#that has sworn revenge on you and made a weapon that can actually put an end to your immortal existence

[clarisimart]

you haven't seen your ex in years and you want to show him how over him you are, but oh no, he went from a nerdy out-of-his-depth twunk to action hero GILF (grunkle i'd like to *REDACTED*)

commission info here

[regaliasonata]

I could've sworn someone asked me for Katherine headcanon but I can't find it in the inbox sadly...

Katherine Hillard Headcanons

-Katherine's favorite passtime honestly revolves around collecting things, mainly after becoming a ranger her interest peaked on the mysteries of the world so now her curiosity is unlimited.

-Both her and Kimberly have found ways to split the pink powers via the Thunder and ninja zords of their respective colors thus putting Zordon's research on too much pink power to a rest. However they still try to keep things to a minimum.

-Because of the phoenix properties of her zord Katherine has found good usage of bringing life to plants, she doesn't mind volunteering at an orphanage and with her abilities she's able to secretly make sure none of the kids starve.

-After Zeo she's had a hatred of Artifical Intelligence and Tommy had to keep her from smashing up all the appliances in her house.

-She hates the moon.

-Pink isn't exactly her favorite color, in fact Kat was offered the position as zeo red in secret by Tommy but she declined it.

-After the Zordon Era pretty much everyone went their separate ways for a while and similar to Tommy she found herself becoming a mentor for a group of younger rangers. A team based on constellations who each had a secret archery motif, she later became a red ranger for the squad and needed to have a master morpher developed as things when on(Referencing Kyuranger, free real estate for them😎).

-Katherine and Tommy took a break around the time of Lost Galaxy and didn't get back together till around Operation Overdrive. During this time however she actually dated Hayley Zitkor and throughout that time span Kat didn't find out that Hayley and Tommy knew each other.

-she's been visited around five times by master pink. Reasons are unknown however it's getting creepy so Katherine managed to put a bunch of net traps around her house incase MP decides to pop in randomly.

-Katherine is one of the most skilled individuals when it comes to shooting guns. Not just that but she's been developing weapons for herself incase another Rita problem shows up, double tap that bitch in the head if you have to. She has to be strapped both for her safety and for her friends(Reference to @skyland2703 headcanon from a while back👍🏾)

-her favorite weapon is a crossbow like sniper rifle called Artemis and it has the power to penetrade 40 zords with one bullet. Due to her sneaking around during Forever Red and collecting pieces of Serpentera she was able to use the samples to make the perfect failsafe agaisnt drastic situations.

-Her house is laced in grid vortex bombs, if anything ever happens then she can wipe an enemy of the face of the map.

-Kat's the dude in her relationship with Tommy if you catch my drift😭

-It's not she's capable of getting revenge but more of the idea of her making you regret your decisions in a subtle way. A guy stood Billy up so Kat decided to scratch the guy's car paint and burst his tires.

-In her will when she dies she wants the team to spread her ashes in space or even find a way to bring her back for another 5 years.

-After hearing about the existence of other dimensions Katherine has a contingency plan. If things go to shit then there's other places to find a life in, heck she'd also consider the future or the RPM verse.

-Kat doesn't really talk about it but she has trouble having kids with Tommy. Heck JJ was came 7 amounts early and doctors weren't sure he'd make it so she stayed by his little bed in the hospital for weeks until he was healthy.

-She made sure to tell Tommy not to pass on any of their ranger abilities to JJ. Mainly as their own legacy should be there to influence him, pass on an opportunity for him to build his own choices if he does decide to pursue ranger activity.

-Kat was thrilled when JJ came back from school shouting about wanting to be the pink ranger after seeing a cool video on these heroes called the power rangers. Tommy was uh...well he's supportive but he just didn't want to see his kid being made fun off and tried to lean him to another color but Kat shut that down, both of them came to an agreement that he could be pink.

-She replaced her left arm and right leg with advanced robotic versions resembling regular limbs but this was because she wanted standby weapons to shift out incase of combat.

-People in the ranger community consider her a harbinger of sorts because of her battle prowess and wouldn't back down to beating someone bloody for threatening her family.

-Kat loves a lot of rock and roll music as well as things with a fast tempo.

-She's the one which a driver's license, Tommy's has been suspended after he accidentally backed into an old lady think she was a trash can for parallel parking.

-Zordon having the rangers choose Katherine, Aisha, Rocky and Adam as secondary choices weren't out of coincidence. Centuries ago he tried recruiting their ancestors and secretly kept an eye on them, however at the time humans weren't adept to the grids influence and they became prone to natural exposure and got pretty sick, this was around 10,000 years ago anyway and while Katherine doesn't have much of a grudge against him she isn't hesitant about wanting to shoot that tank.

-Kat is very bisexual, Tommy wasn't exactly her first choice relationship wise and even considered dating Kimberly or Tanya though she's chill with the dude.

-Tommy's dating life honestly confuses her, he dated Kimberly and had a thing with Jason(Frankly that didn't surprise her as she got a bit of fruity vibes from Tommy and thought he was full on gay before being alerted that he dated Kim). Then he dated Anton and had her suspicions on what Tommy was into when she found a picture of him tied up in....compromising positionsBottom. Safe to say for gatherings she has the best stories to tell.

-Her parents very much support the idea of her being a power rangers and her dad keeps asking if she has parties with other rangers....also to get zord figures and autographs from the Lightspeed Rescue team.

-After Adam's mishap with his power coin being damaged she decided to utilize what she learned from the Crane Ninjazord and Firebird Thunderzord to pursue learning things at the Wind Academy and Pai Zhua academy to hone elemental and animal spirit abilities. She gained light related powers along with the spirit of the phoenix, fitting for combat as she can obliterate enemies with swift speeds and vaporizing energy.

-She loves dating dudes that are a tad bit strange or shy, they're just adorable in her eyes. Prime example being Tommy, not sure if he should be offended or flattered by this.

-She watches My Hero Academia and has a great admiration for Bunny's persistence.

-Katherine despises barbie dolls but JJ enjoys getting them as figures for imaginary adventures so she allows for him to have them but the minute one begins moving on it's own she's going to shoot that bitch into oblivion.

-She's an expert with hair and easily takes care or Tommy's locks when needed. It's funny to tie it into a bun though the fact that it's almost waist length makes Katherine jealous.

-due to her powers she developed a way of being able to precisely chuck items and projectiles without even touching them, similar to Diego in Umbrella Academy. This is very useful as she won't need to morph if needed and could drawn weapon from a vault she keeps at home.

-After Trini's death Katherine had to oversee Billy in fear that he might shut down due to all the guilt. She knew well on the topic of the only person who truly understood you in the world was gone and even offered a place at her home incase Minh needed somewhere to stay.

-The reason why Master Pink visited her was because of Shattered Grid almost happening again. She explained to Katherine that no one remembers the event as it was a multiverse related conflict of the past so when things ended everything went back to normal, she tasked Kat will trying to keep things from ever ending up as such. This nearly happened in various ways from Billy trying to bring back Trini or Zordon, a huge Zord fight within Angel Grove, having a rogue being nearly disrupt time and space as we know it. Kind of a crazy burden to leave on someone, honestly she couldn't look at Tommy for 4 weeks upon learning about Drakkon.

-She's not the most religious person but she swears that during a trip to the dentist she was visited by an archer deity. Aisha calls her delusional for this but Kat knows what she saw.

-Stocks are a big thing for her and she even has built up a reputation at wall street. (Kat: I can buy and sell you. Stock broker: Excuse me?)

-Katherine has the falcon zord and uses it as spatial transportation. Mainly to take JJ on trips to see the stars etc, it's also a nice getaway from all the stresses of life.

-At one point in her life Katherine considered becoming a hit man against terrible people with her archery and gun skills...though she's never told anyone this. The idea of taking a life away has crossed her mind here and there, however she goes to Dana for therapy on these feelings.

-Tommy is the cook within the family, he learned how to make a bunch of meals well when he was with Jason. Plus after Katherine nearly burned down an acre of land from their house one night she wasn't allowed in the kitchen for months, she finds it funny coming from the guy who dedicated a semester of his career on trying to remake dinosaur meat from bones.

-Katherine has a sort of ranger secret service for herself that not even Tommy knows about. Laced around the place like regular civilians ready to come to her aid.

-She visited the Mystic Mother and human Zedd just to weigh out the situation between them incase anything happens.

-Considering the last headcanon Katherine wonders if the Z-Wave killed all the evil beings within the universe she wonders if any of those beings that were evil consisted of beings that Zordon considered bad, the thought of some innocent people being killed all those years ago or being brainwashed keeps her up at night.

-She is really wondering if all the stuff during the Zordon Era was truly good. Having to fight an eon long war for a floating head against a bunch of crazy beings doesn't sit right with her, in some ways good and bad are basically moral constructs and she doesn't like to judge people on the way they act. Evil rangers, good rangers, the fact about Drakkon who existed in a past existence also bugs her....sometimes she wonders if JJ will end up doing something crazy as a ranger.

-Death doesn't really scare her but if anything Katherine would like to keep her memory alive, something that JJ could possibly look over in timed when he's sad or down in life.

-Utilizing grid archives Katherine can watch other teams in different dimensions like shows. For instance super sentai and such, currently she's on Dairanger and the minute she saw those zords....(Kat: That bird looks famil-AYO WHAT THE FUCK?!)

[gr1evance]

here's a big(?) captain starburst (nicknamed starb) summary post i wanted to write up because unlike nix and the whole of grievance, i don't actually have to keep any of his stuff under wraps because if i do anything with it in the future i don't intend on keeping a lot to myself. this might be a bit all over the place since i'm not planning this out at all, but.. enjoy!

art on the right credit

captain starburst is kind of my personal modern take on the "character made in a lab to be a government weapon that escaped" trope that i indulged in a lot when i was younger. he has powers that can be very destructive, and he ended up exploding when he was made and taking the whole building with him. he's from a shared superhero universe with friends, so when he was first getting a grasp on the world he immediately dedicated himself to heroism and helping people. it was rough at first, his explosive powers led him to make a lot of mistakes, and hurt a lot of people on accident. it's something he still struggles with feeling immense guilt over. he did eventually get his powers under control, and can use them to actually help people like he always wanted, but it was definitely a process. he has a lot of remorse and still-pent-up feelings about his past. nowadays he's a pretty famous and controversial hero. mostly because he's openly communist in a very capitalistic field (and country), and more about actually helping people instead of just putting on performances. he's a big sweetheart and just loves making other people's days more than anything!

he's had a few big "events" in his life, one of the most life-changing being his run in with the company that made him, AMOEBA. investigating a string of kidnappings led him back to there, and their ceo lourence. he was forced to work for them, like originally intended, to spare the lives of those in their custody. he eventually managed to escape and save the people held there, injured but alive. the event shot him into the public eye, and his career really took off from there. amoeba was never punished or questioned due to the general public assuming the event to be a publicity stunt, as so many things of that nature tend to be in this setting.

starb has also had many run ins with a lesser known villain, named russian roulette. they were similarly made to be a killing machine, and take their job very seriously. they consider starb a nuisance and a liar after the two of them had a misunderstanding that cost them their newly found freedom, and now they've sworn revenge. despite this, the two of them have.. an interesting relationship. calling it romantic feels wrong, at least at first, but they're some sort of "together?" kind of the way that love and hate are considered similar feelings, although starburst would never hate them. the two of them were recently trapped together for a while, and they've since come to a kind of understanding with each other. they're still rivals, but at the very least, russian roulette isn't trying to kill him.... as much.

art credit

the final kind of "big" thing i can think about regarding him is his husband! a few years back he was kidnapped by scelestic, my friend @apotheoseity's villain organization. while there, he met the lab assistant, teslacoil. he was.. kicked out of being kidnapped because his gay antics with him were too annoying. lol. the two of them kept talking afterwards, got closer, and eventually got married! they live together now. it's pretty silly, considering starburst is a hero and tesla is a villain, but they make it work. tesla is kind of starb's entire world, and really changed his life. despite the weird way they met, they're kind of the perfect couple now. very lovey dovey and cheesy. they're cute!

art on the left credit

he's polyam- as you might have inferred- and has a few other partners as well. he's dating... himself from another universe, a version of nix i use for roleplay. he's the first person starburst got close with romantically, and nix is also the one who helped him learn how to better control his powers. another one of his partners is hocus pocus, or villian spectasy, an upcoming hero with a rich dad who used to be famous (not villain, but villian, with the i and the a swapped. kind of tongue-in-cheek for his original role as an antagonist, but i think it's silly.) they had a rough start, with villian's ego getting the best of him. the two of them were "business partners" for a bit, starburst becoming his sidekick, before starb eventually decided the two of them were better off as just boyfriends and not working together. they worked through it and are still together, and villian works on.. well, for lack of a better term, making himself less of a dickhead. it's the capitalist x communist relationship everyone's been clamoring for! (nobody has been clamoring for it) he has a few other partners, some who are friend's characters, and also.. his motorcycle! he's dating his motorcycle.

thank you for reading if you got this far, i hope this is all legible! lol. he's my special guy (and he's also me) and he means the world to me. he's got a lot going on, i'd love to answer any follow up questions! but that's my big starb rundown for now!

[the-savage-garden]

Nitpicking ACOWAR Ch 10 +11

I meant to post this awhile ago but I recently returned to the One Piece train that I forgot about this whole thing, oops. I finally figured out how to do the 'keep reading' thing though!

Chapter 10

-Somehow Brannagh is cradling Ianthe now?

-”I let my mask drop.” I hate the mask theme, just the way it’s thrown around bothers me.

-”...noting the flanking positions they were too casually establishing around me.” Now I��m confused about where Brannagh is supposed to be.

-[“What could be more important than assisting us? You are, after all, sworn to assist our king.” Time—biding their time until Tamlin returned from hunting with Jurian.] I hate how the book decided that Tamlin is with Hybern, it’s not built up to him being on their side at all. It’s written like it’s an assured thing now.

-Lucien notices things. What’s the point of this?

-“I am a free person, allowed to go where and when I will it.” “Are you?” Brannagh is asking a question I want to know. Like, is Feyre really free to do what she wants in this book series? Everyone tells her what to do all the time, even Rhys. The only thing Feyre has actually chosen is to go back to Spring and have her revenge on Tamlin (even though Tamlin legitimately thought she was in danger and it’s not been brought up even once).

-“Such careful plotting these weeks, such skilled maneuvering. You didn’t seem to worry that we’d be doing the same.” I was honestly really confused why Feyre was just ignoring the twins so much, her priorities made no sense to me.

-”They weren’t letting Lucien leave this clearing alive. Or at least with his mind intact.” Why do they care about Lucien? He hasn’t been against them, for all they know only Feyre sent the Bogge after them.

-”...understanding that there was no way they’d reveal this without knowing they’d get away with it.“ But everyone knows that Hybern is evil, how would anyone be surprised by this? Even Tamlin thinks they’re the bad guys! Do the twins not know? There has been no indication that anyone from Hybern is good.

-[“Take the Spring Court,” I said, and meant it. “It’s going to fall one way or another.” Lucien snarled. I ignored him.] Even Lucien here still cares for Spring.

-[“Oh, we intend to,” Brannagh said…] It was very clear that Hybern was going to take down Spring, I don’t know why the book doesn’t let Tamlin see it.

-”I thumbed free two of the Illyrian fighting knives.” Is this the only reason Feyre stole the weapons from Tamlin, to use them in this fight? Ugh.

-“Haven’t you wondered at the headaches? How things seem a little muffled on certain mental bonds?” This is the explanation? I thought it was because Feyre is still new to her powers, this is disappointing.

-”Crushed faebane stone, ground so fine you couldn’t see or scent or taste it in your food.” Can you even smell or taste faebane?

-“We’ve been daemati for a thousand years, girl,” Dagdan sneered. “But we didn’t even need to slip into her mind to get her to do our bidding. But you … what a valiant effort you put up, trying to shield them all from us.” The book makes this too convenient, Feyre knew they were daemati but was naive enough to believe they wouldn’t do anything against her? I know she’s young but seriously?

-”Dagdan’s mind speared for Lucien��s, a dark arrow shot between them.” Weird way to describe their magic, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to imagine with mind powers.

-“What apple,” I bit out. “The one you shoved down your throat an hour ago,” Brannagh said. “Grown and tended in the king’s personal garden, fed a steady diet of water laced with faebane. Enough to knock out your powers for a few days straight, no shackles required. And here you are, thinking no one had noticed you planned to vanish today.” She clicked her tongue again. “Our uncle would be most displeased if we allowed that to happen.” What did I just read? I hate how easy things are. Also, wait, an apple tree was given faebane and it somehow makes the apples have it too?

-”...but then I’d abandon Lucien to them if he somehow couldn’t manage to himself with the faebane in his system from the food at the camp—” What kind of leap in logic is this? All the food at camp was laced with faebane too? So wouldn’t Tamlin be under the effects of it too?

-”Leave him. I should and could leave him. “ Was this why their supposed friendship was brought up so much? To add drama to this moment?

“I made my choice.” ACOMAF made me hate the whole “my choice” thing and being reminded of it is giving me trauma.

-”And even a thousand years wasn’t enough for Dagdan to adequately prepare as I winnowed in front of him and struck.” Feyre went from being out of her depth to competent real fast.

-”I sliced through the front of his leather armor, not deep enough to kill, and as steel snagged on its plates…” Is it leather armor or not? Because plates refer to metal armor I’m pretty sure.

-”...months of Cassian’s brutal training clicked into place as I kept my feet under me.” This makes it obvious how inexperienced Feyre is but somehow she’s able to go toe-to-toe with a Hybern prince and commander? She also has faebane in her system, she should be struggling more in this fight.

-”I had the vague sense of Lucien gaping, even Brannagh taken aback by my show of skill against her brother.” I’m losing my mind.

-”Buying time. Wearing me down until my body fully absorbed that apple and its power rendered me nearly mortal.” Earlier when Feyre shielded Lucien she struggled but now the book is saying that she hasn’t fully absorbed the faebane? But they’ve been giving her faebane since their stay? Make up your mind.

-”Brannagh screamed as a wall of flame slammed into her.” Apparently Feyre did this and not Lucien?

-”Her focus wholly on me, on taking from me the beauty I’d burned from her…” Why is everything so focused on losing beauty? Someone’s vain…

-”Until Lucien’s sword refracted the light of the sun leaking through the canopy.” It’s day? This whole thing is happening in broad daylight? How has no one noticed this?

-”A tremor shuddered through the clearing—like some thread between the twins had been snipped as Brannagh’s dark head thudded onto the grass.” Wait, is this supposed to imply that the twins are soulmates? What the hell? I thought soulmates in this world are supposed to be making powerful offspring but if they’re related doesn’t that defeat the purpose?

-”I let him fall atop his sister, the thud of flesh on flesh the only sound.” Ew, why’d you put focus on that?

-”I merely looked at Ianthe, my power guttering, a hideous ache building in my gut, and made my last command, amending my earlier ones.” I forgot Ianthe was still here. Also faebane seems kind of useless since Feyre can still do this.

-“You tell them I killed them. In self-defense. After they hurt me so badly while you and Tamlin did nothing. Even when they torture you for the truth, you say that I fled after I killed them—to save this court from their horrors.” I want to keep this in mind for the future.

-Lucien says he wants to go with Feyre to the Night Court. But, like, the only reason he does is obviously because of Elain and not for any other reason.

-”I just gritted my teeth against the sharp pain in my abdomen…” Faebane apparently makes the abdomen hurt if it’s consumed.

-”Blood coated the inside of my mouth by the time we reached the foothills hours later. I was panting, my head throbbing, my stomach a twisting knot of aching.” The other effects of consuming faebane.

-“It’s—gone,” he said, gasping for breath. “My magic—not an ember. They must have dosed all of us today.” I’m still a little lost with what faebane does.

-”My power pulled away from me like a wave reeling back from the shore. Only there was no return. It just went farther and farther out into a sea of nothing.” Both Feyre and Lucien describe losing their magic differently.

-”I peered at the sun, now a hand’s width above the horizon…” I take it that it’s noon now then? Why mention hours but don’t say noon?

-”The caves—doors, they called them—in those hollows led to other pockets of Prythian. I’d taken one straight Under the Mountain… No door to the Night Court existed…” I guess this is to explain why that one led to UTM, I guess they’re magic “doors” to places?

-”And I would not risk my friends by bringing them here to retrieve me.” Even though you’ve killed the twins already? This is just an excuse to have Feyre and Lucien by themselves isn’t it?

-”A numbness had spread through me.” Is it the faebane or not feeling the mate bond? It’s not clear.

-“The Autumn Court portal is that way.” Now we’re calling them portals instead of doors?

-“I can’t go into Summer. They’ll kill me on sight.” I’d love to see the consequences of what Feyre did to Summer. Like, she only decided to steal from them because Rhys kept guiding her to make that choice instead of making friends with Summer.

-”We sealed off all the other entrances.” Why seal all the entrances up? And whose “we” in all this? I think it’s all the entrances to UTM but I thought there was only one?

-”A faint buzzing and ringing filled my ears. And I felt my magic vanish entirely.” Another symptom of faebane?

-”To the lands of the family who’d betrayed him as badly as this court had betrayed mine.” A single person (Ianthe) was the only one that betrayed you Feyre, everyone else didn’t do anything. Tamlin’s character was inconsistent and still is.

-”I gave him another nod. I’d slid into their minds before we’d left, making sure this door would be left open.” Feyre’s lucky that Hybern didn’t find this the perfect opportunity to use this against you. Where even is the King in all this?

-”...whether it was better to claim the Spring Court for ourselves, or to let it fall to our enemies.” What the hell? Feyre, you can’t just claim Spring like that, that’s not how it works.

-”But it could not remain neutral—a barrier between our forces in the North and the humans in the South. It would have been easy to call in Rhys and Cassian, to have the latter bring in an Illyrian legion to claim the territory when it was weakest after my own maneuverings. Depending on how much mobility Cassian had retained—if he was still healing.” Now it’s just getting worse. Feyre is completely ignoring the whole High Lord thing. Also why hasn’t this happened in the past if Feyre finds it so “easy”?

-”Yet then we’d hold one territory—with five other courts between us. Sympathy might have swayed for the Spring Court; others might have joined Hybern against us, considering our conquest here proof of our wickedness. But if Spring fell to Hybern … We could rally the other courts to us. Charge as one from the North, drawing Hybern in close.” This whole thing, what the hell?

-[“You were right,” Lucien declared at last. “That girl I knew did die Under the Mountain.” I wasn’t sure if it was an insult. But I nodded all the same. “At least we can agree on that.” I stepped into the awaiting cold and dark.] I blame Rhys.

-”And in the distance, so faint I thought I might have imagined it, a beast’s roar cleaved the land.” I’m still confused by Tamlin.

Chapter 11

-Feyre describes the Autumn Court.

-Autumn didn’t post sentries at the “door” and Feyre can’t use her magic to search for Fae.

-”...the risk of revealing our scheming to find me.” So it’s “our scheme” now? Was Feyre actually doing things on her own or not?

-”But my magic was still and frozen. A crutch I’d become too reliant upon.” Since when has Feyre been that reliant on magic? She only recently started using it. Like, if this was the thought process of someone that used magic for years I wouldn’t think much of this but it’s not, it’s for someone that’s quite green. Not to say that Feyre can’t hold her own, I just expect her to be more inexperienced in the story.

-Mentions of time passing to night, I think.

-”...I knew only our need for stealth kept his simmering questions at bay.” Why do they need to sneak through a forest? Other than mentioning no sentries, what’s the point of this?

-They go into another cave, with a makeshift camp there already.

-”...three bedrolls and old blankets…” Why three?

-Lucien mentions he used to stay in this cave before he left Autumn.

-Lucien and Feyre talk.

-”...My friend at the Dawn Court has the same power—her light is identical…” I thought it was the Dawn High Lord’s power (who’s male)?

-“I didn’t tell him for two reasons. One, it felt like kicking a male already down. I couldn’t take that hope away from him.” I rolled my eyes. “Two,” he snapped, “I knew if I was correct and called you on it, you’d find a way to make sure I never saw her.” So… Lucien still cares about Tamlin? Also, the soulmate thing gets brought up again, that seems to be his only motivation now.

-“And that’s why you’re here. Not because it’s right and he’s always been wrong, but just so you can get what you think you’re owed.” Feyre gets mad at Lucien for not being angry at Tamlin. I also hate this whole bullshit about ownership being thrown around in this story, it became a thing in the 2nd book too.

-Lucien still thinks the Night Court are enemies.

-Feyre gets mad at Lucien for not believing her that Elain is safe, which yeah, they’re sisters, shouldn’t he understand that?

-Lucien questions if Feyre wanted to spare him from her path of destruction because of what it would do to Elain. They sure are friends, huh?

-Lucien continues to question Feyre, asks her if she wanted to kill Tamlin, yada yada.

-Feyre gets tired of debating with Lucien over her choices and tells him to drop it. It makes me wonder if this is to say Feyre regrets her actions now, or SJM doesn’t feel like going deeper into Feyre’s feelings on this whole thing.

-[“My father will hunt you for taking his power if he finds out,” he said into the frigid dark. “And kill you for learning how to wield it.” “He can get in line,” was all I said.] Giving me deja vu again.

-The next morning Feyre and Lucien argue on where to go next. Feyre wants to go north right through where, I guess the direction of Autumn's capital is, but Lucien wants to go either east where the Summer border is or west but Feyre thinks that route will take too long for some reason. Feyre for some reason thinks she can go through Autumn unseen, this is a dumb plan, west should’ve been the better option.

-Feyre dumps her food out because she thinks it’s laced with faebane.

-Feyre gawks at Autumn and admires Lucien, they go fishing. I still don’t know why they’re still being sneaky in the middle of nowhere though.

-They hiked for 5 days, somehow during the 3rd day they went through the Autumn’s capital without any incident.

-Apparently Autumn’s place is called the Forest House. I guess this is the reason why we're here, so SJM can explain the “worldbuilding” of Autumn. Anyway, the House is large and covered in moss.

-Somehow with all this time that’s passed they’re still affected by the faebane. I guess faebane can also affect mate bonds too.

-”...an apple tree, laden with fat, succulent fruit.” I know fat can be used as a synonym for large but this is a weird way to use it.

-”...the bees gorging themselves on fallen apples.” Bees don’t eat like that?

-”After what the Hybern royals had done, I should have sworn off apples forever, but hunger had always blurred lines for me. “ This doesn’t come up much with Feyre’s character but I like the idea of Feyre forgetting herself when she’s hungry.

-“We’ll have to stay out of sight. My father doesn’t pay well for his crops, and the land-workers will earn any extra coin they can.” Beron’s an idiot then, unless he’s getting other food from trade, he should only be reliant on food from local farmers. I’m not an expert on this though.

-”I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands…” Keeping note of this.

-“I’d say that sounds more High-Lord-like than the life of an idle, unwanted son.” I don’t even know what the High Lords do for this to make sense.

-“Would you want it—your father’s crown?” I thought magic chooses the High Lord, how would someone even be able to get it any other way?

-”...I’d gain a crown—only to rule over a crafty, two-faced people.” This contradicts what was stated earlier, of Lucien learning about his people, at least that’s what I think.

-“But you never answered my question—about why the people here would sell you out.”  Why is there no question mark in this?

-So, the people blame Lucien for not protecting Jesminda from being killed by his family, and when Lucien fled to their houses they gave him back up to his family. What?

-”...right into the steep foothills that leaped into gray, snowcapped mountains that marked the start of the shared range with the Winter Court.” Shouldn’t that be leapt? Or am I crazy for that?

-”If we could get over the border in a day or two…” They hiked through Autumn for like 5 days, how would they be able to go through Winter that fast?

-“How are you not winded,” he panted, hauling himself onto the flat top… “I trained.” Missing question mark. Also I know Feyre trained and all but she shouldn’t have that good of stamina already.

-”My nails barked…” This is the weirdest writing quirk SJM has.

-Lucien added, “You had my back —with them, with Ianthe. Thank you.” Feyre almost cries from this and I find that funny since she was going to leave him behind.

-Feyre manages to fall asleep this time, she goes into Lucien’s mind while she’s sleeping.

-”I had never known how young, how human I looked when I slept. My braid was a rope over my shoulder, my mouth slightly parted, my face haggard with days of little rest and food.” Why this? What’s the point?

-Lucien and Feyre get ambushed by Lucien’s brothers.

[nightwishesworld]

A Better Way

Because I am unhappy with our beloved wife’s death I decided to write my own.

That being said...SPOILERS!!!!!!!! I wrote this based on and referenced canon events in the game. If you wanna skip this and wait for the game’s official release in a few days I completely understand.

Alcina’s form trembles atop the pile of rubble she created during their fall. Somehow that lowlife Ethan survived the fall as well. Fuck, what does it take to kill that man? Even in her monstrous form, she failed to stop a flimsy little mortal man. Is he really that powerful? Or is she simply the weak little rat Mother Miranda always said she was? The answer is obvious now.

Alcina knows this is it for her. There is no winning or even recovering from this. She’s lost way too much blood and is in no state to replenish herself. She hears him stumble to his feet somewhere beside her and grab his gun. It doesn’t bother her anymore. Even now as she turns to stare down the barrel of a shotgun she knows she deserves what’s to come. She failed in her task.

Everyone that depends on her is now in grave danger and it’s all her fault. Because she wasn’t good enough to protect her family from a single human man.

Her family....

Images of her beautiful daughters' lifeless piles of ash lying abandoned on the floor like yesterday’s garbage hurt her more than any weapons could hope to. What kind of mother let her daughters, her own flesh and blood, get slaughtered because she was too incompetent to take care of a little pest? A failure of a mother. Their blood is on her hands, not Ethan’s.

Mother Miranda will have to make the call to Heisenberg to let him know why Ethan is on his way to the factory. And about them. After everything that this woman has done for her and her family and this is how Alcina repays her? How pathetic of her. And her little brother as well. She’s failed everyone she cared about on this god-forsaken earth.

Alcina sighs as Ethan cocks his gun and inches closer and closer to her. After letting out a long exhale she opens her eyes and stared down at him. He’s in shit-shape but he’ll survive. Suddenly that doesn’t sound so bad. If he can finish the job, at least.

“Do it,” she whispers, and her voice cracks. Alcina will not cry in front of this vile creature; she refuses. “I am nothing without the love of my daughters. I’d rather die than live a day without their presence.”

She could have sworn she saw a hint of remorse flash across his bloodied features before he grounded himself once more. He probably didn’t even believe her. Why would he? All he sees is a hideous beast that needs to slain. Not a broken-hearted mother mourning the loss of her darling children. No one has ever seen them for who they really are. Pity.

Her head hangs and she catches a glimpse of his shadow, his arms raising.

“I deserve this,” Alcina thinks to herself.

BANG!

Karl Heisenberg was sitting in his office, legs stretched atop his desk glazing over files. Pretending to work so no one would bother him. He was so lost in his own little fantasy land that the phone ringing next to him nearly started him out of his chair.

He let out a dramatic groan, knowing full well it was Alcina calling to continue their petty argument from earlier. A chuckle escaped his mouth remembering how he told her to drop dead before hanging up.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and begrudgingly brought the phone to his ear.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier to-“

“Heisenberg!” Mother Miranda’s voice spoke. The man nearly choked on air when he heard her voice.

“Miranda! Apologies, I thought it was Alcina calling me.”

Mother Miranda paused, but only for a moment. Her tone was as it always was; calm with a hint of disappointment. “That is what I am calling about, actually. Alcina failed to keep Mr. Winters under control and he escaped. I can only assume he is making his way over to you now.”

“Alcina and the girls, are they-“

“No longer assets we need to be concerned about. The Ceremony will continue on schedule with or without them, is that understood?”

He was completely floored. His beloved, pain in the ass, older sister is dead. And what of his adorable little gremlin nieces? They’re gone too? How can Miranda possibly expect him to just-“

“Is that understood, Heisenberg?”

He cleared his throat and nodded as if she could see him. “Of course, Miranda. The preparation will continue as-“

She hung up.

Heisenberg put the phone down and buried his head in his hands. He didn’t feel anything. Only numbness. The longer he sat there thinking about them the harder to became to think about the stupid ceremony. Or that human parasite on its way to him.

His anger got the best of him and he slammed his fists down on the desk. “To hell with Mother Miranda.”

He called one of his lackeys in and filled them in on the basics of the situation, warning him about Ethan mostly. Heisenberg was to depart for Castle Dimitrescu as soon as possible. Let the lycans have fun with their new incoming chew toy until his return.

The ride up to the castle was ghostly. He expected to hear the girls’ laughter as he entered the main doors as they always do when he visits. They were always happy to see their dear Uncle Heisenberg.

Cassandra’s ash pile was the first to be found. Simply because it was out in the open by the entrance leading down to the basement. It was obviously her because the smell of her lilac perfume was still infused in her ashes. He kneeled beside it and stroked it gently between his fingers, whispering apologies and words of comfort. Both for him and Cassandra. Then he took an old pendant necklace from his pocket and ever so gently, scooped some of her ashes into it.

“There you are, Cass. Safe and sound with me.”

On a hunch he decided to look around the basement before searching the rest of the castle for Bela and Daniela. He already knew where Alcina was resting. Bela was indeed laid in one of the extraction rooms of the basement. She collapsed behind a pillar as if she were trying to hide or shield herself. Heisenberg did the same thing and scooped up her ashes in his necklace, this time kissing the pads of his fingers and laying them on the ash pile.

Daniela was next. She was in the library, literally on the other side of the door. Heisenberg cursed himself for unintentionally spreading her ashes as he opened the door and nearly stepping on the poor girl. He stayed with her longer because of this, whispering a thousand apologies to her. The way she was laid down made Heisenberg think Daniela tried to escape and came really close to doing so.

A few tears streamed down his cheeks as she gathered her ashes in his pendant. That man will pay for what he’s done. For taking such innocent souls from the world that had so much more in store for them.

His beloved sister was last. She wasn’t where he thought she would be, which he found odd, but taking a closer look around it all made sense. The damn burst behind his eyes and he openly cried for the first time in decades.

“Fuck,” he sobbed, soothing his sister’s large heap of ashes. “I didn’t mean literally, Alcina.”

He grabbed a fist full of ash and clutched it to his chest. “I’m so sorry, sister. I should have helped you trapped that rat when he escaped me the first time. But I won’t let that happen again.”

Just like with the girls, he scooped up some of her ashes in the pendant. But this time instead of putting it back around his neck he gave it a few delicate shakes, mixing the four of them together as one.

“There. Now you’ll always be together; in this eternity and the next.”

He stayed there next to her for the rest of the night. They talked for hours (though it was a one-sided conversation) and watched the stars flicker into existence as the sunset. When there were enough of them out he pointed out the various constellations to her. The entire night went on like this; acting as if nothing had changed since they were children.

The sun was just starting to rise over the grassy green hills. Radiant shades of pink and gold colored the sky like never before. It was almost like looking at heaven itself. Early birds sang their song of the morning as they flew swiftly across the sky to wake the rest of the woodland creatures and the residents of the village.

Heisenberg exhaled a shaky breath. “I better be off, Sissy. Miranda will have my head if I don’t deal with that rat before the ceremony. But don’t you worry, I’ll take care of all four of you once this shitstorm has passed. You’ll be given proper burials and everyone will have a chance to say goodbye.”

He could feel the tears starting to build up again. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you or the girls. You’re a royal pain in my ass, but you’re still my big sister and I love you.”

The ride back to the factory was comforting. There was still a heavy weight on his shoulders, but he never expected it to go away. It will only go away after exacting his revenge. When he finds that man, oh boy is he in for a treat. The lycans should have done some damage to him already or at least exhausted him. Ethan is weak now. It’s time to strike back.

No one harms Karl Heisenberg’s family and gets away with it.

[itsmypeach13]

[Please welcome my first ever fanfic series chapter 1🤭The story contains of f/f relationships, centres around Asassins Creed Valhalla women female Eivor, Soma Jarlskona(the Bear Heart is my own nickname I gave her will be often used 😁), Randvi, Valka and other fictional characters. It is for +18 readership as it may contain explicit language, drinking, sexual intercourses, fighting in battles. Please bare these in mind before reading.]

TALES OF THE BEAR-HEART:SOMA

CHAPTER I.

A Letter from the Wolf-Kissed

Soma's POV:

I opened my eyes swiftly , my head was heavy with the thoughts swirling inside after a sleepless night. A warming beam of light brightened my room as the sun was rising slowly outside. I turned to my side and looked at the empty side of the bed. I ran my fingers slowly on the cold pillow and let out a sigh. It doesn't matter how many girls of Gratenbridgeshire offered themselves to me , this place belongs to Eivor. Well, only in my dreams..she haunts me like a she-wolf hunrgry to taste meat and blood. And I would always face this wolf, giving in and letting my walls down for her, but this world was apart from reality.

I had a jarldom to rule and protect my people, today was no different either. Just when I finished dressing up I heard knocking on the door like a bear would rant at me from outside.

'Splendid morning Soma, I know you had fun with that blonde amazon last night, I came to make sure we arrive on time , so get your ass out here.'- Revna greeted me with her raspy voice. She was my right hand in ruling the town , my finest warrior and my best friend in one tall, brunette woman. She was even taller then Eivor and always carried two hammers on her sides. Her weapons put many fine men in the grave , Revna was a beast on the battlefield, but a big hearted puppy to her loved ones. She and I grew closer after Birna left us, I needed somebody to trust.

'You think yourself a seeress of all.I haven't slept a bit, even without any ladies invited in my bed-I stepped out of the door grinning, and placed my hand on her shoulder.' Don't worry my friend, Cheolbert must be still sleeping like a baby.

We both headed to the longhouse as Cheolbert arrived late at night and asked an assemby in the morning. I didn't know what was it about, so I felt curious to know. I peaked towards the main entrance seeing jarls arriving on horseback from the neighbouring jarldoms. It must be either a wedding or war ahead of us, I thought to myself.

'What is on your mind Soma? You seem a bit worn-out this morning.-Revna questioned me by gently pushing my right arm. I didn't want to tell her the truth , that Eivor was the cause of my insomnia.

'Everything is fine Revna , it was full moon yesterday and you know well I can't sleep when it comes'-I assured my shield maiden. 'We have a long day ahead of us, I count on you if we have to fight side by side again.'

Revna silently nodded and hurried to the front of the assembly. The longhouse was filled with people, curious eyes were glued to Cheolbert who stepped in , wearing a glorious red and white cloak and black learher tunic. Our eyes met and he signalled me he wanted to speak in private at the side first.

We both went to the map room, his blue eyes were narrow and mysterious. I gave him a welcoming hug.

'Cheolbert my dear friend, I swear you've grown a feet since we last met.'-I teased.

' Soma, good to meet again, I wish the circumstances were different.'

'What happened? '-I grew impatient and started walking up and down.

'Eivor told me to hand over this letter to you first'.-he held out a letter with a raven seal. I turned my back so that he can't see my face, and I felt the world around me spin. Is she in trouble? Is she alright?

Dear Soma,

I write you in haste now, as your rotten friend Brina , whom you kept so close to your heart as a pet has betrayed all of us. She is a serpent who slyly earned your trust. She got married to Ivarr the Boneless and they sworn revenge on both Ravensthorpe and Gratenbridgeshire. Ivarr wants to be king of this continent...son is like farher. Their fleet is now close to us, we must unite our men and act swiftly. Please come as fast as you can to Ravensthorpe. I already informed your neighbours, I sent Cheolbert to gather all the men at Gratenbridgeshire.

When we win there will be a cause of celebration I sware to you dear. With all my thanks.

Eivor the Wolf-Kissed

My heart grew heavy with disappointment and sadness over hearing what Birna brought for our people. After all I had two friends betray me, I will cut the throat of this traitor too I swore to myself.

I felt blood rush to my cheeks as the word 'dear' was ringing like a bell in my head. The wolf could play mind games with me even if she wasn't here.

The assemby was quick, I told my people to gather every man to fight for the woman who made this place a safe home for us. I climbed up to my black mare after putting on my silver and blue gear and dictated a rushed tempo for our horses on the way to Ravensthorpe, so our army arrived the same afternoon. I held my back tightly and confident in my straddle to show people a firm leader. As we rode closer to the gates a flood of excitement gripped my stomach. It was funny because I feared not the bloodshed of war or heavy strikes of axes, but seeing the deep blue eyes of Eivor again. Too afraid what I would see in the reflection of her endless iris. Just when I was confident enough to let the idea of the two of us together go , I knew it well the depth of her eyes will eat me alive again. Somehow Freya threads our paths in the same direction? Why does she condemned me to suffering?

***

As I got off my mare at the entrance of the longhouse Valka humbly walked up to me and greeted with a tusk of her best mead. It was a secret recipe I was obsessed with so Eivor sometimes sent a few barrells to me. Valka made the sweet liquid with a hint of star anise and petals of orange jasmine.

'Now that you are finally here the universe is balanced'- she winked handing over the mead. I had no idea what she mean by that, but I gratefully accepted and took a long shot.

'Thanks Valka, I am happy to see my favourite seeress. -I winked at her and slightly raised my tusk.' May this give me strength and fortune on the battlefield.

'Freya will have her hand on your shoulder , she has plans with you.'

This conversation made me suspicious Valka had a vision of the future and it seems I am the part of it. Anyhow, I was sure of one thing, my duty is to be here and help.

'I can't wait to fulfill my destiny, my friend. Whatever the future holds I am ready to take it in.'

In that moment Eivor rushed out of the longhouse seeming quite annoyed with something her rough hands forming into fists. She looked astonishing, deadly in her black and gold armor, the axe of her father as a token swagged on her side. Even if it was a brief moment, I saw her eyes widened at the sight of me, her look pierced into my soul when she smirked at me. She was saying without words that she was grateful that I came and trusted me, this filled my heart with warmth and my chest swelled.

'Dear Soma' -she spoke with her deep, raspy voice that was stealing my sanity every time I heard her close.'I knew you would come and aid us in the moment of need.'-she took my right hand for a moment then let it fall back.

'You know I'll always be there like a true friend. It's my pleasure.-Eivor's smile ended at the word friend, but people around us were staring and we weren't more than that behind their backs either.

To cut off our slightly awkward meeting, Randvi stormed out of the wooden bulding her cheeks burning, and arms folded. She looked like a child who didn't get the piece of cake. I wondered what happened between those two in there. In the second she caught a glipse of me and Eivor standing quite close , Randvi joined between us and politely thanked me to bring a huge force here. She was a perfect diplomat and an impeccable service around me after that.She arranged a dinner for only the leaders and jarls to lay out the plan for tomorrow's battle. We decided to surprise Birna and Ivarr and hide our best archers in the woods until they ride towards the gates. I must admit I can see now why Eivor loves Randvi. The copper-haired woman was not only beautiful with soft features, but intelligent in a way that humiliated the man leaders here.

It felt extremely hard to look at Randvi and listen to the details as I felt my helpless jealousy hit me like a wave. It angered me how Eivor drunk every word she uttered her eyes sometimes wandered lover than Randvi's lips.

After dinner I wanted to retreat to my tent as soon as possible , the sight of Eivor and Randvi in the same room sickened me. Before I could do that Randvi came to me with a letter.

'Soma, wait. Let me give this letter to you.' she instructed quickly.

'Who is it from?'-I enquired furrowing my brows with second guessing.

'It's uh..from me actually...-she hesitated then blurted out' there are certain things you better read than hear me say it out loud.'

This fucking woman had guts to speak to me like that..I knew it was intently personal. She must have heard rumors of Eivor's visits to me sometimes, but hardly knew the wolf was only hers not mine for a single bit.

'How thoughtful of you. The rumors are true , you really have balls in spite of being a shieldmaid. I will read your bedtime story later, now if you excuse me.' Randvi 0-Soma 1. Every inch of me wanted to tear off she seal and read it right away but I waited until I was left alone in the provacy of my tent.

Jarl Soma,

Please let me be honest and plain with you. Eivor's invite here was merely political. I know more than anyone how she behaves around women to get what she wants. I have firsthand experience in that. But you have to know Eivor doesn't look at you like a woman, she told me she sees a long lost older sister in you. If I were you, I would think twice what I let people gossip about and make a fool of myself.

Randvi

In the second I finished reading I crumpled the piece of paper and thowed behind my back. Her words were agressive and protective just like a female wolf and I could feel Randvi's bite marks on my neck.

I decided not to believe anything until I asked Eivor.. oh but how could I do that? The wolf would realise I cared about her in a different way, and I couldn't let that happen until she gives me something. A flickering sign in the hollowing darkness I am living in.

I decided to visit Valka and have drinks together, I desperately needed somebody to keep my mind of this mess I became part of.

***

The little hut stood with watchful eyes on the slight hill close to the village. There were died flowers hanged outside and a sweet smoky and flowery scent filled my nostrils. As I get close I recognized Valka now wearing a red gown with hood on her head. She looked like Freya preparing a love potion as she was pouring something in a tusk and put some petals on the top.

'Good Evening Valka.. I hope you don't mind my late night visit. I just needed some of your special mead I guess and my feet brought me here' I stared to her fiery reddish brow eyes. She had neat tattos on her face forming dots and gentle marks on her smooth skin.

'I knew you would come tonight, so I prepared this mead with some herbs that will rock you in a pleasant slumber.'she handed over the tusk , the liquid looked like shiny rubies.

'How is that you always know better what I need than myself?-I smirked at her and found comforting in her eyes.

'A gift from the gods my lady-her eyes had a mysterious spark in them, a little dimple formed on her face from smiling.

'Come sit with me inside, it is getting cold out here.'

I nodded and followed the seeress into the firm hut, theought the entrance ornamented with animal bones and more dried flowers.

There was a freshly lit fire inside warming up my limbs and cheeks. It also colored the space with wrath orange that played on our faces like the sunset.

'Now tell me, what makes your heart heavy?'-she asked with care.

'I think I feel a bond to Eivor that is irrational and grows between us every time we meet. It is like an invisible string pulls me towards her maybe it's the wish of the Gods.-I sipped bitterly in the mead , a slight soothing feeling ran through my body.

'We both know our fate is inevitable, so you have to show what's inside your heart first.' -Valka looked deeply in my eyes. -You are Soma, our fearless Bear warrior sent by Freya to our aid and to fight on Eivor's side.

'Randvi told me Eivor loves me with a sisterly care.. I image she is right., look at her, she could have anybody.

'Don't listen to Randvi , she is hurt and trapped in her own feeling of helplessness. If she can't have Eivor accepted by the public, then nobody can'-Valka nodded and squuezed my hand.

'I just can't trust people anymore Valka. My love towards people turned into a bitter storm inside me.-Except for Revna, I couldn't trust a soul, not even Eivor. She didn't reveal her hidden side to me.

'Just talk to her in the morning, it will ease your turmoil Soma.-she winked and headed to bed. To my utter surprise she started to undress in front of my sleepy eyes, they popped in surprise no matter the mead.

Valka's toned back was shining under the wrath orange fireligt, she revealed her impeccably and naked body.

'Good night Valka, I have to get some sleep now. Thank...you...for uh.. everything!' I mumbled to her and hurried to my hut until I was able to stand still. Before sleep my head was filled with Eivor's piercing eyes and... I was a bit surprised but Valka's slender back flashed through as well. Damn, this woman was also fine. Like all women!

My eyelids felt to heavy , soon enough I was fast asleep like a newborn baby.

[elatedmarvel]

Arms

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky learns to accept all parts of himself, even the vibranium parts. 

Word Count: 5,353

A/N: This is the longest one shot I’ve ever written, and it took me like a month. (I’m very slow lol). In keeping with BLM and inclusion, please let me know if you feel the reader is described a certain way that is not encompassing of all. I’ve tried my best, but I’m only human and editing is hard. Hope you enjoy!

He remembers when he first woke up with it. 

He could have sworn that he was dead, and he was in hell. All he could feel was pain everywhere, but specifically in his left arm. Pain he had never felt before and now he thinks he’ll feel forever. His parents always joked him that he would go to hell if he didn’t stop flirting with every skirt he saw, and now he wishes he could tell them they were right. 

Voices float above him, but he can’t make out what they’re saying, everything sounds garbled and distorted to his ears. 

It takes a moment for him to realize that the men are speaking in a different language. 

Blinding white lights greet him as he opens his eyes and squints against the harshness. Silhouettes of shapes is all his brain can comprehend, and he blinks a few more times before he is able to actually see.

The dingy room has seen better days. The walls are lined with tile, with mildew and mold in between them. It’s dark everywhere else, except the bright light that shines down on him. 

It’s hard for him to move his head side to side, let alone move the rest of his body, but he tries to wiggle his toes and fingers. 

A metal appendage lays at his left side.

He stares at the foreign object, trying to make sense of the fact that he can feel his left arm, but what he sees is not the limb he remembers.

His brain commands him to lift it, to see if this was real. When it not only moves where he wanted, but he can see his fingers wiggling, he realizes that this is worse than hell. 

He runs his right hand up the entire metal limb, and he can feel the dull sensation. His panic increases the higher he can feel metal. He gets to the edge of his chest before he feels flesh and bone again. 

Gasping, he claws at where the foreign object meets his chest, trying to get it off of him. The more awake he becomes, the more pain radiates from the arm, like his body was rejecting it. 

His sudden movements and noises of pain alert the men in white coats around him. He’s sure his eyes are frantic; he must look like a caged and frightened animal. 

They rush to him, trying to undo the damage he has clawed in.

When they get close enough, he grabs them both by the neck, trying to protect himself. This only causes them to start shouting and the doors burst open.

It’s hard for him to process what is happening, all he feels is adrenaline pumping through his body, and it reacts accordingly.

He can feel the pop of the bones before he hears the sickening crunch. If he was more aware of what was happening, he’s sure he would have thrown up.  

The man he grabbed with his left hand falls to the floor in a heap, unmoving.

In all his time serving with the howling commandos, he’s killed a few people, but never as intimately. He could just pull a trigger, throw a grenade, or stab someone. He’s never had to look them in the eye, and feel the life drain out of him. 

Sweat and fear pour out of his pores now, he didn’t mean to. His hand moved faster than he could react. 

Not his hand, the weapon attached to him now. 

The shouting only gets louder around him, but it’s muffled now. He stares in horror at the metal fingers, and the lifeless body on the floor. 

He can’t even feel when they prick him with a syringe filled with tranquilizer.

The image burns itself into his mind as everything grows dark.  

The next 10-15 years follow the same pattern. 

He wakes up slowly out of cryo. In his groggy state, he panics every time he sees the arm. He goes to claw at his chest where it is connected, but he’s eventually stopped when they realize he’s awake. 

They try to break him. 

Hydra does everything they can, any form of torture. But he’s strong. He resists every attempt, and finally they have had enough.

One day, they plop him in a metal chair and run currents through his skull. 

It takes 2 more years of this before finally he stops scratching at the arm. Before he fully loses himself.

~~~

When he finally escapes from Hydra’s grip, he hates the arm with everything in him. He tries anything he can think of to remove it from his body, short of just cutting into himself more. 

The arm only causes death and destruction. It is synonymous with Hydra and the evil he unwittingly committed. 

He still remembers how they thought they bestowed a great gift upon him, making him into the fist of Hydra. They think they saved him, but they chipped away at his soul until there was barely anything left in him. 

When Shuri was kind enough to erase the trigger words from his brain, she had offered him a new arm. One that was not tainted with the bloody memories of Hydra. 

It took him months of therapy, and many long, late night talks with Steve, Natasha, and Sam to accept the arm. He wanted to repent for the blood he has spilled, intentional or not, and he couldn’t do it with one arm. 

It was beautiful, gun metal grey with gold intertwining the plates. It reminded him of the exhibit that Steve had dragged him to at the Met. 

Kintsugi, Steve had told him. The art of repairing something with gold.

“It was never broken to begin with, just being made whole and better” Steve had said to them as they wandered around. He pretended the tears in his eyes were from the dust in the museum, and lightly punched Steve on the arm. 

~~~

You were in the ring with Sam. 

Someone new, and that scared Bucky. He had slowly built a relationship with the rest of the team in the last few months he had been at the compound, and trust didn’t come easy. Countless nights he would be invited to movies, or dinner and drinks. He turned them all down the first few weeks he had been there. It wasn’t until Sam and Steve literally dragged him to the bar that he started to open up.

You somehow got along with everyone on the team, and had won everyone over in a matter of weeks. You geeked out over the newest electronics with Tony, and tried to help Bruce with his research. Wanda and you had holed up in a room for days binging the newest season of some reality show you loved. Natasha and you had survived multiple Barre classes, something that even made Sam cry. You and Steve had even started painting to Bob Ross videos together. 

It was like there was a you-shaped gap waiting to be filled on the team. 

He watches from his sparring dummy as you tease Sam. You dance around him easily, and dodge out the way of yet another unsuccessful punch. 

His sensitive hearing picks up on Sam’s heavy breathing, but anyone could see the exacerbated rise and fall of his chest, and the buckets of sweat gleaming under the fluorescent lighting. 

You laugh as he tries to distract you with a kick and punch from opposite sides. 

“Nice try birdy” you call out as you evade him once more.

“Stay still!” Sam huffs, he hasn’t felt this out of shape since he was a chubby 13 year old with a love of cheetos and hate of exercise.

In his last effort to take you down, he swipes left and right, never giving up. You move further and further back, unsure how to handle the sudden change in tactics.

You don’t notice how close to the edge of the ring you are. 

Tony, being the dramatic shit he was, decided to build the sparring ring higher up then normal. Like a pedestal he once proclaimed. He wanted all to be able to watch.

Sam and you had forgone putting up the side ropes, wanting to get in as much sparing as possible. 

The fall was probably only a few feet of the ground, but definitely enough to sprain something, or even worse, get a concussion. 

He sees you near the edge, Sam still swinging a way. His lust for revenge prevented him from seeing you were about to fall.

Bucky leaps the 10 feet in between him and you right as your foot falls off the edge. He reaches up and puts most of your weight on his left arm, catching you before you fell to the floor, holding you for a few seconds before slowly bringing you to floor level.

He sets you down gently and almost laughs at the comical expression on your face. Eyes wide and jaw dropped, unable to comprehend what had just happened in the span of a few seconds. 

“I-I… thank you” you stuttered. Stilled flustered by the fall, but even more flustered that it was Bucky that caught you. You two had maybe exchanged 20 words total in the 2 months that you had been on the team. 

Bucky does a once over at you before nodding and walking back to the sparring dummy.

Sam watches this all with amusement, before coming down and offering to buy you ice cream to make up for the fall. 

~~~

Hit. Block. Punch. Duck. Repeat. 

Watching you take down your opponents was like watching a ballet. You were graceful, and lithe. Moving with your counterpart, they never even realized you were a threat until they were out.

Since your fall a month ago, you and Bucky have been growing closer. It was hard not to when you were so light and bright. It blinded him slightly, before he grew accustomed to the warmth he felt when he was near you. Now he never wanted to be parted from it. 

Naturally, when this mission had come up, Bucky had begged Steve to pair you with him. He knew he would only have peace of mind if he was with you at all times.

Not that you needed the help.

About a dozen men lay sprawled around you, and the last three were soon to join their colleagues on the floor. If they weren’t such vile men, he would almost feel bad for them. Being laid to waste by someone who didn’t look like she could hurt a fly. 

He registers the movement about a second too late, his mouth won’t connect to his brain and shout what he wants it to. One of the men you had already taken down lifts his head and arm, he just sees a flash of silver in the man’s palm before he sprints the length of the room. Your back is to him, and you still have 1 more attacker to take down, he takes all of your attention.

It happens in a second. You take your final shot at the henchman and then you see Bucky running to you. You feel the warmth of him as he embraces you, pulling you forward. The momentum causes you to stumble and brings you both down, you on top of him.

The ping of the bullet is thundering in the echoing, concrete room. He barely even registers the feeling before pulling out his gun and shooting the attacker. Watching for a moment to make sure he was actually dead, he looks down at you.

“Bucky” you stutter out, and he can feel your slight tremors. The whiplash must be settling in and the adrenaline wearing off, not a fun combination.

He looks you up and down, and even though he knows he blocked the bullet with his vibranium arm, he can’t help the anxiety that rises in his chest. He doesn’t see anything wrong besides the bruises and small scratches.

Meeting your eyes, it instantly takes the breath out of him. The look of pure awe spread on your face, but he can feel the admiration that is in your eyes,

It takes everything to not close the 5 inch gap to your lips and see if they are as soft as he’s imagined. 

“You ok?” he asks one more time, voice cracking from the dryness in his throat.

You nod up at him, keeping eye contact. 

Without a warning, you press your face into his neck and wrap your arms around him. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you” you say profusely. You move to sit on top of him in a flash and grab his left arm. He’s powerless underneath you as you examine the shiny appendage. 

“Does it hurt?” you ask, wonder in your voice as your fingers graze the sides of his arms. He’s glad for the pain he endured when they fitted him with this new arm, he can feel the softness and warmth of your hands, almost like if it were his own flesh. 

“No” he replies, eyes locked on where you hold his wrist.

Gently, so gently he can barely feel it, you press a kiss to the slight dent where the bullet impacted. Now he swears he’s died and gone to heaven. 

There’s a lingering heat where your lips touched, maybe even burning. 

If his mouth was dry before, it’s now the desert, and he clears his throat before looking away. His face is hot, and he’s thankful for the dim lighting in the basement. 

He misses the sly smirk on your face before you get up and offer your hand to him. 

~~~

After the mission, you had gone with him to get his arm repaired. He tried to tell you that it would take a few minutes at most and you didn’t need to go with him, but you just smiled and led the way. You held his flesh hand while they fixed some wiring issues and un-dented the hand. If he squeezes your hand more often than necessary, then who would know?

One month passes and he is always at your side. He goes more often to movie nights, team dinners, and outings. There’s always a spot right by your side, and it takes only a few days for everyone to know it was reserved for a certain brunette. 

The second month rolls around and it finds him as your permanent partner. Missions for two would always be assigned to you and him. You two would spar for hours on end, touches lingering for longer than needed. If you needed to run errands, he would be right there with you. 

Month three passes in a loving haze. It’s rare to see one of you without the other. Even nights were spent in your room after you had both fallen asleep while watching Star Wars. You made him come with you to your yoga classes, and he made you go with him to cooking classes.

It’s like the sun had finally come out. The permanent scowl and dark circles were replaced with grins and smile lines. He can’t remember the last time he was as carefree as he was around you. 

It was hard to ask you out. He was nervous. What if he misread the hand holding and cuddling? Could he go back to being just your friend if it didn’t work out?

But the moment he saw you across the gym, sweaty and heaving but with a giant grin on your face as you box with Steve, he knew it would be worth it.

So here he was, your favorite flowers in hand, buttoned up shirt and nice jeans adorning his body, walking to your door to pick you up for your first date. 

In the back of his mind, he mocks himself for being so scared to ask you. Your face had lit up when he had.

Knocking on the door, he steps away and gives himself a once over. He tells himself he’s not nervous, but the erratic beating of his heart tells a different tale. 

The door opens, and there you are. A vision in your favorite dress, small smile on your face. 

All he can do is stare dumbstruck at you. While you were always gorgeous to him, the fact that you had dressed up for him makes him want to cry.

“Bucky?” you ask, waving a hand in his face and giggling. 

“You’re stunning” he says back, hand coming up to rub his neck. He suddenly

remembers the flowers when he feels the water drip on the collar of his shirt.

“These are for you” and the smile on your face grows. You take a big whiff of them

before sneezing 3 times in rapid succession. 

“Guess I got carried away” you giggle, and just like that the nerves fade. 

The drive to the restaurant he had reserved was filled with would you rathers that made you laugh so hard, you couldn’t breathe. Your impression of the stuffy waiter had him choking on his water.

Everything was going so well, he let his guard down.  

The men in ski masks that came from the kitchen to round everyone up were a shock to both of you. Instantly, people scatter, some making it out of the door in time, and others being held hostage and led to the kitchen.

You can both tell when they realize they have avengers in their midsts when the guns turn to aim at you. He flips the table to its side as you move to duck behind it. Drawing a gun from your clutch, you hand it to him. Bucky was always the better shot. And you arm yourself with a widow bites and click the button on your Stark Watch 3 times in rapid succession. 

He hears the panic in their voices as they radio to each other. Obviously, they were not expecting any resistance, let alone 2 highly trained agents.

You look at him, and he knows exactly what you have in mind.

The moment you leap sideways and engage, he pops over the table and aims at anyone with a gun. You move quickly and gracefully around those that were foolish enough to actually engage you. He takes down as many as possible with the gun, and when the clip runs out, he engages the targets closest to you. 

Soon there is only 1 left, shaking and yelling at you both to back up. Bucky is pretty sure he’s new, the tremor in his voice and hands gives him away. It wouldn’t be that difficult to take him out.  

Bucky joins your side, and you both approach hesitantly, not wanting to spook him. 

“Stay back” he yells. Bucky sees the glint of green before the man fully pulls out the grenade. His heart sinks into his stomach.  

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” Bucky states, already wedging himself between you and the man. He calculates if there was anyway to get you out of the building. 

“Just stay calm, we’re not going to hurt you.” You say, laying the widow bites at your feet. Bucky does the same with his empty gun. 

His wild eyes keep glancing between you and Bucky. He slowly tries to inch his way towards the man, hoping he makes it to the grenade before he throws it. 

The stand-still comes to an end when the man pulls the pin and launches the grenade in the air.

“No!” Bucky shouts, and he pulls you both under the nearest table, his body covering yours. The deafening blast goes off right as you both get under the table.  

He feels your fast breaths against his chest, and he pulls your head into the crook of his neck. Arms in a braced stance, supporting him as he tries to keep his weight off of yours. He’s pretty sure the table above them cracked with the weight of the rubble falling on it. 

He looks down to your face and sees the fear in your eyes. It was one thing to be shot at, but another to be buried alive.  

“It’s gonna be ok” he whispers, and you nod. You know that Bucky would do everything he could to get you both out. Forcing yourself to take calming breaths, you knew it wouldn’t help to panic right now.   

Once he feels the dust settle, he braces himself against the broken table, trying to see if he could lift the ruble off of you both. There’s a groan as the concrete settles more firmly in place, but nothing lets up. 

The Stark watch on your wrist vibrates, and though he can’t see the screen, he knows it means the Avengers are coming. 

“Bucky” you say, voice trembling. It brings him back to the conversation you had about your biggest fears. Being buried alive was at the top of the list after falling into a pit when you were 7 years old. 

“It’s going to be ok” he tries to reassure, but the fear in your eyes has him trying to break you out. 

Slowly, he shifts his weight to his right arm, and braces the broken table with his left. Putting all his weight behind the vibranium arm, he pushes up. He’s not sure if the groans are from him or the concrete slabs, but he feels something pop and then shift above him. 

Suddenly, the weight feels lighter and he can hear the concrete falling. Hope bursts in his chest as more light floods into the burrow and space starts to expand.

Moving his knees and feet, he gets into a crouched position to give himself more power as the rubble starts to fall away. 

Your voice and encouragement gives him a surge of energy and he finds himself standing in the dusty opening of what used to be a restaurant. 

“Y/n!” he calls as he moves back down and cradles you in his arms, lifting you on top of the pile of rubble. 

“Bucky that was incredible!” you shout as he comes to join you and helps you down. Your arms come around his neck and before he knows it, he feels your lips against his. It takes a second for his brain to compute, and by the time he realizes that it was a kiss, you had already pulled away. 

“Thank you!” you shout again with glee as he chuckles. 

He tries to move in and capture your lips again, but the moment is ruined when a certain blonde super soldier clears his throat.

You both pull away, faces warm, to see the captain dragging to handcuffed criminals out of the wreckage. 

“Glad to see you’re both alive.” Steve states smugly, shooting Bucky a not so subtle wink.

“It’s all thanks to Bucky and his amazing arm.” you tell him brightly, pressing a kiss to the vibranium bicep before jumping into to help apprehend the rest of the men. 

Steve had never seen Bucky turn that shade of red before, and lets out a laugh as he escorted the men out of the restaurant and into the cars waiting outside. 

~~~

You’re not sure what triggers it.

One moment you're laying on the couch with your head in Bucky’s lap, content and happy while watching a movie. You’re half awake, no idea what’s going on in the movie, instead paying attention to the way Bucky’s fingers glide through your hair.

It happens suddenly, and you jump up. 

You pace for a moment, before breathing is hard, and the world starts to get blurry. A cold sweat breaks out all over your body and you swear you could throw up at any moment.

Lowering yourself onto the floor, you put your head between your legs and slowly start to rock. Blood rushes to your head, and all you can hear is the loud thumping of your erratic heart. 

Everything is reduced to the few inches in front of your face, you almost don’t notice the cool hand on your forehead, pushing away hairs and trying to soothe you.

You focus on the cold hand moving from your head to the back of your neck, and then going down to stroke and pat your back, before starting the cycle all over again. 

Bucky.

Slowly, you start to break through the surface. 

It takes a few moments, but you start to hear his voice calling to you, and you want to follow the warm sound. 

He moves your hand now to his chest, the gentle up and down continuing to bring you back, and it registers that he wants you to follow his breath pattern.

The first few are too shallow, the next few are too fast, but soon you match his calm in-and-out to a tee. 

Your name, smooth and gentle in his voice, finally reaches your ears. You listen as he tells you how great you are at matching his breathing. He switches between compliments, random, one sided small talk, and humming. 

The heat from his embrace and the coolness from his left arm creates a cocoon of warmth and safety, making you lose sense of time. The cramping from your legs is the only indicator that a significant amount of time has passed.

Sluggishly, you lift your head from Bucky’s chest and look up at his face. Intense blue eyes stare back at you, it’s not hard to tell that he’s trying to stay calm, but the slight worry in his eyes wasn’t hard to pick up on. 

Laying your head back on his chest, you feel his arms start to slide under you. Soon enough, you’re lifted up and he’s walking to what you assume would be your room. 

You close your eyes, when he doesn’t take the right to go down to your room, but continues straight into his wing. 

“Thanks Bucky” you mumble as he sets you on his bed and gets in himself.

Face to face, you use your finger to trace the slope of his nose and the edge of his jaw before bringing your finger to outline his lips.

Pressing a small kiss to the tip of your finger, he smiles before leaning in kissing your forehead. 

“I love you, doll.”

“Love you too.”

~~~

He can feel the drool on his face as he comes too. His face squished into the pillow underneath him, so hard, he’s sure he’ll have indents in his face.

One arm slung around a sleeping you, he breathes in, slowly waking up. Moving his arms, he can feel the soreness that settles in after a good night's sleep. 

A small sniffle from the nightstand catches his attention, and he realizes why he woke up. 

Gently, he crawls out of bed, and tucks in the remaining comforter around you, and grabs the device from the nightstand. He hopes you can get a little extra sleep, he’s pretty sure he fell asleep long before you got into bed. 

Bare feet meet carpet as he paddles down the hallway, a short walk to his destination. He waits outside of the door for a moment, listening for movement in the room. When he hears shuffling, and another small screech, he opens the door.

Against the adjacent lilac wall, a white crib is placed. A sleep dischevaled baby stands, clinging to the bars, blowing spit bubbles and babbling to herself.

As soon as she sees Bucky, her arms extend towards him and makes whining noises.

“Hey baby” he chuckles as he steps fully into the room, and picks her up, nervous that she’ll start screaming if he doesn’t.

“How did you sleep?” he asks, patting her back, and checking to see if she needed a diaper change.

The raspberry she blows answers the question.

Gently and efficiently, he sets about changing her diaper, talking to her all the while.

When he sets her upright to try and find a new outfit, preferably one that doesn’t have stains but the options are slim, she squeals again.

Quickly, he picks her up and sways her against his chest.

“Shh shhh shhh, don’t wake up mommy, you kept her up half the night.” Bucky implores. She tilts her head up at the sound of his voice, her eyes slightly wet and he knows she can’t help it. 

Rebecca was a good baby, usually did not fuss, ate like a champ, and slept well. But lately, she had been colickly. 

It had panicked Bucky at first, thinking she was sick or he was doing something wrong. You had quelled his fears by showing him the small bump on her gums, signalling that she was teething. 

Switching his right arm for her support, he brings a vibranium finger up to her mouth. Immediately, she latches on to the finger. 

He can feel the nubs of teeth about to break through the surface, and lets her chew on his cool finger for relief. 

It had started as a joke one day when the teething ring had melted and Becca still wouldn’t stop crying. In your half groggy state, you had stuck one of Bucky’s vibranium fingers in her mouth to let her chew on while you grabbed something else, he couldn’t quite feel the pain the same way his flesh fingers could. But, once Bucky’s finger was in her mouth, Becca happily chewed on it until she fell asleep. 

It was well known now that wherever Bucky was, Becca followed, gnawing on his fingers. 

“Does that feel better Becca?” she couldn’t even spare a second to look at her father, too busy drooling all over his hand.

With Becca in tow, he sits down in the rocking chair, hoping that he could get her to fall back asleep.

Holding her close, he hums some forget tune and rubs her back, moving them back and forth slightly.

The rigid dark grey was such a contrast to the soft baby skin around it, it startles Bucky sometimes.

The same arm that killed people and caused so much destruction was the same arm that his baby daughter used as a teething toy. She would never fear it, or see it as anything other than a part of him. 

He’s unfamiliar with the emotion that bubbles up in his chest and the tears that build up. Sniffling himself, he presses a kiss to her downy soft head, and cradles her underneath his chin.  

“You know, if it hurts that much, you can take it out of her mouth.” you say, startling him slightly. 

Padding into the room, you perch yourself on the armrest of the rocking chair and tuck your feet under his legs. You reach a head out to caress Becca’s perfect cheek, brushing away a few tears with your thumb, as her eyelids start to droop. 

“What are you doing up?” Bucky’s gravely voice cuts through the silence a few moments later. 

“I had a feeling you were getting sappy with her again” you tease. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by without Bucky marveling or crying about Becky in the short 7 months of her life. 

“I can’t help it, she’s perfect.” he whispers back, getting choked up again. 

“Oh babe” you coo at him. Dropping to sit in his lap, you place your head on his chest, just above Becca, and wrap your arms around him. 

He sits there for a while longer, slowly rocking back and forth. Every once in a while, Becca will snuffle and snore in her sleep and you both chuckle at the cute noises. 

Sitting there, arms wrapped around the loves of his life, he feels calm. 

He can feel your breathing start to even out as you follow Becca’s lead to slumber. 

It still amazes him how much you both trust him. Never looked at the thing that made him a killer with anything but love, and never treated him with any differently. 

There will always be scars, physical and emotional, but slowly falling asleep in his baby daughter's room, he knows everything will be ok. He’s not afraid anymore.

~~~

Thank you for reading! Feedback is always welcome!

[peakyswritings]

Dancing with the Devil pt.4

Luca Changretta x Italian!reader

A/N: I’m sorry it took this long to write this chapter, but I was kinda stuck. I hope you like it!⭐️ Also, I took some quotes of the family meeting from the show⭐️

Warnings: swearing, drinking, mentions of death and murder

Summary: when Luca Changretta comes to Birmingham for the vendetta, he perfectly knows what he wants. “No one will survive”, that’s what he always says. Y/n, a close family friend of the Shelbys, makes a deal with Luca and tricks him into thinking that she’s on his side. They’re sworn enemies, on opposite sides, in a position where you can choose to kill, or to be killed. They both plan on killing each other. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, they say. But Luca and Y/n have no idea of how close they’re going to get.

The gif is not mine, credits to the owner

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

The next morning, you and the Shelbys were all gathered around the table in Michael’s hospital room for a family meeting, John had moved from his room to attend to it. The family had previously agreed to put an end to the war between them, at least until the vendetta was over. Tommy stood up and cleared his throat, glancing around the room.

“Changretta took us by surprise on Christmas morning” he started “Michael and John were shot because we killed someone. Vicente Changretta. His son Luca has come to take revenge. Men from New York and Sicily here in Birmingham, these men won’t leave our city until our whole family is dead. That’s how it works, an eye for an eye. It’s called vendetta.” he explained the situation again for John and Michael, who couldn’t attend the last family meeting due to their critical conditions.

“With John and Michael here, there are two empty seats that must be taken. Finn” he pointed at the youngest brother, who was standing next to Isaiah “sit at the table.”

The boy had to hold back a smile as he sat between Arthur and John. He had waited for that moment for a long time. Arthur suddenly pulled him close by the neck with a proud smile on his face.

“Little bastard” he said with his husky voice “doing men’s work”

“You’re a man now, Finn-boy” John chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“Y/N made a deal with Luca Changretta”

At Tommy’s statement, the room fell silent. Everybody looked at you, trying to understand what that was all about.

“She’ll pass him information. Well, the information we want him to know. She’ll make him believe that she’s on his side, she’ll be working from the inside and passing us informations”

Polly’s head quickly turned to you, her eyes full of worry.

“That’s suicide. I vote against it.”

You had known Polly for all of your life, she loved you as if you were her own daughter, she would never put you in such a dangerous situation.

“I met him yesterday” you explained, talking for the first time “we already have a deal. I’ll see him again tomorrow, he’ll expect me to pass him some information”

All of a sudden, everyone started talking at once, no one liked the idea of you getting in trouble. You were like family to them, you were not disposable. It took you a while to convince Tommy as well, but you both knew that you had to do everything you could to survive.

“The decision has been made” he raised his voice to be heard “She’ll have all the protection she needs.”

Ada shook her head.

“You can only protect her as long as she stays in our territory. When she goes to the place the Italians are staying in, there’s nothing you can do to assure her safety. And sure as hell they won’t let her in with a gun” she argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

“He had the chance to kill me yesterday, but he didn’t. He needs me for information, I’ll make sure he needs me for a long time”

For a while, nobody talked anymore. You all knew that you were stuck in a serious situation. That war didn’t involve business or money, it was personal and for that reason, it was ten times more dangerous.

“The bullet’s been written” Arthur broke the silence, pulling a bullet out of his pocket “it says Luca. When the time comes, and it will come...me as the oldest brother, will put this bullet into his fucking head”

******

You took a deep breath before knocking on the big wooden door. You were walking right into the lion’s den, without protection or the actual certainty of being safe. One of Luca’s men opened the door with a gun hidden behind his back.

“Who are you?” he asked with a strong Italian accent.

“Y/n Y/l/n. I’m here to see mr Changretta” you said, putting up a confident facade. He seemed to recognise your name, because he nodded and put away his gun.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but you have to take off your coat and I have to verify that you’re not armed”

You nodded, handing him your coat. You tried to ignore the nasty feeling you got while he put his hands on you to check you out. Once he finished, he moved away from the doorstep, letting you in. He led you to a hallway and he knocked on the third door.

“Come in” you heard a familiar husky voice say from the inside. The man in front of you entered the room.

“Y/n Y/l/n è qui per vedervi, signor Changretta”

(Y/n Y/l/n is here to see you, mr Changretta)

“Falla entrare”

(Let her in)

The man got out of the room and held the door open for you, then he closed it behind your back. Luca was sat at his desk, rolling a toothpick in his mouth, a bunch of papers was messily scattered on it. He raised his head and he leaned back on his chair, putting away the toothpick.

“Y/n” he grinned “please, take a seat” he gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. You sat down, crossing your legs, trying your best to maintain your mask of confidence.

“Now, do you have something to report?” he asked, referring to the plans of the Shelbys.

“Yes, I think you should hire some female employees to check out your female guests, mr Changretta. It’s not pleasant to have some random man’s hands on you” you stated, crossing your arms over your chest. He stayed silent for a moment, looking at you with a mixture of astonishment and amusement. He knew that you weren’t exactly an easy person to deal with, but he didn’t expect you to have the nerve of talking to him like that and criticise the way he handled things. Much to his surprise, the thing didn’t bother him not even in the slightest. He shook his head, holding back a smile.

“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” he pointed at you.

You have no idea, you thought, but you stayed quiet.

“Anyway, I already told you that you can call me Luca. If we have to work together, we need to be close” he affirmed, without losing the spark of amusement in his eyes.

“Of course, Luca” you said, emphasising his name “we had a family meeting yesterday. With John at the hospital, they’re a man down. Finn joined the business, but we all know that the guy cannot replace his brother, he’s too soft. Polly is too worried about Michael to actually help Tommy, and she basically hates him. I won’t go into details, you already know their story. There’s a war between them, they’re not sticking together, they’re weak, Tommy’s weak, but he has men on their side. As long as he stays in Birmingham, you can’t touch him”

You had previously agreed with Tommy on the things to reveal and the things to lie about. You both believed that saying a half truth was the best way to gain Luca’s trust.

He nodded, tapping his hand on his desk, looking at it in deep thought.

“So, the only way to kill Tommy is to bring him outside Birmingham” he stated, probably thinking about his next move.

“Precisely. But he won’t leave Birmingham alone without a reason, he’s not stupid”

He stayed silent for a while, then he abruptly got up. You followed his movements with your eyes, trying to predict his intentions. You tried to hide your nervousness, keeping your head high. He walked around the desk, placing himself in front of you, leaning on it.

“So, we have to find a way to make him go outside the city. How?” he asked, looking at you.

“I need a couple days to think about it” you said “he won’t leave the city without a valid reason. I’ll let you know as soon as I come up with something” you added, standing up, ready to go away.

Just as you were about to walk past him, he firmly grabbed your arm, without hurting you, but with enough force to make you turn to him. You raised your head to look at him, you had never noticed how tall he was until that moment. You nervously swallowed as he slowly leaned towards you.

“Se dovessi scoprire che mi stai mentendo” (If I were to discover that you’re lying to me) he said in a low voice “non avrei la minima pietà o compassione per te” (I wouldn’t have the least bit of mercy nor compassion on you)

The change in his tone and the look in his eyes sent chills down your spine. With his apparent cordiality and good manners, he could conceal his true nature. You knew what he was capable of, but somehow he was able to perfectly hide it. The way he said those words to you, reminded you of who he really was. It didn’t matter how polite and elegant he showed himself to be, he still was cutthroat and unforgiving. He carried hatred in his heart and he used it as a weapon. That was what made him dangerous.

“Non ti sto mentendo” you affirmed, looking him in the eyes.

(I’m not lying to you)

He let go of your arm and you took some steps back, neither of you taking your eyes off the other. After one last look, you turned your back, walking towards the exit.

“Our deal is still on. I think you’ll bring a lot of benefits to my company, when you’ll be working for me after the vendetta is won” he stated when you opened the door.

“I’m glad to hear that” you replied, walking out the door and closing it behind your back, without a look.

******

“So, what are you gonna do with her after you’ll win the vendetta?” Matteo asked, pouring some whiskey in two glasses. They were both sat on the couch in Luca’s office, talking about the plan.

Luca leaned back on the couch, drinking the liquid in his glass in one gulp.

“It’s simple” he shrugged his shoulders “I’m gonna kill her”

“I thought you considered killing her a waste” Matteo replied, taking a sip from his glass.

Luca thought about it for a moment, pondering the situation, then he shook his head.

“I’m going to kill them all, Matteo. Thomas Shelby has to pay. None of them will survive”

[power-of-fluffy-boys]

Radiant!RWBY AU

Anyone here like both The Stormlight Archive and RWBY? cuz I have some thoughts.  Let me know what you guys think!

Ruby – Bondsmith, “I will unite instead of divide.  I will bring men together” and “If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” both fit to a tee. Her spren can’t be made into a weapon, so Crescent Rose is a physical weapon.  Her semblance is about deconstructing herself to her molecular components which is a manipulation of Connection, even if it’s temporarily dissolving it.  

All silver eyed warriors are bondsmiths, firing eye lasers is equivalent to opening a perpendicularity

Weiss – Elsecaller, a focus on self improvement and reaching one’s own potential.  Her glyphs are an application of soulcasting, creating solid surfaces and objects out of the air.  She starts as Winter’s squire according to Schnee tradition, but finds her own spren before beacon.  One of her ideals is sworn at the end of volume 3 when she runs to protect Velvet and finally summons something.  I know Jasnah can’t soulcast an animate golem, but maybe Weiss and Winter are just better than her. I could be convinced she’s a willshaper given her focus on independence.

Blake – Willshaper, she swears the second ideal, “I will seek freedom for those in bondage”, when she runs off to join the white fang.  Her spren doesn’t like everything they do necessarily, but Blake never betrays her oaths.

Alternatively, lightweaver fits while she’s struggling with her allegiance to Adam’s white fang, and her shadow clones could be an application of lightweaving. Her lightweaver ideals are something like “I’m on the wrong side” during the black trailer and “I ran away so I wouldn’t have to face Yang” during volume 4/5.

Yang – I’m thinking releaser.  There’s a quote on the coppermind “They often object to those who only focus on the destructive side of their powers” which is very much like the quote from the yellow trailer about how Yang is multifaceted.  She doesn’t swear her second ideal, related to self- mastery, until volume 4 when she’s learning better control.  Also, they’re apparently tinkerers, and Yang is a genius engineer.  

Jaune – I think Jaune has an heirloom shardblade that he’s taking the Adolin route with ie reawakening them.  That happens around the end of volume 5 when he bonds the cultivation spren, becomes an edgedancer, and uses progression to save Weiss.  Also I’m not saying Pyrrha has been forgotten but Jaune certainly remembers her.

Nora – Nora’s emotional intelligence makes me think lightweaver, maybe edgedancer. Also her recent focus on self-identity smacks of lightweavers. Doesn’t really fit her skill set though.  Maybe another releaser that I’m doing a disservice by focusing on her sheer destructive potential.  Or a stoneward who focus on “working with a team and supporting others”

Pyrrha – Probably a stoneward given that they apparently tend to put others’ needs before their own.   Whatever she is, she’s sworn her fourth ideal. She’s the invincible girl because she has her shardplate already.

Ren – One of the illumination orders given that his semblance makes people invisible to Grimm.   Maybe he’s a lightweaver, and his most recent ideal was about how killing the nucklavee didn’t make him a real huntsman ready to make big decisions.  

Ilia – Lightweaver, admitting that she doesn’t know what else to do while fighting Blake during volume 5 is her most recent ideal.  

Penny – She’s tricky.  Windrunner is an obvious choice given that she’s the PROTECTOR of Mantle and she can fly, but asking Fria if she was OK in volume 7 was such an edgedancer move that maybe she’s an edgedancer.  Her role as protector of Mantle could be spun as either “protecting those who cannot protect themselves” or “remembering those who have been forgotten”.   Ironwood intended her to be a skybreaker following him, thus the flying and huge destructive firepower.  Maybe he even gave her the skybreaker honorblade, but she bonded some other spren instead.  

Emerald – Another easy lightweaver, she uses illusions and is clearly lying to herself about how much Cinder cares about her.

Mercury – Not a radiant.  Maybe his dad destroyed his spren w/ anti-stormlight?  He seems to be just kinda going along with it rather than having any kind of guiding philosophy.  Maybe he actually will save Oscar and bond with an honorspren.

Cinder – The easy answer is releaser given her affinity for fire and Malata’s whole drive for revenge.   Skybreaker with Salem as the focus of her third ideal is possible, but she disobeys Salem kind of frequently. Probably bonded to a Sja-anat touched spren whatever order she is.

Maria – also a bondsmith, probably fifth ideal given how badass she is.   Maybe she was forced to abandon her oaths when Tock blinded her?  Or maybe Tock stole her bond to her spren like Ishar tried to do to Dalinar at the end of Rhythm of War.

Ironwood and the Ace-ops – Skybreakers one and all, Ironwood is fifth ideal, and the others chose him as the focus of their third ideals.

Ozpin and Salem – Heralds, the only two still on Remnant.  Actually maybe Jinn is a herald as well.   Ozpin fights his insanity by using the Radiant academy Beacon as an almost constant connection to the spiritual realm fueled by the students swearing their oaths.

[everlarkficquestions]

Sunday Stumped Day 29

It’s another Sunday Stumped Day!

Sometimes we straight out get stumped. So every few months we will pick a Sunday when we’ll post of a list of asks that we need your help on.

This time around we have focused on Asks that are looking for specific fics. 

If you know the answer to any of these asks please shoot us a message/ ask/  with the Post number and the fic details and we’ll add it and give you a shout out with our thanks. Any links you can provide will also be super helpful.

Thanks!

Post 1 , Post 2 , Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7, Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11, Post 12, Post 13, Post 14, Post 15, Post 16, Post 17, Post 18, Post 19, Post 20, Post 21, Post 22 , Post 23, Post 24, Post 25, Post 26, Post 27 and Post 28 can be found here - and there are still fics we need your help with. 

495. theman189-blog said:

Also looking for a growing together fic where peeta and katniss are painting a room ar one point and they get in a paint fight, at the end when peeta has katniss over his shoulder she draws a heart in paint on his lower back

494. theman189-blog said:

Hi there, just read a fic where katniss and peeta were peacekeepers and fall in love called protect and serve, and I could have sworn there was another one where they're peacekeepers and fell in love but had a more concrete ending and I cant remember it... any thoughts?

493. breakmeaswitchson said:

Hi! So I posted asking about this on a sub in Reddit and got directed here, it's not specifically an Everlark one (I don't think) but if you could help I'd be so thankful! Basically, it took the characters from the 74th Hunger Games, but the twist was that they all had to work together in designated groups? And (I think) weren't allowed to turn on each other until nobody else was left. I'm pretty sure Rue and Clove were on a team together, and I think the setting involved abandoned buildings.

492. jayana90 said:

Hi! I'm looking for a specific fic from Peeta's POV. I read it about a year ago & now I can't find it. It begins at his house in 12 with his family, then traces nearly all of the Hunger Games trilogy. It ends with a chapter with Peeta & Katniss living in 12 years later with their kids and a bakery. I think they loved cheese bread? It was really long and so good, I hope to find it again. V smutty.

FOUND! The Sexual Frustrations of Peeta Mellark by PeetasAndHerondales, which has sadly been deleted. - thank you, mistressnightshade!

491. allflowerscatchthesunlight said:

Fic name needed: I recall Peeta was taken by the capitol and then there was trackers embedded into his skin or something and he was found by the squad while in the capitol to kill snow. They cut it out of him. Also katniss was pregnant, but miscarried.

Found!  Secret Wishes, Secret Kisses by @katnissdoesnotfollowback -- thank you KDNFB!

490. jsth2obooks said:

Hi I read this fix a while ago and now I'm trying to find it. It's Modern day Katnisss and Peeta have to go to a high school reunion an they pretend to be either together/engaged. At the end they end up with a child. Thanks in advance

FOUND! Somewhere That’s Green by Jlala. Thank you, @fangirlingoverquotes

489. uglydora15 said:

I read this fancition about Katniss and Peeta post mockingjay and Katniss was pregnant I think for the second time and Peeta has a flashback and Katniss caught him kissing someone else in the bakery and he had to beg for her forgiveness

Possibly There Are Still Worse Games to Play- The Second Part of Our Journey by panskiss123.  Thank you, @sunsetsrmydreams

488. bad-fad said:

Hi so I think there’s a fix where mr. Mellark like takes in katniss when she’s young (I don’t think prim existed in the story but I could be wrong) and she grows up with the Mellarks but I can’t remember?? If not maybe some recs along those lines

Possibly - “Kinship” by Misshoneywell - thank you @endlessnightlock

possibly Star by HGRomance  - thank you @nightlock-89

Possibly the deleted Lion’s Tooth by Alexabee

487. craftydiva0828 said:

Looking for a story where after the war, Katniss rides the trains searching the districts for Peeta; people search for loved ones by posting their pictures at the train depot bulletin board.

FOUND!  when the far-gone dead return - writingforhugs (Thanks, @ladymurphyevermore!)              

486. bookworm06 said:

I was wondering if you guys know about a fic where Peeta woos katniss slowly, they dare secretly for a long time i think. And then Katniss comes out in this beautiful orange dress(peeta’s favorite color) to announce their engagement. She’s dressed up for a feast or party in the district or something! I loved this story but can’t even remember the name 🤦🏻‍♀️

FOUND! -  I Knew This Would Have Happened Anyway by @abk1973 - thank you, @litharalen

485. cowrintimrousbeastie said:

Hello! This is actually the first time I'm posting a question, I usually enjoy doing the detective work. This time though, I've looked high and low and can't find it... it's a drabble posted on tumblr in several parts. Peeta is living with his girlfriend Delly but during one of his baking workshops discovers that this longtime best friend Katniss is in love with him (she has him as her phone screen saver). She works at the library? He confronts her and she says forget it as he is happy w/Delly..

FOUND!  By @cowrintimrousbeastie herself!  It is How Long by @ra3lynn3.  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4 and Part 5.

484. beautiful-harmony1 said:

Hello! Thank for your great work. I am looking for a fic I read a while ago. Post-mockingjay. Katniss is really sick and Peeta comes homes a realises. He takes care of her. On her “death bed” she talks about this that would have happened between the two. I’m pretty sure some bursts in and say “we found a cure”. Thank you so much

483. thehopefuldandelion said:

So I’ve been craving to read this fic that hopefully I didn’t make up and I’ve been trying to remember it’s name. All I remember is that Katinss and Gale(I think) are dating but when Gale would go to sleep Katinss would text Peeta. I’m pretty sure they were coworkers and couldn’t date bc of this. I know that she broke up with Gale but that’s all that my brain can remember. I’m sorry if this is vague or you can’t find it. I just wanted to read this again. Thanks for all you do for the community❤️

FOUND! This is After Hours by SoThere -thank you, @mendontprotectyou!

482. redhoodhungergames said:

I’m looking for a fic where peeta goes to this hotel (or something) and finds Katniss who works there as a singer. I remember when talking we hear that Katniss is from Virginia

481. just-absolutely-super said:

There’s a pre-epilogue fic I read about Katniss and Peeta growing back together. I can’t remember all the details but I think in the fic Katniss finds out Peeta painted Prim and it upset her? Toward the end she’s outside his bedroom door and confesses to him that she loves him. Thank you!

Possibly - The List of Words by MyKonstantine - thank you, @jennagill

480. peetniss27 said:

OK i must be going crazy, but this fanfic is about panem being a bunch of islands and they all do a computer session and are matched with their spouses after being “reaped” and Katniss was dating peeta and ended up with gale. It was called the islands but idk the new name please help!!!!!

FOUND!

Are You Leaving Me? - iloverueforever (*Thank you, @superchocovian!)

479. uniquepizzacollectionblog said:

Hi, i"m looking for a fic where katniss and peeta and best friends and have slept with each other in the past and now the sexual tension is coming back, maybe you guys know of this story?

478. xgetawaycar13 said:

Hiiii so I’m looking for a fic in which Katniss and Peeta get married in catching fire by order of snow and they are also forced to have children but I remember that at some point someone told Katniss about how all the girls at school liked Peeta so she got jealous and have him a blowjob Thank youuu I already look through your master list about marriage in catching fire but I couldn’t find it:(

FOUND.  This is Have Heart, My Dear by monroeslittle.  Thanks @finestunicorn.

477. ochri said:

Hi i'm looking for this fic from fanfiction It's a post-MJ fic and there's this one chapter where katniss peels? her skin off her fingers and then Peeta takes her to hospital. That's all I really remember :/

476. nikki-pondtheauthor said:

hey im curious if there are fanfics in which peeta learns how to use a bow and shoot arrows (taught by katniss). bonus if he does this in hunger games. im sure ive a read a fanfic before, that was awesome in my opinion because it is a bit out of character for him but highlighting the fact that he is a survivor too and can handle weapons even if he is more a friendly persona

475. white-dandelion-seeds said:

Hey, can you find me this story- Peeta helped Katniss to escape when her family was being killed. But he got captured and was made a slave. Later he helps Katniss to take revenge of the death of her family

474. chippedcupsandbrokenhearts said:

Ok do you know the name of Fic where Katniss finally gets away from her abusive marriage with gale and goes back to her family. They didn’t know she was being abused. She falls in love with Peeta and I remember at one point gale found her and her family drives him out of town. I read this YEARS ago and now I just randomly had the urge to reread it but can’t remember the name. Thank you!!!

Possibly - A Safe Place by HavishamWard,but this fic has been deleted. Thank you, @endlessnightlock

473. jillpill55 said:

Hi, I love your page and have read probably a hundred fics because of it. I hoping you can help me find this fic I read a couple of months ago. Peeta was captured and when he came back he couldn't kiss Katniss because of a implant snow had put in peeta's leg. I would be a mutli-chapter and may or not be finished. Thanks

Possibly - Rekindling by ShiningCity.  Thank you, @sunsetsrmydreams

472. svmn14 said: 

There was a story about Peeta suffering from an undetected hijacking attack timed 10 years after the last Games where he was designed to hurt Katniss 

FOUND!  This is Broken:  Scenes from the Sequel by MockingJayFlyingFree.  Thanks @sunsetsrmydreams

471. hiyosakura said: 

Hello! I was wondering if you could help find this everlark fic. I’m not sure if it’s completed or not but it also has hayffie in it a bit I think. So the story is that k and p fall in love before their games and they meet at their tree in school or something but then they get reaped and I can’t remember what happens after that but during the quarter quell Katniss is actually pregnant and Peeta and Katniss are able to communicate with their lips touching.

FOUND! That’s 74th Hunger games Challenge: We Always Were - Jamie Sommers(*Thank you, @superchocovian!)

470. ptx-holic said:

 Hi, i’m looking for a fic where katniss is in a relationship with gale and then she met peeta and they are in a relationship but they caught katniss having two relationship and katniss move to somewhere and then she came back few years later and met peeta again. I’m sorry if this is confusing for you but i can’t find it. Thank you :) 

Do any of these fics ring a bell? Please let us know!

[bigfan-fanfic]

Ladies and Gentlemen (Batdad!Reader Headcanons)

Requested by @yesthetrashbin for Batdad and the Batfam meeting the genderbent parallel universe versions of themselves.

The Alternate Batfam Judges You

They came to you one day.

It’s safe to say you weren’t expecting it.

But somehow, some way, seven intimidating and beautiful women show up in Wayne Manor.

It’s you and the woman who appears to be the diplomat of the group that figures out who each of you are.

There was a bit of a fight, and each fighting style corresponds, plus the older woman shoved the nice lady back as if to defend her

Just as Alfred did for you.

It’s eerie how similar you all appear, as if you were seven sets of twins.

In short order, you are introduced to Briana Wayne and her wife, the Batmom; Alma Pennyworth, Rachel Grayson, Ajay Todd, Tamara Drake, and Dahlia Wayne.

Bruce & Briana

She’s more stubborn than Bruce.

Right off the bat (no pun intended) she shows how inflexible she is - it’s her way or no way at all. She’s had to be twice as tough to get half the respect, so she really doesn’t brook any disobedience.

She’s had it harder than Bruce dealing with people in both the business world and the criminal world - people tend not to take her as seriously as they would Bruce because of her gender.

She has a bit of a compulsion to prove how much she doesn’t need anyone - Briana fears Batmom will be hurt in both of her lives, either by criminals who want to hurt the Bat, or by misogynists and homophobes who don’t like seeing two women in control of Gotham’s biggest business.

Briana is making an effort - she and Batmom are equal partners at Wayne Enterprises, and Batmom is part of her mission control

In her universe, she doesn’t put on any ditzy millionaire act - she works incredibly hard at Wayne Enterprises to show that she doesn’t need any help.

Briana also doesn’t have the same kind of playboy thing to keep up - the public would judge a woman differently than a man for that.

It strikes you how much angrier Briana is compared to Bruce - about everything.

Ajay and Briana get along much better than Jason and Bruce. 

On a scale of none to zero, her style looks completely effortless.

The Bat is merciless to criminals, sending them to jail, not Arkham. After Ajay’s death, the Joker was beaten to death in prison. This technically didn’t break the One Rule.

Briana’s crime-fighting is mostly for the League, now.

Bruce doesn’t like his alternate self very much. All he can see are his own faults reflected, and he doesn’t like that picture.

On one level, Briana thinks that you are way too involved in Bruce’s vigilante life, but on another, Briana is jealous of how open Bruce gets to be with you. She has trouble opening up, even with Batmom

Bruce and Briana don’t interact much before the alternate Batfam is sent home.

Alfred & Alma

Just as Alfred is, Alma is formal and can be sarcastic at times

She was a combat nurse in the war, and later she may or not have been a secret operative for the Crown.

Alma has more control over Briana than Alfred does over Bruce - Briana will disregard all others in favor of Alma’s advice

Thankfully, like Alfred, Alma is never wrong.

Alma and Alfred have a cook-off, which ends up being a tie. All the boys vote for Alfred, the girls for Alma, and Alfred and Alma vote for each other.

Following the pattern, it seems Alma is more aggressive than Alfred. When Batmom was kidnapped, Alma’s old friends practically took over Gotham for the few days it took to find her, then killed the culprit.

Alfred and Alma sip tea and reminisce about the family.

They trade recipes with each other before parting.

Dick & Rachel

So, at least one pair gets along. 

Dick and Rachel are both upbeat and cheery

Rachel shows Dick the videos she’s made with Dahlia of them both acting out skits on YouTube

Dick immediately wants to try with Damian

Briana dotes on Rachel, and in turn, Rachel sees Briana as a hero figure.

Rachel’s fighting style takes advantage of her flexibility - being smaller than Dick, she can pull off the signature Grayson quadruple flip a bit more easily.

She utilizes more parkour in her fighting style and spends most of the time in this world teaching and trading moves with Dick. 

Rachel seems pretty lonely, and tells you secretly that she wishes her sisters could have a relationship more like you and your sons.

Jason & Ajay

Well, it might seem like Briana dotes on Rachel, but she has a major soft spot for Ajay.

She reminds Briana of herself

Ajay dyed her hair red when she became the Red Hood, mostly to get away from the white streak she recieved from the Lazarus Pit

Ajay never left the Batfam - since she was avenged, she went right back into the fold upon her return.

As such, Ajay and Briana are very close - it’s clear that she is the favored successor for the cowl. 

Briana frequently builds projectile weapons for Ajay - most of these are just short of lethal.

Jason respects Ajay and her journey, but believes that you and Bruce made him a genuinely better person by not letting him take revenge

They don’t talk much. Especially after Ajay mentions that she prefers Shelley to Austen.

Tim & Tamara

She’s still the genius of the group.

Tamara seems the most competent, even among the Batgirls.

She has more self-discipline than Tim, and actually has sworn off caffeine, saying that real heroes know when to sleep

Tim cannot stand her for this.

He builds extra firewalls because he knows Tamara will try to hack into the Batcomputer. 

But since he fell asleep twice while doing it, the well-rested Tamara slipped through.

Tim takes this as a personal insult and tries to give up coffee - he doesn’t even last a day.

Tamara makes a bit more of an effort to be friendly, and by the end of the time they are very nearly best friends.

Damian & Dahlia

For some reason, Dahlia gets along much better with Batmom than Briana - perhaps because Dahlia reminds the Bat of the League of Shadows.

Anyway, Dahlia rarely leaves Batmom’s side, and when she does, she’s a bit of a terror. Damian wonders when she leaves if he was like that.

You remind him that he did try to kill you several times.

Dahlia excels in the sword, even more than Damian. However, Damian has learned much more in the arts of ninjutsu, and eventually beats Dahlia in a practice sword duel.

They get along well, and Batmom says that Damian has been a good influence on her.

Batdad & Batmom

You two are the most similar.

In some ways, she has the harder job in getting her daughters some normalcy in their lives.

She’s strong enough to handle Briana’s over-protectiveness, and to corral both Ajay and Dahlia

Batmom assures you that even though her daughters might not show it, they are impressed by you and your familial bond

Because it might be different than theirs, but they recognize that even though you might technically be the same people, every family is different.

There is a sense of mutual respect when they leave - even if Bruce and Briana have said barely full sentences to each other.

Briana is more motivated to let Batmom in after seeing you and Bruce.

Rachel and Batmom get the others to make more effort to interact with each other and Briana. Dick tries to get Damian on his YouTube channel.

Jason makes an effort to try and get closer to Bruce. Briana makes an effort to get closer to Tamara, Dahlia, and Rachel 

Tim has his phone randomly select a day every month where he challenges himself not to have caffeine. Without fail, he ignores it. Tamara, meanwhile, tries coffee again, and stays awake for three days straight.

Dahlia tries to be a kinder and more polite person. Damian resolves to train harder in the sword.

[ofsirensongs]

      “ her beauty disarms you. it takes away your weapons and your guard, and you won’t even fucking realize it until it’s too late. until she’s baring her teeth and dragging you under the waves, and devouring you whole... she’s siren, and pirate, and god, all in one. ”  

      [ minka kelly / cisfemale / 40 ] ❛ from over the ocean far [ lyric loveday ] has come from [ mermaid’s return / captain ] to sail upon the fortuna. LYRIC is known as the [ siren ] on board, fitting considering they are quite [ captivating & ruthless ]. supposedly that’s why the captain chose HER to be her [ gunner ]. ❜ 

      hey guys ! i’m medusa & i’ll be playing yer local two-faced cutie, miss lyric loveday, herself. she’s a new muse so pls bear w/ me <3

biography:

in lyric’s world, no good man exists. merely a bad man with a good mask. 

born helga krader on a stormy night in cape town, south africa to two british colonists researchers, the girl is beloved from the moment she takes her first breath. she’s the light of their lives and the heart of their world. an angel in the flesh.

tw illness, death: she’s 7 years old when she contracts a deadly illness. though she puts up a hearty fight, her frail body finally succumbs to it. her parents mourn, angry with god and fate and death, itself. and guilty, blaming their wrongdoings for the outcome. 

it’s through a tribe they discover a supposedly magical, healing pond in the midst of the (newlands) forest. as the tale goes, the girl’s parents, so desperate to reverse the finality, took the girl’s body to the pond late in the night and dipped her into the waters. nothing would occur, and they would fall asleep at the edge, sorrowful. 

only to witness a miracle the next morning. when, to their shock, their dear daughter woke them from their slumber. wondering where they were, and how they’d gotten there. 

at first, it was a blessing. a promise that their prayers had been answered. but when the weeks went by and the girl’s hair turned pale and white, they had to wonder. was it a blessing or a curse they had bestowed upon her? had they defied fate by their actions? what would now be the take to the give? 

tw death: their answer would come in three years’ time. they became sick like their daughter had. despite their best doctors and healers, the two would pass from the illness. having heard the tale about the pond, the 10 year old girl would manage a trip to it (somehow, and perhaps w/ help) with her parents’ bodies. she dipped them into the waters and slept beside its edge. hoping. praying. begging. but the next morning would promise her no relief. her parents were still gone. she deemed the ‘magical’ pond a lie and swore to never believe in child’s tales again.

the girl is shipped off to a seaside town in england, where she would live with her unknown uncle and his family. the minute she arrives in the country, she is sure that her troubles have only just begun. but she holds out on some hope. her uncle and his family treat her as an outsider from the start. they regard the ‘witch child’ with disdain, merely keeping her for her parents’ wealth. while she remains soft spoken and gentle, they look and act like the offspring of cursed gods. 

tw abuse: she becomes the source of all their problems. the burden, the disease. the one to blame whenever a chair breaks or a trinket is stolen from the market, by aunt and uncle and cousins. they brand her ‘hideous’ every time they scold her. ‘rotten, ignorant, worthless.’ and she grows bitter deep in her heart because of it. 

tw murder: she’s in her teens when her town is raided by pirates. they take and take, and when there’s nothing left to offer, she’s shoved forward by her aunt and uncle. ‘take the girl. we don’t want her.’ no, they never did. but she’s shocked. however, fate would change course that day. the pirate captain, struck silent by the act and the girl’s intriguing appearance, decided to test her. he handed her a dagger and then he pushed her family to their knees. ‘kill them, here and now, and i’ll take you. but not as my prisoner, as one of my own.’ resentment fueled, the girl grabs the dagger and splits throats. her first taste of power and revenge at life’s cruelties, and it feels good. 

it’s safe to say she changes from that day on. said captain of mermaid’s return, richard loveday, adopts the girl as his own child. throwing away her ‘old burdens’ and renaming her lyric loveday - the siren of the seven seas. she becomes a myth in the pirate world. claims are made that she is a siren. that she was born underwater, locked away in an atlantis, that with one dulcet tone of her voice she can sing an army into the depths of the ocean. but as much as her singing voice is heavenly, these remain tales told by pirates and sailors. she entertains and humors them. so long as no one knows the real story. 

when richard dies, the ship is handed to lyric. no one fights her for the title, because they’re loyal and they know what happens when someone challenges the silver haired woman. they wind up swimming with the fishes, after unpleasant tortures. lyric is merciless when it comes to opposition and enemies. she’ll make an example out of you, and it won’t matter the details or the begging or the crime. 

not that she’s always horrible. or that she’s disliked. in fact, her crew prize/d her as the best. with the decisive and hard hand of a leader, the perception and cleverness of a politician, and the playful and adventurous ways of a pirate. she is the beloved lady of the ship. the one every member hopes to prove something to, without realizing it. 

lyric knows of captain biyu. she knows of the ‘myths of the world.’ like the very pond she’d been taken to as a child. she’d sworn them off, though, hadn’t she? and yet... when the captain offered a contract to find lost treasure beyond their wildest dreams, lyric considered. and then she accepted the terms. there’s a part of her that still wonders. had the pond been selective with its choosing? was there more out there than coin and gems and crowns? if there was, maybe she was destined in some way to uncover it (narcissism, vanity, and ego at its finest). 

her crew may have been forced to go with, or may have been asked. depends on who! so they could be irritated by the change or they could be honored / as curious as their captain is about this adventure. perhaps some (or all) conspiring to overthrow biyu, fortuna’s crew, and the former ships/crews once the treasure is in hand. after all, that’s lyric’s goal. use your resources, then snuff out the competition. even if she does admire the latter. 

details: 

is of english descent. has a mixed english/south african accent. 

as for languages, lyric is known for studying them intensely. in fact, if she weren’t a pirate, she’d be a translator of texts. grants certain crew members double their winnings after raids if they teach her a new language. master fluency: english, afrikaans, french, hindi, persian, arabic, indonesian (sundanese dialect). average fluency: italian, punjabi, indonesian (javanese dialect), spanish, mandarin. basic fluency: greek, portuguese. 

she is bisexual, biromantic (tends to lean towards women for romance). she doesn’t typically go into serious or long-term relationships. has maybe once or twice before. most of her ‘relationships’ are open-ended and considered flings / fwb sort of deals. 

looks like a cinnamon roll, but could actually kill you type. a sinnamon roll, if you will. 

has a soft spot for children, especially ones ‘outcasted’ for looks or traits, etc. naturally, she sees herself in them and she believes they’re capable of so much more. 

is not exactly happy she’s demoted to basic gunner. but then again, she sees the logic in biyu’s decision. she plays nicely because of it, at least on the outside. 

is still very soft in mannerisms and vocal tone, very gentle in physical contact. you’d think she was an angel, if it weren’t for the reputation she’s received. still, her ways trick people because they have the habit of forgetting in her company. or thinking themselves special, and out of reach. 

is ambidextrous and it’s come in handy. pun intended. 

[siren-dragon]

FFXV Observation -- Episode Ardyn *Spoilers!*

Hello Everyone!

With the release of Episode Ardyn and the official completion of content for FFXV, I wanted to write my thoughts about the dlc down. And since the episode only came out today, there will be spoilers and everything will be beyond the cut.

Now be warned: this is just my personal thoughts and opinions of the new DLC content. If you don’t agree with it, that is fine; I only ask that you be respectful in your comments. Now then, let’s get started!

First of all, I just want to say that this Episode was beautiful and tragic, and I really loved it. While I didn’t get as much lore as I wanted (and I wanted the dlc to be WAY longer!) I did appreciate what we got. I have to say though, two really big highlights in Episode Ardyn has to be the music and the fact that we get to see a shirtless Ardyn. However, there were a few things with the story I found interesting and that was what I wanted to talk about.

Somnus Lucis Caelum:

Yes, the first thing I wanted to talk about was Ardyn’s “dear” younger brother; but please hear me out. In complete honesty, I really dislike this blatant hatred for Somnus. Don’t get me wrong, he did a lot of bad things- but we also have to look at it from his perspective too. In the Ep. Ardyn, Somnus actually tells Ardyn that he was jealous of him which is quite a feat for a prideful person. Now, as someone who has three siblings, I can kinda understand where Somnus is coming from. Even now, I sometimes feel pouts of jealous from my siblings despite us all being older. I can’t imagine how inferior Somnus felt when his older brother was literally the golden child of a entire nation.

However, this does not excuse his actions in regard to his treatment of Ardyn; what he did was cruel. What I do think is that Somnus did not know the the true burden of being king really meant. I feel like he wanted to have a chance to shine and show his people that he too wanted to protect them, even if it was in an extreme manner (*cough burning people alive *cough). But when Aera said that Ardyn was chosen to be king, I think that was the final push that sent Somnus over the edge. Even though they were meant to rule together (as talked about in the Datalog about the two blades being used together to symbolize their combined rule), Somnus finally had enough.

Yet when he was finally bestowed the Crystal and Ring, Somnus then understood the extent of what the calling of the king was and what Ardyn was meant to truly be. Somnus realized that he was never going to be the “True King” as that calling was for Noctis, and instead he pushed the only family he had left and was left with nothing but the guilt of what he did for 2000 years as his soul resided within the Ring of the Lucii. I’m not saying that Somnus was a good person and that he didn’t do bad things; he even says that he doesn’t expect Ardyn to forgive him as he knows he did terrible things. But let’s not forget that the two were once brothers and that once upon a time, they did not hate each other.

       2. Aera Mils Fleuret:

Now then...let’s talk about Aera. Okay, so here’s the thing: I’m kinda on the fence about her. She is a very cute character and it is sweet that she loved Ardyn, but I don’t think she is as perfect as some make her out to be. To be fair, no one in this game is perfect and everyone has their faults, some bigger than others, but there is some information about Aera that I wanted make known. First of all, Aera is the Oracle- the First Oracle; who was chosen by Bahamut himself to represent the will of the gods on Eos. The actual quote from the Cosmogony is this: “In the distant past, Bahamut, the Draconian, descended to the mortal realm and graced the people of Tenebrae. From among them, he handpicked a pious maiden and bestowed upon her the power of the Stars and his trident. Using these gifts for the good of all, she became the first Oracle—she who joins heaven and earth”

I don’t doubt that Aera loved Ardyn, but that is the key word there. I think that she loved him, which is evident by when she died to save him- but I believe that when Ardyn became recognized as the Adagium, she put her love for him aside. She betrayed Ardyn and told Somnus information that was, for lack of better term, meant to be classified in regards to the prophecy and who was too be king. Granted, she felt guilt for that, but Somnus did not manipulate her into to telling him- she did it of her own free will. Also, we need to take into account Aera’s own calling as well: she is the Oracle and is known to be a pious maiden. What’s interesting there is that pious actually means to not only be “devoutly religious”, but it also means “making a hypocritical display of virtue”, or to be self-righteous. In the more archaic definition, it means to be dutiful or loyal, in this case; Aera’s loyalty to her calling as the Oracle and to the Astrals. She actually forsakes her love for Ardyn and regards him only as the Adagium and that he will never escape his fate. She puts the needs of others before that of the one she loves most in the world, which is brave of her to have done but also a horrid betrayal to Ardyn too.

While I truly wish we got to see more of Aera’s relationship with Ardyn and how they grew to love each other, she is not perfect. She choose her duty over the love of her life and forsook him when he became a “monster”. Now, that is a difficult choice and I commend her for choosing it to do what is right for the world, but I don’t believe Ardyn will ever fully love her again after that (based on that ending where he kills her and Somnus)- her actions put in motion events that had damaged A LOT of people’s lives just as badly as Somnus did. I understand that she was called to be the Oracle, but she still made a choice and has to live with it too.

        3. Bahamut and the Astrals

Firstly, that title I just wrote sounds like a band name and it’s kinda of funny. But for heaven’s sake Bahamut, what the hell man? I admit, the dragon is a kind of a dick in the game, and that Ardyn definitely gets the short end of the stick with this. However, I can see some of where Bahamut is coming from.

They had a unknown illness that was ravaging the entire planet and the Astral’s didn’t know what to do and didn’t have the power to deal with it. And the Astral’s are sworn to defend the star at any cost, even if they must fight each other. So, I can see why they choose mortals to do their bidding for them, because humans are far stronger than we’re given credit for. Yet Bahamut’s folly was in not telling Ardyn that he had been chosen to bear the burden of darkness just as Noctis was meant to bear the burden of light. Ardyn simply wanted to help people, but Bahamut doesn’t explain that by containing the scourge within himself, he will eventually help the entire planet. Instead, he expects Ardyn to just suck it up and deal with what’s happened because that’s just the way it is.

I definitely think Bahamut is being very cold to Ardyn about everything, but you have to understand that what he says is that “so it has been ordained” meaning he too has no control over this. Bahamut even feels some pity for Ardyn too when he calls him a “pitiful creature” and I believe he knew that he was once a good man. But sometimes we have to do things that are unsavory because there is no other option- and Bahamut likely had no other option. It’s true that Ardyn was put through literal hell due to the calling he was given, but the Draconian actually compromises and allows Ardyn not only his revenge upon the royal family, but the reprieve of death too. He even warns Ardyn that if Noctis doesn’t kill him, he will just suffer forever in darkness and shadow; unable to die. If he truly didn’t care, Bahamut would have allowed the royal family to continue their existence and just have Noctis vanquish Ardyn with no consequences.

         4. King Regis and the Crownsguard

So, one bit of information I found interesting in the game was that the royal family actually knew of Ardyn’s existence. Which mean’s he wasn’t entirely forgotten, just locked away like some weird national security secret. The fact that there is a unit of Crownsguard that is entrusted to respond at a moment’s notice if Ardyn should be released from his prison is interesting. Which means that Somnus actually put in safety measures to ensure Ardyn didn’t escape. Also, the fact that Ardyn doesn’t know what “Adagium” means or is when he first awakens probably means his name was replaced with that word and over time it became a legend- like a bedtime story you told misbehaving children. “You better be careful or the Adagium will get you,” seems like a fairy tale that would stay in Lucian history.

Now, I have to say that after the fight with King Regis, I believe that he was one of the strongest kings Lucis ever had. First of all, Regis is able to physically manifest multiple weapons at once from his Armiger, which you don’t even see Noctis do when he activates his Armiger (they’re all spectral weapons). Secondly, Regis was actually brave enough and strong enough to fight off against Ardyn by himself in order to defend his people which was really cool to see. All in all, it was great to see Regis in his prime and engage in full-blown combat (no matter how short lived it was).

          5. Ardyn Lucis Caelum

I still have so many thoughts about this DLC, but I’m going to have to end it early and I saved the best for last. I have to say it was so much fun to play a Final Fantasy game from the villain's perspective. Ardyn is a wonderfully written character and I am going to miss seeing more of him; Darin de Paul did a magnificent job on this and he has truly managed to bring an amazing character to life. Now then, let’s talk about Ardyn’s story.

While I do feel sympathy for Ardyn, a lot of people have to understand that he is the villain and would likely never get a canon happy ending: which I am actually a bit pleased about. Happily, ever after endings are often unrealistic and it wouldn’t really fit with Ardyn’s character to have a happily ever after (that’s not to say one shouldn’t write fanfiction about it ;) After all that Ardyn experienced, it would be incredibly difficult for him to simply let things go and I think that is his main folly. He actually discards his humanity and basically goes “to hell with them” which is why I love him as a villain. Usually it is the hero that fights destiny, so I loved seeing Ardyn fight his fate while Noctis humbly accepts his.

Another thing I enjoyed seeing was the extent of Ardyn’s powers. Granted, we could have used that in the main game (maybe they’ll do a patch update) but it was a lot of fun to see all of his abilities. I honestly believe even Ardyn himself does not know all that he is capable of doing and is constantly evolving and discovering new techniques for him to preform. But it seems like there are abilities that are unique only to him as a Lucis Caelum; such as the way his armiger functions, the way he slows time as he “warps” or “shadow steps”, and even his illusions. Though ultimately, I liked that he was able to showcase all of these abilities without doing some extreme final-form transformation. 

Overall, this DLC has made me love my favorite character even more- even though it does not excuse his actions in the main game. He experienced so many horrors but that does not condone his actions. Despite how he was in the past, Ardyn is a final fantasy villain; and one of the best ones.

I am certainly gonna miss seeing more FFXV content, but all good things do come to an end. Now it’s time to go and write fanfiction about the new content. ^_^

[awhitehead17]

It’s Not A Stick!

Batbros, Humour, General Rating. 

Summary: Tim’s brother’s for some reason keep insisting on calling his bo staff a stick, Tim isn’t at all pleased or amused with this new revelation. 

A/N: Inspired by posts from @timtimmersdrake on how Tim’s bo staff has been called a stick when it is in fact a lot more than that. It got me thinking and I couldn’t help myself but to write something based off it. 

Enjoy! :D

“Hey replacement, you in here?”

Tim looks up from the files he was studying to see Jason strolling through the cave clearly looking for him. From the computer desk he’s sat at Tim calls over to him, “I’m here Jason. What do you want?”

Tim wasn’t really in the mood to be disturbed, the case files he was looking over were important and he needed to get through them quickly as possible so he can plan the next part of the mission. He figures the quicker Jason tells him what he’s doing or planning, the quicker the man will leave him be.

Jason turns to the sound of his voice and Tim sees the grin appear on his face as he begins to walk over to him, “Hey Timbo, how you doing?”

Tim glares, “What do you want Jason. I’m busy.”

His brother puts a hand over his heart as if he’s insulted, “What? Am I not allowed to visit my favourite little brother?”

“No.”

Jason rolls his eyes, “Whatever kid. Anyway, I’m here because your stick broke.”

Tim blinks at him trying to understand what he just said. “My stick?”

“Yeah your stick.” Jason huffs, he then proceeds to dump two items down next to him.

Tim frowns as he looks at them. They look familiar. It wasn’t until he picks one up that he realises what it actually was.

“You broke my bo staff!” He exclaims looking up at the man with wide eyes.

Jason shrugs, “Yeah sorry about that.” He says not at all sounding remorseful.

“You broke my bo staff! How?” Tim picks up both pieces to his weapon and slots them together trying to comprehend how on earth Jason broke it.

“It’s probably best that you never find out.”

Tim snaps his gaze to the man and glares at him. “I’m going to kill you.”

His brother rolls his eyes again, “Geeze, calm down. It’s just a stick, you can easily make another.”

Tim pinches the bridge of his nose, “Yes I can easily make an – wait. That’s not the point! You broke my weapon and stop calling it a stick! It’s a bo staff!” When he looks back up the man was already walking away from him. “Jason!”

His brother waves him aside, “Uh huh, call it what you like. I’ve got things to do and places to be, so see you later, have fun!”

Tim glares at his retreating form before looking back at his broken weapon.

“Asshole.” He mutters to himself.

“Hey Timmy!”

The chirpy greeting was all the warning that Tim got before he was being enveloped in a hug by strong arms. Tim allows the contact and doesn’t fight against it because if he moves his hands then his hard work is going to be ruined.

“What you doing? I’ve heard that you’ve been holed up in here all day.”

Despite the weight that’s been added to his back from where Dick’s draped himself over him, he continues with the delicate workings of the wires within his staff.

Tim connects a green wire to a red one and was about to answer when Dick speaks up again, “Oh you working on making another stick for yourself? You replacing it with the one Jason broke the other day?”

“Yes, he somehow – wait. Not you too! It’s not a stick, stop calling it that!” Tim snaps at him. First Jason and now Dick.

Behind him Dick laughs, “Sorry Timmy, that’s all Jason kept calling it so I guess it just stuck. You fixing it or making a new one.”

“I’m making a new one,” Tim huffs out, “Since Jason broke my main bo staff I’ve decided to make a new one which includes the upgrades I’ve been wanting. It’ll be easier than trying to mend the one Jason broke.”

Tim was not pleased about that at all. Jason broke his preferred staff which has resulted him back to using his old ones. Doing that has reminded Tim on just why he stopped using them in the first place.

“Aw sorry to hear that, but at least you’re doing something about it. I know how much you preferred that stick.”

“Dick!” Tim hisses.

Fingers run through his hair before they ruffle it. “Haha, sorry Timmy, couldn’t help myself. It’s cute to see how much it bothers you.”

Tim glares at his work before him instead of answering Dick. Thankfully the older man seems to have had enough in pestering Tim because he gets off Tim’s back and says his goodbye. Tim lets out a breath once he’s gone and continues to work on his weapon, swearing revenge on both of his older brothers once he has this staff made and ready to use.

“Hey, has anyone seen my bo staff?” Tim questions as he hurries across the cave to where the work benches were.

He could have sworn he left his staff in his locker but when he went to go get it, it wasn’t there. He’s tried the changing rooms, the training area, weapons room and even the computer but it just wasn’t around. He gets to the benches only to find that it wasn’t there either.

“Well, where did you last see it?”

Tim glares at Jason through his cowl and snarls, “If I remembered where I last saw it, I would have found it.”

Jason simply puts his hands up in placating gesture, shakes his head and doesn’t comment. Tim rolls his eyes and moves away from the benches to the centre of the room. He looks around in circles just trying to work out where on earth it could be.

That’s when a bark rings out and grabs his attention. Looking down Tim finds Titus plodding along and stopping just short of his feet. The dog looks up at him with his tail wagging and his ears perked.

And there it was. His bo staff, in the dog’s mouth.

Tim takes a long breath and pinches the bridge of his nose. He counts to ten before turning back to the rest of the cave. “Why does Titus have my bo staff in his mouth!”

Tim was not pleased at all. That staff took him nearly a month to make, he’s only used it twice on patrol far and was still getting used to it. He does not appreciate it being used as a dog’s chew toy.

“Well Titus wanted to play fetch, your staff was the closet thing we had that resembles a stick.” An explanation comes from behind him.

Tim spins around so he’s face to face with Damian.

“My staff is not a dog toy!” Tim shouts at him. “That dog could seriously hurt himself with it! What on earth made you think that it was okay to use it!”

“Tt, you call that useless stick a weapon? It is a meaningless toy that does no damage what so ever, why father allows you to use it I will never know.”

Fists form at Tim’s side as he glares at Damian, “Give it back to me and I’ll show you just how ‘useless that stick’ really is you little gremlin!”

“Okay, that’s enough!” A hand appears on Tim’s shoulder and pushes him back slightly, a body then appears in front of him and blocks Damian from his view. “Tim, grab your bo staff and get going, Jason and I will catch up. Damian if you remember you are grounded for tonight, so go back up stairs and go to your room.”

Tim glares at the Nightwing symbol on his brother’s chest as he talks before another nudge sends him turning around so he’s facing Titus. He bends down and retrieves his weapon from the dog’s mouth with no problems. His grimaces as it comes away covered in slobber. He looks back over his shoulder to see Damian now climbing up the stairs and Dick facing him.

“Tim?”

Tim pushes him away and heads for the weapon area with the plan of cleaning his staff. As he walks he faces his brother so he’s walking backwards, “It’s fine Dick. I’ll show all of you how it’s not just a stick but in fact a very dangerous weapon that you all should be weary of.”

It’s not so much a threat but in fact more of a promise. 

[tgunn64]

Favorite Villains - Vergil (Devil May Cry)

In my foray to widen my repertoire of video games and tackle a few blind spots here and there, I’ve fallen utterly in love with Devil May Cry series, arguably one of Capcom’s biggest flagship franchises alongside Mega Man and Street Fighter and the addictive hack and slash game with all of the style and flare you could expect. You cut up a good number of slobbering demons in your quest to make devils cry, but no challenge stacks up to the brother of Dante himself, Vergil. Vergil’s is a tale as old as time--born to a legendary demon warrior, Sparda, and a human woman, Eva. Vergil grew up admiring the strength of his demon father, contrary to Dante, who practiced humanity and admired Eva’s sensitivity. Make no mistake, Sparda was a good guy demon who fought off the hellish warlord who threatened to end humanity, Mundus, but Sparda eventually died and those who worshipped Mundus saw a chance at cowardly revenge. Eva was lynched by a mob of demons, leaving Dante and Vergil to fend for themselves with only their respective amulets as mementos. As you can guess, Dante committed himself to protecting the innocent and slaying ill meaning demons in the name of being a hero like his parents, Vergil saw Eva’s demise as being linked to her weakness, and he committed himself to power in the name of no one but himself.

Drawing opposites between your hero and villain, especially when they’re siblings, is one of the oldest tropes in the book, and nowhere is that more apparent than with Dante and Vergil. Dante is chief known for being wily, boisterous, and a daredevil, while Vergil is reserved, stern, and efficient. Dante is kindhearted and very open about how he feels in the moment, while Vergil represses everything. Dante values his friends and sees value in bonds and emotional vulnerability (only devils never cry), while Vergil will throw out anything that doesn’t make him stronger like a side of broccoli he didn’t order. This all boils down his primary conflict with Dante, his desire for his brother’s amulet, which can supplement his own and make him more powerful. As you can guess Dante refuses to submit his amulet, and it’s easy to infer he’s more scared to lose his last remnant of his mother than anything to do with power, which paints a pretty picture of the two. What’s really neat about Dante and Vergil’s animosity is that despite the fact that they’re half demons dealing with the fate of the world, their central conflict is rather small scale. They’re really two brothers bickering over the custody of old heirlooms, they just happen to do so with massive swords and powers. The line Vergil crosses is teaming up with a wicked sorcerer called Arkham to raise the Temen-ni-gru, a tower that houses Sparda’s left behind sword and with it, his demonic power--doing so unleashes a horde of demons all over, which is obviously a big no no in Dante’s book.

After playing through two Devil May Cry games where Dante makes a spectacle out of running circles out of muscle headed monsters, seeing a demon hunter who can keep pace with Dante and treat him like Dante treats most of his opponents is really impressive. Devil May Cry 3 opens with Dante losing to Vergil in a grueling battle in the rain. They fight once more at the halfway point of the game, which ends in a draw caused by Arkham’s intervention. It’s also worth noting that this encounter occurs right after Dante’s fight with the blind demon, Beowulf. Dante claims the weapons wielded by the demons he slays, which is why it’s hard not to notice that Beowulf escaped with his life before Dante could do so--only to meet and be killed by Vergil, who claims Beowulf’s gauntlets for himself and must be beaten before you claim them--which is the kind of game mechanic crossed narrative fleshing I adore. Finally Dante, and you, the player, achieve a satisfying overcoming of Vergil, and none of those boss fights are easy. Speaking of spectacle, Dante is known for his peerless style and capacity to show off, and you’d think Vergil, being his foil, would be very plain and a dull fighter, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. He shares Dante’s affinity for looking cool in a fight, while Dante’s idea of showing off is, say, standing on a racing missile like a surfboard, Vergil is more the kind to dazzle by slicing a demon up and returning his sword to its scabbard before said demon even has a chance to fall to bloody pieces. As much as Dante and Vergil resent one another, there is a begrudging respect to be found, to the point that they’d even team up to finish off Arkham when he steals Sparda’s power for himself. Vergil may have gone way off the deep end, but he can’t deny the respect he has for Sparda even if simply for his strength, Arkham does not deserve to partake. But of course, the second their common enemy is gone, it’s back to feuding.

Devil May Cry 3 is actually a prequel to the first game, telling the tale of Dante and Vergil’s big falling out that leads to Dante and Lady establishing the Devil May Cry demon slaying business. Dante and Vergil’s final battle ends with Vergil, unable to come to terms with his failure to beat his brother, decides the only way to progress further is to condemn himself to the demon world, precisely where Sparda bred his own strength. Dante reaches for his brother’s hand as Vergil lets himself fall off the edge between earth and Hell, and Vergil only swipes at Dante’s palm with his sword as he damns himself to his fate. We’re then treated to a post credits scene, where Vergil witnesses Mundus and challenges him, stating that if his father could beat him, he should be just as capable. And as confident as Vergil seems...he throws away his scabbard as he proclaims this, which no swordsman does unless he feels this fight may be his last. Now...cue to Devil May Cry’s first game, which again, takes place after the third. Dante consistently comes across Mundus’ general, the masked Nelo Angelo, and it isn’t until Dante’s final encounter with the berserk knight that his mask is revealed...and Vergil is underneath, clearly a brainwashed shell of his former self forced to serve the sworn enemy of his father he so idolized. At the time of the first game this is more of a shock factor thing, as you only saw old family photos of Vergil before this, but with the context of the third game this is rather heartbreaking. Not only did Dante’s only equal in combat skill, style, and conviction lose everything that made him who he was, but we know this is entirely the end result of Vergil trying to step in his father’s footsteps and fight Mundus, a fight that clearly didn’t end well for him. I think that weirdly puts into perspective what’s so likable about Vergil--it’s kinda easy to peg him as the nerdy, dour brother, but he absolutely had a fire within him. Even if he grew up to be selfish and callous, Vergil had great pride in his lineage and immense conviction, enough to wield a gun alongside Dante when their foe besmirched Sparda’s name, and Mundus took that all away. For all of that he’s an incredibly compelling character, and an engaging villain who blends a slightly unconventional role with familiar traits masterfully.

[theauthorstreehouse]

LORE - THE EXODUS OF TIAMATI

Lore, by its very nature, is based not of factual accounts, but on the beliefs of a people. The Lore of Verdant is less about what actually happens and more about what the people of Verdant accept to be true. A combination of mythology, folklore and tall tales told to children before bedtime, it is like a spiderweb of their people's past. Full of holes but none the less capable of ensnaring the collective consciousness of an entire culture. Take it with a grain of salt, but never forget that all such stories have a grain of truth if you keep looking hard enough!

The sublime goddess Tiamati guards over the people of Verdant. Upon her shoulders is a wrapping of deepest night, dazzled with starlight and comets. Upon her feet are fine shoes embroidered with gold. When she walks, the land is said to be calm and quiet in honor of her passing. But when she lifts her fists in fury, great storms shake the clouds and lightning flashes through the skies! She is a force to be feared and loved, worshiped and adored. This is much the same for all goddesses, regardless of their place. But it was not always so. In the oldest tomes, read only by those who have the clarity, there are stories which speak of a time before Tiamati came to Verdant. When she was not a sovereign goddess, but merely one of many, all sworn to fealty to the great and powerful god, Erotid.

This was a time of troubles for the Land of Gods, for though there were many gods who oversaw many things, none could act without first seeking permission of Erotid. He claimed this as his right, and in every temple of humanity, he must first be honored above all honors. No supplications could be heard without his approval, and the gods often felt that their hands were tied. But Erotid was determined to hold his power to himself, lest the others in their pantheon seek to dethrone him. This was a terrible thing, for Erotid, while he was magnificently powerful, was also prone to laziness and fits of drink. Many times, his stubborn nature resulted in bad things on earth.

Once, because he felt slighted in a ritual, the goddess of childbirth was kept in the Heavens, and so the women of the world were held in perpetual pregnancy, their children stuck in the dark womb before birth. Another time, Erotid did not feel he had been given enough gratitude, and so he held the god of the final breath at his feet. Those who suffered in sickness and pain could not pass, and lingered in their misery for ages before he could be persuaded to calm his temper. Always there was something that irked him, and often the gods thought it was due to nothing but his desire to keep them all fearful of his intemperance. Finally it was agreed that something must be done to quell him and allow the gods to act on their own without constantly seeking his leave. His brother, the god Nameal, was selected to speak and convince him of their wisdom.

After much discussion, it was decided that in order to keep Erotid happy, each of the gods must select from among their daughters the most lovely and pleasing of disposition. They would each offer Erotid their daughter in marriage as a vow that none would rise against him if allowed to properly and effectively rule their dominions. This offer pleased the god, and he accepted them all, giving him no fewer than one thousand wives who would from then on live to keep him calm and well amused.

For a time, all was well. The gods and goddesses were now able to act freely and of their own accord, so long as Erotid was always given his proper due. The world was put into order, and humanity was able to thrive. But soon, a new problem began to rise. Gods do not die as humans do, for ichor flows in their veins like water from a spring. Yet they may wither and rot if they are forgotten, and this is what Erotid feared above all else. That one day his name would no longer be heard in prayers. One day it occurred to him that is was best if he always had those who would worship and adore him and that the best way to dot his was for him to have children who could glorify his name.

Yet so greedy and so possessive was Erotid, that even with one thousand wives he could not be convinced to give enough of himself to them for a child to take root! Angry with their failure, he threatened to have them all sent back to their families in shame, or to made into servants cleaning the rugs and chamber pots! But his brother Nameal convinced him that it would be wiser, and less offensive to the families, if he were to instead offer to make whoever could become pregnant with his child his Queen, set above all others. So a challenge was set, and each of the women was set before him with the chance to gain queenship for herself. One by one they all tried, but no one's womb would quick, for still, Erotid was too selfish to give up anything from himself.

Finally, there came Tiamati's turn. A minor goddess of no great standing, when she approached her husband she was asked what it was that she had been set over. She explained that she had no dominion of her own, for when she was born, all others had been taken, and her parents could think of nothing to give her. Erotid was amused by the prospect of a goddess of nothingness, but she was given her turn none the less. To everyone's shock, Tiamati's womb took nothing and made it into something, swelling with full and ample life! No one could explain it, and yet there she stood, proud and pregnant with the only known child of Erotid. At first, the god was overjoyed! He lavished Tiamati with affection and presents, giving her the very best to ensure she would be in good spirits and the infant born healthy. But he continued to put off giving her the crown she has been promising, much to her chagrin.

Once the child was born, things became so much worse. Now convinced of his right to control all, Erotid threw Tiamati from his bed and back among the wives. He claimed the son for himself and began to spread the rumor that he had given birth to the child as proof of his own imminent divinity. Tiamati was furious! Not only had she done the impossible she had been denied the crown that was now hers by right, and her son had been stolen from her. She began to quietly plot revenge, and she was soon to find help in an unlikely place. Nameal had seen all that had taken place, and it was clear that Erotid's brother was at his wit's end. He came to Tiamati and told her that, if she could be patient, he would do what he could to aid her in her revenge. The rightful queen agreed, but she was no fool. She had been tricked and lied to once, she would not let it happen again so easily. With Erotid distracted, Tiamati began to sneak warriors and the gods of warriors into the private seraglio of the god. She encouraged her fellow wives to do what they could with the right partners. Without the selfishness of their husband involved, most of the wives took to pregnancy easily, and soon Tiamati was ready to act. She put on her finest clothes and began to weep, tearing out her hair. When a servant came to inspect the commotion, she pleaded to him her sorrow, saying that if she could not be with her beloved Erotid once more, even just for a night, she would surely kill herself with grief. For several nights she did this, until finally, Nameal came, insisting that her husband wished to speak with her. As they traveled to the royal bedchamber, Nameal handed the woman a large dagger. He told her that if she would but slice Erotid's throat as he slept, her son would be the new god above all gods, and she would rule until he came of age. He assured her that the other gods had agreed to this plan, and Tiamati went forward to do what she must.

Gods do not die. They wither and rot if they are forgotten, but they can not be killed. But they can be weakened. Tiamati did not merely slit his throat. Instead, she poisoned his wine to dull his senses, and then proceeded to cut his body into many hundreds of parts! Each one she laid out so that a passing bird would take it for a meal and fly it far away, all save for the last piece. His heart, Tiamati kept for herself, both as an assurance that Erotid would never reform, and as a reminder that this god had been heartless from the beginning, and no one ought to have sympathy for him. Yet her troubles were not over yet! When she exited the bedchambers and went to find her son, she discovered the young prince to be dead in his sheets, his eyes cold as glass. Before she could act, Nameal showed up with the guards, and who should he blame for the two murders but the woman standing there in blood-soaked garments and wielding a knife?

Tiamati was taken and thrown back among the other wives, and Nameal stood above them all. Of course, as Erotid's sole surviving kin, it was up to him to take the throne. And how wonderful of a benefit that so many of the other gods and goddesses supported him! He ordered the guards to kill each and every one of his brother's widowed wives. As they had all belonged to Erotid, he could not bare the thought of disgracing his brother's memory by taken them as wives.

But Tiamati, who had not trusted Nameal, had prepared for this. As each warrior had visited their residence, they had squirreled away something of theirs. Armor, helmets, weapons, and on her signal each of the wives rose up to defend themselves. They were untried and untrained, but they outnumbered their guards ten to one! With shrieks of anger and fury, they attacked, tearing through the guards, Namel, and the palace itself. As chaos ensued, they set fire to the rooms, taking what they could to sustain themselves and leaving behind the cold and empty lives they had been pressed into. They followed Tiamati, the goddess who had given them the chance to free themselves, down from the Land of Gods to the land of men.

PATREON / WEBSITE / WRITER / ARTIST / TUMBLR