#how he hides because to be seen and noticed is to become a target

[yanderes-galore]

Can I ask for a romantic concept of Spider-Noir from the Spiderverse movies? :>

I had to go completely based scenes I saw since Fandom wiki is a wreck right now :')

Yandere! Spider-Noir HCs

(Or more accurately... me rambling about him with barely any focused plot.)

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Overprotective/Possessive behavior, Violence, Blood, Murder, Stalking, Invasion of privacy, Restraints, Secret picture taking, Kidnapping, Forced relationship.

Spider-Noir, or just Noir, is said to be a much darker version of Spiderman.

Both literally and metaphorically.

Noir's universe is during the 1930s, a world grisly and filled with people who use guns to kill.

Yet while Noir has seen bloodshed and occasionally killed himself, it's only in certain circumstances.

Like other Spiders, he tries to just injure... Not kill unless needed.

Something to note that I just found interesting is in the comics... Noir gets his powers from a Spider God?

Which... is certainly different from most Spiders.

I'd say Noir has decent Yandere potential, especially as a private investigator.

He's killed before and knows how to get information he wants.

Not only that but he has you typical Spider powers, meaning stalking?

Easy for him.

I feel like most Spiders Noir is a stalker as a yandere.

He's used to doing stakeouts and hiding out of sight.

He always has a camera and film on him.

He can stick to walls and get info on just about anyone.

You could simply be friends or even an assistant of his on his cases, doesn't matter.

He somehow is able to know more about you than you know about yourself.

He tries not to be malicious about such information.

He's a hero at heart, he just knows what he knows to protect you...

Because knowing how you look when you sleep is DEFINITELY for your protection....

Noir doesn't show much emotion or empathy.

To most he's cold or stoic, always focused on the next case.

Yet there's a certain softness he has around you.

The hero of the city certainly has his sweetheart, he just never outwardly expresses it.

No, instead he has a folder filled with photos of you and little notes.

Perhaps even copies of important documents.

He excuses it as a 'background check'... and not that he's obsessed over you.

Noir often thinks of you when doing cases, always solving murders and worrying about you in your home.

Such worries are usually what drive the hero to your home, peeping in to make sure no one is preparing to make you a new victim.

That's another reason Noir is hesitant to outwardly show his interest.

You could become a target to others so they can hurt him.

Everyone he adores is often targeted which has led to Noir being secretive.

He probably does crave love... He yearns to take you on a date, to be a gentleman to you...

But he fears for your life.

Such fears are ignored later on as his obsession grows.

He'll get impatient at some point.

Especially when he notices some other handsome guy takes interest.

For the most part, Noir is fine watching from afar with pictures.

Although, if you ever did get in trouble... Noir takes advantage of this.

He'll swoop in, cradling you against his chest as he pulls you away from a villain.

He wants to be your hero like any Spider....

So... He'll just keep his obsession in sight.

He'll claim keeping you at home will keep you safe, that he'll do whatever it takes to protect you.

He claims it's just for protection at first... Although you can tell he starts acting strange as time goes on.

Sure, maybe you can excuse it as paranoia... He's been through and goes through a lot....

But then you see him distrust friends, often interrogating them like they're a criminal for getting too close.

'Could be a spy'... 'They could be dangerous...'.

He just keeps getting overprotective... Perhaps even possessive once he admits he's... sweet on you.

Confessing is hard for him to do.

He struggles to tell you before eventually just forcing it out while he holds you close.

He loves you... he's loved you for a long time...

He'd rather die than allow anyone else to touch you.

Noir is a difficult yandere to get rid of.

He knows to keep out of sight and with his spider powers... If you ever did try to leave him he'd probably use webs to restrain you 'for your own good'.

I doubt you could even kill him.

Even if you took him off guard, it's shown in the comic that the spider god who gave him his powers would just revive him in a cocoon.

You'd think you got rid of him, finally free to leave your home.

No need for paranoia.

Only for him to appear behind you, webs restraining you as he whispers in your ear...

"Clever one, aren't you? Sorry, sweetheart... You aren't getting rid of me... Are you usually this mean to your lovers?"

Now, if we're talking about a fellow Spider Darling like in Spiderverse... Things are a bit different.

You're both used to playing hero so he doesn't entirely feel he needs to protect you as much than if you were a civilian in his world.

Your universe is no doubt more modern than his... So there's more comedic moments than his previous scenario.

For example, you trying to explain modern technology to him is fun.

Or the fact his world quite literally has no color... so he can't seem to comprehend it.

Compared to the previous scenario I said, this stays light-hearted at first.

He's curious about you and your world....

He can't pull documents about you here as easily, but he probably still does take secret pictures to take back to his universe.

You two would communicate the most at the Spider-Society.

All sorts of Spiders gather there so of course he'd meet you there.

Or maybe he accidentally teleports with you into Miles' universe, leading to you two being forced to get along and learn from each other.

Your bond as fellow Spiders starts as partners, just solving crimes and trying to get back home.

So it's less trying to protect you in this scenario... and more like he can't bear the idea of parting from you.

Sure, he enjoys his home, he feels comfortable in his universe.

But now you've piqued his interest... especially due to how well you work together.

If you two couldn't freely visit one another, Noir would be more desperate about not letting you go.

Yet if you can through the Spider-Society... Noir practically never leaves you alone.

Normally he would prefer to hide himself away in a good case, to focus on his universe.

Yet here he is, often trying to see you, perhaps asking for some time together.

Like a little... Spider date...?

Or... it doesn't have to be a date... Could just be... fighting crime together....

You trust him because you enjoy hanging out with him.

Yet you're completely unaware of him plotting ways to properly trap you with him so he can see you more often.

The second plotline is an idea of what could happen when you're a Spider and want to keep it close to Spider-verse...

But I do feel Noir works best in his own universe with a Darling who belongs there.

Doesn't create any anomalies.

So there's some basic behavior Noir could exhibit... Mostly stalking and stepping in when he has to.

If Noir kidnapped you he would always claim it's 'for your own good' like a protective yandere would.

A fear of his, like most Spiders, is losing the people he loves.

Which... happens to every Spider somehow as a Canon Event.

He denies the fact he kidnapped you, even with his webs around you.

He just... doesn't trust you alone...

It's like you're some misbehaving child.

He's always cold with what he says, treating it like it's just business.

Yet at the same time he'd pull your webbed body close to him, nuzzling into your neck to give himself comfort.

Sure, he'll have a few dates with you, mostly private ones with a few drinks and maybe a bit of intimacy if you're up for it....

He'd love to take you out for some fancy dinner... but he can't have you wander from his sight.

If you're a civilian it's because he feels you can't protect yourself.

If you're a Spider from another universe, he hides you to prevent suspicion.

You two may often get into arguments, but Noir usually drops them and quietly cuddles with you like nothing happened.

You want to go back to your normal life... not be hidden away by the private investigator you thought was your friend.

Things would've been better if he just kept quiet... if he was happy with just the pictures....

But no... You know things have become irreparable once Noir confesses he's shot people over you... or when he scares you by resurrecting to find you.

This isn't the Peter you knew....

This was a man consumed by paranoia and desire.

He knows it's wrong and he blames the world for corrupting him.

He's a murderer like the criminals he hunts....

Yet, let's be honest, it probably wasn't just his world...

All of this was preventable, he never had to shoot someone over you, or watch as their blood splatters across his coat...

With some restraint, things could've been normal between you...

Yet it was his choice to let his desires consume him... He CHOSE to be a monster just to get what he wants.

[kopykunoichi]

Refresher for the people still confused about this...

In a galaxy far, far away, EVERYONE has midi-chlorians in their blood. The Force resides in all living things. It binds the whole galaxy together. Midi-chlorians are what allow beings to commune with the Force. The more midi-chlorians you have, the more potential you have to RESPOND TO and WIELD the Force. But notice that Asajj couches her statement with the line that those with a higher m-count were "believed" to be more capable of wielding the Force. There's a correlation, but it's not necessarily the only factor (see Sabine Wren).

This is the moment where the clones literally become stand-ins for the fans.

"What? If you can use the Force, you're a Jedi!"

No. If you can use the Force, you can use the Force. To use it as a Jedi uses it, you have to train as a Jedi. To use it as a Sith uses it, you have to train as a Sith. To use it like a Nightsister, you have to train as a Nightsister. Or you can get some rudimentary instruction and decide how you want to use it.

Jango Fett didn't have a high m-count, so his clones didn't either. But Omega and the rest of the Batch were special cases. As Cut said, the Kaminoans create with a purpose. Their deviations were intentional. Hunters abilities have always suggested he had a higher m-count than the others. But Omega's ability to perceive things before they happen (her bad feelings are nearly always spot on) and her affinity with animals have always been hints that her m-count is a little higher.

(Will update with screen grabs when I get them)

At the end of the episode, Omega asks Ventress if she has a high m-count.

Ventress: *looking at her nails* From what I've seen...no.

Omega: Then why is the Empire after me?

Ventress: Believe it or not, I don't know everything. But seeing as how a high m-count would make you a target, consider yourself lucky.

Omega: But I'm already a target.

Wrecker: Don't worry about it, kid. We'll figure it out. C'mon, let's get some chow.

Omega: *sigh* Thanks for trying.

Once they're out of earshot...

Crosshair: You're lying.

Ventress: About which part?

Hunter: You tell us.

Ventress: If Omega did have that potential, she'd have to be trained. Which would mean leaving you behind.

Hunter: That's not happening.

Ventress: What you want is irrelevant. The fact is, the Empire is after her, and they won't stop. If I were you, I'd leave this place. You're not as safe as you think you are. Our business is done.

Crosshair: I still can't figure out which side you're on.

Ventress: My own.

Okay, so Ventress is clearly not telling the truth about the m-count, which we know, because we've already seen Omega's charts. I really don't understand why people keep taking Ventress at her word here. We know better, and so do Crosshair and Hunter. My guess is that she's trying to protect Omega because she knows firsthand what it's like to be taken from your family and trained as a young girl.

We know that when Omega was at Tantiss, she was receiving transfusions of blood with midi-chlorians the same as all the other clones (harvested from the dead Jedi they're undoubtedly holding in the vault). They were taking her blood samples, but Nala Se kept throwing them away because she knew Omega would retain the higher midi-chlorian levels and she didn't want Hemlock to know that. The Emperor needs a clone that will maintain a high m-count so he can eventually get himself a new body. We know he does get that body, but not for decades - presumably because a) he never gets Omega, and b) the Batch is gonna take the fight to them at Tantiss and blow up their entire supply of midi-chlorian donors. Think about it - they're still working on Project Necromancer in The Mandalorian (24 years after The Bad Batch), but their resources are severely limited. The Empire has been all but wiped out, the Emperor is hiding out on Exegol, Dr. Pershing is clearly no Hemlock since he keeps killing his test subjects, and Grogu seems to be the only m-count donor they can get their hands on. The Emperor's cloned body is also deteriorating rapidly in TRoS, which suggests that even 25 years after The Mandalorian, he STILL hasn't figured out the right formula for cloning himself (which is good news for Grogu and Omega).

Which brings us back to the question, "Is Omega Force sensitive?"

The answer is, "yes", she is sensitive to the Force due to her elevated m-count. We've seen this all along. Hunter most likely is, too, and maybe some of the other Bad Batchers, to varying degrees. Tech could riot race, which takes incredible reflexes. Hemlock said that Crosshair didn't have a high m-count, and we don't know where Wrecker's abilities stem from. Omega can't wield the Force because she is untrained, but the potential is there. A person's aptitude to wield the Force seems to be strongly correlated to their m-count, but we've seen others with low aptitude eventually open the door to the Force with years of training and a decent dose of impending doom (we see this clearly with Sabine in Ahsoka, but it was also a topic in Legends).

Omega being Force sensitive doesn't mean that she has to leave her brothers. She can choose to pursue her training or not. She'd also have to find someone willing to train her. I'm not convinced Ventress is looking to take on any apprentices at the moment, but she could possibly connect Omega to Quinlan Voss (imagine the trouble those two would get up to).

But I don't think Omega will choose that path. One, it would just make her a bigger target. Two, I don't see her prioritizing power over family. She's a clone, and clones are ALL about family. They're Mando coded, not Jedi coded. Screw the space Buddhist lifestyle - clones parade their attachments around like trophies. Omega goes around collecting attachments like most kids collect rocks..."Hello, stranger trying to kill me, let's be besties."

[greenfiend]

Will already has powers…

And I think I figured out exactly what they are.

This is a long theory post. Get some popcorn, get comfortable and be prepared to have some common fandom perspectives get flipped upside down. Nothing is as it seems.

(Trigger warning for some serious subject matters such as: homophobia, SI, m*rder, and CSA.)

Before we begin, let me remind you of what’s seen behind our boy in the photo above.

This post will, indeed, open that curtain. As Murray states, revealing what’s behind the curtain will cause some to feel unease. The unease may be caused by distaste of the theory overall or discomfort of the serious subject matters. So proceed with caution…

To begin, who is Will Byers?

A young boy who doesn’t fit in with the 1980s norms. A boy who escapes through fantasy.

In fantasy he’s a wizard… a cleric…

Outside of fantasy he’s an artist… a creator…

He’s a boy who’s different. He stands out from the rest, yet he manages to remain hidden for the most part. He’s “good at hiding”.

He is a part of a small loving family of three. His mother Joyce and his older brother Jonathan. His biological dad is estranged (more on him later).

Will has a few friends when we begin the show: Lucas, Dustin, and Mike. Mike and Will have a bond that’s different from the others (more on them later).

Will is a young boy who has experienced a lot of trauma, from bullying peers and an abusive parent to being victimized by supernatural forces. There’s a lot going on for him both internally and externally. These also happen to correlate with each other quite frequently. Suspiciously frequently in fact. Which leads me to this conclusion:

Will’s powers involve shaping the world around him based on his warped views of himself, his sexuality, and his mental health. He’s literally “reshaping the [external] world” to match his internal world; “remake it however [he] sees fit.”

Wow okay slow down there, you may be thinking. You’re really saying he has God like abilities? Well, sort of- but he lacks the insight or control over his own abilities at this point. Just bare with me here and keep an open mind as things will get stranger…

Moving away from the deeper aspects of his character, let’s look at something superficial: his name.

William “Will” Byers

The name William means “Determined” or “Resolute Protector” or “Strong Helmet”. Okay.

Byers means someone who lives by a cattle-shed. Hm. Okay.

But wait… let’s go back. What does the name “Will” mean?

Well… there’s multiple meanings but let’s focus on the highlighted one.

“Mental powers” you say? A name that literally means the ability to make others do things or make things occur? To bend things to one’s will…

When did he get these powers?

I’m not confident in the answer to this but I think he may have always had the powers. Just like his sexuality, he was born this way.

It’s very likely that he was specifically targeted back in the first episode because of this, then was possessed afterwards for the same reason.

I mean… for a villain who wants to “reshape the world”- why wouldn’t he want the powers of a boy with this ability?

As I believe his powers are intertwined with his sexuality, they began manifesting much more once puberty hit. Will likely has used his powers in seasons 1 and 2 but very subtly. In season 3, they become more obvious but still in the shadows (and unbeknownst to him…he suppresses it). They emerge in correlation with his blooming sexuality.

Season 3 is associated with possession, and the concept of free will is a frequent theme. The characters discuss how to look out for people acting out of the ordinary, out of character if you will. Any characters that come to mind?

Hopper was noticeably different this season. Coincidentally, the same season Will desperately held onto his childhood innocence, Hopper acted suspiciously immature.

Will wants El and Mike to break up. Hopper wants El and Mike to break up.

Mike explains to Lucas that Hopper “threatened” him while we immediately cut to Will. What’s Will doing here? He is moving DnD characters on a board. He is manipulating the characters here… playing dollhouse… being a puppet master. This little guy was so jealous of Mike and El that he influenced Hopper to try and break them up!

We are shown other little incidences of Hopper acting Will-like too. He suddenly buys a shirt that’s different than his usual wardrobe- “that’s a lot of color chef”. Will is known for wearing colourful clothes, that’s highlighted as a reason he is seen as “different” and is bullied for it. Hopper has trouble pronouncing an alcoholic beverage, saying “cheeanti” when he is well acquainted with alcohol. While Will is dressed up as Will the Wise, Lucas asks Will for permission to shower- then we cut to Hopper showering. Hopper acts very immature in his jealousy, just as Will does. Both Hopper and Will have big fights with Joyce and Mike in episode 3 of season 3. When El asks “how do we know when someone’s a host?” the scene immediately ends and we are shown Hopper. Will is using Hopper as a host! There’s even more evidence than this but we shall move on from here.

So wait, Will possessed Hopper? Well, not exactly. Hopper was under the influence of Will. Remember what Will said about the mindflayer: “He likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me.”

There was another character acting out of the ordinary this season…

That’s right! Mike.

I’ll come back to him more later but in the meantime, let me offer you this theory:

The rain scene. Now what if I said that Will was the one projecting onto Mike? What I mean is: Will’s internal thoughts “it’s not his fault I don’t like girls!” becoming a reality. Mike never meant to say this- it was all Will’s doing. His internalized homophobia became externalized. It’s oddly fitting too that in the episode with Will’s emotional breakdown, it’s raining.

The devastating depth of Will’s trauma

Within the show, we know our boy has experienced a lot of suffering, but subtext tells us it’s much worse than we see on the surface.

Will’s father is a homophobic and abusive asshole yes, but he’s more than that.

There’s an alarming amount of evidence that this man was not only emotionally and physically abusive but also sexually abusive to both Will and his older brother.

He likely was especially homophobic towards Will because he projected his actual perverse sexuality unto him. He likely dealt with his shame by blaming his innocent young son.

This leads us to: November 6th, 1983. Originally, I do believe that Will died by the hands of his own cruel father. His father likely picked him up from his bike ride home (his bike left behind), ended his life by strangulation, put him in the back of his trunk, and dumped him into Sattlers Quarry (where his fake body was found).

I believe somehow someone was able to reverse this (more on this later). The clock turned back and a new timeline was created. Will was then abducted and brought to the upside down. Instead of heaven or hell, he was in purgatory. Time came to an abrupt halt in the upside down… the exact same time his life ended in the original timeline. This is where timelines diverge.

Now Will’s purgatory is also his internal world, his own mind. The upside down manifests itself as this. It’s dark, cold, scary, lonely, and unsettling. He’s trapped in his own head, where he relives some of his most traumatic memories. We see him being victimized by the Demogorgon (an alternate title for Demogorgon is “The Deep Father” x ) and we also see him being assaulted (in a sexual manner) by vines.

By the time Will is rescued, he is struggling with suicidal thoughts (the song “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” tells us this). Poor boy has been in a deep dark depressive state. In season 2, his possession is a real manifestation of his PTSD.

The monsters represent how he views himself- he’s a monster. I’d argue his internalized homophobia is a lot worse than we actually think. It’s not just the homophobic environment around him, it’s also the ongoing rhetoric that the victim will inevitably become a perpetrator. As we see the common occurrence of toxic cycles continuing: he fears he has no agency and will become his own father.

Jonathan can relate, but because he’s solely attracted to women and thus more “normal”, it’s not as bad for him. But Steve really pushed his buttons when he implied that Jonathan is a creep like his father.

So yes, Will sees himself as a monster because of his attraction to men. Thus, he manifests the monsters in the monster show.

Speaking of his attraction to men…

Mike

Will loves Mike, he’s hopelessly devoted to him. Mike feels the exact same way. In the original timeline, Mike ultimately decides to jump into Sattlers Quarry to reunite with his love in death.

Will “jumps”, Mike jumps too. Luckily, a new timeline was created, giving both of them a second chance at life and love.

In the alternate timeline (the show), season 1 sees Mike leave no stones unturned in his search for his best friend. In season 2, we see how Mike normally is with Will. He’s so devoted! He’s always by Will’s side throughout everything. It’s beautiful! This is the authentic Mike.

So. What happened in season 3? Mike’s internalized homophobia?

Well partially I’m sure, but in this post I’m offering an alternate theory: Mike’s behavior is explained by Will’s internalized homophobia.

What do I mean by this?

Well as I said, Will reshapes the external world in the image of his internal world. He doesn’t believe he deserves Mike’s love. He’s scared. He’s been “inventing things” so he can push Mike away.

He obviously wants nothing more than to be with Mike, but due to his insecure attachment style and his internalized homophobia, he’s been the one pushing him away this entire time with his powers.

How has he been pushing Mike away exactly?

He’s been pushing Mike towards El.

Wait, didn’t he help break them up through Hopper?

Well, yes, but the sweet sensitive boy that he is likely felt bad, he regretted his actions after their rain fight fallout and wanted to give his “olive branch” and make amends.

Will believes the best way to do so is to push Mike and El back together. Like Lucas, Will gives Mike guidance by, essentially, being the master to his puppet.

(Above is actually Will’s apology to Mike.)

In Will’s mind, Mike is straight. He would never reciprocate Will’s feelings. So, Will believes that Mike should be happy with El then.

Will literally is putting words in Mike’s mouth here. Look how focused Will is in this scene, and how often Mike turns to him. It’s as though Will is mouthing to Mike exactly what words he (thinks) he should say.

Here Will is at it again! But Mike is resisting. The words aren’t able to come out. Will’s signal is poor, Mike couldn’t fully understand him.

So Will, as misguided but well intended as he is, attempts to bring Mike and El back together.

No wonder Mike couldn’t exactly remember his words…

He’s genuinely confused here!

This leads me to…

This foreshadowing shot tells us that Will is the director here. He fed Mike the script he had to read. So yes, I’m saying that Will did not just push Mike to say those words to El, he forced him to. Mike did not have any agency here.

Now, like me, you may be concerned about this. Will is bending Mike to his will? Won’t the audience then assume Will forced Mike to be gay with him? Pushing that toxic homophobic narrative?

Well that’s the thing- Will is not forcing a straight man to be gay. Will is trying to make a gay man straight! Ahhh trope subversion.

El

So I’m not going to delve too much into El in this post, because El and Will deserve their own post. But I do strongly believe they are much more connected than we think.

Vecna

Where does Vecna fit into this theory? Well for starters, I don’t believe Vecna himself is Will, he is definitely a separate entity. The major difference between Will and Vecna is that Will will no longer be restrained by his shadow, he will be able to differentiate himself from his shadow. Vecna has chosen to become one with the shadow.

Also, like Mike, Vecna is heavily associated with time. Vecna takes time away from others but Mike gives time. I do agree with the Wheeler and Creel being connected theories.

Time

Time is a major theme within the show. As I mentioned previously, Will possesses powers where he can manipulate his environment, his space. Will is space, but he is lacking the 4th dimension.

The upside down is frozen in time, essentially lacking time. It needs time, and it always will! That’s right- Mike is time.

That boy is frequently associated with it. Running late at the beginning of each season, mentions of “turning back the clock”, etc.

Mike “turned back the clock” and saved Will from his original fate. Similar to the scene where Mike jumps off the cliff and is saved by El, Mike reverses his fall by rewinding time. He went all the way back to the night of November 6th, 1983. Preventing the original timeline from occurring.

Mike gave Will the greatest gift of all- time.

Remember time heals all wounds. Wounds being the gates.

Together, Mike and Will are spacetime. Which is beautiful because not only does this mean they are equals in every way but they can literally create their own fantasy world together.

Conclusion

This show has a lot of layers. I tried to really dig deep but still I feel like I just scratched the surface. I will say this though: I am utterly confident that everything leads back to Will. He is the center of the entire show, like it or not. Without Will, there is no Stranger Things. Now of course this is not “the Byler show” but their relationship is incredibly important. Mike’s unconditional love and devotion to Will is a key aspect of the solution to the conflict. He makes Will “feel better for being different”. His love, along with his other friends and family, will inevitably lead to the upside down (Will’s mind) becoming a beautiful place. Instead of rot and decay, there will be blooming flowers and sunlight.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of these theories with me, feel free! Like I said, I’m only scratching the surface here. Let me know your thoughts.

[rubyclover]

I said I can’t write but if felt nice getting that other idea out of my head. So I wrote this and will post. Technically I started trying to write this like a month ago… Please ignore the constant switching between past and present tense. It’s something I never seem to notice until someone else points out where it is.

Prompt: Professionals hate him but he was right! [Adam] Heaven and Hell come to the realization that The First Man played a larger part in the three realms’ political/social ecosystem than they thought. His absence leaves a vacuum that Lute is unable to fill but she may not need to because Hell is solving the problem themselves… The Morningstar Family can’t run from this.

No ABetaO we expire like Adam~

Imagine that Adam dies, the hotel has never looked better, the residents have healed up and Charlie gets another TV appearance. Lucifer is even more depressed than before but hides it. Adam is gone She’s going to reveal Sir Pentious’ redemption with evidence that is NOT childishly scribbled on key cards. Instead of the interview taking place in the 666News studio it’s held outside the hotel. She will take questions, live, right after the interview. Katie Killjoy wants to give the public a chance to cause chaos for ratings, so she puts Charlie in a vulnerable position.

Things go great… for the first 20 minutes. The interview isn’t even half way done when someone from the crowd interjects after Charlie says ‘The Sinners have a better life now that the Exterminations are permanently canceled.’

That person’s voice is calm but still pissed as Hell. They fire back that no, Sinners don’t have an easier life now that the Exterminations are over. It’s worse! Charlie and the crowd perk up.

The voice moves to the front. They’re short with plain street clothes, hood up. It’s obvious they’re poor and at the bottom of Hell’s pecking order. A couple of Imps are with them equally disheveled and tired looking. The man goes on to point out some rather hard truths.

Thanks to the last Extermination, angelic steel has become a hot commodity. While uncommon right now, there’s a pipeline to obtain an angelic weapon. All you need is enough money. Carmilla Carmine doesn’t care about how her product is used after purchase.

‘Permanent Murder’ is a new trend on HellTube netting ridiculous profits. The main targets are vulnerable Sinners, usually the scared and alone new arrivals, Imps and Hellhounds. All killed by beautifully glowing angelic weapons.

Overlords are more formidable with these weapons so the chance of contractees escaping, like Angeldust, has become damn near impossible even if they destroyed their contract. Some desperate souls were happy with their messed up immortality. It gave them some hope, ‘at least I have a chance to turn things around eventually,’ but that pathetic security is gone.

The Exterminations kept said Overlords in check to a degree. They were more inclined to take care of their underlings because that guaranteed their safety. Now? Just get an angelic gun for all your troubles. Valentino is having a fucking field day.

The ‘permadeath’ toll for one year will be ten times the amount of one Extermination Day considering how much Hell’s citizens like to kill Sinners…

Not to mention, whole industries in Hell, from top to bottom, are starting to crash. Their purpose or sales revolved around the Exterminations. Some workers cannot afford to lose their job and have to sell their soul against their will.

Etcetcetc

As the man speaks Charlie is surprised to see heads nodding in agreement! Someone comments that they hadn’t seen their Sinner friend in a few days and tries not to panic while another face falls in the crowd and wrings their hands together. An Imp with curved horns standing beside a young Hellhound sweats profusely and starts to leave. Tension moves through the public. Not just the ones in front of the stage but also those watching TV.

Despite her best efforts Charlie cannot lift the crowd’s mood. She realizes prematurely revealing Sir Pentious’ redemption is the only way to salvage this growing disaster. Unfortunately the man’s timing is perfect because the second she opens her mouth he turns his anger on the Morningstars.

He calls out how much her family misrepresents themselves as rulers. They don’t do anything for Hell anymore. They spend most of their time fucking around while the Sinners suffer. The other Sins manage their rings and hellborn, not Lucifer or Lilith. All three of the Morningstars can’t truly understand human suffering yet they profess to know how to best handle it. With no idea what it means to be human yet they pass judgement on them.

The crowd becomes agitated and the Imps beside the man move closer to him. They aren’t trying to draw safety from the Sinner but are taking defensive positions. Charlie realizes this isn’t someone speaking up in the heat of the moment. This is a planned speech. He’s highjacking her broadcast!

She sees the Sinner clench his fists and feels herself start to sweat. Why was he saying any of that? Yes, life will be a bit hard at first but now everyone can come together and rebuild! There are so many possibilities available to The Pride Ring. It would improve lives. Change was always good they just had to be careful. Yet the stranger goes on.

He claims that Lucifer is a washed up angel that can’t comprehend mortality because of his maladaptive dreaming and pride, Lilith is apathetic to Sinners and wishes to aggravate Heaven no matter how much Hell will suffer and Charlie is so sheltered that she thinks PTSD can be solved by clapping and saying positive affirmations.

Little is known about the royal family but the stranger’s comments sway the crowd. The hotel’s original commercials got the time of day because of Charlie’s status, not because the facility had managed to accomplish anything. Lucifer barely appears at all even when large fights break out leveling half of Pentagram City. And Lilith? Missing for 7 years after riling up all of Hell multiple times, causing Heaven to start the Exterminations.

The stranger calls the hotel a disgusting joke. Calls out how Charlie is trying to ‘pass the buck’ over to Heaven. The Pride Ring’s actual rulers are Overlords and they make sure Sinners suffer and continue to act depraved whether they like it or not. Her family has the power to take control and lessen the city’s suffering but they don’t. Instead they play with their little pet project .

Why are they focusing on shipping problems elsewhere? There’s a better way to solve the pain and suffering at the source than waiting! Fix Pentagram City! Show Heaven that the current number of Sinners isn’t a threat!

‘For all the crying and sniveling you do Princess Charlotte, you sure don’t actually help where it counts! I’m sure you care about Sinners but only on the same level as someone cares about cute public park ducks.’

Vaggie, who had been standing to the side of the stage leaps forward, places herself in between the stranger and her girlfriend. Everyone’s raised emotions have put her on edge. She ignores the harsh gasps when her angelic spear slides free and into her hands. ‘Back up! Now!’

Charlie’s heart sank at the escalation. She understood her girlfriend was still tense from the extermination but all their hard work was starting to fray around the edges! She just hoped her dad didn’t-

The King of Hell himself appears through a portal shortly after gathering himself together. The opening looked angrier in color, matching his mood. Sickly green lines run throughout the glow, radiating blistering heat. Parts of the stage began to melt and the forgotten camera crew swivel to their ruler. Lucifer’s face is set in stone but his bright flickering eyes give him away.

‘Who the fuck are you?’ He snarls, apple topped cane slamming onto the stage causing some of it to splatter. ‘How dare you speak to my daughter that way.’ Lucifer’s face morphs into a more demonic grimace. Katie Killjoy scrambles from her chair and off the stage at the same time as Charlie vaulting up to place a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder whispering ‘dad no!’ She doesn’t want the hotel’s improved reputation to evaporate. A confrontation with someone on live TV would scare people away!

Lucifer growls in the back of his throat, looking at where he assumes the bastard’s eyes are under his hood. Smoke and embers sizzle out from the corner of his mouth and inbetween teeth. He hated acting this way but he had an image to uphold. ‘Answer your King you wretch. Don’t confuse my inaction with benevolence. You’re testing my patience!’

After a beat or two of staring each other down the stranger has the gall to ‘tsk’ off to the side as if spitting. ‘As you with your majesty. It’s all fine by me.’ A small, scared hand reaches up and whips off the dirty hood exposing his face to all of Hell.

People instantly whip out their phones. His face is shockingly similar to Lucifer’s, in fact a basic carbon copy sans a few attributes.

Cameras catch alabaster skin and soft, blond, curly hair, short, wiry build, vivid green eyes, pale coral cheek markings, pointed ears and four demon wings the same color as his skin.

Leaf green eyes stair directly into Charlie’s while electing to ignore both fallen angels. He stands ramrod straight. Cutting a regal silhouette despite the filth on his body and clothes.

‘My name is Cain Adamson, The Wandering Star.’ He bows in a fashion Charlie hadn’t seen in all her galas. ‘Lucifer Morningstar’s first born and bastard son. It’s nice to finally meet you sister mine… I’ll be taking your family’s crown for my father.’

[So in this AU Cain rescued Adam’s body and resuscitated it. They had a familial bond even when Cain got banished for murdering Able and found out his bio dad was Lucifer. Eve didn’t pay much attention to her first born out of guilt so Adam stepped up. No one shamed her. Adam never felt like Cain was separate from his other kids even though he looked nothing like him. Now Cain wants to provide for his father who’s trapped in hell and in really bad condition by booting the Morningstars out of power in the Pride Ring.] Dunno about pairing but Adamsapple or Guitarhero would be a safe bet. Either way Lucifer will suffer lol

[wtf do I call this? Family Feud AU? Chessboard AU? Secret Brother AU? Idk h e l p ]

[sssatorus]

through the static

chapter eight: interference

series masterlist | read on ao3 ✨

burning pile - mother morher

Gojo’s expression flickers– just for a second. Like he's surprised you're here. Like he thought maybe you would just continue letting him push you away without question.

He leans against the doorframe, blinking sleep from his eyes. “It's late.”

“So?” You snap, sharper than you mean to.

He sighs, rubs the back of his neck, then steps aside without a word.

You walk in.

His room smells like his cologne, that cedarwood and mint scent that's become familiar to you, and there’s something faintly sweet lingering, too – mochi, maybe. His sheets are twisted like he's been tossing around in them all night, restless. There's a game controller on top of his bed and a pair of socks half-stuffed into the top drawer of his dresser. Two pairs of those stupid black glasses are thrown about, one on the floor and the other on his nightstand, and you find yourself wondering just how many pairs he actually has.

His room is lived-in, soft in a way he rarely lets himself be seen as. But right now, none of that feels reachable. Right now, the air is thick, the space between you suffocating.

You sit on the edge of his bed, arms still crossed.

“You've been avoiding me.” You say plainly. Again, you want to add, but don't.

He flinches.

“No, I haven't–”

“Don't lie.” You bite your chee. “Just grow up and tell me what I did.”

Gojo runs a hand through his hair and sits down, careful to leave enough space between you. He doesn't look at you. His elbows are on his knees, gaze fixed on the floor.

“You didn't do anything.” He says, finally. “That's…the problem.”

Heart pounding, you ask, “What the hell are you talking about?”

He doesn't answer right away. His long fingers twitch, like he wants to reach out for you, touch you – but he doesn't. He lets out a breath, low and bitter.

“I went into the Gojo clan restricted archives.”

Your whole body stiffens.

“I thought I was just looking into resonant techniques.” He continues, “Wanted to know more about your dad's ring, your cursed technique. Just curiosity, you know?”

You nod, slowly. You're not sure where this is going but you're already feeling sick.

“But then I found something.” He swallows hard. “A report, about a clan with a resonance cursed technique – the Denraku clan. You know, the clan I saw some scribbled about before. Well. The Gojo clan deemed their technique too dangerous, a threat to Limitless. The whole clan was…eradicated. But one of them escaped and went into hiding.”

His eyes lift to meet yours. His crystal eyes are dull, darker than you've ever seen them be.

“There’s more. A footnote was added. ‘Target located. Elimination authorized. No heirs confirmed. Threat neutralized.’”

Your mouth goes dry.

You stare at him, waiting – no, hoping that he'll say he misunderstood. That he's wrong. That it's not what you think it is.

But he doesn't.

“Rika…your dad was a Denraku.” He whispers, “You’re a Denraku. You inherited the clan technique, you-”

But he stops, expression pained when he notices you recoiling away from him.

“They killed him.” You say, hollow. “The Gojo clan – your family – killed him.”

And then, quieter, you add, “They killed my entire clan.”

“I didn't know.” Gojo says quickly, “I swear I had no idea. I think… I think your dad went off the grid before you and Asahi were born. And when they found him a few years ago, they didn't include me…I-I don't know. But him changing your names, keeping you hidden – it worked. The elders don't think any Denraku heirs survived.”

You let out a bitter laugh. “We’re only still alive because they don’t know we exist.”

“Yeah. “ His voice strains. “Probably.”

You look at him now – really look, and he's not the smirking boy always trying to make you laugh anymore. Not the boy who sneaks you snacks to class. Not the boy who jumped into a cold lake just to make you smile. Not the boy who made you feel seen.

He looks almost devastated. As much as a God can.

So much so that you almost reach out to touch him, to share some sort of comfort– but something is still gnawing at you.

“You knew for a week.”

He looks away.

“You knew.” Your voice rises, “You knew and you've been ignoring me all week, because what? You were scared I’d find out the truth?”

“No, I–” His hand reaches out to touch yours but he recoils when you flinch away, scooting further from him, all the way to the far edge of the bed. “I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how. I was scared you’d hate me.”

And that was the crazy part, wasn't it? That you didn't hate him, even after all this. You want to, God, it would be so much easier if you did – but you don't. You just feel everything else. Anger. Betrayal. The sharp, gut-twisting grief of almost understanding your life and realizing just how much of it had been stolen. By the hands of his family.

“I trusted you.” You let out a shaky breath and look away, eyes stinging. You won't let him see you cry. “You let me walk around all week, thinking you were mad at me. Thinking my cursed energy was some weird fluke. Thinking my father–”

Thinking your father’s death was some horrific accident.

You need to leave– need to be alone, need to scream, cry. Fuck, you need to talk to Asahi. You needed to be anywhere but here, in front of him.

“I didn't want you to carry the weight of that name.” He swallows, “Of what they did.”

“It's my name.” You say sharply. “My family. You don't get to decide what I carry.”

You stand. So does he.

“Wait.” Gojo reaches out to grab you, fingers just grazing your elbow, and you yank it away as if you've been burned.

You watch him shift on his feet, dejected. His jaw clenches. He's silent for a beat until he finally turns to his nightstand and slowly, carefully, pulls a scroll out of the top drawer.

It's old. The paper is yellowed and fragile-looking, edges reinforced with binding tape to keep it from falling apart. His thumb brushes softly over the seal. You recognize it as the Gojo clan sigil.

“I snuck this out of the archives. If the old geezers found out, I’d–” He lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head. “Doesn't matter.”

He holds it out to you.

You don't take it at first– just stare at it. You already know what it is. The old scroll looks small in his hands. That's what you find yourself thinking about, and how ridiculous it is that something so small can carry the weight of what your ancestors died for. What your father died for.

“You need to read it for yourself.”

His voice cuts through your thoughts. You move your shaking fingers with as much care as possible, and when you finally wrap your hands around the scroll, your chest feels unbearably tight.

Don't cry. Don't cry.

“He kept you hidden for a reason.” He says, “But you deserve to know the truth.”

You look up at him.

He looks wrecked. Like he’d undo all of it if he could. Like he’s been walking around with this weight and finally gave away the last piece of it.

You don’t say thank you.

You just nod once, scroll clenched tightly in your hand, and leave.

[ghostyclay]

ITS FINALLY EVIL X DAY!!!! its alt hermit day but thats close enough lmfao

I drew another artwork of my evil x milk snake au, aka evil snake au!!!

BC HE IS MY FAV EVIL LITTLE GUY EVER, AND IVE NEVER ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT THIS AU ANYWHERE, YALL GET BOTH ART AND WRITING FOR @hermitadaymay !!! BC IM GONA INTRODUCE THE AU BELOW:

So, its supposed to be a typical medival fantasy au, where magic is demonized (similarly to bbc merlin) and anything magic-like is either illegal, or v stigmatized. (ya usually get hunted down or burned at the stake if u use any magic. The stigma part is that when ppl are a victim of some sorta magic curse or sth, unless they r royal, they are usually victim blamed for it / called a witch too)

Now, Xisuma and Evil X were the sons of a rich nobleman. (both human, but not for long) Xisuma was the older brother and after their father died a young death, he began to take care of ex. While Xisuma was following their father's footsteps, young ex discovered his love for fighting and began training to become a knight. (which is how he meet hels).

However, little did ex know, while he was learning how to hunt man and witch alike, his brother was secretly practicing magic. (my idea is that he meet GenerikB at some point, who was a friend of their father & Xisuma's mentor after his dads death. He was also secretly part of a coven.)

A couple years pass, ex starts working as a guard (while hels officially becomes a knight) and one of his first jobs is capturing a loose shifter/were. (=humans who can shift into animals or anthropomorphic humans, think werewolves/hybrids). However, Xisuma, the local undercover witch, helps the shifter hide and gets found out. Cue Evil x is put infront of a moral dilemma: save his brother or stay a knight?

Ofc our evil little guy says fuck you to Xisuma. Especially bc x never told him and basically made him an accomplice by hiding the shifter in their house. (how dare X help one of the people ex is supposed to hunt down! Is this why hes always been so critical about Exs work?)

So uh yeah ex and the guards chase Xisuma out the city, who escapes with the shifter thanks to his secret witch abilities. (and ex has the horrifying realization that Xisuma has been practicing magic behind their back all this time.)

X goes off and makes hermitcraft, a sanctuary for shifters and witches alike, ex continues working as an evil knight, blablabla...

"But Clay" you ask, "how come ex is a snake in your art?"

Well, you see, the problem with hunting down witches and shit all the time, is that ur gona be the target of magic attacks eventually. Burns, potions, spells... Ex has seen it all.

Well.

Almost everything.

Until one day, a witch curses him as she burns at the stake. He doesn't think anything of it at first, plenty of people have done similar things and nothing happened because most of the people they kill aren't actually able to use powerful spells. They are just innocent civilians and shifters.

But one day, his body begins to change. His legs feel weak and strange, he starts to struggle with balance, and just when he thinks it cant get any worse, scales begin to grow on his legs...

Wait what?

Well, ofc someone (hels) notices eventually. And ofc, just like Xisuma, ex gets chased out the village.

And that is how ex becomes a snake hybrid, hiding away in a far away forest, killing anyone who comes too close to it, in fear of getting killed for his curse :)

There's more to this au, which i will explain eventually! But rn im busy deciding whether i wanna turn this into a comic, fic, or other format.

[remember-the-fanfics]

You Got Wings!

In which the wings won the poll so now Genz!Overlord!Reader with wings

• You have wings! Bird wings! Any color

• You can make them disappear when you want but you'll only do that if it inconvenients you or people around you like in a meeting.

• You had to find a book on how to take of birds to figure out how to take care of them

• Learning how to fly was a struggle before you were an Overlord because everyone thought you were an easy target when you fell from the sky.

• You finally got the hang of it after becoming an Overlord, now flying anywhere.

• Your wings will reflect your emotions,

• Happy? They are up and fluffier. You usually run around who or what making you happy for a minute.

• Sad? They are lowerer, you have to make sure the don't drag and catch on something sometimes.

• Anger? Flared out, ruffled. Makes you look bigger than you are.

• Have only offered flights to your close friends, most like to stay on the ground.

• Charlie is the only one who will aways go for a flight, reminds her of her dad.

• You only flown with Vaggie once, while still inside the hotel.

• She thanked you and said hights just weren't for her.

• You noticed she had a sad look in her eyes.

• No one let's you fly with Niffty anymore.

"I thought I left a note."

"You were gone for 3 days!"

• They'll never know what the two of you did and why you were gone for so long

• Alastor doesn't like being touch so he wouldn't let you have flights with him.

• But will watch you fly from the balcony while drinking his tea

• Will ask you about the weather when you come back

• Has tried to get you to eat bird seed

• Angel Dust is just to tall and lanky to hold while flying.

• You tried, about broke one of you wings.

"Sorry!"

" 'is fine but help me up, yeah?"

• Husk will never fly with you, always to busy being the bartender.

• You give him sad puppy eyes everytime he says no.

• Sir Pentious doesn't trust you enough not to drop him

• It's not your fault he's just so slippery

• But let's you carry the Egg Boys

• Banned from trying to carry all of them at once

• When Charlie wants to put up a banner or something up high, it's usually you with Razzle and Dazzle.

• When you get to busy, forgetting to take care of your wings

• Which makes it a hassle when you're not busy.

• Husk has helped you before when you are just completely struggling with it

"Stay still!"

"I'm trying!"

• You get really upset if you accidentally hit someone with you wings

• Getting a sad face instantly, apologising quickly.

• Everyone at the hotel forgives you quickly

• You hides your wings for the next few days so it wouldn't happen again

• Charlie quickly tells you that your wings are fine. That you don't mean to hit anyone when you do.

• Then Angel Dust sqared you that they popped out ruffled and ready to fly

"See you didn't hit me then when you had a reason to so stop hiddin' them."

• You've ended up napping in front of a window multiple times because the sun feels so nice on your wings

• Plus along with the sun, you don't even need a cover to nap with, your wings can do it.

• After fighting some dumbass sinners trying to harass your people, which they injured one of your wings.

• Needing to go to the only other person you knew with wings for help but you can't just be seen as an injured Overlord walking where others could try to fight you more.

• So you call Charlie, the only one you knew that had a car in hell.

• After the awkward conversation of telling you were injured, her panicking, telling her not to panic, and then hearing her tell Razzle and Dazzle to get the car and that she'll be right over.

• Half the hotel decided to come as well

• Charlie, Vaggie, and Husk, along with Razzle and Dazzle.

• They will get you in the car as quickly and comfortable as possible, trying not to get you more hurt.

• Husk will quickly try and bandage your wing the best he can while Vaggie and Charlie ask the who, what, why, and hoe.

• Charlie had to hold Vaggie back from finding the ones who injured you and hurting them more than you already had.

• Telling Vaggie that they were already taken care off then having to clarify that you didn't kill them.

"See I'm fine!"

"You really aren't."

"...I'm better than I was 5 minutes ago."

• The next week while being at the hotel everyone hovered over you, making sure you didn't try and overwork yourself.

• Which you would have tried if Charlie hadn't locked you out of your room/office.

• Husk would check on your wing and make sure it heals correctly.

• After it's healed, you had to get use to fly again.

[perish-the-creator]

How I'd Write ES Starscream's Descent

Back at it again because as a dark fiction writer I know a thing or two when it comes to depicting the "not so perfect victim".

My issue with how his descend into madness was due in part to the clear attempts from season one's writers to have him be sympathetic and put into question just how much Megatron has actually changed.

After that, it was clearly tossed to the side because the show needed a cybertronian to have the terrans go against and Starscream was right there.

Now, how would I have handled it?

I've noticed that within the show, there is very little things spoken by any given character that is positive about Starscream. Every character who utters his name speaks it in a tone of disgust or comical. That all his actions are a result of who he is and not what he had to endure. And that's where I'd put it in play.

So, imagine he takes the offer. Imagine he admits that he cannot possibly endure having to go into hiding again and scavenging for resources. He's tired of being the target of other's attacks and words and so he joins hoping maybe things will be different.

And they aren't. The physical abuse has been replaced by untrusting eyes and words whispered on hushed lips. Snarky remarks made over public communications or a passing glance at the messages exchanged between Optimus and Megatron.

Could you imagine it? Your abuser has tainted your image so much that it is seen as delusional for one person to actually stand up for you? To have the patience to sit down and understand you? Your abuser, for all the crimes he had committed in the name of a personal agenda (and you admittedly followed for your own selfish means) has the things he's done to you handwaved away and you're told to stop clinging onto that.

It would drive anyone mad. It would make anyone who wants to change ask if it's even worth it because not every victim has the ability to move on so often preached.

So, he decides that he's just going to give them what they want.

So, season two continues and you see him just accept that no matter what he does everyone still regards him as a villain. He can't execute plans without a monitor and tracker on him. He can't make comms without others connected to the frequencies. So why not just become evil.

His outburst at the end is him just letting them win. They desperately want a monster, he'll give them that monster to make them feel so good about themselves.

It's a shame really, because despite this being a kids show it would genuinely show how sometimes not being given the chance to change will cause those who are already bad to sink further into their vices.

[loveisanimaginarydagger3000]

Enemies With Benefits (3)

Wanda Maximoff X Reader 18+

Summary: Enemies. That was what you were. She was an Avenger, you were a criminal. You should hate her, she should hate you. So why do you love the feeling of her skin pressed against yours? Moans spilling from her lips? The taste of her on your tongue?

Casual, rough sex. That was all it was supposed to be but soon feelings start to get involved. Would something so scandalous be able to last?

Warnings/Tags: Angst, Sexual Tension, Flirting, Hydra, Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture

General Masterlist | Enemies with Benefits Masterlist

Chapter 3- Surprise

As soon as you entered the grand hall, your eyes scanned around the room to search for your target. On the USB there was a file regarding an ex hydra scientist who not only performed on innocent people, which resulted in them dying, but he also abused many of his subjects, especially the young girls he managed to get a hold of.

Men and women in elegant outfits, showing off their wealth littered the room yet you paid no notice to the few looks sent your way from them, the lust in some of their eyes as you walked past in your suit. All black was always the way to go, it was the best colour to hide the blood stains after you had your way with a target.

You made your way to the bar, ordering yourself a drink before a woman sat next to you, her body closer than necessary to grab your attention.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure, Miss Romanoff?” you say, not turning away from your drink as the redhead receives her own drink and takes a small sip.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pin you to this table and handcuff you?” she says with a little bite in her words.

“Hmm let me think,” you murmur, pretending to be deep in thought for a moment earning a glare from your side. You roll your eyes at her serious state and mumble how boring she is before answering, “Because I’m your favourite bad guy? Oh wait no, because you’d know I’d enjoy it too much,” you turn to her with a wink, her palm colliding with your cheek making a few people look over before losing interest. You rub the spot she just slapped, her expression stoic as you stare at her in disbelief, “You’re not one of my favourite Avengers anymore, that was just rude.”

“Cut the bullshit,” her tone dangerous, “This isn't a game Y/n. Why are you here?”

“The same reason you are,” you turn back to your drink, your eyes looking around the room as you take a small sip.

“And that is?” You let out a sigh at her words, annoyed you now have to deal with the Avengers meddling in your plans.

“Look, let’s ‘cut the bullshit’, we both want the Hydra prick, so why don’t we just make this easier for everyone?” she raises her eyebrow at you, waiting for you to continue, “Let me take care of him and you can all have tonight off, maybe you could go and learn to have fun somewhere.” She shakes her head at you, a breathless laugh escaping her.

“I don't think that’s going to happen,” you turn to her as she speaks, looking behind her to see if the man has entered yet.

“Why not? Is it because you don’t want to be a fun person?” She can see your smirk as you raise the glass to your mouth and holds back from slapping the smug and annoying look on your face.

“Because your methods of ‘taking care of them’ are inappropriate and illegal,” she’s read all the files on you and even seen you in the flesh as you punish whatever guilty soul you could catch.

“It’s not inappropriate, it’s what they deserve,” your voice loses the teasing tone, becoming more cold and angered. “Do you really think I’m just going to let you take them, stick them in a cell for the rest of their lives that protects them from the people that want them dead? I thought you were smarter than this Romanoff.” She sighs at you, but you're too focussed on seeing the man walk in, a smile plastered on his face as he greets the surrounding people. “Lovely speaking to you Miss Romanoff but I must say goodbye now,” you say with a sarcastic tone, your hand grabbing hers and raising it to your mouth to place a kiss on, her pulling away her hand at the dramatic gesture.

“If you carry on like this, you’ll end up in one of those cells,” she warns but you're already gliding through crowds of people to find the scientist.

“Fancy seeing you here,” a familiar voice calls out, her arm interlocking with yours, holding you back.

“Not now my little witch,” you say, keeping your voice calm as you stare ahead, the man talking to a woman and standing a little too close to her and, judging by the expression on her face, it wasn’t welcomed, “I have to work.”

“All work and no play?” she echoes your words from a few nights ago, her hand cupping your jaw and making you look at her.

“Yes, I’m a very busy woman at the moment so, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.” You slip out of her grasp but she moves forwards and pulls you back, your anger rising now as you can’t let another one get a life of safety in an Avenger’s cell.

“I can’t let you do that,” she says, an indecipherable emotion in her voice. “Come on, let’s have some fun,” she purrs in an attempt to distract you. Your attention from the man falters for a split second, moving to gaze at her lips for a brief moment before returning to where the man was. You swear under your breath at the fact he’s gone, along with the woman, and turn back to the witch.

“This will be your only warning,” your voice low as you whisper at the shell of her ear, “ Stay out of my way.”

“Or what?” she challenges you, a low chuckle immediately leaving you.

“You should have kept your mouth shut,” you mutter, “Enjoy the surprise I will send you later.” With that said, you pull away harshly and leave to find the man, pushing a person into Wanda who then spills her drink on her dress, the other woman starting a scene with the witch making it impossible for her to follow you.

***

Wanda’s leg bounces as the other Avengers bicker between themselves, arguing about how they failed to bring in the scientist as well as how they lost them to you. Her fingers twirled the rings on her fingers, her thoughts out of control while the rest continued to speak. Her entire body froze when her phone vibrated in her pocket, a video and text being sent to her phone.

Unknown: I hope you enjoy your surprise :) See you soon my little witch Press play to watch video

Swiftly, she leaves the room, no one noticing her absence as they were too focussed on the argument, and heads towards hers room. Her fingers shakily pressed the play button, the phone taking a moment to load the video up.

“Hello my little witch” your voice can be heard over the groans of pain in the background. “I promised you a surprise, I hope you enjoy it,” the camera moves as you walk across the room, supposedly in an abandoned building. Soon, the man from earlier appears on screen, blood dripping down the side of his face, his white shirt unbuttoned showing the deep slashes across his chest. His head sluggishly raised to meet the camera, tears streaming down his face while a cloth was tied around his mouth to muffle the noises that left him. “Oh come on, smile for the camera,” you taunt the man, clearly unable to do so with the gag.

“Help,” the man screams behind the gag, but you only laugh in response.

“Stop with the pathetic pleads,” you groan in annoyance, moving closer to him. The bruising on his face is clearer on the phone as you move till the camera is practically in his face. “Now let’s say goodbye to witchy.” He glares at you but you're too busy trying to hold the camera still, not letting it shake with your laughter.

“Fuck you,” he manages out quite clear and you just tsk at him.

“Sorry for my rude guest,” the camera moves till it’s on your face, his blood staining your neck and collar bones. “Goodbye my little witch,” you say, a charming smile on your face as the video ends.

As soon as the video ends, she’s leaving the room, heading for the exit of the compound to find you. It doesn’t take long for her to reach your apartment, her fist pounding on the door. When you don’t answer, she tries the handle to find the door unlocked. She strides into your apartment, seeing your jacket laid across a chair along with your shoes near the door that shows you’re here.

“Y/N,” she grits out, walking through your apartment till she hears the water of the shower running. She wastes no time in heading towards the bathroom, her magic almost pulling the door off its hinges as it flies open. You turn around in the shower, smirking over your shoulder as you see her through the glass panel. The water around you is red, the dried blood on your body slowly washing off.

“It’s rude to walk in on people showering unless you plan on joining them,” you murmur, continuing your shower as if she wasn't there.

“Out. Now,” she seethes out, eyes glowing red while her fingers twitch with her magic.

“ Or what?” your sneer back, turning around in the shower, the blood now clean from your toned body.

“There is no fucking or what. Out.” Her voice sends a shiver down your spine and you turn off the water, stepping out of the shower and not bothering to wrap a towel around yourself as the water drips down your body.

“Why did you do it?” her voice wavers with anger and sadness, almost disappointment, as she looks at you. “We were going to put him in a cell to rot in for the rest of his life,” her finger jabs into your chest, pushing you back slightly before she uses her magic to wrap a towel around you so she can push you against the wall. A groan leaves your lip at the force of her shove, the wall colliding with your back painfully.

“I gave him what he deserved,” you grit out, “Do you even know what he did?”

“He still didn’t deserve to die,” she argues and you scoff at her. “He should have suffered in prison for years, not been killed.”

“You’re telling me that a man who used people, children however he wanted, didn’t deserve what I did to him.”

“You should have handled it differently,” she sighs out irritated, walking away from you and sitting on the edge of your bed. You pull on a robe and follow after her, leaning against your drawers as she stares at you.

“I didn’t kill him,” you whisper after a few moments of silence, hope glinting in her eyes.

“Where is he-”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t already dead,” your hands run through your hair before massaging your temples. Why were you telling her this? “I sent his location to a few people who wanted him dead, he was still alive when I left him.”

“Where?” you stare at the hopeful look in her eyes, noticing how much it contrasts from her lust-filled ones, how it’s somehow even more alluring. You give in, writing down the address which she quickly types into her phone, most likely in a message to a fellow Avenger as you move to change. “Thank you,” she whispers, making you turn around to look at her. You hate how it made you feel warm inside when she said those two little words and clenched your jaw in anger at yourself. What were you doing?

“Unless you want me to fuck you, get out,” your voice is emotionless while you move to grab the bottle of whiskey from one of the drawers.

“Y/n..” her face contorts to confusion at your sudden shift in mood, a frown now on her face.

“Yes or no?”

“Y/n-” she tries again but you cut her off, walking close till you're towering over her.

“It's a simple answer, if you say yes, I’ll pin you to that bed and have you screaming my name,” her breath hitches at your words, “if you say no, you can get out and go be the hero you so desperately want to be.”

Wanda’s entire body freezes at what you just said, a new wave of anger washing over her. She scoffs as she pushes you away, “At least I’m trying to be a hero unlike you.” You glare at her while the green in her eyes turn red again. “Y/n and her fucked up ways of trying to save the world,” she practically mocks before walking away. “Talk to me when you’ve learnt how to stop being a dick,” she shouts before the front door slams shut.

[atsadi-shenanigans]

What Shall We Become 2 - Scattered

The rogue rolls a critical fail.

On AO3.

The Underdark is…something. Vast caverns, so tall the roof is hidden in gloom even Astarion’s sight cannot pierce. Glowing crystals larger than palaces in Baldur’s Gate. Glowing mushrooms, glowing creatures. That last point is becoming something of an urgency.

Astarion is long used to the claws of starvation on his innards. At best, his hunger is a barely satiated beast seething beneath his skin. At worst, it chews apart his mind until that’s all that stares out through his eyes, until every nerve, every twitch of his muscles screams and needs and his teeth ache and his jaw clenches so hard it sends pain lancing through his skull.

He’s about halfway to that point, currently.

He’s colder than usual. This is not helped by the cool air of the Underdark. His bones ache and his joints creak. He catches his fingers hooking into claws from time to time, and takes to pretending to fuss over his nails or his knives to hide it—said fingers are too numbed and stiff for anything like dexterity, anyway.

The creatures of the Underdark are a frustratingly skittish lot. He longs for a bear, a deer, even a squirrel. The thought of biting into it, smelling of clean sunshine and forest, the skin popping as his fangs pierce and that first gush of hot, salty blood—

“Did you hear me?”

The wizard. He’s talking.

“Oh yes, darling,” Astarion lies.

They’re all standing on the top of some tower belonging to some other mad wizard. Astarion wonders if that’s part of their schooling, towers and wizards. They always go for towers. Even down here, one of them has lost her mind to madness and not only built an entire tower of her own, but of course it’s laced with traps. Wizards love traps even more than vampires, he’s learning.

Their own wizard gives him a look, clearly unbelieving. Astarion gives him his very best “hello handsome” smile, and the man looks away, a touch flustered.

He wonders if the wizard would have been an easier target.

His current target is talking with some automaton. She’d gone directly for it. Speaking softly and deferentially, the way she does with the owlbear cub (Sweetums? Seriously?). It’s not a living thing, not a thinking creature of any kind, yet there she is, acting like it matters.

She does that a lot. Even to the gur she killed. It’s equal parts bemusing and befuddling. What kind of people even produce something like her?

He thinks, sometimes—though he’ll never admit it—that it might have been for the best that the mindflayers only snatched up one Earthian. The thought of multiples of her is disquieting. He’s not sure if they would be the most effective weapon the Sword Coast has seen in a century, or the most self-righteously insufferable gaggle of idiots.

Oh, now the automaton is hugging their most illustrious leader. How twee. He’s standing at an angle that he can see her hug it back, and he notices something. He’s seen hugs and been clutched at in passion. Most people grab (or claw). But this woman, his ally, hugs the metal monstrosity with…fists. Fingers curled in tight, thumbs tucked down. How interesting.

Then he catches the druid noticing the same thing, and the slight frown marring his enormous face—no elf, not even a half elf, has any right to be so massive. It’s absurd. The druid catches him noticing all the noticing, and he seems to be trying to communicate something. A question perhaps. But it’s not Astarion’s business, so he watches that question sail on by and makes no move to catch it.

And then everything goes to the hells. Their leader says something, or the automaton does, or maybe one of their merry band breathed wrong. It really doesn’t matter. It’s a mad wizard’s tower; it doesn’t need to make sense.

The light thrumming through each automaton—because of course there’s more than one—turn red. Apparently, that’s a signal even on other planes, because their illustrious leader’s face goes blank in a very particular “oh shit” kind of way, and she says, “Ah fuck.”

It gets a bit messy after that. Spells fly. The wizard shouts something and a nearby automaton shatters into pieces. The gith and the tiefling both hack at the big one. And their leader, who is the only person in the entire party—himself excluded—who shows the occasional modicum of sense, scrambles to get clear of the whole thing.

They metal monstrosities notice. There’s a strangeness about her that he’s getting used to; a kind of hum clinging to her skin whenever he gets near. Makes his teeth itch. But it draws attention and one of the automatons sets its sight on her and lifts an arm crackling with arcane power.

He’s got an arrow knocked. But the angle isn’t good. He takes two steps to the left—

Two things happen:

He lets the arrow loose and it flies true to bury into the facsimile of a metal face and the beastie goes down twitching.

And the ground beneath his left boot flashes. Which sets of glyphs all across the room.

Their wizard notices immediately. Has enough time to turn directly to Astarion and snap, “I knew you weren’t listening to a word I said—”

And everything lights up in horrible, searing light.

***

It lasts less than a moment. Less than a blink. Then Astarion stumbles forward—the damned hunger making him so ungainly. The tower is dark. Completely dark. Not a single mote of light, though he blinks and rubs his eyes several times.

Hells.

“Wizard!” he says. “We need light over here!”

But his voice echoes. It did not echo this way before. The sound is longer, goes much further, doesn’t bounce off ramparts and automatons and his wretched party. This time, it keeps going. Echoes off something far, far in the distance.

…there’s no other sound.

Astarion is an elf. Was, rather. He’s had excellent hearing since he can remember. Then he became a vampire spawn and everything got so much louder. The Blade had said he thought vampires could hear the stars twinkle, which was just silly. But he can hear heartbeats. Sighs. The soft squeak of leather boots as someone shifts. The gurgle of innards as stomachs digest (which in the first days was insufferable but has become something rather more…routine).

Now?

He hears air move. Water drips somewhere distant. And his own clothing rasps as he sways, trying to keep his balance in the oppressive black.

He’s alone. He can feel it.

“Wizard?” he says. The echo again is long and narrow. Somewhere closed in, but with an open way forward.

The panic is familiar. The taste of rotten iron crawls up his throat.

Enclosed in the dark. Alone in the dark. Closed in, closed in, closed in—

“Eleanor?”

But no one calls back to him. There’s nothing and no one. He tries to take a step but the ground is uneven and he stumbles. Goes down on one knee in a burst of pain.

“Hells,” he gasps.

There’s rocks all around. Some the size of his head. Others large and jagged. His hands—bare, because they’d been clumsily fussing with traps and the growing clumsiness called for ungloved fingers—slap rough, sharp edges.

Hunger and cold and alone, all alone, clawing at the door master please I’ll be good I’m sorry I’ll never do it again master.

The tadpole shivers. Because he has one of those. He was abducted by mindflayers, brought to the Underdark—

He’s in the Underdark.

He scrabbles for that connection and all but rips it open—

To six other people. Shock and anger. He resists all that, someone shouting in outrage over the intrusion and he doesn’t care because that’s six other people and he all but throws himself into their midst. Thoughts jumble around him, a stone tossed into a stream: cold air, smells stale; a huge, glowing purple crystal the size of a bleeding house; something reeks of sulfur; dead fish; hard ledge oh fuck it’s too high and you’re too weak—

Slowly, they all coalesce back into more defined spheres of self. The others pull away, and after that initial blast, Astarion has the sense to reel himself more or less back in.

Where? One of them thinks which ignites like a trail of sparkpowder through all of them.

Scattered images: a pool of dark water, a field of orange mushrooms glowing eerily in the dark, an opening in stone lit by…is that lava?

They’re none of them together. They’ve been separated. And he can tell—they all can—that it’s over a vast distance.

This is why it’s dangerous to mess with waypoints, thinks the wizard.

A defensive spell has blasted them across the Underdark. Astarion, you idiot.

And he can’t let that stand. Would they rather he let that automaton blast their darling leader’s head off? How was he supposed to know some brain-addled wizard had set up a mad trap five inches to his left?

Because the wizard told him so, to his face, three separate times.

Then a surge of irritation. But from neither him nor the wizard. It’s their leader. And she flashes them an image.

Because they’re not speaking in words (none but the irritating wizard, anyway) (he takes offense to that) so much as shapes of thought. Visions, impressions, emotions. His brain momentarily processes it as words, but the initial connection is a sense of outstretched fingers. Her outstretched fingers. A distant sensation that registers eventually as one of them.

They can sense each other. Vaguely.

The memory of a portal, glowing incandescent purple as it swirls and crackles with magic. This is a question.

But the wizard shakes his head. “No. I don’t know the waypoints here and I can’t safely use that spell to open a portal without one. We all saw what happened after that gith attack. It could take us anywhere. Or trap us.”

They had found the man stuck in his own portal, so that makes sense.

“Are any of you near me?” the wizard asks.

He’s next to a waypoint stone. In a great hall somewhere. Huge pillars hold up a ceiling lost in the dark. The stone a set of glowing glyphs carved deep. The hall seems abandoned—save for ancient skeletons and rusted armor.

The wizard doesn’t even register to the faint proximity-feel Astarion grasps at.

Karlach is confused and a touch anxious (and a touch excited, for some godsforsaken reason). She’s nowhere near the wizard. Is surrounded by mushrooms that soar up on blue, iridescent stalks like shaggy trees in an ancient forest. There’s no sign of a cave rat, let alone a waypoint stone.

The Underdark is huge. They could be anywhere. It’s dangerous for creatures that have spent their whole lives down here, let alone surface folk traveling lost and alone. Searching blindly—

In his own body, Astarion snorts. The others are all near something glowing, while he’s stuck in some pitch black…somewhere.

—for a waypoint stone is asking for trouble.

And then they all see an image that makes no sense. A series of green lines all nestled within one another, like an archery target. Except another line sweeps in a circle through them all. And as it goes, it sweeps over several small, green dots that blink and beep. The lines makes several sweeps, around and around as two of those dots merge into a larger one and grow in size.

Radar comes a foreign word. And then something in his mind translates “combine into larger radar signature.” And then something about several balls set on a sheet draped tight, and a much heavier one added with sags the whole things, drawing all of them together, only it’s worlds somehow and something about a “gravity” and…what in the hells is a “space-time fabric?”

They can all feel the wizard vibrate with hunger.

That frustration again. Their leader disengages a moment, and he can actually feel her gathering her thoughts together and shuffling them around.

She senses one of them nearby. They all reach out and…and Astarion can feel it, too. A subtle pull through the tadpole. She’s closer to him than the others.

Their leader’s excitement. She throws them all another images, this time of water droplets on glass. Two of them run together. Form a bigger droplet that pulls the others in one by one.

Find another. Stronger pull on others that way?

“Yes,” the wizard muses. “That may work. You two find each other and we’ll check back to see if our perception changes.”

For being an illiterate yokel with a penchant for setting things on fire at range—and biting out throats in range—their leader’s thoughts feel sharp and solid. Like a blade. She makes a decision and that is her decision. It’s quite easy to go along with it.

“Until then, I propose we all stay where we are. It’s far too dangerous to go off willy nilly.”

Again, that agreement. And that blade of focus turns to point at him. Their leader isn’t all that far from him.

The connection dissolves. He’s once again on his own, in the dark, with pain grinding through his left knee. But their yokel leader is close. All he has to do is find her. Alone. In utter blackness not even his supernatural vision can pierce, standing in the middle of a boulder field.

But it’s that or stay where he is. Alone and blind, in the close, closed dark.

Time to move, then.

***

Notes:

Yyyyyeah. Realized if I do once-weekly updates it’ll be like, September before we get to the chapter I just finished and I don’t want to slow down that much. Plus having that deadline makes me go fast, which keeps me from stalling the hell out. So uh, updates once again on Wednesdays and Saturdays unless I get stuck!

Previous - Index - Next

[yourthirdparent]

quick little liu kang focused drabble cuz he's on the mind. also on ao3 if you'd like to read there

It's something in the way Liu Kang presents himself.

Typically, he's all classical calm, stoic, guiding students and champions with a kind yet firm hand. The crease between his eyebrows is barely there, and his eyes are set in an easy professional stare, blinking evenly as though manual. His body wound tight and his muscles forced steady to hide anything underneath. A comfortable facade, one he's so used to portraying that it falls over his face and his body like a second skin and sloughs off no less painfully.

When around those he trusts with his life but not his soul, with the raw flesh under his skin but not the bones that flesh protects, he relaxes, softens. His muscles are no longer held tight, the slight, hardly noticed tremor of his hands disappears, and the corners of his lips raise ever so slightly, as though pleased with peace and company alone.

If you catch him in the wrong moment of that peace, you can see his distant, wistful sadness, eyes gone soft, glowing dimly, lines and creases smoothed and eyebrows upturned. If you manage to get close enough to him, you can see that the glow of his eyes is mostly a mirror effect of itself, provided by tears that well in his eyes and never fall. You can see the subtle shake of his hands and how they seem to reach forward, as though chasing visions. When he turns towards you, you can see the way his eyes seem to stare through you, the way they stare through everything and everyone. If he realises you've noticed him, he slips back into his calm. He winds back up, his hands still save for that ever present tremor from how hard he forces them stiff.

If you catch him in worse moments, around people he hardly trusts with his presence, being taunted or threatened, you can see the cracks in his facade, his stifled anger. His lip curls into what looks like a deep set frown but upon further observation appears to be a slight snarl. His eyebrows furrow down hardly enough to be seen or interpreted only because he forces them up. His eyes’ glow seems to waver, brightening, then dimming at the same time as his brows raise, like he forces the glow to soften as well. His hands clasp his wrists behind his back, as though balancing his slight lean forward. His words come out even and measured, often softer than normal unless caught by surprise.

Only seen once, when others are in danger, something angry tears through him, a primal rage, shedding his skin and flesh and revealing the bones underneath. His tattoos seem to shift, dragons growing snarling faces. Their inked scales spread across his arms, seeming to become his own. His lips spread openly into a sneer and his tremor stills entirely, perfectly still, perfectly even. His eyes grow as bright as fire, and his fists grow hotter than any flame. His teeth act as fangs and his hands act as claws as he lunges forwards and attacks his target, tearing them apart with sheer force. In these moments, he looks more like a dragon than a god.

Once he's completely eliminated the threat, crushed bones and a mess of unrecognisable viscera on the ground, hands covered in flesh torn to shreds and mouth dripping with blood, once all others are secured, he carefully grows back the flesh. He's vulnerable like this, relying on trust that no one will hurt him as he recovers. He's frail, delicate, holding onto the nearest surfaces for support but refusing to accept help from anyone still as he stands wide to keep himself from collapsing on shaky legs. He keeps his head down, eyes hidden from view if they're open at all. He flinches at sound, at touch, and he hides away from others for hours or even days before he returns, calm, stoic.

He moves like every action he takes is carefully chosen to protect what lurks underneath his layers of masks. He fights like there's something underneath, like if the hateful bones of his draconic skeleton were shattered then there would be more inside.

Perhaps, under his clean, carefully maintained distance, under his soft pleasure and hazy longing, under his animalistic, protective rage, he hides his frail mortality.

comment on ao3!!

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

I’M BACK MUAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAA COWER IN FEAR FOR I HAVE RETURNED ONCE MORE TO ONCE AGAIN SPEW THE OBVIOUS

Translation: I’m back and I’m making it everyone’s problem

So yes, I saw the new pages, and as it turns out I was right about Sonic! As suspected, he’s hiding how he really feels about his new bodily features, and I think he’ll continue to do so for the rest of the comic. The finale for this series is right around the corner, and this issue is gonna have a lot of Eggman fighting, so based on what we already know… Yeah. Unless Sonic’s development is intended to be kinda rushed or last-minute, I don’t think he’s going to stop faking his optimism. It also has to be remembered that Sonic doesn’t always have to fake said optimism because he is at heart a hero and a snarky little gremlin. During the earlier days of the comic, Sonic was seen being elated at the prospect of Shadow willingly keeping a secret for him. Bro danced and sang all the way home just because someone was being nice to him. But even still, he’ll most likely continue faking his true emotions at least until the very end of the comic when things go back to normal for him. Because at the end of the day, Sonic is a happy little guy who just does what’s best for him and his friends, and that is that.

About the secret base, I honestly find it so funny and so realistic that the Chaotix have to basically beg for new cases in order to pay for their home and the secret base. It’s like families who thought they’d have enough for two homes but then a year or two goes by and they’re like “Oh crap, we’re broke.” It makes so much sense and it’s so funny to me! Meanwhile the others just appreciate the fact that they have a secret base and not the fact that they pay for both homes. 🤣

Chaotix: 🥲 Yeah yeah we’re fine we’re not broke we’re totally alright 👍🥲

OH AND HERE IS SOMETHING I JUST THOUGHT OF. There is of course a reason why the Chaotix have a secret base, and I wondered for a second why they would need it in the first place. They’re detectives, journalists, problem-solvers. In their field of work, it doesn’t take too much effort to become targets of the government. So, in case they got noticed by either GUN or some other important people, they have a back-up place where they could continue their work in secret. I think they specifically anticipated GUN, because they make a point to mention them in their explanation in the newest page. Probably not something SuperEm thought too hard on, but uh. I did. So… Guess I did their job for them???? idk I thought it would be cool to flex my worldbuilding skillz

Now I wanna talk about Rouge here. She, along with Amy, know far more than they let on and I’m wondering if that will have a part to play in Sonic’s story moving forward. In the newest page, we see him standing awkwardly and trying to grasp the fact that his friends knew about him for a while! He figured Tails might have taken the hint a while ago because he knows Tails better than anyone, but Amy?? That’s a different story. The two haven’t properly interacted in a while, almost 2 years (Or maybe 1 year I’m terrible at this) in our time and a week or two in their time. Amy and Rouge have been investigating Dark Gaia and Sonic’s new form for probably a month or so, meaning that they’ve known for a long, long time! I think Knuckles and the Chaotix were the only ones left in the dark the longest. So if Sonic were to find out about this, how would he react?? I’m thinking it wouldn’t be too different to his reaction about Tails and everyone else knowing, but him and Amy have had a rocky relationship status over the years, so it could also be different. I doubt we’ll get to see anything since it doesn’t make much of a difference to the blue blur at this point in the comic, but if we do I’m excited to see how he’ll react!

Now I’m going back to Sonic for a bit because I noticed something intriguing about him in the newest page. In the first panel, we see him standing awkwardly with his hands tied behind his back, fidgeting with his fingers impatiently. Then we see him immediately walk over to Shadow, who’s waiting for him outside. When he opens the curtain, we see him squint upwards towards the sky, a warm light seeping onto his face and his whole stature seeming softer. (For lack of a better word) Thematically, this sequence of movement/expressions is used to indicate a character’s growth, or to just show that they are willing to become better. I mean, that’s my takeaway from that. I’m not a theatre/film professional. All I do is stare at animations and talk about each frame as if I know stuff. But for me that’s the kind of vibe I’m getting from this page, that Sonic is learning or growing, and that he’s willing to step out into the light and be fine with who he is. Earlier on in the comic, he would’ve requested for Shadow to come inside or for him to not be seen by others, but now that he’s been through quite a lot and after being appreciated by the small snowy village, he feels much better about himself and is thus willing to just. Walk outside for a bit and talk to someone. Sonic is learning how to be around people again, learning to trust others with his secrets, and I love that for him.

Again this most likely is not SuperEm’s intention and I highly doubt those were the actual the thematically correct rules, so if anyone is reading this and is a film/comic geek, please Please PLEASE correct me via a reblog or a comment. I need some correction desperately please. I don’t wanna spew incorrect information.

Now, I would go ahead and talk about Shadow because he clearly has a lot going on in his brain, but OH MY GOD THIS THING IS HUGE. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ASK IVE EVER WRITTEN HERE ON THIS FINE WEBSITE CALLED TUMBLR. So please do yourself a favor and give your eyes a break because holy crap I did not skip any corners for this one. Your pupils will thank you later, I promise. Go read a real book or go outside or something, please.

Anywhizzle, thank you so so so much for reading this whole thing, and have a good day/night!

(Also SuperEmeralds, just know that I adore your outdoor backgrounds so so much and they are not being overlooked. Your background skills are amazing and I’m so hype for what you have in store for the next few pages)

i think it is interesting how split the opinions are on sonic having learned nothing throughout the story and sonic finally having accepted his flaw and adapting. the mirror snap has divided the thoam theory community like no other askfjhasjkfhajk

who says they're paying for that run down place though? trust me i think super hard about literally everything, im sometimes embarrased abt it bc literally no one ever points most of my little details out but it makes me happy to connect dots so i just keep doing it

though sonic already reacted in a way, he knows everyone knew. granted the explaination happened off screen because quite frankly i didnt want the same conversation to happen twice back to back with the end of issue 8 and the beginning of issue 9, its better to just fill in the blanks yourself with everything.

the way i wrote sonic's emotions after waking up hopefully convey everything going through his mind well. there's a whole lot more pages to this so rest assured it's not over! your interpretation definitely makes sense! though i'd def disagree with the idea that in an earlier state of the comic sonic would've called for shadow to come inside? if his secret came out earlier in the comic he would still have reacted similarly and learned his lesson equally. the difference with the way it is in the comic is that he learned more about himself, and shadow, by dragging out the resolution to his (non)problem

thanks btw i love drawing environments and ur gonna get a good view of some really cool stuff soon ^_^

btw i have a name.. u can call me talaka, it's a little awkward to be called by my @ lol

[a1k0-futa]

"You're so beautiful."

Kagura blushed. Hayabusa approached and kissed Kagura's soft, pink lips. Both of them had been waiting a long time to do this. Butterflies flew in Kagura's stomach. She couldn't believed that she had kissed her childhood sweetheart. The couple sat on the rooftop, leaning against each other, watching the fireworks. They enjoyed each other's presence and company. They weren't aware of the girl watching them.

Hanabi held back the tears that were about to flow. She ran away from them. What did Kagura have that she didn't? Did men prefer beautiful girls rather than strong? Didn't Hayabusa know she liked her? How could they do that to her?! She felt very jealous and betrayed. But there was nothing she could do. She had lost Hayabusa.

She rushed to the clearing. Maybe training could distract her. First she ran, ran and ran. Then she began to throw her kunai at the target. She imagined the target to be Kagura and became even more aggressive. She started crying. Hanabi didn't want to cry. She wiped away her tears angrily.

She threw the kunais to the ground and attacked the target with punches and kicks. She paused, feeling that someone was watching her, but no one was around and the feeling soon passed. She continued as she didn’t care. Hours later, she was exh austed. She threw himself on the ground and closed her eyes. Soon after, she fell asleep.

Hanzo had been watching the girl for hours. He was training when  he heard someone approaching and hid it. He didn’t expect Hanabi. Wasn’t she supposed to watch the fireworks with Hayabusa? He didn’t know why, but he started to watch her. How she ran, trained, punched aggressively...

She started crying when her kunai didn’t hit the target. He knew it wasn’t because of failure, but he didn’t know the reason for her explosion. To a moment’s surprise, Hanzo came out of his hiding place a little and looked at  the girl’s face attentively. Hanabi began to look around as if she sensed him. He cowered well into his hiding place and waited in silence. If he was caught, he would not be able to explain the situation. Hanabi went back to venting her anger without caring much.

The girl’s movements were becoming weaker and more incoherent. A while ago, she started hitting just for the sake of hitting. How Hanzo wanted to challenge her, fight her... But he couldn’t do that today. But one day he’ll do it. When Hanabi fell asleep, he left a bottle next to her and left. She’s gonna need water, he thought. When Hanabi woke up, she stared at the bottle for a while and then left it there. She would not drink water of unknown origin. She wasn’t that stupid.

---

After that day Hanzo came to watch her every day. He spent his afternoons and evenings training, then hid when heard the sound of footsteps. Hanabi started to vent after 3 days.

"Why do you love her? Am i that ugly?! Why men prefer pretty girls..?  WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME?!"

Sometimes she would yell sometimes she would cry. At the end of the day she usually fell asleep. Hanzo always left a bottle next to her. Hanabi never drank from those bottles. Despite her emotionality and instability, Hanzo was impressed by her ability to keep her guard up and not making stupid decisions. He was impressed by her.

After sometime Hanabi realized somebody was watching her. She waited for creep to attack but it never happened. She wondered why? Why it wasn't harming her? Was it taking note of her weaknesses? Was it the person who left the bottles? Was it a person? She had so many unanswered questions.

Hanabi didn't come every day. Hanzo wondered why but he had no way to find the reason. Even if she didn't show up, he continued to wait and train. He couldn't understand why her absence bothered him. He couldn't understand why he was waiting for Hanabi every day. He left small items so the girl would notice them. He didn't know why he did it. Maybe he wanted to be seen.

Hanzo's determination to not attack her last months. He had watched and studied her nearly every single day. He knew how and where she attack. He decided not to leave when she came. Hanzo knew that Hanabi would attack him if she saw him. And that was what he wanted.

Hanabi saw a shadowy figure. She realised it was Hanzo. After a quick plan she attacked him. Just as expected. He dodged Hanabi's attack and kick her on the stomach. They started to fight. Hanabi soon realized that he wasn't trying to kill her. It was like a play to him. She got angry. How could he underestimate her?!

Her anger amused Hanzo. He wanted to see her angry side, competitive side. After some time he beated her. Hanabi waited for her death angrily. She was mad at herself for attacking him. Even though she knew she wouldn't defeat Hanzo, she attacked her. It was silly of her.

Her end never came. Hanzo stood back and began to point out her mistakes. Hanabi was shocked, her eyes were wide. What the fuck was he talking about? Why didn't he kill her?

"... Your position made it easier for your balance to be disrupted. Your left foot is too far forward-"

"Excuse me but what the fuck? Why did you not kill me?"

"You have the potential to be my opponent with whom I can fight with my full power. It would be a shame to kill you now. " He smirked. "It's more fun to kill when you're strong" He didn't know the exact reason.

Hanabi was pissed but kinda surprised when Hanzo mentioned her potential. How long had he been watching her? Her guess was months.

"You're gonna help me without demanding anything? To your enemy? Forgive me for not believing."

"I wasn't expecting you to believe me."

They stood there silently for a moment. Then Hanabi punched Hanzo. From that day they fight train every day. It was entertaining for both of them, even though they wouldn't admit. Hanabi felt relaxed when she was with him. She got used to Hanzo's company even though she knew it wasn't right. Hanzo felt warmth whenever he looked at her. He didn't know that feeling but soon he was gonna learn it.

After 2-3 weeks, Hanabi brought food, bandages and drinks for both of them. At first they were waiting on the side because she was hesitant to give them. She gave food to Hayabusa and Kagura so that it wouldn't go waste as it was too much for her to eat alone. And that way she could show that she supported their relationship, even if she didn't.

Hanzo wondered what was in the bag she brought every single day. Soon he learned. The tip of hi ears turned slightly red when Hanabi shyly held out an onigiri. It felt like a date. Hanzo felt like he was going crazy. He couldn't stop staring at Hanabi's bright red lips and blue eyes.

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted her to only look at him. What did Hayabusa have that he didn't? He was strong, fast, and a good ninja. Was it his ugly, scary face? Was it the fact that they were enemies? He felt jealousy that once Hanabi felt.

---

After a long day, Hanabi felt tired in her bones. Still, she felt like she needed to go to Hanzo. She didn't wanna lose their companionship friendship. Hanzo must have felt her tiredness as he continued to sit quietly. Hanabi didn't know why but felt an urge to put her head on his lap and she did.

Hanzo didn't move for a moment but slowly put his head on Hanabi's head. She smiled slightly and fell asleep. At that moment, Hanzo realized how much he wanted to protect the girl on his lap. He liked her, he accepted it. He played with her hair timidly. There would be no other opportunity to touch her long, soft hair. She smiled softly like she felt his hair. Hanzo knew he would never let his Scarlet Flower go. He wanted her even if it wasn't right.

English isn't my first language so don't mind mistakes please. And it is my first fic. Enjoy

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Can I ask you some questions

1. What does karmy generally think about I army ? From what we see I army especially I jkkrs always see karmy as this ultimate power which can confirm something related to boy or jkk etc

2. Is there heavy homophobia in SK like I see Jkk bloggers always warning about which will affect safety of Jkk. I'm confused as when I see street interviews many Koreans seems open minded about it.

3. Is it true that Karmy indeed knows 'tea' lol. I always see bloggers here saying they are hiding it for jkk and boys safety and only share it in their cirlces. But I'm confused, there are antis in SK too and even ex fans can turn antis. Even recently we saw some I- jkkrs turning against JK because he was pushed by company. If one of them really has tea won't it be shared online and harm them which makes me think Karny also knows infos like I army except maybe they'll be seeing boys often.

***

Speaking for myself here.

1 - Every type of fan you have in i-ARMY, you have in k-ARMY, it's just that in k-ARMY it's the more intense version. The antis are more persistent, hateful and vicious, the cosplayers are more devious, the shippers more certain, the chartmys more obsessed and calculating, the solo stans more unhinged and vile, the mantis more extreme, even the OT7s are more intense in how hard they go for every member, more than anything I've seen on the i-ARMY side. But I do think the general perception Korean fans have of international fans (in general not just k-ARMY), is that many international k-pop stans are very easy to manipulate and rile up. Manipulation happens on the Korean side too but with foreigners it's way easier. And I don't think this disadvantage to international fans is just down to language barriers. Cultural nuances between Korea and most Western countries is what drives the bigger role, in my opinion. You simply cannot afford to be thin-skinned and simple-minded as a Korean person in regular society, and in the k-pop industry this is the bare minimum requirement to succeed as an idol for a reason. I mean, have you sat down to think about the sort of brutal honesty, cynicism, and vanity that's rampant in a culture, for plastic surgery to be so common it becomes banal?

Anyway, to answer your first question, k-ARMYs see international ARMYs as somewhat easy to manipulate, but at the same time very volatile and entitled. Sometimes. That first point though means you and I are not the only people who've noticed some people gobble up anything so long as it's in Korean, and that bias can be abused.

That said though, in the jikook community at least far as I know, many k-jokers are legit ARMYs who don't want to endanger the boys by spreading reckless information. Sometimes there are cosplayers and sasaengs mixed in, who do have ulterior motives / misleading information, but the community so far has been able to keep bad actors to the minimum. Overall though, what I really think is that if you actually respect the guys, the ultimate authority/power to confirm something related to them is the boys themselves. Their own actions and words should be clear enough, and your mind capable enough of arriving at a reasoned opinion all on your own. You can test that opinion against new information such as, a Korean person who claims they are more knowledgeable on the topic - because as I've said, Korean is very nuance-dependent and cultural insight is integral to always getting the full picture. Think about what the new information means for your opinion, and move forward with the opinion that makes the most sense to you at the end. Brownie points if you can engage in fandom with people with differing viewpoints, somewhat respectfully.

**

2 - Yes, there's heavy homophobia. And yes the younger generation is more accepting of it but that doesn't ultimately matter because of how Korea works. In my perception of it at least. The hate you get being queer in Korea, never starts directly. They target your friends first. Then your family. Your dad getting a snide comment at work here, your mom getting disinvited from the women's neighborhood meet-up there, your brother getting weird looks... And then there's the state restrictions: gay/queer couples cannot adopt and there are no protections under the constitution. So yes, technically people are out and people can come out and live relatively normal lives, but the path is extremely complicated. For someone like an idol, I'd imagine even more so.

**

3 - I won't waste a lot of time on this since I already said quite a bit in point 1. The one thing I'll say is if there's one thing you need to note about this industry, it's this: k-pop is so insanely competitive, people are so ridiculously wicked and psychotic that anybody who has dirt on you won't hesitate to use it at the first opportune moment. (You in this case being an idol/group.) Like, any 'tea' that's worthwhile gets spilled before long given the churn rate in the industry. And this is true to a large extent for companies too. For example, I don't think BigHit/HYBE is all that different from other k-pop agencies in this industry, but I do think they are in many ways better because if they were just as bad or worse than other agencies, we would've seen the paperwork by now. We would've seen the lawsuits, the weeping idols, the 'disgruntled staff' blinds (SM is notorious for being so good at this one), we would've seen that mess by now. Because many people don't hesitate to walk, especially in the case of abuse. Also, there is a very real limit to what even Korean people can know if they're outside the team's inner circle. Usually what counts as 'tea' is sightings and schedules, which if not illegal isn't damning in the least. But there are other kinds of 'tea' that's clearly malicious, but oftentimes that sort of hit is contracted. For example, things like the targeted attack Jimin faced regarding his missed insurance payments, myself and a few friends believe that was 'contracted hate'. Something that's unfortunately not uncommon in the industry.

**

K-ARMYs / k-jikookers are very similar in behaviour to i-jikookers, just more intense, usually / in my experience (including myself). So weigh their words/actions accordingly.

[kayann9]

How to turn the tide.

I'm not even sure if I remember how to post? I literally have written nothing for 4 years and so I don't think it's great. I just thought, why not? Some bad language so rated M for safety; 893 words.

Takes place after the Elminster visit and is a little moment between my Tav (Serena) and Karlach; she is not dealing with the news very well. Gale doesn't feature but it is Gale X Tav (f).

I do not own BG3 or Gale of Waterdeep - even if I wish I did.

Serena flung the axe at wood, growling as it landed to the left of her target.

It was the tenth throw. The tree wasn’t going to last much longer whether she hit the mark or not.

“Fucking Gods.” She hissed, pulling the metal from the tree.

As Gale’s brown eyes filled with resignation and acceptance flooded her mind, he released the golden hatchet again and let it splinter the dry wood.

She was exhausted. She was so very exhausted: her muscles ached, her throat was sore but mainly, and most sadly, her mind was tired. The frustration of living in a World ruled by Gods and Monsters, of the good suffering at the hands of the powerful, was eating at her. This evening had been the final straw.

Serena sunk into the grass and pulled her knees to her chest.

She couldn’t do this – whatever this had turned into. What had started as a minor expedition to get back home and get a tiny invader out of her brain, had turned into a divine mission from a variety of notable sources, one that she kept being told had to take precedent above all else.

This was the life she’d left behind – the selfless life of righting wrongs – that had now crept back up onto her.

“Godsdammit.” Her dagger slammed into the dirt as if she were trying to pierce the soul of the ground itself.

Serena heard Karlach before she saw her; she heard the heavy boots and the gentle grunt of the metal in her chest. Another victim of the machine.

“How you holding up soldier?”

Serena let out a humourless laugh. “Collecting firewood. I’m fine.” Somewhere along the line she’d become a terrible liar, she couldn’t even convince herself anymore. She played with a dried splinter between her fingers before holding it up.

“I’m not sure that will keep a fire going for very long. I mean, that tree has taken quite the pummelling. It’s almost as if you’re pretending it is a certain Goddess’…”

Serena stood up gathering another blade in her hand, letting it fly through the air with a whistle.

“That tree is a lot of things to me right now….. Mainly firewood.” Serena braced her shoulders trying to release the knot of tension that sat between the bones given to her from the dirt floor and the stress of the day. When she heard Karlach’s sigh, she knew she wasn’t fooling anyone. “Fine. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of these supposedly all powerful beings waltzing through our lives like unprompted lightning bolts, ignoring the destruction they cause, expecting our utter devotion just because they deem us somewhat noticeable.”

The Rosymorn Trail had been somewhat breath taking to Serena on her arrival through the Mountain Pass, a part of Faerûn that she had not seen before. No longer was she impressed with the vast and dramatic scenery; the vivid sunset bathing the valley in fire, all awe and wonder had been sapped from her body the moment she’d heard the words: use yourself as the catalyst that will burn it from this world.

“Sorry, I’m ranting.” Serena leaned against a tree and forced her gaze to the vast expanse of mountains.

Karlach’s intimidating size and stature hid a softer nature. The kind of nature that had made her follow her friend when she was trying her best to hide all the upset she clearly felt. She’d known she’d had to follow the moment Serena had declared she was going to find some food despite their camp being full of wine, cheese and meat and then found her stabbing a half- dead oak tree as if it were stray ghast.

“You’re not ranting…. Well, maybe ranting a little. But I get it. You’re upset. It was a shit thing to hear and it’s even shittier that he’s actually contemplating it.”

And there it was. The reason this had gotten to her so much. It hadn’t been that Mystra had dared to make such an obscene suggestion. Gods and their ilk were known, at least in her world, for making such grand demands of their devotees. By the Hells, it might not have even been the worst ‘sacrifice’ she’d even heard of on her travels. The thing that truly tore at her heart was the fact he’d accepted it. He’d said with such sad certainty there wasn’t another way.  

Tears pricked the back of her eyes, but she soon forced them away. Even in front of Karlach.

“It’s just not fair.” She was aware she sounded like a child who’d not been allowed out to play after dinner but there was no other phrase that she could pick. It wasn’t. It wasn’t fair that his punishment was to willingly end his life. It wasn’t fair that he felt it was apt. It wasn’t fair that she now cared enough about Gale for it to hurt when he’d accepted it.

With another surge of anger, she threw the great axe at the tree again.

This time it splintered.

It creaked and groaned under the ferocity of the blade.

“There. Firewood.” She shrugged and grabbed the larger splints.

“Be a moon unto yourself, mate.” Karlach smiled as she grabbed the rest of the wood and hoped the elder wizard's more enigmatic words would bring her friend at least some comfort.

[moongothic]

Re reading the manga I have noticed that when the news of the 5th emperor happened Crocodile was drawn in a fancy castle with some guys that are armed (like his own guards?). I wonder where was him and what happened to those dudes? Clearly only Daz followed him to Cross Guild. Did Oda had an idea for Crocodile and then changed it and thought that making Cross Guild would been better?

Which i have another thought like Oda told us about the underworld and show us some characters from there in WCI, i wonder if he is gonna show us more about that place and is that where Crocodile was and how he gained his money, beacuse after going to prison he lost all his money so there must be a way where he got it on the first place to give it to Buggy and also explain what he was doing all these 2 years before wanting to form Cross Guild.

I hope we get some more information about this, Cross Guild going to the underworld would be cool, i personally wanna see what is in there and would give us some funny Buggy interactions there shsh he will probably recruit more ppl with his charm but idk if Oda has that planned.

I have discussed some of this in the past so I wasn't going to reply to this, but after like a month of sitting in my inbox... oh to hell with it, I repeat myself on this blog all the time anyways

One thing we do have to considder is that we don't know what Crocodile was doing during the timeskip. The two times we've seen him before the Final Saga were during Dressrosa (where we saw him at some docks reading the news about Doflamingo) and right after Whole Cake Island (the fancy building with goons), so we can tell has been in like, populated places in the New World post-timeskip, but during? We have no idea

To me, thinking about it, it is more than likely that after Summit War Crocodile and Daz have been on the run from the Marines. Like the WG went immidiately after Mihawk and co after they all lost their Shichibukai rights, so knowing what a threat Crocodile could be, surely he'd become a target for the WG to hunt. And as we've seen with Mihawk losing his Shichibukai status and joining Cross Guild (+the Marines being like "Crocodile's been spotted at Emptee Bluffs!" when he arrived on the island), famous criminals with high bounties don't want to stay stationary by themselves, it makes you an easy target for the Marines. Having equally powerful (if not more powerful) allies will bring safety in numbers (making you a less favorable target for the Marines to deal with, which is why the Yonkou were kind of allowed to do as they pleased (as long as they stayed on their own territories at least)).

All of which to say, to me it'd make sense if Crocodile kept a low profile during the timeskip, just to avoid the Marines coming after him. Now that could mean a number of things; he could've sought shelter from people he MAY have had dealings with in the past when running Baroque Works. He could've been travelling by himself and Daz from island to island, always on the move to avoid detection. He could've done what Luffy did and found some uninhabited island to hide in and have a little training arc with Daz until the time was right to leave for good (only occassionally going out to like get new clothes or whatever). Like we can kind of assume that the reason Crocodile chose to make his move now in the story was because all the pieces for his grand plan had finally lined up and/or it was his last chance to do so (collect the debt from Buggy before he vanished off the face of the earth + recruit Mihawk for safety reasons since he's on the run now too). But what he had been doing until now is unclear, as is when he might've started preparing for making his move. Like had he been hiding on Fuck Off Island for 2 years, went to get some groceries, heard the news from the Reverie and was like "whoops time to go, hurry up Daz"? Or had he been on Fuck Off Island for the past two years and decided to start making his move after the Strawhats' return made the news (for that Crocodad Propaganda)? This is all extremely unclear

Like personally, I would like to believe he and Daz had been hiding on some remote island, going through a training arc and only started hanging out in public again etc after Luffy returned to the spotlight. We know Croc has trust issues so personally I do find it unlikely he would've been hiding out with people from the underworld even if he had any past connections+fame to keep people from trying to mess with him, meaning the two times we've seen him post-timeskip are like outlier moments. But I could be absolutely wrong and maybe it was the opposite, that he had been hanging out with the mafia in some nice manors and just chilling. Who the fuck knows.

As for Crocodile's money... Yes, the underworld is again An Option, but also we just don't know how much dealings he might've had with the underworld beyond from the bounty collecting (which would've been with the Marines really) and obtaining Dance Powder. Like, it's possible he might not have had any dealings with the underworld at all beyond those things. So how else would he then have obtained money to lend to Buggy? I mean there's a few things.

Crocodile could've had like A Secret Stash hidden somewhere in case of emergencies (in Paradise or the New World, Paradise seems more likely to me, he just would've had to have gone and picked it up immidiately after Summit War, before heading to the New World. But hey that's plausible, he would've needed money to get a ship etc anyways if he didn't just steal one). Or, since Crocodile does seem to like gambling, who knows, maybe he hit some casinos in the New World and hit some jackpots. Or maybe he just robbed people. We know Crocodile made a lot of money as a Warlord not just from cashing in bounties but also from stealing the shit pirates had on them; looting other people's loot. Crocodile totally could've been just spawn camping at the entrance of the New World for a little while for newbie pirates, just to beat their asses and rob them blind. (Something he couldn't have continued doing for too long though due to G5 + shit happening on Fishman Island making it nearly impossible for pirates to pass through anyways, but hey all we need to do is assume Croc did the spawn camping for just long enough to have money to lend to Buggy before pissing off to hide somewhere, and yeah that could work)

Personally, I don't think the underworld is going to be a plot relevant thing in the story, not at this stage. Like to me it felt more like a side thing to add to OP's worldbuilding, but I don't really see what it could really contribute to the plot at this point. But I could be wrong, who knows, time will tell