#thought this might be a fun way to chronicle it for the curious

[havinganormalone]

Me Reviewing my own fanfic (old stuff only)

This fic is like, not full 'self-insert in the author notes' levels of cringe, but you can tell I haven't written fanfic since the ffn days and am still adjusting to the new fandom culture of ao3. I wrote this shortly after getting back into the homestuck fandom. I really like the premise of the fic: having the plot in the foreground be purposely lower stakes than the plot happening in the background. The Erisol interactions are very low stakes, while the DaveKat is life or death and you only get to see it secondhand. That sort of narrative prank is very "Homestuck" to me. I am proud of that. However, Dave comes off as super OOC to me. All of them to some level are a bit OOC, I'm forcing them to fit into this hackneyed scenario for the bit, and I haven't quite motivated them properly. I had to skim a little at times to deal with how cringe that was.

4/10, one of my weaker works.

[townofcadence]

⭐i am so excited with artair and mortem but i am also curious af to hear your other thoughts

Send a ⭐ for Muse Combinations!

Okay well to start off, I AGREE!! I love Artair and Mortem's dynamic from what we've talked about, and I adore Mortem as a character in general! Artair has as lot going on and I definitely see them connecting in ways that are going to be meaningful in their own way, and I am jazzed for it :D

BUT! On to others!

Personally, I think Jace and Mortem could be fun. I think Jace has some weirdness given his dead state but not realizing it yet, and how he has an ability to warp reality that's very empowered. At the very least I think it could be interesting, how much he clearly has a love and thirst for life given what he is, and how he believes himself to be alive with so much conviction that he breaks how things work around himself to account for what he believes. I don't know what would happen with the two, but i could see her think it's at least neat since he is oblivious xD

Opal i think could be fun, but i think mostly because i think they'd have some flirtatious banter with one another potentially, and opal likes taking down people who deserve it. If mortem found someone she felt had no potential who was basically a rich jackass, opal would totally be down for the two of them being a curse to befall them xD

Saffron--- would probably not be necessarily an extensive interaction, but Saffron is so terrified of the supernatural stuff, that i think it'd be at least a little funny if at least once Mortem scared him just for the lols. Two other muses have done this and he's the kind to be like 'nope' and run with a little cloud behind him so i think it could at least be a little silly one off thing at the very least. But also, as an apothecary, his access to plants and what he has could be really helpful and they could potentially connect in some way (even if she still scares him shitless because he's a weenie lol)

Mortem is more than allowed to meet trimst if she wants, though trimst is mainly just a little mischievous eldritch cat thing xD

Alyx i think could be interesting, if only because i think his ability to chronicle the future could be at least interesting for her to take note of, though i don't know how they'd get along in person so far xD

Atlas might be interesting, because of them being a fae but likely not like any Mortem has seen. They are a physical being and she is also not like what little i know of Mortem's patron, so it could be neat. Micah would be in a similar vein, but also because of his own survival of hardship and his harshness in some situations and protective ferocity could affect what she sees in them, and he has a connection to Atlas so they could appear together at some point

Dr. Salem Conner could be interesting because he has almost complete control over the body and all components in it. He's always seeking knowledge, so there is capacity for them to engage out of interest to the ways she's changed herself.

Maneki and her might have a strange interaction because of maneki's power over luck and mortem's over potential. they're not the same but in the same vein they kind of play into each other in a sense, so it could be interesting lol

With as often less than human as Mortem has the capacity to be as a witch, I think she would be given the chance to partake of weaver's carnival. I think it would be interesting, though it's difficult since weaver is a lower activity muse who is .... definitely on the villainous side. IT might not end well for the ringmaster xD

Alistaire could be interesting , due to the fact he is trying to learn magic and how to cleave a soul. As a magic user, that could definitely intersect with Mortem :D

They are low activity, but Nimbus, Eden, and Alistair/Aria could be interesting! they're like artair but they are true embodiments. These three are related to artair actually, but i think given the similarities between witches and the ethereals (name subject to change) there could be an interesting interaction there at some point in the future :D

[earlgreytea68]

So I know you wrote it in 2019 but im curious based off of Pete's stage designs for tourdust if that spurred any thoughts of the stage design for the Stumped Musical in your musical au fic 🐉

I wrote that musical fic very early on in my FOB fandom. I feel like it might have been the first long fic I wrote for them? And the longer I spend on FOB fandom the more I'm like, "God, Pete Wentz would looooove to write a musical" hahahaha. And also Patrick Stump would ALSO love to write a musical, I think. So I have no idea what is holding them up! Except I do think I'm probably right that Pete would write something completely incomprehensible that would totally make sense to him and to Patrick and to absolutely nobody else. And then they WOULD send a librettist in and Pete would hate it the way he hated having an editor on his actual book (another reason I love Pete Wentz lol). Like, Pete only wants one beta and that's Patrick, no one else is allowed to edit Pete Wentz. So I think, sadly, we never WILL get a musical out of them.

But! I actually think Pete has such wide-ranging interests and likes that it's impossible to predict how he would go for stage design. Tourdust is extremely whimsical and I adore that, I love how it's over-the-top and full of life and color and drama and I think that would suit their Morpheus retelling well, he would light the Underworld so luridly fabulously, I think. But then I think of, like, the aesthetic of Youngblood Chronicles, which feels on the other end of the spectrum in some ways, like, still over-the-top but in the opposite anti-whimsical direction lol. Like, YBC has the most ridiculous things happen but they're all dressed up in this hard debauched tone that doesn't land as softly as the Tourdust stuff does. And their videos likewise run the gamut in a lot of ways.

That said, if I had to put my money on it, I think Pete Wentz leans more whimsical Tourdust in general. He might love horror movies and sci-fi and stuff, but I think inside he's just full of pink cotton candy and bubblegum at heart. Like, most of their videos are light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek, comical affairs and I think Pete would go that way for staging my fictional musical, it would all be a tad too much in a fun way.

I spent way too long considering this entirely fictional question lol but thank you for it!

[navree]

I’m almost afraid to ask: what is the Sara Snow debate? Do I need to brace myself for another Jonsa vs Jonerys type showdown 😱

SPOILERS INCOMING for anyone who wants to kept in the dark and experience the story naturally:

So, as we know, Jace starts off the Dance by going to Winterfell, where he meets with Cregan Stark and asks him to pledge his sword to Rhaenyra. According to one of the chroniclers who makes up the narrative of the Dance that we get in Fire&Blood, while there Jace meets Sara Snow, Cregan's bastard sister, and immediately falls passionately in love with her, and the two end up sleeping together, which pisses Cregan off until Sara reveals that she and Jace were really in love and had gotten married in accordance with the old gods in front of a weirwood tree, and then promptly got down in the Winterfell godswood.

All well and good, except for one minor catch: we don't know if Sara Snow ever actually existed. The only person who writes about her is Mushroom, a court fool who is seen as notoriously unreliable, and often embellished or just flat out made stuff up, and any of the more salacious rumors about the Dance was likely shit he wrote down for the fun of it. In particular, the Archmaester Gyldayn, who's "writing" Fire&Blood (given that it's an in-universe history book), seems very dismissive of the fact that Sara Snow ever existed, or that Jace would ever break his vows to Baela for her (though he does concede that if Sara did exist Jace likely could have had sex with her, but not married her), but he also doesn't help himself from sounding biased due to describing her as a "half-wild, unwashed Northern bastard" of "uncertain virtue", which, like, dude OK then.

So the big debate is a) does Sara Snow exist (and as such will she be in the show) and b) is Jace going to fall in love with her? There is one side who says no, that Sara was an invention of Mushroom's and that Jace would never do Baela like that, and another side who says that Sara could exist and Jace could well have fallen for her. For reasons that absolutely baffle me, the side that absolutely hates Sara and any thought of her existing, let alone having an affair with Jace and being the other woman to Baela's betrayed spouse, tend to be Jonerys shippers, while the side that's really into Sara and her potential relationship/love story with Jace are Jonsa shippers, and I'm very confused because, like, again, it's the prototype for Jonerys, it's hitting the same notes just at a different octave, and I don't understand why the roles aren't reversed here.

I think they might go with Sara, just for a few more female roles, and whether or not they go with the Mushroom account or switch things up is debatable (they've eschewed a lot of Mushroom stuff, but not all Mushroom stuff), but I think it would make Jace a bit more interesting, because right now the younger generation for the Blacks is the most boring, cardboard cutout group of people in this show, name me one personality trait either Baela or Rhaena have, or anything about Luke that we didn't learn in episode 10 when they remembered that they needed people to feel literally anything for him before he died.

(Personally I'm just over here casually curious and praying furiously that the Helaena/Aemond people stay calm when Alys Rivers shows up, power to all ships and y'all do y'all but I'm here to watch Aemond ride-or-die in love with his hot witch wife and I would like for there to be no insane rivalries or people getting weird or referring to women as "unwashed" for no reason other than you don't like that they might get in the way of a ship)

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

Games in 2023: Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (1/2)

This one almost feels like cheating, being a collection of games that’ve been out for 20 years now. (Yikes, 20 years…) Battle Network was my introduction to Mega Man, so as soon as it became apparent that Legacy Collections were going to continue being A Thing, I began to speculate what one for this series might look like.  In some ways the final product is as expected, and in some ways it exceeds expectations; there’s a reason people have been saying this is the best Legacy Collection yet.  So cheating or not, I want to try to compile some of my thoughts on the collection and the various games that make it up.  Battle Network is just too important to me to not do it.

If you’re a newcomer to the Battle Network series and want a spoiler-free tl;dr: While these games do show their age, the collection provides excellent ways to mitigate the negatives, plus there are two decades worth of in-depth guides across the internet to help you along.  What holds up is a bundle of very unique and fun mechanics set in a world overflowing with both charm and heart.  I absolutely recommend it.  The collection has two volumes (that line up exactly with a major pivot in the series)—if you only get Vol. 1, I would recommend starting with either BN2 or 3 (BN1 is largely foundational and understandably rough around the edges), and if you only get Vol. 2 I would recommend starting with BN6 (it’s remarkably well-refined and far less divisive than BN4 and 5).

If you don’t care about spoilers, I’ve got a LONG post of detailed thoughts below the cut.  Let’s set one more routine��execute!

You probably know the basics, but for the curious: Battle Network takes place in a world of near-futuristic network technology.  Well, near-futuristic at the time the games were made, mind you.  Everything is connected to the internet, and everyone carries around personal terminals (or PETs) that are comparable to modern smartphones; though this may seem standard to us now, back at the turn of the millennium, these concepts still seemed like a dream.  Dial-up was still a thing!  Anyway, the “cyber-world” inside the internet is presented more akin to an alternate dimension, and is populated by AI programs known as Net Navigators, often shortened to NetNavi or just Navi.  Everyone has their own Navi who lives in their PET, and they help humans with their daily lives while also fighting off the many viruses that try to infect all of these commonplace smart devices (personified as cute little critters you’ll either find adorable or mind-bogglingly frustrating).  The games follow Lan Hikari, resident shounen protag and grandchild of the man considered the father of net society, and his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE, the responsible one.  Some way or another, the duo repeatedly find themselves caught up in the chaos caused by various net crimes, each game chronicling their battles with various cyber-terrorism organizations hellbent on destroying the world as we know it.

Before getting to the games themselves, I want to talk about the features of the collection.  Both volumes are largely similar, but each focus on one half of the series: Vol. 1 on BN1-3, and Vol. 2 on BN4-6.  Those familiar with the series may remember that 4 introduced many new mechanical changes which then informed 5 and 6, so Battle Network was already considered two trilogies by many and it only makes sense that the collection leans into that.  For games that have two versions, both are available with their own separate save file, which contributes a lot towards making it feel complete.  As with all Legacy Collections, both volumes have music and art libraries pertaining to their respective trilogy, though here there’s also a “Mystery Data” section for art relating to the various Battle Network spin-offs not included in the collection.  It’s nice to see their inclusion, though it does highlight the one asterisk on calling this the definitive way to experience these games: the collection does not include features from the updated DS re-releases of BN1 and 5, only a few associated pieces of art.  How glaring this omission is, well, that’s for you to decide for yourself; personally the only part I haven’t entirely coped with is not having Sol Cross (*sigh*...), but I could see it being a bigger issue for some.  There’s also an achievement list, and for games that put so much focus on their post-game grind to 100%, I find it interesting that these achievements only really ask you to beat (both versions of) each game and smell a few roses along the way…with two exceptions.  If you want all the achievements in Vol. 1, you have to 100% BN1; this is frustrating even with the collection’s additional tools, but at least in this game you can cheat the Chip Trader to get those last few chips.  If you want all the achievements in Vol. 2, you have to get all Soul Unisons in both versions of BN4.  We’ll, uh…we’ll get into the issue with that when we get to BN4.

In both volumes, the main menu features what’s essentially a MegaMan VTuber; he’ll greet you, make some comments or perform some actions if you idle long enough, and you can press the L button to talk to him just like in the games.  The intent is, obviously, to recreate the feeling of having your own PET and Navi, and it’s an inclusion I personally adore.  They even got back Andrew Francis, the guy who voiced MegaMan in the English dub of the anime!  I loved watching that as a kid!  I do wonder how those without as much nostalgia feel about it, but it doesn’t seem all that intrusive, and there’s an option to silence MegaMan if you really have a problem with him.  For me, the only negative is that if you don’t play a volume for a few days and then start it back up, MegaMan says he was getting tired of waiting for you, and that made me die a little on the inside.  Anyway.

Aside from the gallery there are two other recurring features in Legacy Collections: some sort of easy mode or assistive mechanic, and an additional gameplay mode.  In the case of the former, this collection offers Buster MAX Mode, an option that can be toggled at any time using the collection pause menu or when launching a game.  It multiplies the damage done by basic buster shots by a factor of 100.  Yeah.  I won’t get into all the nuances of its implementation, but being able to take down virtually any enemy by spamming a few shots can be real nice for getting through long areas and dealing with particularly annoying viruses.  It’s really fun, but isn’t always an automatic win button, so it maintains an interesting balance of sorts.  Each game also gives you the option of adding chips that were previously only available through in-person events into your inventory, many of which can be game-breaking when you draw them, but you have to choose to use them.  It’s great to have these rare, Japan-only additions readily available, and Vol. 2 takes this a step further by granting full access to the plethora of eReader cards (or Patch Cards) that were released alongside the second trilogy!  These give you a lot of freedom to modify your game and customize your experience, and never made it overseas due to the eReader flopping here.  You can play through all of BN5 as Bass Cross!  The various item cards especially make this feel like a second Number Trader, you know, something that’s basically in-game cheat codes you can just use freely if you know about them.  It’s a whole new dimension to the experience, and that’s a wonderful option to have in a collection like this!

As for an additional gameplay mode, there’s nothing that’s accessed through the collection’s menu, but instead, every single game has online capabilities for their multiplayer functions!  Originally you needed a GBA link cable and nearby friends to access these features, but now, as long as you can get online, you can battle and trade with people all over the world, with functional ranking and some new tweaks to game balance.  I’m still floored by this.  Can you imagine how much work this took to make it happen for ALL six games?  The dedication!  I’m actually considering buying Switch Online for the first time because of this.  Now…I will say.  You do HAVE to play online ranked battles (and risk losing chips!) in order to truly access everything in most of the games.  BN2 and 3 require you to get chips only found through multiplayer to reach 100% completion, and that really sucks—especially considering the Wii U Virtual Console releases of the games simply gave you these chips along with the event-exclusives chips.  Like, this was a solved problem.  I guess I can understand reverting to the old way with the reintroduction of multiplayer, but…I’m locked out of completing BN3 White unless I buy Online and find someone willing to give me the BowlMan chips.  That makes me sad.  It’s not as bad in Vol. 2 at least, you need to play multiplayer to get all the Secret Chips but Secret Chips are not tracked for 100% completion.  I would like to get an Otenko chip, though.

After all that, let’s finally get on to the games!  Starting with Battle Network 1…you know, this is the only game here that I hadn’t played at all prior to the collection.  I started with BN3 and never went back to the beginning because it seemed players only ever talked about it with sheer dread.  Like I said earlier, BN1 is foundational: this is a very unique sort of game, especially compared to the platforming of Classic and X, so I think it only makes sense that it didn’t entirely come together on the first attempt.  Yes, this does mean it’s not an ideal first impression, and I understand why so many advocate skipping it.  However, I don’t think that means one should never play it.  If you turn on Buster MAX, dump all your PowerUPs into attack, and have a guide and map on standby, you can muscle past quite a bit of the jank and really see for yourself the earliest stage in this series’ evolution.  Automatically healing after battle?  Pretty nice!  The elemental armor system?  Not incredibly robust, but it’s the seed that grew into the various transformation systems that are so iconic!  Every game has arbitrary gates, but the ones in BN1’s net are most often unlocked by another person giving you access—your world literally expands by meeting new people!  A big part of my newfound appreciation for Lan is because in BN1 his relationship with his dad feels just a smidge more nuanced, where he’s proud of his dad and what he does, but really wishes they could spend more time together (like most kids would!), even if he consistently tries to hide his excitement over the time they do spend together (again, like a real preteen boy!).  It’s not exclusive to this game, but boy does it fade as the series progresses.  Start with another game, for sure, but if you do end up liking the series, give this one a try.  Even if it’s rough, it’s important, and we shouldn’t overlook it.

Now, when people do tell you to skip BN1, they usually also say there’s one important plot development you should still learn about.  At the end of BN1, you discover that MegaMan is no ordinary NetNavi: he’s the result of Lan’s father’s research on creating Navis as human-like as possible who can truly bond with their human operators.  That research was in an inescapable failsafe until his wife gave birth…to twins.  One of the boys was born with a heart defect, and died very young, so young that Lan doesn’t even remember he had a brother.  His father refused to let his son die, however, and so he turned the boy’s DNA into code and incorporated it into a NetNavi…MegaMan.EXE.  It’s revealed to Lan that his Navi is actually his twin brother, Hub, reborn in the cyberworld.  My feelings on this are…I dunno, kinda complicated?  Later games emphasize that Hub’s soul moved into the MegaMan body, and that was always a real sticking point for me—it didn’t make sense, I thought, nor could I comprehend why Lan and Hub having identical DNA causes them to synchronize and share wounds and such.  And I mean…it still doesn’t make complete sense to me, but I’ve come to think that maybe it doesn’t really matter if it makes sense.  It allows for some really great moments, so maybe I shouldn’t be such a stickler about “suspension of disbelief” or whatever.  At the very least, I’ve finally accepted it.

I had played a little of BN2 before, but I don’t think I ever even made it halfway before getting distracted.  It’s kind of staggering just how many improvements were made just one entry later: * code chips, a dedicated button for running from battles, the Style Change…you know, why don’t I start with the Style Change?  Here’s where transformations start to become BN’s bread and butter, and they immediately knocked it out of the park.  Appearance-wise, the Style Changes are subtle yet distinct, striking a very fine balance which I really appreciate and no doubt sold many, many toys. (I think Heat Guts is the only one that came stateside?  I bought it ofc.) Mechanically, it’s a great idea to give the player a power-up directly informed by their own playstyle, letting them do exactly what they want to do even better, and the four core Styles are each suitably unique to ensure each is its own experience.  Not to mention how cool it is to have a secret fifth Style that combines all their powers!  My main gripe is the one you probably expected: the core four Styles come with Elements, but which Element you get is entirely random.  Heat Guts is a spectacular Style…until you have to fight FreezeMan!  Let’s try Elec Guts…better not get hit once by SnakeMan!  It isn’t really a huge thing, but it can be frustrating to have a random handicap against certain bosses, or have your charge shot replaced with a weapon you don’t really enjoy.  I will say it’s nicely mitigated in BN2 when you can store 2 Styles. (*cough*)

And the improvements aren’t purely mechanical.  The internet design in BN1 is needlessly labyrinthine, exacerbated by every area looking exactly the same; but here in BN2, paths are easy to follow and have a unique aesthetic for each group of areas.  The story is also a step up in many regards, feeling a bit more coherent, and ambitiously builds the world with a few new countries.  I also appreciate that they showed some restraint in regards to Wily, only indirectly referring to him at the very end and not specifically revealing his involvement until next game.  Classic and X can both get frustrating with how they constantly shoehorn Wily and Sigma into every endgame, but Battle Network finds ways to tie everything back to Wily without having him hog every single spotlight.  Lord Gospel, or Sean, is given a real chance to stand on his own.  And he, uh…well…here’s how I see it.  They had two very good ideas, and unfortunately tried them both without realizing that they weren’t truly compatible.  Lord Gospel being a ruthless enigma whose identity is a surprise reveal at the end (and it’s not Wily)?  Great!  But that doesn’t give you the time to properly craft a backstory for a character that gets us invested in him and makes us really want to see him redeemed.  Sean being a kid with a hard life who retreated into the internet and getting manipulated by someone online who abused his trust is a horrifyingly resonant idea in the context of Battle Network!  …But you can’t just wait to dump ALL of that on the player until AFTER we’ve already beaten the final boss!  It only gets worse considering he’s barely in BN3 and just vanishes by the second trilogy.  I love Sean in concept, but it is a bit frustrating to see the execution play out this way.  All this to say, it makes perfect sense why BN2 is held in such high regard…though perhaps not as high as another game in the series…

Now BN3!  BN3 is the one you’re most likely to see at the top of someone’s list, and that also makes perfect sense.  Nearly everything in BN3 is further refinement upon BN2, and the brand new stuff works very, very well. (Some caveats, we’ll get to that.) This was also the first game to be released in twin versions Pokemon-style, although design documents show this idea was always on the table even when BN was but a twinkle in Eguchi’s eye, and the versions aren’t so much “equal” as “a game and then an updated version of that game”.  BN3 White was my very first Mega Man game, though, I won’t tolerate any slander from Blue elitists!  …Anyway.  Style Changes make a return from BN2, but with heavy alterations, largely in service of one of the new mechanics: the Navi Customizer.  Now obviously I really appreciate what the Navi Customizer brings to the table, and I think its initial outing is one of its absolute best thanks to Mod Tools.  Getting new programs each time you level up a Style is rewarding, certainly moreso than a simple damage increase to your charge shot like in BN2, and it’s fun to mix abilities using Error Codes. (I don’t think I’ve ever had a file where I got two Styles with compatible program colors lol) Still…you can only put in one Error Code at a time, and that really limits just how much mixing you can do.  And it’s a bit of a bummer to see the basic abilities of each Style nerfed (though I do like that Guts Style can rapid-fire now).  Especially considering you can only store 1 Style at a time…like, I’m sure this was all done in the name of balance, but part of me can’t help but wonder about the unexplored potential.  There’s also the unique chips you can get while using Custom and Team Style, which is an interesting way to expand their abilities and further differentiate the experience of each Style.  It becomes a bit of an issue when you realize ALL of those chips are required for completion, though…unless you get real lucky with the BugFrag Trader.  Anyway, we do get new Style Changes in addition to the core four!  Having now used Ground Style, I can see it being incredibly useful, I just don’t usually fight strategically enough to make the most of it.  I’ve still yet to use Shadow Style, but it seems to benefit players with precise timing, and uh…that ain’t me. (Also FloatShoes don’t protect from poison panels in this game.  What’s up with that?) But Bug Style!  Bug Style I like a LOT! (Yes its appearance in the anime influenced this shut up) The positive bugs seem to typically outweigh the negative bugs, making this feel like a particularly strong gimmick.  And with HubBatch being a Navi Cust program in this game, and Bug Style getting you Bug Stop which even negates HubBatch’s HP cut…you can be pretty freakin’ strong.  I like that.  Oh, while we’re on the Navi Cust, did you know that when you’re on the MegaMan screen in BN3, you can press the L button to test your buster and see if it’s bugged?  I think this is the only game that does this for some reason.  I don’t know why they got rid of it, it’s cute.

Another major shakeup that set the bar going forward was dividing chips into different classes: Standard, Mega, and Giga.  Mega Class is mostly made up of Navi Chips, and so gets the same restrictions those have always had; there are several non-Navi Mega Chips though, chips that are just a little too powerful and so are restricted to balance them out a bit.  Team Style doesn’t distinguish, just upping your Mega limit, which is to its benefit.  Giga Chips, of course, are super-powerful chips you need to work to get, though BN3 actually doesn’t require you to collect all of them for 100%! (You’ll still end up with most if not all of them as part of the process though.  I talked about this before: basically, BN3 treats Giga Chips more as rewards than as tasks when compared to later games.) Again, I started with BN3, so for me it was always this way, and going back to the first two games where every chip is in one big library was kinda weird.  This game also revised BugFrags, a limited item you could exchange for prizes in BN2 which are now infinitely generated and accepted as currency by multiple shops.  Vol. 2 mostly follows this example, except here, you get BugFrags by countering viruses (which gets repurposed for the Full Synchro mechanic in Vol. 2), and this makes BugFrags far, FAR easier to obtain/farm in this game than in later ones. (I recommend the Armor Comp in Ura Inn—nothing but Mettaurs and Mettaur2s, easy counter timing.) This is great for a lot of reasons, including a feature totally unique to BN3: the Virus Breeder!  By finding special encounters in specific locations, you can send certain families of viruses to a comp in SciLab, where they just chill out and wait for you to put BugFrags in their food bowls.  You receive a Battle Chip for each family of virus you send here, letting you summon them much like a Navi Chip, and the strength of their attack is directly proportional to how much you’ve fed them.  I never really investigated the mechanic until now, but it is incredibly charming to examine your pet Spikey and be told that it starts wagging its tail as soon as it sees you.  I love my fire doggos.  The closest thing we got to this in later games is the Virus Battler in BN6, but while the inspiration is clear, the execution is very different…we’ll get to that.  BN3 is interesting for setting a lot of standards but also doing a lot of things completely unique to it, which I think is why it’s so beloved…though, there is one thing BN3 puts a unique spin on which annoys me, and that’s Beta Navis.  You know how it goes: you beat a boss, their V2/Alpha appears on the net as an invisible fixed encounter, and then their V3/Beta becomes a random encounter.  In every other game, the Beta is a random encounter in the same area where you find the Alpha—which makes sense, right?  Well in BN3, the Beta becomes a random encounter in a completely different area.  And worse, a few of the Betas can only be encountered when specific conditions are met, like your HP being in the red, or your Navi Cust being bugged.  Fun!  I don’t know why they did this, but I’m glad they didn’t do it again…well, until SF3, but that’s for another day. (I’ll also point out that BN3 has Security Cubes in the Undernet that are unlocked by beating each Beta boss, that’s really cool and I wish it had continued being a thing.)

Damn, all this and I still haven’t gotten into BN3’s story.  Though, I mean…what more is there to be said?  Even people who love to dunk on Battle Network’s writing think BN3’s story is pretty good.  The whole tournament subplot was great.  Wily goes from completely unhinged to frighteningly intelligent.  We get Bass’s backstory after some tantalizing buildup, and his involvement helps retroactively tie the first three games together a little better.  We get backstory for the Undernet of all things, and it’s never been more fleshed out before or since!  And Mamoru…Mamoru.  Who would’ve ever expected Mamoru?  I can absolutely see this being a sendoff for the series—the creators really hit their stride.  There’s certainly plenty to bemoan, from the annoyance of plot-required Navi Cust Programs to the high percentage of bosses who are dreadfully frustrating (BubbleMan, FlameMan, DrillMan…), but all the good raises it so high up that still managed to stand above.  BN3 is peak Battle Network.

[the-savage-garden]

ACOMAF rant

You’re probably wondering, why am I not talking about ACOTAR first? Well, I don’t have as much of a problem with it, I thought it was alright. It was a little boring sometimes and some choices that confused me (also why weren’t there any Celtic creatures? why are we given the Naga of all things!? ugh). Tamlin was ok, sometimes he felt inconsistent at times but that might be because it’s written in 1st POV. I liked that he played the violin (or was it a fiddle?) it reminded me of a favorite character of mine from the Vampire Chronicles, Lestat (who’s also a blond violinist).

I actually read ACOTAR not that long after I got TOG because I was worried SJM was a bad author. She is but ACOTAR gave me hope and I got curious about ACOMAF, people on the internet said it was good. Oh, how a fool I was. ACOMAF was probably worse than TOG for me, if I had the physical book of it I would’ve thrown it so many times.

I’ll be real honest I’m so confused why people like ACOMAF? I’m guessing because of Rhysand but why? Don’t list a bunch of his non-existent traits or I swear... He was alright as a villain in the first book but here? He reads like he’s been neutered than anything. I guess the idea of an abused villainous sidekick could’ve been interesting to explore but not as a love interest, especially one that’s actually abused the protagonist he gets with (WTF!?).

Actually I should probably start from the beginning. For some reason Tamlin and Feyre are engaged not long after the 1st book. This actually confused me because it seems WAY too soon for them to reach that stage of their relationship. I guess this was done because of that stupid interrupted wedding trope, the only time I’ll ever like that trope is if it’s used for comedy.

Velaris was boring to me, actually all of Night Court was boring. I hate the “it’s only beautiful during the night” or whatever stupid excuse it was to make it not permanently night, that would’ve been too fun! Ugh. I also hate that magical creatures are only in the background, I thought that we’d get to to see pixies and dragon and unicorns now that we’re not just in Spring but NOooOoO

Summer was ok, I liked Tarquin. What I didn’t like was that Tarquin was used to put “tension” between Feyre and Rhys. Ugh. I hate that Feyre was giving excuses for not being with Tarquin instead of Rhys, she doesn’t even know Tarquin and she assumes he’s never had to kill innocents before! Unbelievable. Why do we have to be stuck with Rhys? You have no idea how much it angered me.

Don’t even get me started on Hybern (for those that don’t know it comes from Hibernia, another name for Ireland). It angers me that SJM just decided to butcher Ireland for who knows what reason. I have Irish in me so that’s why it bothers me.

This is getting too long, I think I might have to make a part 2.

[zippityzap]

Sonic Tarot Card Project: explanations for character picks

Recently I completed a summer-long project where I created Sonic themed versions of the tarot major acana. I put a lot of research and thought into what characters to assign to which cards, and I wanted to explain my rationale behind each one! (Everything’s under the read more cut because this is a very long post!)

To start off, let me explain why I did this project in the first place. This summer I watched Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure for the first time, and in Part 3, Stardust Crusaders, the majority of the stand abilities are named after the tarot major arcana. Thanks to cultural osmosis I vaguely knew the meanings of a few of the cards and I realised that one of the characters suited his assigned card pretty well. I was curious if this matched anyone else and so once I finished watching that part, I did research on tarot and found that yeah, a lot of them do match! That got me interested in tarot and since I like combining things I’m interested in, I decided to make Sonic versions of the cards.

I do want to note that while Jojo did inspire this project in a lot of ways, I tried not to let my character picks be influenced by Stardust Crusader characters, although there did end up being some picks that did coincidentally happen to match nicely anyway. Also, I’m not gonna lie, ever since picking these card choices I’ve been highly tempted to draw Sonic as Polnareff.

Anyway, on to my explanations for character choices!

0: The Fool (Charmy Bee)

The Fool represents innocence, spontaneity and recklessness. I believe Charmy’s happy and carefree nature, along with the simple fact that he’s essentially just a little kid who likes to have fun makes him a great fit for this card

1: The Magician (Infinite)

The Magician represents creation and strength, but also manipulation and narcissism, a good match for Infinite and the powers of the phantom ruby. (I was also very pleased to notice that the traditional art for the card has an infinity symbol- everything lined up very well!)

The Rider Waite version of the card also depicts a sword, a wand, a cup and a pentacle; the suits of the minor arcana. I have attempted to depict these with various objects from the Sonic series, namely Infinite’s sword from the IDW Forces prequel comic, the sceptre of darkness from '06, a chaos emerald, and a ring respectively.

2: The High Priestess (Princess Elise)

The High Priestess represents secrets, repression, and the unknown, which I believe fits with Elise’s initial desire to control her emotions and her sadness. (Admittedly this is one of the looser character/card connections for this project, but my two other picks for this card I felt were better suited to different cards)

3: The Empress (Vanilla the Rabbit)

The Empress represents nurturing, fertility and childbirth, all traits that I believe make this card a good pick for a kind, caring mother like Vanilla

4: The Emperor (Dr Eggman)

A card fitting for the leader of the Eggman Empire! The Emperor represents authority, power, and tyranny, all traits Dr Robotnik desires, if not possesses in many continuities.

5: The Hierophant (Espio the Chameleon)

The Hierophant represents wisdom and tradition, and in both upright and reversed forms it has large connections to the concept of social conformity. Perhaps I’m drawing more from the various comic versions of Espio, but he comes across to me as someone who is hyper-aware about how he presents himself.

Fun fact: a hierophant is essentially another word for a religious leader, although I’ve never seen it used outside the context of tarot. I assume the religious connection is the reason why in the OST of the Jojo part 3 anime, Kakyoin’s theme is called Noble Pope.

6: The Lovers (Amy Rose)

The Lovers represents love, communication, and passion; and Amy is certainly a character who wears her heart on her sleeve! She’s a good example of a character who I feel fits a number of different cards, however there are no other characters who suited The Lovers quite as much as her.

7: The Chariot (Sonic the Hedgehog)

The Chariot represents journeys, wanderlust as well as the ambition and willpower to achieve your goals, which I believe is the perfect match for Sonic’s adventurous and heroic spirit. This was one of the first cards I decided on and it’s probably the one I’d defend my interpretation of the most.

If you’re wondering why there’s dark and hero chao in the artwork too, it’s because the original card art depicts the titular chariot being pulled by black and white sphinxes, and this is my way of calling back to that.

8: Strength (Maria Robotnik)

This card pick might seem unusual at first if you take the word ‘strength’ at face value, however considering the original card art depicts a maiden peacefully taming a lion, perhaps the Strength card represents inner strength, courage and determination rather than physical strength. These are traits that I believe Maria possesses.

9: The Hermit (Knuckles the Echidna)

The Hermit signifies awareness and independence but when reversed can mean isolation and resignation, traits that parallel well with Knuckles and his duty to be the protector of the Master Emerald

10: The Wheel of Fortune (Big the Cat)

The Wheel of Fortune represents fate, karma and luck! This is admittedly a bit of a cheeky dig at myself since I’m awful at the Big fishing levels in SA1 and mostly got through them through luck. But that’s not to say the card doesn’t apply to Big himself! His frequent cameos do have a bit of a fate/destiny vibe to them and in IDW Big is lucky enough to manage to avoid the metal virus for quite a long time.

11: Justice (Vector the Crocodile)

The meaning of the Justice cards is… pretty much what it says on the tin: fairness and clarity. Of course the Team Chaotix detective agency represents this as a whole, but that trait especially shines through with Vector himself. He may be a little money oriented, but doing what is morally right always takes priority.

12: The Hanged Man (Shadow the Hedgehog)

The thing about Shadow is that he’s a fairly complex character which means there are a number of cards in the Major Arcana that match him well, but I knew early on when tackling this project that I wanted to assign Shadow to The Hanged Man. This card represents change, release and sacrifice, which all align well with the character arc that Shadow goes through during the course of SA2 and beyond.

13: Death (Tikal the Echidna and Chaos)

Despite the morbid name of the card, (and the admittedly macabre scene I’ve depicted) the Death card is not an inherently negative card to draw. Yes, it can mean endings and grief, but it can also mean letting go and new beginnings. The story that Tikal and Chaos go through in SA1, their anguish and how they later find peace, is something that I think pairs well with this particular card.

Fun fact: this is the only card in this project that has two significant characters on it rather than just one. I felt I needed both of them to be on the card in order to fully represent its meaning

14: Temperance (Blaze the Cat)

The Temperance card signifies balance, harmony and patience, which matches Blaze’s very poised and graceful demeanour. Admittedly I had a little bit of trouble deciding on a card for Blaze since the High Priestess and the Hierophant are also good matches for her.

15: The Devil (Rouge the Bat)

The Devil card represents temptation, seduction, and materialism and well… look, Rouge is one of my favourite Sonic characters, I’d be one of the first people to tell you that there’s a lot more to her than what initially appears, she is so much more complex than just sex appeal and a gemstone obsession. However, I felt there was no other character that matched the traits of this specific card better than Rouge, and so my choice was decided by that.

16: The Tower (E-123 Omega)

The Tower card represents a number of things; disruption, disasters, sudden changes etc, however the trait that made me believe that Omega would be the best selection for the card was violence.

17: The Star (Miles ‘Tails’ Prower)

Tails’ character arcs normally centre around him gaining independence and self-confidence and learning to believe in himself. He is also largely characterised by his unyielding faith and trust in Sonic. These traits are the reason why I believe The Star card represents him well, as it symbolises hope and faith.

18: The Moon (Shade the Echidna)

The Moon card symbolises mysteries and the unknown, and when Shade is first introduced in Chronicles, she and the rest of the Nocturnus Clan are certainly presented as mysterious. The Moon can also represent misconception, which fits well with how Shade was initially unaware of the true nature of Ix’s plans.

19: The Sun (Cream the Rabbit)

The Sun, when drawn in an upright position, has a lot of positive meanings! Freedom, fun, happiness, good luck etc. Cream’s cheerful and optimistic disposition makes her a good match for this card

20: Judgement (E-102 Gamma)

The Judgement card symbolises liberation, awakening, redemption and second chances, all of which I believe represent Gamma and his character arc in SA1 well

21: The World (Metal Sonic)

In the upright position, The World card symbolises triumph, completion, strength and happiness while in reversed position can mean failure, anxiety, lack of self-confidence etc. I had both positioning of the card in mind when connecting it to Metal Sonic; he is devoted to the tasks given to him and is self-assured in his belief that he is the true/superior ‘sonic’ yet he repeatedly finds himself at the hands of failure. But he doesn’t let previous failures hold him back, thus starting the cycle anew. (Another connection to the World card as it also symbolises cycles)

[druidgroves]

jealousy

fandom: the wayhaven chronicles pairing: morgan x f!detective (adelle duval) notes: prompt from this meme was “OH you’re jealous!”

* this is a repost from my old blog *

The bar was fairly crowded, even for a Friday night in Wayhaven.

Adelle had managed to convince Unit Bravo to go out, if not for a few drinks, then at least for some fun. Farah was doing her best at darts (a few people had to duck at her latest throw), Nate had convinced Adam to try a game of pool, and Morgan was attempting to get the next round from the already overwhelmed bartender.

She liked it when the group went out together. It allowed her to see a different side of the unit, one that rarely came out whenever they were working together on a case. She always seemed to know when it was time for the gang to let loose and just live it up a little. Well, as much as someone could live it up in Wayhaven.

As had become habit to her, Adelle’s gaze fell back to Morgan. She was facing the bartender now, giving him the drink order for the group, and Adelle couldn’t help but let her eyes drift to appreciate her backside, just a little. She was teetering just on the edge of tipsy, a warm, fuzzy feeling starting to bloom at the back of her head, so her thoughts were starting to wander to less than wholesome places the longer she stared. She was sure that if she had the guts to ask, Morgan might have been thinking the same.

The chain of thought seemed to overtake her for a brief moment as she tried to get the woman’s attention when she seemed to be looking Adelle’s way. She did that Thing Tina had taught her to do, where she would try to catch Morgan’s eye then look away and bite her lip, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she did. Tina had said it was a fail-proof move, but as Adelle watched Morgan look away from the booth, and instead to a group of girls at the end of the bar, she wasn’t too sure. There was something oddly familiar about the situation.

The girls looked to be about college aged, home for the weekend it seemed. They were doing their best to make it look like they weren’t ogling Morgan, but failing miserably by the way they broke into laughter and whispered conversation whenever she looked back at them. Something settled in the pit of Adelle’s stomach that made her frown into her drink as she pulled it up to her lips.

From the corner of her eye she could see Farah walking back to the booth, her game of darts having apparently come to an end. The young vampire seemed rather pleased with herself, though the new holes in the wall beside the board might have told a different story.

“I think I’m getting pretty good at darts!” Farah grinned as she sat down beside her, unaware of the bitterness starting to emanate from her friend, ��We should play later! We’d make a great team if your aim with the paper airplanes is anything to go by.”

“Yeah, maybe later,” Adelle muttered, lowering herself into the seat of the booth, eyes still trained on Morgan at the bar. She didn’t seem to be paying attention to the still-fawning girls after having given them a curious glance, which made Adelle feel slightly better.

“You alright?” Farah asked, head cocked to the side as she waved a hand in front of Adelle’s face.

“I’m…fine,” she replied after a beat, slowly sinking further into her seat.

“No offense, but you don’t sound fine,” the other woman replied. She followed Adelle’s line of sight until it fell upon Morgan and the group of girls at the bar. One of them, a tall redhead with flushed cheeks, seemed to be scribbling something onto her napkin before walking over to Morgan with an air of confidence that almost made Adelle’s teeth grind. She forced herself to look away, deciding to down the rest of her drink while she was at it.

Farah looked back to Adelle, then back at Morgan, then to Adelle’s white-knuckle grip on her glass before that ever-present, mischievous smile spread across her lips.

“Oh!” she laughed, “You’re jealous!”

Adelle nearly choked on her drink, “What? I’m not jealous, don’t be so loud—“

“Who’s not jealous?”

Morgan was suddenly standing in front of the table, putting down the drinks in her hands onto the table and Adelle could feel the tips of her ears turning red.

Farah gave one last look between the two before sliding out of the booth, “I think I’m gonna see if Nate will teach me how to play pool. Bye!”

And with that, she was gone, Morgan sliding into the now vacant spot beside Adelle.

“So are you going to answer my question?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, lips pulling together into a smirk.

“I’m not jealous,” Adelle muttered, reaching out to take the new drink before her, still glowering at the bar.

“Not jealous of what?” Morgan looked to where Adelle’s eyes were still fixated. “What, them?”

The group was still huddled at the end of the bar, though the red head seemed to have disappeared.

“Tell me you’re joking,” Morgan continued, shifting to look back at the blonde woman beside her who was now twirling the straw in her glass and avoiding her gaze.

“I’m not jealous,” she repeated again.

“Sure,” Morgan with a huff of a laugh.

“I’m not!” Adelle protested, perhaps a little louder than she should have as a few people began looking her way. She sunk back into the booth.

“Whatever you think went on over there, you’re wrong,” Morgan said, taking a small sip of her beer and trying not to flinch at the intensity of it.

“So you didn’t accept one of their numbers?”

“Why would I want it?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“Why would you care if you weren’t jealous?”

Adelle bit the inside of her cheek, crossing her arms as Morgan’s smirk grew.

“Okay,” she finally relented, taking a drink, “Maybe I am jealous.”

She felt the fabric of the seat under her shift as Morgan moved closer to her, slinging an arm over the backside of the booth and letting it ghost above her shoulders.

“Surely you’re smarter than that,” she said, voice low and close enough to her ear that the heat from her breath made a shiver run down her spine, “You really think that low of me? That I would take the number of someone who couldn’t possibly be as appreciative in bed as you? As loud?”

Adelle’s eyebrows nearly shot into her hairline at the comment, almost making her spit her drink back into the glass. She could feel the heat of her cheeks as much as she could feel the heat of Morgan’s breath against her neck.

“If anything, they should be the jealous ones,” Morgan continued, the ghost of her teeth grazing Adelle’s jaw, “They don’t get to be as lucky as you.”

A hand reached under the table to rest on her knee, slowly making its way up her leg before stopping on the inside of her thigh.

“If you keep this up, we’ll be kicked out of the bar,” Adelle said, voice hoarse enough that it earned a wolfish grin from Morgan.

“That’s the goal,” she replied, nipping at the skin of her neck just hard enough to elicit a small moan from the detective, “C’mon, sweetheart, show me how jealous you can be.”

At that, Adelle slid out of the opposite side of the booth, face red but with a determined expression on it. Morgan trailed close behind her, a cocky smirk gracing her lips.

[moved-to-void-kissed]

"Avalon (Japanese: アーサー, Āsā) was a Special Rare Blade in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. They could grant tremendous power to their Driver Aline and her allies. Avalon used the light element, wielded a Glaive Dirk, and acted as a Healer in battle. He was renowned for his ability to crystallise ether and use it for multiple purposes, including healing Core Crystals.

After the events of Torna ~ The Golden Country, Avalon’s Core Crystal was passed down through Aline’s family as an heirloom known as the Brilliant Core Crystal, and was eventually broken 500 years later by the impact of a shipwreck in the mouth of the Urayan Titan. Sapphire ended up acquiring some of Avalon’s powers when fragments of the Brilliant Core Crystal entered her body."

Avalon is a Blade OC I created for Xenoblade Chronicles 2! They mostly came about as a way for me to provide reasoning behind Sapphire’s abilities, but I’ve now figured out a way to make them important and relevant by incorporating them into TTGC - including doing so alongside my other XC2 self-insert, Aline - so that’s been very fun to work on and use to develop them both! ^-^

(Please note that the image above isn’t accurate to their clothing, although it is accurate to their physical appearance, and was also not drawn by me; instead, it was created using a Picrew by Nase_Nikyuu, linked here! A lot more information about Avalon, their story, and how they might work in-game is under the readmore, if you’re curious!)

As promised, here is some more information about Avalon that isn’t just restricted to the Xenoblade Wiki’s structure (which is what I was trying to replicate up there above the readmore):

Just to clarify, Avalon is nonbinary, and uses both he/him and they/them pronouns interchangeably! ..I didn’t necessarily intend for his colour palette to have all the colours of the nonbinary pride flag on it - I picked the purple eyes and blond hair since I thought they looked neat on him, then only realised after the fact what would happen if I made his outfit mostly white with black accents (albeit the Picrew image doesn’t show that since it’s more for showing his physical appearance than his outfit) - but, that has also happened.

Avalon’s character:

Avalon is Aline’s first and only Blade during the time of TTGC. She awakened their Core Crystal unexpectedly after unearthing it in the middle of a crop field, and she did not realise she had the aptitude to become a Driver, so she picked it up without expecting anything to happen. Except it did. Oops.

Aline recognises that he is a very powerful Blade (not only because light-element Blades are so rare but also because of his special crystallisation ability), and so sometimes worries that her aversion to combat is holding Avalon back from his true battle potential. However, he seems content with taking a more supportive role, given his proficiency and role as a healer.

In terms of personality, I would say he is fairly calm, but determined to do what is right, and is protective of his teammates; I imagine him getting on well with Aegaeon in particular, but maybe not as well with someone like Minoth (which I suppose arguably makes sense, given that Minoth is dark-element which opposes Avalon’s light-element). Given my relative lack of knowledge about TTGC’s characters, this isn’t particularly set in stone.

Avalon’s ability - Ether Crystallisation:

As was mentioned before, Avalon has the unique power to crystallise ether out of the atmosphere in their local vicinity; these crystals are always white in colour, because of their status as a light-element Blade. This has many potential applications - for example, on a large scale, they could do this enough to create walkable platforms (possibly as a unique Field Skill that’s used similarly to the Ice Mastery bridges in the main game of XC2, but for TTGC instead?). They could also use the ether crystals as projectiles to attack with during Specials, or maybe shields to defend with in combat.

However, on a smaller scale, Avalon can also repair damaged Core Crystals by restoring the crystal, regardless of whether it is unresonated (so a fracture can be healed, allowing the Blade in the Core Crystal to be awakened again) or already-resonated (so an awakened Blade with a damaged Core Crystal can be healed, and although no such examples existed in his time, Blades whose Core Crystals had been eaten to create Blade Eaters can also be stabilised and further enhanced by his power.) This allows them to be a very effective and appreciated healer for the forces fighting against Malos, since they can heal both humans and Blades thanks to his ability.

(This is also the only aspect of Avalon’s powerful that Sapphire “inherited”, since she can’t crystallise anywhere near much ether as he could in one go, due to the source of that ability - i.e. Avalon’s Core Crystal inside her body - being incomplete and fragmented. Sapphire’s not a Blade, after all.)

Avalon’s fate:

Speaking of Avalon’s Core Crystal - which has a special name, the Brilliant Core Crystal (like how Kasandra’s is called the Lucky Core Crystal) - it is passed down through Aline’s family after her death because of the exploits the pair achieved together during the Aegis War. Whenever Avalon is awakened, their Core Crystal is shaped like a medieval sword on their chest.

The inheritance process continues for almost 500 years before the Brilliant Core Crystal is passed down to Sapphire’s mother, who does not have the aptitude to become a Driver. She was keeping the Core Crystal safe as a family heirloom, intending to let Sapphire try to resonate with it once she was old enough, but it ended up being destroyed in the shipwreck that caused Sapphire to wash up into the mouth of the Urayan Titan.

The Brilliant Core Crystal was shattered into fragments by the impact of the shipwreck, and Sapphire ended up being flung against a wall and landing on top of its shards. This caused them - and subsequently, some of Avalon’s power as a Blade - to enter Sapphire’s body and become integrated into her (essentially turning her into an unofficial/unintentional Blade Eater), and the enhanced regeneration that all Blades have allowed Sapphire to survive the awful injuries she sustained before Vandham and his crew found her and brought her back to Garfont Village.

Avalon’s hypothetical playstyle:

Avalon wields a unique weapon type, the Glaive Dirk. Essentially, it’s a long-bladed knife (i.e. a dirk) that can also turn into a spear (i.e. a glaive), because.. the pole is made of ether, or something. This was mainly just an excuse to classify them as a healer, since combat roles are tied to weapons in XC2 (and I want them to be a healer because of their unique power but also the fact that there are no light or dark healer Blades in XC2), but I didn’t think any of the pre-existing healer weapons really fit them. And it kind of makes them more special, which they deserve!

If he was playable in the main game of XC2, his animations would probably work like a mix of Megalance and some kind of one-handed Knuckle Claws (since.. too many other unique weapons use Twin Rings’ animations), with maybe different Drivers favouring either the glaive or the dirk aspect more for their Arts and auto-attacks (e.g. the taller the Driver, the more they use it as a glaive, since it’s so much longer?). A very versatile weapon because it’s essentially two pre-existing weapons from our world rolled into one.

In terms of their playstyle, Avalon would be more able and willing to take aggro compared to other healers, to fit the fact that they’re supposed to be inspired by an archetypal “knight in shining armour” despite not being classed as a tank (since.. their name is Avalon which is a paradisal island from Arthurian legend, their Japanese name is supposed to be read as Arthur as in King Arthur, and also they’re light-element).

I was thinking that maybe one of their battle skills would be some kind of damage absorption mechanic, so they actually have more defensive potential than their stats would suggest and there’s merit to them having aggro? Or maybe they provide a small constant healing effect to the party - it’d have to be small so as not to be too overpowered, but still enough to have a noticeable effect and improve party survivability while they’re on the field. That might make more sense, actually.

I think that’s everything for now, and if I want to add more then I always can later. I know I still need to figure out what their outfit would look like, possibly incorporating some kind of knight’s armour (though trying to do that without making it look tank-like and bulky will be tricky), but I wanted to post this now since it’s been in my drafts for a long time.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far, because I realise that I wrote a lot but it means a lot that you would read it all if you did so!

[shadlad24]

Tumblr Master Post

(Third Mensiversary)

Hey, guys! So, instead of the usual monthly post, I decided to consolidate everything. From now on, I will update the following list and reblog it every 22nd. Enjoy!

Please note that Tumblr either cannot or will not preserve my formatting. So, I have used Google Docs as well. Please click on this link if you’d prefer that. It’s open to all. Thanks!

My posts are almost XWP-related and can be categorized into eight main categories (The pic below is merely for record-keeping and visualization purposes; scroll down for the actual links):

Questions

Curious— Why does everyone think Gabrielle/Renée O’Connor has green eyes?

A Favor to the God of War?— What in the world was the favor Ares wanted from Gabrielle during “Sacrifice”?

Smoking Gun?— Why did Hope knowing Solan’s name give her away as his killer?

Good Luck, Kid!— Why was security so bad in “Maternal Instincts”?

The Love of Your Love— Wasn’t the second verse of this song frustrating and hurtful to Gabrielle?

The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares— Why does so little about Ares’s character make sense?

Hard Ask— Can I PLEASE get a willing, able, AND reliable beta-reader for my Xena fanfic???

The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares [Reblog]— Three more questions about the god of war

No Way— Is the titular image of “Xena: Warrior Princess” what it seems?

Episode Reflections

Random Thoughts While Watching XWP— funny moments from “A Family Affair,” “Them Bones, Them Bones,” “Married with Fishsticks,” and “Coming Home”

Observations from “Sins of the Past”— fifteen things I noticed while watching the episode for the second time (first after completing the series)

Running Commentary on “A Family Affair”— just what it sounds like XD

Concluding Thoughts on “A Family Affair”— a defense of Hope and Gabrielle

Echoes Across the Years— how Solan’s last conversation with his mother echoed Gabrielle’s first with the warrior princess

Redeeming “Fishsticks,” Part 1— how the adults and themes in Gabrielle’s dreamworld held great significance

Redeeming “Fishsticks,” Part 2— how Crustacea’s monstrous children were re-imaginations of Hope and The Destroyer

Fault— my thoughts on the series finale

Good Luck, Kid! [Reblog]— a fun little extension of the original post showing the impression Gabrielle made on Hope

Original Fanfic Excerpts

The Mother of Hope, a collection of one-shots exploring Gabrielle’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences with/about her daughter

Disparity— Hope’s and Gabrielle’s conversation during the final commercial break of “A Family Affair”

Somewhere— Gabrielle searching Tartarus for Hope while Ares was harassing Xena and Solan in “God Fearing Child”

Super Challenge— the entire Rift Arc summed up in a single conversation, the lines of dialogue coming from each of the twelve Rift episodes of season three

Aperture— Gabrielle’s thoughts the night of her wedding

The Daughter of Duality, Hope’s life story from her perspective

My Great Hope— Seraphin prepares her goddess for childbirth

Hope Rising— Baby Hope makes a terrible mistake

“Tears of a Goddess: Blood Rain,” a one-shot exploring “Motherhood” from the goddess of love’s perspective

Useless— Aphrodite agonizes over what to do when alone with Gabrielle and Eve

Tears of a Goddess, a story in which Aphrodite comes clean about the large part she played in Gabrielle’s life behind the scenes

Gabrielle Rages against Xena— the bard finds herself at Aphrodite’s temple, heartbroken and lost after the series finale

Aphrodite Ribs Gabrielle— Aphrodite complains about Gabrielle’s mishaps throughout the show

Rapprochement, a story about Xena and Gabrielle hashing out The Rift Arc before finally coming together as a couple

The Answer— Xena reminds Gabrielle of who she is

Divine Intervention— Aphrodite blesses Xena and Gabrielle’s union

Adventures in Moving Forward, a chronicle of Aphrodite’s and Gabrielle’s adventures together post-AFIN and all my other XWP stories

Stranger— Aphrodite protects Gabrielle from a mob in Brittania

The Betrayer, Gabrielle's untold experience during “The Deliverer.”

Disturbance— Xena makes an unexpected suggestion on how to stop Gabrielle’s recurring nightmare

Deception— Khrafstar fills multiple voids in Gabrielle’s heart

Defilement— Reality slips away from Gabrielle with the loss of her blood innocence

Desecration— Gabrielle becomes one with darkness

Dissolution— The return of Gabrielle’s hero brings about only more tragedy

Fan Theories

Soul Orbits and Psychic Echoes— how Xena and Gabrielle got their children through equal and opposite people and circumstances

Shazam!— how Xena might be able to come back after the series finale

Man-Killer— what really happened to Toris

An Unsung Hero— Aphrodite being Gabrielle’s guardian angel throughout the Rift Arc

Infamous, Infuriated— why Xena engaged in the GabDrag (and BardBraining)

Solving Some Problems with Ares— answering two of my own questions about the god of war

Odd, Sort of Beautiful Symmetry— how we ended up with Annie and Harry

Soul Orbits and Psychic Echoes [Reblog]— an extension of the original theory that focuses more on Solan and Hope themselves

Solving More Problems with Ares— answering my next questions about the god of war

Episode Cracksubs

The Comedy of Amphipolis— “The Haunting of Amphipolis”

What in the Gurkhan?— “Who’s Gurkhan?”

Them Bones and Boneheads— “Them Bones, Them Bones”

TL;DRs— cliff-notes version of longer posts

TL;DR #1: Soul Orbits and Psychic Echoes

TL;DR #2: Infamous, Infuriated

TL;DR #3: The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares

Funny Little Moments— (Five:) a series highlighting overlooked silly things from each episode, illustrated in pictures and cracksubs / (More:) summation posts showcasing additional funny moments from each episode, in half-season chunks

Five Funny Little Moments #1: “Sins of the Past”

Five Funny Little Moments #2: Chariots of War

Five Funny Little Moments #3: Dreamworker

Five Funny Little Moments #4: Cradle of Hope

Five Funny Little Moments #5: The Path Not Taken

Five Funny Little Moments #6: The Reckoning

Five Funny Little Moments #7: The Titans

Five Funny Little Moments #8: Prometheus 

Five Funny Little Moments #9: Death in Chains 

Five Funny Little Moments #10: Hooves and Harlots

Five Funny Little Moments #11: The Black Wolf

Five Funny Little Moments #12: Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts

Miscellaneous

Golden Ticket— Renee O’Connor’s initial responses to me on Instagram

Bath Time— a fun self-challenge involving making a story from recently downloaded/screenshot images in just a few minutes

Mensiversary— review of my first month on Tumblr

Confirmation/Affirmation— Steven L. Sears’s essay of support for my Furies theory

K.O.— Renée O’Connor liking my comment about ^

Hooray!— The Mother of Hope is finished (kinda)

Aww…— a quick picture post to try something new while I was bummed about the deadly tech bug that obliterated my posts for weeks

Second Mensiversary— review of my second month on Tumblr

NOOO!— a lamentation related to The Mother of Hope

The (Many) Problem(s) with Ares [Reblog/Response]— answering a reader

More Funny Little Moments #1: Season 1, Episodes 1-12

*Other

Black Hole— a poem about depression

It’s Nothing— a poem on invalidation

What the?— the beginning of the bug :(

[liunaticfringe]

(via Lucy Liu's Independent Woman - Interview Magazine)

There have been many great sidekick pairings in the history of modern literature. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet…the list goes on. Yet, it seems there has never been a delightfully tumultuous relationship that comes close to echoing the one embodied by rogue detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend and assistant Dr. John Watson. Written in the form of short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the opium-den loving Holmes would terrorize London with his intellectual, astute, and stubborn prowess, with Dr. Watson providing medical expertise and chronicling their entertaining exploits along the way.

Doyle’s works have now long been entered into the public domain, with many film and television adaptions cropping up every few years. Still, when CBS announced in 2012 that it would be turning Doyle’s works into an hour-long crime-drama series titled Elementary, it elicited an unusually high response—this was mostly due to the news that a woman would, in fact, be portraying Watson. Her name would be Joan, not John. And she’s now a fallen from grace surgeon-turned-sober companion and private detective, forfeiting her “Dr.” title in the process. The woman chosen to take on this exciting, contemporary role of Joan Watson was none other than seasoned actress Lucy Liu.

Liu, who’s best known for her roles as a fierce and ill-mannered lawyer in Ally McBeal, an ass-kicking “angel” in the rebooted Charlie’s Angels, and an equally ass-kicking bad girl in the Kill Bill series, certainly provides the yin to the yang of Jonny Lee Miller’s gritty portrayal of Holmes. Elementary chronicles the duo’s relationship as they consult for the NYPD on various criminal cases while living in a shared brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. Initially starting off in Season One as a substance-free friend to the fresh-out-of-rehab Holmes with a keen interest in solving crimes, Watson quickly transformed into a sharp and observant right-hand woman who now clearly has the aptitude to work on her own. And it appears she’ll be doing just that—the end of Season Two left viewers witnessing Watson’s decision to move out of the brownstone and start a new career as a solo private detective, seemingly fed-up with Holmes’ erratic behavior.

The warm and delightful Liu recently called up Interview from her home in New York City to discuss Elementary’s upcoming third season.

DEVON IVIE: Were you on set today?

LUCY LIU: I was running around like a maniac, yeah. It’s beautiful today, it started getting a little bit cooler again. But of course I’ve been bitten by the two mosquitos that are still alive in New York City.

IVIE: I know you were recently at New York Comic Con. How was it?

LIU: It was amazing. It’s such a spectator place. Not only do you get super fans, but you also get people who are curious and inventive and imaginative. It’s fun.

IVIE: Did you run into any cosplayers dressed as Joan Watson?

LIU: Oh, no, I don’t know about that. That’s funny! We did a panel with a huge audience so I couldn’t really see if anyone was wearing anything specific, but it’s an excuse for kids and adults to get dressed up and just be crazy. You know you’ve made it when you have super-fans out there.

IVIE: When you first read the scripts for Elementary, what was it that attracted you to the role of Joan?

LIU: I liked the fact that it was going to be about [Joan and Sherlock’s] relationship and their friendship, and bringing that into modern times. And I thought it was wonderful to change up the gender.

IVIE: Did you immerse yourself in Arthur Conan Doyle’s work as preparation at all?

LIU: I did, I did! I started reading the short stories. I never read them before so it was a really great excuse to read them. I can’t believe it was written so long ago, because it’s so current. The characters are so colorful, which is why I think there are so many incarnations of Watson and Holmes.

IVIE: Do you have a favorite story? I love “A Scandal in Bohemia.”

LIU: There were some pretty amazing stories. The one that stood out to me, which was a Watson story that I got to know him a little more through, was “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” He really is on his own in that. Of course it turns out that Holmes has been there all along, but it’s interesting looking into his interior.

IVIE: Yeah, the entirety of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is narrated just by Watson. And his diary and letters, too.

LIU: Yeah, I think it’s really cool. We started incorporating that into the show, too, the letters and journals.

IVIE: Has this detective genre always appealed to you? Did you grow up watching or reading detective whodunits?

LIU: I remember more of the old school Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys sort of thing. I also grew up with the Scooby-Doo mysteries. Remember when the villain would go, “I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you rascal-y kids!” Those were the kind of the things I immersed myself in. I have to say that my mother has always been a huge fan of Columbo and Murder, She Wrote, so this show was her dream come true. I don’t think she totally understood what was going on with Ally McBeal. [laughs]

IVIE: I’ve enjoyed witnessing Joan’s evolution throughout the course of the show, starting off as a sober companion and eventually ending up as a trusty sidekick and confidant to Sherlock. What can we expect from Joan in Season Three?

LIU: When you see them in the third season, you see some friction between the two characters. Joan is now on her own, she has her own detective agency, has a boyfriend, and has been without Sherlock for eight months. She’s got her own apartment, she’s settled, and he shows back up. I think she’s a little bit hurt by what happened and how their relationship and partnership ended, which was basically his decision and his choice, and he left it all in one little note for her. I think she felt that their relationship was much deeper than that, and that he was dismissive in the way that he handled that.

IVIE: How would you define the relationship between Joan and Sherlock?

LIU: I think that it’s a really positive and good relationship, overall. They really have a good chemistry together, work really hard together, and understand each other. They acknowledge each other and respect each other, which is a really important way to have a friendship. And they can learn from each other, you know? She’s very curious about him and I think he sees that she’s a very smart person—that’s vital for him in having respect for someone, having them be intelligent and thinking for themselves.

IVIE: Do you see any of Joan in yourself?

LIU: I do to a certain degree. She’s a lot more measured and patient, for sure. She’s a very curious person, which I think I am, and I think she isn’t afraid of change. She was a doctor, and then became a sober companion, and then jumped off and became a detective. I think sometimes it’s good to make big leaps.

IVIE: You’ve probably been asked this question many times, but do you think a romance between Joan and Sherlock could ever fittingly happen?

LIU: It’s a question that’s often asked and I think it’s really up to the executives. Rob Doherty, the creator [of Elementary] really feels incredibly strongly about keeping their relationship platonic. He has already taken great strides to keep the relationship as clean as possible according to the literature, but he has also changed so much of it by changing the gender of Watson. To have them have a romantic involvement would turn the whole thing upside-down in a way that might really jump the line. [Doherty] felt really strongly about it and I think that’s the one thing he really wants to stay true to.

IVIE: I totally agree. Even on the BBC’s Sherlock, there are campaigns to get Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson to become romantically involved. It’s like, enough already, no!

LIU: No way, that’s so weird! People do have that level of friendship oftentimes, but it doesn’t mean it’s physical. I think that everyone just assumes because there’s chemistry the next thing should be happening. I would vote “no” for a romance. I think for sure the creator would vote no on that, too.

IVIE: I’ve talked to both women and men who watch Elementary, and they all consistently mention how well dressed and fashionable Joan is. Do you collaborate with the wardrobe department on styling decisions at all?

LIU: That’s awesome. Yes, I collaborate with Rebecca [Hofherr], who’s the costume designer, who’s wonderful. She’s very easy to work with. One thing we try to maintain about Joan and her style is that she’s a bit wrinkled, you know what I mean? Sometimes it looks like things are really put together, but we always want to make sure things aren’t too tight and are comfortable, kind of like she throws things together. We don’t want it to seem so business-y, so we go away from suits. Chic, but not corporate. Also just to make her seem like her outfits aren’t so put-together all the time. But I’m glad that people really seem to like it, it’s a relief! We don’t splurge a lot on the show, we try to do cheaper things, like things Joan would wear a lot. She wears the same white jacket and shoes frequently.

IVIE: Will we be seeing more of the infamous Clyde the Turtle in the upcoming season?

LIU: Clyde will indeed be in it again. We have to share custody of Clyde.

IVIE: Is it true that Clyde is actually two tortoises? Pulling a Mary Kate and Ashley in Full House on us?

LIU: Yes. It’s just like having twins on a show. Just in case one is crying and screaming and passed out or something.

IVIE: You made your directorial debut for an episode of Elementary last season [“Paint It Black”]. Do you have plans to direct an episode again soon?

LIU: That was so exciting. I’ll be directing another episode again very shortly in December, so you’ll be seeing it in a month and a half.

IVIE: Where did your interest in directing come from?

LIU: I guess I was curious about it. Having been in this business for a while, you kind of see and get a glimpse of everything doing film and television. I think it seemed like a natural progression to go into directing, and I hope to explore more of it, because it’s very exciting and a really good way to collide all the things that you’ve known and experienced in the business and put them all into one.

IVIE: Is there an ideal guest star that you’d like to see on the show in the upcoming season?

LIU: I would love to see Mycroft come back. I really think there was a wonderful tension for Mycroft and Sherlock as well as the triangle that occurred when Joan became involved with him. There’s something very deep about that relationship, and I also think that Rhys Ifans is a fantastic actor. He commands the screen, but off-screen he’s incredibly lovely. A real treat to have on the show.

IVIE: I remember the first few episodes that I saw Rhys in, I was like, where have I seen this guy before? So I looked at his Wikipedia page and it became obvious: he was the crazy guy from Notting Hill!

LIU: Yes, the roommate! So good! Everything he does, he just kills it, no matter the role.

IVIE: And it’s always good to have some MI6 action on the show, which Mycroft provided. Some international flair.

LIU: [laughs] International flair, exactly, some added spice. Just throw some spy stuff in there to throw people off their game. You just don’t expect it, you know? It came out of nowhere.

IVIE: That whole three-episode arc at the end of the second season…

LIU: That was awesome. I was lucky enough to direct one of those episodes, which is more narrative in tone. It’s more fun in some ways, too.

IVIE: You’ve done a range of acting work for both television and film. Do you now find yourself preferring one to the other?

LIU: I love both of them equally. The lack of predictability with television is something that’s constantly changing what your perception of who you think your character is. Suddenly I have a father that’s schizophrenic, or I discovered something else, or I have a relationship with Mycroft. The things that pop up and change the game for you and always keep you on your toes. The wonderful thing about film is that you have something that has a beginning, middle, and end, and you have a concrete amount of time to shoot it. And the process of that can be longer, like editing and advertising and testing the movie, so it’s very different. Television you just continue going, no matter what’s happening outside of your world. You get lost in that vortex a little bit.

IVIE: It’s interesting that America is now embracing the “mini-series” format that has already been so heavily utilized overseas, where there are a set amount of short episodes, and that’s it. In a way, it’s kind of like a cinematic experience.

LIU: I like that, too. It allows you to have a freedom of creativity and at the same time you don’t feel like you have to be contracted to something for that long; you’re really working on a piece of art. And then you’re done and you move on, or it comes back, like Downton Abbey. You don’t know. Those things become little masterpieces. The thing about television is that you see a range of actors now that you may not have seen five years ago even, 10 years ago absolutely not, and I think now there’s no wrong about doing television. There’s no definitive category for what kind of department you fall into anymore.

IVIE: What’s a fun, secret fact about your costar Jonny Lee Miller?

LIU: A fun fact about Jonny Lee Miller is that he oftentimes does handstands on a wall before he does a take, sometimes with pushups, to get blood to his brain and get him geared up for a long monologue that he may have. He stays there, hangs a little bit, and then turns around and does the scene. Most of the time in the brownstone more than anywhere else. He’s in full costume and everything. That’s trivia!

IVIE: I wish I could do wall-handstands by myself.

LIU: Oh my god, I need someone to push my legs up and then hold me there. I’m a cheat!

ELEMENTARY PREMIERES THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30 ON CBS.

[the-gay-prometheus]

Frankenstein AU Segment - “Willful Disobedience”

Clervalstein yearning goes brrrrrrr

Anyways- uh... so as I said at the beginning of pride month, my goal for June is to write at least one directly Clervalstein related AU segment each week because gay. 

This time around, I was inspired to write about the events that led to how Henry would eventually find Victor and the Creature on the mountain, so in terms of timeline, this takes place before all segments I’ve written except for “Home Again” and “Same Scars, Same Stitches.”

A couple of fun little tidbits about the making of this segment (feel free to skip over them and get right to the segment below the cut, this is just me rambling about some inspiration):

1. The whole bit with Victor drawing and the Creature mimicking him by drawing as well was somewhat inspired by the “Forbidden Friendship” scene from How to Train Your Dragon. I listened to that specific track from the movie score a few times while I was in the process of thinking about this idea!

2. Another bit of musical inspiration actually came from the Chronicles of Narnia, specifically the track “Evacuating London” from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. If you time it just right and you’re somebody who can actively read and listen to music at the same time, it should somewhat line up with the last few paragraphs (excluding Henry’s bit at the end) - starting at where Victor says “I’d give anything-”, then with the little piano part being timed with the paragraph that starts with “It was intricately detailed-”, then the major swell in that half of the song should line up with the paragraph where the Creature begins feeling the need to disobey Victor’s most important rules; then comes the part that begins with a bit of bells and eventually vocalization, and that entire half of the track should align with the Creature carrying out his plan at least most of the way. Of course - all of this depends on your reading speed, but I would definitely recommend listening to the song after reading at least and imagining those parts of the segment along with it if you’re interested in a little peek into my crazy writing process! 😅

Anyways- this is another wholesome segment, so no warnings needed to my knowledge!

As always, all likes, reblogs, and comments of any kind are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated!

~~~

Sunlight warmed the cold stone of the mountain ridge upon which Victor sat. His sleeves were rolled up on his arms, as the heat from the summer sun was felt much more intensely up on the mountain top despite the cool alpine breeze. Heavy clouds capped the peaks beyond though the sky was primarily a clear blue, and mist drifted through the valleys below. Though the view was magnificent, the sketchbook that sat on Victor’s knee contained no trace of the mountains. His eyes darted from the open page to the horizon, but it wasn’t the horizon he was searching for. As he stared over the peaks beyond, it wasn’t the view itself he focussed on, and instead an image that was clear in his mind. With a slight smile at the thought, he turned his gaze back down to the page and continued his sketching. It wasn’t long before the smile faded as the sound of quiet, careful footfalls upon the stone broke the calm silence, and he became aware of a presence directly beside him. He instinctively scooted himself about a half inch away as the other figure slowly sat at his side, his brow furrowed as he tried to concentrate harder on his sketching. “What are you doing?” came the inquisitive voice of his creation, and he felt the looming figure lean over in an attempt to view what he was drawing. With a further frown, Victor covered over his sketch with his other hand and turned away.

“Last I checked, that was none of your business,” he grumbled in reply. The creature tried to get a better look, but Victor’s hand covered over too much of it for him to be able to see. He sat there for a moment longer, his mind wandering and his gaze flitting about from view to view as he tried to decide what it was he should do. Now that the cabin was finally completed, he found himself with a lack of activities to keep him busy, and though his creator was certainly better company now than he had been when he first arrived to the mountain, he still wasn’t much of a conversationalist and was often preoccupied with his own thoughts or projects. Out of ideas, he hummed something softly to himself, some tune he had once heard Victor singing one day many weeks ago. Victor lifted his eyes at the sound and glanced over at him, but the moment the creature returned his gaze, he rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning back to his sketching. Quieting himself at his creator’s reaction, the creature sighed and stood, walking back toward the cabin. Victor almost felt bad - almost - but he kept drawing, now absentmindedly humming the same tune. After a few minutes, he became distracted by the sound of footsteps once again, but this time the creature sat a ways away from him. He went quiet, trying to ignore his creation and keep his focus, but he heard the scratching of another pen on paper, then a pause, then more scratching, and he felt himself being watched. With an exasperated sigh, Victor dropped his pen beside him and looked over to the creature. “What on earth are you doing?” The creature looked up at him, his expression blank.

“Last I checked, that was none of your business,” he answered matter-of-factly. Victor stared at him a moment, then frowned.

“Back talking me? That’s new.” The creature blinked, but didn’t answer, instead turning back down to the piece of paper that lay on his knee and continuing to draw something on it. Now thoroughly curious, Victor stood, walking over to him and standing behind him to look over his shoulder. The creature made no efforts to hide his drawing, and Victor could clearly see the rough beginnings of a person sitting in the exact same pose he had been sitting in. “Are you… drawing me drawing Henry?”

“Ah, so you were drawing someone named Henry.” Victor blushed furiously.

“Oh you sly bastard,” he muttered. The creature glanced up at him. “How clever of you, to get an answer out of me like that.”

“That was not my intention, but I cannot say I am disappointed by the result,” the creature responded simply. Victor sighed, sitting down beside him before flopping dramatically onto his back. Now trying to think based on memory, the creature gazed off into the distance before looking down at his paper and continuing to draw. “May I ask who this Henry person is?” he asked as he drew. “I hear you speak the name often. He must be of great importance to you.” Victor wanted to be angry. He wanted to tell his creation to mind his own business and stop prying into his personal life, and yet… he couldn’t be angry - not while Henry was the topic of the conversation, anyway.

“Henry is… was my…” He paused, carefully thinking about how to choose his words, “closest friend.” There was a length of silence as he felt an ache in his chest from the thought of Henry, and the creature took a moment away from his drawing before returning to it.

“Tell me about him,” he suggested as he sketched. Victor sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, holding his sketch of Henry over his heart as he stared into the sky.

“Where to even begin with him,” Victor uttered quietly.

“Describe him to me.” Victor lifted his sketch up and stared at it, before holding it out to the creature. The creature glanced up, and looked at it with a curious expression. Victor gave him a curt nod, signaling that he was welcome to inspect it closer, so he gently took it from Victor’s hand and inspected it closely.

“He’s tall, but not too tall - just tall enough that I have to look up in order to look into his eyes. And he’s always well dressed - I don’t think there’s ever been a day when he wasn’t looking his best, though I suppose I might be a bit biased on that.” For a moment he wondered just how much further he should go with his description. How could he describe someone like Henry without giving his true feelings away? He hesitated, then sighed with a smile. His creation already knew one of his secrets, and, after all, it wasn’t like he was going anywhere or seeing anyone else, so what harm was there in completely venting his thoughts? “He has the most thoughtful hazel eyes, toffee brown around the edges and streaked with emerald green that deepens toward the pupils, the kind of eyes you could get lost in if you stared for too long.” The creature’s pen went still and he looked up toward the horizon, trying to imagine what Victor was describing. “And his hair is long - not quite so long as yours, but ends just past his shoulders - and lays in tangled waves always kept tied back, though a few strands never fail to set themselves free. When the sun hits it just right, I could swear it was made of fire,” Victor breathed as he pictured it in his mind. “It’s the kind of brilliant auburn that takes your breath away, that seems to gleam with its own radiant light. Sometimes I swear he’s more angel than man, and perhaps if angels do exist, he may well be one of them.” The creature smiled, but the smile soon faded as his mind drifted to Paradise Lost and further to his past. He blinked the thought away, then turned his eyes back down to his art, setting Victor’s drawing of Henry down at his side. “He’s covered with what must be thousands of freckles, mostly concentrated on his cheeks but they expand over his face and at the very least his arms, chest, and back. I would liken them to… dark stars against a bright sky,” Victor explained. He raised an arm up and began tracing lines in the air as he continued. “I used to try to find constellations among them, and sometimes I thought I nearly could. Orion, Andromeda, Lepus, Lynx, Pegasus, Phoenix, Vulpecula,” he muttered each constellation as he imagined himself tracing the lines between freckles on Henry’s skin, his chocolate brown eyes seeming to light up with wonder as he grew to be lost in his own imagination.

“He barely sounds real,” the creature interjected nonchalantly, hardly looking up from his drawing as he began to focus closer on it. Victor grinned and chuckled softly.

“I tell myself that every day,” he murmured with a hint of sarcasm. “Surely no man could ever be so perfect, and yet there he is-” He paused, reaching higher toward the sky and extending his fingers to feel the breeze between them, “as real as you and I.” His hand dropped back down to his chest as he heaved a sigh. “There’s no man on earth as generous or as compassionate as my-” He stopped himself, blushing hard as he realized what it was he was about to say. “As Henry, I mean. Just… just Henry.” The scratching of the creature’s pen stopped again, and Victor glanced over at him to see him staring ahead in clear contemplation of the implications of his words before returning to his art. “You know,” Victor began, returning his eyes to the sky. “I can just about guarantee that if it were Henry who made you instead of me, you would have turned out ok.” The weight of his words hadn’t set in before he said them, but now that they were out, they sat heavy on his chest like lead. It took him a moment, but he sucked in a ragged breath and exhaled unsteadily. “If it were him instead of me, William would still be alive.” At those words, the creature froze, as rather than a weight to him they felt like a dagger slowly piercing between his ribs and etching each letter directly onto his beating heart. “And to think… Even if it wasn’t him who made you, if it were him who found you here, perhaps your night terrors would have all but ceased by now. And maybe, by his grace, you would be at peace.” They sat in contemplative silence, both somehow altogether calmed and unnerved in each other's presence. “I’d give just about anything for him to be here,” Victor mentioned, breaking the silence and lifting himself up onto his hands. “And I know all it would take is one letter. He’d drop everything to come here. But that’s… that’s just it. That’s the problem.” He sighed, fully sitting upright. The creature glanced over at him. “I can’t let him just… ruin the rest of his life for me. I don’t know how I could live with myself knowing that I held him back because of my own mistakes.” His eyes dropped to his other side. “And yet… I barely know how I can live with myself without him here.” It was at that moment that he felt something being laid gently on his lap, and when he looked down, he saw the drawing the creature had been working on.

It was intricately detailed, each line placed carefully onto the page with such precision. Though it was only simple line art, Victor could clearly see the image of himself sketching from earlier on the page, but standing in front of him was another figure - Henry. He was exactly as Victor described him, tall and well dressed, with long hair tied back and a few strands that drifted over his face. Though there was no color, his eyes seemed just as gentle and full of wonder as Victor remembered them to be as he stared off to some distant land. His face was covered in tiny dots, freckles, each so meticulously pricked on that Victor could clearly trace some of the constellations he described between them. Tears welled in his eyes as he placed his fingers gently on the drawn image, running them gently down the drawing’s cheek, wishing instead of cool paper that it was the soft, warm touch of Henry’s face. “Did I do him justice?” the creature inquired quietly, trying to read his teary expression. Victor sniffled and smiled.

“You… you’re quite the artist,” he managed to answer. Gingerly, he folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket, slowly rising to his feet. “I’ll… I’ll be back later. I need to take a walk and… clear my head,” Victor mentioned, wiping the tears away from his eyes. “Will you be ok on your own?” The creature didn’t answer for a moment, his yellow eyes staring into the distance as he thought deeply, but soon he snapped his attention back to the present.

“Yes, of course. Take your time, Victor.” Victor sighed and nodded.

“I’ll try not to be too late to return.” His creation watched as he wandered off and eventually disappeared into the trees, before returning to his thoughts. It was strange - in all the months that he had been there, the creature had never once considered disobeying Victor, especially out of the fear that he might abandon him again. Suddenly, however, he felt the strong need to disobey each and every one of Victor’s most important rules. He hated to see his creator so struck with longing, but even more so, he considered the positive ramifications of what his carefully formulated plan might bring. Sure, Victor might be initially upset, but with how much he desperately wanted this Henry person to be there with him, surely it would be well worth it in the end.

The first part of his plan was simple. He would need to break Victor’s trust, and search through his personal belongings. He made his way back to the cabin and slipped into Victor’s room to find a mess of folded papers lying on the bed stand - each paper being a letter he had received from a Henry Clerval. Though all he was searching for was an address, the creature couldn’t help himself and decided to read through some of the letters. As he did, he became even more certain about his decision. Not only was this man exactly as Victor had described, but the connection between them was clearly something so strong that it should have been unbreakable. To his luck as well, the creature managed to find amongst the scattered papers a letter Victor had intended to send as a reply to Henry but never had the chance to send, dated from a time before his creation.

The second part of his plan would be the most time consuming, but also the most critical, and this unsent letter would prove to be the perfect resource. Retrieving his pen and a small stack of paper Victor had stashed away, he began crafting a letter of his own. With as much precision as he could muster, he forged Victor’s handwriting and did his best to copy his style and choice of language. A few hours were spent on this, most of that time spent on crafting one single sentence until he was sure it was perfect before finally continuing on with the rest of the letter. After he completed it, he spent a few more minutes checking it once, then once more to ensure it was in fact as accurate as he could make it, before then spending a little more time practicing forging Victor’s signature and finally signing the note in his creator’s name.

Finally came the most dangerous part. With only his own memory of his travels from Ingolstadt to guide him, he would need to find and deliver the letter to someone who would be able to ensure that it reached Henry safely. Of all Victor’s rules, perhaps his greatest was that the creature was to never descend the mountain, and above all, was never to enter civilization or interact with any other human beings. Each of these would need to be broken in order for his plan to succeed. For a moment, he hesitated. Would Victor become so cross with him over this that he would abandon him once again? Where would he go if he did? What would he do? Who could he turn to? Still, it cut him sharp to think that he might be squandering this small chance to bring his creator some joy after all his sorrow if he were to abandon his plan now. His mind was made - no matter what the outcome would be, he was going to ensure this letter was delivered, and hope that Henry would arrive some day soon just as Victor said he would.

He would need to be swift in order to ensure that Victor would never know he had even left, so he quickly yet cautiously put each letter back in its rightful scattered place as though they had never been touched, and pulled the hood of his cloak over his head. With a deep, shaky breath, he could feel a new sensation pulsing through him - a rush of adrenaline that raised his heart rate and widened his yellow eyes. Letter clutched tightly in hand, exited the cabin and broke into a sprint. Down the mountain he ran with superhuman speed, leaping over logs and boulders as though they were mere hurdles. Though he should have balked at sheer cliff faces, instead he lept from them and skid down their sides, ignoring the sharp pain of the rock scraping at the soles of his feet and the palm of his empty hand. Letting his intuition guide him, he continued his swift journey to Geneva. Though the place held painful, dreadful memories for him, the surge of adrenaline that coursed through him overrode the thoughts, and he raced toward the location of the address. Slowing to a walk, his chest heaved and ached from exertion, but he slowed his breathing as he came upon a fence that outlined one of many pastures that outskirted a large house on a hill beyond. In one pasture, he could just barely see a figure on horseback, cantering through a field with his wavy, tied hair flickering ember orange in the sunlight behind him. 

“Can I help you, sir?” came a sudden voice from beside him. He jumped at the sound, instinctively hiding his face in the hood of his cloak.

“I- ...yes. Yes, I believe you can,” he stammered in reply. The stranger, a servant from the Clerval household, gave him a curious look as he held out the letter. “This is a letter for a man named Henry Clerval. I am of the impression that this is his residence?” The servant smiled as he took the letter.

“Ordinarily I would have sent you in the direction of Ingolstadt in Germany, but as luck would have it, master Henry returned home just yesterday.” He inspected the folded letter curiously. “May I ask your name?” The creature froze, gripping his cloak tighter around himself.

“I am but a simple deliverer of this message, kind sir. My name need not be of any concern. As for the letter, I am under the impression that he will understand who it is from once he has received it.” The servant nodded.

“I understand. Thank you - I will see that it’s delivered to him promptly.” With that, the man turned and started off toward where the man on horseback was riding, glancing back at the creature in confusion for a moment before continuing with a brisk pace to the one he would be delivering the letter to. The creature waited a moment longer to watch for the rider’s reaction, smiled, knowing he had made the right decision, and began his sprint back toward home.

“Master Henry? Sir?” the servant called in the pasture, letter held carefully in his hand. Henry’s hazel eyes lifted as he turned his head and gently pulled back on the reins of his mount. The mare he rode slowed to a trot, then to a walk as Henry carefully turned her in the direction of the servant.

“Yes, Marc? What is it? Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing wrong, sir,” Marc replied. As Henry slowed his steed to a stop at his side, he looked down curiously at the other man, who held the letter out to him. “This arrived for you just now from an unknown deliverer. He said you would know who it was from when you read it.” Now thoroughly intrigued, Henry took the letter and opened it. His eyes widened as he beheld the handwriting, and slowly his other hand lifted to his mouth as his jaw dropped while he read. “Is there something wrong, sir?” Tears welled in Henry’s eyes, dripping down onto his freckled cheeks as he looked up from the letter, his expression of shock turning to a tearfully happy smile.

“No, Marc, everything is much better than I had anticipated.” Marc gave him a confused glance. “Will you help me ready a supply pack and ride with me? I will need to be leaving at once.”

“Of course, sir,” Marc replied with a curt nod. “May I ask where it is we are headed?”

“The base of Mount Montanvert.” Henry turned his mount, his eyes resting on the distant mountains. “Be prepared to bring the horses back here for me once we arrive there. I might not be returning for quite some time.”

[dimitribelikov]

The Belikov Chronicles: Becoming a Mentor

✶ What if I rewrote different scenes but from Dimitri’s point of view? I have no idea if this is something people are interested in, but this was too fun not to write. Honestly, for all the times Rose is going on about what a god Dimitri is, it’s too amusing to imagine that he’s thinking he’s a total weirdo most of the time. ✶ trigger warnings : some adult language ✶ ship : none but hints of romitri I guess, as well as hints of Dimitri/Ivan ✶ notes : All dialogue is taken straight from Vampire Academy, chapter 2, written by Richelle Mead. The rest is mine.

                                                                   ✶✶✶

       As the double doors opened and we walked into the commons, it seemed as though every set of eyes in the place turned on us. Ok, not much as us as they were on her. Rose Hathaway had been walking by my side, but clearly feeling the effects of scrutiny, she began to lag a little. It was certainly a cruel punishment to walk her though the throng of her peers, like dangling a piece of meat in a lion’s den. Headmistress Kirova had requested it, wanting to teach her and the Princess Vasilisa a bit of humility. Honestly, after the stunt they pulled, I couldn’t help but think a slice of humble pie would do them some good.

But my thoughts weren’t on the effects of a public, teenaged shaming. I was still thinking about the short conversation I’d had with Rose on the plane. Meeting her had exceeded my expectations. When I was tasked with apprehending Janine Hathaway’s daughter, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Janine was a well respected guardian, one that I’ve had to honor of meeting on more than one occasion. Her work, the stories of her past, continue to inspire me, but if I’m being honest, she also terrifies me. Janine is someone not to be messed with, so naturally her daughter would seemingly follow suit.

From the moment Rose squared off with us, ready to take on a whole team of experienced guardians by herself, I knew she had her mother’s fighting spirit. But when I asked her about it, why she’d do such a thing when she was clearly outnumbered, she answered with such conviction that I couldn’t help but be taken aback. “Because I’m her guardian.” 

She wasn’t of course. Not yet. But while I was supposed to be reprimanding her for such a foolish tactic, I couldn’t help but be impressed. Perhaps I even admired her. It wasn’t too long ago, after all, that I felt the same way about my own charge. I would have stood against armies of Strigoi by myself to defend Ivan, but in the end, not even that was enough.

Finally reaching our destination, I took up my stance in the back of the room, across from Alberta. The captain of the school’s guardians was another person I had admired. I mirrored her stance and unreadable expression, knowing my place. Being reduced to nothing more than furniture was a good chunk of life for a guardian. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded, though. Being ignored and overlooked meant you pick up on all sorts of things. I’ve always been curious about the world around me, so I had learned years ago how to take in every detail while standing as still as a statue. 

The only move I made was when Rose shot up and yelled at the Headmistress in outrage. She was angry, but not threatening to I stayed in my spot, eyes trained on her. She was unruly, stubborn, and very reckless. Damn, I admired her spirit.

“I kept her safe!” she continued to yell. The dark curls of her glossy hair bounced against her back as she shook with anger. I wasn’t going to admit that she was pretty when mad, but... “I kept her safe when none of you could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren’t going to.”

I could feel the concern radiating from Alberta, but I actually had to work to keep a small smile from my face. Sure, the teenaged girl just insulted my own capabilities, but I didn’t take it personally. She had a point. Seeing the way she had thrown herself in front of Vasilisa to protect her from us back in Portland, I had no doubt that Rose truly believed she was protecting her. She needed guidance, though. Proper training. Her brash attitude made her jump to conclusions and solutions were way out of left field.

I ignored the voice in my head that told me how I wasn’t much different with Ivan before he’d died. Sure, I never took him out of school and fled the Moroi authorities, but I’d still concocted some pretty crazy schemes to keep him safe. He was my best friend after all. More than that. Ivan was everything and if there was a threat big enough, I didn’t entirely rule out the possibility that I’d have done exactly what Rose did. His death had sobered me, though. Tamed me from my more headstrong ways.

“You will be sent away as soon as possible.”  It the Headmistress who had spoken. She was talking about Rose, of course. That was the exact opposite of what she needed. Didn’t Headmistress Kirova know who she was dealing with? The daughter of Janine Hathaway had too much potential to be wasted, especially with guardian numbers as abysmal as they were. The verbal sparring match that continued after that was intense. I followed every word between the two, and noted the look of sheer panic in the princess’s eyes. Those two couldn’t live without each other. If Vasilisa was my new charge, I had to keep her best interests a priority. This couldn’t stand. Surely Alberta would have an opinion? But she was remaining rooted the spot. The argument was getting more heated. Shit. I had to do something, to speak up or–

No, no, no, no. Furniture. You’re just a piece of furniture. I internally berated myself, biting my tongue. This doesn’t involve you. Stay out of it. 

“They have a bond,” I said. And just like that, I dragged myself in the middle of something I had no business being in. Fuck it, I decided as all eyes turned on me. I kept my expression neutral as though my speaking was fueled by perfectly rational thoughts. I always hated being in the spotlight, so rather than deal with the whole room, I stared solely at Rose. There was something comforting about her, as though if anyone in the room could understand me, it was her. “Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don’t you Rose?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the headmistress look entirely startled by the claim. “No... that’s impossible. That hasn’t happened for centuries.”

Her doubt only encouraged me to continue as I felt a better handle over the situation. “It’s obvious,” I said. “I suspected it as soon as I started watching them.” My eyes were still locked on Rose’s. She was defiant and strong, and I couldn’t help but feel my own strength bolstered by her presence. Perhaps I was starting to come off as a creep, though, because she quickly looked away from me as Prince Victor gave this theory praise. 

Turning my gaze onto Kirova, I continued. “The best guardians always had that bond. In the stories.” I added the last part, hoping that I didn’t somehow sound like a total loon. I technically wasn’t supposed to be talking at all, yet here I was, spouting of old myths straight from fairytales. But every word I said was the truth. I had seen it, and it was something that couldn’t be ignored.

“Stories that are centuries old! Surely you aren’t suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she’s done?” Kirova countered.

I guess I am just a loon, after all. With nothing more to lose, I shrugged. “She might be wild and disrespectful but if she has potential–”

“Wild and disrespectful? Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?” It was Rose who had interrupted and I wish I had a way to tell her to shut up. Couldn’t she see that I was the only one actually standing up for her? I suddenly thought of a few more adjectives to add to “wild and disrespectful”.

“Guardian Belikov is the princess’s guardian now. Her sanctioned guardian,” Kirova corrected. I know I wasn’t supposed to be on her side, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit triumphant.

That feeling fell immediately with Rose’s next words. “You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?” Thank God I had mastered an unreadable expression, because if I could have thrown daggers at the novice, I would have. She knew nothing about me, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt by the statement.

Kirova threw her hands up as though her point had just been made. “You see?” she said, directed at me. “Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and very raw potential in the world can’t make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian.”

I couldn’t disagree, which brought me back to my original point. Pushing my irritation over the insult aside, I knew I had to stand up for the guardian Rose could be. “So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again.” Honestly, wasn’t that the whole point of school? If being undisciplined got students kicked out, there wouldn’t be any left.

“Impossible. She’ll still be hopelessly behind her peers.”

“No I won’t,” Rose finally spoke up. If she was standing up for herself in a rational manner, then surely we could sway Kirova to let her stay at the Academy by Vasilisa’s side.

“Then give her extra training sessions,” I quickly added, feeling victory within our reach. And just like that, the negotiation started. It was the first real hope I felt in this battle. We continued for a while and I could feel Alberta’s eyes on me the whole time. Surely there would be words when we were back in the guardian’s headquarters.

“Who’s going to put in the extra time?” Kirova sounded tired of the conversation and I knew I had my foothold. She was ready to accept, she just needed the logistics of it all hammered out. Just as I was feeling triumphant again, the rug was once again pulled out. “You?”

I froze. Me? Train Janine Hathaway’s daughter one on one? The princess needed her and I could respect that, but Rose was quickly becoming a thorn in my side with her harsh comments. The two of us alone together in a sparring ring would surely end in blood being drawing. “Well, that’s not what I–” I trailed off, feeling like a total idiot. I didn’t think this through at all.

“Yes. That’s what I thought.” Shit. Just like that, Kirova won.

My eyes fell on the two girls, and when I looked between them I saw... Ivan and me. For the hundredth time that day, my mind came back to my old friend. I loved him more than I could put into words. I would have died for him, but instead, it was the other way around. One day off, one day away from him, and disaster of the worst degree had struck. I could imagine with painful clarity how Rose would feel if anything were to happen to Vasilisa while she was sent away. Of course, I would make sure to never again lose a Moroi on my watch. No more day-off’s for me. But if Rose had no choice...

“Yes. I can mentor Rose.” I almost didn’t recognize my own voice as I spoke. The moment the words left my mouth, though, I knew I didn’t regret them. I made a vow, and Vasilisa was now in my care. I couldn’t hurt her chances by taking away someone she was bonded with. And Rose... Rose deserved a fighting chance. “I’ll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones.”

We agreed that Rose should still be punished for her actions in addition to the extra training. With words of encouragement from Victor and Vasilisa herself, Kirova finally caved. Yet I’d hardly call it a victory. I’d just traded in practically all my free time to train a wild and disrespectful girl. She was my responsibility now and as I held her gaze again, I had a feeling I had my work cut out for me.

[ma-sulevin]

20 for the NSFW prompts for Harper please 👀👀👀

Your wish is my command.

20. for angry sex 

The Wayhaven Chronicles, Mason x f!OC (Harper Grey). 3,182 words, rated E. Set after everyone’s favorite line from the Book 3 Demo.

---

By far the best part of Unit Bravo’s warehouse base being so close to Wayhaven is its gym. Harper doesn’t have to worry about annoying her neighbors working out in her living room anymore, and she doesn’t have to worry about bumping into Douglas in the closet the police department has been trying to pass off as a gym for years. 

With the warehouse so close, it’s way easier to just drive over there and exercise, get some tension out with the punching bag or the ridiculously high-tech treadmill, and… okay, yeah, maybe see if someone (Mason, it’s always Mason) is up for combat training.

She thought things might be weird (weirder) after the bakery, but neither of them seems keen on bringing it back up. Harper wants to just ignore the way his words stung when he said them, and he… well, no matter why he looked uncomfortable afterward, he’s acting like his normal self now that they’re using her training as an excuse to be in each other’s space again.

It almost feels like it did before, and Harper leans into it hard, fighting back and trying to gauge what he’s going to do so she can dodge his blows and roll out of the way of his tackles.

She’s not great at it yet, but she likes to think she’s getting better.

She’s pretty sure he’s not just taking it easy on her at least. She’s definitely going to have bruises on her thighs and back from falling down, even on the padded mat, and her knuckles ache from the few blows she’s actually managed to land on him, even through the wrappings she’s wearing.

The longer they fight -- well, the longer he dashes around her while she hopes to make contact with him before he makes contact with her -- the harder her breath comes and the slower her reactions, until finally Mason barrels into her, lifting her up and slamming her down on the mat.

“I think you’re getting worse,” he says, twisting her arm behind her back just enough so she’ll feel it, but not so far that it’ll hurt her. “You need to train more.”

Irritation flows through her, washing away the arousal she always feels in Mason’s presence. Even the solid weight of him against her back isn’t enough to overpower it, and she just tries to yank her arm out of his grip.

He releases her and gives her the space she needs to get up, but she just rolls over onto her back and presses the heels of her hands against her eyes. “Fuck me.” She forces her words out from between clenched teeth, frustration coiling tight in her chest. She’s never going to be strong enough to fight back against any of the supernaturals she’ll come into contact with, so she might as well give up and go read those old books with Nate.

Mason’s long fingers wrapping around her wrists snap her train of thought in half, quieting the spiral before it gets too out of control. She almost forgets what she said until he presses her hands into the mat and shifts to kneel between her thighs.

“That’s not what I meant by ‘training,’ but I’m happy to help you out.” He grins at her, slow and wide, and tightens his grip on her wrists when she tests it.

It’s not what she meant either, but having his body so close to hers while the adrenaline from training is still swirling through her… it makes her reaction stronger than usual, all the energy surging between her legs so that she arches her hips up toward his before her brain fully has time to decide.

He leans in like he’s going to kiss her, but he stops when she tilts her chin up to meet him. Instead, he rakes his eyes down her body as his grin grows, and she can’t help but arch her back to entice him to touch her.

He shifts so that both her wrists are in one of his hands and reaches down to push her too-large tee up to expose her stomach, then higher to cup her breast through her sports bra. He squeezes, just this side of too painful, and his grin shows his teeth when she sucks in a sharp breath.

“Sure would help you work out some of that tension, anyway,” he says, and he leans down even closer, pausing when their noses are just close enough to brush together to wait for her to nod at him.

He always waits for her to say wants him.

The kiss starts deep, with his tongue dipping into her mouth right away like he’s just been waiting to taste her. She moans into it and wraps her legs around his waist, pulling his hips against hers. He moves into her, grinding down until sparks of pleasure flow through her.

He always touches her exactly the way she wants to be touched, like he can hear what she’s thinking to respond to it. He holds her tighter when she squirms, rocks his hips against hers in a slow roll, moves his lips to her neck the moment she starts to lift her chin.

She moans again as his teeth scrape over her skin, not even hard enough to leave a mark, but just the promise of it is enough to make her body flood with need.

Above her, the bastard chuckles, the noise pressed against her throat. “Delicious,” he says, and she curses herself for the way the word makes her heart skip. He bites at her again, a little rougher, then soothes the spot with his tongue while she spreads her legs wider.

“Mason?” He makes a curious noise and sits up just enough to look at her. His pupils are wide, his lips wet, and she can’t help the way her breath hitches at the sight of him. “We both have beds here.”

He doesn’t move. “Where’s the fun in that?” His smile grows as he speaks and he leans in to punctuate his question with another kiss. She lets him in, parting her lips for him, and tries to ignore the way it makes goosebumps roll over her skin.

The next time he pulls back to let her breathe, she says, “The fun is in Adam not interrupting us this time.”

Mason makes another little noise of consideration before releasing her. He’s up on his feet so fast she barely sees him move, then he has her up over his shoulder so fast it makes her head spin. She bites back a squeal and balances with her hands on his lower back, then lets them slide lower to squeeze his ass as he starts to move.

He spanks her in retaliation, and she bites her lip to keep from making any noise now that they’re out in the hallway. Being interrupted in the gym would be embarrassing, but so would someone catching them between the gym and Mason’s room.

If anyone sees them, they don’t say anything, and she’s none the wiser as Mason pushes through a door and brings them back into privacy. The bed he drops her on is her own, and she has half a second to realize he probably doesn’t want her in his private space before he’s crawling back on top of her to press her into her mattress.

She ignores the way that stings, because it’s what they agreed to at the start of all of this. Nothing complicated, he’d said, and she’d been so wound up she’d thrown herself at him. And here they are again, not seeing each other, but seeing each other naked. 

She tries to ignore another flicker of annoyance at that, but it reminds her she hasn’t actually seen him naked in days. And if that’s all he wants out of this, then…

He moves when she pushes his shoulder, rolling onto his back at her direction. He starts to pull her with him until she slips off the bed to stand up, and he sits up to watch her.

He looks amazing already, hair mussed and lips just the tiniest bit swollen from their kisses. He arches his eyebrows when she doesn’t say anything right away, distracted as she is by the way his shirt is riding up around his waist, and he preens under her attention to goad her into action.

“Take your clothes off.” She tries to sound commanding, like she’s actually the one in charge, but all it does is make Mason’s eyebrows lift even higher.

“You first, sweetheart.” There’s a challenge on his face, and she rises to meet it.

She squares her shoulders and crosses her arms. “You just beat the shit out of me in the name of training,” she says, and leaves out the bit about embarrassing her at the bakery even though that’s what stings the most. “Least you could do is let me see you naked now.”

He licks his lips and then gives her another of his long smiles before standing up. He’s close enough that his arms brush against hers when he pulls his shirt off over his head, and it’s more of a struggle for him to push his jeans down without bumping into her, but she doesn’t step back, doesn’t step away from the challenge she’s presented him.

When he’s naked, he stretches to his full height above her and looks down into her eyes, his grin showing a hint of teeth. She rakes her eyes over his body, drinking in his defined muscles, the freckles sprinkled over his skin, the way he’s half-hard with his cock growing between them.

“Listen, I know you’re enjoying the view, but…” He breaches the distance between them, finally, first to tug at the collar of her tee and then to press his fingers under her chin to tilt her gaze back up to meet his. “There’s a lot more you can enjoy.”

He grins when she reaches out with one hand, and she’s gratified to hear his breath catch in his throat as her fingers wrap around his cock. She pumps him slowly, watching the way his muscles tense, the way his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks as he closes his eyes.

He’s beautiful, and she wants to wipe the smug smile off his face.

“Sit down.” She stops stroking him and pushes with that hand instead, guiding him down to sit on the edge of her mattress. He goes where she directs him, eyes wide and dark. He reaches for her hips and she steps back, moving out of his reach, and revels in the thrill that rolls through her at teasing him this way.

She pushes her shorts and underwear down and steps out of them, but she leaves her shirt on just because it’s long enough to block what he really wants to see. 

He reaches for her again when she steps closer, but she wraps her fingers around his throat and he falls still. She can feel his pulse against her fingers, feels it quicken as she squeezes just a bit.

“This is for me,” she tells him, voice rougher than she wanted it to be. “Like you said. I’m working out some tension.”

The corners of his lips twitch up as she pushes forward, straddling him with her knees pressed into the mattress without letting go of his throat. He keeps his chin up and his hands fisting the blankets, waiting as she settles herself over him.

She shivers as she feels him hard and hot against her, want so clearly written across his features. She grinds against him, their eyes locked, and she can see the control slipping as she teases him.

She’s not sure how far she can push him, what he’s willing to put up with as she plays this game. She’s always let him take control before, but watching him squirm under her is making her wet.

When she finally tilts her hips just right and slides down onto him, he growls from deep in his chest. The sound sends a thrill through her, makes her wetter, makes the slide even easier. He grins at her when he bottoms out, like he knows what he’s doing to her, but he still just leans back a little to give her room to move and room to watch him since he’s the one on full display.

It is deeply satisfying to see his muscles twitching in an effort to stay still, to see his fingers digging into her blankets until they’re at risk of tearing because he’s trying so hard to give her what she wants.

She uses her thighs to lift herself up and push herself back down, slow the first time, then hard and fast. She takes from him, uses him for the pleasure she needs and doesn’t slow down to see how he’s taking it because she knows he can take whatever she gives him and more.

Under her, Mason groans with each thrust, a steady chorus that lets her know he’s enjoying this as much as she is. His pulse hammers away under her fingers, spurring her on as much as the pure euphoria coursing over her.

If she knew fucking Mason would feel this good, she would’ve dragged him away from the group the first time she caught him staring at her ass in her office.

“Does that feel good, sweetheart?” Mason’s voice, thick with arousal, makes her eyes snap up to meet his. “Is that what you needed?”

“Do you think your dick’s just going to magically make me feel better?” She sounds breathless, fucked out, and she hates that it makes him sound right. 

He grins, showing his teeth. “I should’ve fucked you the second I found you in the gym.”

She slows her thrusts, switches to longer, deeper ones that make him lean forward, closing the distance between them. She fights him, just for a second, tightening her grip on his throat before giving in. She slides her hand around to the back of his head, tangling in his hair to pull his face to hers for a kiss.

He goes with her, but he bites her lip instead of kissing her. He tugs and she squeals, fucking down hard one more time before he finally gets tired of letting her do what she wants. 

The room spins around her as he flips them, and then stars burst across her vision as he pushes her thighs apart and fucks back into her exactly as hard as she can handle. She howls as he laughs, and then she struggles to meet his eyes as he goes absolutely still.

“There you go,” he says, voice fake sweet. She doesn’t have any warning before he rips her shirt in half, shredding it like it’s a piece of paper. 

Cool air hits her sweaty skin, sending goosebumps rippling over her body that have as much to do with the temperature as with the sudden display of strength. She doesn’t even bother to fight when he reaches up and gives her sports bra the same treatment, ruining her only clothes and completely exposing her to his hungry gaze.

“Isn’t that better?” His eyes darken as he stares at her, and she lifts trembling thighs to rest her ankles up on his shoulders.

“What are you waiting for?” She stretches her arms over her head and arches her back, just a bit, already confident she’ll be sore in the morning. “Fuck me.”

He doesn’t move except to lean closer, folding her in half just so he can kiss her. His lips linger over hers, almost sweet, then his tongue presses into her mouth in a demand. She lets him take from her, like she took from him, and she can’t help but moan at the feeling.

Mason smiles against her mouth and starts to move his hips.

His first thrust is hard enough to shove her up the bed, and she stops herself from hitting her head against the wall by pressing her hands flat against it. Mason grabs her hips and hauls her back into his lap, holding her steady so he can fuck her without the threat of slamming her head into the wall as he does.

She can’t hold back her moans this time, not with the way he’s hitting her just right, not even knowing the rest of Unit Bravo has to be able to hear her. If he’s going to fuck her the way she needs to be fucked, she’s going to let him know how good it feels.

She keeps her eyes closed tight until Mason shifts over her, lowering her legs from his shoulders so that her thighs bracket his hips again and he can lean over her without hurting her. His thrusts stay the same, deep and perfect, but the way he grabs for her hand with his free one let her know that he’s getting close.

He kisses her, deep and intimate, and she can’t help the way she clenches around him at the contact. The way he twines their fingers makes her feel like his words from the bakery were a lie, and that makes her clench around him again even though she hates it.

He can tell though, he can always tell. He can read her better than she can read herself sometimes, and he moves his lips down to her neck. She tilts her head to the side so he can reach her better, and he chuckles against her as he scrapes his teeth across her skin. The promise of a bite pushes her closer, and the way he nips at the underside of her chin is her undoing.

She scratches his back with her free hand as she comes, squeezing her fingers with the other. Pleasure washes over her in waves, pushed on by his unfaltering rhythm.

He curls around her, holds her tight, presses in as deep as he can when he comes just after her. Just as her muscles relax, his tighten, and he fills her deep inside with a groan pressed against her throat.

He kisses her again as he relaxes, then again as he slips out of her. She presses her shaking thighs together and he laughs, squeezing them both with his hands as he sits next to her on the mattress.

“Better?”

Damn the man.

“Better.”

His next laugh sounds smug, and she ignores it, pressing her hands over her eyes instead. She flinches when fabric hits her bare stomach, and she looks down to see his shirt balled up on top of her as he pulls up his pants.

“Since I ruined yours,” he says, a long smirk on his face. He winks and then he’s gone, leaving her alone, despite the way she aches to have him curl up at her side for a while.

The shirt is soft when she pulls it on, and she buries her face in it to cover her blush.

It smells just like him.

[j-elaine-hyde]

The Bean Chronicles: Part 18

Henry Cavill / Reader

It was finally Christmas Eve. You and Henry had decided to forgo the parties and stay at home together. Tomorrow morning you’d be meeting his family bright and early for Christmas. Despite becoming close with his mother you were still nervous about meeting the entire clan.

“Dinner smells amazing, my love.” Henry wrapped his arms around you, and nuzzled your neck.

You laughed and pressed against him, “I hope it tastes as good as it smells!”

He patted your butt before scooping up a finger full of mashed potatoes.

“Stay out of that mister, it’s almost done.” You shook your head at him with a smile.

“I’ll get the wine. Red?” He was scanning the wine rack as you watched him. You would never tire of looking at this gorgeous man.

He popped open a bottle as you pulled the roasted vegetables out of the oven. “Time to eat!”

-

You were curled up on the sofa watching “A Christmas Story” when Henry shifted out from underneath you and walked to the tree. He produced a small gift and handed it to you.

“Merry Christmas my love....” he smiled as he sat down facing you. “I can’t wait any longer. I want you to open this one now.”

Your throat felt tight looking at the small square box in your hands.

“Well then you have to open one of yours too.” You placed the box on the table and hopped up. Knowing exactly which one to pick, you pulled the long rectangular box from the stack and sat down.

“You have to go first. Merry Christmas Hen.” You handed him the small box and watched him rip open the paper. As soon as he saw the unwrapped box he looked up and smiled.

“Darling.... I already know I love it.” He smiled as he opened the box.

Inside was a vintage Rolex, the same worn by James Bond.

“Oh my god... baby.... are you serious?!”

“Look at the back...”

He turned the watch to better see the inscription. “Always yours, XO Y/n” he read it aloud. “This is incredible.... how did you find this?!”

“I might have had some help. But I thought since you had the car, you might as well have the watch too.”

He carefully set the watch on the table before lunging forward at you, wrapping you in his arms. “I’m blown away baby.... I can’t believe you found this. I love you so much. You’re amazing. Thank you my love!” He continued kissing you all over as you laughed.

With one long, deep kiss he sat you back up. “Ok now mine. Which I thought was going to wow... but I can’t top your gift....”

You picked up the small square box. “Oh Hen...I’m sure I’ll love it darling....”

You unwrapped the paper, your breath hitching in your throat as you saw the red of the Cartier box. You opened it to see two “love” rings inside.

“One is for now, for your right hand. The other is for later, for you left.”

You looked at him with a stunned surprised look before quickly smiling and holding out your right hand. He picked up the rose gold band and slid it onto your right ring finger.

“I love it Hen... thank you...” you stared at the ring on your finger, “it’s beautiful.”

You continued looking at the ring as you climbed into his lap. You clutched his face and gently kissed him, smiled and said, “I love you. Thank you, I love it.... I’m never taking it off.”

“I do have another gift for you... I have to go get it out of the bedroom.”

“The bedroom huh....” you laughed.

He patted your butt, “Hop up darling and I’ll go get it.” You smiled and give him another kiss before sliding back onto the sofa.

You watched as he got up and walked down the hall. You quickly grabbed the Cartier box, opening it to look at the ‘ring for later’ you were giddy that he had already bought a wedding band, curious if he had already purchased an engagement ring as well.

You heard Henry coming down the hall and closed the box, placing it back on the coffee table.

In walked Henry in a sexy Santa outfit. Your eyes lit up and your mouth dropped open in a surprised smile.

“Santa heard you were on the naughty list young lady...” he raised and wiggled his eyebrows at you before walking over and scooping you up off the sofa.

“I’ve been a very naughty girl...” you said in your sexiest voice.

“Well Santa is going to take you to his workshop so we can work on you being naughty some more....” he shifted you, pushing you over his shoulder as he opened the bedroom door.

He tossed you onto the bed, standing at the foot of it and slid off his suspenders.

“Santa baby....” you mewed as you beckoned him to come with your finger.

Kneeling onto the bed he began peeling off your leggings.

-

Once you were both naked he hovered over you, “Thank you baby... that James Bond Rolex is incredible.”

“You’re welcome honey.... I’m glad you love it.”

“I really do. I hope you like yours... I realize it’s not exactly what you probably thought it was going to be... but...”

You frowned and interrupted him, “Honey... Henry... I love it. This one is gorgeous and I’ll never take it off, and I’ll always think of you when I look at it. It’s a fun way to say ‘you liked it and put a ring on it’ without setting the whole tabloid world on fire.”

“Baby... I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to marry you... after all I did kind of give you your wedding band tonight... I just didn’t want to be THAT guy that proposed on Christmas. I want that to be it’s own holiday. And I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about getting engaged.... so this was a sort of test. I guess.”

“Hen... of course I want to marry you. But I am glad you didn’t propose on Christmas... I agree with you. That needs to be its own special thing. I’m not going anywhere... there’s no pressure. I love you. And I love my ring.”

“I’m calling it a promise ring. I promise to always love you.” He sweetly kissed you on the lips before flipping over, pulling you on top of him.

You sat up, perched on top of him, looking down at his gorgeous face. “So what happens when Santa is naughty?” You grinned and laughed as he bucked his hips, bouncing you.

“Ohhhh babygirl.... allow me to show you....” he raised a single eyebrow as a devilish smirk crossed his face.

—

You had decided to start Christmas morning off by waking up Henry with a gift... you slid under the covers, taking him into your mouth. You gently tugged with your hand as his member sprang to life. You were really getting into it when you heard Henry moan.

“Mmmmm good morning baby.... fuck I love you.... don’t stop....”

You continued but only for a few more seconds before Henry sat up and pulled you out of the covers, and onto the bed. He made a beeline for your neck and began kissing before he thrust into you.

-

You stood in the kitchen wearing one of Henry’s tee shirts as you sipped your coffee. Henry walked in fresh out of the shower in only boxers.

“Good morning my love.... Merry Christnas.” He kissed you on the forehead as he made a cup of coffee.

“Merry Christmas. I’m going to go take a shower and get ready.”

“Why didn’t you shower with me? Hmmm?” He asked as he slid his hand around to your ass giving it a quick pat.

“Because we don’t have that much time Hen... we wouldn’t have showered and we’d be late to your parents.” You laughed as you gave him a kiss on your way out of the kitchen.

“You know I’m right!” You hollered as you continued down the hall.

-

You were finishing your makeup as Henry walked out of the closet in jeans and a sweater: how was it possible that he looked incredible in literally anything?

“Hen... honey... I picked out a few outfits, they’re on the bed.... would you pick one?”

“Let’s see...” he began as he rubbed his hands together surveying the clothes you had laid out. “I’m voting for the dress, bc then I can feel you up and tease you and have easy access.”

“HEN!! Honey.... I’m serious.” You have an exasperated laugh.

“I am too!”

“Babe.... please.” You whined.

“I’m serious. I want easy access.” He finally sighed and gave in. “Jeans, blouse, blazer, boots outfit.”

“Thank you. That’s what I was thinking given your outfit.”

“We could always match.... I love the pictures of us when we match. Is that corny? I don’t care. I like it.”

Henry went back into the closet.

“Babe... what are you doing?” You asked as you stood up and started getting dressed.

“Ahha! Here it is!” He came out of the closet holding a sweater of yours that was just similar enough to his that it looked like you went together, but weren’t twins.

You had just pulled on your jeans when you looked up at him. You almost blurt out ‘are you serious?!’ But you legitimately knew he wanted you to wear it. So you did.

-

Henry walked around the car to open your door. You swallowed hard as your peered out the window at the large house. Your palms felt a little sweaty as Henry offered his hand, helping you out of the car.

“They’re all going to love you, my dear.” He smiled that megawatt melt you from the inside out smile that made your knees weak. He tightly held you hand as you walked to the front door. The curtains shifting quickly letting you know prying eyes had been watching.

His parents opened the door as Henry reached out for the knob.

“Merry Christmas!” They sang in unison as they welcomed the two of you inside.

Henry’s mom rushed you with a hug and a whisper, “they’re already impressed my dear. Just have fun.”

She smiled at you and tapped the side of her nose knowingly as Henry’s father took a step towards you. “Welcome home! You’re family now! It’s so nice to finally meet you. The Mrs. hasn’t stopped gushing about you. I feel as if I already know you.” He grabbed you in a tight hug before offering to take your coat.

Henry’s nephews and niece ascended next as they tackled his legs and jumped in front of him, all screaming and shouting with excitement.

“Let them get in the door at least!” You heard a man’s voice bellow from the living room.

Henry spun and smiled at you, wrapping his free hand around your waist, pulling you close as he tried to walk with his new passengers.

-

You arrived home utterly exhausted, slightly drunk, and extremely happy. Henry’s family had been absolutely wonderful. You adored each and every one of them. They had welcomed you into their family, even before opening your lavish gifts.

TBC

[i-did-not-mean-to]

School AU - Chapter 2

So, just to be thoroughly done with this experiment, here's Bilbo's POV of the same scene.

There it is :D It was worth a celebratory little story...:)

Love you all <3

“Go to school”, they said, “It will be fun”, they said.

Bilbo rolled his eyes at his own naïveté. Of course, it would not be fun to change schools in the middle of the year.

The headmaster, a fearsome old man with a face like a death mask, waved him out of the office before he could even protest; they had decided to put him into a class with all the other “maladjusted” kids.

He was not maladjusted; he was merely new in this school.

“You will be fine.” The gentle old man, his headteacher as far as he had understood, promised him and the mere fact that this was the kind of thing he needed to be told, did nothing to ease his nervousness.

“They got a new teacher already today and now you, really, what an exciting day for the class.” The man went prattling on and on. Bilbo had no interest in being a novelty and he felt increasingly like he was a sacrifice or chum about to be thrown into the cold water, figuratively, physical education was not on the program for a few days at least.

Small mercies.

The headteacher rapped his knuckles against a closed door and then just shoved his head in without waiting for the teacher to accept his brusque announcement. He informed her, quite casually Bilbo found, of the fact that there was a new student and shoved him into the classroom before just leaving.

Bilbo looked at the woman in front of him; her eyes were dreamy as if she had been torn from a particularly pleasant reverie and her mouth curved into a warm smile almost immediately.

She made an off-hand comment about how all the students were new to her and Bilbo felt less alone instantaneously; he had been afraid to find himself confronted with a hermetic group of people who had all grown up together and who had no interest in getting to know a pudgy youngster who talked too much.

The headteacher had called her “Kira” and Bilbo had already noticed that they went by their first names here, so he greeted her as politely as he could and enquired if he had not missed too much of her class.

It would be hard enough to stitch together what he had seen in his last school and what was expected here, he didn’t want to start by lagging behind right away.

“I’ll fill you in.” A voice called out and he flinched. Again, Miss Kira’s presence was a comfort and a rock, for she twitched as well, but probably not for the same reasons. Except if she was a pervert; she didn’t look like one.

Turning his head ever so slowly, Bilbo searched for the face that went with the most beautiful voice he had ever heard: deep and slightly gruff, it had rippled down Bilbo’s spine like a current of silk and pure electricity.

Please, let him be ugly as sin, please, he begged his guiding stars. He did not want another debacle, not on the first day of school, not in a new environment.

Of course, that had been too much to ask and the face belonging to the voice turned out to be just as charming. Figures!

Bilbo had thought of himself as a rather lucky kid for the longest time, until he realised that it was voices and faces like the one just a mere stone’s throw away from him that set his insides on fire.

Another boy was sitting next to “the voice” and he was now ousted with a hearty shove while Bilbo tried to shuffle those feet he hadn’t quite grown into yet along the narrow empty space between the benches. It would just serve him right if he landed straight on his face in front of that…being.

He looked much more like a man already than a boy, a fact the parts of Bilbo he had definitely grown into already noticed with vivid interest. Feeling the treacherous heat crawl up his neck and into his face, Bilbo approached the bench, getting his feet tangled in his rucksack as he sat down on the now empty chair.

The chair was disgustingly warm, but he didn’t mind; he couldn’t even tell with certainty that his own body was not on fire in this very second and he was the one making the scratched plastic melt.

Oh Lord, his own ass was the last thing he wanted to think about now when that face was so close to him that he could smell the fresh, slightly zesty smell of the dark hair surrounding it. Good, he had been mocked mercilessly in his old school for the way he wore his own hair, but it was really nothing compared to those luscious, dark waves…

BILBO! He called himself to order. His polite instincts kicked in and he rearranged his slack jaw into what he hoped would be a pleasant smile.

The boy frowned at him, a mask of guarded suspicion, and Bilbo’s heart immediately mellowed. Here was someone who had known hardship, he knew instinctively, and it made him redouble the brightness of his smile. Had he ever seen eyes that blue? They were hard and glistening like shards of ice, but Bilbo felt that they might warm up to summer lakes in time.

Not on your first day of school, he tried to remind himself, but it was already too late; his mouth had run dry, and his stomach twitched with that all too familiar twinge of admiration. He was a boy who knew simple pleasures: a sunny meadow, a good meal…and a face like that.

Clearing his throat, the other boy shoved over a piece of paper, filled with chicken scratch writing. As soon as he pried his watering eyes off the boy’s face though to glance at it, he retracted it again, slamming a solid forearm down on the page. “Might have some spelling mistakes.” The boy mumbled. Ah, the idiot class, Bilbo remembered, more interested than ever.

“My name is Bilbo.” He spoke gently, putting one finger on the edge of the page and trying to pull it loose from under the massive bulk of the other one’s arm. “Thorin.” He rumbled, sighing a little. “Really.”

“Yes, why wouldn’t it be your name?” Bilbo chuckled. “Mistress Kira didn’t believe me.” He explained in a low voice, finally letting go of the sheet and allowing Bilbo to read through the notes.

There were indeed one or two hasty mistakes, but Bilbo was astonished to find that Thorin seemed to have chronicled the class faithfully. “If you don’t…if…” He stammered and Bilbo looked up, thankful for the quality of the notes because he knew that he was not processing any of the explanations Thorin was providing in that low voice.

He sounded like rough skin on silk sheets, Bilbo thought, another painfully inappropriate thought.

“Hmmm, thank you, Thorin. These are some good notes.” Bilbo mumbled hazily, his heart giving a sudden jerk when a tiny, thin-lipped, careful smile started tugging at the corners of Thorin’s mouth. Pride and awkwardness mingled on his face and Bilbo was quick to reactivate his sunniest smile in return.

Mistress Kira seemed to have given up on her teaching meanwhile; she was engaged in a low conversation with an awkward blonde boy who seemed to have been drained of all colour. The burly boy who had made room for Bilbo said in a challenging tone that nobody liked them, and Bilbo felt Thorin stiffen beside him.

As he looked over, he could see those beautiful eyes grow ever harder and colder in genuine fright and, when they snapped for a second into his direction, Bilbo felt a shiver of apprehension rustle through him like the North wind blew the leaves off the barren branches.

Looking up, Bilbo once again felt like Miss Kira was a godsend, for he could read the same horrified incomprehension in her eyes that he felt surging within his chest. She looked positively indignant when the class challenged her on not screaming at them, and Bilbo could see her hands clench and unclench rhythmically.

“How do you feel about dwarves?” Bilbo whispered to Thorin to distract the boy from the pain setting his gaze aflame.

“Dwarves? Yeah, they’re cool.” Thorin tried to hide his confusion, but failed miserably, which made Bilbo chuckle.

“Thorin and I will do a presentation about dwarves!” Bilbo announced to the teacher who nodded, slowly, her gaze heavy and warm on their faces. Bilbo knew that she had understood his meaning: I am here, and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and be a part of this.

Thorin’s head whipped around, his eyes huge now and, for a second, Bilbo could see behind the carefully closed-off façade of a slightly constipated and very ill-tempered young man; he saw the kind of desperate hopefulness that never failed to break hearts. Had Miss Kira seen that as well?

“Will we?” Thorin asked. “We shall, your notes tell me that you’re a smart fellow. You can come over to my house if you want to and we can work on it…or…we can go to the library.” Bilbo could have swallowed his own tongue in embarrassment; he had been overzealous once again.

“I’d invite you to mine, but…there’s a lot of people.” Thorin replied with a small chuckle that betrayed discomfiture but also a good deal of genuine humour. How interesting it would be to see more of that, Bilbo thought.

“Sure, as you wish.” Bilbo shrugged. He caught Miss Kira’s eyes and realised that he had stared at Thorin with maybe a tad too much intensity…somehow, he felt like Miss Kira saw everything. As it should be. She was a teacher after all.

She was not teaching though, she was observing the class with calm, interested eyes, trying to get a feeling for the children within it. Only, they were barely children, Bilbo was almost certain that he was one of the younger ones.

It was a small-town school, maybe they mixed different ages, he did not know, but it felt strange, nonetheless.

He was curious who that Mister Smaug had been and why he could sense a hint of pain in his classmates’ voices when they spoke about him. Miss Kira had picked up on that as well, he saw, as her own eyes darkened, and her lips quivered.

Healthy anger flashed in her eyes when she repeated that this man was gone. I am here, Bilbo heard between the lines. She was. And so was he.

Bilbo wracked his brains to find something witty and funny to say to that wondrous boy next to him who had relapsed into brooding silence, as if the mere mention of their former teacher was enough to ruin his mood.

“Did he really hate you?” Bilbo found himself asking and immediately, he was met with a withering stare.

“Yes…Things have happened and my family and I…we’re not the best regarded in this town.” Again, that flash of mortification that made his face look like it was carved from stone.

“Well, I am a newcomer and I’ll make up my own mind.” Bilbo said reassuringly. “And I don’t feel like Miss Kira hates you.” He added with a soft smile.

“Yet.” A resignation too old and deep in one so young hit Bilbo square in the chest and his heart gave another painful twitch; had he been less mindful of common rules of decency, he would have put his small, pudgy hand on top of the broad, callused one resting just a few inches away.

A knock interrupted their conversation and another teacher rushed in. He was impossibly tall and intimated that he had been worried that Miss Kira had been slaughtered by the class. Weird, Bilbo thought, as far as he had understood, it had been the class who had been subjected to the abuse of their former teacher and not the other way around.

He had been so focused on Thorin’s shy smiles and overwhelming beauty that he had only half-listened to accounts of a damaged car. What was a damaged car compared to a damaged soul?

Even though she was considerably shorter than her colleague, Miss Kira interposed herself between him and the class, shielding them with her own body and this instinct of a woman reminded Bilbo so much of his own brave mother that it made him miss her even more.

“Asshole.” Thorin muttered under his breath with barely held-back indignation.

“Miss Kira didn’t believe him. Listen, she volunteered to stay here.” Bilbo tried to assuage the flaming, helpless anger in the other boy’s face. “They’ll not keep her for long if she’s to be exposed to us all the time.” Thorin prophesied darkly.

Bilbo had no idea what had happened here, but, hitherto, Miss Kira seemed perfectly fine. She was presently reading a book and chuckling to herself.

“Mistress Kira…” The shy blonde boy handed her a drawing he had made, and she gushed over it for a few minutes, slowly drawing out confessions from him: he was a good athlete, swift and enduring, but he was nowhere near Thorin’s or Dwalin’s level when it came to brute force.

Dwalin must be that other tall boy, Bilbo thought, eyeballing the dark-haired grump with interest.

“Do you not intend to give us something to do?” That very same person then asked the teacher gruffly.

“Can you not find something for yourself to do?” She gave back pleasantly and turned back to her book, but her fingers gripped the cover a little tighter than before.

“He didn’t mean no offense, Mistress. It’s just…Mister Smaug didn’t like to see us idle.” The smaller boy in the last row provided an explanation. Bilbo thought that he looked incredibly gentle and maybe just a little shy.

“I shall teach you during my teaching hours and I can teach you now if that is your desire. Nonetheless, I think we should go out into the courtyard and get some fresh air. As we’re all bound to be here, we might as well have some fun.” Miss Kira closed her book and shoved it back into her satchel before getting up.

“You want to take us out?” The blonde boy, Legolas, seemed thunderstruck.

“You’re almost grown-ups, are you a flight risk?” Miss Kira cocked one eyebrow and pointed at the door.

“Bilbo and me, we’ll see how we fare with you lot, won’t we?” She turned to him, and Bilbo blushed again, hadn’t that been his exact thought?

He nodded enthusiastically and sniggered when she gave him a discreet wink before tilting her head into Thorin’s direction. “Why don’t you all tell me something about you?” She asked.

Silence.

Bilbo was not about to tell her that he was an orphan and that he had changed schools after a deplorable incident with another boy at his last placement. Only a few months more and he’d be officially emancipated and grown-up.

Maybe, he’d leave school and everything behind and start a new life somewhere else…

“Why don’t you tell us how you ended up in this miserable place to try to teach those everyone has given up on?” Dwalin hissed with unveiled cockiness.

So, that was why he had been put in this class, Bilbo thought, the headmaster thought him damaged beyond repair.

The teacher seemed to hesitate, then she said quietly: “Things have happened…and it is true that I have not chosen you, but I’ll keep you.” She smiled. “If they offer you a normal class, you’ll say: Nay, I’ll stick with the dumbasses?”

Clearly, Dwalin was not about to believe her and again, Bilbo could feel Thorin tense up beside him as they stepped into the courtyard and moved towards a big tree in the middle.

“No, I will not say anything of that sort. I’ll say thank you very much, but no thank you.” Miss Kira’s voice was sharp-edged now. “And why is that?” The blustering air seemed to falter and Dwalin looked a little deflated now.

“Because I don’t hate you and no matter how much you try to get me to, Master Dwalin, I shan’t.” She shrugged and sat down against the tree, taking out her book again and continuing to read as if nothing had happened.

“She’s something.” Bilbo whipped around, had Thorin actually laughed? Yes, yes, he could clearly see a row of white teeth between the stretched lips that looked so sinfully inviting to him.

He also could see the rest of the boy now, even though looking at it was the single worst idea he had ever had in his whole life it seemed to him.

Thorin was tall, a good deal taller than himself and he looked as solid as the tree their teacher was leaning against now.

“All brawn, no brains.” Thorin muttered when he caught the appraising gaze of the new student.

“Yeah, that’s what you want people to believe so they’d feel less intimidated, huh?” Bilbo replied automatically before he could reign in his loose tongue. Thorin stiffened, rubbing the back of his neck absent-mindedly before admitting: “No, that’s what…”

“If you bring up that Smaug again.” Bilbo warned him and Thorin fell silent. Sitting down on the patch of lawn surrounding the tree, Bilbo patted the grass next to him and was pleasantly surprised when the other boy plopped down immediately, a little too close for comfort maybe.

“Miss Kira and me, we are thoroughly fed up with your former teacher already, aren’t we, Miss Kira?” Bilbo felt the need to make this clear and to stand up for his potential friend and definite crush.

“He sounds like a brute.” Miss Kira replied without looking up from her book, but Bilbo could see her mouth curl into a smile behind the pages.

“You know nothing about us.” Thorin mumbled under his breath, honest regret tinging his voice.

“Then tell me, what makes you all so terrible?” Bilbo gathered his courage and placed his open palm on the clenched fist of the boy sitting next to him. “I am just not nice. Blondie is shite at reading. Dwalin has brawls, quite a few of them. Bombur is just fat. Redhead is from the wrong side of the tracks.”

“You’re very nice.” Bilbo demurred, which got him a wide-eyed stare from Thorin. “You think so?”

Bilbo nodded. “Ah, we’re just the kind of people other self-respecting people don’t like to look at.” Dwalin interjected as he passed by with a wooden plank that had detached from one of the nearby benches.

“Look at?” Bilbo thought that maybe, they had switched codes and language somewhere in the middle of the conversation because he could not understand what was going on.

“We make people uncomfortable.” Thorin supplied softly, brushing his long hair out of his face and pressing his lips into a thin line. “Miss Kira, do you know what’s going on?” Bilbo asked helplessly, because yes, Thorin’s looks made him uncomfortable but certainly not in the way suggested here.

“No idea, never seen more handsome teenagers in my life.” Miss Kira replied disinterestedly, her eyes still glued to her book. “Ah, I am not alone then. Are we in an alternate universe?” Bilbo replied, happy to have at least one other person here who was not part of this grotesque play of innuendo and stubborn misbelief.

“Have you seen my father?” Legolas spluttered and then pointed miserably at his scrawny frame hanging from a tree branch. “I have, what does that matter?” Now, Miss Kira looked up, questioning.

“We’re just…” Ori sighed. “You’re “just” nothing at all; you are what you are and, as far as I am concerned, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Miss Kira said with an air of finality and returned her attention to her book.

When the bell rang, Thorin gathered up his things and made to leave.

Bilbo wondered if he should say something; sucking on his lip, he searched for the right combination of words that would sound casual but also express how grateful he was for the care the other boy had taken today.

“Do you want to walk with me?” Thorin asked a particularly nice pebble sitting right next to Bilbo’s right foot.

Bilbo waited for a few seconds to see if the pebble would reply, after all, in a world where people would NOT want to look at Thorin it was about as probable that pebbles were alive and capable of speech.

“Or not…see you tomorrow.” Thorin mumbled hastily and turned away.

“Wait, wait…” Bilbo called out, not taking the time to put on his rucksack which now slapped painfully against his legs as he hastened after the tall, retreating figure. “I do, I do.” He exclaimed breathlessly.

“There are not that many roads around here…so…” Thorin explained sheepishly as they walked along the main road.

“Hey, idiot!” A stunning girl caught up to them, slinging her arms around Thorin’s neck and planting a wet kiss on his cheek. “How was the new teacher?” She asked as he slung his arm under her behind and lifted her apparently effortlessly up.

Mortification and a fierce jealousy rose in Bilbo. Of course, what had he expected? A boy that gorgeous would obviously have a girlfriend just as beautiful and boy oh boy, she was a marvel if ever Bilbo had seen one. Her hair was luscious and intricately braided and the way she laughed expectantly up at Thorin put the very sun to shame.

“We have a new student.” Thorin grumbled, still carrying the girl in one arm as if she weighed nothing at all.

Her radiant face turned to him, then edged sideways in a slow, deliberate motion. “Oh, he’s cute.” She half-whispered.

“Dís…” Thorin hissed warningly, and she lifted both her hands. “I’m just saying…Such a cute little nose and those warm, greenish eyes…” She purred into his ear.

Bilbo was scandalised to see Thorin pinch the girl in the thigh rather unceremoniously.

“Hi, I’m Dís.” She extended her hand to Bilbo over Thorin’s shoulder. Annoyance washed through Bilbo’s befuddled mind, not only was she stunning, no, she had to be nice and charming as well. So much for being a lucky boy.

“Bilbo…” He said, mustering up his polite smile that was just a tiny bit wobbly around the edges.

When he saw his street coming up, he muttered: “This is me. I’ll leave you with your girlfriend then, see you tomorrow.”

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing.” The girl grinned and plopped heavily onto the pavement when Thorin just let go of her. “Ouch, you idiotic moron of a…” She hissed and brought her fist down on his upper arm, which had next to no effect at all on the sturdy limb.

“That piece of wood remotely resembling a human is my brother.” She explained to Bilbo, and he could not suppress the sudden relief that, no doubt, showed on his face if her broad smile was anything to go by.

“He certainly looks sculpted.” Bilbo sighed and then, realising that he had said that out loud, he hurried towards his street. To his utter dismay, other footfalls seemed to follow his hasty retreat.

Damn!

“Hey, new boy, Bilbo, wait…” The girl, Bilbo realised, her voice a song and her steps a flurry of featherlight touches on the stony ground. “Wait, wait…So, you think my grumpy brother is cute, yeah?”

Her arm snaked into the crook of his as she sauntered alongside him, grinning up at him as if they had been friends forever. “He’s not really very dumb, he just likes to pretend he is, so people leave him alone.” She chattered on.

“I had figured as much, yeah.” Bilbo murmured, overwhelmed by the intrusive curiosity of the young girl.

“Leave him alone, Dís.” Thorin barked from behind, that note of utter mortification and humiliation making his voice sound even rougher and deeper than before. “You think he’s cute?” The girl whispered confidingly now.

“He’s…yeah, he’s cute.” Bilbo stammered under his breath, unable to withstand the onslaught of her good-humoured questioning. Did it even matter? It was obvious, everyone could see how fucking gorgeous that boy was.

“Want to go have an ice-cream with me and that cute brother of mine?” She invited him.

Bilbo looked at the house where his elderly cousin was certainly already waiting for him and then back at that glorious new classmate who just stood a few paces away, shuffling his feet awkwardly and skewering his bouncing sister with glares. It was good to make new friends, Bilbo told himself, it was what his cousin had encouraged him to do and if those friends turned out to be the most contrarily grumpy, awkwardly shy and blindingly handsome boy and his sister, who would fault poor Bilbo for it?

“Yeah sure, let me just…” Bilbo just threw his rucksack into the front yard and let Dís lead him back up the road.

@lordoftherazzles So, there's the second chapter with a bit more hurt than anticipated and a tiny bit of pining...If you're looking for me, I'm buried alive somewhere in the forest :S