#was looking for reference of her and basically couldn't find any that was useful | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

queers-gambit · 1 year ago

Text

Now and at the Hour of His Death

prompt: any who say, "it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," were never loved by him.

pairing: Osferth x female!pregnant!wife!reader

fandom: The Last Kingdom

word count: 6.1k+

note: fuck you, Netflix.

warnings: you already know - author needs therapy, projects hard, pregnant wife, Lord’s name in vain, Christianity (obviously), and a fuck ton of fucking ANGST because fuck your feelings. hurt NO comfort, drama, oneshot, cursing, canon-typical violence, injury, and blood. character death and spoilers - yeah, i'm giving you THAT scene. requires maturity and caution. good luck.

also please note: NO, i do not age Osferth to be 16 - that's just a reference age for when he eventually runs away from the monastery.

again, you are missing nothing if this upsets or triggers you and you choose to skip. value your wellbeing, my angels. author is not responsible for the media YOU choose consume, but still, as usual, MDNI

"You should not be doing this sort of work," Ingrith's voice scolded you, and when you turned, you saw the blonde woman standing with her hip cocked and a stern expression. "It's bad for your health to be in such filth, we've stable boys for this sort of chore."

"I do not mind," you sniffled in the brisk air, shoveling the horse shit of the stable into a muck bucket to be dumped into the fields later. "It keeps me busy," you grunted lightly, sure to bend your knees when lifting the pitchfork, "keeps me humble," you listed, dumping the waste to grin at your friend, "and keeps me young."

"In what way?"

"Reminds me of my childhood," you eased, continuing your work. "I slept in a stable from the ages of 4 to... Oh, shit, I guess I was about 16 before I left The Loft."

"What?" She breathed in confusion. "Never knew that."

"Yeah, yeah, true story," you beamed at her, still shoveling shit. "I slept in the stalls with the horses, sometimes in the grain rooms - basically anywhere I could since my work didn't include official room and board, so, I had to make do with what was available. Then, one day when I was about ten, Old Man Rivers said I could use the hay loft if I cleared it out, fixed the rotten planks. Stayed up there till I was about 16, and after that, I kinda ran away."

"Old Man Rivers?"

You nodded, "My mother lived on his homestead, but she was real sick, you see. So, he kinda took me in without assuming responsibility for me," you cleared your throat, shrugging, "let me stay in his barn if I worked with the horses and livestock for him."

"Why would you want to be reminded of that?"

"Seems simpler when I look back."

Ingrith sighed, "C'mon, put the pitchfork down. Come help me prepare the rabbits. The scouts say the men aren't too far off, they'll want a hot meal."

You chuckled with ease and set your pitchfork aside, giving a hearty pat to one of the horse's necks as you passed by to exit the stable. Ingrith made sure you washed up before you were both mounting rabbits on the rack to start skinning them.

"Could I ask something?" She wondered after a time.

"Anything you'd like."

"Why'd you run away? From Old Man Rivers?"

You laughed, "I was in love."

"Oh, you and Baby Monk go that far back, huh?"

"Try even farther," you teased. "Our mothers were friends, and when I worked in the stable, he was in the monastery, but when he came to me, saying he couldn't do it any longer, I couldn't let him go alone. Life was supposed to offer more than what we were given, so, we set out to find the legendary barbarian, The Dane Slayer," you teased, both giggling, "our Lord, the legendary, Uhtred of Bebbanburg."

"And all this time...?" She smiled, watching you shuck hide like you've done it your whole life. Ingrith inferred you probably did.

"Yeah," you eased, "all this time, he's been by my side. Kept me close, never left me behind. The others weren't too sure about me on account of being a woman, they told us to piss off a few times - but they came around after Osferth refused to send me away."

"He's a good lad, Osferth," she nodded.

"Arguably one of the best ones," you agreed, nudging her arm gently, "but look who I'm telling, right?"

"Oh!" She giggled, swatting at you loosely before going back to your work for a moment. Suddenly, the townspeople of Rumcofa stirred to life, and over the voices, you heard them announcing their Lord's return - which meant all of your men were home. You both grinned and breathlessly left your post, Ingrith pausing a young lad to ask, "How many return to us?"

"Does it matter? Come, c'mon, let us see ourselves!" You all but squealed, overwhelmed with excitment; eager for your own reunion with the man you've loved since you were a young lass.

"Warn the alehouse!" Finan was heard shouting. "Osferth's thirsty!"

"Jesus," you laughed, dodging around the procession of people waiting to greet their warriors on their return home so you could approach the white gelding your husband rode.

His face was absolutely priceless when he caught sight of you. As Osferth eagerly dismounted, your hands smoothed over the small swell of your belly - purposefully wearing a dress that accentuated your ever-changing figure. "Am I dreaming?" He laughed, a stablehand taking hold of his horse so his hands were free to caress your belly. "Oh, my God, I'm not, 's real, oh, God," he beamed, laughing with you. "You're pregnant? Truly? Yes? I-I am not - I am not being deceived?"

"No, my love, I guess our prayers were finally heard."

"OH-HOOOO!" You heard Finan holler as Osferth finally pulled you in for a sweet kiss; both ignoring the Irishman. "Lord! LORD! Uhtred! Hey! Did you hear!? Baby Monk's got some spunk in 'im afta all!"

"Oh, God," you laughed against Osferth's lips, but he was quick to shush you with another breath-stealing kiss.

"A baby Baby Monk! AHA!" Finan was still laughing, your husband's hands caressing both your cheeks when he pulled back just in time for Finan to descend. You grunted lightly when his heavy arms dropped over both yours and Osferth's shoulders, his laugh still booming as he gave a squeeze and cooed, "Oh, congratulations, yah two love birds! Wasn't sure you had it innyah, boy!"

"Don't be so rough with her, Finan, for God's sake," Osferth scolded, nudging his friend to get out from under his arm.

"What?" Finan looked at you gobsmacked. "Sayin' I gotta treat yah different now or somethin'?"

"I didn't say that," you told him prettily with fluttering lashes, fist quickly balling up to jab him in the weak spot of his armor - making him grunt and wheeze. "Aht-aht!" You warned with a pointed finger when he flinched as if to retaliate, "Can't hit a pregnant woman."

"Oh, yeh li'l shite," Finan laughed, Osferth pushing him towards his wife so he could stand in front of you and command all attention.

Osferth took a moment to simply look at you; thumbs gently tracing over your cheeks in sweeping motions, a slow grin breaking across his lips. "This almost doesn't feel real... But how I have to praise God for this blessing. A baby," he breathed.

"A little you and me," you agreed softly. "Sound okay to you?"

"More than okay," he chuckled, pecking your lips, "sounds like a lifetime together."

"Good by me." His nose nuzzled up yours, the sweet moment broken when he sighed sadly; eyes shut and smile dropping. "What is it? What's wrong, love?" You asked, stepping into his embrace so you were nuzzled into his neck and his arms were wrapped around your form in a vice.

"Uhtred means to move us again," he whispered in your ear. "Brida, she... She's got Father Pyrlig, and - "

"What!?" You snapped, rearing back slightly to pin him under your hardened glare. Pregnancy hormones would surely give Osferth whiplash.

"My love, I did not - "

"Brida's got Pyrlig? Fuck are we standin' here for, let's go!" You reached for his hand, ready to march off.

"Uh, no, no, no, no," he pulled you back to him; anchoring his hands on your hips so you could not escape. "You are not going anywhere. Not now - especially now," he glanced at your still-growing bump. "The men will go, you know we will return, but you have this new responsibility, and that's keeping this little one safe. For us," he smiled at you.

You huffed, "I'm not unfit to do what needs done, Osferth."

"I did not say you were unfit, but look at the timing of it," he frowned. "I should've been here when you learned, but I was not, and I am truly so sorry for it. Look, I do not know how long this venture will be, but you know I will return. We've waited for our family for far too long, I will not jeopardize this - so I will return. If you go with us, and something were to happen," he shook his head, "my angel, I would never forgive myself. So I need you to stay here, stay safe, if for nothing else but for me."

"But Pyrlig - "

"Will be saved," he assured.

"And Brida - "

"Will be dealt with," he eased, chuckling lightly. "My angel, you worry too much about everyone and yet never about yourself."

You pouted, "Well, why is it just me meant to stay back? This is your child, too, Osferth, and should have the right to meet them! You can't always control what happens, accidents are real, what if you don't return - "

"Don't think like that - "

"But it's a real threat to us - "

He agreed, "Of course, but - "

"Yeah, I know," you nodded, cutting him off, "we serve Lord Uhtred. This comes first, and I'm not - "

"I've made a vow to him."

"You made one to me, too, you know."

"Angel, please, don't do this. Do not ask me to choose," he begged with a frown, and you caved.

So, with a sigh, you nuzzled into his embrace and relented, "All right, yes, fine, go after Brida and Pyrlig. And when you find them, tell him I am waiting for his safe return, he is dearly missed. Ideally, I'd have him birth our child."

"Of course," he breathed, finding a small reprieve of relief that you did not fight him further about leaving - about choosing which vow to fulfill: the one to his Lord Uhtred or the one to his wife.

Both made to God.

Luckily, Osferth married his best friend and you were never one to pick fights with him. You liked the harmony you had; the peaceful environment you had both cultivated to preserve the trust and love you built through the years. He was genuinely one of a kind; a man who walked many lines between faith, humanity, right, wrong. He was the voice of reason, constantly striving to do better than he did before, learning all he could as if a rag soaking in water. For all he was, Osferth has always been enough for you, and for that reason alone, you never felt the need to argue.

To fight. To voice contempt.

"Question," you perked up, smirking at him as your pregnancy symptoms ran a little wild, "think we've time to, you know, really give our thanks?"

"Angel - "

"What?" You grinned. "You fucked me on the alter all those weeks ago and look - your seed stuck. We might as well go give thanks in the same manner, just to really show God how thankful we are for this blessing he's given us."

"Think the Devil's gotten into you," he laughed.

"Or your child is ruining my hormones," you countered, his lips meeting yours in another passionate display of his excitement.

"C'mon," he whispered, taking your hand, and leading you to the chapel - thinking you were being sneaky, but your matching giggles made Ingrith and Finan beam at each other.

"He does know she can't get more pregnant, right?" Finan teased, flinching when Ingrith smacked his upper arm.

"WHY!?"

"My angel, please - "

"What the fuck is going on, Osferth!?"

"I'm trying to explain - "

"The Queen? The fucking Queen is dead in our village! How can that possibly be explained!?" When Osferth didn't answer, just sat in the wooden chair before the shared hearth of your humble home, you snapped, "Well!?"

"Are you finished? May I speak now?"

With a huff, you nodded and gestured for him to speak; arms crossing around your swollen tits. He explained to you the reason for Haesten's arrival, the wagon his men toted, and why he brought the Queen's dead body to the settlement of Rumcofa. He told you Haesten wanted to keep the peace when King Edward found out, claiming Uhtred's son-in-law, Stiorra's husband, Sigtryggr, had ordered this death - thinking war would surely roll over his lands.

You never knew Haesten to be a generous man, nor much of an honest one, but it seemed the severity of the situation made everyone eerily on-edge. Uhtred dispatched his men; leaving Finan and Osferth in the village with you, developing a plan that would save both Saxon and Danish life. And yet, it was all futile when evil forces worked against good.

You didn't feel safe in Rumcofa anymore, there was a stench in the air; tension that mounted to embrace all residents with discomfort. Something was about to happen, but nobody knew what. You didn't claim or pretend to know what was happening, but Haesten's abrupt appearance spelled danger for everyone involved. So, as a security measure, you kept a long sword buckled around your swelling waist and a dagger strapped under your skirts. With Lord Uhtred gone, there was no invisible fence protecting Rumcofa - leaving it up to you, Osferth, Finan, and Cynleaf to pose as guard.

Yet you'd never be enough.

Like the surf over sand, a group of angered men descended on Rumcofa. "Who's men are yah?" Finan asked, you lingering at Osferth's side to watch the interaction from a short distance.

"We come from the King," a burly Saxon replied, your head cocking in interest - swearing you've seen him before. "Dane murderers are hiding here and you must hand them over."

"You're mistaken, sir," you kindly offered, the man's eyes shifting over you, "because we live in peace. Any murderers have surely moved on from here. We do not host them."

The man growled, "Don't think that's true, love."

Finan held a hand back at you, meeting your eyes and nodding simply. He turned back for the man in fur, diverting, "Of course, my men will attend to it."

Finan turned from the group, his eyes connecting with yours as he passed by. There was urgency, a quickened pace he adopted; having no intention to hand anyone over, wanting to remove these men without bloodshed. However, that was a distant thought because Father Benedict tried to assure the Saxon leader that nobody in Rumcofa would murder Queen Aelflaed.

You wanted to step in when the Saxon evidently didn't know about the Queen's demise - getting in Benedict's face and demanding to see what he spoke of.

"No, no, no," you muttered nervously, "he can't see the body, love, no, no, no, this is bad. Very bad."

"We can't stop Father Benedict without altercation," Osferth whispered back, keeping a tight hold of your hand, just watching the group. "If something happens, you need to get yourself safe."

"How do we truly know they're from Edward? What credentials do they have?" When Osferth shook his head, you worried, "Got a bad feeling 'bout this, angel."

Then the violence began.

The strange men took charge when their leader walked away, starting to physically harass the citizens; making both you and Osferth step in to try and diffuse the tension. You pushed men off unarmed women, got in between them and the children, did what you could without drawing a weapon.

When a man shoved you away from him, Finan wrangled him away, sneering, "Get yer hands off of her!" He kept the violent men at bay for a moment, telling you, "You need to go, darling - "

"Not now, Fin, look around us! We need to contain the situation, you'll need all hands you can get," You snapped, the two of you forced to part way.

Osferth panted nervously and looked left and right, turning to meet the Saxon and demand, "Tell your men to stand down!" But then, his eyes squinted when you joined his side to pull him back a step or two, recognizing him just as you did.

"I don't think they're here for the Queen, love," you heaved for breath in warning, still backing him up. "They've planned this."

"Finan!" Osferth barked, "These men have been here before!"

The Saxon roared over the fray, "Danes of Rumcofa have murdered our Queen!" His men jeered in anger, making Finan brandish both swords and for Osferth to push you back further from the attention. "Do your duty and rid the cockles from the wheat!"

You were left no choice. Osferth and you both armed yourselves, starting to fight off the Saxons as their leader demanded Danes and Christians be separated. You were unable to help, engaged in battle, but Young Uhtred gathered the Danes and begged Father Benedict to declare the church a sanctuary - thinking it would save lives.

It was only leading the Danes to slaughter.

The Saxon, Bresal, punched Father Benedict when he tried to stand in the way; his men holding Young Uhtred in the doorway to let their men enter the church the Danes were gathered in. They forced Young Uhtred to watch the massacre - men, women, and Danish children all slaughtered with no escape. No hope. No answer to a single prayer. Nobody to stop this bloody situation.

You fought on, Osferth, Finan, and Cynleaf doing their best to protect you by keeping you in the middle of their wee group. But you still got plenty of action.

"This is madness!" You cried out, slicing a man's throat open. "We need aid! We need more men!"

"This way!" Finan encouraged, "We must cut a path for Ingrith! Check the docks! Check the docks!"

You and Osferth ran towards the water, Cynleaf not far away. You searched for Ingrith, but you had no time to linger; engaged one-on-one again, forced to protect yourself and unborn baby. Not a minute later, you saw Ingrith on horseback, being stalled by a Saxon and for your husband to rush to her aid. He punched the man away from the horse, you hacking at another enemy, in time to see Osferth engaging with two Saxons - one being the leader, Bresal.

It all happened so fast.

You were already racing towards them when the unexpected. Osferth was battling on two fronts, holding Bresal at bay, fending off the other Saxon, screaming for Ingrith, who only managed a few paces before the Saxon's dogs spooked her horse. The noise was deafening; people screaming, crying, dogs barking, horses whinnying, swords singing as they clashed.

You watched it happen in slow motion.

You sprinted faster than ever before.

"INGRITH!" Osferth bellowed in worry when her horse reared back and dropped her to the dirt. It left an opening for Bresal to stab his dagger into Osferth's lung - freezing time and wrecking your world.

"NO!" You screamed, Bresal smirking at you and yanking his dagger free. Osferth wobbled, eyes wide as he met yours, the Saxon walking away as Osferth dropped to his knees. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, God, no, no, you can't take him - not yet! Please, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," You repeated, sliding on your knees in the dirt to catch him. "No, no, oh, my God, no, Osferth, no, please! Not now, not now, please, no, God, no! Don't do this! Please, please, please," you rambled, readjusting to better hold him, hearing Cynleaf and Finan yell for Baby Monk, too. You raged at God, "You can't take him yet! You can't have him! He's mine!"

But you heard nothing except your husband's labored breathing.

"An-Angel, angel, my angel," Osferth choked, wheezing and crying as he couldn't hold himself up and completely slumped back into your body. He pawed at your arms in an attempt to get closer.

"No, no, no, you're all right, you're okay, you're okay, my sweet love, you're all right," you insisted, hands stained in his blood as it poured from his wound. You knew it was essential to add pressure to a wound, but also, that this was all futile. Yet you needed to try. "Hey, hey, hey, look at me, just look at me, sweetheart, please, only look at me, nothing else matters," you pleaded with him in a rush, the lads sprinting to where you held your husband to your lap.

Nobody interrupted you.

"Where's the wound?" Osferth sobbed, trembling, blood spurting from his mouth; going paler by the minute. "Angel, please, the wound? Where's the wound?"

"No, no, no, don't worry 'bout that, hey? Don't you worry, you just keep looking at me," you sobbed, holding his neck and cradling him to your swollen belly. "Just at me, my love, okay? Just look at me - don't look anywhere else, okay? Nothing else matters."

"H-How bad? How ba-ba-bad-bad is i-it?"

"You're going to be all right," you lied to Osferth for the first time.

"Oh, my God, oh, my God," Osferth repeated through his tears and fears, "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die."

He held onto you desperately, sobbing, you slowly rocking. "No, you're all right, Osferth, it's okay, just look at me." You caressed his cheek, smearing blood, but locking eyes. "My love," you whispered, "listen to me - "

"I don't wanna die, please, please, angel, my love, please," he coughed, holding your arm tightly as if it would give him life. "Don't let me die," he wheezed, "don't let me die, my love, please, please. Don't let me die, I don't wanna die. I-I wanna meet our baby, please, I want to meet our baby, I want to be a father. Don't let me die, love, please, I-I wanna be your husband longer - "

"You'll never not be my husband and you'll never not be a father, hear me?" You sniffled, trying to smile at him. "Don't you worry, you're gonna be okay, you're okay, Osferth. You'll always be my husband, nothing will change that - I swear."

Blood pumped with each beat of his frantic heart, making it gush over your fingers. You didn't even feel it.

"Please," he choked, more blood bubbling from his lips, "don't let me die, I don't wanna die. Don't let me die, please, not now, not when our baby isn't here yet, please, I just wanna meet 'em, be a family, I wanna stay with you, don't let me go. Please, don't let me go, I don't want t'go! Don't let me - "

"Shh, it's okay, you're okay. I'm here with you. I'm right here, Osferth, you're not alone, you're never alone. I'm here. I've got you. I'll always have you, I won't ever let you go. Never."

He sobbed harder. "I don't wanna leave you. Please, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna be without you - " But the words choked him, a splatter spraying across your face when he coughed; you didn't even flinch.

"Listen to me," you begged, "I commend you, my dear, sweet husband, to Almighty God, and entrust you to your Creator."

Finan was heard behind you, retching jarring sobs as you read Osferth his death rite prayer. "Don't let me die," Osferth begged still, as if you held that power.

He had always looked at you as if you hung the sun and stars, and now, as if you were his very reason for living. You hated God in that moment for forcing you two through this.

"May you return to Him who formed you from the dust of the earth. May Holy Mary, the angels," now, you choked on your words, emotion clawing your throat, but still continued, "and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. May Christ who was crucified for you bring you freedom and peace." You sobbed, "May Christ who died for you admit you into His garden of paradise. May Christ, the true Shepherd, acknowledge you as one of His flock. May He forgive all your sins, and set you among those He has chosen. Amen. Please, please, say amen, Osferth, say it, please!"

"A-Amen - Amen!" He coughed, trying to get closer to you, nestling into your warmth as he felt impossibly cold. "Don't leave me, don't leave me, please, please, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna be alone. I can't go without you, please, don't let me go - don't let me die, angel, please, I can't go without you. I-I’ve never been without you my whole life, I don’t wish to start now. I love you. I-I love you, please, don't let me go, I love you. I need you."

"You'll never be without me," you promised, face coated in blood, grime, dirt, and ash; all streaked with your tear tracks. "You will always be my husband, hey? Hear me? You're always gonna be with me, I will never be apart from you. I'll love you forever, Osferth, I won't ever stop." You felt your chest cave in as you sobbed, "Please, don't you leave me - "

But Osferth was wheezing and panting, only staring up at you. "I only need you," he whimpered, "I've only ever needed you, I can't do this without you. Please, I can't - I can't go without you. I don't want to leave you, I can't leave you, please!'

"So don't leave me," you sobbed, him still clawing at you in desperation. "I love you more than life, Osferth, please, don't leave me, okay? Don't go. I love you so much. Being loved by you was my greatest pleasure in this life, I want our child to know your love, too, Osferth, please, don't go."

"I-I wanna meet our baby, I wanna hold 'em, love 'em," he repeated. "Please, this can't be the end, don't let this be the end. W-We have so much more - we were supposed to have eternity together, my love, my angel, please! This isn't the end, I can't - I can't go without you!"

"You're okay," you soothed uselessly, rocking more prominently. "Just stay with me, my love, okay? Stay with me. Don't go. Only look at me, all right? You hear me?" You sniffled, caressing his cheek. "You're the best thing in my life, Osferth, yeah? Understand me? Where you're going, y-you'll be welcomed a hero, with open arms. You'll be my own angel. My real angel. The reason I keep going for our child. An-And you'll stay there just for a little while until I join you, okay? You'll watch over us, me and the baby, right? Our own angel? Hey? 'Cause you'll never be part from us - you'll never be apart from me. You and I are a forever sorta thing, we'll never be apart, we'll always be part of each other no matter what."

Osferth lost his words, eyes widening and pulling you closer.

You just soothed, "I'm here with you, my love. I'm here, I've got you. You're not alone, I'm right here, I have you. I've got you. I love you. I love you so fucking much, Osferth, okay? I love you more than anything, you're my everything. I love you," you sniffled, breaking down in worse sobs, repeating, "I love you, I love you, I love you so much, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I wasn't faster, I love you, this shouldn't be happening. I'm so sorry, I should've come faster! I love you, I'm so sorry."

With his last breath, Osferth choked, "L-Love y-y-you."

"I love you," you hushed, bending at the waist to rest your forehead on his, "I love you so much. You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be all right, you'll be safe - where you're going, you'll be safe. I'm so sorry, my love... I'm so sorry."

You felt him go still. You felt the last of his breath exhale, his body deflate. You felt his soul detach from his body.

You froze.

"Oh, my God," you breathed, pulling back to look down at his petrified features. "Oh, my God, no, no, no. God, please, please, give him back," you sobbed, "give him back to me! Do not take him! It's not his time, you selfish cunt! Give him back! It wasn't supposed to end like this! Give him back to me, please! Please! This isn't how this was supposed to happen! We promised eternity together, please! Let us have that! Let us be together, give him back to me! I need him!"

Your shrill hysterics were heard all over Rumcofa.

Finan sobbed into his wife's arms behind you, Cynleaf knelt to slowly extend his hand onto your shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he offered, but you pushed him away harshly; knocking him into the dirt.

"No! I don't want your fucking condolences!" You snapped, holding Osferth tighter, "I want my husband! I want my husband back! Can you give him to me? Can you, Cynleaf? Can you give him back to me!?"

"No - "

"Then you have nothing to offer me! I want nothing else, nothing from you! I only want him!" You looked away from the young lad, finding Osferth's wide open eyes staring up at you. You whimpered, "I only need him, so, please. Please, give him back to me. Please. I need him, I need him, I can't do this without him, please, God, don't do this. You take so many lives, why add him to the mix!? Give him back! C'mon," you begged the cooling body, "c'mon, love, get up. Get up for me, please, just wake up. Come back to me, get up... Get up, Osferth, get up! Please! WAKE UP!"

But Osferth never moved. Never blinked. Never drew breath. And God never answered your pleas. Your dress was saturated in your husband's blood; a pooling puddle seeping into your knees, bodice drenched, his baby moving in your belly. You wailed into the still air, holding your husband tight to your chest; mouth agape to release the terrible screams of anguish, tears never ending, rocking on your knees. You didn't know what to feel... But devastation was prominent.

You wept until your throat went raw, jaw tender from your open mouth. "I'm so sorry!" You repeated, "I should've been quicker! I should've been at your side! You shouldn't have been alone! This is my fault! This is all my fault, I shouldn't have been away from you. I should've been with you, you did not deserve this end. Please! Forgive me, wherever you are, forgive me, I did not intend for this, I shouldn't have left you, I should've been at your side, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

"No," Ingrith whispered, "no, do not say this is your fault, you did nothing - "

"Exactly!" You snapped at her, eyes ablaze, her husband silent. "I did nothing, I wasn't with him! I wasn't where I was supposed to be! And he was stabbed because of you!"

Finan whispered your name in reprimand.

"No! How many times have you rode a fucking horse, Ingrith!? And now, today, the time it truly matters, you fall; you posed distraction," you sobbed, crumpling in on yourself. "He was distracted by your fall... This shouldn't've happened, this is all wrong!"

The trio just watched you, knowing your emotions were raw and unwavering, that your words did not have meaning because your husband had just died in your arms. Hours passed, you did not move. Hours passed, your husband did not return. Hours passed, and your heart shattered with each passing breath you selfishly drew.

Because living felt selfish now without Osferth.

"Sweet one," Finan whispered, the sun setting, "we should move him. Bring him to the church so Benedict can pray."

Your head shook, "No."

"Darlin', we have to - "

"No," you whimpered, "because if you take him to Benedict, it's real. If we move, he's truly gone... He can't be gone, Finan," you sobbed, meeting your friend's eyes. "If you move him, he's gone, I'm not ready to say goodbye, please. Please, don't take him from me."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, "but he should be laid to rest."

"Don't take him from me," you begged, a new wave of tears starting. "I just - we were supposed to be a family. We were supposed to have this baby, and now, it's just me? This cannot be, so please, don't take him from me, I only need him back. Give him back to me, Finan, please, I can't be without him."

"I know," he nodded, gently encouraging you into his embrace. It meant you had to let go of Osferth, something you did slowly and gradually, leaning into the Irishman's chest. "All right, I got yah," he whispered, looking to his wife. "C'mon, stand with Ingrith. I'll carry him."

"Be gentle," you sobbed, feeling Ingrith grip your arms to help heave you to your feet; watching Finan scoop Osferth over his shoulder. The change of position made more blood splatter to the dirt, your heart stalling in your chest when you heard the mess.

You felt your soul shriveled and hidden somewhere deep in your chest, following as if in a trance. You watched Finan and Cynleaf slowly lower Osferth to the ground with the other dead Danes, feeling yourself drop to the ground in shock.

Seeing Osferth amongst the dead made it so much more real.

"It's all my fault," you sobbed, Finan moving to your side, "it's all my fault, I got him killed. I should've been quicker. This is my fault, my fault, I did this, 's my fault."

Finan knelt beside you, bringing your foreheads together to hold you tightly and let you sob into his embrace. "You didn't do this," he promised, "you did nothing wrong. You are not at fault. Do not carry this guilt."

You sobbed without reprieve.

Young Uhtred halted Father Benedict from praying over the Danes, telling the older man they had different customs, but looked back at you. He asked your name softly, wondering, "Do you wish for a prayer for... Him?"

Even Young Uhtred couldn't stomach the truth, avoiding using Osferth's name out of sheer disbelief.

"That'd be nice," Finan agreed, turning to sit beside you and hold you under his arm. You leaned into his embrace, head to his shoulder. "She read him his death rites when... It happened."

Young Uhtred nodded, bowing his head, leading, "Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Then, you joined from under Finan's heavy arm, sobbing through your words, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death."

Benedict finished, "Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end."

Together, you, Ingrith, Young Uhtred, Benedict, Finan, and even Cynleaf ended, "Amen."

Feeling the most level-headed, Ingrith stepped in and directed the men; informing that Young Uhtred should lead the remaining Danes to Daneland, Finan and Cynleaf would meet Uhtred on the road, and she would accompany you to Wessex - where Osferth could be laid to rest at the place of his birth. Then, the people mourned together for their fallen.

Finan disagreed initially, telling his wife you were his responsibility now that Osferth was passed. But there was no way you could continue with the company, not in your pregnant state. Finan didn't like the idea of you being without him, considering you close to a sister; something of a best mate, someone he couldn't turn his back on - no matter the situation. However, he understood the predicament and finally agreed to part ways, but not before he untied Osferth's crucifix and latched it around your neck. At the gates of Rumcofa, before separating, Finan gifted you his rosary; thinking it might bring comfort in his physical absence.

Years from then, you would bring up a single son named Gabriel (a name your husband favored, a name benefitting an Angel) under Lord Uhtred in his birthplace of Bebbanburg. You never remarried. You never even so much as looked after another man with lust. Gabriel would grow into a handsome warrior and a devoted man of God, satisfied on tales about his father; being painted as a man of honor, integrity, and bravery. Osferth, too, was a man of God, a man of the sword, and a man of his word... Until the very end. And when your time came, you were brought back to Wessex to be laid to rest with your husband; your son having a son, naming him Osferth, and knowing, both his parents shined down on him in pride.

It was a comfort for everyone to know, somewhere in the afterlife, in God's warmth, you and Osferth were reunited; looking just as you did the day you parted from one another.

requesting rules and masterlist

463 notes · View notes

ssj2hindudude · 13 days ago

Text

Ok, so with Hades 2 getting an update and one step closer to finally coming out of early (hopefully), out of pure excitement, I decided to make this based on patterns I've seen in the past two games. Buckle up, because this is a long one! I bring you

Hades 3 Predictions

Protagonist

Hades 1: Zagreus (Zag)

Hades 2: Melinoe (Mel)

Hades 3: Macaria (Max) - Goddess of Blessed Death

I don't care what the Mythology Guy on YouTube says, multiple sources have accepted her as a daughter of Hades and not just a mix-up of Heracles' kid. Even if it was, Zagreus had a similar problem with Dionysus and the game was able to circumvent that so I don't see why that couldn't happen again here.

Also, I'll say this now, I'm not against woke stuff being in the game as long as it doesn't overstep any boundaries (gotta remember this is someone's religion after all). But even though it literally says she's Hades' daughter, I think it would be amazing to make her She/them (hence, the neutral name "Max") just for the sake of Persephone going around screaming "I collected the whole set!"

Class

Zagreus: Fighter

Melinoe: Mage

Macaria: Thief/Rogue

Using Pokemon's Gen 6 starters as a reference point (and then Google), I found out the basic RPG classes are Fighter, Mage, and Rogue and noticed a pattern in the games' fighting styles. Mel is obviously a Mage, Zagreus could go either way but with how much he just brute forces his way through his game, I opted more for Fighter.

So that leaves Rogue for Macaria which is actually pretty interesting that a child of Hades hasn't had a more stealthy role yet. Imagine your character having times where you don't have the option of forcing your way through like where you could instantly die or lose an important item or something. Instead, you work from the shadows and find yourself in situations where you have to sneak by, like a boss you're completely under-leveled for or a chamber that'll lock if you're caught and then you have to fight your way through.

It also fits because with how little sources there is on her, the only logical explanation besides it being fake is that she's so sneaky that no one can get any solid information on her!

Color scheme

Zagreus: Red/fire colors and Black

Melinoe: Green and Orange (plus Arachne's dresses)

Macaria: Yellow/White and Blue/Purple

This is more of an aesthetic thing that I noticed where Zag wore red and Mel wore orange and they had cooler colors as accents to their looks. I figured Macaria could continue the trend of warm colored clothing with a darker accent or as a change go dark with light accents instead. Maybe a cloak over her clothes like Raven from Teen Titans for extra mystery.

Eyes

Zagreus: Left Red Right Green

Melinoe: Left Green Right Red

Macaria: Switch on command?

Another aesthetic that a lot of people probably noticed was that the siblings had one of each of their parents' eyes and they were inverse to one another. I figured to be different, something could be done where Macaria can actively switch both of her eyes to change from Overworld green to Underworld red and that could have some impact on gameplay such as how she sees the world, switching between the dimensions to get to different areas.

That or she could just have an inverse where one eye is White with a Red iris and the other is Black with a Green iris because genetics are fun like that.

Parental Figure

Zagreus: Nyx

Melinoe: Hecate

Macaria: Helios

As much as I want Hadephone to give at least one of their kids a happy childhood, I think we all know where this is headed. Something will go wrong and Max will end up with a foster parent and according to the pattern, it's minor deities with some role in the story of how Hades "kidnapped" Persephone. Nyx is the river they crossed into when they entered the Underworld and Hecate is the goddess that helped Demeter figure out what was going on.

So, by that logic, I figured the next logical step would be the old retired sun titan that saw the whole thing go down. Of course, I'm not saying Apollo or anyone like him is fit to raise children, but I'd imagine this version of Helios would be more like an older version of him that's a lot more mellow and less likely to rant for two hours about his hit single after you asked him what time was on the sundial. Something more like a chill old man that also had a lot of energy (which is a HUGE help in raising a kid), kind of like Jiraiya from Naruto only he's not a total perv.

Hub/Safe Zone

Zagreus: House of Hades (Castle)

Melinoe: The Crossroads (Camp)

Macaria: The Chariot (Mobile home)

This one's a little tough but I figured if Zag was raised in a permanent structure while Meg was raised in a stationary campsite, maybe Max could grow up in a structure that moves, kinda like a mobile home. And no, Helios' Chariot would definitely not be the same as Chester's place from the Fairly odd Parents. But since he's retired, it would have little power and be more like a dimly lit abandoned mansion creeping slowly on the ground to the tune of the sun's position as if instinctually following an old routine.

Teacher

Zagreus: Achilles (Illiad)

Melinoe: Odysseus (Odyssey)

Macaria: Perseus

Ok, this one was also tough because the Iliad and the Odyssey were the two major Greek mythology works and the other two games already covered them. Meanwhile, Homer's other works cover literally everything else so it wasn't like I could just pick the protagonist from it for Max's teacher.

Why Perseus? Well, while he's not exactly the only Greek hero, he's one of the more iconic ones that strangely haven't been covered yet by the other games. Hercules was in 2, Jason's ship was there by reference, Theseus was a villain in 1 (and for good reason) even though his idiot brother who was into Persephone wasn't (but that could change here, who knows?) I mean, there's also Atalanta but at the same time her story basically goes raised by a bear (badass) kills a boar (also badass) and then gets "tricked" into marriage by a clever dude with Golden apples who stops her competition leaving a bunch of dead suitors in her wake (again, badass)

But I chose Perseus not only because he's iconic enough to stand out (not nearly as Jackson but I digress) but also because his main myth was focused on stealth. He didn't fight Medusa, he snuck her while she was asleep using a magic invisibility helmet (much like Hades' helm!) and chopped her head off. Perfect hero to train a rogue ninja like Max!

Goal

Zagreus: Escape the Underworld by going up

Melinoe: Save the Underworld by going down (and up as a side quest)

Macaria: Explore the Underworld? Spy/Reconnaissance? Go sideways?

So, one thing that Hadephone ficlets from Webtoon said that caught my attention was that Macaria was known to help souls escape the underworld without Hades' permission. Not sure if this is mythologically accurate but it does suit her rogue role really well so I'm using it here.

Her goal could be to travel around the Underworld looking for lost souls that want to go back for something in the Overworld (like finding out how they died, leaving a message for a loved one, etc.), taking pity on them, and sneaking them above and then sneaking them back down when the time comes. It shows her mother's compassion and even a little bit of a rebellious side like her brother!

Mini-Bosses

So, what I noticed is the three bosses you have to fight in each run fall under three categories:

Someone close that the MC regularly interacts with in the main hub: Meg and the Furies; Hecate

Rampaging beast that has to be put down: Lernie the Hydra; Cerberus

Annoying egotistical jerk that won't listen to reason: Theseus; Scylla and the Sirens (and Eris)

I won't count the Olympus route in Hades 2 though since that part doesn't seem to be finished yet and I haven't seen the update.

Since Zag did Friend-Beast-Jerk and Mel did Friend-Jerk-Beast, I think Max should do Beast-Jerk-Friend. It would be a nice twist to have her have to fight through a friend before reaching her goal. Also, she could start with Jerk, but it doesn't seem right to put them through a Jerk fight at the beginning of every run since the first boss is the one she has to fight the most and the Jerk has a tendency to be straight up obnoxious and annoying.

Also, since Zag fought a group of familiar friends (except Alecto) and Mel fought a group of jerks (mainly Scylla), I think it would be fitting to have Max fight a group of beasts at the start.

So, I probably would pick these three:

Beasts: Chimera

Ok, before you say it, yes, I know Chimera is one monster. However, both beast bosses were monsters with multiple heads so this one should follow the trend. Plus, it's practically three different monsters because when fighting it, Max would have to fight the Lion head, the Goat head, AND the Snake tail. I figure it's gonna be one of those monsters that just happened to settle near where Max has to lead the souls between the worlds.

Jerk: Cottus the Hecatoncheires

Ok, Zag's jerk was a Greek Hero while Mel's jerk was a Greek Monster, and I was thinking the next logical step would be a minor deity, but then I remembered Eris covered that. Then I thought we could do a Titan instead but Chronos is a titan who was the final boss in 2 so that wouldn't really work either.

However, I remembered that the three main groups tossed into Tartarus during Titanomachy were the furies, the cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires who weren't even mentioned yet. So let's fix that!

Percy Jackson already used Briaries so even though he's the most famous and was said to be the only one left, I decided to keep the three of them this time and chose Cottus instead because his name either means the Striker or the Furious which definitely sounds like someone who won't listen to reason. Plus neither Theseus nor Scylla worked alone so this sorta follows the trend while also keeping it separate since, again, he has multiple heads, literally a hundred. In fact, he could even be made bipolar or have multiple personalities to reflect this, leaving him prone to extreme mood swings and be hard to reason with.

I imagine he'd be imprisoned around where Max is sneaking souls back in since she logically can't use the same entrance twice or she'd risk getting caught.

Friend: Tom

Yes, you read the name right. This one is interesting because while Zag's friend was a love interest, Mel's friend was her Foster Parent so to follow the trend, we have to pick someone close that they regularly interact with. I was thinking the usual child of Nyx but again, Eris already did that so that's out. (I know, she's even making my work difficult -_-)

Looking at friendly characters, there was usually two love interests (one a child of Nyx), the mentors, and the comic relief friend with a mysterious past (Skelly and Pandora)

So, what bigger twist than to have your comic relief friend be that final boss? The obligation to fight Max could be related to their past and they could still be on good terms with Max back at the hub.

Seeing that Skelly is a skeleton and Dora is a shade, they pretty much cover a dead body and spirit already, leaving just straight up living mortals left. UNLESS we went with something more mechanical.

I was thinking Max could find an abandoned Automaton in the Overworld (perhaps near Hephaestus' workshop), find a way to fix him, and when he activated he has no memory because his microchip or something is missing. For the time being, seeing that he's an auTOMaton, Max decides to call him Tom and he goes with it.

As for the boss fight, I was thinking Tom gets hacked somehow, which explains why he has no idea what Max is talking about when she brings it up. In the first half of the fight, Tom is normal sized and uses a barrage of mechanical weapons, but after getting him down to about half health, Max finds out he can actually change form to become colossal sized and she has to sneak her way into his head to temporarily shut him down. By the time Max gets back to the Chariot, Tom's miraculously back to normal, meaning the hacker can only trigger him at the entrance to the final level. As the game progresses, Tom keeps going back there to find out what's going on, only to get hacked every time and end up in a Re-Zero situation.

Main Villain

Zagreus: Hades

Melinoe: Kronos

Macaria: At first Ouranos, then Gaea

Ok, hear me out: the pattern here is generational. First it was Hades, then it was his dad, so logically, what would come next is his parent's PARENTS.

More importantly, both games have a twist-but-not-such-a-twist in the boss reveals. "OMG, you mean the guy running the underworld DOESN'T just sit at his desk all day?!?" "WHOA, the guy showing himself as a silhouette was the guy in the phrase 'Death to Chronos'?!?" So, I figured I'd complete the chain of iconic Greek myth villains by having Ouranos appear as a puppet for Gaea. "Wait, I thought I was listening to Ouranos hatch a plan to get revenge on the gods, you're telling me it was his ex-wife?!?"

Yup, you read right. The plot would follow that Max would keep sneaking shades to and from the Underworld and whenever you complete a run, Max first overhears someone talking about manipulating the Gods to have them overthrown, talks to Helios who says it sounds like Ouranos trying to get his body back and take back control, only for the later twist to be it's actually Gaea. I know, big surprise, Mother Earth hates the gods. Go figure.

Love Interests

Zag: Meg and Than

Mel: Moros and Nemesis (and Eris, I think?)

Max: Oizys/Miseria and Hermes?!?

Ok, just gonna get the token child of Nyx love interest out of the way and I thought it would be interesting to make it the girl this time. Oizys is a daughter of Nyx who is the goddess of misery (hence Miseria. I imagine she tells Max to call her Miseria because it's easier to pronounce). I figure she'd be introverted and quiet much like Thanatos but in a more awkward and shy way, kind of like Dusa in 1 and Echo in 2. She would be timid especially because some interpretations have her also be the goddess of Anxiety.

The other love interest is usually someone else related to Hades' realm. So, for the guy, my thought is this time it could be Charon...just kidding! No, as tempting as that is because this one was REALLY hard (seriously, I couldn't find any non-Nyx male characters related to Hades' realm and there's nothing online about Max having a canon husband or anything!), Charon is too weird an option as he serves more as an uncle figure for the three of them (ugh, there's a Hadephone joke in there that I don't wanna touch)

I was also considering one of the three kings picked to judge the shades, but they're just dead mortals. The others were deities with Meg as the exception but the furies are still a huge part of Hades' gimmick.

Then, I thought of something insane. There is one god that's related to Hades' realm, extroverted (since Miseria's already an introvert), and they even have something in common because he's also the god of stealth.

...ok, before you call HR, hear me out: Hermes. The man's known as a psychopomp which is very similar to what Max does, he's one of the younger deities and doesn't even have a wife, and he's basically the ninja of greek mythos. Ok, maybe he does have his dad's promiscuous nature that makes him unlikely to settle down with anyone, but we're talking dating here, not necessarily marriage.

Look, I couldn't find anyone else to fill the role besides mortals and the man's already got the favor of Max's siblings. I can at least see it working, but I am open to better ideas for guy deities related to Hades' realm.

Boons

Zag: Aphrodite; Ares; Artemis; Athena; Chaos; Demeter; Dionysus; Hermes; Poseidon; Zeus

Mel: OLD - Aphrodite; Ares; Chaos; Demeter; Poseidon; Zeus; NEW - Apollo; Hephaestus; Hera; Hestia;

Max: Chaos; OLD - Artemis; Athena; Demeter; Dionysus; Hermes; NEW - Apollo; Hephaestus; Hera; Hestia; Rhea; BONUS: PERSEPHONE

Lastly, we've gotta have a list of 10 main Gods that they can get boons from. (It's dangerous to go alone, take this!)

First, Chaos is pretty much indispensable. Their boons are the most interesting of all of them because they all have a big help coupled with a big detriment.

Next, we can pretty much cut out all of the old gods used again in 2 because we gotta keep this interesting! Except for Demeter tho, because Grandma. Or, we could also throw in Rhea because she hasn't been mentioned yet either and actually likes her kids so DOUBLE GRANDMA

But, that just means bringing back the rest of the old ones from 1 that got either cut out or side-tracked. And yes, I also suggested Hermes as the love-interest AND am bringing him back as a boon.

Finally, that leaves the four newer gods from 2 to make things fair. But I'm not keeping it all old though, because as an added bonus, I think Persephone should finally be around to give one of her kids a boon. After all, she's more likely than Hades to condone what Max is doing, so of course she's gonna lend her support. I imagine it'll be kind of a cross between the boon Hades gave in 2 and what Demeter has been giving only for grassy spring magic instead of icy winter magic. Something to show her duality as the Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld.

On that lovely note, that's all I could come up with for now, so reblog with what YOU think should be in Hades 3 if Supergiant decides to make it a trilogy.

#supergiant games #hades supergiant #hades #hades 2 #hades 3 #persephone x hades #hades game #zagreus #melinoe #macaria #greek gods #greek mythology #greek tumblr #percy jackson #greek myth retellings

48 notes · View notes

just-aake · 2 years ago

Text

Your Special Day

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: You celebrate Natasha’s special day with small surprises for her.

Warnings: fluff

Words: 1160

The alarm on the phone rings, waking the red-haired agent from her slumber. After turning off the shrill sound, her hand automatically reaches over toward the other side of the bed, only to sit up in confusion when she finds an empty space.

The area still retains some of your warmth, so you couldn't have left too long ago. After getting dressed, Natasha comes out of your shared room and is immediately greeted by a sweet smell seemingly from the kitchen.

Making her way to the area, Natasha finds the source of the smell—a small spread of breakfast laid out on the table. A ding from the coffee maker signals its completion, and Natasha is pleasantly surprised when she recognizes the scent of the finished drink.

Someone, probably Stark, had used the last batch of her favorite brand of coffee, and she hadn’t had the time to pick up any more, so for the past weeks, she just settled for drinking one of the other basic coffees available.

Judging from the still-warm breakfast and the timing of the completed coffee, Natasha could tell that this meal was planned precisely for when she would usually have woken up.

The only thing missing was the person who was behind this meticulous planning.

After calling your name and not seeing any signs of you anywhere, Natasha spots a piece of paper under the plate with your familiar handwriting.

Got called in for a meeting with Fury. Nothing serious. Take your time and enjoy your breakfast! Love you, Y/n

Natasha's lips quirked up into a soft smile at your words. Looking back at the homemade breakfast you made especially for her, her heart warms at your gesture. Tucking the note safely away in her pocket, Natasha decides to listen to your words and enjoy the meal you prepared for her.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

After finishing her breakfast and arriving at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Natasha walks through the halls toward her workspace, intending to work on the piles of mission reports that she needs to complete by the end of today. It's not a difficult task, just tedious with the amount of paperwork required to fill out.

Maria appears from the corner heading in the opposite direction of Natasha. When she glances up from her tablet and notices the agent, she stops and greets her.

“Afternoon, Romanoff. I got those reports of yours. Thanks for finishing them so quickly,” Maria tells her appreciatively.

Natasha gives her a confused look, wondering if she is referring to the reports that she was just on her way to complete.

“My reports?” Natasha questions.

“Yeah, L/n gave them to me this morning,” Maria explains.

Natasha’s eyes widen slightly in surprise at the revelation.

Not noticing her expression, Maria continues swiping through her tablet while humming in thought.

“Looks like there’s not much else that needs to be done right now,” she looks back at Natasha with an impressed look. “I guess that means you can take it easy today. Enjoy your day off, Romanoff.”

“Thanks,” Natasha replies distractedly as Maria leaves.

She stands there in wonder, touched by what you’ve done for her today. Natasha contemplates what she should do now that she no longer has any work to complete.

You haven’t seen or replied to her text messages yet, which probably means you are still in your meeting with Fury.

A familiar voice pulls Natasha’s attention from her phone as she looks at the person speaking to her.

“So, do you just stand there all day, or do you actually do hero stuff in this place?” Yelena asks casually as she taps the walls of the headquarters, nodding her head at the durability.

“Yelena, what are you doing here?” Natasha asks curiously at yet another nice surprise that she has received today.

She hasn’t seen her little sister in person for a couple of months now, ever since Yelena decided to explore the world, leading her team of Widows in helping where they can.

Yelena shrugs nonchalantly, replying, “Considering what day it is, I figure I could take some time out of my schedule to spend with my sister and ‘catch up’ about what’s happening in our lives.”

Yelena raises her hands in air quotes around the words, as if repeating the phrase from someone else.

Natasha raises a disbelieving brow at her, knowing that there’s more to the situation.

At her expression, Yelena rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath.

“Plus, your girlfriend was kind of scary when she called me,” she admits, shuddering at the memory.

Natasha grins amusedly at the information, figuring that you had a part in this surprise also. She gestures with her head at Yelena to follow her.

“Come on, I’ll show you around, and you can tell me about the hero stuff you’ve done,” Natasha tells her with a small smirk.

Yelena shoots a similar expression back at her sister and follows after her, excited to recount her adventures and spend some time together again.

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

After saying goodbye to Yelena, Natasha comes back to the Avengers compound to find a delicious scent emanating from the kitchen again.

This time, however, when she makes her way to the area, she is glad to see your familiar figure standing in the room.

You look up at her entrance, your smile widening when you see that it is her.

“Welcome back,” you greet her. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah, it was almost perfect,” Natasha replies casually as she moves around the counter to be closer to you.

Your brows furrow as you discreetly pull out your phone to glance at the list of things you had planned for today, wondering what you might have missed – homemade breakfast, favorite coffee, completed reports, no additional work, Yelena, and now dinner.

These were all just simple gestures that you thought of doing for her today. You know Natasha doesn’t like to make a big deal about this day in particular, but you still wanted to at least make it a little more special for her than usual.

You scan your list again, wondering what it is that you must have forgotten.

Suddenly, Natasha’s hand covers your screen as she pushes your phone away, and she raises her eyebrows pointedly at you.

“It’s you, Y/n,” Natasha explains amusedly. “Being with you makes today perfect.”

Your mouth opens slightly in surprise at her words, wondering how you forgot something so simple.

Looking at your expression fondly, Natasha places her hands on your waist and pulls you close to her, leaning in to press a soft kiss on your lips.

Pulling back slightly, she rests her head against yours as she looks into your eyes filled with love.

“Thank you...for everything,” she tells you sincerely.

You give her a soft smile, wrapping your arms around her neck and pulling her in close again as you whisper against her lips.

“Happy Birthday, Natasha.”

~~~~~~~ ⧗ ~~~~~~~

a/n: thank you for reading!

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha romanoff fanfic #natasha romanoff x you #black widow x reader #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff

550 notes · View notes

lamentationsofalonelypotato · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter 9: Wedding Bells or Gong of Destruction?

Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader, Reader POV

Summary: When the reader left Payback 40 years ago after a falling out with her childhood best friend she never looked back, but when two men show up to her apartment and start asking her questions about the past, the reader begins to think those things can’t stay hidden and starts to question what’s real and what’s fantasy. This is a re-telling of The Boys Season 3, where the reader is a supe who's known Soldier Boy since 1927. The chapters will fluctuate between past and present. This is chapter nine of my "You Call It Madness But I Call It Love" series. (I'm so bad at summaries please forgive me!)

Word Count: 3.3K

Warnings: References to sex, Cursing (a few times), Soldier Boy might be, is, really, absolutely, a little OOC, pining, fluff, some angst.

Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is minimal use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. Reader is described as "curvy" occasionally. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!

Internal Monologue is in first person and is in italics

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Philadelphia 1941

You paced at the foot of your bed, wringing your hands together, heartbeat frantic against your ribcage as your world seemed to spin to a stop. You didn't know whether you wanted to laugh or cry, scream or sob, throw up or have a stroke. Your entire body was electrified with your nerves, popping and crackling loud in your ears as the impulses jumped from synapse to synapse with ease.

And it was Howard's fault.

After three years of courting, of you trying to make up excuses to lengthen the distance between you two, of trying to find a way out, of trying to find a way to tell Ben that you loved him, it had finally happened, Howard had proposed. It wasn't out of the blue, you had been courting long enough and you were well past the age of usual engagement, something your mother continued to point out, but that didn't make any of this any easier.

Your eyes drop to the offensive chunk of jewelry on your left hand. Not only was it the ugliest ring you’d ever seen, but it was from the wrong man. You knew that deep down in your bones, knew it the second Howard came to Sunday night dinner and dropped to one knee in front of you. Hell, you knew it the second you met Howard for the first time. He was nothing compared to Ben, no one was.

You had looked Howard in the eye stunned, unable to speak, then raised your eyes to your father and mother hoping to find your voice and a plausible excuse, but before you could give him the honest answer you knew in your heart to be true, your mother had shouted "Of course she will!"

Because she's controlled everything else about my life, of course she'd do this as well.

Your tried again not to think about how ugly the ring and how it was utterly wrong for you in every way. When Howard dropped to one knee and opened the velvet box, all you could think of was Ben. You wondered what ring Ben would have chosen for you and wondered if the ring from him would have been right. He knew you better than anyone else.

Which begged the question: shouldn't your fiancé?

You tried not to compare your best friend to Howard, because you knew who would win. Every time you began to compare them, Ben had more pros than Howard did. But you couldn't keep waiting for Ben, didn't want to. Howard was promising you a future, a family, marriage-

A loveless one. The thought is immediate and makes your heart seize in your chest.

You knew that a marriage with Ben would be different, filled with passion, romance, love-

But he doesn't love you. So basically if Ben married you it would be the same for him as you marrying Howard. A one-sided love.

Despite dating Howard, you still allowed Ben in your life. Ben stayed over whenever he wished, walked with you to the park, stole you away for drinks in the bar down the street where Howard wouldn't be caught dead in, and took you to the occasional baseball game. Howard didn't drink and he didn't like being outside. Those moments with Ben made you feel more alive than you'd ever felt and then you'd meet Howard later and try to summon the enthusiasm to sit with him at dinner, all the while you were still buzzing with happiness from seeing Ben.

It made you feel like a traitor, feeling that good and thinking about another person while Howard tried to be everything you wanted.

Whenever Howard would kiss you goodnight, it made you feel like you were kissing a statue, cold, unfeeling, and despite his attempts to slide his tongue in your mouth it was passionless. And it made you think about what Ben said about Howard's name and what he would be like in bed, as improper as it was. You think back to all the moments you and Ben had been pressed against one another when you woke up in the morning, how perfectly you fit against him. Whenever Howard tried to hug you or hold you close it was all wrong. He wasn't tall enough or broad enough, not to mention sometimes you thought if he'd even be able to pick you up. Howard was more lanky than muscular, certainly not as strong as Ben, who picked you up one time on a dare from Adam when you were all really drunk.

Howard didn’t make you feel warm when he touched you accidently, he didn’t make you feel brave whenever your mother was around, and he certainly didn’t make you feel as happy as you did when you were with Ben. Not to mention he never let you draw him, said that there were more important things that he could be doing rather than siting there posing for you.

Howard wasn’t spontaneous. He’d show up exactly on time, call when he said he would, time every single minute of your dates and he certainly never tried to surprise you the way Ben did. The only time Howard ever seemed excited about anything was when he was talking about the fiscal progress of the United States in comparison to Europe, which he weaseled into every conversation you had together.

Even when he asked you to marry him it sounded more like a business proposal than a happy moment. You always thought that when you got engaged the other person would make at least some confession of love. He hadn’t done that. Howard successfully sucked the life out of a moment you thought you would remember forever. You couldn’t even remember what he said before he got on one knee, just the awkward silence and the feeling of dread that clamped tight around your heart when he asked you the question that ruined your life.

Legally am I bound to this, because technically my mother said yes for me?

You wondered if Howard proposed because the U.S was finally joining in the war or if he genuinely loved you. He brought by flowers often, roses even though you liked lavender more, brought by caramels even though you liked chocolates, and sent you books on the financial history of the United States that were helpful when you couldn't sleep at night, they sent you right off, not to mention you'd started sketching street scenes in the pages making them much more interesting, but you weren't going to show Howard that. His head would probably explode.

You sigh again, pacing faster at the end of your bed.

Howard wanted a quick wedding within the week before he shipped out to military training on Friday, and maybe you should be scared about your fiancé going to war, but the only person you were worried about was Ben. He'd probably also join the military to prove something to his father and take your heart with him when he left. You knew that Ben was the only one you wanted to hold your heart in his hands.

You look back down at the ring on your finger, filled with dread and thoughts about a passionless future.

How am I going to tell Ben?

The tap on your window is familiar, but frightens you, because you didn't know how to tell him or how he'd react. Each time you brought up Howard around him, Ben would make a sarcastic comment and change the subject. You think about the night you danced together, when Ben said that you couldn't be Howard's and also his friend.

Does that mean he'll never want to be apart of my life when we get married?

The thought makes your heart break. You couldn't imagine a life without Ben and you didn't want to, but you could image a life without Howard.

Ben is crouched in the window, a wide smile on his face, but this time he doesn't wait for you to let him in, he rolls up the window himself and he crosses the room to hug you.

The hug surprises you. You were usually the one that initiated them, but the hug breaks something in your chest and you hug him back tighter than you ever had to stop the tears from falling, pressing your face into his rumpled suit.

"Hey Sweetheart." Ben pulls back, but frowns when he looks at your face. "What's wrong?" Ben's hand gently cups your cheek, trailing warmth where his fingertips touch. You're surprised at the boldness of his touch, but you ascribe it to the alcohol, given the sharp tang of whiskey that floats through the air between you.

"Nothing." You clear your throat, stepping back so his hand falls and covering your ring finger on your left hand with your right nonchalantly. "How are you?"

Ben frowns for a minute at your reaction, but then shakes it off. "I've got great news." He smiles so wide that it makes the urge to cry rise in the back of your throat again.

You knew that as soon as you married Howard he would forbid you from seeing Ben. He already had after the night at the dance hall, but you didn't pay attention to him. Unfortunately, you knew that once you were married you wouldn’t be able to defy his wishes. You respected what marriage represented far too much to cross that line.

"Um me too." You smile tightly, your heartbeat so loud you wonder if Ben can hear it.

"Oh. Well-" Ben begins to say, wanting to let you talk.

"No. Please, you go first."

He won't tell me what news he has if I say my piece about Howard.

"Well, I've been thinking about what you said to me the other day about trying to figure out what I want-"

You remembered the conversation clearly. It was another day at Fairmount Park and it was an attempt to get Ben to start thinking about his future, though when you had told him to figure out what he wanted you hoped that it meant he would consider you, consider turning your friendship into something more. Your heart surges, hoping that this is it, this is Ben finally saying that loves you, that he wants to be with you.

"And I'm finally going to make something of myself." Ben's green eyes shine brightly with his excitement.

"Huh?" Your heart sinks.

"I talked to my dad." You don't miss the way Ben's jaw tightens when he says it. "And I've decided to enlist-"

"Enlist! Ben-" It takes all you have to beg him not to go, not to leave you here. Because you knew that you couldn't live without him and the thought that he would die overseas in a war destroyed you.

"Wait, listen." Ben smiles wider, confusing you. "My dad has friends in the war department, friends that are looking for volunteers for a military project."

"A military project?"

"It's a serum or an injection that's supposed to make us stronger, better-"

"What do you mean?" You ask mildly confused. You hadn't heard of the government announcing any kind of experiments or projects in the newspapers. Surely Howard would have told you about it, he was always boring you with things like that.

"I'm a not a scientist" Ben shakes his head. "But all I know is that they're looking for volunteers and they want men and women."

Surprise flits through your mind. It was odd that they were also asking for women. Although you knew that the military was beginning to accept women in their ranks, it was still surprising that they wanted female volunteers for a government project. Especially if they were experimenting on them.

Like lab rats?

"What are you saying?" You're still confused as to what he's trying to tell you, unusual given the fact that you were usually very good at reading him.

"I want you come with me." Ben can hardly contain his excitement, his smile is so wide it nearly splits his face.

It was the last thing you expected him to ask. "What?" You blink.

"I don't want to do this without you." He says in a tone that makes your heartbeat stop. "And I want you to come with me." He repeats.

Your immediate reaction is to scream yes, let him take you away from all of this, but then you remember Howard, and your mother and feel the weight begin to settle on your shoulders again.

"Ben I can't." It breaks your heart to say it to him, to watch how his face falls.

“Why not?”

"Howard is-"

"Come on, you really think things are going to work out with that son of a bitch?" Ben shouts so loud you're afraid that he'll wake up your parents.

"He loves me-" You begin to say, the urge to cry coming back strong, burning against your eyes. Because now it was that you were choosing Howard over him, even though you didn't want to, it was what your mother wanted. The future she laid out for you.

"You don't know that." Ben snaps, rolling his eyes.

"Ben, he-" You struggle to find your words, taking in a deep breath to strengthen your voice. "He- he proposed. I mean it's been three years, we're both of age-"

Ben's eyes drop to your left hand and this time you uncover your hand so he can see the engagement ring. His shoulders tense and the muscle in his jaw clenches and unclenches.

"When did he ask you?" Ben says in almost a growl.

"Tonight. He came to dinner, my mother is so excited-" You successfully keep the tremor from your voice, but it quickly feels like you're running out of air.

"But you're not." Ben mutters

"Of course I am-" Your voice cracks with emotion.

"No you're not." Ben raises his gaze to look at you. "I know you." The look in his eyes is unfamiliar, almost afraid.

But Ben isn't scared of anything. You try to remember a moment that he acted afraid, the only time is the memory of when you first met, when his father was looking for him and you lied to help him hide. Ben was fearless, it was something that you admired about him. You could always rely on him to have your back, be strong when you knew that you couldn’t be. To see him afraid was different.

"Ben-" You try again.

"Please." His jaw clenches together. "Don't marry him. Come with me."

"What?" You blink a few times to comprehend what he's asking.

Is he saying that he wants me to marry him? To run away with him?

"You're worth a hundred of him and I don't want to do this without you."

"Ben you're asking me to give up my future, my life-" You say trying to strengthen your resolve.

As unwelcome as Howard's proposal was, it was a future of sorts, what Ben was asking you was to dive into the unknown and you weren't sure if you were strong enough to do that. To leave everything you knew behind you and go with him. But apart of you was thrilled. Maybe it meant that Ben cared for you, needed you and this was the only way that he knew how to tell you. The three little words jump to the tip of your tongue again, the words you wanted to say when you danced together under the twinkling lights all those nights ago.

"You mean the future your mother wants for you." Ben sighs.

"Ben-"

"You’ve been trying to please her your whole life. Please don’t do this for her. Don’t marry him for her." Ben says, trying to catch your gaze, but you look down at his chest for a minute.

"But-"

"You are worth more y/n. And even if she can’t see your worth I can."

"Ben-" You look back up at him, trying to find the courage to tell him that you love him.

He stares back at you, green eyes wide and honest before he takes your hands. They're warm and rough, familiar in the best way. "Tell me that you want him. You’ve never lied to me before and I don’t think you’ll start now."

Your words die on your tongue, because you know that you can't lie to him, you never could.

"Is that really what you want? To spend the rest of your life with him? If it is I'll leave, but I want to hear you say it." His eyes are filled with promises that make your voice catch in your throat, like two blazing green fires that see through you. Ben might have acted aloof with other people, but he always paid attention to you and knew what you were thinking. No one knew you as well as he did, well except for the most obvious thing.

No it's not what I want. All I want is to be with you. The thought is immediate.

"But what about my mother-" You say, squeezing his hands.

"If you come with me, you'll never have to worry about her ever again." He says. By now tears are trickling down your cheeks, frustration and confusion building in your chest. Ben was promising you a future with him, but you couldn't understand if he was doing it because he wanted to be more or if he wanted you with him because you were his friend.

He drops your hands and instead brushes away your tears from your eyes. "I know you don't want to marry him."

"I don't." You whisper. "But I don’t know if I'm strong enough for this-"

“Do you trust me?”

Your hands come up to the front of his chest before you can stop yourself, feeling the warmth that surges underneath your palms. “Of course I do.”

His eyes are inviting, pleading, filled with emotion. "I swear that I will be strong enough for the both of us." His hands cup your cheeks. "I swear that I will look out for you like I always have. I swear that I will never leave you. And I don't want to leave you behind. Please y/n. Come with me." The earnest look in Ben's eyes makes you cry harder, but you know that all you want is to go with him.

You don't want him to go and leave you here, where no one understands and the future that you see is cold, emotionless, and the path dark. You see the coming years with Howard, living together, having children, lunching with other women you hardly know and talking about nothing that mattered.

When you were with Ben everything you talked about seemed important, every moment with him was fused with wonder and expectation, you were never disappointed and were always excited about what you would do together even if it was something as mundane as sitting on a bench with Ben talking while you painted. You could imagine spending the rest of your life with him.

But could he imagine the same thing with you?

The future you see with Ben is warm, inviting, filled with promises you know that he’ll keep because he’s never broken a promise to you no matter what.

But you wonder if it's the promise that you want.

You stand there in the silence of his plea, hearing the ticking of the clock on your bedside table, the sound of cars outside your window, and the sounds of the night vibrate through you bones.

He wasn’t saying that he loved you. He wasn’t confessing his love. He wasn’t making a promise to marry you.

But maybe this was his way. Ben had never been the best at expressing what he was feeling, but the look in his eyes, the way his fingers hold your face to his-

It spoke volumes.

“Yes.” You whisper. “I’ll come with you.”

Ben’s smile breaks your heart as he pulls you tightly against him, laying his head on top of yours as he hugs you and sets every nerve ending on fire. Because the hug is different. It’s filled with the unspoken words between you, the memories you’ve shared, and the great unknown that stretches beyond both of you.

And you cling tight to him, the only part of your future that’s certain.

Or so you thought.

a/n: I know, I know there's a lot of unresolved tension.😂 I promise it will all make sense and that it is going somewhere. But I will say the next few chapters are kinda... rough and are painful to write, but I can't wait for y'all to read them.

Thank you so much for reading! If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series let me know :)

Taglist: @roseblue373 @anundyingfidelity @cheynovak @cassiecasluciluce @muhahaha303

@deans-spinster-witch @kayleighmeister @demodemo909 @fruitfacess @bobbobbobinogs

@bughill126, @simplyfixated @sleepjam, @tiredstrangerr @freefallthoughts

@onlyangel-444

#soldier boy x you #jensen ackles soldier boy #soldier boy #soldier boy x female reader #soldier boy x reader #soldier boy/ben #the boys amazon #the boys fanfic #jensen ackles #soldier boy fanfiction #soldier boy x y/n #the boys series #the boys tv #soldier boy fic #jackles #the boys season 3 #the boys s3

304 notes · View notes

itsallhoney · 21 days ago

Text

here are the highlights from the samia q&a sessions in chicago.

this is stuff from both nights all mixed together. i jotted down few notes after but this is mostly from memory.

starting with more casual/general questions:

what's your favorite color? "red. what's yours?" pink. "that's beautiful." she took the opportunity to ask a question back whenever she could. it was actually very sweet.

what's your letterboxd top 4? [i'm sorry to my followers but i forgot two of them] heavenly creatures (dir. peter jackson) and princess mononoke (dir. hayao miyazaki)

what's your big three? sagittarius sun / capricorn moon / leo rising she did ask for clarification about which placements were the big three before answering

favorite sad song, chill song, happy song, and dance song? she gave two answers combining sad/chill and happy/dance-y. sad/chill: gotta have you by the weepies happy/dance-y: houseplants by squid

what was the last song you liked [on streaming]? heartbreak to hate by angelfish. she said she heard it in a thrift store and at first the phrase 'heartbreak to hate' jumped out to her and reminded her of sacred ('ou you never loved me like you hate me now') and then the song started repeating 'how long? how long? how long' and "it felt like kismet"

have you seen the new season of yellowjackets? "yes" if you were to assign a bloodless song to any character what would it be? "all of them shauna." then after some prodding "ok maybe spine oil is natalie." north poles reminds me of shauna/lottie 'when you see yourself in someone how can you look at them?' "we'll talk later." (and i hope they did)

if bloodless were a movie what would it be? the blair witch project

also someone said they took in a stray cat and named it after her. samia asked, "is she a good girl?" mostly but she has her moments. "well, i mean —"

questions about writing, inspiration, and being on tour:

what helps you feel at home while on tour? the people she's with and constantly drinking tea

what gives you confidence when performing? "i started wearing swim suit bottoms as underwear an for some reasons that makes me feel like i can do it" (i couldn't make that one up if i tried)

someone brought up the wolves — which is a play that she originated a role in off-broadway (#14) — and asked, does your theater background influence the way you perform on stage? "isn't it obvious?" she said something about how you can't hide being a theater kid

this one came with some context but basically the question was, what were the artists you discovered around age 18 that changed the way you thought about music/songwriting? her list was longer than this but, father john misty, fiona apple, mitski, the national

what writers inspire you? father john misty, a few other musicians, then she said she "grew up on maya angelou and anne sexton"

who is someone in your life that inspires you? raffaella

how do you get over writer's block? "there's this joni mitchell quote 'you don't have writer's block, you're just afraid to tell the truth' so i try to lean into that, but sometimes i think that only works if you're joni mitchell" then she said she keeps a long list of thing that interest her and when she's feeling blocked she refers back to that note and tries to find inspiration there.

someone referenced the interview at the current where she says synonyms don't exist and that she thinks there's a perfect word for every sentiment and asked, do you feel that way because you used to have trouble articulating your thoughts? "yes." and then she added onto that and she said almost the exact same thing she had said the night before to a different question about writing. i can't quite recall the question, it might have been about inspiration or it might have been about writing advice. she said, "i'm really interested in streams of consciousness because we all think differently and view the world differently so i think it's more about finding a way to phrase things in a way that's completely unique to you"

questions that are specific to her work:

night one, someone asked about before the baby. i can't remember the exact question but it was something along the lines of which before the baby song would you add to the setlist if you were to perform any? "i still really like 21." that's the only one you like? she hid her face for a moment while everyone laughed. i think the asker brought up welcome to eden and samia said she still really liked welcome to eden as well.

night two, someone asked about before the baby. i think a more general would you perform anything from before the baby? she said people have expressed a lot of interest in her before the baby singles and she's considering doing a tour in between albums where she plays some of her older stuff. she asked if we'd be interested in that. everyone cheered. "alright i'll do it!"

someone asked about playing some of her heavier songs live, what that experience was like, and how she dealt with that emotionally as a performer. she said she just stopped playing them at a certain point. she also said she would consider touring them again but with more mental preparation.

what album was the most fun to record? "honey." she said with honey there was a looser approach to the songwriting and she was more willing to let things be while with the baby and bloodless she was pulling her hair out trying to make sure everything was perfect.

if you had to unrelease one song what would it be? "oh no, people are gonna get mad at me... someone tell the boys." she held out her hands "i'm not going to do it! i haven't unreleased it, but if i had to that would be the one"

what artists would you want on bloodless reimagined? she confirmed that bloodless reimagined is happening but wasn't sure if she could or should share any of the artists. she said there was a big name she can't share but blondshell, carter faith, and dora jar are confirmed.

i love spine oil but i have no idea what it's about. "understandable." she said it's largely inspired by into the wild but it's also about some christian guys she knew in nashville that were very judgy and basically she was tired of their comments.

what is dare about — without getting too specific? she said it's based on the painting the hands resist him by bill stoneham which is supposedly haunted. she described the hands pressed against the glass in the background and said that they represent fate. she said dare was an attempt to write about a situation in her life from the perspective of fate.

#samia #bloodless tour #full disclosure i did some editing as i went but i'm not doing a read through before posting #also my 'd' key is a little jammed so if i missed some typos sorry #and sorry to be a tease but there is one question i don't think i should post publicly but if you're curious you can dm me #it's 'what is a line that you want in a song but you haven't been able to make it work?'

35 notes · View notes

basmala260 · 8 months ago

Text

The basic dynamics of Hirano and Kagiura's relationship

First of all, I don't like comparing the two because they both fall into the spectrum of ideal romance and the other into complicated romance, But just to make things clear, Sasaki To Miyano is more genuine and romantic while Hirano To Kagiura is more on the complicated side discuss identity crisis where hirano is dealing with his self issues and Kagiura deals with his concept of love Unlike Sasamiya where everything was perfect, friendship, admiration, feelings, time to give a proper answer, mutual feelings

But I will use this in some paradoxes between natural and complex relationships to illustrate some points, fair enough

1. Kagiura's personality is the fastest to develop in this relationship. He just loves his roommate, trying to make sure of his feelings, but thanks to his friend's support, he determined his proper definition of love. Of course, a large part of him is inclined towards his parents' relationship* and as I mentioned before His desire to feel Hirano's feelings for him turned into a physical desire because he couldn't get the look he wanted from Hirano's eyes.

* With that said, I want to touch on this point since this is one of the ways the manga shows how childish Kagiura is, it's something where you ask a child what they want to do when they grow up and they'll tell you they want to be like their mom or dad

I actually asked one of the kids in the family a couple of days ago what she wanted her partner to be like when she grew up, and her response was simple "a kind and a caring person." (You can pull any child near you and they will give you the same answer).

Isn't that exactly what Kagi loves about Hirano? (I mean I know this is a natural trait of the person you love but usually it is not only this, I hope this makes sense) What I'm trying to explain here is how Kagiura is always referred to as a child

Not only that, but Hirano's rejection of him activated the stubborn (and seemingly childish) feeling inside him. Hirano had already rejected him twice (9 - 23.5) But he was vehemently denying it, confident that Hirano would "REALIZE HIS FEELINS" and not "give up." (Because I used to see a lot of people saying that Kagiura is forcing Hirano)

As I mentioned before, this is blind optimism.

Unlike Sasaki, who didn't think he had much hope, and in the time he gave Miyano to think, he was happy that Miyano was thinking of him and didn't want anything else, and even if he had rejected him I'm sure everything would have stayed the same and he wouldn't ask Miya to think again at any chance He was really grateful to have Miano in his life, just it

2. Move to Hirano who The one on his side of the relationship is much slower and also late, since this was the first time he experienced something like this, he had no one to confess to, he had no one to love, and he had never been in a relationship before, Hirano struggles to define and understand love itself, He is not looking for a clear concept, he is trying to find a concept

He had never thought about it before, and it seemed to him that everything he did to Kagiura, from pampering and loving, was a natural act, as he was searching for a sense of responsibility throughout the story.

He was the only child of his parents, intellectually intelligent, but socially stupid, qualities that formed fertile ground for the desire to feel responsible.

We can see how he is a supporting character in the main manga like Hanazawa, but unlike Hanazawa who was driven by anxiety, Hirano was driven by responsibility.

Every time Kagiura gets close to Hirano physically and Hirano doesn't move, it's not that Hirano wants Kagiura to get closer, it's not that Hirano trusts Kagiura not to get closer, but it's already made clear that Hirano doesn't mind Kagiura touching him, it's just that he doesn't understand what this should mean, it's not that he doesn't want to or that he wants to, he just stands helpless not understanding (The thing is, in chapter 20, he was just surprised, but he wasn't bothered by it)

Unlike Sasaki and Miyano, there was a boundary and a line between the contact between them.

The most likely idea for me is that Hirano is slow to understand his feelings because he is trying to understand Kagiura and has never tried to understand himself.

#I hope this was fun and helpful to read because I really enjoyed writing this and it took me some good time to sort things out #My psychology professor complimented me a lot today #Yes #I analyze gay characters ma'am #hirano to kagiura #hirano and kagiura #sasaki to miyano #kagiura akira #hirano taiga #sasamiya #hirano to kagiura analysis

93 notes · View notes

hexcodewisteria · 15 days ago

Text

LN 4 and beyond spoilers

I meant to look up Shisui's name choice here for a while and it's actually really interesting! Tamamo (玉藻) is seaweed, though i couldn't really find much on it's usage other than it being called a poetical term but it also refers to the mythical kitsune fox spirit Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻前), who was said to corrupt and kill the rulers of those eras. In mythology, she's linked to the consort Daji, a concubine of the last king of the Shang Dynasty in China, whose rule ended in rebellion and then seemingly bounced around countries for a bit before ending up in Japan and gaining the name of Tamamo-no-Mae, an exceptionally beautiful and knowledgeable woman, where she caused the illness of Emperor Toba as his consort, and in general caused chaos which continued even after her death. The fox spirit is said be fond of human depravity and greed (eg, torture and orgies (something linked to Shenmei)). It's a really fascinating thing to link back to Shisui in particular, who did her level best to avoid that fate— she did everything to not incite war and took steps to make sure Li wouldn't fall, due to Shi clan rebellion and forewarn them about the insect plagues and eventually managed to escape with her life and live freely. She is actively disgusted by Shenmei's actions and runs counter to her for literally her entire life. I think it rather suits how she's villainized in universe after LN 4— Maomao notes that stories keep spreading about Consort Loulan, the greatest villainess of their age who'd be spoken of for generations to come. I wonder if in the modern era of the Kusuriya Universe, Loulan would be one of the consorts said to be possessed by the fox spirit in stories.

In general though, I think it's an interesting choice because Shisui wins against Shenmei and her decision to take on the villain mantle is her own and something that is heavily demonized in the in universe stories post LN4, just like she thought it would be. And I think its important that the meaning chosen is seaweed, and not related to a mythical figure. Of course, it could just be that Tamamo-no-Mae as a figure does not exist in the Kusuriya-verse but considering Romeo and Juliet does, I think we could feasibly say that the myths that exist in our world could also exist in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto. Any other word choice could be used if it was just supposed to refer to seaweed— the vendor even mentions its a fancy word for seaweed in their world, implying there are other, more contemporary and casually used terms for seaweed and its even clear that this is Shisui at this point, so it's not about signalling to who the girl is. But it was tamamo that was invoked, so I think it's fair to relate it to Tamamo-no-Mae too.

So it's important to me that the term the author chooses is seaweed instead of any of the mythological connotations because at the end of the day, Shisui is just. a normal, bug loving girl who should have been free to study them to her hearts content. She's made into this mythical figure, and her impact on the story is just as huge, but what she is, at her core, who Maomao remembers her as, is a simple girl who smiled and joked around with her friends and who loved bugs. In this way, choosing seaweed over myths, is basically a small reflection of Shisui continuously choosing those she loved and her values over her nobility, choosing to embrace a free life over a royal one. Leaving her mother and the Shi Clan behind and finally being able to live as a person— not her mother's doll.

#the apothecary diaries #kusuriya no hitorigoto #to the overlapping oshi no ko fans. ai hoshino was an ordinary girl is the sentiment here re: shisui #if i've made any mistake in the references and kanji please feel free to correct me!#she was just an ordinary girl man #perhaps this is reading too far into it but. whatever. i love mythology #mythology #tamamo #shisui #loulan #the apothecary diaries spoilers #knh spoilers #kusuriya no hitorigoto spoilers #light novel spoilers #analysis #also one of her other identities is said to have escaped execution in china to japan and shisui escapes to eastern lands #which could plausibly be japan in kusuriya-verse #relating to her in universe demonisation but shes really just an ordinary girl

28 notes · View notes

cartoon-cass · 1 year ago

Text

Comprehensive breakdown of MURDER DRONES - Episode 7: Mass Destruction

I saw a breakdown of this episode on youtube and it was just clearly rushed so I want to do this episode justice so here's my comprehensive breakdown.

New intro, look at them! They look so happy, that is not the case in the episode, to say the least. With how much rubber hosing this animation has I would not be surprised if this was done by Kevin Temmer Tunes with what he learned from amazing digital circus Edit: N was animated by Micah Preciado and Uzi by Zachary Preciado

Bad day to accidentally grab the wrong uniform, I do wonder where the actual Dr.Chambers was in all this. Wonder if it would have made a difference... probably not.

Not actually important but having the shadows of the claws that aren't actually there be the thing to interact with the world is fucking cool as hell. This whole scene is a cool twist on an exorcism with robots and science.

Like look at this, it's a pentagram magnet, a normal pentagram from my basic pop culture understanding it's meant to not only summon a demon but also keep them from leaving the circle. A strong magnet is so smart for this case as it's used to keep Nori in place, I mean it doesn't end up working in the end but it's the thought that counts.

It took my second watch of this episode to realize why the lights got turned on, it revealed the tentacles and claws but it's sun light, the same stuff that burns the Disassembly Drones and Uzi. It even has the same effect as in the end of Episode 4

Can I just say how extra it is making the USB a crucifix, I love it. Also I just notice that on the end of the crucifix the detailing is actually in the shape of a USB symbol, the details in this show is amazing, you can see all the love that went in to it.

This is probably the most terrifying way to hold these robots. I couldn't blame any of the robots for wanting to kill the human good god. Also Yeva playing Tetris, the game has a lot of ties to Russia so wonder if she spoke Russian too, she doesn't speak in this episode and not sure if we'll get more flashback with her so not sure if we will ever find out.

Not sure why Mitchell stop Yeva from entering the church but I like to think he thought Yeva was like a kid, look at him holding her hand in the scene before, and was trying to keep her save and knew something was off. That being said I'd love to hear what you think is his reasoning, sound off in the comments/reblogs.

Pulling back we can see Nori, specifically her core, looking at a crucifix comparing it to the USB crucifix in the video to see if it's the one with the patch, it's not, so she goes out for the hunt to see if she can find it.

Like daughter, like mother, honestly cool little details that lets us know what kind of character Nori is with the very little time we have with her. Drawing made presumably by her of herself as a human cat girl, twice, motor oil cans everywhere, a fricking ninja star, nightcore music, a anime statue that might be a reference to something but I have no clue, also magnets which have been used in the passed like drugs so that's um... something.

was originally just going to point out the funny little animation errors in this scene, as the paper goes through the Ipod and the crinkled paper is mirrored but then I wanted to check what was on the paper and...

It's a missing poster of all things? it uses the exact posters used in episode 3 it's probably just reusing assets but I thought it was a cool thing to point out.

Uzi bleeds blood in these scenes and it's not necessarily mentioned out loud, clearly something AS related, but there might be more to it, or it just looks cool.

This man is in some serious denial, but credit where credit is due, when "Tessa" tells N to stop he turns around, and when Uzi apologized for not being able to help he immediately apologized for Snapping at her. Also look at Tessa's little pointing, thought it was funny.

N: "We're not going to hurt you."

I can't blame Uzi for taking this the wrong way, he's clearly telling Tessa off but all Uzi hears is "hurt you", hence why she only parrots that part.

Thad: "Aaand you won't tell me why we're wandering around 'cause...?" Lizzy: "I'm a good friend, and secrets are blackmail. And it's not about football." Thad: "Okay. Does your secret friend want to know about football, or...?"

Anyone else wondering who Lizzy's good friend is? The only 2 characters we know are good friends with Lizzy are Doll and V. It's possible that through everything Doll sent a text to Lizzy asking her to do something but I feel like V just makes more sense. This does assume V made her way away from the sentinels, if I had to guess she's just a core at the moment which might be why she couldn't do it herself, no wings nor weapons as a core, also makes the blackmail line make more sense.

N: "I deserve this. I deserve this. I deserve this."

Baby girl NO! no you don't, your too hard on your self

That scream. That cut. *chef's kiss* perfect.

This scene just shows us why Uzi went towards the church. Also note when she's the most stressed her eye turns yellow so it does seem stress is the deciding factor whether she can be possessed.

V/AS: You know, you're one of the main reasons... [voice glitching] ...I wanted your team to retain your personalities.

This quote I think has some interesting implications, I mean it obviously confirms that the DD squad was influence by AS but it might also be why it keeps a bit of the personality of which ever host it's using.

This scene holy shit, the music, the lighting, the sound design and animation, that's how you do horror! You don't even need detailed gore, in fact most of it is just off screen. like look at the DD's off in the distance one catches the pilot of the helicopter mid air then they fight over it like hungry animals.

Ok so I hit the image limit and it's almost 1 in the morning so I'm gonna go to bed and continue this tomorrow

~to be continued~

#murder drones #serial designation n #uzi doorman #nori doorman #Yeva #tessa james elliot #I'm just going to tag her to make it easier #Murder drone theory

159 notes · View notes

zeke-fanfucs · 6 days ago

Note

Hallo, pleasure to meet you, I tried to look for a rules post, but I couldn't find one so I'm just going with what I can here.

If you do know this character or what game she is from , cool! But it is up to you, if you want to do the request.

Anyways, I always wondered what it would be like if Karmor was turned into a rat thiren like Jane Doe from Zenless Zone Zero, or if he was like Jane Doe in a way, intellectually gifted, a master of disguise, and quite versatile, as well as a phenomenal fighter, since being a rat thiren comes with its perks.

Keep in mind that doing this request is all up to you and I won't be upset if you don't want to do it, I was just curious on what your take on this would be.

(Also, if you need more reference on how she fights, either look up her trailers- but be warned, its quite...animated...or just look up her gameplay)

Thank you!

Hola, so this was super interesting! I haven’t played ZZZ in a while. So it’s fine read about it. Mm, I took a while making something different.

To make simple, Karmor wasn’t founded by Hipswitch. Instead he ran and hid, learning about what the hell is happening. He still is mute? But needing credits to get basic things, he turn to thieving. So he become a little rat boy.

🐀 Karmor as a Rat Thiren (Jane Doe-Inspired)

Name Concept: Still Karmor, but with an alias like “Echo”, “Spindle”, or “Hollowtail” used in certain circles. I like Spindle, just cause he’s a little rat thing

⸻

✨ Core Traits Boosted by Rat Thiren Physiology:

• Master of Disguise

Rat thirens are naturally adaptable—Karmor takes it to the next level.

He can slip into any crowd, alter his scent, heighten his reflexes, even mimic voices or brief body shapes if needed. But not just to spy—he vanishes from history like a rumor.

• Intellectual Prodigy

Jane Doe levels of “You didn’t even notice I hacked your tech and rewrote your neural imprint while smiling.”

Karmor could build weapons from scrap and pick apart an interdimensional lock with a screwdriver and a shoelace. He’s got that “I read your diary and your encryption in five minutes” kind of IQ.

• Combat Specialist

From claws to hand-to-hand to using literal junkyard debris as precision projectiles. He’s quick, twitchy, ghostlike.

Combine his rat-thiren agility with his canon time-glitching powers, and now you’ve got a fighter who moves like he’s desyncing from the universe. It’s horrifying. It’s hot.

⸻

👁‍🗨 Aesthetic Updates:

Design:

• Subtle, angular rat ears; usually covered by a hood or modded helmet.

• Tail: sleek, dexterous, possibly mechanical or wrapped in old time-threading bandages.

• Wears layered clothing designed for movement and disguise—can shift into different silhouettes.

• He’s got a face people remember… wrong. No one can sketch him right.

• Signature Weapon:

Dual knives that shift form, or a segmented staff that twists like a broken second hand on a watch. Possibly integrates his tail in combat, like prehensile weapon moment.

⸻

🧠 Behavior & Personality Vibes:

• Quiet genius. Doesn’t speak unless absolutely necessary—and when he does, it’s in a whisper that sounds like déjà vu.

• Emotionally intelligent but cagey—trusts few, but protects like a rabid feral cat if you’re one of his people.

• Makes a hundred backup plans and then abandons them to follow his gut.

• Will absolutely scam your squad out of their rations with a single card trick then leave you wondering if you ever had rations to begin with.

⸻

🌀 Time-Bending Rat Shenanigans:

• Can pause time for brief bursts when cornered—his tail leaves an afterimage trail.

• Disappears from reality mid-sentence sometimes.

• Can literally “rewind” a mistake in battle but at a physical cost—his body glitches with clawmarks from timelines that don’t exist anymore.

⸻

Bonus Goofy Detail:

• He eats like a GOBLIN in secret. Snacks? He hoards them in weird places. You’ll find a single protein bar inside a gun’s ammo slot, a granola wedge taped under a table, a glowing cube he insists is “edible if you don’t look at it.”

• Hipswitch (when they run into each other) once watched him eat an entire bag of chips in 4 seconds and hasn’t recovered.

#goodboyaudios #gba bvz #bastard vs zombies #goodboyaudios karmor #fiction #compersion #Jane doe zzz #rat bois

17 notes · View notes

takadasaiko · 4 months ago

Text

Complete (a Doctor Who one-shot)

Summary: When the Metacrisis Doctor makes a huge leap forward in growing his own TARDIS, he finds himself questioning his own identity. TentooRose.

FFN II AO3

It had been a silly argument born out of a cluster of events, the top contenders split between frayed nerves brought on by a lack of sleep - something that, even three years into his half-human existence he hadn't quite become accustomed to - and a meddling Jackie Tyler that just didn't know when to quit at times. Most times. Okay, at least nine times out of ten. She just didn't know when to stop, and it had finally sawed the Doctor's last bit of self-restraint clean in half. He'd snapped, Rose had hopped in between, and before he had even given it permission, that sharp wit of his had run away from him, aimed at the one person that he couldn't bear to see hurt.

"See, that's what I mean," Jackie had whined, gesturing at the Doctor while looking at Rose. "Our Doctor - the real Doctor - wouldn't have said somethin' like tha'."

"Mum!" Rose had hissed, but there'd been no defense. No counter argument.

Or not one that you heard.

The Doctor was jolted out of his mental grumblings by the sharp thought - not even a thought, really, more of a feeling - he was fairly sure hadn't been his own. He looked up from his place on the floor of his lab where he'd been tinkering with the wires of his dimension stabilizers to the basic console that stood freely in the room only he was allowed in. At the console's center was the cutting of TARDIS that the other Doctor - the one that Jackie had been referring to that started this whole mess - had given him before leaving Pete's World. It was his only hope of making the TARDIS work as it should, rather than simply building a spaceship that could travel as all others did: through space alone. Any ol' mechanic with an ounce of knowledge and creativity could do that.

But they couldn't build a spaceship that lived. That communicated and listened. That understood. And that's exactly what a TARDIS did. No, his old girl had never used words to get him to where he needed to go and it had always been a guessing game on if she'd take him where he thought he needed to be, but he could always feel her just at the edge of his mind. The one faithful companion that he never had to let go of.

Until he did. Until this regeneration took a backseat to the last, leaving two Doctors and one TARDIS.

But you have her.

The feeling slammed into him and he blinked owlishly at the console, the rising irritation instantly being shoved aside for a different emotion. Excitement was too small of a word for it, but whatever that emotion was was so strong, it was overriding his care or ability to put a name to it. Instead he leapt from his place, long legs under him and a wide, toothy grin pulling at his lips as he bounded to the console. "Hello, you," he managed a little breathlessly, his fingertips touching the cool metal.

She didn't answer. Instead, the console lay dormant. There was no whisper of golden life, no soft wheezing that still filled his dreams. His gaze darted to the levers and pulls and buttons that had been fitted into place, wires running down, and all the empty places where they hadn't yet been added. His breath caught, held deep in his lungs, and he waited a moment more before releasing it. "C'mon, old girl. You're in there. And if you're in there, we've got a chance." He pressed both palms flat against the console and waited, opening his mind. Just as Madame de Pompadour had told him in such a different time: the link went both ways.

Incomplete, the single word-feeling finally resonated in his soul.

"Right." He looked around, scanning the scattered half-completed projects that he'd started and stopped between his work for UNIT over the past three years. Little pieces of his would-be TARDIS that wouldn't fit inside until the stabilizers were completed and allowed him to start building in the separate dimension. It was something that he hadn't been entirely certain was possible in this world without knowing if the Time Lords even had a presence, much less if his own TARDIS cutting could connect to the Eye of Harmony. Now, though, feeling his TARDIS in his own mind, that flicker of hope he'd never let completely drown out sparked again and he pulled in a steadying breath. "Incomplete. Right. Well, let's get to it then."

He lost track of time as he popped from piece to piece, so many pieces of technology borrowed from what had been Torchwood when they'd first discovered this world. Between the advanced civilization and his own over nine hundred years of existence, he'd been able to take Donna's recommendation and amplify even that. He'd been able to recreate or re-imagine the hardware of his ship. He certainly wasn't going to complete it tonight, but if he was right - and he often was - she wouldn't be able to communicate properly and certainly wouldn't be able to bond until he gave her a home within the console room. From there, she'd do most of the expansion. He just had to give her a place to take root.

There were no windows in his lab. No clocks. He preferred it that way. It made more sense to his mind, and Rose always called if she needed him. She didn't, though, or if she did he never heard the phone ring. Instead he sat hunched over the console and the dimension stabilizers, wiring everything together that needed wiring, his reading glasses occasionally making their way down the bridge of his nose and the amount of work that was completed the only way to have tracked the time if he'd bothered to track it. Not that he did. No, he hadn't been this hyper-focused in a long, long time, and it was exhilarating.

He fitted one more wire into place and felt a spark of electricity that sent a chill through him. There it was. Not whole, but functional. It should be functional. Only way to find out for sure.

Giddy with energy he popped over to the corner of the lab and pulled the sheet off of a grey cylinder, pressed his hand against the door, and it opened for him. That done, he practically hopped back to the console and dragged it over to wrestle it inside. It was a tight fit, leaving him to push it over the lip of the entrance from the outside and shove it the rest of the way. Once centered, it caught the latch, connecting to the shell, and the jolt of power from it flung him out the door and halfway across the lab. He landed hard and slid, finally coming to a crashing stop against a table, several beakers rattling dangerously above his head but not quite tipping over.

His eyes remained focused on the TARDIS shell though. Or what he hoped would be the TARDIS shell. For all the frustrations he'd felt that had driven him to his lab earlier, this might make it worth it. He could regrow the TARDIS and he and Rose could travel the stars again. He could be the Doctor. He could be her Doctor. He'd prove it.

The Doctor picked himself up from the floor, ignoring the twinge of pain in his wrist where he'd instinctively tried to catch himself or the one in his back that would prove to be bruised later on. It didn't matter. The rubber soles of his shoes squeaked lightly as he crossed the hard floor and pressed his hand against the door again, too amped up to even draw a breath.

The door slid, revealing a much larger space than he'd shoved the console into previously. It was just the console room and there was no real character to it yet, but it was, without any doubt in all the worlds, much bigger on the inside than it had been. The stabilizers were working. The seed grown from Time Lord technology. He loosed a shaky breath as he ghosted forward and his palms hovered over the smooth metal of the console and he could see the faintest of golden glows from below. She was alive. Carefully, he pressed his palms down and reached out to her again.

Air stirred around even though it didn't. Whispers and feelings. Memories. He waited as patiently as any Time Lord could, and finally he felt that voice again.

Incomplete.

Brown eyes cracked open and he tilted his head. "I need you for that," he whispered. "We'll get there. You and me."

Incomplete.

And then with a jolt, he realized what she must have meant. Incomplete. He was incomplete. Only half Time Lord in this body. Half human. One heart, no renerations. Oh, he had a few of his old tricks and he was still clever, but he was incomplete. Just a metacrisis regeneration that never should have come about. She wouldn't bond with him. He was below her. So, so far removed from the man had thought himself to be.

A knock against the door startled him from the horrifying realization, and as he blinked, he felt hot tears roll down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the back of his hand quickly and blinked rapidly. Only one person had access to his lab without being allowed in, and he realized he had no idea how long he'd kept her waiting after the blow up with Jackie and his own snap at her. Well, he supposed he couldn't keep her waiting. He flipped a switch and the door slid open, revealing the love of his life.

Rose's dark eyes widened as she took in the larger space, and despite the heaviness that seemed to weigh around her, a small, impressed smile touched her lips. "You didn't tell me you were this far along."

"I wasn't."

"Nothing like a fight with my mum to send ya packin' to work, huh?"

He tried for a smile and felt himself fail terribly. Instead he turned and leaned back against the console, motioning for her to come in if she liked. Rose's boots tapped softly on the metal grating that covered the underbelly of the control room that had grown out of his labors. She looked around, taking in every inch of space. "You didn't come home last night," she murmured as she moved along the outer wall, her fingers ghosting over but not quite touching it. "Started getting worried when I hadn't heard from you by midday."

The Doctor blinked at her, realizing for the first time that he'd lost his glasses somewhere along the way. "How long has it been?"

"'Bout twenty-two hours."

"I guess I owe you an apology."

"You just might," she answered, but there was a hint of teasing in her tone, even if it was forced. He looked back and her smile was strained. Maybe even a little sad.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you."

"There's somethin' ya don' hear everyday." Definitely more of an honest tease in that one. Well, at least she didn't hate him. She let loose a breath that sounded more like a sigh and moved closer so that he didn't have to crain his head around to look at her. "Mum shouldn'ta said what she said either."

"She was right though," he answered softly, his gaze falling to focus on the toes of his converse tennis shoes. He couldn't look at her.

"'Bout what?"

"I'm not him." His voice was trembling and he hated it. He hated the feeling in his chest that both seemed to sink and bubble up in him all at once. He hated that Jackie had been right, and especially that she'd been right about this. "No denying it now."

"What'dya mean?"

"I'm not the Doctor. I'm… something else. Something less than him. All the memories, every moment, every feeling, so I thought… but I was wrong. I'm the byproduct of what the universe wove together to mend itself, not the one doing the mending. Just a… copy. A faded copy."

His words hung in the air between them and for a long moment she didn't say anything. Finally, he dragged in the terribly shaky breath that was needed to continue. "I'm sorry I'm not him."

And there it was: the heart of the matter. Surely she knew it. She'd known the Doctor so well. Surely she saw it even when he hadn't been able to, which meant she was only there out of loyalty to her Doctor. Someone to keep tabs on the genocidal would-be Doctor that wasn't. He'd told himself that it hadn't been the first time he'd wiped out the Daleks. That his previous regeneration had just tried to remove himself too much from what he'd done in the Time War and that's why he could be so high and mighty about it. But no. He'd been right. And he'd entrusted the creature born in battle, full of blood and anger and revenge to the only person he trusted to corral him. Rose hadn't chosen him, she'd been saddled with him.

There was a glint of moisture in her eyes as she stared up at him and, all at once, her hand snapped forward, her fingers latched around one of his lapels, and she dragged him down to her level and pressed a kiss to his lips. He felt that hand hold him in place, her other hand moving to brush against the side of his face as her fingers snaked along the back of his neck, giving her the leverage she needed to pull him even closer. She didn't let him go and he felt every bit of his resolve to hold it together shatter. He didn't know what was happening. Maybe this was goodbye. He hated goodbyes. He'd never been very good at them.

His Rose didn't let go as his hands went instinctively to the side of her face and his Rose didn't let go as he tasted salty tears. She only let go when they were both a little desperate for air, and as she pulled away ever so slightly, he saw they could have just as easily been her tears. "After everything, you think I don't know you?" she asked, her voice as unsteady as his had been. "Of course you're the Doctor. Whatcha thinkin'? Mum's never gotten in your head like that."

That pulled a thin chuckle from him. "Ooo," he hummed, "not Jackie. It was…" He glanced behind them at the console. "Time Lords bond with their TARDIS. It's that psychic link that makes it. I tried. She told me I was incomplete."

"I didn't know the TARDIS… talked like that."

"Not with words, no."

"Maybe she didn't mean you then? I mean -" she glanced around, giving a small shrug as she did - "it's a room. Definitely bigger on the inside, but not exactly finished."

"That's what I thought at first!" And all at once, the thrill of their shared understanding vanished. "But no. She made it clear."

Rose reached forward again, her finger tilting his chin so that he met her eyes. "Then she doesn't know you. I do. That's how I know you're my Doctor."

"Even if I can't take you on all of our adventures?"

She gave another little shrug. "We'll figure it out. Space is great and all tha', but only because I got to see it with you."

A real smile finally touched his lips and he leaned forward again, feeling her tip up on her toes to meet him halfway in the kiss.

Then he felt it. A spark. She must have too, because they pulled back to look and, with both of their hands closest to the console touching it for balance, it glowed softly beneath their fingers, a soft sound of life whispering through the room. "That's it," he gasped.

"What?"

The smile broke into a full grin. "Rose, you're brilliant!"

"Sure, but why's that?" she asked as he bounded to the other side of the console to get a look at the readings. There it was. Plain as day. He barked a laugh at it and she shot him a confused look. "Doctor, might wanna fill me in."

"Incomplete. Ha! Ha! Of course! The Doctor, in the TARDIS with Rose Tyler, just as it should be. It's not just me. It's us! You and me!"

The TARDIS gave a soft whirl of confirmation.

"You're saying I can… whatcha call it?"

"Bond with her. Yes. If you want."

"Do you want that? I mean… to share your TARDIS with me?"

The slightly manic grin softened just a little and he circled back around, taking her hand in his. "Rose Tyler, I want to share everything with you."

There was a beat before her expression erupted in that gorgeous smile of hers. "And here I thought I'd be gettin' a plain ol' ring or somethin' someday. This is so much better. What should I do?"

The Doctor didn't let go of her, but slipped around behind her, guiding her hands to the console and placing his own on the outside of hers. He felt it, the touch to his mind that was so much closer than the brief murmurs. It felt familiar. It felt right.

And from Rose's expression, she felt it too.

"She remembers me," she murmured breathlessly.

"'Course she does. No way she couldn't."

"Is this what you feel all the time? When you fly the TARDIS?"

"Better, 'cause I get to share it all with you."

He felt her relax back into him and they stayed like that for a long moment, soaking in what it meant. For them and their future. They might not have forever, but they'd have each other as long as they both lived. And for the first time since his regeneration, the Doctor felt…

Complete, the feeling echoed and Rose smiled.

"Yeah."

"Yeah," he agreed softly, his lips brushing her ear from where he stood behind her. It would take time to get the TARDIS up to travel-condition, but they'd do it together. The Doctor, in the TARDIS with Rose Tyler. Just as it should be.

---

End.

Notes: Funny thing, I started a Doctor Who rewatch on a whim a few days ago and become suddenly obsessed with Tentoo. I think I just want to see him and Rose happy and out on their adventures.

#Doctor Who fanfiction #DW fanfic #Tentoo #Rose Tyler #TentooRose #TenRose #TimePetals

31 notes · View notes

g-glitchy-v2 · 3 months ago

Text

⊹ ࣪ ˖ EYYYYY lemme get ur attention w a smol Horror sans 🙏

(I already post this little art/sketch on my main account, i know, but i couldn't find any other silly drawing that i made about original sanses so i had to add this 😞 But i might change this with something else (if i draw, of course-) Anyways now read the shits i write down here :D (If you want, of course 🎉🦕🔥💥🐬)

──── ୨୧ ────

⊹ ࣪ ˖ Posted this in my main acc too, but i want thiz thing to be here too- SOOOO— Im Glitchy. Glitchy, G-Glitchy, Glitxhy, or maybe even G. My pronouns are She/Her. And im a minor, but i wont tell my age here cuz i don't want to💥 I may act childish or smth, but not sure. Just know i can't be serious about anything(but still can be in some spesific topics). Im a god damn lifeless artist that almost draws smth everyday and i can't stop- English isn't my native language, but no i also don't use translate 7/24, so sometimes i may make some grammar issues- but you'll probably see them bc i type so fast and sometimes don't realize i made a mistake.

I've been in this shitty but also awesome Undertale fandom for a pretty long time. There's lots of things i love and hate about this damn fan base, but that's not the topic rn- Soooo, since i've been in this fandom, OF COURSE I ALSO MADE AU'S- actually, i made a whole new multiverse- Idk how i did this when people out here struggling to make a proper au- Let's say my creativity might get crazy sometimes- Anyways- So basically i have a multiverse, and im currently working on reference sheets. BUT IT'S TAKING TOO LONNGGGGGGG- cuz instead of only drawing Sanses, i also draw all the monsters(if the au has them) detailed so it's taking more longer. I also have lots of shits happening in my life and sadly i don't have a supportive family so it's taking too long to finish my drawings sometimes. Like i said, currently im working on reference sheets. So i'll be focused on making them, which means i won't be drawing normal drawings etc. regularly. This account is only for reference sheets, cuz it would be so messy if i post all the references and arts in only one account- I'll post my arts in my main acc, but maybe post some arts in here too, just not too sure.

About my au's, or multiverse, well, it's not big as the original one, of course, but i have a main au, and side au's. The main one is UnderNova, and since it's the main au, the multiverse is called "UnderNova". The side au's are basically;

- MemoryTale

- MemorySwap

- DarkTale

- UnderGlitch (Yeah they already got the Glitchtale name dang it 😞)

- BeatsTale

- SplashTale

- UnderTime

- FairyTale (And FairyTale au's)

- FairySwap

- FairyFell

- FairyShift

- SwapFairy

(I also have a Royal au, Halloween au and Shattered Mirror Verse(SMV) au :D)

—

Im not sure if there's already some au's with these names, im too bad at giving names to au's- but i don't think it would affect anything since this is a seperated multiverse. Im not gonna talk about the whole lore here, cuz it's too hard to explain one without putting another one in since all of them are connected in a way, and im getting distracted so easly so im not really able to keep the topic in my hands. But y'all will learn it in the reference sheets so no problem :D

SOOOO, i already finished the reference sheets of MemoryTale, but since it was my first time doing a reference sheet, they kinda look a bit bad- I think MemorySwap references looks more better ngl- After MemorySwap, there's DarkTale, UnderGlitch, BeatsTale, SplasTale and UnderTime, and these au's have small amount of monsters, so i don't think it'll take too long to finish them. FairyTale/FairyTale au's monsters gonna have pretty different desings since it wouldn't hurt to make small changes. Even though UnderNova is the main au, there's lots of things like new animal/plant types, some important buildings, mystic items, zones, a book where i'll draw the important characters that was in UnderNova's history, and a whole map- And i'll have to draw these all- There's also multiple Sanses in this au, so OF COURSE IT'S GONNA TAKE TOO LONG- Which is why i left UnderNova to final. It's gonna be a final boss for me- And im cooked-

Anyways! It's all i wanted to say for now ig- this was kinda like a introduction thing- I might post this on my main acc too- If you're insterested, idk- do whatever you want ig- UnderTale fans were starving for smth new so I'LL BE YOUR SAVIOR🗣🔥 I hope people likes my multiverse, cuz i already made too many things and i can't just put these all to trash ;^; Btw, sorry if there's any grammar mistakes in this LONG shi, normally i would check but im too lazy for it rn- But i'll probably edit this again and again so it doesn't matters much ig- 🎉

-> About MemoryTale :D

(Gonna add the other ones later-)

-> About MemorySwap :D

-> About DarkTale :D

Finished ones Currently working on

- MemoryTale - UnderGlitch (WIP)

- MemorySwap

- DarkTale

Kinda got bored sooo i think i'll use here to write what im currently doing so y'all can know what's im working on– (I hope i won't forget to update- (WEEEEEEEEE I love making the texts colorful🎉)

Currently working on | The ones left

-> Codex

-> Glitcher(Sans) -> Belle

My main acc: @g-glitc-hyy

──── ୨୧ ────

26 notes · View notes

artisplatters · 1 year ago

Text

Into the Rubi-Verse

I really like all the TADC AUs I've been seeing so I wanted to imagine what my OC Rubi would look like in them all. This has been a project in the works for at least a month now ^v^"

For reference, this is what Rubi originally looks like

And for good measure, here's Canon?Rubi's relations with the other canon cast (chart made by @p1nkiep4rasites)

Now lets hop into the multiverse!~

Boxer!Rubi is a tank with a brain and two left feet, so no matter how hard her hits are and how solid their plan is, it usually all comes crumbling down because of a trip

Differentiating features from "canon": outfit, bigger paws that mimic boxer gloves, heart tattoo on hip, can fight

The Amazing Digital Fight Club is by @burrotello

Skater!Rubi is the other graffiti artist in town, alongside Zooble, and usually only participates in the skate derby when it runs out of paint or the battery to their DS is dead. She rides a windsurfer (also known as street sailing; its basically a skateboard with a sail)

Differentiating features from "canon": outfit, tooth gap, star stickers, can skateboard

The Amazing Digital Skate Park is by @g00bergoo

Lab!Rubi is a guardian fallen angel, banished from heaven when it became too attached to the human it was meant to protect. The final straw was when it almost showed itself as a last-ditch effort to save it's human from the cultist trap she was being lead to.

It was held back by other angels before it could though, and it had to watch as she was killed. That was the first time an angel cried in almost 100 years.

Sent to earth, it wandered for a long while before finding the Incredulously Experimental Monster Lab and decided to stay there while it continues to look for her spirit. She feels so close, it'll be any day now when it finds her...

Differentiating features from "canon": Cube head is now multi-colored tesseracts, three eyes, outfit, wings, rings, and other things

The monster lab AU is by @etanow

Carnival!Rubi is a gentler AI originally coded for a younger audience who couldn't yet play the main Carnival, who was later added to the main game by popular demand.

Her "neckpiece" is a bow-tie on her collar, since she has no neck to tie anything around. Attempting to pull it off gives a choking sensation, as if being strangled, and can eventually lead to passing out.

By the time Caine appears in the Carnival, she's been keeping herself locked in her room, barring entry to everyone, including Gangle whom she used to be good friends with (and maybe more..?). There should've been no way for Caine to get in, but he does, and is met with a sorry sight [maybe he uses some coding magic idk-]

Differentiating features from "canon": outfit, is an A.I.

The Amazing Digital Carnival is by @sm-baby

Slasher!Rubi used to be a famous horror game streamer/GameTuber, before her sudden disappearance.... and now, she's stuck in a virtual slasher hell with no escape in sight.

At least in between the daily hunts she can find solace in people who are like her, for once... ironically less lonely than her life before...

Differentiating features from "canon": outfit, was a famous gamer

The Amazing Digital Slasher is by @justwantswafflefries

71 notes · View notes

katyspersonal · 11 months ago

Note

Hi there

I saw your post about Rellana & Messmer and i really want to know your interpretation of their relationship. Many insist on them being unrequited love but i couldn't really find any evidences that support this interpretation except Rellana's sword description in Eng because the Japanese version is different as it's says the fire & moon were always together .

Anon I am sorry I am so late fdhshf The usual: I was waiting to get to Messmer myself first after doing like 600 side things and then I forgor 😔

But for starters, a couple of funny things regarding the topic! First: I was actually dead sure they were canonically an item because of some thoughts I've heard from the fans early on!! And I got further into this confusion because I've misinterpreted Messmer's emblem as Fire + Twin Moon (since it is two circles overlapping and I first met it in the Castle Ensis), instead of Fire + Two Serpents that it IS! XD

Second: I was instantly confused by the description of Rellana's helmet, because Rennala has brown hair in both concept art portrait and the ingame model. So, the long black hair could not have been a cute parting gift, right....? Well, we resolved it with the help of analysing Japanese text more (this post ( x )), and turned out Rennala DID give her own hair! x) I suppose her hair, or the part that sticks from under the crown, became brown under prolonged strong Amber Egg's light exposure (basically same as sunlight)! However for a month I believed that Rennala simply helped Rellana to tweak her appearance with Amber Egg's magic to charm Messmer better because they knew long black hair was his taste HFSDHFDSGSDG XDDD

So, I was convinced that they were soooo married that they were proudly putting the symbol of alliance of Fire and Moon everywhere. The wording in English 'chase after Messmer' and fanart didn't help x) So.. now it had cleared up a little. As for the Japanese text you're referring to, me and @heraldofcrow asked someone else about it for clarification!

Japanese text breakdown from them is,

Ok, for the first one, she told me that the sentence/description, “ 月と火は、ここでは常に共にあった” has the word “常に” in it for “always.” (It’s “tsuneni” when Anglicized). This means “always, constantly.” So that one is correct. You have verify by even just looking up “tsuneni” in a Japanese dictionary, which I did. Seems right. So, yes the translation is “Moon and fire were constantly/always together here.”

I feel like this is further backed up by a certain other thing within Carians:

Notice how both swords also have identical skill; the use of sorcery with a normal attack after assuming the stance, and the use of fire with a strong attack! Both deal normal, magic and fire damage types! The only thing different is that since then, the celestial body representing the 'sorcery' part changed from stars to Moon, however Carians do not forget their roots!

So all flames, Messmer's included in the end, were an anathema to the Erdtree for the vision of the Cardinal Sin of burning it once (Fire Monks' incantations, Candletree Wooden Shield)!

I see it as Rellana deciding it was bullshit sentiment and actually sorcerers, whether Stars or Moon ones, were supposed to be allies to fire powers, like their origins intended! Liurnia/Carians and the Erdtree became allies after the war ended with Rennala's and Radagon's marriage... Whereas at first Rellana was okay with following the new obligation, for one reason or another she decided to REJECT THE MODERNITY AND EMBRACE THE TRADITION!

I am going to cuss localisation team again, because in Japanese original, the word that is here 'succor' is 癒 (月の輝きが、その男を癒せぬと知っていても) which means to heal! So, the sentiment is, her knowing that she could not fix him the horror plaguing him could not be treated, even with the magic/knowledge of Carians!

Black Knight Commander Andreas and his son Huw stood by Messmer until they've learned WHY Marika "abandoned her son". At this rate I need a T-Shirt that says 'You could never be Tanith' because I need it OFTEN in this DLC hfsdhfds . If Rellana knew of his affliction and still chose to stand by him, that puts her on the level with his Fire Knights, and even his snakes! And we know that Messmer still does need friends, not just his mom.

^ Unlike with the Cleanrot Knights of Malenia getting subjected to her Scarlet Rot by effect, Messmer's flame cannot infect others and it is just a curse for him and his two snake friends. However, Fire Knights attempted to share the burden with him and at least find the satisfaction in using his fire as is! Rellana is similar, because her fire sword IS serpentine and uses his fire:

(Video by Zullie the Witch ( x ))

After having all this context and clearing up my confusion, I think them having unrequited love is possible, but in the other way around! Say instead of her having "chased" him and him not feeling much in return, she had more ideals-fueled reasons to seek him and HE is the one hurting from not being loved the way he wishes!

According to Rogier sky sorceries of either king and the Erdtree were enemies, but sorcery and fire, on the other hand... And an "evil" kind of fire as well; the Fell God is literally named that, it is known as Flame of Ruin, even the Fire Giants carrying it for their god were said to have been burdened by it and it was an anathema to the Erdtree! Marika was not able to overcome her fear before the horror within Messmer although she tried her best to love him, but Rellana maybe decided 'yeah no shade to my sister's tastes but the plea to the Erdtree is kinda dumb, we sorcerers are supposed to be their enemies but allies to all kinds of evil fire! *looks at FF* EXCEPT THAT ONE' fsdhfds She could not heal him, but OG description of her sword makes it sound as though there is a "bigger idea" behind standing with him than just liking him. Aliance of sorcery and fire. She sees standing with him like more natural order and fate!

Messmer, on the other hand, would like to be liked (by her) on a more "primitive" level, without all that historical and philosophical nonsense! He is a person, not a symbol! ..but at the same time, he sorta knows he can't be. It is not just a problem with her, it is a problem with... everyone, really. He is carrying this curse and hates his fire, and to truly understand him would be to experience it the same way as he does. Something Fire Knights attempted to do, but it didn't work. But at the same time, he feels like even if he could infect people with his flame, he would not want to subject her to it in particular. With the Knights their honor kinda implies giving him their all, but despite her also being his blade he sees her as an equal! Someone who is better off not being burdened by his curse. Additionally, he already second-guesses whether he ruined her life by effect by """making""" her lose her right as a princess just to stand with him! Yeah, true, he needs Melina to lecture him on people's agency, but those with very low/negative opinion on selves OFTEN believe that they have more power over people than they actually do. Like they are "manipulating" them by literally just standing there (menacingly), and everything is always their fault..

So yeah! I think Rellana is a little 'clueless' about their bond, nor Messmer is doing enough to express his feelings! She sees them as Moon and Fire, not as Rellana and Messmer, and seems pretty content this way! He, on the other hand, would probably actually charm her romantically if he was not so gloomy and reclusive and put in conscious effort! He has a lot of charisma he is not using to get bitches when he CAN!! But he bounces between the 'why can't she like me in a more personal way?' vs 'wait, why WOULD she? it is better if she doesn't. damn I am an awful person as usual for wanting such thing.' ...🙄

They both have the capacity of developing relationship, but if Rellana is feeling attracted she is clueless about it simply because she won't think of it without being prompted to. With Messmer, he becomes STUPID vulnerable and self-conscious for multiple reasons pondering upon forming a bond this deep with her! I know it is an overused comedy trope, but picture Moonrithyll and [insert a Fire Knight] seeing the clear tension between the two and facepalming about how dumb they are about it XD Or, alternatively, trying to match-make them so they'd stop being so embarrassing and just fuck already lmaoooo fdghfsdg

__________________

Conclusion: both are too occupied with their own stuff to make a conscious effort towards it, but the potential and the tension is here! He has more talent for good romantic gestures and just the right tender things to say than he (or anyone else) realises that would make Rellana blush and stumble. Act slightly tsundereish, even, because she is not good at the "soft" things. She, on the other hand, is on more blunt side and her expressions of attraction would be passionate, and mostly vulgar I think. And that'd make HIM blush, because he is not good at THIS stuff! His style is some sentimental sweet line, her style is complimenting his slim ass or whatever fsdfsg Strong romantic energy from Messmer who dies at sexual commentaries, and strong sexual energy from Rellana who is no longer so tough at some nice poetry. Because they're "opposites" in such ways, there is a lot of awkwardness, but also a lot of dynamic!

(+A funnier interpretation is Messmer being romantic asexual that'd be still willing to have sex with someone he loves, and Rellana is aromantic sexual that'd still be okay with cuddles and kisses and stuff from someone she desires! They have each their own way to love and try to make it work. Just a more 'direct' version of the dynamic I've described previously, is this anything? xd)

#elden ring #messmer the impaler #rellana twin moon knight #what did we call this ship though? I genuinely don't know fhhfd #moonfire #ask replies #elden ring headcanons #screenshots

58 notes · View notes