#plus since he's more in control of his powers I'm sure he could really do wonders with it now and that'd be cool to see

[feralnumberfive]

If they don't let Viktor play his violin in S4 then that'll be my last straw. I'm not even kidding

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Some of Them Want to be Used (18+)

Hyena!Danny AU Masterpost

tw: explicit sexual content, BDSM, gags, gangbang

I don't feel like editing this so I'm posting it on here a day before AO3, if you see any mistakes let me know.

---------

One thing that Jason learned very quickly about Danny was that he liked to be used. More then that he felt like he needed to be used. He didn't trust himself and needed to be bound like a weighted blanket, he needed to be held back, held close, held down, until he couldn't think for himself anymore and he could relax into the hands around his throat holding him together and keeping him from shattering.

Jason held him plenty of course but Danny sheepishly admitted he wanted more. He didn't want anyone else to control him, Jason was the only one he trusted with that, but with Jason's human limits Danny was sometimes still left with a mounting itch under his skin to be Used. Especially now that Jason had a slightly better grip on his temper and wasn't being truly violent with Danny anymore. Even if they had both agreed that was a good thing for their relationship it left Danny with energy with nowhere to go.

So they had decided to 'share' with Jason directing the scene and getting involved when he wanted to and Danny getting fucked till he was truly used up. He would be bound and gagged with a ring gag attached to a half mask so they could do this as Hood and Hyena. Since he wouldn't be able to speak Danny would keep hold of a panic button and press it if he needed things to stop.

Now they just needed some willing participants and those were not in short supply. Jason had heard plenty of comments about his boyfriend's body that made him want to shoot someone, and Danny had been propositioned by a few people stupid enough to think they could tempt him away from Red Hood and gain power, or just humiliate him by making him a cuck or something. So willing wasn't actually the problem, it was willing, PLUS loyal, submissive, or cowardly enough that they wouldn't try to use this as some sort of stupid power play.

Danny left figuring that out to Jason because he trusted him and didn't really care about much else, with the stipulation that none be over 40 or bigger then Jason, which was easy enough. Jason had files on all his people and ruled out anyone married as well, they were no fucking home-wreckers! He decided this was going to be a reward for a few loyal and hard working folks, that way if they wanted to talk about it a little, or strive to 'earn' the privilege again it would benefit him and Danny. Instead of having to swear them to secrecy and worry about then getting drunk and blabbing, making Red Hood seem weak.

So Jason approached a few of his men and asked them if they thought Hyena was hot, and if they wanted a chance with him. The few who weren't too scared to say yes, were offered the chance. Then the fewer still who didn't seem to be agreeing because they were too scared to say no, were told where to meet them, and to bring their own condoms. There were three, Jason knew Danny could handle more but they'd decided to start with two or three and Jason would join in if he felt like Danny could handle it.

Jason and Danny had chosen the least favourite of their safe houses for this, in a nearly abandoned building with no direct neighbors so they wouldn't mind the noise. They stocked water bottles and lay down a couple mattresses on the floor so that it wouldn't be too hard on anyone's knees. They also made sure that there was a good selection of fun toys available, vibrators, nipple clamps, and one of their most basic paddles. Danny had decided he didn’t trust these people to really hurt him so if things looked like they were going overboard Jason would step in. It had been cute watching Danny blush up a storm as he chose the things he wanted to be used on him tonight.

Danny was nervous, Jason was too if he was honest but he didn't show it, he had to maintain control of the situation for Danny's sake. He knew this was going to go fine, really, no one was going to get hurt and if anyone did it would be his goons. Danny could break out of any human restraint they put on him if he really needed to, pretty easily too given that he could just phase out of them. But it was new to them, and… vulnerable, of course they were nervous. 

Once everything was set up Jason kissed Danny, and he submitted easily, letting Jason push him down to the mattress. He wrapped his arms around Jason and closed his eyes, purring softly as he relaxed into the kiss. Jason growled softly and grabbed Danny’s hands, lacing their fingers together at the same time that he pinned them to the bed, startling a soft moan from him. He didn’t struggle or break away from the kiss, and Jason only ended it when felt the slight trembling in Danny’s hands subside. 

His eyes were half lidded and slightly glassy when he opened them again, looking up at Jason with his spit slick lips pink and softly parted. Jason couldn’t resist nipping Danny’s lower lip and licking up the small drop of blood that spilled before the wound closed again. Danny gasped and arched but Jason pulled back before Danny could grind against him.

“Good boy,” Jason praised breathlessly and Danny whined softly, soaking up the praise like the parched earth. Jason chuckled softly and quickly undressed his boyfriend who was already putty in his hands. 

He obediently followed Jason’s lead as he rolled Danny over and guided his hands behind his back, allowing him to buckle Danny’s arms together with soft but sturdy leather cuffs. The collar was next, this time with a lock Jason had the key for so that their guests couldn’t take it off, the tag and the colours marked Danny as Red Hood’s without any doubt. Jason clipped a leash to it and pulled Danny up to his knees with a choked sound and then a moan when he could get it out passed the choking leather. Jason kissed Danny one more time before sliding two fingers into his mouth, pushing his mouth open almost too far so Jason could slide the ring gang into it, covering the lower half of Danny’s face with the muzzle which he locked as well. They wouldn’t want anyone getting any ideas and leaving Hyena bare faced. 

Jason slid his hand down between Danny’s legs, wrapping his gloved hand around Danny’s half hard cock, stroking slowly. Danny whined and Jason watched as Danny’s tongue worked, trying to help him swallow without being able to close his mouth. Jason gave it maybe two minutes before Danny started drooling. Danny’s blue-green eyes were fixed on Jason’s face as Jason worked him over, getting him completely hard before taking off his other glove with his teeth (a maneuver that had Danny whining hotly) and dipped his fingers in a pot of lube. He pushed two fingers into Danny without hesitation, working him open with ease of practice, making sure he was good and ready for their guests.

For the final touches Jason pushed a decently sized tail plug into Danny’s ass making him keen and arch. That would hold him open, with the bonus of looking absolutely adorable with that fluffy brown tail, a bit reminiscent of a hyena's of course. And a cock ring which Jason clasped around Danny’s dick making him whine and squirm. They had decided Jason would be the one to decide when Danny was allowed to cum, and Danny loved that but it didn’t make it comfortable at the moment. 

“You’re alright Moonlight,” Jason promised, kissing Danny’s forehead and running his fingers through Danny’s hair one more time before pulling back. He grabbed the panic button and pressed it into one of Danny’s hands. “Don’t drop it.”

He took off his shirt before he put on his helmet since it would be a pain in the ass to get on over the bulky mask. He flopped down into an armchair they’d set up just at the edge of the little mattress pile where he could observe the proceedings. He smiled a little when Danny shuffled over, kneeling with his head resting against Jason’s thigh, just seeking comfort and contact while they waited. Jason was more then willing to provide, especially when the needy little whimpers Danny couldn’t quite suppress were so fucking delicious~

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the cameras he had set up by the door so he could see who it was that entered. He didn’t feel like getting out of his chair to let them in, so when people knocked, as long as they were the right people, he’d just call for them to come in. And if anyone who wasn’t supposed to tried to enter, well, Jason had his guns on him, holstered but visible and ready in case he needed them. Or as a display of power and dominance if he didn’t.

He combed his fingers through Danny’s hair as they waited. “Oh, there they are,” He said when he saw the group awkwardly shuffle in. The first two, Justin and Marcus, waited in the lobby for the third Trevor and when he came rushing in they came up together.

The knock on the door was so timid Jason had to bite back a laugh. “Come in,” he called, his voice distorted through the modulator. They opened the door hesitantly and filed in, eyes wide as they glanced back and forth between Hyena and hood, expressions flickering back and forth between fear and desire. Jason was pleased to see that desire wasn’t just reserved for Danny and the fear wasn’t just reserved to him. 

Danny glanced over his shoulder at their guests, his eyes half lidded and dark with desire. He didn’t look all that long though before he returned to nuzzling against Jason’s thigh. 

“Well boys, he’s all ready for you,” Jason chuckled, loosening his grip on Danny’s leash and gently nudging him away from Jason’s leg. 

Danny whined dramatically and flopped back onto the mattresses, which worked well, it showed off the gag and the way his hands were tied made his back arch beautifully. All eyes in the room were now on Danny and he was watching the three men from where he was laying with ambiguous hunger. Sometimes even Jason wasn’t sure if he was entirely safe when Danny looked at him like that, first time experiencing it must be something.

“Don’t be scared, he agreed to this, and I’ve got him,” Jason chuckled, giving the leash a little yank which made Danny moan just a little. “Leave or get on with it,” Jason commanded, startling them into motion. No one left, all three men quickly started to undress and Danny watched them letting out a soft pleased sound and stretching languidly, his trapped cock twitching slightly against his stomach. All three were already hard which made Jason chuckle, the sound coming out somewhat mocking through the helmet’s modulator.

“Feel free to use any of those,” Jason said, gesturing at the things they’d set out. “Don’t forget the condoms, don’t leave any marks on him and if he drops the panic button pause and give it back to him,” Jason explained the rules easily. Danny was over letting other people see his scars, especially since the Y on his chest matched Jason’s own, but he still wasn’t okay with others knowing he was a meta if they could avoid it. If they didn’t leave any marks they couldn’t notice how quickly the marks healed. 

“Yes Boss,” They said shakily. Jason grinned under his mask, this was going to be fun.

Things were just a little slow to get going, but Jason started to direct things dictating that Justin would take Hyena’s ass first and Marcus his mouth. Joking the Trevor would have to wait unless he felt like freeing Hyena's hands, he’d promised to mind his claws if you trusted that~

As soon as pleasure took over Jason could sit back and enjoy the show. Justin grabbed Danny’s hips, his broad and calloused hands were a bit clumsier than Jason’s on Danny’s slim waist as he rolled him over and pulled him up to his knees. Danny whined and squirmed, struggling to trust his weight to a stranger but once Justin had a firm grip on Danny’s bound arms, holding him up but keeping him bent over he accepted it, letting his head hang down. Jason could see his chest rising and falling more quickly as he pushed back against their guest’s hard cock, feeling the length of him for the first time, Danny moaned softly.

Marcus moved around in front of Danny, cupping his jaw and tilting his head up so his throat was fully extended, blue green eyes locked on Marcus’ face. Danny struggled to swallow again, some saliva dripping down his chin. He took a deep breath and then stuck his tongue out slightly in invitation. 

Justin pulled the tail plug out of Danny’s ass making him arch and moan. That clear sound of pleasure seemed to be the final straw snapping everyone into motion and Marcus thrust into Danny almost at the same time. Danny’s startled sound from having his ass penetrated was choked off by the dick sliding into his throat. Jason grinned as he saw Danny’s eyes roll back just a little. 

Jason leaned back in his chair, ignoring the way his cock throbbed in his pants as he watched Danny squirm like a bitch between their guests. Jason knew the helplessness was an act but it still made his fucking mouth water. This was going to be a test of his patience, but one he absolutely relished as he enjoyed watching Danny get absolutely ravished.

Danny’s dick was already flushed a rather cute pink around the cock ring as he whined and moaned, pearlescent little drops of precum gathering on the tip as he let out a reedy little whine almost instantly cut off by another thrust. Justin and Marcus well both moaning and grunting as well, inelegant and unintentional sounds of pleasure spilling from them. 

“He feel that good boys?” Jason laughed.

“Shit he feels amazing, so fucking tight!” Justin gasped.

“He’s so good with his tongue, I’m-” And Marcus’ words cut off in a moan as he came, the condom catching his seed before he pulled out. Danny made a bereft little sound at the loss as Marcus moved away and grabbed one of the provided water bottles and chugged half of it.

“Aww don’t be sad Cub, I know Trevor is eagerly waiting his turn,” Jason crooned, nodding to the third man who nodded back stiltedly as he rolled a condom down over his dick. Danny’s glazed eyes took a moment to focus on the person in front of him as Justin continued fucking his ass with increasing desperation making Danny moan and whine softly through the gag. He looked up at Trevor and stuck his tongue out a little, inviting the new, smaller dick into his mouth. Trevor took the invitation and thrust into Danny’s mouth, muffling his moans again.

Justin froze and shuddered as he came and Danny let out a dissatisfied whine that made Jason laugh. His amusement only growing when he saw the flush of shame on Justin’s face, whether it was from cumming so quickly or the sudden return of awareness of what they were doing Jason didn’t know or care as long as he didn’t bolt or some shit.

Justin pulled out of Danny with a little hiss, letting Danny’s knees buckle and helping lower him down to kneeling before getting up and carefully took off the condom, tying it off and throwing it out. Justin wasn’t ready to go again yet so Danny was left empty, and clearly dissatisfied with this, whining and squirming, bucking his hips in aborted, needy little motions as he sought some stimulation.

“Don’t leave him empty,” Jason tutted at their guests. “That’s what we set the toys out for.”

“Oh!” Trevor sounded, his eyes lighting up at the reminder and he grabbed one of the larger dildos, going to kneel behind Danny who lifted his hips and arched his back invitingly. He moaned loudly as Trevor pushed the toy in, Danny’s thighs trembled as his hips twitched and he pushed back against the toy, fucking himself on it with surprising strength and control. 

Marcus grabbed the nipple clamps as well, it seemed whatever embarrassment he was feeling before wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying this night to the fullest. Jason was glad, he was enjoying the show~ He wrapped Danny’s leash around his wrist and unzipped his pants, starting to lazily stroke his hard cock for some relief as he leaned back in his armchair and waited for their guests to tire themselves out.

They each fucked him twice more while Danny squirmed and bucked between them. He lasted a surprisingly long time before his knees gave out on him and the other men had to follow him down to the mattress, laying him out on his back between them with his bound arms trapped behind his back. Jason called a pause to make sure that Danny still had the panic button and would be able to press it easily in this new position before sitting back and allowing them to continue. 

The second time Jason decided to let Danny cum, once he had made all their guests cum first of course~ That was just the proper thing to do as a good host! Danny nearly screamed with the pleasure of it when the ring was released, hands all over his body urging him through the high of pleasure. The scream turned into whines of overstimulated pain as no one eased up on him. Not that Danny actually minded, since he hadn’t pressed the panic button and he was still bucking his hips back against the cock in his ass in a way that made Jason swallow back drool. 

He was glad for his helmet throughout all of this because there was no way that he would have been able to control his expression. With his face covered he managed to look pretty damn calm and controlled throughout this little sex party. He stroked his hard dick slowly off and on, practically edging himself till his balls were aching, the soft moans he couldn’t quite repress coming out odd and garbled through his voice modulator. 

Finally Trevor came on Danny’s face, a frankly pathetic amount of seed after already having cum twice, and no one else seemed inclined to jump right back in. Justin was helping hold Danny down but his dick was still distinctly soft, and Marcus was just watching on in something like awe. 

“Alright, pass him over,” Jason laughed, holding out his arms for Danny, who was immediately almost poured into his lap by an exhausted Justin.

Danny was too tired and out of it to focus on being human, which was something they hadn’t really considered, but as he purred against Jason’s chest he was having a hard time worrying about it. “There’s my good boy,” Jason murmured, cupping the back of Danny’s neck, who immediately nuzzled against his throat and started giving little kitten licks since he couldn’t kiss with the ring gag in. 

“That’s right Cub,” Jason murmured, gripping Danny’s thighs, letting him lean heavily against Jason’s chest as he lifted Danny up and lined him up carefully. As he lowered Danny down his own soft moan was swallowed by Danny’s delighted keening as Jason’s cock slid easily into Danny’s already well used ass.

Jason reached around Danny and finally unbuckled his hands, not caring when Danny immediately dropped the panic button in favour of wrapping trembling arms around Jason’s shoulders. He clung with desperation devoid of strength, tired and used up and still wanting more. Perfect. 

Jason took control, lifting him up and letting him sing back down drawing breathless little keens and whines from Danny, shaking with the ever present purr whenever he was snug in Jason’s arms. Sweat and pre-cum dripped down from Danny onto Jason’s lap, leaving a subtle damp patch on his pants he could not have given less of a shit about. All he cared about in that moment was Danny’s body, his hole was unusually warm after being fucked so many times, and he was clearly making a conscious effort to tighten himself up so he could still please Jason. It was working.

Jason forced himself to go slow, enjoy his own pleasure and Danny’s desperate and exhausted little twitches, and the three sets of eyes still watching them. Jason had always been a theatrical bastard and there was something about putting on a show like this that he really enjoyed. “You want to cum baby?” Jason asked breathlessly and Danny nodded against his neck, making a few garbled sounds that were probably supposed to be pleas.

Jason cackled and reached down between them, slowly starting to stroke Danny’s overly warm cock making him whine. “I’m sorry cub, I didn’t quite catch that~” He teased, the heartbroken little sound Danny made sending a pleasant shiver up his spine and made his dick twitch.

“Alright Baby,” Jason finally relented, and when he released the ring Danny was cumming before the thing even hit the ground, arching his back and letting out a cry that had Jason’s ears ringing. He tightened like a vice around Jason’s cock and he gave a strangled curse as he came as well, pushing Danny down and holding him there as he whimpered and gasped, clinging to Jason and hiding against his neck as he was finally filled properly. 

He went limp in Jason’s arms before he was even finished cumming and Jason laughed softly when he realized Danny had passed out in his arms. Well, he’d gotten his wish to be all used up hadn’t he~ 

“Alright, you three can clean all this up. I’m going to take care of him. Leave when you’re done,” He directed his hench-people as he got up, Danny cradled in his arms.

“Yes Boss,” They chorused as Jason carried Danny over to the bathroom, locking the door behind him so they wouldn't be spied on as Jason stripped them of their personas and helped coax Danny back into himself.

[neverchecking]

Could you do Yandere BOTW Champions or TOTK Sages x Reader who has the Mask from Majora’s Mask? The reader is Hylian. But they have the usual four mask, Plus the Fierce Deity mask.

As head cannons preferably.

This is a mostly Linked Universe Blog, but sure! I'm not overly well versed on the whole Mask deal, so please bare with me.

I went with the BOTW Champions, since not everyone knows the sages.

Champion of the Masks

・❥・So, if you know the Champions, there's a good chance you are a knight or warrior in your own right.

・❥・You are someone powerful, probably because of said masks. For Hylia's sake, you have the Fierce Deity looking over you. You are practically untouchable.

・❥・And the other Champions are well aware of this fact. But that doesn't change anything.

・❥・Because you are still so vulnerable. What happens when you're separated from your masks? Then what? Hm? You are just so vulnerable, can't you see that?

・❥・You don't have any powers of the wind, not any form of protection. You can't control any elements, nor can you heal. You certainly don't have any part of the triforce. You are powerless.

・❥・Which is why they needed to be there to protect you!

・❥・Now, Revali. My loveable douche-bird. He tries to keep you at a distance, but still falls. And he falls hard. Revali is the only champion who wasn't born with his gift. He had to build Revali's gale into what it was from scratch.

・❥・Reader probably recognizes all of his hard work, because (and this is from my very limited research) to get all of the Masks in their possession? A bitch and a half. They weren't gifted these masks. Not without a price. So they can recognize a situation where you are pitted against these...demi-gods eons beyond your own abilities and forced to catch up or fall behind.

・❥・And Revali absolutely cherishes this. Having someone not look down on him, but instead stand on the very same footing he was? Man's is down bad.

・❥・He is particularly fond of your Breman Mask because you just look so pretty in feathers. And while yes, white looked nice on you, blue looked better.

・❥・I HC that every race has their own form of courting rituals, Rito included. They probably make their intended betrothed some sort of snow-quill headpiece meant for the cold, lined with their feathers and intricate braids of fine silks and expensive ribbons.

・❥・You just know that Revali, as a champion, would make a nice courting present. And you just know he is purposefully difficult and makes everyone else come to him in the Rito village (He is their best warrior and is shown to lead their army in AoC). You just know that he demands the princess bring her two best knights, which begrudgingly means Link, but it also means you. You who wears the snowquill bit with pride-- even if you don't know what if means really.

・❥・It doesn't matter because the others do.

・❥・The next one to fall is Urbosa.

・❥・She falls after seeing you in battle. The Gerudo, regardless of gender, can respect a Warrior when they see one. And you are a warrior. You with your sharp wit and insane reaction times, parrying a blade aimed for her.

・❥・Your strength alone makes her swoon because out of everything she can respect that.

・❥・Her favorite mask of yours is the Garo's mask. Not only does it fool these supposed Garo (You are so smart, did you know that? With all of your stories and journeys.), but it also fools the Yiga. The Mask of Truth does as well, but the thought of spilling her guts to you makes her uneasy.

・❥・Not because she doesn't want you to know how constantly you're running through her head, but she doesn't want you to know how deep these thoughts delve.

・❥・When you're able to fool the Yiga and get back to her about an ambush planned on her people, she knows you're the one.

・❥・I like to imagine the Gerudo focus more on jewelry for a courting action. Not rings, no. But intricate pieces of armor lined with gems aimed to aid in battles.

・❥・Brigandines lined with topaz; Gorgets lined with opals; spaulders ordained in rubies; Poleyn decorated in sapphires. Even your own Scmitar enhanced by diamonds. All of it custom made to you to show her devotion to you.

・❥・Now, with this being all useful items you can wear in battle, you're seen in it often.

・❥・Daruk is next. He falls for you after seeing you in his, coincidentally, favorite mask. You tell the tale of the Goron Mask after he asks, weaving this intricate legend that had him hanging onto every word.

・❥・The Gorons show their love through food. So Daruk makes it a point to constantly share his food, both sedimentary and otherwise. He loves knowing that you are well fed and cared for because of him.

・❥・I feel like the highest form of love that can be shown through food for a Goron is a Prime Rock Roast. And while he knows Hylian's can't eat rocks (Link excluded because...it's Link), he looks for the next best thing.

・❥・Intricate pasties filled with only the finest of whipped cream and dusted with powdered sugar; dripping roasts just oozing juice that practically fall of the bone; grilled fish where the smell alone is enough to make you sallivate

・❥・All of it are gifted to you to ensure you think of him whenever you feel hungry. That he is your go to.

・❥・Now, next is a tie between Link and Zelda.

・❥・Zelda probably falls first because she sees you interacting with the others and watches you. In fact, you watch her back. But the difference between you watching her and Link watching her, because her father has allowed you to take over for Link on the rare occasion, is that you give her space. You allow her to disappear into the divine beasts, waiting patiently for her to come to you.

・❥・You entertain her with stories upon stories.

・❥・You listen to her woes with a careful ear and offer your own advice.

・❥・You even braved her cooking.

・❥・She loves all of your masks and cherishes each story about them. But when you wear the Great Fairy Mask and let fairies tickle her cheeks?That's when she swoons the most.

・❥・Link falls during all the time he spends with you chasing after Zelda. You're able to hold your own, which is always appreciated, and you're okay with silence. Silence settles between you two often while waiting for Zelda and you don't push it.

・❥・And you don't look at him like he's anything other than a Hylian. Not the wielder of the sword that seals the darkness.

・❥・Not this random knight that was handed a legacy on a plate.

・❥・Not an annoyance that needed to be shook off,

・❥・He was just Link to you. And it made his heart sing.

・❥・Unfortunately, neither are quite in the position to court you. Not with Calamity on the horizon, nor with their standings in the royal council. And it tears them apart in the inside. Seeing you decked out in jewels with feathers woven into your hair, eating some of the finest things Hyrule has to offer, all of it makes them bitter and hungry. Hungry to show how you belong to them.

・❥・You get prefential treatment in the castle. The finest of rooms with the softest of sheets. Plump pillows and too many locks on the door to keep you right where she wants satin pajamas, all just for your enjoyment.

・❥・Or the best weapons and shields available to the royal guard. Bows re-strung just for you, or the lion's share of arrows provided. Want that Shield that Jimmy Whosit has? Give Link three minutes. No, there's no blood on the shield, what are you talking about? You must exhausted if you're seeing things, maybe you should just skip training all together?

・❥・It's all yours.

・❥・Now, the last person to fall, is Mipha. She's very hesitant to lend her heart out to you, but you know who isn't afraid of showing their emotions on their sleeves for everyone to see?

・❥・Sidon.

・❥・Sidon, in all his little fishy glory, loves you when you come around. when you dawn the Zora mask and swim with him. You play all the games that Mipha won't because they're 'too dangerous'. So when you come around he's ecstatic, dragging his sister down to see you alongside him.

・❥・Mipha tolerates you for the time being, probably still in love with a different knight, making him his own armor. But after she finishes it, it's no longer shaped to Link's form. No. Somewhere along the way it went from being formed to his broader shoulders to being shortened to your own narrower set. It no longer was long enough to fit his torso, instead fitted to your own.

・❥・Her heart had tainted her hands, making armor for you before she even knew what it all meant. The only reason the rest of her catches up is because she sees you with Sidon.

・❥・She watches you swim on you back, with Sidon clinging to your chest, laughter bubbling up from both of you.

・❥・And the last of them falls.

・❥・She aims to give you the armor after the fall of the calamity, but...I'm sure we all know how that'll play out...

・❥・Anyway, between them all, you get very little time to yourself. They are all constantly hovering over you.

・❥・You think you can get away with one of your masks?

・❥・Nice try.

・❥・Your precious Stone Mask? Gone. Confiscated under the order of Princess Zelda King Rhoam.

・❥・Think you can fight your way out?

・❥・Not even the Fierce Deity mask can save you from the champions, their Divine Beasts, and the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage, nor their wielders.

・❥・You wanna run and hide?

・❥・There is not a single inch of Hyrule that one of them doesn't know about.

・❥・You are well and truly trapped under their hold, just where they like you.

・❥・Trapped like a fucking bird in a cage while they fight amongst themselves to see who you stay with.

・❥・ Let's hope they decided quickly before the Calamity decides he's done being patient.

[perpetualexistence]

We Drive Each Other Batty

Alenoah Week Day 4: Royalty/Vampire AU

Alejandro Burromuerto is an absolute menace to the kingdom of Wawanakwa. He comes from a legacy of vampires that strive to control as much land as possible. He's only recently set his sights on Wawanakwa, and within a year he's enthralled three towns into being his local blood bank. Life is pretty good for him.

He's so confident in his abilities that he decides to go directly for the castle itself.

Aaaand almost immediately finds himself caught by King Chris's personal bodyguard, Chef, who knocks him unconscious with a pan before he can enthrall Chris.

The smart thing to do would be to kill Alejandro. But Chris is a petty man who prefers humiliating people.

Who better to ask how to do that than his personal court-wizard-in-training who Chris specifically because he's snarky and petty?

Noah gets dragged into this and comes up with an idea. If he likes mind controlling people so much, then let Alejandro be on the other side of things. Tinker with a familiar bonding spell to turn Alejandro into a familiar. He'll be forced to listen to someone else's orders, and can't harm anyone except in defense of his wizard. Plus, if done right, it can have the added benefit of making him 'fun size' thanks to having to categorize Alejandro as a bat to make this work. That way his vampire strength and speed won't be as much of an issue.

There's two problems with this plan.

One, the bond can only be created with a wizard who doesn't have a familiar yet. Most adult wizards do. It's even a requirement to bond with a familiar at some point in a good amount of magic schools.

And two, the bond is usually done with two consenting parties. Since Alejandro would be fighting it the whole time, keeping the familiar bond would be an active effort on the wizard's end. It's possible if you find a wizard with enough power, but good luck trying to convince a wizard to be a spell battery.

"Say, kid. You don't have a familiar yet."

"Mclean. Don't you dare."

"Think of it as a new part of your job description!"

"I'm not going to deal with a psychotic vampire for your sick amusement!"

"Sure you are! Do a good enough job and you might get a better holiday bonus this year!"

Thus Noah has accidentally sealed his fate to being stuck with a 4 inch vampire who is absolutely livid at this humiliation.

They both hate this situation so much. Alejandro can't mind control Noah because that's the first thing Noah ordered him not to do the second Alejandro woke up tiny, confused, and pissed.

Noah can't just leave Alejandro alone in a cage in his room all day because the longer and further he stays away from Alejandro, the weaker the bond and the more likely Alejandro will break free from it.

Alejandro keeps trying to persuade Noah that he's learned his lesson the non-magical way. And Noah shuts him right down because he knows that's a lie.

If Alejandro's really being difficult, Noah has no issues with throwing him into a bird cage and ordering him to shut up for a while. Noah really wishes he could just order him to shut up forever, but Alejandro starts fighting against the bond even worse when he can't speak, which usually ends up giving Noah a headache. Temporary relief is the best he can manage.

That and taking him to Chris to see what humiliation Chris and Chef have decided to put Alejandro through for the day. That usually brighten's Noah's day.

Alejandro still gets his own little revenges in. He looks for every loophole under the sun within Noah's orders. He banters at every given opportunity.

He'd love to give backhanded compliments to Noah in front of people that aren't Chris and Chef. However, no one else is allowed to know that Alejandro is still alive.

Letting a vampire live is a big no-no, even if Chris approved of it. Vampires still need generous amounts of blood to survive. Animal blood works somewhat, but it's more like living off rations. Vampires can only get full nutritional value from a human. Which doesn't really endear humans to vampires. (Part of Noah's job is to let Alejandro feed from his as well. It feels more like four little needles than a serious bite, and thanks to Alejandro's new size he doesn't feel that woozy when Alejandro has had his fill. Noah doesn't mind it nearly as much as he pretends to.)

Plus, Alejandro did get some of his hooks outside of the castle, so there's a decent chance someone could recognize him and decide to take advantage of the fact he's easily killable. So when around others, he takes full bat form and pretends to be a regular familiar. He's lucky he can at least talk with Noah telepathically so he doesn't have to be completely mute.

Still, it's not all bad. Now that Alejandro is, magically speaking, a bat, he can actually experience sunlight. He'd always used the metaphor 'you're as radiant as the sun' when charming others. It's a different thing entirely to actually feel its warmth.

Noah takes notice the first time when Alejandro is completely silent for once. He sees Alejandro staring directly at the sun in awe. He actually looks kind of cute sweet like that.

Except Alejandro is staring directly at the sun, and so Noah has to snap Alejandro out of it. He isn't just going to someone blind themselves, even if it is Alejandro. It's almost a shame to see the mask fall back on his face. (Too bad he didn't notice the flicker of shock at someone showing concern for Alejandro's wellbeing.)

With forced proximity, the two start to learn more about each other.

Alejandro learns about Noah first since he can't help but observe the fact that Noah is reading textbooks, but he hasn't seen Noah attend school once. When Noah isn't reading, he's catering to Chris and Chef's whims.

Noah still seems to be doing just fine, though. He knows Noah is advanced for his age based on what he's reading and how much he gloats about it. Still, if he was advanced than Alejandro would expect a tutor to be guiding Noah along to suit his level. The only adults he's seen consistently during his stay with Noah is Chris and Chef.

Alejandro points this out to Noah, and receives a long rant from Noah in return.

See, Noah's completely self taught. Before Chris, his family couldn't afford to get him a tutor. This isn't inherently a problem. Some wizards will take on apprentices for their service rather than for payment if they see potential in a particular student.

The problem is no one wants to teach a child who wants to learn dark magic. Nobody that Noah would ever want to meet, at least.

Noah could lie about not wanting to learn forbidden magic. But he'd always risk getting caught by whoever's training him. Not to mention the risk of getting himself killed because he was performing something dangerous without anyone to save him.

Plus, he considers it incredibly stupid that dark magic is a taboo subject to learn. The reason why creatures like Alejandro get away undetected for so long is because everyone else is more than happy to stick their heads in the sand. Their solution to combat evil is to simply not talk about it. As if that's just going to make it magically go away.

The only real way to learn how to counter it is to study it. It's like how making an antidote for a poison requires a bit of the poison itself so your body knows what to fight against.

Hell, it could even be used for good! Even something like Alejandro's hypnotism. It can lull a growing angry mob to not be stupid. It can force a different evil bastard to do something good.

But no, people like Alejandro screw it over for everyone else, and now any time he tries to make these arguments he's 'the bad guy' or 'should be barred from magic for everyone's good'.

Noah got lucky. Chef found him when he was insulting yet another wizard who shot down his chance at apprenticeship. He might have forgotten angering someone who can throw fireballs isn't the best way to guarantee your own safety.

Chef dragged him away and attempted to yell some sense into him. When it was clear that Noah was still just as defiant, he dragged him directly to Chris. Who ended up liking his spite and sarcasm, and offered him the job of court-wizard in training. It was hard for Chris to find any wizard willing to stay with him too long. And he's got plenty of dark magic crap that he has stored away. Both of them get what they want!

Noah wouldn't learn how demanding Chris was and how he'd make people put a lot of effort into stupid tasks that drive less patient people mad until later.

He took the deal because it was the best he was going to get. He knows he's being underpaid compared to what a regular court magician would be making. But for as much as Chris is a pain of a boss, he's given Noah exactly what he's wanted. He'd dare to say that Chris and Chef cared about him. Though Noah will refuse to say if he feels the same way about them.

Alejandro can't help but admire Noah for that. Deep down past that apathetic, snarky exterior, there is someone who's capable of ambition. Or at least capable of using spite as a motivator.

Alejandro's mask slips as he ends up sharing how he can relate. He gives off the airs of a vampire who's been around for at least a century or two. Truth be told, he's only a couple of months older than Noah. He's aging as a human would, for now.

He, and his lineage, are born vampires rather than bitten. Hence how he can have multiple thralls at once and transform into mist or a variety of animals. Bitten vampires are lucky to be able to hypnotize one person, and are typically limited to the advanced strength and speed.

So he can certainly one up the average vampire...but not other born vampires. Or vampires who have actually lived for centuries. He's still considered nothing more than an insolent child not to be taken seriously.

He does have the expectation on him to expand the Burromuerto influence. But he's constantly being compared to other relatives and their accomplishments. Particularly that of his brother José who has a couple of decades over Alejandro's head.

Alejandro has been working hard to close the power gap. He's been training to be as strong and fast as possible. His hypnosis works so well because he put in the work to learn how to actually charm people. The magic is to make sure the feeling stays for longer than it would naturally. But getting people to do what he wants? All him.

And it's still not enough for anyone else. So he decided to get a headstart on the family tradition. He was supposed to wait until he came of age, but he was already strong and confident in himself. Going off and succeeding early would prove everyone else wrong.

He'd been doing so well, too. He hadn't even needed to kill anybody. Unlike most of his family, he doesn't particularly care for it. Not because he cares that much about humans. But because he sees it as a waste of a resource. Sure, you can inspire fear into others with a death. But that fear can easily turn into outrage, and rebellion. It will be harder to control a population that is actively working to fight against you. Much easier to charm them and have them not even realize anything is wrong. Everyone is alive, and there is nothing to worry about. They just have to give a bit of blood every once in a while. And for that, Alejandro would make sure nothing else would dare to touch them.

That last part of the story concerns Noah. A lot. But it's...nice? That Alejandro cares? Enough to value a human life. Considering the rest of his family, it's a miracle Alejandro's got anything resembling compassion.

And at least he's finally being honest about something for once. Noah prefers honest but callous to kind but insincere. This part of Alejandro's still concerning...but he likes it more.

It's the start of these two doing more than just argue with each other. Alejandro's still not happy about being small. He complains about it just as constantly. But it's no longer lashing out at Noah. Noah doesn't really throw him into the time out cage anymore. Alejandro is gentler when he bites into Noah's neck to feast. Noah is less tense when it happens. He leans into it more. They bicker still, but they're actually willing to work with each other.

It's how they figure out a loophole. Neither can't really use their own magics to their full potential anymore....but they do now have access to each other's magic. They just have to be willing to train each other in it.

On Noah's side, Alejandro is trying to teach him how to hypnotize others through charming them. It doesn't go well. Noah's terrible at giving compliments. Changing his wardrobe to accentuate Noah's looks doesn't help when he doesn't flaunt them. That shopping trip to get Noah a new outfit definitely didn't awaken anything in Alejandro. Except it does. Noah is indulging him in one of his favorite activities. He looks cute in some outfits, hot in others. Noah mocks, Noah teases, Noah banters. It's just Noah, actually. Noah's cute, and he's also hot. Oh no. Alejandro's got himself a crush. ...MOVING ON FROM THAT-

Eventually, it clicks. This isn't working because Alejandro is teaching Noah how to be a Burromuerto. Which Noah certainly isn't. To charm someone, you have to work with what you naturally have and exaggerate it. Noah has snark. Use that to insult people that his victims would hate, not the victim themselves. Nobody likes being insulted, but everyone has something that they love gossiping about. That's Noah's in to get others to open up.

Then, there's the actual ask. Noah can't directly say what he wants all the time. Sometimes that may work, but sometimes what he wants is directly opposite to what someone else wants. He can find out when it's safe to be direct or not through gossiping. Then, if it's not safe? Make them feel safe. People underestimate Noah because of his age and figure. Use that.

Noah's just a pathetic, cute scrungly little guy who doesn't do much. What's the harm in letting him take a dangerously powerful grimoire off your hands? He's not going to do much with it. He's just curious.

Noah grins with pride the day he's able to hypnotize a guard who constantly abuses their power into humiliating himself.

On Alejandro's side, Noah's willing to teach him shadow magic. He wants to start with teaching Alejandro how to change their shape, and then move on up to making them solid.

There is also teleporting through shadow, but Noah's not teaching him that. That would give Alejandro the ability to leave Noah. Which would be bad for the whole 'keep Alejandro in check thing'. For no other reason. Noah wouldn't miss him. Not one bit. They just have to stay together for practicality. That's all. Let's get back to talking about shadows.

Alejandro assumes this should be a piece of cake. It's just another form of manipulating, just with a thing rather than a person.

He's terrible at it.

He coaxes, he begs, he pleads with the shadow to just move, and it refuses him. He's cursing in Spanish at an inanimate object.

Noah laughs at him for this. This earns Noah some curse words.

Noah tells him to stop treating magic like it's a person to be charmed. It's not. It's a thing. It follows orders so far as you figure out the right language. You tell it what you want, and then it gives it to you. No convincing, no tricking. Just asking.

Alejandro can't ask for one thing when he means another. That just confuses the magic and makes things not work. He needs to be direct for once in his life. Trust in his own ability to make something happen. Not in his ability to trick someone else into making something happen.

It takes Alejandro a while to just ask the magic to do what he wants.

I can't figure out how it'd work on Alejandro's side yet. Probably because I haven't yet defined the kind of magic he can do. 'Standard wizard fair' isn't going to cut it if this is coming from a personal bond/something that's intrinsic to Noah that would simply take a different form with Alejandro. It'd definitely have something to do with tying into how Alejandro doesn't actually NEED to charm people/force them to like him to get what he wants. His problem would definitely be that he's trying to force the magic to go exactly how he wants it to go. But magic's not something that likes being tamed like that. So Alejandros's got to learn to effectively say what he wants and just trust in his own abilities enough to make it happen.

When he does?

Alejandro shows off with a little shadow puppet show. He orchestrates puppets no bigger than him from atop Noah's bookshelf. It's endearing, it's sincere, and Noah is screwed because he is in love with this little vampire.

The more they teach each other, the stronger they grow. Neither realize it, but the bond is no longer draining each other.

They learn about this when someone attempts to mug Noah when he's running one of Chris's errands. The mugger grabs an Alejandro in bat form and slams him against stone to stop Noah from using magic. Alejandro is alive, but in a daze. Noah immediately makes tendrils of shadows to fling the mugger into the nearest wall, then hold them aloft in the air. He's running for Alejandro who's mumbling, asking if Noah is alright.

Noah doesn't know healing magic, but he's putting all of his focus into figuring out something to help Alejandro. It's working somewhat. Alejandro's head is clearer, though his body is still damaged. Noah puts more effort into making sure all of Alejandro is better. So much so that he doesn't notice a second mugger coming to check on their partner, who is now sneaking up on Noah. Noah is grappled before he can react, and is dragged away kicking and shouting.

Alejandro acts before he can think twice about it. The next thing he knows, he's standing at eye level with both of his newest victims. He hisses, his fangs bared, ordering them silent before they can scream about his presence. They are to release Noah and grovel.

The muggers do so without hesitation, their eyes glazed over. Alejandro wraps his arms around Noah in a hug. His grip is tight. He is at his full strength and could crush whoever he desired. He is gentle with his querido and plants a kiss on his forehead.

Alejandro wants so badly to drain them dry, but Noah takes priority. The muggers are to leave, turn themselves in, and forget the type of magic Noah and Alejandro used, and their faces.

The muggers leave, and the two are left to look each other in the eyes for the first time.

They stare for a while. Neither of them quite sure of what the other wants to do right now. Noah's the one who breaks the silence first.

"This late growth spurt's a bit much, wouldn't you say?"

Alejandro snorts at the absurdity.

They agree to keep the familiar bond as it is. It still lets them communicate with each other telepathically, and lets them use the other's magic.

They'll have to hide the fact that Alejandro is at his full strength, of course. Particularly from Chris and Chef. Alejandro tries and finds out that he can shrink at will now. Truth be told, he doesn't mind it anymore. (He's touch-starved, and rather enjoys being held and pampered by Noah.)

Alejandro also promises not to go enthralling everyone.

"Just five thralls will suffice."

"No."

"Two?"

"No!"

"One? I'll even make it Justin. Just imagine the things we could have him do."

"...No."

"You hesitated!"

"Stop tempting me!"

"Is it really tempting if you were already thinking it?"

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"That's not the point!"

The two stop when they realize that bombshell just got dropped.

They finally have proper confessions and decide to start dating. Alejandro immediately offers to turn Noah into a vampire so they can live together. Noah immediately shuts him down. Alejandro's sad until Noah explains.

One, that's a huge commitment when they've literally just started dating. And two, if Noah did that now then he'd have to be a teenager forever. He hates being a teenager NOW. An eternity of that? Hell no. In the future though? They can come back to this, and Noah'll let him know if he changes his mind.

Alejandro is more than happy to wait.

Fun little side note: Alejandro's got a bat form, and I already know exactly which species he is!

Meet the vampyrum spectrum! Also known as the spectral bat, or the great false vampire bat. They're carnivorous little guys who eat birds, rodents, and uniquely, other kinds of bats! Part of their natural habitat covers Peru, and they're also fun in that while most other bat species are polygynous where it's just one male with multiple females, these guys are mostly monogamous! Perfect for Alejandro!

[butterflydm]

wot deeper dive 2x8: what was meant to be

So excited to take a scene-by-scene look at this epic episode. This post will be dealing only with show spoilers and there will be another post later on that includes spoilers from the books.

I really loved season one, but season two has been richer, deeper, and so emotionally powerful. Have loved it so much. Posts that I'm planning to do in the next few weeks: I want to do a post covering each main character's s2 journey, I'm gonna do some speculation for s3, and I've got some posts planned on the imprisonment/control themes and the 'alone-vulnerable; together-shieldwall' theme that was so beautifully realized in the finale, and more.

But that's for the future.

For now, let's get into the show-only deep dive!

I don't think I really talked about the opening scene in my previous posts about the episode, but I really enjoyed it! I hope that future seasons continue the theme of having the final cold-open of the season be something from the Age of Legends.

2. What they did with showing the close relationship with Lews Therin and Ishamael really plays well with how Ishamael feels a kinship with Mat and thus believes that Mat is vulnerable to the same kind of philosophy and influences that Ishamael fell victim to -- he sees that Rand and Mat are close in the ways that he was close with Lews Therin, and thus believes that Mat being Rand's downfall is what is most likely to tip Rand over to the dark (alongside Egwene, who is our modern-age Lanfear counterpart imo). I really love what they've done with this relationship and with how Ishamael essentially tricked himself into believing that he understood Mat when he was really projecting himself onto Mat, just as he's been projecting Lews Therin onto Rand.

And we get the symmetry of Ishamael asking for death here and being denied, and then Rand killing him at the end of the episode, like he wanted.

3. We get confirmation here that LTT sealed the rest of the Forsaken first and Ishamael is last. This is where we get another name drop: Sammael. So the names that we have for sure are: Moghedien, Graendal, and Sammael (plus Ishamael and Lanfear, of course).

4. It looks like the other Aes Sedai here are all men, which ties us into the discussion/argument that Lews and Latra were having in the 1x8 cold open.

5. "They say this seal is so strong, not even I could break it." And while the seals do appear to be weakened by this modern point in time, we saw the effort that Ishamael went to in 2x4 to break out Lanfear. He did that six more times in this episode before he went to confront Rand. He was worn out, y'all.

I do think it's interesting the ways that Ishamael's nihilism interacts with his behavior with Rand. Once he realizes that Rand is here, he knows that his plan for turning Rand to the Shadow has essentially failed. Because Rand's friends have come to help him, and because of Lanfear's betrayal, Ishamael knows that it's over. And part of him is grateful when Rand kills him, and relieved. He doesn't really believe that he's going to reach Rand on that tower and turn him to the Dark -- that's why he sets two back-up plans into motion: a) releasing the Forsaken and b) trying to get Rand gentled.

6. Lews Therin's resigned apologies to Ishamael here for trapping him into a Fate Worse Than Death vs Mat's frantic apologies to Rand after he accidentally stabs him with the dagger from Shadar Logoth -- Lews Therin has been forced into this because of Ishamael's choices, while Mat was tricked into hurting Rand (both here and back in 2x6, when he 'abandons' Rand).

And I love the pan-up and the reveal that the "Eye of the World" was the place where Rand and Moiraine were tricked to go in 1x8 to free Ishamael from his seal.

7. I missed the credits! Though I absolutely understand the team prioritizing getting a little more screen time in each episode, since they were forced to choose. The golden threads bursting out when Josha's name appears always give me chills.

8. Our episode proper starts with the Whitecloaks planning their attack on Falme. The way that the Whitecloaks get introduced with that fade-in from light is very intriguing. I'm not a military expert but Bornhald's strategy sounds pretty solid to me: non-military expert, lol. We can see that they're hiding in the jungle for now, and they plan to make the assault as quick as possible because they have to take out the 'witches' first or any assault is doomed.

The Whitecloaks estimate there are 28 damane with the Seanchan at this time.

I really like how we see the Whitecloaks' ranks shown by how their armor is designed. The costume design on this show has been so striking, this season even more than s1. There's an almost stained-glass quality to the bands on the armor, which helps enhance that 'church/inquisition' vibe that we are going to also get with the children swinging incense.

9. "But we have something they don't."

haha, you don't know how long it took me to realize that Bornhald was implying "we have the Light on our side". Which, funnily enough, the Seanchan ALSO believe! Both sides believe that they are the ones fighting in the name of the Light, not suspecting that here comes Rand al'Thor with the steel chair (of the Light).

But I really love how drenched this episode is in light, after a season that has been very dark (emotionally and frequently literally).

10. "The Watchers on the Waves called for help, letters to every queen, every king in the world, to the Amyrlin Seat herself, begging, but no one came."

This 100% explains the reaction of the people of Falme at the end of the episode, imo. They have been begging for help and no one has come, so they gave up hope and are just doing their best to survive each day. And then the Seanchan are driven out in a matter of hours and they see that huge-ass dragon on the tower (and this version of the story does have people knowing what a dragon looks like -- the book that Rand looks at in season one with the Karaethon Cycle has a dragon sketch in the pages (at 17:38 in episode 1x5 -- there is SO MUCH subtle lore in 1x5, y'all) -- so they know what it means when they see the dragon on the tower). They know exactly who saved them from their recent oppression.

It also ties into a theme from the books, where the different nations are so wrapped up in their own problems that they don't see the big looming apocalypse that is coming for everyone. Everyone was so busy with their own problems that they ignored the messages from Falme.

11. "These strangers are slavers and murderers. We fight them because we must."

Where's that "Heartbreaking: the worse person you know just made a great point" meme? lol. honestly, that's something that the show has been doing really well! Even people who are doing terrible things are not 100% terrible and are capable of making genuinely good arguments. And they believe in themselves and their cause. The Whitecloaks and the Seanchan are both scarier when we are seeing the True Believers in the cause.

12. And Dain brings up the prophecy here that "in Falme's greatest moment of need, the Dragon will return to us" which really gives me "King Arthur" vibes (which is fitting! one of the cool themes in the book is heroic archetypes and how the wheel turns myth into legend, and we also see the Heroes of the Horn bringing that theme into the show in the major way in this episode). So, once again, the people of Falme are going to know exactly who to credit for their big rescue and seem pretty primed to become strong supporters of the Dragon Reborn, given the information that we've gotten about the city.

Bornhald dismisses prophecy in general as "the lies of long-dead witches" and we intercut into Lanfear leading Rand & co through the Ways, which is a beautiful transition. That was excellent.

13. A lot of characters have mentioned the Falme prophecy but I don't think anyone has mentioned it to Rand, specifically. He's not coming to Falme to fulfill prophecy -- he's coming to try to save Egwene. Much like Mat's reaction to Rand was very much colored by how he abandoned Rand at the Waygate, Rand's reactions with Egwene are colored by how he abandoned her at the end of s1. We know why Rand made that choice, of course, but now he's seeing the unintended consequences of that choice.

14. Lanfear's full plan gets revealed over the course of this episode, not in a super in-your-face way, but clear enough to put all the pieces together of exactly how long she's been planning to screw over Ishamael and the rest of the Forsaken (... since the moment she woke up and learned that LTT's new incarnation was around). Some of the details of this plan go into spoilers, so I'll put it in the later post but, in brief: she's manipulated various pieces on the board to use Ishamael's own plans against him -- trapping Egwene and Nynaeve in Falme was an Ishy plan, but Lanfear was able to use Egwene's presence in Falme as a way to get Rand motivated to want to go there to rescue her and, incidentally, fulfill a teeny-tiny prophecy. After Rand killed Ishamael and was proclaimed the Dragon, she was planning to have Doman dump the rest of the Forsaken in the ocean and then she would have plenty of time to manipulate seduce her dearest Lews Therin Rand into loving her again.

And it almost worked! Well, I don't think seducing Rand a second time would have gone as well as she was hoping, but most of the plan really worked out for her.

15. It looks like the show just revealed here that Lanfear also has the Talent of being able to see fellow channelers even when they aren't embracing the Source. ("I can see it in you.")

I love Lan protectively trying to step in front of Moiraine even though he has zero chance against Lanfear. It's giving real "bless him, he tries" vibes.

Lanfear just yeeting them out onto the beach cracks me up.

It also was really great in terms of how it set Moiraine up not as one of the main players fighting in the battle, but as support from the side, smoothing the way. When Rand and the rest of them come down from the tower and are greeted by the grateful people of Falme, none of those people will know that Moiraine and Lan had anything to do with Rand's success. It feels like such a natural progression of her role -- in s1, she was the driving force that led them all to the Eye of the World... and that ended up being a massive screw-up. This time, they all find their own ways to Falme, and none of our main six young heroes are there because they're planning on fulfilling prophecy or fighting the Last Battle. They're there to save one of their own (first Egwene, and then Rand). "Think not of glory but of salvation". They didn't quote it, but the thought is there in the action of what happened in the episode.

16. "How can you think I'd ever trust you again?"

"I'm the only one who actually cares about you, Rand. Everyone else -- Ishamael, Moiraine -- they just care about what you can do."

Lanfear attempting to use her manipulating wiles on Rand. Of course, at the end of the episode, he's going to get a big reminder that she's incredibly wrong and there are a bunch of people who care about him for who he is, but even in this moment, he doesn't look like he's falling for it. And Rand didn't walk away from his friends at the end of s1 because he believed that they didn't care about him. He walked away from them because he believed that he was dangerous to them.

(and she tried to use this tactic on Rand in 2x6 as well, but she failed there too, though she may believe that she succeeded, because Rand does still extend trust to Moiraine in 2x7 when she asks him why he was leaving Cairhien and he tells her everything that he knows/believes, including very much implying that he thinks Lanfear wants to kill him after he's been proclaimed Dragon)

Lanfear lost Rand's trust when he found out who she really was and that she had been manipulating him for months. And I think she's massively underestimating what she would need to do in order to earn any of that trust back.

17. After the Maidens warn Perrin that they are getting Bad Vibes and are pretty sure that today is going to be filled with people getting killed, Perrin asks Hopper to stay behind, trying to keep him safe. Oh, Perrin, that never works. And Hopper has just as much right to be in the fight as you do.

18. Lanfear accidentally screws over her own plan because she can't bring herself not to gloat before her future husband Rand kills Ishamael. This is the big moment when we see how much Ishamael and Lanfear's plans are diverging from each other (and Ishamael sees it too). Ishamael had been planning to play the long game with Rand, keep him away from Falme until he was ready to be turned to the Shadow. Now Lanfear has jumped the gun and brought Rand at a time when Ishamael only has two of Rand's friends in hand (Egwene and Mat) and even those two have not been broken yet. He's not ready for Rand to be here! There's still so much work to be done!

19. After this conversation, Ishamael is aware that he's potentially fighting a losing battle. But he doesn't give up -- he sends in Fain to try to accelerate Mat's corruption; he prepares Suroth for the possibility of gentling Rand. He won't give up without a fight.

Ishamael does sound so intense when he talks about how Rand isn't going to "choose us".

20. ...is Lanfear wearing a dragon earcuff? I think she might be wearing a dragon earcuff/earring. That is not subtle.

I like that it seems like Lanfear believes that she's tricked Ishamael, at least in part, just like she believed that she'd tricked Rand a lot more successfully than she had (since he was very much still lumping her together with Ishamael when talking to Mat and Moiraine).

21. ...I don't ever really have much to say about the fighty-fight part of battles. The image of the Whitecloaks galloping out of the incense/fog was pretty cool.

22. Nynaeve really does have a very rough go of it in this episode. While she does manage to help, that help is in the realm of "get Elayne to the tower so that Elayne can do something". And while I understand the frustration from her fans... her block needs to actually be a problem for us to understand why she wants to get rid of it. This episode made her block a problem, one that she wasn't able to overcome at the last second when it was desperately needed. Much like Mat's low ebb this season was intentional so that we could get the amazing high of the Horn scene, Nynaeve is entering a low ebb. At the beginning of the season, she was showered in praise and special attention that she didn't want. Now she wants the power that had earned her all that praise and she can't reach it (this is similar to how Rand's lack of training needs to actually be a problem so that we understand why he needs to get some training).

23. Oof, it's hard to watch Renna with Egwene. We do get clarification that the dark facepaint is for going into battle.

Renna cutting off Egwene's braid... much like the tree she forced Egwene to burn down, she's trying to attack something that she knows brings Egwene comfort.

Egwene's eyes when she's feeling at her shorn braid. Baby!

24. I've been finding it interesting to think about What's Up with Padan Fain. So far this season, he's stayed within Ishamael's orders (to our knowledge) but when Ishamael orders him to give the dagger to Mat, we hear the whispers of it calling to him. Once Ishamael is dead, does that free Fain to follow the call of the dagger? Because when Mat was under the influence of the dagger, he still was not a fan of the Shadow. Different kinds of evil. The evil of Shadar Logoth scared the Trollocs enough that they weren't willing to chase our people into the city. I will keep an eye on future developments!

25. Poor Mat has been having a Fucking Time of it. First, he has to watch Rand leave, knowing that he's apparently fated to kill his best friend with an evil dagger. Then he gets hit on the head and wakes up across the continent? With a scary lady who insults him? Then ol' flame-eyes is here and his eyes aren't flame anymore and Mat is just so exhausted and tired and he takes this tea that gets REAL trippy and depressing and tells him that he's destined to be awful forever. And then he's locked up alone in a room. And then... Padan Fain shows up???? With the dagger from Shadar Logoth?????

The one Mat is destined to kill Rand with?

Like... he has been having a time of it.

26. Oof, hard to watch Nynaeve torturing Seta. I understand why Elayne needs to keep looking away. Nynaeve wants so badly to find Egwene and save her. We actually get a lot of ruthlessness from the ladies in this episode -- Nynaeve with Seta; Egwene and Renna; and Moiraine's willingness to "kill a thousand innocents if there's even a chance [Rand] will live". But I think the show did a good job of showing you why each of these characters is driven to be so ruthless at this moment in time.

27. Rand confirms with his own eyes that Egwene is here in Falme, as he sees her and the other damane being led out of the kennels. And he sees the gag in her mouth -- I wonder if part of the reason for that part of the costuming was to make it easy for Rand to see from far away part of the indignities that are being forced on Egwene (obviously, he also saw what horrible conditions she was enduring in her cell back when Lanfear showed him Egwene, but now he knows for certain that what Lanfear was showing him was true).

28. Mat and Fain's conversation with Fain here is interesting because I think Mat is figuring it out -- so many people keep telling him over and over that he's destined to do the stupid thing; that he's worthless; that he's going to be like his dad; that he abandons his friends. Padan Fain is saying the exact same thing that Liandrin was saying (you abandoned your friends for the dagger). Having his old peddler from back home showing up to say the same things that the Aes Sedai who had kept him captive for months had said... that's kinda suspicious, bro. That kinda seems like someone else is supplying the script, bro. Because Mat is not in the same kind of despair here when he's listening to Fain as he was when he was listening to Liandrin. He's paying attention to who the messenger is (and who sent the messenger), not just the message itself.

The first time through watching this scene, it can feel like Mat is trying to convince himself when he smiles at Fain and tells him that he's not going to touch the dagger. But... he doesn't touch it. Instead, he inspects the room and comes up with a plan to escape that doesn't involve touching the dagger. It wasn't just bravado, when he was talking to Fain. He meant it. All these people, they keep telling Mat that they know him better than he knows himself. That they are the ones who really know his inner darkness. That they can guess what he's going to do next.

And Mat... he decides right here, I think, that he is going to prove them wrong. Maybe he WAS always terrible in his past lives? Well, then he'll fucking do better in this one. He makes the decision to do better BEFORE he learns that his past lives weren't rotten, and I think that's so important.

29. Moiraine and Lan's scene here is very sweet. I think this was a really sweet capstone to Lan's journey through the season and an affirmation of Moiraine trusting and allowing Lan and Rand to help her at the end of the last episode. Though the main culmination of the "alone we are vulnerable, together we are a shieldwall" comes in the fight against Ishamael, Moiraine has been very much a parallel with Rand this season in how she's been pushing people away so that she can face the danger alone, so her literally allowing Lan to share in her burden is a lovely little illustration of that same point. Plus the weaves and music here are just gorgeous. I really do love the intimacy here, between a man and woman who are fundamentally connected but not in a sexual or romantic way.

Meanwhile, Lan's journey goes back to a similar point as Mat's, I think, in that he accepts the idea that Moiraine views him as inferior and says he wants to help her anyway, before he gets rewarded with learning that she sees him not as an equal but as better than her. "Okay, what if this horrible thing, this thing that I don't want to believe could be true... what if it IS true and then I keep on doing the right thing anyway?"

Though I've never had the issue with Lan's storyline that I feel like I've seen some other book readers have. The only time his story felt 'slow' to me was through my first watch of 2x4 and even that changed when I did my rewatch and saw how much we were getting told about Alanna & her Warders and how it was leading up to Alanna getting folded into all the big plans. But, yeah, my main interest in Lan was never how many enemies he could kill per minute and the show has made him a much more interesting character to me than the books did.

30. I suspect all this 'getting the Horn' stuff might have been expanded on if we'd gotten ten episodes but there's enough information there to make it clear that Lanfear (as 'Selene') gave them the Horn so that her future devoted husband Rand would get his special toy before he fought Ishamael. Heists can be fun but we did get the info a couple of episodes ago that the Horn was barely being guarded, so that also tracks with it being easy for a 'slave' and a 'guard' to be able to sneak in and grab it.

...the Seanchan uniform actually looks really hot on Ingtar.

31. Perrin finds out here that Egwene is in Falme, and he instantly pivots to that information -- Egwene has been captured by the Seanchan; we have to help Egwene. We know that Perrin has been worried that all of them being isolated away from each other makes them vulnerable and here is proof! Obviously, if Egwene is here, then she has to be the priority over the Horn.

"The Horn of Valere summons the dead heroes of the past. It's the key to the Dragon winning the Last Battle."

Yeah, the show was very clear about what the Horn does. Even if you miss Ingtar's line on an initial watch, a rewatch would instantly clear it up (especially with the knowledge of what it does when Mat uses it). The fascinating thing is that Ingtar NEVER SAYS that the Dragon needs to use it, but that's clearly what Perrin assumes (and a lot of show-only reactors assumed it too, and were surprised by Mat being able to use it).

I like Loial's little speech. He shames Ingtar right out of his determination to leave the city with the Horn.

32. The way that Renna and Egwene's power struggle comes to a head in this episode was really effective I think.

We see Egwene not being able to bring herself to attack until she sees the Whitecloaks, and she takes care to place her fireball where it will only hit Whitecloaks and not any cilivians.

33. I have to admit, the view that certain book fans have that Rand did nothing in this episode are baffling (Nynaeve didn't do 'nothing' either, but both she and Rand ARE going to, I'm sure, seek ways in the new season to do more because they were both clearly frustrated by being 'blocked' from what they wanted to do). Rand did less than he wanted to do, because he got shielded -- motivation for him to want to search out some training next season, because there were several moments this season when his lack of training has been pointed out! -- but in both the Turak scene and the Ishamael scene, Rand ends the fight almost effortlessly (once he's free to do so, in the Ishy scene).

Turak and his guards stood literally no chance against Rand -- he raised his chin and looked, and over a dozen people died (but only the ones with weapons, not the Voice who wasn't a threat). I'm sorry, that is power. The idea that Rand indulging in a sword fight would have shown more power than what he actually did is ridiculous. He would have been a cat playing with a mouse instead of just killing it (and every show-only reactor that I've watched so far has had a BIG reaction to Rand doing this).

We've been shown throughout this season with the Forsaken that the less effort channeling takes and the more casual that you are with it, the more powerful you are. And that's exactly what Rand shows in this scene. Not only does he create and send the projectiles, they are precisely aimed to only target combatants.

Which means that Rand gets to see another aspect of Seanchan culture here -- the main slaves of a High Lord kills themselves when their lord dies. It really does show how deeply the brainwashing goes in Seanchan culture. And you can see that Rand is disturbed by the violence that he just did, but he has to move on, so he does.

34. I really do love how Josha embodies the physicality of Rand's channeling. He does move to channel but it feels very natural, like an extension of himself. It was that way in s1 as well. Rand channeling just... idk it hits different for me than any of the other channelers we've seen, as beautiful as the weaves can be.

35. "The Forsaken fought amongst themselves as much as they fought the Dragon," feels like a very important note for s3 -- the six Forsaken that Ishamael released are not going to be going after Rand together. Just as Lanfear ended up undermining Ishamael's plans, with the goal of killing him, getting rid of the other Forsaken, and living happily ever after with Lews Therin Rand, the other Forsaken will each have their own agenda too. So it's not complete doom and despair that they've all been released.

36. So even as Lanfear is making plans to dump the rest of the 'Chosen' in the ocean, Ishamael is busy at work releasing each of them, one by one. We learn here that Lanfear has been manipulating events in Moiraine's storyline from the very beginning of the season.

Ishamael brushing the dust of the remaining seals from his hands as he talks to Suroth: a+, lol. But to make matters even worse for him, he learns here that Turak is dead and the Horn has been stolen. And everything was looking so rosy for him before Lanfear showed up!

Ishamael's "shit, Lanfear betrayed us" back-up plans:

step 1: free the rest of the Chosen

step 2: get Rand shielded ASAP

step 3: Maybe seeing Mat and Egwene in dire straits will be enough to turn Rand to the Shadow? (it's confirmed here that Ishamael made sure to have Egwene ordered to the tower where "the whole city can see her")

*fails*

step 4: okay, we'll gentle him and then work on breaking him once he's less dangerous

*fails*

step 5: maybe I just kill him?

*fails*

step 6: well, guess I'll die. At least I screwed over Lanfear on my way out. The rest of the Forsaken will have to handle things from now on.

37. I love Mat working out a way to use the dagger without touching it. Also it kinda cracks me up that he ties the dangerous thing to a bedpost because... um... Lanfear tied Rand to a... I think that's maybe only funny to me. lol

We see here that Mat understands how the dagger works, probably a lot better than Ishamael did or Fain does. It nearly killed him last season! He's aware of how dangerous it is... but also how useful it can potentially be at the moment.

And I love that Rand's stubborn 'ACTUALLY, Mat is amazing and one of the best people who has ever lived, so jot that down' attitude from 1x7 gets proven correct here. Rand knew Mat better than anyone else, from what we saw at various points in s1, and now his certainty that Mat Is Good, Actually gets to be proven (including, very importantly, Mat himself... until the Accidental Stabbening gives Mat a brand-new guilt complex).

38. We can see here that the fireballs coming down from the damane in the tower are hitting ordinary citizens as well as the Whitecloaks -- not everyone is being as careful as Egwene.

She sees it too -- that's what makes her spit out her gag and refuse to help anymore. And this moment (among some others) really sells why this addition to the costuming works because Egwene actively and literally reclaims her voice here.

And the Whitecloaks attack on the tower work, killing many of the damane and sul'dam at the top of the tower.

39. While earlier, we saw that some of the Whitecloaks were helping pull civilians out of the way, once again, not everyone on their side is being that careful -- the Whitecloak archers shoot Seta, dressed as a damane, but they also shoot Elayne, dressed as an ordinary citizen. Both the Seanchan and the Whitecloaks are causing innocent people to get caught in between them and die.

And I do think it's clear here that Nynaeve is overwhelmed and scared, not angry. That's why she isn't able to reach the power. Her block is now officially a problem for her, one that she has a very good reason to try to get it fixed next season. This is a similar lesson to what they've been showing us in Rand's storyline: raw power isn't enough. You also need control, or other people will be able to control you.

40. And that ties into what Egwene does too -- both Mat and Egwene think outside the box in order to find clever solutions to their problems in this episode and not be limited to what their captors thinks they're capable of. They both choose an unlisted option.

She seizes control over herself and her situation, because she understands her power now. Egwene, Mat, and Moiraine all reclaim themselves after having gone through a long, rough period of being put in a situation where they feel inadequate and broken down.

And Egwene figured it out by being clever and putting together the information. We also get more confirmation here that only channelers can see weaves.

41. Reunions! Mat and Perrin's reunion here is very sweet. It's also much more straightforward than the more complex and fraught (though just as sweet) relationship between Mat and Rand. Perrin and Mat share a good long hug! Mat holds his shoulder for a moment! But when the hugging is gone, they pull away from each other and don't constantly stay all over each other like Rand and Mat were in their initial reunion scene in 2x6 (or like Rand and Mat will do in their upcoming scene, post-stabbening). So I love that we see that Mat and Perrin are very good friends and they love each other and... and it's not quite the same as Mat's friendship with Rand.

42. Poor Egwene really is so burnt out, emotionally, by her experiences and so traumatized, and we can really see how exhausted she is by everything that happened. She needs some real processing time.

I'm glad that we got Rand's apology to Egwene here, even if I think she's maybe only half-processing it at the moment.

43. I love how quickly Mat gives out the info of "Rand is alive, he's here, he's headed to help Egwene" to Perrin here. And that he takes another dig at Rand's hair, lol. When Rand regrows his hair, Mat gets the credit for it, lol. I also miss Rand's curls, Mat! You are not alone!

44. Ishamael is talking here like he's knows that it's over. He does not expect his appeal to Rand here to work -- like he told Lanfear, it's too soon. Egwene isn't broken. Mat isn't broken. He doesn't even HAVE Nynaeve or Perrin in hand. "Maybe next time it'll be different," Ishamael says, because he already knows that his primary goal of turning the Dragon to the Dark has failed.

I love the echoes of this scene to the one from the cold-open.

45. "You're his only hope" vs "betrayer of hope". I talked about this in one of my earlier posts I think, but the contrast still hits me hard.

Here we have Ishamael, blaming Lews Therin for his fall to the dark (and the stories say that it was LTT's 'fault' that Lanfear turned to), but it wasn't LTT's fault. It was Ishamael's choice. And it's Mat's choices that make him different from Ishamael.

But, yeah, this is another of those things that just gets extra weight to Mat and Rand's friendship vs Mat and Perrin's or Rand and Perrin's.

46. Dain and Perrin meet on the battlefield and get to fight back-to-back for a moment. I think everything with Perrin & the Whitecloaks & Hopper is well-done, but it's tough to talk about. Hopper does get a lovely send-off, as he see him leaping the way that he did when he told Perrin his name. Also, the tension between Dain and Perrin the next time they see each other (narratively, they have to see each other again, with all this set-up) is going to be fantastic.

Hopper's last sending to Perrin is so beautiful. And it's so easy to understand Perrin's rage here, just as it was easy to understand Egwene's need to kill Renna.

47. I like how Elayne (in agony!) is doing her best to help Nynaeve get to a place where she can help Elayne. She really takes charge of the situation and is able to bring a level of calm to it, even when she's under significant distress herself.

Nynaeve is trying so hard to channel here and she can't even embrace the Source. I do think that her 'block' probably got some reinforcement when her most recent use of the Power directly led to Ryma's capture.

(speaking of Ryma, since we don't see her in the tower or on the ships, it's entirely possible that, as a brand-new damane, she was still in the kennels and can get freed after the battle here is done; I would like that for her very much and - if they do decide to have the Wondergirls go back to the White Tower, Ryma could be the one to take them there, as she delivers the news about the Seanchan. That's one of the few reasons that I can see for the Wondergirls to think it will be safe for them to go back to Tar Valon, after they hear Moiraine's news, tbh)

But, yeah, I'm glad that Nynaeve can't just Bruce Banner "I'm always angry" at her problems. That her block is now something that is causing her distress in times when she desperately needs to be able to channel.

48. Mat blowing the Horn is such a beautiful moment. Time slowing and the music changing and the effects of how the Heroes appear. This is a moment of intense despair for everyone and Mat blowing the Horn here turns everything around. I think they did a really good job in making this the turning point of the episode. Mat blowing the Horn did bring back the hope of winning. It didn't win the battle, but it gave back hope. Instead of Mat being ~just like~ Ishamael, he is instead Ishamael's opposite. Instead of betraying hope, he creates it.

And it's such a joyous moment. Mat gets to have his self-worth affirmed by an outside source, gets to feel connected to something bigger than himself, after feeling alone for most of the season. It's really beautiful.

Just... gorgeous. And when Mat remembers and is able to get that validation that he is not destined to be a 'damn prick', just like his father, that he isn't rotten to his core... witnessing him going through that moment is so lovely. Cannot say enough good things about it, A+ television.

49. We also see that, after Mat says that he 'remembers', that he's handling his weapon differently, more familiarly, and he can now speak the Old Tongue. So we can see the impact that remembering his past lives has on him.

And, of course, we see here that Uno is one of the Heroes of the Horn! It's a nice hint to viewers who maybe weren't listening to Ingtar earlier that the Horn brings back the dead. Because we definitely all saw Uno die.

50. And, of course, being magically-fast ghost warriors, the Heroes absolutely can make sure that they only target active combatants and that no civilians get caught in the cross-fire.

Uno saving Perrin. <3 And then lending him a magic shield! Useful! I'm guessing it probably also fades away after the Heroes do.

And once the arrow is out of Elayne's leg, everyone is on their way to the tower.

51. Rand is able to push himself to his feet, despite the effects of the shield on him, and tell Ishamael, point-blank, "I will never serve him. In a thousand lives, I never have. I'm sure of it."

Ishamael knows that his main plan is a bust. It's only back-up plans and failsafes from here on out.

52. Mat's throw is a really good throw! Unfortunately, Ishamael is a trickster too, and it goes right through the illusion of him. This moment is incredibly traumatizing for Mat who only literally just now regained his sense of self-worth -- while we are going to end up with our heroes triumphing over Ishamael and the Seanchan and saving Falme... they all end up damaged and traumatized by it.

Mat just clutching onto Rand here in the wake of accidentally stabbing him. Oh, wow, it really gets to me. And Rand's anger is 100% (and very appropriately and accurately) focused on Ishamael.

And Ishamael is so distracted by this moment that he doesn't realize that Egwene has gotten up from where he threw her.

53. I love how delicate Elayne's healing weave is. And the wound left behind looks very nasty. And Rand getting healed by Elayne and then seeing the sun shining in her hair. What a way to be introduced to someone for the first time! They save your life like that and are literally wreathed in sunlight.

54. Moiraine and Lan getting on the same (ruthless) page when it comes to supporting Rand/the Dragon. And we get to really see Lan let loose with his fighting as Moiraine lets loose with her channeling.

55. I was honestly a little nervous about the idea of them actually doing a sky battle because I could not possibly picture how that would not be cheesy. I trusted the show's team but... I was nervous. What the show did was not at all cheesy. It was heartfelt and epic, but not cheesy.

I love how everyone works together to make it work. The team did such a good job of playing out this theme of having the characters be isolated and showing how that made them vulnerable, and then rewarding us with this beautiful coming together. They can be there for each other and protect each other.

And I'm confused about anyone feeling like this takes away from Rand because... they all contribute so that Rand can strike the final blow -- because Rand is the only one who could have done that part. Moiraine freed Rand from his shield and Elayne healed him, Egwene and Perrin were able to block Ishamael's attacks, but Rand absorbed Ishamael's attacks into his own weave to strengthen it, and then he wove the One Power directly into his sword and we can see the results -- instead of getting back up again, Ishamael crumbled to dust.

Ishamael himself was aware that he had lost as soon as Rand was unshielded, imo. He makes another attack after that, but it's clear that he knows that he lost. There's a reason that Ishamael's first big move in the scene with Rand is to get him shielded by the damane. That's the only way he even has a chance in this fight and he knows it. Egwene isn't able to go on the offense against, Ishamael in any way and we can see what a toll it's taking on her to hold up her shield against him - holes develop in her shield before Perrin shows up.

Minor Cauthor note: I love how after Rand gets rocked by being unshielded and he realizes that Mat got pulled away from Mat, he grabs Mat's hand again. Cute, even in the middle of a pitched battle.

56. Our poor traumatized babies! Let's count up the trauma:

a. Rand felt shielded and helpless for much of the fight and now has a wound in his side that Elayne wasn't quite able to heal. He's also very aware that his lack of training is causing big problems. And he's got a heron brand on his hand now.

b. Egwene is deeply traumatized from her time as a slave.

c. Nynaeve spent this entire battle feeling helpless and her only contribution was bringing Elayne here so that Elayne could heal Rand. Nynaeve may even blame herself for the state Rand's wound has been left in, wondering if she could have healed him fully if she'd had access to the Power.

d. Perrin just lost his new wolf BFF in a traumatic way.

e. Mat stabbed his best friend with an evil dagger (after spending months being psychologically tortured).

f. Elayne has a pretty nasty leg injury. Also, she has to be the most confused person here, by a mile. She likely knows about the prophecies and the Dragon Reborn as general concepts but had absolutely no clue that she was accidentally stumbling into the middle of them. She's gonna have so many questions.

57. But this whole section really is beautiful. Just... I love the fire-illusion dragon so much. Moiraine is always So Extra, all the time.

58. This is the first time any of them have seen Rand channel! Even though they can't see the weaves, they can see Rand walking through Ishamael's attacks without flinching, they can see his sword glowing red, and Ishamael turning to dust. And they heard Ishamael call him "Lews", probably.

It's also another incredibly intimate stabbing, though in a different way than Mat 'stabbing' Rand was. He looks directly into Ishamael's eyes the entire time and, afterwards, he stays focused on Ishamael until he's turned to dust.

59. Yeah, Falme looks pretty all-in on the Dragon Reborn. He saved them from the Seanchan and (given what the dude in Atuan's Mill said) he also saved them from the Whitecloaks. At their greatest hour of need, the Dragon really did come to save them. We also get the confirmation here that these Aiel Maidens, at least, believe that Rand is the Car'a'carn that they've been searching for.

60. At this point in time, Lanfear is feeling pretty damn happy with herself. Step one of her plan was a complete success! Ishamael has been taken care of. Lews Therin Rand has been publicly proclaimed the Dragon! Her happy ending is within her grasp!

Then, as Lanfear is basking in her victory... she discovers that Ishamael took action when he realized she was betraying him. We meet "softly, softly from the shadows" Moghedien and see her stand toe-to-toe with Lanfear. All of the Forsaken are now loose.

Love the vibe they've given to Moghedien.

We can see here that those conflicts that Moiraine talked about between the Forsaken are clear and present. Lanfear and Moghedien are definitely not on the same page when it comes with how to deal with the Dragon.

Moghedien says that "him" and "all five of them" are now the other Forsaken's business and that Lanfear is to stay away from Rand in particular.

And she vanishes before Lanfear is set free and our last words of the season are Lanfear saying, "Light help you, Rand al'Thor."

Interesting in two ways! Acknowledgement of him as Rand, not Lews Therin, and calling upon the Light to aid him. I feel like it does a good job of setting up some very clear issues for the next season.

Hope we have a shorter wait this time!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

This one guy I talked to on AO3 said that Emilie shouldn't be brought back because Adrien has already moved on from her death, but I'm not so sure about that. Other people think she should be revived so she can be her own character and not just someone else's sad backstory, and so Adrien has one good parent, of course. What do you think?

I think that it depends on the story you want to tell. There are cases to be made for bringing her back and cases to be made for letting her die. In the context of canon, I find not bringing her back to be fing stupid because it makes everything feel pointless. We obviously don't know the wish yet, but why let Gabe make the wish at all if he's not going to restore Emilie? Making a different wish isn't him being a good guy at the end. It's still him playing god, he's just now using his god powers to abandon his son for no logical reason. What loving father happily leaves his son an orphan???

Yeah, Gabriel saved Nathalie. I don't care. Nathalie chose to use the peacock to support Gabriel in his plan to terrorize Paris. That wasn't some noble sacrifice on her part! She didn't deserve to be saved any more than Gabriel did. Of the three dying/dead parental figures (I really don't know Emilie's status) Emilie is the only one who was never tempted by the dark side if we ignore the uncomfortable implications of how they got the peacock in the first place/Adrien's childhood isolation and just embrace the canon narrative that Emilie was a good and loving mother who was Too Pure For This World.

Meanwhile, Nathalie was a terrible mother figure! She supported Gabriel's awful treatment of Adrien for four seasons and then spent all of season five gently prodding Gabriel to change/tell Adrien the truth while leaving Adrien completely in the dark to everything that was happening. If Gabriel hasn't won, then Adrien would have lost both his father and Nathalie who knew that they were dying, but never gave Adrien a chance to say goodbye because Nathalie never stopped putting Gabriel first in almost every way that mattered. Adrien still doesn't know that he could have been allowed say goodbye to his father because Gabriel's death was entirely predictable.

Along similar lines, I don't think that Nathalie was wrong to undo Gabriel's senticommands, but it is deeply messed up that she was happily doing it in secret and never once considered giving Adrien a chance to consent. A loving parent should find the idea of controlling their child deeply upsetting. She should have been tempted to tell Adrien the truth, especially since she knew that she was dying, but we never see her consider that.

She also does nothing to get Adrien's slave collar away from Gabriel or to stop Gabriel from terrorizing Paris even though we have a scene where she literally pins Gabriel to a table. Her turn to "good" did nothing but maintain the status quo because she continued to support Gabriel in all the ways that truly matter. She never really protects Adrien. She does not deserve to be Adrien's new mother. #BringEmilieBack!!!

All of that is assuming that Gabriel's wish saved Nathalie while sacrificing himself and Emilie. If so, then that is literally the most boring way to go about letting the wish happen. You could have just as easily had Gabriel lose and have Ladybug know a way to save Nathalie via Guardian magic. The end result would have been the same.

If Gabriel had chosen to give up on the wish entirely? Then Emilie not coming back would be a satisfying ending. I personally really like Gabriel being defeated and the heroes then bringing Emilie back. Very much a spite move for me, plus it's a nice way to lessen the sting of Gabriel's defeat. Adrien losing his father, but gaining his mother feels really satisfying to me, especially if Emilie gets to serve Gabriel divorce papers. Got your wish, old man. Now suffer for it.

No matter the case, saying that Emilie shouldn't be brought back because Adrien has moved on is bad logic as it implies that Emilie is only worth bringing back if Adrien say he wants her back, as if she's a beloved childhood toy that someone broke long ago. It also implies that Adrien wouldn't want her back just because he's accepted her loss. Those are two very different things. Imo, one of the show's failings is the fact that Adrien is denied the right to grieve as if that makes him a better person. A better show would show healthy grief vs unhealthy grief (Adrien vs Gabe). She's been gone less than a year when the story starts. Everyone processes grief different, but that's really fast to move on from the death of a parent.

[nonbinarypirat]

Ok, so I have few ideas about Kalego's evil cycle based on the knowledge we have about his mana dogs. It's clear his evil cycle is very violent. While I am sure that it was worse than normal due to a multitude of stressers that exemplified the problem, his whole house was fucked up. His curtains, his bed, his floor, couches. My man is going to need either a repaining spell or just replace everything. So yeah, its clear its exteremly bad

Since you loose control of yourself during it, I imagine it gets harder to control Cerberus thus letting them roam freely. But, espeically in this instance, they feel caged. They are trapped in a fairly small space with no place to roam and full of their master's rage with no outlet. We already know that without strong control and careful handling, the dogs will turn at the slightest provocation. Even at Kalego himself when they were first bonded to him. They bit and clawed at him mercilessly

So, it's possible that because his willpower is low during evil cylce plus having no target to take their fustrations out on, they try to take it out on Kalego. I'm sure Kalego could still fight without his mana dogs, but we have seen its his primary weapon. So it would be a fight for dominance, not mentioning that Kalego would be full of rage and frustration as well. It would be a back and forth anger fest but nothing really being fixed, unless the actual fighting becomes a sort of catharsis activity? but I think it would just anger him more because on top of the stress that led him to having an evil cycle in the first place, now Cerberus is acting up and he has to deal with that. Thus why it becomes SO destructive.

It could also be that the dogs become extra protective of their master causing it to bark and attack at anything percieved as a threat. An evil cycle, while the demon is at its strongest, is also when they are at their most vulnerable. Think about it, sure you can use strong attacks and even have new abilities (ie, Sabro's weapon ability) but it takes a lot out of them, phsyically, magically, and mentally. Your powers skyrocket but your control decreases by a fairly large margin (Azz almost attacking the Dorodoro brothers). The dogs could see it as their mission to protect Kalego at all costs.

They have beem bonded together for so long that maybe they won't turn on him specifically but anything around them. Going down this thought, maybe it's less of a protective thing and moreso that they have too much pent up energy and decide to trash the place. I mean, as someone who currently has a puppy in the house and a grown dog, trust me they will mess with shit just out of pure frustration. (Though my grown up doggie only does it sometines, he's well trained, my lovely boy.) Back on track, maybe it's as simple as they are out, have nothing to do, and just chew everything up. But since this is Iruma-kun, i don't know if that'll be the case. I want it to be "oh, silly puppies" but i think there's a strong possibility of it being the "we are going to fuck you up now master" route. But them fighting Kalego does make for a fun if messed up story lore.

Hopefully we will get insight into it later in the series and also witness it!

[timtamtomme]

GUESS IM STILL ON THET TF2 GRIND--- Ever since I resketched them all in my new style, I have been thinking about ACTALLY designing my merc ocs!! SO I FINALLY DID!! Plus they all share colors, proper, so they look so nice together!! I kina miss their story, so I'll see about exploring that more too.

Of course, to show off their scars and features, I also made a bare version! This will likely double as dress up dolls for future outfits I may make LMAO

Though a couple share names with cannon TF2 mercenaries, their lore and personalities have long since branched off from their canonical counterparts. If you're interested in some details about them, here's a quick mini-bio for each one!! I'm also open to answering any questions about them, because they have at least 6 years of history behind them, haha!

BLU MEDIC ~ Hannes Augesburt

German ~ He/Him ~ Demiromantic Bisexual Hannes is the closest you can get to the 'villain' of the story without looking beyond the mercenaries themselves. He's an egotistical sadist who wants nothing but complete and utter control of his team. He will do anything to win, even willingly replace his perfectly working arm for a far more powerful alternative.

BLU ENGINEER ~ Dallas "Dell" Conagher

American (Texas) ~ He/Him ~ Homosexual Dallas is a nepobaby for sure, only working for BLU because of his father and fathers father's loyalty to the Administrator. Graduating college for the first time at age 15, Dallas is an incredibly intelligent man, but all of that goes out the door when it comes to Hannes. He is extremely permissive and rarely has the guts to talk back or otherwise disobey the Medic's orders.

BLU SNIPER ~ Bernard {>REDACTED<}

French ~ He/Him ~ Homosexual No one really knows who he is or what he's about. Bernard spends most of his time alone doing god knows what; half the time he isnt even in the BLU Base when they're off work. The closest thing he has to a friend is the pyro, who has done what she can to include him in group activities to get him out of his room. The most personal thing she's discovered that he has a knack for knitting and crochet.

BLU PYRO ~ Ana Maria Garcia-Lopez

Mexican-American (Kansas) ~ She/Her ~ Pansexual Ana is a passionate and confident woman. She does what she can to inspire confidence in her team and lend them a hand whenever she can. The glue who keeps everyone together, she is often the first to rebuttal the Medic's commands if she perceives him going too far, though she's gotten a lot more quiet since the introduction of his new robotic arm. She fears what he's capable of.

RED HEAVY ~ Mikhail "Misha" Medved

Russian ~ He/Him ~ Heterosexual The often quiet muscle of the Red team, Misha spends most of his free time reading in the public spaces of the RED Base. He enjoys listening to others ramble and replies infrequently. However, when he feels like he has something to say, he is a loud and boisterous personality who has no shame or fear in his own opinions and humor.

RED SPY ~ Jourdain "Dain" {>REDACTED<}

French ~ He/Him ~ Bisexual An almost complete recluse, Jourdain takes no joy or comfort in interacting with his team; at least, that's what he lets on. Jourdain is a man who's so deeply fearful of getting hurt, that he refuses to let anyone get close enough to have the opportunity, and thus, he only spends time with his team during work hours. He does his job well and doesn't even slack on it, even though he believes it to be below him compared to his old jobs.

RED SCOUT ~ Nora Peterson

French-American (Massachusetts) ~ She/Her (Transfem) ~ Sapphic Bisexual Nora is a loud and proud Bostonian girl who has a love of sports and art. After she dropped out of art college, she needed to make up for the wasted tuition and pay back her mother, so she got a job fast. The first one she could find and paid the most was a mercenary job, though she didn't know what it actually was at the time. Since arriving here, she has settled in well, and soon settled into herself with her transition. Being a mercenary is terrifying at times, but she's felt freer then she has ever felt before.

[tadokorochann]

Okay but for some reason Shiggy always playing video games also equals him being chronically online and as an incredibly touch starved early twenties male individual I equate that to him consistently browsing pron sites

so like now I'm thinking about what his browser history was before meeting reader and then after

with all his posturing in the previous ask I'm imagining his desire to want to have all the control and thus taking it by force-basically what AFO has been grooming him to do with his powers and manipulating him into his perfect lil revenge puppet --so honestly it's probably involves lots of violence, humilation, debasement of one's partner?

then presented with reader and that all getting almost instantly nullified cause SURPRISE Shiggy isn't actually like that at his core- he's really just not had any good role models. Like yeah enacting violence on someone who did him wrong may still sound appealing but you're basically a stranger and oh shit you're gently touching his arm and his tummy feels a little queasy but in a good way???

And you're apparently the first person in his life with a gotdamn brain cause you recommend he wear special gloves for his quirk so all his fingers are never touching something all at once and that's a game changer cause now he doesn't have to be so cautious about being close to people--even tho he still is--but he "claimed" you and you're running with it so you're not skimping on the cuddling obligations of a kept woman! (plus Kai was also probably with holding of touch due to his germphobia so you're craving touch like hell too)

okay this got outta hand! I meant this to be an ask about you and tomura watching porn together/him starting to share gentle femdom videos with you and shyly asking if you can try them 😅😂😂😂

Yesyesyes to all of this! Personally for this au (or storyline I guess since it’s canonverse?) I envision the reader to have a powerful nullification/cancellation quirk of some kind, purely to make both Shiggy and Kai more obsessed with her 🥰

For Kai I envisioned a kind of, not worship for reader, but… reverence? Or admiration of some kind, viewing the nullification as her body’s own efforts to resist the quirk virus. Despite it in and of itself being a quirk. The same type of cognitive dissonance he has when it comes to regarding himself as clean and undiseased despite having overhaul lol. In any case it was a reason to keep her suffocatingly close, make sure nothing else could touch her, soil her, make her dirty. I know the “I’m the only one Overhaul can touch without getting hives” bnha fic trope can be overused but I 100% do not care because that’s exactly how I saw this situation with reader. But, like you said, he’s a germaphobe. So even with skin to skin contact not being a primary issue I definitely think touch was still a point of conflict. And sex was… a very specific, step by step process that HE decided every little detail about. As was this entire relationship. He controlled her clothes, diet, physical activity, hobbies, any possessions she had. There was no choice which soured things even when Kai happened to pick something she enjoyed.

For Tomura readers quirk cancellation is simply a means for him to be able to touch someone with five fingers down. Hug her. Hold her hand without fear she’ll crumble. And it’s so huge for him 🥺🥺🥺 I’m getting off track as well lmao

Definitely love the idea of both Reader and Shiggy beginning to share/watch porn together and that Tomura’s browser history and stuff changes. Bc one of the things that had me chewing on this idea the most was him having someone to be soft with, and to be able to make self discoveries with.

100% feel like Kai did not allow reader the consumption of porn either for reasons of keeping her “clean” mentally or bc of being possessive, possibly both. And domming him was a definite no, at least in this particular blurb.

Reader explores freedom of choice in regards to sex, porn, affection, food, spending time with actual people (no real companions were allowed at the Hassaikai because Kai was adamant he was ✨all she needed✨) and just generally being happy w him. And Tomura gets to begin to unpack the ideals AFO saddled him with. Meanwhile Kai gets to be armless and having a constant breakdown in Tartarus 🥰

(edit: the idea/blurb referenced is here for those who haven’t seen it)

[zehecatl]

so, like, i don't think Alastor is actually as strong as we've been lead to believe?

first of, because i know what y'all are like- i'm not saying he isn't strong. the shield in the finale obviously requires some firepower (though i think you could make the case that the shield isn't just powered by him, but that's another post-) and he is an Overlord. but! i think he plays up his own power, and does A Lot of manipulation and scare tactics to seem even more powerful than he actually is. after all, why bother fighting battles when you can scare off most of the competition?

now, obviously the biggest thing here is the finale. Adam trounces him, and does so easily. even doing their fight, Alastor doesn't actually hurt Adam. there's no direct clash of power up until Adam beats his ass in two hits

but, Adam is also the leader of the exorcists, and the first man. of course he'd be strong. but i do think it's a hit to this image Alastor loves to put on, of being this untouchable horror that could easily overtake Hell, if he so desired

secondly, Valentino's comment to Vox

now, if Alastor actually beat Vox, there is not a single doubt in my mind that Valentino would lord that shit over Vox. he would, absolutely, bring it up. so the fact that he says almost is noticeable. it means that Alastor and Vox was most likely on equal footing, if not outright pointing at Vox as the stronger opponent. because if Alastor didn't beat Vox, it either means a draw, or that Vox beat Alastor

and you can even see this in their duet. Alastor doesn't beat Vox- Vox beats himself. Vox crashes through his own inability to control his emotions, which, again- Alastor manipulates. he's playing Vox like a fucking fiddle, and that's super cool and impressive, sure, but that's not pure strength

and this goes hand in hand with how the Overlords (and the general public) views Alastor

people are not scared of Alastor. not the general public, not the Overlords. in episode 3, when people are 'afraid of him', it's not Alastor they're afraid of- it's Zestial

(i'm not going to spam a bunch of caps here, but it's pretty easy to glean if you look close- the background characters look at Zestial, and it's not until Zestial shows up that we get this whole 'everyone is afraid' bit. and we had plenty of time to showcase them being afraid of Alastor, but they didn't)

even Alastor himself is shaken to see Zestial, if only momentarily. and during the meeting, sure, Camilla is surprised to see Alastor, but she's not scared, and when he teases at where he might have been, she doesn't care

and neither does anyone else. Alastor is an Overlord, yes, and he's powerful, yes, but he's not- noticeably so. he's not a big threat to any of them, and that's goes so against the front he's putting on. Alastor wants to be powerful. he needs to be powerful. and it's not that he isn't, he's still very much an Overlord, but he's just- he's not a particular big fish in this pond

and lastly, i think it's extremely interesting that, out of everyone, it's Mimzy we hear the whole Radio Demon story from

it's not particularly noticeable that Angel didn't know about him, because he didn't in the pilot either, but it's like. Mimzy? we're getting this story from Mimzy?

not Pentious, or even Husk, or anyone else. plus, the way its set up...

it reads less like a true story, and more like a scary story you'd tell around a campfire or some shit- and it's not that i think she's lying, because i don't, but it's. interesting

Angel and Pentious is shocked when Mimzy finished her story, which means this story is new to them. Pentious didn't know about it, and he's been attacking Alastor pretty consistently since Alastor got back. which kind of leads me to believe that Alastor doesn't... really have a reputation? at least not one that's widespread

see, the thing is, sure- Alastor's been gone seven years. but that's not that long of a time for a really terrifying Overlord to be forgotten about- and no one reacts to him. there's no scene in the duet where people are terrified of the Radio Demon being back, no later scene to showcase the fear he inspires. there's nothing

and yeah, Alastor is a terrifying presence. he plays into it so very well

but all of this... i don't think Alastor has as much power as he likes to pretend he does, especially not before he disappeared. i don't think he's as big of a deal as he makes himself out to be, and that's fascinating to me

because it makes me wonder... what did he make a deal for?

[sunmizuiro]

Does it look to you that she's keeping away Charlie from Lucifer?

Does it look to you that Lucifer is not smiling while looking up at his beloved?

Does it look to you that Lilith is being harsh while holding so gently little Charlie?

Okay you may disagree with me with the first one and I do too! It's complicating since we don't know much about the family but,,, okay what if she's actually the reason why Lucifer and Charlie never were close even if you see the family pictures it looks like they are and that they're having genuinely a good time, but it could be a possibility that Lily knows that Lucifer is really not that idealistic dreamer anymore and that he lost hope unlike her,,, maybe for Charlie's sake both of them wanted their kid to really live a happy hell life! No matter the conditions or the mistake that her parents did before, yes I didn't forget that Lucifer did show Charlie when she was a kid some of his dreams with light pure magic and all,,, but it looked to me that Lilith was waiting for them, and just took back Charlie to bedtime and nothing else! I didn't want to read too much into it because I really really don't want Lilith to turn out to be a bad mother or villain. I do plan to write everything that we know so far about her and theories— opinions that I have and what I'm predicting for the first family in Hell.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!! What you're going to read below was me watching Hazbin Hotel before episode 7 and 8 were out! And again I'm really planning to write a completely whole hopefully theory about Lilith and many other things in Hazbin Hotel, if you're obsessed with the show just like me I hope you'll have fun reading this date of it was 01/28/2024, english is not my first language butttt it's readable,,,maybe.

Okay so why on earth would Alastor be owned by Lilith (yes it seems to me that this speculation is surely true)? What happened exactly? Either because Al kept killing every overlords for power and so does he also crave to rule literally all hell? And it looks like Lucifer really doesn't care about his people unlike Lilith, Because she uses her singing and all? Literally the show is a musical and the characters aknowledge that kind of whenever they sing and dance, it's like just something normal in their hellish life. So maybe Alastor tried to have a deal with Lilith herself, a deal with the queen of hell which is well wildly powerful, so I feel like she turns the table around and in the end was the one in control of Alastor, making him go to the hotel immediately after Charlie's call in the pilot because she knows that Lucifer and Charlie aren't that close because she would bring her daughter back for bedtime to let Lucifer do his work since the man is the king of hell so he must be busy (I don't think that she is the reason for making Charlie avoiding Lucifer, he literally kept his smile and all when he gave her back his daughter and again the pictures on the walls do show that they were a happy family, and Charlie states in the pilot that Lilith is also super busy;probably more than Lucifer), and when Alastor succeeds he'll finally be free. Or maybe he got more powers with Lilith's deal? I cannot figure out why both of them were absent for seven years, quite suspicious… But according to how Alastor acted with Lucifer, the guy hates him deeply because the king's wife owns his soul? Like instantly when Lucifer got inside the hotel Al's eye was twitching, he looked so mad plus we figured out that Alastor seems to really care about his image and what others think of him, specifically asking everyone if they missed him because of his disappearance so adding that to how Lucifer doesn't know him yeah that could be irritating to Al, I just feel like Lilith is evil in some way but come on…Maybe she just really wants to rule properly in Hell like if Charlie's so sweet even when there is moment she gets angry and is quite intelligent and knowing what to say while not forgetting her slight naiveness, but what about Lilith, I don't trust completely the wiki about what is her personality? Like the thing she has in common with Alastor is that he's like the radio demon and Lilith with her singing.. Going back to Lucifer I don't believe they got divorced but just split up, Lucifer still cares like he's still wearing the ring, got pictures of Lilith with Charlie… Seeming to be staring at them when Charlie was asking for his help in his call, even before Lilith lefts it looks like that Lucifer was still absent with Charlie, in More Than Anything the lyrics 'Is that we can start again, not be pulled apart again' before Lilith left or after that? Maybe it has gotten worse since Lucifer kept coping while creating rubber ducks as he is depressed, all we know about the couple is that supposingly they're a cheesy and love each other deeply. And according to that introduction story of the first episode it looks like they both really do, but why did she leave? For what reason? Yeah that's all I got lol

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Ennnd of it! If you really read it all.... Love u man!

[stevesbipanic]

If you have any interest in the vampire Eddie... maybe him having the hypnosis and putting Steve in a trance and it's super relaxing and he actually loves it? (I know this has been done before, but I wish there was more)

I definitely have seen this a couple times but I love the concept so much we deserve more.

"Ok so fangs? Check. Drinking blood? Check. Wings? No. Turn into a bat? Yes. Claws? No. Pale? Yes. Hmmm what else do vampires do?"

Eddie and Dustin had been trying to figure out the extent of Eddie's "condition" since he seemingly came back from the dead a few months ago. Eddie now had his bat transforming abilities down pat, Eddie really loves flying around or sitting in Steve's polo pocket.

"Well what else does the handbook say?"

"Vampires can use psychic abilities on their victims. Maybe you can read minds like El?"

Eddie shrugs and tries to read Dustin's mind looking deep into his eyes.

"Nope not getting any weird visions about Suzie, oh shit is it eight already Steve is gonna kill me, grab my keys would you," Eddie says tugging on his boots.

Dustin silently stands, picking Eddie's keys off the table and holding them out to Eddie with a blank stare.

"Ummm Dusty, bud? You ok?"

Dustin shakes his head seemingly coming out of whatever state he was in.

"Woahhhh dude I think you have mind control powers!"

"oh shit really, that's so cool! We shall experiment further tomorrow."

Eddie pulls up to Steve's apartment, tripping over himself getting up the stairs and unlocking the door.

"Sorry I'm late sweetheart."

Steve rolls his eyes before going over to hug him, "Missed you today, work was shit."

"Oh I'm sorry baby, want to talk about it?"

Steve shakes his head, "Nah, how was Dustin? Discover any weird new vampire things?"

"Oh I think we did actually, Dustin is pretty sure I can control minds, wanna help me test it" Eddie says wiggling his eyebrows.

Steve laughs, "sure" and leads them both to the couch.

"Ok, hmmm what to make you do? Ooo should make you kiss me," this makes Steve laugh again kissing Eddie's cheek. "I do that very willingly already, Eds."

"You're right."

"Just surprise me, I trust you." And doesn't that warm Eddie's heart, he kisses Steve's cheek nodding.

"Ok here it goes," Eddie looks deep into Steve's eyes like he did with Dustin, "Come sit on my lap sweetheart," Steve seems to get a relaxed expression over his face and crawls into Eddie's lap. Eddie could see the stress of the day wrinkled into his boyfriend's face, Steve looked so tired and hadn't been sleeping much lately. "Close your eyes and sleep, darling." Steve dutifully closes his eyes and relaxes into Eddie's chest, his breathe evening out as he falls asleep.

Steve wakes up a couple hours later, with Eddie running his fingers through his hair, reading a book. "Hey there Stevie, how you feeling?"

"Like I just had the best nap ever, did it work or did I just fall asleep instead?"

"It worked, I just also told you to fall asleep you looked like you really needed it. How did it feel?"

"Like I didn't have to worry about anything anymore, I just had to listen to you and what you wanted. It was really nice actually, to let go so easily, maybe we could do this more often, and not just for sleeping."

"We'll see baby, but that's a conversation for tomorrow, I think it's time we head to bed."

"You don't even sleep!"

"Yeah but you do, plus you're cute when you sleep."

"You're lucky I love you, weirdo"

"Yeah, I am."

[circular-time]

More The Power of the Doctor tidbits from LI Who panels before I forget.

Major spoilers to some of the big reveals in that story, so I'm gonna cut this, just in case.

The scenes with Ace and Tegan speaking to their hologram-Doctor were a bit complicated: their Doctor(s) weren't there on the day (and at any rate Syl couldn't have climbed up where Sophie was; that bit was a real cave),

Janet was stuck with a PA reading Peter's lines while she acted her heart out to a camera.

But Sophie asked if Barnaby Edwards could crawl out of the Dalek where he's usually ensconced and read Sylvester's lines. So he perched on a rock out of her line of sight and performed the scene with her, and with that she could "see" Sylvester in front of her. As you may know, I'm fond of Barnaby, as apparently is Sophie; so that made me go 🥺

Sophie drove to Cardiff from Birmingham to Cardiff the day Sylvester was recording his parts at his request to read HER lines, although she wasn't recording them. She did that, went back to the trailer, then said, "Hang on... I don't wanna go!" So she went back and asked if she could watch.

The director soon asked her— saying she certainly could refuse! — if she would mind reading some of the other parts. "Rather!" She wound up "Sitting on that rock, being all the Doctors, and Jodie would come in and do her bit!" She said Janet and (I think?) Jemma were there for part of the day as well, so it turned into a sort of Doctor Who convention, especially because a lot of the crew themselves were fans.

Oh right. When she and Janet FIRST arrived... first of all a lot of the crew was too young to have seen them, so they were surprised at the warm welcome. But also, they were invited to enter the TARDIS before anyone else. Because you really do enter it through that door. And so Janet and Sophie went in first and got to play with the console. "You could actually push the buttons!" "When you moved a control, it didn't break off in your hand!" Janet: "I had TARDIS Envy."

A fan asked Janet how Tegan survived the fall, saying that was the one thing she didn't understand in that special. Janet: "The one thing!?"

Sophie's husband knew, but her sons didn't. Except one asked why she was going to Cardiff SO MUCH to film Blu-Ray extras. "You really want me to tell you?" "No, I don't want to know!" The second son almost caught on: "Mom, why is Ace's jacket not in its usual place in your closet?" "I've loaned it to someone." (Not a lie, it was with the costume designer in Cardiff.)

Sophie keeps some bits of Dalek she busted plus the jacket. Also that gorgeous painting from Ghost Light, although she had to find a new frame since the BBC kept that, It's in her guest room, and people assume it's an ancestor!

Janet grumbled at Sophie wanting to be an action hero (she was hoping to rice s motorcycle since she missed out doing it on TV before but was thrilled at the parachute jump). Janet's knees were not happy with running up and down stairs (my arthritis had noticed that). They both had doubles, but Sophie insisted on doing everything; she was having far too much fun.

Both of them were positively gushing about Sacha Dhawan's acting and his Master being "utterly unhinged." A bit of a challenge for them, since they're used to acting with rehearsals, whereas now one just meets the other actors, may do a quick bit of blocking for the camera, then go, and you simply have to respond via improv with no idea what the other actors are planning.He altered his performance slightly every take, giving the director different things to play with.

As I mentioned in another post, Janet was worried because she hadn't acted in 35 years (with Big Finish they have scripts in front of them) and wasn't sure she could memorize. She flubbed the first line, let out "an Australian expletive" and Jodie said "I'm going to like you."

The director kept pushing Janet to make her initial confrontation with the Doctor more angry/cranky. Every time she did it, he'd say "more" and she'd ramp it up a notch. She was a little worried about it, but in the theater Tegan's cranky lines got laughter and applause, which relieved her, because she always thought Tegan was rather funny.

The companion group gathering was a joy. Katy sailed in with carrot cake. Originally there was supposed to be a laptop on the empty chair with some othet companions. Sophie liked fans' suggestion it was for Sarah Jane.

William Russell is really struggling with dementia. His daughter brought him, and the "family" of companions kind of looked after him. He got stuck apologizing over and over after spilling his drink, but John Bishop sat down with him and repeated his lines with him to help him through. (It sounds to me like there may have been another that was cut.)

Jodie didn't have any scenes that day, she just couldn't stay away. (there's a bts group photo with her.)

[tiredsurvivoronmain]

Hi, I found your account because I also like Chrisker and DBD and I really enjoy your fanart! (I learned about them through DBD XD)

I also wanted to ask if you think the rumors about Wesker having a crush on Rebecca are true? I came across that due to both, DBD and RE fanart etc and I really hope it's not true

Hi anon! Thank you! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying my art! <3

Honestly the whole thing makes me uncomfortable but I don't think that's the case and I'll try to explain it. First off, I HATE that photo/Easter Egg with a passion. Secondly, as it's an Easter Egg I don't consider it canon.

Easter Eggs in games are supposed to be silly and funny or creepy, plus EEs generally aren't supposed to be connected to the plot or canon. They're more of a little challenge/puzzle for the player to figure out hidden Easter eggs, the result is usually intended to give the player a 'lmao what??' or 'wtf' reaction, something that's not meant to be taken seriously. Sometimes it's just something to do to get a hidden trophy.

I did read somewhere that Enrico and Wesker shared the same office, and since Rebecca was on Enrico's team it's possible that he was the one who had the photo, not Wesker. (there's only one S.T.A.R.S office so where was Enrico's team supposed to work??) Additionally, the photo wasn't even developed yet it was just on a film roll; the player had to be the one to develop it (at least in RE2R, idk about the OG RE2). In both RE1 games when it was just Wesker, Chris and Rebecca, when Rebecca joined in the conversation between Chris and Wesker, he didn't hesitate to shoot her, as if he was annoyed about being interrupted by her. If he had an interest in her I imagine it was because she was a threat; she was smart and a medic, if she had the resources she would be able figure out cures/vaccines for viruses. OR he may have wanted her to work for him as a scientist when he bails from Umbrella as she's intelligent enough. He can't work alone he'll need his own team of soldiers and scientists.

But overall no I don't think it's a canon thing. The photo was probably amusing in the OG game at the time but these days it's not so amusing and in bad taste tbh. (it's not something that's aged well imo). I try to ignore/avoid the whole thing altogether but if I had to go with a reason for it I either go with the 'it was Enrico not Wesker that had the photo in the desk drawer' or the Chrisker version; Wesker didn't want Chris to develop an interest in Rebecca (Wesker is the jealous/possessive type) so he took the film roll/photo with the intention to dispose of it but forgot about it or before he could get rid of it he and his team had to go to the mansion. Bc of the idea of Chris getting a crush on her or he might have seen Chris and Rebecca (who was new to S.T.A.R.S) talking one day and it got under his skin, he had particular malice towards her in a territorial/jealousy kind of way.

Also wanna say I don't hate Rebecca! ;; I just really don't like the photo Easter egg and the association it has with Wesker. Wesker can be a creepy bastard sure but I think it's more of an intimidation tactic to be the one in control, nothing more. An 'all bark and no bite' situation. Considering how fruity and high off his ass on hubris/power he was I don't think he actually felt anything for Rebecca. If anything I consider Wesker to be on the ace spectrum and doesn't really feel anything for anybody (with the exception of Chris maybe seeing how obsessed he is with him, romantically/sexually or not). This is how I see Wesker:

I hope that reassures you ;-; (and anybody else who was concerned about it)

[askbloatedbellyblog]

Could you do caelus (hsr) burp headcanon pretty please🛐🛐

with a few other asks (maybe from the same person) over time.

As I put on this list, I think that Caelus is actually a fairly big burper , especially when he wants to be. In fact, I think he'd be pretty close to S tier but he has a few things working against him.

I'll get the few things working against him that puts him at a disadvantage first. First, is that he's newly born or without much memory (depending on how you want to interpret the beginning of the game). This puts him at a severe disadvantage with lack of experience. Second, those around him most, such as Welt and Dan Heng (though I'll get to his burp canon later since I think he is one just, he's complicated) are more polite and try to be refined so it's not like he has experience with witnessing it either so must be taught. Third, because of all of that together, I don't think he has much opportunity to burp as some of the others.

However, that being said, I don't think he wouldn't learn. He's also a gamer as we've seen from his idle and he's definitely learning as things go along and his friends will definitely rub off on him. Plus I also think that Caelus would experiment on himself especially when he can see what others are doing. He's stubborn that way. If others around him are burping and showing off, he's not one to be left behind. He's going to force some out and be able to let out some monsters. Because rules are meant to be broken!

There is another counter thought working in his favor. Because of his lack of memory, he doesn't necessarily know all the manners of others and so learned behaviors from others slobbier than him will rub off quick or he may do it because it's natural and not realize it's rudeness. There in the bonus of if March 7th says that it's rude, he's definitely going to burp again just to mess with her. Though this also makes me laugh at her then saying Caelus' epic burps are part of his secret strength.

Caelus also comes off as less mannered as everyone and able to slip easily into a more relaxed state. We already know he can be a master at eating contests (even if it takes several tries to do so) so I'm sure his appetite is there and even during these contests when he's about to black out or he eats something weird (which seems to happen a lot), that he just lets belches fly so that he can try to settle his stomach or make more room. If he's eaten something weird, I'm sure he'd rub his belly and let them out or even try to cover them by burping into his fist (depending on who he is with).

Because he's kind of baby at having a body, I think he doesn't have much control over his belches so he's not really suppressing them. His belches will be loud and resonant, even if he's burping into his own fist. If he's casually eating too much then, I do think he'd pat his belly and show off and belch loudly with a smirk, satisfied in belly and his performance. I think someone like Luka or Sampo and their belches would definitely rub off on Caelus and he wouldn't want to not be able to be at their level and even try to emulate them.

I imagine that he'd also be one to just chug soda and be surprised when he lets out a huge belch. Speaking of, there is the thought of that Caelus likes to stop at all the vending machines on the various worlds so he's trying all kinds of foods and drink, with many of them fizzy. So he's bound to just burp up a storm, and even have some unintentional ones that go up his nose and burn a little.

What would be hilarious is if one of the Aeons (even if it was in simulated universe) and his stellaron power was infused with the power of his belches and one such very epic belches ended up attracting the notice of an Aeon and he's granted a blessing (probably something like from AHA since pretty sure Sampo is already in that club.)

So overall, I think that Caelus could be a pretty epic belcher, almost unintentionally, and them would be deep and bassy, but with almost no control and not ready to force out monster belches like some of the others.

[rhythmantics]

Hey you seem like kind of an expert on this show. Any idea why argost was getting people to disappear because they knew he used to be a self-made yeti? Like what was zak going to do with that info, taunt him?? Was it because he could have been controlled by kur powers????? I thought that only worked if the cryptid actually kind of wanted to do what zak says. Feel free to ignore this, (also loving the fic so far. You do good work)

Hello and thank you!!!! Viewer support is what keeps me going. So, Jay Stephens has confirmed on Toonzone that Argost's mask is made with "mystical properties" that prevented his identification as a cryptid. This is actually something we HAVE seen in the show -- the masks in Tica's village are made with a "special mud" that block ahuizotl's eye-stealing. It's unknown if Argost's mask could also block Kur's powers in general, but given that he never equipped Munya with one, I lean towards no. Either way, he wouldn't know for sure if it could, and I'm sure he'd rather not tempt fate. Since he didn't read as cryptid to Zak, Zak just never bothered to try.

More specifically for your question, we see in The Thousand Eyes of Ahuizotl and Life in the Underground that Zak's powers can still do 2 things without express permission from a cryptid: sense a cryptid's location anywhere on the planet, and read their minds. "I told you I was in your head" remains one of Zak's coolest moments in the whole show, and I'm sure the ahuizotl wasn't trying to let Zak know about its plan to sneak up behind him. Both of these would be Very Bad for Argost on their own, even without Zak being able to control him. Plus, do you want an 11-13yro boy rooting around in your brain? Didn't think so.

But that's also assuming Zak can't control him. Throughout all of Season 1 and especially in Season 2, Zak's powers are getting stronger. What was true at the halfway point of Season 1 - that Zak can't force a cryptid to do anything it doesn't want to - might not be true by the finale of Season 2. The novelization of S2E1-2, The Call of Kur (which you can read for free on Archive.org) confirms that his powers have been growing, along with making it a bit more clear that the powers definitely seem to WANT to kill all humans. When Zak says "it's like they know I know... like they really do want to let loose for Kur", the powers surge on the word "Kur" as if in response. During the fight with the nagas, it's also written in hard text that Zak's powers, when he tries to stop them, actually whips them up into a frenzy - something that's more like the Monday Kur's base state.

So... it's entirely possible that, by the end of Season 2, Zak actually can just override the will of a cryptid and force it to do something it doesn't want to do. Given that some cryptids who seem to remember Kur are absolutely fucking terrified of him, this seems to have some credence. Either way, if I were Argost, I'd hide the fact that I was a cryptid like my life depended on it.