that.

[100beep]

A Pair of Holy Assassins

Liyue was a disaster.

Zhongli turns out to have been Rex Lapis this whole time. He was always planning to give up the Gnosis and fake his death - for what, Childe can’t imagine, but it makes all his plans rather useless. When he reveals this and his plans with Scaramouche, Childe is pissed.

That’s not the worst part. The worst part is that, as he hands the Gnosis over, Scaramouche doesn’t return to Snezhnaya with it. Instead, he steals a boat and is halfway to Inazuma before anyone knows he’s not doing his duty. They learn this after the fact from an eyewitness report by Captain Beidou, whose ship it was that was stolen.

Upon his return to Snezhnaya, Childe is somewhat terrified of what the Tsaritsa will do to him for his failure. The Tsaritsa simply laughs at his concern.

“There was nothing you could have done,” she says before sending him off to Inazuma to hunt down Scaramouche.

In Inazuma, he finds war.

The Shogun’s Vision Hunt Decree has torn the islands apart. Watatsumi has mounted a resistance and is now a refuge for Vision-holders who wish to keep their Visions, as well as anyone else who disliked the Shogunate for whatever reason. Scaramouche, according to the Tsaritsa, would likely fall into the second group, looking for revenge for being cast aside, but Childe finds no evidence of his involvement on either side of the war.

Failing to find evidence of Scaramouche in the Resistance, he tracks down other Fatui involvement in the war. They’ve been supplying Delusions to the Resistance from a factory in Tatarasuna for years. Why anyone signed off on that, Childe can’t imagine, given the value of a Delusion, but it’s not his job to tell them to stop.

Childe doesn’t want to lend the Shogunate the legitimacy of having two Harbingers, so he leaves those islands to Signora - who’s been here this entire time, for some reason. Instead, he goes to Watatsumi Island - if Scaramouche will involve himself in this war, it will be on the side of the Resistance.

Watatsumi Island is surprisingly peaceful for being in the middle of a war. There are battalions of soldiers training, but no actual fighting. The biggest impact of the war, at least on this particular island, is the lack of food. Which Childe does his part to remedy, spending his days on one of the boats dodging patrols to bring in food. It’s the best place to hear any rumors, he reasons. (He spends his nights in a tent in a remote corner of the island, as the few inns and hotels on the island have been commandeered for soldier’s barracks.)

A week and a half later, he’s proven right when he hears the two soldiers come to collect the shipment of grain gossiping about a Harbinger coming to visit. They don’t immediately shut up when they see him, which means they’re not talking about him, and Signora wouldn��t risk losing the Shogun’s goodwill, which means that there’s a decent chance that it’s Scaramouche they’re talking about.

Childe presses them for more details. They almost immediately supply them, to Childe’s mild disapproval - anyone with that level of information should be better at keeping it quiet. They say that this Harbinger will be meeting with Kokomi - who Childe has gathered is the leader of the Resistance. Which Harbinger it is, they don’t know, but they can speculate that the meeting is on the influx of Delusions. And they give the precise date and time of the meeting - early morning a week from now.

As much as Childe would like to take on Scaramouche head-to-head, he knows that he doesn’t stand a chance - and regardless, the Foul Legacy draws far too much attention. Luckily, behind the shrine that’s been converted to an operations center is another shrine, much smaller and abandoned - and he’d brought one of Dottore’s new sniper rifles.

On the evening of the meeting, he lies flat, ready to shoot as soon as he sees Scaramouche. It’s not the best angle, but he’s a good enough marksman (with a rifle, anyways) to be confident that Scaramouche won’t leave alive.

An arrow hits beside his head, sending up a mini-explosion of earth. “That was a warning shot,” a voice above him says. It’s matched with a boot on his back. “Drop the gun, put your hands above your head, then you can get up slowly and explain to the Divine Priestess why you’re trying to kill her.”

Childe curses internally, then releases his hold on the rifle. When he raises his hands, they’re encased in some kind of shackles - he expects it’s a Geo construct of some kind. The gun is pulled away, and once his captor is satisfied he can’t resist, the boot is lifted from his back.

He rolls over - away from where the arrow hit - and gets the first look at the person who managed to capture him. Drawn bow with an arrow pointing at him - he’d expect no less. Watatsumi Resistance, and high-ranking. Then he sees the ears and tail and bites back a laugh despite the situation. He’d been captured by a dog hybrid. He takes Childe’s Vision and Delusion, somehow knowing exactly where Childe keeps them, then returns the Vision encased in stone. Childe can still feel his connection to it, but can tell that he won’t be able to use it.

His captor releases the bow and it dissolves into wherever weapons go when they’re not in use. Then he walks Childe to their makeshift operations center, where he finds Scaramouche and who he assumes to be Kokomi waiting for him.

“Your assassin, exactly as I predicted,” says Scaramouche as if bored, waving a hand at Tartaglia. He looks ready to continue, but Childe interrupts.

“I’m here to kill him, not you,” he says quickly, pointing at Scaramouche.

“Whyever would you want to kill your fellow Harbinger?” Scaramouche asks in a mocking imitation of confusion.

“You know perfectly well you turned traitor,” Childe spits back.

“Such an outrageous claim,” Scaramouche says. “And you with no proof.”

“Signed orders from the Tsaritsa don’t count?” Childe asks. To one of the soldiers, he says “A scroll in my back pocket. I’d get it myself, but…” He holds up his hands encased in stone.

Kokomi nods and the soldier grabs the scroll and hands it to her.

Childe considers saying something about their lack of caution, but decides against it. She scans it, then announces “Faked,” soaking it with her Vision and rendering it illegible.

As Gorou drags him off to a cell, he hears Kokomi tell Scaramouche “It appears we owe you a great debt.”

The cell where he’s to be kept is alone in the open air, as seems to be common in Inazuma for anyone who isn’t the Shogunate. Once he’s locked up, he asks Gorou to remove the binding on his hands. Gorou, apparently reluctantly, partly agrees, reducing it to a pair of shackles. As night falls, he tries - and fails - to sleep. Comfort isn’t an issue, but Scaramouche outsmarting him again so quickly stings.

He must have drifted off at some point because he’s woken up near midnight by someone shaking him. He’s alert in a second, and seeing that it’s Gorou waking him, he immediately tries to summon a blade. He fails, of course, due to the strange encasing on his Vision.

“Come with me quietly,” Gorou whispers. “We know your orders are real.”

Childe blinks in surprise, then nods and follows. If this is some kind of trap, he’ll have a better chance of escaping outside of the cage.

Gorou leads him to a secluded meeting room where Kokomi is waiting for the two of them. As soon as the doors close, Childe says “Can I ask what’s going on now?” He’s rather exasperated by the cloak-and-dagger nonsense this is turning into.

Kokomi answers a different question. “We know that Scaramouche turned traitor. We knew even before you showed up. But we’re not in a position to fight another god, so we took him in, despite the risk to us.”

She pauses, and Childe notices just how tired she looks. “So I have an offer for you. You get our help to kill Scaramouche, and your freedom, and you reclaim whatever it was he stole from you. You keep supplying us with Delusions and you kill Kujou Sara.”

Childe considers. It’s not a bad deal, and from what he knows of Sara he can take her fairly easily. But he does have a secondary goal in Inazuma - one that Kokomi should already know after reading his orders.

So he makes a counteroffer. “We kill Scaramouche, I kill Sara, I show you how to use a Delusion safely - well, relatively safely - then I join the Resistance until the Shogun is dead, on the condition that I get her Gnosis.”

Kokomi quickly agrees, and Childe belatedly realizes that this was probably her goal in the first place. Not that it matters - he’d still agree to that deal if it was offered, but it annoys him that he’s still so easily manipulated.

They shake on it, then begin planning. Gorou removes the case on his Vision, weakens his restraints enough for them to be breakable, and then returns him to his cage.

The next morning, he’s woken by a nervous-looking messenger. He says quickly “You have been found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death.

Childe pretends to despair - not very well, he thinks - and to fight back - better, but still not very well - as six soldiers drag him off to his execution. It’s all for the benefit of whoever’s watching, of course - all six of his “jailers” know what’s going on.

He’s put on a platform in front of three people - Kokomi, Gorou, and Scaramouche. The six guards leave without binding him in any way, which should be Scara’s first and only warning, but he’s too caught up in arrogance to notice.

“The would-be assassin, thanks to you,” Kokomi says. “If you would like the honor, you may kill him.”

Scaramouche quickly agrees, then makes a show of summoning an Electro ax, examining it, polishing it somehow, and a few practice swings, gloating all the while. And so he’s entirely unprepared for two blades at his throat - one from Childe and one from Gorou - and a hand inside his chest grabbing the Gnosis. He tries backing away and is stopped by another knife in Kokomi’s hand.

As soon as the Gnosis is recovered and Childe’s hand removed - which takes all of ten seconds - Gorou removes his blade from Scaramouche’s throat and stabs him through the heart.

As he sees Scaramouche’s body start to smolder, Childe shoves the Gnosis into Gorou’s hands, says “Run!” and activates his Foul Legacy.

Kokomi and Gorou both turn and run at the panic in the Childe’s voice.

Childe summons as much of an Electro shield as he can, then also runs. He’s caught up to Gorou within a second, after which he shadows him. (Kokomi has wildly outpaced both of them with her Vision.) When he’s counted fourteen seconds from Scaramouche’s death, he knocks Gorou to the ground, covering him.

He does so barely in time for the massive explosion that comes from Scaramouche’s body. It easily overpowers his rushed shields, a wave of force washing over him.

As soon as he gets off Gorou - who thankfully isn’t crushed by the weight of the Foul Legacy - he transforms back into his regular form. Gorou picks himself up and asks “Was that really necessary?” Then he turns around and sees the smoking crater and acknowledges that yes, it was necessary.

“What was that?” Kokomi asks, having returned from over the ocean. “The death of a god,” answers Childe. He’s looking a bit roughed up - the rapid activation of the Foul Legacy takes its toll.

“I know about that,” Kokomi answers. “I mean, what did you do?”

Childe winces. It’s not something he wants to make widely known. “It’s a Foul Legacy form. Abyssal teachings designed to fight gods. And that is all I will say on that.”

Neither of them is satisfied with that answer, but neither care enough to press.

“And now I owe you a death,” Childe states. “Although you may have to wait a few days for me to recover.”

During his recovery, Childe asks Gorou for the Gnosis back. He complies, pulling it out of a pocket, then asks why he was trusted with it. “Did you expect me to use it to shield myself?”

Childe laughs. “It was nothing to do with trust. But the Foul Legacy is incompatible with such a concentration of divine power, and you were closer.”

Killing Kujou Sara goes far smoother than either attempt to kill Scaramouche. He indulges himself with a one-on-one fight, walking into the encampment and challenging her to a duel. She accepts, likely from overconfidence from recently beating an oni for his Vision. Childe can certainly see why they want her dead. If she has as much control over her soldiers as she does her body, she’d make a dangerous enemy on the battlefield. It’s a surprisingly tough fight - Childe is forced to resort to using his Delusion a few times, but he wins out eventually.

After that one fight, he takes the role of common soldier, declining all offers of any higher rank. “I’m a weapon to be pointed, not a commander,” he says.

Very few of the battles after that are remotely interesting - with the loss of Sara and the addition of Childe, the Resistance steadily pushes through Kannazuka and prepares for a direct invasion of Inazuma City.

Of course, proper use of the Delusions that are still flowing in help. Safety won’t stop them draining their users, but it does reduce it - and more importantly, makes them more effective and less prone to backlash.

Between battles, Childe, Gorou, and Kokomi (nominally, as she’s rarely present) begin their plans to kill the Shogun. Once more, it can’t be a straight fight - contrary to popular opinion among the Harbingers, Childe knows when there’s a fight he can’t win. So another assassination attempt it is.

Childe’s first plan is to steal into the Tenshukaku, taking the Shogun by surprise when she’s conducting business.

Gorou points out that there’s nowhere in the Tenshukaku that has both a free shot to the Shogun and is far enough away that they won’t be caught in the blast from her death. Then he proposes baiting her out and taking a shot from there. Unfortunately, by Childe’s insistence, it needs to be somewhere secluded to avoid loss of civilian life, and the Shogun only leaves for public appearances.

After about a week of going nowhere, Childe bemoans his lack of shielding abilities. Gorou asks if he can use the Gnosis to create better shields, and Childe answers “I don’t have enough power over others to use it effectively.”

He then pauses and studies Gorou. After far too long for comfort, he says “But you do.”

Gorou raises both eyebrows. “You’d trust me with that?”

Childe sighs. “After the Liyue fiasco, I wouldn’t trust anyone with it. But you’ve returned it before…” He trails off, and the subject is dropped for now.

After another week of increasingly harebrained schemes, none of which have any chance of working, and a stall in pushing into Inazuma City because the Shogun would likely defend it, Childe agrees to loan Gorou the Gnosis. “And this way, I still have the option of the Foul Legacy if it’s needed.”

After that, the planning is quite straightforward, for a nice change. Wait until the Shogun comes out for some ceremony, take a shot at her, and Gorou contains the energy with the Gnosis once his shields are strong enough - which shouldn’t be that long, considering his natural affinity for Geo.

These plans all go out the window when, as the Resistance defends Kannazuka, the Shogun joins the battle.

Up until that point, as was now standard, the Resistance had been fighting off the Shogunate fairly easily. They’d been pushing the offensive for long enough that any offensive had been seen as foolish at best. Among the soldiers, it’s the subject of more than a few jokes.

As soon as Childe sees the Shogun, floating above the rest of the army, he curses and activates his Foul Legacy. He shoots off a few arrows, hoping for the rest of the archers to follow his lead, then the distance is closed. He quickly comes in behind her, turning her attention to him from the rest of the army. And then they fight.

The Shogun isn’t nearly as strong as Childe expected. Granted, she can’t use the Musou no Hitachi without destroying her entire army, but her offense feels… lacking. It’s almost as if she’s holding back. Her defense, however, is impeccable. She can perfectly block Childe’s strikes as fast as he can make them. The occasional volley of arrows that comes from behind is vaporized before they touch her - Childe’s not entirely sure how, but assumes it’s some sort of Electro aura.

Childe backs up, ignoring the volley of arrows coming at him - with his Foul Legacy armor, they’re little more than an annoyance. The Shogun follows, pressing the attack. Once they reach the edge of the ocean, Childe continues backing up, hovering over the water. The Shogun follows. As the two fight, an arrow narrowly misses the Shogun. This wouldn’t be notable except for the fact that it was close enough that it should be vaporized but wasn’t. And also from the fact that it hadn’t curved down over such a distance.

From slightly behind the front lines, Gorou curses. Then he shoots another arrow, letting it charge longer than normal to consolidate the power of the Gnosis.

After the arrow misses, more fire. The Shogun manages to dodge most of them, but some connect, and they cause significant damage. Childe quickly presses the advantage from this, driving the Shogun back to the bulk of the army.

Another arrow hits, and the Shogun stumbles. Childe attacks from above, and the Shogun blocks. Childe keeps pressing down, and the Shogun drops into the water.

As soon as her foot touches the water, Childe uses it, a surge of water engulfing her and dragging her down. She attempts one last strike but the water binds her, and Childe finishes the fight with a decapitating strike.

As soon as he’s won, he speeds away from the body in preparation for the explosion of divine energy.

It never comes. Instead, the body simply dissolves. Childe questions this, but decides that he can question it later and returns to the fight on the shore, attacking from the rear. On the shore, as soon as the Shogunate soldiers see the Shogun fall, the battle turns into a rout. The soldiers continue fighting, but all hope that the attack is successful is lost.

After that battle and the death of the Shogun, the Resistance finalizes plans for the direct invasion of Inazuma City. Now that the Shogun is dead, there’s nothing stopping them, and they decide to press the advantage as soon as they can. Of course, this leaves no time for considering anything else, including why the Shogun’s death wasn’t anywhere near as destructive as it should be or why she had no Gnosis. Childe raises some concerns about this, but eventually agrees that there can be time for this later.

The landing on the south of Byakko Plain goes as well as can be expected, in large part because of the loss of morale from the death of the Shogun. The Shogunate is cleared off the plains quickly, after which the battle devolves into individual scuffles in the streets of Inazuma City.

The first order of business upon capturing the city, even before clearing it of the remaining Shogunate soldiers, is destroying the Statue of the Omnipresent God - now no longer omnipresent. All ninety-eight Visions are removed from it - ninety-six of them to be returned to their owners, the last two having died, to be given to anyone who can activate them. And then a dozen soldiers with sledgehammers - no one knows where they got the sledgehammers, nor does anyone care to ask - destroy it. Well, as much as can be done with sledgehammers - Gorou takes over with his Vision once there’s only solid stone left.

While mopping up the last of the Shogunate soldiers, Childe enters the Tenshukaku alone. There are no soldiers there that he can find, everyone having abandoned it after the Shogun’s death. There are a few terrified children who’d come in to hide from the fighting. Childe removes his mask and tells them how to get out of the city without attracting any attention. They’re more than happy to listen.

In what appears to be a deserted corridor, the back of Childe’s neck prickles. Out of pure instinct, he throws himself to the floor, barely dodging a thunderbolt.

He’s back on his feet within seconds, looking for where the sudden attack came from. It doesn’t repeat, but the Shogun steps out of an alcove and draws her sword from within her chest.

Childe curses internally, then sends a prayer to whoever might be listening that he survives this. He’s already overused his Foul Legacy lately, and without it, he doesn’t stand a chance. (Even with it, he needed help to beat the Shogun last time.) He’d wonder how the Shogun survived, but he’s too busy surviving himself.

While Childe is desperately dodging the Shogun’s attacks, Gorou gets a sudden feeling that he’s needed elsewhere. He summons a binding around the legs of the soldier he’s fighting to end that fight quickly, then runs for the Tenshukaku.

As soon as he enters the building, he knows exactly where he’s needed. He slows down slightly as he sheathes his sword, draws his bow and lets the Geo energy accumulate. He runs through a hole in the wall, barely dodging another lightning bolt as he does so.

There’s a moment of confusion when he sees the Shogun before he decides that there’s time to puzzle that out later and looses the arrow. It hits the Shogun in a spray of earth that buys Childe time to catch his breath.

His bow dissolves and he draws his sword again. Their only chance is to keep the fight at close distance - for some reason, the Shogun’s attacks only get stronger with distance.

Gorou begins the offensive and Childe joins a few seconds later. Without his Foul Legacy, he can’t do much, but he does serve as a distraction.

Then he gets an idea. “Box her in,” he calls to Gorou, rolling out of the way of another lightning bolt.

Gorou nods and thrusts his sword forwards. As expected, it’s dodged, but a wall still rises from floor to ceiling behind her. The Shogun counterattacks, in response to which Childe retreats behind Gorou, who blocks with another wall summoned, this one more transparent.

Electro energy explodes from the Shogun in all directions. Gorou falls to his knees maintaining the walls, but they do survive. However, the other physical walls - and the ceiling - are blown out. (The floor, being built on stone, survives.) Childe dashes forwards and places a hand on the Geo wall, summoning three Electro sides to the box encasing the Shogun.

The Shogun begins a consistent assault on the back wall. Childe electrifies it, making it harder and adding a backlash - not that the backlash does much.

Childe sees an opportunity in the small space and summons his narwhal underneath the Shogun. The small space constricts its size, but it also makes it impossible to dodge, sending the Shogun flying and into the electrified ceiling, knocking her out.

Gorou resummons his bow, opens a small gap in the wall, and takes aim through it.

He’s stopped by a voice calling “Wait!” from behind them. In an instant, Childe has turned around with an arrow drawn and pointed at a woman who had apparently appeared from nowhere.

“Why should I?” asks Gorou, not taking his eyes or his aim off the Shogun.

“I’ll give you the Gnosis in exchange for her life,” the mysterious woman answers, drawing said Gnosis from a pocket.

“The Gnosis and a promise from her to abdicate, leave Inazuma, and never return,” Gorou counteroffers.

“And an explanation on how she returned from the dead,” Childe adds.

She sighs and agrees. Gorou closes the hole in the wall, not taking his eyes off the Shogun.

“The two Shoguns is easy to explain,” she says as she hands the Gnosis to Childe. “The one you fought first was a puppet designed for day-to-day rule.”

Which would be why it didn’t count as a god’s death, Childe thinks.

“And your oath to abdicate and never return,” Gorou says to the Shogun.

The Shogun doesn’t answer, instead making one last desperate assault on the walls. Gorou reopens the gap, and before any attack can get through it, sends an arrow through the Shogun’s head.

“Get the other two walls,” Childe commands. “I can’t hold it.”

Gorou curses, then summons another two walls, while Childe removes the Electro ceiling. A wave of Electro comes from the Shogun’s body, entirely directed up.

The mysterious woman vanishes as suddenly as she appeared.

“That was… odd,” Childe says. And then they both return to the city, finishing the sweep for the Shogunate soldiers.

After the cleanup, Childe finds Kokomi - who’s extremely busy with the administrative work from taking over the country.

“The Shogun is dead and you’ve won,” he says. “And I must return to Snezhnaya.”

She nods without looking up.

The last thing he needs to do before returning is get the Geo Gnosis from Gorou. Gorou hands it over, but as soon as Childe touches it, he pulls his hand back sharply from the burn.

“Apparently I can’t hold more than one,” he says. “And since you won’t want to come to Snezhnaya with me, I’ll be back.”

“I can come with you,” Gorou offers. “The war’s over, I’m sure I can be spared for a few days.” Truth be told, he’s been at a bit of a loose end since the war had ended.

Childe nods. “Excellent - that should save some time. If you’d like to stay in Snezhnaya, I’m always recruiting for interesting people like you.”

Gorou blinks in shock. After a moment, he nods. “Maybe. I don’t know if I’ll be needed here again… but I’ll consider it.”

Childe grins. It’s a better answer than he’d expected. “In that case, the ship leaves in three hours on the tide… the two-way one.”

Gorou laughs, then goes off to pack hurriedly.

The trip to Snezhnaya goes quite smoothly. Gorou has questions about the Fatui that Childe is mostly happy to answer - although Gorou’s not always happy to hear the answers. Childe also continues his attempted recruitment of Gorou, which leads to a large number of their conversations being about the Fatui in some way or another.

The first thing Childe does upon arrival in Snezhnaya is tell Gorou exactly how the meeting with the Tsaritsa will go. She tends to be rather strict when it comes to respect, and while Childe thinks that with two Gnoses, he’s bought enough goodwill for her to disregard any slip-ups, he doesn’t want to take the chance.

Childe enters the throne room beside Gorou. They proceed to the base of the Tsaritsa’s throne and kneel, and when the Tsaritsa says “Rise,” Childe proceeds to his lesser throne, while Gorou stands behind it.

The Tsaritsa begins “Tartaglia. Your return from Inazuma comes slightly later than I had hoped, but no later than I expected. Report.”

“Your Majesty,” Tartaglia says. He reaches into his chest for the Gnosis and gestures for Gorou to do the same. “I report success on all counts.”

The Tsaritsa is impressed, although she does not show it. “Very good,” she says. She walks to Tartaglia’s throne and accepts the two Gnoses. Both of them are curious at how she can hold more than one, and both are disciplined enough to not ask.

After their report to the Tsaritsa, Childe gives Gorou a tour of the city, who is suitably impressed by the landmarks. On the journey over, Gorou had decided to stay for a few days - what’s the point of a four-day journey if he’s only going to stay for a few hours?

Childe leaves the city the morning after their arrival, going to somewhere in the country. He gives Gorou no details.

Gorou spends those few days alone, mostly touring the city. He does, however, spend some time asking questions about the Fatui - he trusts Childe, but the person trying to recruit you might not always be the best source of information. He finds that Childe was entirely truthful, leaving very little out.

He returns a few days later, ready to go out on another mission.

“Where will you be going next?” Gorou asks.

“Natlan, most likely,” Childe answers. “We’re still hunting Gnoses, Dottore’s in Sumeru, and Arlecchino in Fontaine.”

Gorou nods. “I’ve always wanted to visit there,” he says.

“You could come with me,” Childe says, half-jokingly.

Gorou laughs. “I don’t suppose I could join on a trial basis?” he asks.

Childe nods. “I can work something out.”

[xtrablak674]

I am Alive

I'm trying to remember if there are any picture of my father and me together after this image, and I don't think there are any, ergo my using this photo as the thumbnail for this entry. Addendum, I had used the photo I was talking about as a thumbnail on another entry and decided to change it with this scan of my father's public benefits card also from nineteen ninety-one, its like the story writes itself.

According to the postcard the year is nineteen ninety-one and the date is November twenty-ninth, the things that are immediately clear to me is that this isn't my campus address, and Ithaca is spelled incorrectly.

Context is very important so Dear Reader I will give you some, maybe with in a year or two after the above photograph my father moved back into his parents household where I was already residing in their former living room having been turned into a bedroom for their first-born grandchild after the passing of his mom maybe a year or two before this photo is taken.

Curiously as I did my yoga this morning I was thinking about this trucker hat that I used to own, I remember it being two shades of blue with a white plastic mesh, and as I was taking another look I am actually wearing this hat in the picture below. Its funny to me because behind the scenes my subconscious has been putting together the pieces of this journal entry in subtle ways. Last week I was sharing the postcard from my father with my nephew when we were sharing college experiences.

As usual I have gotten off-topic, but my father had moved into my 'bedroom' and we shared the pull-out bed in the couch. Interestingly I hadn't shared a bedroom since I was maybe four or five years younger, my mom had moved me into my older brother's bedroom in our apartment feeling I had the need for a bit more privacy and my father sharing a bed and room with me was a double regression, one for him and one for me.

I am feeling hesitant in how to proceed because I am not sure if I have written about how the man who had been my best-friend for most of my life turned on me, and attempted to murder me right in his parent's home which he had returned to.

I will say this our relationship was never the same after the attempted, well which is it manslaughter or more appropriately boyslaughter, or is it attempted murder? According to a Google search its all about intention, so I think this was totally murder. But thats not what I want to write about, I want to write about this postcard and the desperation that is laced in it.

When recounting the experience years later in therapy Ms. Kennedy asked me, did someone call the police? The saying, you could have knocked me over with a feather could never have been more appropriate. I had never even considered at the time that filicide is indeed a thing, there is literally a word for when a parent attempts to exterminate their offspring. The only defense I have for my grandparents is they made him leave the next day, so I only had to spend one night with the man who attempted to extinguish my life, there couldn't be anything traumatic about that, could there? #sarcasm

As an adult I can admit that folks all around were trying to do their best, it had to be hard for my grandparents to have to choose their grandchild over their first-born child, but I was the minor and legally under their care, my safety had to be put first. Writing about this now this feels like such an abstraction for me, never in my entire life I would have guessed that my own father would be the person who would attempt to assassinate me for ultimately being too much like him, not that there is ever any excuse for an adult to lay hands on a child.

I am not saying I made it through childhood unscathed, but the monsters or villains of my youth were usually people who weren't related to me. Like Marvin Church my god-grandma's eldest son who did things to me that a forty year old man should have never done to a ten year old. My father's girlfriend Patricia Jackson had beaten me in the head until I was unconscious I think the first time in my childhood I had lost consciousness. Whatever would lead me to believe that my dad would join these brutes as one of the people who weren't looking out for my best interest?

Back to the postcard, I can see that this wasn't any off-the-cuff postcard, some serious thought had went into its selection pairing humor with morbidity, an appropriate reading of his sense of humor which is also mirrored in my own humor.

Back of postcard:

"Name of Item

The letter you were expecting has been placed on back order.

We expect to ship within the next year.

Thank you for your patience."

He clearly was in his feelings about my lack of contact since I had left for college. Small context about college, I had done all of the necessary documents, applications, paid fees all on my own. My grandparents nor him had any part in my getting into the private college in upstate New York. Out of the five that I applied to I am even surprise they found out which one I was accepted to, maybe someone from my high school helped them with that piece of evidence, because I didn't share my acceptance letter with any of them.

Well it seems I need more of an explanatory comma here, at eighteen I was more than ready to leave my grandparents house, my burgeoning sexuality had caused tensions between me and the matriarch of the house leading to many terse conversations.

I was not only coming into my own, but taking the steps to realize those dreams without any input or participation of the adults in the household. There may have been some resentment on her part because it must have been embarrassing when her friends or sisters inquired where was I and she didn't have a clear idea. This probably lead to my eviction and subsequent homelessness that would happen within months of this postcard.

Front of postcard:

"I am alive.

As are your paternal grandparents.

How about you?

Please advise.

Am still working on the w.p.

I love you very much.

Aṣẹ

V.O.M.-C.M."

I have to pause a minute, I seriously thought this journal entry would be about this piece of hard paper that has been living in a collage on the wall of my bathroom, but emotionally there are feelings tangled up in how we got to this postcard, some that I didn't even anticipate. For a moment I believed that this would probably be a humorous short entry with a couple of photos. But there was so much more to unpack.

"I am alive."

Curiously two years after this postcard nearly to the month he wouldn't be alive. He'd be found in his apartment body rotted for weeks in the un-air conditioned enclosure of his Harlem apartment. The same address which is a stamp near the bottom of this missive. With his death my orphanage would begin in earnest having less than ten years with my mom and fifteen with my father, albeit I was in my early twenties when he died, after his assault I never saw him again.

"As are your paternal grandparents."

His father would die eighteen years after this postcard and his moms thirty years later peacefully in her sleep at home.

The most curious thing is he feels the need to distinguish his parents as opposed to my moms parents. She was the one who asked them to take me in case of her death, he wasn't even under consideration as a choice because he hadn't shown a level of stability in his adult life that she could trust to be conducive to raising a child. Ergo she asked his very responsible, stable and capable parents to take in his first born child. His simple sentence is laced with an un-earned self-satisfaction that I was under his parents, my grandparents care. But I think what he's missing is I should have been under his care. He was only reflecting his own failure as a parent. #idiot

"How about you?"

Well, I am guessing if you thought I was dead you wouldn't actually be writing to me. There's not much to say about that. I think I fully had cause to not want to have contact with him or his parents who non-verbally condoned his violence by not having him arrested.

"Please advise?"

I can assure the studio audience that I didn't respond to this inquiry, nor did I feel it necessary to do so. I was enjoying the freedom of young adulthood and learning so much about life attending this away-from-home college living amongst people I couldn't even imagine associating with.

"Am still working on the w.p."

This is the saddest thing in this postcard, because once again it emphasizes my father's failures. I think months before I was set to go to college he had asked me if I needed anything, that in itself was odd because at no time prior had he ever attempted to take on a parental role. He usually enjoyed embracing the role of friend or compatriot not a figure of authority or rule.

He had also never directly asked me about my needs or wants. And sadly he was decades too late! I had become very self-sufficient as a young adult having not only held a job consistently since I was fourteen but also going to school full-time and doing volunteer work at theatre downtown.

His asking me for what I wanted was a foreign and new feeling to me and I recall being taken aback because I had never even considered him as a person who would support me in anyway beyond the comic books he bought for himself that he gave me after he read. I said a word processor, clearly dating myself, but also being practical. A manual typewriter would have been unwieldy but a word processor would be useful in college a place where writing papers was the norm. But it would never come. I bought my first computer a used Macintosh SE from a junior high school friend.

"I love you very much."

I am guessing in his way he did albeit I don't think he did a good job of showing it physically. Unlike my other siblings father's he was at least more present, I visited with him much more than the other dads would visit with their children. So maybe this was love. The thing it had been tainted because of his actions towards me which he never apologized or made reparations for.

He may have been alive, but he had been dead to me for a long time, and in '93 his status had caught up with his body and he was truly dead.

[Photos by Brown Estate]

[kudosmyhero]

Batman: The Long Halloween #5: Chapter 5: Valentine's Day

Read Date: June 23, 2023 Cover Date: April 1997 ● Writer: Jeph Loeb ● Penciler: Tim Sale ● Inker: Tim Sale ● Colorist: Gregory Wright ● Letterer: Richard Starkings ● Editor: Archie Goodwin ◦ Chuck Kim ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● 2 1/2 months have passed since Dent told Gordon they need to talk about Bruce Wayne ● it’s hard to find a good interior shot of Wayne Manor. this one is awesome! it somehow feels just right

● Poison Ivy! ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: On Valentine's Day, Captain James Gordon and D.A. Harvey Dent arrive at Wayne Manor looking for Bruce Wayne. Alfred is alone at home and he lets them inside. After seeing the portrait of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Dent asks Alfred in a rude way if he has ever heard of a man called Falcone. Alfred disregarded the question and tells them that it is very improbable that Bruce returns home early and he also reminds them that they should probably be doing something else at the moment. They realize that it was Valentine's Day and that none of them has something for their respective couples.

At the Gotham Cemetery, Carmine Falcone leaves a rose in his son's tombstone. Batman appears and asks Carmine if he thinks that it is worth it and he made the man realize of all the damage he has done. Carmine takes his gun and points it to Batman and just before the man is able to pull the trigger, Catwoman disarms him with her whip. Batman starts to follow her and is able to catch her. He asks her why was she nearby and she replied that she was just saving his life and they embrace their hands in an uncertain manner.

Later, Bruce Wayne meets with his date Selina Kyle at the Opera. They both arrived late and before they enter the building, a woman covered in rags offers them roses. Bruce buys one for Selina but he cut himself with the thorns and the woman who sold it was mysteriously glad about it.

At Maroni's restaurant, Sal Maroni makes a deal with Vernon Wells, the man who works for Harvey Dent. Maroni is planning to have a man inside the D.A.'s office to prevent his downfall. On the outside of the building, Maroni's henchmen were waiting for him inside a car. They discuss their luck for having to work on Valentine's Day. Suddenly, one by one they are shot from outside of the car by the Holiday killer and once they were all dead, the assassin placed a bomb in the car that exploded with all of the bodies inside. As usual, the killer left the gun and a heart-shaped box of chocolates near the car. Maroni goes outside and finds what Holiday has done and he declares war on him.

James Gordon and Harvey Dent arrive late at their respective houses, and both of them gave their wife a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day.

Bruce arrives at Wayne Manor and is still holding the rose he bought earlier. Alfred asks him about his date with Selina but Bruce didn't reply, to which Alfred assume is a good sign. However, Bruce seems to be in a trance and guided by a voice he goes to the backyard of the manor and finds himself alone with Poison Ivy. Bruce falls Ivy's arms and she embraces him possessively.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman:_The_Long_Halloween_Vol_1_5)

Fan Art: Overstreet Catwoman by AdamHughes

Accompanying Podcast: ● Bat-Books for Beginners - episode 14

[skylen64]

It was once. Something I never accounted for, a tiny detail that went awry. And it wasn't even my fault. I should explain.

A few years ago I realized that people united over a common enemy. It had to be one that directly impacted them of course, all of them. The rich, poor and middle classes were all so divided. Something had to be done. So, I made up my mind. The world needed a common enemy, and I had half a mind to give them one.

Noble, right? I didn't think that way. But before I did any of that I needed money. I destroyed my body working 3 jobs, saved up every spare cent. That took 5 years, of basically no sleep. Then, I took a break to recover for the next stage.

I bought buildings all over the world, then started jobs with them. I offered good pay, and even provided food for the employees to take home. They only had to sign an agreement to say they didn't work for me. They were happy to, as I offered better jobs than anyone else in the areas. Soon enough, I was making tons of money to fund my plan.

I now have thousands of employees, hundreds of locations, and a couple dozen hospitals under my control. Of course none of them know I'm in charge, except for the main office. But, I started my plan when I bought my first hospital.

It was in dire need of repair, and I just so happened to need a hospital to blow up. I had my costume, it was tacky but fun, now I just had to find a way to make it seem people were still in the hospital. I hired multiple actors from out of the country, and had them act out clips where they were trapped inside the hospital. Of course, this got posted at a later date.

Course, there had to be people that the heros could save, so I paid people very well to be in the safer areas of the building before it collapsed. All near emergency exits, but the job was still dangerous. They knew this beforehand. But that's when things went wrong.

The previous generation of heroes was praised and loved by all, even me. I calculated everything on them. Even how they would save the "civilians". But the one who came was no hero. Steel Lake came to stop me, after the social media posts went viral. He was my favorite, and the hero I looked up to growing up.

I had cameras and GPS attached to my savees, so if the building did collapse on them, I could still find them. When my plan was enacted, 3 out of 20 were killed. I didn't kill them. Steel Lake did. But the deaths were pinned on me.

As he was rescuing them, he killed the last three for fun. He didn't know about the cameras, but that didn't matter. As I watched the footage afterwards, I was horrified. These people trusted me to get them out alive. I failed them by not considering that my hero wasn't actually my hero. This needed to end.

I reconstructed the hospital, built it better than before. Hired new staff, and placed a cap on the health care amount they could charge. And then I put housing right beside, so that the nurses could have a home to rest in. I did this for all the hospitals I blew up. The ones after the first had zero casualties. I made sure of that.

Then the new generation of heroes showed up. They were actually successful in rescuing all the actors I hired before I evacuated them. But they hated me. Steel Lake had been found out for murder and rape, so now he had bee executed for the severity of his crimes. But the 3 who died were never charged on his sentence.

The Newbies, as I called them, would try to thwart all my plans, and almost found out who I was. Of course, I had a body double kidnap me before they got too suspicious. Still have him on payroll, as he's an excellent actor. Of course one did find me out.

She was Glimmer, and had used her invisibility to spy on me. And she caught me crafting my plans. She got caught on the way out, so I imprisoned her. In a very nice secure apartment, but still imprisoned. However, an assassin snuck in, so her death was pinned on me as well.

Later I had to invest in armour that was strong enough to protect me from the heroes that attacked me. Their punches hurt. Finally I was caught. Now, I write these words in hopes that what I was trying to do actually works. Maybe you could pick up my mantle and save the human race from itself.

The letter was long, and she didn't know what to think of it. She never knew that Raveness was actually trying to help the world. Their actions made sense now, but they never knew Glimmer had survived the assassination. Glimmer looked at the tacky costume, and smiled.

You are a well-respected Villain. You caused only necessary minor Damages, you never purposefully took a life, and you made sure to keep a strict Code when dealing with civilians. But for some reason, some of the younger Newbie Heroes seem to think you are Evil Incarnate