#im fairly sure the second one wouldnt be

[galacticlamps]

actually ascension needs its own post since that's the one with the most details to speculate over and im starved for soho talk so i will talk to myself if need be

First the cover again, because I kinda can't get over it:

my only thing is that I had been hoping we might get Lizbeth on a cover again since she's never been on one of the boxsets before, despite being the 2nd person credited on all 4 of them (even if that's just alphabetical, still, she's the only one of the four main characters who never makes the cover)

But letting that go...

I know we already kinda knew the brief for this one but damn I didn't expect it to go quite this hard. Maybe that's just because the Parasite & Ashenden covers were (comparatively) similarish to each other and I was so pleased with Unbegotten's, and then got so used to it as the placeholder for Ascension while they kept postponing it, I wasn't expecting anything this colorful or detailed or with what I can't help but register as Fun New Outfits even though these are still like, pretty damn basic as far as costumes go. Still, it's a different vibe from everyone in suits and trenchcoats on every cover, technically. (Oh the woes of being an audio fan such that two characters owning sweaters actually does qualify as new information)

On top of just being visually delightful though, I know we knew religion was gonna be a fairly big part of this one, but I didn't actually expect to get quite this much of it - though I'm glad of it for a number of reasons. The BF twitter already made the ineffable joke so I don't have to, but also yeah I did very much spend all of season 2 episode 4 of good omens half convinced Samuel Barnett & Dervla Kirwan were about to pop up around any given corner (if you will go around being gay supernatural and horrible at your messy bureaucratic jobs in midcentury soho then I'm sorry, this is where my brain's gonna go) - so, fuel to that fire. But in terms of actual important things, at least one of my Soho wishes looks to be being granted because we have a Rev Edward Folgate on the cast list, which must mean we're finally meeting Norton's father, even if his mother & brother don't appear (which they could, technically, I've definitely seen BF not list all the doublings on their cast tabs before). Religion, domesticity, and the nuclear family are all things that absolutely fascinate me when it comes to Norton's character, so getting any amount of story involving his father & his church is something I've been actively hoping for for a long time now.

(I will say I'm a tiny bit bummed Saffron Coomber isn't on the cast list to play Mia again, but I kinda figured she wasn't going to be since Greg Austin's Armitage, who's making his first recurring appearance after originating in Unbegotten, was listed ever since the boxset was announced - presumably if she was also returning, that would've been handled in the same way. But since Unbegotten ended with Lizbeth and Mia going on a date, I still held out hope. Who knows though, maybe things did go well for them and Lizbeth just has a better work/life balance than Norton so she can date someone without them getting dragged into every scifi plot. I know that's not a very common accomplishment for any Torchwood agent, but a gal can hope)

At this point I know I'm completely in the realm of speculation & even wishful thinking, but I'm really really hoping we get some more clues as to Norton's overall timeline in this one, and I have a feeling that even if there's nothing as direct as dates given, the events of a plot like this one are going to heavily influence my personal interpretation of it.

To say that life & death are major themes for the soho crew feels wildly reductive, but even by Torchwood's standards and taking into account its origins as a piece of media with Jack Harkness & his newfound immortality at the heart of it, the living/dead status of this bunch has always been fantastically up in the air to me. Obviously Ghost Mission introduced Norton as kind of a ghost before revealing more obvious ghostly characters later on to which the title might have been referring, but his being from the past did beg the question of his survival into Torchwood's present era all the same, which Outbreak later alludes to much more directly, and his habit of showing up via hologram in multiple stories only further obfuscates any certainty we might have about where & when he definitely can be said to be alive and well. Then you've got Lizbeth and Gideon both being effectively 'brought back to life' via paradoxes that prevented them ever having died in the first place. Again, they are very very far from being the only Torcwhood characters this happens to (for a sprawling EU, it's really rather impressive how often & in how many different ways Torchwood as a whole manages to circle back to being about like. chaotic undead queers at the end of every day. though I suppose that consistency is part of why I keep falling in love with its different iterations again and again). That's without even getting into the question of Norton's dubious fate in God Among Us - and I say dubious because I know some people take that to be his ultimate death, but I personally think that reading something as vague as that as having any kind of finality rather goes against the spirit of this whole world/series, not just because I want him to live. (There are obviously other ways to make him survive/reappear, but I don't see this as a River Song scenario where we can safely assume one of his earlier-released adventures had to happen at the end of his personal timeline). But wherever God Among Us falls for him, he does very much meet God in it - or at least, a god, since the sentinel in Unbegotten is also described as a god of sorts, and even if he doesn't ultimately have the status of the god Jacqueline King is playing there, Unbegotten is still full to bursting with ghosts/undead/came back wrong/echo characters to continue underscoring that life/afterlife theme.

So all things considered, even allowing for the fact that we know Norton's twin hobbies are lying about himself and abusing time travel to suit his own ends/ever-shifting alliances, I find it difficult to believe we could get through a whole 6-part boxset about religion & death without something providing some kind of compelling evidence about where this adventure fits in among his other run-ins with apocalypses and gods and ghosts and dead-but-still-here characters/creatures, so I'm very much looking forward to any further exploration on that front.

And lastly, and least intellectually, I really want to know what the hell 20th-century Torchwood's obsession with Reginalds is. Reading through the cast list, I had to do two separate doubletakes over the character 'Sir Reginald Peebles' - firstly, because I had Reginald Rigsby on the brain, this being Soho (and the other Troughton brother being so active on BF's releases for this same month) - and secondly, because reading this in conjunction with the announcement for the July monthly adventure in which the new main Torchwood guy of the 20s is apparently called Sir Reginald Dellafield, there was a brief moment where I took that monthly release to be a tie-in with Ascension. I don't expect it to be, but damn. was it really so popular a name?

anyways, catch me thinking about those stained glass windows for the next couple months I guess (and knowing Torchwood Soho, for a long long time after it comes out as well lol)

[meowdy-all]

I have an idea for a fic!! I have to say i am a huge sucker for divine intervention where the cast of a show gets shown either memories or moments from a characters life, or shown the show itself.

I ALSO have to say that i am currently obsessed with Lucifer (and by extension radioapple). I really think it would be awesome if the hotel got a package delivered. And in it was a show based around Lucifers fall, and his banning from heaven. The war he fought with heaven and tge only reason he lost was because his father got involved. Showing lucifer is the second most powerful being in all of creation, tied with his brother Michael. Lucifer was GODS favorite child, he literally made the stars. Detailing his injuries Because of the fall, yk some prime lucifer angst. Showing his attempt to redeem sinners, that he was forced to stop because heaven got involved, and him having to make the deal for exterminations to save his people. And it also shows how lilith wanted a kid, and lucifer going through giving birth to Charlie, and then detailing how liliths treatment of him changed because of it (a BIG sucker for lilith treated Luci like trash) and her making it so lucifer CANT spend time with his daughter. And charlie doesn't know her mom was actively preventing lucifer from being active and involved in her life. And then it goes into lilith taking charlie away from him, and lucifers PTSD from heaven and his fall, and his depression. How all he wabted was his family. Angels are social creatures, and im fairly sure isolation for who know how many years isnt healthy for anyone. The whole hotel being horrified bec this silly man who is so awkward is EXTREMELY powerful and they tend to forget that. And charlie seeing heaven isnt all its cracked up to be, and they can be CRUEL, and he mother isnt a good person either. Of course all of this wouldnt be without some background radioapple old married couple bickering. And at least one scene would be something dramtic happening in hell, and it cutting to alastor (still alive) and hes in the middle of killing someone and he feels a deep unrest in his soul and he just goes (what was that)

Just... loving radio apple with a heap of lucifer angst and a side of bamf luci.

Im not going to lie to you this was largely inspired by Jeremy Jordan singing where is the justice on tiktok and i could not get Lucifer pleading his case infront of his brothers and sisters out of my head. And when they refuse to listen the war starts. Just... *chefs kiss*

[blackheart-6]

noelle holiday age progression chart

without height lines

explanations of designs:

hi yall

so, i actually finished this drawing like a week ago lol. but i didnt want to post a bunch of drawing in a row, and then i got sick, so i havent been able to post it till now!

its my imaginings of what noelle looked like as she grew up, and a potential adult noelle design! ill explain my thought processes about these designs below, if anyones interested 😁

i also plan on doing one of these with dess, but this one was pretty difficult, so it might be awhile before that (unless yalls are interested in seeing it?)

first off, im not 100% sure ill keep using all these designs. some of them im not that happy with (im no good at designing outfits 😔) but i just went with them so i could finish the drawing. so if anyone has any alternative outfit ideas for any of her ages, id be interested in seeing/hearing it!

secondly, something that may stick out to yall for all the designs is how tall she gets. its the same height i normally draw her with, but given how i usually draw her by herself you cant really tell how tall she is! i have 3 main reasons for why i headcanon her as this tall: deer are pretty tall irl, so having her be tall makes sense in my head; i just like the look of her being super tall, it makes me happy lol; and third, i personally also headcanon the holiday family as boss monsters (i think ive explained this headcanon before on here, so i wont explain again, unless someone is interested ^^). so yeah, she ends up being 7 feet tall as an adult, the second tallest in her family!

also, i gave all her children forms stripes in some way, as a reference to when monster kid in undertale says they can tell frisk is a kid because of their stripes!

now onto my explainations for individual drawings!

theres nothing really to say about her baby design. the only thing i did that might be new is give her faun spots! they are most plentiful on her baby form, but they persist until shes in her teens, i would say (on here you cant see them after age 7, but thats just because i imagine they are mostly on her back). and i gave her a cute lil onsie that says a-deer-able! if you guys cant read it ^^

this outfit i made for her toddler design is actually an outfit ive used in the past! i wonder if yall know what drawing it was? its pretty much the same as it was there, i just added a stripe to the shirt. i felt like overalls are so reminiscent of childhood, i had to give at least one of her designs them! i also added a little mistletoe to the front pocket, to make it more christmas-esque. and i gave her some bandaids, just cause.

7 years old is one of the designs i really struggled on, and im still not happy with it. i dunno if ive said this yet, but i headcanon noelle to be trans, so at 7 is when i decided she started realizing it. so here i gave her long sleeves and pants, to show how shes more hidden now because shes unhappy with herself, if that makes any sense? i was also trying to make her look a bit like a nerd, with the button up and khakis, just because its funny. but yeah, ill probably end up changing this design at some point :P

11 years old was one of the easiest to do, considering how ive had her design for this age for awhile lol. one thing i did change was going from 2 red/white stripes to one, but ive done that before, so it wasnt something entirely new. i also gave her a smile and closed eyes, cause shes happy being a girl 🥰. other that that, its the same, so yeah, thats it for this part

okay, this next design is a fairly different looking one than all the rest, but i have my reasons! at this point in noelles live, dess has gone missing, so i wanted to show her being sad and stuff. i also gave her shoes and long sleeves because she probably goes out looking for dess when she can, hoping to find a lead 😭. but outside of in-story stuff, this outfit is based off of an old one i drew, but its fairly edited, so i wouldnt be surprised if no one recognizes it even if they have seen my old stuff. she has straight hair here, to show how unhappy she is (idk what it is about straight hair it just feels sad) and because i wanted to give her different hair varieties on this progression chart. i gave her antlers 2 prongs each at this point, because the way i see deer monsters, their antlers show their growth/aging, so youll see them getting bigger and having more prongs as the chart continues.

this outfit for 15 is another one i dont like. i tried to make it similar to her current outfit, but still pretty different. im not even sure what precisely i dont like about this outfit, it just doesnt feel that good. for this one i gave her leg warmers because i used to (and sometimes still do) draw her normal outfit with them. i gave her the curly hair she has as a callback to when i used to draw her hair like that! but yeah, ill probably end up redoing this one too

for 17, i just gave her the normal outfit, so it was easy ^^. in game i think shes 16, but close to turning 17, so i just went with 17 here to fit the +2 age pattern thing i had going on. i also gave her an extra horn prong than i normally give her, just to show age once again

finally, her adult design! i dont like this one either lol. i spent so long trying to think of what outfit to give her, but i couldnt come up with something i liked >.< so i just gave her something simple. i feel like once noelle graduates high school and probably goes to college she branches out more and tries things her mother never let her do, which is why i gave her an outfit like that, that has a crop top and a shorter skirt. also, yalls might recognize the hair style i gave her, i drew a potential adult noelle before and i gave her the same hair ^^

i think thats all for the post! i probably have more thoughts that im just not thinking of, but its fine for now. i hope yall enjoyed the drawing, and if you have any question or comments or whatever, go ahead and say them!! if youve made it this far, have a cookie, you must be hungry after reading so much ^^ 🍪

[m1ckeyb3rry]

rereading chapter 1 is so funny to me because its so blatant hes lying, and the GLASS

'please let me keep it, atleast until i understand why it was there in the first place'

and his jaw twitching

he KNEW he couldn't let her get that memory back

he sounded so worried though like 'nothing good will come from keeping it. nothing at all' like yes atleast youre self aware

THOUGH! i am fairly confused about when ty lee said that some parties wouldnt be pleased if they found out what she was doing, like i had assumed she was talking about zuko but now im thinking not? unless im missing something, because im pretty sure he knew about the memories, unless its azula shes talking about? working with her brother? or even taking her memories by order of azula without zuko knowing? but i doubt that one idk

ur fic is literally written better than most books ive read and its incredible, the foreshadowing and the details are so impressive to read

AHAHAH there are so many hints and references in the earlier chapters about reader’s identity that don’t really make sense until you know it!! i love adding things in like that because i want my stories to have rereadability?? like i want people to make new connections and interact w the story differently reading it the second time vs the first. i think it’s especially crucial to have things like that with an arc that’s built around a mystery (the true identity of “ursa”) — if you already know who she is, then it could very easily be a boring/frustrating arc to reread without those new things you can pick up on!!

ty lee was talking abt azula!! mostly because azula would be upset to hear that her ally was working w zuko…although ty lee doesn’t know who mc is, she’s not stupid and probably picked up on the fact that zuko’s hiding smth. she then (rightfully) assumed that if they were caught by azula they’d all be in trouble. it was meant to be misleading as it seems at first it would be zuko who’d be upset to know that ty lee is blocking reader’s chi, esp because ty lee is generally aligned with azula, so when it’s revealed that zuko is the one who ordered the memory blocking, it adds another layer of complication (which will be expanded upon once zuko and reader have their not-so-happy reunion)

but OMG thank you so much!! it means sm to me that you think so <3 i never thought that this would end up being such an involved fic (i originally estimated it to end up at about 60-70k words max) but it’s been so much fun to write and i really appreciate seeing how many people love it!!

[goatpaste]

can we see your sbr Giorno's friends?

yknow i was gonna just draw Gio with maybe one or two of the ideas for lil buddies she'd have and talk about them a bit

but per usual I went over the top and drew her a whole main group of friends so here you hope this is what you wanted

a solid lil group of five that vary in how much iv fleshed them out,, i just have for sure i wanted a lil Lisa Lisa type lady to be in Gios group, and settled on all of them being named after Renaissance paintings and painters.

I dont have much thought out in the ways of them meeting one another or any goals for them, or stand abilities or much of that. But know that these guys are FRIENDS and can fit SO many issues in them <33

I do think giving it a more p4 storyline kinda vibe thats more center to one small area problem and being on the more slice of life style of story telling could be fun...

Mona, the oldest of this lil rag tag group, meant to be a lot like a Lisa Lisa type for the group ^^

im thinking shes the only non stand user of their group but mm debating it truly. I imagine a more focus on her character as one of the last of the guards to be full tried in spin for this use. if she had a stand to any degree it be like gyro where its hardly a thing.

I also do like the idea of her having history or forming a connection with Jorge with him being a reoccurring character through Giorno as the two grew up kinda distant but fairly close none the less form of cousins to one another.

Taking, obviously a bit of inspo from the Pucci's on this one. Floridian man struggles with microaggressions on multiple different fronts, loses faith in god and struggles to figure out how to see the good in life.

I dont know much of what i wanna do with his stand but Daisy did suggest an invisibility facet to them,,, potentially thinking to take some inspo from portal on this one specifically with the slime they introduce with being able to build up speed or make bouncy floors and stuff, something along those lines but a lil more built up,,,

very silly wild girl kinda character, a real richy rich philanthropist type. All talk, wouldnt know how to handle herself if things went wrong for her for even a second.

i have NO idea what to do with her stand ability I just really like the idea of it being made out of fashion magazine clippings (again ty Daisy for such a baller suggestions)

Of course theres our protag main girl, Giorno. Daughter of Diego and Hot Pants. Named after Diegos mother's maiden name. Very much meant to be like a mixture of P5 Giorno and Trish. Giorno whos a lil louder and meaner and has a bit of a more broken moral compass most of the time but is just more or less broken as a person who cant seem to be able to snuff out that last little golden light in her heart that tells her to do good.

Her stand Born to be, which is the name I think I'm 100% settling on for it... im still not 100% sold on what I exactly want its power to be, but I am thinking it would be like a "healer" type stand of the group and having a "mending" like ability with being able to patch anything together or treat any material like fabric and sew it to other materials like a brick wall to clothing fabric. or sewing parts of concrete together to make a wall... just throwing some ideas at the wall, seein what sticks.

And! last and youngest member of the group, Venus. A bit of a loner who has suddenly found herself glued to Gios click and cant seem to figure out why shes so terribly fascinated with being around them. Yes Mona is teaching her spin and Gio is like a russian doll with layers she wants to unwrap, but she doesn't need to hover around them everyday for that... So she's kinda wonder what the deal with that is? is it? a sense of found family??? or?? something? gross..

As for her stand i again dont have anything set in stone beyond it being able to do stuff with technology, maybe like an old school paisy park kinda beast. maybe something to do with noises,,,

I do like the idea of Venus learning spin from Mona and Venus using it like a dog toy for Atomic dog and playing fetch with it as a way to incorporate her stand ability with her spin ability.

[fictionkinfessions]

I keep thinking about my early time in Inazuma and I just.

I need to send such a heartfelt thank you to Ayaka and Thoma (and even though we didnt interact at the time, Ayato as well for also allowing it)

Now, I had something a bit different from canon early Inazuma's events.

The canon talk with Ayaka and the mini errands still happened, but they were just day one.

I was furious and damn near a manic episode over the previous encounter with Lumine, so I was incredibly rude to them both during our first meeting. So my first thank you HAS to be thanking Ayaka and Thoma for giving me familiar tasks to help me calm down (even if it wasnt the full intention). An additional quick thank you to Paimon for trying to run damage control and overall allowing her panic to show Ayaka and Thoma what was going on even though you didnt really get it yourself.

The big shift from canon is what happened when I came back from the tasks. I had calmed down. Cleared my head. I was feeling a bit better. Just better enough to apologize for my behavior and agree to help best I could. On the condition they just let me rest and process some shit for a few days or so.

To be honest I had nearly shut down from sheer exhaustion by the time we got back to the estate (because of my own wild emotions. Not the tasks Ayaka gave to me). So I think the toll my mind was taking was fairly evident in my apperance at that point.

The two of them were so kind. They didnt even ask what had happened or why I needed it. (I did explain a bit/vented to Thoma abt it later) They agreed so quickly and Thoma rushed me off to a guest room like I could pass out any second (I cant say I wouldnt have but I did think it was a little silly at the time)

I ended up being in a really deep depression for about a week. Could barely even leave my bed. Scared Paimon half to death (sorry Paimon)

Ayaka was a bit more distant during that time than Thoma. I think some of my initial rudeness got to her or maybe it was just how shy she was that the infamous traveler was in her house. Im not quite sure/dont remember. But I'm sure we got much closer afterwards when I was no longer depressed, and I think she gave Paimon a lot of reassurance during it all.

But Thoma was in and out of my room multiple times on a daily basis. He was SO nice and caring. Brought me 3 meals a day, let me vent all I needed, offered advice even though he didnt fully understand the situation, he would even remind me about some basic self care (not in a pushy way but gentle reminders for "if I found the energy"). He'd even play with Paimon to help get her energy out (she would get REALLY antsy when we weren't doing much)

He EVEN put up with my accidental slip of terrible coping mechanisms (wont say here. Its horrifically embarassing.)

I honestly don't think I would've survived my trip to Inazuma if it weren't for their kindness. I can never thank them enough. I don't even remember all of that week, nor everything about my continued relationships with Ayaka and Thoma, but I just cannot shake the deep seated need to thank them both for eternity. I can never thank them enough honestly. They practically saved my life. They gave me a safe space to process things. If they didnt let me stay with them I likely wouldve withered away within my teapot. They felt like some of the few people who not only knew EVERYTHING about my situation, but also knew how fucking traumatizing it all was, and knew exactly how I had gotten to the point I did.

God. I care about them both so much.

Ayaka, Thoma, seriously. Thank you both. So so so so so SO much. Your kindness was never forgotten, in that life nor in this one.

~Aether 🕯♟

🌷

[cassyapper]

I want to ask about your OCs!! let’s see… what’s one interesting thing about each of them that you don’t often get to talk about? (or more than one thing! go wild!)

HII THANK U SO MUCH IM HONORED THAT UR INTERESTED <3333 let me see....

adalia for sure is that she gets the hots for the princess theyre supposed to be fighting for. the princess isn't a very major character (for now) so i don't talk about her a lot and as such i don't talk about adalia's pining but she is soooo gay for her. hold on i have OLD art about it:

(that's an old old version of ai in the second panel)

as for ai herself hm. oh she used to jsut be a side character! and originally her arc was gonna end hapilly with just finding her brother. someone else (i won't say who) was gonna be the main character at first but i shifted gears when i realized im. more interested in ai LOL. as such i also muddied things with the finding of her brother

qiu is aroace! but im thinking of adjusting this to make him aroallo like me grins. i know it kinda carries the stupid joke of "ace ppl like dragons more than sex" but that wasn't the intention 😭 also he wasn't gonna always practice magic but as the story evolved it was like. he literally lives with drgaons why wouldnt he. so yeah

arha's modern depiction is VERY different from how i first conceptualized her. in fact she used to be a very minor character who was a MERMAID if you can believe it. her name also used to be lucia. one thing that's consistent though is that she's always been similar to kakyoin (she's polite and nonoffending but she doesnt have friends she kinda refuses it until, well, the story). i have always known him he has always existed in my mind

william is a relatively new character that i came up with so he doesnt have a lot of details yet. he's been in the army for probably 10-20 years and was probably a merchant's son. i think of him as kind and also fairly naive which is funny given his age. despite everything he isn't ai's father figure but they do come to be family

uhh yeah <3 thanks so much for asking EEEE ur so kind

[cryptidwolfe]

Hey Amazon/Tumblr...? What the FuCk?!?

Like, I know now that the second picture is a stuffed animal in a can, but wHaT ThE fUcK

These items should NOT be advertised RIGHT NEXT TO each other

[totallyblooktacular]

completely forgot abt these sketches i did in like late december of last year (originally on dif canvases so ignore the height gap lol) but i think they still look p nice so i put some flats on em and... here we are......

[darktyrannomon]

hit with that self loathing and reminded that when i told my mother about the CRISIS nurses coming to see me after a&e and she just shrugged that info off lmaooooooo

[cynettic]

hi, i hope i'm not bothering you, but i can order a Scaramouche × Kitsune reader, the two met before the vision hunt (and before he was a fatui if you want) the reader was always in the same place, sometimes having a conversation , the good old routine, but with the hunting of visions the reader disappeared not wanting to give up his own vision, and years later a reunion, SFW or NSFW is by your will, thank you, I really admire your work

Summary - Scaramouche met you as a child, growing up with the constant assurance that you would be right there, sitting at your spot where he could meet you with every visit. He isn't happy when you suddenly disappear.

Pairing - Kitsune!Reader x Yan!Scaramouche

Warning - Slight Yandere warnings?

Penpal - Ahhh- hope this is what you were looking for. I couldn't find a spot to put much nsfw unless I considered writing more for the series ( I could, just put a request in if thats what you’re looking for ). But I hope you liked it!! You're not bothering me at all and I'm glad you like my work!

A/N - Alright- so considering that with the 2.1 update with Scaramouche coming in, I just wanna state beforehand that I wrote this prior so I dont know if we learn about his backstory or anything!!

Link for Part 2

Stay With Me

Scaramouche was used to the routine he’d found himself going along with every visit to Inazuma. As a child he’d pass through the wild fields that stretched just beside his hometown, adventurous and curious with all the tenacity of a child.

And of course you, a kitsune that sat perched on the ground awaiting the Kitsune Saiguu, was bound to notice him. Unlike the other earth kitsune statues, you hadnt turned to stone during your wait. Instead, staying in the same place did you interact with travellers and the locals, which included Scaramouche.

“Fox person!” The little boy chanted, pulling at the hems of your clothing. Bright blue eyes bore into your own, and you slowly shifted your head to pay attention to the boy who was on the verge of bouncing on you.

Humming in reply to his excitement, the little boy paused, both of his small hands still tightly clasping the fabric of your clothes. Soft matted hair brushed past his face in a messy manner, calling out the boy for his boundless running and rebellious urge to keep his hair messy despite his parents wishes.

“Play with me!”

Staring at the boy only a moment longer, you simply chuckled at his antics. “I’m afraid I cannot move from the spot in which I dwell~ Perhaps I’ll be able to entertain you if you bring cards?”

But the young boy had made up his mind at the statement to which you couldn't move. A pitiful frown enfluged his face as he cast you the nastiest glare a five year old could muster. “Boring!” He shouted into the distance of the fields, dramatically turning on his heels and bouncing up into a sprint away. You watched his small figure fade away into the background, absentmindedly sighing and returning to your mindless thoughts.

As a child, Scaramouche would pass by you fairly often. Frequent when he asked you to play with him, and storming away with the same expression when you denied him. Nothing out of the ordinary, you’d lived for an exceptional amount of time, and even though grumpy children were not your specialty, you’d grown accustomed to their behaviour.

Growing up, Scaramouche got no better. You soon noticed his violent tendencies before they became an issue, the way the children shied away from him when playing Temari. Hiding in front of a tough exterior, he scared them away and laughed, approaching you later with tearful sob.

“Will you play with me?” He asked again, trying to hide the fact that he still wept when the other children pushed him away.

But your answer stayed the same, helping him wipe his tears and coaxing him into your arms. Not the first time you’d made contact with a human, but the first time you held them in such an affectionate manner.

It was clear Scaramouche was beginning to see you as some sort of pillar of reassurance when he began running away from home to simply ask to be held. You always welcomed him with open arms, urging him to head back to his household and sort things out. There was no harm in simply providing love and comfort for a child who received none was there?

“Now now, hurry back home little one. Your parents must be growing awfully worried if you’re out by this time at night.”

“My parents dont care about me!”

Darkness slowly pooled into the fields, an obscure shade covering the two of you from the tree you were under. Biting back form your normal emotionless statements, you pondered for something to soothe and convince the boy. Misunderstandings and hardships were normal from what youd seen with children, and you could only offer your hand on his shoulder, a promise. “Go back, I promise to stay here if anything further happens. But you shold give them another chance dont you think?”

And so he’d sprint back to his hometown, and you wouldnt hear from him again till he ran up right up to you a few days later. Begging you to play a game with him. The normal you supposed, and with a grin that seemed to stretch wider with every day, you told him the same thing you told him every single time.

“You cant move?!” Scaramouche nearly yelled one time, tiny fists curling at his side. “Thats… thats stupid!”

“It is isnt it?” You only smiled in response.

Unsatisfied with your response, he clawed your arm, pulling you with all his might. Strong, you realized with surprise that he was much stronger than most children his age. Easy enough to tug away from, but strong enough to take you off guard.

Snapping your hand back to your side, you narrowed your eyes. You weren't angry… no, you hadnt felt strong feelings like that after the disappearance of the Kitsune Saiguu. “Do not attempt to move me,” was your curt response, said in the most stern voice you’d used with the boy.

He’d looked at you only a few seconds longer before bursting into tears, turning away and running. You didn't feel regretful for defending yourself, only turning once more with a tired sigh to stare at the distance.

But just as you stayed ageless, Scaramouche grew older. Still, crossing each others pass was inevitable when you sat in the plains, just alongside the path that lead to his hometown.

With a permanent scowl that seemed to stain his face, he still seemed to have mature a tad bit. Maybe hadnt improved in the social department, because he now scared children and adults and alike, but more mature…

“Hm? Whats this?”

Once again, sitting criss cross under the large tree that provided the perfect shade on sunny days, you stared at the boy expectantly. His hands hesitated at your question, but he resumed shuffling. “Cards,” he simply said in response.

A small featherlike feeling flitted across your chest, making you feel lighter and… almost ticklish. A small smile crossed your face, and you recognized the emotion to be one of adoration. For him to have remembered words you’d spoken years ago, it gave you a warmth you’d sorely missed. A warmth akin to watching him and the other children grow up.

“Ew, dont smile like that, its creepy.”

Swatting at his head, he frowned further when you laughed. “You’re more mature,” you pointed out, lazily leaning back. “You need to work on your people skills though, as someone who hasnt moved in years, thats pitiful that I know more than you.”

“Shut it!”

But as he grew up, you hardly got to see much of him. He’d reached your height and then fully disappeared, leaving no goodbye. And much as you hated to admit it, you hardly noticed, not when days passed in a flurry. You were used to being by yourself, entertaining the kids and greeting the people that passed by.

Sometimes, there’d be the reminder of the warmth he’d given you. But it was quickly overshadowed by your duty to remain seated in wait for the Kitsune Saiguu. A dedication kept in its earnest, but beginning to dwindle.

Inazuma was beginning to change.

“The vision decree…” you repeated, staring at the traveller who’d mentioned it to you. “Care to elaborate?”

The new archon threatenening to take away visions from every inhabitant of Inazuma. It was preposterous, so much that you didnt move. Your vision meant the world to you, but so did the Kitsune Saiguu. You werent sure just how you weighed the two till you saw civilians passing by you, ones you recognized, ones that didnt recognize themselves.

It was snowing, cold snowflakes melting into your skin while your hair soaked in the water. Unflinching, you hummed to a little tune, awaiting someone to pass you so that you could attempt to strike a conversation of somesort. The unnatural weather distanced all who entered the field though, and you simply waited. For the Kitsune Saiguu, for someone, or for some form of entertainment, you didnt know. You Slowly closing your eyes, you decided not to care.

“Im gone for five years and you’re still sitting here like a dumbass.”

Eyes snapping open, you find yourself face to face with a complete stranger. Dark purple hair with dark blue eyes, piercing and dangerous in a way you dont recognize at all. Fancy clothing that you cant identify or put a name on.

The boy took a step towards you, crouching down to stare at you directly. His eyes scanned over your figure briefly, and he brushed the snow out of your hair and ears with one flick of his hand. In the next, he was offering a coat to you. “Take it, you’re probably getting cold.”

You leaned forward, ignoring the coat he offered you. Gently, you raised your hand to brush the hair from his eyes, centred on the way his pupils widened. Offering a small moment of surprise and one glimpse into the small childlike blue eyed wonder he was. “Kiddo,” you breathed, pulling your hand back and scanning him once again. “You’ve grown.”

“And you havent.”

Snickering at his comment, you took the coat. You didnt need it, but he looked like he didnt either. He was already wearing clothing that kept him warm, and with careful observation and an untouched coat, you settled on the fact that he’d brought it here. Brought the coat here for you.

“Still havent improved with those social skills of yours have you?”

He scoffed, letting himself fall back till he was sitting fully. “I dont want to hear it from someone who refuses to move an inch for years. Lazy ass.”

You open your mouth to retort, but instead laugh at his comment, shaking your head. “Gained some humour on your journeys have you? Bad words too it seems. Anyways...” He had sat down, which meant that he meant fully well to sit, chat, and catch up. That familiar warmth filled your chest, a contrast between the cold snow. “Welcome back.”

It wasnt often that Scaramouche visited Inazuma, but when he did, he was sure to visit you. The two of you would sit down for hours, talking about the most trivial topics. He never mentioned what he did in his time away, and you never asked.

But things began to go downhill when news of the vision decree finally took action.

“Its no joke anymore! The Raiden Shogun has taken custody of almost a hundred visions!”

In that moment you made your decision, weighing your vision over the Kitsune Saiguu. Awfully selfish you knew, but you’d spent decades sitting there in wait.

And for the first time you sat up from your position on the ground, clumsily stumbling upright but gaining balance. It takes a few steps until you’re back to normal, and you begin your journey in order to escape the Raiden Shogun’s vision hunt decree.

_-_-_-_

You didnt expect to see him again.

Long grass tickled at the skin of your legs, making you adjust your footing to no avail. Sun slowly descending past the mountains to mark the start of an evening and the soon approaching night. A normal day of exploring the mountains and islands of Inazuma, observing the constant changing situation, and running away from the vision decree like a favourite past-time.

With the exception of a firm grip on your wrist.

Dark purple like hair, same hate brimmed eyes and lavish clothing. You recognized Scaramouche the moment he had appeared, looking just as surprised as you were. That being before he snatched your wrist and snarled, “You.”

You wouldve considered it pure luck to find him, an unexpected reunion with someone you actually remembered. But no, his tone had some predatorial edge to it that had you cringing. Hard. “Yes, its me.” You answered back with a frown, trying to loosen his hold. “Nice to see you too, is something the matter?”

He only seemed confused at your words, pulling you closer.

“Something the matter?” He asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Well, to start, you’re not sitting at your damn spot.”

Taken aback for a moment, you wondered if that sole fact was what drove the boy to such lengths. Surely he couldn't be so troubled over the fact that you moved… “The vision hunt decree, I'm sure I mentioned that I was sticking around in wait for the Kitsune Saiguu. I decided to wander around and avoid the conflict until I could settle back.”

“You could’ve waited for me,” he stated almost instantly. “I could have protected you.”

You felt your brows furrow quizzically. “Wait for you? Why in the world would I-”

“Why wouldn't I?” He pushed you closer till he could fully grab both wrists, taking a step closer as if his words would resonate clearer in your head. “You took care of me as a child, it would only be fair for me to repay the favour.” But he only seemed to be looking for excuses. “And besides, you can't just up and leave… I didn't know.”

Before you could interject with the obvious answer that he didn't need to know, you stopped. You’d lived decades, nearly centuries if you’d kept count, and you had learned to read people's expressions even when you’d stayed away from them for so long. He didn't know. It hit you in the most unpleasant way that he wasn't aware that it was none of his concern. To him, you were just another thing he needed to keep track of, something he had control over. His face basically screamed, ‘I depended on you to stay in that place.’

Deep breath in and out. You’d lived long, longer than him, you could deal with a child throwing a tantrum.

“Don't worry,” you gestured to the vision ta your side. “I'm strong enough to protect myself, I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be back when the vision decree ends.”

Unconvinced, he pulled you closer, just until your faces were mere inches away from each other. “No,” he said in a stern voice. “I’d rather you by my side, where I can protect you. I hate to question what you’re capable of, but you’ve been sitting down for as long as I’ve known you for.”

“I’ve lived decades more than you,” a simple reply, hopefully enough to get by him. You snatched your hands back with ease, ears flinching slightly when a cold breeze swept past you. But you stayed firm, not wanting to look vulnerable against the imposing air he had around him.

Still unconvinced. “You’re coming with me.”

“No I’m not.”

You’d known him as a kid, watched him grow up along with all the other small ones in his hometown. And maybe you admit you cared a smudge bit about the warmth he gave you when settling down to play cards, but he was different. He had changed in the worst way and you weren't about to deal with it.

“So you’re not coming with me voluntarily?” He asked softly, taking a small step to which you responded by stepping back. He had his hands up, as if telling you he wouldn't hurt you. But the way he said voluntarily sent shivers up your spine.

“No.” Hand on your vision, you held your own hand up threateningly.

He took his time when tilting his head, taking a deep breath in, and then appearing in front of you in just a short stride. Too quick to react, you hesitated before you could attack him. You didn't want to hurt him, he was still a child in your eyes, and you paid the consequences for that. He slid his hand just along your neck, and a jolt of electricity seemed to thrum inside you just as you collapsed in his arms.

Scaramouche was quick to catch you, hoisting you up into his arms dearly. “I do hope you’ll come to understand,” he said softly, cradling your unconscious form in his arms. Making sure not to crush your tail when carrying your legs, he looked past the mountains, sigh resting on his lips.

Because Scaramouche liked to have control of the things he held dear. Like keeping all your valuables neat and tidy in a closet, he was happy knowing you were safe and stable in that spot you always sat on.

And he couldn't have you moving could he?

[sehnsuchts-trunken]

The Kings of Middle Earth - Thranduil | Thorin | Bard

pairing: Thorin x reader, Bard x reader, Thranduil x reader | gender neutral! btw lol

wordcount: i was too lazy to check

triggerwarnings: there's two sentences with gen z exaggeration indicating suicide, and i just want to say that this is not meant to in any way downplay suicide and suicidal thoughts. please don't take it seriously. if you have to fight those thoughts yourself, remember that there's telephone numbers and websites where you can ask for help

here are three gifs because christmas. 

no im lying its because google wouldnt give me one of all three of them in one so i had to do them separately. 

stan my kings or come die at their hands,, because you will, i dont make the rules- i’d say “or come die at my hands” but thats very unrealistic tbh, i wouldnt be half as good at fighting as them and also they can look out for themselves very well. mostly. partly. what im tryna say is fuck you if you dont like them 

Being ambassador was fine. Usually. Fine when there weren’t three grown men, kings at that, gushing and fighting over you like teenage boys. And the fact that your family had mixed to the point where you had all their kin’s blood flowing through your veins - which had really got you this position in the first place, seeming like a good idea at the time and a very questionable one now - made it a ton worse. You had been fairly sure that you could play some kind of helpful role in the negotiations after this war, but all you had got yourself into was a mess that rather ensued another one instead of solving the first. In a way you were naively proud of it, flustered and bemused and all giddy because of it, but far more than that were you annoyed. They got on your nerves all the time and made your job so, so much more complicated than it had to be and than it initially had sounded like. 

Today had been especially exhausting to say the least. Normally you ignored their behaviour, dismissed all they said that had nothing to do with negotiations, and quickly slipped out of the room before anyone could stop you. You didn’t quite know either why you were so disinclined to spend more time than necessary with them - certainly every other person in your place would enjoy it far more. But today of all days you were in no mood for another of those meetings, for negotiation and talk of war and their tiring attempts at snatching your attention away from the parchment you always had draped over your lap. You’d woken up in a bad mood already, then spilled your breakfast on your newly put on clothing and had to change it. Your horse seemed to be in the same kind of gloomy state you were in, because the second you’d slipped into the saddle it had thrown you right off again. Luckily it wasn’t a rainy day at least, so you’d only fallen onto grass and dirt and not mud to stain your shirt again. 

You lived in a little house in Dale at the moment, one of those that was safe enough to sleep in without being crushed by a breaking ceiling. That really would’ve fit your mood though. Thorin had offered you chambers in the mountain, Bard and Thranduil had offered you one of their tents, but you’d declined both and declared that you’d gladly stay on your own down there in a house far enough away from all three of them that you didn’t have to see none of them even when you rode up to the mountain when there was a meeting to attend to. Because they did usually happen in the mountain. Only rarely did Thorin come to Dale, and then only when the two other kings had complained so badly about their rides that he had no other choice but to offer a meeting in their tent. Because he was certainly not about to offer chambers to them. And they would not have accepted anyway, neither of them, for very different reasons. 

“Are you even listening?” 

The pen you’d been holding slipped, drew a dark, black line down the parchment and fell to the ground with a thud. You cursed as you bent down and reached for it before surveying the damage it had done - this was one piece of parchment you would surely not be using further. 

“I was, in fact, not”, you muttered, crumpling it in your hand and throwing it to the corner of the room - where you would absolutely have to go pick it up again once you were done, but couldn’t bother thinking about now. You’d been gloomily, silently sitting in your chair, staring at the parchment and your pen and not listening to anything the three of them had said. It was a wonder they spoke without your assistance anyway. Now you looked up to behold the mostly bemused face of Thranduil and the somehow a mix between worried and amused expressions of the other two. You straightened your back, ran one hand through your hair and tilted your head to the side a bit. 

You might have been in the presence of three kings, but you certainly were not going to act like someone had shoved a stick up your ass, especially not after three months, three months!, of these ridiculous negotiations that could have been settled after one. And, despite the utter respect both Thorin and Thranduil were used to being shown, none of them had once commented on your less royally-fit behaviour. You were you, and the kings were also just men, with emotions and thoughts the same way you had them, so there really was no need to play the cowering animal. Yes, they had done great things, yes, they had a ton of influence, yes, they could probably have you executed or thrown into a cell in a matter of minutes, but they were not god-like beings that you should fear. Really, who could actually be afraid of these three absolute, jealous idiots? 

So you leaned back in your chair and stretched your legs out on the stone floor. “I seem to have missed the entirety of the conversation, though I do have to admit I’m shocked there was one at all.” 

Thranduil, who was in the chair opposite you which he’d claimed his ever since the first meeting, smiled, and it was a soft smile that you couldn’t help but return. If any of them were to be feared, it was him - but not by you, not when that lovely smile was so often directed at you, not when there lay something beautiful in his gaze that you could always spot when he was looking at you. 

But it was Thorin who replied, and you tore your eyes away from the elf and towards the dwarf, who sat, of course, at the head of the table, lounging in his chair that was just slightly bigger and slightly more decorated than the others were. He was as proud as Thranduil was, but this was his home after all, and so he had all the potential to show it. Not that you minded - it was never his behaviour that was affected by it, not around you at least, it was pride for his people, pride for his kin, just the same way you knew Thranduil had it, too. It was strange how much the two had in common, though it led more to argument and difference than similarity. 

“What is it that is on your mind so much you cannot pay attention to the one talk that happens without you?” 

He was grinning a bit, though he tried his best to hide it. You did not - you laughed out loud without restraint, actually laughed for the first time today. As much as you cursed the lot of them, you loved them too, for they could cheer you up in a matter of seconds and have come close enough for you to throw away all reason more than once. You knew that if you were not here for work, you would not have denied them your blush and giggle and become as lovesick as you sometimes felt you wanted to be and had never been. 

“Horrible morning, I have to be honest with you. But - The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid”, you quoted with the ghost of a smile on your face. “Thinking makes age a quick thing and beauty lingers only in youth. I don’t like losing all sense of reality, so I do dearly apologise.” You chuckled quietly as Thorin raised his eyebrows, looking only a little bewildered. 

“Because we never get back our youth. The pulse of joy that beats in us at twenty, becomes sluggish. Our limbs fail, our senses rot. We degenerate into hideous puppets, haunted by the memory of the passions of which we were too much afraid, and the exquisite temptations that we had not the courage to yield to.” You laughed, almost snorting as you beheld the face of utter confusion and perplexity of the dwarven king. “It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place.”

You turned your head back only to see that Thranduil had raised his eyebrows all the same, and Bard was smiling faintly, eyes fixed so piercingly just on you that for one second you had to blink. It was no predatory gaze, no stare that could have made you uncomfortable, yet he seemed as though he could read you like an open book, and you had to admit you’d thought more than once that he knew you well without actually knowing you well. It was strange in itself that you were in this situation, kings so alike and different all the same, and while they took the same interest in you for whatever reason that you could not tell, they looked at you and spoke with you so uniquely that sometimes you wondered how they all held the same title. 

“It’s a wonderful little book, one of my beloved favourites, but hauntingly real in a way that left me breathless upon first reading and still does whenever I open it, though now I can recite half of it”, you explained, rolling the remaining parchment in your lap to make it a scroll and putting it onto the table together with the pen, not believing that you had been here for hours and written down two sentences collectively, which now were gone as well, for you had crumpled them and thrown them away. You were well aware that you were not here to speak about books you enjoyed, and had someone told you half a year ago that you would care so little that it were three kings you would open up to so easily, you would have laughed at them. 

“I don’t remember ever having read anything like it.” 

You tilted your head to the side and looked at Thranduil, knowing well that the small smirk on his face was a mirror of your own, but only bothering to consider it for the sake of Thorin’s scowl you could see even out of the corner of your eye. It had become normal at this point, even though you still checked twice when it were not the elf nor the dwarf, but the human king, who was usually, though more expressive than Thranduil, less likely to show jealousy, jealousy of all things!, like that. 

“I would have been shocked”, you admitted. “It’s human literature - the kind that no one reads anymore, I would have been surprised even if Bard had recognised it. But he does not strike me as the type who owns too many books anyway. Or do you?” You turned your head to look at Bard once again, ignoring wholly the way the elf tensed. You liked the three of them, but you simply could not bring yourself to be less annoyed by the constant competition about you. You, of all people. What reason was there for you to be fought over? By kings, dear god! No matter how much you did not want to consider their titles, there was life to be lived, people to be tended to, courts and lords and ladies to be satisfied - indeed, as much as you did not want to worry about it, as much as you did not want to see them in that way, they were kings, after all, and you were no ruler, not even born royal, and certainly not suited for a crown, even if it was one won in battle the way Bard had. 

Your expression fell once more today, and you slumped back into the chair, barely noting the shake of his head and the answer he readied himself to give turning into silence as he frowned. Of course it was today that you managed to also pull yourself down further. Hadn’t they just managed to cheer you up? And hadn’t you recited about how horrendously thoughts could poison the own mind a literal second ago? 

“What is it?”, Bard asked. You couldn’t bear the sheer worry that was laced with the simple question, about to crush your very skull. What had you got yourself into this time? Three kings, three charming kings, each so wonderful and wondrous in their own way, and somehow you were stuck in the middle of it all and toying not only with them but yourself, knowing fully well that there was no future for any of it, no matter a decision or none. You couldn’t rule a kingdom even if their interest were to be serious, and certainly you could not rule three. You pushed yourself out of your chair, ignoring completely the pairs of eyes that bore into yours. 

“Excuse me”, you said through gritted teeth, dragging your gaze to the ground and, just to busy yourself, pulling the cloth you used as a hair tie from your wrist and prodding your mane with it, trying to make it into some kind of presentable bun while taking three steps collectively before you were stopped. 

“I- We will not.” Thorin blocked your path with an arm to your waist, and you looked at him despite yourself, instinct taking over. All of this was shit. All of it was hell, and you had run right into the arms of trouble once again, just as you had always done, your whole life. For once you were happy, and after all it was just an illusion anyway, just a moment, something with only present and neither past nor future. It was definitely the wrong decision to lift your gaze though, because the second you saw the expression on the dwarf’s face, you were inclined to either throw yourself into his arms or off a balcony. Never before had anyone looked at you with as much care, as much tenderness and worry as these three kings did, and you could not keep it, not a single one of them. Though at this point you were not sure if you could and if you even wanted to decide if you had to, which you would not, because this thing was nothing but the blink of an eye for them, nothing serious, even if it was real. 

“You will tell us what is wrong”, Thranduil demanded, though... it was as much order as it was plea. A king speaking and a lover asking. Perhaps the throwing off a balcony idea was one you could actually make use of. It took all your willpower, all your concentration and determination, but you turned around slowly, did not whisk and jump over. the table and neither did you cry. You would not. This was work for you, negotiations for them... they were kings, you would not behave like a two year old in front of them, though you felt like one. And you knew just as well that you would crawl before them and beg if it came down to it, the stars knew for what. 

Thranduil's lips were a thin line, his stare as icy as it was soft, and you could not even bring yourself to wish you had never come to this war, because... as stupid as it was, you were more, far more than happy that for once there was someone who cared, that there was someone you did not mind being just yourself around, who teased and joked and still accepted all that you were. It was not your and not their fault that they were kings. 

“I’ve had a bad morning”, you repeated again, and indeed it was true- just not the whole truth now. Though the elf’s gaze softened, and Thorin to your left grabbed for your hand and gave it a light squeeze in reassurance - which was so unbelievably unusual in itself that you had to look down at your intertwined hands and brush your thumb over his skin in amazement. Thranduil did scoff this time, but the way your face lit up made up for it. He watched, not without the hint of a smile, your eyes widen and some of the life returning to your cheeks. Some of the heat, too. You hid it well normally, but never good enough, always just so much that they all still noticed it, and now that you made no point at all trying to conceal it, he found himself enamoured by it, wishing that it was him and not the dwarf who caused it, but content regardless, and promising himself that he would have you blush far more often in the future. 

“But it is more than that.” You turned around once again to look at Bard, brushing a strand of hair out of your eyes that had fallen from your bun. You nodded, perhaps more gravely than before, which had Thorin strengthening his grip on your hand. Like a desperate man, you thought, and it brought a bit of a smile back to your face, if only for a second. Who cared that these men were king? Who cared that they had a crown and a title? Who cared? For in this moment, you decided that you did not. And it was a burden that fell from your shoulders, one that you had only subconsciously acknowledged, one that you’d ignored the way you’d ignored all that was too far from the topic of war and negotiation. They were here, they were right here right now with you, and there lay fondness and genuine interest in all their gazes, and everyone could go to hell if you could not savour that. If this were to end in heartbreak, then so it be, and as long as it did not, you would enjoy the present that this one was. Enjoy the interest of not one, but three kings, in such a person as you, of no name and no influence, with no promises and no obligations.

“Perhaps”, you said, and the corners of your lips tugged up. How ridiculous everything was, and how little you were to care for it. “Or perhaps not anymore.” 

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

wanna talk about missy and what she does here in the witch's familiar:

[id: missy and the doctor in the witch's familiar standing opposite the dalek that clara is in. missy puts a dalek gun in the doctor's hand and says "kill it, doctor"]

because clara is both missy and the doctor right? their trio is a lot like 13 yaz and the master. the companion mirrors both, highlighting how much the doctor and the master are the same

and missy picked her! so theres some conscious intent there. and the way she relates to clara is varyingly like, disposable human, the doctor, the doctor's companion, and her own companion, i think.

so shes aware of her similarity to clara, i think thats why she picked her, and so theres a... whats the word, identification? there? when she looks at clara she also sees herself. and i think shes fairly conscious of that

so she puts clara in a dalek, puts her opposite the doctor, puts a weapon in the doctor's hand (which is not the weapon from the dalek that clara is in but i think theres still something to the fact that it's a dalek gun with which shes trying to make the doctor kill clara. like. idk if i can express this clearly but. missy is in the dalek, right? thats the point here thats whats happening, and the weapon she gives the doctor is a part of that body) and then she says indulge yourself. go on.

it's a different "go on" than the one before and the one after:

[id: two screenshots side by side of the master in end of time and the timeless children respectively saying "go on, then" when the doctor threatens to kill them]

like the motivations are different. but also theyre not. the motivations are different because the circumstances are different, not because the drive is different. because it's not.

and the thing about clara here is that like. last time missy saw clara, when she revised her opinion of clara from 'disposable human' to 'actually possibly interesting, might need to learn more about this one', what clara did was point her own weapon at her, absolutely meaning to kill:

[id: clara pointing missys weapon at her and saying to the doctor "old friend, is she?"]

and clara doing that is what forced the doctor to do it too. if clara hadnt threatened missy idk what the doctor would have done with her but he probably wouldnt have threatened her with death. and death by the doctor's hands is victory, for the master. because love and death are so intimately entangled for the two of them

i feel like i could have put this more concisely but i dont have the words so it has to be longwinded and i still dont feel like im expressing it properly but what im trying to say is:

missy identifies with clara

clara is also the doctor

clara threatens missy

this makes the doctor threaten missy

this is a win for her

this sequence of events also makes her revise her opinion of clara and decide she needs to learn more about her. clara is more interesting than she maybe at first thought. there is more to play with here

she recruits clara, she guides clara, she plays doctor to the companion that she gifted the doctor

she also still identifies with clara

and she encourages in clara doctor-like ways of thinking

then she puts clara in a dalek (which im pretty sure she knows is the second time, im pretty sure missy knows about each of clara's echoes, im pretty sure she mostly was talking about clara when she said "ive been up and down your timeline, meeting all those silly people who died to keep you alive")

"you need to know youre just like me!", "we're not that different". look doctor, im clara and clara is you, ergo, you figure it out

she puts clara in a dalek that makes the doctor hear "im your enemy" when she says "im your friend". "im his friend, youre just..."

she returns the favour clara gave her last time they met by putting clara in the position that she put missy in last time: being threatened by the doctor

and then shes like "indulge yourself", give in to your bad side, admit to the side of you thats like me, that likes me, that loves me, that kills for me, that killed for me. the side that you gave to me. indulge yourself and shoot the human thats a proxy for you, but more importantly right now, for me. Kill Me. Love Me.

in a way thats a lot less high stakes and literal, this is the same thing as what the master does in 12x10. kill us both by giving in to the part of you that you deny. because theyre made of each other right? neither of them can die while the other lives but also neither of them can,, become something else than they are, without taking the other one with them?

for the master not to be the master anymore, the doctor's identity needs to be dismantled too. the doctor wont let this happen, so the master is stuck. death is love because to die, whether by stopping existing or by reshaping yourself so much that the person you currently are stops existing, thats the only way to be free? for the master? and that would be love because that big a sacrifice could only be done out of love

(i notice now that "reshaping yourself so much that the person you currently are stops existing" is of course what regeneration is and i think thats interesting in light of the timeless child but my thoughts on that are even more half-formed than the rest of this post. Also interesting in light of like, my whole fourth wall preoccupation where you can say that maybe where the doctor regenerates, the master dies, or like, one of them keeps dying and the other one can never die. not sure which is which though)

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Superman's Dishcloth

A small cute headcannon thats been sitting on my tablet?

Summary: some people use pick up lines to get a womans number, henry uses a crochet lesson.

Warnings: Fluff?

Your fingers twisted the yarn around the hook automatically looping and pulling untill you made another double crochet stitch that the pattern required.

To be honest you wasnt paying that much attention as you worked your project, which was stupid really because you were making a new pattern, a bobble popcorn style head band.

You couldnt concentrate for two reasons

One. You were on a goddamned plane soaring across the Atlantic ocean. And if things went tits up you cant swim.

And two? You were seated next to none oher then mr henry cavill himself.

Not that you made a thing about it or even dared to look at him.

He he was watching you, eyes frowning as your fingers twisted the yarn into an intricate looking yet fairly simple pattern.

Youhad to stifle a laugh as his fingers twitched tryig to follow the moves and figure out what you were doing.

You growled missing count again. One, two, three three, skip three. A crochet, half double crochet, two double crochet in one stitch then skip three stitches and repeat untill the end.

Normally youd have no problems but your audience was putting you off.

You dropped the project in your lap as you miscounted again and realised you had to undo the last twelve stitches otherwise you'd be a set out on the end.

You closed your eyes grunting before slipping the hook out and began to tug the working yarn slowly before pinching it and slipping the hook into the loop catching it before it all unraveled.

"Why'd you undo it?" You jumped a little as the huge man beside you spoke up after watching you quietly since take off.

"Huh?... oh i misscounted i skipped four instead of three so it'd be out of line on the end and curl round..."

"How'd you know?" He frowned now leaning over even more curious then before.

You chewed your lip trying not to freak out as he peered over your little project.

"Err well i just counted the stiches i had left on the row, see i was up to here and there was five left not six, so i pulled it taught to spot the odd one out" you explained pulling more yarn through so you could point out the stitches to him with the hook.

"It looks complicated, you twist it so many times?" He said as your fingers began moving once more creating the repetitive pattern.

"Yeah... its not too difficult, Im doing a few different stitches is all, once you know a single crochet stitch and a chain stitch your good to go" You muttered with a smile.

"I doubt its that simple" he replied trying to keep up with watching your fingers guiding the hook jthought the piece making the fabric grow.

"It really is, here you see the little v on top?" You said slowing deciding to show him just how simple it was.

"Yeah?" He hummed quietly watching keenly.

"Thats the row before, so you slip your hook under both strands like this and loop your yarn over then pull through under that v so you have one loop on your hook" you said moving slowly and loosened the stitch with a light wiggle so he could see properly.

"Then loop the yarn over again so you have two loops, and pull the second one through the first... and thats a single crochet stitch" You explained showing him slowly.

"So you make lots of tiny loops and pull them through one another and it some how becomes fabric?" He asked fascinated by it, watching as you began to work on the next stitch.

"Yeah pretty much"

"But that one you pulled the wool over before you did anything at all?" You paused impressed he had noticed the slight difference... he had been watchkn that closely?

"So that was a half double, when you do a half double or double you yarn over first, then you just keep yarning over and pulling through until your left with one loop on the hook" you tried explaining as simply as you could.

"... it still sounds hard" he uttered still focusing on your hands that had been creating stitches.

"Honestly its not, i taught myself in about an hour and a half? Here try it? I've got extra yarn in my carry on if you want to give it a go?" You offered and instantly flushed you did not just offer to teach superman how to crochet like a fucking granny!

Before you could take it back and apologise he beamed.

"Really? That would be fun, i've never tried anything like this before" he said eagerly.

"Err yeah sure lemme just get you started, i'll give you a 5 hook... here" you said surprized digging about pulling the small ergonomic crochet hook out and some mustard yellow yarn.

"So you start with a slipknot... and then a few chain stitches" you began guiding him through it slowly teaching him the steps.

"So do you always crochet on long flights?" He asked pokeing his tongue out as he tried concentrating on the stitches he was doing.

"Yeah, im not good with confined spaces... especially confide spaces that are a good few miles in the air over the open ocean" you chuckled nervously chaining a stitch then turning begining your next row.

"Honestly im not either, usually i have kal- my dog but... not this time... this is good though, its helping take my mind off it thank you" he said sincerly.

"Dont mention it"

"Oh... i think ive done it wrong?" He said andnheld it out to you, you prodded it and to be honest you were impressed, it was neat, not a dropped stitch in sight... just a few loose stitches here and there, but he was finding a good tension.

"No, thats not wrong... just your tension thats all it comes with practice" you said handing it back to him.

"Tension?" He said making you pause. Oh yeah, he wouldnt knpw what that is yet.

"Yeah, how tight you hold the yarn and hook determies how tight your stitches are... mines pretty bad, i have to always use a size bigger hook" you expalined simply

"Really?"

"Yep, i do it too tight- even snapped a metal hook in my hand before" you chuckled remebering the way the hook had just... snapped mid project.

"Wow that sounds painfull?" He huffed eeingnyour hand curiously as if expecting you to snap a hook then and there.

"Yeah, i will admit i was frustrated with the project so it probably didnt help" you chuckled sheepishly.

"Frustrated? Was it complicated like that one?" He asked nodding to your growing head band.

"No, i kept loosing count on a pattern of 78 stitches" you said trying to wave it off but in actual fact that project had been murder.

"So what are you making?" He finally asked eyeingnyour work that had grown wider.

"A little headband, and hopefully i will widen it at the ears to keep em warm" you giggled wrapping it around pinchingnthe ends together proudly presenting it to him.

He grinned and looked down at his little square fiddling with it.

"And im making a... mess?" He laughed holding up the uneven square cheeks tinted pink when you giggled again.

"... Dishcloth?" You offered prodding it gently.

"Perfect, im making a dishcloth!" He bellowed nodding proud of his new diy dish cloth.

"I'm henry by the way. But from the way you were shaking in your seat im guessing you knew?" He finally introduced himself holding out a hand.

You smiled shyly and took it shakingnhands trying not to fawn over how huge hot and soft the palm was.

"Yeah... sorry i was nervous and you probably dont want to be bugged. Im y/n" you tried explaining nervously but he chuckled.

"I wouldnt mind being bugged by such a cutie~" he uttered quietly smirking at you tipping his head down a little too make sure you heard him despite his voice being quiet.

"Oh stop it" you flushed quickly looking down at your headband noticing your stitches werent as even as they could have been, but it couldnt be helped you had handsome distraction.

A very distracting handsome distraction.

"Its true. Besides i think it was me bugging you... and i have managed to plunder through your wool" he grinned sheepishly holding up his little dishcloth.

"Its fine, it not expensive, this is left over yarn from other projects" you waved him off. It was true ou had lots of odd ends and half skeins of woll from other projects.

"Well still i appreciate it, i hate flying" he said sincerly.

"Well now you have something to practice. Youll leave the plane with a new skill to stick on your cv" you added with a grin nudging him playfully.

"Indeed... And perhaps i can leave the p,ane with err...maybe your number to? You know to replace the wool and erm swap err instructions?" He said nervously jumbling his words.

You paused and looked at him shocked blinking. Did he just?

You blinked again watching as his face grew red and he chuckled nerously plucking at the woll on his dishcloth.

"Well i suppose every student needs to be able to contact theor teacher~ and these instructions are called patterns" you smiled to him nodding slowly.

"Right right i knew that of course they're patterns" he chuckled grinning ear to ear relived you hadnt turned him down.

"Well we have a good few hours, perhaps a few more lessons for my little student?" You teased picking up the pattern to show him some of the abbreviations. Mostly to try and concentrate on somthing other then the fact superman had just asked for your number... and was taking crochet lessons.

"Of course" he said excited eyes glittering with glee whilst looking at the small page.

[stormbreaker101]

Novelization Anon: hey so, I’m kind of stuck on writing something. Any ideas on what gamma would win in a bet? Like the equivalent of ‘person a owes person b a coke’ for the spiral. It doesn’t have to be a beverage or anything, just something gamma would be in for betting on.

Treasure cards. For 2 reasons.

1) Gamma is like the mascot of Deckathalon, since he's the one to explain it ro us (Im 99% sure) and his face was the icon for all of the weekly events for the Scroll of Fortune. I headcanon that he was the one who made Deckathalon, and that he actively participates from time to time (when it rolls around and he isn't busy with administrative work), and ya need treasure cards in Decka.

2) Gamma presents himself as a fairly proper and serious and responsible person. As basically the 2nd oldest Ravenwood faculty (having been by Ambrose's side since before Ravenwood was made), he cant exactly go around betting gold like some lousy pirate in a tavern! It wouldnt look good for his public image. So instead, he dabbles in the treasure card 'black market', which at this point is just a second freaking market among the Ravenwood community, and heck, maybe among wizards across the Spiral. After all, the biggest player-made trading server (that I know of) is called GAMMA's Trading Post (It's got over 14k people in it). And I for one love taking headcanons not just from game material, but community material too.

[coldvampire]

parliament of knives hasnt officially updated yet as far as im aware but it looks like some new things have been added into the code in preparation 

i saw something in the code a while back about being a malkavian but this is the first time ive seen it on the startup page so thats something neat. & lucca was teased a while back as being one of the potential romance paths, so no real surprise there. her section has no variables in it for now, and i havent combed the rest of the text to see if its been added in the actual game, but at least we know its definitely on the way. no bouchard romance variables to be found, but i know there was some point where jeffrey dean either implied or outright said that was something he wanted to explore. it might just not be in the code yet, or it could just be shelved for now. i 100% believe he was serious about wanting to add that in though and i can already see the skeleton of how it would develop even just playing though bouchard’s alliance or speaking positively to him. 

now this could have fully been there before and i just missed it, but ive peeled back ch 10 more than a few times now trying to see how i can trigger the best ending, and i dont remember this section being there at all. its definitely interesting though and im glad that kashif gets some more screentime. the last time he featured prominently in one of my playthroughs i somehow got him executed so uh. this is Much Better. but it seems overall he has more variables/appearances in general based on what looks to be a fairly updated/reorganized startup page. i wouldnt be super surprised to see him get a romance path later on either ngl. 

i definitely Do Not remember reading this before? it seems like its probably one of the better endings to get especially if you like corliss. its the final choice of the ending options on the page (so far) & its also an ‘*else’ choice, so im not really sure what conditions need to be satisfied for it beyond not meeting the conditions for any other ending? idk. corliss has always wound up dead in my games & thats a very easy thing to do for the most part so im not really sure how to get here without pissing everyone off royally lmao, but it could be interesting to aim for & see what happens. willing to bet it might be one of the ends thats dependent on adeline being destroyed, unless thats just a scenario you avoid entirely if you encounter annabelle. which might be required here? since she’s present and ends up throwing herself out the goddamn window lmao. i think? seeing as corliss is being told to take her job? tbh i had no idea there would be any possibility of working with arundel and corliss at the same time. 

the ‘ending’ label here refers to the ‘we hope you enjoyed playing’ screen to my understanding, so thats genuinely just the end of that route here. i think. to get this result you probably have to investigate the tremere? thats really the only way i can see this being a natural result, although i didnt get the impression that was the route to take if you wanted to find arundel? i’m pretty sure adeline being involved is unavoidable, but i wonder if this is an ending you can only trigger if your version of chapter 7 is the second version with jordan. (its entirely possible im very confused gfhgjh) 

this isnt new i just think its kind of funny that qui is the Only One so far with a break up option lmao. and the scene itself is so sad too like gfhgjh why must we be given the opportunity to witness his suffering he sounds so dejected.

and i also dont think this is new i just never caught it before now since iirc qui diablerizing the lasombra was always a possibility. but he really does have some very unfortunate options available doesnt he ghghkj

half of this is just me guessing lmao this game has a Very Impressive number of routes and options and its difficult to reverse engineer some of these endings without actually playing through all of the options presented. unfortunately im Extremely Attached to my toreador and her choices/relationships at the moment so the odds of me doing that are admittedly not great, but seeing the raw code & potential options is something ive enjoyed doing since night road (& its also a much faster way of fact checking for fic lmaooo)