#you ever........ grieve for a location <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

sharing one of my all-time fave poems totally not because I spent the last hour crying uncontrollably over graduating <3 LMAO

LISTEN I LOVE YOU JOY IS COMING!!!

Text version here.

[xsapphirescrollsx]

Dominion

Written: Oct 17 2023

Just a lil story I wrote today. I haven't written in some time. I hope you enjoy it! I wrote this story to this song ^.^

@titty-teetee <3

The best lie ever told about them was that the sun kills. But that falsity never really affected your life, mostly. You moved through levels of society like you ruled the night, and told the sun when to rise. Your mother called you aloof, a lazy rich girl- that is if anybody outside your kinship actually knew only you pretended poverty. You didn’t need to wear a disguise like the rest of them. There was a permissive, creeping, effortless prowling that came to you naturally. You wanted to fit in, but that was like a cat feigning to be a mouse and you never outgrew that proclivity. 

And it was this attitude that made you catch hell from your sister and father when you showed up late. The building was in the shitties part of town. Barrels burned with stank garbage for warmth as you stepped out of the alley opposite. Forty floors of culture they said. Consequently hidden by poor souls soothing and numbing their bashed spirits the best they knew how, drugs. They weren’t even worth eating.

Thin black sling backs lightly tapped as you walked across the street, onto the cement sidewalk and toward the farthest left front door. Puffs of snow gathered in the corners of the brick pocket near the door. You glanced again and on closer inspection a body lay there, away from the fires out front but you kept walking.

Past the dirt covered, shabby peeling wallpaper and rusted gates separating the inside of the building from the outside grunge. You were buzzed in and immediately approached by Mer’gene, a friend, well one of the people in this world who has known you the longest besides your mother.

“You are not dressed appropriately,” she hissed and stared at the thin black shawl you wore.

Your eyes rolled from her prim expression to the crowd in the foyer that was beginning to thicken like coagulating platelets. 

“It’s busy tonight,” you half said to her, but more to yourself.

Mer’gene glanced that way, “Yes, they want to pick who’s going to be President of the United States tonight. All the Elders are here….like your forefather.”

At the mention of Charlemagne you began to peel off the shawl and handed it to Mer’gene. “Well we can’t let him get in the way of a little fun.”

Passing through the foyer you followed the flow of people dressed in their best. Opulent comes to mind once you set eyes on the familiar market. What should have been a lobby for an apartment building was lined with shops, stacked on top of other shops. Bright lighting from eternal fire flames atop of metal poles lit your way. The direct opposite of what was being the brick outside, here, inside was spotless, clean and smelled of incense. 

You window shopped for the most part, just listening to Mer’gene talk about everybody and nothing at the same time as you imagined owning a five thousand year old human leather purse. A normal Wednesday night.

A pop and flash came from somewhere on the fourth floor shops. You ignored it at first and chalked it up to a grieving kin who decided to self immolation. A scream, shrieked inhumanly into the air. All stopped and turned toward the sound. It was an alarm. It was a call to evacuate and didn’t have to be told twice. 

Once again you were ushered out with the crowd toward an exit that emptied out into an alley. Bright daybreak rose over the galvanized fence to the east in the grimy alley. Beyond it police cars lined the street, a smile began to crease your lips. A bushy haired man in a sweater and his badge clipped on his hip near his gun stood. 

There he was.

Outside on the streets in this location had you looking wholly out of place. But it didn’t stop you from approaching the cops. Innocently you gazed around, swayed in your step, maybe applied phony little hiccups. That caught his attention, god you were great at pretending weakness. 

“Ma’am, what made you think you could cross that yellow tape?” the man pointed back behind you but choosing not to look you stared at him forcing your eyes to dilate in the morning light. “Are you on somethin’?” he questioned again. 

You stepped forward, attempted to speak and promptly fainted. 

“Shit,” you heard him say as he caught your waist. 

“You got that one?” said another cop's voice. “She looks thick, might hurt your back.”

You made note of that remark and silently vowed to see what he tasted like - later.

“No I got her. She’s probably a rich asshole hopped up on something. I’ll take her back to the SUV.”

The man dragged you the best he could around the waist as you completely let yourself dead weigh him. One car, four cars, and finally around the corner away from the crime scene you heard the door open as he still struggled with your body. So you decided to start slurring your words and reacting to be held by a ‘stranger’.

“Let me go you fuckin’ bastard,” you spit out, wiped your mouth and struggled to stand. “You took me out here! You said we would have a great time…” you began to cry a bit to make it look convincing. 

The cop pushed you into the back seat and slammed the door. You leaned against the door and watched him walk around the front. His head pivoted while his eyes seemed to look for people who might be watching. You shut your eyes as he opened the door and got in the back seat with you. 

You breathed lightly as if you were sleeping.

“Did you get your self drugged?” he asked quietly. 

Your non beating heart would've jumped if it was alive at the insinuation. 

You felt him move closer and move his arm over the back of the seat. His other hand was on your knee.

Suddenly he was closer to your face, your ear. “Hey. Hey are you awake?” he whispered. His hand began to caress up your thigh.

A dirty cop! You felt yourself begin to get wet. 

“You’re in safe hands sweetheart,” his lips murmured on your cheek. He moved his hand from your thigh. He grabbed your wrist and placed your hand on the hard chub underneath his jeans. 

“How’s that feel?” He forced your hand to continue to rub him. “Slutty little bitch on the streets, huh?” he croaked.

Your teeth pricked the inside of your cheek. Fuck it, you couldn’t hold out any more.

“It feels like I need to make you mine,” you opened your eyes and stared back at him completely lucid. Your lips drew back over the sharp canines in a lovely, perfect smile.

----

....to be continued?

[loony-moonsims]

Entry 4:

Its a good day if u talk to ur crow at least once, I'm telling you! This creatures are just so beautiful and magectis!

So... I made progress with the Boss. We are a thing now? In a way I guess. Also, I tried finding friends online, waiting for response... The time is killing me - both metaphorically and legitemately...

About work:

I was FINALLY assigned an actual case! Those I think I know why I was sent there... This family... They were the most weird and annoying clients ever!

So, I entered the location and instead of full-on-grieving family - I saw one sad old lady (Minevra Charm). Engaged ones (Emilia-the-blondie and Darrel-the-weird-one) were getting hot, thankfully, far from my eyesight, but NOT FAR ENOUGH FOR MY EARS! And Gemma was just sitting in the kitchen (where body was btw) and eating.

The almost-married couple had the nerves to come in the kitchen half-nacked and then BEG ME TO BRING MINEVRA'S HUSBAND BACK! The audacity of those younf people!

I, obviously, took him to the other side - I'm sure he'll be much better there, away from those almost-wed disrespectful people. Minevra was, obviously sad, but I tried to help her a bit, she seemed fine when I went away.

After that I did some cleaning at home. Look at this doll's eyes... Theres nothing behind them...

The hands were cool, but I dont want to freak out the neightbours, so they had to go(

That's about it for entry 4, hopefully, my Internet friend will find me soon :D

Entry 3 | Entry 5

[fairytalesofthewind]

With Darkness comes Night II

Feysand x reader fic

Chapter 0

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Vermax, Xoalloit, Ragos and Lyssi, four of your most loyal darlings were now gone. Taken away by a sickness even the oldest of Fae in the Dark Forest couldn’t identify. Even the Allknowing couldn’t see what or who was making your children sick. No one knew and most were too scared to find out. They feared to fall into the same abbyss of darkness and oblivion the other Dark Creatures had fallen into. You also feared others would get infected with this cycle of death. Fortunately, the High Lord and the High Lady thought the same. Because, this plague didn’t only kill those infected, but also many around them. The sickness infected the mind until its bearer only had one thing left in its mind.

Death

You had already lost four of your most loyal children, yet you feared it would not take long before more lives would be taken by the fast-spreading sickness. Your dear twins had already left. They could not bear the heartbreak of their visions about their sibling‘s deaths and your own grief. So, you could not depend on their knowledge for the next step. Even when they left, no words of wisdom were shared. It was too much for them to speak of the monstrosities, yet you really wished they were here. Not only for their powers, but also just to hold them close.

Your days blended together. Either you spend them in your bed, unmoving and grieving. Or you spend them searching through the forest, desperate to find the source of the sickness. You tried to follow the path your children took in the last days before they died, but it held no pattern. The source was ever-moving, and it made you think that it wasn’t caused by something but rather someone. Someone who had knowledge of the Dark Forest and knew how to survive it. Someone who knew the ancient paths and the location of the creatures you held dear.

It had been roughly a week since the High Lord and the Inner Circle visited you, yet you had gained no further insight. You knew that the infection started in the brain and affected the very core of the soul. It made the infected forget everything. They forgot about themselves, all their memories, and their surroundings. They forgot about you, their mother. All they knew was to kill. To destroy. The infection fed on their emotions and memories, so that only their base instinct of protecting themselves and attacking others was left.

The infection wasn’t spread by sickness or blood; it was spread by magic. A dark sort of magic that had nothing to do with yours, so a magic that shouldn’t even be able to exist. It must be an otherworldly type of magic.

You also knew that someone else got infected. The strange magic had intensified in the air; it was like a force pressing down on you. Yet, you did not know who would be next. The magic had a foul stench. Your senses ached as you tried to follow it, and everything screamed at you to stop following the trail of dark magic, but you couldn’t possibly abandon whoever was infected.

It took five days before you felt someone trying to breach the border, separating the Dark Forest from a northern war camp. You recognized the magic trying to break your walls, and the recognition broke your heart. Under the stench of the creator of this plague, you weren't able to identify him before. 

It was Ember, one of your young ones. Well, young for Faes... Unfortunately, his raw and furious magic made a hole in the border before you could reach him. The smell of the plague overpowered the locations Ember had visited. Everything smelled fresh, as if you had just missed him. That couldn’t be true, as Ember was days ahead of you on foot. Another thing you learned about this infection, this plague, is that it broke whatever bond you had with them. Not only as their mother, of course, but also as their Master. The laws of this forest, magical laws, bonds, and deals simply vanished. Whatever tied them to this forest and to you disappeared. Not only that, the plague made them powerful and almost too hard to kill.

That’s why you were so worried that Ember had reached the war camp. His only instinct was to kill, and he wasn’t going to be stopped by them anytime soon because they were simply not capable. You were, but how could you possibly kill your own child?

Luckily, one of your many powers was that you could winnow yourself between the folds of the shadows. When you reached the scene, many lives had already been taken. This plague spared no one. Ember was tearing his way through the camp, and had you not been born during Chaos, you would not be able to make sense of his goal. But you were born during chaos; it was second nature to you, beside darkness, and between the deaths and violence, you could see exactly where Ember was heading.

The son of the High Lord, Nyx.

He was still untrained, young, and apparently alone. You did not spot anyone of his family nearby. You wanted to reach the prince before it was too late, but the Illyrian soldiers saw you as the enemy too. Winnowing with that many around could go wrong, especially nearby Ember, as he could react terribly at your sudden presence.

You couldn’t, however, kill the soldiers in your way; that would only aggravate the situation. You eventually neared the prince, not as fast as you wished, but luckily you weren’t the only one besides Ember getting close. The Inner Circle was finally present and helping wherever they could. Evacuating, mostly, and getting ready to kill the so-called monster

They forgot one thing. Ember was special. Poisonous, as many of your children are, but also nearly unkillable. The only thing that could kill him was the spear made out of the same power as the one he was created from. There’s only one person who could wield that spear. The Keeper of the Forest, you.

You had to remind yourself that the creature attacking the camp and the prince, wasn’t your Ember anymore. His mind, soul, and body had already succumbed to the plague. However, that was easier said than done.

"And where do you think you’re going, Keeper?" Not her again, you thought. Amren must be the most aggravating Second in Command any of the Keepers ever had the displeasure of meeting.

"I’m the only one capable of stopping this. So if I were you, I’d get out of my way." The woman in front of you scoffed.

"You mean, the one who started this? The one commanding these creatures to attack our camps?" So not only was Amren annoying and a hypocrite, she was also daft. It was not so long ago that you made it clear you weren’t behind the attacks. Both their people and yours are the victims of this plague. You didn't have time to explain this again, so you did what anyone would do: give the tiny one some sleepy time.

Amren was charging at you with all her might, yet with your powers, all you had to do was point your spear towards her and blast, and down she went. Stepping over her unconscious body, you had to navigate yourself again amidst the chaos. It wasn’t difficult to find the prince, as he was directly under Ember. His blood was already spreading in the snow underneath him, contrasting with his entirely black suit. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, you would have called it a pretty sight.

Ember was special—special in a dangerous way. He was created after the first war with the Hybern King, designed to be hard to kill and impossible to survive. His venom was fatal to anyone but the Keeper and their children. And the Keeper was the only one fatal to Ember. You, his master and mother, were the only one who could kill him. The only one who could stop him from completely ripping the High Lord’s son apart.

You could already hear the screams of agony from him and his mate, crying out for their son. Their pain strung a cord deep inside of you, one you had never felt before. The unknown feeling was unfamiliar, but it only cemented your decision.

You twisted the ancient spear in your hand and let muscle memory do the rest. Your weapon went directly into Ember’s heart and evaporated him from the inside out. As you fell to your knees in the blood-covered snow, you realized you couldn’t even hold Ember in his last moments. You could only watch as whatever was left of him was blown away by the wind.

It hurt, not only mentally but physically. Not only because you lost a child, but because of the magic that tied him to you. You crumbled more into yourself, covering your ears against the screams you heard, unaware that they were your own.

You distinctively felt arms coming around your body, urging you up. From the corner of your eyes, you saw the scars covering them, but you had already felt his presence. Your lovely Shadowsinger.

"You have to leave. The people here want to kill you." He urged you more as the mourning and angry Illyrian soldiers came closer to you. It didn’t matter to them that you had just killed Ember; they wanted your blood.

Another scream, not your own, was heard, and both of your heads snapped up to the commotion. It was Nyx.

The High Lord was looking at you desperately for answers. Why weren’t the wounds healing? Why, every time Feyre healed them, they opened back up? You shook your head mournfully. There was nothing to be done. Ember’s venom had already spread throughout his body. Even if they found a way to heal his wounds, the venom would kill him. Rhysand collapsed even more to the ground, cradling his son closer to him.

Unable to see the deaths of two sons, you winnowed back to your Forest.

Taglist: (I’ve never had one of these before!! :)) )

@starryhiraeth @winterrainworld

[cosmicjoke]

hi there !! thank u sm for answering my ask about the whereabouts of the scouts hq! i guess it's open to speculation of the location prior to the fall of wall maria ( or as i'd liked to call it "free real estate" lol ). anyways, i have another question for you if you don't mind! i love your analysis on levi and how emotionally intelligent he is and how he's in-tune with his emotions. i was wondering, do you think levi is the type to outwardly grieve at all? perhaps in privacy of his own quarters? we seem some subtle moments like when og levi squad dies as an example and we never see him fully cry until the finale. aside those small, yet very impactful moments, do you think he shows his grief in a more expressive way? if so, how do you envision it?

personally, i dont depict levi to be the type to showcase anger through his grief ( i guess unless zeke is involved lol ), but i feel like some days would be extremely difficult for him as he carries around the weight of his dead comrades and friends, especially at night when he's alone. i don't think he cries often, most likely due to growing up in the underground and kenny's "parental teachings", but as i said, i believe there are rare days where it's just too much, ya know?

regardless of my opinions, i would like to hear your thoughts and viewpoint on this !! thank you <3

Hi there!

Thank you for the ask, and I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help with your first! But this one hopefully I can give a better answer, haha.

We do have one, clear instant of seeing Levi express his grief outwardly, of course, and that's when Furlan and Isabel died. And Levi very much did express his grief through anger then. I would even say Levi was enraged, which we never really saw from him again. Even when Zeke forced Levi to kill so many of his own comrades, after turning them into titans, Levi's anger afterward was very controlled and measured, though still apparent. Maybe the closest we see to Levi becoming angry before then is the first time he takes Zeke down, in Shinganshina, after he cuts him out of his titan. But nothing really comes close to the outpouring of intense despair we see from him with Furlan and Isabel.

That probably has something to do with the fact that they were his family. I always say Furlan and Isabel were probably the two people who were closest to Levi in his life. The only two people who understood where he'd come from, because they came from there too. And also because they were the first, two people he really lost to the titan threat. He'd only seen one other person eaten by a titan before then. A soldier whom Levi likely had no relationship with at all. We have to remember, when Levi first joined the SC, he, Furlan and Isabel were outcasts. Nobody liked them, and nobody really talked to them or treated them kindly, outside of Erwin and Hange. The others he saw killed by titans, he only saw the aftermath of. But with Furlan and Isabel, he actually saw them directly eaten, right in front of him, and for all his great strength, he was powerless to stop it from happening.

For all the criticisms I often see lobbed at the anime adaptation of "No Regrets", I won't ever forget the raw emotion we hear in Levi's voice when he kills the titan that killed him family. We never hear Levi like that again. So enraged he sounds like he's on the verge of sobs. That was Levi losing the only two people he had in his life. His chosen family. His two first and best friends. That was Levi losing his whole world. His rage at Erwin afterward was also a manifestation of that pain. He was overcome by his grief in that moment.

I think, after that, Levi was able to form other connections, and other bonds. Especially with Hange and Erwin, and of course his own squad. And I think he felt the pain of their loss just as keenly as he did Isabel and Furlan. But by then, in order to keep moving forward himself, in order to keep fighting, Levi needed to learn to control that grief and keep it locked away. To not let it consume him or distract him. It's never been that Levi doesn't feel every loss with deep, genuine emotion, or that he's unaffected, or removed from the feeling of loss. He's always been, I think, more deeply impacted by the loss of life than anyone. He just learned to control that feeling, and more for the sake of others than for himself. He wants to stay strong so that he can do his job of protecting and fighting for others. He doesn't allow himself to wallow in his grief because he thinks it might compromise his duty to others. And that's Levi's selflessness again.

I'm certain there's been many, MANY moments in which Levi felt an overwhelming despair. I just spoke about this, in my post about how Levi more often looks sad to me than stoic. I think, when he's at rest especially, we see Levi's grief manifest on his face and in his body language. When there's nothing for him to channel his grief and despair into, it shows plainly on him. So I wouldn't be surprised if, when he had moments alone, he did give into it, if only a little. Levi doesn't strike me as much of a crier. I have a hard time picturing him really openly sobbing, for example. But he is capable of tears, and he may indeed have shed tears in private moments, when he felt sure it wouldn't negatively impact anyone around him.

There's of course something deeply tragic in that. In Levi feeling the NEED to hide his grief. To not let it show for fear of it somehow affecting others. That he feels his grief is less important than his duty toward protecting others. That he shouldn't be allowed to indulge in it. And we know this is an attitude with Levi only holds for himself. Because he never scolds anyone else for giving in to THEIR grief, and in fact does the opposite, providing them with what comfort and reassurance he can. The first time we meet Levi, he's comforting a dying soldier who's crying, wondering if he'd done his duty, holding his hand and telling him that he's done more than enough. Or with the soldier who lead the titans to them after the disaster with the Female Titan. Instead of scolding that soldier for allowing his grief to endanger the entire unit, Levi gave him Petra's patch, and told him it was his friends, just to comfort him. Or when Eren begins crying when they're all trapped in the cavern underneath Rod Reiss' estate, and while everyone else is yelling at him, telling him to man up, Levi doesn't yell at him at all, despite the peril they're all in. He instead tells Eren he's sorry to have to ask for his help again, and after Eren is able to save them, he's the only one to thank Eren and express his gratitude by telling him that it's thanks to his efforts that they'll be able to retake Wall Maria again. Or when he tells Erwin thank you, after Erwin confesses to his own grief and guilt. Instead of scolding Erwin for showing weakness in the face of catastrophe, he tells Erwin that it's thanks to him that the SC was able to get as far as it had. He tells Erwin he's been a great leader.

Even while Levi denies himself the comfort of his own grief, he never denies it to anyone else. And once again, that's Levi's selflessness manifesting. And it's heartbreaking to realize, because again, I think Levi probably feels things more deeply than anyone. I think he's more hurt by the loss of his comrades than anyone. But he won't allow himself to really process that hurt, or find any solace by giving in to his grief.

[themirokai]

The Bell Bird - Chapter 5 (Final)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4.

In this chapter, we find resolution.

Immense thanks to @argylepiratewd for invaluable proofreading and @once-in-a-blue-moon-rising for Brit-picking and beta reading (including ridding the work of z’s). You both made this so much better.

Chapter is 2,248 words.

Read the final chapter below or on AO3.

~*~

Mycroft watched Gregory as he located each of the agents within the concert hall. One was working the spotlight, two were ushers, and two were audience members. There were others backstage and outside the venue. While Mycroft was confident that it would not be needed, both he and Gregory were armed, as they had been for Jenny’s last performance. He might not admit it out loud, but he found the weight of the steel-handled walking stick comforting.

Jenny’s regalia for that night’s concert was a shimmering white sheath dress: gorgeous but much less showy than the blue gown. Her blonde hair was down but swept off to one side. The programme was different as well. Several of the songs were about grief and loss, and this time it was not just her voice but the depth of the emotion she conveyed that captivated the audience.

As Jenny’s voice rose and fell in a mournful melody, Mycroft wondered if she was grieving the end of her illicit career as she knew it, or if she – like he – was thinking about her father.

Mycroft had been on the wrong continent when David had been murdered. The fact that he had had no idea it was coming, and so had done nothing to stop it, still galled him all these years later. Even though they had no longer been close, had only seen each other once every few years since David’s marriage, knowing that he was gone still hurt deeply.

And that hurt was echoed in every note Jenny sang. Mycroft chided himself for thinking her motivation could have been anything else. When the song ended, he found himself with damp eyes. Gregory must have observed his display of emotion because he took Mycroft’s hand, pressed it to his chest, then kissed it. Mycroft gave him a somewhat watery smile.

In the car after the concert, Simmons handed Mycroft his comm link, and he put it in his ear.

“Holmes is on,” he told the agents on the line. “But this is Ahmad’s operation. I’m just here to be kept informed.”

A chorus of “yes, sirs”, mostly mumbled, came back.

Mycroft switched the comm to listening-only mode and leaned back in his seat, trying to take a deep breath.

“They’ll get him.”

Mycroft turned to look at Gregory.

“Your people are really good because you’ve trained them,” Gregory continued. “They know this is important to you, and all the ones I’ve talked to over the years are desperate to please you.”

Mycroft huffed. “And the team that lost him at Heathrow?”

“They’re probably distraught,” Gregory said. “And that’s that much more of a motivator to the ones who are here.”

Mycroft knew, intellectually, that he was right. He squeezed Gregory’s hand and looked out the window.

Just after midnight, there was still no sign of the Black Tornado. This wasn’t entirely unexpected and Mycroft remained confident that the attack would come before sunup. Things were very quiet on the comm. Most of the agents were alone: guarding or patrolling individual areas. Mycroft could tell when Ahmad muted her comm to talk to Jenny, but she always turned it back on.

Though he had booked the inn’s largest suite, it still felt confined – he’d had more trouble than he would ever admit with small spaces after the cell in Syria – and he stood abruptly, pushing aside the Abu Dhabi report which he hadn’t really been reading for the better part of an hour.

Gregory stirred from where he had been dozing on the couch. “Something happening?” he muttered.

“No, dear, I’m just going to stretch my legs,” Mycroft told him. “I’ll be back shortly.”

Gregory gave a hum and closed his eyes again.

Mycroft slipped out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door of the inn. He drew deep lungfuls of the cool night air and did not flinch when the door opened again behind him.

“You alright, sir?” Romer asked quietly, stepping up beside him.

Mycroft nodded. “Just wanted a change of scenery.” He turned to Romer. “Do you have a cigarette on you?”

“Mmhm.” Romer reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, which he held out to Mycroft. “Thought you had quit, sir.”

Mycroft took one. “Thank you, my boy.” He leaned forward for Romer to light it for him and took a long drag. “Extenuating circumstances,” he said as he exhaled. Mycroft took another drag and blew the smoke up into the sky, pushing his left hand into the pocket of his dinner trousers. While he had undone his black bow tie and it hung loosely around his neck, that was the only sartorial concession he had made to the fact that the concert had ended hours ago.

He and Romer smoked in silence for a time.

“Sir, are you really going to reassign the team that was at Heathrow for more training?”

Mycroft took another drag before answering. “I suspect you all could use some additional crowd training. Well… maybe not you, Mr. Romer. I should have had you at Heathrow.” In his peripheral vision he saw Romer stare at the ground with a wide smile. “How would you like to conduct the training for your colleagues?”

Romer’s smile faded and he shifted uncomfortably, eyes still fixed on the ground. “I don’t… I don’t really know how I do what I do, sir. Like it just… sort of happens. I don’t know if I could explain it.” He looked at Mycroft, worried. “Is that bad?”

Mycroft patted his shoulder. “No, Peter. It’s not bad. It means you’re using instinct. Start making some mental notes of what you’re doing when you’re tracking someone. You’ll be able to explain it in time.”

Romer’s smile was back. “I will, sir. Thank you, sir.”

Mycroft took one last drag, then dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his heel. “I’m going back in. Thank you for the cigarette, my boy.”

“Anytime, Mr. Holmes.”

Mycroft still had his hand on the door to the suite, and Gregory was just waking up at the sound of his entry, when over the comm there was a gasp followed by a grunt, then the sound of an impact.

“He’s here!” Ahmad shouted.

Mycroft shut the door quickly and tapped his comm so that the team could hear him. “Waldron, Keller! Get in there!”

“Twenty seconds!” Waldron replied.

Mycroft heard the thudding and grunts of a fight.

“Bell Bird!” Ahmad gasped, then, “Oh. Oh. Holy shit.”

More thudding, this time further from Ahmad’s comm, then the unmistakable gurgle of a windpipe being squeezed.

“The syringe!” Jenny shouted. “Quick!”

Movement, and then there was the thump of a body hitting the ground at the same time as the bang of a door being forced open. Mycroft heard lots of rapid breathing.

“Someone report!” he said, unable to take it anymore.

“Sir,” Ahmad said, still breathing heavily, “Bell Bird is amazing. She just… I’ve never seen anyone fight like that.”

A sound followed that was suspiciously like kissing.

“Black Tornado is down,” Waldron reported. “They sedated him. We’ve got him tied.”

“Ahmad,” Mycroft said, “are you or Jenny hurt?”

Gregory was staring at him intently.

“Nah, sir,” Ahmad said, a bit out of breath. “I might have a shiner tomorrow. Jenny might have some bloody knuckles, but we’re fine. We’re all fine.”

Mycroft breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Gregory, who flopped back against the sofa.

“Everyone else, report,” Mycroft instructed.

The rest of the team checked in as unharmed. It seemed the Black Tornado had been able to evade their perimeter. While that showed flaws, they were flaws to be dealt with at another time.

“Very well,” Mycroft said. “Take shifts tonight. I want an awake guard on the Black Tornado at all times, even though he is sedated. Ahmad, you and Jenny are to get some rest. You will bring the Black Tornado to me in the morning once he is awake.”

There was a chorus of “yes, sirs.”

“Holmes out.”

Mycroft removed the comm from his ear and dropped onto the couch beside Gregory.

“Everyone’s okay?” Gregory asked quietly.

“Everyone except the Black Tornado.”

“Good.”

The following morning, Wilkinson had managed to have the inn’s flagstone patio cleared of everyone except Mycroft and Gregory. The sun was shining brightly enough that they were both wearing sunglasses as they ate their breakfast. The tea was good, but the croissants were too dense. Mycroft hardly cared.

“They’re pulling up now, sir,” Wilkinson said over the comm.

Mycroft dabbed his mouth with his napkin, then tapped his earpiece. “Very good, Wilkinson. Make sure they’re not observed as they come around.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mycroft turned to Gregory. “I suppose having involved you thus far, it would be foolish to suggest that you wait inside while I deal with this?”

“Yep,” Gregory said, with a broad smile.

Mycroft took a deep breath and nodded. “I would just ask that you not allow it to alter how you feel about me.”

Gregory reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “Nothing could, darling.”

“And you must remain completely silent.”

“I promise.”

A moment later, Ahmad, Jenny, and other agents from the team came across the grass, leading a small, slim man who was bound, gagged, and blindfolded. There was a bruise blooming on Ahmad’s cheek and Jenny’s knuckles looked worse for wear.

When they were in front of Mycroft, Jenny delivered an efficient kick to the back of Black Tornado’s legs, and he fell to his knees, but was saved from falling on his face as she grabbed one of his arms.

“Leave the blindfold on. Remove the gag,” Mycroft instructed, and Ahmad quickly complied.

Mycroft took another sip of tea, then turned in his chair to face the man directly. “Do you know who I am?” he asked.

“I’ve got a pretty good guess,” the Black Tornado rasped. Jenny must have damaged his windpipe in the fight the night before.

“Did you think that it was safe for you to operate in the United Kingdom?” Mycroft asked.

“Gave your guys the slip at least twice, didn’t I?”

Mycroft raised an eyebrow. “And yet here you are.”

The Black Tornado cleared his throat, then coughed. “You have to know who she is, right? Your reputation, you must. The Bell Bird is one of the best assassins on the market. Let me take her off your hands, we’ll leave jolly old England and neither of us will trouble you again. Especially her.”

Mycroft laughed. “I do appreciate your nerve, Black Tornado.” He took another sip of tea. “No, you are being arrested for the murders of Jeremy Blackwell and Serena Kalinova. And I’m sure once we’ve had a longer chat we’ll find some others I can charge you with as well. But before you go to be tried by a secret tribunal to spend the rest of your days in prison, you are going to send a message to every single one of your contacts in the criminal underworld.”

“Psh. Why would I do anything for you?”

“Because,” Mycroft said, “I have complete control over the… comfort of your stay in ‘jolly old England’. And I would encourage you to think of what you know of my reputation.”

The Black Tornado considered for several seconds before grimacing and taking a breath. “What’s the message?”

“That the Bell Bird is a member of the Antarctica Unit, and she is under Antarctica’s personal protection. Anyone thinking of harming her should know that there will be repercussions.”

“Yeah,” the Black Tornado said, “okay.”

Mycroft looked up at Jenny to see her eyes bright and a warm smile on her face. He nodded at her and she nodded back. Mycroft turned to Ahmad. “Take him away.”

Ahmad grabbed the Black Tornado’s arm and hauled him to his feet, then she, Jenny, and the rest of the agents marched him off.

Mycroft turned back to Gregory, who was smiling at him.

“What is it?” Mycroft asked.

“Antarctica?”

Mycroft breathed a sigh of relief. If that was Gregory’s first question after watching the encounter, they would probably be alright.

“Apparently in the early part of my career, my colleagues found me… chilly,” he said.

“Hm.” Gregory reached across the table to take Mycroft’s hand, then leaned forward to kiss it. “I don’t find you chilly. Actually, watching you work has been rather hot.”

Mycroft couldn’t help but laugh. “That was terrible, Gregory.”

Gregory shrugged. “You didn’t get much sleep last night. I think we should go back to bed.”

———

Romer, Ahmad, and Jenny watched as agents loaded the Black Tornado into a windowless van.

“You know,” Romer said, “you’re really not a bad singer, Bell Bird.”

Jenny’s mouth dropped open. “I—” she stopped herself. She was smart enough to recognise bait when she saw it. “Thank you, Mr. … I’m not calling you Glasgow, that’s clearly not your real code name.”

“You’re right, but I’m not telling you my name. You’re gonna have to earn that.”

Ahmad sighed. “Oh come off it, R—”

“Bip bip bip bip bip!” Romer cut her off. “Mr. Holmes didn’t tell her my name, and you’re not going to either. I don’t care how horny she makes you.”

Ahmad spluttered indignantly, but Romer ignored her and turned back to Jenny.

“Don’t worry, Bell Bird. I’m sure we’ll make an agent out of you yet.”

Ahmad slipped her hand into Jenny’s. “We definitely will.”

~*~

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed the story, I appreciate you letting me know.

[essektheylyss]

WWE Round 2: Time to (W)RUMBLE

(Vince McSam's manager has not yet taken our calls.)

With round one officially closed, we welcome our winners to round two, and bid our losers a fond adieu. (Except you, Ludinus. You and your moon can go get fucked.)

As a note, I welcome any and all election interference. Campaigning in front of polling locations is not only allowed, but also encouraged. Honestly, from here on out, it could get really interesting. I personally will not weigh in unless I know my opinion will hold no sway (rip Jenna Iresor, my beloved, you deserved to beat Dr. Ripley to a pulp) or it'd be really, really funny.

On that note, let's see who's competing next!

These polls will launch this evening, staggered, starting at 4:00pm PST, and once again will run for one day. As before, please check the tag here to find the polls, as well as the rankings.

Match 1: Architect Arcane Laerryn Coramar-Seelie vs Eadwulf Grieve Match 2: Keeper of Scrolls Patia Por'co vs Doctor Anna Ripley Match 3: Former Shadowhand Essek Thelyss vs Archmage of Antiquities Vess DeRogna Match 4: Arcanist Allura Vysoren vs Archmage of Civil Influence Astrid Beck Match 5: Caleb Widogast vs Vespin Chloras Match 6: Lady Delilah Briarwood vs Archmage of Cultivation Oremid Hass Match 7: Veth Brenatto vs Pumat Sol Match 8: Yussa Errenis vs Planerider Ryn

May the shady, underhanded wizard dealings be ever in your favor.

[lemonynuggets]

Lemony, how do u rank the ordem paranormal seasons and why?

Also, how hype r u to enigma do medo?

OK SO

1. o segredo na floresta - my favorite season ever and this hasn’t changed since I first watched it, I followed it while it was happening!! I didn’t watch it live because I’ve always hated watching lives but every week I’d watch the episodes when they came out on youtube and BY GODS this season is so special to me. I can’t even put into words why I love this season so much it just kinda grabbed me by the throat and forced me to be clinically insane about it forever and ever (shout out to my osnf book and paper stands I made bc I’m too poor to buy any other merch)

2. O segredo na ilha - BEAUTIFUL SHOWSTOPPING. “Haha your two favorite seasons are o segredo na [insert location] IM PREDICTABLE IM SORRY. Ok but osni is amazing, the vibes are spot on, the characters are great, we get to see the elements being used in different ways (blood being used for the paint and the paintings enhancing the observer’s feelings to cause fear or dependence. Absolutely insane /pos), we learn a little more about tenebris (very little but still), and idk man I just really vibe with osni

3. Sinais do outro lado - it’s a fun season, I love Xande and Guizo and I really like how the seasons is about aliens?? Like this works to show how the paranormal manifests based on what people fear and this can include. Aliens. And I think that’s fun + MORE TENEBRIS!! Yayyy I’m so curious about tenebris

4. Desconjuração - ok so i complain a lot about opd because it’s a very tiresome season to watch for me, there’s way too much fighting and way too little investigation for my taste (coughs in osnf fan) and I really don’t vibe with some of the characters, but I really really like Kaiser and Arthur’s development in it along with us getting to see more Agatha and Ivete aka my favorite npcs ever, and I really like Dante he’s such an interesting character!!! And also I watched the last ep at like 2am and I cried for an hour when I finished it and then I couldn’t sleep and then I grieved Kaiser for a month

5. Calamidade - SHOCKING NEWS: guy who complains about opd all the time places opc lower than it on the ordem seasons rank. For as much as I love Rubens and the anfitrião sequence I’ll have to say calamidade was a very neutral season to me, it’s somewhat forgettable? Like I retained very little details from it and I have a very neutral opinions towards it in general, it’s not a bad season but it could’ve been way more interesting

6. Quarentena - I’m gonna be completely honest with you, I only watched about 30 minutes of it and I couldn’t watch the rest. As someone who is very bad with changes (some may say it’s autism), the fact that none of the players are familiar, they’re using the survival horror version of the system and its all in english drives me nuts… I get they’re speaking English bc most of the players don’t speak Portuguese but it just feels so. Wrong to me, it takes away an essential part of ordem to me which is the fact it’s national, it’s a piece of media from my country that’s really good and that I’m super passionate about and! It’s in my language and set in my country and has pieces of my culture and that’s Brazilian art baby!! Everything else is already in english and made to appeal to an English speaking audience, hell I’m even speaking english right now, it just feels like they’re taking away ordem’s identity when they make it In English tm yk. I don’t care if people from other countries are getting into ordem, I’ve made a few non-Brazilian friends and mutuals get into it myself, what bothers me is they’re all coming from opq and most of them stay at opq and don’t bother to watch any other seasons + 90% of the ordem content I find on tumblr is opq and it drives me INSANE. I might eventually get my shit together and watch the rest of it just to say I watched it but yeah not right now

I’m not so sure about sdol’s place in this rank but it is what it is and I don’t know what it is

ALSO I CAN ASSURE YOU IM GOING INSANR ABOUT ENIGMA DO MEDO I CANT WAIT MAN !!! YAYAYAYAY

[mybigfatheartpoems]

heartbreak in 11 parts (unsent texts.)

1. I’d like to pretend that I’m fine, that I’m moving on and doing okay, but I’m not okay. I still cry about you. I think about you every day. Every song reminds me of you. I miss your arms around me and your hands and your mouth. I miss your eyes. I miss hearing you say you’re obsessed with me. It’s insane and sad and nonsensical. You’re a ghost in my head. I can’t get rid of you.

2. The truth is, I’d still give you my heart if you asked for it. If you told me tomorrow that you wanted me back, I’d run to you without question. I’d kiss you until we forgot we were ever apart. And somewhere in my mind, I’d think — this is a huge risk. I’d ask myself, are you sure? What if he hurts you again? What if you ruin each other? What if you’re still not enough for him? Do you really want to take that chance? And the answer would be yes. Obviously it wouldn’t be easy, it would take work and patience and conflict and compromise, but you’d be worth it. If there’s a chance it could work, I’d still want to try. You made my heart so happy in the short time we were together that any more time with you would be precious in and of itself, regardless of the outcome. Knowing you is a gift. Loving you would be effortless. And I want to, god I want to.

I understand your hesitation. I know your concerns and they’re valid and important. I know why you don’t think we have a chance. I just can’t help wondering, is this truly how it’s supposed to be if we both hate it so much? If it feels so wrong? Everything in me is telling me to fight for this, to convince you to live in the moment with me, but logically I know it would be pointless. Idk. Something about us is special. The way we fit, our common interests, our similarities, the timing, the chemistry, our locations — it felt like fate. I’ve been grieving this loss for weeks and I’m no closer to acceptance.

I’m grateful to have you in my life in whatever way I can, full stop. You’re amazing and I don’t want to lose you, and I’d be honored to be your friend. I’m just not sure I’ll find this kind of connection with someone else. Maybe someday, years from now, but I just want you. It’s pathetic and selfish and scary but it’s how I feel. I don’t want to feel this way, I wish I could turn it off, wish I could break this magnetic pull you have on me, but I can’t. Why is it so hard?

I know this is a lot and it’s unfair, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to overwhelm you just because I am overwhelmed with everything I’m still feeling. You owe me nothing. I just want you so badly and everything hurts.

3. One of the hardest parts of this is not inviting you over when I’m home with nothing to do. I’ve never craved someone like this.

4. You said it was me, that I was your type. I can still be your type. I still wanna be yours.

5. Maybe this is all just temporary infatuation. Maybe I’m being childish, thinking these feelings won’t one day disappear, like they all do. Maybe it’s naïve, imagining a future with you where there isn’t one. I have too much hope. I want more than I can have.

6. I’m trying to tell myself that everything happens for a reason, that maybe I’m better off without you, that I’ll feel better once more time passes, but it all sounds like bullshit. Not talking to you, trying not to think about you, it feels wrong. I hate this. I can’t stand it.

7. Sometimes it hurts so bad I don’t want to get out of bed. I do, because I have to, but it’s hard. There’s a pit in my stomach and I’m nauseous about it all day. Some days I’m fine, I’m distracted, I can forget for a while. But when I’m alone with my thoughts, it just hurts.

8. I’m realizing the space that you need doesn’t help me at all, but I know this isn’t just about me. I want you to be okay, and if we want any chance at developing a friendship, I know I’ve got to give you that space. I just didn’t expect it to be this hard.

9. Everything reminds me of you. But I know I can’t have you, so I’m going to try to move on. I’m going to try and eventually I will succeed. Part of me hopes you are filled with regret when I do. Part of me hopes we can remain friends when I do. Part of me hopes you come back to me some day. Part of me never wants to see you again.

10. I still think about you. I still miss you. The thought of us still makes me sad. But it doesn’t tear me apart the same way anymore. It’s just a dull ache. But it’s there and idk when it’ll go away.

11. It breaks my heart to let you go. But I’m letting you go.

[i-dont-know-how-this-site-works]

3/?

So, per post nr. 2, let's talk about the dorito-shaped squad member (I am hungry).

HUNTER

Now, I will admit that the idea for this series of posts came from the fact that I felt like we didn't get enough Hunter&Tech moments. Tech had so much development during this season and they really fleshed out his relationships, but almost any time they spoke with each other it was about the matters at hand, like the battle, or the plan, or something else entirely. Outside of dialogue, we also didn't get them bonding in any other way. Despite their differences, Echo and Hunter shared so many quiet moments, tired glances, they spoke to each other a lot about actual important stuff, but there was almost nothing with Tech in that regard.

For this one, it was mostly just them sort of looking at each other and the only time they spoke about something deeper was in ep.9, where Hunter had to explain to Tech the intricacies of preteen angst. Also, I loved this interaction in ep.8 when Tech launches the escape pod with the group + Rex in it and lands pretty far without any boosters and Hunter compliments him ("Not bad.").

And now, let me put on those rabid Hunter attorney glasses and say: This man is fucking clearly grieving.

I know he got some flack for dismissing Crosshair's message (which like, if you don't know how POV in fiction works, you need some theory of mind lessons) and somehow he is getting flack for not reacting as emotionally as people would have wanted.

But he is their leader. Not only in the military sense of the word, but he is also the head of their little family. They look to him for guidance, for direction, for orders, and while they are free to do what they want now that that military structure is gone, their dynamic carried over to their non-military relationship either way.

He feels responsible for them. Which is why he wanted to hide and was not enthusiastic about this mission or even wanted to consider that Cross really turned against the empire, because that's such a huge risk. This man has an actual child under his care and going to a highly secure location with top imperial officers to maybe get a shot at freeing their brother who tried to kill them multiple times? Hunter knew it was a bad idea, but he greenlit the mission anyway.

And you know what? Hunter was right.

Literally all of his fears came true in a span of 24 hours and his cautiousness and withdrawal were not unwarranted.

His brother is dead. His daughter was taken by the Empire. His other brother and he himself was badly injured. And worse of all, it was for nothing, since they didn't get any information on where Crosshair is being held.

But, he is the leader. He needs to call the shots, even in the face of the greatest failure he ever experienced, life does not stop and he needs to steer the ship. He can't allow himself to fall apart, because other people depend on him too.

(well, this one turned into an essay with me defending Hunter, the next one will be better, I promise lol)

[dirtyoldmanhole]

made it past black flames... gunter fans know what that means. :'))))

et iz emotional pain time!!

anyway it was cool the description text for the chapter said "descend on valla" while it had "floating isle" right there on the location box.

whack geography there you have, fates!

i suppose it makes sense in terms of "descending down into the bottomless canyon" but since i'm doing an unsubtle amount of parallels to [valla = the underworld] for Symbolic Fic Reasons it was neat to see the game itself nod towards that versus an ultimately less descriptive word like "fell down the canyon".

you ever think how that sky was likely the last thing gunter thought he was going to see the first time he fell down? :') and then what he must feel like to be kinda forced to do it all over again? :'))))

speaking of the literal devil....

[internal screaming]

god this second rev playthrough is going to emotionally wreck me WORSE than the first playthrough, and that one pretty much broke my brain as is!!!!

anyway this is the first shot you see of gunter in-game since... I think it was right before the wind tribe chapter where you fought the "faceless"? i'm pretty sure I would have screenshotted it had there been another one.

i also think it's really interesting you don't see him next to azura, which feels like it'd make sense considering both of them, you, and jakob had already been down in the bottomless canyon. (ngl jakob got shafted in these little map scenes, he feels like he should be there more.)

anyway, very subtle yellow flag number one for what's coming up.

the royals have their one obligatory moment of sane 'wtf we ain't jumping down no canyon' reasoning. gunter gets this kind of random 'hey i'm alive still remember me' line for the players who aren't single-brain cell'd gunterfuckers (:P) :

corrin reveals she's prepared to sacrifice herself to valla's curse (you die if you mention anything about the otherworldly kingdom) to reveal to everyone exactly who the enemy is----

(....OUFFF can you imagine gunter's moment of panic there.)

-- everyone trades a few lines about trusting corrin, after wanting her to order them to jump.

they jump. first, hilariously enough.

so this is probably the clearest shot we'll ever get of Scarlet's flower. hold that thought for future Plot Reasons.

(i also do think it's a little interesting / a flub that the cinematographers had gunter already jump in the bottomless canyon--Scarlet and Corrin trade 3-4 lines before they jump too. then again i suppose if he was still sticking around at this point the whole "who killed scarlet" jig would be up way before it was actually resolved.)

speaking of, i still can't believe i fucking called it with possessed!gunter killing scarlet the first go around. :') all i knew beforehand is he got possessed somewhere and there was something whack with his family.

here we goooo......

whelp whelp whelp

THIS REALLY HITS DIFFERENT WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO IT IS

GEE I WONDER

control your kinky af boytoy corrin!!! safe word is anankos!!!!!

(if you squint, you can see how the game uses anankos' cloaked model -- privately i think they should have used the great knight model since it would have been an infinitesimal 'blink and you miss it' hint but an absolute genius bonus the second time. just stick the helmet on if you don't want to give everything away. )

something exquisitely painful: guess who targeted corrin first, before scarlet dives in to save her?

:')

... whelp. nice seeing you.

damn even the game ships ryoma/scarlet hardcore.

corrin gets all of 30 seconds to grieve/freak out about scarlet dying and then enemies show up, thankfully followed by allies.

gunter's in the third wave of sprites that show up, the first being corrin, then xander&ryoma.....

... aaand i just noticed he's right next to corrin. :'))))))))))))))))))))

time to roll valla!

[lishielish]

A Stark Absence - Chapter 23

Pairings: Tony Stark x OFC

A/N: Please see Masterpost for a note regarding this and upcoming chapters’ tags

It's been a long time, but like I said a couple days ago, I'm finally in a good enough place that I have the head space to hopefully do Tony and Ev justice. I'll still be slow to update, but I promise not to take two years ever again <3

Word Count: 3,049

Chapter 23 of ?

AO3

Runnin Down A Dream

Steve glanced over his shoulder at Natasha, “You sure this is it?”

“Same coords I always use,” she said, hurrying to his side in the cockpit.  “Why?

Tony wondered what else could possibly go wrong as he pushed himself up out of his seat, pocketing the flask he’d brought along.

“It’s gone,” Nat breathed.  “The report mentioned a fire but it didn’t say anything about…”

“What’s go-” Tony faltered, now seeing what the others could.

“The Hub.  That was the Hub,” Natasha’s voice was soft, her eyes wandering over the charred landscape before them.

“Good thing she wasn’t there,” Tony said brusquely.  “I’m suiting up.  Let’s get down there and get this over with.”

Steve and Natasha exchanged a look of concern.  Tony hadn’t taken the news well, they knew he wouldn’t.  Neither had they, if they were being honest with themselves.  But his refusal to accept Evelyn’s fate was only going to hurt him more the longer he denied it.  None of them wanted to find what they’d come looking for, but at the same time… Maybe it would make things easier if they did.  Maybe it would be easier on everyone if there was a chance for closure, a chance for grieving, for healing.

The trio walked silently from the Quinjet, towards what was left of the Hub.  It had been a large facility, evident by the remnants of the foundation that stood among the ash.  Tony berated himself for not sending his army of suits out to search for it the moment Evelyn mentioned it.  If he’d known it was this large…  It would have stood out.  One of the suits would have found it.  He could have intervened.  He could have found her.  He could have-

“I don’t know if there’s anything left here to find,” Steve said solemnly.

“Shut it, Rogers.  Jarvis, start scanning.  I want everything you can give me on this place.  Even better if there’s satellite footage from the days leading up to, to this.”

“Of course, sir.”

Natasha stood at the edge of the destruction, and scooped up a handful of ashes.  She gripped them in her fist, then let them scatter away through her fingers.  “This was the backbone of SHIELD.  All of our intel, all of our support, tech, it all came through here.”

“Never took you for the sentimental type,” Tony remarked, focused on the data streaming on his HUD.

She side-eyed Tony. 

He tried not to think about anyone else.  The number of people it would have required to be the backbone of SHIELD.  The number of people that would have been going through another day of work when Hydra struck.

“Mapping analysis complete.”

“Project it.”

Before their eyes, the Hub seemed to come back to life; grand and imposing.  Natasha stepped back as the green walls loomed before her.  Steve came to her side, and placed a hand on her shoulder.  Tony stayed where he was, unable to decide his next step.

“Area analysis complete.”

“And?” Tony asked, not wanting to hear the response.

“Most human remains are located at the back of the building, sir,” Jarvis said.

“And,” Tony pressed.  Say she’s not there, say she’s not there…

“Many have no remaining means of identification.  Those who do are at the bottom of the piles.  However, no trace of Ms. Abel can be identified from the remains at this time.”

Tony closed his eyes, raised his face to the sky, and let out a long-held breath.

They walked around the charred remnants of the Hub, a somber air hanging over them.  The piles Jarvis spoke of (and if Tony let himself recall, Romanoff had mentioned), were unceremonious pyres.  Bodies laid upon bodies laid upon bodies, contourted, burned, unrecognizable.  Steve put a hand over his mouth and nose; the smell of gasoline still lingered thickly in the air, and his stomach rolled at the sight.

“Monsters,” Natasha whispered.

Tony’s jaw clenched tightly.

Steve turned away, hands on his hips, eyes on the ground.  “What do we do?”

“Jarvis said she’s not here.  So we go home.  We find her.”

“Tony…”

“She’s not here, Romanoff,” Tony said firmly as his helmet retracted.  “That means she needs us.”

The demon’s breath was warm on Evelyn’s ear, her head dipped to the side, as she forced a smile at the departing group.  She nearly caught Fitz’s eyebrows pinch together and his eyes dart to her right hand, but missed it when a cough and groan left the man behind her.  She closed her eyes at Ward’s performance, fingers twitching to tap to her thumb.  His bruises might be real, but the cause of them wasn’t.

“Make sure Abel rests up.

“I’ll show her to the barracks right now.”

Her eyes flew open, looking between Coulson and Koenig.

“Good.  I think that hike from the bus must have taken more out of her than we thought.”

Evelyn had to bite her tongue.  She wanted to pipe up, to say that she was fine, better than she seemed, but he was right; she was exhausted.  But a decent, comfortable bed was all she really wanted.  To say it had been a long day would be an understatement.  Lying down and drifting off to sleep behind a locked door was all she could hope for.  

“Nap time, darling?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard as she rolled her head back side to side, trying to conceal her reactions.  This wasn’t the time or place for getting in a back and forth with the nightmare man.

“Evie,” Fitz said, his voice heavy with concern.  He met her eyes briefly before he looked at her bare fingers again.  “Where’s your-”

“Good idea,” she said, giving Coulson a weak smile.  She could feel her heart begin to pick up the pace at the thoughts racing through her mind, at the decision she was about to make.  She turned to Koenig.  “A rest is exactly what I need.”  A rest…  A dream…  Tony…

“Ready to join me, are you?”

She tried not to lean her head into the gleeful voice speaking into her ear, but Fitz caught her reflexive action easily.

“Sir, maybe Evelyn should come with us after all?  Simmons can monitor her injuries and-”

“Simmons already made sure she has enough of her meds to get by until we get back, and said she’ll be fine until then.  Abel’s staying.  What she needs now is time in one place to rest and heal.  She won’t get that out in the field with us.”

“But, sir-”

“Nice try, Fitz,” Ward interrupted.  “I’ll keep a close eye on her.  She’ll be fine.”

Looking somewhat placated, Fitz nodded.  He looked worryingly at Evelyn one last time, flashed a feeble smile, and waved before boarding the Quinjet.

“Right this way, Miss Abel,” Koenig said, holding his arm out to indicate which way they’d be going.

Evelyn nodded and fell in step beside him.

“Hold on.”  She froze at the sound of Ward’s voice.  “I’ll go with you.  Can’t keep an eye on you if I don’t know where you are.”  He met her eyes with a smile that made her blood run cold.

What was he planning for her?  Did he have a plan yet?  Had he ever had a plan?  Or would everything be set off when he found out Skye was able to hack the NSA satellites and see him and Garrett on the rooftop of the Fridge, working together to infiltrate the facility?

She returned his smile, but kept silent, leaning heavily into her exhaustion.  She continued down the hall, sandwiched between Koenig and Ward.  Doubtful voices quietly caught her ear, wishing the others luck and assurances that the tasks they were told to do would be finished before the team returned.  This was all wrong, she thought.  She shouldn’t be here for what would come next.  But Coulson was following his heart, and she couldn’t fault him for it; she was about to follow hers.

“This is the first hall,” Koenig said as he stopped before a hall lined with doors that seemed to stretch on.  “You can have your pick.  I keep all of the rooms ready at all times in case a situation like this should arise.  Never thought it would pay off.”

“Ok, I’ll-”

“You’ll take this one,” Ward ordered, opening the first door by his side.  “It’s my job to keep you safe.  That means I need to know where to find you.”

“Right,” Evelyn said with a stiff nod.  “I’ll take this one.”

“Alright,” Koenig said uncomfortably.  “Dinner’s at 6, we’ll see you then.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.  I really just need to get some sleep.”

“You need to eat, your body needs fuel to heal,” Ward said, his order laced with kindness.  “Don’t need Fitz worrying about you.  I’ll bring you a tray.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Evelyn said with a shrug.

“I’ll leave it outside the door if you’re asleep.”

Evelyn gave what she hoped was a friendly, sleepy smile.  “I appreciate it.  I’m gonna go lay down.”

“Sweet dreams,” Ward said, watching her reaction closely.

But Evelyn didn’t give him one.  She stepped in, closed the door gently behind her, then pressed her ear against it.  The voices on the other side were heavily muffled, but she was still able to tell when they began to move away.  She hastily turned the lock, then scanned the room for something to barricade the door with.  If she was going to get any kind of rest, she’d need peace of mind that Ward couldn’t just waltz in at any moment.

She secured the back of the chair from the desk under the doorknob, then eyed the medium sized dresser.  Normally, she wouldn’t stop to think twice about pushing it across the room.  But with her shoulder and her ribs, just the thought of raising her left arm enough made her wince.  The small sofa would have to do.  She managed to push it into place using mostly her right hip, and while she would have liked to do more, that would have to do.

The timing of upcoming events was unclear, but in the show, everything seemed to happen in quick succession.  Evelyn needed to rest not only for her health, but also because there was no telling when she’d have a chance to do so again.  She knew she needed to get her ring from the broom closet, she knew she needed restful sleep, but first, she wanted to see Tony again.  She wanted to feel the smallest connection with the only home she could remember.

The blue sky was thick with billowing clouds of smoke and dust as it continued to fill with Chitauri.  The grounds before her were full of clashing bodies and weapons.  The cacophony sounded familiar, almost comforting.  Evelyn ran, as she always did, across the battlefield that had been the Avengers Compound, her feet sure and steady beneath her as each step brought her closer, and closer, and closer…

Evelyn ran.  And ran.  And ran.  The battlefield never ended.  The space between her and Tony never narrowed.  Her legs began to ache.  Her chest began to feel tight, her breaths short.  She clutched at a stitch in her side, and pushed on, running, and running, and running.  She couldn’t do it.  She couldn’t run anymore.

Coming to a stop at last, she bent over, bracing her hands against her knees as she tried to catch her breath.  She hadn’t even reached the point where she would normally trip.  She straightened herself up, hoping to gauge how much further she had to go, but-

An unsteady gasp escaped before she sucked it back in.  She took everything in with wide eyes, trying to understand what, where… The glasses she was holding shook with her hands, liquid splashing over the sides.  She was standing at the foot of a set of porch steps, a flagstone pathway before her led to the white picket gate of the white picket fence.  Beyond the fence were gardens, so many gardens, clearly well cared for and each one was in full bloom.  

Following along the fenceline, to her right, was a small dirt driveway that met a stand alone garage.  Parked just outside the open garage was an older model car with its hood propped up, and a man stood there, bent over the engine.  His t-shirt clung to his damp skin in such a way that she could see his muscles flex beneath it as he worked.  Evelyn didn’t know what was happening, she didn’t know where she was, but she knew that back, that hair.

“Tony?” his name tumbled from her lips.

It was loud enough for him to hear, and set off a panic in his heart.  He carefully pulled himself up from under the hood, grabbed his rag and began wiping the grease off his hands as he eyed her shocked expression.

“Ev, honey, what’s wrong?”

The glasses fell from her hands, shattered glass scattering before her.

He dropped the rag, sprinting to her in a panic, closing the distance between them as quickly as he could.  He slowed a few paces away, taking in her wide eyes and the utterly lost expression on her face.  He finished his approach cautiously, eyes darting around her frozen form searching the yard, the gardens, the porch, trying to find what had her so out of sorts.

“Ev,” he said softly, “honey, is there someone in the house?”

Evelyn pried her eyes away from his and looked to her side.  Sure enough, there was a house behind her, a quaint cottage.  She returned her focus to him, more confused than before.

“Tony… where are we?”

“Home, sweetheart.  We’re home.”

He let his guard down, no longer concerned with the possibility of danger.  Now all his worry was for Evelyn.  The glass crunched beneath his footsteps as he neared.

“What?  I-”  She stopped short when he gently laid his warm hands on her shoulders.  An ache in her left one caused her to wince.

“Maybe we should go inside.  Is the heat getting to you?  We’ve been out here all day, Ev, let’s go in and get you cooled down.”

“Tony, I…”

He was here.  He was safe.  And his touch felt so real.  This.  This was all she’d wanted.

“Honey, what’s going on?” he asked, then pulled her in for a hug.

Pain shot through her shoulder, her ribs, front and back.  She didn’t even try to hold back the gasp that left her.

Tony reacted instantly, pulling away, worry etched across his features.  “What’d I do?  Are you hurt?  Did I hurt you?”

“No.  No, of course not,” she said, hating to worry him.  “I’m fine…”

“That didn’t sound ‘fine’ to me.  Turn around, let me see.”

Evelyn did as instructed, the skirt of her sundress twirling as she did so.  Dress?  She wondered what she’d worn in her other dreams.  Nightmares.  They’d been nightmares…

“What the hell?” Tony muttered.

“Hm?  What is it?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

He looked up from her shoulder to her face, horrified.

“That’s what I’m asking.  What the hell is this?” he asked, then gently ran his fingers over a spot on her shoulder.

She sucked in a breath, the pain searing.

“No,” he groaned.  “No, not again.  Things were going so well.”

“What?” she asked as he spun her around to face him.

He looked defeated.  Utterly defeated.

“Every damn time.  Can’t I just stay once?  Just once for a whole day?”

“Wait, Tony, what are you talking about?” she asked, reaching up, placing her right hand on the side of his face.

He leaned into it, savoring the sensation of her touch, her warmth, her comfort.

“We never get a full day together.  That’s all I want,” tears began to well in his eyes.  “Just one more day with you.”

“Tony, I have no idea what you mean, but my shoulder; that has nothing to do with anything here.”

“What do you-”

“I got shot.”

His eyes went wide, brows lowered.

“You what?”

“I mean, that is to say, I tried not to, but…”

Tony couldn’t believe what he was hearing, his perfect dream world shattering around him.

“You.  Evelyn, that’s not possible.  You’ve been here with me all day.  I would have noticed if you’d been shot,” he said, while trying to work out what was happening.  The dreams, they never ended like this.

“Not today, a few days ago.  At the Hub.”

It was Tony’s turn to be frozen with shock.

“The,” he swallowed the lump forming in his throat.  “The Hub?”

“Yeah, I-I’m sorry, I-”

He cradled her face in his hands, searching her eyes with his.

“Don’t be sorry.”  Tears began to fall.  “Don’t you ever be sorry, sweetheart.  Not for that.  Not for what happened there.  Not…” he trailed off, trying to maintain his composure, to soak in every moment with her before he would wake up from this dream.

“Tony, are you ok?”

He nodded, a sad smile on his lips.

“In the real world, Tony.  Are you ok when you’re awake?”

“When I…”

“Are you eating?  Are you sleeping?  Are you,” Evelyn felt her throat begin to tighten.  “Are you ok?”

His thoughts were spinning.  What kind of trick was his mind trying to play on him?

Evelyn whipped her head out of his light hold, scrutinizing the house beside them.

“Ev?”

“You hear that?”

A light knocking sound.

“You get a lot of visitors around here?” she asked.

“None,” he said, joining her in trying to zero in on the sound as it became louder.

More of a bang than a knock.

“Who could be-”

“Ward,” Evelyn breathed.

“Who?” Tony asked, then saw her panic stricken face.  “Ev?”

“I gotta go,” she said quickly, searching around them for an exit.

“Wait, no, I’m not ready,” he said, and grasped her hand in his.

“I gotta go, Tony!  My life depends on it.”

“Your-”

“If I don’t wake up right now-”

“Ev.”

The banging grew louder.

“Tony, please,” she gave his hand a squeeze, “find me.”

He felt his stomach drop.

She leaned in, going for a kiss before she had to wake up.

[brrrkdslek]

CHAPTER 3 ― FORSAKEN FUTURE

🂱 an event known as 'THE PULSE' occurs worldwide, granting a significant portion of the population extraordinary abilities. you, a grieving mother, encounters a group of boys while seeking refuge. the newfound group navigates a changing society while uncovering the truth behind the pulse.

🂱 ot8 x fem! reader

🂱 thriller, mystery, superhero, action, written

🂱 blood, gore, death

🂱 2.4k

🂱 EMERGENCE. mlist

RUBBING YOUR SWEATY PALMS TOGETHER, you stare up at the tall men. "can i help you with something?" you ask in a foreign language, tilting your head with wide eyes, trying to seem as confused as possible. the men shared a look with each other before turning around and continued to walk towards the lift.

you slowly walked away and out of the lobby, then you started to sprint away with tears in your eyes. you could've died, honestly. as you boarded the bus, you text seonghwa to let him know that you're nearing the park.

a ding was heard from seonghwa's phone as he stood in the small park with sunglasses and a mask on to shield his identity from the people around him. he'd grown anxious when he saw the news of his and your face revealed on tv, government demanding that you two would be handed over and would pay a hefty sum to anybody that found one of you two.

he opened the message and sighed in relieve upon realising you were on your way and possibly safe. seonghwa began to think again, where should you two go for the time being?

your homes are probably being broken into about now. everyone that knows you two wants to hand you over to the government, and some even wanted them dead on sight. he sighed, why did this happen anyways? and why him?

his thoughts were cutoff when he felt a hand pat his shoulder. looking up from the ground, he sees you smiling at him, also in full disguise. seonghwa lets out a sigh in relieve as he pulls you into a hug, "i'm so glad you're safe." pulling away, you giggle at the man. "what is there to worry about? i am a grown adult and can take care of myself!"

you two shared a few laughs while walking towards the parking lot together. "also, where are we staying?" seonghwa smiles at the ground, "there's this abandoned neighbourhood near my middle school that me and my old friends stayed at when we were still in school," he felt his heart ache at the memory, "we used to go there all the time until we graduated, i'm pretty sure it's still there."

you nodded and entered the car's passenger seat, seonghwa jogging over to the other side and gets in, starting the car. he puts in a location on his phone, dongdaemun-gu. you've heard of the place before, apparently it was abandoned when the terrorist group broke out in 2030.

you stare out the window as seonghwa drove past the bustling streets. the entire world in shambles with the new occurence of powers in some people, reports estimated 2/3rd of the human population as most people were on the streets at the time.

as the car came to a stop at the red light, your eyes catch a young man with split black and white hair, running past the streets in a hurry, speaking with every person that passed by anxiously. you blinked a few times as the car started again, taking your focus away from the man.

hongjoong remembers the crying faces of his friends begging him not to go. he had been offered a spot at kq entertainment to become an underground idol, of course he accepted. hongjoong had wanted this for as long as he could remember.

although it hurt him tremendously to break the groups' promise, he reminded himself of the one in a million chances of this offer, and that promises couldn't always be kept.

as he progressed further into the music industry, hongjoong quickly grew famous and his music had gotten a lot of recognition. it was everything he's ever wanted, but something was missing.

recently, the overwhelming guilt was taking over him. every time he closed his eyes, he would envision the crying faces of his friends, reaching out to him, begging him to stay. his promise, his friends. everything fell to shambles because he left, but he didn't know that.

hongjoong was taking a stroll outside when he shivered at the sudden gush of wind against his skin, making goosebumps appear on his arms. he checks his watch and curses himself, he was running late for the meeting.

hongjoong began to run past the crowd of people and to the opposite direction quickly. suddenly, he teleported out of thin air from a portal. upon running out of said portal, he comes crashing into a pile of garbage, "fuck!" hongjoong sat up and rubbed his head, looking around.

"what... why am i here?" he mumbled to himself as tears pooled in his eyes. standing up, hongjoong dusted himself off and walked around the all too familiar neighbourhood. he broke down upon seeing the scribbles of the group name 'ATEEZ' on the tree, the mark still fresh as he trailed over it.

"excuse me?" hongjoong turns around, and is met with... himself. younger hongjoong's eyes widen as he stepped backwards, "why-why do you look... exactly like," he glups, "me?" hongjoong's tears threatened to spill as he stepped forward and held the younger's arms tightly.

"you-" hongjoong cut himself off. he shouldn't be doing this, if he could really travel through time, then that means he could alter the current timeline and history. hongjoong bit back a sob as he cups his younger self's face, "hongjoong-ah..." the younger held onto his hands, "yes?" "please, no matter what you do- just please,"

hongjoong strokes his cheek, "don't regret it. no matter what, no matter what it costs, do not regret any decisions you make." he spoke sternly with bloodshot eyes. the younger processes his words for a few seconds before confusingly nodded.

"hyung!" hongjoong's heart clenched upon hearing the voice of wooyoung and the others. he mutters a quick apology to the boy before dashing the other direction, leaving the boy stunned.

as he ran in the opposite direction, a ripple of black lighting tears around his body, opening another portal right in front of his eyes. before he could respond, his body runs straight through, and into the portal.

opening his eyes, he sees the same neighbourhood. however, it was in ruins. hongjoong's hands shake as he picked up a piece of newspaper buried under the rubbles, the headline reads: 'the end of the world!' hongjoong sacredly reads the date of the newspaper, november 17th, 2038, which was a few weeks away from current day.

hongjoong panicked and began running around, searching for a sign of life, even if it was a body. and a body he did find, seonghwa's. hongjoong stared at the lifeless body of his best friend, forehead covered in blood and grime, lip busted and fingers twisted in all sorts of directions.

hongjoong covers his mouth with his hand, turning around and quickly threw up his breakfast. grimacing at the lasting taste of vomit, he moved across seonghwa and over the small hill which was held up by the rubbles. over it were the bodies of the remaining friends, and a random woman whom he had never seen before.

hongjoong's eyes widen, but why? why did all of them die? and why wasn't he here? squeezing his fist, the newspaper crumples in his hand, turning his full attention on it. he reads through the paragraph;

'on this day, the rebel group 'halateez' will be coming to an end as one of the members, kim hongjoong, had teamed up with the government in secret. they plan to drop a nuclear bomb in the centre of the abandoned area also known as their hideout, dongdaemun-gu.

'halateez' will be rid of for good, stepping out of the way of the government's work. citizens wonder what could've persuaded hongjoong into joining forces with the governor? though it wouldn't matter as he would live on to be the governor's right-hand man.'

hongjoong drops the piece of paper to the ground. he did this? he killed his friends? dropping to the ground, hongjoong begins to sob into his palms, he was so confused.

teleporting out of nowhere, meeting his younger self out of nowhere and finding out that he will kill his friends out of nowhere. he drops the paper as it drops on the other side, words scribbled in black. 'IT WAS A TRAP, EVERYONE'S DEAD.' getting up, he begins to run again. just praying, hoping he'd go back to the reality he had known so well, and he did.

the rippling black lightning flashes but it suddenly stops as a figure blocks his path, knocking him to the ground. "what the fuck-" he furrows his brows in frustration. looking up, his features soften as he stares at himself.

his stomach turns at how he looked only two weeks into the future; large eyebags decorating his face, a large scar stretching his mouth open, only held close with the cross-stitches, dried blood staining in random areas on his face, covered in grime and bloodshot eyes screaming in pain.

"what happened-" "park seonghwa." hongjoong blinked, "...what?" future hongjoong stepped forward as hongjoong backed away, "jeong yunho," hongjoong gulped, "kang yeosang, choi san, song mingi," hongjoong internally sweatdropped at the mentions of his friends' names.

"jung wooyoung, choi jongho and l/n y/n." he pulled at the fabric of his shirt, "who's y-" future hongjoong grips hongjoong's shoulders, "these are the people you'll end up killing if you don't pull yourself together!" hongjoong stiffened as other hongjoong screamed in his face.

"what are you talking about-" "they're your friends, they're your family! don't you ever forget that, kim hongjoong." hongjoong's heart was beating in his ears, he was absolutely terrified at waht was happening right now.

"don't abandon them like you did back then," hongjoong's eyes began filling with tears again, "don't leave them alone, don't betray them..." future hongjoong's grip falters as he falls to the ground, sobbing in despair. "but i-" "there's no time!' future hongjoong sniffles and pushes hongjoong away, "teleport right now or you'll be stuck here forever!" "what, why-"

"if the same entity is exposed to themselves in the future or past for over ten minutes, they'll both cease to exist!" hongjoong's eyes widen, as he felt his head begin to pound. "but how do i tele-" "feel it, want it! you have to imagine the feeling, the spark, the environment, everything!"

hongjoong gulps as he begins running in the opposite direction in a hurry, "remember they're family and they love you, hongjoong!" a tear leaves hongjoong's eye as runs forward, passing the bodies of his beloved friends.

he feels the sudden jolt surge through his body, black lightning bolts surrounding him as he disappears into thin air, yet again. upon arriving back into the 'real' world, he stumbles and falls into an alleyway, totally out of it.

he holds his stomach as he throws up again next to the garbage can due to the amount of times he had traveled to god knows where. rays of pain shoots into his veins and his vision becomes blurry as he lays his back against the wall, breathing heavily.

'these must be side effects.' hongjoong made a mental note to keep track of his symptoms. regaining his composure, he runs out of the alleyway, still wobbling with his face covered in grime and begins rambling on to random pedestrians about a bomb that will be dropped, bringing the world to it's extinction.

of course he was brushed off as an insane psychopath who smelt like ass. hongjoong stops after a while and returns to his studio, earning an earful from his manager. 'so time moves along with wherever i am. if i've traveled into the past and future for about twenty minutes, it means twenty minutes have passed here.'

"yes, he's here." his train of thoughts were cut off when two large men in suits grabbed hongjoong by his arms, dragging him out of the room. "yah! what the hell, get off me!" he thrashed and pulled against them, as they didn't even budge.

hongjoong was about to give up until he remembers that he has powers now. he mentally calculated the two times he had traveled into the past and future, both running but only in the opposite directions. unfortunately, one place came to mind as future hong's words repeated in his mind.

'feel it, want it! you have to imagine the feeling, the spark, the environment, everything!' hongjoong closes his eyes, remembering the surge of lightning in his veins, making his body feel light. he takes a deep breath and pull himself backwards, making the men slightly wobble as he immediately launch himself forward.

looking back, his breath hitched as he sees everything in slow-motion. the men were tumbling onto the ground slowly, the painting on the wall creaks at a slow pace. the only thing that was moving normally was him. as he begins thinking, the moment comes to a stop and the men lands on their asses onto the ground.

he manifests his powers again and cross his fingers, hoping he'd teleport to where he had in mind and snapped his finger. surprised at how easy it was to command his teleportation, he looked around and pumped his fist in the air as he landed successfully in the designated location he had in mind, dongdaemun-gu.

he sighs as the nostalgic feeling hits him like a truck. he walks around and smiles at the memories he and his friends had made in this abandoned shithole. it was still messy with trash littered everywhere, more graffiti had appeared since the last time he'd been here.

as he enters one of the houses, the familiar scent of oakwood and coffee fills his nose, bringing tears to his eyes. he looks around the dirty house, everything in the exact same places, making him smile. "huh, who are you?" hongjoong turns around to see the figure walking towards him.

you couldn't see his face due to the light shining behind him, putting your hands forward you push the male away, zapping him in the process. "oh my god!" hongjoong covers his mouth with his hands as the man falls limp onto the ground, "fuck- oh, shit... uh, sir? are you- are you o-"

his eyes widen at the familiar face he saw, it was yunho.

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©BRRRKDSLEK 2023

[wixhing0nastar]

About the Yang Xiao Long Abuse post.

Something occurred to me; Qrow may have also contributed to the abuse.

Back in Volume 3, when Yang was framed by Emerald?

Qrow accused her of either lying or being crazy.

Yang sought one of her family figures for validation, and Qrow called her crazy.

Then Qrow told her that Raven didn't care for her.

Would what Qrow did be considered abusive as well?

There's a lot in Volume 4 I dislike, which is why its my least favorite volume, and the Patch Scenes were among them.

But I feel that the way Qrow treated Yang was also a factor in Yang's mental/emotional state.

Also, regarding Yang's prosthetic. It appears Tai had planned to "call in some favors, pull a few strings" in order to get Yang her new arm, which shows that while Tai is emotionally insensitive to a degree, he is still caring about others and willing to help.

Ruby did say that Taiyang does love them both and is overprotective.

But a person can be loving and yet at the same time emotionally harmful to a degree.

Its strange, given the character we see of Qrow and Tai in RWBY Chibi, both being loving family members.

How would you, if you could make suggestions to the writing team, made ideas on how to improve things in V4?

Beyond just Yang, it feels there was too much in need of a revision here or there.

So to start with the question about Qrow, those instances wouldn’t count as abuse. For something to be abuse there has to be a pattern of this stuff happening, so the single comment about the Vytal Festival isn’t abuse, just a really messed up thing to say to her.

As for the comment about Raven, while it’s a little too blunt, it’s not something she shouldn’t hear. Especially since Qrow gave her the information to find her and knows Yang’ll be meeting her in the near future and he wants to prepare her for that.

Like as much as she was saying she was just looking for answers, you know deep down she’d been hoping for years if she found her, Raven would care enough about her to take care of her and Ruby.

That being said, in V6 when Yang and Ruby find him passed out drunk, their reaction does indicate he was doing this regularly at some point in their lives and they know how to handle it… and taking care of a passed out drunk adult isn’t the job of a kid(s) and is also a form of parentification. So likely he contributed in some regard when Yang was younger.

However, Qrow acknowledges that he has an issue and does try (successfully!) to work on himself to be a better uncle/mentor both to Yang and Ruby but also their friends as well, which is important to acknowledge.

And yes, I never meant to imply Tai doesn’t love them both. He clearly does, it’s just that love alone isn’t enough when you’ve got a couple of very young grieving children at home, and then a traumatized teenager with fairly severe PTSD. (And tbh I wouldn’t ever put much weight into the characterization in RWBY “cake butler” Chibi, lol).

As for V4, I think that the biggest issue the volume had overall was that they were trying to follow too many different storylines in too many different locations. Like they had to balance:

RNJR + Qrow’s trip across Mistral

Weiss escaping from her father

Blake and the Faunus Civil War

Yang and her PTSD/Recovery

Introducing Oscar and all the world stuff that comes with the reincarnation story

Introducing Salem and Team WTCH

I’d suggest combining at least a couple of these earlier on to give themselves more breathing room. Tbh Yang’s entire recovery arc barely happened (it was like three, 5ish minute scenes across the whole volume, which was also almost every scene she had) and Weiss’s arc was also fairly short and a bit underwhelming for how much it was built up, so I’d try to fold them into other storylines.

Honestly, I’d specifically suggest combining Yang and Oscar’s stories (they both are dealing with huge, unexpected changes in their lives they don’t know how to navigate) and Blake and Weiss’s (Weiss could go through a very similar emotional journey as she did in canon but from the opposite side by witnessing how Ghira and Kali treat her and Blake compared to her father), with Yang and Oscar catching up to RNJR at some point in the later part of the volume.

If they specifically wanted to write Tai as a good parent now (while also not retconning anything from V1-V3), one of the first things he’d need to do is admit that he was in the wrong in the past (like Qrow did in V7) and was not there for her. And then make it clear he is now and then ask after and follow her lead in terms of what she needs to heal instead of assuming he knows best.

[theapocalypseisonlythebeginning]

TWD/Telltale - The Walking Dead AU - "Bad People or Good People?" Masterlist

Father Daughter relationship between Daryl and Clementine. Watch as she grows to become even more badass than the two men who taught her how to survive a zombie apocalypse <3

☝️art by @estethell ❤️🖤

Summary:

"Find a group…" are one of the last words Lee says to Clementine. And so, Clementine does. Over and over and over again… until Clementine finds Daryl Dixon and his group at the prison. Whilst it's easy to gain the affection of Daryl, a man who soon becomes like a father to her, other members of the group might have some issues with her… not to mention the looming threat of other people still out there.

Changes Clementine’s fate after telltale's season 1 to fit in with the Walking Dead show, intertwining the stories from mid season 3 and onwards. Clementine is therefore 9 at the start!

(I will try to write with enough details that if you haven't seen or played either of the medias, you can follow along. But I also keep in mind that some have played and seen things multiple times so if something that was canon doesn't make sense immediately, it will in a later chapter <3 )

Chapters:

Glenn || A year after Lee's death, Clementine is on the run from Walkers after a horrible year. Right as she's on the brink of dying, an arrow saves her life.

Daryl Dixon's arrow.

Find a Group || Clementine's introduction to the group does not go as smoothly as Rick had hoped... Already existing tensions surface, and Clementine starts to notice that there might be something going on here at the prison... something involving bad people?

Fever || As Clementine falls unconscious from a fever, the group goes through various debates on Clementine's presence... whilst Glenn and Daryl bond over their care for the girl.

Forgiveness || When Clementine wakes from her fever, she's faced with the Greenes' grieving anger of the death of Shawn Greene... But Hershel's Farm is not the only thing from Clementine's past that is still haunting her.

An Honest Man || When Daryl and Merle return to the prison, tensions are high as both children of the group get offended by their father figures.

How is Daryl Dixon, the least talkative of all people, going to apologise to Clementine?

A Stronger Girl  || Whilst fixing cars with Daryl (and Merle), Clementine ponders on whether she should tell the group where to find Ylva's group now that she's finally free of it. In the end, it's the last two people one would think to change Clementine's mind that convince her...

We're the Good Guys, Clem (Part 1) || With Clementine revealing the location of the group after her, Rick makes a risky decision to take some of the group’s fighters to go after them despite the Governor looming on their doorstep. Meanwhile, Merle finds more reasons to provoke Daryl.

We're the Good Guys, Clem (Part 2) || Worried about Daryl as he goes after Ylva's group, Clementine finds herself stuck in her emotions until she cannot keep it together anymore...

We're the Good Guys, Clem (Part 3) || New alliances are made. Tyreese doesn't like what Woodbury seems to be, but Kenny is blind to it all. Rick doesn't like what he is turning into, meanwhile Clementine might have finally found a friend in Carl.

Bracelets and Unexpected Visitors || A calm before the storm settles over the Prison group now that Rick, Daryl and Glenn swear that there are no people after Clementine anymore. But there are still enemies out there, and although Daryl and Clementine are as close as ever, will it last...?

Based on story:

All on His Lonesome (only on AO3 atm, sorry) || At Daryl Dixon's grave, Clementine copes with her father figure's death with the help of Judith Grimes.

AO3 link to AU work (limited access - only those with AO3 account)

my carrd

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[kerra-and-company]

Kerra's Playlist: Analysis

Hello folks! Welcome to something I put probably way too much thought into—aka me talking about the playlist I made for Kerra 😊

(also, tagging @i-mybrunettelady and @king-there0f, since you guys said you were specifically interested in seeing this <3)

Warnings for content below: assorted spoilers for the entire GW2 storyline, suicidal thoughts, grief

So, some things about Kerra's playlist that give me Emotions when I listen to it:

The first song on Kerra’s playlist is instrumental, and it’s called Valiant—Kerra’s first-ever title, and one that she has claim to as soon as she awakens.

Broken Heart of Gold is the seventh song. It’s early in this playlist and early in Kerra’s life; she’s about a month and a half old here at most. And the chorus is this:

Sometimes I just wanna quit Tell my life I'm done with it When it feels too painful Sometimes I just wanna say I love myself but not today When it feels too painful I smash my broken heart of gold

Kerra is grieving and she is angry. She had to kill Tiachren. It was her fault and it wasn’t; she could have made another choice but she wouldn’t have; it’s a death that teaches her that guided destinies don’t come casualty-free. This song is mostly about the grief and self-hatred that comes out of this incident, but she’s angry at others as well, and a big part of that anger is directed at the Nightmare Court. When Faolain visits Briarthorn, Kerra (there undercover at the time, working with Alarin) seriously considers killing her, both out of a generalized anger towards the Court and a very personal anger towards Faolain with her (at this point still limited) knowledge of what Faolain did to Caithe.

What I’m Here For (number 10) is meant to be a sweet song but has always been kinda bittersweet for me, and that translates to the role it has in Kerra’s playlist. She, sincerely and truly at this point, thinks her value is in what she can do for other people. (Also, based on where it’s located on the playlist, it’s technically a little before she joins the Order of Whispers, but the line “I’ll be the brightest shadow you’ve ever had” is very tied to her and the Order.)

Angel With A Shotgun is...just a very Kerra song. The whole thing fits her, to be honest, but especially this:

They say before you start a war You better know what you're fighting for Well baby, you are all that I adore If love is what you need, a soldier I will be

For Kerra, this isn't meant to be interpreted in an explicitly romantic sense. You could read it as platonic love/romantic love/just how much she cares about the world in general, and she could be talking about/to many different people. There's also something to be said about this bit:

If love's a fight, then I shall die With my heart on a trigger

Considering that she does, in fact, during PoF.

No One Stands Alone is Kerra's becoming-the-Commander song (think end of level 60 PS and retaking Claw Island):

No one's falling No one will be forgotten No one's going on their own

We find light Through the smoke No one stands alone

Through the fire We find hope No one stands alone

It's good and also very painful--"no one else is dying if I can help it, I will never forget those we lost, I'll stand beside you even if no one else will"--but it's also very much her acknowledging that she's a leader. Where she goes, people will follow, and that's important even if it's hard. And there's the bridge, which is also worth noting:

I won’t let you leave we just started My heart’s on my sleeve, it’s unguarded They might come for me a new target They need a new target My heart is unguarded

Both another instance of her being self-sacrificing and one of her saying that she's going to keep loving anyways, regardless of whether it hurts her or not.

Also, to add one more point--it's an echo of something Tybalt says during the level 40 PS: "When you stand with the Order of Whispers, you never stand alone."

May I is (in this playlist) meant to be Kerra talking to the fledgling Dragon's Watch during LWS1:

May I hold you As you fall to sleep When the world is closing in And you can't breathe May I love you May I be your shield When no one can be found May I lay you down

"Can I protect you, can I love you, are you happy to have me here and as your friend? Because I'm really happy to be yours, and I want to keep this thing we've built, if I can."

Ready or Not is Kerra and Scarlet going back and forth during Clockwork Chaos:

You thought nothing could surprise you You thought you'd seen everything But you never saw me coming All eyes on me Ready or not

Some of the lines are more Kerra, and some of them are more Scarlet, but you could take the song as coming from either one of them alone and it'd be equally valid.

Breathe is Kerra's Tower of Nightmares song--hallucinations, doubt, just have to get through this:

I know right now you're not strong enough But breathe

Strange Sight is technically from one of the Tinkerbell movies, I think? But I first heard it entirely divorced from that context, so it's not particularly relevant xD As far as the new context I'm giving it, this is Kerra's catching-romantic-feelings song:

You're reckless and distant But I'll be persistent I will understand you Strange How I'm drawn to the danger I'll reach out my hand to you

You are a strange sight Some new kind of wonder

There's a light that you shine There's a love, I see it in your eyes

It's not a perfect match in all respects, but those few segments really hit home. Kerra's friendship (and eventual romantic relationship) with Nisha and Canach is based on a) seeing things she understands in both of them, and notably somewhat darker things (Nisha's grief, Canach's anger), and b) being willing to reach out and connect because she thought they were worth connecting to. And they reached back to her, too.

Echo is Kerra right after the Shadow of the Dragon attacks the Summit--she knows her Wyld Hunt now, but so many other things have been thrown into question, and she feels incredibly off-kilter and afraid in a way she's really never been before:

I can't get a grip, but I can't let go There wasn't anything to hold onto, though

The trembling fear Is more than I can take When I'm up against The echo in the mirror

Brittle, on the other hand, is Kerra after she learns the truth about the origin of sylvari, thanks to both the memory seeds and Nisha. It's anger at her mother and Caithe, anger at her situation, anger at herself for not being stronger, and anger at Mordremoth (and those distrustful of sylvari) as we bleed over from the end of LWS2 into HoT and the Pact fleet's destruction. I think the segment of this song that best fits Kerra here is this:

If I get defensive Don't say I'm oversensitive Maybe I have a tendency to snap on people telling me "You fit inside this box we built, we know you better than yourself" They're lying, they're lying, they're lying

Dear Shadow comes at the end of HoT, but it's reflective of Kerra and her Wyld Hunt and her emotions surrounding it since she awakened. She's talking to her Hunt, the voice in the back of her mind telling her to kill the dragon, like it's an entity all its own:

The first day that we met I saw you out of the corner Of my eye, I was 5 You're still the thumb that I'm under

Oh, I hid you away Pushing you down You left me caught between a light and a dark place

On the wall I was 10, you were more than a feeling By my side, unwanted The sun would see you come creeping Made of fear I was strong There's no shame to have you here Where you belong

I've been lonely Keeping you back there behind me Got this swollen feeling We could make amends I see it's only me needing You back there behind me In my soul I feel like Maybe we'll be friends But you're holding me back Yeah, you're holding me back And I just want to run

In order of segment, it's referencing: sapling times, post-Zhaitan, LWS2, the final battle with Mordremoth (where the Hunt is finally completed). This is maybe one of my favorite songs on this whole playlist.

Brother gives me emotions about Kerra and Trahearne, and them supporting each other as they build the Pact, and the huge risk that she takes to save him at the end of HoT--she's the one to bring him home:

Ramblers in the wilderness We can't find what we need We get a little restless from the searching Get a little worn down in between Like a bull chasing the matador Is the man left to his own schemes Everybody needs someone beside 'em Shining like a lighthouse from the sea

Brother, let me be your shelter Never leave you all alone I can be the one you call When you're low Brother, let me be your fortress When the night winds are driving on Be the one to light the way Bring you home

Now You Believe In You is instrumental, but the title alone says why it's important. Kerra post!HoT is free from her Wyld Hunt. She still carries losses on her shoulders and always will, but she truly believes in her capability going forward and in herself, now, in a way that was thrown a little off course for a while during LWS2. It's also that feeling that gives her the last push she needs to confess to Canach and Nisha.

And Rather Be is her confession song:

If you gave me a chance, I would take it It's a shot in the dark, but I'll make it Know with all of your heart, you can't shame me When I am with you, there's no place I'd rather be

"I want to be with you, if you want that too. I choose this, I choose you. Both of you are so absolutely worth the love I have for you."

Also worth noting a couple more lines:

It's easy being with you Sacred simplicity

In a lot of ways, this isn't actually that true. Kerra's the Commander, Nisha takes on the Marshal position a few months after this point, Canach's billet is still held by Anise, and they have literally no idea what form the world is going to take going forward. So it's not so much the situation that's simple, but the being-with-them, and the choice itself. Of course she'd choose them.

We're different and the same

Always been important, always will, even if it's a statement that'd be true about any set of strangers you met on the street.

As long as I am with you My heart continues to beat

And last but not least, I continue to be mean about seeing foreshadowing here--they're not with her when she fights Balthazar.

Never Look Away is one of my favorite songs for the three of them (Nisha/Kerra/Canach), in part because of its tendency to list things out in threes. (Also because there's literally the line "We're gonna photosynthesize and drink up the sunrise" in it, which is excellent.) I bolded a couple bits to highlight the triplets, but I wanted to show you all of these lyrics because they fit really really well:

So do they ever shut up because you said so or Do you overthink 'em all Somebody ought to corrupt you on the dance floor And take you home Show you all your daemons and desires and dark sides All of your colonies and continental divides

Let me uncover the silver in your dark hair The weight of your bones I want to witness the beauty of your repair The shape you've grown For you are made of nebulas and novas and night sky You're made of memories you bury or live by

So if you're out there in the cold I'll cover you in moonlight If you're a stranger to your soul I'll bring you to your birthright I want the storm inside you awoken now I want your warm bright eyes To never look away

Sunlight (yes, the Hozier one) is a song that could really go in a lot of places on this playlist--it's very Kerra, but not a specific time of Kerra doing things. For the purposes of the playlist timeline, though, it's during LWS3. All the lyrics fit in some way, but to avoid quoting all of them, I'll just give you this:

All the tales the same Told before and told again A soul that's born in cold and rain Knows sunlight, sunlight, sunlight And at last can grant a name To a buried and a burning flame As love and its decisive pain Oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight

Dirt Around The Tree is a song that's so Kerra (in terms of both her entire timeline and specifically right after she comes back from being dead in PoF) that my brain visualized an entire animatic for it that I'm not able to draw--I won't write about it here, but I am absolutely going to reblog that post so you can see. It's also in my fics tag if anyone's reading this and decides they want to go find it :)

Paper Dragon gives me Kerra vibes post-PoF specifically, but it's also just a good song for Kerra looking into the faces of Elder Dragons and a god and saying, "Still standing." For a few segments:

Well, you try to stamp me out But I'll come to life You try to burn me up But I'll never die

Sticky tape me, re-arrange me, throw me out, start again Re-use me, confuse me, shred me up-up into little pieces You say I make no sense

Oh, you don't own me I don't think you're fair Try to destroy me I don't care

All I Know So Far is one of my favorite songs for Kerra and her kids (Aurene, Rhi, Tev and Ia). It's also specifically a parenting song for Kerra and her partners, if you choose to listen to it for the three of them rather than just for her:

I wish someone would have told me that this life is ours to choose No one's handing you the keys or a book with all the rules The little that I know I'll tell to you When they dress you up in lies and you're left naked with the truth

This verse in particular (above) is very Kerra, but the chorus that it segues into (below) has elements of her and Nisha and Canach:

You throw your head back, and you spit in the wind Let the walls crack, 'cause it lets the light in Let 'em drag you through hell They can't tell you to change who you are That's all I know so far And when the storm's out, you run in the rain Put your sword down, dive right into the pain Stay unfiltered and loud, you'll be proud of that skin full of scars That's all I know so far

And the rest of the song is like that, too; I'm just not going to put all of it here for the sake of both space and my brain xD :)

Run is another one I wrote an animatic "script" for--will reblog that shortly, but please check out my fics tag and you'll find it there!

And last but not least for individual songs, I have to mention Hell or High Water because it's a very Kerra-during-EoD song, struggling against both the Void and Ankka (as well as all the other complications going on). It's also related to water, which, considering Soo-Won, is very fitting:

We are running out of time Meet me at the water line No one here is safe We are running out of time Don't forget your promises It's only fear inside your head We won't be replaced No one here is safe

When the river's running red And we begin to falter We'll hang on to the edge Come hell or high water

There's a few song parallels in here also--three of note are:

1) Weight of the World (during the Zhaitan campaign/level 80 PS) and Featherweight (when Kerra steps down as Commander after EoD), and

2) Go for Gold (the first instance where a song has "champion" in the lyrics, which for Kerra is both being a champion for herself and her new friends during LWS1) and Champions ("champions aren't born, they're built"--after returning from the Domain of the Lost).

3) Angel With a Shotgun comes back later, in a sped-up version, during the early part of EoD--Kerra is willing to sacrifice herself to save Rhi and Gorrik when they're all crashing into the shores of Cantha, and it's why she's as injured as she is (and why she needs almost a month to recover).

And...I shall stop there! But if you actually read this far, thanks so much for being interested, and I hope you had a good time. My brain has so many Kerra thoughts in it at all times and a bunch of those manifest in her playlist, so it was really nice to write this down.

:) <3