#and didn’t realize the consequences and it would cost her her son

[mrsroryhuntzberger]

I have consumed so much Agatha all along today I wasn’t expecting this. Also Disney + can pry “teen is Agatha’s son” from my cold dead hands

[twilightofthesandwiches]

It’s really fascinating to compare the way Agatha handles the Heterodyne Legacy compared to her father and uncle. Because these are the two known generations of ‘Heroic’ Heterodynes after a long, long legacy of the Heterodyne family being known primarily as Evil Bastards - but they have such a totally opposite relationship with that villainous legacy.

Bill and Barry grew up deep inside that Evil Heterodyne Legacy and know all about how truly rotten it really is. Their father was an Old Heterodyne to the bone and an Extremely Reprehensible Human Being. Like, not just Cartoon Evil Overlord stuff - according to the Novels, he forced Bill and Barry’s mom to marry him by threatening her family. And he tried to kill them because they weren’t evil enough to his tastes. 

And when their mom killed him to protect her sons, the Castle killed her in retaliation. The very manifestation of the Heterodyne Legacy has cost them their beloved mother who just saved their life. And all of this in addition to the fact a non-evil Heterodyne was really an unthinkable concept when the Boys started - meaning they had to work extra hard to distance themselves from their family if they wanted anyone outside of Mechanicsburg to trust them.

And Heterodyne Boys worked very very hard to prove to the world that they’re not monsters. Both to fight off against the constant suspicions that they were monsters, and because they most likely wanted as little to do with their father’s legacy as Spark-ly possible. For them the Heterodyne Legacy was mostly kind of a Curse, the thing that tormented their mother and killed her and almost killed them, the thing that makes people wary of them.

And as such, they distanced themselves from anything that’s even remotely to do with that old legacy of monsters, from anything evil or scary or messy or ugly. Much to the chagrin of the Castle, the House of Heterodyne’s many other monsters, the Jager Horde Mechanicsburg’s proud Evil Minion population and many others who felt abandoned by them for the sake of PR.

Then there’s Agatha Heterodyne. And it’s not just that Agatha grew up in a post-Heterodyne-Boys world where the general populace associates the family name less with evil barbarous mad kings and more with good-natured heroism. Where even those who remember the Old Heterodynes are at least willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Where even those who would like her to be like the Old Heterodynes are at least willing to give her some wiggle room to express herself....

It is all of that, but more importantly Agatha didn’t grow up as a Heterodyne at all.

She grew up as Agatha Clay, with the Spark-Suppressing Locket that dulled her mind and made her a miserable klutzy mess who couldn’t do anything right. She grew up hating the constant feeling of being powerless.

And discovering that she’s a Heterodyne came up… pretty close to realizing she’s a Spark, and both of these revelations gave her a certain kind of Power that she never got to have before. She is now both a powerful Spark and a powerful political player in this grand Europa political chess board. 

And as much as she has the same heroic values and upbringing as the Boys did (courtesy of Barry and the Construct Duo), not growing up so up-close-and-personal with the worst consequences of the Old Heterodyne’s evil means she’s not as immediately repulsed by it like the Boys were. 

She encountered all of these old monstrous pieces of the Heterodyne Legacy - the Jagers, the Castle, Mechanicsburg, even just the fear her name can put into people’s hearts - not as the Evil Legacy Forced Upon Her. But stuff that was taken away from her, and she had to earn back. And in a world stacked so heavily against her, so determined to rob her of her agency and newfound sense of power, these things represent the assertion and security of her power.

For the Heterodyne Boys, the worst thing they could ever imagine being was monsters - like their father and the rest of their family was. For Agatha Heterodyne, the worst thing she could imagine is being powerless again. She would take being seen as a monster a thousand times over being condescended and ignored ever again. 

Being seen as a monster isn’t actually all that bad at all, she discovered. 

All of these things together make Agatha not quite the second generation of Actually Heroic Heterodyne or just another link in the Old Heterodyne Legacy - but another new kind of Heterodyne altogether. One that can both retain a moral code and embrace the family’s monstreness at the same time. 

[acowardinmordor]

Risk and Reward

Steddie-adjacent. Tw: homophobia

I always love fics where Steve makes himself Eddie’s alibi while Eddie is still unconscious/in a coma. Knows that it will work because he knows in this town there is no way anyone would believe that Steve Harrington would come out if it wasn’t real. No one would believe it, because everyone knows that his parents are always gone, because his dad is in Congress railing against the gays and their depravity and how they deserve to die and burn.

Steve saying it. Signing an affidavit about it. Giving quotes to the ravenous press. It has to be true. And everyone who doesn’t think it’s disgusting think it’s the most romantic thing in the world.

The government was stepping in, all eyes were pointed at Munson, and he was going to be thrown in a cell for life. Or, to save the cost of the trial, he would have vanished somewhere between the hospital and the prison.

Steve coming out stops that. Airtight alibi, reinforced by the knowledge that there will be consequences.

Eddie is safe, and the government has changed tactics, is blaming dead Jason Carver for it all. Eddie wakes up six weeks later, shocked to wake up at all, and trusts his uncle enough to play along. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were dating the Harrington kid?’ Eddie knows how to tell a story that leaves space for a player to fill in their side. He tells stories about little moments and always describes things from his perspective. That way, if it contradicts the story that’s already out there, he can make a find quip about how he remembers it different.

When he finally gets a moment alone with his uncle, two days later, his guess gets confirmed. Wayne knows damn well that Eddie’s gayer than a maypole, and also knows that Eddie has called Steve his nemesis for years. Wayne knew from the second Steve said it that it was a lie, and knew it would work if it was believed.

The only thing confusing Eddie - well, the only thing in this tiny slice of his world - is why his fake boyfriend/no-longer-nemesis, isn’t in the hospital too, playing the part. If the guy was willing to say it at all, then he’d go all in. If there was one thing Eddie’d learned during those days, it was that Steve only ever did something at 100%

And yes, part of him feels terrible that Steve did this just to save him. He feels awful knowing that this is going to ruin a chance for a normal life. Wayne said the Indianapolis paper picked up a story about it. But at the same time, he’s so fucking grateful. Steve saved him. Again. And now, at least for a while, they’ll need to keep up the story. He’ll get to hang out with him, pretend they’re dating, stand close and cuddle closer. He also feels bad about how excited he is for that chance.

It’s the next morning when Eddie realizes his uncle dodged every question about why Steve wasn’t here. Wayne dodged almost every question after explaining what happened with Steve and the press and the Feds in the first weeks. Then, nothing.

The party visits him that afternoon, a veneer of joy stretched thin over something worse. Eddie’s first guess is that Red didn’t make it. But he hears her a moment later, complaining about ‘these stupid casts slowing me down’. The kids aren’t as good at dodging as Wayne is. Eddie gets the story quickly, such as it is.

The Harringtons came home from DC, gave a few speeches in praise of law enforcement against a serial killer. They visited the families of those that died.

They sent an assistant to find Steve in the hospital to deliver a message. No one else heard it, but the best guess is that it was a threat. Steve went with the assistant. They haven’t seen him since. When Dustin confronted the Harringtons at their last event in town, all they’d say was that ‘our son is getting the best help, and we love him dearly’

Eddie looks at Robin when he hears that for what it is. She drops the kids back home and begs a sympathetic nurse to let her talk to Eddie past visiting hours.

“It’s been a month since he vanished”

“Where?”

“We don’t know, we tried, even Hopper - he’s not dead - couldn’t find him. And this guy named Murray. We don’t know.”

“But…. ‘The best help’. You know that means…”

“I know”

“He’s, Christ, Buckley, he’s straight. Ladykiller. He’s straight and they sent him to some—“

“Yeah, but Eddie… I don’t know if I should… I guess, not that it matters now, and he never said anything, but he’s my best friend. He’s my soulmate. I know him and I think… if his dad wasn’t like he is… if he’d ever felt safe saying so… he knew they’d be furious when he came forward as your alibi, but he told me they’d just disown him, and it would be over. He was scared, but he was okay with what he thought was going to happen”

“I thought he hates me”

“He kinda did”

“Not anymore?”

“No.” There’s a pause where they both think about where Steve might be right now.

“Maybe he hates me again now.”

“I don’t think he would, but…”

And Eddie thinks how weird it is to see spastic Robin Buckley, who rambled in the Upside Down and always had more energy that she could contain, acting so subdued. No. So broken.

They both heard the Harringtons’ speeches and ads when he ran for office. They know what the man thinks about people like them. They both heard stories about what the places are like, where someone can go to ‘get help’

“Do you think I’ll ever get to thank him?”

“No.”

“Do you think we’ll ever see him again? You and the kids at least?”

She’s quiet for a long time, before she picks up her bag.

“If he ever gets to leave wherever they put him, and we ever see him, I don’t think he’ll be the person we knew anymore.”

[kikyoupdates]

Changing Plotlines ⭑˚💞⭑ 𝑎𝑤𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡

yandere!ocs x f!reader

yandere, reverse harem, yandere reverse harem, original characters x fem!reader, slowburn, isekai

A desperate cry on your deathbed leads to you being given a fresh start at life. You're overjoyed at having finally obtained a healthy body and a real chance at living normally, only to discover that you've been transported into a yandere game, where danger lurks at every corner. Determined to protect your new life at any cost, you vow to stay as far away from the major characters of the game as possible. But things don't always go as planned.

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If your parents’ sources were to be trusted, word on the street was that Triston Von Hersch, son and heir to a powerful family from a neighboring kingdom, had just arrived in Zodite. Naturally, this came as no surprise to you. Triston was one of four pivotal characters in the game, apart from Flora herself. His appearance at this time could only mean that it wouldn’t be much longer until he inevitably crossed paths with the protagonist, thus marking the start of his infatuation with her.

You felt bad. Really, you did. And you realized that you would probably continue to feel this way for a good while. But it was better to live and feel guilty than play the part of a hero and end up dying in the process. There was no way you were going to sacrifice yourself for Flora, no matter how kind and lovely she was. You’d already suffered enough in your previous life. This time, you deserved to be happy.

Hopefully, it would get easier with time. You would become busy enough with life’s many challenges and forget about Flora. Well, somewhat, at least. Odds were that the icky feeling in your stomach would never completely disappear, but really, who in their right mind would stick their neck out for a complete stranger knowing the sick things some assholes would do just to be with her?

I’m not cruel for minding my own business. I have no choice.

Running into Theresa had certainly been a pain, but as much of an insufferable brat as she was, there was no reason to actually be afraid of her. Based on the way things were going, you expected that she would continue to give you a hard time for a little while, but she’d probably lose interest before long. Besides, depending on whose route Flora landed on, Theresa might even find herself being killed. Not that you felt as if she deserved to be outright murdered for her shitty personality, but actions did have consequences.

Also, and perhaps you were being a bit naive here, but you’d recently met the literal god of this land. Was it really so much of a stretch to hope that he might give you a heads-up in the event that shit started to hit the fan?

You pursed your lips, remembering Zodin’s stupidly carefree expression as he sat on your bed.

On second thought, it was probably best not to get your hopes up too much. He didn’t really seem like the reliable type.

Whatever. Triston was here now, in Zodite Kingdom, but it had nothing to do with you. Honestly, you hoped that Flora ended up with him. Of all the yanderes, he was arguably the mildest. But again—literally anyone was better than Friedrich. Fuck that guy.

You didn’t have much planned for today apart from reviewing some notes from class. Even though you were pretty on top of your studies, you felt the need to always go the extra mile. Your sickly body had prevented you from getting a degree back in your previous life. But here? There was no reason not to aim for that top spot and be the best damn student in all your classes.

You yawned, still a bit drowsy after the big lunch you’d had, then promptly sat down at your desk and opened up one of your textbooks. It was going to be a productive day, you could already feel it.

No sooner had you put a pencil to paper before someone knocked on the open door and poked their head into the room.

“My lady?” Lizbell said. “I’m sorry to disrupt your studies, but it appears as though you have a guest.”

You stared at her in disbelief. “A guest? Are you sure they’re not here to see my parents? Lizbell, I feel like I don’t need to keep reminding you, but I have no friends.”

“I’m not really sure what to tell you,” she shrugged. “The young lady waiting is quite adamant about seeing you. I’d say you have a friend, after all.”

Young lady? Uh... no. Seriously, there was no way. It couldn’t be.

“Did you happen to catch her name?” you asked, swallowing nervously.

“Indeed, I did,” Lizbell smiled while nodding. “She introduced herself as Flora Tillberry. Oh, actually. Now that I’ve said it aloud, it sounds rather familiar. Isn’t she the same person who sent you that gift basket not too long ago?”

Fuck, fuck, holy mother of fuck! Why? Why was Flora here? You thought you’d made it abundantly clear that you weren’t interested in seeing her after you’d ignored her letter!

“Lizbell,” you whimpered, getting down on your knees and bringing your palms together as if you were saying a prayer. “Please, please tell me you didn’t let her inside the manor.”

“I did not let her inside the manor,” Lizbell affirmed.

“Oh, thank Zodin,” you sighed.

“One of the other servants did.”

Wow. A whole five seconds of relief. That was a new record.

“You have got to be shitting me!” you cried out. You stood up, already fuming and ready to make a scene. “What in the hell is going on here? Who’s just letting strangers into our house as they please?”

Lizbell frowned. “But my lady, it’s hardly polite to leave a guest waiting outside.”

“She isn’t a guest! I didn’t invite her here!”

“Perhaps there was some sort of miscommunication,” she said tiredly. Clearly, she wasn’t at all concerned with your plight, which sure, from her perspective you could understand why. Flora was just a nice, polite noblewoman, same as you (although you were slightly less polite, perhaps). That being said, you just couldn’t get close to her. Even if your reasons were nothing short of ridiculous paranoia, this was serious shit you were dealing with here. Your life was literally on the line!

“She isn’t my friend, and I didn’t invite her here,” you reiterated. “I’m not sure what she told the other servants, but I’ve already chosen not to let her into my social circle.”

“It’s highly exclusive, I hear,” Lizbell snorted.

“Oh, shush! The point is, I have no intention of speaking to her, so rather than keep her waiting for no reason, I’d like to ask you to make her leave.”

Now, you’d only known Lizbell for a rather short period of time. But somehow, in that short period of time, she’d already given you more disapproving looks than you could count.

“Lady [Name]—”

“No,” you cut in, lifting your hand to silence her. “I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t want to hear it. I understand this is your way of caring for me. Forcing me to put myself out there and meet new people. I get it, trust me. But I don’t think you realize just how upset I was when you ratted me out to my parents to make me go to that party. I thought I could trust you, and you just... what you did really sucked. I had my reasons for not wanting to go, but you didn’t seem to care at all. And right now is the exact same thing. I have my reasons for not wanting to see Flora. Can’t you just respect that and move on?”

Lizbell’s brow creased. She usually looked so sure of herself, calm and collected, but without appearing arrogant. This was one of the rare moments where it appeared as though she was second-guessing her decisions.

“I suppose it wasn’t very fair to do what I did,” she reluctantly acknowledged. “It just pains me to see that... you don’t have a single friend. After all this time. And I can’t understand why, when being around you always lifts my spirits right away. I knew it also meant a lot to your parents that you go along with them to that gathering, but I must have forgotten my place. I serve both your mother and father, but I am your personal maid, first and foremost.”

She looked guilty now, which was making you feel guilty too. God, all this guilt! It was practically eating you up day after day.

“I’m sorry, my lady,” Lizbell said sadly. “I know we joke around a lot, but I can tell that you’re actually quite upset with me this time. I don’t understand your reasons for avoiding so many people, but I realize it isn’t my business either way. If this is what you wish, then I will go speak to Lady Flora and make sure she leaves.”

You offered her a smile. “Well, if you understand what you did wrong and promise never to do it again, then I’ll forgive you. And yes, please get rid of Flora. I know this probably sounds counterintuitive, but I promise I don’t dislike her or anything. There are just... reasons that we can’t be friends. Alright?”

“Alright,” she nodded. “I will go relay the message.”

“Perfect. But, um... try to let her down easy, okay? She’s a really nice person, and I just... feel bad about all this.”

Lizbell chuckled. “Very well. I’ll do my best to soften the blow.”

She left after curtsying hastily, and you had to admit, even once she was gone, the urge to creep around the manor in search of Flora was ridiculously tempting. But against all odds, you kept from giving in. This was it. After today, Flora would completely give up on you, and your life would finally return to normalcy.

“Um... Lady [Name]?”

Goddammit. Why did you have a sneaking suspicion that shit was going to go wrong again?

“What now, Lizbell?” you sighed. “Did she start crying? Because I really don’t want to hear about it. It’s only going to make me feel even worse than I already do.”

“It would’ve been much simpler if that was the case...”

“What?”

Lizbell nibbled on her bottom lip. “Erm, how do I say this...? I was going to politely ask that she leave, as you instructed, but by the time I got there, it turns out Lady Flora was already engaged in a conversation with your parents.”

Of course she was. Because why wouldn’t she be?

“This is giving me a headache,” you groaned, rubbing your temples impatiently. “Can’t you let my parents know that her being here is making me uncomfortable?”

“Erm, that’s another thing...”

“Meaning?”

“They’re actually—”

“[Name]!” your mother’s cheerful voice cut in. “Your friend, Flora Tillberry is here to see you! You know, that young lady that sent you the gift basket? She was just telling us about how close the two of you had become in such a short span of time. Why didn’t you let us know that you’d made a friend at school? We would’ve celebrated right away!”

You glanced over towards Lizbell, exasperated.

“...they’re actually coming to speak with you right now,” she finished with a nervous chuckle. “Haha. I probably should’ve finished my train of thought a bit faster.”

Zodin, are you seeing this shit right now? Do you see how atrocious my luck is? Can’t you do something about it?

You didn’t even know if Zodin could read minds. He liked to communicate with you telepathically, so you wouldn’t be surprised if this was within his abilities. But if he could hear your thoughts, he sure wasn’t giving you the time of day right now. Jerk.

“Mom, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” you sighed. “Flora and I barely know each other. We only talked the one time.”

“Oh, you’re just pulling my leg,” she chuckled, playfully poking your cheek. “Flora told your father and I all about it. Why did you hide the fact that you’d made a friend? We just don’t understand. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Having a friend is a good thing! It means that there’s so much more for you to look forward to!”

You really didn't know what she was going on about, but your parents were usually pretty understanding. The fact that she was being so stubborn about this issue meant that Flora must have really laid it on thick. If she was going so far as to lie about your “friendship”, then clearly she was a lot more determined about this than you’d given her credit for. Which spelled a whole lot more trouble.

“Flora’s not my friend,” you insisted. “I don’t know what she’s been telling you, but it isn’t true.”

Lizbell glanced nervously between the two of you. “Baroness [Last Name], I really don’t see why she would lie about this. It is possible that Lady Flora has simply shown up here without any regards as to Lady [Name]’s personal wishes.”

“But why would she come all this way if not to see her friend?”

“I’m, um, not too sure about that either...”

“So, she has deceived us?” your mother gasped, her brows instantly drooping. “But... she seemed like such a nice girl.”

“She is nice,” you sighed. “But I still can’t be friends with her. And it’s far too complicated to explain why. It’s not the sort of thing you can explain.”

Your mother glanced around. “Well, if that’s really the case, then we’ll have to escort her off the property. But we’ll have to hurry, because last I checked, she was chatting with your father and—”

“Aha! We seem to have stumbled across a rather lively little gathering!”

Internally, you were already screaming.

I’ve never been more upset to hear my own father’s voice before.

Yeah, it was bad. Your father was here now, with Flora standing right by his side, her doe eyes wider than ever as she gazed at you both fondly and guiltily. She knew what she’d done wrong, the little rascal. And yet, being faced with her in the flesh, you were reminded once more of the fact that she was nothing more than a kind soul whose entire fate had been cruelly dictated.

Even if she’d lied her way into your home, you still couldn’t hate her for it.

“Come here!” your mother hissed, pulling your father in by the wrist. “That girl isn’t supposed to be here. Everything she’s told us is a lie.”

“What? But why would she do such a thing?”

“I don’t know! She might be stalking [Name]! Our poor darling... she hasn’t even made a proper friend yet and this is what she has to deal with...”

They were doing a terrible job of being subtle because you could hear everything they were saying, and based on the way Flora kept grimacing, she could too. Honestly, what a fucking mess. The whole situation was out of control, and as much as you appreciated that your parents were trying to rectify the whole thing, at this point, it was easier to deal with it yourself.

You sighed wearily. “Could you all please give us some space? I think it’d be best if Flora and I spoke alone.”

“Are you sure?” they frowned; even Lizbell still looked concerned.

“Yes,” you nodded. “It’s fine. We’ll get everything sorted. Flora’s a good person. We just need to clear some things up, that’s all.”

It looked like they still had their doubts, but this was the best shot you had, really. You felt awful that Flora had been holding out hope that you might actually end up becoming friends, but you needed to get your message across, once and for all.

Only once you were certain that they were gone did you close the door, leaving you alone in the room with Flora.

“I-I am so sorry,” she proceeded to splutter. Already, she looked to be on the verge of tears. “I realize this is terribly rude. I forced my way in here, I even deceived your parents... but I never heard back from you after sending the letter along with the gift basket. Perhaps I was hoping that you might have simply forgotten to respond, or maybe the letter got misplaced while it was being delivered, or...”

She cast her head down, defeated.

“Oh, who am I kidding?” she whimpered. “Now that I’m seeing you in person, I can see it clear as day on your expression. You want absolutely nothing to do with me."

Ugh. The guilt was coming in strong, which is why you needed to be even stronger.

“It’s nothing personal, Flora,” you tried to insist. “I just... have my reasons for not wanting us to get too close. I don’t have any friends, actually. And I suppose I was maybe hoping to keep it that way? I work better alone, haha...”

That was a big fat lie. Well, not the part of about you not having friends. That was unfortunately the pathetic truth.

“You hate me,” she said, and with a distinct sniffle, she buried her face in her palms and began to sob.

Admittedly, not the way you’d planned on spending your Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t hate you,” you struggled to deny, waving your hands all over the place. “I just, um, hate everyone! I mean, I’m not making exceptions or anything!”

“That’s not true,” Flora choked out. She wiped a hand across her damp eyes and sniffled again. “If you hated everyone, you wouldn’t have gone out of your way to help a complete stranger, like me. You’re a kind person. Incredibly so. But you must have seen right through me that day. You realized I wasn’t fit to share your company.”

“Flora, I’m telling you, it’s really not like that...”

You didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t in your nature to be needlessly cruel just so that she would leave you alone. But at the same time, you also couldn’t tell her your real reasons for avoiding her, because who would believe such a thing? Or, worse yet—suppose she did believe you. Then what? It would basically be telling her to her face that her entire future was doomed.

This is hard. Ugh, I hate how this is making me feel. Zodin, I’m begging you, please help me!

No response, as expected. Then again, he did say he wasn’t permitted to meddle in the affairs of mortals, so getting any help from him would probably be impossible. To think that you’d actually met a god, but couldn’t even make use of him. It was laughable, really.

You shook your head adamantly. “I promise I don’t hate you. But I’m not looking to make any friends right now, that’s it. I’m sorry.”

Fat tears dripped down Flora’s cheeks. “I just thought,” she whimpered, “I thought maybe we could be friends. My father—the man who took me in as his own—is a very kind soul. I know how much it means to him that I can finally attend such a prestigious academy. And I too am overjoyed to have the chance to obtain a higher education. But it seems as though nobody wants me there, or anywhere else in high society, for that matter. They know of my birth and think I am unfit to study among my peers. [Name]… meeting you was the only time I felt any sort of reprieve. I know I should already be thankful for the opportunity to lead a lavish lifestyle, never having to worry about food or clothing. But ever since I’ve made the change, I haven’t stumbled across anyone who didn’t treat me as lesser than, or an outsider. Other than you. You’re the only one, and I just... f-for a few brief moments, I allowed myself to dream. But I was naive to do so. I realize that now.”

Fuck, now you felt like the bad guy. And the only reason you were even doing this in the first place was to avoid the actual bad guys!

“I’m so sorry,” Flora muttered shamefully, her face having turned completely red. “So sorry. I really, truly am...”

This wasn’t supposed to happen. If only you hadn’t given into the guilt back when you’d seen her being bullied by Theresa and ignored them both. Then none of this would have happened. You were paying the price for your stupidity, and the fact that it could all have been avoided was easily the worst part.

You swallowed, a painful lump forming in your throat. A close friend. You’d always wanted one of those. And after playing Zodin’s Benevolence firsthand, you knew all too well what a kind person Flora was. You could imagine her being an amazing friend. It just sucked so bad that sticking close to her was such a dangerous gamble. If not for that, then...

Is becoming her friend... an immediate death sentence? No, not necessarily. This is just me trying to play it as safe as possible.

In the game, Flora didn’t have any friends, which made it very easy for the yanderes to take advantage of her loneliness. But perhaps it was possible to keep her at arm’s length, while still avoiding incurring the wrath of the male leads. If they saw for a fact that you didn’t have any romantic feelings for her and made no efforts to interfere with their schemes, then maybe—just maybe...

Maybe you could actually have a friend for a little while.

But even so, you were still scared. So, you decided to test your luck.

“Um,” you said, clearing your throat. “Why do you want to be friends with me so badly? I mean, I sort of understand what you mean about feeling like an outsider, but I promise not everyone is awful. It might just take a bit of time to find another kindred spirit. And isn’t there anyone else who’s approached you so far? Some handsome men, perhaps...?”

In asking this question, you’d been hoping to get a bit more information as to which way the plot was headed. It was probably too early to tell whose route she would end up on, but you had inadvertently ended up ruining her first meeting with Cassius, so you were curious how everything else was unfolding.

But oddly enough, Flora reacted by tilting her head at you in confusion. “As in, suitors?” she clarified. “No, nothing of the sort. I don’t see who would want to marry someone like me, still so new to a life of nobility. Why do you ask?”

“Uh, no reason, really.”

Strange. By now, she should’ve at least met Lawrence at Theresa’s gathering. Unless she was deliberately avoiding mentioning how he’d comforted her and taken her into his arms. But come to think of it, you hadn’t caught a glimpse of her that evening. Granted, there had been a lot of people, but you figured a messy altercation between her and Theresa would’ve been quite easy to pick up on.

“Were you not at Theresa’s party a few nights ago?” you asked.

Flora still looked confused. “Theresa... Simmons? The same woman who’s been harassing me on campus?”

“Yes, the bitchy one.”

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I never received any such invitation. But even if I had, I would’ve had the good sense not to show up. I wasn’t about to allow her to embarrass me again after you went out of your way to stand up to her.”

Huh.

It seemed like you’d once again accidentally changed the course of the plot. The whole reason Theresa invited Flora over was in order to humiliate her publicly. But if she’d never so much as sent out an invitation, it probably meant that hitting her on the face with your shoe had frightened her more than she would ever admit. Honestly, you weren’t sure whether to be proud or exasperated.

So far, Flora hadn’t met Cassius, and she hadn’t met Lawrence either. Assuming first meetings were absolutely crucial in determining whose route she would end up on, that only left Triston and Friedrich.

Come on, Triston, I’m rooting for you! I mean, uh... you’re still kind of a piece of shit, but you’re less of a piece of shit than the rest of them!“Why do you ask?” Flora said. She’d stopped crying by now. Her expression even looked somewhat hopeful. “Is it possible that you’ve reconsidered... and might be willing to give me the time of day? Because if that’s the case, I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll do everything in my power to become the type of person you’d be proud to have by your side. I’m not a noble by blood, but... I can learn. I can figure things out, and I’ll make sure not to embarrass you. Please, [Name]. Just give me a chance.”

She inched closer to you, to the point that you had to back into the wall and shrink in on yourself. Goddammit, those big blue eyes of hers were just way too bright! The poor girl. She’d never done anything wrong in her entire life, and soon enough, everything was about to go wrong.

Perhaps... perhaps you could stick with her just for a little while. Once things started getting complicated, she’d have her hands full regardless. And she would inevitably fall for someone's charms, even if she didn’t realize how truly awful he was until it was too late.

Becoming Flora’s friend didn’t mean that your life was automatically over. It was an added risk, yes, but since you didn’t have the heart to dash her hopes yet again, you didn’t exactly have much of a choice. Besides, at the first sign of danger, you were retreating to the safety of your manor and going MIA until you were absolutely certain you were in the clear.

It was okay. You just needed to take it easy and gauge how the plot was progressing.

“Alright,” you said, still sounding a bit unsure of yourself. You’d barely even gotten the word out and Flora’s mouth had already widened in delight. She looked ready to squeal and start hopping up and down. “But I’m very busy,” you added. Which was a lie, but she had no way of knowing that. “I care about my studies a lot, and I won’t have a lot of free time to meet up. Just every now and then... from time to time we can hang out a bit. Okay?”

“Of course!” Flora enthused. “I’ll give you all the space you need! Oh, I’m just so glad you’ve decided to hear me out. I promise I won’t let you down. You’ve already done so much for me, so I need to work hard to repay you.”

“Erm, there’s really no need for that,” you insisted. “You’re not just trying to be my friend because you feel obligated to make it up to me, right?”

“Heavens, no,” she blinked. “I want to be friends with you because you’re such a lovely person! You fight for justice, even when you stand to gain nothing from it. You’re an actual hero!”

You sighed loudly.

Oh, Flora. You wouldn’t call me that if you knew my true reasons for avoiding you.

Whatever. For now, it would be fine. You just needed to be wary of giving the male leads ample space to get to know her, and prove to them that you weren’t a threat. And until things got bad... you would actually have a friend, which was kind of exciting.

“You’re so kind,” she rambled on, eager to keep singing your praises. She grabbed your hands in hers and flashed you a bright, cheesy smile. “You have no idea how happy I am right now! I was terribly rude to mislead your family. I know that this sort of conduct is absolutely inexcusable, and I promise now that we’re friends, I’ll never let you down again. But you’re as forgiving as you are brave, [Name]. For that, I am ever so thankful.”

Well. She was certainly hyping you up, that was for sure. But at least she wasn’t crying anymore, and you no longer felt quite as guilty as you did earlier.

“Father will also be delighted to hear that I’ve managed to make a friend,” Flora hummed. “I hope you don’t mind if I tell him about you?”

“That’s fine,” you reassured.

“Perfect! Oh, and you’re more than welcome to stop by my home whenever you please. I can even have one of the spare rooms set up for you if you ever wish to spend the night.”

Clearly, she was getting a bit ahead of herself, but her enthusiasm was pretty cute. Oh, well. At least you had a friend now. That was a good thing. Even if said friend was going to be in for a world of pain later on. But when it came to that, you’d have no trouble jumping ship and saving your own skin.

Right? 

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[whateverthought]

rhaenyra (and other characters like alicent, laenor, viserys, etc.) feature love versus duty as an internal conflict throughout their stories in the show. rhaenyra does tend to shirk duty in the beginning, sure, but i think marrying laenor is a step toward embracing duty (i.e., a fallen domino in the series of events that propel her toward where she ends up in 2x08, completely swallowed up by duty). all i meant to say is that rhaenyra is trying to balance love and duty (harwin and laenor), but doing so unsuccessfully because love and duty cannot simultaneously exist (laenor says as much during his conversation with rhaenyra in 1x07). i think rhaenyra doesn’t marry harwin because by the time their relationship develops, it’s too late. the way i imagine it is that harwin and rhaenyra’s relationship quickly developed after criston left her for alicent on the night of the wedding. rhaenyra basically has no one at this point, considering criston abandoned her, and alicent calls rhaenyra “stepdaughter,” rejecting her as a friend. then, once rhaenyra realized she and laenor couldn’t produce heirs, she looked to harwin for comfort and coincidentally he could also give her children. i think rhaenyra’s relationship to harwin was complex, shrouded in secrecy and compensation for what rhaenyra actually wants, but he did give her her sons, so i think she did love him as much as she could. basically, yes, rhaenyra is shirking duty, but in a way that is forcing her more toward it. also, i think we’re giving these characters a little too much credit; rhaenyra doesn’t know she exists in the story she exists in, she doesn’t have the foresight to understand the consequences of her impulsive actions. i love rhaenyra but a part of her character is that she is impulsive and entitled and viserys didn’t properly prepare her for her role

continued from this post

I... don't want to fight. You've been very polite but I feel like I'm going to get annoyed and/or sound rude just in general.

I don't agree with you on most of what you said. In fact, I feel like you're purposely misconstruing or misrepresenting the facts/scenes.

I dont think Rhaenyra is having any fight between Duty vs Love. In fact, out of all the characters, Rhaenyra is second in the scale on the side of, Fuck Duty, It Doesn't Affect ME or It Shouldn't. Second only to Daemon but he has little to none anyway. As the show has decided, its Rhaenyra vs Alicent and Alicent is Duty while Rhaenyra is not. She's 'Love' in this scenario, she's Privilege, She's Liberation. In our eyes, the Modern Lens, we see her as Liberated, but at the cost of everyone else around her, and to her own detriment at times.

Marrying Laenor wasn't her choice! I feel like you keep saying that even though its not true. She was forced into it by Viserys, and thats where her Liberation ends, at her father's favor. She gets to do what she likes, because Viserys is indulgent and a bad father. And he had to do that because she was pushing the limits of her freedom, refused to pick a husband on her Marriage Tour and then that Brothel Scandal forced his hand. Because before, as frustrated as he was, he was letting her stew on the decision. Its the fact that no one would want her now that she 'debased' herself that forced his hand. The Velaryons were a great choice! But she didn't make it. She even tried to get Daemon to run off with her! The only thing she could do was run, but if not with Daemon than what's the point?

And I think I've figured out the answer to my question, she was still so infatuated with Daemon that she wasn't thinking about Harwin. It's only after Daemon leaves her to her fate, one he led her down by purposely ruining her reputation but he was too late or underestimated how much Viserys didn't want him on the Throne. So he runs off, in the show they have Laena, actress aged up, run after him and make her a second choice/lesser. In the books he runs to her (Laena) defense against marrying a Braavosi Sealord. But it's after she loses Daemon and runs off Criston that she finds a new 'love'.

And on the subject of Cole, he didn't 'leave her' like this is a simple situation. She took advantage of his infatuation, urged him to break his Oath, and then told him he was just something fun. She could have explained to him running off was so stupid and breaking the Chastity Oath was not the end, but she laughed at him! Its how she spoke to him, proving he and his sacrifices were worthless that destroyed the relationship. Let's not forget he was about to kill himself During That Wedding! Alicent convincing him his life and Knighthood was more than Chasity isn't really 'leaving her at the Wedding'. It feels like you're minimizing his pain and his whole situation.

Not to mention Alicent's! Alicent didn't reject Rhaenyra as a friend, this did not start at the Wedding. Alicent standing up for herself shouldn't be diminished like this. Lets not forget, Rhaenyra ended it when Alicent was forced to marry Viserys, because of Duty. Rhaenyra has a large tendency of not understanding or empathizing with others' struggles, sacrifices or problems. Alicent married her father because of Duty, she is crying and Rhaenyra puts the blame at her feet. Alicent hears horrible rumors and asks Rhaenyra directly, not just believing others, and asks if she needs help. Is your Uncle, a man grown, hurting you? And Rhaenyra lies! And it takes Alicent's father away! And after that Viserys still sends Rhaenyra Moontea! He doesn't believe her, and yet he sends Otto away! For telling the truth! And Alicent knows. Her father is gone, her husband will shut the mouths of people telling the truth and her friend will unflinchingly lie to her and sacrifice her, Alicent, for her own impulsive wants. Alicent is alone.

Rhaenyra wasn't alone, but I understand why she would feel betrayed in that moment. But Viserys has always chosen Rhaenyra and hidden her misconduct, Laenor and her have an agreement - her husband is good to her, he listens, he holds her as an equal or superior- his family is on her side now, cold as it may have been, she didn't want Alicent, she didn't care about Criston Cole and Daemon might be the only thing she lost. But in the books she didn't, in the books she gained a female conspirer. Her and Laena loved each other! In the books I'd argue marrying Laenor gave her more.

But implying Laenor and her were 'really' trying for a child is kinda laughable to me. Jacaerys was born that year, and in ye olden days you would just have to wait to see if you missed your period so how long did they even wait before running into Harwin's arms? My question was never about their relationship per se, I'm not really positive about it, personally.

And on Rhaenyra in 2xo8, it doesn't feel like she's falling into Duty, it feels like she's falling into Religious Fanaticism. Fanaticism that's painting her as a Saint. The Prince That Was Promised actually, the Uniter of a Split Realm. Which isn't too far from 'Valyrians are better than Common Man, Dragonlords are Gods' something that's pushed Daemon and Her to acting even more recklessly and indulgently and offensively. She's better than this, Better than Duty, She can't be Wrong.

And you're last point, no she doesn't know she's part of a story but she knows she's part of a Society. She knows what the Realm wants, what every women goes through. At least every noble women who does no labor outside the birthing bed. I'm actually unsure what you mean by that. What part of knowing the story changes her actions? Or what am I saying thats giving her too much credit?

She's a princess, who she marries is important, it needs thought. She has to know how easy it is to be labeled a 'whore' in their society, and how that destroys her reputation, something that is important in their society. And when she's named Heir, she has to know the world will fight her on it, but she has a consistent belief that if Viserys Says So than its fine. She has the same belief as an Adult but even Rhaenys tries to tell her she has a Steep Uphill Climb. If nothing, she knows having bastards is a 'Sin'. But she doesn't follow that religion, sure but Society hates them. It looks bad on her and again, reputation matters so much to them. Its the prevailing idea that she's above that, that her reputation doesn't matter, that the thoughts of others don't matter because they'll just fall in line. But how true is that, and how much does she believe that? She runs after her son mutilates her brother. She hides away after her and Daemon marry like a week after their spouses die, her's suspiciously. But why? Viserys is on her side, and he forgives them for eloping, doesn't annul their marriage. If she's not scared of her reputation, why run?

I agree with your last statement, "part of her character is that she is impulsive and entitled and viserys didn’t properly prepare her for her role" but that wasn't my question, none of this was. I hope I didn't offend you, but I think we're on two different sides on some of these debates

[demonbirdsforever]

Everybody HATES Rashta | Webtoon's Most Hated Woman

I’m recommending this video because it has a fantastic perspective, on Rashta from Remarried Empress. I don’t necessarily disagree with it and I want to explain why l am specifically a Navier fan because… I want to and I enjoy different perspectives. Especially my own.😋

Firstly I want to say a little about myself. So that you can understand my perspective. As well as understand why my perspective is so different.

- Growing up I spent most of my time with friends who were either boys my own age or the gen X crowd with my family. I did have female friends my own age but they were few. It didn’t help matters that moving was a common occurrence. So those relationships with my age group lasted about 1 or 2 years, maybe 3 if I was lucky.  So a lot of what this Matty Bites (YouTuber) talks about as to why Rashta is hated is something that I sorta understand from a perspective of a person on the outside looking in. Seeing the hostile comments in the video about Rashta was eye opening and kinda frightening. I didn’t realize that it was that extreme.

- Next. I grew up understanding the cost of certain jobs and the importance of Responsibility. Growing up around people who work hard and are responsible is something that I truly admire. Which is why one of my favourite character types is the Responsible one. So Commanders, Parents, Teachers and Rulers like Navier (Empress).  This also means that I actively dislike irresponsible characters. If you’re gonna do a job. You better do it right or don’t do it at all. Especially when your actions could have dire consequences to innocent people.

- Lastly I don’t like manipulative people who are out for themselves and cause serious harm to innocent people with their actions. I find them to be narrow minded and stupid. I would like to also mention that I didn’t finish Remarried Empress, and it’s been a while since I’ve read it. I started reading the translated novel and stopped about when Navier remarried and started having “dreams”. I had been reading the comic but again lost interest. A lot of things did stick out and I remember quite clearly. Matty Bites was different though. She read the comic then the first few chapters of the novel. (If I understand correctly.) 

I don’t think this series is awful or badly written. I just reached a point where I lost interest and haven’t felt compelled to start reading it again.  So now that I have that out of the way. Let’s begin.

1) Firstly as someone who likes historical dramas and romances (especially Chinese dramas) type stories from all forms of media. The abortion cookies don’t bother me, unlike Matty Bites (Which is fine. We all have things we find uncomfortable.). History was brutal and it was especially horrible when it came to Emperors who had Concubines and Mistresses.  (From the Novel): So the Old Empress having abortion cookies that were specifically for the Old Emperor’s Concubine. Makes total sense and for those who don’t understand. The Old Empress was protecting her son’s right to the throne. This in a way also means Sovieshu (Emperor) wouldn’t be forced to kill his half siblings. 

2) Talking about Concubines. We can now move on to the next conversation and that is. Relationship dynamics in this series between the 3. Matty talked about the Concubine thing in a way that didn’t make sense to me. Until I realized that she may not actually understand the dynamic between Navier and Sovieshu. You see Navier was personally trained by the Old Empress and when she was being trained the Old Empress told Navier that she couldn’t fall in Love with Sovieshu because he would eventually have a Concubine and if she was in Love with him. Jealousy would rear its ugly head, and that would cause problems. The Old Empress was obviously speaking from experience. So Sovieshu totally got Friendzoned when they were young.

I can understand why there is confusion. The commenters were going on about how Navier was jilted and they aren’t wrong. Navier and Sovieshu were married but they weren’t together romantically. Navier wasn’t jealous. She was betrayed, and heartbroken. Cause Navier is the Empress, she has to act a certain way. What she wears, what she does or says. It’s a mask. Navier as the Empress can never be her true self. Except with Sovieshu, he was the only person who got to see her as she truly was. So when he deliberately chose to believe Rashta over Navier. He betrayed Navier in the deepest sense of the word. The person she trusted most. The only person she could be herself too. The person who was her friend since childhood had abandoned her in every way imaginable. Over a person he barely knew. What a 🤬.

3) Rashta… Rashta had an awful life but she had a choice (or rather the author wrote her choices for her.). She chose to continue down the path she was going. Which is what makes her such a compelling and fantastic villain. It’s also why I don’t care about Rashta. She made her bed and now she has to lay in it.

I hope I was able to covey my perspective properly and I hope you guys enjoy Matty Bites video as much as I did.😁

[iglowinggemma28]

Ok here me out a story about a girl falling into her favorite novel where she’s a healer But the BBEG she’s supposed to face and help defeat was her favorite character so instead of staying on script she decided to help this poor guy who genuinely was a victim of his circumstances. Said guy was cursed as a child by his asshole dad who wanted his first born to have powerful fire magic like him so he uses a illegal scroll to strengthen hid son’s magic unaware that said scroll was a Dragon transformed into that form and accidentally binding his sons soul to said dragon. Half far girl cannot lie to save her life (consequence of being half fae. Unlike a true fae she can lie. She’s just REALLY BAD at it.) so now she needs to find a way to get dragon boy other healers and a way to deal with this as their is LITERALLY no way to undo it. Meanwhile she earns the respect and admiration of the 4/5th of the royal family as well as Mr dragon’s affection. And is currently trying to learn how to fight on the off chance she has to fight mr dreamy into submission to get him to stop being stupid if he starts to go off the deep end. Thoughts?

Also: FMC aka fae girl magic takes the form of crystals that either heal or absorb the magic around them to enpower her. This however comes at a cost. For whatever illness or injury’s she heal another person from they amount of time it would have taken her to heal from it is taken from her lifespan. (Example: someone twists their ankle and Crystal <filler name> healed the injury. Depending on how much magic she had absorbed it would take life 5-10 minutes max to heal unless she’s dangerous low on energy and magic. 5-10 minute would then be taken from her lifespan.) in the book the healer didn’t realize this until near the end of the book. After which she sacrifices herself to protect the city leaving behind a beautiful and giant crystal behind. This gave the heroes enough time to regroup and slay the dragon. This is also the reason why her healing crystals are so damn powerful. Because it’s comes from the sacrifice of (willingly) shortening her own lifespan. It also means that her magic is analyzed people would read it as a both magic and a curse.

She after coming to terms of: one that she fell into her favorite novel years before the plot happened. 2 somehow got kidnapped and sold to work in the castle. 3 accidentally saved the dragon prince from losing himself to the dragon and from “dying” like he did in the book. Decides to abuse the fact that she knows that half faeries can live over 500 years and becomes the Royal family’s private live in healer. (Of course when the queen and her child learn what the cost of her insanely powerful magic costs…the youngest prince immediately starts sobbing and tells her he doesn’t want her to die. Dragon boy is in shock and pretty horrified that the healer he was falling more and more in love with was quite literally slowing herself to keep him alive and unharmed. She had to explain that each time she heals someone it doesn’t take that much away from her lifespan. Due to how well she’s able to afford both absorbing so much magic constant to keep up with the demand of people who need her to heal them and that she’s no longer living paycheck to paycheck as far as food and able to focus on her own health, the more severe healing takes a 8-12 hours max. Combined with how long someone with Fae blood normal lives that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon abd that she doesn’t even want to live past 100 if she’s being honest. She doesn’t want to severely outlive those she cares about, especially if she can make it so they can live for a long time with her.

She can also shape the crystals in question and make them harder or softer to suit her needs. So they can go from being able to take hits from cannonballs and heavy duty weapons, to softer so they can be crushed into a powder to be added to food and drinks, to being squishy like play doh to just being pure crystal shaped energy as she needs.

Addition: Dragon boy has 3 siblings a twin sister and 2 younger brothers. The youngest has a mix of his fathers fire magic and his mother’s ice magic and was supposed to grow up and be the original protagonist. However she ends up starting years before the plot starts so she’s scrambling to keep a majority of the background events from happening. (Like this mother getting turned to stone. His sister being taken. Etc… while trying to decide if overthrowing/killing the father is worth it. (He dies during the story but is the cause of a lot of the problems)

Also dragon boys original magic was that he could create and control flames that were cold as ice. The reason he struggles with the dragon flames is their too hot god his body which is built for the cold to handle.

Sister who is the oldest has ice magic with a clause. The amount of ice she can create depends on how warm she as her body stockpiles heat. (Fae healer is aware of this as well as other details of the characters magic) otherwise she can shape ice rather well. (So think killer frost is a way) in the ordinal storyline her being kidnapped is what sets off the story. Before me dragon strikes against the kingdom and killing the king in the process.

2nd brother has ice magic as well his ice unbeknownst to most is his ice is naturally sturdier and harder to melt compared to others. He can also reenforce ice others made to make it better. This brother was supposed to die in an attack caused by a (separate dragon) thus give the youngest prince extra trauma abd anger towards dragons as a whole. Fae girl saves him and manages to slay the dragon in sheer desperation for things not to get worse.

And of course the youngest is the protagonist who was supposed to slay his eldest brother who turned into a cold blooded dragon after threatening to destroy the whole kingdom and actually killing their father. Making the youngest king. This fact torn him up on the inside wishing he could have changed things.

[yippeeecentraltraumakin]

I’d imagine it goes something like this

Tim letting it sit for as long as he can. Not mentioning it at all costs. Talia found it hilarious at first but after getting used to his new role while in the process of getting Bruce back, the abrupt end to most of his gestures does take its toll on her.

She’d never admit such a weakness but it’s still true. Tim also has to fight the urge to act paternal towards her while in front of Bruce after it becoming like some sort of second nature to him. He hates how much it’s changed him but he can’t hate it too much because it didn’t make him a worse person. He can even see how it had positively affected him.

Bruce can see the obvious tension between the two and is letting his paranoia run through all the possibilities. He does not like any of them and he needs to know what’s happening, like, yesterday.

Bruce comes to his own conclusion that the two of them may have had relations at some point in which he was absent and are both struggling with the realizations.

While it isn’t what he hope’s happened, is still entirely plausible with the way they have been acting lately. He’s seen what grief does to people and being around someone going through something similar could have lead to this.

It still terrifies him that that is a possibility and he sincerely hopes that it’s just that, a possibility, and not a fact.

Talia is way too old for him, not to mention his son was barely 17 years old. It wouldn’t be right and as much as he doesn’t want to push the topic in fear of what might be revealed, he also knows it isn’t healthy to ignore it.

He decides to talk with Tim about it right before they are about to reach Gotham, providing an easy out of the conversation incase it goes awry. Who the out is for could be anyone’s guess. Hard conversations with Tim don’t entail nearly as many physical alterations as they do with Talia but who knows what could’ve changed in the time he’s been gone.

“Tim, I want you to know that whatever happened these past few months was not your fault”

Tim, for the record, thinks that Bruce figured out he killed Ra’s.

“I know Bruce… I still can’t help but feel guilty about it though. I keep on thinking about whether or not it could’ve been avoided but I know it would’ve been harder to find you if I hadn’t done it. I am sorry about it though, but I knew the what consequences were and I still let it happen.”

Bruce now thinks that not only were his suspicions true, but that Tim was forced into it.

“Tim, I’m not going to force you to talk about it if you don’t want to. But please, if you want to talk to me about it, let me know. I have experience with these types of things. I can get you the help you need.”

“So you’re not mad at me?”

“No Tim, of course I’m not mad at you.”

“Not even disappointed with me?”

“I will never be disappointed in you for this kind of thing. It wasn’t your fault, no matter how much your own brain may tell you otherwise.”

“Bruce, how could it not be my fault?-”

Tim, I’ll tell you whatever you need to hear to get you to stop thinking that.

“-I mean, I was the one who snapped his neck with my Bo staff!”

Wait.. what?

“Even if it wasn’t what I was intending to do, I still did it. I’m still going to hold myself accountable for my actions.”

“Tim, what are you talking about?”

“Y’know, how I killed Ra’s? What are you talking about?”

The sign of relief he just let out could’ve blown out all of Ra’s birthday candles in one go.

“Tim, I- I thought that something had happened to you. Specifically that Talia had done something to you.”

Why would he? OH

“Oh, Bruce no. Nothing like that happened. Ok? I’m ok. Nothing like that happened.”

“I realize that now. Thank goodness. I want you to know we are absolutely talking about the Ra’s stuff later, but for right now I think I’m gonna sit down. You really are ok?”

“Yeah Bruce, I’m fine. Do you want me to sit with you?”

He didn’t know how much he needed that until then.

“Yes, Tim.”

Ok so this is an idea I’ve had for a longgggg time. I’ll probably write a fic or something about this somewhere down the line, but yall are also welcome to write about it as well. I’ll probably add more to this later too but I’m just gonna post this for now :

So during the whole “Bruce lost in time” shenanigans and shit, Tim starts get annoyed at Ra’s for being hella creepy and shit and decides to challenge him to a duel. Except because everyone is a dramatic bitch, Ra’s is like “If I win, I get to use your body as my new vessel” and Tim is all like “If I win, I get to take all of your titles and resources”. And what Tim means is that Tim would get to control the LoA. Somehow Tim miraculously wins and Ra’s ends up dying. So Tim is like “well guess I’m the new Demon Head :D” but then Talia comes in and is all like “yes, father, you are.” And now Tim is like “ermmm tf did you just call me?” And Talia is like “The terms of your duel stated that should you win, you would receive all of Ra’s titles, including his title as my father and Damian’s grandfather. Seeing as you won, I shall address you by your correct title, Father.”

Tim doesn’t know whether Talia is fucking with him or not (she 100% is), but he’s 17, he’s trying to find Bruce, he just fucking killed Ra’s al Ghul, and now he might be a father (and a grandfather as well?). Tim wants to cry. He wants to crash out. He wants to go home and have Dick deal with all this bullshit for him. He wants to quit everything he’s doing and move to a secluded cabin on in the middle of nowhere. He wants a nap. He gets none of those things. Instead, he finds himself signing legal documents to officially make him Talia’s father.

Meanwhile, Talia is in the corner thinking “this is actually kinda funny” only for Tim to actually start trying to parent her. The worst part? He’s kind of good at it. He’s no Ra’s, and Talia has spent a lot of time being brainwashed and abused by her father, but somehow Tim manages to slip past her defenses and slowly starts making progress. He buys her gifts, reads her stories, tucks her into bed, and tries to give her positive reinforcement for the (albeit rare) acts of kindness that she does. He starts to grow on her, not that she’d ever admit it.

By the time they find Bruce, they have some weird sort of codependent relationship going on. Bruce doesn’t notice it at first, but it becomes apparent as they make their way to Gotham. They have no idea how they’re going to explain this, but “I became her father by conquest” probably won’t cut it.

[ashereadsstuff]

'Heir' (Heir Duology #1) by: Sabaa Tahir

I received an ARC from NetGalley In exchange for a honest review.

Rating out of 5: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 (4.5/5)

Release Date: October 1, 2024

Content Warnings: Child death, Violence, War, Sexual content, Grief, Torture, Death of parent, Vomit, Blood

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SYNOPSIS:

Prepare for a ruthless and romantic new fantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author Sabaa Tahir that introduces a new generation of characters set in the same world as the unforgettable An Ember in the Ashes series. An orphan. An outcast. A prince. And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hotheaded mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her people for an unforgivable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who uses magic to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Martial Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But when a chance encounter leads to an unexpected attraction, Sirsha learns her mission might cost her far more than she’s willing to give up.  

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire and nephew of a venerated empress, but he’s loath to take the throne when his aunt steps down. As the son of a reviled emperor, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives—and their hearts. Literally.

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MY REVIEW:

I want to thank NetGalley for providing an ARC of Heir by Sabaa Tahir in exchange for an honest review.

Heir is a gripping, fast-paced novel that you won’t want to put down. The world-building is stunning, immersing you in a richly detailed and complex environment. The characters are multi-dimensional, shaped by their surroundings, and their growth is both intriguing and compelling. While I had some issues with Aiz—particularly her reckless decision-making—the book’s other characters, like Sirsha and Quil, more than made up for it. They were incredibly entertaining, bringing humor and warmth to balance Aiz’s darker tendencies. Aiz’s transformation into a villainous figure was shocking, though it felt somewhat sudden. Despite this, the book kept me hooked, and I couldn’t stop reading. That ending—what the heck was that?! All I can think about is the next book, and I will gladly devour every page of it.

While writing this review, I read other people’s thoughts, and some mentioned that it helps to read Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes before Heir. I agree—especially if you want to understand the more technical components of the book. However, I didn’t realize this until I was about 50% through. Personally, I think you can read Heir without the previous books, but only if you have strong reading comprehension skills. Since this is a fantasy novel with heavy world-building, the extra context would definitely help.

Spoilers Ahead:

Aiz was a major source of frustration for me. Her actions, especially as the plot unfolded, felt increasingly out of place for someone who was supposed to be seeking help and grew up in the lower class. Her recklessness didn’t fully reflect the struggles of someone in her position, which made her character feel inconsistent. Her POVs also became dull until about 70% through the book, making it difficult to stay invested in her journey.

The relationship between Aiz and Mother Div was another issue. While I understand that Mother Div was meant to be controlling and manipulative, the lack of explanation surrounding Aiz’s mission as the "Chosen One" made the intended manipulation feel off. I get that she’s a deity, but if you need someone to fulfill a grand destiny, shouldn’t you provide more guidance than just Shut up, free my people, and do my bidding? Aiz’s descent into villainy felt abrupt, and I wish the author had provided more subtle hints earlier on—whether through the book Aiz was constantly reading or her conversations with Mother Div—to better show how she was being influenced.

Despite these frustrations, Sirsha and Quil were absolute standouts. Their interactions were funny, engaging, and provided much-needed balance to the heavier themes of the book. I loved their dynamic, and they made up for the weaker parts of the story.

Overall, I loved Heir and rated it 4.5 stars. The world-building, character depth, and emotional impact made it a fantastic read, even with some flaws in Aiz’s arc. I highly recommend it and cannot wait for the next book!

[fire-lady-ilah]

What if Ozai actually loved his family?

This could extend to Iroh and Lu Ten and Azulon, but what I mean by this is that he truly loves Ursa (as this is highly debated in canon), Zuko, and Azula. The no strings attached love that children deserve. Buckle up because this is gonna get long and need a cut.

Aang might not win in this universe.

It would start with Zuko’s birth. He has no spark but Ozai has never held something so small that had his eyes. His wife lays exhausted on her bed. Zuko does not almost die that night. He was lucky to be born, yes, but it is said with love rather than scorn.

Two years later, Azula is born and he finds himself loving her just as much as her brother, even if she has a spark he doesn’t. Ursa is severely weakened after the birth and he decides not to try for more children— he loves the ones he has and he wouldn’t want to lose his wife.

Outside the Fire Nation, his brother burns down swathes Earth Kingdom. This Ozai isn’t a good person, he proposes ruthless plans in the war room, just as he would in canon, he laughs as his brother dreams of the day he burns Ba Sing Se.

The only difference is that he loves his family. His son almost dies and he saves him. He thanks the spirits that he was a strong swimmer and makes the point to train his son in swimming for the rest of their time on Ember Island. The current is dangerous, and it is even more dangerous for a weak swimmer.

Azula is a prodigy in firebending. Zuko is not. He makes a point to show them the same amount of love (because he does love them both). He reinforces Ursa’s teaching of empathy, not counteracting it like he might’ve in another universe. Azula begins to tell her brother all her tricks, things that come so naturally to her that her brother doesn’t realize.

He is nowhere near a prodigy like her, but he’s only a few sets behind her at any given time, and he’s leagues better than he would be at the same point in canon. Ursa sits with him and they watch their children fondly— they have a bond no one could break now, able to share thoughts without words. One day, they will be an unbeatable team. Now they’re just children, practicing together, playing together.

The turtleducks in the pond hound both children when they walk by, knowing only soft hands and small pieces of bread.

Azula is a firebending prodigy, but Ozai watches his son carefully. He sees the light touch of his feet, the quick reflexes when he almost knocks a vase off a shelf, the way he watched with wide eyes as they happened upon two guards sparring while not on duty.

Ozai calls for the best swordsmaster he can, housing Master Piandao of Shu Jing in the palace. Piandao’s assignment is to teach two children, after all. It wouldn’t do to send both his children away for so long. (He would miss them, as would Ursa.)

Azula is a prodigy firebender, Zuko is a prodigy swordsman. He picks up any style Piandao tries to teach him with ease, eventually settling on the dual dao as his favourite. Azula picks twin daggers.

Their weapons are two halves of the same whole, just as Zuko and Azula are. Zuko tells his sister all his tricks, all the things about sword fighting that come naturally to him that she doesn’t realize.

The Seige of Ba Sing Se beings. The family write letters to Iroh and Lu Ten often. Iroh sends a doll for Azula and a dagger for Zuko.

(“It’s okay, Lala. Obviously he couldn’t find any twin daggers there. It wouldn’t be right for you to wield just one dagger.”)

The doll doesn’t burn, though it lays in a chest, collecting dust. Zuko’s dagger is used to open each subsequent letter, though it has little other use. He has his dao for fighting, and Azula has a collection of far better daggers that she would let him use if he asked.

(Mai tells Azula (who is a bit softer around the edges than she could’ve been, though her teeth remain sharp) of her slight crush on her brother. She just pushes them together like any other child would and laughs at their blushing cheeks.)

Ozai and Ursa watch their children, hand in hand as they walk together. Neither of them have a reason to be disappointed in their children or in each other.

Lu Ten dies. Azula’s voice is cold as she proclaims that her uncle should have burnt Ba Sing Se to the ground.

This time, everyone recognizes the words for what they are. Ursa holds her daughter and soothes her as Zuko collapses into his father’s arms.

(A doll is pulled from a dusty chest and held to a girl’s chest.)

Ozai kneels before his father and says he would make a better Fire Lord than his brother. He may love his family, but he still wants power and his words are logical.

This time, his punishment sounds like a punishment and not a boon.

(“Grandfather ordered dad to kill you.”

“Dad wouldn’t do that.”

“I know.”

The siblings spend the night huddled into the same bed anyway.)

Morning comes and Fire Lord Azulon is found dead in his bed. Prince Ozai and Princess Ursa are taking breakfast with their children when they find out. They are the picture of calm.

They are a family and they love each other. Ozai would not let Azulon break them apart, even if it meant committing parricide with his wife’s aid.

Prince Ozai becomes Fire Lord Ozai. Princess Ursa becomes Fire Lady Ursa. Prince Zuko becomes Crown Prince Zuko and Princess Azula is his closest confidant as she always is. Everyone knows the Fire Lord’s Chief Advisor is nearly as powerful as the Fire Lord themselves anyway.

The war in the Earth Kingdom continues. General Iroh returns as a changed man, yet finds solace in the fact that half of his family is healthy and whole.

Two years pass with Zuko as the Crown Prince. He is known as a formidable firebender (though still weaker than his sister. He was the first person she showed her new, blue flame to) and a master swordsman. He cannot lie to save his life, but he has a charisma that he clearly got from his father. His father looks at him and sees the greatest Fire Lord the Fire Nation will ever have, even if he still has a lot to learn. This is his son.

Two years pass with Azula as his best friend (as if the nine years before hadn’t been the exact same). She is known as a master firebender, though few know of her skill with a blade. Lies fall through her lips as easily as any other word. Her father looks at her and see’s the actress her mother once was (still is) and pride surges in his chest. This is his daughter.

Iroh brings Zuko into a war meeting. Zuko speaks up against a plan he finds despicable. He is more confident now, his words more eloquent, but he has the same conviction and tendency to speak without considering the consequences of his actions.

The Fire Lord hears not disrespect in his son’s words, but the voice of his people. Ozai is not an idiot, and loving his son is all it takes for him to listen a little deeper. He knew of his people’s growing discontent with the war, but he didn’t care until their words find their way through his son’s lips.

Ozai forbids the plan. His brother (for he was once the Dragon of the West, for he still is and Ozai should do well to remember as such) suggests a plan that would cost less lives and only a little more time. It is an acceptable exchange.

Zuko walks out of the war room, his head held high. His face remains unblemished.

His mother scolds him and punished him, for he was still disrespectful and the general would’ve been within his right to challenge him to an Agni Kai.

(“I could beat him.”

“Of course you could, I taught you. But mom’s right, it’s a stupid risk to take, Zuzu.”)

The forty-first finds themselves passing a letter between them that speaks of a prince speaking up to save them from a general. Loyalty to the royal family is cemented in this one group of soldiers, barely more than recruits.

Azula finds herself thankful for Piandao’s calligraphy lessons. The small glass vials, prepared with her mother’s careful tutelage remain hidden in her room.

Part of being the Fire Lord’s Chief Advisor is keeping him safe from his own stupidity.

Ozai takes the time to teach his son to hold his tongue. It is a lesson taught not with pain and fire, but that was a mode of teaching he would’ve never considered. He loves his son.

Years pass and the siblings flourish. Zuko begins to officially court Mai and deals with his sister’s incessant teasing. He knows he has her to thank for their relationship anyway.

He could’ve done without his father’s attempts to give him the Talk though. He sat in horrified silence for nearly ten minutes of pure awkwardness on both sides before he managed to squeak out that his mother already gave him that conversation.

Both father and son are quick to flee from each other.

Zuko is fifteen and Azula is thirteen as they begin their journey in learning lightning. Azula does not pick it up nearly as quickly as most firebending and finds it a thrilling challenge. Zuko finds himself pulled away by his uncle and taught to redirect lightning.

Why Iroh ever thought he wouldn’t share it with his sister, he didn’t know.

Zuko is sixteen when he manages his first bolt of lightning, his sister having almost perfected the art.

Zuko is sixteen when news comes from Commander Zhao that the Avatar has been spotted in the viscosity of Kyoshi Island, wearing the tattoos of an airbending monk.

Zuko is sixteen, face unblemished, head full of hair pulled carefully back into a top knot when he approaches the Fire Lord and Lady (his father, his mother) and requests to hunt down the Avatar.

His sister is only a half step behind him, for what is the future Fire Lord without his Chief Advisor?

(What is the Fire Lord without his heirs? Ozai thinks. What is a father without his children?)

Part: [2] [3] [4]

[the-knight-of-the-stars]

Fictober Day 4: Arranged Marriage - Uma/Ben

Help

When Uma came down the stairs, and the scandalized crowd looked at her between whispers, she couldn't help feeling a lump in her throat, she froze for a moment. But she remembered the words she had said to her crew when she had left them behind, doubt and fear throbbing in her chest. "We will be free, whatever it takes."

So Uma took a breath and raised her head, taking pride in what she did, taking pride at this moment as she would have done in the face of a battle fought and won. Because that's what it was. It was a victorious night, of rejoicing. At least that was what Ben had told her when she had released him from his imprisonment and he had agreed to stay and talk. Until Mal had arrived to rescue him from a problem for which he had already found a way out, without the need for swords and blood, only with his words and his kindness.

From that moment Uma had realized how different Ben was from Mal, how powerful he could be despite being a mere human that at first glance did not seem to stand out in any way. He was good with words. Uma respected that quality, but at the same time, she feared it. The Island was full of silver tongue masters, and the sweetness of their mouths was always revealed as rotten lies.

But Ben had given her more than words, he had given her time, he had entrusted her with his life. Uma found herself surprised by the courage of this skinny and seemingly naive boy, who would rather die than commit a dishonorable act, rather than fail his people. The same could not be said of his father, who Uma knew, would never have deigned to set foot on the Island.

And much less, King Adam would never have returned a second time, without coercion, without backup, just him and his goodwill, to offer Uma the opportunity she had always asked for. The opportunity to change things. Returning to ask her to come by his hand to the land of the opulent and become one of the ladies of his court. Asking her to accept the political power he offered her so that the guilty would be punished and the innocent would be free.

But Uma hadn't really been able to believe his words until that moment. There, in shells and tulle dress, illuminated by the glow of the chandeliers, staring into the face of all the people she had waited all her life to face. And as she went downstairs, Uma realized that Ben and only Ben looked her in the eye, with respect, with dignity. So Uma dared to take his hand, relying on her own goodness, her own strength, daring to believe that happy endings existed even for people like her.

She dared to see the light beyond the horizon, she was tired of the dark. She had spent her life drowning in anger. Uma had grown up to take pride in calling herself a villain, in embracing all the darkness in her world and transforming it into her own power. She would be the villain if that's what it would take to get out of that prison to which she and her peers had been condemned. She would burn Auradon to the ground, bring the mighty to their knees if need be. Because even her anger wasn't enough. Because she could do better because she deserved better.

Uma was tired of anger, of hopelessness. So he took Ben's hand. And allowed herself to be young for one night, allowed herself to smile when he kissed her hand and announced her to everyone as his lady. She allowed herself to forget about Mal, about revenge, about the misery that had been her life. And she allowed herself to celebrate because while she accepted her place as one of the daughters of Atlantica in that court, the royal knights were ordered to prepare the new royal decree: Liberty, for all the villain kids, all the children of the Island.

The decree, stamped with the king's ring, signed in his own handwriting, was carried to its dusty glass case outside the castle, displayed for Auradon to know as soon as the sun rose. And the councilors would protest, and the nobles would try to stop it, and the old kings would refuse to allow it. This fight was not over yet, but there was no going back. The decree had been issued, there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

So Uma danced to the beat of the violins, looking into Ben's eyes, her heart moved, recognizing in the boy the same longing for happiness, for greatness, to do whatever was necessary. The same stolen youth, the same tired struggle. And she realized that he too had spent his life waiting for someone to take the necessary step to change things. Uma recognized him, and it was like seeing herself in a mirror.

And when the day came the obstacles came, and they could feel that something in the world had already changed. And they had changed it. The static shock of the people, the scandal of the nobles. People who came screaming and protesting to the boardroom, where Ben had to shut himself up to calm things down for hours. And Uma had to restrain herself, listening behind the door, not to enter to strangle the arrogant councilors who called the inhabitants of the Island hopelessly ignorant villains.

The ancient King Adam, in particular, found no graces in the decree. He saw it as a challenge. For him, for his kingdom, for everything he had built. But it didn't take long for him to realize that manipulative words and half-truths no longer had an effect on Ben, now he was out of their reach. He had underestimated the true power of his son. And now, face to face with his mistake, he wanted to find an alternative. After all, he was not the type to give up power so easily.

He knew his own vague and pliable laws, he had made them that way, and now he planned again to use them to his advantage. If Uma, the instigator of this ridiculous mission, turned into a lady, he would make sure to see a benefit. And it was not difficult to find it, after all, the girl had only achieved it thanks to her ancestry. Triton's court.

By the time the second dawn arrived, King Triton had already been summoned to answer for his niece, and at the instigation of King Adam, he arrived with a stern hand. As part of his court, Uma now had to answer to him.

And so she did, with her head held high, while bearing the gaze of the King of the Seas, and holding her ground, defending her position as she had done all her life. But Triton, in his already known intolerance, called her to answer for her mother's crimes. Thanks to Adam's advice, now he could do it within the fuzzy limits of Auradon's law. His plan to bring order seemed perfect.

But Adam, in his human arrogance, had forgotten that even the great Triton must respond to a greater power.

Uma was ready to break free and return to the fight when the sirens arrived to chain and condemn her. And Ben was ready to let her do it, even if it cost him his throne. But they did not even get the chance. Triton retracted, to the surprise of those present, much to Adam's disbelief, who saw his strongest ally bow his head and solemnly proclaim that the matter was beyond his power. And then he understood.

Olympus had taken matters into their own hands.

The Great Lord of the Seas, Poseidon himself, had ordered to have Uma under his wing, recognizing in her the anger and power that all his other granddaughters and grandsons lacked, the strength forged by metal and blood. A worthy heir to the gods. Poseidon looked at the earth and saw that this kingdom was the least he could offer her, it was what she needed to rule like the mighty. Oh yes, The God of the Sea had plans for Uma, and there were nothing mortals could do at the will of a god.

Uma heard him call her from the waves of the sea, the echo of his great power manifesting itself in that invisible ghost, who stroked her hair and offered her power over human affairs if she agreed to become the queen of Auradon and leave the name of the sea forever embodied in the history of the kingdom. In his own words, the perfect union between men and gods. This was how the world had to change, that was his command.

Ben heard it from other ears and realized that he also had no power in the matter, after all, he had always known that his marriage was hardly a matter of the heart. He couldn't risk his people to the fury of the gods, he had no choice. Ben had given up the right to choose love when he had put on the crown. Now more than ever he understood that.

There was no need for Uma to say a word when they finally sat down to talk. It was only enough to see her in the eyes to know that she carried a similar duty on her shoulders. They had been born with power and had decided to use it. Now they had to bear the consequences. Uma looked at Ben, understanding and resigned, and remembered that hope was not yet over. She could still do it. They could still do it. No more fighting, no more bloodshed.

"We will be free, whatever it takes"

[malfoyheartsgranger]

You Just Go on Living

Summary: In which Draco Malfoy destroys himself to protect his lover.

A/N: I wrote this between 2 and 4 AM, so it’s a little shitty but I’ve had this little idea for a while and finally got around to writing it so I’m just going to post it, oops. I also did not proofread in the slightest... It’s gonna be a long one, and there will probably be a good bit of backstory also, so sorry if that’s not your thing, but I hope you enjoy the heartbreak!

(PS please ignore the inconsistencies with time travel info and the butterfly effect and whatnot in this fic because quite honestly I didn’t know how else to go about it. You’ll see what I mean!!)

Warnings: mentions of death

Word Count: 4.3k

. . .

Draco Malfoy knew what he had to do.

He had known since four nights ago when Voldemort made an appearance in his own living room. Draco Malfoy, surrounded on one side by laughing Death Eaters and on the other by the grim faces of his parents, watched as his own professor was murdered, while another one watched.

Severus Snape was Draco’s godfather, and this title came with certain duties, even above those of the Dark Lord, one of which being to protect Draco. Draco was unaware of this fact, but Snape had sworn to protect him at all costs, and while it seemed that the vow would have been fulfilled after Dumbledore’s death, Severus Snape still felt a sort of honor in protecting his godson. And, as much as he despised the notion, this meant protecting his heart as well.

And so after Voldemort’s theatrics at Malfoy Manor, Snape pulled Draco aside and told him the most heartbreaking news he would likely ever hear.

“The Dark Lord,” Snape drawled. “He knows of Y/N.”

Draco Malfoy’s solemn face instantly rose to look Snape in the eye, a sudden urgency to his actions.

“What?” he questioned, standing from his chair in the corner of the drawing room to be eye level with Snape. “What does he know about her?”

Snape bowed his head in some manner of helplessness, yet stayed silent as Draco turned on his heel to approach the fireplace. He rested his arm on the ledge above it for a moment before spitting out his words once again, although this time with much more aggression.

“What does he know about her? What does he know about Y/N?”

“Draco,” Snape began, but his usual slow tone was not a quick enough source of information for the desperate Malfoy boy.

Rather than repeat his question to the stone wall he faced, he spun around to face Snape. The look on his face was all the motivation the professor needed to prioritize his answer. He may not particularly like the boy, and he certainly did not like Y/N, but he understood what it was to have the Dark Lord find one’s weakness.

“He knows,” Snape said gravely, “of your relations with her.”

Draco ran his hands across his face and through his cropped hair in angst. “So you’re saying . . .”

“Yes, my boy,” Snape confirmed, knowing exactly what Draco would have to say, “he knows of your love for her.”

Draco collapsed back into his chair as Snape merely watched. He did not expect comfort, and he thought it would be rather strange if he were to receive it. And so Draco, alone, remembered last year’s looming threat of Voldemort harming his parents if he did not do as he was told. He had thought that in itself cruel, although this was not unusual for a creature as horrid as Voldemort, but he recalled being relieved beyond measure that the Dark Lord knew nothing of his relationship with Y/N Y/L/N. He had not known what he would do if she was used as a pawn, a motivational sacrifice.

But now he knew. He knew, and Draco did not know how, but he did. And Draco thought it odd that Voldemort had not yet flaunted that to him, or to anyone, but Snape knew. Logic told Draco that of course Snape knew; he was one of Voldemort’s most trusted allies, but his grief convinced him otherwise.

Draco’s hands paused in his hair and came to lay on his thighs, just close enough to the trouser pocket that contained his wand. He leaned forward from resting on the back of the wooden chair he sat in, and in a collected tone, asked Snape, “How does he know this?”

Hesitant, Snape replied, “I am not sure. Although, you and I both know he has countless sources of information, and—”

His voice suddenly louder and sharper, Draco said, “How do you not know? Surely he would have told you this also?”

It was at this point that Snape realized Draco’s thoughts, and he reached to quell them before they could truly take root. “I assure you—”

But Draco was too quick, and before Snape could let any more words from his mouth, Draco was out of his chair, grabbing Snape’s cloak in one fist and gripping his wand in the other. He held the tip of his wand to Snape’s cheek, and for a man who was usually so composed, Snape seemed almost . . . afraid. However, he had the right, for he had never seen his godson in such a state.

“What did you tell him?” Draco whispered, his face incredibly close to Snape’s, close enough that the professor could smell the scent of shampoo wafting from his hair and the tingle of mint on his breath. He cringed.

“I told him nothing,” Snape repeated. As Draco breathed heavily into his face, Snape moved excruciatingly slowly to pull his own wand from his robes. Upon success, he pushed the tip of it into the side of Draco’s torso, and when Draco felt the pressure, he immediately backed up.

Both of their wands raised, the two men stared at each other, one defensive, one anguished, each in dangerous states. Snape’s paranoid reaction to his words convinced Draco’s inconsolable mind even further of his guilt. And so he yelled this time, “What did you tell him?”

And he shot a curse at his own godfather. Snape merely blocked the spell and begged Draco to calm himself, but before the boy could even send another curse toward him, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy rushed into the room, both concerned with the noise. Voldemort had left, and along with him any commotion, so the Manor had been silent, until the sound of Draco’s shattered voice rang through the halls. Upon seeing her son and old friend seemingly preparing to duel, Narcissa Malfoy approached Draco, and he finally noticed her.

“Mother, go,” he urged her, not wavering in his hostility toward Snape, though softening his voice a bit for his mother. Narcissa saw her son’s hands shake a bit as he aimed his wand at Snape, but he never shot another curse. Something in him broke a bit when his mother entered the room, and perhaps it was because of her lack of hesitation in approaching him despite his clearly unsteady state. Lucius did nothing, though Draco would admit his presence alone intimidated him out of trying to harm Snape further.

In a moment of weakness, or perhaps strength, Draco stalked from the room and into the gardens, and it was in the following moments of solitude that he realized what his next step had to be: what he had to do to protect Y/N.

. . .

Y/N Y/L/N’s reaction upon seeing her boyfriend was always hearty. This was mostly due to her cheerful demeanor, and that it always took her a moment to read Draco’s own mood and subsequently shift hers to fit it.

And so when Draco Apparated to her home just days before the start of their last year at Hogwarts, she needed time to adjust to his obvious devastation.

She heard a pop outside her bedroom window some time in the early afternoon, and when she looked outside, she was delighted to see a head of blonde hair headed for her backyard. That was her and Draco’s spot when she was home, and he knew that she always heard him arrive and did not need to announce himself.

Y/N threw on a sweater to brave the crisp air outside and rushed down the stairs to meet Draco. She swung open the door in the kitchen that led to her grassy backyard and nearly shouted a greeting to her boyfriend, but she noticed that he was sitting, slouched, on the brick wall around her mother’s garden, and his head was hanging low, so she sobered her presence.

Not realizing the severity of his state, Y/N still maintained a certain level of joy in his appearance. She walked around the dirt patch of fruits, vegetables, and regular flowers, and stood in front of Draco. She furrowed her eyebrows a bit and teased, “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

When Draco did not answer and continued to stare at the grass beneath his dress shoes, Y/N sighed and took a seat next to him. She knew life had been terrible to him recently, especially after last year. She had been the one to convince him he was better than Voldemort’s plans, and so Draco had not harmed anyone. He had tried desperately to destroy the Vanishing Cabinet, but to no avail, and Y/N did her best to pull him through the guilt that wracked him every day because of it. It had been unbelievably difficult to forgive him for what happened because of his actions, but she had already fought so hard to convince him that he could survive Voldemort’s threats, and it seemed she was the only one who could do so. If for no one else, Y/N stayed with Draco Malfoy because he needed her, and because he would destroy himself without her.

And consequently, it was Draco Malfoy’s most menacing fear, that Voldemort would come to realize his love for Y/N. And now he had, and Draco had tried to find any solution but the one he could come to to deal with this fact. But every plan had a roadblock, most of them being that Y/N would wind up hurt, and after all she had sacrificed for him, Draco could not allow that.

“We need to go somewhere else,” Draco whispered, and his tone immediately filled Y/N with dread.

Yet, she quickly responded, “Anywhere,” and without another word, Draco took her hand and Apparated them away.

After the initial shock of the Apparition, Y/N adjusted to her surroundings to find that Draco had already begun walking away. They were on a shore of some sort, although Y/N had no idea where, and Draco was walking along the sand, away from her, under a grey sky.

“Draco!” she shouted, but he did not turn around, and she assumed the crashing of the waves was disturbing his hearing. However, she chased after him, tripping through the sifting sand, and he still did not respond to her repeated shout despite her new proximity. He did not seem to be heading toward anything in particular, and as Y/N looked around even further, she could not find anything that he even could be aiming for.

So caught up in her own thoughts and determination in reaching her horribly despondent Draco, Y/N did not even realize that he had suddenly stopped walking and was staring at the sea. So when she took a break from watching her own feet to ensure their stability and was met with a prompt crash into somebody else, she gasped. Without a word, Draco gripped the top of her arm to stop her from tumbling over, and she couldn’t say she wasn’t grateful, but she was also infuriated.

“Draco Malfoy,” she scolded. “You Apparate us to the middle of nowhere, with no warning, and then leave me practically stranded down the shoreline? Merlin, I hardly had time to figure out where I was before I had to start chasing you down—”

Draco spoke. “Y/N. Please.”

Just the tone of his voice was enough to silence her, for despite her frustration, she would always listen to Draco.

She softened immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Draco, without granting her even a quick glance, continued to stare at the waves, and the shores upon which they crashed. “I’d like to think that I’m out there in some other life.”

Y/N said nothing.

“That maybe I’m a wave in the ocean, and you’re the sand.” He paused. Shook his head. “No. Then again, perhaps it’s the other way around. Yes, you’ve always been the ocean, so I suppose I’m the grain of sand.”

“Maybe we could both be waves,” Y/N suggested, not quite sure where Draco was going with this, but knowing it would lead to him defaming himself in order to raise her up. “Maybe we’re small waves that meet and make something big.”

Draco scoffed. “You’ve always thought too highly of me,” he mumbled. “You think the best of people like me.”

“Of course I do,” she protested. “You’ve given me no reason not to. Even when you thought you were irredeemable, you proved yourself wrong.”

“No,” Draco interrupted. “I’ve proven myself right this time.”

Confused, and a bit shaken, Y/N whispered, “Draco, you’re scaring me. What’s happened?”

A beat of silence.

A wave’s thunder.

A recession of water.

A lifetime of uncertainty.

“He knows, Y/N,” Draco finally said. “He knows.”

The grim look on Draco’s face was all Y/N needed in order to know that he was speaking of Voldemort. No one else, not even his father, could instill such simultaneous fear and disgust in the eyes of Draco Malfoy. Their peers dubbed him a coward for joining Voldemort’s side, but Y/N knew the truth: knew that he had no intention of ever again following through with one of his dark plans. She knew that he was incredibly afraid of what his role entailed, but that he faced it in order to protect those he loved. He was called a coward, but Y/N thought Draco Malfoy was the bravest person she had ever met.

And for someone so brave to look so grave in this moment, in her presence: the place he usually felt most at peace . . . Well, it was disturbing. And there could be nothing else but her safety that would have Draco so troubled, so after a moment, Y/N understood what he meant. On the surface, this seemed to be an unconcerning issue. After all, so what if Voldemort knew that Draco had a girlfriend? Her blood status was not an issue. She was a half-blood, after all. But when she went to voice this, she remembered how Draco had been threatened with his family’s safety last year. How Voldemort swore that if he did not complete the task at hand, his parents would be killed. How if he found out Draco loved someone else, he would approach his threats with the same mercilessness.

As soon as the realization struck her, Y/N shifted her thinking to formulating a plan. “I’ll hide,” she suggested. “I’ll go somewhere he can’t find me. I’m not sure if the safest place would be Hogwarts, that might be too obvious.”

“Y/N,” Draco spoke, although she did not hear.

“My parents,” she continued frantically. “I’ll have to tell them or - or send them away, I don’t—”

And this time, when Draco repeated her name, with more urgency in his voice than she had ever heard, Y/N noticed. After the initial aggression with which he spoke her name, Draco’s voice softened. “Nowhere will be safe enough. He’ll find you. No matter what.”

Her body went cold.

Draco was a man of extremes. A man of loyalty and ferocity and an innate desperation to protect those he cared for, no matter what the cost. He had proven so before. There was no doubt in Y/N’s mind that he would do anything to keep her safe, even if that meant breaking her heart, along with his own.

“No,” Y/N protested, sure she knew what Draco was thinking. After all, how many times had she been able to finish his sentences for him? How many times had she read his mind before he even formulated a thought in his own consciousness? How many times had she known what he would do, how he would act before he knew so himself? “We’re not breaking up. I’m not letting you go through this by yourself Draco, we’ve seen how—”

“I’m not breaking up with you,” Draco said solemnly. It had been what felt like a lifetime since he looked at her, since he touched her.

But Y/N was too relieved at his words to comprehend the stern tone with which he spoke them. She released an alleviating sigh, thanking the universe that Draco had not gone to extremes this time, that maybe he would let her help him and they would confront this together.

“But we can’t be together either,” he continued after a moment. Y/N’s shot from the sky above her to the boy who stood stoic next to her. She tilted her head in confusion and opened her mouth to voice her bewilderment, but before she could let out more than a syllable, Draco clarified. “It’s not enough to part ways, Y/N. I’ll still love you, and he’ll still know that. I can’t care for you at all.”

This time, although still perplexed, Y/N did not move to speak. Rather, she allowed Draco to think aloud.

“A memory charm won’t be enough either, not even on the both of us. I’ve heard lovers can still feel a connection between themselves after their memories are taken. And I can’t think of any other solution . . .”

When he did not continue, Y/N whispered, “What does this mean?”

“It means I need to make a reality where I never fell in love with you.”

She furrowed her eyebrows at the sea. “If I even considered entertaining this idea, how in the hell would you go about that? We’re wizards, Draco, but even we can’t change the past to that extreme. There’s no way to—”

She stopped speaking, stopped the flailing of her arms, stopped breathing, when Draco Malfoy pulled a Time-Turner from his pocket. Even without knowledge of how Draco planned to use it, Y/N would have been shocked at his possession of one. Time-Turners were extremely rare, likely due to the peril they risked, and the last she had heard of someone owning one was Albus Dumbledore himself.

“How did you—”

“My father stole it,” Draco filled in the gaps. “I know it’s not an honorable way to come into possession of one, but I plan to use it nobly.” He turned to look at her, finally, for what seemed like the first time in years. He met her eyes for a split second, then shifted them to the charm that lay in his open palm. He grasped it shut. “Point is, Y/N, I have it, and I intend to use it to protect you. I’ll go back to before we met, I’ll prevent it, I swear.”

“Draco, you can’t just make this decision,” Y/N professed angrily. “I know I’m in danger, but I never thought loving you would be completely safe. I mean, come on, you’re Draco Malfoy. Even without You-Know-Who, your friends serve a mighty threat.”

“This isn’t a joke, Y/N.”

“I know it’s not, Draco. But this is my life too.”

When he looked up, Y/N thought he would meet her eyes, but they instead drifted over her face and to the clouds above them. He threw his hands in the air in frustration, still clasping the Time-Turner with all his might. “And that’s exactly why I need to do this! I can’t be the reason you lose it! I need to make this world so that I never put you in danger by falling in love with you.”

Y/N was not one to back down from a fight, but even she knew there was nothing to be done to change Draco’s mind. The only thing that had ever been greater than Draco’s love for her was his fear of Voldemort, and in this moment, his two phobias were colliding. And that meant there would be no steering his proposed course of action.

So rather than continue to fight him, although she desperately longed to, Y/N sat in the sand and motioned for her forlorn lover to join. He appeared hesitant, but the fact that Y/N was no longer protesting him convinced him to lower to the ground. Y/N had always been the only one able to drag him out of his conservative shell. As unproblematic an action as it seemed, Draco Malfoy would not be caught dead sitting in damp sand in the presence of anyone but his Y/N. Something about her made him forget about the trivial issues of everyday life. Sometimes she cleared his mind completely, but it was much too cloudy today for him to hope for such an outcome.

As soon as he was seated next to her, Y/N rested her head on his shoulder.

“I know there’s no way I could change your mind, but is there a chance I could convince you to wait a bit?” She looked up at him, his blue eyes, his light hair, his perfect face. “To give us some time just to be here?”

She felt his chest move with a deep breath, and she saw his head dip with a wordless nod.

And so Draco Malfoy and Y/N Y/L/N sat on an unknown, unnamed shore, exchanging stories of their time together, of the highs and lows, the laughs and tears, for what they both knew to be a long time, but what felt like none at all.

They recounted their night at the Yule Ball, and Y/N told him it was the first time she had ever seen him truly carefree. He told her he used to despise her for supporting Harry Potter, and she laughed knowingly, assuring him she already knew, but glad that he had learned to agree with her views (although only tolerate the boy). She remembered how jealous she had been when Pansy Parkinson was his Potions partner but how relieved she felt when he admitted he smelt her in his Amortentia.

And when the words were no longer enough, Draco and Y/N sat in silence, with only the crashing waves as ambience, and they watched the sun set an ocean away from their problems. Tears fell from both lovers’ eyes, especially when Y/N sat back and placed her hand on Draco’s cheek.

“You know I don’t want this,” she whispered. “But I know that you’re going to do it either way. Because that’s just who you are. You’ll do anything to protect those you love. But Draco Malfoy, before you do, I need you to know,” she paused, blinking harsh tears from her stinging eyes and trying to ignore those forming in Draco’s own, “that there is no reality in the universe in which I do not love you. I will love you in any and every world that allows us to meet.”

Draco tugged his lips into his mouth and closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them again, the pooling tears escaped. “And I you. Always.”

Without another word, Y/N pulled Draco’s face to her own and met his lips softer than ever before. They were both shivering at this point, but as soon as their lips connected, their bodies warmed. Draco tugged Y/N into him with a hand behind her neck, and deepened their kiss just enough to communicate his love, his yearning for another lifetime of such kisses. The kiss broke with Y/N’s shuddering breath, and she rested her forehead against Draco’s, her hand still holding his face. She felt wetness pooling at the tops of her fingers, and she swiped across Draco’s face with her thumb, all the while her eyes closed.

“You know I only wish to keep you safe,” Draco sighed. “I would not do this if I did not truly believe it to be the only way.”

Y/N nodded, and sucked in a sharp breath at the sound of a tick.

She opened her eyes to see Draco’s hands around the Time-Turner under their faces and quickly looked up at him. For a moment it seemed he would not meet her gaze, and Y/N panicked, thinking she would be forced to abandon this world looking into something other than her lover’s eyes.

But then Draco looked up, and in his mind, he wavered. He could not leave her. How could he possibly think he would be okay without her?

But if they stayed, he would eventually be without her when Voldemort reached her, and that would hurt infinitely more.

Another twist of the Time-Turner.

Countless more.

“Wait.”

Draco’s hands stilled.

“What do I do?” Y/N spoke. “The me in this reality? What does this me do without you?”

Draco shook his head slightly, almost in pain, but before he resumed his motions, he offered, “You just go on living, I suppose.”

One last turn. A twist in time. A seal of fate.

. . .

It is snowing at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

A young girl is walking to class with her peers, smiling wondrously at the frenzy of snowflakes. A blond boy walks the same path with his own companions. He races ahead of the two boys with him and crafts a snowball out of fallen snow in his gloved hands.

In another, much more fortunate reality, the same events conspire. However, in this universe, when the boy throws the pack of snow, it hits Harry Potter, his intended target, rather than the back of the beautiful girl’s head. So she hurries her pace upon predicting a brawl and ducks into the castle, already on the way to her next lesson. The boy smirks at his friends and mocks Harry Potter’s misfortune. In this universe, Y/N Y/L/N and Draco Malfoy never meet.

And so, years later, when Draco Malfoy’s heart breaks, it is not because he lived to regret falling for Y/N Y/L/N, but rather because he never got the chance.

. . .

my stories

[mirohlixie]

Never Enough (Hyunlix) Pt. 1

Pairing: Felix x Hyunjin Word Count: 2.4K Genre: AU, love, dystopia

Synopsis: In a world where being different from the conventional gender and sexuality rules means death, the gay youngster Felix struggles to hide his true sexuality. He is doing well until he meets Hyunjin, an undercover hitman hired by the government to get rid of all the "different" people in hiding. The moment the two meet each other, both of their lives change forever, but will it be enough?

Content warnings: AU, homophobia, discrimination against LGBTQ+, explicit language.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~He looked up from his notebook, out of his window. The wind was blowing and rain was falling out of the sky in thick drops. The poor boy got bored from being inside all the time, but the weather wasn’t very forgiving. It had been like this for a couple of days now and it didn’t look like it was going to change soon.

“Felix,” a soft voice called from downstairs. “Do you want to come down for tea?” It was the same old story every day. He’d be in his room, usually reading or working on song lyrics all day. Some time afternoon his mother would start to wonder what he was doing up there all the time, and call him down for tea. He always said no, like he was going to do now. He simply didn’t feel like being among other humans.

All Felix longed for was to take a long walk, anywhere. Just him and nature and no other people. A place where he could be alone with his thoughts without feeling like it was a sin to even have them cross his mind. Because that was what his thoughts were: a sin. A boy like him should not be thinking about the things he thought of. Even better, it was forbidden. If anyone ever found out about the words dancing in his mind, he’d have to pay with his life.

At first, Felix had been pretty good at hiding his thoughts. He’d be among his family and laugh and have fun with them. However, as he grew up, he found it harder and harder not to let the words slip his mind. The safe storage that was once his head slowly began to deteriorate. His subconscious longed for the freedom that would come with the exposure of his secret. However, that moment could never exist. He didn’t want to die. Not because of this.

“Please Lix,” his mother called again. “You’re never downstairs anymore. You’re withering away in that room of yours. Wouldn’t you like to be with us just for a little? Just one cup of tea?” Felix knew his mother would keep asking until he’d give in, and he couldn’t give in.

Especially today his mind had been like a time bomb. Every time he looked in the mirror he had to withhold himself from saying those forbidden words. From saying those words that would essentially cost him his life. He could not even imagine what it would be like if he was among others. If his reflection alone was already enough to make him break, then what would a living human being do to him? How would he ever be able to resist their curiosity?

“No,” he called down. “I’m about to go on a walk,” it was an impulsive excuse and he hadn’t known why exactly he’d thought it would be the perfect one. However, now he’d already said it and had to follow through with the plan. He hopped from his bed and quickly put on a pair of shoes. He looked out the window, sighing when he saw the rain, and sprinted down the stairs to put on a coat.

“In this kind of weather?” His mother questioned, raising an eyebrow as she saw her son appear in the hallway. “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

“I know, but I like the rain,” Felix lied. “So I’m going on a walk. I’ll be back before dark, mom,” he zipped his coat and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek before walking out the front door.

The cold wind hit him in the face like a brick and he had to take a deep breath before he could find the courage to actually walk down the driveway and leave the perimeters of his parents’ house.

“I like the rain,” he muttered to himself as he pulled the hood of his coat closer to his face and started to conquer the strong winds fighting for dominance over him. “I’m such a bad liar.”

It was empty in the streets, which was perfect. The last thing Felix needed now was encountering someone he knew. He wanted to be alone. Completely alone. The rain started to get less intense the more he walked, which was a welcome change. The wind still stayed the same, pulling at his clothes and trying to push him back towards his home.

He loved the thundering sounds the moving air brought with it. It completely masked any other sound coming from him and his surroundings. It made him feel safe; safer than he was at home. Safer than he was anywhere.

Here he’d be able to speak his mind without care. Here he’d be able to be himself just for a second. He took a deep breath, looked around him, and smiled a little before uttering the dangerous words.

“I am different,” he whispered at first. Fear grabbed him by the throat as he checked his surroundings again, afraid someone would’ve caught him anyway, but there was nobody there. “I like men,” he elaborated. “I am a sinner because I like men instead of women,”

To Felix, it was hideous that this detail about himself could cost him his life. Unfortunately, it was the truth. Having a sexual and romantic attraction to people of the same sex was not allowed. Falling for or having a relationship with someone of the same sex was not allowed.

It was crazily old-fashioned and absolutely the highest form of discrimination, but yes; your sexuality could get you killed. If you were pleaded guilty of being "different", it meant immediate death, as ridiculous as that may sound. No trial, no bail. If there were enough grounds to convince the government you were gay, you were done for.

Not only men loving men or women loving women suffered this tragic and brutal fate, but every person who was different. Every person who didn't fit the standard boxes of society, the standard boxes being women loving men and men loving women. There was no room for nuisance.

Why these rules existed in today’s day and age? Nobody knew. The simple answer was that it had always been like that. People who were different were a threat. People who were different didn't have a right to walk this earth. To them, the lives lost did not matter, which was absolutely disgusting in Felix’s opinion.

To them, it was merely a way to make sure the earth wouldn’t get overcrowded. The way Felix saw it, they were just scared of change. In ancient times it had been normal to be a man romantically involved with another man. It was the modern-day society that had made it into a sin. The few people who rejected this idea and showed resistance awaited the same fate as these "different" people. Nobody was safe, so it was better to pretend you agreed with it.

Felix's parents also lived by these rules, so ever since Felix found out his preference wasn't towards women, he'd hidden from them. They couldn't find out, or they would probably report him to the state. Their own son meant nothing to them if he was different.

Of course, tracking down every single "different" person was difficult, and seemed nearly impossible, since you’re not exactly born with a sign on your head that says you’re different. However, the government had its ways to track you down, may it be legal or illegal. These ways were sneaky and far from agreeable. You never knew who you could trust and who not. Living in this world was a true hell for people like Felix, but there was nothing they could do.

“I’m fucking different!” Felix shouted into the wind, knowing nobody could hear him here with the wind raging around him. “I like men and there’s nothing I can do!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure you accept the terms and conditions of this task?” The lady on the phone had asked him for the tenth time. “Are you sure you are willing to take this task upon you and deal with the consequences that may come with it?” Hyunjin had nodded before realizing she would not be able to see that.

“Yes, ma’am,” he’d said. “I accept all of it. I am ready, I promise,” he’d looked at the booklet that had fallen onto the doormat this morning. He’d been waiting for it for a while now and today had been the day it had finally arrived. He’d almost jumped when he’d heard the sound of the booklet hitting the fabric. It was dumb and he knew that, but to him, this seemed like the only option.

It was fucked up, Hyunjin knew that and would never try to deny it. However, he needed the money he’d get out of it. Not for himself, but for his mother. His dear mother, the woman who’d raised him to be the man he was today, was a sickly woman now. She’d been diagnosed with a rare disease that could only be helped with expensive treatment. Without the treatment, the chances she’d not see the end of the year were very big. If she did get the treatment, it would give her the rest of her life back.

That’s all Hyunjin wanted for her; She had to see him grow up. She had to see her grandchildren grow up. He couldn’t lose her, not in a society like this one.

“Ten grant,” he’d whispered to himself. That was what he’d receive if he went through with this. It was enough to pay for his mother’s treatment and her medicine. It would be enough to keep her alive. It would cost him a part of himself, but that would be worth it if he was able to save the woman who meant the most to him. But was ten grant enough in exchange for a life? Because that was what this task entailed…

The task he was about to accept, was that of a hitman. The government granted rewards of ten thousand dollars to those who were willing to go undercover and find out which members of their society did not follow the law concerning sexuality. Well, those who found them received only three thousand. Those who then also managed to end those so-called moles would receive the full ten grant. His job would be to be among the people and find out who was hiding their true, forbidden sexuality and to simply end their lives.

The government needed undercover hitmen like this because there were way too many moles for their normal police forces. The standard procedure was execution in the name of the state, according to the legal methods, like they to criminals who got the death sentence

These hitmen were different. Their methods were technically illegal, but if they got caught, they would be let off again before they could even go into trial. The government would close their eyes for crimes like the murder of these moles as long as the hit-man had an official permit given to them by the state. These hitmen were highly necessary since there was no way the government could punish every single mole, and other than that they'd gotten better at hiding their true nature as well.

“Then I would like to congratulate you with your permit,” the lady on the phone had said. “You know how it works. Find someone you think is suspicious, figure out whether they genuinely are or not, and then eventually end their life. Send the body over to the morgue and receive your ten grant. Try not to get caught. It's such a hassle to make them drop the charges,” she’d explained once more. “If you have any questions, do call us. The last thing I would like to add, is that the most important aspect of this job is instinct. Make sure you follow it. Don’t be a fool. Don’t ignore the signs.”

“But how will I be certain if it’s one of them?” Hyunjin had questioned. That’s what the moles were often referred to: them. Not us, but the other.

“You will know,” the lady had assured him. “I promise. I have to move on to the next call now. I wish you much wisdom and luck, Hwang Hyunjin. We are looking forward to seeing your first catch soon,” and with that, she’d ended the call. Hyunjin had sat on the couch and contemplated the idea for the rest of the morning, fumbling around with the permit that had just been activated in his hands.

Was he actually going to kill someone only because of their sexuality? He knew they were deemed evil. They were different, that's what everyone had always been told over the past centuries. They didn’t deserve a place in this society, according to the government. It was never completely explained why this difference from the rest was such a bad thing. They were still people, weren't they? Was he really capable of taking another human’s life?

He shook the thought off as he was walking outside in the rain with his hood pulled over his hair a couple of hours after the call. He needed the money, so he was going to succeed. He didn’t care how much it would cost him, or how long it was going to take him to find someone. He was going to try the best he could and that was all he could promise right now. After all, it would take a while before he’d find the first person, wouldn’t it? They were called moles for a reason.

That’s what Hyunjin thought before he saw him; the person who would change his life forever. The person that truly caught his attention. At first, he thought he was just looking at the back someone who had lost his mind, yelling meaningless words into the wind, but when he listened more closely, alarms should’ve started to ring immediately in the back of his head.

“I’m fucking different!” The figure with the blonde hair yelled into the wind, probably thinking nobody would be able to hear him over the loud thundering of the air. “I like men and there’s nothing I can do!” Hyunjin bit his lip. Bingo, he thought. This was going to be easier than he’d expected.

[criminalmutantsins]

My Version of the Hamato Family

Hi everyone! Thank you for reading and liking part one. It made my day!

So, this is where I shine in writing. I love creating characters and their backstory; it’s so fun. I think it is more important to focus on characters than the plot since a character can create the storyline- well at least for me.

I’m excited to share! Hope you enjoy!

Comment your thoughts! It would be cool to read them! 😁

……………………..

 Leonardo:

We’re starting with the usual leader-in-blue!

Although I adore Leo, his “perfect” personality can get a little boring. His versions usually have flaws, though they are the kind that makes you sympathize with him rather than feeling indifferent like with Raph’s anger issues.

Season 1 Leo would be a toned-down Rise Leo. He can be cocky when he succeeds over his brothers and would jokingly comment how he is Splinter’s favorite. However, it doesn’t come without hard work. Leo trains the most out of his brothers and spends most of his time studying fighting techniques. He is not naturally talented in ninjitsu like the past incarnations. Also, Leo’s motivations for training very hard and wanting to be leader is more for himself than anything.

Compared to his brothers, Leo was relatively average. Donnie was extremely smart, Mikey had his kind and joyful soul, and Raph was naturally a great fighter. Leo felt left out and decided that training to be a hero would be his way of standing out. He also believed that being special like his brothers was the only way to get Splinter’s attention; and it kind of worked. With all the progress Leo made, Splinter praised him, and they had a way to connect.

Around the beginning of S1(maybe ep. 5), Leo became the leader though how was different. Instead of Splinter deciding, the brothers did; the explanation was the turtles were a team and should make a consensus as one. This news made Leo ecstatic; he was finally living his dreams. Even so, he didn’t realize the baggage and responsibility a leader had to shoulder. Over the course of the story Leo grows as a great leader and fighter.

The Karai/Leo subplot will follow the 2003 version. He is convinced that Karai is a good person and tries to have her switch sides. There will be romantic feelings but its not the main motivation for both of their actions. I can’t say too much since this plot revolves around Karai more.

   Donatello:

Donnie is a blend of 2003/12 versions. He is intelligent with an extremely high IQ and was a gifted child. However, his intelligence came with a cost; making connections with his brothers and father was really tough for him because of their different interests. This left him withdrawing from everyone and focusing on his inventions. His social skills evolve once the turtles visit the city and meet April. The increasing danger of the Kraang further builds his relationships since communication is important in teamwork, and Donnie’s talent in inventing grew more in the spotlight.

Because of her fascination with Donnie’s smarts and inventions, April and Donnie become good friends as the story continues. Donnie also gets close with April’s best friend, Irma since they are science lovers. At first, Casey irritates him as they have clearly different personality; Casey’s impulsive and extroverted attitude conflicting with Donnie’s plan-based mindset.

Donnie’s love for his family is showcased after witnessing a terrifying, apocalyptic future where his family suffers. Paranoia sets in. His work to calculate the cause of this terrible, and its solution leads Donnie to rarely take care of his needs. He has to learn to trust in others instead of doing things alone.

 Raphael:

Unlike Leo, Raph is instantly gifted in fighting. He has more physical strength than his brothers and would constantly beat them in practice. Since childhood, Raph was Splinter’s “favorite” in the dojo and that definitely got into the red-banded turtle’s head. He would brag to his brothers and jokingly poke fun at their techniques. It wouldn’t affect anyone. Except for Leo.

Raphael’s ego started taking hits once Leo caught up to him and beating him in practice once in a while. It turned into anger after noticing Master Splinter praising Leo more. The tension soured their brotherhood. Unlike most versions, Raph’s anger is fueled by insecurity. He believes that fighting is the only thing he is good at and will get territorial if his spotlight is threatened.

Throughout the story, he learns to move on from his demons and realize his worth.

Family is important to Raph. He can be hard on his brothers yet will do anything to keep them safe, especially Mikey- his positivity must be protected. Casey and Raph become best friends for their similarities and love for fighting- they are impulsive bros.

 Michelangelo:

Mikey’s role is to be the positive and glue of the team. He loves to make people happy and would always do something goofy or kind to do that. His family have nothing bad to say about their youngest member and are very protective of him. The youngest brother doesn’t take ninjitsu as seriously as skateboarding, dancing, or just general fun. Though, he will be serious when the situation calls for it, such as the fate of his family and the world.

Although being an open ear to anyone, Mikey is not open to expressing his negative emotions due to his fear of damaging the family dynamic. It is noticeable when he is upset because he jokes more often and not focus. A lesson he must learn is to accept the good and the bad. Mikey can be reckless, mostly when his brothers rarely let him participate in missions. He wants to prove to his family that he is strong enough to protect himself and others. Reading people is his best skill and takes great pride in it, usually taking on the role of a therapist.

 Splinter/Hamato Yoshi:

I really wanted to take Splinter’s role in the Shredder’s descent to evil in the grayer area. He is usually the victim/innocent party of the story, which can get boring after a while.

Hamato Yoshi was born as the heir to Hamato Clan and childhood best friend of Oroku Saki. The Hamato and Foot clan were allies for centuries and would usually fight by each other’s side. Matters changed when the Foot’s beliefs grew more sinister. This left the Hamato Clan to eradicate their former ally. Splinter saved Saki before he could be killed, though, it came with consequences. Oroku Saki vowed to exact revenge for his fallen home. Growing up, Splinter became one of the strongest martial artists in Japan and married a woman named Tang Shen, later becoming a father to a girl. His world ended once he saw his clan destroyed and his family killed by the renewed Foot Clan.

Yoshi decided to move to New York and forget his old life. Years later, the martial artist noticed strange people caging defenseless animals. He would fight them long enough to protect four humanoid turtles, deciding to keep them after a moment of compassion. Splinter would continuously fight the strange men until a strange liquid turned him into a rat. This turning point banished Splinter and the turtles to the sewers for protection.

Splinter equally loves his sons. He would always make sure to give them equal amounts of love to avoid lasting issues. Though, he has made some mistakes. Emotions were rarely discussed because of Splinter’s unintentionally withdrawn attitude. The rat master wouldn’t instantly notice problems between his sons, and usually didn’t know how to resolve them. No matter what, Splinter is proud of his children and would do anything to keep them safe; sometimes not realizing that it could hurt them.

Hamato Yoshi’s guilt and trauma over the terrible moments in his life would be the main focus of his development.

[ggukkieland]

📕BTS Fic Reads - 2020 August

Okay so I’m such a hoe for fics that I probably have about a hundred on queue but I can’t help appreciate all the works that these awesome writers put here on Tumblr and AO3. 

Here’s my attempt to organize my readings - though if my mood fluctuates, I’d just end up going through my reblogged fics for reading or sorting through my watchlist of ongoing/incomplete fics/series

✅ -  done reading   | S (smut) F (fluff) A (angst)

🥕[Ongoing Series - to check weekly]🥕

Dangerous Pairing @nightowls388 - KNJ |  supernatural  au, fantasy au, forbidden romance

[2/?] “Whether you’re a vampire or werewolf, love is still love. Betrayal is still betrayal.”    

Queen Cobra @fantasybangtan - KTH | mafia au, undercover au, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, thriller, s, f,a

[8/?]  when your boss offers the chance to take down the nation’s most lucrative gang from the inside out, you know you’ll do it no matter what the cost… even if that means entering an arranged marriage with the kingpin himself.

Arranged by obiwrites (AO3) - JHS | arranged marriage, unrequited love, angst, pining, jhs in love with someone else

[19/?] If you thought entering an arranged marriage with the person you love would be a dream, you were in for a rude awakening. Jung Hoseok was far from the doting husband you’d dreamed of and most of it could be chalked up to the fact that he was in love with his best friend. And you are without a shadow of a doubt, not her.

Image, Bad Boy @kittentaegu​ - JJK | badboy, fwb, angst, smut, more angstttt (I binge-read on this for the angst), adorable JJK when he’s not an fboi

[14/?] I chose to read this on AO3. Incomplete, but Ch 14 had such a satisfying ending -  When by chance you walk in on the school’s infamous bad boy, not once, but two different times in one day; your life quickly spirals out of control.

I’ll Sue You, Min Yoongi by hosexi (AO3) - MYG |  neighbors, enemies to lovers, angst, smut, lawyer!reader

[9/10] Yoongi is the neighbor from hell

Whiskey Neat and Whisking Trips by lacielre (AO3) - KTH | comedy, fake dating au, baker!reader, veterinarian!taehyung, funny 😂🤣, ex!Jin

[2/4]  This is a story about the night you poured your heart out to your ex outside his apartment building as a stranger yelled at you to “shut the fuck up,” and that stranger, who was just as wounded as you, was Taehyung, and he needed your help.

His Side, Her Side @scriptaed - JJK | he said, she said, f, a

[11/?] a collective snapshots in time shared between two, whose fates were undeniably intertwined and futures would never come to be  - one last chapter before series ends 😥

Black Swan @softlyjiminie - PJM | professional dancer, enemies to lovers, fake dating, figure skating, s, f, a

[2/?] a life of skating was all you’d ever known, your heart craving the feeling of ice beneath your feet and the light brush of cool air against your skin under thousands of sparkling lights… what a shame, if only you’d known that one night, one accident could rip you from the life you’d grown to love, leaving your career in the unsteady hands of the prince of ballet, park jimin.

The Key to my Drawer @jjungkookislife - KTH | bestfriends to lovers, s, a

[10/?]  A key, a drawer, and a secret Taehyung planned to take to the grave

The Nanny @jjungkookislife - KSJ| lawyer!seokjin, nanny!reader, single dad au

[2/?] Jin hires a nanny for his son, but when he hires you, he gets that and so much more

Acatalepsy @1kook - JJK |   survival au, apocalypse au, s, f

[2/?] Jungkook didn’t understand, and the longer he ponders it, he realizes maybe he never will. Some things are just better left unknown, he supposes. But that didn’t mean one had to face them alone. 

Aphrodite in War @jungblue - JJK | angst, exes au, fake dating au, roommates, sorority/frat wars, college au *this is really good 😍😍*

[2/?] Everyone knew about the war that had been brewing on the edge of campus for the past two years. Sorority versus Fraternity; a showdown for the ages. However, when the escalating antics between them yields the consequence of possible suspensions for both chapters, the presidents of each house must come together to try and figure out how to end this battle… Which is kind of hard, considering they were the ones responsible for it in the first place.

Palate Cleanser @btsmakesmehappy - KTH | agent au, fwb, strangers to lovers, s, f, a

[5/?] Part of The Company series -  Taehyung needs something to take his mind off his broken heart. His best friend, Jimin, suggests that he should meet another woman and the first woman he met was you. Would you help him even though you have your own problem, that you hate men?

Bad Guy @taehoneys - JJK | college au, fratboy au, badboy, good girl(?), 

[3/?] chose to read this on AO3 A certain video circulates the school after your big mistake and you never do mistakes, but you did this time…a big one: J e o n J u n g k o o k

Good Girl Series:  Good Girl || Sweet Girl || Smart Girl || Brave Girl  @bonny-kookoo - JJK |  good girl au, bad boy au, roommates, established relationship, s, f, a

[5/?]  Jeon Jungkook was known to have a specific type when it came to his partners; tall, gorgeous, dominant and older. When a new girl answers to his ad online searching for a roommate, he didn’t quite expect such an innocent being to turn up at his doorstep And what he definitely didn’t expect was his growing interest in her and the feeling of having her under him, all submissive and ready to be ruined. 

Agent of Love @ppersonna - JJK |  social media au, agent au, s, f, a

[1/?] as the FBI agent assigned to your phone, Jungkook keeps a diligent watch. he takes a special interest when you try your hand in online dating AND online sexting. desperate to keep you from bombing yet another potential date, Jungkook breaks his vow of silence to assist you in your plight to get laid.

Irregular Heartbeat @ppersonnakookies - MYG | social media au, surgeon!yoongi, intern!reader, 

[5/?] hot girl meets hot guy at a bar, lets him buy her a drink, then hooks up with him in the bathroom without even asking for his name. your typical friday night cliché. except for the fact that you’re a virgin, and the guy you drunkenly lose your v-card to is your superior at your new job.

Somewhere Only We Know @userseok - JJK | hybrid au, pining, angst, fantasy, smut

Prequel SOWK 1 SOWK 2 [being revised by author] Epilogue [to be posted]

you’ve been chasing after jungkook for years. after a harsh verbal altercation between both of you, you decide to leave him alone and pursue a relationship with someone who seems genuinely interested in you, thinking he would never return your feelings.

Elysee @ironicarmy - KSJ |  angst, drama, CEO!Seokjin, personal assistant

[1/?] Being the CEO of Korea’s largest fashion house is no easy feat. But to be the person behind the man, that being his assistant, is an even harder spot to maintain. In a company filled with affairs, bribery, deceit, lies and blackmail, you must struggle to survive and, eventually, climb your way to the top of the food chain. Seokjin, your boss, trusts you more than anyone, but when exactly does the line between friendly camaraderie blur with carnal desire? 

Beautiful Deception @jiminwreckedme​ - MYG? | mystery, thriller, ex!yoongi, angst, smut

[3/5] When your ex-boyfriend’s wife goes missing, you are the only one who can help him find her. But in a world where everyone is a friend and everyone is a culprit,  how will you find out what happened to the woman he loves?  Without falling for him all over again?

🥕[Completed AUs/Series/Drabbles -  to read]🥕

One Thing Right @hobios - JJK | fake marriage au, childhood friends, enemies to lovers, fluff, angst, slow burn, smut

01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09  ✅ (done, read it twice - this is just perfect ⭐ holy grail status)

Carousel @yoonia - MYG | mafia au, arranged marriage, heirs, CEO!Yoongi, suspense

Index: 16 Chapters & Epilogue | Drabbles and short stories |  Playlist |  Fan Edits

*a re-read this holy grail of a fic 🥰

Risk It @kookiesjoonies - JJK | social media au, exes to lovers, angst, smut ✅

Driving Me Wild @joonkookiemonster - JJK | demon prince!JJK, roommate au, comedy, fluff   ✅ (done reading, this is really cuuute 🥰)

Redefining Destiny @threeletterislife - JJK |  soulmates, enemies to lovers, mafia, fluff, crack, angst

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 (*have to read Yoongi’s story first*)

Rattled @gukslut - JJK | single dad au, angst, pining, enemies to lovers, neighbors, smut 

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three  Chapter Four   Chapter Five  Chapter Six  Chapter Seven  Chapter Eight Epilogue ✅(done)

*was reading this when it was ongoing, but stopped at Ch 5 (angst was too much for my heart 😢) - thrilled to binge-read this from the start 😍

Guarded @xjoonchildx - JHS | mafia au, enemies to lovers, slow burn, tsundere, smut

01 02 03 04 05 06 Epilogue  ✅

Never Falling @yoonia - PJM |  Enemies to Lovers!au, Singer!Jimin, non-idol!au, Assistant!reader, Smut, Angst, slow burn ✅(done)

Spellbound @minflix - PJM |  witches au (sort of based on the secret circle),  smut, comedy, fluff, light angst, enemies to lovers

Lie @yoon-kooks - PJM | angst, fluff, based on movie “Flipped”

0 // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // FINAL

On the Sidewalk of Champ Elysees @taeramisu = KTH | journalist!KTH, exes to lovers, smut, angst, paris, slow burn

Little Monsters @yoon-bug - MYG | established relationship, unplanned pregnancy, s, f  ✅

Take One @taetaewonderland - MYG | pornstar!yoongi, fanfictionwriter, strangers to lovers, s, f ✅

The Habits of a Broken Heart @softykooky - JJK |  soulmates au, unrequited love, art student!JK, english student!Y/N, angst, fluff, subtle enemies to lovers  ✅(done)

Into the Wilderness @gukyi - PJM | camp counselor au, unrequited love, friends to lovers

Oops @honeyj00ns - JJK | love at first hear, comedy, fluff, smut, “ You don’t know who the wonderful voice singing in the shower is, but you need to know”  ✅

A Song Request @n8dlesoupguk - JJK | drabble, romance,  where you always listen to the same radio station and he lives in the apartment complex opposite of yours ✅

Oh My God, They Were (Quarantined) Roommates @ot7always - JJK | roommates, quarantined life, college, smut, fluff ✅

Your Favorite Cardigan in Summer Nights @prodkkyu - JJK | one shot, angst, high school sweethearts, exes au, summer fling  ✅

Crimson Park @heartbeatan - JJK |  mafia, boss!reader, mystery, angst

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 (Final) ✅

Pranks @mysecretatticsstuff - JJK | enemies to lovers, prank wars, angst, smut, fluff ✅

Too Long, Didn’t Read @fortunexkookie - KTH | college, writers, enemies to lovers, fluff ✅ (done reading, love love this)

You’ve Got Mail @minyoongijjangjjangmanboongboong - JJK |  Barista!Reader, Graphic Design Student!Jungkook, angst, ex-lovers, enemies to lovers  ✅ (done reading, love this)

Love at First Oink @glodenclosetau- KTH | social media au, neighbors, friends to lovers, piggies 🐽, romance, fluff, comedy ✅ (done - the cutest smau ever)

Sugar @seokjxnnie​ - MYG | ceo!yoongi, escort!reader, personal assistant, smut ✅

Amor Vincit Omnia @sunshyngal - MYG | Mafia au, arranged marriage, angst, violence, drama

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20  ✅

My Euphoria @beyochu​ - JJK | fake dating au, fluff, ceo!jungkook, florist!reader, romance  ✅ (done, really adorable)

All Aboard @ve1vetyoongi​ - KNJ | smut, officeworker!namjoon, enemies to lovers  ✅

[robininthelabyrinth]

For a prompt how about a scenario where against all odds Nie Huaisang is able to inherit Baxia (maybe it wants revenge for NMJ too?)

After all the funeral necessities are done, Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao reluctantly depart – each one having pledged their full support in helping Nie Huaisang hold off any threat to his inheritance of his brother’s position, and in helping him run his sect afterwards, and all of that, but of course they have their own sects to tend to; they can’t stay at the Unclean Realm all the time.

Nie Huaisang remained.

He wasn’t alone – no sect leader, presumptive or otherwise, ever was, surrounded by disciples and retainers and petitioners – but it very much felt as though he was, as if there was a window between him and the world that couldn’t be broken no matter what.

There wasn’t a scratch on him, but everyone in Qinghe treated him like he was walking wounded.

It was better that way, he thought numbly, better than Jin Guangyao’s poisonous smiles, meant to comfort, or Lan Xichen’s self-centered attempts to ease Nie Huaisang’s grief by taking steps to ease his own, suggesting seclusion and meditation and gentle music as if Nie Huaisang had ever cared about any of that. If he had to hear one more thing about how his brother’s too-early demise was just the way things sometimes happened, the mysterious ways of the heavenly dao, and out of the mouths of the men that murdered him –

He’d do nothing, of course. He couldn’t do anything about it – he was too useless, a good-for-nothing just like his brother always worried he’d be; his brother who had always wanted the best for him, who’d warned him that if he didn’t take care and make himself strong, he might one day be lack the ability to do what he wanted…

Nie Huaisang had scoffed at the thought, back then. Back then, as far as he was concerned, his only desires were for a bit of peace and quiet, some pretty things, fans and paintings, brushes and books, and absent a complete collapse of the Nie sect, he’d always be able to get those. And if that was the case, why did he have to be strong? What could he possibly want that he’d need strength to get?

It’d never occurred to him that what he’d want was revenge.

Revenge needed strength.

He didn’t have strength, so he’d have to substitute it with time. His brother had once tried to explain saber training to him that way: yes, it was repetitive, yes, it seemed pointless, yes, all yes, but it was a trade with the future. Each minute of training was capital, built up from your sweat and exertion, and with that capital you could in the future afford that little extra burst of strength, that extra hour of endurance, that might mean the difference between life and death.

The cost of strength was time. He’d spent his younger years living free and easy, thinking his brother would always be there for him, leaving him without the strength he needed to avenge him, and the cost of his youthful arrogance would be the next ten years of his life, if not more.

It would take at least that, if he wanted to destroy the men who killed his brother.

And he would. All of them, without fail.

Jin Guangshan, who’d instigated it, would be easy enough to bring down. Nie Huaisang had money, if nothing else, and Qinghe had plenty of prostitutes who wanted better lives for their bastard sons – it’d be a matter of nothing to pay one of them to pack up and move to Lanling, to get Jin Guangshan’s attention, to get him talking on the matter of children…to instigate him to say something unforgivable about Meng Yao’s mother, who had always been his reverse scale; after that, he could just step back and wait for the consequences to fall where they would, to let Jin Guangyao do the dirty work for him the way he’d done it for Jin Guangshan.

(The prostitute’s child would be given a new name and a position as a Nie sect disciple, very prestigious, a proper young master. Every day, Nie Huaisang would look at him and he would think of Meng Yao trapped in the brothel dreaming of exactly that sort of rescue and he would smile, because the man who murdered his brother deserved nothing from him, not even sympathy for the unfortunate child he’d once been.)

But Lan Xichen and Jin Guangyao – that would take time.

Jin Guangyao had a tongue made of silver, capable of turning every situation to his benefit by saying exactly the right thing; Nie Huaisang would need to find solid evidence of his wrongdoing if he was to destroy his life. That would take time, time and patience, years of needing to pretend that nothing was the matter, that he relied on him, that he needed him, that he didn’t see the way Jin Guangyao’s lips curled with sick smug satisfaction as he played the role of older brother that should have been Nie Mingjue’s.

He didn’t need to worry about bringing down Lan Xichen, who valued righteousness but couldn’t recognize it when it stood before him; destroying Jin Guangyao would destroy him, too, and all the better if he realized too late that he would be one of the hands that pushed Jin Guangyao to his demise, just as he’d pushed Nie Mingjue to his.

They would see if all of his seclusion and meditation and gentle music helped him with his grief then.

It would be long and it would be painful and it would have to be that way because he wasn’t strong enough.

Thinking grim thoughts, he walked to his brother’s bedroom, thinking only of seeking some comfort on his sheets before they, too, forgot the smell and weight of him, and that’s when he saw her.

Baxia.

Nie Huaisang’s hand automatically fell to his waist, where his little-used saber still hung in some belated attempt to appease his brother’s spirit – not that Aituan was ever going to be any protection against Baxia. Especially now: she should be safely in his brother’s tomb, placed there like all the other sabers that had lost their masters to fight against fierce corpses for the rest of eternity instead of finding her way out into the world where she would fight against evil no matter what its form. Saber spirits didn’t discriminate: living or dead, evil petty or major, it was all the same to them, and that was what made them so dangerous.

As sect leader, it was Nie Huaisang’s duty to tend to the masterless sabers, something Jin Guangyao foolishly thought meant tomb maintenance and which Nie Huaisang knew meant keeping them from hurting people. That had been the duty the other Nie sect disciples had worried that Nie Huaisang would be unable to perform, and in his heart he’d doubted it, too, but he’d thought it didn’t matter – the masterless sabers hadn’t gotten out in years.

Baxia –

Baxia shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t be floating in the center of Nie Mingjue’s bedroom, her blade having a dull red shine from all the blood she’d drunk over the years in his hand; she shouldn’t look as if she were keeping a vigil, waiting for her master to return when he never would.

Aituan vibrated under Nie Huaisang’s hand. It wasn’t lust for a battle (Aituan wasn’t the type), but rather almost – an echo.

Sympathy.

Family lore said that saber spirits didn’t understand compassion. And yet, Nie Huaisang would swear that that was what it was: an echo of pain made in understanding, a sharing of loss.

His fingers released Aituan’s hilt.

“Baxia,” he said, his voice breaking – too raspy from all the tears he’d wept, pained from the rage he’d swallowed down. Heedless of his own safety, he stepped forward. “Baxia…they killed him.”

Baxia didn’t attack him, which was already something: Nie Huaisang knew very well that he counted as evil by her standards. He who sees injustice and does nothing to prevent it – he who closes his eyes to truth and refuses to help the helpless, preferring to waste time on indulging himself instead –

“They killed da-ge,” he said, his eyes fixed on Baxia. “Your master, my brother…they killed him, and I’m not strong enough to get them back. Not yet. It’ll take time. But I swear to you, I’ll do it. I’ll avenge him, no matter the cost. I swear it.”

Baxia finally responded, floating over towards him – blade pointed down the ground rather than at his throat, which he appreciated.

Moved by some instinct he didn’t understand, Nie Huaisang reached out and pressed his fingers to the flat of Baxia’s blade. He hadn’t touched Baxia in years, not since he was a child, and suddenly there was a spark of energy that he could feel and –

He shouldn’t be able to feel that.

He shouldn’t be able to – that was the way he felt when he finally mastered Aituan, his soul fluctuating as he became one with his saber, and that was impossible; everyone knew sabers only had one master. At first he thought somehow Baxia had stolen his link to Aituan, but no, he could still fell him there, grumbling a little but not overly worried (nothing worried Aituan, Nie Mingjue had once said, with great displeasure, that Aituan was the capybara of sabers), but Nie Huaisang could still feel her.

Not just her.

The spark didn’t stop at his fingers but flowed inwards, running through his meridians in a sudden cycle that took Nie Huaisang by surprise: he was cultivating, somehow. Without doing anything, he was inexplicably growing stronger, filling up with power from –

From Baxia.

From his brother.

No wonder Baxia had come here to wait for him. She’d come to give him his inheritance, his brother’s last gift to him – his brother must have planned this long ago, wanting his little brother to have at least a little of the power he’d never bothered to earn for himself.

Nie Huaisang’s eyes filled with tears.

It wouldn’t make that much of a difference to his plans – he still wasn’t anywhere near ready to challenge someone like Lan Xichen – but he wouldn’t have to worry, now, about any further assassination attempts by Jin Guangyao: he had enough strength, now, to defend himself.

To raise a saber, if necessary.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “I’ll do him proud – I’ll do you both proud. I promise.”

This time, it was a promise he’d keep.