#ruby would be very obnoxious and evil on it

[acidbathdemon]

ruby's youtube crimes

[upslapmeal]

Dot and Bubble

Ok so having two Doctor-lite episodes in a row is really making me think that The Devil's Chord would slot in nicely between 73 Yards and this ep...

ok straight up forgot to make any notes for the first chunk of this because I was having fun!

not to be incredibly basic but instant black mirror vibes

‘trust him it’s saved my life so many times’ except when you died babes

the person playing Lindy is so good at being rude and obnoxious in a way that makes you feel sorry for her and root for her to pull herself together

you can't. hmm. you can't walk without the arrows?

hon we know you're not a child but like. you can't walk. without the arrows

congrats to Ruby and Fifteen but not fully bursting out laughing though I guess the mavity of the situation must help

turn left! to get to safety!

oh Lindy you are so frustrating!!!

what an effectively infuriating portrayal of how we so often prioritise distraction over action on a global scale

but also it's definitely giving 'this important deadline is in a few hours!!!!!! going to watch some youtube'

Fifteen: I want to help you not die Lindy: stupid ugly blocked

these characters have truly excellent names

‘eaten’ Ruby and Fifteen 😬😬

‘I think he’s not as stupid as he looks’ RIP

….is this a city for white people? hmmmmmm

shoutout to the lady who walked straight into a lamppost in front of me as a kid like Lindy because we stepped out of a building, my mum did a big sigh because it was nice and warm, the lady turned to look and thus was not looking ahead

lady at least you know how to walk without arrows

'you’re SO good at walking’ lmao

‘I thought this was the worst day of my life but maybe it’s the best’ ‘……there’s still thousands of people being eaten alive’ Lindy babe. priorities. PLEASE

‘rocket ships and flame throwers and weed killers’ a true arsenal

if the dots are directing them to the slugs…did they let the slugs in? create the slugs? why not just turn into an Evil Flying Ball for everyone

I mean. then there would be no story so I'll let it slide lol

oh no. Lindy.

boy they are just totally unable to deal with anything negative

completely unequipped for things not working for them without there somehow being a Good Thing

oh lads. it is a city for white people

man

Ncuti is SO good

the disbelief and the rage and the sadness and the despair and

that’s why Lindy was so offended they were in the same room together

that's why Ruby got through to her when Fifteen didn't

that’s why Ricky was so annoyed at the Doctor explaining the code

they're not going to make it 5 days are they

and Fifteen's theme here is *chef's kiss*

Last week we had Millie's first ep and this ending was Ncuti's first scene????? Legends both of them. What an episode. What an ending. A lot of fun until it very suddenly Was Not.

[razieltwelve]

Easy Mark (Final Rose)

Note: Set in the Yang x Averia x Elsa AU... which also appears to be the Ruby x Weiss x Jahne AU.

X X X

Ruby stared at the cards in disbelief. "Again? How do you keep winning?" She glared as menacingly as she could at Jahne. it had zero effect on the blonde. "You said you wouldn't use your Semblance!"

"I can promise you that I am not using my Semblance." Jahne's lips curled. "Now, Ruby, you know what you have to do."

The dark-haired woman looked about nervously. "Do I have to?"

Jahne's gaze softened. "If it truly makes you uncomfortable, then you don't have to. However... I am most certainly looking forward to the view."

Ruby swallowed thickly. "I... okay." Slowly, she removed her shirt. Jahne's gaze was molten as she took in the newly revealed expanses of toned, pale skin. "Uh..."

"Lovely." Jahne smirked. "Absolutely lovely. What do you think, Weiss?"

Weiss swallowed thickly. "Very much so."

Like Ruby, Weiss was already down several items of clothing whereas Jahne was almost fully dressed. The fourth player in their little game of strip poker was Diana. Like Jahne, she had hardly removed any clothing at all.

As per the rules, none of them were allowed to use their Semblances.

"I can't wait to win again," Jahne murmured. "That would be your bra, right?"

Ruby squeaked. "Maybe?"

"Jahne," Diana pointed out. "Ruby still has her stockings on." The dark-haired woman sniggered. "I wonder why she chose to leave those on while removing her shirt."

Ruby's eyes widened. "I forgot about my stockings!"

Weiss stared at the aforementioned socks. "I don't mind her leaving them on."

Jahne rolled her eyes. "You've always had a thing for stockings. And thigh-highs? You're practically drooling."

"Oh shut up," Weiss hissed. "I've seen you staring too."

"Yes, but I'm honest about it." Jahne leered at Ruby. "See?"

"You sure you need me here?" Diana asked. "Because as much as I like you all, I'm not into you that way. If you three want to just call it a game, I'd be happy to go enjoy my winnings while you three enjoy each other."

"We can hardly call it a proper poker game if we only have three people."

"Are we playing poker? Because this seems more like an excuse to -" Diana stopped. "Ah. We might have to stop here."

"Oh?" Jahne raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"My sister is on her way here." Diana paused. "She's currently on stealth mode, but I always know where she is. She should be getting here right about... now."

The door opened, and Averia's gaze flicked around the room. She took careful note of the lack of clothing Ruby and Weiss had, as well as the all but fully dressed state Jahne and Diana were in.

"Jahne, are you scamming Ruby and Weiss?" Averia sighed. "And are you helping her, Diana?"

Diana shrugged. "What are friends for?"

"Wait..." Ruby blinked. "Scamming us? What do you mean? We made everybody promise not to use their Semblances."

"..." Averia stared at Ruby in disbelief. "And you don't think that Jahne has a hundred other ways to cheat?"

"Oh." Ruby's mouth opened and closed. "Then... then...!"

"I'm afraid that I've been using my evil poker cheating powers to get you and Weiss naked," Jahne drawled. "Alas, my glorious leader interrupted before my plans could come to fruition."

Averia sighed. "Jahne..."

"What?" Jahne smirked unrepentantly. "Ruby and Weiss are so cute when they think they've got a chance. And there's a certain... anticipation to removing pieces of clothing one by one..."

Averia turned on her heel. "Do as you like. I'm only here because Yang insisted I go check up on Ruby. I think she was more worried about Ruby losing all her cookies for the next year than she was about you getting her clothes off."

Ruby smiled sunnily. "I'll have you know that no cookies were involved in tonight's betting!"

Diana sniggered. "I'm not sure that's something to be proud of." She got up. "Anyway, it looks like my work here is done. Have fun you three!"

Averia elbowed Diana in the gut. "Stop being obnoxious."

[blazehedgehog]

I think the writing of Sonic would be greatly improved if they focused on more simple character focused stories rather than big epic ones like 06. There is a reason why Gamma in SA1 is so often sighted. At least Ian Flynn can write characters from what I understand. Thoughts?

Isn't that how we got Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, and Sonic Lost World? Those are very simple stories, and in some cases, simple to a fault.

Like, let's go over it again: in Sonic Lost World, the main villains are "The Deadly Six." Formally, they are six creatures known as "The Zeti." What are they? Where did they come from? We know absolutely nothing about them. All we know is that they exist on some weird sky-planet called "The Lost Hex." They have the power to control robots, apparently, and their one weakness is the tone emanated from some kind of magical conch shell.

The story is that Eggman uses the magic conch to enslave the Deadly Six in order to do... something? I mean, Eggman already controls robots pretty well, given he's the one that builds them. It's never clear why he needed to enslave them, outside of hassling Sonic.

Sonic trashes the conch and Eggman loses control of The Deadly Six, after which they immediately double cross Eggman and assume control of his factory, which has a machine that begins sucking the life out of the planet below them. They then spend the rest of the game doing absolutely nothing of value while Sonic and Eggman team up against them. Eggman also largely does nothing of value, but Sonic systematically defeats all the Deadly Six one by one.

Then Tails gets kidnapped and Eggman supposedly dies during the final assault on his stolen factory. Sonic defeats the Deadly Six one last time, possibly even killing them, and rescues Tails. Eggman returns to reveal this was his plot all along and you re-fight the final boss of Sonic Colors again, but worse this time. The End.

To this day nothing has been revealed about who the Deadly Six were, what their purpose in life was, or even if there are more than just six zeti (one of them mentions having a mom, so probably). We don't even know if they lived peacefully or if they were imprisoned on the Lost Hex planet. Are they just intrinsically evil? If so, why? Nobody knows. They also all seem to have powers besides controlling magnets, but nothing is ever said about those, either.

We don't even know what happened to them after Sonic beat them the final time. They have never actually returned in any official, canonical capacity -- Zavok turns up in Sonic Forces as part of the returning rogues gallery, but he's a holographic copy created by the Phantom Ruby. It's not the real Zavok. The real Zavok, along with the rest of the Deadly Six, might actually just be dead for all we know (which, let's be honest: that's fine.)

They were super super nothing villains in a nothing story that whiplashes between obnoxious Saturday Morning Cartoon vibes and being weirdly serious for no reason. And whereas some other Sonic games can have over an hour and a half of cutscenes, Sonic Lost World barely manages 30 minutes of (incredibly disjointed) story.

When you say "Sonic should stop trying to be epic" all I hear is Sonic Lost World. I know you said character-focused, but I'm not entirely sure what that means, and your example of Gamma is forgetting that Gamma's Story in Sonic Adventure was part of the larger "epic narrative." Gamma tied in to the idea that redemption is always possible in some form or another, and that's what saves Chaos in the end.

But there's still a whole stretch of Sonic games that tried to focus on smaller amounts of narrative with less heavy drama regardless. Even The Time Eater was treated as decidedly non-important in the end. Again, sort of like The Deadly Six, it was just something Eggman found out in space, apparently. No back story, no personality, no drama, just a big weird clockwork monster that eats time somehow, apparently.

I dunno. Sonic's always touched on ancient mysteries and epic narratives ever since Sonic 3. The Japanese instruction manual for that game literally sets up the core of what became Sonic Adventure's whole narrative. It's been there since the Genesis games.

The Archie Sonic comics, for all of their soap opera drama, set a record for the longest running continuous licensed book in the entire comics industry. There was a time where it was outselling everything Marvel and DC were putting on shelves. Archie's book continued a legacy from the Saturday Morning Cartoon, about a grim dictator struggling against a small band of rebels living in the forest.

Like it or not, but "big epic" stories have been a significant, notable part of this franchise, and is something people come to Sonic specifically to experience.

They tried to simplify things and it ended up turning to crap, so now they're going back in the other direction again. Hopefully Ian Flynn can make something out of it, but it's important to note that Sonic Team themselves still came up with the story, and Flynn is just... adapting it, I guess? As part of the localization process.

[womenofwonder]

Option on RWBY ships:

Btw, I don’t usually ship characters. Romance is usually the least interesting part of the story for me so expect a lot of meh.

Arkos: obviously I love this, it’s perfect

Blacksun: ehh, it’s cute. I started out feeling kinda meh, it was sweet but not really interesting, but now it’s growing on me. Ironically the same thing is happening with Bumblebee, although I still like Blake and Yang better platonically

Bunanas: so this is a ship between Velvet and Sun, and it’s honestly really cute to imagine even if it is completely random. I like it better then Blacksun…I think?

Candy Cane: this is just weird. I can’t imagine Nora being anything but a older sister to Oscar. The age gap makes it creepy too, not the four years is much of a gap, but when your teenagers it’s a big gap.

Chocolate Arc: this is hilarious to imagine but obviously yeah, Coco isn’t going to fall for someone like Jaune

Cinnabun: I barely know anything about Yatsuhashi but he and Velvet are cute, I guess? Still like her better with Sun

ClockRose: heck no!

Coconuts: again, can’t see Sun doing anything but annoying Coco. I really don’t like the whole ‘badass jerk of a girl falls for goof ball trope.’ It always ends up feeling sexist in several ways

Combat Boots: honestly outside of an AU I can’t see Yang ever forgiving Mercury much less falling in love with him. Also Mercury just doesn’t deserve her

Combat goggles: I feel like Yang and Neptune would have fun causally dating each other and slowly realizing they actually like (Blake/Sun/Jaune/whoever) and become each other’s wingmen. That fanfic better be lying around somewhere

Crimson Lotus: okay, if I didn’t love Renora and Rosegarden so much I’d probably ship this. It’s really cute

Crimson Sun: this feels like an excuse to write lemons of the two hottest characters

Crimson wings: look I understand most of the shipping heroes with villains because they’re both hot and the villain/hero dynamic is always fun. But Cardin…he’s not even hot. He’s not even interesting. And yet people ship him with Ruby? Why?

Daddie Issues: you know I see where this is coming from but they would just end up murdering each other.

Dairy Farm: obviously this is downright creepy in cannon, but in an au where Neo isn’t evil and both are closer in age, this would be adorable. I feel like Neo’s main problem is she’s incredibly lonely—other then Roman no one bothers to understand or talk to her. If Oscar reached out to her, and she began to protect him…it would be perfect. In way even better then Rosegarden because I think Neo would still be a bit of pycho even when good, and it would be fun to see her lose it when Salem hurts him.

Ilia/Adam: I just want to say I am forever grateful the show went out of its way to avoid this obnoxious, cliche ship from being canon

Dragon slayer: I see why people ship Jaune and Yang, I really do. They’re both the team mom/dad of their team, they’ve got the whole goofball/badass thing going (which is a trope I do like when the badass isn’t a jerk), they both have a good sense of humor, etc. But I just can’t see them as romantic. It feels really weird. I can’t even explain why. I understand shipping them but I really can’t ship them myself.

Emercury: I really love this ship, but I also don’t mind at all if the show decides to make them platonic. I enjoy their relationship in general and it works either way.

Oscar/Emerald: again, feel creepy. I love the idea of a sibling relationship and can’t see them possibly being romantic even without the age gape.

Cinder/Qrow: yeah again. Both are sexy and good for angsty lemons. I’m not into that stuff so I don’t ship them

Fall Stinger: I just don’t know why anyone would ship Tyrian with anyone. Unless it was Salem and even that is super creepy

Firerobber: I like villain relationships but Roman already has Neo and Cinder is a hot mess. Literally

Firewall: I don’t know why anyone would ship Watts with anyone. He’s even worst less ship-able then Tyrian

Footloose: I don’t actually ship it but just imagine Mercury and Melanie bonding over weaponized feet.

Freckles: Yeah this is just painful. The two most adorable characters (Penny and Oscar), who go through the worst things imaginable. It’s endless fluff, angst, and whump, and I love cute romance and tragic romances, so this is definitely something I ship.

Frostbite: seriously, this is so weird and toxic. Having Adam fall for Weiss or vice versa. Maybe it would work in an AU or something but it’s just too creepy

Funky Beats: it’s cute, I ship it.

Gelato: yeah I love healthy villainous relationships! Neo and Roman are freaking adorable, and I’m sad that we didn’t see more of them together.

Grandmasters: I obviously don’t ship Salem and Ozpin because that’s just creepy, but I do like their romance. I like tragic romances, and this probably the most tragic one in existence

Greek Lotus: I don’t see the chemistry and crashes two of my favorite ships so…

Green Knight: well, she kinda helped kill his last girlfriend so…unless it’s AU this isn’t going to work. Even if it is an AU. This feels like another ship made solely for lemons

Velvet/Cardin: yeah, a bigot changing his mind when he falls in love with a minority isn’t cute. Isn’t sweet. It isn’t romantic. I don’t even excuse lemons that use this trope. Even porn ought to be above that

Weiss/Cardin: WOULD EVERYONE STOP SHIPPING CARDIN WITH PEOPLE

Hummingbird: it’s hard to ship something when you only know one character, but I was interested in the theory that Qrow was actually Ruby’s father. But then in season 7 Qrow’s description of Summer made me rethink it, and it didn’t sound anything like how you’d describe a romantic relationship. So I don’t really like that theory anymore

Iceberg: this is just cliche and boring. I get them dating but it wouldn’t last that long

Flynt/Weiss: I really love this one, it’s my favorite ship with Weiss. I don’t want it to actually happened in cannon because that would be random, but I feel like it would be fun for both their characters. And they both share an interest in music. I’m imagining an AU where he gets her into jazz and she starts singing it at all her concerts to the horror of Jaques.

Iron Maiden: honestly what. Why. Gross

Iron witch: well I definitely see why people like it. I actually wouldn’t mind it being cannon, It’d be a good combination of funny/tragic and I’d like to see Glynda mentoring Winter

Jailbirds: this just feels forced and also Qrow is probably too old for her. I like their relationship and don’t want it to be romantic

Knight fall: lemon ship. Moving on

Knight Life: I feel like Jaune just gets shipped with everyone but this is cute I guess

Lancaster: it’s cute, but I can’t ship it because it feels cliche. I was worried that Jaune was going to be her love interest when they first met and was relieved to see him with Pyrrha instead. It just feels forced and boring to have him end up with Ruby

Pyrrha/Mercury: this really popular for some unfathomable reason. I like Mercury but Pyrrha deserves better

Marrowgold (May/Marrow): I just don’t see it

Nikong: Pyrrha and Sun would be cute together, but I don’t really love this ship. It’s kinda meh.

Nora’s Arc: no. Just no. It technically would work but their platonic relationship is way too good to lose

Old Silver: this is Maria/Pietro, and I think it’s adorable. They both strike me as really flirty for their ages and both are very good mentors. They can be the crazy grandparents of the team

Ozglyn: just don’t see it

Phoenix: yeah Raven was a horrible girlfriend/wife. I don’t ship her Taiyang

QuickSilver: Ruby deserves better than Mercury.

Rehab (Qrow/Glynda): the fact that this is called rehab explains why I don’t ship it

ReNora: yeah, this is probably my favorite ship. I don’t think I have to explain why.

Robotic Knight: I briefly shipped this but now disagree

Rosegarden: I really love Rosegarden, they’re just too adorable together, though the whole Ozpin does make it a little awkward

Rosewick: I can’t see this happening, even in an AU

Coco/Fox: I don’t know enough about Fox to really ship them, but the fact that Coco canonically slaps his butt during battle definitely makes me want to

Mercury/Neo: I could see this working. It would be pretty cute

Silent Knight: again, it would have to be an AU and even then I don’t see it working

Snowbird: so at first I really liked the idea of Qrow and Winter being ex’s, but now that I think about it he has to be at least twenty years older then her. Also, I have to say that while they have chemistry I think they would just end up killing each other

Speakeasy (Flynt/Coco): I got to say I like this ship and could see them having a lot of chemistry together

Strawbanna: I just can’t see Ruby and Sun together. It feels weird

Sunflakes: Can’t see it working

Sunflowyr (Ren/Yang): don’t see any chemistry. Again this just seems random

Tauradonna: this is obviously as toxic as you get.

The Hunt (Cardin/Blake): stop shipping Cardin with anyone!

Mercury/Cinder: Mercury is way too young, and even if he wasn’t this would be really weird. Also Cinder makes him look like a stable, peaceful person, so also no.

Toxic Petals: I swear I’m done with this. No more Cardin, Tyrian, or Watts ships. They too gross

Velveteen Knight: Aw, they’d be cute together

White Knight: I really hate this ship. It’s so obnoxious and boring, and nearly falls into the jerky badass/goofball trope I hate

Winter Soldier: ew, no, Ironwood is like her dad

Wise Dragon: anyone care to explain why this is so popular? Sage barely has any character to him, I can’t ship him with anyone

Yellow rose: Yeah, I kinda ship this, but again, it’s difficult when you barely know one character

IronQrow: I understand why you would ship this but I just don’t see it. Guys can hug without being gay you know

Martial arts: why?

Noah’s Arc: why?

Sea Monkeys: again I understand why you could ship it but I don’t. They’re obviously just friends to me

Shovel Knight: like most Oscar ships it feels weird. Jaune is obviously a big brother to him

TaiQrow: As funny as it is for Tai to sleep with every member of his team, I don’t ship it.

Fair game: I really can’t stand Clover so again, don’t ship it

Achilles heel: Cinder literally kills Pyrrha, why would you ship them?

Baked Alaska: lemon ship

Black glass: annnd, another lemon ship.

Blood Mint: yeah I don’t see Emerald and Ruby ever being a couple

Catmelon: I found Ilia’s crush on Blake kinda cringy and I can’t see them being a couple

ColdMurder (Weiss/Cinder): even in an au I don’t see it working

Cold Steel (Penny/Winter) eeewww, they’re practically sisters

Cream Machine (Neo/Penny): I mean…if she wasn’t evil…and wasn’t so much older…it might work? Maybe?

Crosshares: cute but I feel like Velvet is too much of a doormat for Coco

Digital Clock: Ciel obviously didn’t care much for Penny, and she was barely a character at all. I don’t see it

Pyrrha/Nora: don’t see it, and also can’t stand the idea of breaking up the two best ships

Falling Petals: I get that Cinder is hot, but can we stop shipping her with the kids she’s trying to murder? Because I can see several things wrong with that

Freezerburn: again, for no reason that I can think of this ship just doesn’t work for me. Much like Dragonslayer it just feels weird

Gingersnaps (Penny/Nora): that would be chaotic. I can’t really see them romantically though like most Penny ships it would be cute

Guilty Conscience (Bree/Winter): oh please no. They really don’t have any reason to be together

Ladybug: I just can’t see Blake with Ruby at all. Blake feels way to old even though she’s only older by two years.

Milk and Cereal (Ruby and Pyrrha): I guess it would work but I just don’t any chemistry

Mint chocolate (Emerald/Coco): if Coco managed to forgive her for everything that happened at Beacon I could maybe see this happening. There is some chemistry

Mommy issues: Nah, can’t see this working out.

Monochrome: Blake and Weiss have never had any romance chemistry despite plenty of opportunity to have it, so again, I see them as strictly platonic and shipping them feels almost like incest. I know that doesn’t make sense

Nordic Winter: I can’t see Weiss handling Penny, but again, any Penny ship is pretty cute

Nuts and Dolts: I would ship, but I like them together platonically too well. Definitely understand the ship, though I find it funny that Ruby, who insist she likes weapons better then people, would fall in love with a personified weapon. I know that’s probably racist against robots

Overheating (Penny/Cinder): I take back what I said about every Penny ship being cute

PennyWeiss: but this one is pretty cute

Pink Lemonade: can you imagine the chaos of Yang and Nora dating each other? They both need someone with a cooler head to keep them in check

Scheenoks: with Weiss’s fangirling I can definitely see were this is coming from, but Weiss is too mean for Pyrrha

Steadfast: I really don’t ship any of the ace-ops with anyone. I found them all boring and annoying except for Marrow

Strawberry Shortcake (Neo/Ruby): not seeing it

Sugar Rush (Ruby/Nora): Again, too much chaos. They both need chill partners. And I love Rosegarden and ReNora too much

Thunder cat (Blake/Nora): don’t see any chemistry between them

WhiteRose: I can see why this is shipped and I don’t dislike WhiteRose shippers. I just prefer Rosegarden, and find Weiss and Ruby working better together romantically

Bumblebee: again, I see this working better platonically, not romantically. It kind of annoyed me at first, but it is growing on me, much like Blacksun. I still like Blacksun better though

Enabler: No.

[mooneloquence]

don't you ever tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash

(4/4 of the ficlets I'm posting here to motivate myself to write more in the coming year. This was written and already posted on ao3 for Shadowgastober. Fun fact: I'm currently working on expanding this into a full, multi-chaptered fic with vampires and tasty, tasty smut, so if you're interested please do let me know!)

Have some evil!au Shadowgast around 160 years in the future, having a conversation during a fancy costume party. Content warnings here are: blood, blood drinking, mentions of death, suggestive themes, implied sex. Title is (of course) from Hozier's "Arsonist's Lullaby".

“All of them are yours, dearest, just take your pick.”

On the ground floor, people of all races danced and laughed and drank and ate, with gowns and suits of the most exquisite make, all complemented by their intricate masks. The party unraveled before the two figures watching from a private balcony obscured by an enchanted veil.

"And you, are you mine?"

One of them stood with his hands on the balustrade, his dark burgundy suit embroidered with swirling golden patterns that looked almost like a continuation of his red mane, which fell past his chest in carefully brushed and styled waves that gleamed under the light like burnished copper. His mask, of a solid golden color, was sculpted in the shape of a lion's face. It hid everything from his forehead to his nose, with the only exception of two unnaturally blue eyes, leaving his neatly trimmed, bearded chin and his red mouth uncovered for the sake of convenience.

The other one had his arms around him, stark white suit embroidered with silver thread that formed clusters of glimmering stars on his shoulders, his high neckline, the sleeves of his jacket, and down the train that flared down from around his narrow hips, fading into a deep midnight blue that went far past his feet, which hovered a full foot off the ground to allow the man in question to speak into his lover's ear. This figure's full mask matched the style of his suit, with small diamonds embedded creating mesmerizing patterns over the white background and the shape of a crescent white moon outlined in silver paint across one eye and ending at the opposite cheekbone. Under his eye, there was a small circle of tiny rubies contained within the bigger moon.

The second figure slid his left hand up over his lover's chest until he could caress the cool skin under his ear with his ring, violet eyes peering at the younger man’s hand to look at its matching pair, two bands of white and yellow gold intertwined in an infinite spiral. That one was inlaid with a pearl where the one on his own finger had a teardrop shaped piece of amber.

"Just as you are mine."

With a low, satisfied hum, the figure clad in red took his left hand away from its perch and made it travel up his partner's sleeve to grasp his hand. He brought it to his lips, first kissing his ring— their ring, for it was not the only piece of jewelry adoring his elegant digits—then slowly working his way through each of his knuckles, to finish with a single kiss to the back of his fingers.

"Good." The gentle exhale of a quiet laugh made its way to his ear.

"Something tells me this is about our host."

Still keeping his mouth brushing his lover's hand, he frowned. "His advances have been very… obnoxious."

"Believe me, I know."

"You know I am not averse to sharing, but… I don't like that he feigns obliviousness when you have made your lack of interest abundantly clear."

Another exhale. "Does it make you angry?" Silence. "I bet seeing a few marks on me would help dissuade him."

"Essek."

"I know."

The poor man had cried—although his beautiful blue eyes had remained tearless, so it had been more like whimpering—and trembled like a leaf, refusing to feed from Essek for days until he insisted that Caleb needed blood to keep himself under control before he got too hungry. Only that had made him relent. Still somewhat reluctantly, he had nuzzled into the crook of the drow’s neck, eyes shut as his hands found his waist, caressing him reverently. He had only stopped shaking a few minutes later, when he finally opened his mouth and bit down, liquid warmth filling his mouth as the rich scent of life reached his nose and enveloped him. He didn’t know if the groan he heard had been his or Essek’s.

It was addictive, the vigor rushing through his whole body, feeling stronger with each gulp. Caleb thought he had never felt so strong, so alive , not even when he was, well… living. His breathing—he was breathing; he hadn’t even noticed he had stopped after waking in his new state—was heavy as he alternated between gulps of air and Essek’s blood, and his eyes had fallen shut on their own, eyelids made heavy by the intensity of everything. But the experience was made lovelier by the feeling of his lover's body, fine boned, warm and so pliant, in his arms. He was breathing so close to his ear, each inhale and exhale mingled with the faintest notes of a gasping whimper, which Caleb was only able to notice due to his newly enhanced hearing. One of his arms was draped across his shoulders, his hand resting with its fingers curled at the nape of his neck, the other one was buried in Caleb’s hair, fingers tangled in his locks and tugging softly in the way he liked to do it during...

Oh, gods.

A haze of warm molasses settled over him, and he embraced his lover even closer, tighter, only breaking out from his rapture when Essek’s hands went limp where they had been holding him as his knees faltered.

"I almost killed you," he said in a steady voice that Essek knew hid the guilt Caleb still felt about the incident. They had talked about it often, especially during the first century, but now it had been more than two years since the last time the drow had brought it up.

"But you did not," he replied as always. “You got yourself under control well before causing me any real harm, my love,” he crooned, a reminder. The pair of arms encased in white silk tightened around Caleb’s middle, pressing Essek’s front to his back.  “And afterwards…” Hidden by his mask, the drow smiled when he heard the other man's sharp intake of breath, knowing his words alone had caused such a reaction from a creature that had no need for air. He himself was not unaffected by the memory, molten heat pooling at his core over something that had happened over a hundred years in the past.

Still, after that first time, Caleb had never fed from Essek again, his hunger strong to the point of making him scared of going over a threshold that would be harder to come back from. That was why they had a system—either Caleb lured someone to feed from, or he picked someone, and Essek brought them to him. On the night before the New Dawn of 994 PD, it looked like his lover was in the mood for the second option.

"Perhaps… our host might like to grace us with his company up here for a while. He has been most generous when providing this private area."

Truly, their host had not skimped on their balcony when they had requested it. The two of them had been staying at his manor, coming and going as they pleased, for around five months, and he had furnished this private corner for them to look over his parties lavishly. Foolish man, maybe he thought he could win their physical affections with plush velvet sofas and wine. They would maintain the illusion for a while longer, until they got bored or found something better, something more interesting.

"You have always been such a clever young man. Give him a taste of what he wants—"

"And then, I would like a taste of you." It was Essek’s turn to inhale sharply.

"Just a taste?" he teased, but his voice had acquired a breathy quality. Pressed against Caleb’s back, his heartbeat had sped up considerably.

"For starters." He had already been pretty cheeky when he was alive, but being devoid of blood made it easy not to blush as multiple scenarios unfolded in his mind. "I believe it would be preferable to retire to our chambers afterwards."

"Mm, very well," Essek purred against his ear. With a final kiss to his knuckles, Caleb let his hand go, and the drow extricated his arms from around him. Several feet further away, he spoke again. "Will you watch me from here?"

Caleb turned to face him. Over the more than fifteen decades they had been together, the adoration in his eyes had only ever increased. He gave his beloved a fond smile that hinted at two white elongated canines.

"As if I could ever look away."

[scarletarosa]

Set

Egyptian god of chaos, mischief, storms, deserts, battle, danger, virility, and foreign lands  

Set (or Sutekh), though often called a “god of evil” was not always viewed that way and actually played quite a benevolent role despite his chaotic nature. He was one of the sons of Nuit and Geb and was thought to have several wives, including the goddesses Nephthys, Neith, Taweret, Anat, and Astarte (with the latter two being taken from Canaan). Set was usually depicted as a man with the head of an unidentified jackal-like animal with square ears. Although there are many theories of what the animal could possibly be, it is also likely that the animal is meant to be unknown, as Set’s domain includes aspects of the strange and terrifying.  

Associations: Some of Set’s associated animals include: the hippopotamus, crocodiles, scorpions, snapping turtles, wild pigs, and donkeys – all of which were considered dangerous. In his hands, he holds an ankh (symbol of life) and his scepter. He may also be portrayed as a man with red hair and wearing a red mantle. The colour red is significant due to it representing some of the many qualities of Set. In Ancient Egypt, red was the colour of life, strength, victory, hostility, and chaos. He was said to reside in the Great Bear constellation in the northern sky – an area which symbolized death and darkness. Despite his benevolence, he is a very complex god who can be terrifying, especially to those who anger him. He represents the chaotic sides of nature that brings change, including storms (as well as sandstorms), drought, battle, and the unknown. 

Epithets: Set was known to be a fierce protector, especially in battle where he was often invoked as a vanguard. Some of this god’s known epithets include: “Great of Strength”, “The Inebriated One”, “Lord of the Northern Sky”, “The Red Lord”, “He Before Whom the Sky Trembles”, “The Defender”, and “Lord of the Desert”.  

Set’s Roles: Among the roles of Set besides protecting his people in battle was an even greater role: the protection of Ra and all of humanity. As the Sun god Ra would sail his course across the sky on his golden ship, Set would accompany him and was the one to fight off Apep, the serpent of evil. Apep was shown as a spirit in the form of a giant red snake and was the embodiment of all corruption. According to myth, Apep would hypnotize Ra and all of his followers, except for Set, who was chaotic and powerful enough to combat him. In order to defend all of creation and ma’at (order), Set would vanquish Apep each day. Set was also known to be a friend of the dead, helping their souls to ascend the ladder to the heavens. He even held the role of preserving the oases in the desert, which were essential for life in Egypt. So not only would Set represent the chaotic forces of the desert, but he would also protect people and their oases from them; holding back the sandstorms and droughts from civilization. From this, we can see that Set was a powerful ally to all, including the gods.  

Myths: Despite Set being a protective god, political battles in Ancient Egypt caused him to eventually be portrayed differently. When a war broke out between Upper and Lower Egypt, the two patrons of the lands (Horus and Set) were depicted in a myth which represented the battle. This was the myth of Horus and Set both fighting for the throne. With Lower Egypt being the victor, Set was gradually cast away and held in contempt; many relics of his benevolence were eventually destroyed. Set also plays a role in the well-known myth of tricking and slaying his brother Osiris, in order to usurp his throne. However, Isis managed to resurrect Osiris and conceived a child with him, the god Horus. While in most versions of the myth, the story follows that Horus grows up to be a mighty warrior and defeats Set in battle, after which he banishes him to the desert. But in another version, the majority of the nine gods (the Ennead) decided that Horus was the rightful King due to being the son of Osiris. But Ra believed that Horus was too inexperienced to rule, and claimed that Set would make a more capable King. This trial went on for nearly one hundred years while the people of Egypt suffered under Set's chaotic reign.  

Isis was worried for the well-being of Egypt’s people, and so came up with a plan. She took on the guise of a young woman and sat down outside of Set's palace, where she wept terribly. Eventually Set passed by and stopped to ask her what was wrong. The disguised Isis told him of a cruel man, her husband’s own brother, who had murdered him and stolen away her family’s land and cattle, taken away her son’s inheritance, and that now the man sought to kill her son. Not knowing that the man described was himself, Set became deeply moved by the story and was furious. He swore to the young woman that he would seek out the cruel man who had done such things and would kill him, allowing her to regain her land. With this promise, Isis revealed herself to Set before the gods who were secretly listening, and so Set was cast away into the desert, allowing Horus to reign as King.  

In a separate myth describing a battle between Horus and Set, the two gods are wrestling naked in a swamp, where Set eventually appears to have a “mighty erection”. This causes Horus to fall face forward into the waters, causing Set to begin having intercourse with him, which they both greatly seem to enjoy. In another attempt to seduce Horus, Set invites him over to his place to eat and sleep together. The two gods get drunk on wine late that night and caress one another, then have sex once again. Horus manages to catch Set’s seed in his hands, which he keeps until he is able to throw it into the Nile. Unaware of this, the drunken Set falls asleep. Horus lets Isis know of what had happened and she is furious, she then has Horus hide his own seed within the lettuce that Set grows so that he will consume it. Due to this, Horus gains the upper-hand over Set.  

Personality: Set is a very ancient god who can be called upon for things such as granting strength, courage, protection, vengeance, victory, and confidence. In my experiences with Set, he is very outgoing, flamboyant, generous, protective, and fun-loving. He loves high-energy environments, pranks, and sex (especially sex). Though in times of battle, Set is a very powerful warrior and wields a mace made of meteorites. He is not cruel like how his later myths portrayed him, for in truth, Set is a very strong and loyal ally. Especially when fighting against Apep, the god of evil. Set is also one of the close allies to Lucifer, and fights alongside him to defend others and end corruptions. Though other than battling, Set usually can be found seducing women or just enjoying himself in general. He has a wonderful sense of humour and is a great amount of fun to be around. As he is a ruler of discord, he is able to calm such matters in your life as well and help you to confront them. In my experiences, Set appears as a young man with red hair and green eyes. He also states that the animal he is depicted as in Egypt is indeed an otherworldly creature, as that suits him best.

Every god has a Shadow aspect, which portrays all of their darker natures. For Set, this aspect is named Sutekh, and it is his chaotic destructive side. While Set is normally friendly with others, he as Sutekh is more intimidating and unpredictable. When angered, Set becomes as Sutekh, and is capable of creating great turmoil and madness in the lives of those who offend him.

| Offerings | 

Stout beer, whiskey, frothing wine, champagne, sweet red wine, spicy foods, red meats, lettuce wraps, burgers, tacos, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, arrowheads, maces (his favourite weapons), knives and daggers, red rust, spinach, courgetti, cucumbers, coyote pelts, red carnelian, rubies, dried scorpions, star anise, black peppercorns, black silk, bird eggs, red thorns, sour cherries, red grapefruits, red grapes, dark chocolate, sweets, and brightly-coloured sex toys. He also tends to loves shiny and obnoxious sorts of things. 

[chocosvt]

⚬ pairing: demon!minghao x reader ⚬ word count: 3478 ⚬ warnings: blood, bodily injuries, death ⚬ genres: god i don’t even know... angst, unrealized pining and romance, weird tension, reader is just as evil as minghao?

✧✎ synopsis: three-hundred years have passed, and the second son has awoken from his slumber, waiting for a new soul to devour.

✧✎ a/n: this au was many things, and in finality, it morphed into this. usually i have a lot to say in my author’s note but today i bring you nothing! enjoy!

Three-hundred years had passed, and you knew due to the bell tower.

Its reverberations shuddered throughout the town, permeated the density of the smoke curtain which had swallowed the sky for centuries, and vibrated the very oxygen that fluttered in your lungs. It was a calling to check your mailbox, for reaching inside unveiled a folded note. At first, you glanced to your neighbour across the street, to the elderly man who lived on your right, and finally to the pig-tailed girl who’d just celebrated her fifteenth birthday on your left.

Yet they had retrieved nothing from their mailboxes exempt from a soft-spoken prayer, a testament to their gratitude that their lives had been spared. But you—you were the unholy meal.

With a sharp arrowhead of stone pressed to the skin between your shoulder blades, you were forced into the cavernous opening based midway along the mountain. It fed deep into the earth’s heart, and as a watchman pierced the spear’s tip further into your flesh, you began the cold, damp descent that would lead you to a deserved death, a death that could no longer be prevaricated.

After a painful stumbling over jagged flints and pieces of crystal, you emerged into the Blood Room, where three other contenders from the town were already aligned. There was not one look exchanged between either meal; however, you did recognize a specific helix piercing and the russet locks of Joshua, who you recently spotted dragging a body down to the ravine where the forest waterfall bubbled. Still, despite Joshua’s inept piousness, you knew he was not a meal worth being served.

A watchman approached you with a pocketknife. Splaying out your fingers, you observed calmly as he created a small incision against a distinct line travelling the length of your palm. As the dark, crimson fluid leaked from the wound, it was then collected in a glass dropper. Each watchman approached a scroll which hung from the stone. A drop of Joshua’s blood was tested first. It rolled about halfway down the sallow paper, which was impressive to say the least, indicative of even the boy’s worst transgressions. 

The next possible meal had their sample beaded onto the scroll, though it had soaked up rather quickly, even before Joshua’s, and you knew their sins were pitiful and their soul was much too pentant. Similarly, the blood of the other meal drew short. You couldn’t help but think the contenders were quite pathetic. 

At last the glass dropper containing your blood was being set against the paper. A slight squeeze, and the liquid bulb started its trickling. It streamed down boldly, leaving in its wake a luminous red tint that outshined even Joshua’s viscid plasma. You watched the bulb surpass one meal, then glide past the second meal, and just as you anticipated, the droplet rolled to the very end of the scroll. In fact, it began dripping onto the dust of the icy floor.

“The test concludes.” A watchman rumbled, his voice bouncing against the rock. His spear pointed toward you criminally. “Your blood runs the thickest and your heart beats the slowest. You are the unholy meal. The second son has awoken from this three-hundred-year slumber, and it is your soul he will devour so that he may be appeased and tire.”

You fought to keep an emotionless, flat face.

“Feed him well, for the weight of your blood carries more sin than purity.”

Briskly, the latter three contenders were swept away.

Joshua may have thrown his first corpse into the waterfall and watched it gush like a leaf down the black ravine, but his single body could not compare to the hundred that you’d left to float for years.

The bare bottoms of your feet were engrained with shallow cuts and stained by the powder to the numbing stone. You had not eaten or drank for over forty-eight hours, and your strength, which could often be as robust as great titanium, had seemingly dwindled to an emaciated, dried flower.

From the tales your mother relayed amongst your youth, you knew it was important to not make a face in the presence of the second son. Unlike his older brother, Jun, who would only be appeased by a meal who smiled and flaunted their guilt, Minghao chiefly adored a meal who showed no more emotion than the limestone tumbled along the mountainside. It was best to please the Demon Sons before they untied your soul from its fleshy bindings and swallowed it whole.

Or else in their next awakening, they might demand a meal of the entire village.

Minghao gestured to the garnet-coloured mat which had been lain across his bedroom floor. There were bowls of flavourful rice, steaming, clay pots filled with different soups, plates warmed by sliced bread and tin cups almost overflowing due to the plentiful wine inside.

“Hungry?” He asked, to which his soft, wispy voice was rather surprising.

Your countenance remained blank, unmoving, apart from your mouth. “Yes, I am starved.”

“Sit,” the second son invited, “I want you to be satiated and full, until you feel sleepy.”

Heeding his order, you sat cross-legged on the side of the mat opposite to the demon. His robe, embroidered with ruby lace, rippled behind his feet when he walked, and the collar’s diamond shape revealed underworldly markings which drew attention to the pale expanse of his chest. Even through the material cloaking his arms, you could faintly decipher the kohled tattoos. You had even recognized the familiar symbols chiselled into the walls during your trek to the demon’s chamber. When Minghao took his seat, he grabbed one of the black horns curling from his hair and dug his thumb into the pointed end.

“They are becoming weak,” he admitted, “I’m sure my brother’s wings are close to shattering from his broad shoulders. I’m sure the nerves are peeling and laughably brittle.” Minghao reached for a bowl, using wood chopsticks to fish the orange, tangy rice into his mouth. “You know, as first born, he is granted those wings. It’s his rite.” He lowered the bowl, a faded grin crossing his lips. “I remember, he used to embellish them with the bones of his meals, hanging their cervicals and metacarpals and pieces of their skull across each wing like a charm bracelet. But myself? It is not my meals’ bones that I save.” He shook his head, picking up another sticky rice ball.

Suddenly, the demon paused. “Are you not going to eat?”

It was difficult to speak when the interior of your mouth felt coated with chalk. Inclined by fear rather than your hunger, you reached for a bread loaf, then broke its golden crust in half, listening to the satisfactory crackle.

“I was absorbed by your pretty voice,” you spoke with not a single intonation, “forgive me.”

As you tore a piece from the warm inside and poked it into your cheek, the pottery bowl which he held broke into pieces due to the crushing grip of his hand, orange rice and clay shards spilling onto the mat. You had visibly flinched. The demon’s body trembled as he inhaled a slow, subdue breath. 

“Dearest, if you ask me to lend my forgiveness, I will pierce a stake through your beating heart and pull it out onto my plate.” His teeth were claws in his mouth as he growled. “Do you understand?”

You hid your quivering, bottom lip by bringing a tin cup to your face, the slick formula of the wine flowing down your throat. It was thicker than the wine you drank at home, and there was a copper-like aftertaste that almost rendered your expression to pucker, but you remembered to keep staid.

“I understand.”

The void, starless nature to his gaze disappeared. Instead, his eyes returned to their settled oak. Allowing more wine to soak against your tongue, there was a distant familiarity to its unique flavour.

“Are there things you regret?” Minghao retrieved you from musing, and spooned some rosemary soup into his mouth.

Once more, you took another sip, swished the alcohol between your cheeks, and swallowed. The demon observed you with an intent eye. Something flashed against your memory. It was a pale face drained of its pink and lively colour. In fact, it was your husband’s face, Soonyoung’s face, right before you tipped his body over the ravine’s misty edge and into the gurgling chasm below.

He had been your last murder.

“I regret…” You began, lowering the wine, “I-I regret…”

A stutter. An emotion. An inkling of your distress. 

Minghao’s grasp around the soup pot tightened and the tattoos needled into his flesh seemed to slither as though they’d been disturbed. Your mind grew stifled with obnoxious imagery. It was too much, all at once, and this dizziness spun at the centre of your cranium like a comet in orbit.

You leaned further over the wine, staring blurry at the liquid.

“I regret… I r-regret…”

Then it came to you, the underlying taste of the wine. So familiar because you should have known it better than anyone, especially considering your habitual dirty work, how often that fluid caked under your fingernails and spattered your clothing. No, it was definitely not the bones Minghao kept. 

A moment later and you fainted onto the mat.

You awoke to a damp coolness folded against your forehead, and to Minghao who sat at the edge of his bed, where he had rested for three-hundred years. He removed the cloth and began dabbing it along each arch of your cheek, cleaned your jaw’s long edge, and at last wet your lips until they gleamed. Expelling a subtle breath, you kept your face as blank as possible.

“How do you feel?” He set away the cloth in order to sweep his sleight fingers down your temple.

“I’m well,” sounded your meek voice, “you have taken care of me.”

In between the black fringe that feathered the demon’s lashes, you met his eyes. Minghao’s hand slid to your throat, where his palm pressed flat against its column and his fingers curled taut with the sensation of hot steel. 

He felt you gulp.

“I implore that you bathe. Rid yourself of this fabric which has been stained by wine and broth. I will leave you undergarments and a robe.” He leaned in closer to your face, and you couldn’t help but glance at his jagged teeth when he said so adoringly, “my wish is to paint you. I would like clean flesh.”

Clad in nothing but the undergarments, Minghao stood before your body, holding a wooden bowl. The inside was smeared with a rustic-coloured substance that almost bore the same consistency as honey. His chosen brush had fanned bristles, and when he stroked their wetness along your skin, it was a smooth, somewhat ticklish feeling. You found yourself enjoying it. Specifically the longer strokes, ones that began at the top of your shoulder and licked across the soft underbelly of your arm, only to gently flit away at the brittle bones in your wrist.

He decorated you in content. 

As the boy lowered to his knees and illustrated unintelligible runes against your inner thigh, he was focused, sharp. Another dip into the wooden bowl, and Minghao moved to paint your other thigh. You examined the horns pushing between his hair. Without thought, you stroked your hand against one, feeling the small grooves that created every divot. The demon never stirred, but continued to paint down your leg, and you wondered if he truly hadn’t noticed your touch or perhaps quite liked the way you caressed him.

Despite the fact you were merely prey being toyed with until dinner time, when you looked at the demon who touched your skin and treated you with such reverence, you felt this unbeknownst tenderness in your heart.

As Minghao instructed you to raise a foot, he immediately stiffened.

“What is it?” You questioned flatly.

He set the bowl and brush down.

“Dearest, the soles of your feet are cut and raw. It appears worse than usual.”

You wobbled slightly, almost losing your balance. “I was shown no kindness on my journey to meet with you. Because I am your meal, I can ignore the stinging.”

“No,” Minghao shook his head and rose up, “I will wrap your feet in precious calendula leaves. The paint will dry quickly, then you can sit.”

“If I may ask one thing,” you remarked, fiddling with the sleeves of your robe, “how painful is it to have your soul devoured?”

Minghao plucked the last few calendula leaves from their flowers. The petals were rather striking, the aurora of a setting sun as you mother always described. It had been a longtime wish to see the sun one day, though considering your fate, such a dream must remain only that. The leaves swathed each foot with the help of a clear, sticky gel.  

“Very painful.” The demon responded. He shifted next to you on the bed, then grabbed one of the orange flowers. “This is why we sleep so far beneath the crust, so the people do not hear the meal’s delicious screams.” He grasped your hand which had suffered a slit from the watchman’s pocketknife, and he began to rub a flower bud across the wound.

“Do you remember your last meal?” You asked, staring at Minghao rather than the skin’s miraculous healing.

The demon looked straight into your eyes as he grinned. “I do remember,” he sounded wistful, “it had been three meals, since the man I consumed in an even further past had greatly upset me.” Minghao dropped the flower, slowly interlaced his fingers with yours, squeezing.

“I had treated him well. I cleaned his cuts, I allowed him to bathe, I offered him my finest silk, and then, when we ate, I asked him what he regretted.” His hand became colder than ice. Minghao’s eyes started to widen, illuminate with a shiny madness, and when he leaned in closer your every facial muscle was begging to twitch. “He cried to me. Can you believe it? I had never been so upset. It caused me to fill with rage. He wept for forgiveness, absolution, a relief from his pain. Who am I, but a being who takes pain like a supplement? In that moment, I leapt across the dinner table and devoured him. His soul tasted like salt and alloy. I could not eat his heart, which was given to my brother. He will always eat the heart, because it so plumped full of your terrible emotion.”

The demon’s hand fit to the side of your neck, his thumb stroking along a particular vein where your pulse was thundering. “Well,” he sighed, “not your terrible emotion, but most peoples.”

In that moment, you took your deepest breath, and did not respond until you were certain that not one note of your voice would tremble. “I understand.” You placed your hand overtop the demon’s as it continued to cradle your neck, “did you paint this man too?”

“No,” Minghao shook his head, “I use my paints sparingly.”

With a soft fingertip, he began to trace a thin line he had brushed. It started at your jaw, then fell down the length of your warm neck. It dragged across your collarbone and in between your chest. Over the ribs, to your stern hip. The fingertip circled sweetly against your inner thigh a few times, and at last glided to your knee where the demon’s touch drifted away like a summer breeze.  

“You are the most beautiful meal I have ever seen,” Minghao murmured, holding your gaze which threatened to water, “I was delighted to accent a body like yours, so gorgeous and strengthened by sin.”

Since your arrival at the demon’s bedroom, you knew it was vital to preserve a blank face, and yet, it came to a point where you could not restrict the whims of your emotion. A tear bled from your eye, your bottom lip started to quiver, and your brow pinched together in a wrinkle. There was fear to your gradual outbreak, but it was an infinitesimal fraction compared to your gratitude, that the second son could somehow honour you more than your own unfaithful husband, who’d been your last body discarded into the ravine. 

In reality, how different were you to this demon? Year after year, the suppleness of your heart became hardened with immorality, pummelled of its empathy and completely wrung from compassion like a soaked, heavy towel. A common routine: dragging a corpse through the wildlife, your lips pursed and whistling the tune you’d overhear the pig-tailed girl humming on her front lawn. Dump the body. Return home. Peel an apple, bake a pie, and feed a slice to your next victim, watching the froth dribble from their lips as you sipped your drink and folded a leg over your thigh. But that was life under the cinder sky. It’s what kept people mad, what kept the demons fed. Either flee or have the light of your being rubbed into another dark ash. 

The demon immediately turned rigid. 

His spine bristled straight and the tattoos started to crawl beneath his robe, rustling like serpents who navigated the tall grass. You figured your death would be the most painful, since you had not only broken at the last minute, but soiled the significance to Minghao’s paints, casted the illusion that you were not appreciative of his gestures. In a snapping wrench, he practically tore you from the velvet blanket, dragging you to a door in his bedroom.

When it was opened, a frigid wind dusted at your face, and a slender corridor was revealed, stretching so far that it led into complete blackness. With a hand against your lower back, Minghao shoved you into the tunnel.

“Go,” he demanded, his words echoing off the stone, “go and do not turn back.”

Your voice was breathy, confused, “I don’t understand. I-I—”

“It leads to an opening at the opposite side of the mountain. You will leave, and you will never-” he gripped your chin, and his gaze intruded even the most clandestine pockets to your soul, “ever return to this town. Escape these cinder skies. I will not repeat myself.”

Before you could make sense of anything, before the door could be slammed in your face, your solace left to the rock and damp air, you slipped a hand around the demon’s neck and kissed him. His mouth was just as soft as his voice, and when he angled his head to better taste the tears that  stained your lips, you felt it would be impossible to make this journey alone. The silk of his tongue brushed inside your mouth, causing your knees to tremble, therefore you gripped weakly at the demon’s hair. His sharp teeth pricked your bottom lip and it welted ever so slightly with blood.

“Come with me,” you begged, pressing your forehead to his, “please, do not go back to sleep.”

But Minghao merely giggled, and the fact that such an innocent sound could leave the chest of a demonic entity had disoriented you. 

“What creature are you?” Minghao hummed, “that I can see your emotion and only want to hold you closer? Maybe it is because you are the first meal to bare no regret. You know your flesh is stitched by the sin of your own hand. Even your sweet tears. Oh! My brother would adore you! Though he would’ve devoured you by now no doubt.” He gave a gentle shove, removing you from his body.

“Will you please come find me?” You entreated.

Time was of the essence. The tenebrosity seemed to have a curl on your ligaments, tugging you backward into the tunnel. 

Minghao smiled, his hand reaching out to wipe the blood from your sore lip.

“Dearest, I will come find your dark soul anywhere,” sounded his honest purr, “but I suggest you travel hastily. If I leave, I must first wake my brother, and the rage of a demon whose slumber has been interrupted... It cannot be compared to anything. I’m afraid you’ll faint again.”

Trusting that Minghao would seek you out, you began the journey down the tunnel, your hand swiping against the stone and your feet taking calculated steps. Amongst the black air, there was no concept of time. Seconds, minutes, hours, they felt ineffectual in a place where not even your own fingers or toes could be seen. Eventually, you came to a light that burned against your eyes, and emerged at the opposite side of the mountain, like Minghao promised. And as you padded into the jade forest, you felt one final vibration shake the pine needles scattered across the earth, heard some boulders from the mountainside crumble down in swirling, dry dust clouds. 

Shuddering, you knew it had been the abhorrent cry of the first born son. And for once your compulsion to escape the grey skies was a real desire. 

✧✎ a/n: yes.................... :) thinking that i could also make an au for jun in this universe? i will have to do some Major Thinking. i still have nothing to say! like i don’t know where this au crawled out of, but it’s Here now. it’s pretty morbid n freaky sfeheff but nonetheless i hope you liked it and as always i luv hearing ur guys TH0TS. 

[mudwingpropaganda]

Arc 2 Timeline Rewritten

I’ve been thinking about my headcanons and I’ve been seriously struggling to get across the plot points that I want to happen within my headcanons. So I decided the best way to figure out what was important for the sequence of events was to just smash arc 2 on the ground and rebuild from the shards. 

From now on, I think I’ll be referring to this when working on my own characters (or my headcanons)! It’s not the most eloquent, but this is how I’ll be reasoning the events of the books. 

Arc 1 is valid. All arc 1 needs is more foreshadowing for Thorn and a little less forced love interests. Anyway, feel free to absorb by “ideal timeline” if you so desire.

The Second Brightest Night takes place. 

(I have my own handful of headcanons about my take on the Second Brightest Night and less magical ending for that night, but lets sum it up by saying that Burn dies via the snakes, unfortunately, Blister is killed by Thorn, and Blaze suffers substantial injuries but survives and goes missing after Thorn ascends to the throne.)

AT LEAST a year or two passes as the RainWing Queendom is focused upon, until Jade Mountain is founded. 

Queen Glory requested her siblings’ attention to help set up the tribe before jumping into their next war reparation project. This included the punishment of NightWing criminals, the state of the ex-experiment RainWings, and the customs that were lost when Queen Grandeur gave up on her bloodline and the title was shared between multiple dragonesses. Handsome, especially, assists in this restoration of culture and stability. Ex-Princess Greatness tries to give Glory her tribe’s history and customs, but ultimately gives up her title and acts as a figurehead to reach her subjects.

Jade Mountain is formed at least 2 or 3 years after the end of the war.

As a resolution of treaties, the Dragonets convinced the queens to enroll students in their peace building project, Jade Mountain Academy. Sunny already had the favor of Moorhen and Thorn, Tsunami took a little convincing of Coral, knowing she could bring in her siblings, Glory had the authority of her own two tribes, Clay reached out to Peril and Queen Ruby, and it took a little extra effort of reaching out to Queen Glacier. But after her approval was given, the school could finally take full initiative. 

The opening of the school was met with the ominous reappearance of Queen Scarlet. This caused unrest and disaster within the first month of school.

As a result of her disturbance, students who had previously been optimistic about the school’s opening were now uneasy. The attempted assassination of Princess Icicle’s life, the death of multiple students on Sora’s hands, and thicker tension in the air of the school. The disappearance of the entire Jade Winglet lead the school to be temporarily shut down. Classes were suspended and students were asked to stay in their rooms or go home. (This is saying that Jade Mountain was equipped as an escape for those in bad home situations. Though. Not very successful as an escape, per say.)

Scarlet’s antagonism opens the arc, introducing her “alliance” with Chameleon. 

Both by terrorizing Princess Icicle to do her bidding or tricking Peril into coming back to her clutches, the terrible things Scarlet did in her reign comes to light, namely the kidnapping of Prince Hailstorm and the mental deception of Princess Tourmaline/Ruby. Chameleon acts as a servant of her, facading as Soar for a majority of the time, acting as Peril’s technical father. Though, it’s obvious that while he serves her, he has not necessarily dedicated his life to her. Chameleon disappears for the sake of Peril’s resolution to wrap up Scarlet’s tyranny. But Chameleon’s near murder of Kinkajou sets up more antagonism on his part.

Chameleon generally becomes the main focus of antagonism for the rest of the arc. He causes the team to split up so Winter could do some soul searching and Kinkajou could coma, I guess.

After the Jade Winglet physically joins Peril and Turtle to resolve Scarlet’s arc, Chameleon is now gone of a powerful ally. He attempts to pick the group apart. Conflict between Winter, Moon, and Qibli, over the injuries of Kinkajou, and the spite between Peril and Winter, leading to Winter having his side trip to the IceWing kingdom with Hailstorm, where no one else could follow him. The Jade Winglet hangs out in Possibility, I guess, I’m still working out the details.

When trouble stirs in Possibility, Qibli accidentally pulls the group into SandWing trouble, revealing the alliance between Vulture and Onyx, as well as Chameleon disguising under their ranks.

Vulture and Onyx begin to be relevant. This was set up and foreshadowed, of course, but I’m not writing these books. Onyx was a dragon who went missing when things started going awry at Jade Mountain, as she decided playing into Sunny’s favor to get close to Thorn wouldn’t work. As Qibli hints at knowing something about the danger encroaching on Possibility, he flees to warn Thorn, but gets caught up in his past. He’s fully aware how to get himself out of these situations, but now he needs to protect the Jade Winglet from the likes of his family.

Onyx and Vulture’s plot relates, once again, to the thrones that were shifted by the Dragonets’ meddling, as Onyx tries to take the throne from Thorn.

Onyx has a more valuable role in this rewritten timeline. Her opinion on royalty isn’t disregarded, and her father legitimately shows remorse for his daughter rather than??? his girlfriend Thorn (which doesn’t happen in my headcanonverse). The concept of a fourth heir to the throne seemed like it would be such a significant plot point for Tui. Darkstalker took over that. In this version, Onyx is an important character, with Vulture pulling the strings, promising she has a chance at the throne. His point being: if a criminal can take the throne based on a child’s word and a magical necklace, another criminal can work for the throne based on his wit and his access to a true blood heir to the throne. 

After the royalty plotlines are addressed, Chameleon is separated from his allies by the Jade Winglet once again.

Thorn eventually wards off Vulture and Onyx, with the somewhat support of her subjects, but the event left the SandWing queendom uneasy, as it still has work to be done. Thorn loses the Scorpion Den to the two of them, leaving Chameleon identified again. After being separated from his allies, once again, Chameleon becomes more focused in his vengeful plots against these children, but he does have his own points, especially in relevance to Kinkajou’s abuse she faced against the NightWings experimenting on her. When all else fails, he resorts back to the scroll itself.

As a final grasp for power, Chameleon attempts to become the previous owner of the scroll, leading to the storyline of Darkstalker. 

Chameleon attempts to create a charm that will turn him into the true owner of the scroll. So Chameleon destroys the scroll in the process, as Darkstalker overtakes Chameleon’s body and, instead of it being a mask, similar to his disguises, Darkstalker is capable of using his magic to use Chameleon as a vessel as a whole. Jade Mountain begins to collapse with his old body’s sudden disappearance. And Darkstalker plot happens! 

Darkstalker is still bent on revenge and restoring his kingdom’s former glory, but more in the sense of a more magically manipulative kind... the idea of magically changing people’s minds and changing people as a whole as he sees fit is focused upon

The twisted scene like Fierceteeth being turned into Clearsight has much more gravity. And directly affects our protagonists. While yes, a plague begins to wipe out the IceWings, and Queens and influential individuals are simply made to accept Darkstalker as a king, Darkstalker also realizes that the best way to get his friends - and enemies - back is molding them from the closest things to them. Moonwatcher being Clearsight, the two of them being striking similar in appearance and mannerisms, Turtle being Fathom, a timid descendent of another SeaWing animus who was afraid of his powers, Winter being Queen Diamond, someone he could kill, over and over, just as his mother was. Kinkajou? Oh, she’s irrelevant. Peril would have to be taken care of. But Qibli’s a wise one, thoughtful, and craved for validation. Perhaps he could help him perfect the spell.

This makes the story moving forward less about MAGIC as a whole and more of the concept of forcing dragons to do things against their will. (Which leads into the Pantala arc but first...)

Darkstalker is defeated, of course, after hinting about the existence of Pantala, and causing a “glitch” in magic system which has caused a lull in enchantments and animus dragons.

After a few obnoxious monologues, a bit of trickery and secret exchanging on Qibli and Kinkajou’s parts, and the sibling drama of animus SeaWing royal siblings, the free Jade Winglet (including Peril) was able to kill Darkstalker, who’s weight on the magic continuism caused magic to “break” momentarily in the Wings of Fire continuum, (just for Pantala’s conflict to be wrapped up without cheat codes). The residue of magic is left on the world, which accidentally manifests into a whole new dragonet. Peacemaker. (I’ll elaborate on my ideas for Peacemaker one day but... as much as I HATE the resolution of Darkstalker getting once another second chance, I love the idea of a whole separate identity facing the consequences for another’s evil. I’ll figure it out later.)

The students will resume classes again. Maybe Stonemover becomes useful to attempt to help out with the consequences of Darkstalker. The NightWings begin grappling with Glory’s rule, even more than usual, after the progress that they made. Pantala’s arc will be moreso about the fallout of Darkstalker, the accidental marks that Clearsight made, and the longlasting magical residue of Fathom. But those are ideas for later posts. 

[karmamiakat]

Okay, this is getting annoying...

I’m gonna be as civil about this is as possible cuz I really am not trying to be a jerk but this gets out of hand every time we don’t get a solid green cure...

Cure Earth is purple. Not green...You know why people think earth they think green? Because of the plants! The Earth is not naturally green unless you count the emeralds and green stones but even that’s a stretch! People think green earth because of plants and we got a plant based cure! It’s Cure Grace! Plants are considered more so wood. NOT EARTH! 

Earth itself is brown and it can have purple. Why? 

Purple gemstones! They come from the earth! Purple is often used as a color to represent wind which is her power and naturally, gem stones come in every single color of the rainbow, not just green. In fact, pink, purple and blue colors are the most common in gemstones. 

Honestly, it’s been established that Cure Earth was going to be purple! She’s connected with Latte who’s theme color is purple! I don’t even get why so many folks act so shocked! It’s been confirmed since the beginning that she was going to be purple!

It kinda makes sense given plants are taken by Cure Grace and Cure Sparkle has green on her! They try to mix up the colors like that. And those who are saying how unoriginal Cure Earth is, guess what? How is it really original to have another green cure with the power of wind??? Seems like other than Felice, the only element a green cure has IS WIND! NOT VERY FREAKIN ORIGINAL!

I know I’m really irritable but EVERY SINGLE SEASON! People moan for a green cure! Like it’s the only color that’s not being used as a main cure color? Let’s see the other colors not used too much as main colors. Orange, (closest is yellow orange that is more so yellow than orange). brown, black, silver, darker tones of the primary colors like colbot/sapphire blue. All blue colors are usually light blue. Not darker and of course, black! Yeah the darker means evil, but not necessarily? White Diamond from Steven Universe and Nui from Kill La Kill are prime examples that lighter colors don’t mean squat if you’re evil within!

A whole lot of colors aren’t used for the main colors for cures. In fact, green shows up more than say orange (that isn’t yellow) and brown! What about a black or silver cure? That would be something different. A cure who’s theme color is actually black with no pink? 

I’m sorry, I know I am being a little unreasonable but it’s really obnoxious seeing and hearing the same complaint every season or the same argument like when people were arguing over whether or not Milky was green! It’s obnoxious afterwards and like hell will Toei listen to you, because we’re NOT the main demographic.

Speaking of which, most of the time, designs especially towards kids, go through different layers of approval and that includes showing a group of kids some designs and having them pick out the ones they like. So maybe, kids in Japan or at least the young girls in Japan, may not like green all that much. The show is aimed at them. NOT US! I’m not saying they totally do this but shoot, one of the reasons Orba got killed off in Mahou Tsukai was because kids saw him as scary! So maybe they do! Maybe girls in Japan don’t like green or at least not enough to want a fully green cure. You may say “But I like green”. Anyone especially, English speaking audiences, are not the main demographic for this series, thus they don’t shape this show for us. They shape it for their main demographic which is Japanese kids like 5 and up!

I’m just saying. Earth isn’t really green. It’s the plants that make people believe so. Yes, there’s green stones but you can technically put any color and say it’s earth color because rubies, sapphires and amethysts come from the earth as well! Tuxedo Mask is the guardian of Earth in Sailor Moon and I don’t see people complain that he’s not wearing green! Jupiter is a green sailor scout but that’s because she has power over WOOD not earth! That and Jupiter the planet, is green! NATURALLY! Earth is brown and sometimes purple can be used in place of brown. 

The other thing is Toei doesn’t care about it’s English speaking audience nor any other audience outside Japan! The only time Toei cares about that is when Sailor Moon is involved, but not their other stuff and even then that’s a bare minimum! 

Lastly, I get everyone has the right to their opinions and you can share them, but I’m just saying that this complaining and arguing every single year about this topic is NOT a solution. You’re not gonna resolve the issue at hand by doing that! You’re just showing that people outside the demographic of this show are more immature than the kids this show is aimed at!

Sorry, I hurt some feels and I know it looks like I’m telling folks to shut up, but after seeing this year after year, not just people wanting a green cure but belly aching and even arguing about it, I just finally cracked! It’s like being poked at by a stick for years. Eventually, someone’s gonna give in and say something! I mean, would I want a green cure too? Maybe? I don’t hate green but I’m not a huge fan of it so maybe I just don’t see it as a big deal? Honestly, I just feel like Cure Earth’s design is a little lack luster. I couldn’t careless what color she was.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Azula’s New Groove (Part 1)

Summary: Literally The Emperor's New Groove except it's Azula and her serving girl. 

As any good story does, this one begins with a koala-sheep, a talking koala-sheep crying in the rain. A vividly silver-blue flash of lightning brightens the jungle, reminding the koala-sheep of what she has lost. Because this particular koala-sheep can not only talk, but also bend lightning. The koala-sheep knows this but has forgotten such in her overwhelming mental distress. Such turmoil is the product of a rather massive ego taking a blow twice its size.

Thunder rumbles, echoing through the trees as rain soaks the wool of the koala-sheep. The camera pans in on the pathetic creature and then it quickly pans out because, have you seen a wet koala!? Those things are horrifying. What is more horrifying is a koala that is also a sheep.

For the sake of a good story, the camera pans back in. The koala-sheep continues to weep to herself as the downpour intensifies. Beneath the jungle’s canopy and with such a heavy curtain of rain, the koala-sheep resides in the semi-dark upon a miniature island--a small hill surrounded by floodwater.

She looks up at the camera, but does not see it. She is alone. Completely and totally isolated beneath a fluttering curtain of spanish moss and dangling ivies.

But this is not where our story beings, dear readers. The story begins in a much more opulent setting. There is a montage here, but our main character isn’t much of a dancer and, despite her graceful firebending, she had tripped during its filming so the montage was cut.  

And so we begin with two old women. Lo looks up at Azula. Azula who is a human being and not a very emotionally tormented koala-sheep. “Fire Lord Azula, it is time to choose your husband.”

“Every Fire Lord needs a harem.” Li adds.

Azula glowers down from her seat. As nice as a harem sounds, her options are limited to Kei Lo, Jet, Chan, Sokka, and Zuko. Azula narrows her eyes at Zuko. “Is this the line for the bathroom?” he asks.

“No.” Lo answers.

“It is the line…” Li adds.

“To be your sister’s husband.” They finish together.

Zuko’s face scrunches in disgust. “These poor men.” He shows himself out.

Azula climbs down from her perch to inspect the miscreants more closely. “I don’t like your face.” She says of Kei Lo. “You are a fuckboi, too much testosterone, and let me guess, you’ve got a good sense of humor.” She points at Jet, Chan, and Sokka in turn. She turns back to Lo and Li, “is this really all you have for me?” She doesn’t see TyLee in this group of suitors.

“Well, we could have done better.” Lo admits.

“But there was a doilie convention in the capital.” Li continues.

“We just had to attend.” Lo confesses and holds up a small, oblong  doilie made of red lace.

“It will be perfect for our sacrificial alter.” Li adds.

“Your what?” Azula quirks a brow, suddenly rather intrigued.

“Our coffee table.” They say in unison.

“Red lace goes nice with polished cherrywood.” Li points out.

“And it will go wonderfully with our ritual dagg--our ruby encrusted teacups.” Lo flashes a toothless smile.

While they ramble on and on, trying to keep their occult practices a secret, it is best to show you readers our other main character. One of the several people involved in dismantling the Fire Lord’s life as she had known it.

Her name is Yoiko, some time ago she had been the servant specifically designated to hold up a bowl of cherries for the Fire Lord. That is still her job but she has been furloughed because the Fire Lord has found out that cherries aren’t supposed to make your mouth burn and your throat close up. She has yet to decide on another fruit to replace the cherries that she is allergic too. Mangos are too large and grapes are cliche.

Newly unemployed, Yoiko finds her way back to the Fire Nation palace. She clears her throat, “Excuse me. I'm here to see Fire Lord Azula. You see, this morning I received an order to…”

The guard cuts him off. “She’s waiting in her throne room. Up six flights of stairs, make three lefts, and then take another flight of stairs down one floor, grab a knife from the kitchen, hand it to Lo and Li, and…”

“I’m not here for the ritual. And I know how to get to the throne room.”

“Right, yes.” The guard replies with an awkward cough.

As Yokio passes she nearly trips over a cabbage.

“My cabbages!” He declares.

Yoiko, deciding to earn herself some virtue points so that she may look holier than thou, picks up the cabbage and hands it to the man with a kind, “here you go.” Though it might just be that she is actually a genuinely nice person.

“Thank you.” The cabbage merchant says.

“You're welcome.” Yoiko smiles. She has to smile before she speaks with Azula and finds herself unable to smile for the next week or so. “Are you okay?” She asks the merchant. “What happened?” Yoiko expects to hear a story about how the merchant had thrown off Azula’s groove. Heaven knows, she has run into quite some trouble for accidentally interrupting Azula’s very rigid daily routines.  

Instead the man says, “I ran into the Avatar.” He shudders. “Evil, evil little arrow headed, ‘pacifist’, monk. And that lemur…” he shudders with a deeper chill coursing through him. “It’s beady little eyes, they stare into your soul. And have you heard its chitters, they’re like the screams of a thousand cabbages.”

Yoiko blinks, she has never heard a cabbage scream. “Well I’m going to see the Fire Lord, not the Avatar.”

“Don’t look into its eyes!”

“I’ve looked into her eyes before.” Yoiko shrugs. “Several times. Most of the time they’re all judgemental and…”

“No! Not the Fire Lord’s! The lemur’s!”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Do you need help collecting the rest of your cabbages? I have a few minutes before I need to speak with the Fire Lord.” Yoiko offers.

Azula finds her never ending supply of kindness rather appalling. She does not see this small act of kindness, but she senses it. She senses it and it chills her to the core. But nothing is more chilling than our next character.

“And what brings you to the palace?” Zhao asks.

“Well, your highness, I mean...wait, what is your title?” Asks the peasant.

Zhao scowls. A scowl that Azula has long since grown to resent. She looks upon it as she enters the throne room, her throne room. It is a hideous scowl that nearly draw attention away from his obnoxiously groomed sideburns and his collection of wrinkles. Admiral Zhao potantly reminds Azula that man is descended from monkeys. What is more is that the man looks like a corpse. He has the pallor and droopy eyes of one. Next to him stands former Fire Lord Ozai. He had lost to Aang during Sozin’s comet while Azula had won her Agni Kai. Fully anticipating to beat a twelve year old marshmallow of a boy, Ozai had handed his daughter his former title. Decidedly, if he couldn’t manage to beat a twelve year old, he is not fit to run the Fire Nation. So Azula had kept the title for herself and her father could do nothing about it save for snarl at her and remind her that the Avatar will come to dethrone her shortly and put Zuko on the throne. What Ozai is unaware of is that Zuzu does not want the throne, he has a musical career to think about  and she has already made a deal with the Avatar to keep him from being a pest.

Azula has noticed that her father, brimming with resentment, has suddenly grown  rather fond of Zhao. Zhao who goes through right hand men like Zuko goes through hyperfixations. Azula imagines that Ozai will be tossed aside by the time Zuko finishes his mumble rap obsession.

Azula looks from Zhao to the peasant that he is currently quarreling with.  

“But I need food and shelter, I have six children!”

This is the kind of dispute that is usually brought to Azula so that she may dismiss the needy man. Instead, Zhao steals what should have been her line, “you should have thought of that before you became peasants!” He adds a devilish chuckle for good measure before dismissing the man.

“Peasants are tiresome.” Azula remarks, “it’s a shame you don’t have someone else to deal with them, right?”

“Absolutely correct!” Zhao agrees.

Azula clears her throat. “That would be me, Zhao. Your Fire Lord. The one who gets to call people peasants.”

Zhao cuts her a nervous glance. “Right, yes, your majesty.” But Azula has heard more than enough. “You see, it isn’t such a big deal, I was just trying to, ah, free up your busy schedule, so you can go out and have fun with your friends.”

Azula’s eyes narrow. “I like my busy schedule and this is fun for me. There is nothing funner than telling peasants that their needs mean nothing and that their gods can’t protect them from me.” She leaves out that she no longer has friends.

One of Azula’s servants emerges, “Yoiko is here to speak with you.”

“Lovely.” She smiles. This is the very peasant she has been hoping to terrorize. “And you can show yourself out, you are fired!” She holds her chin up and folds her arms over her chest. She has banished far too many people, so this time she will settle for only firing Zhao. Her eyes narrow further as she recalls that she had banished Lo. And further still when she recalls that Zhao is supposed to be dead. She squints at the man; yes he is supposed to be dead. That might explain why he looks like something ten years deceased.

Yes, she has made the right decision in firing him.

“But, princes--Fire Lord Azula, I have been more than loyal to the Fire Nation for decades…”

She thinks that it might have been a few centuries. She looks upon that appalling face, yes definitely centuries.

“I even destroyed the moon…”

“In other words, you have had your moment of glory, it is time to show yourself out.” She looks upon her throne. “You’re even sitting on my throne!”

“I was just keeping it warm for you!”

Azula scowls for nothing is worse than sitting upon a chair that radiates the warmth of someone else’s buttocks. She thinks that this warrants banishment but she is in a merciful mood. “Go on, get out, I’ve got peasant matters to deal with.”

Perhaps she would have banished him if she had known what was to come.

[eirian-houpe]

The Library Beneath the Clock Tower - Chapter 40

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Gaston (Once Upon a Time)

Characters: Belle (Once Upon a Time), Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Widow Lucas | Granny, Grumpy | Leroy, Maurice | Moe French, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Merida (Once Upon a Time), Jiminy Cricket | Archie Hopper, Gaston (Once Upon a Time), Le Fou, Mad Hatter | Jefferson, Prince Charming | David Nolan, Gus | Billy, Huntsman | Sheriff Graham, Mother Trude (Fairytale Character)

Additional Tags: Bookshop On the Corner, slightly AU, Cursed Storybrooke (Once Upon a Time), Alternate Universe - In Storybrooke | Cursed (Once Upon a Time), Eventual Smut

Summary: Storybrooke has no library, and neither does Belle, not since the library where she worked in Boston discovered her past as an inpatient at a mental hospital. Taking her future into her own hands, Belle travels to Storybrooke where her intention is to open up the town library, but all does not go according to her plan. Obstacles and false starts, and diversion along very wrong pathways interrupt her journey toward fulfilling her dream, as well as taking her rightful place and becoming a part of the Storybrooke community.

Read previous chapters on AO3

Chapter 40 - Revelations

As soon as Mister Gold left to go and get himself ready for the Festival, Belle immediately dissolved into a nervous mess that was not like her, and that she couldn’t explain. She’d had plenty of interactions with Mister Gold before, so… why be nervous now, especially when much of the time he was sarcastic and obnoxious. Perhaps this was the difference then, that this time he had not been either and had, in fact, been pleasant and complimentary.

She did not have too much time to worry about it. She decided she wanted to look her best, to go out there and, as Maggie had said, show the citizens of Storybrooke, and specifically the Mayor, that she was not a little maid, no servant, but someone who belonged.

She quickly showered, donned soft lacy underwear that made her feel somehow special, and then set to applying make up, and fixing her hair. The make up was subtle, and the shades she chose enhanced the blue of her eyes. The style of the dress screamed for her to pile her hair atop her head and leave her neck long, elegant, and bare - as her shoulders would be, so she spent the most time making sure she got her hair just so. By the time she was done, and was slipping her feet into shoes with a heel just high enough to keep the hem of the dress barely in contact with the floor, the clock on the nightstand told her it was almost the time that Gold had said he would return.

She expected he would be nothing if not punctual, and sure enough, right on time, the door buzzer sounded.

Not wanting to appear to be too eager, Belle took her time with the cloak, and found that it was possibly a mistake to have done so. The clasp was of an unfamiliar type, and no matter how she manipulated it, she could not get it to remain fastened. Once when she thought she had it, the garment simply slipped back off her shoulders. After another couple of tries it became frustrating and threatened to make her truly late rather than allowing her to appear casual. She decided that the evening was nice enough and that she could probably manage without the cloak and so she made her way carefully down the stairs to the outside door.

When she set eyes on Gold, what remained of her breath flew away, and she thought her head would spin. He was wearing a gold brocade jacket with a high collar, beneath which a white shirt was nestled under a vest that matched the jacket, but which was mostly hidden by the sheer, cream colored cravat he wore, perfectly tied, with lace edging that set off the outfit perfectly. He wore soft leather, thigh high boots over tan pants. He looked every inch a fairytale prince.

“You look lovely, my dear,” he said softly, and she saw him swallow as he took in her appearance, but then he added, “But do you not have a cloak? The night can be chill where we will be.”

She blushed, and looked a little sheepish, as she confessed. “There is one, but it has a strange kind of clasp; one I’ve never seen before, and… well… I couldn’t manage to get it to stay fastened.”

He gave her a gentle smile that was without any kind of criticism or mockery and said, “Why don’t you go and fetch the cloak, and if you’ll allow, I’ll help you fasten it.”

Her blush deepened, and an almost shy smile crossed her face, before she murmured her thanks, and returned to the apartment to get the cloak and bring it back down the stairs.

“May I?” Gold asked as he reached for the cloak and when she allowed him to take it, he shook it out and settled it carefully about her bare shoulders. The backs of his fingers barely brushed against her skin as he smoothed the fabric into place, but she felt as though fire shot through the whole of her body at the light touch, like the prickle of pins and needles.

Then he took the two halves of the clasp gently into his hands, the warmth of his fingers resting against the front of her collar bones. As he moved to almost weave the two sides of the clasp to fasten, the movement of his hand sent little bolts of tingling warmth right to her core.

Her legs began to feel as though they were made of marshmallow, and she suddenly found herself wanting nothing more than to run her own fingers over the fine fabric of his coat. She took a breath, trying to steady  herself. What should she do? Could she trust herself?

Just as everything seemed about to come to a head, Mister Gold stepped back, his touch releasing her from its spell.

“Shall we?” he said with a smile, and gestured toward the Cadillac that was parked not too far away.

“Thank you,” she said, equally as softly, and then took his offered arm as he began to walk them toward the vehicle.

As they drew closer, she noticed Aspen in the back of the car, and couldn’t help but chuckle. Gold looked her way, and she asked in a soft note of teasing, “Does he enjoy the Miners’ Day Festival too?”

Gold laughed softly. “I would not dare to make him miss it,” he quipped. “A sure way to make him bite the hand that feeds him.”

He opened the door for her, and she heard Aspen’s tail begin to thump out a rhythm on the back seat as she climbed inside.

“Surely not,” she said as he climbed into the driver’s side after making certain she was secure. “I can’t imagine a sweet dog like Aspen ever biting anyone.”

“You’d be surprised,” he said, as he pulled off to begin their journey. “He knows who likes him, and who doesn’t.”

Belle looked over at him in disbelief. “How could anyone not like him?”

“Milah hated him,” Gold answered, and then cleared his throat as if in realization of having said something wrong, and then before Belle had a chance to reply, he said, “May I ask you something.”

“I think you are catching my habits,” she teased, and raised an eyebrow when he looked over at her in momentary confusion. “May I ask?” she said.

He chuckled again at that, and nodded his understanding.

“I… was just wondering,” he began, speaking slowly as though choosing his words carefully. “After I so… rudely interrupted your meeting with Mister Guest—”

Before he could even ask whatever question was in his mind Belle blurted out, “It didn’t work out. Everyone was right about him, and I was… just naive and too trusting, just like I was warned.”

“Miss Marchland,” he said and she thought he sounded apologetic, “You shouldn’t blame yourself. Whatever happened it was not your fault. No amount of anyone warning you of anything can change what you must discover for yourself. You did nothing wrong.”

“But you don’t like him all the same,” she accused softly and without any real heat behind her words.

“I admit, I have always had a bad feeling about Mister Guest, yes,” he said, “but really it is none of my business, and I’m prying. Forgive me.”

She offered him a smile, “No, it’s fine. Nothing to forgive.”  She took a breath, and finally confessed. “Maggie told me a little about what happened with your wife… if anyone was prying, it was me.”

Gold glanced at her, his gaze steely, and she thought for a moment that she had offended him, until he said, “She was never happy here; never happy with me. We moved here for a new start when we discovered we were expecting our son, a little peace and quiet; a little decency after the deprivation all around us in Glasgow.”

“What happened?” she asked softly.

“It was never enough for her. Too quiet, everyone too far up in everyone else’s business. We tried to make it work, for Bae’s sake, but…”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, and she genuinely was. She could almost feel the pain of his self deprecation.

He shook his head and continued, “…I was never enough either, so… she left.”

“That must have been hard,” she said, and offered an expression of genuine sympathy when he turned and glanced at her again.

“Not as hard as you might think,” he said, “Nor as it should have been. What was hard was that… I knew she had never really wanted children, wanted Bae… and yet, she took him with her.”

“And you have no visitation arrangement?” Suddenly she wanted to know more, to know everything she could about this man whom, she realized, she had read so wrongly in all of her encounters with him until now.

Gold scoffed bitterly. “Hard to make an arrangement with someone when they don’t want you to know where they’ve gone,” he said.

“That’s awful!”

“I sent out private investigators. The police weren’t interested, actually investigated me for her disappearance, and when they couldn’t pin it on me, just let it go cold.” He chuckled as he looked over at her again, and caught sight of the way her mouth was hanging open in disbelief. “It’s how I got a good portion of my reputation as a monster, I think.”

“But… but your family?” she protested.

“Never have found out what happened to Bae, though I’m still looking - following up every lead I get. He’d be grown by now.”

She didn’t like the way he was referring to his son in a kind of past tense that showed his fears that his son, like the boy’s mother, might no longer be living - at least if the rumors Maggie had told her were true.

“How old?” she asked, softly.

“Twenty-eight years,” he said with another glance at her. “A man older than I was when I had him.”

“And his mother?”

“She passed,” he said, then added quickly, “And before you ask, I don’t know how. All I know is that after she left me, she fell in with some… scoundrel or another. Then a few years ago one of the investigators found out about her passing. Now it seems said scoundrel is… sniffing around.”

“The man I saw you with at the Mayor’s ball?”

“The same.”

“Jefferson said he was a nasty piece of work,” she admitted.

“He’d be right.”

“There must be… something you can do to stop him from bothering you?”

Gold didn’t answer, and fell into silence for a long while, before he said quietly, with a kind of dry amusement in his tone, “So… now you know more about me than most people in Storybrooke, Miss Marchland.”

He drew the car into a parking space amid an already crowded lot that stood beside what looked like an open field that had been transformed into a festival ground, and she realized that in speaking with Gold, hearing him unfolding the tale of a part of his life that was so personal to him, she had missed the entire journey and had no clue where she was in relation to town. He stopped the engine and looked over to her.

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked, with a hint of sarcasm to match the wry, defensive expression on his face.

She raised and eyebrow then, and said, “I promise not to hold anything against you.” After a moment she offered a smile, and said, “And it’s Belle.”

[ursie]

You said that you liked Weiss and I’m curious about your thoughts on her/headcanons/reasons why you like her

Hmm ok I haven’t rewatched the middle seasons so this is just off of what I remember sgsfdgffff

Why I like her :

I think she’s very compelling and if I’m being honest the only one to get consistent character growth and development. Yang for all the obv changes hasn’t really evolved, Blake whilst I will say has grown I find a lot of inconsistencies with her story and arcs and frankly I think seasons 4-6 are the weakest and a lot of it is due to her shdfgdffffsd, Ruby..is not treated like a main character no growth no evolution she revolves around like Jaune and Oscar now whilst Weiss?? Queen of growth queen of learning queen of actually having good seasonal arcs.

Literally she was the saving grace of s4-6 and her family dynamics in s7 really went above and beyond.

Are there issues with her character? Yes but it’s at least growing because I’m sorry Yang and Blake but changing does not equate growth fdggdgggdffg.

Also her songs are bops

Gen thoughts : I kinda went off on why I like her but like actual thoughts and not hcs

I think if they push her with Jaune it’ll literally invent misogyny and whilst Neptune is like fine there’s a def sense of comphet I get with Weiss I think as much as we talk about Yang I think Weiss is equally easily interpreted as being gay.

I think her dynamics with Winter and shockingly her brother and mother are actually so interesting and written well??? I sincerely hope they continue to use that

There are def issues w her character the obvious Faunus biases she had comes to mind but tbh her character was 16?17? And like. Very clearly evolved from that mindset (also rwby undermined Weiss being wrong by like. Actually making the white fang evil and Adam that so it’s hard to discuss this one in good faith as one party was not written in it dfffgdfgg)

Her dynamics with the team are nice and frankly welcome and I wished we explored individual relationship dynamics more because I really enjoyed Yang and Weiss is s5?6? Dgdfffg i don’t even remember but the one season they talked to each other fsffgff. I think Weiss and Ruby are finally growing again and with Penny back and in the mix I can’t believe Ruby has two gfs. Blake and her need to talk more dggfffff

I actually think it’d be a good visual character growth to cut her hair as the side ponytail was her straying from her fathers path I think chopping it all together would be the final nail in the coffin

Her semblance is the coolest that’s just true and she’s by far the best fighter on team rwby Yang is just better at 1 on 1 and is a powerhouse that doesn’t equal to actual technical skill

She should be allowed to be more menphobic as a treat

Hcs :

Trans Ace Lesbian

She’s on the spectrum

Due to the effort it takes to summon and how often she does it now aside from the strain of her other glyphs she starts using a chair part time

She is one of those people who wear don’t talk to me before I had my coffee tees unironically

I think her and Ren would be good friends they’re just vibing together they’re obnoxious sleeve buddies

She has a green thumb and is very good at growing house plants (they cheer her up)

She cannot cook she cannot bake she will set fire to something team rwby is useless in the kitchen

She loves birds and is a not so secret birder

She’s actually into a lot of different music and definitely uses it as a means of expression

Would be very good at Minecraft

[itsclydebitches]

Ozpin and Abuse (This is Pretty Long, Sorry.)

Sometimes I wonder if most of the Rwby fandom that label Ozpin as some great evil don’t understand how abuse, especially subtle abuse, works. And it’s frustrating as someone who has been, and still is in his position somewhat. Very early on as a kid I learned that having opinions, feelings, or actions of my own was ‘not acceptable.’ I had to say what was approved, act in a manner that was approved, and any thoughts or feelings were to be what was acceptable, or I would be in massive amounts of trouble. So, like Ozpin, I learned to lie. I learned to manipulate situations because if I didn’t, there would be nothing but trouble and chaos. As an adult who now has their own money, it’s easier, but those mannerisms don’t just disappear. I still tend to forcibly start or continue conversations, because if I don’t, I panic. I don’t tend to say anything that I truly think or feel, because that experience of ‘no one wants to know, because no one cares, and you’ll just bring trouble by saying something’ is so deeply ingrained that you think ‘it’s the only thing that has worked before, so why risk it?’ Ozpin’s decision to not tell anyone makes sense for what he’s gone through. Especially seeing how not telling people worked for the most part. They had 80 years of peace. And judging by the emphasis they put on that, it was probably the longest period of time. So as far as Ozpin can tell, telling very few people works. He was working towards uniting people. And by telling a very small selection of people, he could monitor who he did tell, just in case of betrayal. As humans, we adapt. If something goes wrong, we tend to not do it again. Especially when it has painful/catastrophic events. Ozpin learned (very painfully) that doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, and behaving in a manner that others don’t like, ends in pain and death. And not just for him.

***

It amuses me to no end that so many of you lovelies apologize for leaving long (debatable) asks/submissions when I’m over here chucking multi-thousand word essays at you, whether you like it or not :D

But no, serious conversation time. I just want to preface this by saying I’m so sorry you went through all that. I think a lot of times when we discuss sensitive and complicated issues in fandom, as well as in other analysis spaces like academia, we forget, or simply have trouble acknowledging, that these things don’t exist purely within the confines of this fictional world. People get invested in Ozpin or Oscar or Yang or Blake’s stories because they see themselves in them. Or see their friends, a family member, etc. For all the fantasy elements, RWBY deals with grounded themes and those will always resonate. It’s never just, “Look at these obnoxious fans getting worked up over fictional characters. It’s not real!” It’s “No. This particular person might not be real… but their story is so much like mine they might as well be. A dismissal of what they’ve been through feels like a dismissal of what I or others have been through too.” 

Ozpin remains a fascinating character to me because, like my above examples attest, he’s far from the first character in RWBY to go through significant trauma and for that trauma to reflect in his choices. He’s not even the first (or second, third, fourth…) to deal with abuse. The RWBY fandom—far as I’ve seen anyway—is really good about taking that trauma into account with other characters. I can’t tell you the amount of support I’ve seen for Yang in regards to her arm, Blake in regards to Adam, Weiss in regards to her father, etc. We see it with the villains: Mercury is a poor boy because his dad was abusive, Emerald just needs someone to love her, Raven’s abandonment is excused, etc. I’ve even seen people go so far as to really push implications: assuming that Ruby deals with non-Beacon trauma in the form of her dead mom and a (their claim) absent dad, despite the fact that we don’t see either of these negatively effecting her on screen. In short, the fandom is great at going, “I can understand why they act the way they do,” except when it comes to Ozpin (and by extension Oscar). I’ve obviously spoken about this EXTENSIVELY, but it just remains endlessly fascinating to me that so much of the fandom ignores an integral part of the show, spread across so many characters, only when it applies to this one individual. 

In addition, gotta admit that I never thought of it that way. That not only does Ozpin’s choices make sense because he’s literally been taught for 1,000 years that telling people about Salem = betrayal/people trying to kill him, but he likewise learns that not telling people about Salem = an extraordinary time of peace. That’s conditioning at its finest. Telling people continually hurts me and ultimately puts others in danger by giving Salem more power in the form of information or followers. Not telling people has allowed me to build my schools, train students to protect themselves from the literal monsters in our backyards, and keep Salem from making any significant headway. All the Ethics 101 claims of, “But keeping secrets is bad” isn’t going to compete with that. Unless you’re a character in a fairy tale (the very thing RWBY is deconstructing) then you’re never going to choose an idealistic claim over actual results. 

[gritsandbrits]

I talk a lot about Jo and Kendrix but I don't really talk about my other B10 & Cartoon Network OCs so here they are!

Slight T.W. for attempted suicide

Ginger T. Glass: A Gullah-Geechee Earth elemental from South Carolina. During the original 2005 series of Ben 10, she and her friend Patti were a pop duo who mainly used their powers for effects at their concerts. Later on they decide to become superheroes after having grown fed up with being in the public spotlight and was inspired by Jo to use their powers to help people. Ginger is very refined but also has a fragility to her. She can shatter windows, use glass shards as defensive weapons, and create some sort of stain glass shields. She can also manipulate sand, which is a stronger skill as she's basically harnessing unrefined glass. In terms of singing she is a soprano. Her name is a pun on ginger tea and tea glass.

Pattibelle: Jo's cousin and Ginger's best friend, and a fire elemental. She's the loud and obnoxious type and always flirts with guys. She has an interest in motorcycles and racing, and always finds the time to flaunt and show off. She thinks Ben is ugly and very overrated which is why she always try to upstage him. But during her stint as a superhero she learns to take it more seriously and starts to realise her own potential in being a role model. In terms of singing she's an alto. Her name comes from OUR QUEEN PATTIE LA BELLE!!

Emily Lewis and Alessandro Clarke: Two reptilian folks who are possibly descended from dragons and might be of Celtic descent, they oppose the Forever Knights and make sure that magical artifacts don't fall under their or anyone else's hands. Emily is kinda a mither figure to Kai Green and Sandy works as a street magician (using fake magic so his real magic wouldn't be traced). They initially showed up as seemingly potential antagonists but it's revealed that they're actually good people simply pissed off at their kind being exploited by greedy assholes. Sandy is sleek, sardonic, and wily, and has long whitish/blond hair and gold eyes. Emily is more serious minded and motherly, and has auburn hair and ruby eyes. Haven't made designs for them yet but their real forms are reptilian, with Sandy's form more snakelike and Emily's being an alligator. Named after Lewis and Clark (whom Emily doesn't even like lol). Kinda good friends of Jo's since they all bonded over being outcasts.

Azura: A geeky yet very snarky intern working. for the Saturdays. She's Afro-Latina and wears a lot of blues to compliment the Satrudays' iconic orange outfirs. She has a crush on Doyle but had been burned once by an ex and so she refused to make her feelings known. At first she was scared of cryptids but came to love them. Usually keeps tabs on public sightings of cryptids without actually tracking them down herself.

Gospelle: A shy African American woman desperately seeking a purpose in life who can really belt out a tune. One day she was singing to herself which ends up attracting the attention of resident God of Rock Valhallen. She doesn't like the attention at first but decides to give it a chance and pursued a singing career, and later kinda gets a crush on him. But she wants their relationship to involve other things and not because she has a beautiful voice. She's kinda based on Storm, and is petite and has long hair.

C.J.: Not the same character as the cloud, her name is short for Columbia Junior. She's Lady Columbia basically and Major Glory's younger sister. She's far more mature than her brother and hates how overprotective he is so she tries to prove her own strength. She's a pastiche of Wonder Woman only if Wondy speaks in a typical Valley Girl accent. She isn't interested in settling down so stop asking if she has a boyfriend Uncle Sam.

Jill: The Japanese-American/Scottish descendant of Samurai Jack she is kinda irresponsible and lazy but ended up inheriting his sword anyways. Since Jack is obviously long gone he appears as a spirit and tries to mentor his wayward successor. Jill originally lived in Townsville before leaving for another city and became CJ's roommate. She's also best pals with the Krunk and established to be aroace. She's based on Sailor Moon. Also one of her older relatives (possibly a grand or great grandparent) is related to THE SCOTSMAN however she doesn't particularly obsess over culture and lineage and wants to do her own thing.

Princess Ashi: SHE'S NOT ASHI but named after her. She was Jack's daughter and started a school for aspiring swordsmen. Her mother was the noblewoman. Jill's Japanese side of the family can be traced back from her I'd like to think one of her later descendants married into the Scotsman's family.

The Noblewoman: Her name is a placeholder but she Jack's technically second wife and Princess Ashi's mother. She came from a noble family who was slaughtered and taken over by a rival clan. Filled with despair she attempted suicide but Jack intervened. It is through her travels her mental health improved and she gained the strength to take back her family lands. Her story goes along with the message of dealing with grief and healing as well as evil doesn't have to come from magical deities. Sometimes humanity is capable of evil without science or magic. Also no she's not a reincarnated Ashi or anything as bringing her back would make her sacrifice pointless imo.

Arusi: The Xiaolin Dragon of Darkness/Shadows, she's a goth girl from East Africa who started out as a street performing puppet master who was scouted out by a monk. She didn't want to leave her town but her grandmother convinced her under the wish of giving her a better opportunity. So Arusi studied to the temple in Northern Africa and trained and later moved to the temple in China to join the canon young monks. She's the foil for Chase's apprentice Shadow and Raimundo's love interest. Arusi is tall and wispy, has deep brown skin and very short hair. She tends to wear long black dresses and simple yet intricate jewellery.

Cleo: An outgoing, headstrong and sassy girl, she has the power to activate cat based Egyptian armor but with the downsides of turning into a cat at random times. I want Irwin to have a tried and true friend as well as someone to match the Egyptian powers/motif without a love interest attachment. Also one of the few people to not be scared of Mandy, mainly because she doesn't care what she nor anyone else thinks of her. However Cleo can be too rebellious. Cleo is agile, has dark olive to light brown skin, black hair in a bobcut, and always wears her necklace in case she needed to transform.

Those are all my OCs for now. I just give them backstory and personality as I go along! 😂

[zerolympiustrife]

Yandere story with Weiss?

This one’s gonna be a rather difficult one. But I’ll at least attempt to give it a shot.

————————————————————

Anonymous asks: The Yandere Ice Queen and the Dorky Knight (RWBY)

————————————————————

*Weiss starts muttering to herself incoherently, until she hears a conversation from down the hall*

Student 1: Hey, have you heard?

Student 2: No, what?

Student 1: Team CRDL’s dead.

Student 2: Huh?! How?!?

Student 1: They were literally turned into ice sculptures. And not as in a big block of ice, I mean, it’s like, you know the story about this woman with living snakes in place of her hair, and anybody who looks at her would be turned into stone?

Student 2: So…kinda like that?

Student 1: Yep. After they were turned into sculptures, they were tossed into a giant fireplace where they melted.

Student 2 (scared): J-Jeez! I sure wouldn’t want to invoke the ire of the person who did this to Team CRDL…

Weiss (quietly): As long as you stay far, far, FAR AWAY from my knight, I won’t make your death look like an accident… *Walks away*

*3 hours later…*

*At a comic book shop, Jaune’s trying to buy something, and Weiss, who’s disguising herself, is staring at him*

Weiss (fawning): *sigh…* I was such an idiot…to not give that tall, dark, and handsome knight a chance~…

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: Sorry, pal. We stopped selling these issues after poor sales.

Jaune (baffled): What?!? That’s BS! You literally have them on display!

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: Alright, let me rephrase that: I ain’t selling them to some damn nobody.

*Weiss’ eyes widened, glares at the shopkeeper*

Jaune: What do you mean by that?! C’mon, I just need this one issue to complete my collection, and that’s it! I will literally hand over all my money!

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: Not for sale.

Jaune (getting angry): You son of a- *The shopkeeper pulls out a gun and points it to his head*

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: I would advise you to get the hell out of here.

*Jaune sighs angrily to himself, and walks out of the store*

Weiss (glaring at the shopkeeper): …That does it. *Takes off her disguise* Hello, sir!

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: W-What the? Hey! Aren’t you…that Weiss Schnee girl?

Weiss (smiling): Yes! I’m surprised you’ve heard of me!

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: I-I’m a huge fan of you! C-Can I ask you out on a date?

Weiss (gritting her teeth): I’ve got something better! Is there a private room in this shop or something?

Obnoxious Shopkeeper: Y-Yeah! Right this way! *Opens a door*

Weiss (internally): Excellent…

*3 hours later…*

Jaune (shocked): I’m sorry, WHAT?!?

Sun: Remember that shopkeeper that treated you like trash the other day and three hours ago?

Neptune: He’s dead.

Jaune (scared): H-How…?

Sun: Decapitation.

Neptune: And his head was put on display.

Jaune (shaking): Oh, man…did the police at least find out who did this?

Sun (shaking his head): Nope. Apparently, any witnesses nearby were murdered as well.

Neptune: Not to mention that the security cameras were immediately destroyed as well.

Jaune (more scared): I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight…

*2 hours later…*

*Weiss is happily humming to herself*

Yang: What’s up, Princess?

Weiss: Oh…nothing much~.

Yang: I heard you’ve been getting closer to vomit boy.

Weiss: What makes you say that?

Yang: Yesterday, you demanded - and outright PAID - Jaune to take you on a date, asked him to give you his hoodie for you to wear, and lastly, I heard you screaming at your father over the scroll because he didn’t approve of you dating a “lowly peasant”.

Weiss (glaring at her): Don’t try to stop me. Are you going to stop me?

Yang (backing away): Woah, woah, woah! Calm down, Ice Queen! I’m not gonna steal vomit boy away from you!

Weiss (smiling happily): Ah, good~! *Under her breath* I won’t have to kill you then…

Yang (concerned): Huh?

Weiss: Nothing~! Now, have you seen Jaune anywhere?

Yang: Last thing I heard, he was out walking with Pyrrha or something.

Weiss (eyes twitching): I-Is that so…? W-What are they doing?

Yang (shrugging): I dunno, probably out on a date or something.

*Weiss gives her a very murderous glare*

Yang (backing away): Hey! I was just joking!

Weiss (still glaring): Don’t ever joke about that ever again. *Leaves*

Yang (taking a deep breath): Sheesh…that girl, I swear…better warn Ruby and Blake to stay far away from vomit boy.

*4 hours later…*

*The entirety of Beacon Academy has turned into an ice castle*

Jaune (keeping his balance): W-Woah!! How the hell did it get this cold all of a sudden?! Also, where in the world did everybody go?

*Jaune attempts to open a door, but not only is the doorknob gone, but the entire door is tightly shut*

Jaune (pushing the door): Rrgh! Come ON! Open! Open, you stupid- *Does a shoulder charge, but the door doesn’t budge* Agh…who could’ve done this?

*Jaune suddenly starts hearing heavy breathing*

Jaune (shaking): Agh! W-Where’s that coming from?!

*Weiss appears down the hallway, who’s wearing Jaune’s onesie, with a very big, evil smile*

Jaune: W-W-Weiss…?

*Weiss uses her semblance to reach up to Jaune*

Jaune (freaking out): Wah!

Weiss (panting heavily): There…you…are…

Jaune (shaking): Um…

*Weiss places her hands underneath his hoodie*

Weiss: Mmm~…you’re warm~…your hoodie and onesie are really something…

Jaune (nervously): Um…th-thank you?

Weiss (eyes turn empty): Let’s cuddle.

Jaune: What?

Weiss (angrily): Strip. NOW.

Jaune: Are you crazy?! It’s cold as hell right now! I’m not taking off my clothes in an environment that’s freakin’ cold right now.

Weiss (smiling): Hm~…You have a point~. Let’s go cuddle in my room instead~. Hold my hand~.

Jaune (obliges): O-Okay…by the way, do you know where everybody went?

Weiss (smirking): Oh…worry not, Jaunathon…they’re fine…everyone’s fine…everyone’s asleep…everyone…

*Flash cut to Team RBY, NPR, and every single student and teacher, who are all turned into ice sculptures, are placed outside on the field*

Weiss (under her breath): …Will die by sunrise.