#Parallel Musing 2

[angrybubbles]

Book!Devils Minion chased each other for 12 years before Daniel was turned at the brink of death.

Show!Armand was with Marius for 12 years before Armand was turned at the brink of death.

[thegaissilent]

I just realized The Guardian (Ellie's Song) is very Glinda coded and now I just wanna cry saojsaas

Highlights to my insanity under the cut...

[kiwibirdlafayette]

its like. 2am but I am once again trying to put some kind of structure to whatever the fuck the continuity of the two main mianite timelines is supposed to be, while maintaining what was previously established that Isles is the past version of the S1 World and making whatever post canon shit ive written still work

like bro hwat is this

(Ignore the hermitcraft thing for now im still trying to decide if VH!Jordan is an extracted variant from the memories/essence of S1/S2 c!Jordan or if he’s been from a whole different timeline who experienced the happenings of Mianite but a little to the left)

[kthologue]

will they wont they – dick grayson

synopsis. he had one job. but when it comes to you, dick grayson has never been good at following the rules.

contents. fluff, (implied) exes to lovers, catwoman!reader, batcat dynamic, theyre in love your honor

notes. i wanted a bruce and selina parallel except these two finally give in. this concept has been plaguing my for far too long. everyone thank blair for the idea + part 2

“And under no condition should you flirt with her,” Barbara’s voice crackles through his comms, sharp with warning. “This is a quick intel mission. You’re in and out, Nightwing.”

Dick chuckles. “Got it. Best behavior.”

Word had gotten back to the Batcave that, after Catwoman’s arrest, Catgirl was making moves to finish what her predecessor started. Even worse, there were rumors of Catwoman’s involvement in the riots of Blackgate Penitentiary. Usually, Gotham’s affairs stayed strictly in Bruce’s hands, but Dick had fought hard for this case. Maybe too hard.

“Nightwing,” Oracle’s voice falters as the group watches the hidden camera feed from his suit. “Did you… style your hair?”

Dick freezes mid-motion, his fingers still carding through his dark locks in the reflection of a nearby window.

“Dunno what you’re talking about.” He clears his throat, schooling his expression. Jason’s laughter bursts through the comms like a gunshot.

“Oh, this is priceless,” Jason wheezes. “Loverboy's got it bad.”

Dick exhales through his nose, shaking his head as he continues forward. “Can’t believe you guys planted a camera on me. Have you no trust?”

“It’s not about trust, Dick,” Bruce finally speaks, his voice cool and measured. “It’s about intelligence gathering.”

Of course. Ever the pragmatist.

Dick rolls his shoulders, trying to shake the unease creeping in. “Nah. My girl would never do anything to hurt me.” His voice dips. “Nothing I wouldn’t enjoy, anyway.”

Jason groans. “Barf.”

Oracle sighs. “Loverboy, focus.”

Dick lifts his hands in mock surrender, but his smirk lingers, betraying him. “Alright, alright.”

By the time Dick reaches the coordinates he was sent, the abandoned building seemed to be empty. Devoid of any criminal activity that was suspected.

Or at least, that’s how it looks.

Nightwing lands silently on the rooftop, scanning the darkened windows. No movement. No heat signatures. Just the city humming below, a steady pulse against the quiet.

Any amateur would enter the building to start his investigation, but Dick knew you better than that.

A slow smirk tugs at his lips.

You’re here. Somewhere. Watching.

His lips twitch. “Y’know, most people say hello first.”

Silence. 

A shift in the shadows, a whisper of movement, too fast for anyone else to catch.

He’s airborne for half a second before his back slams against the rooftop. His breath escapes in a sharp huff, and before he can fully register what was happening, a warmth presses close, your weight against him, a knee braced against his ribs, gloved fingers skimming the hollow of his throat. Light. Barely there. A tease, not a threat.

“Thought I’d mix it up,” you murmur.

The moonlight frames you in silver, your mask casting half your face in shadow. He watches the way your lips quirk, the way your breath fans against his jaw, closer than necessary. Closer than you should be.

He should move. Counter. Flip you.

Instead, his fingers curl around your wrist, his thumb ghosting over your pulse point.

Dick blinks up at you, the city lights outlining the curve of your smirk.

“Well,” he breathes, grin unfazed. “You sure know how to make a guy feel wanted.”

You hum, tilting your head. “I’d say sorry, but you walked right into it.”

Your knee eases up just enough for him to shift. It’s all he needs.

With a twist, he sweeps your leg from under you, flipping them. Now you’re the one pinned, but your expression doesn’t change—if anything, your smirk deepens.

“Better,” you muse. “Almost had me there.”

“Almost?” He tuts. “You wound me.”

Then, without hesitation, you hook your leg around his waist and throw your weight into a roll. The two of you tumble, shifting control back and forth, dodging and countering, neither ever fully committing to an actual strike.

It’s a dance. One you both know by heart.

You feint left and he dodges too slow. Your fist brushes his jaw, not a real hit, just enough to make him feel it.

“You’re distracted,” you observe, eyes glinting.

He exhales, grip tightening around your wrist just enough to keep you close. “Maybe I just like having you this close.”

“Always the flatterer.”

For a moment, neither moves. Your breaths mix, city lights reflecting in your masked gaze.

Then, you blow him a kiss, fingers ghost over his lips before twisting free.

A quick, effortless slip, like smoke through his fingers. By the time he blinks, you’re already a few feet away, perched on the edge of the rooftop, ready to make your exit. 

His comm buzzes. Jason’s voice, laced with amusement: “Tell me you’re at least trying to win.”

Dick ignores him.

Instead, his eyes flick toward the shadows. "C’mon, sweetheart, you really want it to end so soon?" He calls, the playful edge to his voice betraying the pulse of something more intense. “I’m starting to have fun.”

“Yeah?” You step into the moonlight, half a step in front of him. “You’re losing, horribly.”

You paused.

“But I’ve always liked how optimistic you were, Grayson. It’s cute.”

He can’t help but smile at the sound of his last name leaving your lips with a casualness that does something to him. He’s heard it from everyone, whether it be taunts or flirty whispers, but from you, it lands differently.

“I’m losing?” He raises an eyebrow, a challenge in his voice, but his heart pounds just a little faster. “I don’t think I feel like a loser.” In fact, he feels more alive than ever, adrenaline coursing through him, sparks erupting with every quip you exchanged. 

You let out a laugh, the sound light and effortless. “I’ve transported all of the artifacts from the Gotham Museum hours before you even got here.”

His eyes narrow slightly, but he stays relaxed. He’ll deal with that later. “You know that’s not why I’m here.”

You tilt your head, smirking. “No?”

He steps closer. Slowly. “No,” he repeats, his voice dropping to a softer tone, low enough that it’s just for you.

You watch him, waiting.

He stops when you’re chest to chest, both of you breathing a little heavier now. The proximity is too close. Too much. And yet, neither of you move away.

“Then, what are you here for?”

For a heartbeat, the world slows, and he sees it, something soft in your eyes, hidden behind the mask. Something more than the game you’ve been playing.

“You know,” his voice softens.

But it’s fleeting. Gone before he can fully grasp it, and it hits him harder than he expects.

For a moment, he sees your own eyes underneath the black eye mask softening as they flicker between his own. But it’s gone as soon as it comes and Dick mourns it.

You break the moment first, pulling back just slightly, the warmth of your body still lingering as you glance away. “I’m not… involved with that and you know it,” you say, tone sharp but steady.

You’re not naive. He knows you’ve heard of the rumors circulating about Blackgate and Selina’s growing influence in the prison.

He catches your hand when you try to push him away, his fingers wrapping around your wrist. It’s the same dance they’ve done for years—one step forward, then the pull.

“Yeah, I know,” he murmurs.

“Obviously not.” Your eyes flash as you look away, trying to hide the strain in your voice. “You don’t trust me.”

His thumb brushes over your knuckles. “You know I do, sweetheart.” His voice softens, and he steps even closer, bringing his other hand to your jaw, his fingers gently guiding your gaze back to his.

“I just needed to confirm.” His breath catches in his chest as he leans in, his lips almost brushing yours. “You know. B and his procedures.”

He doesn’t miss the way your breath hitches. You’re not backing away, but you’re holding yourself together with that quiet strength of yours.

“Dick,” Oracle warns him through the comm. He can feel Bruce’s silent warning echoing through his mind. He’s overstepped.

But Dick doesn’t care.

He doesn’t care about the mission anymore. Not when you’re standing there, eyes locked on his, body close enough that all he can think about is what it would be like to not fight this anymore.

With a quiet resolve, he reaches for his comm, deactivating it, then rips the camera from his suit, crushing it under his foot. The sound of the camera breaking echoes through the silent night, and he watches as surprise flickers in your eyes.

“You’re insane,” you murmur, the disbelief in your voice mixing with relief.

Dick steps even closer, no words now, just the steady thrum of his pulse and the way his body wants to close the distance. “Mission completed anyway,” he mutters, his lips curving into a grin, but it’s softer now.

“As always,” you whisper, your eyes flicking to the shattered camera. There’s a quiet moment where everything feels like it’s teetering on the edge.

Then, without another word, he pulls you in, his lips crashing into yours, soft but insistent. It’s everything he’s wanted, everything you’ve been dancing around for far too long.

Your hands slide up his chest, fingers curling into his suit as he deepens the kiss, his body pressing into yours like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

The kiss is slow, almost agonizing in its sweetness. No more games, no more hesitating. Just the two of you, finally letting go. His hand rests on the back of your neck, fingers tracing down every curve.

“That,” he says, voice husky, “was a mission well done.”

Your eyes twinkle, and you don’t pull away. “You know you’re never going to hear the end of this, right?”

“Worth it,” he grins. “Every second.”

thank you for reading! reblogs n comments are appreciated :3

[mandalhoerian]

Repost because tumblr's tags were broken yesterday and it ate my post up 😞 Spoilers and translation notes for Rafayel's intertidal zone & analysis because it kinda floored me, I was just as a blank page as he was throughout this. I had to watch it like 5 times to understand what the story was saying and dig into chinese and japanese versions of this to piece together what was really happening. It may be my idiot brain not getting it and maybe it was like the easiest thing to understand for you but. Yeah. I may be just dumb LMFAO AND!!!! There's also a theory of mine into how Rafayel is actually able to read mc's mind/wishes through their lemurian bond, so stay tuned for that I guess

EDIT: correcting some transcriptions of chinese characters and the translations. sorry about that! google couldn't transcribe it correctly. for clarity's sake i will also include original screenshots. please tell me if anything is wrong!

EDIT 2: Check out part 2 to this as well for stuff I missed!

EDIT 3: An Abysswalker connection I found

EDIT 4: Debunking the myths of non-consent & Rafayel hurting MC in the spicy scene

So Rafayel’s whole deal in this memory, I believe, is dependency. Like, too much intensity, too much need, too much fear -- about scaring her off, about what he sees himself possibly becoming in the future, overall just being too reliant on mc and getting scared by it.

Let's begin with this massive fear of being a taker, not just in the “I’m stealing someone’s fries” way, but in this existential, soul-deep kind of way where he’s terrified of turning everything he loves into something he exploits out of demand for his art. And yeah, it’s sad when you first hear him say it, but it’s also really interesting when you look at how this all ties into his relationship with MC and his inspiration source drying up because of her.

Before Rafayel became an artist, he looked at the world in this super pure, wholesome way. Sceneries and nature were just there, things to admire and feel awe over without needing to do anything about it. Like, imagine standing at the edge of a desert, looking at a sea that’s drying up. Sure, it’s tragic, but it’s also kind of beautiful in a raw, heartbreaking way. That’s how Rafayel saw things, he could appreciate them without feeling like he had to do anything.

But then Rafayel started creating, and suddenly, sceneries weren’t just sceneries anymore. They became inspiration. He wasn’t just admiring beauty, he was extracting something from it, its meaning, its pain, its soul, to turn into art for other people. And that made him feel all kinds of icky, because now he wasn’t just looking at the drying sea. He was taking from it. Just as he's using his people's pain in his art as well, that's also a thing.

Now let’s talk about MC. Rafayel loves her like he used to love those sceneries,,, in this pure, untainted way. There's a parallel here. But here’s the kicker, he’s not the same guy who can just admire something and leave it untouched anymore.

And suddenly, this is no longer only about losing inspiration for him.

This happens after he and MC get together, and it’s like all the pain and anguish that used to fuel his creativity just.. ... dries up. He can’t find that spark anymore because now his life is surrounded by love instead of suffering. In fact, his inspiration starts coming from her and it's starting to clash with how he makes art. In the phone call, he seeks her out and says he needs her so bad and she only needs to talk to help him out. This is the first wink wink nod nod of the story.

So what does Rafayel do? He goes on this big, dramatic trip to "find inspiration" (or at least his muse), but it’s not just about his art. He’s not just looking for inspiration, he’s trying to figure out how to be less dependent on her and becoming increasingly more restless over this. The temparature and physical discomfort is making things worse, he's anxiously overthinking, and imagine trying to fight this and the longest art block as of late off when all you want to do is indulge in this special person and be comforted like a lap cat all day every day.

He understands that if he lets himself indulge without restraint, one day his love for mc will turn into pure need. He’ll become more and more greedy, and he doesn’t want that and is afraid of being abandoned because of that growing neediness and dependency.

This is in relation to his art, because as @/dat-silvers-girl put in the comments, he's struggling with "the genuine fear of not being able to enjoy anything in life because all you're thinking about how to use it (as an artist)" . what if he starts doing this to her? to their love and relationship? take from her, and become someone who only takes in every area of life -- like someone who only exploits things by extracting what he feels about them to use it for his art. he's afraid of that, he doesn't like that and possibly doesn't like himself who does it. so why should she? she would leave him for sure, in his head, that's a solid reason to.

The first time around he brings up his anxiety about MC leaving him out of the inner realization of his dependency, the possibility of just what he can become, and fear of abandonment. she effortlessly soothes his worries. It's heavily implied they did it afterwards and after hearing "her life has already been consumed by him" he tweaked out a little bit and his "obsession" seeped through.

After it fades to black, he says ほら……僕もとっくに……君に侵食されてしまっているんだ…… which means "See... I've already been completely consumed by you too" in Japanese instead of the life being made a chaotic mess localization. While I think MC's line was jokey and lighthearted, I don't think this man is joking at all. Rafayel didn't say his life was consumed by her as well, he said HE was consumed. Ouh.

This took the edge off from him for a while but they hadn't gotten to the root of the problem yet, so he was back to square one after the memorial hall, because remember, he's trying to find inspiration as an act of making this dependency of his better. Pain and suffering are all around him here, which his inspiration feeds off of. The dried up ocean he could hear weakening, the skeleton of the whale, the burden of his people and homeland more prominent than before. And what does MC do? Tear through the perspective of pain and introduce a hopeful alternative, "Isn't it a surprise to see an ocean in the middle of the desert?"

This is a place that gave Rafayel the height of helplessness and suffering when he visited by himself before despite momentarily being hopeful after the locals told him such a place existed. But now, she was there to comfort him through his loneliness and pain, hug him, and give him hope yet again. He brings up how he wanted to come here with the most important person to him when he was still hopeful about it before consumed by the pain of it all, and that wish has been granted. That moment has to be so powerful for Rafayel. Literally light at the end of the tunnel.

It had me reeling that he just sat in the car after all that, staring at her for god knows how long until she woke up. He was probably overthinking again, but my interpretation that it was heavily emotional for him (it could have meant so little for MC but the world for him, she doesn't even know) and he wanted to be in that moment with her, just feel and look without restraint. Indulge a little. (I can just imagine him going just a little bit more, I'll go after she wakes up.) And like. His eyes are shining in the darkness is the description here. Perhaps he was feeling so much here. So much love. So much happiness. And he's about to go in for a kiss (heavy breathing and everything) after that, but holds himself back and actively has to pry himself away. He's feeling the neediness again.

That’s why he makes an effort to actively wean himself off and says he'll be okay on his own. What he says to her after MC is like "spoiling him" being all "hey you're sick maybe don't go? or let's go together?" (which is NOT helping Rafayel at all) is even more meaningful in Japanese and I didn't know why they left out this context, but the rearranged line would be "Do you want me to become a sea creature beached on the sand after the sea recedes, unable to breathe on my own ever again?"

Yeah. YEAH. This is about dependency. (He's saying don't coddle me I'll literally become that wolf tearing his shirt meme 😭)

So of course his stubbornness and anxiety force him to do things without MC and distance himself, he can do it. He’s determined to prove to himself that he can endure it on his own.

I also feel like part of the reason he insisted on going to the salon alone is that he’s still worried mc might come to dislike the version of him who's someone he's so sure she will leave, who isn't perfect and he hides behind the persona he's put up just for her. If he truly becomes addicted to her and shows her everything/his true self, and she ends up leaving him, it would completely break him. He's trying to be like "im so normal about her haha" but he's so not normal about her at all. He's literally obsessed I feel like, and perhaps this is him fighting it knowing it's not healthy.

and OOOH about why he ends up coming back from the salon all hot and bothered.

I have strong context that she flicked the bean in there after he left her high and dry in the car ("hot water washes away the stickiness from my body and his stifled breaths still echo in my ears, enveloping me along with the steam in the bathroom. The warmth from his fingertips lingers in the places where he touched me..." is the english. however, in chinese, it goes "熱水洗去身上的黏膩，壓抑的喘息迴盪在我耳畔，和浴室裡氤氳的水氣一起包裹著我." stating "the suppressed breathing" -- which doesn't have any possessive adjectives when I translated it on google and later explicitly asked chatgpt if it had any his/my adjectives involved, just to be sure. it said no but i'd like it if a real chinese speaking person could give their input on this !!! PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME WITH CHATGPT

so um. if the context is in fact the case that he heard her masturbating to him, the intensity with which he attacked her would be normal, I think 😭

I have belief that MC unconsciously shatters his "training himself to be without her" determination through their bond. She just keeps thinking about him the entire time. about him reading her thoughts, though. we still don't know all about the lemurian bond they share. I’d say it grants him some sort of mind/heart reading ability or connects their minds together (when she was thinking about whether she should hug him, he answered “yes”).

At the salon, I imagine Rafayel was already thinking about her like crazy. Then he realized, or perhaps, "heard" she was still worrying about him and thinking of him (as much he thought about her) and decided to go back. Rafayel probably felt that suppressing himself was only making her more anxious and unsettled. She's thinking all about him, unconsciously calling to him to come to her, she didn't want to let him go at all, wanted to go with him, etc...

but even if it was his own decision and no mind reading was involved... uh. If you ask me. He did quite literally hear her after coming back. That's also something that might make him think she wants him as much as he wants her, which made his self-restraint utterly meaningless from the start.

Disregarding this theory of mine proven wrong until a Chinese speaker helps me out here, MC returned to Rafayel's room. A translation omission happened here from what I saw. There are no possessive adjectives in the Chinese text about the room she returns to, and the Japanese one states she returned to the guest room (doesn't specify which one. She was also able to enter Rafayel's room without needing to knock before.)

so uh. she went into rafayel's room y'all. the line "this is my room, you're the one who walked in here" MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE. (SO LIKE. NOT ONLY DID SHE GO INTO HIS ROOM, SHE FLICKED THE BEAN THERE AND HE POSSIBLY HEARD IT. SHE'S MORE OF A FREAK THAN HE IS, I UNDERSTAND WHY HE LET GO AFTER THAT LMFAO)

I don't put it past him to get worked up after he finds her in his room post-bath even without my theory lmfao (idk why they put her in a dress when she should be in a bathrobe or something 😭)

His conclusion at the end of this memory that "he finds inspiration in pain and the art of creation is a part of his life. mc made him realize love and art are so alike. even if they don't complete him but burn him instead he wants them (love and art) with every fiber of his being" and MC says she doesn't like that, rightfully so.

So like. There's SO MUCH to unpack in here.

When Rafayel says he finds inspiration in pain and that creation is a part of his life, he’s admitting something raw and essential about himself: pain isn’t just a byproduct of his art, it’s intrinsic to it. For Rafayel, pain and art are intertwined in a way that’s almost inseparable. It’s like his muse isn’t just beauty, but beauty that hurts.

But then he takes this further by connecting art to love. He’s realized that both art and love demand the same from him: vulnerability, passion, and sometimes suffering. They don’t necessarily complete him (he’s not romanticizing them as salvation), but they burn him, wear him down, consume him (coincidentally, this is something he said to MC in the JP dub of this memory, that she consumes him), but also give him life. And for Rafayel, that’s the crux, even if they burn him, he wants them with every fiber of his being.

This is such a Rafayel thing to say. It’s dramatic, it’s tortured, but it’s also deeply SUBTLE. He doesn't spell all of these out, mind you, I got a headache trying to understand him. Or I'm just slow, I don't know. It shows how much he values creation and connection, even if they come at a cost.

MC, on the other hand, challenges this perspective. When she says she doesn’t like that he views love and art as things that burn him, she’s pushing back against the idea that suffering is a necessary part of creation, or love. MC doesn’t want Rafayel to see their relationship as something that requires him to hurt. She’s telling him, “You don’t have to destroy yourself to love me.”

When MC says, “You’ll never have to burn for me,” she’s giving Rafayel an alternative to his destructive mindset. She’s saying that love doesn’t have to hurt, that their relationship can exist without him sacrificing himself on the altar of passion. It’s a refusal to let Rafayel romanticize pain as the price of love.

And I love that Rafayel goes, "Will you help me look for other parts in life outside of pain?" in response. This is NOT about art or inspiration anymore, and the way the dialogue is written is just AUGH. Again I had to rewatch this over and over again for the nuances and subtext.

I love MC's response, she knew exactly what to say. “I’ll always be the one who walks along the shore with you. Of course, diving into the sea bed is fine too. If it can snow in the desert, there will be a day when the ocean returns.”

MC’s response is layered with metaphors, but at its core, it’s about unwavering support and hope::

Walking along the shore: This represents safety and companionship. MC is saying she’ll be with Rafayel in the calm, in the moments where they’re just observing life without diving into its depths. She’ll be his steady presence, his grounding force.

Diving into the sea bed: This is an acknowledgment that life and love sometimes require going deeper and they may go through hardships, into the unknown, the murky, the challenging. MC isn’t afraid of this, she’s willing to go there with him too.

Snow in the desert and the ocean’s return: This is a symbol of hope and transformation beyond being a nod to The Sea of Golden Sand. Snow in the desert seems impossible, just like the idea of Rafayel finding inspiration outside of pain might feel impossible to him. But MC believes in the extraordinary, in change, and in the possibility that beauty and creation can exist outside of suffering.

Her words are a promise: she’s willing to stand by him, to face the unknown together, and to hold onto the belief that a new way of seeing the world is possible.

And Rafayel LOWKEY PROPOSES IN RETURN.

By saying “let’s watch the sea together,” he’s accepting MC’s offer of companionship and hope in the long run. He’s recognizing that life doesn’t have to be about diving into the depths alone, it can be about sharing the experience with someone else, even if it’s just standing on the shore and watching.

“Every sea”: This phrase is key. Rafayel isn’t just committing to one kind of life or one kind of inspiration, he’s opening himself up to all possibilities. Watching every sea means embracing all facets of life, whether they’re calm or turbulent, painful or beautiful. It’s a marriage proposal declaration that he’s ready to explore the world beyond pain, with MC by his side.

So. I love that his inspiration returns after his freak is accepted by MC because he literally feels the acceptance through the bond.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. This memory DRAINED me. They were just supposed to bang what the fuck happened. Why did I have to go treasure hunting to find what was going on in this card. anyway...

[twilightofthesandwiches]

I'm thinking more about... how Deltarune Chapters 1 + 2 seemed to have set up certain... Patterns for the game, which a lot of the fandom kinda took for granted that they would apply for all of the following chapters as well.

Y'know, one Dark World for each Chapter, it's going to be based on a location we haven't explored before, each Dark World has it's own Ruler and it's own Super Secret Shadow Crystal Boss and we're gonna finish the game by sealing the Dark Fountain and then walk around Hometown a whole bunch.... Even stuff like the Darkners being motivated by some form of resentment or anxiety about being abandoned by the Lightners and the Super Secret Shadow Crystal Boss being 'fallen from grace' and driven mad by the influence of Someone...

And then Chapter 3 and 4 are both kinda set around slowly dissolving down this seemingly-established formula.

Chapter 3 doesn't have a real Light World Exploration segment at all, it ends before we properly seal the Fountain, and it's Super Secret Shadow Crystal Boss is actually the main route's Supposed-To-Lose-Fight with the Actual Main Villain the Roaring Knight. (Who... we simply don't know enough about to know if they have any narrative parallels with Jevil or Spamton.)

And then Chapter 4 has TONS of Light World content, including gameplay segments against SOUL-less Kris, we get to explore the Church just before the Dark Fountain opens, the Darkners don't seem to feel abandoned or neglected and we also have, like, MULTIPLE Dark Worlds, albeit ones based on the same Light World location. Gerson/the Hammer of Justice fills in both the 'leader' role like King, Queen and Tenna but also the Super Secret Shadow Crystal Boss Role (while also being clearly VERY narratively different than Jevil and Spamton).

And I think... I think that outside of Lore speculations, I think from a narrative perspective it relates to Susie's musing at the end of Chapter 4

of how she wishes things will stay the same forever, cause that'll mean she can keep being friends with Kris and Ralsei.

Like, the patterns, the formulas, they make things feel safe, because you know on some level that the next day (the next chapter) will be familiar on some level, because some things (like having a Weird Little Freak to fight, or the friendship between our main trio) will have to remain the same.

And when they start breaking apart, it's distressing. We know the changes are gonna herald more changes. And, since we are past the halfway point, we know things will end eventually.

Obviously Susie is probably not distraught about the lack of a proper Deranged Freak Shadow Crystal Holder. But these two Chapters have been a massive shift in the way she sees the Dark World and her adventures. She's starting to notice the darker undertones beneath the surface and the Actual Real Stakes involved, rather than this just being a fun magic adventure.

Since most of the audience has actually noticed these darker moments before and has been speculating about them for years, the departure from the formula is the thing that helps to put us in the mindset that Susie is in right now, that things are different than how they were in the first two chapters (days), and those times will probably never truly return.

[acid-ixx]

— masterlist !

finally migrated to another writing app that actually works well for tumblr. i was looking through my drafts, and editing some parts out for chapter 5 pt 2, and found i wrote this. which kind of sums up perfectly how i portray the mc's complex relationship with jason basically being how both of them are mirror relations to each other, parallels, platonic soulmates. i'm not saying he's explicitly the favorite, but rather, like how i portrayed damian's complicated relationship with the reader, jason and all the other members have my unique takes on how they fare with the reader; hope you all can understand this ramble hahaha...

as i've stated in one of my future chapters:

"you're bruce's little pearl, dick's baby bird, tim's perfect muse, damian's blood sibling— and it's all titles that picture you in a light you feel you couldn't quite fit in, glowing sheerly, too brightly with expectations—

but unlike everything else, you were jason's angel, a fallen one; with plucked wings and a shattered halo that gleamed too dimly to be noticed. imperfect, but your mother, too, is now an angel in the afterlife. and you find that, just by a little, you'd rather be seen broken than perfect, if it meant you'd share your mother's image, just by a little.

because i'm still bitter over losing my shortfic i was supposed to post, i suppose i'll spoil you all instead with this one scene for part 2 of chapter 5.

again, i apologize for the long delays, but i'd rather i deliver with something decent than a half-assed fic 😭 i hope my fanfics still excite my readers, despite how long they have to wait/hype it up. do comment on how you guys think the direction of this entire fic will go, and if you all are enjoying it despite the amount of angst the reader has to suffer through.

[aoflameandco]

Netflix DanteLady: in depth analysis

I ship Dante and Lady. And it makes really hard to miss a big controversy, surrounding the Netflix version of characters. There's a lot of negativity out there, and while I see some valid points, my shipper heart absolutely disagrees with the harsh takes on DanLady's development. So let's break it down and highlight some nice things about this particular interpretation of our beloved ship.

Warning:

1) This post treats the Netflix anime as its own thing. I'm not comparing the show's DanLady to the game's DanLady maybe some references aside bc imho it would request another big meta and a couple more Seasons to make a fair judgment.

2) The analysis mainly focuses on the scenes that Dante and Lady share together. The show also likes to draw parallels between them, but once again, I'd need another big meta to cover that. maybe one day

3) I call Lady "Mary", bc that's who she is from her POV right now. I like Lady better too and know the dmc3 nuances, but the show didn't reach the point yet.

Starting from the bottom

She hated demons with a passion. He exterminated them with joy. So much in common and yet — a shared distaste for the demonkind caused an all-time-low first impression.

But things looked fun at first! At least from Dante's POV. Just when the party seemed to be almost over, another pretty guest flew through his window. There's no doubt that Dante was having a blast, dominating the entire battlefield, so he accepted his new challenger eagerly, his wild grins don't lie.

Too bad, Mary was a woman with a mission. Careful calculation behind every move. Strategy instead of brute force. If her theory is correct, it's the only way she can win. And she succeeds, securing the amulet. The soldier's cold mask falls for a second, revealing how much she enjoys being in control after Dante carelessly underestimated her.

Jokes are over, Dante is pissed and Enzo's suggestive remarks the og captain of the ship don't help either. He doesn't care about the pretty thief, all he wants is to keep his sacred promise and return his precious necklace.

And so the battle for dominance begins. The episode emphasizes that Dante and Mary are birds of a feather. Both smirk when they think they have situation under control, about to catch their prey. It's not a sweet kind of smirk, they're serious and even manage to cause minor damage, but Mary wins this round by introducing an anti-demon weapon Dante never saw before.

Time to test the demon theory. Which completely takes Dante by surprise. No wonder, the whole animation looks rather suggestive, if we ignore Mary's gun pointed right at him. But that's not what confuses Dante the most, it's Mary's words. A mere thought of him being a demon is quite insulting, so he immediately laughs at her failure, hiding his own stupor behind cheeky jokes.

But this lady is too smart for her own good. She continues her musings, so deep in thought that she loses her grip, and Dante is quick to use it against her. His ruthlessness gives another hint that she has touched on a sensitive topic, triggering him further.

Mary immediately retreats, most likely blaming herself for relaxing in front of such a cunning foe. Her jumps and blasts are more uncoordinated than usual, she clearly panics and Dante has to save her at the last second from his own counterattack.

And he's still mad and demanding answers. Although the scene clearly references "my type of rain" this Dante is in no mood for flirting. The gentleman dies: he slams Mary's wrists against the wall, ignoring the close proximity he created, yanking her body like a rag doll, when she touches his nerve.

To Mary's honor, she keeps her cool even cornered, this time determined to overpower her opponent mentally. Dante's anger makes it easier, yet her cocky pocker face falls under his touch. That's really not her type of "getting personal", though he walked right into her trap.

The whole scene radiates the hateful tension that is clearly mutual. Both are a bit too petty. For example, Dante takes offense at Mary's implication that he's a brainless demon and he immediately rubs her current helpless situation in her face. Only for Mary to strike back a minute later. A great uno-game, what to say.

Slightly touching on the topic of power scaling: nope, the show doesn't make Mary stronger than Dante. Even though currently she's way down on his favorite people list, Dante has no intention to kill her, because: A) He got his morals and B) He seeks information, which she processes. And Mary thanks to the extra ammo and lack of moral limits takes full advantage of it.

Dante's hot anger subsides the next morning. Maybe because he's had time to calm down, maybe bacause Enzo's presence provides him sort of comfort their bond is truly wholesome. Either way, he decides to stand his ground, calmly denying all the demon allegations.

Meanwhile Mary's cold hatred has grown. After nearly failing the exam she did her homework — this damn hellblood won't ever get the upper hand over her. Mary demonstratively ignores Dante's small talks, turns away whenever he opens his mouth, takes every opportunity to punish him for his silly escape tactics, bluntly dehumanizes him referring to him as a "thing".

While, yeah, Mary is being a bitch in this episode, the reason behind it isn't just a sore victory. Dante is ruining her simple world. Demons are bad. But Dante is acting like a deviant, so human-like, Mary can't help but think that he's up to something. She doesn't believe in his ignorance, she tries to warn Baines that even a half-demon is a demon and doesn't deserve any special treatment. And she surely is annoyed that Dante denies his blood and has a sad backstory, quite similar to her own. Nope, she won't succumb to this demon's manipulations.

Yet, despite her cold facade, Mary isn’t as heartless as she pretends to be. After Rabbit's attack she pauses for a second to make sure her prisoners are in fact fine, before running to her teammates. And for someone who was so enthusiastic about the bomb in Dante's neck, she certainly seems a little too concerned when she realizes he’s crossed the one-mile radius.

Still at this point of story DanLady are bitter strangers. Dante isn't one to hold long grudges (given his dynamic with Enzo), but Mary's hostility doesn't help his insecurity about his origins. Meanwhile her prejudice prevents her from seeing him for who he is. They both value the amulet above all else, so they spare no extra though for each other, before diving into their own separate arcs. Which change their perception of demons forever.

Change of heart

Next reunion highlights the progress both Dante and Mary have made. She has realized that the world isn't black and white, there're different types of demons out there, even those she can't consider her enemies. And he has faced the truth, came to terms with his father's heritage and been forced to see the world through the eyes of a demon himself.

The character's journey greatly affects their dynamic. Mary doesn't hesitate to save Dante from Rudra. And Dante immediately confesses that she was right about him all along. Burying the hatchet of their first disagreement, they slowly learn to compromise.

Mary lowers her gun once Dante confirms that he won't transform again. Given how wary she was of his human form before, the new info about his power-up would naturally raise her alertness, but she trusts his words now. Besides, she isn't afraid of him, she's pretty comfortable with his harsh truths duh, she already figured it out And that means a lot to Dante, who's still struggling with self-acceptance.

Still having his head blown up might be quite a painful experience, and Dante can't help but tease about her change of approach. Mary simply rolls her eyes, but still accepts him as a reluctant ally, untill the amulet tears them apart.

The first sort of teamwork estabilishes who's the braines and who's the brawn. Dante certainly prefers a direct confrontation while Mary engages in a battle of wits with Rabbit. Still, it's impossible not to notice her distressed state, and even though Dante feels awkward witnessing it, he doesn't walk away as soon as he is instructed to work solo. In fact, he pays attention to the smallest shifts of her mood.

His attentiveness and demonic instincts save Mary's life. He cradles her close to his chest, shielding from the blast. Mary certainly has no time to react when he jumps through the window with her in his arms. Looking very mad. No wonder, his strength keeps being tested, but he's determined not to let anyone die on his watch.

Mary wakes up to find herself in a rather compromising position. Dante groans beneath her, for the first time she sees his face so close. And she's mesmerized, his soft surprised gaze doesn't help either. It's a very short lived moment of vulnerability between them, where they're stripped of their confident, smug demeanor. A blush covers her cheeks, and Mary rushes to break the magic, too afraid of the unspoken feeling that has arisen between them.

While this scene surely echoes the classic tsundere trope, Mary's reaction is easy to understand. She's a soldier, a tough one, who can't afford the luxury of weakness. Dante's existence was already confusing enough, and she'd just come to terms with his not-so-bad demon side — but feeling something for him? No, no, no, that's taboo! And so she lashes out at him in frustration.

Dante's reaction is slower. To his credit, he took the brunt of the fall on his own back, which hurts even with his healing, but the grimace of pain magically disappears when he meets her eyes. Unfortunately, he gets no time to enjoy the view, because his face meets her palm too quickly. There she's, the lady he knows, brutal and rather ungrateful, not that he expected a thank you. Well, his pout might tell other story.

Still, his soft spot for Mary is clear as day when he tries to console her about the fallen soldiers. She is also a good listener and Dante confides in her so easily, telling her about his father and the mission he intends to inherit from him. Too bad, she has other plans.

Another disagreement emerges between the pair. Both believe that Rabbit is their personal nemesis, while the other party should stay away from him. The truth is that both are wrong, bc the Rabbit's heart is big enough to hate both Darkcom and Sparda.

Anyway, while Mary's "courtesy" is definitely not for every court, she doesn't knock Dante down, even though it would've been more convenient for her plan. But at this point, she definitely sees him a person. A person she struggles to reason with, heck, the "demonic dumbass".

Dante, who just can't catch a break with his lady, is very unamused by the following development. But instead of anger, his expression is closer to despair. As if it's not just a matter of a stolen fight, but also the fear that someone will die in his place. Again. Eventually, he'll be able to break free from the truck, but who knows, if Mary will be alive by then.

In this end, this small arc points the growing attachment between the two. Mary's presence and honest approach help Dante grapple with his own insecurities, and it's clear how much he needs someone to lean on in his vulnerable moments. Meanwhile, Mary realizes that the guy in front of her is too pure for his own good, far from the cunning demon she imagined. His kindness and relatable family values keep messing with her head, but she shields her heart, knowing full well that his careless actions put the entire world in danger.

Back to back

Mary's change of heart doesn't escape Rabbit's attention. No matter how indifferent she tries to sound, using Dante's life as a bargain, her opponent calls her bluff. Without even realizing it, Mary lets it slip by using Dante's name and considering him a part of both species. The fact that she never planned to detonate the real truck adds to the point. Even though from her POV the human world would have been saved without Dante around he'd have probably survived it though and she was never into Baines' idea of using him as a weapon, she just can't. He's no longer a "thing," not an evil demon to her.

Mary's plan was quite self-destructive from the start, but lucky her, her knight in the red armor is punctual. Once again Dante saves her, giving her a cocky grin, a silent "told ya". Instead of gratutude he gets a groan from the paralyzed Mary. Of course, she's furious because he ignored her warnings again and walked right into a trap.

Mary hates being helpless, but she underestimates how much her mere presence helps Dante. He remembers Eva's words about Sparda just by looking at her. In this moment, Lady embodies the world he wants to protect. Her voice of reason is his wake up call, she drives his doubts away, leaving Rabbit no chance to use Dante's insecurities against him.

Mary does her best to be useful. She warns Dante about the poisoned blades and breaks through her paralysis to join the fight. But she still isn't strong enough, causing Dante to worry sick about her. Since this episode his protectiveness reaches a new level.

After the fight Mary reaches him, noticing, that he's again troubled by Rabbit's words. And she talks about his mother's necklace. It's a small thing, but she doesn't call it an "amulet" — instead, she understands and points out the special meaning this victory has for Dante personally.

Given this, it is no wonder that Dante looks extremely happy when Mary confirms that she will not take his amulet anymore. Too bad, both misunderstood each other. Dante is full of hope, that Lady has accepted him as the best protector. Mary — confident that Dante has understood the danger and will cooperate willingly from now on.

That's where their third conflict blossoms. But unlike the previous ones — about the demon nature or the Rabbit fight — this one lacks the edge and feels like a flirting banter. Especially if you watch their body language and face expressions closely, both are challenging each other, clearly enjoying the tension. The changes Enzo the og captain of the ship immediately notices and points bluntly. Funnily enough, none of the two try to beat allegations.

At this point Dante uses "we" heavily, viewing himself and Mary as an inseparable team, after everything they went through. His childishness is contagious and Mary finds herself engaging in his silly points, arguing about their saving score. Still, she reminds him that's she is a part of Darkcom and that's not just a matter between them two.

Dante's sympathy for Lady doesn't apply to her organization at all, and their opinions on Baines' methods clash. Ironically enough, Baines decides to play a harsh boss right afer Mary defends his honor. But Dante isn't one to watch how his lady get reprimanded in front of him. Besides, he realizes that he's the main cause of her struggles, and quickly covers for them both with a lie. Mary, still visibly torn, agrees and doesn't reveal that the amulet is in fact in his pocket.

However, Baines sets the stage to make the choice between heart and duty even more difficult. Once again the Lieutenant Mary Ann Arkham is acting out of character, questioning orders and hesitating to take the "demon" in custody. For someone who teased Dante about blusting his haircut a minute ago, Mary looks terribly hurt when she actually gets an opportunity to do so.

The inevitable confrontation gets cancelled by the mutated Rabbit, who gives DanLady a chance to show the best of their teamwork. Without hesitation Mary entrusts Dante with her gun, but his unholy strength quickly breaks her gear. They even find time to bicker about it, between the shooting and strategizing. Dante's face doesn't look very remorseful though, it seems he enjoys being scolded by her.

But his confident smirk vanishes immediately when his partner gets hurt. Once again, Dante can't hide his fear of losing Lady. Her life has skyrocketed to the top of his priorities: after the helicopter crash the first thing he does is checking on her, rather than securing his precious necklace.

Mary is hard to kill though. Not only does she always rise up, but also comes to Dante's aid at the most critical moments. She pays her debts, saving him twice. Finding the strength to pilot a helicopter and fire the last anti-demon bullet, when Dante is cornered. His influence on her is hard to deny when she adapts his famous catchphrase for her final shot.

The way they look at each other after the enemy is defeated speaks volumes. They won and saved the world, working together. Quite a solid foundation for a bond.

Sunrise finds them together on the bridge, the shortest distance between them. Mary consoles Dante over Enzo's death, at this point perfectly understanding how much the loss affects him. She sees right through his cheerful facade and when Dante tries to escape with another joke, she opens up to him too. The honesty is mutual and Dante tells her of his latest discovery: his brother may be alive. Finding Vergil becomes his primary goal. But suddenly Dante, the former lone wolf Dante, who didn't want anyone to pry into his family's affairs — invites Lady to come with him.

This is not something Mary ever expected, her expression softening, surprise evident in her eyes. Dante doesn't give her a break, immediately coming up with the name for their future duo. It all makes sense from his perspective, they fight great together, they complement each other, they share similar regrets, they'll make it work. The only snag is the order of their names and Dante laughs heartily, looking genuinely happy for once.

Little did he know about the turmoil his Lady was going through at that moment. Her weak smile dies with their silly argument and shifts into a somber expression. And she does what her duty requires, looking absolutely heartbroken.

The disbelief on Dante's face doesn't make Mary's explanation any easier. Yet, as he falls, we see Lady from his slowly blurring POV — and it's not the face of a traitor, but the small lost figure of someone who regrets this outcome deeply. Her guilt echoes in her apologize, which, sadly, he can no longer hear.

Their last crucial disagreement finally comes to light. Mary has witnessed the danger of a demon invasion first-hand, so she can't let Dante and his amulet go on another risky adventure, especially knowing how unstoppable he'll be with his newfound motivation. And even though Mary the person clearly sympathizes with Dante's passion, Mary the soldier makes the final decision. However, it immediately backfires, because it's Baines who throws the safety of their world into the trashcan.

Well, long story short, it's hard to deny how much the bond between Dante and Mary has changed over the course of the first season. From bitter enemies to reluctant allies to ride-or-die comrades. All with a tension in the air that the show isn't shy about calling romantic. And yet, Netflix DanLady takes a complicated, but realistic route.

Lady doesn't join Dante at the end of the day, and they don't walk into sunrise hand in hand. After all, they've only known each other barely more than a day. That was enough to develop a great sense of understanding and care for each other, but not enough to give up their old lives. Both still in the middle of their character arcs. Mary isn't ready to be Dante's Lady yet, but her trust in Darkcom is clearly crumbling. Dante's straightforward approach would've result in the world's collapse if Mary hadn't cover for him, he still needs to learn to be less reckless. And the next Season looks very promising for both of their arcs, which will clearly collide at some point and take their relationship to the next level.

Thanks for reading till the end! Of course, this analysis is nothing but my personal interpretation. I'd love to hear your thoughts too! What do you love about Netflix DanteLady? Are you looking forward to Lady's "redemption"? What do you expect from Tony Redgrave? Please, let me know 😌

[carelessflower]

Magnus is Alec's life and Alec is Magnus's death

One minor post to dive into this new theory I have. We know there are a lot of parallels and symmetries between malec: angel/demon, moon/sun, introvert/extrovert, silver/gold, etc Then I start thinking deeper into this tendency of their dynamic to push and pull each other, and come to this

1. Magnus is Alec's life

City of Bones

In the sense that Magnus has helped save Alec's life countless times, it was established in their small breadcrumbs in one of their earliest interaction, when he saved Alec from the demon poison. One can say this quite literally set the foundation of their relationship, as Alec asked Magnus out while visiting Magnus to say thank you for saving his life

City of Heavenly Fire

He also saved Alec again during the gang's journey to Edom, even though Magnus wasn't present. Alec's hallucination, caused by the demons, includes a lot of people, yet Magnus is the one who snaps him out of it, insisting that life is worth living more than fantasy.

The Red Scrolls of Magic

Magnus also brings life to Alec in a metaphorical sense, "breathing a new life" into him. Opening his eyes to new beauties, chances, and people, letting Alec know that yes, he is built for storybook moments too

Queen of Air and Darkness

Magnus is his biggest muse, inspiration. Magnus makes him strive every day to make the world a better place. Alec wants to be better for Magnus, for their family, he loves him so much, he will bend and break the narrative for the future in which Magnus can be happy

2. Alec is Magnus's death

The Red Scrolls of Magic

City of Heavenly Fire

City of Heavenly Fire

On many occasions, when Magnus has a near encounter with death, he remembers or thinks about Alec. Is it because somehow Magnus got the worst luck in existence and keeps kissing death every two months and stressing his friends and family out? Maybe. But this kind of proves Alec is present a lot during Magnus' perceived final hour

The Red Scrolls of Magic

Many times, people have told Magnus Alec will be "the death of him", referencing how his angelic blood and family will make him eventually choose his shadowhunter community above all else, and abandoning Magnus (not featured pictures, cause honestly there are like a lot). I kind of find it interesting how it ties up to Magnus's perception of himself, and eventually of Alec, like when he's kind of implying Alec should prioritize his life over Magnus's here

Magnus's letter to Alec

Death, of course, can translate to other things, not just a physical one. The death of one's old self, a transformation, aligning with how Magnus is describing Alec's presence in his life here

3. We Have to Talk About The Black and White Impermanence

The Lost Book of The White

For the sake of my argument, let's theorize White Impermanence as "life" and Black Impermanence as "death."

The Lost Book of The White

Alec eventually succeeds in his trial, and he is able to give "death" to Magnus. And we also know this is true because-

Queen of Air and Darkness

In Thule, Alec did kill Magnus after he turned into a demon. And after Alec's "life" is gone, he is gone too

The Lost Book of The White

I don't see people talk about this a lot, but from the way I interpret it, Magnus, too, has his own trial with the sword in The Lost Book of the White, and he passes it. He gives "mercy" to Alec, making Shiyun spares Alec's life. By submitting to Sammael, he literally gives "life" to Alec, while Alec brings "death" to him via death of the self, because Magnus's biggest fear is becoming a demon (stated he would rather be killed than that)

tag list: @magnus-the-maqnificent @literallytypogod @hoezier-than-thou @sociallyineptbibliophile @queenlilith43

@khaleesiofalicante @wandererbyheart @raziyekroos @onetimetwotimesthreetimess @alexandergideonslightwood

@noah-herondale-lightwood @elettralightwood @dustandducks @deliciousdetectivestranger @delightfullyterrible

@letsgofortacos

@kita-no @thelightofthebane @secrettryst @goldendreams3 @cityofdownwardspirals

@stupidfuckindinosaur

@i-have-not-slept @rinadragomir @potato-jem @kasper-tag

@banesapothecary @culiehua @fatiguedcoffee

[k423s]

[ID: An image of Albedo’s splash art next to Kaveh’s splash art. End ID.]

Quarterfinals: Albedo vs Kaveh

[murfpersonalblog]

Castlevania Nocturne S2 Musings - Drolta, Erzsebet, Annette, & Cultural Heritage

Well. Well. Well. I reckon Netflix heard everyone cussing up a storm in S1 about how some random white woman was gonna be allowed to just steal an African goddess' power; like, what in the actual cultural appropriation is this crap, Netflix?! 🤨

So S2 flipped it--DROLTA was the nincompoop who found Erzsebet, and GAVE her Sekhmet's power, OML she deserved to die. 🤦

Annette: "I know why the scales are out of balance. Your High Priestess Drolta has betrayed you. She desecrated your tomb and mummy. Fed your Ba and Ka to a murderess vampire. " Akh!Sekhmet: "Humanity found ways to betray their gods as much as they do each other!"

Drolta got the fleshed out backstory Nocturne SORELY NEEDED for its villain, cuz Erzsebet was bringing NOTHING to this series. She was a TERRIBLY uninteresting villain, compared to Dracula & Carmilla. I hated S1, and S2 was getting on my nerves, too, cuz I was like WHAT is the point of all this!?

human!Drolta: For every suffering, a wisdom is gained.... Show me how to be stronger, Daughter of the Sun! Tell me what I must do, and I will do it!

Drolta was a healer & High Priestess of Sekhmet--who was an old AF goddess/vampire(?) that...died? And was mummified...HOW? Wtvr. So her mummy got stolen by foreigner(?) vampires & eventually sold to the Louvre in France. Drolta was almost killed, but drank the blood of the vampire she fought & killed, to become "stronger" as a vamp.

Invader!Vampire: You think you can make yourself a vampire!? You're not strong enough. You're a feeble woman, serving a feeble goddess. A goddess merely of HEALING! human!Drolta: Sekhmet isn't only a goddess of healing. She is also a goddess of WAR!

Instead, Drolta clearly lost her frikkin mind, and became a zealot. So she spends the next 200+ years making a whole blood cult/coven of vampire fledgling priestesses, looking for the one strong enough to become Sekhmet's vessel/reincarnation & always failing. I think it's cuz the Squad mentioned that the mummy was stolen and Drolta was tryna go hide that. So I guess she NEEDED someone to become the next goddess and restore HER shaken faith. So she wandered the world unsuccessfully looking for the right vessel, until she heard about the crazy Hungarian serial killer Erzsebet Bathory killing kids & whatnot, "the most evil woman in the world, which makes you perfect~!" 🤦 And Erzsebet's evil AF already, so ofc she's like You can make me a GODDESS!? Say less! 😈🤦🤦

So for "170 cycles of the sun," Erzsebet's a vamp guzzling Sekhmet's blood, but she's not becoming a real goddess, cuz she only has the Ba & the Ka, not the Akh. So I guess this explains why she's so flat & hollow, cuz she really has no goal--she wants to be worshiped, sure, and blot out the sun, and kill humans, and ofc she wants Alucard dead cuz he killed Drolta, but other than that she has no motivations--she has a soul (2, in fact), but she's INCOMPLETE without the Akh making her whole, as a REAL goddess. She was already a monster as a human, but as a vampire/"goddess" she's.... Pointless.

Like, Nocturne mentions that she killed kids, but not WHY--but ofc IRL Bathory was apparently tryna stay young bathing in their blood cuz she was vain AF. This Erzsebet has zero motivations whatsoever. But like I said b4, she clearly has a soul. But I ALSO said she was giving me slavemaster vibes, and yep, frikkin called it.

Erzsebet: "You are my servant! Obey me.... I am Sekhmet! YOU are my SERVANT! OBEY ME!"

So I'm glad Drolta turned on her and took the power for herself; I was tired of this heifer since S1. AND she got the tastebuds kicked out of her--so much for being "Invincible~!," LOL.

It serves as a nice parallel for how the French Revolution was also a coup where the lower classes rose up against their weak useless effing rulers, and took power for themselves--only for the Reign of Terror under Robespierre to reveal that absolute power ALWAYS corrupts absolutely, turning people into the very monsters they tried to destroy--a la Maria vs the Abbot.

(So Erszebet wasn't redeemed by love at all--nor was the Abbot. The only one who was "redeemed" was Maria--though I don't think she has anything to be redeemed for; god forbid girls do anything, LOL!) But I digress!

It also has a racial message about how some Black folk really do put their trust in people they think/hope can lead them, who just constantly disappoint & let you down--giving away our power FOR WHAT? Effing idiots voting for evil effing Trump, like wtf is wrong with y'all? But I digress!

Then we come to Annette, who borrows Akh!Sekhmet's power to purify Erszebet & Drolta & reunite the 3 parts of Sekhmet's soul.

I'm especially relieved that Annette wasn't able to become Sekhmet's vessel either. Cuz it's like what Akh!Sekhmet said in the finale:

Akh!Sekhmet: This vessel is weaker than ever. But I must retrieve my souls from this new obscenity. Richter: Where is Annette? Can you send her back? Akh!Sekhmet: She is an interloper in a place where she does not belong.... But so am I.

And what Ogun said to Annette earlier:

Ogun: Gods do not cross into one-another's realm.

Ogun: Old gods everywhere are being forgotten, or misused by worshipers. By priestesses, vampires. Corrupted souls are causing chaos across the realms.

Cuz the ONE who COULD have been the BEST vessel for Sekhmet SHOULD have been human!Drolta, as Sekhmet's original priestess in Egypt--if she hadn't become corrupted by her anger & trauma when the foreign vampires attacked her temple & killed her people.

Drolta: I did this for you! All of this, I did it for you! Akh!Sekhmet: Made yourself into this unclean thing. Filled my temple with atrocities. Fed my soul to a disgusting walking corpse! Drolta: So that you could live again! I thought it was what you wanted! I thought it was what you wanted! Akh!Sekhmet: It is time to balance the scales. Drolta: I thought it was what you wanted.....

IMO, this is actually a WILD message Netflix is sending about the importance of retaining your cultural heritage, esp. for us Black people, who've been so effed up by foreigners & invaders & interlopers in our lands/cultures, that we've completely gone astray--look at that culture vulture Drake making a effing MESS of hip hop right now cuz morons let that fool in.

Cuz unlike Drolta, Annette is not Egyptian, and she doesn't worship Egyptian gods. That's not her religion; it's not her culture; it's not her realm. Granted, she shows far more respect for Sekhmet than Drolta (who'd been led astray from her own birthright, and GAVE IT AWAY to Erzsebet), and definitely more than Erzsebet. But Annette CANNOT be a permanent vessel for a goddess she doesn't actually have in HER soul. For balance to be restored, everyone & everything needs to go back to their proper places--Sekhmet needs to be allowed to go back home to Egypt. Her people/culture's dead now--Drolta was the last one keeping her cult(ure) alive. Duat is where Sekhmet belongs, in the afterlife--NO ONE can be her vessel.

And Annette said in the finale: she's going back to Haiti, to her people--her ancestors/gods. And Sekhmet would have no place there, if she'd stayed in Annette, who's trained in Afro-Haitian Voodoo/Vodun instead.

Cuz like, here I was, being stupid, thinking Papa Legba was Annette's patron god--but he was just the guide pointing her the right way, to the Orisha, Ogun. I assume the 3-headed figure is cuz Papa Legba's the loa of the crossroads--so he looks scary cuz Annette had a choice to make, and feared the unknown. But once she follows Papa & finds the right path, he's a friendly grandpa and fades away.

The parts with Ogun are my freaking favorite.

Annette wields the machete & the shield Ogun made for her, cuz she's been HIS vessel/avatar the whole time, as the Remover of Obstacles. We've BEEN seeing all of S1 & S2 how her magic is power over metals & magnetism; she can turn metals into anything she wants, esp. weapons.--just like Ogun.

And Nocturne doesn't explicitly mention this, but Ogun is ALSO a god of war, just like Sekhmet. But Akh!Sekhmet was RELUCTANT to take Annette as a vessel, while Ogun was EXPECTING her the whole time, and readily blessed her with his protective shield.

Annette & Drolta are mirror images--the right & wrong way to love & serve God. And I frikkin LOVE the poetic cinema of human!Drolta having been an Egyptian priestess highly adept with the khopesh, while Annette's a Haitian priestess highly adept with the machete.

So I'm not surprised that Annette's body was incompatible with Akh!Sek, and almost burned up. The way she absorbed Akh!Sek was violent & scary, unlike the peaceful & loving way Ogun accepted her.

So I'm just glad Sekhmet didn't destroy Annette when she purified Drolta & got her 3 souls back; and went back home to Duat on her own, to rest in the afterlife finally in peace.

[usermaddiehans]

not like this

featuring : evan ' buck ' buckley / edmundo ' eddie ' diaz ( buddie ) , henrietta ' hen ' wilson , howard ' chimney ' han , maddie buckley han , ravi panikkar , robert ' bobby ' nash , athena grant - nash rating : t word count : 2,229

premise : buddie , locked in a bedroom , while all their friends chant for them to kiss. it does not go over as easily as one may expect.

content warning(s) : excessive drinking

author's note : saw someone ( shoutout @offscreeneddie x ) begging for a buddie parallel to the one scene of nick and jess from new girl where people are chanting for them to kiss and nick is like " not like this ! " ( it's s 2 ep 15 " cooler " ) anyways it's been in my head ever since hope this works out put this in whatever timeline

what started out as post - shift drinks has somehow unraveled into some sort of party at the diaz house. thank god chris is staying the night with a friend , because the 118 squad had made a mess of the place at this ungodly hour. every liquor bottle has been emptied , every beer drank. the only ones sober are bobby and athena ; the former making sure his squad didn't get into much trouble , the latter likely curious for the free entertainment. even maddie showed up at some point , probably because chimney told her she was missing all the fun.

they started playing some game , eddie doesn't know how it began , but he's suddenly being pushed into the bedroom. chimney is using all of his might shoving him into the room ; maddie behind him , forcing her brother in next. buck seemed to fight it less , but that could be chalked up to not wanting to hurt his sister. before the best friends can protest any further , the door slammed shut behind them. gigging outside followed.

eddie blinks. he looks to buck , who is sitting on the edge of his bed now. he moves to the door , trying the handle to find it won't open. it won't budge. clearly , their friends were prepared enough to lock them in somehow. he bangs on the door , though it doesn't do him much.

" how long you think they are gonna keep us in here ? " eddie asks , putting his back to the door.

" oh , just until ... " buck's words are cut off by chanting.

kiss ! kiss ! kiss ! ah , yes , that's why they were shoved together. they lost whatever the bet was , and somehow the price they needed to pay was to kiss. it was probably the alcohol talking , but eddie swore he even heard bobby chanting along. he of all people shouldn't be trying to get his crew to kiss each other , but the 118 never was good with strict protocol , after all ...

eddie bangs his head on the door. buck flops on his back onto the bed. the chanting continues. eddie wonders if their friends will grow bored eventually.

" if we kiss , they'll let us out , " buck muses , his eyes locked on the ceiling. " i'm sure hen would've kissed chim to get it over with , and they both have wives ... " meanwhile , chimney's wife was one of the loudest voices outside the door. eddie wondered if she'd be this loud if it was anyone else. maddie did love to torment her brother , all in good fun or so she claimed.

" can we not and say we did ? " eddie asks.

" they'll know. " he doesn't know how , but buck's right , eliciting a groan.

eddie pushes off the door and plops next to his friend on the bed. for a moment , they both lay there , staring at the ceiling as they ignore their friends. eventually , they exchange glances , chucking to one another. this is ridiculous , they know. still , they can't help but smile.

after a couple of minutes , the chanting has dulled. hushed conversations take its place. if they listen closely , they can hear hen explaining the situation to a confused ravi ; the young firefighter confused what the big deal is. he was merely along for the ride , roped into their shenanigans time and time again somehow.

eddie knows better than to check the door again. their friends were stubborn and unlikely to give up anytime soon. thus , he laid there for just a little longer , contemplating their situation. what if they just fell asleep , right here right now , in his bed ? it was big enough for two , after all ; even two men their size. he didn't think it'd be awkward , he realizes. he'd slept in much worse conditions , after all ; what was sharing a bed with his best friend ?

they'd still be locked in here in the morning ; their friends abandoning them barracked in the bedroom if they left. buck and eddie were firefighters , they could easily break down the door if they tried. however , eddie didn't want to replace the door or its frame again ...

he threw an arm over his eyes , a groan escaping. " why all this ?? "

" i don't know. " he hears buck silently laugh. " maybe they think you haven't been kissed in a while ? "

eddie felt a shift next to him. he uncovered his eyes and looked next to him ; seeing buck now propping himself on his side , looking back at him. he couldn't help mirroring the position. it was just so casual , a little goofy.

" even if that were true ... " it was. they both knew. eddie wasn't trying to date. he was too tired of feeling like he was performing , only for it to end in disaster time and time again. it wasn't worth the trouble. " why you ? "

buck's shoulders bounced with a nonchalant shrug. " i'm the best kisser. obviously. " they both laughed. " plus maybe no one else can handle so - called eight pack. "

eddie rolled his eyes at the apparent nickname. he thought it started as some one - off joke ; at least it never actually caught on. " be quiet. "

" what ? " he could hear buck trying to hold back a laugh. " i've seen your abs ! i'm not intimidated by them ! " eddie wanted to push him off the bed in that moment. still , his friend continued on. " you'd be hotter , if you were just a bit less broody. "

eddie rolled his eyes. " oh , yeah ? " a tinge of disbelief coated his tone.

" yeah ! " buck answered , perhaps a bit too excitedly. " like so much hotter. and a cute kid on top of that ? girls would be lining out the door , for sure. "

" if i was less broody ? "

" oh , yeah. "

something about buck's smirk made eddie's heart skip a beat. he blinked. wait , why ? he'd been called hot before , attractive. it was an acknowledgeable truth , perhaps , but coming from buck ? all of a sudden , something stirred in his chest.

he sat up abruptly , earning a confused look from his friend. " what are we supposed to do ? " there was a sort of panic in his question.

" kiss , " buck answered simply , sitting up. now they sat on the edge of the mattress together , side - by - side , their shoulders now touching.

eddie made no effort to move , not even an inch. he became overly away of the point of contact , but he refused to acknowledged it. instead , he stared at the door. he wasn't sure how much time had passed. would they really have to kiss to get out of here ? would that be so bad ?

he looked at buck , who seemed to innocently look back ; yet why was eddie's heart suddenly beating faster and faster ? eddie's gaze flickered between buck's lips then his eyes for a brief moment. he caught himself quick enough to look away before forcing himself to stand.

eddie tried the door again , already knowing it wouldn't open. he used a little more force than before. jiggling the door clearly made enough noise to draw attention from their friends outside.

" did you guys kiss yet ? " maddie called out.

eddie tried the door again , which was correctly interpreted as a ' no. ' he was beginning to consider if a new door would be so bad ; then the chanting picked up again. kiss ! kiss ! kiss !

" fuck ! " he shouted under his breath. even if he wanted to , he couldn't knock down the door. there were too many people on the other side to safely do so. his hand rubbed at his forehead as he thought of what to do next.

" eddie. " his name sounding like an impatient plea behind him , following the sound of bedsprings. next , a sturdy hand on his shoulder forced him to turn around. " let's just get this over with. just kiss me. "

" no ! " the word coming out harsher than he expected. " i'm not gonna kiss you. " eddie's tone clearly distressed. he couldn't kiss his best friend. he just couldn't.

" kiss me ! "

" buck , stop. " a plea of his own. his scanning every feature on the other's face.

the other shook his head , practically rolling his eyes. " god ! diaz , just kiss me already !! "

" no , " it came out almost pained. " not like this ! " eddie stunned even himself with his own words. he blinked , head shaking slightly , but never breaking eye contact.

buck looked back at him , confusion clear. " what's that supposed to be ? "

" nothing. i just , " eddie was suddenly struggling with words more and more. his lips parted , only air escaping. " i didn't mean it like that. " his eyes shut , trying to collect his thoughts somehow. why was this so hard ? " we can't , like that , because ... " his eyes opened , blinking quickly. " that's not ... do you know , like ... "

he gave up , finally averting his gaze. he ran a hand through his hair , loosening strands in the process. outside the door , the chanting continued. eddie's eyes searched the space for any way out. he froze , an idea. he held up a hand , as if stopping buck from saying anything , as he walked away.

he approached the window , throwing the curtains aside. he slammed the window open with ease. how this didn't occur to him earlier , he wasn't sure. maybe he didn't feel the need to actually escape until this exact moment. he thanks god he lived in a single - story house as he climbed out.

he hit the ground with a soft thud. he didn't even dare look inside to see what buck's reaction might have been. instead , he made his way to the front of the house and let himself in the front door. ( because , of course , no one in their drunk stupor managed to like this door. ) he was greeted by the chanting once more , louder without the door as a sound barrier.

" we're done ! " he called out as he marched past his friends that lingered in the living room , making his way toward the bedroom. he found it was a chair propped against the handle that kept them locked in ; he wasn't surprised. he quickly dislodged it and swung the door open ; revealing a still very confused buck in the same spot eddie left him mere moments prior.

he directed his attention to bobby and athena. " i'm sure you two can get everyone home in one piece. "

bobby and athena nodded , accepting their role. neither looked all that guilty. the captain likely joined the chanting out of boredom than anything else.

hen and maddie looked unimpressed , borderline upset the plan didn't work. they were likely the masterminds behind much of the plan , if eddie had to guess.

ravi and chimney looked the most embarrassed ; both just going along with the plan. ravi likely didn't even know what he was getting into tonight. he never did with the 118 , on - or off - duty.

eddie motioned for everyone to get their stuff , and slowly but surely everyone gathered themselves. they filed out the door after a few minutes ; buck always the one lingering behind. eddie debated on offering him the couch , like he always did.

" good night , eddie , " buck offered him a weak smile.

everyone else was outside , out of sight. eddie stopped buck as he turned to walk away , suddenly pulling him close. without another thought , he was kissing his best friend.

to his surprise , buck was kissing him back ; and for a while , they were a mess of mouths , of arms twisted together. time stood still as they seemed to find their place in one another. it was like something naturally falling into place , like there was no question in the action , no hesitation.

locked in together , forced together , the idea felt so wrong. eddie couldn't breath. it was like the concept of kissing his best friend never crossed his mind before then ; but when it did , suddenly it felt too important a thing to waste. they shouldn't kiss because they were being told to. no , he suddenly wanted to. it was craving something he'd never tasted before , never allowed himself to.

he was tired of performing , and he refused to let this moment turn into a performance for their friends , their loved ones. he needed to let himself be raw , open , vulnerable ; in a way that only made sense with buck. thus , in the silence of the now empty house , he had to take the opportunity before it slipped away ; before he could think better of it.

as they parted to finally catch their breath , their foreheads remained together ; eddie's hands lingering on buck's waist , like they belonged there. their eyes found each other with ease. both in a state somewhere between surprise and acceptance.

eddie stole one last tender kiss from the other's lips before introducing distance once more. he just barely kept buck within reach as he finally admitted. " i meant something like that. "

his gaze averted , he made himself let go. he gave a curt nod , pulling himself a way. he knew better than to ask for anything more , end it there. maybe things would change ; for better or worse , eddie didn't know.

he gave buck a half smile , a final goodbye for the night , before he turned his back. he hid glassy eyes as he disappeared down the hall. tomorrow was certainly going to be a new day , and he'd face it when it came.

as he closed the bedroom door , eddie heard the front door open once again ; followed shortly by maddie's voice. " buck , are you coming ? or are you staying here ? "

" ... i'm coming. "

[gu6chan]

New thought I like to think this was his opener because all the ppl coming to him like "are you the priest??? i would like to confess my sins 🥺👉👈" and the immense pressure it took on him not to immediately shoot back with everything they said with "ive done worse lol"

real question do y'all think this was a respect thing or a "don't say anything stupid and ruin my chances with my future husband" thing lmao

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

masterpost

a list of my haikaveh meta in one place!

The Haikaveh Essay - Genshin Impact and Queercoding: Identifying Queercoding in Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship, 55k (Latest update: 15/07/2024) - Medium - PDF

Masterpost series of Alhaitham being endeared by Kaveh - Part 1 - The Archon Quest - Part 2 - A Parade of Providence - Part 3 - Kaveh's Hangout - Part 4 - Alhaitham's Story Quest - Bonus: Alhaitham being intolerable for attention - Bonus pt 2: Alhaitham being a romantic through actions

The Archon Quest - Camera angles: establishing Kaveh's importance to Alhaitham - The Archon Quest as a metaphor for Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship + the resolution in Cyno's Story Quest

A Parade of Providence (2023) - The ultimate analysis of how A Parade of Providence changes Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship - Miscommunication and misunderstanding: a call for change - <ask> Kaveh's reaction to The Traveller vs Alhaitham

Cyno Story Quest II (2024) - General Thoughts (Haikaveh/Cynonari) - The Improvement in Alhaitham and Kaveh's Relationship - Kaveh referring to Alhaitham's house as 'Home' and its significance - Reconciliation: Parallels between Alhaitham and Kaveh's research on The Temple of Silence and their abandoned thesis - Looking into the mirror: The balancing of Alhaitham and Kaveh's opposing viewpoints - The parallels between Alhaitham and Kaveh and Naphis and Cyrus - 'The Dead Past is the Living Present' quest title and its connection to Alhaitham and Kaveh - Analysing Alhaitham and Kaveh's body language in A Parade of Providence compared to Cyno's Story Quest II

An Odd Textual Mystery (2024) - Overall thoughts [Part 1] - Overall thoughts (analysis of the final scene with Alhaitham and Kaveh) [Part 2] - Alhaitham's curiosity around Kaveh being the catalyst for the event - How the event can relate to Alhaitham and Kaveh's past thesis - <ask> The further progression of Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship

Chromatic Ode of Candies and Roses (2024) - Overall thoughts - The scene blocking for Kaveh and Alhaitham's private conversation - The further development of Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship - Alhaitham and Kaveh as 'friends'

Miscommunication - Alhaitham's manner of expression - Port Ormos Bulletin Board analysis - The Omissions in Alhaitham's Character Stories - Alhaitham's Egoism in relation to Kaveh - Alhaitham and Kaveh's argument - <ask> Alhaitham and Kaveh complaining about each other and fandom misconception - <ask> Kaveh and Alhaitham's differing philosophies founding their friendship - <ask> How close were Kaveh and Alhaitham as students? - <ask> Who yearns harder, Alhaitham or Kaveh? (Part One, Part Two, Part Three)

Queercoding - The Double Entendre of 'Roommates': Madam Faruzan - Parallels Between Kaveh and His Mother: Companionship and Romance - Pride and Prejudice: Alhaitham's Story Quest in Relation to Kaveh - Alhaitham and Kaveh - not 'friends' but 'roommates'

Sumeru Bulletin Board Analyses - Mahamata Bulletin Board - Puspa's Cafe Message Board - Port Ormos Bulletin Board (revamped)

'Home' - Alhaitham as Kaveh's 'home' - Alhaitham and Kaveh As Each Other's Home and Family - <ask> Alhaitham and Kaveh as found family pre and post argument

Birthdays - Kaveh's letter: Home and Alhaitham (2023) - Alhaitham's Birthday art musings (2024) - Alhaitham's lack of Kaveh mention (2024) - Alhaitham's Birthday: Coffee and Domesticity (2025)

Other things of interest - <ask> Analysis of Alhaitham's Character Stories (the hidden sentiment) - <ask> Kaveh's Hangout: The implications of Cyrus knowing both Kaveh's and Alhaitham's parents - <ask> Alhaitham buying wine for Kaveh as an apology - <ask> Alhaitham and Kaveh as Teapot companions: similarities and differences

[the-aleator]

endeavour musings vi

featuring: quartet s5e5, Bright + Thursday I just want to highlight this scene:

BRIGHT: I don't want to have to raise my voice in front of the men, but this station is currently under review. THURSDAY: They wouldn't simply shut Cowley down, though, would they, sir? BRIGHT: Results, Thursday. Results. We shall live or die by our achievements… or the lack of them. THURSDAY: To be honest, sir… ..I'm not sure I've got the miles left in me to start over at a new nick. Particularly if it meant a new guv'nor.

It actually doesn't need any highlighting, because Lesser + Allam convey a lifetime's life in less than 2 minutes. Everything about this scene is gorgeous: Bright's confidence in Thursday about the review (as compared "to the men"), Thursday's honesty and doubt about the political machinations of upper management, Bright's honesty and doubt in return ("or lack of them"), and then Thursday doubles down on that honesty with a straightforward, not sentimental loyalty.

I love that Bright's cynicism here about "results," as the gauge of a successful review, and how that contrasts with the emotional onus of the rest of their conversation: the men, the station, governors (people vs systematic measurements) I love the earthiness of Thursday's metaphor ("got the miles") as if he were a beast of burden, and the vulnerability when he says a "new guv'nor." Thursday intimates to Morse that it doesn't matter who the man in charge is, but that isn't really true: where Box tempts Thursday further down the path of self destruction, Bright only ever calls him back. They've seen each other through a lot already, and there's more to come! Compare it to when Thursday mentions putting in his papers to Morse: it's because he's "too set in his ways" and he won't do "cloak and dagger" coppering. It's the spirit of the same thing he says to Bright, but Thursday can't or won't be vulnerable to Morse in the same way -- Morse is too young to understand (as Bright will), that Thursday's tired of this life.

And also worried that all of this has meant nothing. The whole exchange between Bright and Thursday is roiled underneath by that worry, by both men, that their life's work is being thrown on the scrape heap, and that it was worthless.

I love that the show acknowledges that even though Bright is older than Thursday, Thursday has a lot more mileage. The toll of being a copper has fallen on them unevenly, mostly because of class but also personality. And Bright cares about that, and him. They value each other regardless. It fits into the enlisted man-officer dynamic and surmounts it.

The layers on layers here is stunning: the two steaming cups of tea, the comfortable English ritual, punctuating the vulnerability of the confidences between them.

(Strange calls their meetings "Morning Prayers," at one point and I love that description and its connotations to bits.)

Final note: Bright's friendship for Thursday is the parallel of Max's for Morse. Neither has the all-or-nothing character of the friendship between Thursday & Morse, which at times is pointlessly self-sacrificial to destruction's sake, but it is lovely and beautiful and bright (yes) all the same.

Cf: Coda, Prey

[psychotic-nonsense]

NOW WITH A PART 2 AND PART 3 !!!!

Not sure if this is anything, and feel free to critique or add on or clarify and all that, but...

A few weeks post-Starcourt Steve, absolutely wrecked by the Russians and Billy. He's healing, little by little, but he knows he needs to put his pain aside to help out The Party. Especially Robin, who has not been coping with the trauma well. She's taken to spending the night at Steve's most of the time, and they help each other manage. She's not the best with physical comfort, nor is Steve with verbal comfort, but they're managing.

Yet despite the constant offers of help, Steve always refuses to "ask for too much" and often downplays his pain, forcing a smile to keep anyone from worrying. He's bottling up everything - probably handling it worse than Robin, even though he insists he's used to it and knows how to fix himself. Every day he gets a little worse, and every night he brushes off help.

It's during one of these late nights that disaster finds them again. It's Steve and Robin in his living room, and they're just about falling asleep on the couch when the ground begins rumbling, hard. An earthquake, shaking Hawkins and getting the entire Party in a frenzy. The radios are blaring with the kids' voices and Steve's trying to get Robin to stop screaming into the walkie, when suddenly there's a hole opening up in Steve's living room, and the earthquake stops. Steve and Robin go quiet, and the kids are urging for a response as they all rush to meet up at Steve's.

But he and Robin can't speak, too busy staring at the hole. One that looks way too similar to the Gates... but it glows blue instead of the usual red. Steve, ever the protector, is carefully stepping around the hole to grab a fire poker for defense. The second he does, the Party bursts in, just in time to watch the hole suddenly crack open further, sucking Steve in and closing itself behind him-

As Steve Harrington lands in the bedroom of Post-ST3-release 2019 Eddie Munson.

Eddie's living rough, bunking in his childhood friend Ronnie's basement. An orphan, can't hold a job, in his second senior year of high school purely because he knows he has nothing else to do after it. His only source of comfort so far has been DnD - either the DM hosting he does at the local library for the other poor lost suckers, or the one Netflix show with its elements that has captured his heart.

Eddie's a pretty big Stranger Things fan - it has its faults but is otherwise a really fun and interesting show - but ever since ST2, he's especially been a Steve Harrington fan. He feels like he goes mad just thinking about the implications of what that man has gone through, what all those kids have been through, and how Steve has put aside himself to focus on the kids. How much Steve has changed, and how under appreciated he is.

Since binging all of ST3 the day it released, Eddie's had a field day on breaking down this newest reformation of Steve. He adores Robin - clocked her as a lesbian from episode 1 - and loves that Dustin and Erica have been bringing out his bitchy side, while still keeping him in check. The Russian torture and strange parallels with Billy have made him cry on more than one occasion, and Steve's half-high speech in the bathroom legitimately felt like Steve finally acknowledging his change, even if for but a moment.

Ronnie's teased Eddie way too much about his "obvious crush on Joe Keery" but this feels way too personal for him to just be crushing on an actor. This is Eddie falling for the Fallen King of Hawkins himself, and it's much more embarrassing. Steve Harrington becomes his muse in every form of art; drawing, writing, character inspiration and improvisation. The Duffer brothers aren't the greatest at the rest of the show, but they've damn well got this guy down.

Hell, Eddie was halfway to crossing the last personal barrier to outright obsession (x Reader fanfiction) when the earthquake hit. In hindsight it wasn't the worst thing in the world, but Eddie had never experienced one before. He immediately dove right under his bed, covering his ears and curling up in a ball like a coward ("Nancy Wheeler would be ashamed," his weird ass brain supplies). He hears rumbling, things falling over, wood splintering and the world seemingly cracking apart all around him-

When a body suddenly lands hard on his bed with a loud scream of fear, cutting off as the whatever it is rolls straight off to the floor, and the world gives one final strain before going completely silent.

Terrified, Eddie's eyes are shut tight, cowering as the body on the floor just a foot away from him groans and gasps for air. It takes a sudden hiss of pain for Eddie to finally, carefully, crack one eye open.

Only to come eye to eye, through the gaps of his bedsheets, with the very muse he'd just been thinking of. Steve Harrington.

There's an immediate scramble of panic; Eddie bashing his skull into his bed frame trying to get out and away from the obvious hallucination, while Steve wobbles on his feet to defend himself against this strange humanoid Upside Down monster.

"What are you?! Where am I?!"

"What am- Are- You- No, you're not real- JESUS H. CHRIST MAN, GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you're gonna see how real this is if you don't tell me what's going on!"

"You think I know?! You fell into my room!!"

"Yeah, from your Gate!!"

"WHAT FUCKING GATE- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!!"

That gets them both to shut up, just staring at each other. Eddie pressed up against the wall in fear with his hands up and out wide, Steve with the fire poker pointed straight at his neck and his hand held up cautiously. Eddie sees it, smells blood in the air, and ignoring everything, reaches out for it. Steve jabs at the air with the poker, but it's halfhearted, his energy clearly draining, too exhausted with the whole situation to try much further. Finally his arm drops, but Eddie doesn't move, watching Steve's face crumple in a way that aches everything inside his heart.

"Where am I...?" Steve pleas, tone just as desperate as the one from the Russian bunker, even when lacking its power.

Eddie fumbles for the words, but eventually just sighs. "Somewhere you wouldn't believe, my friend."

High and complacent on adrenaline and shock, Steve and Eddie just move in silence. Eddie grabs a wet cloth to clean the blood, Steve cutting off a bit of his sweatpants to use as gauze. It's just a gash from falling with the fire poker, nothing drastic, but the two stare at the cut in Steve's palm, easier to see than the one who's hand is on theirs.

Introductions are exchanged when they can finally stop shaking, and Eddie somehow drops the bomb on where and when Steve is, and what his entire existence is to this reality. Steve has a very brief existential panic attack about it, but is strangely comforted by Eddie's confidence about it all - "Even without El's powers, those kids are smart as hell. They'll figure out a way to make their own Gate and get you back home."

Then Steve just spends the next week or two in a reality almost 40 years in the future, where he and his entire existence is a sci-fi TV show. Some funny exchanges I've been thinking of:

Steve: Wait, so we're characters in a show, right? That means we have actors.

Eddie: Oh, uh, yeah, you do...

Steve: ...Think I could see them?

Eddie: Uh- Sure, I guess? Not sure what you're expecting, it's a live action thing, they look just like you.

Steve: Never getting used to your future phone... Huh, Joe Keery? Looks like a cool guy- woah, is that what my hair looks like short??

Eddie: Yup, again, literally just you.

Steve: Funny how we both have the most basic names too. Steve and Joe? Like, look at Dustin's actor, what kind of name is Gaten?

Eddie: Rude, the guy plays your little brother.

Steve: Quit bringing your fake show theories into my actual life.

Eddie: It's true though.

Steve: ...Yeah.

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

(Steve goes crazy after a few days of being locked in, and begs Eddie to take him out to "see the future." While they're walking around town, a group of girls suddenly freak out and rush them)

"It's Joe Keery! Guys, look it's Steve Harrington, from Stranger Things!!"

(Eddie's halfway to panicking, but Steve immediately handles the situation)

Steve: Sorry to disappoint, ladies, not him. Don't worry though, I've been getting that a lot since the show came out.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry! Hope we didn't make you uncomfortable, mister..."

Steve: Mark, and not at all! I get asked this a lot too, but do you girls want a picture? For bragging rights, getting to meet "The Steve Harrington?"

(They agree, Eddie takes it for them, the girls go on their way)

Eddie whispering: That's gonna be everywhere in 5 seconds, I hope you know.

Steve whispering: Eh, it's a crowd my actor didn't have to deal with. Besides, felt pretty good.

Eddie: Familiar experience?

Steve: For a better reason.

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

Steve, showing Eddie's laptop screen open to the FunkoPop website and the Scoops Duo, halfway to tears: They make figurines of me and Robin?

Eddie: Yeah, of all you guys. I've got a little Dustin on my desk.

Steve, beginning to cry from how adorable he finds it: YOU DO?

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

(Ronnie comes back from work early while Steve and Eddie are talking in the living room. Eddie freezes as Steve makes eye contact, and Ronnie just stares)

Ronnie: Um, hi?

Steve: Oh, hey! You must be Eddie's roommate, nice to finally meet you! I'm Mark.

(That allows a breath to finally enter and escape Eddie's throat in a bit of a laugh. Steve's really leaning into this Mark persona)

Ronnie: Ronnie, and likewise... Sorry if I'm acting weird, you're just a really good cosplayer. Thought you were actually Steve for a second.

Steve hesitantly: Nah, just a doppleganger.

Ronnie, shrugging and walking away: Well okay then, I'm way too tired to talk much more. Eds, just keep your nerd shit out of the sink-

Eddie: And stay quiet, yeah yeah, go rest, breadwinner.

(Ronnie goes upstairs, out of earshot)

Steve whispering: What's a cosplayer?

Eddie, suddenly also very tired: Tell you later.

I'm thinking that Eddie had sketchbooks, notebooks, and Word Docs absolutely stuffed full of ST character evaluation, which he immediately hid upon Steve's arrival. Maybe Steve gets bored when Eddie's out for whatever reason, and snoops around. That's when he finds it all crammed at the back of Eddie's closet. The kids, Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, Joyce, Hopper, hell Billy and Murray are in the pile. Drawings of them in their adventures, active and mundane alike. Pages upon pages of character description, Eddie's handwriting gushing about the parts of the show and characters he loves, hates, wishes was fixed, all of it.

But the part that gets Steve is one specific sketchbook and notebook, both dubbed the Steven Soliloquy. It's the same type of information as before, but only about him, and it's filled to the brim. Eddie talking about his development, his change of heart, the complete shift that Nancy and the Upside Down and the kids allowed him to have. The affects of his trauma, and how much he stuffed it down in favor of everyone else. Talked about his relationships, ones he cherishes, loathes, never thought of or never got the chance to make. Talked about "AUs," alternative realities where he got everything he ever wanted. Eddie's words, his sketches, devolve into adoration-fueled envy, wishing he could be near such an amazing man, that he was strong enough to be such an amazing man. How much his heart aches for Steve.

And if this were a normal situation, Steve would be uncomfortable, creeped out. But knowing the context of it all, Steve can't help but be enamored. That his family's journey, his entire story of survival - even when fictional to Eddie - is so valued makes it all feel a little more worth it. That there was someone out there during all of their terror, rooting for their victory, crying with their pain, screaming with their fears, understanding them because he lived through it all right beside them.

Eddie finds Steve in his room later that day, surrounded by those books. Staring at what Eddie considers his WIP magnum opus; a half-finished colored pencil recreation of the Last Supper with the entire Party, including all of the people they lost, happy and healthy. Eddie's two seconds from apologizing for how creepy it all must be - seeing how many of those books are open - but then he sees the tears in Steve's eyes. Gratitude and adoration and care, all bundled up and very suddenly staring right at him with the widest smile he's seen.

They talk about it. Eddie finally admits his minor obsession with the show, and how much they've helped him come to terms with being a self-dubbed loser. He honestly gushes way too much about what he owes to them about his life, but Steve listens to it all with complete adoration. At the end of it, Steve asks Eddie about the possibility that they've been adamantly ignoring for Steve's entire stay: actually watching Stranger Things.

And that's how they spend their last week. Starting from season 1, they sit in the living room and binge the entire thing. Steve learns an entirely new perspective about his family's adventures, not only from the show's canon, but from Eddie's theories and rants in between monumental moments. Eddie holds his hand during the scenes that focus on his worst nightmares; the Demogorgan in the Byler home, the breakup, his fight with Billy, the Russians. Steve provides his perspective on how he felt during it all, finally admitting to the pain he's gone through instead of just focusing on the others hoping it'll all go away.

Not sure where exactly it goes from here. Maybe some codependency grows between them. Maybe Steve falls a little in love. Maybe they just stay friends, the only ones who understand each other aside from their Platonic Soulmates.

Maybe, when another earthquake finally hits, opening up a Gate in Ronnie's backyard, Steve and Eddie finally must go their separate ways. Eddie promising to keep watching over them from across the realm, Steve promising to make a happy ending for their story.

Or maybe, Steve can't help but see what little Eddie has, how special Eddie actually is, and offer to bring him along. Into the very show he loves so much. Maybe Eddie convinces Ronnie that he'll be okay, swearing to be entertaining should he join the show in an important way, and making her swear that if he doesn't survive to bring him back in as much fanfiction as she can write. Maybe Eddie enters Hawkins, Indiana, and becomes a bit self aware about being in a TV show. It takes a while for everyone to warm up to the future man - and for Eddie to get used to Midwestern US in the 80s - but he becomes a close member of the Party quite easily. Maybe his involvement in season 4, his death, is avoided, and maybe it's not.

But his adoration for Steve Harrington never goes away. Not in canon, or in fiction.