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americancowgirl19 · 3 years

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Nobody to Somebody

Summary: You started in Riley’s newborn army and now you’re moving up to Volterra, Italy.

Warnings: violence, hints of possessiveness, fluff,

Reader: Female Reader

Pairings: Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec Volturi x Female Reader

Word Count: 3,114

A/n: Might make more parts to this, idk. Also, I know that Alec and Jane are supposed to be really young but I imagine them as older teenagers. Also, Alec and Jane are not mates. The guard are not mated together they just share you, the reader, as a mate. So, no incest.

Masterlist

You were a nobody. Honestly, you had nothing to do with the drama of the supernatural world yet you were still pulled into it. You were innocently driving through Seattle to Mount Vermont when you were killed.

Riley had dragged you out of the motel parking lot and bit you in the neck. The pain is indescribable. You screamed so loud yet nobody came to your aid. When the torment stopped a different pain started. A hunger that could only be satisfied with the blood of humans.

You turned into a completely different person within a span of a couple hours. You were stronger, faster, and deadlier. You were put into a group of others like you. It was a constant battle for survival. Everyone fought for their food. Everyone fought to be higher on the pecking order. Everyone fought you.

You were at the top, just below Riley. You weren’t in charge of anything but you certainly were the strongest. Those with the balls to go up against you found themselves dismembered before they could touch a hair on your head.

You were one of the few that were gifted. You had the ability to control people. You couldn’t control their thoughts. No, you controlled their bodies. You could force anybody to do anything and they couldn’t fight against it. At least you haven’t found someone who could fight against it.

You could make them rip off their own arms, bite off their own tongue, set themselves on fire and burn to death. You could force two or more of them to fight themselves if you so pleased. Your ability to control made you valuable. Riley did everything in his power to keep you.

You loved the power you had over everybody. You loved the pampering Riley gave you. You were arrogant but not quite ambitious yet. You were satisfied with the way things were, for the moment. You didn’t think about the future, you didn’t think about expanding your power. You just lived in the moment.

You were also the only one who met Victoria. She had a special plan for you. She whispered promises of grandeur that you couldn’t deny.

No longer were you the family girl that was content with a normal life. No longer were you the girl who was satisfied with being in the background. No longer were you the girl who wouldn’t harm a fly.

No, now you were the girl who killed anybody who got in the way of what you wanted. You were the girl with power and riches. As far as you were concerned, you were on top of the world. You could take anything you wanted and as the months passed, your ambition grew. You were beginning to want more.

However, you felt obligated to help your creators with their Cullen problem. You vowed to help them. Once they were taken care of you would move on to grander things.

When the time to attack the Cullens came, Victoria kept you by her side. You knew she had a vendetta against someone specifically and you were chomping at the bits to tear someone apart.

“They’re not here,” Victoria growls loudly. You growl as well wanting to join the fight but loyally stayed by her side.

“Where could they be?” You ask her. Victoria huffs racing through the woods. You pursed your lips but quickly followed after her. Riley joined up with the two of your as you made your way into the mountains.

Riley steps into view of the Cullen and human first. You observe them from the cover of the trees. The Cullen stood protectively in front of the human. She shared the same scent that had lead the other newborns into the clearing. Had all of this fighting been over this human?

“Riley... Listen to me. Victoria is just using you to distract me. She knows I’ll kill you. In fact, she’ll be glad she didn’t have to deal with you anymore.”

“Don’t listen, Riley,” Victoria pleads standing on a rock to the side of Riley. You slowly make an appearce behind your creator. The Cullen’s eye moves to you as does the humans. “I told you about their mind tricks.”

“I can read her mind. So, I know what she thinks of you.” He tells Riley.

“He’s lying.” Victoria insists.

“She only created you and this army to avenger her true mate, James.” Your eyes go to Victoria. “That’s the only thing she cares about. Not you.”

“There’s only you. You know that.” Victoria vows him but you can tell that she’s lying. You smirk enjoying the show unraveling before you.

“Think about it. You’re from Forks, you know the area. That’s the only reason she chose you. She doesn’t love you.”

“Riley, don’t let him do this to us. You know I love you.” Victoria promises. You watch Riley curiously. You could sense the doubt in him but then he goes to attack. You flinch and move away when a wolf comes and chomps on Riley. Your eyes scan the area for more wolves not wanting to fall victim to one of them.

“You won’t get a chance like this again!” Your head turns back to the Cullen and Victoria. He continues to taunt her while you turn your focus to the human. You take a few slow steps toward her until her eyes catch yours. Your gaze hardens as you try to control her. Your intrigued when you find her just standing there when she should be choking herself.

You step back into the tree when the human moves with her vampire. You wanted a good fight but you also wanted to observe. Everything made sense now. Victoria wanted revenge for the death of her mate while the vampire tries to protect his. I guess even as a deadly vampire you’re still a romantic. You weren’t quite sure who you wanted to win.

Riley came back into view, you briefly wonder about the wolf. He and Victoria gain the upper hand until the human cuts herself with a rock. Your eyes instantly go black and all you can think about is the blood. Before you know it you’re running for her but her mate grabs you and throws you into the woods.

By the time you return you gain control of yourself. You had been working hard on control when you found out you were stronger and more dangerous with a clear head instead of being controlled by animal instincts.

“Victoria!! Victoria!” Riley screams, breaking your concentration. You felt bad for Riley and took a few steps toward him before you stopped yourself.

Riley and Victoria knew you wanted to branch out on your own but that didn’t mean they would let you go without a fight. You knew how valuable you were to them. Nobody gives up their strongest player.

You didn’t want to be the one to kill him, you still felt the slightest connection to him for turning you. However, while the connection makes you not want to kill him it doesn’t necessarily compel you to save him.

You smirk, stepping back from the scene. You would let the wolf take care of your problem. You hoped that the other vampire would take care of Victoria as well. Then, you’d be free and could do whatever you wanted.

You look away from Riley and back toward Victoria. You were pleased to see her losing the fight. Only when you stopped hearing Riley’s screams and saw Victoria’s head on the ground did you turn to leave the scene.

“Wait!” The Cullen calls after you. You turn your head ever so slightly.

“I have nothing against you and your family. I won’t cause any trouble.” You promise him.

“I know,” He nods, stepping closer but keeping his body between you and his mate. You smirk slightly knowing he could stop you from getting to her if you truly wanted too. “I can help you.”

“You help me?” You tilt your head. “Oh? How so?”

“You want power, you want to be at the top. Have you heard of the Volturi?” He asks.

“No.” You answer, your eyes narrowing.

“They’re vampire royalty. They’ll be at the clearing to assess the damage. You can leave with them, join their coven.” He tells you. You stare at him.

“And what do you get out of this?” You wonder.

“Time.” He says, turning his head toward his human mate.

“I’ll stick around, doesn’t mean I’ll go with them.” You say before leaving them on the mountain. You find the clearing and unsurprisingly see all the newborns dead.

“Wait! Don’t hurt her!” A woman with short hair shouts when you walk out of the forest. You eye the wolves and the Cullens cautiously. “The Volturi will be here shortly.” You slowly nod. Eventually The two from the mountain join you. You watch as a stray newborn almost kills a wolf before the drama seems to end.

The Cullen clan stand together. You notice Bree standing behind them. She had been in the army. She was one of the lower vampires, a vampire that didn’t do much. You’re slightly surprised that she survived.

You don’t have much time to dwell on Bree when something catches your attention. Four distinct yet mouthwatering scents. Scents that tempt you more than any amount of fresh blood. You can just feel your eyes darkening even more.

Four figures in cloaks enter the clearing. The two in the middle wear midnight black ones while the outside two sport charcoal grey robes. They lower their hoods and their ruby red eyes fall on you at the same time.

Your instinct is to move to stand by them, your body even shifts toward them but you’re hesitant. You don’t know how to act. You don’t know what to do. Logic tells you that your scent appeals to them as theirs does to you but you hesitate nonetheless.

Seeing the conflict in your eyes, the furthest from you, the shorter of the two in the grey cloaks, holds his hand out in your direction. There’s a sly yet inviting smirk on his face. Your body reacts before your mind. You rush in front of him, your hand instinctively falling into his gloved one. He yanks you into his chest, his arm snaking around your waist.

Both of your heads fall into each others neck. You both breathe in each others scent but he’s the only one brave enough to place a gentle kiss on your marble skin.

“Impressive,” A melodic voice reaches your ears. You pull from his neck to look at her. He refuse to release you forcing you to shuffle around in his arms.

When you’re settled, his grip tightens forcing you impossibly close. With your back pressed against his chest, you watch the exchange between the Cullens the the cloaked vampires you assume to be the Volturi. Any anxiety that may have been present disappears the longer you’re in his arms.

“I’ve never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact.”

“We were lucky.”

“I doubt that.”

“It appears we missed an entertaining fight.” Your eyes shift from the blond girl to the one beside her. You wanted to be closer to them but you didn’t want to leave his arms. You didn’t understand and the unknown was frustrating you.

“Shh,” He whispers in your ear as he senses your growing distress. “Just a little longer.” He promises bumping his nose against the side of her head.

“It’s not often we’re rendered unnecessary,” She mentions.

“Had you arrived a half an hour ago you would have fulfilled your purpose.” You glared at him as he spoke to her rudely. Before another work could be exchanged you broke his arm without lifting a finger. He tries to hold in his groan but everyone picks up on it. Naturally, everyone looks to the blond on your side of the field but you just stand there with a satisfied smirk.

“You missed one,” The attention turns to Bree.

“We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender.”

“That wasn’t yours to offer,” She tells him. “Why did you come?” She asks but Bree doesn’t answer. Your eyebrows instantly raise when the newborn falls to the ground screaming. You look to the blond beside you and realize why the all mistook the vampires pain to be her doing instead of you. “Who created you?”

“You don’t need to do that, she’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“I know,”

“I-I don’t know,” Bree whimpers. “Riley wouldn’t tell us. He said that our thoughts weren’t safe.”

“Her name was Victoria, perhaps you knew her.”

“Edward, had the Volturi had knowledge of Viktoria they would have stopped her. Isn’t that right Jane?”

Jane. A name so simple yet so perfect for the beautiful blond. You found yourself desperate to know more about her. To know more about all of them.

“Of course,” Jane assures them.

“Whatever Bree doesn’t know, Y/n will. She was in the thick of it with Victoria and Riley,” Edward tells them. The cloaks look at you but you keep your hard stare on Edward.

“You wouldn’t be suggesting something about our mate, would you?” The man equipping the midnight black cloak questions Edward, his voice edgier than before. As he spoke, the man holding you tightens his grip even more.

Mate. Of course the logical part of you knew but to say it out loud and to accept that it’s real is something else. You wanted to feel relief that they acknowledge that you’re their mate but you can’t help but to feel tense. They’re weren’t reacting to Bree very well and you had done more damage than she ever has. How would they treat you?

“No, of course not.” The leader of the coven promises before sending Edward a look.

“Felix,” Jane says, turning her head slightly toward the tallest.

“She didn’t know what she was doing!” Jane stops Felix. “We’ll take responsibility for her.”

“Give her a chance”

“The Volturi don’t give second chances,” Jane states causing your body to go tense. The man holding your nuzzles shamelessly into the crook of your neck. You can hear him purring quietly. It helps calm you down but the anxiety in your chest lingers. “Keep that in mind, Caius will be interested to see that she’s still human”

“The date is set.”

“Take care of that Felix. I’d like to take our mate home.” Jane says. Felix glances at her then to you before moving to take care of Bree. You flinch when Bree’s screams abruptly stop.

“It’s alright,” The man holding you whispers. “Come on.” He grabs ahold of your hand and leads you out of the clearing. You follow them, leaving the Cullen’s behind without a second thought. They don’t stop until you reach an airfield where a private jet is waiting for you.

You take a moment to stare at it. You’ve never been on a plane before. You wonder where they’re taking you but you keep your questions to yourself. You figured you could count your lucky stars you didn’t end up like Bree, now isn’t the time to push your luck.

You knew that if you needed too you could destroy all of them but the thought of putting them through any sort of pain is displeasing to you. In fact, you hated the thought of them in pain. You knew you would destroy anybody who harms them. Though, this meant you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself against them should they decide to tear you apart. You’d much rather choose death.

“You’re thinking very hard,” You turn to look at Jane. You hadn’t even realized that the five of you had boarded the plane. “You must have questions for us.”

“Umm... Names would be a nice start,” You say, surprised by how quiet your voice is. The last few months you’ve had to be authoritative and demanding yet now you’re quiet and walking on egg shells.

“Of course,” Jane says giving you a gentle smile, a complete contrast to the girl you had seen in the clearing. She still seems reserved but she’s also more relaxed. “I’m Jane and this is my twin, Alec. That is Demetri and Felix.”

“Y/n,” You introduce yourself.

“You’re still tense,” Demetri notices. He sits beside you and rests his hand on your leg. “What worries you?” You look at him for a moment debating if you should keep your worries to yourself.

“No harm will come to you,” Alec promises. Your eyes turn to him. He notices the subtle relief in your posture. “We would never allow anything to happen to you. You’re safe with us.” Demetri leans over and kisses the side of your head as Felix sits besde you, the twins occupying the seats across from you.

“I thought you didn’t give second chances?”

“You’re special,” Jane tells you. “You’re our mate. Our masters will be forgiving toward you.”

“Masters?”

“How much do you know?” Demetri questions.

“Up until yesterday I thought we burned in the sun,” You tell him. “I don’t know much of anything and I’m sure whatever I do know is most likely wrong.”

“When were you turned?” Felix asks. “We’ve been watching the army for a few months but we never smelt you.”

“Victoria and Riley liked to keep me separate from the others. I’ve only been a vampire maybe 5 months? I was only allowed with the others if they were getting too rowdy and needed to be knocked down a peg or two,” You tell them with your naturally cocky smirk.

“Oh? And what did you do?” Demetri questions.

“I can control people. I can make you do whatever I want,” You tell him.

“So, you could make someone shut up when they talk too much?” Felix smirks sending a look at Demetri.

“Well, yes but I normally just make them bite off their own tongue,” You state. Their eyes return to you and you suddenly get the feeling you spoke out of turn.

“Beautiful and deadly,” Demetri hums rubbing his head against yours as if to scent you. “Perfect,” He growls.

“Completely perfect.” Jane agrees. Your eyes turn to her. “You’ll fit right in, my love.”

“And where are we going?” You ask her.

“Volterra, Italy.” She tells you. “It’s where the Volturi reside and where you will live with us.”

“Sounds fun,” You smirk, holding her gaze feeling completely unintimidated by her despite knowing what she can do.

Volterra, Italy. Sounds like the perfect place to satisfy your ambitions with your mates by your side.

#Volturi #Twilight #Alec x reader #Jane x reader #Felix x reader #Demetri x reader #Vampire!reader #x reader #x y/n #x female!reader #female!reader #Cullens #Eclipse #Riley Biers #Victoria #Mate #Soulmate #Poly

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samuel-de-champagne-problems · 2 years

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do u plan on finishing illicit affairs?

hey!!

Series Masterlist

Okay this is extremely long, but I really am proud of this series, Tying You To Me. I would love it if you enjoyed it you'd read this. And if I'm being honest, it probably one of the best things I've written!!

It’s freaking because I was thinking about this the other day. I re-read the last chapters that I posted and if I am being honest, I think that it would be a mistake to continue it. I very well may do some sort of epilogue in the future, but I’m happy with how it ended.

If you (anyone else) doesn’t remember, the series is about Spencer and his neighbor, reader, who get cheated on my their respective spouses. They form this almost twisted, taboo but incredibly sweet and vulnerable relationship that blossoms with potential.

To me, it would cheapen it if I ended it where they fall immediately in love. For two people, in my series at least, who’ve been hurt but the one person who swore to love them it takes a lot of emotional energy to learn how to love again and how to trust another soul again.

The story begins with Spencer & Reader finding out about the affair. There’s this scene that I am particularly proud of because it just tied the ending up so wonderfully. Spencer, once Rebecca leaves the house, notices Reader from the large kitchen window. She, like Spencer, finds herself reeling from the confrontation. Spencer notices that there’s a light flickering in her kitchen. She ignores it, but Spencer still sees it flickering as he watches a mirror image of himself.

The series progressed, two lonely hearts find each other in car, wondering if fate enjoys playing them for fools. They talk like old neighbors, because they are. Somewhere along the lines, things get blurry. Something that was born out of revenge turns emotional. Reader ends up calling Spencer, requesting him to see her. Thinking it’s something of a hookup, Spencer finds himself at a crossroads.

Sometimes in love stories it takes time to reach to the apex. Not love stories are grand, and sometimes the grand ones are a too little gouache and over the top. Especially considering the pain that Spencer & Reader were put through with having what the once thought was forever end in heartache.

Okay, now the last part ended with Spencer and Reader fixing the light in her kitchen. The very light that flickered as they both confronted their spouses and their respective infidelity. It's symbolic. It shows that for a relationship to work it must be a partnership. Over the course of the series we saw how Spencer's marriage with Rebecca & Reader's marriage with James didn't work because of lack of communication, cheating, and lack of support. And we also saw how Spencer & Reader communicated well. We saw how it went from sexual & physical and then eventually emotional. We saw how they bonded over their common heartache, how their cared for each other in a way that they haven't been cared for in a long long time, how they helped in each other in mundane tasks like shoveling snow and fixing flickering lights.

Long story short, I'm proud of where this story ended, even if it's without an explicitly stated I love you. Maybe one day, inspiration will strike and I'll have an idea for an epilogue (I have an idea actually).

It ends with Spencer telling Reader that she "matters" to him. And that kind of emotional vulnerability and emotional connection, to me, is subtle. It's soft and unassuming and has the potential to blossom into something bigger and grander down the line.

#tying you to me #updates #this is me rambling #asks

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amusedyan · 3 years

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Monthly Meetings

A Peaky Blinders commission!

Words: 2k

Once a month there was a meeting. It was something dreaded by both parties, but one that was necessary- it was neutral territory, where mutual suggestions were discussed, grievances were gone over and business settled. No one officially came armed- but that was never written into the deal. Just like it wasn’t discussed that both parties came with a small coterie of their most trusted, each eyeing the other and waiting for a twitchy trigger finger.

Tommy Shelby was never on time to any meeting.

He came early when he was the one to suggest it- to get the drop on the other person, to make an impression. You waste my time, and you have no right to ask anything of me, was the goal there. When told to meet someone, he always made it a point to arrive 5 minutes late, because you aren’t worth my time.

This meant that meeting Alfie Solomons put him in an uncomfortable position- he had to come on time. And sometimes Alfie was there already, smug, or sometimes Alfie was late and dismissive about it, but with a stack of papers and grievances to make up the difference.

Tommy was continually unimpressed with the Jewish mobster, though you could color him surprised when word got out through the grapevine that Alfie Solomon had started going steady with some bird from the local flower shop.

He’d never figure him to be one to settle down, but those same rumors claimed that he ws continually trailing after her. Considering how…temperamental his associate could be, Tommy could believe it.

When Alfie actually entered the restaurant, Tommy reflected that the rumors must be true because the man was practically glowing. More importantly though, his usual stack of gripes was noticeably absent.

“Tommy-boy!” The man grunted, taking his seat at the table. There was already whiskey poured- courtesy of Tommy, of course.

“Alfie,” Tommy greeted, watching the man settle.

It was such a waste of his time to come here, and it took active work not to lose his temper about it. He could be home now

“So, to business. Would you like to begin?” Tommy offered magnanimously.

Alfie drank from his glass and winced at the taste. “Shit, that is,” he mused, shaking his head. “How’ve you been, Tommy? How’s life treated you?”

Suspicion colored Tommy’s thoughts. What was Solomons up to? Small talk wasn’t part of the meeting, ever. As if reading his thoughts, Alfie chuckled. “Don’t be like that, Shelby. I’ve been advised to try diplomacy.”

“By your new conquest?” Tommy countered. The expression on Alfie’s face closed off, and no longer was he looking at a man blatantly in love and feeling charitable to the whole world for it. It made things much easier to deal with. But a moment later, a sly smile crept across Alfie Solomon’s face, and Tommy wasn’t much fond of that expression.

“You’d know all about conquests, wouldn’t you, Tom?” Alfie folded his hands across his midsection and leaned back against his seat, leveling Tommy with a look just as cold.

Fury unfolded, and beside that, fear. What did that mean? Who had talked?

Chuckling, Alfie waved it off. “Now, there’s no need for that look, my good man. There’s been whispers, same as there have been for me. About a pretty girl. What’s her name?”

“We aren’t here to discuss women, Alfie.” Tommy said flatly, trying not to growl. From the corner of his eye, he could see Finn watching intently. He was waiting for a signal. No, he needed to reign it in.

Alfie was just intent on pushing his buttons though, grinning broadly, damn near leering at Tommy. “Well, her name’s Margaret.” His finger drummed against the glass, the ring he was wearing clinking methodically. “I doubt her name’s in your network, yeah? Every fucking thing else, but not that.” He shook his head. “Beautiful name.” And there was that lovesick look again.

“Is that all?” Tommy asked. What would it take to get the meeting back on track? Alfie eyed him, and reached into his coat-

Finn and Isaiah were drawing their guns, Alfie’s men were responding-

“SIT THE FUCK DOWN!” Alfie boomed, stilling the room. Tommy saw that what he’d withdrawn was his wallet.

“What are you planning, Solomons?” He asked, withdrawing a cigarette from his case.

The Camden bastard rolled his eyes and withdrew a photo. “Here,” he grunted, “have a look at this.” He handed it over to Tommy.

And honestly the last thing that Tommy expected to see was the image of a young woman posing for the camera. Rather lewdly, to put it mildly. Like a whore if you wanted to be blunt.

“My Margaret,” pride dripped from Solomons’ voice, like he hadn’t just shown off the parts of a woman that only her husband would see.

Tommy weighed his answers- would Solomons light up with fury if he complimented the woman? Or would he be offended if he didn’t? The trouble was that you never knew with him. He took a contemplative drag of his cigarette.

“Lovely,” he settled on.

Alfie scowled. “Oh like yours is any better,” he taunted. “C’mon, let’s see ‘er then.”

“I don’t have pictures of my woman on me, Alfie.” Tommy said, unable to stop the slight condescension from creeping into his tone, like he was talking to a child, or else someone very simpleminded.

“Well why the fuck not? How’m I s’posed to know if this woman exists, eh?” Alfie accused, smacking the table.

This was all very confusing honestly. What the hell was he playing at? “I didn’t claim she was real.”

“What man doesn’t have a picture of the woman he loves?”

“What man carries filthy pictures of his?”

“Oi mate, those are fuckin art!” Alfie argued with surprising vehemence. It was a strange hill to make a stand on, but hey, he could relate.

“Whatever you say, Alfie,” Tommy sighed and blew out another cloud of smoke.

It was raining now. Storm clouds had been gathering all of yesterday, and he’d been able to taste the moisture, along with the filth in the city air. Rain was ugly here, didn’t clean a fuckin’ thing. He found himself thinking, longingly of the estate. The Shelby Estate, a grander name than something like Arrow House. But little things like a name change kept your feet on the ground. Sylvia would be there, reading. It was raining, so she couldn’t ride today.

At first she’d hated being in the house. She’d wanted to be back in Birmingham. Always liked the action, wanted to support him. It had been charming before, but now that they were together, it couldn’t be tolerated. Too many risks.

“Are you fucking ignoring me, Tommy-boy?” Alfie’s voice was dangerous now, angry and short. Shit. He stubbed out the remains of his smoke in the ashtray.

“No, Alfie, I’m not ignoring you,” he said on the exhale. Clearly, he reflected, nothing was going to get done with this meeting. It was a shame, but at least that meant things were secure where they stood.

Either Solomons was happy or about to betray him again.

“So, I’ve told you about my Margaret, tell me about your girl.” Alfie ordered, pouring another drink.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Tom said, but at the disbelieving look on Alfie’s face, he shrugged slightly.

“I just don’t understand how a man can have a woman and not want to talk about her. Obviously you’ve heard how proud I am, but you? Are you ashamed?” It sounded like it was amusing- the idea that Tommy Shelby would be ashamed of anything in his life.

But the idea of being ashamed of Sylvia? That struck a nerve and that pissed him off properly.

“I’m not ashamed of her.” He snapped.

Alfie’s grin was positively disgusting. “So she does exist? Well, come now, what’s her name?”

For a moment he didn’t answer. Then he spoke begrudgingly, “Sylvia.”

“Sylvia, aye.” He nodded, turning it over. “She a gypsy like you?”

“No. She is not a gypsy.” Eye contact was key. “It wouldn’t matter either way.”

“So why don’t you talk about her? I could talk all day about mine, as I’m sure that you’ve noticed,” of course he had. “You move her in yet?”

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Tommy mocked, making Alfie roll his eyes.

“Neither of us are gentlemen, Tom, no matter how you fuckin’ pretend. I moved Margaret in almost right away, you know? We just, we just had this connection- I saw her and I wanted her. Sent her gifts every day, came into the store when I could- her smiles, they lit up my fuckin’ life.”

“I’ve never known you to be so open about your business, Alfie. Aren’t you worried that someone might overhear?” It wasn’t a threat, not at all, not for once. This hit a little too close to home for it to be anything more than idle curiosity, and luckily Solomons knew it.

“No, mate. I need her to know how much I love her. And I need other people to know. Because if someone thinks that they can hurt her? I will…” he laughed, and it didn’t sound sane at all, but it didn’t bother Tommy, “well fuck, I think I’d burn the fuckin’ city down. But,” and he looked at Tommy, and that affable, unstable mask came off for a moment, and Tommy was looking at the emptiness that came from the war, the same emptiness in every soldier who’d been in the field, “but I think you know that, don’t you Tom?” He sighed and shook his head. “I figured, hell, if anyone on this Earth knew what I felt- how far I’d go- it’d be you.. And you do, don’t you?”

Tommy thought about Sylvia. He always thought about Sylvia.

He did horrible things on a daily basis. What would he do if something happened to her?

And the thing was, Tommy didn’t even need to ask himself that question. He’d known the moment that he’d seen her what he’d do for her, what he’d already done. She was safe, that was what he told himself, she was under constant watch, by men he trusted, where he didn’t need to worry about someone running off with her, or an accident, or any of the things that could take her away.

“And you just keep her in an apartment?” He muttered.

“How else would I see her?” Alfie countered evenly. “I take it you don’t?”

Tommy didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to, not in the context of the question.

“No, no, the way I see it, it’s better that I can keep an eye on ‘er. I get to come home to a nice meal, lovely company, and everyone knows what’ll happen if they fuck with her. You keep yours,” and he pointed at his business associate, “in some isolated fuckin’ kingdom and what happens? People get curious. You can’t see her as often. She goes missing. There’s no fuckin’ neighbors to pay to keep watch.” And hell, that was actually a very good point, but he didn’t want to hear that from Solomons.

“Let’s just agree to disagree.”

“Oh I fuckin’ disagree, mate. You don’t get that shit in hand-“

“And what might happen, Solomons?” Tommy asked calmly. He knew what this was- this was Solomons trying to knock him off his game, disturb him. And why? What the hell did Solomons have up his sleeve? “What are you planning?”

“Well I dunno mate.” The glass in Solomons’ hand was empty now, “what do you think I’m planning?”

“I think you’re just being a prick.” The other man barked out a laugh.

“Fair enough, so- grievances.”

And there it was.

When it was over, Tommy went over the meeting- all of it, bullshit included- in his head, thinking it over.

Alfie Solomons was a two faced bastard.

But Tommy found himself making plans to go visit Sylvia as a surprise, nonetheless.

#yandere peaky blinders #yandere alfie solomons #yandere tommy shelby

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ofcloudsandstars · 4 years

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The Solar Holiday parallels to the Lunar Cycle and Cycle of Life

Every Sabbat you see plenty of posts of what to do and the meaning and such but I wanted to draw some parallels that will always help you understand their relevance and their role to play in the cycle of the year and in life. In nature there are many patterns that overlap and mirror each other. There is of course the cycle of life, growth, death and rebirth that we see celebrated in the sabbats, that reflects our own life cycles and that is repeated monthly for each lunar cycle. If you honor the lunar cycles and the web and flow of magic and energy it brings, you will see a grander pattern for the solar cycle and the points that we celebrate for each sabbat.

Yule - New Moon - Rebirth

The Winter Solstice is the longest evening of the year as sunlight has the least amount of time on our side of the hemisphere and it coats us in darkness and frost. It's a time that prompts us to celebrate indoors where it's warm, where we can decorate with lights and come together with loved ones during the darkest time. This is the beginning of the cycle as the sunlight will only grow in it's light and energy until the summer solstice. This period reflects the New Moon where we feel more insular and self-focused. Where as the new moon causes us to focus to our emotional landscape within, visualize for the cycle beyond and create intention to how we can achieve our goals, Winter Solstice amplifies that for the entire year’s cycle to come. We may feel insular on a physical level, wanting to stay indoors and hibernate, connect with the deep roots of the earth in our own homely burrows or by eating the rooty foods in season. It's a time of visualization for the year to come but also rest and hibernation. In our life cycle this also represents a moment of our rebirth. Our spirit is still not fully in this physical world yet it has reincarnated for it's next cycle and is resting before taking form again. This period of the time is just the seed. There is no activity yet but there is potential that is ready to grow the moment you decide to plant the seed in the ground. Yule is fantastic for any magic or rituals revolving around rebirth, restarting or reviving old hobbies or lost projects, setting intentions for the year to come and visualizing where you'd want your year to take you. It's also a wonderful time to gather close friends and loved ones to celebrate the longest night of the year and give each other blessings towards each other's endeavors to manifest the dreams they have along with positive energy for the new cycle ahead. It's also great for resting, taking time away for oneself and hibernating. It's a time to travel to other realms or explore deeper within yourself with meditation, trance or flight. During your periods of rest and sleep you could take notes of your dreams or visions that may come your way that foreshadow the year before you.

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Imbolc - Waxing Crescent - Hastening

This period marks the middle of winter where we are halfway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. In some places it may be in the middle of blizzard season where as others as the light slowly returns so do the snow drops and birds. It's noticeably lighter as the days begin to grow longer. Animals are peaking from their burrows and life is stirring under the Earth. During the lunar cycle this sabbat corresponds with the waxing crescent moon. It's a period representing our intentions and wishes that are ready to be planted. Around this lunar cycle the sun is sextiling the moon (and the next day they are in quintile which means natural talents or skills can be revealed), which the energy pushes us to want to experiment with our ideas, brainstorm or test things out. We may want to charge forward with our new ideas and impulses even in the face of resistance and actualize our dreams, however this is a time that’s great just for trying things out. Our sense of purpose may feel heightened during this point of the lunar cycle and during Imbolc in the solar cycle as Spring begins to stir. In the life cycle this represents the seed sending out new shoots. It's still underground but life is beginning to stir in the unseen realms. It is the period in our life cycle where we are developing in the womb. Life is beginning to stir as our soul finds it's way into a new body, full of potential, dreams and wishes yet still 'underground'. The meaning of Imbolc is said to derive from "Ewe's Milk" as it was the time when livestock began lactating in preparation for their babies birth. It's a time of preparation for the new life emerging. With the sunlight returning this is often a time of hope as you will feel more optimistic emerging from the relentless darkness of winter. This is also a great time to set resolutions, though most people like to set them during the New Year, the first half of Winter (really the period between Samhain to Imbolc- the dark period that represents the 'spirit world' of our life cycle) should be for resting and hibernating. With the light and energy returning you may feel more inclined to try new things or get stuff started, however it's not exactly a time yet to take charge on new projects, but brainstorm and experiment. Maybe take on new class for fun, try new mediums for art or enroll in an online course. Imbolc (also celebrated as Candlemas) uses candles and light to celebrate the return to light yet another layer you can add magic to this is making spell candles representing your wishes or potential to light during this time. Magic revolving around wishes, setting intention and clearing obstacles are great during this time. This is also a great time to divine to gain insight on your goals or advice on where to get started. Candle scrying can be insightful along with burning bay leaves to make wishes. Imbolc is also a great time to prepare for the year ahead by cleaning, whether that means cleaning the home, getting rid of the winter dust, banishing any beings you don't want around or it could mean cleansing yourself in the form of a bath or energetically with juniper smoke bundles and to lift whatever energy from the darker part of the year that you may be carrying with you into this quarter. It's a great time to break habits and "sweep" away unwanted energies from outside your home. It's a time to inspire yourself, believe in your potential and experiment in order to give yourself some experience or insight towards your goals that lie ahead.

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Ostara - First Quarter - Childhood

The Spring Equinox brings fresh bright green grass, budding trees and sprouting flowers as life seems to return to the surface of the Earth. Chicklings are being hatched along with other offspring of animals. There is fierce energy in the air as this time of the year falls on the start of Aries season. (In the Southern Hemisphere it's Libra season which may make this new start be about decision making and finding a middle ground with your plans and reality.) With the start of Aries season we are filled with energy to charge ahead despite any opposition. The sun is in equilibrium before it enters the lighter half of the year. It is a time of decision making and planning to materialize your goals and gather what you've learned from experimentation from the Winter Crossquarter and apply it to reality. In the Lunar Phase this corresponds to the first quarter moon which is a period of planning in order to take action. Taking action during this time can meet a lot of opposition but it's not a time to feel discouraged due to it. Often those obstacles show us what we need to learn and reflect on in order to overcome it or master it later. During both the solar and lunar cycle a good way to honor this square-tension of energy is to start planning and creating to-do lists of things you'd need to complete in order to manifest your goals for this cycle.

In the life cycle this reflects the time when the plant pours energy into it's new branches and sprouted leaves. The Branches are delicate and can easily be blown down with a heavy wind, but with resistance to keep growing and trying again the plant can succeed in sprouting. This also reflects the time of our life where we are children, exploring the world, running into new opportunities or challenges and learning how to overcome them. It's a time to celebrate the inner child, celebrate this time of challenges in a lighthearted way with competitive games (I will never grow out of egg hunts) and celebrate the new start of energy with laying down our goals. Magic on Ostara is great for focusing on what you want to sprout and grow. It's also great if you use divination to help draw up a plan of action. As the sunlight is at equilibrium but will get brighter as we head towards summer, it's a great time to use that energy of increasing light to help illuminate opportunities or solutions to help solve obstacles. Ostara is great for unlocking magic to open up opportunities for you. Though Aries season may bring challenges, the Spring Equinox is about courage in the face of adversity and enjoying the return to life. It's a wonderful time to honor the inner child and celebrate yourself with activities you loved doing as a kid.

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Beltane - Gibbous - Adolescence

As the pinnacle of Spring arrives, the trees are in full bloom, tulips have swollen past their peak and lay in a bed of their own discarded petals, Magnolia trees explode across lawns with intoxicated fragrances, animals sing with symphonies of mating calls and Spring Fever is in the air. This Sabbat is a celebration of fertility and the entrance towards the fertile quarter of the year when gardeners and farmers start cultivating their gardens and plants for the harvests in the next quarter to come. The Earth is blooming and ready to plant things in, the animals and people are ready to mingle and the energy is full of promise for our goals to bloom before us, if we just take the time to refine it and focus on revision. This time of year represents the gibbous phase when the moon is in between the first quarter and full phase. During the aspects this time is also influenced from when the Sun is trining the Moon bringing opportunities, luck and benefits if we focus on our tasks and refine our work. It's a harmonious time during the Lunar Cycle and the Solar cycle especially during dreamy Taurus season while everything is in bloom. This time of the year mirrors the life cycle of when the plant starts to bud and bloom flowers. With pollination there is potential for fruits to grow later in the cycle. This Sabbat reflects the point of our life where we are entering adolescence. Puberty is readying our bodies to be fertile though we are not ready to do anything yet since we still need refining and maturation. However like some teens, animals and the bugs of spring we may have one thing focused on our mind during this intoxicating time of the year. You may feel inclined to meet a match, (especially since it's warmer now, the flowers are out, people are dressing lighter, the animals are doing it so why not?) or focus on how you can work on and refine your projects or annual goals. Magic during this time is fantastic for attraction magic, using your energy to help your endeavors "bloom" or come to maturation and help accomplish your goals. It's a great time to put things in the soil with intention both metaphorically and physically. It's a wonderful sabbat to get your garden started and start to find ways to materialize things. It's a fantastic time to raise energy, take chances and attract opportunities or people your way.

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Litha - Full Moon - Adulthood

The sun is at it's Peak today as Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. The start of summer has begun bringing in long hot days full of light and energy. Energy feels the most potent this time of year as the relentless sun can be reflected in it's power off of the pavement, the earth and plants it helps to swell up, the storms it's raises with it's heat and the excitement that summer brings. This sabbat reflects the Full Moon phase where energy feels at it's peak and it's great time to cast spells and release magic. During this time of maximum light, there is a height of clarity. During full moons as the two luminaries are opposite each other it can create polarities, decisions to make, new perspectives or oppositions however the key to balancing the intense energy is finding the middle ground that's best in moving forward with your goal. Summer solstice is often associated with love, partnerships and our relationships to others. In the life cycle summer solstice represents the moment where we enter Adulthood and we are finally independent however we still need connections to help our dreams to manifest. It's the peak time in our lives where we feel the need to network to get things done. Summer is the time of year most people make new friends, lovers or connections from everyone being out and about. Summer is a time of power where our influence can reach far and wide. It reflects the life cycle in a plant where it is bright green and leafy after it's flowers have been pollinated and shed and is turning it's energy into fruit. Summer Solstice may either leave you feeling energetic and charged like a full moon or the heat and brightness can leave you feeling restless and agitated as well like a full moon. It's a wonderful time to raise and release energy by a bonfire, charge magical items in the zenith of the solstice's sun, making connections with people, do friendship and love magic, use divination to make important decisions, make solar water, do solar magic, channel the sun's energy (sun bathing as well) and celebrate the peak of light and energy during this year! Any type of prosperity based spells would do great now as the energy is at it's peak and will help to amplify abundance in your life.

Parallel: There are Parallels with each sabbats as well. Where as Litha is celebrating the peak of light and our connection to others, Yule is very insular and focused on ourselves, our visions and rest. Litha celebrates the peak of light and life where as Yule is the darkest point of the year that parallels the life cycle where our spirit is not yet fully in this realm.

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Lughnasadh - Disseminating Moon - Middle Age

The fields turn gold with matured wheat, the fruits and vegetables are ripened and the first harvest is here. The middle of summer brings abundance and joy of our successes as we reap what we've sown for the year. This period of the year reflects the disseminating moon phase also known as the waning gibbous. Some aspects that influence this phase is when the moon trines the sun or when there is a sesquiquadrate that gives us the wisdom to help solve problems that the full moon might have illuminated. As the moon begins to shed light after the end of it's full moon phase, it is time for us to share our knowledge and apply what we've learned. You have the wisdom of what you have accomplished in your endeavors and now it's time to share your work or wisdom with others. This time also help us feel full of love for what we've accomplished and generosity to share with others. The waning gibbous moon makes us feel in abundance and want to share the joy with others. Lughnasadh is all about celebrating our successes and sharing the wealth. A key ritual done during this sabbat is to bake bread with those you care about and share it together. This sabbat and lunar phase corresponds to the life cycle of the plant finally producing fruit. All of the hard work has finally paid off and we are seeing the fruits of our labor. During this time of summer many fruits are in season along with vegetables and the over abundance of zucchinis. This sabbat also corresponds to the life cycle where we are middle aged and finally have found our vocation or have mastered in our career. We are starting to enjoy what we do, have gotten good at it and can even teach our wisdom to others that are not as experienced yet. Even if you aren't in the mood to celebrate your hard work for the year, you may want to take this time to reflect on what you have accomplished and if you haven't moved as far as you'd like, what you could do to move that forward. Going back to the life cycle parallels, some people who haven't followed what truly resonated with them in life tend to have their midlife crisis's at this time and sometimes celebrating a sabbat that focuses on your goals accomplished can give you stress that the year is nearly over if you haven't been able to make much process. However there is still a lot of the year left for you to continue work, so it's a great time to reflect on the wisdom you've gain so far on your journey, glean whatever knowledge you can from your experiences and apply that to your journey ahead. However if you did have a prosperous year and are making successes this year it's a great time to celebrate! And maybe celebrate your successes with your friends (and their successes!) Additionally it's a fantastic time of reflection by comparing where you were last year during this time and the year before or five years before. You will notice that in some ways you have progressed and that is worth celebrating! Magic that's great to do during Lughanasdh is focusing on what you need to accomplish. Divination to gain further insight and reflect on your wisdom can be enlightening during this time. Creating charms and enchantments that will boost your ability to accomplish that to-do list you've created back during Ostara that may have been refined during Beltane would be great during this time too. Placing spells and charms on the CV you would need to send out or your applications, placing glamours on the projects you've finally released to hope they gain more attention and have a successful start, channeling Saturn to help you create structure and work at your goals and ambitions all will be great magical activities for today.

Parallel: The Parallel Sabbat to Lughnasadh is Imbolc. Where as Imbolc is about wishes and resolutions, Lughnasadh is seeing those wishes come to fruition. Where as Imbolc is about potential and hope for the cycle ahead, Lughnasadh is celebrating those successes and hard work.

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Mabon - Final Quarter - Crone

The warm air turns cool and crisp as the emerald leaves bronze and golden. Autumn is here along with the second harvest of warm and colorful foods from apples, grapes, wine, lumpy squashes and gourds. There is only a quarter left to the cycle as the light wanes from our side of the hemisphere. It's a time of reflection from the cycle we've experienced and gratitude from the wisdom we've earned. The Autumn Equinox corresponds to the final quarter moon phase in the lunar cycle. During the final quarter phase it's a great time to reflect on the journey you've had so far, meditate and self reflect on your decisions and wrap up any unfinished business or projects. It's a period for reviewing your work, your decisions and any longstanding issues that need to be addressed. In the solar cycle when the Autumn equinox appears in the northern hemisphere, it's the beginning of Libra season where harmony, justice and middle ground is found. It's time for us to make peace, reflect on the year past and be grateful. (In the southern Hemisphere it's the start of Aries season so that energy may manifest for you to challenge any unsolved businesses head on.) In the life cycle this represents the end of the fruit shedding and leaving behind seeds to start the next cycle. This also parallels to the the life cycle when we reach old age and become the Crone. We are wise with many stories to tell of our lives and can only reflect upon the journey we've had. This time may make you feel ready to focus on your home life and prepare your home to be cozy for the colder months. It's also a great time to gather with friends and share stories of the year that has passed and the positive memories you've had of it. (Or if it was a shit year then celebrating that it is almost over!) Magic revolving around what you'd like to shed away would be great to do during this time. On a Mundane level it's a great time to clear the house, clothes you may not need anymore and do an autumn shedding. It's a nice time to give things away that you no longer need in order to pass it on to someone who could benefit from it.

Parallel: The parallel sabbat to Mabon is Ostara. Where as Ostara wants us to set down plans and sow seeds for goals we wish to accomplish, Mabon reflects on our journey and how we may have accomplished those goals. In the life cycle where Ostara celebrates birth and the inner child, Mabon celebrates the Crone and wisdom.

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Samhain - Balsamic Moon - Death

The fallen leaves have littered the ground in brown frail crunchy corpses while howling chilly winds shiver the bare trees above. Halloween is nearly here and the waning light has plunged most of our days into darkness. The sunlight is towards the end of it's solar cycle and reflects the Balsamic Moon (also known as the waning crescent moon) in the lunar cycle. The waning crescent moon is great for shedding, banishing and seeking resolution or closure. It's a great time to cut chords and banish anyone or anything that is no longer working towards your best existence before you enter a new cycle and a period of rest. Instead of carrying any negativity with you during your time of self transformation and renewal into the new cycle, it's important to do some shadow work and release anything you do not want to take with you. In the life cycle this represents death as the plant becomes frail and returns to the Earth leaving behind a seed for the next cycle and as we shed our physical form and move on to the other side. Before we die it's important to find closure to issues we can resolve and shed away anything we don't want to take with us into the next cycle. Though death is a dramatic transition, it's a period of transformation and a start of another journey. Samhain is the crossquarter leading us into the darkest quarter of the year which is a great time for shadow work, spirit travel, self reflection and self transformation. It may be the heaviest time of the year for some, especially those that struggle with the relentless darkness but it's a time that offers rest, reflection and positive transformation. Samhain can make us feel moody as we may be more aware of our shadow selves and the darkness surrounding us. However Halloween has made dressing up as a monster and expressing our less favorable sides fun! It's time to embrace the darkness, be spooky and celebrate the end to the cycle. Magic on Samhain is great for banishing, cutting chords with that which doesn't serve you, finding closure, shadow work and communicating with your shadow self and self-transformation.

Parallel: The opposite Sabbat to Samhain is Beltane. Where Samhain is death and looking towards the next cycle as a chance to start again, Beltane is fertility and looking at the warmth and light ahead to reap fruits. The fields and garden of Samhain are filled with dead or bare plants fueling nutrients into their roots to prepare for winter where as the gardens of Beltane are blooming with fertile life.

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Then the cycle begins at Yule again which is rebirth and parallels with the New Moon!

#sabbats #witchcraft #moon phases #lunar cycle #lughnasadh #yule #samhain #mabon #ostara #imbolc #beltane #litha #long post #wheel of the year #witchblr

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spill-the-milk-tea · 3 years

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Little Nightmares II: The Timeloop Theory

(AKA my personal theory on why Six betrays Mono, and how it ties into Little Nightmares I)

TW// mentions of suicide

Now going into the reasoning behind Six dropping Mono, I love the theory that Six drops Mono because she recognizes him as the Thin Man, and either because she thinks it will save him or herself or both, she chooses to drop him into what she hopes is some sort of merciful death. But I think this doesn’t truly take into account the time traveling that’s going on here.

What we know for a fact is that what we are playing in Little Nightmares 2 is contained within some type of time loop (this technically applies even if you subscribe to the theory that Mono is simply the next person in-line to become the Broadcaster.) The Thin Man is attempting to save himself from being betrayed by Six, and by using his powers of traveling through time and space, he sends his younger self back through the TV to try again. In doing so, he’s created a time paradox of sorts. This is supported by various promotional material which uses language like “Will you go back?” and describes the Thin Man as being on a “continuous journey.” (A lot of this info can be found on the wiki!)

What this popular theory doesn’t take into account is the overall timeline. In order for this time loop to have began, Six must have betrayed Mono for some reason other than the Thin Man’s existence. The Thin Man had a beginning, and thus before that beginning, Six had different reasons for betraying Mono. This time loop is a branch away from that original timeline, and thus the reasons why Six betrays Mono are contained in this time loop.

Isolating this particular timeline which Little Nightmares 2 takes place in, there are both benevolent and malevolent explanations that people have come up with for Six’s actions. Some say Six was trying to save Mono from himself, and somehow recognized him as the Thin Man (more on this later.) Others would point to Six’s consistent malevolence throughout the game and reason that she just has a natural need to kill and destroy for her own self-preservation. However, that interferes with the overall game timeline continuing into her going onto the Maw in Little Nightmares 1, because the reasoning there is that having her “soul” stolen is what causes her to develop that malevolent hunger for death.

The clues pointing to my personal theory have to do with the Glitching Children. Mono collects these throughout the game and clearly experiences some sort of painful interference when he does so. Part of my theory is that these are alternate timeline versions of Mono—memories, trapped in places that either caused him despair or gave him comfort. This directly connects to the stasis of Six’s soul, which when in the TV, is trapped in her despair/comfort zone, which is the Hunter’s Lodge with her music box.^

^ This relates back to my overall meta-game theory on the various metaphors contained in the Little Nightmares franchise found here (link pending)

My theory? The Six you meet in this game is not actually “Six.” It’s the memory of Six—her soul, her “Glitch” that we see stolen later in the game—because as I mentioned before, this is a time loop. The reason why she is so violent throughout the game is because she is the distilled memory of Six’s own despair. See, the thing I find funny about the TV time loop theory is that TVs can only show you recordings of things that already happened. I think the Thin Man created this self contained, so-called “time loop” based on his own memory, containing Six’s soul/memories which he stole from her.

It’s not a time loop—it’s a rerun.

That is why his younger self pops out of a TV at the beginning of the game. He’s simply being transported into a memory, or “recording” of the past. And he first meets Six in the place where her memory is trapped in the Thin Man’s TV—with her music box. This would explain Six’s erratic actions throughout the game. Not only her violence, but why she at first rebuffs Mono’s help. Because “Six” is essentially just Six’s memories, she remembers that Mono is the Thin Man and of course doesn’t want his help. It’s only when she realizes that she can’t escape the timeloop without Mono’s help that she forms this symbiotic relationship with him.

So the reason why Six drops Mono, at least within this rerun we are playing, is because she’s known all along that he was the Thin Man.

And honestly? This is delving into more personal perspective than logic, but I don’t think Six really wants to kill Mono. She spends the entire game pulling him out of the TVs, trying to create a new timeline in which they never meet the Thin Man and just escape out of the city together. But Six dropping Mono is unfortunately inevitable, because this is Mono’s memory. Mono, in trying to save himself from Six, trapped Six in this rerun. Six spends the entire game trying to escape from us. In her eyes, Mono is very well the villain. Mono could be the reason why the soulless version of Six that escaped the initial time loop goes on to commit the heinous acts in Little Nightmares 1.

Let’s also take a quick break to acknowledge this is all quite confusing (tldr; time travel) and recap: it’s important to remember that the “Six” in Little Nightmares, at least according to my hypothesis, isn’t actually real. In the timeline outside of this rerun, the real quote-unquote “original” Six** without her soul goes on to the Maw. This is the Six we see in the secret scene unlocked when we collect all the Glitch Children, as well as the one we play in the first game which takes place after Little Nightmares 2.

**not accounting for the branching timeline where Six betrays Mono for different reasons, technically irrelevant to the overall plot but still important to remember since it establishes the timeloop

This would also tentatively explain why the Glitch of Six is able to lead us to the Thin Man. This could be Six’s actual memory/soul, which is perpetually trapped in this rerun/time loop, or this could simply be Six in an alternate timeline inadvertently leading Mono for unrelated reasons.

This unfortunately doesn’t account for theories that the Hanging Man and the Thin Man are the same person; although I would argue since the timeloop is contained, technically the original soulless “Six” branches off into a different timeline on the Maw, and thus in that timeline The Thin Man could have manifested himself on the Maw through one of the televisions and subsequently hung himself. I mean, there are even grander theories that Six, in gaining the powers of the Lady, traps herself in some sort of time loop in which she becomes the Lady on the Maw, so who knows?

It also puts Six’s theme into a whole new light; every time Six consumes a soul and gains their memories, does she faintly remember her own lost soul playing the music box? What is this Six looking for, having lost all of her memories? I think this theory also explains more meta-game questions most people tend to have. For example, I find that when people reach the residential area of the game with all the TV-zombies, they tend to start wondering why Six and Mono are moving through the city at all. It’s understandable why they would want to escape the Wilderness where the Hunter was, even if he was dead, but why continue through the city if the goal was to escape danger? Large swaths of the game are spent in empty areas which are eerily quiet and host literally no enemies whatsoever. Why keep moving?

In the original timeline before the time loop, I think Six and Mono had a definite goal, a place they were going to that was past the city. I doubt it was the Maw, since Six goes there solely to indulge her newfound hunger—though perhaps her reasoning for going there was simply twisted after the Thin Man stole her memory, since the lingering of her music box theme suggests she still has very faint memories of who she was before she met the Thin Man. Keep in mind this “rerun” is based on Mono’s memory, so everything that occurs in the Forest all the way up until they meet the Thin Man most likely actually happened in the original timeline. But we never get to see where they were actually going to go since the focus shifts to surviving the Thin Man, because this time loop was created solely for Mono to cope with Six’s betrayal—which is unfortunately inevitable within the time loop he created (time paradoxes are fun.) Besides, even if against all odds Mono, with or without Six, actually managed to escape the time loop, I don’t think the Thin Man remembers or cares to remember his original plan with Six; thus, Mono wouldn’t remember either. So in that sense, Mono and Six are just these husks without memories, going towards a place that neither of them really remember why they wanted to go to in the first place.

Finally, I think Mono’s name, which literally means “1” and theoretically refers to the fear of being alone (Monophobia), acts as it’s own foreshadowing as to the true nature of the game. Since “Six” isn’t physically there in Mono’s rerun, Mono is actually alone throughout the entire game; he is simply reliving a recording, with the memory of a friend who has long left him. Expanding off that, one could argue that the Thin Man subconsciously captured Six because by trapping her in this rerun—though she always betrays him—Mono gets to keep being with his friend over and over again. After all, I think the saddest part is that one of the the reasons why this time loop is perpetuated is because Mono always tries to save Six. If the Thin Man captured Six and Mono continued to wherever he wanted to go, then the timeloop would end. But this is Mono’s memory. And Mono doesn’t know why Six betrayed him. All he knows is that Six was his friend.

I think the memory-time connection is something to think about even if my theory doesn’t account for all contingencies! It’s just my very complicated way of tying up most of the loose ends people complain about, as well as more neatly connecting Six’s motivations going from the prequel Little Nightmares 2 into Little Nightmares 1. It also neither demonizes nor justifies the actions of both Mono or Six’s character, and I personally find the overall story (or what we know of it) more enjoyable when neither character is viewed as an obvious villain to the other. Mono and Six being trapped in this rerun where they continue to hurt one another, once again, plays into my meta-game theory where much of the “Little Nightmares” franchise is a metaphor for childhood trauma.

We ultimately don’t know their true reasonings, only that they’re both suffering; Mono feeling betrayed and Six being either trapped or soulless depending on which timeline you look at. Just victims of circumstance—but there’s still that nagging question of why the “true” Six betrayed Mono in the first place!

Warning: non-theory opinions ahead

All very intriguing, and it’s sad, though understandable, that Tarsier Studios has chosen to move on to new projects when I feel like there’s so much more they could have explored in this universe. Bandai Namco has hinted at continuing the franchise, though I feel like the most they could do is release DLCs rather than an actual full game which would finish out the series in a satisfactory way. Not to mention the constantly retconned comics and vague responses suggest that the developers had no plans on ever making a cohesive timeline/plot, thus this whole theory is just a buttload of overthinking lol. While I respect games that leave open ended endings and unanswered questions, it’s just unfortunate since unlike other franchises of this genre, I felt like Little Nightmares had a ton of potential to be completed in some sense.

#little nightmares #mono #six #thin man #little nightmares 2 #little nightmares II #the runaway kid #little nightmares DLC

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ncisfranchise-source · 3 years

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Let the good times roll one more time!

NCIS: New Orleans signed off after seven seasons with a finale that mostly wraps up some lingering threads. Special Agent Dwayne Pride (Scott Bakula) marries Rita Devereaux (Chelsea Field), with Dr. Loretta Wade (CCH Pounder) officiating. In attendance for the intimate ceremony are his team — Tammy Gregorio (Vanessa Ferlito), Hannah Khoury (Necar Zadegan), Sebastian Lund (Rob Kerkovich), Patton Plame (Daryl “Chill” Mitchell), and Quentin Carter (Charles Michael Davis) — and his family — mother Mena (Joanna Cassidy), brother Jimmy (Jason Alan Carvell), and son Connor (Drew Scheid).

And while Connor’s mother Sasha (Callie Thorne) plans to take him into witness protection with her, when she sees him having fun at the wedding, she instead skips out on the marshals … and leaves him to stay with his dad.

TV Insider caught up with executive producers Jan Nash and Christopher Silber to find out what would’ve happened next.

The series ends on a positive note. Was that always the plan for the end of Season 7 or did anything change after you learned you weren’t coming back?

Christopher Silber: We would’ve probably ended with a bit of a cliffhanger or at least an open-ended idea that there is more trouble to come for our characters. When we found out that this was going to be the series finale, it was Jan who felt like, “Let’s have it have a positive ending without it making it feel like it’s an ending for our character, just an ending for the series. They will continue even if we don’t get to see them on their adventures. But let’s give them a win, let’s end on a high note.”

Would it have been more of a cliffhanger than Sasha being followed? An additional mystery?

Jan Nash: Sasha being followed probably would have been the end. I think we would have done a lot of the same elements, but we would have ended telling a story in that episode that would have leaned in a little bit more to her being in danger and when she pulled away, she was being followed. We would have had a sense that Season 8 would have opened with either her having already been harmed or seeing her be harmed perhaps. That investigation would have defined the beginning of Season 8.

It’s also fitting that the series ends with the Second Line. So was that part of the plan for the series finale whenever it was going to happen?

Christopher Silber: Not to be overly optimistic, but we knew that there would be a series finale, but we never had a plan in the seven seasons I was on the show for how we would end it. It felt right in a moment, that’s for sure.

At the end of the series, the team’s all staying put professionally. Is this a team you imagine continuing to work together for years or do you see any of them moving on?

Silber: I would say that they would work together for a while, but you never know where they might end up and that isn’t meant to be coy.

You really did a deep dive into family with Pride in these final episodes and it’s been so wonderful to see him getting his time with his mom, marrying Rita, getting to know his brother over the years, and having those moments with the son he didn’t know about. So what did you want to do there this season?

Silber: We’ve done so much with the man and put him through his paces throughout the years. We’ve shot him. He had an overwrought relationship with his father who was a criminal. He had to witness his father die. What we wanted when we delved into a new chapter of his family was to show how he evolved, how he didn’t have to be surrounded by so much chaos. By connecting with Rita and finally finding some grounding there and spending more time with his mother and then introducing the son character, we really gave him a full spectrum. When we met Pride in the original crossover with NCIS, he was recently separated, heading into a divorce, his daughter was going to college, and here we can end with Pride remarried, with a son, so it’s really full circle for him.

It seems like we got to see the acceptance that Pride and Jimmy had for who their father was through their conversations with Connor about who Sasha is.

Silber: Absolutely. That was another thing. Not to get too heavy about it, but as we as adults reach the place where our parents were when we were kids, we look at them and say, “Look at how you’re messing up.” For Pride, it’s realizing that it can get complicated even with the best of intentions. For him and Jimmy, they recognize that. Even in dealing with Sasha, someone who tries to kill him multiple times, he was able to see that she also contained multitudes.

Did you accomplish everything you wanted with Pride and Rita’s wedding — the actual ceremony, the celebration, and the lead-up to it?

Silber: Under the circumstances, meaning the COVID of it all, meaning that we were given a little bit of lead time, which we were grateful for, to know that this was the series finale, I am extremely proud and satisfied with how we did it. If we had more lead time or if we thought we were going to keep going, maybe it would have been grander, but I think it was appropriate to the show for sure.

Nash: I’m not sure it would’ve been bigger. We’ve never talked about this, but I felt like the intimacy of it was really beautiful and that the Second Line was really celebratory, particularly to people in New Orleans, who did all of that because they had to move it around a lot because there were some storms coming in. They did a magnificent job.

One of the most pleasant surprises of this final season was how much I enjoyed Hannah and Carter’s developing relationship. What did you like about exploring that? Do you think they could make it work or might him staying weigh on them a bit?

Nash: It was clear to us when we put them together procedurally earlier after Charles joined the show, they had a real chemistry. We started talking about that earlier and then decided we were going to just let everybody else see what was happening almost more before they saw what was happening. We had set Carter up as being a character who did not put down roots. He was not somebody who is interested in making connections, particularly in his work environment. That gave us an opportunity to bring in his mother and let him explore some of the things that might have gotten him to the place where he was that kind of person. And it really just made, I think, the journey of Season 7 really compelling for both of them. I’m going to believe — because the show in my mind continues — that they are gonna make it work and they’re going to be charming and adorable and happy for a very long time.

Tammy found a home in New Orleans with and away from the team, which she never would have imagined when she first arrived. Where did you want to leave her?

Silber: For all of our characters, we wanted to see them grow and change and evolve — certainly with the team as their family, but also in finding their home and finding their roots in New Orleans. For Tammy, when she arrived, she was someone who was thinking about finding her way out and unsure about the team and to be able to see her finally mark her own territory, own who she is and own what she wants to be, that was special for us.

Sebastian’s had quite the professional journey these past seven seasons, but he hasn’t been lucky in love. Is that something you would have changed if you had more time to wrap up the series?

Silber: Oh, I think so. He was a great example for us in that when the show started, he was the lab rat. He was someone who you wouldn’t expect to scout in the field and to be able to take that character, show his growth in an arc over the series into a very confident field agent who still remained interesting and funny, the adjustment didn’t change his character. It just matured him. But yes, I think if we’d had more time, we were always talking about finding him love. It just didn’t work out for him, but I’m sure in the future he will find the right woman.

We really got to see just how much Loretta does, for the city and for the team in these episodes. What did you want to showcase with her this season?

Nash: Obviously CCH is such an amazing actress and such an amazing presence that we just felt like the things that we wanted to talk about were stories that could very much be told through her character. We just realized that not only would she be able to do the things she’s always done on this show so effectively but also to explore her emotional life in a way that allowed us to take advantage of all the many gifts that CCH has. When we started the season, we knew we were going to lean into that character and the gifts of that actor. At the end of the day, it was all we could have hoped for and more.

Can you say anything about what else you would have liked to have explored if there was another season?

Silber: Certainly we would have wanted to explore and we were excited about exploring Pride’s relationship with his son and digging deep into that and seeing what that means to discover that you have a son who is nearly fully grown and to try to build a relationship and try to build those ties. It would be challenging for sure. We thought that the young man who played Connor was fantastic and there was great chemistry with Pride and with Jimmy as well. As well as solve incredibly interesting and fun Navy crimes.

You have NCIS Hawai’i coming up. Is there any chance we’ll hear more about the New Orleans team on there or do you know for sure that you won’t address it?

Silber: Never say never. … I’ll be a hundred percent honest with you. We are happy for all crossovers. It’s fun. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the NOLA and mothership crossovers the couple of times we did it. I know the shows like it, the writers like it, the actors like it, and the audiences like it.

#ncis new orleans #interview

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undead-notunreasonable · 4 years

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HAPPY DRAC-O-WEEN || PART 31 OF 31 ||

The sound of dripping stirred Dracula from his slumber, his body felt a strange mixture of light & heavy. Both mourning & relief. There was a strange silence about the place he were in, something held within the air but he couldn’t figure out what it could be. Eyes opened slowly, seeing the stone ceiling above him, the way the candlelight flickered onto the condensation suggested he was somewhere dark, somewhere underground, a cellar perhaps. But it couldn’t have been any ordinary cellar, at least most cellars don’t have beds within them, almost like nurses beds. With a soft groan, Dracula sat up on his elbows, letting his eyes adjust to the light. It’d been at least a century that he’d been somewhere that relied solely on candlelight to illuminate a room. A shuffle in a seat drew his attention to a woman in what seemed to be a blue cloak, a...habit. If he could breathe, it would certainly catch in his throat. “Oh good, you’re awake at last.” a thick, chirpy Dutch accent called back to him. Dracula felt so tired & above all confused, staring at the woman until she pushed past his blurred vision by coming to his bedside “Agatha?” he called out weakly, trying to make sense of it all. “Yes, Count Dracula. You are at my side once again it seems, you’re harder to distance myself from than anyone else.” she slid into a seat, looking at him with a look of scepticism. “What’s going on? How am I here?” he asked trying to sit himself upright until he felt cool slim fingers pressing him down again. “That is not the question we have to ask ourselves.” she urged, dropping her nose so she could look at him with an arched brow. “But if you must know, it seems that those lives you have taken within your 500 years not only live on through you but you continue to live on through them. I seem to be the prioritised choice, which makes sense when you think about it, I was the only one after all who came closer than anyone to understand the beast.” “I feel I’m hardly a beast, I haven’t been this tired in centuries.” he wheezed out and tired he looked, his eyes could barely keep open, his body just hurt, almost as though he were mortal. Agatha watched on at him, arching her neck to get a better look, observing the man who were much different to the woman she’d met at those convent gates. “The question isn’t how but why?” Agatha urged, she particularly enjoyed watching people figure things out for themselves. “Because your blood is within my blood, not only did I carry you, you carried me, all the people whose lives I’ve taken I can easily return to like a terrible book I just can’t seem to finish.” Van Helsing had a glowing smile on her lips at that. “And you can’t bare a bad book, can you?” another arch of her brow, this time rather than judging him, she was challenging him. Dracula’s dark eyes flicked to hers for a brief moment before looking ahead once more, staring at more stone wall dripping with liquid. He lay quiet just then, thinking things over. How did he get here, what had just happened that sent him within his own mind. He was storming the foundation himself and...Vlad. A jolt in his memory brought about the flash of a vision: Vlad’s head on a spike, where it was always meant to be. Surely he would be here with him, inside his veins, they’d shared blood so surely-- “Vladimir Tepes is not here, Count Dracula.” Agatha interjected. “Remember, we’re connected, I can hear your thoughts.” His eyes scanned the walls, recounting everything that had happened and how it came to Vlad being beheaded. His hands began to shake and eyes filled with tears “They killed him. They stole him away from me just when we’d found each other again. We loved each other & we were going to rule--” he began to babble, feeling his heart burn with pain. “--I’m surprised someone as cruel & deadly as you could love someone but I’m afraid that notion was never returned to you.” Agatha remained steady then, knowing her words were unkind but it better to speak the truth. “What are you talking about, of course he did--” “No. He didn’t.” she spoke more sternly this time, taking hold of the conversation like a riding bull “He was using you to win the throne, making you do all the dirty work, finding out information, infiltrating the foundation, speaking to Mr Harker, then he was going to make you his second man.” Dracula took a complete offence to this, cheeks puffing with anger at how a nun could talk about his relationship. “Think about it.” Agatha urged “Whenever you tried to initiate things, did he reciprocate those feelings?” Dracula’s puffed cheeks slowly dropped as he thought things through. He seemed to avoid him all the more the plan were staring to come together. “And didn’t he just steal a human away from you just now? Almost as though he was power hungry, and you just let him.” Annoyingly, as always, Agatha was right. Piecing these things together made Dracula begin to shake once more, trembling with heart break before he burst out into tears. “Oh!” she beamed at the sight, being somewhat cruel in her actions “The vampire does cry, that’s new.” His tears faltered then, taking in a deep breath, realising that he didn’t want that in front of her. His lips pursed in annoyance instead. Until his original question remained in his mind: How is he here? “You’re talking to me, an awful lot, just like before.” his eyes narrowed as he watched her. Agatha rose from her seat, walking away from his bedside again. Dracula sat up immediately, honing his focus on the nun “You’re distracting me again, Agatha Van Helsing. What are you up to?” just then, he climbed out of the bed, seeing himself back in Jonathans robes after he’d torn at his face. “You’re a creature of consequence.” she turned on her heel, raising her chin to look up at him. “All creatures, even humans, have to suffer for their actions.” “You’re killing me, aren’t you?” “No.” her hands folded together as she kept herself calm, and stood strong against the vampire. “I’m not the one killing you.”

A strange sucking sound grew to become an overwhelming sound of vacuum. The surroundings had melted away from that of underground cellar in St Mary’s Convent Budapest to what seemed as though they stood in middle of a tornado. Dracula had to shield his eyes from the dust, squinting to see if he could find any sign of, well, anything beyond this whirlwind. There were screams and moans twirling through the dust, swirling into his hair & clothing. “Where am I?” he called out to the woman in front of him. Agatha still remained still, hands neatly folded as thought the wind didn’t rock her. “Your turmoil!” she called back against the noise “Your victims, your pure unfiltered chaos! All wrapped into one great storm!” Dracula grabbed at the woman then, snarling down at her “Put me back, put me back at that Foundation!” his eyes were wild & shining, matching the mayhem of their surroundings. Pain, excruciating agony but at least the surroundings were quiet aside from his cries. His eyes laid upon the stake of which pierced through his chest, splintering through his heart. A hand reached up to clutch at it & found it covered in blood, having already attempted without himself knowing. His breath wobbled, blood, his own, trickled up from his throat. This was his end. He’d never thought it would be something like this, he always imagined in a much grander scheme, a ruler, adored, not... inside a research centre. He cried out again, eyes meeting the head of Vlad where heartbreak & anger were at war with one another. He choked on his blood once more. How did this happen? The position of the stake were just out of reach for him to pull out. “D,” a female voice called out, tears streaming down her face. “I had to do it.” her voice waved. His eyes looked from the stake until they met beautiful shining brown ones. Lucy Westenra was the one to make him meet his demise, who’d have thought? “I saw what you was planning.” she dropped to her knees, small hands covered in his blood, trembling just as much as he did. “I’m so sorry, D. I couldn’t---” she hiccupped “---I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let you go through with it. Not again.” despite her anger, she was riddled with remorse, clutching at him as though she wasn’t ready to lose him, like she hadn’t placed the stake there herself. A long sharp finger came up, giving a soft wag as he spoke “Lucy Westenra, as long as I live in your memory, I will continue to haunt you for the rest of your Octobers.” he snarled at her one final time. Two people he’d accepted into his life, both betrayed him.

The tornado like purgatory returned once more, and Dracula found himself staring at it’s bleak grey walls. “You’re dying, Count Dracula. At long last. This is the end of the line.” Agatha called out once more. Dracula looked paler than usual, and if anything, absolutely petrified by the idea. “The monster that once was, no one to love him, crushed by those he thought loved him, and murdered by his finest experiment. His last experiment.” She corrected. “A foul stinking beast, gone. A final bow. How does that feel?” All this time he’d managed to avoid death, escaping it’s every sharp claw, and now it had been taken from him, just as he were rising the ranks. The sounds of his victims from five centuries seemed to wail together, rising and roaring at him in their anger. How dare he be upset that he time came before he wanted. Hands threw over his ears to try and drain them out but it was no use. The Count dropped them to his thighs, bursting into tears once again, completely defeated & exhausted. “I have blood on my hands that will never come clean.” he wailed “I’m sorry! Agatha,” he closed the gap between them “I don’t know what to do, how could I have let that man get into my head! Agatha Van Helsing, please help me, please let me repent.” he begged, clutching onto the bottom of her habit, willing her to help him in anyway that she could. Within the commotion, a door appeared between them, slowly opening to reveal a bright white light, and within it, his home. Wallachia. The sound of his Mother & Sister laughing within the kitchen of his childhood home. The smell of snow, stew, and wood burning swirled his purgatory. He looked at it in complete bafflement, bewildered more like. Was this... his heaven? His wide eyes & slack jaw looked back to Agatha, who was looking beyond the door herself & gave a short laugh “Hmm! That seems like a nice place to spend eternity.” she bounced her shoulders in delight at the sight. “Why? After all this time, after all these people I’d killed, slaughtered, and tortured?” “You have to remember, Count Dracula, this is life, everybody dies here. But not only that- -The devil himself was an angel in the beginning. It’s time for you to go home.”

#gif credit gatissed #ITS THE END #THE END THE END #i teared up a little #like it's the end??? but also agatha was there in HIS end????#he wanted agatha as he was dying ya'll #Claes Bang #Dracula #Dracula 2020 #Dracula BBC #BBC Dracula #Netflix Dracula #Dracula Netflix #Count Dracula #Claes Bang Thirst Squad

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twentiethcenturymoviesandtv · 4 years

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Ladyhawke: The Characters

The problem with putting a fairytale on screen is that the characters are usually the least interesting part of the story.

In most legends, the focus of the story isn’t really on the characters. It’s on the plot, and what the characters do. When you come right down to it, the point of most fairytales isn’t really about character growth, it’s about good vs. evil, heroic deeds against acts of villainy. The characters tend to be archetypes, with the side of good led by the Hero, the Champion, the Dragonslayer, and the side of evil led by the Ruler, or the Classic Villain. There are damsels in distress, mentor figures, and sometimes sidekicks along the way, but when it comes to fairy tales, there isn’t a huge amount of variety or development in the people involved. The characters exist to champion a side, to move the plot forward, to give us someone to root for.

In a story so reminiscent of a fairy-tale, Ladyhawke could be forgiven for using these archetypes as a way to advance its plot. The thing is, it doesn’t.

Instead of marching out the clichés of standard sword and sorcery characters, Ladyhawke does something different: it plays on subversions of simple archetypes, developing them in different ways that adds to the distinctive style of the film. Today, we’re going to be taking a closer look at these characters and the unique way they are used, beginning, of course, with our protagonist. (Spoilers below!)

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the most interesting thing about our main character is that he really has no business in this story.

In any other fantasy story, Phillipe Gaston would be a smaller character, perhaps a comedic sidekick or a helpful rogue, taking up his own part of the narrative without changing too much or growing as a character. He is an Action Survivor, a shrewd thief that possesses both boyish charm and wry cynicism. He’s smart, but impulsive, lies often, but is honest about himself. He avoids battle at all costs, and wavers back and forth between arrogance and apprehension depending on the scenario at hand. In short: Phillipe is by no means a fantasy hero, and really doesn’t belong at the forefront of this conflict. Even more interestingly, he knows it.

Again, as I’ve mentioned earlier, Phillipe seems very disconnected with events around him. He is only involved in the plot simply because he is the only person who has ever escaped from the place Navarre is trying to get into. He is involved because of his skills, not his importance to the plot. Phillipe has no connection with anyone, not Navarre, Isabeau, the monk Imperius, or even the villain, the Bishop. With no connection, he has no investment in the characters, no reason to help. On top of that, he doesn’t really have any of the traits befitting traditional fantasy heroes.

Putting it like that, Phillipe really seems like a terrible choice for a protagonist.

Now for our next question.

Does Phillipe as a main character work anyway?

Actually, yeah.

Now, wait a minute, you might say. You just told me why he doesn’t work as a main character, and now you decide that, going against all good characterization of main leads, it works anyway? Isn’t that going against the laws of film critiquing?

Here’s the thing.

Sometimes, characters who seem like bad ideas in theory turn out to be good ones in practice. In my opinion, Phillipe Gaston is one of those characters.

In my last film review, I talked about what made Dorothy Gale such a good protagonist for The Wizard of Oz, and one thing that I mentioned was that every protagonist needs a problem, particularly a problem pertaining to the plot. At first, it seems like this is fuel for the argument that Navarre should have been the protagonist and not Phillipe, a closer look perhaps proves otherwise.

At the beginning of the story, Phillipe’s problem would appear to be not only simple, but being taken care of: he’s in prison. More specifically, when the story picks up, he’s escaping prison, trying to stay ahead of the Bishop’s guards. He doesn’t want anything except to get away. Nothing drives him. He has no goal except that of escaping pursuit, which, while not being a traditional fantasy hero’s goal, is extremely understandable, and relatable to the audience.

I want to draw your attention to that fact, because that’s extremely important to both Phillipe’s character, and his role within the story.

Throughout the entire film, Phillipe responds to everything in a reasonably realistic manner, one that is relatable to the audience. He learns things at the same rate that we do, and as a result, Phillipe ends up being the audience surrogate, hence his aforementioned ‘outsider’ viewpoint on the story. As mentioned in the ‘story’ segment earlier, it is an inversion of the ‘Hero’s Journey’: an unheroic hero being forcibly drug along on a quest that is not his own.

This is part of what makes the character of Phillipe work so well for the first half of the film, and here is where things get tricky.

You see, if Phillipe had remained this type of character throughout the entire film, he really wouldn’t have worked as a protagonist at all. For a main character to work, they have to change, and in the case of characters whose goals don’t fit with the story, the goals have to change as well.

In Phillipe’s case, it’s moving from a selfish goal to a selfless one.

Like I said, Phillipe’s objective at the beginning of the story is to escape. His concern is for his own skin, as it remains even after being hauled along into Navarre’s quest. However, something happens during the story that affects a change in his plans, and in the process, his character.

After Isabeau’s injury, while Imperius is explaining the curse and the history of the lovers to Phillipe, his focus shifts from himself to Navarre and Isabeau. Due to growing friendship with the couple (Notably Navarre), Phillipe decides to do the right thing and help them, to the point where he is attempting to convince Navarre of the way to end the curse.

That change is where the magic (forgive the pun) happens. Phillipe’s introduction into the grander scale of what’s going on is the realization that jolts him into being a more active part of the story, putting him firmly in the actual main conflict. The second half of the story is where the ‘protagonist’ part of his character comes in: when his goals begin to match up with the story. He is the catalyst, the thing that prevents the other characters from total despair, and it is because of him that the curse is broken. It is Phillipe that causes the other characters to regain their hope, and as a result, reach their own happy endings.

If that’s so, you might say. If Phillipe grows into being the main hero, then why isn’t he a bigger part of the climax? Where’s his ‘hero’ moment?

That’s a fair question. With character arcs, we like to see them end, satisfactorily. How does his arc cumulate?

Like Dorothy, Phillipe’s ‘hero’ moment isn’t a dragon slaying moment, and unlike Dorothy, his hour of bravery isn’t even at the climax. It comes earlier.

As I pointed out in the ‘story’ segment, Phillipe’s ‘hero’ moment arrives when Navarre, in wolf form, is falling through the ice over the water. This is the scene where, for the first time, Phillipe puts himself in harm’s way for someone else. Going in after Navarre allows him to fully switch from selfishness to selflessness, or, in other words, from petty thief to hero.

In short? Phillipe Gaston, while seemingly out of place in both personality and role, somehow manages to be a compelling, if unusual, supporting protagonist.

But of course, the main draw of a fantasy movie is the Knight in Shining Armor, right?

At first glance, Etienne Navarre seems like the perfect fantasy hero. He is stern, quiet, an expert swordsman and great warrior. He’s decked out in black armor, possesses an ancestral sword, a horse, and, of course, the secret of his curse. Navarre is the one with the quest for this story, and as a result, has a connection with every other character in the movie. He is an active character, driving the plot with his own goal.

Remember what I said earlier about the character subversions?

It is Navarre’s goal that receives the subversive treatment.

In many fantasy stories, the hero’s quest is a great moral battle, a good and evil, right vs. wrong. Luke Skywalker wants to overthrow the Empire. Harry Potter wants to stop Voldermort. Frodo Baggins wants to destroy the Ring of Power to stop Sauron. These are all larger-than-life stories about defeating an evil for the good of the world.

Following this pattern, you’d think Navarre’s quest would be to break the curse and overthrow the Bishop for his tyrannical rule, whether by consulting a wizard or raising a rebellion, or going on a great journey to find a way, but it’s not. Navarre is cursed, and he knows it, and in a world with magic so infrequently used, his mission is that of revenge.

Navarre wants nothing else but to kill the Bishop at the start of the film, and that is where we get our subversion.

This decision is not to indicate that Navarre is a bad person, or an antihero in any way. Like I said earlier, the characters in this film respond to things with startling amounts of realism. Most of us wouldn’t search for a magical cure, most of us would immediately think to the ‘realistic’ way of dealing with it: revenge.

So it is with calm, cold precision that Navarre waits for two years for a sign to attack, and the sign comes in the form of the escape of Phillipe Gaston from the Bishop’s prison, causing their paths to cross. Navarre’s plan is smart and simple: use Phillipe to get in, and murder the Bishop with the sword of his ancestors, completing his mission.

What’s interesting about Navarre is that he too experiences a goal change, albeit a little later than Phillipe does.

See, at the point where the film begins, Navarre (and Isabeau) have lost hope, if they had any to begin with. They are worn down with the effect of the curse, and Navarre’s anger at the situation comes out in this revenge plot. It is to the point that, when Phillipe experiences his own goal change, realizing he wants to help the couple, Navarre refuses to believe in a way to break the curse, and commands Phillipe not to tell Isabeau.

At first, this seems kind of selfish on his part; it almost seems like he’s putting his revenge plan over an actual way to save them both, and he doesn’t even give Isabeau a say in the matter. The thing is, once again, it’s a realistic answer. Not believing in the miraculous would seem like a good way to not be let down easily. On top of that, the curse breaking isn’t plainly worded, and seemingly impossible to fulfill. For both their sakes, Navarre refuses to believe in what he sees as a foolish hope.

What changed?

Phillipe.

It is his change of character, his dive into the water after Navarre, and the following day’s realization that Phillipe had rescued him at personal risk, (with the scars to prove it) that makes Navarre decide to give the breaking curse a chance. By the same token, he does remain practical, and changes his plans back to revenge when there seems to be no sign of a ‘day without a night’.

In the end, of course, Imperius and Phillipe are right, and the curse is broken, reuniting Navarre and Isabeau, giving them their happy ending. And in the end, Navarre is also changed, becoming a more hopeful person after the proof that sometimes, miracles do happen.

But what of the other half of the couple?

Let’s talk about the titular Ladyhawke: Isabeau d'Anjou.

The interesting thing about Isabeau is, once again, tied to her utter practicality and realism. Neither a helpless damsel nor a great warrior, Isabeau is a subversion of most female fantasy archetypes, being very simply a woman with a problem. It’s just that the problem is a little more fantastic than most.

We don’t really know a lot about Isabeau’s character, since she doesn’t appear a lot within the movie itself. Human by night, she carries with her an air of sadness and mystery, gentle and warm, but with a heart of steel underneath. Isabeau is an incredibly strong person, living out her days by night, never seeing the man she loves except for at twilight and dawn, and having to fend for herself each night for survival. Time and time again, she displays incredible strength of character, rushing out into the wolf-trap-littered woods to save Navarre, and, during the curse-breaking, takes the hawk jesses and coldly throws them at the Bishop’s feet in her own show of victory.

By the time of the story’s opening, Isabeau too has lost hope. After two years of living like this, separated from all she knows, she is despondent, with no discernable way out.

Once again, it’s Phillipe to the rescue.

It is his intervention on the couple’s lives that brings them to the point of hope. Without him, there is no catalyst for the plot, there is no knowledge of a way to break the curse. And at the end, when Isabeau stands with Navarre, fully human, she is finally joyful, full of hope for the future.

But there would have been no curse-breaking if not for the monk, Imperius.

Imperius is an ex-priest, living as a monk as penance for his accidental betrayal of the couple. Being the one person confided in about the relationship, Imperius, while drunk, accidently informs the Bishop of it, leading to the curse in the first place.

Horrified and distraught, Imperius becomes a monk, desperately seeking the answer to this curse to seek redemption. His growth comes in that redemption.

Rejected by Navarre, he is encouraged to follow them by Phillipe, proving his worth as he assists them in both the rescue of Navarre and the breaking of the curse. It is this man’s desire to make things right that allows the happy ending in the first place, giving him peace and granting him forgiveness from what he inadvertently caused.

Although, let’s not lay excess blame at his door. After all, the Bishop is our big baddie here.

The Bishop (no name given) serves as the main villain of this film, and once again, is a subversion of the traditional fantasy villains. He’s not an emperor, a warlord, a king, or a leader of a band of orcs or goblins. He is a selfish, controlling, old man who is driven by his lust and jealousy. (Think a version of Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)

The curse, as mentioned previously, is his fault. After his pursuit of Isabeau is rejected, his anger causes him to lash out at both her, and the person she is in love with. This curse, an unnatural thing called up with considerable effort from a darker realm beyond ours, causes the animal transformations that prevent the couple from ever being together. What’s notable about this is that the curse does not only affect Navarre, but intentionally Isabeau too. The Bishop’s line of thinking is even said out loud: “If I can’t have her, no man shall.”

The Bishop is not extremely powerful in a traditional sense. He is the leader of the church, which gives him power over the people there in an influential way, and uses this power unjustly. He has no armies other than a band of guards (which Navarre dispatches) and himself is no match for the fury of a trained warrior. In fact, it is because of this that the curse needs to be broken the way that it is.

The curse is not broken by killing him.

In many fantasy films, all curses are undone by killing the curser. Not so here. Against a villain with no physical power, what better way to pose a problem for the protagonists by making the answer one of non-violence?

To break the curse, Navarre and Isabeau must confront him together, as humans, demonstrating that he has no power over them. The curse is broken in a way that demonstrates direct defiance of his jealous and lustful nature, the couple reunited and human, despite his best efforts. Sure, he dies anyway, but the principle of it is that show of boldness against him.

Another interesting thing about him is how he relates to the realm of villains in general. In many cases, villains have personal ties with the main hero, or a symbolic connection, something in common or in contrast with the main character that draws some kind of connection.

Harking back to what I said earlier, the Bishop has no ties with Phillipe whatsoever besides being the one whose jail he escaped from. The main conflict in this story is between the Bishop and Navarre, again, nailing home that final point of what I’ve mentioned earlier: Phillipe is an audience surrogate character slowly turned into a protagonist, not a heroic fantasy character. The Bishop is Navarre and Isabeau’s enemy, not Phillipe’s.

So how does this make him work as a villain?

Surprisingly well.

He has elements that very much make him seem like a real-world villain. He has no magical abilities of his own, he has no armies, no physical abilities. He is a man placed in power who chooses to abuse it. He is selfish, controlling, jealous and hateful, like any rejected suitor who tries to use his power for his own gain. His curse is not of his own, but the result of much searching to intentionally make the couple’s lives utterly miserable because of his denial. Once again, the key to his characterization is the utter realism in which his motivation and execution is rooted.

He is thoroughly believable, and thus, the audience rejoices over his defeat and death.

The beauty of all of these characters is the total reality in which they are grounded. These are very real people, stuck in fantastic circumstances, dealing with it the best they know how. The characters are relatable to the audience, whether it’s the cold anger of Navarre, the sad sincerity of Isabeau, or the bewildered but witty reactions of Phillipe. You feel their emotions, and you understand where every character is coming from because of the realistic way they are portrayed, and the lifelike ways in which they react to the events around them. No one is superhuman, nor unrealistically incapable, they exist as people that we can easily see existing.

Ladyhawke’s characters work as subversions of traditional ‘fairy-tale’ stories because it plays the ‘fairy-tale’ aspect straight, while playing around with the character archetypes. There is a romance, a curse, and true love conquers all, but the way in which it is done, and the way in which characters go about acting out the fairy-tale turns it from a bright children’s story to a familiar-feeling, simple, but emotional story about people the audience, no matter what age, can relate to.

As with The Wizard of Oz, these characters are not overly complex, but in this case, they are not simple, either. They serve their purpose, which is to relate to each other and make us care about what happens to them, and this film definitely succeeds in that. In a film much more grounded than contemporaries such as Labyrinth, the characters and their struggles hit that much closer to home, and we feel the sincerity of what’s going on. Even in the unbelievable aspects, such as the effects of the curse, Isabeau and Navarre’s pain is tangible, and the audience isn’t immune to that.

The characters in Ladyhawke leave a strong, unique impact in an equally unique film, a film that really does deserve a higher place in the history of fantasy films, if for nothing else it’s courage to combine the tried-and-true and the innovative ways of conveying story and characterization. These people make the plot compelling, and they make us care about them, and in the end, that’s the point of characters. With that in mind, Ladyhawke certainly does its job, memorably so.

Thank you guys so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, stick around for more, since we’re not done talking about the elements that make up Ladyhawke. If you have something you’d like to add or say, don’t forget that the ask box is always open! I hope to see you all in the next article.

#Ladyhawke #Ladyhawke 1985 #1985 #80s #Film #Movies #Fantasy #Adventure #PG-13 #Rutger Hauer #Michelle Pfeiffer #Matthew Broderick #Leo McKern #John Wood #Richard Donner

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hellzyeahwebwielingessays · 4 years

Text

Did Peter love MJ more than Gwen in the 1970s?

I’ve debated with myself if Peter grew to love MJ more than Gwen in the 1970s Conway run or not. I maintain he did.

The arguments against this idea boil down to:

He’d dated Gwen for far longer than MJ by the end of the Conway run

These pages from ASM #149, featuring Gwen’s clone (the first of many)

As you can see Peter initially seems to be suggesting that he and Gwen might be able to work something out before she hushes him up. And of course he’s moved to tears by this.

Later he refers to Gwen as someone he needs but knows he shouldn’t be with.

So here is my attempt to lay things to rest.

I think Peter ultimately did come to love MJ more than Gwen in Conway’s initial run.

Let me dispense with the initial counterpoint first.

It is entirely possible for someone to fall in love and then fall in love with someone else even more within a shorter space of time. It depends upon the circumstances. It’s certainly not the case that if MJ died tomorrow Peter would be falling in love with someone within the consequent years or anything.

But the key difference is time and the depth of the connection.

With Gwen and Peter, we all know how ultimately not great they were for one another.

Peter himself might not have recognized this, and it didn’t mean he wasn’t in love with Gwen sincerely. But it was there nevertheless.

We should also consider the amount of time they spent together.

Peter met Gwen at the start of his college career in ASM #31. He graduated after a four year degree in ASM #185

Gwen died in ASM #121, and her clone showed up in ASM #144. This was stated to have been 2 years after Gwen’s death.

This means that ASM #31-121 and ASM #144-185 collectively must equate to 2 years. Whilst the former time period was longer than the latter it still meant that Peter knew Gwen for less than two years. Bear in mind, that’s not him dating her for less than 2 years or having serious feelings for her. It’s just the time between when they met and when she died. Initially they weren’t even friendly towards one another until ASM #39 and only gradually started hanging out in the same social circle a little while after that. It took yet more time for them to have their first date and yet longer to realise they were in love.

So really we aren’t talking about as massive a time period as it might seem initially. He had 2 years to get over her, which was much longer than the time they were together and in love. Admittedly though he and MJ weren’t together for most of those 2 years.

Their romance blossomed fairly naturally, by which I mean it wasn’t aided by any extenuating circumstances, not really anyway.

In contrast Gwen’s death was the catalyst for Peter and MJ’s romance. At a time when both were emotionally vulnerable (especially Peter) they forged a connection. A connection under these circumstances is extremely likely to be potent and from Peter’s POV MJ was in a sense saving his life. He says as much in ASM #137 and much later in Web #125

Saving his life is something Gwen definitely didn’t do and would endear Peter to MJ for sure.

And let’s be real here, MJ is simply a better match for Peter than Gwen was. Nostalgia goggles aside, Gwen wasn’t able to connect with Peter as thoroughly as MJ was and their romance had far more turbulence than Peter and MJ’s had in Conway’s run; not that it was turbulence free of course.

So Peter is with a woman who’s really been there for him when he was vulnerable, who’s saved him (and for a guy who saves other people, that would mean a lot) and who’s a better match for him too.

In ASM #141, these factors lead him to question if anyone could replace Gwen in his heart.

Given how Conway was telling an extended mega-arc this isn’t a rhetorical question. The metatext of this moment is throwing the readers the question of whether Mary Jane could replace Gwen in both the narrative and in Peter’s heart.

ASM #142 develops this question further as Peter sees Gwen’s clone briefly in the crowd and runs after he believing her to be the real Gwen.

Those old feelings were still there. Peter still wanted Gwen at that point.

When they shared their kiss in ASm #143 they realised they were in love with one another.

This was when Gwen’s clone showed up and Peter was in the middle of an emotional tug of war between his old feelings for Gwen and his new ones for MJ. This is first alluded to in ASm #145 when Gwen’s clone tearfully embraces Peter, imploring him to help her. However, his eyes lock with MJ’s, a look of concern shared between them.

The implication is clearly that Peter is torn. The dynamic has flipped because now it’s MJ he wants.

This is corroborated in ASM #146 when Gwen’s clone kisses Peter. She is treating the situation as though nothing has changed, that she and Peter are still in love. He doesn’t kiss her back though prompting her to ask if he still loves her. He doesn’t have an easy answer sending her into tears and him into frustration.

Peter straight up vocalizes his situation. He is no longer sure if he’s in love with Gwen (9/10 if you ain’t sure you are in love, you ain’t) and this is specifically because of Mary Jane’s presence in his life. He elaborates that he should be rejoicing that miraculously the woman he’ll always love is back, and yet he feels like he wants to die.

In ASM #147 Peter learns that the living Gwen is just a clone. This realization combined with his pre-existing turmoil pushes Peter a wee bit over the deepend. His dialogue conveys that he’d prefer Gwen to have remained dead and in essence regards these clones as functionally the same. They aren’t the original Gwen but to him they are Gwen.

Let’s put aside how his feelings for Gwen are taking him to an unhealthy place, which doesn’t help her case.

The art and dialogue convey Spidey admitting he loves Gwen and always will but when the image of Gwen approaches him he clearly wants her to get away. He doesn’t want her there.

I will grant you, this moment might not specifically highlight that Peter is rejecting Gwen because of MJ. It might just be that he doesn’t want to relive losing her over and over. But within the grander narrative and the ‘question’ Conway set up it is at least food for thought in support of MJ.

In ASM #148 an exhausted and battle weary Peter is too out of it to really take in the presence of MJ on his door step. When he realises he’s shut the door on her he hastily reopens it and tries to reach her, but fails. Clearly he wanted to see and talk to her. When he hears the doorbell later he leaps out of the bath and excitedly opens it hoping it was MJ. Again, he is happy at the prospect of seeing MJ, and yet seeing Gwen makes him sad.

Finally we come to ASM #149. Upon heading for his big showdown with the Jackal Peter has some very telling dialogue.

He wanted to see MJ alone. Gwen’s reappreance has confused him about what’s important to him.

But he isn’t confused anymore.

He knows who is important to him now.

The context of the scene, the consequent issues and Peter’s actions on the top pages from ASM #149 make the truth abundantly clear.

MJ is who is important to him, and he’s referring to her importance in contrast to Gwen.

I.e. Mary Jane is more important to him than Gwen is. This is Conway answering the question he set up issues earlier.

The final pages (which I posted at the very top) hammer this point home yet further.

What’s noticeable about these pages is that, whilst Gwen’s clone distinguishes herself from the original, it’s not clear if Peter does. Out loud and internally his dialogue refers to the clone as ‘Gwen’ and later he even refers to the clone’s departure as ‘losing Gwen twice’. This confirms that from Peter’s POV he was treating Gwen’s clone as though she was the real thing. Later in Spec Annual 1988 Conway revisits Gwen’s clone and again confirms that Peter regards her as functionally the same as Gwen. It is only after a moment of deep realization that he comes to think otherwise.

So there is no denying things here. The resolution to Peter’s feelings in Conway’s initial 1970s run weren’t contingent upon Gwen being a clone. Peter was choosing MJ as more important over Gwen, clone or not. As his dialogue conveys, he wanted her to go.

ASM #150 reaffirms this point by having Peter declare MJ as the one he cares for.

The one he cares for, even outside of the wider context, implies he cares for her above everyone else. So he cares/loves MJ more than Gwen!

Further food for thought is added by the fact that this realization then leads to him further realizing that he’s not thinking about Gwen in his dying moments. There is no indecision in his mind, it’s MJ all the way.

I think I’ve proven my case but let’s shoot down some counterpoints anyway.

Why was Peter crying when Gwen left?

Because, as he said, it was painful to lose her again, even though it was what he wanted.

Contrary to what his dialogue in ASM #145 potentially implied, Peter was never out of love with Gwen. His feelings were uncertain, he was confused and torn and needed to part the clouds within his mind and heart. It’s why as the arc progressed his dialogue gradually affirmed his love for Gwen. He head just grown to love MJ more.

Why did he say he and Gwen needed each other?

The real life answer is that Conway dropped the ball a little. Peter clearly doesn’t need Gwen as he was doing fine before he knew her and was able to go on successfully without her. And he was planning on living his life without her even though she was alive.

In a sense the word need was just a bad word choice. Had he said love it would’ve made more sense. ‘Need’ implies Peter and Gwen were a necessary presence in one another’s lives, but her presence was having a harmful effect upon Peter’s mental and emotional health. He recognized he was better before she reappeared and wanted her to leave.

His dialogue about how they can need one another but still know they shouldn’t have one another kind of highlights the poor word choice. If they now they shouldn’t have one another that fundamentally goes against the idea that they need each other now doesn’t it.

Basically, Peter wasn’t thinking clearly or had a tiny brainfart with his word choice.

Wasn’t Peter going to suggest they stay together before Gwen cut him off?

Technically we have no clue what he was going to say. But if we presumed that to be the case, this is still a highly emotional moment for Peter and he feels a certain sense of loyalty and duty to Gwen.

He wants to do the right thing because he’s all about responsibility. Gwen kind of all alone in the world so it’s possible he felt it was right for him to help her, maybe stay with her out of loyalty.

But more likely he was going to suggest she stick around and they remain friends or something. He had clearly made up his mind by that point and wanted MJ.

Couldn’t this arc just prove Peter grew to love MJ equally, not more than Gwen?Couldn’t Peter have just wanted to move on from Gwen, not that he loved MJ more?

No.

Because again, he regarded the clone as the bona fide article and was working on accepting her return.

He could have been with her had he wanted. She could have been the one he cared for. She could have been the person important to him. But he wanted her gone. He wanted MJ even though he did still love Gwen.

So it wasn’t just about moving on. He was handed a miracle, but it was a miracle he didn’t want because he loved another and wanted them instead.

#Spider-Man #Peter Parker #Gwen Stacy #Gerry Conway #mjwatsonedit #mary jane watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #MJ Watson #Clone Saga

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rainsonata · 3 years

Text

Doppelgänger 14/15

Chapter 14: The Cataclysm

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: T Word Count: 6,968

Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan.

Alternative Title: Dominator fucked up and now everyone meets their alternative selves

AO3 Link / FF.NET Link

— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —

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Class Notes:

Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen

Alternative Path: Rune Master, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timoria and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter

Transformation Path: Immortal, Metamorphy, Twilight, Nova Imperator, Code: Sariel, Centurion, Shakti, Bloody Queen, Mad Paradox, Iblis and Anular (Diangelion), Herrscher

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Code: Ultimate

Henir’s Time and Space existed in a separate plane of its own, balanced between all dimensions and existed at a point where time did not exist. A portal cracked open from the side, forming an enclave big enough for their group to squeeze through.

Ultimate entered first. She forced her wings to fold back to avoid crushing the person behind her. It was the same as it was the last time she had visited. They all landed on the familiar blue platform shared by parts of Elrianode. Electric circuits glowed beneath their feet. Blue cubes hovered around their platform among the stars. A dark sun eclipsed by the moon floated above their heads.

Despite gaining access to knowledge from the libraries and databases from her journey, Ultimate had little understanding of Henir’s Time and Space and its existence. Its architecture bore strong resemblance to that of the corrupted monsters and machines in Elrianode. The administrator of the facility was placed in what appeared to be a form of punishment. Ultimate felt her circuits hum into mild stress at the thought of being locked into one place.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE DIMENSION WILL COLLAPSE?”

Loud chatter disrupted Ultimate’s train of thought. The queen of destruction closed her eyes and allowed her programs to run scans in the background. Glave was nowhere to be seen, but Ultimate needed to update her database on Henir’s Time and Space.

“I’m sure she was joking.” Knight laughed nervously. The red knight fought to restrain Aether by placing his hands over her shoulder and gently nudging her away from Metamorphy. The elementary mage did not back away and had her staff out with a dangerous look in her eyes.

Ultimate recognized that expression. It was the one humans had when frustrated and confused. Aether was both.

“I don’t joke,” Metamorphy said with a bright smile. She was unaffected by her counterpart’s outburst and stepped out of the portal with her arms behind her back.

Her sensors notified Ultimate that other organic beings were present. Orange and red light filtered through her ocular lens to let her know there were a few dozen warm bodies. Metamorphy was correct in that they were the last group to have arrived. The platform they were on was one of many. Small stairs connected each platform and formed a chain of them to travel in between them.

Ultimate heard their names being shouted by the others that saw their arrival. It was too much for the Nasod in keeping track of them all. She allowed herself to ignore them and instead watched her friends interact with each other. Their reunion would be short before they learn about their fates.

A figure appeared from the mass of people. Ultimate’s scans shot up in response to the high energy levels emitted from Paradox. The time traveler’s energy level was unstable, making it difficult for Ultimate’s systems to keep up with the changes. It was as if Paradox wasn’t human.

“Of course it’s you causing all the noise.” Paradox was in his adult form and covered his mouth to hide a snide smile. He said to Metamorphy. “So you told them your intentions. Didn’t think you would become the harbinger of bad news.”

“I don’t remember asking for your input,” Metamorphy’s expression soured. “I doubt your group took it any better than mine did.”

“You took us here knowing we were going to react like this?” Knight protested, “You’re okay with us watching the world be destroyed?”

“Reborn,” Metamorphy corrected.

“Explain,” Ultimate looked at Paradox and Metamorphy with cold eyes. She noticed more people crowding around them and listening in to Metamorphy’s explanation. Did they know about this before they did? “I don’t quite follow what you mean by rebirth.”

Destruction and rebirth were two concepts humans liked to bring up through history. Their religion and cultures were built around both. When one group had fallen, another would rise, sometimes stronger than the last in ways Nasods wouldn’t be able to.

Ultimate was placed into deep slumber because her creator feared that his race had once again fallen into the cycle of death. He was correct, but Adrian failed to recognize that humans were just as compatible with creation as they were in destruction. For she had seen her teammates come up with plans and concepts that helped others. However, Ultimate began to understand his sentiment when Metamorphy showed glee in explaining the death of a dimension the Nasod queen had only come to known for a few days.

“Rebirth makes it sound grander than it actually is,” Metamorphy said. “It’s more like a soft reboot. Having everyone into the same dimension is stressing the system and forcing it to shut down to reset itself.”

“You’re saying it’s going to come back?” Phantom asked.

“Yes,” Metamorphy hummed. “Maybe not one-hundred percent. It should be restored to the state before the dimension broke down.”

“We’re really doing this.” Bangs covered Knight’s eyes, “We’re letting people suffer again.”

There was tension in the red haired man’s features. His shoulders rose and a hint of blue flickered over his glassy eyes. Ultimate frowned and questioned the El’s influence over Knight. Did the El have a stronger presence with Knight than it did for Rune?

“I’m sorry we had to resort to this,” Rage offered Knight an awkward pat on the back.

“So this is what happens when too many timelines intersect,” Bringer mumbled to himself. “This is the end.”

Being a few hundred years old, Ultimate wasn’t one to be as sentimental as most were in occurrences such as the soft reset Metamorphy was suggesting. The end wasn’t a foreign concept to her. According to numerous history books, many Elrian civilizations documented the Nasod war as the death of a prosperous era and the end to the benevolent relationship between Nasods and humans. Rune’s sacrifice to the El was the end of their search for the El Lady and the El Masters. A soft reset would mark yet another ending of a story arc in human history.

Was there truly an end?

“Resetting will fix everything?” There was a bite to Flame words and sharpness in the look she exchanged to Metamorphy and over to Paradox. Biting the bottom of her lips, Ultimate could see the flame user trying not to get excited.

“I don’t know about that,” Paradox scoffed. “No one has done a reset before. I’m not sure if Glave can even do it.”

“Is that why you brought us here?” Abysser asked. “I knew Glave deals with time and space, but do you really think he’s going to agree to helping us?”

“Didn’t he already help you in Elrianode?” Crusader had his arms crossed, “He gave us information about the corrupted Elrianode monsters and about the Dark El.”

“I suppose it could be too soon to ask for help again.” Empire said, “We’re already here, so we should at least try.”

Empire had what humans called “cautious optimism”. When Ultimate expressed her confusion, Rune explained that people wanted to see the bright side of something, but remained careful out of the fear of being wrong. The knight captain remained so, putting on a composed mask but smiling as a way to reassure the others. Flame did the same, but her enthusiasm was more overt and offering loud cheers.

Crossing her legs, Ultimate examined a floating cube reflecting her face back. She hadn’t noticed before, but some of them acted as monitors and showed the viewer different worlds. Each surface focused on a different part of Elrios, but one caught her attention. Ripples formed over its otherwise smooth surface and offered her a glimpse of a moving figure.

A woman sharing Devi’s face darted across a muddy terrain with a toothy grin. She wore white outfit similar to that of the warriors from Fluone's Northern Empire, followed by a white fox with many tails. Behind her was a blonde man in a white suit covered by equally pristine armor and a destroyer. An elven woman was with them. Her hair was tied back into a long braid and hoisted a sword and a bow. The sky was red and they were fighting a monster several times their size, covered in spikes and baring sharp teeth.

An emotionless face reflected back at Ultimate from the screen. The Nasod queen froze, waiting for her circuits to process the face of her twin. Pale blue wings sprouted from the back of her counterpart from another world she didn’t know of. Were these people her friends from another dimension?

“My, my. There are more of you than usual.” A male voice mused, “Your group gets bigger each time we meet, but this is the biggest I’ve seen.”

A single orange eye peered through the metal mask Glave wore. His voice made it impossible to tell his age, a quiet chuckle followed by a light toned statement that placed many people on edge. The locks placed around his collar were for a man who had committed unspoken crimes.

“You took your time,” Paradox sneered. “Where have you been?”

“Hello, Add.” Glave chuckled, “I see you have made use of the knowledge I have given you.”

“Cut the crap and tell us what we need to do to undo this idiot’s mistake!” Bringer growled.

“It looks like there’s three of you now,” Glave looked at Bringer, Dominator, and Paradox. “I suspected this day would come. How can I help you?”

Bringer fumed as Bluhen commented about the brawler being singled out with his other selves. Dominator was less pleased of being grouped with his alternatives, crossing his legs and sitting on Dynamo in a silent sulk. Paradox became a sitting duck as soon as Glave showed up, glaring at the administrator of Henir’s Time and Space with distaste.

“We need your help,” Crusader explained. “The Demon Realm where we came from is falling apart. If we don’t do something, we won’t be able to save Elrios.”

“Is that so?” Glave looked at the mob, “Is that because all of you were involved?”

“Yes,” Anemos said. “Add said there were too many of us and it’s causing problems for everyone and the people living in Demon Realm.”

“I expected this to happen for some time,” Glave admitted.

“Because you taught someone how to time travel?” Nova raised a brow.

“Yes, but he isn’t the only one learning to open portals.” Glave said, “I’m sure you remember the demon invasion in Velder?”

“That’s right, they were trying to open portals to invade Elrios!” Aether exclaimed, “But what are you trying to say? Metamorphy said you could reset the dimension and return us back to where we were supposed to be!”

“Did she now?” Glave said, “That is a heavy task you are asking of me.”

“Please, Glave. You helped us before and you gave us all the information you knew about the Dark El.” Knight lowered his head, “I don’t know what we can offer this time, but you’re the only person I know who can help us.”

Ultimate looked back to Knight, trying to understand his intention. He led a massive group, yet maintained the humbleness Rune had. There was no humor in his intonation, coated by shame and guilt. She was confused about where the unnecessary emotion came from. He was no different than Rune.

“What can you offer this time?” Glave chuckled again, “Resetting a dimension so I can send all of you on your merry way? It will only take time before all of you find each other again.”

“I know it’s our fault this happened, but that’s why I want to change that.” Knight said, “I only want-”

An arm blocked Knight from getting closer to Glave. Immortal stepped up and shook his head to Knight, effectively silencing his counterpart with a tiny smile. The sword user beamed at Glave and offered the man a forced grin.

“Yo, Glave! I got a better deal than myself over there,” Immortal nudged Knight to the side. “Why stop at resetting one dimension? You’re right, we might try to see each other again and that means you’ll have to fix our mess again. So why don’t you sit down and listen to what I have to say?”

“Oh?” A smile could be heard in Glave’s raised intonation, “What do you propose?”

“Why don’t you make it so that dimension traveling is stable across our three dimensions?” Immortal nodded, “You won’t regret this because you will never be bored!”

Anemos once proposed to Ultimate that Glave’s strange requests were done out of boredom. She kept her voice low and hushed with a snide comment that was uncharacteristic of the elven woman. Ultimate couldn’t relate to the emotion as Nasods did not get bored, but she knew that humans had a tendency of finding ways to entertain themselves when placed in isolation. She could see why Glave would go to such lengths to reach out to the El Search Party when his traveling was limited to a few spots.

“Never get bored, huh?” Nova laughed to himself, “That’s so Elsword.”

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Chevalier

In contrast to the cold weather in Varnimyr, there was nothing in Henir’s time and space. It was warm yet cold. Big, yet small. An infinite sea of platforms floated in space, small stairs suspended in midair and connected to one another. Just big enough to fit all twenty nine of them and its administrator.

The first time he had visited Henir’s time and space was by Glave himself, who had a tendency of showing up at resting spots in Elrios. A strange light in his eyes gave away that the man had plans of his own. He wasn’t one to share his intentions and Chevalier didn’t want to do with any of it. Chevalier didn’t lack strange people in his life after he formed a pact with Ishtar.

It has been weeks since Chevalier last saw the administrator of Henir’s time and space. With a look of boredom and a shrug, Glave offered useful information on the Dark El and a quick history lesson of the Henir heretics involvement of it. Their dependence on Glave brought discomfort to the half-demon butler.

“Are we nothing more than entertainment for this man?” Ishtar scowled, “Fixing someone else’s mistake in exchange for our livelihood. What kind of nonsense is this?”

Chevalier hushed the former demon ruler. He had seen the hasty plan wrapped together by the newcomers as if it was second nature for them to dimension jump at a last minute’s notice. There was no reason to give Glave a moment of doubt in handing over a gift to their group.

“How would we travel to each other’s worlds?” Apsara asked.

“I gave the coordinates to the nerd and the musclehead,” Paradox snorted. “I think that’s enough.”

“This is a good idea?” Chevalier wondered aloud, “Demons have tried to cross into Elrios through portals in the past. What makes you think they won’t find out about our new access to them?”

“It’s only a problem if you blurt it out in the cold open like the amateurs you are,” Paradox grinned. “With twelve of you, that surely won’t be a problem, would it?”

Chevalier couldn’t make head or tail(s) about the man who shared Doom Bringer’s face. The time traveler had two forms he could use however he pleased. That was how he tricked Knight into believing he was harmless, yet they were expected to take Paradox’s words as truth. The butler’s gaze locked into Bringer, who nodded as a confirmation.

“That’s right, he gave us the coordinates for each other’s dimensions.” Bringer said, “Is that all you want to say?”

“You’re not the type to have idle conversations, are you?” Dreadlord chuckled, “I suppose it can’t be helped with our situation.”

Was the Demon Realm they came from beyond saving? It wasn’t their world, but it was the one the El Search Party promised to protect. It was a relief to make amends with the dark elves and the other creatures living there. Despite the poor relation between demons and Elrios inhabitants, there were civilians living in both. Most importantly, it was Ishtar’s home. Behind her sly smiles was sadness and nostalgia for a place that no longer accepted her.

Chevalier and Ishtar poured blood and sweat into fighting their way into Demon Realm to restore her reign as a ruler, only for all that effort to go to waste. He couldn’t imagine the thoughts going through Ishtar’s mind in watching her world be reduced to ashes.

“It’s fine,” Ishar placed a hand over Chevalier’s left forearm. She said with a forced smile, “It doesn’t bother me. Everything will be okay.”

“Are you sure?” Chevalier disliked how childish he sounded when he asked a seemingly simple, yet personal question to the one he was supposed to protect.

“Metamorphy said it would be reset, so I’m sure of it.” She closed her eyes, “My people are no strangers to rebuilding themselves. We should be thankful Grave is agreeing to help us again. This will be the second time we owe him.”

“That’s already several times less than some of us,” Immortal gave a light chuckle. “Are you ready then?”

All this talk about portal and interdimensional travel was a familiar topic that gave Chevalier a migraine. He could understand why the ability to do so was so appealing to demons. With that sort of power, Chevalier would gain access to stronger allies, multiple versions of himself that would likely share the same objective as he did. It took the effort of many people to prevent such power from falling into their enemy’s possession.

Meeting their alternates added an extra layer of complexity on top of the original intention to seek out the Dark El. The butler knew they wouldn’t hear the last about portals after the first time they attempted to cross a dimension over from Lanox. Chevaliar had doubts that their group would return to Elrios any time soon.

“You all right, there?” Abysser’s annoying voice popped into his vicinity. “What’s going on in your mind?”

“Nothing,” Chevalier said.

“No one thinks about nothing,” Abysser snorted. “Hey Ish, what’s he thinking?”

“Don’t call her that!” Chevalier growled. Why was being around himself so grating? Ishtar gave Abysser a small smile, but the demon monarch mentally cackled at the exchange between the two butlers. Chevalier sent glares at the tiny demon, struggling not to fill his mind with profanities. That only made Ishtar laugh harder.

“Did I say something funny?” Abysser was concerned, “You look like you ate something bad and Ishtar is giving me a weird look.”

Chevalier stared ahead, focusing his thoughts and eyes on Glave. The administrator’s lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear the words. For the first time, he wished Ishtar didn’t have to share the same mental space as him. The demon monarch was usually good about backing off and giving him privacy, but Ishtar was taking delight in picking at his thoughts whenever Abysser was around. Her Cheshire grin was one that was usually reserved for teasing Bluhen.

“Ciel was telling me how much he likes you!” Ishtar dared to speak a complete lie. Her lips couldn’t have spread out even further if she tried. The demon monarch bore a mischievous smirk that was more in line with her appearance age.

“Aw, I think you’re cool too!” Abysser beamed.

Chevalier groaned.

He spied a camera shot of Varnimyr from one of the reflective cubes floating nearby. They functioned similar to the Nasod technology used in Elysion to monitor the city. Red clouds swirled in a dangerous haze, obscured by dark portals consuming the rest of the sky. Demons trekked across the fiery path, seeking for shelter in confusion to what was happening to their world. The demon realm was a mirror to what Lanox was weeks before the demon invasion. So this was how Glave always knew where to find them.

Past his former days as a hitman, Chevalier pondered on how he would use them. How easy would it be to find his target before they realized he existed and... Chevalier didn’t allow himself to complete the thought. Those days were over. He would have easily picked to live in the present than in a bloodtorn past where he too often scraped the bottom of the barrel for less savory jobs.

“It’s okay if you don’t know what to think about any of this,” Abysser read his silence as uncertainty. His eyes glazed over the cubes. Anger appeared in a short moment before he said, “I don’t think anyone would know how to react.”

“You think?” Chevalier gave a dark chuckle. At least Abysser’s voice was good at distracting him from those troubling thoughts. “I was questioning my sanity when you introduced yourself.”

“I can’t be that bad,” he feigned a hurt expression.

“It’s like a dream,” Chevalier said. “Everything gets resolved as quickly as the problem came.”

“We must be blessed because we now have three Elswords,” Abysser smirked. “Lady Luck seems to like them.”

“I wouldn’t call it luck if it means having to sit through the world crumbling before us,” Chevalier said.

“You’re welcome to join them,” Abysser grinned.

“I’ll pass,” Chevalier scoffed.

“Don’t you ever get bored of acting cool all the time?” Abysser asked.

Chevalier shrugged, wondering what the demon meant by that. While he was troubled by the idea of watching a dimension reset itself, Ishtar did not need to add his premature death to her list of growing worries. Having sympathy for demon realm civilians wasn’t going to make him into a martyr. He was not Knight.

“What needs to be done to begin the reset?” Anemos asked.

“Your visit was unexpected, so I won’t be able to start immediately to fix your… mishap.” Glave said. “For saving the dimension, I expect a token of exchange shortly after. I’m sure it won’t be difficult for one of you to acquire it.”

Chevalier was sure the first part was a lie, but he didn’t have the proof nor motivation to say otherwise. He took Glave’s word for it and nodded in agreement. His mind glossed over the mention of payment, mildly interested in what the administrator of Henir could want. Glave had previously formed exchange services for them running errands. The requested items were often unique objects obtained from strange circumstances and battles.

“You can tell us about the price after you finish saving the world,” Immortal said impatiently.

Similar to Knight, he carried weight in his steps and was terse in his words. He had a sharp look in his eyes, hazy from the effect the Dark El had. Chevalier could feel the Dark El radiating from the sword user, yet he retained his reason and intelligence.

“There will still be limitations on how many can visit different worlds,” Glave added. “Your dimensions will no longer collapse under the new laws, but having large groups together will cause a delay in regular timeflow.”

“As in…?” Flame squinted.

“Try not to visit in big groups,” Phantom finished for her.

“Having big groups does make it harder to avoid detection from the enemies,” Daybreaker remarked.

Being forced to arrive as small groups sounded cumbersome, but it was more than what he expected from Glave. Impressed by Immortal’s ability to sway the administrator of Henir, Chevalier quietly thanked the redhead and offered a pat on the shoulder. Immortal backed away, as if the young man had seen a ghost. He kept looking at the butler’s face with a careful expression before moving his eyes over to Ishtar. Fear struck across Immortal’s gaze before he apologized to Chevalier for staring.

Confused by Immortal’s reaction, Chevalier accepted the apology but frowned. Was it something he had said? Did Immortal have a bad relationship with the other Ciel from his world? It took a split second for Chevalier to force himself away from drawing out his gunblade because of the way Immortal looked at Ishtar, an expression he was quick to recognize. It was one of fear mixed with anger. What did the other Lu do to make Immortal respond like that?

“Forget it.” Immortal rubbed the back of his head, a trait he shared with Rune and Knight when frustrated. “I need to let the others know what’s happening.”

“I know you have a lot on your plate, but Glave won’t be ready any time soon.” Chevalier said. He wished there was something he could do to help the young man. “You should take the time to rest.”

“Lucky for us, time doesn’t exist here.” Immortal let out a dark chuckle.

“So after this, we’ll return to where we were before like nothing happened?” Chevalier asked.

Immortal nodded.

Rune’s group would go back to Elrianode before they entered Demon Realm. Would they once again attempt to enter their Demon Realm or would they change plans and remain in the ancient city? Chevalier and his friends would return to a restored Varnimyr with its inhabitants being none the wiser, still in danger because of a strong demonic presence they have yet to identify. Where would Immortal and the others go?

“Don’t waste your time thinking about the things that don’t exist in your world,” Immortal said. He gave the butler a critical expression, “I’m sure you’re curious about what my world is like, but that’s our problem to figure out.”

Problem? Chevalier realized he was judging a group of people he had only met a few hours ago and felt guilty. It wasn’t his place to make opinions on something he didn’t understand.

“Perhaps we’ll meet again under better circumstances,” Chevalier said.

“Maybe,” Immortal’s expression softened. Despite his young face, there was age in his eyes. Chevalier didn’t understand why, but he sympathized with Immortal’s struggle to hold the team together. That was something he could relate to. “Maybe not.”

“Can you at least tell me if you found the Dark El?” Chevalier asked when Immortal excused himself.

The redhead broke into a burst of genuine laughter, “Would I be here if I knew the answer?”

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

Immortal

Resting his head back against the palm of his hands, Immortal took deep and controlled breaths as Shakti had taught him. He felt his chest hover before deflating, letting his mind wander off into the distance and blocking out the pointless chatter around him.

More waiting. Nothing he could do to speed it up. Time didn’t exist in Henir’s Time and Space, which was great because that meant the stakes were lower, but made the extraneous delay worse for the sword user. Immortal was itching to get up and find something to do.

Paradox didn’t trust Glave, but it wasn’t a question about trust. Glave was useful. He had access to knowledge and power that could easily switch their position in their current battle against the demons. Immortal wasn’t going to ignore a viable resource, not when Glave was so eager to offer his services.

It was torturous sitting around and waiting for Glave to do his thing and send them back. To hell with Glave saying their visit was unexpected. He knew the guy was keeping a careful watch on his group. Something about them having “potential”, whatever that meant. Glave was never confused when his team visited the administrator, often offering them valuable information they needed. There was no reason for Glave to begin being surprised by their appearances.

Immortal’s concentration was broken by girlish giggling. Scowling at nothing in particular, he opened his eyes to see Metamorphy pointing at Paradox while talking to Devi. The magical girl motioned a pair of cat ears with the use of her index fingers. Devi had a similar expression as Immortal, confused by Metamorphy’s chatter. Flame was amused and mouthed a few words Immortal couldn’t hear over the rest of the mob.

“It’s hard to hear your own thoughts,” Nova commented. The older man settled down next to Immortal. “I’m surprised it took effort to find them.”

“I’m surprised too,” Immortal mumbled. “We should have let Aisha lead.”

“She would be happy to hear that.” He could hear the smile in Nova’s tone without looking at the former mercenary. “Convincing Glave to let the paths crossover more than once was a bold move.”

“So was letting the Dark El take over.” Immortal balanced one of his blades to see his reflection shine over its glossy edge and smirked, “I’m a bold guy.”

“If you say so,” Nova chuckled. “I understand wanting to restore their dimensions, but why take the extra steps to let them transverse to our worlds?”

Portals weren’t a novelty for Elrios. Humans and demons alike have spent centuries toying with the idea of interdimensional travel, fighting to ignore the barriers placed by the gods to prevent them from mingling. In many ways, demons held very human qualities in wanting what couldn’t be obtained. If it wasn’t Knight or Rune’s teams attempting to use portals, Immortal was sure the demons would make additional attempts to break into another dimension.

“I like to call it a haunch,” Immortal said. “Just in case something like this happens again. Besides, they could use the extra help.”

“In fighting Rosso?” Nova raised a brow.

“Not so loud!” Immortal shushed him, “I don’t think they know about him yet, at least that’s what Paradox told me.”

“Letting them know won’t hurt them,” Nova gently told him. “They already know they will make it because of us.”

Immortal questioned if it was wiser to let the other El Search Parties know what they were getting themselves into. His team had barely scraped out of the battle with bloodied cuts and bruises that took days to heal. Unlike Knight’s team, they had no healers and relied on potions crafted by their alchemists.

What would he tell Knight and Rune? That they were going to be ambushed by a burning midget with a giant blade? Immortal sighed, frustrated by the dilemma. Their timelines were already tangled up thanks to Paradox. There was no use in hiding knowledge from each other, yet he hesitated.

Their small team of eight grew at Rosso’s awakening. Paradox showed up when the first blood was drawn. When asked why, the time traveler shrugged with a mischievous smile. Immortal could never understand what went through Paradox’s mind and wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

It was one of the rare fights that summoned Iblis and Anular from the depths of hell. Iblis’s face was twisted with madness and delight in the pain she was able to inflict on their enemy, dragging Anular along on an invisible chain formed by their twisted bond. Their party was down to the last of its members able to fight when Immortal thought he saw red hair and a claymore before passing out. When he woke up, Bloody Queen was nowhere to be seen.

“You think our help will be enough?” Immortal pondered on the implications of being able to regularly interact with his alternates. They were just a walking distance from him, but he couldn’t bring himself to face them.

Nova noticed his hesitance.

“You should check on them,” Nova followed his gaze over to the two red haired men talking to each other. “I’ll let you know when it’s time for us to leave.”

“What if they hate me?” Immortal was surprised by his own doubt, annoyed by how honest he sounded.

“Before you finish that thought, I think they’re more concerned about their problems than about you.” Nova said without heat in his words, “They followed you through this plan because they believed in you. I think your appearance might be a breath of fresh air for them.”

“You sure put a lot of faith into this eighteen year old,” Immortal laughed.

“If age was a concern, I wouldn’t have followed you when we first met.” Nova smiled. “If they give you trouble, I can talk to them too.”

“I don’t think that will happen,” Immortal laughed again. Knight and Rune were foolish, but had good intentions. That made three of them. He gave a mock salute to Nova with a toothy grin, “I won’t be gone for long.”

It wasn’t hard to find Knight and Rune. They sat huddled together like they have known each other for years, speaking hushed whispers that raised Immortal’s radar. He forced those thoughts away, putting on a big smile as he was supposed to. Relaxed, waving at the two as if he wasn’t bothered by the idea of being the bringer of bad news that they were going to have to deal with a half-demon brat in a matter of hours, two weeks in Rune’s case.

“Yo!” Immortal heard himself speak. He waved to them, “Fancy seeing you two here!”

“You’re the one who brought us here,” Knight waved back with a sigh.

“I know,” Immortal kept smiling. “I told you I would help you guys get home!”

“That felt a little too easy,” Rune said. “Do things always go smoothly for you?”

“No,” Immortal heard Knight’s voice alongside his. He stopped to look at Knight, who wasn’t as surprised. “Really?”

“Yes,” Knight stressed. The look on his face was one of someone who was exhausted from all the interrogating from others. Impatient, he pressed his hand against his forehead when he saw doubt in his alternates. “Maybe the things I went through weren't as long and strenuous as it was for you, but I have struggles too!”

“Never said I didn’t believe you,” Rune patted Knight on the back. “Just surprised, that’s all.”

Even if Immortal had purposely avoided talking to Rune and Knight up to this point, he was envious of how easy it was for them to talk to each other. Knight and Rune lacked the tension in their shoulders, relaxed and eager to trust others. It wasn’t that Immortal couldn’t relax, but there was a constant nagging voice in the back of his mind. Conwell urged him to take the next step to avoid the uncertainty of death.

“Did you make Raven worried again?” Rune asked.

“Me? Worry him?” Immortal smirked at the idea,“When isn’t he worried? He’s going to get white hair if he keeps fussing like that.”

“Ours already has white hair,” Knight said without humor.

Having only caught a short glimpse of Rage from a distance, Immortal was only able to recognize the former mercenary by the monstrous arm. It was nothing like what Immortal was used to, a strange mesh of machinery and organic compounds.

Rune threw his head back and let his hair flop over his face in uncontrolled laughter. Covered in runes, his appearance was a sharp contrast to Knight’s conservative armored look. It was amazing how consistent their looks were to their personalities. If not for their shared names, they could have been different people.

“Anyway, I think it’s only fair I share some information about what’s coming up for both of you.” Immortal ran one hand through his hair.

“You mean what was causing the earthquakes in Varnimyr?” Knight asked, “Yeah, Paradox mentioned something about that. Rune and I were talking about that.”

“Did Paradox mention how strong the next enemy was?” Immortal asked.

“We’re going to have to fight something stronger?” Rune laughed, “When is that not the case?”

They were taking the news better than Immortal thought, maybe too calmly. He didn’t like how quick Rune was to accept his word. No hesitance or questioning involved. Maybe Paradox was right about him needing more caffeine. Knight blinked, letting the new information process before nodding in agreement to Rune. He looked at Immortal with interest and ushered him to keep talking.

Well, that’s why Immortal was here - letting them know what they were getting themselves into. It wasn’t going to stop them from going after Rosso, because they were Elsword and none of them could ignore someone’s cry for help. If no one was going to fight Rosso, who would? The ones who felt the most connection to the El. Good gods, why did all of them have to be big damn heroes?

“The enemy will be heavily protected from outside its tower,” Immortal explained. “You need to take down the barriers quickly before they overwhelm you. Make use of everyone’s abilities and distribute your strengths. If one person gets shot down, let someone else take over.”

“People died?” Knight looked alarmed.

“No,” Immortal realized his wording and stepped back. “But you’re going to need all the help you can get.”

“Is that why you asked Glave to let our dimensions overlap?” Rune asked.

Immortal cocked his head to the side, “Am I scaring you yet?”

“Not really.” Knight’s brave front was betrayed by his face losing color. Clearing his throat, he said, “Telling us what you know will make the fight easier.”

“Will it be easier?” Immortal asked more for himself than to the others. “I doubt things will ever be easy for any of us, but you’ll continue?”

“Of course!” Rune bumped his fist up, “Who the hell do you think we are?”

Knight nodded in agreement.

“Figures,” Immortal smiled. “Then I see no point in stopping either of you from doing what you have to do.”

He sat with his legs crossed with his body leaned back, looking up to the stars surrounding Henir’s time and space. No wonder Glave kept finding excuses to leave this bubble and interfere with his group. There was nothing to see once the novelty in the monitor panels and space wore off.

“What’s your team like?” Knight asked.

“You already saw half of them,” Immortal said. “What do you think?”

“Blunt. They have a lot of energy,” Knight after some thought, clearly putting careful consideration into his response. How cute.

“They have a lot of powers we haven’t seen before,” Rune commented. “Where did Paradox learn to use portals?”

“None of us know,” Immortal shrugged. “Metamorphy thinks Glave is involved, but that’s besides the point. Paradox does what he wants.”

“You mean he isn’t with you?” Knight asked.

“Yes and no,” Immortal said. “Our team is a little smaller than yours because we don’t travel together.”

Immortal saw the wheels spinning in Knight’s head, taking in the new information and forming new questions to throw at the sword wielder. He caught the red-haired knight tongue-tied on whether to probe further. It didn’t matter to him. If Knight asked, he would let the other know that their team functioned differently. Having a smaller team didn’t bother Immortal. It made traveling easier and drew in less attention.

“It must be hard fighting that enemy if you had a smaller group,” Rune said.

“We’ve managed,” Immortal replied.

Although Iblis, Anular, and Paradox had joined for the bigger fights, he wasn’t sure if they counted as allies. Their loyalties laid elsewhere, not in him. Anular followed wherever the corrupted queen went and Paradox had a separate agenda unrelated to the El. It was better than no help at all. He wanted to offer the two El Search Parties more than that. No one deserved to barely scrape by with burns and blisters on their sides.

“I hope we get to see each other more after this,” Knight spoke up. His voice was quiet, but firm. There was determination in his tone. “Not just to help each other, but to talk. It would be nice to stop thinking about saving the world for once.”

“You need to come visit!” Rune exclaimed, “Not sure how similar our worlds are, but it would be nice to take a break once in a while.”

“That sounds nice,” Immortal closed his eyes.

Yeah… he liked the idea of that. When was the last time Immortal rested and didn’t stop to think about the state of the world? Traveling with his friends for the last several years was fun, but it’s been months since Immortal got to enjoy himself. Maybe he could ask COBO services for suggestions.

“Elsword!’ Nova’s voice forced him to blink and look up. “Glave said he’s ready!”

“What do you know, it’s already time.” Immortal murmured to himself. “Guess it’s time to watch the world end.”

“It’ll be okay.” Even Knight sounded unsure. He turned to Immortal for help, “Right?”

“Guess we’ll find out very soon,” Rune had an uneasy smile. “We have the front row seats to watch it unfold.”

Immortal wondered what went through Rune and Knight’s minds as they passively sat there and witnessed a cruel image. Displayed on multiple screens was the same climatic scene of a redden world. Varnimyr was already red from the chaos caused by Rosso, but the portals have crushed the mountains and trees that made up the region. They dissipated into fine dust and sucked into the portals. The inhabitants’ cries were silenced by the light.

A blinding light flared from where they stood, beaming downward into a distant galaxy containing the demon realm. Immortal watched the light consume what was left of the crumbling dimension with a promise of starting anew. His very being felt electrified in response to the Dark El in the demon realm inverting on itself.

Glave remained standing in silence. His fingers traced over a diagram of portals overlaying between different spheres of galaxies and interdimensional planes. The display of writing and symbols meant nothing to Immortal.

“I look forward to watching the three of you make use of the reset” He heard Glave chuckle, “Don’t let it go to waste.”

He watched as Glave manipulated something to make the lines intertwine before his body snapped into shock. Unable to hold his head up, Immortal lost his focus and closed his eyes. Glave’s laughter echoed in his head.

#elsword #eltag #elsword fanfiction #my writing #mywriting #doppelganger #Elboy (Elsword)#Rena (Elsword)#Aisha (Elsword)#Raven (Elsword)#Eve (Elsword)#Chung (Elword)#Ara (Elsword)#Elesis (Elsword)#Add (Elsword)#Lu (Elsword)#Ciel (Elsword)#Ain (Elsword)

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