#because his magic is built for healing and he sees it as the most logical thing to do

[nikikikiko]

part of me is so so tempted to make like.

an afk arena fanfic thats short and sweet and like some stories about eugavus & their kids, mainly during the time where they are still looking for a new living space after the prison break

mainly bc i have two little ideas i wanna do ,,,,

[syubub]

May 13th Reading

Definitely long awaited and way bigger than I intended it to be so buckle up.

Funky disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken as fact! This is my interpretation of the cards!

Oh boy. The continuation of yoongis soulmate saga.

(Note frome future me: it's not proofread but I'm hungry. Sorry for mistakes!)

So so so so

Let's start.

I started with all the normal jazz. Connecting with his energy and shit. Same as usual same old same old. Platform= same same. I was like, "hey, let's talk about your soulmate and the whole may 13th shit" and we connected via energy stringy thing to the forehead and such. I was intresting bc my end of the string was kinda my energy color! Neato. Looks like some rest has really done me good!

Okay, here's where I start actually asking shit. I made notes at this point before the reading as I usually do. I'm just gonna insert the screen shot here.

The 14 thing really fucked me up. You'll see later. Also, when I got the whole Pisces Jupiter thing I had to do me some googling bc we established that Jupiter went into Pisces ON May 13th so I was like?? Am I missing something?

I was. I forgot that it goes retrograde and then co.es back to Pisces on December 28th. And I do indeed think it to be significant.

The shit about temperance makes a lot of sense. In yoongis first soulmate read I flipped my shit bc he was like, "You're gonna get temperance reverse" in regards to a card for his soulmate and I was like "pft whatever. Don't play me like that"

And then I got temperance reverse. It's been a significant card from the jump.

I asked him if he had any advice for his soulmate and that's what "Don't wait for big things, you'll miss the small ones that lead you to bigger things" and "Look for facts before assuming" and "Don't try pushing it, forcing it won't make sense" and "A spade is a spade/ ace is an ace" and "Don't make ill informed guesses" all were

Now this part:

"Union has happened , yet to on the physical"

Gave me some hints thankfully because he straight up said no more hints.

This ties back into the whole Jupiter thing too. The seeds are/ have been planted and now they have to grow before they can be harvested.

Well Mr. Yoongi, I'm impatient and I don't want to wait. I want to see you in love pronto.

Anyways

He showed me a little dream box/ trinket box looking thing and a super vague Keychain with no further explanation... so... there's that I guess.

I can't quite decide if "Don't make ill informed guesses" was a tongue-in-cheek pike at me or if it was genuine advice to his soulmate? He just loves to not explain things.

Now let's begin the monster read.

So. The first row of cards

I asked the question, "what the fuck was May 13th and what was it's purpose in regards to your connection"

Important is what it was lol. I interpret this as them finding their footing and this being the starting point of the genuine foundation being layer. Like they've been manifesting eachother for a while but May 13th marked the start of them making the real life changes in their actual lives that will be the set up for them meeting.

The seven of coins is about thoughtful planning and creating security/ stable plan. The tower is essentially ripping away anything and everything that was built on unstable foundation and challenging/ testing your character (an extremely rude awakeing if you will). Judgement is releasing the past so you can rise above it and confronting yourself as you are (Also legit awakening) the queen of coins is financial security and self confidence in your abilities. Ten of coins is prosperity and abundance and most of all, stability. Eight of wands is explosion of potential and rapid movement. Temperance is awareness and balance between physical and spiritual. It's also that quiet peace where you find balance.

So. Seeing all those cards it really does seem like maybe his soulmate took on something new that could lead straight to union? Same for yoongi. I'd like to analyze and recent or new-ish habits or hobbies he's picked up?

Moving right along though. I asked what the 13th did for each of them in their personal life and personal journey. Kinda like what came as a result of that energy? Let's start with yoongles

This was really intresting to me. I think he definitely gained some form of clarity about the situation with that sun card. The 5 of cups tells me that either he was kinda forced to confront some of his flaws in a way that he was trying to avoid or he had to consciously let go of something dear to him? Could be something he had to leave behind because it crumbled with the tower moment but he didn't see it coming or didn't know that it was time to part with it? With that queen of wands though fits beautifully with the sun! Its like he's found warmth after a long winter. Definitely found a spark of compassion and generosity from a place of happiness and love rather than anger, fear, obligation or pitty.

I asked for clarity cards/ anything else that may 13th signified bringing in and we got the 2 of cups and 10 of swords. I have two thoughts. Either he let go of a relationship that he was already in because he didn't feel as though they were particularly compatible anymore (Also ties into the above section) OR the 13th had made him very much consciously aware of his soulmates incoming status and he is now preparing and working on himself for when this person comes. The 10 of swords would be him releasing the past and the pain and any ill fitting behavior that don't vibe with him any longer. Yellow really seems to be working for him by the way.

Soulmate time

Lol. All signs point to his soulmate genuinely starting a new venture. New creative pursuit that will bring them good money. 10 of pentacles is abundance, prosperity and stability. The ace of wands is a new creative spark and passion and it's the first big steps into something new. The 2 of wands is "the world is in the palm of your hands" vibes. Choices need to be made swiftly and with the ace of wands I think they will be. With the heirophant too, it will be a well informed decision because they've been manifesting this and has been searching for all the possible information.

As for clarity, we have the moon. Damn. Soulmates been doing that shadow work. Dredging up all their bullshit and getting rid of it while still taking the time to sit with it and release it so nothing is unresolved. Also probably extra creative due to all the emotional baggage being thrown out. (Definitely helping with the ace of wands vibes tbh)

Now for the bad boys in the middle

The question I asked is what those individual changes (detailed in the last two sections) will bring for the bond and I just can with them. These fuckers. I am so invested in their love story bc it's so... them? And just so fucking ROMANTIC. UGH I CAN'T.

Back to the point. High priestess, 4 of wands and the lovers. The high priestess is deep knowing and insane intuition, the 4 of wands is the purest joy and marriage and the lovers is well, the lovers.a magical union.

FUCK DUDE I NEED THIS TO BE A ROMCOM.

For the row of bottom cards

I asked if they had anything at all to add so I'm gonna explain each card individually bc I think they could be individual tid bits of shit.

Knight of coins is good news about finances/ money looking promising and organized work (also dependability!!). Death is all about transformation, the beginning of a new chapter and accepting in order to move foward. Ace of coins is spiritual and material abundance and also a reminder to keep grounded. Page of swords is confidence, important news coming and really good insight! Roots out secrets or hidden things like a truffle pig. The star is promising potential, healing and guidance from an enexpected place. The two of cups is a soul connection, love, intuition especially in regards to another person and a good bind. The emperor is self awareness, foresight, fearlessness to achieve a goal and confidence. Eight of coins rev is poor discipline and skating by on low effort.

Now to the sides!

Yoongi is the left, soulmate is the right.

So, let's begin with yoongi. The first two cards are anything he wants to say to his soulmate. Wheel of fortune and three of swords reverse. I take this as "its all in divine time/ it's destiny" (wheel of fortune) and "trust your intuition. It's okay to get hurt, you just need to remember you can always pick yourself up" (3of swords rev.)

We have now cards that I asked what he was learning through this process/ in this time. Be positive and first step.

The last two cards are affirmations he wants to give his soulmate.

"When I introduce joy to a situation, I change the vibrational frequency of what's happening around me" and "directing my focus onto what's thriving creates more of what I want"

Now for soulmates cards (same structure)

Strength and eight of swords. "You're stronger than you think. Take every part of yourself and acknowledge it. You're a force to be reckoned with" (strength) and (soulmate snapped at him on this) "the only thing holding you captive is you."

Now we have peer pressure (I think soulmate is learning to say "fuck you" and "fuck off" to people who have a set idea of how everyone should be living their lives), emotional healing and open your arms to receiving.

Then we have "its good to feel good" (lol I feel like yoongi definitely needs this one) and "when I connect to the spiritual realm, I open the door to recieve divine guidance, clear direction, and great wisdom"

The last stretch my friends.

So. Completion, leave behind the things that no longer serve you. Exist in the present and don't keep mulling over the past or any future happenings. Magic, pay attention to the magic around you. Listen for the signs of the universe and take them as they come (essentially listen to divine guidance) . Be open minded but logical as well. Luminous warrior, try focusing on the good in yourself instead of berating yourself for every small flaw. Spiritual path, self explanatory. The blade, your power can be a weapon when used willy nilly (most often wounding the wielder) or it can heal. Don't fear it but also consider how you choose to utilize it. The give away, be greaful for the sake of being greatful for it, not because you want something in return. The rain maker, manifestation station. Create with the tools you have because you have everything you need in order to manifest. "Don't take life personally"

Now we have heaven sent.

""Let yourself be helped" assistance is coming your way so act on it and say yes"

" This Oracle also comes with the message that you are to trust in the things that you feel and say to others without knowing why. It moves them. You might not understand, but through trust you are allowing yourself not to overthink and censor yourself. As such you are able to become a vessel through which the spiritual gift can be passed on to others. Don't block yourself. Let life happen through you. Only benefit can come from this."

And free from judgment, free to love

" If you have been asking life for a solution to a specific difficulty you have been having, this Oracle comes with the message that a solution is in gestation right now. This situation is already being sorted out and the resolution will come to fruition very soon. Hold tight and wait for the eminent birth of that resolution."

" This Oracle also brings you a message about love. You may find that you are loving, or soon will love, in a different way. You may worry about this love, given that it defies what you have known or been taught about love. Perhaps you are becoming able to love another tremendously, even though you don't have much of a personal relationship with them. You might question if this love is real. It is real Kama it is just happening at a different level to the love and attachment you experience when you are involved in a personal relationship with someone. It is not more or less, it is just a different facet of love. It may be that you are opening up to love the planet and her creatures, including the animals, the ocean dwelling life, your own body, the trees and so on, more than before period you may feel passionately purposeful about giving your time and energy to causes that protect and nurture the Earth and her creatures. You are affirmed in this love too. The universal mother is operating through you to nurture life. She will support you in your work, so that you can continue To come from love and not become drained, depleted or lost in despair or fear of futility. Instead, you will be energised and expanded by your dedicated service to life."

" Finally, this Oracle has a message for those who may be feeling alone or lonely in a need of greater nurturing from others. You are asked to stop, relax, centre and settle into your body to feel your connection with life itself. The air in your lungs is the same as the air that moves through the trees. The water in your blood is the same water that fills the oceans and is moved by the phases of the moon. The flesh of your body is the same substance as the body of the Earth itself. The heat in your digestive system is the same fire and heat as that from the Sun. Feel this connection, then do something nice for another without agenda. Make a donation, even if just a small one, smile, say a prayer, sent out a good thought or make a wish for another. That's it. You have connected to life again and in doing so, life can connect with you. And so it shall.

And that's all for the cards but but but.

Someone (either my guide or yoongi) was like, "do a song. Do a song. Do a song." And I was like, "oki doki, sounds good.

So I asked what numbers I should try refreshing and then it hit me. The number 14 came up before the reading and it seemed a bit misplaced? So I did 14 shuffles and look what popped up

You gotta be fucking with me.

Istg these fools will actually be the death of me dude. Euphoria is so romantic and I lowkey feels like it describes a bit of what their bond must be like.

YOONGGGIIII

Anyway,

I came back to the platform to be like, "thanks homie" and it was weird bc he was practically pure energy? Like usually I visualize his energy as what his physical body looks like because it's easier to comprehend? But nope, he was just a big shimmery glob of energy.

As I was going to disconnect, a few things happened. I felt tingly and the platform was vibrating almost? So I was like, "hold on, what the fuck is this?"

And then

It hit me

"MIN YOONGI IS YOUR SOULMATE HERE??"

I could tell this fuckin asshole was smug even in his blue glob form.

The color was... blue like yoongi but also a light lavender/ pink kinda vibe. Pretty damn distinct.

I was so stoked and I thought we'd all get to chat and I could yell at his soulmate for being an elusive asshat

But Mr smug butt had different plans.

My dude dropped a little marble thing in my hand and I was like ??? And he was like, "you'll know when you need it" and I was like ?????

My guide took pity on me and said, "it's just a representation on information that you've been given but it isn't the proper time to unpack it yet"

Cool cool so like and energetic zip file that will release itself whenever it damn well pleases? Cool cool cool.

(Asshole)

Anyway, I genuinely think that my excitement of this whole situation must somehow also influence how yoongis energy handles my prodding? Like what the fuck is this marble bullshit?

To top it all off, he gives me a friendly shove off of his platform.

Thanks, buddy.

Now we are here. And as always, I'm left with more questions.

My main take away is that amay 13th through July 28th will be all the foundation and ground work and December 28th 2021 through May 10th (11th? 9th?) 2022 will be a more likely time for physical union and actual relationship stuffs.

Anyone who knows more about astrology please feel free to chime in on this whole Jupiter in Pisces bit! My understanding is super surface level!!

~~~~

That was a big boi and now my thumbs hurt real bad. Hope you were entertained by the chaos.

[riathedreamer]

Zero is Null

A discussion of Zero’s love-hate-relationship with RvB and struggling independence; including a hotdog too big for the bun, tragic backstories, a single bow-chicka-bow-wow, and a cookie at the very end.

Welcome to what will be a lot of text. Basically, it will explore why Zero fails as an RvB (with emphasis on RvB) season. I will not be the first one to bring forth some of the points, and I promise to be fair and civil and fun. This isn’t supposed to be a piece of hate – in fact, I’m writing this because I love Red vs. Blue.

Okay, first of all, to increase your fun – take a guess on just how much of Zero is spent on fight scenes. You see, I’ve calculated the exact amount, and I will reveal it later, but for now, take a guess and remember the number. Maybe you are the winner!

Alright, time to share my thoughts. Wait! Since I suffer from anxiety and have this one annoying voice pretending to be all those critical statements my opinion could be met with, let’s give it an actual voice and address the points throughout this review.

“Why would I care about your opinion, Ria?” – I don’t know, you’re the one who clicked Read More.

“Your opinion doesn’t matter!” – Of course, it doesn’t! Geez. Do you think your opinion matters, though? Listen, we’re on Tumblr, the actual equivalent of screaming into the void. And it’s fun, too!

“If you don’t like it, don’t watch!” - *activates Uno Reverse Card* “You can’t talk about something you haven’t watched!”

“You’re just a Hater” – Actually, this is a point I’ll come back to. Like a cliffhanger. Also, at the end of this, there’ll be a cookie. But this will also include me talking about the stuff I like, because, surprise, Zero is not without talent!

“You just don’t like it because the Reds and Blues aren’t in it!” – Actually, that’s a good point, so instead, this review will start with a sole focus on Zero and discuss the problem that lies within that story. Then we can address why the lack of OG cast is understandable and problematic and weird.

But first! Backstory.

When the first 5 second teaser dropped back in spring (you know, when we were young and innocent and the world didn’t feel like an apocalyptic movie yet), I held onto that one image of what I thought (hoped) to be Grif and Simmons in the sunset, hopefully addressing Grif’s hateglue arc, but boy was I wrong because a) that’s not Simmons, that’s Sarge, and b) the image was from a PSA since the Reds are not in Zero.

Actual face-reveal of me below:

Admittedly, when I heard that the Reds and Blues were not going to be the main characters (or even show up), it felt like a gut punch. However, I actually found myself getting excited due to the creators’ hype. I want to praise them for this. It’s been a while since an RvB season was talked so much ABOUT before its release; it had advertisements, it had creators and voice-actors talking about it. Please. More of that in the future. Their passion rubbed off on me, and that deserves recognition. So it pains me that this was clearly a passion-project, and then when I gave it a try, I didn’t want to touch it again for weeks.

Here’s the thing. I cannot whole-heartedly say that Zero is bad. It’s not gonna melt your eyes. It’s not even so-bad-it’s-good. For me, it’s meh. It’s a Saturday-morning-cartoon aimed for a younger audience with a rushed plot and clichéd characters. The problem is that it calls itself RvB, and with that title comes something to live up to – but more importantly, something to continue.

My main issue is that Zero forces its story into existence by ignoring established content rather than adjusting to it. Let’s call this for the hotdog-too-big-for-the-bun syndrome solely for the sake of the bow-chicka-bow-wow that’s coming now. Bow-chicka-bow-wow. Many of the separate issues I will dive into all add to this hotdog-issue, so I will scream “Hotdog!” whenever this is the case so we can all keep track of my argument.

You can continue the story of Red vs. Blue without the Reds and Blues. While that would personally crush my heart, it can be done. There’s a story of Red vs. Blue that can be continued. The world can be expanded, the previous actions of the Reds and Blues can be explored from another angle.

So.

How does Zero do this? It doesn’t.

I just want to make it clear that new elements can definitely be added when it comes to worldbuilding. That’s literally the point of sequels. But Zero’s settings are presented with so little grace and with no connection to previously established worldbuilding. We get Alliance of Defense and GLASS thrown in our face as very big important organizations – yet we’ve never heard of them before. A big central plot point of RvB is the UNSC and Project Freelancers, and those were introduced naturally with the plot. We already have big established intergalactic organizations. What is AOD’s connection with those? We aren’t told. We are just told they exist and expected to accept it, no questions asked. If this was a whole new world and story – fine. But when you need to build on an already established worldbuilding, you need more grace than this. Chorus was a whole new setting, but it was explained, and it was connected to the previous plot. Same with Iris. Same with Desert Gulch. In Zero, it feels lazy. It feels forced. These organizations are just there because the story is built around them (HOTDOG).

This vagueness when it comes to wordbuilding is also reflected in the settings - we have a desert, a training base, a lab, temples, Tucker’s workplace, and we do not know if all those are set place on the same planet. If that is the case, what is this planet’s relationship with Chorus? Is it Earth? And most importantly, what is the deal with the temples? Why are they connected to Tucker’s sword if it isn’t the same planet. Are they made by the same aliens? Are people okay with this? Why haven’t these temples been explored before? Chorus makes sure to establish this, while Zero doesn’t, adding to a growing amount of confusion.

Okay, so no connection with previous worldbuilding. What about characters? I mean, we got Wash and Carolina and Tucker! So we have RvB characters, it gotta be RvB! Technically – yeah. But it feels dirty. These three characters are not here to be characters. They are here to be props to the new cast. They are not given any development. Their presence isn’t even that important, and if this was a whole new show, they could easily have been replaced with an unknown face. Worst of all, they feel miswritten.

Carolina and Wash are working at a new military organization? Leaving the Reds and Blues behind? To help people? First of all, fucking bad idea, Carolina, the last time you left the Reds and Blues alone, they changed the timeline. But most importantly – Carolina and Wash just joined this new super elite military organization? After being mistreated and manipulated by such an organization in the past?

Carolina is there to introduce the characters. That’s it. We are force-fed their personality by having her literally read out loud their personality. There is no gentle introduction to the new cast. We are not allowed to get to know them naturally. Why show when you can tell, huh? That’s Carolina’s role. That’s why she is there. To introduce the cast and explain their story. That’s it. (HOTDOG).

How about Wash? He is there to get beat up and be a damsel in distress so that the new cast has a reason to explore the plot. Oh, and that brain damage that was the consequence of previous seasons – gone now. The guy who literally has trauma from having an AI explode inside his head is fine with having a computer inserted into it instead. Because that’s needed. To explore his brain damage wouldn’t work now when his role is to be a prop to lure the new cast for one episode and then be put onto the bench for the rest of the runtime (HOTDOG).

And Tucker – he is there to die for a second and have his sword taken from him. That’s literally it. And for the few moments he is there, he feels like old super flirty Tucker, which erases the character development he went through in previous seasons. Okay, so Tucker dies, and then not dies, and then he is put on the bench with Wash where they can sit and talk or whatever (‘cause holy shit, the new cast is not allowed to that), because he isn’t important. The sword is. Tucker is just a prop, even more than his sword is (HOTDOG).

Damn. Wash gets beat up. Tucker gets beat up. Dies. Gets his sword taken away. Almost seems like a Red’s wet dream. Sorry not sorry, Blues, you were done dirty.

So there are miswritten old characters. Even worse is the retconning. The plot needs a “normal” Wash, so, bam, magic computer solution. Never mind Wash’s trauma and character traits. Never mind the logic of the new worldbuilding which also includes a character suffering for years to heal an illness. But the brain damage that was such a big consequence that it became the main part of the plot of the last two seasons – gone. I mean, a gunshot to the head can be healed by CPR. That’s canon. But no one gave Wash CPR so it’s a big thing, okay. It was canonically a big thing, and Zero erased that. This is not me saying that a Cerebral Enhancer couldn’t work in the RvB universe. Imagine it being done right. Wash struggling with the choice of getting used to his disability or accepting the possibility of help - at the cost of reliving his trauma. The struggle between what to choose - what should he choose when he wants to help as many as possible, the sacrifices he thinks he has to make, the way it could have been used as a part of his character growth. But in Zero, the enhancer isn’t a part of Wash’s character. It’s there so the story can work without having to deal with the previous plot’s consequence (HOTDOG).

Same with the sword thing. They sorta explain it by having Tucker flatline, but it’s weak. Honestly, I find it sorta offensive. What about Locus’ sword as well? It’s twisting previous lore to make the new plot work (HOTDOG). (Also, are we not gonna talk about the ultimate power being Spencer Porkensenson’s helmet? Have the writers forgotten Spencer Porkensenson? Have we as a community forgotten Spencer Porkensenson?)

If you have Red vs. Blue in your title, you cannot ignore what you inherit from it. You need to respect the worldbuilding, the established characters, and the previous plot. Zero does not do this.

Let’s talk about the Triplets. No, really, let’s do it. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about them before, because season 14 was a mixed bag for me (that I have now learned to appreciate. Thank you, Zero.) because I have heart at the size of the Grinch and can only love a few characters at a time, and that did not include the Triplets. Can’t even remember their names. Well, I can, but I can’t for the love of me remember which state is which, and my tongue is twisted every time I try to say Ohio, Iowa, and Idaho, and I know it’s on purpose. I know it is. And it got me good. That being said, the fandom actually embraced them really, really well! Seriously, I’ve seen more content for the Triplets than for Zero as a whole.

Why talk about the Triplets? (Was Iowa the lesbian? Or was it Ohio? Fuck.) Because like Zero, they introduced new characters with a story of their own. The Reds and Blues didn’t play a role. But here’s what I feel like the Triplets got right. They didn’t change the settings to force their narrative. They used stuff already established (Project Freelancer), added their own story as a continuation of that. They even included old characters in the beginning (Wash and some other Freelancers) but it felt natural and it didn’t feel like it happened at the expense of the old characters. Wash’s writing felt natural, and his presence wasn’t needed to tell these new character’s stories. He wasn’t a prop to them. He was there to establish the setting and to establish the relationship with these new characters, and then he and the other familiar faces (helmets??) left, and we as the viewers were left with these new characters. And the new characters told their own story by themselves. It felt like, hey, here’s something you know – remember Mother of Invention, and remember Wash’ lower rank, but now, try to imagine being even lower rank than him, aren’t you curious about those fates? Now let’s hear their story! It was new, it was something else, but it didn’t wreck what came before it, and it stayed true to the classic vibes of RvB.

As I said before, the hotdog-issue is my biggest problem with Zero. It infuriates me. I will return to this. But there are more issues, even if we try to look past the title-related problems.

If we try to imagine Zero as its own story and universe (as it should be, in my opinion), it still earns the meh review from me.

These isolated issues include awkwardness, the writing, lack of self-awareness, and pacing. First of all, holy shit, this is a tell, don’t show. Nothing is subtle, nothing is allowed to develop. It’s like the show thinks you are six years old with an attention span of a goldfish. You are not just led by the hand – they have literally pulled off your arm by the end of the show. We are force-fed every bit of information, every bit of personality from these new characters.

The voice-acting is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes it’s pretty good, sometimes it’s not. Some of the problems can definitely be blamed on the dialogue that you can only do so much with. It’s not good. I can’t remember any good jokes (the one joke I really appreciate was the cast on armor, and that was freaking visual humor. That was so RvB. Kudos to that. It was fun. More of that, please.), and RvB is known for having memorably good lines. This is a show built on good, clever, funny dialogue. Zero does not deliver. You have to sit through clichéd lines – “You’re not my dad”, “I trusted you”, “Come with me”, “It can’t be!”, “She’s way too powerful”, and “We have to do this together” – performed unironically. I cringed more than I laughed. Worst thing is that Zero could be a good parody. Sometimes, it feels like it is. One-dimensional characters, a villain wanting ‘the ultimate power’, very overpowered characters, bad one-liners, etc. But Zero takes itself seriously, and I was one of the people rooting for Jax to show up at the end and yell “Cut”. That would have been a funny-as-fuck twist. A spin-off parody. If I can’t have “Sarge the Movie”, I would have taken that and loved it. I would have forgiven everything. “We put so much info into finding that power, but we had no idea what it was” is really a line in the finale, and I cannot believe this is real in a show that somehow still tries to present itself as serious. What a plot.

We have to talk about pacing. God, first of all it should be stated that RvB is a mess when it comes to pacing. I honestly get what they were going for. Sometimes, RvB has come across as a bit boring when you get three episodes stretched over three weeks without much going on. I know season 11 did not have the warmest welcome because it was seen as boring until the finale. But when you see season 11 as a whole, as a movie, as a part of a trilogy, it works so well. Zero is more focused on being episodic. They want something to happen all the time so we will stay tuned. The thing that will happen – a fight. Oh god. The fight scenes.

I have done the math. I have run the numbers. I deserve a freaking cookie for this. Are you ready?

If you put all the episodes together, you have a runtime of 106 minutes. HOWEVER, with the introduction of credits in every episode, you gotta account for this. Removing the credits, this gives us 94 minutes of actual runtime. Out of that, 45 minutes are dedicated to fight scenes. That means 48% of the show is fight scenes.

If I wanted that many fight scenes, I’d watch Death Battle. Except the actual RvB Death Battle episode has a runtime of 20 minutes, and out of that, 5 minutes is dedicated to the actual battle. For the people who hate math – that’s 25% of the actual runtime.

RvB Zero has more fight scenes than a show called Death Battle. Take that in.

The pace suffers from this. Where’s the time to explore the characters? Where’s the time for good dialogue? All I can think of is this:

I get that RvB is a show that’s literally making fun of itself by acknowledging all their characters do is stand around and talk. I get that you want characters to do more than that. But for the love of Church, would it kill the new characters to stand around and talk? For just a minute? Stop fighting, I am begging you, stop fighting! Am I a pacifist now? Am I purple? Have I joined Doc’s team? What has Zero done to me?!

The good thing though is that fight scenes are very good. They’re entertaining. However, they seem to deconstruct themselves when we need to get a fight scene in every episode. Usually, the few fight scenes in an RvB season were in some of the most climatic episodes. In Zero, I can hardly keep up with the pace because they won’t stop moving. Fight scenes aren’t plot. They aren’t character development. You need more than just fight scenes. They entertain, but there’s a limit to that.

Noël Wiggins, the co-writer, stated the inspiration was a Saturday-morning cartoon. They nailed that vibe. If that was their goal, hurray, they have accomplished something! Because of the poor plot and constant fight scenes, it feels like you could just switch on the TV and drop in at any moment and let yourself be entertained by the cool and colorful soldiers punching and kicking each other. I will admit that the fight scenes entertained me. But they don’t make it a good season.

If I were the six-year-old with the attention span of a goldfish that the show believes I am, I honestly would enjoy it. The stiff dialogue and the constant tell-don’t-show makes you feel like an audience that’s not supposed to do anything else but admire the flashy fight scenes. I miss the cleverness of RvB. I miss the characters I get to connect with as I see them grow.

I miss the tone of RvB. Because this isn’t RvB to me.

It’s not that RvB hasn’t changed its tone before. Holy shit, I sorta do want to experience the absolute shock the RvB fandom went through when s6 aired and they were given new characters and serious plot. I would have loved to experience that, but I was too busy being ten years old. The Freelancers seasons also introduced a new tone and more fight scenes with very talented fighters compared to the Blood Gulch gang, but a balance was kept by having half of the season still revolving around the Reds and Blues. But Zero – Zero is so much change. And it’s on purpose. At least this has been made very clear from the beginning.

They constantly seem to appeal to new fans, rather than be directed towards older fans of the show. If you want an entirely new audience with a season with a new cast, new worldbuilding, and new tone, I’m confused as to why they don’t just make a new show. The hotdog-problem begs for this solution. This story and environment and characters feel so out of touch with the original RvB, that with a few rewrites and lack of Halo-armor, it could just be a new show. Problem solved.

If not this, then present it as a spin-off. In all ways, it feels like a spin-off (again, see everything marked HOTDOG). But the creators refuse to do this, and I don’t understand why. I could forgive many of these issues, had they officially separated themselves from canon.

Ah, what’s the idiom? You can’t both swallow and blow? (You can hear the Bow-chicka-bow-wow in the distance). Something about eating cake and having it. Forgive me, English isn’t my native language. POINT IS why are you calling yourself RvB while actively fighting against the core essence of RvB? In my humble opinion, you can’t be both. Marketing it as a spin-off would have granted it some defense when changing, well, literally everything, and I just, would someone please properly describe why it isn’t a spin-off? Isn’t this season marked by its association with the plot of RvB rather than a continuation of it? Zero presenting itself as not a spinoff feels like a toddler clinging to the hem of its mother’s dress while forcefully running away from her, ripping the dress in the process.

When they do connect with the original RvB, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. When they let Carolina, Wash, and Tucker appear for a moment, it feels like luring viewers in with the RvB title. Look at me. Look at me! I’m not saying this is the case. I say that it gives me the annoying vibes of being lured, rather than letting the characters be a part of the show for their own development, rather than having RvB in the title to continue its story. I should not be getting these vibes at all. But I am.

If you want to use RvB in the title, something from the core of RvB needs to be embraced. Things can be changed. They should. Something new should be brought in. But there’s a limit to how much you can change and replace and twist until it would have been better with an original show. As a season of RvB, it should tell the story of Red vs. Blue.

From my perspective, Zero fails to do so.

It pains me that the old cast has been replaced, but as stated earlier, a season could have worked without them. However, I do not like the take that one should be excited about all the new characters. That it isn’t a big thing that the OG cast got replaced. That we should just deal with it. Just, try to imagine another show suddenly replacing the main characters with characters we’ve never met before. Imagine RWBY suddenly only focusing on a new team of huntresses with the previous main characters reduced to an Easter Egg presence, or Camp Camp suddenly being about a new team of campers, no warning given. Can you imagine the outcry? So maybe let’s agree that a replacement of the main cast is a big thing and should be addressed and it’s valid to be upset about this change.

Could Zero have worked? It’s hard to answer this. How can I accept something as RvB if the season actively pushes away the core of RvB aside for an isolated story that could have been told in any other media? As a spinoff, I could have ignored it. To enjoy Zero, I have to fully separate it from RvB in my mind, and then it’s alright. S’not good. But it’s not bad. It’s entertaining enough. I really ended up liking Raymond and Tiny, and there were a few good jokes, and the fight scenes were admirable (but too much) and I love the creators’ passion. But it’s not RvB. I also wish that the new characters had been attached to previous worldbuilding, for example soldiers on Chorus or agents from Project Freelancer. That way we could build on familiar lore which would have decreased the confusion and added a much needed connection with the previous seasons of RvB.

God, the anxious voice is back (by the way, it sounds like Tutter from “Bear in the Blue House”).

“You’re racist” – I hope not. Literally, I do not want to be. Tell me if I’ve ever crossed some lines, because I swear, that is not my intention, I will apologize and most of all, change and do better. I included this because I’ve seen this take thrown around in the big ugly mess that is the fandom clashes regarding Zero. And racism is problem within RT community (this includes AH and RvB, sorry, I just use RT as an umbrella term for the latter), and I’m not saying it hasn’t been a problem with this season. Writers should never be harassed, and never-fucking-ever because of their skin color, and voice actors shouldn’t be treated like they are responsible for the choices of the show. But I was legit nervous to post this review, and I hope it’s been factual without feeling like personal attacks on the creators because that has never been my intention. I was delighted to hear about the diversity behind this project, and Torrian’s passion legit blew me away because it’s been a while since I’ve seen that for an RvB project. I’d hoped for it to be good, and when I feel disappointed, it’s for the reasons stated in this analysis. That said, Zero is made by a diverse cast and it’s made with love, and both of those things are so, so great, but it does not mean that Zero cannot be criticized. It can, and it should. It’s a product, just like all the other seasons, and fans are allowed to discuss it – both what they loved, and both what they found troublesome. And to repeat previous points, and be respectful, always, fuck racists, and never-fucking-ever harass the staff behind a season, what the fuck is wrong with you if you do this.

“Don’t you get it, it’s different because it’s trying something new!” – Hey, remember the philosophical question: if you replace all the parts of a ship one-by-one, is it still the same ship when you’re done? If it doesn’t include the Reds and Blues, if it ignores previous plot, if the old characters feel miswritten, if it values animation over dialogue, if it values fight scenes over comedy, if it wants to be Fast and Furious instead of Red vs. Blue – is it still Red vs. Blue? Because it doesn’t feel like it to me.

“It's been 17 seasons, it’s time to let the Reds and Blues go so someone else can shine!” – I simply do not understand us having been with the Reds and Blues for 17 seasons should be an argument to let them go, rather than be an argument as to why their absence hurt like hell.

“The Reds and Blues ran out of things to do!” – Did- did they, though? I mean, if we were discussing pretty much any other show, I’d probably agree that they were running out of content. But for the Reds and Blues… I think the PSAs nailed it this year! I’m not kidding, I had more fun watching the Reds and Blues discuss how to do laundry than watching Zero. You could literally give me an hour of the Reds and Blues trying to bake a cake or clear a gutter or simply settling down with an ordinary life, and I would trust them to make it worth the watch.

“The flaws were due to the fact it’s only 8 episodes long!” – Look, I can only judge a product the way it’s presented to me. I cannot come up with excuses for it. If they had 8 episodes to work with, they need to come up with a plot that works with this runtime. Seriously, this excuse cannot work when 48% of the season is spent on fight scenes. They could have used more runtime, sure, but the show needs to be able to pace itself and be planned accordingly.

“The OG cast couldn’t be a part of this year, hence Zero!” – That might be true. But. Would one year without RvB kill it? Is Zero necessary? Again, I just can’t judge excuses for the show. But trouble with the cast has been an issue before. Season 15 solves Geoff’s sabbatical by actually making Grif’s absence a part of the plot. Zero’s lack of Reds and Blues just feels like this excuse to tell a story that needn’t be a part of RvB.

Am I a hater? I guess? I greatly dislike Zero for the critique stated above. I do, however, not harass the creators and no one should ever do that. However, I have to admit that I feel there’s been this weird rejection of any critique of Zero where everything’s been brushed off as haters gonna hate, including the critique stated above. And I think that’s a problem because critique, as hard as it can be to hear (and I know this. I’m an author of original works. Weird flex, I know), is valid and necessary and shouldn’t just be shrugged away. As always, both sides of the fandom should always be respectful, but my own opinion is that addressing the flaws of Zero should not be controversial.

Does this super long rant/critique/whatever mean you cannot enjoy Zero? Gods no! I almost envy you if you enjoy this season, but holy shit, feel free to love it and tell the creators that you love it! Me pointing out the issues I have with the season shouldn’t be stopping you. I loved (and still love) s15 when it came out, and it was majorly rejected by the fandom. There were many, many critical posts, people were going on about how RvB should have ended with s13, and it evolved into the writer receiving death threats (me, once again: never ever harass the creators, assholes). But I didn’t tell people to stop being negative. I actually agreed with many of the flaws that were pointed out, and I enjoyed the season despite this, because that is possible. We, as RvB fans, should agree that RvB, is... I mean, it’s not the greatest, most flawless of shows, but we love it nonetheless. So go ahead and love Zero. This is not a stop sign. This is my opinion that you chose to read.

Wait, I promised you a cookie, didn’t I? Well, you’re not getting one. Why? Because I’m a Red and this is my chance to piss off a Blue. As Caboose wisely said: “Well, at least I don't go around... knocking on people's non-doors... and promising them cookies... and then NOT. GIVING. THEM. COOKIES!”

Blue Team sucks.

End speech.

[a-tired-narwhal]

Tell me more about your feelings about the details of Caleb's backstory!

Okay listen anon. LISTEN. This is going to be LONG. Did I immediately rewatch/go back through the entire wrap up to take notes? YES I DID. Anon I'm sorry this is so late, I didn't see your ask until after the stream. I hope this finds you (*＾3＾)/～♡

----

Caleb fucking Widogast. Liam O'Brien always creates/portrays characters that CAPTURE ME. And it is purely the undertow of SUFFERING that I crave.

As a survivor of an abusive childhood, specifically with manipulation, neglect, and physical trauma, and having a controlling abuser in a position of power over you - I was surprised and delighted by Liam's playing of Caleb, and I'm sure that I'm probably not the only one, but Caleb's backstory just had me nodding along. Was not surprised at all by what was revealed about the blumentrio's relationship being trauma-bonding and probably why I'll never be an avid shipper of them. Nothing about Caleb's backstory left me gasping - because it's a relatively common abuse survivor story, except it's in the world of dungeons and dragons with high fantasy and magic and more common place murdering than today in places where most Critters presumably live.

Let's break it down.

Caleb was born as Bren to a less than well off family, who wanted their child to have a better life than them. Bren is a gifted child, and this will immediately put a bullseye's target on a child's back, make no mistake, for abusive persons. Now, I don't know if it's a pretty obvious that parents would trust in a teaching figure to take their child for that child's betterment, because I don't have parents who wish for my betterment ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, but I like to think that Bren's parents handed him off hoping for his brightest future.

Trent is basically the textbook example of a Cult Leader. Beyond the experimentation he did on his students; everything he put the Blumentrio through is how you beat down and brainwash people, especially children/adolescents. Textbook. TEXTBOOK. It was the dnd equivalent of the Hilter Youth. Now my personal experience featured the tool of isolation, so I didn't have two childhood friends to pour myself into and have threesome's with, but that's actually smart of Ickythong, because when you're left alone with your whirling brain for too long, and there's no one to hold over your head - we start thinking those rebellious thoughts, and at some point we decide we have nothing to lose, and we will do ANYTHING to shake that control. No, he left them in that abandoned tower together so they would be forced to bond with each other, as well as allowing them not to die of exposure alone.

Trauma-bonding CAN be a manipulation and used against you. Now. We have three adolescents trying not to freeze to death by being as close as physically possible. For those that don't know; sharing body heat works best skin to skin - ya get naked and THEN you wrap up together to stay insulated. Awkward groping is going to happen, and it's more than likely accidental. But when you add raging hormones to the mix, yo it's not going to stay accidental for very long (that in no way indicates non consent, it can be either way), and the feelings can catch hard when you're young and physical and EVERY HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP YOU HAD HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM YOU, IF YOU EVEN EVER HAD ONE. (I do not know Eadwulf or Astrid's home lives so your guess is as good as mine. We should probably ask Liam)

So you've got horny teenagers, with above average intelligence, being systematically abused... Bam. Trauma-bonded Blumentrio.

BUT HERE'S THE THING. Trauma-bonding can only get you so far. And they are children, actively being raised to NOT HAVE THEIR OWN THOUGHTS AND IDENTITIES. The relationship they built, the romantic and sexual, are based off of a shared hostile environment and survival needs. And when those circumstances are no longer there, the relationship tends to fall apart.

I love that Matt talked about Astrid for a bit, sad we didn't get more on Eadwulf - but Matt didn't really spend a lot of time roleplaying Wulf compared to Astrid, so he'd have more insight into her. I also find it interesting that the Blumentrio took 3 very different, but again SO COMMON, paths in dealing with their abuse. But that's a different rant.

Focus with me now on what Matt said about Astrid. She was actively seeking power throughout the campaign, looking always to climb that ladder to the top, for her own purposes which were not stated, and was willing to do anything, sacrifice anyone, to get that power. Was it a burden to her? Yeah I think so. Did it weigh on her? Again I personally think it did. But she was goal-oriented and she wasn't going to let anything stop her, not even herself, and she hated Trent. Matt implies that all three of the Blumentrio did/do. Astrid, Wulf, and Caleb were wildly different people - I don't think they would have stayed together even if Bren had stayed Bren instead of becoming Caleb.

I know A LOT of people were miffed over how Liam and Matt showed Caleb's and Essek's love for each other; and I am SO glad that Liam touched on this; Essek reminded Caleb too much of Astrid and Eadwulf. Now I know we love to joke that that Redhead Dirt Wizard has a Type (smart, ambitious, vaguely amoral), and believe me I LOVE THE JOKE, but Caleb pumping to brakes on Hot Boi makes THE MOST LOGICAL SENSE AND I WAS SO DELIGHTED WHEN LIAM PLAYED IT THAT WAY. Caleb was still trying to heal himself; WHY THE HELL WOULD HE JUMP INTO A MESS CALLED ESSEK? That's some mf UNHEALTHY, TOXIC romance trope ya got there. People fix themselves, not each other. THAT'S WHY CANON SHADOWGAST IS SO GOOD. THEY ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES FIRST. THAT'S SO HOT.

Ahem.

So the Blumentrio hangout in Astrid's room to sex and study, in threes and twos (I have weird polyam questions, Liam). Now, I'm foggy on the exact timeframe that was together at Academy > kill your parents > Bren is chucked into the Sanitarium; but it's clear that after the murdering of parents, Bren is tagged as the "weakest link" - maybe he broke because he actually loved his family/had a loving family, maybe the manipulation spell from Ickythong didn't sit on him as well as Astrid and Wulf, maybe boi wasn't made for killing (a lie, the boi is a total killer, you have to be in most dnd campaigns), who knows. But he broke, and Astrid and Wulf handed him over - it would be dangerous for them if they tried too hard to protect him.

Because in that environment, in those circumstances, in that set up; you do what you have to, to survive. You hurt people you love, you hurt people you don't know, you even hurt yourself if it means improving your own odds. It's instinct. It's not your fault. You are doing the best you can with what you have available.

I don't hate Astrid and Eadwulf; I just have more emotional attachment and investment in Caleb, and prefer the color purple on him.

Which is actually a great segue into THE WOMAN AT THE SANITARIUM WHO FREED HIS MIND; Matt Mercer you beautiful man, thank you for giving us a Moonweaver connection, my lil widomauk heart was sent aflutter! So, here's the thing. Places like that, sanitariums, psych wards, etc - if you are not certifiably insane before you go in, you will be eventually. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is not a fucking joke. But the thought of some forgotten Moonweaver Cleric recognizing Bren's torment and just, poof, dissolving that spell? *Chef's kiss* glorious, wonderful, everything I needed.

Anon, I don't know if this is what you wanted or expected - but here it is, my sincerest apologies 🐳

[four-loose-screws]

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 10, Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 10: The Secluded Sage (con’t)

Everyone pulled out torches from within the convoy.

Because they did not want to have too much luggage, they’d prepared as few supplies as possible. Their thought was that it would be best to stock up on what they lacked in towns along the way, but that plan had now backfired.

Still, a little was better than nothing. A few soldiers grabbed the torches they had, and were tasked with maintaining a consistent field of vision.

The dim light shone throughout the fort and revealed the disgusting sight of vines snaking up its crumbling walls.

‘If only we had just a few more torches….’ As if someone had read Eirika’s thoughts, a bright light suddenly shone from behind her.

She whirled around in surprise, and was blinded. When she raised a hand over her eyes, she was able to confirm that the light was shining from the tip of Natasha’s staff.

“I apologize for surprising you…”

“Natasha, what is that staff…?”

“I thought maybe it might be helpful… Um, is it perhaps bothering you?”

“No, on the contrary, it’s very useful!”

It was a much appreciated staff that made up completely for their lack of torches. Because Natasha couldn’t go out on the front, it was decided that she would light up the rear line, and the army ventured inside of the fort.

The inside looked exactly as they’d predicted. While it had been originally built to fight against monsters, ironically, now it was a monster den.

Ewan darted around while shouting, “Whoa… it wasn’t like this in here when I explored it at all! It was totally empty and abandoned… How could this have happened in so little time!?”

“Ewan!” Tethys had heard what he was saying and ran up to him. She looked terrified, and grabbed his arm. “What are you doing!? You know it's dangerous to be out this far on the front, right!? Stay with me on the rear line…"

"I’m going to fight! I want to show everyone the magic my teacher taught me!”

“You can’t! It’s still too dangerous!”

“No it’s not! Just watch me, Big Sister!”

“Can’t you hear what I’m telling you? When did you turn into such a bad child? If anything ever happened to you, I…”

Tethys buried her face in her hands, and her shoulders started shaking. Any observer would know that she was faking it, but Ewan took her very seriously. 

He was horrified, and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry, Big Sister! I understand. I’ll do as you say. I’ll stay on the rear line with you.”

Ewan guarded Tethys, who was still pretending to cry, as they retreated to the rear line.

Eirika was surprised at this unexpected side of Tethys. When she was with Gerik, she seemed so carefree. She didn’t seem like the type to be so concerned about family, but she completely spoiled her little brother.

Gerik saw her expression, and laughed. “You look surprised. Didn’t think she was so kind… did ya?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“You don’t have to be polite. I was taken aback the first time I saw her like this, too. It felt like the woman I’d seen dancing at the bar was a different person. It seems that they lost both of their parents very suddenly, and were living all on their own. Ewan’s all the family she has left.”

“Really?”

The young sister and brother, surviving by protecting one another, had no doubt struggled through a lot together. She must have worked so hard to develop her exceptional dancing skills so that she could raise him. And perhaps he’d decided to study magic at such a young age because he wanted, from the very bottom of his heart, to help out his sister however he could.

Eirika was silent, so Gerik worriedly whispered to her, “Hey, don’t look so sad! Tethys’ll rip me a new one if she figures out that I blabbed about her tragic past! She hates it most of all when people pity her.”

“I understand. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

The battle had already begun on the front line. The nauseating and rotten smell of the monsters was all around them, and the monsters’ shrieking cries of death pierced their ears. Eirika and Gerik both withdrew their swords and started slicing up the monsters coming towards them.

The group nesting here at this fort was far stronger than that in the Za’ha Forest. 

This time, even Gargoyles, a pure black, winged creature, was among them. They wielded iron weapons likely stolen from people they’d previously fought with, and attacked at terrifying speeds. 

As Eirika had expected, both Lute and Artur played a huge role in this battle. They rushed around to back up all the soldiers who were having difficulty fighting. The effects of Artur’s light magic were particularly great. He defeated almost all of the monsters he fought with one spell.

“Lady Eirika, I have troubling news!” Franz, who'd been fighting on the front line, rushed up to her in a panic. 

'No… is someone injured?' Eirika wondered, but that was not it.

“There appear to be people inside of this building!”

“People…?”

"Yes. They are blocked off from us by monsters and we cannot get close, but we can hear their voices. They seem to be travelers who lost their way and were then attacked...”

"Understood. Let's make saving them our top priority."

When Eirika went in the direction Franz had told her, she also heard voices.

"Aaaaargh! There's no end to these monsters! What in the world happened to this fort!?"

“Please rest, Lady L’Arachel! I’ll take care of them from here!”

“No, Dozla. I will not be the only one to save myself from this danger! This is yet another trial sent to me by the gods!”

The voices were ones that Eirika did not expect, but remembered hearing before, causing her to stop in her tracks.

They belonged to a very odd lady and her retainer.

‘That’s right, she said she was going to take the land route to Rausten.’ She must have chosen to take the same route through the mountains as Eirika’s army.

L’Arachel sounded annoyed, but also like she still had strength to spare. Eirika and her army followed their voices as they cut down the monsters.

L’Arachel and Dozla were fighting in a small room, though it was more accurate to say that Dozla was the only one in direct combat with the monsters. L’Arachel rushed around behind him, waving her staff around. She seemed to be the same as Natasha, a healer who only knew how to wield staves.

They were one person short, so Eirika couldn’t help but wonder if Rennac had been killed. This made her even more worried, and she shouted out, “Miss L’Arachel! Are you alright!?”

“Oh my, that voice…? Aren’t you the person from the other day? So we meet again! We seem to be bound by fate!”

“Please retreat to a safe place! We’ll take it from here…!”

“Oh, you have no reason to be that worried! We are still on our journey to cast judgement upon all monsters! This lot is no trouble at all! Now see how magnificently we fight!”

“Miss L’Arachel, there are injured people on the rear line. If possible, I’d like you to please use your staff to heal them. They need you.”

Eirika’s plea immediately got through to L’Arachel. She cheered up and rushed straight to the back line, allowing Eirika to fight without worry.

L’Arachel’s companion Dozla was exactly as strong as one would imagine he was at the sight of his hulking body. He swung around a huge battle axe that any normal person would have trouble lifting with ease, and sliced through each and every monster with all his strength. He could even shrug off minor attacks with his muscles of steel, and took little damage from them. He was truly a warrior to be feared. 

The fog slowly thinned out as they fought, so the battle did not go on for long.

L’Arachel played a huge role in caring for the injured. She was a bit rough compared to Natasha, and even yelled at them a few times, but aside from that, her healing abilities were the real deal.

When the battle was over, Eirika sheathed her sword and called over to L’Arachel. “Thank you, Miss L’Arachel.”

“You can just call me L’Arachel… Um…” She tried to call Eirika by name, but cut her words short and tilted her head to the side. “Oh dear, now that I think about it, I haven’t asked you for your name yet. What is it?”

Eirika laughed. It already seemed like L’Arachel was an acquaintance, so it was strange that she didn’t even know her name yet. 

In a case like this, Eirika always used the alias “Eilis the Mercenary,” but she didn’t want to lie to these two, so she didn’t feel the need to do that. “My name is Eirika.”

Seth looked like he wanted to say something, but Eirika cut him off. “It’s okay, Seth. These two aren’t bad people. I don’t think we have to hide anything from them.”

L’Arachel stared straight at Eirika for a moment, then whispered, “I’ve been told that the princess of Renais’ name is Eirika! And that after the palace fell, she fled to Frelia, has been fighting ever since, and…”

“Yes. That is me.”

“Oh my, you’re the princess of Renais!? That is only logical. I knew all along that you were someone very refined. Didn’t you think so too, Dozla?”

“I did indeed think the exact same thing, Lady L’Arachel!”

“It is an honor to meet you! When I heard of another princess like I, traveling to each country while battling the evil rampaging the world, I wanted to meet her at least once!” L’Arachel took Eirika’s hands in her own, and squeezed them tightly.

“N-Not at all. I didn’t necessarily start traveling for that reason…”

“And we even got lost on the same rugged mountain, bringing us even closer together!"

It seemed that L'Arachel hadn't planned to climb the mountain, rather, she'd simply gotten lost. No ordinary person would climb such a steep mountain simply because they'd gone the wrong way.

"No, we didn't get lost. Actually…"

Eirika told her everything that had happened since they split up in Carcino, including Carcino’s betrayal, Pablo's surprise attack, the battle at the previous fort, and the village Ewan had told them about, Caer Pelyn. 

L'Arachel was deeply interested in the story from start to finish, and when Eirika was done talking, she said with conviction, "We were guided to meet here by fate! Please let us go with you, Eirika."

"Huh…?" Eirika had no idea what to say to the enthusiastic L'Arachel, and simply stared at her.

She'd seen L'Arachel and Dozla's abilities in action firsthand during the last battle, leading Eirika to very much want them to lend her their strength. However, they had no connection to neither Renais nor Frelia, and did not seem to be victims of Grado's violence, either. They were different from Eirika and her army, and had no reason to go on a dangerous journey.

L'Arachel noticed Eirika’s sigh, then pleaded passionately, "Please consider it! We're on completely different journeys, yet have met three times already! It is no coincidence! It is our fate to fight together!"

 “But as I just explained to you, Miss L’Arachel, we are being pursued by both the Grado Army, and now Pablo’s men. If you travel with us, I can’t even imagine just how much danger you’ll be put in…”

“Ha, do you think I fear danger? Since the day I decided to devote myself to the extermination of all monsters, I have been ready for anything! No matter how dangerous it is, everything is a trial sent to me by the gods. Helping you is a duty they have bestowed upon me!”

“I… I see…” 

As someone who was not a very devout religious believer, she couldn’t understand what L’Arachel’s excitement was about at all, but it moved Dozla to tears, which he wiped away with his giant fists.

And that is how it was decided that L’Arachel and Dozla would travel with Eirika’s army.

Eirika then asked about something that had concerned her since she first saw them in the fort.

“There was someone else traveling with you, correct? I believe you called him Rennac…”

“Yes. We lost him.” L’Arachel shook her head in disappointment. “He has no sense of direction, so he must have gone down the wrong path. It’s such a shame…”

She was completely blind to the fact that she herself had gotten lost. But knowing that he hadn’t been killed by a monster gave Eirika a sense of relief. “I hope you’ll be able to meet back up with him soon.”

“I really hope so too! It’s very inconvenient not to have him with us. He may be lazy, but because he’s greedy, if there’s a reward in it for him, then he’s excited to do anything. He’s as adept with his hands and as cunning as a thief, so he’s been very helpful to me…”

L’Arachel clearly had no qualms about speaking her mind. Although Eirika felt bad for Rennac, she didn’t feel that L’Arachel meant any harm, so it made her smile. “How do you three all know each other? Dozla seems to be devoted to serving you, but…”

“Yes, you are right. I am actually…”

“Lady L’Arachel!” Dozla placed one of his short fingers on his lips, signaling to her not to tell.

“But I’ve already become allies with Eirika! She is a kindred spirit, fighting to rid the world of evil, and bring peace! I’m sure everything will be fine if I tell her…”

“Do you forget what the bard Saga said? According to him…” Dozla whispered something in her ear.

L’Arachel nodded deeply in agreement. “You’re right. The truth is a secret that I cannot speak of casually, even to my allies… And that is much sweeter in times such as these! Thank you for reminding me, Dozla!”

“‘Tis nothing, Milady!”

“And that’s the situation, Eirika. I am an envoy of justice sent by the gods to exterminate evil, Dozla is my faithful servant, and.... Rennac is a lazy, greedy employee of mine… please accept that for now.”

“I will… I suppose…” She was probably in a position where she did not want to tell anyone. Eirika decided not to question L’Arachel any further.

-

Eirika’s army quickly left the fort, and headed for the sage Saleh’s house.

The remaining path was as steep as it had been the entire way up, but the fog had cleared. They no longer had to worry about not knowing what might be under their feet, so they were able to climb faster than before.

They arrived at Ewan's teacher's house before sunset. It was a simple house hidden among the trees on the mountainside.

Ewan ran in excitedly and slammed the door open without knocking. “Good afternoon, Teacher!” He seemed to always be this energetic, no matter the situation. However, no one answered.

Eirika peeked in from behind him. The only furniture inside was a small desk and a bed. His teacher seemed to live a simple life.

And, as far as she could tell, he had left without locking the door. It was unlikely that any thieves were ever in the area, and even if a bandit did get in, there wasn't a single thing they could take, so there was really no need to do so.

Ewan turned around with a disappointed look on his face. "I think he's out."

"Perhaps he's close by? We can wait here, in case he might come back soon…"

"Hmmmmm… I dunno. He travels a lot."

"He travels a lot!?" Colm exclaimed so loudly that his voice echoed through the house. He continued on, shouting at Ewan, who drooped his head, “We worked our butts off climbing all the way up here, and he’s out on a trip!? Give me a break! You can lead us the rest of the way on your own, right!?”

“I do know the road, but… I won’t be able to convince the people of the village on my own…”

“So we won’t be able to get through to them? Then what are we gonna do? Come back the way we came?”

“I’m sorry…”

“You sure talked big, but you just made a fool of us all! Seriously, after all this, he’s not here…!?”

“Colm!” Neimi nudged him.

While it got him to stop yelling, he still looked very displeased.

Ewan was so sad and dejected that it was nearly impossible not to feel pity for him.

Tethys said kindly to Colm, “I’m so sorry. He was just trying his hardest to help everyone… He’s always been treated like a child, so he wanted to do something all by himself, but instead, he made things more difficult for everyone. I don’t know what to say…”

“No… it’s okay. I didn’t really mean to attack him… Not even a little! I swear! I-I mean, it’s nice to go mountain climbing every once in a while, right?” When the bewitching Tethys apologized to him, Colm completely lost the last of his composure, even forcing a smile that was entirely unlike him.

Neimi still looked sad, so she didn’t seem to notice at all.

Eirika comforted the disheartened Ewan. “It’s too bad, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It wasn’t your fault, so please don’t look so sad. For now, let’s talk to everyone about what we’re going to do next…”

He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. But when his eyes darted past her, he gasped. “Teacher! Yay, you came back!”

“I told you not to come here, remember? I’m usually out.” A man appeared and scolded him in a harsh tone.

Eirika turned around and was so surprised that she couldn’t respond immediately, because she had seen Ewan’s teacher before.

The man did not notice her, instead trying to go around Ewan and enter his house. “I will leave again soon. If you want to master magic, then please find another teacher.”

“Um…”

When Eirika started to talk to him, he turned around with a stern look still on his face. He seemed to remember her as well, as he looked like he was trying to remember something.

“We met before. In the border town Serafew… You were looking for a lost child, if I remember correctly.”

“Yes.”

He seemed to remember now, as he was nodding his head. She wanted to ask him if he’d found the child, but he didn’t seem to be in the mood for casual conversation. 

He was probably still very young, but had a calm composure that did not fit someone of that age. To Eirika’s eyes, used to seeing unusual mages like Lute, he seemed to have a much more mysterious aura, one that most anyone would expect from a mage.

‘So this is the sage Saleh.’ For Innes to have known his name, he must possess such great power that even Frelia’s spies could not ignore gathering intel on him.

But Ewan clung to his teacher. He completely disobeyed what Saleh had told him to do, and said in his same tone as always, “So, uh, um, Teacher! All of these people want to cross the mountain to reach the country on the other side. So I decided to take them to Caer Pelyn! I can get there okay on my own, but I think it would be even better if you were with us!”

Judging by how disappointed Ewan had been before, it hadn’t seemed that he was confident he would be able to guide them the rest of the way. But now, he sounded completely confident in himself. 

Eirika thought that Saleh’s response would confirm he was a grouchy person, but contrary to her expectations, he nodded immediately. “That should be fine. I was about to return there myself. You can all come with me.”

“Really? It’s okay!?” Ewan asked without thinking.

Saleh replied bluntly, “We do not aim to keep outsiders from getting in. People simply do not try to interact with us. However, the sun is already setting. Let’s rest here for the night, then depart once it is light out.”

“He’s right.” Innes nodded. “Everyone is tired. And if a large horde of monsters like the one we just fought appeared, then there would be nothing we could do. It would be best for us to rest and focus on keeping our morale up.”

Everyone followed his suggestion, and it was decided that the soldiers would camp around Saleh’s house for the night.

While the soldiers were setting up their tents, Ewan said, "Should I go ahead and explain everything to the elder? If we suddenly show up with a group this big, we'll probably surprise everyone in the village."

"But it's already getting dark, Ewan…” Eirika tried to stop him, however, the speedy boy had already run off. He turned around once, said, "I'll be fine!" with a wave, and soon disappeared between the trees.

"Grrr, he's so naughty.. !" Tethys was worried, and tried to run after him.

But Saleh said, "Ewan knows these roads very well. You should let him go."

Tethys still looked concerned, so Innes said, "It’s not that I don't understand how much he wants to help. He cannot fight so well on the battlefield yet, so he wants to make up for it in other ways."

Ewan had teased him the entire way up the mountain, putting him in a bad mood the whole time. For him to say that he understood how Ewan felt was unexpected.

But Eirika put herself in Prince Innes shoes and imagined how he felt. He was proud enough for two people, and hated losing. He probably hated the memories of whenever someone took him lightly as a child.

The soldiers had removed their armor, and quickly set up camp. Now, those on cooking duty were making a hot meal, and those who were hungry hovered around the pot. Their grueling climb up the mountain became a funny story, and the entire area was filled with cheerful laughter.

When it came time to sit in a circle around the campfire, as they always did after dinner, everyone was far too tired. They all decided to quickly retire for the night.

-

Eirika’s army set out early the next morning. At almost the exact moment that the sun began to rise, Saleh came out of his house, ready to start moving.

When he saw Eirika's army was still fast asleep, he frowned. The soldiers on guard duty all shook everyone awake in a panic. The commotion also caused Eirika, sleeping in the same tent as Tana, to awaken.

"Wow, mages sure get up really early. Oh, but Lute usually sleeps in. I guess that means there's mages of all types?" Tana grumbled, still sleepy. 

Because Saleh was the one who would guide them to their next destination, they had no choice but to go with him. Everyone was still rubbing sleep out of their eyes when they started following Saleh further up the mountain.

Before they had even made any progress, Colm suddenly yelled, "Hey, something's coming this way! But it's not a pegasus. Its wings sound much stronger than that."

Eirika looked up. She saw three shadows in the sky. "Are they…?"

The shadows gradually became larger and larger, until everyone could tell what they were.

Seth whispered, "Dragons! I can't believe it… They’re imperial dragon knights…”

The knights atop the dragons were undoubtedly dressed in the empire’s colors. They were both more powerful than pegasus knights, and harder to damage. It was likely that they had been flying around the area to search for Eirika’s army. 

They’d decided to climb the mountain to avoid any enemies, but had been found even in a place like this.

The group only seemed to consist of the three knights. No matter how strong they were, it was far too reckless for just three knights alone to take on Eirika’s entire army. It was too difficult for her to judge what their true intentions were, so all she could do was stare at them as they approached her.

The dragons quickly descended. Seth stood in front of Eirika to guard her.

The knight leading the other two jumped down from his mount, then glared at Seth with a stern look on his face.

He was a young man with bright blond hair and a strong, masculine face. 

The moment she could make out his face clearly, Eirika gasped. “General Glen? It is you, isn’t it!? Everyone, I’ve met him in the Grado capital before…!”

The young man nodded lightly, the stern expression still on his face.

She had met him before, however, it was only once during a trip to Grado’s capital city. He sometimes passed by when Eirika and Ephraim were chatting with Prince Lyon, but one day, Lyon called him over, and introduced him to the twins. 

-

Glen had a very serious personality, and it showed in his greeting to them. Ephraim tried to joke with him, but Glen, standing at attention, did not even smile. That amused Ephraim all the more, etching the event into Eirika's memory.

He wasn’t very sociable, but politely answered a few questions she had about dragons. His manner of speaking was very boorish, but within his voice seemed to be hiding a very kind personality, so Eirika liked him.

When Glen left, Lyon whispered a secret to Eirika and Ephraim. “He’s really strong, and works very hard. If I was as tough as him, I’m sure I would enjoy combat training too, but...”

-

When Eirika remembered how Lyon felt about his frail body, she still didn’t know what to say.

Ephraim’s teacher General Duessel had also considered Glen like a son, and praised him as one of the youths who were Grado’s future. At that time, Ephraim was bitter that General Duessel would tell him his spearmanship couldn’t yet compete with Glen’s, and declared Glen his rival. When Ephraim told them he would kill Glen one day in a fit of rage, both Lyon and Eirika found it amusing, and looked at each other and laughed.

When Ephraim said “kill,” he of course actually meant that he would defeat Glen in a duel with set rules. None of them thought that a day would ever come where they must go to war and divide people into allies and enemies.

The feelings of nostalgia were still warm in Eirika’s heart as she looked up at Glen. “I never thought I would meet you here like this...”

“I didn’t want our second meeting to be like this, either. However, His Majesty has ordered it. Eirika, for the crime of massacring Carcino citizens, I must punish you.”

“What…!?” The next words to come out of Glen’s mouth were the last she ever would have expected from him. “I massacred…? What do you mean, I…”

“If you can explain yourself, then I will listen. However, your actions were unjustifiably cruel. You suddenly attacked the port town of Kiris, and slaughtered a great number of the citizens who were desperately trying to escape. You and your army were supposed to be Frelia’s allies! How could you unleash such cruelty upon the people of Carcino, who trusted you!?”

Eirika stared at him, mouth wide open. She didn’t know how to respond to a story that was so completely different from the truth. And he was not making false accusations against her. He really seemed to believe that Eirika’s army had committed a massacre. His chiseled face was twisted in a look of anger and hatred.

The one who answered for the bewildered Eirika was Innes. He chuckled and said, “Don’t be stupid. I thought you were General Glen, one of Grado’s famed Three Imperial Generals. You cannot be this foolish.”

“...What?” Glen furrowed his eyebrows. 

Innes’ tone became even more and more scathing as he continued, “We were the ones betrayed by Carcino. They hired mercenaries to attack us, so we had no choice but to fight back. None of the ordinary citizens should have been harmed. Try investigating on your own before you open your mouth next time! How dare you say something so foolish as Eirika committing a massacre! This was all orchestrated by the Grado Empire, was it not?”

“What did you just say!?”

“Amazing! So you did really believe those idiotic lies! I'm amazed you managed to become one of the Three Imperial Generals…"

“Stop it, Innes!” Eirika finally regained her ability to speak, and scolded him for provoking Glen. She then looked back at Glen, who seemed to be understandably offended. “Sir Glen, what Prince Innes just said is correct. We did not harm the villagers. But if you believe the emperor’s words over ours, then there is nothing we can do. I don’t want to fight because of a misunderstanding like this, however…”

Confusion appeared in Glen’s eyes. His intent to fight vanished entirely, and he became lost in thought.

Eirika waited. Glen was a smart person. She believed that he would surely reconsider everything.

Finally, he opened his mouth. His voice was much softer now. “I understand. You’re right. I don’t know anything about the damage in Carcino. I will come again after I have confirmed what happened. If what you are saying is correct… then what His Majesty told me is a lie. I must ask him what his true motives are.”

“So you believe us?” Eirika breathed a sigh of relief.

Glen looked at her again. He still had a harsh look on his face, but the anger he’d originally showed was gone. “No, this doesn’t mean I believe you. I will simply withhold judgement until I can confirm the truth. If I find out that what you told me is the lie, then prepare yourselves.”

“We will.”

“Sorry for bothering you.” Glen climbed back atop his dragon. 

The other two dragons following behind him also softly spread their wings and flew upwards. Their powerful wings sliced through the sky, and in the blink of an eye, they became tiny specks.

“I can’t believe the emperor would tell such a lie…”

Eirika heard a voice say from beside her. She looked to see who it was, and saw Amelia staring up at the dragons. On her innocent face was an expression full of regret. “Maybe… Pablo was the one who spread the lie, and tricked His Majesty… Yeah! I’m sure that’s what happened!” Amelia said to convince herself, then nodded.

Seeing Amelia like this hurt Eirika’s heart. She may be a member of their army, but she was originally from Grado. Her respect for the emperor was likely to still be very strong. Eirika understood her desire to think there was some sort of misunderstanding.

But Eirika was sure that this wasn’t some plot of Pablo’s, but a path the emperor had chosen for himself. He was the one who’d ordered the sudden invasion of Renais. No matter how horrible his methods became, nothing would surprise Eirika any more.

“Amelia, this actually gives me a sense of relief.” Eirika said.

Amelia looked at her with her mouth wide open. “What… do you mean?”

“General Glen said that he was going to go confirm the truth. So long as there are people like him, then there’s still a possibility that we can talk this through. There’s also the rumor going around that General Duessel is against this war, correct? They’re both central figures to the empire, so everything can still be okay.”

Because the emperor had planned his strategy poorly, he may have actually dug his own grave. Anyone who investigated into the truth could quickly figure out that Eirika and her army had not committed a massacre. Glen was unlikely to trust an emperor that lied to him. If they were able to convince someone like him, who had such a huge influence over the military, there was even a chance that it would mean the beginning of the end of the war.

Amelia’s expression also brightened.

And so, Eirika’s army continued to follow Saleh, beginning to walk even higher up the mountain.

[shy-magpie]

RQG 156

live blog under the cut

Heads up about half way through I realized I go a bit further into analysis on where Zolf & the Kobolds are mentally than some people might be comfortable with. Just as they trust us to back off if the episode gets to real, I am trusting you to close the tab if my little live blog is hitting you wrong. If it makes a difference I have years between me and the reason I relate to this stuff.

"In Memorium" they are trying to kill us Ah they lampshaded the speed intros Yes Alex it is rather Paris Right to Azu & Zolf. Oh he's jumping right in. And there's my first pause of the episode. No “better” isn't a magic finish line you pass then never find yourself in that place again. No, knowing that doesn't mean you don't wonder if your back at square one every time you realize You Are In A Bad Place and Not Handling it Well. Gosh Azu is good at this. Yeah learning to walk away is hard. Learning to ignore the part of yourself that says "and never come back for their sake" is harder. Symbolic much Alex (Zolf is too small for the room, Azu is too large) Yeah it would be easier to not blame Zolf for last episode if I related to him a bit less. Okay they are talking about Hamid and their concerns for him directly. Yeah Hamid's relationship with power & privilege is an arc; and without the Doylist level of trusting Bryn & Alex, I can see where even if you trust/like him you'd be worried about it. With the best of intentions people misuse power. Azu quoted Grizzop at Zolf. Didn't name him, wonder if Zolf is ever going ask directly about his replacement in canon or if its best left to fic. Its easy to dismiss one's own successes. Okay fair and OW, Zolf isn't up to talking about Sasha; which is the part of this I was most prepared for. Hell yeah! He is coming down but not going to be attempting to lead so as to relieve pressure on himself. Maybe if he can let Hamid step up without making a Kew Garden thing he'll see how much he's grown. Hopefully without that setting off a "Hamid does better without me" thing. Yeah intellectual knowledge and it feeling real on an emotional level are very different things. Alex, why does it matter what order they are in? ALEX? The necklace? The Heart of Aphrodite shaped necklace? Azu got a Sign from Aphrodite approving of her reaching out to Zolf as an act of love. Yes! Blue Black no take backs! Yeah those two (players) know exactly what they are doing: breaking my heart in the best ways and not skipping over the actual work those two (characters) need to put into their relationship with OOC "its all fine now"s. Ok that settles the timeline, Azu went up same night, the device isn't made yet. Yeah Zolf wouldn't, probably best to back off while things are tender while being present enough to assure he isn't planning on leaving. Seriously bless Azu, this has to be at least as hard on her as Helen but she is letting the boys have room to work it out for themselves instead of "trying to help". The last thing either of them need right now is pressure especially on this point. Aw the Kobolds teach Cel draconic. Oh smart kid, not only is it just logical for the Kobolds to work with Cel directly, it might help them get over the "looking to see if the boss approves of how you breathe" stage. Especially if he is clear about not being threatened by them having advantage over him in this area. Heck of a relief this isn't hitting my rank issues. Ooh all the Kobolds are amazing engineers, wonder if its a Kobold thing or if Skraak recruited people with similar interests. Nice rework of the "Kobolds build traps" thing from pathfinder. I genuinely love how instead of pitching the original description of Kobolds out the window, Alex has backwards engineered it. Reputation for traps isn't a dishonorable approach to fighting, its a sign of their skill. They aren't minions, their trauma is interacting with a cultural attitude about rank in weird ways. Oh Cel! Cel is amazing. Under Shoin's orders they: made Magic Steroids, did maintenance (more towards the end as Shoin wasn't taking care of things), built the place initially, sourced ingredients, other Kobolds built the Mechkraken. Damn Shoin, they can't even be proud of all they were able to do in adverse circumstances because he tainted it. If they weren't forced to do it and have it used for ill ends, building the kraken would be impressive. A lot of that sounds like difficult work. Hamid stuff: yeah it is from a place of fear; and they would be hypersensitive and need to try to "defend him" so he doesn't react. Terrified of his anger? Handle anything that even annoys him to cut it off at the pass. And being a good person who doesn't like scaring them, Hamid is going to over do the very "Mary Sunshine" routine that makes Zolf think he doesn't appreciate the gravity of the situation. You'd think Mr "do a grief later" would get that Hamid doesn't have to walk the halls wailing to be aware of the end of the world. Not that the kid can win, if he cried and threw up it would be proof he hasn't grown from season one. Hopefully by taking a back seat Zolf will have a chance to see Hamid's actions and realize being chipper & wholesome doesn't mean stupid. Oh Alex has thought this through, one of these days I'll quit being surprised he actually gets this stuff. Not being able to read the person whose emotions feel like life & death is a Bad Thing. Thank Alex for Skraak. Weird seeing this stuff from this side, of course learning to focus on my end instead of being preoccupied with what was going on in the heads of people who were on Hamid's end of it was rather the point. Perfect balance, Hamid gives them enough space to realize he isn’t going to explode, Skraak "translates" into something clear enough not to stress them out. Like when Zolf snapped at Skraak when he pledged to Hamid; might not be pretty but not knowing what The Powers That Be want? Very bad place. Rank and clear orders are very important when appeasing those who outrank you is everything. Cel has dealt with a lot of young and unsure apprentices!?! Yeah well Cel isn't in their chain of command and gears don't get offended if you have an opinion on the right way to configure them. Cel is great Azu & Hamid talking about Zolf! Helen is wonderful! I thought this was going to be drawn out and indirect, instead they are actually facing things head on and dealing with them. Aw these two are so good for each other. Azu would set aside her own emotions. Hot damn Azu, getting right to it! Hamid can be amazingly open about his self awareness and it surprises me every time. It fits him and is a very good thing, but going from answering "how are you?" with "the Kobolds are doing well" to "I never knew how to help him" without it being jarring made me do quite the double take. Guess I was expecting more deflection. Yeah well you two are redefining your boundaries, entire relationship, and rank in specific, while being the perhaps the only people with enough of the picture to figure out how to save the world. Working out the balance between conflicting views on that, when neither of you knows what the end will look like was never going to be smooth. Oh yes and none of you have directly addressed that half of Zolf's rank & dick measuring stuff is because he doesn't know if he even has a role if he isn't The Boss or The Healer.* Oh the grin in Alex's voice as he tells them there is something else before the brorb interview. Whisky tumblers for each? Quite a sigh there Ben News? Big news? While they were in the institute? They ought to sit down. Wilde get to it. Ah Azu & Hamid are holding hands. Poor kid with his prop. Letter? Ancient Rome? Sasha? Are all the fics coming true? Their founder "Askingus"!?! Oh Sasha, oh Zolf! Lydia! Oh the kids! She named the kids after the party. She even found her faith. A break? How the hell are we only half way through the episode. Also hell yeah Lydia deserves all the awards, that was an amazing letter. XD Ben! Oh Hamid, we reacted that way to the epilogue that way too. It really is okay, it was a good end. Yeah he could use a drink. Poor Zolf. Hamid gives Wilde a hug. "technically I think that makes Sasha my boss". XP be cryptic Alex, The RSB will have it figured out by Friday. Ok Zolf got to read the letter on his own. Azu lit 3 candles, because Helen wants me to cry. Hamid is at Zolf's door with a bottle and two glasses. Lydia this is a compliment to your skill. More direct than I expected from Hamid. Oh these two! Okay he is drunk enough to go there (angry at Zolf for leaving but he gets it). About time someone told Zolf directly he's grown. Aw Zolf puts him to bed. Thank you Alex! Ben! (okay fair, if any of Hamid was left he'd cuddle). Sorry Cel! Lydia wanted to break/heal our hearts more than she wanted the plot to move forward ;) Good plan: take the orb to the anti magic field, only those who have already talked to it can talk directly. Info control. Hive mind/telepathy directly addressed. Finally what Shoin eats is addressed. Ok Cel has some teeth on them. Hasn't fed it, is using the vibration to threaten to explode his brain, (no English doesn't have enough pronouns we are working on it)... Oh good point better feed it. Aw Zolf is possessive of the kitchen. Shoin is still Shoin. Cel is not happy about not being recognized. Nice to hear the boys working together. The Infection might block him from being directly aware of  being infected. Bullsh$% he backed himself up. Good point Zolf even if he does, they are separate lives, this instance can still fear death. Oh all the party have teeth, nice they don't have the "good guys have to be sweet & gentle with the baddies" thing Yeah Cel isn't stupid, the brorbs arm isn't a threat. Oh auto painting that will make the people theorizing on the bio side of how the Brorb works happy. A circulatory diagram, and am ocean of faces. Paints like a printer. A creepy charcoal sketch of London staring at the artist. *I swear on Rusty Tower if they let him hurt himself any worse because he thinks his new role is "a brick wall on wheels" I am joining the line to fight Ben in a Whetherspoons parking lot. Yes it would be in character but so would healing. There are other hills. Although seriously its been great having a character that shows so many of the aspects of depression that usually get left out. That Zolf is also a three dimensional character with a full personality beyond just "the one with mental health issues" while not making it look like those issues are tacked on or easy to handle? Stunning work.  

[dragon-fics]

HA: Ch. 12 Discovery

Chapter summary: Heather (finally) begins her study of magic, practicing with Aaravos. All the while, she'd discovering more about herself.

Prologue, Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3 , Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6 , Pt. 7, Pt. 8, Pt. 9, Pt. 10, Pt. 11

“Now say; crescere,” Aaravos instructed as his lime green rune made the tiny stem in his mini mountain of dirt grow in his hand, blooming into a fiery orange flower.

Heather glanced at her own pile of soil and sad little stem. “Crescere,” she echoed in a quieter voice than Aaravos. Her stem grew stronger and higher, its leaf rising towards the blue sky. A bubble of joy inflated inside of her as a bud formed and bloomed into a tiny blue flower, no bigger than the pad of her thumb. But then her bubble popped and the blue flower withered, fading to grey. Its leaves crumpled up, and they drifted to the grassy forest floor with the petals.

Heather sighed, her ears drooping. She brushed the dirt off of her hand and looked at her crossed legs.

Aaravos placed his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Heather. It was only a first try,” he reassured.

Though Heather didn’t find it very reassuring. She felt so bad about the death of a tiny flower; it almost made her feel silly. But inside she felt as if that plant had been part of her, like a child—that thought was repulsive; she hated children. Yet she felt so fond of it.

“Why didn’t it work?” she asked, looking at Aaravos. She had been practising her Draconic with Khonsu diligently, building up her vocabulary and grammar, not to mention how hard she’d been studying the books of the arcana Aaravos had given her, and all the meditation she’d been doing. Heather was so sure it would work, so confident that her work had paid off.

This was why she hated magic. Unlike fighting, it required so much knowledge about so many things she didn’t deem practical, and meditation, and understanding. And even after all that, it didn’t work.

Aaravos glanced at her hands. “If I could have a guess, it’s that you haven’t built up enough magic to hold the spell and project enough into the plant to keep it alive.”

Heather sighed. It was logical at least, but it just made her feel angry that magic was like fighting. She’d thought of them as completely different; one you were born with, the other you worked for. And the more she went into her training, the more incorrect her idea became.

What troubled her was why she disliked magic so much; it had never harmed her, not to mention Khonsu—a battlemage—was her best friend. Yet she always disliked it, thinking it was something mages inherited. Not trained on—simply thinking they were just ‘born lucky’ with an immense skill that just grew as they did, never having to work on it. But as her lessons went on, she realised it was very different. So much work went into studying the language and learning the runes and building up the endurance to use the magic in the way she needed to use it—just like fighting.

Fighting required knowledge of the many forms to fight with many weapons and building up the strength, agility, and endurance to use the forms in the way she needed to use them.

So why did she still dislike magic?

Heather had lay awake the past few nights thinking about it. The only plausible reason she could come up with was that she, for some reason, associated magic with elves—beings who had brought her nothing but misery throughout her life. And she had to get out of that way of thinking because there was dragon magic, often referred to a mimicking—using the elements in what way they needed—fire for light and warmth, water for healing, earth for building and movement, and air for enhanced flying; and all could be used for fighting.

She shook her thoughts away and glanced around at the tall trees and lush undergrowth in the clearing. How much energy had they needed to grow? She could feel their primal energy all around her; a calm current of life that circled her, Aaravos, and Khonsu in this clearing under the pale morning sun.

Heather held her head in her hands, frustrated. Why did this have to be so difficult? She didn’t even want this power, so why should she have to work so hard to make it work.

She flopped onto the ground and huffed. “Why me?” she whispered, looking up at the sun. Its rays beamed warm energy down onto her, as it always had, but now it seemed to be easier to gain—by strengthening her understanding, she had strengthened her connection with one of her original primal sources.

Out of the corner of her eye, Heather saw Khonsu shift guiltily. She pushed herself up, meeting his eyes.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Su,” she said, sidling closer to him. “I’m angry at myself, not you.”

Khonsu looked down, his bangs falling forward, blocking her from meeting his eyes. Seeing him like this made her heart ache. She had hurt her closest—and only—friend, and she felt awful.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” Aaravos said, gathering his book and cloak and disappearing into the trees.

Heather placed her hand on his back, assuring him as best as she could. He looked up at her, and she gave him a soft smile.

“I’m sorry all this happened,” he started. “I know you’ve never liked magic, and you probably hate me. And I get it. I’d hate me too.” He sighed. “But I really am sorry.”

She smiled, moving her hand to his shoulder. “I’ve never hated you, Khonsu,” she said. “You’re my best friend and I couldn’t ask for anyone better.” She smiled. “I just hate what’s happening and I wish I could control it or reverse it.”

She looked up. “But I guess now, I understand what it’s like to be a mage and that it really isn’t something you’re just born good at.” She took his hand in hers, wrapped her five fingers around his four. “Just please don’t tell anyone I’m bad at it,” she whispered, looking away sheepishly.

Khonsu smiled and chuckled quietly. “Sure, I’ll keep it to myself.”

*-*-*-*

Heather’s ears dropped, and a scowl formed on her face. “Why won’t anyone realise that she just got lucky?” she muttered angrily. Up ahead—far ahead—with all the soldiers, Dragonguard and not, was Rayla, chatting and joking away as if she had been among them all for years; which she hadn’t.

Réalta snorted angrily, shaking his head and folding back his glowing orange ears as Heather’s raging emotion flowed through him.

After all her training and fighting and proving herself worthy of being a Dragonguard, someone who happened to get lucky, with her top skill of hesitation, was sliding right into her spot—which Heather had earned!—and acting like she was worthy of wearing their sash. Heather had tried looking past her history with Rayla—she really had—and mostly, she succeeded. But Rayla hadn’t even taken the Dragonguard test, or trained as a soldier, or anything! Now she was angry at her for how easy it was for her to get on the most elite team in all of Zubeia’s army.

Heather grumbled and bundled her hand into a fist. She hated this! The ‘getting lucky’ part especially.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Aaravos glance at Khonsu in a way she didn’t like. “What is it, Sparkles?” she hissed, straightening up.

Aaravos rode forward beside her on his primal stead—who had re-joined with him shortly after he was free from Stella Carcerem. “I thought you said you were done with your rivalry with Rayla,” he said. She could see the faintest hint of a smirk on his face.

“You will not corrupt me, Sparkles,” she said, keeping a proud stance. Though she was thinking back to all she had shared with him, wondering if he had already planted his seeds of corruption. “Besides, it wasn’t a rivalry, it was a grudge,” she corrected, calming herself, though she really wanted to go over there and shove Rayla out of the group.

“Still, I thought you were done with it.”

“I’m done with the grudge—though I haven’t forgiven her, she has my respect—” she watched as Rayla laughed wildly at one of Haco’s jokes. She leaned forward and drooped her ears with a scowl “—for now.”

“Jealous, I see,” Aaravos observed.

Heather sat up again. She would not tell him he was right; she knew she was jealous, and she was alright with it. “So? She got lucky. She didn’t even kill the Dark Mage; I’ve killed six—”

“Eight, if Tiadrin and Lain hadn’t finished off the other two,” Khonsu interjected.

Heather nodded, surprised a little by his defence—but that was what he was like, loyal and caring and quiet.

Aaravos glanced aside. “Remind me not to get you angry or to make an enemy of you.”

“Good idea,” Khonsu commented.

Heather chuckled. “Do you think she’ll get caught out?” she asked, gesturing her head to Rayla.

“With her parents training her?” Khonsu mused. “I don’t think so; they were assassins turned Dragonguards, they’ll have a good idea how to train her.”

“If she can stop hesitating,” Aaravos mused.”

Heather nodded. “Nice to know you guys see it too.” She rummaged through Réalta’s saddlebag, pulling out her notebook and opening on the page that had My Traits scribbled at the top. She read over what she had already written; Likes to be in control; focused; frustrated easily; conservative. She pulled out her piece of lead sandwiched by two thin pieces of wood and wrote, proud, at the end of the list.

Heather glanced up at the group of soldiers ahead of them and added, respectful when proven honourable. She read over the list again and closed the book. She was one step closer to getting out of this never-ending maze of self-discovering.

[lo-55]

Shattered Chains of Fate Ch. 12

Exit the Execution

Ichigo has to take a break somewhere in the eighth hour of fighting with the two other parts of him. It was good exercise and it kept him on his toes, but in the end they were all him. Fighting himself would make him twice as tired. Fighting two of himselves? Three times as tired. Ichigo was a man known for unreasonable stamina and stubbornness, but even he had his limits.

Ichigo sits at the roof of one of the buildings with Zangetsu standing just behind him and Neive sprawled out across the windows to his left.

It feels natural now, with the two of them. Like the empty feeling in his left hand is gone, so long as the three of them are together. Ichigo doesn’t know what to think of all of this. There’s still a lot he doesn’t know, and the fact that Zangetsu has assured him that time passes different within and without this place is only a small comfort. He was in the middle of a difficult battle, one to save Rukia, and now where is he? Unconscious somewhere, that much he knew.

Ichigo let out a breath.

“I think,” he begins, “It’s about time for me to wake up now.”

“Leaving so soon?” Neive rolls onto his stomach to turn yellow eyes on Ichigo. He should be more unnerved than he is. He wants to be. But he trusts Neive. Inexplicably and truly.

“Sorry,” he says. He can feel Zangetsu frowning behind him. “This is my second time here though. So I can probably come back?”

“You may return whenever you wish, Ichigo,” Zangetsu intoned. His voice was low and flat. Ichigo couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking. What was going on behind those sunglasses?

“You better!” Neive pointed at Ichigo, scowling. Was that what Ichigo looked like whenever he was being petulant?

“I promise,” Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Hopefully next time it won’t be because I've been stabbed by a walking reality marble. I wonder…”

“You wonder?” Zangetsu sounded weary. So he did know Ichigo.  Neive, contrarily, grinned. They were both him. His reasoning and logic and his reckless willingness to take chances that might end in disaster.

“Do you think if I let out a strong enough burst of reiryoku I could break out of it? Like Excalibur or Clarant cutting out of one.”

“...I don’t think we have power enough for that. Not yet.”

“Not yet.” Ichigo repeats the words. Yet. These two… they believe in him. They believe he will one day be strong enough to shatter reality itself. Ichigo can’t help grinning.

“It’s time to wake up now.”

*  

Orihime narrowed her eyes at the horrible, awful man in front of her.

Uryu was shooting at him, over and over to try to keep him from getting to her. They all knew she was the real target, he’d said as much at the start of this fight. When he’d tried to lure her close, and then nearly killed his own men to do it.

Now they lay around her, tired but not dead and no longer bleeding. And Uryu. Urya was scraped up, and poisoned, but he was still moving himself through sheer will and some kind of puppet strings he made with his soul?

Orihime’s life had never really been normal (normal people were raised by parents, not by a brother and then by a distant aunt who she’d barely even spoken to. Normal people didn’t have bright orange hair. Normally people didn’t know when ghosts were around) but it kept getting weirder and weirder.

Orihime’s knees hurt from kneeling on the cement. Her hands ached from holding them in place for so long and her soul aches from using so much power consecutively. She had only just figured out how to hold up a shield and heal people at the same time.

All the same. She can’t be finished yet.

Uryu is fighting so hard for her. He’s putting everything he had into this, into defending her.

Orhihime can feel the phantom imprint of teeth in her shoulder. The hot, sticky blood sliding down her chest and back. The scars are still there. She can feel Sora in her arms, a monster of horror and grief. She can feel Tatsuki, limb and cold and not herself. Blood on her skin. Blood on her hands. She had sworn-

  “Can you actually hurt someone?”  

  She freezes. Her heart beats harder in her ribs and she looks at Kurosaki. The question stabs at her chest and threatens to burst the way the hollows attack had against Tatsuki’s skin. She had won that time, and blood had rained before it fluttered away in phantom light and sand. She opens her mouth.  

  “I-”  

“If it comes down to you or them. If it comes down to them or  me  . Orihime, could you hurt someone? Could you attack with the intent of making sure they don’t get back up?”  

  She clasps her hands in her lap. “I-I can-”  

  “If you can’t,” he cuts in swiftly. “Say it now. When we fight we need to know you have our backs. Do you understand, Orihime? “  

  “Y-yes,” she bows her head. She understands his words. Tatsuki had taught her for years how to throw a punch, grapple and pin and fight. But whenever it came down to actually hitting someone else she always flinched. It was no wonder Kurosaki thought she was incapable of fighting. Maybe she really was.

  But she came to save Rukia. If that means she needs to focus on healing and guarding she can do that. She can be content with that role.  

Only now that role was getting in the way.

How could she stand by and watch Uryu fight and bleed for her sake? How could she do nothing while that cruel man talked about the horrible things he’d done to Uryu’s grandfather? Or to his own daughter? The solemn girl that broke her very body on his command.

She doesn’t understand. Rukia was so kind. So sweet and nice. How could she and him belong to the same group of people?

It makes her sick. Her hands start shaking again.

Aramaki, a man who had tried to take her and run, takes a step away from the captain. The force of his spirit, the gravity of his power, is crushing them both.

It’s  nothing compared to Ichigo’s.

Orihime hadn’t been entirely sure when they first arrived, but now she’s certain of it. Ichigo is stronger than almost any of these shinigami. She hadn’t run into a single one who feels stronger than he did when he first made a miraculously bright canon ball that morning they went to Kukaku’s home.

A horrible creature crawls its way out of the captain's sword. Baby faced and cherubic, it frightens Orihime even more than the bone mask that had once hidden her brother's face from her.

Ishida glows like a one winged angel, to try to defend her.

Orihime closes her eyes.

No.

  “-can you actually hurt someone?”  

   No.    

  “If it comes down to you or them. If it comes down to them or me. Orihime, could you hurt someone? Could you attack with the intent of making sure they don’t get back up?”  

No.

  “When we fight we need to know you have our backs. Do you understand, Orihime?“

Yes.

She will not be defended anymore.

“Tsubaki,” his name comes from her lips. Acid that she will bear, he flutters in front of her. She will only have one strike. She can’t hesitate. Not again. She will not let someone else fight her battles for her.

“Koten Zanshun!”

Tsubaki flickered into the golden glow of her powers and shoots like a dart. Straight through the horrible monster and it’s master.

The hole she makes is nothing. Just a couple inches across on both, but the glow still connects her to Tsubaki through them. An acid wire of destruction.

“Was that supposed to hurt, little girl-”

“ I REJECT!”  

The wall erupts and matter splits. Two halves of a man fall in opposite directions. A grotesque caterpillar follows suit, spewing violet gasses as it goes. Orihime isn’t afraid. She calls on the others to undo the damage that the poisons cause.

When she reaches Uryu he’s leaning heavily against a wall with the girl that was once their enemy. Orihime would rather she be their friend, now that her father is gone.

She offers them both a hand in standing up.

* *

Ichigo opens his eyes to blood.

It’s not his, but a womans. She sits away from him, struggling to reach difficult gauges cut out of her back. Four scores that go from shoulder blade to the opposite ribs.

Ichigo sits with some difficulty. His whole body aches, and his chest throbs. It is familiar, but then again most pain is to him at this point in his life.

Ichigo reaches out with his senses. She feels familiar. Liquid shadow and silk fur, night-dark humor and wicked steel.

“Yoruichi.”

She doesn’t startle. He’d never had the silence of a Hassan at his side. Speaking of...

She looks a bit like Personas in her preferred form. Violet hair, dark skin, and built to fight and  win . Neither one of them has the delicate build of Serenity, the poison mistress, but that didn’t stop Personas and it doesn’t stop Yoruichi from being lovely as sin.

“You’re awake. Good, I was starting to get worried,” she tossed him a smile over her shoulder.

“You’re the one bleeding,” Ichigo retorts. He rolls onto his knees and stretches his arms above and back until there’s about a hundred pops of his bones. His back feels warm, then cold before he straightens out to face her. “Let me help.”

“Do you know healing magic, oh magician?” Yoruichi’s smile was more fit for a cat than a human. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

“None that I can use right now. But I know how to use a needle and thread. Do you have my bag? What happened?”

Yoruichi frowns at him, but motions to his bag in the corner nonetheless. Ichigo rises on legs that feel like they’re more smoke than bone. Weak and hollow. His ribs aren’t much better and the dark mark of Scathach feels fresh again.

Ichigo does his best not to rub at it when he brings the bag back over and pulled his first aid kit out of it. Yoruichi stays still while he carefully disinfects the injury. The bleeding is sluggish and its covered in a thick paste that keeps it at bay until Ichigo carefully draws it away and starts to stitch the skin closed.

He knows these gauges. Sharp sword strikes, and less deep ones litter his own body, save his shoulder. He can see it in the clean split of skin.

“If I wasn’t a mage, I’d try to figure out how to use that healing crap Tessai has,” he said idly while he pulled out his silk threads and curved needles.

“If you’re a shinigami, you can use kido,” Yoruichi said with certainty. Ichigo frowns.

“Mages aren’t supposed to be able to use spiritual energy. They use life energy. Almost no one born after the separations of the worlds can do both.”

“You already do.”

Ichigo didn’t respond. He carefully closed her cuts and spread a cream across it to make sure it didn’t get infected later on.

“How’s that?”

“I had no idea your father taught you so much,” Yoruichi looked over her shoulder at his work as best as she could. She wouldn’t be as flexible as she was before for a week or so. Ichigo rumaged through his bag.

“He didn’t teach me a damn thing. There’s burns on your arm, let me see those two. Yoruichi, what happened?”

Yoruichi gave him her arm without a fight. She was smarter than a lot of warriors he knew. She didn’t fight a medic, even one as half trained as Ichigo was. He spread burn cream across it and wrapped it with firm, but gentle hands. Maybe when they got back he would ask Tessai about the healing, but considering how shit he was at regular spellwork he didn’t have high hopes for that. When he was done he sat back on his heels.

“Better?”

“Mhmm, much,” Yoruichi looked her arm over. She grinned mischievously at Ichigo and yanked him into a sudden hug, smashing his face into her bare chest.

“How good of you to take care of a poor stray cat, Ichigo!”

Ichigo’s face heated and he shoved her, but she was stronger than she looked.

“Don’t pull your damn stitches! I’m not redoing them got it?!”

“Aaaw, don’t be so grumpy,” she huffed at him, but he could still hear the near sadistic smirk on her face.

“Shut up. Put some clothes on before you freeze to death already.”

“Oh? Don’t tell me you’re a blushing virgin. Ichigo!” she sang.

Ichigo finally pried himself away from her with a grunt. “Shut up,” he said again. “That’s none of your business.”

Honestly.

Ichigo  wasn’t a ‘blushing virgin’ or whatever the fuck. He was used to women who barely wore any damn thing. That didn’t make it any less weird when he was nearly suffocated in someone's tits!

Yoruichi laughed at him and finally fetched a shirt. Ichigo rubbed his shoulder, his fingers brushing against the new scar tissue. It was edged ever so lightly in white.

He wondered at it, but figured it was Zangetsu’s work.

“I’m surprised,” Yoruichi said when she returned in an orange shirt and black body suit. “I would have thought you would be hopping mad when you woke up. I did leave Rukia behind.”

“That wouldn’t be fair to you,” Ichigo shook his head at her. “Those two, Ukitake and Kyoraku, are way too strong for one person to take on alone. And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you didn’t tell me what happened.  Yoruichi .”

She had the decency to look contrite.

“I’m out of practice,” she said at long last. “When I grabbed you and ran I didn’t realize that a trap had been laid by the omniskido, the stealth force. On top of that, there was lieutenant out for vengeance. She was convinced that one of us had killed her captain, and came after us for revenge. She was the one who managed to burn my arm. She wasn’t even that strong.”

Ichigo winced. That would have stung Yoruichi’s pride as much as singed her flesh.

“Fury makes for powerful adversaries, but anger runs cold eventually…”

“When did you get so wise?” Yoruichi teased, poking his cheek.

  Sometime between Fuyuki and Babylonia?  

“Don’t make me sound like I’m taking a journey to the west or something,” he brushed her hand aside. “We still have to get Rukia. I’m not sure how now. I couldn’t beat Kyoraku as I am, and you’re all banged up. Maybe…” If he tied a ribbon around Yoruichi’s wrist, could he push his power into her? How strong was she, anyhow? And the others, where were they? No one had died, he hadn’t felt anyone disappear. Were their disguises working?

“I should have brought walkies,” Ichigo cursed his own lack of forethought.

“Calm down, Ichigo. The way we rescue Rukia is simple.”

Ichigo glanced at her. “Oh?”

Her grin belonged on a cheshire cat, even if she wasn’t wearing purple stripes. “We make you stronger.”

“... oh. Is that all?”

* * *

Ukitake would admit it.

He had no idea what to think of these intruders.

Even though normally they would be confined to squad 6’s prisons he had managed to arrange for the ryoka to be brought to his own, under the grounds that since Rukia was his underling and they were here for her, they were his responsibility.

Yamamoto was more concerned with the return of the flash queen, Yoruichi, than a few humans she had managed to wrangle together and approved it with only a stern warning to keep an eye on them.

He had asked each and every one, from the ones he and Shunsui apprehended at the tower, to the pair that had nearly killed Mayuri, why they were there for a girl they barely knew.

The answer was the same.

Because Ichigo wanted to save her.

Ichigo. The one on the bridge that had looked so much like Kien. From the furrow in his brow to the proud tilt of his chin. Even his sword play was similar. Fast and powerful, he adapted to Shunsui’s games the way very few ever had.

And what he did to Rukia…

Ukitake had never seen anything like it before. In that form, he was sure Rukia could have frozen his own shikai if she’d had the mind to. It was terrifying.

Or it would have been.

If it weren’t for the fact that there was no malice in the boys eyes.

Anger, yes, but they didn’t bubble with hatred. He had no will to cut down any of them. And he hadn’t, no the lieutenants or the captains that stood in his way. He left them all living even it would have been safer and probably smarter to make sure they couldn’t come after him again.

Just what was he thinking? Was he really here just to save Rukia? And why was Yoruichi with him? Had one of the Ryoka really killed Aizen?

All of this circled back to the peculiar circumstances behind Rukia’s sentencing.

Execution was harsh. Moving the date up even harsher. And, why wasn’t he allowed to petition for a retrial? He was a captain, and a noble, as was Shunsui. They had both been barred at the gate despite these privileges.

It was about time that he got some answers to these questions. Ukitake was a patient man.

He was still no more a saint than Shunsui, who was equally eager to find something solid to sink his teeth into.

They would go to the Central 46 chambers and find answers, if it wasn’t so late that Rukia might truly die without someone to defend her.

The boy, Ichigo, was strong certainly, but not stronger than the terrible spear levelled at his young protege.

So, quietly, and under the cover of darkness, Ukitake went to Toshiro and spun a thread of suspicion for him. He agreed, as well as his lieutenant, to investigate the Central 46 chamber while he and Shunsui did something more reckless than they had in centuries. Yamamoto would rage at them when he found out what they were doing, but in his mind and in Shunsui’s it was necessary.

He never could have predicted what would actually happen.

* * * *

Ichigo had had some close calls before, but this was seriously cutting it down to the wire.

Fire licks along his wrists but doesn’t make its way past him. He holds the great firebird back with the edge of Zangetsu’s sword.

The spear screams at him, howling defiance. It is a tool of justice and death, the ultimate punishment, to burn away the sins of those who stand before it.

Ichigo cocks his head.

It’s more than that. He knows the heat, though this is lesser considerably, only yellow not blue. He knows the crushing force of duty and responsibility behind it, and the spear that birthed this one. The beak is only a shard of a lance he is very familiar with.

“Well,” he says slowly, blinking at the fiery eyes that hold on him. “Hello there.”

Rukia is a light weight under his arm, and he barely feels it when she elbows him in the ribs.

“I told you-”

“I know. I won’t ask you to forgive me, and I don’t expect you to thank me. I just expect you to survive, Rukia.”

The bird flaps back, and circles them slowly. If the lance he knew could destroy 1000 souls, this one can only destroy one. What’s more, it seems to recognize Ichigo.

“Ichi-!”

“It’s fine.”

The bird presses its burning beak into Ichigo’s knuckles and dips an avian bow low before it leaves them be. It lands again on the ground and with a scream to the heavens claps its wings above its head.

The flames disperse and a spear stands in its place.

Ichigo drops to the ground as well. People are looking at him again. That same look that says he’d just done the impossible. He was getting used to it.

“That works,” he says with a nod to himself.

“That doesn’t- how did- Ichigo what the  fuck ?!”

“Dunno. Guess he just likes me,” Ichigo shrugs casually and hoists Rukia over his shoulder. “Ready?”

“Ready for wha- AAAAH!” Rukia screams bloody murder when Ichigo yeets he towards the ground as hard as he can, where Renji of all people is waiting. He’d shown up yesterday to tell them that execution had been rescheduled for a day closer, and that Kenpachi Zaraki had apparently gone AWOL and stolen a couple of Ichigo’s friends and was busting down Seireitei looking for a rematch.

He still wasn’t sure how much he believed when Renji told him that Orihime cut a captain in half.

Ichigo waves cheerfully from his perch atop the execution platform.

“Take care of Rukia, alright?”

He still doesn’t have a plan for when they’ve finally gotten away. Hide in the living world, he supposes. Take them to the clock tower maybe. Waver would be helpful, and he still has his gift from Marie.

Whatever.

He’ll take it one step at a time. No use fussing about the far future when he still has the present to fixate on. On top of that, something is happening below him. A separation in the ranks of the shinigami. Kyoraku and Ukitake seem to be standing off from the others, between the retreating Renji and Rukia. Ukitake has a shield of some kind, and Kyoraku has drawn his blade.

Ichigo jumps forwards, sailing downwards. Where is Kyo in all this mess? And that strange man, Gin? There’s barely a handful of heavy hitters down here.

Ichigo lands a few feet away from Ukitake. Zangetsu hangs in one hand, his bandages wrapped around Ichigo’s wrist. He keeps himself sideways, to defend from either side if he must, but he has a good feeling about this.

“Sorry to interrupt whatever’s happening down here,” he says casually, “But does this mean you’re helping to rescue Rukia?”

Ukitake’s smile is a phantom thing, equal parts guilt and honesty. “We’ve been trying since she was first brought back, in less… flashy, ways than you’ve chosen. She is, after all, one of my subordinates.”

“Honestly?” Ichigo tosses a grin at Kyoraku. “I’m glad I’m not playing with you this time, old man.”

“Old man! How cruel,” Kyoraku actually pouts at him. It’s a little disturbing. “Ah~ I prefer drinking to fighting anyhow.”

“Sucks that I’m underage then,” says the boy who spent years in time periods where wine was a safer alternative to contaminated water.

Ichigo has only a second to brace himself when a wave of heat slams into him from his right.

All around him, people drop like flies.

Ichigo scowls over his shoulder at the old man. Heat rises off of him like cement on a summer day, casting a shimmering crown above his bald head.

“Well that’s pretty damn rude,” Ichigo snaps at him. “You’re hurting your own subordinates more your enemies. What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“You dare speak in such a manner? After the mockery you’ve made of our justice?”

“What justice?” Ichigo bristles, danger flaring through him. He presses his free hand onto the shoulders of the two people who had flanked Ukitake, and now fallen on their knees. His strength flows into them until their breathing eases. “You’ll execute someone who was only doing her best to help me? To protect my sisters?! Where is the justice in that?! No harm was actually done, until you decided she needed to die!”

He repeats his gifts with the girl with the glasses. All eyes are on him again. The pressure and the heat increases.

“It is the will of the Central 46. We will follow their orders, and you shall not interfere! That girl asked that you be spared your death, it was her dying will, but you have thrown that request into her face.”

Ichigo narrows his eyes at this man.

“You know something? Some of the worst things in history are done by people who follow their orders blindly.”

The Argonauts. The men who kept Astrious in prisoned in the labyrinth. Medb’s soldiers. The Knights of the Round Table. How many horrible things had been done to him and his friends by people who refused to think for themselves? Who saw what was being asked of them and never once said ‘no’?

“Do not presume to lecture me, boy!” The pressure bears down on him, a mountain of heat and anger. Ichigo doesn’t falter. “I have lived a thousand of your human lives. The impertinence of youth is-”

“You’re about two thousand years old, right?” Ichigo cuts in. “Or, more like twenty two hundred, give or take fifty years.”

“I am-”

“So you were alive before the end of the Age of Gods, right?”

He knows he’s stalling. He knows he should get out of here. Or get this fight underway. Or something. He can’t take this man in a fight, even if he can stand his power. He is, after all, just a man. He isn’t Ishtar, or Gilgamesh, or Orion. He isn’t a god or half divine. His heat is nothing compared to Karna’s. A convection over instead of a volcano.

Nevertheless, he has to ask this question.

The old man’s eyes crease open. There’s anger in them, and curiosity too. “I was.”

“Great. Then where the  fuck is Ereshkigal?”

Silence descends. The old man is so surprised the pressure actually lets up a moment before doubling.

“There is a name I haven’t heard in millenia. The queen of Kur, the goddess of the dead. I didn’t think humans still knew of her,” he regards Ichigo with a new kind of wariness. Warranted, for certain. “All that is left of her is the Sogyoku, a creation from her own lance, holding the flames of the soul of a sungod.”

Ichigo doesn’t tell him that that’s not quite right.

“The heat of that spear should have incinerated you. I can’t say what magic you used to put a stop to it, but I intend to end this altercation before you do something like that again.”

The old man lifted his cane.

Ukitake and Kyoraku  moved . Faster than Ichigo can keep up, they launch themselves at him. There’s a glance of steel and the sound of metal on metal. Someone shouts, a light flashes, and the three disappear.

Ichigo barely side steps a tiny flicker of energy.

A girl, no taller than Rukia with a captains coat, does her very best to cut his head off before Ichigo slams Zangetsu into her chest and unleashes a harsh Getsuga Tenshou. The problem with assassins, most of them are bad at taking hard hits.

He tears through the rest of the assembled crowd like they’re made of paper, before he stops at the woman with the braid. She reminds of him Nightengale, in the most frightening of ways. Her head tilts minutely at him. Something in her eyes sends a shiver down his spine.  

“Aren’t you going to fight me, ryoka?”

“Ichigo,” he corrects mildly. His brows furrow. “Don’t take this the wrong way, miss, but I do my best to avoid fighting healers. If it’s not too much trouble, would you let me go on my way?”

She looks down at the people on the ground. Lieutenants, captains, and special guards all fallen at his blade. None of them have stopped breathing.

“I suppose I can honor that request. There is something else I must do regardless. Please stand back then, Ichigo.”

He takes a few steps back, until he standing next the three subordinates Ukitake and Kyoraku had left behind. She draws her sword and with a soft murmur it warps, twists, and expands like putty until a giant manta ray is standing on clawed feet.

Ichigo watches in horrified fascination as it eats the injured and flies off.

“...You all saw that too, right?” He asks the other three. He’s the only one who’s even remotely surprised.

Because that’s normal here, of course.

“Okay,” Ichigo dusts himself off. “I need to go find my friends. Are you guys coming with?”

“Captain left us here with you for a reason,” the eldest girl, the one with the glasses says primly. “So we will follow you for now, and make sure you don’t run into any more trouble.”

“Hey, what did you do when the Head Captain was crushing us?” The blonde girl asks, falling into place at Ichigo’s side. The man flanks her, looking just as intently at Ichigo. It feels natural to lead them down the hill, never mind that they’ve only known each other for a total of twenty minutes max.

“That? I just pushed enough of my reiryoku into you that you wouldn’t get squashed or burnt up. It’s not big deal,” he shrugged one shoulder.

“No- No big deal!? You can’t just transfer spirit energy like that!” The man argued, stumbling over his own shoes. “No one can do that! Even the fourth division has to use special kido for that kind of thing!”

Ichigo eyes him sideways. “I do impossible things all the time. You’ll get used to it.”

They made it all the way to the bottom of the hill, where his friends were waiting with Yachiru of all people, before something new slammed into his senses from the way they had come.

Kyo.

* * * * *  

Gin pities Hinamori.

He really, really does. She’s been jerked around on a string so many times in the last few days as a part of Aizen’s mechanisms. First she had to deal with her grief. He was sure it was Hitsugaya that planted the idea that Gin was the killer in her head.

Sweet Kira had kept her from so much as singeing his shihakusho.

After Gin someone in the Onmitsukido had gotten her on the trial of the ryoka, who were really the perfect distractions in this case. She had attacked the ginger boy and Shihoin without hesitation and with enough vicious animosity and single minded determination that she actually got a few shots in. If she was more blood thirsty maybe she could have a decent subordinate to Aizen truly, instead of this puppet he was leading around.

A single letter from him and she turned on her childhood best friend.

A single word and her faith was restored before it was shattered completely with a hand through the chest.

Yes, Gin pitied the poor, foolish little girl for trusting Aizen so readily.

It’s okay,  he wanted to tell he,  I’ll make sure he pays for everything. One way or another.  

He couldn’t, of course. He wouldn’t risk the position he’d spent well over a century cultivating. He would get his vengeance soon, and take back what was stolen from Rangiku. He just had to keep biding his time, like every other snake in the grass.

Unbidden, his mind turned to Ichigo Kurosaki again. Just how would the boy fair against Aizen? How much of a struggle could a single not-quite-a-human put up?

* * * * * *

[riotwritesthings]

Emerald Ivy (Wrapped Around My Skin)

WinterIron, E, 11k, vine-tentacle porn, fantasy AU, fairy Tony and plant man Bucky | AO3

Go here to check out the fantastic art by @beir!! 

Seriously it’s so mouthwatering, I can’t stop staring I LOVE. (And also I’d like to take this time to say AHHH I’VE LOVE YOUR ART FOR SO LONG and it was an honor and a pleasure to work with you, 20/10 would do again.)

At the end of another fic I promised to write tentacle porn. This is not that tentacle porn, but it is a type of tentacle porn. It is also the first thing I finished in 2020, so it’s gonna be a good, filthy year y’all.

-

If Tony survives this, Rhodey is going to kill him. And then Pepper is going to learn necromancy and bring him back, just so she can kill him again more viciously, and with more I told you so.

With a pained hiss Tony curls up a little tighter, tucking himself further into the small hollow formed by some twisted tree roots. Once he’s sure he’s at least partially hidden, Tony finally gets a chance to look down at his ankle. The skin is broken and bleeding in several places, and he can tell without even trying that he won't be able to put any weight on it, but it could have been way worse. Like his wing, his poor torn wing, Tony can only barely see the tear near the base if he cranes his neck around to look back over his shoulder, but it hurts like hell and that’s the thing that has him more worried.

He is going to deserve any and all murder Rhodey and Pepper see fit to bestow upon him, because they absolutely did tell him. They told him so many times to stay out of the Dark Wood, but Tony just had to come here, just had to find the stupid crystal that he just had to have. And naturally, he just had to get nearly snatched out of the air by one of the huge, four-winged birds of prey, busting up his wing in the initial hit and his ankle in the following long tumble to the ground.

Without the ability to fly or even hobble out of here Tony is pretty shit out of luck, and dying at the hands of his best and only friends is honestly wishful thinking at this point. All it would take to heal right up is a little magic, but unfortunately Tony is fresh out of magic these days, and he's quickly running out of time, too. He can’t stay in this little root hollow forever, there are plenty of predators on the ground too, and Tony reluctantly accepts that at this point his only choice is crawling in search of a better place to hide and then seeing if he can patch himself up somehow.

Positive thinking, Tony reminds himself firmly, it's gotten me this far. And okay sure, maybe it's actually mostly stubbornness and spite that's gotten him this far, but that's not the point. The point is that Tony needs to move, so with a couple deep breaths to steel himself he wiggles out of his semi-safe little hollow.

The trees grow incredibly thick this deep into the forest and everything is in heavy shadows, like the Dark Wood is really trying to live up to its name. Everything grows extra huge here, too, which at least makes it easy for Tony to crawl and drag himself beneath the underbrush. He's covered in dirt and bits of fallen leaves almost instantly, but at least he can shuffle from root to shrub without spending too much time in the open.

Everything is going surprisingly well, right up until Tony snags the thin fabric of his pants on a thorny branch. He has to resist the urge to swear as he tries to pull himself loose, and then can't help a small, startled yelp as he gets free with a particularly hard tug that also sends him tumbling head over ass down a steep incline. Tony bites his lip to avoid screaming as he comes to a stop in a tangle of brush, banging his ankle hard in the process. He’s pretty sure he tore his wing a little more, too, and it takes a couple minutes of strained breathing before Tony can force himself to move again.

It’s impossible to tell time beneath the thick canopy, where Tony can’t see the sun or feel it’s warm, friendly touch, but it feels like he’s been crawling along slowly for hours now. He’s still bleeding sluggishly and unless he’s being paranoid, Tony would swear he can hear increased rustling in the forest around him. Like circling predators. Everything looks exactly the same, he can’t even tell if he’s getting anywhere and he might actually die here. Which is so stupid, after everything he’s already survived, and the worst part is that no matter what he had insisted to his worried friends, this absolutely was another stupid plan to prove that he can still be useful. Like anything could ever make the rest of the village accept him again.

Tony is biting back frustrated tears when he nearly crawls nose first into the flower. And then he notices the rest of them, stretching out in a long, uneven line before him, and all he can do is blink in confusion for a second. The flowers are small, a soft white that stands out against the dark green of the vines they’re growing from. It’s so unexpected that for a minute Tony completely forgets he’s injured and in danger in favor of looking the nearest one over curiously.

“What are you doing here?” Tony asks the flower, but it stays stubbornly silent. Tony can’t say he's really surprised, talking flowers tend to let you know right up front, and then don’t let you get a word in edgewise. Anything light and pretty is wildly out of place in the Dark Wood, and Tony is one hundred percent sure this is either a deadly trap or some kind of path to safety. No inbetween. He doesn’t have many options though, so with a sigh Tony starts crawling along the line of flowers, careful not to crush any of them as he follows wherever they lead. “You better not be setting me up,” he grumbles to one of the flowers as he shuffles past it.

The vines grow thicker and closer together the further Tony follows the line of flowers, until he has to grab one of the vines to stop himself from falling face first down another sharp incline. Tony peeks over the ledge carefully and is surprised to find what looks almost like a nest, composed entirely of the thick green vines and hidden perfectly among the twisted roots of two extra huge trees. It’s pretty decently sized, big enough to fit something Tony definitely doesn’t want to meet, but the delicate flowers are growing all along the vines that make up the walls and if anything had actually been here recently the flowers would be crushed, right? Right.

It’s mostly the fact that this is the only choice he has that forces Tony to finally accept his own desperate logic, and he lowers himself down into the nest as carefully as possible. He still ends up hitting the ground hard, the floor of vines surprisingly firm beneath him and not at all pleasant to face plant into.

“I’m so glad no one is around to see this,” Tony grumbles as he pushes himself upright again, groaning when the motion jostles both his wing and ankle. He’s not even sure which one hurts worse anymore, just that his entire body is caught in the waves of throbbing pain.

With a couple more totally-manly whimpers Tony manages to drag himself to the center of the nest and has a look around. Okay, okay this should work, the space is about twenty feet across and he’s covered from above and on all sides, the only opening in the thick tangles of vine is the small entrance he’d fallen in through. It's probably the safest Tony can hope to be, and with that decided he can take a second to just breathe and swallow down his rising panic. Once that’s done, Tony strips off his torn and muddy shirt, hissing as it shifts his wing, and starts trying to locate any part of the fabric clean enough to wrap up his ankle.

-

There’s something in his trap. He can feel the motion through the vines, the clumsy flailing and rapid breathing. He can smell the blood.

Bucky emerges from the depths of the trap, the tangled vines parting easily around him. He moves closer slowly, carefully, making sure not to be seen. He can’t afford to be spotted, not anymore. He’s supposed to be beautiful, supposed to be able to draw his prey in, but he can’t do that anymore. That’s why he built this trap, a cage of vines to catch his food. It’s inelegant, but it keeps him alive.

He pauses though, because what he finds when he peeks through the vine wall of the cage is not at all what he expects. It’s not some poor animal, not one of the oversized bugs that creep along the forest floor. There’s a fairy in his trap. He’s never seen one before, he’s only heard stories of the magical creatures that live along the forest’s edge, where the trees are thin enough to let the sunlight through. The fairies never come this far into the Dark Wood after all, everyone knows that, but the wings are unmistakable, shimmering red and gold even in the dim shaft of light that manages to slip into the cage.

Bucky can only watch, fascinated, as the fairy struggles to wind strips of fabric into a sloppy bandage. He has golden bronze skin and an honestly surprising amount of muscle for something that’s supposed to rely almost entirely on magic. Most interestingly, there’s some kind of blue glow emanating from the fairy’s chest, and that definitely wasn’t in any of the stories. The fairy makes a soft hurt sound as he tightens the fabric wrapped around his ankle, one wing shivering while the other stays drooped at his side.

It’s probably bad form to eat a fairy, even one that apparently wandered into the Dark Woods of his own free will. Bucky should probably just crawl back to the depths of his nest, wait for the fairy to leave, wait whoever knows how long for his next meal to come wandering in. Bucky should definitely not try to help, because how would he even do that without scaring the poor thing to death?

Before he knows it though, a couple of his loose vines are slithering closer, and Bucky tells himself it’s just to find out if the fairy is going to bleed to death and make things easy on him. He’s definitely not trying to see how bad the fairy is injured, see if he can help, not at all. Well, he always knew his curiosity would get him into further trouble some day.

-

Tony frowns as he inspects the strips of fabric already falling loose from around his ankle and apparently Pepper was right all along, Tony is terrible at taking care of himself. With a sigh, Tony decides he may as well leave it, hopefully it'Il at least be enough to remind him not to move it and hurt himself further. He doesn't know what to do about his wing, or the fact that he's stuck here, and he's so busy trying to fight down panic again that he doesn’t notice the vines starting to shift until it’s nearly too late.

“What the fuck!” Tony shrieks, probably entirely too loudly, and nearly topples over backwards as he tries desperately to back away from the approaching vines. There's at least three thick vines working their way free of the tangle to creep towards him, but more concerning is the fact that the entire nest seems to have come alive around him, the walls and floor shifting slightly, and Tony is stupid, he's so fucking stupid. Of course this is some kind of trap.

Tony swats at one of the vines when it gets a little too close and it’s terrifyingly ineffective, the vine just shrinks back a little and then starts moving towards him again. While he’s trying to chase one of the vines away two more come creeping up, poking and prodding at his ankle, trying to wrap around his calf. “Bad touch, bad touch,” Tony says, and he can’t panic, he absolutely can’t afford to panic. He scrabbles desperately for the small knife on his belt except oh look at that, he apparently lost his knife at some point, fantastic. Plan B it is, then.

He slaps one hand over the glowing magnet in his chest, immediately feeds the low buzz of the static building under his skin, and then lashes out at one of the vines as it tries to wiggle close again. Tony can’t help the way his nose wrinkles as he makes contact, because sure it has the vine shrinking away from him, smoking slightly, but Tony still hates it.

Technically, the magnet in his chest is life support. The fact that he can also use it as a weapon is something Tony discovered out of necessity, not actual desire to use it as such. It’s convenient for keeping loose bits of metal out of his heart, or when he needs to power one of his inventions, or, apparently, when he needs to fight off creeping plant life. But that doesn’t mean Tony actually likes having to use it, least of all like this, it makes him feel like the abomination everyone accuses him of being. Still, he raises his palm again as another vine comes closer, resisting the urge to whimper because there are more and more vines winding their way towards him, the entire nest shifting underneath him, and he knows there is no way he’s going to be able to fight his way out of here.

Tony slaps at another vine as it comes closer, barely missing as it rears back, and then he immediately has to spin as one of the vines creeping up behind him pokes at his spine. He can’t contain a pained hiss as his wing pulls with the movement, but Tony gets his hand wrapped around the vine and doesn’t let go until it’s black and crispy, curling in on itself as all the vines hesitate and then back away slightly. Tony is just starting to think maybe he’s going to be left alone, maybe he can make some kind of truce with whatever living plant he seems to have stumbled into, when someone speaks directly beside him.

“Would you stop?” The voice is deep and rumbling and completely unexpected, and Tony maybe screams a little. Or a lot. Even as he screams in a totally justifiable way, Tony spins back around with his hand already out and finds his palm slapping down against an incredibly firm bicep. "Ow, what the shit-“ the man hisses, flinching back, because it is a man, or at least something man-shaped, his skin the same green as the vines all around him. “Did you just hit me with lightning?!"

"I mean... kind of?" Tony says slowly, because now is not the time to go into a rant about the technicalities of the glowing contraption in his chest. Especially to strange, disembodied torsos sticking out of walls.

Okay, okay so the carnivorous plant people of the Dark Wood are actually very, very real. That’ll be fascinating, later, if Tony survives this, but right now he’s mostly trying not to panic more than he already is. He’s also trying not to notice how thick the guy’s muscles are, but they turn out to be really hard to ignore. Tony is doing his best though, because this is really not the time for that.

"Kind of," the guy mouths to himself, like he can't quite believe it, his sharp teeth flashing even in the low light. He pushes himself further out of the tangle of vines, the walls parting easily around him and hey look at that, he appears to be missing an arm, and is also completely naked. Tony is trying really hard not to be distracted by that last fact, and especially with those thighs, wow. He flinches hard when the plant man-guy comes closer, because he really doesn’t want to be eaten, but the guy just rolls his yellow eyes and says “quit moving, ‘m trying to help.”

Tony is skeptical, because those are not the teeth of anything but a predator, and upon second look this is absolutely a trap that he’s stupidly fallen into.

The plant monster man approaches slowly, every motion slow and broadcasted like Tony is a skittish animal. Tony might be offended by that at some other time, but right now he actually really appreciates it because he’s a little bit shaking with pain and adrenaline and if his heart starts pounding any faster he might actually die. Tony does his best to keep his eyes above the guy’s waist as he kneels down by Tony’s feet, which is actually not too hard because his chest is thick and broad, his hair a darker shade of brownish green, hanging loose around his shoulders, and Tony might be a little delirious from the pain because he can’t stop wondering if it’s as soft as it looks.

At least the plant man’s fingers are gentle as he starts picking at the loose knot of Tony’s sloppy bandage. His skin is nearly cool to the touch, almost dewy; it feels like a smoother version of the vines that are still shifting and resettling all around him. Blood is already soaking through the thin fabric, and Tony’s not sure if he should be amused or offended by the way the plant man’s nose wrinkles as he tosses the bits of shirt away.

“Um, I’m- Tony,” he volunteers, because on the slim chance he's not about to be killed and eaten he doesn't want to be rude. He should also probably stop staring, but he gives that up as a lost cause because he can’t seem to stop himself, gaze shifting from the plant man’s truly impressive abs to the thick, lighter green scars on his shoulder to the faint stubble along his jaw. Well, at least if Tony is going to die he’s going out with one hell of a view.

“What are you doing this deep in the forest?” The plant man demands without looking up. His tone is rough even as his finger remain gentle; poking and prodding at the broken skin until Tony lets out a pained hiss.

“I needed something,” Tony grumbles and crosses his arms over his chest, instantly defensive. When the plant man glances up at him there's a look almost like genuine curiosity on his face, and Tony softens slightly before sighing. “It’s... kind of a long story.”

The plant man opens his mouth like he wants to ask and then stops, turns his attention instead to picking through the remaining scraps of Tony’s shirt. Tony is just thinking maybe that’s the end of the introductions, and then the green man quietly says “I’m Bucky.”

“Bucky,” Tony repeats slowly, trying not to laugh because that is not at all what he had been expecting. He smiles innocently when Bucky glances up at him suspiciously, and then finds himself blinking stupidly when Bucky’s green lips quirk up with a small smile of his own. “So... do you usually patch up lost fairies who tumble into your little nest here?"

“No,” Bucky says shortly, which is a little concerning, and he must feel the way Tony goes tense all over again because he follows it up with "never seen a fairy out this far." He finally stops poking at Tony’s ankle and looks up at him again as he asks “why, are you tasty?”

Tony is pretty sure that’s a joke, at least he really hopes it is, that expression on Bucky’s face is either a teasing smirk or a reminder that his teeth do appear to be very, very sharp. Tony is going to assume joke, for the sake of his sanity, but just to be on the safe side he decides not to respond with ‘want to find out?’

“Nope,” Tonys says instead, because it turns out he does have the barest hint of a self preservation instinct, “not tasty at all. Highly toxic, in fact. Ask anyone.”

"Uh huh," Bucky says, smirking a little wider. He returns to inspecting Tony’s injured foot, running his fingers over the heel, probably checking for further injury. Tony tries to stay still, because it would actually be very helpful to know if he's managed to break something, but as Bucky's cool fingers brush along the arch of his foot Tony can’t help twitching and letting out a loud giggle. "Quit movin'," Bucky says again, tightening his hold.

Tony is about to point out that it's really not his fault, but his words turn into a startled squeak as a vine suddenly wraps around his calf and holds him still. Apparently, those vines can really move when they're not busy trying not to freak him out. "Woah, hey now," Tony protests, fluttering his wings a little and then hissing when pain flares across his shoulders and down his spine.

Bucky looks up again, immediately zeroing in on Tony's torn wing, and his yellow eyes narrow. "Oh," he says, almost absently, letting go of Tony's ankle to reach out like he's going to try and touch.

"Woah there big guy, " Tony says, throwing his hands up and trying to wiggle backwards even as heat fills his face, "at least buy me dinner first." He doesn't get very far, the vine tightening its grip and winding a couple more times around his leg. There are leaves dotted sporadically along the vine, surprisingly soft when one of them brushes against his shin. The curious part of Tony's brain wonders exactly how much control Bucky has over the vines, how much feeling he has in them.

This is probably not the time to be asking about that though, and when Tony drags his gaze back up it's to find Bucky staring at him with wide eyes. There's a faint hint of yellow spreading across his cheeks, which Tony realizes is probably a blush. It is way cuter than it has any right to be, and Tony really wishes the growing knot in his stomach was fear, fear would be a much more appropriate reaction.

Bucky snaps out of it first, breaks away from their strange staring match and turns his attention back to Tony's ankle. He grabs the strips of shirt he had selected earlier, and Tony figures its bandaging time now. Bucky clears his throat, his face back to what Tony assuses is his normal color, before saying "thought you could heal yourself with magic."

"Maybe I just like getting manhandled and fixed up by random strangers," Tony says, and winces when it comes out way snappier than he intended. Probably not a good idea to be snapping at the carnivore who has for some reason decided not to eat him. Yet. “I don't have magic. Anymore," Tony admits, slow and grudging, like every word is being dragged out of him.

Bucky glances up at his face, down to the glowing metal in his chest, and then back to Tony's foot as he mercifully doesn't ask. Tony almost lets out a sigh of relief, but it kind of makes sense that Bucky, with his scarred shoulder and missing limb, wouldn't start asking a bunch of uncomfortable questions. It automatically puts him higher up in Tony's book than basically everyone else in his village, which is kind of a depressing thought.

Tony is forcibly pulled out of his own head when Bucky wraps one of the fabric strips around his ankle, entirely too tightly and how is he even doing that with one hand?! Tony can't help jumping and letting out a pained yelp, and it's only the vine still wrapped around calf that keeps him in place. "Ow, shit, are you trying to torture me to death?" Tony demands, kicking his other foot against the ground.

"I have t' get this tight," Bucky huffs, rolling his eyes, " 'cause you insist on flailin' around."

"I do not flail," Tony says primly, and stops flailing his free limbs. Bucky does stop tugging at his ankle at least, instead setting the makeshift bandage aside as the vine pulls Tony’s foot up higher into the air. “Uh,” Tony says, face flushing again, "I was mostly joking about the manhandling." He squeaks at the unexpected sight of Bucky licking his own thumb and oh look at that, behind his sharp teeth his tongue is a lighter green, has almost a pink tinge, and that's... interesting. "Um, wha-" Tony squeaks again when Bucky presses his wet thumb to the broken skin of Tony's ankle, "is- is that poison? Are you poisoning me right now?”

“If you don’t stop accusing me of trying to kill you, I might actually kill you,” Bucky threatens, but Tony is pretty sure he can see a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

He presses his thumb a little firmer against Tony's skin, ignoring the hiss of pain, and whatever he's doing Tony can feel the effects almost instantly. It starts as a warm tingle that works its way up his leg, pain slowly fading and at this point Tony doesn't even care if he is being poisoned because it feels amazing.

Tony is about to say as much, but then the pleasant tingle spreads up his thigh and ignites like a forest fire when it hits the low grade burn of arousal in his gut that Tony has been trying really hard to ignore. He snaps his mouth shut, losing his breath as a wave of heat crashes over him, his head going fuzzy while his pulse kicks up hard and his cock twitches insistently in his thin pants.

It takes a second for Tony to force any words out, his mouth suddenly, painfully dry as he says “what are- uh, what are you doing then?”

“Should have a numbing effect,” Bucky says, not looking up as he picks up the strip of fabric again and starts winding it around Tony’s ankle. He appears to be blissfully unaware of Tony's little problem at least, and Tony is really hoping to keep it that way.

“It should, that's very reassuring,” Tony says with a hysterical giggle, painfully aware of the vine still wrapped around his lower leg, the narrow tip of it tapping almost absently at his knee as Bucky works. Another vine wiggles in to help securely knot the ratty bandage and Tony is definitely not marveling at the fact that Bucky seems to have total control of them, nope, not at all. He tries to pull free again and has to swallow down a whimper when it accomplishes nothing, because he is fully hard now and really just hoping to get out of this without embarrassing himself and/or freaking out his confusing plant-man-nurse. "Okay, that’s-" Tony has to pause, licking his lips, and he really hopes his voice isn’t actually as shaky as it sounds to him, "you can let go now. That’s- fine. It's fine."

He tugs at the vine's grip on his leg again, his other knee already pulled up to his chest in an ineffective attempt to hide the way his cock is tenting his pants. And fuck, has Tony always had this much skin?! It feels like he has entirely too much of it all the sudden, like he can feel every shift of air currents, painfully aware of the bead of sweat making its way down his chest. He tries to pull his leg free one more time, bracing his other heel against the ground for better leverage, only to let out a startled squeak when the vine tugs back hard.

“Quit squrmin’,” Bucky grumbles and doesn’t look up, his fingers digging into Tony’s shin just a little, “do I have t’ hold the rest of you still, too?”

Tony tries, he really does, but he can’t stop the breathy gasp that bursts out of him, like it’s being punched straight out of his lungs as a hard shudder races down his spine. Because apparently Tony is actually really into that idea, one isn't this a delightful time to be learning new things about himself. Bucky finally looks up from carefully tucking down the edges of the bandage, confusion on his face until he obviously notices the flush on Tony's cheeks, eyes widening as they drag down Tony's heaving chest.

“So, about that numbing effect,” Tony says with a shaky laugh, willfully ignoring the fact that he's practically shaking under Bucky’s gaze, the fact that his cock gives a hard twitch and Tony is pretty sure there's a spreading wet patch at the front of his pants at this point. He opens his mouth again, not even sure what his going to say except maybe to re-suggest Bucky let go of him before Tony can somehow embarrass himself even further, but all that comes out is a choked moan as the vine around his calf shifts a little.

Bucky stares at him with wide eyes for another couple seconds, and then his entire face lights up with that appealing golden flush, letting go of Tony like he’s been burned and Tony yelps a little as his heel hits the ground. It doesn’t hurt, exactly, but it sends a jolt through his body and Tony has no doubt that would have been agonizing if he could currently feel anything other than a terrible, burning need. Bucky winces, golden yellow flush spreading down his neck as he shuffles backwards and blurts out “oh fuck- I’m sorry, I’m- I didn’t- fuck, I didn’t know that would-“

“How did you not know?” Tony demands, grabbing at the top layer of vines that make up the floor so he won’t do something stupid like shove his hands down his pants instead. This is fine, as long as he keeps talking, keeps himself distracted, it’ll all be fine. He will not proposition the sexy plant man who may or may not have have accidentally aphrodisiac-ed him. It’s fine. “That seems like the kind of thing you should know,” Tony says, voice only wavering a little and he’s having a really hard time focusing on anything that’s not how fucking hard he is, “I’m just saying, if my spit had this kind effect on someone, okay, that is the sort of thing I would know about.”

“No one I know has met a fairy before!” Bucky says, throwing his hand in the air and if Tony weren’t currently coming out of his skin he’d probably find that adorable. “I’ve never even heard of someone actually meeting a fairy before, how the hell would I know this would happen?”

“Well, looks like we’ve all learned something today,” Tony grits out and he’s so turned on now that it literally hurts, a dull throb of pain as his stomach works itself into knots. His head is spinning a little, a low whine escaping from between his clenched teeth and Tony figures the time for shame is officially over. “Okay, this is all super interesting,” Tony says around panting breaths and then nods down pointedly, “but I’m gonna do something about this now, so unless you want to watch maybe go away, or- I don’t know, build a wall or something.”

“Um,” Bucky says, tongue peeking out to swipe over his lower lip like he’s trying to drive Tony insane, “okay.” He doesn’t actually move, appears to be frozen in place with his bright eyes still fixed on Tony, and after a couple seconds of staring at each other some more, Tony figures that is officially enough of a grace period.

Tony is burning too hot to even be embarrassed, one hand moving instantly to stroke himself through his pants, nearly sobbing with relief at the drag of soft fabric over his aching cock. He squeezes his eyes shut, figuring that it’s probably rude to oogle the plant man while he gets himself off, right? Even if this is technically Bucky’s fault in the first place. And even if Tony still has the image of those broad shoulders and perfect abs stuck in his mind just fine.

A hard exhale nearby has Tony peeking one eye open and a breathy whine escapes him when he finds Bucky watching him avidly, yellow gaze practically glowing in the dim light. Bucky’s full lips part but no sound comes out, and Tony is so far past being scared of those sharp teeth, he wants to trace the tips of them with his tongue, doesn’t care if he ends up burning alive.

“You realize you- fuck, you don’t actually have to watch,” Tony feels the need to point out, just in case, and then moans helplessly as he drags his thumb over the wet patch at the head of his cock.

Bucky doesn’t say anything for a long second, just drags his heavy gaze down the length of Tony's chest, watches him writhe and arch into his own palm, and then meets Tony’s eyes again as he licks his lip. “Do you want me to stop?” He asks, voice so low Tony swears he can feel the rumble of it in every vine that makes up the den surrounding him.

“Fuck no,” Tony groans, blood rushing in his ears and too worked up to even think about lying. He uses both hands to finally shove his pants down over his hips and then gets his hand around his cock with a happy sigh. He’s already so slick with precome that stroking himself is an easy slide, almost agonizing with how good it feels. He doesn’t even both getting his pants the rest of the way off, just starts working himself hard and fast, lets himself stare shamelessly at the thick muscle of Bucky’s chest as he gasps out “you- damn you are gorgeous.”

“Uh huh,” Bucky says, like he doesn’t quite believe it, which is just, so wrong. If Tony could catch his breath, could do more than let out desperperate little whimpers, he’d wax poetic for several minutes about the strong cut of Bucky’s jaw alone. Instead Tony just braces his feet against the ground and thrusts up hard into his own grip with a loud whine. “Don’t hurt yourself,” Bucky adds, frowning a little, and it takes Tony a second to even remember what he’s talking about.

“Nothing hurts,” Tony moans back happily, arching up hard into his palm. He’s dimly aware of a tingly feeling in his ankle, but it’s nothing compared to the shivering bolts of pleasure that run all through him every time he thrusts up hard and drags his thumb over the wet head of his cock,. “Oh- jus’ feels good, feels fucking amazing,” Tony slurs out, eyes falling closed and he’s burning, he can feel every single nerve ending and they’re all on fire.

He doesn’t see it coming, and Tony can’t stop and startled squeak when one of those damn vines snaps out to wrap around his injured leg again. The sound quickly becomes a wailing moan as Bucky tugs hard, pulls his ankle up into the air to steal half of Tony’s leverage and all of his higher brain power.

“Oh, that is- fuck that is not fair,” Tony whines, digging the toes of his other foot into the vines of the ground in retaliation even as he doesn’t pause the motion of his hand. His rhythm is thrown off though, and Tony nearly sobs as he rocks his weight further back onto his shoulders in an attempt to get it back, arches almost entirely off the ground and strokes furiously at his cock. “Fuck you, why- oh, fuck- why is that so hot?” He demands, and then groans helplessly as Bucky’s quiet laugh rumbles through the vines, a couple more creeping up to work Tony’s pants the rest of the way off his legs.

Tony is vaguely aware that his injured wing is spasming where it’s trapped beneath him, and in any other situation it would no doubt be agonizing, but right now all Tony can feel is the orgasm building like an explosion in his gut. He’s close, he’s so close, every inch of him lit up like like static but warmer, better, he just needs-

There’s a soft growl from Bucky’s direction and then the vines all around Tony are moving, shifting, working themselves free from the tangle and wrapping around Tony instead. Tony moans shamelessly as he’s lifted fully into the air, held steady by vines around his thighs and shoulders, propped up by vines under his back. Every part of him is held and pinned except for one arm, allowing Tony to keep jerking himself off at a frantic pace and Tony is losing his goddamn mind, burning everywhere and the texture of the vines is the exact right level of rough, just enough that he can feel every inch of them sliding over his skin.

”Fuck, please-“ Tony sobs out and he’s not even sure what he’s asking for, just that he needs something, anything, “please, I can’t-“ He tightens his grip around his cock, tries to trash in the vines’ hold and whimpers when all it accomplishes is making him sway slightly in the air.

“Oh,” Bucky says, caught somewhere between a sigh and a groan, and all at once the vines shift from simply holding Tony to caressing him, every inch of him, teasing at his thighs and winding tighter around his arms so the tips can snake up and slide over his chest. One of the vines teases up his spine, dragging firmly between his wings, and Tony finally comes with a scream, splattering across his stomach and chest as he lets the explosion consume him.

Tony is left gasping for breath and with a head that’s only a little less fuzzy, the fire in his veins reduced to a low burn but definitely not gone. He lets out a weak groan, hand still moving slowly over his cock as he tosses his head back only to find it caught and gently cradled by another vine. “Fuck, what the fuck, am I dying?” Tony whines, twisting just to feel the way the vines hug him tighter, one of them sliding into his free hand like it’s trying to give him something to hold onto, the narrow tips of the vines teasing over his skin, curling around the shell of his ear.

”It’ll wear off,” Bucky says, voice ragged, and when Tony pries his eyes open again Bucky is much closer, standing close enough that his outstretched hand is just shy of brushing Tony’s side and watching Tony’s hand move over his cock with open hunger on his face.

Tony should probably be more concerned that he’s being held, helpless, several feet off the ground, but he’s too busy figuring fair is fair and finally letting his own gaze drop below the mouth watering cut of Bucky’s abs to his cock like he’s been dying to. Bucky is hard. And huge, fuck, his cock is huge, flared head and ridges along the top of the shaft that have Tony’s brain shorting out. Without thought Tony lets go of his cock and drops his hand between his thighs, shoves two come-slick fingers into himself with a weak moan because fuck he wants to feel that inside him, just the thought has the arousal in his gut spiking hard again. The vines around his thighs tighten, winding over themselves a couple times to better hold him still, prevent him from even trying to rock into the press of his own fingers.

He tries to drop his other hand back to his cock, still achingly, desperately hard, but the vine tightens around his wrist, pulls his hand up and holds it firm near his head, and Tony lets out another broken sob. “Please,” he whines, dragging his eyes up from Bucky’s gorgeous cock to his face again, moaning at the sight of all that dark hunger aimed at him. “Please, please come here- fuck, I need- please I want you so bad,” Tony says, barely aware of the breathy words spilling from his lips, all he knows is that he needs Bucky closer, needs to feel more of him.

“You don’t mean that,” Bucky says, voice soft even as he doesn’t look away from where Tony’s fingers are thrusting into his hole, stretching himself open. “It’s just the toxin,” Bucky adds, almost like an afterthought and his fingers are inches from Tony’s skin now, hovering just above Tony’s hip.

“Nuh uh,” Tony says petulantly, and then softens as Bucky finally looks up at his face and starts getting that upsetting guilty look again. Deciding to go for a different tactic, Tony turns his head so his lips brush over the vine wrapped around his wrist as he says “oh honey, I was- oh- I was hot for you the second I figured out you weren’t going to kill me.” Bucky shivers, Tony can feel it through every vine, and he plants a sloppy kiss to the one in his grip before adding “maybe, ah fuck- maybe even a little before, if I’m being honest.”

Bucky finally touches him, just his fingertips sliding up the curve of Tony’s side, up over his ribs, but it’s enough to pull a shaking moan from Tony, have him clenching around his own fingers. He moans again when the vines around his thighs shift again, spreading his legs a little wider and Tony would swear he feels the tip of a vine brushing against his knuckles as he works his fingers inside himself. It’s hard to tell, honestly, Tony has kind of lost track of all the vines surrounding him, all he knows is that it feels like they’re everywhere, touching him everywhere except his throbbing cock.

“Bucky,” Tony nearly snarls, and then goes right back to needy moaning as Bucky’s fingers drag through the cooling come on his stomach. It takes him a couple seconds of watching Bucky draw abstract patterns against his skin for Tony to gather the breath to ask “you think I have the brainpower for empty flattery right now? Seriously, I don’t know plant man standards, but- fuck you are so gorgeous.” Bucky blushes that gorgeous gold again, but Tony doesn’t miss the way Bucky eyes dart down to his own scarred shoulder, just for an instant. “I mean,” Tony has to pause to whimper when one of the soft leaves brushes over his balls and he just knows that was intentional, “you still have more limbs than me, who am I to judge?”

Bucky lets out a startled huff of laughter, shaking his head a little before pulling his hand away. Tony’s disappointed noise turns into a loud groan as Bucky raises his hand to his mouth, pinkish tongue swiping out to lick Tony’s come from his fingers. "Sweet," Bucky says, his voice back to that low, grumbling growl, "damn you taste sweet.”

“Bucky,” Tony whines, voice cracking as he shoves his fingers back in hard, “please at least let me touch myself, anything, fuck- I can’t- please, anything-“

“You sure?” Bucky asks, like he somehow can’t tell that Tony is desperate, losing his mind, and Tony’s answering laugh is just this side of manic.

“Yes,” Tony says, as vehemently as he possibly can around near constant moans, “please, I am begging you, please just- Ah!” Tony cuts himself off with a wail when one of the thin vines slides in alongside his fingers, stretching him wider, and Tony sways in the air again as he jerks hard. The vine wastes no time wiggling in deeper, deeper than his fingers could reach, curling around itself so the tip can flick over his prostate.

Tony screams, head thrown back again and he hasn’t even caught his breath before another vine is sliding into him, twisting around the other spreading him open. The fire is roaring through Tony’s veins again, burning him up, and Bucky’s cool palm spreading over his chest is almost a relief even as it just pushes him higher. Tony pulls his fingers out, groaning as they’re immediately replaced by another thin vine, and another, and if Tony can just get his newly freed hand on himself it’ll be over, less than a stroke and he’ll be gone-

“Fuck,” Tony sobs as a vine grabs his wrist before he can do more than brush shaking fingertips over his cock, hauling it up to hover uselessly by his head with the other. “Please- I’m so- Ah! Please, I just need to come.”

“So sweet,” Bucky breathes out, like he doesn’t even realize he’s saying it, “patience, sweet thing, jus’ like this.” His eyes are definitely glowing now, gorgeous and dangerous in the low light as they shift constantly along Tony’s body, from his flushed face and heaving chest to where the vines are sliding in deeper, Tony’s cock bobbing flushed and angry against his stomaching as he writhes in place. Bucky drags just the tip of his thumb around the device in Tony’s chest and the entire world seems to shake as he groans out “gorgeous.”

“More,” Tony begs, “more, please-“ He moans as another vine wiggles its way into him and he’s honestly lost count at this point, all he knows is that he feels stretched open and stuffed full, aching and burning in all the best possible ways. “Please tell me you- oh, that’s- fuck that’s so good-“ Tony kind of loses his train of thought when one of the thicker vines presses firmly against his prostate and then just stays there, sending nonstop bolts of pleasure up Tony’s spine. “Please tell me you’re going to fuck me now,” Tony finally manages to gasp out, because he’s determined, damnit, and every time he sneaks a peek at Bucky’s cock all he can think about is how much he wants it.

Bucky shivers again, making Tony whine as the vines practically vibrate inside him, then drags his hand down Tony’s chest to spread wide across his stomach. “Okay,” Bucky says lowly, and then smirks as he steps fully between Tony’s spread thighs, and with the flash of his sharp teeth it’s as threatening as it is heart-stoppingly gorgeous.

It turns out threat isn’t far off, because in the next second all the vines buried inside Tony start thrusting, in and out, all of them working at a different rhythm so Tony is forced to feel every bit of it. He can feel each individual vine as they rub and twist against his every nerve, a particularly thick vine nailing his prostate on every thrust, like Bucky is trying to drive him out of his mind as quickly as possible and he’s doing a damn good job of it.

Tony doesn’t even have the breath the scream, just whimpers out Bucky’s name over and over as his entire body pulls tight and then cracks open. He clenches hard around the vines still working inside him and comes with a broken sound, head falling back again as his untouched cock throbs and spills over his stomach. “Bucky, fuck,” Tony gasps out, and then whines as the majority of the vines stretching him open withdraw, leave him feeling fucked out and empty. Whatever Bucky’s spit had done is finally wearing off, Tony blinks his eyes open and the world is a little more clear, the oppressive, tingling heat finally fading from his skin as he pants for breath.

He has just enough time to be disappointed he never actually got to feel Bucky’s cock inside him, and then all of Tony’s thoughts come to a screeching halt as Bucky swipes his fingers through Tony’s come and lifts them to his mouth again. Tony groans weakly, twists his head to the side and squeezes his eyes shut because the effects of the accidental-aphrodisiac may be fading, but watching Bucky lick Tony’s come from his fingers is just asking for trouble.

He twists his head to the side and finds himself panting against the vine looped around his arm, lips moving over the smooth surface as Tony slurs out "oh, wow, that was- holy fuck." Bucky shudders again and Tony can feel it in every vine, all around him, and especially in the couple of thin vines still buried deep inside him, giving Tony something to clench around as he rides out the aftershocks of his orgasm. Tony forces his eyes open to find Bucky staring at his face, at the way Tony’s lips brush against the vine with every heaving breath. “Can you feel that?" Tony asks, flicking his tongue out to lick at the tip of the vine as it curls around his fingers.

Bucky groans, low and deep, and Tony moans back as the vines inside him shift. Bucky opens his mouth, full lips slick and enticing, hesitates slightly, and his voice is barely more than a sigh as he says “I can feel all of you."

Part of Tony is fascinated by that answer, but most of him is distracted by the way Bucky is still staring at him, like he's starving, like he wants to eat Tony alive in the best possible way. He glances down and Bucky is still hard, a thick looking liquid leaking from the fat head, and Tony doesn't care if the heat is fading, he still wants that so bad it pushes a desperate whine out of him. “Bucky,” he gasps out and he’s a little surprised that when he reaches out towards Bucky the vines actually let him, staying looped loosely around his wrists and allowing Tony to drag his palms over Bucky’s chest. He hooks his fingers around the back of Bucky’s neck, pulling weakly and hoping like hell Bucky gets the message because Tony is not actually going to be able to tug him anywhere.

Bucky apparently does get the idea because he lets Tony haul him in, curls down around him even as he asks “you really wanna do this? Won’t be as strong as straight to the bloodstream, but- looks like you’re startin’ to come down, you sure-”

And that’s about enough of that, because Tony is very, extremely sure, so he shuts Bucky up by pulling him into a kiss. Bucky’s lips are cool and smooth against his, and when Tony swipes out his tongue, teasing along the seam before dipping inside, Bucky growls low and fierce. Tony groans as much at the rumbling vibrations of it as the fact that he can finally feel of sharp points of Bucky’s teeth against his lips, intoxicatingly dangerous. And the way he tastes, like something early and wild, and it has Tony panting even before the new wave of drugged heat washes over him. He breaks away from the kiss to whine pitifully, fingers tangling in Bucky’s hair as he jerks in the vines’ firm hold again.

“Told you,” Bucky huffs, and Tony is almost tempted to call his tone something like fondly amused. Before Tony can protest, because it’s not that he hadn’t believed Bucky, he’s being kissed again, deep and sloppy as Bucky licks into his mouth firmly, traces his tongue over Tony’s flat teeth like he thinks they’re fascinating. The entire time Bucky’s hand continues moving over Tony’s chest, like he’s trying to memorize every inch of him, and when he finally pulls back Tony’s left a moaning, shaking mess. “Fuck,” Bucky groans against his lips, hand settling on Tony’s hip.

“Please,” Tony begs instantly, dragging his fingers through Bucky’s messy hair, “please, oh- please I need you, want to feel you everywhere, all of it, please-“ He breaks off with a protesting whine as the vines around his wrists gently pull his hands back, pins them firmly in the air near his sides.

“Shh, I got ya,” Bucky says, lips sliding along Tony’s jaw as he steps closer, his cock nudging wet and thick against Tony’s inner thigh and Tony nearly cries with how badly he wants it. Bucky swipes his hand over Tony’s stomach again, collecting his come so Bucky can use it to further slick up his own cock with an obscene sound.

Tony does let out a soft sob as the last of the vines slither out of him, leave him empty and raw and the fuzzy heat is consuming him again. “Hurry, please, feel so empty,” Tony whimpers, doesn’t give a damn how he sounds, too busy shaking and panting for breath.

“I’ll fill you up,” Bucky promises darkly, directly into his ear. The hint of Bucky’s teeth scraping along the shell of his ear punches a low groan out of Tony that quickly becomes a wail as the head of Bucky’s cock presses against his hole. It feels impossibly big, even after all the vines, and Tony whines impatiently as the vines wrapped high around his thighs keep him from pressing back into the pressure. “Relax,” Bucky says, voice a little uneven, then drops a quick kiss to Tony’s cheekbone and rolls his hips forward hard.

Tony makes a high, breathless sound as the fat head presses against his rim, splitting him open, Bucky’s cool skin a sharp contrast to the flushed heat of Tony’s body. Tony has the insane thought that this isn’t going to work, it’s not going to fit, and another desperate whimper escapes his chest before Bucky rolls his hips again, firm and insistent, and with an aching burn Bucky is sinking into him, stretching him open wide, setting him on fire.

“Fuck- oh, fuck,” Tony gasps out, grip tightening on the vines wrapped around his arms as his entire body seizes up, nearly overwhelmed with it as pleasure sings through his every nerve. When his muscles clench it just makes Bucky feel impossibly large inside him, huge and inescapable and all Tony can think is more. Bucky makes a rough sound when Tony tightens up around him, his fingers digging into Tony’s hip as he grits his teeth and slows his forward press. “Please, please,” Tony begs mindlessly, straining against the vines’ hold on him and moaning as he gets nowhere, ”I need it- I need-“

“Shh,” Bucky shushes him, pets at Tony’s hip and then slides his hand around to the small of Tony’s back, vines shifting until Tony is exactly where Bucky wants him. He nips at Tony’s jaw before leaning back, standing up straight again, and Tony can’t even complain because fuck, the sight he makes, his hair a mess and that golden flush across his cheekbones, and Tony is so close to coming just like this, orgasm building almost painful in his gut. “Breathe for me, sweet thing,” Bucky says, voice deep and unsteady, chest heaving almost as hard as Tony’s, “deep breath now.”

Tony nods, drags in a ragged breath, and the vines around his thighs tightening is all the warning he gets before Bucky pulls him in hard, slams all the way into him in one deep, hard thrust. Tony comes with a helpless moan that only gets louder as the vines actually allow him to thrash this time, holding him securely even as he tightens his thighs around Bucky’s sides, pulling him in closer as Tony rolls his hips and tries to take him impossibly deeper. His orgasm feels like it lasts forever, for all that he manages is a couple weak dribbles of come, another wave of fire rushing through him everytime his fluttering muscles clench around Bucky’s cock buried inside him, until Tony’s every breath is a whimpering sigh.

“Fuck,” Bucky gasps, fingers twitching against Tony’s back, hips rocking forward slightly. It sets Tony off all over again, has him twitching and clenching as another bolt of agonizing pleasure shoots up his spine and he’s still hard. “Fuck, Tony,” Bucky says again, and Tony would find the almost dazed look on his face incredibly flattering if he wasn’t busy groaning out unintelligible noises at the twitch of Bucky’s cock, the way Tony can feel it everywhere, taking up all the space inside him until it feels like he can barely breathe.

“Don’ stop,” Tony finally manages to slur out, eyes falling closed as he drops his head back against the vine curled behind his neck. He uses the vines around his arms as leverage, rocks himself in the air and even that small amount of friction from Bucky’s cock shifting inside him has Tony moaning out another broken sound. “Please, please- oh- more, Bucky, ah-“

“I got you,” Bucky growls, tightens all his vines to hold Tony still again as he withdraws slowly. He ignores Tony’s begging until the head of his cock is tugging at Tony’s hole, flared head catching at his abused rim until Tony is shaking and sobbing.

“Buck- Ahh!” Tony screams as Bucky snaps his hips forward and slides in deep, so deep. He immediately starts up a rhythm of fast, deep thrusts that jolt Tony in place even as more vines join the ones wrapped around him, around his hips and chest and all of his limbs. Thin vines curl against the arch of his foot, the shell of his ear, creeping between his asscheeks to press in alongside Bucky’s cock. Tony has lost all words, barely aware of anything beyond Bucky inside him, all around him, surrounding him more and more with every new vine that slides along his skin and Tony has never felt this amazing in his life, every second pure overwhelming, all-consuming pleasure.

“Tony, fuck- so gorgeous,” Bucky groans, echoing distantly in Tony’s ear past his own thundering heartbeat. When Tony forces his eyes open his cock twitches and his gut clenches hard at the sight of Bucky above him, teeth bared in an almost feral snarl as he fucks into Tony with thrusts gone short and brutal. He meets Tony’s stare and smirks as he asks “you got one more for me, sweet thing?”

Tony whines and nods jerkily because he is absolutely going to come again, he’s most of the way there already, muscles drawing up tight as he shakes and moans. He gasps when Bucky’s fingers slide up his spine, press hard between his wings at the same time a vine wraps around his throbbing cock. Tony makes a sound that’s meant to be more begging, but all he really manages is more breathy whimpers.

Bucky bends down over him again, uses a vine to tip Tony’s chin up so he can place short, dry kisses up the line of Tony’s neck. His movements have gone uncoordinated, grinding into Tony with short thrusts and the change in angle means his cock rubs Tony’s prostate on every pass. “Come on, gorgeous,” Bucky growls into his ear and Tony feels the words more than he hears them, vibrating through him everywhere they’re pressed together, "let me have it."

“Oh," Tony gasps, and then the vine wrapped around his cock squeezes tight, tip of it teasing over his slit as Bucky grinds into him hard, and Tony comes with a weak moan. His cock twitches painfully, dribbles out a few drops of come and Tony is only vaguely aware of Bucky growling out his own orgasm past the rush of blood in his ears and his own ragged breaths. It does punch another moan out of him when he feels Bucky spill inside him, thick and cool as Bucky's cock twitches against his prostate, sending one last shock of pleasure to Tony's poor overwhelmed brain. "Oh, wow," Tony says again, slightly dazed, and then promptly passes the fuck out.

-

It takes Tony so long to wake up that Bucky actually starts to worry, just a little. Tony’s heartbeat stays steady though, and every now and then then he’ll kind of mutter quietly in his sleep, so Bucky settle in to just kind of... watch him.

Once he’s carefully lowered Tony back to the ground, rolled him onto his stomach to avoid putting pressure on his torn wing and used a single vine to prop up his injured ankle, there’s really not much else for Bucky to do. And why lie to himself at this point, Bucky is fascinated. He’d have cared a lot more about all those stories of fairies growing up if someone had thought to mention they could be like Tony. Snarky and smart and so damn gorgeous that Bucky still can’t quite believe it. A fairy with no magic, wandering into the Dark Wood all alone with lighting in his chest.

By the time Tony finally blinks those pretty brown eyes open again night has fallen, the only source of light the glow of Tony’s chest, peeking out from beneath him, and the bioluminescent flowers that grow along the vines that make up the walls. Tony lets out a low groan, face scrunching up, and then says “okay, yep, everything officially hurts now.”

Bucky can’t help a soft snort of laughter, and Tony’s eyes shift over to him instantly. Bucky tries out a smile even though it feels small and nervous on his face, because he has no idea what happens next except that if Tony is going to finally freak out it’ll probably happen right around now.

Tony’s eyes narrow a little, but all he says is “are you watching me sleep?”

“Wanted to make sure you didn’t roll over and kill yourself somehow,” Bucky says, and smiles a little wider when Tony lets out a soft laugh.

“My hero,” Tony coos, and then grins as Bucky feels his cheeks color again. Tony’s smile fades a little as he seems to wake up more, propping himself up on his elbows with another goran. He looks around, taking in the glowing flowers and pitch darkness just beyond the opening of the cage. “Probably should have asked this before,” Tonys says, sardonic twist to his lips, “but what are the odds something else toothy comes crawling in here to eat me?”

Bucky hums, and shifts the walls of vines until the entrance closes up completely, sealing them in. It only occurs to him afterwards that maybe that’s not the best idea, maybe Tony doesn't want to be trapped in here with Bucky andhis teeth either, but before he can ask Tony is letting out a happy sigh and flopping down again, arms crossed beneath his head as he turns to Bucky again.

“So,” Tony says, apparently right back to relaxed and smiling, “do you always patch up and then dick down the people who fall into your little trap here?”

“Only the really pretty ones,” Bucky says dryly and grins wider when Tony laughs again, “you always go wandering places you shouldn’t and nearly get yourself killed?”

“More often than you might think,” Tony says with a sunny smile, and somehow Bucky has no problem believing that. “Besides,” Tony adds with a pout that does not at all make Bucky want to bite at his soft lips again, “I told you, I was looking for something I need.”

“And what was that, again?” Bucky asks, one eyebrow raised, because he’s always been a little too curious for his own good.

Tony’s eyes narrow, and when he opens his mouth Bucky is sure he’s going to get told to mind his own business again, but then Tony pauses, licks his lips and his eyes move over Bucky’s face like he’s looking for something. Bucky’s not sure what he finds, but when Tony finally speaks his voice is almost shy as he says "it really is a long story."

Bucky glances pointedly down at Tony’s bandaged ankle, up at his torn wing, and then he draws in a steadying breath, takes a chance and says “doesn’t look like you should be goin’ anywhere any time soon, think we got the time for a story or two.”

Tony blinks slowly, surprise obvious on his face, like it’s just now occurring to him that Bucky isn’t going to kick him out into the world any second now, injured and alone. Bucky is honestly a little offended by the idea, he’s a carnivorous plant, sure, but he’s not a monster. Tony’s smile grows slowly, but soon it covers his entire face, lighting it up, the most gorgeous smile Bucky has ever seen in his life.

“Fine, we can do story time,” Tony says, rolling his eyes with a heavy sigh even though his smile doesn’t waver in the slightest. He pats the ground next to him, fixing Bucky with an expectant look, and adds “well come on, stop hanging out in the walls like a weirdo and get over here.”

Bucky is definitely a little surprised by the request, but he wastes no time moving closer, untangling himself from the structure of the trap and hesitantly sitting down beside Tony’s easy sprawl. When Tony continues to stare at him, one eyebrow raised, Bucky huffs and sprawls out on his back instead. “Happy now?” Bucky asks, but he has a feeling he’s also doing a terrible job of pretending to be annoyed.

“Thrilled,” Tony says cheerily and then rolls onto his side, tugging his foot free of the vine sling only to throw it across Bucky’s thighs as he folds one arm under his head, wings settling out behind him with a soft flutter.

It’s probably a good thing the other residents of the Dark Wood have written Bucky off as a lost cause, because he really doesn’t know how he’d explain this to anyone should they come looking for him. Somehow though, that’s the last thing on Bucky’s mind as he carefully adjusts Tony’s foot resting on this thigh, making sure he’s not going to hurt himself any worse. “Comfortable?” Bucky asks dryly and fails to fight down his own smile when Tony responds with a bright grin.

“Surprisingly so,” Tony says, folding one arms up under his head like a pillow while waving the other hand as he starts to speak, an excitement in his voice that Bucky can’t help being drawn into. “So you’ve heard of the glowing caves, right? Well rumor has it there’s these crystals-“

-

(And then Bucky helps Tony on his quest and Tony takes him home to his tree house on the outskirts of the fairy village. Bucky slowly covers the house in vines and refuses to wear clothes and they do it a bunch and live happily ever after ☺️)

[bastardsunlight]

HC Dump Raiden

Raiden is, if you hadn’t already noticed, a rule-follower. He is a rigid sort of man with a very strict code of honor. His constant consultation of the Elder Gods (however ineffectual) is testament to this and it is because

from his creation, he has been taught that his brother’s “failings” (leaving the sky temple to cavort with mortals, not being the guardian they wanted) fall squarely upon his shoulders. He feels keenly the immense weight of the guardianship of earthrealm that has been placed upon him and can only maintain sanity and order by also maintaining strict discipline.

He bleeds gold ichor in places where his divinity can be more fully expressed. Earthrealm, netherrealm, and outworld are not equipped to handle his full, divine form and the physicality of it turns his ichor to something which looks like blood, but still kind of ISN’T? Because he’s not a human being. Gods demand blood sacrifice, because gods do not bleed, is the saying…

He’s got OODLES of really nice white hair just like Fujin but keeps it hidden under the hood and hate as a symbol of his dedication to his duties, his chastity, and to keep it out of the way during kombat. Unlike his brother, Raiden never learned how to fight with his hair down. 

Raiden is aware that many earthrealm champions consider him a father-figure. This both frightens and flatters him. Gods (who have not reproduced COUGHARGUSCOUGH) do not have as clear a sense of fatherhood/motherhood as humans do, having cast that out eons ago in favor of their more aloof nature. Titans, who are beings of feeling as well as logic, understand, ironically, which likely propels Cetrion’s loyalty to her mother, despite being the goddess of virtue and order, an Elder God herself.

He is a cat person. Cats like him. He likes them.

Raiden’s relationship with the Elder Gods is not what you’d call healthy. His constant need to consult them comes directly from their insistence upon his inadequacy as the guardian of earthrealm—this, in turn, stems from his first act of true defiance, WAY back at the beginning when he refused to “fuse” with Fujin, to create the god of storm. He loves his brother too much to take his autonomy.

Fujin may or may not know this, but it is the reason Raiden fought so hard to keep him at the Sky Temple, knowing the Elder Gods would look with displeasure upon his refusal to act at least as Raiden’s partner in guardianship. Fujin still considers himself a protector and of course arrives when he is needed, but prefers to live among humans to better sympathize. Raiden understands the sentiment, but fears the consequences.

There is much the Elder Gods do not tell Raiden. He is the dutiful son, bound to half-absent/half-authoritarian parents with no light at the end of the tunnel. He rushes to obey, even harming himself in the process, to gain favor that he may never see. It is an eternal struggle.

Despite his aloof air, he loves his earthrealm champions and friends. Due to his constant need to please the Elder Gods, however, it is difficult to express this affection, so when people like Johnny Cage approach him and slap him on the back, or hug him, he does not know quite how to respond.

Raiden also loves Fujin more than life itself, treasuring his brother even when he feels Fujin is making foolish choices. In the end, the man does understand humanity better, because he has immersed himself in it, but their affection toward mortals is essentially equal.

He is genuinely unaware of how attractive he appears to mortals and gods alike. It isn't a false humility; he simply does not think in those terms. It is therefore shocking when anyone points it out.

Raiden is Shinnok’s son, but not in the human sense of reproduction, although Elder Gods are more than capable of doing so, as are the gods beneath them, like Argus of Edenia. It’s more like Raiden and Fujin were simply formed, as elements, one day in the grand scheme of kreation. 

Shinnok’s very act of creating him and Fujin was a defiance against the other Elder Gods, as he seems deliberately to have separated wind and lightning. It also means Raiden is an aspect of destruction which is anathema to his character as he has chosen to protect. The fact, therefore, that he can heal is nothing short of miraculous and speaks highly of his character. 

He is about seven feet tall and built like a brick shit house, though surprisingly fine-featured for all that. He keeps himself wrapped up like a nun as a symbol of his chastity and dedication to the protection of Earthrealm. (yep I’m aware of his deadly alliance getup, but given that a vast majority of his skins/costumes have him pretty much completely covered, I’m keeping that aesthetic)

Which also means Raiden is a gazillion year old virgin. Have fun with that.

Shang Tsung was his chosen champion in the very first tournament. The Great Kung Lao came later. As such, he very much feels Shang Tsung’s rise to power rests on his shoulders, but it was a strategic choice. They needed the win and Shang Tsung was (IS) ruthless as all fuck. The Elder Gods take Shang Tsung’s soul in punishment, not for stealing the soul of the man he defeated in the tournament, but to punish Raiden for having feelings for him. 

The reason Raiden is nerfed in the netherrealm is because he believes he should be. The realm of his father favors chaos and suffering and he wants no part in it. As a recursive being, that is, an elemental who defines HIMSELF, the phenomenon occurs in any realm other than earthrealm. The reason, therefore, he is able to slaughter hordes of demons in the assault on the cathedral is that he has begun, slowly, to embrace the aspect of him which is a god of destruction, hence the red lightning.

Much like Fujin, Raiden bears the marks of his divinity upon his skin, with his true name written thereupon, surrounded by intricate, glowing forms. The extent and position of it is unknown.

Raiden bleeds ichor, god blood, the stuff of deities. This is gold, like pure shining gold in any spiritual space, like the chamber of the Elder Gods. In more physical spaces it resembles blood shot through with gold. It is toxic to humans, but once it is shed, it solidifies VERY quickly and becomes an extremely rare substance known as Orihalcon. This can, with magic, be worked into fantastic weaponry or what have you, but if you’ve got that much blood, it’s bad news bears for the god whence it comes. When he says “then you know it overwhelms you” to Skarlet, he literally means it.

His tears fall in a quicksilver-like substance (technically it, too is ichor, just a different form) which is also quite toxic to mortals. In its solidified form (mimicking Orihalcon), it is known as Mythril and is an extremely light, metallic element which can also be fashioned into powerful weaponry. This is even more difficult to obtain because it does not spill as readily—you can’t cut tears out of someone.  

Taking a physical form is mildly taxing to deities, so most don’t do it on the regular. Raiden and Fujin are strange exceptions to this rule. They would rather be a presence in the lives of the people they have come to know and to love (not only to protect, at this point), than to be unreachable balls of energy. Shit’s lame; this is way more fun. What could possibly go wrong???????

[magicalsalamander]

Opal Eyes of the White Fang Chapter II

Pairing▹ BTS Jungkook ⇆ Reader

Genre▹ Hogwarts | Dragon Hybrid | Fantasy | Fluff | Angst |

Words▹7.0 K

Warning▹ rated mature; Depictions of traumatic events, blood, witchcraft inaccuracies, explicit language and explicit themes.

Summary▹Jungkook, a Gryffindor with a soft spot for Beast, Beings, and Sprits, is a Magizoologist that works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in the Beasts Division. However, the ignorant image he built up as a child about the department began to ware after years of working in the department; he hated the strict laws that restricted him from truly helping out all beast. Especially, because he’s half giant, and he’s known how the law wasn’t always in creatures favors. In secret, he created a group called C.7.A (Clause 7 Army), to save Beast, Beings, and Sprits who couldn’t be protected under the department. But what happens one night when Clause 7 discovers something with opal eyes?

A/N: Lightly edited, so take it with a grain of salt. Thank you for reading!

Masterlist

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His fast feet treading on the uneven trail caused his shoulders to bounce and his black trench to flow around him. Out of Hagrid's hut, white smoke was billowing out of the chimney. He'd have to stop by after he checked up on you. He bounded through the small garden path avoiding the large pumpkins, following a small trail that eventually gave way to unpaved forestry.

Not even a few seconds later a group of boys ran past him screaming, "We're going to be in so much trouble!" Jungkook watched dumbstruck as they scrambled up the hill back towards the castle like roaches. Jungkook chuckled under his breath then picked up the pace again. He remembered when he was a kid, third year, and he would go out with a few of the guys and trail in the forbidden forest. He remembered the horror he had felt deep in his bones, the same words he once screamed to Jimin and Taehyung, but he kept coming back to the forest for some reason that didn't fit in logic. Over time he learned of the species that lived in the forest, and with morbid curiosity to see them in person he'd often go into the forest on his own. This place became like a second home to him.

He pushed through the familiar forestry, walked minutes before he climbed over tall roots like a ladder. At the top, he called out, "Opal!" He jumped down from the tall root before coming into the clearing with your cage, hidden amongst the forest. He lowered the hood of his cloak, lifting his head in eager, "Opal! I'm back—."

The wind ceased around him as his cloak came to an embrace over him, encasing him in his dark cloak. Your cage was toppled over, bent, and—the gate was open. Most importantly, you were missing. A foot stuttered kicking up dust as he moved towards the destruction, then another, then another. He sprinted forth inspecting the cage as he looked around, "Opal! Opal! Opal come out!" Horror filled his gut when no sound responded to his call, it was eerily quiet. The scratch marks on the floor and the ripped grass told him something had terribly gone wrong.

Stumbling as he followed the scratches, pulled patches of grass and disrupted dirt he followed wherever it led to. He began running when there was still no sign of you. He knew his feet weren't fast, but you couldn't have gotten that far. He was sure you were scared and that made his feet lunge longer. He hopped over roots and kicked up soil as he booked it. He could only assume, but he kept moving through the greenery. Another clearing was littered with broken trees, but he no longer followed disruption in the surface a thick trail of blue blood marked your journey. He stopped running, chest heaving with exhaustion as he looked at it closer, the deep blue color could only belong to a dragon. It was yours. He picked up the pace, uncaring of his burning lungs, "OPAL!"

Just when he felt that you were too far gone, or at worst, gone beyond reach, the blood spillage grew dense and thick. In a clearing, you laid on your side in a clearing, unmoving. He didn't stop until he was next to you, "OPAL!"

You faintly heard heavy footsteps coming; your vision was blurry and you couldn't even make a sound.

Not until he saw the dramatic rise of your chest trying to take in a lot of air he was sure you were alive. He dropped to his knees next to you, ripping off his cloak to use it to tend to the major wound, "Opal! Oh my god, what happened?" A million thoughts were racing through his mind. He was at a lost. Hagrid had only given him basic care for you when you came in with your wounds. Dragons were such a unique beast, and he knew close to nothing of the specialty.

As he was pressing his cloak over the bleeding cuts, the bleeding wasn't stopping. He knew before long you were going to die. "Opal, stay with me okay? Don't sleep on me." In desperation he pushed down harder over the wound causing you to whine, "I'm sorry, stay with me girl. Stay with me!" He adjusted his cloak for a dry spot but he palmed over a hard thing. He reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a dense black vial. He had been experimenting at home, attempting to create a new potion that could heal, rebuild cells, that isn't as painful as skelegro but can be as delicate as repairing paper cuts. He looked back and forth, it was still just an experiment, but at this point, he wasn't sure you were going to make it.

He brought the vile to your lips and past your teeth. He tilted your head pouring the liquid and forced you to swallow. "Drink, it'll heal you." He kept massaging your throat encouragingly. "It's going to be okay." He pets your neck as he felt you swallow under his hand. He kept petting you trying to relax you, but more so for himself.

The potion took cause quickly, he pulled away from his cloak and watched as the bleeding stopped immediately. Your breathing normalized, evening out until you fell asleep. He sat there on his knees not knowing what to do. His hands were trembling the delayed adrenaline registering. How was he supposed to get back now? Now that he thinks about it, those kids, were they the ones who did this to you? What had they done?

Furry clogs up his throat as he suppressed a growl until he heard a pop behind him. He swung around, wand ready, but immediately lowered it recognizing who it was. Hagrid stood right next to a righteous woman with his lowered head.

"Minister Weasley, I-I…," words caught in Jungkook's throat as he felt his mouth go dry. He knew there was no way of explaining himself out of this. He was going to lose everything…and you.

Hermione Weasley, the Minister, craned her head to look around Jungkook. "Mr. Jeon, I see you have a bit of a problem on your hands."

He didn't dare respond as Hermonie rounded him when he didn't answer her. She crouched down and pet your forehead ever so gently. She hummed quietly before she stood back up, "How long did you intend on keeping this a secret Mr. Jeon?"

Hagrid spoke up, "Hermione, I was gonna take it to the sanctuary. It's not Jungkook's fault, he was just taking care of her for me."

Hermione turned towards Hagrid abruptly, "You're going to take her to the sanctuary?"

Hagrid looked confused, "Yes, they take good care of their dragon—."

Hermione interrupted, "You shouldn't take her there."

Jungkook spoke up as his heart collapsed, "Minister Weasley, please, that's the best place for her. Minster Weasley, please, please don't harm her."

Hermione chuckled a bit, "Hagrid, you mean to tell me you didn't recognize it? You've really lost your touch." She laughed lightly turning to Jungkook directly, "She's not who you think she is Mr. Jeon."

Jungkook's eyebrow furrowed. Hermione's eyes twinkled, "She's not really a dragon Mr. Jeon, she's an Animagus Mr. Jeon ."

Jungkook's jaw dropped, "What!"

Hermione crouched down next to him near your head, "Excuse me, Mr. Jeon." Jungkook reluctantly stepped out of the way standing next to Hagrid as she crouched over you. Being an Animagus herself she was easily able to identify you like intuition. She woke you from your stupor with a simple spell. Your eyes widen like a blooming flower as you slowly come to. You tried raising yourself, thrashing a bit, but she placed a calm hand at the back of your jaw shushing you. Immediately you calmed as if that notion was magic. "Hello, I'm Hermione Weasley, the Minister of Magic, I'm here to help you. Can you understand me?"

You wanted to nod but you were immobile, drunk on the potion and blood loss. You slowly blinked at her instead in confirmation.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through. I know it must've been very hard on you. But it's okay now. Would you like to turn back?"

You looked over to Jungkook, he could see the uncertainty in your eyes. After the weeks he had spent with you, he was sure you were a dragon. The behavior you had were often questionable, but each beast is their own. He had encountered Animagus before, many even, he was sure he could have pointed it out. Doubt clouded his mind, "Minister…I don't think Opal's an Animagus."

"Your name is Opal?" You slowly blinked at her. "Very well then Opal, let's begin."

Jungkook stepped up to your head stroking the side of your face. He was in disbelief, but he trusted the Minister. "It's going to be okay. I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you."

You keep your eyes on him as he stood up and turned away. Your eyes whipped around, couldn't he stay next to you.

He smiled sweetly to you, "Hey, I told you it's going to be okay. Close your eyes, it'll be over soon."

You stared at him for a moment before you followed along and closed your eyes in acceptance. You had nearly forgotten. You had nearly forgotten, but you didn't want this anymore. You wanted to be human again.

She politely asked the men to turn around. She shushed you once again when you whined, then raised her wand and cast a silent spell. The intense light from her wand struck you. The forest was silent then your long back coiled off the ground as your bones creak and your scales receded. You hissed but your mouth remained mostly open as an intense pain came over you in a hot wave.

Jungkook resisted the whole time, hearing the sound of cracks, the pained hissed, the small breathy noises he knew of yours now. His fist was nearly white as he held himself still.

With a brighter flash, your body shrunk and expanded filling out into a human shape. With a bit of magic lingering in the air, spangles filtering down like snow, your human form was limp and naked on the floor as your chest heaved from the exertion. You had one last glimpse at Hermione before you couldn't take it and passed out. Hermione quickly covered your being in a cloak, "Jeon, can you carry her to Pomfrey's?"

He turned around and held in his shock. You, a human, you were truly an Animagus. Your facial features were soft with slumber. The shaved horns still remained on your head and splotches like birthmarks on your arms were the same spots where your scales were pulled. He pulled the cloak tighter around you and lifted you up bridal style. He tucked your head into his neck and held you tightly.

Hermione grabbed onto Jungkook and Hagrid, "Mr. Jeon?"

Jungkook looked over to the Minister, "Yes?"

A smirk formed on her face, "Don't think you're getting away with this."

His eyebrow raised as his eyes widened like a child and in the next minute, she teleported all of them into the castle's infirmary.

He held you tightly as they all manifested. Madam Pomfrey zoomed by directing him to a bed with no questions, it was as if she already knew all the answers. As he stepped away from the bed your bedside was swarmed with Healers pushing him out of the way. 

Hermione put a hand on his shoulder, "She'll be fine, things will take a bit. Come with me."

He stumbled as he righted himself only to smack his head on the overhanging light. Grunting and rubbing his head to ease the pain he looked around. Hermoine rounded about him going to sit at her simple desk. His eyes widened as the big window behind him displayed they were on the highest floor of the ministry and below he could see the countless lights coming to form other offices. The magnificent architecture looking even more gothic from the vantage point. A vast library surrounded all the walls, some books held by some spell to the ceiling in their own makeshift library.

"Mr. Jeon, please, sit." He kept his gangly features close to him afraid to damage anything. He found a seat in front of her desk. As he sat his knees folded up to his chest, obviously not meant for giants, however, he dared not to protest. He wiped his clammy hands on his pants, "Minister Weasley, I can explain. I didn't mean—."

She raised her hand, a faint smile creeping up on her lips, "You remind me so much of myself when I was younger." His eyebrow raised as he heard her words. "The limitation of your job didn't feel like you were doing enough, so you decided you had to do something."

His mouth felt dry.

"Mr. Jeon, I'm sure you're aware of what you've done is in fact illegal. Storming off with your friends and getting involved in different things that are out of the spectrum of your department."

He held his head down in shame, yet on the inside, he knew he had done right. He lifted his head up, "You've overstepped your boundaries. However, I have a proposition for you and your friends."

He whipped his head up. "Over the past few years, we've had a rise in crime of trafficked illegal goods. A lot of them are rare beasts, like your dragon. A division of Aurors have been trying to track the source of it all, but the leads have often come up as dead ends. It seems that you and your friends have found the gaps that we haven't noticed. I want you and your friends to investigate. I want you to figure out where it's coming from and who."

Jungkook's jaw dropped and unexpected chill passing over him, she knew he had a team. "I want you to bring them to me."

"If you don't want to take my offer, your friends and you are going to have to quit and quietly leave. She, the Animagus, will be taken by the ministry"

She knew about the others too.

He swallowed, "I'll do it but under one condition."

She raised a brow.

"If I can watch over her and protect her until this whole thing is over. I think they'll be after her and come for her. We don't know the source so it would be safest if she stayed with me."

A small smile bloomed on the Minister's face. "I'll comply."

"Thank you, Minister."

The Minister allowed him to use her fireplace to get back to Hogwarts. He appeared in the Gryffindor's common room. Luckily no one had been in there. He booked it out of the tower and ran his way towards the hospital. Healers roamed about the ward going from patient to patient. He stepped up to a healer reading a chart, "Excuse me, "he pulled out his badge showing her who he was, "where is the girl with the horns?"

Her eyes lit up as she saw his badge, "Last bed Sir on the right."

The curtain was pulled as he approached the last bed with a Healer removing their mask and setting down their surgical wand.

Jungkook stood still, eyes hopeful, "Is she alright?" The Healer nodded and Jungkook let out a sigh of relief, "Is it safe to go in?"

The Healer pulled the curtain and allowed him to pass. A nurse was finishing wrapping up your limp arm as she slowly lowered it to the bed. The monitor was beeping consistently, but your heart rate was low. Your hair still had leaves and twigs in it. He pulled up a stool and sat by your bed, gently he began fishing the pieces out of your messy hair. "Hey, Opal." He felt the need to greet you, still talk to you as he would normally. Your chest was slowly rising and falling sound asleep. It was all still so weird to him. He couldn't believe that the dragon he had taken care, the one he saw in a cage, the one in that awful place…was a human. Where did you come from? Who are you? Did you have a family? He had so many questions, but he knew he was going to have to be patient. He found himself staring at the bandage that wrapped your arm and trailed down to your bruised hand. He heavily sighed and kept picking out the things in your hair, "I'm going to protect you. I promise."

As soon as Jungkook got off of work he'd be at your bedside until the next workday. He practically lived in the hospital when he wasn't working. He had repeated this cycle every day for weeks, his friends at some point had to ask him if he was okay. After a heavy day and being so exhausted he asked Jimin to sit in for him one night, but it didn't last long he was worried you'd wake up and he wouldn't be there.

Jimin shook his head in disbelief, "Who would've thought the dragon was a human. How is that even possible?"

Jungkook shrugged, arranging the blanket around your shoulders, "I don't know either, it should've been so obvious. I mean I've worked with creatures for years, and we've been working the division for years and seen Animagus before, but…how come we missed her?"

"You think…maybe…she's a muggle or a squibb? That's probably why we couldn't sense it in her because there's no magic in her."

Jungkook rested back in his seat and watched the soft rise and fall of your chest. It made sense. He hadn't sensed magic in you. That'd explain why you couldn't transform back, but...how could you become an Animagus in the first place if you weren't magic born? You had to be of magic.

"Kook?"

"Hmm?"

Jimin asked, "How come you stay at her bedside? Madam Pomfrey would send for you when she wakes."

There was a weight in his chest, one that felt lighter when near you. "She's been alone for so long and when she wakes up I don't want her to think she's alone. She should never be alone again."

Jimin's eyes turned crescent. The soft lamp on the bedside illuminated Jungkook's face as he concentrated on you. Jimin could practically hear the rest of the unspoken monologue going on in his mind. Jimin lightly punched Jungkook's shoulder, feeling soft, "Jungkook, go to sleep. If anything happens I'll wake you."

Jungkook heavily sighed and thanked Jimin, he really wanted to rest. As a compromise, Jungkook slept in an empty bed next to you while Jimin kept watching. When Jimin was sure Jungkook was asleep he began to whisper to you. "Hey, Opal, it's nice to meet you, even though we meet a while ago. Jungkook's a nice guy, he's soft for—beings—like you. He knows what you feel like all too well." He felt a bit silly talking to you, he wasn't sure you could hear him, but he continued anyway. "You won't be alone anymore Opal. Jungkook and the rest of the team, we promise that. I know were a bit of a bunch, but we'll protect you."

From behind him, the monitor beeped a bit louder, Jimin sat up straight and watched the monitor behind him. Your heart rate jump for a second before it leveled out again. He laughed to himself, maybe you did hear him after all?

The hospital was always busy, but your bedside was arguably busier. After Jimin the other members trickled in, and at some point, all seven of them were in the hospital at a single time. The number of members present would always change throughout the day, but you were never without someone. Seven staggered chairs were posted around your bed with a few chins resting of the back of respective chairs. Everyone was fighting off exhaustion, each of them had jobs and personal commitments, but they still showed up.

Jungkook stood up and dragged the curtain enclosing everyone in. He lifted his wand and cast a muting spell on the curtain, ensuring the conversation would only be between them. Over the silence and the dull murmurs around Jungkook vomited in a single breath, "The Minister knows about C.7.A, and I think she knew about it for a while."

Almost in unison, the whole group sounded off, "What! How?"

Jungkook relayed the whole story to them, the major parts at least. Their shoulders drooped, Taehyung pouted, "Does that mean we can't do it anymore? Is it all over?"

Jungkook shook his head, "No, No, it—C.7.A—still exist but…under one condition." He looked at you instead of them, "We have to capture the people that have been doing this."

Yoongi grunted, "That sounds like a lot of work."

Jungkook continued, "If we figure out who's behind the trafficking, then all the stuff we've been doing won't get us fired. We'll get to keep our jobs…well maybe not."

Namjoon scrunched his face, "Maybe not! Jungkook, what do you mean?"

Hoseok ran a hand through his hair, "I can't risk any more than I have already. I need my job."

Jimin lifted his chin off the back of his chair, "Wait guys…Kook, even if we did take this on, I mean, I don't even know where to start? I really doubt that the lab is still there anymore. All the animals have been relocated and we can't track their origination."

The quiet murmurs around the curtain filled the silence.

"We should try," Jungkook sighed, "…did I mention…if we solve it the Minister will make C.7.A into a division?"

Their jaws dropped. Nearly in unison, "What!"

Jungkook elaborated, "If we capture them then it'll become its own division. We still get to work in our own departments, but it becomes kind of its own exclusive department."

There was no movement. There was a static look over everyone's face. Jungkook's leg begins bouncing.

Yoongi tipped his chair back rocking back and forth as he thought. It only took a second before he slightly shrugged, "Let's do it. I don't see how we can lose. We can just keep doing what we normally do, then it can be done."

The rest of the group was quiet before Hoseok scoffed, "Yeah, except my job."

Yoongi smirked looking over his shoulder back to Hoseok, "Well, either way, it'll be a good story later."

With a heavy sigh around the room, everyone agreed. They were all in.

Jungkook breathed an air of relief, eyes filling with happiness as he watched the people around him smiling and shoving each other teasingly.

It was all or nothing now.

Jungkook's eyes were falling, his head bobbing as he fought off the urge to nap. His permanent residency was the chair next to your bed. He was sure in another week he'd start paying a month of rent for the spot. The other six guys were loitering around; Jimin had begun to pester the interns for attention; Taehyung and Jin were wrapped in a game; Namjoon's face was covered by a book and the few others were napping. Slowly Jungkook had begun lowering his head to the chair backing succumbing to the urge to nap.

The floating monitor beating at a steady rate was lulling him deeper in its white noise effect. The slow beat blipped just a bit faster, and one step faster, then stronger. The sound was pitchy like an alarm clock. Jungkook's head bobbed upright turning to the monitor watching the readings. In a daze he blinked over to you, you were still sound asleep. The longer he stared he realized your chest was rising and falling taking in deeper breaths. Your finger twitched, then your hand was in a tight fist.

Jungkook scooted closer to you taking your hand gently coaxing it to relax. "Opal! Can you hear me?"

The rest of the group immediately woke up surrounding your bed. Your eyelids twitched as your eyes were moving back and forth under the lids. Slowly with a squint, you peeled your eyes open. Jungkook noticed your eyes were still opal and pupil-less, exactly like pearls. They stared at the ceiling hollow until you blinked and hazily looked around the room. Coming to your heart rate shot up setting the monitor off as you shot upright with a hiss of pain escaping as you let go of Jungkook and clutched your side. "Whoa, calm down, you're okay!"

Your head lifted as you looked around the room noting each face staring at you. You heaved as you felt claustrophobic, naturally wanting to hiss but your breathing wouldn't allow you. You turned to your side when a hand settled on your hand over your side and on your shoulder to stabilize you.

"Hey, Opal, it's okay. It's me, remember me?"

Your eyes settled on the extremely tall man, his big, brown eyes were pleading with you. You squinted urging your mind to remember him. It clicked when he called your name…his name was Jungkook. You nodded tiredly. He laughed with a lasting smile, "Hi, welcome back." With the hand placed on your shoulder, he pushed you back down. "Lay down and breathe a minute, let me get the doctor."

As he was about to get up, you grabbed his wrist. He turned around and sat back down, "What's wrong? Everything okay?"

You tried speaking but nothing came out, your lips moved but no sound came out, just air. You hesitantly pulled your hand back and held it in the air for a moment. With a bit of courage, you brought it to your throat and felt over the lumpy scar that vertically went down from your chin to your collarbones. It came rushing back to you, the night when it happened, how you were ripped of your speech, quite literally. You brought your legs up to your chest and buried your face in your knees. You needed to feel centered, you couldn't cry.  

Jungkook looked to the others for some sense of what to do, but they looked equally lost. The moment was interrupted as Namjoon came back into the room with a Healer.

You looked up to Jungkook in horror scooting as far back as you could on your bed. "Hey, hey, it's okay. This person won't hurt you. They're here to help you." You remained in your place, untrustworthy of the Healer.

He looked between the Healer and you. He remembers the place he had found you, of course, anyone that looked medical must have been terrifying to you. He stepped towards you cautiously, "I'll stay next to you the whole time to make sure nothing bad happens, okay?"

Your body began to relax as you nodded. The Healer took cue of the situation cautiously approached you. He brought out a metal wand and pointed it to your chest. You nearly stumbled out of the bed into Jungkook's lap. Your face expressed a silent scream. Jungkook reached out and grabbed your hand, "He's just going to listen to your lungs, it won't hurt. It won't hurt."

You held onto his hand for dear life.

The whole time during your treatment you wouldn't let go of his hand. All the stress had caused your drowsiness to kick in and after the check-up you laid back down, hand still holding his. The guys had all giggled at him, stifling their laugh. It was odd seeing Jungkook, a half-giant, knees to chest in a normal height's chair holding onto your small, delicate hand so preciously.

The Healer had pulled him aside after your check-up. He knew the man had to be professional, but the quiver behind his eyes told him he was struggling to hold back anguish. "Mr. Jeon, we noticed a lot was wrong with Opal, but she's recovered well and she should be completely fine in no time." The doctor looked at the charts in his hands once more, "Although, her body will have scars and But, her vocal cords are irreparable. It seems that there was some sort of injury where the damage is done to the tissue. No magic could repair it either. I'm sorry."

His face fell. He looked over his shoulder watching your face light up as Jimin showed you a magic trick. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "Thank you, Healer. I appreciate it."

"Mr. Jeon?" The Healer tugged his attention back to him.

"Yes?"

A smile bloomed on the Healer's face. "Well…there is something you could do to help her."

He raised his brows as the Healers smile spread ear to ear.

Your knees clicked as you swung your legs over the bed. The cold air hit your legs of what your hospital gown didn't cover. Your legs had yellow bruises scattered about along with discolored portions that must've been where your scales used to have been. Jungkook was standing in front of you supporting you by holding onto your elbows as he stood you up. "Easy, easy now."

You hadn't truly realized how tall he was, as your forehead just reached the bottom of his sternum. You looked up at his tilting your head back finding him looking down at you with his eyes expectantly waiting for you. You looked away from him, finding his gaze to concentrated. The way his messy brown hair hung around his face made his eyes all the more daunting. "I'm going to go slow, okay?"

Your knees felt heavy, ankles wobbly like they'd fall out of their socket in the first step. You took a deep breathe after you stood for a moment truly feeling how it felt to stand upright. You felt comfortable and secure in his arms, his delicate scent easing you as well. "Ready?" You nodded wanting to walk as the anticipation was building. His right leg took a step back as you raised yours to match with your left.

One step. Two steps. Two and a half before you stumbled but Jungkook was there to catch you. You heaved into his chest. He righted you, his face too close to yours.

"Let's go again."

You had steadily been recovering. After a few days of repetition, you were able to waddle over to him without wincing and falling. He couldn't express how proud he felt.

He sat by your bedside and fished through his messenger bag. He pulled out a brown bullet journal, one he had bought a while ago but never used. He placed it on your lap. You looked up at him inquisitively.

"I know you understand me, Opal." You nodded at him, of course, you understood him. "But can you write?"

You nodded, all be it, you couldn't remember the last time you had written.

"Opal…would you write your name for me? Tell me your real name."

You nodded flipping open the journal and taking a pen. You were excited, but you stared at the blank page, no lines, just an empty canvas. The longer you stared the excitement wore off. You stared at the page until the canvas became a blur. You wanted to tell him your name, but you couldn't remember it. You thought of all the names you had heard over time being here, but none of them felt right on your tongue. None of them felt like yours. You held the pen between your fingers, the weight feeling awkward. The callus that once had been there wasn't there any longer. You began with the first letter until the last pulling the pen away.

You handed over the notebook to Jungkook. He took it from you looking at the cover page then opened it up. He read it out loud, "Opal."

"Opal…I asked for your real name." He slowed out, "Do you…did you not have one?"

You shook your head taking back the notebook and scribbling down a few more words then handing it back. "You can't remember?"

You took the notebook back, placing your pen in the binding and closing the book. You didn't want to discuss things yet. You remember things, things while you were a dragon. You turned away from Jungkook, you didn't want to look at his face. You didn't want to know if he pitted you, much less be searched by his doe eyes.

"You don't have to tell me. Anything for that matter. I just want you to choose who you are, but if you like being called Opal, then I—everyone—will call you Opal."

You whipped your head back around. You stared at his sincere eyes, nothing pitiful lingered in his eyes but his normal gaze. You opened up your notebook again and scribbled a connective note, never lifting your pen.

You passed the notebook opened back to him.

He lifted the notebook to cover his face, the smile blooming behind was almost too comical. "Don't thank me, it is only right."

He lowered the notebook watching a blush overcome you.

Your feet moved, then your hips swayed, then your arms swayed in an anti-rhythm. You were walking. Walking!

A Healer had told you that you were being discharged, but the words didn't feel real. Even when Jungkook, who came in with the Healer, had repeated the words to you.

You could leave the hospital.

Jungkook told you that the Ministry had assigned him to protect you. Until he was sure you were safe you would be staying with him. It was still early in the morning before the students or other patients had begun walking around for the day. The hospital gown had been replaced with fresh clothing that Jungkook had gotten you. He had handed you a variety of things. You slipped on shoes he had given you, but the feeling was so odd. You preferred being barefoot, but he warned you, seeing the dissatisfaction on your face that it was dangerous being barefoot. He slipped a hat over your head and then put on sunglasses for you, "The world may not be ready for your crown or your jewels, so we'll protect them from your royalty."

You had taken many trips outside of your small bed space, but this time was going to be the last time. Your hands felt fidgety. When he noticed you picking at your nails he held out his hand and jokingly, "My lady your train awaits." You smiled and took his hand graciously, playing it up.

Subconsciously you stuck close to him, you were afraid that anyone walking by would take your hand and whisk you away.  He didn't mind, at some point, the weight of your hand on his arm or in his hand had become normalcy. He took you to the train station at Hogsmeade, as you entered the Hogwarts Express he had duck down until you both reached an empty cabin. He would've teleported, but your condition was still too weak for that much magic. During the train ride, you stuck to the window amazed by the foliage and landscape. You couldn't believe that so much green existed.

A few hours had passed, with a few naps in between and snacks Jungkook advised you, "Just a few more minutes."

When you arrived at the platform, he warned you that it would be busy when we came into muggle territory. You pulled out your notebook and quickly scribbled, "What's a muggle?"

Casually he answered, "Someone born without magic."

You wanted him to elaborate, but as you approached a brick wall he took your notebook and tucked it into his bag. "Okay, from here on out we'll be moving forward. Stay close." He tugged you and you were approaching a wall. You resisted a bit, expecting him to deviate but he kept walking towards the wall. You looked at him in concern, but he kept walking towards the wall. He kept going and the wall warped around him and eventually yourself. You closed your eyes, a weird cooling sensation encompassed you, but when you opened them up you were on the other side.  People zoomed by you in hoards, it was a sea of bobbing heads and bodies.

"Don't let go of me…ever." You squeezed his hand in assurance. You allowed him to lead you through the crowd. The amount of people was overwhelming your breathing was getting shorter as people nearly grazed you and when they did you flinched. You closed your eyes and allowed him to guide you. When the noise settled down you opened your eyes, blinking harshly despite wearing sunglasses.  Tall buildings of all varieties surrounded you, cars honking, and sirens filled your ears. The anxiety dies out, this feeling feels…familiar. The sounds, the smell in the air, but you couldn't fathom why. Your body felt malleable as you felt a sway in your step, you wanted to slow and take it in. You could hear the sound of your breathing in your ear, the sirens looped like a wonky turntable.

Why did this feel familiar?

"Opal? Opal, come on?" As Jungkook called to you the sound of everything picked up and returned to normal. He smiled at you and pulled you along, "Just about there."

He walked you through the city before he turned street after street before coming into a neighborhood where it was quieter. Everyone's small lawn was evenly cut, green trees were planted along on the sidewalk and birds chirped in a sweet melody. The varying townhomes were connected but separated by color. Each home had clean stairs leading up to the front door. He took the stairs up to a home leading to a white brick townhome with a bright red door, gold numbering. He looked around for any observing eyes, then took out his wand from his cloak and cheekily looked over to you. "Don't be surprised when I open the door."

You attempted a snicker but only your nose huffed air. You rolled your eyes bidding with a hand for him to let you in.

"Okay, okay, don't be too impressed okay." You lightly tapped him on the arm. He bipity-boppity-booed his wand around in an exaggerated fashion then tapped the handle with a gentle tap. Nothing happened. The same building was there. No windows caved in, you slowly turned to look at him.

"It's what's on the inside that counts." He reached for the door and turned the knob pushing it open. A waft of lavender overcame you like a spell. You never had an aspiration of a home, you couldn't even remember yours, but the warmth that was coming from within from the doorstep was something you'd like to think was called…home.

"Come in please." Jungkook stepped inside taking his shoes off at the front door then trailing inside. You closed the door behind you then followed him in slow steps. The ceilings were high, at least twenty feet, but it was possibly higher. Golden light poured in from stacked windows, four in total, opened up to the living room. The ceiling was planked with wood, beams strung across the ceiling and plants of all varieties hung from the beams hanging down like chandeliers. A hammock was tucked away amongst the vegetation  All the furniture was dark, contemporary in its design, but splashes of color here and there kept the eye searching about. Jungkook unclipped his cloak, handing you your notebook, then holding it up in the air, a vagrant vine extended itself and clutched around the cape and took it.

You looked away from the curious vines, the shock of magic still impressive. "I'll show you the rest of the house in a minute, but let's eat breakfast first." The counters were high, the cabinets much higher. The house was definitely designed for the giant. Boxes filtered out of the cabinets, a pan and a spatula glided over to the stove. "Pancakes sound good?"

You nodded a million miles per hour. He laughed and hummed while he worked. You found a spot at the table, nearly climbing into the chair before you patiently waited for him. Food was placed in front of you in no time and you were amazed at the fresh fruit and pancakes on the plate. You ate so fast, having missed hot food. Hospital food was good, but nothing could compare to homemade food.

You had exhausted yourself. You were so tense from excitement, stress, stressed you would do something wrong. As you were sitting at the table your head bobbed, your eyes felt heavy.

"Tired?"

Your eyes shot wide open.

He laughed, "It's okay. Relax, it's your home now.  This is your home."

You stared at him blankly.

He wiped the syrup that was on his lips before he tossed the napkin on the table, "Come, let me show you your room."

You nodded getting up from the table.

The words rung in your ears, "This home is your home." A place for your heart to beat steadier and lungs to fill deeper when you sigh in content.

You followed him upstairs and down a hall with many doors. He stopped at a door before pointing across the hall, "The door opposite is my room." He pushed the door open, "And this is your room." You followed him. Your room was bear, something within you felt hollow, but it was still comforting because it's meant that those empty walls, the bare bed, the empty dresser…it was all yours.

Yours to fill.

Yours to have.

You caressed the blanket, the down had weight, a comforting weight. You brought up the blanket to your nose and took a deep breath. Your eyes light up with the fresh scents bathing your senses. This home smelled so delicately and fresh, but used…it smelled like him. You could smell lingering notes of Jungkook.

You searched around and pulled out your notebook scribbling down something. You handed it to Jungkook who read it out loud, "It's nothing…it's nothing like the hospital."

Jungkook snickered under his breath. He knew how much you didn't like it there.

You took it back then wrote more. "It's nothing like the cage either." He said nothing as he passed it back. You wrote once more. "Thank you."

He swallowed and swallowed again, the look on your face, the happiness of holding your comforter and not letting go broke his heart. He set your notebook down shaking his head in affirmation. "I'll let you get settled in."

He turned without another word. His hand held onto the handle and closed it behind him with a click.

Copyright 2019 © by magicalsalamander. All rights reserved.

[wanderingthroughwonder]

Miranda’s Fic Recs

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while because I just have a lot of fics in different fandoms that I truly enjoy. These are mostly long fics because that’s what I read the most. Fandoms included: Teen Wolf, Harry Potter, MCU, Star Trek, Kingsman, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Find them below! (Some fanfic spoilers ahead)

So I’m starting with completed fics and then I have a few not completed fics at the end that I’m just really liking.

Embers by Vathara

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 704,200 Fandom: A:TLA

Dragon’s fire is not so easily extinguished; when Zuko rediscovers a lost firebending technique, shifting flames can shift the world....

This is an Avatar: The Last Airbender rewrite. It’s Zuko centric and it splits off while Zuko and Uncle Iroh are on the run and Zuko learns of healing firebending. The world building is so good and interesting and the whole fic does a great job of reimagining the A:TLA world. You meet a lot of new characters that are super well written and fit the world nicely.

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

Rating: E, Word Count: 715,940, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Hermione/Sirius

When Hermione finds a way to bring Sirius back from the veil, her actions change the rest of the war. Little does she know her spell restoring him to life provokes magic she doesn’t understand and sets her on a path that ends with a Time-Turner.

This fic is so good and I’ve reread it before. I love Hermione centric fics and this is definitely one. When she goes back in time she goes through school again with the Marauders and it’s so good you guys. I think the fic does such a good job of showing her grow with these new people. The relationships in this fic are so intense and I love them.

Hook, Yarn, Sinker by pprfaith

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 65,675, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Peter

Stiles is happy with his store, his hobbies, his friends. Peter’s just trying to figure out how to raise his nieces and nephews without fucking them up too badly.

Paths cross.

This is the first in a series of fics. It’s a Human AU with aged up Stiles and friends but with little kids Derek, Laura, and Cora. This fic is a good time and sweet and honestly low stakes which is so nice to have these days. I think a lot of Steter fics are more intense and I enjoy them but this is such a nice change of pace where you really get to know the characters in these fairly different circumstances. The whole series word count is 161,859.

A Sequence That You Never Learned by AnnaTaylor

Rating: E, Word Count: 64,624, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

“Spock,” Jim breathes out, completely overwhelmed by the gesture—not quite believing that Spock knows him so well, that he’s already started researching, that he trusts Jim with a member of his own endangered species.

When Jim gets it in his head to adopt an eight-year-old Vulcan, Spock presents a logical solution to the issue of Jim’s of humanity: marriage to a Vulcan citizen.

This was one of my first Spirk fics and I honestly love kid fics. Vulcan kids are so different from Jim, but I love the idea that Vulcans still love him anyway. This is such a great Fake Marriage fic.

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out by mia6363

Rating: E, Word Count: 13,232, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles centric but technically Stiles/Peter 

Commander Stilinski looks like he fell out of a propaganda video, his armor still smoking as he pulled off his helmet and handed it off to First Officer Argent. He had a few bruises down his neck but his smile was bright.

“Glad to see you safe and sound, Mr. Hale. I’d hate for Derek to lose a member of his family.”

“I told you,” Derek snapped at his superior, “he’s not worth this, Commander.”

This is the shortest fic on my list but I love this take. It’s got a Star Trek vibe and I LOVE how everyone is made into these different aliens. Stiles being human here is so interesting and it reminds me of those “humans are the craziest of the aliens” posts. It’s got multiple POVs and I think they’re written really well and do a great job of coming together.

Where Thou Art, That is Home by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: Various, Word Count: 94,108, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

Stiles is 10 when he saves the Hales from their burning home and Derek from a wolfsbane bullet, and this establishes a pattern that seems to continue indefinitely.

“Then he’s facing a burning home, and he wraps the hood of his sweatshirt around his mouth before he pushes the door open and steps inside. There’s Mr. Hale asleep - he hope asleep - on the couch, next to - Stiles thinks that’s his brother but there are so many Hales, who can keep track. He rushes over and starts shaking him, can see the rise and fall of the man’s chest so he knows he’s alive, but he’s not waking up. He shoves away his hood so he can shout, “Mr. Hale! You have to get up, there’s a fire! Mr. Hale, get up!” Nothing, he’s not even twitching, both of them taking in deep even breathes like they’re having the most peaceful of rest, and Stiles is going to cry. “Wake up, wake up, wake up!”

There’s a moment where all Stiles can here is the blood rushing in his ears and not the roar of the flames or the creak of wood, then with a violent, silent pop it’s all back and both men are gasping awake, eyes open and jumping to their feet.”

This is another series! It creates a Hales Survive AU and it’s got BAMF!Stiles. The Hales in this fic are so interesting and it’s an expanded family from what we see in canon. Magic!Stiles is written so well in this fic and things get intense but it’s so good.

Counterpart by sara_holmes

Rating: M, Word Count: 217,400, Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ship: Steve/Tony 

coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another. 

Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right? 

(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)

This is an amazing kid fic. Things are so messed up because of how the kids was raised up to the point they find him.I love Tony so much in this fic but also you sympathize a bit with Steve. The kid whose name I will leave out is my absolute favorite. This is also a series!

Fallout by Whisper91 kingsman

Rating: E, Word Count: 164,971, Fandom: Kingsman, Ship: Eggsy/Harry/Merlin 

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin is a registered Dominant. It's on his driver's licence. It's on his National Insurance card. Hell, it's even on his bloomin' GCSE certificates. And the fact that it's all a load of bollocks is a secret Eggsy had intended to take to his grave. 

Course, he hadn't been expectin' a bloody sub-drop to sweep in and knock him on his arse in the wake of the Valentine Massacre. Turns out grief and adrenaline ain't a good combination.

I really enjoy the dynamics between the three of them. D/s fics are always so amazingly well built and I love fics like this where they’re hiding their dynamic. I think this fic does a great job of going further with the D/S world and giving it more biologically. I just reread this fic recently because I love how it’s done. 

It’s Insanity But... by rosepetals42

Rating: M, Word Count: 71,477, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

The doorbell interrupts what had turned out to be quite the epic shoe hunt but, really, he’s grateful for the break. Or at least, he is until he heads down the stairs to grab the door, trips over a stuffed animal of some kind, bashes his head on the wall and barely manages to catch himself from falling down the entire flight of stairs. As with all things, Stiles would like to state, for the record, that this is Scott’s fault. 

Or: Scott and Stiles are raising seven children. Derek is the entertainer they hire for a birthday party (not a clown though, he’s very specific on that fact.)

This fic is such a good time! I love two bro’s raising kids together. It’s a hilarious setup and also just so good for the Stiles and Scott dynamic. Each chapter is like a slice of life. Some chapters are more about the kids and some are about Stiles and Derek. It’s just a fun fic and I love that it’s still got werewolves because I think a lot of fics that focus more on regular stuff go full on human AU. Keeping werewolves is much more fun and it’s so well handled here!

So Wise We Grow by Deastar 

Rating: M, Word Count: 81,248, Fandom: Star Trek, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

”Commander Spock, we have located your son,” the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock’s face that he’s never heard of this kid before in his life. “If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week.”

This fic is two long chapters. Again, I love kid fic and this one does such a great job. We’ve got pining and hurt/comfort and all kinds of good feels here. There’s one line about t’hy’la that is just *chefs kiss* so good and hits you hard.

Play It Again by metisket 

Rating: T, Word Count: 63,206, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

In which Stiles goes along with one of Derek’s plans and ends up in an alternate universe as a result. He should’ve known better. He did know better, actually, and that means he has no one to blame but himself. “Laura wants to lure the kid in with food and kindness and make a pet of him, like a feral cat. Derek wants to have him arrested for stalking. They’re at an impasse. (And the rest of the family is staying emphatically out of it in a way that suggest bets have been placed.)”

This is fairly Stiles centric. It really looks into the emotions of jumping universes. The alive Hale family is so good and it’s magic!Stiles which is always interesting. What I think makes it extra good is that in a lot of universe jump or time travel fics it’s more about adjusting to how things will be now. But this fic does that while also having the new universe with its own problems. It’s just fun to see Stiles deal with all these things.

Happy Lights by LadyShadowDrake

Rating: E, Word Count: 108,237, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Mixed 

An interdimensional portal opens over New York and drops a tentacled alien in the middle of Central Park. The Avengers are called out to investigate, and hopefully return the visitor home. Steve has been brushing up on his diplomacy, but he never expected to be a liaison to an alien in such an intimate capacity, or that the alien would be so friendly, and the unusual visit turns into the world's best team-building exercise.

This is a series that is so much fun. The alien (aka the colony) is so interesting and sweet in the long run. I love seeing the team grow and as you go through the series you really get to see more of them coming together. This is just a playful fic that you can have a good time reading.

Magpie by waldorph

Rating: E, Word Count: 57,648, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock

Spock met Jim when he was 7 and Jim was 6. It has since been generally agreed that this was a mistake (or: the one where they grew up together and things are simultaneously better and worse for it).

This is such a deep dive of both Spock and Jim. It’s them growing up together and it splits off some as far as events that happen in canon. It ends before they become Starfleet. I think this fic creates such an interesting bond between Spock and Jim. I also really love where it goes as far as Spock not having grown up alone on Vulcan.

These are the unfinished fics. The first two are in progress and the last one seems to be abandoned.

Survival is a Talent by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: T, Word Count: 353,015, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Harry/Draco 

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they're soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone. 

Their best isn't perfect. 

~ 

“Are you trying to get killed, Potter?” Malfoy drawls, stalking forward. Quick as a serpent himself, he reaches out and grabs the snake just below the head. It thrashes in his grip, but is no longer able to bite anyone. “This is a poisonous snake, and I doubt anyone brought a bezoar with them.” 

Harry glares. He opens his mouth, and feels the beginning the snake’s language pass his lips, and this isn’t what he wants, what’s the point of insulting Malfoy if he can’t understand him – 

Malfoy’s eyes widen. He slaps his hand over Harry’s mouth, “Potter, what the hell–”

This fic is in progress updated within 2020. It’s a rewrite of the Harry Potter series where Harry and Draco are soulmates. As you can imagine, that changes some things. I love this so much, I’ve read it like 3 or 4 times now. The characterization is amazing and I love the differences we see. Harry is Indian in this fic and the way it ties in is so good. You really get to see the difference in culture as well between muggleborns and blood traitor families and the purebloods.   

You great unfinished symphony (you sent for me) by ketchupcrisp

Rating: E, Word Count: 227,792, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Steve/Tony and also the whole Team 

The last thing Steve Rogers ever expected to see on a Wednesday afternoon was his (their) dead submissive tumbling out of a portal and practically into Phil’s lap, very much alive and frantic about Soul Stones and timelines and some other version of the team.

This is an AU but like literally. Tony comes from the universe we know into a D/S universe. The worldbuilding here - again like I think a lot of D/s fics excel at - is so good. It starts with everything a mess and things are intense. There’s multiple POVs which I think is really helpful in a fic like this where the relationships are so tangled. 

Born From the Earth by venusm 

Rating: E, Word Count: 277,602, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Tony Centric, Steve/Tony 

Tony Stark's born an omega in a world where that means he's supposed to follow certain social rules. He becomes Iron Man anyway: Fuck biology.

If only his biology (and the world) would quit fucking him back.

To start off, some warnings: this fic gets a bit messed up. It’s an Omega verse in the worst possible way at certain points. It’s not a fluffy fic. It also doesn’t get that far into the Stony stuff because it’s unfinished. Honestly I’m worried this writer has died and I’ve gone through the comments and looked for them online to see if they’re out there and just not writing but I haven’t found any proof of that. BUT ANYWAYS. This fic is intense but it’s such an interesting take on Omega fics. It gets pretty dark but that darkness is pre-Steve and I’m hopeful that one day it might get finished so I can see where it was going to go. 

[prettylittlebrownskingyal]

Your commentary on titans 👌👌 give us the full review

My main problem with Titans is that there is (a.) no logical and solid justification for these characters and their actions and (b.) this may just be the film nerd in me— but there’s no emotional payoff.

 What irks me more is that the cast is incredible. They’re likeable and capable of handling emotion and they can clearly deal with more than they’re given.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure from writers to showrunners to directors and crew— a lot of work and time and energy has been put into the production of this show.  But these characters are so iconic and in my nitwit opinion, it’s almost painful to see their potential go to waste.

And I say potential because there are moments— mystical and magical, full of hope and wonder and rich comic goodness that make you want more. But they fall flat. 

“Families can be fucked up.”

Titans is supposed to be about family. They literally end the last episode with the song “We are Family.” So why would these people— who supposedly view each other as found family— abandon each other at every given opportunity?

They gang up on Jason in the tower when only moments before they were all fired up about saving the kid from Dr. Light. Gar gets left behind by himself with an unconscious, cleary dangerous super clone. Donna and Dawn fully agree to let Dick rot in prison.

These actions do not reflect people who care for each other. Who want to protect and keep each other safe. Why would this be the core emotional catalyst for any development whatsoever when no actual families are portrayed?

Also, here are two established families featured this season and there were no attempts to have them act as foils for each other even though that would have made clear sense. The Wilsons and the Waynes. Two kids that share stoic father figures that are linked to their trauma. Rose and Jericho have no relationship. No communication. No reason to trust each other. Also, why does Rose immediately give up her life for her father?

Dick and Jason’s relationship had some moments that could have been great to both of their character developments. Dick is his best when he’s being a big brother to Gar and Rachel. Why not let him be the same for Jason?

Here are some things I’d do differently.

1.) No Conner storyline

 Conner, Krypto and Eve’s episode (episode 6) was quite possibly the best of the season. It’s because a family dynamic is clearly established. (It’s a little weird, I’ll admit) But these characters rely on each other. They look out for each other. They care.  (“You didn’t abandon me”// “Can I call you mom?”// “Hot dogs? Get it?”– i ate that shit up)

That being said, it also feels like Conner was just created so they’d have someone to save Jason from his fall. 

The introduction of CADMUS as another antagonist when Slade is a major, overpowering one feels like too many things to juggle at once. If they’d held out, Conner and CADMUS would have been great as the main focal point for a whole season.

2.) More Jericho

Jericho was essentially the highlight of the season. I can’t tell if it was the way he was written or the way Chella portrayed him but that’s what Titans really needs. 

humanity. kindness. friendship and family ties. 

why couldn’t he have had more time with the Titans? why couldn’t he have a relationship with Rose? 

I’d have let him explore his abilities more. His relationship with his mom, with Slade, with each of the Titans. 

They needed to have actual bonding with him. Not just a shoddy backstory.

3.) Better treatment of Rose

Rose Wilson could have been so much more than just a plot point. More than an informant. All she did this season was eat cereal, say “i’m out” and then solve a major fight plot point in fifteen minutes. We needed more of her training, her relationships, her justifications to just pick and fall into a life of an assassin. 

She and Jason had some decent moments of believable cheesy teen behaviour between them but not enough to cover the gaping hole in Jason’s storyline.

4.) Jason needs more emotional moments!!

Not going to lie, I wasn’t sure Curran Walters could do big emotional scenes or make me care as much as he did. But he did. He’s got the bratty, troubled Jason down but he needs to be more fleshed out.

Like Rose, he feels like a caricature of a troubled teen. Where’s his interaction with Bruce? His backstory? His impulsivity and need to prove himself to Dick should be established but it’s not.

That scene where he learns that Rose has been using them all along? That was better than most of what we’ve seen him do.

5.) Donna as a big sister// Donna’s relationship with loss

You’re telling me “older smarter prettier”// “you can crash at my place” Donna Troy who took care of Dick would not look at these kids and want to help? After all Diana’s taught her? WACK

Also Donna and Garth’s relationship? It felt forced. He literally said “I love you” and then died. C’mon man, really? At least give them a pre-established relationship.

6.) Kory?? what happened y’all?

She felt so underutilized this season. Anna Diop is a star. She delivers her performance so well. The moment she heals Conner, her rushing to save Rachel— she has this essence of kindness that fits so well with her strength and the potency of her powers. 

She’s a gifted, royal powerhouse.

So why give her a runaround, stretched out storyline? Why make her kill someone she cared about? 

7.) Hank and Jason?//Dawn, Donna and Kory?// Dick & Gar

The dynamic between these characters whether seen or hinted at could have literally carried full episodes. Why consistently break them apart? Or make them fight or ignore each other? Why not let them play into each other, learn from each other? INTERACT??

8.) Bruce// Dick’s version of Bruce

I like Iain Glen as an older version of Bruce Wayne. I like that he’s a bit quirky, snarky, an asshole and he  says things like “no shit.” But he doesn’t serve much of a purpose and he feels like an instant solution in certain situations. Plus he has no interaction with Jason.

That being said, the use of him as Dick’s voice of reason/subconscious does hone in on the question that Dick keeps trying to run away from— “What would Batman do?” That works for his character. It works for his growth. Their dynamic is wonderful but ultimately, not necessary. 

9.) Donna dying?

That WHOLE scene was so out of place. Why would that have happened after the climax of the story? As an extra source of angst?

Again, the Titans are separated by death. Again, a sense of a family is built up and torn down. No one should have to die for a real sense of familial bond to be established.

10.) Deathstroke’s character//takedown

He’s supposed to be the main antagonist and they all have beef with him. Rightfully, everyone should have gotten a chance in that battle. It happened way too quickly and was very anticlimactic for the old Titans.

Also, Slade killing one of their friends with one, single bullet to the chest literally does nothing for me. Especially since Aqualad is supposed to be a Titan. There’s no real conflict, no tangible establishment of hate. Where’s the torture? the real hurt?

11.) Gar, Dick and Hank and their repeated storylines

they all went through the same arcs again. Dick with his Batman struggle. Hank and his own darkness. Gar and his struggle with control and being controlled and experimented on.

This season should have been about Dick coming into his own as Nightwing. About Gar finally having some normalcy and a place that he feels safe in. He should have gotten some redemption as a hero. Hank (and i hate to say, i hope i don’t sound ridiculous but) should have gotten some resolution with Dawn. Either they’re in or out because the back and forth they do with each other is incredibly toxic and they’ve been established as smart enough to see that.

It wasn’t all bad though and I’ll probably end up doing a re-watch sometime. Since I’ve pretty much spouted asshole nonsense, here are some of the best moments:

The end of the first episode where they’re all standing around their cars and laughing? GOLD. More of that cheesy, established friendship.

Jericho hugging Dick, Dick being unsure how to deal with warmth and forgiveness. Everybody say thank you to Chella for improvising that.

Kory and Donna being detectives and arguing over jelly doughnuts? Yes, please! I love them together. How they clearly knew each other, how they worked well together to take out Shimmer. 

Kory speaking Kryptonian. Anything that furthers her development brings me joy.

Conner saving Jason. That was pretty comic book like— I liked it. 

All the scenes Krypto’s in.

Hank telling Dawn that he knows what Jason’s probably feeling. That was emotional and heartfelt. Also, Hank going “Atta boy” when they were on the phone with Slade. I’m really upset they couldn’t have a brotherly relationship because their characters are quite similar.

Gar, Jason and Rachel interacting like friends/teammates/siblings. Their dynamic works. I’d love to have seen the three of them take on a challenge together.

[semi-imaginary-place]

In which I play maddening classic with only Byleth and Dimitri and liveblog on discord 1/15/20 - 2/2/20

because if I’ve got to see a character die repeatedly, countless times, it might as well be dimitri.  

So I'm on maddening and classic with only dimitri and I’m going to kill off every other character. I heard if they reach 0 hp in part 1 they stick around the monastery and you can talk to them they just aren’t a part of your class anymore. Give me your blessings.

I died on the prologue! ... i dont have a healer... Death count:2

I am definitely new game+ cheating this for professor level and skills. I was thinking magic focused but she can't be too squishy... Gremory would help that. Also why do all the magic classes have bad growths. Give me a moving fortress of magic!

Ashe went down, 7 to go. Ch3 turned into a survival horror... but i made it out

Ch 6 is hell. Any idea for how to kill every last one of them in 25 turns with only byleth? Or alternately get to and take down the death knight. Only byleth and dimitri run. And no dimitri this chapter, Byleth's a thief

My main problem in crowd control. If i had infinite turns then i could agro them 1 by one... Maybe I've built byleth wrong and just don't have the stats. Is the warp route faster? Haven't tried that yet. In hindsight this was a bad idea for my first maddening run. I'm so used to not using byleth much that this is very different. Damn archers...  Got done in by chip damage the first time...

I I dont know what happened... but I beat the death knight.... I was expecting to die becausr i accidentally opened the door so i skipped what actually happened.... Next thing I know game is telling me i got a dark seal What  Did I crit? With a silver sword? Im in shock I DONT EVRN I dont even know if it was a crit! But byleth is thief so lethality is out of the question Maybe I should go give a sacrifice to rng god

so I was in shock but yeah I used the warp route and avoided fighting most of the enemies.

So i'm now at the winter ball chapter and felix is still alive (i've decided to off one character every chapter so Miklan downed sylvain. oh and first time through ch5 i accidentally stepped into range of one of the center archers so every unit rushed me and i died) and i tried felix's paralogue and wowo its impossible. Rodrigue dies in 2 attacks, outruns my healing and likes to charge headfirst into the enemy. My record so far is 3 turns before he dies. Might give up since this is optional.

(i eventually finished the paralogue but gave up saving anyone else so i didn’t even get anything good out of it)

The ally A.I. is sooo bad. Jeralt. Dad. Please stop getting yourself killed

Almightly Father in Heaven preserve me. I'm making dimitri learn reason.  maybe his rationale will start making sense no more moon logic for you boy

Hey. Why wont the game let me make dimitri a dark bishop

I need dark mage certification first? Or is the internet lying to me

Well dimitri is at c+ reason but I'm tired of grinding.  

got dimitri from c+ to b+ in a battle. But the boredom makes me want to cry.  Also might have miscalculated.... Fighting an assassin in a forest.... i have 35% hit and no other weapon. They have like 18% hit....  When will i be free...

I made dimitri into a dark bishop and he beat lysithea in the magic tournament.  Also just the thought of dimitri in slithers is funny to me

wrath is how i survived the sothis paralogue. crit everything

chasing the empire around in the hold tomb with 2 units was actually kinda fun

I cant believe that worked... Final battle of part 1. I charge down the middle. And it works 4 turns for infanty to cross the field... and it worked ... Welp i somehow made it to part 2 intact. Endless waves of reinforcement here i come

(Oh yeah and rng is punishing me right now by giving terrible level ups)

For the bridge is it best to go straight for the commander?

bridge wasn’t too bad but I was convinced to spare dedue so i had to fend enemies off him like ants to a dropped ice cream cone. if dedue reaches 0 hp or you don’t do his paralogue he dies in fhirdiad and I’m trying to get everyone off my party but not dead, soooo he’s along for the ride

I'm stuck on am ch 14 ... how do I defend 4 spaces when I have 2 units... Those pegasus knights keep dodging too... Damn pegasus knights.... without them i could just hold a choke point with 1 unit. I have 4 gambit uses maximum... Another thought I had is to out fly their flyers so I can shift byleth over quickly. if I take out randolf in delusional prince the map doesn't end. It just stops reinforcements right? 

Soo I tried to kill randolf but my movement is too low. It takes 3 turns to reach him...

Yup this is possible. But because I can't do things the quick way. I'll have to do the long way of waiting out the right side and then heading for randolf with byleth all the while holding out with dimitri in the center and hoping rng favors me for lije 20 turns

ALRIGHT WhIcH oF yOuSe a LIAR Sooo .... killing randolph does not stop reinforcements nor does it get you a victory, the fire attack is the only way. Time to go guard another npc with a death wish. Also Gilbert is unkillable in AM

FEAR ME The only way to beat a pegasus knight to to out pegasus knight the pegasus knight Falcon knight bae-by! I am unstoppable I. Am absolute (I am never doing this again)

Finally got past that defend 4 spaces with 2 units and endless reinforcements

I've figured out how to level grind since same level enemies are giving like 7exp each

Alright. Taking suggestions, on how to keep hilda and judith alive in golden deers plea.  Alternately, how to kill arundel in 2 thurns without archers destroying me.  With only byleth and dimitrti.  Right now I'm thibking retribution-> byleth and gunning it. Suggestions for abilities/battalions? My current thought is vantage, alert stance+, renewal, wrath, pavaise, and evasion ring and bridgid hunters

Well i can get to arundel before hilda dies but not judith. I'm starting a campaign to save judith. Please pledge your support on the indiegogo page below

whew judith and hilda and both alive! Stride was a good idea. just make a run for arundel. Kinda sad i didn’t get the aurora shield but eh I got the stat increases at least. I also tried propping up judith with byleth healing them but tanking doesn’t exist in maddening so that didn’t work.

I've been skipping cutscenes because there’s no one else there but gilbert

Things I have learned this playthrough: how to grind skills, how to grind levels, how to save scum level ups. 

I’m actually getting a lot of dialogue I missed before just because Byleth and Dimitri are taking down every single enemy unit

At fort merceus, and i want the black pearl.  And i'd like to avoid lindhardt and caspar.  I'm thinking 1: fly over nab the pearl and kill death knight.  2: wait it out and eliminate every last unit ob the map.  What turn does death knight start running? Or is when you get to a specific part of the map?  Or am i thinking of an entirely different map...

New plan. Forget everything else and kill death knight

I have beaten the death knight. I have beaten the impregnable fortress. 44% crit rate.  But I didn't get the black pearl in the treasure chest and i want my item so... i might redo the battle

Got my pearl. for an idea what the battle is like each turn each of the 2 units needs to be on one specific tile for the best chance of survival, if they die i usually had to restart the battle or change something to get a reroll. and you do this for like 5 turns learning the combinations with a mix of guesswork and trial and error. you also need to move quickly because if 4 units surround you, you’ll be stuck until you’ve defeated every single enemy unit on the map or more likely you die.

Ok story time.  So I'm on ch 21 of AM now and aux battle no longer give me exp so my only way of leveling is healing (the exp curve is brutal). Even with the double use of bishop, i'm running down to the wire getting 1 level up/battle (plus the next battle where they gain stats for its more like 1 level/2 battles). I ran out of healing with like 500exp left to go so i restarted but by the end of the 20 heals and 10 recovers I had a different number and now I’m confused Reddit is telling me turn count? Affects exp gain?

Anyways I'm in enbarr.  One of the many wonderful things about playing with only dimitri and byleth is that you can't change their starting positions in battles

Wow i did that on my first try. O.o  Huh that actually worked... Good thing hubert is squishy. spared dorothea and petra too. huh.

I just had a realization... on the last map of AM. If I apply retribution to everyone... could I kill edelgard with that without having to cross the room? Hmmmm must try it out

Nope cant counter attack. Good thing enemy units on this map are acting defensively and only attack when you go into range.  If they swarmed me I'd be dead (again)

Once you reach a certain tile they do swam... i lasted like 4 turns... need to clear the room to stop reinforcements...

(its impossible to stop reinforcements with 2 units on maddening. once you get to the throne room a new wave comes each turn. but clearing the rooms before hand buys you time before you are overwhelmed). To give an idea of what’s going on aux battles are aprox 10 levels below my units. regular enemies are about the same level (so each is a threat and my 2 units can die on any turn) and bosses are usually a couple levels higher.

Hehehehe I am so powerful I have beaten maddening with only byleth and dimitri (Dedue came along for the ride too but was never deployed to battle)

The final AM wasn't as hard as some of the others (defending garreg mach) but boy is it long.  I think my final turn count was in the 50s.  Also the credit screen character battle  count maxes out at 999

I think I got dimitri and byleth up to like 70 base crit last playthrough. Plus wrath and defiant crit almost garunteed each hit was a crit.

nope it was more like base 120 crit

In the end for both dimitri and byleth I used rng based builts around avoid and critical hits (after i figured out what the hell i was mid way through part 1). dimitri went through the brawler line and then split time between war master and great lord. Byleth went up the thief line to assassin and then falcon knight. for both of them i also got most of the class skills.

considering this was my first maddening or classic run, I looked at 0 strategy guides (like an idiot) and had no idea what i was doing in the beginning, I’d say I did pretty well for myself.

oh and I was mistaken about something, if a unit reaches 0 hp in part one they die off screen during the timeskip (except gilbert to my despair) so there was no real point to sparing dedue. I really do hate gilbert, it seems no matter what you do you are stuck with him all of AM. there is no salvation. and this is why i skipped all the cutscenes this time around.

Dedue didn’t have much if any influence on the playthrough. Dedue was never deployed in any of the chapter battles but he did tag along as an adjunct (no weapon equipped) in aux battle sometimes because I felt bad for leaving him out all the time (that and dedue pops up later in battle on the map in part 2 and if he was still a level 1 commoner i would have 0 chance of beating the map since enemies rush him). so him leveling up was to negate the consequences of keeping him alive. If i had gotten him killed i wouldn’t have to worry about keeping him alive later. By the time I got to part 2 the skill gain from tutoring was negligible compared to the amount gained from grinding in battles, also both units were starting to max out on skills (S+) so choosing to explore the monastery gave little benefit. Interestingly, you can’t do a lot of the monastery activities if you only have 1 student (choir, dining, etc). So even after Dimitri stops loafing around, having dedue there for eating meals and stuff wouldn’t have helped and I’d choose battle anyways.

I now know more about how the game works than I ever wanted to... For example the calculations for any probability check (hit/miss, crit, level ups, pass/fail) are long done by the time you see them. so to reroll the dice so to speak you have to go back a certain amount of time (varies for each thing. Level up stats are determined before you enter the battle field so you have to reload a save on or before the preparations screen. Whether you pass/fail a certification is already determined by the time you reach as given calendar date, so you have to reload to before that day. If you divine pulse a 95% hit rate that your unit missed to right before any action is taken with that unit, they will still miss. With only 2 units you will probably have to rewind to the previous turn, but with a full party you need to go back at least a few units but I don’t know the exact number. More or less forcing the game to run at least one different probability calculation than your target will reset whatever result was determined for your target.

When you have an infinite number of iterations, even the most unlikely outcomes eventually come to pass.

This run was  60% luck, 35% perseverance,  4% "grinding", 1% skill, 100% pain

edit: 5/1/2020: looking back, i was a stubborn idiot (as usual) for refusing to look up strategies or other solo maddening runs that people had already done. i can definitively say omegarevolution dealt with the defend map far better than i did. i never even considered +20hit to deal with falcon knights

oh yeah and i don’t have dlc or the nintendo online subscription so i couldn’t use any of that.

[wiredandrewired]

This got too long and I put it below a cut, screw it.

So I have a whole lot of stuff about Quintessence sitting in files and folders and on sticky notes around my desk.  Both VLD’s use of Quintessence and like...actual alchemical Quintessence (using the exact word and also similar or related terms) and places I semi glued them together.  I just.

I have whole huge SWATHES of this that’s not ever going to get out of my personal notes and whole huge SWATHES of it that is going straight into Project ReVolt when that starts going up.  But the other day I started derailing at @quixotic-quetzalcoatl in the comments for her fun pre-oldadin Altean revolution fic about robotic laws and their universality and also how once a species goes interstellar you have to scale up all their qualifiers for ‘worthy of rights’.  Because as we all know, at least here on Earth, it has always taken TIME for ‘basic rights’ to actually be granted inclusively to everyone.  And we still don’t grant them outside our species because, haha, that’s silly.  Even though we know there are, say, intelligent emotionally complex species on earth like octopi and also that we eat them, because they are delicious and we can’t communicate with them in a meaningful way and they lack a visibly structured society or any kind of culture.  ‘Freedom is the right of all sentient beings’ is cool and all, but it only extends as far as we’re able or willing to parse sentience and I SWEAR TO GOD I am getting back to Quintessence here.

And anyway I have been thinking about this ever since that conversation, and cannot contain it until ReVolt goes up.  And I’m kinda curious where people (especially the Alteans Were Not Inherently Good crowd) stand on it.  But I mean.  Let’s face it, that should be everyone because no culture is ‘Inherently Good’, that’s an oversimplification and a form cultural fetishization Lotor definitely thought of Alteans as Inherently Good Allura definitely thought of Alteans as Inherently Good that is not the basis for a healthy relationship y’all

So.  Quintessence.  I’m not like gonna break down all the rules and laws of it or anything, or get into distillation and the implications thereof, because this thought is not about that.  But the short and simple version is that alchemically speaking, Quintessence--undistilled into form--is like gravity: EVERYTHING has at least a little, and things with more exert force on and can affect things with less.  

A simple living thing (a plant) has a more than a non-living thing of the same mass (a rock), and a complex living thing like with a soul and everything (a human) has a lot more than a simple living thing of the same mass, as they also have that ‘metaphysical mass’ going for them.  So by this token, in Voltron a Balmera--a complex living life form--has a LOT more Quintessence than a similarly sized moon or even planet, even though it might have less actual mass, being hollowed out and all.  We also know that some Alteans (Sacred Alteans) can use the same non-physical communication methods that Balmera do with the smaller lifeforms living on them (meaning it’s a form of nonverbal communication fully compatible with something they already do), and also that those same Sacred Alteans can exchange some of their own ‘life force’ with the Balmera after taking a crystal from them.  They have a whole ritual for it.  I am gonna have fun with this in ReVolt  Sacred Alteans also are the ones who do neat things like healing people when they’re ‘dead’, transferring ‘souls’ (have I mentioned I have THEORIES related to the body/metabody model on why the Rift hits people like it do?), opening wormholes in the fabric of space and time... Other things that, once you sit down with even a basic rule model, obviously have to do with exerting their personal Quintessence Gravity on people and things around them.

What this tells me is that the amount of Quintessence that a Sacred Altean contains, for whatever reason, is HUMUNGOUS for their size.  To be able to exert that kind of ‘gravity’ on the world around them, on complex lifeforms around them.  And there clearly has to be some kind of ability to them to...I guess ‘perceive’ it for lack of a better word?  Because things like the wormholes is really precision work (and it works with MULTIPLE Quitessences is the thing, given the whole ‘scalturite comes from a living thing and therefore has the relative Quintessence appropriate to that’ bit). Things like fishing one soul out of another and carrying it and then fishing it out of entanglement with your own metaphysical non-mass?  Precision work.  It’s balls-out crazy, guys.  They’re like the dudes in FMA using handclaps and finger snaps to perform elaborate alchemical processes that ought to take weeks or months and tons of materials and study but without any of the sacrifice or prep work FMA props use and cranked up to 11.  (Disclaimer I never got deep into FMA).  I mean, clearly they did use SOME tools for this, especially in its most scaled-up forms, but some of it seems to be bare-hands inherent and it’s WILD.  

This also suggests some actual logic to how the heck people are ‘chosen’ to get the Mark of the Chosen and go into Oriande; it’s literally a matter of metaphysical gravity, it has nothing to do with worthiness, that’s the whole reason there are trials once you get there. 

Someone, please imagine with me the kind of impact and implications this has for them in a non-vacuum.  Both within the Altean culture itself, but also, outside of it.  Why do some of them have so much more ‘mass’ than others?  Is this something Lotor was trying to recreate in his colony/at his facility?  What effect did one’s personal ‘mass’ have on ones’ place in society?  We know those with more would have been valued, it’s baked right into their tech, but what about those with normal or even below normal levels?  Because it’s baked into so much of the tech that we see, would they have difficulty operating things on a day-to-day basis, or did this literally only effect one very small group?  Like Lotor says some Alteans are ‘less magical’, but how far does that go?  And then there’s space...man.  Okay.   Once they got off their own planet, you would have a class of people who could perceive the ‘gravity’ of other races they encountered.  They literally would have a built-in metric by which to determine whether or not something was viewed as a ‘lifeform’, and if so what kind: people, or non-people.  And this is very different than looking at a thing and simply saying ‘we can’t communicate with it in a meaningful way, it must not be sentient’ or ‘it doesn’t seem to have a culture it must not be sentient’ or even ‘this is not a lifeform that evolved in a way or from an element we’re familiar with life having, it must not be alive’.  This is literally having a universal metric, a Law of Metaphysics if you will, that you can apply to determine if something is alive regardless of whether that life seems significant or obvious.  A Balmera is not ‘obviously alive’ and is definitely not alive in a familiar way, but clearly Alteans had an at least semi-symbiotic arrangement with them, and at no point are implied to have disregarded the native Balmerans claims that their planet was a living being that spoke to them as primitive or superstitious.  Interestingly their arrangement with Weblums seems slightly more parasitic, or hunter-gatherer at best, unless those Altean Nightmare Terraformers we see on Naxela sometimes are used to kill off planets, but all this means is that from a mass perspective, it has the ‘gravity’ of a less complex lifeform.  This suggests that at least some of that might have been value-based, which okay, you have to expect.

But what if the Alteans--who aside from the Sacreds are VERY LIKELY to have a very high baseline compared to their mass all things considered--ran into a species with a lower baseline level?  Like, a fully complex, fully developed species, thoughts, feelings, culture, etc, lower than they had reason to expect?  Here on earth, we’re always running into new things that challenge our ideas about the way things work.  Did Alteans have a baseline below which a species might not have even been considered ‘alive’ by them, based on what they had experienced and studied?  Or at least alive in a meaningful way?  Alfor sure didn’t seem to take the Arusian natives into account as people when he plonked their reasonably-should-have-been-pursued castle down there in the middle of a war.  Galra show signs--a LOT of signs--of being very rapidly and very strongly affected by Quintessence around them, which would suggest that they have relatively low levels for their mass and complexity, and possibly even having a hard time repairing their own Quintessence (which is A Thing that complex lifeforms are supposed to be able to do).  Oh my god yes it’s replenishable listen Alteans in jars would be weirdly hyperefficient if they did it in shifts?  As a volunteer thing it wouldn’t have been vile Lotor smh  Catch me plugging Sacreds into stasis tubes *SLAPS TUBE* THIS BABY CAN POWER SO MANY COLONIES

And I’m REALLY curious about what people think about that, and just the implications of the whole mess, and I want to hear theories and this has gone on forever, and I haven’t eaten in like twelve hours and I’m late for my meds, and I’m gonna go get food because my brain has shorted out but like someone please tell me I’m overthinking this or scream with me about it or smth.

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

@sundayswiththeilluminati replied to your photoset 

“Accidentally came up with two separate Good Omens fanfic concepts...”

Here's the real question though: does anyone ever try to sell/buy magical books at Aziraphale's bookshop, and what does he do with them if they do? Are magical books Not Allowed as per heaven, or does he end up running a sideline in magical texts since all of them are hilariously basic to him and he can part with them without guilt?

Your answer is provided in the form of a fanfic in which only the latter half relates to the question, but all of which I had far, far too much fun writing.

--

There is a disagreement between Heaven and Hell, as there are wont to be, about which side is responsible for unleashing magic among humanity. The suggestion that it was part of God’s design from the start - that it was in fact of neither angelic nor demonic origins - has been made exactly once, by Aziraphale, who only made this suggestion as a counter to Crowley’s suggestion that magic came about in humans for a reason to do with that flaming sword which Adam and Eve spent so much time about. Crowley then mockingly dismissed Aziraphale’s suggestion by hissing “ineffable” a few dozen times, as they were both a few bottles deep at that point and actually more concerned with heckling each other (and, more simply, with each other) than they were with unlocking the great secrets of Godly intent and Her design. 

This is not to say that Heaven and Hell, and of course more specifically Aziraphale and Crowley, have not meddled prolifically in the affairs of wizardry. It would be easy to blame Crowley for the existence of the Chamber of Secrets, for instance; and he may have taken credit for it but it pressed might confess that a basilisk is quite a bit too nasty for his tastes, that castle is full of children, and he just thought it would be nice for one of the Founders to appreciate snakes - they get such a bad rap, snakes, so undeservedly, and wouldn’t it be nice if they got to be the mascot of one of these Houses too? A bit of appreciation for snakes, really, is all he swayed Salazar Slytherin toward. How was he to know that the bastard would take it so far? And it ended with snakes getting a worse rap because of Slytherin himself, too. This last matter is how you are assured that Crowley had any hand in it at all, because the undercutting of his own intent is a typical Crowley design feature. 

(Crowley would also like to make the assurance that he had nothing in any way to do with Gilderoy Lockhart, even though Gilderoy Lockhart’s habit of claiming credit for things he did not do is also typical Crowley. Gilderoy Lockhart did not have Hell breathing down his neck demanding temptations be done, and frankly it is Hell itself who ascribes credit to Crowley for human inventions and he who simply nods and agrees and then goes to see what humanity has done to itself this time. Gilderoy Lockhart is no demon; he is, by Crowley’s standard of demonic, which is a very mild standard of demonic, much worse.)

Hogwarts’ moving staircases are to Crowley’s actual credit, however. That the sweets shop Honeydukes is built atop a direct secret passage to Hogwarts, allowing discerning students to eat their fill any time, is to Aziraphale’s.

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To back up for a moment to the broadest scale - setting aside, for a moment, a particular angel and demon - neither Heaven nor Hell sees magic as an affront to themselves. Both know what they do is miracles, not magic, a subtle distinction in that magic has many more limitations than miracles. And even then, Heaven and Hell often conflate the two terms anyway. No one ever accused either of them of holding to strict logical consistency. 

Heaven is unsure whether magic was meant to end up in human hands, given the difficulty they often have over wielding it and the way it spills out of magical children like their bodies cannot contain the power they hold, but God’s intelligent design also includes both wisdom teeth and the intricate and delicate bones of the shoulder, so by that reasoning magic cannot be refuted as something that was part of Her original drafts. Hell does not care, because humans are easily tempted in their most basic forms, and the ones who carry small wooden sticks that assist them in thinking they can channel the full power of magic can even more easily be swayed to catastrophic choices, by virtue of how they are almost never found without those sticks upon them, ready and willing to attempt something that will likely go wrong. Demons are very fond of wizardry. 

Most of the wizarding side of British society is thus of demonic (read: Crowley’s) influence. This includes the rates of magical currency (29 knuts to a sickle, 17 sickles to a galleon) while Hogwarts does not teach any kind of maths courses (Arithmancy is absolutely not maths); rats becoming a popular pet in a society that to function is required to be full of owls; the practice of storing sole copies of prophecies in glass orbs on unstable shelves (Agnes Nutter was an innovator simply by writing hers down on paper); the given name of Harry Potter’s middle child; the entire sport of Quidditch; and some pervasive erroneous beliefs about unicorns.

(Crowley very much likes unicorns, ever since he watched one, survival and God’s plan be damned, book it as far from Noah’s boat as it could. He was thrilled to find that more than the one left on the boat had survived the flood, because they are beautiful and stupid and that is a combination that Crowley holds certain affection for. They are also quite soft and drool a little less than horses and have the added capacity to gore someone with a headbutt. The value of their hair, horns, and blood - though not drool, which is a shame, because Crowley could do a bustling business trading in unicorn drool - means that wizards seek them out, and that means that Crowley seeks to vex them. It is very wily and evil of him to keep the humans from those powerful magic healing properties, of course.) 

(One of his methods of diverting the casual unicorn-seeker was through the creation and spread of falsehoods about the kind of people whose presence unicorns tolerate. A few stray remarks, some influence applied to make sure it is believed, about “purity” being required to approach unicorns, and the wizards did the rest, deciding it seemed like girls were more able to approach unicorns. Thus already roughly half of the populace is discouraged from attempting, and the rest given weird hang-ups about it. Of course, this is all ridiculous, because Crowley, as a demon, ascribes to gender only when he wants to, and would be described by no one as “pure” in any way. Crowley did once attempt to describe himself as “pure evil, and unicorns only sense purity, so that counts” but he was promptly called a bitch by Newt Scamander and banned from the Leaky Cauldron again. He did not care, because drinking is only really fun with Aziraphale, and the fact of the matter remained that he still gets to cuddle unicorns when no one else does.)

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There is a mild, subtle war fought between Heaven and Hell over most instructive books on magic. That is if “mild” and “subtle” could be taken to mean that there is one generally book-loving angel who very much disdains these particular books, and one generally book-agnostic demon who very much loves them. 

Wizarding Britain does not have a robust publishing industry. Wizarding Britain does not have robust anything, excepting their robustly ineffectual and expansive bureaucracy, but Aziraphale finds their literature particularly shameful. Surely some of this is owing to the limits of the courses offered at Hogwarts, where language and spelling is whatever of the form of your homework essays, as opposed to the much more valued content of said essays, that a professor chooses to comment on. (In a certain era, much of the spelling tutelage for a generation of Hogwarts students came from their Potions essays, because Severus Snape took a certain glee in marking up as much as he possibly could and watching the faces of students as they found their parchment returned to them covered in red ink even though the substance of their essays was sound.) 

This may also be a consequence of the way British wizarding society has a certain cultural stagnancy. The way things are done is the way things are done. (In this manner it reminds of Heaven and Hell and their inability to keep with the times on Earth. This is also another reason that demons like wizards, because they don’t have to keep up with new technology like “personal phones” and “computers”.) Hogwarts curriculum does not update with any regularity and looks much the same as it did 400 years ago, variation arriving mostly with the competency of the professors. 

And magic is what is valued, so magic is what books are written on. And while wizarding Britain has its innovators - it has humans, so inevitably it has innovators creating new spells, potions, and devices - they are not so encouraged and valued. And often they do not bother to write books. 

As a result, the bulk of the book movement through wizarding Britain is Hogwarts textbooks, which are rarely updated. The edition numbers occasionally change, as do a sentence or two of the interior, but Aziraphale lacks interest in any of it. He lacks an interest in all of this sort of magic. He cannot perform it - as a celestial being he can do far more anyway - and it cannot be learned - unlike coin tricks and sleights-of-hand and rabbits - and there is nothing exceptional in the writing or rarity of any of it. The wizarding books that Aziraphale has interest in are settled firmly in the great library of Hogwarts, and not for sale, though Aziraphale has made offers. He had then considered theft but decided that theft from a school was a certain step too far. 

(The one wizarding book that Aziraphale both cares about and possesses is a first-edition The Tales of Beedle the Bard, who is not Aziraphale’s favorite bard. However, Aziraphale does find “The Tale of the Three Brothers” to be an interesting look at the wizarding perspective on death. It is an inaccurate one, of course; Death does not grant boons, not even ones that will become curses to sooner send their holders into his hands. That is the parlance of demonic temptations, and Crowley will freely admit, though he has gotten numerous commendations for the Elder Wand over the centuries, that like Slytherin’s basilisk, the humans took the whole thing a bit too far.)

At any rate, Aziraphale’s bookshop was prominently placed on the map of wizarding London when he offered to purchase some certain unique volumes from Hogwarts, and this has been a curse of his own making, as more usually happens to Crowley. The wizarding population of London had, since the opening of A.Z. Fell and Co., admittedly always considered it one of theirs, in the same way that the Muggle population eventually came to consider it a front for the mafia, but the uptick of attempts to sell wizarding books back to the shop, or wizarding books just being left amidst the stacks, definitely corresponded with the one time Aziraphale made official contact with wizarding Britain. These magical books are a blight upon his bookshop and he would have miracled himself into being forgotten by Britain’s wizardry some time in 1847 were it not for the Arrangement.

That being, Crowley likes the books dropped at Aziraphale’s shop, often books on Hogwarts’ reading list, which are the most often sold, because it is very easy to accomplish simultaneously temptations and miracles with them.

Since the mid 1800s, it is known, amongst the poorer population of wizarding Britain, that there is a particular drop point in Diagon Alley where, if you are in need enough, you can find almost any relatively-common book that you were not able to afford but was necessary for your education. “In need enough” and “necessary” are miracles with much wiggle room. For instance, in 1992, the Weasley twins did not strictly need NEWT-level Charms and Transfiguration textbooks for their courses at Hogwarts, but they needed them to properly innovate on their pranks. 

Providing magical knowledge for free is, of course, very demonic, given the capacity for destruction by the untrained wizard, especially if that knowledge is far above their years. It is in fact incredibly necessary that it be for free, else parents or guardians would stop them. 

Truly, another genius ploy from the wily serpent. 

Almost as good as the bit with the unicorns.