#despite being the cause of my issues she's also usually my only ally

[annieisyourfavourite]

wanted to post that life is pointless but no. it's not. even though i'm stuck in an abusive home environment, i won't always be. i'm powerless in a lot of situations but i won't let that stay forever. one day i'm gonna get out and i'm gonna have the ability to set boundaries and i'm not going to be my brothers' punching bag any more. my life will be so incredibly full of autonomy and love and hope that it'll be overflowing

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

You’re welcome for the asks, got some more for you :)

1: do they give each other piggy back rides?

2: how often do they hang out besides at school? Everyday, once a week, etc

3: when Jake performs a wedgie on a goon does he pull the waistband up or pulls the part of the underwear underneath the butt up? Also I can see him pulling the underwear down causing Chris to cover his eyes XD

4: do they plus mar’i have any mental issues besides PTSD? Like OCD, autism, etc…

5: what was Chris’s relationship like with Jon & Kon when he first joined the family?

6: what’s their favorite thing to do in December?

1. Oh most certainly they will, especially after long missions and patrol nights should either of them be exhausted. Despite Jake’s insistence and the few exceptions he’s been able to, majority of the time, Chris is the one carrying Jake like that. Jake doesn’t mind it too much though, he’s quite used to it and if anything it’s as comfortable as when his Big Sis and Uncle Tim(my) piggyback carry him

2. About Every Once a week, mainly at their respective central city parks if crime rates are relatively slow or maybe even if they have their allowances saved up, at their local theme park packed with massive roller coasters, arcade games and snack stalls. Usually they go there for testing new dares in said roller coasters or if new rides are built and open. Plus also, numerous ride photos they post later online because it’s always fun to look out how much either they freak out or even not when in a coaster train going at 75 mph down 189 ft.

3. He always aims for the waistband as he has the strength to successfully lift the crook with even a single arm without any fabric being ripped apart. Plus while that sounds funny, even Jake knows a bit better than going that far with pantsing crooks. That’s more or less actually something Lian as Speedy would do with her arrows, courtesy of being trained be her dad.

4. As explained, Chris can reasonably be diagnosed with C-PTSD and Anxiety Disorder due to his past with his birth Father and all the horrors he had bare witnessed to even prior to meeting Clark.

Now as for Mar’i, she herself has so far not displayed major symptoms of mental disorders but is nonetheless researching on the subject so she can properly understand to the best of her abilities how it works and what are the best treatments when those conditions are active, so that she can be a comforting presence for a prison suffering a mental breakdown.

Then there’s Jake. Prior to his duel with Zsasz, he already exhibited some symptoms of social anxiety, especially prominent almost every single start of a school year which has new teachers, new potential classmates to meet, new expectations and an overall feeling of a differing crowds to try blending into from before, making it difficult for him to feel like he fits in.

Post Zsasz, though no doubt he exhibits symptoms of PTSD, haunted in his mind more so by the gruesome marks and wounds those poor orphans in that orphanage he investigate were left in, no doubt in his mind in betting that they actively suffered being their lives end. The fact many of those slain orphans were around his age range with 8 years at youngest and 12 at oldest, he feels a sense of survivor’s guilt and shame in that he feels he could’ve saved them had he only known. Couple that with how sadistic, cruel and diabolical Zsasz himself was in their duel with each thrust, swipe and twisting of that blade onto his then powerless self at that very duel, he perfectly then understood what those orphans had felt and likely would’ve died the same exact way had it not been for the timely intervention of his allies that moment (whether it be Chris in the revised version or his family in the original version as seen in my fic ‘Broken Wings’).

5. With Jon, the then 4 year old was curious and quickly ecstatic of having a big brother to be around, like having a brand new friend. Chris was very first was a tad nervous around Jon, afraid to hurt or scare him away with his background and where he came from. But over the course of the first few weeks of staying over, Chris started clicking with Jon all too easily as they bonded with numerous brotherly things they did together, helped along by Clark being there for the both.

Then there’s Conner, who first emerged at least in the timeline around when Chris and Jon were 7 and 5 respectively in the aftermath of the emergence and defeat of Doomsday (Clark himself actually survived this encounter but he was left in critical condition and taken to a hospital. However the press had claimed of Superman being killed in the process and Clark had lost his powers for a good while. It was in the period between this Doomsday encounter and Clark’s powers being restored did Conner, Steel, Eradicator and Cyborg Superman arise to fill in for his role).

Conner had thought of Chris like someone that embodies the awkward nature of his relationship with Clark, in that Clark was so quick to take in this unrelated child yet with him there seems being some sort of rift from the get go. Conner can understand where that rift comes from but it still annoyed him a bit. He didn’t wanna break Chris and Jon’s hearts though so he accepts looking over them whenever Clark, Lois and Kara were extra busy.

During these times they stay with him, mainly at Martha and Pa’s place at Smallville, he finds a sort of kinship with the boys. The fact they look up to him as a big superhero and are awe of his own tales of hero work while being all the cool certainly helps. Sure he twitches every time they refer to him as ‘Superboy’ instead of ‘Superman’ but it’s the thought and appreciation that truly counts. It’s about weeks of doing this and having the bond firmly in place when Conner begins to think of maybe….making these two as cool as him one day, as he’ll show them the right way of being a superhero.

6. Since both Hamilton County and Bludhaven can get a good amount of snow fall and frozen lakes that are available for skating, making snow angels, building snow replicas of Haley and Krypto and even some hockey on said frozen lakes with their siblings are what I envision Chris and Jake doing in December, let alone the winter

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Avatar, Part 12

Breaking from my usual four-episode-batch approach, because the various multi-parters make consistency difficult. Instead, let's wrap up everything before the main event. Everything being a lot of Special Fieldtrips With Zuko.

12. “The Western Air Temple”: Zuko finally joins the Gaang! I was fully not expecting his base personality under all the issues to be Dorky Loser, but I guess that probably is pretty accurate for most over-aggressive tryhard teenagers, so. Still, the 180 was very funny. Also, “I bet you’re surprised to see me”/ “Not really, since you follow us everywhere” was absolutely hysterical. Was surprised Sokka wasn't more upset about Zuko helping cause Yue's "death". Called it on Katara, and also called it on Toph’s encounter with Iroh being pretty important to how the group would ultimately feel about Zuko. I didn’t expect her to go so far out of her way to try and do something about the group’s rejection of him, though. That was a cool moment for her, since she’s so prickly and antisocial normally. When Combustion Man showed up I fully expected Zuko to have paid him to attack the Gaang again so Zuko could “rescue” them, with disastrous consequences, and was very relieved to be wrong. Fun as it would have been to watch him chasing after them, ineptly trying to help, for a few episodes, I’m glad we’re getting on with things. I do wish we got more of the Expanded Gaang, though.

13. “The Firebending Masters”: I had worried in the previous episode that Aang was rejecting Zuko (and all those other suggestions) as firebending teachers because he’s still hung up on hurting Katara (and further disheartened by his failure during the eclipse), but that seems not to be the case. I liked how they handled Zuko needing to find a new emotional source for his bending, that was cool. I 100% bought the “Iroh killed the last dragon before he reformed” thing and was delighted when that turned out to be a cover for Iroh once again being the best ever. I loved the statues teaching them the form, I loved the dragons, the whole episode was great worldbuilding.

14. “The Boiling Rock, Part 1”: Aww, Zuko serving tea like Iroh is adorable. (Where IS Iroh, anyway?) Why tf does Sokka not bring Katara in on this? It’s her dad, too! The island prison is brilliant, very screwed up and the “cooler” thing is great—it makes total sense as a horrible torture for firebenders. (Sticking Hakoda in there probably would have backfired, though.) Loved using it as part of the escape plan. THRILLED to have Suki back and in pretty good shape. Concerned about Zuko being recognized, even if they do escape—they’ve now been located. I hope they don’t kill off Hakoda during Escape Attempt 2.

15. “The Boiling Rock, Part 2”: Sokka really needs to learn to ID himself to his allies, lol. Ooooh shit, here’s Mai. I’m impressed with Chit Sang still not giving Sokka up. OOOOH SHIT, here’s Azula. I suppose she was inevitable. Awww, the poor anger management guy, I love him and hope he gets out and has a very nice life. The escape plan was going very well until the Warden turned out to be suicidal??? Why would he give that order? Exact opposite energy as MAI COMING IN WITH THE STEEL CHAIR and saving Zuko despite what Azula will do. Aww, Ty Lee, you weird sweetheart, I loved watching her save Mai in turn. Will Azula learn from this? Probably not but I live in hope. (How does Chit Sang feel about leaving his gf & bff behind this time?) Nice to have Hakoda back alive (and Suki)—will we start seeing more of the expanded Gaang now? How will having a grownup around affect things?

16. “The Southern Raiders”: Oof. Great shock opening (and great line from Azula about becoming an only child, true sibling energy there). No more expanded Gaang, which is a missed storytelling opportunity for me, but this late in the series probably makes the most sense. I would have liked to see a bit more about Katara being entitled to her feelings and not being required to forgive on others’ schedules, but an Inigo Montoya-themed field trip works too. (It’s a very old-Zuko thing to suggest, though.) Deeply uncool of her to tell Sokka she loved their mom more, though. Watching this episode and how it mirrored Aang’s worst side after they lost Appa was interesting—we don’t get to see Sokka, Toph, or the others in their darkest moments in the same way. (Zuko doesn’t count, the whole show is his darkest moment.) (Where IS Uncle Iroh?) But bloodbending? Wtf Katara! I kind of expected she’d end up using that as a last-resort-before-death thing, but I guess this emphasizes its evil nature far more. No good use for it, only bad ones. I wasn’t shocked that they went with the “you’re not worth murder” approach to the revenge arc, and it did set up the conflict over killing Ozai well. (I did notice that they showed us Yon Rha’s life is miserable, though. Would it have been harder if he’d been a happy man who “just followed orders”?)

17. “The Ember Island Players”: Oh, HERE is the episode that gets referenced all the time. Ngl, it was… uneven for me. I feel like it could have gone a little earlier in the series instead of right before The Main Event, both tonally and in terms of emotional continuity. Knowing that Aang and Katara end up together at the end of the show, it seemed weird to have their relationship issues here, instead of earlier. Likewise, the play lasting the whole episode with no other plot was odd. It essentially functioned as an extended “previously on Avatar”. Maybe it’s just because we’re speeding toward the end of the series and I’m going to miss it, but I would have preferred to bask in the world a little bit more, instead of this dvd-extra-vibes ep.

Next up: Sozin's comet and the end of the show! I'm not ready.

[vaguely-smart]

Jonathan Kent is a clone.

More specifically, Superman and Lois's Jonathan Kent is actually an adaptation of Conner Kent. (Jordan is also the Jon adaptation)

There are two versions of Jon that match the two comic versions of Kon.

The fruity, celebrity, daddy issues one who for at least some time is aligned with the villain.

And the more down to earth one who also has daddy issues who tries to combat them with performance enhancing drugs. Who dresses bland af (affectionate).

It is possible that Jon's football throwing skills could be enhanced by tactile telekinesis and it would add reasoning to Clark's favouritism towards Jordan because Kon always has a rough relationship with Clark. He may be being unconsciously biased against him.

It would also be an extra factor for why Lois and Clark were so sure Jon was the one with powers because he was specifically designed and lab grown for that reason.

The show also has no qualms changing characters' names. The biggest example is how Natalie is called Natasha in the comics but also Ally originally being called Rudy ('cause she's basically confirmed to be Parasite now, right?) It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to change Kon to Jon. After all, despite how confusing it is, it's still only a one letter change.

As for how this would actually play out in canon. We don't know how much S&L is actually related to Supergirl but it seems like it is a different continuity, considering their blatant refusal to even make a passing reference to the Arrowverse, but we can assume that the characters might make somewhat similar decisions and things might play out similar because they seem like quite similar alternate universes, if anything.

If, like in the Arrowverse, Lois and Clark went to have their baby on Argo, once they found out they were having a kid because that seems like the safest option then, as far as we know, that would leave earth with no superhero.

This would also leave a perfect opportunity for Lex Luthor to create his own superman with no opposition. Enter project Kr.

When Lois, Clark and their son, Jon, arrive back on earth business goes back to usual until one day Clark busts Luthor for project Kr and he finds a baby who is, genetically, basically his son.

Since the family was off the grid (off the planet) for almost the entire pregnancy, they would be able to pass the baby off as their actual son's twin brother because they wouldn't have told anyone they were having one kid, past the stage that they should have known if they were having twins.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Now for a few flaws to this theory and their rebuttals.

1 We saw Lois get pregnant with twins. - All the flashback scenes we saw pre-the twins already being born were taken directly out of Clark's mind in the "A Brief Reminiscence Inbetween Cataclysmic Events" we don't actually know how the little mind reader devices work but we do know that the "memories" do not always play out exactly as they happened, as seen when Lois is going through Jordan's memories. It is also possible that what we play out is Clark's imaginings of his and Lois' cover story.

Why wouldn't they tell the boys in the pilot? - I think this can mostly be explained along with why they kept the Superman secret for so long. Clark didn't want to tell the boys until it was necessary and while the alien thing was basically unavoidable, it is very easy to see Clark reason to himself that practically, they're both half Kryptonian, it doesn't really matter where they came from. It would be another massive reveal after the alien thing so he might not want to dump it all on them at one time. Especially considering their reactions. This would only make the secret harder to spill each passing day because the boys would, justifiably, be mad about why they were still keeping massive secrets from them.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

Tldr: s&l Jon = comics Kon.

[tricksters-captain]

Helmut Zemo imagines - Hostage Part 1

AN: I came up with this idea for a series in the shower and I hope you guys are as intrigued by it as I am. Also I’m aware it’s posted later than I said but I’m a perfectionist and couldn’t post it until I was happy with it!! To make up for it, I have some Laszlo Kreizler smut coming up soon for you Alienist fans. 

Summary: You were chosen as one of Karli’s elite. You became a super soldier to help your cause, make the world a better place but taking the serum came with a price. After being cornered one day, you’re taken by the famous Helmut Zemo to give him answers or face the consequences. 

In This Chapter: Introductions. You are sent on a mission for Karli, only for it to turn bad. 

Pairing(s): Zemo x Fem!Reader, Karli Morganthau x Platonic!Reader

Word Count: 2,703

Warnings: Spoilers for TFATWS, violence, strong language 

You stared back at the burning building as the truck pulled away. 

Despite the rumbling of the thick tires on the tarmac beneath you, you could hear the screaming. 

“Hey.” DeeDee placed a hand on your shoulder and tugged you round. “Don’t look.” 

You could see in her eyes that she was just as shocked as you were but was trying to hide it.

The task had been to remove as many supplies as possible from the GRC depot to take back to the camps in Riga. There had been no mention of bombing the place. 

Lennox’s eyes met yours in the rear-view mirror. You were all thinking the same thing. 

Why would Karli go through with something that hadn’t even been discussed?

“Turn here. It’s faster.” DeeDee leant forward pointing towards a more narrow alley as fire engine sirens echoed up ahead. 

Lennox did as suggested and the others followed close behind. 

It wasn’t a long drive from Vilnius to Riga but you all stopped when daylight broke to take some time to eat something. 

You sat down beside Diego, your eyes flickering to Karli every few minutes as she dished out supplies for you all. 

She noticed. 

“(Y/n).” Karli remained standing as she handed out the last can to Dovich. 

You took the hint and rose to your feet. 

You followed her to the side of the abandoned structure as the others tried to tune the radio. 

“What’s the problem?” Karli asked you, a hard expression across her features.

“What’s the problem?” You couldn’t help but scoff at the question. “Karli, you blew up a building with people still tied up inside.” 

“I did what I had to do. It’s the only language these people understand. You saw just how much food, water and medicine they were sitting on. If we had a fraction of that just a few months ago Mama Donya might still be alive.” You could see the tears Karli was trying to suppress as she spoke of Mama Donya.

“You still should’ve consulted us before you went ahead with it. We’re better than an eye for an eye and you know that.” You cautiously took her hand into yours to try and comfort her. “We’re trying to make a difference here.”

“And that is how we do it.” She dropped your hand as she defended her actions. You shook your head but didn’t retaliate. You knew there was no use in arguing with her in that moment. 

“There’s something I need you to do after Mama Donya’s funeral today.” Karli was quick to change the topic. “A mission for you and DeeDee.” 

“What is it?” You asked, folding your arms across your chest. 

“I need you to go to these coordinates immediately after the funeral. One of our allies will be expecting you both. He has information and something I need. It’ll be a parcel, small enough to conceal so you can make your way back to us without any suspicion.” Karli texted over the coordinates and the information on the contact. 

“How can you be sure it’s safe?” You asked as you studied his profile. 

“I wouldn’t send you if it wasn’t.” Karli paused before she wrapped her hand around the back of your neck and brought your forehead to hers. “We have to stick together now more than ever.” 

You closed your eyes and exhaled a shaky breath. 

“One world.” You muttered. 

“One people.”Karli pulled away just as Dovich called over to you both. 

They had managed to get the radio to work. 

You sat down and opened a can of fruit slices to try and quench your hunger. 

“The depot that was bombed was funded and run by the GRC, the Global Repatriation Council. One of the workers killed was the father of two and had only been on the job for one week. After condemning this latest action by the radical group known as the Flag Smashers, the GRC formally began drafting legislation known as The Patch Act, which would seek to restore traditional border regulations and fast-track the return to normalcy. The act of violence has also brought attention and followers to the Flag Smasher cause. No one can deny the world-wide reach of this group is growing, as is the danger.”

You shared a look with Gigi and Dovich as you listened to the broadcast. Your stomach churned at the mention of the father. You swallowed hard as you placed your food down. 

Karli parted from the group again, feeling the pressure of the eyes on her, but you chose not to follow. 

You had known Karli for 3 years. You met in Riga and became close quickly. You both had lost everything and then you had each other. When she took off to Madripoor, you followed. She always knew how to get people to see things her way, she had a spark inside of her that drew in those who wanted to fight for something; she was powerful for 19. She only grew more powerful with the serums. 

You had backed her and supported her from the start but something was twisting. Something was going sour. You had never killed innocents before but in Karli’s eyes; was anyone on the side of the GRC innocent?

“Finish up. We need to get to the border in time to meet our contact.” Karli strode past the group and didn’t stop until she climbed into one of the cars. 

You cleaned up after yourselves, leaving no trace that you were there, before you got back on the road. 

You were back in Riga soon enough, your contact at the border let you through without any issues and you made it to the checkpoint with all the supplies safely. 

Fortunately, you still had time to spare before Donya’s funeral. 

You remained hidden, on the low, whilst Karli went with Nico to pick up the leftover serums. 

You had previously spoken about creating more super soldiers. You had been against it. There were more than enough of you for the moment and the process of turning into one was beyond any pain you’d ever felt. You didn’t think more people needed to go through that. However, the vote passed and more were to be created. 

“You ready?” Karli asked you as she returned. You nodded. 

You headed to the secret location of Mama Donya’s funeral and fell into the crowd as the body came into sight. Mama Donya had been important to Karli and therefore important to you. She had been a kind woman. Kind to you. But Karli had a bond with her that you didn’t. This was Karli’s time to heal, to grieve, to help those who also relied on Donya. 

You watched Karli step up to say a few words. 

“I don’t remember my mother or my father. Same goes for siblings, grandparents, cousins. What I do remember is being alone. Worse than being hungry or cold or scared. I was alone. Until Mama Donya. Like a lot of you here, Mama Donya saved me. She clothed me, fed me, loved me.” You followed Karli’s eye line when she gasped softly. 

It was Sam Wilson. Avenger. 

You felt your blood go cold. Usually where there was one avenger, there were sure to be more. 

“She taught me that we have to do for each other because they won’t. And we know who they are. They imposed struggle and hardship on us, then labeled us as criminals for pushing back. But the struggle is what brings us all together. People who have nothin’ in common. For we are, after all, simply one world and one people. So live accordingly.”

As you stepped forward and placed your bouquet of flowers down beside Donya, Karli clasped hold on your wrist. 

“Go now.” She whispered under her breath. 

“What about you?” You asked. 

“I’ll be fine. Get to the contact.” Karli tried to assure you but you weren’t certain on leaving her. Dovich guided you away to stop you from arguing with Karli about it. He told you that he was going to stay behind to help Karli and that you had a more important job to do right now. 

You had to give in and leave. 

As you made your exit, you grabbed DeeDee and the keys to the motorbike outside. 

“We gotta make a detour. Make sure we aren’t being followed.” You announced as you climbed onto the motorbike. 

“Karli said our guy would wait for us so it’s better to be safe than sorry. We can’t mess this up.” DeeDee agreed with you as she placed herself behind you. 

You took off down the street and did your best to lose any tails. 

You ended up ditching the bike and moving underground once you were sure you were alone. 

You were either really lucky or they had only brought enough backup to deal with Karli. 

“We should be close.” You checked your phone to read the GPS before placing on your mask. 

DeeDee held the flashlight up as you worked your way through the empty tunnel. 

“You’d think Karli could organise a rendezvous point somewhere a little less musty.” DeeDee grimaced as a trio of rats scattered past you both. 

“This is the safest way. We may have gained a lot of supporters above ground but we have a lot of enemies too.” You tried to defend Karli’s choice but even you had to admit that the sewers were a low point for you all. 

“You think she got away okay?” DeeDee asked, the concern obvious in her voice despite her blank expression. 

“I think Karli’s smart and she wouldn’t stick around if she knew she couldn’t win.” You may have been anxious for her but you rarely had doubts with Karli. Even without the serum she always managed to slip through the cracks. 

As you continued to make your way through the tunnels, you spotted a silhouette up ahead. 

You narrowed your eyes as DeeDee shone her light on him. 

Fortautely, it was your contact.

“Greetings.” The man smiled widely at you both. He wore a bright head torch that stopped you from looking him in the eye and a large forest green coat. 

“We’re here to collect the parcel and information for Karli.” DeeDee informed him, shading her eyes from his light as she tried to lift her gaze. 

“Yes. Yes. I know.” The short man pulled out a small object wrapped in brown paper from under his coat. “Karli said you would be coming.” 

As the man spoke, you heard something splash in the water behind you. 

“What was that?” You asked, looking back to see if you could spot anything. 

“It was probably just one of the rats.” DeeDee tried to assure you but the hairs on the back of your neck began to stand up. 

You had a bad feeling about it. 

“I’m going to check it out.” You whispered to her. “Better safe than sorry.” You repeated what she had said earlier. 

“Be careful.” DeeDee handed you her flashlight before letting you go. 

You crept back round the corner from whence you had came. You remained close to the wall to avoid any oncoming intruders head on. Peering down into the water, you saw that it had been in fact just a rat that was now paddling through the sewage. 

“It's okay.” You relaxed, shouting ahead so they could hear you. “It was just a ra–––” You were cut short by a gloved hand covering your mouth. 

You sent your elbow backwards instinctively which threw your attacker into the wall. 

You spun around to see a figure dressed in a lavish coat with a purple mask covering his face. You furrowed your eyebrows at his appearance. You didn’t recognise him as an Avenger. 

He came towards you, sending a fist to the side of your head. You managed to block his attack, kicking him in the chest. 

You thought he’d be no match for you with your enhanced powers but he managed to put up a good fight. 

He wrestled with you against the wall as he gained the advantage. You resorted in head butting him to get him off you. 

You sent your leg up into his side but he wrapped his arm around your calf and yanked you forward. You lost your balance as he grip moved, hooking under your knee. He squeezed your thigh against him as he pulled out a rather large syringe. 

“DEE! RUN!” You managed to howl before the needle sunk into your thigh. 

You tried to fight again as he dropped your leg but your vision became patchy and your balance began to sway. 

Not to your knowledge, he had injected as much tranquilliser into you as one would a tiger. Your enhanced abilities wouldn’t help you with that, you were soon out cold. 

--

The stars shone above you as you and Karli laid back on the bonnet of the car. 

“I genuinely believe that you could be the one to change things, Karl.” You said as you munched down on the chocolate bar she had gifted you. 

“What are you on about?” Karli furrowed her eyebrows through her smile as she turned her head to face you. 

“I mean look what you did for my birthday, just using your powers of persuasion.” You smirked.

“Persuasion isn’t enough to change things.” Karli disagreed. 

“You’re right but right now, people need someone to look up to. Half the world is gone and hope isn’t something that's easy to come by anymore.” You stated. 

“And you think that person could be me?” Karli scoffed at the idea. 

“I think you could do anything you wanted if you put your mind to it.” You broke off a piece of chocolate and handed it to her. 

“I think you’re spending too much time around Mama Donya.” Karli took the chocolate and popped it in her mouth. 

“We’ll see who’s right one day.” You mused with a small smile. Karli rolled her eyes before trying to steal another piece. “Hey! It’s my birthday present!” 

--

When your eyes finally opened, you realised you were no longer in the sewers. 

You were standing but your hands were up above your head, chained to the wall behind you and a large metal strip was around your neck also. You desperately tried to search your surroundings through your mask but the restraints stopped you from moving much. 

The room was dark, no windows, a few dim lights dotted around caused the room to seem almost a brown colour and there was little furniture. 

You would’ve been a fool if you didn’t noticed the gun on a small table off to the side as well as the medical equipment glistening on a tall metal cart. 

Your head throbbed and your mouth held the metallic taste of blood. You tugged at your wrist restraints to test their strength and to your luck they were holding. 

“You’re awake.” You heard a thick accented voice when you stopped rattling your chains. “Good.” 

The possessor of the voice, your kidnapper, stepped into light and you clocked who it was immediately. 

It was Baron Helmut Zemo. 

Zemo could not see your face as he had left the mask on you but he could tell from your eyes that you knew who he was. 

“I bet you are wondering why you are here. Tied up in this basement.” Zemo started. “Let’s start with introductions, shall we?” 

You remained silent.

“My name is Helmut Zemo––”

“––I know who you are.” You retorted. 

“Then you know what I am capable of.” Zemo glared at you for the interruption. His hands finding his pockets as his eyes settled on your own. 

“I know you’re going to kill me.” You knew of what happened with the Avengers. You knew of Siberia and the destroyed soldiers. You knew of his hate. 

“I’m not going to kill you.” Zemo wagged his finger at you. “Not yet at least. No. We have a few things I’d like to discuss first.”

“Like what?” You scowled at the man. 

“Like the whereabouts of Karli Morgenthau.” 

(PART 2 HERE)

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[hologramcowboy]

At first I was surprised that Danneel hasn’t reposted any of her (admittedly terrible) modeling for that boutique in Austin. After all, it’s the first job she’s had in years and she should be trying to raise her profile as Chaos Machine tries to get off the ground. Plus, it’s not like she’s shy about debuting a completely new face and pretending it’s au natural. However, I realized that she can’t come back to instagram at the moment without being called out for her performative activism. And as we all know, Danneel can’t handle criticism.

Her stans on Twitter aren’t happy because she hasn’t acknowledged Texas Gov. Abbott’s new anti-trans directives despite it effecting her home state and her being an “ally” to the LGBTQ+ community. No reposting resources, no donations to any OutYouth Austin or other LGBTQ+ charities, no bare minimum show of support. They’re mad that the Ackles are marketing their brewery as a safe space, their production company as dedicated to queer presentation but won’t show up to help when the community is being attacked. Especially because it’s happening in Texas, the state the Ackles claim to call home. They’ve finally realized that Danneel has been using them for woke points, and both the Ackles have been profiting of the LGBTQ+ community without actually supporting them. The Ackles look especially bad because the both Jared and Gen have spoken up, and put their money where their mouth is.

And while I don’t agree that celebrities should get involved in global politics, (someone should tell them that sending their own money for humanitarian aid is much more helpful than their thoughts and prayers) her fans are also mad that it took her several weeks to acknowledge the crisis happening in the Ukraine. And when she did, it was just her usual performative activism. The “Oh look, I put a link in my bio so that the working class knows where to go so that they can do all the work” approach that she loves to take.

And you know it’s bad if her stans who aren’t the brightest of the bunch or the most independent thinkers are not only upset, but rightfully so (about the LGBTQ+ issues, not the war). She can’t dig herself out of this one with some cute photos of Jensen or rainbow logos, that’s for sure.

I think you brought up such an important point. She stated she was an ally and her actions prove otherwise. It's like she only plays the "activism" card when it's convenient. It's performative and the people who believe in her are less and less. This is what happens when you approach activism from an inauthentic stance. “Oh look, I put a link in my bio so that the working class knows where to go so that they can do all the work” THIS. IS HER. In a nutshell. That's all she does and she calls it "Activism". And some people fall for that which is just sad. She expects "the little people" to bow before her because she "acknowledged their plight". She raises a lot of noise to get attention and then back up once it's time to really get involved or worse, like she did when she whitewashed MLK, instead of being open to discussion she creates drama and doesn't own up to her mistakes and her contradiction of the values she says she has but never backs up. So it's all about her not the causes she supposedly "engages" in. It's her desperate ploy of attention and relevance. If this is her Activism, then for the love of gawd, she needs to shut up and stick to donating Jensen's money. Sorry not sorry.

[loafaethernaut]

GreySam Headcanons Let’s gooooo

(Most of these obviously take place during Sam’s time at Requiem, unless stated otherwise).

Part 1 because there are so many and this post is already long enough as is:

-So it’s canon that Grey had a macaque back home named Sam, but I like to imagine that Grey first called Samantha by Sam as a default because both Sams have similar personalities. Both are grumpy and have issues with authority- but both also have a soft spot for one Elizabeth Grey.

-Elizabeth finds Sam’s dry humor to be hilarious, and will laugh at every single one of her jokes.

-Even on days where she’s super frustrated with Weaver, the sound of Elizabeth’s laughter always makes Sam’s day just a little bit brighter.

-Occasionally Grey still has a hard time distinguishing if Sam is joking or not when she says something dark, and there have been times where Sam has shared something dark and vulnerable about herself and Elizabeth inappropriately started laughing.

-Which in turn will always cause Sam to burst out laughing herself. 

-Weaver once walked in on them laughing together and just stood there in awe for a few seconds, because he’d never heard Sam genuinely laugh that hard before.

-Before Operatsiya Inversiya, Grey would already sneak in little things to Sam- things that wouldn’t really get her into any trouble if Weaver caught them- like candy or snacks from the vending machine. 

-Sam loves listening to Elizabeth ramble on about her work. She understands more of it than she lets on, but she’ll occasionally ask questions just so that Elizabeth can keep going and explain more of her work to her. 

-I know for a fact I am not the first person to come up with this, but you cannot tell me that Grey didn’t help Sam come up with the name Notso Fluffy.

-Unfortunately because Requiem keeps her so busy, most of Grey’s visits are pretty short- but she tries to visit Sam at least three times a day, usually more.

-Before Sam, Elizabeth used to stay and eat in her lab alone during her lunch breaks. Then it became a part of her daily routine to eat lunch with Sam.

-Both Sam and Notso have become trained to perk up at the sound of clicking heels on the floor.

-Grey always keeps crackers in her lab coat for her macaques, and she always gives some to Notso during her visits.

-The squeaky toy we hear Notso play with in “The Ally” was definitely a gift from Elizabeth.

-Grey once snuck in a polaroid camera during one of her visits with Sam. They each have a photo of them together, the only photographed evidence of Samantha Maxis smiling.

-Elizabeth keeps her photo of them together at her desk.

-Sam hid her photo of them together in between the pages of her diary. The director still discovered and confiscated the photo when Sam was taken to block 8. That was when he realized Elizabeth was the one thing that could truly break her.

-Elizabeth always made a point to visit Sam one last time before she left work every day, which became later and later as the research data from the outbreak zones began to pile up.

-Sometimes it would be the middle of the night before Grey was able to make her final visit to Sam.

-Sam would always stay up and wait for her, no matter how late. The only exceptions were whenever Sam had an outburst that day and was medically sedated.

-Yet even on those days, Elizabeth would still visit her. Usually she’d fix her blankets and help tuck her in more comfortably. 

-As time went on, it began to bother Sam how much sleep Elizabeth was losing from her work. She tried to talk to Weaver about it, but there was little he could do to help. This led to Sam resenting the director of Requiem long before she was ever even taken to block 8.

-Despite being a prodigy in biology, Elizabeth learns quickly that Sam’s skill in applied mathematics far exceeds her own. She frequently has Sam double-check her work whenever she’s assigned a project that requires a lot of equations.

-Sam’s assistance unofficially contributed greatly to later models of Grey’s recon rover and DASA station. 

-We don’t really know in canon if Sam’s room at Requiem had a TV or not but you know the second Grey learns that Sam has never seen Star Wars she brings in all her VHS tapes.

-She’ll even bring in a little TV on a cart if she has to.

-Weaver agrees to cover for them and they have a little movie night together after work! They sit together on Sam’s bed and maybe even cuddle? I know I can expand on this movie night idea some more-

I literally have so many more but I’ll have to save them for another post, my apologies!

[lacrimosathedark]

Hamilton Inaccuracies/Corrections (because why not?)

Okay so, I saw a post on reddit that was like, “what’s some inaccuracies in Hamilton off the top of your head?” and I got a whole bunch...and then I had to double check to make sure if I was right...and I’m pretty long-winded...and  now I have this 5,000ish word monstrosity. And apparently you can only post 1000 characters at a time on reddit. Laaaaame. So here’s some Hamilton facts I’ve gathered in my brain. Since it was kinda off the top of my head despite being so long, it’s kinda vague in some places, so if anyone wants to expand on anything (or correct me if I oopsed somewhere) please do! Though nicely please.

Also I am also awful at citing things, but I know I learned some of this from @john-laurens and @ciceroprofacto so thank you.

LET’S BEGIN!

Act 1

Rachel Faucette was not a prostitute, but she was a “whore” in the sense that she did what she fucking wanted with her body. During her first marriage she may or may not have been sleeping around, but she refused to stay with John Lavien, her husband, anymore. So he had her arrested. And he could do that. Because patriarchy and theocracy. And she was essentially put in solitary confinement. You can see why she tried to leave, right? She tried to get their marriage annulled or get a divorce. I forget what the issue was but she couldn’t and eventually she just moved to another island where she met James Hamilton.

The intro song makes it seem like Alexander was an only child. He actually had an older brother, James Jr., but he kinda fucked off after their mother died, working and taking care of himself. They also had an older half-brother Peter Lavien, but I don’t think they really knew him other than as the son of their mother’s abusive ex who took everything from them when she died. John Lavien was able to do that because when Rachel was with James Hamilton, she had not been able to get legally divorced from him so she wasn’t really married to James Hamilton, so James Jr. and Alexander were illegitimate ie bastards. He was an asshole. I don't think Peter had anything against the Hamiltons, but I think he grew up to be a Loyalist so. He actually made some trouble in South Carolina for Henry Laurens, John's dad! But I think I read somewhere he also left money for Alex and James Jr. In his will, which is sweet.

This is more visual since it’s not specified in the song, but in the show, Hamilton’s cousin mimes hanging himself. Peter Lytton’s cause of death if I recall was inconclusive, but he was in his bed and there was a lot of blood. So, yeah, he didn’t hang himself.

Alexander did not punch the bursar. However he did return to Princeton later during the war and blew a canon through the school and apparently decapitated a painting of King George lololol. He was under orders, but yknow. Probably felt pretty good after he was rejected for accelerated courses. He wasn’t the only bastard rejected, though! Ben Franklin’s bastard son was too. The guy in charge of admissions, Witherspoon, hated bastards as a concept and Princeton was a very religious school at the time I believe.

It may have been the plan by Aaron and Esther Burr for Aaron Jr to graduate Princeton, but like, he couldn’t really be sure of that? He was like 2 years old when they died, and his older sister Sally was 4 I believe, maybe 5.

Hercules Mulligan met Alex in 1772. His older brother Hugh knew Alex’s old employer in St. Croix and helped him get to mainland America. Alex and Hercules lived together for a long while, and Hercules is actually who got him interested in the revolution.

John Laurens was in England in 1776. He wouldn’t meet Hamilton and Lafayette until he accepted his post as Washington’s aide-de-camp upon his return in August of 1777.

Lafayette couldn’t have met Hamilton before August 1777 because that’s when he met Washington, and he was appointed as a volunteer to the Continental Army only a week prior, and before that he had been in France. But Lafayette later declared their relationship to be like that of brothers, Alexander his closest connection in the states besides Washington.

Lafayette admired and absolutely adored Laurens and they were besties, but neither of them knew Mulligan. They may have met in passing, or heard about him from Hamilton, but nothing more.

“Lafayette” was actually a nickname based on his title of “Marquis de la Fayette”. In his autobiography, he wrote: “It’s not my fault I was baptized like a Spaniard, with the name of every conceivable saint who might offer me more protection in battle.” I’m glad he thought it was funny at least. His name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la Fayette.

Hercules Mulligan is not known to fuck horses.

The Revolution had already sorta started. Actually, Hercules and Alexander had been part of local militias before 1776.

This is more of a miscommunication since the actors are close in age, though the lyrics try to get it across. There’s a reason Mulligan says he’s got the others “in loco parentis”. In 1776 Hamilton and Lafayette would have been 19, Laurens would have been 22, and Mulligan would have been 36.

I think we all know “Laurens, I like you a lot” does not cover the scope of their relationship but that’s rather self explanatory so unless someone asks I’ll leave it at that. And for other clarifications. But at the very least I’ll share this: Anyone who saw them knew they were like attached at the hip (without knowing how attached *winkwonk*) and you could almost always contact one through the other. Laurens was notoriously bad at answering letters, to Hamilton too (and Alex did bitch about it because he is insecure and needs love), but it became quickly known he got back to Hamilton fastest so people would be like “Tell Laurens I said hi!” or “Hey, I need to get these to Laurens, you send them to him.” Which is hilarious. I just imagine Alexander going, “Why me?”

While all of them are Revolutionaries, Laurens is the only one you could solidly call an abolitionist, and Mulligan’s even shaky on the manumission part. He was supposedly part of the Manumission Society Hamilton helped start, but Mulligan also personally owned slaves and was never known to have freed them (One helped him with spy shit. His name was Cato!). In fairness, Hamilton and Lafayette wholeheartedly agreed with Laurens, and Hamilton was the biggest supporter of his battalion plan, and both of them did try to continue working towards equality after the war, but it was never the top priority for either of them and their lives kinda went to hell, so it fell to the wayside. Lafayette actually did some nifty stuff worth looking at, and Hamilton might have tried to keep one of John Lauren’s freed men from Henry Laurens! But as slavery stuck around for a while, it clearly wasn’t anything significant.

Angelica would meet and befriend Thomas Jefferson in Europe, but she would never manage to convince him to put women in a sequel because he’s a huge misogynist and told her in multiple letters that politics isn’t for women and I think he deserves a shoe up his southern backside. Side note, it always bothered me that Lin played up the misogyny in the musical. I mean, yeah, all of them would be misogynists compared to us, but for their time, Hamilton wasn’t so bad. If there was anyone to play up misogyny with, it was Jefferson, because he would tell Angelica for years and years that politics could never make women happy, and that the women in France were foolish for trying etc.. Hamilton would actually discuss politics with Angelica frequently and openly. And there’s a proto-feminist in the cast that was never recognized—Aaron Burr! He respected Theodosia Sr. as an equal and she was his most valuable political ally, and he made sure Theodosia Jr. got the same education any boy of her time would have. He actually respected women to a decent degree. Not to say he wasn't as much of a ho as Hamilton cuz yeah that's accurate (but they were both disaster bisexuals more on Burr's sexuality later)

Farmer Refuted was an essay Hamilton wrote arguing against Samuel Seabury's posts. They weren't shouting in the public square(but Lin got the sass right. I love his face when Hamilton and Seabury are fighting over the podium). Seabury was also really really old, not young and cute like Thayne, hence the line about "mange". Blech.

General Montgomery didn’t take a bullet in the neck, it was a grapeshot from a canon in his head (and his thighs), but close enough I guess. Side note: Burr actually served a short interim on Washington’s staff, but only for like 10 days because they hated each other lolol.

Alexander didn’t bring Laurens, Mulligan, or Lafayette to Washington. Lafayette joined up with the Continental Army in 1777 and quickly convinced them he wasn’t like the other French nobles; he was a glory-seeking kid with a boner for America (for some reason???). Laurens was requested by Washington to join his military family and he arrived also in August 1777 just after Lafayette. Like previously stated, Mulligan was doing shit even before Hamilton did.

Alexander would not have been in charge of spy shit (though may have been somewhat involved). Washington had people like Mulligan for that, who actually saved Washington a few times. But also, the "King’s men who might let some things slide" was the tactic Mulligan used. He was actually very charming, and his wife was very high in British society and he was a skilled tailor, so they were thought of well among the redcoats, and he got a lot of information through chatting with his customers. He also could usually smooth-talk his way out of trouble. Actually, Mulligan blended in so well, when the war was over, people in the city wanted him out cuz they thought he was a Loyalist. So George fucking Washington paid him a visit and commissioned I think a coat from him, and that cleared that up. He got a LOT of business after that.

Alexander would not be Washington’s right hand man, or at least, not his only one if Lin was using that to mean aide-de-camp. In that case, Laurens would also be Washington’s right hand man, along with many men not named in the musical.

John Laurens may have been reliable with the ladies (comes with the territory of being hot, rich, and a perfect gentleman), but he most certainly didn’t want to be. His father noted, rather proudly at the time, that as a young teenager he expressed no interest in girls. John was also married by 1780, and at least Alexander knew. (he told John he'd found out in the well-known April 1779 letter. You know... “Cold in my professions...find me a wife...the length of my nose...” That one.) Because John apparently didn't tell people he was married. Laurens. Sweetheart. Get. Your. Shit. Together.

John also would not be at this ball. February 1779 to March 1780 he is fighting down south, and this ball was early 1780.

The tomcat thing may be half true. Martha Washington did supposedly name a cat Hamilton, but it was an affectionate thing. The slang tomcat meaning ho wasn’t a thing at that time, so it couldn’t be named to tease Alex for his promiscuity. I believe this was one of the many things John Adams made up to slander Hamilton.

Hamilton and Eliza had met before 1780. They had met once two years prior at a dinner her father had hosted. Also, Hamilton had been courting her friend Kitty Livingston, and his friend and fellow aide Tench Tilghman had been attempting to court Eliza, and they’d actually done at least one sort-of double date (which is adorable). So this shouldn’t have been the first time they’d seen each other. Could still be when they fell in love, though, since they started courting after this. Which is cute to think about.

Speaking of Tench and Eliza! I don't remember when this took place but Tilghman journaled it, he went out on something of a hike with a few ladies and they got to a cliff. Of course, he had to help the girls climb up. Except Eliza who started climbing by herself like a natural to the bewilderment and likely horror of the other ladies. Elizabeth Schuyler was a bamf okay?

Of course everyone knows by now, Angelica was married before Eliza. During the Winter’s Ball, she’d already eloped with Jack Carter aka John Barker Church and run away to Boston.

Their courtship was not that fast. Not like, weeks. More like months. Fun fact, Eliza is the only of the five (yes FIVE) Schuyler sisters who didn’t elope and actually got her parents permission! But here’s a heartbreaking fun fact: while Alex was courting Eliza, Laurens was taken prisoner and then on probation. He wasn’t allowed to leave the state of Pennsylvania. He was mentally in a very dark place. Alex kind of procrastinated telling Laurens about Eliza, didn’t say he was courting anyone until they were already engaged.

I can't leave this alone if I'm sad you have to be too. Alex was hella depressed during this time too. Of course he was a soldier so he couldn't see Eliza as much as he'd have liked. On top of that, he kept pushing for an exchange for John and kept getting rejected because they couldn't show preference for him. And then Laurens was sending him very few letters, of course, and the ones he did send were very depressed, even suicidal sounding. He had to work while dealing with that. He had to keep begging Eliza to write to him to be reassured that she still liked him.

No one could show up for Hamilton for the wedding. Some sources say fellow aide James McHenry showed up, but he’s the only one. Alexander even invited his deadbeat dad, offered to pay all his travel expenses and everything, guess how that turned out. So Eliza’s side of the hall was packed and his was empty. God, can you imagine how sad that is?

Another heartbreaking fun fact! John Laurens was out of probation and could have made it to the wedding, was invited (Hamilton, I kid you not, jokingly invited him to a threesome with his new wife in a letter: “I wish you were at liberty to transgress the bounds of Pensylvania. I would invite you after the fall to Albany to be witness to the final consummation.” (emphasis is original to Hamilton. As is the misspelling of Pennsylvania. Yes, seriously.)) and John did not go. Instead he went back to work trying to talk his way out of getting sent as an envoy to France and suggesting Alexander to take his place. You know. His boyfriend who just got married. Sure, he was right that Hamilton was better equipped for the job, but yknow. Another fun fact, one of the guys who voted for John to be the one to go to France was John’s ex-boyfriend Francis Kinloch. Who was a turncoat, and had been a royalist when he and Laurens split. How’s that for some twisty bullshit.

Sorry, this one isn’t about the musical, it’s a tangent, I just got excited about that quote. Both that style of innuendo and the misspelling of Pennsylvania are consistent in Hamilton’s writing. Listening to john-lauren’s podcast about the April 1779 letter can really help you understand how Hammy uses innuendo but also I just love listening to it it’s insightful and hilarious and I love John Laurens but y u do this and my heart hurts for Hamilton but he is also a ho but aNYWAY. As for Pensylvania...well, he kinda made that mistake on an important document. ...It’s The Constitution. He misspelled Pennsylvania on The Constitution. No big deal. Not like something that could haunt his legacy forever. Oh my god I’m so sorry.

Philip Schuyler did have sons. Five in fact. Two of them died pretty young though I think, considering there are three kids in a row named John Bradstreet Schuyler. The other two were named Philip Jeremiah and Rensselaer.

Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan were all married before Hamilton. Hercules Mulligan married Elizabeth Sanders in 1773. Lafayette married his beloved Adrienne in 1774. John Laurens was regretfully obliged to marry Martha Manning in 1776.

Sigh. Again with the misogyny. Anyway, I wanted to comment on the marriage as a loss of freedom. From what I can tell, Elizabeth helped Hercules with his spy work at home. John was literally fighting a war across the ocean from his wife, and probably having an illegal affair with Alexander (though to be fair to him, he was kind of running away from Martha because he didn't marry her for love, gosh, there are no winners here). Lafayette absolutely adored his wife but still was also fighting a war an ocean away, and had multiple affairs, at least one with his wife’s blessing. So yeah, losing your freedom with marriage? Bullshit.

Despite where it is in the musical and Eliza singing the beginning, Stay Alive is roughly about Valley Forge, which would be December of 1777 through June of 78. So before the ball and wedding. (Fun fact! A lot of people theorize Valley Forge as when Hamilton and Laurens’ relationship may have escalated into romantic and/or sexual territory. They may have had more privacy, as small temporary buildings were being made to better withstand the cold, and Hamilton was sick a lot during that time and did need tending a lot. West Indian boi did not like Northern winter.) But yeah, Congress being stupid and the army resorting to eating their horses sometimes and not being able to buy food and equipment? All true. It was a real bad winter.

Mulligan wouldn’t have to go back to New York, he never would have left. He remained there as a tailor and a spy throughout the war. He wouldn’t have been traveling with Washington.

Hamilton and Laurens didn't write essays so much as start working out John's battalion plan and writing letters trying to push for it.

This duel happened in 1778, so like. This timeline is so fucky.

Stay Alive makes it seem like Hamilton was the one who wanted to duel Lee, but it was 100% Laurens from the start. The off-Broadway version demonstrates it a bit better. Hamilton was Lauren's second to save his ass. Hamilton had a rough relationship with Washington, but Laurens admired him greatly and would have willingly defended his commander’s honor. John was a Good Boy who always bowed his head to his asshole father, even at first for his battalion plan, but John wouldn’t let even his father talk shit about Washington. Fun fact about this duel, Alex and John were late to the duel because they “got lost in the woods”. Oooookay. Suuuuuuure. And Baron von Steuben was straight. (Fact: Steuben was very gay and pretty much pushed out of Europe for it. And he actually also had challenged Lee! They talked things out before this.)

Aaron Burr was not Charles Lee’s second. His second was a Major Evan Edwards. Lin wanted a parallel with the final duel. To be fair, that was a really cool way to do it and I like it better that way.

Alexander Hamilton could NOT agree that duels are dumb and immature. He was in 10 duel challenges as a participant in his lifetime, 9 of which he was the challenger. One time he challenged two people at once. One time he challenged an entire politcal party apparently. No, I am not kidding. He had a bad day. And I think you know the one time he wasn’t the challenger.

Lee did not yield on the first shot, nor was Laurens satisfied. Lee was pretty much like, “It’s just a flesh wound!” and wanted to go another round and Laurens agreed, but Hamilton and Edwards managed to talk them down. Yes he was shot in the side. But that wasn’t all because Laurens absolutely roasted Lee at his court martial. 

Lee: Were you ever in an action before?

Laurens: I have been in several actions; I did not call that an action, as there was no action previous to the retreat. 

I love this man. So much. The sass of this man.

We don’t know if Washington was angry about the duel with Lee. We do know that Laurens, and probably Hamilton, had Christmas dinner with him two days later. When Hamilton left, it was because Washington had snapped over a misunderstanding (caused by Lafayette actually, and he really tried to make it better because Lafayette is a sweetheart), and then continued to deny Hamilton the command he requested, and he resigned. It was entirely unrelated to the duel and Laurens. However, the daddy issues are real.

I don’t know if Lafayette went to France for more funds and came back with more guns, but Laurens certainly did! Ben Franklin told him to chill, but he actually got super impatient and ended up supposedly disrespecting and maybe kinda threatening the court, demanding what he needed, and walking out. They were were kind of shocked and impressed into giving more than had been requested. Any existing deities bless John Laurens. I love him.

Lafayette actually nominated his own aide to lead the charge and Hamilton appealed for himself and Washington finally gave in to Hamilton.

Laurens was not in South Carolina. When he finally got back from France, he was sent to Yorktown. He actually was commanding the group Alexander led. (Power couple lol) He also helped with negotiations after the battle. Also, supposedly making the British play ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ on their way out was Laurens’ idea because boy is made of sass and spite.

Henry Laurens would not have sent a letter to Hamilton about John’s death. Even if he would have, he couldn’t. At that time, he’d been locked up in the Tower of London as a prisoner. We have no idea when or how Alexander found out, or who might have told him. We know he wrote to Nathanael Greene on October 25 and Lafayette on November 3 (literally 2 months after Laurens' death), and the mentions of Laurens were very short. It’s thought that he really couldn’t talk about Laurens. People have compared it to the stories of how Benjamin Tallmadge apparently couldn’t hear Nathan Hale’s name without crying.

After Yorktown Alexander resigned and John went down south to flush British troops out of the southern states. His group was ambushed at Combahee River and he decided to charge instead of wait for backup and he died. Many people think it was a combination of his usual recklessness, suicidality, and glory-seeking mixed with a desperation with the war coming to an end. It was such a small skirmish. He deserved better. He left his daughter, Frances, whom he had never met, orphaned, as her mother had died months earlier from sickness. She was adopted by John’s oldest younger sister, also coincidentally Martha Laurens (though married was Martha Laurens Ramsay).

The Levi Weeks case was years later than that, in 1800, though it was alongside Burr. Hamilton actually lost his first trial as a defense lawyer and was not with Burr.

The whole conversation where Hamilton proposes Burr help him write the Federalist Papers is fake. Lin made that up entirely.

John Church’s wealth kinda...varies. He was a gambler. At first, he was actually in quite a bit of debt. He did make it big eventually and he and Angelica moved to Europe. He really didn’t seem to be a lot of fun to most people, but Angelica eloped with him. She chose him against her father’s wishes. I don’t get why Lin kept writing lines saying she didn’t love him, at least at first. He also does this in the cut song Congratulations where she says “I languished in a loveless marriage” bish you eloped wat She also lived as a socialite and was adored by anyone who met her apparently, so like???? da fuq Lin. Didja really do Laurens dirty for these lies or at the very least uncertanties? Could you not prop up that romance without making her say she hates her husband?

Act 2

More of a personality miscommunication. Irl Thomas Jefferson was shy, quiet, and hypersensitive, nothing like how Daveed plays him. If you knew a guy like the real Jefferson in real life you might be endeared to him out of pity or because he seems sweet, but in the short time of a musical that would immediately be read as cold and unlikable. So the best way to portray “this guy is a likable asshole” is to make him loud and made of sass which is what Daveed does magnificently. So, not at all accurate to real Jefferson, but gets the concept of him across.

Thomas was not off getting high with the French. Probably. He was making negotiations for the Revolution. And abusing Sally Hemings (his, at the time, 14 year old slave, who was also his sister-in-law, and 30 years his junior, and was brought along to entertain his daughter). And actually probably chatting up with Angelica!

By the time Philip was 9, he had two sisters, Angelica (7) and his foster/adopted sister Frances Antill (6), but he also had two brothers already, Alexander Jr. (5) and James Alexander (3), with maybe another one on the way since William Stephen would be born next year.

The whole comma thing is backwards. It was Angelica who made the initial mistake. Hamilton pointedly and flirtatiously teased her about it before closing it with “Adieu ma chere, soeur” French for “Goodbye my dear, sister”. So it’s more playful and less lovey dovey in context, so the tone is all wrong. It’s not romantic, it’s teasing and snarky.

Say No To This feels like it’s over quick. The affair lasted a year, not just the summer Eliza was away.

Clermont Street wasn’t renamed until many years later.

I don’t know that Alex has always considered Burr a friend. Irl they weren’t as close, and Hamilton was keenly aware of how slimy Burr could be.

Lafayette was NOT fine. He was imprisoned a lot during the French Revolution, the poor man, and many members of his wife’s family were killed. HOWEVER! Hamilton was not just sitting by. Angelica and her husband did make an attempt to rescue Lafayette, and the Hamiltons fostered Lafayette’s son Georges Washington Lafayette (yes that was his actual name). So Hamilton also did not forget Lafayette.

Not all his defendants got acquitted, obviously. Stop being cocky, Ham.

People comment on how Jefferson whines about Hamilton’s fashion sense while literally dressed in violet velvet. The original plan was to have him in browns, but Daveed is just such a friggin star that they just had to give him something brighter and decided to go with a Prince-inspired look. Originally the browns were going to be representative of his supposed representation of farmers. Though note here: Jefferson’s agricultural representation is much the same as modern Republicans’ rural representation. More for show.

Actually, let's get political for a sec. I've done some research in my hyperfixation and in searches for Hamilton shiz I've ended up stumbling into far-right nonsense and I know how to recognize the degrees of nonsense from years of actually paying attention to it now because this is what I do apparently. Which is weird, right? Lin kinda portrays him like a lefty. Well, here's the thing. Any proud historically educated Republican will tell you that their roots are in the Federalist Party. Which is technically true. What they will neglect to mention is the flip between parties that happened when the Republicans decided to use southerners racism to their advantage in elections. Being subtly racist can get the racists and the non-racists on your side! Yeah, it's gross. Federalists are more like Democrats. The corporatists. They clearly care more about companies and Wall Street, but they put actual action into social progress on rare occasion. Democratic-Republicans are like Republicans, conservatives who don't want social change and rail against it and pretend they aren't for corporate interests while being just as bad as the other guys. But Republicans have a tendency to rewrite history to paint themselves as the good guys, or reclaim things that aren't theirs as their own. Just look at the Civil War! Or...literally just...America I guess. Yikes. But yeah, here's your warning. Don't just go looking at and trusting things labelled Federalist. It likely won't be friendly.

John Adams didn’t fire Hamilton, Hamilton left. Eventually. And this is not the only time this kind of verbal confrontation happens, and not the one that destroys the Federalist Party. That actually happens after the Reynolds Pamphlet. But John Adams hates Alexander Hamilton with the burning passion of a thousand suns and really kinda earns this.

I’m not sure if he specifically called Alex a Creole bastard but I wouldn’t be surprised, there were other similar racist and bastard-related insults. You know the tomcat thing mentioned above. He started the rumor of the affair with Angelica. He accused him of being a rake (male version of whore at the time). He also may have behind closed doors accused him of being a sodomite. His (probably gay) son Charles helped with that one, bringing back rumors from a dinner he had with Hamilton (who he was working for) and John Church because Church joked about Alex being fond of a guy. Adams probably thought working for Hamilton was what made his son gay and alcoholic (Charles was an alcoholic and may have died in part because of that; Hamilton was not an alcoholic, but he supposedly could not hold his drink. He was smol).

Jefferson, Madison, and Burr didn’t accuse Hamilton of speculation. It was James Monroe, Abraham Venable, and Frederick Muhlenberg. Lin wanted to keep consistent representation of the Democratic-Republican party. But anyway, the whole thing went to hell because Monroe sent the letters to Jefferson (or I’ve also heard Monroe gave them to Madison who sent them to Jefferson) who, the spiteful gangly fucker, started spreading rumors because fuck Hamilton, amirite? Hamilton challenged Monroe to a duel over that. And who stopped this duel? Aaron Burr. He gets to be the good guy now and then.

It wasn’t just total strangers that got Alex off the island. He was sponsored by his cousin Ann Lytton and his teacher Reverend Hugh Knox. Also, he was kind of expected to get an education and come back and help out the island...guess what he never did. Oops.

This one I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure. I think Eliza was upstate with her family when the Reynolds Pamphlet was released, away from Alex. I also know she had recently given birth to their son, William Stephen. A lot of people think Alexander had been keeping that in mind. Eliza had had a miscarriage once before, when she was under a lot of stress and alone and with the kids and he had to be away (Whiskey Rebellion), so some people think he made sure she was surrounded by her family and waited until the child was born to drop this on her, and gave her distance from him if she needed it. At least he knew he fucked up, and he really did love her.

Those weren’t Alexander’s guns. They belonged to John Church.

It was quite some time between Philip’s challenge and the actual duel.

Another age miscommunication; Eacker was 27ish and Philip was 19 when the duel happened. There was a whole 8 years between them! 

Eacker didn’t shoot early. Actually, both of them stood staring at each other for a really long time doing nothing. But Philip went to make a move and Eacker shot him.

Alex and Eliza had made up from the Reynolds Pamphlet bullshit before Philip died. When he passed, Eliza was already pregnant with the son they would also name Philip in honor of his older brother.

Hamilton wasn’t really the deciding factor in the election of 1800. But he did say that about Burr and it did help swing the vote somewhat. But also, this was before Philip died. Philip died in 1801.

If a vote is that close, you can’t win in a landslide??? That’s not how words work???? Mister Miranda????? You are a writer??????? Sir???????

Burr actually held a term as Jefferson’s Vice President.

The Burr vs Hamilton Duel was in 1804 and was actually about another election and other things Hamilton was saying about him. Burr was running to be governor of New York and lost but heard about Alexander telling people the things he listed Alexander saying in Your Obedient Servant.

Thayne should not have played Alexander’s doctor. Sydney should have played Alexander’s doctor. Do you know why? Philip and Alexander had the same doctor when they died. Alexander took that doctor with him to the duel. His name was David Hosack.

While there’s evidence to suggest Burr experienced immediate regret (he stepped forward as if wanting to see if Hamilton was okay and supposedly asked after him and wished him well before Alexander passed) in the years that followed, until he was on his death bed, he expressed nothing but neutrality or even pride for having shot Hamilton. The ‘the world was wide enough’ comment could plausibly be entirely made up, and even if it were true, it was supposedly said toward the end of Burr’s life. Burr's life was quite a ride after Alex. He tried to make like his own empire out of Texas, and then of course was tried for treason, but he got out of that, but then everyone hated him for that ON TOP OF already hating him for killing Hamilton, so he had some crazy journey around Europe for a while. He kept a journal, writing entries like letters to Theo. The most notable things I think he writes he'd "been amused for an hour with a very handsome young Dane. Don't smile. It is a male!" which implies maybe Theodosia knew her dad was bi and was at least amused by it? And he spent a while living with Jeremy Bentham, who is generally accepted to have been gay (if you want more Burr gayness look into Jonathan Bellamy and Robert Troup. Troup knew Hamilton too!). Unrelated to his sexuality but I find it important, Burr spent, in modern cash, $40 on a coconut, in his own words, "like an ass." He returned to America eventually. I dont remember if it was before or after his foreign adventures, but his beloved grandson (also named Aaron Burr) died, and then not long after, Theodosia was lost at sea on her way to visit her dad. No one knows what happened to her. It's so sad. Anyway he married a wealthy widow named Eliza, spent all her money on charity, and died the day their divorce was finalized. And Eliza Jumel's divorce lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr..

Poor Eliza couldn’t go through all of her husband’s papers. Her son, John Church Hamilton, finished the work for her when she no longer could and put together the biography that inspired Chernow’s that inspired Lin’s musical. (He named a son Alexander and a daughter Elizabeth. He even named one of his sons Laurens! Aw.) And we have come full circle.

The End :33

There’s probably more but that’s what I’ve got. Thanks for reading!

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

promise me that you’ll start where i end

A/N: 3rd Life SMP but i make it more dramatic. also i made the mistake of listening to drivers license by olivia rodrigo while writing this and cried. i'd say enjoy but i don't think that's the correct emotion to experience while reading this. (title is from Boreas by The Oh Hellos)

Summary: An argument before Scott's world- one of color, light, and love- falls to pieces and turns dark. And the friend who tries to collect those pieces and bring back a little light to him.

Warnings: minor violence, talk of death, arguing, hugs, crying, canonical character death, grief/mourning, bittersweet ending

-

Scott leaned against the potions table with a sigh. There were too many close calls today. Each brush with Dogwarts nearly cost either him or Jimmy their lives, not to mention that Cleo lost one of her lives trying to escape the Red King and his men. Then there was the whole issue with Joel, his attempt on Scott’s life, and their wall- he wasn’t looking forward to rebuilding it, especially just out of cobblestone or some other stone. A small smile was brought to his face as he remembered how Jimmy instantly wanted to go after Joel, even though the other man was already long gone. It should have been concerning, how fast Jimmy could seemingly switch between being a lost puppy or a feral wolf on his red life. Instead, it was actually sort of endearing. It would be more endearing if it didn’t give Scott a near heart attack every time his husband tried to rush forward into danger. Scott squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden onslaught of memories- Jimmy running through lava for a prize, his eagerness to pick up a piece of tnt and the resulting destruction it caused, Jimmy staring Ren down as he burned the Dogwarts flag (and then himself), Jimmy drawing his bow when Scott was trying to de-escalate a situation and just ask if Dogwarts had anything to do with their wall burning- Scott wasn’t sure if he was proud of or angry at Jimmy’s recklessness. There was one thing Scott knew for certain- he would never be able to erase the memories of Jimmy’s deaths from his mind, and everything he did was to make sure that Jimmy would survive. And himself too, of course, but Jimmy was the one with no lives left.

“Scott?” a voice asked, causing his eyes to snap open. He looked over to see Jimmy stepping through the nether portal. He looked a little shy, and Scott smiled in spite of himself at his husband being in his “lost puppy” mode.

“I’m just working on some potions. Y’know, for future encounters. What’s up?” Scott asked. Jimmy fidgeted for a moment or two, not quite meeting Scott’s gaze.

“Just wanted to check in on you, after uh… everything,” he asked sheepishly, finally looking up at Scott’s eyes.

“Could be better, could be worse. There were a couple of close calls, but that’s why I’m working on potions,” he replied with a shrug. Jimmy’s brow knit in concern, and he reached out to Scott for half a moment, but quickly dropped his hands with a frown.

“It was too close today,” Jimmy muttered under his breath. Scott huffed out a laugh, shaking his head.

“It was, you’re on your last life- you’ve gotta be more careful,” he reprimanded. Jimmy’s sheepish gaze snapped defiantly to Scott’s, and he jumped a bit in surprise at the fire in his husband’s eyes.

“I was talking about you! Martyn’s arrows nearly took you out!” Jimmy shouted, hands gesturing wildly.

“Jimmy, my armor’s better than yours, and I have all my lives left. I would have been fine- you wouldn’t have,” Scott said, a little taken aback at Jimmy’s sudden ferocity.

“Just because you have all your lives doesn’t mean you can throw them away, Scott!” Jimmy protested. Scott gave Jimmy an incredulous look.

“I’m not throwing my lives away, Jimmy. I have good gear, I negotiate and build alliances with other factions, I’m making potions- if anyone’s throwing away their lives around here, it’s you!” Scott shot back, voice coming out more frustrated than he meant it to. A hurt expression crossed Jimmy’s face, and part of Scott wanted to take back what he said, but most of him didn’t regret it at all. Didn’t Jimmy understand what was at stake here? Scott tried his best to look out for him, but each and every time he rushed forward into things he shouldn’t have.

“Scott, I know I’ve messed up. You don’t need to keep reminding me. But I can’t just stay put and do nothing like you!” Jimmy shouted.

“What do you mean, doing nothing?! I’m trying to build up our defences-”

“Going on the offensive is the only thing Dogwarts will understand-”

“I’m just trying to protect you!” both Scott and Jimmy exclaimed at the same time. Both of them blinked in surprise, and all at once things started clicking into place.

“Scott, I’m no strategist like you. I’m not even as good in combat. But I’m on red- I’m the fighter here. So let me fight for you,” Jimmy said softly. Scott made a sound that was half laugh, half scoff.

“Jimmy-”

“I can’t stand the thought of letting you die, Scott,” Jimmy said, refusing to meet his gaze. A bittersweet smile came to Scott’s face, and he took a step closer to Jimmy, tilting his head to try and meet Jimmy’s eyes.

“Jimmy, I’ve seen you die twice. Don’t you think that I can’t stand the thought of letting you die either?” Scott asked. Jimmy finally looked up at Scott, eyes watering. Scott let out a fond little scoff, reaching out to wipe at Jimmy’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Jimmy said wetly. Scott didn’t answer at first, instead reaching out to pull Jimmy into a hug.

“Don’t be. And don’t cry you idiot, you’ll just disintegrate faster,” Scott teased fondly, relieved when Jimmy let out a laugh in response. Jimmy pulled away, wiping at his eyes and smiling. Scott couldn’t help but smile back, happy to see his husband in a marginally better mood.

“We’ll be okay, right Scott?” Jimmy asked, still soft and as timid as before. 

“I’m working on potions, we’ve got allies, and we’ve got each other. We’ll be alright,” Scott said, voice soft but no less determined. Jimmy gave his usual dazzling smile, filling Scott with warmth and light at the sight of it.

-

It was dark when Scott made his way down the hill from Jimmy’s grave. He wasn’t even there when Jimmy had died, he had told Jimmy that they would be alright and they both weren’t. Scott was on yellow now, the gleam in his eyes and the gold shimmering in his hair making that absolutely certain. Scott’s preparedness hadn’t even saved either of them! His potions certainly didn’t do much good as Scott died early on in the battle. Maybe he and Jimmy shouldn’t have allied with anyone. Maybe they should have stayed within their walls and retired, like Scott wanted to. Maybe Jimmy would be alive now. But there was no use dwelling on the “what-ifs”- all Scott had was the now. And the now was crushingly lonely and dim.

Scott jumped at the cackle of a witch, narrowly avoiding a thrown potion. He drew his sword and cut her down without a second thought. She poofed into ash, leaving Scott to stumble forward into the dirt. He drove his sword into the ground with a cry of rage and sorrow.

“I can’t even mourn?!” he cried, shouting at the universe for what he had lost and what he had endured. Scott wasn’t sure how long he had knelt there in the grass, a white-knuckled grip on the hilt of his sword and a hand over his mouth to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape. It wasn’t until the growls and skittering of other mobs approaching that Scott finally picked himself up, yanking his sword from the ground and feet moving on autopilot. 

He soon stumbled through the nether portal to the cave behind it, shaking hands reaching for a book tucked away on one of the shelves. He opened it carefully despite his trembling hands, not wanting to damage what was inside. Between the pages laid a collection of pressed flowers, one of them being the poppy that Jimmy had given him when they first met. Scott finally allowed himself to crumble, falling to the floor and sobbing with the book of pressed flowers cradled in his arms.

“Scott?” a voice asked. His head snapped up and he looked to the cave entrance, heart skipping a beat at a flash of blond and red- but then saw the brightly colored wings and deflated at the realization that it was just Grian. Scott quickly wiped at his eyes, gently closing the book before holding it tight against his chest and standing up.

“Um. Hi,” Scott said, unsure of what to say. Grian didn’t look like he knew what to say either, feathers rustling slightly before he cleared his throat.

“I just wanted to uh. Check in on you,” Grian said. Scott let out a shaky sigh. How many times had Jimmy come in, asking the same thing? Checking in on Scott, making sure he wasn’t overworking himself- sometimes checking in on him wasn’t even for Scott’s own benefit. Jimmy would need reassurance, and Scott would joke and tease to cheer him up. What Scott wouldn’t give to hear Jimmy’s laugh one last time.

“I think you can see how well I’m doing,” Scott said, tone coming off a bit more brusquely than he meant it to. Scott winced as soon as the words escaped his mouth. Grian didn’t deserve to have his grief taken out on him, but frankly Scott wasn’t sure how else he was supposed to respond to that. His friend’s expression twisted in sympathy.

“Sorry. We did avenge him, at least,” Grian said softly. Scott let out a humorless laugh.

“Yeah. I just thought I’d feel some sort of satisfaction from it, or that it would make losing Jimmy hurt less,” Scott replied, voice as hollow as he felt. Silence hung between them for a few moments, before Grian stepped a bit closer. He cautiously reached out to put a hand on Scott’s shoulder, and Scott peered up slightly at the touch.

“It probably won’t help much, in fact not at all, but what if we put a stop to Dogwarts? For all the things we’ve lost- and for Jimmy,” Grian offered. A small, weak smile crept onto Scott’s face. He wouldn’t let Jimmy’s death be in vain- he believed in a world without Dogwarts, a world where he and Scott could live out their days in peace. And even if Jimmy wasn’t able to live it with him, Scott knew that Jimmy would want him to move forward, to the life they had wanted.

“For Jimmy,” Scott said, warmth in his tone for the first time since Jimmy had died. For a brief moment, he thought he felt a hand ghost across his, paired with a reassuring touch on his back and a breath at his ear. The moment was there and gone, and Scott desperately wanted to curl his fingers around familiar ones he swore he had just felt- but it left Scott’s smile a bit brighter all the same.

-

MCYT Taglist (ask to be added/removed!): @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @space-ace123

[frosteee]

"You should be scared of me" - Why Shiemi will need to break tradition to truly best Amaimon

The new chapter threw a heck of a lot of stuff at us at once, raising a hundred questions for the few it answers.

We're given a brief synopsis of Amaimon's history with Shemihaza, a relationship that has been hinted at in previous chapters, and the nature of Shiemi's final challenge: to "subjugate" Amaimon, as Shemihaza and all other 'successors' before her.

Shiemi's grandmother instructed her in such a way to make a violent battle between Shiemi and Amaimon inevitable, and Amaimon himself solidified this inevitability by deriding the strength of her abilities, implying a respect for Shemihaza's - whom he serves in a as-yet unexplained way. He may serve Shemihaza, but he is not servile to her, nor is he compelled to respect or serve her successors. Shiemi must prove herself worthy in the power department.

However, I believe that the long-term solution to her and Amaimon's respective barriers will require a change in approach to those before her. Even Shemihaza.

Amaimon's Anger

An unspecified amount of time ago, an angry Amaimon made the land. Given that he has a defined physical form, and the nature of it and his clothes, it is definitely a time in which humans are around and who nature a fear of demons.

It isn't made clear what made Amaimon so angry, but it's clear that it spurred a rage so intense that he took it out on the earth, making it inhospitable for any kind of life. This is when Shemihaza steps in, as Emperor of Creation and Amaimon's foil - she is life and creation, he is death and destruction.

Prior to this point they may have co-existed. Shemihaza may outrank him, but they share many similarities and can be seen as the two sides of the same coin, necessary to keep the world's natural order. Life and death. But Amaimon's outburst and complete annihilation of the land disrupts this order, and requires Shemihaza's intervention.

Shemihaza took pity on Amaimon, and may have also seen the practical reason for keeping him around (going back to the 'two sides of a coin' theory) and so rather than destroy him, Shemihaza sacrificed her body and crystallised herself, binding Amaimon to her in servitude.

It appears that in doing so, Shemihaza sealed parts of Amaimon - his power, or even his persona - in crystals around her frozen form. She allowed him to continue to have a 'self' - or consciousness - by becoming her servant.

Whether it was the act of sealing parts of Amaimon away, or the terms of his service, that quelled Amaimon's anger, it's clear that these measures did not really fix the issue.

Amaimon still carries intense rage within him, evident in his fits of violence and intense anger that break through his usual impassive exterior. He particularly reacts to any whiff of a suggestion that he is weak, which supports the theory that the crystallised parts of Amaimon are parts of his power. With this into consideration, Amaimon has even more reason to be angry now.

Shemihaza's Legacy

If this is the case, then it makes the problem worse in the long term. Amaimon still feels intense rage, but no longer has adequate means to express it like he did in the past. Rather than get to the root of why he feels so angry, Shemihaza has left her successors with a being that grows progressively more hateful and angry with each passing generation, despite lacking the ability to create the same destruction Shemihaza faced.

The flashback of Shemihaza and Amaimon, showing Amaimon kneeling before her, suggests that Shemihaza did not have to exert brute force in order to stop his rampage. As I mentioned earlier, in looking down on Shiemi's power he implicitly expresses respect or at least a past respect for Shemihaza's.

Kneeling before Shemihaza, who has greater power and status than his own, and with whom he may have shared a close relationship (speculation on my part), Amaimon is given a choice: serve Shemihaza and seal parts of his power/self away, through her sacrifice, or lose his sense of self.

Amaimon's options were eternal servitude and what he would probably view as castration, or death. Amaimon chose the former. As Mephisto states, once demons experience life with a body and five senses, the alternative to that, a conceptual being with no thought, senses or freedom, is the closes thing to death they can imagine and completely intolerable.

Shemihaza may have found a solution to the immediate problem of the ruination of the land, but failed to address the ongoing issue of Amaimon's anger, so her successors have continually had to 'subjugate' him into obedience, following her example. Shemihaza may not have needed to brawl with Amaimon, she likely had enough power to subdue him without fighting, but her successors command far less power than she did, especially at the stage Shiemi is at when facing Amaimon.

Pity /= Empathy

Shiemi's grandmother states that Shemihaza's pity for Amaimon's anger motivated her to give him a choice. But pity does not equal empathy, and the 'better' choice Amaimon took, as I said, does not really solve the problem with Amaimon long-term.

She felt pity enough to give him a choice at all, but a bit of empathy for why Amaimon is angry and a desire to help him could have resulted in a far better long-term solution to the problems he was causing.

When Lucifer was suffering and begging the Grigori Shemihaza to continue research into an elixir for him, he furiously pointed out her lack of compassion. Her response was that she had 'abandoned human compassion' when she took on the position.

This shows that while those connected with Shemihaza can feel pity for those around them, they are compelled or even taught to abandon feelings of empathy or compassion for others, following in Shemihaza's footsteps, for the 'greater good'.

There are positives to this way of working, and the Grigori can likely attribute their long service to this, but it also has drawbacks - shown plainly in Amaimon.

If Shemihaza had felt, or allowed herself to feel, compassion and empathise with Amaimon's plight, she may have given him a different choice that would benefit Amaimon himself also and make him a willing ally to her successors instead of a half-tamed beast who still suffers the same anger that they must forcibly take down.

Shiemi's Choice

While her grandmother stated that she must defeat Amaimon in combat in order to enlist his services, this is the will of Shemihaza and will only pass on the same issues to another generation.

If anything is to change, and if Shiemi wants to truly help 'everyone', she will need to go about her fight with Amaimon differently than her forebears.

She will need to rely on her strength, certainly, to not get killed by him, and also to prove herself worthy in the strength department, but she cannot hope to really make a difference and show her growth without showing her characteristic empathy and kindness to him as well.

Shiemi has grown stronger this past year, but her greatest strength has always been her ability to forgive and show kindness to others, especially those who are suffering, even when they hurt her.

Amaimon has hurt her, physically and mentally, but kind Shiemi will still be able to see the wounded soul behind the anger. Amaimon owes her an apology, not the other way around, but as a demon who has never known compassion he must be shown it first before he can reciprocate.

This challenge compels Shiemi to prove her worthiness to command Amaimon, to show her superiority, to order him by fear of pain or worse - as Shemihaza, Mephisto and likely every other demon he has interacted with has done.

This is not Shiemi, or who she should become. The Shiemi we know would never seek to be superior to another being, but on equal level. She would not wish to make anyone her slave, but her friend, even a demon.

When Shiemi states "You should be scared of me", she dangerously echoes the words and actions of her forebears. She cannot truly win by making Amaimon fear her wrath as she fears his, or as Amaimon feared Shemihaza's.

Shiemi needs to hold on to that compassionate side of herself, or else lose her humanity. And keep Amaimon an emotionally frustrated bomb waiting to explode for another generation.

[bonjour-rainycity]

Double Heart | Chapter Seventeen ~ Split

|previous part|

Pairing: Haldir x OFC

Rating: PG-13

Word count: 1482

Warnings: None

A/n Hello hello! I know it’s not one of my normal update days, but this one is short, so enjoy this angsty bonus chapter!

Cosima

Weeks pass in routine. In the mornings I research with Alex or study Sindarin alone, sometimes venturing into the garden or library to occupy my time. The lunch hours are typically spent in the company of friends, and Lavandil and I have been passing many of our afternoons together in her shop. As the summer continues, business only grows, and I can see why she asked for the help. Her art is quite popular! She tried to teach me how to weave and, unsurprisingly, I’m terrible. So I mainly help clean and work with the customers.

Three nights a week, Alex, Baranor and I meet in the library and continue our lessons. On that, I actually am making progress. It’s allowed me to converse with Lavandil’s customers in their own language. It’s also helped me feel much more self-sufficient here. No longer must I have to rely on Lavandil or Rumil to translate when we go out. Ellyn I speak with still have to slow their words and repeat things several times, and sometimes I must ask for clarification, but the progress really is liberating.

Two days a week, right after breakfast, Alex and I meet Elrond in his study.

Lord Elrond insists on using the power in his fæ to attempt to aid us in recovering our memories. I hate to admit it, but his efforts are wasted and, on my part, not really wanted. Besides the memory of Mara and Nonna, I don’t remember anything, and at this point, I’m not sure I want to. I’m already too attached to the people here, and I’ve seen where that’s gotten me. I don’t want to remember people from home — love them, miss them, and then realize I can never return to them.

I don’t make much progress, anyway. Most days, Alex and I have nothing but headaches and exhaustion to show for our work. Every now and then, one of us will remember something small — a passing event or an aquauntaince from childhood — but nothing of real interest. Elrond agrees that the headaches and exhaustion are signs that we are not yet healed from whatever ordeal resulted in us arriving in Arda. He’s been keeping an eye on our fæs — apparently they are somehow injured — and says that the original wounds are all but healed.

Alex’s progress is less encouraging. His old wounds are healing, but nearly every time Elrond or Baranor checks, there’s a new injury. They don’t know what’s causing it, but privately, I have a theory. While Alex says he’s accepted this world, knowing him, there’s a part that’s still hanging on to our homeworld. Maybe that’s causing too much stress to allow him to heal. Because I’m healing, and I’ve fully accepted this world for what it is — impossible, different, but real.

And then at night time, training continues with Haldir.

I am careful to keep distance between us except when absolutely necessary. By the way he does the same, he’s recognized the urgent precariousness of our situation. As much as I want to confess the feelings I keep so tightly bottled up inside, to fall into his arms and ask him to love me forever, I cannot.

Because my forever is abysmally different than his.

So I keep my distance.

My effort to avoid excessive contact or time with him is helped by the fact that, not long after our first training session, he became incredibly busy. Though relations between him and Glorfindel are still tense, the two work tirelessly to train the newer guard. Often, by the time I make my way down to breakfast, Haldir is long gone, off to lead drills.

The distance between us hasn’t helped my internal predicament.

Too often, I catch myself following the line of his jaw, remembering the feeling of his arms wrapped around me, wanting to return to that excitement of just the two of us under the stars.

I don’t act on these thoughts, nor communicate them to anyone, though Lavandil certainly tries to break that resolve. She’s adamant that, even with my lifespan to consider, it is better to spend the time we have together in happiness rather than holding ourselves back from something that could be great.

I forcefully disagree.

I’d rather cause myself a little pain now than put Haldir in a position where he could be broken later.

Surprisingly, Rumil, once my tormentor, has become my closest ally. Any time someone attempts to bring up the subject of me and Haldir, Rumil promptly shuts it down, usually changing the subject to something outlandish enough to properly distract everyone. He kindly occupies my newfound free time and we go riding together at least once a week. Since Rumil has Roch, Haldir allows me to take Faervel out, and, where the horse used to be indifferent towards me at best, he now whinnies in greeting the second I set foot in the stables.

My life in Imladris is nice. It’s peaceful. It’s filled with wonderful friends and so much to discover. And I’m happy, there’s no doubt about that…even if something is missing. I caught my feelings early and took preventative action by distancing myself from Haldir, which is good…but it’s…unfulfilling, in a way, to stay far from him. I miss eating meals together and talking about our days before training sessions. I miss constantly having him around. I miss him teasing me and moments where it’s just us.

I miss him.

But I won’t lose my resolve.

If my sadness can save Haldir pain, then I will bear it.

{***}

Haldir

Summer in Imladris passes quickly. My days revolve around training the newer guard, and they show promising progress. Lothlórien’s borders are much more extensive than that of Imladris’, and I am confident adopting some of the techniques I use with my wardens at home to fit Elrond’s guard will help them be more prepared when the orcs attack again. My brothers have been indispensable, kindly offering their help and allowing me to use them as examples for the other soldiers. Orophin, of course, plans his schedule around Lavandil’s, but I have him with us about three days a week. Rumil joins nearly every day, only disappearing on Saturday mornings to take the horses out with Cosima.

Cosima.

My mind has been consumed by her for weeks.

If I am being honest, it’s been consumed with her long before then, probably up to the moment she arrived in this world. I now understand that my desire to keep her near me after the attack, and every moment after, was not only a preventative measure to make her feel better — it was my need to keep her close. To keep her safe. To have that reassurance that she is alright, and, if we were to be attacked again, I could defend her myself.

I really do owe Rumil an apology.

Turns out my brother knows me better than I know myself.

But despite the startling realization that I want to be with a human woman—not just any human woman, Cosima—the days continue.

Not of small concern is Cosima’s health which, mercifully, is improving. Her sessions with Elrond to attempt to regain her memories must be helping — though her memories have not returned, the scars on her fæ are nearly completely healed.

Aside from my monitoring of her health through Elrond and Baranor, my busy schedule prevents me from seeking her out. We continue to train together three times a week — she is making vast improvements — but our interactions are hesitant, a little awkward. I worry I overstepped my bounds that first night, or perhaps, even before that — maybe the night under the stars — for she certainly keeps her distance now. No longer do we eat together or talk in our free time. It’s a strange feeling, but it causes me stress not to see her during the day. Even a quick interaction would be enough, just to catch a glimpse of her smile or hear the approval of her laugh, but those are few and far between.

But, as much as it pains me, it is for the best.

I hate to think of it this way, but Cosima’s life is short and her future uncertain. Were she an elleth, there would be no issue — I could tell her of my feelings and she could return them and we could spend the rest of our never-ending lives together.

But Cosima is human. Even if she does choose to stay in Arda forever, her forever and mine are vastly different. If I give in, do as I so desperately want to and build a life with her…

She does not know it, but she has the power to break me.

And, while I still hold a sliver of the ability to keep that from happening, I must seize on it.

A/n Thanks for reading, and happy weekend! Likes, comments, and reblogs make my day! See you Monday with a new chapter :)

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Tolkien tag list: @anangelwhodidntfall @eru-vande

Haldir tag list: @tolkien-apologist

Double Heart tag list: @lainphotography @themerriweathermage @thophil2941btw @kenobiguacamole @wishingtobeinadifferentuniverse @from-patroclus-with-love @boywivlove @ordinarymom1 @my-darling-haldir @sweet-bea-blossom @moony-artnstuff @sleepyamygdala 

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Alliance Swap Au: Other Characters

In my first post for this au, I mentioned which ally of Wordgirl is swapped. Some of this involves a swap of powers. It will also involve a swap of personality. Here is the outline for each characters.

Victoria and Violet:

I noticed that Victoria does have some good qualities despite her overall villainous character. (That is definitely her parents fault.) One thing I noted is that Victoria does have somewhat of a dependable character and she is smart enough to realize her situation and mistakes (when her ego is not in the way). In one episode (I forgot the name) Victoria was willing to work together with Wordgirl to get Wordgirl’s powers back from Victor. Even though Victoria’s main motivation was to not be out-bested by her brother, she did prove dependable in helping Wordgirl out. In this au, I increased Victoria’s better qualities. She is a loyal and dependable best friend to Becky. She still acts brash and is somewhat brutally honest, but she will acknowledge her flaws and sincerely apologize when called out for her bad behavior. She is sassy and will throw hands to protect her friends, even when she doesn’t have to. (Tobey and Becky often have to pull her back to keep Victoria from getting hurt or worse.) In this au, Victoria has a single ponytail, regular hair ribbons that are blue in color. She wears a light blue shirt with a grey jacket. Her skirt, shoes, and socks are the same as in canon. Victoria likes Pretty Princess (not to an extant as Becky). In this au her parents are corporate people. (Idk the jobs) They are better than their canon selves, but are a little distant due to how busy their jobs are. They do love their children and want the best for them (not pushing them to be the best always) they just don’t have the time to spend with them as they want to. Victoria’s parents do let Victor and Victoria stay with friends or a good babysitter when they are extremely busy. The Best’s home is not as extravagant as in canon and the rest of the family are dressed more normally and comfortably. (They are still an upper-class family, but look like a normal family to everyone else.) Instead of Art, Becky and Victoria take music class together. (Becky is still terrible.) Victoria does not have her powers. Victoria is sensible in this au, but does try to become a superhero because it looks awesome. “Violet Superhero” happens a little differently, but Victoria does not take the mantle anymore because she realizes she is not cut out for heroics and leave it to the professionals. She and Tobey are still fans of Wordgirl, neither are easily fooled as the rest of the city. (Victoria’s hero outfit is same as canon.) Victoria is basically sassy mostly and does have General Smoochington, but treats him like a loving pet in this au and is definitely a lot more caring toward him. 

For Violet, I decided to twist her good qualities and make them corrupt. This was based on the villain from Wander over Yonder, Dr. Screwball, and how he wanted to make everyone laugh, whether they wanted to or not. Violet in this au wants to live in a world where everything is all sunshine and rainbows and everyone is happy all the time. She thinks that everybody is a winner and it is not fair when someone gets a trophy when another person doesn’t. Violet was raised in an environment by her mother where everything and everybody needs to live in peace and harmony and those who don’t need to be shown the error of their ways. Ex. In the introduction episode for Victoria Best, Violet gets upset when Victoria earns a lot of trophies (not every trophy like in canon). So she takes them to “teach her a lesson” about humility. (In this au, Victoria earned her trophies because of her hard work.) Violet also gets upset when she sees how Wordgirl treats the villains even though she is just doing her job and treats them the same as canon. Violet does get mistaken for Wordgirl and does try to take up the role of Wordgirl just to prove that Wordgirl is doing a terrible job and she should become a hero to be more sympathetic to everyone. (Her hero outfit is “The Framer”). Her powers are similar to Victoria’s. She has pink eyes when she uses them to move and levitate stuff. Violet paints and shows everyone her painting which puts them in a hypnotic trance which keeps them in a peaceful state until the control wears off. (If anyone has watched the Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated episode “When Walks Aphrodite” it is similar to that.) 

Tobey and Scoops:

I sorta did the same thing as I did for Violet and Victoria in this au. There are no interest or ability swaps for these two.

Tobey in this au is just an avid, albeit a little too energetic, inventor. Tobey is head of the media/technical club and is in charge of the media stuff used in school such as electronics used for classrooms and organizing technical special effects for school events. Tobey still dresses the same, but acts like a lovable nerd. Both he and Becky have crushes on each other, but the boy is oblivious as heck that Becky has a crush on him. Becky is not as lovey-dovey as she is in canon with Scoops when expressing herself towards Tobey in this au. Tobey has no idea that Becky is Wordgirl until the “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers” episode. Tobey still invents robots for fun on the side. 

For Scoops, you remember how I made his character in my Morally Gray Wordgirl au? Well he is a lot worse in this au. He is still a reporter and a part of the Daily Rag (not head reporter). In this au, Scoops will do anything to get a Scoop, even sometimes aiding villains or helping to cause incidents to just get a great story. (Since Tobey is not a villain in this au, I have Dr. Ape Brains taking over most of Tobey’s canon roles with some shifts to other villains.) He is obsessed with finding out Wordgirl’s identity and causes an incident where he messes with Tobey’s Robots which cause them to go on a rampage at Becky’s home and a few other instances. Scoops does not mean to get people hurt, but he is too focused on “getting the BIG scoop” to notice. He does get punished by his parents. Canon outfit.

Eileen and Rex:

Now I chose to swap these two because they are both similar in personality. The both have childlike curiosity and are equally energetic. They both tend to ignore what others tell them and seem to think they know what they are doing. 

In this au, Eileen is a alien superhero from the planet Gigantian. She can control her size changes and is super strong. She can’t fly but has incredible stamina and dexterity that allows her to leap high in the air. She still has the baby talk (kids on Gigantian talk like a baby until their 13.) This annoys the heck out of Becky. Steven now has to deal with two energetic superheroes. (Sarcastically) Lucky him. Her hero name is Giantess. Her hero outfit is a pink mask. She has a suit style similar to Kid Math’s, but the main colors are pink with purple gloves, boots, and a cape. Her insignia is a mini green person in a strongman stance with black radio wave lines surrounding the person which symbolizes Eileen’s growth and shrinking abilities. Her secret identity outfit is the same as in canon. Her hairstyle as a superhero is in a ponytail while her secret identity has her canon hair and bow.

Rex is a kid villain known has Math Whiz. He treats everything as a research study. Rex does believe every day is his birthday which entitles him to do anything he wants all in the name of research. In the introductory episode for Eileen (changed for this au) Rex takes Squeaky for a lab rat and obliviously ignores Squeaky biting him all the time for release. When he doesn’t get what he wants he uses his powers. Rex is able to project holographic math monsters of various sizes that either protect him, steal for him, or attack anyone that bothers him (on command). These monsters may be holographic but can hurt someone physically. They look like math numbers and equations, have sharp teeth, cartoon eyes and arms, and are mainly white in color with a blue hue that surrounds them. Luckily, the amount of math monsters Rex is able to generate depend on his level of entitlement. If he is greedy for one thing or if it is for small reasons, he can usually generate one monster. Even if he is able to generate multiple math monsters at once, it takes a lot of energy out of him so he can only do it a few times.  

Rose Franklin and Chazz:

Recently, I decided to do a character change swap for Rose Franklin. I originally picked Katy because she was friendly and apologetic with Toby like Rose was with Scoops. Writing this post, I began to think about how Chazz was in the episode where he was being a bad influence for TJ. Since I have Scoops being a villain in this au, why not do the same for Rose. In this au, Rose acts like a cool girl/bad influence which impresses TJ and he develops a silly crush on her (which then ends when Wordgirl gets him back to his senses). She has an outfit and attitude similar to Chazz’s, but adjusted for a girl. Rose in this au is called Roe. 

Chazz in this au is a laid back, but intelligent kid who uses focuses on environmental science. The “News Girl” episode is retitled “Science Boys” for this au. In this au, Chazz accidentally insults Tobey by saying building robots isn’t really a helpful science as it would make people too dependent on robots. (Tobey is immediately upset and ready to throw hands because NO ONE insults his robots. Becky holds him back before Tobey does something stupid). Chazz in this au is called Chad Hudson. He moved to Fair City with his mom who is the new Forewoman (idk what a female foreman is supposed to be called?) for the Power Plant. Wordgirl and Mouse Ace stop the energy monster from destroying the plant and giving Chazz’s mom more work. In this au, Becky takes Chad to natural places along with technical places to get him more comfortable with the city and to ease the issues between him and Tobey. (Tobey does make friends with him in the end.) Tobey during this tour gets upset when Chad creates environment experiments that are beneficial for the civilians and villains. Ex. he creates an organic, environmentally friendly, gel that is great for Chuck’s bread skin and helps the grocery store manager to grow more head hair which he talks to Chad about profiting in his store. Chad figures out Becky’s identity the same way Rose does because this guy is smart. He plans Becky’s exposure as a major science project because her identity and life is a great scientific study. Steven is doing work stuff when Becky calls him to help her fight the bad guys so Steven is not on the tour with them. Steven finds out about how Chad discovered her identity after Becky tells him. Steven, after Tobey, confronts Chad (Tobey’s talk is similar as Scoop’s talk to Rose) and he basically explains the importance of keeping Wordgirl’s identity secret (acting as an adult) and also sort of threatens Chad (Two Brains’ canon character is showing). Luckily Chad, at this point, had already decided to not reveal Wordgirl’s secret and do something else for his project.He is from now on scared of Becky’s dad. It also takes a while for Steven to fully trust him.

Everyone else is pretty much the same for this au. Steven and Becky are neighbors to the Botsfords, TJ is still a fan of Wordgirl with Johnson as his sidekick (I decided to not bother swapping them for the au), and Miss Powers is still an evil alien (I couldn’t find anyone for her or Colonel Gigglecheeks). I don’t have any ship ideas for Victoria or the rest of the characters in this au. Except for Tobecky.  

(Another thing I forgot to mention in my first post about Squeaky is that the mouse sometimes travels with Becky in her pocket. So he does come with her to school sometimes. He usually sticks with Steven in the lab. Squeaky is kidnapped as was Bob in the “Birthday Girl” episode and is put in a girly dress which he despises with every fiber in his being. He also escapes the “Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers” mind control and helps Becky because his body was too small for the button to stick on well.) 

So that is my Alliance Swap au for Wordgirl

[hetalia-has-a-secretary]

S / o is very disorganized, does not wear makeup, wears clothes with holes, and does not comb her hair. But one day she decides to have a makeover and dress up a bit because she feels in a very good mood. How does axis and allies react to being the first time they see her like this?

This is weekend gremlin energy, and I'm gremlin.

Allies and Axis React to their S/O getting fancy~

America:

Who is- oh meh gerd.

He shakes his head, and jokingly cleans his glasses Because, damn.

He didn't really mind the way they looked before, despite his concern over their physical health affecting their mental health cause it be like that sometimes, but wow.

Even if it's something small like just blush, or maybe they covered a couple blemishes he's all over them... With permission.

Will probably ask them why the change in apperance, and if it's because they are in a good mood, he immediately makes it his job to make them happier more often if it means they'll try just a tad bit harder to take care of themselves.

England

Honestly thought the disheveled look was adorable as long as they kept clean.

But seeing them slightly dressed up made his heart flutter in his chest.

He wanted to touch their hair and face so badly.

Expect uplifting compliments throughout the day.

France:

Honestly, he thinks looks reflect ones mood so he immediately saw the emotional difference in them as well.

Very happy they were feeling particularly good, and immediately wants to shower them with love and affection as a way to show his appreciation for trying.

Also immediately wants to go shopping with his S/O.

He just, wants to learn more about your style, past the holy clothing.

China:

Errrr- not gonna lie he's probably constantly pestering and questioning his S/O as to why they don't brush their hair at the very least.

Eventually he just kind of accepts it, or bites his tongue at the very least.

So when he sees them in cleaner clothes and such, he has a double take. He has to swallow the lump in his throat.

Part of him wants his S/I to keep this side of them for him only, but the ratty unbrushed hair is enough for him to egg them on to keep up their apperance like this more often, even if he has to do it himself.

Russia:

Never really noticed they didn't really brush their hair or anything, he just kind of assumed it was a thing.

So imagine the bewildered and soften expression on his face when he realizes his S/O wasn't treating themselves nicely.

He offered to help them anyway he can just so they look like that more often. Now that he know how pretty they can be, and the fact it means their in a good mood, he just wants them to be happy.

Germany:

He's not too crazy about appearances but he does Request his S/O to dress up and brush their hair when they go out on dates or important events, at the very least.

Thinks the constant bead head is kind of cute.

Oh and if his S/O allows him to help them doll up again after this, expect it to lead to some intimate stuff, even if it's just light kisses.

He wasn't you in a good mood, no matter what he has to do.

Japan:

It concerned him since he knows lack of hygiene like not brushing hair, and wearing holy clothes can be underlining issues for something else.

He waits for his S/O's good mood to go away, all while pretty attracted to the new look, before talking to them about it .

If it's nothing serious he'll still try to make them happier more often. Will probably take them clothes chopping now that he thinks about it... Is immediately thinking about them in black ripped jeans, and an over sized sweatshirt now...

Italy:

He's not dissapointed, just extremely sad he wasn't able to run his fingers through your hair. The clothing thing didn't bother him, so long his S/I was comfortable.

But man did he skip to them ever so quickly to get a better look.

So many compliments.

And the fingers finally got to go through their hair!

He's in heaven.

Oh, this is because your happy? Will try and find the source of this happiness to try and coax this out of you more often.

On a serious note, the way I dress does usually reflect my mood, but it's like, reversed. If I'm feeling down I wear fancier stuff to feel better because I want to feel cute, and the more comfortable in my skin I am the less I care about my clothes. Though my makeup and hair are another story. I just like playing around with those esthetics~

[papabirdurskeks]

I ask this both for Baron Dark, Ariandel and SkekSo !

Give me a character and I will answer: @ben-the-hyena

Oh boy a triple feature! :D Here we go, folks!

Under a read more cause its going to get long but each listed character will be split apart evenly!

First up is Baron Dark!

Why I like them: He is just bombastic in personality! He lives loud in his actions and words, participating in most of the action himself while also showing he is a threat and menacing altogether! I also like that he is one of the few villains that shows he cares for his crew as a “family” (at least for most part of the series before being overtaken with obsession to have power more on his own). Given the dynamic we are given from the show, its obvious he cares and treats them all on a level of respect as well, something so rare to see nowadays! And I also enjoyed that his reasons to take over and do the shit he did in the series, “Because I can!” is just as refreshing and fun to see in a villain too!  And again, his design is a top tier design I love overall! Its menacing, powerful, and outright amazing! Definitely adds to the character and how well he works in effect to keeping my attention! Like just look at that design! And his VA did a wonderful job of adding to that charm that is just delightful to see in his personality! Overall, he is totally a villain I would love to see more of in the future!

Why I don’t: I say my dislikes often fall on the usual tropes of a kid’s show of the 90s. He talks too much when he could be doing things himself and falls victim to the typical “I am too powerful” but doesn’t think of the obvious steps ahead that will be his downfall. But honestly, its so small I don’t find it jarring or that bad to be in the way! It was the 90s and aimed at kids at the time, so we can’t expect TOO much out of that xD

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Oh man, that’s a tough one cause every scene/episode Baron is in he totally slays it! Its either a tie from the first episode to the very last one cause the stakes of start and finish are so well done, I love it all! 

Favorite season/movie: Obviously, the TV series is the best version of him! The comics sucked and turned him too OOC from what was initially given! Like how does one go from point A to be Z so freaking fast? xD

Favorite line: “Because I can.” Yeah, not gonna lie this was indeed my favorite line of his xD

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the outfit he gains near the end of the series is by far my favorite! Its like a mix of the Bejeweled Catacomb Saints and Mictlantechutli put in one and its befitting of the Baron given his gain in power! 

OTP: Baron and Cyborn are my OTP and are married, fight me. 

Brotp: Definitely Brotps with the rest of his henchmen though I see them more being like his adoptive children! 

Head Canon: Baron is of indigenous background! I also like to headcanon that the white tuft/strands in his hair are truly his and have been there since birth!  (I have so many more HCs for him but I will keep it short cause it can go all day x’) )

Unpopular opinion: Don’t think I have one, at the moment at least. 

A wish: To have gotten more information/lore on him and the entire cast, honestly! I would have loved to see more of his character explored and what more he could have had to offer as a series main villain! Hell, the whole damn series had so much to offer! And just the relationships he has with the others and what more he could have done post season and before! So much potential there to be explored! I honestly would not be objecting to a reboot/revival or continuation of the series! 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Though with that said, if a reboot does come around, don’t turn it into the mess of current cartoons we have. Not that they are all bad but most of them have been very disappointing in keeping my attention and liking. Keep the same type of messages it had before! It worked beautifully as it did then and still does work now! I’d love to see the same formulas used while also updating it to be more gritty and mature like they did for Castlevania! Just... Don’t turn it into a cringe worthy mess that will ruin Baron and all the characters in the series! Don’t do what the comics did! 

5 words to best describe them: Charmingly evil, badass, fun, conniving bastard, and menacing. 

My nickname for them: Mega dork (affectionately speaking)

Next is Ariandel!

Why I like them: Oh boy, there is a lot to say in terms of why I like him but I will try to keep it short and simple for time purposes!  His design is top tier for me! Like a rotting skull like face? Check! A monstrous body much like a bird’s? Check! And to add he is a giant Corvian, which are one of my favorite enemies in Dark Souls III!  His personality also differs from the usual loud, bombastic, and proud characters I tend to gravitate for. Instead, he’s withdrawn and rather sad to look at and hear. You know he’s going through a lot but don’t know exactly what it is. In game, one can sort of get hints as to what has gone on behind the scenes but at the same time, its still vague and hard to really pinpoint what really did happen. So he has that air of mystery to him that I honestly adore in many characters as it leaves room to explore deeper into their lore! But I also find his personality relatable as well as sympathetic.  But that’s just me, I can gush about him all day but I will cut it short here x’)

Why I don’t: To be honest I don't have any reason not to like Ariandel other then the small fact that he followed Friede and let the Painted World rot in such a terrible state. But that is so minor of an issue to me to really make a difference, lol. I adore this giant bird man!

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I have to say the scene where he ultimately snaps and breaks out of binds after seeing Friede's lifeless body before him is my favorite scene of his. The amount of pain and anguish heard in his scream and the way he moves prior and after; I can very much relate to that feeling. Sometimes, actions truly convey the emotions better in the most powerful means necessary. And this scene alone truly nailed it.

Favorite season/movie: He's only ever seen in the Dark Souls III DLC, so obvious answer points to the DLC!

Favorite line: "When the Ashes are two, a flame alighteth. Thou'rt Ash, and fire befits thee, of course..."

Favorite outfit: Uhh, he doesn't really wear any clothes save for his cape? So I guess the cape does him well as he is, though I always draw him without it xD

OTP: To be honest, I don't ship him with any canon characters within Dark Souls. Friede does not deserve him..

Brotp: Ariandel being best friends with the Ashen One is my ultimate Brotp! Just think of how much of a valuable ally he could have been!

Head Canon: I know his origins are debatable, as either theory I have for him can be plausible but I often lean more towards the idea of him being half Giant and half Corvian! IDK why but I just like it a lot more x’)

Unpopular opinion: While Ariandel is partly responsible for what happened to the Painted World, I still feel he was manipulated overall and probably at one point did have a change of heart before being forced into complete isolation. He plays more the role of the willing/unwilling accomplice then the actual perpetrator of the crime.  

A wish: He could have had a happier ending without having to die for Friede. I know, its Dark Souls. Such a thing is expected to happen in the Soulsborne series but its a wish, right? 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: That anything beyond the infatuation he had for Friede took place. Just.. No. He loved her but never could ever have her in that sense and never did. Just no, she is horrible to him. 

5 words to best describe them: Sad, lonely, birdman, withdrawn, and tragic

My nickname for them: Papa bird

And lastly for skekSo!

Why I like them: I think its as obvious as the case for Baron Dark. I like evil, smug bastards that shine through their wickedness and don't usually hold back. In the case of skekSo, I actually didn't care for him at first but then after my second viewing of the show, I started to like him more and enjoy his villainy! He's selfish, arrogant, vain, and conniving and I love it! Added that his design is really appealing to the eye and how he carries himself out, I gotta say he's one of the few villain characters from a show that makes the turn around for me to like them instead of hate them more. Also, his voice. Can NOT go wrong with that voice cause DAMN, its good and shows just how powerful a villain can be with a voice like his. And those eyes. Oh man, those eyes!

Why I don’t: Despite his villainy being the main point that caught my attention, its also a part of his downfall too. His constant greed and arrogance pushed him too far into doing what he did and ultimately cost him everything in the end; including loyal allies that end up dying for him in the long run. I hate how easily and quickly he changes his mind when actual logic is put into perspective of his plans and how quick he is to dismiss someone else when they don't please him anymore or things don't go his way for the smallest things. And yes, that is part of his character, I know that. That is what makes him as scummy as he is and why I love how trashy he is. But I also can't ignore just how easily he pushed skekVar away and believed skekSil despite knowing just what a lying bastard he is. IDK, it just feels too obvious but at the same time, it is what it is and I am not upset about it in the least x)

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Honestly, I enjoyed all the scenes with him in the show but mostly in particular with his interactions with skekVar, especially towards the end of the series. It showed a peak part of his vulnerability in his character that honestly I doubt he ever shows to anyone else. He spends most of his time pushing others around and making them fear him but with skekVar there is a sort of mutual respect going that really speaks out in a different way. Maybe I am just reading too much into it, but I always did enjoy how they interacted with one another!

Favorite season/movie: Well, skekSo didn't get much screen time in the movie other then him dying and turning to dust so.... Definitely enjoyed him more in the show then the film xD

Favorite line: "NOOOOO!" (Yes, this scene is still very infamous to me for personal reasons but the way he carried out his "no's" cracked me up each time xD)

Favorite outfit: Honestly, the main outfit he wore throughout the show. It's just so regal and goth, I love it! And as a goth and fashion enthusiast myself, I am all up for the style he has! The battle armor he wore near the end made it a tad more laughable to be honest.

OTP: I started shipping him with skekVar but ended up with an OT3 of skekVar and skekZok. So now all three of them live in a happy relationship with each other in my noodle~

Brotp: I see him being on neutral terms with skekMal! 

Head Canon: I feel that even in the show it wasn’t seen or given, but he did feel a lot of remorse and regret after the loss of skekVar. He seemed very close with him and spoke with skekVar with more trust then he did the others. Perhaps in secret he did mourn the General’s loss. 

Unpopular opinion: Does this count as an unpopular opinion? I know most people see him with just a few strands of hair but I tend to see him with a head full of long flowing white locks he keeps hidden beneath his clothes. It adds to the extra layer of vanity for a proud Emperor such as he! He looses it over time the darkening consumes him and withers down his health. 

A wish: To see what he was like as an urSkek prior to being split up into a Skeksis and urRu. Yeah, I know people don't care or like the urSkeks all that much but honestly, I would LOVE to see more urSkek lore and see what it was that made SoSu so special among his peers. It was said, after all, he had a voice that could move the stars but was conflicted and consumed with darkness. Honestly, I want to know why and who he was prior to all of this mess! SkekSo even says in the show he still has nightmares of the life before so I wonder, what they were and how it was! So much potential here, man!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I don’t think I have any of these to be honest? At least with skekSo. Not that I can think of on top of my head now. 

5 words to best describe them: Proud, absolute piece of shit, pretty, conniving, and menacing. 

My nickname for them: Stupid idiot

[still-a-morosexual-help]

OBEY ME! LESSON 50 DETAILED SUMMARY + THEORIES

One locked lesson. There’s also a chat between Mammon & Lucifer after they leave which is just Lucifer spamming him with texts that are all some variation of “don’t do anything stupid” and “be safe”, which Mammon never replies to and it reminds me intensely of my mom when I had school field trips.

In the morning Asmo says MC looks like they had a goodnight’s sleep ( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡• )and Satan says despite how much Lucifer denies it, it’s a fact that he spoils Mammon (AH HA!) and Asmo teases Satan about being jealous (AHH HAA!!!!). turns out they’re running late and Mammon’s still asleep, they can either wake him up gently (he blushes and asks if they came for round 2 before he realises what time it is), roll him outta bed (he screams, falls and gets pissed off) or yell his name in their best and highly accurate Lucifer imitation (He wakes up screaming and trying to convince Lucifer he didn’t do anything wrong before realising it’s MC). They end up having to skip breakfast and running to the station where they meet Luke who tells them the train’s about to leave. Mammon says that a kid like Luke wouldn’t understand the complicated adult process behind getting ready to leave on an overnight trip, Luke says that’s BS and they just overslept. The two of them start arguing and MC tells them to both shut the fuck up cause the train’s leaving. A red faced Luke starts screaming while they’re running cause Mammon picks him up and then he starts yelling at MC to stop laughing and help him. They never reveal who screamed the night before? Was it Levi realising Crowe was missing? Was it Lucifer trying to get Mammon to stop hugging him? Was it either Mammon or MC as they railed each other? Was it some poor brother who walked in on that? Was it for completely unrelated reasons? Can screams just be heard from outside the house at a semi-regular basis?

Mammon ends up tossing Luke on to the speeding train and when they’re all on it the two start arguing about being late/ the merits of throwing children on to trains. MC says people feel more comfortable to freely argue about things when they’re close. Mammon and Luke both instantly yell “We’re NOT close!”. Luke goes to keep him luggage, mumbling about being worried about spending time with Mammon and Mammon tells him he feels the same. MC and Mammon go to check out their room and MC coos about how big the bed is (it really is a comfy looking bed right under a large window) and Mammon says it could fit both of them and have room to spare before blushing and asking whether they’d actually share (and hey didn’t Lucifer book these rooms????????) Mammon remembers the train trip in S1 and blushes cause this time it’s just the two of them (did y’all forget Luke!?), MC says it’s like they’re on their honeymoon (GUYS SERIOUSLY DID YOU FORGET THE CHILD ALREADY!?), Mammon (while obviously blushing) says there’s other stuff that’ll have to happen first, like a “..um…p…proposal…and stuff”. Mammon then says it’s just the two of them and a bed right now and there’s only one thing they can do and they start going to make out before the door slams open and MC instantly pushes Mammon off and he falls of the bed. Luke completely oblivious and innocent asks what just happened and Mammon says they were practicing self-defence techniques and guys guys I’m crying why is this so funny, why does this seem like the scene from a dozen family comedy movies/sitcom shows where the kid walks in on the parents!???? Luke says he’s hungry and want to go get lunch.

Luke goes over their plan, Mammon grumbles out a whatever, Luke says he needs to listen and take it seriously, Mammon says he’s listening but totally not taking it seriously. He asks Luke why he’s so excited anyway, that he’s bouncing about. Luke’s embarrassed and tries to deny it and MC says Mammon had been bouncing around too. Mammon blushes and tells MC to shut it and Luke says it’s best to ignore Mammon cause he’s not worth it (I love Luke but sometimes…….) Luke ignores Mammon’s protests and shows MC the pamphlets. All the cars in the train are named after angels, with the first being Michael. Mammon says something about Luke going back to talking about his “precious Michael” and that no one cares that the cares are named after angels cause angels aren’t really all that great and he doesn’t see what’s special about them (AND NO GRUDGE HUH!????? Also this line gets a lot sadder when you remember angels killed his little sister). Luke starts telling himself to calm down, Mammon says he can hear everything Luke’s saying. Dessert arrives and Luke wants to share with MC and Mammon teases him about being excited about it before he realises it looks really good. Mammon asks for a bite, Luke refuses they start arguing (Just so you know ever since the “precious angels” line Mammon’s had this smile on his face no matter how much they argued and something about it reads as particularly nasty). Mammon suggests they flip a coin, either they each keep their own desserts or they switch (and pls don’t steal candy from a kid even I can’t defend no matter what issues you may have with the kid’s home/guardians). Luke refuses and Mammon taunts him about being afraid of losing and calls him ‘Luke the loser’ (really wish MC could smack him now and this is probably the most vicious we’ve seen Mammon throughout the 3seasons and we always take time to talk about everyone else’s issues but never Mammon’s, even in S2 when everyone was fighting each other they all got a chance to air their problems with each other and then MC helped them settle it and sure Mammon got a brief chance to yell at Lucifer about how he’s treated but they never got to resolve it, like Asmo said they ignored each other for a bit and then went back to their usual normal. Mammon’s long overdue a therapy session). Anyway Luke takes the bait and says he won’t lose cause he’s got Michael watching over him. Mammon says he should take the challenge then cause he’s got “whats-his-face” watching over him. Mammon wins and Luke accuses him of cheating and Mammon asks what the ‘doggy’s’ proof is. Mammon calls him a chihuahua and when Luke protests, Mammon says he’s Michael’s little puppy who sits on his lap and snuggles up to him all day (no grudge my ass). Luke flushes red, yells at Mammon to shut up and says he doesn’t understand why Michael still cares about the brothers before running away. Mammon loses his smile for a second before he laughs at Luke for running away without eating his dessert and he really does look like a chihuahua when he’s mad. He asks MC if they agree and they can either say Mammon in their Lucifer imitation (he freaks out but doesn’t seem to understand why MC’s pissed) or say “You know what? I hate this side of you, Mammon.” (which wow…He gets really upset about that, stuttering and saying he was just teasing and MC didn’t have to say they hated him)

MC goes to see Luke in his room, he only lets them in after making sure Mammon isn’t there. He apologizes for walking out and MC says it was understandable and that Mammon was in the wrong, Luke says he shouldn’t have let Mammon get to him, specially when he knew Mammon seeing him upset will make him happy. Luke says he’s been wondering about why Michael still cares about the brothers and that they may have been angels once but they did something awful enough that they were cast out and turned to demons (and he doesn’t know!!!!! Is it awful that I want MC to tell him about Lilith and the human she fell in love with?). He says if Michael loved them so much he should have just forgiven them without casting them away (also that’s a thing – were they cast away? Or did they run? We know they fought against the angels before they left and that the angels and presumably, they themselves were aiming to kill the other side, so at the height of all that anger, hurt, death and pain would Michael have just cast them away if they got captured, specially to the Devildom where he knew Lucifer had been meeting up with Diavolo? I always thought that after Lilith fell Lucifer just gathered up his remaining family and fled to the one outside ally they had. I also had a HC that maybe Simeon helped them escape and that’s why he got such a large demotion. They’ve never really cleared up what happened after Lilith was hit, but it would also make sense for the angels to say they were cast away specially if they’re not publicising the reasons behind the war/fight). Luke says he needs to stop and shouldn’t second guess Michael’s judgment and that sounds a lot like what Lucifer kept saying to himself about his Father’s judgment during the Devilgram where he first met Diavolo and the celestial realm is so shady guyyyyyssssss I love morally grey characters who see themselves as being wholly in the right. Luke asks MC as the person closest to the brothers if they think the brothers still love Michael cause he doesn’t want Michael’s love to be in vain. They say sometimes love is one-sided and Michael is still going to feel the way he does. Luke is upset and says he knows that Michael will still love them the way he always has. they ask if Luke hates the brothers (he turns red and said he used to but thanks to MC he can see some of the good in them and doesn’t dislike them as much anymore) and if he finds it hard to forgive them (he says it’s not his place to forgive them and his opinion won’t change Michael’s and that when it comes down to it he understands they aren’t a bad group). He thanks them for coming to check on him. In the corridor Mammon asks if Luke finally cried himself to sleep and calls him a baby (Mammon you cry over nature documentaries…). Mammon insists he didn’t come looking for Luke cause he was worried and was instead wondering where MC went cause they were taking long. He asks them to come back to the lounge for coffee which they missed cause of “Luke’s tantrum”

Back in the lounge Mammon says Simeon needs to teach Luke to relax cause he’s too uptight & that he can’t take a joke. MC asks him to stop making fun of Luke (he tells them to stop lecturing him like Lucifer) and asks if he hates him (he says it should be obvious he doesn’t). He says Luke lives in an extremely small world (which yeah) and he can’t help but to tease him and how once upon a time he was like that too (does…does Luke remind Mammon of himself…?) and MC asks how he ended up like he is now. He says that he ended up awesome, self-assured and sexy after being through both highs and lows. Mammon then gets all serious, saying Luke’s the lowest of the low ranking and yet he’s getting sent to the Devildom and Human Realm, meaning someone behind the scenes is pulling the strings cause they think he needs to see what the real world is like, hoping that he’ll learn that there’s more out there than the world of angels. He says that even after all this time Luke hasn’t learnt anything and that he still sees that the angels’ way of doing things is always right and that he doesn’t even want to imagine that sometimes they may be wrong. And Mammon says if he’s not gonna learn on his own then Mammon’s gonna have to show him by force that things don’t revolve around the celestial realm and the angels and that there’s more to the world. Then finally more light-hearted he says that sometimes someone’s gonna come along and scam you outta your dessert and that’s life. MC summarises it as Mammon trying to teach him that life’s not fair (I mean it’s a pretty mean lesson, specially for a 10yr old but I get that the circumstances are different and more complicated than in the real world/with an actual 10yr old and that “everything will always be okay because Michael will always look after me and Michael is always right” isn’t the best mindset to function on). Getting serious again Mammon says Simeon is making a mistake by standing back and letting Luke discover the world on his own specially when he still hasn’t figured things out at all even after so much exposure during the last few yrs. And that sometimes you gotta force them to see things whether they like it or not, and that he’s just being a mentor. MC asks “like Lucifer was to you?”. He agrees and says he’s not messing with Luke just for the fun of it THOUGH it is fun. So basically Mammon’s parenting style is just a tamer version of Lucifer’s.

 By night they meet up with a red face Luke in the corridor. Mammon greets him as usual, calling him sleepyhead and then asking why he’s looking at Mammon like that with sweat beading on his forehead when Luke doesn’t reply. He asks if Luke’s realised how amazing Mammon looks/is and now can’t help staring. Luke, with a red face and looking to the side, apologises to Mammon about what happened/the things he said and Mammon says it’s good he said so and calls him a good doggy and Luke frowns. MC says it was Mammon’s fault to begin with. Mammon tells MC not to come at him with the truth with such a serious, scary look on their face but he flushes red, admits his fault and apologizes too. Then asks Luke if he’s hungry and if he wants to go get food, Luke, still red, says he isn’t. Mammon says whatever and goes to leave till MC starts silently glaring at him. He yelps but understands that MC wants him to fix Luke’s sad/subdued mood. So he asks Luke to come with him. When Luke’s shocked and starts to question him Mammon turns red, snaps at him to come along and then picks Luke up again and hoists him over his shoulder while Luke screams and protests. Mammon carries him all the way to the roof of the train, laughing and saying he might actually drop Luke by accident if he keeps squirming. Luke snaps and asks if Mammon is trying to kill him and Mammon says that Luke’s pamphlets said that the train would be travelling through a slower speed through this area which means it was a good chance to take in the view and stargaze at night and the sky behind them looks really pretty and this is so sweet and he really was listening to Luke the whole time and I have this image of Mammon dragging MC along with him as he stomps into the Angel’s Halo, kidnaps Luke by picking him up and carrying him over his shoulder as he yells at Simeon about the three of them going off to hunt some other rare creature or plant and I want this to be a regular routine for them pls. Luke says the pamphlet didn’t tell them to climb the roof but Mammon says it’s better this way, Luke tries to get MC to talk sense into Mammon but really he should know by now that MC’s always ready to go along with Mammon’s crazy plans so they just say that this is Mammon’s way of making it up to Luke and that there’s no harm in it and that it’s fun. Luke calls MC out, telling if they don’t put their foot down with Mammon he’ll take advantage and things like this will happen. Luke then says enough and asks Mammon to put him down before gasping. Mammon laughs and asks if Luke really wants to be put down when he’s clinging so hard to Mammon (from what I’m getting I think Mammon shifted Luke to his hip? And that’s what the gasp was for) and then he tells Luke to go ahead and look at the sky cause the stars really are beautiful. Mammon points out cygnus and Luke says it’s weird that he knows about constellations and Mammon asks why that would be weird. Luke says it’s weird cause they’re human world stars. And Mammon looks sad and says Michael taught him a long time ago and Luke is surprised (pretty sure before Lucifer took Mammon, Michael was his official guardian? I feel like they said that in one of the earlier S3 lessons) Mammon says that Michael likes that sort of thing and Luke said Michael taught him about the constellations too. Mammon guesses it was in the Celestial Realm observatory and that Michael heads there any chance he got. Luke is surprised that Mammon still remembers these kinda things about Michael. Mammon says that even if you want to you can’t forget a guy as weird as Michael and that he sticks in your memory. Luke says Mammon’s in no place to talk considering he’s pretty weird too. Mammon snaps at him but Luke ignores him saying he got his constellations mixed up and that he was pointing at orion not cygnus and just I love the idea that Michael loved the stars and the constellations and the stories behind them but he also didn’t know shit about identifying them so each set of young angels he showed and taught the human world constellations to have a completely different set of information and none of them are right. I also love how casual Mammon and Luke’s conversation is but the whole thing probably takes place while Mammon was still carrying Luke. And ugh I have such a pretty image in my head for this whole scene and I’d give anything to be able to draw rn

The next morning, Luke is cheerful about getting off the train and Mammon complains about him being too happy when Mammon’s still tired. Luke says he’s tired too cause the 3 of them played cards till dawn and dfnkjefjiwqeji this is so cute? Did Mammon teach Luke to play? Did they all fall asleep in bed together? I like to imagine Luke wasn’t able to fall asleep in his own room so he came to MC and Mammon’s room looking for MC only for it to be Mammon who opened up the door. When MC comes back to the room after washing up for the night and changing clothes the two of them are sitting cross legged in bed across from each other in their night clothes with Mammon trying to teach Luke a card game as they play it. MC and Mammon don’t get that alone time they were hoping for but neither of them mind because sometimes a family is a demon, a human and an angel playing cards during the witching hour on a night train heading towards an isolated lake and hidden fairies. Luke says he couldn’t win though cause SOMEONE kept cheating Mammon says lol yeah I cheated against you for the first two times but then I realised how much you sucked so I stopped after that I only cheated against MC :D MC gives him a look and he tries to placate them by saying he only cheated sometimes. Luke says it doesn’t matter cause they need to get going since they need to get through a forest to get to the lake. The forest, despite it being midday, is foggy and creep, and is rumoured to be them home of a vampire, a witch who eats children and a goblin who imprisons travellers. Mammon & Luke are both freaked out by the witch (…for two very different reasons) & MC dismisses them as just stories (YOU WERE KIDNAPPED AND TAKEN TO HELL???? Your closest friends/family are demons, angels and a sorcerer??? You’re out here looking for fairies????). The boys both get startled by a bird and cling onto MC, Luke then gives MC a blessing to protect them. It suddenly gets darker and it starts raining and Luke spots something.

They end up in front of the house of lamentation (and holy fuck I missed it so much?? It has character! The house in the human world is just sparkling clean, white and empty. The only rooms in it that have character are the bedrooms which are just portals to the house of lamentation.) The boys are both shocked and stuttering until Luke remembers the pamphlet mentioning an old manor hidden deep in the forest. MC remembers the story of the house in the human world about the servant apparently killed off the couple and 6 of their kids before killing himself, leaving only the oldest alive, though later there was evidence that the oldest was the killer but nothing came of it. He died of old age in the house but rumours spread that it was haunted and you were able to see people moving around inside and hear people arguing and screaming  (and okay so if the brothers are the seven children and MC is the servant… are Diavolo and Barbatos the parents?). Mammon says it can’t be the HoL cause Lucifer had it disassembled and brought to the devildom (and do you think Lucifer was trying to make a statement? “Six people were killed by their oldest brother in this house, DO NOT test me.”) MC says maybe it’s an imitation, Luke agrees saying they may have built another one as a tourist attraction over where the first one stood. (I like to think that the massacre in the original HoL was so dreadful that it permanently bound the original with its land in the human realm and that when it was brought to the devildom the natural magic all around it strengthened that bond to the point that it encompassed the imitation HoL as well. So now even though the HoL in the human realm is just a tourist trap you can still see 7, occasionally 8, sometimes 10 shadows walking around, You can still hear people arguing and shouting and screaming. But these are not ghosts and are instead the shadows of the real lives that currently inhabit the original house of lamentation, being filtered through the bond up to the human world. Tourists will swear they hear voices yelling for Lucifer or Satan and other demonic names, screams of terror, hauntingly beautiful singing that continues for hours or monstrous growling but this is just Lucifer & Satan arguing about why Satan can’t adopt a pet cat, Mammon being strung up and hung from the chandelier, Asmo singing in the bathroom and Beel’s stomach growling). They all head in and Mammon says it doesn’t feel right, that they’ve all been in the actual HoL and are comfortable in it but that this place was eerie, Luke agrees (ironic that the real murder house is comfortable and homey while the tourist trap is spooky). Both the boys then suddenly disappear, not even answering when MC calls for them.

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 6.16}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 3.6k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

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When Robin took her perch on the edge of the desk again, putting the books she had used during the class back into their place, she finally realized what had bothered her about the entire thing. Dumbledore had been the one to tell Snape to take over Morgan's class, and therefore he must've known that he wouldn't find him down here. That means he had either come here to wait for Snape, which was unlikely, or he had meant to seek out Robin in the first place. In which case he surely had known that she possessed the particular spellbook as well. And he had lied to her without her even noticing in the slightest. But… why on earth would he do any of that?

She frowned to herself, lost in thought until the door was opened once again, without a knock this time. Robin didn't even have to look up to know who it was, but by the time she did, he was standing in front of her already.

"What is it with you and that desk?" Snape quirked an eyebrow at her, and while he was undoubtedly humored rather than annoyed by her having claimed it as her seat yet again, Robin could also see that Morgan's class had taken its toll on him.

"It's the best spot in the entire room. Of course I had to have it." She shrugged with a smile, but stayed right where she was. "How did the seventh years fare with you?"

"It is safe to say they weren't too fond of having me as a replacement. Perhaps because they are unaccustomed to having a competent teacher, or perhaps because I simply demanded more of them than what they are used to. But truly I think it was a matter of personal distaste in the end." He replied in a sigh between exhaustion and annoyance, and Robin suddenly realized that she enjoyed being trapped between him and the desk way too much. She pushed the inappropriate thought out of her mind in an instant, and at the same time he did her the favor of sitting down next to her instead. "I tend to forget that people other than you and me are quite fond of Morgan."

"People other than you and me are bloody idiots."

"Indeed." He looked down at Robin with a not-smirk and an almost openly curious expression. "So, how was having your own class full of idiots?"

"Not half as bad as I expected, actually." She smiled up at him in return. "I did a revision of the entire year with them just like you suggested, but I tried to explain things a bit differently than you do. Perhaps it helped some of them understand it better."

"Did you really?"

"Yes! But honestly, I was more surprised by the fact that they respected me as an authority in the first place. Which means that, other than them being complete dunderhead like almost all students are, they were actually quite manageable."

"I am not sure which class you taught, but it certainly wasn't mine."

Robin laughed at the comment, and nudged him in the side with her shoulder. Something she had dared doing more often recently, and he had never protested. "It most definitely was your class of dunderheads! But they seemed to appreciate having me as a replacement. One girl even came to talk to me afterwards, and after getting her to stop crying, I told her to see you tomorrow morning."

"Why, pray tell, would you do that to me?"

"She needs help!" Robin rolled her eyes at him exaggeratedly, a statement in both directions. "And I already did the hard part for you, so you really only will have to tell her what she can do to catch up with the class."

"Who was it?"

"How am I supposed to know!?" Robin huffed with a laugh. "They're your students, not mine. She was tiny and cried a lot."

"They are twelve-year-olds, they all are tiny." Snape quirked an eyebrow at her. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Black hair, bushy eyebrows, really tan skin… Ravenclaw I believe."

"I see. She is rather clever, but has been doing poorly in class for a while now. And she came to you asking for help?"

"Basically, yes. I already explained to her why she needs to learn the basics of potion making, but you will know better what she can work on to actually improve. So I told her to see you tomorrow morning to get the help she needs."

"I was under the impression that you and I were friends. Why would you put me through that?"

"Because you're the professor! Dealing with students is your job!" Robin laughed, shaking her head to herself as she finally got up from the desk once more. "I'm not going to do all your work for you, you know."

"I never expected that of you." He replied in a sudden seriousness. "I never expected any of this, in fact, nor would I ever take your help for granted like that."

"I know." She gave him a small and hopefully reassuring smile. "And you hopefully know that I'm always more than happy to help you, no matter what."

"I do. Thank you." His grave expression made way for the usual calm, which in return made Robin sigh under her breath as he spoke on. "Still, you went out of your way to do me a favor, which means I owe you."

"Hardly." Robin replied with another humored huff. "You help me all the time, in so many ways, this really is the least I can do for you in return. You don't owe me anything."

"In my humble opinion, I very much do."

"Fine, if you insist on it… I will keep it in mind." She sighed, in the knowledge that arguing with him was pointless whenever he had set his mind to something. Instead she came to stand right in front of him now and motioned toward the office. "How about pre-dinner coffee? I still haven't told you about the little visit Dumbledore paid me after class."

"Why do I get the feeling that your afternoon was way more interesting than mine?"

"You're already right about that and you haven't even heard the story yet. Impressive."

"Let me prepare the coffee and you will have my fullest attention."

… … …

The last two weeks before Robin's two N.E.W.T. exams were filled with too much studying and too little sleep. From before breakfast until after dinner she studied for the theoretical part, often enough without actually attending the meals, and after dinner she would practice for the practical examination with Snape. He ended up giving her a mock exam based on what he remembered from his own N.E.W.T.s a few days before the tests, and Robin had a very hard time not crying over how much effort he actually put into helping her. It probably was a bit unfair, especially since he most definitely would never do this for any of the other students (nor any other person in general), but since he wasn't going to be the one testing nor grading her in the end, they both simply chose to ignore that fact. Life just wasn't fair, and if Robin was on the losing end so very often, she believed that she could also allow herself to be on the winning end for once. And really, if one looked at it in a different light, the only advantage she had in the end was that she had the most capable and competent study partner possible.

But there also was another problem, of an entirely different kind. Robin still had to take the normal end-of-the-year exams for all her other sixth year classes, which meant that times were prone to overlap. Once she had realized that a few days in advance, she had straight out panicked, right until Snape had dragged her to Flitwick's office and seen to it that the sixth year charms exam would be moved to a different time. Really, Flitwick was a helpful person in the end and once Robin had managed to state the situation more or less calmly, it had been beyond easy to reschedule his exam.

With the second test that needed to be moved however, they weren't so lucky. Morgan, of course, saw no reason to change the time of his exam just to accustom the 'pathetic ambitions' of one single student, and even Snape couldn't get him to change his mind. By that time Robin was on edge enough to burst, anxious beyond reason, and of course Morgan didn't have a hard time noticing and taking advantage of it in return. He didn't move his exam, and probably hoped that it would cause as many negative consequences for Robin as possible in one way or the other. Unfortunately for him, he had made that calculation without Dumbledore, who upon hearing of the issue demanded for the test to be rescheduled indeed.

Finally, and luckily enough, alchemy and magical creatures had originally been scheduled for such odd times anyway that they didn't pose a problem, and thus eventually all exams fit into Robin's week without overlap. Thank God… or rather, thanks to Snape. While Robin had always done the talking and made the requests, he had been the one to drag her around and make her do so in the first place. He had seen to it that she didn't just stay hidden in her rabbithole of anxiety and stress, and Robin was eternally grateful for that.

The exams came, and Robin found that NEWTs were exactly the same as the OWLs, just a tad more difficult. Fine, a lot more difficult. But she was well prepared, and sincerely believed that she had answered everything to her best abilities. The sixth year exams in comparison to that were a mess. She had spent so much time preparing for the two, way more important NEWT exams that she had hardly studied for the sixth year subjects at all, and she definitely noticed that during the tests. Too bad the bloody day only had 24 hours for her to use to study… But oh well, the sixth year exams didn't actually count for anything other than her pride after all, so perhaps it was alright not to get perfect grades in them for once. Or so she tried to tell herself, at least.

Practical potions was the last examination of the bunch, on Friday afternoon, and it honestly was the easiest out of them all. They were asked to brew a variety of minor draughts and serums, all of which Robin had excessively practiced for, and both she and the examiners (those nasty folks sent by the ministry) were surprised when she finished more than half an hour earlier than any of the regular seventh year students. Uncertain of what to do with her, the ministry workers had her check her work again, but Robin still discovered no flaw in it, so they reluctantly let her go already.

A week later, Friday in the second week of June, the normal exam results were released, and Robin found herself mostly devastated. She had been able to uphold her Outstanding in magical creatures, but that was the only good result she had gotten and the only thing that kept her from crying. In charms and alchemy she had barely made it to an Acceptable, while Morgan had actually gone all out and given her a Dreadful. Really, in Robin's eyes it couldn't have gone much worse.

When she sat in the office with Snape the night after the results had been released, sulking and trying very hard not to cry, the only thing that made her smile in the end was when he offered to break into Morgan's office and steal her exam to have a look at it and quite possibly prove that Morgan's grade was unjustified. While the offer was tempting, and it astonished Robin to see that he was actually quite seriously about it, she declined nonetheless. He would only end up getting in trouble for that, and she wouldn't have that for anything at all. It was only a bad grade that didn't even matter. A grade that counted for nothing. But it was very hard to remind herself of that from time to time nonetheless.

Sunday was the last day of the term, and as always it was accompanied by the obligatory end-of-term feast to celebrate the evening. It usually was a dull ceremony for everyone but the seventh years, so Robin found herself paying little to no attention to the lengthy speech and words of wisdom Dumbledore had to offer to this year's graduates. Neither did she listen to Cas and Jorien though, who were discussing Cas' failed attempt to convince her parents to let her visit Simon over the summer. They still were together and happy in their relationship at this point… obviously Robin had been wrong about them. At least Cas had started treating her boyfriend AND her friends as equal parts in her life after the incident in March, so it was a good thing that both had prevailed after all.

For the moment, Robin found herself amused at the sight of a seventh year Hufflepuff girl who clumsily made her way towards the front after being called up. Time for this year's honour roll, it seemed. All the seventh years had dressed up in their fancy robes and ball gowns for the night, a thing that had only started becoming an actual thing last year. But obviously not everyone could or should walk on high heels just because it was allowed on graduation night, and the sight just was too amusing to Robin not to snicker over. Poor Hufflepuff…

A boulder of a boy followed a few seconds later, a Gryffindor this time, and he came to stand next to the tiny Hufflepuff girl in the front. Robin wondered which subject he had been best in to make it onto the list, but to get an answer to that she would've had to start actually listening from the start. A few more people followed upon that, and Robin thought that this really was the most dreadful part of the evening, until a particular name caught her by surprise.

"Julius Campton," Dumbledore called out, "Top of the year in Divination."

The majority of people applauded like they had before, and Robin found herself frowning deeply as the boy in question made his way towards the front. She hadn't expected him to be good at anything, especially not divination. It was an easier subject, admittedly, but one needed to be a certain kind of person to actually be more than just good in it. And Julius wasn't that kind of person. Oh well… obviously she had been wrong about that yet again. Should the arse enjoy his honours, who cares…

"Lucinda Sparks," The headmaster went on in the same loud voice that Robin couldn't ignore anymore now, "Top of the year in Arithmancy and History of Magic."

If Robin wasn't mistaken, this was the older sister of her ex-roommate Melody. Who would've thought that their family also had children who weren't bloody idiots? Definitely not something Robin had expected. And anyway, why did those seventh years have their N.E.W.T. results already while Robin was still anxiously waiting for hers?!

"Robin Mitchell," Dumbledore called out, and Robin's blood froze in her veins while half of the Slytherin table fell into dead silence alongside her, "Top of the year in Potions and Herbology."

Oh god. What? No way… This was some practical joke, it had to be. Perhaps there was someone who had the same name a year above her. But when she looked around, nobody else was getting up from their seat, and when her gaze met Dumbledore's, he gave her the subtlest nod in history. Oh bloody hell… This wasn't supposed to happen.

Robin's legs made her get up on their own account, while her mind still wouldn't quite grasp the situation. She wasn't part of this graduating year, she wasn't supposed to be on the honour roll! At least not now… not when everyone looked at her like she was an alien amongst them. Approximately six people clapped as she made her way towards the front, four of them being seated at the head table, which however was barely registered in her head. She took her place next to the other students by Dumbledore's side, while the next person was called on already, but she still couldn't focus on anything other than the racing of her heart and the churning of her stomach. 

This perhaps was even worse than her first ever day here. Because back then, she had just been one of many, a new face like everyone else. Now however most of the people (who still hadn't ceased gaping at her) knew exactly who she was, and it gave them all the more reason to hate her for standing here. In a place she wasn't supposed to be in, a place meant for some seventh year who was probably working way harder to get here than she ever had. Honestly, the honour roll had been an annoying joke to her until five minutes ago. She hadn't even listened to the bloody ceremony for that past six years, for heaven's sake!!! But now she stood up here in front of the head table, next to people who didn't know why she was here, looked at by people who didn't think she deserved to be here, and yet she was. Top of the year in potions and herbology. Bloody hell.

Three more people took their places next to Robin in the line of students, and it was only then that she realized that she was the only one wearing her school uniform. Everyone else was elegantly clad in dress robes. Great… At least the fitted black robes she had been wearing throughout the entire year were actually fancy enough to somehow keep up with the ball gowns of the other girls. Not that it mattered much in this case, she couldn't care less about looks, but it was something to ease her anxious nerves at least. Something other to focus on than the jealous and distasteful looks the people were throwing at her from the students' tables.

People applauded once more, for all the students up front, while Dumbledore and McGonagall handed out a certificate to each student. Robin took hers from McGonagall thankfully, and the professor offered her a small smile before moving on to the next person. At least Robin wasn't as unpopular among the professors as she'd thought… the head of Gryffindor seemed to like her well enough after all, even if she was in a rivaling house. Half a minute later, everyone went back to their seats without any ado, and Dumbledore went on with his speech for the graduates for a little while, but ultimately declared the beginning of the feast.

Robin didn't feel hungry anymore, even when she was safely sitting together with her two roommates again, who however were happily indulging in the meal themselves. They'd congratulated her for her honours, being sincerely happy for her in that at least, but ultimately they had no mind for the actual meaning of it. It was just a piece of paper after all, and they were still so far from away graduating that Robin honestly couldn't blame them for their short lived interest in the topic. Her mind however couldn't quite put the issue to rest, especially since she didn't even know her grades yet. How could they declare her best in a subject if she didn't have a grade? Or did Dumbledore know more than everyone else did, like always? From what she picked up out of snippets of conversations at her table, nobody else had their results yet either, so that at least was good to hear. Perhaps she should just be happy about her success, and let it be reassurance enough that her hard work had paid off. No matter if she thought she deserved it or not.

When she finally dared looking towards the head table, her eyes met Snape's immediately and that alone melted some of the tension in her body and mind in an instant. At least one person in the room seemed to think she deserved the honours, going by the barely-even-there expression of pride on his face. Then he quirked an eyebrow at her in feigned surprise, putting on that mask of perfect indifference, and Robin finally had to smile again. He just had a way of cheering her up in any situation, without even doing much at all. For another moment they simply looked at each other through the busy space between them, then the corner of his lips twitched for not even a broken second, and Robin looked back down at her yet empty plate with a smile. If that hadn't been an invitation for coffee later, she would return those honours straight away.

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