#// i felt like this could work either for canon verse or for heroes so i was thinking of leaving that up to you! :0

[wallpaper-inside-my-heart]

i would love to whose perspective you had in mind for all of the spommy taylors version songs!!! unless they were picked solely on vibes which is also totally valid

Oh Anon you have no IDEA what you have unleashed by asking me this question! So thank you so much for that <3 and let's go!

(I have like almost twenty pages worth of google doc with assigned lyrics and comments for why (most of) these songs fit for them and in this playlist! I will try my best to keep this as short as my brain allows...)

As I mentioned in the original Spommy (taylor's version) post, the order that we put these songs in has it's reasons. So I will go through the different relationship stages and corresponding songs one by one. And try to briefly explain whose POV it's supposed to represent and maybe highlight a few specifc lines.

Colour coding the song's main POV:

Tommy

Spencer

both

(Song assignments under the cut)

small disclaimer: obviously we are talking about a fictionalized version of "canon" that is loosely based on/inspired by stuff they have mentioned in videos and their general internet personas. None of the thoughts I'm sharing here are meant as 100% fact or true "insight" to their personal lives. We're all just having fun! (Obviously we all agree on this kind of stuff, I just need to write it down somewhere, for my own conscience)

The Before Meeting stage:

You’re on your own kid

Anti-Hero

-> both of these songs feel super tommy-coded (the whole sexy baby/monster on the hill stuff, for example, reminds me a bit of the body dysmorphia he's mentioned in a few videos)

tied together with a smile

-> this one could work either with one or both singing this about themselves or the other imo

-> just the whole aspect of trying to hold yourself together while struggling with fullfilling expectations

2. The First meeting/Beginning stage

Everything has changed

-> both of them just being fascinated by eachother upon their first meeting

mirrorball

-> a theme for a lot of the more Tommy-centric POVs of these songs was inspired mostly by the aforementioned body image issues and also the fear of living up to his own or other ppl's expectations in terms of his own creativity etc.

(I'm sure others, like maybe Spencer, struggle with parts of these aspects as well, I just feel like Tommy has talked about it more)

-> also Tommy beginning to see Spencer as someone he doesn't have to "pretend" around

cowboy like me

-> both of them recognizing pieces of themselves within the other

3. The Pining Stage

-> this stage is mostly from Spencer's POV. I believe in Pining!Tommy rights as well, however I felt like these song examples just fit Spencer a bit better given the situation

gold rush

-> aka the mini denial stage, where he falls into a daydream of what being with Tommy could be like; but not wanting to let himself indulge too much in these thoughts

also "your hair falling into place like dominoes" sounds so much like a line that could be about tommy!

Teardrops on my guitar

-> the pining is now in full force, but sadly Tommy has a boyfriend and Spencer has to suffer through him gushing about it, while he feels his crush begin to grow more and more; tho he doesn't allow himelf to do anything about his feelings

you belong with me

-> Spencer's switch from the 'good ol' fashioned pining' to "Um, actually I would fit way better with you than he does! So why can't you see what's right in front of you and start dating me instead?!"

(tho he still doesn't actually voice this outlout, yet)

4. The Flirting Stage

new romantics

-> mostly as a set-up for both of their general attitudes at the beginning of this stage and for the dancing/club theme of Gorgeous

gorgeous

-> this one is actually splitting the POV across different parts of the song

-> Verse 1 is Spencer with lines such as "compliment/made fun of the way you talk" and "you're so cool, it makes me hate you so much" (also the last time the soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend is mentioned in the playlist)

-> Verse 2 by Tommy with "talking to everyone here but you" (which reminds me of his dating answer in hot ones; but if I start talking about my thoughts on that bit, this will get way too long) and also "Ocean blue eyes looking in mine" (literally about Spencer💙)

-> the chorus is first sung by Spencer, next one Tommy and the others by both of them at eachother

-> also "Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats… alone... Unless you wanna come along" is literally such a Spencer-coded line to me

-> also! if you or anyone wants to check out a fic of them with a slightly similar premise to this song, I can def reccomend Spencer vs Gay Panic by @soupy-girl 💗

I can see you

dress

-> with these two songs the daydreaming about the other and flirting increases

-> also I initially added this one to the list bc "flashback/your buzzcut and my hair bleached" are literally both accurate about Spencer lmao

i think he knows

-> I imagine the first verse mostly sung by Spencer and then the (pre) chorus by Tommy bc of lines like "He got that boyish look that I like in a man" and "Wanna see what's under that attitude" and of course later on"lyrical smile, indigo eyes" being about Spencer as well

5. The pre-dating stage

treacherous

-> I feel like this song has a constantly switching POV, in a duet sorta way. For example:

This slope is treacherous. This path is reckless.

This hope is treacherous. This daydream is dangerous.

but the bridge would be sung together, both deciding "I'll follow you home"

glitch

willow

jump then fall

fearless

Electric touch

-> I don't have a lot of notes on these 5 songs in particular, but the idea was basically them going from the insecurities that are still present in treacherous and seeing the thing that's developing between them as smth that just happened to them by accident, to then deciding to fully "jump into it" and letting themselves actually feel the excitement of it all in full force

6. The first few dates

begin again

-> the line "you throw your head back laughing like a little kid" fits both of them so well and I'm so soft just thinking about it

king of my heart

-> in the google doc I said that she wrote "Now you try on callin' me "baby" like tryin' on clothes" about this fic by @jovenshires and I stand by that

today was a fairytale

-> the whole first verse with "You wore a dark gray t-shirt You told me I was pretty when I looked like a mess" also feels so them-coded idk

style

-> I think this edit of them explains this better than I ever could 💖

I’m only me when I’m with you

-> it's about the "Well, you drive me crazy half the time"-but still being eachothers comfort person- of it all

snow on the beach

-> another duet style song where they take turns singing the verse and then chorus together; "Weird, but fuckin' beautiful"

-> also! I must admit that I was heavily inspired to add this song bc of this fanart by @urmxotive! which is so beautiful and reminds me of the "I've never seen someone lit from within" in this song

7. Dealing with Insecurities while being in a relationship

the archer

-> both, but especially bc "I cut off my nose just to spite my face" reminds me of what I briefly mentioned with Anti-Hero

nothing new

-> me and katie agree that this song is 100% tommy coded, but I don't wanna go into too much detail since this post is getting way too long already 🙈

peace

-> another duet-style song for them starting with tommy in v1 and then Spencer in the chorus

new year’s day

-> duet again, in the same order as the last one

stay stay stay 

-> mostly Tommy's POV and him being relieved that Spencer knows how to deal with his mood swings

safe & sound

-> and this song from Spencer's POV about essientially the same "issue"

mine

-> themacceptance of their insecurities and celebration of taking on the future together

8. Good ol' estabished relationship fluff

call it what you want

-> similar theme as peace and nothing new, but leaving those worries behind from tommy's side

-> and also "My baby's fit like a daydream" reminded me of spencer at 1:43 in this clip ( from this video)

daylight

-> also duet-style; "Maybe I've stormed out of every single room in this town" reminds me of tommy ripping up his headshots

you are in love

-> I think Katies fic explains the POVs for this perfectly 💜

paper rings

-> "I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this" tying back into glitch etc

invisible string

-> both of them growing up in florida and also both being eye-ptach-kids?? makes me so insane when I think about it for some reason

sweet nothing

-> it's about the "You say, "What a mind". This happens all the time" and "To you, I can admit that I'm just too soft for all of it" of it all

lover

-> and, finally "Swear to be overdramatic and true" and "And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me" is literally them. I rest my case, your honor

So this post got wayyyy too long and was prob way more then you asked for, anon, but I hope you enjoyed my ramblings anyways 😊

I have so many more thoughts about some of these song choices (like Nothing new, peace, new year's day and several others) and their order, and also even more specifically assigned lines in my google doc for this playlist. So in case you or anyone else wants the link to that, feel free to dm me. Or if you have you're own ideas about some of these choices or are curious about some specifics, my asks are always open 🤗

[mutogamingco]

I don't think i remember or saw your Anti / corrupted Verse for Yugi, could you tell me about it a little? Would you ever bring it back?

//Okay! So buckle up, I have three or four that I have done at random times. I don't know for sure if I would bring it back as a permanent thing, but I'm open to it if people are interested outside of a closed thread. Any verse I have threads in is welcome to receive random asks and interactions (within reason, of course!) It's under a Read More because it got long.

The first one was a corruption verse where Yuugi's decision to play the Orichalcos in the duel against Atem planted a seed of corruption. I know a lot of people like to interpret him as a pure soul, but it's shown very early on that he has his own darkness just like everyone. He just heavily gravitates towards kindness and is generally only wishing harm on others if provoked. This seed of Orichalcos magic lay mostly dormant in his soul until post canon, where Yuugi has more of a tendency to bottle up his emotions. The magic actively caused pain the more he tried to resist it and @atlantis-prince offered his hand to join him. If Yuugi did the pain would stop. So he ended up corrupted and working for Dartz and of course he was sent after Atem and pretty much anyone. Some part of him deep down was aware of what was happening but he was numb to it until it was too late. The other Orichalcos verse was actually a role-reversal AU for the doma arc where a partner who wrote Atem discussed with me in DMs how we would have rewritten the season to better match the narrative of the entire series. We realized that if it had been Yuugi that played the card in that duel instead of Atem and was corrupted, and if it was Atem's soul who was taken instead, it would have actually given Yuugi a very interesting character arc where he gets to address his unresolved darkness, anxieties about Atem leaving, etc. It probably would have even influenced his decisions in the end and maybe tried to find a way for Atem to stay instead of participating in the Ceremonial Duel. In this one, the corruption is temporary, since it dissipates after the duel is over and he's left with the horror of what he's done. One twist too, is that without Atem in the puzzle to keep it under control, the dark magic and vengeful spirits trapped in the Puzzle constantly scream in his head and threaten to corrupt him again. He's haunted by constant nightmares and guilt beyond his friends' understanding. It's not just Atem's absence that's hurting him. In fact, when he was in the duel, he was under the influence of both and extremely unhinged as a result, as the Seal pushed Atem out just like it did to Yuugi in the anime. Overall, we had some very big plans and it was going so well! Yuugi would have had the support of the duel spirits (like Mahad) trying to help him through it, and we were planning to include Bakura since we felt it was a shame he was left out and it would have added some interest (he was even going to be the main person helping Yuugi in this situation if you can believe it). I did a short thread once where a piece of Zorc temporarily possessed Yuugi and that was fun to play around with. It was an exploration of what he would do in that situation, and the demon was forced out. Then there was a thread where he was sent a mysterious artifact (seemingly from his father) that latched onto him and possessed him. It was a parasitic magical item that needed to be removed, and it was successfully removed. His father did not send that box and had a hand in getting the bracelet off of Yuugi. Both of these threads were in my Wishshipping verse with @luckyredeyes

One I have mainly been thinking of is maybe an anti-verse or event where Yuugi is corrupted by the shadows. He can either work with an existing villain or it could be a Bad End, or even just an alternate verse where he is not the hero. As said in a previous answer, it would be more like how season0 and the early manga went, but probably my own take. His personality would depend on if this is him being corrupted post-DSOD or if he was corrupted after solving the Puzzle in canon, making him canon-divergent. This one has not been tried yet.

[sireneia]

one liner call ( @paragonofvirtue​ )

 “ mother mila... for so long, i’ve wondered... why did you abandon your children so? ”

[steverogersbingo]

✨ STEVE ROGER BINGO’S ROUND UP - POST 1 ✨

Check out the fills our participants posted from the first month under the cut!

🎨 ART

heaven isn't in the sky (it's underwater) by agron T // Steve/Tony // Mermaids Summary: when steve went underwater he was discovered by three mermaid tony stark instead

Untitled by ABrighterDarkness G // Steve/Bucky // Alpine Summary: Steve and Bucky get distracted, Alpine enjoys every minute.

Space Stone by AriaFandom G // Gen // Moodboard Summary: Galaxy aesthetic for the space stone

Untitled by sanguineterrain G // Gen Summary: Magical, canon-divergent Steve

Untitled by call-me-kayyyyy G // Steve/Bucky // AU; Fantasy; Loin-cloths Summary: Steve and Bucky are elf's who ride their unicorns to check the perimeter.

Steve Rogers becomes Cernunnos by pinkybitesu T // Gen // AU Summary: Steve had always felt connected to the Earth. Becoming the God of the Forest, Cernunnos, made it all make sense.

"That Is America's Ass." by bleedxblack T // Steve/Bucky Summary: Steve Rogers straddles Bucky's waist with booty shorts that read "it ain't gonna spank himself".

📝 FIC

Clean Up These Bloody Fists by dontcallmebree E // 8,657 // Steve/Bucky // Shrunkyclunks; Mob AU Summary: Bucky can’t decide if Steve’s unendingly generous with his care for those around him, or if Bucky’s simply been lucky enough to scale the wall built up over decades, and had somehow proven himself worthy of the affection. Either way, he knows he’ll never take this for granted. Spend some time with Steve and Bucky this week in the perpetually fluffy ‘verse of Do The Things You Never Showed Nobody.

Scars by Kimberly T // 1,888 // Steve/Bucky // Post-CATWS Summary: The serum means that Steve can't scar anymore, though he's retained his pre-existing scarring. While in the hospital recovering from the fight on the helicarrier, Steve does a little introspection about this. It's bittersweet.

Without Regret by ABrighterDarkness E // 5,284 // Steve/Thor Summary: It had been a very long time since Steve had last felt like this. There was a buzz in his mind and tingling through his body. His movements were just slightly slower, clumsier and his were words spoken a little more loosely with a tongue that felt more weighty than it ought to. Even that, though, felt different than the last time that he’d had the opportunity to overindulge with a friend.

Love and Learning by ABrighterDarkness T // 7,746 // Steve/Natasha Summary: It reminded him, a little bit, of stepping into a machine seeing everything in varying shades of grey. Only to stumble out again into a world of color more vibrant than anything he could have possibly imagined. Overwhelming but entirely breathtaking and welcome.

Good by hawkeyeandthewintersoldier T // 1,062 // Steve/Bucky/Tony Summary: Steve returns to the compound and finds that the two men he loves, but never told his feelings to, are a couple now.

Lie to Me by Kit T // 2,102 // Steve/Bucky // Body Swap Summary: After a mission gone wrong, Steve and Natasha end up trapped in the others body. Instead of telling everybody, they make a bet. Who will be able to conceal their identity the longest?

Dream a Little Dream of Me by buckybleeds E // 5,719 // Steve/Bucky // Dub-con; Self-cest Summary: Steve goes back in time to comfort himself after Bucky fell and ends up having sex with himself. 

Pride by Kit T // 1,726 // Steve/Bucky Summary: Tony wants to take Steve to pride to watch him freak out. Natasha tags along to do damage control.

Take Care of You by hawkeyeandthewintersoldier M // 1,756 // Steve/Bucky // Daddy Kink; Age Difference; AU Summary: Steve has been so busy with his work as a commander at shield lately, that he has barely had time for his partner Bucky. Bucky’s worried his Daddy might not want him anymore and Steve has to rectify this by showing how much he loves his baby.

Love Has Left a Printed Trace by Girl_Back_There E // 1,726 // Steve/Bucky // Vampires; Dub-con Summary: Steve is obsessed with finding a mysterious figure named Winter in paintings throughout the years. James is a Vampire named Winter charged with keeping Vampires a secret from humanity.

with the weight of the world at the tips of my fingers by avintagekiss24 E // 4,420 // Steve/Reader // AU Summary: You and Steve share a morning in bed.

Always You by hawkeyeandthewintersoldier M // 1,691 // Steve/Bucky // AU Summary: After a year of traveling, Steve finally comes home and confesses his feelings to Bucky.

Stop the World by Rex E // 6,828 // Steve/Scott // AU Summary: When Steve got hired to entertain at Cassie Lang's thirteenth birthday party, he had thought it was going to be like every other kid's party he'd booked. He'd show up, play Captain America, get paid, and go home. He never quite gets to that last step, but to be fair, there was no way he could have anticipated the draw of Scott Lang.

Always by Rex G // 437 // Steve/Matt Murdock // Canon Divergence Summary: Even the Devil of Hell's Kitchen needs an angel from time to time. This one just happens to be from Brooklyn.

Glass by Rex M // 859 // Gen // Non-graphic torture; Implied non-con; Referenced suicide Summary: "We'll lose." "Then we'll do that together, too." Sokovia crashed, Ultron won, and he always had hated Tony the most.

We are already home by Bitters E // 4,948 // Steve/Bucky Summary: Steve carries an injured Bucky through a portal into…somewhere else? But they’re together, like they always have been, and that’s all that matters.

end of the line, time to go home. by moonythejedi394 M // 3,484 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence; Daddy Kink; Age Play/Regression Summary: Steve and Bucky always said they were together 'til the end of the line. But even they have to get off the train eventually. Everybody always figures, at the end of the line is... Y'know. The End. But actually, at the end of the line is happily ever after. It just took them a few decades and a couple suitcases of trauma to get there.

Not Technically A Bromance by dontcallmebree M // 8,657 // Steve/Bucky Summary: “A bromance?” Bruce asks, voice tinged with restrained laughter. “Yeah, we have one of those.” Steve glowers at Bruce, who’s patently laughing at him, eyes bright and twinkling with mirth. Bruce composes himself, biting at his bottom lip. “And you’ve had sex how many times?” (Inspired by that tweet, you know the one.)

At the Top of My Lungs by ralsbecket T // 1,646 // Steve/Tony Summary: Two months had passed since Tony had lost his life; since they had laid him to rest six feet under. It was two months of trying to keep his world from further falling apart, and it wasn’t really working in his favor. So, no. No, he wasn’t okay.

Thor’s Art Class for the Heroes of Midgard by WinterSabbath T // 6,338 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence Summary: In which Thor makes it his mission to help mend the broken, cold relationship between Steven and James through the only way he can think of: Art class. As a bonus, he also helps the team loosen up.

So Let It Happen by Bitters E // 2,287 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence Summary: Steve comes home from a tough mission and needs to get out of his head. His husband and retired Avenger is only too happy to help him with this.

Made of Glass (The Way You See Through Me) by ralsbecket T // 1,132 // Steve/Tony // AU Summary: Steve wasn’t sure what came over him when the model walked out from the back room, wearing a robe; from the moment his eyes landed on his face, he was just… awestruck. Dark hair, bright eyes, full lips. He was fucking beautiful. Or, the one where Tony is the model in Steve's life-drawing class.

for your cooperation by xceru E // 3,145 // Steve/Nat // Canon Divergence Summary: Hydra kidnaps Natasha on a routine mission in Cairo. When Steve finds her, Natasha decides that it's his turn to play prisoner.

my heart in the still winter air by xceru E // 11,887 // Steve/Bucky/Nat // Canon Divergence Summary: “He will,” Steve says, and suddenly Natasha understands. This is the man that Steve altered his heart for, the one he thought only the serum could love. But now Steve knows better—he knows he’s bisexual—he knows his love is real, and the man that it belongs to is undead.

Won't Let Go by afalsebravado E // 2,358 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence Summary: Steve is on the hunt for the Winter Sold-- Bucky. He's on the hunt for Bucky when the leads dry up and he heads home to regroup. But a package from Tony Stark arrives on his doorstep and makes him re-evaluate old promises.

The Truth of Who I Am by hawkeyeandthewintersoldier T // 1,203 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence Summary: Steve Rogers is not a cis straight man and he is tired of people erasing that and other parts of his identity so he fits into the image they already had of him.

Bruise of a Rose by marvelousmoons G // 1,710 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence Summary: It’s moments like this that get under his skin the most. The way Steve can just… be Steve. Be dramatic and give Bucky the cold shoulder for simply caring. But Bucky was stronger. He could play Steve’s game. He wouldn’t cave, no. He would sit and wait for the silence to overwhelm Steve first.

... And all I got was this lousy t-shirt by RainbowNerds M // 3,126 // Steve/Bucky // AU Summary: A month ago, Steve had the best sex of his life with a guy he met in a bar, and went home with the most hideous shirt he'd ever seen but no phone number. Enter his new roommate, Becca. The two instances are not connected, right?

Love you too, jerk by WinterRaven G // 636 // Steve/Bucky // Canon Divergence; Fanart included Summary: Steve makes breakfast for Bucky and their 'kids' help him wake up his husband.

[kieraelieson]

Gilded Cage

BTHB: Remus who is Claustrophobic and Logan with Gilded Cage. Logan gets him out in the end but it takes a while... Too long for Remus to not be traumatised by the end. Oh and Canon-Verse! Prompt by @willowaudreykeyes

"Gilded Cage", taken literally, is 100% a gt prompt. Prompt by @enby-phoenix

(Set when Thomas is a teenager)

It was strange. Yes, the ‘unwanted thoughts’ had slowed to a mere dripping, rather than the stream there had been. But something felt off. More of Thomas’s ‘darker impulses’, especially anxiety, had increased recently, and Logan was also concerned about how quickly Remus’s contributions had been cut off.

And he was curious. It was a massive shift, if not in Thomas’s entire mind, then of the ‘dark side’. Anxiety had never had quite such a hold before, and judging by the times Logan had personally heard him, he hadn’t been prepared for it either. And then anger, apathy, and self-isolating tendencies had also increased.

But even more strangely, Logan hadn’t heard a word from Deceit in over a week. They’d been in touch, occasionally exchanging messages, and even a few short conversations. But recently it had been less and less, and there had been odd codes Logan had enjoyed attempting to decode, but had failed at understanding.

So now he stood at the door to the ‘dark side’. It was illogical to have such a division, but he was familiar with the tall, wide wall, and the small door.

Except now it seemed in odd disrepair, especially the door, which was splintered and slightly ajar. Deceit usually maintained the wall, and its state made Logan more concerned for his wellbeing.

He pushed the door open as far as it would go, and squeezed through the crack.

The other side was dark. And not ‘dark’ as had been presupposed, but literally dark. As if there were no lights, not even a semblance of sunlight through windows.

This made the glimmer of sparks that accompanied the loud exhale even more attention grabbing.

Logan spun, wishing he had some kind of weapon, and saw a very large bulk of… something. It was too dim to tell. But it was breathing. Living. Whatever it was.

His eyes gradually started adjusting, and he could see more vague shapes, but no detail. Another heavy exhale, and flutter of sparks, and it became more clear.

It was a dragon. A dragon asleep, chained around the neck, heavy chain trailing off into the distance. Even the sparks weren’t enough to let him see color, but he was almost certain the dragon would be yellow. That it was Deceit.

Logan carefully reached out, setting a hand on the dragon’s nose in a similar way to a movie Thomas had seen.

There was no reaction whatsoever.

“Deceit? It’s Logan. I hate to wake you, but I’d like to discuss some things.”

Nothing.

Logan frowned. He pressed with his hand, but still received no response.

“Deceit. Deceit!”

Nothing.

Logan even went so far as to hit him. But still no response. The breathing was slow and even, one breath every few generating sparks. There was no twitch, nor opening of an eye, nor disruption to his breathing to suggest waking.

“He-he won’t wake up…” a new voice said, startling Logan.

Luckily, he regained his composure quickly, and certainly didn’t fall onto the ground. “Anxiety.”

Anxiety saluted, looking around nervously. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe right now.”

“Yes. That is what I was concerned about. What exactly has been going on over here? It seems much has changed, but without explanation or warning.”

The darkness could be confusing him, but Logan thought he could see a slight tremble to Anxiety’s shoulders. “Well… yeah. You guys said things had to change. Thomas wanted them to change.”

Logan nodded. “Yes, as a gradual process, as a part of Thomas’s growth and maturation. This seems to be different than that.”

Anxiety bit down on his lip. “Then… we-we don’t have to?”

“Don’t have to what? We’ve never required anything specific of you.”

There was a soft sound in the distance, and suddenly Anxiety was standing close to Logan, so close their shoulders pressed together.

“You-you’re a light side. You’re way more powerful than me.”

“That isn’t quite how it works, but—“

“Look, I’ll get you there, and hold them off as long as I can. But you have to do the hero part, alright?”

“I’m hardly a hero, that would be Roman’s—“ Logan’s words were cut off in a strangled yelp as he was scooped off his feet and carried quickly further into the darkness.

He barely knew what was happening until he was dumped onto the floor and there was the sound of a door shutting behind him.

He felt for a handle, but there didn’t seem to be one. Though eventually he found a light switch.

The light was dull, almost reddish. And as soon as it was turned on he heard a small gasp.

He was in a small room, and in the middle of the room, taking up much of the area, was a cage. Inside the cage was a table, a chair, and a cot. The cage seemed to be empty. Except for on the table, where there was something draped in a dark towel. And that something was rustling.

“Wr-wrath?” A faint voice asked, tremulous as if the speaker were crying. “Apathy?” The voice was too faint and high for Logan to readily identify.

“I am neither. I am Logic.”

There was a faint sob. “I-I’ve learned my lesson. I have, I swear! Please… I-it’s so small. Logic, please, I promise, I’ll hold the thoughts in, I won’t let them out, I won’t try to leave, I’ll stay right here, I swear I will, please!”

Logan still couldn’t identify the voice, or discover where it was coming from, unless it were under the towel. But the cage still stood between him and the towel. He didn’t see a door on the cage either. This whole room seemed made to defy logic.

“Please what?”

There was a broken sob, the breath hitching as if the speaker were nearly hyperventilating. “Let me out. Please! Let me out, let me out, LET ME OUT!!!” The final phrase was less spoken than it was screamed, and there was a movement from the towel, and a clinking like metal.

Whatever was under there, it screamed and thrashed, sounding far more than terrified.

“I can’t, I don’t know how—“

“LET ME OUT!!!” Any further words devolved into a long, howling screech.

Logan was frozen. Caught between his intense desire to do something, anything, and his inability to do so. He couldn’t enter the cage without a door. Nor could he exit the room. He couldn’t help whoever it was, and they were clearly both terrified and in need of help.

“Listen, you need to get yourself under control, if you continue to panic there will be a possibility of falling unconscious.”

“YOU THINK I HAVEN’T PASSED OUT AND WOKE UP STILL TRAPPED A MILLION TIMES ALREADY!!!”

There was another screech, their breath clearly starting to come short.

Logan glared, and swung a fist into the bars of the cage. Nothing happened, of course. It was infuriating, but it made sense, unlike the rest of this room.

No.

No.

The room did NOT make sense.

It was NOT logical.

It should NOT exist in this way.

The door ought to have a handle. The cage ought to have a door, and a lock, and a key hanging somewhere out of reach. The light ought to be bright enough to see adequately, and ought to be either red or not red.

Logan grabbed the keys off the wall, and unlocked the cage door. He pulled the towel off to find a much smaller gold cage, and a tiny Remus squished inside, kicking against the bars and screaming.

That wasn’t right.

It wasn’t Logical for Remus to be so small, nor to be caged. He was a necessary part of Thomas.

Remus stretched out on the bare floor, hyperventilating, with tears pouring out of his eyes.

Unfortunately, such distress was logical after such an experience.

Logan knelt beside him, holding one hand in an attempt to provide comfort without overwhelming him. Remus’s eyes fixed on his, wild and desperate. His breath caught, and he thrashed, struggling.

“Breathe out, as much as you can manage.”

“Can’t!” Remus forced out, and promptly gasped in more air.

“You can, you just did. Say something again, anything. Whatever you’d like to say.” Logan prepared himself for a sudden tirade of inappropriate language.

Remus’s mouth opened and shut, but nothing came out. His struggling weakened somewhat.

Logan thought hard, trying to think of something, anything, Remus could manage to follow while in his current state. And then he realized.

“Remus, you are essentially a figment of Thomas’s imagination. You do not require air.”

Remus’s breathing stopped entirely, his body going limp.

It was a long minute before he breathed in again. He made a very Remus grin. “I think I prefer breathing. Not as fun as all the kinky people make it out to be.”

Logan let out a long, relieved sigh.

The door suddenly banged open, and Anxiety stumbled in, bleeding from what looked to be more than one place.

“Lock it! Logic, lock it!”

Logan waved his hand, and both of the two ‘dark sides’, along with a sleeping Deceit, and Patton and Roman as well, were all in a facsimile of Thomas’s living room. They were all figments, after all. Thoughts. Able to cross the mind at incredible speeds.

Logan cleared his throat loudly, standing up on the couch to command attention from them all.

“I would like a thorough explanation.”

[happybeeps-nat]

Fluff #2 and kisses #21??? Canon verse if possible???? If not tho modern works :)))

Excited Kisses, "You're so adorable!" (post-ROS)

Poe could spend hours just looking at Finn. Has in fact done so already, but that's details. Details everyone on base was aware of, including Finn himself. They were adults, they were fighters in a war, they could talk about their feelings for maker's sake! They've done that a lot of times, Poe knew how Finn felt about him and he had made sure Finn knew as well. Life was too short, war was too unpredictable to keep these things to yourself. Everyone was on the same page there. 

But they couldn't be more. Not until they could fully be in the first place. And they agreed on that, too. It was easy like that with Finn. 

So he knew Poe loved him, in a way, but there was no time for anything more than knowledge. Words and feelings had to suffice until after, when they could have a chance, a real chance, for the first time ever. There were actually many people on base who did the same, who fought first and loved second.

That didn't make it easy, though. That didn't make the thought of going out there for the big fight any easier. The thought of him being up there in his X-Wing and Finn being down there with Jannah and the rest, being the hero he's always been to Poe. Knowing that some of them might not make it back. 

But it was never about being easy. It was always about being. So he walked up to Finn who was securing his blaster holsters, checking his ammo and grenades with a tactical precision Finn would probably never get out of his system. 

"Good luck out there," Poe said quietly. 

Finn turned to him a genuine smile only vaguely overshadowed by fear and determination. "Thanks, man. You, too!"

They looked at each other for a moment before Poe threw caution and principle to the wind and closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around Finn in a tight hug. 

Finn's reaction was immediate and he burrowed his face in the crook of Poe's neck to breathe him in. He was in his flight suit that probably smelled stale and sweaty and of adrenaline from ages ago, but that didn't stop Finn. It touched Poe in a way he couldn't describe. 

"Come back to me," Poe whispered and dared to press a soft, lingering kiss against Finn's cheek before burying his face against his shoulder again. 

Finn's arms tightened around him, impossibly tighter, trying to get even closer to Poe, not ready to let him go anytime soon. Poe could relate. 

"I will if you come back to me first," Finn answered, sounding a little breathless here, but maybe that was just because the hug was crushing both of them in the best way. Poe's heart was feeling weird, it was racing and he felt light like he was nosediving his X-Wing, but he wasn't. That was all Finn. And the little kiss. 

He really didn't want to let go. He wanted to quip, wanted to make light of the situation they were in, but he couldn't. This was serious. This was important. 

So he pulled back and looked Finn in the eyes. "Okay, I promise." He dared to press another kiss against Finn's cheek, this one lighter, secret, like the promise he'd just made. 

"And then I get more of this?" Finn asked, his voice no more than a whisper, not needing to be more than a whisper because they existed in their own little bubble while beings around them prepared for take-off to a battle they were not prepared for. 

Poe nodded, looking down at Finn's lips involuntarily, and smiled. "Yeah, absolutely." He felt just as breathless as Finn sounded. He would never understand that, how it was so easy for Finn to steal his breath, but he was certainly not complaining. 

And so, with one last hug, they parted. They went to battle. And they returned. 

At first, there was no time for more, because everything happened at once, and everyone was so happy, and everyone demanded each of their attention elsewhere and so for most of the day after the Battle of Exegol, they didn't get the chance to talk. Or do anything else. 

And then there was a party, and everyone was celebrating with an abundance of stories and alcohol and Poe found himself enraptured by a story Lando told of the old Rebel days, stories of himself with Luke, Leia and Han. And he found himself smiling again, and then he thought about smiling, and then about being happy, and then, inevitably, about Finn. 

Finn. Where was Finn? 

Poe got up from where they were all sitting in a circle on the ground, a few bottles of strong liquor making the rounds but Poe hadn't felt like getting drunk. He didn't want to spoil this. He didn't wanna risk forgetting the most victorious day of his existence. He wanted, needed, to stay sober for his own sanity. 

And he wanted, needed to find Finn. 

"Poe!" came the voice of the man he so desperately wanted to wrap around and hold tight until the end of time. 

He turned around, knowing his face was already lighting up like a supernova. "Finn!"

The other man had a huge smile on his face as he came towards Poe, his steps sure, just a little off, which told Poe that Finn had been drinking. For some reason that made him really happy, because Finn had never really liked drinking, he had always been on the lookout, ready to dive back into a fight, ready to lead, ready to not be intoxicated for his own pleasure and risk a few lives including his own. 

And how here he was, tipsy, because they had won. For once, they could do this! 

By the time Finn reached him, he was laughing. Excited, elated, absolutely ecstatic, and Poe couldn't help but laugh along with him. 

"Come with me," Finn said and took Poe's hand, walking straight past him with a slightly staggering step, and led the way outside where the cool air of the night greeted them with a very welcome change. 

Poe took a deep breath, aware that his hand was still firmly gripped by Finn's. He didn't dare move, he didn't dare speak, he just looked at Finn and breathed. Like he had done for years. 

Before he could release the breath that was straining his lungs, though, Finn turned around and kissed him. Actually, really kissed him. His aim was a little off just like his steps, but that didn't matter, because in no way was Poe wrong about this. Finn was kissing him. 

Not deeply, not for long, because he immediately pulled back and grinned at Poe. "I get to do that now. Right?" He was a little breathless. "You promised that we could, that I could kiss you, and I really wanna keep doing that, so-"

Once Poe's brain finally caught up, he leaned in and shut Finn up with a kiss of his own. A small peck to his lips, a yes in every sense of the word, a promise made and a promise kept. 

"Good," Finn said before moving in again, kissing him, pouring all his happiness, his joy and excitement into these little gestures. Little, yet still bigger than Poe felt he deserved. 

A peck. A lingering kiss that Finn tried to deepen but he had to pull away to smile at Poe, to laugh, and to go back in for the next kiss, chuckling all the way through, and Poe couldn't think of a moment in his life where he had been more filled with absolute love like his love for Finn in this moment. His love for the both of them and what they could be, because this sentiment reached further than either of their existence. He wasn't only in love with Finn but with everything they could ever be. Being in love with Finn was like being in love with the stars. 

Finn kissed him. And kissed him and kissed him, his fingers tangled in Poe's clothes and then cradling his face. He was trying to be serious, trying to sober up, but he couldn't quite get there. And Poe didn't mind, because for the first time ever, Finn was free. Really free. And what he chose to do with this freedom was kiss Poe Dameron. So all Poe could do was laugh along and kiss him back with matched enthusiasm, grab onto him, hold him, not ever let go of him. 

Finn laughed against his mouth, and so did Poe. "You're so adorable," Poe said eventually before pressing another kiss to Finn's lips, his nose, his cheek, then his lips again, his heart beating its way out of his chest and right into Finn's. 

"Let me," Finn chuckled, finally managing to stay away from Poe's numb lips for a second and went in for a hug, just holding onto Poe for a moment. "I'm glad you're alive. And that I'm alive and that I get to do this. Let me be adorable for once, I've never been that." 

"Oh, that's a lie, you've been plenty adorable," Poe countered, moving one hand up and down Finn's back. 

"Yeah?" Finn asked, a little unsure there. 

"Oh yeah. Like that time we escaped and you shot those Ties? Peak adorableness the way you don't hold back on your emotions. And the way you look at your friends. At me. And the way you kiss. Adorable. It's all you, and it's adorable, and I-" 

Finn's lips were on his again, stronger this time, deeper, longer. He was cradling Poe's face again and Poe never wanted to lose Finn's warm hands on his cheeks, his warm lips, his dark eyes. He wanted to stay in this moment a bit longer. 

So they did.

[azems-familiar]

2, 4, 19, 39 for that pairing ask thing, for revan/alek/bastila of course

2) how’s their team work? do they share well?

so this Really depends on what era/verse of the gang but in 90% of them Alek and Bastila have this Silent Petty Rivalry going on for ages while Revan is utterly oblivious because holy shit Two Whole People. Revan is not smart. given that i write them as a V (haaard headcanon Bastila as a lesbian), Alek and Bastila utterly refuse to admit they’re friends for ages - oh my god the rivalry in the hp au is especially hilarious - but they Band Together the moment anyone threatens Revan. there are petty contests over who gets to get the closest seat next to Revan and many other things, it’s objectively hilarious, especially since they’re all completely awful at communication.

they do eventually get their shit together though and end up a good, solid team. there are a lot of things Revan shares with Alek that Bastila just can’t in the end understand, especially related to the war in my canon verse (i could give you a whole other set of paragraphs about them in the hp au ask me on discord if you really want that ramble), but post Star Forge there’s also a lot that Revan can only really talk to Bastila about - re the Council, the mind wipe, and Bastila understands the fall and return a lot better given that Revan post-Reveal went a little off the deep end into the Dark Side before realizing that oh, she doesn’t actually Want That. so they manage to find their footing and a good dynamic because Alek and Bastila both love Revan a lot and so are able to put aside their differences for her. (although there’s a whole lot to work through immediately post-SF re Bastila’s whole. imprisonment. which is a bit of a mess. but that’s another subject i’m rambling OOPS)

4. first impression of each other? was it love at first sight?

Revan and Alek met in the creche when Revan was five and Alek six. they Instantly Bonded. Alek’s realization of oh shit i’m in love happened the night they were knighted - Revan was nineteen and Alek twenty, and look he knew he’d had feelings but he’d been trying to avoid them, but then they went out and stole a speeder together and took it for a joyride and Revan was laughing into the wind and oh. oh no. then he spent four YEARS suffering in silence because she was too stupid and oblivious to pick up on it or realize her Own feelings until midway through the first war.

meanwhile, Revan’s first impression of Bastila was her fighting Brejik after the swoop race. Revan watched her and went oh no and Carth, who had previously been rebuffed because “i don’t do romance”, went “yeah i think i’m just not your type”. he was very right.

Bastila on the other hand has had a sort of hero worship crush on Revan since midway through the Mandalorian Wars, when she would hide bootleg holos of Revan’s fights under her mattress and even though she had no idea what Revan actually looked like it was a Whole Thing. meeting Revan as Shala did not help this crush in the slightest.

19) what do they fight about? what are their arguments like? how do they make up?

Actual Arguments are pretty rare; most of the times their fights are about incredibly small, stupid, petty things and they’re just bickering. all three of them bicker with each other as a form of affection. the Real Actual arguments tend to come over things like Revan deciding to abandon a planet to save Alek’s life during the war (because oh Yeah does that come out at some point post-amnesia) or about Revan’s sacrifices in general or about Revan running off to do something incredibly stupid alone because clearly that’s her best plan.

Revan and Alek get extremely sharp and cutting with each other if it’s bad, or they just get snappy in general because Revan is Determined and Alek is equally determined because he’s worried, damn it, Revan, and then Revan storms off and there are shields for like. a few hours. HOURS max. they’re too codependent to be apart longer than that especially with the bond. post SF it’s a bit different but i haven’t quite worked out all the details of their relationship there yet. they generally make up with a lot of silent apology and promises of affection across the bond and a lot of cuddling. Alek is almost always the one who gives in first.

Revan and Bastila’s arguments are a lot more explosive because Bastila also has a temper, they are vaguely less codependent, they tend to say things they’ll regret later and then Revan will go complain to Alek about it and he’ll get very annoyed. (on the Hawk it’s Jolee who plays relationship counselor. he is so tired. s o  t i r e d) eventually Revan finds a way to apologize without actually apologizing and generally attempts to like, do something thoughtful or bring Bastila something nice to help. Bastila, who is less ridiculously proud, can actually say the words “i’m sorry” without having an allergic reaction.

Alek and Bastila.... well. they can go for days on end without speaking to each other, while remaining perfectly unified on Revan’s Behalf. is this a healthy dynamic? perhaps not. but when has this triad ever been healthy.

39) who initiated the relationship? who kissed who first? when did they realize they were in love?

oh my god you’re hitting me with ALL the juicy questions today. SO.

i’ve already written a little of this and in the answers above, Alek realized he was in love with Revan on Coruscant when they were both knights, but he and Revan have a Force bond so clearly she Knew and thus if she Felt The Same she’d do something about it, and she never did, so clearly his feelings weren’t reciprocated, so it’s F i n e, clearly, he suffers in silence until a year into the war - i have written this scene! - at which point Revan kisses him while they’re back on Coruscant for her promotion to Supreme Commander. she’s going to figure out that she’s in love with him (as opposed to just loving him) either after Fett injures him on Lantillies or during the whole. Clefar shenanigans, i don’t know the specifics, i haven’t written it yet and i didn’t think they’d get together this early in the war so there’s that. they don’t actually Talk about being in a relationship like, at all, ever, they just don’t talk about this Thing between them, because there’s the war and then there’s Vitiate and then there’s the Sith and then there’s another war and then-

they do end up talking about it post-SF at Bastila’s encouragement because Revan finally gets most of her memories back and is Clearly Moping and Alek is Also Moping. god i’m going to have to write that aren’t i.

with Revan (should i say Shala?) and Bastila, hmm. i’m honestly not so sure on this one in my canon verse? it’ll make itself more clear as i write that fic, but i know that Shala has a hell of a lot of realizations post-Leviathan and i feel like this is one of them. i really want to say their first kiss is in the fucking, submarine thing on Manaan on the way back post-Star Map, because that was a Hellish experience, and then they do things Bastila regrets (except she doesn’t except she does except-) on the Hawk after, and then ofc the Leviathan happens. Bastila definitely kisses Revan first and i think she might realize she’s a little in love on Kashyyyk when Revan does the whole free the Wookiees thing? hmmm i’m going to have to poke at that more. 

anyway they have this whole scene at the temple of the ancients which is one of the few things from the kotor fic i have visualized in my head because it’s the moment Revan decides she’s going to choose the Light over the Dark and it’s massively important character-wise and i’m actually super super excited to finally get there so i can write it. post-SF they’re actually dating because they finally have a Sort Of Talk about it.

oh my god this got so long but i’m Not Sorry and i have approximately 30k more words to say on the subject especially related to the HP AU but i will shut up now lol. thank you for the questions!

[forthehunger]

I AM MADE OF MEMORIES

NAME: Patroclus ALIAS: Son of Menoetius, Prince of Opus, Patroclus Chironides, Skops, Best of men, Best of the Myrmidons SPECIES: Human ETHNICITY: Mixed (African, Mediterranean, Polynesian, Greek, possibly other) YEAR OF BIRTH: Unknown ORIENTATION: Bisexual Biromantic (cis-male, he/him) HOMETOWN: Opus (Opuntian Locris) OCCUPATION: Exiled prince, healer, soldier, student of pre-med, doctor (verse dependent)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

FACECLAIM: Jordan Fisher HAIR COLOR: Black EYE COLOR: Brown HEIGHT: 5 feet 6 inches PIERCINGS: TBD SCARS: Faint scar on his left knee, several thin pale scars on his legs

RELATIONSHIPS

MOTHER: Queen Philomela of Opus (formerly of Athens) FATHER: King Menoetius of Opus PATRON: King Pelion of Pthia MENTOR: Chiron SOULMATE, BEST FRIEND: Achilles Peleides

TALENTS & ABILITIES

Though Patroclus is an average soldier at best, it is important to note that who he measures himself against is Achilles. As children he had been able to keep up, more or less, with his demigod companion. Patroclus is not in the same league as popular Greek heroes like Achilles, Odysseus, or Ajax, but he’s not entirely incompetent either.

During their joint training under Chiron, Patroclus and Achilles learned how to hunt, heal sick animals, set splints, clean wounds, recognize herbs, plants, fungi and their healing properties, and whether or not they were edible. They also learned carpentry, blade-forging, the art of surgery, reading constellations, plus the myths that go along with them. 

In the war with Troy, Patroclus is able to utilize what he learned on Mount Pelion. He worked to treat the wounded in battle alongside the Greek’s camp physician, Podelarius, and his brother Machaon. . 

NOTES ON THE PORTRAYAL

My portrayal will be based on Madeline Miller’s book, The Song of Achilles, with influences from The Iliad. Patroclus was once the Prince of Opus, Son of King Menoetius and Queen Philomela. At age five, he first caught sight of golden Achilles when his father hosted the games (quite possibly an Olympic-like collection of sports) where Achilles won and was awarded the victor’s garland. 

At age nine, Patroclus set forth a proposal for Helen of Sparta’s hand, which was then rejected as Helen chose to wed Menelaus. This disappointed Menoetius so thoroughly that he angrily pulled his son off a bench so they could leave instead of join the consequent celebration. It was never brought up again. Shortly after, he accidentally murdered a nobleman’s eldest son named Clysonymus, who was harassing Patroclus into surrendering his dice. 

As punishment, Patroclus was exiled to Phthia, after King Peleus paid for him in his weight in gold. He was stripped of his title and disowned. He felt a significant amount of guilt and shame over his circumstances and it made him aloof around Peleus’ other wards. Achilles earned his friendship over time and Patroclus started to spend a lot of time with him.  

Key events from this point onward include their training at Mount Pelion, Thetis’ disapproval of Patroclus’ friendship with her son, Achilles’ hiding in the island of Scyros and his tryst with Princess Daidemaia which resulted in a pregnancy. Patroclus also slept with Daidemaia because the princess seemed desperately lonely. Important to note that Patroclus seemed to have physically enjoyed his time with Daidemaia even though his romantic feelings are exclusively for Achilles. 

Afterwards, when Odysseus found them in Scyros, Achilles and Patroclus are forced to join Menelaus’ war. Princess Iphigenia is brutally sacrificed to the goddess Artemis who Agamemnon has offended. At some point after a raid, Patroclus urged Achilles to rescue a prisoner named Briseis from Agamemon’s grasp. Patroclus and Briseis form an easy friendship and camaraderie. (Later on, Briseis came to harbor romantic feelings for Patroclus, which he said he wanted to return if only his heart wasn’t already tied to another.)

When Achilles’ pride was slighted, he refused to fight against Troy. He held back his forces from the war efforts which caused the Greeks to sustain significant damages. To prevent further deaths, Patroclus donned on the armor of Achilles so he could rouse the Myrmidons into joining the fight. He put himself at the center of it, which caught the attention of Hector. Patroclus ended up being slain by the Prince of Troy. 

VERSES

❖ MAIN: BEST OF THE MYRMIDONS ⟶ Covers all the events in book canon (TSOA + The Iliad influences).

❖ MODERN: A REMEMBRANCE OF STRENGTH ⟶ Patroclus is the disowned son of a politician. Another affluent family took pity and fostered him. Patroclus is 18+ in this verse and is in university, studying pre-med.

❖ FANTASY: MINGLE OUR ASHES ⟶ Exiled prince from the Kingdom of Opus, Patroclus was fostered by another king, and is now making his way throughout the world as a healer. Compatible with most fantasy verses.

[spn-safeandsound]

03. Hero Gets the Girl

Safe and Sound

Dean Winchester x Original Character

Episode: 1x03; Dead in the Water

Word Count: 8,106

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence and gore

Author’s Note: More like ‘Dean in the Water’, am I right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Make sure to reblog and like!

Masterlist in Profile Description!

Julia's nose practically touched the pages of her bible as she bent over it, reading a passage from First Corinthians. She only picked at the fries on her plate as she silently read her mother's favorite verse over and over. The page was almost worn, as it had been for years, and the verse was highlighted in blue so it stuck out. She had it memorized—it was only four words, after all—but something about seeing the words on the page calmed her down.

Do everything in love.

It was such a simple verse but her mom recited every day—sometimes more than a few times a day, depending on the situation. Naomi loved helping people until the day she died, running the philanthropy department of Petersen Sports Co. until she could no longer keep up. She was as saint like as you could get without actually being a saint but she never preached needlessly at you and she didn't push her beliefs on anyone.

She was Naomi...and Julia missed her so much.

November thirtieth was always hard on Julia, no matter what. Usually she barricaded herself in her room and watched her mom's favorite movie—which, ironically, was Dirty Dancing—and ate chocolate chip cookies but she didn't have the time or proper setting to do that. She was on the road with the Winchester brothers so that was doing a little bit to help her feel better.

Sam sat at her left and watched her carefully, looking at the melancholy expression on her face. "Did you call Beth yet?"

"She called me," she informed him, smiling softly at the thought of her oldest sister. "and she let me talk to Lizzie. She's such a talker these days."

Sam chuckled. "Well, she is Beth's kid."

"Yeah, that's true," Julia agreed; Dean may have thought that she talked too much but she didn't compare to Bethany. Her oldest sister's voice was probably the most recognizable sound to her because of her endless talking. "I called Abby."

"What's she up to?"

"A hunt down in Texas. She said something about a spirit. Levi's in meetings all day but we're gonna talk tonight."

"And your dad?"

Julia sighed heavily, looking down at her bible as her eyes started to sting. "Haven't heard from him."

Sam frowned in sympathy, watching as she practically curled into herself. She went back to reading her bible, her index finger trailing softly over the highlighted verse.

It was then that Dean walked over to them, a pile of newspapers in his hands so he could start looking for their next case. He sat in the stool on Julia's right side and stole a fry from her plate.

"You okay, shortcake?"

"Dean..." Sam gave him a warning look.

Sam knew how depressed Julia got on the last day of November. She didn't need his brother bothering her when the loss of her mom was still so fresh. Still, if anyone could understand her pain, it would be Dean. He was old enough to remember their mother and her death, so they had kindred experiences.

Dean immediately understood the look Sam gave him. He grimaced and softly patted Julia on the shoulder and Sam swore he saw his thumb rub soothing circles into the fabric of her shirt but he could just be imaging things. Either way, that was the closest he had seen Dean comfort a girl in his life.

Julia gave him a soft smile and pushed her plate of fries toward him. Sam watched in slight awe as Dean accepted the fries with a large smile; Julia never shared her fries with anyone. Sam couldn't count the amount of times his hand had been slapped away from her plate because he was trying to steal one—they were her ultimate favorite food.

Dean went to work on looking through the obituaries in the newspapers he collected, circling deaths that seemed suspicious. Sam pulled out his phone and started checking his emails, helplessly hoping that maybe his dad would have sent him one. Julia turned to Revelations and started studying for her New Testament final that she would be taking online.

"Can I get you anything else?" a pretty blonde waitress walked over to them, dropping a flirty smile at Dean.

Dean looked up, pen resting against his lips, and grinned.

Sam cleared his throat. "Just the check, please."

"Okay," the waitress sent Sam a smile and then turned to walk to the register on the other side of the bar.

Dean groaned in displeasure and glared at Sam over Julia's head. "You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while," he gestured toward the waitress, who was dressed for tips. "That is fun."

Sam gave Dean an unimpressed look, making the older brother sigh.

"Here, take a look at this," he slid the newspaper he was looking down the bar to him. "I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water, nothing."

"Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year," Dean continued. "None of the bodies were found, either."

Julia frowned and pulled the paper over to her, quickly reading through the obituary. "She was the swim team captain at her school?"

"Yep," Dean confirmed. "None of the other bodies were found, either. They had a funeral two days ago."

Sam looked over at him, his eyebrows raised. "A funeral?"

"Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin," Dean shrugged. "For, uh, closure of whatever."

Julia was all for whatever helped people cope with their grief but she didn't really understand why the family just didn't have a memorial for the poor girl. Then again, it certainly wasn't her business.

"Closure," Sam scoffed sourly. "What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them."

Dean turned in his stool to face Sam, sensing his displeasure. Truthfully, he'd picked on up the fact that Sam was irritated they weren't actively trying to find Dad for a few days now. "Something you want to say to me?"

Dean was an upfront guy; he didn't like passive aggressive bullshit.

Sam inhaled deeply. "The trail for Dad—it's getting colder every day."

"Exactly," Dean pointed out. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything."

"You know what, I'm sick of your attitude," Dean's eyes narrowed in irritation as his voice lowered in anger. "You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do?"

"Yeah, I know you do, it's just—"

"I'm the one who's been with him every day for the past four years while you've been off to college going to pep rallies," Dean cut Sam off coldly. "We will find Dad but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there, okay?"

Sam rolled his eyes heavily, making Dean bristle. Sensing that their argument was going to stumble out of control—like they sometimes did with brothers who both had the famous Winchester temper—Julia spoke up.

"Please stop, all right?" she looked between them, her eyes wide and sad; Dean and Sam almost immediately melted—her puppy-eyed look was almost lethal compared to Sam's. "Please."

"All right," Sam sighed, giving in. "Lake Manitoc. How far?"

Dean grinned at him and grabbed the check when the waitress delivered it, a phone number at the bottom.

-

They reached Lake Manitoc within a couple of hours, having already been in Minnesota for a small spirit case that had Julia torching her first corpse. They decided to head to the victim's family first before they went to the police station to question the sheriff about the recent drownings and missing bodies.

The Carlton residence was a basic cabin, right on Lake Manitoc. It was a cute little home with dark green shutters that made Julia smile sadly. The house looked well loved and she felt horrible that the family was going through this kind of grief.

Grief from a family member dying was one thing. When that person died of something that couldn't easily be explained? That was worse—much, much worse.

Dean knocked on the front door of the cabin; a man around his age opened the door, giving them a questioning look.

"Will Carlton?" Dean asked him; the man nodded. "I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamill and junior Agent Fisher. We're with the US Wildlife Service."

Behind his back, Julia gave him an unimpressed look. Did he think he was being slick using the most notable stars of the popular Star Wars franchise? And he had to quit with this junior agent and intern stuff—she wasn't that much younger than him and Sam and she wasn't a kid by any means.

"More questions?" Will sighed.

Julia gave him a sad smile. "Sorry, but it's for our investigation."

Will nodded and walked out onto the porch. He led them closer to the lake, his eyes on the closest dock. There was an older man sitting on it, looking out at the lake with depressed eyes.

"First off, we'd like to give you our condolences," Sam said softly as came to a stop. "We've heard great things about Sophie."

Will gave him a half-hearted smile that spoke volumes with just how sad he was. Julia's heart ached with sympathy.

Sam and Dean started asking him questions, hoping to get a better insight on the circumstances surrounding Sophie's death. They were careful not to offend the man while also trying to get as much information as they could.

"She was about a hundred yards out," Will nodded at the lake, answering Sam's question about where he last saw Sophie. "That's where she was dragged down."

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?" Dean prodded.

"Yeah," Will scoffed and smiled fondly. "She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub."

"So, no splashing? No signs of distress?"

"No, that's what I'm telling you."

"Did you see any shadows in the water?" Sam followed up. "Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?"

"No," Will shook his head. "Again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean spoke up.

"No, never. Why?" Will stiffened, looking paranoid. "Why, what do you think is out there?"

"We'll let you know as soon as we do," Julia assured him kindly. "Thanks for your time, Mr. Carlton."

"What about your father?" Sam asked Will as Julia and Dean started back toward the Impala; they paused to listen to Will's answer. "Can we talk to him?"

Will looked over to the dock; his dad was in the same position, looking down at the dark water below him. "Look, if you don't mind, I mean," he said hesitantly. "he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

Sam nodded and gave him a small smile. "We understand. Thanks again."

Julia, Dean, and Sam got into the Impala and drove off. As they headed to the police station to ask the sheriff for more details about the case, it was almost too quiet. It unnerved Julia because usually Dean had some of his music playing and although she wasn't the biggest fan of mullet rock—as Sam put it—she preferred it to silence.

"Why isn't there any snow?" she spoke up, looking out her window. "Shouldn't there be snow?"

She had lived in Chicago all of her life up until she left for college in California and there was usually some snow that fell around this time of year. And Chicago was much more south than Lake Manitoc. Bethany had told her just that morning that they had a few inches of snow already at home.

"Global warming's a bitch," Dean answered.

Julia laughed lightly in agreement before picking up the local newspaper she bought when they got to town. She had been interested in the front headline, which was giving the town's residence more details about the nearby dam that was falling apart. When they arrived at the police station, she had read the whole article and discovered that the government had decided not fund any repairs.

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" the sheriff, who introduced himself as Jake, asked them as he led them to his office.

"You sure it's accidental?" Sam raised his eyebrows at him. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what? Here, sit please," Jake gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk; Dean let Julia and Sam sit in them. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person unless it was the Loch Ness Monster."

"Yeah," Dean chuckled awkwardly. "Right."

"Will Carlton was traumatized and sometimes the mind plays tricks," Jake went on as he sat in his own seat. "Sill, we dragged that lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird, though," Dean commented. "I mean, that's the third missing body this year."

"I know," Jake agreed sadly and a little defensively. "These are my people from my town. These are people I care about."

"I know."

"Anyway," Jake sighed and leaned back in his chair. "All this won't be a problem much longer."

Dean gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the dam, of course."

"It's falling apart," Julia spoke up, knowing that their aliases probably should have known about something that would so drastically affect the town's wildlife; Sam and Dean gave her questioning looks while Jake nodded solemnly.

"And the Feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway," Jake added; Dean and Sam were impressed with Julia's sudden knowledge of the town that saved their asses. "In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town, either."

Dean gave the sheriff a weak smile and went to speak but wasn't able to. An attractive woman around his age had knocked on the door, getting the man's attention.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" the woman asked sheepishly. "I can come back later."

Jake stood up; Julia and Sam followed his lead. "This is my daughter."

Dean grinned at her. "Pleasure to meet you," he shook her hand. "I'm Dean."

"Andrea Barr," the woman introduced herself. "Hi."

"Hi."

"They're from the Wildlife Service," Jake informed Andrea pointedly. "About the lake."

Andrea's face visibly fell. "Oh."

A little boy with a bored and depressed expression on his face walked into the room after her. Julia gave him a small smile; she loved kids and had always wanted to be a mother but, unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards for her.

"Oh, hey there," Dean spotted the boy too. "What's your name?"

The boy seemed very shy; he hurried away from them to go sit at a table outside of the office. Andrea gave them an apologetic look and followed after him, taking out crayons and some paper to give him.

"His name is Lucas," Jake informed them, watching his grandson with a sad smile.

Julia perked up at the name. She felt like it was a sign from her guardian angel that she happened to be working a case on the anniversary of her mom's death that involved a boy with her father's name. He hadn't contacted her at all today, so she felt like the angels were assuring her that she'd be okay.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked, watching the little boy take the crayons from his mother and start to draw on the construction paper in front of him.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have," Jake sighed as he walked toward his office door. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

"Thank you for your help," Julia smiled at the sheriff gratefully as they left his office.

"You know," Dean turned back to Jake and Andrea halfway out of the station, though he was speaking mostly to Andrea. "now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"

"Lakefront Motel," Andrea informed him. "Go around the corner. It's about two blocks up."

"Two—" Dean scratched his head, acting confused. "Would you mind showing us?"

Andrea chuckled, amused. "You want me to walk you two blocks?"

Dean smiled sheepishly. "Not if it's any trouble."

"I'm headed that way anyway," Andrea turned to her dad. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three," she kissed her son's head and promised, "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?"

"Thanks again," Sam told Jake before he and Julia followed Dean and Andrea out of the station.

As they walked through the bustling town square, Julia squinted around. It was pretty much December and it wasn't cold and there was no sign of winter weather. Andrea was wearing a t-shirt and skirt for crying out loud and no one that they passed was wearing any sort of coat. The only sign that it had been fall was the bare trees and dead leaves blowing around in the slight breeze.

"So," Dean cleared his throat to get Andrea's attention. "cute kid."

"Thanks," Andrea smiled before leading them across a street.

"Kids are the best, huh?" he laughed.

Andrea gave him a clearly amused look but didn't answer as they walked closer to the motel. They stopped on the sidewalk in front of the building and Andrea turned to Dean with a smirk.

"There it is," she gestured to the motel. "Like I said, two blocks."

Julia laughed lightly, amused at the woman's spunk. She liked that she wasn't falling at Dean's feet like most women would. She was smart and knew that he was trying to get on her good side. "Thanks."

Andrea grinned at her before looking back at Dean. "Must be hard with your sense of direction," she commented, her tone sarcastic. "never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line."

Julia gaped at her, a laugh escaping her throat before she could stop it. Andrea left with a satisfied smirk on her face, calling back to them, "Enjoy your stay!"

Dean was at a loss for words but he did manage to send Julia an annoyed look. Julia controlled her laughter but she was beaming at him, her cheeks red with mirth and her dimple out.

Sam grinned at Dean, just as amused as Julia. "Kids are the best?" he repeated Dean's earlier line. "You don't even like kids."

"I love kids!" Dean defended himself.

"Name three children that you even know," Sam dared him.

"Lizzie," Dean said immediately, naming Julia's five-year-old niece.

"Okay, that's one," Julia commented. "How about two more?"

Dean pressed his lips together and pulled his hands out of his pockets to count on his fingers. He took too long to say another name, since he didn't know any other children, and Sam got bored. He started toward the motel's front off with Julia on his trail.

"I'm thinking!" Dean called after them, scratching his head.

-

Since Julia was paying for this motel stay—she, Sam, and Dean agreed that she would pay for every-other motel they had to stop at—she splurged for an extra room like usual. When the Winchester were paying, she had to share the bed with Sam but she enjoyed a room to herself, especially since Sam was a giant and took up eighty-five percent of the bed. The only thing was that the rooms had to be connected; Dean was adamant about that, especially since she was in training and he was worried if something would happen.

Dean's concern was sweet but sometimes Julia liked her privacy. Especially since she spent all of her time with two grown men.

She laid on the bed in her room on her stomach, her feet swaying in the air above her as she typed the class discussion that was due that night for her Archaic Latin class. The connecting door to Sam and Dean's room was open and she could hear Sam typing away but other than that, it was pretty quiet other than her quiet humming that helped her concentrate on her work.

She looked up from her laptop as Dean entered her room.

"You saved our asses back there at the station, you know."

She gave him a confused look, having already forgotten what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"What you said about the dam," he reminded her. "If you hadn't of said something, I'm pretty sure our cover would have been blown."

"Oh," Julia smiled like she did whenever she received praise and looked back at her screen. "It was just luck. I saw an article about it on the newspaper I picked up at the gas station when we got to town."

"Well, either way," Dean shrugged. "You did good," he sat down at the end of the bed, just behind her computer. "Whatcha doing?"

"Class discussion," her eyes were back on him, unable to focus now.

"Class?"

Julia nodded at the confused look on his face. "It's the last week before finals."

"What class?"

"Classes," she elaborated, sharing her class schedule. "New Testament, Archaic Latin, Aramaic, Islam, and French."

Dean gave her an impressed look. "You're doing all of that online?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed. "I had an internship at Stanford so I was able to do my classes online."

"What about next semester?"

"Already registered and they're all online again," she assured him.

"And then you graduate?"

Julia nodded proudly; she had worked so hard on her education all her life, even skipping a few grades so they she could attend college with Sam. "Double major in religion and linguistics."

"That's great, I'm really proud of you, Julia," Dean said with an impressed smile; Julia beamed at him. "Don't tell Sam but I kinda wished I went to college, too."

Julia gave him a surprised look. She had never heard Dean say anything about his want for higher education, especially since he dropped out of high school. "Really?" she asked. "What would you major in?"

"Mechanical engineering, I think," Dean answered her. "I like making things and working with my hands."

"You're great at that," Julia agreed, knowing that he would had been great at his job if he had gone down that road. "Remember when you built that barbie house for me?"

Dean grinned at the memory, his cheeks slightly flushing. "That's not quite the same, Junior."

"I know that, I'm just saying," Julia rolled her eyes playfully. "You're a genius with that kind of stuff."

Dean smiled, secretly pleased with what she was saying. Sam was the smart brother and he had always been but Dean had some tricks up his sleeve, too. It was nice to have someone acknowledge that side of him. Over the years he had picked up skills and making things was one of his favorites. He had made an EMF device out of a Walkman once, which he was particularly proud of and still used.

"Guys!" Sam called from the other room, breaking Julia and Dean out of their little world. "Come here, I found more information."

Dean got up and walked back into his room, Julia rolling out of bed to follow him. Sam was at the table, his laptop in front of him. He had been on the thing for an hour or so, so she wasn't surprised to see that he had discovered something.

"So, there's the three drowning victims this year," Sam stated, bringing up the information he complied.

"Any before that?" Dean asked quickly.

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered, either. If there's something out there, it's picking up its pace."

"Maybe it's picking up the pace because the lake's being drained," Julia spoke up thoughtfully.

"Might be," Sam agreed.

"So, we got a lake monster on a binge, huh," Dean said dryly, going over to sit on his bed.

Sam shook his head in disagreement. "This whole lake monster theory bugs me," he declared. He explained when Julia gave him a questioning look, "Loch Ness, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts. But here? Almost nothing."

"So, whatever's out there, no one's living to talk about it," Julia assumed.

Dean hummed in agreement and walked back over to the table, hovering over Sam to read over his shoulder. "Barr," he muttered, reading the latest drowning victim before Sophie Carlton. "Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?"

"Christopher Barr, the victim in May," Sam took a closer look at the article, scrolling further down the page. There was a picture of Lucas in the middle of the writing, bundled up in a large towel with soaked hair. "Oh, Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband and Lucas' father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating platform when Chris drowned; it was two hours before the kid got rescued."

Julia sighed sadly. "Poor little guy."

"Maybe we have an eyewitness after all," Sam scratched his head.

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out," Dean said quietly, getting Julia and Sam's attention. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

The knowing, faraway look in Dean's eyes made Julia's heart ache. Dean never talked about his mom or if he saw what actually happened to her. Julia assumed that he did, by his comment. It was hard for her to witness her mom die when she was a teenager and her mom died of something human. She couldn't imagine when Dean went through at four years old, watching his mom die because of a supernatural creature.

He was too young. No kid should have to go through something that traumatic.

-

Knowing that Andrea was picking up Lucas from her dad around three, Julia, Sam, and Dean headed to the park around the same time. They wanted to see if they could get anything out of Lucas without traumatizing him further and Dean had volunteered to talk to the kid while Sam and Julia spoke with his mom.

The three of them walked through the park, spotting Andrea sitting at a bench just outside of the play area. She was watching Lucas, who didn't seem like he wanted to join in on the rambunctious activities by the jungle gym. He was perfectly content to sit at a bench and color.

"Can we join you?" Julia asked Andrea as they approached the bench she was sitting on.

Andrea looked up, smiling slightly when she saw them there. "I'm here with my son."

"Oh, mind if I say hi?" Dean wondered, walking away toward Lucas before Andrea could agree to his request. Andrea didn't seem all that bothered by it, turning to Julia as she sat next to her.

"You should tell your friend that this whole Jerry Maguire thing is not gonna work on me," she said, amused, as they all watched Dean greet Lucas.

"I don't think that's what this is about," Sam spoke up, watching Dean thoughtfully.

"We heard about your husband," Julia said apologetically; Andrea frowned sadly. "Dean went through something similar as Lucas when he was a kid."

"Really?" Andrea looked relieved that he wasn't just talking to her son to get in her good graces.

Sam nodded. "Our mom," he explained. "I don't remember much but Dean—well, from what I heard, he didn't speak for a long while afterwards."

"I know the feeling," Andrea sighed sadly, glancing back at Lucas and Dean. "Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident."

"I'm sorry," Julia grabbed her hand and squeezed comfortingly as Dean started walking back over. "What are the doctors saying?"

"That's it's some kind of post-traumatic stress."

"That can't be easy," Sam said sympathetically; Dean coming to stand next to him. "for either of you."

"We moved in with my dad," Andrea smiled slightly. "He helps out a lot. It's just...when I think about what Lucas went though, what he saw..."

"Kids are strong," Dean said when she trailed off. "You'd be surprised what they can deal with."

"You know, he used to have such life," Andrea smiled back at Lucas as he left his bench; Julia grinned, thinking of her niece who was as crazy as little girls get. "He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now, he just sits there, drawing those pictures and playing with those army men. I just wish—" she abruptly changed the subject as Lucas came up to them. "Hey, sweetie."

Lucas' eyes were on the ground but he held out a picture he drew for Dean. The picture was of a cabin and it was pretty good for kid his age.

"Thanks," Dean looked at with a smile. "Thanks, Lucas."

Lucas just slouched off, going back to his bench to color.

-

-

The next morning, Dean and Julia were eating the breakfast he had picked up when Sam walked back into the room. He slammed the door shut behind him and took a seat next to Dean on his bed.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie," he said dryly.

Dean gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I just drove past the Carlton house," Sam informed them. "There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

Julia stiffened, horrified. "Did he drown?"

"Yep, in the sink."

"What the fuck?" Dean took the last bite of his breakfast sandwich. "So, you were right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."

"What could it be?" Julia wondered.

"I don't know," Dean shrugged. "Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water...water that comes from the same source."

"The lake," she stated; it seemed like her assumption the day before was correct. Whatever this thing was, it wanted to get its agenda done before the lake was completely drained.

"You were right, J," Sam commented. "It explains why it's upping the body count. It's running out of time."

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere," Dean added, standing up and crumpling his wrapper. "This is gonna happen again soon."

"And we do know one thing for sure," Sam sighed. "This has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

"It took both of his kids," Julia hummed.

"And I've been asking around," Sam added. "Lucas' dad, Chris? He was Bill Carlton's godson."

Dean sighed and pulled on his boots. "Well, let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."

-

Julia stayed in the car while Dean and Sam questioned Mr. Carlton, and talked to her brother, Levi, since they hadn't gotten to talk the day before. It was a nice conversation but a little awkward since they weren't the closest of siblings.

Levi and Abby were kind of loners growing up and now that Levi was an adult, he was quiet unless he was pitching meetings to the company or selling big item products. Still, Julia loved him and she was glad they got in touch. He was a little worried about her on the road and was more than a little skeptical about Dean and Sam training her as opposed to Abby or their dad but he liked the brothers so it didn't come from a bad place.

After Sam and Dean talked to Mr. Carlton—tried to talk, anyway, since the poor man didn't feel like talking—they discovered that the drawing Lucas gave Dean at the park was actually the cabin the Carltons lived. They went to Andrea's house next so Dean could talk to him and he was presented with another drawing, this time of a yellow two-story house near a church with a little stick-figure boy and a red bike.

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died," Dean informed Julia and Sam as they rode around town, searching for the yellow house in the drawing.

Honestly, this case was hitting close to home for all of them—but mostly for Dean and Julia. For Dean, he could see himself in the little boy; his parent died and he stopped speaking out of grief. For Julia, besides the fact that Lucas shared her dad's name, it was he that knew things that other people wouldn't always know.

Julia knew how that felt; all her life she knew of things that would just randomly pop into her head and, of course, she had the bad feelings she got once in a while, like with Dean and Sam. It would scare her in the beginning, to see her family look at her in confusion—like how she stated the day before the news broke about President Clinton that he was going to be on trial—but she never thought of herself as a freak. To her knowledge, her family didn't, either.

"There are cases—" Sam sighed doubtfully. "going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies..."

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean asked; Sam made an uncommitted sound that made him stiffen. "I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please."

"It wouldn't hurt, Sam," Julia spoke up. "You know that sometimes these things happen."

"All right," Sam gave into the pressure Dean and Julia were putting on him. "we got another house to find."

"The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone," Dean grumbled.

Julia hummed and leaned forward, studying the drawing on Sam's lap. "What about the church?"

"True," Sam agreed. "I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Ooh, college kids," Dean teased them playfully. "you think you're so smaht, huh?"

Sam laughed and Julia joined in, pushing Dean's shoulder before sitting back in her seat.

They drove around the town, looking for the churches in the area. They had already looked at four of them when they came across a white church, almost identical to the drawing Lucas gave Dean. Right across the street happened to be a yellow two-story.

Dean and Sam nodded at each other before the three of them walked up to the house and knocked on the door. An old woman answered the door, looking at them in confusion. She let them in without a word—and introduced herself as Helen Sweeney—so apparently they passed her silent test. Or she was just a sweet lady who didn't think any harm would come to her in a small town like Manitoc Lake.

"We're sorry to bother, ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance?" Dean asked her politely. "He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

"No, sir," Mrs. Sweeney said sadly. "Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now," she glanced at an old picture of an adolescent boy sitting on the nearest table. "The police never—I never had any idea of what happened. He just disappeared."

Julia pressed her lips together sadly and looked around Mrs. Sweeney's home. It looked like a shrine to her lost son. There were a bunch of pictures, toys, balls, and even some small green army men just like the ones they saw Lucas playing with.

"Losing him," Mrs. Sweeney shook her head slowly. "you know, it's...it's worse than dying."

Dean and Sam gave each other a pointed look—that was the exact phrase that Bill Carlton had used when talking about his recently-deceased children.

"Mrs. Sweeney," Julia gave her a gentle smile, keeping her voice soft. "Did Peter disappear from the house?"

Mrs. Sweeney shook her head. "He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school but he never showed up."

Julia gave her a sympathetic smile and helped her sit down before offering to get her a glass of water. As she disappeared into the kitchen, Mrs. Sweeney allowed Sam and Dean to look around.

Dean spotted a picture of Peter and another little boy in a mirror hung on the way. He studied it and then turned it over to read the writing on the back.

"Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen-seventy," he muttered.

With the realization that the whole situation with Peter Sweeney going missing and being somehow connected to Bill Carlton, the three of them left shortly after Julia came back into the room with a glass of water for Mrs. Sweeney.

Sam, Julia, and Dean theorized that Bill must have killed Peter when he was a little boy and was now going after Bill Carlton. First, he killed Bill's children so that he would know the pain his mother went through when he went missing and then he'd take Bill for himself. As they raced to Bill Carlton's house, they knew Peter had gotten his revenge.

Bill had gone out onto the lake with his small motorized boat and in the middle of it; the boat flipped over on a very small wave that came out of nowhere and Bill plunged into the lake. He didn't resurface.

Julia, Dean, and Sam were led into the police station by Jake for questioning about Bill's death. It was suspicious to the sheriff that they just so happened to be at Bill's cabin at the same time as his boat flipped over.

Andrea and Lucas were waiting for Jake with a bucket of fried chicken when they walked into the building. She looked up in surprise when she saw them trailing behind her father.

"Sam, Dean, Julia," she furrowed her eyebrows and stood up. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"So, now you're on a first-name basis?" Jake asked her. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought you dinner."

"Sorry, sweetheart," Jake apologized. "I don't really have the time."

Andrea glanced at Julia, Dean, and Sam before looking back at her father. "I heard about Bill Carlton," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?"

"Right now, we don't know what the truth is but I think it might be better if you and Lucas went home," Jake advised.

Lucas looked absolutely panicked at the thought of leaving the station. He jumped out of his chair and ran to Dean. He whimpered as he frantically clutched Dean's arm, tugging at him.

"Lucas, hey, what is it?" Dean asked worriedly.

"Lucas?" Andrea asked uncertainly.

"Lucas, it's okay," Dean comforted the little boy, making Julia's heart ache and melt at the sight—he was damn good with kids. "It's okay, Lucas. It's okay."

Andrea pulled Lucas away from Dean and Lucas let go with a reluctant and stricken face. Andrea silently led him out of the station, giving her dad as hesitant look as they went. Lucas looked back at Dean with fear the whole time he walked away.

Uncomfortable, Jake slipped off his jacket and threw it onto the chair at the front desk. He walked into his office and the others followed him, knowing that they were going to be questioned now.

"Okay, just so I'm clear," Jake sighed heavily, sinking into his chair. "you see...something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill—who is a very good swimmer, by the way—into the water and you never see him again?

Dean glanced at Julia and Sam before looking back at him. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"And I'm supposed to believe this even though I've already sonar-swept the entire lake?" Jake asked skeptically. "And what you're describing is impossible? And the fact that you're not really Wildlife Service?"

Julia's face fell in surprise. It wouldn't be far out to think that Dean and Sam felt the same way.

"That's right," Jake observed their expressions. "I checked. The department's never heard of you three."

Dean hastily started to make an excuse. "See, now, we can explain that."

"Enough," Jake snapped. "The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here."

Julia pressed her lips together; she really didn't like this guy.

"I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as a material witness to Bill's Carlton's disappearance," Jake listed, pointing a finger in their faces. "Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get in your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again."

Sam spoke up before Dean's temper and Julia's indignance got them into more trouble. "Door number two sounds good."

"That's the one I'd pick," Jake nodded harshly.

Julia, Sam, and Dean quickly took their leave, making a quick pit stop back at the motel to grab their things and check out. Dean was quiet as they loaded up the Impala and got some gas and when they pulled up to a red light that would lead them out of town and toward Milwaukee, he didn't move when the light turned green.

"Green," Sam drawled, getting Dean's attention.

"What?"

"The light's green."

Dean waited a few seconds before pressing the gas. He turned right, pulling onto the road that would bring them back into town.

"Uh, the interstate's the other way," Sam pointed out flatly.

"I know," Dean didn't seem to care.

Julia was glad that they were going back. They may have thought that only Bill Carlton and his family were connected to this but Lucas was so scared when his grandfather told him and his mom to leave the station. He had practically anchored himself to Dean before Andrea got him to let go. He was terrified and with all the correct signs he'd given them before, why wouldn't they believe him now?

"Dean, I think this job is over," Sam tried to get Dean to act rationally.

Dean shook his head firmly. "I'm not so sure."

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed," Sam pointed out. "The spirit should be at rest."

"All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done?" Dean asked him. "You know, what if we've missing something? What if more people get hurt?"

Sam gave him a weird look. "Why would you think that?"

Dean pressed his lips together and Julia spoke up in his defense. "Sam, Lucas looked really scared..."

Sam glanced back at her and, when she subtly nodded in Dean's direction, he looked back at his brother with wide eyes. "That's what this is about?"

"I just don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay," Dean declared firmly.

"Who are you?" Sam scoffed in amusement. "and what have you done with my brother?"

Dean glared at him. "Shut up."

"Dean, just admit you like kids," Julia rolled her eyes playfully.

"You shut up, too."

It was a good thing that Dean was so stubborn about going back to check on Lucas because, when they got to the Barr residence, Andrea was being drowned by Peter's spirit in the bathtub. Julia and Sam pulled her to safety while Dean held Lucas back from harm but it was still scary for the both of them.

It was when Dean discovered that Jake had been friends with Peter Sweeney and Bill Carlton that Lucas ran out of their house and pointed to a patch of dirt out by the lake. When Sam and Dean dug up Peter's red bicycle, Jake had arrived and threatened them with a gun.

It went quickly after that; Dean had confronted Jake about helping Bill Carlton kill Peter Sweeney and Jake admitted that it was an accident and they left the body go in the lake. Lucas was lured into the lake by Peter and Jake surrendered to the spirit in order to save his grandson.

Despite losing Jake, they were able to save Lucas and Andrea.

-

Dean was melancholy all morning the day after, still sulking about the fact that Jake had been killed by Peter. Julia was sad to see him so down on himself when he was the main person who kept Lucas and Andrea safe—he believed in Lucas and he made sure they stayed in town to protect them.

Sam noticed the same thing as Julia. "Look," he sighed as he slung his and Julia's bags into the trunk. "we're not gonna save everybody."

Dean nodded. "I know."

"Turn that frown upside-down, Bean," Julia used her childhood nickname for him and reached up, playfully poking his chin. The corners of his lips lifted even though he swatted her hand away from his face. "You guys saved Andrea and Lucas. That's what matters."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"Sam, Dean, Julia!" Andrea called as she and Lucas ran up to them.

"Hey," Dean grinned at her.

"We're glad we caught you," Andrea declared. "We just, uh, we made you lunch for the road. Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches for himself."

"That's super sweet of you, Lucas," Julia gave him a sweet smile.

Lucas smiled sheepishly and looked up at his mom. "Can I give it to them now?"

Julia's eyes widened when she heard Lucas speak and let out a small huff of relief. She could tell by the look in Andrea's eyes that she was so relieved to see her son back to his old self.

"Of course," Andrea kissed his head.

"Come on, Lucas, let's load this into the car," Dean gestured the kid over to the Impala.

When they were out of hearing range, Sam turned to Andrea. "How are you holding up?"

"It's gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?" Andrea smiled sadly.

Sam sighed apologetically. "Andrea, I'm sorry."

Andrea shook her head. "You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me and he loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold onto that."

Julia grinned at her. "You're very wise, you know? You remind me of my mom."

Sam gave his best friend a sad smile and wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulder. Andrea gave her a grateful look and Julia was surprised when she pulled both her and Sam into a hug. If it had been a different life, she could really see herself being friends with Andrea.

The three of them walked over to the Impala, where Dean was sitting in the backseat so he was down at Lucas' level.

"All right," they overheard him say to Lucas. "if you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phrase. So, I want you to repeat it one more time."

"Zeppelin rules!" Lucas exclaimed.

"That's right!" Dean grinned and held up his hand for a high-five. "Up high."

Lucas slapped his hand against Dean's. It was all very cute.

"You take care of your mom, okay?" Dean told Lucas seriously.

Lucas nodded. "All right."

Dean stood up when he noticed that Julia, Sam, and Andrea were watching them. Surprisingly, Andrea pulled Dean into a short kiss to show her thanks that had Sam and Julia raising their eyebrows at each other in amusement.

"Thank you," Andrea whispered as she pulled away from him.

Dean stared at her for a second before awkwardly scratching his head. "Sam, Jules, move your asses," he told Sam and Julia as he walked around to the driver's side. "We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."

He was being dramatic since it was ten in the morning but Sam and Julia indulged him. It was clear that he was feeling uncharacteristically awkward from the kiss Andrea gave him and it was all kinds of endearing.

Julia gave Andrea and Lucas a final smile. "You two be safe."

What was left of the Barr family agreed as she slipped into the backseat. They waved as Dean drove off, his music blasting loudly.

"Hero gets the girl," Julia sighed, leaning her chin on the front seat. "and the other two get ham sandwiches and bananas."

Sam chuckled while Dean rolled his eyes in amusement.

"I'll eat your sandwiches if you don't shut up."

"Touch them and die, bitch."

(Gif is not mine)

[jasontoddiefor]

Title: In the dark blue sky you keep Summary: Martha Wayne, the Bat of Gotham, wakes up in a world where here son never died. The difference is startling. AN: Based on an anon prompt in which Flashpoint Thomas and a Batman!Martha meet my happy imaginary canon verse.

Her son had green eyes.

Her son was dead.

Reflexively, Martha grabbed the imposter, clone, hallucination, Fear Toxin. Had someone finally figured out her identity? Was it Crane? No, he wasn’t smart enough on his own, maybe Two-Face had helped or Black Mask. He had been pretty annoyed she and that upstart with Joker’s old moniker had been decimating his empire-

“Grandmother! You’re hurting me!”

Bruce was struggling against her grip, cursing in Arabic under his breath, and Martha finally remembered. Shocked, she let go of Damian, who was quick to take a few steps back.

“Damian. I- I apologize.”

The teenager just sighed, feigning calmness, while still staring at her hand. He looked a lot like Talia wearing that expression. In her homeworld – dimension traveling was a concept Martha still wasn’t comfortable with – Talia had been a girl just as stubborn and proud as Damian. After her death, Martha had often wondered who she could have become, hadn’t the world wanted to get back at Ra’s al Ghul. It was strange to see a world where she had a son.

Where Martha’s son was a father himself.

“It’s fine,” Damian said. “I’ll tell the others to wake you with a broom or a ruler like we do with Baba. And breakfast is ready. Alfred said you can eat upstairs if you want to.”

She had eaten breakfast with everybody else for the past five days, even if it had been uncomfortable to sit next to Thomas again. This other world’s version of him was rough, broken. He didn’t resemble the sweet man Martha recalled. But she supposed she wasn’t much like his wife either. That Martha Wayne had fallen into despair and madness, thriving in the blood splatters of the Joker.

She hadn’t locked down her emotions like a Kane, taken off her wedding ring and traded it for a knife to become someone, something different.

This Bruce probably recognized neither of his parents in these killers wearing their faces.

“Do you have guests today?”

Damian shook his head. “No, just a full house. Everybody’s home again for the first time in weeks, so we’re all eating together. It’s become somewhat of a tradition. Baba wasn’t sure whether you or Grandfather would be up for that.”

Martha was the Bat.

Her life had never been a question of if she wanted to do something. She had to.

“Of course, I’m coming. I’d like to meet the rest of your siblings.”

“I’ll tell Alfred.”

Damian rushed out of her room – a guest room outside of the family wing of the manor – on silent feed. None of the people in Bruce’s family made a sound unless they wanted to. Martha hadn’t been able to stop herself from imagining what assets they must be on the battlefield.

Martha had never taken on a side-kick, or a hero in training, as the Justice League liked to call their junior members. Not that Martha was much of a hero or a vigilante with her poisons, syringes, knives and the League of Assassins on speed dial. She had worked together with the Justice League a few times when the whole world had been threatened by outside forces, but their methods didn’t agree with each other. She thought children were too young for Gotham, any city at all, and they hadn’t approved of the blood trail she left behind.

Martha got dressed. Alfred had rushed to a store after the first day so she could wear clothes that didn’t belong to her grandson’s ex-girlfriend. He had returned with a full batch of outfits, all similar in cut and style to what she used to wear.

Martha hadn’t had the heart to tell him she hadn’t worn a skirt in two decades.

After making sure she was presentable, she left to go to the dining room. Martha had gathered that they usually ate in the kitchen when only four members of the family were in the manor, but since her and Thomas’s arrival, they’d taken to eating in the dining room. With so many people attending – she’d heard a few names being dropped over the past days – they needed the space.

On her way across the manor, she encountered Thomas. He was finally clean-shaven and, wearing Bruce’s shirts, he appeared much younger than he had when they had first arrived.

They both mustered each other, but none of them really knew what to say.

“My room has a mural,” Thomas spoke up. “It’s a mix of spray painting and acrylics.”

Martha had seen a couple rooms decorated like that.

“I think that’s Damian and Duke’s work.”

“The meta?”

Her Thomas used to love giving speeches. He could talk for hours about what fascinated him without taking a break. When Bruce had been- He used to give Bruce biology lectures to fall asleep to.

This Thomas was talkative if he said more than ten words.

“Damian mentioned boding with Duke over art,” Martha continued. “Bruce allowed them free reign of the guest wing as long as they don’t make Alfred disapprove.”

“The manor’s messy enough by his standards already.”

Martha wouldn’t necessarily call the manor messy. It was just more lived-in than what the two of them were used to. There was a distinct lack of breakable vases, and many paintings had been taken down to be replaced by family portraits or paintings done by Damian.

The rugs on the ground weren’t as bright and clean as they used to, but Bruce had said that multiple of his children were friends with speedsters. She’d also found rations of non-perishable food hidden in different corners, an immeasurable amount of cats, a skateboard, toys, instruments, posters, stickers and everything else that belonged in a good home with happy children.

The closer the two got to the dining room, the louder did the voices become.

“And I’m standing there, baby vomit all over my uniform, still holding the kiddo and go ‘Sir, you just violated 34 laws and-‘”

“Timothy, I saw your schematic for a hoverboard, and I was wondering if you would-“

“-too much to ask for one mixed productions where a guy plays a female lead? If you don’t have enough men to cover all male roles, just mix it up completely, why can’t they-“

“Don’t even think of stealing my chocolate, I dare you.”

“-and the kid won’t stop crying. The guy is crying too. And I still had a date to go to.”

“I have multiple degrees and I’m ‘not qualified enough’. Just say you don’t want to hire a woman in a wheelchair and be done, but don’t waste my time.”

“-I’m a broke bitch these student loans can’t kill me-“

“You’re literally putting caviar on your eggs right now, Steph. I know Bruce gave you a credit card, what student loans-“

“Anyway, so I’m running an illegal betting pool at school-“

“Lively, aren’t they?”

Bruce was smiling, looking at his kids discussing heatedly at the table behind Thomas and Martha. Helena, who had been resting in his arms, was now wide awake and squirming. Bruce sat the toddler down and she rushed over to the rest of her siblings.

“The one picking Helena up is Jason, my second son and third eldest. You already met Duke and Damian and heard Tim when he checked the portals you arrived through for abnormalities. He’s the one falling asleep over his cereals. Steph is the blonde one talking to him, gesturing at her food. She was the one to lend you her clothes. The girl beside her is Cassandra, my first daughter and actually second eldest. You know Kate and Bette, I assume? Dick’s my oldest, and he’s the one reenacting the chokehold with the banana. The one who kept the water bottle from falling over next to him is Barbara.”

That had surprised Martha.

“The Commissioner’s daughter?”

Bruce nodded. “Yes. Jim pretends he doesn’t know and we give him space for plausible deniability. It makes holidays very interesting.”

The children kept talking, exchanging stories and snacks, and the tiny toddler in-between them. There was a warmth to their interaction Martha hadn’t felt in years.

“They are strong,” Thomas said.

“They are beautiful,” Martha added, though the term was a poor substitute for what she actually wanted to say.

They’re alive.

She hoped Bruce wouldn’t catch on, but his eyes were already narrowing in concern.

It was easy to forget she wasn’t the only Bat in Gotham anymore.

[anghraine]

pro patria, chapters 1-7

I don’t actually expect people to read this, but I want it over here for completeness’s sake, so—the Guild Wars 2 fic!

This one is ... different, apart from being for a canon that I think maybe three of my friends are interested in, because instead of writing a one-shot in my format of seven sections of seven sentences each, I've written an entire 70k+ fic that way. Each chapter is precisely 49 sentences long, which makes for a lot of very short chapters, so I'm bunching them up into groups of (of course!) seven.

It’s business as usual, however, in having copious footnotes (these ones assume everyone’s unfamiliar with the canon story).

title: pro patria (1-7/?) stuff that happens: a young Ascalonian woman grows from a sheltered aristocrat, to a hero rushing into danger to help a nearby village, to the investigator of a series of mysterious abductions and thefts tied to the Ministry itself.  verse: Ascalonian grudgefic characters/relationships: PC (mesmer / human / noble origin / missing sister [Ascalonian]), Lord Faren, Minister Ailoda, Deborah, Countess Anise, Logan Thackeray; PC & Ailoda, PC & Deborah, PC & Anise, PC & Faren

-

ONE 1 I always thought of myself as Ascalonian first, and Krytan second. Both of my parents were Ascalonian—my mother came from a family of Rurikton refugees fallen on good times, my father from Ebonhawke, and I was born there, myself. Mother had resigned from the Ministry over some quarrel with Minister Caudecus, and hammered in her protest by uprooting the entire family for an extended holiday with my aunt Elwin in Ebonhawke. This was long before the Rurikton gate got fixed on Ebonhawke, so in the off phases, people generally took “going to visit family in Ebonhawke” as a euphemism for something. But Mother being Mother, she headed through Lion’s Arch to the Black Citadel of all places, carved her way through only the gods knew what to the gates of Ebonhawke, turned herself over to the Vanguard, and waited for Aunt Elwin to show up and get them released. She was seven months pregnant with me by the time she arrived, Father and five-year-old Deborah in tow. And two months later, she delivered me there, Father and Aunt Elwin at her side, and Charr siege engines in her ears. 2 Father always wanted to go back to Kryta, for Deborah’s sake and mine. And during the times that the Rurikton gate got switched to Ebonhawke, when our kin in Divinity’s Reach rushed supplies through, requests for Mother’s return to the Ministry came with them. She only said, “We need soldiers, not supplies—yes, I know centaurs are attacking them, but —” “We need to go home,” said Father. A Charr attack shook her resolve more than he did: one that briefly broke through the walls while Deborah was out walking with Aunt Elwin. But it was Aunt Elwin who convinced Mother that she could do more to help our people in the Ministry than as one more staff against the Charr legions. She accepted the latest offer from the Ministry, this time to serve as representative of the Salma District itself, and we headed—home, to a place I’d never seen. 3 My father was a Fairchild, a descendant—if collateral—of Duke Barradin himself, while my mother was only a Langmar, and a Langmar of mixed heritage, no less. But Langmar meant nearly as much as Fairchild in Rurikton, where the family had owned a mansion for generations. When we first arrived, I’d never seen anything like it, for Aunt Elwin’s house in struggling Ebonhawke couldn’t begin to compare to the splendid gardens and shining marble of a mansion in Divinity’s Reach. Even Deborah, her eleven-year-old dignity often stronger than any other feeling, couldn’t help staring around with wide eyes. Mother, meanwhile, gained a still greater mansion in the Salma District upon receiving her appointment as representative, but she wanted us safe from the politicking and corruption of the Ministry. Deborah and I grew up quietly in Langmar Manor, educated with other Ascalonian nobles by Ascalonian tutors, familiar with every corner of Rurikton and very little beyond it. Deborah chafed at the confinement, but I was a little girl, content enough to spend my days playing and studying with Yolanda, Corone, and Faren, new and lifelong friends. 4 Deborah joined the Seraph the day she turned twenty. “I don’t understand,” I said blankly. “We call ourselves Ascalonians,” she told me, “and that means more than tracing our family trees. You don’t remember Ebonhawke, but those are real Ascalonians, fighting for what they love—like our ancestors fought for what they loved—but we’re happy to boast of their names without doing anything. Captain Thackeray could just sit back and enjoy everything he gets for being Gwen Thackeray’s heir, but he isn’t, and I won’t either. Ascalon is lost, even if Rurikton and the Settlement and Ebonhawke will never admit it, but as long as Kryta stands, we have something to fight for.” Deborah as a Seraph, solving crimes, keeping order, and skirmishing with the occasional bandit raid, wasn’t half so chilling a prospect as Deborah fighting legions of Charr, so I didn’t say what I thought—as long as Ebonhawke stands, we have Ascalon to fight for. 5 Deborah’s departure left the whole family scattered: my mother in Salma, my father dead, my aunt and cousins in Ebonhawke, my sister stationed all the way down in Claypool, and some remote relations and me in Rurikton. Mother, still grieving Father and anxious over Debs, decided that at fifteen, I was old enough to come live with her in her Ministry mansion. I’d felt lonely and restless in Langmar Manor, but I still received the news with very little short of horror. “You’re going the next district over, not across the world,” said Yolanda. “I’ll take a house in Manor Hill too,” Faren said recklessly, “and we’ll have amazing parties.” Faren being Faren, he actually did, aided by his father’s relief at him showing interest in something beyond Rurikton high society—even if that thing was only Salma high society. My mother kissed me when we arrived, and with a smile, told Faren, “It’s a pleasure to know you’ll be keeping my girl company, and of course, just to see you—you’re looking so well!” He preened. 6 We spent those early weeks exploring Salma, curious and cheerful despite ourselves, suppressing giggles as we followed a dour guide about the district. “Orr was destroyed,” the guide was saying, “Ascalon was ravaged by the Foefire; only Kryta is left, and that by a narrow margin.” “Ascalon was ravaged by the Searing,” I said sharply, all laughter gone. Nobody would call Faren a great wit, but when it came to conversation and society, his instincts were impeccable. “You must have gotten the order confused, good sir—the Searing came first, the Foefire when everything was already wrecked—but a simple mistake, I’m sure—you were saying something about Kryta?” Biting back the first words that came to my lips, I forced myself to smile and say, “Sorry, we’re Ascalonian.” “I guessed,” said the guide. 7 I suppose I was a callow, coddled creature in those days, spoiled if not malicious—and though three years of even more luxury in Salma didn’t change that, a single letter did. To Minister Ailoda Langmar, I regret to inform you of the loss of Falcon Company in a centaur raid. Your daughter, Sergeant Deborah Fairchild, died honourably in battle. With my deepest condolences to you and your family, Captain J. Tervelan of the Seraph (Queensdale) As Mother staggered backwards, I caught her, and somehow afterwards, that was always the clearest memory: her weight in my arms, the letter falling out of her hand, fluttering downwards until it reached the floor, nothing visible but the seal of the Seraph. Until then, I’d been little more than an irritable butterfly, but with Mother shattered, I found myself willingly shouldering the work of mourning: the formal letters and heartbroken notes, the refusal of Deborah’s pension, the visits from friends and allies and enemies—I was warm and grateful to the Mashewes and Baroness Jasmina; coldly civil to that ass Zamon, whose commiseration fell little short of gloating; brave and dignified to Corone and his friend Edmonds; grieved but composed with Faren and Yolanda. Like a creature of a thousand faces, I sometimes thought in exhausted moments: not at all a proper Ascalonian hero, more Anise than Deborah—but it was the only way I knew to be strong.

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

1) Ascalonian first: the PC from the first game was a resident of the human kingdom of Ascalon when the Charr, a species of giant cat people who lived in Ascalon a thousand years earlier, orchestrated a massive magical attack that killed thousands of Ascalonian civilians and devastated the landscape. Surviving Ascalonians were afterwards mostly killed or enslaved, except a few groups that escaped. The king then went mad and turned himself and the last survivors into vengeful ghosts.

2) and Krytan second: in GW1, the PC helps Prince Rurik of Ascalon lead a group of Ascalonian refugees into the neighbouring kingdom of Kryta. Some Ascalonians establish a settlement there while others live in the cities; generations later, this has resulted in a minority population of Krytan Ascalonians within broader Krytan culture, which the GW2 PC can belong to (though it has no impact on gameplay, which is what inspired the fic). In-game, Ascalonians are fiercely proud of their heritage.

3) Rurikton refugees: Rurikton, named after the Rurik in #2 (who was killed in the journey to Kryta), is the Ascalonian district of the Krytan capital, Divinity’s Reach.

4) Ebonhawke: a stronghold in the furthest reaches Ascalon built by elite Ascalonian soldiers and the civilians they fought to protect. It fell just outside of the king’s curse and has managed to survive the onslaughts of the Charr for 250 years.

5) I was born there [Ebonhawke]: there is no evidence for the PC being born outside Divinity's Reach, so this is probably one of the creakiest elements as far as canon goes. DR is canonically the PC’s home, and they strongly suggest they’ve never seen anything else. I made her very young when she arrived to finagle it, but it’s mostly there because I’m interested in the dynamic between Ebonhawke Ascalonians and Kryta Ascalonians, so I wanted to give her a foot in both worlds. 

6) Minister Caudecus: a deeply corrupt Krytan minister who shows up in various storylines.

7) my aunt Elwin: Elwin Fairchild is a noblewoman of Ebonhawke in the game, a proud Ascalonian ambivalent over Krytan involvement in Ebonhawke’s affairs.

8) Rurikton gate: Asura gates are magic/technological portals created by a species of small, floppy-eared, ethically questionable scientists and researchers. They have a gate in Rurikton that will instantly transport you to the one in Ebonhawke, but it seems that it’s only recently been permanently fixed on Ebonhawke.

9) Lion’s Arch: the former capital of Kryta; after a cataclysm caused by giant eldritch dragons, the original Lion’s Arch was sunk and the city rebuilt into an independent city-state, while Divinity’s Reach became the new capital.

10) The Black Citadel: the capital of Charr-controlled Ascalon, built on top of the former human capital (and human remains, according to one Charr).

11) turned herself over to the Vanguard: the Ebon Vanguard defends and seems to largely control Ebonhawke.

12) five-year-old Deborah: we don’t know the exact age gap between Deborah and the PC, but Deborah seems to be older. 

13) the Salma District: the PC will always live in Salma, regardless of origin, even though the city has sharp class and ethnic divisions and you can belong to one of the minority populations.

14) Duke Barradin himself: Duke Barradin was the heir to the previous royal family in GW1, but loyal to the elected king, Adelbern. His daughter was engaged to Adelbern’s son Rurik, but both were killed, so he has no direct descendants. However, the PC’s friend Faren is explicitly descended from royalty, the noble PC is implied to be so, and the Duke of Ebonhawke is descended from Ascalonian kings in particular, so it seems likely that their progenitor was some relation of Barradin’s.

15) only a Langmar: Captain Langmar led the elite Ascalonian soldiers that ultimately founded Ebonhawke, though she died in the process. There’s no sign that she had anything like an aristocratic background, but we’re told that class hierarchy in Rurikton is rooted in descent from Searing-era heroes, as Langmar was.

16) mixed heritage: GW2 Ascalonians, especially in Kryta, are a lot less homogeneous than in GW1. We see NPCs of all sorts of RL ethnicities identifying as Ascalonian or strongly implied to be Ascalonian. OTOH, Ebonhawke Ascalonians are implied to regard Krytan Ascalonians as "less" Ascalonian than they are, and there's a remark about Logan Thackeray’s beige heartthrob status being partly because he’s pure Ascalonian. The NPC I appropriated as their mother is a minister with default Krytan design, but who is talking with a Krytan who tells her to get over the Searing.

17) safe from the politicking and corruption of the Ministry: per #13, Salma is canonically the PC’s home and I’m stretching canon. The game is pretty emphatic that Ascalonians live in Rurikton or the Ascalon Settlement, and since there are nobles and mansions in Rurikton, it can’t even be a matter of “but the noble ones are up on Manor Hill.” The real explanation is that the choice of ethnicity is purely cosmetic and not considered any further, but that’s boring, and we’re never told that the PC has always lived in Salma.

18) Yolanda, Corone, and Faren: Faren is a shallow flibbertigibbet, but he seems to genuinely care for the PC; Yolanda and Corone are two of the friendliest guests at the party he throws for you.

19) the Seraph: the Seraph are a cross between soldiers and police in Kryta, principally involved in fighting off centaur and bandit attacks.

20) Captain Thackeray: Logan Thackeray, the Seraph commander of Divinity’s Reach and ultimate mentor/friend to the PC. He’s the descendant of Gwen Thackeray from GW1/GW: Eye of the North, who was the BEST CHARACTER IN GUILD WARS enslaved by the Charr as a child, but escaped to fight them for the rest of her life between succeeding Captain Langmar, finding love, and establishing Ebonhawke. She’s an iconic hero to Ascalonians.

21) Ascalon was ravaged by the Foefire: you don’t get a chance to correct the Salma Guide, but otherwise these are his exact words. The Foefire was the mad king Adelbern’s final curse that turned him and the last survivors into ghosts; the game tends to emphasize this rather than the Searing + brutal invasion that led to it. (It’s particularly glaring in this case, as you personally see Ascalon ravaged by the Searing in GW1 and spend a good deal of time fighting there, years before the Foefire.)

22) Minister Ailoda Langmar: the Krytan-Ascalonian minister I mentioned above is simply "Minister Ailoda," with no other name given. There's no sign of any connection to the PC, but eh, game mechanics.

23) the Mashewes...Jasmina...that ass Zamon...Corone and his friend Edmonds: Lady Mashewe is a pleasant acquaintance who says her mother prayed for the PC; Jasmina's a noblewoman avoiding Faren; Zamon and the PC insult each other; Edmonds talks to the PC with Corone.

24) Anise: Anise is the charming, enigmatic, and powerful mesmer leader of the queen’s personal guard, the Shining Blade.

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

TWO

1 My sister’s gravestone read: Deborah Fairchild Daughter of Kryta and Ascalon Died serving her country with honour, faith, and courage. No body rested beneath the stone; neither the Seraph nor Mother’s Ministry guards ever managed to recover the missing corpses. I never saw a ghost, never heard the merest whisper of her spirit. The grave was the nearest approximation we had, but I often felt drawn to it, dry-eyed and somber. A day rarely passed when I spoke her name, and a day rarely passed when I did not think of her, memories jumbled up with horror at what that missing body must mean. When Debs joined the Seraph, she spoke of Logan Thackeray, of Ebonhawke, of the ancestral heroes whose names brought us respect and luxury—not of Mother, Aunt Elwin, certainly not me. Yet I could not help feeling that somehow, had I done something different, been someone different, she would never have left us. 2 For a year, I played my part in what increasingly seemed a theatre of grief: three months’ withdrawal into mourning, gradual emergence into a solemn, reserved public life over the next six months, and another quarter-year to return to my old habits of gaiety and grudges—yet little altered for me, at court or during my weekly vigils at the grave. Not, at least, until one of the latter was interrupted by a familiar voice, saying: “Indulgence doesn’t suit you, darling.” “Anise?” I exclaimed, too surprised for offence; Countess Anise was a longtime friend of our family—only the Six knew how long—but I rarely saw her away from court, much less in the guarded seclusion of the Langmar cemetery. “All those faces of yours,” said Anise, her drawl indistinguishable from every other time I’d heard her, “and you’re squandering them on self-pity and an empty coffin.” “She wanted to be a real Ascalonian,” I blurted out—I, who hadn’t confided in my mother or my aunt or my friends, and somehow I couldn’t help but babble on, “a hero fighting for her home and her cause, and now—now she’s just like them, a martyr and a defiled corpse somewhere—” “You’re getting hysterical,” Anise said, not unkindly, and added, “Is martyrdom what it means to be Ascalonian, now?” I’d always liked Anise, a clever lady mesmer like my namesake, but alive and undefeated; I respected her uncharted skills and enjoyed her inscrutable charm, but until that moment, I never realized: she was Ascalonian, too. 3 Teach me, I found myself begging Anise, though I myself didn’t quite know what I meant—maneuvering in the court, or chaos magic, or defending another person, or outwitting potential threats, or generating clones, or simply surviving in prosperity—perhaps I did not mean anything in particular. I couldn’t be Deborah, and in my heart I didn’t want to be Deborah, a soldier locked into hierarchies and orders and thrown into small doomed skirmishes. In any case, I hadn’t Deborah’s resilience, or Captain Thackeray’s unwavering loyalty, or his foremother Gwen’s relentless courage—but if I did not envision myself as equal to Anise, hers were footsteps I could see myself following, regardless of the particulars. Even as I pleaded with her, I expected little from a woman at once detached and preoccupied—and thought little of what had driven her to intercede in the first place. But Anise, taking the request on its face, smiled. “Chaos for a devotee of Kormir? Delightful—I’ll expect you at moonrise.” 4 My life reformed itself over that next year. Mother, relieved to see me interested in something of substance, readily relinquished me to Anise’s patronage; Anise herself proved an exacting but gracious mentor, dispensing advice, demands, criticism, and praise in equal measure; and my friends found me more and more myself. Small concerns crept back into my mind: the superiority of silk over velvet, Barradin wine over Eldvin ale, Gwen Thackeray over Queen Salma. Greater ones, of course, drew my attention as well: the downfall of the Meades, one of the oldest Ascalonian houses in Kryta, and consequent disappearance of our childhood friend Kasmeer Meade; the desperation of the war in my birthplace and heightened Krytan aid; the murder of an Ascalonian minister. I miss Debs every day, I wrote to my aunt, but I know I have to make something of my own life, in my own way. I’ve been thinking of returning to Ebonhawke to help, since Anise says I am ‘highly proficient’ as an aetherist. I haven’t left Divinity’s Reach in years, though, so before I try myself against the Charr, I’m planning on making my way around Queensdale—at least Shaemoor. 5 To the world, my story began the day I stepped through Dwayna’s Gate into Shaemoor. The world is wrong, of course; my life didn’t begin with centaurs clubbing a frightened man the instant that I set foot in Shaemoor, with stalls and cottages roaring into flame, with a boy as blond as Debs huddled in a corner, with the blood and brains and screams of that day. It didn’t begin with the barely-heard orders from Corporal Beirne—with the indistinct impulse that had me running forward rather than back, urging strangers towards the inn, catching the boy up in my arms, consoling a woman over the slaughter of her dog as I dragged her with my free hand—with the furious spells tumbling from my mouth, focused through the weak wooden sceptre in my hand. I was someone before I became the hero of Shaemoor. I was myself, with my own history, my own concerns, my own people … the man, that man slaughtered before my eyes, was Ascalonian, and the boy too. If they had not been, perhaps the instinct of the moment would not have flung me into the horror as if I’d been tempered by the Searing, instead of sheltered in Divinity’s Reach. Or perhaps it ran deeper than that, and I would have turned onto that path had the man been Zamon, or an Asura, or even a Charr—but still, it was the turn, not the beginning. 6 Something did begin at Shaemoor, however: my association with Logan Thackeray. I’d met him before, socially, but only just—and in perfect honesty, knew him more as the butt of Anise’s wit than anything else. But I respected him from what I’d heard of his service to Divinity’s Reach, and for his determination to follow his ancestress’s footsteps and not just her name. In the midst of all that panic and death, it seemed only natural to rush to his aid when I heard that he was being overwhelmed. I had no sword, like Logan, or Deborah; I struck from among magical decoys, twisting chaos about our enemies from each direction—but it was something, and an hour from leaving the city for the first time, I was at Logan’s side, blasting aether at a massive earth elemental and the many smaller ones. He didn’t know me from Kormir, or at least from Kasmeer, but I knew we were a Langmar and a Thackeray again, thrown into another desperate fight, and there were worse ways to die. But we didn’t die; we lived and we triumphed, and by the time that I awoke in the care of a priestess of Dwayna, every Seraph from Logan on down knew who I was. 7 All my life, I had been Minister Ailoda’s other girl or the lady Elwin’s niece or Sergeant Fairchild’s sister or a Langmar, you know, on the mother’s side—or, now and then, merely my lady. I rarely heard my own name outside my little circle of Ascalonian nobles. I also rarely heard it in the immediate wake of Shaemoor. But now I wasn’t a satellite about greater relations, extensions of my mother or aunt or sister or heroic ancestors. I was the hero, myself, even as I wandered about Shaemoor in a daze. I didn’t do much: fought off little wyrms and harpies, found missing herds, gathered apples. Yet there was no my lady there, much less So-and-so’s relation: only the hero of Shaemoor.

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1) clever lady mesmer like my namesake: the PC's name isn't explicitly stated in this section, but those familiar with the original Guild Wars: Prophecies can probably figure it out from this reference.

2) Chaos for a devotee of Kormir?: all human characters choose a patron god/goddess, and the choice of god and the choice of profession are completely independent. But Kormir, goddess of order and truth, is a rather odd choice for a chaos magic-using mesmer.

3) the murder of an Ascalonian minister: Minister Brios, the representative for the Ascalonian Settlement, is poisoned in Divinity's Reach before a meeting with Anise. There are very few Ascalonian ministers, so the murder of one of them seems likely to be particularly troubling to Ascalonians.

4) before I try myself against the Charr: you can get to Ebonhawke straight from the starting zone of Divinity’s Reach, but Ebonhawke is in a level 30+ zone. 

5) a boy as blond as Debs: Deborah will be blonde if you choose to be Ascalonian.

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THREE 1 These days, I knew better than to let myself get consumed by grief. Still, as I flung spells at spiders, giant worms, bandits, centaurs, anything, I couldn’t help but wish that Deborah could see me now. At the garrison, I snatched up a rusty sword and poured magic through it with every swing at a centaur; what would she think? Me, fighting with a sword? Maybe not the way she or the other Seraph did, but still! She wouldn’t believe it. She’d be proud, I thought—wouldn’t she? 2 I’d barely passed beyond Shaemoor when I heard from Faren: positively hasty, for him. His pet raven delivered a gushing note that, in the space of a few sentences, managed to tease me about my injuries, urge me to talk him up to my healer, and summon me to a party—at my own house. I could only laugh; ridiculous as he often was, I loved him dearly, and always had. Even as children, we’d been friends and companions, but after Kasmeer vanished and Deborah died, we found ourselves inseparable. We were among the last of that quiet, secure little Ascalonian world in which we’d grown up at Rurikton—certainly the closest. Deborah’s death had changed me, driven me beyond the walls of Rurikton and Manor Hill, beyond letters and parties and court gossip. But I remained Faren’s friend, as I would always be. 3 Many people, I think, assumed Faren and I were lovers; in fact, to our own bemusement, nothing could be further from the truth. When we were seventeen, he said, “I don’t understand it. You’re pretty—I’m gorgeous—but I really think I’d throw up.” I might have been offended had I not felt exactly the same. “Inbreeding, I expect,” I told him. Faren brightened. “Grandmama was a Fairchild.” 4 Faren waited ahead of the party—a sacrifice, in the world of Faren—to greet me with his most grandiose bow. “The hero of Shaemoor returns!” I shook my head, but I grinned despite myself. It turned out that my servants had gleefully conspired with him, and when I entered the courtyard, I found it full of strangers and friends alike, along with food, gossip, and a wizard. I’d enjoyed exploring Queensdale, pushing myself to further and further limits; it was good to know that I could enjoy simpler pleasures, too, although it didn’t extend to the dog fights and bear baiting that a cousin of Faren’s called for. “Not in my home,” I snapped, “and if you want to stay, don’t mention that again.” When I heard someone say my name, I seized the chance to turn away—only to find myself facing my mother’s most hated rival. 5 “Minister Zamon.” “You’ve done well for yourself,” Zamon said acidly. “All it takes for a noble to be a hero is a bit of swordplay, a few bottles of cheap brandy, and an inflated sense of self-importance.” He had said much the same of Deborah’s swift rise among the Seraph; she’d never responded, holding herself above partisan squabbles. “Then you’re almost a hero already, my lord,” I replied, smiling. “All you lack is the brandy and swordplay.” I was not Deborah. 6 Even my old friends seemed to see the hero of Shaemoor more than anything else. Corone, brought up with Faren and Kasmeer and me, and now a respected warrior, regarded me as if he’d never seen me before, and said he’d be honoured to fight beside me. Yolanda hailed me as a heroine—before chiding me for associating so much with Faren, “that rascal!” In his imagination, maybe. Fending off her interrogation about Logan Thackeray, I’d never been happier to see Faren bounce towards me. And the moment that I muttered something about being tired, he assured me that he was done with the party as well, and headed off to make our excuses to the servants. I was ignoring Yolanda’s meaningful stare when I heard him scream. 7 Corone got his wish sooner than either of us could have imagined. We easily trounced the bandits who swept into the party, but it didn’t matter: Faren was already gone. With Corone and Edmonds protecting the guests, I ran out of Manor Hill and into the district plaza, desperately trying to catch any sign of Faren, or even the bandits; they’d have to have some way to recognize each other, wouldn’t they? But there was nothing, just ordinary people carrying on with ordinary business, merchants calling out sales, the old tour guide talking to a woman with a red handkerchief about her neck … with that over her mouth, she’d look just like the bandits who had abducted Faren— “Madam?” said someone near us, and then “ma'am!” as I blasted the bandit with a bolt of aether. I fought at least half a dozen across the district, tracking them one by one to a house at the opposite end of Salma. At the sight of me, bandits poured out of the house, but I didn’t care: they’d learn what it meant to cross a daughter of Ascalon.

FOUR

1 After Shaemoor, the bandits were nothing. They kept jumping out of their safehouse one by one—idiocy—and flailed at my clones, even their supposed leader. “Soon, you’ll beg me for death!” he shouted. I laughed, and blew up the clones. He went down like a basket of eggs. But I never laughed for long. I’d yet to see Faren, and images of bandits beating him, tormenting him, cutting his throat, flickered before me, each as vivid as every spell I cast. 2 Inside the bandits’ safehouse, I raced upstairs, barely wasting attention on the few guards left inside. Fear and victory kept my blood rushing fast: I didn’t even think about Anise’s lessons, but my feet landed exactly as she’d taught me, my body slipped away from each attack, and every spell hit its mark. Beyond them, I could just see Faren. He seemed alive, thank the gods, but stretched out in magical chains that turned my anger and fear to raw fury. I fought through a haze of rage, but one that illuminated rather than blinded—everything seemed crisp and bright and clear, more than ever before. When the last of them collapsed, I scrambled the rest of the way up the stairs, and tried to clear my head. “Um,” said Faren, “a little help here?” 3 When I broke the chains, relief flooding through me, he gave a hoarse laugh. “Am I pleased to see you!” he exclaimed, then grinned and added, “though if you wanted me to leave the party, a simple ‘Begone, freeloader!’ would have sufficed.” Captivity or no, Faren clearly remained Faren. “I’ll make a note of that,” I said dryly, and asked after any information he might have picked up on what the devil was going on. But he knew only that they operated out of a house in Shaemoor, where they’d meant to lock him up, and that in recent months, they’d turned more brazen, bloodthirsty, and focused on rebellion against the crown. “I can't save you and leave the others to rot,” I decided, and managed to smile at him. “Bad form, you know.” 4 Faren, looking determined (for him), said, “Count me in—I may not be a centaur-killing berserker like you, but I can take care of myself.” I’d believe that when I saw it. On the way to the bandits' den, I said, “Glad to have you with me, but do me a favour? Stay close”—I poked him with my sceptre—“and that way, we can protect each other.” Faren shrugged that off, which didn’t comfort me, but he actually managed himself well enough; he didn’t even get blood on his clothes as we fought our way into the concealed and guarded caves, nor when we rescued all the prisoners caged inside, so it counted as a success as far as he was concerned. “If you know any fair maidens, be sure to tell them who rescued you,” he said, and added with a grin, “the dashing Lord Faren … and his friend!” 5 The mission did count as a success for me, too; one of the captives had filched papers about a plot in Divinity’s Reach. We escorted him and the others out, taking down the remaining bandits with impatience (me) and glee (Faren). “We showed them what Ascalonians are made of!” he said triumphantly, and I straightened right up. “That’s right.” When Logan Thackeray arrived to help, Faren swaggered up and said, “My friend and I defeated these delinquents with panache and aplomb; you're just in time to celebrate our victory.” “I’m … amazed,” said Captain Thackeray. I knew the feeling. 6 “Then again,” he said, favouring me with a respectful nod, “I should have known that the hero of Shaemoor wouldn’t let your kidnapping go unanswered.” I remembered Shaemoor, fighting alongside Captain Thackeray with my stick of a sceptre just like Gwen and Langmar once had, all those years ago, and tried not to think too much of it; we’d barely met, outside of a few social occasions he clearly didn’t remember. But I also thought of Faren struggling in his chains, and danger spreading to the home that was supposed to keep us safe, and that we were all Ascalonians together. “No one hurts my friends without answering to me,” I said firmly. I handed over the papers we’d acquired, but to my surprise, it was Faren(!) who proved most useful; he noticed the quality of the paper, and even knew of the papermaker I could track down to identify it. I promised, “I'll get the information you need, without anyone realizing the Seraph are aware of the traitor in the city.” “Be careful,” said Captain Thackeray. 7 Although he warned me, I didn’t realize so many skale existed in the world as I wiped out on that trip—luckily, I found a new sceptre on the way, so I managed to keep them at a distance, and my clothes remained as pristine as Faren’s. When I arrived, I found the paper maker he’d mentioned; Fursarai was a small, prissy man, an impression not helped by his quite beautiful waistcoat, but it didn’t stop him from shouting at a departing Norn about getting his supplies back to the city. “You there—you look like you can handle yourself in a fight!” he announced, gaze fixed on something in my direction; I glanced over my shoulder, but none of the Seraph seemed to be behind me, nor anyone else. He gabbled something about the garrison and cowardly guards at the empty air—unless—unless "you there" was supposed to mean me? What a boor: but unfortunately, a boor who could direct me to Faren’s attackers. Friendship had its sacrifices. I looked at my silk sleeves, and sighed. FIVE 1 “What do you cost?” Cin Fursarai demanded, and now I preferred to believe he wanted a replacement for that Norn. It was flattering, I suppose, that he looked at me—a young noblewoman in silk, wool, and fine leather, carrying only a sceptre and a small sword—and thought I looked like someone who could fight. “I’m not a mercenary,” I said, and added: “I'm here to ask for help identifying the craftsmanship of a piece of handmade paper.” Fursarai sniffed. “If you found quality paper in Divinity’s Reach, I can assure you, I made it.” By sheer force of will, I didn’t roll my eyes—I had a conspiracy to unearth, never mind how irritating this little prig was—and instead requested his help, only for him to sniff again and go on about how he had no loyalty to the crown, because he happened to live in Lion’s Arch. He had red hair and dressed in high Rurikton fashion; he had to be Ascalonian, descendant of refugees saved by Kryta’s rulers, yet—yet— 2 It didn’t matter. It didn’t, not right now—and anyway, our fashions had spread far and wide, Lion’s Arch had long ago drowned its history, and true Ascalonian identity meant more than ancestry, whatever they might say in Rurikton. Deborah had taught me that much; if he didn’t care about it, then I wouldn’t, either. Easier said than done, though. “I need this information as soon as possible,” I told him. “But why should I trust you?” he retorted. “Who are you, anyway?” 3 I lifted my chin, and for all I might tell myself, I felt as if the pride of generations clustered about me, even with my foremothers’ spirits hopefully at peace in the Hall of Echoes. I had not forgotten what I came from. All those Langmars, the children and children’s children of Gwen Thackeray’s great captain. The Krytans they’d married now and then, abandoning an easy heritage to transplant themselves into Rurikton, absorbed into Ascalonian life and identity. The Fairchilds in Ebonhawke, kin of the last kings, of the duke who still haunted Ascalon and his martyred daughter. They’d fought a long defeat, on and on, yet managed to keep a last corner of human Ascalon alive; my aunt still worked to keep Ebonhawke standing while this man sneered over paper. “I am Lady Althea Fairchild of Divinity’s Reach and Ebonhawke,” I said. 4 Fursarai eyed me suspiciously. “Well, which one?” Despite myself, my defiance flickered. I would always be Ascalonian above all else, yet I would always serve the queen, too, and set myself against the enemies of Kryta. I belonged to Ebonhawke, my father’s land, my birthplace and my pride; I belonged to Divinity’s Reach, the only home I knew, where my mother’s people had lived and fought for generations. Anise always called me a creature of two faces, and I supposed I was. “I don’t know,” I admitted. 5 He grunted. “Explains why you don’t stink like the rest, anyway.” “Thank you,” I replied dryly. After a minute of meditation (not helped by Fursarai’s string of complaints), we headed out. I was just about ready to kill him myself by the time we got to the Shaemoor garrison; he’d have easily died without me fighting skale and centaurs and one exceptionally large spider by sceptre and sword, but he made not the slightest attempt to defend himself, just cowering against his bull and yelping the entire way there. That was before I had to take down three centaur catapults and Lyssa knew how many centaurs, with maybe two Seraph backing me up. Naturally, his gratitude upon entering the garrison amounted to checking his supplies three times, turning to me, and pronouncing: “I feel like I was run over by a herd of marauding dolyaks!” 6 Irritation aside, he did supply the information I needed, admitting that he sold his paper to Minister Zamon. Zamon, the man who’d all but gloated at my mother when Deborah died, purely—I thought then—because of malice at the suffering of a rival. And then, not long ago: the man who’d sneered at my defense of Shaemoor. “He has excellent taste,” Fursarai said, his glance clearly implying that I didn’t. As if he’d know. I silently decided that I’d never buy anything from him, even if I had to go to Lion’s Arch myself to find another papermaker. I smiled and said, “Don’t leave Divinity’s Reach.” 7 I found Captain Thackeray in the Seraph Headquarters, deep in a discussion with Anise, of all people, but his head snapped up when he caught sight of me. “Do you have any news?” “Fursarai admitted he made the paper for Minister Zamon,” I said, suppressing any signs of satisfaction. Well, mostly; Anise cast an amused look in my direction. “Setting up citizens to be robbed and brutalized?” exclaimed Captain Thackeray. “That's out-and-out treason.” Why, so it was.

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1) The Fairchilds in Ebonhawke, kin of ... the duke who still haunted Ascalon and his martyred daughter: i.e., Duke Barradin, while his daughter, Lady Althea—this Althea’s namesake—was burned alive by the Charr.

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SIX 1 “But where are my manners?” said Captain Thackeray, whom I’d never seen with so much as a wrinkle in his surcoat or a hair out of place. “Allow me to introduce you to Countess Anise, Master Exemplar of the Shining Blade.” Bemused, I nodded at my mentor of years, while Anise bowed with a faint, ironic smile. Disregarding the matter of manners, she said smoothly, “Minister Wi’s hosting a party tonight; it’ll be a good opportunity to eavesdrop on ministers, their allies, and enemies.” Captain Thackeray couldn’t quite bring himself to disagree, but clearly wanted to; he proposed a (perfectly legal) raid on Zamon’s house instead, and worse still, left the choice to me, insisting that he couldn’t give me orders—even though he clearly had no idea who I was. In fact, I wasn’t even sure he’d realized I had a name. 2 Naturally, I consulted with Anise—Thackeray or no Thackeray, she was my guide and teacher. “Personally,” she said in her light voice, “I prefer convivial, face-to-face situations. Then again, cloak-and-dagger skulduggery is always fun.” I laughed. “The way you describe it, it all sounds so charming; I’ll have to think it over.” I didn’t, actually. Minister Wi lived in Rurikton, and Faren was my best friend; if I knew anything, it was Rurikton parties. 3 “Minister Wi’s party,” I announced. “I’ll see what I can learn.” “Are you sure?” said Captain Thackeray, though with a distinct note of resignation. “You can’t break into Zamon’s place if you attend Minister Wi’s party.” “I’m sure,” I told him. “Minister Wi’s party it is.” He sighed. 4 “Your fellow nobles seem to have a knack for making my life interesting,” Captain Thackeray told me, clearly putting the best face on it. “Let’s see if we can’t return the favour.” “We nobles, Captain Thackeray?” I said, amused; everyone knew about his relationship to Gwen—and his relationship to Queen Jennah, too. “A step down from royalty making your life interesting, I’m sure.” To my surprise, he flinched. Some lover’s spat, perhaps; I decided it was none of my business, and turned to Anise, who promised to meet me at the party—because it wouldn’t do to make us share the spotlight during our entrance. Of course. 5 I listened to a few complaints and registered some unsolved crimes after Anise left, then headed out. At least, I meant to, but on my way to the door out of Seraph Headquarters, I caught sight of an open book—a register. “That lists the names of all Seraph soldiers for the last two decades,” an officer told me proudly. I glanced over my shoulder, undoubtedly looking as suspect as a priest of Grenth on Wintersday, but nobody seemed to be paying attention; the officer had drifted over to settle a dispute over a farm, Captain Thackeray was talking to a lieutenant, and everybody else looked up to their ears in work. I opened the book, scolding myself for being foolish, giving into a pointless sentimentality that would achieve nothing, recover no corpse for a grave—but still, I turned the pages, searching for the name I would know. I felt like a spy, flipping through pages, for all that the registry was open to the public and I had every right to look—and then, there it was, near the head of its page. Sgt Deborah Fairchild; missing in action, assumed dead. 6 “Are you looking for someone?” said Captain Thackeray. I nearly jumped straight into the air; as it was, I flinched as violently as he had. “No, sir,” I said, and realized—Debs would have said no, sir in the exact same tone, would have stood in this very room as I did now, would know it all better than I did. What would she have thought, if she’d known that one day I would be investigating crimes for the Seraph, reporting to Captain Thackeray himself? She’d never pressed me to be anything I wasn’t, never seemed to love me less for being the thoughtless, frivolous creature I was then, but I couldn’t help but imagine she’d have been proud. Imagine how this whole thing might have gone if she’d been alive—maybe we’d be investigating Zamon together, or— “Good luck, Captain Thackeray,” I said, and walked out. 7 By happy coincidence, I already had an invitation, of sorts. My mother’s said Minister Ailoda Langmar and one other. “You want to go?” said Mother, looking startled. “I would have thought you’d be busy slaying monsters or saving people or whatever else you do these days.” I frowned, unsure how to take this; it might have been pride, if not for her studiously neutral tone—did she think all this unimportant, or regrettable, or beneath us? Or was it fear, with Deborah dead on Seraph business? For a wild moment, I longed to tell her, cling to her and admit that I was frightened and angry as well as resolved, to confide in someone who would always see Althea first and the hero of Shaemoor second. “I need to keep an eye on Faren,” I said.

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1) his relationship to Queen Jennah: Jennah is the Queen of Kryta, and a beautiful young woman; it’s widely rumoured that she and Logan are having an affair. The last time royalty made his life especially interesting was when he deserted his dragon-hunting guild, Destiny's Edge, out of love for Jennah. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------    SEVEN 1 I headed back to Rurikton for the party, though a good while before it was set to begin. I hadn’t been home for a while—months, though it felt like longer—and I wanted to get my bearings. I strolled past the familiar stone gryphons, a light calm settling over me. It deepened as I made my way down the streets, passing refugees and servants who gave slight bows: respectful, no more. Clusters of nobles nodded familiarly at me. I stopped by local traders, most of whom I knew by name. One bookseller had a pair of rare books on Ascalonian history, one of which I’d wanted for ages; I purchased them on the spot, and after these weeks of fighting and investigating and rescuing, it was a pleasure to let it all slide for a moment, and decide that today was already a success. 2 I personally carried my books to Langmar Manor, since I’d forgotten to bring any servants, and didn’t feel very much inclined to send for one now. Oddly enough, I had gotten used to managing on my own. The walk from the district square was a short and easy one in any case; I strolled down the streets, encountering nothing worse than a few seditious posters I tore down, and a man complaining about Captain Thackeray to an unsympathetic friend. “You know, just because your wife’s taken a shine to Logan Thackeray doesn’t make him a bad guy—he’s cursed.” At the first man’s scoff, the friend added, “Cursed with good looks and true Ascalonian blood! It’s not his fault that every woman fawns over him.” Not every woman, I thought. 3 The people of Rurikton had always mingled at the Maiden’s Whisper as well as Rurikton at large, so I attracted no particular curiosity when I strolled into the tavern. Several other lords and ladies stood near the entrance, smiling and lifting their glasses towards me as I passed, while everyone else simply continued their own conversations—despite the Norn inexplicably towering at the side of the room. “I like that Minister Caudecus,” one girl announced. “To Queen Jennah!” someone just out of sight said, echoed by a dozen toasts to the queen, Divinity’s Reach, Captain Thackeray, and assorted ministers. Across the hall, a man bellowed drunkenly, “Show me a woman who can wrestle a bear, and I’ll show you a keeper!” “If the Charr think they can come here,” said a woman, her voice clear and pleasant, “me and my meat cleaver will tell them otherwise.” I smiled; despite everything, it really was good to be home. 4 I spent the last few hours before the party skulking around Rurikton, but found nothing beyond a particularly incompetent group of adventurers and ordinary conversation on the street. Returning to the inn, I searched for a relatively secluded place, found it in a library, and closed my eyes, peering through those of a near-invisible clone as she drifted through Minister Wi’s manor. She wasn’t caught, but turned up nothing except preparations for the party. I was sure there had to be something we’d missed, but apparently not. Well, Zamon might be acting in secrecy. Might. I resigned myself to the inevitable: I would only discover what I needed to know at the party, and I would have no preparation beyond what I already knew. 5 When I arrived at the manor in person, the place was positively oozing Ministry guards, for no particular reason. Anise slanted them a glance that betrayed nothing, then eyed my finery with nearly smug approval. “This will be delightful,” she said, apparently no more inclined than usual to bother with such minutia as greetings and farewells. “Having the hero of Shaemoor on my arm will make tongues wag.” Even though it was just Anise, I flushed. So much for separate entrances—but it was like Anise to enjoy disrupting plans, even her own. “Thank you for letting me join you this evening, Countess,” I said, because it was like me, too. 6 “Mingle,” she said. “Speak to everyone—you never know who’ll say something they regret later.” It was an encouraging thought. “Second,” said Anise, “don’t limit your conversation to nobility; servants and guards see everything.” “Understood,” I replied, adding, “I suppose it goes without saying that I should be discreet?” “You catch on fast,” she told me, and touched her finger to the end of my nose, eliciting a startled laugh. “Go and charm the masses.” 7 “You know where to find me if you need me, pet,” Anise concluded, while I still tried to wrap my mind and dignity around the fact that she’d bopped my nose. But at the moment, I found her at my side, setting my hand on her arm and marching forward in her tall boots. She actually smiled when I matched my steps to hers, even if I could hardly match the total assurance of her stride and her drawl—but she smiled more at the sudden hush that fell over the grand room when we entered. “The Countess Anise,” the servant at the door announced, and after a suitably dramatic pause, continued, “and the hero of Shaemoor!” Virtually everyone in this room had known me from childhood, but they all bowed anyway, as if my mother herself stood in my place, rather than the other way around; she’d abruptly developed a cold when she heard Zamon would be there. Zamon himself was nowhere to be seen. Interesting.

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

1) Cursed with good looks and true Ascalonian blood: this (and much of the dialogue here) is part of the ambient dialogue near the inn. 

[vivien-dot-exe]

Ask meme - every todoroki :eyes:

lmao BET

(this is super big huge I’m so sorry askdfjsh)

Shouto

NOTP

I don’t?? really think I have one. I’m pretty alright w/ all shouto ships tbh.

BROTP

todomomo. I get the ships but I kinda see em as them Good Supportive Friends that are just close enough that everyone Thinks They’re Dating n cannot believe they’re not but like. they never would. (am I projecting my best friendship onto shouto?? Maybe. fuck off.)

OTP

rn?? enjishouto lmao. I love love enjishouto man,, favorite child lovin,,,,

second choice

I ~guessss~ todobaku?? but tbh I’m not all that into most shouto ships. like we neutral most days. we just stay lovin bakugou + denying they’re friends???? so cute man,,

tied though is reishouto bc mommy kink. I won’t sit here and lie to you I just love gentle mommy kink sm

fluffy pairing

cliche fan fave - tododeku. we love a pair of supportive boyfs. I still do like seeing some tododeku art sometimes cause it makes our heart warm

angsty pairing

enjishouto again - I play things for angst so fuckin much dude,, if I can’t play my otp for angst then it probably isn’t gonna stick.

poly ship

can I say like. natsu/fuyu/enji/shouto. cause siblings that thirst over their hot dad together stay together

however hawks/enji/shouto is an incredibly tasty rarepair. there’s only one fic for it on ao3 but it’s So dang good,, 

weirdest pairing

I guess still enjishouto!! I have a very small amount of ships for the boy, man,,

Fuyumi

NOTP

n/a once again. every fuyumi ship I’ve seen to date or conjure up from crack shipping is cute bc she’s cute. I love seeing her in general.

BROTP

lowkey?? fuyuhawks. I can see them being excellent friends. I know romance takes are also good but. consider this: them chillin and acting goofy.

OTP

fuyunatsu. no question. it was my v first fuyumi ship and I will go down with it. (more explanation below)

second choice

fuyumi/miruko is really good!! maybe that’s just me being all ‘lesbians good’ @ the few fics n art pieces I’ve seen but Still.

fluffy pairing

reiyumi. we Love a girl n her mom huggin tight n kissing softly.

angsty pairing

fuyuenji. I’ve seen such good angst w/ these two man,, makes my heart heart Good ya feel?? them sad n guilty daddy’s girl feels Get Me

poly ship

sibling thorst: the ship (fuyu/natsu/enji/shouto)

weirdest pairing

if I was to make up a weird pairing,,,, bakuyumi. they interact Once but I like ships that are basically ‘we cook and it’s romantic’ (read: natsuki from ddlc anyone?). it’s a lil crack shippy and I’ve never ever seen any material for it, but wouldn’t it be cute to have bakugou cook w/ a cute older woman n have a cute romantic time while he’s all tsundere?? sighs wistfully,,

Natsuo

NOTP

hmm,, I’m honestly thinking I should take this option out. I really do think it cute to think the whole ass todofam w/ Anybody you know??

BROTP

natsushouto. like wow great job viv takin it Literally but as we don’t know much about natsu’s college life, I can’t exactly elect a best friend or nothin, and I Really love the concept of natsu and shouto acting like regular sibs. fighting n competing but hyping each other up, ya know?? sighs wistfully,, I actually really love brotherly dynamics a lot. like shipping em is usually my first thought but I also just???? like seeing em play around n be normal sometimes lmao. is that weird?? that it makes me happy?? idk.

OTP

fuyunatsu!! I love the concept of them constantly being there for each other, plus childish curiosity?? if you got sibs you know what that shit’s like. “you wanna try kissing??”

like listen not to be gross about it either but like. Puberty w/ that like entirety of the house to themselves. you can not tell me horny things never happened.

second choice

enjinatsu has Mad potential. I don’t get to see a lot of content for them but they make my heart happy. love the idea of both them being sweet to each other slowly in a path to forgiveness dotted with confessions and soft embraces,,,, or of course guilty dad thirst. both are Tasty

fluffy pairing

fuyunatsu is Cute. listen I want em to cuddle and support each other though they’re so different. like foils, ya know?? I am very weak for natsu having a weakness for fuyumi’s gentleness (though that could be said for the whole todofam. stan fuyumi)

angsty pairing

hmm,, I guess that’d be enjinatsu?? path to forgiveness enjinatsuo I can see being v feelsy and Tasty.

poly ship

sibling thorst Again.

weirdest pairing

man I don’t think any of these could be counted as Not weird. enjinatsu maybe?? as their dynamic is rather complicated n versatile + parent/child. I think the Least weird ship I’ve ever considered w/ him though would be natsuhawks, but I’ve not seen a lot of material for them nor do I have any ideas for dynamics. they just look nice together.

Touya (dabi)

NOTP

okay I’ll be real w/ you I lied I do have One notp and it’s dabihawks (hotwings). it’s. it’s okay, I’ll admit, but it kinda squicks me out in canon verses. like, reverse aus, genderswap aus, most aus really that slightly shift the dynamic, I’m good w/ dabihawks, but Not In Canon or any approximations of it.

(big rant on why, feel free to skip)

I guess antis just kinda fucked it up for me?? I was kinda neutral when it first was proposed, ya know like ‘oh that’s cute!! not for me but more power to ya!!’ but then dabihawks shippers started getting in hawksdeavor shippers’ faces n giving the usual arguments against age gap ships (as if a villain/hero ship was so uwu pure n unproblematic), and then there came the ‘hawks will betray the heroes and become a villain for dabi’ theories from them and it just. that was 2018 and it Still makes me uncomfortable to think about. 

I very much enjoyed hawks’ double agent thing!! but I knew an infiltration mission would end with betrayal from the beginning and that’s what I liked about it. him doing the absolute Most for the heroes even if it feels scummy to do so. I was Devastated for a moment when I saw hawks’ first meetup w/ dabi and it looked like he might be spying for them, but then we were quickly assured that it was a ploy and I was like Oh My God Thank God I Near Had A Heart Attack. but other people, the loudest group being dabihawks shippers, were dissatisfied with this and wanted canon to take a different direction and I Dunno Man, I just had very strong emotions about that and still do. 

I love hero hawks in all his double agent endeavor fanboy glory and people wanting to take it a different direction in canon felt like a blatant kind of???? idk defacing of character almost, even though that’s a mega mega mega dramatic way to put it loL don’t ask me why I got such strong feelins about it I couldn’t explain it if I wanted. I’d love to go back to being chill about it I really really would.

BROTP

idk, I think I might not???? have one for him. he seems kinda all or nothing to me, very intense w/ his emotions. if I was to Name one off the top of my head, maybe maybe togadabi, but even then I’m kinda hm on it.

OTP

first and favorite dabi ship is 1000% shigadabi. not even in most canon settings; I just like them chilling and being lovey (and going on large scale crime dates).

second choice

probably shoutodabi?? not Big on most dabi ships but love that older bro angst.

fluffy pairing

shigadabi bby!! if I wanna imagine dabi soft ever then shigadabi is a Lovely escape, canon absolutely notwithstanding.

natsutouya is also a good one to imagine, what w/ the image of them cuddling making my heart Warm

angsty pairing

shoutodabi. I saw this one reunion fic of them and I had So Many Emotions oh my god.

dabihaul is also a good candidate, though it’s less Angst more hurt little comfort. (not to mention I don’t ship it much myself lol a friend sold me on their interp) it’s not very emotional as I like my angst, more just got them whump aesthetics.

poly ship

good question. I’ve highkey not thought about it smH - maybe if I just,,,, *takes shoutodabi n shigadabi n smooshes them together*

idek how that’d work as a dynamic dude I Don’t KnoW LMAO

weirdest pairing

I guess enjidabi?? I think about it from time to time but I dunno how the dynamic would work but. very angsty whatever it is. lots of apology sexy times in my mind’s eye.

Rei

NOTP

n/a - rei is definitely one I will take any ship for.

BROTP

enjirei - I’m doing this out of order so I wrote the explanation on enji’s lmaO see below for details

OTP

oh man otp???? good question,, I’m a v big fan of reishouto tho. gentle mom lovin,,

second choice

rei/inko is also a good one!! something I still think is very cute from my early days in the fandom. just a couple of moms supporting each other and going on cute park dates,,

fluffy pairing

rei/inko is def the fluffiest. however, it can be argued that rei/anybody has good fluff material. rei is so,,,, ethereal lookin???? she looks like a flower or a ghost,, like breeze rustling sheer curtains in an empty sun lit room. gentle on the eyes but hella poignant. I can imagine her bein soft w/ everyone n everyone.

angsty pairing

reitouya. For Sure. rei taking care of her lost eldest who’s finally come home, ya know???? Sobs,,,,,,,, I don’t see shippy content of them ever but reunion fics/art Get Me

poly ship

this one might be a little weird, but inko/rei/mitsuki. I’ve only seen material for it Once but in my head it’s taking the cute mom ships of inko/rei and inko/mitsuki to make the Ultimate Supportive Mom Ship. and maybe masaru is there too supporting this bc I think he’s really good tbh I don’t want him sad or lonely.

weirdest pairing

uhhhhhh,,, idk man probably polyship is the only “Weird”/super rare one. mitsuki ain’t exactly gentle mom:tm: after all, but I think her spice goes well w/ it all, ya know?? inko n rei being gentle and mitsuki being the hype who arranges more fun dates n such for them to all take a cuddle pile nap afterwards,, and you know she’s the hype woman for the trio. 

Enji

NOTP

never met an enji ship I didn’t like tbh. they’re all good and I will fight on that.

BROTP

highkey?? enjirei. I ship em romantically sometimes, but I really like the idea of them divorced and getting other lovers but supporting each other fullheartedly. love that solidarity. like shit I could see them still living together n such but they just. drop the husband/wife shtick and support each other like friends.

OTP

enjishouto!! y’all been knew.

second choice

hawksdeavor is a longstanding fave. we love that fanboy/idol dynamic sm,,

fluffy pairing

oh jeez fluffy,, maybe enji/burnin?? I can see her being very energetic n supportive and being rewarded w/ soft forehead kisses. soft boss crush even if it’s one sided.

angsty pairing

both enjishouto and hawksdeavor provide Wonderful angst. the flavor is Immaculate y’all should try it.

poly ship

enji/the rest of the todofam/hawks/happiness. pls lma o

I am very much an enjibowl enthusiast, can y’all tell?? I just want him Smothered in love sometimes.

weirdest pairing

hmm,, enji/tsukauchi. I saw a doujin for it once and it was Lovely. an absolute crackship, but I love the hero/detective dynamic of toshinori/tsukauchi, but toshinori just doesn’t give it enough Spice in most interps I see. now enji being tsun n aggressive + level headed detective tsukauchi,, that was a tasty doujin for sure.

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Miles vs. Static

It feels good to be back.

So, two young Black teens from alternate dimensions that eventually came over to a major one, and were both based off of Peter Parker Spider-Man?

Starting to see why this was chosen over Miles vs. Midoriya.

Miles′ Preview.

So the hosts go over the many differences between the main universe and the universe of Earth-1610. Like brand-names, certain terms, and the price of a burger and fries. But most notably…

Peter Parker was dead.

Enter: Miles Morales. Your typical kid that had some nice, if a bit overbearing parents, and an Uncle Ben Arron, who was a super-criminal.

So on one of his heists, a spider got in his bag, so when Miles visited… Well…

So, as the newest Spider on the block, Miles can do whatever a Spider Can.

And we get into a bit more detail, with a Wiz and Boomstick segment, and a bit more on the webshooters, which Boomstick comments that it would be great for getting a beer without needing to leave the couch.

(Good God! Boomstick’s smile is horrifying!)

(God… There’s that smile again…)

(Thank God it’s over. No more creepy Boomstick smile).

Anyways, with all these powers, Miles proved that he was a worthy successor to the mantle of Spider-Man.

And we get our first notecard of the season

They also go over some feats too.

While this feat isn’t technically comics canon, it checks out when comparing it to Peter’s feats. Which is a reasonable comparison since Miles has gone toe-to-toe with the OG Webslinger.

And with all that said, Miles has proven that he is indeed a major successor, and possibly a better Spider-Man than Peter.

Oh, and for those of you wondering, Miles migrated to the main universe after his own universe blew up. It’s a long story, and I didn’t have the time to get shots of it.

Static′s Preview.

The hosts go over how much of a nerd Virgil is before going into the bigger details about his life and the circumstances about him getting his powers.

So after a firefight gone wrong, and a whole lotta death, Virgil found out that he got metahuman powers. And became Static.

With these powers, Static has all sorts of electrokinesis, mechanokinesis, and powers over the electromagnetic spectrum. And became one of, if not the most well-known heroes in the Dakotaverse…

Quick history lesson, Static started out as part of Milestone comics, which were then merged with DC.

After that, Static became a part of the DC universe, thanks to this guy

(Right here) gaining cosmic powers, and migrating Milestone’s characters over to DC’s universe before the previous universe got blown up.

And we get a Wiz and Boomstick segment that’s just kinda… More of a joke setup than anything really substantial.

I hope to God that I got those nationalities right.

Anyways, Static can use his powers to see a person’s Bioelectric aura, and do all sorts of crazy stuff with his powers.

From reattaching limbs with electricity, to matching Superboy’s telekinesis.

He’s even pulled these off in the cartoons:

And like other DC rresidents, he can dodge lightspeed attacks. Because DC just likes it when characters can do that.

Static once pulled this off in the cartoon:

While not technicallly canon, Static has, as mentioned before, matched Superboy’s telekinesis. So it’s reasonable to say that he could pull this off too.

No matter how you Watt-ch it, Static has proven himself to be a hero worthy of any universe.

The Battle Itself.

Luis and Zack are our main animators. Miles will be voiced by Kirikai and Static will be voiced by Zeno Robinson. JT Music writes “Watt’s Up Danger and Chris Kokkinos lead on audio.

So the fight starts off right in the middle of it. Apparently, Miles thought that Static was either Electro or Electro-adjacent, and attacked him. Leading to Static retaliating.

I’ve seen worse stories, but it would have been neat-ish to see the initial start.

Anyways, we get some really neat Spider-verse like effects throughout the battle.

And we even get to see the Shoulder-Touch in action.

Kinda recently noticed that Miles dabs here.

Anyways, since this works on Electro, it works on Static. Which takes him by surprise.

Static brings up his shield, and it’s here that Miles struggles to keep up with him.

But, thankfully, the Spider-Sense is still in play.

Miles dodges Static’s incoming disc and they start fighting on the side of the building. But Static disrupts Miles’ Wall-Crawling abilities and forces the fight to the top

For the record, there are a lot of Spider-Verse shout-outs and recreations here. Which, as a fan of the movie (Or the Spider-Mythos in general), is really really cool.

So Miles also uses his invisibility to break Static’s ride.

So Static makes that power moot.

And after a brief clash, Static is left short an arm

So, we all know how this works by now.

Verdict + Explanation.

So, back to the nightmare-inducing portrayals of Wiz and Boomstick, it’s noted that they were about even in speed, and that in a physical fight, Miles would take the win.

But with Static’s electric powers, he was ultimately above what Miles could pull off.

Now, Static’s abilities were pretty good counters to what Miles has. In a way, this is a lot like Sasuke vs. Hiei, in which one of them has an edge in a certain category, they’re about even in another, but the other has perfect counters to what the first one could do. Miles’ Wall-Crawling and invisibility would be countered by Static’s abilities, and his equipment could also be countered as well.

Now for the obvious: “Spider-Men fight Electro all the time! Why is Static different?”

Well, for one, Electro doesn’t come anywhere near as close to what Static could do.

And secondly… Electro’s an idiot.

Cutting back to Nightmare Boomstick and Nightmare Wiz, and Wiz’s Multiverse Manipulator, we get our final rundown of what happened.

Overall impression.

So, aside from Wiz and Boomstick’s nightmare faces, this episode was a pretty good way to start us off. Now, I’m not a fan of hip-hop, or anything of the sort (More of a jazz and rock fan, personally), but the battle goes down pretty well. The action is great, the explanations are sound, and they do a lot to make us feel nostalgic for the old Static Shock show (Which I actually re-binged recently, mostly because I wanted to learn more about him).

The music was fitting for the episode, and it felt pretty neat for this section overall. And the concept of the matchup was a lot more interesting that Miles and Midoriya‘s “We took up the torch” comparisons.

What can I say?- I’m a fan of the more obscure matchup. It’s probably why I still want Dinobot vs. Zuko.

My own preferences aside, it was great to see Static in a fight like this, mostly because it would probably be difficult to find an opponent for him that isn’t Electro.

Then again, I was hoping that Static would come after Black Lightning so that I could write a chapter where he geeks out at meeting both OG Spider-Man, and Black Lightning. I guess I can still do that even with Static coming first, but still, this kinda ruins part of the joke if he’s already met the Spider-Man… Spider-Men…

Overall, I’d say that the only thing this season needs is a less horrifying Wiz and Boomstick. Not even the Mortal Kombat fatalities make me freak out this much. This is like the Sonic Movie all over again. If this is the price of getting more episodes in a season, then I’d say no thanks. Bring back the old Wiz and Boomstick designs please. It’s probably a little late for the next few episodes, but until then… Good grief, not even Frost’s MK11 fatality freaks me out this much…

8.8/10

Next Time…

Speaking of Mortal Kombat…

Sindel Injustice 3 DLC Confiirmed?

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Scream Queens.

[createinfinity]

The Information Brokers

so after talking to kyu ( @siireniis​ ), both rokku and koto now have phantom casino verses! they link together, but i want to talk about them separately first. the only other thing to note is that they’re both a little older, rokku being nineteen and koto being twenty.

The Master Key

like in their canon verse, rokku was bullied during school, for everything and anything that people could think to pick on them for. still determined that they were going to be a hero, rokku still applied for ua but unlike in canon, they didn’t pass the entrance exam. disillusioned and certain that they could still be of use, rokku started putting their hacking knowledge combined with their quirk into practice and started working as a vigilante.

through this work, they heard about the phantom casino. having somewhere that they would be accepted, somewhere that valued their quirk and abilities, sounded like the best thing rokku could imagine, and so they made their way there and introduced themselves to zach by breaking into his office.

somehow, this didn’t put him off letting them stay.

rokku spends most of their time hunched behind screens, digging up information on anyone and everyone that zach asks them to. if you want access to somewhere or something, rokku is the person to ask, although anyone other than zach has to work a little harder to convince them to do it. a bag of candy usually works wonders.

The Lie Detector

judged and mistrusted her entire life, koto always felt pushed aside and alone. once she turned twenty and was old enough to gamble, she found her way into the phantom casino and began doing the only thing people had ever thought that her quirk was good for, and began playing - and winning huge amounts at - poker.

her quirk allowed her to know when people were bluffing, and koto quickly racked up a reputation as the best poker player. her skills didn’t go unnoticed, either, and she was soon pulled up for cheating. it took some convincing on her part to get zach to trust that she really was just using her quirk, but once she did she found herself a new home. she’s able to help weed out cheaters, inform zach of anyone being deceitful or if they’re being honest, as well as compel someone to tell the truth if he needs it.

koto doesn’t get to play much anymore, but she’s finding that her new role is much better anyway.

between the two of them, there is no information that can escape. trying to hide anything in the casino impossible with the information brokers around.

[starryburglar-archive]

Hans Info

Full name: Hans Westergaard

Species: Human

Age: 23

Sexuality: Pansexual

FC(s): Domhnall Gleeson

Bio: As the youngest of 13 brothers, Hans found it pretty difficult to stand out in his family or as a prince. It almost seemed like, no matter what he did to an exceptional degree, one or several of his brothers would do it BETTER. It didn’t help the fact that most of them either ignored him or bullied him for being the youngest. The only sort of love he receives from his family is from his mother, who only seems to be truly content around him.

The young prince knew from an early age that her marriage to his father was arranged. The two never loved each other, never grew to be fond of one another, they can’t even stand being in the same room together. But their marriage united two kingdoms and saved The Southern Isles from disgrace.

One would think that being basically ignored by almost every member of his family would mean that Hans has the freedom to do anything he pleases, but that’s not the case. His father barely spoke to him but his eyes said everything. If Hans didn’t do what the king wanted, he would be punished -- it was the silent treatment version of ‘You may be a waste of space but you’re still a prince of the Southern Isles. Act the part.’. Etiquette, diplomacy, politics, geography, economics, manners... Hans had to master them all.

His only moments of solace were when he would be by himself on his private chambers or in the royal library. The young prince would do nothing but read -- read books about the mysteries of the world, about the different kingdoms and their customs, and, last but not least, fairytales. Yes, fairytales -- something unfit for a prince but Hans found enjoyment out of them. They were that one thing that brought a smile to his face because of how hopeful they make him feel. They made him wish for a better future, one where he was able to find true love and be happy, unlike his parents.

Years later, some months after his 22nd birthday, he was sent by his father to represent The Southern Isles at the coronation of the new queen of Arendelle. Why him? It’s still puzzling for Hans how his father doesn’t consider Arendelle a possible strong ally but was happy to be able to travel away from his homeland for a while. A few days without his family is better than nothing. Not long after a few minutes after arriving at the closed-off kingdom, he accidentally stumbled upon the princess of Arendelle, Anna.

She was the sweetest and prettiest girl he had ever seen -- prettier than all of the wives of his married brothers. And despite the unfortunate way they happened to meet, she didn't think ill of him after almost accidentally pushing her into the sea with his horse -- she even laughed! At that moment, Hans was convinced that the warmth in his chest was love. It has to be, right? What else could it be but true love? Maybe it was fate what made his father choose him to come to the coronation and meet the young princess.

Later that day, when the two were alone, he didn’t hesitate to propose right on the spot, even though it was the craziest move he could’ve done. Propose after meeting her that same day? His father would’ve thought he had gone bonkers -- you can imagine how shocked and overwhelmed he was when she said yes, a genuine and heartfelt yes. Hans thought nothing could ruin that evening.

Oh, how fate had different plans for him and everyone involved.

He never anticipated for the new queen to have any sort of magic abilities like he would so often read about in his fairytales. But she did, queen Elsa had power over ice and snow. Because of a misunderstanding, Anna’s frustrations and the evil intentions of the Duke of Weselton, her powers were exposed and everyone feared for the worst -- even he himself was unsure of how to feel at first. After Elsa ran away scared, Anna left the kingdom determined to find her and fix this mess, but not without leaving Hans in charge.

It was rough at first, trying to calm down the townsfolk as well as the other royal visitors currently stuck in Arendelle during the frozen winter in the middle of July. But he did his best, applying everything he has learned back home while adapting it to this current predicament. It worked well enough for the first hours.

When Anna’s horse returned but without its rider, his worries only increased. Dedicated to finding his bride-to-be, Hans formed a team of volunteering men to search for the princess and the queen. Hours later, he was surprised, once again, to find queen Elsa in what seemed to be a place of her creation: a palace made out of ice, truly magnificent. He was planning to reason with the queen and try to make her return to Arendelle peacefully, but those soldiers from Weselton ruined everything by scaring her and almost killing her.

The men returned to Arendelle with an unconscious Elsa. Hours later, Hans found himself with the queen, who was put in the dungeons and chained due to the worries of the other lords present. He pleased her to bring back summer, but she couldn’t. Unsure of what to do, he reassured her he would do anything to help her and returned to the comfort of the chimney. Not too long after that, Anna returned weaker than ever -- her hair was whiter than before and her body was freezing. Apparently, when anna tried to reason with Elsa, the queen accidentally froze her sister’s heart and now anna was slowly turning to ice, only to be told that an act of true love would thaw it.

The young couple stared at one another after being left alone. An act of true love... a kiss! If they kissed, she would be saved. Hans was extra careful while holding Anna, resting her against the sofa in the room that was near the chimney, all while cupping her cheek gently and smiling warmly at her. He leaned closer until his lips met hers in a closer embrace. They stayed like that for what it felt like an eternity... but neither felt anything, not a spark, not warmth, not anything. The kiss not only didn’t work, but both were dumbfounded by this revelation.

It took the help of a curious but strange talking snowman ( which shook him to no end ) for the lovebirds to realize their situation. What they thought was true love was not it -- it was a fling of the moment, a passionate desire for comfort and happiness while sharing it with another person, something both had wanted for years due to not getting any sort of love from their families. This didn’t make things awkward between them ( or at least not THAT awkward ); both knew the truth know.

Now their objective was to get Anna to Kristoff, her actual true love. Hans helped Anna get around the castle due to their weak form and her inability to walk in her current state. They reached the frozen fjörds, where Kristoff was also looking for her, but so were Elsa, the duke of Weselton and his men. Hans left anna so she would go with the blond man, while he grabbed his sword and tried his best to stop the men from killing the snow queen. However, they were three against one, two of them being much taller, bigger and stronger than him.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. The short Duke sneaked past him to strike Elsa, but then Anna stood in the way, using her last ounce of life to stop him while her body became ice. The ground shook as a wave hit everyone who was nearby. The scene was devastating to behold. Anna, who he had ground fond of and now realized she really was a good friend, stood frozen in the middle of the fjörds; Elsa hugged the statue devastated while sobbing her heart out.

No one anticipated the return of princess Anna. But it was that act of true love, the self-sacrifice she did for her sister what thawed her frozen heart. There was rejoicing all across the kingdom of Arendelle, its citizens and the lords visiting as Elsa brought back Summer.

A few days later, Hans was rewarded for his bravery and all the help he brought to Arendelle and the sister, despite the young prince insisting that he didn’t deserve anything while anna said otherwise. He was a hero, as much of a hero as Kristoff, the ice harvester, was. He and Elsa also were able to start again while building new relations between the kingdoms -- The Southern Isles and Arendelle would be their greatest allies. 

Hans was content to have done a good deed and for some of his naïvete to have vanished thanks to this experience -- he’ll be careful in the matters of love, but still hopeful for a bright and loving future.

Note: Hella canon divergent. Mostly based on his personality pre-twist and first impressions from the trailers.

[ MAIN || INBOX || HEADCANONS || VISAGE || MUSINGS ]

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V001: Youngest of 13

Default main verse. Hans is the youngest child of the king and queen of Westergard and without any chance to get a claim to the throne, not without his 12 brothers being more favoured by his father in all ways possible. He is determined to stand out in any way possible without going against his moral compass, which includes forming better relations with other kingdoms and start having friends.

NOTE: Mostly takes place after the events of the first movie. I’ll have to see the sequel to see how I can work him into it.

V002: Working Towards a Better Life

Modern verse. As the youngest of 13 brothers, Hans was often ignored by his siblings and his father, only occasionally receiving a caring word from his mother and, if he was lucky, a full conversation with his father. 

Currently, at the age of 23, he’s working to get a degree in History so he can become a professor in the subject -- history has always fascinated him, even as a child, so having the possibility to share this passion with a new generation made him happy. On top of that, Hans is also working on a novel during his free time. He also moved out of his home as soon as he was able and had the resources; at this point of his life, he didn’t want anything to do with his father’s company and connections ( not that he would get any of that ) and instead focus on making himself happy.

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CONNECTIONS

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[briangroth27]

Avengers Endgame Review

I absolutely loved Avengers Endgame! I was a little skeptical at first—there are still solo stories I want to see with some of the characters we're saying goodbye too and I'd prefer those to Avengers movies, honestly—but everyone behind this film really pulled it off. The pre-release hype did get to me eventually though and by the time the movie opened, I was absolutely pumped. I left the theater nearly completely satisfied and I definitely felt the weight of a decade of stories coming to an end with this film. Had this been the end of the MCU, it would’ve been a great one.

Full Spoilers...

I thought they did an excellent job of wrapping up the cliffhangers left by Infinity War as well as providing closure and a worthy conclusion to this era of the MCU. Trading the bombastic fights of Infinity War for really solid character work and interactions here (and swapping focus on Thanos (Josh Brolin) out for focus on the heroes themselves) was perfect. Done the other way around, I feel like this would've been exhausting. Instead, while it did feel full, it was always engaging and entertaining and didn’t feel like it was three hours long. The pacing worked really well to keep things moving briskly even with an insane amount of characters to service. The direction and action were solid, and the writing felt totally in-character for an enormous cast, which was a feat unto itself.

My favorite Avenger is Captain America (Chris Evans) and I was extremely satisfied with how his story ended. I do wish we’d gotten a Captain America 4 where Steve faces the rising Nazism among everyday American citizens we’re seeing in the real world: the last test for his resolve would be to see whether he still wanted to represent ideals that the American people now only use as excuses for their hate. Can he carry on if he’s seemingly the only one who believes we can be better? I feel like that could be Chris Evans’ Logan. However, I was surprisingly content with this end to his story, especially once I realized he’d get to end up with Peggy (Hayley Atwell) after all (though I thought he was going to drop into the 70s instead of his original time). In hindsight I wish they hadn’t had Steve and Sharon Carter kiss, but I’m more than willing to deal with that awkwardness and sacrifice that bit of comics canon for Steve getting a happy ending with his best gal. I’m satisfied with either interpretation of Cap’s story: knowing that things have to turn out a certain way, I can see him not saying anything about the future and always having been Peggy’s cryptic, never-named husband (his comment to Nat (Scarlett Johansson) at the beginning of the movie also signals that he’s ready to stop fighting), or, that he immediately decided to shape a better century by saving Bucky early and then proceeded to kick Hydra out of SHIELD & continue saving the world alongside Peggy and Bucky. I can buy either resolution to his character arc and I really liked that they didn’t kill him in the end. If they want to use him more, they can, but if this is the end for Evans then he got a happy one and that’s perfect. I’m hoping he’ll show up as a mentor to Sam (Anthony Mackie), now that he’s the new Captain America (also the result I was hoping for: the mantle of Cap as Steve wore it is about fighting for more than making up for your past mistakes. Sam embodies that much better than Bucky (Sebastian Stan) would (and his fight scenes will be a whole lot more unique given he can fly)). Steve standing up against Thanos’ entire army by himself was perfect, finally getting to say “Avengers Assemble!” was great, and getting to wield Mjolnir was an outrageously fun sequence! I can see both sides of the “Cap was/wasn’t truly worthy in Ultron” argument, but again, I’m cool with either explanation: either Steve was on the cusp of worthiness but hiding Bucky’s complicity in the murder of Tony’s (Robert Downey Jr.) parents held him back, or he realized he could always lift it and is such a decent guy that he didn’t want to upstage Thor (Chris Hemsworth). I also liked the quieter moments with Steve, like finally patching things up with Tony, trying to get Natasha back into the world (just like she had done for him back in Winter Soldier)—I’ve always loved their friendship—and running a support group for everyday citizens in the wake of the Snap to help them move forward, even if he couldn’t (that was also a nice way for him to pick up what Sam was doing for veterans). It was fun to let Steve have moments of levity about himself too, like the “America’s ass” joke and his reaction to hearing “I can do this all day.”

There's only one major plot point I was disappointed in: Black Widow's death to get the Soul Stone. I'm glad that they had her fight for it (clarifying that it was her choice, given the circumstances, rather than a fridging) and going out to save the universe does put a significant cap on her (so far underwritten) quest to clear her Red Ledger. However, I've always felt there was more story to cover with her (the details of that Ledger for one thing, as well as her attempts to overcome her past crimes and her mental conditioning) and she's my second-favorite of the original six Avengers, so it hurt a lot to lose her. I was sitting there thinking “now we’ve had to lose both Nat and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to this dumb Stone?” That was a less-than-great look. It was also a bummer to have a cool moment where all the female heroes protected Spidey (Tom Holland)...except Natasha. At least her death wasn’t used to give the guys license to get violent. I liked that they gave the Avengers’ reaction to her death significant time to breathe, even if she didn’t get the grand funeral Tony did. She might be the one who was closest to all of them (except Thor) and she deserved that moment of silence from her friends (Banner’s distraught “I tried to bring her back” to Steve was another great beat). I’m very excited for Widow’s (finally!) upcoming solo film, and I wonder if it will focus on the Natasha from the alternate universe Steve created (if that is what he did), rather than the one who just died. The MCU doesn’t tend to do prequels unless they’re introducing new characters, so a random Black Widow film, while welcome, seems like an odd choice if it’s an origin story like the rumors say. Maybe it’s the origin of that timeline’s Natasha, who can continue on in new adventures should Johansson want to (and why wouldn’t the MCU, given she’s the only actor of the original six who can successfully open a non-Avengers movie)? Maybe Steve and Peggy (given Peggy’s dealings with the Black Widow program on her own show) rescued their timeline’s Romanoff from the KGB before her Red Ledger started filling up. If we could see Nat struggling between her programming and the better life Steve and Peggy could show her before she’s done the horrible things she’s hinted at, that could be a very cool arc. Regardless, Steve’s the one I thought I would leave this movie wanting more from the most, but it was Natasha that I feel like the filmmakers left a lot of cards off the table for.

I loved Tony’s moments with Nebula (Karen Gillan) at the start of the film and hated that he still blamed Steve for not letting him build his “suit of armor” around the planet. His Five Years Later family (Gwyneth Paltrow, Alexandra Rabe) was really sweet and I really enjoyed his interactions with and protectiveness of them, bringing me back around on liking his character to an extent I haven’t felt since the first Avengers movie. I totally understood why he wouldn’t want to change the past and erase all of that (and I was very relieved to hear that, as I didn’t want the Snap undone). Moments like meeting his father (John Slattery) just before his younger self was born were more great character bits, especially after the tumultuous relationship the two of them had. I would’ve liked a little more balance between the Pym science, Banner’s intelligence, and Stark’s input rather than Stark essentially inventing the working time machine on his own, but oh well. While I didn’t want to see Tony Stark Saves the Universe, this win over Thanos felt like enough of a team effort that it didn’t bother me, and his last line to Thanos—“I am Iron Man”—was perfect. I could easily see him coming back in future films as an AI, but I’d rather not. I feel like they’ve explored everything there is to with his character (though admittedly I’m not well-versed in Iron Man lore) and it feels like the MCU has moved on from him; even moved beyond his level of technology. It felt right that this era of the MCU would bookend Stark’s life as well, and the writers and directors made me feel for him and feel his loss, which is impressive given I haven’t liked him in the vast majority of his appearances.

Thor's depression worked really well for me and while I didn’t recognize it when I saw the film, after hearing the complaints about fat-shaming from the other characters I understand the offense some viewers felt. It wasn’t the fact that he got fat that was the problem, it was the other characters mocking him for it, and I wish more consideration had been given to that situation rather than going for easy jokes. Otherwise, Thor dealing with the guilt of not killing Thanos—leading to the death of half the universe—was really well done. The fact that he couldn’t change anything even when the team tracked down Thanos, only to realize that the Snap couldn’t be undone, was a huge moment for him and Hemsworth played his depression and resulting sedentary lifestyle very well. I loved most of his conversation with Frigga (Rene Russo) (minus the “eat better” jokes) and the tearful moment where he realized he was still worthy of Mjolnir was perfect. I also appreciated that (as others have pointed out) he didn't magically get his fit body back when he reclaimed all his power and status (according to Wikipedia, this was Hemsworth’s idea and it’s a brilliant one). I feel like that would’ve been another insulting development (an “only attractive people can be useful heroes” sensibility) that they thankfully avoided. Sending him off with the (As)Guardians of the Galaxy is a brilliant move (particularly given the turn in his solo franchise to a Guardians aesthetic) and I loved the argument between him and Quill about who would be leader. I really hope he’s in Guardians 3!

Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk finally embracing Banner’s intelligence (and Bruce embracing the Hulk in return) was a great move and I’m so glad they finally found somewhere new to take his character, rather than the constant push and pull of Hulk and Banner hating each other. I would’ve preferred Banner accepting that the Hulk was part of his psyche and he has serious anger issues rather than him being some separate “other guy,” but this works too. It was a nice of pace to see people excited to meet Hulk, rather than everyone being afraid of him. I also liked Bruce and Tony reuniting as Science Bros to figure out how to use the Pym Particles to create a time travel heist. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) is my least-favorite of the six original Avengers, and this didn’t do much to change my opinion. The Avengers have never been shy about killing their enemies, so Hawkeye going Ronin to kill criminals didn’t feel like such a huge a fall (though it is a troubling example of man-pain in the wake of the deaths of his wife (Linda Cardellini) and kids (Ava Russo, Cade Woodward, Ben Sakamoto), whose losses do feel like fridging. However, I do like the parallel of Nat going to retrieve him from his vendetta, just like he made the call not to kill her when they first met and she was the violent criminal. His moment with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) at the end was also a nice addition to their friendship.

Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang made for an excellent addition to the Avengers (and a great way to introduce the time travel capability), bringing levity to the proceedings with his off-kilter and genuinely sweet personality. Pushing time through him was a great sequence and I will always be happy for as much of this Ant-Man as we can get; these movies have made him a favorite of mine! I liked that they also let him get some drama out of the reunion with his now-five-years-older-daughter Cassie (Emma Fuhrmann) and I can’t wait to see more of how that relationship develops in the next Ant-Man and the Wasp film. I would have liked for Rocket (Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn) and Rhodey (Don Cheadle) to get meatier roles here, but I understand that there’s only so much screentime.

Nebula’s development into an Avenger was a great arc, especially as things got complicated with her past self, and I think she’s my favorite Guardian after this. After all the torment and literal torture Thanos has put her through, it was awesome to see her stand up to her past self and help defeat him. I do think she totally knew what she was doing by sending Natasha and Clint to Vormir, and that’s a character moment I wish they had let play out onscreen. I’m glad that it was past-Nebula who played the role of villain here, rather than Nebula getting the gauntlet from her father and becoming the story’s real villain, like what happened in The Infinity Gauntlet. I’m excited to see her search for Gamora and help continue turning her life around in the next Guardians!

I wish they had explained what was going on with Thanos “in” the Soul Stone at the end of Infinity War (I was really hoping it was punishment for not making a real trade of love to get the Stone, since what he felt for Gamora was not love and should not have been cosmically confirmed as such), but ultimately I didn’t need any more of him than we got here. It was cool that his younger self knew he would die to see his quest for the Stones fulfilled, and so was set in his determination to meet that destiny because it also meant he’d win. Thanos brought a very impressive battle and unforgettable scale to our heroes’ lives, but ultimately I feel like he could’ve been entirely dealt with in just this and Infinity War. Outside of the familial ties introduced in the Guardians movies, there was nothing relevant about Thanos that we couldn’t have learned from just these two Avengers films if he’d shown up for the first time at the beginning of Infinity War (his being behind the attack on New York could’ve been a reveal to all of us, not just Tony and Bruce). The Stones arc went on too long and Thanos never felt really menacing until these last two appearances, making me bored with the whole plot at least halfway through if not sooner (Guardians itself calls the Stones meaningless MacGuffins). I hope the MCU doesn’t try to build decade-long (or even 5-year) stories out of its other villains to try and match this, because they don’t need to. Galactus, for example, doesn’t need build-up; just let him appear in all of his planet-eating glory as a new problem for the Avengers to team up and stop.

I really liked the movie’s fresh take on time travel: you can go back and change the past, but not in your own timeline (since the future you came from is now your past), and any changes you do make will result in a new timeline. That’s a cool way to preserve the events of the MCU while letting them go back and muck around with their history at the same time. I left the theater thinking that it’s possible to play this all as one timeline that didn’t branch at all if Kevin Feige and the rest of the MCU’s architects decide to. As I said, I can see Steve finally retiring to have a life of his own, saying nothing and knowing that things will turn out OK (though I really want to see him meet Red Skull (Ross Marquand) when he returned the Soul Stone!). The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) could have helped him restore the Tesseract and Aether to their former states using the Time Stone (as someone else pointed out online). Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) escape from Avengers Tower with the Tesseract and eventual recapture could be the entire basis of his upcoming Disney+ series, given we never knew SHIELD was even involved with his arrest at the end of the first Avengers. His brief escape could’ve always happened. Present-Nebula might not have killed Past-Nebula at all, given she’s an alien cyborg and her internal organs might work or even just be arranged differently than we’d expect. My initial read of the end of the battle was that Tony had sent Thanos’ army back in time and erased their memories via his Snap (since he didn’t want to change history), not that he killed them. I suppose Past-Gamora’s existence in the present after the battle is the only loose end that can’t be taken both ways. If they do want to create a whole lot of alternate timelines, that works too…especially since I feel like the next big event is going to be Secret Wars (the more recent one, not the original).

Regardless of the potential new Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, I hope they use the Snap to its fullest potential going forward. Not only would it be a global disaster to lose half the population, but bringing them all back would throw things into disarray all over again. Nations would have fallen, new regimes emerged (Latveria, anyone?), superheroes going to extremes to keep the peace, and super-villains turning over new leaves when they realized how petty their crimes were. The possibilities for interesting stories are endless! It should affect everything going forward, from Far From Home to the remaining TV shows and beyond. They’ve created a world where the events of the films can have a huge, undeniable impact on everything else, and they should honor that shared universe. The only thing the Snap shouldn’t result in is the creation of mutants, because that would remove their “we’re supposed to be here” argument and the connection to the real-world people they’re supposed to represent along with it.

There are too many awesome moments and character beats to list here, so here are a few off the top of my head that I loved. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) getting to be the queen of New Asgard.  Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) finally getting to team up with the Avengers. Wanda and Carol (Brie Larson) completely destroying Thanos at just about every turn. A much better use of Captain America saying “Hail Hydra” than in the comics. Time travel allowing them to not only revisit some of their greatest hits, but to bring back many of the actors who appeared later, forming a more tightly-knit world. Tony and Peter’s farewell. Black Widow becoming the leader of the Avengers. Hulk holding up the Avengers facility like the mountain in the original Secret Wars. James D’Arcy as Jarvis, finally getting to break the TV/movie barrier as the first TV-original MCU character to appear in the movies (go watch Agent Carter; it’s fantastic!).  Stan Lee’s last cameo happening in this film, which just feels right. Cap/Iron Man/Thor vs. Thanos. Everyone vs. Thanos. 

This was definitely a worthy conclusion to this era of the MCU. I’m really glad that they resisted the urge to tease what’s next by omitting any post-credit scenes or tags on the end of the film. The only thing at the end of the credits—the sound of Tony making the Iron Man suit from his first film—was the perfect touch. Let things rest for now. The massive credit sequence with all of the stars getting their own card was great, and I liked the page they took out of Star Trek VI's book (having the original six Avengers sign their names onscreen) too. That was classy. 

There are a few lingering questions about just what timelines might have been created (or not), but nothing that hurt the experience of the movie for me. There are more stories I wish we could be seeing with Cap and Widow, but that would likely always be the case no matter when they retired. Regardless, the filmmakers had a lot to wrap up and to do so to the extent that they did is truly impressive. The actors were all at the top of their game with a lot of really good material to work with, making this an excellent and supremely emotionally satisfying movie! I can’t wait to watch it again when I get it on home video!

I'd give it an A(vengers)!