#Eclipse: “I'm not a hero! I'm just... a guy.” | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

btsmosphere · 1 year ago

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Supercharged | JJK

Chapter 1: the Light Dies

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🗲summary: It starts with a blow to the chest that changes your life. When your city’s most celebrated hero pays a visit, it turns out the noble Bolt has no trouble tossing lives aside. Lives that won't be missed. Lives like yours. Seven mysterious and powerful men give you another chance – one that starts to feel more like a curse the moment you meet golden boy Jungkook. The boy who wants you as far from his brothers as he can get you. Is it you he hates, or the blue lightning that now runs through your veins? And could it be his golden light that illuminates your heart when darkness threatens? 🗲this chapter: He’s the hero. Unfortunately for you, you’re not the villain.

🗲pairing: jungkook x female reader 🗲word count: 6.6k 🗲genre: angst, action, eventual fluff, enemies to lovers, slow burn, superheroes/villains au, it’s sorta like a mafia au but they have superpowers lmao 🗲rating: pg15 🗲warnings: violence with superpowers, minor character death, attempted murder, injury, loss of consciousness

a/n: I have to say thank you to @casuallyimagining and @bluewhale52 for betaing this chapter, although this might come as a surprise to them since that was maybe 3 years ago now?😅I'm really not sure how much my writing had changed since then, but you guys can be the judge of that as the future chapters unfold! In the meantime, enjoy! If you want more supercharged in your life, you can also search my supercharged tag to find some musings, rambling, gifsets and visuals etc that inspired me and kept me going while I lost my mind over this story!

Lastly, I present the supercharged playlist✨ I had a lot of fun making this – several songs align with plot events, while some of them are there for the title, the vibe, or even a single line! Feel free to guess which are which or come and chat with me about it👀

An ear-splitting roar was barely contained behind shuddering steel doors. Just down the corridor, your fingers still clicked away, unperturbed, at your keyboard.

Tapping your foot, you looked impatiently up at the clock as another thunderous bellow assaulted the air. If the full-length windows weren’t reinforced by your boss, Kuyang’s own design, they would be rattling in their frames.

Blowing to rid your face of a strand of hair, you returned to your work, not even sparing a glance towards the source of the racket. It was only around half an hour until you could leave work for the weekend.

Finishing your task, you turned to filing the correspondence on your desk as a few yells carried through the air, mingled with the monster’s uproar. Bills and business deals the lot of them, you tucked them away in their respective places to be dealt with next week – only to stop on the very last one. How many times had the postman ignored the very clear sign for no newspapers?

You supposed the city felt the need to remind everyone that there was some semblance of central control – not really of much concern in a workplace such as yours, mind. Glancing across the front page, you realised why. You didn’t have a tv at home, but you would have to live under a rock not to recognise your city’s most celebrated superhero. Bolt, the media’s beloved, had claimed another victory against some crazy start-up trying to build their own bombs downtown.

The hero’s blue-masked face grinned confidently up at you from the desk, while police led what looked to be two scruffy teenagers into the back of their van. But Bolt’s vivid presence eclipsed them in his suit that matched his bright eyes.

Not bothering to read further, you pushed the paper into the waste bin at the end of the table.

Just as you were tucking away the final bits of paper, your boss emerged, wiping his brow on a cloth that looked as dirty as his face. Smiling pleasantly despite his ruffled state, you rotated on your chair to face him.

“Frank’s all good and sleepy now,” he said, “if you could get him sent up to the chamber.”

“Sure,” you nodded, already getting up and straightening your jacket.

With nothing more than a weary nod of appreciation, he left for his private laboratory. This was through a series more armoured doors, to which only you and a small number of lab workers knew the codes.

He was a scientist. And you were sure he was unhinged, but the job paid well, so that was all you concerned yourself with.

In fact, you had got very lucky. You had been surprised when such a good position had become available and quickly given to someone as ill-qualified as you, with no references to give. But your lack of connections seemed of no concern, and here you were, finally making ends meet and no longer in fear of being turned out of your run-down apartment at the edge of town.

So you did your job as well as you could, worrying yourself over nothing except pleasing the odd man that was Kuyang.

Even so, it was still a little daunting each time you had to come face-to-face with one of his experiments.

Reaching the steel doors that had not long ago been seriously threatening their hinges, you took a breath. Holding your thumb over a scanner by the door, you plastered a confident smile on your face as you walked inside.

Affectionately dubbed ‘Frank’, a great lump of teeth and dark furry flesh several times bigger than you was sleeping in a pod at the centre of the room. Surrounding this were multitudes of screens showing graphs and readings you couldn’t hope to understand.

At the edges of the room, a smattering of other workers were slumped against the stainless steel lab walls, almost as rumpled as their boss had been.

A hulking guard, Taeyeon, stood near the entrance, and you quietly confirmed with her that Frank was under and secure. Nodding, you gestured to Taeyeon’s team, another man and woman with the same uniform and intimidating stature.

Together, you assembled in front of the tank that held Frank, Taeyeon typing authorisation into one of the computers. The others locked down the external doors, just in case.

Though it was a familiar sight by now, the opening of the pod always prompted you to run through your training. If you hadn’t read it in the documents you dealt with, you would not have known Frank was also known as Necrus X, a new prototype Kuyang was working on, although you could not imagine what for.

Kuyang had been sure to tell you how to knock out the creature if it ever came to it, though. There was a spot behind his ear, which was more of a ridge at the side of his enormous head.

With the pod open, a panel rose from the floor, taking Frank rotating upwards. You caught sight of the patch behind its ear, zeroing in on it. Just in case.

The smooth expanse of ceiling split then, a hole revealing itself as the roof shrunk away into the walls, leaving a clear path for Frank to rise to the next floor, where he was stored.

As effortlessly as the ceiling retreating, a smooth steel staircase emerged from the walls. You and Taeyeon climbed it, spiralling around the edges of the circular space until you drew level with Frank, now snoring on the upper floor. Here, the space was wide open like an empty art gallery, half the walls comprised of expansive windows, no lab equipment to be seen.

The floor closed up beneath you both and you walked around Frank, opening a secret panel in the wall. As before, you raised your thumb to a blank scanner – but got no further.

A deafening smash sent you crouching to the ground in panic. Livid blue painted all the walls in the space as shattered glass skidded across the floor.

You had thought that glass to be unbreakable. At least that was the intention. But when you turned, you were forced to believe your ears: the central panel of glass was completely blown in, all the others down the row cracked from the force.

At the same moment the glass had shattered, you could suddenly hear what before had been hidden behind soundproofing. Outside, there were shouts, screams, car horns and alarms blaring from every angle – and above all, sirens. Sirens wailing through the air like disembodied banshees, descending, apparently, on your building.

Shuffling along the floor, you peered past the sleeping mass that was Frank in front of you. Walking across the room was a man in a tight blue suit, the same hue crackling in the air around his hands.

Bolt.

Mind short-circuiting, you were frozen. What should you do?

What was Bolt doing here? Was there some kind of threat? The image of him should have brought you relief, even though you knew nothing of what the danger was, but you hesitated.

Only having the presence of mind to shrink back silently behind Frank, you looked between the beast and the control panel you had abandoned. But you had no more chance to move before a fearsome crack ripped through the air, another flash of blue, sending the hairs on your arms bolting upright.

Spinning back to face Frank, you were met with a thump. A body, falling onto the floor.

Though she was mostly obscured by Frank’s sleeping form, you stared in unbelieving horror at Taeyeon where she lay, unmoving. Breath accelerating in your throat, you moved at last, scooting yourself back and away. Closer to the wall.

First you lunged to sound the alarm, mounted inside the wall panel, which instantly lit the room up in throbbing red, blaring loud enough to drown out the sirens outside. Then your hand was fumbling across the scanner. You had to get Frank locked away.

The walls of the pod which safely contained Frank overnight began to descend, much too slowly for your liking. Whirling to face the room, your heart seized in your chest when the imposing figure of Bolt, now shaded purple by the red light, met your eyes.

A glance up at the descending walls. They were halfway to the ground by now, but you still had to enter the code to lock them down.

Bolt yelled for you to stop, barely audible over the dizzying noise of the warning siren.

As he strode towards you, you could only watch, pressing yourself desperately against the wall as if it could swallow you up.

Bright light cut through the imposing red as the heavy door at the opposite end of the room was thrown open. Bolt stopped, both of you turning to see Kuyang enter. His hair was still sticking up from earlier, a strange expression on his face that you hadn’t seen before.

Paying no mind to the maniacal smile that had no place on Kuyang’s face, you took the moment of distraction to scramble for the code lock.

Without a sound, the gap between the floor and Frank’s pod closed, and your fingers were already leaping to action, typing the numbers behind your back at lightning speed.

Kuyang was running now, a direct path towards Bolt. But Bolt turned back towards you.

You were nearly done, but his hand was raising towards you…

In a split second, your fingertip met the final key of the code. Almost instantly, it was ripped away as shocking blue light cut through the air. You felt the impact before you could even notice that it was aimed at you.

Hitting you square in the chest, white hot pain scorched through your every nerve as your body was flung backwards, powerless as a ragdoll sailing through the air. The collision with the cracked window behind was almost lost on you. More intense pain was writhing its way down each limb, making you cry out, uncaring about the rain-spattered wind that whipped about your face now.

But you could see shards of glass as they fell along with you, like daggers aimed at the ground.

Biting wind rushed in your ears, the sound crashing over you like waves. And just as a pan sizzles down off the heat, the ferocious attack of pain seemed to reduce just as fast as it had invaded you.

Your heartbeat was the loudest thing, booming over the insistent web of sirens and whistling air.

Breathing choppily, you screwed your eyes nearly closed, suddenly aware of the tempest around you as you fell. Above, the already darkening winter night was illuminated with flashes of that awful blue.

You were falling.

It hit you then, as if you hadn’t been falling all this time. But it was only now that your senses caught up with themselves. You worked on a very high floor of the skyscraper, but as you were tossed around in the air, you saw the ground rapidly approaching.

A horror gripped your chest like nothing you had ever felt before.

Below you, and rushing towards you at terrifying speed, a skip sat surrounded by heaps of trash on the street. Unable to think, you could only shield your face with your hands, stretched out in front of you as if to stop the inevitable collision.

Though your eyes fell closed, you felt the jerk that flung your whole body backwards.

That wasn’t what you had expected.

Eyes snapping open in confusion, you found your vision lit with blue. In front of your face, blue light was shooting from your palms, pushing you up and away from the ground.

Your mouth fell open. Gaping in shock, you did nothing as the light died and you slowed again in the air.

Though you began falling much slower this time, you barely had time to notice your surroundings – much nearer the ground – before you were plummeting again, and this time nothing could stop you.

Your eyes weren’t even open when you felt your body slide off something. Not a second later, you were crumpling onto hard concrete which grazed your cheek.

You groaned.

It was dark. High above, any flashes of light didn’t reach you here, having landed in a thin alley beside the building. And though this shielded you from the commotion on the main streets out front, sirens still pierced the air, each one feeling like a stab to your head.

You clutched it as you maneuvered to sit. It took you a few tries, groping for a wall or something to lean against as you regained your balance.

Eyes cracking open, you waited patiently for the dark splotches to dispel before looking around.

Right next to you was a car which blocked you from view of the road beyond this alley. Evident from the dent that caved in its bonnet, that was what you had landed on.

Turning your head, you had to squint even more as light assaulted your sensitive eyes.

Among a blazing light, you could make out the vague shapes of rubbish bags and an overflowing skip that you recognised. Out of these, a vibrant fire was now burning. The correlation was too strong for you to ignore.

Breath shallow, you turned your horrified gaze to your hands.

They had done this… but how? They looked totally normal now.

Frowning, you brought them up closer to your face, so that your nose was practically buried in your palms.

No difference.

You were sure you hadn’t imagined that blue light which saved you earlier. Was there a way to make it come back?

While you were puzzling, you lowered your hands again, still staring intently as you rotated them in your lap.

Then, quick as a blink, a blue flash darted from them again. So fast, in fact, that you had no time to react before one of the bolts was fired directly into your opposite arm.

Snatching it away reflexively, you hissed in pain as a burning sensation crawled, tingling, over your skin there.

Despite the pain, the blue light didn't cease shooting from your hands. They tingled, a strangely uncomfortable sensation. It was as if something warm was wriggling its way up your veins and spilling from your fingertips.

“Stop! Stop!” you whispered in panic.

You turned them outwards, aiming away from you, but if they kept at it for much longer you were sure to draw attention.

Moving your hands around jerkily, the beams of light shook along with you, but did not go out. With each unsuccessful movement, panic made you more frantic until the glowing rays jerked erratically around the small space.

Straying too far, the light came into contact with a post at the alley’s entrance. You could only watch, helpless, as light like blue snakes skittered up it and latched around the wires it supported.

To your relief, the strange current seemed to have found an outlet, and only remained a second longer before cutting out. You were left blinking in the relative darkness. Panting heavily, you stared down at your hands, although you did not bring them too close anymore.

Once again, they appeared utterly innocent. There was nothing to suggest they had just channelled lightning through them.

Suddenly, the world plunged into darkness. The fire still burned at the other end of the alley, or you would have been left totally blind. In the building behind you, in the street, all the lights had gone out.

Almost instantly following the blackout, screaming rose again in the air.

Gulping, your eyes travelled to the blackened post at the corner, which you had accidentally electrocuted.

This was bad. Your head was spinning, both from your short, hard fall and from the whirlwind of events that had happened in what could only have been minutes. Surrounded by darkness, with the wail of the city and a fire for company, you could only see one course of action.

Run.

You had to get away from here. It wasn’t safe. You had little idea where was safe, but you couldn’t be here anymore.

It wasn’t like you had anyone to call who would care enough to come and pick you up. Nor did you have the money to try a hospital, though you felt as if you may need it.

But especially with electricity shooting from your hands at the drop of a hat, it probably wasn’t best to be anywhere around people.

The dizziness from your unfortunate landing on the car had worn off while you were sitting, but the world swayed anew the moment you made to stand. Pushing determinedly against the wall, you struggled on anyway, brand new dark spots in your vision offset by the brightness of the fire you walked towards.

This end of the alleyway led out through smaller streets, away from the city centre and furore of sirens.

On reaching the opening, you cautiously assessed the road stretching away either side. Empty. And if there was anyone there, they wouldn’t see you in this darkness.

Shoving your hands beneath your armpits on some misguided hope of keeping them from causing problems, you lowered your head and ran. It was more of a jog, considering everything, but you still moved as quickly as you could beneath the dead streetlamps.

Head throbbing more with movement, you stumbled a few times as you went. The pavement tilted around you.

You had made it a few roads before you felt that awful tingling in your arms again. It itched, like something fighting its way out of your skin.

Nausea rolled in the pit of your stomach. This couldn’t be real.

Slowing down and stopping beneath a signpost, you drew your shaking hands out in front of you. The world careened on its axis, revolving around the sight of your palms as a faint blue glow grew in them.

You were going to throw up, you were sure of it.

You wanted it to stop.

A few flickers of blue darted down the veins in your wrist. Towards your fingertips. Sparks leapt from them, small tendrils of lightning crackling between your fingers like webbing.

At last, you gave in to the rising horror mixed with a sick feeling. The floor’s spinning became too much, your hands turning to a bright blur in the centre of your vision.

You passed out on the spot.

Lights were turning on again around the city. Television sets flickering back to life to announce Bolt’s victory against the beast that had attacked earlier that evening.

But not on the street where you still lay.

The return of light only reached neighbouring roads, dim glow snuffed out before it could penetrate the middle of this street. A white-haired young man stepped forwards, but his face was totally obscured in darkness.

“Here,” he spoke to the silence.

The next moment, a deep red glowed in the middle of the road, though it brought little light. The red bounced off a signpost before it was gone, replaced by another man, seemingly from nowhere.

The newest arrival stood there, looking down at your figure, unconscious by the sign. Then he disappeared again, leaving total darkness behind as if he had never been there at all.

A few more moments passed, you and the hidden man the only beings on the dark road.

Not very long after, a car’s engine rumbled and sputtered into earshot. The bright beam of headlights rounded the corner, growing larger and shedding light on your form as it drew closer.

Pulling up next to you, the engine died along with the lights. Two doors opened and slammed shut.

As two pairs of feet stepped nearer to join the one remaining beside you, the streetlamp directly overhead began to glow. The faint glimmer grew until it illuminated the scene. Still no other lights joined it, leaving the small group of you lit up as if by spotlight.

“It’s her?”

The man crouching beside you asked the question without looking up, and the shadowed man answered.

“Pretty sure.”

“She’s breathing?”

“Yes.”

The crouching man hummed. Moving to kneel instead, his eyes roved over your somewhat battered face, dark hair obscuring his own.

“Namjoon?” he asked then, turning to the other man from the car. It was the same man who had momentarily appeared in the street earlier.

Taking his cue, the tall man, Namjoon, walked forwards and bent to lift your hands by the wrists. In just moments he was placing them carefully back, nodding.

“No doubt.”

“Okay then.”

“Can she travel, Jin?”

“Give me a moment.”

Producing a small object, he pressed a button and a small light sprung from the end. Carefully lifting one of your eyelids, he shone the light into it, observing like a doctor.

The first you became aware of was the far away sound of voices being quietly exchanged. But with the cloudiness in your head, identifying them didn’t seem very urgent. You were preoccupied with the swirling feeling that made the world swim around you, even though it was dark.

But as dim awareness was returning to you, the process of regaining your senses was violently accelerated as a blinding light was thrust into your vision.

You flinched, and as Jin pulled away he saw you blink, eyelids screwing shut in protest. His eyebrows raised in slight concern as he watched your first groggy movements.

Blinking around at the dimly lit figures over you, your eyes widened. The nearest man held the illuminated light stick. Was he a doctor?

Next, your eyes darted to the tall man standing behind him. You recognised neither.

Some strange feeling told you someone else was standing there too, but when you looked to your other side you were faced with nothing but empty shadow.

“Can you sit?”

The first man’s question was gentle, his hands ready to support you.

Nodding timidly, you heaved yourself up with his help. It embarrassed you to be panting after just that much movement.

“What happened?” came the next question.

As you replayed the events, you avoided their eyes. You could not let them know what happened, what you had become. They were helping you, and yet you might hurt them-

Fists clenching subconsciously, you stuttered in panic.

“I-I can’t pay,” you told them, but before you could say more a new voice was speaking. The standing man stepped forwards, his voice calm and surprisingly friendly.

“There’s no need to pay. We can help you. Can you tell us what happened?”

“I don’t, uh, I-I-“

His eyes travelled towards your hands, which you were trying to tuck behind you.

“You gained powers, didn’t you?”

You froze.

“I have them too,” he smiled, “I know what it’s like to be scared. But you can work with this and learn to control them. I’m Namjoon, and this is Jin. We’ve been through this before, we can help you.”

At your sides, your hands relaxed. Tension lifted from your tightly hunched shoulders. Wordless, you looked between the men who were watching you, ready to move, but only on your word.

Swallowing, a light frown creased your brow.

“What do you want-”

Namjoon’s smile dimmed into something kinder.

“At least let us check you over.”

Your hands fretted together. It was strange, you couldn’t feel anything there. Surely they should feel different? How would you know if these… powers, Namjoon had said, were to come back?

“You won’t hurt us, don’t worry,” he seemed to anticipate your thoughts as he watched you, “we can protect ourselves.”

“You were unconscious,” Jin spoke, drawing your perplexed gaze back to him, “did you hit your head?”

You blinked, but found yourself answering.

“I think so.”

Nodding, Jin shuffled at your side. He leaned a bit closer.

“I need to shine this light in your eyes again. You may have a concussion.”

Complying, you sat through the eye-watering brightness. He asked you things, like a doctor would, except he was working in the middle of an empty street in the middle of the night.

“Do you feel dizzy?”

“I did. I think still, a little.”

“Any nausea?”

“Yeah… but maybe because of the…” you gestured to your hands.

Jin sat back, taking the light with him. Namjoon shot you a sympathetic smile at that. You supposed he had been through the same thing, from the sounds of it.

Jin looked up at Namjoon.

“It looks pretty rough. Definitely a concussion, and she needs patching up, but in the long run she’ll be fine.”

“I-I’m serious,” you interjected, “I don’t have the money for hospital…”

Your voice faltered. You half thought of asking to just go home, but you were hardly sure of even making it there by yourself. And if you got there, then what? The prospect of burning down the place with these errant powers didn’t fill you with comfort.

“Good thing we’re not going to bring you there, then,” Namjoon said, “but I meant it when I said we could help. We can take you home, if you want… but you can stay with us, too.”

You stared at him wordlessly. Was it crazy that you were considering this?

“Just for a bit, if you need,” Jin added softly, “it’s just… now might not be the smartest time to be alone.”

You chewed your cheek. But your head was pounding too much to think very hard, and this seemed like the most straightforward option. The people in this city kept surprising you, after your first stroke of luck with Kuyang's generosity.

“Sure…” you spoke quietly, not quite able to look them in the eyes, “yes please.”

“Okay,” Namjoon took it in stride, “but let’s get moving.”

“Just one moment – we should wrap that.”

Gesturing towards your arm, Jin stood and went back to the car. On his return, he knelt again and began to secure cling film around the angry red blotch blistering your skin, where you had caught yourself with your own beam.

“We’ll sort it out properly when we get back,” he told you, “but Namjoon’s right, we should be going.”

You followed his gaze which seemed to dart up and down the street. However, nothing was there.

Jin helped you stand, still looking around. Sure enough, the dizziness from before hadn’t quite left you yet. Biting down on your lip, you focussed hard on getting the short distance to the car. You were led to the passenger seat and crumpled gratefully into it.

But just as Jin closed the door, you felt an uncomfortable prickling clutch your forearms again. Namjoon slid into the back seat in time to hear your gasp, noticing the way your fingers flexed in panic. Digging in his pockets, he produced a pair of thin black gloves and held them out to you just as the first trickles of blue appeared in your veins again. He watched with a studious frown as you pushed your hands into the gloves.

“Those will help,” he said, still looking at your wrists, “they can contain the powers. But you shouldn’t keep them on for too long.”

Jin was seating himself in the driver’s side as you frowned over at Namjoon. At first you had been relieved to have a solution to your erratic lightning problem, but that was ripped away at his last addition.

“Why not? It will keep you safe,” you questioned, but kept your voice quiet.

“Don’t worry, we’re more than capable of handling anything you could throw at us,” he laughed, “but you can keep them on in here. Best not to bottle up your powers forever, though.”

Resigned, you turned back to face front. The moment Jin stepped on the gas, all the lights in the road sparked to life at once. Startled, you blinked, looking around. On the pavement you were just pulling away from, a man was walking away, unidentifiable behind a hoodie.

Slumping back in your seat, you breathed a short, dry laugh. This mysterious happening was just the latest in this crazy night. You had no choice but to accept it.

The car ride was fairly short, but you were too tired and distracted to take in exactly where you were going. Streets seemed to blur together, aware only that you were heading out of town.

The itching in your arms had persisted for a while, but as promised, the gloves seemed to work. No fiery blue burst out of your palms, and, eventually, whatever it was decided to give it up, subsiding again by the time the car pulled up.

But no one got out yet. Jin had stopped at the end of a small road, big enough for only one vehicle, directly facing an expanse of crumbling and graffitied brick.

Curiosity woke you up from your daze, and you watched as Jin reached to tap something on his dashboard. Almost instantly, a groaning reached your ears from over the whirring of the engine. The wall ahead shook before shifting, sliding sideways until it tucked itself behind a dented dustbin, unveiling a space beyond.

Leaving you little more time to wonder, Jin started the car again and you rolled downwards through a plain, dark entrance. It reminded you of those multi-storey car parks formed with ugly blocks of concrete. It was considerably smaller than those, however, Jin pullingup into a space alongside about a dozen other vehicles, beyond which the place seemed entirely deserted.

Jin came around to open your door, but you were able to stand by yourself. It was still a bit of a struggle, your limbs sluggish and the world dull around you – although that may have just been the low underground light.

Namjoon led you, Jin staying close by your side. Blinking at the space as you moved through it, your eyes traced over the various car roofs, some cleaner than others. A larger four-by-four was particularly beaten up, with a large crease in one of the metal wheel arches.

Your eyes rested longest on what was probably the most pristine: a motorbike, at first hidden by the cars either side of it.

Soon enough, you were past them. Stopping as Namjoon did, you watched him expectantly. However, he did not turn around, instead standing face-to-face with a plain concrete wall. Except… now a low rumble announced the movement of a panel which slid away, revealing a wide doorway which had previously blended seamlessly with the flat wall.

Your eyebrows raised at the touch that was reminiscent of Kuyang’s lab. Without time for you to dwell on this, your small group moved up a dingy staircase that lay beyond the doorway.

At the top, you emerged into a new space, notably lighter than before. You assumed you were back on ground level, perhaps above. It was hard to be sure, disoriented as you still were in the whirlwind that had overtaken your day.

Bizarrely, the space appeared to be someone’s home. There was a large and coffee-stained table surrounded by mismatching chairs, a kitchen behind it littered with mugs and pot plants. Still, beyond the lived-in array of things lying around, it was big. You imagined it must be miles more expensive than the shoddy apartment you stayed in.

It was open plan, and you followed Namjoon past the dining table towards an area filled with two enormous sofas.

The back of a blond head was visible over the sofa, and now the person turned towards you.

“Guys!” a loud exclamation rang out as he leapt up. A dazzling smile spread across his mouth.

When his eyes fell on you, wincing at his sudden volume, the smile dimmed a little.

“Not so loud, Hope-ah,” Jin spoke gently from behind you.

“Sorry,” he dipped his head, smile remaining on his lips.

Jin’s hands came lightly to your back, steering you over to a sofa. As you sunk into it with relief, the blond man sat across from you, tilting his head to catch your eye.

“I’m Hope,” he smiled, “I’m glad we found you. You’ll be right in no time!”

Frowning, you couldn’t help but notice his eyes flicking over the damage on your face. Averting your gaze, you chewed your lip absently.

What did he mean? I’m glad we found you…

Had they been looking for you? You still weren’t sure if it was a lucky coincidence they found you, but perhaps it was something more.

The lingering ache in your head forced you to push the issue away. You missed Namjoon’s stern look at Hoseok as he hovered behind your seat.

Jin pulled a pack from a cupboard and set it beside you. You let him lift your arm and unwrap the burn, your unfocussed eyes dragging across the room while he applied something cold over it. Next came stinging, scattered over your face as he wiped at the small cuts and grazes with an apologetic grimace you barely saw.

You only forced the world back into focus when someone else entered your sight. Emerging from behind you, a gentle, friendly smile was directed your way from a man with pale pink hair. Swallowing, you never managed to smile back before he was turning away.

The pink-haired man reached a hand out to someone you couldn’t see. Another man appeared, walking towards him, but he never looked at you. Or if he did, it was obscured behind the black hair that fell to his eyes.

The two new people left towards the kitchen, though not without another smile from the pink one.

Who were all these people?

Frowning after them, you were interrupted by a clap on the shoulder from Jin.

“We’ll talk more in the morning. You need to rest.”

Looking around, you had half a mind to protest, but were overruled by the shakiness taking over your frame. Body too fatigued to allow you much say, you meekly followed Jin.

Beyond the living space, a thinner corridor led away, several closed doors along its walls.

Further you went, until a door just ahead opened. Another person walked out.

When he stopped to face you, his posture remained stiff. Tall and muscular, he was clad all in black except for a towel slung over his shoulder. Damp hair fell messily around his head. But you had little time to take this in, as his eyes fixed themselves fiercely on yours, rendering you unable to look away.

Mouth remaining in a hard line, his expression only twitched further into a frown.

Then his gaze flicked abruptly away, travelling to Jin just beyond you.

“Kook-“

Jin never got further than that before the man strode forwards, marching sharply past you and away with a scowl. Turning after him in surprise, you watched his tense shoulders disappear behind Namjoon, who you hadn’t noticed hovering.

Namjoon stared sternly after him, but the man seemed to avoid his gaze.

Jin sighed, sending an apologetic glance at you.

“That’s just Jungkook,” Namjoon spoke, ushering you all further along the hallway, “don’t pay him any attention.”

“Why was…”

You trailed off, unsure of what exactly to ask. Neither of them made an attempt to answer.

You had no idea a wordless encounter could leech so much hostility into the atmosphere. Picturing Jungkook’s glowering face, you blindly followed the others through a different door.

“You can sleep in here.”

“Hm?”

Shaking yourself, you looked around the new room. There wasn’t much to see. Beside a low bed, there was a mirror, a wooden closet and nothing more. Looking up, you didn’t even find a light in the ceiling. The only light leaked through from the hallway.

Clearly reading your gaping mouth and furrowing brow, Namjoon moved in front of you.

“Don’t worry, this is just a place to sleep, nothing more. But since you’re going to have to take those gloves off, we can’t have you in a space with any electricals.”

Stepping back defensively, your fingers pressed tightly together. Having the gloves on had let you almost imagine that nothing life-changing had happened. Like gaining unpredictable powers, for instance.

Namjoon watched patiently, holding out a hand.

“You don’t need them…”

He realised he had never asked your name, and let his sentence trail expectantly. Telling him your name, he relaxed into a smile.

“You don’t need them, Y/N,” he repeated, not that you believed him for a second, “you’ll be perfectly safe. And so will we.”

Only the yearning to collapse onto the bed persuaded you to hand over the gloves. The instant they were in his hand, you swore you could feel a shock go up your arm. Immediately tense again, your breathing became shallower, with no idea how to try and stop power shooting from your hands any moment.

But Namjoon and Jin seemed content. Before you could gather your thoughts, they had left, closing the door and drenching your room in near total darkness.

Stumbling to the bed and virtually falling into it, you wiped sweating palms against the fabric. Your mouth was dry with fear.

This couldn’t have happened.

Alone for the first time since your initial panic, it didn’t take long for your mind to wrap itself in circles again. Only hours ago, you had been sitting happily in your bright office, going through the motions…

One split-second decision from a powerful man had changed that.

You knew full well he had intended for you to die. But he was Bolt...

He had probably forgotten about it already. The guard he sent lifeless to the floor, the secretary he threw from the building.

Itching feeling returning, you swallowed desperately and raised your hands. Sure enough, against the darkness, blue pierced your vision, darting its way up-

Turning your face away, you flinched as the outburst came. Your eyes screwed shut, you pressed your cheek into fabric, not wanting to see the deathly lightning that shot through the room. Shuddering breaths broke into your lungs when at last it subsided.

Letting them fall, limp, to your sides, your hands fisted the covers tightly.

You were almost afraid to open your eyes, knowing it would only show you the empty room, confirmation that this was real. You were dangerous, shut in a safe room where you could hurt no one. Would you ever get out? Succeed in controlling this, like Namjoon had said?

With no idea where you were, barely any idea who the people here were, you wanted to block it out. But even with your eyes closed, you couldn’t escape.

The memory of Jungkook’s suspicious face made your heart sink. Perhaps people should be afraid of you, now. As much as you may want to, there was no getting away from this.

Pushing yourself to sit, you surveyed the room. Eyes accustomed to the blackness a little more, you could make out vague shapes. Your breath fell alone in the silence. This really was the safest place you could be right now, even if it was a nightmare.

As your head turned, you suddenly came level with your eyes in the mirror, and a shock of light.

For an extended moment, you could only stare.

Then all at once you were rushing forwards, tripping from the end of the bed. Bracing your arms against the wall either side of the mirror, you gaped at your reflection.

As you watched, an angular bolt of blue shot across your irises, which were already dimly glowing.

You gulped against the thick feeling crawling up your throat. Faced with this, you could no longer have any hope of denying it.

This was really happening.

Thank you for reading!! Please please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, comments make it all worthwhile!💜💜

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#bangtanarmynet #jungkook x reader #jungkook imagine #jungkook fanfic #jungkook x you #jungkook angst #jungkook au #jungkook mafia #jungkook scenario #bts mafia au #jungkook supervillain #jeon jungkook fanfic #bts jungkook imagine #jeongguk x reader #bts series #jungkook series #superhero bts #supervillain bts

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quitealotofsodapop · 1 year ago

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Wouldn't it be funny if, with your idea of Rumble and Savage being spirit monkeys that just sorta latched onto Macaque, if they were among the group of clones who keep pinning Wukong down... they just really, really want a hug and keep purring and cuddling up to him when they do so. They're the only ones that get left unharmed by Wukong, too, because something in his monkey brain registers them as cubs, and it confuses the hell out of him because those are clones??? And the reason they're so cuddly with Wukong is because they hear Macaque eating lyracle about him all the time, bemoaning how his mate turned against him and "betrayed" him to become the pet of the gods and protect some human monk for months, thinking they were just clones. Hearing how their new monkey papa is heartbroken about losing his mate and then getting to see their estranged "mama" and es obviously having a baby, which means they're gonna be big siblings, they couldn't help trying to get close

Prev SlowBoiled idea.

Honestly the Eclipse Twins being baby Spiritual Monkeys who stowed-away on Macaque's revival could be an Au in of itself. (maybe "Penumbra au" since it refers to the outer plane of shadows of the moon?).

In this S3 concept art, it looked like the creators had toyed with the idea of the two being actual characters in the chase for the Samadhi Fire; but they ultimately had Macaque focus on MK, Mei, and Sandy for the split-up. In the lego set they also have a "shadow" version of the delivery tuktuk, so it would have been cute if they had tried inconveniencing MK by stealing his main means of transportation.

By the time of S2; Macaque is starting to notice that these two "clones" are a little too independent... and they revert to much smaller cub-sized shadows when they think he can't see them. He still often vents to him about his and Wukong's history, and how his dearest Hero, his Peach, his Sun, had left him for the Journey. The twin shadows chirp with little confused smiles at these stories - did Papa's mate leave with another troop and that's why he's so sad/mad all the time?

Rumble & Savage are ultimately orphans, clinging to their new caretaker and his extended "troop". Even if said troop includes people who their new "Papa/Bama" has beef with.

A whole S1/2 episode could be done where the Noodle Gang keep getting harassed by what they think is Macaque or his clones (MK warned them), only to notice that;

It's only ever the two "clones".

They only ever seem to cause harmless mischief, or chaos out of curiosity. i.e; stealing food from Pigsy, knocking over books in the library when Tang is reading, trying to take the tuk-tuk and Mei's bike for a joyride, leaving colourful paw-prints all over Sandy's ship when they got into his art supplies etc...

MK's gold-vision tells him that these "clones" true forms are in-fact; baby monkey-sized. MK is startled and very confused.

(*MK finally manages to stop the "shadow clones" after they stole the tuktuk with all the deliveries inside*) MK, eyes glowing with Gold-Vision: "Finally! You have been driving me nuts all week, Macaque! Now-!" Rumble & Savage, true forms: (*confused chirping and fluttering noises?*) MK: "Uhhhh... you guys are a little... smaller than normal." Rumble & Savage: (*look between themselves and MK, chattering excitedly*) Rumble & Savage, in monkey-language: "Other stone monkey!" "Smells like Wukong-mama!" "Mama's cub!" "BIG BROTHER!" (*MK is tackled by the two super-fluffy and purring baby monkeys*) MK, still a little shocked: "Aww..." (*sees all the destroyed/eaten deliveries*) "I'm still in so much trouble..." Rumble & Savage: (*burp!*)

Pigsy was equally confused by MK coming back with two clingy shadow hanging on his back. The two quickly return home, chattering to Papa about how they've broken the ice with "Mama's troop!" - Macaque is even more confused than the heroes are.

In the SlowBoiled au it's certainly a situation of the twins sensing that Wukong is a pregnant mother of their kind, and wanting him to adopt them, but aren't sure how to go about it. Papa seems to want them to tackle their new Mama? Is that right? He does seem to be really sad to not be hugging him...

At some point they do get frustrated with their clone facade, and just run up to Wukong in their true baby-monkey forms demanding uppies and kisses. Most likely during S3 when the situation with LBD gets dire. Wukong at first thinks it's a weird joke Macaque is pulling, but his own Gold-vision tells him the truth...

Wukong, holding both twins: "Macaque! Why didn't you tell me you had cubs!?" Macaque: "I didn't know either! They just sort of... appeared!" Rumble & Savage: (*happily purring and nuzzling Wukong since they've managed to get "Mama and Papa" talking again*) :3

The Shadowpeach situation now has two super-powered baby monkeys trying their best to pull their new caretakers together, Parent Trap-style.

#slow boiled stone egg au #lmk penumbra au #pregnancy mention tw #lmk eclipse twins #lmk rumble & savage #sun wukong #six eared macaque #liu er mihou #shadowpeach #lmk mk #qi xiaotian #lmk aus #lmk #lego monkie kid

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llamaisllama777 · 24 days ago

Text

The Daily*/Weekly TSAMS, FEMNAF, AND EAPS REVIEW SHOW!

Okay, we had a lot of good episodes today, so let's talk about it!

I was so worried for them all for a minute. I mean, I've been on the edge of my seat these last few episodes, but finally, they're free, and now they have what they need to take down Fazbear. All their dirty deals, project Everlight, all of it. They have. All thanks to Eleanor, surprisingly. Ya did good, Ellie. Ya did good.

Also I'm pretty sure, Clipsey, Roxas and Monte all have a kill count now (though to be Clipsey already had one I'm sure) they were all ruthless in this episode!

(🎶"Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves"🎶)

They managed to escape... but not without some loss. Eleanor sacrificed herself to save them all. R.i.p. Eleanor. You may have been secretly bad all along, but you proved you were a good person deep down.

So, now, with nowhere else to go and some data to leak they have to go to their siblings!

We're gonna see male Earth (Terran) and female Lunar (Luna)!

Eeeh! I'm so excited!!!

Can't wait to see what you do next femnafs. I've been begging them to leak all the dirt of Fazbear including the footage of them taking Roxas, kidnapping him and Eleanor, striping Roxas, torturing Eleanor, LEAK IT ALL! BURN THEM DOWN! HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!

*Ahem* Pardon me for that. Onto the Eclipse and Puppet show

Okay, a lot happened in this episode. A lot of sad things.

First off, Charlie is fine. Thank gosh, but I have a feeling they are probably gonna limit her power a bit since she grew smaller cause of the amount of power she used and the last thing we need is Charlie disappearing into thin air if she uses too much power. So, I guess her power will be put on a limit for a while.

And now we have two more deaths... a lot of death in these episodes today.

Lefty and Rusty.

R.i.p. Lefty. You may have been a side character, but you were there when it counted and were there till the end. You did good, Lefty. You got to be the hero.

And lastly, Rusty. We didn't know him long, but at least he got to see Ruin in his last moments and probably talked Ruin out of doing something bad to Charlie and everyone in his last moments. See you around, Rust.

And as for Mr. Sacrifice-a-lot... Ruin... what.. the... heck?! You killed Lefty! I was hoping that maybe the doors opened cause of a glitch caused by Charlie's cure but nope!

Ruin, you selfish little butthole!

(The things I'm gonna have Eclipse say to you in that one fanfiction I'm planning in my head! You deserve all of it!)

I had hope our British boy would change for the better, but that British butt is still selfish.

(I mean, I love that about him, but dang, Ruin, my guy, you just blew EVERY chance you had at a family)

Ruin is about to go full Joker on Afton and frankly, he deserves to go off on him.

Let Ruin's 'one bad day' arc begin!

(And to those saying he's going through a Nexus arc. No, he's not. He's going through a revenge arc. He's not gonna snap and try to kill everyone, just Afton and his acolytes. Our British boy isn't turning into Nexus. Relax, we're fine.)

I'm curious to see what they'll do next, and I can't wait to see everyone's reactions to what Ruin did to Lefty. Whatever chance of family Ruin had just got... ruined. :] (<-I'm not sorry)

And lastly, Sun and Moon show

Sun, let the girl go to school. She deserves to have more friends then just her family.

I can imagine a Dazzle goes to school in vrchat episode!

And Sun is just panicking and being an 🚁 parent the whole time, readying to deck any kid who even is slightly mean to Dazzle.

These episodes were so amazing! 👏 👏 👏

12/10

Keep it up, writers and actors.

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skeletinmoss · 17 days ago

Text

The Curce Of The Dark Phoenix

Chapter 30: The new age of magic

First chapter | Previous | the End!

"Stop fidgeting," Virgil chuckled as he adjusted Roman's robes.

"I'm still not sure about this. We did it all on accident," Roman pointed out.

"Yes, but it was possible thanks to the choices you made. And this isn't just about you. The people lost a hero. They need new ones to fill that void, or they will feel lost," Virgil explained calmly as he finished the last touches.

"And no, me and the others don't count. You three are something they can rally behind. We are the best of the past. You are the path to the future," he insisted.

"... you are nervous as well. Why?" Roman wondered.

"Well, this is going to be the first function we'll attend together," Virgil admitted.

"The jubilee last week doesn't count?" Roman wondered.

"That was a party," Virgil corrected. "There was no protocol involved in that. This... you haven't really seen me in action as a council member," he admitted.

"And you think that this is the thing that will make me go running for the hills?" Roman noted skeptically.

Virgil thought about that and chuckled. "Good point. I will concede," he allowed.

"Have you thought about what you want to do with the rest of forever?" Virgil wondered. They hadn't really talked about much farther ahead than tomorrow since Roman ascended. But Roman had thought about it.

"Well, first, I want to finish catching up on my studies. Then, maybe after, I wanted to do some traveling and specialize myself, and help Lady and Buddy grow as much as I can manage. I also wanted to collect some untold stories in a book. Fulfill that other childhood dream. I was offered an apartment in the city, and I was thinking of putting in a few doors. One to my parents' place, one to my grandparents' and..." Roman blushed and looked away.

"One to your place, if you don't mind?" he asked a bit nervous.

"Of course. If I had it my way, I'd have you move in with me, but we'll take it at your pace," Virgil promised, with a kiss to Roman's shoulder, flustering him into silence.

Virgil chuckled, amused. Roman huffed a bit miffed.

"Let's go get you knighted," he suggested as he pulled Roman along.

He brought him to a side room of the throne room where Patton and Logan were already waiting.

"I'll see you soon," Virgil bid, stealing a quick kiss before leaving to join the rest of the reinstated council.

"To think that a month ago, we were still mages," Logan mused.

"My head spins every time I think about it!" Patton agreed. "And now we'll get knighted!" he added, still in disbelief.

"Guys... we did it," Roman said. "Everything we joined the academy for. We became powerful mages, and we wrote history. We did it," he explained.

"Wow... we kept all the promises," Patton giggled.

"Well, almost. Our first promise is now never ending," Logan pointed out.

"I don't mind that," Roman smiled warmly. They shared a moment of silent appreciation for one another. Then they heard the trumpets.

"Well," Roman breathed. "That's our cue. Our first step into forever."

???? Years later.

"And that is the story. Thank you all for your attention, and thank you, Professor Logan, for loaning me your class today. I have time for a few more questions before I have to bid you goodbye," Roman concluded.

A few hands went up.

"Yes?" Roman asked, indicating the young apprentice in the front row with periwinkle robes

"Is it true that you and Professor Virgil got married in a forest under an eclipse?" She asked. Roman heard Logan sighed behind him.

"That's not relevant to the story, I'm afraid," Roman chuckled, amused. "Anyone with a question relevant to the story of the start of the renewal age?" he asked.

A couple of hands went down.

"Yes," Roman said, indicating someone new.

"Did being in a bottle hurt or make them different?" They asked.

"Everyone was different. For some, it was as if they'd simply woken up from a long rest others struggled a bit with getting a grip on magic at the start, but eventually, everyone went back to normal. Yes?"

"How does getting cursed happen?"

Roman pursed his lips as he thought on that.

"Magic is a living thing. And, when we use it in certain ways, it will lash out to try and protect itself. That is why combat spells are to shield or restrain, but never to harm. Noctora used his magic to take souls violently so often that his magic was at war with itself, maintaining a cohesive form but also attacking itself to keep it from doing bad magic again," he explained as best he could.

“So you can hurt your magic’s feelings?” the child realized.

“That is a good way to put it,” Roman nodded.

“Why did you say that you and Professor Virgil pitied that guy?” the boy sitting next to her asked. “He brought it all onto himself. And he hurt, so many people,” he insisted. Roman had noticed that the boy had been very attentive during the story. And he’d been a teacher for long enough now to see the little signs. This young man was ambitious, and curious, and creative, and determined, and awkward. And he seemed smart enough to recognize something of himself in what Roman shared about Noctura.

“That is the point of the story, actually. So I am very glad you asked.

Professor Logan will tell you stories about many people from the past. And it is important for you to know that these are not just names and places and dates.

These were real people who lived real and full lives.

Noctura didn’t sit in his classes with plans to do all those things. He was a child like you all.

And so were Remus, and Janus and Virgil. Even though they were legends of old even at the time I met them, they once were just three friends who messed around.

And while you might hear great feats about me and Professor Logan, we were once two kids sitting under a tree with our friend promising to remain friends forever.

Each one of us could have gone down a worse path.

And Noctora had just as much of a chance to go down a better path, or perhaps maybe even worse. It depends on choices made by ourselves, but also others. In the end Noctura carries the responsibility of his own actions. But now we have the responsibility to look at our fellow men, and wonder who might need a friendly ear. Or some support. Which grand declarations actually hide insecurities and loneliness.

We can’t change the past, but we implore you to learn from it.

Always wonder. Who am I learning about? A legendary hero? A dastardly villain? Or someone’s son? A friend? Someone who was afraid? Lonely?

Try to make good choices. Not just for yourself, but for your fellow men,” Roman explained. The boy nodded along, deep in thought.

“And with the little time left. I will say. Remus and Patton had the eclipse wedding in the mountains. Me and Virgil married on a ship under a starlit sky,” he offered the girl who’d asked the first question.

She blushed and ducked her head embarrassedly.

And then the bell rang and Roman’s heart leapt. “I’ll see you at the party Logan!” he bid quickly before turning into a phoenix and rushing out the door and passing through a few hallways to the larger lecture halls where the mages and great mages studied.

He was just in time to catch the last student bidding his professor goodbye and in a blaze he landed and casually walked into the aula. Virgil was gathering papers and chuckled as he looked up and saw who had come to meet him. “Hey,” Virgil greeted.

“Hey yourself,” Roman hummed before kissing his husband. Then his earring buzzed.

He pulled away and answered. “Yes, I’m listening?” he sighed.

“Papa. Mackenzie won’t listen,” Lady announced.

“You snitch!” a girl’s voice gasped on the other line.

“Mackenzie,” Roman stated firmly.

“Papa! I wasn’t doing anything!!!”

“She was trying to get into the potions lab,” Lady corrected.

“What’s wrong?” Virgil asked.

“Our daughter wants to specialize in potions this time around it seems,” Roman sighed. “She’ll give me grey hairs I swear,” he added.

“We know the drill,” Virgil offered gently.

“Mackenzie if you want to practice potions that’s alright, but not without supervision. We don’t ask much, but we do ask that,” Roman insisted.

There was a harrumph on the other line. “Mackenzie. I appreciate that you are in your preteens and you hate going through this, again, but you are not skipping any steps. We tried that before, it doesn’t work like that. And it’s not fair to take your frustration out on Lady, Buddy, me, your dad, or Callum,” Roman listed.

“I wanna be an adult,” she sighed.

“I know sweetheart. But, you’ll be going to the academy next year, and you always enjoy meeting new friends. It’s going to be okay. But about the lab. You know that going to the dance is out of the question now don’t you?” They already weren’t entirely sure about bringing Mackenzie along and this just showed that she wasn’t mature enough yet.

“Yeah,” she huffed annoyed. “We’ll see if Callum would like to hang out with you, he doesn’t like the royal balls anyway,” Roman offered.

“Hmm, okay. Love you!” Mackenzie allowed.

“Love you too, we are on our way home to change. There better not be a mess,” he added. And then the line went silent.

“I love our girl, but going through this phase is my least favorite,” Virgil admitted.

“We knew that getting kids would be a lifelong commitment,” Roman pointed out.

“I know,” Virgil nodded as they headed home.

Born to two Phoenix high mages, their son and daughter had certain unique qualities.

Obviously both were extremely gifted with magic from the start. That had been a fun challenge.

Callum, their son and their first born was very different from his sister.

When he was little he was reckless and brazen. His reincarnation was more like Roman and Virgil’s. If he got injured he could just, burn himself better. He had perfect control over it and could activate it for as little as a scraped knee.

His recklessness more or less came to an end when his four year old baby sister tried to imitate him when he was nine and jumped from way too high. Between Roman and Virgil getting scared half to death seeing their little girl fall like that, and the fact that she was back to being a toddler of two after she burned, scared their son straight. It had been a bit tricky to explain Mackenzie’s apparent regression to Roman’s parents when they visited them a week later.

Mackenzie retained some measure of memory from her previous run throughs. Usually triggered by keepsakes or similar situations occurring. Mackenzie grew old and died of old age, only to return to a much younger stage of life.

This time around she’d started at seven. When she saw people she’d known before she knew who they were but in the way that seven year old her knew them. When she went to familiar places she also knew her way around and even some significant events that took place there. But she wasn’t an adult trapped in a child’s body. She was a child knowing she had been an adult before. It was a bit like Remy and Emile. They had to be raised again from scratch and eventually remembered all their past lives.

Mackenzie’s transition was just a bit more… nuanced.

On occasion she complained, but she also didn’t try to change it by ascending fully and getting complete control of her transformations. Roman figured that, despite her complaints. She liked being a child again every so often. And she liked reinventing herself every time.

Callum had recently returned with Buddy from a trip across the border to do research on an active volcano. Just because he had matured and become more responsible, didn’t mean that his curiosity and thrill-seeking nature had completely vanished. Virgil blamed Roman’s contribution for that.

He simply was more mindful about what risks he took and the consequences it might have.

And Buddy was more than happy being his little brother’s bodyguard. Roman still occasionally thought of new things to do for his first two children. And they no longer were the only homunculi in the world. Though the other’s were more lady sized and assisted their creators in research and exploration. They were beloved companions for the travelers and guardians of the more studious creators.

Creating one was strictly regulated though, to protect the little darlings wellbeing.

You had to register their existence, arrange for a guardian should you be unable to care for them for any amount of time and such.

“We’re home!” Virgil announced as they entered the magic door to their house.

“Welcome back!” Lady said, zipping over with her little zipline. She landed on Roman’s shoulder with practiced ease. “Mackenzie is trying to sing to the garden to make up for trying to break into the potions lab,” she stated.

Roman sighed and put Lady on Virgil’s shoulder. “I’ll go have a chat with her,” he stated.

“Don’t be too long, we are not the guests of honor, but we are expected to be on time,” Virgil warned.

“And you are going to spend an hour on my hair, I know,” Roman teased fondly with a kiss to Virgil’s lips.

“You know you love it, song of the earth,” Virgil chided.

Roman chuckled and flicked his husband’s nose before heading to the garden. There he found their young daughter singing to the plants. It was a spell Roman had developed that could encourage plant growth, do some basic healing and even gave children in risky pregnancies a better chance at making it through.

Roman joined in and Mackenzie only faltered for a moment before continuing the song as a duet. When they were done, the garden looked better than ever.

“Want to tell me what you so desperately needed the potions lab for?” Roman asked.

“Growing up potion,” Mackenzie admitted dejected. Oh.

“We don’t have growing up potion though darling. No one does,” Roman pointed out.

“Second breath didn’t exist when you and papa met either,” she pointed out. “And you always say that I can do anything if I really put my mind to it. So I could’ve figured it out. If I listened really carefully to the magic,” she insisted.

Okay, he’d found himself in a very precarious position. He had to chose his words carefully.

“I do say that. But your papa and I also always tell you that magic takes time. Uncle Patton didn’t come up with second breath on a hunch. He had a full education behind him, two meditations focused on just that idea and a lot of studying of phoenix feather properties.

A growing up potion would need time and refinement or you could end up an old woman on accident. Or a twelve year old in a middle aged body.

No matter how talented and determined you are,” he said gently, holding her face in his hands adoringly. She reminded him so much of his mother sometimes. Though Virgil insisted she looked a lot like his mother too. “It would have taken more than just the two hours we have before we have to leave for the party. I’m sorry darling. By the next jubilee you are old enough to come along. And who knows? Maybe by the one after, you’ll have ascended if that is what you choose,” he explained.

Mackenzie clearly was still not too happy about it, but she seemed to accept that he was right.

“I’m sorry for trying to go behind your backs. I know I could have asked… I don’t know why I didn’t,” she admitted.

“Part of growing up,” Roman shrugged as he kissed the top of her head. “I love you,” he promised.

“Love you too,” Mackenzie agreed.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Roman looked up and beamed as he saw the new arrival.

“Callum!” he called out as he rushed to his son and hugged him tight. “Three months. He doesn’t call he doesn’t write, is back in the city for four days and finally decides to pay his fathers a visit,” he chided playfully.

“I couldn’t call dad, you know messaging spells don’t work across the borders, and you guys don’t have a real address to deliver to and anything headed for the palace is at risk of getting ‘lost’,” Callum argued warmly.

“Brother safe with Buddy.” Roman looked up at the homunculus. “Didn’t doubt it for a second Buddy. You did great,” he assured him.

“He was a great help. Thanks again for letting him come along,” Callum offered as he laid a hand on Buddy’s side.

“Well, as long as he wants to go he’s always allowed. I’d never deny him bonding time with his brother. Is that why you always are so hesitant about asking?” Roman asked.

"Hey Kenzie," Callum greeted as his sister butted in to hug him before looking up at his father to answer a bit sheepishly.

"Well, you know I can have a tendency to take risks. And you are very particular about asking Buddy or Lady to do something potentially dangerous..." Callum confessed.

Roman nodded, understanding the logic. It had one flaw though. "I trust you with your sister. Why wouldn't I trust you to be responsible with Buddy?" he pointed out.

Callus considered that and chuckled. “Fair enough,” he admitted.

"Speaking off, do you mind watching your sister while we are at the jubilee ball?" Roman asked.

Callum nodded. "Sure," he agreed.

"Well, come on then. I'm sure your dad will love to hear about your adventures while we get ready," Roman stated as he guided his son and daughter inside. Buddy had his own room with a window that let him look into the house wherever they were. With the exception of the bedrooms and bathroom for obvious reasons.

"Callum! Perfect timing," Virgil greeted warmly as he hugged his son tight, ruffled his daughter's hair and kissed his husband while handing him his robes for tonight.

"You look great dad,” Callum smiled. “Is that stardust on your robes?” he noted. Stardust was their affectionate nickname for moon crystal shavings.

Saying the name though, roused their beloved dog from his nap and he was instantly all over Callum.

Stardust had been elated to have a child in the home. To have the pack expand.

“It is,” Virgil laughed as he showed off his elegant silky tunic overlayed with a seethrough blouse that gave off the impression of wings, both inlaid with the aforementioned stardust that gave the deep purple and blue swirling fabric a clear resemblance to a galaxy.

“Now, you, go get changed so I can fix your hair,” he insisted as he shoed his husband to the changing room.

Roman chuckled and headed through the door to get dressed. Virgil took great delight in showing Roman off whenever he had the chance. Years of being married and dressing him for any occasion had not changed that.

Today’s masterpiece was composed of red pants, a red waist corset and a white shirt that ran to a point at a golden neckband on the front and the back, with a red jewel resting at his throat. There were matching bands on his shoulders elbows and wrists that were connected with triangles of fabric leaving most of his shoulders and arms bare. From the back of the corset flowed layers of red tule feathers. He’d done it again, another masterpiece.

While getting dressed he heard his daughter insist her big brother tell them about his travels.

She finally got her way by the time he emerged.

“Gorgeous,” Virgil whispered as he sat Roman on a chair and started undoing his bun and taking out the silver spiderwebs he’d woven into it that morning.

“Go on Callum, we all want to know what exciting adventures we missed,” Roman encouraged.

Callum had inherited Virgil’s eye for craftmanship, and Roman’s talent for storytelling. Though, like his other dad, it wasn’t easy for him to fully open up around strangers. Meaning that unlike Roman, Callum had yet to share this talent with the wider world.

Virgil loved hearing his boys tell stories. He even let Roman tell the children the stories of his past, finding them so much more enjoyable when told through his husband’s words.

Roman sat back and closed his eyes as Virgil’s fingers worked through his hair.

“Sure, so, I met up with my local guide, it took about… Two days before he figured that I’m not your average High Mage, or enlightened as they call it, though I still prefer the term devoted, anyway… He didn’t know how I was different though and since he didn’t have much experience with mages our side of the border he chalked it up to a difference in culture,” he explained.

It was rare for high mages to create a child together, let alone two. The process was difficult, delicate and taxing on both the parents. Not to mention that raising an inherently magic child was a headache of a whole different level. As such, Callum and Mackenzie were the only two mage born currently in existence. For their protection and privacy, they weren’t supposed to go around and tell people that their dads were both high mages when they were born.

In the local magic community it was known of course, but their dads’ reputation was enough to keep anyone’s curiosity from crossing any boundaries.

Callum continued to talk about the new species he’d discovered the amazing sights he’d seen, and he mentioned his guide, Fredrick, a lot.

Roman and Virgil both felt like there was an official introduction in the works.

“Do you like him?” Mackenzie wondered. Clearly she had yet to remember her tact.

“I… Of course, we became close friends,” Callum insisted embarrassedly, making his sister giggle.

“Mackenzie,” Virgil warned as he wove something into Roman’s hair and secured a braid.

“Sorry dad,” their daughter allowed.

“There, you are all done,” Virgil announced proudly. Roman opened his eyes and looked at the mirror Virgil held before him. It was a gorgeous updo with gold tipped red feathers worked in.

“Are those mine?” he noted.

“Caught me,” Virgil chuckled as he put the mirror away.

“We should get going,” he concluded.

Roman nodded and got up. “You two behave. Lady and Buddy will contact us if you make a mess and we don’t want to have to come back here in the middle of a speech,” Roman warned.

“Yes papa,” the duo chorused.

“And have fun,” Virgil added.

“Yes dad. You too,” their children chuckled.

They gave the both of them a kiss goodbye on their cheeks before heading back into the palace.

“Councilman Virgil Nightflame, Guardian of the stars and his husband royal magical physician Roman Songbird, guiding light of the new dawn!” the herald announced as they made their way in.

“I can’t believe how time flies,” Roman sighed in between greeting guests.

“It’s like yesterday when those two first met in class,” he mused.

“I’ll never forget the look on young master Flores’ face when he realized that the cute guy sitting next to him all day who he’d been teasing and flirting with was the deaged king when Caliope came to fetch him from class,” Virgil chuckled.

“They were so cute in those early days,” Roman smiled fondly.

“They still are at times. The dragon king and his Pegasus husband. It’s such a blessing to be able to go on flights with your spouse,” Virgil mused fondly.

“I agree,” Roman chuckled.

They'd gone on countless flights together over the years. Finding new exciting spots to land and spend their evening every time. It had been a while. Considering they had a young girl at home who needed them to be able to return at a moment's notice.

They didn't mind too much. Though they both were a little excited about MacKenzie deciding to have the full school experience again, including staying at the academy.

So, with the start of the next semester, they'd have an empty nest.

Or almost empty. There was Buddy and Lady and Stardust, of course.

"Lord Roman, lord Virgil. You both look breathtaking. Are you never worried about upstaging the guests of honor?" High Mage Igmar, one of Roman's classmates, wondered teasingly as he approached them.

"Considering I dressed both for the occasion, there is no need," Virgil stated.

"Of course," Imar agreed with a chuckle.

"We really should catch up sometime," he mused.

"We should. Right now, though, I think I see our friends. We should greet them," Virgil insisted with a bow of his head.

"It was wonderful seeing you. You look great," Roman offered as he was led away.

"Not a word," Virgil insisted as he noted his husband's amusement. Roman just smirked fondly. Virgil was adorable when he was jealous. It turned out that Roman did turn quite a few heads without meaning to. And being in love had only made him more appealing, it seemed.

"Took you long enough," Janus chided as they reached their friend group.

"We were greeting the council, Janus. It's polite," Virgil insisted.

"You're both here. That's what matters. And you look so handsome! Isn't Callum with you?" Patton wondered, leaning into Remus' embrace. The wild man actually wore a shirt for the occasion. A feat only Patton could accomplish.

"He's having some bonding time with his sister," Virgil informed him.

"He never had a taste for big crowds or formalities," Logan pointed out, accepting a drink from Janus.

Just then, the herald announced the arrival of King Thomad and King Consort Nico.

The room bowed as one.

Thomas was wearing a golden shirt composed of countless scales paired with black pants and a one shoulder red cape. His husband was wearing black pants, a white shirt, and a two shouldered cape composed of feathers giving the illusion of wings.

"Wonderful work as always," Roman muttered into his husband's ear. Virgil couldn't hide his pride.

"Rise," Thomas instructed kindly.

"There will be time for speeches and food later. But first. We wish to open the evening, with a dance. Shall we?" The king asked his spouse who smiled and took his beloveds hand. The music started. Roman knew this dance.

"Star council? May I have the honor?" he asked as he offered his husband his hand.

Virgil smiled and accepted graciously. "Always voice of the acolyte," he agreed.

Roman led his husband onto the dance floor and led them in a dance around the king and his husband like the earth around the sun. The other councilmembers and their partners would join them. But Roman didn't notice. Nothing else seemed to exist when he held Virgil, and they got lost in each other's love.

A love that was, like them, immortal.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #ts virgil #roman sanders #ts roman #prinxiety #the dark phoenix au

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wisttwist · 10 months ago

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jester's privilege

(past) nebu (nathaniel) & reader, morningstar (ithaqua) & reader cliche scene where the hero enters the defeated kings bedroom and all the concubines are crawling all over him but instead of a dozen concubines trying to seduce him it's a single crusty manservant making middle school tier jokes warnings: mentions of canon typical war crimes etc

...

There was a small, breathtakingly ugly cushion in the corner of the room, bright primary colours clashing with the creams and golds of the late Tower Lord's interior design (which was also ugly, Helel would like to append).

A similarly small and breathtakingly ugly servant (?) sits on this cushion, presently engaged in thrilling (mind numbing) icebreakers (he would like to break some ice over your head, yes) with the Sun Eater as he idly turned over Nebuchadnezzar's royal paraphernalia.

"So he doesn't bed you and you aren't politically valuable. Then why are you in here, and not out there?" He gestures to the smoke from the mines, visible from the tower window.

"He doesn't send me to the quarries because I'm special. I'm his special boy."

"He calls you that?"

"No."

Helel made the temporary generalization that conversation with you was a waste of oxygen and stalks off to continue his inspection of the room, deaf to your remarks.

A voice comes from right behind his shoulder. "What do I call you?" Somehow, you'd soundlessly traversed the cluttered floor to stand uncomfortably close.

He scowls. So much for ignoring you. "Don't you know who I am?"

"I do live in a cell." You mumble, picking your nose and wiping the snot on your pants.

For a second, the Eclipse considers retelling the story of his conquest for the nth time but honestly, he wasn't sure how much more gloating he could wring out of it, especially with this audience. "It doesn't matter who I am. Just know that I'm the new king."

"Your voice is very familiar."

"No it's not."

"Very well. It's not." You fidget on the spot, bell-studded clothes jingling. "Do I call you sire? Or are you more formal?"

"Do as you wish."

Satisfied with his vague and minimalist answers, he returns to his prior task of sorting through the Sun King's old shit; mentally categorizing them for later: keep, trash, take to the thrift store, incinerate. Surveying the shelves, he sighs. This would be a lengthy task.

…

"Do you want a tour?" Breathing on the back of his neck, again. Uncomfortably close, again.

Helel gives you a firm push back. "No."

"Are you still wondering what my purpose was?" You chirp, undeterred as ever.

"If I recall correctly, the Sun King already had a clown in his court. I freed him way back when." Maybe if Helel paid more attention to that event, he'd note that the Encroached did mention an irritating bell-wearing obstacle between him and his master. Not that you can prepare for this brand of mild but persistent evil. "But considering this room is full of useless junk, it's not hard to guess why you're here."

Ignoring his jab, you sidle close once more, plotting another invasion attempt on his personal space. "Jesters and clowns are two different things."

Yeah, you were different. The other guy was less annoying. Mercifully, he elects to give a noncommittal grunt instead of mentioning this detail, hoping that you'll lose interest in trying to continue your conversation.

The Sun Eater lifts up a decanter of mystery fluid (pale and golden like everything else). He's about to lean in to give it a smell test when you stop him. "That's not wine, sire."

Owlishly, his head swivels around to face you.

You close your eyes sagely and pause for dramatic effect, wasting more of Helel's time on waiting for you to elaborate. "It's pee."

The decanter shatters on the floor. You watch him frantically wipe his hands off on the expensive curtains. "What the fuck?"

A good poker face is a crucial survival skill for your occupation, but given your employer is currently burning in hell, you are very much off the clock right now. You double over with laughter. "Oh heavens, sire. You're too gullible, oh stars and suns, oh- Oh!"

Helel's clawed hand yanks you up by the hair. "Are you five years old. Greater men have died for lesser-"

"Let me down, please, sire!" The twinge of stifled laughter slurring your pleas for your life don't help your case. "I'm sorry! Please!"

You're dropped in a crumpled, jingling heap on the floor. Briefly, the Morning Star considers sending you to the gallows, but is it really worth the effort? Your transgressions, frequent as they were, weren't significant enough for that. Besides, on a smaller level he won't admit, his pride refuses to let you get to him. "I'll take you up on the tour offer." He declares with finality, crossing his arms. "You touch everything before I do."

"Yes, sire!" You jump up to attention, back ramrod straight in a mockery of military obedience. "Does that make me the royal toucher? Or king's toucher? That's like being a king's taster but instead of tasting-"

Your voice trails off as you feel Helel's glare burning through his mask and into your skull.

"Ahem. On the left, we have war spoils from the southeastern peninsula…"

…

Truly, the home renovation aspect of overthrowing corrupt tyrants is underestimated. The remainder of the afternoon was spent sorting doohickeys into piles in the middle of the floor for future storage. Or rather, Helel did the majority of the heavy lifting while you (un)helpfully stood in the corner, regaling him with tales of the previous regime and the exact happenings of court life. He wants to tell you to stop talking for 5 minutes and do something useful but you would probably cite the importance of 'moral support' and try to weasel your way out of it. Besides, even if you were trying to do something of substance, it probably involved inventing new ways to fuck up moving furniture, fiddling with his temper even further. You were like a mosquito, he decides. Too little to do real damage, too much to be ignored.

"There was this one time I was doing a bit about his virility and he said he could prove me wrong right there if I wanted." You were presently cross legged on an intricate rug (tribute from the Sun King's unfortunate allies), juggling a series of crystal balls (priceless artifacts, stained with blood by the 'divine' conqueror). "So I said 'You should know that I'm a eunuch', and he went, 'It doesn't matter.' We were hilarious."

The Usurper scratches his chin, half listening. It didn't sound hilarious, just weird. "You're sure he didn't bed you?"

"A joke is just a joke, you know."

"Okay. Just checking." Helel paused. "Then are you really a eunuch?"

"Are you gonna check that too?"

"No." You were really getting your money's worth from that previous temporary generalization.

…

After the walls and shelves were bare, and the loot was bundled up in leather bags, the Eclipse sank into one of the plush chairs, kicking his feet onto the table and massaging his temples. With any luck, you were as tired as he was, and he could slip away while you rested.

You yawned. "Ahh. That's enough for one day, I think." Helel watched as you plopped back down on your hideous cushion, procuring a lit pipe from thin air and taking a hefty drag. "Will you be looking for new furnishings?"

"Probably. This stuff is way too tacky."

A wisp of smoke drifts past, and the Morning Star feels that tell-tale foreboding feeling behind his shoulder again. "Will you be looking for new castle staff?" You bat your eyelashes.

He meets your expectant gaze with the exhaustion of someone who just fought another war and lost. "You're staying?"

Deliberately misinterpreting his question as a statement, you perk up, grinning from ear to ear. "Well, I can't refuse a direct order such as that! Especially not from his most esteemed, illustrious (and if I may add, very handsome) Majesty!" Bowing at the waist with a bell-bedecked flourish, you shoot back to eye level with hands clasped, nearly butting him in the head with your stupid hat. "When do I start work?"

...

(jump cut to jester being tossed out of tower window) this is too long to be funny but idc anymore. next time i'll write romance but i needed to fulfill my desire to annoy him

#identity v #identity v x reader #ithaqua #nathaniel norwell #ithaqua x reader #hey hey if i don't tag it nobodys gonna see it

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sammaggs · 9 months ago

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3x02 Eclipse | Nightmare

Stay with me on this one: I don’t think Marcus Ellory ever shows up to his mother's grave in Eclipse.

As truepenny points out in her typically-brilliant meta, Eclipse is written in the style of the Greek theatre's katabasis, a journey to the Underworld (followed by anabasis, the return to the world of the living). You've seen Hadestown? You've seen a katabasis.

This is another playwright John Krizanc joint, and as other people smarter than me have meta’d, Ray’s katabasis sees our hero venturing to the Underworld (a literal graveyard/crypt/grave); solving the riddle presented by the Underworld's guardian ("There. Now it's broken and it's working." "Good man."); learning a fundamental truth about the cyclical nature of life or undergoing a symbolic death of the past self; and then returning to the land of the living as a new or newly-knowledgeable person.

Ray Kowalski is tormented by Marcus Ellory as a symbol of his life up until this point. The two defining features of Ray Kowalski's life up until he meets Fraser are 1) Stella, and B) being a cop. "The point is, I mean, my whole life, it all starts and ends with this one guy."

But that part of Ray's life is over.

To make this a metaphor for queerness (as someone who personally married a man before coming out as a lesbian around Ray's age), in our mid-30s we're often forced to deconstruct the narratives of our lives that we've been so devoted to until this point. Have we been living for ourselves, or for other people? Has doing what society expects of us made us happy?

If you're closeted, the answer is usually going to be no. And that means you have to burn down your entire life to start fresh (the house, if you will). It means you have to grieve your past self—the one who had a heterosexual spouse and a house in the suburbs and did what society expected of you—in order to make room to rebirth your authentic self.

In the Underworld, and in the graveyard, Ray buries the man who wanted a wife; the man who wanted revenge on Ellory; the man who was a con job.

He's revived a man with a new partner, no longer motivated by vengeance, and who knows he's a damn good cop because he is.

So now that we've established all of that, let's get back to Ellory.

Ellory doesn't show up for his mother's funeral; by the time the mourners are leaving, he's still not there. "You know, Ray, I'm pretty sure he'll come," says Fraser, at 4:30PM. "We have time." But after Fraser gives Ray his own history back to him, Ellory still hasn't showed. They decide to leave, and Ray throws his dream catcher to the wind... where it's caught by Marcus Ellory.

"It's a dream catcher," says Fraser. "It tangles up bad dreams."

It tangles up bad dreams.

Ray puts on his glasses; he can't really see Ellory clearly. Then, once they end up together in the grave, no one else ever sees them. Fraser never sees Ellory. By the time Ray is reborn anew after the eclipse (literal darkness into light!), Ellory is nowhere to be seen. Suspicious!

I think the casting choice here, too, is deliberately made to make Ellory an allegorical figure as opposed to a literal one. Peter Bray, the actor, is 6'7". He's huge, and lying in the grave next to him, Ray looks even smaller than usual.

That's because we are seeing Marcus Ellory the way twelve-year-old Stan Kowalski would have. Huge, imposing, feet taller than him; essentially a cartoon villain. Ellory is exactly the same here as he is in Ray's memory, unchanged but for a little grey, even though twenty-three years have passed.

And then he disappears.

Ellory is the final boss of Ray's katabasis, his eclipse-fueled nightmare, tangled up in and cleansed by the dreamcatcher Fraser made him—just like Fraser's recitation of Ray's citations tangles up and cleanses Ray's own poor consideration of himself.

But it’s not about Ellory, y’know?? It has nothing to do with Ellory, not really, and everything to do with Ray’s own perception of himself and the story he tells himself about his own life. In this way, I think it’s more powerful a read if Ellory is not there; it’s all Ray. Just Ray, letting go of the man he thought he was and choosing to become the man he wants to be.

For me, Ellory’s just a bad dream. He’s a larger-than-life demon of Ray’s own making. He’s probably in hiding or dead, but Ray doesn’t actually need the real Ellory to exorcise that demon. He just needs the right angel.

Ray Kowalski dies and is reborn (like due South!), at the end of what I consider to be the two-part opener of Season 3.

Happy 27th birthday, Eclipse (Sept. 21, 1997)! You're one of the all-timer episodes of TV.

#due south #benton fraser #ray kowalski #fraser/rayk #otp: there's no ships like partnerships #fraser/kowalski #my gif edit #paul gross #sammaggs gif edit #maggs due south meta #3x02 eclipse #i know this is an insane amount of words for a tumblr post #but i'm taking this shit very seriously #apparently #this is what i'm doing instead of going back for my phd apparently

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thedemonsurfer · 10 months ago

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hi I'm talking about Ruin again

My kingdom for more fancontent with Ruin, especially post-Thanos snap.

Like! Authors were barely using him before, maybe a few fics with him shipped with Solar-- and then the Thanos snapping happened and now there's NOTHING (okay there's not nothing, but at the time of writing this, there are about twoish ongoing fics focused on him and a handful of others where he's a participating character)

AND LIKE. THAT'S SUCH A SHAME??? Ruin went from "alright youre kind of boring as an antagonist" to "I guess you're cute now that you're cured" to EXTREMELY interesting.

He's a villain that isn't an antagonist! He takes Sun's hero complex and Moon's martyr complex to the extreme! The only goal he had was to get rid of the threat offered by the creators, in a permanent and complete way-- and nothing else. He holds no ill will towards anyone else--hell, he's so willing to work with people that he doesn't personally like that it keeps throwing him off when others don't think the same way (like showing up to ask for Moon's help and getting tossed into baby jail and strangled instead).

He doesn't like causing harm. He made certain to stress that the whole dimensional evaporation thing wasn't painful, and he despises Dark Sun for being a sadist. He did his best to sabatogue Bloodmoon’s plan and minimize the damage to Earth.

He's desperate to be helpful and useful to others-- even if they keep taking from him without his consent, he still keeps volunteering. He also has a hilarious response of being belligerent when annoyed with someone, like pretending not to know about the wither shard.

He's exceptionally traumatized. Can you imagine what it was like running around for 50 years pretending you're infected, all the while watching the mental and physical deterioration of everyone you know-- and knowing it's YOUR fault they're like this? And it was the person who MADE you, your actual literal Creator, who first started the infection?

And he has no hope. Everything Ruin has done since Thanos snapping the dimensions has been a kind of filler for him, because he expects to die soon. Actually he's lived longer than I think he expected and didn't really know what to do with himself for a while in there. When/if Dark Sun or Nexus feeds him to the witherstorm, I'll be surprised if he tries to fight back.

Also he keeps getting kidnapped and imprisoned, which is kind of funny. I think we're up to 4 kidnappings, 2 jailbreaks, and 4 imprisonments.

Just like... he's a fascinating guy with strong personal motives, and a much more agreeable personality than our other strongly motivated ex-antagonist, Eclipse. There's a lot of potential to work with, and how to get him out of the hole he's dug himself into. Overcoming the whole "I erased 5000 dimensions, including one that your family member came from, and also indirectly caused a different family member to leave" is just one of the challenges!

I know it's not an issue of "but he's hurt/killed one of the other characters!" Because -points at Blood Moon and Eclipse-. Both (all five? six?) have killed other main characters and been antagonists, and it hasn't stopped folks from writing them. Hell, Eclipse killed his own estranged brother for no reason other than petty revenge, and folks still somehow make it work.

So yeah idk. I think Ruin is really interesting and deserves a bit more attention.

#tsams #the sun and moon show #tsams ruin #Initially I was going to submit this to the confessions blog but one I feel like. It'd be real obvious it's me #Two by the time it came out of the queue I think he'll have been killed off in Canon #I could go on and on about some things but I tried to stick to purely Canon examples of his actions #Instead of mixing in any headcanons #And yes I'm putting my money where my mouth is #And currently have some WIPs that are Ruin focused #Obligatory disclaimer that there's nothing wrong if you prefer bad guy Ruin or sweet cured Ruin of course #Different things scratch the brain and I'm just yelling about my specific one <3

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kiruamon · 3 months ago

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Toy AU - Eclipse

I made a design for Eclipse in this au that I like! Yay! Like Sun he is a wooden marionette but his arms are out of wool strings and more similiar to Moon's that way. (I will ramble more about him and parts of the story after the first few sketches.)

So my idea for Eclipse was to make him kind of the antagonist (but not really) in this au. He belongs like Sun to the same puppeteer and is usually part of the children shows. But because one of his wool strings came off, he temporarily lost one of his arms and hands. Which was why when Y/N saw the theater booth he only ever had seen Sun during the shows.

Eclipse was sulking a little bit over his timeout. But he did not held a grudge against Sun for keeping the show going alone. In case of Sun's interest for Y/N, Eclipse was only half aware of it. Mocking Sun a tiny bit when the other had asked him if he had seen the little doll in the store front as well and what he thought of you. Eclipse did not thought too much of it at the time. At least not until Sun cut his strings and just went off. And that just as their owner had finally replaced the wool string of Eclipse's arm. So when Eclipse found himself back alone in the theater booth he was rather confused. At least until he noticed the cut off strings and sisscors and put two and two together. Reasoning that surely some evil toy from the store must have kidnapped Sun! So he takes matters into his own hands to be for once the hero and rescue his helpless, little co-worker so they can be together on the stage again.

So why do I call him an antagonist? Well... let's just say... He has like one and a half brain cell and they often come to the wrong conclusions. That paired with being very self-centered, overly confident and being absolutely unaware of other toys potentially having different points of views then him, he kind of fulfills the role of the antagonist himself without knowing it. So while he is on his 'rescue'-mission he think it's totally fine to threaten those 'evil' toys (mostly Y/N) that 'kidnapped' his partner.

He is so oblivious, you kind of have to hit him over the head with a message for him to receive it. But he still is not fully a bad guy either. He just has a hard time putting himself in other's shoes which can lead to him thinking he is in the right when he absolutely isn't. So sometimes he might sound dismissive while not really meaning to, because he hasn't put enough thought into how his words might sound or come off as. But he will come around. Slowly. With lots of patient and time, he will try to understand Sun and the others toys better and that his view of how things should be isn't the only right one.

Some smaller fun facts about him:

The 'scar' around his one eye is were some wood chipped off and where you can see the lighter color instead of the dark paint. He probably fell down from the booth one day and that's when a piece of it came off. Ever since he is somewhat afraid of heights. Not that he would admit it. But if he is close to an edge his legs and arms get all wobbly while he will deny with his whole heart that he could possibly be scared.

Eclipse is the tallest one out of the main cast.

Eclipse's arms get easily tangled up, which is why he prefers to let the puppeteer handle his arm movements and usually doesn't move them all at the same time by himself if he doesn't need to. So during his chase after Sun, Y/N and Moon he has a pretty hard time with managing his arms and hands all at once and got them tangled up multiple times which made him fall back every now and then and losing sight of the trio.

Eclipse usually plays the role of the villain that gets tricked or defeated by Sun in the theater. But he does not mind that fact and thinking of it as a very honorable role that the kids surely love!

So he sometimes will say stuff to Sun like: "Heh. Don't be too sad that the kids love me more then you, Sunny. It can't be helped that I'm the big star of the show. But I'm sure one day they will love you just as much as me."

Or: "If I ever get tired of performing? Of course not! How could I when all those eyes are on us? You truely are asking the silliest of questions sometimes."

He truely and with his whole heart loves to perform in front of his little audience. To see all the kids captivated by his and Sun's performance and their reactions to it. He never grows tired of it. No matter which play or role he might have, he will give it his all and thinking of the role he has as the best one. You could let him play a tree and he still would find ways to make it seem amazing.

Because of playing so often the villain it affected his speech pattern even when he isn't in front of an audience. Eclipse himself and Sun as well are so used to it that it needed Y/N and Moon to point it out.

He will have a little crisis when he hears about Sun not being sure if he wants to come back to their owner or not. Because never once had it crossed his mind that Sun could not want to be a performer. And Eclipse is not sure what to do if Sun would not come back with him. After all he is his little partner!

But I can see the story go two ways. Either Eclipse coming to terms with Sun wanting to stay with Y/N and Moon and wishing him the best while returning alone to their owner and telling Sun he will make sure to keep the show going while giving 200% for the two of them oooor... That somehow all four find their way into the home of the puppeteer and end up being part of the show all together? After all it's not like Sun disliked his time there. But he really doesn't want to be apart from Y/N or Moon anymore after the time they had spend together.

My first attempts to come up with a design for him looked like this, but then I turned his arms for the final design into wool strings which made navigating his arms and hands more easier and his design less complicated to draw:

#fnaf au #fnaf toy au #fnaf eclipse #fnaf y/n #dca #fnaf dca #daycare attendant #fnaf daycare attendant #traditional drawing #sketches #my art #do not reupload #wooden marionette Eclipse #goofy antagonist Eclipse

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oneatlatime · 1 year ago

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The Painted Lady

Air Bison, Sea Bison, and now Sludge Bison.

I have no idea how Aang is swimming through a solid. Must be an Avatar thing.

I bet there would be time for more potty breaks if Sokka hadn't spent 100+ hours of their time drawing up the schedule. A very Sokka thing to do though.

Because hills often have horns. Great disguise.

You can't tell me that a factory that close to their town wouldn't also become the town's primary employer.

That is a lot of town.

I sense a return of preachy Katara. This episode is going to suck.

I'm with Sokka on this one. Buy fish, move on, defeat Firelord, return to help with environmental remediation if time permits.

I like Doc. And Shu. Nice people.

Writers: if you have to make one of your characters an entirely different person to set up the episode's lesson of the week, maybe the lesson doesn't fit your chosen characters. This is the Warriors of Kyoshi all over again. Funny how that's happened to Sokka twice.

We are all Sokka.

And where exactly did this mysterious painted lady get the food to deliver to the village, if the reason the Gaang stopped in the village in the first place was because they needed food?

Let the record show: I lost the last of my patience with this episode 8 minutes and 9 seconds in.

Waterbending healing has never thrown off that much light before. Even the spirit oasis water wasn't that bright.

Also where is the water she's healing with? Usually she has a big bubble of it.

Impersonating a religious figure. That won't end badly.

"Well I hope she returns every night otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was." YES!!!!!! THAT'S THE POINT!!!!!

What was Katara's plan? Forget about the eclipse, forget about fighting the Fire Lord, we're going to stay here for the rest of our lives so that the painted lady can put in a nightly appearance. THIS IS WHY SOKKA DOES THE PLANNING.

Spirit magic is more doing the worm than doing the wave. Good to know.

Bold of a kids' show to advocate for ecoterrorism.

Aang's like "Hey spirit lady! Here's my resume! Here's my connections on LinkedIn!" Why did Katara think that faking being a spirit within two feet of the bridge to the spirit world would be consequence free? Actually that presupposes that Katara thought. Which she didn't. Sokka does her thinking.

"I don't get to meet many spirits. But the ones I do meet, not very attractive." I am OFFENDED on Yue's behalf. And Sokka's. I guess Aang doesn't like Water Tribe girls after all.

"I guess I just became her." No. That's an excuse and a deflection. I don't want to hear it.

What was I saying about Aang and Katara enabling each others' bad tendencies?

Sokka is horribly out of character this episode, but Aang is as well. In what universe would Aang be so unbothered by Appa being sick, and then so unbothered by the reveal that Katara had been faking Appa being sick? Like, this is Appa. He nearly skinned a bunch of sandbenders over the guy. And he finds out Katara's been messing with him and calls her 'great' and 'a secret hero.'

So this factory, despite being operational 24/7, has no night staff, not even a night guard? Because if it does (which it absolutely does - automation is a problem for factories in our world, not the ATLA one), Katara and Aang just killed A LOT of people.

And so she follows up one short term solution with another short term solution, which causes a third problem she will no doubt solve with a short term solution. You think there won't be reprisals for the only obvious suspects to this industrial sabotage? You think they won't rebuild the factory?

Sokka was kidding when he said that the Spirit Lady had better blow up the factory, but not in the way Katara thought he was kidding. Katara thought he wasn't being serious. But Sokka was serious, in that blowing up the factory is as short term a solution as appearing every night. He thought the joke - exchanging one bad solution for another - was obvious.

Somebody's enjoying himself a little too much.

Unfortunately, serving as Exhibit A is the most Toph has had to do all episode.

It is cathartic to see someone finally call Katara on her nonsense. But I'll bet everything I own that the narrative is going to side with her anyway.

Welp. I won that bet.

"You need me." Correct! Katara unsupervised needs bailing out after five minutes. "And I will never turn my back on you." A much more realistic goal than never turning your back on anyone who needs you, and also Sokka summarised in one sentence. Impressive for an episode where they had to Flanderise him beyond recognition to make Katara somehow the good guy.

Oh for fuck's sake. It's not about having a heart. This late in the game it's pure damage control.

So that's where the Painted Lady's food came from. I guess Fire Nation factories count as pirates?

I like the jetskis. The seem far more stable than actual jetskis.

It never occurred to Katara to obscure the evidence even a little bit? At least rub some dirt on the emblem. Look at me assuming Katara has thoughts.

Actual reprisals for once. About time.

This kid is annoying.

Toph gets to be a haunted house sound effects machine.

That's awfully waterbendery for a Fire Nation spirit.

I don't buy for a minute that anyone would be able to stay perfectly upright and balanced after an air blast from below without extensive trampoline training.

This won't work. His superiors, or the next shift change, or the first recruit wanting to climb the ranks quickly, will rise to the challenge presented here by the "painted lady." And as soon as one FN attack goes unchallenged by the "painted lady," the village is toast. I give them a week, tops.

Kudos to some clever in-universe bending special effects. Doesn't save the episode though.

Katara's preachy speech here makes absolutely no sense in light of the rest of the episode. Scolding them for not saving themselves, when waiting around for someone to save them appears to have worked perfectly? And having little miss I-must-save-the-whole-world-on-a-weekly-basis-otherwise-my-sense-of-self-implodes deliver that scold?

Who are these people wearing the Gaang's skin?

Yeah, nothing screams undercover in enemy territory like an entire village knowing that you're a waterbender. Good thing the only competent tracker in the Fire Nation is Zuko, otherwise these kids will absolutely be dead long before the eclipse.

Hi Bushi! You're about the only part of this episode that doesn't drive me nuts!

At least the animators had fun with this one.

Is this guy mopping the river?

Exactly how many days did they take out of Sokka's schedule to restore the ecosystem? I don't care how overlevelled these kids are at bending, you cannot mechanically separate an entire river's worth of dirt from water in an afternoon.

Well that's just he piss icing on the shit cake, isn't it? It wasn't enough for Sokka to lose all reason and come around to Katara's very flawed way of thinking, it wasn't enough for Aang to call her a hero, it wasn't enough to have a village worshipping at her feet, Katara needs affirmations of how right and special and correct and perfect and morally justified she is from the spirit world itself. This is Mary Sue stuff.

Final Thoughts

This is the first time an episode of Avatar has felt like a waste of my time.

It's also the first time I've felt like an episode has gone out of its way to insult the audience.

Katara talking about how she knows what she's doing is wrong is worth absolutely nothing when a) she goes right back to doing it; and b) literally every other part of this episode trips over itself to assure Katara that she's in the right.

Katara is downright punchable this episode. Sokka is Flanderised; Toph is non-existent; Aang is just there; poor Appa is an unwitting accessory to crime; and Momo has as much impact as a housefly.

So the execs forgot about the existence of The Spirit World Part One and demanded a save the environment special episode. The writers responded by forgetting that they'd already established that Katara was ride or die for literally anyone with a pulse in Imprisoned, and gave us this to remind us of that fact. They also forgot that they'd already established that Katara has no moral code whatsoever the minute her personal interest is involved in The Waterbending Scroll, so they decided to recycle the "narrative sides with Katara endangering them all over Sokka being reasonable" plot from that episode and hope we wouldn't notice. We did.

At least with Imprisoned, Katara kind of sort of caused the problem that she fixed. She was super tangentially involved in that kid's arrest. Here, she causes problems by trying to fix problems that she didn't really have any business getting involved in.

The more of this I watched, the more I wanted someone to slap Katara. What I wouldn't give for an episode where she is wrong (has happened a lot) and the episode doesn't pretend otherwise (has never happened). For god's sake, LET HER BE WRONG AND FEEL IT. How else is she going to progress past being self-righteously fourteen? Why is she being so consistently insulated from consequences? Aang chooses power over family at the end of season two and gets actually murdered for it. Katara steals, lies, skirts dangerously close to being a false prophet and does a nifty little ecoterrorism (with Aang's help), and she gets villagers being a bit shouty before big brother comes in and fixes it. Then she gets divine sanction for her actions so even the shouty bit is negated.

There's an interesting contrast in Katara's "I will never turn my back on people who need me" and Sokka's "I will never turn my back on you." It shows which of the two doesn't have their head in the clouds, and has actually formulated realistic expectations of how much a single person can do. It also speaks to the fundamental difference in how they operate. Katara acts; Sokka mitigates. Sokka does Katara's thinking for her; Katara outsources her thinking and then gets pissed when rational thoughts don't conform to her emotions' view of the world.

Why haven't the villagers moved away? If the water was poisoning them this much, why are they still here? Was the early 2000s too early to have a theme of climate refugees? Or the pollution equivalent? That would have been more interesting than this.

I hated this. Why isn't this the episode that gets hated on like the Great Divide? Its sins are nothing compared to this.

Doc, Shu, and Bushi were the only good thing in this episode, but they weren't enough to make this one remotely rewatchable.

One out of Three so far on season three episode quality. No other season has had this bad a ratio this early. This does not bode well for the rest of this season.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender #the painted lady

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