#they move to the surface cause of how phoenix is treated
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deltadescent · 2 days ago
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excerpts from a Stormy Weather Perfect AU fic i wrote that will never see the light of day
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more drawings bc i hate perfect au gar so much
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more abt au in tags
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jogetsobsessed · 11 months ago
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Always an Angel - Paul Lahote
Ok, I've been obsessed with the lyric “Always an angel, never a god for a few days now. I don't know why all of a sudden but it's been all I can think about. I know there are a bunch of literal interpretations but I look at it as a version of “always the bridesmaid, never the bride”, always the side character, never the main character. So I hope this comes across how I want it to lol. 
Also, the timeline is kinda messed up in this, just live in ignorant bliss and ignore it pls, and thank you!
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Always the option, never the priority. 
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. 
Always the lover, never the loved. 
Always the fighter, never the fought for. 
Always an angel, never a god. 
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You were used to being sidelined, looked right through. 
No matter what you were doing, or who you were with, you were never the main focus. 
Growing up boys never spared you a glance, your best friends being the main targets for their glances and flirty remarks. You were never the one asked to dance, always the one asked to hold a friend's purse or bag. If the car was full on the way to get ice cream, you were always the one that was going to be left out. You never learned inside jokes and standing alone at parties, you didn't even know why you went, it's not like anyone would notice if you left anyway. 
At night when you would break and confide in the one person you knew truly loved you she would always question why you remained friends with the people that caused you so much pain. And through your blubbering, you would look at her like she was crazy. Explain to your mother that it must have been too long since she was a teenager. Because that's not how it works. Living in a small town the pool of potential friends is small, and having friends that treat you horribly is better than having no friends at all. 
You would apologize to her years later, after maturing, and realizing that the remarks you directed towards her were uncalled for. The anger you threw her way was misguided and unfair. She didn't deserve the way that you treated her. 
When Bella Swan moved to town you thought everything was going to change. She was from a big city, you didn't know much about Phoenix but you knew they probably didn't harbor the same small-town mindset that Forks did. 
She had no clue who you were. She didn't know the unspoken reputation that hung above your head like a storm cloud. 
And at first, you were right. 
The two of you became friends quickly, Bella taking a liking to your quiet demeanor, such a drastic change from Jessica and her goons. 
Your friendship appeared surface-level, to everyone but the two of you. In school, you both kept to yourselves and didn't talk much, even to each other. You would drag her along with you when you gathered the strength to hang out with your old friends. But you didn't do that often, seeing as they saw her as a shiny new toy and didn't treat her as a second-class citizen. 
But after school the two of you would talk, your friendship would come alive in the comfort of your own homes, and you two would look like actual teenage girls and not two seventeen-year-olds who should be on the highest dose of Lexapro. 
She was the first person that you saw as a true friend, that was until she committed, in your opinion, a cardinal sin. 
Bella had gone off the deep end and you hadn't seen her in days. But that was normal, she would spiral, skip school, and then show up as if nothing happened. So you weren't concerned, sent her a few texts checking up on her and getting one-word responses back. Then the following Monday came around. You were waiting by your truck, lazily twirling your hair, eyes glazed over as you dissociated waiting for the bell to ring. 
But amid your dissociation, you were pulled back to reality when a shiny black Volvo came to a screeching halt a row over. You knew who drove the expensive car so you tried to be as nonchalant as possible as you peered over your shoulder to get a good look at the owner. 
You wished you hadn't. 
Because getting out of the passenger seat was the person that you considered your best friend. Your best friend was sitting in the passenger seat of the car of the guy you had a crush on since he arrived at Forks High School. 
She knew about your long-standing crush on Edward, she was the only person other than your mother who you had told. It came tumbling off your tongue one late night about a month after she had arrived in town. And you had sworn her to secrecy, begging her to never tell another soul. 
But now it seemed to not matter, she had broken your trust and your heart. 
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The next year drug on. With Bella being completely infatuated with Edward you were left to crawl back to your old friends. They accepted you with barely open arms, reluctantly saving you a seat at the lunch table, sometimes sending you the location for Friday night activities. 
When the Cullen clan abruptly left Forks Bella did to you exactly what you had done to your friends months earlier. Part of you didn't know why, but you let her back in, although this time keeping her at an arm's length away, never fully trusting her, 
Eventually, however, Edward came back. First making his appearance walking hand in hand with Bella in the dreadful hallways of Forks High School after she had disappeared yet again for a few days with not even a courtesy text. 
This time seeing them together didn't feel like a hot knife was piercing your skin. How could it, you no longer felt the same that you had for Edward. Because he had proven himself to be just like everyone else. He made you feel invisible. 
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The heat of late spring had arrived and you took in all the warmth that you could as you walked down the small rocky path to the mailbox. Graduation had come and gone and you found yourself in isolation. The people you had forced yourself to be friends with in high school no longer mattered. You didn't have to play the uncertain game of high school politics anymore. Starting university was on the horizon and while you dreaded leaving the comfort of home you were excited, this was going to be your chance to reinvent yourself. You were no longer going to be the person no one cared to look towards. 
Pulling out the various envelopes you felt your heart stop beating when the light lilac envelope was pulled to the front. You knew what it was, you didn't even have to open it. But you did, ripping it open, praying that you hadn't torn apart the coveted invitation. Sure enough in bold letters, you read “Edward Anthony Masen Cullen and Isabella Marie Swan request your presence…”. 
The phone call with Bella that night was awkward. You haven't talked much since graduation but she assured you that she wanted you to be at the wedding. You had wanted to push and ask her why she was rushing to get married. I mean you along with everyone else knew that they had only known each other for a year and hadn't been dating for the entirety of said year. But she sounded happy, the happiest she had ever seemed. So you didn't say anything, instead prying for details about the impending nuptials. 
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Thousands of flowers cascaded down creating a custom perfume in the air. Your eyes darted between the bunches of wisteria and sweet peas and you were in awe. The wedding had snuck up on you. So much had happened over the summer leaving you feeling unprepared to start school in the fall. Leaving you to make one of the hardest choices that you had ever made, deferring your acceptance into your top school to the following fall quarter. 
So when you got a reminder on your phone that read “Bella and Edward wedding tmr” you were at a loss for words. I mean you had everything you physically needed, a dress, a present, the right pair of shoes. But you had forgotten one important thing, a date. 
It wasn't going to be the first time you had shown up to an event without one, but it was probably going to feel the most embarrassing. 
So here you were, standing next to your group of “friends'' from high school as they gossiped about the possibility of Bella being pregnant. “What do you think?”Erik asked you, giving your arm a soft nudge with his. “I don't know guys '. Jessica of course had a counter, pointing out that out of the group you were the closest with her. Luckily before you had to come up with an excuse of why you didn't know for certain the music began, signaling that it was time for everyone to turn their attention to the altar. 
A few tears managed to slip down your cheeks as you watched your sometimes best friend say “I do”. In that moment all the turbulent times the two of you experienced didn't matter. You were just happy to be in the presence of two people who were madly in love and confessing it to each other, permanently sealing their love with a dramatic kiss. 
The reception area was decorated equally as beautiful. You were grateful that Bella, or more likely Alice had set you close to the dance floor. That way you could watch people without feeling like a total loser, hanging out in the corner by yourself. At least this way you could still enjoy the happiness of the other guests without feeling the gross amount of body heat from the dancing bodies. 
The ice was melting quickly in your lemonade, the night had not been rewarded with a cool late summer breeze so you were appreciative of the cool drink. The night had seemingly been going according to plan. Your ‘friends’ had migrated to another table across the dance floor with the excuse of wanting to talk to some of the other guests, but they had not returned in almost two hours so you were holding your breath. 
Mentally you were planning your escape plan, glancing at your watch. Waiting for an acceptable time to leave, not too early into the night but not too late that you were leaving only minutes before the bride and groom's big exit. As you granted yourself yet another glance at the heirloom watch you wore and looked back up a gasp unwillingly left your lips. 
The mystery man, who looked almost familiar, chuckled at your surprised look. Confidently he took the empty seat next to yours, turning his body to give you his full attention. “May I help you”, you didn't recognize your own words, your tone was a bit rude and you didn't even give him a second to introduce himself after she sat. 
“I’m Paul Lahote”. 
Once he gave his name to you your eyes moved up to meet him and the electric shock that you felt in your veins almost felt real. There was no doubt blush forming on every inch of your face and you were praying that the low light of the Edison bulbs did a good job at protecting some of your dignity. You gave him your name, barely squeaking out your last name. 
Things like this didn't happen to you. A man that looked like him didn't talk to you. A part of you wondered if Jessica or someone like her had already turned him down, because let's face it, you were always the option but never the priority. 
“I think you should share a dance with me, no pretty girl like you should be sitting alone at a wedding”. The flare in your cheeks was visible now, you were sure of it. No matter how low the light was you could have sworn a red glow was emitting from your body, like an accusing halo. 
“Paul…you don't have to dance with me, I was just getting ready to leave”. Gathering your belongings as you begin to stand up. “No!”. He said, eyebrows raising to the top of his forehead once he realized how loud he exclaimed. Sheepishly he looked around offering small smiles as an apology to a few of the guests who looked at him like he had three heads. 
“Please, I noticed you when I walked in before the ceremony and I haven't been able to shake you from my eyeline all night. I don’t think I can take no for an answer”. 
The fact that your heart was still caged behind your chest was an act of god. Because at this point it should have flown away due to how hard it was beating. You were at a loss for words. The thought that someone was putting you first, taking interest in you was unbearable. And you were crumbling at his gaze. 
His outstretched hand found yours that you slowly had begun to uncurl from against your body. Swiftly he whisked you out onto the dance floor, pulling your body flush to his. 
Clumsily your feat matched his falling into routine with his steps, your body swaying in unison to the light melody. He hummed along softly to the quiet music as he kept a firm grip on you, almost like he was afraid to let you go. 
The song ended and awkwardly you looked around not knowing what to do. Paul however looked happy as can be, letting go of your hand but keeping the one on your lower back in place. He led you back to the table where you had spent most of the night, pulling out your chair before you could even react. You thanked him as you sunk into the back of the chair trying to ground yourself. 
“Man, I feel like the luckiest guy here at this whole damn wedding I got to dance with the prettiest guest of them all”. He said matter-of-factly triumphantly, taking a sip out of the glass he abandoned when he first approached your table. You scoffed, there was no way he was being for real, the alcohol had to have been getting to him now if he was saying such an untrue statement. 
“I think you've had enough”. Your voice was shy and your eyes barely peeked through your almost closed eyelids. The embarrassment you hadn't felt earlier had returned and you were suddenly hyper-conscious of everything happening around you. 
“Doll this stuff doesn't make me feel anything, you, however, are making me feel alive for the first time”. His drink was abandoned yet again as he scooted his chair closer, invading your bubble, and causing you to squirm under his gaze yet again. 
“Paul, I'm flattered but again I think your choices are impaired. There's no way you feel anything like that for me”. 
Paul was out of his chair before you could continue your babbling, cutting you off by capturing your lips in his. 
After he pulled back for air his forehead rested against yours, the two of you matching your breathing. You were yet again at a loss for words, kissing the hottest boy at your best friend's wedding was not on this year's bingo card. But as per usual it seems Paul had the perfect thing to say, “My angel forgive me if this is forward, but l you need to let me love you, I have a feeling that you're gonna be stuck with me for a long time”.
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soundcrusher · 2 years ago
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Birds of a Feather AU Part 2
I don't know what hit me, but here's a second part!
This time, we get to see how Fools Shot and Second Fiddle are in this Au.
(Part 1)
Phoenix/Snow = Sg!Phoenix Phoenix/Red = Reg!Phoenix
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Snow was just studying in his room, reading up on some notes he took during one of the lessons Fools Shot gave them, as he heard a shout from outside their room and a drop. “Looks like Red’s trap got another one…” Muttered the youngling, before storing his data-pad in his subspace and getting up from the berth. Walking over to the door and typing in the small code Red made him remember to deactivate the other small booby-traps his brother has laid out.
Looking at it, his brother would probably be great at anything, if he would be behind it just like he was behind his pranks and small traps. Either way, Snow opened the door and took a peek outside. Finding none of the usual crew members who would bang against their door at a time like this. No, standing in front of him, covered in some not bad smelling slime his brother made out of materials from the science lab, was Fools Shot. And Snow was quick to squeak out an apology, before darting back into the room and getting a rag for their captain. Which the old mech took with a chuckle.
“There’s not really a need for an apology, now is there? I told you two already, I don’t mind Red’s pranks. I would just like a heads-up first.” Said the captain with a soft smile, as he handed back the rag. It didn’t really help, there was still some slime sticking to his frame, but he still appreciated the gesture. Both of the Phoenixes were considerate in their own rights, but that wasn’t the reason why he came to their room. No, and Snow could see in his captain’s face that the reason for his visit was serious.
So, he stepped out of the room without a word, locking the door behind him, before following his captain down the halls. Clutching the older mech’s servo on his trembling ones, as he saw the stares of some of the passing crew members. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Fools Shot and only made him walk faster to get Snow out of the halls and into his office quicker. And as soon as they were there, Fools Shot pushed the youngling in. Motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk, before moving behind his desk and sitting down. Servos folded together on top of the surface, while regarding one of his youngest crew members with a smile. “Please, sit. There’s quite a few things I want to talk about.”
“And it doesn’t feel like it involves my studies…” Said Snow, as he sat down in one of the chairs. Curling up on it, by pulling his legs up and hugging them. And considering the chair was made to fit cybertronians bigger than a young flier, it was quite easy to do so. “… If it’s about me borrowing ingredients from the kitchen again, I’m sorry… B-but I left some energon treats as an exchange!”
Fools Shot was quick to raise his servos in a calming gesture. “Snow, it’s not that I want to talk about. It’s something else.”
“I-Is it about the stink bombs in Second Fiddle’s room? I t-told Red that it was a bad idea… He didn’t listen…” Snow muttered, before curling up even more. Hiding his face in his arms out of fear of what Fools Shot would do, or say. But to his surprise, the old mech only laughed. Causing Snow to raise his head in surprise.
“I was wondering why Second Fiddle was smelling like a… what’s the human word… wet dog? I think that’s the right one.” He said with a chuckle. “He was quite mad, I must admit, and it would be best if you two made a big bow around him, but I’m not going to punish you or your brother for a harmless prank. Primus knows I have done worse when I still was at the academy, even as a teacher.”
Hearing that made Snow visibly relax again. For a second, he thought that Fools Shot would hand them over to Second Fiddle for a punishment, or tell the second in command about who planted the stink bombs and who didn’t stop it happening. But the youngling was quick to tense back up again, after sensing that their conversation wasn’t over yet. “I sense a ‘But’ there… c-captain…”
There was a flicker of something, Snow could see it in the old mech’s face, but what exactly it was, he couldn’t tell. Fools Shot might be a lot more open than most of the crew, but he could also be hard to read sometimes. Especially now, with the captain sporting his more serious look again and watching him out of intense blue eyes that reminded Snow of one of the wild cyber-tigers he’s seen in a documentary once. It was enough for the youngling to make him curl up and hide again. Even as the intense stare ended and was replaced by one of concern.
“Snow… I noticed that you haven’t been to the medical bay for quite some time. Misdeed hasn’t said anything, he’s probably too busy, but Fix It noticed it. He was the one who brought it up to me, and it got me worried.” Fools Shot stood up after he didn’t get an answer from Snow and walked around the table. Kneeling down in front of the cowering youngling to have a better look, but to also appear less threatening. Should Snow feel trapped. “When we talked about tasks for you and your brother to do, you asked to help out in the medical bay. I still remember your bright smile during your first week, but it has changed, hasn’t it?”
Fools Shot waited for an answer from Snow, but nothing came from the young flier. At least, no verbal answer. So, the old mech changed his tactic, telling Snow that he could simply hold up one digit for ‘Yes’ and two for ‘No’, and that seemed to do the trick, because the youngling held up one digit. “I knew it, something has changed, but you don’t want to talk about it.”
One digit.
“Is it because of Misdeed?”
One digit.
“Has he hurt you?”
This time, Snow was hesitant, Fools Shot could see it in the way his servos tensed up, but as soon as he saw only one digit, his blood started to boil. How didn’t he notice it sooner? What kind of captain doesn’t notice that one of his crew was hurting because of another? “Do you want me to do something about it?”
Two digits.
“Snow… that question was unfair, because I WILL have to do something about Misdeed. He hurt you. And, yes, I know that most of the crew is rough, and you don’t have it easy with… well… your looks. And some have bad memories regarding the mech you and your brother share a likeness to, but that’s still no excuse to hurt you.” Fools Shot’s voice was soft, despite the burning anger in his spark. “Snow… are you scared of Misdeed?”
No answer.
“You know that no answer is an answer, right?” Quipped Fools Shot in an attempt to lift the mood, while he softly moved Snow’s arms away from his face. And his spark broke as he saw the youngling’s tear stricken face together with those sad optics that told more than words could. “Snow… I failed you as a captain and as a teacher, haven’t I?” He asked, before wiping away the tears. “But I won’t fail you now… do you believe me?”
One digit, and Fools Shot stopped asking after the last question. Instead, he returned to his desk and pulled out a data-pad, before explaining that Old Man had requested another pair of servos to help him down in the engine room. And considering the latest discoveries, he thought it would be best if Snow went to help Old Man. “I know, you hardly have any idea what to do, but we both know how much of a fast learner you are. You and your brother together. Also, working together with Old Man would mean that you get to spend more time with your brother. How does that sound?” It went unsaid that Fools Shot and Old Man planned this to make sure Snow wouldn’t be put in any danger. Fix It made it clear that something was going on in the medical bay. Something that no-one seemed to want to talk about, and while Fix It went after that, it was Fools Shot’s duty to keep the two young fliers safe.
Although, before Snow could answer, Second Fiddle entered the office with a smile and an energon cube. Greeting his co-captain and handing him the glass cube, before turning towards Snow. “Ah, just the mech I was looking for. You wouldn’t mind if I borrowed Snow for a while, would you? There are some things we have to discuss, alone.”
Fools Shot looked from Sow to Second Fiddle and back. There were still some things he had to discuss with the youngling, and he was going to say so, but the beast former beat him to it. Grabbing Snow by the arm and pulling the youngling out of the chair and after him.
And Fools Shot found himself calling Fix It. Asking the speedster to keep an optic on his second in command, because something was definitely going on.
Meanwhile, Second Fiddle was dragging the youngling towards ‘his’ office. Which wasn’t his official office given by Fools Shot, but rather a room he used for planning their hunts. It was the furthest away and easily overlooked if you didn’t know what to look for.
So, the room was ideal if you needed a secret conversation with a youngling who kept on messing up your perfect plans. And the second they were inside, Second Fiddle roughly shoved Snow to the ground. Fixating the youngling with a look that screamed ‘Move, and you’ll regret it’, and together with him opening his wings and spreading them out to their full length, it was enough to send Snow hurdling off towards the closest corner in fear.
“What did you tell him?” Second Fiddle’s voice was sickly sweet, as he slowly stalked closer to the cowering youngling. Watching him flinch away and try his best to disappear into the corner, but there was no escape. Both of them knew it, and with the birdformer blocking off any way of escape, there wasn’t even a chance for Snow to run and hide. Not that Second Fiddle would have let him run. He never let him run.
And he wouldn’t let him run, until he got an answer to his question.
“What did you tell him, Phoenix? Don’t make me angry. You know what happens when I get angry.” Chirped the co-captain, as he crouched down in front of Snow. Using his large wings to obscure the already scarce light and trapping the youngling in darkness. With the only source of light being the birdformer’s eerily golden optics.
“Phoenix!”
“I TOLD HIM NOTHING!” Screeched the youngling over and over, before his cries turned into pitiful sobs. “Nothing! I swear on Primus! I told him nothing! He just asked! He asked, and I said yes or no! I didn’t say anything!” But that wasn’t enough for Second Fiddle. Snow knew it. No matter what he said, it was never enough for the co-captain, nor was it enough for everyone else who helped with the hunts. They always wanted more, but never believed him when there wasn’t more to tell. And the silence that followed his outburst made Snow even more scared of what the mech in front of him would do. Especially with how silent the whole room has become, minus his own sobs and whimpers.
However, if there was one thing everybody knew about Second Fiddle, it’s that the co-captain never left out an opportunity to look down upon those he deemed beneath him, and or a chance to put someone in their place. Which means Snow, suddenly, found himself face to face with his tormentor. With the birdformer’s claws digging into his cheeks, as Second Fiddle made sure he couldn’t look at anything else except his face.
“Do you really think I believe you? You can swear on Primus as much as I care, maybe even pray to him, but we both know that he would never help a stupid youngling who’s only lying to his superiors.” Said the co-captain, before finally letting go of Snow and stepping away. Folding his wings back, as he circled the round table they use for their hunting plans and sitting down as soon as he was by his chair. “But for once I’ll believe your words. Don’t think though I won’t be able to find out if you lied to me, little bird. Differently from Fools Shot, I KNOW what’s happening on this ship.” With that said, Second Fiddle grabbed a nearby data-pad and went over their latest plans on capturing a rather hard to catch Autobot.
Snow took that as his cue to leave, and after finding his footing and forcing his legs to stop quivering, he bolted out of the room. Past the mechs and femmes who were already filing into the room and back towards a safer space. But, knowing Second Fiddle, Snow took a turn and didn’t run towards his and his brother’s room, but rather towards the engine room. Knowing full well that he would be safer with Old Man and his brother, than on his own.
And as he made it there, bursting through the doors and scaring Old Man and Red from his sudden appearance, Snow felt another fresh wave of tears well up in his optics.
“C-can I st-tay…. stay with y-you wo?”
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maccaronimassacre · 3 months ago
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Spooktacular showdown bots!
This year I'm taking part in the Halloween character creation contest! Unfortunately these bots will look out of place in comparison to the rest of my profile but hey, it is what is and I'll figure out what to do with them after. Anyway, here are my OC submissions! Check them out and let me know what you think and or how I can improve them.
Faye Wiltshire - A spooky witch with an even spookier bakery
Inside the bakery, floating brooms sweep away cake crumbs and spilled flour in a gentle rhythm while owls swoop in and out of open windows, carrying boxes of magical treats to distant customers. Mischief hums in the air as Faye stirs the batter, adding a couple of drops of werewolf saliva, a pinch of phoenix ash, and a dash of mint for good measure. A sharp ding pulls the witch out of her daydream. She skips to the oven, excitement bubbling as she carefully lifts out her latest creation, bat-shaped cookies with golden surfaces glowing faintly with magic. The sweet scent of vanilla swirls through the air, warm and inviting, slipping out into the streets like a whispered enchantment calling out to those passing by. And that enchantment seems to do the trick as the bell jingles, announcing the arrival of a new test subject- er, customer.
The Pumpkin Prince - You’ve summoned the pumpkin prince and his army
It’s a crisp October night, and the sky is alive with stars. Moonlight bathes the fields in a soft, silvery glow, while comets streak across the heavens in a rare meteor shower. You sit atop the hill by the pumpkin patch, watching in awe as bursts of light cut through the clear sky, leaving faint trails behind. Despite yourself, you keep making wishes on the shooting stars, caught in the childlike hope that maybe, just maybe, one of them could come true. You run through the usual "I wish to be a millionaire," or "I wish to know everything", but then for the fun of it, you toss out a ridiculous wish, one you don't even believe in. After all, what are the odds? It’s not like wishes ever actually come true… right? As you start to think of more, the trees shudder, their branches twisting and groaning, as if they’re waking from a deep slumber. A deep, unnatural rumble fills the air as roots begin to tear from the earth, and you turn just in time to see the pumpkins start to move. At first, it’s subtle, a slight twitch, a small shift, but soon the pumpkins are pulling themselves up from the ground, their thick roots reaching toward the moon like desperate hands. You watch in horror as they transform before your eyes, their round, orange bodies splitting and elongating into thick, twisted fingers. The fingers grow longer, thicker, until they’re attached to arms, which stretch and twist into legs and torsos. One by one, they start to lurch toward you, their movements awkward and uncertain, the weight of their oversized pumpkin heads causing them to sway and knock into one another. Their carved faces remain blank, hollow—yet somehow, they’re looking at you, as if waiting for something. An invitation? An answer? Then a particularly tall pumpkin man steps forward towards you, pointing his hand at you, the moon and then his heart. The green stump on top of his pumpkin head twists itself into a crown throughout his game of charades.
Liam Hereford - The scare actor who ends up helping you
"Go to a scare maze," they said. "It’ll be fun," they said. "We’ll stick together," they said. But it only took a couple of well-timed jump scares for your friends to scatter, vanishing into the labyrinth like startled deer. Now you're alone, with nothing but towering walls of yellow and green leaves that seem to close in with every turn. The corn stalks seem to blur together, making it impossible to tell if you have already been and where you need to go. Every crunch of leaves beneath your feet and every rustle in the brush sends a chill up your spine. The wind picks up, its gusts twisting into eerie whispers that seem to taunt your isolation. At yet another dead end, the crackling sound of leaves underfoot makes you freeze. A figure bursts from the undergrowth, screaming and flailing a battered axe in your direction. Your heart leaps into your throat. But then, just as quickly, the figure pauses and drops his act when he realizes it’s only you standing there. "Hey, what happened to your buddies? Did they ditch you?" He lifts the ragged scarecrow mask just enough to reveal a mischievous grin, a flash of white teeth gleaming beneath the bloodied, battered disguise. Up close the man who’s been stalking you all night looks oddly out of place in his weathered overalls, one strap hanging loosely off his shoulder, streaks of dirt and fake blood splattered all over his clothes, and tufts of straw poke out from his sleeves like jagged spikes.
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apphiarothowrites · 1 year ago
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The fourth incident that makes Marco suspect something weird might be going on isn't until after...after Everything.
Ace lives, by a slim miracle of the Phoenix awakening at the perfect moment and intervention by one Trafalgar Law. He's a young doctor covered in tats with a dark sense of humor and a dry, sarcastic attitude. He's also experienced enough to allow Marco to assist in the surgeries on Ace, Luffy, and Jinbei. Ace, thankfully, is mostly already fixed thanks to Marco's fruit-only surface wounds on his back and spinal cord reconstruction proving tricky. Luffy is much more difficult and Marco takes over Jinbei's procedure entirely to allow the man to focus on Ace's brother.
When everything is said and done, Marco feels a strange rush as they leave the surgical suites to clean off. His head feels swimmy, his stomach swoops low, limbs shake so bad they're vibrating. Recognizing the signs, he manages to say some kind of warning to Dr. Law before he passes out cold.
Later he wakes up in Law's own bed in the captain's quarters. It's a fairly tidy room, all things considered. Posters hang neatly on pegs that allow movement from the sub's changing angles. The desk has a gyroscopic top that allows it to tilt, papers and books stacked on the surface neatly. Bookshelves with ledges to keep the titles from sliding out line the room. It's nice.
Marco staggers out of the space and down the hall. His stomach growls at him but he ignores it to find the recovery room. There's three beds, sectioned by curtains. Jinbei's already awake, which tells Marco everything he needs to know about how long he himself has been asleep. The fishman nods just once at him before he moves on.
The second bed is Luffy, hooked up to so many machines it's uncomfortable to look at, but alive.
The third bed is Ace, also still asleep. He will be for some time. Marco doesn't care. He takes up a chair at the man's bedside and remains there for the rest of the trip to Amazon Lily.
The one female member of Law's crew is the one to plead their case. When Boa Hancock learns that Luffy is on the sub, she's suddenly a much more forgiving woman. Ace is allowed to remain on the island for a period of four weeks to recover. After that, she declares, he will be made to leave the island-either under his own power or by force.
Marco, Law, Jinbei, and the rest of Law's crew are given no such allowance. Even with Marco arguing that he is the best physician to treat Ace, Boa won't have it. There are doctors on Amazon Lily who can care for Ace. Marco has other duties to attend to, to his crew and his father's last rites. It stings, but they're all valid points.
He leaves Ace's recovery cabin to regain his composure after the argument, feels multiple pairs of eyes on his back as he goes. Boa also leaves. Law remains behind, checking over Luffy and Ace both for a time. He hears voices, maybe even yelling behind him, but it quiets quickly once he returns to the cabin.
Law is smirking, Ace is sitting up in bed looking royally pissed. The other doctor nods, just once, at Marco and passes by him to leave the cabin-to ready his crew. He brushes past Marco, casting a smirk over his shoulder as he does.
Ace, somehow, looks even angrier. "Fuck that guy, I don't like him."
"He saved your life-yoi." Marco points out, confusion rising to the top of the muddled emotional mess he's currently feeling.
"No, he made it pretty clear that was you."
Marco, unwilling to accept that right now, just sighs and sits down on the bed near Ace's knees. "It was a fucking miracle more than anything-yoi."
"Akainu destroyed you, Ace. You shouldn't be alive right now-yoi." Marco knows his voice is wavering, can feel tears welling up. "I couldn't...I couldn't let that happen. And now, with Pops...I have to leave you again but I'm terrified if I close my eyes I'll wake up and this will all have been some stupid hopeful dream-yoi..."
A warm hand yanks his arm and Ace, despite the obvious pain it causes him, pulls Marco into a hug. "I'm gunna be okay, Marco. You're gunna be okay. We'll get through this."
Marco breaks, cracks open along the fault lines he's carefully tried to repair for the last few days, and sobs into Ace's newly rebuilt chest. He doesn't know how long he does so, but he does know they talk about nothing important until the time comes that Boa kicks him off the island only an hour later.
He leaves with a promise to find Ace when it's time for him to leave. He doesn't think about the oddness of Ace's dislike of Law until weeks later, but by then it's such a distantly past event in the wake of his massive continual fuckups that it barely registers as important any more.
Hot Property
Inspired by @mangyraccooon 's hilarious idea
Marco is content with his lot in life. He'd never once complain about the hand he's been dealt: second-in-command to one of the greatest men to sail the seas-the Strongest Man Alive! Whitebeard himself, an accomplished doctor, a fearsome frontline warrior of a pirate with a fruit unrivaled by any in terms of just how fucking overpowered it is, a long and successful career as a sailor and pirate, and adventures the likes of which can only be dreamed of. He has family, a massive number of loving brothers and sisters, a father unlike any other, and he's never once felt unloved or unwanted.
His only mild annoyance is that while he had a wild youth-wherein he extensively tested whether or not he could contract STDs-he's never held a steady romantic relationship like some people have. He thought, at first, he might find someone off the ship. Some lovely person willing to work with him on the distance and the traveling and roving of the seas. It never panned out.
Then, when Izou and Thatch got together, he thought maybe there might be someone in the crew he could turn to. That never went anywhere either-everyone was his own age, give or take a few years, and they all had been around him growing up. He just couldn't look at any of them in that kind of light.
Eventually he figured that he just wasn't made for it. As much as he liked the idea, loved the books about dashing heroes always getting the damsel partner in the end, he came to the conclusion that it just wasn't in the stars for him. His fate was decided decades ago and Love Like That just wasn't part of it no matter how much he wanted it. The years went by, he kept his steady presence on task, contented himself in resignation to his station and in the warmth of his family.
Then came Ace, and suddenly...
Once Ace took the mark, properly joined and settled into the crew, something changed. His heart would pound, seemingly at random, when Ace was around. He hung on to the younger man's-practically still a kid despite how well he was filling out-every word and remembered all the dumb stories and lines he had. He thought about Ace's smiles and grins and cocky smirks-his freckles, his face, his eyes-when he was elsewhere out of his company. Fire had always been inviting and fascinating ever since his fruit but Ace made it more so-fire was enchanting when it was Ace. Everything was charged, magnetic, when it came to Ace.
Marco thought he knew what a crush was. He'd, embarrassingly, had one on Whitey before she firmly established herself as "big sister" instead of "attractive older mentor." At first, he thought whatever was happening with him about Ace was just that. Something shiny, new, a "safe" target for his repressed frustration about the lack of romance that he distantly craved. But as one year turned to two turned to three, it didn't go away.
It did, however, get steadily beaten down next to that hidden desire for affection. Marco wrestled it into submission, made it contort into a shape that could fit down beside that desire for connection in the deepest depths of his heart. He thought he had it handled-smashed it down with a hammer of logic: he was significantly older than Ace, his own era of Piracy was on the way out while Ace was on the rise, the difference in their life experiences was massive, there was no way Ace could possibly see him as a suitable partner-
Yet, no matter how harshly he crushed it, it would always spring back up when he least expected it. He still held himself in control, put himself at just that much distance so he gave nothing away to Ace. But it was there, always, thumping away under his rib cage inside his heart.
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leamy-world · 3 years ago
Text
Some afterthoughts on The Devil Judge (spoilers for all the drama!)
Hello everyone! I hope you’re doing well!!
I wanted to write my thoughts after the finale aired because ep. 13-14 made me a mess and were too nerve-wracking! After these two episodes, i only wanted the week to go by fast to see how the finale unfolded (but at the same time, this drama entertained me sm i didn’t want it to end haha).
Watching this drama each week and reading your reactions and thoughts made me enjoy it even more, i’m glad i came back on tumblr! It was a really nice ride (more like an emotional rollercoaster haha)! It motivated me to write my thoughts and analyses on fictions i watched in the future, especially My Mister and Beyond Evil!! I forgot how much fun it was to do that and putting my thoughts into words gave me a little closure to my watch haha
These are just some afterthoughts & personal interpretations i had and were maybe probably already discussed, but i couldn’t get them out of my head haha
See you around and take care!!!
THE CAST. It left a strong impression on me and i can’t see other actors playing their respective roles!
—   Yohan portrayed by Ji Sung … i have no words, this devil judge left me speechless! His character, to his Devilish Smile (and hollow laugh in front of CKH and his son, or Gaon), his variating voice intonations (like damn, he’s a living ASMR like Lee Sung Kyung), his held back emotions and touch-starved and even desperate touches when it came to Elijah and Gaon, to his rage and unhinged moments! 
I winced seeing him contort in pain when Sunah revealed Elijah accidentally lit the church fire, and the two times he hugged Elijah totally destroyed me. His last scene with Gaon showed how gazes & micro-expressions alone could convey unspoken words as strongly. I’m weak for these kinds of scenes, My Mister for example did it and killed me haha
For this post, i rewatched some scenes and damn, Elijah and Yohan’s support of Gaon after Soohyun’s death was really emotional …
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(They had no business in making Gaon have this kind of dream, those german scissors left a ... strong impression on him haha)
—   Kim Min Jung’s depiction of Sunah’s was hauntingly beautiful, a femme fatale who kept a broken child deep inside (and at the same time surfacing on her manners and personality) and a strong businesswoman. It’s a fascinating character i loved hating as a villain but still sympathized with. The scene where she murdered the former foundation’s president sent me chills down my spine (i still have her shot of her, sitting at his bureau and manipulating his speech video)! 
The melancholy slipping through her facade when she visited the mansion the first time in a while, as well as her devastation in front of the President’s scheme, by the young girl’s bed at the hospital were memorable. The tension between her and Yohan was incredible: they both managed to keep a very disturbing but enthralling aura, tangled with nostalgia at the same time each time they met.
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(Looking at her reflection is a recurring pattern for Sunah’s character, i found this shot above interesting, divided in the two ends of the mirror, as if her self can’t be found on the other side anymore)  
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—   This was the first time i saw a drama with Jin Young and i really loved his playing! Never thought I’d say one day i enjoyed someone’s tears and rage on screen, but his crying scenes stuck with me, especially in the prison yard and the last episode (he deserves therapy after all he went through, really) … And his letter to Elijah … (i’m glad nobody harshly revealed the truth to her, i’m really glad!)
I loved to see how his gaze evolved through this journey with Yohan. His endearment to Soohyun, Elijah and Yohan was very precious ;; Even though Yohan was the one who was first seen feeling lonely, Gaon’s loneliness since his parents’ death slipped through his seemingly fine world, i found that interesting! (And on a lighter note, i’ll always remember the truth behind Mrs. Ji’s cooking, Gaon’s epic reaction, and the pure comedy she gets to own a healthy food shop thanks to Yohan!!) 
I also enjoyed his supportive friendship with Jinjoo!!
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—   Park Gyu Young’s acting was also on point! It’s really too bad she didn’t get more screen time because i wanted to know more about Soohyun!! I felt robbed haha, because when TDJ began airing, they introduced her as one of the ‘main’ characters of this story ;; The scene when she was on CKH’s suicide scene really left a mark on me + when she was confronting Yohan, especially after she took Elijah out!
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—   Elijah. Just Elijah, our best girl!!! Apparently it’s one of Jeon Chae Eun’s first roles, she did so well!! Along with Ji Sung and Jin Young, she gave a whole new definition to the Domestic Scenes, i swear. These scenes will keep a special place in my heart for a long time! Her adorable smile and cheekiness were a refresher in this show!
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(They could change TDJ’s concept in a second season and make us a domestic slice of life series, i wouldn’t mind AT ALL! Take my money!!)
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Seeing her complicated relationship with her uncle unfold before us deeply moved me. The complete loneliness she silently depicted moving to her bed in the wheelchair, after Gaon left the mansion was heart-wrenching. And also the scenes after Soohyun’s death, hurting with Yohan seeing Gaon’s pain (the way she spoke her worry for the two of them, Yohan couldn’t let the words out properly to Gaon).
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—   CKH’s character, played by Jang Young Nam, was amazing. Her acting already shattered me when i watched Nobody Knows! Her cold gaze, her harsh tone, she was badass i have to admit! 
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The narcissistic rage was well depicted in her character, and even though i get where many’s opinions on her death come from (i share it too sometimes, but i feel it more for Sunah), i found this final decision fitting to the character, especially if you look how she treated her own son (each hold felt like a grip from rage eg. in ep. 3, as she maybe felt her son was the cause of her demise).
(HUGE SPOILERS FOR BEYOND EVIL BELOW!!!!) 
She reminded me of HKH’s ending: seeing his path to success was crushed with no way out of it except death on his own accord (in his eyes, because it was his absolute life aim, every single being, to his own wife and son, and means, even bending the justice independence, were his expendable ways to pave his path), HJW’s father was set on suicide before his son barged in. 
(Funnily enough, the filming spot for CKH’s house is the same for HKH’s house haha)
—   And also … Lawyer don’t-worry-i’ll-get-you-out-on-probation Ko deserves a round of applause for the best lawyer he is hahaha
THE STORY’S DEVELOPMENTS (AND SCRIPT). I feel like this story could very well have been developed on 20+ episodes! Even if i know some scenes in a script are sometimes (bound to be) cut in the drama, TDJ’s script leaks make me feel there was SO much more to be told, and so much more to explain some plot events in the airing drama!
Because the story was ambitious, both character and plot(twists which give you whiplash)-driven (and also the filming context with the pandemic), i feel like some choices were made.
The lines of thought about justice and the drama’s attempts at its ‘true’ definition are not lost on me. It was really interesting!
On a side note (there will be many, bear with me haha), the symbolic behind the app’s name, DIKE, which i’m pretty sure (correct me if i’m wrong, i only have some very rough basics in korean haha) is the korean romanization of Nikè, or in ancient greek Νίκη, the greek divinity of Victory ( ‘ㄴ’ in korean sounds like an ’n’ but its pronounciation is more abrupt/brisker, to the point of what could be sounding to ears like a ‘d’).
Nikè is most of the time represented as an attribute to other greek divinities who also embody the victory eg. Zeus or Athena, thus seen as a bestower of victory (in any domain, be it war, games = interestingly enough, the live court is set in a colosseum-like room, arts, …)  to the humanity on behalf of these gods (Nikè sometimes stands in her palm as an attribute of Athena, like the owl or the helmet). But sometimes Nikè was also revered an independent protective divinity.
Nikè is represented as a winged divinity in a long robe, flying above the victorious, assisting the humans in their works/challenges eg. handing them a laurel crown as a sign of victory, or a helmet, etc. Its mostly known representation is the Winged Victory of Samothrace (or The Nike of Samothrace) sculpture in the Louvre. The brand Nike also used it in its logo.
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It calls back to Yohan’s line: « I make sure i win before the game starts », and in fact, since the beginning, unbeknownst to everybody witnessing the trials and participating to them, the app was his way to win. It foreshadows the ending of the story, Yohan finally taking down the foundation. It also adds to his god/devil image: he assumes the role of the intermediary/abyss of the « gods » (the Justice), taking in all the hubris of the society in order to bring the justice (well, guess we could say it put some hold to the cycle of the powerful culminating to chaos?) back, in some sort of catharsis through DIKE.
It might be a stretch, but Nikè’s winged representation could be found on Gaon’s tattoo (at first to me, it looked like a phoenix/winged angel, which symbolizes a ‘reincarnation’/new beginning for Yohan finding peace, a second chance to his past and Elijah thanks to Gaon & Gaon finding a new world even if his first crumbled ie. his parents and Soohyun’s death and professor Min’s betrayal).
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(The whole virus plot by the end of the story made me feel a little uncomfortable given the actual context and the conspiracy theories that are spreading, but it wasn’t used carelessly and served the commentary of the powerful and how far they would go, i think? That said, a fiction, especially a dystopia like this, stays a fiction but when they used it, it gave me a forced laugh haha)
Now, if someone gets to translate some script bits, i’m really looking forward to:
K’s backstory!!!!!
Isaac and Yohan’s past!!!!
More about Elijah!!
Where’s the cat???
What was the script saying for Gaon and Yohan’s confrontation in ep. 12? When Yohan faced the window, waking up from a nightmare after Gaon left?
ABOUT SOOHYUN’S BACKSTORY. (Now, this will get long, i’m sorry but i needed to let my thoughts out haha) The drama introduced her as one of the four main characters with Gaon, Yohan and Sunah. I had so many expectations for her character! Especially from the three scenes we got of her:
➔ In the first episode, we see her save a young girl in the street from two men, looking up at the poster « A safe Korea will be realized from now on. »: it was a great introduction to the blatant lie of the ‘safe’ dystopian world that was being created in the story. It also showed how Soohyun felt in front of this insecure world. A side note, but seeing her hug the young girl like that reminded me the hugs she gave Gaon: she wanted to protect him from this unjust world with all her might (especially the scene in the restaurant where she hugs him). ➔ Her two confrontations with Juk Chang! ➔ Her dilemma and emotional turmoil when she erases Gaon’s presence in CKH’s office.
She was portrayed in the story as Gaon’s pillar since his parents’ tragic death and his moral compass. She’s the lawful citizen, despite feeling helpless to the world’s changes, who hopes it could be saved as long as the rule of law is preserved by everyone, and this begins by respecting it themselves. 
But she was not standing around and i kind of regret this was not shown more in the story: she kept doing her best in the « system », fighting from the inside the injustice hoping the little changes could make a difference someday. Because she couldn’t take Yohan’s path, in no way: the system/the law must be respected for it to be sustained. And i’m glad they addressed this point in the drama: Yohan chose to take on the role nobody wanted or even dared to assume, knowing fully well he became a criminal the second he began his plans (just as lawyer Ko said he was no longer a lawyer once he sided with him). 
This must not be glorified, nor vilified. As he said, it was a choice he decided to make. She mirrors his choices to some extent and i would have loved to see more of their interactions or her thoughts about that! And how she worked through the system to change things, her vision of the justice. They showed us the flashback of her career choice in high school, and it could have been interesting to learn more about her! 
A backstory about her saving the youth and meeting Sunah by accident would have been very interesting (given Sunah knew all about her since the beginning and ordered to kill her). Their meeting wouldn’t have foreshadowed Sunah’s plans, quite the opposite, and it would have given more ‘substance’ to her plans. We were robbed of this relationship haha! 
And of course, seeing her side with Yohan & Gaon for a short while (because seeing her team up with them all along the way could’ve been a little ooc) would have been dope. Her arresting Juk Chang while the two of them stop the gang was the closest thing we had to their teamwork ;;
Among the drama’s main focuses (the self-pity of the powerful and the never-ending cycle of their greed, the power displays it ensues which come in many forms in the system’s game), the conception of justice was developed all along the drama. It would have been really interesting to see whether Soohyun’s conception of justice could have changed in her own way!
And professor Min’s potential manipulation of Soohyun!!! Some scenes on their interactions could have been nice to see and explain why she focused solely on Yohan, the only side of the whole story she knew! Her reporting to the professor about her investigation (and him feeling she got too close to the truth) would have made sense because, as she saw Gaon growing apart from her as he was getting closer to the Kangs (especially since she saw him interact with Elijah when they invited her to the café, like Sunah saw how Gaon fit in their family at the dinner scene), she would’ve wanted to protect him without him knowing because she knew it’d have hurt him. It could have paralleled Gaon’s reports on Yohan to the professor at the beginning of the drama. And that could have explained (aside from the whole love triangle dynamics they had) her reluctance to tell Gaon Yohan was the one who told her his whereabouts when he was in danger in ep. 13 ; this scene also was one of the only moments addressing the lack of communication in their relationship. Seeing her feeling confused over Yohan could have been interesting!
(This also got me wondering whether in the script, Yohan’s injury was ever addressed.)
Also, i’m curious about her family, if the script mentions something about them: did they know Gaon?
About the loveline between Gaon and Soohyun: while the friendship could have stayed as is (it already felt pretty genuine in my opinion and strong friendships also deserve to be portrayed in stories), i’m convinced this drama wanted to set Gaon as the center of a subtext love & morality triangle between Soohyun and Yohan (and K and Sunah on Yohan’s part). I think i would’ve appreciated Gaon and Soohyun’s loveline so much more if they developed it more! And it had to develop in the very same episode she died: apart from the confession and kiss scene (i’m curious about the scene’s description in the script), the flashback of their moments, seen from Gaon’s pov, came just right in to ‘explain’ it! 
Of course it wasn’t the main focus of the story and there was already so much happening, but their new relationship development and her death almost had no impact on me even if it was set as a turning point for Gaon (and K for Yohan, as a cement to their respective decision to fight the system and how they would do it), and it made me really really sad! Of course it was a plot device (and i now wonder what would’ve happened if she or K wasn’t dead), but if it was bound to happen, the emotional impact was lessened!
Jinjoo’s character development and her relationship with Sunah happened really really fast, and i wonder how the script describes it!
Sunah’s involvement with the juvenile care center!!!  Her scene at the hospital left me really sad.
(Also, on the love plot, Gaon and Yohan jealousy bits weren’t used later as an expression of their envy towards the other’s status/life/etc. and were actually directed to people outside ie. Sunah/K/Soohyun in the plot, which makes me think they really wanted to set it as a love triangle!)
ABOUT SUNAH’S DEATH. I feel really really conflicted on this point. Her story was a parallel to CKH (and of course Yohan, i’ll talk about it below): two women — coming from totally opposite backgrounds — climbing their way up by their own means in this power circle. And despite all their accomplishments unnoticed (because they were the ones seeing through their plans while the others were mainly seen tearing each other into pieces), they could still be ruthlessly ejected from this world any day, part of it because they were belittled as women all the same, and chose to end her life on her own accord, still having agency over it. 
As someone else pointed it out, it also acts as a « poetic » retribution for her murder of Soohyun and K. BUT her exiting the scene in some other way staying alive could have contrasted with CKH’s suicide (especially since she overthrew the president who was the only one on her side getting in her way and even killed him in the end). Especially in a show that deals about how the justice can be carried out!
Of course, Yohan and Sunah were a foil to each other in their respective fights and traumatic past: the drama showed us how having someone to reach out to and protect (Elijah, Isaac and Gaon to Yohan ; Soohyun, Yohan and Elijah to Gaon) can become a driving force. Sunah, despite thinking this could be a weakness, also longed for companionship (from Yohan mainly, but also from Jaehee), and had no one to stop her crossing the line and preserve her from herself and the world. At least someone hearing her story, staying by her side and trying to understand her. 
Each time she said ‘can you be a little nicer to me?’ to Yohan made me feel for her (and also that one call with Jaehee), it was the only cries of loneliness she silently let out!
On a totally random note, i would have loved to see her interact more with Gaon (especially by the end of ep. 15, when Yohan was arrested)!
The story gladly didn’t end Yohan’s traumatic past and growth in death, but what about Sunah? In any case, Sunah was a really good and complex character, i enjoyed her character!
What about Jaehee? How did she react to Sunah’s death???
What about CKH’s family after her death???
I would have loved to hear more about Sunah’s plans as well! Scenes where she would play with Gaon for example (in Yohan’s presence or not, like at the photoshoot)! 
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(This comment above foreshadowed, along with the dinner scene in ep. 11, she used him all along!)
Her involvement behind the scenes was only exposed in ep. 15 but i wanted to know more about her (motivations aside from her focus on Yohan, what did she plan to do before finding out a look-alike to Isaac, ...)! Given the elements in the plot, i get the idea she planned this whole business with the foundation first to reach the top and wanted to bring Yohan up with her (eg. leading the foundation or becoming the president) or down without her along the way, because she wanted his companionship. Maybe the script expands on it more? Did she really believe in the Dream Home project? Because as we saw her speech in the juvenile care center and her strong reaction to the youth being harmed in these schemes, i believe she kinda wanted to protect them as the best revenge on her past, because nobody could do it for her?  
THE ENDING SCENE. The ending was pretty good and didn’t give us an all-out tragedy, so i’m really glad! I still can’t believe Gaon was ready to blow his life away once he learnt Yohan’s death AND wanted to die with him (falsely) realizing Yohan wouldn’t change his mind, dead set on his decision (no pun intended!). And Yohan’s reaction to this ............... Now, their last scene is left to the viewers’ interpretation, but it felt to me like a new beginning to Yohan and Gaon’s relationship! As it was already said by many people on tumblr, Yohan wasn’t sure if Gaon would still be by his side despite it all, and he didn’t expect Gaon to feel this way. They’ll definitely meet again, it’s a promise of more in the future (especially Yohan’s nod, on the verge of tears and Gaon’s two relieved/endeared smiles, full of forgiveness). Gaon will join his new world once he’s done or they’ll come back to him once Elijah’s recovered.
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And this game of hide and seek/hunt reflected their relationship development: Yohan felt unattainable at first, but he chased after him in the maze that was his devilish game, symbolized by the crowd, chasing him motivated by his suspicion, curiosity, anger and hate, disbelief and disappointment, empathy, worry, affection, desperation and love, until he finally reached him and they understood each other among all the crowd, living metaphorically in the same time, facing each other on the same (ground) level.
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(A scene in the first episode, Gaon seeing a maze of Yohan’s reflections, maybe symbolizing he could not see through his facade in the beginning, being an enigma to him at first sight ; the choice of the reflections in the mirrors through the drama is interesting and reflects the story: depending on the angles, a story can hold as many meanings as there are points of view, the complete image surfacing once everybody’s story is told)
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(Just like how, in ep. 4, Yohan shows Gaon the wicked system right under their noses, Gaon’s enraged and confused gaze directed right at Yohan after they all block his view by clinking glasses ; Yohan hoped he would understand what lies beneath but Gaon understands it fully through his own past in ep. 7-8)
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(The crowd is cleared from their/our view in the final scene, leaving the two of them facing each other without any obstacle/reflection on their path)
Gaon kept Yohan’s watch all the time even in moments of doubt, sorrow and rage (the best PPL in drama history so far haha), Yohan finally got to Gaon and entered his world as Soohyun did, reaching out when he needed it the most, to stop him doing something he would regret deeply. It was symbolized by the scar he got on his left hand from preventing Gaon from stabbing him (that’s also why he caresses his scar in a bittersweet way, lost in thoughts, reminding him of their last meeting).
As @i-guess-it-rains said + according to the BTS’ editing (it passed off as a joke but i can’t erase it from my brain now haha),  the way the scene where Yohan defused Gaon’s bomb was framed looked at the same time like Yohan was also carefully handling Gaon’s heart (the bomb countdown clock radiating a red glow on his chest), on the verge of exploding. Now i have The Nights lyrics in my head haha (« My heart is going back to you, i just don’t know »)
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On another note, i realized that in ep. 12, after Gaon left, he’s seen trying to call Soohyun in order to reach for her since their last confrontation, but right before, his finger glides over his contact, hesitating on Yohan’s contact before choosing to call Soohyun.
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While in ep. 8, he only reaches out to Soohyun after his breakdown in the prison yard (without thinking to call Yohan because he was in the core of his doubts and pain at that time and needed space to reflect on all the events):
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And it parallels to Sunah attempting to reach out to Jaehee in her loneliness at the top, hesitating before deciding to call her.
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Now i hope TDJ will be on Netflix! It’d be very nice to get to watch the drama in high quality and have more people to see it!
I heard it got a webtoon adaptation so i also look forward to it once it will be translated!
A SECOND SEASON? When i first saw the ending, i thought it got wrapped up nicely and didn’t « need » another season, but it also left some parts open and laid out a new background for further developments (the system repeats itself but in another form, Yohan leaves the scene with his signature smile, maybe up to something else again, saying metaphorically or irl to Gaon he’ll come back if he doesn’t do well), kinda like Stranger/Forest of Secrets s1 or The Guest ending (the corruption doesn’t end there). I also heard it got high viewing rates in SK, so maybe it will be taken into account? And well, i’ll miss the cast so i would welcome the idea haha
THE SOUNDTRACK. The whole OST was stellar (and their titles are on point really!)! Getting to hear it without voices or noise over and with my headphones on made me realize it was even more beautiful! Because I Have You, Warmth That Melts Loneliness and If Only… are the end of me (especially If Only aaaaaaa)! Don’t get me started on Enemy of Truth’s title to the OST playing for the church fire because it’s devastating ;;;
If Only’s title … It leaves us filling in the blank space, the dots to Gaon’s thoughts when he learns about Yohan’s past and how it impacts him to this day.
The 4 songs were amazing (there’s also Different from the Outside but i still didn’t get its lyrics). Tempest was definitely etched in my mind as TDJ’s main theme haha And The Nights was my favorite!  
➔ Tempest was Yohan’s iconic theme and depicted his lonely path to revenge after the tragic events in his life, and his (fated) encounter with Gaon, how deeply it will change him in this journey in ways he didn’t expect. It perfectly introduces (with Chet Faker and Flume’s Drop the game) and concludes the drama!
➔ What you gonna do was THE revenge epic song making everyone revel in the ‘bad guys’ despair and Yohan’s badass moves! 
➔ The Nights felt like it was both Yohan and Gaon’s theme and Gaon’s sorrow after Soohyun’s death: at first i thought it was only Yohan’s, but his revenge and the last episodes proved me wrong! The song’s lyrics mirrored themselves (‘my/your night shines on you/me’), as if a complete understanding between Yohan and Gaon was found on their dark road. Yohan’s night shines on Gaon: Yohan’s broken past and all his misunderstood or hidden sides, his dedication to Elijah. Yohan’s rage (almost wrath since the biblical and god symbolism are there haha) and desire to take the inique system down waked Gaon’s own rage, buried deep inside, and made him move forward too. Gaon’s night shines on Yohan: all the time he spent with the Kangs, Gaon’s deep empathy and understanding, helping him reconnect with his niece, their dinners at night, his rage exploding when the truth about his parents was revealed, his desperation on the last two episodes (in ep. 15, seeing Gaon’s realization everything was a lie and Yohan was innocent, and in ep. 16, Gaon wanting to die by his side). Gaon’s night also shined on Soohyun, who wanted to protect him with all she got each time she saw him crumbling down.
There was still light on their dark road (which looks like a callback to Nightmare’s lyrics, « Save me from myself / Save me from this darkness that has lost its light »).
➔ Nightmare felt like it was Yohan and Sunah’s theme. When it last played when Sunah’s death happened on screen, it left me speechless (and if i remember correctly, the ‘save me from myself’ bit was played right when she shot herself … o u c h)!
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translations-by-aiimee · 4 years ago
Text
Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 7
Original Title: 论救错反派的下场
TW for this chapter: Suicide Attempt
Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi
This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.
Chapter Index
Chapter 7 - Panic in the Medicated Bath
Song Qingshi searched the warehouse all night and finally found old robes made of red ice silk. He dismantled the decorative formation above, handed it over to the valley servants, and asked them to modify them to look like inner robes overnight. Then, he quietly put them on the bedside of Yue Wuhuan along with the new cotton gown.
The next day, Yue Wuhuan was shocked when he saw this ice silk robe.
Song Qingshi has urged him up from outside the door: "Hurry up, let's go for a new treatment."
"Yes, Master." Yue Wuhuan knew that he had changed masters, so he didn't dare to think too much. He put on his clothes and went out in a hurry, feeling much more comfortable in this outfit.
Song Qingshi took him through the corridor and went to the alchemy room next door. This was originally a forbidden place in the Medicine King Valley. A place where the original body used animals and humans to experiment with various medicines. It was also the place where the valley servants were most afraid of entering. Song Qingshi complied with the "Declaration of Helsinki" and rejected any human experiment that violated ethics. Fortunately, when he took over being the Medicine Master, there were not many test items left by the original body. He immediately released what he could release and helped those that needed help, and then changed it to a treatment room. The remaining specimens and general teachers are placed in other rooms - these were the big treasures of medicine, and he would study slowly when he had some free time.
Yue Wuhuan was walking towards the alchemy room and found that more than one valley servants cast sympathetic glances his way, and he became a little nervous. After entering the alchemy room, when he saw Song Qing take out a medicine vat big enough to fit a person in, he became more paranoid.
Song Qingshi didn't notice his anxiety. He threw the various medicinal materials that had been counted ahead of time into the tank, then poured water and used the alchemical fire in his body to control the temperature. After the water in the tank turned red, he turned back and said: "Take off your clothes and get in."
Yue Wuhuan stood still, his eyes stiffened when he looked at him.
"Don't be afraid," Song Qingshi finally remembered that he had forgotten to explain. "The Prince’s Plume Expelling Decoction is a medicinal bath. It won't cause discomfort."
Yue Wuhuan hesitated for a moment before stretching his hand to the belt and untying it.
Song Qingshi turned around, sat down with his back to him, not peeking at him entering the bath.
Yue Wuhuan breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly removed his clothes, and stepped into the bloody medicinal water. The hot liquid medicine penetrated into the skin, causing a slight tingling sensation, but there was indescribable comfort. He took a deep breath, relaxed completely, and suddenly sank his whole person into the water. He didn't expect that the water would overflow because it was too full. It splashed on Song Qingshi’s neck, ears and hair. A pale red flower blossomed on his white robe.
For most Daoists, the robe was a very important thing and any damage would cause heartache.
Yue Wuhuan realized his mistake and sneaked out of the water quietly. He hid in the tank and peeked out, worried that he would offend Xianzun.
Song Qingshi didn't care what happened. He stared at the bluestone on the ground in a daze. After a while, he discreetly shook the water droplets on his hair.
Yue Wuhuan picked his words carefully and asked cautiously: "Master, will you turn around so that this slave can clean you?"
Song Qingshi lowered his head and looked at the bluestone more attentively: "You are bathing, you can't peek." In his world view, it was reasonable for doctors to check the patient's physical condition during treatment, but if the doctor peeks at the patient trying to take a bath, it was morally corrupt and shameless.
Yue Wuhuan pondered these words for a long time, and guessed: "Does Master dislike that this slave's body is too dirty?"
Song Qingshi shook his head and whispered: "You don't like being watched."
"Master jokes." Yue Wuhuan's eyes hardened, and he was silent for a moment, peeking out of the water. His long hair wet sat on his shoulders, just like a mermaid who just came out of the sea. His body was otherworldly, and his muscles were perfectly proportioned with no hint of fat. His waist was slender enough to be held with one arm, but there was hidden power inside. He leaned against the edge of the bath, approached Song Qingshi’s ear, blowing lightly. His phoenix eyes were extremely charming, the red tear-shaped mole was so gorgeous that it could charm people’s hearts, and his voice was as tempting as the devil. "What is there not to see on this slave's body? The people who have seen it. . . there were too many to count. They all say that the slave's body is very beautiful and defined, and it can stop a man in his tracks. It was made to be adored. . ."
Song Qingshi quickly interrupted him, repeating: "You don't like being watched."
After Yue Wuhuan watched him for a long time, he said hoarsely: "This slave doesn't care anymore."
Song Qingshi didn't know how to explain, but insisted: "You don't like it."
Can he refuse just because he doesn't like it?
Yue Wuhuan thought this was ridiculous. In the years when he was just sent to accompany guests, he was coaxed to say that he didn't like it and didn't want it. The result was only meant to find his weaknesses for their amusement.
He didn't like to be seen, so that meant he was forced to show the most unbearable postures to everyone in the square and at banquets time and time again.
He doesn't like saying those lewd things, so he was tortured by various drugs and instruments of torture until he learned to use his voice to add to the excitement. . .
Until he abandoned his sense of shame, gave up his dignity, and pretended to enjoy these things.
He had known for a long time that in the eyes of these stupid cultivators, he was just a beautiful toy, without emotions, existing just to be moulded into whatever his master wanted. He often wished that he could go mad and be stupid, like most slaves, and lose his ability to think. He could mindlessly live a dog-like life and using his body to please his master.
It's a pity that there was always a trace of clarity in his heart, coldly examining his embarrassing self, and then cutting him to pieces. . .
Maybe he had already gone crazy. . .
He couldn’t tell when the fire rose slowly. The temperature of the potion was getting hotter and hotter. Yue Wuhuan’s face also became hotter and hotter, but he couldn’t feel the scorching heat and dipped his head into the bloody-red potion until water flooded up his nose and he couldn't breathe. He didn't want to get up, hoping to just stay submerged forever so that the hot water could clean the filth off his body, preferably right down to his bones.
Song Qingshi noticed something was wrong from the quietness behind him. He turned his head and found that he had been distracted when they were speaking and did not control the Red Lotus fire well. The water temperature rose several degrees and it was so hot that Yue Wuhuan had disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Song Qingshi didn't move cautiously, got up and rushed over, reaching into the tank to get the person out.
The wet beauty was dragged into his arms. His eyes were closed and his limbs drooped feebly. His long curling hair clung to his fair skin, dripping onto the ground, making the Acacia Seal on his back shimmer. Song Qingshi's mind was clear. He quickly laid the person on the ground, confirmed he still had a pulse and started CPR.
Yue Wuhuan spit up water and opened his eyes. He was surprised to find that Song Qingshi’s face was so close to his. He could even see his own reflection in his clear, black eyes. Because of the heat from the tank, Song Qingshi's eyes were heated and red, with water droplets clinging to his long eyelashes. He looked like a naive and innocent boy, nothing like an ancestor of the Nascent Soul sect who had practiced for nearly a thousand years, deceiving and cheating death itself.
He hadn't recognized the other party's true identity by the river at the time. He had wanted to sympathize with a man who would never experience an unjust death.
Yue Wuhuan's thoughts became more and more chaotic. He curled up subconsciously, and all kinds of messy memories flashed in front of him. The tenderness in his chest and the remaining warmth on his lips made him a little confused between reality and his memories as if he had returned to when he was punished by his masters.
Scholar-Tyrant Song almost failed his class, so scared that his soul almost flew away. His movements were as fierce as a tiger, relying entirely on instinct. After Yue Wuhuan woke up, he breathed a sigh of relief. However, he realized that there were many ways to treat drowning in the world of cultivating immortals, and there was no need to use modern first aid at all.
He wouldn't be able to clearly explain this. . .
It was standard for medical students to perform CPR on a drowning victim. Regardless of whether it was someone beautiful or ugly, a child or an old man, he would do it without hesitation. Song Qingshi was a little embarrassed that he hadn't figured out the best first aid technique for the immortal world ahead of time, but he can worry about that later. He just had to figure out how to explain it.
Yue Wuhuan had lost the focus in his eyes. He slowly unfolded his body, no longer covering it up, like a fish that was forcibly dragged ashore to die, preparing to be slaughtered.
Song Qingshi quickly turned his face away, closed his eyes, and apologized honestly: "I'm sorry, I made a mistake with the temperature of the water."
"It's not Master's fault," Yue Wuhuan's eyes were open, but he couldn't make out anything around him. He was listening, but he couldn't understand what was being said. He repeated his standard answer, "It's my fault, it's my fault. . ."
This is the truth that he had paid a heavy price to learn and had been instilled in him over and over again, always reminding him how to live.
"Wuhuan, you are so beautiful, you were born to be played with."
"Wuhuan, it's your body that seduces men, so it must be abused."
"Wuhuan, it's because you are so aloof that it makes me not want to stop."
"Wuhuan, you are a monster born for sex."
"Yue Wuhuan, it's all your fault."
"Yue Wuhuan, it's all your fault."
. . .
"My fault, my fault, my fault. . ." Yue Wuhuan kept repeating numbly, "It's all my fault."
Because he was the wrong that existed in the world.
Song Qingshi took off his robe and put it on Yue Wuhuan, and suddenly realized that the mental state of the person in front of him was very fragile, as though he were caught in a terrifying trap. He thought for a while and gritted his teeth. He stretched out his hand to slap him but hesitated, so he got up and brought a bucket of cold water next to him. He used the freezing technique and poured it down suddenly over his head. Yue Wuhuan was shocked by the cold, and his mind cleared somewhat. Song Qingshi took the opportunity to give him the Tranquil Mind Spirit Calming Pill to take.
"Master?" Yue Wuhuan came to his senses, a little confused.
"It's okay." Song Qingshi took the towels and clothes he had prepared earlier, wrapped him up layer and layer like a dumpling, and then gave a rational explanation, "You were hallucinating because you almost drowned."
Yue Wuhuan nodded blankly.
Song Qingshi determined that he had wrapped the dumpling tight enough. He stopped, satisfied, and ordered: "Wear more in the future."
Yue Wuhuan looked at him and asked anxiously: "This slave can wear more?"
Song Qingshi eagerly educated him: "Autumn is coming soon. It's going to be cold. You must wear more to avoid catching a cold."
"Thank you Master for your pity." Yue Wuhuan responded softly as soon as he was sure that he was not toying with him. He clutched his clothes tightly. For some reason, he suddenly remembered that when he first entered Golden Phoenix Manor, he was forced to take off all his clothes and was reduced to being a plaything.
Now, this seemingly deceptive man had personally helped him put on his clothes piece by piece, as though he were trying to convince him of something. . .
Because the medicated bath had been interrupted, the effect had not been fully achieved.
Song Qingshi busied himself adding water to the medicine tank and re-adjusting the temperature.
Yue Wuhuan sat quietly on the ground watching him work for his sake, lost in thought. Suddenly, he later realized that the never-ending burning sensation in his body had died down. He moved his body slightly and was surprised to find that the sensitivity caused by drugs had also greatly decreased, and the friction of the cloth was no longer causing him discomfort.
He tried to find an answer, but couldn't understand it. He finally plucked up the courage to ask, "Master, what is the purpose of the Prince's Plume Expelling Decoction. . .?"
"Huh?" Song Qingshi stopped and froze for a while. He found that he had again fallen into the scholar-tyrant's bad habit. His mind was moving too fast. He always felt that others would understand as long as he gave a name or an answer, regardless of whether others were following his thoughts or not.
Song Qingshi was a good academic who knew how to accept his mistakes and correct them. He reorganized his words several times in his mind and chose the simplest explanation, "Your body has been corroded by many drugs, so it causes great discomfort. The Prince's Plume Expelling Decoction can be used to remove the drug residues in your body. This medicinal bath needs to be taken five times, and the last two times will be taken with Muscle Generating Flower and Snow Toad Cake added to help repair the old wounds. When that happens, it might be itchy and uncomfortable but we can't use anesthetics. Don’t worry, you just need to endure that stage, and the body will return to its original state. . ."
Song Qingshi couldn’t bear to say it: Those people didn’t care about whether Yue Wuhuan lived or died. All kinds of aphrodisiacs were used uncontrollably on him, causing conflicts of various drug properties in his body and residual excess. If the drugs had continued to be used, he wouldn't have made it another few years.
"I was overdosed on drugs. . . Yes, they thought I was boring," Yue Wuhuan wrapped his clothes tightly around his frame, reluctant to let go. He hesitated for a long time but decided to control the unwillingness in his heart and explain clearly what Song Qingshi would figure out sooner or later. He was so confused that he once again forgot how he was supposed to address himself, "Master, without the medicine, my body will not respond to men. You won't be able to find pleasure in me. I-I'm not used to those things, only with the help of drugs. . ."
Song Qingshi interrupted his incoherent speech: "Don't do things that make you uncomfortable."
"You don't need to be nice to me." The more Yue Wuhuan opened his heart, the more fear he felt. He was like a bewildered child, desperately saying, "I have nothing, the only thing I can give you is this body. . ."
Song Qingshi realized that he wasn't in a good emotional state right now and turned away. He knew he should do psychological intervention now, but the words in his heart that he had practiced thousands of times all disappeared the minute he opened his mouth. He couldn't say anything sweet and comforting. He was clearly extremely upset, but in the end, his thoughts could only be condensed into two words: "You have."
The Yue Wuhuan in his heart was the kid who had practiced his swordsmanship under the peach blossom tree, the boy who dreamt of becoming a cultivator with a mortal body.
The Yue Wuhuan he saw in his eyes was a soaring phoenix in the heavens, the brightest star in the night, but with its wings broken and covered in dust.
Song Qingshi walked step by step, firm in every step.
Yue Wuhuan tried to force himself to calm down, but he couldn't stop his body from trembling, and he wanted to retreat.
Song Qingshi squatted down on his knees and looked meaningfully into his eyes.
Yue Wuhuan felt that he couldn't retreat.
Song Qingshi promised word by word: "I will and return to you whatever you had before, and I will give you everything you want."
Yue Wuhuan's breathing became short. He still couldn't understand what this promise meant, but he understood the seriousness and determination in Song Qingshi's eyes. He asked carefully: "What do you need me to do?"
Song Qingshi asked: "Don't try to commit suicide again, okay?"
Yue Wuhuan thought for a long time and finally nodded.
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kelyon · 4 years ago
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Golden Rings 8: A Mayor
The Storybrooke Sequel to Golden Cuffs
Rumple has a chat with Regina
Read on AO3
After that disaster of a meal, the walk to City Hall gave Rumpelstiltskin time to cool his head. It was one thing to lose control in front of Mrs. Gold, the poor woman would just blame herself for any change in his behavior. But now he was strolling into enemy territory. Going eye-to-eye with the Evil Queen. He knew better than to blink. 
In the old world, there was no question that he was more powerful than Regina. She had learned her magic from him. Even then, the girl had a long list of grievances against a world that had, admittedly, treated her poorly. Rumpelstiltskin had trained her in the ways of dark magic, and that gave her the means to forge her anger into a weapon. Over the years, the queen had refined her rage, hammering her many resentments again and again until her pain was a folded blade, sharp enough to cut the world asunder.   
The most important lesson the Dark One had ever taught his protégé was that true power was the ability to cause pain. If hurting people didn’t make her happy, clearly the solution was to hurt more people. As Regina’s abilities had grown, so did her list of enemies and potential victims. Her wrath had expanded from targeting one little girl, to a small rebellion, to the whole realm.
Storybrooke was Regina’s ultimate victory, even over him. It was not enough for her to simply end the lives of her enemies. She had to torture those who had wronged her, prolong their suffering. For twenty-eight years, she had trapped them all in a world without time. A world where every day seemed exactly the same as the day before--except, somehow, worse. 
She had separated all of them from the people they had loved. She had forced them all to be the worst versions of themselves. She had destroyed their happiness in the hope that she would finally have some for herself.
Had it worked? 
Rumpelstiltskin had reached Main Street, the unofficial border between the old part of  town and the new. Regina lived in New Town, along with the rest of the Storybrooke elite. The castles of this world were made of drywall and stucco, and Mayor Mills lived in the grandest of them all. Did that satisfy her? Was it enough for her to be richer and more powerful than anyone else in town? Did she still feel like a Queen?
City Hall was in New Town as well, only a few blocks away from 108 Mifflin Street. That wasn’t the official residence for every mayor, but it was convenient that the only person who ever ran for the office lived within walking distance. 
Main Street was deserted at this late hour. Even Granny’s had only a few stragglers inside, lonely people lingering over cups of coffee before heading back to empty houses. The loudest noise on the street was the opening of the door from the offices of Dr. Archibald Hopper.
A little boy ran out onto the sidewalk, jabbering excitedly to a blonde young woman.
“I’m telling you, the first step is to figure out who people are. Once we know, then we can help them remember on their own. Then they can find their happy endings!”
“Okay, kid. Sure. We’re gonna suss out people’s secret identities from fairytale land. How?”     
“Don’t worry. It’s all in the book!”
The animated conspirators walked off. Neither one noticed the figure limping in the shadows behind them.
Well, Rumpelstiltskin thought. That was interesting. 
Gold recognized the boy as Henry Mills. Ten years ago--though to a cursed mind it couldn’t possibly have been ten years, my how time flies--Regina Mills had come to Gold and asked him to arrange for an adoption. She had demanded a newborn with no family, preferably from far away. She had wanted a closed adoption, with a birth mother who would never interfere with the life she had planned for the baby. 
It had been a tall order, but Gold had contacted a juvenile detention facility in Phoenix, Arizona. By some happy chance, one of their charges--herself an orphan who had spent her life in the foster care system and inevitably fell to a life of petty theft--had found herself pregnant. Gold had never gotten the name of Henry’s birth mother, but Rumpelstiltskin knew it well.
Emma Swan.
So that was why the Savior had come to town. 
And, apparently, the boy Henry had some idea of the true nature of the people around him. Was it because of this book he had mentioned? Or was reality obvious to anyone who  wasn’t blinded by the curse? Either way, the boy was trying to get Emma to help him make people remember who they were.
How very interesting.
The rest of the walk was easy. Rumpelstiltskin walked with a light step to City Hall. The lights were on in the Mayor’s office, but there was some activity in the garden around the back.
Rumpelstiltskin found the Queen on her knees, picking apples up off the ground. The sedate little garden had become a place of horticultural carnage. An entire branch of Regina’s prized apple tree was on the ground, with a fresh wound on the trunk. The grass was littered with sawdust and leaves and fallen fruit.
“What a mess.” Rumpelstiltskin announced his presence, walking into the enclosed space.  
Regina finished what she was doing before she stood up. “Not for long.”
There was a smile on her face, and a sharp gleam in her eyes. Rumpelstiltskin could read his pupil like a book. Despite the chaos around her, she was celebrating a victory. So far, she was happy. How fragile was that mood?
“This will all be cleaned up in the morning,” Regina said. “And the menace responsible is probably halfway back to Boston by now.”
“You don’t mean Emma Swan, do you?” Rumpelstiltskin circled the tree as he spoke. “I just saw her walking down the main street with your boy. Two of them looked thick as thieves.”
It was always a pleasure to see Regina’s smile vanish, and her satisfaction sour into spite. But now there was an extra thrill in watching her ire. She hadn’t changed at all. Twenty-eight years of getting everything she wanted, and Regina was just as insecure and petty as she had ever been.
Marvelous.  
“I told that woman to get out of my town.”
“Apparently, she didn’t follow your orders.” Reaching up into the tree, Rumpelstiltskin grabbed a low-hanging fruit and twisted the stem until it broke off in his hand. “That makes her rather a special person around here, don’t you think?”   
Regina ground her back teeth, an ugly habit she’d had for years. “I spent all day trying to get rid of her.”
“And you didn’t come to me?” Rumpelstiltskin tossed the apple in the air and caught it in one hand. A whole day? No wonder the Queen was frustrated! Normally her will was worked much more quickly than that. Of course, she normally had help. “I thought you knew where to go when you needed something done.” 
She turned her back on him to examine her tree. “I don’t make deals with you anymore.”
“And what a shame that is for us both,” Rumpelstiltskin lied. “After all, we have such a grand history of working together for our mutual benefit.”
“Your ‘benefits’ aren’t always what they seem, Mr. Gold.” Regina smirked, like she was pointing out some undiscovered fact. “Even when you got Henry for me, now I find out that there’s this woman.”
He held the apple in the palm of his hand. “Children are known to have mothers--”
“I’m his mother!” She cut him off sharply, and he knew that look. If this was a world with magic, the Evil Queen would be throwing fireballs right now. Her anger was always so close to the surface. She had never learned how to hold back, how to sneak and plot and keep your enemies close. 
“Be that as it may.” He kept his voice friendly, the same tone Gold would use. “Next time you need something, I hope you’ll remember to call on me.”
She smirked again, that regal expression of amusement and disdain. It was one of her better masks. “Nice to see you so accommodating, Mr. Gold. I’m glad that woman hasn’t ruined everything in Storybrooke.”
He shook his head, all businesslike courtesy. “No matter what strangers may do, everyone needs a friend in low places.”
“And you are certainly the lowest,” Regina chuckled. The smallest show of deference was enough to restore her good humor. The slightest reminder of the power she thought she had. “By the way, how is Mrs. Gold?”
“Quite well, thanks for asking.” He looked her in the eye and lied to her face. His masks were better than hers and always would be. “She’s a little, ah, tied up, at the moment. But I’ll give her your regards once she’s free.”
“Please do. I always like seeing the two of you around town.”
Rumpelstiltskin polished the apple on the sleeve of his suit jacket. This type was called a Red Delicious, though Mayor Mills would tell people it was a Honeycrisp. She could tell people anything and they wouldn’t question her. 
He began to saunter out of the garden. He had seen everything he needed to see.
 “I wouldn’t worry about Emma Swan.” He left Regina with a reassurance that would only remind her of her real problem. “How could she possibly be a threat to you?”
He didn’t let Regina respond. He had asked her a question that would haunt her waking hours. Whatever happiness she had accumulated with her curse had popped like a balloon the moment the Savior had entered Storybrooke. 
All he had to do was watch the show. 
On his way out of the garden, he took one bite out of the apple. Red through it was, the fruit was far from delicious. It was bland and bitter, just like her. Rumpelstiltskin tossed the apple over his shoulder and left the Queen to the destruction that had once been her sanctuary. 
****
Heading back to the house, Rumpelstiltskin’s mind went to another dark sorceress: Maleficent, the self-styled Mistress of All Evil. She had certainly been the mistress of Regina. Once Regina’s husband was dead and Snow White had fled for her life, Regina had taken Maleficent as her lover publicly. No one in the kingdom had dared speak a word against it. For a time, the two of them were inseparable, their mutual adoration a force that would move mountains. And they liked nothing more than to exercise their power on anyone who was weaker than they were.
They had done it to Belle. Rumpelstiltskin’s heart burned at the memory. Long before he married her, he had let them take her. When Belle had trusted him completely, he had been too much of a coward to defend her. Because he couldn’t have let the queens of darkness know that he had feelings for the pretty girl whose body he had bought and paid for. He couldn’t have exerted any force to protect her from them. He couldn’t have even said that she belonged to him and he didn’t want to share. That would have been a sign of weakness, tantamount to admitting that he loved her.
And he couldn’t have allowed them to know the truth. His reputation, his pride, could not endure it. At the time, he couldn’t even admit it to himself. 
Belle had come back to him naked and bleeding, with a testimony of the worst kinds of torture. Every wound on her body screamed out his guilt. Every word of what she told him as an indictment of his failure. For weeks after she had suffered nightmares and attacks of fear--things he only learned about later, because he hadn’t wanted to hear it, and Belle hadn’t wanted to tell him. The selfless girl had stifled her own trauma for the sake of his ego.
On Rumpelstiltskin’s mountain of regrets, refusing to protect Belle from Regina and Maleficent was a towering peak. 
Of course, Belle wasn’t the only one. Reports and rumors kept circulating about that kingdom, of the horrors inflicted on anyone who stood up to the Queen, or got in her way or even attracted her attention. Fair maidens with dark hair began to stay out in the sunshine to tan their skin and lighten their tresses. They wanted to bear no resemblance to the truest target of Regina’s rage, the girl who always evaded her grasp.
Eventually it had become too much, even for Maleficent. She had left, returning to her own castle. When Rumpelstiltskin had paid a visit to her, the witch had seemed more disappointed than heartbroken.
“It just got boring, Rumple. The same things to the same people, over and over! And Regina was never satisfied, not with me or anyone else. Evil is evil, but a person’s got to feel appreciated for the work she puts in!”
Maleficent would have taken Regina back, he knew. If there was even the slightest hint that things could change, that Regina was capable of growing up. Maleficent would have offered Regina a twisted version of happiness, if only Regina had really wanted to take it. 
Sometimes, late at night while Belle was sleeping safely beside him, Rumpelstiltskin liked to imagine the reconciliation between the two queens. It was an inevitable moment. One way or another, destiny would bring them back together, at least one more time.
Regina would come to Maleficent. Perhaps she would say she was sorry, that she wanted a new start. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to say anything. Maleficent’s eyes would glow with her green fire. And her smile would be of genuine joy. She would lower her defenses and welcome her lover with open arms.
Welcome Regina into her heart.
That image had comforted him through many nights when his mind was tormented by how the queens had tortured Belle. They would pay for all they had done to her. Even now, the thought filled him with vengeful contentment.
****
When he got back to the pink house in Old Town, Rumpelstiltskin found the place dark and quiet. The lights in the entryway were shut off, the candles in the dining room extinguished. The cold, fluorescent light in the kitchen was the only illumination on the first floor.
Plates and cookware were stacked on the counter by the sink. They were rinsed off, but not scrubbed. Gold didn’t trust his wife to wash his precious antiques. 
“Right,” Rumpelstiltskin said. 
In preparation to wash the dishes, he took off his suit coat and draped it over a kitchen chair. Then he removed the cuff links at his wrists and carefully folded up his sleeves. There were black rubber gloves inside the cupboard door underneath the sink. A green canvas apron hung from a hook by the stove. Gold was very fond of protection, of layers and separation. At last, there was something about him that Rumpelstiltskin could understand.
He took off Gold’s moonstone ring and put it in his trouser pockets with the cuff links. Now the only thing on his hands was his wedding ring, the golden band that had once been a shackle around Belle’s wrist.
Before he put on the rubber gloves, Rumpelstiltskin brought his knuckles up to his lips and kissed his ring. He had never removed it in the old world. It was as much a part of him as his own hand. He wouldn’t take it off here, either. The ring was proof that he was Belle’s husband. 
Belle’s husband, and Bae’s father. That was enough. When the world was right, that would be all he would need to be. 
Once the dishes were cleaned, dried, and put away, Rumpelstiltskin gathered his things and went upstairs. Mrs. Gold had said something about taking a bath. She was surely done by now. If he was lucky, she would already be asleep and he wouldn’t have to talk to her again.
It was the end of Rumpelstiltskin’s first full day in Storybrooke. He was already tired, already heartsick, already waiting for the Savior to do her job and free them all.     
The red lamp was burning in the parlor of the bedroom suite, just as it had been the night before. Mrs. Gold had turned it on to welcome her husband. The bedroom was dark, save for a beam of light that shone from the half-open bathroom door.
“Is that you, Mr. Gold?” Belle’s voice came from the bathroom, as well as the faint sound of sloshing water. The whole bedroom smelled like some kind of artificial perfume--the expensive bath oils that Mrs. Gold liked to buy.
“Do a lot of visitors come into this bedroom?” Rumpelstiltskin stayed on the other side of the door and began to undress. 
Mrs. Gold chuckled, the way Belle did when she was relaxed and comfortable. “I never know when you might send someone over to surprise me.”
He winced at that, at the casual way she suggested the possibility. Gold had never allowed another man or woman to touch his wife, but it always seemed to be on the horizon. That was the next barrier to cross, the next thrill for Gold to seek. He had prepared Mrs. Gold to expect it. At any moment, he might invite some stranger into their home--into their bed, into her body--and her task would be to be a welcoming hostess. 
Regina had made it that way. Everything about this marriage was her design, a reflection of what she had seen of him and Belle. It was possible that the torment was supposed to come from how much Gold and his wife both wanted to sleep with more people, but couldn’t find anyone in Storybrooke willing to indulge them.
“I’m almost done shaving,” Mrs. Gold called from the bathroom. “Then I think I could use some lotion. It’s getting colder now. I gotta keep soft and moisturized.”
She was inviting him to rub her down, to put his hands all over her silky skin and cover her body with a slick, sweet-smelling substance. They had done this so many times, in this world as well as the old one. He had made her soft and smooth and warm. He had found her wet and willing and open. His wife wanted him. She was offering herself to him. She loved him and he loved her and joining their bodies together was the most natural thing in any world…
“Fuck,” Rumpelstiltskin whispered as he pulled his pajama pants up over his hardening cock. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, more loudly, he said to Mrs. Gold, “Actually, I think I’m going to go to sleep. You take as much time as you need.”
For a moment, the silence from the other room threatened to swallow the whole of reality. 
“Oh,” she said at last. “O-okay, Mr. Gold. What--whatever you say.”
It hurt to hear the disappointment in her voice. But this was what he had to do. He couldn’t indulge in Mrs. Gold’s appetites--or his own. She wasn’t Belle. Doing anything more than sleeping next to her would be an unconscionable violation of Belle’s trust. 
And besides, that woman had no say over what she thought she wanted. Between the cursed personality Regina had devised and the cruel training Gold had inflicted, nothing inside of Mrs. Gold was real. She wasn’t a person, any more than Gold had been.
Rumpelstiltskin sighed, and got into bed. Maybe he could fall asleep before Mrs. Gold joined him. Or he could feign slumber until she went away to do something else. Would tomorrow be another day like this? And the day after that? Was he going to have to make excuses to this woman until the curse was broken? Coward that he was, he would run and hide from someone who thought she loved him.
He was still awake when Mrs. Gold came out of the bathroom. To her credit, she didn’t try to attract his attention. He had told her that nothing would happen tonight and she respected his decision--far more than Gold had ever respected any of hers. But she still strode across the bedroom to get to the armoire in the parlor. Gold had never made room in his closet for her clothes. 
The light from the bathroom illuminated her body. Her hair was wrapped up in the microfiber towel she had bought specifically for that purpose. Aside from that, she was completely naked. 
He should have looked away. He should have turned his face to the wall and closed his eyes until she put on a nightgown. But he hadn’t seen Belle in twenty-eight years. His wife, his beauty, his light in the darkness.
For a moment, he filled his eyes with her. Hiding in the darkness, he didn’t conceal his interest. He saw it all. Belle’s neck, her shoulders, her slim arms and round breasts. She was so pale and smooth, a statue carved from alabaster. The gentle slope of her belly and the soft curves of her waist and hips. Her long, lovely legs. And between her legs…
Rumpelstiltskin blinked. 
Bile rose in his throat.  
He clenched his jaw, and rolled over in bed. He couldn’t look at her for another second. 
Between her legs, Mrs. Gold was bare and hairless. Like a child. Gone were the wiry curls that used to hide Belle’s treasures. He used to enjoy running his fingers through them, to tease his wife before he began to play with her properly.
It was a style in this world, for a woman to shave or wax her pubic hair. Men thought any hair on a woman’s body was unfeminine or even unhygienic. Apparently Gold was one of those fools. 
But even worse for Rumpelstiltskin was the memory of when Belle came back from her time with the queens. She had been bare then as well. It had taken weeks for her hair to grow back. She said that Maleficent and Regina had shaved her with broken glass. That they had pulled out any stubble by the roots.
Belle had not described the pain, but he could imagine it.
He didn’t know if Mrs. Gold had put on a nightgown before she got into bed. She didn’t touch him or try to speak to him. She probably thought he was angry with her. And while Rumpelstiltskin did seethe with fury, Mrs. Gold had very little to do with it.
Regina. The name pounded through his mind, until the very instant he succumbed to sleep. Regina will pay for all of this. 
****
He is in a cell, in the deepest dungeons of Snow White’s castle. The cell is enchanted, so his magic is useless. It is a dripping cave, carved from solid rock. There are no other prisoners nearby. The guards are stationed at the other end of a long corridor. The only time he ever sees a living soul is when people come to him for help.
He is exactly where he wants to be. 
“I tried your curse,” the Evil Queen rants from the other side of the pointed bars. “It didn’t work!”
“Considering we’re all still here, I should think that’s rather obvious, dearie!”
The Queen snarls at him. Her dark jewels glint in the torchlight. “You know why it didn’t work.”
“Well, I can make an educated guess...”
“Then tell me!”
Leaning back against the rough stone wall, he chuckles at the Queen’s demands. 
“There’s a price to that, dearie.”
She sneers. “Name it.”
“When--” He stops. He makes a show of changing the word. “If you can cast this curse, you will be creating a whole new world. Everything will be as you want it to be, Your Majesty.”
“I know that!” she snaps. “That’s the whole point! This world is stacked against me. This curse is the only chance I have to get my revenge!”
“Yes.” He grins at the Queen, and runs his tongue over his teeth. “You will control everything. All of our fates will be in your regal hands.”
“So what do you want?”
“Oh nothing much,” he waves his hand. “Only what I already have.”
“It’s a world without magic.”
“But not a world without power, yes? Not a world without wealth, or a world without comfort? Not a world without any pleasures at all?”
“Tell me what you want, imp.”
“It truly is a simple request,” he lies. “What is mine, stays mine. Everything I had before I came to this…” He gestures to indicate his captivity. “So the power, the wealth--”
“The woman?” The Queen smirks. “Is that what this is? You want to make sure you keep your little plaything!” Now she laughs. “Are you sure you still want her? She is a little worse for wear.”
“You made sure of that, Your Majesty.” His voice is low, but she doesn’t hear the threat.
“I could make you a lothario instead. Give you a new girl every night? That would be a punishment for quite a lot of people.” 
He moves so fast she cannot see him until he climbs the bars and grabs her by the throat, pulling her toward him. He growls at the Queen. He almost roars: “I. Want. My. Wife!”
The Queen jerks from his clutches, stumbles backwards to get away from him. Quickly, she allows haughtiness to mask her fear. 
“Fine,” she says stiffly. “She will be your wife in the new world, though that will not save you from the curse. Neither of you will remember a second of this place.”
“That’s not as cruel a fate as you might think, dearie.”
“Nevertheless.” She acts like that’s the end of an argument she has won. “Now: how do I cast this curse?”
“You need a heart, dearie.”
“Yes, I know that!” she snaps. “The heart of the thing you love most. I killed my own father and it didn’t work!”
“Poor Prince Henry.” He shakes his head. “He died as he lived: being betrayed by women who never loved him enough.”
“I did love him!” The Queen seems on the verge of tears. “Daddy was the only person who stood by me through everything!”
“Oh!” He widens his eyes and purses his lip in a mockery of her sorrow. “While it is true that the love between father and child can destroy worlds, that doesn’t seem to be enough. The curse doesn’t demand the thing you love much. You must give up the thing you love most.”
“Snow White killed the only other thing I ever loved.”
“Oh, then you’re in trouble, aren’t you, dearie?”  He giggles. “You don’t understand what you’re trying to do!”
“I’m trying to get revenge!”
“You’re trying to make yourself happy!” He grabs the bars of his cage. “You said it yourself, there’s nothing for you in this world. You think you have no choice but to destroy everything here and start over. Do that, and you’ll lose things, dearie. What you love most is just the first step.”
“But I have nothing to love!”
“And nothing loves you? No one loves you, Your Majesty? No one in this world wants to make you happy? No one would embrace you, if only they thought you might embrace them back?”
She begins to speak, then stops. Her royal countenance freezes. He can see the thought blossom in her mind.
“There it is!” he cackles. “You know what you love, dearie. Now… Go kill her!” 
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quirkdotcom · 4 years ago
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Duality || HERO AU DABI X READER
PART ONE
PART TWO HERE
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Triggers: Brief mentions of blood? 
A/n: Okay !!! I have finally finished this piece !! Sorry I took so long to actually write it, been a...long few weeks..but anyways ! Here we are ! I hope you enjoy this! I had a lot of fun writing it, and as this was my first time actually writing for Dabi, I think in the future I'll be even better at him and his personality! Also I'll try to remember later to add a "Read more" thingy! 
××××××××
Your dreams had always been full of fire. Mesmerizing shades of blue always seemed to be flickering just beyond your reach. 
Most people asked you if you were scared of your dreams, however you only ever responded that the flames never hurt you in your dreams, and that you could never be scared.
They always felt so comfortable. The way they danced around you, enveloping you in warmth, had always been something you longed to figure out the reason behind...or the person behind it. 
Not only did the world have quirks in it, but also it held soulmates. Once someone touches their soulmate for the first time, the two switch quirks for twenty-four hours. How you longed for that interaction. For those twenty four hours where you would hopefully spend learning all about whoever your soulmate was. 
With a sigh, you slowly sat up in your bed, stretching your arms above your head as you yawned. It was about 9:30 at night, and it was time for you to make your way into the city, a long night of your own unofficial patrols to be done. 
Technically, some see you as a hero, while others see you as a meddling annoyance. But either way, they called you Riptide. 
You had a water based quirk, and with it you could take surrounding volumes of the liquid, and create vortexes of fast running water. 
At times it could be hard to control, and caused a lot of damage, hence why some saw you as a menace, but in the end, the water overpowered almost any villain.
Once you showered, and ate a quick meal, you walked back into your room, moving to your closet and pulling out the homemade hero suit. 
It wasn't the best thing around, but hey, it was better than running around in civilian clothes. The outfit itself was made from mostly dark blue or black material, so that you weren't easily seen, knee pads for taking falls, a mask to cover the lower part of your face, visor-esque goggles to shield your eyes from your own water and anything else that may be targeted to your eyes. 
You pulled on the components to the suit, slowly but surely making your way to being finished. 
Once on and ready to go, you grabbed your apartment keys, shoving them into a pocket and zipping it shut. With that, you made your way to the window of the living area, glad to be on the ground floor, and slipped out into the night. 
Almost immediately, people ran past you screaming, their shrieks piercing the air around you. 
You started off in the opposite direction of where they were headed, a smirk easily making its way onto your face as you picked up the pace. 
Finally you skidded to a stop once you drew close to the source. 
A villian with some sort of glass shard quirk was wreaking havoc onto the street, blocking traffic and he seemed to be holding a few people hostage.  
You couldn't be sure what he wanted but at this point, you didn't have the time to ask.
Instead you leaped into action, hopping onto the hood of an abandoned car, shouting out to the villian, "Hey ugly ! Over here!" 
He looked to you, his bright red eyes locking onto your eyes. 
"And just who are you supposed to be?" He sneered, his quirk lessening on the citizens for a mere moment.
You sighed heavily, placing a hand onto your hip, just above the section on your belt where a few small impact grenades hung. These you used to not only cause distractions, but also to target fire hydrants and cause them to let some water out. 
"Seriously? I figured by now someone would know my name…" You slowly undid the clip that held it to the belt,  keeping the villain's eyes on yours, "It's Riptide.  And you're about to be washed away," 
In a heartbeat, you pulled it off and pulled the pin, launching it just behind him. You launched yourself off of the car and onto the civilian, protecting them from the blast. 
Around you, cement shards fell and water began to spray. 
You pulled away, seeing that the villain had released them, "Quick, get out of here!" 
They nodded, eyes wide and moved away, once the ground was clear enough, they began to run. 
You turned slowly, eyes scanning for the villain, where did he-
Suddenly, you were propelled forwards as a boot kicked at the space between your shoulder blades. 
"You little bitch!" The villain angrily drew close to you, grabbing you once more and tossing you off to the side. Man, today must not be your day.
You stood quickly, ignoring the pain in your back, "Me? A bitch? Well I'm hurt! " you pulled your hands up, palms facing him. 
Within a moment, the water that was streaming from the hydrant was lifting off any surface it had been on, and now directly spiralling around your arms.  Once fast enough you grinned, "I hope you brought a floatie," 
Once the words left your mouth, the two vortexes shot forwards, pinpointing his chest and pushing him back with incredible force. He hit a wall, now unable to go anywhere. 
Before you could say anything or do anything more however, a sudden chunk of glass shot forwards, barely giving you enough time to dodge. It nicked your shoulder, a steady stream of blood making its way from the cut.
Just as another one came your way, it was stopped short by blue flames, the glass breaking and shattering into pieces within moments of it being engulfed by the fire.
You turned, eyes landing on a peculiar hero. 
He had black hair that stuck up in all sorts of directions, but beneath the hair, a set of gorgeous blue eyes peered out, scanning the scene. He had some sort of burn scars or skin grafts beneath his eyes, on his lower face and neck, and seemed to be along his arms as well. 
"You must be that hero who runs around and calls themselves 'Riptide', aren't you?" He questioned but didn't wait for an answer, he instead looked to the villian, "And who do we have here?" 
The villain, now soaked to the bone, pushed off the wall, three more shards of glass floating around his hand, "You're that Infernal Phoenix guy…" 
"That I am," the male hero spoke, not an ounce of fear showing in his eyes.
At once the fight seemed to pick back up, the villain letting loose the three pieces of glass, then caused the shattered ones from the wreck around the three of you to lift into the air, shooting down towards both the Infernal hero and yourself. 
The raven haired male leapt towards you, pushing you away, raising an arm up to attempt to use his fire once more. 
However, instead what happened was his arm was now covered in a swirling pool of water. 
In shock he let it all fall to the ground, eyes going wide as he thought quietly.  
You yourself had a million and one thoughts running through your head, but had to shake yourself of it, "There's no time for this, he's prepping for another attack," 
You stood up, holding your hands out once more, now watching as they lit on fire, but hardly burned you.  
"Be careful, don't let the flames get too hot, " he motioned with a nod of his head to his own arms. 
"Got it," you clenched your jaw, still amazed on the inside how easy his quirk had come to your control.
As the next set of glass rained down, you threw up a protective wall of flames, keeping it up for a few moments so that the hero could gather enough water. 
This time, the villain aimed two chunks of glass at you, noticing that you were the one making new attacks, not even stopping to question the change of quirks. 
You turned to aim more blue fire his way, but instead you found the fire clashing with the fast running water of what was normally your own quirk. 
With the two together, both the water and the flames died out, and you both found yourself dropping to the ground, instinctively covering your heads. 
Once the sound of glass hitting the ground stopped you quickly scrambled to your feet, now seeing the villain once more aiming chunks of glass, seemingly reusing the ones from earlier. 
In your hands, the fire lit back up, brighter than before, you charged him, grabbing onto his wrists and swinging him to the side, ignoring his scream of pain. 
Once he was on the ground, your knee on his back, you let the fire fade away, spotting a few burns here and there, the pain must have been masked by adrenaline. 
"I told you not to let it get too hot," the hero came up from behind, a few cuts on his face, and some on his hero suit. 
"Yeah well a few burns wont kill me," you eyed him for a moment, only stopping as reinforcements showed up, "Shit," you looked to the hero for a moment, shaking your head slightly. 
"I'll have to meet you again sometime...my show here is done…" you gave a wistful smile and climbed off of the villain, turning and taking off, running away from the scene, the shouts of heros filling your ears as they called for you to stop. 
But as you didn't quite have a hero license, getting caught using your quirk would have a few consequences that you weren't looking forwards to.
Once you were sure that you were away from all the action, you slowed to a walk, trying to even out your breaths. 
As you walked, you drew the attention of an elderly lady, who seemed to be on her way home from a shift at the nearest hospital. 
The woman looked at you, the suit you had on and the cuts from your fight, "Excuse me, but are you okay?" 
You gave a weary smile, "Ah...kind of?" 
The woman proceeded to pull out bandages, ointment and a few other items,  treating your injuries without even a second thought. In return, you took the time to walk her home, answering questions she had asked you about where you got the cuts, though you chose to leave a few things out. 
Once she was home, you made your way to your own apartment, deciding to turn in earlier than normal. Your apartment was quiet, a nice change from the night just beyond your window. With a heavy sigh, you made your way to your room, tossing your goggles onto the floor, kicking your shoes off and flopping onto your bed, falling asleep rather quickly. 
You were woken by the mid afternoon's sun. Its rays hitting your eyes from the slants in the blinds.  You must've forgotten to close them last night. 
You rolled over onto your side, quickly remembering that you were still in your suit from last night.  You slid out of the bed, pulling off the suit and changing into some everyday clothes. 
Then you moved into your bathroom, starting to brush your hair, taking a long look at yourself.  It was then that the whole memory of last night hit you. 
"Holy shit…" you paused, setting the brush down and making your way into the hallway, bringing a hand up and watching as a small blue flame began to flicker in your palm. 
With a newfound burst of energy, you sprinted into your bedroom, grabbing your phone and searching up the name, "Infernal Pheonix" 
On the screen a few results pulled up that sparked your interest. He was the son of the number one pro hero, Endeavour. He had graduated from the ever so prestigious UA, and was even rising the ranks as hero at the same agency as his father. 
You quickly copied the address of the agency, pasting it in the notes app of your phone. After all, you only had until somewhere around ten pm tonight to prove that it was you. 
With the burst of energy and the information at hand, you first grabbed your headphones from the nightstand, and then walked towards the door of your small apartment, slipping on your shoes before leaving. Though you did have to go back inside to grab your keys, almost having forgotten to lock the door. 
Now that you had everything, you turned on your playlist, putting in the headphones, and then, pasting the address into your maps app. With that, you took off. 
The busy city was actually nice for a change today, though at times you found yourself trying to hide your face in case anyone recognized you. 
About ten minutes into the walk, you stopped at a coffee shop, taking some time to decide on a drink for you and for the hero from last night. Hopefully he was a tea drinker, because you weren't sure what else to get him. 
Once paid for, you thanked the barista and left quietly, both drinks in hand. According to the map still giving you directions through your earbuds, you were almost to the hero agency. And as you grew closer, you noticed your heart beating a little faster.
Upon reaching the agency, you paused, trying to gather yourself as best as possible.  After a few moments, you shuffled the two drinks to one hand, pulled your earbuds out and hung them loosely around the back of your neck and over your shoulder, then pulled at the door, walking inside. 
The air was cool, and it was fairly quiet as you made your way to the main area of the agency. 
"Can I help you?" Came a stern voice, from a desk some feet into the room. It belonged to Enji Todoroki, the number one pro hero. 
You instinctively bowed, and stood back up, "I..I'm looking for Infernal Phoenix! I need to speak with him about..well about this," You again shuffled the drinks to one hand, and held out the other, carefully letting the flames spring to life. 
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hillnerd · 4 years ago
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ptsd/c-ptsd,  therapy & writing
(This is written by someone with CPTSD - I am not a mental health expert, and am just writing from my own experience! )
So a lot of writers want to incorporate PTSD and C-PTSD into their fiction. Sometimes people get it super right- other times I’m left cringing. I wrote this to help writers know more about it, then it also ended up being something I sent to a friend with PTSD as it got into it so she’d know more what the therapy process is like. 
So! What’s it like to have PTSD? PTSD therapy vs regular therapy-How are they different? How are they the same? What does PTSD therapy consist of?
Trigger warning:
I will be describing therapy, talk of other disorders like anxiety and depression, and might use some 'you' talk - example 'once you've gone through this, then you start to feel better.' This will also skim over child abuse, suicidal ideation mentions and trauma in general- Read w/ caution if you are sensitive to this
general overview to PTSD and C-PTSD
I am diagnosed with PTSD, but it's actually C-PTSD*
C-PTSD or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder differs from PTSD in that it's more for people who have had chronic environments of trauma/abuse for years - and is currently proposed to have a certain symptoms not listed under PTSD symptoms. 
Much of these symptoms have more to do with how one relates to other people, their self perception, and generally their learned behaviors in order to protect themselves long-term. PTSD is more about a specific event, of series of events that occurred in quick succession.
Despite the lack of official diagnosis, therapists treat people for CPTSD all the time- they just use a lot of the same tools they would for PTSD.
Not everyone who experiences trauma or battles develops PTSD, but there are factors that make you more inclined to develop it.
What is PTSD like?
There are many ways that people manifest PTSD/CPTSD symptoms.They are easy enough to google and be familiar with, but what's it ACTUALLY like for me.
a hair-trigger startle instinct I have had a few times where my husband is up at night, and I didn’t realize he was in the room- then I see the outline and start screaming- and can’t stop for like 2 minutes- then the crying settles in for 30 minutes. My traumas had nothing to do with strangers in the night. I just have a super intense startle instinct that sends my whole body into panic mode sometimes.
Hyper-vigilance- trying to control everything around you to keep you safe, and being super on edge keeping an eye out for how things will fall apart. Making sure things are locked, being extra wary of people, wanting to not have your back to people, perking up at every little noise etc.
issues sleeping- insomnia, light sleeping, & nightmares-   Sometimes reliving a memory, or just having intense dreams that leave you exhausted the next day you can barely function. This ties in with hyper-vigilance a lot- so falling asleep and staying asleep can be hard.
Depression and anxiety- pretty self explanatory- but it's common to experience these, and for pills to not necessarily be that helpful without the therapy. Sometimes anxious self destructive thoughts and memories start haunting you and making you freeze up or panic, feel like you’re going to die/be left alone by everyone etc. Sometimes emotional abuse from your past starts coming up and haunting you and you feel all your selfworth leaving your body leaving behind nothing but the want to sleep all day/cut yourself off from people - at times this can turn to suicidal ideation and other really dangerous behaviors and thoughts.
Sudden mood switches/panic responses usually a trigger for these switches is something associated with your trauma- but basically when something associated with our trauma suddenly comes up sometimes it causes us to start having feelings and emotions that feel out of whack for the situation at hand. 
Example: When I was a five I was beaten and locked on a sunny porch of a 2 story building with a sliding door.  Once my husband blocked me on the way to the door so I wouldn’t accidentally walk into some freshly painted furniture on the other side of the sliding door. I immediately panicked and angrily screamed at him to’ let me GO! fuck you!!! when he’s the gentlest man in the world and has never ever been anything but kind and wonderful with me. Then after the rage wore off I was like crying and so sorry.
I’m usually not an ‘angry reaction’ person- I’m usually a freeze/cry type- but yeah.Sometime people get panicked in crowded places, or if they feel someone is mad at them, or if they feel trapped, or if they feel like they’re being abandoned.
Sometimes I’ll get super manic and impatient/snappish if there’s not a plan on what we’re doing at a crowded place (really it’s because I want an escape plan/safe place I know we can always go to- and feel vulnerable when it’s a lot of people standing around without a plan and feel like I’ll get lost/abducted)
intrusive negative thoughts 
It’ll be the darkest weirdest repeating thoughts that you associate with emotional upset.  In ptsd treatment there is a lot of going through the events and rethinking your conclusions you’ve taken away from them. It’s simplified a lot in shows to a simple ‘it’s not your fault’- which, yeah, that’s the crux of it- but the actual work of it is super intense, exhausting, and so much more in depth.  
unhealthy coping mechanisms so a lot of people with ptsd will find ways to cope to help them fill an emotional void, or to cover up feelings etc. There are tons of ways people do this. Some will do extreme things like drugs, risky behaviors, drinking a lot etc Example: They experience a ‘violent retraumatizing’ moment like a pet getting killed in front of them- then later to cope have casual sex and drink too much in order to numb their emotions and not think about them.
A lot of ‘avoidance’ and ‘overdependence’ can be a part of ptsd. Like you might avoid certain things like the plague, or constrastingly might start using people or things or substances or food like an emotional crutch/security blanket instead of coping in a healthier way or learning to be independent.
Self protective steps you take might be super over the top, or self-destructive and borderline suicidal. 
Sometimes trying to repress all your emotions and not express them is something you do to protect yourself. 
This can be all over the map really- there are hundreds of examples!
triggering moments of your ‘Stuck points’
Stuck points are thoughts that keep us from recovering. Stuck points are concise statements that reflect a thought – not a feeling, behavior, or event. 
Example of stuck points:  'If I let other people get close to me, I'll get hurt again', 'I am useless.' 'I'm broken', 'I can't trust anyone in authority', 'People will reject me if they get to know me/see me at my worst’ ‘I’m a monster.’ ‘I’m worthless’ 
These can come up and you won’t even realize it at first. You’ll have something super innocuous happen and all of a sudden you’re on the verge of a breakdown, angry and/or panicking for seemingly no reason. 
These intense emotions will hit you and don’t feel like there’s any thoughts connected to them- there ARE thoughts behind it of course, but it takes a bit of deconstructing to figure it out though and realize ‘ooooh, there’s the thought train that was bubbling under the surface! I didn’t realize because thinking through my emotional processes was something I wasn’t allowed to do during my trauma- so now I don’t know how to instinctively do that even a little.’
Examples in fiction 
Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix where he is yelling at the drop of a hat when he feels abandoned/rejected by everyone. His reactions are so CLEARLY PTSD related to me.  Actually, I think he has CPTSD and it just got to a tipping point due to the traumas he experienced in the graveyard.
Hunger Games Books  Probably the best portrayal of PTSD, of books I’ve read, is Hunger Games. The movies glazed over it a bit- but the books? Oh man, they nail it so hard.
HP and Hunger Games both have protagonists who are great portrayals of ptsd. The anger, the disassociation, the depression, the nightmares, the inability to identify with humans at times, the self protective steps that are unhealthy, the coping mechanism of avoidance etc.
Disassociating
People describe this in tons of different ways, but personally I think of it like body/brain numbness. All of a sudden it’s like a blankness comes over you, almost like that hazy way of daydreaming, only instead of daydreams it’s nothing but a buzzing blankness with maybe like slight almost invisible undercurrent of panic. It’s like the body is paralyzed, and you can’t act or think or do anything but stare or numbly move a bit- it almost feels like your soul just left your body for a bit and you’ve been consumed by a white room of emptiness. Not a black void- it’s not being lost in darkness- it’s like being lost in the light, if that makes sense? Like think of a blank why void like in The Matrix where the whiteness goes on forever. 
Flashbacks
In tv shows they often show it like it's a hallucination or something. Flashbacks are typically shown as a person basically becoming delirious and having visual and audio hallucinations, then perhaps even becoming violent to those around them because they literally see something different than what is real.
Again, this is my experience- but flashbacks have never worked like that for me. I more disassociate, and then all the emotions of that memory hit me, and in my brain I’m able to see bits and pieces of what happened back then, or even the whole thing- it’s like a SUPER intense memory/daydream/nightmare just settles in there for a bit- and you feel all the full emotions of it for a bit- can suddenly feel the sensations of it too at times-but at NO point am I actively moving about in a real room around people getting them confused with the past and lashing out at the hallucinations.
 I’m just sitting there, or crying there- and if someone in the room with me were to talk to me they might have to get my attention because I'm deep in that daydream/flashback- but I’d hear them and see them once I realize I’m spacing out. The most outburst I’d have would be to not want anyone to touch me- or get super startled from someone touching me then pushing them away from me. That’s very different than the crazy shit they show on TV and movies sometimes.
BAD EXAMPLE: One particular one that still makes me mad is when that had Owen from Grey’s Anatomy sees a fan- then get ‘triggered into a ptsd episode’ where he is unblinkingly choking out Cristina as she begs him to stop for a long time. Like…. It’s one thing for someone to be startled and have their instinct be to strike out- that’s a very different thing from what they portrayed. If they wanted to show him as ptsd dangerous- which is worrisome to me as people with mental health are stigmatized enough- but if they wanted to- it would have made much more sense for her to startle him somehow and for him to just blindly strike out before he realizes it. With combat training, he could very well have instincts that aren’t safe when he’s over sensitized and startled.
What are the main treatments for PTSD?
Cognitive Processing Therapy  (CPT)
CPT is the main treatment for PTSD. It is highly structured, and the majority of it is writing and worksheets. There is a LOT of writing and talking out about your trauma, writing and talking about how you process it, and analyzing it.
Beyond the traumatic memories, there is also noticing the behaviors you have that are related to your trauma and how they come out in every day scenarios. This leads to:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This is not about processing past events, but about processing current behaviors/reactions and trying to slowly change those behaviors over time so that they are healthier reactions/coping mechanism in place.
Exposure therapy- Reliving memories
For PTSD some people do a lot of reliving the trauma memories by describing them in detail, every tiny detail they can think of- and basically reliving them, but then trying to reroute the emotional response to them. 
Some people are SO repressed that this is a very difficult thing for them to access- both remembering the memory, but also knowing what their emotions were/are. These memories of trauma aren't always easy to remember/re-feel/access and that can be frustrating.
I personally am REALLY GOOD at reliving memories- in fact I'm so good that we have been avoiding it for a bit because i go straight into flashback mode way too easy (more on flashbacks and how they work later)
There are ways of doing this that are more than just revising the memory through talk therapy, that I haven't done and would require research on your part:
virtual reality to revisit the place
watching videos or listening to recordings of the event and talking it through
exposure therapy that's more about getting used to sounds/smells/words that are triggering
The main point though is to process the emotions tied to that event and not make your brain default to that flight/fight/freeze mode when triggering things happen.
IMPORTANT TOOLS FOR THERAPY
If a person hasn't had much therapy, CPT/CBT has a lot of learning for that person, and a LOT of trying to identify emotions and really feel them, so one can process them.
Grounding techniques/exercises-
techniques used to sooth/calm a person when activated- there are like thousands of these guys out there- I think everyone is a bit familiar with them- like breathing exercises in yoga? Basically it's a way of regrouping and centering yourself- 'grounding' you in reality, instead of letting your brain go off on a tangent/emotional rollercoaster.
It's basically any way you can snap your thinking out of your anxious thoughts and concentrate on something until your re-calibrate and are calmer.
Personally the breathing techniques make me freak out- so I don't use those. :P Ones I find helpful are ones like 'Name every color you can see.' or 'go through the alphabet and letter by letter name an animal that starts with that letter.' and 'hold an ice cube in your hand and concentrate fully on every sensation you're feeling.'example  example
-CBT and CPT WORKSHEETS
god, SO many worksheets.
Here are some helpful links
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/cbt-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-techniques-worksheets/  --- This page covers cognitive distortions really well, and has some helpful resources and worksheets.
https://trailstowellness.org/resources   This page has a lot of great worksheets for trauma.
https://www.psychologytools.com/professional/problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/- unfortunately you cannot access the documents here without paying- BUT you can read what the docs are, and how they will be used in a therapy setting- so can use that as a launch point for what sort of worksheets/phrases to google.
I specifically worked from  Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Manual a lot.
What is the structure of PTSD therapy?
First session
The first thing I had to do was fill out a questionnaire (PTSD test , cptsd questionnaire) to make sure she thought the treatment was appropriate. We talked about this a bit, what symptoms I had, talked over examples of it. I'm comfortable with therapy so this wasn't so bad for me, but I can see this being very difficult for people who aren't as comfortable in this setting and would need to be walked through it more and have more questions as they might not have a lot of self-awareness. We discussed goals, what could be achieved, and generally what it would be like. We went over the first worksheet and I was given homework of figuring out what my stuck points are.
Sessions after that
Each session we begin with typical therapy for a bit 'how was the last week? Were there any events I should know about?' Then we go over the worksheet I filled out, and analyze it, talk about examples, or apply it to trauma memories.
What is trauma therapy LIKE?
I always try to have the next day or so as free as possible after therapy, because afterwards I am wiped out, exhausted, and sometimes super triggered and crying afterwards.
The analogy I like to use is cleaning out a closet you keep hoarding stuff in:
Your house is your life, your brain is a closet, and PTSD/trauma is a messy hoarders type hidden away in the closet. When the door to this closet is closed you can almost pretend there isn't a mess there at all. Y ou close the door by being in denial, not thinking about your trauma, not acknowledging or processing it. You just keep stuffing the trauma into the closet.
But the longer you let the closet stay like that, the worse the situation gets. Soon that closet door keeps busting open and all sorts of crap falls out when you don't want it to. Freakouts, hypervigilance, meltdowns etc. The crap in the closet starts to multiply.
Ever seen Hoarders or Marie Kondo? You know how people are crying over t-shirts and crap and the house looks WORSE for a while? That's trauma therapy.
In therapy you have to open the closet door, take out ALL the crap you've been hoarding in the closet, process it, organize it, and then put things in order again. Every single box of trauma needs to be looked at then put away- The goal is to  throw out the intense intrusive emotions tied to the junk. You have to keep your memories- but you don't have to keep holding on to the behaviors they've formed, the turbulent emotions, and the intensity of it all. During therapy at first it's fine. Kondo is walking you through it and it's all just fine and dandy- then you are faced with this HOARD of CRAP you have to work through- and it's SO overwhelming. My anxiety and depression got way worse for a while. Like, I was on EDGE and having nightmares and it was horrible. But then once you've processed the memories, and start actively applying what you've learned and start using grounding techniques more and more- things do get easier.
I am not fixed. I am not cured. I will have to continue to work through stuff- It's that whole 'healing is a not a straight line' thing. Like, there are times I regress and I hate it. :P But it's gotten a lot better.
IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS I’M HAPPY TO HELP.
I figure this can be an ok resource for people who don’t know much about ptsd except what it says on like webmd (which isn’t that accessible to me) and want to write about it (or want to just know more about it)
( *C-PTSD has not been considered an official different disorder from PTSD for all that long. In fact, one technically can't be medically diagnosed with CPTSD in america yet. PTSD is diagnosable and has been considered an official disorder for decades, but C-PTSD has not been named a disorder of its own yet in the official guidebook of psychological disorders in the US (DSM). I think they might have JUST recognized it in the UK guidebook (ICD). I know it was proposed for the 11th addition.)
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agentnico · 4 years ago
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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) Review
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Wakanda.... forever.
Plot: Chicago, 1927. A recording session. Tensions rise between Ma Rainey, her ambitious horn player and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable "Mother of the Blues". Based on Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's play.
Ever since this annoying pandemic came about, one of the things I miss most is getting to go to the theatre. I’m not only talking about cinema, though that too is dearly missed, but I mean the actual theatre. Seeing actors in person perform before your eyes powerful monologues, and you sit there in awe utterly glued to these people as they take you away into a different world. We haven’t had that for a while. Though Netflix’s new adaptation of August Wilson’s play is the closest thing we will get. Yes, it is a film, but you can tell that this thing used to play out on stage. With only a few setting chances and many moments involving characters bolting out speeches whilst staring dramatically into the camera lens, this thing is a character study and a dialogue piece. And also - the blues! You wanna hear some blues, you’re gonna get some. Ma Rainey’s got your back on that one!
This film inadvertently has gotten more recognition due to the presence of Chadwick Boseman, this being his final live-action role (we shall still hear his voice in Marvel’s What If? series next year) before his untimely heart-breaking passing this year. Going into this thing I was worried that the high attention Boseman was getting was simply due to what happened to him in real-life instead of him truly deserving it for his performance. Glad to report that is not the case. In fact, Chadwick Boseman is easily the best part of this movie. Ma Rainey’s may be titled after its titular character, but arguably the heart and soul of the film is actually the trumpet player Levee, played by Chad the man himself! On the surface, Levee comes off as arrogant, ambitious and chasing stardom by himself, without a care for the others around him. However as events progress, we discover that underneath this façade is a man filled with such sadness and rage, having endured much profound trauma in his past. As such Levee believes that he is owed something, that his talents are immense and he is owed something more than everyone else. Yes, this doesn’t make him a good person, but his motivations and mind-set are made clear, and so you may agree or disagree with his action, but regardless you do understand him and somewhat feel for his position. His misguided rage is that which has been sparked by a lifetime of oppression, suffering and hardship, like many black people in American history, with the 1920s when Ma Rainey’s is set included. Yes, this character has a lot of layers that allow him to stand out among the others as is, however Boseman manages to take it a step further, by flying through notes of exasperation and indignity to recalling the pains of his past, and it is a truly anguishing thing to behold. This is definitely one hell of a performance, and one that truly deserves awards recognition! Shame though that his line in the film “I got my time coming to me” now has such a twisted spin on it, seeing as how things played out in real life. We have truly lost a talent. Also, slightly off topic, anyone know where I can get the shoes he’s wearing in this film? Those are some hella fine foot garments!
Speaking of the other lead character - Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. Look, I really think Davis is a good actress, and she definitely deserved her Academy Award in Fences (August Wilson’s other film adaptation) but here I wasn’t really certain what she was going for. She mumbles through most of her lines, so much so that I had to turn on the subtitles to understand what was being said. Also, her character I wasn’t a fan of either. She’a shown as someone who everyone praised, but she is presented as such a drama queen, causing a fuss over every little thing, as yes, you can decipher it as her treating the white man the way a white man has treated the black people in the past, and that is fair enough, but also it felt a bit too much. Like, even her own band members questioned some of her decisions. Then again, in this play no character is perfect, and maybe Ma Rainey annoyed me most due to David hardly moving her mouth when delivering lines. Again though, this is my opinion. I’ve heard that most critics have praised her role, so maybe I am missing something.
George C. Wolfe demonstrates exquisite control of every scene and elevates the dialogue-driven narrative with an exceptional balance of tone and pacing. Tobias A. Schliessler's camera lingers beautifully on the actors, allowing them to showcase their abilities but also helping the viewer feel enthralled with their words by not creating any unnecessary technical distractions. Andrew Mondshein's editing also contributes a lot to the smooth pace that the film warrants, helping its 90 minutes runtime fly by seamlessly. However, I do truly feel that this movie is elevated to new heights by Chadwick Boseman. Without him, this movie would be simply okay. A solid adaptation of a solid play (though I do question the way its ends), with the added oomph of a sweet blues score. This is very much a movie that exists to showcase an actor’s talent, similar to that of Joaquin Phoenix in the Joker. With this and Da 5 Bloods, Boseman has to get a nomination at the next Academy Awards! It would be a sin not too!
Overall score: 7/10
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spirit-of-vengeance · 4 years ago
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After MONTHS, I was finally hit by something that made me completely piece together Rozália's story of what she is and why and I'm HYPER. Aka: here it comes the usual tragedy
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Origins:
Attila Véghváry was a descendant of warriors whom protected Hungary throughout the Ottoman period of history, to be able to live up to his ancestors he joined to serve the Vatican as a Hunter. He had fallen in love with a half Italian, half Hungarian woman named Liliána, charmed by her ethereal beauty and kindness. His desire to have children, to continue his name bathed in blood was grand, after wedding they tried, struggled with the task; without success. Liliána was terrified upon her husband's devastation, fearing he will throw her away, back into the clutches of her father and that was a fate she desperately wanted to avoid. So she prayed, begged for a miracle, yet still nothing happened. In her despair and distress, she turned to a darker force; she had made a deal with the devil: she will be able to successfully bear a child, but the child will serve hell after his or her death.
Rozália was born in 1823 and Liliána was gnawed by guilt from her first cry for air; yet she found herself unable to tell anyone in fear of harm. Even though she couldn't give him a boy, Attila was thrilled to have her and began teaching, treating her as a son as soon as possible. He was a harsh teacher with little to no reward to pay off the hard work and Rozália soon learned she has to fight for her father's love and praise.
The Hunter:
It was no question that she will join her father in the quest of banishing evil, Attila couldn't bear to give his only offspring in the hands of Nuns. To everyone's greatest surprise, the young girl proved to be more capable than most of the men, including her own father: fast, fearless, fatal, brutal yet still a tactician. Despite the available arsenal of weapons she favored hussar swords above everything (+ a few must have religious symbols) with her unique twist: she wielded twin blades, instead of the traditional one, earning the title of Doom Duelist.
Rozália only saw the creatures as obstacles between her father's love and well deserved recognition. She never really believed the preachings, she hasn't came to do God's work but to seek her own glory, to carve her own path.
When she could visit her mother, Liliána started to worry upon listening Attila's tales of how efficient their daughter was, instead she saw it as a sign that the devil already begun his work with her violent personality. As a solution when she was home, she turned her attention towards arts and found out her thirst, passion and talent for dancing. Liliána had given her all the love she could in hope it would provide a tiny compensation for Attila's harsh ways. She didn't condemn nor stood in way of her hunt for the so called satanic creatures in hope of that will somehow lessen or even lift the curse she had bestowed on her before she was born.
The General:
The 1848 revolutionary war swept through the country like a wildfire, both father and daughter felt their obligation to protect their country, just like their ancestors did. Her talents shone brilliantly on the battlefields and despite being a woman, she climbed ranks in lightning speed. Eventually, Attila had fallen in a battle and the title General was given to her along with a legion of hussars, the Főnix Légió (Phoenix Legion). Her horse, Vihar (Thunder) was a wild, aggressive mare from the Herd Lipica, since they couldn't get her to accept any of the stallions, they wanted to get rid of the nuisance but Rozália has had other plans.
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They understood each other from the very beginning, they moved together as one. Vihar was as quick and strong as if she was a stallion along with her rider. The name General Véghváry was associated with bravery, power and true Hungarian virtue. She often utilized the tactics of ancient battles like barrage of arrows when they were 'fleeing', used the environment to her advantage, quick, devastating strikes usually at the enemy flanks then disappearing into the thin air. She knew her army well, keeping many personal relations since most of the soldiers were almost still children. Strangely, no one ever questioned her command and the legion moved, fought as one.
Birth of the Demon:
The greatest heroes are designated to fall. Her mistake was that she believed fighting for their country, defending it from the Habsburg's rule unified everyone and didn't take betrayal into consideration. The legion was crossing the mountains of Vértes, advancing into uncertain territory when the ambush happened. Rozália knew they are all going to perish, they were in a valley, no space to utilize the hussar tactic, so she set Vihar free and issued one last command: die as heroes. So they fought like caged wild animals but the Habsburg army had the numerical superiority along with the element of surprise. Rozália watched her men, her friends slaughtered, executed the remaining survivors. Even at the door of death, bleeding from numerous wounds she stood defiant and unmoving, refusing to beg or kneel in front of the enemy general. Swords pierced her body, more than she can or want to remember, pinned standing like a grotesque sculpture of glory. Life left her body and sealed the deal. The ground cracked beneath her body, the flames of Hell itself soaring into the woman, resurrecting and possessing her at the same time. The first gasp for breath was ragged, she was confused, furious and lost. So she did what most children would do, immediately returned to her mother's house, only to find her dead with unmistakable evidence of her falling victim to a vampire. Unbeknownst to her, Liliána had written a diary she kept locked away, detailing why she accepted such offer, her sincere apologies and asking for forgiveness for bringing a cursed child to life.
Szerte nézett s nem lelé Honját a hazában*:
Even though she had no idea what she had became, Rozália knew she can't return to the Holy Order, but she no longer fit among humans and due to her Hunter past she wasn't welcome among other creatures. She lost her identity, the war, her home and her beloved mother. She did what she could: survive. Learn what she is and trying to control it. She soon realized her human face is only a mask, when the pendant is separated from her, her appearance shifts: skin cracks until it looks like ash, her veins are glowing orange in contrast, clawed hands, feet, wide jaw filled with razor fangs, crimson eyes with slit pupils and ink black wings curling from her back, almost impossible to tell when the flames morph into feathers.
Rozália is restlessly searching for her mother's killer while trying to figure out what and who is she, struggling to decide between warrior, demon or dancer.
After finishing off all the Habsburg officials (except for the general whom was nowhere to be found even though she tore through the whole country in her fury), she turned her special attention towards vampires in hope of finding her mom's killer. These encounters often ended with death even though the said creature wasn't the cause of her loss. Soon she learned the Holy Order wants to eradicate her from existence, without regard for her outstanding service; she understood she is truly torn between two words and she could never belong to any of them.
Rozália took part in both World Wars, the Korean war, the Vietnam War, numerous crisises throughout Africa and Middle East; to keep herself occupied, to not let the memories of the war pass even though she suffers from minor PTSD from it. When not occupied with bloodshed, she restlessly learned new styles of martial arts and dance styles, throughout the century she has lived many lives in many places: cage fighter, dancer, racer, pole dancer, acrobat, fitness model; anywhere she can get her rush of adrenaline and spotlight. Rozy can't nor want to slow down, she blazes to the utmost, running from melancholy and loneliness.
To save herself from the heartbreak, the must have 'why do you still look 25 even though we've been together for 10 years' talk, and the danger of being hunted by everyone, Rozy doesn't really date. If she feels a mutual spark between her and an another, she is totally down for a one night stand then disappear, leaving only the traces of overwhelming heat and pleasant memories behind.
Power & curse of the Hellfire:
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Rozália needs to consume souls to survive. If she refuses, can't find someone unworthy of life, her 'gift' starts to turn against her. The pendant unable to keep up the false facade of a human, the insatiable demon clawing through the surface and ultimately, the Hellfire would consume her, resulting in a second death which would be hell of a record to beat but Rozy is not interested in that.
With the pendant on, the signs of what is she truly are subtle: Her teeth a little too sharp, dagger like stiletto nails as if she just had a manicure, her body heat feverish, candles leaning towards her or burning more eagerly in her presence. The most notable traits her almost overwhelming, smoldering aura and behind her emerald eyes occasionally a glimpse of Hell itself flash, brief enough to make humans believe their mind is only playing tricks.
She has fire under her control, high temperature cause no harm; her cursed flames able to burn through everything and destroy anything in their path including supernatural creatures for whom normal fire isn't fatal. Being destruction itself makes her unable to bear children, not like she would've wanted in the first place.
If she has the mortal remains, she can raise that being back into life for a few hours as an infernal creature, and at full power she can open a portal directly to Hell and reap all the souls nearby though she isn't aware of this ability yet watch her raise her dead army in heartbeat if needed. Both of these actions leave her drained for weeks, unable even to transform so she will only use these as last resort.
@count-v-dracula you might like this :D
@thxwxlf ...you said I am allowed to throw stuff at you😅
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A Formal Welcome
So it occurred to me that I just hit the ground running. I didnt look back when I went forward and began posting intimate things onto this wonderful Tumblr. Now that I see I have a couple people following me, I figure I owe you a welcome and thank you for visiting my corner of the web, and I also owe you an introduction to who I am.
I am Stevie. There's the general business of stating that I love blogging about my transgender wife. I myself am non-binary born female and still uses she/her pronouns by default but accepts all of the pronouns...call me any of them but just keep calling me *wink* I also love blogging about mental health, human rights issues, and some spiritually inspiring nuggets I find as well as humor and my interests. I am trying to capture my spirit for you all to see.
I am a rather peace, love, and harmony kind of person. I'm a multicultural beautiful mutt of a human that loves people of all walks of the Earth. I was born into a family that always was just getting by with hand-me-downs and used cars only. We lived rather bare bones-humbly on a farm where my mom had a kaleidoscope of animals that us farm kids fed and took care of for her. I still remember wandering out in large snow drifts with buckets of hot water to thaw the ice bricks in the sheep and cow enclosures so that the poor dudes could have a drink twice a day before they froze in the Midwestern winters.
I was successful in school and graduated in the top ten of a tiny class of roughly 200 or so. I worked hard for it though and suffered a great deal. You see,
I was violently molested by a babysitter when I was in kindergarten. That mixed with my family's predisposition for kicking out babies with bipolar disorder and being the lucky winner of that lotto... made for an interesting dark cloud for a kid to compensate. The abuse I suffered at the hands of my sitter gave me PTSD and DID. Most people are familiar with PTSD, but as for DID...most only know it as multiple personalities. And no... its not like Split or even Sybil, at least not for me. I had an intricate system that worked quietly under the surface. Some of my personas my child-self made were so intricate they represented all the phoenixes that rose from the ashes of past failures. I had male personas, female personas, child personas and adult ones too, gay personas, straight personas.... I had emotions I bottled as personas as well. A total count of 16. 17 if you count the true me.
Wow this is hard to write. Hard to admit but I feel more people must talk about these things. Abuse has horrible outcomes for those who experience it. I feel I need to keep writing this because I need it off my chest and DID is a very real thing.
It had gotten so messy but I didnt even realize that it was abnormal to do it. I thought thats how everyone got through the day.... with 4+ trains of thought chattering at you, remembering things, and feeding your mind with the in formation you feel you need at the time. I didnt realize that it was abnormal at all. Its not something you talk about out of the blue with anyone either. So I had no clue I was a multiple til the ripe age of 33. And in 2 years time with mega therapy from many stellar therapists in Wisconsin, I was able to go through integration of all of my personas, making myself whole again. I essentially made myself my own program when we had the insurance great enough to cover all my treatment. I started with finding a therapist and a psychiatrist and then added DBT group therapy as my diagnoses kept changing as they struggled to find my Dissociative Identity Disorder. I added art therapy and that was the point I finally started making dramatic improvements.
They even recognized it making me a formal mentor of the therapy program I was in. I helped in IOP programs inspiring fellow addicts to get clean while working on mental health goals with them. I started helping others go to their sessions and AA meetings or CODA meetings.
My Lizzy was the one that pumped her blood sweat and tears into funding my nearly daily therapy regiment. Then when my excellent therapist.... DrTwin we will call her.... realized that I was switching personas. She argued with herself a bit on whether to tell me or just treat it without doing so but she told me DID and PTSD were the beasts causing my bipolar 2 to be unmanageable.
Truth be told I cracked down on the seriousness I put towards my therapy efforts because I could see that Lizzy, who then was living a depressed and rage filled male life as she struggled with work was having a hell of a time keeping up with which Stevie would be in the room when she came home. I could see that Lizzy couldn't keep fighting through her darkness alone either. time was ticking and I had to get to a stable place.
Thats when Lizzy's dad got diagnosed with early onset dementia. When I got stable enough I offered the jump to come back home to Illinois to help take care of him since my hernias from my botched surgeries make it hard to work. Lizzy's mom welcomed the help as we didnt find out about the dementia until Lizzy's dad already was in stage 4 of 7. now he is toward the middle of stage 5 but its usually a faster decline at this point. Though we moved quickly and helped for months his care needs began to exceed what 3 adults could do in a 24 hour period. He is now moved into a memory care apartment unit with several other people who he seems to get along with. This leads us up to present times
Where we are currently living as a tripod family with Lizzy's mom who doesn't want to live alone now that her spouse is in his new home. Its Lizzy's childhood home and one day may end up being ours.
As far as Lizzy and I, we've been courtin' since Spring of 2008. We were married in spring of 2010 and since day one Lizzy became my best friend. We met when we were in the throws of our alcoholism amongst other things I had problems with. But lets just say I would have gotten my 8 year chip on the 4th of July. SOBER 8 YEARS and feeling great. Lizzy loved me during all the high spirit days where we went to haunted hayrides and houses. Lizzy loved me when I was laying at the bottom of the tub crying and dissociating while screaming in PTSD attacks. Our life has a pulse not unlike Grey's Anatomy....which dramatic turn shall we take next? Terrible Misfortune or Blissed Out Humor? Only time will tell. But its a beautiful ride in the big picture.
I would love for you to ask any questions or leave any messages! If you want to know more I am an open book and thats why I am writing this blog. I want the world to see me. Welcome to my world! Enjoy.
*~*~*~*~*Stevie*~*~*~*~*
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writtenfan · 6 years ago
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Exceptional Emotions
Severus x Reader Imagine 
Request: Hello! Can I request a imagine where the reader is a student at Hogwarts? She is a muggle-born and in the Gryffindor house. How about a scenario of Snape getting upset that the reader’s dad isn’t treating her with respect and he asks Dumbledore for help. In the end, the reader opens up to him about her parents getting divorced and her dad being mentally ill with bipolar.
(Wow, this took a bit, but I hope you enjoy it!)
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The door closed with a soft clank; he wiped the bridge of his nose and tossed his hair back as he ran his fingers through his long fine strands of black. His throat ached with a strained voice and his temple pulsed.
He was looking forward to the dreamless sleep, that would allow him to no longer worry about the world.
He fumbled with the parchments under his arm as he walked down the dark candlelit hallway. The castle was always so eerie and calm at night, portraits snored, or gossiped quietly to each other about their day, the wind howled softly against the outer walls. He paused and looked out of an open window watching the moonlight glittering in against the stone floor tiles.
Severus grasped the sill of the window and took a deep breath of cool crisp air as he admired the sights outside, looking out into the horizon past the trees.
Although this moment was cut short as his eyes shuttered closed when a bright light shined across his face.
He tilted his head towards the ground and watched the figure of a student disappear across the stone columns, sneakily into the dark corner of the courtyard below. He pushed himself away from the window and sped downstairs to the courtyard quietly, a grimace planted on his face, hand gripping his wand firmly.
Holding the side of the column he peered into the courtyard, staying in the darkness. He watched the student pull their cowl away from their head. His pulse rose once he identified the trespasser was you, He was almost ready to step from behind the column to scold you when he watched her pull out a medium-sized mirror. It's frame thin and golden.
“You should speak to me more often…” grumbled a voice from within the glass.
“I try, but it isn’t always that easy…I have a lot to deal with here…”
“And you think I don’t?!”
There was a long, gloomy pause. His eyes narrowed as he slowly moved behind another pillar so that he could get a closer look at what you were was looking at. His footsteps hardly made as a sound as he sauntered barely behind your shoulder, the only thing separating you from him was a stone railing.
“No- that’s not the case dad...I-“
“You think you're better than us, don’t you?”
“No. That absolutely isn- “
“-But you have time to call your mother eh? What is it huh…can't stand to talk to your father anymore?”
You took your hand and wiped it across your eyes, angling the mirror so that your father couldn’t see.
“No, dad. Mom called me first, I think none less of you both. School just takes a lot of time and-“
He heard a crash from within the mirror,
“Shut up!”
Severus pressed his hands firmly against the stone and clawed at its surface, as he struggled to keep his robe from revealing his location as the wind picked up.
“You were always so selfish you know that…” the voice grumbled
Your fingers pressed against the sides of the glass as you stared emptily into the mirror.
“You. Your mother… Always thinking you both knew everything… and didn’t even consider asking me…” the voice trailed off.
“Dad. Are you taking your medication…” you whispered as you watched the mirror in soft sadness watching your father angrily toss something out of frame.
Another loud sound rose from the mirror.
“Don’t act like you care, stop babying me…Go back to learning your magic… no. How about you come back here and help me out huh?”
“Give your old man some support, I bet you have access to loads of things in your little wizard world I could use!”.
“Yes. I’ll bring you back something…” your voice cracked in a soft reply.
You stared at the face of your father for a moment, “Goodnight dad. Take your meds.”
Your father grunted in a reply which was cut off as you tapped the screen, making the mirror reflective once more.
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Severus studied the huddled figure of the girl as she leaned herself against the back the stone head raised towards the sky. Her (e/c) eyes were wet with tears, they trailed down her face and were wiped from her cheek. She let out a loud sigh into the sky as she ruffled her hair in frustration.
Eventually, she rose and walked back towards her common room in Gryffindor tower. He watched her leave, and pain filled his chest, a pain he hadn’t felt since he was a child. To think fathers could act such a way to the children and partners that love them. How dare he talk to his own spawn like that? When all he saw was the lingering amounts of love she had for him? He didn’t understand, nor wanted to… all he knew was that he had to do something. Had to say something. No one should go through what he had gone through, especially her. Not her, no one could treat her like that.
It was morning; the sun had risen 4 hours ago, and the sun was well into the sky and beaming down into the castle in smooth warm rays.
Severus tapped his finger against his wooden desk as he stared absentmindedly into his empty classroom. It was 10 minutes before class, his first class of the day. But he wasn’t in his usual mood of discontent, instead, he was eager for it to begin. All night something filled his dreams with emotions he didn’t want to be reminded of…just because of what he had experienced the night before. He woke this morning, feeling frustrated and distressed, unable to figure out what to do about it thus he unexpectantly found himself in front of the headmaster, early that morning.
“It’s very kind of you to be so concerned with a student’s troubles Severus…”
He grunted in reply and paced down the coiling bookcases on the edge of the headmaster’s office, pretending to look at what the shelves had stored on them, trailing his finger from the book, cover to cover.
“It’s nothing more than a concern for their performance in class...” he responded sternly stopping in place wiping the dusk collected by his finger against his side.
He turned back towards the headmaster who stood calmly in the middle of the room looking over him with a soft content, which for some reason angered him.
“Well,… although we can’t exactly step into (y/n)’s personal life in the way you would like Severus. We can offer her some emotional support, you…could offer her some emotional support.”
This caused his head to pound, “… Me?”
“Yes, Severus. Talk to her, ask her about what has gotten her so lost in her work…be an aid for her…offer her some solace.” He pondered the words in his head and whisked his attention to the high glass windows in Dumbledore’s office as he fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves.
“You’ve dealt with similar troubles…you would be the perfect person to talk to her… “
This caused his eyebrows to furrow, he didn’t want that fact to rise in the conversation, but sure enough.
“Fine.” He growled, looking back towards Dumbledore who was now petting the feathers under the beak of his Phoenix Fawkes.
“I was hoping someone more qualified would be of more help… but if you think so headmaster, I’ll be forced to take your word.”
A small creak interrupted his thoughts. He rose his head from the floor and looked crossly at the face of a young Gryffindor student.
“Sit. No talking.”
He instructed plainly as the figure hesitantly sat in the closest seat to the door, nervously glancing back at it waiting for more students so he wouldn’t be the only one in the room with, Professor Snape. Soon enough something answered his prayers and countless Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students walked quietly into the door, sleepy-eyed, and nervous. This allowed him to snap back into reality, seeing the faces peer around the classroom, refusing to look into his eyes too long. Talking quietly to themselves, constantly shooting glances back at him and silencing themselves at once.
But he ignored this daily routine, as his eyes and mind lingered on the now open doorway to his classroom. Then, she walked in, along with a few more students, who had been unlucky enough to have missed all the seats in the back and middle of the room.
So, he watched her and the others take their seats in the front row. She, right in front of his desk. Her eyes were somber, her (h/c) hair slightly unkempt but still tamed. She refused to look at him, as she pulled out her potions book, notepad, and quill, and doodled aimlessly in the rims of her page.
It took a strong will, to make sure he didn’t study her for too long, but he pulled his gaze away and rose from his desk, flicking his hand to the doorway which slammed shut in reaction.
“Go ahead. Get out your cauldrons, you all are seventh years you know what to do. Don’t make me wait”.
Bubbling and clanking filled the room, along with the voices of your fellow peers as you all had finally woke up. You wiped steam from your forehead as your cauldron bubbled an aqua blue. Your friend beside you handed you some peeled Agave leaves, and you dropped the gooey texture into the mix and watched the bubbles stick to the sides of the cauldron.
Footsteps walked towards you from behind, your heart raced in unease as you felt the penetrating stare, yet again of your potion’s teacher. You don’t want to confront his cold attitude, so you don’t look at him. He plants himself at your side and peers into your liquid judgingly.
You, sir the liquid gradually and look up at your friend who gives you a nervous smile which you return.
Severus says nothing, although he lets out an approving grunt before walking to the table next to you considering their brew.  You breathe out, great. At least you didn’t disappoint him. You thought as you picked up a vial filled with gooey green liquid. You didn’t know if you could handle it if you had…
It would have been just too much.
“Stop.”
You froze and watched the others around you continue to leave the classroom as they looked back at you sympathetically.
“Stay.”
Your friend stood with you for a moment before getting a repulsed look from the professor.
“See you soon” they whispered before giving your arm a soft squeeze as they slipped into the hall.
“You were completely distracted during today’s lesson.” You relaxed and turn to face him, feeling somewhat annoyed.
“I wouldn’t expect such carelessness from a student like you. Ms. l/n..”
You look into his eyes and shrug your face unable to fake any concern or care in response to his words.
He studies your face, looking uncomfortably long into your eyes, making you avert your gaze many times. However, each time you did he took another step towards you attempting to reclaim your attention.
“You should also know better than to sneak around the castle at night.”
Your eyes darted open. You took a small step back and stared at the professor with obvious fear. “I- I’m sorry professor I- I had-“
He rose his hand in silence and you closed your mouth on command like a puppet. This made you additionally aggravated.
He said things, relating to how disappointed he was and how you should be more respectful when you thought about the key event of last night, the reason you walked outside.
You shot him an unsympathetic glance and his voice paused mid-sentence.
“How long were you following me” you demanded.
He looked down at you as if he was bored and without looking away responded snappily,
“Long enough to know that there is more your concerning yourself with than a simple potion.” You sat down. You merely dragged a chair from beside you and plopped down into the chair holding your head in your hand, looking Severus with wide dazed eyes. He awkwardly stood in place, neither of you knew where to carry this confrontation.
“Why-“your voice trailed softly. The room had grown stuffy and quiet.
Abruptly Severus towered over your slumped body and looked down at you hollowly,
“No parent should talk to their child that way...” he says bitterly as he stares into your eyes with an unrelenting blank gaze. “I’m sorry your muggle, a father doesn’t grasp the importance of you being here. As if he could have done such a thing himself”. The man cleared his throat and looked towards the back of the room behind you.
“Just because your father is an utter waste doesn’t mean that-“ You raise your hand frantically towards him shaking your head, “Stop. Stop. Just stop.” He halts. You let out a forced pained chuckle and run your hands through your hair securely. “He’s not usually that way he…is not well...” your voice cracks, he raises his eyebrow and stiffens his posture as he impatiently rubs his hands together.
“Stop making excuses for his poor parenting...girl. He obviously-”
“No…seriously…he- he isn’t’ always, himself…”
You interrupt weakly, now staring into the wooden surface of the tabletop. You close your eyes and take a deep breath in.
“My father has a bipolar disorder…his mood swings are extreme and terrifying…He- isn’t always, a complete dickhead…” you croak softly, forcing tears at bay while your throat tries to close in on itself.
Severus looks down at you, his fury washes away, in an instant instead replaced with sheer unease.
“He’s been getting worse…especially since he hasn’t been exactly, always taking his meds like he should…” You murmur as you raise your eyes towards Severus who looks lost in his own head.
You look back down at the worn, dented wood of the table and dig into its surface with your fingernail.
“He…isn’t. It isn’t his fault...my parents are getting a divorce, he feels all alone and I can’t be there for them, I can’t do anything to help him, I can’t… “
You feel a warm heavy press on your shoulder.
Your heart spikes in reply.
“It’s ok” he whispers softly, “Understood”.
You look into the deep dark eyes of the man in front of you, this wasn’t the Severus you were used to…
An hour and a half, you sat in his office and talked to him about your frustrations and the daily struggles you deal with your family. He doesn’t challenge your words, instead; he listens carefully, refusing still to look away from your distressed face.
After feeling too weak to talk anymore, the room is filled with an eerie silence once more. You grow restless and fidget. Yet, the soft stare of Professor Snape gives you some unexpectant ease.
“So please professor… dodon't have me kicked out…” you chuckle tensely as you give him an unexpectant smile which startles him as much as it does you.
His established manner doesn’t cease to impress you nor does it cease to taunt you. You look at the straight expression on his face and still sense the emotion bubbling behind his deep brown eyes. The same feelings of adoration you feel periodically seems to edge forward as he sits down at the seat next to you, filling you with downright panic as he looks at you with his calm steady eyes and still lips.
“I will do no such thing”
“If only you come to my class periodically as a make-up for breaking school rules…despite the reason...” he says steadfastly. You nod your head in agreement and gradually push back your seat.
“Tell Minerva that I needed you to stay after class if she asks.”
“You can go…but come back later tonight to help me sort out the new ingredients…after sunsets. Understand?”
You nod your head once more and rise from your chair, with an unintentional lax smile.
You quickly fix your expression and blush as you turn your head away from him as you hurry towards the door.
Severus digs his fingers into the cloth of his cuffs tugging at the black fabric as he watched the ends of your mouth smile only for a second.
“If you don’t come Ms. l/n. I must rethink being so remorseful for your actions”. He forced out bitterly, trying to keep his commanding composure.
“Yes, of course…and thank you, professor…” you turn around in the doorway, your face hot with embarrassment.
” for…being here for me and actually willing to listen”
You shut the door behind you.
Severus’s gaze transfixed where you formerly stood. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard, he didn’t know how to react…for a second he thought that this was bad…that now you thought you could rely on him you would try to use him, perhaps think you were better than others and had a free pass…but then again, he didn’t see that in your eyes. He saw a hint of something he didn’t exactly want to see because it made things even more difficult. One thing was sure and that was that he would continue to keep an eye on you. After what you had confided in him today, he…had too.
He stumbled up from his chair and sighed in relief as no one in the room saw him do so, he rubbed his thumb over the tip of his chin and slowly walked back to his desk and sat down.
“y/n…l/n…”
he muttered under his breath as he grabbed an empty vial and tossed it around in his hand.
He discreetly continued to repeat your name softly to himself as if trying to discover something.
Even if it wasn’t appropriate for him to realize it.
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the-crippled-god · 3 years ago
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Ys Origin
Alright, this one was pretty damn good. I have some complaints, mostly technical issues with the PC version (they're all quite minor), and some issues with the scope of the gameplay. So, we'll start with the bad bits to get them out of the way.
These are PC version only issues, as far as I can tell, screenshots of the switch version and others that also support widescreen seem to have most of these fixed:
Usual issue with Japanese PC ports: configuration is done through a separate exe, the configuration tool itself mostly works fine, I had no problems with it (but do make sure you use it, since the defaults are quite bad), however there's complaints on steam that it has issues re-mapping certain controllers.
I couldn't get my Dualshock 4 to work, either raw, or through D24Windows, it seemed to interpret the analog deadzone as being the upper left? This isn't uncommon in games this old, but it'd be nice to see support patched in.
Dug out my Xbox 360 pad, and it worked fine, except you can't map anything to the triggers, and the dpad and both analog sticks are treated as the same input (also not re-mappable).
Various minor issues with the support of widescreen, which the game/engine is not built for, but the PC version does support and it works fine mostly, issues included:
Health bars for individual parts of bosses appear in the wrong positions, which is generally not an issue, but for the True Final Boss, it made things a bit confusing.
There's a couple of area transitions that look like dead ends, because the widescreen view sees past where the game expects. It's only really noticeable for one exit at the end of Guilty Fire, but it'd also be trivial to fix.
In a couple cutscenes (most obviously Toal's scene with Yunica after disarming the early game teleport trap) characters can be scene on screen when they're not supposed to be, occasionally duplicate models of people who are on screen.
All the above widescreen issues seem to not be an issue with the Switch version (although I think that port has some performance issues), and it also fixes this issue: The HUD looks unfinished, the version on Switch looks so much better, and is mostly much more readable. It'd be really cool to see a patch for the PC version to get the improvements form later ports.
And finally, my biggest issue with the gameplay: This game is 3 ~10 hour story campaigns, each character goes through the same levels, in the same order, with items, enemies, and bosses mostly being identical. The game moves fast enough that it didn't really bother me until the latter half of the third campaign, where I started to just want the game to be done. It's still a Napish Engine game, so if you like a slightly more combat focused zelda like where you move at the speed of sonic the hedgehog, you're in for a good time. Just know that the scope of content here feels distinctly budget, the dungeon is completely linear, and the story will be what carries you to finish all 3 campaigns, not any new gameplay.
General story: ~700 years before the events of Ys I, the civilization of Ys is losing the war with the demons. The Goddesses have lifted Solomon shrine and all the citizens of Ys into the sky to escape the conflict. Toal Fact and Saul Tovah stay behind on the surface to attempt to disrupt the demon's forces from within their ranks. Some time later (a few months, since the demons built Darn Tower in that time) the Goddesses vanish from Solomon Shrine (and later we learn they also took the Black Orb), and the Holy Knights and several talented Sorcerers mount a rescue effort, descending to the surface to look for them. They're attacked during the descent, scattering them, but eventually everyone end up at Darn Tower, and begins to scale the tower in search of the goddesses. Eventually, they find the demons are being controlled by people from outside of Ys, referring to themselves as Darklings - humans who took on a portion of the demonic essence - lead by Dalles. Eventually the rescue party finds and rescues Feena, who explains what we learned in Ys II: The Black Orb is both the source of magic, and the source of demons. The Goddesses have come to the tower to seal away the demonic essence within the Black Orb (likely sacrificing themselves in the process), in order to save Ys (and keep in afloat, since destroying the Orb would cause it to crash to the ground). Conflict eventually escalates and the rescue party is forced to confront Dalles at the top of the tower, where he has captured Lady Reah and the Black Orb.
So, following that, lets break things up among the 3 playable characters, and discuss them in more detail. First however, a brief explanation of the story: The first two characters are sharing their interpretation of events, not the events as they transpired, the 3rd character is the canonical one. I'll get to it when I talk about the 3rd campaign, but the difference is mostly that the first two characters are over emphasizing their actions (they beat all the bosses, were the leader in climbing the tower, etc.) and also exaggerating their character flaws (they views themselves as more flawed than the rest of the characters view them).
Yunica Tovah
Yunica is a cute girl, with no magical aptitude, a big axe, and a big heart. She plays most similarly to how Adol plays in other Napish engine games.
Generally the easiest campaign, Yunica has powerful abilities and enough health to make mistakes, but she's the slowest at dealing damage, so boss encounters tend to last longer.
Her skills are easily the most powerful of the three, with the Phoenix Flare breaking several bosses almost completely due to it's huge range (the most of anything in the game), wide AOE, and solid damage. Her boost/burst mode is basically useless.
She's the only character who gets a second weapon: Her Father's great sword. It's mostly similar to the axe, but it swings slower, has a bit longer reach and wider swings, and does a modest amount more damage per hit.
Gameplay wise Yunica is the most fun, but the least challenging. All of her abilities feel good to use, and are very versatile. Her melee combat is fast and satisfying, and generally I never felt like I was taking damage when I shouldn't have been.
Her story centers around 2 things: Her friendship with the Goddesses, and her feelings of inadequacy due to not being able to use magic (nearly every citizen of Ys can use some magic, so she's probably not treated great). Basically, when she was a child she accidentally snuck into the Goddesses's chambers, and because she treated them like humans, has been their friend ever since. She's wholly devoted to the Goddesses, and forced herself into the Holy Knights for the purpose of rescuing them. During her story the Knights are initially very critical of her, because she's an amateur, but she eventually through her actions is promoted above members senior to her, and ends up respected. She is one of the first to arrive at the tower, behind Father Shion and Eloa (and maybe Hugo Fact), and fights her way up the tower ahead of everyone else. She encounters the lower ranked Darkling Epona early on, and they fight (with Yunica eventually killing her towards the end of the game) but Epona doesn't play much of a role in her story (beyond being generally adorable and teasing Yunica a bit). Eventually she finds Lady Feena, but quickly so to does Darkling Kishgal, Epona's older brother, and the man her murdered her father. One way or another Kishgal beats Yunica, and Feena agrees to go with him and Darkling Sorceress Zava, provided they leave Yunica alive. This is obviously quite a blow to Yunica's confidence, but eventually generic knight dude (her romantic interest) pulls her out of it, and tells her he found her Father's sword hidden in the tower. Yunica retrieves her Father's sword, and has a talk with his ghost, which sees her confidence renewed and a new level of devotion to her duty to protect the Goddesses. Higher up the tower, after Yunica rescues Feena from Rado's Annex (though Feena remains trapped in a barrier until the end of the game), Yunica encounters Lady Reah and the Black Orb, and learns the truth of why the Goddesses vanished. Higher up still, Dalles appears and petrifies the other Knights, leaving Yunica unfrozen just to torture her. This shakes her confidence, but with the help of Hugo Fact (who we see talking to a mysterious Darkling with claws, very briefly) and Lady Feena, the knights get unfrozen, and Yunica becomes a Holy Knight in full. Near the top of the tower Yunica confronts Kishgal and avenges her Father's death. Later still, after confronting Zava, Zava traps and attempts to kill Yunica, stopped by generic knight dude, who dies saving Yunica, giving her an item that can be used to being someone back from death (but only once). Firm in her resolve and duty, Yunica confronts Dalles at the top of the tower, and with the help of the Goddesses and the Holy Knights manages to beat him. The Goddesses use their wings (the source of their powers) to seal the demonic essence within Dalles in the Orb, draining them, and forcing them into a slumber until the demons reawaken. Yunica decides to stay on the surface with a few others (to watch over the Goddesses), while the rest of the rescue party returns to Solomon Shrine.
Her story is easily the 'lightest'. She has her internal conflict, but she's kind of just a headstrong dumbass who blunders her way through things (generic knight guy says effectively this to her face), so she feels like she goes through the least change during the course of the story. She starts out as overconfident, but lacking in ability. Then becomes more skilled, but less confident. And finally gains resolve in her ability, and is seen as such by her peers. Her friendship with the goddesses is cute, and she's generally a fun character with lots of good dialogue, but compared to the other two, her story feels a bit throwaway, especially considering most of her development doesn't happen in the other campaigns.
Hugo Fact
Younger of the Fact brothers, appointed heir to the Fact priesthood after Toal joined the Holy Knights. Hugo is a magical prodigy with anger issues and an inferiority complex the size of the sun.
Hugo is a ranged characer, so no melee, no combos, just mash button to shoot bullets. Hugo has a low movement speed compared to the others, and though he has low health, the first ability he gets is a defensive one, so that becomes a non-issue.
His other 2 abilities aren't that useful, good for taking down specific enemies, but the mines are hard to use, and the fire lasers do less damage (and are harder to aim) than just mashing his regular attack. His boost mode is a good boost of damage, but his burst is useless against bosses, since they become un-damageable when he uses it.
I really wish hugo's regular attack had more too it. It fire 3 bullets straight in front of him, and can be mashed quite fast. If enemies are too close he does less damage because he's hitting them with his stick, instead of the magic. But that's it.
You start out feeling pretty weak, but by the end of the game your damage output is so high that most bosses barely get a chance to attack, and when they do you're behind your shield ability.
His campaign is room-for-room the same as Yunica's but he solves a couple puzzles differently, and fights a couple different bosses, and a couple in a different order.
Hugo is more fun than those bullet points make it sound, but he definitely feels unfinished. Like all the other character's attacks get special properties, depending on if you use them during the rise or fall of a jump, but Hugo does not. They all have a 3 or 4 hit combo attack, he does not. I feel like giving Hugo a charge attack (like in metroid) or giving his normal attacks properties based on the element you have equipped, would have made his campaign much more interesting.
Story wise, Hugo's is the edgiest. He's got issues with his Dad, issues with his Brother, is generally a stuck up anti social loner, and some really bad anger management issues. His story centers around him learning not to pursue power over all else, and learning to rely on, and be thankful for, the people around him. In his story, he arrives at the tower first, and he leads the way up the tower. In addition to searching for the Goddesses, he's been tasked by his father to hunt down and kill the man who betrayed Ys, who we quickly find out, is his own brother: Toal Fact. Early on he runs into Epona, who loses control of the demons she summons, and Hugo saves her. From that point forward Epona will keep showing up, especially when Hugo is talking to himself, and either help him out with no explanation, or try to get him to open up to her. Her crush on Hugo is adorable. Epona is adorable. She makes this campaign worth playing. Basically, she feels a kinship with him because she also feels inferior to her own brother, and is less confident in the Dalles's goals than the rest of them. Miuscha also has a crush on Hugo, she's a boring (but pretty looking) and very shy young Sorceress who came with the rescue party. Hugo is generally an ass to Miuscha, and is oblivious to her advances, and is at points borderline abusive in how he treats her, right through the end of the game. Hugo does eventually open up to Epona (after she saves his life a couple times), and though they remain 'enemies' it's clear they have no interest in killing each other. The Mysterious Darklig with Claws is in fact Huugo's brother Toal, he joined the Darklings (and took in the demonic essence) sometime after Saul Tovah's death. He (one way or another) beats Hugo's ass early on, further driving Hugo's complex and lust for power. Hugo drains the power from Saul Tovah's great sword, ignoring the Ghost's words. Dalles eventually makes Hugo an offer, a free trial of the demonic essence, just to see how strong it'd make him. Hugo accepts the deal (because for a prodigy he's really stupid), goes nuts, nearly kills several members of the rescue party, and is eventually stopped when Epona snaps him out of it. Dalles doesn't like that Epona betrayed him, and curses her to slowly petrify, dying and turning to dust in Hugo's arms. Resolved to stop Dalles and the demonic essence, and no longer desiring power for its own sake, Hugo makes his way to the top of he tower. Eventually he runs into Toal, and they talk it out. Turns out they both thought they were the inferior son, Toal joined the Knights because he had poor magical aptitude, and knew Hugo would be a better successor. He joined the Darklings in hopes of sabotaging them from within. From here (and after Epona's death), Hugo treats his companions much better, and is generally friendly towards them by the end of the game. Just like Yunica, he stops Dalles with the help of the goddesses, and decide to stay on the surface, to keep an eye on them.
I liked Hugo's over arching story, but there's some lines that are cringe worthy edgy loner shit that caused me to laugh hysterically and lose investment in the scene. He starts out insufferable, but by the end of the game he's fine. Interestingly, in Yunica's story he's already behaving like his end game self, from the beginning, in Toal's he's got the inferiority complex, but not the anger issues.
Toal Fact
Elder of the Fact brothers, former Holy Knight of Ys, new Darkling. Definitely became a Holy Knight more because he was crushing on Lady Reah rather than because he wanted to get away from his dad. This is the canonical story of Ys Origin.
Melee, with very fast attacks, very fast movement speed, low health and really low range. Toughest campaign, but kinda for the wrong reasons.
All his abilities suck, godspeed is useful, but hard to aim, and his other two abilities are too slow, too low range, and too low damage to compete with other character's abilities.
His gamplay relies on his boost mode, which recharges fast, turns him into a demon, doubling damage dealt, having damage taken, and improving his abilities.
His campaign is the most different, several new bosses, totally new story sequences, and several changed room layouts (although the room layouts are mostly changed because his abilities are more limited)
You feel like you have too little health for the entire game, and generally have to spend a lot of time avoiding damage during boss fights.
Melee combat as Toal feels buggy. There's a 'sweet spot' to his attack range, too close and you do less damage, too far and you don't hit. His attacks have very little stagger and knock-back, so enemies can just attack through you. Several bosses do contact damage (which is weird because almost no bosses do in the other campaigns), punishing you for using the difficult to control gap closer of godspeed.
Toal is... weird? When the claws feel good, they feel really good. His boost mode is the most necessary, and probably the most powerful of the three. His big issue is that his abilities suck. He really needs some way to crowd control, and the closest he gets is the thunder claw, which pulls enemies towards him, instead of knocking them away. A few boss fights ended up feeling like a damage race, since I couldn't reliably avoid taking damage while trying to attack, despite attacking during what I knew were safe windows during other campaigns. However, when you're winning, you feel like an absolute master, like the enemies have no chance, and that's kinda cool.
I don't really want to go over the whole campaign again, since large chunks are the same as the other, here's a basic gist, in note form.
Toal Fact joined the Holy Knights to get away form his family legacy, and his father. Through his time as a Holy Knight, he becomes good friends with the Goddesses (they are mostly drawn to him for his bluntness and treating them as equals) and develops a pretty big crush on Lady Reah. He is the one who gives Lady Reah her harmonica.
Though he tries to hide it initially, Toal takes on demonic essence and joins the Darklings in hopes of sabotaging their plans. All the Darklings have basically already worked this out before the game even starts.
Toal's internal conflict is mostly that he has a super low opinion of himself, everyone seems to view him as a hero, but Toal thinks himself a weak coward. Eventually through confronting the rescue squad and the darklings he finds confidence enough in himself.
His original plan is to take the demonic essence from Dalles, and then kill himself, to wipe out the demons.
In this campaign Yunica is consistently the 'junior knight', you eventually give her the great sword, and later she uses it to save you.
Toal in this campaign feels inferior to Hugo, but he doesn't really have a complex about it, he just knew Hugo was more talented, so left the family legacy to him, and left to pursue his own life.
Hugo still gets possessed, however you are the one to snap him out of it, while he's attempting to kill Epona.
Yes Epona still develops a crush on Hugo, and boy does Toal ship them so hard.
Epona lives through this campaign, so we can presume she and Hugo end up together.
She's also still adorable here, and Toal teasing her about her crush is great.
Generic knight guy also lives, good for Yunica, I guess?
It's made explicit here by Lady Reah that the reason why the Goddesses left Solomon Shrine without telling anyone was two fold:
They suspect that sealing away the demonic essence will either kill them, or lock them into a long slumber.
Someone told outsiders (who became the Darklings) about the demonic essence and the Black Orb, someone from within Ys
Toal's goals shift a bit, make sure Lady Reah (and lady Feena) stay alive, and stop Dalles his own way. Reah, obviously, doesn't want this, and tries to convince Toal that he should value his own life (more than she values hers).
After stopping Hugo, Toal resolves that he's going to finish this without anyone dying.
You stop Dalles, similar to the others, but then Cain Fact (Toal/Hugo's Dad) descends form the sky, he was the one who told the outsiders about the demonic essence, and in fact, explicitly instructed them to keep Toal alive and give him demonic essence. This was a trial run for giving demonic essence to the more powerful Hugo, which itself was a trial run to Cain taking on the essence himself. True the Fact name, Cain is pursuing power for power's sake, and fuses himself with with the demonic essence, and the Black Orb.
Feena has repaired Toal's old Cleria Sword (the silver sword from Ys I) infusing it with divine power, and Toal uses it to vanquish Cain's near-perfected form. After which the Goddesses due the usual, sacrificing their wings, and going to sleep to seal away the demonic power within the Orb.
Toal does not stay on the surface, returning to Ys to write the books of Ys (with the help of the other priests) and take onf the Fact legacy.
This campaign is much more satisfying than the others, from a 'ties into Ys I/Ys II' perspective. Everything lines up here, including how several items ended up where they did. There's also a big revelation that I've saved for here, since it likely has to do with the other games in the series. The Goddesses are not perfect (which we knew), but they're also not really Goddesses, they're remaining members of a precursor race who 'betrayed the gods' (who were likely also not gods), they're ageless, but the Black Orb, and their Wings, are artifacts from their civilization. When they founded Ys, they were quite young an naive, and though they knew the source of the demon problem, could not find a way to stop it, without potentially causing the citizens of Ys to lose faith in them. They mention that the Darklings worked this out by discovering the Ark, guessing that'll be Ys VI then.
So yeah, this game was quite good, but you can tell why they made a new engine after this, Napish clearly has some weird limitations that this game was brushing against (I'm sure there's a good reason why the Dragon Scales are an item instead of an accessory, but it's an engine limit, not good game design, etc). Next is Ys: Memories of Celceta, a fairly recent game design to fix the issue of there being two different versions of Ys IV (developed by 3rd party studios), and bring the story more in line with the canon plot lines developed in Ys VI. It's using the engine from Ys SEVEN, a game that I played for a bit on the PSP, but didn't much care for (though I remember almost all my issues being related to the PSP's display and controls). Celceta is a couple iterations of that engine ahead, so we'll see how I like it. It's also a much longer game, so, I might need to start taking notes, instead of writing these things as a stream of consciousness after I complete them.
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thelastspeecher · 7 years ago
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Phoenix Enchantment AU: Redux
@nour386, when I answered your ask yesterday, I said I had a writing in the works.  Well, I wrote it.  And here it is.  The Phoenix Enchantment AU, but with Ford and Fiddleford as the ones to be turned into phoenixes.  I have some additional ideas (bc I cannot control myself), but this is what I’ve got so far.  Hope ya like it.
              Crash!  The distinct sound of breaking glass startled Ford and Fiddleford out of their slumber.
              “What the hell was that?” Ford muttered.
              “Burglars, maybe?” Fiddleford said. “I mean, the house does look uninhabited.”  He sighed.  “Should we go handle it?”
              “I think-” Ford started.  He stopped.  Voices were carrying to the bedroom.  
              “Good Lord,” a distinct, southern female voice said.
              “Angie!” Fiddleford chirped excitedly.  He stood upright, suddenly full of energy.  “She’s here!”
              “What happened?” a second familiar voice asked.  Ford’s eyes widened.
              “Stan!” he squawked.
              “This place is a sty,” Stan continued.  “There’s no way Fidds has been here recently.  He wouldn’t let it get this messy.”
              “Agreed,” Angie said.  She took a shuddering breath.  “Where- where should we start lookin’ fer clues?”
              “I dunno.  The bedroom? I can smell whatever’s in the fridge from here, so the further you get from the kitchen, the better,” Stan answered. Angie sighed.
              “Don’t treat me like I’m made of glass, Stanley.”
              “Just bein’ careful,” Stan muttered.  Ford and Fiddleford could hear their siblings in the hallway now.  The door, which was slightly ajar, opened the rest of the way, revealing Stan and Angie.  Fiddleford let out a hum of greeting.  “What the- why are there two big-ass birds here?” Stan demanded.  He stormed towards the nest on the bed. “Get outta here!  Go on, shoo!”  Stan gestured wildly at Ford and Fiddleford.  Ford hissed instinctively.
              “Stanley, don’t be rude!” Fiddleford squawked.  Stan frowned.
              “Angie, I don’t want ya in here, there’s bird shit all over.”
              “Stan, cut it out!” Angie snapped.  “It’s fine!”  She joined Stan in front of the nest.  
              “Get away from the birds,” Stan said, putting an arm in front of her. She sighed.
              “If I have to tell ya one more time-”
              “Why is Stan bein’ so overprotective?” Fiddleford burbled curiously.  Angie froze.  She stared at Fiddleford.  Her eyes met his.  “…Angie?”
              “No way,” Angie breathed.  She pushed Stan’s arm away and sat on the edge of the bed, next to Fiddleford.  
              “Ang, I mean it, get away from ‘em,” Stan said.  “Who knows what sorta germs are-”
              “Stan.”
              “You’ve gotta be careful, the doctor said-”
              “Stan.”
              “You can’t even handle the lizards at work anymore-”
              “Stan!” Angie yelled.  Stan stopped. Angie gestured at Ford and Fiddleford. “I found our brothers.”
              “Do hormones make ya hallucinate?” Stan said.  “‘Cause those ‘re birds.”
              “Gravity Falls is weird, remember?  There’s magic ‘n mysterious forces what work here.  Is it really that difficult to think that this is Fiddleford ‘n that’s Stanford?”  There was a flash of light.  Angie yelped. Fiddleford rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision.  
              “Wait…” Fiddleford whispered.  He stared at his hands.  “I-”
              “No fuckin’ way,” Stan said in a low voice.  Fiddleford looked up.  Stan was carrying Angie, bridal-style, and both were staring at the bed slack-jawed.
              “We’re- we’re human again,” Ford croaked.  
              “And buck naked,” Stan added.  Angie turned red and immediately looked away.  
              “Stan, put me down,” Angie whispered.
              “Sorry, babe, instinct.”  Stan set Angie down.  “Uh, what happened?”
              “I’d like to revisit my earlier question,” Fiddleford said, covering himself with a thoroughly dirty sheet.  “Yer never this fussy over Angie.  Ya know full well she can handle herself.  Why are ya bein’ so careful with her?”
              “Maybe get dressed,” Angie suggested, still looking away determinedly. “We can have a nice long discussion after that.”
              “Great idea,” Stan said.  He turned around and ushered Angie out of the room.  “Meet us outside.  I don’t trust any surface in this house.”
              Angie was eating a banana and Stan was reading a book when Ford and Fiddleford joined them by the Stanleymobile.  Angie swallowed her mouthful of banana.
              “Ain’t ya a sight fer sore eyes?” she said with a smile.  Fiddleford beamed broadly at her.
              “I could say the same about you, sis.”  Fiddleford embraced her tightly.  Stan tossed his book inside the car and separated Fiddleford from Angie.
              “Okay, Fidds, it’s good to see you, but ya haven’t showered forever, and yer huggin’ too hard.  Take a step back.”
              “What?  Stanley, what has gotten into ya?” Fiddleford asked.  Angie sighed.
              “He’s been like this ever since we found out…” she trailed off.
              “Ever since ya found out…” Fiddleford prompted.  Angie waved a hand airily.
              “Never mind that, Fidds.  We’ll get to it.  First, what happened to the two of ya?” she asked.  She took another bite of her banana.
              “We fell victim to an enchantment,” Ford said.  Angie raised an eyebrow.
              “Oh?”
              “There’s an enchantment in place in Gravity Falls, that turns a couple into phoenixes, if there are not currently any phoenixes in the area,” Ford continued.  “I’m not sure why we specifically were targeted, however.”
              “Huh.  That sucks,” Stan said.  He grinned. “But at least now yer back to normal, eh?  Humans.”
              “That…ain’t quite right,” Fiddleford said quietly.  He looked at Ford.  “Go on, tell ‘em.”
              “While we were looking for clothes to put on,” Ford said, “I came across an ancient bestiary I had hidden in the back of the closet.  It detailed some of the specifics of this particular phoenix enchantment.”
              “That’s lucky,” Stan remarked.  Ford nodded.
              “It is.  Now we won’t be surprised when- when we revert back to phoenixes tomorrow.”  Stan and Angie’s jaws dropped.  “Apparently, the enchantment is sort of a riff on a classic were curse.  We can only take a human form during the full moon, but for the rest of the month, we are stuck as phoenixes.”
              “But you two were missin’ fer months,” Angie pointed out.  “Did ya really turn human durin’ that time?”
              “Not once.  The ability to turn human was effectively unlocked after you recognized us, Angie.” Ford smiled weakly at her.  “Thank you for that, by the way.”
              “No problem,” Angie mumbled.  Ford put his hands behind his back.
              “We actually would like to request a favor from the two of you,” Ford said.  “Clearly, we owe you for coming to check on us and allowing us to resume a human form. So we understand if you’re unwilling to do this for us.”               “Yer our brothers,” Stan said.  “If the two of ya need some help, we can handle it.”
              “Thank you,” Ford said.  “While we’re working on getting the house back in order and trying to set things up to accommodate for our…new lives, we would greatly appreciate it if you could stay here to help.”  Stan and Angie exchanged a concerned look.  “What?”
              “Stan should’ve known better ‘n to offer to do it ‘fore ya said what it was,” Angie mumbled.  “We- I’ve got a doctor’s appointment next week.”
              “That’s fine, you can come up after it.”
              “And then I have another one next month,” Angie continued.
              “We can’t just drop everything to move up here,” Stan said.  “We’ve got jobs, and our house and-”  He looked at Angie.  “Should we tell ‘em?”
              “Tell us what?” Fiddleford asked.  He frowned, worried.  “Is somethin’ wrong?”
              “No, not at all,” Angie said.  She squeezed Stan’s hand warmly and smiled at her boyfriend.  “Somethin’s very right.”
              “Did you crazy kids fin’ly get engaged?” Fiddleford said eagerly.
              “Yes, but that’s not what we’re referrin’ to,” Angie said.  
              “Then what could-” Fiddleford started.
              “Stanley, why are you reading a book called Baby Incoming?” Ford asked, peering into the Stanleymobile.
              “Take a wild guess,” Stan said snippily.  
              “Yer expectin’!” Fiddleford squealed.  Stan nodded.  “That explains the doctor’s visits, ‘n bein’ so careful with Angie, ‘n- Angie, ya shouldn’t approach wild animals in yer state!”  Angie threw her hands up in the air.
              “Great, now there’s two of ya to fuss over me like I don’t know how to take care of m’self.”
              “Fiddleford has a point,” Ford said.  “As I understand it, pregnancy reduces the function of the immune system. Wild animals can carry any number of diseases.  It’s irresponsible to risk-”
              “You too, Ford?” Angie said, aghast.  She shook her head.  “I expected better of ya.”
              “But, given the situation, I understand why you’re reluctant to move here,” Ford conceded.
              “What if you moved in with us?” Stan said.  “We can send Lute and Harper up here to clean up the house, get things in order, and in the meantime, you crash at our place.”
              “That’s a good idea,” Angie jumped in.  “I think Stan agrees that it ain’t wise fer ya to be on yer own, and it’d take a while fer Lute and Harper to get here.  Not to mention, they can fix things up faster without keepin’ an eye on you.”
              “Angie, if you ‘n Stan are expectin’, we don’t want to be a bother,” Fiddleford said.
              “Oh, please.  It’ll be no bother.  Maybe you’ll even be able to help around the house, once I start gettin’ big.”
              “They’ll be birds, babe,” Stan said.  Angie shrugged.
              “Birds can pick things up.  I’ll figure somethin’ out.”
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