#okay it's a bit more erik than wille

[oneofthosebells]

Not managed to pull anything proper together yet for Wille's month, but the Day 11 prompt (Future), reminded me of a crack fic idea I kind of really want to write one day...

Erik gets a vision of his own future somehow (psychic, witch, friendly angel, take your pick) shortly before parents' weekend and the car crash. But it's a limited vision; he gets flashes of his own death, the funeral, the video leak, Simon breaking up with Wille - twice - and lots of flashes of Wille suffering and heartbroken. Disturbed by the vision, Erik drives (slowly and carefully for once) to Hillerska for parents' day where he quickly sees that Wille is head over heels for Simon.

So, of course, he asks his good pal August to give him the lowdown on Simon, and August is more than happy to badmouth the rude, money-grubbing little commoner who shows no respect for his social betters and isn't at all a suitable friend for a prince. And Erik realises that not only was his vision of the future true and that Simon is going to break his little brother's heart, but that it must be Simon who leaks the video, for money or fame.

So Erik, with August's eager help, sets out to get rid of Simon any way they can. But every plan fails. Because they hadn't reckoned with just how far Wille would go to protect Simon and prevent him being kicked out of Hillerska. Wille calls his brother in an outrage that August is trying to get Simon expelled for dealing drugs?! And how DARE he when it was all August's fault in the first place, and he's never actually paid Simon for any of it, and can Erik throw some royal weight around and back Wille up in proving Simon's innocence and getting August expelled instead please? Because they can claim August is just blaming Simon to cover up his own misdeeds in stealing/buying ADHD meds from other students. [Sara can testify August tried to buy meds from her, and there's no actual evidence of Simon's involvement as no money has exchanged hands and there's no second lot of meds with Micke's name on in this timeline]. Erik can't tell Wille he's not on Simon's side, and to his horror, there's enough evidence against August on top of unpaid tuition fees to get him kicked out.

The weeks/months go by and Erik gets more and more desperate without his mole on the inside - because Wille seems blissfully in love and happier than he's ever been whenever he speaks to him, but Erik knows Simon's going to break his heart, he's seen it. And he knows for definite that Simon is a wrong 'un - he got August expelled! He's anti-monarchy and a socialist! He's clearly a bad influence!

Then one day, Wille calls him upset because he had a big row with Simon, and maybe they are just too different to make it work, and he thinks this is it, they've broken up - but then Erik's hopes are dashed when Wille calls him happily the next day to tell him actually they've sorted everything out again.

Erik's frustrated and desperate and maybe losing the plot a little bit by now because he's been obsessed with ending this relationship for so long now he's almost forgotten the original reasons why. But he does remember the one thing from his vision that would definitely break them up - the video leak. Erik doesn't have a video, but he does have revealing photos - (probably August took them, haven't quite worked out the details of that one yet) - and as Erik's obsession with getting rid of Simon at any cost reaches a peak, he clicks send on the anonymous tip off to a journalist...

(@youngroyals-events)

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

The Nine Worlds series (Hands of the Emperor)

nothing less than the world by ariex09

At least there wasn’t an audience for the look Ludvic turned on Kip and the too neutral way he said, “Tor?”

Kip could feel himself flushing - in Astandalas this was the kind of thing that had lost him jobs before - but he had the excuse of, first of all, amnesia, and second of all, “He didn’t give me any other name!” Kip hissed. “He deflected me off the topic twice!”

-

AU where the landslide at the Liauu happens several years earlier, and the younger Kip has a rather different experience of the future.

diving for a flame pearl by ariex09

It took me an appalling three hours and thirteen minutes to even realize that Kip was gone.

Ah, but that was too charitable. Once we had a timeline together, we discovered that Franzel had seen Kip last, turning in for bed at twelve minutes before midnight, and it was not until Shoänie went to wake him at dawn that anyone knew he was anything but asleep in bed. This meant that by the time the knock on my study door came, shortly past the third hour of the morning, Kip could already have been missing for more than nine hours.

-

In which Cliopher goes missing midway through The Hands of the Emperor. Fortunately, he has friends and family willing to do whatever it takes to bring him home.

A nap at the feet of the sun by SunInGlory

Prompt: Cliopher somehow falls asleep on HR’s robe, and rather than wake him, HR has one of the guards cut that part of the robe off of him. Just looking for something soft and sweet here, but of course go in whichever direction you’d like. Bonus points if Petty Treasons era.

---

Cliopher decides to take a nap. Okay, perhaps decides is too strong of a word.

Stranger Things

Robin's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Your Newly Adopted Former Mean Girl by formosus_iniquis

She extends a hand, ignoring the laugh it gets her, “Welcome to Hawkins, I’m Robin, occasional Dustin babysitter.”

The girl’s smile pulls lopsided at her mouth, kissed with a bit of irony and undeniably charmed. “It’s nice to meet you Robin,” her voice is soft, and a little unsure. Wavering like Becky Simpson’s tone deaf oboe playing, unsure of what pitch and timbre to land on. “I’m Stephanie Henderson, Dustin’s cousin.”

The bit crumbles immediately between Robin’s fingers.

“Stephanie? You went with Stephanie? Are you kidding? We workshopped so many names!”

Marvel

Three Kinds of Learning by luchia

Erik intends to recruit Raven's supposedly amazing, all-powerful older brother. Instead, he finds himself dealing with Charles Xavier, a weak, tweed-addled professor who seems to think powers don't matter nearly as much as personality. Erik's misconceptions are blown apart when Raven goes missing.

SVSSS

In Durance Veil by Mikkeneko (+ podfic)

Right, the villain's beautiful daughter, who had caught a glimpse of the Protagonist from afar and, naturally, fell madly in love at first sight. She'd used her knowledge of her father's lair to sneak into the dungeon where Luo Binghe was being held and eventually proved the key to his escape, betraying her father for love. "So, you want to try to find some random girl who's willing to sneak in past the guards to Luo Binghe's prison and..."

"What random girl could we possibly trust? I'll do it myself!"

"You know what," Shang Qinghua said. "Somehow I feel like I should have expected this."

---

Shen Qingqiu self-detonated at Hua Yue City, but he didn't die. Instead, he wakes up to a world where Cang Qiong is victorious and Luo Binghe has been imprisoned beneath the mountain. What's a poor transmigrator to do? He has to find a way to free the Protagonist before he breaks out and razes the Sect to the ground! Clearly, the best way to do this is to pretend to be one of Luo Binghe's future wives.

Clearly.

Harry Potter

A Place That Fits by BitchesLoveAngstImBitches

Harry had been prepared to save Sirius’ life, no matter what the cost. Harry put himself in danger, and Sirius had come running, and it was the last thing he ever did.

And then it turned out Harry’s life wasn’t even worth saving: Neither can live while the other survives.

At the rate of Voldemort’s rising power, Harry would be lucky to survive the year.

Sirius had died trying to help Harry. He’d died for nothing.

-

Harry is struggling in the aftermath of the Ministry battle to come to terms with Sirius' death. His isolation and mistreatment at Privet Drive only make things worse. Remus Lupin checks on him in Surrey, but with both of them grieving, his assumptions about Harry might only hurt him more.

[the-words-we-sung]

The songs of Young Royals - S1 E1

So after a few re-watch I started noticing how well the songs are used in the show and I wanted to chat a little bit about it ^^ (Because I'm usually watching alone with my cat and he doesn't really care about my opinions on how awesome the show is at picking its songs :p So hopefully people here will be more interested!!)

Bad, Farveblind

I think it's wrong I think it's bad I think it's lame I think it's horrible The song starts when we see Wilhelm at the club where he gets in a fight and then we get the chorus through his earbuds in the car (note: I love it when a show put a music in the background that ends up being something a character is actually listening to in the scene!!). He just got out of a shitty situation which will have huge repercussions on his life and his mother is making decisions about his life without asking him: the show is not subtle about telling us how "wrong" and "bad" it is. And despite this lil' foreshadowing (the song plays before Minou tells Wille about his mother's decisions) and Wilhelm's strong opinion against them, it's still gonna happen. Going to a boarding school is "lame" (or so Wilhelm thinks) and the whole situation is "horrible". And yeah, it's gonna suck on a lot of points, but it's also gonna change his life...

Wannabee Ghetto, Fata Boom

... Keep up the front like it's your decision ... Look our best Covering up what we're missin It's literally what Wilhelm has to do now. His mother decided for him that he should change school and enroll at Hillerska, he is not happy about this plan but has to pretend he's okay with it. He just lied to the public that it was a decision he took part in. He is the prince, even if he's not (yet) the Crown Prince, and he has an image to maintain. An image that was damaged due to the video of the fight: someone is literally putting make up on him to "cover up" the marks of the fight so he can look his "best". And what is he missing? Well August will say it at least twice: he doesn't have the same drive as him or Erik. So he's missing the desire to be on top, to be king, to keep the status quo...

It takes a fool to remain sane, The Ark

... Wasn't life supposed to be more than this ... Let go off my hand and it will slip on the sand If you don't give me the chance To break down the walls of attitude I ask nothing of you, not even your gratitude 'Cause it takes a fool to remain sane ... Of becoming like the others Who become unhappy mothers And fathers of unhappy kids This song!! Such a great choice for their first song <3 Wilhelm being so incredibly unhappy and stuck because "being a prince is a privilege, not a punishment" but he wants more for his life. It is supposed to be "more than this", more than pressure and appearance. The song going on with the "unhappy mothers / unhappy kids" while we follow Erik and Wilhelm stiffly posing for pictures outside. How can Wilhelm not be scared? Is it the life that awaits him? Always keeping a nice front, not being himself?And why is that? 'Cause they've forgotten how to play But Erik and Wilhelm haven't forgotten yet!! Right after these lyrics we have a playful Erik who suggests they take off in the middle of the photo-shoot! And they do!! So there's hope for them!!

I see you, Nadia Tehran

Back to their bases Covering their faces Tones through the breeze yeah The power calls crises Round my crowd No cops allowed Interestingly the song starts with "you ain't welcome here, you don't look like us". This part is not in the show but works so well for Wilhelm starting at Hillerska. He's getting hazed by his peers "covering their faces" and being really rough with him (this hazing is so yucky, I struggle watching it every time ^^'), and he's welcome here because he's the prince, because he's supposed to be part of their world. But he's not gonna be like them. Do they know it already? "You don't look like us", and thanks god for that!! (And yup, "no cops allowed", right August? You can do whatever you want here without any consequences...)

Blah blah blah, Armin van Buuren

All we ever hear from you is blah blah blah So all we ever do is go ja ja ja And we don't even care about what they say The song plays while August is talking to Wilhelm about being among his peers and criticizing him for wanting to be "normal" at his previous school. I love that this song is playing because, yes, it's a good party song, but also, it's probably what everyone watching the show is thinking when August is being an insufferable prick like that! And Wilhelm too, who just usually goes "ja ja ja / yes yes yes" to what August tells him (until he stops and finally goes openly against him, but for now in the show, he just listens and nods). Erik told him he should listen and trust August, so he listens to him. But at this moment Simon appears, and suddenly Wilhelm "don't even care about what they say" because the cute boy he already has a big crush on just arrived. And August and his stupid speeches about rich people being above everyone else don't matter anymore.

[bigalockwood]

Sunday Snippet

This is from chapter 6 of should've said no (and you might still have me). I can't give you more than this because it would be a major spoiler, but chapter 6 will be a bit more dramatic (in a very different way than thus far, though).

“Simon?” Wille’s voice sounded strange through the speakers of Simon’s phone, raspy and lower than usual. Like he’d been crying, Simon realized. A quick glance at his clock showed that it was just past midnight. For such a late hour, there seemed to be quite the commotion wherever Wille was, steps echoing in a hallway, a weird rustling noise, a low groaning. For one long, absurd second, Simon’s imagination ran wild. He had a vivid mental image of Wille, severely injured, stretched out on a gurney, being pushed through a never-ending hospital hallway to receive emergency surgery after he’d fallen from one of the horses, much like Erik had. “Wille? What’s going on?" An excruciating silence followed Simon's inquiry. “Everything okay?” "Simon, sorry, I –“ Wille broke off, voice dangerously thin and wobbly. “Can you come? I know it’s far for you, but I could really use –“

[new-tella-us]

I might do a thing I call "Seduce Me Situations" aka short writing prompts for the game. Yall can ask for some if you want.

The first one I made up is "How would the boys + Diana react to Mika passing out on the couch after a long and tiring day of work?"

James would wake Mika up so she can get to a proper bed. He'd offer to carry her if she wanted. He would then ask her if she needed anything to eat or drink as he assumed a day as long as a full time job would make her hungry. Generally, he's very attentive to her needs and willing to listen to her bitch out her coworkers if she felt like it.

Erik would also wake Mika up and advise against sleeping on the couch with makeup on. He's a bit more insistent on carrying Mika. (cause... come on. Flirtation, romance.) First thing's first, Mika would take off the makeup and itchy uniform and get into something more comfortable. And then proceed to collapse into her bed like a heavy stone. All the while, Erik is complimenting her beauty even without makeup.

Sam would... okay most of them are waking her ass up. He's the least talkative of the bunch. Just, step 1) Wake up the future gf, step 2) Get the future gf to bed. He's a bit harder than the others, giving some attitude. Which Mika ain't having any of that so banter ensues. But while he seems annoyed, as soon as Mika gets to her room, he does ask if she's okay, if she's sick and if she needs anything, showing his softer side.

Matthew is the first one to not wake Mika up. He just doesn't want to disturb her sleep, so he just makes the couch more comfortable. Extra pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and Simon Tabby watching over her like the guard dog he is. Matthew himself would make her some dinner seeing as she clearly didn't have a good day if the best she could do was flop on the nearest lounge-adjacent item she could find.

Damien is the second one to not wake Mika up. Instead, he just carries her to her bed, bridal style. No need to wake her up for that. So I lied about Sam being the most quiet, that award goes to Damien! He probably only calls her cute before proceeding to carry her to her bed. I imagine Mika does wake up but since it's Damien, she feels safe enough to not alert him. Little did she remember that this man has mindreading. So when he puts her in her bed, tucks her in and all that jazz and she's thanking him in her mind, he cheekily says "You're welcome." and leaves like the lighthearted troll he is.

Bonus round! Diana!

If you go on the Diana route, she'll tap Mika's forehead and say something like "It's not smart to sleep with makeup on, dear. You'll break out or stain your couch." Then she warps her to her bed or carries her, based off preferences. I think she would watch over Mika, just to make sure the future gf is okay.

[bluedalahorse]

What would make August decide to reject the crown prince title?

Well, you know my brand! I actually think it’s possible for August to get to a place where he leaves behind the crown prince role. It’s a bit of a claw machine game, but isn’t that more fun to think about than letting him suffer forever? We love a challenge! We love growth! We like acknowledging the messiness of the character, and not always assuming the worst of every last thing he does! So let’s get into it.

I’m actually not going to talk about Sara much here. A lot of posts that talk about this crown prince situation mention how sad August is to have lost Sara, and while that’s true, I actually think there are other emotional undercurrents at work. Similarly to the way Wille is more than his relationship with Simon and has to leave the monarchy for his own self-actualization, August will leave for reasons that go beyond losing Sara.

I also want to open by agreeing with everything my esteemed colleague @heliza24 says about therapy and time and community in this post over here. What I’m going to say here is going to be long and rambly, but I think it will build on her talking points.

So let’s think about August holistically, in terms of his values. In order to get August out of the monarchy, the first step is understanding (excavating, even, because this shit works in layers) what draws him to it in the first place, and what his emotional needs are. I actually think it’s a common misconception that he’s into the whole thing for the power of it all. I actually think this is more about August’s need for belonging, particularly in terms of his wanting to be part of a family and the way he values traditions that bring people together. Monarchy runs on this idea of a sacred first family that sets the tone for the nation and leads them in following traditions. This ideal family is, in theory, the ultimate exemplar of what August desires in life. And yet the reality of the monarchy is far from the ideal. I think we sometimes assume August has a clear view of what monarchy is like, since he’s related to the royal family and all. But I also think his close proximity clouds his judgment. More details below…

The thing about being in the crown prince position is that at first it would set up opportunities for August to connect with family members, namely Kristina, which initially would meet a family-related need. August seems to hold Kristina in high regard. He’s looking forward to the possibility that she might visit during parents’ weekend in season 1, and he’s pretty afraid of facing her in season 2 when he’s called to the palace. Of course, that is about her position as queen as much as anything, but I can’t help but wondering if it’s also that Kristina was August’s father’s favorite cousin. And isn’t that a fruitful piece of information? There’s so much that can be done with that connection! For instance…

A lot of August’s trauma is rooted in grief. Some of that is complicated grief for Erik, which his reconciliation with Wille (and probably their shared sessions with Boris) has helped him start to feel and unravel. We haven’t really seen August fully grieve his father yet, but I imagine that if there were seasons 4 and 5, this would be the next step in his character arc. Grieving his father is crucial. In season 3, August has (clumsily, in front of Sara when he shouldn’t have said it, but the lines happened and I find them fascinating) just begun to idealize his father less—he says he misses his dad even though his dad was shitty, and that makes me go, okay, what else is behind that line? (A really amazing fanfic by @sflow-er is what.)

Meanwhile Kristina mentions that she and Carl Johan were really close until Carl Johan started to fall into addiction. Lots to peel back there, too! Like, what happened? What was the timeline of all this, and was it a big falling out or a slow breakdown in the relationship? Does Kristina feel any guilt related to August’s father’s suicide, like August himself does? We don’t know how she feels about Louise—is she sympathetic toward her for having to be married to a man who was potentially abusive? Or would Kristina have bought into Carl Johan’s potentially false narrative of Louise, and blamed Louise for her husband’s addiction and mental health crisis?

Whichever direction you take this, I think working with Kristina day to day would bring up opportunities for August to confront his sense of loss. Kristina probably has all kinds of stories about August’s dad, and how they got up to trouble together in their childhood and youth, and which now-deceased family members responded to their antics. August might be able to share a few stories about his dad as well. Sharing memories is an important part of the grieving process, for so many people, and I imagine at first August would feel connected to his father’s side of the family for the first time in a while, and there might be some good things that come of it.

On the other hand… those initial benefits might not last forever. And August would soon discover the fucked up aspects to that side of the family. It’s possible Kristina might try to help August mend his relationship with his mother, but in the scenario I mentioned above (Kristina buys into Carl Johan’s narrative of Louise and blames her for his death) I can see her trying to interfere when August and Louise try to repair their relationship. Wouldn’t that create some fun tension between August and Kristina? I do think August wants to repair his relationship with his mother. As mad as he is with her in season 1, we also see hints in seasons 2 and 3 that he doesn’t actually hate her and wants to feel connected to her. After graduation he goes to find her and Rickard in the graduation line where all the parents are holding photos. I could see a situation where August, a year or two after canon, decides he wants to patch things up with his mom, and keeps running into pushback from Kristina about it. Aren’t there so many ways that tension could escalate? Wouldn’t that be a fun thing to play with in fanfic?

And then there’s Wilhelm. The way I read their reconciliation, it felt like August would try to maintain a good relationship with Wilhelm in the future. What does that become if he ends up in a position where he’s always mediating between Kristina and Wilhelm now that their relationship has fractured? And then we know Kristina tried to turn Wilhelm into Replacement Erik, I can absolutely imagine a situation where she starts thinking of August as Replacement Wilhelm and behaving accordingly, and August grows to resent that. Ultimately I can see August siding with Wilhelm over Kristina in the end and they end up banding together.

All those paragraphs above basically just mean that like… I feel like being in the crown prince role might bring a lot to the surface for August, in terms of how he relates to his family. And once he sees what wounds being crown prince can’t heal, that’s going to shatter his idealism and make him question the monarchy as a representation of the family in general. And that’s an important step out the door.

Now, August also needs to see what alternatives to this “perfect ideal family model” are out there. He also needs to realize that family isn’t just about blood relatives. Which just means he needs honest friendships with people who don’t subscribe to that kind of patriarchal nonsense. I don’t mean August needs patient queer friends who will hold his hand and explain the concept of heterotemporality to him in a soft voice. I just mean that being around more people who break his mental schemas in that regard would be a good thing. Like how does his friendship with Nils develop now that Nils has come out? What if, I dunno, it turns out that Louise and Rickard are both bisexual and poly? And then of course there’s his continued relationship with Wilhelm, which I imagine he’d continue to invest in now that they’ve turned things around at the end of season 3.

Does that wrap up the family stuff for now? Probably. There’s a thousand more things I could talk about but we’ll put it aside for now.

I mentioned August valuing tradition in my opener, so I want to address that too. Surface August—aka the protective suit of armor August has constructed for himself in season 1—seems to value tradition for its own sake, and mostly defines inclusion for some as something that can only exist when there’s exclusion of others. These are all the broken things Surface August has been taught or (we now know) traumatized to believe, and they come out in his behavior, and it sucks.

At the same time, what happens over three seasons is that we see there’s this deeply buried version of August that’s struggling to get out, and in my opinion at least, that deeply buried August actually gives a shit about others feeling a sense of belonging. I feel like this part of August is influenced by his own experiences with isolation and loneliness, and we see glimmers of him from time to time. (Especially when it’s Vincent doing something exclusive and shitty, for whatever reason. See August standing up to Vincent when Vincent is shitty to Simon in 2.3.) I think for August, traditions and rituals and events are something he sees as being deeply important in creating a sense of belonging for people. And he’s not fully wrong. Traditions and events done right are how humans make sacred their bonds with one another… which is why you get a bunch of Wilmon wedding headcanons. Because we love traditions too, you know.

As much as August gets a reputation for being rigid, there are times when we’ve seen him budge from what’s expected of him and change up the rules. I think August is actually more willing to rewrite tradition than fandom gives him credit for. He’s got suggestions for the speech Jan-Olof wants him to recite verbatim. He tells Vincent to rethink the senior superlatives. And he’s one of the third years who makes a pact to remove the really homophobic part of the initiation. 

I say this not to give August undue credit—these are half-steps and there’s clearly more he can do, and some of these traditions should be eliminated, not modified. But I want to point out two things. First, that imperfect half-steps (and some pretty epic backslides) were part of Wilhelm’s journey too before he made his full break with the monarchy. Second, by season 3, we can see that August is actually capable of reflecting about traditions and considering ways they could be rewritten to create more of a sense of belonging for others. 

Again, this is imperfect, and we may want him to do more… and this is another place where he could potentially end up clashing with the royal court in time. One thing that I’ve thought about is that being a prefect at Hillerska is a little different—in theory if not in practice—than being the crown prince of Sweden. As a Hillerska prefect you’re just leading the elite and the few who get into your school, but as crown prince you really are supposed to be there for the nation as a whole (albeit in a “non-divisive” way) and I think August does actually recognize that distinction and would try to approach it differently than being prefect or rowing captain. Except he would continue to be a total overachiever.

Like, look. On some level August would be incredibly earnest about the idea of being the keeper of Sweden’s traditions, and earnestness is not the same as being a rubber stamp or a yes-man. The royal court may think they’ve finally got someone who will carry out whatever monarchical agenda they set without question but like… idk, do they? Do they really??? August is going to want say in the process, and August is going to have so many ideas about how to make traditions better/more awesome, and August is going to annoy the hell out of Jan-Olof and Farima. He is going to be so annoying! He is going to have slides presentations! He is going to crunch the data on how the royal family is getting bad press for their carbon footprint and come up with a plan for renewable fuel on the private jet so now they can totally show people they’re legit! Meanwhile he’s going to be annoyed when his ideas are getting blocked. And I find the slow build in conflict that would arise out of a situation like that pretty entertaining.

Okay, it’s time to wrap up. For real this time. (This would all be better in a fanfic than in an analysis post, really! I should write.) Ultimately I think August would be drawn into the monarchy because he’d see it as a way of living his values of family and tradition and hell, service to the nation and being part of something, but he’d grow frustrated and disillusioned when it didn’t, actually, allow him to do that or give him the space to do it. The answer to Rickard’s question—does the monarchy love you back?—is no. And I don’t know how long post-season-3 August is willing to put up with being unrequited like that. Maybe for a time, but not forever.

You may also wonder why I have faith that he’ll get here. And the simple answer is: after season 3, my faith in August is intertwined with my faith in Wilhelm. Wilhelm breaking with the monarchy at the end of season 3 (especially after some pretty intense backsliding moments.) shows me that it’s possible for August to do it too, someday. That is perhaps a post for another time. For now, let’s just look forward to all the opportunities for a fix-it fic.

[iwritelmao]

The Maximoffs

summary: Wanda begins her studies on research, history, and literature, while in true Maximoff fashion, bending the rules a bit. Additionally, her classic shut-in behavior must end... With Peter's help, of course.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5 Coming Soon)

Wanda sat in the library, hunched over a book, exactly how she’d been about six months prior in Queens NY, in the library of Fordham University. Only this one was much smaller, even in its non-relative impressive size. Wanda liked that though. There were no whispered conversations at the circulation desk, no study groups being a bit too loud in a far corner. It seemed in this school, you were either dead silent, or you weren’t the type of person to be in a library.

Of course, there were exceptions. Like when Scott barged in to call Jean out on importan X-Men business. Something about national security being in danger. Or when Hank and Raven flirted over engineering volumes. Or when the professor came to check on Wanda after her third hour of isolation.

“I see you’ve abandoned War and Peace.” He noted, though he didn’t seem upset.

Wanda looked up sheepishly from the book she was reading. “You have a first edition Wuthering Heights.”

“Yes, I believe I also have Jane Eyre lying around somewhere.” Charles Xavier smiled at the girl’s astonishment. “A great something or other of mine was a Brontë fan.”

“Wow…” Her voice was barely at a whisper.

“Do you like to read?”

“Kind of? I think most of the appeal is seeing where the books have been. Looking for signs of whoever read them before; names inside covers, library logs, notes in margins.”Wanda said enthusiastically, though still keeping her voice down. “It’s like you can look at someone else’s life, their reality, through the window of another reality entirely… that’s a special thing for those of us who can’t read minds.”

Charles nodded. “I can imagine.” He said. “Though what I can’t guess at… is why you dropped out of university.”

Wanda looked up from the book. “It’s a long story.”

“Wanda you’re a wonderful student, filled with more academic curiosity than I can begin to muster out of Scott, or Jean, or even Kurt.”

She tensed up. “I really just don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Would you rather talk to your father?”

She clenched her jaw then took a deep breath. “No. And he obviously wants nothing to do with me or Peter.”

“You can’t really believe that.”

“Professor, he knows. And I’m willing to bet he’s known for a while.”

Charles Xavier sat up just a bit straighter. “No, that’s… surely he would’ve said something.”

“Yeah, your guess at ‘what the fuck’ is as good as mine.” Wanda said softly. “Don’t believe me? Read his mind, or something.”

“I’m not going to- no, I believe you,” Charles said. “Whatever he knows or doesn’t know, Erik wants a family more than anything. There must be something keeping him from speaking out… there must be.”

Wanda got back to her room to find Peter sitting cross-legged on her bed, flipping through one of her books. He looked up briefly before turning his attention back to the book, silver hair shielding his eyes. "You wrote all over this thing."

"That thing is a history textbook, so yeah, I annotated it," Wanda said, dropping her bag at the foot of her bed and sitting next to her brother.

"On Bohemian Culture..." Peter read from the cover, then moved to the sticker on one of the bottom corners. "Rented copy... Weren't you supposed to give this back to Fordham?"

Wanda shrugged. "I wanted a souvenir. And it's actually really interesting."

"God, you're boring," Peter tossed the book aside. Wanda used her powers to catch it in mid-air then set it on her desk. "Make any friends yet?"

The girl looked confused. "Why?"

"You're kidding," Peter remarked with raised eyebrows. Wanda shrugged. "Okay, fine. I'm heading out on the town with Hank and Raven tonight, you should come."

"The teachers?"

"Unless you, a vaguely 20-something-year-old, wanna go hang out with the gaggle of eighteen-year-olds," Peter suggested sarcastically, referring to Jean, Jubilee, and Scott. (seriously what the fuck is the aging system in these movies? I'm choosing to believe that the Maximoff twins are both 23 cause I feel like it)

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Fair. But Hank and Raven are... well, I don't know. They're something. I feel like they'd just be babysitting us all night." She said. "Plus, what nightlife is there in Westchester, New York?"

Peter stood up. "Would you stop making excuses to exile yourself?"

She looked at him for a long time, trying to find more reasons to say no, stay in, and read. But she kept drawing up blanks. Her mind kept going back to that one question. Where exactly was one supposed to find good nightlife in Westchester?

Raven threw her head back laughing and Hank watched adoringly. The older man smiled, then took another swig from the bottle of wine he'd brought (apparently, beer didn't agree with his stomach). Raven and Peter shared a six-pack, while Wanda sat and watched with a lukewarm, unfinished hard cider in her hands. She wouldn't drink anything that wasn't sweet or fruity.

They sat around a bonfire in the woods. It had previously been populated by the K-12 students during the homecoming season, but now all that was left was long since scorched grass, and empty bottles littering the clearing.

It was nice, Wanda decided, to be so free with a small group of people. Hank had been hanging from the trees earlier. Raven, shifting from blue, to blonde, and back as it suited her comfort. Peter darted back to the Mansion more than once for more ice to put in the cooler. Wanda had refrained from using her powers much, maybe because she wasn't drunk enough. Maybe because she was too intoxicated to do so safely. After all, dangerous things could happen if one played with chaos magic, the very threads of reality, so carelessly.

"Wanda!" Raven called out. "Your turn."

"Oh, uh..." Wanda paused, considering the question they'd all gone around the fire answering. "Nowhere."

Hank tilted his head. "What do you mean, 'nowhere'?"

The young woman shifted in her seat. "I mean, I've never..."

Peter spit out his beer. "What?" He stared with wide eyes. "What about that one guy? What's his name? He took you to prom, and after, you went to his place and..."

"Watched Never Ending Story on VHS."

Raven set her drink down. "Let me get this straight... You're a twenty-three-year-old virgin?"

Wanda shrugged. "I guess. I mean I've never really felt that way about another person. Sure, I've wanted to date people before... maybe even kiss them, but anything past that..." She looked up from her hands to see the rest of the group staring. "Sorry, I know it's-"

"Natural," Raven said. "Whatever you feel, or don't feel, it's for a reason. It's okay."

Wanda looked at her with a smile. For a moment, the only sound was the crackling of the fire, until Peter took a worryingly long sip of beer and said. "My first kiss was a guy on the track team at the high school I went to."

All eyes went to Peter. His twin sister's eyes widened as her head snapped in his direction. "Not Oliver..."

"Yes, Oliver."

"I thought you hated Oliver."

"Oh, I did. Hated him all the way to third base."

[dr9com9ge-ix]

I'd adore to know more about Wili, if you've had any more thoughts...

Hello Anon! I’ve had many thoughts since this was sent and have accumulated them! Accompanied by some Wili Art by yours truly! (Long post warning, Yapping time! Thank you so much for sending this ask!!!!!)

So this is Wili- Former employee of K-corp (Specifically the food resource development team, Mostly focused on horticulture) and now current employee of the Limbus company! He has a strong desire (nearing obsession) to innovate on how food is obtained and spreading it across the city when he finds it by any means necessary! He left his old job because he felt like it was stagnating and didn’t let him expriment as much as he’d like to (He was in a very middle position I imagine, Not quite at the bottom but not a big enough shot to be on level with Dongrang or something)

And so this spurs him to look elsewhere to satisfy this hunger for knowledge, for a world where one could just pick an apple off a tree and never starve again and well like… His literal hunger!

So he was offered a chance to satisfy that by the Limbus company and he happily accepted! Ever curious about the abnormalities the company faces- If whether or not they’d taste good or provide anything for people. Both in the name of science and the future but also because he is hungry. A wee bit of mad scientist and a gourmand in one.

His EGO is called Stomachache!— It sort of delves into the carrot on a stick/ Forbidden fruit sort of vibe of the future he wants being akin to a ravenous hunger, the kind that turns people into feral animals. He literally bites people in his EGO attack! (Thats where the healing comes from-) He also is quite food agressive and it factors into his passive making him go faster, Probably the sanity hit from EGO use making him act alot less polite than he usually is.

He definitely wants the whole “Food is now easily accessible for everyone!” utopia so he could eat as much as he wants and not think of the possibility of it being taken from him- Also because he thinks the worst thing you could do to someone is just starving them!

Butcher Vanity is probably the main song I listen to when doodling him- Its a very him song to me. Also still thinking about other characters relating to his past/ would be in his Canto and I think it’d be cute to make em fruit themed (There… Isn’t alot of characters to work off of in his source material…Its literally just The Hungry Caterpillar)

Also for other EGOs aside from his own he definitely would have Mountain of smiling bodies/ Smile - Its relating to the hunger! And well he may or may not be willing to kill to have consistent and hearty meals. (also say Hi to Erik my boy he’s in this doodle page too). Maybe also a Fairy Festival/ Fairy Gentleman Ego too. As for IDs- Mayhaps an Eighth Chef/Greta one, a Liu assocation. All that jazz!

Other wee facts about Wili

- Wili has pretty bad hunger pangs, enough to make him want to eat before he thinks he’ll get them. Has a tendency to overeat though.

- He loves talking at length about agriculture — Though mostly from a scientific lens, as he’s never been a farm boy. Mostly working on plants in a lab setting rather than a field. He’ll also yap about food preparation too.

- Kind of dude that will try to grow stuff from groceries.

- His favorite food is a fresh fruit salad but a nice rare steak is a close second!

- He may or may not have considered who to eat first in case of an emergency and may have been too enthusiastic to try human flesh. (much to his coworkers’ horror and then eventual “Okay Wili we know…” /exasperated)

- His little caterpillar hairclip was a gift from a former coworker at K-corp. He thinks its very cute and just has it on him all the time.

-He’s… Maybe also inspired by the Genetically Modified Caterpillar video- In the sense of “Little hungry dude becomes horrifying due to this insatiable hunger and devours things due to science!”

- His name comes from the unused title/ Draft title of The Hungry caterpillar which was “A week with Wili the worm” Because I really didn’t want to name him after the author (I’d have Eric with a C and Erik with a K in that case) and couldn’t find a caterpillar-ish name that would work.

[hergrandplan]

Hey Nina! Hope you're having a great day! 9, 14 & 17 for Wille? :) 💜

Hi Simon! I had a great day, I hope you did too and that the academic hell is calming down a bit 💜

And of course!!!

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

okay I'm pretty sure I liked Wille from the first scene because something about him looking in the mirror, with that black eye, him holding up his hand to ward off the papparazzi.... I couldn't help but feel for him immediately (it also didn't help that my friend was bouncing with excitement next to him because he FINALLy got me to watch Young Royals at 1 am in Frankfurt). But I think the moment that just really sold me was him telling August he wouldn't come to rowing training, then saw Simon was there, and immediately changed his mind. Simp behaviour and we love it

Also special shoutout to the moment when Erik said goodbye like... my heart simply hurt for that boy and I immediately wanted to adopt him

14. Most heroic moment

oooo that's an interesting one. I think Wille has a lot of moments that feel like 'heroic' to him, in terms of development (like realizing he has to let Simon go, but also telling him that he loves him in season 1 bc that shit takes balls especially after what he did). Like he doesn't really stand up for others all that much (yeah, he tells Farima he'll keep dating Simon no matter what, he deadpans 'be funny' to Vincent and does get protective there but it doesn't really feel. Heroic, if that makes sense?)

So yeah, I think probably telling Simon he loves him or realizing he has to let him go, because those were hard things for him to do you know?

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

Well the first one that comes to mind is 'Peter' from Taylor Swift but that's more Wilmon coded rather than only Wille.

But also 'The Prophecy' - begging for it all to be over? To let him be someone else than what everyone's been telling him he has to be? Yeah, 100%

Also, a final one cause I cannot stop yapping, but 'Difficult' by Gracie Abrams lol (I love my tragic boy <3 )

Send me a character + asks 💜

[stardiveatnight]

Okay so a few hours have passed since I watched season 3 and I want to collect my thoughts

(Also it is 9am and I haven‘t slept so bear with me)

First of all I wanna say that the performances were amazing. I rewatched the scene where Wille confronts his parents at least ten times because it‘s just so intense and I love Edvin‘s performance in it.

I‘m glad Micke returned, but I‘m also glad that there won’t seem to be a happy ending for him. I felt like Sara‘s and Simon‘s relationship with him needed a bit more exploring and closure and I felt like they did what they could do with the limited amount of time and so many plots to wrap up.

While I felt like the first three episodes were quite slow, it all paid off in episode 5. Such a good episode, I can’t say it enough!

Never thought about Rosh and Stella being a thing but, even though I know they won‘t actually end up together, I quite enjoyed seeing them together.

I found the revelation about the hazing and all that very interesting and didn’t see Erik making a comeback like that at all. But it fits the theme and makes sense, because if everything is not as it seems, then so is Erik. Also, it added depth to not only August, but in my opinion to Nils and Vincent as well.

I very much enjoyed watching Felice‘s struggle with getting over Sara, because I‘m pretty sure we all can relate to that pain and it felt refreshing having it dealt with in such depth.

Simon and Wille being happy together! Being out in public!! That was nice to see, albeit short.

I reblogged a post about this too, but I loved that some of the more heavier subjects were finally addressed out loud. It felt so satisfying to watch after all that buildup and hinting in seasons 1 & 2 (e.g. the racism Felice deals, I really liked her talk with her dad, August‘s eating disorder, and probably other things that my sleep deprived brain cannot think of right now)

I don‘t understand the problems people have with Simon and Wille, or especially Simon‘s behavior at the end of episode 5. I feel like it was pretty careless and ignorant of the palace to expect Wille to explain Simon all the rules he will have to follow now that their relationship is public, and for Simon to follow them all without batting an eye. I mean, he is 17 after all, idk what they were thinking. And to me, it was pretty clear that Simon was anything but happy in their relationship, especially after realizing that due to Wille being a prince, his needs will always somehow mean a little more, have priority, etc. etc., and Simon will have to get used to having to take a step back more times than not. I totally get not being okay with that, and I‘m not trying to say that Wille‘s problems especially towards the end of the season are not bad or valid — they definitely are. But I don‘t think we can fault a 17 year old who is being thrust into this world he doesn’t understand and that is not welcoming to him without any help by his side to think that maybe, this is not the life for him. I guess he could have waited until after his birthday? But that’s just me.

My heart is breaking for Wille, though. He really cannot catch a break, but I was surprised to see that he was seemingly on board with being the crown prince again. I guess anything as long as August doesn’t get what he wants.

I do have to say though, I did not like the music as much as I did in the other seasons. It was alright, and I‘m excited to see whether there‘ll be another iconic song at the end of episode 6.

I mentioned it earlier, but I felt like episodes 1-3 were a little bit slow. I understand why, but at times it was a bit dragging.

I‘m very curious to see how they are going to wrap everything up in the last episode. It sure is a lot for just one more episode, but we‘ll see! I‘m optimistic it‘ll be great.

[thiswontbeforever]

TW// sh & s*icidal thoughts, anxiety, depression

okay idk if it’s just me bc i haven’t seen anyone else really mention it & pls let me know if i should delete this but was anybody else watching s2 and really noticing that darkness edvin was talking about in wille?

first off the anxiety, depression, & dissociation he experiences is heartbreaking. i mean we saw s1 the constant anxiety, coping mechanisms, & the more physical & violent panic attacks (& maybe a form of sh with him hitting his head/pulling his hair) but the display of his anxiety this time is very different (picking his nails instead, the mouth movement thing edvin mentioned) and ofc not being able to breathe (still with the collar & ties) but it’s all even more repressed than s1. i mean it was heartbreaking bc he really doesn’t have anyone to lean on & he knows he needs to use his role as crown prince in a way he never wanted to in order to get what he wants & so he’s trying to keep that facade together, separate himself like erik (supposedly) did, & even w/ going to the school therapist he’s not actually addressed his anxiety much w/ anyone. i mean him actually throwing up this season, the anxiety taking over his body AGAIN, it’s such an intense and draining state to be in and edvin did an incredible job of adapting wille’s anxiety w/ the new situation. additionally, the scenes where he’s so out of it, literally looks just empty and blank…had me a mess. as much as i hate certain scenes, thinking about wille’s mental health & heartbreak i really do understand (it’s like simon asking “why can’t i just fall in love with him (marcus)? - why can’t i get over this? everyone says it’ll get better so i’m just being dramatic right? why does it still feel like this? what if i could feel it with someone else? desperation from both of them to try and feel anything other than what they do after it all, without each other, feel something close to what they had. it’s the whole point - they cant. they only had what they had because it was them and moving on is more miserable bc everyone involved has a different motive, different expectations, and are all using each other to a certain extent. trying to prove something but all they prove is what exists between simon & wille is real, and right, & cannot be recreated or replaced). okay i got way off topic buT -

back to wille’s state of mind what i was getting at was that darkness was truly there & i genuinely kept waiting for him to possibly hurt himself or really allude to suicidal thoughts. (there were a few lines where he did say just like i feel like i’m gonna die (?) i think it was) & with that true hollow look he had in so many scenes i wouldn’t have been surprised if those ideations were brought up. i never thought wille would actually do that or that that’s where the story was heading, but i just mean that i GET what edvin was saying. it’s darkness of anger, revenge, regret, and wille’s entire mental state where he genuinely feels like it’s never going to stop hurting or get better because he’s lost the one person who gave him hope. that scene where he goes to the like fence in front of the lake (?), listening to music, and then felice comes…i mean flashback to wilmon at the lake, how cold the water is then as a joke, a tease about august (?)…but in this scene it seemed like wille had been just standing there for a while before felice came & i really had this feeling of just disassociation & maybe unconsciously him thinking about the temperature of the lake…not like seriously but i hope what i’m trying to say makes sense.

i just think it was brilliant writing and acting to show how bad the position wille is in really was for him & have him finally start to open up in therapy & with felice & simon.

that being said…

where the fUck was my simon breakdown. (i know we saw a BIT in the last episode my poor baby 😭 he looked absolutely devastated & broken but god like !! i wanted more especially after trying to distract himself with marcus & everything uh. i’m glad he had his song but then !! they took it away)

[pagegirlintraining]

For the ask game:

♡ SMALL THINGS: pick a fic and I’ll tell you my favorite minor detail from it! (for DTL)

★ what was the scene you most wanted to write in [fic]? what was the hardest scene to write? (for OEAS)

✎ how do you think readers would guess a fic was yours if you posted anonymously?

Also that new profile pic is just rude and I love it.

Oooh, fun. Okay so a minor detail I love about DTL is the fact that I made Petra Mede host it and then got to fangirl when I realized in the middle of the ESC dress rehearsal (which she also hosted irl) that she was the person from my fic 😂 as for a more story related detail, it’s probably that I have Felice referring to Simon as “tiny dancer” at one point. It’s one of my all time favorite songs and fits so well at the same time. I just love sneaking little references like this in there 🥹

What was the scene you most wanted to write in OEAS:

100% the scene where they just got home from Wille’s gig and Wille tells Simon more about Erik and why he loves making music so much. The image of them listening to Wille’s favorite song with Simon curled up to Wille’s chest is what started that whole story. I particularly love how this part turned out:

“That’s beautiful, Wille.”

A huff and a shaky smile were Wille’s immediate reply. “You think so? It doesn’t just sound like a little rich boy trying to be poetic?”

“On second thought…”

That got a more steady, genuine chuckle out of Wille. “I had to go and ruin it, didn’t I?”

Simon joined in with his quiet laughter for a moment, then he shifted his expression back into something more serious and gave a shake of his head. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

And the way Wille’s face softened at that looked so unfairly pretty, and really, who was Simon kidding here? He wanted to kiss him. He wanted nothing more than to kiss him, gently and sweetly and with no ulterior motive but to comfort. To show his appreciation for Wille’s trust, his honesty. To make him feel the things Simon himself was still too stubborn to put into words. So he did.

What was the hardest scene to write for OEAS?

Probably the confrontational scene where Simon wants to finally confess his feelings and doesn’t know Wille has overheard him and Henry the other day.

“I wrote you a song!”

The sudden exclamation was caused by the sheer desperation Simon felt climbing up his insides, but either way, it got Wille to stop. When he slowly turned around, he’d finally taken off his sunglasses. And the look he fixed Simon with out of puffy, red-rimmed eyes was unlike anything he’d ever seen on him. There was sadness there, pain, betrayal. But above all, there was a deep, dizzying anger.

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play here, I really don’t,” he said, voice almost dangerously quiet as he slowly stepped toward Simon. “I get it, I should’ve believed you when you said we were just hooking up, that it didn’t change anything. That’s on me. But this? This is…cruel.”

Miscommunication is surprisingly hard for me to write, mostly because I want to shake them the whole time because they’re being stupid. I mean, come on, Wille! You just need to listen for two minutes and it’ll all be fine🙈

And finally, how do you think readers would guess a fic was yours if you posted anonymously ?

Well first of, anything dance related or using (especially Swedish) song lyrics as plot devices might tip people off 😂 if we’re talking more about style of writing though, I blatantly overuse the word “utterly”. I just love it so much, the sound of it, the gravitas it holds… and now I kinda hate that I’m shining a spotlight on it because I’m a bit scared it’ll feel out of place now. But hey, I’ve already typed all this and it is a really great word so…

Thank you so much for the great ask, Jo 💜 and that whole entire weekend was rude and I loved it so much

Feel free to send me more of these asks, the list is here.

[nicsnort]

Gravita Anima (part 36)

Nightcrawler/Fem!OC/Quicksilver Long-form romance and drama fic. All chapters have been posted on Ao3.

Intro (with link to Ao3 story) First Previous

Elle was glad that Lucy had texted her about meeting up. She wanted to talk to her friend. Pietro hadn’t mentioned anything about Lucy and she hadn’t heard anything about the Brotherhood’s intentions towards her. Elle needed to check in on her friend. She missed their check-ins about Kelly and this was even more dangerous and stressful. Luckily their lunch breaks aligned on Wednesday for them to meet for coffee.

Upon arriving at the cafe, she ordered a large Americano and a grilled chicken panini before joining Lucy at the small table she was sitting at. Lucy looked paler than normal, dark circles under her, but that happened while working the job she did. “Hey, how has Senator Webb been,” she asked immediately with a large smile. “Looks like she’s been running you ragged.”

Lucy smiled wide to see Elle but the empath could tell her friend was weary and on edge. “If only.” She muttered after putting her cup down before continuing. “You look pretty well yourself. Well, better than me. Tours been steady?”

Lucy’s blue eyes traveled over the area. They were seated away from most people and she couldn’t recognize anyone, possibly from the Brotherhood. They were, for all intents and purposes, safe. “How’s the group?” The Brotherhood, that was. It felt like saying their name was like saying Beetlejuice, if it was said too many times they would appear. 

“Steady as always. Tourists have been very generous this season so far,” Elle replied, taking a sip of her own drink. At the mention of “the group” it took Elle a moment to realize she meant the Brotherhood. “Oh, they’ve been fine I suppose. Mostly been interfacing with Pietro but I met his sister Wanda the other day. Scarlet Witch, she’s pretty nice actually. I did some training with Frost and had a small breakthrough with my abilities...going to be training again this Sunday. I haven’t met any of the other big guns again though. Something tells me I will soon though, especially if my “progress” keeps up.”

As Elle spoke she took a few bites of her food. As always she was rushing through eating. “Have you had any more run-ins?”

Lucy sat back in her chair and felt weary and tiredness hit her again. “One.” And it had robbed her of her peace the past few days. “Breakthroughs? Like what?” She was interested, the weariness went in place of intrigue. Frost was a bit frightening and she wondered if they had been exposed -- but then, Elle wouldn’t be here talking about this if they had. 

Elle bit her lip. She was unsure if she should ask about the encounter or her powers...given the emotions that welled up for Lucy around that encounter, Elle decided to go first. “I can control people,” she said under her breath. “Make them love me or something so they do whatever I say...I fucking hate it. But, of course, they were thrilled at my “power”. I swear Pietro was turned on by it...I think it does mean they will start bringing me in more though. Might be able to get stuff with some pillow talk from him.”

Lucy stared for a moment, her brows furrowed as she processed the words Elle was saying. “That’s...that’s huge, Elle.” And the understatement of the year went to Lucy. Her mind couldn’t produce a better word or phrase for it though. “Okay, wait, pillow talk?” She shook her head, willing the delayed understanding, and subsequent unwanted image, out of her mind. “Christ, wait, no, never mind.” Because the image of Pietro sleeping with Elle made Lucy think of his father…

“Hard to say no when you already said yes,” Elle commented before sighing. Eating a bit more to give them time before bringing it up, she looked carefully at Lucy. “I can tell something happened during your encounter. They didn’t hurt you right?”

She rubbed her temples and took a drink of her latte. “No, Mag- Erik didn’t touch me. I mean,” she shook her head again, “Hank thought he had but...sorry, my thoughts are scattered.” 

Elle felt an overwhelming sense of fear, panic, and sadness before the words fell out of Lucy’s mouth. “They’re hunting us down. The humans. The government. Once Kelly wins the election, he’ll fund a force that will track mutants down...and they made some machine, a Sentinel, to capture us...and it’s all happening soon, and I can’t tell the X-men yet because it will out us to them...but then I think...maybe they aren’t wrong. Maybe they’re right. Maybe…” 

Lucy looked around once more, ensuring no one seemed to be listening. “Fuck. Sorry...it’s...I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this. Erik told me about it all, but he told me not to tell. If I had...and knowing you’re balls deep,” poor wording, “in the group, I don’t think I can tell Hank, but…” she hesitated, conflicted. “I don’t want to.”

It took about a minute for Elle to fully process what she had just heard. She felt bile rise in her throat but held it back. Impossible as it was to have hidden the terror from her face, Elle - to her credit - kept an amazingly calm expression. Perhaps, it was just the pure shock of it.

“I…” Elle started blinking slowly. “Lucy, what...I can’t believe what you are saying but I know you are not lying…”

Her hand came up and covered her mouth holding back a sob as tears came to her eyes. She hadn’t felt terror like this since that night with Michael. In her head, she went through her grounding method to calm herself. Touch, sound, sight, taste, hearing...she had to repeat the method twice before being able to control her emotions. Picking up the napkin she dabbed away the tears.

“Sorry. That is just a lot. How do they know about this?”

The visible show of tears prompted Lucy’s eyes to water as well. Her throat closed a bit. She hadn’t gotten to this emotion to process yet, so stuck she was in the angst and confusion of it all, and she wasn’t about to give in to it now. Still, she felt the edge of fear and sorrow mixed in there too. 

Lucy reached out and touched Elle’s arm, sympathetic. Clearing her throat, she shook her head. “The protest. The protest made Kelly drop his phone and evidently, that’s how the...they found the emails. A force to hunt us down and...and machines. Erik said he would have a surprise for the X-men before the senate returned.” Her shoulders felt heavy. Her eyelids felt heavy. She was tired and knew her emotions were swishing to and fro like water on a boat. 

Elle’s brow furrowed. She would have to speak to Pietro about this. If there was ever something that would “convince” Elle to join the Brotherhood, it would be this news. It was actually good that Lucy had told her. She bet that Magneto was counting on it.

“The thing is...I’m not sure what to do. Or who to choose. I had no idea things had gotten this bad -- how did we not know in the year I was there?”

“Kelly obviously kept a tight leash on the matter...it is likely illegal and certainly unconstitutional. I doubt that any of his aides know…” Elle’s brow furrowed. She would have to speak to Pietro about this. If there was ever something that would “convince” Elle to join the Brotherhood, it would be this news. It was actually good that Lucy had told her. She bet that Magneto was counting on it. Then she realized what Lucy had said. “What do you mean “who to choose” though? There is no choice. Even if the Brotherhood weren’t terrorists, they are not the good guys; they are supremacists. We are doing this to get information for the X-men...you’re not seriously considering actually joining them, are you?”

“There’s always a choice, just as the humans are making a choice to hunt us down like animals! This goes beyond prejudice and denial of housing and employment, Elle. They want to hunt us down and kill us -- and make it legal.” She pointed out; her voice lowered but sharp in return. “I think it’s perfectly fine for me to waver and wonder if the Brotherhood has some sense of correctness in their response to that. You, of all people, the empath and one of emotions, should understand that. It’s not black and white anymore...Elle, they want us dead.” 

______

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[latenightsleeper]

Fellow Darlin’-Chrissy Truther here, you can’t NOT tell me what this storyline for them is! I have one of my own as well, but I’m always intrigued by other ways of viewing the same story!!! (Sorry to bother, but I’m so psyched that someone else agrees about this!)

A WILLING SACRIFICE—(*grabs you*) okay so, I’m so happy you asked!!!!! I have a lot to say about them so I’m very excited to tell you

Okay some basic info about my version of Tank is that their humanborn, hence why they have a harder time connecting with the pack. They don’t understand the magical world and by proxy, the Shaw pack as well someone who wasn’t a humanborn would. I mean, I think we all known how biased the empowered world is to humanborns (cough cough DAMN cough DUMP cough cough) their parents were a bit…late to understand their needs as a shifter and even later to fully grasp what was happening, let alone accept it. The scare on their cheek was a testament to that

So, here’s teen Tank, with a very messed up attitude about themselves and feeling isolated within minutes of being introduced to the pack. Once again, the pack kids already have an understanding of the world around them so they do things very much differently than Tank is used to. Things Tank has no idea how to do or even understand, it’s been said before Tank wasn’t close to David or Asher growing up but even then. I’d imagine someone would try and help tank get used to and understand their new life. It didn’t alway work and the questions they asked were hard to answer or know why they asked.

Enter Christian, born into an empowered family and taught everything Tank wanted/needed to know since he was a baby, just as much as a loner as Tank was since he wasn’t a legacy kid like David or Asher as well as having a decently bad attitude… he was a huge dick to Tank when they first came, like full on asshole the way teens are when a new kid who doesn’t understand what you think is basic knowledge shows up. Chris was relentless in his teasing and childish jokes, always laughing at their innocent questions and chiding their attempts.

Tank didn’t take it laying down tho.

They fought, a lot. Verbally, physically, pranks and tricks. They were at each other’s throats from the second they woke up, to the second they went to bed. Rinse, cycle, repeat. Like clock work, some of the older pack members had some bets they’d kill each other before they got along.

Surprisingly they do start to get along, but not in the way people thought they would. My personal HC is that Christians parents weren’t the…best, this feeling coming from Chris sisters specifically using “ if you didn’t help raise him “ when the Asher and Milo tease him about Amanda and call him Chrissy(which seems to be a family nickname?). Maybe I’m reading into it a bit much, maybe I’m not. I’ll keep on rolling with it till Erik proves me wrong (not likely tho with how much he writes parental problems with his characters)

Both Christian and Tank have that in common and big places gossip, people talk and the walls have eyes. They started to see each other as something like kindred spirits, bad attitudes and shitty parents with more than a few people willing to let them dig a big hole for them to throw themselves down. They still fought and shit but it was more like a game to them both, some way to keep active and to have fun. Bloody noises and complaints from local law enforcement aside.

Things changed tho, Tank and Chrissy were still close but it was harder and harder for Tank to take the isolation from the pack. They had Christian, they’d always have him but he started to find his place, hell he even started to see Amanda. Tank? Nothing, just..an outsider.

Enter Quinn, I don’t really think I need to explain what happened with him.

Being with Quinn just drives a bigger wedge between Tank and the pack, even Christian. They start making excuses and excuses, they still showed up when he needed or asked them but there was something wrong. Just something off, maybe it was this new guy Tank was seeing, maybe it was how Tank was hiding something from him. But Tank never showed so he never asked.

Then he gets a call that Tanks in the healers, something about a rough Vamp and them being hurt. He was the only one they could think of for Tank, their parents are gone and aren’t even on the list for emergency contacts.

He leaves hours later with a promise to catch up next time when their more healed and rested, not knowing right after he left. That be the last he’d see of Tank.

Tank lies as we know to David about heading to their parents to heal and they lie to Christian about catching up. Both for the same reason, to keep the pack and most importantly-to keep Christian safe. Tank just hopes the hurt from them leaving will keep him off their trail.

Christian doesn’t know their gone till they don’t show at the pack meeting and David tells everybody the news. Christian immediately knows something is wrong and is deeply hurt, but he knows tank better than anyone else. He didn’t look for them bc he knew they didn’t want to be found-not now at least and he wanted to trust Tank at least told the truth about them just leaving to heal.

And then a month passes, then another and then it becomes close to a year. (Ten months to be precise, I counted )

Contact with Tank is minimal before drying out on everyone but David and that’s just checking in to see if their alive.

Then David finds out a full year later (once again did the math, tank was actually hunting Quinn outside of Daliha for about 10 months and then showed up, it took David a full 3-4 months after that to realize something was up) and gives Tank a rightful talking too and tells them to show up to the next meeting. so who would show up to the next pack meeting?

Tanker and they look very different than anyone saw them, especially Christian. More scars than he remembers and a haunted, sad, angry look in those eyes.

This is just general lore, don’t have all the kinks worked out but man lemme tell you! There is a lot to Tanker and Chrissy’s relationship, lots of emotions and stuff

[new-tella-us]

Seduce Me Situations!

Cause I'm bored!

Does David approve of the boys? How much does he?

And yknow what? A little rapid fire update about David. For anyone that forgot this man (lowkey same sometimes) this is Mika's dad. I changed him to be more openly loving. That doesn't mean that he is openly loving, he just won't slap his daughter before immediately shipping her off to his dead father's house.

David does care about Mika and the whole CEO thing is partly about giving her a stable job like any parent wants their child to have (and partly the OG reason. He can't be too sympathetic). He sees her talent and wants her to act on it regardless of her emotions. He is aware of his father being a warlock and he was one once but when he met Laura (a half-angel that just escaped the Demon Lord barely alive) and learnt what the demon world did to his wife he cut his father off to keep Laura and his only child away from harm.

He is cold, distant, sharp tongued and he sucks at expressing emotions (something that would influence Mika hiding her depression from everyone), but at the end of the day, he's a man that is trying to protect his family.

With all that said, no he does not approve of the boys. Since his wife is half-angel thus immune to enthrallment and aware of the boys' true identity, she told him. He does NOT like the idea of five incubi anywhere near his daughter but she's grown and doesn't seem to be hurt or controlled so, after failing to convince her to ditch these guys, he was forced to accept them.

Of the boys, he does approve of some more than others.

And by that, I mean he's kinda okay with Damien and dislikes everyone else.

He thinks James is too much of a leader. For one, he doesn't like the idea that James ends up becoming the CEO for the reasons I mentioned previously. Eventually, he admits that James is a good CEO but...still. David also fears that James would become controlling after a while, the whole "incubus enthrallment" thing didn't help. Finally, Laura's first reaction to James REALLY didn't help. James looks a fair bit like the Demon Lord (for obvious reasons) so Laura's experience makes her wary of James and if Laura is wary, David is extra wary.

He think Erik is a flirt. Surely Mika isn't the only girl Erik has been smitten by. Seeing the description Laura gave of the demon world, he wouldn't put it past Erik to have a whole harem of women and Mika is just one of many. Erik's past actions come back to haunt him as Laura (and thus David) is aware that he and Sam did....something to Mika. Their magic lingers on her like a smell. So if they were willing to use her once what's stopping them from doing it again? In short, he thinks Erik is hedonistic by human standards and doesn't trust him around his child.

Sam....OH SAM! Sam is probably the person David trusts the least. Let's start with just how angry that man looks. David is 100% convinced that Sam would hurt Mika out of anger. Sam is brutish and uncivilized in David's eyes. Once again, the prologue comes for Sam's neck as his magic lingers on Mika like Erik so... same question, what stops him from doing that again? Sam was also the one to try to enthrall David during the homecoming party and once David is made aware of this, he is pissed. Plus, once again, he looks a lot like the Demon Lord so Laura is off put and yknow the drill by now. He basically thinks Sam is dangerous.

Matthew was the one David was the least worried about. He's barely taller than Mika and is probably thinner than her. Plus Mika knows taekwondo. What could this child do, really? He was more concerned with how childish this seemingly grown man is. 22 years old and still making toys? And not for a business? It was odd to David. He felt like Matthew never grew up and would be a bad influenced on Mika. At least, that was his concern at first. Then Laura revealed that Matthew seems to be the magically strongest of all his brothers and safety became a concern again. Now he questions how much of Matthew's childishness is true and how much of it is an act. You don't gain more magic than James by being childish your whole life. Matthew is an enigma and David doesn't trust what he can't understand.

Damien is the one David trusts the most because he's the one Laura trusts the most. Once all the dust settles and Laura gets a good look at Damien, she recognizes his connection with Omaizel. They look very similar and share a similar aura. And if Damien is anything like Omaizel then he's trustworthy. That doesn't mean both of them trust him fully, David still can't help but see the Demon Lord in Damien rather than Omaizel as he never knew Omaizel but he did get a good look at the Demon Lord once. Damien shares the Demon Lord's eyes. Now, technically, they all have the same color eyes but each boy has a colored glint in their eyes that differ. (think the circle part of their eye designs. For example, James's is blue which Erik's is magenta) Damien's matches the Demon Lord exactly. So even the most trusted of the brothers puts David on edge.

Eventually, David comes to understand that the boys mean no harm but he never fully trusts them.

[gulliblelemon]

Heeyy 🌻,

3,5, 6, 7, 17,18,27,28,29 and 30 for the ao3 wrapped ask game (i know i picked a lot of numbers so feel free to just answer the ones you want to answer)

Hi!! I love that you asked lots! I hope you don’t mind, but any duplicates I answered first and will link to here, then I’ll pick up the rest ☺️

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

See You (Soon). I was absolutely blown away by the response at the time and still now.

6. Favorite title you used

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

I don’t use song lyrics. My brain compartmentalises and I can’t insert fictional characters into songs. It’s no fun 😅.

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

27. What do you listen to while writing?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

But I’m going to do another because I thought of something else. This was an outtake from See You (Soon), in the early draft they got each other’s numbers much earlier and did a lot of chatting (and flirting 😏) and Simon challenging Wille. But this was a silly little bit that ended up being cut but was fun to write nonetheless. (Further proof my writing is not poetic 😂)

Wille (11.54)

It’s not just August that made me not want to go to Hillerska

When you get a group of people like August all together

They just end up competing for pointless things

One of which is favour with… the monarchy

Simon (11:56)

Which is you

Wille (11:57)

Which is me

Fine

But also Erik

And my Mamma

And it just becomes some big…

Dick measuring contest

And i just

Didn’t want to be just my title

I wanted to be a person

If that makes sense???

Simon (12:00)

Okay I’ll never forgive you for bringing up August’s dick

Thanks for that

But yeah

I think I get it

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

I’ve already answered this here ☺️

I’m doing a bonus couple since so many got answered elsewhere (sorry!).

10. What work was the quickest to write?

I wrote Making Music in two days because @purplehoodiesandclementines was looking for something low on angst. I have never written anything that quickly (and I’m sure I never will again 😅). It was great fun, but I can’t usually plot that fast…

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

I’m most of the way through the longest thing (by my standards) I’ve ever written at the moment. And I’m SO EXCITED. I’ve had it in the back of my head for months and months and have finally started shaping it into something I’m pleased with. It’s an alternate meeting AU that starts with them at 16 and follows them through their 20s and I love it.

So that ended up reeeeeeaaally long 😅

Thanks for asking!