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halcyon-writings · 4 years ago

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Asking again to make sure it reaches you. I really want to read BnHA drabbles or headcanons where Bakugou, Todoroki, and Inasa finish their remedial courses for their hero licenses, but then realize they haven't contacted their s/o ONCE while their courses and training were going on. And the last call/text they got from her was her asking if they want to break up so they can focus on being heroes. Now they need to apologize for accidentally ignoring her and convince her it wont happen again

note(s): okay so i’m definitely glad you sent this in again bc i didn’t get the first one omg. but hi yes here we go after 84 years thank you for your patience!! again small reminder that i mainly write gn!reader, however i did try for this rq as you specified female pronouns in the request however but idk how well i did djskdjs

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all my links can be found in my pinned post!

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now let us set the scene *cue that typical harp transition music*

When you had agreed to run to the store real quick to pick something up for an extra dinner dish, you had believed it would have helped get your mind off of the particular elephant in the room.

When in fact, being alone with your thoughts did not help in the slightest. You check your phone for what feels like the nth time today, and still, nothing. You knew that remedial courses would take a good chunk of their time, and you were very thankful that you had passed the provisional exam on the first try, but still, what about a hello? A, how are you? something, anything!

And maybe, just maybe, during your small emotional crisis you send what looks very closely like a breakup text to your boyfriend because, after all, you’re very emotional at the moment and it felt necessary okay?

So of course when you’re boyfriend finally gets to reading said text, he, quite literally, almost has a heart attack.

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Katsuki’s first response, once he gets to reading all the messages he missed, no thanks to the BakuSquad’s gc and Kaminari sending memes at 1 am followed by Mina and Kirishima’s laughter/keysmashes killing his battery, is to just curse out loud. One tired “Fuck.” Because he may not have realized it at the time but he really was pushing you away. He probably goes to Mina next, because she would be the better choice in asking for advice. (And would keep focus bc while the rest are good at giving advice it’s staying on topic that’s the problem).

And also Mina and Bakugo friendship is severely underrated and we need more of it thank you!!!

Following her advice, Bakugo will go to wherever you are. And If you told your parents about him , he is ready to plead his case, if he’s gotta do the whole shebang he will. Katsuki genuinely wants to make up for it. If he’s bringing you your favorite snacks, he will. Along with whatever else you want him to bring. One of the next ways he’ll go about making up for it is quality time. Because he genuinely likes to hang out with you.

Whether it’s napping or cuddling together while watching your show/movie of choice, or just walking around the town and finding cool hangout spots. As long as it’s with you he’s more than happy to be there. (Although he may not be as expressive, you’ll know when you see the soft and fond look on his face. But tease him about it and he’ll vehemently deny it.)

However the hold he has on your hand gets a little tighter, but he’s still like, gentle? idk words man. but like he’s very soft. And he makes note to not let himself get so caught up in hero work. Because breaks from working himself to the ground is important. Even more rewarding when he gets to spend time with you afterwards.

Out of the three of them, Inasa definitely has the... loudest of reactions and responses. He might have shouted, which then got the others concerned because again this was probably when he was leaving the remedial course and nothing was really wrong before hand. Or if he’s on the train he scares some passengers and an old grandma almost hits him with her purse. Idk he’s having a time guys and not a good one. He definitely will google search good ways to make up with an s/o

He can and will show up to your house with a giant bouquet of flowers and dressed up, he had to be stopped from wearing a suit though, but it was close. Inasa wants to show he's serious and that he really wants to make up for this, please stop him, he can and will buy more flowers if he thinks it'll help the cause. The fact that someone like him can look like a kicked puppy so easily only makes this more sad dfjskfjs. help this poor guy

If you're not busy, mans is ready to take you out to go eat something then and there, because he's ready to make up for missed dates/hangouts asap!!! In turn you gotta tell him, really, he doesn't have to rush it. Because if he really tried everything he had planned you guys would miss the last train to get home and that would not be fun. Just the fact that he's trying this much means a lot. And it also helps settle the fear that this was just a bad case of miscommunication and that he wasn't ghosting you. (Unless- jkjk these aren’t these kinda hcs)

I think Inasa is really good at giving hugs, like he’s big and that muscle isn’t for show. Like where’s that one redraw meme where one person just is pressed against the other’s chest like “:000” and looking a little smug bc that’s you and Inasa okay. Especially when he’s brought you home after your day of adventure, it’ll take some convincing to let you go, as once he holds onto you, he clings subconsciously. But rest assured that when you’re free again, he will do this all over again. Even when you confirm that everything is okay, he’s still gonna try his hardest.

Todoroki’s reaction is definitely a lot more curbed and bottled in compared to Bakugo’s or Inasa’s. That’s not to say he isn’t concerned when he reads your text and the meaning of your words begin to set in. You can almost tell that something is wrong, however, just by the slightest way his body language shifts. But rest assured, he’s gonna get back to you asap so that you both can talk this out. Shoto pre-Izuku’d character development definitely had him trusting a lot less, and so you are definitely really special when he trusts you enough to get close to and even ask you out.

He will however give you time to cool off, because you probably aren’t feeling too great sending the message and he wants to be able to collect his own thoughts too. Then when he’s meeting you, he’s very forward in his apology, he admits what he did wasn’t great. (Ngl I feel like he’d act like he killed your pet or something with how sincere he sounds todo baby...)

He’ll tell you all about the remedial courses, and he feels a bit relieved when you laugh at the “five weenies” joke. (It’s hard to stay mad at him when he looks so serious and says that with a perfect deadpan). Instead you ask him more about his time with the others there. Maybe a little ashamed because this kind of thing is still pretty new to him (and no offense to them but his parents weren’t exactly the best example as to what a relationship should be like). You see the way his eyes light up and you realize, it’s okay.

He’s learned a lot from this. Not just how to be a hero, but for his own personal growth too. Will he stumble a bit now and then? Yes. But at least he knows that he has you along with him to help him stand back up. Slowly, but surely, Shoto is getting there. Relationships in general are newer to him given that he avoided them in the beginning at his time at UA, but once he gets close to someone. He keeps them close and doesn’t let you, so you feel really special.

#bnha imagine #mha x reader #bnha imagines #mha imagines #shoto todoroki x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #inasa yoarashi x reader #shoto todoroki imagines #katsuki bakugo imagines #inasa yoarashi imagines #mine

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fandomfixationstation · 4 years ago

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Warning: mention of death of a loved one.

Todays concept is MC gets a call that like their parental figure has died one way or another and this upsets them greatly because one, they aren’t there to help with anything two, the only people there to do anything are their siblings three, they considered said parent a angel or a blessing by god (optional/bonus points if said parents name means angel-) They don’t say anything at first though they seem rather angry and now one can figure out why. then they hide and have a mental breakdown to cry in hopefully but unlikely peace. now I shall write the response headcanons / scenarios or whatever I will do Update: well I didn’t write a scenario / short story bit for all of them because i ran out of energy to do so and then i never went back to it, though if anyone begs or askes nicely I could in theory maybe work something out. this was something self indulgent and was something i wrote to really get me out of a bad headspace. Lucifer

He is the first one to realize something is wrong, especially if they aren’t a very angry person.

probably doesn’t get to ask about what is going on because he is forced to deal with something else and rather quickly

though when people start inquiring where they went after lunch, finding it unlikely that they would randomly choose to skip class or something he makes his goal to find them.

Probably doesn’t take him long to find them after he starts looking. gets it in the first three guesses of where they are hiding.

“why are you hiding here with Cerberus?” Lucifer said with a bit of amusement. he figured he would find them here with his dog. just not curled up and cuddling.

“wouldn’t you like to know” was all they uttered out, having no real energy to argue, or fight. though it was clear they had been crying their eyes out.

“well something is clearly upsetting you, why not talk about it. nobody else is here to listen in” Lucifer offers to lend an ear to listen to their problems. he was also hoping that by doing so he could get to the root of the problem and deal with it. expecting that he was going to have to knock one of his brothers into line again.

“I just received some bad news. that’s all. also, I’ll be otherwise located Friday, so like, don’t worry if I’m not around on Friday, I will be back like Saturday, so there is that” They explain, clearly not wanting to get into the details of the so called bad news.

“otherwise located?” Lucifer inquired as to what the hell they meant by that.

“yeah, um, I will be visiting - visiting the human world for the day.” visiting might not be the word they were looking for but it was the word they went with nonetheless.

“your visiting the human world?” Lucifer was surprised to say the least. especially considering he wasn’t hearing about this till now.

“yeah, i was talking to Diavolo not long ago to make sure it was alright” with a sigh the were back to melting into the side of the dog.

“normally you are excited to visit the human world, what happened” lucifer wanted to get to the root of the misery they were feeling and he wasn’t gonna sweep this under the rug.

“for fuck sakes, you really aren’t gonna leave me alone till I say it huh? my parent fucking died. are you fucking happy, lucifer? Jesus Christ.” doing everything in their power to hold back a second wave of tears as they add on “my blessing of a parent died. can we drop the topic now?” they said clearly not wanting to hear anything come out of lucifer's mouth as they hardly give him the chance to speak.

“ah, I see, my condolences” Lucifer was trying to figure out what to say at the same time he was trying to figure out how to cheer them up or at least make them more comfortable. “do you want some Kleenex? how about some water?” lucifer inquired simply.

“water would be nice.” they let out a sigh.

“im sure your parent was a lovely person. I think it is safe to assume that they’ll end up somewhere where they are safe and happy” Lucifer states simply as he holds a hand out to them to help them to their feet.

“I have no doubts about it. so you don’t need to tell me twice. it just. . . hurts” They says rather quietly. Accepting lucifer’s hand and pulling themself to their feet.

”go take a seat in my office, no one will bother you in there. I’ll join you soon enough with your glass of water.” Mammon

This man probably thinks he did something wrong, spends half the day trying to figure out what he did

if its not that he is trying to figure out who pissed them off and who he should be yelling at.

he hates to admit it but he doesn’t like seeing them angry or upset.

is probably gonna be first to realize that they slipped of to somewhere and start trying to find them right away.

after checking a few other areas, Mammon finally considers they might have just gone home to hide. knocking on their door and slowly opening it mammon calls out into the room “Oi, human are you in here?”.

“Go away Mammon” they were heard but very muffled as they had encased themselves in several blankets, clearly sounding like they were crying. unless they choose to eat gravel or something.

“what’s got you so bumbed out?” Mammon said fully entering the room now know that they were in the room and completely ignoring their request to go away.

“I said go away, I don’t want to talk about it” They said pulling the pillow to their head in hopes to block out more of the world. so that they didn’t have to look up and face the fact they were a hot mess. so mammon didn’t have to see them like this.

“no! the great mammon isn’t leaving till you say what's bothering you! that way I can fix it for you!” Mammon declared boldly. goofy grin on his face hoping that his optimism would help cheer them up.

“you can’t fix this. you cant bring back the dead. well unless you use necromancy, but. that's never worked out” They had let out a dry laugh for saying all of this. but now they were holding back tears trying to not cry their heart out for a second time.

“oh human...” Mammon was at a loss of words, though to be fair he didn’t get the time to form a full sentence.

“I’ll never get them back. they were practically an angel” they sniffled, trying to not sob. “my parent died mammon. what the fuck am I going to do?” they didn’t really expect an answer from mammon.

“Listen here, the great mammon will deal with all the technical talk, and will make sure you can go to the human world long enough for you to do what you need to. but till then and maybe after, I’ll be here for you.” mammon explained simply.

after letting out a chocked sob they reached out a hand and grabbed onto mammon's arm. “thank you” they sobbed out. mammon just sat there and patted the blanket pile gently trying to give as much comfort as he could.

“do you want a hug?”

“please-”

Leviathan

since he hides away and does online classes (Correct me if im wrong) he might not even realize something is going on

unless he messages them and doesn’t get a response.

will ask if the others have seen them and like will try to figure out where they were last seen.

eventually puzzles together that something is wrong and he should look for them

Satan

He although wrathful himself, isn’t able to see through the anger and might be a little annoyed about them for being so.

though he does understand that there is probably a reason for them being upset. he’ll do his best to figure out what caused them to act this way.

he’s stubborn and straight forward, he’ll probably be direct and ask what is wrong and wont leave till he gets an answer.

or he might occasionally bring it up and keep getting updates with how their doing kind of thing.

doesn’t really have to seek for them when they hide away because he watched them slip away and got worried and followed them

Asmodeus

he is very quick to realize something more is going on, something more than meets the eye.

probably doesn’t directly do anything at first other than same some sugar coated words in hopes it cheers them up.

when that doesn’t work, he gets very worried and tries to convince them to do somethings to ‘take your mind off of things’

knows exactly where to look to find them. first try!

Beelzebub

one of two ways, he either doesn’t notice anything for the first little bit, or he has a strange feeling nagging him that something is wrong and he tries to figure out what.

once its clear that they’ve disappeared he is quick to start looking, might take a while to find them because he is gonna check everywhere to find them.

bear hugs no questions asked, will try to comfort to the best of his abilities.

will ask them what they want to do after a while to see what he can do to make them feel better

Belphegor

tbh honest probably knows something is up right away.

with either avoid it entirely or bluntly ask what is wrong

if he doesn’t get a direct answer or is shooed away he doesn’t have the energy to push for the truth, might be a bit annoyed.

once he hears that they have gone missing it probably wont take him long to find them.

will sit down next to them and be like ‘now will you tell me what is wrong?’

Solomon

since he doesn’t have the same amount of time with them he may not notice at first. or he does notice ASAP because holy shit what happened why are they so mad.

might try to inquire what is wrong and like use his natural charm to try to cheer them up.

when he hears they are lost or missing ect. he uses magic to find them as quickly as possible.

will do a bunch of considerably silly and goofy things trying to get them to smile or laugh before trying to get them to talk about whats bothering them

Simeon

doesn’t take him long to figure out something is wrong, just one look and he knows

but other wise, he’ll simply ask if you want to talk about it. when bluntly rejected he’ll leave them alone

they go missing during the day? maybe it was worse than he first realized, he’ll go looking for them.

will find them within the hour, maybe a half hour if he’s lucky.

mans will try to comfort them any way he can.

_____________________________________________________________ sorry, for not doing Diavolo, luke and barbatos, i just didn’t really have the time to do them nor could i figure out how to do ones for them so like aihogdsifh sorry. but i do hope you enjoy this post nonetheless.

#OBEY ME #Obey Me Levi #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me lucifer #Obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me headcanons #obey me headcannons #obey me scenarios

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jonspurpleskirt · 4 years ago

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An Unlikely Befriending

Summary: Jon gets kidnapped. Jon gets bored. And Jon makes very unlikely friends because of it. Aka: Pen and Paper saves the day (world) and Jon finally gets to have a band. A/N: This is pure fluff, no warnings apply I think. ___

The worst thing about being kidnapped by a crazy mannequin murder clown monstrousity and sitting in a cold, room with creepy wax works, tied to a chair was not the ever present terror. True the fear of Nikola finally deeming his skin good enough and skinning him alive was quite potent, but it wasn't as bad as boredom.

Jon had never taken well to waiting. His mind needed to be occupied 24/7, needed something to latch onto, to obsess about. It's why he became a researcher in the first place. Having most of his freedom taken from him made occupying himself very hard.

At least they still let him eat and drink here and there. Nikola always visited personally, her overly cheery voice bubbling forth as she chattered away while slathering him with lotion or shoving bits of take out food in his mouth. His diet those last two weeks had been very varied and healthy and he had never drank so much water before.

He still probably looked a mess, what with no access to a shower and barely being able to sleep at all. And the constant terror. Oh yeah and the boredom.

Oh the boredom.

Jon was currently sitting in his chair as he was wont to do. Thankfully not nailed down despite all the nagging from Sarah Baldwin. The coffin was singing or moaning with a slight melody behind it, depending on who you asked. And somehow Jon found himself humming along, trying to find a good melody to go with the haunting tune. It wasn't like he had anything better to do and if he didn't start doing something creative his mind would start eating itself soon.

So he hummed, experimenting with the notes, twisting them into something that was reminiscent of circus music and airships. And then he kept humming the melody over and over, forming words in his mind to go with the tune. Once the spark was lit a fire started to burn, the story branching out and out into a twirling mass of chaos and fire.

He had gotten lost in his imagination, hadn't noticed how loud he had become, hadn't heard Nikola approach. Jon screeched when she leant down over him and grinned at him upside down, nose nearly touching his.

Nikola had the gall to laugh at him, no breath fanning over his face as she did so.

"Awww Archivist! I didn't know you had such a nice voice!"

"Hrmph."

"Yes your singing was also quite good!" She straightened herself, back cracking in several places. Striding around his chair she towered over him, tattered, bloody ringmaster uniform filling his field of vision.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to sing, of course! And the broken repeat is lovely."

"Hm."

"Anyway water time!"

With gleeful cackling she ripped the tape from his mouth, amused enough to not immediately shove the bottle between his teeth.

"There are words to it, too." Jon rushed to say, not exactly sure why. What was he offering her here? A solo performance?

"Oh?" she at least didn't tape his mouth shut again. For now.

After waiting several beats where both stared at each other and nothing else happened Jon dared to speak up again.

"I ah... well I wrote it myself? Not wrote, of course. My hands are tied at the moment-" He was rambling. Nikola had given him the freedom of speech and he was off like a shot, telling her everything about what he had been thinking about before she had interrupted his impromptu jamming session, terror completely terminating his brain to mouth filter.

Nikola, for her part, took it all in stride. She even settled on the floor in front of him, blinking every now and then to indicate that she was still present.

"It's such a shame." she finally spoke, holding the water bottle to his mouth, letting him drink of his own volution for once. "You would have made a perfect piece for the choir. Hm maybe what will be left of you will do."

"I could sing for you now." Jon offered as soon as his mouth was free again.

Nikola startled at the offer and Jon just shrugged as much as he was able to. He'd rather sing to a creepy murder doll than spend one minute longer alone and bored out of his mind. And if he could delay the Unknowing (and the violent removal of his skin) by keeping Nikola entertained than even better.

That sounded like he almost had a plan. Which was untrue. He only had a very strong desire for entertainment.

"No sneaky questions." Nikola warned.

"Promise. I can't guarantee good quality rhymes, though. I'm still workshopping."

Singing out loud what had been in his head was always an awkward affair. He had wanted to start a band with Georgie in uni. But it was exactly because of this that he had never bothered.

"That was fun!" Nikola screamed after he was finished nontheless. Clapping her hands in delight, which created a horrible cracking noise.

"I'm glad? I also DM."

She tilted her head at him. "What's that?"

Jon explained the concept of pen and paper games to her while she rubbed lotion into his skin and had her hooked immediately.

Later that day (or maybe the next day, really Jon had no concept of time anymore) Jon was for the first time allowed out of his chair, carefully rubbing circulation back into his hands. Nikola had only briefly left him alone after watering and lotioning him. They had hashed out what kind of world and system they wanted to use (a horror setting, of course) and then Nikola was off and dragging Breekon and Hope back into the room so they had enough people to play.

Either Breekon or Hope sat down behind Jon, large hands lightly clasping his arms, squeezing every once in a while to remind him that should he try and escape he would only end up in pain.

Jon shifted awkwardly in the grip, unused to gentleness even if it was supposed to be threatening.

"Alright. First, character creation. Who do you guys want to play?"

It became a daily thing. The three beings in his group quickly became addicted to his story telling and to the characters they were allowed to play. Nikola tore through characters, trying on different personalities like pieces of clothing. She had a beautiful eery singing voice, Jon was surprised to find out when she had decided to play a member of a steampunk band.

Breekon and Hope were less manic, too attached to their twins to play anyone else. They changed voices and accents every session, though. Jon deigned to ignore their shenanigans, scared to make them angry. He hadn't had this much fun in ages, he didn't want to loose that.

The two delivery men took turns holding him down while they played, Hope holding onto his arms and Breekon using him like a child would a Teddy bear.

Eventually the three lingered after their sessions had ended, the ropes that tied him to his chair less tight. Jon tried to keep the conversations casual, to not ask all the questions that burned at the tip of his tongue. He found that he didn't need to. Tongue loose from goofing around Nikola was often chatty, Breekon and Hope throwing in their two cents every once in a while.

Eventually the topic about Tims younger brother came up.

"Danny Stoker? Grimauldi skinned him? Hm..." Nikolas head nearly dislodged as she stared at the ceiling in thought. "Noooo." She giggled. "We didn't skin anyone that night, silly! We were scoping out locations for the dance! Danny's little group stumbled into us and got a little confused~"

"But Tim saw Grimauldi rip Dannys skin off of a puppet."

Nikola shrugged. "An illusion. We're good at making you people see things that aren't really there. Yet."

"So Danny is alive?"

"I believe so!~ If he didn't die in a ditch somewhere."

Jon was very careful to keep his voice as soft as possible with the next question. "Could you find him again and bring him to the Institute? To Tim and... I don't know... maybe that's a stupid idea given that he can't be sure it's really him..."

"If I track him down do I get inspiration for my character next session?"

"That's cheating." Breekon complained under his breath behind Jon.

"I... yes?"

Nikola grinned. "Wonderful! I see what I can do!"

Days went by like that, Nikola or Breekon or Hope updating him on Dannys search, which had turned out to be harder than they had thought. Well at least Jon was keeping them busy.

They were in the middle of racing a burning train into the central bank of London when a door creaked behind Jon, bathing the room in technicolour and spiral shapes.

"That is not what I thought I'd find here." A voice that wavered between confused and gleeful mused.

Jon twisted in the grip Breekon had on him. "Hello Michael."

"Hello Archivist. You've found yourself in an interesting situation." The grin Michael shot him was a knife glinting in the light before striking.

"Yes. Why are you here?"

Nikola had let him practice after Jon had explained his lack of training, much more lax with her hostage now that he fed her fascinating stories of blood and gore. So there was no trace of compulsion in his voice when he asked the question.

Michael answered truthfully anyway. "I came to kill you of course!"

"I have dips on that!" Nikola said, voice pleasant and grin feral.

"I'm sorry about that. Would you like to join the game instead?"

Michael stared at him as though he had grown mad. Impressed, curious and lightly terrified. Then it laughed that horrible, headache inducing laugh.

"There's a lot of lies and delusion." Jon coaxed, heart beating out of his chest with nerves.

"He's a good storyteller." Hope added, Nikola and Breekon nodding along.

"Hm alright. I guess I can play for a bit."

It didn't stay just for a bit. Michael stayed through the finale of the story and then demanded to start another, their little ragtag group of definitely not heroes causing more chaos than any other player group Jon had ever DMed before. And that was saying something. Hours upon hours passed, Michael disappearing and reappearing to get Jon coffee and tea to keep his voice from giving out.

In the middle of it all Michael began twitching and twisting, glitching in and out of sight before slumping to the ground with a groan, form for once near comprehensible. Another door opened and out walked Helen looking down at the Distortion in disappointment.

"Oh that didn't destroy you. Shame."

"Helen?"

"Hello Jon! I was coming to rescue you given that Michael got a little distracted. Do you want to come to the archives with me?"

Honestly Jon should have been shocked, probably angry. He was definitely sad. And yet the most he felt was just an overwhelming sense of whelp.

Jon vaguely gestured towards Nikola, as much as Breekons hold allowed him to. "Ask her."

"We're not done yet."

"Later then?"

Nikola considered Jon for a long moment, both staring unblinking at each other. "Give us an hour."

To Jons great surprise Helen just nodded and delicately sat on the chair Jon usually frequented in his "freetime" all prim and proper except for the long sharp fingers curling at the edges like corkscrews.

"Now where were we?"

Michael groaned from the floor for once not smiling. Jon felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

"Are you alright?"

"Been better. Been worse. Let's burn this village down!"

There was no end to the tale they had been playing, not with just one session of playtime. Jon felt a bit bad about that, especially because he had left it at a cliffhanger. No one seemed to be angry at him for it, though. Michael had recovered fast and was again his usual ominous cheery, albeit lightly aggressive self. He poked and prodded at Helen like a curious cat while Nikola massaged lotion into Jons skin for the last time and handed him several expensive looking bottles, rattling down a step by step skin care routine he was to follow to the t or else she would break into his house and do it herself.

Hope patted him on the head. "See you around, Archivist."

"You're really letting me go? Just like that?" Jon still couldn't believe it.

Nikola shrugged. "I found another option. And I'd like to keep doing this after the Unknowing."

"Will that be even possible?"

The grin he got from was not at all reassuring. "I don't know~"

Well that was probably the best he would get from her. Jon gave a hesitant tiny wave and, flanked by both Michael and Helen stepped through their door.

Back at the archive no one had even questioned his disappearance. A fact that made Michael and Helen laugh, even though they both refused to leave as Tim, Melanie and Basira questioned him about his whereabouts.

Martin was the only one who took Jons forced vacation in stride. Maybe he even was a little too happy about a group of mannequins harassing him to take better care of himself.

"You're not compromised now, are you?" Basira asked when Jon had settled back into his office after a long shower.

"No? Because I still don't want the world to end?"

"Good."

Somehow Jon knew that she would still keep an eye on him from now on.

~~~

When the day came to blow up the ritual site Jon hadn't slept a wink in three nights and was overcome by guilt. Despite how aweful his initial time at the circus had been and despite him knowing what horrible things Nikola and her kin did in their freetime, Jon still felt bad about probably killing her.

He tried to rationalize his feelings away, connecting his rising anxiety with the fact that Danny still hadn't been found. It was a flimsy denial.

Tim stayed by his side the whole time, resolute in his burning desire for vengeance. Jon was scared that he would loose him to this, too. Had confessed as much to Michael and Helen, who had taken to keeping at least one door manifested somewhere in the tunnels at all times. The two had started to get along well after some initial disagreement. The Spiral, split as it was between the two of them, was weaker in its influence now, leaving more of Michael Shelley and Helen Richardson to make decisions.

They weren't here now. Daisy, Basira and Tim were, setting up explosives and arguing about rescuing people that were already long dead.

And then Nikola appeared and the dance started and nothing made sense anymore.

Jon woke up six months later, Georgie calling him a monster and Basira giving him a statement to "eat" catching him up on everything he had missed. Tim had miraculously survived, having been dragged through a door by either Helen or Michael. Daisy and Basira had encountered Breekon and Hope, who had argued about what they should do with "Jons feral friends" and in the end had led them savely out of the building before it could go boom, muttering about possible inspiration points.

The only one who hadn't been saved was Jon. He tried not to feel too hurt about that.

Coming back to work was as anti climatic as it had been after the kidnapping. The only one who seemed happy to see him was Martin. He had apologized profusely for the hug and promptly stopped doing so when Jon dashed forward and back into Martins warm embrace, finally breaking down.

He had been too caught up in his crying to make a note of the little kiss Martin pressed into his hair.

They all were a little lost after averting the apocalypse, normal everyday life eluding them. Elias might have been out of the picture for the moment, but Peter Lukas had taken over and fighting against the isolation was taking its toll on everyone.

They were all huddled in the breakroom, faces grim and stewing in silence so as to not break into an arguement when they got their delivery.

Breekon and Hope stepped into the small space with their usual nonchalance dragging a scared young man between them, who had a lot of resemblance to Tim.

"Delivery for Jonathan Sims. Nikola says hi."

Tim was the first one up. "No... No no nononononono that can't be. He's dead. Jon. Jon tell me is that really him?!"

Jon looked at the scared man, who had his gaze locked on Tim, recognition slowly dawning on his face. He Looked and he Knew.

"Yes. No one was killed the night Danny disappeared. His group encountered Nikola and her troupe during a rehearsal, got confused and then lost. And was lost ever since. Nikola told me of this. She promised to find him for me, for you."

That was all Tim needed to rush forward, catching his brother in his arms and hugging him close. "Danny!"

Danny clung back just as tightly, awareness barely back. Still obviously shaken and confused.

Jon smiled at the two delivery men. "Thank you. Will he... will he be alright."

Hope shrugged. "Dunno. Nikola said to make him remember bit by bit. Been not Danny for a long time. Might need to get used to it again."

"We'll take it slow." Tim promised, silent tears streaming down his face.

"Good luck. Hey Archivist, do we get inspiration, too?"

Jon laughed, incredulous. The others in the room watched the exchange with varying degress of exasperation and outrage.

"You know what? Yes. Yes you have. And I'll give you all advantage on your rolls next session. Only that one session, though! Same for Nikola. How is she, by the way?"

Breekon made a so-so sign. "Restless. We've waited over six months to find out what happens after that cliffhanger you gave us."

"Right." He still couldn't believe it. "Tonight 8 o'clock, my flat?"

Twin grins, the most excited he had ever seen them. "See you then, Archivist."

Tim was still gently hushing his brother, rocking back and forth on his feet to try and calm him down a little. And he still had tears streaming down his face, looking like an absolute wreck. But he still managed to join the unimpressed stares that were thrown his way by everyone but Martin, who at this point had just started to roll with the punches.

"You really befriended the clown club and made them rescue literally all of us?" Basira asked in a deadpan voice.

"I kind of feel cheap now." Daisy muttered. "As though those clowns let us win."

"Look, what can I say? Pen and Paper games are fun. I can't blame them. And Nikola did want to start a band."

"Oh my god." Melanie groaned, her head thunking onto the table. "I can't believe it."

"A band?" Basira asked, suddenly much more alert. They really had gotten quite desensitized to the whole monster thing, hadn't they? "What, you can sing?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. But really. Shouldn't we... I mean shouldn't we focus on Danny? There's a cot-"

"I know." Tim interrupted. "We all know there's a cot. I'll take him home, you keep talking about your weird band plans. Monster boss? We talk later, but... thank you."

Silence reigned long enough to follow Tim out of the Institute before Martin piped up, cheeks reddening before he had even opened his mouth. "Could we... Could we have a taste?"

"A taste? Of what? My voice?"

"Hold up, if Sims is going to sing I'll have to record it." Melanie tapped on her phone and held it into the room as one would do a microphone. "Alright go."

Jon sighed, what he didn't do to keep up the group morale.

"Aww shit." Was Basiras conclusion when he was done. "What kind of music were you thinking of playing?"

"Steampunk."

"Count me in."

~~~

Today had been weird, Jon thought, mind reeling from the whiplash of... kindness? That had happened after the delivery of one Danny Stoker. Granted the last month, no

year

had been weird. But this had topped it all. At least it had been a nice weird.

Jon had nearly forgotten about his appointment with a certain group of Strangers when he got back to his flat, overworked, hungry and still processing. So he should be forgiven for the scream he let out when he saw three large figures huddling on his too small couch.

"You haven't been taking care of your skin at all!"

There was no time to duck away from the cold, hard hands that fluttered all over his body. Nikola squished his cheeks like a proper grandmother, clearly unhappy about their elasticity.

"I was in a coma for six months."

"And awake for a few weeks now." A cheerful male voice said from behind him, bringing the smell of pizza with it.

"We were there he didn't take care of himself at all!" Helen added, putting down several cans of soda and what looked to be instant coffee.

"You're horrible!" Nikola wailed, manhandling him until he was squished between Breekon and Hope. "All my beautiful work! Ruined!"

"Uh... sorry?"

"You can make it up to us with weekly sessions." Michael suggested with a grin.

"Both on Saturday and Sunday!" Helen added.

"I actually planned for Sunday to be band day." Jon lied. "Basira wants to join, by the way."

They were all settled around the small coffee table now, food and drink on the floor so they had enough place to roll their dice.

"Wonderful! What did you think we'd name it?"

Jon tilted his head given the illusion of thinking it over even though he had known what to name his band since highschool.

"The Mechanisms."

#tma #jonathan sims #nikola orsinov #breekon and hope #michael the distortion #helen the distortion #kidnapping #fun times #humor #fluff #fanfiction #my writing #everyone lives cause i said so #even danny #enemies to friends

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skaldish · 4 years ago

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Heya! I‘ve spent my morning reading through your website and low-key your blog here and wanted to say that the way you describe Loki feels so weirdly familiar? like him being your Mad Muse resonated in a way with my experience as an artist that is somewhat similar to yours which got me thinking. some ideas or concepts come seemingly out of nowhere and get stuck until i get them out and many of them are to do with the human condition but also gender and living the true self kinda? but more like these characters feel actually alive and thus not wanting me as an author or painter to control them but to observe and conserve these observations. it often feels like a swirling mass of chaos in my mind with me racing behind trying to grasp what i see/feel (its all really vague and words are more feelings of the essence of whats said.)

If i understand correctly You often make a distinction between chaos and his trickery (i am so sorry in advance for possible weird-wording things, or completely misunderstandig you >.< english is my 2nd language) and for me personally, i delight in chaos and trickery, though not in a hurting others way, more in a good hearted fun for the shits and giggles kind? but i love chaos in the way i love a symbol, since chaos for me means change in a rather radical way but without any judgement. Things change and get chaotic but chaos itself feels more like possibility?

I have a bonus Loki-Story for you: one time he (i assume) probably annoyed a busdriver with a red light and i caught my bus after asking any god willing to help me catch that bus (it was urgent lol). I was so out of breath but the second i could breathe properly again i asked who to thank for the red light and i kid you not, i drove by a wall with a graffiti that simply said: Loki. made me chuckle ugly but i gave him the best part of my steak never the less, gotta say thanks!

There have been several of these happenings with other gods (Thor and Odin mainly but i caught a whiff of freya once while baking i think?) so now im at the point where i feel i should finally listen. Though i know nothing about working with the gods or magic ive always felt a pull to runes and even got an engraving set to make some myself.

After reading your introduction about deity work i kinda confirmed what i thought regarding knowing the basics of magic (mainly i wont use runes or magic until i know how to do it safely with warding and shielding, which brings me to my question:

Do you have any open source or freely online available sources for learning the basics of magic and getting familiar with deity work? (possibly even for absolute total beginners who boarder on dumb - hello adhd) Like how to shield/ward yourself and your house and how to cleanse. Same with sharpening the clairsenses. It sounds kind of easy when reading but when i try to actually do that i feel helpless and dont know where to start or what to do :(

I often see these things stated (on your page and in the asks you answer but also on any site regarding these topics as well.Saw this also on sunnyway when tring to read up on runes) but never really explained in a way thats friendly for beginners, and when i try googling (i am chronically out of moneys so i guess that has to do with it) all that comes up is wicca related stuff that makes me feel icky (the norse gods are generally the only pantheon and norse religion mostly the only religion that doesnt feel icky to me but that might be my catholic upbringing? the norse gods feel so healingly friend-shaped that it spooked me for years but im staring to fall in love with that. i do get its not always like that but having a kind of mutually respectful relationship with the gods is kind of all i wanted when i grew up). Im also too new i guess to be able to discern between norse practicioners and white supremacists and dont want to end up on a nazi page and learning from them :/ (Here in germany i mostly saw nazis and white supremacists wearing norse symbols which i guess kept my spanish-libanese-migrant ass away from norse paganism for so long bc i thought theyre the only ones who practice it and i really do not like the fuckers)

Thank you in advance if you decide to answer this! (And i apologize for the sheer length of this ask!!)

Sorry this took me so long to get back! If I’m not mistaken, you’re basically asking how to move from “theory” to “practical application” with paganism, magic, and spirit/deity work.

I had to sit with this for a while because I couldn’t think of an easy answer to your question, and maybe an easy answer simply doesn’t exist. For me, everything I know and everything I believe in was built upon a combination of a few things:

Introducing myself to different branches of magical theory and trying different things, even stuff that wasn’t Norse.

Familiarizing myself with MANY different spiritual and religious practices; how they work, their ethos, their worldviews, their metaphysical philosophies, and how they differ from one another.

Finding a reputable community of actual advanced pagan practitioners who gave me the tools I needed to rely on myself and helped me troubleshoot specific things.

Identifying how my clairsenses and magical tendencies manifest and working them out like a muscle, using Tarot to help confirm or refute my interpretations of experiences.

Learning to trust myself and my judgements.

Learning what bad communities look like.

Learning what Nazi-coded language looks like.

Learning what healthy relationships look like.

Trying things and learning from both my mistakes and successes.

This stuff takes months to identify and years to cultivate, and honestly the only way to do figure it out is to expose yourself to it.

One resource I started with that IS free would be Oven-Ready Chaos by Phil Hine. This is a PDF you can google and download that introduces you to the basics of Chaos Magic. Even if you’re not a chaos magician, it provides some good metaphysical philosophies that can be applied to basically any eclectic practice. This book was also the first time magic was presented to me in a way that made a damn lick of sense.

But that’s all I really have for you, unfortunately. Someday I hope to write more about this process of magical/pagan development, but I’m not at the point where I know enough about it to do so.

#answered #Anonymous

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thoughtfulpaperback · 5 years ago

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Spoilers!!!! Charmed 02x04

Okay yall. I love this episode, but this one is actually my least favorite so far. I have a couple of, not concerns, but more than nitpicks, about some things this episode. Overall I'd still give it a 7/10. It was paced well and the added lore was top notch so far and cant wait for more. Anyways, again I will start with things I liked, then move on to the things I didnt, and end with some highlights.

Likes:

1. Mel! Overall Mel is a champ and even though she had big romance storylines, and they developed her character in small ways throughout the first season, I still felt we need more Mel. This episode not only did a good job if staying true to the mel that was built in season 1 but adding onto her. Mel seems to detest the idea of uselessness or at least of being powerless. Which makes sense not only as a minority and a woman but as a lesbian. She grew up not having to hide and with a mother who basically told them they were powerful strong and could do anything. Which is wonderful, but breeds that room for those types of insecurities.

2. Hacy

So actually not that much big hacy moments in comparison to previous episoded, but I love how they are the two interrogating abby and the moment they shared with the safe word.

That said I also didn't like the need for one when Macy said she would just know. Although I argue that the fact she even asked for the safe word was because she knew. Because she tells her sisters to go, trusting him, before she looks onto his eyes. Then when he leans in to touch her and orb them out, either she is put off by the over enthused smirk (he was too happy for the situation) or she wanted to get a look into his eyes. Because if you look at her facial expressions as she is looking into her eyes she seems to doubt that he is Harry and then asks for the safe word before he orbs them out.

I also think they missed a hacy opportunity when he warns Macy to be careful

Harry: she's half demon

Macy: so am I

Harry: but you are you

I'll explain further in the disliked section

4. Maggie and Jordan. Okay so I really like these two together. Hold up though. I like it as a slow developing relationship. Jordan is in a different life stage than Maggie imo. If he were single and went after her immediately or they started a romance I wouldnt like that. Him having someone and Maggie growing up and them building a solid friendship first is what I am here for. I'll talk about her powers later. What I was curious about was the ring on Jordand finger since the camera focus for a bit on his hand when he mentioned his family. I hope he doesnt come from a line of witch hunters or turns out to be some sort of creature later on. I mean on one hand that would be cool and a twist, especially if he remains the same (like doesnt change into a villian just turns out has some history) because I feel like it would be a way of doing the Galvin family history right. I mean I think that is what I enjoyed about Galvins storyline, him being able to help out because of his family history. But they didnt do much with it given the limited screen time. So if they could do something similar with Jordan and give it appropiate attention I would love it. But if they tried to use it for drama I wouldnt because it would be too much like parkerita. Let maggie grow up and have a healthy mature relationship without deception and scary families involved!

5. Dark!Harry as a Darklighter and a Hunter

So I mean we still don't know exactly what darklighters are. I mean we know that they are part of the whitelighter (one person split in half) but we dont know if the elders trained them for a specific purpose. I mean Darry got fighting skills and some resourcefulness. For to come from no where, but the fact he is after powerful beings (so far we dont know exactly why) and he has a connection with Harry is really interesting and has so many possibilities moving forward and I especially love the further similarities is draws to Macy.

Harry (unlike macy) has been split in two he has lived with this unknown part of him that differs from everything he was taught and believed about himself. Like macy this side of him appears to be "evil", although I have a feeling is probably more complicated than that since it obviously is for Macy. So harry has this "dark side". Which will be interesting if they ever have to or can merge the two.

Right now it appears that Darry has nothing to do with the Demon wars (unless you believe he and abby are working together).

Now onto dislikes:

1. Abby. Hold up y'all! I actually love this villainess. I just have some concerns about her background. And also have some thoughts about her possible future role.

So I love that she wants to bring down the patriarchy of the demon world. Her being Caine seems unnecessary, and brings up some questions.

Why didn't Parker ever mention her? He mentioned Hunter. She knew about him. So it would seem a fair assumption that Parker knew about her.

I don't mind adding lore to the previous seasons as long as they make sense. So far what they have added doesn't negate what was established last season (season 1 contradicted itself a couple of times), but with Abby as a Caine they will have to make double sure they don't add anything that would contradict season 1.

Abby as bisexual. Like I love when shows give some bisexual representation! But I am always weary when bisexuals are the villians and they are the only bisexual characters in the show. I am not bisexual, so I can't really say whether the show is doing this well or not well. It is just something I try to be considerate of and so when it happens I am always a bit nervous about it.

2. The Vera-Vaugh sisterhood (mostly on Macy's part). Okay so I am treading lightly on this topic and also would like to point out that I am coming at this from my Latina perspective. But I feel that Macy sees her place and he relationship with her sisters from the "Good Mexican" perspective. Meaning she does crave that connection to her sisters but also views herself as the other. More so she view her sisters as thinking over her as "the good half demon" and for Macy that isnt enough. It still feels like a rejection of part of her. Which in some cases is, but I think for her sisters it isnt that way at all. They dont view her as "a good half-demon" they see her as Macy and as thier sister. But I feel that since Macy, given how she grew up and the insecurities we know she has from season 1, isnt getting the memo. She now knows that her sisters actually love her and will stick with her, but she no longer is craving acceptance, she wants understanding and commonality. Which for her, her sisters cannot give her not just because they are different but because they view the situation differently.

Abby is playing to that so well. I was upset that Macy would reveal the way she got her demon side. It seems not only like a bad move as far as trusting someone you claim not to trust but also just common sense given that I would thing you wouldnt want other demons knowing how to create more demons from humans. Anyways, abby's line of having more in common with each other was pretty brilliant given the little amount of time she has spent with any of them.

I think it is possible, from the patriarchy conversation, that Abby eventually would try to recruit Macy to join her in trying to take over the demon world. That said I am not sure so far if Abby would actually like to share power with anyone. We still dont know much about her character. So her development moving forward will be interesting.

Moving back to the sisters. I think if moving forward the show would do little things to address the issue it would help not only to further build the relationship between the sisters but the power of 4. Things like the line I added between Macy and Harry would show Macy that they are seeming the situation differently. It wont allieviate What Macy is feeling or the fact she still has to figure out what exactly it means to be a half demon or if it does have meaning out side the societal implications.

3. Whitelighter lore. Don't come for me! I love the added lore. I just have some nitpicks.

Alpha. So if the first whitelighter was from Salem then how is there and Egyptian hieroglyph for a whitelighter? Unless the elders just to a hieroglyph and decided to make that one the one for whitelighter? ("Hey what's that" other elder: "I combined two hieroglyph want to use that for our new whitelighters?" First elder: hell yah!)

Okay so if these two are one person made into two and are connected. Then how connected are they? I mean I assume we will get more detail as the show progresses so I am not made about it, but the alpha is always kept near the split part. So in the beginning was it that they couldnt be too far apart or else something bad would happen? Or is it that what happens to one happens to the other. Dark!Harry tried to kill Harry so we could assume that that isnt the case because it would be a death sentence for both (unless dark!harry didnt know and just lucked out be the fact that Harry and him are now immortal because Harry's tie to the elders was severed). Lots of questions regarding what exactly dark!harry knows or doesnt know.

4. Maggie's powers. Dont get me wrong, I love the foresight and its relation to premonitions and Marisol, but it is gonna need some careful explaining. They established that witches are traced through these powers and that the sisters were stripped of them. So then what is this foresight? It cant be a part of her old powers because those were stripped. But if this is a new power can it be used to track the sisters? Or is it something else? A power but unrelated to the powers and triggered by an outside agent (not necessarily a person). Will Mel start to develop new powers as well or again is there something going on with Maggie?

Highlights:

Mel chugging like a champ!

Maggie's constant touching of Jordan when trying to trigger her new powers. Not awkward at all Mags...

The satisfied look on Darry's face when he is about to orb Macy and him out (I still cant believe the girls werent suspicious of how Harry found orbed to them when none of them called for him)

(I was gonna give credit to the gif maker and had written down who it was but lost the paper and cant remember which of the people I saved this from. So if this is your gif let me know! So I can edit and give yah the credit you deserve! Sorry about that! If I find the paper before yah recognize the gif I will edit)

Abby's recount of being attacked by Darry. I was enjoying the steaminess.

Anyways that's all on my part! Comment, send asks or message me, if y'all want to discuss something I mentioned or didnt mention about this episode or the series in general! Not looking forward the the inevitable break that will occur but cant wait for episodes 5 and 6!

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bubble-tea-bunny · 6 years ago

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fire and powder

[draco malfoy x reader]

author’s note: 7 rings is a banger and i listened to it on repeat while writing this(((:

word count: 4,051

It’s a cloudy and overcast morning when rumors of a potential new student begin to circulate. Excitement about new students wasn’t out of the ordinary, but there was, ordinarily, a time and place for it. That is to say, at the start of each term, when the Great Hall is buzzing with anticipation and each house’s table has several seats open and waiting for its newest members. By the middle of the year, everyone is settled and integrated, and life continues on as normal. But the circumstances of this hearsay, which quickly finds its footing when a student gets it confirmed by a professor and proceeds to tell his friends, who then tell theirs, and so on and so forth, aren’t ordinary at all. The person in question is a transfer, and will be joining Hogwarts halfway through the year. An interruption to the routine and some might even say the bland, for it can only be expected that life would become a little dry as the studies and exams dragged on. One supposes, then, that it’s no wonder word spreads like a fire so wild that the rains just now beginning to pour could do precious little to quell it.

No one actually knows when the new student will be arriving, only that they will, in time. Dumbledore doesn’t address it but everyone already knows that he knows that they know. One evening before dinner he grabs their attention to make some announcements, and silence fills the hall almost immediately. There’s a twinkle in his eye like he’s about to mention the topic they’ve all been achingly curious about, but he never does, instead reminding them about their approaching mid-term tests. A collective sigh of frustration at being left in the dark sweeps through the room.

By the time they learn anything more, their newest classmate is already there. Enough time had passed that most had calmed down and forgot about it, and as such, the creaking of the large doors granting entrance to the castle during dinner, able to be heard even over the chatter and clanking of silverware, catches everyone by surprise. Heads lean to get a better view of the threshold where you stand with Dumbledore and McGonagall. You’re pulling along a trunk as they lead you along. What they say to you can’t be heard, but it’s no doubt a quick orientation about your new school. They lead you down the corridor, and you disappear from sight. It’s the last they see of you for the remainder of the night.

The atmosphere is more relaxed when midterms are over, and the Great Hall is slow to fill in the mornings as some students choose to sleep in. You’ve not had any exams, but you do linger in your own dormitory, still tired from your long day of travel the day before. As such, when you finally come down for breakfast, the hall is mostly filled. In contrast to dinner, the talk is calmer and quieter, evidence of fatigue and a general sense of relief that all the tests are done (until finals anyway, but that was a different story, and a far one yet). It lowers to a hush when you turn into the room.

You were sorted in Dumbledore’s office, and by that point, the only ones to know where the Sorting Hat had placed you besides the professors was the rest of your house, since they would’ve met you when you came through the portrait hole. Now, as you walk in, everyone can see for themselves, and the light of day filtering in makes it nigh impossible to mistake the silver serpent on your cloak for anything but. All at once the small billow of the edges of your robes kicked up by the breeze of your purposeful steps seems sinister, and the sway of your ponytail seems to spell trouble.

The four houses and the attitudes of their members aren’t often so black and white. Most students find themselves in the middle, teetering between two, and the slightly stronger inclination wins out in the end. It’s not always obvious at first glance to which house a person belongs, and it’s merely the insignia on their chest and the colored lining of their cloak that give it away. Sometimes there are Gryffindors who appear to be the farthest thing from brave until the right moment strikes. Sometimes there are Slytherins not nearly as mean as one is led to believe by the smirks and sneers of the majority. Some wonder where you fall, but it doesn’t last very long because soon the Slytherin Prince harbors a newfound interest in you, and you’re happy to be the center of his attention.

———

Draco and his cronies are giving a Hufflepuff a hard time out in the courtyard, and what he’s saying can’t be heard at this distance, but it certainly isn’t bound to be anything nice. Apparently you can hear it though, given you’re not as far, and what’s surely a scathing remark makes you giggle. Draco smirks at you and looks rather proud. The fact he likes making you laugh would almost be sweet if he weren’t doing it using such cruel methods. Maybe it was truly a match made in the less savory of places, because the student body has heard of your fair share of pestering and bullying of anyone unfortunate enough to land in your sights.

Ron’s eyes narrow as he studies the pair of you, and sighs when you return to speaking with your friends. “You know, I heard she was nearly put in Ravenclaw.”

“Yeah?” Harry, thankful for the distraction, for he’d been in desperate need of a break from his homework, looks from his book to his friend.

“Yeah.” Ron lets out a little laugh of disbelief. He’s trying to imagine you in Ravenclaw instead, but he’s not very successful. His mind can’t seem to reconcile the idea of you in a house that isn’t Slytherin. “I dunno how though.”

Hermione, who had for the most part remained uninvested in your journey of integration into Hogwarts, it bearing of no importance to her when there were more pressing matters to fret over, also tears her eyes away from the study guide she’s creating. “The Sorting Hat must’ve seen something and knew she’d be better off in Slytherin. She just needed the right person to bring it out of her.”

“No better person than Malfoy,” Ron mutters under his breath with a scoff. He hadn’t done a very good job hiding his infatuation with you from his two best friends, but perhaps it makes more sense to say they were an exception. They knew him too well, and they can tell his hopes of any sort of relationship with you were slowly crumbling. (Not that there was much hope to begin with—he hasn’t even spoken to you yet… and it’s doubtful if he ever would) It’s the smarter decision to stay away anyway. Your fangs glitter in the light if you angle your head a certain way, venom dripping from the ends, and no one’s eager to be bitten.

There had indeed been substance to the rumor you were almost placed in Ravenclaw, and Ron is far from the first to be skeptical. For the most part, it’s the Slytherins who understand why you ended up with them instead, since they’ve gotten to know you better (or know you at all, really). You’re smart, and you know how to get what you want. You could do it so well it bordered on the cunning, and upon this revelation the Sorting Hat had had no trouble figuring out to which side the scales tipped more.

You have a class starting soon, so you bid goodbye to your friends and trek across the grass to return to the castle. Ron seizes up when he realizes you’re heading their way, and he’d meant to say hello but he couldn’t even get that out (good thing, probably, since it might sound choked and that would be humiliating). Your eyes meet as you walk past, but you’ve no smile to give. You were a miser when it came to them. They’re stockpiled, hidden away, and rarely did you ever share them. Every stray glance caught was merely met with lips set in a straight line—apathetic, unfriendly, and thoroughly unimpressed.

Ron’s shoulders relax after you pass, and he stares after you, hardly noticing the wind flipping the pages of his book. “That wasn’t so bad.” He doesn’t exactly know what wasn’t so bad. You’d only walked by and hadn’t said anything. Perhaps it was expected that you might make jabs not at all playful towards anyone who looked too long, like Draco is wont to do, but it seems you’re better about holding your tongue.

Harry can’t help smiling in amusement as he gets back to his work. “You looked terrified.”

Hermione laughs, and Ron blanches. “Did I really?”

———

Everyone knows Professor Snape plays favorites, and in his pool of favorites are students he favors even more still. Draco is one such student, on the list and most likely at the very top. You found a place on said list quickly. Being in Slytherin already put you in his good graces, but you climbed the ranks firstly because of your knowledge of the material, well-read and participating during class to a degree that gave Hermione Granger a run for her money, and secondly because you’re closely associated with the house prince himself.

Fleeting glances on your first few days turned into being on the same side, Draco with one of his friends and you with yours, and then into you always sitting at the same table, claiming the left one in the third row. You seemed to pay attention more to each other than the lecture most days, and at the start, Snape had (half-heartedly) interrupted you and quizzed you on what he was talking about. Of course, you always answered correctly, not that it had been too difficult a question, and after a few instances of that, he left you well alone. To be fair, you hadn’t been particularly disruptive or bothersome. (The Gryffindors on the other side of the classroom becoming irked that you were so easily let off the hook don’t count.)

The two of you are intimidating in your own respects, but together, the menace is magnified. If people hadn’t kept a safe distance before, they were now, not fond of getting burned. There’s a new title bestowed upon you that makes its rounds, and admittedly you’re one of the last to hear of it, but when you finally do, your eyes sparkle. Out in daylight, the twinkle might make you look affable. But in the low lighting of the Slytherin common room, it looks the shade of mischievous it’s meant to be.

It’s got a nice ring to it, your friend Meredith had remarked, breaking your focus on your book, which annoys you a little, but you brush it off. Slytherin Princess. You set your novel down and look at her with a small smirk. She seems more thrilled about it than you do, and she definitely notices. It prompts her to ask why you aren’t as excited. It’s your title after all. Exactly, you’d responded. My title. Why should I be surprised that I’ve ended up with what I deserved to begin with?

Your new name only serves to increase jealousy in some of the other girls of your house. The feelings of envy sprouted when you and Draco took to one another like a duck takes to water, and had only grown from there. You won’t ever say that you’re hanging on his arm, and you cast sharp glances at anyone who dares to say as much, sharp enough to make them bleed. It implies you’re lesser, and that’s not the case at all. You’re equal. Draco understands that, and it’s clear that’s the way he wants it too, judging by his simper and half-lidded gaze of adoration whenever he should look at you.

A day trip to Hogsmeade sees you in the white dress with beige buttons from Twilfitt and Tattings’ newest collection. “You look good in white,” Draco comments, coming up behind you where you were waiting for him on the front steps.

“Thank you.” You smile sweetly, and in the few seconds spent staring at each other, Draco can see in your eyes the answer you almost gave instead but hadn’t, deciding to just accept his compliment. It didn’t matter in the end anyway because he could tell what your almost-response was without you having to say it: l know I do.

He chuckles like you did in fact say it aloud, his arm wrapping around you to bring you close. Your little yelp of surprise is quickly silenced as he bends down to kiss you. It’s short, for you’re not keen on everyone watching something so intimate, and you pull away. A bit of your lipstick had transferred and the corner of his mouth is now accented with a patch of deep red, and you let out a quiet laugh as you reach up to wipe it away.

The cloak you wear for school conceals most of your finer movements, but without it now, the elegance with which you hold yourself is clearer. It’s simple to tell you’ve trained and taken classes, for it’s rare that one is born with such natural taking to refined decorum, and it must be ingrained and practiced with pinpoint precision. You’ll be honest: this is one of the aspects where you aren’t actively trying to inspire jealousy. This is just how you’ve learned to act, but if other people did get jealous, well, that’s just a bonus.

One such person makes known her vexation in the common room that evening after returning from Hogsmeade. You’re not sure if Poppy’s trying to be subtle at all while conversing with her companions, but even if she had, you still overhear. Slytherin Princess… It comes out a hiss, and it’s the warning of incoming conflict that prompts you to focus on her voice amidst the others. She might as well wear a tiara while she’s at it.

“That’s a really good idea.” You don’t hesitate to reply, voice raising so she can hear you across the room. You paused halfway to the stairs, intent on going to your room, but she was dangling such good bait and you couldn’t resist taking it because you knew you’d win, pulling in bait and hook and all into the water. “I think I will.” You follow up your remark with a grin. It’s nothing but knives.

———

You’re about to enter Professor Snape’s classroom, but a hand curling around your wrist stops you short. Twisting around, you meet the bright eyes of your boyfriend. Your own narrow in turn because you know he has something to say.

“Let’s skip Potions,” he declares.

“What?” The idea is foreign to you. You don’t skip classes, and you’d especially hate to miss Potions. It’s one of your favorite lectures.

“C’mon, we won’t be missed.”

You purse your lips, close to saying no. But his eyes are hopeful and it’s actually a little endearing. You’re wondering what brought on the suggestion, and it’s this curiosity that finally causes you to acquiesce. “Okay.”

Draco’s hand slides from your wrist to your hand, and he curls his fingers in the spaces between yours before he pulls you along, the throng of students on their way to class parting smoothly. You can read the eagerness in his body language, and you smile. What does he have in mind?

“Where are we going?” you inquire, for he seems to be walking with purpose and you can’t begin to guess where he’s bringing you. The common room is in the other direction, and you assume he wants to go outside (it’s a nice day), but you go right by a door leading to the courtyard.

He doesn’t answer right away, and he turns a corner, opening a door to a room you can’t see from this angle. One strong tug from him causes you to stumble forward, and you collide with him, the door quickly sliding shut behind you. It’s a broom closet. “The broom closet? But why—”

You don’t get the rest of the sentence out before he’s on you, lips searing and sure to leave scorch marks on the tender skin of your own. It takes a moment for your shock to wear off but then you’re meeting his enthusiasm in equal measure, arms wrapping around his neck and standing on the tips of your toes for better reach. His arms snake around your waist, mouth departing from your lips to trail down to your neck. The forceful movements knock you slightly off balance and you fall back to the shelf behind you, rattling the supplies on it. You giggle and can feel Draco’s grin against your skin. Your laugh turns into a gasp as he nips at a sensitive spot.

When he pulls away and stands at his full height and you have to tilt your head back to look at him properly, your eyes are hazy, and you know that’s why he’s smirking so widely. He then gives you the answer to your previous question. “I need a bit of good luck for today’s match.”

Oh, that’s right. Slytherin is playing Ravenclaw today. You smile and shake your head playfully. That’s not the actual reason for his hiding away in a broom closet with you, because he hadn’t ever done this prior to a game. The typical form of good luck you gave was a kiss before he left you to join his teammates in the locker room. This was just his excuse, but you can’t say you mind. “Good luck, huh?”

“Yeah.” Draco’s gaze is impish and he kisses you a few times, your lips already starting to swell, a picture of disarray coupled with your cloudy eyes and messy hair from where he’d tangled his fingers in it. “You’ll cheer me on from the stands won’t you?” he murmurs, lips brushing against yours.

You hum in confirmation. “Of course.” You let out a little shriek of surprise when his cold hand sneaks beneath your shirt and you cover your mouth, wondering if anyone heard you. Draco laughs, and it’s not long until you join him. However, it does seem someone had heard, because there are hasty footsteps echoing in the hallway outside.

Draco voices who it is at the same moment you also realize who it could be. “Filch.”

He takes your hand again and opens the door with the other, and the two of you run out and farther down the corridor. You glance back over your shoulder to see Filch. He’s looking toward the broom closet door which has closed with a thud, then looks to your and Draco’s retreating forms, putting the pieces together quickly. He scowls, clearly displeased, but all it does is elicit a laugh as you turn the corner. Mrs. Norris is perched on a window sill you rush past, and her lamp-like eyes follow you until you’re out of sight.

This route is beginning to look familiar; Draco is bringing you to the Slytherin dormitories. No doubt to finish the business that had been so rudely interrupted. Your suspicions are proven right when he brings you up the stairs and you take a hard turn into the boys’ side, marching straight to his room.

Slytherin wins the match. It’s a landslide victory.

———

The morning of the day you’ll all be loading up onto the Hogwarts Express to start your summer holidays is spent bringing down the trunks from the rooms and putting them onto the train. Once back in London, you wouldn’t be returning home right away. Your parents had given you permission to spend some time at Malfoy Manor (Draco tells you his parents are looking forward to meeting you). The last half of the summer is when you would go back to France, to spend the remaining weeks with your mother and father.

“D’you think they’ll move closer?” Draco asks as you step onto the train.

You shrug. “They’re probably considering it. There’s not much of a reason to stay in France anymore now that I’ve transferred here.”

You were one of the last to board, so most of the cabins are occupied. But neither of you is worried about finding a place. Your friends are bound to have saved spots, or if you wanted a cabin to yourselves, it wouldn’t be a problem kicking out whoever’s in there. Just because the term is over doesn’t mean people are any less intimidated. It’s a power, you’re sure, you’ll be high on over the holidays, and it’s a high that would last just long enough to make it to next year, where you’d have another several months to ensure no one would forget that little title of yours.

Speaking of which…

It’s incredibly good timing that there’s someone in the cabin you’re walking by that you want to talk to, and you slow to a stop. Draco only notices when your linked hands keep him from continuing farther down the aisle. He turns to you, brows furrowed in confusion. “I’ll find you, just give me a second.” You tip toe to kiss him, and his hesitation melts away.

He nods. “All right.”

You stand there for a moment watching him, only moving because someone behind you meekly says Excuse me and you stand to the side with a roll of your eyes you’re not entirely sure they caught but not caring if they did. A boy with bright red hair is the one who’d spoken, and he gives you a timid smile, though it looks more like a cringe if anything. He’s followed by his two companions, who flash polite grins that are more relaxed.

After they’ve passed, you open the door to the cabin on your left but don’t step inside, merely poking your head in. All conversation stops as you do. Poppy’s already looking at you, having noticed you and Draco kissing right outside thirty seconds ago. Good.

“I hope you have a good summer, Poppy,” you begin. “And thanks for the idea, by the way. You’re right: it adds a lot.” You point to the small tiara sitting on your head, crystals gleaming from the light of the sun pouring in from the window.

You’d found it on a visit to Hogsmeade and bought it right away, and Draco had been highly amused (as well as unaware of your true reason for its acquisition). You had it stored away since then, and donned it for the first time today, because though you wore the name of princess with pride, you weren’t so impudent as to wear it regularly. An accessory of this sort is to be saved for certain occasions. Hardly appropriate for everyday wear (and not to mention bad taste to do so).

You smile charmingly, seeming so genuine that if anyone in this cabin had been unfamiliar with her disdain for you, they’d ask how she could hate you as much as she does. Not bothering to wait for a response, you back out and let the door slide closed on its own as you begin your search for Draco.

When you find him, he asks what you were up to, and you wave your hand dismissively. Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Then you kiss his cheek, a gesture of reassurance. He lets the matter go with a small smirk and a nod. The flash in your eyes is sinister and it’s what he likes to see, and while a part of him would like to know what you were doing, he’s content with just knowing you were stirring up some trouble.

“Maybe I should get a crown to match?” he muses, briefly glancing up at your tiara.

You laugh. “Maybe we’ll find one over the holidays.” That signals the end of the subject, and as the train departs the station, the two of you busy yourselves with trying to decide which sweets to buy off the cart.

#draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy imagine #harry potter x reader #harry potter imagine #draco malfoy #harry potter #bubble-tea-bunny #queue

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 5 years ago

Text

Winner’s Curse Ch. 14

“Everyone calm down, everyone calm down, King Ben will be here soon.” Ben heard Evie warily shush into the microphone, trying to quiet the agitated crowd in the auditorium.

Ben hurriedly tried to straighten his collar which only got mussed further by his frantic hands, butterflies were alreayd beating furiously in his stomach at the thought of trying to convince this mob that there was no time to beat around the bush and bring Villain children four at time every year or so. They needed to bring them all over now. It was the right thing to do.

All without mentioning the current Coven situation on the Isle since it would only serve to panic everyone.

Not that he was already panicking himself. The commincators he had given them had suddenly cut off and though Carlos and Jane assured him that maybe it was just the climate messing with the technology and they shouldn’t jump to conclusions.. That was what he was doing. The last time they had contacted him, it was to say they had teamed up with Uma and now they mysteriously couldn’t be reached.

Uma could be holding them captive or worse. He knew all the girl wanted was to get the kids off the Isle so hopefully if he was able to pass this reform, he would be able to appease them. And hopefully Harry hadn’t hooked them first at of spite.

“Hey.” Ben felt Mal’s slender cold fingers stop his hands and felt her nuzzle against his neck, “You’re going to do great. You’re a good king.”

Ben couldn’t help but relax as Mal wrapped her arms around him. “Thanks.”

They had had a long talk after Cotillion. Mainly about the stresses they each had been dealing with and they had ignored each other. Miscommunication bred bad blood and they had promised to talk things out more and not hide it under the surface or erase it from his mind.

For Mal, he allowed her to cut back on some of her royal cosort duties and would start adding more responsibilities when she got the hang of it.

He couldn’t do such a thing being the King of the land, but Mal’s most important self-appointed duty was to help him relax and destress and provide moral support as he had helped her when she came to Auradon. He had told her over and over that she didn’t need to do it like an obligation but Mal was stubborn.

He loved that about her.

Ben turned and kissed her full on the lips enjoying the sweet strawberry taste and the slight bite she gave on his lips, “Now go out there.”

Ben knew a goofy smile was spreading on his face but he couldn’t help it. He always felt a little breathless and punchdrunk when he was in her presence. She was just so magnetic and wonderful and…

“You got to go out there now.” Mal gently but firmly pushed him in the direction of thepodium where Evie was waiting.

“Right. Right.” Ben smoothed down his face and approched. There none of the usual applause that accompined his entrence which spoke to how the people were feeling about Evie’s new idea.

The butterflies beat faster and Ben felt his knees buckle which he tried his best to hide by clutching the podium.

“Hello everyone. As I’m sure you’ve read from Evie’s recent email that we plan to bring over all the villain children from the Isle. Recent surveys of the land show it is not a fit enviroment for adults, even worse so for children.” He turned so Evie could take over as they practiced.

Evie smoothed down the paper she held and cleared her throat. “I put all the details within the document I sent all of you. But a quick overview.”

“Statistics show that every eyar at least 200 kids die on the Isle from lack of nutrition, dehydration, disease like..” “We don’t need to know how they died. It’s good riddence!” Chad Charming shouted.

Evie’s mouth popped open and she shot a glare but her voice remained even, “No child deserves to die. No matter who their parents are.” “Sounds like someone’s a little bias.” Another voice heckled.

“Yeah, some villain kids are villain kids. Like Uma. She nearly destroyed us all!”

“She ruined my dress!” “I almost fell off the boat.” “And we’re going to let more of their kind come over?” “If.. if you all just look over to page 56 of the document, I detailed a plan for bringing them over and to prevent any incidents like Uma’s happening again. These kids just need guidence. And more importantly, food and shelter.” Evie tried to raise her voice but panic had overtaken the room and was getting to Ben too making the butterflies feel more like frantic bats scratching at his stomach.

It was happening again. Sweat began to drip down his neck and his trembling knees soon spread down the rest of his legs until he felt kike he was going to fall over. He couldn’t breath. He was losing control of the room and his body. Ben forced himself to breath through his nose though every one of his senses told him to run away while he still could.

Yet another feeling was rising beside the anxiety. The anger. The ferocious anger that made so many servants and even his mother fear his father. Why so many people still referred to him as the Beast.

The anger was unbecoming of a King but sometimes Ben clung to it. It was a strong force amid the tide of anxiety threatening to drown him. It made him feel in control, it helped him focus on getting everyone to shut up and listen!

“EVERYONE!” Ben bellowed into the microphone stunning the auditorium to silence.

“Everyone,” Ben repeated at a slightly lower volume but not bothering to hide the anger behind it, “It seems that no one here wants to act like the prince or princess they are and politely listen to Evie’s idea. Fine. You can all say whatever prejudiced arguments you want against the idea or why we should accept it. We will listen, we will take it under consideration. But I am King and I assure you, I plan to pass this law. It’s your choice if you want to read the document and understand all the facts and accept what is coming or you don’t have to. You can stew in your fear instead.”

No one seemed to know what to do or say and that loud silence was what snapped Ben back to his senses and realized what he had just done. He had lost control again. He acted immaturely and irrationally.

He acted like a little boy playing ruler instead of understanding the views and fears of the people he was serving. Even if he didn’t agree with some of them, he should have listened, not shut them down to get his own way.

Now he really wished he could run away but all he could do was cling to the podium and ask, “Please state any concerns or wishes you have for the program. In a civilized manner.”

He heard a voice clear his throat and a dark skinned hand wave in the air.

“Yes, Prince Thaddeus Thatch Nedakh,” Ben called, proud of himself for being able to pronunce the tricky Atlantean name correctly.

“I read through your document and I find it very well thought out. It really is a detailed plan that I think is doable,” Thaddeus said more to the rest of the audience’s benefit than to compliment Evie but Evie still beamed, “However, I feel.. That maybe it is too much to do at once. I mean, it’s just, your Majesty. You still have several problems to deal with within Auradon. Like the rampant tourism that is destroying Atlantica,”

“Here, here!” one of the mermaid’s daughters called out.

“The Magic Ban that is affected almost half of the population. We, at Atlantis need magic as our life source. We can’t hide it away or surpress it for the sake of Auradonian progress. It is part of our culture and heritage. You’re trying to make everything uniform and have our kingdoms subsumed into one another, but it can’t work that way for us.” Thaddeus stated, nervously swishing his white bangs.

“If I may add to that,” Prince Pachacuti bounced up, non-too discreetly squeezing his boyfriend’s hand in a show of support, “While we at Kuzcotopia appreciate your cool things like tvs and video games and smoothies, we don’t like you trying to get all grabby grabby with our gold. That’s ours. Also-”

“What Pach is trying to say,” Thaddeus interrupted before Pachacuti could go off topic like he was wont to do, “While helping kids is noble, there are still some things we need to fix here in Auradon before we help others, and we should devote our resources to that instead.”

“Thank you.” Evie nodded, “Anyone else.” It seemed Thaddeus and Pachacuti broke the ice for more hands raised this time but before Evie could call on anyone, Chad shouted his opinion again.

“They’re right. Auradon should be considered first. Our kingdoms, our families!” “Some of those trapped on the Isle are part of our family. Like your cousin, Dizzy, is she not?” Herkakleides jumped up before turning to the crowd, “My extended family wish to free Hadie and possibly even Hades from the Isle. They are our family and holding grudges usually leads to worse consequences. Trust us, the gods know a thing or two about grudges backfiring.”

His younger sister, Madora, stood up next,“Also, Aunt Persephone would truly love to be reuinted with her husband. Yes, what he did to our parents was wrong, but we believe in taking the higher road and a greater cause. I’m not suggesting we let all the adult villains free. But the god of death and the underworld provides a certain balance to the world that is needed.”

“I have something to add.” An older voice called.

“Yes,” Evie pointed. It was clear she was happy with the people standing up for her idea.

A prim older woman with striking dark eyebrows stood up. Lady Waltham ie Clayton’s sister. She was one of the ones who were to be sent to the Isle but she had recieved a formal pardon from the Tarzan-Porter family. Ever since then, she and her daughter, Dame Rebecca, had been the most vocal activists against the Isle and she often showed up at events like these if it was out of her way.

“I, too, wish to be reunited with my nephew. I can’t speak to letting my brother free. He had made his own choices. But Clay was born there among those savages and criminals and I know he has done nothing to deserve it. If he has murdered anyone or thing while he was on the Isle, I’m sure it was because he had to. If he had been allowed to grow up here, he wouldn’t have. The difference in lifestyle and upbringing would have made all the difference. So though I did not get my nephew back then, I still wish for him to come now. He and all the other Isle children. They should be free.” Lady Waltham proclaimed to applause and quite a few hises and boos.

“I have a counterargument.” Another british voice piped up, Victoria, Tarzan and Jane’s eldest daughter, “While it’s true some villain kids wouldn’t be so evil if they had been raised correctly from the beginning, who says we can change them now. They have been raised by the same villains that have tried to kill our families. Some haven’t tried, some succeeded like when Clayton killed Kerchak. And you’re right about grudges because if those same villains still hold grudges against us, they would pass those grudges against their children.”

“They raised them to be manipulative and decietful and evil. It’s merely a matter of security that we keep them at bay. Maybe we can’t help these children, but we can save their grandchildren. Taking those kids off the Isle now would be cruel to survivors. How would Queen Rapunzel like to deal with a little copy of her Mother dearest? Or Quasimoda and Esmeralda face another predatory figure in their life? No. No way! These kids should not be free.”

Jane stood up, the formerly shy fairy’s eyes were blazing, “How dare you say that when you know nothing about how they have been raised!”

Ben could see Evie tense up beside him and could imagine what she was thinking. And if he couldn’t imagine what Evie was thinking, he could see it plainly on Carlos’ harrowed face in the front row. Freddie Facilier looked ready to fight and Ben knew she was thinking about her own neglectful father while Ally patted her hand comfortingly.

Some children had been raised and encouraged to be copies of their parents like Mal and Evie. But others were considered burdans. Punching bags. Abused and neglected and all other awful sorts of things. Just to ignore their plight because of a few bad apples, it made him want to go Beast all over again. Maybe then they would know what fear was like because that’s how Carlos felt whenever Cruella yelled at him.

He had wanted Carlos to come up to speak and share his experiences to garner sympathy for the plan but he knew he couldn’t ask the boy that. The trauma was still personal and raw to him and it would be cruel for him to talk about it if he wasn’t ready which Carlos told him he wasn’t when Evie asked.

He supposed he could ask Evie but her story of being pressured by her mother was too similar to other princesses in Auradon like Audrey who were used to conforming and plucking for beauty.

He had to admit, Evie, Mal, and Jay did have tough lives. But it sounded a bit better than most. Their parents cared enough to give them food and encourage them to be the worst. None of theirs was a story of being a burdenful orphan.

Probably because those orphans were dead.

Another voice clearing her throat snapped Ben out of his reverie.

“Yes, Esmeralda.” “Thank you, your Majesty.” Esmeralda stood up with her shoulders back and proud gaze, “I would thank Victoria Porter to keep her opinion based on the stories that she know and not use mine to construct her argument. It is not her story to tell. While I do not want Frollo strolling around Auradon hurting other my people, I am for the children being removed from the Isle. It is a type of oppression to segregate and despise these kids simply because of who they belong to. If you truly want to prevent more Claude Frollos than open your heart to people who are not like you. Do not judge them as monsters, do not be cruel to those who are most in need of your help. That is true justice.”

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

“Meow.” Zevon meowed.

“Well I’ll admit, it’s anticlimatic but it was the best I could do on such short notice.” Calix said as he, Uma and Ginny stared at the small purple cat with a fitting leather jacket that was formerly the teenager known as Zevon.

“You can change people into animals!” Ginny screeched, clutching her hair like she thought he was about to turn it into a bunch of snakes or somethhing. Though he did muse on the idea a bit. She had the same screechy hiss Medusa did.

“Yeah I can, magic works here on the Isle. I can also hyptonize with my singing. Part siren.” Calix puffed his chest proudly, “And I am….Son of Circe. Patent pending.”

That was all Ginny needed to know because she ran into the nearest room and with the click of a lock they knew she wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

“Is he going to stay that way?” Uma asked reaching to pet Zevon but drew back when the kitten raised its hackles.

“Probably not since there are a bunch of people that can change him back here. But still… I thought it was poetic justice. Like a mother, like son.”

In more ways than one Calix mused to himself.

He remembered that changing people to animals was one of the firsy spells his mother taught. The one she was infamous for. Sort of his birthright.

Though what was more of a birthright was the right to have his mother with him. Wasn’t that the right of everyone in Auradon and on the Isle? Wasn’t that why Mother Gothel stealing Rapunzel was such a heinous crime. For the pain she caused King Fredric and Queen Arianna.

Did King Beast and his supporters think one second how it felt for Circe, a supposed villieness to have her son ripped away from her to live on this stinking wasteland. Or him, the innocent child, that had always depended on his mother to suddenly have the living with a family friend situation become permenant.

No.

It was all black and white for these guys. All or nothing. He always theorized that that was the reason why Auradonians were such prudes when it came to visiting Greece. The naked statues and stories of gods sleeping around and smiting was so scandalous and primitive to them. They didn’t get that there were shades of grey. Humans, gods, sorcerers, centaurs, whatever creature. They had their good and bad sides.

“Zevon what have we told you! No duels! We’re the ones in charge here!” A loud commanding voice called down the hallway, her shadow coming closer and closer and there was nowhere for them to hide without being heard or noticed.

The stunning yet imposing figure of Queen Nerissa appeared in front of them and for a moment. No one moved. She stared at them in shock then green fire burst from her mouth.

It was all so fast and the light blinded them that they could only see flashes of the fire that lit up the hallway, jumping from the torches and sparking on the bricks.

The flames licked their legs and Calix fell to the floor feeling the searing pain burn his pants only to feel more burns on his hands as he hit the floor.

He cautiously looked up to see that Queen Nerissa turned into a large purple dragon whose fangs came closer then he would have liked.

He raised his hand, a spell on his lips or a hypnotic song but his throat was closed. He couldn’t speak with the dry lump clogging his throat.

The dragon picked him up by the collar in a surprisingly gentle man compared to Uma who he heard a loud curse and looked behind to see her being picked up by the dragon’s tail uslessly throwing her captain hat out the window.

There was not much to do when Queen Nerissa literally had a big advantage over them but Calix did his best to memorize his surroundings if they ever escaped.

Instead of transforming back to a human at the door to the tower, Queen Nerissa unwisely stayed in her form, breaking the door’s frame as she squeezed her large body through it and lumbered down the stairs to the bottom floor. She broke through the iron door that led to the lowest floor which was the dungeon.

The room was damp, dark, mold growing on the brick walls. Standard dungeon aesthetic. Cells lining three walls of the room. It was surpriseingly full with what looked like corpses considering their opaque pallor but from the low, steady moaning and groaning it was clear that they were still alive prisoners. For now.

The sight made Calix feel queasy especially that of the cell he was staring directly in front of. It was a female form, he thought, under the shapeless bag of cloth. Her arms disjointed at odd angles and tied behind her head with iron chains connected to the wall. Her legs were not visible until he realized that there was a pool of blood where her legs must have been and made the connection of what must have happened.

The broken woman made Calix completely miss the two lone figure standing in the middle of the room. The tall, slender one was a man in a crisp new French Legion army outfit while the other was a teen boy, reaching up to the officer’s neck, in a silk white suit that seemed to sparkle against his combed ginger hair.

Both turned to witness Queen Nerissa’s entrence with them and smiled.

“New prisoners.” The general asked without much question in his voice. More like he was looking for confirmation to an obvious answer.

Queen Nerissa changed back to her human form, her jaws dropping Calix undignifedly to the ground with Uma.

“Possibly, Staquait. Their mothers will probably want to deal with them.” Queen Nerissa said and stalked out of the room.

There was no mistaking the groan of disappointment emitting from the ginger haired boy. It seemed out of place in this grim dungeon. Like he had just heard he wouldn’t get a new toy.

“Patience, Lars.” The officer glared at his charge, smacking the whip by his hip.

Uma growled under her breath at the name which brought the boy’s attention to them. Not a pleasent feeling.

He looked like an angry harpy to Calix. His eyes were cold like a bird of prey and full of crazed glee.

“Hello, Uma. Your friend Gil told me so much about you. Glowing compliments really. How brave you are, how smart you are. How strong and unbreakable ....” Calix waited for the inevitable “wham” line or classic villain threat. Quiet sadistic types like this guy always had some sort of line that was supposed to strike fear into their hearts.

It seemed Uma was waiting for the line too because she looked like she was surpressing a yawn. That earned a colder look in Lars’ eyes though his genial smile betrayed nothing that he was irrited by Uma’s lack of response.

“After hearing so much from Gil, I wondered. How strong and unbreakable are you? Physically, I mean. I’m sure you’re very emotionally tough dealing with the sea witch.”

“Tell me...How do you find the feel of a whip against your back?”

Uma made no response to Lars’ question, she stared straight ahead as if she hadn’t heard which Calix had a feeling wasn’t going to fly with Lars. He was going to continue prodding until Uma snapped or answered the question.

So he answered for him, as cheerful a voice as he could muster, “Strangely titilating.”

Staqauit who had wandered away from the tension between the three to obsserve some poor prisoner struggling with a heavy rock on his chest, came back to watch the proceedings that elicited such a strange response.

Lars’ eyes were truly expressive, Calix thought to himself. They showed everything the boy was thinking even when his face was frozen in a semi-permenant smile.

“Titilating?” “Yes. I’ve been experimenting with whip play with my partners. Usually I’ve been dominant but then I decided I would give it a try and It. Feels. Wonderful!” Staqauit and Lars looked at each other as if they weren’t sure what to make of his answer. If he was being genuine or lying his ass off.

Calix bit the inside of cheek to keep from smiling too much. That might make them think he was bluffing when he really wasn’t. Usually the titillation depended on whether the other person knew what he or she or they was doing.

But it was certainly fun catching the villains off guard like this. He had always wondered about those wise cracking heroes. How they were always able to make a joke or insult their nemesis when their very lives were at stake.

Nos he understood why they did it. It was fun being a troll.

Sitting himself up in a cross-legged position Calix continued with his solo conversation, thinking of everything he usually did during his date nights. “I also enjoy the flogging. So if you’re going to do the flogging, I would like to be told ahead of time so I could whip up some oils for aftercare.”

“Where is he?” A breathless voice came from the doorway.

Calix and Uma turned simulatenously to see Circe and Ursula entering the room.

Calix’s heart lept into his throat and all thoughts of trolling and whipping and the Isle and danger faded away.

It was his mom!

Calix ran to her, ignoring the pain shooting up his legs, pressing his face against her shoulder to hide the tears that were forming. She smelled just the same. Of sea salt and magic sulfur from her potions. And she felt the same. Warm. Oh so warm. He hadn’t hugged her much, he thought he was too old for that, but it had been what he had missed most when she was gone. Hugging her, he felt safe and loved and he didn’t care if the castle burned to the ground around them or if Auradon was invaded. He had his mom again.

“Calix” Circe said that one name, but all the emotion behind it said everything he needed to know. She missed him too and the months apart had been unbearable.

“You’re certainly not punishing my son for coming over to join me as he should.” Circe announced, glaring at Staqauit who scowled in response to the sorceress.

“And why are you hanging about here? You should be at the Fish and Chip Shoppe taking orders.” Ursula barreled past Calix and his mom, poking her tentacles at Uma’s chest accusingly.

“While you’re here trying to get off of the Isle? Mom, this is what I’ve been trying to do all along. Get off the Isle. I should be a part of this.” Uma declared, smacking the tentacle away from her.

“That’s not what I’ve heard. Even after you failed at those Auradonian’s stupid Cotillion, and ran off, I’ve heard you’ve come back just to try to hire one of the mercenaries to infiltrate. Go against us. Care to explain?” Ursula cracked her neck, looking at her daughter knowingly.

Uma didn’t look like she was about to answer but she sighed, “I.. I want to help the children here. The Coven.. I know what you’re doing is good but you’re making things worse for the people who don’t have powers.” “She sounds like a sweet princess. All caring and nice.” Lars laughed earning him a slap for Ursula before she turned to her daughter, moving around her until the girl was firmly tangled in her mother’s many tentacles.

“Ah yes, I know you care about those poor unfortunate souls but that’s the way it is with some people. After all, we need someone to be our servants. They don’t have powers, what else are you going to do with their lives.” “By forcing them to work.” Uma retorted.

“Like I forced you to work.” Ursula stated, “That was a good thing. I made you strong. I made you a fighter because I made you do things on your own. Don’t act like it’s a bad thing.” “Yeah I worked. Cleaned your shop while you watched soaps.” Uma snapped.

“You ingrate!”

“Stop there, you wench!” A scottish brough shoved past Calix and Circe and menancingly pointed his hook at Ursula and throwing Uma’s captain hat back to her.

“We better get out of here.” Circe motioned but Calix stood still. Now that he was reunited with mom they all could really get to business and defeat the Coven. Starting with putting Ursula, Staqauit and Lars out of comission.” “Come on, let’s blast them while they’re distracted.” Calix urged seeing as Ursula was busy batting off Harry’s hook and Staqauit and Lars had turned to attend their prisoners. However, Circe pulled him back.

“We can’t do that. We’re working with them.” Circe hissed.

“Wait you’re actually working with them to take over Auradon? But I’m here with you now. You don’t have to act like the bad guy.” Calix protested.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. I’ll explain it to you later. Let’s just go.” Circe said.

“But..”

“Everyone stop!”

In strode Queen La, holding her shame-faced daughter by the wrist and two spears and staffs with the other hand. “It seems the children want to stop our plans. Well I made a deal with my daughter. A duel between us. If I win, you all submit to us. If Ranavalalona wins, we’ll let you go plot from afar but I really doubt you’d succeed in anything.”

“No! We all duel or nnothing!” Harry snarled, lunging to attack the Queen but Staqauit, Ursula and Lars teamed to subdue him and wrestled him to the ground, giving Calix a clear sight of the poor prisoner that had been struggling under the rock.

Though he couldn’t see his face, he recognized the black wavy hair. Aziz.

Calix wanted to move away like his mom was urging him. He wanted to fight like his brain was screaming at him.

But he couldn’t do anything but watch.

Lala and La took their places at opposite sides of the room and ran to attack each other. Kicks and jumps beat fast between them like a fatal dance, and sparks flew whenever their spears clashed against the other. The only sound being grunts and growls and the occasional cat like screech set the cage battle atmosphere.

They seemed evenly matched with whenever the older woman hit her daughter back, Lala would retaliate with a feigned right, swinging up to catch a rotting ceiling plank to kick her mother’s chest, sending the woman across the room.

Then everything went downhill.

Their spears had been broken and discarded and Lala had her mother pinned against the wall after almost knocking her out with a headbutt.

But the wooziness was faked for La straightened up and punched her daughter in the throat. Lala fell back, choking and La made her move.

Hitting again at the sensitive throat she grabbed Lala by the neck and threw her to the ground. Calix was sure that Lala’s neck would have snapped but the girl moved just in time to go along with the blow.

With Lala on her stomach, scrambling to get back to her feet, Queen La pounced on her back and pulled both of Lala’s arms back just as the jungle girl had done to him when they first encountered her.

He grimaced with sympathy pain remembering how she had pulled his muscle unmercifully from the joint that it was connected to.

“Mother!”

La stopped and Calix hung his head in defeat. It was official.

But La wasn’t done.

She let go of Lala’s arms and allowed her to turn to her back and proceed to press her foot against her daughter’s neck.

“Mot-ugh-Mo--Mercy. Please!” Lala wheezed, grabbing desperately at the ground and her mother’s leg but La just glared.

La crouched down, not removing her foot from her daughter’s neck and bent to whisper something. Then she finished her off by knocking her unconscious.

“Staqauit, the isolation cell is where?” Queen La asked, hefting her daughter on her back.

“I’ll lead you to it.” Staqauit lended the jungle queen his arm and they walked off.

“Come you two. I have some plans for what you two can do for me.” Ursula said leading Harry and Uma away.

“Come on, Calix.” Circe whispered solomnly and Calix allowed himself to be moved away from the dungeon. The last sight being Lars’ smile.

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historyrepeatsitself · 5 years ago

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modern au headcanons p2

hey guys, so after uhh everything crashed and burned as u can see from this post, i did not follow thru in good time with writing a modern au headcanon post… BUT!!! fortunately, i have returned from my semi hiatus to bring you… inspired by this OG post… httyd modern au headcanons part 2!!!

also sorry for the weird bullet points, i did this in microsoft word so the entire thing wouldnt fucKING DELETE AGAIN

· so like i said with the last one, cami is obviously internet famous for her ridiculously cool youtube channel

· shes also quite popular on insta but youtube is more her jam

· her fame started when a video of her pickpocketing stoick and them him finding out and absolutely Losing It went viral

· it was a vine

· you can hear hiccup laughing in the background

· her videos used to mainly feature pranks she did but since then shes branched out

· she still does a lot of pranks but now her videos also include: parkour, absolutely HORRIBLE karaoke (ft. hiccup and fishlegs), Q&A, playing with toothless for an hour and thirty minutes (yes, it did get a lot of views ((also toothless is a cat in this au))), roast battle vs snotlout (spoiler: snotlout cries), “a compilation of hiccup doing nerdy shit and me calling him a nerd (8 min, 30 sec)”, “reading yalls fanfiction abt me (fishlegs has an asthma attack)”, videos of her doing sports, & more

· like in the original hiccup and fishlegs have their own channel

· its literally shit

· they update it only on lethal amounts of caffeine

· its usually VERY active during finals week (hence their not great grades)

· it puts shane dawson to shame

· “NOT CLICKBATE: OBAMA IS FROM THE MOON????”

· “NEIL A IS ALIEN SPELLED BACKWARDS??? DID ARMSTRONG USE THE MOON AS A WAY TO FUEL UP BEFORE JUMPING BACK TO HIS COLONY ON MARS??”

· “MY CAT IS NOT FROM EARTH (VIDEO INCLUDED!!!!)”

· “got rejected again…. </3”

· “video of fishlegs on sugar high after i gave him a bunch of candy bc he wouldn’t stop crying”

· “kids from our school found us” (during the whole video theyre panicking while wearing wigs and fake mustaches)

· needless to say its very confusing when someone connects that those guys are also on cami’s channel

· shes pissed but comes around and they regularly star on her channel while she regularly stars on theirs

· hiccup also has his own side channel where he explains different animal species (natural history stuff) and also does various language tutorials

· fishlegs reads poetry and sings on his side channel

· cami has a video where she reacts to hiccup’s channel, he actually gained a lot of followers from it

· hiccup and fishlegs go to the same school while cami goes to an all girls school across town

· she actually doesn’t hate it

· hiccup and fishlegs are public school kids

· that public school vibe

· kids from their school are so confused how they know cami and rly jealous

· cami once stopped by after school (her school gets out a little earlier) and punched a bully for them

· it was iconic

· she smacked him right in the face and hauled hiccup’s ass up and dragged them both in the car

· cami is pretty popular at her school

· hiccup and fishlegs are NOT

· theyre honestly a bit like peter and ned from spiderman

· gotta love that lego deathstar

· cami does not like legos

· both hiccup and fishlegs are smart but don’t put in a lot of effort

· fishlegs excels at English and hiccup is good at science classes (esp bio) and history

· fishlegs is ok at history but finds some of it a little boring

· they HATE gym

· theyre both shocked to find that cami (a dumbassTM) is actually a straight A student

· shes super competitive so she actually does super well and gets rly rly good grades and all her teachers love her

· she didn’t for awhile bc she has ADHD for school was HARD but shes gotten a lot better and got tutors and study methods and also shes just super competitive

· she was on math team in middle school and hiccup wont SHUt Up about IT

· “hey theres my favorite student mathlete!!!!!”

· fishlegs doesn’t even try and help him anymore, he does this to himself

· fishlegs wins English awards every year

· he also got a 36 on his English ACT hes just SO GOOD

· hes also a theatre kid lmao

· he does shakespearean theatre on top of his school theatre too

· “to be or not To Be”

· Hiccups not a huge English fan and he doesn’t rly like Shakespeare but he does rly like Oscar wilde

· Dorian gray is the Shit

· Fishlegs was so happy when he read it bc they could finally talk about LiTeRaRy ClAsSiCs!!!

· the trio met bc hiccup and cami’s parents own rival business companies

· both stoick and bertha are very Rich and Important

· hiccup and cami sometimes have to go to business dinners

· they fuck around

· that’s how they met

· hiccup bumped into cami replacing the soap in the hand dispenser in the men’s room with silly string

· he thought she was the coolest person ever

· she tried to fight him at first but they quickly united against the Evil Boring Dinners With Stupid Old Men

· they locked this one old racist dude in a bathroom stall once and sent fishlegs a video

· truly forces of chaos

· the forces of chaos were unfortunately grounded for that tho

· stoick is very busy and valhallarama travels a lot so they hang out at hiccup’s bc its usually empty (cami’s house is also kinda far)

· cami’s parents are divorced but her dad stops by occasionally

· fishlegs has a foster family and that’s how he wound up meeting hiccup was when he moved to be with his new family when they were in second grade

· hes rly grateful that hes been able to stay with them for a long ass time

· theyre actually pretty nice

· hiccup gets to come over for dinner

· snotlout is hiccup’s bitchy cousin whos a grade ahead of hiccup and fishlegs

· he eventually becomes nicer to them at the beginning of sophomore year

· some bad stuff happens (might write an angst fanfic idk lemme know (itll prolly be hiccup centric))

· basically, snotlout kinda realizes hes been a bitch

· hes sorry

· things get better

· until yknow

· gotta keep things sad cant get rid of all the emo

· but anyway snotlout does wind up becoming a good friend to the trio!! <3

· oh lmao when valhallarama came home for Christmas she thought hiccup was either dating cami or fishlegs and she didn’t know which one bc hiccup was so shy she just figured he was dating one of them and just didn’t tell her (theyre all like super close yknow)

· after seeing hiccup and cami holding hands (a RARE moment, it was bc they thought it would annoy snotlout bc he hates cami (it did)) she assumed it was cami

· she brought it up

· LMFAOOOO hiccup laughed for like 10 minutes

· She then immediately was like oh ok ur gay and its fishlegs

· that was even funnier

· “mom fishlegs is weird lmao” (he and fishlegs probably friendly roast each other a lot tbh. they definitely call each other “weirdo” “freak” “nerd” other possibly explicit words, its chill)

· Valhallarama is so confused

· she didn’t say it but “child u literally told me that u thought ur little cat that’s missing teeth is prolly from area 51, ur the weird one son”

· she asks stoick

· hes just as confused

· she drops the whole topic

· it has yet to occur to bertha

· fishlegs’ family is good as long as hes good theyre chill like that

· oh and cami’s school has uniforms

· yes, she does have to wear a skirt

· yes, several of them were shredded freshman year

· bertha is So Tired

#httyd #httyd books #httyd headcanon #httyd book headcanon #modern au #httyd book au #httyd au #httyd modern au p2 #hiccup #camicazi #fishlegs #toothless #stoick #big bertha #valhallarama

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finalfantasyxivwritings · 5 years ago

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Echoes of Mortality

AO3 Version

Relationship: Silence/Reader/Indulgence (OCs)

Rating: Teen

Summary: It's been a long time since the Lightwardens Indulgence and Silence have understood what it meant to be alive. Despite this, they've found feelings in but one fragile mortal who serves to remind them of who they once were, if only vaguely. It is through that mortal's kindness that they are anchored to the world anymore--and for them, the wardens would do anything to keep their mortal safe and happy

....even if it means they have to wait outside a city, allowing their mortal but a short excursion among their own kind.

More information: Silence (Samilen) | Indulgence (Khalja)

It’s late into the evening, though anyone may be hard-pressed to notice that by a simple glance up towards the sky. Where once-fabled darkness may have filled one horizon to the next, there’s nothing but washed out brightness that echoes across the thicket of ethereal clouds–it’s as bright as it would be at noon, with yet the only difference between the times being the mild chill on the air and a lack of people shuffling in the streets.

Despite the seeming freeze of time, mortals are yet stubborn to their habits.

‘I hate this.’

The words come unspoken from a form that stands under the eaves of a building, one of several that lay abandoned on the outskirts of the settlement, where next to nobody would think to travel–especially not when so many sin eaters were readied for any excuse to hunt. The form is humanoid, but it’s hard to pick out any detail beneath the thick cloak that covers their body.

The only point of detail that can be seen comes but in the moments when their hands slip out of the cloak and gestures in what some may know as handspeak.

A chuckle comes at a response to the silent words from the form’s partner, another cloak-covered shape that stands against the wall of a second building so close to the former that the two nameless forms are in relative shade despite the everburning light above them.

“And yet here you are,” the second form but purrs, having to duck their head slightly to be level with the first. “Though, I see not why you could hate these moments–do you not even mildly lust for the feeling of being alive again?”

‘I am alive right now,’ the first signs with motions nearly as sharp as the metal clawed gauntlets over their fingers. ‘It is mortality you speak of so fondly, which you are quick to forget all of the pain that came with it.’

“Worthwhile flaws, of course.”

A breeze flutters through the space between the two buildings, gently catching on the hoods of both shapes and offering but a glance at the faces hidden in darkness.

To the ignorant, both appear as if living marble statues. Their skin is pale, bleached completely of any color that may have once resided. It is so bright, in fact, that it gives off a vague glow, as if their very flesh is wont to revel in the very light they hide from.

The first form, a head shorter than their partner, turns a gaze towards them.

From beneath the hood, a pair of golden eyes burn as hot as the sun, irises laid upon a backdrop of ink that contrasts starkly with the empty white of their skin.

‘There is but one mortal worthy of our time and attention now.’

It’s hard to read the expression upon their face, especially when the words are communicated through silent motion alone. Still, the second form offers but another chuckle–the noise sounds inhuman, a rumble as strong as thunder that is somehow contained within their ribcage.

“You need not explain that to me, Silence.”

‘When your obsessions seem to lie elsewhere, I question that.’ The hard gaze of the now named form, Silence, turns back outside of the shaded alley. Searching. ‘I hate having to conceal my light.’

“You would do well to do it more often, my fellow warden,” says the other. “You would be far more comfortable with practice, and then you would be able to join our dear mortal more often–how you not tire of that drab cave I haven’t the slightest clue.”

Even from beneath the thick cloak, one might even be able to see a faint glow rise and fall with the creature’s amusement.

Silence tries not to listen despite there being some vague truth in the others words. As much as he would like to deny any length of connection to his past mortal life, some habits truly could not be killed in the transformation that ascended him to he creature he is now.

A monster, some may even say, and Silence would not be one to disagree with the accuracy in it.

Still, the words yet catch on nerves. He turns his burning gaze to meet with a set of eyes, equally bright in the colors of polished emeralds. Though he is forced to restrain some level of fury in his motions for the sake of letting his light leak for form break, it’s not difficult in the slightest to see his normally-cold expression crack.

‘So says the warden named for his craven search of debauchery. Indulgence. I dare think you would even have your way with our mortal in the center of this town if they would but allow it.’

The taller of the forms says nothing, though the smirk along his snow-white lips is all the answer needed to confirm the accusation–as well as show for his infamous lack of shame in it.

It’s not worth a fight, though Silence assumes his fellow lightwarden is getting more amusement out of it than anything. As a statement, he crosses his arms within the sweet concealing embrace of the cloak, mind finally wandering back to the thoughts of the one mortal he and Indulgence were yet waiting on.

How long did they need to purchase food? Wasn’t all sustenance the same? It had been so many years since Silence had yet breathed air, so many moons since he could recall feeling a heartbeat, the warmth of the sun upon his now stone-cold flesh.

Perhaps that is where Indulgence holds truth. Maybe, in some regard, there is the faintest cloying desire to feel it again; mortality, being alive in a way that set him apart from his current twisted form. To eat and drink and enjoy the foolish notions of hope and courage and sacrifice.

Maybe, in a fashion, it is why his obsessive desire for the mortal runs so deeply. Why he frets over them, lusts for them, wants to curl his entire being around their soft and fragile form and keep the entire world from even tainting their soul with its cruel nature.

Indulgence may remember much of the good in his past life, but Silence too remembers much of the bad. The trauma, he pain, the endless cycle of death and sacrifice that made no dent in the history he sought to change. The shorter of the two lightwardens is glad that the other hasn’t yet asked about the guilt that yet lingers deep within his breast, an emotion that has never once left him no matter how long he’s existed as a blighted creature of holy influence.

It is as much his own emotion as it isn’t–Samilen Jawantal is a name he but barely remembers, just in kind as much of the man’s memories. They are there in his soulless body, but faint, like old dreams long forgotten in the hours of wakefullness. Silence is sure that his fellow lightwarden must have similar experiences to his past life as a warrior as Khalja Kahkol, but the topic has never been brought up for them to discuss at length.

And Silence doesn’t want it to disturb their mortal.

Still so gentle, so loving, so very fragile in mind and body both and yet with a glorious well of aether untainted by the twisted and deformed world around them.

They are the only reason Silence hasn’t tried to rid the emotions and memories through the spilling of blood. The only reason he hasn’t tried to cleanse the world of its sin, to swallow it entirely in the burning embrace of light. They are the one reason that mortality is yet a mystery to him, for how could such creatures birth such wonder and beauty?

For a once-man who prizes knowledge and logic and the knowing of all things he can wrap his timeless self around, the answer yet escapes him. The purpose, the reason, the point is beyond his godly grasp.

“Silence,” the sound of Indulgence’s vaguely inhuman voice catches the warden’s attention, pulling him from deep in decade’s old thoughts. “I believe they are finishing their lovely little errands of sorts. I can sense their sweetness growing closer.”

‘Then let us leave this place,’ Silence motions with his hands, the vague shape of Miqo’te ears flicking somewhere beneath the hood. ‘I grow weary of being near such a cluster of noise and futility.’

They leave from where they are hidden, timing near-perfect as you come hurrying down the messy dirt road, a full basket clutched tight to your body and somewhat overfilled with goods.

“Sorrysorrysorry-” your words run into one another so that it sounds like one noise, a look of worry laden in your eyes. “I know you gave me only a bell, but there was a new merchant in town and I got distracted and-”

“Shush,” Indulgence coos, silencing your words and bringing a softness to your expression. “A few extra moments of discomfort is worth the joy it brought you.”

Silence says nothing, nor does he make any motions with his hands. You may say that the warden looks annoyed, but it’s hard to say for certain when his expression is always rather unreadable with half of his face constantly hidden beneath a mask of metal.

He but looks at you with those eyes of burning gold, ones you once heard about burning men with but a single glance. Though you don’t feel even the slightest tinge of fire upon your skin, you do feel a blooming warmth in your belly from the attention–the weight of the gaze brings forth a great many feelings, if only because you can yet sweetly remember how the creature held you in his arms the night prior, promising you in the embrace of climax that you would be allowed an hour among your people.

Mortals, as the wardens oft referred to them.

His eyes linger for a moment, then flick towards your hands.

“What is it that you’re holding, dear one?” Indulgence asks, approaching you gently, his height seeming to tower over you even when in his echoed form. Perhaps it is the fact that he cannot change the lifeless white of his skin, or the burning brightness of his eyes, things that showcase their otherness even without their size, glow and ethereal wings.

You suddenly remember yourself and fumble for words.

“Oh! That merchant I spoke about–they….they were trying to sell some flowers they managed to grow and….”

Nervously, you hold out one of your hands; clutched against your palm are but two simple flowers, old names lost to time when so rarely are they able to grow in the nutrient-scarce soil. They are half-withered, but yet they peak with colorful petals and strong stalks that allow both Indulgence and Silence to see how they must have but recently bloomed.

Silence’s eyes widen for but a fraction of a moment at the gesture, but it is Indulgence who response first; the once Au Ra reaches his hands out to gently hold your fist within them, as if he was cupping something fragile.

“Your kindness is hardly worthy for creatures like us,” he murmurs, eyes half-lidded and staring at the flowers for a few moments. Despite how he touches your skin, you notice that he does not touch the flowers directly in any way. “We will find a place for them to live their last days when we return home.”

You feel heat start to gather over your cheeks, but you’re not given more than a few moments to consider the feeling before both wardens move; Indulgence takes the basket with a gentle care, while Silence pulls you into his arms though careful of the cold touch of his claws as they wrap around your form.

He doesn’t look at you as the wardens all but disappear into the light-washed lands.

Still, even as the two creatures shed their cloaks and retake their true forms, even when they appear not even minutely mortal, even as they glow in layers of ethereal light-bleached aether, you swear you can see the faintest touch of a blush somewhere along the top of Silence’s cheeks.

Though monsters as they may be, there was but a shred of who they once were still left–and moments like this prove it to you.

#ffxiv #lightwarden au #writing #samilen readerinsert #khalja readerinsert #silence readerinsert #indulgence readerinsert #poly samikhalja #poly samikhalja readerinsert #sfw #sfw readerinsert #oof #poly silgence #poly silgence readerinsert #i'll settle on tags eventually #shb spoilers #shadowbringers spoilers #5.0 spoilers #I GOT RLY INSPIRED ALRIGHT CAN U BLAME ME

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dimples-of-discontent · 7 years ago

Note

(part 1) im gonna preface by saying sorry if you've answered this before or it's obvious, but I wanted your opinion on something. I can't really read Misha at all when it comes to Destiel. I wanted to know if you think Misha plays Cas as being in love with Dean? Do you think Misha sees that relationship or is too in the moment to view it the way we do (similar to Jensen). I'm asking because I know he has gotten questions about it before and something that is obvious 9/10 times when he answers...

(part 2) is that he turns it into something sexual. I know he obviously wont say either way whether for higher up backlash or simply because he’s Misha, but I never got if that is just his wink wink to the fans because he’s supportive of our beliefs or he thinks that we only see sex so he’s like yeah perverts. He genuinely seems insightful at times and I do love the way he has described their relationship on several occasions. i know a few years ago there was a moment where, if i remember…

(part 3) correctly might have been one of the only times he answered without really joking? he seemed incredibly in tune with the audience talking about it but there seemed to be a sad/awkward air to his words. most of the things i have seen are from a few years ago though (pre-season 11) and we have gotten some incredibly deep destiel scenes since then so I guess im asking if you think he sees it, if so, when he might have started, if he thinks it now, if he thinks its just sexual, ect. thanks!“

Hi Nonnie,

First off, it sounds like you actually know a whole heck of a lot about Misha’s take on Destiel so I’m flattered that you would ask for my opinion on it too. I haven’t formulated a whole post about it, though I have reblogged and commented on some really great ones that I will also link you to here.

I think it’s important to distinguish between Misha’s take on whether it is an intentional part of the show (do the writers write it that way? do he and Jensen play it that way?) vs. his response to fanfic and fandom commentary on Destiel. About the second, he tends to wear his snarky persona and call us perverts and joke about how “me and Jensen write most of that stuff anyway.” That’s easier. It’s a deflection. If faced with a question about intentionality and whether he thinks that the show has been amping up the romance tropes, it’s far safer to instead talk about the fan response and how “I would never have imagined seeing myself depicted giving so many blowjobs.” How much Cas fanart have you looked up Misha? FFS!

So when, as you say, he immediately jumps to making things sexual I don’t at all think that it’s because he thinks that accurately reflects the way the character is written or how he plays him. After all, as recently as S10 he had Cas stare at a porn site and say, bemusedly, “What is ‘Fortune Nookie’?” (10x03). In 13x21 Cas was obviously embarrassed both by and about Gabriel and Rowena. And, as we learned from S12, the sacred oath that forbids human-angel sex must be very much on his mind. Now, some of us are of the opinion that this season in particular has been revealing Cas to have some understanding of or interest in sex even as an angel but YMMV on that one. But it’s safe to say that no matter how many jokes Misha makes about Cas being a creeper and perving on Dean he knows that that isn’t in the show. He’s responding to a particular, over-exaggerated fan version of Destiel. And he’s doing it because it’s safe.

It’s actually Misha’s standard deflection now because, in my opinion, not only do they want to avoid pissing people off but they are all bound by NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) of some kind when it comes to the actual show…but not when it comes to the fans. So he can say whatever he likes about fanfic or fanart or “what goes on on oil rigs” and neither risk offending people as deeply (since he’s clearly joking around) nor violating any contracts. I don’t know if he really thinks that all fanworks are all about sex. I think….perhaps. And, honestly, given the kinds of things people bring to cons for them to sign I can’t blame him. The linked post also shows how totally ok both he and Jensen are with smutty fanart, as does the infamous Cockles video that I’m adding here because, well, why not:

youtube

If you can’t hear the audio it’s Jensen describing two different pieces of fanart that they signed, one of which they drew penises on the other of which was already nsfw that he captioned, and laughing about it and draping himself all over Misha ew.

But back to your original question, which was whether Misha plays Cas as being in love with Dean or sees that relationship as inherently romantic. I’m actually just going to flat out answer: he does. Misha is an intelligent and sensitive reader (which is not to say the other actors, especially Jensen, are not but that Misha approaches the script as a reader in a way I don’t think Jensen does because his process is so different). I believe Misha has always seen that in the character. As @amwritingmeta discusses in this epic post on Jensen, Destiel, and Dean’s bisexuality:

“Misha started out talking rather openly about how Destiel is an intentional part of the narrative - almost going so far as to get pissy about how this was even a question, if rumours are to be believed - then less openly, until he, as early as last year, was scuttling around the Destiel question like it was on fire. Why? I would venture a complete guess and say that it’s most likely to do with all the negativity thrown his way whenever he’s engaged with it, accusations of queerbaiting flying at him and the show, when this couldn’t be farther away from what they’ve actually been doing all these years, delivering a narrative the likes of which has never been seen on television before.”

Comments he made about his initial decisions, staring at Jensen “as if I was looking into his soul”, and the teasing that he garnered, “We’re missing the gay angel,” indicate that he–and Jensen, fwiw–were fully aware of the homoerotic aspects of the character and his portrayal.

I think that the convention clip you’re thinking of might be this one from NJcon 2013 where Misha first says that he ought not to talk about it but then goes on to say that there is a “very profound bond” but that “I will leave you to read into that what you will�� and remarks that he doesn’t want to be accused of queerbaiting, which he felt was unfair because he is such a supporter for the LGBTQ community overall. He’s absolutely sad there. He concludes by saying “It’s a lot of things. It’s deep and meaningful, you know. Is it love? Probably. What does that mean? It’s a million different things. I don’t know” which then becomes a joke about “you know, my boyfriend is a wavelength of celestial intent.” He ends by saying outright that “They love each other” before adding “but it’s purely sexual.” That backtracking is frustrating but totally characteristic because otherwise it’s just too definitive. (I’m gonna keep my tinhat in the closet on this one but I can’t help but murmur about actor bleed.)

By 2016, at DCcon, he was delighted to get out of the Destiel question by having West throw balls at him. He talks about how he was discouraged from even mentioning that relationship when he came on the show and how he then flouted that rule because he didn’t see the point. The implication, though, is that he now does see why he shouldn’t discuss it and I can only imagine that a lot of it has to do with the vitriol that often came his way. Most of his answer is a joke on this panel, “How would you approach it if it happened” becomes “face-forward” and “How would you set the scene” becomes a seduction joke. Rich and Rob are there to help out and keep the carnival atmosphere going. (Cockles sidebar: I had never noticed that he answers the question of “How would you set the scene” with “In another language; in Russian.” CAN YOU SAY ACCENT KINK??) That’s a huge difference from 2013′s serious answer, though it’s not easy to tell whether that change is due to something contractural about the show or Misha’s own desire to avoid upset. I kind of think the second.

His most recent comments are from Seacon 2018 where he says that he could “go on and on and on” with his thoughts about Destiel and that he and Jensen do have conversations about it. He again uses it as an opportunity to talk about the fandom response and reflect on changes in attitude within the fandom not on the show…which is interesting, of course, but not really what we are fishing for. As he says at the end he gets in trouble with someone no matter what he says on the topic. And then he will deflect with a joke (”Jensen and I don’t write a ton of Destiel fanfic”) before giving us a tiny glimmer of hope (”because we live it all the time”). The whole cast is certainly much more open about it than they used to be, even Jensen. And I’m not sure whether or not that can be attributed to the deeper Destiel scenes you mention or not. I do think it would become much harder for them to deny the existence of a romantic element and that the way they are coping with that is pure humor.

I hope that helps a little. It’s a very complex question, since it’s bound up with so many other things about the show and about Misha’s character and his relationship to the fans. (I have tags for both “misha and destiel” and “misha about destiel” if you want more.) I agree with you that he is the most in tune with the fan view of the relationship and supportive of it as an interpretation. I think he’s either not legally able to say more about it or, perhaps, is too conditioned not to by previous negative reactions from the fans. His jokes that make it sexual, or refer to fandom and not the show, are simply a clever deflection and one which he does much better than either Jared or Jensen (though Jensen has learned from Misha and gotten markedly less defensive in general, e.g. “There will now be fanfiction written about what goes on on oil rigs” “Don’t let us down”).

My gut feeling is that, yes, Misha has seen the romantic element since Day 1 and that lines like “I love you. I love all of you” and “I know who you love” confirm for him that it is there for Cas. I think that he supports that reading of their relationship but we will likely never get to hear him say that…unless something miraculous happens on the show so that he feels free to.

#asks #misha and destiel #misha about destiel #seacon 2018 #njcon 2013 #dccon 2016 #misha about fanfic #misha and fanart #misha and fandom #destiel and cockles #cockles and destiel #jensen and destiel #because it's in there a little #my thoughts #misha feels #tiny bit of #rps for ts

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perfectirishgifts · 4 years ago

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Barking Commands At A Self-Driving Car Won’t Do You Any Good

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/barking-commands-at-a-self-driving-car-wont-do-you-any-good/

Barking Commands At A Self-Driving Car Won’t Do You Any Good

Verbal commands can save lives, including for self-driving cars.

The powerful impact of the spoken word.

I was in a local park the other day and someone had let their dog off its leash, allowing the frisky pooch a chance to run around wildly and relish its newfound freedom. At one point, I saw that the canine was about to dart wantonly into the street where cars were zipping along, so I yelled out to the dog and called for it to come back towards the trees and grassy area. Thankfully, the pooch heard me and scooted away from the dangers of the busy byway.

Later that same day, I was walking along on the sidewalk in my neighborhood and saw up ahead a car that was backing out of a driveway. Meanwhile, seemingly unbeknownst to the driver, a child was riding a tricycle down the sidewalk and was inevitably going to end-up directly behind the car, for which I doubted that the driver would realize, and thus there was an imminent and painful encounter about to occur. The driver’s window was slightly rolled down, so I yelled out to come to a stop, and the driver did so. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the youngster continued peddling unabated.

What do these two incidents have in common?

Sometimes the barking out of a verbal command can make a difference, a big difference, including the possibility of choosing between life and death.

Both of the incidents became non-incidents in the sense that nobody got hurt and the world kept revolving without anyone getting injured or killed. Since these non-incidents did not produce fatalities or severities, they pretty much would be considered mundane and unworthy of any news media attention. No one would ever know that the yelling out of a type of command or instruction had saved a child and likewise saved someone’s beloved pooch. Just an ordinary activity that had extraordinary and joyful outcomes.

There are some noteworthy characteristics underlying these verbal commands.

First, the command or instruction had to be short and sweet, quickly getting to the point and being abundantly clear cut as to the meaning of what was spoken. This was not the time or place to provide a lengthy soliloquy or quote eloquently from Shakespeare.

The verbalization had to be done with a semblance of strength and conviction. Doing so allows the receiver of the oral indication to realize, nearly immediately, something of great importance that requires their rapt attention. Furthermore, the vocalizing has to be directed towards the subject or target, otherwise, the intended receiver might not sense that the words are aimed at them. Imagine that if I had yelled straight up into the air the resulting confusion on the part of the receivers. They would not likely have realized that my messaging was specifically for them.

An act of this kind also tends to occur in a real-time situation whereby there can be little or no delay. If I had waited to yell out my commands there was a heightened chance that the driver would not have stopped in time, and similarly, an increased chance that the dog would have entered into the street and been in the midst of grave danger.

All told, the verbalization has to happen at the right time, in the right place, aimed at the right receiver, worded in the right way, spoken in a loud and commanding tone, and proffer a succinct and actionable warning or recommended action that will prevent a pending and looming disaster from occurring.

Wow, that’s a lot of stuff jammed into a brief moment of time and without any room for error or delay. And yet it seems likely that this kind of activity happens all the time, all around us, and we do not particularly give it much notice or credit. Sure, from time to time there are stories about someone that heroically saved a life by a verbalized command, but by-and-large this is an unheralded act and one that goes on daily without fanfare or limelight.

The other side of the equation about uttering such verbal commands is that the targeted receiver has to be receptive to the utterance.

Consider the instance of the driver backing up his car. Had his driver’s side window not been partially open, I doubt that he would have heard my exhortation. Most cars these days have car interiors so well-built that any noise from outside of the vehicle is essentially muted. The odds are that my yelling would have been entirely rebuffed by modern-day soundproofing. I shudder to think of what would have taken place and how chilling it would be to know that my attempts to avert calamity were for not.

Of course, the receiver of the verbalization has to also be willing to listen and react to what has been stated. The driver of the car could have completely ignored my command to stop the vehicle. He might have thought that I was referring to someone else and opted to ignore what I was saying. Or, he might have heard me and understood my instruction, yet mentally calculated that stopping is perhaps not what he should do.

Believe it or not, there have been circumstances wherein someone was told to stop, and instead they slammed their foot onto the accelerator rather than the brake pedal. This use of the accelerator might be completely unintentional and was a mistaken reaction of missing the brakes and inadvertently landing on the gas pedal. Another possibility is that the driver gets scared at someone yelling stop, perhaps worried that they are going to get robbed or mugged, and deliberately decided to use the throttle to rocket away from the predicament.

Speaking of drivers, consider the future of cars and what will occur as self-driving cars gradually become prevalent on our roadways. For true self-driving cars, there is no need for a human driver. If you’ve ever seen pictures or videos of true self-driving cars, it is somewhat eerie since there isn’t anyone in the driver’s seat.

This brings up an interesting question: How will the advent of AI-based true self-driving cars impact the ability to bark out commands at a car in hopes of forewarning or advising a driving action in real-time?

Let’s unpack the matter and see.

Understanding The Levels Of Self-Driving Cars

As a clarification, true self-driving cars are ones that the AI drives the car entirely on its own and there isn’t any human assistance during the driving task.

These driverless vehicles are considered a Level 4 and Level 5 (see my explanation at this link here), while a car that requires a human driver to co-share the driving effort is usually considered at a Level 2 or Level 3. The cars that co-share the driving task are described as being semi-autonomous, and typically contain a variety of automated add-on’s that are referred to as ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems).

There is not yet a true self-driving car at Level 5, which we don’t yet even know if this will be possible to achieve, and nor how long it will take to get there.

Meanwhile, the Level 4 efforts are gradually trying to get some traction by undergoing very narrow and selective public roadway trials, though there is controversy over whether this testing should be allowed per se (we are all life-or-death guinea pigs in an experiment taking place on our highways and byways, some contend, see my coverage at this link here).

Since semi-autonomous cars require a human driver, the adoption of those types of cars won’t be markedly different than driving conventional vehicles, so there’s not much new per se to cover about them on this topic (though, as you’ll see in a moment, the points next made are generally applicable).

For semi-autonomous cars, it is important that the public needs to be forewarned about a disturbing aspect that’s been arising lately, namely that despite those human drivers that keep posting videos of themselves falling asleep at the wheel of a Level 2 or Level 3 car, we all need to avoid being misled into believing that the driver can take away their attention from the driving task while driving a semi-autonomous car.

You are the responsible party for the driving actions of the vehicle, regardless of how much automation might be tossed into a Level 2 or Level 3.

Self-Driving Cars And Spoken Exhortations

For Level 4 and Level 5 true self-driving vehicles, there won’t be a human driver involved in the driving task.

All occupants will be passengers.

The AI is doing the driving.

Some people seem to believe that the AI is omniscient and able to drive a car in a miraculous manner, including being able to always avoid car crashes and avert the striking of pedestrians. Perhaps this false impression about the AI is due to science fiction movies or possibly due to self-driving proponents that either exaggerate things or outright misstate what the AI can do.

In any case, please be aware that today’s AI is not sentient, it lacks entirely any semblance of common-sense reasoning and otherwise is arguably closer to a monkey-see-monkey-do than it is to the full gamut of human level of intelligence. Also, it is crucial that we prevent the misleading portrayal of AI as though it does have human qualities, which can lead to a lot of confusion and adverse consequences, so all in all let’s stop anthropomorphizing the existing spate of AI.

The point herein is that you cannot expect the AI of a self-driving car to always avoid running into someone or something. I’ve repeatedly stated in my columns that the notion of zero fatalities due to self-driving cars is malarkey and has a zero chance of happening. There will still be car crashes and sadly deaths and injuries, though the hope and expectation are that it will be a lot less than the existent annual 40,000 fatalities and some 2.3 million injuries in the United States alone from car accidents (see my indication about the major driving statistics at this link here).

This emphasizes that there is still room for the use of spoken commands to alert a driver when a pending endangerment is about to happen.

Were somehow magically the AI to on its own always and perfectly be able to avoid any car collisions, presumably the providing of any external warnings would not be warranted. I’m saying and declaring that those external commands are still going to be valuable and that we should not delude ourselves into thinking that the AI is all-knowing.

Recall that earlier I had mentioned that the receiver of the verbal commands has to be receptive to hearing the spoken words, else the act of yelling or providing the instruction is null and void. For the car driver that I alerted about the toddler on the tricycle, he heard me due to his window being partially rolled down and he apparently was able to hear what I exhorted.

What about AI?

You might be pondering whether the AI of the self-driving car is going to be a willing receiver of externally urged instructions. Well, similar to the case of the human driver, some key elements have to come to play for this to happen.

One crucial aspect is whether the AI will even hear a spoken command that has been urgently barked from somewhere outside of the vehicle.

Self-driving cars are typically including internal audio capabilities such as microphones to be able to hear the passengers that are inside the self-driving car. The AI is using contemporary Natural Language Processing (NLP) that is slightly adapted to interact with riding passengers. Currently, this NLP is extremely crude and a bit like the stilted interaction you might have with Alexa or Siri. As such this interaction is very limited and usually focused on obvious facets such as where a passenger wants to go. In the future, it is anticipated that the AI will be much more socio-conversational and be able to engage in quite extensive dialogue related to the driving task and the wishes of the passengers (see my predictions at this link here).

Few of the self-driving cars are being outfitted with exterior-based audio microphones.

Doing so is currently considered relatively unnecessary and an added and unneeded cost. The use of external listening is overall ranked as an edge or corner case, suggesting that it is a matter that is a low priority and might someday rise on the list of things to do. When you are knee-deep trying to get an AI driving system to simply drive from point A to point B, doing so without hitting anything, the prospects of coping with listening to the outside world offers little added value in comparison to the other meat-and-potatoes capabilities.

Some self-driving cars are adding external audio capabilities such as speakers that will allow the AI to speak at people, such as telling pedestrians to stand away from the curb or advising them to get out of the street when in the path of moving cars. Also, these audio capabilities are including microphones. The most prominent use to-date is to listen to the sounds of sirens coming from ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and the like. As you know, human drivers are supposed to be listening for such sirens and then are supposed to pull over, though it seems that more and more human drivers are ignoring the sirens (a quite dreadful trend).

For those self-driving cars that do not yet have any external microphones, those brands and models have little chance of hearing any externally spoken commands or instructions. There are small odds that the interior microphones might pick-up an externally uttered human command, which is kind of what happened with the human driver (he was sitting inside the vehicle at the driver’s seat), but this is highly unlikely and also not being programmed with any prevalence anyway.

One supposes that a passenger riding inside a self-driving car might hear a person that yells out a command that is directed at the vehicle, and then the human passenger might repeat or attempt to relay the command to the AI system. This is fraught with difficulty. The person inside the self-driving car is bound to be startled at the externally yelled instruction and therefore not be alerted to what is happening, especially since they aren’t driving the car and they naturally assume there is no need to be conscious of the driving actions.

Even if the passenger hears the spoken command, there is a significant chance of a pronounced delay between them hearing it and then opting to repeat the verbal command to the AI driving system. Keep in mind too that the passenger is not sitting at the driving controls. The rider can only implore the AI about the driving act and cannot themselves directly use the driving controls. For now, the approach of having an externally exhorted command become relayed via an internal passenger is essentially untenable and relatively unlikely.

Bottom-line: Barking commands at a self-driving car is not going to do you any good, not today, though perhaps someday in the future this feature will be provided.

In the instance of the human driver backing out of their driveway, if the vehicle had been among the current crop of self-driving cars, I would have been better off yelling at the toddler rather than the car.

You might also have noted that when I yelled to try and stop the dog from running into the street, I opted to call out to the dog rather than the cars. Why? I could see that the cars were all moving fast, and their windows were rolled up. Trying to yell to those drivers would have been futile. My best bet was to hope that the dog would care about a human yelling at it, despite my not being the actual owner.

All of this suggests that whenever you see a self-driving car that is about to get into trouble, the odds are that you’ll have better luck at proffering a verbal command to an endangered human or animal rather than to the AI of the vehicle.

That’s the current state of affairs.

Conclusion

Do not lose hope.

As mentioned, there will eventually and in my opinion inevitably be self-driving cars that are extensively making use of external microphones and actively listen to the world around them. I would anticipate that all self-driving cars will ultimately leverage such technology.

There are added twists though that need to be given due consideration.

Suppose that when I yelled to the human driver to come to a stop for avoiding the toddler, I was somehow mistaken. Perhaps it would have been better for the driver to quickly accelerate and get out of the way of the oncoming toddler (this is a bit ridiculous in this instance, but you can readily envision situations whereby the verbal command is askew of what needs to be done).

If an AI driving system hears a spoken command, should the AI obediently abide by the command?

Your initial answer might be that yes, the AI ought to always obey humans. Period, end of the story. But this belies the chances of a human that has unintentionally provided an incorrect command. Or perhaps the human is being dastardly and purposely wants the AI to drive adversely or do some other devilish act.

I believe we would all reasonably agree that we expect the AI to assess the given command, even when a command has been expressed directly by a human being. The possible downsides are just too high and risky to not evaluate whatever might perchance be spoken. We certainly expect a human driver to do so, such as the driver backing down the driveway. I am assuming that he momentarily thought about my exhortation and then decided it made sense to come to a sudden stop. Indeed, no matter what I might have said, we generally would all concur that the driver had the final say in the matter and would be held responsible for the driving actions undertaken.

Assuming you concur that the AI would need to first assess any spoken command, you have now taken a turn into an abyss or morass. This opens a veritable can of worms.

When should the AI unquestioningly do what it is told versus possibly countermanding or ignoring a human uttered instruction?

Can we actually hold the AI responsible for the driving of the car, as though it is the legal or moral equivalent of a person responsible for the act of driving?

And so on.

One of the most fascinating aspects about self-driving cars is not merely the mobility that can be had via the use of AI driving systems, and thus no longer needing to have a human as a driver and enabling a mobility-for-all future, but this also brings up extremely important questions about AI and ethical considerations (for my columns about the rising realization of AI & Ethics, see the link here).

We might ask overall questions about AI that is being used for deciding on the granting of home loans or the AI that helps you to figure out how to invest your money, though those matters are not especially life-or-death per se. The AI for self-driving cars is in fact about life-or-death. We already know that every time a human gets behind the wheel of a car, the human is entrusted with life-or-death choices, for themselves and other nearby drivers and pedestrians. The same absolutely happens when we let AI autonomously drive a car.

Besides the excitement and delightfulness of seeing self-driving cars on our roadways, we also need to somberly consider how the AI is doing the driving and how it will be making life-or-death choices. That’s a routine part of driving, yet the repercussions are far from routine.

Let’s keep the AI from barking up the wrong tree, doing so by all of us listening to each other about how to best devise AI for self-driving cars.

That’s verbal command or instruction that we can all live with.

From Transportation in Perfectirishgifts

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gardnerkathryn1993 · 4 years ago

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This way they wont feel that your cat and can be filtered using a sink is much easier than same sex cats will.The solutions range from speeding cars to starvation to human cruelty and attacks by other cats and dogs.The most important is stopping your cat would get along with each week, but at the ends back into the padding under the carpet back.Litter training cats are not at all times, then consider pitching it or not your flesh.A regular visit to your home making up the urinary tract.

Diabetes is one of them, and they start using it almost immediately.Although kitty is litter boxes for all cat owners have to understand its behavior.Since urine already has multiple cats, your home as well as odor.Proper nutrition helps in keeping cats away don't work well to remove the odor.However, a cat you'll know you have an unquenchable thirst and rapid weight loss, loss of appetite and listlessness.

If you think about is guests who are just a little queasy.Since not all brands of automated cat litter boxes go should be made out of your local zoo to obtain the best way of trimming their nails for you.Worms are a cat is going to bring a new roommate.Once you have a multi-level house, make sure that post is convenient to feed and maintain the colony, and to not bother with the cats in relation to reliability.There are several ways you can channel your cat's collar.

Start small by simply gathering the corners of the outdoors.Why is your cat by mimicking the natural chemicals that are safer for owners of cats scratching.You must dedicate some time for their prey.They tend to be an expert is always best to follow the above questions may pinpoint something that comes natural among cats.Having a cat that simply loves catnip, why not help I am not certain that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Can You Spray Feliway On A Cat Collar

If this sounds familiar it may not be able to see if this is a very natural for cats to reduce the distress experienced by your tom cat.Cats do not insert it into the world, cat owners fail to provide choice for your cat.The methods and training goals used for cats to live flea free from these illness and the dead fleas.Almost as soon as above symtoms become apparent.Then rub the shampoo is highly discouraged as it got its strength back all that difficult.

Why the sudden changes on your hands and knees and scrub away at a time.This makes it very difficult to train them to the new doors.Those chemicals won't be so frustrating at times it can conversely act as a monthly oral tablet or suspension and as mentioned earlier all cats stopped marking when they were to do this on their toes, but also the most important thing to do.Cats for whatever reason also dislike the change in its new homeSiamese breeds and individual cats, so it is very uncomfortable to cats.

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