#you people who jump from scene to scene are my heroes

[dellamortethelesser]

The Wigmaker Job

Notes and Thoughts - Part 5

pt1 | pt2 | pt3 | pt4 | pt5 | pt6 | pt7

DISCLAIMER: These posts I'm doing are my own analyses and are done with the intentional eye to examine the relationship between Lucanis and Illario. I try to source all my assertions from what the text is giving me. This is not Lucanis critical nor should it be taken as such.

"bad timing, mia cara" ← why did he say that. i mean i get the whole bad timing thing but why the pet name. oh Illario…. anyways. i did pick up in the middle of the scene because we have a lot of ground to cover. Lucanis is the one who takes note of the really bad state poor Effe is in

She doesn't know her own age, severely underweight, her hair has been ripped out—bad just bad. Lucanis is the one who tells her to go on her way, seething with rage all the while.

Illario protests, saying that she's seen their faces and thus the contract is compromised. Lucanis bets of her bluffing for them, and she asks if he's a Crow. Lucanis admits this… Illario chides him for doing so. They let Effe go on her way.

"Never known you to have a soft heart," Illario murmured. Lucanis's right cheek muscle twitched. "She won't talk." "This isn't Antiva. We're not heroes here." "We're not heroes anywere, cousin."

Before I jump into the next bit, I want to talk about this! I worry that people falsely attribute the 'we're not heroes anywhere' quote to Illario, but it is LUCANIS who says that! Illario is the one who seems to imply that they may already have a sort of patriotic reputation in Antiva—a reputation that is the one Teia builds on in Veilguard!

Lucanis is the one who points out that the work they do isn't heroic. It's mercenary and fueled by coin. I still think it's interesting that he's the one who says that because he's still at odds with what an assassin should be concerned about. Illario says that he hasn't known Lucanis to have a soft heart—he let a witness walk free.

Illario rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. The Venatori already have your name. If they learn your face—" "I'll grow a beard," Lucanis smirked. "They'll never see me coming." Illario's frustration deflated. He grinned reluctantly. "That cavalier attitude's going to get you killed." "It's served me well so far."

I'll grow a beard… the infamous Veilguard beard reference <3 really charming to me that they did pick it up from the book lol

I had thoroughly underlined the 'grinned reluctantly' part of this passage. I don't think Illario's frustration is genuinely fading, more so he's putting it aside to focus on the job and the situation. The fact he points out that Lucanis's cavalierness is going to get him killed…

I think it's a link to the conversation at the end of the short story. Lucanis does not care about the right things—he cares about people, and slaves, and justice, but those aren't things an assassin needs to care about. He needs to care about the risk and where he stands with the Crows, and he needs to start CARING about how Caterina is pitting them against each other. But Lucanis ignores all of that.

Anyways. We move to the next scene, where Lucanis and Illario are on their way into the room with the slaves.

Lucanis went first, showing Illario where to place his feet.

Remember that line for later. We're going to come back to it with The Wake analysis.

The slaves are in fucking horrid condition. I'm not going to be recounting it here because it's a bit graphic but you can read along in your own books <3

Lucanis stumbled back, his mouth dry. Something inside snapped. 'Death's too good for this bastard'. Illario touched his arm. Only then did Lucanis realize how quickly he was breathing. He closed his eyes. 'Remember your training', he told himself, and suddenly, he could hear the tapping of his grandmother's cane, the hard elegance of her voice. 'There is no place for emotion in killing. It's sloppy. File it down. Make it useful.'

Pausing here so we can pick apart at this passage for a second. We start with Lucanis reeling back in anger at the horror of what he is seeing. He's incensed on behalf of the people that Ambrose is harming. What surprises me here is how vastly different his reaction is to Illario's.

Illario, ostensibly, seems level and unfazed, or at least he is masking it better than Lucanis. To the point where Illario puts a hand on him to bring him back to center! I also love the insight that we get into Caterina here… she tells the boys there's no place for emotion in killing.

But also to file it down and make it useful? I don't think she's saying they need to be emotionless but rather that they need to control their emotions, stay aware of themselves. We don't have the insight into Illario but I don't think that Lucanis is NOT doing that. I'd argue everything he does from this point on is emotionally led.

That doesn't mean I think every decision he makes in this story is a good one—morally, yes, but pragmatically? No. I'm getting ahead of myself, though, there's the next part of this passage I want to peek at.

'Make it useful', he repeated to himself. With slow, controlled breaths, Lucanis flushed the rage pumping through his veins until he could think clearly. Ambrose would die—that was certain—but he couldn't walk away from these people.

My above points stand.

"What are you doing?" Illario whispered. "Breaking their shackles." Illario stared. "That's not the job." "Fuck the job."

Notes I scribbled around this specific part of the passage incoming:

'Once again, Lucanis is pushing past the terms of the contract without consulting Illario.' 'Is Illario following or being dragged?' and 'He's risking the contract to do this, but he's the favorite. Does Illario even have room to say no?'

"That's not the job" & "Fuck the job" respectively are almost the thesis of the story in and of itself—Illario wants a plan, a solid follow-through, whereas Lucanis is taking twists and turns until it's not about killing on a contract but freeing slaves and killing for vengeance. It's really an interesting dynamic from this point out because it widens a gulf between them.

Red lyrium note later in this passage which really does not come up in Veilguard like it did in previous installments of the game.

Sensing thinness in the Veil again—really would have liked to have gotten more details in Veilguard about Lucanis's abilities but Spite took precedence. Which is… fine, but it means we do see a disparity between this book and the game release.

Lucanis grabs Illario's wrist and hits the pressure point at the base of it to get Illario to drop his dagger. Insane move—I see why Lucanis was doing this (he had a different plan to handle the kill, re: the Fade orb in the room) but I would be so pissed if I was Illario lmfao. He let Ambrose get away! Their contract!

Illario wrenches his arm free. "Have you lost your mind? We had him!" "He doesn't deserve a quick death."

Objectively shouldn't matter what he 'deserves'. They're assassins and they are paid to kill. Illario knows this, Lucanis has been set up and shown to be more emotional and sympathetic to the point of interference.

"Did you forget the mess you left upstairs? What do you think will happen when Ambrose finds his bodyguards slaughtered?" "Hopefully he panics. I want him scared." "He'll flee," Illario asserted. "And this contract will be forfeit. Your life will be forfeit."

Two things I want to note here: One, that Lucanis is confident he can still kill Ambrose even with the situation shifting the way it has, and two—Illario's concern for Lucanis. If Crows fail a contract, as has been stated and confirmed consistently, they are eliminated as operatives for the House of Crows.

Interesting that the focus is on Lucanis's life—was anyone else aware that Illario was also on this contract? Or because it is Lucanis who accepted it, it is only his life on the line, regardless of assistance from other Crows? Fascinating to consider.

"Don't worry, cousin. He'll die. But in the right way."

Literally should not be Lucanis's place to determine this. They had a shot and they didn't take it—he wants the perfect vengeance, Illario wants the job done.

Illario threw his hands up. "Death is death! There's still time to chase Ambrose down. But we need to leave. Now. Magic isn't my forte, but even I know red lyrium is bad news. It infects people's minds. Lucanis!" Illario pressed. "We can't help these people." "No, but we can give them vengeance."

Once again I wish red lyrium was as important in Veilguard as it used to be <3 I know they explained it to us in the lore reveals we got but also that shit fucked people up so bad for so long and we saw… none of that lol. I would've even been down to see an Illario corrupted by red lyrium more than venatori in his villain arc who said that

I love that Illario talks with his hands btw go off pookie

I've made previous points about the vengeance talk with Lucanis and I'll say it again: he is a fucking assassin. He is getting lost in the inhumanity of the situation. They are not paid to care, to get vengeance, to do all of these extra steps that he wants to take. Illario, in this moment, is the only one focused on the job.

"What are you doing?" Illario called out. Lucanis took the dagger from his mouth and positioned it over the artifact. "You'll see." Illario groaned. "I really wish people would stop saying that."

By "people", he means Lucanis.

and end scene.

Quotes are either paraphrased or taken directly from The Wigmaker Job, written by Courtney Woods.

[the-apocrypha]

The real mystery is the people who write their stories out of order. Who scrambled your brains. Who gave you such power over chaos. I can't even skip past an incomplete paragraph without breaking into hives.

[corawithfanfiction]

Hi! Would you ever consider do anything that was Aaron Taylor Johnson x reader? (his celeb self I mean.) Maybe something like they’re working on a movie together (y/n is younger) and get to be friends and then something transpires between them? Ahh!!

Aaron Taylor-Johnson x Fem!Reader (Young Actress Reader - Request)

My Materialist

warning: claustrophobia, age difference, dirty language, nickname, divorce, coworker, action scene, car accident, creep, expectation.

summury: You're doing test shoots for action scenes with the lead of your new movie. You always thought you were like a sister to her until you find out that he is now a single man.

(2632 word)

Ask for permission before quoting or translating!

Hope you like it sweetie, I try the write as soon as possible :) @smallmarvel

It was one of the new weeks in your new project. The reading rehearsals had been over for a few days. But post-production had taken a long time. Or maybe it's because it's your biggest project and you've never experienced this kind of crew and work discipline before.

The cast had been in camp for months and all of them had been working out constantly to change their bodies for their roles. In the last days you have been working on your choreography. Your screen time would be about fifteen to twenty minutes, but the opportunity to work with such a cast made it all worthwhile.

You had two fight scenes, one big and one small. Although it wouldn't be right to call them both fights. Generally the bad guys were chasing you and our hero was there for you, but there were still moves you had to memorize.

When you first read the script, you thought that since it was an escape scene, it wouldn't challenge you and you would just run. But it wasn't like that. You had to jump, jump, sometimes crawl and even fight one-on-one. To make the scene more realistic, you were choreographed to fight for your life. At first you hated it, but once you learned the moves and started doing them much faster, you started to enjoy it.

Today was the day of the test shoot.

It was the first time you and the rest of the crew would act out the scenes together. Of course you had all met each other. You had rehearsed readings, the director had organized some nights for you all to get along better. One of them was a movie night where you watched some of the old crappy horror movies. It was a milestone day when you couldn't be afraid to laugh and you started to feel comfortable around each other as a team. Another night was a silent movie night. It was through events like these that you formed good friendships.

Aside from being friends with the crew and spending time together, today was the first day you were going to be in front of the camera. And it was for the fight scene. You were the last name in the cast and you were the least famous of them all. In direct proportion to that, you were not the main female character of the movie, but all your scenes were with the hero of the movie, the leading male character. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is going to save you from the bad guys in today's the test shoot.

Aaron was a very funny and kind man. He would come to your workouts to make you feel comfortable, give you feedback and often praise you on how well you were doing. In addition to these interactions, he was usually quiet on set. He would share a laugh with certain people, but he was very kind to the whole set and the staff. A true English gentleman.

When you arrived on set, you put on something comfortable. Leggings, a sports bra that covers your breasts and makes the whole action scene easier for you, and a loose t-shirt with the logo of your favorite band. Since it was a test shoot, you were wearing air force sneakers. You were determined to at least make this test as comfortable as possible until the main shoot.

Aaron came into the field right behind you. He was similarly dressed in comfortable clothes. He arrived in gray sweatpants and a basic t-shirt. They rocked back and forth with their hands in their pockets, talking to the director about the scene. You'd have to be blind not to notice the movement of his muscles with each sway…You reminded yourself that you were a married man and tried to focus on your scene.

After he finished talking to the director, he came up to you and said, “Good morning, baby.” He pulled you into a hug. You knew he gave you that nickname because of the age difference. You reminded yourself that there was nothing to be excited about and accepted his hug.

When he pulled back, with an energetic smile on his face, he asked, “Are you ready for today?” His smile must have been contagious because you were smiling back. “As much as I can,” you replied, shaking your legs - in a pose as if you were about to run a marathon.

His grin was still on his face. “We'll try not to push you too hard today, but we still want to go through all the scenes. But if there's any scene or movement that makes you uncomfortable, we'll definitely stop shooting,” he explained with great care. You had to admit that you were very lucky to be working with someone so kind and understanding. “Thanks Aaron, I really appreciate it, but I don't think we'll have any problems, we've been rehearsing these moves for weeks.” You reassured him. “Honey, the shot might feel different though, remember to stop if you have trouble.” He insisted. “I promise I will stop the scene if it feels uncomfortable,” you reassured him. All the while trying not to get hung up on the new nickname...

The first test shoot went quite well. The more complicated scene was next, but you decided to do it tomorrow. Or rather your director decided so. This decision was made because he wanted to shoot tomorrow with full make-up and clothes. Because it is necessary to decide whether the costumes in the movie will cause any problems in the scene and choreography and what precautions should be taken if necessary. So tomorrow you will enter the set as if you are shooting the first scene of the movie. Lights, camera, makeup, hair, costume… Everything you can think of will be prepared. To be honest, you're very excited about it.

But this was tomorrow's subject, today's subject and a new movie night. The leading lady of your movie had invited everyone who was doing a test shoot today to a movie night at her house because her house was quite close to the set.

You decided to change at the set before going back to the hotel and go with Aaron. Because he had arrived by car and you didn't want to waste time looking for a taxi.

The ride was peacefully silent until the sound of Aaron's cell phone connected to the car filled the air. “Excuse me, this is important. If you don't mind-” As soon as I saw the word lawyer appear on the screen, I said, ”No, no, please. I don't mind at all.”

When he picked up the phone, the loud, booming voice of the lawyer on the other end filled the car. “Hey, buddy, how you doing?” Aaron's fingers were turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. His grip on the steering wheel was tighter than it had been since he'd called the lawyer. “Please give me some good news Kev,” his lawyer, Kev - you probably think it was Kevin - noticed Aaron's nervousness and started to chuckle. “Relax man, you're a single man now. Sam accepted the deal and signed all the papers. Congratulations man, enjoy your new life.” Aaron let out a deep breath at the sound of the phone hanging up. “I'm sorry this is really-” before you could finish the sentence Aaron's laughter filled the car and you heard him say something like 'oh shit' but you didn't dwell on it. His happiness was contagious and the awkward silence in the car was gone.

You couldn't say the same about movie night, though. They had chosen a really terrible movie this time and you were constantly screaming and disturbing the whole crew. One or two people who were really enjoying the movie were a bit annoyed by this, but the crew was having a lot of fun with your reactions.

When the lead role was finally placed alive in the coffin, you felt your breath catch in your throat. “I think I-” the incoherent words came out so quietly that no one even realized you were about to have an attack of claustrophobia. As soon as you started to fidget on the couch, an arm grabbed you around the waist and pulled you towards him. You couldn't see who it was in the dark room. With one hand still on your waist, he grabbed your neck with his free hand and held you against his chest. You immediately inhaled the familiar scent. You relaxed yourself in the safety of the warmth. “Shh, calm down doll, I'm here.” His low voice and the sound of him moving around your waist were enough to calm your nerves. But his lips barely touching your ear sent a shiver down your spine. You were about to remind yourself that this was wrong when you remembered that he was now a single man.

When you arrived on set, you went straight to your trailer for makeup. While you were lost in the memories of yesterday, your makeup was finished and your hair was being done.

Shortly after the movie ended, you and Aaron said goodbye to your friends and left. You were staying in the same hotel, so you went on the car ride together again. He made fun of you a little during the ride and finally you agreed to watch a comedy movie together. When you arrived at the hotel, he insisted on escorting you to your room even though your rooms were not on the same floor.

After opening the door to your room, you wished each other good night. Before you parted, you shared another hug. It was the longest hug you had ever shared. Sure, it was a minute hug, but it usually lasted no more than a few seconds and no, every time you hugged Aaron you didn't calculate how long it lasted. “Good night, baby,” he whispered in your ear as his hand circled your back. Then he left after leaving a vague kiss on your burn.

While your hair was being done, you were drowning in memories. You told yourself you were exaggerating, after all, he always called you baby. You were like his little brother, that's what you had been telling yourself for weeks, except you didn't know then that he was about to get divorced and that he was now a single man. Yes, there was an age difference, but it wasn't twenty years. You were just a couple years younger.

You came out of your daydream with Aaron's voice. “Hello baby,” he winked at your image in the mirror. ‘Good morning Aaron,’ you smiled. When you were called from inside to put on your costumes, you waved “See you in a minute” and headed towards the cabin. After changing your clothes, you took one last look at your image in the mirror and went to the set area. It wasn't a superhero movie so there were no weird tights and uncomfortable costumes. It was a chase scene where you would be chased by the 'bad guys' after you left work and then it would take place on the streets of the city. He was wearing tight fabric pants, a white shirt and stilettos. When the scene first started you would run in heels. Then you could switch to sneakers because they would not be visible in the camera angles. But neither the shoes nor the shirt made you unhappy. The only thing that bothered you was the lacy bra. You were looking for the comfort of your sports bra from the day before.

On the director's orders, you started the test shoot. You came out of your model building, realized you were being followed while walking down the street and jumped into the first taxi you saw. The team chasing you rear-ends your taxi with the car they are driving and you get stuck in the vehicle. At this moment, Aaron arrives and performs the fight scene with the men chasing you. After he rescues you from your trapped position, you take him by the hand and run together. At this point you were planning to change your shoes but you didn't want to stop shooting and you wondered how long you could go on.

After all, it was a test shoot. If you failed, you wouldn't try something like this next time. As you ran hand in hand, your heel caught on some fake stones. As Aaron checked you were okay, you gave him a sign that you could continue. As you continued your scene, you realized that the shoe was hurting you now. And the more you stepped, the more it hurt. But you were still shooting and you didn't want to give up on the first try.

You squeezed the hand that Aaron was holding. Immediately he turned to you and a low whimper of “Aaron,” escaped your lips. He immediately checked you with his eyes and tried to figure out what was wrong. “I don't think I can go on in these heels much longer,” As he was about to signal the director to stop the scene, he shook his hand once more and said, “Please don't stop the scene, we are almost finished. I don't want it to be cut because of me.” As you were quickly looking for a solution, the camera was coming towards you from the backstage area.

As you wondered what to do, you felt yourself being swept off your feet. As you let out a little scream of surprise, you could tell that your director was enjoying the moment and was pleased with the image that was being captured on camera. Aaron embraced you bridal style. And he was running towards the area where your final scene would take place. “What are you doing!” you whispered after your astonishment had subsided a little. “I couldn't let you writhe in pain Y/N,” she said, giving you an angry look. “Oh, I thought you would enjoy watching me writhe in pain…” you snapped.

When you got to where you needed to be, he took you off his lap and you did the moves you had memorized for your scene. With the fake explosion planned on the set, you ducked down and crawled together to where you were supposed to hide. The camera went back to filming the extras fighting. You had time to lie down for a few minutes.

You tried to forget the pain in your feet as you lay on your back where you were crawling. You were a little stressed by the narrow space you were in, but your breathing was regular.

As the shouting and explosions continued in the background, Aaron crawled to where you were. Since you had decided to lie on your back, he was now standing over you, leaning on his elbows. He never took his eyes off your eyes for a moment. “I enjoy you squirming Y/N” he said, and you realized that he had returned to the previous conversation. “But I'll make sure it won't be in pain.” Your breath began to betray you as his gaze slid to your lips. He leaned in even more, closing the distance between you a little more. “But I will also show you that we are away from the cameras,” his words sent a shiver down your spine and a warmth to your core.

He immediately noticed when you involuntarily squeezed your legs together. He leaned down until his lips touched your earlobe before leaving his spot for his scene. “I knew you were made for me, baby.” He said. And he left his location to continue shooting. Leaving you there to daydream with all your wetness and anticipation.

TAG LIST:

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[rpgchoices]

The WINNER of the Tournament of fav tumblr rpg male romances is...

The Master of the Vollante

The Babe of Frontiers

The Heart of the Gate

WYLL RAVENGARD

Enjoy this two minute FANVIDEO DEDICATED TO HIM (don't miss the final quote, it is my favorite), I used the most appropriate song ever. Congrats, Wyll with a y!

(he is the hero, but he also needs a hero to sweep him off his feet, get it?)

With about 1235 votes, Wyll beat Garrus in the finals of the tournament. This gives him the title of best tumblr rpg blorbo and babygirl.

(more under cut about the Wyll's sweep and his character)

Wyll jumped into the tournament qualifying among 69 total characters, and being the most voted of his section in round zero! Wyll was also the most voted OVERALL in round one where he got about 6420 votes against Cullen (88% of votes). Round two saw him winning a very close competition against Zevran, and in round three he won with almost double the votes against Astarion! Again with double the votes he won against Dorian Pavus in the semifinals!

Very appropriate for him to win as his character is truly a romantic at heart and his actor even revealed in an interview that the romantic scenes were his favorite to film.

Wyll is a companion and romancable option for any gender in Baldur's Gate 3. You will meet him while he is in pursuit of a devil, just to find out that the honor and code he is trying to live by might be clashing with the path he could be choosing.

Wyll's romance has a kiss that has been nominated (and won) for "favorite kiss ever in a rpg game by me and for my opinion only and I just love it".

Man who will crack a joke when you least expect it

EVEN WHEN IT REALLY IS NOT THE TIME

Just to turn around and offer you the most heart shattering and unwavering support

Monster smasher (in all senses) hero, who truly needs someone at his side who makes sure he fights his own battles too, not just the trials of the coast!

Very happy to see he is currently (with all the biases and limitations of such polls, of course) the favorite romance in the rpg fandoms here on tumblr (for male characters)!!

Please, make sure to also jump in the female characters tournament!!

Also, CONGRATULATIONS TO GARRUS who came second in the tournament, and FENRIS who came third! (as he had more votes than Dorian, in the semifinals)

*In the fanvideo there are the seven clips that are not from Wyll games. I wanted to write them down as this is supposed to be a rec for his romance, so I don't want to trick people!

00:16 I modded Wyll into Karlach and used Astarion as player character (Karlach romance scene act 3)

00:38 Astarion romance scene, I played as Wyll but I flipped the character with the ring of metamorph mod so Wyll could pick up Astarion

00:50 Like the first clip, this is Karlach scene from act 3

00:51 I modded Karlach into Wyll, this is her scene from act 1

00:53 I modded Shadowheart into Astarion and I was playing as Wyll, this is Shadowheart romance scene in act 1

00:59 This is Astarion romance scene in act 2, I was playing as Wyll

01:07 The hug is from Astarion romance, epilogue, where I was playing as Wyll

[writing-mlm]

The Price of Losing

Summary: Being sucked into a video game world because two Doom’s are trying to take over the world is bad enough. But dealing with a try-hard support who hasn’t lost since this started is beyond crazy, thankfully Lin has the perfect way to break that streak. Pairing: Lin Lie x Male!Reader Wc: 5.6k tags/warning: canon-level violence, porn WITH plot, jealous Lin, sex as a bribe, mating press, riding, finger sucking, degrading said as praise, healers being yelled at, I spent way too much time looking at Hydra and Tokyo-2099 maps for this, powers based on Raven (Dc comics) a/n: hiii people in my phone, take this smut as my peace offering

“Thank you,” Storm smiles as you use the darkness to suck the life from the enemy team, using their life force to heal your team. Iron Fist, Venom, Cloak, and Captain America fall to the ground as you let them go, their bodies slump on the ground. Hawkeye and Wanda quickly finish the ones you didn’t kill, leaving the domination point filled with only your team. You watch as their bodies time out, your shoulders dropping as you get a couple of seconds to relax. Floating, you cross your legs and heal yourself. Venom has been diving you for the past twenty minutes and you didn’t want to overwhelm Jeff with healing you. 

You didn’t mind being into an alternate universe, although you’d been mostly retired from the whole hero scene up until that point. It’s been six months of this, some weird video game where you were sometimes picked to play against other heroes from different universes. Or was it timelines? You couldn’t keep up— didn’t, if you were being honest. 

It was nice, although you’d been stuck with your main role being a healer. You certainly weren’t known for your healing back home, but you did heal exceptionally well. You grin as you check your cuff, twenty-zero-thirty-eight with almost thirty thousand healing. With your whole team having a giant zero next to the number of times they’ve died, you guess you were well-suited to being a healer. 

Well, not Jeff. He always died with the enemies he swallowed instead of spitting them out for some reason. 

“My ultimate is ready!” Storm calls, her voice echoing through your earpiece. 

“We only have ten seconds left, you should wait!” You warn, looking around for her, and find her at the entrance of the enemy team, ready to press the button. “We’ll go into our final match before they get here.” 

“But I hate going into overtime!” Hawkeye groans, checking his quiver as more arrows appear from thin air. Rolling your eyes, you watch and listen as Galatca starts her countdown. As she does, you see the other team rushing towards the point. Iron Fist rapidly punches to launch himself forward while Rocket is using his jetpack to try and back it before time runs out. Unfortunately for them, they’re just a second too late as the round ends with you face-to-face with Iron Fist. 

He huffs as time slows down, the air blowing into your face as you wink before being transported to the waiting room of the next map. 

“Who has their ultimates ready?” Bucky’s voice drowns out the sound of him rolling his metal arm. “I’m at sixty-eight,”

“Full,” You reply after checking your meter. 

“Me too,” Storm nods. 

“Ninety,” Wanda sighs. “Hopefully Cloak doesn’t vanish his team again,” You hum, looking around for a water bottle in the throne room. They’re usually hidden around somewhere. 

“Ten,” Hawkeye frowns. Jeff barks something and then spins, water splashing around as he does. 

“It’s full,” You translate for him and he jumps, throwing a healing bubble at you to confirm. Bucky nods as you get a small speed boost, using the time to scratch the bottom of Jeff’s chin. His back paws rapidly hit the floor and you coo before hearing the countdown starting up. 

“I’ll stay in the back line. If all six touch base I’ll pop my ult,” You tell them as everyone stands at the entrance. 

“I’ll keep their tanks off of you,” Wanda promises.

“Me and Storm will push them back, Hawkeye should stay in the rafters and pick off anyone who gets past us.”

“Sounds good to me!” Hawkeye agrees and the doors open. Jeff gives everyone a speedboat and you all push towards the middle room. 

The Hydra map is the Frozen Airfield, so while Hawkeye takes the side entrance to get to the balcony the rest of you take the hallway straight there. By the time you get there, you hear Rocket's feet pattering against the metal and Captain America’s heavy footsteps. He’s such a pain in your ass, but hey, at least he can’t knock you off of the map this time. 

From the corner of your eye, you see Dagger talking before Captain America gives a confirmation nod. 

“Cloak and Dagger are about to ult,” You warn, using the darkness to push Squirrel Girl back. You haven’t spotted Iron Fist yet but you see Venom swing down from the other balcony. 

“Got her,” Storm says and leaves the point to deal with her. Knocking down Rocket and Squirrel Girl with your darkness blast ability, you give Wanda a little extra healing as she deals with the Venom desperately trying to nab you. Finishing the two off, you glance around to see if anyone needs healing. Storm is coming back from an eliminated Cloak and Dagger, getting healed by Jeff who’s happily waddling around. 

“Iron Fist has his fist shoved up my—“ Hawkeye cuts himself off as he jumps from the balcony, rolling to your side as you rapidly heal him. Reloading, you and Hawkeye tag team Iron Fist just as he pops his ultimate, thankfully, though, Storm notices the crowded point and pops hers, too. 

Pulling everyone from the enemy team closer to her, you work on healing the others while the enemies get picked off. The point gets claimed just as Storm goes back to normal. 

“Fist is back at zero, then. But Cloak and Dagger still have theirs ready,” Bucky reminds everyone as you watch Jeff place down scattered bubbles. 

“I think Cap just got his, too,” Hawkeye sighs. “I saw his cuff turn gold.” 

“That’s fine,” You shake your head. “Bucky has his and I still have mine. Wanda should’ve gotten hers by now, too,” She only nods, flexing her red magic as a confirmation. 

“Wanda should use hers if more than three of them come at once. Everyone else needs to cover her so she doesn’t get eliminated before she finishes it.” Bucky instructs. 

“I’ll go to the balcony, that way there’s less time for them to react,” She offers and flies up. Jeff joins her, sitting and waiting to heal her as you hear them running up. Stepping off of the point, you dip over to see who’s heading over before they can see you. 

“Cap, Cloak, Squirrel, and Rocket.” Bucky nods and then gives Wanda the signal. She nods just as they step through the doors. She pops her ultimate while you corral them forward, keeping them from running away with the help of Bucky’s arm. You can hear them firing her but the sound of Jeff’s rapid healing outdoes them before they all fall, waiting for their timer to run out. 

“We should team up more often,” Hawkeye grins as you’re finishing up Wanda’s healing. “This is fun!” 

“You’ve made it halfway!” Galacta announces and you confirm on your cuff. 

“Venom behind you!” Bucky warns and you fly up, dodging his ultimate while Hawkeye rolls to the side. Healing him as you fly down, you see Bucky and Wanda dealing with him. You still haven’t spotted Iron Fist but you know he hasn’t disconnected, so he’s probably lurking around somewhere. 

“Squirrel Stampede!” Isn’t as scary when Bucky shoots the swarm of squirrels until they’re gone. But what comes next only makes you groan. 

“Us against the world!” Moving out of the way as Cloak and Dagger go barrelling across the point, you and Jeff heal the others while also trying to find an untouched spot on the point. By that point five of them are on the point— all six when Venom lands on it. You could use your ultimate, but there’s no guarantee they’ll all die from it. It only lasts five seconds so once it’s up, you rush back to the point just before they take it and use your ultimate with your team rushing in front of you to act as a barrier.

“Heaven and Purgatory swarms you!” You shout before the point is covered in a field of darkness. Six confirmed kills appear on your cuff and the points capture progress goes back to blue. 

“Good timing,” Bucky nods while Hawkeye pats your shoulder. Nodding, you watch as the map shifts, opening the large window to your left. With Jeff’s ultimate ready he could get another team wipe before you’ve fully captured the point. 

Sensing something behind you, you fly up and watch as Iron Fist locks onto you. Cursing, you fly about before being forced to land, sending darkness blasts at him before you can fly again. Jeff is rapidly healing you as half of his punches land. Wanda is slowly ticking away at his health but Venom slams her away. 

“You’re almost there!” Galacta announces. 

“Armed and Dangerous!” Landing again, you see Iron Fist land too before Bucky slams into him. He fires twice before you see his cuff light up. “Again!” Falling into a healing bubble, you help the others heal while you rub your chest. Had this been a real fight you bet he would have broken your rib cage. Bringing the other teams health down, you watch as Bucky keeps reloading his ultimate. 

“I’m glad he’s on our side,” Hawkeye whispers and you nod, watching as he eliminates Squirrel Girl before returning to the point. 

“We’re going to push for the last ten percent. Hawkeye, Storm, and Jeff cover point,” Nodding, the four of you rush to the enemy spawn point and wait for them to respawn. 

They stare at your team, talking through the red walls and you watch as they split into groups. 

“(Y/n), you take Iron Fist and Rocket. Wanda, you have Venom and Squirrel. Leave Cloak and Cap to me,” Sharing a look with Wanda, the two of you split up and you extend your darkness towards Rocket and Iron Fist. You’ll deal with Rocket first, his healing can get pesky when he’s only healing two people. Pushing him into the air, you fly up and push him to the edge of the map. He nearly falls but uses his jetpack at the last second. He’s almost eliminated, though, so one darkness stream and he’s falling off the map. 

“Aht aht,” Iron Fist grins before roundhousing you into the wall. 

“I’m low!” Wanda warns and you grit, trying to find her but Iron Fist blocks your view. 

“Find a healing pack,” Bucky says, his gun echoing in the air. “Or run to Jeff,” 

Flying up to put distance between the two of you, you throw out darkness but he remains on your ass as you land. You watch as your health quickly declines and push him away, running back to a nearby healing pack. He follows closely, managing two punches before you dive and start attacking back. 

“Pure Chaos!” He doesn’t look back as Wanda wipes nearly half of his team. He could’ve easily eliminated her from his spot, with just two leaps but instead, he dips behind the wall so he’s out of her radius and backing you into a corner. His focus is on you as the two of you play cat and mouse until you see his cuff glow that familiar golden color. You’re no longer on any cooldowns, you could fly or use your spray but he’d catch up too fast.

“Aw shit,” You grumble, your back pressed to the wall while he grins, going to press it before time slows down. 

“Another perfect victory!” Sighing, you slump and watch as he tosses his arms up. 

You don’t watch as the MVP screen plays, skipping to meeting up with the team and heading out of the arena to the dorms. 

“Who won?” Spider-man asks as he sees the twelve of you leaving the portal. 

“We did,” Wanda smiles. “The other team put up quite the fight, though.”

“Lemme guess,” Ironman smirks. “(Y/n) MvP?”

“It was a close call,” You shrug. “I had one more kill than Bucky,” The man in question rolls his eyes and you watch as another team gets called into a fight. All you know is that you’re not in the group they called so you head up to shower. 

—

Two knocks echo throughout the mostly empty apartment as you’re watching your dinner get made. Pushing off from the counter, you open the door and stare at Lin. He’s out of his costume and in a simple compression shirt and sweats— it’s the only loungewear available so you’re in the same attire. 

“What’s up, Lin?” You ask, letting him inside. He walks inside, looking around the apartment that’s nearly identical to his, and then spins on his heels to face you. Everyone agreed that while out of the dorms, it’s strictly Code Names. Unless you’re someone like Bucky who would prefer to not be called the Winter Soldier. You just never had a hero name, public identity, and all that jazz.

“You’re a try-hard,” He says, arms crossed over his chest. “I checked your stats, you’ve lost zero games since you’ve gotten here. Who does that?”

“I don’t try,” You shrug, taking your food out from the weird machine. It’s probably bad for you but it’s also the only food available, so you make due. “I’m just that good.”

“You don’t get tired of winning?” He follows you into your living room, standing at the edge of your couch.

“Winners get gift baskets, I love gift baskets.” Gesturing to the basket of fruits and sweets, you hear him sigh. Looking at him, you grin and roll your head to the side. “Are you just pissy that you lost against me again?” Instead of replying, he huffs and stuffs his hands into his pockets. 

“We could make a deal,” He proposes. “You lose and I’ll give you something you want,”

“We don’t exactly have the luxury of having items here,” You remind, gesturing to the lack of items everywhere. 

“You know we’re neighbors, right?” He continues and you nod. You live at the end of the hallway with your only direct neighbors being Lin to your right and Adam in front of you. “Our bedrooms are against each other and the walls are pretty thin,” He makes a face and then waits for a beat. You lick your lips as you try to connect the dots he’s clearly trying to lay down. You do a lot of odd things to pass your time, he could be talking about the fact that you’ve been creating shadow versions of everyone to play card games for all you know. 

“I don’t see your point,” You roll your head to the side while he sighs and licks his lips. Lin takes a moment before he speaks again, having to think carefully about his next words. 

“You lose our next match and I’ll fuck you.” 

“Deal.” 

He blinks, unable to think of anything to say while you laugh.

“Sorry, did you have a speech ready?” He shakes his head and scratches his neck. 

“I just didn’t think you’d agree so fast…”

“You’re hot and I’m horny, I see two willing participants. I’ll take the stain on my perfect record. I also would’ve done it for a gift basket, I heard everyone gets different types.”

“I prefer the sex,”

“Great, can’t wait to lose.”

—

The agreement had all since left your mind as you’re queued into a game with Lin nearly two months later. You’d have ten matches in between then, the excitement gone and replaced with your small yearn to constantly win.

Okay, winning was amazing! You’ll agree, there’s a rush in seeing that victory screen and seeing the basket on your kitchen island at the end of the day. Losing was just… you don’t know, you’ve never lost before. 

Thankfully, this isn’t another domination game. It’s Convergence, which you thought was the same as Convoy for about ten matches before Dr. Strange explained that with Convergence, you needed to capture the point before the object could move. 

Glancing at your team as you load into Spider-Islands, you find yourself as the only healer. Peni, Groot— who technically does heal, it’s just no one ever goes to his healing walls—, Venom, Punisher, and Thor. It would certainly make for a lovely match against… you check your cuff and bang your head on the wall. Iron Fist, Mantis, Loki, Bucky, Namor, and Luna Snow. That’s three healers— one of which can shapeshift as his ultimate. 

It’s fine, shaking your head, you move up the staircase as the countdown stairs. You imagine Namor has his little octopus— one of which is definitely shooting ice— just waiting and Loki has his clones just waiting. The doors open and sure enough, you hear your teammates taking rapid damage. 

“Thanks for the healing,” Punisher grunts as he’s pushed back into the base. 

“You ran without looking, dumbass,” You grit, healing the teammates who didn’t push back. Groot hurriedly places a wall between the octopus and helps Peni place down her web traps. There’s a thump from the hallway to your left and you see Iron Fist slowly walking over. Taking a step forward, he watches as your hands glow black before he taps his earpiece, telling you to turn it off. Doing so, you continue to heal since he’s at a good distance. 

“We had a deal,” He reminds you and your face scrunches. 

“What fucking— oh, the fucking,” Your hands drop and he nods. “Fine, because Punisher pissed me off and half of my team are real assholes about getting healed.” He laughs, looking out of the window as your teammates continue to get dogpiled by his team. He sees them shouting for you, begging and cursing you for heals. Instead, you walk further into the hallway and take a seat on the soft couch. 

“I didn’t think you’d follow through,” He admits, closing the doors that surround the room. You get nervous, shifting in your seat as he closes the final panel door and the sounds of the fight are muffled below you. 

“I’m a man of my word but I can always back out,” You muse and he looks at you, nearly daring you to get up and fight. “Please, you couldn’t take me,” Crossing your ankles, you watch as he stalks over to you, leaning down to your height.

“I was close last time,” He hums and then pins you to the couch. Rolling away, he grabs your ankle and pulls you back, using the momentum to grab onto your thighs with both hands. Gritting, you watch as he sits between your now open legs and prop yourself up on your elbows. 

“I’m only not fighting back so I don’t eliminate you,” You defend, ignoring the twitch in your leg as he squeezes them.

“Y’know what?” He grins and leans down, his lips brushing against your ear while you shudder. “I’ll find you after you get the convoy to the first point.” He’s up in an instant and slipping through the exit. Huffing, you drop down and turn your comms on again. 

“I was getting backlined by Iron Fist,” You explain, joining the team after they barely made it a full meter. Group healing, you see Iron Fist jumping back to his team in the distance. 

“I see it was a tie, then,” Thor points out and you shrug, fixing your cape over your body. 

“We called for a rematch,” Sitting on top of the robotic spider, you push the other team back, bringing them down to half while Punisher finds a perch for his turret. He grumbles something about finally showing up and you roll your eyes. 

“Thor, push Magik. Peni, why haven’t you put down your spider things yet? Groot, Luna likes using the side entrance so you should block that.” You quickly list off, falling back into the fight with ease. Normally, as a support you don’t give directions but man, does this team need it. Letting the robot as Peni stands next to it, you work on bringing their healers low. 

“Your powers are mine!” Loki shouts and you see a clone of yourself on the roof to your left. 

“Punisher, nine o’clock, before he uses my ultimate!” You tick away at his health before Punisher finds him just as you see Loki pop the ult. Dipping into a building, you manage to pull Peni and Groot in with you but the others get dived immediately. “He’s low,” You tell them, leaving out and landing the final hit on Loki.

While he killed half of your team, he fully healed his team and you huff, checking your own status. It just needs two more seconds before you can use it, so you heal Groot while waiting for the other team to all huddle together. Sure enough, they all do and you see them all rushing towards the convoy. Punisher sets up yet another turret, this time on the back portion of a roof. 

“Groot, can you box them in a little?” You ask, dodging an attack from Luna. He nods and you watch as they get pushed together before pulling back just enough that the team could get healed and the others would get eliminated. 

“Heaven and Purgatory swarms you!”  

“That’s six!” Galacta announces as you see the six kills register on your cuff. “You’re almost there, don’t stop now!” The convoy is three meters away and when you join Peni on it, it speeds up enough that you reach the checkpoint before the other team can respawn. 

Sitting on the robot, you watch as the door opens but catch the green and yellow outfit from the top of the stairs. He motions with two fingers and you grin, slipping away from the fight. 

“You’re eager,” He teases, using his hand to open your cape and looking down at your suit. His hands wander a little while you turn off your comm yet again, sparing your team a glance as they get jumped by the others. It’s like once they all got into the team they all forgot the powerhouses they normally were and suddenly sucked. 

“They’re the worst right now,” He slides open the door and pulls you inside, dragging his nose up your neck. 

“Mhmm,” He licks a stripe along your neck and you hold onto his shirt, whining at the contact. “Let me prep you,” He whispers as the door closes behind the two of you. Nodding, you let him drag you to the middle of the roof before he pushes you down to your knees. 

Staring up at him, he grins and cups your jaw, running his thumb up and down your cheek with one hand while the other removes his belt, careful to not let the red ropes hit you. It falls to the floor with a thud before he’s on his knees in front of you. He leans in, sealing his lips against yours while his hands go from your face down to your thighs. He finds a good grip on your flesh as you grip his hair, leaning closer to him and biting down on his bottom lip. 

Iron Fist moans into your mouth as your knees lift from the floor and your back is placed on the floor in one fluid motion. The kiss doesn’t break as his left-hand wanders from your thigh, pulling at your pants until he finds what he’s looking for. Once he does, he smiles into the kiss and pulls away to get a good look at you. 

He doesn’t look away from you as he grasps the loose fabric of your pants, his hand wrapping around your dick print before he slowly strokes it. Watching him with fluttering eyes you cover your mouth to keep yourself quiet. He coos before removing his right hand from your thigh and scooping your hand, lacing your fingers together, and pinning it above your head. 

You can hear the fight below you, your heartbeat rising when you hear Punisher setting up a turret in front of the door. He notices too and glances over, seeing the man’s outline, and looks back at you with a shit-eating grin.

“Please,” You gasp, chest rising with your heavy pants. “Iron,” He starts squeezing in between his strokes and you arch into him, rutting against his hand. You feel his thumb roll against the tip as he watches you, waiting for more of those delicious reactions before kissing and sucking along your neck. Grabbing the back of his head, you push him closer and continue to rub yourself against him. 

“Call me Lin,” He whispers against your chest, kissing you through the thin fabric. For a second, he lets go of your dick to pull your pants and underwear down to your knees in one motion. Your dick slaps against your stomach before it stands and he rubs his thumb over the tip again. Briefly, you hear Punisher getting eliminated but the door he was in front of thankfully doesn’t get destroyed. Feeling the weight above you lessen, you look towards Lin as he settles between your legs.

“Lin, fuck,” You pant looking down at him as he smears your pre across his fingers before slipping his hands lower. The one that was holding your wrist moves down and holds your hips down as he pushes his index finger inside. Wincing, he apologizes and kisses your inner thigh. Slowly, he adds a second finger and starts making scissoring motions until you begin moaning. For good measure, he adds a third and peers down at your hole clenching around him. 

Hiding your face in your shoulder, you use your now free hands to stroke yourself before he slaps your hands away. 

“Don’t touch yourself, just lay there and take it.” He stretches you one last time before pulling his fingers out. Whining at the loss of contact, he grins and pulls his pants down. He spits into his hand and pumps himself while lining himself up with your hole, the tip rubbing against you with each stroke. Wiggling your hips down to chase the feeling he presses harder until you stop. “You’re that desperate to let your team know what you’re doing up here?” He grins and slowly pushes inside. 

“No,” You whine, shifting as you try to quickly adjust to him inside of you. He watches your reactions carefully, using the hand that once held you down to dip under your shirt and rub against your skin. He feels your heart thumping against his hand, your nipple hard due to the contact and you moan, rolling your head back. “I don’t care if they see us,”

“Oh, really?” He laughs. You nod as he tests the waters, rolling his hips against yours. “I didn’t think you’d be into that,” There’s no reply to him aside from a strangled moan and your hands slapping the floor, finding something to hold onto. With you adjusted, he slips his hands back under your legs and presses down against you, his hips snapping as his breathing gets jagged above you. 

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you find yourself at a loss for words as he bottoms out. His dick drags inside of you, curving and prodding at your insides with each shallow thrust. The fabric of his shirt rubs against you, the smooth fabric feeling like heaven paired with the way he’s fucking you. 

“More,” You plead, breathless under him. He snickers from above you, lifting himself up, and starts a brutal pace. He’s lifting your lower half up from the floor with each thrust, his thighs slapping yours each time he digs deeper inside. 

“Losing just to get fucked,” He grunts. “How would your team react knowing their precious healer is getting— hugh — dicked down above them?” He doesn’t expect an answer but he also didn’t expect you to moan louder at the thought, your dick twitching in the air. “You’d like that, huh? Getting caught and letting them know you threw the match because you’re a horny bitch.” He grasps your face, squeezing your cheeks until your lips puff out and drool slowly pools out from the corner. He uses the hand that didn’t prep you and sticks his fingers inside your mouth.

“Mhmm,” You nod, sucking his index finger while looking into the whites of his mask. “Wanna get caught,” He nearly whimpers and watches as your dick twitches faster, cum spurting out and landing on your black shirt and the floor. 

“Oops, guess you made a mess,” He chuckles, his thrusts getting sloppy and his hand moving from your mouth down to your hips. He can’t figure out what to do, his hands squeezing at the flesh before they trail up the side of your body. “Fuck,” He moans, leaning down to grab your face again. He watches you as he cums inside of you, still thrusting as he empties himself. You’re letting out broken noises as he does, your legs slowly lowering to the ground as he comes to a stop.

“They’ve made it halfway, stop them!” Glacata announces in his ear and he huffs. 

“They still haven’t lost?” You ask and he shakes his head, slowly pulling out. Checking your cuff, you see they all have at least six deaths and groan. 

“Round two?” He asks and you easily agree. “Ride me?” 

“I think you just wanna see my face,” You quip and he shrugs, sitting down on the floor table cushion. His back pressed against the wooden panel wall while he slowly pumped himself. You watch as the tip of his dick disappears under his skin before getting pulled taught when he pulls it down. He lets out breathy moans while you’re climbing on top of him. He unclips your cape, letting it fall down his legs and you fling it to the side. 

Holding his shoulder with your left hand, you grab his dick and slowly align yourself. He inhales sharply as his cum drips from your hole and spreads across his dick before you sink down on him. Slowly rocking back and forth, you look up at him and kiss his neck. You feel his pulse under your lips, how he’s straining himself to remain composed. 

“(Y/n),” He strains, hands gripping your ass as you start moving faster. 

“Yeah, Lin?” You ask, looking up at him from the red spot you’re leaving under his ear. 

“Don’t stop,” He moans, guiding your hips into a better position. His hips buck into yours erratically, still not fully recovered from the first orgasm. Through your cuff, you hear the countless healing pins before grumbling and tossing them to the side. Lin snickers through his parted, glossy lips. 

“You feel so good, Lin,” You breathe, hanging your head as he’s reaching deep inside of you. His tip hits your prostate more in this position and you swear to Khonshu or Bast that you’re never going to leave his dick. 

“You’re so cock hungry it’s easy,” He coos, gently stroking your cheek with his thumb as tears bead on the side of your eyes. “Next time— fuck— next time you’re in your room, touching yourself, just knock on the wall. I’ll come and make you feel this good again, yeah?” Rapidly nodding, he pulls you closer and kisses you.

“It’s the final ten seconds!” Galacta announces and you gasp while pulling away. Checking his cuff, you see the timer rapidly going down and let out a strangled groan, rocking your hips faster against him. He helps you, picking you up and slamming you down on his cock in ways that make you scream. 

“We’ll have to keep fighting until we find a winner!” Stopping on his dick, you feel yourself cumming again, this time you manage to do it at the same time. Slumping against his chest, you pant while he tosses his head back, also trying to catch his breath. 

Carefully, you peel yourself from him and lazily put your pants back on while he does the same. 

Finding your cuff, you slip it on and check the Overtime meter. It was slowly going down, so maybe another minute before the match would end. Slinging your cape back on, you feel Lin wrap his arms around you before pulling you into his chest. 

“What?” You ask, turning your head to face him. He just grins and shrugs, nipping at your ear. 

“Armed and Dangerous!” Briefly, you see Bucky launching into the air and hope he lands all his kills. 

“Nothing, just making sure you don’t leave.” He hums, squeezing your ass before giving it a small tap.

“Again!”

“I’m a man of my word, Lin. You’re teams gonna win,” 

“Again!” 

Checking the meter again, you see it rapidly going down and find that Bucky has completely wiped the team. 

“Well, you can’t expect to win ‘em all…”  

—

“Fuck was that about?” Frank pushes your shoulder as you’re transported back to your team. None of them catch your dazed look as you fix your cape over your cum stained clothes. “What happened to your streak?”

“Rough day,” You shrug. “Win some, lose some.” He grits but it is just a game after all, so he calms down and follows the rest of the team back to the portal. You see Lin halfway, getting chewed out by Bucky for being awol for the whole game, unaware that Lin is still trying to fix his belt. His eyes catch yours through his mask and he winks, making a call-me motion before you turn and head into the dorms. 

“I cannot believe you lost!” Doreen gasps as you head inside. 

“Can’t be perfect all the time,” You huff through a smile. “It won’t happen again, though.”

“It definitely will,” Lin appears behind you, subtly grabbing your ass again. Chewing the inside of your mouth, you watch as Doreen laughs before moving over to the others. Everyone else is completely unaware of his actions even as he pulls you into the elevator, roughly kissing you before the doors even fully close.

[earlgreylatte]

Love To Highball

The Star Sapphire notices that Hal’s affections have strayed and decides you are to be its new host in order to mate with the aforementioned Green Lantern.

Coast City was once a bubbling metropolitan with a population that exceeded seven million, the busiest harbour on the west coast. Even while constantly being called into space, Hal liked being the hero of Coast City. Now he could only hope for days like that to return, if he even deserved it. Besides the liveliness of the city, another thing Hal missed about Coast City was the food. Prawns, lobster, pan seared salmon. God, he really missed that taco cart near his old apartment.

The Coast City of now was built over the rubble that hid the corpses of its old inhabitants, unable to be found.

It took a year of construction for the city to be rebuilt, but it was still nothing more than a ghost town, devoid of people. It was to be expected that no one would be jumping at moving, survivors included. After all, not every city has a cyborg Superman obliterate it.

But even then, Hal couldn’t call the city dead. Not when you were there.

He hadn’t been expecting you to move to the newly developed city, much less open a cafe where you’d be lucky to get a single customer.

When he asked, you only shrugged and said you didn’t need the money. He had already figured you could take the loss, trust fund kid you are, but he didn’t understand why you were basically tossing cash down the drain when you could be living it up anywhere else.

You said you liked the conversations you get, fostered by your empty little cafe.

Even Hal, who was never into the whole cafe scene, could admit he liked having you just to himself in a building that was covered in traces of you, from the cute little mugs you used, the posters decorating your walls, and the way you had more tea than coffee on your menu.

He’s broken from his reverie when you place his drink on the counter, arching his eyebrow when it’s clearly not the drink that he ordered.

“Uh, did you get my order mixed up with an imaginary customer or do you just not pay attention when I speak?” Hal asks, shooting you an amused glance, already used to you heckling him in the little ways.

“Usually the second one, but I’m tired of you always ordering drip coffee. I thought you were supposed to be adventurous, Mister Space Cop,” you retort leaning against the counter as he becomes increasingly aware of your proximity. “Besides, isn’t it pretty? A matcha latte with lavender, it’s green like you, too! And, I think you’re in need of something colourful, Highball.”

“Definitely colourful,” Hal remarks. “What would you serve Spooky?”

“Instant coffee or something, god knows he doesn’t care about taste,” you roll your eyes before nudging the mug closer to him, “Try it.”

Hal makes a show of sighing, reaching for his drink, “Better be on your dime, if you’re going to just do your own thing.”

“No way, you’re paying full price.”

“You said you didn’t care about the money, and you let Howie and Jane eat free,” Hal protests.

“Because they’re cute, despite being related to you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I’m not cute, Miss Wayne?”

You place a fist against your mouth, humming in thought, “Well, maybe in a sad, old dog kind of way.”

Hal sputters. Yes, only you can toss him around the ring like this.

You continue your observation, reaching a hand to tousle his hair, “The way your hair is kind of growing out definitely isn’t helping you. Well, not that I dislike it.”

“Bit hard to keep track of haircuts with the life I’m living,” Hal retorts, lightly grabbing your wrist to release his hair. He holds it for a second, feeling the pulse beneath flesh before letting go.

He sees your eyes soften, as you furrow your brow in sympathy, “Hal—“

Whatever you’re about to say is interrupted when a pink explosion shatters the glass of your cafe, pushing you two and the surrounding tables back.

Hal blinks, ears ringing as he finds himself slumped on the group, back pressed against the counter that separated you two.

He tries to stand, placing a hand on your now crumbling floor, calling out your name, when a crisp and familiar voice rings out in the destruction.

“Oh, honey,” Star Sapphire, who was once again inhabiting the body of his ex-girlfriend and boss, Carol, stood in her full pink glory, gem shining proudly on her forehead, “You’re not cheating on me, are you?”

She thrusts a hand forward to grip his neck, as he groans out her name, barely believing she was here and possessed once again.

“Carol?”

She smirks, not in the confident, self assured way Carol always did, leaning in closer, until he could feel his breath mixing with her, “Yes.”

She kisses him before he can react, feeling the sheer power of the Star Sapphire injecting into his veins, paralyzing him, before a shot rings out and the woman is pushed away from, stumbling as she clutches the crystal embedded in her head.

You keep your shotgun pointed at the intruder, scratched and bruised, but alive and grinning, “Bullseye, but not enough to get that stone off, I guess.”

The other woman turns to you with fury in her eyes, “Know your place, you usurper!”

She raises her hand, pink light flaring out, strong enough to force you to avert your gaze, but before she can advance, green tendrils wrapped around her, pinning her wrists together.

“There’s enough of me to go around, ladies,” Hal jests, but the look on his face is anything but joking as he shoots you a glance. You duck out of the way.

“A queen does not share,” Star Sapphire rejects, writhing against her bonds.

“You can have him,” you reply, dropping your gun, already sore from her attack and the strain of having to actually pull out the weapon Alfred insisted you bring. God, your wrists hurt.

“Definitely going to circle back to the fact you’re packing heat, young lady,” Hal teases, tossing Sapphire out through the open whole of your wrecked cafe, far into the sky.

You follow him out of the cafe, rushing to keep up with the flying hero, “Talk to me, goose! Do you want me to call for backup?”

Hal chokes on a laugh. Damn, he regrets watching ‘Topgun’ with you.

“If your brother finds out I got you into this situation, I might have to skip out on this galaxy,” Hal denies, “Stay here, I’ll take care of her before you can even snitch on me.”

You scoff watching him fly off, constructing a baby Cupid to restrain Sapphire once again, “I mean, I have to call him. No way, I’m cleaning this up on my own, or using your dumbass constructs.”

“Carol, hang tight, I’m going to pry that rock off of you,” Hal reassures, nearly reaching her, before she presses her hands against the construct, melting it as she grins sinisterly.

“I feel a conflict,” Sapphire raises her arms, as she sends a strong shockwave to send Hal flying, “Your heart beats for another.”

She dives down, heading straight in your direction, “Her.”

The rock lifts from Carol’s head as she lets out a scream, the scarps of her outfit dissolving, you stumble against the broken pavement, making a break for it, “No, no way am I wearing that outfit—!”

You’re once again interrupted when you hear a disjointed voice call your name, “You are a body he desires.”

Carol falls out of the sky as the rock attaches itself to you, breaking down the barriers of your mind. “Why do you resist? I have read your mind. You will enjoy this. After all, you want him as much as I do.”

Hal curses, catching Carol, while wrapping her in a towel construct, watching as pink light swirls around you, already prepared for a renewed onslaught.

Carol calls his name, “I saw it all this time. I know what the Star Sapphire is. They come from Sector 1416, the Zamorans.”

Hal knew she was talking about the aliens that initially kidnapped her to be the host of their Queen, but neither were fully aware of their intentions, or the rock’s intentions with Hal.

Before they can continue, you cut in, coated in the glossy pink material Carol was wearing, skin he’s never seen before now revealed, smirking as you speak in a distorted bastardization of your voice, “Tell me, Hal, is this the body you prefer? It’s awfully yummy.”

Before Hal can reply, he has to evade a magenta laser, as you chase after him as he leads you out of the city. “I know you want me. I want you too, Hal Jordan. I want this whole planet. But first— I want you to drop the brunette!”

Hal does his best to ignore your voice, already beating himself up for putting you into this situation. Not that there’s much point, seeing as how your brother would give him a verbal lashing that would outdo any of the self deprecating thoughts he had.

“So, Wayne, huh? I’ve visited her cafe when I heard she moved. Should probably send her an apology card; for the cafe and having to deal with you,” Carol remarks from his arms, a certain edge in her voice.

“We’re not like that.” Hal responds, as your aggravated screams echo from behind him. He can feel the disbelieving stare Carol gives him.

Feeling the need to defend you two, he elaborates, “We both run in some of the same circles, she’s a good friend.”

Carol smiles ruefully, “Keep telling yourself that, Flyboy.”

Feeling you get closer, Hal sends another construct your way to slow your approach.

“You’ve chosen this body, haven’t you? So, I’ve taken it. I’m yours. Why do you still play games, Hal Jordan?” You call, before shooting a laser, ripping through the Green Cowboy he made. “Our union will be pleasurable.”

“I’ve gotta get that off her,” Hal states, frustrated with the cat and mouse game you’ve been playing thus far.

Carol speaks up. She recollects how she remembers all of the Sapphires moves when she was in control, and the memories of before. There was more than one Star Sapphire. That the Zamorans were once from Oa but left when the Guardians established the Corps. That they searched for something to match the rings, something that the Guardians would fear. And how they finally found it on the planet Zamoran, growing from the entangled skeletons of lovers, the Star Sapphire shined, born from the violet glow of love that continued in death. The moment they tried to grasp that rock, it attached itself to a Zamoran, taking three days to remove it. After that, they begun their experiments.

They chose Carol as one of them. It took control, before finding someone else, whoever Hal was with, seeking to mate and kill the Green Lantern of this planet so its spawn could take over, encasing every living cell with crystal. An act of protection, in their eyes. Hal shudders, he did not want you going all praying mantis on him, nice as you did look in pink.

Hal shakes his head, “Is that what the Zamorans think love is, Carol? Encasing life in crystal? Putting it in suspended animation? Love isn’t about control.”

Love was flowery green drinks and stupid movie references.

“The Zamorans think it is, Hal.” Carol reiterates.

“They’ve been isolated for billions of years. They’ve twisted what love means,” Hal disagrees.

“What does it mean? You’ve never even liked to say the word.” Carol bites.

He thinks of the way your eyes always seem to melt with emotion, fingers that brush against his cheeks before pinching down, as a mischievous laugh follows.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Hal deflects.

“For you, maybe.” Carol jabs, before slumping, the tension leaving her as the two see you catch up again. “So, Wayne? She’s the one, right? You’ve always had a soft spot for her, even before you…left.”

Hal stays silent for a moment, biting his lip. “…yes.”

“Enough teasing! Let’s find a spot!” You yell, using a burst of speed to tackle him, crashing into a hotel with a gaudy sign that read ‘Honeymoon’.

Hal could only use his ring to cushion Carol’s fall as you used your fist to strike him down, crashing against a rubble covered, Queen sized bed, as he lets out a moan of pain. From the corner of his eye, he can see two newly weds quickly evacuate the now broken room. Not the best start for their new lives together.

“What do you love, Hal Jordan? Do you love Earth?” You ask as you pounce on him pinning his wrists against the ground, as crystal begins to encase them, submerging his ring. “Do you love this ring? Do you love me?”

Yes.

You bring your hands up, covered by gloves that made your fingers resemble claws.

“I don’t do this on the first date, Miss Wayne.” Hal breathes out, watching as Carol approaches you, holding kindling from the ruined fireplace.

You smile down at him, and for a moment he can believe it’s really you that wants him, that he hasn’t fucked you over like he always does with everyone else.

“Oh, darling,” You smile turns feral as you run your fingers down his chest, tearing through his uniform. “…Super heroes don’t lie.”

Carol smashes the flaming log against your head, “You’ve never met Green Arrow.”

If you were yourself right now, you would probably share a tale how during a party, a drunk Oliver wandered to your room, threw up in your bed, and then promptly passed out. That much, Hal was sure of.

Using your distracted state, he breaks free from the crystals binding his wrists as you lay on the floor disoriented.

Before he can tell Carol to leave, she demands Hal to make her a suit. Heirs and their need to fight villains, Hal laments, encasing her in green light as you stumble to your feet.

“I kept Carol Ferris alive in case you changed your mind, but now I will burn her flesh—!” You cry out as Carol slams a fist into your chest, sending you through the wall and into the parking lot below.

“You should know better than to write checks you can’t cash out, Wayne!”

You hit her with a burst of violet light, slamming her into a car, “And green isn’t your colour!”

Hal picks up a car, decorated with a ‘Just Married’ sign, and crushes you with it, wincing even though he knew you would be without injury.

“That’s more your colour, right? That, or purple.” Hal snarks, knowing you couldn’t send back your usual remarks. Not until he got rid of that stupid rock. “…If you can hear me, I’m sorry.”

You struggled under the vehicle that pinned you down, “Hal..? What’s going on? Bruce is going to kill you when he finds out—!”

Hal shoots a laser down onto the rock, “Don’t roleplay. I know you’re in control until the jewel comes off.”

“I’ll be anyone you want,” you plead with teary eyes, but he only grits his teeth, trying to work the gem off you. “Hal…”

He’d make it up to you. Anything you wanted. Even if you asked him to pick a fight with Wonder Woman, he’d do it.

Carol calls his name but a portal emerges from above, blowing the two back. Zamorans, clad in pink armour appear, standing above your unconscious body.

Yes, today was definitely not his day. Or yours, seeing how they wanted to keep you and Carol as members of their corps for all time.

Hal quickly sends out a bomb of green light, knocking the intruders away as Carol approaches you with a discarded Zamoran spear.

“This is going to sting, Wayne.” She forces the blade down prying the rock off of you, the forced removal causing an explosion that knocks back Hal and the Zamorans.

You awaken with a killer headache while lying on rubble, fully nude. Carol isn’t any better, tossing you a t-shirt as she shucks on some granny pajamas. She actually might be better off than you, seeing how your shirt says ‘I am easy’.

“Don’t suppose you’re willing to switch?”

“Not on your life, Wayne.”

The two of you rush out of the parkade you were collapsed in, seeing Hal slumped down, the Zamorans pointing their spears towards his neck.

“You have power equal to the Guardians, Green Lantern. If you don’t allow the Star Sapphire to love you, we will force you to accept it in whatever way we deem,” they coldly remark.

“Hal!”

Before you can approach him, the discarded gem shoots out of the building behind you, encasing you and Carol in crystal, forcing you two to still, unable to even struggle.

“Choose your mate, Hal Jordan. I will make your fantasies come true,” The rock orders, “Carol Ferris. You’ve spent the best and worst days of your life with her.”

It calls your name as you watch a Zamoran slam Hal’s head into the ground, “She’s become your sanctuary. She lets you look to the future. Choose.”

“Choose someone. Okay.” Hal grits out, bringing a hand to grab the Zamoran restraining him. “C’mere, Gorgeous.”

He pulls the alien into a passionate kiss as Carol lets out a noise of disgust.

Hal has pretty good tongue game, it seems.

They pull away, with a string of salvia dripping from the aliens lips, “What are you doing, Guardian dog!?”

“Trying not to throw up,” Hal replies smugly.

“He has chosen neither of you,” The rock notes before zipping to the baffled Zamoran, sticking to her head despite her cries of protest

A new Star Sapphire emerges as the other Zamorans watching with dismay as they are forced to retreat with lest their ally becomes possessed for eternity.

“So, you threw a little affection, and the rock fell for it?” Carol asks in shock as Hal uses his ring to chip away the crystal that encased you two.

“I’m definitely telling everyone this,” You grin.

“That I saved you from being the host to love maniacs? Be my guest,” Hal laughs, relieved that your giggles fill the air.

After seeing Carol off, you two return to what’s left of your cafe.

“Guess I’ll have to temporarily close.” You remark, turning when Hal calls your name.

“I’m sorry. I put you on their radar, they might come back. I’m still stationed on Earth for now, so I’ll check the area regularly. I won’t let them ever pull something like this—!” You interrupt his rant by placing a finger against his lips.

“Hal, I’m from Gotham. I’m more than used to be held hostage by freaks. Was I ever possessed? No, but it’ll make a good story next time I go back home,” you smile.

How can you smile like that, he wonders.

“Don’t tell your brother?” He murmurs against your pointer finger.

“He probably knew the moment Sapphire blew us up,” you laugh, hands coming up to cradle his face as he groans in dismay.

“And we just got back on good terms. Guess I’m back on the naughty list.”

“Well, it was inevitable, don’t you think?” You spoke quietly, drawing his face closer to yours.

“What do you mean?” He whispers, barely able to force the words out before you press your lips against his.

He wraps his arms around your waist, drawing you in closer as he deepens the kiss.

When you let out a noise, Hal knows that he’s more than willing to have the entirety of the Bat clan after him when you fit so well in his arms.

From the ‘Mystery of the Star Sapphire’ issues by Johns! And yes, we have Bruce’s baby sis as the reader. I think she becomes a Blue Lantern in Blackest Night like Barry…and yes the cafe is ‘coffee talk’ inspired!

Also omg sometimes I check people’s blogs from my notifs if they have a cool name, and literally the second post was someone’s…thing. I was in the kitchen! My mother was ten feet away! God why!!!!

Masterlist

[salmalin]

My sincerest apologies and warmest welcome to my rant about FF7: Crisis Core. Or, as I like to call it,

Propaganda: The Video Game

I say this with the utmost affection. Crisis Core ranks really high up there in my favorite Final Fantasy 7 installments. I played it when it first came out, borrowing it from a friend to play on a borrowed PSP. And, the more I learn about the game and the more I replay it, the more everything lines up.

This game is not about Zack Fair.

This game is about how Capitalistic Propaganda can sink into every aspect of life to the point where it is entirely indistinguishable from reality. And it’s very overt about it. So…

Here we go.

My treatise on Propaganda’s starring role in Crisis Core.

Part One: The Timeline

Something that a lot of people gloss over due to decades of Child Heroes in media—Japanese Shonen and Shoujo series in particular—is how young these protagonists are. We’ll hand-wave a lot of stuff in non-live-action series with just a little bit of suspension of disbelief. And that’s honestly just accepted these days. But here’s the thing about those hand-waves.

Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t do that.

Now, FF7 hand-waves a lot of stuff. For example, how far you can travel in a day by foot, the distance a man weighing approximately 165lbs can jump after being genetically fused with what might as well be a cocaine demon (Jenova), and how much hairspray one can reasonably carry on a cross-country journey while on the run from the feds.

Age is not one of them.

Exhibit A: Yuffie Kisaragi.

Do I really need to say more? She acts her age. So does Zack. And Aerith, even. Most of the characters in the original lineup were over twenty for a good reason. We see several kids in the series, and they all act their age, too—both the OG and the remake. Age is not a thing that FF7 really grapples with. It’s something they take relatively seriously.

Now, to the point.

Zack is 16 when Crisis Core starts…

… and he was 13 when he ran away from home without his parents’ knowledge to join the military.

Which accepted him.

At 13.

Without a parental permission slip.

Think about that for a second.

… Or for the next several parts of this breakdown.

Part Two: The Main Character

As I mentioned in the introduction, Zack is not the main character of the events of Crisis Core. Instead, he is the focal point of the second person POV. This is not the first time Square has done this. It was done most notably with FF9, FF10, and FF12. (I’m not going to go on an Akira Kurosawa rant right now, but please check out his film “The Hidden Fortress”. FF12 and Star Wars episodes 4-6 borrow heavily from this film.) The purpose and position of this character is such that they might best witness the effects the other characters make on the world as their stories unfold, usually in the role of a love interest. For Akira Kurosawa, it may have been told this way because these people are most effected by the decisions being made.

“Well, then, Sal,” you may be asking, “who would you say is the main character? Would that be Aerith, since she’s the love interest, like in the other games?”

No, actually.

It’s the antagonist.

And by that, I mean Genesis.

Hear me out. I used to hate Genesis, for I was once young, full of judgement for flamboyancy (thanks, internalized homophobia), and was led by the narrative to believe he was mean to his friends. Then I met my Lovely beta who loved him, so I wrote a fic for her as a gift. So for that I kinda just… read stuff. Because that’s the thing about Propaganda—you gotta read stuff to navigate it. I read the in-game emails. I re-watched all the scenes I could get my hands on with him. I read his wiki and tried to track down more information about him. Then I watched the scenes in Japanese and gained a better understanding of not just Genesis, but Sephiroth’s character. And I realized that Genesis was put on this road from the start. In fact, a big part of the fact that he’s seen the way he is in Canon—only at his most hostile and lowest points—is because the story is told through Zack’s point of view.

So before we get into the breakdown, here’s the hard facts about Genesis.

1. He was a test tube baby who may or may not technically be Angeal’s fraternal twin brother, which we are not going to unpack right now.

2. He was adopted by a relatively rich family.

3. He was a child genius (which requires not only resources, but drive to achieve), and at a tender young age of like… ten or something? He decided to mess around and literally invented pasteurization. Which is incredible, and really speaks to his knowledge of the world and ability to grasp complex concepts even at a young age. But, again, this is not the time or place to unpack that.

4. He was best friends with Angeal, who might as well have been the sweetest, kindest boy to ever walk the Planet. (I’m biased. I love him.)

5. As a teenager, he became fixated on Sephiroth, who had gained national acclaim as a SOLDIER despite them being the same age. (Please see part 1 and think about that for a second.) He then goes to join SOLDIER and brings Angeal with him. And Angeal brings his step-father’s puritanical “hard work is honorable” mindset with him. (On that note, Angeal and his father’s arc really are a wonderfully scathing letter to companies that overwork their employees and how toxic/unhealthy that line of thinking is. But. Again. We are not unpacking that right now.)

6. At one point he became consumed with LOVELESS, a series of poems with heavy prose and symbolism thicker than syrup. It got to the point where he was so well known for it that there was an entire fanclub dedicated to both him and analyzing the text.

7. While he was in SOLDIER, he repeatedly had his achievements publicly accredited… to Sephiroth.

Over and over and over again.

Everyone did, really. They mention it in the beginning of the game. Sephiroth even got public credit for Zack’s raid on the castle when he wasn’t even there. How much of his legacy is real? How much of it is made up? How much of it was faked? We don’t know. No one knows. But he keeps getting credit, anyways. And when Genesis confronts him about it, Sephiroth doesn’t care. In the Japanese version of their fight scene, you could even say he indirectly implies that he wants Genesis to take his place as the “hero”. In the English, Sephiroth’s line is, “Come and try.” But in the Japanese the line is closer to, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” Which, depending on how you take his tone, can mean wildly different things—from mocking, to earnest, or even admiration—which is especially to tell because he might be annoyed with Genesis at the moment.

Fun Fact: In Ever Crisis, Sephiroth explicitly says they are making up his achievements in the press to target boys his age for recruitment. (Thus why they accepted Zack at age 13.)

My theory on this line is that he is being cynical; that Genesis doesn't understand just how harrowing and even humiliating his experience has been. This only enforces my theory that the "come and try" translation in the English not only does a disservice to a line as wonderfully heavy as, "Wouldn't that be nice?", but fundamentally misunderstands Sephiroth as a character.

8. Genesis then took the fight to Shin-Ra. Inspiring a good chunk of their staff to leave the company, he then staged multiple attacks on facilities, staff, and the main building—which also spilled out into the city of Midgar. He murdered his parents, buried them, killed everyone in town, and… Yeah. It wasn’t pretty. A lot of innocent people died simply because they were vaguely associated with Shin-Ra. These are the actions of a villain. What’s more, this is clearly a sign that he has been acclimatized to death and violence by Shin-Ra to the point where he doesn’t even consider taking hostages.

Except.

Except the entire town was a Shin-Ra town.

Banora, canonically, was a Shin-Ra built town, which means everyone there was basically an employee of the company. No one was safe. Everyone was a threat. And that…

That was how he was raised. And he finally knew the truth—that every moment of his life was touched, controlled by Shin-Ra, all the way down to his very conception. He has never known freedom. He has never known his own identity. And now that very cage was killing him, slowly and painfully, and turning him into something that couldn’t even be recognized as human. He was watching himself rot in the mirror, and it was all because of Shin-Ra’s greed. And as he searched for salvation, he sunk into LOVELESS as he always had, hinging his entire life on Minerva’s Gift because he knew he was dying and that was all he had.

9. And then he died…

10. … but then it turned out LOVELESS was actually kind of a blueprint, and he did meet the Goddess, and he did get reborn without his degradation so he was rewarded for his journey in the end.

So why wasn’t Genesis the main character of the game?

Simple.

His actions challenge the status quo without being about the status quo. It’s a story about revenge. It’s a story about retribution. It’s a story about answering mass violence with mass violence and ultimately being rewarded by it. And while, yes, the series is an action-based violence simulator, the violence in the original FF7 was a guided, tactical effort. (For all that the characters aren’t the brightest bulbs in the sun lamps.) But the biggest, most obvious shift in the narrative happened when they realized their role as terrorists—bringing mass violence to the company via bombing and open aggression—was just resulting in increasing levels of retaliation against uninvolved people. They might as well have been a child beating the ankles of a giant. The goals and themes of the game fundamentally change when they realize that answering mass-scale societal violence with mass-scale physical violence was not only unsustainable, but also wasn’t going to solve their problem.

FF7 is about change and learning when violence—and what kind of violence—is appropriate in the face of different threats.

Genesis’ arc undermines all of that, and making him the main character would contradict the very heart of the OG game.

So, instead, we are positioned as Zack, connected to him through a mutual friend. From there we see all the damage and horror this vengeance brings to those living under the status quo.

But also, that plotline’s a major downer in a lot of ways, so they needed to lighten things up a bit to keep audience involved. And that’s why Zack is, well…

Part Three: Zack is a Himbo

Please, for the love of all that is holy, keep in mind that everything I say here is with the utmost affection.

Zack is dumb as a rock.

He is a charismatic, enthusiastic sixteen year old jock who ran away from home at thirteen years old to join the military. Which, please know, why I say “military” I mean “private security guard force with a standard-issue Death Baton and a license to kill”. The first scene in the game is him being excited that he gets to murder a bunch of people in a simulation, which he is immediately scolded for by his mentor. He is a glorified, souped up private security guard who is canonically only in it for the glory at first. He wants to be a “hero”, but doesn’t seem to fundamentally know what that means. And, over the course of the story, the definition of that clearly changes for him.

Which tracks, because the story takes place over a period of time with high stress.

Occasionally I see people saying they wish that Zack had more complexity to him, and honestly? The game. Would be. SO. BAD.

Full Disclosure: I am not the biggest fan of Zack specifically because he lacks a lot of nuance. I wish he was a bit more complex, too. But I also know that would break the game. What’s worse, if he was still on Shin-Ra’s side because he understood Shin-Ra’s mission… Well… That would make him a villain, or a cog at best. That’s not main character material. It would make the ending more messed up, though.

Anywho, Zack was thirteen when he left home. He had no formal education. He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing. He even joined without a permission slip from his parents. This means that Shin-Ra was accepting thirteen, possibly fourteen year olds into the military. (Some people will say this tracks because you can get a job at fourteen in many parts of Japan. But, and this is important, you aren’t allowed to be a security guard until you’re quite a bit older, and you need a specific license for it, much like in the US.) Clearly they didn’t teach this boy critical thinking skills. Not because he’s a himbo, but because having their Super-Powered Private Security Force With A License To Kill think independently would explicitly go against their interests. (EX: Genesis.)

Shin-Ra needs SOLDIERs to follow orders or the company would no longer be able to function. Seconds and Thirds aren’t even allowed to reject missions. (One could argue that sending certain someone on back-to-back missions would be a good way for them to eliminate undesirables within the ranks by sending them to their deaths, which… would make an incredible fic idea, actually.) We already know that First, Second, and Third Class rank assignments do not actually reflect the power of the SOLDIER. This is canon. I would instead argue that those who make the rank of First Class aren’t necessarily the most powerful, but are instead the most visible in the media, thus the easiest to market, and/or the easiest to manipulate and control. (For a great example of this, see The Umbrella Academy.)

The point is, Zack may have been elevated to his position as a first specifically because he is malleable and single-minded. Even after all he saw with Genesis, he stuck by the company to the very end, with the exception of the time Sephiroth was literally guiding him to fail a mission. Zack allowed himself to take Shin-Ra’s side every time, taking down their enemies and following their orders, preserving his “honor as SOLDIER” as he had been taught. The only thing that made him stop…

… was literally getting put in a jar.

It was when he was no longer a SOLDIER.

Part Four: Honor

There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

I repeat: There is no such thing as SOLDIER Honor.

It is a fictional thing that is borne of an ideology based around hard work. It only has power because it is believed in. It is an intangible social construct similar to the law, mathematical order of operations, and gender roles. So why are Angeal and Zack obsessed with it?

Pretty simple.

Angeal’s step-father followed it.

Now, we know three things about Angeal’s step-father.

1. He was chill with the fact that Gillian was already pregnant when they started dating.

2. He was a very good father.

3. He worked himself to death trying to pay off the sword he bought Angeal.

This, of course, says a lot about Angeal considering he rarely uses the sword. He essentially sees that sword as the symbol of his step-father’s life. Everything he uses it for, he sees as more important than his step-father’s life. That thing is usually Zack.

Zack, who is the child who joined the military based on stories of heroes.

Zack, who rises against Angeal in the name of his own step-father’s ideology and tries to talk him down, even at the very end. But Zack fails because he fundamentally doesn’t understand what’s going on, partially because “Soldier Honor” is just one more aspect of this narrative he was given. It is a narrative that Angeal has had to step away from, even though he doesn’t want to leave the memory of his step-father behind. He was a good man. He was a good, hardworking man.

And that is why he died.

Corporations will use you up until there is nothing left, then honor your memory/sacrifice. Shin-Ra was doing the exact same thing the company his step-father worked for did; using up SOLDIERs until they outlived their usefulness. And Angeal was horrified to realize that his “SOLDIER Honor” wasn’t honor at all.

It was willingly submitting to control.

But, unlike Angeal, over time, this meaning changed for Zack. Partially because he didn't understand it fully in the first place. It became about acting with integrity. It became about helping people. It became about not lying down and watching the abuse Shin-Ra handed out in exchange for literal money; for maintaining the status quo.

At the very end, Zack understood what it meant to be a hero.

Part Five: The Conclusion

To sum up, Zack believed in and idolized the propaganda spread by Shin-Ra at such a young age, and was so convinced by it, that he ran away from home at thirteen to join the military.

He was their target demographic, so they happily took him into their ranks. What’s more, people think this is normal enough that we see no one opposing this, because the only people who oppose Shin-Ra are “extremists” or “violent terrorists”.

Zack then became their loyal puppy, groomed to fill his role as super-powered attack dog to sick on anyone they deemed appropriate, and he filled the role. He believed he was doing good. He didn’t think they were invading another country, because that’s not what he was told.

He went after Genesis, because that’s what he was told, and he wouldn’t let Genesis’ actions shake his faith in the company.

Then he went after Angeal, hoping to get answers, only to become more confused. Angeal taught him about SOLDIER honor. He taught him about a higher calling. He was the one who made Zack truly loyal to the company. This challenged everything Zack knew.

He went with Sephiroth, planning a small rebellion of their own (a white lie on paperwork) to get answers, only to find things he wasn’t ready for and couldn’t fully understand.

Zack is shaken by each of these events. Horribly. At times, we even watch him grieve. But time and time again, he doesn’t leave the company. He sees the damage they do first hand, and he doesn’t leave the company. The company isn’t the problem, to him. He reads their emails, does their dirty work, and “maintains his SOLDIER honor”.

Zack swallows what they give him right up until what they give him is torture.

Zack swallows what they give him until he becomes their victim.

Every step of the way, Zack is fed a story of how the world is. He was raised on it. He lived it. He became part of it. He was paid peanuts to enforce the status quo Shin-Ra installed in the world by force, and he was proud of it because it was, to him, something to be proud of.

Zack believes the propaganda whole-sale, and we get to watch, from the point of view of an outsider, as it slowly destroys his life before killing him.

Propaganda has the power to make suffering normal. Propaganda has the power to make murder righteous. Propaganda has the power to take a thirteen year old boy out of his home so they can give him a sword, and when they point him in the direction of their enemies he charges of his own volition, because they made him believe in their cause. And he believes in their cause because he believes that it makes life better for everyone.

But that’s not what’s actually happening.

That’s just what he was told.

Crisis Core is about propaganda, and the depths to which it can affect our lives. It changes our belief systems. It changes our perceptions of reality. And when it’s torn down around our eyes, it can make us go insane. It can make us violent and unreasonable as we realize just how much violence is being forced upon us—violence other people just plain do not see. It's just a a piece of paper. It's just a law. It's just a job.

It's just a war.

Final Fantasy 7 was about Fascism.

Crisis Core is about the propaganda that built it. It is told from the point of view of a boy, then a man, steeped in it. He watches until the people suffering around him—Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal—are twisted into villains by the truths and lies around them. Genesis and Angeal are tortured by truths, Sephiroth is transformed by lies, and Zack is subsequently hunted down to conceal them.

Crisis Core is Propaganda: The Video Game.

[inbarfink]

Okay, so I already wrote a bunch of stuff about how that scene, although it is really sweet, is also kind of a Bad Sign for Simon - how he refuses to learn the Obvious Lesson from the Winterworld adventure (that being the Ice King again is probably a really really bad idea). But I want to talk about it also a little more about what it means for Fionna’s character as well. 

Because while sitting around and wallowing in self-loathing is probably bad for Fionna, especially after being told that she shouldn't be allowed to exist, and Simon is right to try and get her out of her funk. It's also still worthwhile for Fionna to have some introspection about the Consequences of Her Actions. Because she and Cake really did not consider them at all at first. They have a sense of morality and an instinct towards heroism, but they also tend to kinda forget the fantastical worlds they visit don’t exist entirely for their fantasy and have kind of a Protagonist-Centered-Morality fallacy. 

Most obviously you can see it in the market in Ooo. How Cake, in her excitement, damaged and hurt and even killed

A bunch of innocent marketgoers without even noticing. And then Fionna immediately jumped to Cake’s defense against these ‘weirdos’, who were actually just normal kinda-righteously-angry Oooian citizens.

It’s actually very similar to the whole Winterworld situation. Fionna’s assumption that she’s automatically the hero and protagonist of the story and black-and-white view of the situation and her tendency to kick ass first and ask questions later meant that she just recklessly injured a lot of innocent people.

(It might’ve been worse actually cause at least in Winterworld she was at least manipulated by an evil Wizard)

Fionna and Cake clearly have a great potential for heroism, but they do need to be a bit more considerate of the situation and people around them. And it does make sense considering that from their perspective - they’ve been living a very ordinary life up until now (and Cake was literally an animal. A very clever animal, but still not bound by the same standards of morality as the talking animals in Ooo). Action and adventure and fantasy stuff has been purely the realm of daydream and video games for them - and Fionna literally speaks about it in these terms.

(also, Fionna's Main Character Syndrome was undoubtedly validated when God literally told her that she was created to be the main character of her universe)

So yeah, it takes them some time to really process how to be heroes - they need to grapple with questions that Finn and Jake already kinda dealt with seventeen years ago. And actually a lot of those; how to resolve a situation without necessarily using violence, when does a 'villain' actually deserve sympathy and kindness, the importance of the larger context of any given conflict... their confrontations with Ice King all played a big part in that. It was never just him, but he was still a very major part.

And for Fionna and Cake right now, learning these lessons require some amount of personal introspection. So while it was a sweet attempt at comforting, I dunno if Simon’s little ‘the only problem with that universe is that this Alternative Me was terrible because he didn’t even acknowledge or remember Betty as the love of our life and the light of my entire universe’ thing is actually Good. 

I’m not quite sure Simon is the best person to teach Fionna and Cake heroism 101, because he is so focused on the Crown Quest as the thing that brings back Meaning to his life, and because his fatherly instincts just kinda go “Sad Young Person???? MUST GIVE COMFORT!” and also on account of the kidnapping.

I’m sure Fionna is going to become the heroine she dreams about eventually, it’s just going to be a bumpy ride. The best we can hope for is that they accept Simon’s comfort, that she doesn't start believing that she is nothing but an Error for the entire universe like the Scarab claims, but don’t necessarily listen to all of Simon's his words either.

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

You belong to me

Summary: reader is a female police officer that began to have a friendship with someone who got sent to help with a case. But things took a dark turn…

Warning: Manipulation. Kidnapping. Stalking. Gaslighting. Stockholm syndrome. Power dynamic. Power abuse. Emotional abuse and distress. Guilt-tripping. Isolation. Emotional blackmail. SMUT. Creampie. Handjob. Blowjob. Oral (m receiving). Reader is toxic. Leon is a victim. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

Word Count: 4,193

A/N: since it’s October, I wanted to try something different. We’ve all seen the fics where Leon is the toxic one but what about the reader? This is my attempt at toxic reader.

“My honey I know, with the dawn that you will be gone. But tonight, you belong to me,” - Tonight You Belong To Me, Patience and Prudence

When you were young, you looked up to the heroes of the world. The police, the firefighters, etc. It all fascinated you and you found it in yourself to want to help others as well. It was all an innocent dream that started when you were just a little girl and now here you are, working as a police officer in the city’s infamous police department.

People come and go, new faces everyday. It’s filling out paperwork and writing reports about incidents you’ve been called to. Sure, you’ve had your share of the donut and early coffee rounds, but nothing beats cruising in the patrol car.

You’ve never been an obsessed type of person, you just took a really good liking to things. Video games, music, books–they were all just common interests. But something about your job was so exciting. It wasn’t just helping people, it was the necessity to feel the rush flow through your blood through car chases or when you venture into a building with your flashlight out searching for criminals. At the end of the day, it felt amazing capturing the bad guys and throwing them in a cell.

It was a normal day, nothing too out of the ordinary. You were called to a crime scene in a neighborhood in the middle of your night shift. You were the first of your squad to arrive and there you saw an unfamiliar man. He wasn’t a police officer but he seemed like the real deal.

“Ah, Officer L/N,” said the police commander as he motioned for you to come forward, “Let me introduce you to this guy. He’s done nothing but save the country countless times. Meet Agent Kennedy, he will be assisting us tonight.” Agent Kennedy was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. Skin pale with a few freckles adorning his face.

Agent Kennedy nods and extends his hand to you for a handshake, “Nice to meet you, I hope we can work with no issues.” You nodded and took his hand in return for a firm handshake before letting go, “Pleasure to meet you as well.”

“So,” Agent Kennedy said as he looked over at your boss, “What’s the situation here?” The police commander then began to walk inside towards the house you had parked on the side to, “There’s been a suspicious call to the precinct,” he said as you and Agent Kennedy followed him inside, with Agent Kennedy letting you enter first.

“Lady down the street said that there was yelling and she called to make a noise complaint but then she said it all got quiet so she decided to check on the people who lived here,” he said as he walked the two of you to the living room. Upon reaching the living room, the floor’s carpet was drenched in blood and the walls had blood spatters around them. You grimaced at the sight but Agent Kennedy simply narrowed his eyes, his blue eyes jumping from blood spatter to blood spatter around the room, “Any clue about the victim?” Kennedy asked.

“Female. Early thirsties,” the police commander began to describe, “5 foot 5–the other neighbors said that she was a sweet lady but that her boyfriend wasn’t much of a gentleman. When we first came to check, the body was missing and there was no weapon on sight. It was as if someone had murdered her and took her body with them. We tried contacting the boyfriend but he’s been MIA for a while now.”

Your eyes wandered around the room, how could anyone do this? Sure, there is no certain proof that the woman’s boyfriend could’ve done it but it was a lead right?

“What about the boyfriend’s records?” You asked, “If his record states suspicious activity or other charges, then we’d know by then, right?”

“No,” Agent Kennedy replied right before your boss could, “This doesn’t seem like something a felon would do. Usually felons who are trying to save face try to avoid getting in trouble with the law. This is something completely unrelated to the victim’s relationship.”

“Then what could’ve caused this?” the police commander asked. Kennedy kneeled on the ground, his eyes inspecting the bloody carpet, “An amateur. This is probably just the work of someone trying to prove that they can kill.” Kennedy stood back up again and looked at your boss, “I’ll have a few of my men search the house, there’s been other cases like this that we have previously looked at and I think this is just another one of those.”

You furrowed your brows, “So you’ve dealt with this killer before?” you asked, to which he nodded, “Yes. But I can’t say anything. It’s a government case.”

It was a long night but thanks to Agent Kennedy, he made it run smoother than you had anticipated.

Agent Kennedy…

What a guy.

-

For the days that followed through, balancing minor incidents and the big case on your plate, you’ve met with Kennedy more than a few times. It was as if it was a coincidence. You saw him at a bar, in the police station, in the store–quite the few times. But you were polite in each encounter. You smiled, you waved, you even initiated conversations with him. And he was kind to you in return.

You were happy, life was great.

You’ve even stopped him several times when you saw him on the road.

“Hey, just a reminder to turn on your lights,” you’d say as you’d lean against his car door.

“Make sure your license plate gets renewed, you’re lucky I’m a nice officer,” you’d say with a friendly smile.

Or sometimes you would meet in your office for the case and talk.

“You know, you’re lucky I’ve been just giving you warnings on the road,” you said as you sat on your desk with him sitting across from you. He smirks and shakes his head, “It’s like you’re always there. Are you secretly following me?”

You laughed and it was your turn to shake your head in denial, “I’m too busy to follow you around. Plus, what’s the harm if I did? I’ve been helping you avoid a ticket, haven’t I?”

He nods and laughs, “Yeah, I guess you’ve kind of been like a friendly officer.”

“I’m for the people,” you said as you laughed with him, “I try to help as much as I can. I’m not a saint, but people can do good, right?”

“Yeah… they can,” he muttered and leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, “No but seriously, I’ve been seeing you around more often than lately. I’m not saying it’s weird, I appreciate you giving me tips and warnings but–I mean, is it even allowed?”

You laughed again, “It’s a small town, Leon,” you said, “I’m busy everywhere and plus, no one has to know. There are millions of things happening at once in this place. Me not giving you a speeding ticket is nothing worth mentioning.”

Everything seemed to be going well for you. You’ve grown closer to Leon ever since you started that case. Sure, you’ve seen him more frequently but it was pure coincidence, right?

-

Leon was sure something was going on. He’s been seeing you more frequently and you stopped him at random times. He’s grateful you haven’t given him a ticket but he can’t help the growing suspicion that you’ve done this so frequently. His worries only grew after that day in your office.

He was never a man to take things lightly. He’s always thought things through and was a smart and confident man. At some point he began to feel guilty because he could see just how hard you work around the station. You’ve taken shifts but you always kept a smile on your face, it made him feel shitty for thinking so poorly of you.

You were sweet and kind, always wanting to help people just like him.

But there was just something in his gut telling him to watch out.

“Y/n,” he said in surprise when he found you next to his car. You turned and smiled at him, “Hey, Leon. Haven’t seen you in a while, just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He forced a smile and nodded, “Yeah, I-uh-I’m fine. Just been busy with the case. Jane Doe, you know?”

“Jane Doe,” you repeated quietly. There was a silence between you two, one that he didn’t know if it was suffocating or intimate. He’s never been good with the ladies after all.

“You know,” you said softly, “I’m here if you ever need to talk. I’m the only one who can really understand you. I’ve seen things no one should see. I’ve been through hell and back before and I know how it feels like to be stuck in this dark place,” you said as you pointed to your head.

His face fell and he stared at you in silence.

“Therapy doesn’t work. I know everyone says that but when has therapy ever worked for you? You have this distant gaze, Leon,” you whispered as you took steps forward towards him, “I’m the only one that can see the pain you feel everyday.”

He furrowed his brow, “Why are you saying this?” he whispered. You smiled, “Because I want to help. I’m your friend.”

-

The words were glued to his mind and now he felt more uneasy but something in your words spoke out to him. He’s never really had the chance to heal, not after Raccoon City. But he’d never say that your words were doing things to his mind. You showed kindness no one ever has, you spoke to him in a caring voice, and you were never his enemy.

He’s never seen someone so… friendly. At some point he found you too friendly but then he’d feel guilty for thinking that stuff about you.

He shouldn’t have been paranoid of you, your eyes and your smile were ones of an angel.

Leon doesn’t have a family and he’s never had a real friend before. Something in him felt warm and odd.

“I’m your only friend here, Leon,” you said as the two of you sat on a bench just right outside the front of the police station, “No one ever listens and if they do, they’re lying. When someone says they care, they don’t. They have to show you that they care like I have. I care about you, I really do. You don’t need those fake friends, you’ll be okay with me. Small circle beats a bigger

circle in terms of a social life, right?”

He nodded, taking your words into consideration, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Lots of people lie nowadays. Can’t ever tell who’s going to stab me in the back.”

“Exactly,” you continued, “Why stress about someone’s loyalty when you have someone that already has proved it. Remember that time I didn’t give you a ticket for speeding or having alcohol in your vehicle? I’m a real friend, Leon. There’s no one else that understands you like I do.”

“Well, I do have some other friends,” he muttered, “they’ve been through the same things I’ve been.”

You scoffed and shook your head, “You’re going to listen to your friends who barely care, over me? I’m the one who has your best interests in mind, Leon.”

“I’m not saying that to make you any less of a friend but you’ve got to admit that you stop me too many times on the road,” he said. You rolled your eyes and looked at him, “You know you’re being paranoid, right? I’ve done nothing but help you, and you’re trying to say I’m some kind of creep. I’m the only one who’s been there for you. You should trust me more than anyone else. Nobody else cares as much as I do.”

He felt bad and guilty for making you think he thought you were a creep. He frowned and looked at you, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you look like a weirdo, I’m just… I haven’t had a real friend in a long time. Probably since high school and that was years ago.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” you sighed softly, your expression turning soft and caring with a small smile tugging your lips, “I understand you were just being cautious and I can’t blame you for that. But don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you. I care about you and I want to help.”

-

Leon suddenly found himself in a dark room. He blinked his eyes open and saw that he was in a dimly lit room. He tried to move but his hands were tied. Leon was tied down to a chair, his hands behind the back of the chair tied together with rope, as well as his legs tied down on the legs of the chair. Panic surged through him. The room was cold and silent, eerily silent. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his breathing.

He tried to shift around but then his eyes landed on the walls of the room. He furrowed his brow, what the hell was going on? “What the..” he muttered under his breath and then he turned his attention towards the sounds of footsteps descending a pair of stairs. Now he understood he was in a basement.

“Hello,” calmly rang the voice of a woman. Chills ran down Leon’s spine as you stepped closer, making your figure known to him. Why were you here?

“Y/n, you’ve got to help me,” Leon as he tugged at his tied wrists, “I don’t know how I ended up here. Come on, help me–” he grunted as he struggled. But you remained stilled in front of him. Your eyes watching as your calm demeanor took over.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” you said casually. He looked up at him, confusion written on his face, “Can’t help me?” he repeated in disbelief, “Why not?”

“Because I’m the one who did this to you,” you replied. There was no remorse in your tone. YOu were casual and cool, something that made Leon’s skin crawl with goosebumps. He’d never have guessed that you would be the one to ever put him in this situation.

“You see, Leon,” you began as you walked around him, circling him around, “I’m the only you can rely on. You don’t need those other people. They don’t know you like I do. I was only trying to help.”

“Help?” He repeated incredulously, “You tied me to a chair! How is that helping?!”

“Don’t be like that,” you said as you walked back to stand in front of him, leaning down to his face, “You should be grateful, after everything I’ve done for you, shouldn’t you be thanking me? You’re making me feel bad Leon.”

He frowned, his heart aching at your words, “I am grateful for your friendship but I just–”

“Just what, Leon?” you interjected, “Come on, now, don’t be like that,” you continued as you brought a hand to his cheek, gently caressing his face, “You know I’m the only one who’s ever listened to you. I know how damaged you are and I’m the only one who’s accepted you as you are. Look at your so-called friends, they haven’t talked to you. They’re not like me, they don’t care about you like I do.”

He looked up at you with those saddened blue eyes, his head subconsciously leaning into your hand, “But you said you wouldn’t hurt me,” he whispered.

Your thumb swiped along his cheek in a soft caress, “I haven’t, have I?” you whispered back, “I would never hurt you, you know that. It hurts me that you’re doubting me.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered back immediately, “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, I'm just… confused.”

“It’s okay to be confused but you have to trust me. I’ll never hurt you,” you leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead, your lips feeling soft on his skin like a soothing balm. But this only made him more confused. He should be angry and attempting to escape but he couldn’t, he didn’t want to betray you like that after all you’ve done for him. He shouldn’t, right?

He closed his eyes and sighed, leaning into your hand as if he was seeking your comfort. You smiled at his behavior, “Look at you,” you murmured, “You’re so deprived of love, aren’t you?” you asked mockingly, to which he nodded. He opened his eyes and looked up at you, “I am…” he whispered, “No one’s treated me as kindly as you have. I… I don’t have anyone besides you.”

“You don’t have to, I’m the only one you need, Leon,” you whispered as you leaned your lips down his face, just right above his lips, “I promise I won’t leave you if you won’t leave me.”

“I promise,” he replied almost instantly, “I won’t leave you. Please…” he begged, craning his head up as if trying to meet your lips. He was desperate for a touch of affection and you were willing to give him that, he wasn’t about to let go of you in the end.

“Please what?” you whispered.

“Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t.”

“Can you kiss me?”

“I can.”

You pressed your lips against his in a short kiss, causing him to whine and lean forward to keep kissing you, “Y/n, please,” he begged again. You smirked and leaned down to kiss him again, this time longer and more passionate. He closed his eyes and sighed into the kiss as your hands raked around his hair, tugging at his blonde strands. Your tongue grazed his bottom lip, to which he let you explore his mouth with.

He was so easy, all he needed was a little bit of love and he was down at your knees for you.

Your hand moved down his chest to his pants. Your palm ghosting over his crotch, you pressed your hand over it. He hissed and moaned, his body going tense before you began to rub him through the fabric of his jeans, “Y/n,” he whined again.

“You want me to touch your dick? Make you cum?” you murmured mockingly, he nodded his head and jerked his hips up into your hand, “Please,” he whispered.

You stood by his side, hand going inside his pants until you felt his boxers. He felt hard and long, almost making you wet. Your hand didn’t stop rubbing him through his boxers, his needy whines and moans echoing through the basement. Then, he attached his lips to your boob over your shirt, his teeth nibbling around the fabric of your shirt.

“Want to suck my tit like a baby?” you mused, he nodded and looked up at you through his lashes, “Yes,” he whispered. And how could you deny him anything when he’s been nothing but a good and obedient boy?

With your free hand, you lifted your shirt and took off your bra, watching as his pupils dilated and immediately latched his lips on your breast. His teeth pulled at your nipple before his tongue flatly dragged over your stiff peak. Your hand on his boxers moved over inside, feeling the skin of his dick on your hands. You pulled it out of his pants and circled your hand around his cock, rubbing up and down from the tip to the base. He moaned against your breasts, the vibrations sending a wave of arousal through you.

He kissed and licked all he could, his lips becoming swollen and your boob glistening with his saliva. God, he could suck your tit all day if you asked him. His moans became short and breathy the more you stroked him, his cock spasmed and twitched as he felt himself near his orgasm and without further notice, you suddenly dropped down to your knees and put his cock in your mouth. He gasped and threw his head back, his lips parting as he moaned every time you bobbed down on his dick. He bucked his hips further into your mouth while your hands massaged his balls, drawing an embarrassing moan from his throat.

Soon enough he came into your mouth, his sweet cum shooting ropes. But you didn’t swallow. Instead, you stood up, hands going to his jaw as you forced his mouth to open. You spat his cum into his mouth and forced him to close his lips.

“Swallow,” you commanded him. He nodded and swallowed the cum you gave him, he was left panting as he looked up at you.

“Good boy,” you purred and kissed his lips and he instantly kissed you back–tasting him on your lips.

“Let’s take these off you, hm?” you said as tugged at the rope around his wrists. He nodded and let you untie him. It’s not like he can escape anyway, where would he go? No one would believe that you, the kind officer, would ever kidnap anyone. And he’s desperate for love and attention, he can’t leave if he wanted because he wouldn’t have anyone to compensate for the lack of love he’s received. He became dependent on you.

As soon as you untied him, he grasped your waist and brought you between his legs, pressing his face on your stomach as he kissed the skin on your belly. You caressed his hair, allowing him to touch and worship you as he wanted.

“You want more?” you asked softly and he nodded against your stomach, “I do,” he whispered.

“Come on then,” you said as you took his hands and pulled him from the chair, “Let’s go to my room. My home is your home now.”

-

It was indeed his home now. He hadn’t noticed but you have, the way he started to leave his things in your house such as clothes and shoes. It was a small change but he slowly began to move in with you. It was such a power trip dynamic that you loved, having this power over him. He can’t ever leave you, where would he go?

Your obsession with him was successful. This was all you wanted from the start. You’ve had eyes for him ever since he got assigned to help you and your team on a murder case.

And now he’s on your bed, naked and thrusting into you from behind as you bent over with your ass in the air. His hands on your hips as he was on his knees behind you on the bed. Your hands held the bed’s headboard, feeling it slam against the wall everytime he plunged deep into you from behind. His cock leaving and entering with force, as if trying to prove his loyalty to you. He was like a dog, in a way. The tip of his cock grazed your cervix, causing your eyes to roll back and a moan to slip past your lips. He groaned and whimpered, feeling his cock get swallowed by your tightening walls.

“Y/n,” he whined as his hands moved to your waist, gripping your body tighter, forcing your body on his cock. Pushing and pulling you as his hips did the same, the sound of skin slapping echoing loudly around the room.

“Fuck–” he cursed under his breath, “You’re so tight. I’m gonna–”

“Don’t stop,” you moaned, moving your body on him to help him. He leaned down to bury his face on your neck, pressing open mouthed kisses on your skin as his chest pressed against your back. His hand released your waist to squeeze at your bouncing breasts, “Pretty,” he murmured into your ear as he squeezed your tits again.

His thrusts became sloppy as you neared your organism, he could feel the way your pussy began to throb and it was sending him on a frenzy. When your sweet nectar came around his cock, coating him wet and making sinful squelching sounds, he couldn’t hold himself back and he slammed his hips against your ass and came deep inside you. His dick throbbed as he shot his rope of white cum inside your pussy.

His cock softened but he didn’t move, both you were left panting and trying to catch your breath. Your bodies sweaty as the room smelled of sex. When he pulled out of you, you brought your hand down to your cunt to collect his cum and put it back inside, he groaned at the sight that he just watched and he couldn’t believe he just came inside you.

“Aren’t you going to clean me up?” you asked and he got snapped out of his thoughts. He quickly nodded and got off the bed, “Yes–hold on.”

He went into the bathroom and got a wet towel, then he came back into the room and cleaned you of his cum. After discarding the towel, he joined you on the bed and cuddled you.

“I love you,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you closer to his chest. You smiled and huddled into his chest, “I love you more.”

[tetsunabouquet]

Why Isha is the Most Misunderstood Character from Arcane S2: My Headcanons

A/N: After doing Sevika, I really just wanted to write this in defense of my little sweetheart, because the hate train against her is just dumb and occasionally downright ableist in how some people talk about her being mute. As a HF autistic woman, that shit just disgusts me so here I go!

-First of all, let's adress the hate towards Isha for 'magically fixing' Jinx. It's far less magical then you think. Ever heard of inner child work? Jinx might not have been working the classic techniques, as Isha acted as a proxy for Powder instead. That scene of Jinx just drifting off mentally as she does Isha's hair, talking about how she didn't do that with Vi? It very much gives off the vibe that Jinx would have liked to do the occasional girly things wih Vi as a child and that her inner Powder finally feels heard in that moment. They had been together for months at that point, so I doubt that was the sole moment Isha allowed Jinx to work through her problems by Isha being a proxy for her past self. -Secondly, let me adress the common criticism that she has no goal or whatsoever and is just there to idolize Jinx. You should all take some media literacy classes. She's very clearly set up as a mirror to a young Powder AND Vi, so why can't you see the obvious parallels?! Jinx has become like Vander, a symbol for the undercity and their fight against oppression but she doesn't wants to fight anymore. Isha isn't pushing Jinx into a hero role because she's a fangirl. But because she HAS a goal. Like Powder and Vi, she genuinely wants Zaun to be liberated and is trying to encourage Jinx to get back in the game just like Vi tried to do with Vander! Whilst the circumstances leading up to that were different, Isha even gets imprisoned for trying to make a stand for the undercity just like Vi did. I don't want to be hateful like you guys but seriously, do you Isha haters really need dialogue THAT badly to point out the obvious? -Isha's lack of voice also refers to her lack of family. Whilst she could be mute because of disability, there is also the possibility of her never having learnt how to properly speak as an orphan, as well as the possibility she became mute through trauma. As a mirror, it's highly likely Isha's parents were also brutally murdered. With 2 of the 3 explanations pointing into the direction of her being mute due to being an orphan, it's statistically likelier for this to be the actual reason. -Which adds an additional layer of tragedy to her character. Because going mute through trauma as well as being mute due to being a 'feral' child, can be dealt with! People tend to get over traumatic mutism and whilst feral children missed some important milestones, Isha could still be taught to speak basic sentences with the right help. This seems to be highlighted with how Isha learns to stand up for herself and be more assertive. She's crawling out of her shell and just when you could catch a glimmer of who she could become, she dies. With Sevika now being in charge as part of the Council, the aid Isha would need to regain her speech are now available to the children of Zaun. It's heartbreaking to think about the future Isha could have had if she had just survived the attack on Viktor's camp. -With how desperate Isha was to have a family- just look at how quickly she attached to Jinx and jumped at the chance to also be with Vander and Vi, it's clear the girl was dreaming of a home. Which brings me to her intentions to her sacrificing herself. If she was that desperate and traumatized, then it very likely could be that Isha rather wants to die then lose her family all over again. The fact her song ends with according to translations, 'for this is good enough for me', seems to imply that these months of having a family was what she dreamt of for so long and she can go in peace thanks to Jinx showing her love in the cruel world of the undercity.

[keeryhours]

new year’s magic - eddie munson

Eddie Munson x female! reader

Masterlist

Eddie Munson Masterlist

Summary:

You and Eddie meet up at Steve’s annual New Year’s party

Warnings:

Drinking, kissing

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N:

Happy New Year to all of you!! I hope 2025 is the best yet! This is just a short little oneshot I wrote to celebrate. I hope you like it! And thank you again @punkrockmlchael for my banner ily!

—

Steve Harrington’s New Year’s party was in full swing, living up to its reputation for another year. The music was loud, the alcohol was flowing, and it was nearing midnight.

You stood awkwardly to the side, a mixed drink in a red solo cup clutched tightly in your hand. This wasn’t really your scene, but Steve insisted on your presence. You had rolled your eyes when he first brought it up, but as you always did when it came to Steve, you eventually gave in.

Now he had effectively abandoned you, which you couldn’t really blame him for because it was his party after all. But you weren’t close with these people, you didn’t know how to talk to them. You were debating heading out early, before the countdown even happened - because who was going to kiss you at midnight? No one yet again, that’s who.

You were brought out of your thoughts by a hand on your lower back. You jumped, some of your drink splashing over the rim of your cup and onto your dress. “Shit!”

“Jesus, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You looked up and immediately softened when you saw those brown doe eyes looking back down at you, wild curls framing his smiling face.

“It’s okay, it’s not that bad,” you said, face flushing red as you reached for some paper towels on the kitchen counter.

“Here, let me help you,” Eddie said, quickly taking the paper towels from your hands and dabbing at your dress with them. Thankfully not much had spilled - your outfit certainly wasn’t ruined. You stood there as Eddie wiped at the fabric over your boobs for an awkwardly long time. Once he was satisfied, he shoved the wet towels into the trash can. “Good as new!”

You looked down at your little black dress - you couldn’t tell anything had been spilled on it at all. You smiled back up at Eddie. “Thanks. My hero.”

Eddie chuckled, a hand on the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I can qualify as your hero when I was the one who scared you in the first place.”

“Oh, no,” you said, not wanting your friend to feel bad. “I just wasn’t expecting anyone to come talk to me.”

Eddie looked around at the crowd. “Not exactly your scene, eh?”

“Definitely not,” you admitted, taking a sip of your drink. “I didn’t think it was yours, either.”

Eddie shrugged, giving you a sheepish grin. “It’s not. But Harrington wouldn’t leave me alone about it, and I figured, could be fun?”

“Are you having fun?” You asked, eyebrows raised at him over the rim of your cup.

“I am now that I’m talking to you,” he smiled. Your cheeks heated even more, looking away from him and into the contents of your drink.

“I’m not exactly the most fun person at this party,” you mumbled. Honestly, you still weren’t even sure how you and Steve Harrington had become friends in the first place. He never even noticed you all through high school, but when you started working at Family Video with him and your best friend Robin (who insisted he was a changed man and wasn’t King Steve anymore), you just hit it off. You had been close friends ever since.

You met Eddie when your close friend insisted you meet her new boyfriend, Gareth, and his D&D buddies. You were shy and dreaded meeting new people, but you were also into fantasy and games, so you agreed.

Eddie became one of your best friends immediately. He invited you into Hellfire - something that was sacred and rare, as your friend and Gareth filled you in - and you became a regular in their campaigns. Eddie was even in the process of helping you come up with your own campaign to DM for the club, which again, was sacred and rare and shocked the rest of the group to their core.

But Eddie had a soft spot for you.

Maybe there was something else there, too.

You had had a crush on Eddie since you first met him. How could you not? He was just cool, liked fantasy, liked D&D, loved metal music and could play guitar (which was so, so hot). He even played guitar for you a few times, which had your heart melting.

Just like it was now with him standing so close to you.

“It’s time for the countdown!” Steve called loudly from wherever he was, and the whole party cheered. Everyone shuffled into the living room where the large TV was on. You and Eddie stayed back in the corner, away from most of the chaos.

The Times Square ball filled the screen. As it began its descent, the whole party cheered along with the countdown.

“10! 9!”

Eddie shuffled a little closer to you, but you were sure it was just because of the crowd.

“8! 7!”

You took the last sip of your drink, sitting it on the table to the side of you. You’d clean it up later.

“6! 5!”

You felt Eddie place a hand on your hip. It sent an electrical current through your body, making you shiver. His calloused fingertips were pressed against the bare skin peeking through your sheer dress. He smelled like beer and cheap cologne. It was nice.

“4! 3!”

Eddie turned you to face him with his hands on your hips. You looked up at him wide eyed. Your body was humming with excitement and nerves as you looked into his eyes, searching for what he was planning behind that smirk.

“2!”

He pulled your body flush against his. You gasped.

“1! Happy New Year!”

Eddie leaned down and pressed his lips against yours as cheers and noise makers went off around the room. You think your heart might have stopped for a moment. His lips captured yours with a confidence you didn’t fully expect from him. You wrapped your arms around his neck as your knees went weak and you shared the tender yet heated kiss. You tangled your fingers in the hair at the base of his neck as he pressed his body impossibly closer to yours. His tongue slipped into your mouth and you happily let him in.

“Get a room, you two!” Steve yelled jokingly, laughing from across the room. “But also, about time!”

Eddie pulled away and you knew you were red as a tomato with how hard you were blushing. Eddie pushed a strand of hair behind your ear as he grinned down at you. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that.”

“Me too,” you admitted, which made Eddie chuckle.

“You know, they say that whatever you’re doing when the clock strikes midnight, that’s what you’ll be doing all year.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He leaned in, placing a kiss to your cheek before his lips reached your ear. “Be my girlfriend, maybe? So we can do this all year?”

You giggled, the biggest smile covering your whole face. “I would love that.”

Steve erupted into cheers and claps again, waving his noisemaker in the air. “That’s what I love to see! Magic always happens at the Harrington New Year’s party!”

[court-jobi]

You're It For Me

Pairing: Bakugou x reader (biker!prohero reader, afab pronouns used)

Words: 4K

Rating: T+

Warnings: Pro-hero Bakugou/Pro-hero Reader, canon-typical aftermath, love confessions, light hurt/comfort, protective Bakugou is protective, bedsharing-not spicy (yet)

Summary:

Bakugou fears very little in this life- because he knows with you by his side, even fighting the worst of the worst villains is easier when you're on the other end of the line in his headset. But never one to let things go unsaid, he makes sure to cup the side of your face and tell you the greatest promise short of 'I love you' that he can before storming out for the mission: "You're it for me. Got that?" You have to swear it back every time, so he believes it. It's both a promise and a lifeline- especially when he hears the worst possible communique: that the team's lost visual of you.

A/N: my ao3 loves have encouraged this pairing to be something of a series, so maybe that's what this will become!

For my My Hero Academia Masterlist, check it out here!

Read on AO3

Beeping right into his left eardrum signals an incoming update through Bakugou’s earpiece, pinpointing the alert straight to the source over the raucous cheers of his thankful public. He’d taken on the ‘A’ grouping of villains, while you pursued ‘B’ as they made an escape from the scene. The ‘A’ punks were the ‘muscle’, but Dynamight was far stronger than any of them had anticipated. 

‘Pissy extras, you weren’t worth my time’, he’d touted when his good ole buddy Cellophane wrapped em up tight in a nice, neat bow. 

Bakugou might have celebrated this win a bit more with the crowd surrounding him, having caught the villain and was prepared to call it a day alongside Sero, ticking off another win tally in traditional, mega-blasty action… if not for the update coming through on his comms:

"We lost sight of Joyride- crash site at the industrial pylons at 6-5-2 and 6-5-7- Tightrope is-- confirmed; eliminated. Repeat, requesting visual of Joyride-"

Bakugou's soul drops to his gut. 

There was a crash and you were missing. Sero hears the same update and looks to Bakugou gravely- knowing full well who you are to him. Not just a teammate, but more, in every way.

Turning quickly from the gathering of people, Bakugou takes a one-armed leap from the side of the building and blasts off a slight cushion to his fall, then jogs towards the incoming transport with Jeanist's interns calling out for him to report back. He doesn't listen to any word of thanks as he marches to the transport. He's fueled by pure anxiety behind masked eyes, rage bubbling hot in his breath. He listens to his radio, and prays.

"--still no sight of- wait, wait! Joyride spotted! We have visual! Status? She alive? Affirmative, she's coming up over the edge- (laughs) I can't believe it, she chucked that eight-wheeler straight into it!"

Bakugou swallows, throat tight despite the relief.

"Ok Dynamight, off to rende with Joy–?-"

"YOU HEARD ‘EM, MOVE!"

Poor intern shutting right up and driving away, Bakugou shucks off his pauldrons and vambraces against his discipline that he should really keep em on until fully off duty, but with his protective instincts still in overdrive, he knows he's producing more than enough sweat should he be caught by surprise at this point in the aftermath. He's not going to need the extra firepower where he's going.

Screeching to a slowed approach, Bakugou can't wait the extra second to allow the van to come to a complete stop before he's chucking the door open and jumping past the cordoned off emergency vehicles assisting passersby. He shouts only briefly for 'making way', and people listen to the man on a mission. Calls of thanks fall to his deaf ears- by choice, this time.

From around the corner, he turns assessing the damage surrounding the crash site below. He spots Uravity already helping, and is grateful for her expertise while still set on recovering you.

There ahead -his angel in a leather jacket trudging up the off ramp with weary steps- is the sight he thanks every god in the heavens for. 

Bakugou stays his swearing out of sheer gratitude to not see copious amounts of blood draining your face; that sheen on you is just sweat as you’ve chucked your helmet off to breathe better. One look at you and it’s like no other day; you just look understandably tired and in want of a shower more than life. Your expression isn’t pained– just your usual distaste for incline treks by show of your flat, annoyed brows and mouth breathing. That look coming from a top 20 Pro Hero known for her stylish grace is funny- if only under different circumstances.

There's a crack in his voice as he shouts your callsign, but he's not ashamed of it; not with the punch of fear ripping the sound from him. He sets off in a run– straight to you.

You look up at the alarmed call. Dynamight is hurtling towards you, and you're just as relieved to see a sight for sore eyes. Seems the shock of what you just did catches up as you find renewed haste in leaving the smokey scene behind you. You pick yourself up into a jog with a delirious smile forcing its way onto your face.

In a span of a few seconds, Bakugou shoves up his protective face mask, catching your bounding self up into his arms, hugging you tight for two full, shaking breaths before pulling you into a fire-loaded, protective kiss.

Smokelines are smudged across his cheeks and burning tears lay built up at his lash line as he heaves grateful breaths in and out through his nose against your cheek. This kiss is tense, but needed. Without an ounce of regret, he keeps you painfully close. You held no less affection from him, your hands immediately grabbing for purchase on his nape, sweat-licked and all. You gasp for a breath with a laugh before he smashes his mouth across yours with tongue, messy and relieved and angry that something has scared him so bad.

Releasing your lips from his, he bumps his forehead to yours for a solemn few seconds to rein himself in.

He husks, "You good-?"

"Yeah."

"Not hurt?"

"Nah~"

"You swear."

You nod with your eyes still closed, breathing a quick answer before being given another couple hard kisses on your cheek. You're hugged tight again, swayed as he takes a couple traipsing steps with you in his arms. A heart-wrenching, gutteral sigh rasps from him, leaving you reeling as he holds you in sight of who knows how many. The fact that you're not alone in this moment is only a fleeting thought as your residual adrenaline causes you to shake- probably the reason why Bakugou is set on keeping a tight hold on you.

"I'm ok, Katsuki. M'okay-" you answer shakily, barely a whisper. You're convincing yourself under the guise of assuring him. It works, in a way.

"Thank fuck," he answers to your neck.

He’d done his part- you heard so on the coms once you found your dislodged helmet after you made a timed dismount off the bike before it careened you both off the exit ramp. It was then that you reactivated the jostled ‘live’ signal from your helmet and typed back the status code that you were alive. The mic had broken, or else you would have reported so yourself. 

But the fact remains, you haven’t told anyone reporting on the scene what you’ve seen- what you’ve done. You did stop the villain’s crew from taking what they’d stolen, but you’d effectively ended anyone else’s chances of recovering the files with the demolition site you’d essentially forced them into. The valued records didn’t fall in the wrong hands, certainly, and it’s an ultimate grace that no other civilian lives were lost, but you do think about how grim the scene looks at the bottom of the ramp. 

There’s no earthly way anyone could have survived that firefest. For some reason, the gravity of that fight grips you now. You’d almost joined them had you not thought hast enough.

"He's.. he's dead. Tightrope and them, the uh- runner. I hit 'em."

"Good. F’he wasn’t, I was gonna kill him myself."

You chuckle, despite the subject matter. Tired breaths still heave from you, coupled with the gentle relief of Bakugou’s supporting arms around you– bare arms you now notice are cannonless, as they set you fully down on your own.

"Oi, BACK IT UP!"

You realize there's a few reporting drones coming in at your back when Katsuki’s dominant hand lifts off of you to bat one away with a harmless smack on a lens; luckily Bakugou is already ushering you back to the van, keeping you ahead of him with a careful palm to your shoulder. He lets you lead towards shelter and a thorough once-over from the medic team for the shock. More grateful civilians cheer praises on both of you, especially your name since it was evidently shared by many as the saving agent of the day. 

Unlike your chilly counterpart, you did offer a wave and a reassuring, proud grin for those onlookers, but Bakugou knows your true feelings better as you grit through your teeth,

“Oh, yes please, photos. What I’d kill for a bath right now…”

After a ride back to the agency, you start to breathe normally again. On the bus where you’re  strapped up with a bp cuff monitoring your status, your care is complete with your hand in Bakugou's as he stands above you. He hovers even more after you hit the showers, dress down comfortably, and receive one of the highest compliments from your agency lead on your quick actions and limited infrastructure casualties. Finally, true ease in your tummy relaxes as you get a pass on submitting your report while in your current state until morning, and as you are given a lift back to the apartment complex-- of course, with Bakugou in tow.

It's the early morning hours when you are able to go lay down, the smallest change in the sky after the night’s darkest hour giving way to a persistent sun. It does little to threaten your desire to sleep though, with your protective boyfriend playing bodyguard keeping a hand on you at all times then offering to stay 'until you fall asleep'. 

You feel the safest you have in months that morning… 

When he follows your soft ask for him to see you safely upstairs, carries out his nighttime routine alongside yours, he does nothing more forward than wrap his entire body as close to you as possible. He kisses you goodnight with care and softness and just an edge of heat.

"You fucking scared me." Bakugou whispers into the quiet space you've created.

"I thought nothing scares you."

He huffs, but it's a sad, wet sound. "Tch, like hell it doesn't."

You're both quiet for a while after that, just relishing in your joint safety, touching each other to soothe the chills from within, soaking in his light presses to your forehead until he lays a kiss longer than the others–

"I love you so damn much," Bakugou rasps all in one go, "I love you."

 It's the first time he's said it, outright.

You'd thought you'd scream and kick your feet if he ever got around to saying what you already believed to be true. All you want instead is to absolutely melt into his skin and sob.

"HEY-" 

Bakugou called out to you at the start of all this in full, armored glory- nearly every bit of skin covered up in his winter suit while the dead of summer sun bears down. For this crazy mission, he’s been preparing all afternoon, ready to bring his all to the fight ahead. 

One word and you whip around before he yanks you into speaking range. He grounds you with a hand to your shoulder keeping you still- expecting him to say ‘be careful’, maybe even an extra ‘watch for those crackhead speed demons out there’. 

But with his commanding, brash voice on, you weren't sure what he'd say to you- not when he’s looking at you like that. 

"You-- y'better not pull anything stupid now," he stares you down with complete earnest, choosing words carefully because he figured you might be listened to on the team’s headsets.

Yet never one to let things go unsaid, he cupped the side of your neck for the next bit-

"You're it for me. Got that?"

Your azure-blazed helmet hid most of your face, so you smiled with your eyes so he could see that you agreed. You heard him loud and clear, and got his meaning entirely. 

You placed your hand in an 'i love you' sign on his chest before another call over the radio gave directions and pulled you both apart to look for the flare.

"-Got it,” you resolved while only giving him a second before you crafted a biped transitbike in record time with your quirk-  "Go kick some fuckin’ ass!" 

Heart zinging with motivation, you sped away- leaving Bakugou to cackle at your rare cursing and blowing his own way skyward and into his element.

Tipping your head up, you can barely find words with him looking at you like this. It’s the look from this morning all over again: a tight, straight-set scowl dead set on keeping himself from crying, hand sifted itself into your hair like you're going to be ripped from him in an instant, and soft eyes that are begging- a look you never thought you'd see from him.

You don't have it in you to tease him, or even be your trademark soft and demure to contrast his hard and offensive shell. No, you feel like doting on him when he's like this, because you know you’re the only one who sees him this way. This vulnerable, laid beside you with a weighted blanket on him to soothe his anxiety, too.  

So you promise your whole existence to him instead: a genuine word without fear of an audience.

"I love you, too. You’re it for me."

You sink in and out of sleep while he holds you like this. Though gratefully, he's out like a light after the last few kisses he laid on your head when you said it back-- like his spirit could finally rest knowing you believed the same.

You keep waking up in the night unsettled by some restless instincts left over from the night before. 

After twisting again and turning your neck to bleakly look at the light coming in, you heard his drowsy inhale bring out a grumbly moan,

"Go t'sleep."

'It's bright,' you say through your exhaustion, but it's evident that you're far too awake by your tone.

At this, you heave in surprise as Bakugou completely flips you onto the other side of him, tilting you with a palm until you turn the other way (towards the bathroom) and lie completely in his shadow. You check his face to see if he's upset at your waking him, but his eyes remain shut by sleep and are solely focused on blindly making sure you're completely locked in and comfortable in his arms, still.

It's thoughtful and strikes you sweetly, tucked back in his embrace again. You feel completely secure with his warmth flooding you at your back.

"Thanks."

Again, he simply whispers,

"mmm sleep f'me, 'ngel... I've gotcha."

A phone buzzes just minutes later, his. It's Kirishima- and like moth and flame they are for each other, Bakugou answers, tipping only onto his back so he’s barely moving from you. You still sleep through lightly and you hear him talking, but not each and every word fully.

Bakugou swiped up to answer the call, but didn’t deign a chipper welcome necessary.

"......hey uhhh Bakugou?"

"hmwhat."

"Are you still sleeping?"

"Yes."

"It's after 2pm, man! Thought you were dead to the world~"

"I am. Whaddya need."

"Well, just wanted to check on you man. I saw the fight last night, and I've tried calling Little Miss, too but she's not answerin’."

"Had the same night. She's 'sleep too."

"Eh, I shoulda figured. Looked like it took it out of you."

"Tch, wasn’t that hard."

Kirishima played into his mischievous lilt on his end of the line, 

"mmmm sure bout that? That uh, kiss, didn't look like ‘nothing’."

...Kirishima wasn't there. How would he have known you kissed?...

Bakugou wakes a little more. "Huh."

Kirishima burrs the speaker a little on the other line. Must be from him laughing through his nose knowing Bakugou's severe dislike for that sort of attention.

"I mean, I get it. I'd probably be the same after watching my girl go down like that, but-- hate to break it to ya, but it's everywhere, Kats."

"-Whaddya mean."

Notifications have flooded his phone when he cracks open an eye to really look at it, but he opens the most recent from Kirishima, texted by the redhead’s insistence for Bakugou to take a look.

There are stills of said clip of him running up to you and kissing you– one particular shot looks gorgeously cinematic because someone with a photo-optic quirk had clearly followed him, probably from that drone he almost broke. Screenshots Kirishima has collected (proof of ‘true manliness’, he claims) all bear headlines of how this was the most unexpected hero pairing of the season: how "Joynamight" is stealing the hearts of swooning civilians everywhere- and likely the shutdown of the entire hero rumor mill surrounding the explosive hero standing at No. 5. The dating scene has allegedly erupted into chaos over the news.

Bakugou stared at the photo of him holding you. One camera turned more at his shoulders by the way he'd stepped, so in this photo, he could see you more clearly- holding on as just about any loved one would hug their better half, but so beautifully content and safe in your face- if a little emotional yourself.

A blank hum is all Bakugou offered. Soft. Seemingly disinterested if it wasn't for the proud smirk.

Kirishima snickered on the other end of the line. "You sucker."

"Yeah, yeah."

"...dytell er yet?"

"Not there... But.. couldn't not, yknow."

"aaand?"

"... Dont scream about it, mtired."

Kiri audibly gasped, then at least honored Bakugou's request for distance from the phone, whooping and hollering off speakerphone, uplifted at the news. His carrying on made even a sleep-laden Bakugou happy, even if he lay there rolling his eyes for his friend to be done.

You finally stirred beside him, turning over with a stretch and seeking him out. He quickly received you, kissing your forehead again, then tipping back to the phone. "I'll call you back later, Eij."

"--Huh? Dude I WANNA KNOW WHAT YOU SAID, WHAT HA-"

"Mmm who's that," you moaned.

Bakugou rubbed your back to rouse you the rest of the way. "Your big red dog."

You chortled at Kirishima's new moniker. "Whas’hewant."

Bakugou debated letting you stay in your bubble, but figured ripping the bandaid might be best. 

"Just called to give us a head's up."

You looked up to him, "About what?"

Bakugou only smirked, tilting his phone to you. To focus on the light, you woke up fully, eyes widening to just how bad they did -indeed- immortalize your private moment on the scene.Those grimey, windswept headshots you’d feared at the medtend were the least of your photogenic worries now.

But-- like his own reaction-- you couldn't keep from smiling.

"Ohhhh~" you sighed, then deeper, "Ohhhhh we are in deep shit."

Bakugou snuggled in– smug as all getout, "Yeah, we are."

"Wait, lemme see-- oh my God, Kats... Oh Katsuki, this-.."

"Yeah yeah, give it back-"

"Nooo I need that one! Send it to me!"

"It's likely blown yours up too, dummy! Get your own!"

Memory of your reentry home failed you, so you had to ask him where your phone ended up because you didn't have a clue. He’d put it on the charger for you, of course. Then, sitting side by side, you both were reviewing the more urgent notes from your respective social media managers with deep, secretive chuckles. 

These photos were a romantic’s dream, but a PR jumpscare. Had to be addressed in some way or it would never end, truly.

"What’d yours say?"

You fixed your wonky part with a little fluff to your hair, settling your initial overwhelm of nerves: " ‘Go on something lowkey- Present Mic’s show or a podcast off the mainstream, say ‘friendship is magic’, maybe tease it if I want to, and move on.’ I dunno- that seems like a lot of public speaking and scheduling out the wazoo. You?"

"She's just yapping. Didn't read it all." Bakugou barely cared about his social media presence since his manager did most of the publishing, save for Bakugou sharing some highlights of his select, predictable group of hero team ups. Besides that, he just focused on paying them well enough to cover his bullshit if he ever let his temper flare. Besides, now he was waiting on what you'd say, "So what're you gonna do?"

You debated, smirking like a devil the whole time as you realized what could be the fastest way to get your take out in the open, 

"... I wanna share the photographer's post. Not this J’akku Press spread."

This earned a smirk for you, "Yeah?"

"...yeah?" you returned a shy look- wondering if you were crazy.

"I will, if you will."

Bakugou’s soft, sleepy loyalty is one you fear will disappear after you both get started with your day. When Dynamight reports back in, you can only hope that he’d still feel the same way today as he did yesterday- though you imagine managing the tabloid fodder a post like this can make will be less than pleasant for him. He’s so private most of the time, and when he’s not digitally absent, he’s loud. This hesitation must have shown on your face– because he takes your hand for a second and kisses it to stop your spiral.

"I meant what I said. You’re it- you’re mine. Whether we tell the world or not. Up to you."

You bite your lip again, and doubled down. You shift to snuggle with your back cradled on his chest, building the shared post:

"Aftermath: Joyride emerges from crash scene unscathed, reunited with Dynamight in a rare tender moment for today's top tier heroes." Joyride_fm: see edit: Lucky, lucky girl. Sorry for scaring you, m'love❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 #rideordie

Bakugou snickers, kissing your shoulder closest to him. "Do it, I'll repost that one."

He, however, did not let you read as he added his response thread, making you wonder what kind of a novel he was going to be sharing because of how long he was taking... 

Instead, you just curled into his side and peppered him in a few distracting kisses on his chest. He’d come bolting to you last night, a core memory you’d be fantasizing about for a long time. Just watching the way his chest is rising and falling here in bed so calmly when you know just hours ago it was heaving like you’d been lost at sea, you are so gone on him. When he nudged his shoulder for you to check his draft, you damn near cried:

"Aftermath: Joyride emerges from crash scene unscathed, reunited with Dynamight in a rare tender moment for today's top tier heroes." THE_Dynamight_SoV: Hero work is not for the weak. We train, we fight, and we do everything we can to make our world a safer one, to whatever end. This woman is one of many selfless, ball-busting, indomitable heroes that I'm not only proud to do this work with, but one I can't see myself living without. You're looking at the face of a man who's holding his priorities right there in 4k. So yeah. If you see one of us like this after a battle, know it's because heroes get scared too– for good fucking reason. Better not make this a habit, dummy. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 #rideandDONTdie

"Oh my God~~" your tears and misty sniffles had you caving into his shoulder, "my tweet was so STUPID!!"

Katsuki bragged with proud cackles as you cried it out, sending the post out for the Internet to bawl over before you could dare edit your post, and turned his phone right back to silent.

You got snotty and overly emotional at how sweet he was with his statement, but were comforted by his hands smoothing over you until you calmed.

"Love you,” you settled into the peace he held you in.

"Love you, dummy."

When you got up for the afternoon run back to the office to finish your reports with fresh eyes, you entered the building as normal. There’s no hint in how either of you carry yourselves that say you all just spend the last twelve hours like koalas draped over each other. The only sign of such affections was your use of an Allmight tervis you're nursing your coffee with –clearly his– which your good ole partner in electric crime, Chargebolt, clocked from the end of the hallway:

"JOYNAMIGHT 2024!!!!"

"SHUDDUP, POWER OUTTAGE!!!"

[gilbirda]

Personal coach Red Hood

Idea by @impyssadobsessions where Jazz needs a personal trainer from a gotham hero and chooses red hood. Eventual ship content. This is more of a setting so far but i have ideas. I accept ideas too, im just balling

I'm going to try a more chill and lax posting with this bad boy. I feel like my rigid way of organizing is making me feel restricted so this will be 1000% vibes and let's see where it goes.

Part 2

---

Jazz knew this was a stupid idea. Dangerous. Suicidal, maybe, depending on who would answer her call. But she still had to try.

You may be wondering how a twenty something young woman ends up following Gotham heroes around with a notepad. She wasn’t looking for an autograph, or for the latest scoop on the heroes, trying to uncover their secrets.

She was actually writing down their patterns and observations in behavior, trying to map their patrol routes and create a decent enough file and expectations of the heroes.

What did she need the information for?

She needed a personal trainer.

No, not the kind you hire at the gym. She already tried that and it didn’t work. She also tried MMA, and kickboxing and just to see if she could do it, Judo. All were interesting and gave her a pretty good picture of what her body was capable of, and a guesstimate of her physical limitations.

But no. She needed something else, something more… tailored for what she actually needed the training for.

She needed to intern with a hero. The term “sidekick” felt wrong for what she had in mind, since she didn’t want to be that hero’s trainee forever. Or was interested in the current superhero scene at all. They were doing just fine without her.

She just… she felt left out. Danny was amazing but he didn’t need her, not as much as she would have liked. He was a hero, and a pretty good one, but he wasn’t in any place to train her. Not that he wanted to, since he usually avoided her every time she brought it up.

Her baby brother was all grown up and he didn’t need his older sister anymore. 

Jazz shook her head. She was being ridiculous. Danny would always need her — she just needed to do her homework and keep up with him on her own. If she just trained enough and could hold her own in ghost fights, she was sure Danny would be grateful and appreciate her support. Who knows, maybe he would be happy that he didn’t need to be wary of ghosts day and night, and actually rest and focus on his neglected studies.

She yawned, lamenting another night that looked to be a bust. Maybe the heroes were busy tonight? Maybe they were on a big mission away? Unlikely that all of them were away, there were usually at least a few of the Bats flying around the city.

Why Gotham, you may ask? Of all the funny-dressed crime fighters on Earth, why these people? 

Easy.

They were human.

That piqued Jazz’s interest. She had been between the Arrows and the Bats, but finally chose the Bats because Gotham had one perk over Star City: unlimited supply of ectoplasm. The place was almost as coated in the thing as Amity, which she was grateful for. It saved her from going back and forth to places rich with ghost activity and fishing blobs to eat.

Don’t ask too many questions about the consuming blob ghosts part. It was a necessary evil.

However, it’s been a few months and all she got to show for her efforts was a notepad filled with scribbles she painstakingly copied to her computer and a lot of frustration.

Until one night she caught Red Hood alone as he checked his phone. She waited until he was done texting — she had manners thank you very much — and jumped in front of him before he had the chance to grapple away.

“Hi— oof.” 

Thanks the ancients for her reflexes and Judo training, she blocked Hood's punch and following kick. It would probably bruise but it wasn't the end of the world.

“What the fuck?” 

“Hi,” she tried again, “I'm Jazz.”

He didn't punch her again, which she took as a good sign. Instead, he took a step back and squared up like he was expecting a fight.

“I’m not looking for a fight,” he scoffed but let her continue speaking, “I’m looking for… I guess you’d call it a mentor? That sounds weird… A personal trainer? No, that’s wrong too. Hm, I wonder if there’s a word for ‘person who is the only one that can teach you very specific information in a field of interest that legally, or otherwise—’.”

Red Hood cleared his throat, making her jump.

“Are you for real?”

“Yeah? I am real.”

Hood looked at her in silence for a few moments. Then, he sighed and rubbed one gloved hand against his helmet. 

“Listen, girl.”

“Jazz!”

“Jazz,” somehow she got the impression he grumbled, but the voice modulator did its job really well, “I have things to do, ok? Crimes to stop and stuff. So… yeah. Goodnight.”

He turned around and picked the grapple gun from inside his jacket.

“Wait!” 

He jumped and misfired the gun, hitting the wall of the building instead of the roof, like he was supposed to. As the gun recalled the rope, he looked over his shoulder at her. Jazz understood he was glaring at her, she could feel the daggers on her skin.

“Hear me out, ok?” He didn’t move or said anything. “I need— I have tried hiring a trainer, at… back at the gym. You know? But that wasn’t enough. I think I need to train with an actual hero—”

“Listen,” the word was accompanied by the hook of the grapple clicking into place, “whatever it is you are looking for, you definitely are not going to find it with me. So. Scramble.” 

He made a shooing gesture with one hand and aimed the gun without looking, shooting it and amazingly enough, hitting the edge of the rooftop. He made a salute as he was launched to the air at high speed.

Jazz didn’t follow, mesmerized by the skill. Hood landed with a flip and without breaking momentum, started running to the next rooftop, jumping impossible lengths. The way he moved was confident, powerful and measured.

She wanted to do that. She needed Red Hood to train her.

---

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[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Lotr and stranger things: Masterpost

I also mention dnd when it’s relevant to the lotr parallels.

(You can read this with absolutely no knowledge on lotr or dnd don’t worry)

@somewiseoutthere @itwasaseven7 @beomgyubestie @thy-lovelylionheart @itachisnipplesharingan <3

The thing is that stranger things isn’t a lotr retelling, so there are many parallels to several characters. It isn’t “oh, this character parallels ONLY this lotr character”, no, many characters have several parallels with several lotr characters. Let’s get to it.

Mike, the insecure hero.

Mike “it was the best thing I’ve ever done” Wheeler and Sam “it was the bravest thing he ever did” Gamgee. Many people also see Sam as a paladin (those with joy and whimsy and gayness in their hearts) (no but srs I’ve seen several people call him a paladin), even if he’s commonly known as a cleric. And guess who’s character is a paladin. And guess who is a cleric?

(Let’s focus on mike’s sheet rn).

From Worlds Turned Upside Down, official book. It has all the party’s dnd sheets, not their dnd character’s dnd sheets, but THEIR dnd sheet, as if they were dnd characters. This is not Mike’s character, but Mike Wheeler (you can see it, played by Finn, is a DM, etc). And would you look at that, he is a cleric.

In the Hawkins Middle School Yearbook there’s the boys’ characters’ dnd sheets. Take them with a grain of salt since idk if they’re canon, but it says that mike’s race is a halfling. Yeah ok.

Sam is also not the most confident person out there, always selling himself short and calling himself names, even tho he makes very good poetry and he literally fought against shelob and won. Sure he used frodo’s (bilbo’s) sword which is a cool, sharp sword, but like, shelob is a primordial being. That’s like Mike (with his 12 year old height) having a very cool sword and using it to fight all alone a grown size demogorgon (with absolutely no fighting experience, let alone sword wielding experience) who is inmortal and has existed since the beginning of time, and then winning.

Also the Frodo “dying” scene is kinda similar to s1? Like, Sam is trying to protect Frodo even tho Shelob already has poisoned him (Mike looking for Will even tho he’s already in the upside down) and when he was done with shelob he saw Frodo “dead”, and cried and decided to go and take the ring to mount doom, and then come back for Frodo (Mike seeing Will’s “body” at the quarry, going away crying in his bike and stopping the search, also smth smth mike jumping into the quarry, same place wills “body” was found, while Sam wanted to go back to Frodo’s body after destroying the ring and then not leave him, aka dying [This is an unpopular opinion, but I always thought that this scene: “It would not be worth while to leave his master for that [vengeance]. It would not bring him back. Nothing would. They had better both be dead together. And that too would be a lonely journey. He looked on the bright point of the sword” and “Good-bye, master, my dear!’ he murmured. ‘Forgive your Sam. He’ll come back to this spot when the job’s done – if he manages it. And then he’ll not leave you again.” obviously references Sam thinking about suicide (although he dismisses the idea quickly), since it’s not like we don’t see suicide in lotr (denethor), but not everyone seems to agree with this interpretation]), but then Sam overheard the orcs mention Frodo was alive, so he went back for him (El showing Mike that Will is still alive, and Mike beginning to look for him again).

Mike telling Will “I don’t know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something” vs Sam telling Frodo “I thought I’d lost you” in the fellowship of the ring movie.

Remember that scene of Mike waking up next to Will's bed in s2? And that scene of Mike sleeping next to Will's hospital bed also in s2? Sam was described as never leaving frodo's bedside when he was in rivendell, after having been stabbed by a morgul blade (and morgul blades have parallels with the mf/vecna...)

About byler and Sam and Frodo, there’s also a class difference in both relationships.

Dart parallels gollum (explained more below, where I talk about Dustin) and Mike’s behavior and opinion regarding dart is so similar to Sam’s over gollum.

Also Frodo? Mike’s parallels with Max, who ALSO parallels Frodo. Shelob wrapped frodo on her web. Mike has web imagery (amazing find by @mikesbasementbeets) (as does max and other characters that are in danger, trapped, etc. Smth smth henry and spiders, smth smth Max and Mike web imagery, smth smth falling into Henry's web, getting trapped, getting vecnad (Mike is so getting vecna’d idk what to tell you the evidence is just ABUNDANT). Shelob is female which also adds to all of mothergate, but whatever). Frodo “died”. This theory of mike temporarily dying in s5.

If we get a scene with mike getting vecnad choosing whether he should stay or he should go (s4 Dustin's voice: "get it?") and he's metaphorically dangling from the edge and the people outside vecna’s vision (specially will) are calling his name panicked and he has to chose whether to die (remember mike's horrible mental health and him stepping off the cliff in s1) or live and go forward, I'll go insane. Cause I'll be an obvious parallel to frodo literally dangling off the edge of a cliff in the return of the king movie with, on top of the cliff, Sam, offering his hand and a escape, a life. On the other, the ring, and flames, death. And he chooses life. Also the cliff scene in s1 mentioned before, also paralleled to this frodo scene, with Dustin/Sam telling him to "don't do it" (aka, "don't you let go"). But he does. He's saved, but he does. I guess it puts el (who saves him) in Sam's position aswell (it is Sam who pulls frodo forward so he doesn't fall). Having a scene like the one described before in s5 could be an awesome parallel, in s1 mike chooses death (for Dustin, but he also has some other personal reasons). In s5, mike chooses life. In s1, mike was willing to die for his friends (and cause he wants to). In s5 mike is willing to live for his friends (and because he wants to).

[poetic cinema]

Also Mike having his hero moment, probably with a sword since 1- his character is a paladin and 2- Sam hurts shelob with Frodo’s sword. @aemiron-main has lots of posts on this whole concept. Also smth smth Henry/Shelob parallels, and Sam hurts Shelob…

Also his post on mike/arwen parallels

Mike himself being a cleric makes me insane. Bro wants to be a knight so bad but he’s a healer. And this isn’t something bad. In fact clerics are pretty important because of their healing abilities (“you’re the heart!”). You can perfectly play without one, but it’s encouraged to have one just in case. Clerics also fight, they’re not just healers btw.

I think it may be a way to show than the person who mike actually is vs the person who mike wants to be are two completely different people. Smth smth insecurity and wrapped perception of self, smth smth thinks low of himself because he’s comparing himself to people that don’t make sense for him to compare himself to (fictional characters, El who literally has superpowers and has been raised as a weapon, Nancy who is older than him and had more practice with guns out of necessity, and also more years spent writing than him [he’s not “an ace reporter” like Louis lane, however who is an ace reporter? Nancy], anyway “you can’t judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree”), smth smth internalized homophobia, smth smth wants to be this cool, mature, adult guy (s3) but in order to be that he has to change himself. Whatever.

(Adding to this, Mike wants to be Lucas so bad, actually. Lucas is the opposite of Mike, he’s how heterosexuality is actually performed (genuinely and naturally), he’s the older sibling, Mike was very “we don’t wanna be popular” in s4, but it definitely bothered him that Lucas COULD be popular while knowing that if he tried he would fail, they even have that scene fighting over the same character in s2 (both wanna be venkman).

To prove this further, during the scene where Will destroys castle byers, we can see that the photo of the whole party that he stares at is inside a frame. A frame made out of ice cream sticks, so handmade. And in each stick, there's written the name of a member of the party. Will The Wise on top, on the left, Lucas the Knight, down, Dustin the Bard, and on the right, Mike the DM.

Lucas is a knight… aka a paladin…

Mike is not even a character but the DM… Why is Mike titled as a DM instead of his dnd class? Does he not play too? (Except he does because his character is a paladin. Unless he doesn't, and when he called himself a paladin in s2 while naming everyone's classes he was just naming what he thought his role in the party was - remember that one post? I can't find it but it basically said that Mike called himself a paladin and Will a cleric cause that's how he sees both of them. their relationship and role in the party)

It also makes us ask ourselves other questions like, why isn't Will "Will the Wizard" or "Will the Cleric" (since everyone else is named as their dnd role, not their characters name)? Or, why is Lucas a knight?

(Regina George's voice: so you agree, Mike is the DM and most important character and everyone else are just players? (manifestation theory). So you agree, Will is not titled with his dnd class because he DOES have powers irl? So you agree, Mike wants to be a paladin but it is Lucas who is the knight, aka, Mike wants to be Lucas?)

Anyway.

Will (with his own weight to carry).

Will is Frodo and the mind flayer is the one ring.

Frodo suffering the effects of the ring causing personality changes, thoughts that weren’t his own etc, and the same thing happening to Will while he was possessed. The movie scene where Frodo holds a sword against Sam’s throat, and Will choking Joyce. “As Will's connection with the Mind Flayer grew deeper, he started becoming more demoralized and scared” same with Frodo as the quest went on. Also if Frodo put on the ring, sauron would feel it, just like how Will was the spy. The mind flayer getting out of Will’s body thanks to heat, and the ring only being destroyed by casting it into the fires of Mordor. “I felt this evil like it was looking at me”, the eye of Sauron. Frodo getting attacked by shelob (huge immortal spider) (Sam thought he was dead), and Will getting possessed by the mind flayer (spider-shaped) (he almost died). Frodo was willing to sacrifice himself (he didn’t think he would make it to mount doom alive, and that if he did, that he wouldn’t come back. He expected to die during the quest and yet he continued), Will was willing to sacrifice himself (Morse code tapping: close gate. It’s not explained in canon, but I believe he knew it would kill him. Also, he was gonna sacrifice himself to close the gate, and the scene of El closing the gate in s2 is already paralleled to Frodo in mount doom (more below, where I talk about el), so Will (Frodo) was gonna sacrifice himself to close the gate (destroy the ring). Basically what happened in the books then).

Frodo is also an almost Christ-like figure (specially considering Tolkien’s Catholicism). Christ who died for our sins (Frodo sacrificing everything and himself to save middle earth), who carried the cross in which he would be hung (Frodo carrying the ring, a great weight, and that destroyed him), unmarried, Jesus and his disciples (Frodo and the fellowship), mercy and forgiveness, etc etc. Where am I going with this? Will’s Jesus-coding.

Frodo is also a very tragic character, however he has a hopeful ending.

We technically meet him as a teenager (the day before his 33th birthday, which for hobbits is basically their 18th birthday), and then he is thrust unwillingly into a dangerous quest and becomes irrevocably changed. There is a big contrast with the Frodo from before (happy, normal hobbit) and the Frodo from after (very traumatized, cannot go back). Kinda resembles someone’s character story… And frodo also knew tragedy before everything (the death of his parents) just like Will also knew tragedy before the upside down (his fathers abuse, bullying). Hell, they even share a birthday (on different months). Both were born on the 22th.

Frodo endured so much and sacrificed so many parts of himself to save everyone, and yet he’s called weak and boring (by the fandom) for not engaging in many physical combats, and crying. Will endured so much and sacrificed so many parts of himself to save everyone, and yet he’s called weak and boring (by the fandom) for not engaging in many physical combats (and having his fight or flight response be freeze), and crying. I find both Frodo and Will some of the most compelling and interest characters from both lotr and stranger things. Also frodo lost a finger (physical representation of how much the quest changed him and how he won’t be going back to normal ever). This theory of Will losing a hand in s5 by @pinkeoni… Beren and Maedhros (characters from the silmarillion) also lost a hand. Beren is paralleled to Frodo (and Aragorn), who’s paralleled to Will. Lúthien (Beren’s wife) is paralleled to both Arwen and Sam, who are paralleled to Mike… Maedhros killed himself, Beren died but came back… This theory of Will dying but coming back… Also Frodo got stabbed by a morgul blade, and “though the knife's blade dissolved soon afterwards, a fragment remained within Frodo's wound, working its way toward his heart and threatening to turn Frodo into a wraith. Elrond was able to remove the shard and heal the wound, but each year on the anniversary of receiving the wound Frodo became seriously ill” vs Will feeling whatever he feels on his neck ever since the possession. (Also each year on the anniversary Frodo becomes ill vs “The anniversary of an event brings back traumatic memories” vs the attention brought to birthdays in lotr (specifically Frodo’s) vs birthdaygate…)

Will lost his memories as s2 went on, as the possession from the mind flayer went on. As the quest goes on, Frodo keeps on losing memories. He loses himself and his mind to the ring, and “as I lay in prison, Sam, I tried to remember the Brandywine, and Woody End, and The Water running through the mill at Hobbiton. But I can't see them now” / “Do you remember that bit of rabbit, Mr. Frodo?” he said, “And our place under the warm bank in Captain Faramir's country, the day I saw an oliphaunt?” “No, I am afraid not, Sam,” said Frodo. “At least, I know that such things happened, but I cannot see them. No taste of food, no feel of water, no sound of wind, no memory of tree or grass or flower, no image of moon or star are left to me”. Also smth smth memorygate (x, x). It is memories that help against Vecna, not having them makes you more vulnerable, a perfect victim. One of the reasons Frodo was so depressed during the quest is because he was slowly losing the memories of his life before, only seeing the ring and Mordor and fire.

Frodo got attacked by a morgul blade. Morgul blades are also a little paralleled to the mind flayer/vecna because of its effects. The wound caused Frodo to be super cold. He likes it cold. It also left a part of the blade inside him, which he had to get removed. Just like will beginning to feel whatever he feels on his neck after being possessed.

Also, talking about Frodo, you ever wondered what Frodo’s name means?

For a little linguistic context, Tolkien was even more crazy about languages than I am (if that’s even possible), and we know that he simply translated lotr which was written by Frodo and Sam in Adûni (Westron). Frodo’s real name is Maura, which in Westron means “wise”. Tolkien translated this name into Frodo, a proto-Germanic name, which is a real name people used, and that also means “wise”. Will the Wise.

Regarding dnd, Will’s character is a wizard and/or cleric (going back to that post of Mike calling Will a cleric cause that’s how he sees Will and his role in the party). Will himself (see character sheets above) is a magic-user. This is crazy to me tbh it just confirms the Will has powers theories (talking about Will with powers, Frodo might have also used magic, even if unknowingly…).

Looking at you, s5 episode 4 called Sorcerer that contains the baby byler flashback.

Talking about sorcerers, Gandalf (although described repeatedly as a wizard in lotr), by dnd standards, is a sorcerer. Same with Saruman and with Radagast (Will is paralleled to all three of them). Sorcerers are born with their magic, wizards learn it.

Clerics focus on healing although they also fight (and have magic powers), wizards and sorcerers have yknow magic powers. A magic-user is an umbrella term for anyone who uses magic, let it be a wizard, a cleric, a mage, a warlock (if we’re assigning classes to lotr characters, Frodo is commonly associated with warlocks. Warlocks are those who “strike a deal (sometimes unwillingly) with greater powers known as 'patrons' who grant them magical abilities” like Frodo getting the power of being invisible thanks to ring. Those patrons are usually evil. Depends on how you think will got his powers, if he had them since birth or got them thanks to the lab/the upside down, etc).

Will is either a wizard or sorcerer, or a light domain cleric, since he can use fireball. Will found a way to communicate with the lights in s1… However the party are level 3 (in all the character sheets I found) and (light domain) clerics can only use fireball from level 5 and up? So it makes more sense for him to be a wizard (or a sorcerer), who can use fireball since level 3.

I also find it funny that despite Will’s character being “Will the wise” he has the lowest wisdom points out of the whole party. Will’s armor class is also 7. It was a seven.

Will The Wise.

The duffers cannot keep getting away with this.

Who is labeled as The Wise in lotr? Saruman, and Will has saruman parallels (we’ll get there) but hold your horses, cause that’s not all of it. Gandalf is also called Gandalf the Wise, at least once (“For nearly thirty years he laboured in the cause against Sauron; and he became a friend of Gandalf the Wise, from whom he gained much wisdom”, the appendix about Aragorn and Arwen’s romance). And Gandalf died and came back, like Will, but he came back changed, no longer Gandalf the grey but Gandalf the white (having adapted the title of one of the spies of sauron). Kinda like how Will died but then came back changed (and kept having visions of the mind flayer…). Coming back to this theory of Will sacrificing himself to save everyone in s5 but then coming back to life…

Radagast, password to castle byers (so it has something to do with Will), and also one of the five maias sent to middle earth to defeat sauron. “Radagast lives at Rhosgobel on the western eaves of Mirkwood”. Mirkwood reference (we’ll get there there’s SO MUCH surrounding Mirkwood). Who lives near Mirkwood? (Mirkwood as in the road in st) Will, his house is like next to it.

“Radagast was unwittingly used by Saruman to lure Gandalf to his tower of Orthanc, where Gandalf was captured. Fortuitously, Radagast also helped rescue him by sending Gwaihir the eagle to Orthanc with news of the movements of Sauron's forces.” vs “Hopper becomes trapped in the tunnels and passes out. […] Will has a vision of Hopper, leading Joyce to recruit Bob's help to determine its meaning. Bob identifies Will's drawings as a map of Hawkins and the pumpkin field as the place Hopper was going. […] Joyce, Bob, Will, and Mike rescue Hopper,” so the same thing then. Will/Radagast saving Hopper/Gandalf.

“Radagast is "the friend of all birds and beasts,” Will *couldn’t bring himself to shot at a literal monster* *kindness personified* Byers.

Later, he get possessed, becoming the spy.

The spy. Saruman.

Saruman became a spy of Sauron. He used a palantir, a sphere used for communication, to communicate with Sauron (although the palantir does not transmit sound, only images and thoughts). Not unlike Will being able to “communicate” with the mind flayer, having vision of what it was doing and thoughts of what it was thinking.

“The master stones of north and south were able to 'eavesdrop' on such external conversations”, unlike Saruman who was a willing spy, Will wasn’t, the mind flayer was just spying back. “Eavesdropping” you could say, but it also saw what Will saw.

Saruman also called himself “Saruman of Many Colours” at one point. Saruman of Many Colours vs Will’s rainbow spaceship, in which he used all the colours he had.

All of these are wizards/sorcerers/whatever. We get it, duffers, Will has powers.

+ By the way, what about Rosie? Sam’s wife? Who is she? Well, certainly not El. Rosie is Sam’s childhood friend, a string of normalcy after all his adventures. Rosie represents home, and safety, and comfort, and the life he left behind (remember that for Tolkien adventures weren’t something to strive for, after all he lived during wwi, Frodo is irrevocably changed by his adventures, “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend”). Rosie fell in love with him before knowing that he helped save middle-earth, aka, she fell in love with him when he was “nobody”, without knowing he was a hero. Reminds me of someone who doesn’t feel like a hero and is very insecure. Reminds me of their childhood best friend who is a string of normalcy, of the life they had before, who loved him before he was a hero and before he fought monsters, and fell in love with him, just him. I don’t know who, tho. Mike asking Will to be his friend was “the best thing I ever did”. Sam asking Rosie to be his wife was “the bravest thing he ever did”. Huh. Reminds me of “mike wants to be a hero like el / will wants to be a love interest like el”.

Also, this really caught my eye. “and it is not a dissimilar notion to hold Rosie and Frodo up as the anima and animus aspects of the same character”. I’ve read a theory about el as an anima of Will so when I saw this I was like no way. Do I believe that theory? Tbh no, just like I don’t believe Tolkien wrote Rosie and Frodo as the same character, but the fact that both characters can be interpreted in the same way, in different fandoms as a pure coincidence is so curious.

But despite all the character he parallels, he’s Frodo. He’s so frodo it hurts. If I had to assign a single lotr character to each st character, Will would be frodo.

El, the “mage”.

I see El as Gandalf. Sure they’re very different, but they’re also very similar. Gandalf, while helping the fellowship (and thorin’s company in the hobbit) in everything, also has his own adventures, goes away for a while to do something and then comes back. That’s something El does constantly. El is also described as a “mage” by Mike (who then describes Will as a cleric even tho his dnd character is a wizard but his class is magic user. But well). Gandalf is also the one who comes to get them out of trouble, for example, Gandalf kinda sacrifices himself (but then comes back) to defeat the Balrog, Gandalf is also who the hobbits and tbh everyone relies on to solve problems, Gandalf seems to always have the answer even if not always. Kinda like how El is the one doing the physical job (aka, closing the gate, fighting the monsters) and saving everyone, being a superhero. You can specially see this in s1 and s2, where in s1 El appears in the woods to help them find Will, then she leaves, and then comes back just in time to rescue Mike (who jumped of a cliff) and break troy’s arm (also how El never uses her powers against anyone who doesn’t deserve it but is able to use them for harm, while Gandalf never uses his powers against anyone who doesn’t deserve it but does threaten people with turning them into animals), and where in s2 she’s off doing her own thing, until she comes back just in time to close the gate. Same thing in s3 and s4, her off with max, and then her off in NINA.

Gandalf "died" while fighting the balrog to protect the fellowship. El also "died" while fighting the demogorgon to protect the party. They both came back, after everyone had already mourned them.

Gandalf is also of unsure origins. Very old, older that time itself, doesn’t really know where he came from etc. idk what you want me to say but Jane is NOT El those are two completely different girls (even Terry says so, “no”), so where exactly does El come from? There are many theories about that, but let’s leave it aside. Also, when Gandalf appears you know the characters are gonna get involved on an adventure (whether they want to or not), just like el’s appearance made the party get involved with the supernatural.

Gandalf ended up going to the grey havens after the destruction of sauron since he was only sent to middle earth to protect it from him. Many many theories regarding el’s potential ending… (some here, here, here and here)

Now to the silmarillion (i actually haven’t read it😔 I have a physical copy and I’ve started it but I can’t get into it😔)

Someone named Annatar arrived to a place called Eregion. In Eregion lives Celebrimbor, among other elves. Annatar seemed like an elf, and claimed to have been sent by the Valar (gods, basically) to share his wisdom and skill, specially on ring craft and jewelry. Not suspicious at all. Celebrimbor says “cool” and him and the smiths of Eregion followed Annatar’s guidance and instructions, and they created the rings of powers (which were like, a massive deal). Turns out that, surprise, Annatar was Sauron in disguise, who then went home and created the one ring to control all of middle earth. Yay.

Kinda like Henry tricking El, not telling her he was 001, being evil, and all that.

“Later Sauron reassumed his role as the Dark Lord and placed the One Ring on his finger, claiming dominion over all the Rings of Power and their bearers. Before this, Celebrimbor believed Sauron to be what he had claimed to be, but realising the truth he and the Elves of Eregion defied Sauron by withholding the other rings from him.”

When El notices the Henry is, well, evil and murdering everyone, vanishes him off to dimension x.

Celebrimbor died. He was killed by Sauron with many arrows. Ouch.

“far from joining Fëanor's rebellion, she opposed him in nearly everything.” Fëanor is a rebel, Galadriel opposed him in nearly everything. Fëanor and Henry parallels…

“And that she wished to leave Valinor and go to the vast world of Middle-earth, to give free rein there to her talents. She went for a time to live with her mother's relatives in Alqualondë.” El escaping the lab, going to visit her “mom” and Kali in s2. (You could even say her living with Mike on s1. Lukeandleiagate…)

Cool similarity I’ve seen, even if it wasn’t intentional. Éowyn, strong, badass, and complex female character, was supposed to die but Tolkien changed his mind. El, strong, badass, and complex female character, was supposed to die but the duffers changed their minds.

In the og script for ep1, El, instead of stealing fries from Benny’s, she sees the fries frying in the oil, the oil sputters, she is a bit scared and leave and finds a freezer. Opens it, it’s packed with fish (it wasn’t Benny’s burgers originally, but Benny’s fish ‘n fry). “She snatches up a DEEPWATER COD. So big that she can hardly hold it in her tiny hands. She turns it over onto its side, studies it, smells it. Has she never seen fish before? She bites its fat glistening belly and freezes again. Listening.” She hears someone coming, so she grabs as many fish as she can and runs.

Reminds me of gollum, and his affinity for fishes (and how he eats fishes just like el, by biting directly)

You have frodo getting stabbed by a morgul blade, and this leaving a shard of the blade inside his shoulder, which he needs to have removed. El being attacked by the flesh mind flayer in s3 and it leaving a piece of it inside her, which she needs to remove. El seeing hopper at the end of s4 is also a visual parallel to Frodo seeing Gandalf at the end of rotk.

Also, “In order to provide a distraction so Eleven and Hopper could safely reach the Gate, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Steve went into the tunnels to burn them” (s2) reminds me of Aragorn and everyone distracting Sauron so that Frodo and Sam could destroy the ring.

Max (and life).

I can definitely see (s4) Max as Éowyn. Éowyn who was depressed and suicidal at the start of the story and takes part (willingly) in a war, wants to die in battle, killed the witch king, and then she collapsed for some time. Éomer finds her and thinks she’s dead but after she’s been brought to the houses of healing and is unconscious for some time, she wakes. She also chooses life, she becomes a healer rather than a warrior. “I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren." Max wanting to die until she’s face to face with death, and suddenly she doesn’t want to anymore, she’s not ready. Max holding on to happy memories. Éowyn disguises herself as a man, Owens thinks that Max is a boy.

Éowyn was believed to be dead but then she wasn’t. Max died until El brought her back. Her brother Éomer has a scene in the movies hugging her body and crying and screaming cause he thinks she’s dead. So does Lucas.

Also reminds me a bit of sam and frodo, since the pose is the same (seriously, look at the position of Lucas’s arms vs Sam’s arms. Literally same pose). Talking about Sam and Frodo,

“Death” scene parallels. Except Frodo wasn’t dead, just completely paralyzed to the point that in the book it says Sam couldn’t even feel a heartbeat, but he was alive and woke up hours later. And then there’s Max who died but El brought her back (made her have a heartbeat again). Lucas thought she was dead during this, Sam thought Frodo was dead during this. Frodo in return of the king eventually woke up and they have a lovely reunion. Max in s5…

Max also has web imagery, just like frodo got wrapped in a web (smth smth henry and spiders, the mind flayer being spider-shaped, shelob, etc). And, during the fellowship of the ring, when they are at Weathertop, Frodo gets stabbed by a Morgul blade, causing temporal blindness.

As I mentioned before with Mike, the scene of her getting vecna’d (at the cemetery) and seeing a escape (a kind of metaphorical portal, her seeing her friends) and then having choose between death or life, and choosing life, feels so much like Frodo dangling from the cliff at mount doom in the movies, having to choose between let Sam pull him up (life) or follow the ring (death). It shows he’s not 100% corrupted by the ring, and that he still has people who care about him (that unlike gollum, he’s not too far gone), and that he cares about (just like Max’s memories are about her love for others, not the love others have for her. Frodo offers Sam his hand not because Sam wants him to live, but because he wants to live, and he loves Sam more than he loves the ring).

Also during the Frodo “death” scene, in the book, Sam is there and tries to save him but he’s too late, just like Lucas not saving Max in time because of Jason.

We also see that memories help against Vecna. Like Max’s running up that hill montage, it’s her memories of her love for others and good times that saved her. Without these memories, she would have died. Similar thing happens to Sam, in Mordor, he remembered old memories. “and now as once more the night of Mordor closed over them, through all his thoughts there came the memory of water; and every brook or stream or fount that he had ever seen, under green willow-shades or twinkling in the sun, danced and rippled for his torment behind the blindness of his eyes. He felt the cool mud about his toes as he paddled in the Pool at Bywater with Jolly Cotton and Tom and Nibs, and their sister Rosie”.

“Oh but she’s paralleled to Frodo, not Sam. And Frodo loses his memories” yeah and so might max in s5… However Frodo loses them because he’s so affected by the ring. The moment the ring is destroyed, he can see clearly again. I think same will happen to Max (and Will). If Vecna has their memories, when Vecna is defeated where will they go? Back to their rightful owners.

Théoden dies, and so does Billy, and we have a scene with both Éowyn and Max crying for them. This parallel I’m not so sure about, but worth mentioning.

Also a bit of Thorin? I mention later the Bilbo/Lucas parallels, and this makes Max Thorin. Thorin dies (actually dies), unlike max who is not really dead, but thorin starts The Hobbit not really knowing Bilbo and not being particularly close with him (like max at the beginning of s2 with Lucas), but over time they become friends and get closer (s2/s3 lumax), until thorin gets upset about Bilbo giving up the arkenstone because he was dealing with gold sickness and this makes them drift apart (max breaking up with Lucas because of her own mental health and them drifting apart in between s3-s4 and beginnings of s4), except that before Thorin dies, they make up, but it’s too late (lumax making up and Max beginning to let Lucas in again, except that before they can make their movie date happen, Vecna gets her).

Lucas, (the ranger)

I see a bit of Bilbo in Lucas. Not really any explanation for this one just vibes. Like, a character living a life away from adventure and danger and freaking out when this life is disturbed (the dwarfs arriving to bilbos house, them finding El in the woods), who is also very realistic and has common sense (telling mike to tell his mom about el and rightfully freaking out), has good strategy, and is very sarcastic. Also maybe Lucas’ s5 personal arc? Like, Bilbo was all nice and respectable before the adventure and fit in with the other hobbits (s4 Lucas “conformity” Sinclair), then during his adventure he saw horrors and someone he loved die (Thorin, whether you see it as romantic or platonic), and then when he came back he was just like who cares and was as a strange as he wanted to be, didn’t care about criticism and proudly called himself odd.

Lucas’ character is also a ranger. Rangers are inspired by Aragorn, who is literally referred to as “ranger” in the books several times. Aragorn is a man who loves his friends and those he cares about and kisses them on the forehead and has been in love with the same woman all his life and isn’t like aggressive or feels the need to be the leader/hero (despite being the one leading the group once Gandalf is gone). This does not mean he doesn’t know how to get his hands dirty, he knows, but he knows when to do it and when not to. Plus it’s not like he relies on violence every time, violence is like the last option, but he can defend himself and those he cares about perfectly well. Lucas is pretty much exactly like this, and he’s also the most traditionally masculine out of the party.

Idc if it’s not on the books, Arwen fighting at helm’s deep in the movie’s deleted scene is real in my heart, so you also have Aragorn as this typically masculine guy, strong and capable, with a wife who will absolutely kick your ass and his ego does not feel threatened by this in the slightest.

Elrond (Arwen’s dad) didn’t want his daughter to be with Aragorn because he was a mortal (not out of any prejudice against mortals, but because mortals, well, died, and elves didn’t, so Aragorn’s death would cause Arwen a lot of pain, and Arwen might also make the choice to turn mortal to be with him, which she did, and Elrond didn’t want this cause it would mean he would lose his daughter someday), but Aragorn married Arwen anyway. Billy (Max’s step-brother) didn’t want Max to date Lucas because he was black (out of racism). Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship was a bit complicated at first, cause of difference in species (?), and Lumax’s relationship was a bit complicated at first, cause of racism.

The samfrodo parallels I talked about just now? There’s another one. Lucas telling Max “I thought we lost you” in s4 is a parallel to Sam’s “I thought I’d lost you” to Frodo in the fellowship of the ring movie.

Dustin, (never change)

I also see a bit of Bilbo in Dustin, a character who’s actually very smart and gets everyone out of trouble / figures stuff out, seriously very good plans (idc what you say the thing with the arkenstone was genius he almost stopped a war), very good talker (talking to Smaug, talking to gollum) (remember Dustin’s character is a bard), knows niche stuff?? Like Dustin being really into science and maths, probably knowing obscure dnd rules by heart, and then Bilbo knowing several languages and elvish poetry and all these things.

Also Dustin is a thief (see character sheets above). Not his character (who is a bard), but him. Bilbo is the designated burglar of the group. Also Bilbo is very himself yknow. After coming back from his adventure he’s just as strange as he pleases and doesn’t care what the rest of the shire thinks. Similar to Dustin who doesn’t conform to the rest of the world and is unapologetically himself. Bilbo has been called “queer” (meaning strange), “cracked”, etc for being himself without hiding. Just like Dustin is bullied.

Dustin acts as Sam every once in a while. With Mike on the cliff scene (mentioned before) and with his relationship with Eddie (mentioned below, where I talk about Eddie). But character-wise I don’t think he parallels Sam.

He also parallels Éowyn a bit. He’s Éowyn while Eddie is Théoden during Eddie’s death (see image below where I talk about Eddie), and you could also say that Éowyn having a little crush / admiration on Aragorn (who ended up married to Arwen) that didn’t go anywhere and they remained friends and then she married someone else (faramir) is similar to the whole Dustin/Lucas/max thing in s2. Dustin as Éowyn, Lucas as Arwen, and Max as Aragorn (+ éowyn developed a crush on aragorn after seeing him from the first time at rohan's castle. This is a man she hasn't seen before —so immediate attraction and curiosity, like s2 Dustin and Lucas towards max— and who is from the outside world and a fighter, just like how max is from California).

Dustin also lacks a romance plot. “He’s dating suzie” correct, but their relationship is entirely off-screen. They got together off-screen, and the only moments with them are the never ending story scene and Dustin calling Suzie at the start of s4, both of these long-distance. They mention each other, but they hardly have scenes together. Dustin’s plots are unrelated to romance, unlike the rest of the party’s. Mike’s almost constant romance plot (either with el or with will), Will’s s3 and s4 romance plot, lucas’ s2, s3, and s4 romance plot. With romance plot I mean than it’s important and related to their characters. They have other things going on, of course, but the romance takes plot time, it’s there, you can’t exactly take it away. With Mike, if you take away ALL romance there’s many scenes with him that disappear and lots of things about him we no longer know. Same with Will, and same with Lucas (but to a smaller degree). With Dustin, this doesn’t happen. Reminds me of Bilbo “confirmed bachelor” Baggins. And also Frodo (despite the fact that Frodo is gay asf). Good post about Dustin and romance here.

Bilbo and Frodo are extremely paralleled which makes Dustin have things in common with Frodo aswell (lack of a romance plot, takes pride in being odd, feeling pity for gollum).

Frodo barely has friends his own age. In the book, Sam is younger than him, and so are pippin and merry and fatty. He’s also friends with Gandalf, much older. He doesn’t have any friends his own age. Dustin has the party, but he’s also friends with Erica (younger) or Steve and Eddie (older).

Frodo doesn’t have a father (or mother) since his parents died. Dustin is the son of a single mom. Bilbo and Gandalf fill the role of Frodo’s paternal figure. Dustin being friends with so many older guys + the relationship the party (where everyone has absent dads except Lucas) had with mr Clarke might show a lack of father figure, and searching for one.

But if this doesn’t prove the Dustin/Frodo parallels (makes sense, these are a bit of a stretch), I realized they might be there with dart.

Dart

Dart is gollum. Only difference, dart saves Dustin & co and gollum betrays Frodo and Sam. But that’s because Dart had Dustin (took care of him) while gollum had Frodo (took care of him) + Sam (wanted to kill him). I’m not blaming Sam, but there’s a scene in the book where, after coming back from talking to shelob, gollum is super close to repenting and not betraying them, until Sam insults him after hurriedly waking up and unknowingly makes gollum go on with his plan. Smth smth kindness is rewarded. And we know stranger things is a show about friendship and kindness and nerds.

Let’s look at all the dart / lotr parallels.

Dustin grabbing dart while having no idea what dart is or where he came from. Bilbo grabbing a random ring he found while having no idea what it truly was. Dart being a demogorgon. That ring being the one ring. One difference though, Dart ends up saving them, and the one ring needs to be destroyed.

Dustin finds dart and decides to not kill him or throw him out, but take him in and take care of him, despite having no idea what he is. Bilbo finds gollum and, although he has the chance to kill him, decides to spare his life and run away. Will realizes dart looks like the slug he threw up but doesn’t tell anyone at first (“Why didn't you tell us before?” “I wasn't sure”). Frodo realizes gollum is following them but doesn’t tell anyone at first. When Mike finds out dart is from the upside down (which has hurt Will in the past, which has hurt them in the past) he wants to kill dart. When Sam finds out gollum is after the ring and wants to kill them, he’s 100% on board with killing him.

Frodo offers gollum his protection, and gollum begins trusting Frodo and being good and nice. Sam still doesn’t buy it and doesn’t understand the relationship Frodo has with gollum. Look at this exchange between Dustin and Mike in s2.

M: “Maybe he [dart] should be dead”

D: “how can you say that?”

M: “how can you not? He’s from the upside down!”

D: “Maybe, but even if he is, it doesn’t automatically mean that he’s bad”

M: “That’s like saying just because someone’s from the Death Star doesn’t make them bad”

D: “We have a bond”

M: “A bond? Just because he likes nougats?”

D: “No, because he trusts me!”

L: “He trusts you?”

D: “Yes! I promised I would take care of him”

Don’t tell me it’s not exactly what I explained above. Dustin is so extremely Frodo-coded in this scene. Also Dustin telling Mike to not hurt Dart, like the many times Frodo told Sam to be nice and not hurt Gollum. Mike’s “where'd you go, you little bastard?” while looking for Dart is so Sam aswell.

When Will finds Dart in the bathroom, he is gentle and tries to reassure him (but it doesn’t work out). Frodo keeps on talking with gollum and protecting him.

The scene in the tunnels where Dustin goes to talk to Dart is also similar to the scene in the books where the men find gollum and Frodo convinces them to not kill him, and to let him go talk to him, since he’ll listen to Frodo.

Dart allowes them to escape and basically saves their life. Gollum ends up being crucial to the destruction of the ring and basically saves Frodo. You see it. When they closed the gate, dart died. After the ring was destroyed, gollum died.

Nancy, who grew up too fast

(Look at this cute fanart of Nancy as Frodo and Robin as Sam)

Superficially, Nancy can be seen as Éowyn. Strong female characters who handles a weapon (sword / gun), and who are remembered by their scenes using said weapon, but who are actually much more complex that people give them credit for. Éowyn is depressed, and she feels stuck. She doesn’t want to be stuck in her life, doesn’t want to die without fighting, stuck in a castle, she wants to make her choice, and have autonomy. She doesn’t want to be like the women that came before her (which is not to say she doesn’t want to be a woman, she just wants to have the same freedom as a man). Nancy is also depressed, and she doesn’t want to be stuck in a loveless picket fence marriage, like her mother. Éowyn suffers from misogyny, so does Nancy. Éowyn ends up with mr nice guy Faramir. Nancy ends up with mr nice guy Jonathan.

Nancy is also similar to Frodo, but in a different way that will or max are. Theirs are more obvious parallels, while Nancy’s are a little more abstract. Frodo decided to take the ring to Mordor, was willing to face the challenge to do the right thing. That’s something Nancy would definitely do.

Nancy goes from normal carefree teenage girl to a traumatized woman with the burden of saving the world, a survivors guilt bigger than herself and the need to save everyone, no longer the same girl she was before. Same with Frodo!! He goes from a normal carefree hobbit to a traumatized hobbit with the burden of saving the world and guilt over claiming the ring at the last minute, no longer the hobbit he was before.

Nancy is also the leader, taking care of the kids, making the plans, shooting with her guns. Frodo is not the leader, but yknow what he is? Scared, normal, average, and also vital. Nancy is the same. Scared, normal, average, and very important. Nancy doesn’t have superpowers nor any kind of experience in battle or fights (like for example Hopper who is a war vet). And yet everyone turns to her. Just like how everyone counts on Frodo to destroy the ring so they can succeed in saving middle earth, everyone is always counting on Nancy, although neither Frodo nor Nancy have any kind of special ability or experience that makes them different to the others.

Nancy is also paralleled to Sam, believe it or not, specially since mike is Frodo. “What are you talking about? Their relationship is nothing like Sam and Frodo’s, the wheeler siblings are famously dysfunctional!” 100% agree, the wheeler siblings have everything but a perfect relationship, however there do is one singular scene (one. Seriously just one) that sets this parallel.

Vecna showing Nancy the future. What does that remind you of? Because I know what it reminds me of, and that is Galadriel showing Sam and Frodo the future through her mirror. Vecna showed Nancy glimpses, not the full picture, not the full scene, just tiny moments without context. Same thing Galadriel did to Sam and Frodo.

“Oh but why Sam? Nancy is already paralleled to Frodo” true again, except what did Frodo see in the mirror? The sea. That was his future, no one else’s, and it was a good future. He didn’t understand it yet, but Galadriel’s mirror showed him finding peace in the future (Frodo goes to Valinor at the end of rotk to find peace and healing).

What did the mirror show SAM, though? The scourning of the shire (Hawkins after Vecna won), his father being forced to leave the shire (whatever he saw happening to Karen and Holly), Frodo “dead” after being attacked by shelob (Mike — except Frodo wasn’t dead, and Sam didn’t interpret this vision correctly at first since he had no context. He thought Frodo was sleeping, and then when Frodo got attacked though “this is what the vision meant! He’s dead not asleep!” but both times he was wrong. I think the same will happen to Nancy, she might have seen mike “dead” but it will be something else), and him running to save Frodo (didn’t understand this one at first aswell). All the visions become true though, although they were different to what the characters guessed. Interested on the “creature with a gaping mouth”, will it be another incorrectly guessed vision, or will it be truly a creature with a gaping mouth?

When it comes to Nancy, saying “oh she’s similar to this character” is complicated, at least to me. Because Nancy is such a “her” character, she’s so herself, she’s one of her best female characters I’ve seen in media, super complex and interesting, despite the fandoms obsession with reducing her to a boring love triangle. The duffers said that they got inspired by the breakfast club for the creation of Nancy’s, Jonathan’s, and Steve’s characters, so it’s not like her lotr parallels are huge. In fact, maybe the duffers weren’t thinking about any of this and I’m overthinking. But anyway I just love Nancy.

Robin, “I cracked the code”

Robin gives me so so so many merry vibes. They are both even misinterpreted in the same way! People think merry is just haha dumb comedic relief, same with robin, but they are both super interesting characters!

Merry is so smart, like, genuinely, he knew about the ring (which Bilbo kept a secret to everyone but Frodo and Gandalf for YEARS AND YEARS) before anyone else, just by observing him. He’s the mastermind behind it all, he grabs pippin, Sam, and fatty and gets them to gather information about Frodo (who HE noticed was acting strange and might be about to leave the shire). He does all the planning to let them leave the shire as quickly and silently as they could. Merry focuses on the “speak friend and enter” part written above the doors of Moira. It is Gandalf who figures it out, but from the first second it’s merry who notices it above the rest of the text, and finds it weird. It’s thanks to merry pointing it out, that Gandalf begins thinking about it. Merry is super observant!! Just like Robin being the one to figure out music helps against Vecna, or cracking the Russian code or almost always being right.

Merry doesn’t want to be left behind in Rohan while his friends are fighting the war (steve and nancy going to the mothergate and leaving robin and Eddie alone on the boat) so he just sneaks with éowyn to the war even tho he’s super scared (robin diving right after nancy).

Strategy. Organized genius.

Rambling about the same topic for paragraphs. It’s literally canon that all that could be discovered about pipe-weed in antiquity was put together by him. Same with robin rambling. Both into “weird” things (like, robin knows several languages and is very into old films and old books and merry is into maps and boats, which hobbits aren’t usually interested in). Also both can be seen as neurodivergent (by those with eyes to see it). (Same with Frodo and Bilbo)

They have funny scenes, of course, but they have much more to them!

Erica, child soldier

I think erica might be similar pippin. “Erica would absolutely destroy pippin wdym” I mean yeah but think about it. This character who originally doesn’t really have much of a role and is just the family of one of our main characters (s2 Erica, pippin at the beginning of the fellowship) and who you could say is just there for laughs cause they’re funny, but who slowly gets a bigger role and becomes a member of the team and an important member too, helping to save the world. Also pippin is the youngest out of the fellowship, he’s not even an adult yet. Erica can amuse the viewer like pippin does (but in completely different ways, pippin by being “dumb” (again, he’s a literal teenager thrown into horrors he literally couldn’t imagine), erica by her amazing comebacks) but she’s also an important member of the team, just like pippin.

She’s not aware of the real danger until s4. I mean, in s3 she basically risked her life and her only condition was “free ice cream forever”. While stuck in the elevator, she says her mom will be mad at Steve and Robin for endangering her and making her miss her uncle’s birthday. It’s steve who brings her to reality, telling her that if they are killed in a Russian elevator, her mom wouldn’t find them anyway. Erica is taken aback by this, and for the first time, she’s beginning to see the actual danger.

She also has “dumb” funny moments that sound like something pippin could perfectly well say (like when she said they should drink the weird green liquid they found. Like obviously not erica wtf. Reminds me of movie!Pippin eating three lembas breads without even knowing what they were before eating them). But we also see later in the season her calculating maths in her head super fast and well, and Dustin lovingly calls her a nerd. We see that’s she’s smart! Pippin is also smart, people just don’t acknowledge it. Good pippin post.

Eddie, the hero

(Cute fanart of Eddie and Dustin as lotr characters)

Now, I’m not really into Eddie’s character, so if there are any more similarities that I’ve missed and a diehard fan noticed, please let me know. Eddie’s lotr parallels are so easy to see. Movie!Aragorn saying “for Frodo” and Eddie saying “this is for you, Chrissy” (which then puts Chrissy on Frodo’s position, Chrissy who got vecna’d. Mike/Chrissy parallels here, here, and here. Also Will/Chrissy parallels here).

Also the fact that all the characters paralleled to Frodo in one way or another (Chrissy, Max, Nancy, El) got vecna’d (about El, does mike’s monologue scene count as getting vecna’d? Even if not, she has scenes talking to him and such so I would add her aswell) makes me scared and excited for the other characters paralleled to Frodo (Will, Mike, and Dustin. Mike is so getting vecna’d, Will might already be in a trance by the end of s4, and Dustin is so getting vecna’d aswell).

Eddie saying “I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea… but the shire, the shire is burning. So Mordor it is” vs Aragorn saying “I would have guided Frodo to Mordor and gone with him to the end” (or the movie version, “I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor”).

Eddie is also boromir. Boromir who died a hero, protecting pippin and merry (“the little ones”. While merry was an adult, pippin was a teenager, and they were technically more little (stature) than Boromir. Just like Dustin, max, Lucas etc being younger than Eddie, and him dying to save them [and all of Hawkins]). Also the scene with Dustin and Eddie playing/training in a field, parallel to the movie scenes with boromir playing/training with merry and pippin in a field. Which puts Dustin in their roles. I can see Dustin as merry, great plans, smart, scared, funny, definitely neurodivergent, etc. This is also tied to this other parallel. Théoden’s death scene.

(In the book, it is merry the one hearing Théoden’s last words and last seeing him alive, in the movie it’s changed to Éowyn. But not to worry, cause Dustin fits both of these roles).

Just noticed some Eddie/Frodo parallels??

I mean, Eddie is older that everyone else he’s friends with (Dustin, Mike, Lucas, the rest of hellfire) just like how Frodo is older than Sam, merry, and pippin.

Eddie is hiding, cause Jason’s gang are looking for him since they think he killed Chrissy. Frodo is hiding cause the black riders are after the ring. Dustin, Lucas, Max, Robin, Erica, Steve, Nancy help him, just like the fellowship helped Frodo.

Eddie doesn’t start s4 being friends with Dustin. In fact, they had a huge power imbalance. Eddie was the dm, and a very controlling one, to the point Dustin and Mike were a bit scared to tell him about Lucas not going to the game, outright refusing to postpone (I get that maybe finding a day where everyone could play might have been complicated, but if he really wanted all of hellfire there he could have postponed. Lucas’ match couldn’t be postponed, cause there were more people playing, there was another team, they already had permission to play at the school, there would be a crowd, etc) and telling them to find a sub, to which mike and Dustin obey instantly. They have to do what Eddie does, or he gets mad. He’s the leader, they’re followers (there’s also much to say about the hypocrisy of Eddie and hellfire but well). Eddie was someone Dustin (and Mike) thought was cool and interesting and who they respected.

Frodo and Sam started similarly. Frodo was Sam’s employer, and someone Sam admired. He thought Frodo was wise and strong and he respected him. However unlike Dustin (and Mike), he was never scared of him, sure, he respected him and was scared of offending him and going over his social class, but not really of him. In fact, Frodo had always been very nice and kind to him.

As s4 goes on, and Eddie is hiding and discovering all the supernatural, dustin and him grow closer.

As lotr goes on, and Frodo is hiding and discovering the outside world and dealing with the ring, Sam and him grow closer.

Eddie and Dustin become best friends, leaving aside the power dynamics they started the season with, they’re now equals.

Frodo and Sam become best friends, leaving aside the power dynamics they started the books with, they’re now equals.

Eddie’s death scene also has some visual parallels with Frodo’s “death” scene. See above.

I guess this fucks up my “all characters paralleled to Frodo get vecna’d” theory but like, he died, so more or less…

On The Two Towers movie, there’s a scene with king Théoden crying because his son died. At the end of s4, when Dustin confirms to Wayne that Eddie died, he cries in a scene that is shot more or less the same way.

Théodred (Théoden’s son) died in battle, and lived only long enough to say his last words. Eddie died n battle, and lived only long enough to say his last words.

“I go to my fathers. And even in their mighty company I shall not now be ashamed.” (Théoden) vs “Boromir, you fought bravely. You have kept your honor.” (Aragorn @ Boromir) vs “I didn’t run away this time, right?” (Eddie)

Henry (001)

Also not necessarily into Henry’s character. I mean, the creels murders are super interesting (there’s def more that meets the eye) and so are the things we learn about him through NINA (which Brenner definitely manipulated. You cannot tell me Brenner is not making Henry look extra bad there. Which is not to say I defend him, but like c’mon Brenner would obviously do that), but I don’t know much about him aside from the obvious.

(When he found the mind flayer) “I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential.”

Remember this line, it’s important. Like, seriously.

Henry is gollum but he’s also sauron. The mind flayer is the one ring but it’s also Melkor (Morgoth).

Henry/Sauron created the one ring but Henry/Gollum is also consumed by it. The mind flayer/melkor is stronger that Henry/sauron, and existed before Henry/sauron, but the mind flayer/one ring was also created by Henry/sauron.

Woah, what a headache. Let’s go slowly.

Henry’s sauron-coding

Sauron’s original name was Mairon. Vecna’s original name was Henry.

“Mairon saw in Melkor the will and power that would help him achieve his personal ends quicker than if he pursued them alone.” So Henry finding the mind flayer?

Melkor is an Ainur, basically a god, an “eternal spirit”. Not the highest god (that’s Ilúvatar) but one of his “children” (listen the silmarillion is complicated ok). He turns evil unlike his siblings, destroys what they create, etc. And he has other beings that work for him and support his evil deeds, one of them being Sauron/Mairon.

I don’t think it is Henry who works for the mind flayer, I think he controls the mind flayer. However in the last shadow (correct me if wrong, I haven’t seen the play, just read summaries) it says that Henry was possessed with the mind flayer as a kid and that’s how he developed his powers (more on that later). So you could say Henry begins by “working” for the mind flayer (who, for example, made him kill animals) but then after arriving at dimension x as an adult, decided he could use the mind flayer for his own gain.

Sauron began by working for Melkor, and then time later, created the one ring. Henry begins possessed by the mind flayer, but years laters decides to mold him into something useful for him, a mean to realize “his potential”.

The mindflayer is the ring but also Melkor apparently. Duffers explain yourselves.

About sauron, he is also described as a sorcerer once (remember s5 ep4 “Sorcerer”) in the fellowship, and the number one is repeatedly mentioned regarding him. He created the one ring, he has been called the “black one”, the “one enemy”, the “nameless one”. Also “the shadow” (the first shadow)

Sauron also used to be blonde.

“Sauron's physical manifestation was destroyed in the ruin of Númenor. As a Maia, his spirit returned to Middle-earth, though he was no longer able to take the fair form he had once had.”

I also heard people say sauron was queercoded, and so is Henry. There’s a sort of “gay on gay crime” going on then (frodo and sauron, will and henry).

Henry’s gollum-coding

“One of Brenner's fellow scientists defected and stole key technology and transported it to a Nevadan cave. At this time, a very young Henry and the Creels lived nearby, in Rachel, Nevada. While exploring the Nevadan caves and playing with a spyglass, Henry stumbled across the stolen technology when it unexpectedly activated, transporting him and the defecting scientist to Dimension X.”

“In Dimension X, Henry was exposed to the influence of the shadowy entity. Though Henry returned home after 12 hours, he now possessed a unique blood type and had a changed personality. Brenner was later able to track Henry down thanks to Henry dropping his spyglass in the caves.”

Henry got possessed in a cave. Gollum lived on a cave, and Bilbo finds the ring (and steals it from gollum) on a cave. Technically bilbo-coding, for a tiny second.

“Henry stumbled across pieces of scientific equipment stolen from the Nevada Experiment. The equipment unexpectedly activated; Henry and the scientist who stole the equipment were temporarily transported to Dimension X, killing the scientist in the process.” Henry and someone else being there while the equipment activated, Gollum (Sméagol) and Déagol stumbling across the ring. Déagol stealing the ring, the scientist having been to one to steal the equipment. Déagol got almost inmediately murdered by Sméagol (for the ring). The equipment killed the scientist in the process. Sméagol ended up with the ring, Henry ended up possessed.

“I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential” is SO like if he just found the one ring. The ring tempts you, tells you that if you use it you will be powerful and will accomplish your desires, no matter if they are to save the world or destroy it. It says that it’ll give you the power to manage it, corrupts you, but it’s all a lie.

Henry has been fully corrupted, even his physical body changing (I mean, because of the burns but like, still a similarity) and cannot be saved. He’s gollum but he’s the ring (since the mind flayer is the ring, and he controls the mind flayer) at the same time, makes me a bit crazy.

The ring gave gollum, Bilbo, and Frodo the power to turn invisible. The mind flayer’s possession made Henry have powers, all the Will has powers theories…

Henry being 001 and the ring being the one ring is just so (x)

Also the many parallels between Will and Henry, how they’re so similar. Because Frodo and Gollum are extremely paralleled and similar!! Except Frodo fears becoming Gollum just like how Will fears becoming the abuser, the predator. But also Frodo having sympathy for Gollum cause he understands, + my theory of Will having a tiny bit of sympathy for Vecna in s5, cause he can literally feel what he feels, and he’ll probably get a Vecna vision like “oh Will we’re alike you and I join me blah blah blah make them pay and let’s get our vengeance blah blah blah”. Will won’t listen to him obviously that’s the difference between Gollum (who had no one) falling fully corrupted to the ring vs Frodo (who had Sam) only falling corrupted at the very end. Smth smth Will has a support system and doesn’t choose violence and all that.

Also

“Fëanor was possessed of exceptional oratory skill, and could persuade virtually anyone through speechcraft. He also was known to have been restless, exploring as much of Aman as he could and constantly crafting new works. One of these works was believed to have been the palantíri.”

“Fëanor quickly became the most prominent of the rebellious Ñoldor” (a group of elves)

“Despite Melkor having been the true root of the Ñoldor's unrest, Fëanor's crime had been of his own making, and for this the Valar exiled him for twelve years time from Tirion.”

Reminds me a bit of everything going on with Henry…

“Melkor stole away to Avathar in the south of Aman. There he discovered the evil spider-like creature Ungoliant and secured her as an ally, promising to sate her unrelenting hunger in return for her aid.”

Some things happened and they fought, and Ungoliant tried to strangle him. She didn’t get to, and after Balrogs came, had to run away. Some say she died from starvation. Maybe the mind flayer turning against Vecna in s5?

Thorin? I mean, Thorin sets to destroy Smaug, but ends up turning just like him because he’s affected by gold-sickness. Kinda like how Henry is super mad at Brenner and everyone and plans to “reshape” the world so that the “mindless play” stops (I think? I never really got his intentions), so like, technically in his head he probably thinks he’s doing good (??) but like, obviously he isn’t, he’s murdering teenagers and kids for no reason. Substitutes one villain for another.

Henry/Aragorn?? But we can see the contrast between both characters. I mean, Aragorn was on some kind of self-imposed exile, Henry was exiled from earth (El vanished him into dimension x), Aragorn became king (ruler) of Gondor, Henry became some kind of ruler of the upside down. Aragorn is good and noble and rightful heir, Henry is, well, evil.

I feel like Henry stans are gonna come yell at me I’m terrified

Hopper, who died and came back

Hopper is also a lot like Gandalf. Adult (male) who while technically is not a parent to any of the characters but he do is a paternal figure (him adopting el, him dating Joyce so becoming a kind of paternal figure to Jonathan and Will). I wouldn’t necessarily call Gandalf a paternal figure, but he do is this older “man” that the characters go to for help and who always helps the characters, and who has known Bilbo and Frodo since they were young (very basic description of Gandalf, I know). Also yknow Gandalf died but then came back, turns out he didn’t actually die. Hopper did the same. Gandalf “died” while saving the fellowship. Hopper “died” while saving everyone.

The scene of him meeting with el again in s4 is similar to Gandalf meeting with Frodo again in return of the king.

Hopper is also Sam-coded in two occasions. First when he’s there with el while she closes the gate (since she parallels Frodo in that scene, and Sam was with him), and second when he told Joyce “I thought you were dead. Thought I lost you” in s4. Parallel to Sam’s “I thought I’d lost you” in the fellowship of the ring movie.

Bob Newby, superhero

Bob is played by Sean Astin, who played Sam in the lotr movies.

Bob Newby, superhero vs Samwise the stouthearted (or Samwise the brave in the movies)

I see him as Radagast tbh

“Radagast has a strong affinity for—and relationship with—wild animals.” You know what my first thought was? Lonnie (“he made me kill a rabbit”). Who’s basically Lonnie’s opposite? Bob. (Sure, Joyce could also be, having been the parent who stuck around and who loves her kids deeply and actually cares and isn’t abusive, but when talking about dads, it’s Bob. Could also be hopper, but I think radagast is Bob). I’ll explain.

“His role in Tolkien's writings is so slight that it has been described as a plot device.” Bob, I mean, he appears in just one season to kinda further the plot and then dies. He was also supposed to die in the third episode of s2, originally.

“Radagast was unwittingly used by Saruman to lure Gandalf to his tower of Orthanc, where Gandalf was captured”. Bob telling Will to fight the mind flayer and that causing Will to get possessed. “Fortuitously, Radagast also helped rescue him by sending Gwaihir the eagle to Orthanc with news of the movements of Sauron's forces.” Bob eventually saving Will and everyone.

“Radagast is "the friend of all birds and beasts,” Bob basically being the perfect stepdad, being super nice and caring. “He innocently helps Saruman to assemble "a great host of spies”, again, unknowingly and unwillingly causing Will to get possessed, which made Will the spy.

Mirkwood, (where Cornwallis and Kerley meet)

Oh boy talk to me about Mirkwood in stranger things.

Mirkwood is a real road, named by the party as “Mirkwood”. Mirkwood is a forest that appears in the hobbit, and from where Legolas (member of the fellowship of the ring in lotr) comes from (he’s the prince of Mirkwood). What’s interesting about Mirkwood regarding stranger things, you might ask. I ask a better question. What is not interesting about Mirkwood regarding stranger things.

That road is the road where Will was on when he was going home in s1, where he saw whatever it is that took him. “It is in close proximity to both the Byers house and the Harrington house, with only the forest separating them”, oh ok, not suspicious at all. Will got taken at his house (which is close to Mirkwood) and Barb got taken at Steve’s house (which is close to Mirkwood). Nothing to see here, just a normal ass road. Mirkwood is also where they found El, where Nancy found her tree gate (I think, not super sure on this one), where the police found Will’s bike, and also, oh right, it’s next to the lab. Can’t add a map here (curse tumblr’s image limit) but look it up. I think you can see it in ep1, right? Like when will is on his bike and passes a sign that says smth about the lab.

Next to Mirkwood are the woods, where castle byers is, and where lots of things happened over the series in general. The woods are pretty connected to the upside down, the gates are either in the woods or on places next to the woods, lots of characters spend time in the woods since they live next to them, for some reason, etc.

Before beginning to talk about Mirkwood (lotr), what do we know about the upside down (st)?

Well, we know it wasn’t always supposed to look like that, rather it’s original design was very green and even with light. Eventually the duffers decided for the upside down we know now. We also know that before it was the upside down, it was dimension x, a place WIDLY different to the upside down we know now. We know the upside down isn’t necessarily evil (as seen by dart, a creature from it who shows the difference between nature and nurture), that it’s just a neutral dimension, simply controlled by an evil man (but it hasn’t been like this always). Ok, now that that’s clear, what about Mirkwood (lotr)?

“The area had been called Greenwood the Great until around the year TA 1050, when the shadow of the Dark Lord Sauron fell upon it, and Men began to call it Mirkwood, or Taur-nu-Fuin and Taur-e. Ndaedelos in the Sindarin tongue. From then on, The southern part of Mirkwood became a haunted place inhabited by many dark and savage things. Sauron, or the 'Necromancer' as he disguised himself. established himself at the hill-fortress of Dol Guldur, an old Elven fortress in the forest's southern region, and drove Thranduil and his people ever northward.”

Oh okay, so the upside down is Mirkwood fr. Alright. There’s also the fact that Mirkwood is the home of the children of Ungoliant (aka, huge spiders that tried to eat thorin’s company) and we know everything going on with spiders and Vecna and the mind flayer etc.

Also this s5 theory, probably my favorite theory ever.

Suspicious Minds, (Terry and Andrew)

Suspicious Minds is a half-canon book (some say it’s canon, others that it isn’t), focusing on Terry (Jane’s mom) and her time at the lab. Andrew Rich is her boyfriend at the time, and father of Jane.

I really need to reread Suspicious Minds if I’m gonna talk about it cause I read it back in 2019 during summer holidays and barely remember anything. However you know what I found out? The many lotr references in the book. It was like a wonderful lake appeared in front of my while I was at the desert. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Oh duffers why me.

Andrew was a big lotr fan and, like any nerd, forced Terry into reading the books. Let’s get to it. Some of the lotr references in the book:

“Andrew had fallen in love with The Lord of the Rings on the van ride to New York and back, and then presented her with his battered copy of the first book when he returned. The cover featured a wizard in flowing yellow robes with a long white beard on a mountaintop”. A wizard with yellow robes. William Byers what are you doing here??

-

"It would've been a lot easier for the hobbits to stay in the Shire," she told him when he opened the door. "But they don't, do they? Frodo ends up with the ring and they leave with it."

"I knew you'd like it," he said, beaming at her and dropping a kiss on her cheek. "Let me know when you're ready for the next one. Where are you?"

"Still early. The hobbits may be the ones without magic, but I can feel how it's going.”

"You can skip the Tom Bombadil/Goldberry section if you want. It's a little much.”

"Now there's no way I'm skipping it." She paused. "But did you just admit this book isn't perfect in every way?"

And what’s funnier and insane is that they are Sam and Frodo shippers. They constantly compare themselves to Sam and Frodo. They are dating. They are a heterosexual couple who saw 2 gay hobbits and went: “they’re just like us fr”. Honestly, stan.

“Terry had bare feet with brown fur glued on, and wore rolled-up trousers and an old shirt. Her hair was arranged in tight curls, pulled aside to reveal pointy wax ears.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Alice asked, puzzled.

Andrew slid up to Terry's side, good looks muted only slightly by his own ridiculous curls and similar costume. He had fur glued to the top of his hand.

"She's Frodo, and I'm Samwise Gamgee. From my favorite books. I let Terry pick, and she made me the sidekick. But I don't mind being her sidekick.”

Terry shrugged. "I like Sam."

"And I like Frodo. Let me get you a drink."

-

"Don't do that," Andrew said, sitting up against the headboard. "Sometimes even Frodo and Sam have to have tough conversations.”

-

“I want you to live your life while I'm gone—think of me sometimes. I'll be dreaming of you and settling down in the Shire. No Grey Havens for us.”

UGHHH

Specially the last paragraph. It’s from a postcard Andrew sent Terry.

I cannot tell you ANYTHING about their relationship, again, desperately need to reread.

However Sam and Frodo are depicted as a romantic relationship. They are compared to a canon romantic relationship. Literally. Not by parallels like lumax, no, genuinely, literally, explicitly compared.

While there are characters who are compared to Sam and Frodo during some moments (Dustin and mike over dart, Nancy seeing the future vision of mike) and who’s relationship is definitely not romantic, it’s interesting to see how two canon couples have been compared to them. And then we have byler, who while not canon yet parallel both their relationship and the characters separately more than any other characters do…

That last paragraph? The postcard? When I read it I didn’t understand if he was saying “I’ll be dreaming of you while I settle down in the shire” or “I’ll be dreaming of you and of settling down in the shire (with you)” so I went to my copy, which is the spanish translation, and it’s the second one. Sam and Frodo settling down in the shire together… no mention of Rosie… No grey havens for us… All that combined with the duffers love for trope subversion and making things not be how they seem and so on, they are basically saying that Sam and Frodo have a happy ending together in the shire in stranger things (which basically tells us lumax endgame and byler endgame).

+ (some extra stuff)

“The transformation of the Shire from rural idyll to industrial wasteland heavily parallels Tolkien's own views of the destruction of the English countryside by the steady creep of industrialisation” + Smaug (the dragon they are set to kill in the hobbit) has lots and lots of money for the sake of having money. Doesn’t spend it, just hoards it because he’s greedy + Thorin dealing with gold-sickness, aka, wanting hoard as all the gold he took from Smaug, and not spend it or share it (just like Smaug did, so he sets to destroy Smaug just to turn just like him) (Smth smth, the mind flayer as capitalism)

-

Quoting Eddie, the shire is burning. The upside down arrived at Hawkins. At first, the upside down and the supernatural was located in the lab and in the upside down. It didn’t touch Hawkins. Except now it did, and things get dirty, the scourning of the shire, the shire is burning. So Mordor it is. Also, birthdaygate. March 22, Will’s birthday. Yknow what else is March 22? The day Sam and Frodo left the road and headed towards mount doom.

-

Also Nell Fisher who will play Holly in s5 acted alongside Elijah Wood (Frodo’s actor) in a movie (bookworm). (This is a complete coincidence, I know, but wanted to mention it)

-

Frodo’s birthday (and Bilbo’s) is also the 22th. 22th of September, not March, but the 22th. Also there’s 7 months between March and September (March - April - May - June - July - August - September) and (September- October- November - December- January - February- March). It was a seven.

-

Soteria is paralleled to the one ring, which is strange because soteria inhibits powers, while the ring gives you powers (hobbits turns invisible, extended lifespan, etc). Henry also said that soteria tracks your movements, and if he was right about that, it’s a similarity with the one ring, which when put on, allowed sauron to know someone had it.

-

The one ring was a physical object, you could put it on, touch it, destroy it. The mind flayer is not a physical object, and Vecna is a person (?). Not so easy to destroy. You could destroy the one ring by throwing it into the fire of Mordor, and you could take the mind flayer out of Will with heat (he likes it cold). So, can you kill the mind flayer by burning it? Following this thought pattern, yes.

At the end of s4 Nancy and robin burned Vecna and it probably hurt but he’s not dead. So either it doesn’t work or they need a much bigger fire. Well, not all fire worked with the one ring, it had to be the fire of Mordor. Now the question is, what is Mordor in stranger things? Because the upside down is Mirkwood. Maybe vecna’s weird red dimension (like where max was during the running up that hill sequence). Is that the upside down too or is it different? It looks different, cause it’s mental. The upside down is somewhere you can physically enter and leave, vecna’s red dimension is mental. Maybe Vecna/the mind flayer whatever can only be burned there. Or maybe the upside down is both Mirkwood and Mordor.

Idk it’s all so confusing. All I know is that a certain someone who has already cast fireball twice on dnd might be “the cure”…

-

-

If you made it here you deserve an applause cause DAMN this got long.

-

Conclusion:

The duffers are sam/frodo shippers. They’re also insane and I desperately need to hear them infodump

[toulousewayne]

🌿🍃Toxic Lover: Pt: II

Nightwing X male!reader with a former team who had become Poison Ivy like meta-human.

Summary:Your a former Titan teammate, you and Dick have unresolved feelings and you become infected with the same toxins and chemicals that turned Poison Ivy into a meta-human.

————-

“They Can Bury Us Deep, But We Always Grow.”

Batman sat perched on the rooftops of Gotham. It was a rainy night, much preferred these nights. Most of the crime was kept to the shadows it made it easier for him.

“Batman,we’ve got a problem,”Oracle’s voice filled his coms. “Fill me in.” He jumped off the building and glided north of his location.

——

A man walks outside of the Stacked Deck Bar, and takes a puff from his cigarette. He walks into the alleyway and takes a swig of his flask.

He rounds the corner to see a shadow figure standing before him.

“It’s the freakin’ bat,” he takes out his pistol but it’s knocked out of his grips my a WingDing. The next thing he knows he’s thrown against a nearby dumpster.

“You murderer.” Nightwing snarled at the man before his feet. He kicked him in the stomach, then picked him up and flung him to the other side of the alley.

“L-look I’m sorry about you friend—it’s wasn’t personal.” He’s met with a powerful shock to the gut.

“AHHH-pplease.”

“That’s enough, honey,”A thin cloud of pink and gold mist surrounded the two men, Y/n emerged be held by tree branches pink petals. “It’s good to see you,Nolan wasn’t it. however, the last time we meet you killed me along with your friends.” Y/n grinned. He sported a new pale green skin tone now, his normal (E/C) eyes were a deep emerald. Leaves and vines woven together to map pants and some wrapped around his forearms and torso.

He lowered himself and walked over to Nightwing placing a hand on his emblem. “You know I should really thing you, you allowed me to be a better version of myself,”

“You’re welcome-“Nightwing kicked him in the gut again.

Y/n crossed his arms across his chest. “Though I could have done without the new color. No matter it’s time you answer my questions.” He waved his hand and Nightwing backed away from the goon. Y/n crouched down and blow from his palm, more of the same pink dust engulfed him squared in the face and almost immediately his grimace morphed into a blank stare.

“Now what I want to know two things. What is the name of the scientist that gave you the order to kill me, and last where is Poison Ivy?”

———

The Batmobile came to a screeching haunt behind several police cruisers. He leaped out and walked past the small crowd held back by officers.

A officer lifted a yellow tape and he entered the crime scene. Gordon stood a foot away from two white sheets, Spoiler and Red Robin stood at the bodies scanning them before joining Batman and the Commissioner.

“They two of the best people on the force,” Gordon puffed after taking a drag from his Pipe.

“Any leads?” Batman turned to the two heroes. Red Robin hand him a zip lock bag with several deep green leaves.

“Posion Ivy, she’s been quiet.” Spoiler folded her arms.

Batman walked past them and removed the sheets to observe the bodies. It’s definitely something Ivy could have done but Batman isn’t so sure. He knows that’s she’s been MIA for months.

He rises his head and looks straight ahead. “Gotham Cemetery.” He mumbles. He stands up and walks towards it.

“Is he himself?” Gordon turns to the two who shrug.

—

Batman enters the cemetery and walks past the stone statues. He moves like a black phantom through out the grounds until he stops in front of what was supposed to be a fresh grave. Red Robin and Spoiler approach and stop themselves.

“What happened?” She questions. Vines and purple flowers grown from the grave and have consumed it. The casket is in the heart of the greenery and is split open. And no body inside.

Batman turned to the two, before worry took over his masked features. “Has anyone spoke to Nightwing tonight?”

“Not since the afternoon, he said he was patrolling the East End tonight.” Red Robin replied.

“You think Y/n did this?” Spoiler looked back at the grave and back to Batman who was practically running towards the entrance.

“Alfred I need to find Nightwing he’s not answering his com links.” The Batmobile came to a roaring stop at the cemetery gates and Batman hopped inside before racing down the street.

“I’m afraid I haven’t been able to locate him Sir. His tracker when down two hours ago.” He sighed.

Batman gripped the steering wheel.”Any last know location.”

“Allow me to check,”Alfred typed a few keys before giving him the last location,”Robinson Park Sir, the Botanical Gardens.” The Batmobile raced and roar onto Pioneer Bridge towards the other part of the city.

——

One man stumbles and falls down a few stairs and coughs. As he runs down a hallway into a warehouse.

“Please have Mercy!” He cries as he ducks behind a crate.

“Mercy,I’ll show you mercy.” A voice boomed in the dark room. The man cowered in fear before he flew back from his hiding spot and was carried up fifty feet in the air. He was wrapped in an oversized vine and was being constrained.

Y/n moved into his view ontop of an another vine and smirked. He had his arm resting on his knee and leaned forward towards the man’s face.

“So sad isn’t it. We take for granted the gifts Mother Nature can offer us,” he plucks a maroon flower from his vine that looks between a cross of a tulip and rose. He twirled the flower and looked back at the man. Before smirking.

“So tell me Wilson, where can I find the scientist?” Before the man could reply Y/n blow on the flower and black particles landed on his face. He started to cough and scream in pain.

“He’s meeting the Boss I don’t know who but he’s meeting him Chinatown. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!” He screamed in terror before a massive coughing fit and his limbs go limp.

Y/n lowers himself down and allows the vines to drop the body with a loud crack. Nightwing stood a few feet from where the man landed. He stare at him for a while before Y/n came into his view.

“Where are we going?” Y/n placed a kiss to his cheek. Y/n took his leave with Dick in tow.

“To make one more stop.”

——

Batman crashed through the same skyline Nightwing had to find the place abandoned. He took a look around with a flashlight.

He came to a makeshift bed and found the same leaves Red Robin gave him.

He turned on his scanner and turned the leave over. “Alfred identify and breakdown these leaves basic components.”

“Right away Sir. These two leaves have the same trace amount of pheromones. The scanners indicate they are of a stronger concentration. The combination is similar to the lab where Nightwing and is team were a few nights ago.”

Batman turned and looked at the ground. He found a WingDing and a remnant of a sleep dart. The same Nightwing gauntlet. “Nightwing must of found Y/n and tried to stop him.”

Alfred hummed, “Do you think he killed Master Richard.”

Batman kneeled down a traced his finger to find them covered in a green dust. “Unlikely, what happened to him he still cares for Dick.” He stood up and grappled out of the greenhouse. He glides down to the street and gets back into the Batmobile.

“The attack on Y/n in the lab must of caused a biological shock and rewrite his DNA the same way it did Ivy. But what I can figure out is what’s motivate?” He began to drive before another call rang.

“It’s Ms Gordon I’ll patch her through.” Soon the ringing stopped and Barbara’s voice filled the car.

“Batman we found two bodies.”

“Where?”

“One at the Stacked Deck an hour ago Red Hood is on the scene with Bullock. And another at a warehouse at Dixon Docks,Batgirl is there with Robin now.”

“My word, Sir my analysis is completed. There is another drug mixed in that was scanned at the fire. It’s a drug called Tomgenalixe. It’s a substance used in modern day Hallucinogens and can be used to create mind altering effects.”

“Mind Control.” Batman and Oracle reply.

“So Y/n isn’t just killing people for fun, he’s been controlled too.” Oracle took a deep sigh.

Batman gripped the steering wheel.”We need to find them. Alfred can you track Y/n’s pheromones?”

Alfred typed at the Batcomputer. “Sir his tracking is leading to the Diamond District.”

Batman raced back towards the highway. “Oracle take the components of the drugs and chemicals and synthesize and antitoxin. Have someone bring it to me. Alfred, have Red Robin and Spoiler meet me at my location.”

“Working on it, I’ll have Red Hood and Batgirl pick up the antioxins as soon as it ready.” Oracle signed off.

“Sir, when you arrive what will you do?”

Batman didn’t answer as thunder crashed across the night sky.

“I’m going to save them.”

———-

“Where’s my cut?” The scientist hissed at the man in a chair turned away from him.

The man chuckled. “Your cut, you were supposed to bring me a new drug. You burned your research. I can’t get any of that funding back, and now Lex Luthor has questions about fire you caused.” The man stood before as Black Man rises from his seat and the scientist cowers.

“I’m—“ SMACK

“You little runt, you work for me and you’ll get paid when the fuck I say so.” He snarled. He grabbed a wad of cash from his pocket and threw it at him.

“Now get back and figure out the poison, you still have the plant woman in holding?”

“Yes, she’s secure downstairs.” He took the cash. But before he could leave he was kicked square in the jaw and crumbled to the floor.

Black Mask turns to see Nightwing giving his a death stare. “What brings you here?”

The doors burst open with three of his goons with green glowing eyes and Y/n strolling behind them.

“I’m here for a little payback.” Y/n smirked. He outstretched his arm and vines bursts from the floor and tied up Black Mask.

“You crazy bitch I’ll kill you.” Y/n yawned. “Boys take care of him,” he turned to the scientist. “I think you have someone who doesn’t belong to you, don’t worry I’ll kill you when this over just like I did you henchmen.”

“Boss!” The large man who had did most of the damage to Y/n emerged through another door. Nightwing sprang into action and brutal fought him. It didn’t take long before he hit the ground hard.

Y/n crossed the room and stood over the dazed man.

“Remember it’s nothing personal.” Y/n dropped seeds into his gapped open mouth and vines and flower rapidly grew from his mouth and stomach.

“That’s sick.” Black Mask gagged before getting punch by Nightwing.

Y/n nodded and then two armed guards took Black Mask away. The other waiting for them and Nightwing grabbed the Scientist.

“Let’s go.” He barked. Y/n and the other guard followed him. The arrived in a basement that was like a huge underground bunker.

They ventured until the came to a catwalk and bellow was a cell in center with Ivy unconscious.

“Well it seems you’ve severed your purpose.” Y/n turned to the man that uttered the order to kill him and before he could grab him a Batarang nearly took his hand off.

Batman leaped down and glared at the group.”That’s enough, you’ve taken to many lives tonight I won’t let you take more Y/n. This isn’t you.”

Y/n pursed his lips and brief a chuckle. “What do you know about Y/n?” Batman eyed down below and saw Ivy talking almost as a puppet.

“Ivy, you’ve been controlling him from the start.”

Ivy/Y/n chuckled. “I can’t take all the credit you seen when they turned Y/n into this new and improved version of himself. We form a connection, and the more his powers grew—“

“The greater your control became.” Batman finished. Ivy chuckled in her cell.

“He makes a fine successor, does need some weeding but no matter he’ll do fine to kill you.” Y/n caused two large vines to sprout beside Batman who leaped down and landed on his feet. He cartwheel out the way of a shock from Nightwing.

“I know you can hear me, don’t make me have to put down.” Nightwing smirked,”Come and try.” He lunged at Batman and the two attacked and blocked each others moves.

Red Robin and Spoiler crashed the room and took out the guard and Spoiler went after Y/n to jumped onto a moving vine.

“Y/n snap out of it you’re still in there.” She pleaded. Y/n formed another overgrown plant to seat her away like fly. He caused a giant Venus Flytrap to sprout and it held him in place.

“This will be your tomb.” He laughed wickedly.

——

Black Mask stood ontop of the building with rifles at his head.

“Jump.” One order. He moved his leg out to jump before he heard gunfire and the sounds of punches. He nervously turned to see Red Hood and Batgirl.

“I’m saved—“ he was lassoed by Batgirl who tied him to a pipe. Before following Red Hood into the building.

“Hell let me Go!”

—-

Nightwing kicked Batman in the chest sending him stumbling.

Red Robin back flipped out the way of a vine nearly crushing him.

“Give up.” Ivy hissed.

Red Hood and Batgirl arrived. Batgirl grabbed a vine and began to run up it to Y/n and Red Hood leaped down and fired a few rounds at Nightwing which distracted him long enough for Batman to land a punch.

He stagger and when to fight him some more giving Red Hood the chance to fire a dart the hit Nightwing in the neck. He growled before he slowly turned and fell into Batman’s arms going limp.

Batgirl managed to get a clear shot and injected Y/n with large dose. He felt tired fell onto the catwalk, Red Robin check on him before injecting an orange liquid into Y/n arm.

“This will break the connection to Ivy.”

Ivy screamed in pain like a part of her had been stabbed. “You’re going to Arkham.” Batman stood before her and she was about to shout before green mist filled her cell and she collapsed.

“Hey Oracle whip up something for her too.” Batgirl chimed in.

Batman grinned and turned to Nightwing and sighed.

———-

Y/n felt like everything that happened was a fever dream. Killing them men that assaulted him, rising from the dead like an uprooted carrot and his finale fight with the Batfamily.

He sat up with an instant migraine. He rubbed his temples from the bright lights and turned to the side to see a shadow.

“Where am I?” His voice was hoarse and scratchy.

“You’re in Arkham.” Batman sighed and came into the light of the cell.

Y/n took in his surroundings and it was in a cell in Arkham. He was also in hospital gown with a collar around his neck.

“So I’m in jail?” He raised a brow the Dark Knight. Batman took a stance at the foot of the bed.

“Not exactly, what do you remember?” His voice was full of concern and worry. Not the same voice typical of Batman.

Y/n rubbed his temples for a brief movement. “I remember the taxi driver…I vaguely remember two officers and then everything went black. Did I hurt them?”

“They’re dead. Poison Ivy took control over your mind after you transition into a meta-human.”

Y/n felt all the air suck of his lungs. “You’re here because I know you’ll be under careful observation,” he lifted his gaze to the ceiling and Y/n followed. Vents were overhead them.

“This cell is constantly being pumped with an antitoxin that helps with the more advanced powers. It won’t rid them completely but you’ll be in control.” He walked closer to the doors.

“You should be in for a few more days, once that finished I’ll come get you myself. Gordon has already dropped any charges and no one knows Y/n L/N was the new Poison Ivy.”

“Did I hurt him?”

“I don’t know what your—“

“Damnit yes you do. I know I didn’t just kill two people. I hope I can..live with that. But did I hurt him?” Tears formed in the young man’s eyes and streamed down his face.

“No.” Batman whispered.

“Oh.” He wiped his face. “Can I see him?”

“I can’t allow that, you didn’t hurt him but Ivy used your feelings for him to make into your mind-controlled bodyguard. You killed people Y/n…He’s still recovering in the cave. Y/n it may be best to give it time.” Batman exited the cell where Gordon was waiting and the two walked away into the Asylum.

Everything began to flash before Y/n and he flopped back on the uncomfortable cot. Before sleep took him back and he dozed off.

[writing-zelda-brainrots]

--

Title: || Lament of the Fallen || 

CW(s): yandere content, angst, reader briefly contemplates murder 

Prequel to this. You can honestly read these two in whichever order you want. 

I think I cooked with this one. Can you tell that corruption arcs are one of my favourite tropes? It’s part of why I like writing yanderes so much. 

-- 

If you were to describe your existence in this world with one word, it’d be “anomaly.” It sounded strange, but it just felt like the only right word to use. 

You were an anomaly; someone who couldn’t exist, one who shouldn’t exist by the laws of the world, and yet, you did anyway. A real Schrödinger’s Cat – that's what you were. Maybe that’s why you reacted the way you did. 

“Oh, hello.” The woman said surprised as she turned her gaze to you. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.” 

You let out a nervous laugh, hiding the disappointment in your voice. “Yeah, I suppose not. I’m [Name]. I’ve been traveling with the heroes for some time.” 

She smiled. “Well, any friend of Time’s is a friend of mine. I’m Malon. Nice to meet you.” You shook her hand. It was calloused from hard labour, yet it was still as warm and gentle as you remembered. 

Of course she wouldn’t remember you. You were an anomaly in her– no, in everyone’s lives. This was your fourth time “meeting” her, yet she looked just as clueless about your existence as the last. It saddened you. But what did you expect? Did you think that she would retain her memories of you and jump out to greet you, like she did with her friends, even just once? That she’d happily tell jokes and stories with you over tea? 

It was in these moments when it became all the more obvious that you did not belong here. Not in this house, alongside the Chain, this whole world. 

But maybe it’s because of this fact that you were the one most likely to be able to change this world. 

-- 

Raindrops weighed down your hair, the locks sticking to your unfeeling face. You tried to not let any emotions show, but there was still a slight tinge of sadness in your eyes as you faced the people you once considered friends. 

“Tell them what you want to say, but don’t take too long. I don’t want to be kept waiting. Not in weather like this.” 

You said nothing, just faced away from Dark Link as he left the scene. 

“Welcome to the other side, [Full name].” And with that, he was gone, leaving you alone with a rather stunned group of your so-called heroes. 

“[Name], what is this? What is he talking about?” 

It’s ironic. For so long you’ve waited for a moment like this; where you could finally tell them off for everything they’ve done, the crimes you’ve seen them commit in the name of ‘protecting’ you, tell them how you’ve grown to hate them. Yet words failed you in this critical, seemingly once-in-a-lifetime moment. 

Somewhere deep down you knew that nothing you could say would satisfy them. They would never accept any of this. 

Still, you should probably say something as your final words for them before you disappear from their live forever. So you steeled your gaze and with a sigh you opened your mouth. 

“There is no point in you continuing your quest. Go home. Live long, peaceful lives.” You spoke clearly. “From now on, this fight is mine.” 

Confusion was clear in all of their faces and your words did nothing to alleviate it. If anything, it just made things worse. A hand grabs your shoulder as you try to turn away. It takes all your inner strength to not shudder at the contact. “[Name], what did he do to you?” 

“Don’t you dare touch me.” You spat venom at Time as lightning struck nearby, as if perfectly timed to highlight the harsh look on your face. That was seemingly enough to get him to back up a little. 

“This has to be a possession, right?” Wars muttered to himself as he looked into your cold eyes. You weren’t like this just a few hours ago. Sure, you looked tired a lot more often recently, but he had hoped that going to bed early would help. There was no other explanation. There couldn’t be. 

“[Name], you’re talking nonsense.” Twilight stepped forward to try and mediate. “You’re upset and tired, I get it. Let’s get you out of the rain, dry you off and we can talk this thr-” 

“I’ve made my choice. This journey ends here.” You shot back, silencing them all. “Leave. You’ve done enough.” 

What the hell had that bastard done to you? What lies did he feed you? Everything was just fine this morning, yet now that time felt like it was eons ago. Yet as they looked closer at you, they began seeing things they hadn’t noticed before. 

Had you always had bags under your eyes? When had you began to smile less? Was your posture always this stiff? When was the last time you gladly embraced any of them? Talked to them? They always kept a close eye on you, they should know the answers to these questions. Why couldn’t they remember? 

When did this aura of dark magic around you appear? 

Wind’s voice broke though the silence. “Give [Name] back!” The boy dashed forward, ignoring the orders to stop. Frustration and recklessness clouded his thought process, making it easy for you to deflect his attempted punches. So much like a petulant child; crying and resorting to anger when a toy is taken from them. 

Finally having had enough of him, you gathered energy into your leg. Might as well test out these new powers. With all the strength you could muster, you kicked the boy away from you. Fortunately for Wind, Hyrule was there to catch him before he could crash headfirst into a tree. 

“Let go of them! [Name] would never do this – any of this! They wouldn’t team up with that monster! They wouldn’t leave us! So give them their body back, you nasty witch!” Wind managed to speak despite having the air knocked out of him. 

“Maybe you just don’t know me as well as you seem to think you do.” 

Immediately a sword was pointed at your throat, kept just a hair’s breath away from cutting the skin. Clearly, you’ve managed to touch a nerve, given Legend’s reaction. “Enough. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m not letting you leave with our enemy.” 

“You’re always like this.” You couldn’t hide the frustration in your voice. “Even when I beg you, you never loosen your grip. You’ve completely isolated me from everyone who isn’t you. Despite everything, you still act like you’re in the right.” 

Sky spoke up after making sure that Wind was alright. “We’re just trying to keep you safe.” 

Oh, that’s the final straw. You grit your teeth. 

“Maybe you are trying to protect me. BUT HOW CAN I PRETEND THAT IT’S RIGHT?” You grabbed the sword’s blade with your hand, the tip scratching open a shallow, but long, cut on your neck as you tried to move the weapon away from you. 

“[Name], don’t-” 

“All I know is that deep down inside, nothing about my fate will change BECAUSE OF YOU!” 

Dark energy overflowing, despite your bleeding and hurting hand, you grip Legend’s sword so hard that it breaks. Rain began to swirl in the howling winds as thunder bellowed and lightning flashed all around. 

There was no avoiding this fight, either for you or them. It was obvious that they were a lot more apprehensive about this, but they still took out their weapons. In turn, you waved your hand and pulled a sword out of the aether. 

In a way, you had the advantage. Sure, they had numbers on their side, but their objective in this fight was to capture you, and yours was to escape. Meaning, they had to hold back, while you could be as lethal as you wanted to. Moreover, they were not aware of what new powers you possessed, and you knew all of theirs from watching them fight so many times. 

Blows were traded, arrows dodged, magic fired. All the while, each member of the Chain tried to “talk sense into you,” but you stayed silent and continued your attack. You knew that if you hesitated here – even for a moment – they would win. 

You were beginning to get tired, and the boys looked a little winded too. It was time to end this once and for all. Using the surrounding trees as makeshift stairs, you leapt high into the air, where none of their non-lethal attacks could get to you. The sword in your hands began to glow with dark magic. 

You could do it. You had the power. You had the advantage. They couldn’t dodge this, they couldn’t block this. You could do it right now. 

Make them pay for the suffering they caused. 

You didn’t know if these thoughts were your own or if you were being influenced by the Shadow. And that scared you. 

You weren’t a violent person; you always wanted the best outcome, you never wanted to assume the worst in people, you didn’t like fighting or getting hurt or hurting others. Has your time with these people fundamentally broken you? Has their twisted love for you changed you into someone you would hate? Would you even be able to recognise yourself in a mirror? 

You saw their eyes widen in horror as you took hold of your sword, ready to attack. Your iron grip on the sword faltered subconsciously. Still, you took a swing, sending a wave of dark energy towards your targets. 

By the time that the dust had settled, it had stopped raining. The Chain laid on the ground, unconscious, but still breathing. The least you could do was position their bodies so that they don’t wake up in unnatural positions. With effort you dragged them all into a pile, all of them holding each other up. 

You took one last sorrowful look at the people you once held so close. “Live. That is my final message to you.” 

“Farewell, Heroes of Courage.” 

And with a wave of your sword, you cut a tear through reality and disappeared into the portal. Anomalies shouldn’t exist. They couldn’t exist. And soon, they would believe so too. 

--