#the evil dead. they didn’t seem to recognize it. i can barely claim anything more than recognizing it

[nobody-knose--archive]

i seem to have this tendency irl pertaining to talking about media. wherein every time anything like tv, movies, music, et cetera is brought up i’m sure to have something to contribute to the topic, but it isn’t ever something that i actually care about. it’ll be something i’m capable of talking about & don’t feel negatively towards & that’s it, not an actual interest of mine, not something i give thought to, not something i have major feelings towards, so on, so forth

[drxwsyni]

show me heaven, take me to hell︱okkotsu yuuta x f!reader

“Going so long ensuring that you wanted him and nobody else ended up having adverse effects, all this time spent putting you first had turned him selfish, and he didn’t quite care anymore. He needs you—all of you, anything less for any longer and he might just go mad.” a/n: this is my part for @seita’s corrupt-a-virgin collab! i was really excited to write a fic with this prompt, and this collab was super fun so pls go check out the other writers involved!!! words: 3.7k warnings: ALL CHARACTERS AGED UP 18+, noncon, somnophilia, virginity loss, rough-ish sex, oral (f. receiving), fingering, choking for a quick moment, creampie, a little praise, heavy stalking & obsessive behaviour, gen. yandere themes

Yuuta liked to think he had control over his emotions—but peering down at you, he knew that was far from the truth. How those emotions manifested was what he could control, because if it weren’t for the steely expression cemented into his face, he’d be sure you’d know of all the debased things running rampant throughout his mind.

And yet, he doesn’t fear the falter in his masquerade right now.

You’re fast asleep, none the wiser to the looming figure of your boyfriend, locked onto the way your chest slowly rises and falls in a rhythmic manner. How his eyes nearly gloss over as they travel down the curves of your body, half exposed as you’ve only pulled the sheets up to settle around your waist.

Yuuta reminds himself to breathe, exhaling a little too shakily, wondering to himself how he’s made it this far. He was a damn good actor, and he knows that fact currently stood as the only thing that’s gotten him to where he is today.

If he thinks back, it’s hard to even find one moment out of all the time he’s spent with you in which he’d shown you his genuine self. Hell, the very first time you spoke to him wasn’t even honest. He remembers asking you your name after introducing himself, lying through his teeth because he already knew what your name was. Yuuta knew what rank you were (well below his), your cursed technique (too weak to really protect yourself), how long you’d been working alongside Gojo (two weeks―starting the day after Yuuta had gone overseas). But he still asked, enamoured with the way you bashfully looked down at your feet when he praised you for being able to put up with the white haired sorcerer so far.

Another lie―how he claimed he’d love to team up with you and show you around, when it was just to keep you as far from any real danger as possible.

But you didn’t know that, going along with each and every falsehood that left his mouth. Lie after lie, he’d draw on the knowledge of you he’d spent months gathering, gradually molding his character into whichever form earned those soft little gifts of affection. Becoming the person you wanted, the person you needed, slowly until you recognized him as someone special. Yuuta did everything right—only to be completely overwhelmed now that he had you alone.

Because of course suppressing himself wouldn’t work out in the long run. Burying the desire that felt goddamn near insatiable, ignoring the feeling of it festering, growing into something ugly and uncontrollable—the kind of thing he saw in others, and exactly what he was trying to protect you from. But Yuuta wouldn’t let himself believe that what you really needed protecting from was him, even though standing over you now, proof of that reality was finally beginning to surface.

Just for a second, maybe not even that, it crossed his mind—just a taste couldn’t hurt, right?

The bound passion he could never let see the light of day unraveled in the dead of night. You were just so tempting, blissfully unaware of the danger towering over you, a vulnerability that tore away at the seams of his self control.

Yuuta felt the first thread snap, a barely there fracture to spur his irreversible descent into self-destruction.

Moving without really even thinking of any future consequences, long fingers that were calloused from battle and endless training reached to where the sheets atop you rested. White, silken and gleaming under the moonlight, he carefully, calculatedly pulled them down your body. Letting it pool at the foot of the bed, he slowly appraised your sleeping form.

An almost inaudible curse left him, whispered under his breath—he didn’t even notice the way your sleeping shorts were discarded onto the floor before peeling back the sheets, but he couldn’t miss it now. Maybe...you wanted him to find you like this?

No...he knew you weren’t that daring. The two of you might be dating, but all those past insistences of not wanting to move too fast, dancing around intimacy like it was the bane of all evil alone told him that this naivety was genuine.

There was that, and the fact that you were staying in his guest bedroom. Too shy to sleep in the same bed, how cute. He was all too understanding just a few hours ago, leaving you for the night and planning on retiring to his room. Only he was drawn right back to where you lay, realizing it was yet another subconscious lie to tell you he was fine with taking things slow, giving you your space.

He wasn’t even supposed to be in this room—there was absolutely no way you planned on Yuuta finding you like this.

A voice in the back of his head warns him, tugging at his subconscious to leave you be. Yuuta ignores it for the first time, crossing a new boundary, knowing that it won’t be the last.

You’re sprawled on your back with the hem of your oversized shirt riding up just a little.

A little too much, he thinks, eyes travelling lower and lower until they land on the lace trim of your panties. Thin, adorned with a small bow at the top. His fingers itch, wanting to feel the fabric for himself, likely soft in comparison to his rough hands.

Yuuta props one knee up onto the bed, the mattress sinking slightly with his weight. With one more glance, just to make completely sure you’re still fast asleep, he allows his fingers to trace up the inside of your leg. Gliding along your calf, then meeting the soft plush of your thigh. Your muscles don’t even twitch, unmoving as his hand gradually creeps higher, higher, higher.

All he needs is to be closer, something to tide him over until you’re willing to let him in. He wants to know just what it feels like to have you under him, little weaknesses you hold that nobody else knows of.

Just a taste, he reminds himself.

Yuuta peers down at you, relieved and on edge at the same time when the tips of his fingers brush against the cotton fabric of your panties. Ever so lightly, his ring finger dips lower, gently pressing against your clothed slit.

The heat between your thighs makes him shiver, warmth pulling him in impossibly closer. Your legs are spread just enough for Yuuta’s hand to fit perfectly in between them, almost invitingly so. He feels like all of his nerves are standing on end, vibrating as just the simplest touch has such a large effect on him.

It’s a familiar feeling, despite always looking at ease, he frequently had to mask these turbulent emotions inside him so that he didn’t scare you away, just as so many others did. This new sensation, not having to worry about constant control, it was unimaginably refreshing. He didn’t want it to end.

You don’t seem to be stirred in the slightest, which is good, because he’s not quite satisfied. The both of you did have a tiring day to be fair—now making you a heavy sleeper. Yuuta deems it a saving grace, curiosity unquelled in wanting to know how far he could push his luck.

That same singular finger travels along the dainty fabric, gently dragging up your folds until stopping at your clit. Experimentally pressing into it, Yuuta spots the way your brows just barely draw together for a moment. The sound of your breathing meets his ears, turned airy as your lips part when he begins rubbing back and forth, a light friction that makes your sensitive, untouched body react unconsciously as you continue to sleep.

Yuuta thinks for a second of how you touch yourself when you’re alone—if you do as he is now, teasing your clit, making you squirm at the light stimulation. You’re not waking up, but your body is still reactive even in this state. With how your panties hug the curves of your body, how he presses them into your heat, it’s not hard to see the small patch of your arousal already leaking through.

It’s cute, you’re so much more honest when you’re asleep.

An idea strikes him, coming more as an intrusive thought than anything helpful, but it’s dangerously enticing nonetheless—if he could make you cum without waking you up. Earn a glimpse of what he hoped you’d let him see eventually.

You look like you want it, chest rising and falling a little heavier, and when he pointedly nudges your clit with the smallest increase in force, your breath hitches.

It would be cruel to leave you like this—Yuuta isn’t a cruel man.

He’s doing this for you now, not himself. It’s repeated in his head, words reassuring as he slinks onto the bed. His grip is delicate, pushing your thighs apart a tad bit more, just enough to make room to lower himself between them.

Eye level with your heat, the scent of your arousal washes over him. He can’t help but place a few ghosted kisses on your inner thighs, a quick nip at the supple skin that leads to a trail of the same before his lips hover over the seat of your panties.

Through long lashes, he focuses on your face, almost shuddering with you as his tongue comes into contact with the patch of wetness, dampness growing as he licks a slow strip up over the cloth. Yuuta repeats the action—once, twice, three times, then loses count. His movements are slow, soft and steady, taking what he can get but soon becoming frustrated with the barrier in his way.

The hands placed on your thighs twitch, and it only seems logical that if he wants to finish what he started, he needs to make things a little easier for himself. An unnatural strength imbued with cursed energy flows through his palms. He’s eager, doing it without thinking, not realizing the force he puts behind his actions until the seams of your panties tear with almost no resistance.

Yuuta’s eyes widen slightly, because his plan was to merely push the fabric aside. But that problem can wait, especially when he can’t.

The offending fabric is casted aside, and Yuuta knows he wants to take his time. Testing the waters, his thumbs come up to spread apart your soaked folds, taking in the way your hole clenches around nothing as he gently blows cold air against it.

He’s not shocked to find your muscles twitching so easily now, reacting to every little thing he does. Not shocked, but it does make him greedy. It makes him want to abandon caution entirely. Taking his time turns out to be a lot easier said than done—when his tongue places a few kitten licks onto your clit, the near sinful whimper that escapes you has his lips latching on and sucking instead.

You’re always so quick to flee from him, Yuuta can barely get a lasting kiss in before you push him away. To hear that leave your mouth, intentional or not, it’s dangerous. He’s starved for intimacy, starting to lose sight on why he’s worked so hard to become close with you, drowning in the thoughts of why he instead wants to rip that safety he provides from you entirely just to see the things you keep hidden from him and everyone else.

There’s his own personal heat building, hips grinding into the mattress now and then to relieve the ache you don’t even know you’re causing in him so quickly. It doesn’t do much, if anything it only makes his resolve weaken, low groans making their way up his throat and sending soft vibrations onto your sensitive nub.

His tongue darts back out, flattening as your hips buck against his face, trying to gain more friction.

And all it tells him is that you want this—just as much as he does. You’ve never told him, but you don’t need to. Your body speaks for itself.

The wet muscle pushes past your entrance, Yuuta’s nose bumping your clit every time his head jerks when his tongue curls against your walls. From how your body tenses, the feeling unmistakable under his large hands, he can tell you’re getting close.

All the breathy sighs and whines leaving you, the overwhelming taste of you on his tongue and in his mouth, it clouds his judgment more and more as each second passes.

Yuuta forgets about the hard work he’s put in to keep you safe, to make sure you ended up choosing him over everyone else. You’re intoxicating, and he can’t get enough. There’s no such thing as just a taste, not when he’s stopped trying to hold back and instead starts trying to devour you.

You deserve more, he thinks, coating his ring finger with your slick, teasingly swirling it around your entrance before letting it sink into your heated pussy. It reaches far deeper than his tongue, and with a few thrusts, curling his finger inside you, Yuuta finds what he’s searching for as you tense hard around the slender digit. His mouth returns to your clit, sucking and flicking it with the tip of his tongue.

Yet no matter what he does, it’s still not enough. He wants to watch you finally fall apart, wants you to stop pushing him away.

And he realizes, it’s not a want, but a need. One that can’t be satisfied as easily as he thought when he first removed the sheets from your unsuspecting body. Going so long ensuring that you wanted him and nobody else ended up having adverse effects, all this time spent putting you first had turned him selfish, and he didn’t quite care anymore.

He needs you—all of you, anything less for any longer and he might just go mad.

Yuuta can’t think straight to save his life, he’s hooked on the way your body shakes beneath him, adding another finger pumping in and out of you, groaning against your clit as he desperately ruts against the bed.

You’re responding so well, it only confuses him more as to why you haven’t let him take care of you sooner, as clearly you needed him like this. He can practically hear his name fall from your lips, airy and begging him for more.

His eyes are screwed shut, and yours are open.

“Ahh—Yuuta...wh—ngh”

Those calloused fingers know just how to make you shake in pleasure, not relenting as you suddenly cum around them. He feels your swollen clit throb, over and over against his tongue.

When you start to convulse, near pained whimpers leaving you, he finally stops.

He’s frozen for a moment, your full awareness dawning on him.

A sheen of sweat clings to you, chest heaving, heartbeat going a mile a minute and hammering against your ribcage. You were falling back down from the high that made you see stars, the closer to reality you got, the more you understood what had happened.

The fear would hit you first, and it’d be fast—you’d scream, fight, try to leave him.

Yuuta knew this, he knew you, and so he moved faster.

Before you could make another sound, panic rising in your throat, a firm hand clamps over your mouth.

And god, you look fucking terrified. Both hands flying up to push him away, nails biting into his wrist while tears begin to well in your eyes. Irises swirling with fear, confusion, betrayal.

It should make him feel guilty, it does—but it’s not enough to stop him from wanting to make it worse.

His palm stays cemented over your mouth, muffling your cries. “Shhh, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

It’s not, all your squirming does is grind against his aching cock. And he’s so far gone that he might as well go further—he doesn’t even try to stop you. The hand over your mouth pins you down well enough, your body so much weaker compared to his.

“M’sorry, just—fuck…”

You’re not calming down, struggling harder with each second that goes by while Yuuta fights to hold you still.

“It’s alright, baby, you’re okay.” With everything running through his mind, the only thing consistent and true is that he has to be inside you. 

His free hand grips the waistband of his sweats and boxers, hastily pulling them both down at the same time. He hisses when the cold air of the room meets his cock, slapping against his abdomen. He’s already in between your legs, and you’re still trying to get away, hips lifting off the sheets as your legs helplessly kick. Your movements are uncalculated, frantic—it’s an accident when his cock brushes against your heat.

You squeal at the contact, but there’s nothing you can do to stop him from rutting against you, length sliding between your folds and coating him in your slick. A slight shudder runs through you as the tip of his cock catches on your puffy clit, repeatedly nudging it with each thrust.

It’s not enough. Not before, not now, he can’t seem to satisfy whatever want inside him has broken loose, and you’re forced to deal with it all because he couldn’t keep himself in check.

“Just relax, okay? Gonna make you feel good...promise you—”

Yuuta practically chokes on his words, lining himself up with your entrance, unable to stop his hips from pushing himself inside you all in one go. Blood rushing behind his ears drowns out the sound of your whimpers, lost in the way you keep sucking him back in when he goes to pull out. So goddamn tight—Yuuta’s glad he’s made sure he was the first to get to you, despite the circumstances.

He’s a mess, you’re a mess, it’s sloppy and it’s perfect, because the quick back and forth of his hips goes so deep that he’s grinding against your clit with each thrust. Your whines are in tandem with his movements, pain mixing with the building warmth spreading throughout you.

The body draped over yours is so much larger, broad shoulders blocking out the moonlight as Yuuta keeps himself propped up above you with a hand beside your head. The one over your mouth disappears, lightly wrapping around your throat for better purchase instead.

It’s too easy to lose himself now, letting his guard down—and you jump at the chance.

There’s a shove to his chest, and then he’s being kicked down the bed. The door is on the adjacent side of the room and so to make quick time you scramble across the bed sheets. Of course, a hand too cold clamps around your ankle, and it feels like he’s about to crush the bone beneath when Yuuta drags you back.

All your pleas go ignored, and he’s suffocating as your body is pinned against the bed by his own.

A lanky yet toned arm snakes around your waist, lifting your hips to meet his. “Just a bit—” there’s a pause, groaning as he drives his cock right back into your pussy, “—bit longer…”

Yuuta hasn’t completely forgotten why he decided to take things this far, his free hand reaching down to toy with your clit. With the new angle, his cockhead hits that soft, spongy patch that has your walls fluttering around his length.

Your fighting spirit diminishes more and more, not much strength to begin with in how you were woken up, only worsened by the way the coil in your stomach keeps tightening. When you go to shove the arm wrapped around your body, it’s not genuine, not completely at least. You’re overwhelmed just as much as him, and letting it happen doesn’t seem all that bad.

Slick is dripping down your thighs, the sounds of skin slapping against skin echoing throughout the room alongside his grunts and your airy moans.

There’s a shake in your body, legs unable to keep themselves up as your voice breaks through the noise. “Yuuta...p-please…”

It doesn’t matter what it is you’re begging for exactly, but he tries to console you anyways. “I’m right here, baby. Just let go for me…”

The pads of his fingers press harder circles around your clit as the cant of his hips picks up.

You’re reaching your end, unmistakable in the way you tighten around his length, your muscles contracting and releasing. Yuuta is right behind you, thrusts growing erratic, barely pulling halfway out before sinking in again.

“Ah—that’s it, cum for me, good girl—”

There’s a moment where you go quiet, body locking up and mouth opening into a silent scream. It’s enough to have Yuuta’s body reacting much the same, a harsh ‘fuck’ leaving his lips before painting your walls white. There’s no thought to pull out, just that he wants to relax with you in his arms.

You’re trembling, aftershocks washing over you in waves, especially when he slowly drags his cock out and past your g-spot before leaving you empty.

Yuuta finally releases you from his hold, watching as you slump pitifully into the mattress. There’s a trail of his cum leaking down your slit, a little pool of it forming on the sheets. You look absolutely ruined, face turned and smushed against the bed—he can see the tears heavily wetting your cheeks, mouth agape as your chest heaves.

And he just...stares. Somewhat out of breath himself, hunched over, unmoving otherwise while realization crashes down on him.

You’d never forgive him, you’ll leave the second you get the chance. What Yuuta’s done to you is irreversible.

...As far as you know.

It’s always been like this, he thinks. Yuuta keeps you endlessly in the dark, meticulous pre-planning to make sure you’re protected always. And so he steps away, tucks himself back into his boxers, pulling up his sweats and grabs his phone. It looks like you’ve pretty much fallen asleep, which makes his job easier.

Plan A through Z, Yuuta has something to fall back on no matter what.

The screen illuminates his face, fingers swiping until Inumaki’s contact shines back at him. The cursed speech user owes him a favour, and there’s no time more perfect in Yuuta’s mind than now to cash it in.

A deep sigh from him sounds throughout the room—you won’t remember this happened, none of it. Yuuta will clean you up before Inumaki arrives, use reverse cursed technique to handle any wounds you may have, and then he’ll have his friend make you forget anything past going to bed.

While he still wants to keep you safe, keep you pure—it’s no longer for the same reasons. 

Darkened eyes land on your weakened form, and Yuuta knows this won’t be enough for him. You’ll push him away, he’ll get impatient...the rest is predictable, to say the least.

His message sends, phone turning black. 

Somehow, he’ll need to find a way to earn more favours.

[alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer]

all gone, all gone, all gone

part 5: i gotta get away from myself, i gotta get help

this is the last part before the epilogue! I hope you enjoyed it! i borrowed a few lines from leigh bardugo, i hope she doesn't mind :)

this is mostly resolution, but there is obviously still discussion of a suicide attempt! i would also say there's a bit of implied ableism that's not supported by the story

happy early birthday to @littlx-songbxrd!!!! the thomastair part is for you

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Masterlist | AO3

Cordelia took a deep breath and opened the door.

Will, Sophie, the Consul, and the Inquisitor appeared to be in the middle of their discussion. Solemn expressions rested on their faces, with the exception of Maurice Bridgestock, who appeared utterly disinterested.

The Inquisitor glared when she entered. “You cannot be in here, young lady.”

“You can’t send him away. You can’t send him to the Basilias.”

“That decision is not yours to make, Ms. Herondale,” Maurice said.

“I’m not naive. I know that he needs help. I understand that. But he won’t find it in the Basilias; you know that as well as I. He needs to be here. He needs to be with his family. Barely two days after our father died, Belial went to Alastair and threatened his life. He altered his mind and ordered him to do terrible things. That is fact. What he was doing when Belial sought him out is irrelevant. Acquit him and allow us to handle the rest as a personal matter.”

“When it leads to consorting with a Prince of Hell to carry out acts of evil, it can no longer be considered a personal matter. Your brother is a risk to himself and everyone around him.”

She wanted to scream. Why weren’t the rest of them saying anything? Why would they not defend him? “Please. If it were Matthew, what would you do?”

“Ms. Herondale! That is uncalled for,” Bridgestock scolded. “And you are intruding on a private matter of the Nephilim Council.”

Cordelia continued. “You cannot truly tell me that it is unreasonable to imagine Matthew in a similar situation, if he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see Alastair as a risk because you do not wish to be responsible for him. It is easier for you to send him away, but it will not be easier for him, nor for our family. If you truly care for my family as you claim to-”

“That is enough,” Inquisitor Bridgestock interrupted.

Cordelia wasn’t finished. There was so much more she wished to say. She wanted to ask Will why he and Tessa were so blind to what was truly happening within her family. Why they never asked questions. Why, even after her father’s arrest, they still refused to see it. Why the most there was to offer was Will’s comment about his own father. She wanted to ask him what she should think now, now that her own father was dead, now that the evidence of his harm was laid out before them. Was he merely human? Was that supposed to make any of the irreparable harm he caused not only Alastair, but her, too, any better? Was it supposed to be placating? She even wanted to ask the Consul how she could raise such a callous son, a son who began a relationship with someone who was a child while he was an adult. A son who made her brother feel undeserving of anything good. As she attempted to collect her thoughts, it no longer became necessary.

“She’s right,” Sophie said. “Alastair made a mistake, but it was made under horrible, bizarre circumstances. Irreplicable circumstances, most likely. Anything he did that is punishable by Nephilim law was done under magical control by Belial. The best place for him to recover is with his family.”

“I find it very irresponsible-” Bridgestock continued, but Sophie interrupted.

“He will be taken off of active duties until he is deemed both physically and mentally ready to return to them. I could meet with him each week, assess how he is doing and how much of a risk he is, as Inquisitor Bridgestock put it. Consider it a recompense for my indiscretion.”

Will was oddly silent, something Cordelia hadn’t known he could be before. Finally, the Consul spoke. “I find those terms to be reasonable. Thank you, Sophie. If he agrees to them, I don’t see any reason to send him anywhere but back home.”

The Inquisitor seemed like he was about to object, but Will spoke up, “I agree.”

Cordelia sighed in relief as the Inquisitor backed down. Perhaps, somehow, this story could have a happy ending after all.

* * *

Alastair looked away the moment Thomas entered the infirmary. His memories of the past two weeks were strange, as if someone else had been controlling his body while he merely watched on, while at the same time not. Regardless, he could remember every moment of it. There was no way he could ever look him in the eyes again after all that he’d revealed back in that warehouse, not after looking into his beautiful hazel eyes with the sole intention of crushing him, not after making him weep. Perhaps he’d not been able to raise his blade against Thomas, but he hurt him all the same, and he could never forgive himself for that.

“You look like you’re doing better,” Thomas offered.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I feel very well-rested after my coma.”

Thomas hesitated, then added, “Well, if that’s all it took, why didn’t you try that ages ago?”

Alastair exhaled, glad that he understood his humor, however bleak. “Are you saying I usually look tired?” He bit the inside of his cheek. This was far too close to flirting for comfort.

“No more than the rest of us. Perhaps I should try it next.”

"I have a feeling your mother wouldn't appreciate that." He thought of the terms he agreed to earlier. “Didn’t you hear? She’s meant to counsel me. I’d prefer her in good spirits.”

“True enough.” Thomas hesitated for a moment. “Why won’t you look at me?”

Alastair allowed himself to look up for one brief moment before looking back down. Thomas’ eyes were worried. “I think you know the answer to that.”

“No one blames you for what happened. I certainly don’t.”

He exhaled. “I don’t need your pity, Thomas. I don’t want it. Yours or anyone else’s. You hated me before this whole ordeal and you should still. I’ve done many terrible things, not just those under Belial’s influence. I deserve your disdain. The only reason you look at me differently now, the only reason any of you have given me a second glance is because you can finally see me for what I am: broken. So don’t come here offering me your pity and your kindness and your support when all you truly see me as is something to fix. I apologize for everything I’ve done, for all the ways I’ve hurt you, directly or not. Let us leave it at that. I know what I said in the warehouse, but-”

“You don’t need saving. You never did,” Thomas finished for him. “I know you feel vulnerable and exposed right now. You clung to this visage of cruelty and unfeeling as protection. Words were your armor, but it's fragile stuff, all show. It’s not what you’re made of. What’s underneath it, that’s adamas. Tougher than diamond, rare and beautiful, brave and resilient, utterly unbreakable. And it doesn’t need fixing.

“I know we’ve both made mistakes. I know you need time to heal. But I… I care for you, Alastair. I have for a long time, even when I was trying so hard to deny it. I don’t know which parts of the things you said were truthful and which were lies and I don’t need to. All I need to know is whether or not you’ll take me as your friend. Perhaps, one day, if we both so desire it, something more, but for now, I can think of nothing I want more than to be your friend.”

Alastair only nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Thomas reached then, slowly, to cup his cheeks in his hands, giving him the opportunity to pull away if he wanted to. He did not. For a moment, he thought Thomas was going to lean in to kiss him, despite his insistence a few moments earlier that for the time being they would only be friends. Instead, he gently pulled Alastair’s head towards his chest, wrapping his arms firmly around him, strong and steady. In that moment, Alastair knew only one thing with complete certainty: he never wanted Thomas to let go.

* * *

Alastair didn’t know how long Thomas stayed, but at some point he fell asleep, and when he woke, Thomas was gone. He felt a pang in his chest at the realization. He selfishly, dangerously wanted him back beside him. He noticed a book beside his bed that he was certain was not there before. He opened it and found a short note inside. He recognized the handwriting before reading the signature: it was from Thomas. Alastair despised the warmth in his chest when he realized this, but mainly because he feared it.

I don’t know if you like poetry, but I enjoyed these. They comforted me when I felt alone, and I thought perhaps they could keep you company while you’re in the infirmary. -Tom

Flipping through it, he could see that it was a collection of poems, most in Farsi but a few in Arabic as well. He was certain he’d mocked Cordelia for reading the same poems at some point, back when he believed love to be cold and pointless. Perhaps what he believed was love was never truly love at all. Perhaps now he could attempt to find out.

He shut the book as he heard the door to the infirmary open. Sophie Lightwood appeared.

“Hello, Alastair. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” He shook his head. “Good. I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. That was entirely inappropriate of me.”

“It’s alright. You needed to know. You needed to be sure. I would have done the same thing.”

“I- That doesn’t make it right, but thank you for understanding.” She paused. “I thought it would be helpful to discuss our arrangement, as well as what you plan to tell your mother about what’s happened.”

Alastair had expected the first part, but his mother? “What?”

“I suspect you’ve not told her the truth, have you? Do you plan to?”

“I-” he swallowed anxiously. “Cordelia told her I got sent out of town.”

“Alastair, you’re not in any trouble. What you choose to tell her and not tell her is not mine to judge. I simply believe it would be helpful to be prepared.”

“We’re- we’re not supposed to cause her any extra stress because of the baby.”

“Do you wish to tell her the truth?”

He thought for a moment. “I don’t want any more secrets.” He had enough of them to contend with.

“I think that’s wise. Your mother is strong, and so is the baby. If telling her the truth will help you, it will help her. I believe that more than anything, she wishes to know that you’re okay. There is just as much stress in secrecy as there is in truth.”

He thought for a moment. “How am I meant to explain this to her?” His voice broke as he spoke.

She considered it, sat down, and considered it some more. “I don’t know.”

“Why are you helping me? And don’t tell me it’s because you asked a single question during my interrogation.”

There was silence for a moment. “Alastair, Shadowhunters are people of scars. Many of them are sustained in battle, but not all of them are. Perhaps not even most. The way I see it, there are three types of people. There are those who see battle scars as the only true sign of wound, such as the Inquisitor. All else is merely a weakness in constitution. It is that belief that is built into Nephilim society, and it is the view that most hold.

“There are also those who understand that other types of scars exist, ones that are sustained at home, but they do not know that hurt personally, and they do not truly understand it. I see people like Will falling into this category.

“Finally, there are those of us who are not haunted by demons because we know that there is so much more to fear. We know that scars sustained outside of battle, both physical and not, often run much deeper than that of a demon’s claw. Those wounds cannot be healed by runes or magic. You cannot do it alone. I don’t know how much you know about my past, but when Charlotte found me, I was broken and alone. The Silent Brothers healed me physically, but the rest took time and support. It took many people who refused to turn their back on me, and I will not turn my back on you.”

“I… I don’t deserve it,” was all he could think to respond.

“Perhaps it is not something deserved, then, but simply something given.”

“In school, I spread terrible rumors about you, your husband, the Consul… I said-”

“I don’t care. Whatever you said, it doesn’t matter. I am an adult, Alastair. Whatever lies you repeated as a child don’t bother me. Your past doesn’t define you. It merely gives you a chance to be better, to learn.”

Alastair didn’t respond. He’d never thought of it from that perspective.

“I should go. You need time to rest. But consider what I’ve said, alright? I’ll be in touch again and we can arrange times to meet, perhaps over tea.”

He nodded. “Thank you.” He hadn’t meant to say it, he wasn’t even entirely certain what he was grateful for, but he knew the words were true.

She gave him a small smile. “Take care, Alastair.”

thanks so much for reading! taglist: @jem-nasium @littlx-songbxrd @fortheloveofthecarstairs @cant-think-of-anything @shadowrunner2000 @writeforjordelia @jurdan-my-beloved

[impalementation]

Do you think the trio were good as villains? (As foils, as obstacles etc) I know people tend to dislike them in general

Anonymous asked:

Why do you think “the trio” make sense as the antagonist of season 6?

i’m combining these two asks together, since they’re both about the trio.

i love the trio as villains. they might even be my favorite villains in the whole show. angelus and glory are both classic, and easily my favorites after, but the trio just get under my skin—much like season six in general—in a way those classic villains don’t. adding a cut for length.

i think a lot of what i like about them was covered in these two excellent posts by @comradesummers, so i’ll probably end up repeating some of what she said. i’ve also talked about the trio before myself, so there’s a good chance i’m repeating my own past posts as well.

but to put things in my own, new words. the reason i love the trio is because of how many levels they operate on, and how interesting those levels are.

on one level, the mundane nature of the trio and their villainy parallels the depressing, irritating banality of adult, real-life problems that the season spends so much time exploring. it’s very deliberate that after a season in which buffy defeated a god, she finds herself antagonized by a cringey trio of boys her age. the writing emphasizes the lameness of the trio enough times that you know this choice was on purpose.

scenes like:

BUFFY: I'm just saying, all the things that have happened lately? Okay, the, the bank robbery, the jewelry heist... XANDER: The exploding lint. BUFFY: I-is it me, or do these things seem really- ANYA: Lame? BUFFY: (shrugs) Well, I was gonna go with unusual, but, yeah.

or:

DOCTOR: Buffy, you used to create these grand villains to battle against, and now what is it? Just ordinary students you went to high school with. No gods or monsters...just three pathetic little men...who like playing with toys.

the fact that buffy dismisses the trio, but eventually finds herself in danger of them, echoes the way that she struggles to “defeat” the problems of adulthood that she thinks she should be able to handle. as she says in “flooded”:

BUFFY: Okay, it's, it's bills, it's money. It's pieces of paper sent by bureaucrats that we've never even met. It's not like it's the end of the world. (she thinks about that for a moment) Which is too bad, you know, 'cause that, I'm really good at.

the fact that the trio is so “ordinary” and “lame” adds to that season six feeling of having been rudely brought to earth. of the magic of childhood being left behind, and having to deal with problems you can’t build a myth around. there’s just something so real and brilliant to me about how wrong it feels that these are buffy’s antagonists. because of how well it evokes that wrong feeling of: this is what adulthood is? these are the problems i have to deal with? it seems so easy, so why is it so hard?

the second level of the trio relates to the first level, in that they represent the mundane dangers of real-life misogyny. season six is all about making the metaphorical literal (ironically, as a metaphor for how the transition from childhood to adulthood can feel), and so there’s something very fitting that in a show that has spent a lot of time creating horror from metaphorical, supernatural misogyny—it suddenly becomes literal. no more swim team jocks becoming rapacious fish monsters, no more frat boys sacrificing girls to a snake demon, no more vampires cornering victims in dark alleys. and okay, the trio is still doing spells and such. but besides that, everything about them is so normal it becomes disturbing. they are simply boys who feel disempowered in their own lives, and think this entitles them to play with other people, particularly women, because they barely see those women as people in the first place.

there is also something crucial to the fact that the trio are the villains that are most like the writers, and who the writers probably conceived of as their audience. it’s on record that many of the nerd debates that the trio have were lifted directly from debates the writers would have amongst themselves. the writers were also on fan boards, and well aware of the fact that their show was popular with very nerdy people. which means that when they made nerdish avoidance and entitlement a villain in season six, it was another way of bringing the show to earth. by making the trio into some of the show’s mostly subtly, yet acutely, horrifying antagonists there is an implication that: misogyny and wrongdoing is not something that only oafish athletes and distant authorities are capable of. it is something that anyone can be complicit in.

which is also why the third level of the trio, the fact that they act as mirrors of all of the other characters, works so well. because season six is when the show makes some of its most beloved characters do very bad things. the protagonists become aware, just as the audience does, of their potential for complicity in evil. and i think this is a very very important aspect of becoming an adult for the show to capture. to me, becoming an adult means becoming responsible for yourself and your moral choices in a way you aren’t quite, when you’re younger. bad choices are a bit cuter when you’re younger, a bit more forgivable. you’re growing, right? but at a certain point that stops working, and you need to own your choices. and that means being able to recognize that you’re capable of being the villain, so that you can choose differently.

so over the course of season six, all of the characters get tempted by irresponsible and easy ways out. sometimes they give in, and sometimes they don’t. but no matter what, the trio is there to help frame the actions of the protagonists. so for example, while the trio robs banks and steals diamonds, buffy takes a difficult job, and doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity to blackmail the doublemeat palace. or the fact that buffy is giddy at being turned invisible in “gone” is framed as troubling in part because the trio are giddy at the idea of invisibility as well. and of course: willow, spike, and buffy, and how they behave in intimate relationships, all get paralleled with warren and the trio. what tara says to willow in “tabula rasa” for example, is much like what katrina says to the trio in “dead things.” (TARA: “violate my mind like that? how could you willow? how could you after what glory did to me?” WILLOW “violate you? i…i-i didn’t mean anything like that, i-i just wanted us to not fight anymore” / WARREN: “i just, i wanted us to be together” […] KATRINA: “well this is not some fantasy, it’s not a game you freaks! it’s rape” JONATHAN: “what?” ANDREW”: “no..we didn’t…”). or buffy’s “tell me you love me” exchange with spike in “as you were” is almost word for word what warren says to the mindwiped katrina in “dead things.” and of course, there’s the fact that spike and warren both assault the woman that they claim to care about in an attempt to get them back.

does this mean that all of our protagonists are irredeemably evil? of course not. the reason that warren ends the season flayed and burnt alive is because he repeatedly commits to doing the wrong thing. while the scoobies and spike don’t, because as flawed as they are, they still ultimately try to make better decisions. but it doesn’t mean that they’re not capable of harm. and specifically, the kind of harm that comes from not seeing oneself as truly capable of it. spike thinks he doesn’t hurt buffy, willow thinks she’s just trying to fix things, jonathan and andrew think they’re living out a comic book. this is why i also love how the season lulls you into a sense of complacency with the trio. you think the show might be playing their hijinks straight, and validating their less-than-savory plans as funny, until “dead things” pulls the rug out from under the season and shows what the writing has been doing with them all along. that wake-up slap of katrina saying “rape” is like the slap of willow’s breakdown in “wrecked” or xander leaving anya or warren shooting tara, or—and this takes us back to the central metaphor of the season—buffy being brought back from heaven. that slap of “childhood is over, it’s time to be responsible now, and it turns out you’re fucking up at it.”

this honestly is just the surface of what i could talk about with the trio, and it’s already long enough as is. and when a villain has that much thematic richness in it, i just can’t help but love it.

[thekisforkeats]

An Avatar No More (Let All the Broken Pieces Shine, Chapter Three)

Info: The Magnus Archives, D&D AU. JonMartin, more ships to be added. Rated T. Post-Canon. Jon is amab nb and uses they/them, Martin is a trans guy.

CWs: Character death (mentioned), character injury (mentioned), body transformations, birds, sacrifice (sort of, I mean, everyone lives) 

Summary: Jon is a warlock who thinks they're a druid, and they're finally meeting their patron. Well, their original patron, not the nasty Watcher that tricked them into ending the world, that guy's a jerk and we have no truck with him.

Avatar powers or no, Jon will yell at eldritch beings to protect Martin because they need their tea-making poet alive and well, dammit.

——————————————————-

First Chapter Previous Chapter

Jon wakes to a world that looks as if it’s had all the color leached out, all blacks and whites and grays. Martin’s arms are still around them, holding them, but not as tightly as they dimly recall from before.

Martin seems to be asleep, his expression pained and his breathing shallow. He is vibrant despite the lack of color, standing out from his surroundings, almost verging into sepia rather than mere monochrome. Jon, too, seems almost as vibrant though perhaps not quite as much so.

There is a nip of cold in the air, and that by-now familiar feeling of being watched.

Jon slowly disentangles themself from Martin’s grasp, doing their best not to wake the sleeping man. They can see, and that is odd--didn’t Martin stab them in the eye? Eyes? They can barely remember, everything after stepping into the Panopticon is a blur except the conversation with Martin, as though the words were somehow burned into their memory while all other sensations faded during the trip to wherever they are now.

They take a moment, blink slowly, press their hands gently to their eyes. And yes, they have eyes, and there’s no blood on their face, and now that they look there’s no scars on their hands, either. No burn marks on the right hand, no worm scars on either one. Their skin is whole and unblemished.

This bothers them more than, perhaps, it ought.

They sit up and look around to take a greater survey of their surroundings. Jon and Martin are on the balcony of a large fortress set on the edge of a cliff in whatever this strange realm is. The sky above is an inky black, devoid of sun or moon or stars, and the landscape beyond the balcony is bleak: jagged mountains behind and a flat plain dotted with twisted spires below.

It occurs to them that it might be reasonable to assume they're in Hell.

“That’s… disconcerting,” Jon says aloud, as much because they are used to narrating their life as to hear the sound of their own voice. They stand, slowly, checking to see if there is a room attached to the balcony. Usually balconies are attached to chambers, though with Hell, it’s possible that this will be another level of torment: impractical architecture.

The balcony turns out to be just an extension of a room with no doors or outer wall. The room is shrouded in darkness, but it looks... big… ish? With maybe a table and some chairs and some sort of dias beyond that?

Jon leans down to place a hand on Martin’s cheek briefly before they begin to move into the room. “Rather spacious if… empty accommodations for a Hellscape.” Again they're speaking partly for their own benefit, but the darkness of the room is deep enough to hide someone who might respond if they speak.

And then there is indeed a voice, coming from the shadows around the dais: “This is not Hell. That place is rather more… torturous for mortals to exist in.” The voice seems… vaguely female, but with a strange, almost croaking sort of undertone.

“Ah, there you are.” Jon starts looking around for the source of the voice. “That’s good to know, that we are not dead. I take it you are who we have to thank for that? Since this is your domain.”

As Jon moves into the room, the shadows seem to shift and a form appears sitting on a large chair on the dais, pretty much a cowled cloak. It would be spooky if Jon weren’t becoming inured to these things.

“Oh, no, you are quite dead,” the voice replies from the depths of the cloak. “He is not, yet, but he will be soon enough.”

Jon looks back toward Martin, who looks to be in more pain and maybe a little less vibrant than he was. “Stop that!” they shout. They move back to Martin and kneel down, running their hands over the taller man’s hair, trying to soothe him. “Save him!”

Martin relaxes at the touch, but only slightly. He still looks pained, troubled.

The voice from the cloak says, “I have done nothing to him. He chose to follow you through the gates of death, and so… he is dying.” There is an odd level of unconcern in her voice. Not malice, per se, and not indifference, but rather what one might expect from an avatar of the End, regarding someone dying.

“And you can’t do anything?!” The indifference in the voice angers Jon. How dare this cloaked wannabe Grim Reaper just ignore their plight? And though they might not admit it, they have become used to getting their way in most things, to having power to shape the world as they wish. “This is your world; insulate him from the ravages of its effects!”

“Why should I?” The voice is more curious than malicious. “I have no hold nor tie to him; where once he belonged to Araushnee, in this form he belongs more to Oghma, or perhaps Sune, and I have little truck with either.”

“Because he is important to me!” Jon hisses, still keeping contact with Martin. “And you clearly have some attachment to me or I wouldn’t be here. Is that not enough, or are you so detached from all compassion as to not understand the intricacies of companionship?”

The figure moves out onto the balcony and Jon can see it now, cowled and hooded, with a glimmer of light from within the hood: eyes, maybe. “I understand compassion. And I understand companionship. And I understand that the latter has rarely led to much but tragedy, when pursued too fervently.”

The woman(?) looks down at the two of them. “He will not fade from your view. He will become part of this place, and if you are so concerned I will take him into my employ. You will be able to see him still, between the work I have for you to do.”

Of course. Some new eldritch horror expects Jon to work for them without even knowing what they're getting into. Lovely.

Jon stands, placing themself between the cowled figure and Martin. “No. You will save him and ensure that he lives. He didn’t sacrifice himself just to be controlled by another one of you.” They are shaking with both fear and rage. “You want my help, fine. Another Eldritch power wants my hands for its machinations…” They laugh. “What else is new? But he deserves better. Name a price for his survival and freedom, and I will pay it.”

The eyes under the hood seem to narrow. “There is a way to save him, to give him life enough to survive here and to survive the journey you are yet to take. But it would require…” A pause, a deep, heavy sigh. “I had thought to give you more time as something you would still recognize as… yourself.”

The woman gestures, and a mirror appears, so that Jon can see just exactly what she means.

The mirror allows them to see colors, but only in the mirror itself. Jon still wears the clothing they'd been wearing in the Panopticon (and much longer before that), and they look… themself, they're short and slim, their skin dark, but their eyes have become shining gold. Their long black hair shimmers now, and their ears are… pointed? Yes, elongated and pointed, and they realize their form is even slimmer than they remember, now that they look closely.

They appear to be, for all the world, an elf.

Jon puts a hand to their ears to see if it is real. How had they missed that, while trying to be sure they were whole and alive? “What? What… happened to me? You turned me into an elf? Like Tolkien? Why?”

“Tolkien…?” There’s a pause, as if the woman is accessing information; it reminds Jon, oddly, of themself. “Ah. No. I have done nothing, really; this is what you were before you went to that world. You have become something like what I once was, Tel-quessir. I believe in the common parlance the term is ‘sun elf’ or ‘high elf.’” Galadriel more than Legolas, then.

Jon tries to make sense of what the woman is saying as they take stock in the mirror but they can’t understand more than rudimentary levels. They truly had come to rely on Knowing as a crutch. “Went to that world? What you once were?” More questions than answers, and little is more irritating to them. They return their attention to the cloaked figure. “And this has what to do with saving Martin?” That is what’s important right now, after all.

The woman’s words become suddenly clipped. “You were mine. From birth, you sought out new stories, new experiences, new memories, as many as you could find, to bring them back here when you died. A spark, a soul sent into the dark, to try to expand my reach to the other worlds. And, I admit, to try to bring balance to a world so overrun with evil; an attempt at a ray of good to balance that out.” A pause. “I suppose it succeeded, mostly, if only by spreading that evil out into the realms. But the powers there, they tried to… claim you. The Spider, the Watcher…”

There is a rustling under the cloak, a sound of many wings. The voice rises, angry. “And then the Watcher stole you from me, to carry out its perverse warping of your world! It would not do, but you already had the means to combat what the Watcher tried to make you, Archivist. And so, here you are. And yet, you do not even know who you truly are.”

There is more rustling of wings beneath the cloak. The woman is clearly angry.

“Wait… you’re saying I’m from here… originally? Not human?” Jon touches their ear again, a nervous gesture. “And I was your agent… meant to be your eyes and ears until Jonah Magnus…” They have to stop, the anger that rises in them is so great, “did what he did.”

Jon’s tone turns insistent, and they wish they could still compel answers. “Then tell me. What am I? What are you? Feathers, a cloak, pinpoints of light that could be eyes. Do you have a name?”

“You are not from here,” the woman says, and her voice has become… melancholy. “We were from a place of light and beauty, once. It is my fault that you came here, but you never complained, before. And you were never meant… that ritual was never meant to happen. I never meant you to experience… any of what the Watcher made you do. But at least now the pain of all those you encountered is catalogued, and perhaps in time, they can be cleansed of the pain and know peace.”

Another deep sigh. “As for what I am…” The rustling intensifies, and then suddenly the cloak explodes into shadow. Beneath is not a woman at all--beneath is a massive collection of ravens. They fly around Jon, all flapping wings and eyes, and one in particular--the one with the eyes they've been seeing under the hood--seems to hover in the air in front of them. It speaks in a voice that booms off the nearby mountains:

“I AM THE RAVEN QUEEN.”

Jon stumbles back a bit, and narrowly manages to avoid falling on top of Martin. They haven't been this terrified since… what, since before the Change? Since well before the Change. But terrified they are. “A-an-and I’m… I’m… o-one of your… servants… and extension of you… one-one-one of… of… those?” They gesture at the ravens flying about them.

The ravens settle all around the balcony, and the one that has been speaking stays where it is, as if to give them space. “No. I told you--what you are now is what you were one, long ago, before… before my failed attempt to become a goddess and stop the conflict between Corellon and Araushnee failed.”

She sighs, and her voice is full of ancient, terrible sadness. “You came to me and offered your help to stop that conflict. You gave much of your life and essence to try to fuel the ritual, along with many others. Like them, you believed in our cause. The gods were warring, and it had to be stopped, or the Tel-Quessir were doomed to split apart forever. We would save the Tel-Quessir from the doom we foresaw. I would travel to Arvandor, gain the attention of the gods, and stop the war.” A long sigh. “I was a fool, and it was all of you who paid the price.”

Jon is starting to put the pieces together. “So… in order to save Martin, what do I have to do? Give up this… essence again? Return the restoration you bestowed on me? Become something else? Something that can still be your hand, but different?”

The raven cocks its head in almost a nod. “This is what you were, before my failed ritual. This is what I purified you into becoming again so you could go to the place where last you lived. I had wanted to give you time as this again, a lifetime of reward for your service, but…” The raven looks to Martin. “You have brought your reward back with you, I see. You always did prize love above so much else.”

“In order to save his life, I must siphon off yours. Return him to what he is, and perhaps allow him to be more, something closer to what he was long, long ago. And return you… to what you were. Shadar-kai. Shadow fey.” A pause. “It is not pleasant. The color will leech from you, even in the living world. The shadows will cling to you. In the living world you may look young and fresh, but here you will see your true state: cursed, aged, withered.”

The raven gives a long, deep sigh. “You may say that you will endure all of that and more to save your lover, but you will lose many of the emotions that now drive you. You will be bitter and grim. Others will see you as cold and pitiless. Most of my people who go out into the world care little for their physical bodies; they know they will return here, and be reborn. Some embrace physical pleasures, others test their limits, and some strive for glory in their lives.”

“You… never did much of any of that. You were usually content to watch, to listen, to study, and to bring me back what you found. You played tricks, sometimes.” Is the raven… amused? Yes, by the glitter in its eye, it is. “You have always retained your sense of humor, regardless of everything else.” The amusement fades. “But you may lose your love for him. Even if you do not--even if it is the one thing you cling to--he may lose his love for you, on finding you so horribly changed.”

Jon looks over their shoulder at Martin for a moment and then back to the raven before them. “Done. It may be as you say, but he’ll be alive. And that’s what’s important.” They sigh. “He has to survive. He’s given up too much to not survive. Do it.”

The ravens all flock back into the form they’d been in before and the shadows warp around it like a hood and cowl once more. The Raven Queen nods--or seems to--and sighs. “Very well.” She reaches out with one “hand” to Jon and the other “hand” to Martin’s sleeping form

A bright white light begins to flow out of Jon and into Martin. Jon doesn’t feel lessened so much as different, as though the shadows here seep in to replace the light that flows out. They can see the color fade from their form in the mirror. Their skin becomes a pallid grey, their eyes become wholly black--no pupil, no sclera, something far more befitting the avatar they became. And they do, indeed, twist and wither and age, though they feel no less strong and vital.

And Martin… wakes up.

Next Chapter

[fallen029]

Late Night Bumps

"What are you doing?"

This was the groggy question of Laxus Dreyar as, with bleary eyes, he ran a hand through his blond locks and tried to make out the shapes in the darkness before him. Back at his place, he usually fell asleep forgetting to turn off a light or lamp somewhere in the apartment, leading to having some amount of light, were he to awaken in the dead of night. This wasn't the case, however, at the Strauss place it seemed.

It was dark. Completely dark. The blinds and curtains were pulled tight in Mirajane's bedroom and, though Laxus could sense both Elfman and Lisanna had come home at some point in the night, neither seemed to have left the hall light on. No one ever did in the Strauss house, it seemed.

Still, through streaks of moonlight he could kind of make out Mirajane moving around the bedroom, her shadowy form confusing him a bit. It must have been her climbing out of bed that awakened him. It was cold now though. The bed was. Emptier. Fall had only been upon them for a few weeks, but already, the evening temps had skewed rather low so far.

As he pushed up, Laxus found himself shivering involuntarily as the blanket cascaded down his chest, leaving him mostly bare. Blinking at where his girlfriend stood, before the bed now, he saw something he couldn't quite make out in her hand.

"Is that a fucking ax?" he asked, but not really in alarm. No. It was more of a dreamy reaction. A throw away, drowsy question. Dazed and, somehow, disinterested.

"No," she answered simply before humming. "Well, I guess some people might say so."

Laxus hands came up to his eyes this time and, rubbing hard against them, the slight pain was enough to awaken him fully. When he dropped them, he felt as if he could see a bit more clearly and was able to recognized the strange shadowy shape held in his girlfriend's slender hand.

"It's your guitar," he said a bit dumbly and, as it was, Mirajane nodded easily. Through a fought yawn, Laxus questioned, "Why?"

"Can't sleep," she answered him simply with a shrug. "Usually when I can't, I get up and strum a bit, until I fall back asleep. But I didn't wanna wake you. Too late though, I guess."

"Yeah." That time he let the yawn escape before he finished his agreement. "Too late."

He and the woman hadn't been together that long. Err, well, maybe they had, in a certain sense of the word. It had nearly been a year since the first time he and Mirajane found themselves going out on a serious date with one another. While the connection was there though, he was gone frequently, on jobs, while she was very busy at the bar most days. It was hard for the two of them to find time together.

About a month or so ago now, they had a more serious discussion when, after being invited to a rather ritzy ball, Mirajane found herself having to take Lucy instead of one of her typical suitors. Which she enjoyed the night, she made it clear to Laxus, when she saw him next, that it hadn't been her intention to go home alone that night and should he wish to be sure she didn't next time, he'd best either be accompanying her or giving her a good reason to miss out on such an event.

The man didn't really have relationships in that way often. Official ones. Exclusive. Monogamous. That last word alone made his blood run a bit cold and fear late nights, when he was feeling low or high, good or bad, just needing someone, when the only person he was supposed to need would be far away. The idea of losing her, however, losing the moments like he was having at the moment, was too strong. Too much.

He'd take going to bed with cold showers a thousand times over never finding himself in the demon's bed again.

Or worse; knowing while he was messing around with another woman, one of those suitors was back home with the one he really wanted.

It was how he found himself invited over to the Strauss house, anyways, that evening. He'd gotten home from a job and Mirajane took off immediately, rushing right off to the market as he had a beer and shared his tale of conquest with also recently returned Thunder Legion. After procuring the proper supplies, she took her dragon home, made him a big meal, and heard the story for herself. Well, a version of it.

Perhaps a more exaggerated one, even.

"When do I get to do it, huh?" he questioned with a big of a grin, maybe, it was always hard to tell with the man as his smiles were either open and evil or slight and sincere. As he stared across the kitchen table from his demon that night though, his tone was light (if not a bit inebriated) and his lips were upturned a bit as he went on, "Get to make you dinner?"

"What?" Mirajane asked with a raised eyebrow as she leaned against the table, staring over at him with her glassy blue eyes. "My dinner wasn't good enough for you, dragon?"

"Of course it was. It was the best fucking dinner I've ever had."

"Watch your mouth," she reminded, though it was with a grin of her own and the slayer only held his head higher in response.

"But," he insisted still, tapping a hand against his chest, "I'm a bit of a master chef myself."

"Is that true?"

"I mean, it's not not true," he said over her giggles. "I've traveled the continent, demon. I've picked up a few dishes I can whip up along the way."

"Alright then," she said with a nod of her head. "Name the place and I'll be there."

"What if I said tomorrow night? Huh?" He shifted back in his chair as she rose, making room for when she came to claim his lap. As she did so, he only insisted, "I'll make you somethin'."

"You can make me anything you want, Laxus." Nuzzling her head into the crook of her neck, she liked the feeling of it, getting a good, deep chuckle from the man. "Anytime."

When they really retired to bed that night, Mirajane only reminded Laxus that she'd be gone in the morning, off to open up up the guildhall, and to be courteous of her siblings, would would surely arrive home sometime that night and would be around to tease him in the light of a new day.

But it wasn't dawn or anywhere close to it as Mira stood before the bed and he sat up in it, eyes locked in the darkness with hers.

"Come get back in bed," he told her. "I'll help ya sleep."

"Mmmm, no, Lax, this is really the only way to do it," she insisted to him. "Trust me, I've tried other ways. When I can't sleep, I have to strum a bit and then-"

"Well, where are you going?"

"The living room," she said with a shrug. "I'll play till I fall asleep on the couch."

"My woman ain't sleeping on that couch."

"I'm really small," she insisted to him. "Sleeping on a couch is actually really cozy for me."

"I said that fucking couch. That deathtrap, dumpster fodder you have."

"Okay, you're about to be the one sleeping on it."

"My couch," he went on, a bit more awake now, "back at my place? Best piece of furniture money can buy. So comfortable. Your two decade old couch that came with the house you bought when you were fifteen? Not even worthy of my ass, much less my woman."

"Dragon, it's late," she complained now. "I need to do this to fall back asleep. So-"

"Then do it." He patted the bed. "Right here. C'mon."

"I don't want to keep you up."

"I ain't going to sleep, in your bed, with you on the fucking couch. I'd just be laying here, waiting for you to stop strumming, and then go carry you to bed."

Mira took a moment to respond before saying, "Okay, I like that idea."

"Demon, no."

"But it would be so cute."

"Come sit down," he ordered, voice a bit gruffer than it usually would be with the woman, "and play your guitar. Now. So we can both go back to sleep."

Mirajane clearly had a complaint on her tongue, but she swallowed it with a bit of realization as, when he didn't move to lay back down, she could tell he planned on listening to her.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked as, slowly, she climbed back into bed, nestling her acoustic on her lap. "Listen to me pick at my guitar at two in the morning?"

"If it helps my woman fall to sleep?" At her finally rejoining him back in bed, the slayer tugged the covers back up around himself. "You fucking bet I am."

Mira made a face and a noise of annoyance in the back of her throat before, softly, telling him, "Fine, but you better promise to carry me to bed one day."

"I'll carry you from a couch to a bed," he assured her. "But I'll only carry you from your couch to a bath tub."

"Lax-" she started to gripe, but stopped to instead muse, "Actually, that would be cute too."

He rolled his eyes, the slayer did, but as she began to actual strum a few chords, he took to shifting back down and closing them instead. With a soft breath, he whispered, "Do you take requests?"

She hummed her next words, in time with her strumming, as she informed the man simply, "No, dragon."

"That's okay," he decided with one last yawn as, at the feeling of her being there, in bed with him at least, even if it was cross-legged and further down, he was given all the comfort he needed to finally drift back off. "I won't for dinner tomorrow either."

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

Reliving An Old Nightmare - Chapter 19

<= Chapter 18

Summary : Snatcher and Vanessa have a little talk. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/22337299/chapters/58399249

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NEW CHAPTER !! I hope you'll like it !

Thank you so much for all your comments ! I need to reply to them, but I've read them, several times ! I'm so happy you like this fanfiction so much ! I'll reply to them later because I'm really sick right now (might be a really painful throat infection, I have no idea), but know that I really wanted to thank you all for your lovely comments !! You have no idea how much it motivates me !

HAPPY READING !

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Chapter 19

Snatcher’s eyes widened as he saw Vanessa entering the room, dressed in her green nightshirt. Guilt was clearly visible on her face as she avoided the shade’s eyes, staring at the floor instead. And, in her hands was the kid’s hat, completely undamaged. But something felt wrong, different… And it didn’t take long for the ghost to notice why: the Queen’s hands looked very much different than human ones. The skin was black and her fingers had gotten thinner, sharper. The tips of her fingers ended much more like claws than regular nails, all black as well. Those hands seemed like they belonged to a monster rather than a person.

And Vanessa having these claws only made the spirit panic. It was like before, just like back then, when she-

The Queen looked up once again and met his eyes for the first time. Snatcher’s breath got caught in his throat as numerous memories kept appearing in his mind, almost blinding him. It was too much, too much… He had hoped his words would make her leave but now he felt extremely vulnerable, especially with him incapacitated and her having hands like these. Knowing Vanessa was behind the door was one thing, but… Seeing her in person, with those claws, while he was unable to move… This was not the same.

Just like the little girl to his side, Snatcher was absolutely terrified. Yet, there was something strange about the expression on Vanessa’s face. And as he stared at her silently, he could feel that her attitude wasn’t the same as before. On the contrary, instead of glaring at him, she seemed… Embarrassed? Ashamed?

Vanessa had never looked this way before. At least, not in a sincere way.

The woman made a few steps towards them and Snatcher could feel his whole body tensing up immediately. She was going to hurt him, wasn’t she? She was going to freeze him to death, he was sure of it! He couldn’t go through all of this again!

And then he heard a scared whimper on his right, which suddenly reminded him of the brat’s presence. Said brat was doing her best to get far, far away from the Queen, in vain. Shackled to the wall like she was, there was absolutely no way she could protect herself against the spirit’s evil ex. The kid was just as much in danger than he was. Maybe more, because why would Vanessa care about a child she didn’t even know?

Snatcher would not allow it.

The spirit gritted his teeth (fangs?) and hissed at Vanessa menacingly. Even if he still had a semi-human body now, he hoped to seem threatening enough to dissuade his ex from coming closer. He still didn’t have his powers, he couldn’t feel the usual energy inside of his chest, but she didn’t know that. Luckily for Snatcher, he was an excellent actor.

-“Don’t you dare take another step,” he growled, baring his fangs and almost not recognizing his own voice. He felt like he had been human for so long that he almost forgot how his voice sounded like as a ghost. It had only been a few days, but it was already too much.

Surprisingly enough, Vanessa listened to him and stopped. She winced at the tone of his voice and glanced away once again. What? The shade was utterly confused by her behaviour. She had lied to him and yelled at him a few hours ago! And now she was acting like she felt bad? Why?! This didn’t make any sense!

Seconds passed in deafening silence. The shade really expected her to attack them at any moment but she remained motionless, waiting patiently. He had thought she would glare at the kid but she didn’t. On the contrary, she had given her a sorry look, instead of looking daggers at the brat. She always used to do that when they were alive, when someone got a little too close to him, though he had always tried his best to ignore it.

Then what was going on? Why wasn’t she reacting badly to the kid? Her anger about himself, he wouldn’t be surprised, but the child had been caught with him! Why wasn’t she mad about them trying to escape too? He didn’t understand!

The shade was about to ask what were her true intents but was cut short when she started to speak, breaking the silence that had fallen into the cellar:

-“I’m sorry,” she murmured, clenching her fingers on the hat she was holding. Her expression was full of a guilt Snatcher had never seen on her. The apology hit Snatcher like a train: Vanessa… Never apologized. She had done so in the last few days yet it had never been this formal.

Something was different. Snatcher’s fear was soon replaced by his anger coming back full force, seeing as they apparently weren’t in immediate danger anymore:

-“You’re sorry?” he repeated, emphasizing the last word as if it were poisonous: “For what? Locking us in here? Keeping us trapped in this doomed timeline? For having killed everyone?”

He scoffed bitterly and continued with a voice full of sarcasm:

-“You know, I’m starting to get confused, because you haven’t done a single good thing since the moment we came here!” he paused and then corrected himself, darkly: “No, actually, that’s wrong. You haven’t done a single good thing since the moment I met you.”

The words clearly had an effect on Vanessa, as she looked away once more, while the air around them cooled down. Maybe the spirit should have kept his mouth shut, considering how vulnerable they were against the Ice Queen. But to the ghost’s extreme bewilderment, she only looked upset and not angry at his claims.

Eventually, she started talking again, staring at her shoes as tears rolled on her cheeks:

-“You’re right. I haven’t.” The shade’s eyes widened at her words, as she continued: “I failed, I did everything wrong. Every possible mistake there was to make, I made it. And… I’m sorry. For everything.”

Snatcher couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. What was she even saying? Did she even realize how much it was too late for this? Subcon Village had been destroyed, everyone had been killed, and she had murdered him! And after hundreds of years spent in pure denial, she was apologizing to him? This was absolutely ridiculous!

Oh no, no, this wouldn’t be that easy for her, he didn’t want it to be. And yet, he had wanted a “sorry” for so, so long…

-“Are you even hearing yourself talking right now?” questioned the spirit, both livid and astonished at the same time: “It’s too late! You can’t change anything!” He then pointed to his shackles with a nod of his head: “Even this! What’s the point of apologizing if you just want us dead?! Is it because you want to feel better about yourself?”

He scoffed again before glaring at her, his eyes full of hatred:

-“Trust me, you don’t deserve it.”

Vanessa lowered her head as more tears left her eyes. Her fingers squeezed the hat she was holding, not moving an inch. She was doing her best not to cry, which only confused Snatcher even more: why would she hold back? It wasn’t like she had tried the other times in the last few days! Was she trying to appear pitiful so he could feel sorry for her? The spirit frowned at the thought in disgust. She was pitiful but he would never, never feel sorry for her. Never, not after what she had done and what she was trying to do in the present.

After a few seconds, the Queen rubbed her eyes with her sleeve and sniffed loudly.

She then asked, looking at him with despair:

-“I want to believe you, I really do… About all of this being fake,” she confessed, closing her eyes: “I want to do the right thing for once, but… How can I know you’re telling the truth?”

Contrary to their other arguments, Vanessa seemed truly sincere. He could see in her expression that she was actually asking him and not fighting his claims as she did in the previous hours. However, that didn’t change the fact that she was still trying to keep the situation as it was, no matter how horrible it was. Who chained their former lover in their basement?! And chaining a child with them?

Snatcher gritted his fangs while the hatless kid was completely silent and motionless, afraid of what was happening. The ghost didn’t blame her.

He then nodded to himself and then to Vanessa’s hands, feeling his frustration growing dangerously.

-“Do we look human to you?” he questioned back, fiercely: “Does it strike you as something real? Because it certainly doesn’t for me. Just use your head for once!”

The Queen lowered his eyes to glance at her own hands before looking away, as if she had been trying to ignore this as much as possible.

-“He told me… He told me it was only temporary…” The spirit’s ex tried to justify herself, but Snatcher would not stand hearing her excuses. No more. No more of that.

-“Oh yeah? And then what’s going to happen? Everything is going to turn back to normal as if nothing had ever happened? Is that what this guy told you? How much naive can you be, Vanessa?”

She frowned at his remark but didn’t try to argue this point. It probably meant she already knew something was wrong. She was just too desperate and blatantly refused to see the truth. And it was all the shade needed to prove his point:

-“You know he’s lying to you. You’ve seen those distortions too. So what do you need to finally see that you’re being manipulated? Do I need to die again because you’re deluding yourself?! Is that it?!”

-“No!” retorted Vanessa with a scream, only to quickly put her hands over her mouth. She then looked all around herself, as if she was scared about something. Or… Someone.

The realization then hit Snatcher: Vanessa probably hadn’t told “Simeon” she was there. But why?

-“Why are you here, Vanessa?” finally asked the spirit, calmly this time: “What do you want from me?”

The Ice Queen remained silent a few seconds, cringing as if she was confused herself by her presence here. She eventually found back the courage to answer the shade, starting to sob:

-“Why does this have to be fake?” she wondered aloud as she cried even more: “Why couldn’t I fix everything? I just want us to be happy, like before!”

Her last sentence hurt Snatcher much more than what he had expected. Not because he was pitying her, far from it, but because… The ghost hadn’t been really happy when he was alive, now that he was thinking about it. Yes, he had been madly in love with Vanessa, wanting nothing more than to live with her for the rest of his life (which he finally did, HAH), yet… There had been so many red flags, so many little things that had made this relationship extremely toxic for him. Whether it was Vanessa bleaching and cutting his hair, forbidding his favourite dish in the manor, preventing him from talking to other people… It had been so suffocating, yet he had been so blindly in love with her that he had never said anything against it. Or, well, he had tried, only to have Vanessa yelling at him afterwards.

He had never been happy. The bad things had outweighed the good ones, more and more as time went by. He just loved her too much to care about it at the time.

Sorrow replaced his anger as he looked at her, right in her eyes:

-“You know it’s too late,” he replied, seeing her face contort with sadness as she heard his words: “It doesn’t work like that.”

-“Then what should I do to make you forgive me?!” she cried out, though more quietly than before. It was obvious she wanted to be redeemed, but how could someone be forgiven after the murder of an entire village over a small misunderstanding?

Vanessa’s words presented him an opportunity to take advantage of her despair, telling her he would forgive her if she freed them… Yet, for an unknown reason, Snatcher couldn’t. He felt like this was his only chance at making his ex realize that she had to take responsibility for her behaviour. Deep inside of him, he knew he would never get a chance like this again.

For the very first time in both their life and afterlife, Vanessa was ready to listen to him.

Snatcher lowered his head. But would she understand?

-“There’s nothing you can do,” he answered with a sad tone: “You can’t do things just so I can forgive you. It doesn’t work like that.”

-“… So you won’t forgive me?” Vanessa seemed heartbroken, though he had expected that with his answer.

-“I don’t think I ever will. Not if you refuse to change.”

The woman remained silent for a minute, visibly doing her best not to cry more. But soon, she was sobbing again, as Snatcher and the hatless kid were watching her. There was nothing they could do and, even if there was, it wasn’t their job.

Vanessa was the one who needed to change, by her own will, not because of someone else. She needed to understand that her actions had consequences and that it wasn’t always possible to erase the past. Both figuratively and literally.

Eventually, after a few more minutes, she calmed herself down, taking deep breathes. The shade had expected her to leave after the conclusion of their discussion, but Vanessa did something else entirely. She reached inside the top hat and took something out of it. It was a small and shiny object that the shade recognized instantly.

The key of those shackles.

-“W-what…?” stuttered the spirit, extremely confused by the recent turns of the events.

Vanessa sniffed again and nodded, a new determination replacing the melancholy on her face.

-“Okay,” she murmured, taking a few more steps towards them: “I trust you.”

The Queen then approached the key and put it inside the lock, opening Snatcher shackles one by one, leaving the spirit absolutely confused but relieved at the same time.

Vanessa had listened to him. For the first time, she had accepted to trust him. This realization brought him a strange feeling of satisfaction, of comfort. He couldn’t help but feel like a huge weight had disappeared from his tired shoulders, a weight he had carried for centuries without even knowing it had been there in the first place.

Vanessa then freed the kid next to him, who seemed much more reassured now that Vanessa had agreed to help them. The woman apologized to the little girl, telling her she was sorry for keeping her locked in here.

In the meantime, the shade rubbed at his wrist nervously, trying his best to ignore the sensation left on his purple “skin”. Somehow, he felt like the shackles were still there, even though they had been taken off.

He had no idea if it was because of his trauma coming back at him… Or if it was just his body returning more and more to his spectral form. After all, he had often felt the shackles on his wrists, even centuries after his death… He stared at his hands, not knowing what to think.

... His body hurt so much.

Snatcher’s thoughts were cut short as the kid tugged his cape gently. The way she was staring at him showed how worry she was for him.

-“You okay, Snatcher?” asked the little girl, concerned.

Vanessa stared at them, not knowing what to do with herself. The ghost couldn’t tell if she was confused about their relationship or the way the child called him. He doubted his ex had learnt he had thrown his old identity through the window, so the latter possibility made sense. She didn’t ask anything about it, though.

-“I’m fine,” answered Snatcher, yet he wasn’t. But he didn’t want to think about it at the moment. All he wanted was to get out of this timeline, once and for all.

He turned back to Vanessa, very much determined with this last thought:

-“So… Who’s the guy behind Simeon?” he questioned.

They needed to know their enemy before doing anything else. They were going to escape this time rift, Snatcher would make sure of it.

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Hope you liked this chapter ! I'll try writing the 22th chapter if my throat gets better. I doubt it will but I think the 22th chapter will be finished soon so... If the inspiration comes tonight, I'll write a little bit !

Chapter 20 =>

[my-personal-writing-wonderland]

You truly are something else

Part 6 

Part 5, Part 1 

Pairing: Sandor Clegane x reader

Warnings: self doubts, one or two slightly sexual references and Joffrey being Joffrey in the future chapters

Summary: You’re the younger sister of Margaery Tyrell and you accompany her to Kingslanding. Since you are a child you feel inferior to your sister and the fact that she is about to get married once again doesn’t really help to build your self-confidence. You dream of a man who loves you for who you are and makes you feel special but are you able to find love in a city reigned by a tyrant like Joffrey?

A/n: There will be one last chapter, I hope you all enjoyed the story so far. Feel free to leave a comment to tell me your personal dream ending. I also hope there aren’t too many mistakes, english isn’t my mother tongue. 

Important: Sandor didn’t leave Kingslanding during the battle of blackwater in this story.

(Pictures aren’t mine)

Your Pov: Since five days all you feel is the cold air constantly biting at your skin and the maddening hunger which rises inside of you day after day. You really don't know how much more you can take. Constantly sitting alone in the dark all day and night gives you the feeling to become crazy and the realization that there's nothing to stop your punishment nearly is enough to break you. 

The guards make sure to give you only barely enough to eat to let you survive and even something as basic as water is a seldom treat inside your cell. Some days you even have to beg before you get something to drink, if you refuse your captors will just laugh and take away your water privileges for the rest of the day. Never in your life were you this hungry, this desperate for something, anything, to eat. If you're lucky the guards will throw an old piece of bread into your cell. Otherwise, you have to survive another day without something to eat. You don't know how much time passed so far and how much more days you have to endure this until Joffrey finally lets you out again. No one visits you, not your grandmother, not your siblings, not even Sandor. If you have to guess you would say the king forbids them to see you in order to torture you even more. And it really works. You miss your family desperately and would do everything to get to see them. Right now you need their support like never before. At first you hoped your family would be able to free you somehow. Your grandmother is a clever, powerful woman after all and your sister is about to get wed with Joffrey but still, it seems like there is no use to hope they'll save you. The cell they put you in is only a few couples of feet long and maybe two or three feet wide. There is barely enough to room for you to lay down, let alone walk around a bit which causes  uncomfortable pain in your legs. Moreover, there isn't a bed in your cell, so you're forced to sleep on the floor without a blanket. Your whole back and neck hurt like hell after the second day but the guards couldn't care less. God, do you miss your soft mattress at home. There is nothing to do for you but to think about your future once you're out of your little hellhole and have to marry Euron Greyjoy. To say you're scared shitless doesn't even begin to describe what you feel when you think about your marriage. Of course it's not right to judge someone by their reputation but Joffrey wouldn't have chosen Euron to be your husband if he's a kind hearted and decent man, you're sure of that. The little brat hopes Euron will treat you with as much disrespect and brutality as he does. Why does Joffrey hate you so much? One day, you hear your thick cell door open. No one other than King Joffrey comes into your view. So many questions rises inside of you at the same time. What is he doing here? Is he going to let you out? Is he going to torture you even more? 'Well, look at you, (y/n). You look like shit, really too bad your little lover had to stand up for you back in the throne room.' Your little lover? Does Joffrey think you and Sandor have some kind of relationship? You want to tell Joffrey Sandor is only a friend but then you realize it wouldn't matter anyway. So you decide to save your little bit of power left for what is yet to come. 'This place truly is beneath my dignity, so don't worry I won't take too much of your previous time down here. I only came to discuss some wedding details with you.' Your last hope shatters. Joffrey isn't here to let you out, he's only here to verbally abuse you some more. 'You will marry Euron in 3 days, he's already on his way to Kingslanding and should arrive the morning of your wedding. I know you don't have the time to choose a wedding dress, so I made it to my mission to find something for you to wear. It didn't take much time to find a dress made of a pretty silver material, you will love it. It's a bit see-through but I'm sure you understand you have to live with that. We need to show Euron and his men what he gets for his alliance after all. But my favourite part will probably be the bedding ceremony, seeing Euron all over you. It'll be a joy to watch you getting claimed by this beast and don't worry, I'll make sure Sandor gets to watch it as well.' (Little time skip) After Joffrey's visit you feel even more despaired than before. This evil little child manages to destroy your hopes and optimism all the time and enjoys it like nothing else. You never felt his hopeless before in your life. Joffrey didn't even mention your family, so there is no way they'll manage to get you out of this wedding. Unfortunately, there is no way to escape yourself either. The door which separated you from your freedom is always locked and there is no possibility to get the key. Even if you're able to open the door somehow you would never be strong enough to get pass the guards. You assume there are at least 2, maybe even 3 guards on the other side of your cell.   The thought you really have to endure this wedding brings tears into your eyes. How could your life turn out like that? All your life you tried to avoid wedding offers to be a free, independent woman and now you'll be nothing more than a sextoy for a murderer. Sandor's POV: Sandor passes most of his free time with pacing around in his room. There isn't a second where he doesn't think about you. He has no idea how you're doing and what Joffrey does to you. The hound tried to visit you several times, he has threatened the guards and even punched one men once but he had to stop when Joffrey commanded him, otherwise you would have get hurt even more. For this reason, he can't do anything but waiting until he hears something about your wellbeing. Sandors hates how he can't do anything to help you, or at least to find out whether or not you're alright. Joffrey proved several times he's unpredictable and Sandor witnessed the kings moods before. To say he hates himself for bringing you in this situation would be an understatement. Sandor beats himself up for being stupid enough to cross Joffrey every night when he tries to sleep. If he wasn't this stupid you wouldn't have to suffer in a cell, you would be fine, or at least finer than right now. All Sandor wanted to do was helping. He couldn't see Joffrey torture you anymore like this. He was a total cunt and it was obvious how uncomfortable and humanilated you felt. He just wanted Joffrey to stop and yes, he expected the little brat to be angry at him but he didn't thought he would ever punish you, the sister of his future queen, like that. And while he just wanted to help you, he made it so much worse. But there isn't anything he can do to make it better. No matter how much he begs, Joffrey will never change his mind and possibly seems weak in the process. So what can he do? It isn't like he can just free you and steal you away before your wedding, right? Your POV: Your soon-to-be husband will arrive in a few hours at sunrise and by midday, the two of you will be married, husband and wife, bound till death do them apart. The evening after Joffrey visited you, your guards opened your cell to beat and slap your helpless form until they're bored of your cries. They punched and kicked you hard enough to leave huge, dark bruises which are still pretty hurtful as soon as you move. The bruises are still partly visible but somehow you doubt Euron will care too much. At least Joffrey definitely doesn't. Now there's only one thing you can do: Sitting on the hard floor of your cell, trying to ignore your swollen face and hurting body and waiting for the real hell to begin. The thought of your wedding night always makes you want to cry, only with much effort you're able to suppress your tears. You just want it all to stop. In the middle of the night you hear screams in front of your prison. Panic begins to flow through your veins and scared you try to hear what's going on without the chance to see something. What is happening right now? All you hear is the screaming and begging of men, it's hard to heard who they are but you recognize at least one voice. Oliver, one of the younger and newer guards, has a unforgettable high pitched voice which annoyed you since you arrived. In this moment, it seems like Oliver begs for his life before you hear more screams. Is he dead? Did someone really kill the guards who have been sitting together only a few feet away from you just minutes ago? Who killed them? And more important, why? Before you're capitale to clear your mind and to think if something to do (not that there are many options), the door of your cell opens.

[thewritewolf]

Nino’s Quest Chapter 7: Audience With the King

The party finally meets up with the King and they receive their next quest.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3.  My ko-fi.

Direct Message From Alya

Alya: babe. Have you noticed anything… ...weird? With the babies

Nino: Our babies? Yeah M’s back to her usual with my bro And adrien is a blushy mess around her Crazy

Alya: Is this progress? It feels like a side step Or taking a step forward… ...and tripping on their face.

Nino: Well, if they could get comfortable around each other before…

Alya: Babe its WAY worse now than what it was before Now NEITHER of them are talking to each other God they’re frustrating

Nino: Did it have something to do with that last akuma? You said you saw them heading toward it before things got crazy

Alya: Maybe? BUT OMG THAT BATTLE

Nino: ??? What happened??

Alya: After they beat the akuma They got the hell away from each other Super pale No fist bump I posted pics on the ldb

Nino: Lemme check Wait Are they blushing?

Alya: gr8 Now i’m even more confused

Nino: lmao Your fleet of ships! It is sinking, babe

Alya: Don’t even JOKE about that! Ladynoir WILL set sail Marinette WILL get her hamsters with Adrien

Nino: lol Just teasin Let em figure stuff out on their own They’ll get there

Alya: I hope youre right…

Nino: Trust me, babe. I AM a master of romance

Alya: Yeah? Where’d you get those credentials, huh?

Nino: I got you, didn’t I?

Alya: … Smooth, cappy Very smooth

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Lord DM: Alright, my dudes, we have agreed that there WILL be dnd this weekend. The question is now… ...where the heck is it going to be.

Adrien Regreste: Definitely not at my place They are barely letting me out No way are they going to let me have friends over [crying cat face]

Alya’ll Beware: yeah and its not going to be any better at my place Esp with Nora back in town

Lord DM: What bout u, M?

Marinoodles: There is a big order at the bakery They don’t need my help BUT They DO need the extra space My place is out

Lord DM: Well dang Looks like i’ll have to bring out the big guns You guys can come over to my place

Adrien Regreste: [shocked emoji] I never thought I’d see the day…

Alya’ll Beware: lol, chill sunshine. Stay focused on the dnd

Lord DM: No no Let him bask Few mortals get this honor

Alya’ll Beware: [eye roll emoji]

-------------

Saturday arrived at long last, and Nino took stock of his preparations for the day. His little bro out with their parents. A stack of chip bags and pop and all the things that would make Adrien’s nutritionist twitch. Bean bag chairs for him and all his friends. Ambiance from tabletop audio. Everything had to be right - they were meeting with the Good King Haman, after all. It was one of the climaxes of the campaign.

Which was why he was worried when everyone finally got there.

Adrien had picked up everyone, of course, which might explain why he and Marinette were already a blushing mess. Nino glanced to Alya for clues, but all she had for him was a frown and a shrug.

The two of them sat opposite each other, with Alya opposite Nino. There was a pregnant silence where usually they would have their pre-session chat.

Nino considered himself a pretty empathetic kinda guy. It wasn’t that hard for him to get a feel for the room, or put himself in other people’s shoes. But even for him, his two friends were a stone wall. The only thing he could say for sure is that they weren’t angry with each other. Maybe just… scared. Which was weird, but hey - Dungeons and Dragons hadn’t let him down yet. Maybe it could help them now.

With that in mind, Nino started the session. “After spending the morning making yourselves look like you totally belong at court - with different amounts of success - you make your way to the royal castle. Looks like someone’s looking out for you, since the usually long line to see the king is super short today.��

“Finally, some kind of break,” Alya grumbled. “After bandits and assassins, at least we don’t have to wait in line.”

“After an hour, you finally find yourselves face to face with the King himself. While it is clear that he is no longer the adventuring knight of his youth, he’s still got the broad shoulders and strong arms of a fighter. His jeweled, golden crown rests easily atop his head. He watches you intently as you approach, a well groomed eyebrow raised as he takes in your martial appearance.”

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “Wait, we’re in armor and stuff?”

“Well,” Marinette responded, “we are adventurers. We should never be too far from our gear.”

Bowing his head in acquiescence, Adrien returned his attention to Nino.

“After you are declared, the King seems even more curious about you. He speaks with a clear, booming voice, one used to commanding armies in the field. ‘I recognize your names. There was a wretched matter afoot last night - one that you were the center of. I admit, I had wondered what would force someone’s hand in such a way as to send assassins. What business do you have with me?’”

When it became clear that both Marinette and Adrien weren’t going to speak up - each seemed to be stuck in a cycle of catching the other’s eye, blushing, and looking somewhere else - Alya sighed and responded.

She cleared her throat. “During our travels, we uncovered something that we felt you ought to know. There was a…” Her eyes widened and she glanced between her flustered friends. “Um… What was he called? An evil sorcerer?”

Marinette mumbled something that might have been, “Dark adept.”

“Thanks, M.” Straightening her back, Alya looked toward Nino again. “There was a dark adept raising the dead to fight for him.”

“A flurry of murmuring erupts around you. The royal guard flanking the King tighten their grips on their halberds. The King himself has his lips tighten into a thin line before saying, ‘That is a bold claim, young knight. I trust that you brought justice to this renegade, in accordance with the laws of our land?’”

Alya nodded. “Of course! But there is more to it than that.” She checks her character sheet. “Who has the decrypted journal of the dark adept? It looks like it isn’t on me.”

There was a rustling of papers.

“Oh, right,” Adrien said, “I forgot that I was checking it for other clues.”

“Is that when you rolled another one and forgot how to read for a few hours?”

“Hush.”

“Anyway,” Alya said, returning to her character voice, “My ally has a decrypted journal we took from the adepts quarters. There were repeated references to the adept’s master, and hints of a larger plot against the kingdom.”

“The King frowns. ‘Let me see this journal.’”

“I’ll take it up to him.”

“He takes it from Adrien’s character and quickly skims through it, his eyes narrowing as he reaches the end. ‘I must thank you for your work in ending this threat, but it seems a larger one has made itself known. While I am sure you must want to rest, I must ask you to meet this threat to the kingdom.’ He gestures to an advisor nearby. ‘Pay these heroes five hundred gold pieces for each of them.’ His eyes land on you once again. ‘I’ll pay double that once you bring me proof that the Necromancer is dead, and his plot has died with him. Do you accept?’”

The other three exchanged looks between them.

“I’m all for earning a name for myself. And a quest from King Haman himself is about as good as it gets. I’m in.”

“I don’t have anything else planned,” Marinette shrugged, her eyes pointedly on the table in front of her. “I’m sure fighting evil will be its own kind of fun.”

“And where she goes,” Adrien nodded towards Marinette and met her eye. His voice lowered to almost a whisper. “...I’ll follow. Always.”

Something passed between them and it felt almost as if Nino were intruding. The moment passed, and the two of them broke out into furious blushes again.

“Right… so. The king nods, a faint smile on his lips. ‘Excellent. May the gods be with you in your quest.’” Nino took a sip of his drink. “Well, now you’re a little richer, and its time to level up your characters.”

For the rest of the session, Nino walked them through their first time leveling up and taught them the time honored art of spending their hard-earned gold. A new rapier for Adrien. Alchemist’s fire for Marinette. That sort of thing. They were feeling more confident now that they had more than their starting array of equipment, and Nino smiled as he watched them work. It was good to be the dungeon master.

--------

Later, after Adrien had taken Marinette home, Alya and Nino cuddled on the couch. With how big both their families were, it wasn’t often that they got a chance to hang out alone.

For a while, Nino was comfortable with the silence. But then curiosity got the better of him.

“So… how are you liking Dungeons and Dragons now? Still think it’s just for nerds?” He smirked at her as she rolled her eyes.

“Okay, I admit… I’m having loads of fun. It’s always nice to spend more time with you guys. And you especially,” Alya said, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “I’ve gotten surprisingly invested in this story. It almost feels like being Rena Rouge again, fighting evil and all that.”

“Not as likely to end up getting thrashed by a super villain, though.”

“Fair. And it’s nice to act like someone else for a while. Although,” she stretched, “it’s also nice when I don’t have to be the one taking the lead. I hope the babies get their act together soon. Being the leader is exhausting.”

“Poor babe,” Nino cooed, earning himself a gentle punch in the shoulder from his girlfriend. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll figure things out sooner or later.”

“It’s the later part I’m worried about. I just hope they’ll get their act together by next session.”

“I’m sure they will.” Nino wrapped his arms around Alya. “What’s the worst that could have happened? It’s not like they have big secrets that they are sitting on.”

They considered this for a few moments before Nino added,

“Besides the obvious crush thing, at least.”

[yeah-oh-shit]

so im still trying to figure out wtf dracula was all about and if there is a deeper meaning at all. i compiled a list of all my observations - especially places where it might relate to sherlock, things that seem odd/out of place, important thematic moments, anything that is unexplained. idk if i will come back to this to try to piece it together more, but i needed to get it all down so i could look at it in its wholeness. in case you are interested, here is my commentary, any “points of interest,” i found, below the cut. 

episode 1:

vampirism is a contagion, sister agatha asks harker if he had “sexual intercourse” with dracula right away - aids

flies everywhere, on windows, the camera lens, one flies into harker’s eye

why did dracula let himself become such an old man? no one good to eat? (i’ve been telling everyone for years that you are what you eat)

story told by harker w/sister agatha interviewing him, almost leading him on

harker’s written account is unreliable

woman in disguise - mina (reminds me of mary)

rainbow lighting

spiral candles match spiral bedpost

sister agatha mentions a “point of interest”

dracula calls jonathan johnny (john mirror?)

inconsistencies: picture of mina changes from right to left, harker says no one calls him johnny (but mina later shows that she does - johnny blue eyes)

THERE IS NO BABY

dates - 12th, 19th, and 29th (!!)

scene very similar to the fall - “you are me,” dracula tries to get harker on his side but harker refuses

dracula says he will “destroy everyone and everything you love” in england

harker is found by sailors and said to be a drowned man walking/talking after he falls from castle dracula

lots of queer coding and it’s during the parts where dracula is shown as the most monstrous and coercive

sister agatha taunts dracula, calls him a beast (rules of the beast), he is indeed shown as beastly

dracula licks a knife in a suggestive way (moriarty)

inviting dracula in leads to death

harker doesn’t remember what happened to him (doesn’t know he is dead)

harker doesn’t know what mina’s face looks like

mina says a line much like mary’s (“i decide who you are”)

sister agatha mentions having a detective acquaintance in london (!!)

dracula is an old man for most of the episode, doesn’t come off as flirty or sexy to me, just seems coercive, controlling, and creepy. we barely get any time w/harker and dracula together, doesn’t seem like they have much chemistry

jonathan in and out of dream, weakened, coerced

he keeps going deeper into the castle and eventually discovers dracula’s undead and even dracula’s crypt itself but can’t find the person who wrote him a note

castle is a maze but jonathan discovers the map (hiding behind a portrait, deduces this in a way that makes pretty much no sense)

sun is equated to lover’s face

dracula never seems to lie, just says things in a truthful way that is obfuscated (except for when he knocks the mirror over and claims to being clumsy)

dracula wants to go to england bc he thinks the most cultured and rich people live there (aristocratic bullshit) but it is reinforced so many times that somehow him being choosy has helped him to live a long time .. confusing

episode 2:

starts w/dracula and agatha talking in his castle. dracula talks about how a story has to be interesting from the beginning, the contract between author and reader, “quality of time”

“there’s a game in progress” “a knight is menacing a queen” “whose knight, whose queen?” “Who’s black, who’s white”

ship in a bottle

whole episode takes place on a big ship

sokolov (anderson) is captain (steering the ship)

mind palace/dreaming (sr. agatha and dracula) in castle but actually in room 9 on ship

mr balaur (dragon - dracula) brought all these people together

7 passengers on the ship (unusual, stated multiple times, i don’t think we are ever told significance?)

one sick - captain is only one allowed in

piotr isn’t who he says he is

dracula kills dorabella (very flirty with her) talks about mirrors showing the truth - “one can always find a mirror if one tries” “mirrors are a deeper and more dangerous magic than most people understand. mirrors can give us space to imagine or worse, show us the truth”

“this marriage is a necessary evil”

confirmed gay couple (lord ruthven and adisa) - lord ruthven talks about sleeping with his wife in front of adisa constantly (cruel), adisa is disguised as a servant, adisa seems to really love ruthven

many people jump ship when everyone starts dying

lord ruthven is both very gay and very mean - and into dracula

dracula and agatha play chess

“the purpose of an alias seems to have alluded you” (mr. balaur means dragon means dracula, a disguise is “always a self portrait”)

dracula says he is choosy (so does agatha) but also recognizes that he is an addict (agatha’s word)  - claims to be choosy and to be like everything in same breath

dracula called a beast, acts very animal around blood - can’t control himself

agatha loses time during chess, notices dracula is winning now, is also drinking blood out of a glass

he tells her to “forget about the chess and concentrate on the game”

dracula frames agatha, almost kills her via hanging (despite trying to “savor” her)

sister agatha claims she is a vampire and then tries to prove dracula is one

lord ruthven wants to be “partners” with dracula

somehow dracula appears out of nowhere in the cabin of dr. sharma

vampire’s kiss is an opiate - makes people dream

emphasis on the fact that the daughter can see (eyes!), her father has a scar over his right eye

dracula flirts with everyone

no one suspects dracula even though its really obvious it is him?? he is being hella suspicious?

daughter (who sees dracula killing) doesn’t tell anyone, later kills herself by drinking a potion to avoid becoming infected

sister agatha is infected/dying, losing fingernails (like harker)

dracula will die without his soil

captain sokolov stays behind in ship w/agatha, piotr and cook escape

agatha discovers extra soil in dracula’s bed, realizes the fire didn’t kill him

dracula attacks sokolov but somehow he doesn’t die and can’t walk even though his wound is in his neck but still is able to DRAG himself?

dracula explains fear of cross as fear of oppression that he has inherited from eating peasants (but he is very choosy with his diet?)

ship sinks, sister agatha dies (implied, which is confusing bc harker also goes into the sea and doesn’t die.. maybe it has to do with the fact that she doesn’t have any soil? but neither did harker? vampire lore seems convoluted and confusing) dracula finds his soil (in the water)

dracula wakes up, goes ashore, its modern day and helicopters, a spot light, police cars, and modern day sister agatha greet him

episode 3:

weird vibe generally.. almost reminds me of tfp w/lighting and how it feels so off from the rest

dracula shows us that what he sees in the mirror is who he truly is (at least that is what is implied) an old ugly man

dracula is weird and kinda cute when he is amazed by modern times

we learn that agatha apparently died even though she was just in water and harker survived and was a “drowned man walking and talking” ?

jack (another john mirror?) is in love with lucy, there are a lot of scenes in a club ?, lucy gets engaged to a texan named quincy (who was apparently a main character in the original book and is an asshole in this). all these characters kind of suck

jonathan harker keeps calling jack, we are supposed to think he saved the jonathan harker foundation’s phone number in his phone as just “jonathan harker”? seems weird

jonathan harker  foundation was started by mina, supported by agatha’s family

lots of allusions to jonathan harker foundation getting money from a “bad” source - too much money to just be about science

mercenaries - one has a tattoo like assassin in sherlock

there is a moving clock on the floor of dracula’s cell/cage

dracula asks why he has a toilet when he is a vampire and we never get an answer

dracula’s cage looks like silence of the lambs (like A LOT)

blood is LIVES, dracula helps zoe get a sample of his blood by cutting his wrist with his fingernail - tells her “you have everything you need to know” when she takes his blood (dracula tells zoe, she drinks his blood)

“women don’t have rights, no one has rights” “dracula has rights” ???

zoe starts hallucinating/communicating w/agatha

zoe is agatha’s great niece apparently

dracula does a weird deduction thing about people from smelling or tasting their blood

dracula can’t drink zoe’s blood bc she has cancer and he can’t drink blood of the dying (which seems weird but ok)

renfield (mark) is dracula’s lawyer and seems to become obsessed with him

dracula identifies as a “warlord”

renfield is helping dracula w/“world domination”

dracula is on dating apps, renfield tries to find him people to eat, but he seems dissatisfied

dracula works out (like mycroft)

dracula (d) texts lucy uses vampire emoji

lots of gay/bi/purple lighting

dracula becomes obsessed w/lucy bc she is not afraid of him (or anything) and seems “almost in love with death”

lucy is shown as shallow and obsessed with her looks, but also seems to not like always being seen/watched bc she is beautiful

dracula and lucy are meeting up and she is letting him drink her blood

they meet up and he talks about liking having her “consent” because no one has ever given it before, but also says that it doesn’t really matter and that he doesn’t love her and will never love her

lucy likes the dreams dracula gives her - no one can see her

9 graves of undead

dracula tells lucy not to be cremated because its painful

“boofer lady”- beautiful lady - undead child follows lucy home

renfield sits in a car during their meeting and eats a fly

dracula kills lucy so she can become a vampire, she can’t move but the mirror shows that she is still alive?

we see dracula’s old man face in the mirror multiple times

lucy is burned, and for some reason keeps seeing herself as beautiful in mirrors

agatha (in zoe’s head) talks about the money coming from a bad place again but says she “can’t see it” because zoe doesn’t like to think about it

lucy, jack, zoe, and dracula all meet in dracula’s house

lucy flirts w/jack and he seems disgusted, they force her to take a selfie and see herself as she really is

lucy freaks the fuck out about being ugly and burned and seems to be more obsessed with her beauty after dying which is weird because she seemed to be almost bitter about it when she was alive (didn’t care about or fear anything)

dracula says she will always be burned (why? jonathan survived being drowned, etc. dracula survived fire?) and that he doesn’t care

jack says he will always want to kiss her (even though he was just freaked out by her like 20 seconds ago) kisses her and kills her (at her request)

dracula seems unfazed? even though she was his “greatest bride” ?

zoe has been taken over by agatha? and realizes what the one thing is that dracula fears (the thing that ties together the sun, cross, and needing an invitation - apparently the soil thing doesn’t matter anymore..)

“only one thing in this world you are truly afraid of” - she knows, he doesn’t

he cannot bear to look in a mirror, won’t stand revealed in the sun, needs an invitation to come in - not real things, he has internalized the legends

zoe/agatha says that he was a warrior and so was his entire family (all his relatives, father, brothers, sons, were war heroes who died on the battlefield but not him)

he is the warlord who “skulks in the shadows and steals the lives of others”  and is “unwelcome everywhere” “sleeps in a box of dirt but dreams of a warriors grave”

he fears death the most - the cross represents going willingly to death to him, somehow the sun represents this too? (possibly he is afraid to seeing himself/the truth, same as the mirror)

it is never explained how the invitation thing is tied in.. assuming its because he feels “unwelcome everywhere” ?

she pulls the curtain and he doesn’t burn in the sun, shows him it was his fear of death and his shame all along

can’t conquer death until you face it without fear - “the game is over, you lose, you will live forever in shame”

dracula steps into sun, faces his shame

he faces his fear of death by drinking agatha’s blood, thus dying by suicide (which we were already told vampires can’t do)

gross fiery sex scene with agatha and dracula, he gives her a dream so she will have a nice death

“after all this time did you think I’d let it hurt?” ???

they are in a burning sun and are naked together in a circle, we see dracula’s butt again

it ends with the sun

[wideeyednarcoleptic]

I’ll be there (when it all comes crashing down)

Theo has nightmares. Time in his own personal hell, being killed time and time again will do that to a guy. Admittedly, he deserved it. He resigned himself to his fate, his sister ripping her own heart out of his chest, taking back what rightfully belonged to her. If Theo closed his eyes all he could see were the walls of that hospital. All he could hear was his sister calling his name. So he didn’t. He stayed awake, refusing to let himself fall asleep. Because he didn’t want to open his eyes and find himself back in the body locker.  

This is why, when Liam stumbled across Theo at the lookout point (which happened to be his campout location for the night), the older boy hardly noticed the fellow wolf approach. It wasn’t until Liam was right next to Theo’s truck that he even heard or recognized the other being. 

“You look like shit, Theo” were the first words Theo heard as he opened the door. 

Theo reluctantly began pulling himself out of his truck, “You really don’t pull your punches do you?” he said as his feet hit the ground. He turned around and the door clicked shut before he gave Liam his full attention. 

The younger boy shook his head, a short laugh escaping his lips “just calling it how I see it.” Liam looked over Theo. Theo looked exhausted. Dark bags were forming under his eyes, his shoulders were hunched over, the Chimera could barely hold himself up. That, however, didn’t seem to stop Theo from flashing Liam his signature smirk. It pissed Liam off. Honestly. How despite everything, Theo was cool and suave and a constant annoyance.

“What are you doing here, Liam?” Theo huffed, leaning against the driver's door, arms crossing across his chest “just couldn’t stay away? Here to break my nose for the 4th time?”

Liam ducked his head, a chuckle rumbling through his chest as he took a similar position next to Theo. His eyes wandered over the truck before landing on Theo himself. “I could,” he laughed. “Might want to keep in that mind.”

Theo laughed beside him. Liam stole a glance at the were-wolf/coyote. He wondered when the last time Theo slept in a bed or slept at all for that matter. He didn’t look good at all. He looked like he could collapse at any moment from pure exhaustion. 

 Liam was torn from his thoughts, however, when Theo broke the silence, asking again “Liam, why are you here?”

“Why are you?” The words came out of Liam’s mouth before he could really stop them. The threat from Monroe was over, Liam was rescued from the hospital, Scott and Argent had taken off, something about a pack who needed help. Theo had no reason to stay in Beacon Hills, yet here he was. 

Theo huffed out a laugh “Because it’s where I parked my truck.”

Liam shook his head, annoyed “I mean, what are you still doing in Beacon Hills?” Theo turned to look at Liam, with a small scowl.

“Scott asked me to keep an eye on you and the pack,” He answered like it explained everything. He glanced back over the edge of the rocks, looking at the quiet city. His gaze stayed fixed on the lights and the moving cars. 

“Right,” Liam drawled, annoyed. “Because you are full of selfless intentions.” Theo snapped his gaze back to Liam, glaring at the beta. Liam pretended not to notice, he simply continued to talk. “I came out here to get some fresh air, get away from everything you know?” Liam came out to the lookout point to clear his head. The stress of taking Scott’s place began piling up, now that the Alpha was at college. He just needed an escape. His anger was starting to build up and he needed a breath of fresh air before he exploded. He was stressed and angry. Then he stumbled across Theo. “I just needed to get away.” He said honestly. “But then I saw your truck and...” 

“And you decided to come and make sure I wasn’t up to any evil schemes?” Theo laughed humorlessly, officially cutting Liam off. Liam seethed as Theo pushed himself off the truck, before standing in front of the beta. “What? Still, don’t trust me?” 

Honestly, Liam did trust Theo. And it was terrifying. Trusting Theo lead to the fall of the pack. Trusting Theo got people killed. Scott trusted Theo and he got killed for it. Tracy and Josh trusted Theo and they were dead because of it. Trusting Theo was a bad idea. But Liam did, and it scared him and pissed him off. Theo pissed him off. So instead of admitting it, Liam denied it, “I shouldn’t.” He shook his head, his voice rising. “You’re Theo. You destroy things, kill people, you tear people apart from the inside. You tried to get me to kill Scott, you did kill Scott! Along with Tracy and Josh. So no, Theo. Trusting you is a really bad idea.” As he spoke, Liam could feel his anger rising to the surface. Liam didn’t realize how frustrated Theo was making him until this moment. He was confused by the chimera, the same boy who claims to be selfish, and care only about himself, took a dying boys pain. He had saved his life, countless times over. Theo had thrown himself into danger to protect him. Theo confused the hell out of Liam, which only angered him even more. 

Theo smirked. In his anger, Liam missed that the smirk didn’t reach the chimera's eyes. “So you here to threaten me again?” Theo shoved Liam to the side, effectively pushing him off his truck “Don’t bother,” Theo growled, “I am well aware that you don’t trust me, despite how often I risk my life saving your dumb ass.” 

Liam barked a laugh. “Like you don’t have some ulterior motive. You are selfish and arrogant and you would do anything to save your own ass, regardless of what would happen to everyone else. You don’t risk your life for anyone Theo. You don’t care about anyone but yourself, which is why I don’t believe that you are here simply because ‘Scott asked you to.’”

Theo simply continued to glare at the wolf, before he began reaching for the door, as he announced, “You know what? This conversation is over.” As his hand touched the handle, Liam howled. He hadn’t come looking for a fight, but he sure as hell wanted one now. He was pissed. Theo was pissing him off, and he didn’t get to just walk away. He grabbed the chimera by his shoulders, spinning him around and pinning him against the truck. Theo let out a small huff of surprise, as the breath was forced out of his chest.

“No” Liam snarled, “It’s not. I’m not done and you are gonna listen to me” 

Theo flashed his eyes, as he growled. “Why? So I can listen to you threaten me? Again? You gonna put me back in the ground if I don’t do what you say?” 

Liam bared his fangs, hissing “I’m thinking about it” It was then that Theo flinched. Not a small subtle one, but one that rocked his whole body, as he tried to pull away from Liam. Surprised by the reaction, Liam leaned back slightly, a short laugh burst from his mouth “Oh does that scare you? What? You don’t want to see your sister again?”

Theo’s response was murmured so quietly, Liam would not have been able to hear it without his werewolf hearing “she took it back.” Liam was shocked, as he heard Theo’s voice quiver, allowing himself to be pushed away. He expected the chimera to bite back, to hit him. He didn’t expect the normally cold boy to suddenly give up. He sounded so broken. 

Theo’s gaze was focused on his shoes as he toed the dirt. He didn’t want to fight anymore. He was too tired to fight. He took a small, shaky breath before repeating “She took it back, her heart, she took it back. It’s hers, she should have it. So she took it back. Over and over again. I tried to run at first, but it was never enough. She always took it back, ripped it out. And then it started all over again. I was back in the body locker. I couldn’t outrun her, I couldn’t fight her, why should I? I took it from her, and she just wanted it back” his voice cut off with a small sob.

 Liam watched as the calm, collected, methodical Theo he had always known began to shake and fall apart right in front of him. Liam was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say. He had no idea, no one did. Theo never talked about what happened after Kira sent him away. Not to anyone.

Theo was always so Theo: cunning, evil, selfish, arrogant. He always seemed so sure of himself. He was cocky and annoying and just Theo. Liam had never seen him like this: vulnerable, emotional, and scared. Theo, for the first time that Liam had known him, seemed scared. 

Liam desperately tried to find the right words to say. Guilt filled him as he tried to comfort the other boy. He had done this. He let his anger get the best of him. He pushed and he yelled and caused Theo to break. He hadn’t meant to take it out on Theo. Theo looked exhausted, and Liam probably just made it so much worse. Theo fell back, his back slamming against the truck once more, sliding down the side of his truck, until he was sitting on the ground. He had his knees to his chest and his arms limply at his side, while he buried his face in his knees. 

Determined to fix this, Liam quickly dove in front of Theo. However, he was at a loss of what to do. As he landed on his knees, he could hear Theo mumbling something. Unable to make out what he was saying, Liam put one hand on Theo’s shoulder, and one hand cupping his face, slowly nudging the older boy to look at him. 

“Please don’t send me back” The words spilling out of Theo’s mouth becoming understandable once his face was no longer hidden. Over and over again, like a mantra. Theo finally moved his eyes up and forced himself to meet Liam’s gaze. It was then that Liam realized that Theo had tears in his eyes, on the verge of spilling over and down his face.

“Oh, Theo.” Liam sighed, having a sudden urge to wipe away the tears as they threatened to fall. He moved his hand off Theo’s shoulder, to mirror the position the other held, fulling cupping his face. “Theo, I am so so sorry.” Tears began to trace their way down the chimera’s face, as the young beta wiped them away. Liam thought back to all the times that he or Scott or Malia or anyone else would joke or threaten to put Theo back in the ground. He thought back to all the times Theo would flinch, or lose his carefully constructed mask every time they did. He didn’t notice at the time, but Theo was terrified of being sent back, and they just threw it around like it was no big deal. 

“I won’t send you back. I won’t let anyone send you back” Liam promised, “You’re not going back there.” 

Theo took a deep, shaking inhale, before slowly letting it out. He looked down again, looking at his hands. He concentrated on keeping them from shaking and steadying his breath. He slowly lifted a shaking hand. Liam expected to be shoved away, but instead, Theo set his hand on top of Liam’s and leaned into the touch.

Liam thought about the last time anyone touched Theo in a non-violent way. Sure, Theo had been punched, thrown against the wall, hit, he had plenty of physical interaction with others. But when was the last time someone had pat him on the back, gave him a hug, or gave him any positive physical interaction. Without really thinking about it, Liam threw himself down next to Theo. He pulled him into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around Theo. Half expecting to be hit, Liam was pleasantly surprised to see Theo simply melt into the hold, burying his face in Liam's chest, right above his heart. 

The two simply stayed there, holding each other. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. Liam simply held Theo until he stopped shaking. Till his breathing evened out and his heartbeat returned to normal. 

Once Liam was sure Theo had calmed down enough to listen, he began to apologize. “Theo, I didn’t mean what I said. I was angry and confused and stressed with everything that has been going on. I shouldn’t have lost it like that. I was wrong Theo. You aren’t selfish, or arrogant. Not anymore. You proved that when you saved my life. You proved it when you took Gabe’s pain. Even after what I said to you, how I treated you. Even after I broke your nose 3 times and beat you up, and yelled at you, and insulted you. You stayed, you fought, and you saved people other than yourself. You are not the same person you used to be Theo. And I trust you completely. It scares me and confuses the hell out of me, but I trust you and I am so so sorry for what I said.” 

Theo pushed himself off of Liam, not enough for Liam to lose his hold on the other boy's torso, just enough to look him in the eye. “Thank you” was all he managed to get out before collapsing into Liam’s chest once more. Liam clutched him tighter as he said: “I am sorry. There is no excuse for what I have done, but for what it’s worth,” he paused, “I am so sorry.” 

Liam wanted to pull Theo closer, but that wasn’t physically possible. Liam hadn’t realized how much his past actions were weighing on Theo. Things were finally starting to add up. Theo was trying to make up for what he had done. “I know.” He whispered into Theo’s head. Everything Theo had been doing was in repentance for what he had done. Theo still had a lot of work to do, but the Theo that had come back from the ground was most definitely not the one that went in. And that was enough for Liam. 

“Theo?” Liam whispered. Theo didn’t respond, but he hummed into Liam’s chest to let him know he had heard him. “When was the last time you slept?” 

It was then that Theo finally pulled away, out of Liam’s grasp. Liam desperately wanted to pull him back but kept himself from doing so. Theo looked at his hands as he explained, “I can’t remember. Every time I close my eyes, I’m back there, with her”.

Liam reached over and pulled Theo’s hands into his. “So come home with me.” Theo’s head shot up, looking Liam in the eyes. “So that when you wake up, I’ll be there, and you know you aren’t there with her, you’ll be here with me,” Liam explained. Theo, too tired to vocalize a response, simply nodded. Liam pulled him to his feet. After a bit of maneuvering and manhandling, he managed to get Theo to the passenger side, get him in the truck, and get the keys. 

After a quiet drive, Liam pulled into his driveway. Theo had dozed off during the drive, exhausted by the night’s events. He helped Theo out of the truck, and into the house. Liam’s parents were out of town for the month, his father having some medical conference in Idaho. So Liam didn’t have to worry about asking permission or them asking questions.

Once Liam maneuvered Theo into the room, and onto the bed, he pulled on sweatpants and a hoodie of his own, before climbing in next to Theo. Theo instantly pulled Liam closer to him, laying his head on the beta’s chest. Liam chuckled, before wrapping his arms around the older boy. 

“I’ll be here when you wake.” He whispered into Theo’s hair. 

“Thank you.” Theo barely managed to mumble before sleep finally overtook him. 

And for the first time since Liam had brought him back, Theo slept. He slept without his sister tormenting him. He slept safely in the arms of Liam, who felt a burst of affection for the boy in his arms before he too, gave in to the calls of sleep. 

[skylanders-after-the-end]

Monster

It was a cloudy day in Skylands, almost stormy. There were barely any airships in the sky, but there was a one, travelling through the middle of nowhere. With the Magic symbol on its sails, those knowledgeable in the history of the Skylands would recognize that it was the ship of the travelling sorcerers. They were believed to be long gone, but the trio has been travelling and protecting fellow magicians for centuries now. Ace, Zion and Raven were their names, yet not many knew that. Even the Skylanders weren’t aware of them, even though they were the very same people who rejected their former member Hex all those years ago.

“And you’re sure?” Zion was steering the airship and worrying while doing so as usual. “I mean if it’s true then-”

“He’s back alright.” Raven rolled her eyes whilst igniting and extinguishing a flame in her hand repeatedly. “He attacked the Skylanders before disappearing in the underworld, so that’s where we’ll find him.”

Ace was standing at the edge of the ship and did his usual thoughtful stare into the distance. “I’m not surprised.” He held his staff, which has turned dark and started to rot over the years, and thought of his countless conspiracies. “She never got the job done.”

His companions looked at him and immediately knew what he was talking about. “What if she’s with him?” Zion sounded concerned as he thought of the possibility of meeting their two enemies at the same place.

“She’s a Skylander now, remember?” Raven sighed and wanted to forget about their long-lost friend. “I’m sure she’s having a great time demonstrating her amazing powers at any chance she gets, that’s what she’s always done.” There was so much spite and rage in the sorceress’ words, that her eyes glowed in a fiery red light from the magic that she’s been practicing her entire life.

“Or she’s with Malefor right now.” Ace wondered what the witch has been up to, since they didn’t know what exactly happened with Malefor on that day. “They could be plotting a plan as we speak!”

“Enough of this Ace!” Raven had to listen to her leader’s assumptions for centuries and she’s grown sick of it. “It’s always about Hex! She’s a Skylander, she doesn’t have any reason to worry about Malefor! And if she’s done anything remotely evil, we would’ve heard about it by now. You need to get over it!”

“You saw what she did and yet you still don’t believe me?” Ace turned his head around to face his ally with an equally angry look. “She was killing our village! If we hadn’t banished her, we would have all been dead!” He took a step towards the sorceress whilst Zion observed the fight from a distance. “Not to mention that everyone who saw her since that day has been afraid to death of her. Even if she pretends to be a Skylander, everyone knows that there’s something sinister about her.”

Raven sighed and made a book appear in her hand. She wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation and instead read the pages she already knew by heart.

“Just you wait. When we finally cross paths again, I will be the hero to defeat the witch!” Ace was eager and sure of himself, and he wouldn’t let anyone, or anything stop him from achieving his goal.

“There it is.” Zion pointed to a large cave entrance in front of them.

It was the biggest known entrance that lead to the underworld. Big enough for ships to pass. The group readied themselves before the spellpunk speeded right towards the fog inside the dark cave.

Far away from the mission of the sorcerers, Spyro called a meeting to discuss further plans and their search for the Golden Queen in full transparency.

“We have been hunting the Golden Queen for months now, and there’s still no sign of her!” Spyro sounded frustrated, almost mad as he looked across the table with Skylanders sitting around it. “Stealth Elf, High Volt, you have encountered two elves that claimed to have seen her. What did you find out?”

“I didn’t find out anything.” High Volt crossed his arms and became annoyed at the thought of the elves refusing to share any information. “I called Stealth Elf hoping they’d talk to someone of their kind.”

“They didn’t tell me much either. They quickly realized I was a Skylander and… left.” She didn’t tell anyone, even Spyro, that those two elves were actually her parents and that she completely forgot to ask them about the queen after the emotional reunion and hurtful parting. She wanted to forget about them and continue her life as it is.

“Boom Bloom, what about you?” Spyro looked over to the Life Sensei who gave him a blank expression. “Was Krankcase of any help?”

“He was actually.” Boom Bloom remembered how he disregarded his own pain in order to save her from the destroyed factory, but of course that’s not what she was going to say. “But the tracking device wasn’t there. He must have lost it.”

Spyro sighed. He proceeded to look over to Roller Brawl and Chill, who was finally wearing her regular armor again. “You went to the Leviathan Lagoon. I’ve heard of a dead leviathan there, was that the queen’s doing?”

“Um…” Roller Brawl nervously glanced over to Chill, since it was actually her who impaled the creature during their mission. “We don’t know what happened, and everyone we asked said she wasn’t there.”

“Hmm…” Spyro finally looked over to Smolderdash, who was as nervous as ever. She was the only one who knew of Sprocket and her tracking device, but she promised her not to tell anyone about it. “Sprocket has been missing for a while now. Last time you were the first to notice Smolderdash, do you know anything now?”

The Fire Skylander hesitated to answer and stared at the anticipating faces next to her with distress. She gulped as a drop of burning lava ran down the side of her head. “No, she doesn’t have a tracking device that she’s been working on for months and used Golden Queen’s jewel that she lost during their last battle to track her down.”

The entire round was silently staring at the Skylander, who just realized what she said. “She did what!?” Spyro was furious. They were hopelessly looking for the villainess while the engineer has already tracked her down. “Why didn’t she tell us that?”

“I asked her that too, but she said she wanted to confront her on her own to find out why she couldn’t turn her into a golden statue.” Smolderdash slapped her hand over her mouth and would have preferred for the ground to open up and swallow her than to be sitting with the others right now.

“Oh Ancients.” Spyro pressed his fingers against his forehead and tried to sort everything out. “Did she tell you where she went?”

Smolderdash slowly removed her hand from her face. Even though she didn’t want to say another word, she couldn’t ignore her leader. “She didn’t know the location herself. She took the device and followed the signal.”

“Then we have to find Sprocket and join her.” Spyro, irritated by his teammate’s behavior, got out of his chair and rose up. “Everyone, there’s a new mission-”

“Wait!” Smolderdash interrupted the dragon and immediately regretted it. But since she already stood up and caught everyone’s attention, she had no choice but to continue. “Maybe we should let Sprocket just find her on her own?”

“Are you insane?” Spyro gave Smolderdash a confused look and wondered what was going through her head. “We’re not letting her face one of the most dangerous villains on her own! Especially when we don’t even know where Golden Queen is! She’s your friend Smolder, aren’t you worried?”

“Of course I am.” The fire being turned completely serious, despite that she could tell how important this was for the Tech Skylander. “But the queen’s powers don’t work on her, that already gives her a huge advantage!”

“When did Golden Queen defeat us with just her powers?” Spyro made a valid point. The wicked goldling always had backup and another trick up her sleeve. “There is no discussion. We have to find Sprocket before she reaches the Golden Queen and defeat her together.”

Smolderdash realized that there was nothing she could say to change the Skylander’s mind, and she probably shouldn’t. She also found Sprocket’s idea quite risky and didn’t fully agree either.

Spyro looked at the group in front of him and thought about their next steps. “Knight Light, Enigma. You two look for the most recent departures of airships.”

“It’s actually been a few days.” Smolderdash informed Spyro, who could only roll his eyes once more.

“Departures of the last week. If a ship hasn’t returned, Sprocket must have taken it.” The leader was heated up and as determined as ever about the missions.

The addressed Trap Masters were baffled. It seemed as if they couldn’t get rid of each other. “Don’t worry Spyro, we’ll take care of it!” Knight Light smiled and looked over to Enigma who simply turned his head to the side.

Spyro glanced over to the row of Senseis next. “Boom Bloom, Tidepool, you can go to Sprocket’s home town. It’s a long journey and she might have stopped there.” The Senseis nodded as Spyro continued to look for other suitable warriors. “Buckshot and Wild Storm can accompany you. There’s many enemies lingering around the island so you’ll need backup.”

Another unfortunate pick from the leader. Tidepool and Wild Storm gave each other a hasty look before turning away again. They still didn’t get to talk since their decision to put their relationship on ice, which made the team up the more awkward. At least they also had their new friends by their side.

“Spyro, may I suggest something?” Déjà Vu stood up from her chair and looked at the leader who held in to hear the suggestion. “Why don’t we use my time powers to go back when Sprocket left and just stop her?” The time lord presented her mystical hourglass while talking which glowed in a blue light and surged with energy.

“No offense Déjà Vu, but the last time you tried something like that we got stuck in a time paradox and nearly tore apart reality trying to get back.” Spyro reminded the Magic Skylander of the catastrophic effects time travel brings.

Déjà Vu responded to that with an easy shrug. “It was worth a try.”

Spyro directed his sight back to the group in front of him and couldn’t come up with anymore missions on the spot. “Everyone else, spread out and share the news! I’ll assign everyone to missions as soon as we’re all on the same page.”

The Skylanders agreed and headed out of the assembly room. Stealth Elf and Cynder stayed behind to accompany Spyro who still had to process the information.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t approach this differently?” Stealth Elf asked her friend. “Last time we looked for the Doom Raiders and Sprocket was the one to lead us to them. Now we’re supposed to look for her?”

“What else should we do?” Spyro didn’t want to admit it, but he was running out of ideas as well. “We can’t contact her, and we have no clue where she went. This is our best shot.”

Stealth Elf put her hand on Spyro’s shoulder to calm him down from the stressful situation. Cynder on the other hand had something she urgently wanted to say, even though it might have not been the best moment. “I know this may not be the best time, but I wanted to ask about Malefor.”

The elf and the dragon were baffled. Malefor was the last name they expected to hear today. “What about him?” Spyro was perplexed.

“He’s still out there!” Cynder tried not to lose her cool, but it was hard considering the dragon who has been grooming her to become a harbinger of death has returned. “I think that he’s a far greater threat than Golden Queen. Not to mention that Hex has been with him this whole time.”

“Exactly!” Cynder wanted to use that as a reason to find the dragon and help their ally, but Stealth Elf misunderstood her statement. “You know Hex, she can take care of him. She’s defeated him before, so keeping him at bay shouldn’t be a challenge.”

“I’m sorry, but Elf’s right.” Spyro looked at Cynder who was quite shocked to hear him agree. “Sprocket is in serious danger, and Golden Queen could have already sent an entire army to destroy us. Hex is with Malefor, there’s nothing he can do.”

The dragon and his elven friend turned around and left the room. Cynder stayed and couldn’t believe her companions. Sprocket was in danger, but so was Hex. She knows best what it’s like to be bound to the undead dragon, and she wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that.

While all the Skylanders were being informed about Sprocket, Smolderdash retreated to the small room in the Academy which the engineer used while working on her newest invention. She held one of the pairs of communication devices she found before Sprocket left and gave her one as well. The Fire Skylander told her to call her as soon as she needs help, but it seemed like Smolderdash would have to be the one to use it first instead.

It didn’t feel right. Letting one of her closest friends face one of the most dangerous villains on her own. But she knew how much Sprocket loved to solve things and that once she’s put something in her head, it’s impossible to stop her. If the Skylanders do find her and defeat the Golden Queen together, they would catch and lock her up right away, not giving Sprocket an opportunity to find out why she was immune to her powers. Even though she was scared, Smolderdash didn’t want to take that from her. She placed her finger on the button positioned on the side of the small box-shaped device and moved it closer to her mouth. “Sprocket listen to me! The others know about your plan. They are going to look for you and try to defeat the Golden Queen before you can find out the truth. You need to hurry! And please… be careful.”

While some Skylanders have already begun to set out on their new missions, Cynder glided across the Academy looking for someone. With her precise vision, it didn’t take her long to spot the person and dive down before landing in front of him.

“Enigma!” Knight Light, who was walking next to the sorcerer, jumped up in surprise when the dragon fell out of the sky while Enigma simply stopped and looked at the Undead Skylander.

“What is it Cynder?” Enigma turned his head to Knight Light who was doing his best to play his scare off.

“Yeah, what is it Cynder?” With the most heroic voice and a puffed up chest, Knight Light offered his help to the dragoness as well, which made Enigma roll his eyes under his hood.

“I know things are pretty complicated with Sprocket and the Golden Queen, but I’ve been thinking a lot about Malefor lately.” The Skylander only looked at Enigma, even though Knight Light carefully listened as well.

“Malefor? Ha!” The angel proudly summoned his traptanium scythe with a blinding light in his hand and shifted into a battle stance. “That withered old dragon won’t stand a chance if he dares facing us!”

“Knight, why are you acting like this?” Enigma has known the Light Skylander for a while now and even though he did consider him slightly obnoxious before, this behavior was simply annoying.

“Did you forget? I have to make a good impression for my former superiors.” Knight Light reminded his ally of the constant pressure he was under, with the Guardians always keeping an eye on him and his performance. “If I don’t show them that I’m a worthy Skylander, these won’t carry me through the skies much longer.” He flapped his shimmering wings to clarify his worries.

Cynder, utterly confused by the situation, used the moment of silence to explain herself. “Everyone is worried about the Golden Queen, but we all know what Malefor is capable of.” Cynder wasn’t there when he ambushed the Academy, but she has spent more than enough time with him to know exactly what she was talking about. “I wanted to ask you if you could help me find some way to get rid of that revival spell he has on himself and find him in the underworld. We-”

“Cynder, I know you’re worried.” Enigma had to interrupt the dragon before she could go on. “But I’m already on a mission regarding Sprocket. And even if I could help you, I fear that Malefor is out of my league when it comes to magic.” Enigma was one of the most skilled magicians among the Skylanders, but the only one who could ever stand up to the dragon king was Hex.

“I understand. Thank you anyway.” Cynder didn’t bother the Trap Masters any longer and walked away.

The dragoness didn’t know what to do anymore. Spyro didn’t consider Malefor a threat, and everyone else was too busy with finding Golden Queen and Sprocket to help her. She knew that Hex was with him, but that didn’t make things any better. Cynder thought that the days where she would have to worry about Malefor were over, but she felt more worried than ever before. She felt that something bad was going to happen.

The travelling sorcerers have been traversing through the underworld for hours. They felt the cold air of undead energy which was present throughout the entire realm engulfing them. As unsettling and terrifying as it was, they had a mission, and they wouldn’t back down until they’ve fulfilled it.

“What if Malefor left? I mean why should he stay… here?” Zion’s shaky voice and heavy gulp emphasized the undeniable fear the spellpunk felt as he tried not to close his eyes while steering the ship.

“He is the king of the underworld. If there’s any place where he’s most comfortable, it’s here.” Ace was certain that they would find their enemy there, even though he did feel a sense of unease as well.

“Why exactly do we want to fight him here again?” Raven was confused after hearing the facts. It seemed unwise to battle Malefor in his own element.

“Hex claimed to have defeated him by herself down here, so it shouldn’t be a problem for the three of us.” Ace didn’t lose hope and tried motivating his allies as much as possible so they wouldn’t decide to back off in the last second. “Besides, we have learned some new tricks since then.”

Raven smiled proudly as she created a magical orb in her hand and sent it flying upwards just for it to explode in a radiant light that scorched everything it touched. “We will show that king what real magic looks like!”

Not too far away, still bound to the Creepy Citadel by Hex’ superior powers, Malefor noticed the bursts of magic igniting the dark caves of the underworld. The dragon lifted his heavy body up from the floating island and investigated the direction the lights were coming from until he saw the ship approach. He would have recognized the symbol on the sails anywhere. Malefor smiled before flying away to hide from the sorcerers.

The trio soon arrived at the haunting citadel and landed their ship at the beginning of the long stone bridge above the foggy depths of the land of the dead. They got off their aircraft and cautiously observed the area, always holding their weapons and magic ready. The atmosphere was unsettling, chills ran down every magician’s spine. The fact that there was no one nearby should have made them feel safer, but instead it just scared them further. They’ve reached the half point of the bridge when suddenly they noticed a large figure dashing by, creating a strong gust of wind that hit them.

“What was that?” Zion was already shaking on their way across the bridge, but now the spellpunk instinctively summoned an orb in his hand, which was just as shaky as himself.

“I don’t know.” Raven wasn’t as terrified as her ally, but nevertheless prepared her book and flipped to the page with the most powerful spells she could perform.

Ace looked to his left as he sensed the large figure slowly creeping by the group, hiding in the shadows. “Guys.” The leader was mortified while watching the ragged figure rise up into the air and land in front of them with a loud thump.

It was none other than Malefor. The malicious dragon grinned as the small magicians in front of him trembled and moved backwards while looking up to him. “So we meet again.” The dragon didn’t waste a second and opened his jagged jaw to shoot a spectral flame at his enemies.

Before it hit them, Ace was able to create a barrier around the trio with his staff, which he had to lower as soon as the attack was finished since it costs him a lot of energy to block such a powerful blow. Raven took advantage of Malefor’s short pause to use her own magic and aim for the dragon’s face. He groaned as he had to take two powerful orbs and clenched his teeth before shooting a trail of flames at the sorceress. Raven was able to dash away from it with one of her spells and appear behind the dragon where she delivered some more blows to his back and wings. Malefor roared in anger and turned around, continuing trying to hit the light-footed woman.

While Raven was busy distracting Malefor, Zion helped Ace to get back up after the draining protection spell. The spellpunk gathered all his courage and took a deep breath before joining his friend and firing at the dragon. The undead king had to deal with two of the sorcerers now, both of which he was unable to hit himself due to their quick movement. It didn’t take long until Malefor was fed up and decided to use his armored tail. In a moment of surprise after seeing the limb dissect itself into several parts held together by a chain, Raven was struck by it and sent flying against the low wall of the bridge, breaking her glasses in the process. Shortly after, Malefor turned around to hit Zion as well, catapulting him towards their ship where his fall was caught by the sail which was torn down with him.

While the two sorcerers tried to come to their senses and storm back into battle, Ace gained his full energy back and stepped up to the dragon. Malefor could only smirk at the sight of the puny elf. “What are you going to do with your stick? Pick my teeth?”

While Malefor was laughing, Ace grabbed his staff with both hands and focused. Raven and Zion were behind him, watching in awe as the sorcerer recited an ancient spell and his staff began to glow in a radiant blue light. Malefor stopped to cackle and stared at the spellcaster unimpressed. After listening to a few more of his gibberish words, the dragon charged another powerful blast in his mouth and unleashed it. To his surprise, Ace used his staff to create a laser that hit the fire breath, and the two got into an intense battle of forces. It was a constant shift of dominance over the colliding blasts, which Raven and Zion observed eagerly. The showdown was interrupted by another projectile hitting the collision point of the blasts from above and creating an explosion, which sent Ace flying backwards and landing right in front of his friends. Malefor shook his head after being hit as well and looked around to see where that projectile was coming from. After looking behind himself, the dragon sharpened his eyes and stared at a certain point angrily.

Malefor looked back at the devastated sorcerers who were confused as to what was going on. After an irritated groan, the dragon moved aside and left the bridge to fly to a nearby islands, observing the following scene from a safe distance. The sorcerers stayed in place and saw another, much smaller figure approach them. The low lighting and fog made it hard to recognize who it was, but after Ace took a very close look, he opened his eyes wide and was shocked. “It’s… you.”

After the other two sorcerers recognized the figure as well and were left speechless, Hex was finally close enough to look her former allies into their eyes. The magicians and their former member stared at each other blankly, not saying a word. Hex kept her distance, small enough to see and hear them clearly.

“Hex?” Zion got up from the ground and floated in front of his allies. “It’s really you.”

Raven experienced an overwhelming rage that she hasn’t felt in a very long time. She pushed herself up with her bloody hands and set her glasses straight before standing next to Zion. “I was hoping we would never see you again.”

“That hope is mutual.” Hex responded coldly, not showing any emotions.

“Well, well, she got bold since our last encounter.” Raven hissed the words while keeping her angry eyes on Hex, with her book tightly in her hand.

“What are you doing here?” Zion asked in a less angry, but more curious tone.

“I could ask you the same question.” Hex looked over to the self-taught pilot she once valued. “And why you are foolish enough to challenge Malefor.”

“Look who’s talking.” Raven countered and glanced over to the mentioned dragon, who observed the reunion with delight. “Why are you here with him? Are you finally plotting your plan to enslave the world with your powers?”

“If that was the case you wouldn’t find us here.” Malefor answered in Hex’ place, making it sound like the assumption was right which didn’t make Hex too happy.

Finally, Ace got up from his hard fall and stood in between his friends. He looked up and gave Hex a lasting look, longing for the truth. “You finally left the Skylanders to follow your true destiny.”

“I did not leave them.” Hex denied all the lies that were all too familiar to her. “I am keeping Malefor down here to prevent him from wreaking havoc across Skylands.”

“You cannot lie to us!” Ace raised his voice and took a step forward while leaning onto his staff. “We know exactly why you’re down here, we’ve known it ever since you crawled out of this pit!”

Hex was unfazed by the spiteful comments and realized something else. They all looked exactly the same as they did when she last saw them. “How are all of you still alive? It’s been hundreds of years.”

The sorcerers were silenced and didn’t want to respond to the witch’s question, but there was no need for them to say anything since she remembered the answer herself. “You used my spells, didn’t you?” Her former friends remained quiet, which might have also been due to some shame. “We agreed that spells that undo injuries and freeze the body are only to be used in emergencies!”

“We?” Ace didn’t care much about the rules Hex has set up in the past, the sorcerers did whatever they wanted since she left. “There is no “we” Hex. There is only us and you!” The group moved closer together while throwing Hex dirty looks. “We kept ourselves alive because the Skylanders, which include you, remained to be ignorant!”

“They don’t care about sorcerers like us!” Zion added to the argument. “They think we don’t need their help even though we’re being targeted more than anyone else!”

“Not everyone has your kind of powers to defend themselves.” Raven glared at Hex with even more hatred than before.

“We used your spells to keep us alive, but you made a deal with the devil!” Ace looked over to Malefor who continued to keep himself out of the conversation. “This is what you wanted from the start! Unlimited power, so you can do whatever you like!”

“What did I ever do to you!?” Hex finally broke her stale attitude and spoke up. “I protected you from Malefor, I risked my life for you, and you claim that I’m the villain! I never did anything bad!”

“What about the dying crops and the sick people then?” Zion reminded her of the unfortunate time when the town was at the verge of extinction due to deadly circumstances.

“That wasn’t my doing! It was a regular plague that spread across the Skylands, it just happened to appear after I transformed.” Hex did believe that it was her fault at first as well, but she did her research and found out that it wasn’t connected to her in any way.

“Why are you still here then? Shouldn’t your friends have come for you if what you’re saying is true?” Raven always kept her book in front of her in a defensive manner, as if she expected Hex to strike her any moment.

The witch did wonder about that too. She expected them to help her by now, but there was no sign of the Skylanders. “They have other things to do, I told them I’d take care of Malefor.”

“Face it Hex, they’re not coming back for you.” Everyone directed their sight to Malefor who suddenly decided to join in on the argument. “Just like your old friends they realized how dangerous you are and that it’s best to keep you down here.”

Hex gave him a cold glare before looking back to the magicians as Ace nodded in agreement. That nod and the rightful look in the elf’s eyes is what truly angered the Skylander. She wasn’t easy to provoke, but if there’s one thing she couldn’t stand it was unjustified assumptions. “I don’t understand.” She lowered her voice to a point where it almost sounded hopeless, sad even. “We used to be so close, yet you threw our friendship away like it meant nothing, just because I’ve changed. Instead of trying to help me or listen to me you isolated me and tried to burn me alive!”

“Do you want to know why Hex?” While the other two had no reason for their behavior other than their personal problems, Ace had a bigger picture in mind.

“I would love to.” With a dark tone she looked at him to finally hear an explanation.

“We once went on a mission. The one where we discovered the portal that could lead us to different realms.” A distant memory that all of the members could remember, even Hex. “We didn’t investigate it in fear we could get lost, but while you were about to set off, I entered it!”

Zion looked at his leader baffled. “You never told us that!”

“Because I couldn’t risk anyone hearing about the portal, we were being watched all the time!” Ace silenced the spellpunk with a quick look and continued. “Inside the place that I entered, I found a book. A book unlike any I’ve seen before. Naturally I wanted to see what was inside, but when I opened it, I was overwhelmed.” Ace still remembers all the pictures and sentences that flashed before him. Things that he knew from historical books, it was like taking a trip through the past. “Nevertheless, I tried to read further, so I flipped the pages and the pictures became familiar. I even saw us!”

“How is that possible?” As much of a bookworm she was, Raven had never heard of the strange book Ace was talking about.

“I don’t know, but it must have been an all-knowing book.” Ace wasn’t aware that the Skylanders have recently found out about that book and were already looking for it as well. “It showed me the past, the present and… the future.” That’s when the elf looked back at Hex with a suspicious look. “I flipped forward, and it showed me so many different outcomes, so many different possibilities, I couldn’t make sense of any of them.” Ace’s psyche was severely damaged that day, but there was one picture that was burned into his mind permanently. “But then I saw it, the one picture. The one picture I never forgot.” He eagerly took a step forward while keeping his eyes on Hex, almost obsessively. “It was you. You were in it Hex. And you were standing on a pile of bones, surrounded by flames. You have killed everyone, the Skylands were a wasteland. And that’s when I knew that you were the true villain. I know the truth!”

Hex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was that book real? Was it an illusion? Is what Ace saw really the truth? “It can’t be.”

“It can!” Ace gripped his staff tighter and started to approach Hex. “Malefor might have been the one to attack us and try to rule the Skylands, but he was nothing compared to you.”

Even the dragon was listening and thought about what the elf was saying. It rubbed him the wrong way that he sounded like a pathetic pawn in comparison to Hex.

“You were always the true evil, even if you didn’t know it yet.” Ace’s staff began to glow as the crazed sorcerer got closer and closer to the witch, who only gave him an angry stare without moving from the spot. “And once you would follow your true path and reveal who you really are, I would be there to stop you!”

Hex clenched her fists which were engulfed by her undead magic as the elven sorcerer got dangerously close to her.

Ace grabbed his staff with both hands and was ready to strike. “And now I can finally finish what I’ve started! I will destroy you, monster!”

The elf threw himself up into the air and was about to strike Hex down with his charged-up staff. Before he could do that however, Hex raised her hand and shot a phantom orb right at his chest, sending him back and throwing him to the ground. The effects of her undead powers were spreading across the elf’s body. His veins turned dark and his skin became paler with each passing moment. He gasped for air and scratched the floor underneath him as he flinched in pain and his body withered away. When the dark magic has finally covered his entire body, he rolled his eyes back into his head until only the white of his pupils was visible, and then he stopped breathing. He was dead.

Zion and Raven rushed to their deceased leader. “Ace? Ace!?” The spellpunk called out in agony while watching the withered corpse with horror. “Please wake up!”

Raven was quickly skimming through her book looking for a spell. When she finally found one, she concentrated and used it on the elf, but without success. They tried a few more, but none of them could bring him back to life. “What have you done!?” Tears formed in Raven’s eyes as she yelled at Hex, who emotionlessly observed the tragedy.

After not receiving an answer, the sorceress charged up a fireball in her hand and shot it towards Hex. The witch easily dodged it and created two orbs in her hands. Hex closed her eyes shortly and when she opened them up again, they were pitch black. The remaining magicians looked at the witch terrified as she let the magic in her hands flow towards them like snakes slithering through the air. Through their mouths, the sorcerers inhaled the dark magic and it choked them like Ace, but not for long. They suddenly both turned silent and closed their eyes. Upon opening them, they were black as well. They stared into the dark nothing with no expression or hint of anger or sadness and stood before Hex, whose eyes have turned back to their regular white glow.

Malefor, quite pleased by the scenery, got back onto the bridge and stood behind Hex. “Good job-”

Before he spoke another word, Hex twirled around and used her magic to slam the dragon’s head down onto the bridge and look him into the eyes. “You are now under my command, do you understand?”

Malefor didn’t say anything and instead tried to break free from the witch’s grasp, who clenched her fist and pushed him even further down.

“Do you understand?” Hex raised her voice and looked at Malefor with the most furious look she has ever given the dragon.

“Y- yes.” Malefor struggled to get the word out of his mouth since it was being pressed against the bridge, but after he finally said it, he was released. The king positioned himself up again. “What do you plan to do now?”

Hex took a moment to think about that. She looked at the people she once considered her family. Their leader was dead, and the other ones were mindless slaves that would follow her every word. She didn’t believe that the book showed Ace the truth, but she did believe that it was time for her to finally seek revenge on all those that have wronged her. “No mortal creature wants me up there. They either fear or hate me, no matter what I do. Even the Skylanders don’t truly trust me.” Hex had her fists clenched once again and they emitted an even darker undead energy, flickering like flames through the thick fog surrounding her. “If they want a monster, I’ll give them a monster.”

[stahlop]

Once Upon a Time  1x06 “The Shepherd” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05

Yes!  Finally, another great episode!  Tonight we have the backstory of Charming! Who isn’t really a prince!  And we get to see more of David and Mary Margaret, and David’s stupid memories coming back.  And because of that, a heartbroken Mary Margaret.  Regina is really evil. This episode basically comes down to the choices we make and how they affect the characters. Also, for the purposes of not confusing anyone, I will be referring to King George’s son as James, and the shepherd as David.

Synopsis:

David struggles with his feelings for Mary Margaret, even though he doesn’t remember his life with his wife, Kathryn. In the Enchanted Forest James must defeat a dragon to help his kingdom.

Opening: 

A dragon flying in the woods.

New Characters:

King Midas: So the nag with the bad attitude from 1x03 has a father and he is King Midas.  Midas is known from Greek Mythology as the king with the golden touch.  He seems to have a glove that won’t turn to gold to help him live with this. In most versions of the story, he has to ask the god that gave him the power to take it away because anything he touches turns to gold, including, in some versions, his daughter. But here he seems to have things under control.  There is a dragon raveging his kingdom and apparently his knights aren’t able to handle it, so he has called upon King George’s kingdom to help out. And, in true royal fashion, gives his daughter’s hand in marriage once the deed is done to help unite their kingdoms.  There really isn’t too much to say about Midas, he’s basically doing what any king would do, and he genuinely seems to love his daughter and just wants what’s best for the kingdoms.

King George:  Prince James’s father who is the biggest asshole. I’m not surprised that their kingdom has no money, he seems like the type who likes extravagance and will do whatever it takes to keep himself in it.  Although, he does truly seem to love his son.  At least, I hope he did, considering he brokered a deal with Rumplestiltskin to get him. Actually, I’m a little torn on this, did he truly love James, or was James just a means to an end for him? The way Rumplestiltskin talks, he just needed an heir and then he barely even mourned James, he just needed him alive to get help from Midas’s kingdom. So maybe he didn’t really love him. Either way, George is an asshole who is used to getting his way and will use any means to get it.

Prince James: Well, he that was a shock!  Was anyone else shocked that Prince James was not actually David? He was an amazing swordsman who didn’t seem to follow his own advice.  He told the other guy to make sure he was really dead, and then he didn’t do the same thing which resulted in his own death.  He also seems to do exactly what his father tells him to do, but he’s not cowardly about it, he enjoys playing the royalty game.  I’m sure, had he slayed the dragon, he would’ve seen Abigail as a prize he had won instead of the woman who was to become his wife.

Character Observations:

David: He’s a poor shepherd in the EF. And the hair, the hair!  Can we just forget about the awfulness that was his hair? He lives with his mother as his father died years ago.  He is determined to marry for love and not just to save his farm. As he tells his mother, marrying for love is the one thing he can afford. Unfortunately, the choices he has to make don’t allow him to marry for love. After finding out the prince was his twin, he makes the choice to pretend to be James to save his farm, but then he must also make the choice to save his mother’s life by marrying Abigail.  As Rumplestiltskin says to him earlier in the episode, ‘Oh, everyone has a choice dearie. Just make sure it’s the right one.’ Thank goodness he knew how to slay a dragon or we’d have two dead brothers.

David Nolan also has a choice to make. He seems to be in a love triangle between his wife, Kathryn, and Mary Margaret. Although, it seems to be pretty one-sided.  David is not the man who married Kathryn, he doesn’t know who that was, he can’t remember him.  All he knows is that he has feelings for Mary Margaret. He does leave Kathryn and goes to meet Mary Margaret by the toll bridge because that is where she found him.  Unfortunately, Regina and Gold seem to have other plans; plans that somehow give him his memories of Kathryn and their life together.  And David, being the nice guy that he is, chooses to try to work with Kathryn.  He claims he never meant to leave her the night he went into a coma; that he was just wanting to work things out on his own. So now they can work things out together.

Mary Margaret: Poor Mary Margaret.  She just gets beat down this episode.  She spends most of her time trying to stay away from David, then he actually leaves his wife for her, only to get his memories back right before they were to be together. She really should’ve waited a little longer than, what, a week or two, and maybe seeing if his memories were to come back before they tried their little rendezvous.  It would have saved a lot of heartache for both of them. Especially, since she seemed pretty convinced his feelings for her were only because she ‘saved’ him. And it looks like Mary Margaret is going to go into rebound mode with Dr. Whale, which, ew.  Just no.  They tried to make him backtrack from his lecherous behavior last time he went on a date with Mary Margaret, but no way do I believe she is that heartbroken enough to let anything happen with Whale. 

Rumplestiltskin/Gold: We find out that George made a deal with him years ago for his son.  Rumplestiltskin calls him a gift whereas George says it was a deal. I get what Rumplestiltskin is going for here.  Children should be considered gifts, but all George is seeing is that he had to make a deal in order to get an heir. George proposes another deal to bring his son back, but Rumple says ‘dead is dead’. Instead, he reveals that James happened to be a twin and that is how ‘his son’ will slay the dragon. Rumplestiltskin comes to David to give him a choice, basically, save your mother and your farm or get yourselves all killed.

Gold is not in this episode very much.  He happens to cross paths with David right when he’s about to make his choice to be with Mary Margaret. He somehow has the windmill in his shop that Kathryn was talking about earlier and that ‘jogs’ David’s memories.

Emma: She doesn’t do a lot this episode.  She’s basically Mary Margaret’s sounding board for her ‘relationship’ with David. She gives Mary Margaret some really bad advice by telling her to be with David since he’s left Kathryn.  I get that she wants Mary Margaret to be happy, but let the guy breath for a little bit.  He literally just woke up from a coma. She also discovers Graham and Regina’s little secret. I’m surprised that Emma’s superpower didn’t detect he was lying earlier when Graham asked her to cover the night shift.  She had every right to tell him to finish her shift.

Abigail/Kathryn: We still don’t get much from Abigail, except that she seems to not want to marry Prince James and is being forced to per royal marriage. She’s still pretty aloof and distant. Kathryn, on the other hand, is nice and warm, and trying everything she can to save her marriage, despite the fact that David clearly doesn’t want to be with her. She’s pretty ecstatic when he remembers and comes back to her.

Regina: God she is getting annoying!  She is so one note.  I get everyone putting up with her over the years because it’s technically the same day over and over, but why does anyone put up with her now that they see how she acts on a daily basis?  She’s just awful to everyone. Is it part of the curse that no one can see how awful she is unless she is personally being a bitch to you? But, it was nice to see her actually trying to be friendly with Kathryn.  I know she has ulterior motives for wanting David and Kathryn to work out, but she seemed genuinely touched at Kathryn’s words.

Dr. Whale: I mean, we’ve barely seen him outside of the hospital. The first time we saw him he was on a date with Mary Margaret but eyeing Ruby in the background.  This time he is hitting on Mary Margaret again, but with an apology and basically telling her to do the unexpected so that you’re not disappointed.  And then she asks him to buy her two drinks.  Yikes!

Questions:

Who is this Frederick King Midas mentioned?

Is there anyone Rumplestiltskin isn’t involved with?  We’ve seen him with Snow and Charming, Regina, Cinderella, Jiminy, and now King George, and at one time, David’s mother.

Where did James’s body go when Rumplestiltskin and King George are talking?  King George is seen mourning over the body with his knights, then Rumplestiltskin comes, then the knights leave and the table James was laying on is now empty, but no one took the body with them.

Have commoners never seen Prince James? Has no one ever seen that James and David look even similar?  I know David’s hair was awful, but is this like a Superman situation where people just ignore that they look identical?

How did David become such a good swordsman as a shepherd?

I know Storybrooke is lax about a lot of things, but could David really get to Mary Margaret’s classroom without having to go through the front office and a phone call to her first?  I’m a teacher and there is no way that would be allowed to happen.

I get that David is being sentimental, but why would he want to meet Mary Margaret out in the middle of the woods? Especially a place he almost died.

There is a lot riding on circumstance with David, Regina, and Gold.  How did Regina know David would get lost trying to find the toll bridge, or was she just in the right place at the right time? How did Regina know Gold would help her with her plan? How did Regina and Gold know that David would even come in the shop when Regina gave him the wrong directions? How did Gold know that David would recognize the windmill? He wasn’t even there when Kathryn mentioned it?.  Is all this subliminally planted in David’s mind somehow?

Who was Dr. Whale in the EF? Maybe he’s really the whale from Pinocchio? Or are there any doctor characters in fairy tales?

 Observations:

Regina mentions her lost love again to Kathryn.

Take your own advice James, make sure the guy is really dead.

The round table in King George’s castle is the same table that Snow and Charming had their war council meeting with the Blue Fairy in the Pilot.

Rumplestiltskin’s price for bringing David to King George is the whereabouts of a certain fairy godmother whose wand he wants.  

The headline in the Storybrooke Daily Mirror is “Welcome Home, John Doe”.  Slow news day, I guess.

King George’s knights are pretty bad at their job.  First they let James get killed, and then most of them die fighting the dragon.

David rents a room at Granny’s when he leaves Kathryn.

Items in Gold’s shop that we see: Beer Steins, a lamp (I’m assuming Aladdin’s), a tea set, the ugly puppets, the unicorn mobile.

Gold refers to David as Charming when he comes into the shop, and then covers it by saying the mobile is charming.

David’s mother’s ring has true love follow it wherever it goes.  

Graham does volunteer at an animal shelter.

David and Abigail’s scene ends right at the beginning of where ‘Snow Falls’ began!

Timeline Issues:

Rumplestiltskin requests from King George the whereabouts of a fairy godmother in order to procure her wand.  This is obviously the same fairy godmother he kills in “The Price of Gold”. We know that George would have had to give Rumplestiltskin this information sometime before David and Abigail separated (we know they did because we have seen Snow and Charming’s wedding) because otherwise he probably would’ve felt the deal with invalid. So, let’s say that Cinderella and the fairy godmother happened pretty soon after this. We don’t know how long it took for Snow and Charming to actually find each other again, fall in love, and for Snow to defeat the Evil Queen, so I’ll say that Cinderella and Thomas courted for a year before they got married.  Hopefully, that would be enough time for all the Snow and Charming stuff to happen. Basically, this is a lot to say that, while it was a fun throwback for us to get Rumplestiltskin asking George about the fairy godmother, it makes some plotlines a little hard to follow.

Once Upon a Time Firsts:

You can’t resurrect the dead.

Emma and bear claw pastries.

Names:

Abigail - Technically, this means my father is joy, but most people translate it to father’s joy.  So this works because Midas obviously adores his daughter.

George - was most likely named because of the legend of George and the Dragon, even if George didn’t slay this dragon.

I really like the backstory of this episode.  Everything with David actually being a shepherd and not an actual prince makes it easier to understand why he falls for Snow’s spunkiness. Also, on a personal note, I hated Mary Margaret’s hair in this episode.  I love her bangs, keep the bangs!

@searchingwardrobes@thisonesatellite@justbecauseyoubelievesomething

@laschatzi @profdanglaisstuff @mariakov81

[timeisacephalopod]

Belated

I thought hmm, lets write a little Tony/Eddie/Venom thing for Reasons. And yeah I know Tony’s bday was two days ago but still. I’ve decided that this is a thing I have written for a fictional character’s belated birthday!

*

Tony’s half buried in paper work ready to throw all caution to the wind and throw himself out a window when Eddie walks in looking pleased with himself. Probably means he sniffed out a good story and he’s found something compelling but he doesn’t look like an absolute human disaster so he’s not too deep into it yet. Once he is he kind of looks like he’s homeless and Rhodey doesn’t really get the charm but Tony once watched Eddie overheat to the point of just fucking losing it and sitting in a lobster tank at one of the fanciest restaurants in Manhattan so he thinks Eddie is the best. Venom being around doesn’t seem to help that except now maybe he’ll eat the lobsters instead of just bothering the hell out of them.

“Happy birthday,” he says, walking over to him and behind his desk, greeting him with a kiss.

Except Tony’s kind of confused. “Wasn’t my birthday last week?” he asks and Eddie frowns.

“No, honey its today. I... who forgets their birthday? And why would you assume everyone in your life also forgot your birthday?” he asks. He looks extra confused but that’s probably just the way Eddie’s expressions work. Rhodey finds his over expressing annoying but Tony thinks it's endearing.

“You all have lives, its fine,” Tony says. Pepper’s always busy running around doing things for him, Eddie seems to have found himself some new thing to rip apart for the next couple months, and Rhodey regularly gets shot at so he figures they all have more pressing concerns. 

Eddie sighs. “Sometimes I think you’re a prick and then you do something sad like make excuses for why everyone in your life would forget you were born. We didn’t forget, Tony, you got the date wrong. How did you forget when you were born?”

He shrugs, “I don’t memorize useless details. And in your defense I am a prick,” he says. They both know it, though Eddie is obviously a lot less hostile then when they met. He seems to have fallen for Tony’s charms, which he’s been reliably informed are pretty disarming.

Eddie leans in and gives him another kiss, “no you’re not, but you play one well,” pulling away and dropping his bag on Tony’s desk. Its disrupted his thread bare attempt at organizing his own life- not exactly his strong suit admittedly not that he’d tell Eddie he's managed to mess up what little organization he had. He pulls a stack of files out of his bag and drops them on top of Tony’s already too large pile of paper work. “Happy birthday, an organized list of all the moral and ethical problems I have with your company,” he says, grinning like its the best gift ever.

Tony snorts and starts laughing, shuffling closer to Eddie. He lays one hand on Eddie’s hip and pokes at the pile of folders with the other. “Well this is... intimidating.”

“Yeah, but you’ll look through it all because you do genuinely want to be a good person. You should be glad I didn’t go with V’s gift,” he says, wincing.

Fuck, Tony can only imagine when one of the first five things he did in Eddie’s body was eat several people’s heads. Sure, V turned out to be an overly sappy romantic ass goo alien but that’s a pretty rough start to things and now Eddie has to live with kind of eating people that one time several times. “Was it flowers?” he asks.

Eddie laughs, “that was suggestion like... fifty two. After I banned violence, drugs, sex- don’t give me that look it was a soft ban because that’s not a present, terrorist activities, harassing children, petty crimes of all varieties, eating heads, murder, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, space, possession, and about a half a dozen other things. He’s not too good with presents.”

“Well, he did alright with the cat,” Tony points out. V doesn’t really get Christmas, turns out his species wasn’t too cuddly and had no holidays, but he does have all Eddie’s memories of it. Conveniently, he tends to lean more towards Eddie’s view of Christmas as mostly a capitalist holiday that’s far more about big businesses making money, overworking retail employees, and present buying pressure that leads to suicide than the happy stuff. And that doesn’t even touch on Eddie’s view of religion. Though to be fair V probably gathered a lot more religious vitriol from Tony than Eddie.

“He’s threatened to eat that cat at least once a day since he decided to pick it out. Claims he’s a dog person,” Eddie says.

“Dogs are bigger, usually, so I’m not really surprised. More meat.” Given the look on Eddie’s face Tony’s going to assume V has agreed with that statement.

“We are not eating dogs,” Eddie hisses. Mostly he only does that around Tony, but its hilarious when he does it in public because most people don’t really recognize him anymore so he looks like a homeless loon being led around by a celebrity. Or at least he did before he became recognizable again through Tony’s fame and yeah, Tony knows all Eddie’s opinions on celebrity culture. None of them are positive and yeah, Tony can see why that is.

“Tell V to go hunt New York rats at night. He might have fun with that,” Tony says. “Wait, does Venom have a birthday? That a thing his species does?”

Eddie shakes his head. “Says he doesn’t have a proper earth date translation for his hatching day and I know he didn’t come from an egg so that’s a horrifying term to use. Do not enlighten me, V. I’m happy to stay in the dark.” He makes another face and Tony assumes V has let out some detail Eddie didn’t want to hear.

“That ever get annoying, the voice in your head?” he asks. Feels like it’d be exhausting. Tony doesn’t even like his own voice in his head let alone some random alien who decided pretty much on a whim to save the world strictly because he likes Eddie. Though to be fair Riot was an asshole and Tony was sick of being compared to Carlton Drake anyway. Guy was like cartoonishly evil. Though Tony will admit that he was good looking and damn smart, even if that didn’t really turn out to be a good thing later.

“Sometimes,” Eddie says, “but mostly  V offers some good entertainment on human customs. Turns out his species tended to eat each other to solve problems. He thinks our petty politics is fun to watch.”

Yeah, an alien would find that funny. Or everyone outside of America at least until America decides to invade for oil or some other resource. “So who did he want to possess?” Tony asks, grinning.

“No!” Eddie says, presumably to him and Venom.

*

Tony’s laying in bed pretending to have died when Eddie walks over and crawls over him, laying his entire weight on Tony’s back. He sighs because of course Eddie would find the most inconvenient way to get him to stop taking up the entire bed. “This is a king and you’re like three feet tall. How is it that you take up so much space?” Eddie asks as Tony starts wiggling around.

“Ask the cat, she’s a hell of a lot smaller than me and she always manages to take up at least half the bed.” Eddie rolls off and Tony props himself up. “Thanks for the present by the way, half the stuff you pointed out happens to be things I was already looking to fix.” But Eddie is a fuck of a lot picker than him and its nice to have someone trying to hold him to account. And Eddie has no problem doing so, he gives Tony his opinion on a lot of things all the time whether or not he wants to hear them.

“Yeah, I got you something else too but its taking eighty years in the mail so I had to improvise,” Eddie says.

“Let me guess, you refuse to use Amazon,” Tony says.

“Look, that fuckstick can’t even pay his workers and he’s the richest guy in the world, and what’s all that crazy shit about pissing in-” Eddie starts but Tony cuts him off before he really gets going.

“Jeff Bezos is a prick, I get it. Actually, might get stuck at the same charity event with him next week so I can bring you along if you want to punch him,” Tony says.

The bright look of unbridled glee in Eddie’s eyes makes him smile. Yeah, he’s maybe argued a lot about Tony’s wealth, but he at least appreciates that Tony does his best to spread it around a little. Its just that he has trust issues and he knows how corporate charity works- its all tax write offs and siphoning money out of most of the ‘donations.’ So he does his best to do his research and lucky him Eddie is probably a little too good at it so he’s got some more reputable charities to share with. And he thinks its fun to pay off random people’s debt. If he’s having a bad day he’ll pick a person and bam, debt free. He likes making people happy so Eddie only kind of side eyes his money.

Generally that means he only brings it up like twice a day instead of non-stop and if nothing else Tony can appreciate that he’s passionate about his views. Rhodey thinks he’s annoying but Rhodey isn’t dating him so he can deal with it.

“Yeah, alright,” Eddie says but the way he says it tells Tony that he’s not talking to him.

“Do not eat his head, V!” Tony says, panicked. “I do not want to deal with the fallout of that. Just ruin his life like a normal person. Get JARVIS to help, he’s been helpful in my long standing efforts to ruin Hammer.”

“Yeah, pretty sure all you two have managed to do is turn Hammer into the knockoff version of you, but he uh... seems to like that so I don’t know.”

Tony damn well knows he looks offended because that’s the fucking rudest shit he’s ever heard. “What did you just call Hammer?” he asks.

Eddie realizes his mistake right away and Tony fucking resents that he looks a little dead behind the eyes because he was the one who damn well decided Hammer was good enough to be the anything version of him. “I would sooner take Carlton Drake as the cheap version of me than Hammer,” Tony hisses. “At least Drake was actually smart and hot! What’s Hammer? He looks like he came out of the womb dressed as the class clown who decided to be an accountant!”

Honestly Tony resents that Eddie sighs at that. “No V, you can’t eat Hammer’s head,” Eddie mumbles.

“Yes you can,” Tony tells him.

*

Tony’s attempting to make coffee while also ignoring Eddie due to his previous transgressions. Compare him to Hammer on his birthday. The disrespect. Eddie walks out of their bedroom and Tony resolutely ignores him as he starts looking around the pent house for some reason. Tony side eyes him as he moves a bunch of papers around- Eddie’s, not his, knocks the pillows off the couch, and picks up the cat. He looks at Cotton for a moment, frowning before he shakes her a little. She meows in an annoyed, disgruntled way and Eddie sighs, releasing the cat.

“Uh, the fuck are you doing?” Tony asks eventually.

Looking for me says a voice in his head and Tony throws his coffee cup, startling so badly his entire body jerks and he slips, falling on his ass.

“Oh thank god I thought he went and possessed some random secretary so he could go eat heads!” Eddie says, rushing over to him.

“Oh no, you stay back there you don’t get to come near me or V after comparing Hammer to me!” he says, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Eddie sighs. “Tony-” he starts but Tony has already picked himself up and turned around with his arms crossed, ignoring him.

So rude. Venom agrees. We should eat Hammer V says, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.

Tony sighs and it pains him to do this, truly. “V, we can’t actually eat Hammer,” he says in perhaps the most dejected, upset tone he’s ever produced.

Eddie gives him, Venom technically, an offended look. “You decided to crawl into him in the middle of the night and risk killing him so you could eat someone?” he asks, hand pressed to his heart quite like an offended PTA mom. “V, you better get your ass back in here!” Eddie tells him, pointing at himself.

He compared you to Hammer. We should leave him, go sight seeing V says.

Tony rolls his eyes. “V you aren’t going to manipulate me into carrying your ass out of here because Eddie put you in the dog house.”

“Venom!” Eddie says, voice rising.

Tony swears to god he feels Venom extend from his body and that is some worrying fucking shit how’s Eddie put up with that? “Tony thinks you sound like an offended PTA mom,” Venom tells Eddie and Tony squints.

“Since when the hell are you a rat?” he asks.

Venom turns to face him, “you take that back! I am not vermin!”

“No, technically you’re a parasite now get back here,” Eddie tells him.

“Maybe I will find a new home with hosts who appreciate me,” Venom says, sinking back into Tony and he does not like that.

“How do you get these things out?” he asks.

Eddie walks over and leans in, squinting at Tony shrewdly except he’s actually looking at Venom and Tony’s not sure how he knows that. “If you don’t get back in me I will play Bohemian Rhapsody at top volumes with Tony pressed against the speaker!” he hisses.

“That kind of sounds like fun minus the speaker thing,” Tony says.

“They don’t do so well with loud noises and vibrations,” Eddie explains and oh, that makes sense. Tony watches as black goo extends from his hand to Eddie’s and it almost looks resentful for it. Or maybe Tony’s imagining that.

Tony gives Venom a sad look as the last of him disappears back into Eddie. “I’m so sad he won’t ever experience Freddy Mercury like the rest of us,” he says, hand pressed to his heart.

Eddie sighs. “V says your music taste is heinous and he would rather listen to my music.”

He listens to exclusively shitty electronica music. “I’m leaving you both,” Tony tells him, turning and walking away.

[darthstitch]

Castlevania Netflix Season 2 Review: All My Bloody Tears

Yeah. Uh. SPOILERS. MASSIVE GINORMOUS SPOILERS. Consider yourself warned.

I'm kind of a complete mess as I write this because PAIN! PAIN AND SUFFERING! TEARS! BLOODY TEARS!

While it's not without its flaws, the second season of Netflix's Castlevania is incredible and lives up to the promise of Season 1. This, gentlebeings, is how you set up a sequel and leave the audience wanting more, but still walking away satisfied with what we've currently got.

The Good Stuff

The thing about Castlevania - as the game series by Konami - is that it's pretty much a patchwork quilt of everything goes. Think your favorite fan fiction peeve on AO3, the ones with the ten million tags before you even get to the goddamn story. So on one hand, it's got its clear inspiration from the classic Hammer and Universal Horror renditions of Dracula. But the game series is Japanese, so you have your beautiful anime-esque artwork by Ayami Kojima and the obvious anime influences.

I've played a few of the games, but I'm not going to claim gamer-god status. I just play for the fun of it and I don't hesitate to use walk throughs as a map of sorts, basically figuring out where to go, because the general castle layout is set up like a labyrinth and it is INSANE and FUN at the same time. So far, I've played and finished Symphony of the Night and two of the GBA ones: Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow. I'm still trying to master the ones on the NDS. But basically, the premise is the same: You're the hero/heroine, you need to enter the big spooky castle, gather weapons and/or spells to make you stronger and add to your abilities, take down monsters and Major Bads - including Death Himself - and hopefully prevent Dracula from resurrecting and covering the world in Eternal Night. The main timeline basically has Belmonts, assorted Not-Belmonts who also hunt vampires and of course, pretty, pretty Alucard.

Then, there was your AU timeline in which Gabriel Belmont goes to defeat a Big Bad and becomes DRACULA ... and Trevor Belmont is his son, a.k.a. Alucard. Yeah, wrap your head around THAT one.

In short, Castlevania canon is fucked. To quote our Trevor, "Snake-fuckingly insane."

So Warren Ellis does the smart thing and basically picks up what works from the "canon" and crafts a damn good story out of it.

The Disaster Trio that is Alucard, Trevor and Sypha, end up bonding even closer together and spend much of this series in the Belmont Basement...er.... I mean, "Hold," trying to do the game equivalent of gathering spells and weapons to storm the castle with. We learn a few more interesting things about the Disaster Trio. Trevor actually ended up losing his family at a way too young age. Sypha and her people have some pretty "interesting" views about God. Alucard has artistic talents and basically acts his real age, which is a traumatized snarky 20 something year old, who's barely holding on to his composure with his shiny fangs and claws. There are epic moments such as "Treffy" and I would absolutely LOVE to hear the Belmont family story that explains how the hell a book of "penis spells" ended up in the Belmont Family Library.

Seriously. Fan fiction writers, don't fail me now!

Also, Lisa gets a few more minutes to shine and break our hearts at the same time. This is the woman who managed to charm and get one Seriously Scary King of Vampires wrapped around her tiniest finger. She's snarky and sassy as before, but so real, so kind and just basically trying to be a decent person in a Crapsack World. She loves her husband but she knows he can be monstrous. She loves her son but as Alucard himself puts it, she wants him to be able to be himself, be happy and not be overshadowed by his father. Seriously, as long as each season gives us something more about Lisa, I'm gonna be content.

We also get introduced to a few more new characters, who basically make up Dracula's Court of Evil. Hector and Isaac are humans but sociopathic enough to despise their own kind and willing to take part in their death and destruction. They both have their requisite tragic and abused pasts. Hector, however, has an element of naivete that makes him an easy target for the machinations of Carmilla, the only general in Dracula's court who's figured out which way the blood's flowing and wants to make sure she comes out on top. Isaac, however, is somewhat the mirror of Alucard himself. This is the guy who gives his unconditional love and loyalty to Dracula and refuses to abandon him no matter the personal cost to himself or his remnants of a conscience or whatever he has that passes for a moral compass. I figure that it's there, it's just not one that I would recognize. Isaac is a scary, scary mofo and it looks like he and Hector are gonna be back for season 3.

In fact, if Isaac ends up becoming "Death" in this entire series, I'm gonna be evilly delighted.

And then, there's Godbrand, who is basically the vampire equivalent of YOLO. Basically, all he wants is to fight, fuck, drink blood and make boats out of things he shouldn't make boats out of. Generally, he just wants to have a good time, rule the world like a king and make sure the humans know their place.

So okay, let's give Carmilla her due. Evil? Check. Manipulative? Check. Sadistic, vicious and cruel? 10 across the board. In the absence of a Certain Fanged Someone taking a more active role in what should be "The War on Humankind," Carmilla wants to make sure she's keeping things moving, spinning her webs of intrigue and plans upon plans, thinking she's going to come out the winner and make herself the new Queen of the Damned.

Here's the problem. Dracula figures that out, easily enough.

Here's the OTHER problem. His Fanged Nibs is all out of fucks to give. He's done. Finito. Finished with everything.

Yeah, about that.

While the humor of this series is a gift that keeps on giving, the drama and the feels will DESTROY you.

You know that moment when you realize Dracula isn't just waging a war on humanity, he's waging a war to destroy all vampires too? Because in that moment when he lost his beloved Lisa, he hated not only humans, but he also hated HIMSELF. He hates the fact that his life of evil, wanton death and destruction, wrought this price on the person that he loved. And she damn well didn't deserve that treatment. He hates the humans who killed her but he also hates his own kind, who are just as monstrous as he is.

So when Godbrand basically asks him, "If we're killing all the humans, what are we going to EAT?" Dracula basically tries to fob him off with some excuse or the other. Yeah, His Fanged Nibs is a LYING LIAR WHO LIES. Also, this lying liar who lies is actually spending most of his time sitting, brooding and being HUNGRY. Because he's not drinking blood. At all. Any blood drinking we see from His Fanged Nibs is in flashbacks.

Let that sink in for a second.

Aluard accuses his father of basically doing history's longest suicide. Yeah. It is - Dracula wants to take EVERYBODY down with him.

The fight scenes are worth the wait. I was screaming when the classic "Bloody Tears" started playing in Episode 7, an episode that I'm gonna watch like ten thousand times more, because OH GOD THE EPICNESS OF IT. The sheer badassery. The fact that Alucard is actually the secret identity of Moon Moon.

And then, the final fight between Dracula and our Disaster Trio is just as epic as expected. Even when he hasn't drunk blood, the trio is outmatched and outclassed and this is where you remember that if Dracula had only roused himself long enough to give a flying fuck about something, Carmilla's head would have been rolling on the floor a long time ago.

But then: "My boy.... I'm killing my boy. This is your room. Your mother and I painted these walls, made these toys. Lisa.... it's our boy. Your greatest gift to me. And I'm killing him. I must already be dead."

GDI WARREN ELLIS HOW VERY FUCKING DARE YOU.

The only way they take down Dracula is because he basically wants to die. So he lets his son kill him and end his misery. And when his rotting, decaying, corpse seems to be reaching out to his son for some kind of last embrace, Trevor, thinking that Alucard's going to be hurt, takes Dracula's head off. Sypha burns off the remains.

And it's done.

Castlevania is a game with numerous endings, all depending on how you played the game and whether you got this artifact or what not. The series pays homage to it because Trevor bequeaths the Belmont Hold to Alucard and asks him to be the last defender of it and his father's Castle. It's not going to be Alucard's grave, but his home now. Trevor and Sypha wander off into the sunset, for more adventures and mischief and Alucard lovingly sends off his BFFs with a fond "Fuck you."

We check in with the villains who survive and of course, we know there's gonna be sequels, because, hey, that's kind of the point of each and every Castlevania game. There's always gonna be a new Big Bad coming around. And trust me, Dracula's gonna be back. He's not just going to lie quiet in his grave.

And just when you think you can end this series with a satisfied sigh, our very last moments are spent with Alucard. Who is haunted by the ghosts of the parents he loved so much. Who gets to relive one happy memory with his mom, who loves him with all her heart. And she's so proud.

And Alucard finally breaks down into heartbreaking sobs.

We grieve with him.

The Bad Stuff

Yeah, okay, so I need to get this explained. Why bother to have all these interesting character designs for Dracula's other generals AND NOT HAVE THEM TALK? I'm serious. Not one of these fascinating-looking vampire bastards HAVE ANY GODDAMN LINES. Netflix, FFS, DON'T WUSS OUT ON YOUR CHARACTER ACTORS. YOU CAN'T BE THAT POOR. GIVE THEM VOICES. PAY YOUR CHARACTER VOICE ACTORS. OMG.

They basically just get killed off in the end, but while we know they were pretty scary and formidable, we don't really know anything about them other than: Vampire, Scary, Dracula's General. They were just pretty much Red Shirts, because the heroes never did get to confront Carmilla, Hector and Isaac directly.

There was evidently so much story to be told here, like they seem to have come from all over the world, even as far off as China AND THEY'RE. NOT. TALKING. The only ones with any dialogue are Carmilla, Hector, Isaac and Godbrand and none of these guys even get to share screentime with the Disaster Trio. Godbrand doesn't even make it to the final battle.

I mean, if these guys were just going to be cannon fodder, then let's just use any of the voiceless Major Bads from the games. Put some requisite scary music and sound effects and let the Disaster Trio take care of them. Let them speak in mysterious archaic languages or whatever, since we're not going to care about them anyway.

The Conclusion

Apparently, this is gonna be a pattern for this series. It's going to be good, it's going to be GREAT but there's always going to be that ONE THING that would drive us batshit crazy. But not enough to wreck my enjoyment of it.

The best parts of this series is the faithfulness to character, the layers upon layers of motivations and feels you're going to uncover as you rewatch it, the fact that it's not afraid to put tongue in cheek and leave canon at the door, while still being true to the source material.

So. "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets. But enough talk! Have at you!"

[pwezzle]

Epiphany

A one shot taking place post-Stardust Crusaders, from the POV of Jotaro. Expect Part 3 spoilers. And Happy Vento Aureo Day, even though this piece is pretty much unrelated. 3,616 words. Likes and reblogs are always appreciated. Please enjoy! 

They told me not to look, but I did anyway.

Muhammad Avdol’s body was nowhere to be found. All that was left of him were his arms. And Polnareff swore the man was dead, there was no question. He claimed he’d seen Avdol's soul passing, along with Iggy's, with his own two eyes. No one besides me really believed him, but no one could argue.

Iggy's body was a horrendous sight, really. The once rambunctious little terrier looked more like a bloody hand towel by the time his corpse was recovered. I couldn't stand the sight of it for too long.

Joseph couldn't look at Iggy's corpse. He couldn't look at what remained of Avdol. It was all too much for him. And he didn’t even consider looking at Kakyoin's body. He told me DIO's attack had been as quick as blinking. Kakyoin was gone before he even knew it.

The moment they rolled Kakyoin’s body out of the ambulance, Joseph threw his fake hand up and turned away. "No, please,” he said, “Don't show me.”

But I wanted to see. Not out of morbid curiosity, or because I couldn't believe he was gone, but because I needed the sight of it to be burned into my memory. I needed to see him whenever I closed my eyes at night, so I'd never forget what he and the others sacrificed to save my mother—and humanity, for that matter.

I sort of regret it, though. They pulled back the sheet covering his corpse and I immediately felt a sharp pain in my gut. Joseph hadn't lied: it was right through the middle of his torso. It looked like a damn hole punch. The rest of his body was covered in awful bruises and cuts. All this for a woman he barely knew and a world that had been indifferent to his existence. If I hadn't felt nauseous before, I was certainly ready to hurl then.

And I can't remember the hours after that, if I’m honest. I saw Avdol’s arms after Kakyoin and it only worsened my state. My head spun imagining how quick that bastard Vanilla Ice had to be, to take out such a gifted Stand User like Avdol.

"Noriyaki Kakyoin is dead", they announced over the radio, “Iggy is dead. Muhammad Avdol’s body could not be recovered, he is presumed dead.”

On our flight to a hospital in Nepal, Polnareff couldn't even speak, which I thought was far worse than hearing him moan or weep over our late friends. Joseph tried to break the silence at one point by cracking a joke about vampires. He really had awful timing. If wasn't like pranks and shit were going to make us feel better about what we’d seen. Polnareff managed to force a smile for him. I couldn't.

We spent a handful of nights in that hospital, monitored around the clock by the Speedwagon Foundation and a group of approved doctors and nurses. The three of us had all sustained serious injuries, but thankfully, nothing fatal with proper treatment. I thought I looked like a mental patient walking around in a hospital gown under my school jacket and hat, but it was too damn cold in there not to. They wouldn't even let me smoke in my room, not that I could always bring myself to. Sometimes the fire from the lighter would make me think of Avdol. And how there wasn't even a body.

I don’t think I’d ever asked him if he had any family back home.

I rarely slept the whole stay. Whenever my eyes closed, I was far away from the shitty bed with its papery sheets. I was lounging in a hotel in Singapore, or walking the streets of Calcutta, or flying past rooftops in Cairo.

Just to ease my racing mind, I’d walk the aisles of the hospital in the middle of the night. No one ever stopped me, but I did get gawked at by the nurses. I was starting to go crazy there. Those nurses were annoying, and the doctors were no better. The old me might have told them all to just piss off, but I never cared to say a word against them. They were just trying to help, even when they brought me food that made me want to vomit, like pudding doused with whipped cream. They just had to put a damn cherry on top every time.

“JoJo—I tied a knot in a cherry stem with my tongue. Look!”

“Bullshit, Hierophant Green did that.”

“Don't call bullshit if you can't prove it!”

“It's cheating if your Stand uses its fingers, you know.”

“Tch, well I guess nothing gets past a Joestar, huh?”

I usually threw dessert away.

One of the few nights I’d been lucky enough able to fall asleep, I was awoken soon after by the sound of a dog barking. My heart practically stopped. There really shouldn't have been anyone or anything near the hospital at night with the Speedwagon people on patrol, but perhaps a stray had wandered onto the premises? Out of bed before I knew it, I checked out the window, but there wasn’t a soul outside. Then I realized I was hearing dogs, again.

Unable to relax after that, I decided to go for another one of my walks through the hospital, and along the way I saw Joseph sitting by a window in one of the waiting areas on our floor. It felt like the first I’d seen him in a while, despite staying just down the hall from each other. This particular waiting area wasn't open to the public that late, so it was just him.

"Ah, Jotaro," the old man rumbled when he saw me, "Taking a moonlit stroll?"

I decided to sit across from him and join him in his stargazing. It was better than anything I had planned for the evening. We did this in silence for a while, until he cleared his throat.

"I haven't had the chance to ask you..." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "...That is… how’re you feeling?"

That question took me by surprise. There had hardly been any "how are you"s over our journey. There hadn't been time or reason to ask, at least in my mind. It didn't matter how anyone was feeling on their way to defeat some immortal vampiric overlord. I couldn't think of an answer for him. However, in that moment I became aware of the weariness throughout my body: the tension in my core, the numbness in my hands. I suppose it showed.

"It's getting to you, too, isn't it? The weight of it all?” he queried.

I met his attentive gaze.

"I know you cared about them,” he said, “It was hard not to. Our brothers-in-arms, or however you wanna’ say it…”

Joseph proceeded to stare sadly out the window, and it was hard not to feel a twinge of sadness myself. The first I'd really recognized within me since we’d left Egypt. I guessed I’d spent my days in shock, until then.

"I've seen far too much death in my time, grandson,” he confessed, “I've lost so many. I find myself unable to sleep because of it, most nights... I'll do anything to forget the pain. Even for just a little while.”

He swallowed hard as if there was more he couldn't admit to me. I wasn't in the mood to pry.

"Avdol was a good friend to me. Iggy too, in his own unique way. And Kakyoin... well. Don't take this the wrong way, but he felt like he could be my other grandson. I know the three of them held you in high esteem.”

He tried to look me in the eye again. "You were close to him, weren't you? Kakyoin? It was sometimes hard for Polnareff and Avdol to relate to you, since you're just a high-schooler, but you boys seemed to get along pretty well."

I couldn't answer him.

“Friendship is nothing but heartache, Jotaro. Any relationship is. It's all just to keep us in-line morally, until one person breaks the other’s heart—in life or death...” I felt myself wanting to tune his nihilistic drabble out. “...But mostly it's worth the trouble.”

Joseph then looked to the stars.

“How?” I asked, following suit.

“It’s about the memories you make, in my opinion. Being able to look back on all the times when everything was in shambles, and then being able to say ‘well, someone I loved was there, so it wasn't all bad’,” he explained.

After that, I wanted him to stop talking. He was making too much sense for an old geezer. "I’d rather just block it out. It’s like they’re all going to haunt me forever,” I admitted.

"I hate to say it. But yes, they will.”

Our talk that night hardly made me feel better. I wasn’t interested in hearing any of Joseph’s stories, knowing it would just bring him lower than he already felt. Seeing him so down, when I’d always known him to be such a clown, was strange. I could never fathom how broken he must be, underneath it all.

The hospital bed that night was as uncomfortable as ever. I was awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, and there was a sort of screaming in my head. Tossing and turning, I ended up facing the window and saw Star Platinum hovering before me. It wasn’t looking at me, but the sky outside. I think it was getting to be dawn.

Despite its newfound power after the fight with DIO, it didn't seem any bigger or tougher. Rather, something seemed wrong. Normally when I looked at my Stand, I saw something I couldn’t help but think of as a separate entity from me. It acted on its own in the beginning, and I called it my demon. Over those first months I had it, I came up with the theory that it could act on behalf of my subconscious, even if I didn’t specifically will it to do anything. But it still never felt like any sort of reflection of me, much less “my fighting spirit”, as they said.

That night in the hospital room changed things, though.

I remembered something Avdol had told me one evening in the desert, by the light of the campfire.

“I find that our Stands are manifestations of ourselves AND their own beings. Your Stand reflects you and your ideals, though it might have a personality of its own. The lines between a physical being and their Stand are sort of blurred. It can be used for good or evil, but it may also act independently based on the thoughts in the back of your mind. You really must discover how you work and fight with Star Platinum by yourself, Jotaro. What can it do? Some Stands are more like objects, others act more like pets. Yours may even be like a friend, but nevertheless it is an undeniable reflection of who you are as a human being, and you must view it and use its power as such.”

Star Platinum’s posture was off as it stared into the distance. Normally standing proud, I noticed it was hunched over a bit, arms limp at its sides, with its legs just sort of dangling in the air. And the face. The stupid thing emoted a hell of a lot more than I did. Watching those first colors of sunrise, it looked sullen. Depressed, even. I realized that my “fighting spirit” didn’t have any fight left in it.

Eventually we were admitted from the hospital. Polnareff was doing fairly well; he was dealing with some bad soreness and migraines, but he could walk and function fine enough. Joseph was very stiff and had a hard time standing for prolonged periods. He really wasn’t getting around as well as before, but he was set on going without a cane for as long as he could. As for me, my body still felt much heavier than usual.

I would’ve hated to admit it, but I’d been thinking Joseph had a point that night in the waiting room. The more time that passed, the more I came to terms with the fact that I would be haunted by my memories of my friends until I died.

After Joseph and my grandmother went home to New York, I kept an eye on my mom for the remainder of the year. She was as chipper as ever, despite her traumatic experience. She still fawned all over me every chance she got. But I couldn’t be irritated with her, I was just thankful for her safety. All the teasing was worth eating her cooking again and seeing her be herself. Too much time had passed for me to apologize for how I acted before Joseph came. But what I’ve always liked about my mom was her ability to understand what was in someone's heart without them having to say a word.

She and I would get a call from my grandparents weekly. Sometimes she would talk to Joseph, or her mom. Sometimes Joseph would request to speak to me alone, and check if I’d encountered anyone suspicious lately, if things were really alright with Mom, if I was holding up okay. One day I was on the phone with my grandmother, which didn't happen often, and she spoke to me with a seriousness in her voice I’d never heard before.

“I know some of the things your grandfather has seen. I’m not oblivious to it. He tries his best to keep me out of the loop, but I know by now he's gone and seen some more.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I know he can be a pain, at times, but please be gentle with him if you can.”

“He’s so proud of the man you’re becoming, Jotaro. And I am, too. We love you.”

Sometimes I would get letters from Polnareff, and at one point he included his phone number, so I could give him a call. I think it took a while before I finally got around to doing that.

And he nearly blew out my ear drums for it when he answered:

“What?! Jotaro?! It's about time you use my number, bastard! How are you?! How’s your mother? And Joseph? He hasn't contacted me in a while, I was beginning to think you guys forgot about me!”

He gave me a hard time as expected, but I knew he was happy to hear from me. And it was oddly soothing to hear his voice again.

“For the past few weeks I haven't been doing well. It's still hard trying to be… normal, again. Do you get that?” Polnareff inquired.

“Since I first saw Star Platinum, I’ve hardly felt 'normal’,” I replied.

“Mm, I suppose I understand that, given you weren’t born with it,” he tittered, “But, you know, I took a walk just the other day, to clear my head. You ever do that? And get this, I bought a pack of coffee-flavored chewing gum when I was out.”

“Really?” I felt a lump form in my throat.

“Oh, yeah, yeah.” His tone softened a bit. “Just like Iggy used to like. And I stuffed it in my pocket, walked to the park, and just sat down on a bench and chewed some gum. In honor of him. I watched the people going by and thought about how lucky I am to get to enjoy fresh air again. The sun on my skin. A cool breeze. Stuff like that.”

“I only get to because of those guys, you know?” he continued, “I figured… I need to keep living since I’m still here.”

I stifled a sigh. “That easy, huh?”

“Hah, no, of course not. It was just one of those epiphany moments that kind of fades by the time you wake up the next morning. But hey, maybe you should do that.”

“Do what?”

“Go out! Be with people, again! Real people! It might help you feel more normal. Or reinvigorate you? Something like that.”

“Good grief. I’ll try it, just for you.”

“Hah! Jotaro, you're so full of shit. Now you’ll be in trouble if you just sit on your ass at home and smoke, cos I’m holding you to that!” Polnareff let out a genuine laugh. “Oh, and speaking of which, do you still do that crazy cigarette trick you used to do...?”

Despite his disbelief in me, I took Polnareff’s advice the following weekend. I told Mom I'd give her a phone call if I was gone for more than four hours, just to check on her. She told me I fretted over her too much, but she liked it.

I took a trip down to the beach. I don't know why I decided to go that way, besides the fact that it was the only place I could think to visit on the weekend that wouldn't give me a massive headache. Since it was raining on and off that day, it shouldn’t have been too crowded.

I walked up and down the pier in the light drizzle. There weren't many others around, just as I expected, and that was preferable. I wasn't an extrovert like Polnareff. I liked open space, without people. Especially the ocean. Space couldn't get any more “open” than that. But I still felt like I should be doing something else. I remembered what Polnareff said about the chewing gum, and I thought I could do something similar. Get something that reminded me of one of them.

No coffee-flavored chewing gum, I decided. I couldn't stand the stuff anymore. I’d found a leftover stick in my wallet the day before and got light-headed from the smell. So, I wandered around for a while, trying to decide what kind of pointlessly sentimental thing I could do.

Finally, I happened across an ice cream stand. The rain had started pouring a bit harder, but I was able to take shelter under an umbrella in front of the shop. The owner told me I’d have to get lost if I was going to stand around looking like a delinquent and not buy anything. Then I felt that sentimental thing hit me.

“Alright, a vanilla soft-serve, please. Just the one.”

It didn't taste as good as it did in Singapore, but I ate it anyway. It made me wonder how that stowaway girl Anne was doing. She must have had a hard time processing all the things she’d seen when she was with us.

I took my ice cream down to the beach, even as the rain kept on pouring. It was probably getting ruined, but I didn't care. I was waiting for my epiphany.

The sun went down between the rain clouds and my ice cream was nearly gone. I’d been mindlessly licking at it for a while, not really tasting anything anymore. But then my tongue hit something solid.

I looked down inside the cone.

I winced.

A fucking cherry.

I stood holding the cone for a while, wondering why the hell anyone would drop a cherry at the bottom of an ice cream cone rather than putting it on top. The stupid guy must have done it to spite me.

I don't think I noticed that the rain had stopped. All that wet sand was getting in my shoes, too, but I just stood there like a regular old moron, staring into my cone.

“JoJo, are you going to eat that cherry?”

Kakyoin was a weird guy, but I really did get along with him. As a matter of fact, I don't know if I’d ever gotten along that well with someone my age. It was strange how much I had in-common with a person who was nothing like me. He transferred to my school and I’d never even noticed him before.

And now he was dead. Murdered. Iggy, too. And Avdol. None of them ever got to go home.

I never would have met them if it wasn't for the whole family curse thing. And even if I had, my head would’ve been too far up my ass to get to know anybody.

“I don't mean to be greedy, but they're my favorite.”

Kakyoin’s parents would never see him, again. And I wouldn't get to, either. We hadn’t known each other long, but I really cared about him. I cared about all of them. To me, it shouldn't have happened the way it did. I should have died protecting Holly Kujo. It would have been my duty as her son. But I was still breathing, despite everything.

I dumped the cherry into the palm of my hand. It was sort of a wasteful thing to do, and sticky and gross, but I whipped it into the ocean. It ended up flying much further than I expected. I noticed a hand I hadn't seen in a while hovering just over mine. Star Platinum.

“Star Platinum,” I whispered, “The World.”

We could still do it. The waves froze in front of me. Raindrops suspended in air. It was only a few seconds, but I took the chance to just let the world stop turning. Even when it felt I’d lost my soul, life was going on all around me. It had to. Time stops for no one, but for me it's not enough to catch up with everyone else that leads a normal life. It was a cruel and jarring realization. And then the waves swept across the shore, once again.

Not much of an epiphany, but I guess I did think of something relevant that day.