#unless there is a person actually willing to face somebody with a sword

[mudalchemy]

fun thing: during this year there is a kind of a theme going on in my friend group. basically every person has to be given for their birthday some kind of a cold weapon (and also a plushie, can't forget about the assigned plushie). there already were penknives, a stiletto, a butterfly knife, an axe (that, I'm proud to say, i had personally customized so our next raskolnikov might butcher fashionably), and a bunch of throwing knives.

well, a few days ago I officially got older (yet not wiser, definitely) and i was given a sword. a goDDAMN SWORD. an actual steel one! and it's sturdy! and i have already smacked things with it! and they got wrecked! and i'm so incredibly overjoyed that i just have to yell about it on the tumbled site!

[inyournightmares97]

Unsolicited (2/3) (M)

Jackson Wang is a perfect gentleman and he thinks it’s extremely vital that you understand… that is not his penis.

Warnings: Fluff. Crack? Adult topics, mentions of sexual harassment (but not too serious) and plenty of swearing. College!au. Please don’t ask when I’ll update. There are three parts and the next one will come when it’s ready.

Find the link to Part 1 in the reblog!

Word Count: 6.5k+

Environment Club meetings were on Fridays at 5pm. You were surprised that any sort of club activity would be scheduled on a Friday evening considering the university’s rampant party culture. Then again, the sort of students that joined the Environment Club probably didn’t have much going for them on weekend nights.

You entered the club room exactly five minutes before the meeting was due to start. A handsome and bespectacled man was standing at the front; dressed in a smart button-down and slacks.

“Hi, is this the Environment Club?” you asked him carefully.

The man blinked at you through his glasses and gave you a tight but reassuring smile. “That’s correct,” he replied. He glanced at the form in your hand before his smile widened. “Ah, the new recruit? Sorry, I almost forgot. I’m Park Jinyoung. President of the club.”

“Oh!” You shook his hand politely. “Nice to meet you.”

“Why don’t you hand me the form and take a seat? I’ll find a senior member to show you the ropes before the meeting’s over. You can just watch how we do things for today, we’re about to start.”

You nodded and hurried to find an empty desk, trying not to feel too flustered by Park Jinyoung’s handsomeness. You hadn’t expected to come across such an attractive man in a place like this. You found a seat in the corner and awkwardly glanced at the people around you. There were at least 20 people in the room but no familiar faces.

At least, not until a large man plopped down into the empty chair beside yours and gave you a dazzling smile.

“Well, well. So we meet again. Following me around to make sure I don’t send anyone more pictures of my junk?” Jackson Wang asked you cheerfully.

You stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re in the Environment Club?” you demanded.

“I’m a founding member, actually,” Jackson informed you with a charming smile. You couldn’t help but notice that unlike Park Jinyoung, Jackson was dressed comfortably in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He evidently knew how excellent his tanned arms and shoulders looked in them.

And his thighs.

Fuck, don’t be creepy and stare at his thighs.

“Interesting,” you mumbled. You tried to keep your gaze focused towards the front of the room. You were terrified that you might end up looking at Jackson’s thighs and the significantly-sized bulge in his shorts. Not that his charming smile was any less dangerous. Jackson Wang was setting off alarm bells in your mind every second.

“We were going to be a health and organics club until Jinyoung got his way,” Jackson explained to you. He lowered his voice and scooted closer to you to continue speaking; Jinyoung was calling for everyone to take their seats and quieten down. “He’s a hard worker but he always needs things to go according to his plans.”

You stiffened at Jackson’s closeness and the smell of his deodorant. “Huh.”

“Jinyoung’s a bit of a dick, to be honest.”

“And you’re not?”

“I’m an easy-going guy,” he replied smugly. Jackson’s tongue flickered out and slowly licked his lips as his dark eyes settled on yours. His words sent a shiver down your spine. “Unless you need me to get hard then I can get pretty hard.”

You were saved from having to reply by the room falling silent and  Jinyoung starting the meeting. He stood at the desk in the front with a binder. “All right everyone! Let’s get this meeting going so that we can all get out of here soon and enjoy our Friday night. We have a new member joining us today; does everyone want to say hi to her?”

Everyone turned to look at you and you forced a friendly smile as people waved. Somebody at the back of the room suddenly piped up.

“Hey! Aren’t you that chick who punched a guy at the protests last year?” one voice asked. Your stomach twisted in disappointment.

Oh god. Is that all people think of when they see me?

You opened your mouth to respond rudely but you were cut off by Jackson laughing and turning to face the guy. “Hey, we need that kind of passion when it comes to the environment. Maybe if we’d been willing to throw a couple of punches ourselves then the park officials wouldn’t have been able to shut down our clean-up drive last year.”

There were a few chuckles around the room and you allowed yourself to relax. Jackson’s eyes twinkled when he turned back to you; you realized that he had done it on purpose and you felt relieved. The last thing you needed was for people to hate you on your first day at the new club. Luckily everyone was still giving you friendly smiles.

Jinyoung sighed. “Okay, cut that out. We need an older member to be her mentor for the first few weeks. Since you seem to like her so much, Jackson, why don’t you take the responsibility?”

Jackson shot you a cheerful grin. “Sounds like a blast.”

“Now, onto our main agenda for today. Everyone is aware of the ongoing problem with the beach volleyball team. Our beach clean-up drive is scheduled for Sunday and they refuse to let us have the beach area. The volleyball court is one of the most polluted and littered parts of the beach. Not only are the team members not cleaning up after themselves, they’re opposing our clean-up drive since it interferes with their morning practice sessions. Obviously, we can’t just let them have their way.”

One girl raised her hand. “I’ve literally seen them littering plastic food wrappers during their practice sessions. Some of the plastic drifts off into the ocean when the tide comes in.”

“It’s disgusting behaviour.”

“We need to do something so they don’t interfere with our clean-up drive.”

“Agreed. Does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with them?” Jinyoung asked hopefully. You glanced around and saw that the room had fallen silent. Only Jackson’s arm had shot up in the air. Jinyoung looked disappointed. “Anybody other than Jackson Wang? No?”

Jackson pouted. “Hey! You haven’t even heard my idea yet, Jinyoung!”

“Fine. Tell us your idea.”

“Get this. We challenge them... to a duel,” Jackson announced dramatically.

The entire room stared at him in disbelief and Jinyoung looked as though he might murder him. Jackson hurried to defend himself. “Okay, hear me out! The beach volleyball team runs on pride. Those guys have a shit ton of pride because they’re one of the best volleyball teams in the state. They would never turn down a challenge. So we lay down terms. If we win, they let us conduct our clean-up drive in peace and stop littering. If they win we cancel our drive.”

Jinyoung frowned. “A duel? Like with swords in medieval times?”

“Come on, obviously something more modern. We could nominate champions from either side and have a wrestling match on the beach! What do you say?”

“I say the only one of us who stands a chance wrestling anybody from the beach volleyball team is you, Jackson.”

Jackson smirked. “It’s settled then. I volunteer to be our champion.”

“No, it’s not settled.” Jinyoung sounded annoyed. “We haven’t made a decision yet. Ideally, the entire club should be allowed to take a vote on this since you’re staking the future of our clean-up drive. Once the club agrees that your stupid idea is worth trying then we’ll decide who our champion is.”

Jackson cleared his throat. “It might be too late for that.”

“Excuse me?”

“I might have already tweeted this idea to the volleyball team and they might have already accepted the challenge?” Jackson began hesitantly. Your eyes widened as you stared at him in disbelief. Everyone in the room let out a collective groan.

Jinyoung looked furious.

“Jackson!”

Jackson beamed. “Don’t worry! I’ll make sure we emerge victorious, I promise! Have you ever seen a man that could beat me in a wrestle? I’m a state-level basketball player and a fencing champion, okay? Those volleyball nerds are a joke in front of my athletic prowess.”  

Jinyoung snapped his binder shut.

“Fine. This is on you, Wang. You are fully responsible for making sure our clean-up drive takes place this Sunday.”

Jackson leaned back in his seat and let out a confident laugh. “Don’t worry, I know.”

“Then let’s move on to the next item on our agenda. We have to take a vote on what to do with the funds left over from last semester’s fundraiser. We could pay for the installation of new segregated garbage bins or we could carry it forward to the next clean-up drive. Assuming, of course, that  Jackson doesn’t botch that one up for us as well…”

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

Waking up at 6 am on a Saturday morning to witness a duel had been the last thing you’d expected your duties as a member of the Environment Club would require.

Yet somehow you found yourself trudging towards the beach while the early rays of morning sunlight filled you with warmth. You had settled on a comfortable t-shirt and shorts and rode your bike down to the beach. The beach volleyball team was already practicing in their usual area. Jackson was standing a short distance away and watching them practice. He waved excitedly as soon as he saw you.

“Hey! Over here, over here!”

You couldn’t exactly ignore his enthusiastic waving so you crossed the sand to reach him. Jackson seemed wide awake and had his usual cheerful smile on his face. “Wow, you look like someone dragged you out of bed. Not much of a morning person?” he questioned.

You frowned. “I don’t usually come to the beach at 6am on Saturdays, no.”

“Lighten up! Today’s gonna be a blast.”

“Unless you lose.”

Jackson folded his arms across his chest confidently and grinned. “I won’t lose.”

“Are you really that sure?”

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. Jackson’s handsome face was inches away from your own and you had to swallow in order to maintain composure and not flush red. His cheeky grin had turned mischievous.

“I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I’ve already got this all worked out. My buddy Jooheon is on the volleyball team and I paid him fifty bucks to lose the match with me.”

You stared at him. “This duel is rigged?”

Jackson looked offended. “Hey. When you put it like that then you make me sound like the bad guy. I’m doing this for the fishies, remember? I have noble motives.”

“The fishies,” you repeated in disbelief. Jackson Wang never failed to leave you bewildered at every turn.

“Yeah. Jooheon couldn’t convince the rest of his team to agree to the clean-up drive so we decided to stage this little duel and force them to cooperate,” Jackson explained. He looked smug. “What do you think? Not a bad plan, huh?”

You didn’t know what to say. It seemed like a slightly underhanded thing to do; but then again the beach volleyball team were the ones refusing to cooperate with the clean-up drive so maybe they were the real assholes in this situation. You shrugged and glanced over towards the group of men playing volleyball.

“So which one is Jooheon?” you asked.

Jackson followed your gaze. “Oh he’s… huh. Hold on. I don’t see him here today.”

“The guy you paid off isn’t even here?”

Jackson’s smile disappeared and he suddenly dug into his pocket for his cellphone. He lifted the phone to his ear and walked away from you. You stared after him, confused, but you were distracted by the appearance of Jinyoung and a few other members of the Environment Club. They were making their way towards you over the sand.

“... if Jackson messes this up, I’m going to kill him,” Jinyoung was saying to another man. He lifted a hand and waved at you. “Oh hey. You’re here early; I like your enthusiasm, new girl. This shit had better end soon because I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

You forced a smile and greeted the other club members politely. “Hey.”

A large group of people gathered within a few minutes and the volleyball team also seemed to have noticed that they had company. They paused their practice and a couple of the volleyball players sauntered over towards you with smirks on their faces.

“Well, well, well,” one of them began with a smirk. “If it isn’t the Environment Club.”

Jinyoung folded his arms across his chest and stared the other man down. “I’d say it’s nice to see you, Minhyuk, except it really isn’t. Especially not this early in the morning on a Saturday,” he said, his tone acidic. You had to admit that Park Jinyoung’s gaze was intimidating.

Minhyuk did not look scared. He simply continued to smirk.

“I’m surprised you guys showed up at all.”

“Yeah, well we actually have some purpose behind our club, we’re not just throwing balls around for the heck of it,” Jinyoung retorted.

“Nobody cares for your moral superiority, Park. This is our part of the beach and the university gives the volleyball team exclusive permission to decide who can use it and who can’t. If you want to come pick up our trash then you’re gonna have to fight for it.”

Jinyoung chuckled. “We’re ready. Who’s your champion?”

Minhyuk turned back and yelled out a name. “Wonho, come out here!”

You watched in horror as one of the volleyball players stepped forward; he was huge. This man’s arms were thicker than most people’s entire bodies. Wonho’s shoulders took up more space than three ordinary people lined up. Even Jinyoung looked horrified and you could see the other Environment Club members murmuring among themselves in panic.

“What? Scared?” Minhyuk asked smugly. “Worried that Wonho will put your champion in the hospital?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat. “Uh, no. Our guy can handle him.”

“You sure?”

“Evidently you’ve never seen Jackson Wang fight.”

Minhyuk raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen Jackson Wang at all. Where is he?”

“He’s… coming,” Jinyoung trailed off. You looked around and saw that Jackson had disappeared from the beach completely. Did he just run away? Holy fuck. You signalled to Jinyoung that you would go find him and Jinyoung nodded gratefully before turning back to Minhyuk. “He’ll be here soon. You guys finish up your practice and we’ll meet back here in half an hour.”

Minhyuk scoffed. “Yeah. If your guy hasn’t chickened out by then.”

“Trust me. Nothing scares Jackson Wang. You better save your trashy pride, so that we can help you clean it up along with the rest of the garbage you guys have spread all over the beach.”

“We’ll see, Park. We’ll see.”

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

Jackson Wang was hiding behind the closed ice cream stalls.

You found him squatting on the floor behind the stall. He hadn’t been answering his phone for the past ten minutes and a furious Jinyoung had sent out a search party to find him. You were the one who finally came across him in this deserted part of the beach. Jackson blinked up at you with large eyes, looking like a puppy that had been kicked out of it’s home.

“Well, hello there,” you greeted Jackson calmly. You folded your arms and looked down at his sheepish figure. “Looking for chocolate ice cream at half past six in the morning?”

Jackson sighed miserably. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

“Let me guess what happened. This Jooheon guy stood you up?”

Jackson groaned and buried his face in his hands. “He took my money and ran. I’m going to die today. Have you seen Wonho? That guy spends more time in the gym than he does sleeping. He’s ripped. And he’s going to rip me to shreds, I’m going to die and my mother is going to be left all alone in this world because her only son got herself killed. Will you break it to her gently?”

You couldn’t help but snicker. “You got yourself into this mess.”

Jackson frowned. “Thank you for the support.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just kind of funny how confident you were earlier,” you admitted as you crouched down beside him. Jackson buried his face in his knees and you gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You know that you have to go out there and fight somehow, right? Because if you don’t die in Wonho’s hands then I’m pretty sure Jinyoung will kill you.”

Jackson pouted. “God, I hate Jinyoung.”

“This is your fault, not his.”

“You know what would be really cool? If you could help me find a way out of this predicament instead of pointing out how I brought it upon myself,” Jackson whined. He looked at you pathetically and you felt a little bad for him. You certainly wouldn’t have wanted to fight Wonho and poor Jackson had only wanted to help with the clean-up drive.

You gave him an encouraging smile.

“You should just go out there and give wrestling Wonho a shot. I think you can do it,” you told him softly.

Jackson stared at you. “Wow.”

“What?”

“I’ve never seen you smile, you have such a beautiful smile,” Jackson told you with a sudden, dreamy grin. You flushed at the unexpected compliment and he leaned closer to nudge your shoulder with his. “It makes me want to make you smile more. What sort of things make you smile?”

You turned pink in embarrassment and cleared your throat. “Don’t you already have one impossible challenge in front of you?”

“Yeah but seeing you smile is making me feel better. I think if you gave me one more of those pretty smiles then I could totally go out there and beat Wonho up for you,” Jackson told you confidently. His dark eyes were twinkling as they stared at you. You squirmed. Nobody had ever looked you in the eyes and flirted with you as shamelessly as Jackson Wang. At least not without coming off as really sleazy.

But Jackson wasn’t sleazy.

He was…

kind of sweet?

You took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Okay. The fate of the beach was resting on this one man’s morale so the least you could do was give Jackson what he wanted and encourage him to go out there and try his best. You turned to him and gave him a warm smile.

“I think you can do this, Jackson. Just because Wonho has big muscles doesn’t mean that he’ll beat you in a wrestling match. You can probably throw him with strategy alone. All you need to do is go for his legs and keep him pinned down for a couple of seconds. How difficult can that be?”

Jackson bit his lip. “Yeah? You think so?”

“Absolutely. Come on, Wang. Do it for the fishies.”

He grinned. “Yeah, the fishies really do need saving, don’t they? Okay. I can do this. I can fight Wonho. It’s for a good cause and what’s the worst that could happen? I lose? Big deal. We’ll just admit defeat and hold a clean-up drive some other weekend.”

“That’s the spirit!”  

“And let’s be honest. If I do get myself beat up then Jinyoung will probably feel too bad for me to kill me. And if I win, then he’ll have to admit I was right!” Jackson piped up.

“Good point! Besides, imagine how cool it’ll be if you win. You’ll be the guy who beat Wonho. Everybody is going to think you’re so amazing. You’ll be the talk of the university. You’ll be the guy who was willing to sacrifice himself for a noble cause. Are you going to give up this opportunity for glory?” you egged him on.

Jackson grinned. “Yeah, people will think I’m pretty cool.”

“They will.”

“Will you think I’m cool?” he asked.

You sighed and stood up, placing your hands on your hips. Jackson was looking up at you and his big eyes were extremely hopeful. God, he’s adorable. Why is he so cute? You’d thought that Jackson was just an extremely cocky asshole but the softer and childlike side of him was too sweet.

“I’ll think you’re really cool,” you whispered reassuringly.

“You know what would be dope? If you gave me a lady’s favour, like those handkerchiefs noblewomen would give medieval knights to show that they were rooting for them?” Jackson piped up eagerly. “And in the period dramas they go all please come back alive so that you can return this to me, oh noble knight, wow, I’ve always thought that was so cool.”

You blinked at Jackson. “You want a favour?”

“Yes, please.”

“But I don’t have anything on me except my phone and keys.”

Jackson pouted. “Oh, okay.”

You sighed and placed your hands on your hips for a moment, contemplating whether this was a good idea. Then again, maybe this wouldn’t be the worst decision you’d ever made in your life.  You bent down to Jackson’s level and then beckoned him to come closer to you. What did you have to lose?

Jackson leaned forward hopefully.

You kissed his cheek quickly; it was over before you even felt his skin under his lips but he smelled heavenly and for some reason even that small scrape of his stubble and smooth skin against yours made you blush. You pulled away and looked at Jackson. His puppy-like eyes were wide in shock and you cleared your throat awkwardly.

“There. I’ve given you my favour. Now go fight.”

Jackson’s entire face lit up and he suddenly looked extremely enthusiastic. He leapt to his feet and beamed at you, wrapping you into a sudden tight hug. “You’re right. I can do this! I’m Jackson fucking Wang!” he declared.

You nodded, unable to speak because your face was pressed against his shoulder and he smelled really nice, of fresh soap and some masculine deodorant. Before you could pull away, though, Jackson released you himself. He looked down at you with a big grin and patted the top of your head fondly.

“You’re really adorable, you know that?” he demanded.

You flushed. “I’ve been told.”

“I’m gonna go wrestle with Wonho. Don’t forget to take a video of the fight so I can show everyone later, okay? Today is going to be the best day of my life!” Jackson sang happily before running off and leaving you behind. You stared after him in disbelief. You’d wanted to encourage him but you hadn’t expected him to do a complete 180 on you. Jackson Wang was just filled with surprises.

You sighed and slowly began your long walk back to the beach. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a vending machine. A large man was standing in front of it struggling to make the machine release a can of coke.

Wonho. You narrowed your eyes at him and as he banged the vending machine with a terrifying amount of force, you spotted a pink wristband on his arm.

Interesting.

You walked up to Wonho and gave him a polite smile.

“Hi. Do you need some help with that?”

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

Jinyoung gave Jackson a dirty look.

“You traitor. Did you think you could just run away like that?” he hissed at him furiously. He wrapped an arm around Jackson and his fingers dug into the man’s shoulder dangerously. “If you ever pull anything like that again, I will kill you.”

Jackson laughed and slipped out of Jinyoung’s grasp. “Oh, come on. What are you all worked up about? I just needed a few minutes alone to prep myself for the fight, that’s all.”

“Yeah? You didn’t chicken out after seeing Wonho?”

Jackson puffed his chest out confidently. “What? Of course not. I’m Jackson Wang.”

The volleyball team wrapped up their practice and gathered around. A large circle was drawn in the sand for the two wrestlers to compete and all the spectators stood around it. Jackson was standing beside you and he suddenly reached for your hand and squeezed it. “Hey. Now is a good time to start filming,” he mumbled. You blinked and pulled out your cell phone just as Jackson stepped into the makeshift ring.

“All right, fuckers. You have thrown your last bit of plastic into this ocean. This ends today,” Jackson announced loudly. You watched through the screen of your phone as Jackson reached down and pulled his shirt off in one swift move. His muscles rippled under his smooth, tanned skin and you suddenly felt light-headed. He tossed the shirt aside and the flimsy cloth landed at your feet.

Jackson Wang is an idiot but fuck me, he’s hot.

The Environment Club members started up a cheer and you tried to join in while keeping the phone camera steady. “Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!”

Wonho stepped into the circle as well. He didn’t make such a big show of taking his shirt off but he did flex one of his enormous arms and send the entire volleyball team into uproarious cheers. Once the two men were staring each other down, Minhyuk stepped into the middle and lifted an arm.

“Okay, folks. We’re not pro-wrestlers so let’s keep the rules simple. First one to pin the other down onto their back and keep them down for five whole seconds wins. You have to stay inside the lines and no hitting the face, head or groin. We all want to have kids someday. Is that clear?

Jackson nodded. “Clear.”

Wonho bopped his head as well. “Yup, got it.”

“All right then! Let the match-begin!”

You were shocked by the ferocity with which Jackson boldly leapt at Wonho. Even Wonho seemed startled; he staggered back on his feet for a few seconds before finding a grip on Jackson’s shoulders and pushing him back. The two of them struggled to push each other back. You could see Jackson’s face turning pink and the muscles in his back tightening as he fought to stay standing under Wonho’s pressure.

“Fuck, he’s going to die,” Jinyoung whispered from beside you. You held the camera steady and glanced to the side to see that the club president actually looked worried. “Should we call this off? Should I tell him to come back?”

You smiled. “He’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. This match is totally rigged.”

Jinyoung stared at you in shock just as the match slowly began to turn. Wonho began to loosen his grip and Jackson actually managed to push him a few steps back. Now, Jackson. Go. Lunge for his legs. As if he could read you mind, Jackson suddenly released his grip on Wonho’s upper body and lunged down to yank one of his legs up. Wonho went tumbling to the ground and Jackson instantly sat on top of him, pressing him down.

“Yes! Jackson! Jackson! Jackson!” the Environment Club members cheered.

Minhyuk looked heartbroken as he slowly lifted his fingers to count the seconds. “1...2…3...4….5.”

Jackson beamed and climbed off Wonho with a delighted roar of victory. A couple of the Environment Club members ran to hug him, but Jackson instead reached down to help Wonho to his feet and gave his opponent a delighted bear hug. Wonho looked flustered but Jackson simply pulled back.

“Awesome match, man. Those are some amazing pecs. What gym do you go to?” Jackson demanded with a huge smile. You were shocked to see him chatting with his opponent so casually. Didn’t they just have an intense fight?  

Wonho blinked. “Uh, the one over by the supermarket…”

“Dude, you have to introduce me to your trainer sometime. I’m gonna call you.”

“Uh, sure. Sure thing.”

Jackson grinned and lifted his arms in victory. Minhyuk was the only one who looked severely disappointed and he was about to slouch away from the scene silently until Jackson grabbed his arm and yanked him to the middle. “Hey! Don’t look so miserable, bud! Come on everyone! Let’s all go get breakfast together, coffee is on me!”

You couldn’t help but smile as you lowered the camera.

Jackson Wang is really something.

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You had just grabbed a muffin and were about to sit at a table with the rest of the Environment Club members when Jackson wrapped an arm around your shoulder cheekily.

“So,” he began, steering you towards an empty table a little further away instead. His bare arm on your skin made you flush and he leaned close to you. “That was an interesting result to the match. Do you have any thoughts on why Wonho let me win?”

You flushed. “Why do you assume he let you win?”

“Maybe because he just came over and wished me good luck for my chemotherapy. I didn’t know I was starting chemotherapy. Did you know I was starting chemotherapy?” Jackson wondered cheekily. The shit-eating grin on his face told you that he’d already figured everything out so you simply rolled your eyes and flopped down onto an empty chair.

“Fine, I rigged your match. Happy?”

Jackson sat beside you and rested his elbow on the table, chin in his hand as he smiled at you.

“Tell me more.”  

“I spotted Wonho wearing one of those pink bracelets that breast cancer awareness supporters wear. I figured if he was supporting a cause like that then chances were high that he was a really soft-hearted person so I made small talk with him and slipped in that you had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Jackson blinked. “Can men even get breast cancer?”

You look at the outline of Jackson’s impressive pectoral muscles through his sleeveless t-shirt and raised an eyebrow. “I think there’s enough room in there for some cancer cells if they wanted to set up shop. Anyway, Wonho got super emotional because apparently his grandmother had died of breast cancer. I didn’t even have to ask him to throw the match. He said himself that you deserved some happiness before you started chemo.”

Jackson pouted. “Wow. This really kills the victory for me.”

“You got yourself into the whole mess. Wonho would have beaten you to a pulp if I hadn’t stepped in and done that,” you pointed out with a frown.  

“Yeah,” Jackson had a mischievous grin on his face as he chuckled. “Little miss SHRC actually lied for me. I feel so special. I thought you were the goody-two-shoes self-righteous type. And yet you lied about me having cancer, tsk tsk. Were you that worried about my safety?”  

You flushed. “I didn’t do it for you.”

“Oh?”

“Nope, I did it for the fishies. Remember?”

Jackson chuckled. “The fishies. Right. And I’m sure you also-”  

He was cut off by a hesitant figure approaching your table. The man’s shoulders were slumped miserably as he lowered his head and glanced at Jackson. “Jackson, man… I am so sorry about today, I really and truly am….”

Jackson glanced at the man and grinned. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Jooheon.”

Jooheon looked miserable. “I didn’t mean to bail on you, I swear, but Minhyuk-hyung figured out our arrangement and he made me stay home today so that they could send Wonho as the champion to beat you. I promise I didn’t want to leave in you in the lurch or anything but I had no choice and-”

Jackson grinned and patted the man on the back lightly. “Yeah, yeah, it’s all forgotten. Go get yourself a coffee and sit down with us. You can buy it yourself, using the fifty bucks you cheated me out of, eh?” he joked.

Jooheon smiled. “Really? Thanks, man.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Jooheon hurried off to the counter to order a coffee for himself. You raised an eyebrow at Jackson. “That’s it?” you wondered. “The guy left you to get beat up by our university's Thor without so much as a heads up and you’re not even gonna take five minutes to get mad at him?”

Jackson blinked. “Why would I get mad at him? He’s my friend.”

“Yeah, but he ditched you.”

“I know, but holding grudges never helped anyone. I have a simple policy. Forgive… but never forget.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m not gonna waste my time getting mad at Jooheon but I also kept a mental note of the seventeen times he’s ditched me since we first met a year and a half ago, and that information is always at my immediate disposal,” Jackson told you with a grin. He poked your shoulder lightly. “Anyway. I wonder if it’s time for me to return your favour to you.”

“My favour?”

“Yeah, the little kiss you entrusted me with before the duel?” Jackson reminded you playfully. Your face flushed red as you remembered your bold move and Jackson’s smile became a little more serious. His dark eyes pierced into yours as he reached out and placed his warm hand over yours.  “I’m gonna be honest. I’m really attracted to you. I love how you don’t seem to take any bullshit but at the same time your smile is just fucking adorable. I really want to buy you dinner and get to know you and see if I can make you smile.”

You swallowed. Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, why was Jackson Wang looking at you like that and shamelessly telling you he was attracted to you making you so flustered? You’d heard people say  you should smile more a million times but never had anybody told you that they wanted to make you smile. The softness of Jackson’s brown eyes was killing you.

“Uh….”

“Can we go out on a date sometime?”

You cleared your throat. “I… I would, but it’s just… um…”

Jackson blinked. “Is there a problem?”

“I kind of have a picture of your penis in my inbox, remember?” you mumbled.

Jackson’s smile fell and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly after he removed his hand from yours. “Ahh. Right. I forgot. You still think I sent that girl pictures of my dick.”

You hesitated. “She claims you did.”

Jackson sighed and looked upset. “Wow. I wish there was some way I could prove this to you but that really isn’t my dick and I’ve never sent any girl messages like that. You say you’re not even allowed to tell me who she is. How am I supposed to prove that it wasn’t me?”

“I… I don’t know, Jackson.”

“Right.”

“I’m sorry. But I’m supposed to take the victim’s side unless I have solid proof that they’re lying…”

Jackson frowned. “Yeah, no, I get that. You’re just doing your job. It’s up to me to prove that I didn’t do any of it.” He glanced up at you and gave you a sudden, enthusiastic smile. “You know what? I can do this. I’m Jackson fucking Wang. I’m gonna prove to you that that is not my penis and I’m gonna clear my name.”

You bit back a smile. “Okay.”

“And you are going to be so charmed by my sincerity that you’ll go on that date with me.”

“Okay,” you giggled.

“Get ready to be hit by the full force of Jackson Wang, expert sleuth!”

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

When you got home Bambam and Yugyeom were sitting on your couch. You wished they would both just go and get girlfriends so that they weren’t constantly burning holes into your furniture, but perhaps that was too much to hope for considering their combined idiocy.

“Where were you?’ Bambam whined as soon as you entered the apartment. “You’re out of coffee.”

“This isn’t a coffee shop.”

“I know, but shouldn’t you keep the bare minimum available for when you entertain guests?” he complained. You noticed that he and Yugyeom already had a giant-sized bag of cheese puffs open on the sofa in between them. You dreaded the amount of sticky orange powder you’d have to clean off your couch cushions later. “Honestly, you have no manners.”

You ignored him and flopped into the armchair. “Do you guys want to come to the beach clean-up tomorrow morning?” you asked, pulling out one of the flyers that Jinyoung had given you earlier. “We’re gonna go pick up trash from the beach and the club is always open to volunteers.”

Bambam winced. “Yuck, no.”

“They usually hand out free beers afterwards.”

Yugyeom reached over and swiped the flyer from your hands. “Give me that. I’ll be there. Bambam might not because he has to go to the basketball court and wait for that chick to walk past on her way to the library like a loser.”

“You haven’t seen her since then?” you wondered.

Yugyeom snickered. “Oh he’s seen her. Plenty of times. He just keeps chickening out so he won’t go talk to her.”

You stared at Bambam. “Wow. Since when have you been afraid to ask girls out, Mr. playboy? I thought you were the most confident one out of all of us. You can’t even approach this girl and ask for her number?”

Bambam flushed and folded his arms across his chest with a pout. “Hey. You haven’t seen her so don’t talk. At least I can actually get girls interested in me and don’t have to wait until victims of sexual harassment come and show me unsolicited dick pics to even see the opposite sex’s genitalia, okay? You don’t get to talk.”

You cleared your throat. “Actually, uh… Jackson Wang asked me out today.”

There was a shocked silence. Yugyeom and Bambam both stared at you with wide eyes. The bag of cheese puffs fell off the couch and landed on the floor so you let out a groan. You reached out to pick it up. “Guys, not on my carpet…”

Bambam grabbed your arm. “Jackson Wang asked you out? Bitch, don’t lie to me.”

You frowned. “I’m not lying.”

“Please don’t tell me you turned him down, I feel like your stupid ass turned him down.”

“I have a picture of his penis in my email inbox, Bambam, I can’t exactly date him until I know whether or not he sent it to Nari,” you pointed out. Bambam looked distraught and even Yugyeom slapped his own forehead. You pouted while the two boys stared at you as though you were a complete buffoon. It felt odd to be on the other side of that stare.

Yugyeom sighed at you. “Jackson Wang is the most amazing guy ever.”

“Yeah. He’s awesome. He’s nice and chill and everybody loves him because he’s such a cool guy. Not to mention how insanely hot he is. He’s so fucking awesome that even straight dudes can’t hate him.” Bambam grabbed your face and forced you to look at him. “Listen, babe. If Jackson Wang asked me to suck his dick, then I would suck his dick, okay?’

You winced. “Thanks. I didn’t need to know that.”

“Do not ruin the opportunity to date a god like Jackson Wang because some stupid bitch got her dick pics mixed up. You are going to regret it.”

You sighed.

I really, really hope I don’t.

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

[diloph]

Diloph, I don't mean to bring SU discourse to your blog, and I haven't actually watched in a long time, but I was wondering what you think of how the Diamonds have been handled. I'm not against evil people being redeemed, but everyone just being a-ok with them feels off. They're the reason Pink was such a horrible person, they mutilated their own people into forced fusions, and implied genocide. Meanwhile Jasper had to go through hell, even though she was just following the diamonds orders.

It's... a difficult question to answer, really.

I don't think they're irredeemable, though before Pink's “death” (and her subsequent, literal death), it might have proven impossible to find a chink in their self-absorbed way of thinking. I've seen far worse villains being offered redemption with angst and sympathy about them not taking it or what they could be if they did, as well as worse villains actually taking the redemption and making it stick.

Part of me thinks that people struggle to reconcile the idea of the Diamonds being redeemed because of who they are. The Diamonds are the absolute highest authority when it comes to Gem society and all the things that Homeworld has done. Every move they've made that's hurt somebody, unless it was based in individual biases, accidents or coincidence and so on, has come from orders from the Diamonds, or Gems looking to please the Diamonds by fulfilling a function.

They aren't soldiers, or henchmen or superweapons given sentience, they're the top dogs. So far as we're aware, there's nobody above them. They are accountable for everything.

I kinda look back at what Pearl said in an earlier episode, that humans like to rationalise that all the evils of the worlds can be taken to some higher place, some ne'er do-well who can be confronted and defeated, allowing us to live in a place where everything is good forever, or at least until the next one chances their arm.

The Diamonds, particularly White, are those figureheads.

While the specifics are blurry (how many worlds and lifeforms, let alone sentient lifeforms for example) and we don't know how far reaching the consequences are in full, it's clear to me that the Diamonds have done some pretty terrible things. Just their treatment of Pink and their own subjects alone is plenty evidence for them to be marked as evil. In turn, their evil acts inspired or instructed others to do evil acts, with all the consequences that followed.

Enter Steven.

Steven Universe is a show based in optimism and hope; acknowledging that everybody makes mistakes and can be a good person, if they're willing to put the effort in. However, I don't think it pulls any punches when it comes to the fact that it acknowledges that evil and cruelty etcetera are things to be confronted and fought against.

In that sense, the Diamonds are certainly given a lot of leeway. They've perpetuated a system that has caused rampant destruction and suffering, even amongst their own subjects, even amongst themselves and the show believes that they can be redeemed. How? How can they possibly ever account for all the suffering they've caused?

I think the answer to that lies in the fact that Steven, as Pink's son, has the leverage over the Diamonds that Pink never had. He has given them hope after they spent millennia in mourning, hatred and stagnation. Even the mighty White Diamond, arguably the most powerful being in the universe, will bend over backwards to please Steven, even in the slightest way, just if it keeps him around, just if he can fill the void that Pink left behind.

That in mind, we're faced with another question. What happens when Steven dies? 100 years after that? 1000? 10000? Even longer than that? What's to stop them from shrugging their shoulders and just starting up the colonies again?

The answer, is of course, we don't know. We don't know if the Diamonds are simply biding their time, smiling through their teeth, until Steven carks it and then it's back to razing civilisations they go, but given the general tone of the series, I doubt that Steven Universe is as cynical as that.

It's certainly not realistic. People do that all the time. But equally people do monstrous things, realise that they have done monstrous things and then try to account for them. Whether they can or not is subjective, but equally it's just as unrealistic to believe that absolutely nobody would ever do the right thing because they've done the wrong thing, or have remorse and regret over their actions.

Steven Universe is an escapist fantasy series about a magical boy and his magical rock mothers and their cool adventures. It's not to say that the issues can't be addressed ever, but people are far, far too cynical about it; I think that we're meant to it, to believe that such a world could come to pass if we tried hard enough. Wouldn't it be great if we could get through to everybody with a smile, a song and a speech? That people who have done great misdeeds can make up for them?

Ultimately, the Diamonds have made the first step. They want to interact with Steven and as a result, they are capable of feeling empathy (though whether they lacked it before or had simply repressed it or were even simply ignorant to the suffering of “lesser” beings because of how they were made) and the test will come as life goes on. We may never see that effort in full, hell, Steven may never see that in his lifetime, but he hopes that they can change.

It's not without evidence. Blue speaks at length about it before White Diamond assumes direct control of her. White gives up when Pink Steven knocks her down and unites with Flesh Steven to make good ol' Regular Steven, beyond throwing a tantrum for a bit. They go to Earth and help to uncorrupt some of the many Gems that they're responsible for harming. By the movie, even their Pearls, who are meant to be sycophantic slaves, programmed for that even, have enough freedom of speech to snort and sneer at their former god-empress.

A lot of willpower has went into them making changes, prompted by Steven or not and things are looking bright so far. If they really wanted to, the Diamonds could answer to absolutely nobody. For the longest time, they believed that they were all-powerful, immortal and invulnerable. Prior to the war on Earth, it was believed that Diamonds couldn't be shattered. Now that we know the circumstances behind it, for all we know, they can't be shattered at all.

Even making them retreat into their Gem is hard enough; Yellow couldn't poof Blue (though, again, whether she was trying to and not capable remains to be seen) and Pink needed to be “shattered” with a specialised weapon to poof her.

Oh, sure, people are quick to rally around the Breaking Point, but they forget that it was never used against anybody, let alone the Diamonds. We don't even know how practical it would've been to use in battle, after all, the only person using it and knew how it worked intimately was defeated by a child with a sword while he was trying to run away.

Whether the Breaking Point or indeed anything could kill a Diamond, so far, the only weapon that has even came close to inhibiting a Diamond's Gem was Spinel's Rejuvenator, but I'd argue that's a moot point. Even if the Diamonds could be fought, defeated and contained through struggle or the efforts of some Super Fusion, it might not be possible for them to account for their crimes in a way that deprives them of their lives.

Incarceration or bubbling might work, but they could always be freed. How long do bubbles last, how long would it be until a mistake frees one of them or loyalists free these immortal and unkillable beings?

Conventional methods of “dealing” with the Diamonds are entirely speculative and until Rebecca introduces something like “Diamond Smasher” missile platforms, invented by Peridot and Bismuth collaborating, I would hazard that Steven's method of influencing these Gem matriarchs is probably the best in the long run.

The effort he's going to isn't to destroy the Diamonds, it's to save them and in turn, the people they could hurt if they were allowed to continue on. The people that they have hurt, to allow them to recover. To make them into better people that will feel guilt and remorse for their actions, try to account for them by protecting all life they come across for the rest of time, to the fullest of their abilities. If they are immortal then they require an immortal solution.

It doesn't mean that those they hurt (and are alive and are still capable of thought, because man the things that people can do to others in real life are fucked up enough, let alone in magic sci-fi land) are going to forgive them. Why should they? They are the victims, they have been hurt. Turning the Diamonds into better people is to stymie more people getting hurt, to account for that damage they caused. It may never be enough, it can never be enough, but it's better than nothing and it's certainly better than the opposite.

Who knows how the Diamond's saga will end? Actually, no, stupid question; Rebecca Sugar, probably, but as for the rest of us, we're in the dark. Will the Diamonds step down as leaders, even as figureheads, of Homeworld? Will they leave their species in order to make a fresh start in some new quadrant of the universe where they can help others and those that they've hurt don't have to look at them? Will they depart unannounced one day and sit on a ship, gathering dust, for all eternity? Would they even try to kill themselves if the guilt got too strong?

To sum it up, I don't know. I want to believe the best in people, that everybody can account for their actions to some degree because I'm a bit of an optimist, but I realise that there are some things that can't be forgiven or absolved or made up for or whatever. But, maybe, in that universe, they can. Maybe they can heal the Cluster? Maybe they can help every single shard? Rebuild every ruined life? Its nature as a lighter shade of a complicated universe means that there is potential and there is hope to do so.

And now that we're in Steven Universe Future, it's clear that the Diamonds aren't being absolved of all sin. Pearl assumes that White Diamond was the one behind Volleyball's (no, sorry, can't do it) Pink Pearl's damage and she's furious. When she realises it was Pink, she's shocked and disturbed, but is still supportive of her older counterpart. She doesn't hesitate to comfort her or when Steven snaps, defend Pink Pearl against her own son. She recognises that the person she'd loved did a terribly fucked up thing, intentional or not and moves to comfort the victim.

Steven finds their attentions exhaustive in the movie, though that is probably down to spending so much time with them and investing so much effort in getting them to change, leading him to leave them abruptly despite their pleas to stay (and resume his post so to speak, but probably just as much for the company). When they appear at the end, Steven, who has had a rough day, doesn't particularly sweet-talk them into going so much as flat out telling White that he wasn't crazy about them living on Earth, even as White tries the dramatic grandma act.

It's probably why I'm a lot more kind on the ending of the film having Spinel leave with the Diamonds. They both need somebody to help them with their problems and they sort of fill the niche that they each want from the other, while acknowledging that it isn't going to be as it was before and that they aren't the person who they are replacing. They will try.

(And for the record, if things go to hell, Spinel can take care of herself. In fact, I'd worry more about the Diamonds pissing off her than the other way around, she's a smart cookie.)

Honestly, it's the layers of complexity that Steven Universe has that makes a simple question like the one posited kinda difficult to answer. Referring back to that, Jasper for example, why does it seem like she's having to work super hard for a redemption? The answer is that she's pretty complex too.

From what I've read and seen about Jasper, her biggest failing is that she's Gem Vegeta meant to be this perfect super soldier, indestructible and unbeatable. She was built to fight and relishes battle, loves any opportunity to prove that. She takes pride in her abilities because she was literally the best type of gem to do them and was born as a flawless being in Gem eyes. She fulfils her function and she's equipped to do so with maximum efficiency.

Naturally, to quote the saying, pride goeth before the fall. Jasper's hangup is that she does not cope with failure well; she acknowledges that it happens, but constantly rails against it. New strategies, new tactics... new excuses for her failure. New people to blame.

Jasper's biggest failing is that she believes that, despite being the perfect Quartz soldier, she was also born a failure. The colony failed and their leader, a Diamond, was destroyed by the rebels that she went toe-to-toe with and could not beat. She failed in protecting the being that she was most loyal to... and that failure haunts her.

When it came time to bail and nuke Earth from orbit, Jasper was left without a chance to avenge Pink, settle the score and find closure. No matter what she did and was that she failed Pink Diamond and everything else from thereon in was a failure as a result.

But failure was something that imperfect, flawed Gems did. Failure was something that you'd expect from some know-it-all Peridot, getting too big for her boots. Not her. Not the perfect Quartz. The perfect Quartz won any and every battle it was deployed in, shattered every enemy it faced. And, wasn't she the perfect Quartz? Didn't Homeworld call her a war hero? Didn't Yellow Diamond herself take her into her court while all the others of her Kindergarten get relegated to some dusty relic in space?

In a way, Jasper fell into her own legend. She had an idealised version of herself that she knew, subconsciously, that she could never truly be. This self-hatred drove out all of her positive traits, save for determination and reinforced her negative ones. It overshadowed her when Steven tried to help her, because accepting the help would make her weak and she despised being weak.

It's also the character niche that she fills too. Jasper was the first enemy that the Crystal Gems faced that didn't appear sympathetic on the surface. She was more directly involved in the plot than the Diamonds were for a long time, they were distant figures who had orchestrated the war. Now, here was an antagonist that worked on a more personal level by targeting “Rose” and “her” fellows directly.

Jasper despised weakness and when faced with the Crystal Gems in person, all she saw was weakness. A random Pearl that got it into her head that she was free to do whatever she liked while Jasper and everybody else followed orders. Some fusion between two Gems of completely different classes, outright heretical. This... malformed, tiny Quartz that came from the same place as her, could have been a functioning soldier like Jasper or worse, Jasper like her.

Even then she could shrug that off. They were clearly some rag-tag band of survivors from Homeworld's attack, they just got lucky. Have Peridot annihilate them with the ship and be done with it. But hey, at least Rose Quartz is dead, even if she didn't get the satisfaction of shattering her. Killing the last of the rebels was still closure, of a sort.

But as events unfolded, to Jasper, it seemed like Rose Quartz wasn't dead at all. Her greatest enemy, Homeworld's Most Wanted, Rose Quartz... was hiding behind her soldiers, in the body of and mimicking the simpering attitude of a human child.

Rose who she respected the tactics of. Rose who found a way to kill a perfect being. Now a weakling. These were the people that defeated Homeworld. Shattered a Diamond, her Diamond. These were the people that defeated her. But if they were so weak, wouldn't that make her even weaker?

No. That was impossible. She would prove it by taking them down, making them account for their crimes.

So, Jasper became obsessed with taking down the Crystal Gems by any means necessary. Anything she could justify to prove that she was the strongest, that she could think on her feet, that she was successful and everything that she was made to be.

Had you told the Jasper in “The Return” that she would be out in the Earth wilderness, trying to put together a motley crew of corrupted Gems in “Earthlings”, she'd have laughed you out of the room or killed you for even implying she could fall so low, fail so hard. But she could reason with herself that if her enemy was going to “cheat”, why shouldn't she?

Fusion went from a “Cheap tactic” to a viable weapon; Malachite gave her all the power in the world, if she could only use it. Rose Quartz had her misfit army, so Jasper forged her own, giving these lost individuals purpose again, just like she did. If it were her in the same situation, she would be grateful... except she wouldn't be in that situation because she was perfect.

Except she wasn't perfect. Jasper kept failing. In fact, that's all she ever seemed to do on the planet of her birth: fail. So, her loathing grew. She couldn't fail, so she would just try something else. Whatever it took.

And all those failings kept coming. Starting off by going against the orders to check on the Cluster in favour of carting Rose back to civilisation despite protests only got her ship destroyed and both her and Peridot marooned on a hostile planet. Garnet matched her and defeated her. Lapis trapped her in a fusion. Alexandrite defeated Malachite, Lapis refused her, she lost against Stevonnie despite having “backup” and trouncing Amethyst. Then, against Smoky Quartz, she met her downfall by fusing with one of the corrupted Gems, infecting her as well.

Jasper's hell was that most of it was a result of her failure to back down. She might not have deserved to be held by Lapis in Malachite, but she didn't exactly have many other people to blame for forming the massive Fusion when her sole objective was to murder the Crystal Gems. When she got control of Malachite, she went straight to murder. When they were separated, she went to Lapis so that she could get the power back that eliminated her weakness so that she could murder. She built an army to lead against the Crystal Gems because she wanted to murder them. She poofed Amethyst with the intent to shatter her. She fused with a corrupted monster because she wanted to murder Smoky Quartz.

Jasper had a spectacular talent of getting herself into messes because she can't let go of hatred and the need to cause harm. Granted, that is as a result of her attempt to heal her own wounds, prove to herself that she isn't a failure, but she's still trying to kill our protagonists and a lot of the time, laughing as she does it.

When, finally, Jasper is at her lowest, corrupting and abandoned by her feral army of monsters, she rejects Steven's help. Why should she accept it when she sees the truth of it all; that Rose Quartz manipulates the weak and abandoned Gems, giving them purpose again. Makes them all into bodies to put between her and the forces of Homeworld under the guise of love and caring.

To accept help is weak. She refuses to believe that she is weak, but at the same time, knows that she is. Jasper has struggled with that dichotomy for all of her existence and it kills her. She's trapped in her own logic. If she accepts help, then she proves herself to be a weakling. But if she fights against it, then that proves that she is strong. Strong enough not to break down or corrupt.

Ultimately, this attitude gets the character put on hiatus, poofed and bubbled. When we see her cured in Rose's Fountain at the end of the original series' run, she still hasn't learned the lesson. She has a moment of confusion at where she is, then she sees Steven. Crash Helmet activated, Jasper moves in to fight... then spots Yellow Diamond glancing at her out of the side of her eye. Sees Blue and even the mighty White Diamond sitting there in the water.

All around them, Gems she knew, Gems she didn't, Homeworld and Crystal Gems all talking and laughing and hugging and healing from this corruption. Even the Crystal Gem that she'd went out of her way to rile up the most, Amethyst, gently reassures her as the truth hits her.

Jasper was made for fighting and the fighting is over. It shakes her a lot. Suddenly, everything she's hated herself for is moot. She's left without a purpose.

When we see her in Future, time has passed and it's clear she's still struggling with the hatred, because all she has known through most of her existence was that hatred. It is a part of her. She's beginning to recover slowly, make a change, but she's not there yet.

In the time that's passed, we know things have changed a lot. Given how dismissive Amethyst is towards the concept of Jasper joining Little Homeschool, any attempt to connect with her fellow Quartz has been unsuccessful at best. Jasper is still turning down help.

When Steven wanders over, she begrudgingly explains that she's listless. The fighting is over, so all she has is to prepare for the next war, if there even is one. She still sees herself as something to be proud of, something to be held above others, so she removes herself from the other Gems and lives in solitude. Any organic life on her territory is eradicated with no mercy, even if it's a frustrating inconvenience.

And as Steven isn't Pink, she doesn't have to treat him like a Diamond, even if the others do (out of misunderstanding or genuine gratitude for saving them or simply making him synonymous with a Diamond). I get the view that she finds him insufferable or at the very least annoying, because now she's getting the “peace and love” speech in person every so often and can't really do anything about it.

After she bemoans that nobody is willing to fight her anymore, Steven calls her out on the fact that she has done this to herself. She keeps refusing help because she's too mired in her ways, too proud to let herself be “weak” again. Hence why she's living in a cave in the woods, only marginally better than when she was trying to recruit corrupted Gems to take down Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.

Of course, Jasper blows this off and ignores him until Steven agrees to do the one thing she wants, just so he can get through to her. He'll fight her. It's like switch is flicked. Jasper expresses genuine happiness and anticipation. She can do what she's good at again! She can relive the glory days for this one moment! Prove to herself that she wasn't weak for losing in a fair fight for once!

And she loses. The fight is fair, it's really one on one as she'd requested, but she loses. That's because she slips into her old habits of dissecting what she sees as weakness and once again, it costs her the battle.

To her, Steven always had backup to take her down, so even now, with all his powers, he's still no match for the orange Gem. However, when Steven gets mad and goes pink he completely flattens her.

But the biggest difference in all of this is that even though she doesn't win the fight, like she believed she might have, Jasper succeeds in getting what she wanted and getting something else out of Steven. She wanted a good fight and got one. Even though he beats her, he's showing physical strength now, anger and annoyance... he's just as flawed as everybody else is. He challenged her to a fair fight and she lost that fair fight because he was the stronger opponent. No “tricks”, just brawling. How it was meant to work.

She even scolds him for apologising for knocking her around because she got to live again. When Steven asks Jasper to tutor him, to show him how to harness his aggressive feelings, good... gooooood, young Skywalker new powers, she does what the earlier Jasper would never do. She gets on his level and gently lets him down.

That's a huge step. She recognises that she can respect Steven, even slightly. Sure, she might not be into what he's selling most of the time, but she realised that there is some common ground for the two, just enough to engage with him for a moment. She's progressing.

So, in conclusion, what's the difference between their arcs? The Diamonds committed terrible crimes, but unlike Jasper, they seem to be taking steps to change and become better people by recognising that they've done wrong. When called out on how they treated Pink and the other Gems, they turned within the (admittedly hour long) episode. Blue Diamond tried to reason with Yellow, then both of them with White and finally, White. They had the will to change because they realised their actions had consequences and will, hopefully, be able to account in some way for the things they have done.

Jasper, on the other hand, doesn't have such grave crimes to account for, but for her, everything was much more personal, much more cerebral. She refused to give in because not only was she determined, but she was actively trying to thwart her own self-hatred by succeeding. Jasper didn't see what she did was wrong, I'm still unsure if she does now, but she's finally started on the path to healing now because she's finally found something of worth from a Crystal Gem, even if said Crystal Gem isn't in the healthiest place right now.

Speaking of, her remarks about Steven were pretty on point as we see later in Future. Steven is worried about everybody not needing him any more and he lashes out as a result. Maybe part or indeed a large chunk of Jasper's redemption will be seeing the same self-loathing she experienced grow in Steven and empathising with him and trying to help him, given that the seeds of respect were beginning to form between them. And hey, given her ability to diagnose psychological issues in a heartbeat, she might have a career in that later on, as unlikely as it sounds. Little Homeschool is always recruiting.

The fact is that while I believe that both the Diamonds and Jasper have a long way to go when it comes to redemption, either to account for the magnitude of their crimes for the former or to finally accept help from others, putting one's own demons to rest in the case of the latter, they've started off the whole process with Steven's help. It may be slow and difficult for them, but they have a chance to make themselves and by extension, their whole world, better.

And isn't that what Steven Universe is about?

[50shadesofmittens]

Eqippable Ally AU

SO during my recent conversation with coaxionunlimited I got a lot of my vague AU’s fleshed out. As in, I finally put down to words some of the insane ideas I’ve had bouncing around my head for ages now.

Here’s the Equippable Ally AU, the first one we talked about and one of the longest

More under the cut, ‘cause this gonna be LONG

So to start, ideas of each Primarch in this AU

Like Corvus winding up Equippable Ally with Sly Marbo bc why not and also Marbo equipped with a Primarch-powered weapon is SCARY

ALSO Ferrus Manus still alive kinda equipping Kitten during a moment of High Tension when Magnus for whatever reason can’t be the equippable ally- cue Magnus jealousy even given full understanding of the intense circumstances

And possibly the first thing Fulgrim does once somebody gets his soul free of the paining and his body back from the daemon inhabiting it is become an Equippable Ally to one of the Space Marines in the area- proving that he’s on the good guys side for real but also that’s he’s willing to let someone else take control of it means getting better results, and maybe also that he’s traumatized to the point where he can’t make very good decisions for himself but he recognizes this flaw and is willing to take measures to work around/through it

Also Mittens makes a powerful pair because the two can work together directly in combat- Kitten taking over the physical aspects while Magnus handles all the magical ones working in the battle- and as the two learn to work together they combine their strengths into more powerful combos

Btw I like to imagine all the Primarchs have In Love With Your Carnage literally hardwired into their DNA to some degree, which affects the crack pairings I had for the Equippable Ally AU

Like apart from Mittens, you have:

Corvus and Sly Marbo (which the Void Dragon approves heavily of as an example of Rescue Romance)

Russ and Ygrainne (ie the badass Eldar who cannon thinks is Guilliman’s girlfriend- in this AU they met in Commoragh’s fighting pits and now have UST from both considering the other inferior while also being able to hold their own against each other)

Dorn has Karstodes (and that one is explicitly They Won’t because it’s based on Dorn being unable to deny that Karstodes is a very good fighter and he finds his technique and strength in battle arousing while hating his personality, and Karstodes being an Abhorrent Admirer)

Then comes the mechanics behind the Equippable Ally bit, ie How It Works

The Primarch literally turns into a sword of some kind

Like all swords are based on the Emperors flaming sword, but some minor details causing differences between them

As for the power, there’s three ways this could work

One; swords have energy blasts, a la Zelda or Bleach. The power behind these blasts is roughly 3-12 times the amount of power a Primarch would put into the same kind of swing if it was used by his own hands

Two: if the sword can be incorporated into any other battle style, the sword will glow, possibly cause the person wielding it to glow, and then the attack will have the same power as though the Primarch performed it but with 1.5-8 times the power the Primarch would’ve had

Three- Primarch can use his Psyker powers within the sword by using the weirder as a conduit. This has a bonus of 2-10 times its usual power, but the caveat is that the weirder cannot be mind-controlled and has the ability to drop the sword at any time, meaning that the Primarch can’t force someone to be a conduit for a spell they don’t want to be part of

A Primarch-as-weapon weapon is FAR more powerful than the Primarchs-as-people are

IE the weapon they turn into can do more damage than a Primarchs alone can

That’s why any Primarchs would agree to it- the end result is more powerful than what they could create alone

Biggest downside is that using that power is hard- using it effectively is double hard

See, the power modifier the wielder gets is tied to the Primarchs ability to do that any specific move. Throw a knife while holding Konrad-sword is much more powerful than throwing a knife while holding say Sanguinius sword, because the former can throw knives much better than the latter. Of course being Primarchs they’re pretty good at anything- this is more of a way to note that some Primarchs will supply bigger bonuses than others

The other thing- and this is the big one- is that the Primarch cannot guide or directly control the movements of the weirder, and the overall strength of an attack is reflected by if the WIELDER’s exact actions were taken by a Primarch- so if someone swings a Primarch sword with horrific form, it’ll have a lot of force but if they would’ve dropped a normal sword with a move like that, they’ll drop the Primarch sword. What’s more the power output increase adds even more destabilization because people really arent naturally good at handling more power than they’re used to- kickback is still a thing, and even with the defenses of a Primarch being added, Primarchs also have enhanced pain tolerance, so what a Primarch might consider mild soreness will be shocking and difficult to handle for a normal person experiencing the same thing

TLDR; it takes a lot of skill to handle Primarch Weapons well. Hence why it’s pretty useless unless the Primarch has someone he trusts who understands him very well and can fight on or close to his level

It’s like handing a civilian an automatic gun- they theoretically have the ability to use it just fine, they know how to press the trigger and point away from themselves, but they still aren’t fully qualified to use it

Then there’s a really stupid scene with Magnus and Russ throwing a limitless supply of soft silk shoes at each other at 400km/hr, Thanks to magic arbitrary rules and/or the bs of a powerful Mars dragon or a god

So I figure this might be a good time to explain where my own Equippable Ally AU was going- it was largely based on fairy-tales and the parody and exploitation thereof

Like the basic idea was that the Void Dragon A) is alive B) has a grudge against Emps and C) is still/also very much into medieval fairytales like the one of Saint George, largely because Emps was obsessed with them when he fought it

Only the dragon doesn’t really ‘get’ gender so it decides that the traditional fairytale setting where a prince or a princess is trapped and must be freed/rescued by their One True Love is a good narratively-sound way to seek Revenge- it casts the Primarchs as the “princesses” of the tale

Mainly Ferrus Manus, who has been trapped with the dragon for 10,000 years while they both waited for someone to try to rescue him, not knowing that almost all of the Galaxy thinks he’s dead. This has given the dragon much time to play dress up with Ferrus

So when the dragon learns of the Equippable Ally thing, it decides “Ah HA! This is how I identify the One True Love who is to try to rescue the children of my enemy! My greatest threat (according to all the tropes I know)!”

Only there’s more than one Equippable Ally bond, so the dragon doesn’t know which one is, narratively speaking, the Hero/Heroine.

So it decides to make all the people bonded to a Primarch in this manner fight to the death, and the winner will obviously be the Protagonist that the dragon seeks

(I realize I failed to mention this, but the dragon has cast Emps in the role of Good King whose Kingdom is threatened and who must rely on the Hero/Heroine to save the day. This is in fact the way the Dragon seeks revenge- it believes the narrative will not LET the Emperor face it, so when it defeats the new protagonist it will have won)

(The void dragon is kinda insane and believes fairy tale logic is an actual force of nature)

Anyways, the dragon decides the best way to force the Potential Protagonists to fight is to hold their True Loves hostage- good thing it’s got millennia of practice keeping Ferrus from running away

And both Russ and Magnus wind up kidnapped for this tournament.

And the dragon doesn’t just believe in fairy tales, no it wants these battles to LOOK heroic and fairy tale like.

So it dresses all the Primarchs in medieval dresses (it’s other reason for doing this is that it enjoyed playing dress up with Ferrus and would like to try with his brothers now)

When the “tournament” goes down all the Primarchs are put on display so their “true loves” can be reminded what’s at stake

Which just means Magnus and Russ see each other and try to kill each other. The Void Dragon has them separated and magic blocked to avoid this.

The Void Dragon doesn’t want Magnus and Russ killing each other in the Equippable Ally AU bc it’s all like “No no no, you two are Princesses, your heroic knights are the ones meant to be proving themselves and fighting to the death, your role is to be the pretty trophy they win, this is not how the story goes. The HERO is the one who proves their strength, the love interest can’t die in a fratricidal duel while the Hero is fighting for his life- that would be an awful story! Here just- just stay separate, you two, at least until the tournament is over”

Thing is, at least one of the kidnapped Primarchs wanted to get out of the dress he’s in, and discovered that the dresses are self-repairing, and any pieces of the outfit lost or thrown away will be replaced instantly

Magnus and Russ take this to mean “we have infinite ammo to throw at each other”

They start with jewelry bc it’s hard and might theoretically do a tiny scratch of damage if thrown fast enough, but that gets taken away. Then they find that the shoes, which are fabric and soft, cannot do damage and do not get taken away when thrown

So Magnus and Russ ignore the entire death match going on around them to throw shoes at each other at 500 km/hr, in the futile hope that it will do some damage to the other

The entire thing has been me getting the idea for like a 30-sec scene animation, but as you can see it has WAY too much backstory behind it

I can’t remember if I started with Fairy Tale parodies combining with Equippable Ally trope, or if I just wanted Magnus and Russ to throw shoes at each other and the rest built itself around that

(Also Also, Russ and Magnus eventually do get tired of not getting anywhere, and Corvus celebrates their seeing reason and stopping their pointless (albeit commendable on Russ’ part) attempts at homicide with weapons that clearly cannot kill the other

Then Dorn points out the shoes could theoretically be used to kill a Primarch if you literally smothered a Primarch in shoes so that he had no access to air and then kept him there for the full three standard years it would take for him to suffocate.

Russ and Magnus immediately begin throwing shoes again)

(Corvus Facepalms)

[cocoisbestgirl]

Fanfic I can't think of a name for pt 13

    Xavier wore unfamiliar clothes. He was wearing a lab coat, and the dark spirit behind him wasn’t speaking up for once, that or the silence spell wore off. Though it didn’t even look like it was trying to speak.

    “Well, I know this is a very….unfortunate way to introduce well to some of you, myself.”

    Xavier cleared his throat, and looked down at his hand before looking back up.

    “Well, there is a way I can get every last one of you out of this situation, unharmed.”

    “Go on! Don’t just stop talking!” the silver haired girl screamed as she ran towards the bars. She could’ve reached Xavier if she was just a little bit taller, and her arms just a tad longer. 

    “Ahem, me and...well, a 'close friend' of mine have an offer.”

    “Listen gingersnap! You better keep talking or you’ll come out of here with one less limb!”

        “Bring it on you silver-zzxzzxxzzxzxjgft” Xavier shut the dark spirit up and looked down at the silver girl. Magda almost saw something in Xavier's eyes change for only a moment..

    “It’s called Project Goddess. Now, I’m not allowed to tell you much about what it entails for you all, but I can definitely say that you will all get out of here if you agree. I have the ability to sneak every last one of you out without leaving a trace."

    “Sign me up. I’ll do anything to get out of here!” The silver haired girl reached for Xavier.

“What’s the project about exactly?” Kelly asked.

“As long as apple pie is there Motiti will be there!” Motiti cheered, seemingly unaware of the current circumstances.

“Well, the project is mainly aimed to bring the Goddess back down to earth.”

“How?”

“I can’t tell you much more than that. I already said more than I was supposed too. Rest assured you will not be harmed, intentionally anyways. So, I’m going to assume you are all willing to join the experiment?”

“Get me the hell out of here!” The silver girl screamed.

“I have to go with Silver over there, I’m willing.” Kelly whimpered out as her body shook.

“Motiti is always willing to help out! Will there be pie?” 

“Yes, Motiti,” Xavier laughed, “All of you will get exactly what you want when you participate.”

    Xavier finally looked at Magda.

    ‘Anything I want? And freedom at the same time?’

“Yes, of course I’m willing.”

“Fantastic! I’ll just need a blood sample from all of you, I will warn you. I won’t be able to get you out unless you are eligible for the project, boss’s rules. Not mine. I’ll start with Kelly.”

Xavier went around collecting the blood from everybody, except for the silver haired girl, who had cut herself with a rock to get the blood herself. Strange woman.

“Well, I’ll be back in a day or two.” Xavier left and smiled at the girls on his way out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“This is bad this is bad!” Felicity paced her room loudly, “H-how on earth am I gonna tell Alan!? No! I can’t tell him he’ll hate me! Oh...what’s the use? He’ll hate me anyway…. I gave him the worst advice humanly possible! Now his girlfriend is missing, and I told him to ignore it! Gahhhhh!”

Felicity buried her head into her pillow, “I’m the worst. Just the worst. W-wait! If I find Magda,” She jumped off of her bed and paced faster. 

“If I find Magda, nobody will hate me! They’ll think I’m a hero! That’s it!” 

Felicity ran to her balcony door and swung it open. The scent of summer filled her nose. She looked down at the drop from her balcony to the ground. It was nothing if you knew what you were doing. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    When Alan woke up alone for the second time this week he finally began to get worried. 2 days was far too long.

    ‘I don’t care if I’m being controlling!' I need to know what happened to her. Alan got his uniform on and grabbed his sword.

    The streets were actually busy for once. People were talking, and children were playing. Everything was fine and dandy. Except for Magda.

    ‘Maybe Felicity is wrong! Maybe Magda wants me to look for her.’

    Alan continued walking the streets until a man ran up to him.

“Mr. knight sir, are you looking for the missing nobles,”

“P-pardon?”

“A few days ago two noblewomen and a servant disappeared!”

“What- What were their names?”

“Kelly, Motiti, and Madga Ellenstein, why?”

‘Magda? No… she can’t..’

“A-are you sure about Magda!?” The desperation In alan’s voice was clear 

“Yes! I’m positive!”

“Do you know anything about their disappearance!?”

“Well, I don’t know much...but I believe they could be hidden near…”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    Felicity kept walking through the town. It was a tiny village near the edge of the woods that surrounded finsel, and separated Finsel from other nearby kingdoms. The town was always quiet, nothing much usually ever happened. That’s what made it the perfect place for a kidnapping. Nobody would ever expect anything to happen. 

    She just didn’t know where on earth they would manage to hide people. Felicity hid her face with the hood of her cloak. She was near positive that nobody would recognize her even if they did see her face, but she wanted to be extra sure. People seemed to stare at her whenever she passed by. The streets were cracked from neglect, and grass sprouts shot up from them wildly.

    The town seemed business as usual. Nothing much seemed to be the matter, though she saw somebody exit the woods. They looked….familiar… ginger hair...whatever.

    Felicity walked around the woods for a good half an hour, without finding much of anything. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    “I spy with my little eye something…silver!” 

    “It’s my hair again.  Isn’t it, Motiti?”

    “You are really good at this game, Miss Silver!”

    “When you only look at one particular thing it makes it easy. Hey Blondie, how about you take a turn,” Silver pointed at Magda.

    “Oh um...I spy with my little eyes something….green!”

    “Something green huh?” Silver and Motiti looked around.

    Kelly finally perked up for the first time in hours, “Oh! Oh! I got it! It’s the leaf on Silver’s shoulder isn’t it!”

    “You got it Kelly!”

    The girls went silent for a few seconds.

    “Ya know...you nobles aren’t as bad as I was thinking you were…”

    “But Motiti isn’t a noble!” Motiti chimed in.

    “ Then I wasn’t talking to you!”

    Motiti whimpered and hid behind Kelly.

    “Uh...Listen I’m sorry…. Motiti. I’m sorry Kelly I’m sorry Maggie or whatever your name is!”

    Magda was going to correct the small girl, but stopped. She was already a bit too close for comfort with Silver,and the last thing she needed was to pick a fight.

    “Magda, How did your eye get hurt? That bandage looks brutal? Did it get cut out?”

    “Oh...no not at all. I...well somebody tried to kidnap me… so I fought back.”

    “Let me guess, you cried for help.”

    “No...I smashed him over the head with a teacup then beat him unconscious with one of my high heels.”

    “Whoa, not bad. Did he die?” Shana smiled at Magda, impressed by this hoity toity princess’s ability to actually fight.

    “I...never wanted to find out...so I didn’t really ask,”

    “Why not? If he tried to kidnap you wouldn’t you want to find out?”

    “I don’t wish harm on...anybody really, even though he was not a good person.”

    “We all have our moments, Magda.”

    “I’ve never killed a person,” Kelly looked at Magda.

    “Kelly, you are about to make me add another kill to my streak. I wasn't talking to you."

    “Silver,”

    “Yeah, Magda?”

    “Do you think we’ll get out of here alive?”

    “What do you mean?”

    “What if Xavier isn’t coming back?”

    “Why would he just snatch our blood and go? Makes no sense to me.”

    “What if he clones us, and uses our clones as puppets?” Kelly said as she stood up to stretch her legs.

    “Can you all lighten up, for like a minute? What are we doing here. Why don’t we at least try to escape. Just to keep our minds off of the horrificness of this all.”

    “Well, being taken to a lab doesn’t sound all that bad, I mean there should be a lot of people to talk too,”

    “And lots of yummy pie!”

    “Yeah, And maybe I can stop running away from everything for a while. I’d enjoy a break from it all. Hey, Magda ...what about you?”

    “I...don't ...I don’t think the lab will offer much for me. Everything I want..is back home.”

    “Ugh! Just when I thought I was starting to like you. You just wanna go home and be a nob-”

    “I want to see Alan….”

    “Uh...what? Repeat?”

    “I want to see Alan. I would happily give up my nobility to be with him.”

    “Ah...well you just gained back some points with me Magda. He’s the blonde guard right? You know blonde hair, blue eyes not really tall, but not short either."

    Kelly made a small chuckle.

    “Yeah,Yeah I’m short I got it! I’m a little garden gnome!”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    Alan ran through the small village on the edge of Finsel’s territory. His eyes scanned for any sign of Magda and the others. The townspeople held no useful information. Most of them were scared of the leader of the guards being in such a tiny town.

    Alan had been here before, it was when he was just starting to rise in ranks. It was a petty thief who had stolen jewelry, Alan had caught him quickly which helped his prestige slightly. He was even offered a wife from the mayor of the town. Which he obviously declined, not because the girl was not easy on the eyes, but because of her age. A 16 year old guard and a 28 year old mayor’s daughter just didn’t seem right in his mind. He didn’t care much for romance at that time, he was only a boy who just wanted an escape from the slums he had grown up in. He had a good life, a loving father, a caring mother, heck even a bird, but he wanted more for his future family. If only they could’ve seen him now...

    Alan shook himself awake and walked into the forest, they were empty and besides the basic nature noises were quiet. He held his sword in his hand, just in case an animal tried to attack.

    “Alan! Over here!” 

    “Felicity?” Alan anxiously walked towards the voice, yep it was her. Felicity Ellenstein.

    “Okay, Alan I want you to listen to me,here. Keep an open mind. Ivan told me this is where he grew up.”

    “Yeah, and-?”

    “Him and Magda were childhood friends. We have to get Ivan. He’s our best bet at finding Magda!”

    “I don’t think that will work, Felicity.”

    “No Ivan told me about a place he used to play as a child. It was an ancient looking castle. It had a prison, too. Alan, we need to get Ivan.”

    “Felicity,  it will take around a day to get to the city and back. What if he doesn’t even remember?”

    “Alan, a wise woman once told me: ‘A 1% chance is better than no chance at all’ it will take you weeks to comb through these forests, and Magda will probably already be dead if we wait that long.”

    “Felicity, I don’t really have a choice. Do I?”

    Felicity nodded her head and smiled, “You better have brought your own horse!”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    “Do you think it’s day or night?”

    “Hm...Motiti? How many naps have you taken.”

    “Well there’s no sun or blankies. Motiti can’t sleep at all!” Motiti whined and she curled herself up into a ball.

    “I’ve slept twice, I think?” Kelly said 

    “I don’t count. Been here longer than any of you.”

    “Ah, I’ve slept once.”

    “Let’s go with 2 days? Does that sound right?” Kelly walked over to the oren and quietly stroked her ears.

    The girls heard a door opening and loudly shutting. They all stayed quiet, and Kelly squealed with joy as she saw who it was. It was Xavier, finally.

“Well, do we all get out now!”

    “The boss told me one of you has to stay,”

    The room went silent. You could hear a pin drop easy. The air felt heavy. 

    “Ahem, Kelly congratulations you have been accepted.”

    “Yes! Motiti did you hear that!”

    “Motiti is so happy for you!”

    “Motiti, you’re in too. You will just be a servant for a little while. Until we know for sure about the safety on humans.”

    “Oh! Motiti loves cooking can I cook! Pretty pretty please!? Oh, but cleaning is good too! So is washing dishes and-” The oren trailed off for a good few minutes.

            "And Magda.. you..cannot come."

          The air in the room became heavy and Silver looked at Magda. Magds felt her legs go to mush within seconds. She grabbed the bars of the prison and looked at Xavier.

          Why wasn't she accepted? Did that other lady bribe Xavier. What was wrong? Did she do something wrong?

"Magda there isn't an easy way to say

this but...you're-"

Magda's brain blacked out for a few 

 seconds. No...it can't. Not now. If this was any other time she'd be happy but right now? She felt hands catch her as she began to fall to the ground. She barely reacted, she heard Silver yell out something but it all sounded like it was underwater.

          That one word took away Magda's ability to move and think. This was supposed to be a happy moment for her. Most women would consider this their happiest moment. This moment was ruined, tainted by her circumstance. Why couldn't this be happy?

        Magda finally put one hand on her belly and shivered heavily. She wondered what Alan would think. Would he be happy? Angry? He will be a wonderful father to their child….

A/N:

Sorry I've been dead for like 3 weeks my computer decided to die on me and it's out for repairs and should be back in a few days. Excuse any spelling or grammar errors,I wrote this on my phone!

Edit 1: Its still not back

[azem-ghale]

Kiyi Ghale (A slightly better one)

The Basics

Character Name: Kiyi Ghale

Aliases: None though she doesn't mind them

Race: Kiyi Is both seeker and keeper due to a confident Kepper man managing to  to catch her interest

Gender: Female

Profession: none,she travels too much to stay stuck down so adventurer mayb courier sometimes if she is headed in that direction

Apparent age: 29

Hair/mane/leaves: Thick white and very long hair kep up in a a few plaits and ponytail

Skin/fur/bark: The best way she could describe her skin color is brown or almond

Appearance details:Most of the time her eyes are a l light piercing blue though in actual fact she has one red eye with a rounded pupil though she wear something to make them match.she adores Doman fashion and is seen often in a simple set of clothes including bandages? Covering her chest while a Fuga Haori is worn open she will usually wear a long Hakama with this unless events call for something more fitting.

If in armor while acting as A dark knight she wears darkish armor alongside a barbut of a departed friend .

She has also gained a liking for allagan clothing and armor

Personality: she is willing to give everybody a chance ,she finds is stupid to just assume somebody can't do something as it would be a waste to find out they could do it and were not given a chance.

She has a dislike for many of her own kind due to the struggles she saw of many female miqo’te to her so many miqo’te women choosing to be naught more than entertainment and decoration caused problems for those  who wished to work different jobs but were often shunned and expected to be something else.tis also the fact she grew tired of seeing miqo’te women having to either be shared or share regarding partners while most miqo’te men found love a lot easier and were taken more seriously .still this is all due to what she has seen

She does also has a kind of bad taste in men though she does understand they are bad and will not allow them to treat her bad(that or she will just leave)

If a wrongdoing is committed against her she will not completely believe whispers and rumours but instead look for actual evidence

Religious beliefs/philosophy: While she believes in gods she doesnt quite believe they care about mortals so she goes through life  as it is

Childhood: She was a fairly well behaved child and enjoyed hunting ,her clan/tribe pretty open so many could join and the nunh was strong and understanding

Recent history: her more recent residence is in kugane though if possible she will get a residence in ishgard aswell ,

Notable relationships: She doesnt really have anybody other than her tribe  who are far away most people have left her

Strengths, talents, and points of pride: she works well with swords both one handed and to handed though after training as a dark knight so long her first time wielding a katana resulted in her flingin it across the field

Weaknesses, detriments, and points of improvement: she isnt really that good at magicks

Suggestions:

Favored alcoholic beverage: whisky and fruity alcoholic  beverages

Favored food: anything meaty or fruit

Favored weather or season: she loves autumn and rain.

Favored color: black and red if she had to pick

How does your character react when...

You find a powerful weapon: She has a liking for unique weapons so she would probably trip over herself trying to get it

You find a coin purse:shed pick it up and either keep it or use the coins inside to help those in the brums

You find food: she doesn't trust unattended food

You find a trap: depending on where and what it is shed either remove and keep it or leave it . if its a trap with people waiting she just looks fed up and feels stupid

You find a corpse: literally a :/ face

You find a suspicious scroll: shed open it,she's too nosey

Any roleplay preferences or limitations for this character? Not really

[ckret2]

You'd Be Amazed At The Cultural Divides That Develop After Four Million Years of War

... by Fall Out Boy

Prompt: @tfspeedwriting: Prompt 1: A character outstays their welcome and Prompt 5: Write a story with two main characters and tell in two parts - from first one character’s POV and then the other. Writing two prompts was accidental, I swear Continuity: IDW Pairing: one-sided oblivious & unrequited Starscream/Wheeljack Wordcount: 2000-ish? Notes: If anybody out there has any more Starjack fics with Starscream unrequitedly pining for Wheeljack... hit me up. Need me some Screamer pain. Summary: Wheeljack thinks Starscream is interrupting his day off to demand a tour of his current projects. Starscream thinks he's taking Wheeljack on a date. Neither one bothers to clarify.

Double doors slammed open with a grandly declared "So!"

Wheeljack started, dropping his wrench, and almost swore. Frag. Starscream. Wheeljack wasn't expecting Starscream. Why would he expect Starscream to barge into his personal lab?

Okay, maybe he should have been expecting Starscream.

Yesterday Starscream had said, idly, that he ought to drop by Wheeljack's lab soon—not the lab space he shared with several others at the capitol, but his private lab, his off-duty lab—and see what he was up to when he wasn't working the space bridge. Wheeljack had said, sure, he probably should come by and see. He'd half meant it—he was working on things that could eventually be useful to Cybertron—but Wheeljack hadn't thought Starscream meant it. Much less that he meant it so soon, and without warning or invitation.

Wheeljack had thought promising to come by had been more or less a politician's promise—something he said to make one of his citizens think he gave half a slag about what was going on with him, with no intent of following up on it.

Wheeljack should have expected Starscream to mean it. Wheeljack could name a new governing law of probability after their illustrious leader. Starscream's Law: if given the choice between doing and not doing one thing, regardless of whether or not Starscream says he'll do it, the one he actually ends up doing is either 1) the option most surprising, or 2) the option most inconvenient, whichever value is greater. Usually both. This? Was both surprising and inconvenient. Very inconvenient.

Wheeljack set down his current project and turned to face Starscream. "Can I help you?"

"I certainly hope so! I came all the way across Iacon on the expectation that you could, after all."

Wheeljack didn't think he'd be getting to pick his project back up again for a while. Duty ever calls. "With what?"

"Well—" Starscream gestured down the length of the lab, with the type of overdramatic flourish he usually reserved for speeches where he was referring to the great people of Cybertron, or our friends and allies among the stars, or such things. Big, sweeping, and all-encompassing. "A tour, ideally. You said that you'd show me your lab, after all. You implied that you had some things I'd quite like to see."

Had Wheeljack implied that? He didn't think he'd gone anywhere near that far. One last longing look at his discarded project, and he got to his feet. "Yeah, yeah—sure. Of course." Fine. This was an inevitability, after all. Eventually he'd be trying to show Starscream all this. Why not now?

Starscream waited for Wheeljack to cross the lab to him (the lab was an odd, long shape, with a door at the far end; the easiest thing Wheeljack could find to rent in this part of town that he could modify to meet his safety standards) with a hand on one cocked hip, the very picture of arrogant impatience. "This really is out of the way, you know," Starscream said, as though Wheeljack had personally and deliberately made his life harder by choosing where to put his lab. "You're practically out in the Decepticon slums. I've offered you lab space in Metroplex's cephalocomplex, it's where you do all your other work."

"Yeah, well—thank you for the offer—but this place is for my non-governmental works," Wheeljack said. "I don't want politics leaking into my personal projects." He gave Starscream a very pointed look.

"Why—" Starscream turned back to the doors, as if checking he hadn't left them ajar to let a draft in, and then turned back to Wheeljack. "Surely you don't think I'm going to let any politics sneak in?" He tapped the top of his head, "See, I even left my crown at home. This tour is all about you."

"Uh-huh." Sure it was.

So. What did Starscream want, really? Maybe it really was a tour—but if it was only a tour, then he wouldn't have crossed the city, unannounced, without so much as a warning, much less an appointment. He'd probably wanted to catch Wheeljack off guard—that was the sort of thing Starscream did. Why? To intimidate him—to remind him that he knew where he kept his private lab and that he could and would invite himself in at any time? To try to catch him with some subversive projects laying out? (Joke was on him; Wheeljack wasn't working on any subversive projects.)

"So." Starscream hopped up to sit on the nearest lab table, crossing one leg over the other, like he thought he owned the place and could plant himself anywhere he liked. "What's the first stop on this grand tour?"

Wheeljack crossed his arms. "Well, let's start with lab safety."

Starscream's optics flickered in disbelief. "'Lab safety'?" He scoffed. "Really? We're beginning with the basics?"

"I think we should. It's important stuff—you know, things like, 'Don't sit your skidplate on strange tables in strange labs if you don't know what might have been spilled on them.'"

Starscream bolted up like somebody had set off a firecracker under his seat. "Lab safety. Got it."

The tour dragged on for an excruciating two hours. Wheeljack had thought he could've kept it to fifteen minutes. He could have just swept Starscream through an overview of his current major works—among other things: a small engine that didn't do anything but spin a fan, which he was using to study some Camien designs for more efficient energon-to-electricity conversion for inanimate machines; a tiny explosion powered by Ore-1 that he was planning to set off next week that had been popping in and out of existence in one corner for the past four weeks; a prototype for a shield that could absorb laser fire and use it to charge—

"Well, originally it was going to charge another laser," Wheeljack said, lifting the shield-generating forearm brace with the gun attached—the project he'd been working on when Starscream had barged in. "But that seemed kind of—I don't know, eventually you just get two guys shooting back and forth at each other forever, you know?"

Starscream—who, to see the project up close, was leaning as far over Wheeljack's lab table as he could without actually violating Wheeljack's for-Primussake-stop-touching-all-my-tables rule—said, "What about a sword? Some kind of energy sword."

And this was why a fifteen minute tour had taken two hours. Because Starscream would not stop asking questions and making suggestions. Every one-sentence explanation was dragged out with incessant questions for clarification into a ten-paragraph explanation, which was followed—at Starscream's insistence—by a two-sentence-quickly-turned-five-paragraph explanation of the potential practical applications for some project, even when he had no practical applications yet, and then Starscream started throwing recommendations at him—for how he should proceed, for what tweaks he should add, for ways it could be applied—and then Wheeljack had to patiently explain that most of them wouldn't work, and then Starscream asked why. At this point, Wheeljack had an entirely new theory for what it was Starscream wanted here, a theory that had shot quickly to the top of his list: he was trying to distract Wheeljack while something Starscream desperately wanted to keep hidden from him was going on somewhere else in the building. Wheeljack was going to be spending the next few days sniffing for any lingering signs that Rattrap had been nearby.

This was the last suggestion Wheeljack was willing to take. He was tired of this and tired of humoring Starscream. "I'm not making a sword," Wheeljack said tersely.

"But you coul—"

"I could, but I'm not going to. The energy expended by constantly extending a sword would rapidly use up any energy absorbed by the shield. Unless the shield is taking a constant stream of shots, the sword'll immediately splutter and die." He was talking fast, impatiently, and at this point he didn't care how impatient he sounded—he'd never requested suggestions in the first place. "I'm deciding what's going into the project, and—and it's not up for official review! It's my project!"

Wheeljack knew he sounded petulant. But it worked; Starscream straightened up immediately. "Of course. Far be it from me to try to barge in on your little project." ("Ha!" Wheeljack scoffed.) "I only meant—" Starscream didn't finish the statement. What? Out of explanations? Not going to try to claim he was being helpful when they both knew full well that that wasn't why he was here?

Because that sure as hell wasn't why Starscream was here.

"I think that's enough of a tour for today. The next time you want to see my lab, schedule a meeting. And I'd deeply appreciate it if it isn't scheduled on one of my few days off."

Starscream opened his mouth, shut it, and nodded dumbly.

"Thanks." He looked down at his shield. Energy sword. Pfft. Stupid.

Starscream looked lost for a moment—wasn't expecting Wheeljack to not take his pestering? even he had his limits—but then rallied, chest puffed up again. "Well. Then. I suppose I'll see you—whenever I next visit the space bridge. Or you come to my office, whichever—"

"You don't need me to show you where the door is."

Starscream laughed humorlessly. "No. You don't."

Wheeljack didn't look up from the shield project as Starscream walked to the other end of the lab. He heard the doors open, but not shut. "I'll leave you to the rest of your day off, then."

"Goodbye, Starscream."

The doors shut.

Starscream leaned against Wheeljack's lab doors, staring at his feet.

His spark was spinning like a top, too fast and teetering, sending static anxiety down his arms. His fingertips tapped nervously against Wheeljack's door—quietly, quietly. He didn't want Wheeljack to hear him and know he hadn't left yet.

But he couldn't bring himself to leave yet. He couldn't move. His fuel tank was twisted up like a crumpled engex can with the bottom punched out. He regretted convincing Bumblebee to leave him the hell alone while he was visiting Wheeljack—he hadn't expected to come out of the experience this… lost.

Collect yourself, Starscream. That's what you do. That's who you are—you're collected. You don't need Bumblebee; talking to him is only talking to yourself. So go on. Talk to yourself. Work through this.

Okay. Working through this. That… Okay. That—didn't go well. So. What… what had he done wrong, exactly?

True, Starscream hadn't gone on a date in… yikes. Okay. Longer than he wanted to think about. Fair. He was rusty. Rusty and—

And not very popular.

But he'd done everything right, hadn't he? He'd informed Wheeljack of his interest in spending time with him outside of work. He'd made a point of proposing a place that Wheeljack knew better than Starscream–he'd practically handed him power over their interaction. That was as non-threatening as he could make a date offer. That was—that was laying himself down at Wheeljack's feet. And Wheeljack had okayed it.

Starscream had showed up on a day that both he and Wheeljack had off (Starscream had had to give himself a day off just for this) and immediately made it clear that this was not a work thing. He'd shown interest in Wheeljack's non-work projects. Abundant, detailed interest. He had flirted his spark out. He had spent the last two hours preening and posing and showing off while he asked Wheeljack about his projects. He hadn't talked about himself once.

Wheeljack hadn't asked him about himself, once. That should have been Starscream's first clue that the interest wasn't reciprocal, shouldn't it?

But why? What had he done wrong? He'd thought the date was going great, but—

Maybe he was misreading this. Maybe this wasn't how Autobots did dates. Or how grounders did dates. Or—or how scientists did dates?

But no. No, Starscream had—he'd said he should come over to see Wheeljack's projects, and Wheeljack had agreed. He wouldn't have done that—not on his private projects—if he hadn't known Starscream was proposing a date. Why else would he have welcomed Starscream showing up in his own lab?

Right?

Which meant the problem was Starscream. Wheeljack had agreed to the date—he'd agreed to give Starscream a shot to prove himself—and… Starscream blew it. He didn't prove himself. He'd bored Wheeljack. He wasn't interesting enough. He wasn't interested enough. Who knew what? It could have been any of a hundred factors.

Starscream shouldn't have expected anything else. There was only so far he should have expected Wheeljack to be willing to be kind to him.

Hmph. It would have been nicer if Wheeljack hadn't been so kind to him. Wouldn't it? At least then Starscream could have sealed his armor against him from the start, the way he did with everyone else. But nooo, no, Wheeljack just had to—had to listen to Starscream, had to—respect him, to give him a chance. Had to coax Starscream into peeling up a corner of his armor and letting Wheeljack slide underneath. Where it hurt when he finally rejected Starscream.

Not that it was Wheeljack's fault, was it. No, Starscream was the one who'd let that armor peel up. Starscream was the one who gave Wheeljack room to hurt him. Starscream was the one who'd taken the chance Wheeljack had given him, and—and failed to live up to it, somehow.

Don't let people get close, Starscream. You know that. They're only going to let you down. You're only going to let them down.

He sighed in irritation at himself, pushed himself off of Wheeljack's doors, and trudged for the exit.

If you want a tiny fic/story, buy me a coffee and leave a prompt in the comments!

(Feel free to reblog/add comments)

[ofcupidslove]

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑡: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠

SUMMARY: Taking place during the time warp event, Cupid and Belgirel find Diligence on a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean. As they bring Dil back onto their ship, they are met by Aamon who’s been observing a pattern of escalating recklessness between Cupid and Belgirel.  TRIGGERS: Violence, Death Threats, Depression, PTSD, Suicidal Ideation  WRITTEN WITH: @cfdiligence, @ofhellsbells, @ofdivinerage​

DILIGENCE: Now if you asked Diligence if it was his fault he got kidnapped by pirates, he would struggle to answer. It wasn't in his nature to lie, but he also didn't enjoy the idea of admitting the truth. That perhaps the clothes he'd worn, while century appropriate, were a bit too regal in this area. That just maybe, when he encountered what he now knew as Pirates, he should have been more cautious. He didn't like to lie, but he wasn't super fond of the truth either. Now he was at sea, in an unknown land and time, and he really needed to figure out his best course of action. Reasoning with the pirates seemed to be a moot point.  They didn't seem to believe him when he said that he wasn't related to nobility. He was in the brig, though it technically wasn't called the brig yet. He was fairly sure it was 1705 when the term originated. Nonetheless, he needed to think of a plan to escape. Then he heard commotion above. He braced himself for whatever or whoever would enter below. Perhaps these new pirates would see less use of for him. Maybe he could fake his death and get back to land? Hmmm. "Hello?" He spoke politely, despite the situation (there was never a call for rudeness, after all), when the door creaked open.

CUPID: She knew there was someone aboard this ship who was from her timeline. She could feel them. So, she and Belgirel decided to commandeer the ship in search of these individuals. They docked their own pirate ship not too far away as Cupid swung in and landed on the deck of the ship they'd just commandeered. An opposing pirate came at her with their sword, but she blocked their hit before kicking them overboard. And with that it was on. Belgirel's crew came flying onto the ship. There was screaming, yelling, boots stomping, swords swinging left and right. Some more people were being thrown overboard in the commotion. Cupid followed the sensation of home until she reached the brig of the ship. "They're in here," she called out to Belgirel. The hello caught her attention and she whipped around to face the bolted door again. She was pretty sure she knew who was behind the door and Belgirel wasn't going to like it.

BELGIREL: Searching for Cupid's friends was a lot of fun. The pirate thing had mostly been Maze's fun for a long time, but she was off with the other Maze in Hell, talking to Lucifer. She'd left her pirate ship in their hands. Hopefully it would stay in one piece by the time they were done with it, but Belgirel made no such promises. Fighting another pirate ship was obviously bound to leave some damages, but they could all be fixed at some point. Not when Belgirel was around because they were not going to put in that kind of work. They only did this for Cupid. They were willing to do just about anything for Cupid, regardless of which Cupid she was and regardless of which universe she came from. They fought alongside Cupid once they boarded the other ship, easily winning fights against the pirates, even without their angelic strength. Once they finished defeating the pirates, they joined Cupid at the door. "Allow me," they offered with a grin as they kicked the door in. It flung off of its hinges onto the ground. They walked into the brig only to see who was in there. "Nope, there's nobody here." Belgirel shrugged and tried to lead Cupid back towards their ship.

DILIGENCE: Diligence wished it'd been a stranger behind the door. Or even his previous pirate captors. The only saving grace was the embodiment of love (well, the other embodiment of love that was not his sister). He would always consider himself lucky to be Cupid's friend, and perhaps with her here Belphegor would be a bit more bearable. (Though, Dil highly doubted it). He considered keeping quiet as Belphegor tried to deny his presence, perhaps it would have been for the best. But he disliked the way his eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and he missed the sight of the sky. It hadn't been that long admittedly, but the lack of freedom was daunting. It was funny how simple pleasures such as seeing the sky could mean so much when stolen. So, Diligence took the bullet and enforced his presence. "Ah, no. I'm here." He raised his voice a bit louder (not yelling though however, he wasn't rude and there was no call for it). "I'm a somebody." Not the 'nobody' that Belphegor proclaimed. Dil tried to remind himself that the presence of Belphegor probably wasn't as bad as those filthy and rude pirates. (He couldn't quite convince himself. )

CUPID: She stepped aside as Belgirel knocked the door off its hinges. Dust fluttered around the room and blocked her view but she knew someone was in there. She gave them a look that said oh really when they proclaimed otherwise and tried to leave. "Gears," she knew very well who was in the brig. "Unless your universe wants to keep him, you know he has to come with me," she pointed out as she tugged at their hand to pull them back when Dil made his presence known to them. "How the heaven did you get here, Daffodil?" she asked as she embraced him. She knew Belgirel wasn't thrilled to see them, but she was always glad to see a familiar face. "I mean not here, here...not the universe," she knew how they'd all ended up there. "I mean the pirate ship." He didn't strike her as the type to be slumming it with pirates. Based on his fancy coat and the fact that he was in the brig, the pirates weren't exactly calling him matie either. "How'd you end up with a bunch of pirates?"

BELGIREL: They knew Cupid wouldn't really fall for that, but they'd hoped for it anyways. They groaned when Cupid had to use facts and logic on them, and Diligence only made himself more known by calling out to them. "Okay, but consider. We weigh him down and throw him off the ship. He stays underwater forever, and neither universe has to deal with him. Boom. We save everyone the trouble." They let her pull them back anyways, but they weren't happy about it. "Doesn't look like a somebody," they grumbled, crossing their arms and looking away as Cupid hugged Diligence. "He probably tried to lecture them about trying harder, so they locked him up. And can you blame them really? I'd throw him in the brig too. In fact, let's leave him in this brig and sink the ship. I think that'd work out . . . swimmingly."

DILIGENCE: Daffodil, one of the only nicknames he didn't hold disdain for. Along with it came a person he greatly admired and respected. Then there was Belphegor. "The century or the ship?" He asked, he was fairly sure she meant the ship but it was good to be accurate. Asking questions never hurt, it just broadened the horizons of your learning. He hugged her back, finding comfort in the familiar face. Cupid was quick to classify her initial question, which was just as he suspected. "I came across the pirates, and they mentioned a ship. Then gave me the opportunity to board and observe it." Opportunity sounded a lot better then kidnapping. Then again, was it really a kidnapping if you could have stopped them if needed? He squared his gaze toward Belphegor. Swimmingly. Ha. "I do have to admit, your presence makes that idea more appealing than it has any right to be."

CUPID: It wasn't going to be easy to convince Belgirel to let Dil tag along (it also wasn't going to be easy to convince Dil to go with it), but it was for Diligence's own good that he stay close to Cupid. Cupid couldn't return home without the virtue. Chastity would be upset and Cupid wasn't the type to leave an angel behind. She left Belgirel on the battlefield after they defended her against one of the fallen and that was the last time she got a chance to see them. Up until now anyway. "The Michael from my universe will come looking for him," Cupid pointed out. "I don't think the world is ready for two Michaels." Cupid gave Dil a skeptical look when he explained how he got on the pirate ship. "They let you observe the ship...from the brig?" she gestured around them. "Gotta say, that's an interesting place to catch the full pirate experience." She didn't buy it for a second and neither did Belgirel. "You two argue like Maze and I do," she laughed. "Look, we've got a job to do and I need all hands on deck. So, Captain Belgirel and Commodore Diligence, I evoke the right to parlay."

BELGIREL: They didn't see how that would be any kind of problem for them. Belgirel doubted they would have to deal with that Michael. He would just come find Diligence and send him back. Belgirel wouldn't have to see either of them, so it sounded like a win-win. "Let Michael come for him then." They shrugged, but they made no actual action against the little virtue. "Horse shit." They coughed into their hands. Diligence was just like the one that Belgirel knew. He didn't like to admit he fucked up either. They didn't argue with Cupid about the fact that they argued like she and Maze did. She wasn't wrong, but they didn't find it that funny. They didn't like arguing with Diligence. They just wanted him gone. They'd been having a good time up until running across him, and just his presence was making their head hurt. "We have enough hands." They spread out their form. Thousands of arms waved fluidly behind them beneath their other set of wings. "We don't need his, and he's not a commodore." Commodores were ranked higher than captains, and there was no way Belgirel would be ranked anywhere beneath Diligence of all people. "He's a stowaway or a prisoner at best." They glared at Diligence. "See, he wants to. We ought to give him what he wants, Cupid."

DILIGENCE: Diligence was touched at the idea Michael would have come searching for him. Though he disagreed at the idea of two Michael's as a liability (He was the Lord Commander after all). "'Let' is the correct word." Just not in the context of the pirates 'letting' him observe the ship. It was more like Diligence 'let' himself get kidnapped for the sake of seeing a real life pirate ship and the ocean. Back in the day, when this past was present, he had dismissed so much of this for the sake of else. Now, thrust back into the chance, he wouldn't let the opportunity slide to see history at full capacity. Even if Belphegor called it horse shit, which it was not! It was a learning opportunity. Being compared to Cupid and Maze wasn't something Dil thought he'd ever hear. "I don't suppose that's a compliment." He noted with faint amusement. He grinned at the mention of parlay. "Code of the Pirate Brethren, set down by Morgan and Bartholomew, that allowed any person to invoke temporary protection and brought before the captain to "negotiate" without being attacked until the parley is complete." Diligence rattled off the definition with glee, happy to hear it used in its proper setting. "I'm good with parlay." He quirked his brow at the sight of Belphegor using their full form, it wasn't a common sight. Despite his dislike of the archangel, Diligence would admit it was impressive. Though, it was very different then what he'd come to expect from Belphegor, admittedly. "I'm capable of being a commodore." He was. Diligence was sure he was capable if he could put his mind to it. Nonetheless, Belphegor continued with a glare (it was very different from their usual look of annoyance). "Perhaps to the pirates, but I don't think Cupid would ever keep me prisoner." Belphegor, the way they were currently acting, perhaps.

CUPID: "Well, let's not let the pirates do anything else. They aren't known for their bedside manner, Dil." Some of them knew enough to be dangerous to even creatures like herself and Diligence. Cupid knew this because she'd also let herself get captured a time or two back in her universe. If curiosity was a sin she would've fallen a long time ago. "If we be pirates, we play by their rules, gentlemen. I've called for a truce and a truce we shall have. So, Belgirel put the wings away and Daffodil we aren't in Kansas anymore so please take caution and just...follow my lead." Dil hadn't had the opportunity to interact with Belgirel much in heaven or during the war and Cupid was thankful for that. It certainly would've ended with Diligence dying if they had met. But it also meant that Dil didn't know how much more serious threats from Belgirel were than from their twin. If after this Dil didn't consider himself lucky that their sloth variant was Belphegor, she'd be surprised. "Gears, put it away, come on..." she tugged at one of their hands to put some distance between them and Dil. "Look," she lowered her voice to a whisper so that only Belgirel could hear her. "If he gets annoying, you can put him to sleep in a safe space on the Morningstar. But he has to come back with me. He's Chastity's brother and I can't just leave him behind," she gave Gears her best pleading eyes and hoped that they would listen.

BELGIREL: The more Diligence opened his mouth, the more Belgirel really considered putting him six feet under. They hadn't yet because they were being as civilized for Cupid as they could be. They'd mainly just tried to talk her into being okay with getting rid of him, but she didn't seem to be budging on the matter. They did as she asked, grumbling as their form went back to looking more human. “Not on my ship, you're not.” Technically, it was Mazikeen's ship, but they were in charge of it now, and she wouldn't be happy about some virtue being in control of any part of it. She probably wouldn't have been happy about Cupid either, but she was mostly accustomed to Cupid's presence at least, even if it was a different Cupid. “If it keeps you alive, she might, and you are very close to being alive no longer if you continue arguing with me,” they threatened as they allowed Cupid to pull them away. “He's already annoying,” they pointed out, not bothering to whisper as they insulted him. It didn't matter if he heard that or not, but they whispered for the rest of what they said to her. “But fine,” they sighed. “I'm not going to kill him,” they agreed. “I won't make you lose anyone else, but I won't promise not to punch him if he really gets on my nerves. There's more than one way to put him to sleep.”

DILIGENCE: He couldn't argue with that one. Pirates were tricky, and sometimes dangerous. It was better not to have risked it at all. Not to say he regretted his choice, he enjoyed the first hand account, but still. Caution was well deserved in this situation. Before, Dil had convinced it was a trick of the ears. Perhaps he had wrong over the ocean waves, or misheard entirely. Maybe it was even a pet name or nickname. But no, this time he heard with clarity, Belgirel. Not Belphegor. He still remembered the day Belgirel was killed, the ruin in the wake of their demise. Could this truly be them?? Gears. Yes, that couldn't be a nickname for Belphegor at all. This was not Belphegor. Even that threat, was decidedly not Belphegor. It was different than anything Diligence had come to know from that particular sin. There was more to edge to it, more air of caution that he shouldn't cross. The two of them spoke amongst themselves for a moment, and Diligence couldn't help but be sure it was about him (why else whisper?). He used the moment to take account of his situation. He needed to be more cautious, not just around the pirates. Once they seemed to be settled on their discussion, Diligence spoke up somewhat eager to change the subject at hand (especially now that he knew he was playing with fire more than sparks). "How did you two end up on the seas?"

CUPID: She was relieved when Belgirel relented and allowed for a truce. "I can live with that," she agreed. Dil at least knew how to take a punch. This one would likely hurt a lot more given that it was coming from an archangel, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that. It appeared Diligence was coming to the realization that he needed to tread lightly. Belgirel had a much shorter fuse than Belphegor. "Oh, you know, the usual," Cupid smiled when Dil asked how she'd gotten to this point. "Apparently, the universe isn't really fond of having two Cupids in one place. It's sort of...throwing things off." As if to prove her point, one of the pirates flailed off the ship screaming something about being able to fly before dropping down into the depths below like a cement block. "Anyway, I tried to get away from the village so I didn't hurt people, ended up getting into an argument with Maze as one does, then we got kidnapped by a Pirate Maze, then Belgirel showed up. Long story short, I've got a week, maybe a week and a half to collected as many of our people as I can before the Archangels send us back to our timeline. Do you want to help or do you want to nap until it's done?" she asked Dil. She knew which answer Gears was hoping Diligence would give but then again, she wasn't asking them.

BELGIREL: They didn't imagine that they would actually do much damage to Diligence. Although Diligence was an extreme annoyance, he was Cupid's friend, and they wouldn't do anything to make her go through more trauma by making her lose her friend. Belgirel also knew Chastity well, and they liked her. They wouldn't make her lose her brother, even if he deserved it. They were surprised that he seemed to change his tune when they came back to him, but they didn't trust it. It seemed to have come out of nowhere, but Belgirel was being civil for now. “I saw you all arriving, and I just followed Cupid to see what she was getting up to.” They shrugged. “I've been blocking the other archangels from being able to sense her since she got here.” They quirked a brow at Cupid when she blatantly asked Diligence if he wanted to help or nap. They didn't expect her to actually ask him, but they didn't say anything about it.

DILIGENCE: Diligence nodded, instantly taking her word for it. It made sense after all. "It senses something off balance and tries to correct it, I assume." He grimaced. "Nothing awfully bad has happened though, right? You're okay?" She seemed well adjusted, but then again Cupid always did. She just told him the universe was throwing her around and had a smile on her face. So yeah, Diligence worried a little bit. He blinked at the pirate, then looked back to the duo. "As one does." He teased her gently, understanding all too well. One day they would have to compare notes, perhaps figure out together how to avoid the arguments. Logic and experience dictated, however, they would fail. Not that Diligence would ever stop trying even if he did fail, and he believed Cupid would do the same. "Pirate Maze?" He didn't know Mazikeen well, but somehow the idea of her as a pirate was fitting. "That was good thinking." He complimented Belgirel regarding masking Cupid from the archangels, surprising even himself. He did mean it though, Diligence would always compliment good thinking when he saw it, even if it was someone he had animosity with. Diligence nodded, taking in her information with the utmost seriousness. He refrained from saying I'm not one for napping, on the basis the sin of Sloth itself might take it as a jab (it wasn't, he just didn't nap in general). "I'd like to help in anyway I could."

CUPID: "Yeah the natural order has an...interesting way of correcting things," she grimaced. She didn't directly answer Dil's question when they asked her if she was okay. She wasn't and hadn't been for a long time, but she was holding it together. "I'll be okay," she promised. She wasn't okay now but she had to believe one day she would be. "Pirate Maze is somehow an even bigger ass than the actual Maze, so I'd watch out for her if you run into her on the ship." Belgirel wouldn't let Pirate Maze kill Cupid, but they wouldn't extend the same protection to Diligence. She was surprised when Dil complimented Belgirel's forward thinking and even Dil seemed to be surprised by it too, but she elected not to stir the waters between these two entities. "Good," she smiled when Dil said he wanted to help them with their quest. "Come on, let's get back on the Morningstar." Cupid made her way up to the main deck of the pirate ship they'd commandeered. The demon crew had already rounded up all the pirates and was now shifting loot from that ship onto the Morningstar. Cupid didn't mind them doing so as long as her people got collected and placed safely aboard. On this particular ship, Dil was the only one who belonged to her timeline. Cupid crossed the narrow plank that connected the two ships and made her way back onto the Morningstar. As soon as she was on the ship, she felt a familiar presence...on that wasn't Belgirel's alone. "Ah fuck..." she sighed, she turned on her heels and was face to face with Aamon.

AAMON: Aamon had heard rumors about what was going on on Earth. He'd even seen two Mazikeen's in hell which he was sure Lucifer was thrilled about. The one rumor that Aamon didn't like was that there was now an additional Cupid in his universe. One Cupid did enough damage on her own. And wherever there was a Cupid, there was at least one twin willing to do something stupid to keep her safe. So, his first instinct was to check in on Belgirel. Lo and behold, the other Cupid was the first person he ran into when looking for Belgirel. He raised an eyebrow when the Cupid noticed him. My, my...this little dove was more than damaged. He could feel the rage deep blow the surface that wasn't present in the Cupid that belonged to his timeline. Interesting. "Cupid," he greeted. Belgirel followed closely after her. "Gears. I see you've been busy."

BELGIREL: “Some way of correcting things,” they grumbled. All that really did was hurt people, Cupid included. “She's not bad,” Belgirel defended. They liked their universe's Maze. She was always fun to have around, and she made their brother happy. “She's just cautious about us causing problems for Lucifer, and she's used to eliminating threats.” They shrugged. “But yeah she'd definitely kill you.” That was mainly because Belgirel would let her and maybe encourage her a little. They didn't look like they thought much of Diligence's compliment, but it did surprise them. It was just a matter of fact, but they still hadn't expected him to say something positive about them.  Belgirel followed Cupid up onto the deck, ignoring Diligence saying he wanted to help. He could help clean the ship at least.

They sensed the presence of another archangel as they came out of the ship, and they grinned as they recognized it as Aamon. They quickly controlled their expression, turning it into an angry glare as they stormed over to him. “It's better than being bored. I heard you've been causing trouble in Salem.” They put a hand on his shoulder and punched Aamon in his gut.

DILIGENCE: "Noted." Regular Maze hardly liked him (that was more of a guess, he avoided direct contact on account of her many knives), he would stand far out of the way of Pirate Maze. "The Morningstar?" This time his voice was filled with loose amusement. Perhaps he should have been more insulted at the ship being named after the devil, but he couldn't blame Cupid (or Belgirel, especially Belgirel) in their affection toward Lucifer. Family was family. It was simple as that. Being left alone with Belgirel was not, and never would, be on Diligence's to-do list. There was danger in it. Danger that being alone with Belphegor lacked. So when Cupi stepped away, Diligence was on her tracks. Of course, Belgirel was too, but he basked in the silence. He was grateful that they cared for Cupid enough to appease to her wishes of a lack of a fight. He was a bit behind of Belgirel on account of maintaining a safe distance. But all thoughts of the threat Belgirel held ceased upon seeing Aamon. It had been a long time since he'd seen any violence between the archangels, Diligence knew better then to interfere. He would keep his voice down, observe with caution, and if things got heated, he'd try and minimalize the damage. Not that there was much he could do when it came down to it.

CUPID: She side eyed Begirel as they defended Maze. "This is a cosmic punishment because I defended Dil two minutes ago, isn't it?" she joked. She could hear the amusement in Dil's voice when they told him the name of the ship. "I didn't name her, that was all Maze," she replied as they made their way onto the ship in question. She felt tense and rigid as Aamon addressed her. Her eyes turned to Belgirel and she allowed them to take the lead in this. But their reaction was even more confusing than she expected. Their features turned angry and they came storming in on Aamon. Cupid's flight or fight response activated and she manifested her quiver, ready to use her arrows if she needed to back Belgirel up. But then she got a good look at them. Cupid knew Belgirel well. This wasn't intentional, out to harm you violence. There was a playful look on their face. This was comradery. The angel slung her quiver across herself and eyed the two from a distance.

AAMON: The archangel grunted when punched before laughing and returning the favor by punching Belgirel all the same. "You know," he chuckled once Gears caught their breath. "I can't take all the credit. Your--" he glanced over at Cupid and then back at Gears. "What do you even call an alternate version of your own wife? Your mistress?" he questioned. "Anyway, the energy she's creating contributed to that as much as I did," he teased. He noticed Diligence come into view just behind Cupid. The Archangel shook his head. "I thought we talked about your questionable choice in friends, Gears," he replied with feigned disappointment. He observed Cupid for a moment as she slung her quiver across herself. She'd really been gearing up to actually fight him if she needed to. Now that was new. Belgirel's own Cupid was annoying but harmless. This Cupid though. Oh, she was broken. Belgirel might've been in tune with her sadness, but Aamon was in tune with her rage and there was a lot of it.

BELGIREL: "Maybe." They shrugged. They did actually believe those things about Mazikeen, and at the very least, she was much better to spend time with than Diligence. "Maze just let us borrow her ship for the time being, so we can have a place to put Cupid's friends until we send them all home." It was only right that the ship was named after someone you loved. If Belgirel had their own ship, they would've named it after Belphegor.

Belgirel clutched their stomach after Aamon punched them, but they were laughing as they righted themself, using Aamon's shoulder as support. "She's actually Belphegor's girlfriend in her universe. Well, . . . they're not officially together because Figs still hasn't figured out that they're in love with each other, and they're already in the year . . . 2021 I think was what you said?" They looked to Cupid for confirmation. "Apparently, they're alive there, and I'm the one who died." They squeezed his shoulder as Aamon started talking about Cupid's contributions towards Salem. "Wow, look at you sharing the credit. That's so nice," they teased. "But I know you've been at this since last year when she wasn't here." She was definitely adding to the problem, but there was no doubting that Aamon started this. Belgirel looked back at Diligence and grimaced. "That one's not my friend. He's more like a parasite that apparently tagged along. "If you want to kill him, you can." They shrugged. They'd said they wouldn't do anything to Diligence, but they wouldn't stop Aamon if he wanted to.

DILIGENCE: Being equated with Maze wasn't something Diligence had ever considered the bounds of reality. He wasn't sure what he thought of it. "Oh?" He knew Mazikeen was loyal to Lucifer, but he hadn't known the depths of such devotion. Wife. In all fairness, if Cupid and Belgirel shared the same relationship as Belphegor and Cupid than it was hardly surprising they were actually married in this world. Remarkably, Diligence found himself happy for them. To feel that kind of love after living for a eternity, choosing to spend your eternity with someone, it was wonderful. There wasn't much disagreement to the 'not my friend' part, but there was an undeniable bitch face at the parasite part. Diligence held his tongue, on account of Aamon. He couldn't afford to be insolent in the face of someone who would kill him, though that might also include Belgirel in this world. The invite to kill him was insulting though. He wasn't much of a runner, and he wasn't much of a coward, so Diligence didn't flee. He did move though, slighting away from Cupid's side in case Aamon did take Belgirel up on the suggestion. He knew she would try to protect him. Belgirel would protect Cupid at all costs, but Diligence still didn't want her in the line of fire. Even in the growing-more-likely situation of him becoming a corpse at the bottom of the ocean, Cupid ws his friend. He wouldn't use her as a shield.

CUPID: Cupid flinched when Aamon punched Belgirel back, but Gears took it in stride. This seemed to be a customary greeting for the two and somehow Cupid wasn't surprised. Belgirel and Aamon had always been close. She gathered that he was here to talk Belgirel into sending her home. It didn't matter what fucking universe they were in, Aamon would never trust her. The feeling's mutual, she thought. Some of the tension in her shoulders eased as she felt Diligence's happiness for the love that Belgirel and their Cupid had. Dil's belief in love was strong and really it was sweet. She nodded when Gears asked her to confirm the year she'd come from. "Yeah, I'm about the oldest thing in your universe right now," she confirmed. The tension returned when Aamon brought up the way her powers were contributing to the havoc he was causing but Belgirel was quick to shut him down. "If we wanna talk about hobbies you should really get some better one's Aamon. You don't change at all between now and 2021. Boring," she yawned. She gave Belgirel an exasperated look when they told Aamon he could kill Diligence if he wanted. As if to prepare himself for some sort of dramatic death, Dil stepped away from her. "Oh for the love of love itself...Do we need to go over the rules of parley? No, you may not kill my friend. In fact," she whistled to get the crews attention. They quieted down and stopped what they were doing. "If anyone tries to harm Diligence in any way, I will do much worse than make you walk the plank. Are we understood?" she glared down each and every crew member until they have an Aye in understanding. She turned to look at Belgirel, matching their false sense of confidence with her own. "Are we savvy, Captain?"

AAMON: He quirked an eyebrow when Belgirel mentioned that this Cupid was actually Belphegor's Cupid. Interesting. "Still hasn't figured it out?" Aamon wasn't surprised but he was a little disappointed. It was the most obvious thing in the world and somehow Belphegor missed it. "That explains why she's so frustrated." She wasn't wrong that she was the oldest thing in this universe at the moment. Her features were youthful but the eyes were a dead giveaway. She'd seen some things in her long life, things that couldn't be changed. He felt Belgirel squeeze his shoulder when Salem came up. So that was a sensitive topic for this Cupid. "You know me, I'm always happy to share the credit when it's due," he grinned. The grin only widened when Cupid called him boring. He kind of liked this Cupid. There was a fierceness to her, she was a wild fire of conflicting emotions. "Well, if you've got some ideas I'm all ears, darling," he smirked. Now, killing Diligence was quite the hobby. It wasn't his universe's Diligence so it's not like his death would have an impact. Aamon could make it as fast or as slow as he wanted. Diligence knew this and almost seemed resigned to it, but Cupid wasn't. That fire inside her flared as she reprimanded Belgirel for even suggesting it. Aamon watched with amused satisfaction as Cupid gathered the attention of the crew. She was relentless in a way that Belgirel's Cupid wasn't. Aamon grinned as she squared up to Belgirel. She was using their own boastful confidence against them. Atta girl. "Oh, I'm sure Belgirel wants to see just how much worse you can make their punishment. Gotta admit, it's a tempting offer."

BELGIREL: "I know, right?" Belgirel said incredulously. "I knew they were slow at understanding love, but that's a bit excessive isn't it. I don't know what they can even do for Figs at this point." They shrugged and then laughed as Aamon commented on Cupid's frustrations. "Among other things, yes. Our siblings in her universe haven't exactly been helping with her frustrations either." They didn't give Aamon details about it just yet. Cupid had told them a lot in confidence, and they weren't going to spill out everything she said, even to their trusted family. They watched with amusement as Diligence stepped away from Cupid as if trying to make sure she didn't caught in the middle of Aamon killing him. He should've stayed close to her. At least then he might've had a chance at survival because Aamon knew that Belgirel wouldn't let anything happen to Cupid, but things only got more interesting as Cupid threatened the crew." They couldn't help smiling as she did it, and they glanced over at Diligence as they thought about pushing her to uphold her threats. They weren't going to hurt Diligence, but that was sure more tempting now. They gave Cupid a once over, picturing what kinds of things she might've tried to do. They let a hand casually point to Aamon, approving what he was saying about them. "It is." They chuckled. "You should let me know what kinds of worse things you'd do to me if I don't comply." They smirked, meeting her eyes.

DILIGENCE: It always amazed him how Cupid had no trouble standing eye to eye with the archangels, especially the ones who became the seven deadly sins. Aamon especially was dangerous, and that appeared to be the case for Belgirel too. Cupid was fearless. Diligence almost envied such a feeling, if he didn't fear it that is (he couldn't let feelings, including courage, blind him. he needed to be able to think with clarity. fear granted you that). He could see her exasperation with his own actions as well, but that had been something Dil was prepared for. It was an unavoidable casualty of trying to make sure she wasn't harmed on his behalf. A folly effort, he now saw, given her explicit threat for anyone who harmed him. "Cupid..." He spoke softly, lacking intent on continuing into a sentence but undeniably touchedby her declaration of protection for his sake. Though the crew were quick to resign to Cupid's threat, the archangels were less convinced (not that that in itself was shocking given who they were). Though, Diligence would admit, Aamon and Belgirel's reaction the threat weren't something he would have guessed. His eyes widened almost comically at the challenge to Cupid, and the look in Belgirel's eyes. Briefly he wondered if this was Hell. Though, in that moment of Belgirel's reaction, Diligence couldn't help think of how different they were compared to the sin of Sloth in his own universe, Belphegor. Identical faces, and the same in some ways, but like night and day in others. Then again, perhaps Diligence was wrong. He didn't know either of them like Cupid did. Yet, he found himself unconvinced at the idea Belphegor was capable of the reaction Belgirel gave.

CUPID: Color rushed to her cheeks as Aamon and Gears talked around her regarding her own relationship with Belphegor. She gave Gears a warning look when he mentioned their siblings from her universe. Cupid didn't trust Aamon with that information. She knew how Aamon handled situations and as fun as it would be to watch Aamon tear into Bells family, she didn't trust he wouldn't take it too far. Especially since he could just go home to his actual siblings in this universe at the end of the day. She calmed only slightly when she heard Diligence calling to her softly after she reamed out the crew. Dil was trying to pull her from the edge of her storm, but it was too late for that.

Her eyes met Belgirel's and she watched his aura change. Passionate lavender shifted to lustful red. Her whole body felt hot and gooseflesh arose on her skin when she realized he was turned on by this. He wanted her to punish him. She broke eye contact and looked away to try to collect herself before she did anything stupid, but it was too late for that too. She spotted a piece of rope hanging loosely off the ship's mast and already had an idea formulating in her head. "Alright, Gears, you wanna know what I'd do to you?" Cupid twirled her finger like she was twirling vine and the rope came to life. It coiled around Belgirel's ankles like a snake and hoisted him upside in the air. She took a step forward and grinned at him as if she'd won the game. "You should really learn to respect your elders, Belgirel. Or maybe just learn to shut your mouth."

She could see his archangel blade secured to a sheath at their side. Cupid pulled the blade out of the sheath. "You can have this back when you apologize to Dil," she empathized as she pocketed the blade. Besides, if Aamon was going to stay on this ship, she needed a way to defend herself and Dil if need be. "Come on, Dil," Cupid took Dil's hand. "Belgirel has some thinking he needs to do and Aamon needs to say goodbye before he goes back to hell." She walked away with Dil and made her way to the Captain's Quarters just behind Aamon and Gears. Here, she would be able to at least eavesdrop on whatever Aamon was going to talk to Gears about.

AAMON: He noticed the sharp look this Cupid gave Belgirel when the topic of their siblings from the other universe came up. There was an air of distrust. Something about the information was sensitive. He'd have to remember to get the details from Gears later. He rolled his eyes when Belgirel pushed forward, asking this Cupid what she'd do to him. He could feel tension radiating from both of them. Aamon, the crew, hell even the ship were invisible to the pair in this moment. Normally Aamon would've supported this, but not from these two. Not when there was a void in play. They were playing with each other's chaos.

Belgirel's own Cupid would've backed down, but this one did something neither Aamon nor Belgriel anticipated. Rope sprung to life and a moment later, Belgirel was hanging by their ankles looking like he was having the time of his life. Aamon didn't make a move to free him. If Belgirel really wanted to, he could get down. He could stop Cupid in her tracks. But he didn't want to stop her; he wanted her to keep going and going and going. She was winding him up, making him manic. She wasn't expanding her power onto him, but just the sheer nature of who she was was driving Belgirel's own chaos. Aamon quirked an eyebrow when Cupid took Belgirel's blade. He thought for a moment that he saw Cupid glance in his direction. He had. She was taking the blade to protect herself from him. A scarier thought arose in his head when he realized this small entity believed she could actually take down a being of Aamon's power on her own. For Belgirel's sake, Aamon wouldn't lay a hand on her, but someone who was just as strong might. And Belgirel would step in to defend her and likely get himself killed.

Aamon watched the fiery Cupid disappear into the Captain's Quarters. He was quite as he leaned against the edge of the ship and observed his brother. "Belgirel..." he kicked at his brother until the rope spun him in a way that allowed him to face Aamon. "You're playing a dangerous game here so I'm only going to ask once. What are you doing?"

BELGIREL: He just smiled more when Cupid averted her gaze. There was something victorious about it that thrilled him. All of this thrilled him really. Between the piracy and the fire this Cupid tended to have in her eyes, it all amped him up. He probably should've been more careful. The void always liked to encourage his chaotic behavior to the point that it was dangerous, but Belgirel could never see anything with Cupid as something dangerous. She was just fun. That was all.

"Oh, I do," he assured her. At this moment, there was nothing he wanted more than to see what kind of punishment she had in store for him. He watched as the rope started to come to life. He was quick enough that he was sure he could've avoided it if he'd wanted to, but he'd been honest before. He'd wanted to see what she would do with this. He laughed as the rope pulled him up into the air. "Bondage? I was kind of expecting more. You really . . .  left me hanging." He giggled. "Aw, come on, Cue. You know me. When do I ever respect my elders? Besides, there's other ways to get me to shut my mouth." He winked at her jokingly. He threw his arms down when she took his blade. "Hey, that's not fair. He doesn't deserve an apology." He rolled his eyes but blew Cupid a kiss as she left. "Love you!" he teased.

He could've just gotten down once she was out of sight, but that was the coward's way out. He'd stay hanging for now. He grinned when Aamon spun him around. "Dangerous? It's Cupid. She's not really going to use that thing to stab anyone, and if she does, I'll just get between her and whoever she's considering stabbing." He shrugged as best he could while upside down.

DILIGENCE: Diligence would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed by Cupid's display. Hoisting Belgirel in the air with such ease and grace, Diligence would also be lying if he said he wasn't amused. Though he didn't often find comedy in actions such as these, this moment was an exception. He blinked his eyes at Cupid's request. "Ah... they don't- it's okay, it's a thing- it happens." There was a connotation, that if Belgirel apologized, Dil would have to as well. It was the respectable thing to do after all, the noble thing, He'd rather not. Plus, though Belgirel took it to sharper extremes then Belphegor, Dil was used to their rumble. Diligence and Sloth were fated not to get along, trading snipes with Belphegor was just like saying hello, hows your day. It was normal. It was Belgirel's more lingering and deadly threats that made snaps in the otherwise safe scenery. There was also something very often putting in the face he assosiated with Belphegor acting as Belgirel did. Almost unnerving. Diligence in his life never thought it'd be possible to miss Belphegor. Of course, he was such he'd regret it soon enough. But alas, in this moment, Diligence missed them. Cupid took his hand and there was safety in it, in her. She was a friend, true and true. So when she led him away, he didn't hesitate to follow.

AAMON: He sighed deeply and rubbed his temples. Belgirel was chaotic to the point that he allowed himself to be blind to the danger before him. The Archangel slipped out his blade and in one rapid motion, he cut the rope holding Belgirel and watched his brother slam into the ground. "You're being manipulated," he replied point blankly. Deep down, he knew Belgirel knew this, but it would take some convincing to bring that to the surface. "It is Cupid, but she is not your Cupid," he looked toward the Captain's Quarters where he was sure Cupid was listening in. "I don't know what happened to this one, but she's broken in a way you can't fix." She was broken in the same way he and Belgirel were broken. It was a fundamental component inside of them that couldn't be fixed. "You feel her sadness..." Aamon pulled his brother to his feet. "I feel her rage and her frustration." He made sure Belgirel was looking him in the eyes now as he spoke. "She would absolutely use your blade to defend herself. You always liked your angels a little free spirited but she isn't a free spirit, Gears. She is a wild fire that will consume everything in its path, including you. You need to send her home. Tonight."

BELGIREL: He tried to prepare himself once Aamon brought out his blade. He knew his brother wasn't going to use it to stab him or anything. It was fairly obvious he was going for the rope. Apparently he had more problems with them hanging upside down than Belgirel did. They landed on the ground with a thud and a grunt. “I could've gotten down on my own, you know?” they pointed out as they dusted themself off. “Cupid wouldn't manipulate me,” not intentionally anyways. No, she'd only manipulate your twin and lie to them their whole life about me, but she'd never do it to you. Belgirel grimaced, but they also knew that it wasn't just Cupid that Aamon was referring to manipulating them. The Void was always trying to do that. Belgirel tried not to listen to it most of the time, but they couldn't help that it hyped them up sometimes. Having Cupid around only hyped them up more, but they refused to see it as a bad thing because it was Cupid. There was nothing truly bad about her. “I'm not saying she is my Cupid, but does it really make a difference?” They didn't think so, but they knew Aamon was right. They knew some of the things that had happened to her, at least what she'd told him. “I'm not trying to fix her. I'm just trying to be there for her. I can at least help, can't I?” They took Aamon's hand as he helped them up. “She's got a lot to be sad and angry about,” they defended, meeting Aamon's eyes. “And if someone is attacking her in a way that she needs to defend herself, maybe she should be able to stab them.” They didn't want her defenseless. “She isn't anything like that. I'll be fine. I'm not sending her home yet. We need to find more of her friends first, and Lucifer said we could have two weeks before we send her home. I'm going to use all of that time.”

AAMON: "No, to her testament she's not doing it intentionally." That was somehow worse. She was doing all of this by the sheer nature of who she was. She was as blind to the danger as Belgirel. Aamon would make her see it too. "Yes, Belgirel, it does make a difference. Your Cupid pulls you back when you get a little out of hand. She grounds you. This one..." he shook his head. "She feeds that fire which feeds your void. She doesn't realizes she's doing it, it's just who she is. She'll hold your hand and drag you onto the battlefield like either of you stand a fighting chance against what's out there." It was harsh and he knew Cupid was listening, but he didn't care. It was a truth that they both needed to hear if they were going to survive the next two weeks together. "She can't be helped, Belgirel. Not by you. I'm sure she's got a lot to be sad and angry about. She's in love with one of two idiots no matter what universe she's in," he sighed. His brothers really were the dumbest sometimes. "But whatever's happened to this Cupid has put her in a place where her flight or fight response is always active." Aamon could feel it. She was always on edge. "Everything is a perceived threat even when it isn't. And her response to threats isn't to run, it's to fight." That was Belgirel's response to threats too, real or imagined. Neither of them would hesitate or take a minute to even think about what was happening, they would just leap to defense. "The only reason she's probably survived this long is because Belphegor's response was usually to run, to get them both out of the situation. Except the one time they didn't and I don't need to remind you of the price they paid for that." Aamon had already lost one brother to their stupid need to defend Cupid. He wasn't going to lose another.

CUPID: She'd sent Dil out to help the crew members. She knew they weren't going to hurt him after the threat she issued. But Cupid herself stayed in the Captain's Quarters. She was, naturally, eavesdropping. It wasn't easy to hear everything, so she quietly opened one of the windows facing the side where Aamon and Gears were talking. She could hear their voices better that way. She caught the conversation just as Gears started to defend her by telling Aamon she wouldn't manipulate him. He was right, Cupid would never intentionally hurt him. The display back there was done because he literally asked for it and he wasn't listening to her. Besides, she hadn't really hurt him in any way. He was able to get out of the bindings if he wanted to. What she hadn't expected were the harsh words that came next. It was Aamon's voice telling Belgirel that she was feeding his void. That she couldn't be helped. Not by him. She was broken in a fundamental way that made her dangerous to someone she loved more than life itself. She was always keyed up, always ready for the worst, always ready to fight something. And Belgirel would always be there to join in the fight with her. If this universe's Michael came to collect her, Cupid knew what she would do. She would put up a fight. Belgirel would come to her aid because he always came to her aid. She would feed the fire and the void would push him deeper into it.

She felt the wind get knocked out of her when Aamon remarked that the price Belphegor paid in this universe was their life for hers. It was clear Aamon didn't want Belgirel paying the same price. She couldn't blame him. He was right. If they kept going like this, Belgirel would be lost too. Cupid quietly slid against the wall and covered her mouth to contain the sobs as tears slid down her cheek. Her form kept phasing and she felt like she was burning on the inside. She tried to self-regulate, tried to calm down but she couldn't. She was losing control fast. This must've been what Belphegor felt like when they couldn't control themself. She felt so helpless to stop any of this. Unknown to her, below deck all of those whom Belgirel had put to sleep were starting to stir. They didn't awaken, not fully. No, instead they sat up, moving about the cabin as if they were re-enacting their dreams. Dreams that were increasingly becoming more and more manic with each second.

BELGIREL: Aamon was right, and Belgirel hated it. Their own Cupid always pulled them back from the ledges that they were ready to throw themself off of. They weren't always suicidal, but their actions often were. They often needed reminded of what was going too far, and this was no exception. They just didn't like to think Cupid had anything to do with making it worse. It weighed on their heart, and the Void tried to egg them on to fight Aamon over it. Fortunately, they didn't listen. "She can be helped," they disagreed. They wanted desperately to help her. They felt like they could do it. They could understand what she was going through more, the anger she felt, the inner panic. Why couldn't they help? "Belphegor isn't an idiot," they spoke defensively, the fire in them building as their own void expanded. They hated this conversation. They wanted it over. "They might be slow in understanding their feelings, but they're not stupid. If they were still here, they'd help her too." Thunder rumbled in the clouds overhead as a storm brewed inside Belgirel, but not a drop of rain fell yet as Belgirel tried to keep their emotions contained. When Aamon mentioned the reason for Belphegor's death, the clouds broke, pouring out their contents onto everyone outside the ship. The Void was loud with its reminders of everything they'd done wrong with that, filling their head with descriptions and imagery of what it was doing to their twin because they hadn't been able to prevent their death. You should've been the one to protect Cupid. Then Belphegor wouldn't be dead, and now you're going to send her away, when you're the best at protecting her? "No, shut up, stop," they whispered to the Void, but they were talking to Aamon too. "What am I supposed to do?" they sighed, and the rain stopped. "I'm not going to just send her home now. She still needs to find some of her friends. I can get my blade back from her before she does anything with it?" Maybe that would be enough

AAMON: "Not by you," he repeated. "And here I thought Lucifer's sin was pride," he scoffed. "You and I both know this has less to do with Cupid and more to do with you. What exactly was your plan here? She is the oldest being in existence right now. It's going to take more than two weeks in your cave of wonders to undo what's been done to her, Gears. You can't save the princess this time, but there is someone else who can. They're back home, in her universe, probably waiting for her just like your Cupid is waiting for you." Just because Gears couldn't save this princess didn't mean he couldn't save himself. He just needed to be less fucking stupid about it or he'd doom both himself, the princess, and the world. Aamon didn't react at Belgirel's outburst. He was quick to anger much like Aamon himself, but the anger usually lasted in sort bursts. Belphegor was always a trigger point for him. He had to stop himself from scoffing again when Belgirel remarked that Belphegor would've helped this Cupid. Helping Cupid was what got Belphegor killed to begin with. It wasn't exactly a shining example of what one should do, but love tended to make the twins blind to these things. He could see Gears fighting some sort of internal battle with himself until the storm settled and he resigned himself to the truth. "You're gonna have to do more than just get your blade b--" he was cut off by the sound of a body dropping into the waters blow. Aamon leaned over the side of the ship to get a better look and could see one of the individuals Belgirel put to sleep was in the water now. He leaned a little further and could see a couple more individuals standing on the edge of the ship, getting ready to jump. "It looks like you have bigger problems for the moment," he glanced over at his brother as another individual jumped into the water. "Stay here. Don't get involved," he ordered and began making his way toward the Captain's Quarters to find Cupid.

CUPID: The conversation was still going on outside between Aamon and Gears, but Cupid could no longer hear it. She was still reeling in her own guilt over the role she'd played in all of this. Her own flight or fight responses were feeding the void. It wasn't the first time her actions had fed one of the twins voids. It was never a voluntary action on her part, but every time it happened she felt violated and grossly used. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a splash just below. It sounded like a body hitting the water. Cupid peered out of the open window and saw one of the individuals Gears put to sleep in the water. He was drowning. A second body shortly followed, dropping into the water like a log without a thought.

"Shit," she whispered. She knew she was causing this. Her emotions were making them manic even in their sleep. She needed to stop this. She needed to save them. She sprung to her feet and pulled the cabin door open. She stepped back momentarily when she came face-to-face with Aamon. He had a determined look on his face. She knew what he was here to do. He was going to send her home. She couldn't let him do that. Not until she at least had a chance to fix this and make it right. She matched his determined expression with her own. "Move," she ordered as she pushed past him. She held out her hand and performed the same spell she'd used to tie Belgirel up earlier. Ropes shot through the air and coiled themselves around the remaining manic individuals, tying them to the ship and preventing them from jumping overboard. Cupid ran to the edge of the ship to get a better look at the waters below. There were still several individuals down there. No matter how hard she tried, the rope wasn't long enough to reach them and the waters were now dangerous due to the storm Belgirel created earlier. The current kept sweeping the individuals under. "Gears!" her tear stained eyes looked up at them. "Please, we have to help them!"

BELGIREL: They scowled as Aamon talked to them, only upset at the fact that he was right about all of it, and they didn't want to admit it. "Maybe I can't fix all of it, but I could still help some. I died in her universe. It's gotta do something for her if I'm living here. Maybe I can give her some kind of closure at least. Haven't you ever wished you could have more time Belphegor, even if it was only a little while? That's what she's getting here with me. Maybe I'm not fixing her, but I'd like to think I'm at least helping." They had to think they were helping or else what was the point? They were sure Aamon didn't want them to see a point in her being here at all. He wanted her gone. They would've argued more if it weren't for the sound of dropping bodies. They felt panicked by the look in Aamon's eyes as he told them to not get involved. Like hell would they listen to that order. They ran at him, grabbing his arm to pull him away. "Stop! Leave her alone! It's not her fault!" They started biting his arm as Cupid came out of the cabin, only releasing their teeth from his arm once Cupid addressed them specifically. They wanted to make it all better for her, so she'd stop looking so sad. The easiest solution to that was just doing what she said. Without a second thought, they jumped off of the boat into the water. The water was violently pushing people around, but Belgirel navigated through it easily. They grabbed everyone they could and hauled them all back onto the ship. "There, they're all safe," they sighed, laying down on the ship. They held them all down with their wings while they rested for a moment. "Let's just all take a nice, nonmoving nice, yeah? Wouldn't that be nice?"

AAMON: Aamon took a step toward his brother and leveled with him for a moment. "What you call kindness and closure is cruelty," he replied in an even tone. "I should know." He'd seen a lot of cruelty and he'd contributed to a lot of it himself. Wrath was rarely kind. Even now his words were biting and cutting, but they came from a good place. He needed to protect Belgirel so he didn't end up dead like Belphegor. "She'll grow attached to you and you to her. Two weeks will pass in the blink of an eye and it'll be time for her to go. Maybe you'll drop her off in her universe, maybe someone else will...but the point is at the end of these two weeks she loses you again. That wound opens right back up again. You don't get to come back and neither does her Belgirel. And even though you have your own Cupid, you'll come back home and you'll find yourself missing the other one. It'll almost feel like she died too." He would be mourning her loss almost as much as she would be mourning his.

They were playing a dangerous game allowing each other to get attached, to build affection, to miss each other. She needed to go home whether Belgirel wanted her to or not. Aamon reached the Captain's Quarters just as Cupid opened the door. Their eyes met and it didn't take long for her to figure out he was here to send her back. He watched as she steeled herself, bumping roughly into his shoulder as she pushed passed him. For a moment, he stared at her trying to process whether this was actually happening. It was. A moment later, Belgirel was biting down on his arm, trying to prevent Aamon from reaching Cupid.

Aamon swatted his brother, but the jackass didn't let go until Cupid addressed him again. Fucking hell. The eyes. Belgirel always fell for those sad eyes that Cupid gave him. Aamon rolled his own eyes as Cupid pleaded with Belgirel. Naturally, Belgirel didn't even think twice as they jumped into the waters below and pulled everyone back onto the ship. It was almost as if the entire conversation about being careful had gone over his fucking head. As Belgirel began to put the others into a deeper sleep, Aamon turned his attention back to Cupid. Her back was turned to him and she was surveying the waters below in case there were still more people down there.

In two strides, Aamon made his way over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and gripping onto it so he could fly her back to her universe. In a swift motion, she wheeled around to face him. He expected that much, but what he didn't expect was the feeling of a sharp dagger a few inches above his chest. It was Belgirel's archangel blade. If he moved any closer toward Cupid or if she moved any closer to him, the blade would penetrate his skin. All intentions of sending her home were gone now, he didn't spare a second thought as he reached for his own blade.

CUPID: She felt both relief and guilt as Belgirel jumped into the waters below. Aamon was right. She shouldn't have put Belgirel in this position. She was constantly dragging them into one thing or another. These were adventures to them and fuck ups to everyone else. If they continued like this one of her fuck ups would get them killed. The last time she felt this helpless was when she found out about Belphegor's void. Back then it had a hairpin trigger that she had no idea how to navigate. It took her a long time to figure out the right things to say or do, but she and Bells figured it out eventually. Maybe there was still hope that she could figure out how to navigate around Belgirl's void. Maybe...maybe...she just had to try. She helped Gears back onto the ship and was a flood of I'm sorrys and promises that she could and would do better. She wanted to be the person they needed right now just as much as they wanted to be the person she needed.

As Gears worked to calm down the individuals they'd collected from the waters, Cupid leaned over the ships edge to get a better look at the depths below in case there were more bodies they might have missed. That's when she felt it. A hand on her shoulders, rough and heavy like hands from the Empty. Panic filled her chest and she wanted to scream for Belphegor like she had inside that dark realm but no sound came out. She wheeled around to face the unknown but when she did, she didn't see Aamon. What she saw instead was the void. She didn't know what happened. Her body's fight or fight responses simply worked on their own to defend her. And her first line of defense was the Archangel blade. She'd grabbed it without much of a thought and held it out to defend herself.

But when she looked up from the blade a second time, the void was gone and Aamon was there, plain a day. There was a cold, sharp look in his eyes that she'd never seen before. It only took moments to recognize what it was. "A-Aamon..." she breathed and tried to back away, but there was no where to go. She could fly but he was faster and stronger. He would get to her in no time at all. "I-I..." she stammered. She had no words. This stuff only happened in her nightmares, it never happened when she was awake. She thought she had it under control. Why did this happen? There is something fundamentally fucked up inside you, Cupid. He'd be doing you a service just ending it. She was trembling now. "Please..." she whispered. She didn't know if she was begging him to back off or do it. She just knew she'd fucked up.

BELGIREL: Despite Aamon being the sin of Wrath, Belgirel had never considered him cruel. They looked up to him and aspired to be like him. Most of the time, when he was mean to someone, they either deserved it, or he was just doing what no one else was willing to do. With Belgirel, that usually translated to Aamon telling Belgirel what he didn't want to hear, but that he needed to be told. They had to take a moment to accept what he was saying. They already had attached to Cupid a little, and the thought of her leaving did make them sad, even when they had their own Cupid to return to. She felt like a remaining connection to Belphegor. Even though she told them what their twin was struggling through, it still helped to think of them in some other way than what the void liked to show them. "And what if we're already attached? What difference does a few weeks make? At least she'll get more good times to remember, and at least she'll get to go home after finding more of her friends." It was her choice in the end too, at least they wanted it to be, which was part of why they fought so hard for her when she asked for help.

"It's okay. You're okay," Belgirel assured Cupid as she apologized. They didn't blame her. They couldn't. They finished making sure everyone was down for the count while Cupid checked to make sure no one else was in the water. They were pretty sure they'd gotten everyone, but there was no harm in checking. When they glanced up again. Cupid was holding a blade, their blade, towards Aamon. Aamon was starting to reach for his own blade, and Belgirel sprinted forward in a panic. They stepped between both of them and took their blade back from Cupid. They spun around towards Aamon and held their blade pointed towards their own heart. "If you do anything to her, then I bring us all down," they threatened. "I think you need to leave. I can handle this from here. I'll be more careful. Just leave her alone. Please."

AAMON: "You always did like running into black holes even though you were warned it would hurt," Aamon sighed. He could warn Belgirel time and time again that this was a bad idea, but that wouldn't change a single thing. The kid needed to experience the pain in order to learn. And even then, Aamon doubted Gears would've done anything different. He was dead set in allowing Cupid to stay. He and Cupid were both creatures of the present, rarely thinking about how their current actions will affect the future. Aamon knew once this Cupid left, to Belgirel it would feel like losing another part of Belphegor again. There would be clean up to do and heartache to resolve. But the kid was a glutton for punishment in that way.

Aamon watched as clarity dawned on Cupid's face when he grabbed his own blade. Her pleaded whispered carried both a prayer for mercy and a call to end whatever she was going through. Broken little dove...what have they done to you? he wondered to himself. Before he could act, Belgirel was in between them. He tore the Archangel blade out of Cupid's hands and...oh for fucks sake. "Someone ought to raise Shakespeare back from hell. He'd be proud of your dramatics, Belgirel," he sighed as he drew back is blade and placed it in its sheath.

"I'll be more careful he says, in the same breath that he threatens self-destruction," Aamon rolled his eyes at his brother before gazing at Cupid. Belgirel was a lost cause, but the reality of the situation was dawning on her at least. "If were looking to find yourself, to heal yourself from whatever hurt your world has caused you, you won't find it here, Cupid. You know how this story ends. He can't save you, but that doesn't mean you can't save yourself. You are not a shattered porcelain doll that needs to be put back together. Truth be told, you're stronger than he is." Sure, he could've told this to her telepathically but that would be the cowards way of doing things.

"You know what you need to do." She needed to put the cap back on the bottle. Was it fair to her that the burden of control fell upon her shoulders? No, it wasn't. Aamon got the sense that it was this kind of burden alone that had broken her to begin with. The demand that she always be strong no matter how broken she felt. He was sorry that both of his siblings failed her in this way, but at least one person needed to be in control of this flame or they would all light the world on fire. In this moment, that person needed to be her. "So do it."

CUPID: She was about to die again. Aamon was going to kill her and whether she wanted to admit it or not, he had every right to. She was a threat in more ways than one. He was doing what he felt he needed to do to protect someone he loved. Cupid herself had been put in that position before. She knew she would've done the same to protect Belphegor. Even though Aamon was angry with Belgirel right now, his aura shone strong with familial love. When he looked at her, it shone with distrust.

Cupid felt Belgirel's hands on hers and in a flash, he took his blade back from her. She didn't fight him on it, not until he wheeled around and pointed the thing at his own heart. "Belgirel!" she jumped forward to face him. She placed one hand over his chest, just where the blade was hovering, and cupped his face with her other hand. "Gears, please..." her voice shaky and tears ran down her cheeks. "I love you. I love you so much, please don't make me lose you again like this." She moved her hands down to cup his hands. "Please, put it down, Gears."

Her back was turned to Aamon and she couldn't see what he was doing. It didn't matter. She never took her eyes off Belgirel. Not even for a moment as Aamon spoke. He was right. She came here looking for all the wrong things and she allowed herself to forget the danger. She knew what she had to do, both for her sake and for Belgirel's. "Hey don't look at him, look at me," she whispered, trying to keep Belgirel grounded. "I need to go," she replied gently. She tried to keep the sadness at bay because she knew he could feel it. "Just for the night. I need to get off the ship and I need to be alone." She needed to figure out how to put everything back in the bottle again. "I can keep myself warded from the other Archangels for the night. Please...I need you to trust me," she brought his hand to her lips and placed a kiss upon it. "Don't follow me. I'll be back in the morning, okay?"

BELGIREL: Belgirel might've laughed at that in other circumstances. They had liked doing that. It had been fun and exciting at the time, but this situation was getting a lot less fun. "He's always been proud of my dramatics. It's why I inspired him so much." Maybe not all of the plays that Shakespeare wrote about Belgirel said anything good about them, but they didn't particularly mind either. Belgirel didn't care how dramatic they had to be as long as it was protecting Cupid from Aamon.

They ignored Aamon's insults as Cupid drew their attention to her. Belgirel might've been threatening self-destruction, but they only did it because they knew it would make Aamon back off. He cared both about Belgirel and about keeping the Void at bay, so they knew he wouldn't have risked it, especially when he considered Belgirel crazed because of Cupid's presence. Belgirel didn't consider there actually being any risk there. They sheathed their own blade. "I wasn't going to," they told her. "I just needed to make sure you were safe." Keeping her safe wasn't just for their own sake. They knew enough to know that if anything happened to her, it would destroy Belphegor, and that was what they couldn't live with.

"Are you sure?" they asked her, both trying to gauge whether she should really be alone and whether it was actually safe for her to not have them with her. If any of the other archangels found her, she could be sent back, and without any of her people here. They sighed as she kissed their hand. They couldn't tell her no, even now. "Okay, but if anything happens, just call for me."

AAMON: "Oh, I'll be sure to give him an update. Can't wait to see what sort of story this one inspires," he rolled his eyes. While Belgirel knew Aamon would back down, if he pulled this trick with someone else, he couldn't be sure they'd do the same. Not everyone was aware of the danger that came with Belgirel and not everyone cared either.

He watched as Cupid talked Belgirel down. They were older now, her more so than him, but they were still as dramatic as they had been when they were young and in Heaven. While Aamon didn't understand the love those two shared, he understood Belgirel's desire to protect her. Gears fought long and hard to keep Belphegor and Cupid out of trouble when they were in Heaven. He covered for them more than once and took the fault on more than a few occasions. He carried guilt for not being able to protect Belphegor in battle as he had in Heaven. Saving Cupid, keeping her safe, was a way to make amends. It wouldn't work though. It wouldn't bring Belphegor back and it wouldn't assuage the guilt. It would just get him killed in the process.

Cupid for her part seemed to understand what Belgirel was doing and why it was reckless. Aamon could see her even now trying to bottle it all back up. She was asking for space, telling Gears not to follow her. These were all dangerous statements to make in front of Aamon. The little dove was flying away from the safety of the nest. Aamon could easily follow her, corner her, and end her. He wondered if that's what she wanted. He knew better than to give it to her. Sure, if he killed the dove he could lie to Belgirel and say Michael found her and took her back home. But she was an angel, and upon death she would end up in the Empty. One master manipulator to another, Aamon knew how the void operated. It would torture Cupid and it would show Belgirel everything. Aamon couldn't risk that so he drew himself back, leaned against one of the masts, and observed.

CUPID: She was relieved as he put his blade back in the sheath. She tried to push back memories from the roadhouse and the moment Belphegor handed her their blade and asked her to kill them. I wasn't going to, Gears promised. She nodded. She wanted to believe them but she knew this was proving Aamon's point exactly. Aamon was backing down, but that didn't mean the next person would. Belgirel was gambling with his life in order to keep her safe and he would continue to do it if she didn't gain control of the situation. "I'm safe," she nodded. She was trying to assure herself of this fact too. Despite the fact that every part of her screamed that she was in danger and she needed to fight back, she had to keep telling herself that she was safe. "I'll be safe," she promised.

"I'm sure," she lied. She didn't want to be alone, but she needed to be. She needed to sort herself out. She needed to scream, to cry, to storm. And then she needed to put all the pieces back together again. She could do it. She'd done it plenty of times before. "I will," she promised, but deep down they both knew if she ran into trouble, she'd try to solve it on her own. "I'll see you at sunrise," she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love you," she reminded him as she always had when it was time to leave.

And with that she turned away from him. Her eyes met Aamon's for the first time and there was an understanding. I'm sorry and I won't do it again. I don't want to die, but if you follow me, I won't fight you. Cupid released her wings and pushed off the ground. She flew into the air with the grace of a dancer and began putting distance between herself and the Morningstar as she made her way to the nearby islands to glue the broken pieces of herself back together again.

BELGIREL: She was shaken by all of this, and they hated how much she was hurting. There was so much they couldn't do for her, but she was safe for now. Aamon had backed down and wasn't going to do anything to her, especially if he was worried about how they would react to it. The Void tried to reinforce the idea that they shouldn't let her go off on her own, but that was more of a sign that they shouldn't do that. She needed her time alone, and so did they, even if they didn't want to admit it. "I love you too," they told her after she kissed their cheek. They turned away as she flew off,  walking back towards the cabin. They didn't spare a glance towards Aamon as they went inside. He'd gotten what he wanted, so Belgirel was sure he'd just fuck off to whatever the hell he'd been doing before coming here.

AAMON: He watched Cupid lie to them and tell them that she was sure this was what she wanted. Neither of them wanted space from each other, but they needed to take it. Whether Cupid knew it or not, she was doing the right thing. And the right thing was never an easy thing to do. His eyes met hers as she turned to face him. Her eyes didn’t carry a challenge to follow her, but rather an apology for the damage she’d caused. He nodded in acknowledgement. He would not follow her, and he would not harm her. Aamon stepped out of her way as she kicked off the ground and flew in the direction of the island. His eyes turned to Belgirel, but his brother paid him no mind. Aamon could feel the anger vibrating off of Gears, but it would blow over. The kid had a short fuse, and he knew deep down Aamon was right about this. “Sweet dreams, Gears,” he called out to him as Belgirel slammed the door to the cabin shut. Aamon chuckled to himself and shook his head. With that, he pushed off the ground and flew in the direction opposite of Cupid, and back toward town. / END

[pandaemoniusarchive-blog]

anton louis augustus luxemburg | | task 005

people always loved best what they identified most with

WHAT GREEK GOD DO YOU RELATE TO THE MOST

ANSWER: APHRODITE

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is elegant, graceful, and courageous and stands up for what she loves and believes in. She is also the goddess of sexuality and a deity of women.

WHICH FAMOUS KING OR QUEEN ARE YOU

ANSWER: CATHERINE THE GREAT

Passionate and artistic, you are Catherine the Great (1729-1796)! You are an incredibly creative individual who values human expression above all else, and have a tendency to surround yourself with interesting and unique individuals. For you, art is not only a tool for expression but a necessity to human nature. Catherine was one of the greatest political leaders of the Eighteenth Century. Catherine the great was said to have played an important role in improving the lot of the Russian serfs. She placed great emphasis on the arts and helped to cement Russia as one of the dominant countries in Europe.

WHAT SHAKESPEARE CHARACTER ARE YOU

ANSWER: LAERTES

You can be hotheaded and impatient, but people love to hang out with you - they know you're the life of the party! No one knows what you'll do next, and that's the fun of it. Lithe and athletic, you wear whatever is comfortable, are willing to visit the weird and scary corners of the world where others fear to tread, and will eat up anything strange and unusual...frog legs, anyone?

WHAT IS YOUR GREEK GODLY PARENTAGE

ANSWER: APOLLO

Your godly parent is Apollo,  sun charioteer, god of music, arts, poetry, archery, prophecy, truth, medicine, plagues and order.

Wow. That sounded like a diner menu didn't it? Apollo is considered to be the most powerful god on the Olympian council after the Big Three and Hera and Demeter, mainly due to all his spheres of influence. As a child of Apollo, you may exhibit one or more talents associated with the sun god. Children of Apollo are extremely talented and many know it, which can vary from charismatic confidence to narcissistic arrogance. You are open-minded, easygoing, empathetic yet logical. You have a skill in music, art, drama or language and being the child of the god of prophecies, you are sometimes very intuitive about the future. Yet, you focus more on the journey rather than the destination. You're kind, helpful and show extreme protection towards 1-2 people in your life you can't live without. When you're angered, you tend to make reckless but powerful decisions, and can make a complete U-turn in personality. You have no patience for betrayal or bullying, and can become very righteous in exacting revenge, resulting in devastation that was more than you planned for in hindsight. Despite your playful and shallow exterior, you probably spend a lot of time being very observant and perceptive about the world around you, and you show that in your daily activities.

Qualities

Harmony, order, reason, creativity, restraint, curiosity, arrogance, narcissism, observant

HOW WOULD JANE AUSTEN DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE

ANSWER: “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.”

At this point, you’re more concerned with acing your classes and hanging out with your friends than you are with your love life—locking down a serious relationship just isn't a priority. You’re cool with flirting and going out in groups, but the second somebody tries to pin you down, you make like Harry Potter and disappear. That’s not to say you won’t narrow your romantic focus down someday…just not yet.

WHAT IS YOUR FATAL FLAW

ANSWER: You’re too clever by half.

Your intelligence is unmatched, but your smart mouth is going to get you into trouble one of these days. Everyone says so. Odds are you’ll make one witty remark too many and meet a tragic, easily preventable end that surprises no one in the least. You’ll be mourned, of course, but we all saw it coming, and you kind of deserved it.

HOW WOULD YOU DIE IN A SHAKESPEARE PLAY

ANSWER: You’re going to take a dagger through the heart while eating pie

Anton did nothing to deserve this!!!!

WHAT SHAKESPEARE ARCHETYPE ARE YOU

ANSWER: THE POWERFUL QUEEN

Perhaps you are Titania, fairy queen of the forest. Or maybe you’re Cleopatra, clever queen of Egypt. Possibly you’re Lady Macbeth, who becomes queen of Scotland in the fullness of time. The point is there are many ways to be a queen, and whether you live or die depends entirely on how many murders you committed, oversaw, or actively encouraged during your reign. (Unless you are Anne Boleyn, in which case good luck with that.)

WHAT WOULD YOU DIE OF IN THE MIDDLE AGES

ANSWER: CHILDBIRTH ( I DID THIS TWICE AND I GOT THIS ANSWER TWICE !!! )

You would’ve died in childbirth, which was basically one of the most common ways to die. In the Middle Ages, women were having babies constantly, and modern medicine hadn’t been invented yet. Therefore if something went wrong, a midwife’s best bet was “Well let’s give her some vinegar and then rub eagle’s dung everywhere, that usually works.” A crucifix may have also been involved. The odds weren’t good is what we’re saying.

ARE YOU THE PROTAGONIST

ANSWER: You are not the protagonist. ( i hate you )

Ho hum. You are not the protagonist. At best you are a secondary character, and at worst you are an expendable extra. Look, it's fine. It's like I said: not all of us get to be protagonists. Some of us have to be the guys playing music in the background while the Titanic goes down and all the important, Kate Winslet-type people get to run around having actual plotlines and spitting in Billy Zane's face. It's just what has to happen—otherwise, there's no story at all!

WOULD YOU SURVIVE A SHAKESPEARE PLAY

ANSWER: You would survive a Shakespeare play! ( no childbirth, then...? )

You are a Horatio among Hamlets and a Macduff among Macbeths. Whether it’s because you tend to stay out of the drama or simply because you’re good with a sword, you are a higher caliber of person and would definitely make it through an entire Shakespeare play without getting smothered or stabbed or poisoned or eaten by a bear, which is nothing short of a miracle.

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

6.11 Tougher Than the Rest

On the one hand, I missed their faces so much.

On the other, thank God that’s over with. Heaps o’salt below the cut.

In the past: Heartbreakingly small Emma is on the street, where she burns pages from a fairy tale for warmth.

August shows up and convinces her not to burn The Ugly Duckling, talks about the story with her, and eventually gets her to go find the Minneapolis social services office, where she identifies herself as Emma Swan.

Another mystery solved, another bit of fanon dismantled, nothing of interest added to the story.

In the wish realm: Robin demands jewelry, then runs off when Henry and a force of knights thunder through, searching for the Evil Queen.

Emma and Regina hide. Emma has the idea that they might get to Storybrooke the same way she did as a baby: by using an enchanted tree. Gepetto has passed away in this world, but August has his enchanted chisel, and is willing to try to make a portal for Emma. He also made this wooden swan for her birthday, for, uh, no particular reason. Meanwhile, Regina talks with wish!Robin.

Delays and setbacks and August’s loss of faith force us to dawdle through the middle of this episode, but finally the carving happens, the portal works, and Emma convinces Regina to bring not!Robin back to Storybrooke because what the hell, with enough faith it MIGHT work out okay, right?

Emma, I love you, but what happened last time you brought someone who was supposed to be dead back from another reality?

(In case you wondered - yep, still bitter.)

In Storybrooke: AKA the only part of the episode that actually matters. Charming searches for the Hooded Figure, blaming himself for bringing Emma’s fated killer to town; he refuses to wake Snow until this is dealt with. Killian tries to talk him down, but even the patented Jones Shoulder Clasp of True Broship fails to dissuade David from his course.

Gideon talks to his parents. He has lived 28 years in the Black Fairy’s realm; visual flashes suggest that he did not have a good time there. She tried to turn him evil, which he insists did not work, but he also says that he has to kill Emma in order to become a Savior and free the Fairy realm from his evil grandma’s rule. Gideon then goes off to brood in the rain. Rumple tries to goad him into attacking him -- as an attempt to gauge whether he really is evil, it seems. Gideon’s right glove glows mysteriously, but Gideon poofs off to be sullen elsewhere. (This was probably the best scene in the episode.)  

Belle finds David and Hook, and explains to them about Gideon’s unusual-even-for-these parts history. Rumple has gone to find their son, although whether to help him or stop him is anyone’s guess. She secures David’s agreement that killing Gideon won’t be the first thing they try.

Emma returns to town ahead of Regina, has another vision, and is met by Gideon for their fated duel. All happens as foreseen, sword poof, hand shaking, etc., except that a) we can see his face and b) at the last moment, she is able to use her power after all, taking control of her own fate. The sword breaks. I guess they don’t make ’em like they used to.

There’s a brief bit with August, who is writing something relating to Pleasure Island, and Rumple and Belle have a chat about their son by the wishing well. Gideon relocates his brooding to the clock tower.

Parallels: There’s a flashback to when Tinkerbelle brings Regina to the tavern. Although Robin’s forearms are bare when the scene begins, he covers them during the dialog, and it is not shown whether or not this Robin has the tattoo. (Also, what even is the lighting in this shot? It this supposed to be daylight?)

Rumple draws an explicit parallel between his own childhood and his resentment of his father, and Gideon’s situation.

Robin gives Regina his lucky feather, an analog to the one Zelena lost in Storybrooke. The whole find him/fail/surprise success seems like it’s intended to echo Emma and Killian’s 5b -- except this is not Robin restored, but a totally different person with some shared history, so we’ll see how that works out.

Golly gee, look at the time.

Wardrobe Department:

BTW, whose idea was it that Emma has to spend the entire episode hauling an unsheathed sword around? Would it have killed somebody in wardobe to find a scabbard?

I note that Rumple is no longer in black on black on black on black, but has added a touch of blue, a color generally indicating goodness.

EF Rumple is still my favorite Rumple, though.

In Hindsight: We’ll start with a thing I genuinely liked about this episode, that Emma still doesn’t grasp her own nature. When she describes being a Savior as protecting people, she’s only half-right. The more important part is her faith that uplifts other people, in this case August.

I also enjoyed Robin’s, “Why the hell would I do that?” line. Also, for further consideration, the bit where he notes that “she died before we could marry” and “I haven’t been happy in a very long time” does not at all seem to me as if it should lead to Regina’s conclusion, “you never had love” -- quite the opposite.

Aside from that, this episode was a goddamn embarrassment to the entire concept of professional television writing. At least it finished off the wish-realm excursion, about which I hope we are never going to talk again in canon, because it was the laziest waste of two hours of audience time that I have ever personally witnessed on a screen.

The pacing was horrendous. So much padding, so little actually happening, so little no attention paid to time passing -- Regina writes a page-long letter in five seconds, but even with a magic chisel, cutting down, transporting, and carving that tree should have taken what, at least a day? During which she and Robin never showed up? It’s useless to even try to guess how much time passes in Storybrooke in the meantime. 

The flashback was pointless. It added nothing new or even interesting in terms of background (unless making Emma’s story EVEN MORE TRAUMATIC can be considered new). The audience does not need to be hit over the head with the ugly duckling. It has been implicit in Emma’s story since the Pilot episode. What the fuck else has this series been about but the skeptical loner fuck-up growing up to be a magical princess beloved by many? Six years into this show, an episode that signposts the power of believing in yourself is frankly an insult to the viewers. You have been showing us this for years now; you don’t need to fucking TELL us.

Ugh, why.

Even JMo’s luminous beauty cannot save this.

August does not inspire the kind of towering rage in me that Neal does, but neither did he need to be brought back again, ever, at all, and certainly not like this. Attempts to rehabilitate his character away from the selfish asshole they introduced in S1 will never be anything but clumsy and grating to me -- and also unnecessary, therefore a waste of time. It’s not like he’s going to be so pivotal going forward that a friendship with Emma needs to be underlined for the sake of the story. That he tried to be a halfway decent kid that one time just makes it worse that he turned out the way he did. August is a smug, selfish asshole who needs to be punched in the smirk, and that’s not actually a problem, because he’s also a minor character. The audience doesn’t have to LIKE him for him to be occasionally useful to the story, and neither does Emma, so please just stop.

As a unit, these two episodes continued the most frustrating thing about the mid-season thus far, which is that absolutely everything seems to be treading water. Ever since the Snowing curse, plot movement has been glacial to nonexistent. They spend episodes dithering over on magic items that amount to nothing. The whole Gold/EQ relationship was a non-starter, affecting nothing in the long term. I like Bex, but she’s drawing a paycheck for doing nothing useful in this story to date.

And now they introduce a whole alternate world and are careful to make clear that nothing that happens in it has any consequences, making it clear that the sole point of the whole laborious excursion was to bring not!Robin to Storybrooke. Why they wanted that is still a mystery, but couldn’t they leave the rest of the characters out of it? I was even offended on RUMPLE’S behalf, that’s how bad the wish!verse was. You can’t tell me that any version of him would treat Belle’s remains cavalierly (not even for the sake of theater, his other true love).

Fuck, I’m offended for Gepetto. Magic chisel, ffs.  

If Robin was the only point, they might as well have left the rest of the characters out of it and gotten on with the Gideon stuff. Although, and no offense to Giles, I simply cannot take Gideon seriously as a threatening character. He’s too cute.

I was however intrigued by the divided frame, as Rumple and Belle discuss choices and how to help their son.

Here’s hoping things will trend up from here.