#i think he views them fondly and he does think of them as his sons a lot of the time

[gamebunny-advance]

Random Question Time (Side B)

Note: This question is more about "feeling" than the strict and literal definitions of their relationship. Since 1010 are robots, they can't "literally" be Neon J.'s sons. This question is asking how you think their relationship functions in human terms.

See the sister poll to vote on 1010's relationship with each other.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Valentine's Day, Shana!

Can we get more from F is for Frankenstein? Or more 3 faced Goddess? (More of the Iron Man stuff basically. I don't even really go there anymore, but your writing is so great)

a continuations of 1 2 3 4

The thing is, Rhodey would actually prefer it if Tony didn’t come for them, if he didn’t risk his life by walking into what is so obviously a trap meant to kill him, even if it meant both he and Steve died instead.

Morgan is a child still, far from ready to take the throne, and Pepper would manage but at the end of the day this country needs its king – need Tony, not only doing the work that he is to win this war, but as a son of Stark, as a member of the family that’s ruled for over a millennia. Even to those that believe the worst rumors about Tony, his presence on the throne is still a comfort, still a sign that the Goddess hasn’t forsaken them. Morgan won’t be viewed the same. She’s too young.

At the end of the day, he and Steve are just soldiers. They’re far more replaceable.

Beyond that, these are the people that made Tony swallow a star. They don’t know he’s the Iron Mage, but they probably assume that the Iron Mage is going to be nearby anyway, and are preparing for it. Which means Tony will have the element of surprise going for him

But when he was nineteen, Tony kissed him under a peach tree, tasting of the fruit they’d shared, and neither of them have looked back since.  

When the situations had been reversed, Rhodey hadn’t given up, hadn’t stopped looking, and if they’d offered him an invitation like they’re offering Tony, he would have taken it regardless of the danger. And he’d like to say he did all that for his king, but he wouldn’t have gone to nearly as much effort for Greg, for Howard.

He did it because it was Tony.

And not an ounce of logic or sense is going to keep Tony from doing the same.

Not that there’ll be any. Pepper probably didn’t even hesitate, he thinks fondly. They’ve been friends and partners too long. He’d tell Tony to go after Pepper too, even while wishing he wouldn’t come after him now.

“Why are you smiling?” Steve asks warily.

Rhodey rolls his head to the side. Steve is eight years younger than him, six years younger than Tony, and most of the time Rhodey doesn’t notice the difference. He’s seen more war than Rhodey has, after all, and has some mannerisms that remind him of his grandfather. He ages slowly, thanks to the sorcerer’s enchantment, but enough people have spelled themselves with a false youth that it’s not jarring enough to be noteworthy.

Right now, he looks even younger than he is, tired and wary. Rhodey would have thought his resignation would make him look older, but instead if brings to mind every child that’s found themselves trapped on the battlefield.

“It’s going to be alright,” he says gently. “He’ll come.”

Steve grimaces and looks away. “Even if he does. They might just kill us anyway.”

They might, but their sorcerers are skilled enough to read the enchantments tangled on top of both of them. Tony would know if Rhodey was dead. They performed that spell long before Tony ever sat on the throne. Which means they’ll keep them alive at least long enough for Tony to see them, which is probably all the time he’ll need.

But that’s nothing he can say to Steve, nothing he’ll understand when he doesn’t know the king is Edward and the Iron Mage both, so he tilts to the side until their shoulders are pressed together and hopes Steve finds comfort in that.

[mothdapple]

Pinestar is Rusty’s Father AU

I know there’s no way I’m the first person to come up with this AU, but it’s been stewing around in my brain for a while (like the Smudge!Scourge AU) so I wanted to talk about it! The AU really intrigues me mostly because I see a ton of new possibilities for interesting dynamics between Firestar and Tigerstar. So here’s a break-down of how I’d imagine it playing out book-by-book for the first arc, going over where I see deviations from canon. (Long post below!)

Book 1

Rusty is born to Nutmeg, but his father is Pine (the former Pinestar) instead of Jake. Rusty is an only kit and Pine is very protective of him. Pine lives nearby and visits him often, even after Rusty is given to a new home, and plays an active role in his life. (However, Nutmeg lives further away, or she and her humans move, leaving Pine and Rusty only with each other.)

Pine warns Rusty about the forest and the dangers of the Clans. He does not tell Rusty that he was once a leader, but he does admit to having been a ThunderClan cat named Pinestar. However, Pine had grown tired of the Clans’ pointless fighting and chose to leave. Despite Pine’s overall negative view of the Clans, Rusty is a very curious kitten (who is also getting forest dreams, sent by StarClan) so is only intrigued more by Pine’s warnings. The main thing Pine speaks fondly of in ThunderClan is his former mate and kit, Tigerkit, wondering if they are okay. Because Rusty is an only child, he is super interested at the thought of having a brother. He imagines Tigerkit to be the strongest, best warrior in all the Clans. However, Pine remains very insistent that Rusty never go into the forest, and Rusty reluctantly promises him he won’t.

Pine is very old however, and when Rusty is around 6 moons old, he dies. Rusty is devastated by the loss of his dad, and he becomes quite lonely. He longs for more family, but he is unable to visit Nutmeg. Rusty’s StarClan forest dreams keep getting stronger too, adding to Rusty’s discontent. Feeling like he no longer belongs in the twolegplace and after convincing himself that he is no longer bound to his promise to his dad to never go in the forest (since Pine has died,) Rusty leaves his home to go join ThunderClan, wanting to find his long-lost brother, Tigerkit.

Rusty runs across a ThunderClan patrol led by Bluestar, and she allows him to come with her back to camp, mostly because of his pelt color matching with the “fire alone will save our clan” prophecy (which Bluestar and Spottedleaf still receive in this AU.) But Rusty’s reception in ThunderClan is less than stellar. Rusty eagerly announces that he wants to join the Clan because his father was Pinestar, a ThunderClan cat. However, he is quite shocked as ThunderClan is disgusted by this, viewing him as the son of traitorous leader who abandoned his Clan. (So Rusty now has to deal with that added baggage, in addition to being a kittypet.) Rusty is saddened that ThunderClan views his father so negatively. Rusty had no idea that his father was once leader, and the Clan’s opinion of him doesn’t match up with Rusty’s memory of his father as a noble cat who just wanted to live out his old age in peace. However, the entire Clan is so insistent about Pinestar being the worst, Rusty starts to doubt his own memory of his father, thinking he might have not known Pine as well as he thought he did. But, Rusty wants to work hard to prove himself to them, and also in a way, clear his dad's name by becoming a good Clan cat himself. Rusty is renamed Firepaw, but is not given a proper mentor because Bluestar declares that because of his heritage and kittypet roots, he will be in a probationary period where he has to prove himself worthy of being a true ThunderClan cat.

Also, of course when Firepaw joins, he is so excited to meet “Tigerkit,” asking about him right away. Firepaw is super impressed by Tigerclaw’s strength and size. Naturally though, Tigerclaw wants nothing to do with Firepaw. He is disgusted by the reminder of his weak, pathetic father (especially because Firepaw so strongly physically resembles Pine.) Despite Tigerclaw’s cold and sometimes outright cruel demeanor, like with the rest of ThunderClan, Firepaw is still determined to prove himself to him. He continues to admire Tigerclaw regardless of his poor treatment of him.

After a little bit of time passes in which Firepaw trains, Tigerclaw does seem to come around to Firepaw, and he starts acting warmer to him. After “testing” him in some dangerous situations, Tigerclaw has realized that Firepaw is more competent than he first believed, and Tigerclaw is smart enough to see that Firepaw's blind admiration could be used to his advantage. By exploiting his love, Tigerclaw is able to manipulate his naive little brother in almost however way he wishes. Tigerclaw and Firepaw “grow closer.” This results in Firepaw seeing being the best warrior he can be and strictly following the code to a T "just like Tigerclaw,” as the best way for him to shed the shadow of his heritage and become a great ThunderClan warrior.

Because Firepaw admires Tigerclaw so much, it takes him way longer than in canon for him to realize anything bad about Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw had still killed Redtail, and Ravenpaw witnessed it. Ravenpaw tries to warn Firepaw that Tigerclaw is dangerous when he sees his friend growing closer to him. Ravenpaw even gets desperate enough to eventually try to tell Firepaw about the murder, but Firepaw thinks Ravenpaw must have been mistaken. There is no way Tigerclaw would ever raise a claw against his own Clanmates! 

Because Ravenpaw is never taken to shelter in the barn by Graypaw and Firepaw, Ravenpaw is quietly murdered by Tigerclaw, permanently silencing him. Firepaw is greatly sadden by Ravenpaw's sudden death but of course suspects nothing of Tigerclaw. Firepaw also becomes better friends with Dustpaw and Longtail thanks to Tigerclaw's influence. After Ravenpaw’s death and Firepaw completing the probationary period, Tigerclaw is even named Firepaw's official mentor, allowing Tigerclaw to sink his hooks in even more deeply.

Because of Tigerclaw’s influence, Firepaw does not help Yellowfang when he finds her on their territory. Instead, he and Tigerclaw chase her off ThunderClan land as they would for any trespasser. This results in ThunderClan being without a medicine cat when Spottedleaf is killed by Clawface. Bluestar is deeply distraught by this development, and starts to lose faith in herself and in StarClan. Bluestar feels as if the “Fire alone” prophecy is ThunderClan’s only hope, and she pins it all on Firepaw being the chosen one. This results in her starting to show clear interest in him over the other apprentices. This does not go unnoticed by Tigerclaw, although he doesn’t know why Bluestar is so interested in Firepaw.

Lionheart dies in the fight that drives Brokenstar from ShadowClan and Tigerclaw becomes deputy of ThunderClan after his death, like in canon. Fireheart and Graystripe also earn their warrior names, but Sandstorm and Dustpelt had gotten theirs first (Tigerclaw insists on Firepaw receiving thorough training, even though Bluestar seemed eager to make him a warrior as soon as possible.) Book 1 ends with Fireheart (unknowingly) firmly under Tigerclaw’s paw, and Tigerclaw appreciating more and more the benefits of having his half-brother’s undying loyalty, especially with Bluestar being so fond of Fireheart.

Book 2

With Brokenstar driven out of ShadowClan, Fireheart is picked out by Bluestar and Tigerclaw to go retrieve WindClan. However, Sandstorm (not Graystripe) is picked to accompany him at Tigerclaw’s insistence. This is a careful calculation on Tigerstar’s part. Almost all of Tigerclaw’s biggest supporters are the younger warriors. Fireheart and Graystripe are good friends, but Tigerclaw thinks Graystripe is a bit of a buffoon. He believes Sandstorm to be much more competent, and although Sandstorm deeply respects Tigerclaw, she has never gotten over her disdain for Fireheart and his soft kittenhood. Fireheart is Tigerclaw’s most loyal follower, and Tigerclaw wants a united group of allies, so getting Sandstorm to at least tolerate Fireheart is critical to that.

Neither Fireheart or Sandstorm are happy about being paired together for this mission, but they inevitably bond over the course of the journey to get WindClan and come back. By the end of it, there is even a spark of romantic tension between the two. Tigerclaw is quite pleased that his plan worked so well when they return.

Fireheart is shortly after given Cinderpaw as his first apprentice (thanks to a suggestion by Tigerclaw to Bluestar, who is happy to favor Fireheart due to the prophecy.) But, Cinderpaw is hit by a monster and gravely injured. ThunderClan is still without a medicine cat, so Cinderpaw is taken to WindClan for treatment. Because WindClan feels indebted to ThunderClan for retrieving them, Barkface is happy to care for Cinderpaw in repayment. As Fireheart grieves over his injured apprentice, Tigerclaw is there to comfort him. Tigerclaw reveals that Goldenflower is expecting his kits when he promises Fireheart one of them to train as a new apprentice.

While Fireheart had been gone saving WindClan, Graystripe had started his affair with Silverstream. When Fireheart discovers it, he is very upset, even more so than in canon due to his apprenticeship under Tigerclaw. Fireheart and Graystripe have a huge falling out over it, and Fireheart puts the final nail in their friendship’s coffin when he rats out Graystripe to Tigerclaw, telling him what he knows about Graystripe’s illegal relationship. Graystripe is punished (not as much as Tigerclaw would have liked, but Bluestar has a soft-spot for cats caught in cross Clan relationships, who’d have thought.) Meanwhile, Fireheart grows closer to Dustpelt, Sandstorm, and Longtail, integrating fully into their friend group and leaving Graystripe on the wayside. 

Cinderpaw survives her injury and decides that she’d like to be ThunderClan’s medicine cat. She stays in WindClan for the time being, still recovering but also starting medicine cat training under Barkface.

Like in canon, Brokenstar and his rogues attack ThunderClan’s camp, but they are defeated. Brokentail is blinded by Fireheart, and Bluestar decides to keep him prisoner rather than execute him immediately.

Book 3

Despite Graystripe’s punishment, his desire to see Silverstream isn’t totally killed, and Fireheart catches him in the act of meeting with her again. Silverstream is now pregnant, and Fireheart explodes at his former friend. He and Graystripe start arguing about how RiverClan is "evil" for all the fighting over Sunningrocks and the ThunderClan cats who have died there, with Fireheart spouting a lot of Tigerclaw's talking points. Silverstream gets angry and cuts in that that RiverClan has lost cats in those battles too. In response, Firestar says something about how Tigerclaw was just avenging Redtail by killing Oakheart. This is when Silverstream drops the bomb of "what are you talking about, Oakheart died in a rockfall." 

Fireheart rejects her words in the moment, but they still linger over the next few weeks. Of course he wants to believe Tigerclaw’s story over hers, but this in combination with what he was told by Ravenpaw before he died plants the first seeds of real doubt in his mind. Fireheart almost wants to go back and ask Silverstream for more details, or proof to back up her claim, but before he can, Silverstream dies giving birth. Goldenflower takes in her kits to care for alongside her newborns (Fireheart’s niece and nephew.)

WindClan and ShadowClan find out that ThunderClan is harboring Brokentail. In response, Barkface stops training Cinderpaw, who returns to ThunderClan, putting ThunderClan in a difficult position. They really have no reason to protect Brokentail, but they will look weak if they bend to WindClan and ShadowClan’s demands to hand him over. RiverClan has also demanded that ThunderClan give them Silverstream’s kits. Bluestar is paralyzed by the threats from all the other Clans and with ThunderClan still not having a fully trained medicine cat, she is growing more paranoid about enemies and illnesses and becoming convinced that StarClan has abandoned her Clan. Tigerclaw urges Bluestar to kill Brokentail but also strike against WindClan or ShadowClan preemptively— both Clans are still recovering from Brokenstar, and it would be much easier to take them on separately than if they band together. Fireheart agrees with him, saying that ThunderClan cannot afford to look weak. But, Bluestar cannot make a decision, so she does nothing.

WindClan and ShadowClan attack ThunderClan’s camp, and ThunderClan is saved by the appearance of a RiverClan patrol who had conveniently come at the same time to retrieve the kits. But, the fight is a humiliation for ThunderClan— being attacked by two Clans in their own camp and requiring RiverClan’s assistance to drive WindClan and ShadowClan out. During the battle, Brokentail retreated to the empty medicine cat’s den to hide. Once the fighting is done, Fireheart goes inside to get him, only to see Tigerclaw standing over Brokentail’s wheezing body, blood all over his muzzle. Brokentail dies in front of him, and when the shock finally dies down, Fireheart asks Tigerclaw why he did it— Bluestar had not ordered them to execute him. Tigerclaw argues that Brokentail had only brought ThunderClan problems, which Bluestar had been too indecisive to solve, so he took matters into his own paws. No one will know it was him anyway— Brokentail could have easily died in the fighting. Fireheart is a bit troubled by Tigerclaw’s disregard of Bluestar’s orders and his duplicitous means, especially given his newfound doubts about Oakheart’s death, but Fireheart agrees with Tigerclaw’s assessment of Brokentail. He easily agrees to keep quiet about it.

Graystripe decides to give RiverClan his kits and leave with them. Fireheart has one more conversation with his former friend before he goes. Graystripe has grown more wary of Tigerclaw recently, especially after seeing his influence on Fireheart. He warns Fireheart that he’s changed from the cat that Graystripe used to know, and to not let Tigerclaw turn him into someone he’s not. 

Book 4

Bluestar’s mental health takes a steep decline after the attack. She is now showing signs of dementia in addition to her paranoia. But ThunderClan at least has a fully trained medicine cat again. Thanks to Tigerclaw’s negotiations with Crookedstar about the return of Silverstream’s kits, Mudfur agreed to finish Cinderpaw’s training, and she is now Cinderpelt. 

Tigerclaw is more or less running ThunderClan single-handedly at this point, with Bluestar staying mostly in her den. Tigerclaw is also using Fireheart as his righthand man as a sort of pseudo-deputy, sending him on errands and trusting him to organize patrols when he is busy with other things. Fireheart is pleased his brother has so much trust in him, but he is still has questions about what happened that night Oakheart died. He attempts some investigating of Tigerclaw to further tease out the mystery of what really happened in the battle where Oakheart and Redtail died, but without an eye-witness (like Ravenpaw was in canon,) Fireheart isn’t making any headway. This isn’t helped by the fact that he still loves and admires Tigerclaw, so he is not at all sold on the idea that Tigerclaw is actually bad.

But, Tigerclaw is indeed still manipulating Fireheart and using that to ask him to do some seemingly harmless favors. One of these favors is interacting with Brokenstar’s rogues, who Tigerclaw had gathered up just outside of ThunderClan territory. Tigerclaw talks Fireheart into believing that these rogues were misled by Brokenstar, but they can be truly good, loyal warriors, if given a second chance. Fireheart is unsure, but he trusts Tigerclaw enough that he does not argue with him about it. 

Then the rogues launch an attack ThunderClan. Their scents and pelts are disguised with mud, but Fireheart has gotten to know them well enough by now that he recognizes some of them anyway when he gets close. Fireheart is shocked that the cats he and Tigerclaw had been helping betrayed them. Worried about Bluestar’s fragile health/mind, Fireheart rushes to her den to see if she’s safe, but it is already too late. Bluestar is dead and Tigerstar stands over her body, blood dripping from his fur. He tells Fireheart that he tried to save her but got here too late and the attackers killed her. The battle ends and the attackers vanish back into the night as quickly as they came, having also killed Runningwind and Brindleface. No one in ThunderClan knows why these cats attacked, or even who they are, but Fireheart knows. And he knows that Tigerclaw knows. 

Fireheart is extremely confused and feels betrayed by Tigerclaw, not understanding why he hasn’t said anything to Fireheart about Brokentail’s rogues having been the ones who attacked them. But, seeing the fragile state of ThunderClan, he resolves to wait to speak to Tigerclaw. He remains silent in public about it as Tigerclaw comforts the mourning Clan. Tigerclaw wants to leave to go to the Moonstone right away, but Fireheart insists they speak privately first and Tigerclaw finally relents. Fireheart tells him that he knows those cats were Brokenstar’s rogues; the cats Tigerclaw has been having him bring food and messages to. Tigerclaw does a good job gaslighting the heck out of Fireheart, insisting that he must be mistaken. Fireheart’s confidence is shaken (maybe he did make a mistake? But they looked so familiar.) Still though, Fireheart has other doubts about Tigerclaw. He wants to ask if he was also mistaken about Tigerclaw being alone in the den with Bluestar, with blood on his muzzle, just like how Tigerclaw was alone in the den with Brokentail. But, Fireheart stays silent for now. He doesn’t want to say the words aloud and give such a horrid thought life.

Tigerclaw adds in charm and manipulation to his gaslighting. He ���comforts” Fireheart, saying that it’s completely understandable that Fireheart’s stress and grief was getting the better of him and making him think he saw something that’s not there. But, Tigerclaw reassures him that while Bluestar’s death was terrible and tragic, it really perhaps ended up being for the greater good. Bluestar made their Clan weak, but Tigerclaw will make ThunderClan powerful, strong, and safe again, especially “with Fireheart at his side.” Having no solid evidence of Tigerclaw’s wrongdoing beyond knowing that Tigerclaw knew Brokenstar’s rogues somehow, Fireheart remains quiet, but the unshakeable trust he used to have in his brother has been broken.

Tigerclaw prepares to leave for the Moonstone, but not before he names Fireheart his deputy (seemingly to reward his loyalty, but also to keep a close eye on him.)

Book 5

Tigerstar returns to ThunderClan as their new leader, and Fireheart begins his role as deputy, although he feels like he’s constantly keeping an eye on Tigerstar. Fireheart wishes he had someone to confide in about his concerns about him, and he starts to miss Graystripe. Although Fireheart has close friends in ThunderClan like Dustpelt and Longtail, and a blossoming romance with Sandstorm, he knows they are all too loyal to Tigerstar for him to bring up his doubts. Fireheart starts to feel isolated.

Tigerstar, however, is well liked as a leader in ThunderClan. The Clan is shaken after Bluestar’s death and the vicious, mysterious attack, but Tigerstar promises to keep ThunderClan safe. He increases patrols and there is no hint of any dangerous cats in ThunderClan’s territory or nearby, reassuring almost all of ThunderClan.

Fireheart receives more and more intense dreams from StarClan. Throughout the previous books, they have been in contact with him this whole time, telling him that he is destined to right the wrongs of his father. Fireheart had previously thought they meant that they wanted him to be a great warrior of ThunderClan, like how Pine could not. But, in this book, Bluestar finally appears to tell him to his face that no, that’s not what StarClan means— they mean that his destiny is to stop Tigerstar. She tells him that StarClan always knew Tigerstar would harm ThunderClan. Pinestar had the power to end Tigerstar before he began, but he was too weak to do so. So now Fireheart had to fix his father’s mistakes. Fireheart puts 2 and 2 together and realizes that she is telling him that StarClan ordered Pinestar to kill his own kit, and even though Fireheart has his own doubts about Tigerstar, he is horrified by this. He argues that his father did the right thing by not killing an innocent child, but Bluestar says that Tigerstar is NOT innocent. Fireheart gets angry and says that Pine disobeying StarClan and leaving ThunderClan is proof that StarClan cannot control a cat’s destiny, so why couldn’t Tigerkit have grown into a better cat, and why can’t Tigerstar change his ways now? So far he’s been a decent enough leader of ThunderClan. Bluestar becomes furious, but the dream fades before she can say anything else. Fireheart wakes up, still wary of Tigerstar but determined to not follow StarClan’s orders to murder him in cold blood. He has seen good in him, so there may be a way to save him even if StarClan gave up on Tigerstar as soon as he was born.

A fire tears through the forest, and Tigerstar loses a life or two futilely trying to save some of the Clan’s elders. Fireheart sees this as proof of the fact that there is good in Tigerstar, and that he truly cares about ThunderClan. Maybe he really has been acting in the best interest of his Clan this whole time. Maybe Fireheart really had been mistaken about what he thought about the rogues and Bluestar. (Or maybe, even if Tigerstar killed Bluestar, maybe it was necessary for the good of ThunderClan. Maybe she really was too weak and leading ThunderClan down a bad path.)

ThunderClan shelters in RiverClan territory after the fire. Crookedstar is weak/ill and it is clear to Fireheart that Leopardfur will be leader soon. He notices that she and Tigerstar spend a lot of time alone together (an almost uncomfortable amount of time.) Fireheart wonders what Tigerstar is up to, and he also notices how uncomfortable Goldenflower also seems about the situation. Fireheart tries to awkwardly reassure his sister-in-law that he doesn’t think Tigerstar is interested in Leopardfur “like that.”

Fireheart is also happy to see Graystripe again, and the two strike back up a tentative friendship. Graystripe says he’s sorry to hear about Bluestar and asks how things have been now that Tigerstar is leader and Fireheart deputy. Fireheart considers telling Graystripe his doubts on Tigerstar, but because of the fire and his Bluestar dream, he decides against it, instead just saying things are good. Graystripe knows Fireheart well enough to sense him holding back. He doesn’t press, but he says that he’s willing to be there to talk with Fireheart if he ever needs it.

ThunderClan returns back to their camp and starts trying to rebuild. However, Fireheart is stunned when Tigerstar suddenly comes back to camp the next day with Brokentail’s rogues. ThunderClan is immediately on edge about this, but Tigerstar introduces them to ThunderClan as loyal cats who want to find a home in a Clan again. ThunderClan is hesitant about them joining, but Tigerstar tells the Clan that they need help rebuilding after the fire, and the cats have promised to work hard. 

Fireheart recognizes one of the rogues as someone that he saw at ThunderClan’s camp the day of the attack. Despite Tigerstar’s masterclass gaslighting, when Fireheart sees this cat, he knows in his bones that he witnessed this cat kill Brindleface. At the first chance he gets, Fireheart gets this cat alone, corners them and tells them that he knows they were there during the attack, threatening to tear them to shreds if they don’t tell him why they attacked the camp. After enough beating up/threatening, the cat spills that Tigerstar had promised the rogues a place in a Clan again if they staged a fight against ThunderClan, but that’s all they know. Fireheart’s head is spinning after this revelation, but he is still desperate to cling to the idea that Tigerstar was still somehow acting in ThunderClan’s best interest. Fireheart asks them that if Tigerstar told them to stage the fight, then why did the cat kill Brindleface, Tigerstar’s Clanmate? The cat shrugs desperately and responds that Tigerstar ordered them to make it “convincing.”

Book 6

Fireheart is shaken to his core after the rogue’s revelation, all the fragile barriers of denial and optimism he’d put up in his mind about Tigerstar crumbling down. He realizes the full implication of everything— Tigerstar probably did kill Redtail like Ravenpaw said, and then Fireheart knows he killed Brokentail, and then he had the rogues attack camp so he could likely kill Bluestar, not caring about his other Clanmate casualties in the process.

But, Fireheart knows that Tigerstar can’t learn what he knows yet; not until Fireheart knows what to do with this information. Fireheart threatens to kill the former rogue if they don’t stay quiet about this conversation, and they promise they will.

A few days pass with the rogues helping and hunting for ThunderClan, and the Clan grudgingly accepts them into ThunderClan. Fireheart meanwhile, has been spending the days ruminating. Should he just reveal Tigerstar’s actions to ThunderClan and put the judgement in the paws of the Clan? Should he talk to someone one-on-one about it first? Should he talk to Tigerstar about it? 

Before Fireheart decides anything, a Gathering happens, and ShadowClan doesn’t show up. Their elderly leader, Nightstar has seemed weak lately, but an entire Clan being absent is odd. The day after the Gathering, Tigerstar announces that he is taking a patrol to ShadowClan because he is “concerned” about their neighbors. Fireheart is brought along on the patrol with a group of Tigerstar’s most loyal followers, including the former rogues.

The former Brokentail rogues guide them to ShadowClan’s camp and they find the Clan in shambles from illness, which they are just now finally recovering from. ShadowClan is far too weak to do anything to the ThunderClan cats, but they are not pleased that they are there at all. The ThunderClan cats realize that Nightstar has died, and so Tigerstar imposes himself/ThunderClan under the guise of “helping” leaderless ShadowClan. He orders the ThunderClan cats to hunt for ShadowClan before they leave. Tigerstar also orders the stronger ShadowClan warriors to leave for ThunderClan camp with him so they don’t also get sick from their other Clanmates. ShadowClan protests that they can’t leave their sick Clanmates behind, but they are convinced by Tigerstar and the former rogues (their old Clanmates) that Tigerstar has their best interests in mind. (And besides, they are too weak to fight back.) Tigerstar leaves some of the old rogues in ShadowClan to keep the sick ShadowClan cat’s “safe” (guard them) and to hunt for them, and ThunderClan leaves.

On the trek back to camp, Fireheart talks to Tigerstar and protests this course of action, saying that ThunderClan needs to worry about itself and healing from the fire, and not with ShadowClan. Besides, taking even the healthy ShadowClan warriors back to camp may risk exposing ThunderClan to illness. Tigerstar shuts Fireheart down by snapping at him to stop questioning him, and he knows what’s best for ThunderClan.

ThunderClan has mixed reactions to the new ShadowClan cats in camp. Even Sandstorm is questioning things despite her loyalty to Tigerstar. Fireheart knows now he must talk to someone about his worries with Tigerstar, but he still fears Sandstorm is too close to their leader. He seeks out Graystripe on the border, and confides everything (what’s going on currently with ShadowClan and what Tigerstar has done in the past) to him. Graystripe believes him since he’s been wary of Tigerstar for a while (he was Ravenpaw’s friend too, and wonders to Fireheart if Tigerstar could have “silenced” him.) Graystripe is very worried for his old Clan, but he tells Fireheart he can’t do anything to help. Crookedstar died and Leopardstar is now leader. Leopardstar doesn’t like Graystripe so he has to keep his toes in line if he wants to stay in RiverClan. Graystripe urges Fireheart to tell ThunderClan the truth, but Fireheart despairs that in comparison to Tigerstar, he is still a “kittypet” and the Clan will always believe Tigerstar over him. He has no witnesses for anything besides the rogues who attacked the camp, and they are likely more scared of Tigerstar than him, so they’d stay quiet. Graystripe tells him to have more faith in himself and his Clanmates.

Tigerstar begins to integrate ShadowClan into ThunderClan more, until there is no more ShadowClan. Tigerstar declares their joint Clan by a new name, TigerClan, promising a glorious new era for the forest.

Many cats are troubled by this but are too scared or too influenced by their peers to speak up. Fireheart is becoming more and more troubled as Tigerstar starts to show more tyrannical traits. It doesn’t help that Fireheart’s sleep is constantly disrupted. His dreams are haunted by annoying StarClan almost every night, sending frantic messages and pleas for him to stop Tigerstar. Despite his connection with Tigerstar, Fireheart is on board with stopping him now, but he doesn’t know how to go about it.

Fireheart tries one final appeal to his brother, hoping the cat he used to believe in was still in there somewhere. He talks to Tigerstar privately, laying his cards on the table. He tells him that he knows that Tigerstar always has ThunderClan’s best interests at heart, but ThunderClan is meant to have its own identity— they are meant to be separate Clans. It is wrong to join with ShadowClan. Fireheart begs him that it’s not too late, Tigerstar can still change course and be the amazing leader for ThunderClan Fireheart knows he can be. In response, Tigerstar’s paw flashes out, hitting Fireheart across the face so hard, he’s knocked to the ground, seeing stars. As Fireheart lies there in a daze, Tigerstar snarls that he is a great leader, and if Fireheart ever questions him like this again, Fireheart would no longer be deputy, and he’d be lucky to still even be a TigerClan cat.

Fireheart knows now it is past the point of no return. Tigerstar announces a new alliance with Leopardstar, having RiverClan join the TigerClan fold. Tigerstar seems to have realized he may have pushed Fireheart too hard, though, since he changes tactics. He is back to acting reasonable, trying to spin the action as something good for Fireheart since it will reunite him and Graystripe, and it will prevent more fighting and bloodshed between the Clans if they are united. Fireheart agrees with him, knowing he has no choice but to do so. On the inside, though, the gears have started turning. Fireheart fears he may be running out of time to reveal Tigerstar’s crimes to everyone. He is so powerful now that he is at the helm of three Clans. How could Fireheart ever hope to stop that?

After spending some time carefully judging Sandstorm’s attitude on the whole thing, Fireheart finally confides in her everything that he knows about Tigerstar. To his immense relief, Sandstorm has enough doubts in Tigerstar and enough love for Fireheart by now that she believes him and is horrified. She wants to announce everything to everyone immediately, but Fireheart tells her that they need to be careful since Tigerstar is so powerful with so many allies (Leopardstar and the former rogues mostly.) Sandstorm points out that Fireheart used to be Tigerstar’s most staunch ally, so, like him, cats may change their mind if they trust them enough to tell them the truth. 

Fireheart finally agrees with Sandstorm, but he thinks they still need to gather more supporters before they say anything, just in case. The pair (plus Graystripe in the old RiverClan camp) start looking around for more disaffected cats. They are easy to find in ShadowClan, Russetfur emerging as the natural leader of the group, and Graystripe has some luck with a few in RiverClan as well. However, Fireheart and Sandstorm are having a lot of trouble trying to navigate their Clanmates who are naturally the most loyal to Tigerstar.

Meanwhile, Tigerstar continues to escalate. He announces his plan to unite all the Clans in TigerClan, and starts threatening WindClan to join them or else. Regular battles against WindClan begin, but Tallstar learned from Brokenstar and WindClan turns to guerrilla warfare to survive. WindClan moves completely underground in the tunnels, where no other Clan can follow or find them. They only come out when it’s safe to hunt or to launch winnable attacks against smaller TigerClan patrols before retreating back into the tunnels. 

Tigerstar grows increasingly frustrated and angry at WindClan’s holdout. WindClan’s ability to navigate through the tunnels and appear seemingly everywhere throughout the forest is also making him paranoid. This just gets worse when Tigerstar catches wind of the stirring rebels. He starts capturing and killing “traitors” (although his focus is suspiciously focused on half-Clan cats.) This includes RiverClan’s former deputy Stonefur (who was really in the forming rebel group) but also cats Tigerstar just does not like, or Tigerstar finds rude/spoke out of turn. Not long after the executions begin, Tigerstar also orders Mistyfoot, Graystripe, his kits, and Russetfur to be imprisoned for treason. It is obvious that they will all be executed.

Fireheart finally decides he cannot wait any longer. He sends Sandstorm to take a desperate message to WindClan to ask for their support, and tells the rest of the rebels to ready themselves. As Tigerstar assembles all of TigerClan to hold the trials/executions of the prisoners, Fireheart jumps forward to interrupt Tigerstar’s rant about the traitors. In a heartbroken speech, Fireheart announces all of Tigerstar’s crimes, accusing Tigerstar as the real traitor and tyrant. Fireheart says that he used to admire Tigerstar so much, but he has spent seasons lying to him, and ThunderClan, and everyone. Tigerstar has betrayed the very nature of the Clans by attempting to conquer them all and killing his Clanmates, and must be stopped. Once Tigerstar recovers from the shock of Fireheart suddenly standing against him, he snarls for someone to seize his brother. But as Tigerstar’s loyalists head towards Fireheart, the rebels leap from the crowd to protect him, yowling for the rest of the cats to join them in overthrowing Tigerstar. 

Absolute chaos breaks out, with some cats joining fighting on the side of rebels, others staying loyal to Tigerstar, while others simply flee, not wanting to be in the fight at all. It is brutal, with Clanmate against Clanmate fighting at times, and neither side making much progress until slowly it seems the Tigerstar loyalists are gaining the upper hand. But, the tide is turned as Sandstorm arrives with WindClan in tow for back-up. 

A bloodied and injured Tigerstar finds Fireheart in all the fighting, determined to kill him for causing all this. But, Fireheart doesn’t attack, instead telling him to end it and order his loyalists to stop. The fighting is only hurting everyone, with Clanmate against Clanmate, and TigerClan is now outnumbered and has clearly lost. Tigerstar furiously snarls that he hasn’t lost until they’re all dead, and he’s lost every nine of his lives. Tigerstar launches himself at Fireheart, and they fight. Fireheart is unable to overpower his brother alone (for emotional reasons but also just because Tigerstar is a beast even when injured) but Sandstorm and Russetfur come to his aid and together they kill Tigerstar. The fighting ends with his death and the capture of Leopardstar, who remained loyal to him. 

Once the dust settles a grateful ShadowClan goes home, making Russetstar their new leader. Leopardstar is exiled, and Mistystar takes her place as leader of RiverClan. ThunderClan tries to piece themself back together after Tigerstar’s death, and despite it all, Fireheart still grieves for his brother. Fireheart goes to the Moonstone, where StarClan thanks him for righting the wrongs of his father and saving the Clans. Fireheart retorts that he didn’t do it because of StarClan’s prophecy, but he did it because protecting his Clanmates was the right thing to do. But, Fireheart still believes that cats should be free to make their own destiny regardless of what StarClan says. Despite Fireheart’s back talk, StarClan still grants him his nine lives and it concludes with Firestar becoming leader of ThunderClan.

And that’s the end! I’m curious to hear any thoughts on this, so leave a comment if you’d like. And, by the way, I don’t think I’ll ever write any fanfic for this AU myself, but if this inspires you to want to create something, go for it! Just please credit me in someway if you stick really closely to my outline, and let me know about it regardless because I’d love to see it :) 

[satanic-fruitcake]

hello hello GUESS who just got to the ugly truth in his farscape rewatch again!! (me fave episode yippeee) i notice something new every time i watch it, so i thought i’d finally compile all my observations!

Aeryn’s Version Of Events

She views Zhaan as indecisive and a total pushover. “i’ll need to meditate on this”, “well i don’t know who to believe!”

Aside from Zhaan she has the most merciful view of Crais. it’s fairly obvious, and just as obvious why, we all know. but it felt like a disservice not to at least mention it. The whole thing is a real testament to how far she’s come.

Zhaan’s Version of Events

She’s the only one besides Stark who explicitly lies to their faces, and i find it so so compelling. you go girl. she’s such a shitty priest <3

Zhaan portrays John as an indecisive pushover, almost childlike in his inability to form his own opinion.

She characterises everyone as so ridiculously passive and it’s hilarious. even Crais, which is interesting. “the Plokavians are going to have great difficulty believing that was an accident!” LMAOO

She’s also SUCH an ass-kisser. “the Plokavians are strong believers in truth and justice 😇” okay girl.

Related to this she also has herself, instead of Stark, be the one who explains the Plokavians to the others, demonstrating her tendency to paint herself as smarter and wiser than she really is, and to not really listen to those around her.

She goes to the very unnecessary effort to describe the made up scene where she and Stark admire the Plokavian ship and hold hands. it’s really cute. and a really funny attempt at painting Stark as peaceful and non-threatening.

Stark’s Version of Events

Noticeably shorter than the others but i’m obsessed with him so of course i’ve noticed the tiny subtle little details. for example. he characterises not just Crais, but everyone as slightly colder than they really are, demonstrating how little he really knows the Moya crew in comparison to how well they know each other. He doesn’t even have a cute little moment of remembering Zhaan fondly.

He’s the only one who doesn’t paint himself as the leader. (yes, they all do it, or at least paint themself as the most rational, most just aren’t as obnoxious about it as D’argo.) he has a very black and white view of the situation. John is the hero whose opinions everyone has time for, and Crais is the villain. Stark paints himself as a mere observer on the sidelines. i think it’s a mix of the following: 1) a result of a lifetime of slavery, being unimportant and ignored, and 2) a manipulation tactic, a defence mechanism, much like his strategic mad outbursts.

His admiration of John is very obvious.

Even the camera work is telling. his memory includes a lot of close ups to character’s faces, and when it cuts to him, his eyes are darting around between them all. he’s studying their micro-expressions.

D’argo’s Version of Events

It’s hard to say anything about this beyond it’s just really really funny. his version of John is such a yes-man. he has the most explicit I Am The Leader vibe because of course he does.

Zhaan’s “violence would not solve the problem” is such a simplified portrayal of her character, her worldview, the advise she often gives. 3 possible reasons for this off the top of my head: 1) he doesn’t really listen when she talks. 2) he listens, but he doesn’t understand. 3) he just wants this to be simple. he wants this to be over so he can get out of here and find his son, so he’s glossing over things.

His characterisation of Stark is very funny. totally unhinged and pathetic. more on this at the end.

and finally:

Crichton’s Version of Events

The closest to the unbiased truth. maybe. who knows. you decide.

Right from the start, he places himself behind Crais. no one else puts him there.

Now that i’m rewatching it as i’m writing this, he doesn’t paint himself as much of a leader either. he paints the Moya crew as a united front, up until Stark approaches the console.

No one else but John remembers Zhaan being the one to say “you mean your control.” in response to Crais claiming Talyn would be even more aggressive without his guidance. she’s a bit passive aggressive about it as well. regardless of wether she really says it, it’s such an interesting little moment to me, how John sees this cold version of her, likely because he was only one who saw firsthand how she killed her lover in Rhapsody in Blue. he understands her capacity for pragmatism, even cruelty, better than anyone i think.

Whether his story contains bias and inconsistencies, his characterisation of Crais as surprisingly reasonable proves he’s making a clear effort to be as objective as he can.

“PLOKAVOIDS”

This really is my favourite farscape episode, i love it so much. and i think it’s because, although not obvious at first glance, it’s clearly the first Stark Episode, (like I,ET is the first John Episode and Rhapsody In Blue is the first Zhaan Episode) A defining trait of Stark’s is that he’s a character who is very at the mercy (scrutiny) of other’s (mis)conceptions of him. his line about outsiders thinking his people don’t feel, but it’s only that they don’t always show. his defence mechanism being acting crazy or more incompetent than he is. (his prey animal swag has enchanted me body and soul) everyone’s lack of trust in him. this episode lays the groundwork for all of that. i once saw a review shitting on this episode for bringing back a guy no one cares about and then sacrificing him expecting the audience to care about him despite not having given him time to become likeable. it’s a valid point, but i think this is the episode that makes you care about him, or at least form your opinion.

thanks for reading!!

[ultra-raging-ghost]

Errrrrmmmmmm my first time writing qsmp..... just a short drabble while i anxiously await forever and bads first post-purgatory interaction </3

Another lovely day on the QSMP server.

President Forever is out and about, assuring his presence around town. After the events of purgatory, the residents were left with scrapes and bruises, but not to their relationships.

Forever hadn't been around for too long, only waking up briefly for a few hours after the ship landed to drag himself off the boat and crawl into bed. This was the longest he'd been awake since, and he'd used his time to check on the eggs in the hospital, and make his presence known amongst the islanders that he had seen today.

Pac, Fit, Tubbo, the early risers. He'd briefly seen Phil earlier coming out of the hospital, he had spent the night in there sitting next to Tallulah and Chayanne's beds and was returning to his house in the wall. They had briefly stood to chat, "Have you uh... who all have you seen today?" Phil had asked him, looking nervous and a little tired.

"Hm... Tubbo, Fit, Pac, I think i spotted someone else earlier but im not sure, why do you ask?" Forever responded in kind, anxious to get to his son as soon as possible. "You haven't seen Bad?" Phil asked, he normally wakes up later on, but somehow he always knows when Forever's around, "...Nevermind, i gotta go, good luck!" He shoved off, gingerly ruffling his sore and healing wings as he went, clutching his backpack to his body.

An odd interaction to start his day, but Quesadilla island is always a little odd! Especially with the morning crew, weird happenings were pretty common! And anyway, it was quickly forgotten when Richas entered his view... his little egg..

no longer stone

Speaking of eggs, while walking along the path of spawn a soft pattering could be heard of little egg feet! Forever stopped in his tracks, surprised but excited to see which little one was running up to greet him!

A black top hat entered his view, circling around his feet. Forever laughed fondly, "Dapper!" he cried out, "You're here! You're alive how are you!" He waited patiently as the egg started scribbling on the sign, "MR. PRESIDENT!" she announced excitedly, jumping around at his feet.

"Dapper, my boy, where is-?" Forever started to speak before being interrupted by a familiar voice, "Dapper!" Badboyhalo called out to the little egg, chasing after them with his tail whipping wildly behind him, "What did i tell you about running off, dapper! I can't keep up, you've gotta be careful!"

Bad looked worse for wear, more so than usual. His clothes were stained in blood and dirt and mud, his cyan eye stared Forever in the face as if it were trying to commit a personal offense against him.

He was still beautiful.

"Ah, Badboy! How are you! You look like a mess!" Forever greeted him happily, dragging Bad into a tight squeeze. Bad Didnt hug back, as he usually does, but this time he seemed a little different.

Dapper was anxiously fretting around their feet, seemingly trying to get Forever's attention. Unfortunately for them, he was too preoccupied with his beloved at the moment. He held onto bad's shoulders, gripping him at arms length. Unfortunately all he got back from Bad was a blank but friendly stare, punctuated by a hard blink, "Hi! It's nice to meet you! Have we met before?"

Dapper stills at their feet, done placing frantic signs. Forever's blood turns to ice.

[the-crimson]

Q!BBH and Generational Trauma

For a long time this has been something I’ve noticed in the halo family that I’ve strongly related to. Idk if it’s an intentional theme bbh and Dapmin (and pommin but im mainly gonna focus on Dapper) put into their characters but it’s definitely there. So heres my perspective on bbh’s character arc so far observed through a lens of generational trauma.

(Quick side note. Writing this post was a journey tm and my initial view of bbh and god’s relationship and what the afterlife scene meant shifts dramatically half way through XD)

Even if a parent does everything right, they will still hurt their children. It’s part of the job. It’s part of life. Even if we choose to be better than our parents, the scars they left will bleed onto our children. I think every family has an element of generational trauma - I certainly do but im not gonna trauma dump on yall - but the severity of it is a spectrum.

Q!bbh was cast from his home due to the conditional love of God/the Father and this has left a clear impact on him. His self worth is in the gutter and he lacked a sense of purpose. According to everything we know of bbh’s life before the island, he didnt really care for much of anything other than finding the next source of entertainment - i mean, he remembers the salem witch trials fondly because of the drama of it all regardless of the fact that hundreds of innocent women were murdered.

Was God being intentionally cruel or abusive? Probably not. From His perspective, he may see casting his angels from heaven as a temporary punishment - like spanking a child for throwing a tantrum - without really understanding the damage such treatment is actually doing. He isnt teaching his children the lesson he thought he was just as spanking a child doesnt teach them to behave, only to fear. Bbh redeemed himself in the eyes of the Father and thus was granted the choice to return home. The Father was doing his child a kindness, he was welcoming his lost angel back home because what fallen angel would ever choose anything other than Elysium? And thats the point of conflict. The Father thinks he is doing right by his child but hes only causing bbh more pain. Bbh has to choose between his own children and eternal salvation (that he knows can be taken away on a whim). His heart has been severed in two.

Bbh’s wounds from his disownment run so deep he doesnt even notice them and thus, doesnt notice how they impact his children. Dapper has taken after so many of bbh’s characteristics and a complete lack of self worth is one of them. Selflessness to the point of self annihilation. The fear of being a burden. The need to feel useful otherwise why am i even alive? Dapper was borderline suicidal because they felt useless and nearly killed themself trying to be useful by farming soul hearts and they learned all of this behavior from Bad. Bbh showed Dapper unconditional love but it wasnt enough. Bbh couldnt save Dapper from his own trauma.

Breaking cycles of generational trauma takes more than just realizing how you were raised didnt work and trying something else. Bbh never healed from the wounds left by the Father and thus they were passed down to his own son.

When i started writing this analysis, i thought that this was the tragedy between bbh and the Father. God was too stuck in his ways to understand what His child needs, what would truly make bbh happy. I thought that the Father had not changed. His love remained conditional. Bbh could only come home if he chose god/heaven. The door might be closed next time. This is his only chance of coming home. But now after laying it all out like this… it made me wonder why the Father decided now of all times was when bbh redeemed himself. My initial cynical reading was that the Father was putting bbh through a test of loyalty. He only truly earned his redemption if he would abandon his children in favor of god/heaven but now… i can see a more hopeful reading.

God watched bbh become a father. He watched bbh become a better person through fatherhood. He also watched as the trauma He caused was passed onto bbh’s child. If the Father wanted bbh to come home because he’d redeemed himself, then the Father could have snapped bbh away at any time. Perhaps thats what He would have done 14,000 years ago when bbh first fell. What if the Father recognized his mistake? What if this was His attempt to fix things after seeing just how much damage He’d done? What if he did finally understand what bbh truly needed?

Bbh was stuck in his trauma because he lacked agency in his current state. The Father still had all the power between them by holding heaven hostage. The only way bbh could ever start to heal from this damage was if he was given back the choice that was made for him. Bbh needed to choose one way or another in order for him to take the first step towards healing even if it causes him anguish in the moment. He needed the choice. He needed the freedom to refuse.

But giving freedom to your children can be scary. What if they make the wrong choice? What if they screw up and ruin everything? For a god who expects perfection from his children, freedom must be terrifying. Giving His children freedom means giving them the option to turn away from him. But that is part of being a parent.

What if unlocking the gates was an apology? Im sorry i hurt you. Im sorry i made this choice for you. I see you. I wont take this choice from you again. Its too late to change the past but you can change the future. Dont make my same mistakes.

What if it was a gift? God relinquished his leverage over bbh and gave him the option to come home. An opportunity for bbh to break the cycle. A chance for bbh to make a choice for himself for once. To free him of the shackles that tied him to God. To heal and stop his own son from continuing the cycle of generational trauma.

After all, the greatest gift a god can give is the freedom to choose one’s own destiny.

[aethelredism]

22 and ingilmundr

When Ingilmundr is five, his father loses a battle against the Saxons. The price he must pay is a hostage. A son.

His only son.

Ingilmundr weeps when they take him away, even though his mother told him not to. “You will bring shame to your father,” she warned him.

He weeps, and watches through his tears as his father’s neck stiffens, his head turning away from the sight of the crying boy. When Ingilmundr remembers his father in the years to come, he will think of this wretched moment; of him, crying, and his father, turning away in shame.

.

The Saxons bring him to a place called a monastery, where men in coarse brown robes and wooden crosses try to teach him about the Christ-God. He shuts his ears against their stories, because his father has told him everything he needs to know about the Christ-God. There are many gods, not just one, and Ingilmundr will never trade Thor’s hammer for a flimsy wooden cross.

He does not shut his eyes, though, when they teach him how to read. Ingilmundr buries himself in the calfskin pages, stories of kings and battles and miracles from the Christ-God unfolding before his hungry eyes.

“Your eagerness to learn will take you far, Ingilmundr,” the abbott tells him.

His eagerness to learn takes him into minsters and monasteries all across England, where they forget he is the hostage Ingilmundr Anlafson and know him only as a Brother in Christ. Monks aren’t always peaceable book-readers, he soon learns; some of them are as hard as the land they till, made harder still by having to defend their flocks against Scottish and Welsh raiders. Someone, at some point, forgets who he is and puts a sword in his hand, and as with his books, Ingilmundr is a quick study.

He is good with a sword; better than most, even. Somehow, over the years, he finds himself given more and more chances to use it.

He knows he should be gratified. He is a Dane, and the son of one of the greatest sword Danes in the world.

And yet.

And yet, Ingilmundr prefers his books. He loves the letters carefully and lovingly shaped by monks in their quiet scriptoriums, he loves the stories they tell, he loves the gilded pages and imagines this is what the bridge Bifrost is made of.

But no one wants to talk to a Dane about his books.

Until one day, someone does.

He meets Aethelstan by chance. If he truly believed in God, he would say it was His will. As it is, he cannot help but feel that the gods might have thrown Aethelstan in his path. They talk all day and into the night: about faith, about books, about swords, about fathers. Ingilmundr has lived amongst the Saxons longer than he has not, but he has always viewed them as separate from himself until now. Now, when he looks at Aethelstan, he sees himself mirrored in those dark eyes.

When Aethelstan kisses him, Ingilmundr does not hesitate to kiss back.

.

In the morning, he sets out on trembling legs, telling his brothers he is journeying to find a rare book. They smile and shake their heads.

“Ingilmundr and his books,” they say fondly, but they do not stop him. It does not occur to any of them that he could be lying, that he might yearn for anything that lies beyond the turn of a page.

His trembling legs somehow carry him all the way to Dyflin, where his father now rules as king. The Danes almost do not let him into the high hall, plucking at his short hair and the cross around his neck, but he shouts his name over and over, Ingilmundr Anlafson, I am Ingilmundr Anlafson, until a woman with sharp teeth says, “It’s him; he has his mother’s look.”

She brings him into the high hall, where a man he remembers turning away in shame sits on a carved throne.

“Father,” he says, his legs trembling so hard he can barely stand.

“You will call me ‘lord’ as long as you wear that cross around your neck,” Anlaf Guthfrithson growls.

Ingilmundr pulls off the cross. “I never forgot who I was. Who my real gods are.”

Anlaf takes in his Saxon clothes, his Saxon hair, and turns away in shame.

Ingilmundr swallows. “I have lived amongst the Saxon and learned their ways, it’s true. But I never forgot who my people are. And I have come here because I know how to win England for our people once and for all.”

Anlaf drums his fingers against the arm of his throne. “How?”

Ingilmundr takes a step forward. In the shadows, a dog growls in warning. Ingilmundr takes a step back. “Their king, Edward, sickens. His son and heir, Aethelstan…he is fond of me. I can make him bend to my will.”

Anlaf snorts. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Ingilmundr says with cold certainty.

Anlaf is quiet for a long moment. When he stands, Ingilmundr realizes that they are almost the same height; even so, the other man still seems to tower over him. “It will not work. The Christian kingdoms have always united against us.”

“Aethelstan will offend them until they have no choice but to join with us. I will make it so.”

Anlaf considers him…and then he smiles, an ugly, sharp smile, but a smile nonetheless. “I believe you will.”

Ingilmundr doesn’t know what he’s expecting; an embrace, perhaps, an invitation, some sign that his father is proud. Instead, Anlaf says, “Go back to England, and await my instructions. I will send your sister Astrid to you.”

“Yes, lord.” Astrid. His sister by his father’s other woman, little more than a squalling brat the last time he’d seen her. Ingilmundr does not yet realize that the squalling brat is now a warrior, and their father’s chosen heir. He will learn this when it is too late to change his mind.

“And Ingilmundr.”

He cannot read the look on his father’s face. “Do not throw my name around like that again. You might get shit on it.”

Ingilmundr turns away in shame.

[lailyn]

All The Plans We Didn't Make: Chapter 5/?

"For Norn's sake, will you sit down?"

 

Thor forced himself to stop.

 

"Goodness," Loki said coolly. "I think you've burned a hole in the carpet."

 

Now that his pacing had come to a halt, Thor felt the need to give Loki another piece of his mind. “You must be honest with him. How can you hope to be what you should be to each other otherwise?”

 

Loki rolled his eyes. “Do you seriously think making a baby suddenly makes an honest person out of someone? Have you never watched Paternity Court?”

 

“What’s that?” Thor asked in bafflement.

 

“Just a show,” Loki said vaguely. “Your strange friend the doctor recommended it. He said it would give me insight into the human psyche, specifically of men who bred women, only to then claim they didn’t.”

 

“You shouldn’t watch the shows here on Midgard,” Thor said ominously. “They are not made for intelligent viewing.”

 

Loki snorted fondly. “Except for the Discovery Channel, you mean.”

 

“But of course. The Discovery Channel’s brilliant,” Thor said. “It tells you how things are made, everything from Pop-Tarts to babies.”

 

“Oh, I assure you, they know how to make them.” Loki cupped his belly contemplatively. “But this was not his doing.” 

 

“Oh,” Thor stammered. “S-Sorry, I just presumed - Barnes is not - he isn’t the father?” 

 

“Of course he is, you idiot! I meant - ”

 

A withering look and a deep breath later, Loki tried again. “I only meant…that it was by mistake that the child came into being, and the mistake was mine.”

 

“That is a matter of perspective,” Thor said with a shake of his head. “You act like you have hit a brick wall, but a child could only be a blessing, not a mistake.”

 

“A wall…” Loki’s heart began to race as another memory resurfaced at Thor's words. “Do you remember the one time Father wanted to build the strongest walls around Asgard?"

 

After a long  grave pause. 

 

“I remember,” Thor said.

 

“Whatever happened to the builder?”

 

“The Jotun to whom you promised Freya’s hand should he succeed?”

 

Loki nodded slowly. 

 

Thor licked his lips, a nervous tic Loki thought his brother had long lost. “I killed him.”

 

Loki hummed. “I’d have liked to have seen that.” 

 

“You disappeared,” Thor said quietly.

 

“I did, yes,” Loki murmured. He closed his eyes, his forehead creasing in consternation. “Where did I go?” 

 

When he opened his eyes once more, his pupils had blown, black and wide. “I nearly died birthing him, did you know that?”

 

Thor's head jerked, as if slapped across the face. 

 

“Did Father love him?” Loki wondered aloud. “Sleipnir?”

 

“Loki, stop this.”

 

Ignoring Thor’s increasing agitation, Loki continued casually. “When you take someone’s child away, the onus falls on you to love them, does it not?”

 

Loki looked up at his brother. “Did you love him? Mother wiped my memories, but did you love my son, on my behalf?”

 

“I was selfish then,” Thor said, voice deep steeped in regret. “The people I loved…were few.”

 

Then came a hush, a silence so absolute only the sounds of Thor’s ragged breathing filled the room.

 

“Fair enough,” Loki finally said. “Your encompassing love for yourself did not exactly allow for the welfare of others.”

 

“After all these years…” Thor whispered. “Why have the memories come back?”

 

Loki’s countenance darkened. “You would have kept me in the dark for all eternity, and you do not see the problem with that.”

 

“Your grief was too great. It was devouring you.”

 

“That’s your excuse? Mercy?” Loki hissed. “You know better than I the terms of the geas Mother placed on me. Every drop of water an abortifacient, every morsel that passed my lips a prophylactic. All administered against my will.”

 

“I am complicit. I am neither denying nor justifying my part in any of it,” Thor barked. “All I want to do now is to help you. Why can’t you see that?”

 

“If you really want to help me, take me back to Asgard right now.”

 

Thor inhaled deeply as he strived for composure. “You were the one who wanted to come, Loki. What precisely is the matter?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Thor’s eyes narrowed. “You’re keeping me talking to stop Barnes from coming in. Try again.”

 

“It’s complicated.”

 

“Uncomplicate it,” Thor growled. “If anyone could dumb anything down for anybody, it’s you.”

 

“Bucky can’t be a part of this.”

 

Thor was silent for a while. “That is not fair.”

 

An involuntary laugh burst out of Loki. “Since when have you cared about what is fair and what is not? You, who have always done what you wanted with not a single thought for others?”

 

“You will not defend your choices by glorifying mine,” Thor said roughly. “They were my mistakes, my burden to carry.”

 

“You hypocrite.” Tears of accusation dewed on Loki’s lashes. “You knew.” 

 

Thor turned ashen as uncertainty warred with terror. What horrible, unearthed secret Loki was alluding to now?

 

“You knew I was getting too close. Why didn’t you speak? Why didn’t you warn me?”

 

“What on earth are you talking about?” Thor gaped. “Warn you of what? Love?”

 

“Finding love is easy,” Loki said bitterly. “Keeping it is another matter entirely.”

 

“I can’t see into the future, Loki. I can’t tell you if this is going to end well or badly for you, just like I couldn’t tell with Jane Foster and myself. But for the short time that she lived, I was happy," Thor said, his voice cracking. "We were happy."

 

Loki looked away, not willing to look Thor's pain in the eye.

 

“I will not stand between you and happiness, Loki.” 

 

“Happiness...” Loki’s wandering gaze dropped to his lap, and he sighed. “To yearn for happiness is to hope. To hope is to live half a life. It is a death sentence.”

 

Thor straightened his shoulders. He was nothing if not relentless. “Brother, hear me. If you care for him, let it be his decision.”

 

Loki closed his eyes lest his tears do the unthinkable such as falling. “I hear you, Thor, loud and clear."

 

"Then, why?"

 

"I am not ready," Loki sniffed. "I am simply not ready.”

 

Thor pinched his forehead. “What will you have me do?”

 

“Take me home,” Loki pleaded again. “Before I tie a knot I can’t undo.”

 

“I’ve never known you to run.”

 

“In all the centuries we’ve lived, how have you not realised?” Loki asked in disbelief. “Running is all I do.”

 

A sudden realisation dawned on Thor, hitting him like a ton of bricks.

 

“Of course,” Thor breathed out. “That explains it.”

 

“Explains what?” he heard Loki ask dimly.

 

“Why you’re running,” Thor said. “You are afraid that Barnes will not love this child.” 

 

Loki’s jaw gave an imperceptible spasm.

 

“I have seen you two together, and there is no doubt in my mind that you love each other. And I have no doubt that if there is a child, they would be cherished,” Thor said. “Unequivocally.”

 

Loki averted his traitorous eyes, but his silence spoke volumes.

 

“It is either that, or you’re running just to see if he will chase after you.”

 

A swell of rage filled Loki’s chest and red swallowed his vision.

 

“To Hel with this!” With a snarl, he threw back the covers and catapulted out of the bed. He waved a hand and his belly returned to its former flatness, the maddening bump instantly hidden behind a glamour. 

 

Thor wedged himself between Loki and the door, but Loki had other ideas. 

 

The windows imploded with a loud crash with the force of Loki’s seidr. He was hoisting himself onto the ledge when the door swung open with a bang, nearly coming off its hinges. 

 

A black shadow flew past Thor like the wind. 

 

A low voice rasped, “Don’t you dare - ” and Loki found himself pulled backward, almost tripping on the pile of blanket on the floor.  

 

If you don’t mind,” Bucky snapped at Thor, “I need to talk to your brother.”

 

“By all means,” and like the doctor before him, Thor slunk out of the room as fast as he could.  

 

“You’re not leaving," Bucky growled. "Not before you tell me what’s really going on.”

 

“There is nothing going on!” Loki shouted.

 

“Bullshit. I haven’t seen or heard from you in days. Then you show up, looking like you’d rather be anywhere in the world but here, and what do you do next?” Bucky’s voice rose despite all his effort to remain calm. “You fell into the water and nearly killed yourself.”

 

"Please,” Loki scoffed. “That is an utter exaggeration - ”

 

"Shut up,” Bucky said quietly. “That day, you told me you had lost something. You couldn't tell me what it was. Or you chose not to, I don't know. Then you told me you love me. Was that a lie?”

 

“How can you say that?” Loki took a step back in horror, but Bucky’s metal fingers tightened around his wrist so tightly prying them apart would inevitably cause something to break.

 

“Then have the will to finish what you started!” Bucky shouted.

 

Loki’s face fell. “James…”

 

Bucky grabbed Loki’s other hand -

 

“Love me,” he pleaded. “Love me like you’ve loved the ones before me. Love me freely. Love me more.”

 

He crushed Loki’s icy fingers against his hot, flushed face. “Because I love the hell out of you.”

 

Loki stood stock-still, wide-eyed and silent.

 

Seconds passed, one heartbeat at a time. 

 

“You said you were going to break my heart one day,” Bucky choked out, expecting the worst. “Don’t let it be today.”

 

“James,” Loki said faintly.

 

"Not today, Loki."

 

"Bucky," Loki called quietly. “I am with child.”

 

“What?”

 

“I am pregnant.”

 

All breath left Bucky like he had been socked in the gut. “You’re pregnant.”

 

Loki exhaled shakily, “I’m afraid so.”

 

“I, ah…I need to - ” Bucky swallowed. “I think I need to sit down.”

 

“So do I, it seems,” Loki gasped before his knees buckled.

 

Bucky grabbed Loki around the waist at the same time the glamour, hastily cast in the heat of the moment, fell away, revealing a burgeoning abdomen.

 

Bucky uttered a gasp. "What is this?"

 

"It's the child, it's - arghh!" Loki let out a cry as the pain intensified. Bucky hauled his writhing lover to his feet and helped him to the bed. 

 

“Wait here, I’ll find the doctor,” Bucky said frantically. “I think he’s still around - “

 

“No, there is no need,” Loki panted. “Too much excitement, that’s all. I’m alright, truly.”

 

“The hell you are - !”

 

“It will pass.” Loki’s hand clawed the front of Bucky’s shirt, pulling him in. “Just stay with me.”

 

Torn between fear and anxiety, Bucky braced one hand on the bed and braved the other to feel Loki’s stomach. 

 

When all he felt was soft, yielding flesh where a firm round mass had been only seconds ago, Bucky buried his face in Loki’s chest to stifle a mournful groan. “I don’t understand what’s going on...”

 

“I don’t either,” Loki said between a sob and a laugh. “But that’s okay…right?”

 

“You betcha.” Bucky pressed a fierce kiss to Loki’s sweat-dampened forehead. “We’ll figure it out.”

 

“Hmm,” Loki hummed, eyebrows scrunched together in knots.

 

Bucky tightened his hold around Loki. He thought of what Loki was carrying within him, the burden Loki must have endured ever since he knew. “You should have told me.”

 

Loki’s form gave a subtle jerk. “I know. I’m…sorry.”

 

“Gotta fix that window.”

 

“I’m sorry about that too.”

 

Bucky stared into the inky blinkness of Loki’s hair. “Why do I love you?”

 

“Dunno. You must be mad.”

 

Bucky chuckled softly. “I ain’t complaining.”

 

“I’m so tired.”

 

“Rest,” Bucky commanded. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”

 

“Urgh.”

[sophieswundergarten]

OOOHH IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME

Sticky is the only one with a fully functioning set out parents out of all of them

Now, this isn't really important, because they all love each other desperately and it's just one huge family of a bunch of odd parts and peoples, but it has the potential to be really sweet.

(Bit of spoilers for the books under the cut, as I discuss this idea more)

For people who have only seen the show: In the book series, it's Sticky's parents who push him into quiz competitions. He does still pretend to run away and hide so as to spy on them, but hears his parents saying something about "better off", and assumes they mean they're better off not having to care for him. At the end of the book, it is revealed that they, in the irrationality of believing they have lost their entire child, are saying that if their actions had driven him to run away, maybe he was better off without them as parents.

The neat thing about this (And, in my opinion, the reason that this version of Sticky's history is far superior to the show's), is that while it's pointed out that Curtain's messages are influencing the Washingtons ("The missing aren't missing, they're only departed", etc.), it's also mentioned that they loved him so much that they started looking for him before the messages stopped.

They have actually gone into debt looking for him, once they were able to get through the messages and begin searching. They eventually do figure out that he's with Mr. Benedict, and when Mr. B invites them in to talk to them about it, they just absolutely break down crying. They really do love Sticky and do a lot better as parents after they find him again. Anyways, this is resolved and Sticky goes back to living with his parents, who love him a whole lot and are much more careful of how they treat him (He's even a little frustrated by how over-protective they can be sometimes).

So, I was thinking about how sometimes it would be really cool for the other kids to "borrow" Sticky's parents. There are multiple times where they express how much they care about them, such as this passage from TPJ:

Mr. Washington was getting a wheelchair out of the trunk for Mrs. Washington, whose troubled knees kept her from walking much, but who nonetheless took a few painful steps to embrace Reynie and Kate. A short woman with walnut-colored skin, narrow shoulders, and a rather pouty mouth belied by the kindness in her eyes, Mrs. Washington couldn’t stop shaking her head as she turned the children’s faces left and right in her hands. “You both look years older already,” she said ruefully, as if she couldn’t bear the thought. Mr. Washington came up with the wheelchair, and his wife lowered herself into the seat and dabbed at her shining eyes. Mr. Washington, who resembled a larger version of Sticky—tall, slender, and bespectacled—was not much for words, but he smiled fondly and greeted the children with reserved pats on their shoulders.

And just think about these two awesome humans going to bake sales and dances and school events or what have you and pretending that they're the kid's parents. Obviously, they all have legal guardians, but sometimes it's probably easier to deal with stuff when there are two married adults there watching the children, just so people don't ask so many questions.

"That is definitely our Kate" They say, laughing as they claim responsibility for her when she's been caught scaling the third story of a building to get a better view of things.

"He's with us" They each place a hand on Reynie's shoulders when the mayor wants to kick him out of a press conference for being "too invested" in Stonetown's new orphanage policies.

"Yep, that one's ours" They smile in fond exasperation as the moderator of a slam poetry night explains that Constance has been banned for making another contestant cry.

"This is our son, and we're very proud of him" They stand behind Sticky as he hangs up flyers protesting the high pressure academic competitions put on children's mental health.

[neo-axe-oc-thoughts]

𓆝 AU NOTES - Guppy 𓆝

Hi, I put together some notes / added on to the timeline. It does focus a bit more on how I'm fitting in Black Ops 1, 2 (Flashbacks mainly), and Cold War. I've change a bit how Guppy Joins TF141, but I'm still working on how I want to zir to interact with the others in the task force .

/ / word count : 733

In this AU Bell survives the final countdown mission and is found by Mason and Woods who take them in. Both are unaware that Bell was brain washed, and thought they were helping of their own volition. When they find out about MK-Ultra they are pissed at Hudson for hiding this from them especially after what Mason has been through.

Whilst Bell starts to figure out who they are / who they were, they help take care of Mason's son David who is 2 or 3 years old. (Bell is about 23 at this point, and slowly starts to view Mason and Woods as their Uncles and David as their nephew.)

Operation Just Cause does happen but Woods doesn't end up killing Mason, just injuring him severely causing him to be hospitalised and put in a medically induced coma for a couple of months. Woods retires, and so does Mason soon after he wakes up.

Both talk about their feelings and feel like they are more then friends but not lovers. (Queer Platonic Relationships my beloved) They focus on taking care of David and Bell. David turns 18 and enlists into the US navy, Bell decides that they're going to leave the country and heads to Australia.

Guppy is born in 1997 and is named Harlow Rayner by xyr parents. Bell and Guppy first meet in an all ages Auslan class, Guppy becomes attached to Bell. A surprised to zir parents and others.

By the time Guppy is 10 Bell has become their baby sitter, taking better care of them than Guppy's Parents; who "struggle" raising an autistic kid. Guppy starts going an interest into puzzles and mysteries, after seeing some puzzle books around Bell's flat.

Soon after Guppy is introduced to Mason and Woods accidentally, when they surprise Bell with a visit. Both 100% think Guppy is Bell's kid at first and tease Bell about keeping Guppy a secret from them. Bell does explain that Guppy isn't their kid.

Mason and Woods share a look, before anything more can be said Guppy starts asking questions about them. Woods does most of the talking sharing stories to Guppy about them, Mason watching fondly as Woods does this. Guppy eventually has to leave, but Mason and Woods promise to stay in contact with xem via Bell.

Time skip as Guppy goes through the rest of Primary and Highschool, deciding they want to be like Bell, xe study 2 course in Uni for the next two years before joining the AUS Navy as a Intel Analysis. This is where Guppy and David meet professionally for the first time.

Guppy send 4 years in the Navy before switching to the Aus Intel Corps, getting the nickname "Guppy" for being a fish out of water. This is also where xe meet Laswell for the first time, helping her out with some missions she needs info for.

Modern Warfare II takes place and Laswell suggest to Price about adding another member, Price after seeing Guppy's file agree to a 3 month trial period. Guppy joins TF141 mid November, a couple of jabs at Guppy's nickname; but they seem to except xem pretty quickly.

Guppy spends zir first couple weeks helping with the cluster fuck that was Shepherds betrayal, not having a lot of free time to hangout with the rest of the task-force. Gaz and Price go on a couple day mission to help Alex and Farah out. (Atomgrad Raids)

After this Gaz and soap drag Guppy to the closest bar wanting to get to know zir better, the rest of the task force is also there. Whether by bribery or because they wanted to. Even though Guppy doesn't usually go out drinking they do enjoy xyr time out with the rest of the task force.

Mid December rolls around and the team gets a one week break for Christmas, Guppy stays at Base with Price and Gaz; Soap dragging Roach and Ghost to Scotland. Gaz eventually convincing zir to come to Urzikstan with him to meet Farah and Alex, who are basically unofficial members of the 141.

Guppy makes ANZAC biscuits before they leave hoping that Farah, Alex and the ULF soldiers might like something different from the usual rations. The couple days spent in Urzikstan are spent helping out Farah's forces rather than celebrating Christmas. Gaz does give a couple small gifts to Alex and Farah though.

/ /

This is all I have so far, hope you enjoyed reading it. I also just realised that Mason and Woods would be Great-Uncles, since Bell is basically Guppy's parent.

Small Note: The WW1 recipe for ANZAC biscuits last for up to two months, which is why I have Guppy baking them for the ULF.

[vigilskeep]

Okay but, thinking about how Hawke is always the one she blamed for their siblings' death in the prologue and how in Act 2, when checking in with Merrill Purple!Hawke can basically tell Merrill that Leandra blames Hawke for Bethany being in the circle despite Leandra begging them not to let her go on the expedition. And just more and more of Hawke shouldering more and more guilt for failing to combat forces outside of their control and how it applies to Keir and I just-!

he’s straight up not having a good time

the thing abt keir is that of all my hawkes, he agrees with leandra the most. for someone who is so outwardly different, he is very very much his mother’s son. he accepted the responsibility for his siblings’ safekeeping and anything that happens to them is on him; he would’ve blamed himself for that before she said anything and it would never occur to him to contradict her because in his view she’s right. sometimes that means he accepts things she hasn’t even said because he assumes, i.e. bethany is the favourite child, because of course she is, look at her, why wouldn’t she be. leandra is more protective and such of bethy than she is of keir but that’s for various complicated reasons and does not mean she loves keir any less, imo. it’s just how he reads it because he will always go for the simplest read on an emotional situation bc he’s not very good at this. and he’s not going to bring it up even if he had anything he wanted to say, because he doesn’t know how to look after leandra the way bethy does so he’s just trying to not be a problem

which is not to say that keir never upsets leandra. i’ve mentioned that keir has the Act Break Breakdown™️, where in the three years between acts 1 and 2 he largely doesn’t talk to his friends for the better part of a year, and he ‘comes back’ only to then start becoming a reaver whether anyone likes it or not. keir is trying not to bring all that home and his idea of the best way to do that would be to not be at home at all. that’s the selfless reason; the selfish reason is that keir loathes the amell estate for a long time. he was always trying to get out of gamlen’s house and be somewhere else, and the estate is even worse. he doesn’t want to fucking be here. i imagine he took several trips out of kirkwall entirely for weeks or months at a time, on jobs for meeran and the like. he’s not there for leandra in the act break after they lose bethy. he doesn’t know how to be

the thing about keir and leandra is that they’re designed to function with three other people inbetween them. keir’s an aggressive hawke who finds it really hard to be anything else. they’re supposed to have malcolm to follow or to fondly ally against (don’t listen to your father, darling, he can scare all the merchants from here to denerim but he still doesn’t know a sovereign from a silver) and carver to fondly bully (mother, tell the brat if he’s late to old barlin’s we’ll both lose our jobs and that waitress at dane’s refuge won’t even look him in the eye) and bethany who understands them both to translate between them (dearest, are you still awake? bethany says you had a bad day. oh, why didn’t you say something? look at those bruises. poor dear. when you were little you’d tell me anything. i remember when you’d skin your knee and come running straight to me...). with only the two of them left, there’s just the distance of those three people between them. left to his own devices in the estate, keir will just put as many diplomatic words as he can together and then walk out the door to where he can be himself. and by the time he would do anything to have spent more time with her it’s too late

[gamebunny-advance]

I didn't get a chance to vote on the poll, but also noticed what would have been my answer wasn't there so I'm writing it in now- I personally see it as he's their CREATOR first, manager second. They don't call him manager in a lot of materials, and they also don't call him father, they call him "Captain" or "sir," (this being pulled from largely the additional voice actor's portrayals at least, which I think are worth at least considering in a wider scope of interpretation)

That feels like the title or nickname he'd prefer they use, hence programming them TO use it for him- and that betrays neither fatherly intent nor producer intent, but pre-existing intent he didn't change (lifting from prior coding) or that he preferred. Beyond that he definitely refers to them as troops- it is their aesthetic, but it's more impersonal

the items you get for the lore on 1010 are toys, and while it's not stated, I've always thought there was an implication that he had made them- His relationship then isn't one of a father to sons, but of a creator about his creations, which IS different. It's why he's as willing to literally throw them at you in combat and, simultaneously, seemingly instinctively, puts a hand out in front of himself to protect them when the final attack is coming- even if they are tools to some degree, he MADE them what they are and he's PROUD of that- He doesn't want to see his work destroyed

Obviously this gets increasingly more complicated if you believe that 1010 gain sapience of some degree, but I still think the relationship isn't quite what I'd call fatherhood. He is simultaneously all the family they have and deeply, inherently unlike them- yet there is undeniably pieces of him and influences from him present in them, because every creation will reflect its creator in some way, in ways they can't even predict

Then, y'know, yeah, it's being a manager time. Ultimately he's gotta organize them and tell them what to do- how he feels about that could be a variety of ways, but he is doing it nonetheless, so something about it matters to him as well- likely the vow to serve the city thing, if leading a boyband is the way to ensure the lights stay on, then he's going to do it 'till his heart gives out.

To start, I do think you're getting a little caught up in the semantics of the poll, but since you're making the case that "creator" is different from "father," I'll hear you out.

And tbh, I really like that interpretation. It's a little more nuanced from what I'm used to seeing, and it is giving me something to sink my teeth into.

I do differ in that I don't think Neon J. personally made the toys or the base 1010: I felt like the implication of the MKI - MKIII standee was that 1010 has actually been around since the wartime era, since MKI 1010 are build more similarly to the recycled battlebots in the Metro Division. Parallel to that, I think it's implied that Neon J. is a cyborg due to suffering injuries in the war. Since they appeared to exist at the same time, it seemed more likely to me that 1010 and NJ's body originated from the same source, but not that NJ was necessarily the direct creator of either them or the toys. (Though, I will admit that knowing that the toy company is called "J-1" does imply that he has something to do with it. But to rectify that, I'm gonna say that he just bought out the company/factory, but he didn't start them.)

But that's just an argument of history. Both interpretations can still lead to the "creator" theory in the sense that NJ still views 1010 impersonally, but still fondly. Even if he didn't make the base, he still turned them into what they are today, which is still a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft.

It's not making him out to be this overly sentimental guy (which is ultimately what I dislike about most "father first" interpretations), but he's also not heartless, and I like that. It's retaining what many interpretations (including mine, sadly) sometimes miss out on, and that's that he's an artist, just like all the other stars. He values his craft, and 1010 are the result of that, for better or worse.

[curiosity-killed]

a familiar season

Word count: 2604

Content warnings: none!

Rajiat is an old woman when the imperator princep walks into her garden. Perhaps not in age—her own parents still live and would laugh themselves off their seats at her making such a claim—but somewhere in her wandering soul is a seed that has grown heavier, more compacted, than it ever was when she was young. She has lived through five rulers in Arradine, three kings in Soldato, her own son’s marriage, and more seasons of drought and rain than she can begin to tally. When Uther first suggested they step down to allow Rassler and Malia to take up their crowns, she had scoffed, but she has grown fond of the time permitted to her now to linger, indulge, rest.

The imperator shows far less ease with the idea. In the midst of a garden lush with late spring blossoms and designed to encourage meandering and relaxation, he stands stiffly and frowns faintly at the stone molding high above the plants. She lifts her brow, a little arch, at his choice of view. She invested far too many hours in designing this garden for it to be overlooked in favor of old stone.

Still, she supposes she ought to offer some leniency. It has been less than a year since he returned from the dead, and to her eyes, he left a part of himself there. More than—his right arm is crowned with a golden band but it does not hide the way he carries it a little away from his body and with more stiffness than his sword arm. His hair is tucked neatly in a high knot, but she has never seen either him or his mamán willingly forego the long tail that shows off the length of their hair.

Clearing her throat delicately, she pretends not to notice how he jumps and twists toward her with his hand tightening around his sword. Perhaps, she thinks as she gives him a polite smile and nod, he is also looking for rest in his own way.

Recognition eases the wariness from his expression and shifts his hand a hair further from his sword, and he gives her a shallow, respectful bow.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” he says, “I did not mean to intrude on your peace.”

“Please, Your Eminence,” she says lightly, “the gardens were meant to be enjoyed by friends.”

He hesitates, thumb rubbing against the pommel of his sword in a manner so clearly thoughtless she nearly rolls her eyes. Trust Aeridians to make a gesture of threat into a self-soothing practice.

Straightening a little on her bench, she fixes him with what Uther fondly refers to as her imperial expression. It has, over the decades, served effectively against both rogue dignitaries and her own husband and son.

“Would you truly dare to claim that the brother of my son is no friend?” she inquires.

At that, guilt steals into his expression and he releases the saber to come perch on the very edge of the bench with a respectful distance between them. As soon as he’s seated, some of the strain in his shoulders gives way, and he stretches his leg out away from the bench. Ah, she thinks, tucking away that morsel.

He steals a funny look at her sideways, as if trying to guess where she came to that conclusion. She almost laughs: she was the one who first suspected his paternity, long before Uther accepted the concept.

“You must know I would never desire nor cause harm to befall Rassler,” he says. “On my honor.”

He says it so solemnly, with such worried conviction, that she almost feels bad. Instinct nearly has her reaching out to pat his leg reassuringly, but then, he is a grown man now and he is not her son.

“I would never scorn the solemn honor of an Aeridian, much less the imperator princep,” she says instead with a small smile, a hint of teasing in her tone, “but I confess, I have not feared that for many years.”

It’s funny to see him here, sitting under the dogwood arbor. He cuts so close to his mamán, with his sharp edges and weight perched as if ready to fly off at any moment—and yet, Aliras would have scoffed away this whole conversation, dashed it with biting remarks that never quite landed when she was flustered, and never even accepted the invitation to sit. Even looking closely, Rajiat can hardly see Uther in the young man’s face, either; his quiet attentiveness is simply something his own.

“I had your mamán’s word before you were old enough to toddle,” she explains, and then adds, wry, “and you are a hardly a stranger to my family. I have been privy to your growing up, you know.”

He concedes that with a small smile, ducking his head. His expression turns a little thoughtful, skepticism encroaching in the faint furrow of his brow and tilt of his head. Amused, she cocks her own head.

“Do you disbelieve me?” she asks. “Your mamán was a friend of a sort, after all.”

The wry look he shoots her suggests he’s heard a different version of that story. In truth, it’s been long enough since she was in Ancelm that she can’t guess what they say of her. She hopes they don’t think her some miserable old shrew who stole Uther away from their beloved empress—or, worse, some tragic maiden who was betrayed and trapped into a loveless marriage. These last thirty years have been an adventure, to be sure, but she has never had cause to doubt Uther’s love nor to feel terribly betrayed. After all, she was the one who gave him permission to continue his affair with Alir even before they were wed.

“It only seems imprudent to make a vow based on someone you do not yet know,” Callebero explains.

She hums faintly at that, tilting her head in consideration before giving him a wry half-smile.

“I confess, ‘prudent’ isn’t the word most often associated with your mamán,” she replies.

A smile quirks his lips briefly, and he tilts his head back as if to better enjoy the sunlight dappling them through the leaves. At least he’s not still looking at the stone, she decides.

“Anyway,” she remarks, following his gaze up toward the clouds drifting here and there across the azure sere of the sky, “I hold some faith in the knowledge that, should a dispute between Rassler and Malia ever grow too severe, they would be forced to compromise by virtue of neither wanting to give you up.”

At that, he snorts and shakes his head. A fuller smile appears, eyes narrowing in humor.

“I confess, I can think of few partners less likely to come to such a conflict,” he replies, slanting an amused look her way.

“Even you and your knight?” Rajiat asks.

In past years, when she was a queen speaking to foreign dignitaries, she would not speak with such casual ease. Even when she had spoken with him in the past, she had not been so nonchalant. Still, she is old to him, at least, and there was truth in what she’d said about his growing up. As much as she had been staunch in her stance that she and Uther would never raise nor tend to any children Aliras left behind, she feels some care toward Callebero. He had been a sweet child and then a solemn and grim young man, and though she bears no guilt for his growing up, she hopes for gladder futures.

His answer is slower in coming this time. He eyes her steadily, as if gauging her interest in such matters—whether she asks as a courtier prying for information, she imagines, or just a nosey old mother.

“Perhaps,” he says finally. “Though we have had less time to be as sure of ourselves as Malia and Rassler.”

As carefully as the answer is given, it’s more revealing than what she might have expected. She rewards the honesty with a gentle smile and then gives in to her earlier impulse to reach out and pat his hand lightly.

“I imagine you’ll get there soon enough,” she says. “In truth, I think most of a long relationship is simply learning to endure things together rather than apart—even if, sometimes, you are enduring each other. That, and savoring the joy together.”

She nods slightly, looking out over the garden in the palace Uther gave her. When she was very young, she had thought marriage all a matter of strategy—learning how to milk the most from one’s spouse in order to elevate their own status. Perhaps if Uther had been less agreeable and less easily loved, she might still feel the same way. As it is, though, she can’t help looking on her youthful scheming with a fair dose of amusement and pity. How wise she’d thought herself; how little she’d truly known.

Callebero looks at her a long moment, expression gentle. She can’t quite parse its exact sentiment; even with years of knowing his mamán and more yet of seeing him grow from afar, this quiet consideration is foreign to her.

“Your Majesties’ long partnership must attest to your wisdom in these matters,” he says, and she laughs.

“Such delicacy of language bodes well for yours,” she returns, and his polite expression cracks slightly with rue.

He looks much younger when he smiles, she decides, though the scars cut into his cheek age him more than she remembers. He had grown out of his baby face far sooner than Rassler, who even now still retains a certain roundness about his cheeks, but the tattoos on his chin that mark him an adult in Arradine’s customs had seemed absurd for years before this. They no longer do: somehow in the last year, he has grown into them and the new ones crowning his forehead.

“It is good to see you again,” she says, a little impulsive. “It grieved both our hearts when you were missing.”

She doesn’t say when he was dead, because she may have been the queen of Soldato for longer than she was a princess of Hiam, but she still carries some superstitions. Still—he had been dead for those months. She had held tightly to Uther’s hand and watched as her own son wept. Some part of her had surged with the desire to speak with Aliras, to demand if she had delivered this child into the world knowing at his birth how his life would end.

When they were young, back when Aliras thought her some kind of rival, Rajiat had looked upon the other woman with a mixture of pity and disdain. How limited her view had seemed, how quick her jealousy and capricious her affections. When she first heard Aliras had had a child, she had thought it little more than a callous and petty act: her favorite lover had taken a wife and so, of course, the imperator princep would claim an heir. Her opinion had softened some in catching glimpses of how Aliras doted on Callebero as a child, and it had calcified when she heard that Aliras had named her child her successor years before he was old enough to be considered of age in any kingdom on the continent.

She’s not sure, now, what she would say to Aliras if the woman stood alive before her once more. She has faith she’d come up with something in the moment, though.

Now, Aliras’ son looks at her with a faint wrinkle to his brow, as if confused by her admission.

“I am sorry to have troubled you,” he says and sounds painfully, idiotically sincere.

The urge to roll her eyes or demand if he has anything other than swords rattling around in his skull is briefly powerful, but Rajiat hasn’t made it through this many decades of political manuevering to be done in by a comparative child.

“It is in our nature to be worried by harm done to one we care for,” she replies mildly. “As I am certain it is in your nature to seek to protect those you care for.” To her surprise, Callebero winces slightly and squints up at the sky just-so.

“I confess, I have not often been skilled in that regard,” he admits.

Startled, Rajiat narrowly avoids laughing aloud at his grudging tone. He has changed, she realizes, more than the physical. She had never been close to him before, but to speak so frankly and to offer his own flaws with little prompting is a far cry from the guarded young man she had known before. Smiling a little, she leans back and considers him with faint amusement.

“Well,” she says after a moment, “they do say a good map can save a caravan years of woe.”

Glancing sidelong at her, Callebero arches an eyebrow wryly.

“And if they start drawing said map while already lost in the desert?” he rejoins.

Snorting despite herself, Rajiat offers him a small shrug.

“At least the stars are clear in the desert,” she replies, “and far better signposts than one’s instincts alone, most often.”

At last, he laughs. It’s barely more than a breath of air, but he ducks his head and a smile curves the corners of his cheeks. It is, as in many of her political endeavors, a small but worthy triumph. Straightening, he affords her the full weight of his attention, softened but not lessened by the warmth that creases the skin by his eyes and quirks the edges of his lips.

“Thank you for your company and wisdom this afternoon, Your Majesty,” he says, and though the formal diction has returned, there’s a lightness there that was smothered when she first saw him standing lost in the garden. “I did not anticipate such lessons when I found myself here.”

Waving off the thanks, she smiles faintly at the lilies she had insisted be planted directly in front of the bower. Their tall stalks sway with heavy burgundy blooms, waxy petals as long as her palm gleaming faintly in the sun.

“I am sure you know we old folks enjoy the opportunity to impart our wisdoms upon the youth,” she jokes, “great or small as they may seem.”

His smile deepens briefly, and he seems about to speak when he lifts his head, turning toward some motion in his periphery. He straightens almost immediately, his courtly posture brightening into clear eagerness. Leaning forward to follow his gaze, Rajiat hides a smile: an Aeridian commander stands in almost the exact same spot in which she first saw Callebero. His eyes, however, are fixed on the young man beside her.

“Oh, go on,” she says, leaning back on one hand while waving Callebero off with the other. “You two have waited long enough already.”

He flusters, ducking his head in embarrassment, but he doesn’t argue against her dismissal before rising. With a polite dip of his head, he turns and cuts across the garden to where his knight waits with love clear in his eyes and hand already reaching out for Callebero. Huffing a laugh, Rajiat turns her gaze away as they reach each other.

The dogwood ruffles in frothy rills around her, and she closes her eyes to breathe in the spring budding all around her. Uther will find her soon, seeking her out with the eager stride that’s carried him through all their decades of acquaintance and then love. She is content to wait, bounded by the gardens all rushing into bloom.

[mintory-jar]

man

that cutscene at the end of ballads and brews

I have Thoughts™ that I have to get out of my system

under the cut for spoilers and this is a long post

kaeya......... uuuuhuuuuu

we finally know how "you are our only hope" was said to him... it seemed to me like it was said very fondly and with great reluctance (in the eng dub at least)

which means kaeya was loved by his father...

I think kaeya saw it as "ruthless abandonment" for a while. but when he remembers what his father said to him, we see that he doesn't look bitter or upset, but instead, smiles. means his view has changed since we first met him, or maybe even before that (because he was sent to dawn winery as a child). kaeya is now an adult, he's definitely had lots of time to ruminate over what's happened in his life as he matures.

I think this enhances Kaeya's dilemma with loyalty as both his khaenriahn? biological father and his father figure (good ol' master crepus) from mondstadt both love/loved (in master crepus' case, rip). whichever side he picks, he betrays the love from the other. when the time comes for him to face khaenriah again, I wonder how he'll react.

other things I loved in this event:

- hoyo revisiting older characters and their lore + what varka's been doing

- razor lore! i didn't expect to enjoy it so much

- Adeline. bless her. thanks to her we get shy kaeya. and he stays for dinner. because he can't say no to Adelinde. she is the MVP of the dawn winery.

- amber and eula coming to the KoF stall together and eula buying her squad and amber food. made me go "awww"

- albedo donated the money he gets from copyrights... he's a good boy

- ragbros reconciliation. my god. they're trying, and it does show. please hoyo let make them hug or pat each other's heads or something

- kaeya smile. razor remembers him as 'grown-up with fake smile' (I believe?) but here he is genuinely smiling. this is his real smile. his real smile is very sweet. hoyoverse I'm begging you can we please have more opportunities to see Kaeya's real smile. I want my boy to be happy (⁠´⁠；⁠ω⁠；⁠｀⁠)

JP: ここに残れ

also! out of curiosity I looked at the Chinese and Japanese for what Kaeya's father said. the meaning of the words are about the same, but the way it is said sounds different from each other (to me) so it could imply different emotion. (from here on out it's me being a nerd. don't take it as fact because it's a highly unprofessional analysis.)

the JP transcript I had to do it by ear so it could be wrong. cn transcript I went on bilibili and found a video of the cutscene.

お前は我々の希望だ

悪く思うなよ、ガイア

TL: (I'll) leave you here. you are our hope. don't feel upset about this, kaeya...

JP dub sounds so reluctant to leave kaeya... :')

cn: 留在这里吧

你是我们的希望

不要怪我，凯亚…

TL: (I'll) leave you here, then. you are our hope. don't be upset, kaeya...

aiya the 不要怪我 feels weird for me cos literally it's "don't blame me" but if I translate it as that and read it, it feels incomplete like "don't blame me? for what?"

the 怪 is like kaeya was wronged and could blame his dad for ruining his life, which means directing hatred toward him. same with the 悪く思うなよ in JP (no hard feelings/don't think poorly of this) where the act of leaving kaeya behind is a wrong done to kaeya that he can be mad about

so I interpret this as his dad is asking kaeya not to be mad at him for leaving behind his own son to fend for himself in a foreign land. there is a mission that must be completed but it puts kaeya at risk, so I think it's his dad's way of apologising for having kaeya do it. I think if I were to lengthen it a bit the whole thing would be "stay at this place. you are our people and homeland's only hope. for this reason, please don't be upset at me for leaving you here."

eh but I'm not trained in translation or linguistics I could be wrong

[truly-morgan]

[WRH looking over JL while JC makes a presentation]

RuoCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 27-12-2021

[#ruocheng, modern, work setting]

Jiang Cheng had been worried since he couldn't find a babysitter to look over Jin Ling and the nice old lady living next door who usually love helping was away to visit family.

He needs to go to work now and decides to bring Jin Ling with him, the young child seems really interested in visiting his jiujiu workplace. jc remembered wrh allowing for others to do it in the past, he assumed he should be alright.

The problem is, he has an important conference to give and he cannot just leave his nephew at his desk without anyone looking over him (although he's sure some of the older ladies would love looking over him).

he is still thinking about his option when he nearly bumps into wrh in the elevator, politely greeting him as jl did the same shyly.

"What a cute one this is" wrh comments, laughing when jl gets a bit shy, "I didn't know our hardworking jc had a son".

"He is my nephew" jc corrects, even though he acted more like a dad than an uncle towards jl, "My sister's son". to this wrh hums.

"Will little a-ling help his jiujiu with his conference?" wrh asks, only for jl to hide against his uncle.

this gets jc flustered a bit, knowing it was truly inconvenient to be bringing jl to work on such an important day, but really he had no other choices at the moment.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed, I know how hard it can be sometimes" commented the man with a smile.

"Maybe I could take care of him while you do your presentation? Like this you wouldn't need to worry".

jc wanted to refuse because it would be inconvenient, but the man insisted he really wasn't bothered. after all, he is a dad himself and enjoys looking over little ones.

jc ends up accepting because he /does/ need to get ready since the conference starts soon and he doesn't have time to look over jl himself or find someone else.

He leaves jl at his boss' office with his duckling bag, telling him to be a good boy and that is not too long before jiujiu would be back to get him. jl seems shy at the idea of staying with wrh, but if jiujiu trusts this tall man then jl will do so too.

this then leads to jc finishing his last preparation, greeting all the investors inside the room.

he does have a mini heart attack when wrh pulls in with jl, sitting the young boy on his lap at the end of the table, greeting everyone as if there wasn't a kid sitting in his lap.

truly jc thought maybe wzl would have been tasked with looking over the child, but seeing jl also made him feel more at ease, at least he knew he was alright.

and so jc did his conference like a pro, not letting this distract him, although wrh could see that one look at jl was enough to calm down jc's nerves a bit.

all this time jl was either silently drawing on some paper he was given, listening to the complicated thing his jiujiu was saying or napping a little bit against the tall man's torso.

He was such a well-behaved boy, wrh wished his own boy could be as well-behaved at his age (but he still loved them the way they are).

jl stirred up from his little nap when he heard other's people voices suddenly starting to speak, looking as now things were a little bit more animated. Only once everyone was away, did jl make his way to his uncle.

"Jiujiu did a great job!!" jl commented even though he had no clue if it was true, if all those people looked satisfied it meant it was indeed good. "Is that why a-ling slept through it?" jc asked with a smirk, gaining him a pout.

wrh stood on the side, watching fondly as jc was messing around a bit with jl. it was quite an interesting view when he was usually used to seeing him rather tensed and focused on working. It was charming seeing him so soft for once.

"You did excellent work today jiang cheng, I knew you would do it perfectly" wrh commented, clearly surprising jc who seemingly had forgotten they were not alone. He smiled at the blush creeping on the young man's cheek.

jl could only look between the two men, seeing how fondly the tall man was looking at his jiujiu and how flustered jc was to be complimented like this.

"Why is jiujiu so red?" he asked, his little hand grabbing at jc's cheeks, before he made a little surprised face, "😮does jiujiu like the tall man?!". this only made jc even more flustered. he would lie if he said he didn't find wrh rather attractive and charming, but he knew he also had no chance even if he wanted to try. "A-ling!" jc said.

he looked up, ready to correct the mess his nephew had probably started, only for wrh to speak first to his nephew. "Then does this mean I should take your uncle out for diner?".

jl seemed to think about it seriously, all the while jc wanted to die from embarrassment, feeling his face burning at the idea.

"Yes 😤 and you must prove you are good enough for jiujiu," jl said while crossing his arms, looking serious about who could get his jiujiu.

"Jin ling stop" jc whispered embarrassed, feeling like he wouldn't be able to survive it if his little nephew kept on going on.

"Then I shall take your jiujiu to dinner after work" wrh smiled, making jc stop in his pleading to jl, feeling shocked.

"If it makes you more comfortable, you can see it as a reward for your good work today," wrh said to jc, not wanting to force the idea of a date on him (although he would be more than happy to bring him on one).

it took a moment for a flustered jc to finally accept, feeling excited at the idea of going out for dinner with the man. maybe bringing jl today wasn't that bad at the end of the day.

in all this, jl was only happy to see his jiujiu look so happy too.

Original

[mimisempai]

A love that will never fade 

Summary

Loki, visiting his mother, tells her about his desire to strengthen the bond he has with Mobius. His mother tells him about a magical tattoo that only faded when people stopped loving each other.

Notes:

Flufftober Day 2 - Ink

Fan art made by the amazing @rins-love-wins

On AO3

Rating G - 1073 words

"Loki, my son, I sense that something is bothering you. Tell me what's wrong. Did you have a fight with Mobius?"

Loki came to sit next to his mother and shook his head, "No, on the contrary, everything is fine. Perfectly fine. Actually I'd like to do something, I don't know what, to establish or strengthen our bond. Something that would be proof that even if we are separated, we will be connected."

Frigga nodded and thought for a few moments, before asking him softly, "Have you thought about magical tattoos?"

Loki raised a puzzled eyebrow and repeated, " Magical tattoos?"

Frigga smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's kind of like having each other's sigil. The tattooing is done by two people. The one whispering the spell has to focus on how they feel about the person getting the tattoo and the person getting it has to focus on the design that will represent what the other person is to them."

Loki thought and then asked, "Does that mean that if I create the tattoo with the intention of loving Mobius, if that intention disappears, if one of us no longer loves the other then the tattoo will disappear?"

Frigga nodded her head. Loki continued, "It's a little scary at the thought of the tattoo fading, but also..."

Frigga took his hand and said softly, "Yes, it also means that every time you look at that tattoo you are aware of the love of the other."

Loki said to her in a firm voice, "Mother, teach me this spell."

**********

"So tell me if I got this right? The tattoo only stays visible as long as you... love me?"

Loki had just told Mobius about his idea and his lover, apparently amazed at the prospect, asked him lots of questions, eager to understand everything.

He nodded at the last question from Mobius who continued, "So I have to think about the design and you're going to do the spell thinking about how you feel about me?"

Loki, smiled, amused at the way Mobius stated the facts in a factual and rational manner. Then Mobius frowned and asked, "But, only you can do the spell, I don't know anything about magic." 

Loki took his hand and kissed the palm before answering, "This spell is meant to be spoken by humans as well. To allow humans and gods, like myself, to bond."

Mobius nodded thoughtfully and then asked, "And you'll have one too then?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Loki.

Mobius smiled and kissed him gently, before adding, "Now?"

Loki, in awe, asked him, "Are you sure?"

Mobius kissed him again and replied in a firm voice, "Absolutely."

"Good." replied Loki before positioning himself to sit across from him.

They spent the next fifteen minutes repeating the spell over and over until Mobius knew it perfectly.

Then Loki asked, "First of all, tell me where you want your tattoo to be." 

Mobius held out his hand without hesitation, turned it face up and pointed to the inside of his wrist.

"I want it right here."

Loki gasped and stared at Mobius' wrist.

Mobius asked him softly, "Hey sweetheart, is everything okay?"

Loki replied, "Do you really want to wear it here, in full view of everyone?"

Mobius smiled fondly, "Of course, I'll be proud to show the world that I belong to you."

Loki laughed softly as he shook his head, "I wonder if one day you'll stop surprising me. Well, okay. So I'm going to put my hand on your wrist, and as I start to say the spell, you will think with all your might about what I am to you."

Mobius nodded and Loki placed his hand on his wrist before beginning to speak the words.

Mobius thought of Loki, the happiness he brought him, the joy, the change, the chaos, his mischief, to everything that made him so precious to him.

He felt a slight heat on his wrist and then Loki said softly, "It's over."

Mobius opened his eyes and Loki gently withdrew his hand. They both leaned over to take a closer look.

Loki whispered, "A symbol of the wind?" 

Mobius smiled fondly, "That is so you. The wind, which moves things through the earth without being seen but being felt. You can't see the Wind, nor can you hold it in your hands, the Wind can't be captured, and the Wind can't be tamed. It is creative, changing, shifting, chaotic like a storm and soothing like a breeze. My Loki, I am so honored to bear this mark."

Mobius brought his wrist to his lips and kissed it devoutly before bringing his wrist to Loki's lips for him to do the same.

Then Loki held out his own forearm and said in a clearly moved voice, "At the same place as you."

Mobius nodded and put his hand on Loki's wrist. He murmured the spell as he thought of all the love he felt for Loki and then as he finished the spell, he felt the same warmth as before and whispered back, "It's over."

He left his hand on Loki's wrist until his lover opened his eyes. Together they leaned over again to look at the design.

It was a shell. Delicate and perfectly shaped. 

Mobius whispered, "This time it's up to you to explain Loki. I don't exactly see what this has to do with me. I'm sorry."

Loki replied, "Don't be. But I do know what this means. This shell is a Nautilus, it is a symbol of perfection and natural beauty, of strength because this shell can withstand the strong pressures of the sea. It is a symbol of spiritual growth, creation and movement. Just the way you move forward, never looking back and always looking forward. Just like that strength you have in you that you give to me every time I need it. This design is perfect."

In mirror image, Loki in turn devoutly kissed his wrist and presented it to Mobius who did the same.

The two men looked at each other in silence, their hearts overflowing with love for each other, and they leaned in to seal the bond they had just created with a tender kiss.

They did not see their two tattoos whose colors became more vivid in reaction to the strength of their feelings.

Like their love, their tattoos would never fade.

Loki and Mobius loved each other, for all time, always.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story 🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Lokius Flufftober 2022 : here

Lokius masterlist : here