#they’re doing this because they need a scapegoat for their power grab

[not-that-taliesin]

sometimes it’s hard to get up and do the things i need to do, even out of love. sometimes my fuel is spite. whatever helps you to survive to the next day is what you need to do. i’ll be damned if they force my hand against myself. the bastards are gonna have to kill me first!!!

[gayemeralds]

If you're taking requests, may you please write that Sonic&Rouge heist concept you had a little bit ago? It sounds very entertaining and I'd love to read it :)

okay. so this technically counts because they’re in the process of stealing the emerald. hope you enjoy! it’s also in ao3 :]

“Are you sure we can’t put on a bit of a light show?”

Sonic’s grabbing everything he can off the snack table, shoving a frosted cupcake right into his mouth. A few G.U.N. agents peer at them, some disgusted by his lacking manners, others impressed by his ability to put away at least half of the desert table. Rouge sighs at the sight, but she knows pulling Knuckles along for the task would have already resulted in three different fights by now, and several black eyes.

“I promise you, Baby Blue, you don’t want G.U.N. riding your coattails during this adventure. Besides, haven’t you ever wanted to do a little bit of crime before?”

“Do my multiple accounts of property damage and obstruction of justice not count?”

“You know what I mean.”

“You know, the government even chased after me before.” Sonic crosses his arms, attention finally moving away from the snack table. Probably because he already finished off all the cookies. “I suppose I might as well pay them back for, you know, wanting to use me as a scapegoat during the whole Shadow fiasco.”

Rouge grinned. “Attaboy! If this all goes well, I think we should try again sometime.”

“We still need to get through with this job. Besides, wouldn’t you rather go treasure hunting with Knuckles?”

“He has no sense of fun!” Rouge bemoans, leaning on Sonic who doesn’t budge in the slightest with her additional weight. She places a hand over her forehead, closing her eyes, and a few G.U.N. agents scoff at her behavior. “He has to guard that beautiful emerald, selfish bastard.”

“I can hear everything you’re saying,” Knuckles warns through their earpieces. “Just go steal the emerald already, alright? I have better things to do than listen to you guys… blabber.”

“Jealous?” Rouge coos, reaching past Sonic to grab a small cupcake. Her hands brush against a patron, some schmooze G.U.N. was buttering up to donate to their righteous cause of weapons of mass destruction. The Chaos Emerald they had located was on display in the next room over, for the very purpose of attracting the sorts of people interested in funding munitions. Surely, then, they wouldn’t mind sparing a few dollars to Rouge’s fund?

“No! Not at all! I don’t care what you guys are doing, just get it done!”

“Sounds jealous,” Sonic agrees, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Don’t worry, Knuckles, I’m not gonna steal your girl. She’s doing enough stealing herself.”

The music seems to shift, an energetic waltz echoing in the ballroom. “Ladies and gentlemen, won’t you join us for one of the first dances of the night?”

Rouge grins, fangs glimmering in the fluorescent light. “I, however, can’t promise I won’t steal your boy, Knuxie.”

She grabs Sonic by the waist, touch delicate yet firm. Couples around them sway together, a few attempting to move to the beat. Most are awkward in nature, though there’s a few who have obvious formal training. They’re fair too stiff for Rouge’s likening.

Sonic raises a brow, though he places his hands on her shoulders. “And what exactly are we doing?”

“Think of this as three flickies, one big rock.” She winks at him, leaning closer to whisper in his ear, soft enough Knuckles won’t be able to hear, nor will the patrons around them. “We get to have a bit of fun, we get to rile Knuckles up, and we can make our way towards the exit without anyone noticing.”

“A distraction on multiple fronts. Devious.”

“You know me.”

She starts to move, pushing Sonic backwards. Her strides are powerful but without a doubt graceful, fluid as she moves. Sonic matches her without missing a beat, feet light and quick as he moves backwards, and Rouge grins, side stepping. Sonic matches her in time, their rhythm in sync as Sonic moves forward, causing them to hit their original starting position.

“You can foxtrot?” She asks, curious.

“What do you think I am? Completely feral?” A hand settles on her waist. Rouge’s eyes narrow at the action; it’s a challenge. “The better question is, why are you leading?”

“I was worried you wouldn’t know how to dance. Stuffy ballroom dances don’t seem like something you’re interested in.”

“Have a little faith in me, Rouge. I am, at heart, quite the gentleman.”

“So I’ve heard. Want to prove it?”

“This is disgusting,” Knuckles interjects, though his blush is practically audible. Rouge and Sonic share a smirk, and Sonic winks.

“I can take the lead from here.”

“You have to earn it, Baby Blue.”

She steps up the pace, pushing him back. Sonic meets her without a hitch, smoothly working around a few couples nonchalantly swaying to the beat. Their steps have gone from fluid to aggressive, still maintaining a fragile delicacy but declaring they both meant business.

They’re closer to the exit, but Rouge would like to put on a bit of a show before they bow out. The security guards won’t change out for another three minutes, she notes, eyes flicking to the clock in the corner. Sonic seems to read her mind, eyes challenging as he steps to the left before pushing her, and Rouge senses he’s about to take the lead.

His hands are at her hips now, and he’s aggressively moving forward, strides powerful, and Rouge is forced to walk backwards, heels clicking. He suddenly pulls away, pushing back at her ever so slightly. It’s fascinating, seeing just a fraction of his strength used oh so delicately, to perform a gentle spin on her.

Their hands clasp together as Rouge moves backwards, letting herself spin away from him until they’re hands nearly let go. They peer at each other for a moment until they move back together, hands clasped together, no longer on each other’s shoulders or waists. This is a competition, and Rouge aims to win.

Sonic sets the pace, but not for long. Rouge takes the lead again, moving faster, taking charge. Sonic matches her beat for beat, never lagging, as if he can guess just what she’s about to do. The song hits a strong beat and Rouge suddenly pushes him away, hand resting over her forehead for just a moment.

Sonic is all fluid as he moves, sliding across the floor with more grace then he’s ever given credit for. He leans away, back bending like a folding chair before he catches her hands, back straight, pulling him back towards her and forcing both of them to spin until he dips her. It’s not quite a full dip, her back barely even bent, as he sweeps them in a half circle motion for a moment before she is upright once more, heels tapping against the floor.

There’s a playful challenge in Sonic’s eyes that Rouge can’t wait to squash.

“Not bad for a kid from some backwater island,” she coos, and Sonic does a slight bow, causing them to do another, smaller twirl.

“Guard shift change occurs in one minute,” Knuckles says, sounding a bit uncertain, a bit hoarse.

“Don’t worry, just sit back and enjoy the show,” Rouge murmurs. “We’ve got it covered, don’t we, Baby Blue?”

“They won’t even know what hit ‘em.”

“Now, let’s show them what we can really do.”

The dance fastens, Rouge back in the lead. Her steps are calculated but still flexible, and she sends Sonic a mischievous grin before she raises one of her hands and sends him spinning. It’s fast and fluid and as soon as he’s a second from stopping Rouge dips him, hands still clasped together, his quills hitting the ground, and Rouge hears Knuckles take in a quick breath.

Sonic slides across the floor like butter, until Rouge pulls him back up. Using the force of the pull, Rouge lets go of his hands for a moment to grab his waist, hoisting him above her head. Sonic does a fluid split as Rouge flourishes him before practically tossing him in the air.

Sonic does a small twirl before landing on both feet, and Rouge’s hands snatch his back up, leading him back into a near tango, the two of them vying for control. They’re right next to the door now, perhaps half a minute left to spare, and Rouge plans to finish the song out with a bit of a flourish.

Sonic begins to make a move but Rouge beats him to it, yanking him into her arms to dip him again, this time having him lean into her instead of away. Sonic’s eyes are mirthful, and Rouge can only imagine the look on Knuckles’s face, no doubt redder than his fur, eyes a blazing, dilated purple.

She shoves him away, and their grip practically yanks them back together when they move as far away from each other as they can, grinning madly as they face each other, arms nearly horizontal. She pulls him right back towards her, Sonic spinning like a dancing top, her other hand reaching for his until she swings him low. He’s liquid, completely malleable as he slides underneath her and now they’re back to back.

Rouge let go as soon as he was half way through, and as Sonic moved to stand back up behind her, she reaches out, arms wrapping around his before she lifts him once more, their backs pressed together.

Sonic uses the force of her lift to flip back over, now once again facing her. The guards have left their station, and now’s their time to move, Rouge pushing his chest backwards, hands now reaching for his shoulders, disappearing behind the door as the music hits its final few chords.

The door is closed, the guards are perhaps a minute away from coming to their station, and Rouge yanks Sonic towards her, dipping him one final time as the last note rings across the hallway.

“How’s that for a show?” She asks.

“I think we deserve a few tips,” Sonic answers. “Considering we quite literally stole the show.”

“No one seems to notice your abscene,” Knuckles adds, voice still dry. “Was that really necessary?”

“It’s turned you a delicious shade of red, hasn’t it?”

“No! I’m completely normal about whatever you just did!”

“Convincing,” Sonic says, Rouge pulling him back to his feet. “You’ve truly swept me off my feet, Rouge. How about I treat you to a proper date? Maybe go jewelry shopping? I hear they’ve got some beautiful emeralds around here.”

“Nothing as beautiful as you, Baby Blue.”

“Shut up and get the Chaos Emerald already!” Knuckles all but shouts. Sonic and Rouge snicker.

[themadauthorshatter]

... I’ve already made a draft of this and deleted it, but I’m going back in. 

This is an AU of what would happen if Mareven was healthy and the end game. 

I apologize in advance for any and all MareCal shippers, including myself. 

SO! What happens? 

Simple. 

Everything remains mostly the same in the story except we get more of a doubtful and uneasy Maven as the story progresses, as in he hugs Mare a little longer and is genuinely perturbed when he hears about the ‘bomb’ that went off and looks terrified of Cal when he returns and orders Farley to be tortured. He’s also more hesitant to listen to his mother. 

He still offers Cal’s legion to the Guard, but is a little sadder to say it. 

THEN WE GET TO THE PLOT TWIST OF THE STORY!!!!!!!!!

Maven plays along, but, as he stands by his mother’s side, he mouths, “sorry” to Mare and goes for a gun on Arven’s belt, shooting him in the leg and warning him not to try silencing him or he’ll aim for something more vital. 

It catches EVERYONE off guard, especially Elara, who’s about to risk having Cal or Tibe out of her whispers to get Maven back in line. 

Instead, Elara asks what he’s doing and why, as she thought this was what he’d always wanted. 

“It’s what you want, Mother. Not me. None of this is right. You’re already the Queen. What else do you want!?” 

Elara bares her teeth. “Are you saying you want to live your days with a Red rat?” 

Maven pulls Mare to her feet and pushes her behind him, keeping the gun at them, nodding. “I’m saying I'm not following your plans or listening to anything you have to say. I'll die before I let you in my head again!” 

Well, wish granted because Mare senses the cameras turning back on and Elara lets Tibe and Cal go.

Only to force Maven to shoot her and Tibe, though Maven actually misses him.

Mare breaks free and they make a run for it, Elara shouting that they are traitors and to arrest them, though she does force Tibe to play the part of concerned husband.

Cal isn't in the room because he races after Maven and Mare.

Speaking of which, Maven leads Mare through the castle and finds a hall that goes toward a servant's passage, so they can escape.

Too bad there are guards that round the corner and take aim at them, not only for staging a coup de ta, but also for attempted regicide.

Cal's there too, aiming a handgun at them and telling them to submit to arrest.

They do and are sent to the Silent Stone cells.

Mare is confused and livid and doesn't want to talk to Maven, who keeps pacing and clutching his head and telling someone to be quiet. 

Mare mentally tells him to maybe practice what he’s preaching, but wonders what the hell all that was when they were captured. 

Maven sighs and sits down, back-to-back with Mare, and asks her how good she is at picking locks. 

Her hands are for picking pockets, not locks. 

Maven lets out a semi-bitter chuckle and regards that he shouldn’t have bothered asking because of course she’s better at pockets. he then admits that he’d been so scared of the cells as a boy, his young mind tricking him into thinking that there were monsters or prisoners in the cells. 

Speaking of the cells, Mare breaks her silence and asks why it’s so hard for her to use her powers, even asking if Arven is close by listening to them. 

Maven admits it would be useful to do that, but no. The cells are made of Silent Stone, which is basically Arven being there without him really being there. 

Although she already knows what’s going to happen, Mare wonders what will happen to them, in the Bowl of Bones. 

Maven lists off a firing squad, some Silvers, maybe some animals, and the fact that no matter what, the show will not be short; the people want blood and Tibe is going to give them blood, even if it’s his own son’s. 

“Not if he can’t find you.” 

Both Mare and Maven stand as Cal walks in, dressed formally and holding a set of keys to the cells. 

Maven asks what this is and what Cal’s doing as he opens both Maven’s and Mare’s cells. 

Cal explains that he’s already had to give Julian a head start and hopes that Maven and mare can do the same, can vanish into thin air before their execution. 

Mare asks why they should accept the help, seeing as Cal’s the one who arrested them, but Cal counters by asking who’s idea it was to get them arrested, glaring daggers at Maven. 

Maven has his own question: How does Cal know they won’t be seen? 

Cal looks away and admits that he hopes there aren’t any Red servants that know how to fix the security system.

Maven and Mare exchange a glance and start walking, but Cal gets between them, shackles them, and grabs their arms, telling them to play along and make it convincing so no one questions anything. 

They both do their best reluctant prisoners act up until they pass by Sonya, who inquires as to where Cal’s taking them. 

Cal states he’s just taking them to get some cardio before their execution, seeing as how they’ll need every ounce of strength they’ll need. 

Sonya spits that they shouldn’t and should actually fight with nooses around their necks so they’re easier to grab and throw around, but drops it anyway, eying Cal before she leaves. 

Time’s almost up, so it’s a good thing Maven leads Cal to a servant passage, where they stop and get free, Maven getting his flame-maker bracelets back. 

Maven opens the passage, but Cal stops him and Mare, telling them to be careful now, because if they manage to escape, they’ll be fugitives and will get hunted like deer for treason, Maven for attempted regicide, from what narrative that now exists. 

They nod and thank him for the help. 

Before Mare can follow Maven, Cal grabs her arm again, which makes Mare turn to him. 

The two stare at each other, realizing what’s happening and what’s going to happen. 

The royals will figure out that Cal helped them escape and will probably have him killed for letting two traitors run free. 

Cal is the one who helped her in the first place by getting her the job at the Summer Palace, and now he’s saving her life again, this time also saving his brother’s and risking his own. 

Maven shouts for Mare to keep it moving and Mare pulls out of Cal’s grip, backs away, and races after Maven, Cal watching her leave before closing the passage. 

His face contorts with sorrow, regret, anger, and pain and he clenches a fist as he hears a sentinel shout that Mare and Maven are missing. 

Cal shouts, “They’re this way!” and races down the hallway and away from the bookshelf, trying to make it look like they outran him. 

In the passage, Maven leads Mare by the hand as they soon find themselves underground and under the streets, overhearing an announcement to keep an eye out for the two of them because both are armed and dangerous, Mare especially. 

Maven groans at his father’s words and muses that at least they’re out. 

Mare isn’t as relieved and asks what he was planning with his mother. 

Maven stops in his steps and states that she already knows. 

Mare does know, she just wants to hear Maven say it. 

Maven bites his tongue and clenches his fist at his side, not turning to face Mare as he asks what will happen if he doesn’t tell her. 

She’ll make him tell her, make him talk or she’ll shock him until he dies. 

Maven  tightens his fist but then drops it, admitting he and Elara planned on killing Tibe and using Mare and Cal as scapegoats, sending them to the Bowl of Bones, and having them executed to wrap up the story and solidify Maven as the new King, with no Scarlet Guard and no loose ends to ensure the story of Mare being a Red would slip out. 

Mare demands he define ‘loose ends.’ 

Lady Blonos. The servant girls who dressed Mare as a Silver. Lucas. Julian. Sara. Mare’s family. Kilorn. Cal. Mare herself. All the Reds on the list Julian gave her. 

Mare gasps at that last one, sliding down a wall as Maven explains in increasing panic and with his eyes growing teary that he was along with the ride and all for getting the throne the way his mother planned, but then he began to feel genuine feelings for Mare and her plight and no matter how much Elara tried to take those feelings away, they always came back. She did the same with Tibe, making Maven lose his love for him, and had semi-success with Cal, but didn’t fully remove his love for his brother. It also changed when they killed Blonos and the servant girls, and when Tristan died. It opened Maven’s eyes and made him realize that he was going to kill someone he didn’t want to die. he’d already lost Thomas and it was his own fault, but if he was the reason he lost Mare, too, he’d lose his mind. 

Maven stops his rambling and joins Mare against the wall, admitting that he knows he deserves whatever comes next, but whatever does happen, he just asks that mare know that he is sorry for all of this, for putting her in such danger that now they’re on the run and risk execution if they’re caught. 

Mare turns to him and asks if Elara has the list, if he told her about the Newbloods. 

Maven shakes his head; the raid was going to happen in a few hour hours, so there wouldn’t have been enough time for Elara to look through his mind, write down all the names, and the find them in the blood base, so they have a good head start there, too. 

After a minute of collecting themselves, and a glare from Mare, the two stand up and keep walking until they reach a fork in the path and wonder which is safer.

The only answer they get is a gun pushed against the back of Maven's head and a certain blaonde telling him to go right or she's painting the tunnel Silver.

Mare turns and sees Kilorn and Farley, with the addition of a certain Barrow we all still mourn, don't lie.

"Shade!"

Mare and Shade reunite, though Maven voices confusion as he thought Shade had been executed.

Shade explains that they tried and failed, making an example by teleporting in front of and behind them, saying with pride that no one's faster than him.

Mare is a mix of happy and sad at the news, but Farley brings them back and reminds them they need to keep going or they'll get arrested and killed.

Maven also gets put back in shackles, but acts as a good sport and doesn't burn them off.

They continue throught the tunnel until they reach a train, climb aboard, and get to riding, merrily on their way to nowhere in particular.

Back in White Fire, Elara slaps Cal HARD in the face and demands to know what he was thinking and where Maven and Mare are.

Tibe gets between them, but Cal admits that he didn't fully know what he was thinking, just that he couldn't let his brother be forced to fight when he's still in training. It would be a bloodbath.

Elara asks if that's the same reason why he also let Mare go, or if there's something he's not telling them.

Tibe also wants to know. He understands letting Maven go, but why a Red rat like Mare? If the people see her lightning powers and Red blood, there will be Hell to pay.

Cal's silent, but Elara solves that with a quick look into his mind, seeing all the moments of Cal and Mare being close and friendly with each other.

Elara asks Cal if he's more interested in dirt than diamonds and Tibe gets the picture instantly, upon seeing Cal's reaction.

Change of plan: Cal is getting his legion back in action, and an additional two hundred soldiers to locate and either capture or kill Mare and Maven. No more catch and releases or else it's Cal who fights in the arena and he'll have nothing but his wits to defend himself.

Cal pales at this and gasps that they can't kill him, because then Norta has no heir.

Tibe only glares at him and tells him not to fail before leaving to let Cal get his army ready.

Cal watches his father leave and is broken by the fact that he legitimately screwed up and that his father, as King, needs Maven, his own son, executed with Mare, someone who never should have had her powers to begin with.

Elara glares at Cal for a moment longer and also walks out of the room, leaving Cal on his own.

[avengerscompound]

The Tower: Family - 17

The Tower: Family An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 2137

Warnings:  Pregnancy, mental health issues

Synopsis: With new powers, Thor now living on Earth full time, a wedding to plan, and Natasha and Wanda expecting, a lot is changing for Elly and her large and rather unconventional family.  When Elise’s parents try to reestablish connections, Elly questions what being a family actually means.

Chapter 17: Therapy

“So, tell me.  How’re things?”

“Good.  Really good.”  That was the truth of it.  I sat on the soft, plush couch in Jax’s office, starting my therapy session and I felt really good.  I was now sixteen weeks pregnant and Natasha and Wanda were now 24 weeks.  I had a noticeable baby bump and we’d be finding out the sex soon.  I was in that sweet spot where I wasn’t too heavy to do things and I was past the morning sickness so I felt full of energy and ready to take on the world.  On top of that, we were feeling the other babies kick now.  The twins loved to put their hands on Natasha or Wanda’s stomach and talk to their sisters until they felt them kick.  They’d squeal and tell everyone how much their sisters loved them in excited jabbering.  I loved touching them too.  It was nice, when the day had come to a close, to relax, cuddled up on the couch with my hands on Natasha or Wanda, just feeling the babies kick.  The kids were enjoying school.  We dropped them off and picked them up in pairs.  If Natasha was one of the pair we’d walk.  If not, we’d have Happy drive us and wait in the car so we could avoid the paparazzi.  They’d made friends and they came home jabbering about all the things they’d done.  We organized play dates for them.  On top of that, everyone had just taken on administrative duties unless there was something really big and they needed a heavy hitter like Thor or Hulk (which was so rare these days), I was almost stress-free and enjoying myself.  So I was good.  I was as good as I’d been in my whole life.  This felt like the way things were supposed to be.

“You feel prepared for the babies’ arrival?”  Jax asked.

“Well, not yet,” I admitted.  “We have the nurseries set up.  We probably still need to go shopping for baby clothes and while we still have the bassinets from the twins, we’ll probably want to get another two, because even with the nursery, we’ll want them sleeping in with us.”

“Won’t that make it hard on your sex life?”  Jax asked.

“I think no matter what, four infants are going to make it hard on our sex lives,” I laughed.  “But we do have two other main bedrooms we use if we need time away from the larger group, for sex or sleep or whatever.  I think we’ll be okay.  We did it with two, I know four is going to be more than twice as much work, but there are a lot of us.”

“That is true,” Jax said.  “Well, I’m sure you’ll work it out.  So just clothes shopping?”

“Well, diapers and bottles.  Wipes, creams.  All that kind of stuff,” I said.  “But there’s plenty of time and a lot of it can just be added to the normal shopping list.  I guess the main thing we still haven’t started working on is hiring a nanny.”

“Why do you think that is?” Jax asked. “It would be a big process.  I would have thought you’d all have Wanda out stalking the potential candidates by now.”

I shifted where I sat as I considered the question. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I mean I know we need the help.  Even with all of us, six kids under five are going to be a lot to deal with.  But I don’t normally have anything to do with the hiring process.”

“These are your kids though, don’t you think you should be?”  Jax asked.

He was right.  I should be involved.  I had been with the school choice and this was much more important than that.  “Yeah, I guess so.  I’ll bring it up with Steve and Tony.”

“Are you worried about it?”  He asked.

I nodded.  “Yeah, I guess so.  They’re going to be trusted with a lot and it’s not like I haven’t had people break that trust in the past.”

“It is a big thing,” Jax said. “They’ll have access to a lot of your life and your family.”

“We have Wanda though,” I reasoned.  “And Nat and Clint are good at reading people.”

Jax smiled. “I’m really happy to see you taking this view, El,” he said.  “When I met you I think this would have sent you into a state of panic.”

“I mean, you did meet me just coming off my therapist trying to kill a bunch of my loved ones,” I half-joked.

He chuckled.  “Yes.  That is true. But I would say you’ve come along way since then. Do you think that too?”

I nodded.  “Yeah, I think I feel at peace in the world. Like I’ve found my place.”

“What do you think has caused that?” Jax asked.

“It started when the twins were born,” I say.  “I don’t think it was because they were born exactly.  I don’t see them as some magical fix for my mental health.  But I think everyone decided they needed to try harder to get healthy for them.  But I think the major thing was the bonding on Asgard and Thor coming here and then clearing things up with my parents.  I know I still have work to do, but I feel more able to accept the love these guys have.  Plus the power I have has made it so I don’t really worry about them anymore.  I know where everyone is and if they’re okay.  It has let me relax and I needed that.”

“What do you think you still need to work on then if you’re feeling so much better?” Jax asked, getting out a notebook.

“Well, I guess there’s always been the worry about losing my own identity in all of theirs,” I say. “And...I don’t know… I don’t think it’s grounded in logic, but I worry that with so many kids, people will start worrying about genetics more.  I mean… Tony asked to have this one with me, what if he stops being a parent to the others because he has this one?”

“Let’s start with the identity thing,” Jax said.  “What makes you feel that way?”

“Well, aside from work, I feel like everything I do is them or the kids. And really the work is related to them too.”

“Maybe you need to start making more time just for you. Spend some time with friends.  Get your nails done.  Read for fun.  Maybe take up a new hobby.  What do you think you’re not doing that you used to do?”  Jax said.

“I guess I spent more time with friends. And I read a lot,” I said.

“Okay, so put some time aside with you once a week.  That’s what I want you to do for your homework. You’re going to tell me about the hour you spent just on you,” Jax said, taking notes.

“Alright.  I can do that,” I agreed. “Maybe I’ll call Clarke up.”

“She’d like that,” Jax said.  “As for the other issue, do you really think they’ll be like that?  Has there been evidence of it outside Tony asking you?”

“Um… yes and no.  I mean, they’re all very into all the pregnancies and the twins are still the center of everyone’s universe.  But I just… notice when Bucky is with Nat and Sam with Wanda and Tony with me now.  And I don’t know if I’m just picking up on it because I worry it’s because of that, or if there’s no difference to how it always has been.”

“Well, I guess you have two options.  The first is you can track their behavior and if the amount seems out of the ordinary you address it,” Jax said.  “Or you can reflect and consider if this is coming out of your own experience.  If they are attentive to the twins and have been attentive to everyone else too, it might be you expect love to be withheld because you have experience with that in your childhood, don’t you?”

I frowned and nodded.  I had always been the family scapegoat for my father’s temper.  It had definitely felt like they had favorites and I was never one of them.  It made sense that I would think that parents just had favorites and it would be easy to see in a family where genetics wasn’t what made many of them parents.

“You’ve had an issue with that, haven’t you?”  Jax said.  “Believing they had favorites and that you weren’t anyone’s?”

That felt like a punch to the gut.  I had always felt that I wasn’t special when everyone else was.  I was under the belief that I was the spare but if it came down to it if they all had to pair off, I wouldn’t have a pair.  It wasn’t until Asgard when Tony said I was his person that I realized that I had been picked first.  “Yeah, that’s definitely true. But Bucky said they all had favorites.”

“Do you think that Bucky can speak for all of them?”  Jax asked. 

“I guess not, and I guess he was in a fragile place when he said it, but it’s also definitely true for some of them,” I say.

“And for the ones you’re not sure it’s true for,” Jax said. “Do they make you feel less loved?”

I shook my head.  “No, and I feel loved by the ones it is true for too.”

“Do they show favorites out of the twins?”  He asked.

“No, not at all.  They all adore both of them,” I said.

“You know you're worthy of the love those children get right?”  Jax said.

Tears immediately pricked my eyes and I grabbed a tissue and frantically wiped them as I shook my head.

“That old bone again,” Jax said.  “I’m gonna convince you, El.  One of these days.”

I nodded and wiped the escapee tears from my cheeks.  “I know.  I know.”

“And on that topic,” Jax said.  “I have some information.  It’s up to you what you do with it.”

I looked at him and furrowed my brow, not at all sure where the hell this was going.  “What is it?”

“Your mother left your father.  She’s been living in the city.  As far as we know she hasn’t had any contact with him other than through the lawyers.  She filed for divorce and she’s been seeing one of the therapists that work under me.  This was all passed on to me by that therapist at your mother’s request.  She’s hoping you’ll agree to see her.”

“Oh,” I said softly.  I didn’t know what to think.  This had all hit me like a truck.  Those were the conditions I set but I had not at all expected her to meet any of them.  My immediate thought was it was some kind of elaborate trick because my mother had never chosen me over anyone before - least of all my father.  “What do you think I should do?”

“I can’t tell you that, Elise,” Jax said.  “This is your decision.”

“But you have an opinion,” I said.

Jax let out a breath. “I was the one that told you it was okay to cut them out of your life in the first place.  I was very proud of you when you did that.  I stand by the decision you made.  If you don’t want to let her back in, even if her intentions are pure, that decision is healthy and a good one,” he said. “However, you set the conditions for her to re-enter your life and she has been following them. That is big.  Letting her back in might be good for you. But only if she’s really committed to fixing things.  If you let her in, you need to do so while protecting yourself.  If her behavior is still toxic you can’t keep her around.  I know you want your mom to love you the way you love your children.  That’s totally normal.  But if she can’t do that - if she can’t make up for what she did - if she resents you for that - it would be better for you both to just end it.”

“Right,” I said with a nod.  “I get it. I guess I better think about it.”

“Talk to the others.  Clarke too.  But when you make your decision, make sure it’s your decision,” Jax said.

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“Alright. I think that’s time, El,” he said.  “Remember your homework.”

“At least one special thing just for me,” I said, getting up.

“I’ll see you next week, if not before,” he said.

“Yeah, probably before,” I said.  “See you.”

I headed out of the office, the dark clouds that were my parents over my head again.

// NEXT

[wingsofhcpe]

whumptober day 3- "who did this to you"

fandom: shadow & bone

pairing: fivan [ivan x fedyor kaminsky]

rating: T+

additional warnings: injury, discrimination against Grisha

you can also read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34208404

[tagging @camilleisback upon request <3]

Fedyor had hoped he could make it to his and Ivan’s shared chambers without making too much of a fuss. It was an hour past midnight, after all- by all accounts, Ivan should be asleep. Then again, Fedyor wasn’t known for being late, and although Ivan knew he’d been assigned some errands at the Grand Palace that evening, he couldn’t have possibly thought Fedyor’s duties would last so late into the night. So there was little chance that Ivan would not notice him returning to begin with. As for what Ivan’s reaction would be when he saw the state his partner was currently in, well… That was going to be a little harder to hide.

He groaned a little, shifting his injured arm closer to his side, then wincing as it pressed against the already-forming bruises there. Great, there was no way Ivan wasn’t going to notice this, even if he hadn’t been limping from one side as well.

Fedyor let out a small sigh of relief when he finally stopped outside the polished mahogany door to their rooms. He took a deep breath -and regretted it a moment later as the movement served to aggravate the pain at his ribs and chest- and clumsily shouldered his way through the door.

The bedroom was lit only by a candle on Ivan’s nightstand, but the flickering golden glow was enough for Fedyor to detect his partner sitting up on their bed, heartbeat already spiking with frustration and worry.

“Where were you?!” Ivan asked, all but throwing himself out of the bed and stalking up to Fedyor, who only gave him a sheepish smile after carefully closing the door behind him.

“I, ah, something came up.” There was no point in trying to hide his injuries from Ivan, but he could at least gain some time before he’d have to explain them. Although it seemed like there wasn’t much point in trying to do even that; Ivan’s eyes widened, picking up on Fedyor’s erratic, pained heartbeat. Even if he hadn’t been a Heartrender, the dark red and purple bruises on the side of Fedyor’s face would have been a dead giveaway without the need of more light than what the candle provided.

“You’re hurt!” Ivan all but exclaimed, anger and concern writing themselves all over his unshaven face. He lifted a hand and lay it over Fedyor’s good arm, using his powers to examine the extent of his lover’s injuries. As soon as he became aware of it, he let out a small gasp.

“Fedyor- how?”

“It’s nothing, really. I just… need to lie down.” Fedyor murmured, blinking sudden stars away from his field of vision. Now that he was home safe, he abruptly realised how hard it really was to keep himself standing. He stumbled, and Ivan caught him and helped him stay upright.

“Fedya.” Ivan repeated his name, although this time his voice was gentle. “Tell me what happened. Who did this to you, my love?”

He led them both towards the bed, and Fedyor groaned quietly as Ivan helped him sit on it. Saints, everything hurt. “I, uh, I run into some young otkazat’sya soldiers in the Grand Palace. They were… quite inebriated, and I suppose the sight of a high-ranking Grisha at their midst wasn’t welcome at all. Especially after the devastating losses their side suffered on the Shu-Han front last week.”

“Did they dare raise a hand against you?” Ivan’s tone was clipped, and Fedyor could feel the fury that surged through him at the realisation. He winced.

“Ivan, it’s no big deal. They’re just children. They’re scared, really. I was just a scapegoat they could let their fear out on.”

“You’re not a punching bag! So they did beat you up? Unprovoked?” Ivan had leaned closer, eyes examining the bruises on Fedyor’s face. His thumb gingerly brushed over a cut below the latter’s eye. Fedyor let out a small huff.

“Well… yeah, sort of.” He shrugged, then immediately regretted it and groaned. “Ow. I tried to ignore them and just walk away but, well… one of them just grabbed my arm, turned me around and straight up punched me. The rest happened too fast.”

Ivan’s brow furrowed further. “You didn’t fight back? You could have used your powers on them.”

“You know that’s not me. And anyway, even if I wanted to use my powers, I would only be proving their point.” Fedyor said defeatedly. “I tried to fight them hand to hand, but it was seven of them and one of me. I did pretty well though, all things considered. I think one of them may find it particularly hard to produce an offspring if he so desires.”

Ivan’s expression finally relaxed just a margin, and a small smirk played at his thin lips.

“That’s my Fedya.” He murmured proudly, bending in and pressing a chaste kiss on Fedyor’s lips. There was dried blood where a well-placed punch had split the skin, and it stung, but Fedyor didn’t mind. He kissed back slowly, enjoying the comfort Ivan’s presence brought him. He had been scared, even though he would never admit it- he hadn’t known how far the First Army soldiers had been willing to take it, and while it was rare, it wasn’t unheard of for a Grisha to be killed by an otkazat’sya in such incidents (although to be perfectly fair, the opposite was a much more frequent occurrence). But now he was home, safe, sitting next to Ivan, his Vanya. It would be alright.

Ivan drew back a few moments later, but his eyes lingered worriedly on Fedyor. “We should get you to a Healer.”

“No!” Fedyor had to restrain himself from shouting, his eyes widening with worry. “Listen, Vanya- I’ll have to give an explanation of how I ended up like that if we go. And, well, I’ll have to give the General a list of names or rank numbers or just a description. You know what they do to otkazat’sya soldiers that as much as stare at one of us funny.”

“I damn well know, but it’s what they deserve.” Ivan’s voice was harsh. “Fedya, they could have killed you. I’m sure they would have, if they could’ve gotten away with it. Why are you protecting them?”

“Because…” Fedyor looked down at his hands. “Because they’re children. They were, what, sixteen? I don’t want one mistake to ruin their lives, Ivan.”

“It would have been a mistake if they cussed or spit at you.” Ivan snapped angrily. “But they beat you black and blue. As a group nonetheless. This isn’t a mistake- it’s prejudice. It’s hatred. We can’t allow them to get away with this kind of behaviour against our people.”

“I know, I know. But… I still think they should be given the chance to learn. To do better. To become better and unlearn their hate, rather than just die for something that has probably been drilled into them by people older and stronger than them.” Fedyor said quietly. “You know… you were raised to hate the Grisha, too. You would have been a druskelle, had you not discovered your gift early enough. And when you first came here, you despised us, and you despised yourself for what you were. But you unlearned it. You realised everything you’ve been taught was wrong. Shouldn’t they be given the same chance?”

“That was different.” Ivan hissed, but his voice didn’t hold the same amount of conviction as it did earlier. “I am Grisha. I knew I was, when I unlearned this mentality. I had to, because the world would hate me whether I accepted myself or not.”

“You don’t know they won’t be facing similar issues in the future.” Fedyor countered fiercely. “Maybe one of their younger siblings will be revealed to have a gift. Or maybe one of them has went untested and they will discover they themselves are Grisha. Anyway, I’ll speak to their superiors privately come morning. I don’t want this to spread to more people on either side. I’m not excusing them and I’m not protecting them, Ivan, I’m protecting all of us, and all of theirs. There are many soldiers in the First Army that accept us and view us as equals, as human beings. You know they’ll be in danger, should word of conflict spread among the Grisha. They’ll want payback, and you can’t guarantee that their victims will be the ones responsible for what happened to me. Besides, if this escalates, more Grisha will also be endangered.”

Fedyor paused to catch his breath and steady his hands, that had began to tremble slightly. It wasn’t as if he weren’t angry or scared out of his wits- he was. But he knew all too well, that violence only bred more violence. It would benefit neither the Grisha nor the otkazat’sya, if each side’s soldiers suddenly turned on each other and began to tear at each other’s throats like rabid dogs.

Ivan must have finally understood, too, because his grip on Fedyor’s wrist relaxed, and his shoulders slumped. He let out a frustrated growl.

“Fine. I suppose you have a point.” He relented, but his features were still pinched with worry. “But, anyway. Someone still has to patch you up.”

Fedyor allowed himself a small, relieved sigh. “Well, that’s why I have you.”

Ivan snorted out a little laugh. “You’re incorrigible. Come, let’s go to the bathroom. I don’t want to make a mess of the bed and then have to clean that up, too. If that’s alright with you, I would prefer to get some sleep tonight.”

One of the advantages to being two of General Kirigan’s most favoured soldiers, was that their living quarters were a little more spacy than the other soldiers’. Unlike most of the other Grisha, they didn’t need to share the banya with everyone else; they had running water available in their room, and could clean up themselves there if they preferred to have some privacy. It was a useful thing under many different situations -such as uninterrupted moments of affection when they washed after a particularly dangerous mission- and Fedyor guessed that wanting to clean and patch each other’s wounds up without alerting anyone else, was no exception.

“Here.” Ivan led him to a stool next to the bathtub, then helped him sit. Fedyor bit his already-bleeding lip to hold back a pained whimper as he sat, and Ivan’s hand immediately squeezed his own in a silent gesture of comfort. Fedyor squeezed back feebly, then let Ivan pull away as the latter rummaged around the small room for various medical supplies; clear strips of cloth, a bottle of disinfectant, bandages and a healing salve provided by a Fabrikator friend. He set all of it down on the floor before turning the water on. He waited until it had become sufficiently warm and then soaked a piece of cloth in it, and turned to face Fedyor.

“Take off your kefta, yes?” Ivan said firmly but without the usual bite to his commanding tone. Fedyor swallowed and nodded, shrugging awkwardly and trying to take the aforementioned piece of clothing off without jostling his injured arm too much. In the end he failed, and let out a small cry as he tried to stretch his arm to the side and pull it out of the sleeve. Ivan was immediately on his feet, having temporarily discarded the washcloth by the tub.

“Let me help.” He murmured in a low, comforting tone, his hands resting on Fedyor’s shoulders. Fedyor took a deep, steadying breath and yielded to Ivan’s ministrations; he knew that if he made any further attempts to remove his clothes by himself, it would only be a waste of time.

Once the kefta, undershirt and pants were out of the way, Ivan’s eyes darkened with worry. Fedyor supposed he couldn’t blame him this time- his entire left side, his back and his chest were badly bruised, and his right arm was bent at a strange angle that didn’t look at all natural. Less extensive bruising blossomed down his shoulders and arms, even his legs, especially over and around his right knee. Ivan clicked his tongue.

“I don’t care how much of a pacifist you want to be about this, Fedya. I’m going to find the bastards that did this to you and make them regret the day they slid out of their mother’s cu-“

“Alright, alright.” Fedyor waved his good hand placatingly. “I truly appreciate the anger on my behalf, Vanya. But for now, let’s just get done with it. You’re not the only one who can’t wait to get to bed for the night.”

Ivan growled under his breath, clearly not giving up on his aspirations of revenge, and Fedyor decided that maybe that wasn’t so bad. Ivan could teach a lesson to the perpetrators without the incident spreading further behind the lines of Grisha and otkazat’sya alive. It wasn’t the best possible solution, but Fedyor had to admit to himself that he wouldn’t mind watching if Ivan decided to make true on his word. He disliked answering violence with violence (barring extreme cases, such as facing a group of druskelle), but he was only human, and most humans have a petty streak to them. He was no exception.

Still, he decided to worry about it in the morning. For the moment, he allowed himself to relax under Ivan’s care, as the latter gently wiped the blood off his nose and lips, and dabbed at the cut under his eye. Fedyor caught Ivan’s eyes and smiled thankfully, which earned him a tender look and another squeeze of the hand.

“Let me see your arm?” Ivan asked after a few minutes, during which he had applied some of the healing salve across the worst of Fedyor’s bruises. Fedyor had been unable to restrain a deep groan of relief as Ivan’s fingers had gently massaged the salve onto his injuries; the discomfort receded almost immediately, the herbs contained into the salve having a cooling effect that soothed the throbbing pain. It wasn’t completely gone, but he already felt much better, and was able to stretch out his arm for Ivan to examine.

“Ow!” Fedyor yelped the following instant, glaring at Ivan as the other Heartrender’s fingers prodded at the swollen area around his elbow. “That hurt!”

“That’s what worries me.” Ivan grunted, displeasure evident in his voice. “There’s a fracture, I think. It’s not too bad, so we don’t need a Healer. I’ll bandage it, but you’ll have to use a sling for a while, and it’s going to keep hurting for at least a week.”

“It’s okay.” Fedyor sighed tiredly. At that point he didn’t care- he only wanted this to be done so they could both go to bed. “I’m sure we have painkillers somewhere around here. I’ll take some and sleep it off.”

Ivan raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to sleep for a week?”

“You know I’m more than capable.”

Ivan cleared his throat, but Fedyor knew he was trying to hide a laugh. He smiled, too. For all that had happened that night, he didn’t feel too horrible- not when Ivan was next to him. He just felt exhausted and a little crestfallen. But that was life, and life was usually tough. He had learned that lesson early enough. All he could do was shoulder it, smile and press on. He was good at it, too. He had learned how to be.

Ivan finished up a few minutes later, after taking a quick look at Fedyor’s knee. The swelling and bruising were bad, but he could detect no fractures, so he just talked Fedyor out of walking for a few days. Which, Fedyor suspected, wasn’t going to be a problem. He didn’t plan on leaving their bed, not unless Kirigan came and dragged him out by his ear.

“You deserve a few days off.” Ivan agreed when Fedyor voiced that thought. “But the General is going to ask questions. I thought you didn’t want him to know what happened.”

“I don’t.” Fedyor admitted as Ivan helped him to bed. He lay down with a groan and shuffled around, trying to find a comfortable position, where his arm and side wouldn’t hurt quite so bad. He’d already gulped down half a bottle’s worth of painkilling herbal pills, but it would be a while until they kicked in. “Just tell him I’m sick. I can pretend if I need to.”

Ivan rolled his eyes as he blew out the candle, and slipped under the covers next to Fedyor. “I know you can. You used to do it all the time to get out of training with Baghra, when we were young.”

Fedyor flashed him a shadow of his usual cheeky grin. “I was quite good at it.”

He shifted again, until he was laying flush against Ivan’s side, his aching arm stretched across his lover’s broad chest. Ivan hummed softly and pressed a tender kiss on Fedyor’s temple.

“Sleep.” He said. “Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

Tomorrow didn’t sound very far off, all things considered. It had already been late when Fedyor had first stumbled in the room, and with all the talking and the time Ivan spent treating his injuries, another two hours had gone by. Under normal circumstances, they would be waking up in three more hours, but Fedyor trusted Ivan to let him sleep in this once. So he forced all miserable thoughts out of his mind and quelled the fear that had caught fire inside of him from the moment he had first encountered the otkazat’sya in the Grand Palace. He was home now, behind high walls, nestled within his husband’s arms. He was safe. They both were. They’d always be safe, so long as they had each other.

So Fedyor told himself that everything was alright. That he wasn’t scared out of his wits, and that he wasn’t in pain. He closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him, while he clung to Ivan’s steady, familiar, beloved heartbeat as if it was the gentlest of lullabies.

[serendipitous-posts]

I see your Au’s where Klaus is the one with his powers suppressed and I raise you an Au where Ben’s power is the one suppressed

(May call this Cthulhu au? Sounds about right. I also somehow made Reginald worse??)

So, Reginald Hargeeves is a dick, but he’s also pragmatic, right? He doesn’t care for these kids, as long as they can live up to his expectations

He is absolutely determined for them all to reach their full potential, mental and physical safety be damned

So in this verse, he doesn’t give up on Vanya. He remains certain that he can control her and that she can control it

It takes a lot of time, but he’s persistent in his belief she can achieve greatness, which would be amazing virtue if he wasn’t such an abusive ass

The violin, he learns, helps a lot, helps hone her abilities and fine tune them to her advantage

The press love the little musician, with her big shiny eyes and careful nature and gentleness

You know who the press doesn’t like? Ben. Hates him actually. 

Or rather, they hate what is inside of him. They hate the Horror

(once, when ben was very young, he had tried to explain to three that he was the horror and the horror was him. like conjoined twins, but she had looked so disgusted that he had shut up)

Because it’s hard to spin a weird eldritch abomination that kills people into a positive light, and in the aftermath of every mission there’s always a group, growing louder and louder with each one, arguing that just because they were criminals doesn’t mean they should be murdered. That the Umbrella Academy were playing judge, jury and executioner when they shouldn’t, that they had no legal power and what were they doing?

An even smaller group, but potent in it’s ferocity, points out just how terrible it is, forcing a child to kill people

And normally Reginald would write it off, ignore it except-

Except he can’t ignore the way the Horror has been acting lately-hungry and aggressive and mad. But not towards the other kids, no. Towards him. He steps into the room and Ben’s skin starts crawling and twisting.

(if he didn’t know better, he would say it was trying to protect him)

And Hargreeves, as we see in season 2, is an experienced fighter, but he’s not going to kid himself. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance against the Horror. The only ones who might are his siblings

But, as he realises with horror, he doesn’t know if they would side with him against number 6.

Because Ben is the shy, quiet kind one. If he ordered them to kill them- Number One might do it, but the others? No, no way, he sees how they look at him sometimes, all quiet fuming hatred and anger and-

They’d probably try and kill him themselves

But they’re young, and easily manipulated so he starts - leaving suggestions really- makes them watch any videos of the Horror attacking, showing it’s rampage as Ben wilts before them all. Suggests 6 shouldn’t be near the cameras anymore because he’s too frightening. TV shows now have movies like Alien and documentaries about parasites that burrow under the skin

They see a hulk figurine in the store one day and he makes sure to tell One, loud enough for everyone to hear, that he’s not a hero, he’s a monster, because he can’t control his impulses

At the end of every mission, he finds a reason to critique the Horror and Ben and their brutalness, all the while sending them out to do so anyways

The Horror, perhaps sensing the amount of bullshit that is happening, grows worse, grows even more agitated over time

4 and 5 and 7 rally behind him, because 5 and 7 are his isolation buddies and 4 and him have been friends forever. But 1 and 2 and 3- they start to pull away, little by little

Because they believe that he’s going too far that their father may actually be right, at least on this, it is a little freaky, and it’s not just their father saying it, it’s everyone and they can’t all be lying

He makes them all sit in on Ben’s special training- killing a rabbit, and now Vanya starts to flinch whenever he comes into the room, stops inviting him to her recitals

(it’s not a coincidence that rabbits were her favourite animal)

Five stays loyal though, making a point of going with him to the libraries or talking to him about books he’s read. Ben’s- he’s paler now, even quieter, but he enjoys the company and the Horror always seems to settle down in his presence

Then Five disappears one day and never returns. 

Reginald is torn because on one hand- he’s one asset down and Five was always a very useful asset and very very clever but he always thought he was so clever, working around all of his rules

Vanya and Five were the closest and now she’s alone. And even though Vanya is one of the nicest people out there, she just lost her brother, and she needs someone to blame to lash out at and she remembers how Ben and Five would talk for hours about Five’s powers

She yells at him, screams at him that this is his fault, and Klaus tries to intervene but it doesn’t really work, because in this universe Vanya isn’t forgotten or ignored, she’s the most powerful and that comes with a certain amount of respect.

She’s more confident and sure of herself and she is sure that this is Ben’s fault

The Horror, sensing Ben’s stress, lashes out. It slams a tentacle down on the ground in front of her, causing her to scramble back, suddenly aware of the fact that she is in a room with someone who has a literal monster in his stomach

Diego walks in on Ben attacking their sister and immediately grabs his knife, stabbing into it and Ben howls, the tentacles sliding back under his skin

Diego is praised for his quick thinking, one of the few times his father ever compliments him and he holds it close to his chest

(she’ll realise her mistake much later of it not being Ben’s fault, but she doesn’t apologise, too scared of the Horror and what it could do to her)

(she full on avoids him now)

All that leaves in Klaus, but to be honest? He has his own issues to deal with. At first, he clings to Ben because he gets it, the absolute hatred you have to your powers

And Ben is so so so happy to have someone be there for him, someone who hates their abilities as much as he does. They comfort each other after their own personal lessons, talk about which powers they would like to have, how they would love to get rid of their powers entirely

And then Klaus does. Get rid of them. 

Well, kind of. Drugs as it turns out, cancels out his abilities. They learn this during a mission and he’s so happy. And Ben is so happy for him

Except . .  after a while, Klaus starts to pull away too, so caught up in the world of drugs and addiction and leaving him behind to deal with his own issues

He tries to confront him on it, but Ben was always the meekest of his siblings, and it doesn’t go well

“You’re just jealous” Klaus spits “you can’t turn off” he gestures towards Ben’s torso “that thing.”

All the while, the Horror is growing more and more agitated, squirming under his skin like an itch, stretching it and bruising it, awful and visible. His siblings, sickened by this display, start to avoid him, which just makes him agitated, which just makes the Horror agitated, which makes it more active, which makes his siblings avoid him more, rinse and repeat

(he can’t move, somedays, from the pain of it all, muscles stretched beyond their limit by the thing that should never be beneath a persons skin)

And then- and then, after a very bad mission, where his siblings had all looked away as he emerged bloody from another room, his father tells him he doesn’t have to do missions if he doesn’t want to

Holy hell. Holy fucking shit

This is- it’s- everything he has ever wanted since his first ever training exercise 

He says yes, of course

(The Horror hasn’t been this calm in years)

And he doesn’t have to go on missions anymore! He gets to stay home and read and be alone but in a good way and it is everything he has ever dreamed of and more

(in another room, their father announces that Ben is too dangerous to be allowed on missions anymore, and that he won’t be training with them anymore)

His siblings are torn between relief-that they won’t have to see another killing spree, and jealousy-because he doesn’t have to go on missions or have personal training

(none of them are relieved for ben, who always hated going on missions)

Klaus especially is jealous, and is snippy towards Ben for the remainder of the week, but he’s on cloud freakin’ nine, and he doesn’t really notice any of his sibling’s odd behaviour

But as time passes, Ben starts to feel more and more left out and excluded. The main reason why the siblings are so close is that they go on missions and train together, and Ben is no longer doing that.

He also notices that the others are . . . blaming him a lot. Even for things he didn’t do

“Why is there a hole in the wall?”

“Ben must have let the Horror out”

“You’re bringing an animal inside the house? Don’t let Ben see it”

It’s lonely, but the alternative is going back to training, and he would actually rather die. It’s just- he’s being selfish. The Horror is a monster (he is a monster) so it makes sense that others would think he was the one doing Bad Things

And Ben spent his entire life trying not to be a Bad Person, but everyone keeps saying that he is a Bad Person, and he isn’t sure what to do. Sometimes people recognise him on the streets, pull back, hide their kids, some the same age as him

(once Allison and Luther were with him when this happened, and they looked at the woman shielding her baby with something like-understanding? empathy? whatever it was, it made Ben’s stomach open, but not in a Horror way in a Bad Way)

He breaks down in tears, finds his mom in the middle of the night, feeling like a baby because he is fourteen years old and he shouldn’t be crying except this morning Diego had turned to Luther and asked “where’s the freak?” and Luther had grinned and said “Ben’s still in his room” and neither had realised he was standing behind them

(family scapegoat syndrome is a very serious thing.)

He goes to her, crying and wishing that it would just go away, that awful, awful monster in his body, why won’t it just die already?

Grace tries to comfort him, but Reginald knew this would one day happen, and put certain  . . things into her coding, things she can and can’t say.

She sits there and tells her son awful things about him and the thing that lives inside of him, a parasite, she is forced to call it, to call him

(and you may think Diego hates Reginald the most, but that title has, will and always shall belong to Grace)

“You’re disgusting” she tells her son and thinks of the man who made her

Ben wails, loud and strong, and the Horror responds to his horror, jumping to life and slamming into Grace and then Ben is screaming and he can hear his siblings footsteps, rapidly approaching, but he’s trying to get to his mom and-

He blacks out

He wakes back up in the infirmary, where Pogo is waiting for him. He explains how their mother is damaged, and will take a while to fix

He has to go about his day with Diego’s glare scorching his back. Breakfast is burnt porridge and milk.  The first chance he gets, Diego accosts him, knife missing by inches

“A-a-asshole!” He shouts, brandishing a knife “h-how could you?!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Ben squeaks, because he was always the shortest brother and his brother loves their mom and he hurt their mom and his brother is armed

“Diego stop” Vanya says, tugging on his arm “you’ll anger it”

Ben looks down to see his skin ripple and flushes, pressing himself even further against the wall

“You saw what happened with mom” Allison chimes in, glaring at Ben because their breakfast that morning was awful

“He’s not worth it” Luther says, and for once it seems they’re in agreement, because Diego turns and walks away, the others trailing behind him

Klaus stops, and gives him a sad look before scurrying after them, leaving Ben alone

Afterwards Ben is pulled into dad’s office and he’s handed pills. “To suppress your more . .  animalistic side” he said by way of explanation. 

Six blinks up at him. Suppress? As in . . get rid of? No more Horror

“It has come to my attention that you are far too dangerous to have running around unchecked” dad says when he asks, and Ben wilts

He takes the medication, and tries not to get his hopes up about it, but the Horror is gone

Instead of the usual aching chasm in his stomach there’s nothing. Just a sense of stability, of calm. He doesn’t feel like bursting into tears or crawling away in shame

(he doesn’t . .  he can’t feel much of anything really)

But he does feel excitement. His siblings are going to be so amazed- no more Horror!- and- and his dad can give Klaus some medication too, so he doesn’t have to use drugs anymore- or other drugs anymore!

His father pulls him aside and tells him that he must never tell anybody about this medication. His siblings have to keep thinking he can summon the Horror

Ben loves their father so much, wants to impress him, wants to make him proud. Except-Klaus. Klaus deserved to have this medication too, right? His- his powers were way worse than Ben’s

Reginald tells him, point-blank, that if he tells anyone about suppressing the Horror, he will take him off the medication

And that is-Ben feels kind of muffled right now, as if he’s under a weighted blanket but-

Terror is the only way to describe it, because he just found peace and now it is being threatened to have it ripped away

He lies about the Horror. The others continue to avoid him, but he also avoids them now, guilt over his lie causing him to cut himself off from Klaus, who cared for him, who deserves to have this as well, but Ben is just so selfish-

The second he hits eighteen, Ben leaves the house. He’s been on medication for 4-5 years now, and it shows. His emotions are basically gone.

He stays away from everyone until the funeral, when Five returns, telling him about the apocalypse, and he believes him, wholeheartedly believes him

He’s so frazzled by the announcement that he goes off his medication, forgotten in the moment of the literal apocalypse

(Reginald Hargreeves was a man trying to play god. He tried to lock away a beast too strong to be tamed)

(Someone should have taught him;when you cage a beast, the beast will get angry)

[tricksterreformed-a]

aesthetics for the entities, part ii.   bold what applies to your muse, italics what applies situationally or only in certain verses. rest of the fears here.  this is based on a horror podcast;  potentially triggering and / or upsetting content ahead!

viii.  the hunt.   sharp canines.  sore calves after a run.  the scent of blood.  an adventure for the journey’s sake.  the adrenaline right before the kill.   a whistle’s echo.  the woods.  the doe eyes of a prey animal.  your own breath in the air.  sharpened claws.  being tracked.  fear of someone knowing your every movement.  hunting down monsters.  hide and seek.  running away only to end up where you started.  staying alive purely because the enemy enjoys seeing you run.  a set of footsteps behind you.  blood dripping from bare hands.  barks and growls.  focused eyes.  a victim going limp under your hands.  a mouth full of fresh blood.  catching the scent of something monstorous.  perfecting your craft.  peering into the dark and running after it.

ix.  the lonely.   an apartment too small for a double bed.  completely vacant streets.  waking up to see everyone gone.  fog.  point nemo.  a house too big to hear your family members in.  alone in a faceless crowd.  a mask with nothing behind it.  separated cubicles.  a deafening silence where joy should be.  a blinding spotlight.  the least missed in your friend group.  streets without lights in the windows.  isolation.  not truly knowing your friends.  your friends not truly knowing you.  need for silence.  fear of crowds.  staring into space knowing nothing is looking back at you.  a ship alone at sea.  depression.  knowing your friends are better off without you.  talking to someone only to realise they’re gone.  a family too large to notice you there.  safety in being alone.

x.  the slaughter.    a game of tag.   senseless violence.  a true crime hobby.  improvised weapons.  blinding rage.  intent to kill.  a horrific day in a quiet community.  a medal of bravery.  holding on to what validates your anger.  history books that spare no details.  an injury you want revenge for.  war.  counting kills.  songs of soldiers.  a knifeblock on the counter.  a pool of blood.  shellshock.  unspeakable horrors.  anger pushing you forward.  unimaginable pain.  not seeing who will hurt you but knowing the pain is coming.  a fully human monster.  an authority sending its lessers to their deaths.  kill or be killed.  unedited wartime memoirs.  a weapons collection.  not knowing the names of who you kill.  too many to remember.  loss of hope.  there’s no heroes in war.

xi.  the spiral.   sleep deprivation.  corridors you can get lost in.  maze puzzles that loop back on themselves.  losing possessions.  losing people.  losing your sanity.  corkscew curls.  rows of funhouse mirrors.  optical illusions.  a separate reality.  walking through the wrong door.  delusions.  not knowing what your hands are doing.  blank spaces in documents.  hallusinations.  wrong proportions.  a nameless thing.  a place that has never existed.  doubting your own mind.  blind faith.  losing track of names, labels, categories.  distorted sound.  an imperfection in a glass that twists the view.  loss of time.  a garish colour.  doors that open to nowhere.  lies.  an unnatural laugh.  jokes and tricks.  illusions.  a doorway.  a sculptor with a wild imagination.  limbs in impossible angles.  doing what’s fun, not what’s sensible.  fractals you can get lost in.

xii.  the stranger.   wax figures.  a close approximation of a human face.  a borrowed appearance.  a strange smell.  glass eyes.  furs and pelts.  a dance.  a song of a choir.  the uncanny valley.  stitching yourself together.  the colours of a circus.  a puppet with no strings.  mannequins.  glitter and sequin.  a stranger you’ve always known.  someone strange in the place of someone you knew.  stolen identities.  stolen skins.  a machine imitating humanity.  the anonymity of a service worker.  hiding in plain sight.  uncomfortable to look at.  a faked accent.  concealing.  forgetting who you are.  forgetting who others are.  a replacement no one notices.  images that look posed.  the only one seeing the false face of someone.

xiii.  the vast.   open spaces.  carnival rides going up and down.  fear of heights.  endless infinity around you.  your insignificance in an universe.  stomach turning at a drop.  fear of not the crash down but the moment you slip.  the sway of a cable car.  an adventure holiday.  losing track of where the surface is.  miles and miles of nothing around you.  staring at the sky and feeling like you may fall into it.  loss of control.  a fall that doesn’t end in death.  glass floor to the view below.  terminal velocity.  the sound of wind in your ears.  a reach over the railing.  a jump from the top of the building.  falling into nothing.  feeling your feet let go of the ground.  a leap of faith.  motion sickness.

xiv.  the web.   undecipherable code.  a puppeteer holding the strings.  power over the weak-willed.  strings of fate.  manipulation.  an arranged accident.  a hundred minions doing your bidding.  cobwebs.  spiders.  a laid trap.  never voicing discomfort.  outwitting a cheater.  doing things without realising it.  red string across a corkboard.  finding something lost where you were sure you checked.  power over the unrealiability of chance.  watching others dance for you.  an entangled death.  a thousand tiny lengs and fangs.  shady forum threads.  something important gone missing.  suspiciously disregarded case.  a missing witness.  connections.  the world wide web.  power of victimhood.  gullibility.  no control over your own decisions.  an invisible leash.  mass psychology.  a horror film in the making.  scapegoat.  never remembering to ask for a name.

+  the extinction.   the end of an era.  apocalypse movies.  the alarms of warning systems.  a desolate landscape.  end of the world cults.  nihilism.  the last written history.  a changed world.  no survivours.  old prophecies.  a thousand predicted ends.  a new chapter.  an end with no escape.  catastrophes.  a calendar counting down.  breaking point.  overindulgence.

TAGGED BY:  nobody i grabbed it from the source TAGGING: this is a cool one and you should all do it

[quakerjoe]

Dear Biden Bro Rape Apologists

This includes you politician motherfuckers backing Biden right now.

A CUPPA JOE for CINCO de MAYO, 2020

During all this time you spent bashing me because I supported Tara Reade, I’d like to point something out at this time that clearly y’all missed in your ever-glorified shit-slinging fest defending your GOP insider, Joe Biden.

No ONCE did any of you motherfuckers ever ask one simple question of me and it was this:

“Do you actually BELIEVE Tara Reade?”

Rather an important question, isn’t it? Here’s what separates me from you shit guzzlers who are so fucking terrified and scared of trump that you’re willing to back any piece of shit just to be rid of him. 

You see, dumbasses, my answer would have been “I don’t know; I wasn’t there.” But like most feckless twats, you all missed the point and now it’s too late for you all. The train left the station. That ship has sailed. The point was that we needed to take the accusation seriously, for the sake of all women and all Survivors and investigate the matter because it would have been the right thing to do, not ignore and scorn her and try to cover it up. I’d expect that of the GOP, but come on, Democrats! You were supposed to be better than that! EPIC FAIL ON YOUR END HERE. 

Since clearly you left-wing trump-tards-for-biden types need it spelled out for you:

Whether of not Reade’s story is true or not is, at present, immaterial. What matters is your conduct and the conduct of the fucking assholes in the DNC and the party, and you all failed at being decent human beings.

You failed to take the accusation seriously when it was YOUR guy while not that long ago you were all screaming for justice to the victims of people like Bret Kavenaugh, trump, Cosby, and Weinstein to name but a few rich and powerful types who adhere to trump’s “philosophy” of how you can grab ‘em by the pussy and get away with it when your famous.

YOU FAILED. Not me. You.

What’s worse is that good people like Al Franken had their careers burned for far less. You failed him, and not you’ve shown that you’re willfully ignorant, selfish cunts, just like trump supporters. JUST LIKE THEM.

You see, there’s supposed to be this process when it comes to vetting people for things. Employers tend to do a general background check before hiring employees. When I joined the Navy over half a lifetime ago, my life was thoroughly put under scrutiny because I’d volunteered to serve on submarines. They looked into every detail of my life from my family to my schooling to my jobs to interviewing my friends to get a feel for whether or not I was trustworthy enough to work on classified equipment, also checking my finances to ensure I wasn’t vulnerable to things like being tempted to be a traitor by selling secrets to foreign adversaries because I was in a tight spot. They wanted to make sure there was no dirt anyone could have on me that might compromise me in some way.

Trump got ZERO of that. I was only an enlisted fuck serving on a sub. Why is it we do not hold the Commander-in-Chief to an even higher standard when he’s going to have the “football” within reach at all times with nuclear codes?

As I’d mentioned, the investigation involved looking into character. Biden is a CREEPY CHARACTER, but clearly like trump supporters, you Biden Bros are fine with Biden being creepy and possibly even RAPEY. But the point is we’re talking about an outright RAPE here. RAPE. Biden is accused of cornering and then digitally penetrating a woman’s vagina against her consent. Does that mean ANYTHING to you? Especially you women who are betraying your own supporting this fucknugget! Where’s the concern? Where’s the desire to delve into the vetting process and enact this “DUE PROCESS” you once screamed for?

I don’t know if Reade’s story is true or not. However, where we part ways is that I, for one, took it seriously. I firmly believe, in good conscience, that Biden’s got enough going against him as it is that that Due Process will either vindicate him enough that people like me might be able to choke down the vomit long enough to force myself to vote for him OR he’ll be proven to be a rapist and should, by rights, step out of the way for someone that’s NOT a rapist.

You assholes backing him FAILED. You failed not only women everywhere who are Survivors, you betrayed MeToo, TimesUp, the already weak and tarnished reputation of the Dem. party, and overall and most importantly- your country.

You FAILED to be a decent human being. So, to end this, you clearly need me more than I need you or Biden. If you can’t represent what I hold dear and adhere to a code of conduct becoming a representative of the US Presidency, then I won’t be bullied by you or tolerate you forcing me to betray my code of decency. You won’t tarnish my moral compass. But, in the end, you’ll still need me.

Like trump supporters, you need what I represent- “The other”. I’m the one you’ll blame in November when Biden tanks and we get 4 more of trump because somehow in your addled brains you equate MY lack of support as support for the other side. I support neither because to me, they’re one in the same all working to promote the GOP agenda of utter shittiness. None of my values are being represented by Biden except by way of paltry lip service in order to get elected to his likely one term where he promised to literally change nothing. Yay. A real go-getter to save the working class and save the world from disease, poor education and climate change. Woo-hoo!

So don’t you worry. I’ll be here for you to blame. I know you will because taking personal responsibility for your loss is just what trump supporters do- deny mistakes and blame someone else; trump style, but you know what? I don’t give a flying fuck in a rolling donut. I for one as will others like me will know that the fault is yours for not standing up to the fuckery of the DNC and always taking a knee to bow down to corporate/establishment Democrats who truly don’t give a fuck about you. I’m here for them too; the Great American Scapegoat, that’s me. You people will never learn and you’re no better than the GOP, trump, or his dumbass supporters. Blame me and my kind all you want because we’re not only not afraid to stand up to trumplefuckstick, we’re also not afraid to stand up to Democrats and call them out on their bullshit, either. You Biden Bros had a simple job- sell us on Biden. Earn our votes. Convince us in a meaningful way. Instead, you’ve demonstrated that you’re pieces of shit like trump’s cultists.

It’s not MY JOB to vote for someone, especially if I don’t believe him or if he represents NOTHING I want from my representative in the White House as POTUS. It’s THEIR job to convince me to HIRE THEM because this is a big fucking job interview, not a round of fucking Candy Land. So far, I am about as impressed with the Democrats as I am with the GOP and you’re not helping. To me, you’ve gotten to be more of the same than you were back in 2016. It’s as if trump has actually set a new standard so low that Dems are racing them to the bottom.

If Democrats want my vote, they’ll front me at least SOME of what I want in a POTUS. Biden offers ZERO for me, and if you weren’t so terrified to trump like scared little children, you’d get your heads out of your stupid, well laid asses and see that Biden’s just not into you either.

~Quaker Joe

[juju-on-that-yeet]

Unravel, Chapter 4/20

Work Summary: Antisepticeye has a plan to destroy Darkiplier, steal his power, and take over everything - and he might just succeed. What starts with Yandereplier going missing evolves into a messy web of betrayal and grief, of blood and tears, of old wounds and new faces. However this ends, Ego Inc. will never be the same again. Chapter Summary: Dark holds a meeting to inform the others of Yandere’s disappearance and discuss where to go from here. Warnings: None

Read on AO3

Enjoy!

~

Dark schedules a group meeting once he and Wilford get back to Ego Inc., set to be in twenty minutes to give Dark a chance to recover from overexerting himself. It’s enough time for the other egos to get the notification and begin to worry.

Meetings are commonplace in Ego Inc., but only for the oldest among them. Those are the meetings where things like budgets and projects are discussed. But group meetings are different. Those are always impromptu, demanding every single ego come to the meeting room, no matter how new. They’re for time-sensitive, impactful issues that can’t wait until the info disseminates from the main egos. Best-case scenario, they’re about new egos joining the fold. More often, though, they’re to give bad news: When an ego fades, or a dangerous outside figment is antagonizing them and threatening harm, or said figment has already done something terrible. As the time until the meeting runs down and egos gather, they begin to speculate on what’s happening. Yancy, Chrome, Google and Dr. Iplier already seem to know what’s going on, but they all know better than to spill the truth before Dark gets there. As the room fills up, one ego remains conspicuously absent. Even the ones who know nothing of the background situation notice the angrier-than-usual scowl on Chrome’s face, the nervous way Yancy shifts his feet, and Dr. Iplier’s fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

When Dark and Wilford arrive to start the meeting, the heavy rain outside has slowed, and is no longer so deafening. The table’s not big enough for all of them, so many of them stand. Still, they’ve congregated into groups: The three newest egos stand together, Yancy’s anxiety rubbing off on Magnum and Illinois. The Googles have grouped together, Oliver and Plus worriedly fussing over their decidedly unhappy brothers. The Jims stand by Bim, and Ed, Silver, and King have moved to be near each other, with Eric tucked near Ed. Bing and MarkBop have paired up, and Host and Dr. Iplier have changed their usual seats to sit together. Wilford takes his usual spot at the end of the table, with Dark opposite him at the head. Anyone who wasn’t already worried certainly is now upon seeing the looks on their faces; Wilford angry and uncharacteristically serious, and Dark colder than stone. It usually takes a few moments for the egos to quiet down for a meeting, but this time, everyone silences nearly immediately. For a moment, the rain softly falling outside is all that can be heard. Finally, Dark speaks.

“I’ve called this meeting to inform you all of a…situation that has arose,” Dark begins. “I’m sure that many of you have noticed Yandere’s absence from this meeting.”

A few agreeing murmurs, some nods. Dark continues.

“During the power outage earlier tonight, Yandere disappeared.” Gasps fill the room. “Chrome and Yancy were the ones who discovered that Yandere was gone, and Google confirmed it by looking through security footage from Yandere’s room.”

The murmuring starts up again, surprised and worried. None of the egos wanted to hear that one of their own is missing.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” asks Silver, “The power outage was an hour ago.”

“Because I thought I knew the culprit,” Dark mutters, more annoyed with himself than Silver. “The evidence from the cameras pointed to Anti, so Wilford and I confronted him at his hideout. We searched the building and the surrounding area, but Yandere wasn’t there.”

“I still don’t buy it,” Wilford seethes from his end of the table. “The static in the footage, the blackout–”

“There was static??” asks King, appalled.

“There was.” Dark shoots Wilford a glare. “Regardless, we could find no evidence that Anti was hiding Yandere, so we need to consider other suspects.”

“We ought to let the others see the footage,” Wilford says, “To show them what’s going on exactly.”

“And prove my point” is the unspoken addition. Dark sighs.

“Fine.” He waves a hand to Google. “Display the footage, Google.”

Google nods, and a hologram projection appears at the center of the table, visible to all. It shows the camera footage of Yandere sitting in his room, watching TV, storm raging outside. Everyone watches the screen with rapt attention. Dr. Iplier, the last of Yandere’s loved ones to see the footage, watches with especially wide eyes.

“As is clear, Yandere was alone in his room during the storm.” Google turns the volume up, and the whole room can hear the static under the show Yandere’s watching.

Dr. Iplier grabs Host’s hand for reassurance, keeping his eyes trained on the screen.

“While the power was out, the cameras were out as well.” The footage goes black. “When the power came back on…” The screen fills with Yandere’s room again. “Yandere was no longer there.” True to his word, the room is empty, and the static is absent. “Chrome and I searched through the footage across every camera in the building, and we could not find Yandere visible in any camera after the power returned.” He turns the footage off. “If it was not Anti, it was most definitely some outside force or other figment that took Yandere from his room.”

The room explodes with panicked questioning, covering up Dr. Iplier’s shaky sigh. Host interlocks their fingers and murmurs into his ear.

“Enough!” Dark shouts, silencing the room once more. “We will conduct ourselves like adults. We’ll get nowhere by panicking.”

“We’ll get nowhere by sitting here and letting Anti off the hook!!” Wilford argues.

“Yeah, are we really sure it wasn’t Anti?” Bim asks. He wilts under the glare Dark shoots him, but presses on. “I-I mean, that definitely sounded like Anti’s static, and between that and the blackout…”

“When Wilford and I couldn’t find Yandere during our first search,” Dark growls, “I used my aura to look through the building and the surrounding radius. I searched everywhere from Anti’s hideout to the area a mile away, and I found no sign of any figment, much less Yandere.”

The other egos consider. Most of them have seen Dark use his aura like that, and know how impossible it is to hide from it.

“If you did that, then…” Oliver murmurs quietly, “There’s no way Anti took Yandere. Whoever it was must’ve framed him.”

“That would make sense,” Ed says, “Near about everyone knows how much trouble Anti makes for us. He’d make a good scapegoat.”

“Who could possibly frame him?” Wilford asks, stubborn.

“Let’s see…” Dark begins with a tight, angry grin. He starts counting on his fingers. “There’s Phantom, Natemare, Peevils, Infelix, MadPat, Wiggles, Deceit, Remus, I’m sure Darkiishu and Apocalypse are still out there somewhere…if you haven’t noticed, Wilford, we have plenty of enemies.”

It’s true: The Iplier egos are widely known to be the most powerful figments around; no other figment or group of figments has the fandom to sustain such a large number of people. Dark and Wilford are the strongest figments out there, and even Anti, who has the power to go toe-to-toe with either one alone, can’t hope to beat the two as a pair. It means that every outside figment with even a slight hankering for power is always plotting to overthrow them, to destroy them, or, at the very least, make their lives more difficult. There’s a good chance that whoever took Yandere did so as a power play; by now, every figment out there knows how important Yandere is to both Dark and Wilford.

“Most of the egos Dark mentioned have magic or other abilities that would allow them to imitate Anti,” Plus points out. “Some of them specifically have the power to create illusions. Any of them could have mimicked Anti and taken Yandere.”

“Or,” Bing pipes up, “Maybe one of them is working with Anti. Maybe Anti kidnapped Yandere, but someone else is keeping him prisoner.”

“If that’s true,” Wilford says, “We need to go back to Anti and interrogate him.”

“We’ll have to kill him before he tells us anything and you know that,” Dark snaps, “If Anti truly does have an accomplice, we can find them without his help.”

“Maybe Blind Jim can find out where Stabby Jim is!” RJ exclaims.

The rest of the table looks at Host, who hasn’t spoken up since the meeting began. He’s still holding Dr. Iplier’s hand, and Dr. Iplier still looks like he needs it.

“The Host’s powers do not work that way,” Host says. “He cannot see a past he did not experience. He can only know the present, and know pieces of the future. He cannot yet offer any visions; he will need to explore the timeline before he can.” He thinks for a moment. “It is The Host’s opinion, though, that it would be more productive for the egos to focus on suspects other than Anti, given the points that others have already brought up.”

Dr. Iplier takes a shaky breath and looks around the table to the others.

“If Dark couldn’t find Yandere with his aura, then he wasn’t there,” he says, quiet and strained, “Going after Anti will just waste time and leave Yandere to…” Another breath. “To suffer god knows what at the hands of god knows who.”

“I know it was Anti!” Wilford insists, slamming his hands down on the table. A few sensitive egos yelp in surprise. “Who could’ve replicated Anti’s static so perfectly? Who else could’ve caused the blackout??”

“The storm caused the blackout, you stubborn fool!” Dark shouts back. His shells cracks, splitting down the middle in a scream of frustration.

Dark pauses. He straightens, collecting himself and schooling his aura back into place. The room is deadly silent. Some egos cower, hiding behind companions. Even Wilford seems to know he’s hit Dark’s last nerve. There’s no sound but the pitter-pattering rain outside as Dark regains his composure.

“Let us vote, then,” Dark says at last, steely. “I’m not a dictator; I’ll allow for some democracy. Anyone who wishes that we continue to pursue Anti, say “aye.”

“Aye,” says Wilford, staring at Dark with shining, angry eyes.

He is the only ones who speaks.

“Alright then,” Dark continues, “Anyone who wishes that we explore other suspects, say “aye.”

The room fills with a chorus of voices, every ego but Wilford saying “aye.” Some sound nervous in the room’s tension, but all sound sure of their choice. Wilford looks at no one but Dark. His eyes are pink.

“I trust that I will have your cooperation, Wilford,” Dark says icily. “Surely bringing Yandere home safe is more important to you than being right.”

“Of course I want Yandere safe!” Wilford shouts.

“Good.” Dark’s lips quirk, almost a bitter grin. He checks the time. “It’s quite late, now. We ought to rest and collect our thoughts. There will be another meeting in the morning at 8 a.m. for the core group to discuss a plan of action.” He looks around the table to each older ego. “I expect you all to be on time. The rest of you will get updates as necessary. All are dismissed.”

The egos begin to stand and file out, murmuring to each other in worry. Wilford stays at his end of the table, glowering at Dark. But the bulk of his anger is gone, replaced with exhaustion as the reality of the situation sets in.

Yandere is gone. No one knows where he is. He could be hurt, scared, trapped. Wilford’s otouto, his baby brother, vanished and lost.

Dark remains at the head of the table, staring evenly at Wilford. When the last of the egos leave, he sighs.

“I understand that you’re worried,” he says slowly. “I…I am, too. I care for Yandere as much as you do. Please understand, Wil. Now is not the time for stubbornness.”

“Fine,” Wilford mutters, “Just…fine. I’ll go along, I’ll work with you, just…”

He trails off. He does not continue.

“Get some sleep, Wil,” Dark says, almost gentle. “See you in the morning.”

With that, Dark disappears in a cloud of inky smoke.

Wilford sighs, mutters a curse, and vanishes with a pop and a flash of pink.

[volcarona-appreciation]

(April Fool’s Joke) A TOTALLY FAIR List of the Top 5 WORST POKEMON

Hello, everyone. Today, I’m going to do a list of the worst Pokemon that the series crapped out! And since I have nostalgia over the first generation, everything I’m saying is perfectly fair. With that said, here we go.

5. Palkia

This is the epitome of Game Freak deciding to be gimmicky as hell and make Legendary Pokemon actual deity figures. As you know, the legendary trio of Gen 1 were pretty much just Hot Bird, Cold Bird and Zappy Bird. They just happened to be more powerful. AND simply just bonus prizes. But afterward, they went on to make ‘em these figures of worship in Johto, weather creatures in Hoenn, and HERE!....... a being of space itself in Sinnoh! It just seems like they want the Legendaries to be nothing but Mary Sues, never mind the fact that it can add lore. Also, its head shape is awkward....

4. Poop-plio

WHERE’S THE EDGE?! LOOK AT THIS THING! This thing is mostly bad of ONE specific reason: The nose treats children like dummies! What we got here is the Pokemon version of the Minions for Despicable Me, only existing to simply bounce up and down to grab the attention of the easily amused children! And the nose is like those lame-ass clowns! There’s nothing cool about this crap stain, and all it can do is further drive political correctness into children’s games and shows! At least the final form is passable.

3. Tyrantrum

I could have gotten a cool-ass T-Rex from Jurassic Park, but instead, I got a blocky lizard with feathers for some weird-ass reason! It’s like they needed to put some pillow on this thing so it wouldn’t be “too scary for kids.” THAT’S COMPLETE BULL! I’m told that it’s actually accurate to recent research on dinosaur fossils, but I don’t buy that since feathers ruin the badassery of dinosaurs! Not to mention, it’s cluttered because it’s adding on an extra detail, and if the design is ANYTHING more than simple rat, then it’s automatically too cluttered of a design!

2. Braixen and Delphox

Why didn’t Game Freak learn from Emboar that standing on two legs poisons the integrity of Pokemon designs, never mind the fact that Nidoran Female stands on two legs as it becomes Nidoqueen! And those blinded by the truth keep telling me this lie about Delphox’s fur tuffs representing robes. NO! It’s a skirt, even though I can’t recall any dress or skirt looking just like that! Not to mention, looking feminine is a total betrayal of Pokemon’s masculinity! Not to mention, they’re foxes, and, therefore, exact copies of the precious Vulpix line, as using an animal a second time will automatically make the second time a complete rip-off, never mind the fact that many real animals have plenty of different species of that same animal!

1. Garbodor

And, no, I’m not biased! I’m just saying that this is insulting to Pokemon due to this thing being an inanimate object, and if the likes of Poop-plio and Braixen are any indication, this thing proves that Pokemon has next to no ideas left, and no, Voltorb and Magnemite don’t count because I said so! I’m also using this thing as a scapegoat for all of Unova! I’m now forced to see Volcarona, Serperior, Krookodile, Zebstrika, Leavanny, Whimsicott, Archeops, Reuniclus, Galvantula, Haxorus, Keldeo, Terrakion, Zekrom, and Victini as nothing more than literal bags of garbage because I know that Garbodor was introduced in the same generation of Pokemon!

Happy first of April, and I hope you like this stupid joke of mine.

@garbodor-propaganda @poppliopropaganda @fennekin-propaganda @tyrantrum-propaganda @leavanny-propaganda

[pantherlover]

Rosemary and Rue ReRead, Part 6

Here’s part 6!  As always: possible spoilers up to Night and Silence!

Chapter 11

I like how Seanan McGuire handles Toby ‘recharging’ when she’s at different power levels.  The weakest we ever see her is in this book (not including moments in other books where the balance of her blood is out of whack), and Toby has not only gotten a full night’s sleep (twice!), but she’s made a point to eat to restore her energy.  In both The Brightest Fell and Night and Silence, where Toby’s more powerful? She usually starts out sleep deprived/hungry, and the only time she rests is when someone knocks her unconscious/severely injures her.

Toby grabbing random ingredients in case she needs them for spells was a nice detail!  I wish she’d kept it up as her powers got stronger.  Maybe she wouldn’t need to bleed over quite as many things.

It would be interesting to see how entering the knowes (particularly Shadowed Hills) is translated into a visual medium.

I’m love the description of Shadowed Hills, and I really love that it’s described as lavish and excessive; so often ‘plain and simple’ is shorthand for ‘good’, and ‘grandiose’ is shorthand for ‘evil’, and that makes me sad because I love lavish!  And ornate!  It makes me happy that for once this type of description doesn’t instantly mean ‘bad guy’s lair’.

Again, I really want to see Toby make her illusion-dress in a visual medium.

Toby’s Official Title is Knight of Lost Words; I wonder if she got that name for something specific, or if it’s just a title that’s picked at random. and doesn’t mean anything in particular.

Quentin again!  Still pretty bratty there, kid.

Sylvesteeeeeeeerrrrrrr asdlfjsdlfjsadlfjlsdjf God. Toby and Sylvester’s relationship is always going to kill me.  Toby’s relationship with the Torquills, as a unit and with each individual family member, is so Twisty and Complicated and just - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh it’s So Good and it makes me So Sad at the same time.

Toby being blindsided by Sylvester actually being happy to see her is absolutely a result of Amandine’s parenting.  ‘But failed to do what you wanted me to do!  Even though by ‘fail’ I mean ‘got turned into a fish and not only lost 14 years of my life, but lost my fiance and child too’!  Why aren’t you disappointed in me???’

sadfjsjs And Sylvester thinks that Toby was avoiding them because she was mad at him for failing her asdlfjsldfjsdfjf

I think, of all of Toby’s parental figures, Toby is closest to Sylvester in personality/life philosophy, and they are juuuust similar enough that they don’t realize it.

That’s why, I think, Sylvester doesn’t understand why Toby was refusing to visit Shadowed Hills and Luna does; Luna’s separate enough that she can see from Toby’s point of view, whereas Sylvester’s thinking exactly the same thing as Toby, just in reverse.

Lunaaaaaaaaa.  It is heartbreaking thinking about where Toby and Luna’s relationship ends up, because they’re so sweet here.

... Aaaand Rayseline.  My thoughts on Rayseline are Complicated; do I think she has every reason to be angry and bitter at the world?  Yes.  Do I like that she made Toby the scapegoat for all of her problems?  No.  I am interested in seeing her journey after she wakes up, though.

Although hearing Rayseline call Toby a failure for not finding them feels extra stabby, now that we know that Luna and Rayseline were only kidnapped to disable Sylvester/take Toby out.  I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to learn that.

Initially, I was wondering if Sylvester knew that Evening was a Firstborn, but now I don’t think he did; if he had known, I’m pretty sure he would’ve connected the dots between Simon, Evening, and Luna and Rayseline’s disappearance.

So, a better question is: did Luna know?  Evening’s technically her Aunt, so I don’t think it’s entirely outside the realm of possibility?  But Acacia did marry a son of Maeve, and Acacia implies in The Brightest Fell that Titania was Not A Fan of that decision, so maybe Evening didn’t have any contact with them.  And we already know that being a direct descendant of a Firstborn doesn’t mean that you can tell when other Firstborns are around...

And once again, Toby doesn’t tell someone she trusts about being bound.

Chapter 12

I understand why Toby is so certain that knowes have lives of their own, considering she grew up in Shadowed Hills.

I forgot that Sylvester’s allergic to cats.  What do you want to bet that Tybalt takes great pleasure in that after he and Toby get married?

The Garden of Glass Roses sounds amazing, and I would for sure cut myself on something.

Oh, Connor.  While I don’t think he would’ve been a very good romantic partner for Toby in the long run, he was a really good friend.  (Although I find it kind of ironic that Connor’s parents were against Connor and Toby’s relationship, given that she becomes the Luidaeg’s favourite niece; having an In with Toby might’ve been better for them in the long run.)

I feel really sorry for both Connor and Rayseline; I know that Luna thought their marriage would be good for Rayseline, but I honestly think that it made things worse for both of them; Connor was put in a situation that he wasn’t equipped to handle/didn’t want to handle, and Rayseline was stuck with someone who likely thought of her as a problem to handle before he thought of her as a partner/wife.

That’s it for now!  As always, come talk to me about the books!  I’m always open for discussion.

[themadauthorshatter]

It's been a while since I did one of these, I was doing some catching up with other fandoms😅

If you haven't read the previous parts, they are here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4/Part 4 extension/revision

Recap time: Charles has realised that with the twins knowing where the Aztec Sapphire is, they are in danger. Thankfully, he was targetted instead. Right chases him and Charles is almost captured, but he escapes with returning character Terrence Suave, who returns him to the military base.

With that out of the way, ONWARD!!!!

We start with Charles groaning as he wakes up in an infirmary bed, sore from the chase and his torso aching from his ribs getting reset and his gash stitched shut. The twins are asleep next to him, and Galeforce is outside the room yelling at someone(I wonder who?).

He sucks in a breath and gets out of bed, careful to not overdo it, because he's still injured, and finds Galeforce yelling at Terrence Suave, who's simply drinking some coffee and enjoying himself as he pulls the General's leg. At least until he looks over his shoulder.

"Morning, Pilot."

Galeforce turns and almost hugs Charles, stopping himself when he notices Charles holding his side and with bad posture; he's too tired and sore to stand straight.

Regardless he asks how he's doing, and Charles says he's fine and inquires on what the two were talking about, more specifically what Terrence knows.

What were they talking about exactly? Simple, Henry and his next move.

Charles re-affirms that he needs to skip town because Henry's on the hunt for him, and he's a good cover/scapegoat for the twins, so they can stay safe.

Galeforce says no to that immediately; Charles is like his child. Regardless of how old or experienced he is, Charles is still his baby and his first instinct will always be to protect him. He doesn't say this out loud, of course, but it still makes Charles disagree as politely as he can.

I should probably explain why Charles is tunnel visioned on this whole thing:

Well, Henry was awake for a couple hours during his flight to the Toppat Airship. During that time, Charles got to mingling, talking about how he knew Henry had ot kind of rough and offered to be a roommate, if Henry needed a place to stay.

Henry declined and said he'd consider it.

Charles was silent for a second, and admitted that he got it if Henry was scared, seeing as how they didn't exactly ask him to help, at least until after they "picked him up," but he'll have Charles talking to him through an ear piece the whole time to guide him.

Henry smirked at that and nodded, thanking Charles for his kindness, as it was welcome against all the other soldiers.

They talked a little more, and even talked about personal stuff, before Henry got to his mission.

Then Henry betrayed them. And, to rub salt in the wound, shot at them with a bazooka as Reginald open fired with a semi-automatic.

They were forced to retreat, but it twisted the knife for Charles when Henry thanked him again for being himself and leading him straight to the Toppat Clan's leader; Henry would have started off with the government private investigator and ended with rapidly promoted executive.

Back on track, Charles sits down as he explains they don't have a lot of options. It's either Charles leaving or Henry attacking the base and finding the sapphire or taking the twins, who know where it is.

There isn't anything special about the Aztec Sapphire, it's just really big and really expensive. And it's a national treasure, so they need to protect it.

Galeforce is still against the idea because it could be a trap, like an orchestrated path for Charles to follow until he's captured.

Terrence agrees, knowing Henry and how lucky he is.

Charles groans and turns to him asking who the hell he even is.

"I already told you who I was," Terrence barks.

"But who ARE you?" Charles asks. "How did you find me in the city? Why are you out here? Who's side are you even ON!?"

Terrence huffs through his nose and leans against his knees. "I don't take sides. The clan screwed my over and you government lapdogs screwed me over. The only side I'm on is my own."

Galeforce and Charles glance st each other before Galeforce asks, "Then why'd you help Charlie?"

Terrence smirks and shrugs. "Got bored."

The two glare at him, but get back on track when Terrence says, "Anyway, I'm with the pilot on this one. If you're still here, and Henry figures out you are, kiss Earth goodbye on your way up to that station." At that last part, he points to Charles.

Charles gulps and nods.

Then he looks up from the floor to the wall. "I think I know somewhere I can go."

Before he can finish, he exhales and stumbles back; guess he needs more time to rest before acting in his plan.

CUT TO THE ORBITAL STATION!

Henry is thinking of every possible location Charles could be and narrows down on a couple places he'll send spies to: the prison Henry was sent to, the outskirts of the city, the military base, and even the jungle; maybe Charles found a small town to stay in, though hide is a better word.

He's been working on this plan since last night Earth time, so it's a good thing Ellie comes in with some breakfast and water.

"When was the last time you slept?"

Henry shakes his head and signs, 'We need to find him. Can't wait.'

Ellie crouches next to him and rubs his arm. "He's injured. He's not going anywhere any time soon. Rest."

Henry groans, but takes a bite of breakfast sandwich and goes right back to planning.

Ellie has none of that; she may have known Henry for a little while, but damn it if she's going to stop having his back now, and she has to get him to stop and rest by force, so be it.

She drags him over to his bed and judo/jiu jitsu style, straddling his waist when he tries to get up.

"What part of 'get some rest' do you not understand?"

Henry scowls at her before signing, 'You're not my mother.'

"I might as well be, if you're not going to take care of yourself," Ellie replies as she folds her arms. "And if you try to throw me off, I'm tying you to this bed."

It draws a snort out of Henry as he shakes his head, chuckling a little. 'Pervert.'

"You're the one with the dirty mind, mister, not me."

Henry shrugs and gestures back to his desk, but Ellie only grabs his hands and leans down, pinning him.

"No. Now rest."

Henry groans and nods, agreeing to rest; laying down made him realize how tired he was.

Ellie, however, just to be safe, stays right where she is, so he doesn't go back to planning.

"Don't worry. We're going to get that sapphire. And your pet pilot."

Even though he's drowsy, Henry still nods and makes a gesture between the two of them and points to his eyes; 'I know. Same eyes.'

Just to clarify, Ellie's told Henry she has the same 'powers' as him, so he's basically saying he knows because they're seeing the same thing and can get it done.

Anyway, BACK TO CHARLES!!

Charles groans as he's told to stay in bed, but it gets worse when Rupert handcuffs him to said bed to keep him from going anywhere; he has a day off, anyway- or at least he HAD one before Charles woke up and left his bed.

Regardless, Charles only scowls at Rupert as he reads a book.

"That's the first time we've seen you read," Charles remarks.

"Careful. I'll tell the doctor you tried to get out of bed again."

Charles holds up his hand and shows the handcuffs. "How?"

Rupert shrugs. "I'll think of something."

Charles rolls his eyes and lies back, staring at the ceiling.

"So do you have a plan?"

Charles nods. "I need to go to The Wall. I think there's someone I need to talk to."

"Right now, you're not going anywhere until you heal up a little. What if you get found by the Toppats and end up bleeding out somewhere we can't get to you?"

Charles sighs and lies back, staring at the ceiling as Rupert gets up to go grab some food for both himself and Charles.

Charles continues to stare up at the ceiling as he hears Rupert leave, though he spots something on the table next to his bed:

Keys to the cuffs and a note from Terrence reading, Have fun getting to The Wall. Keep your headlights off in the open, when there aren't any trees around. Remember: Her name's Hadiya Wrenley; I never married her. Good luck. Terrence Suave.'

When Rupert returns, Charles is gone, having written, 'Sorry!' on the back of Terrence's letter.

Good thing he's left because the Toppats have arrived in a surprise ambush.

It's a 50 to maybe 24, so it's easy for Henry to have a group and Galeforce rounded up and held at gunpoint.

"Scumbag," Galeforce snaps, though Henry, who's refreshed from some rest and relaxing(Ellie took over planning), only smirks at him.

'Where are the sapphire and Charles?'

"He's gone," Rupert growls. "He left town and he took the sapphire with him."

Sick of his shit, Henry gestures for Rupert, who is pulled forward, the other soldiers objecting and demanding Henry choose one of them instead.

The toppat shoves Rupert to the ground and Henry draws a gun, aiming at him, the two glare at each other; believe me, after the airship, there's been A LOT that these two did to piss each other off.

Everyone jumps when they hear gunfire, but not near the assembly. Henry especially jumps and covers his head before turning, panicked before he stands straight and smirks.

TV perspective, we see Charles standing in the open as he holds a gun toward the sky, glaring at Henry, even when Charles lowers his gun.

Henry takes a few steps toward him and Charles raies his gun again, aiming right at Henry.

Ellie, in a moment of quick thinking, snatches one of the twins and holds a gun to his head. "Try it!"

Henry gives her a gesture to calm down and not do anything because he raises his own gun and aims it at Charles.

The two glare at each other, though Henry smirks at Charles, who occasionally darts his eyes to Konrad to check on him.

"Go 'head," Charles eggs on. "Take the shot. I'm right here."

Henry fights a genuine laugh from that. "That's my line. And if I do that, I'd lose the sapphire and the only enjoyable person in this dog pit."

Charles shudders at that, but stays resolute.

"Where is it, Charlie?" Henry asks as his smirk drops. "Tell me where it is, and I'll leave. All of us will."

With a sigh and an inward, 'I hope this works,' Charles lowers his gun and glares at Henry. "Catch me first."

"Charles!" Galeforce shouts as Right holds him back; he's stronger than he looks.

Henry, however, smirks at this and lowers his gun to rub his eyes as he laughs again.

"'Catch me first?' You're hearing yourself, right?"

"Give me two days," Charles dares as Henry approaches. "If you can catch me after that time, I'm yours. If you can't-"

"Charles, let me stop you," Henry says as he puts a hand on Charles's shoulder and leans into his ear; Charles is wearing his headset around his neck.

"I'm the leader of the Toppat Clan. I have the world in the palm of my hand." Henry points up to the sky, Charles looking up to see the Toppat orbital station. "There's nothing that's out of my reach, but I'll indulge you in this game. Try running, try hiding, but know this, Charles: I'm always going to get what I want."

With a pat on the shoulder, Henry backs up and nods at Charles. "Fine. Two days. You on your own discretion with no one following."

"Leave eveyone one else out of this. This is between you and me."

Henry shuts his eyes and groans. "Fine. The base is off limits, as long as I don't find you back here." Henry holds out a hand to Charles. "If those are the terms, are we agreed?"

Charles looks over at Galeforce and the other soldiers, nodding at them and Henry, taking and shaking his hand.

With one more glance back at the military, Charles walks away and hops into a jeep, driving off as Henry waves goodbye at him.

He's got two days to get the The Wall, do he'd better not waste time.

As he watches him drive off, Henry calls a retreat, saying to the toppats to leave the base and soldiers alone.

Once he's free, Galeforce essentially curses Henry out and calls him a lying bastard.

Henry shrugs and admits that while he's both, he's also winning, so he can't complain.

The Toppats leave and Gakeforce grits his teeth, hoping Charles knows what he's doing.

With Charles, he speeds down the road again, taking the fastest route to Canada as he calls an acquaintance on The Wall.

Hadiya Wrenley is a voluntary inmate, and Charles REALLY needs a word with her.

[imthepunchlord]

I've been theorising who would get the remaining Miraculous, matching them up with the remaining classmates plus Marc because I love him. Mylene, Rose and Juleka are pretty obvious as the Rat, Pig and Tiger, Ivan gets the Ox, Nathaniel gets the Rooster, and Marc gets the Goat (I don't like Sabrina getting the Dog but she ended up with it through process of elimination). Do you think they fit?

Well, a lot of it would depend on powers and what they’re going for. But, with who’s getting what, honestly I’m not a fan of a lot of them. Get ready for swaps and salt. 

Though, real quick, I will say, of who is chosen, I do like monkey!Kim, not certain on powers, don’t even have a solid idea on how it works, but I do like monkey!Kim. 

Alix you know I still prefer Snake for her instead of Rabbit. And now that we saw the powers, yeah, still prefer snake!Alix. Rabbit I would’ve rather gone to Mylene, Rose, or Juleka; particularly with a power of teleportation instead of time travel; also could’ve done something related to the Moon Rabbit, have Rabbit as a healer. 

Mouse, Tiger, and Pig I’m going to hold off on mentioning. Those are technically set in stone, though I may mention their holders below. And those that have already been confirmed for, not a big fan for a lot of them. 

We’ll start with one of my favs, Ivan. Instead of ox, dog!Ivan has been growing on me, especially when you change her up to a black and white dog. 

Dogs are symbols of acceptance, loyalty, protection, and love. Not only does Ivan match all those, dog could’ve had some good symbolism behind it; Ivan started out as someone that was feared and regarded to be a delinquent, but now he’s a character that’s associated with love and protection. He goes from someone feared to someone that’s a protector. And that can match with dogs, they can be feared, but are also loved and provide support and protection. Ox just plays Ivan being as big and strong as an ox, but not much else for that. Dog!Ivan is what I would’ve gone for.

Ox, instead, I’m actually growing intrigued by for ox!Kagami. Ox is a commonly a symbol of strength, but it also symbolizes, perseverance, rigidity, and assistance. Ox still allows Kagami to be aggressive and firm in where she stands, let her be a fighter and stand her ground, unafraid of challenges. But, it would also pave way for her to learn to provide for others, learning to be more helpful and open to helping others instead of focused on just herself. While oxen are a formidable and powerful animal, it is a helper, helping us since ancient times. Ox would have Kagami truly grow into the hero role, learn to watch out for others and provide assistance. 

Horse I actually would’ve liked to go to Prince Ali instead. I know that means he has to come back to Paris, but like, horse!Ali would’ve been perfect. A symbol of freedom, which Ali desires, also a symbol of nobility, allowing Ali to help others as he would want to. Ali having the horse just feels a lot more natural, Max having horse... its not quite clicking why has the horse. I could see snake for him, could see him having dragon for the irony of him being logical and he gets the mythical kwami, could even go rooster!Max, play off being very outspoken and bold. 

Actually maybe it would’ve been rooster!Max is what I would’ve preferred. Roosters are symbols of courage, honesty, pride, flamboyance, and vigilance. Max can match with rooster as someone who is very outspoken, desires to share facts (the truth), is proud, does have his heroic moments, and can learn to better express himself and don’t leave himself alone to wallow in negativity. I also like to think rooster’s power is related to light instead of sound, which can allow Max to shine as he wants (though most likely it will be sound based power). 

Also could’ve given Rooster to Lila, if we were going to break away from she’s pure evil and will always stay that way and actually go the route of her being complex and has room to grow just needs a push in the right direction; Rooster, as a symbol of honesty, would teach Lila to break away from her deceptions, to accept herself for who she is, appreciate who she is, and learn to shine on her own and how she is instead of feeling like she needs to build herself up. 

For Goat... that’s a bit of tough since that’s one of the zodiac miraculouses I’m the least interested in. I do have an idea for Goat powers, Scapegoat, able to redirect attention of enemies and having them switch targets, and Goat becomes kinda more witch inspired miraculous, with a broom as a tool. With this idea, thought of it going to like, Juleka or Luka. But, ultimately, I don’t really have any ideas on who Goat should go to so I’m going to hold off. 

Nathaniel I do not like. At all. I don’t want him to get a miraculous so I would go no miraculous for Nathaniel. Rooster can go to someone better and who actual deserves it. 

Marc doesn’t grab me as a character either, there’s not enough on him that makes me want to see him with a miraculous so I’d say no miraculous to him as well. Not till we got more on him other than being an anxious character. 

Sabrina is most likely getting the dog to play off loyal and her being Chloe’s lapdog cause apparently that’s a funny joke in this show... honestly I don’t want her with a miraculous either. Sabrina is a character that’s all over the place, and while I do pity her and this situation she keeps herself in, I am also very unnerved by her. I don’t know where she stands aside from devotion to Chloe. I don’t want her with a miraculous, not right now. 

[vagrantblvrd]

you mentioned an angstier version of your selkie au before. i'd love to see what you meant by that

!!! Okay, so.

I did some ~research into selkie lore while I was writing the first two chapters of The Manner of Things (...which I will get back to One Day, I swear) and came across this whole Thing about male selkies I’d never heard about before?

SO. The ~angsty version was going to be a play on that where Ryan had swung a favor or just me bending the rules a bit where Ryan was able to take on his human form for seven days every seven years. (Because handwavy plots reasons.)

In that time the main fic happens – Michael meets this idiot and doesn’t realize he’s a selkie and there are shenanigans in which Michael ~falls in love and vice versa. More shenanigans in which Adventure happens – typical FAHC AU shooty-shoots and car chases and other close calls and y’know, life-affirming kissing. (Gavin and Jeremy being giving Michael and Ryan shit/being suspicious of this asshole flirting with their BFF, that kind of thing.)

But then!

Ryan’s human!time is up and he has to leave and Michael is like “Wait, what?” because he was just starting to tolerate the asshole, really, and NOT feeling like his heart is being ripped in two and suchlike.

Ryan’s like, the first time in his life he regrets having to leave (idk, maybe he’s super Old or had some ~youthful indiscretions before Michael, I hadn’t quite figured it out.) and he gives him something to remember him by.

It’s kind of. He doesn’t tell Michael he’s got a Plan in case things don’t pan out, but he has a Plan. (Sea witches or regular witches, or something where he can take on his human form whenever, because handwavy plot reasons, idk.)

Jeremy is well aware Ryan has a Plan and keeps quiet because it’s risky and all that and goddamn Ryan’s an idiot, but he’s never seen him like this over anyone and he likes Michael and all that.

So, you know. Battle Buddies or whatever.

And then!

Michael doesn’t turn into a grieving widower after Ryan...leaves.

No, he just turns into a sad sack of shit who makes the mistake of letting Gavin call the shots for a while because he can’t be bothered to give a fuck. (Trusts Gavin not to get them into shit they can’t handle because he’s not that stupid.)

Oh, Michael makes a decent showing of being a functional human being for a while there. Takes jobs of his own and puts any fuckers looking to challenge his new-found reputation or give Gavin grief he doesn’t deserve, but other than that?

Cannot be fucking bothered.

And to Gavin’s credit, he does a stellar job of handling the rest for the two of them.

Picks and chooses the jobs they take on so they climb the ladder bit by bit until they get caught up in a mess not of their making.

Some assholes making a power grab and the two of them caught in the middle, meant to be scapegoats and they need to get out of Los Santos for a while.

So.

“You know, Michael,” Gavin says, bag of frozen peas doing fuck all as he holds it to the black eye he’s sure to have by now. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Dan. Care to come with me?”

Like it’s any kind of question, and Michael’s heard a lot about Gavin’s Dan, so.

They go all the way to England while they want for things to cool down in Los Santos. (Michael gets the feeling Gavin’s got ulterior motives about heading there that has a lot to do with Michael’s sad sack life at the time, but he doesn’t bring it up and neither does Gavin.)

And anyway, anyway, Gavin’s been in the US for a while now, fucker deserves this.

Michael get to meet Dan and is honestly a little surprised to discover the asshole is exactly what he pictured whenever Gavin brought him up, told stories about him and the shit the two of them used to get into.

Big, lovable goofball with a startling love of explosives and the proper application of same, and Gavin laughs himself sick while Michael and Dan bond over this shared interest.

Dan is thrilled to teach Michael all about the shit he learned in the military, big boyish grin of delight when they go to some empty field or quarry to test something out. Helps pull Michael out of the funk he’s been in, laughing and giddy with excitement when the local authorities ccomes to check things out and they run the hell away like dumb kids.

Michael feels a little self-conscious when he shares the shit he picked up mostly through trial and error,   self-taught and all that, but Dan is just. He doesn’t judge Michael, even as he offers up a better way of doing a thing every so often, one that won’t (literally) blow up in Michael’s face if he gets the math wrong or whatever, and Michael relaxes when he realizes Dan isn’t like the assholes who taught Michael a few things about their ~craft way back in the day and they get along even better after that to Gavin’s satisfaction.

They’re staying at an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, something, something, something, belonged to Dan’s grandparents before they handed it over to him and moved to the city or somewhere that would be less work for them.

A fair amount of land to stretch out in, no neighbors close enough to worry about (most of) the commotion they’re making out there. (Gavin picking up sniping again - “It was a bit of a hobby,” he says, damn near hitting the center of the targets every fucking time. “Reckon it might come in handy one day.”Michael shrugs and takes his turn. Not as good as Gavin or Dan, but he gets better. Figures Gavin’s got a point about it coming in handy even if he is pretty shit at it. (He’s not, really, and both Gavin and Dan tell him so but he just shrugs it off so they let it go for the moment.)

Michael spends a lot of nights up on the roof of the farmhouse when he can’t sleep, gets used to the sight of Gavin or Dan or both of them climbing up there to join him. Sometimes they’ll bring a case of beer up with them and they’ll just.

Sit up there on the roof far enough away from all their troubles for them to matter, the sky spread out above them and enjoy the chance to not think for a little bit.

Eventually Dan heads out on a job, first sign their little vacation is winding down. (It’s been months, of course it is.)

Gavin gets the two of them a car, tells Michael it’s high time for a road trip and whatever else bullshit is  bouncing around in that head of his.

It’s a shitty little car that shudders alarmingly when they go over fifty and runs out of gas on them twice before they hit the ocean. This lonely strip of water on an empty beach, rocks and ocean spray and this tight feeling in Michael’s chest he doesn’t want to give name to.

Gavin putters about the little shack he rented for them, leaves Michael alone when he goes for a walks along the beach at sunrise and again as the sun’s setting. (Like some grieving widow from a Victorian romance novel waiting for her husband to return from the sea, and Michael hates that he does it, thinking about it like that, but doesn’t know how else he should think about it.)

Gavin never says a goddamned word about it, doesn’t raise an eyebrow when Michael comes back to their shack – it’s really more of a cottage, all nice and quaint and darling – after one his walks.

Sometimes he feels lighter after them, sometimes he’s dark and broody like a storm brewing off the coast.

And Gavin, alright.

Gavin just looks up from his laptop – keeping in touch with Dan, the million and one contacts he seems to have every-fucking-where or playing fucking Minesweeper, who the hell knows – and smiles at Michael.

Asks him what he wants to eat, like he’s going to cook anything himself.

Gavin’s not terrible in the kitchen, but he just kind of puts whatever together, and Michael knows, okay. Knows part of the reason Gavin asks is to annoy Michael into cooking for them, or at least supervise Gavin in the whole cooking endeavor so they don’t just have cold beans for dinner. (Again.)

(Sometimes dinner turns out inedible, sometimes Gavin can’t be bothered and canned beans are hard to fuck up unless you really try.)

Whatever.

Gavin offers to cook and he either makes them something halfway decent, or just the thought of it riles Michael up enough to do the cooking for them or have Gavin act as his assistant.

The rest of the time Gavin’s content to let Michael do his own thing, figure out his life on his own while he’s just.

Around.

Makes friends with the cats that run around – there are boats out here, fishermen and whatever else and cats seem to go along with that. (Michael loses track of how many cats Gavin befriends because there always seems to be a different one.)

He listens when Michael opens up a little, sits there with one of the dumb cats and listens without judging him. Chimes in with a word or two there, some dumb little joke or something quiet and heartfelt that chokes Michael up. Has him reaching out to pet the idiot cat rubbing up against his calf because he doesn’t have words to respond just yet.

They stay there in that little cottage for a while longer, until Michael gets his shit sorted out, finds his words.

He still goes for his walks, but they feel different, that heartache easing up with each one. Still there, but he can breathe around it now, thinks he’ll be okay. (Seven years, right? He can do that.)

Gavin gets word that things have settled down in Los Santos and mentions it to Michael, offhand little comment over dinner one night.

Doesn’t want to push, since Michael seems to be doing better, but Michael insisted he tell him whenever that happened when they set out on this vacation of their.

Michael thinks about it for a bit, goes out for one of his walks and stares out at the ocean for a long, long time.

“Yeah, okay,” he says, when heads back to the cottage. “It’s about time we went back.”

So they head back to Los Santos – stop in to say goodbye to Dan who’s back from his job first, though. (Have one hell of a sendoff the night before, because Dan got his hands on some grade A explosives and Michael is in heaven.)

When they get back to Los Santos Michael goes looking for his own jobs again, and Gavin goes back to being the piece of shit he loves to be. (To be fair, he never actually stopped, just. Something.)

A few months after they re-establish themselves in Los Santos an old friend of Gavin’s comes to town.

This asshole with a ridiculous mustache and this look in his eye that spells trouble – more so when he hires both of them for what has to the most goddamn ridiculous heist anyone’s ever thought of.

Twirls that mustache of his like an old-timey villain as he tells them he’s got beef with the Corpirate, came all the way to Los Santos to end it. (Brought his buddy Jack with him to boot.)Geoff tells them the Corpirate will never know what hit him, and given the absurd plan he lets them in on, he’s absolutely right.

Geoff does some recruiting, gets Ray on board and sweet-talks some lower level Roosters into moving out to Los Santos and it’s an ugly, messy affair, but by the end of it the Corpirate’s dead and they’re divvying up the loot they grabbed in the aftermath.

Michael’s checking out Geoff’s shiny new penthouse when Gavin calls him over.

The table he’s sitting at is covered in files and the like, Gavin’s old laptop whirring away as it does...something, Michael doesn’t know.

Michael’s instantly suspicious because Gavin has this look on his face like he’s expecting to get yelled at for something or other.

And Gavin, okay.

Slides this glossy glamour shot of an ocean front house. Big beautiful thing, classy as hell, and Michael thinks he recognizes the area. Somewhere outside Los Santos just off the coastal highway, maybe?

Gotta be worth a few million for the land alone, and Michael listens as Gavin launches into spiel like he’s trying to sell Michael on the place.

No need to worry about property tax with Gavin and Matt around, and anything else would more than be covered by Michael’s cut, not to mention all the godawful “art pieces” around the place he could sell off if he wanted. The cars in the garage that aren’t quite Michael’s taste but go with the beachside property and Gavin is really, really working hard to sell Michael on the place.

“Geoff gave us first pick,” Gavin says as he winds down on his sales pitch, nervous, twitchy little smile like he’s not sure if Michael’s going to be mad at him for meddling or whatever. “Figured you might be interested in this one?”

Michael’s hit with a sudden swell of affection for Gavin, this little idiot who waited until it was the two of  them in the penthouse to show him this.

“Yeah?” he asks and sits down and tugs the folder about the beach house closer and flips through it, flashing Gavin a smile that has the moron smiling back.

Michael’s not really processing the information in the file, a rundown of the property and amenities and the like, his attention keeps being drawn back to the photos included in the file. The glamour shot Gavin first showed him.

The house is on a gorgeous stretch of private beach. Remote enough he won’t have to worry about nosy neighbors. Fair distance from Los Santos, but they’re all set up for life after taking the Corpirate down and even though Geoff hinted at future heists, they’re a ways down the road.

And...if Michael's being honest with himself he’s tired of fighting to stay afloat in Los Santos. Tired of taking shitty jobs and working for assholes to get by, doesn’t feel that itch to prove himself the way he used to.Thinks it would be nice to just. To just be for a little while (Knows if he does get restless, Gavin will always have something for them to do.)

“Michael?”

Michael looks up, feeling too fucking vulnerable by far, but this is Gavin, and he’s always been safe.

“You sure you’re not interested in this place?” he asks, tries to make it a joke, but there’s too much want in him to pull it off effectively.

And Gavin, brash, reckless idiot Gavin laughs, this quiet little thing as he does something on his laptop.

“No,” he says, warm and fond. “Too peaceful for my tastes.”

Michael snorts, because he can see another glamour shot of some property by Gavin’s elbow. Shiny building down by Del Perro Pier and a little closer to Gavin’s speed than a remote beach house.

Looks back at the files in front of him, that stupid glamour shot and tries not to smile like an idiot as he pictures living there like it’s just that easy.

Hears the shutter sound of Gavin’s phone as the idiot snaps a picture of him and knows he failed on the not looking like an idiot part.

No worry though, because Gavin lets out this little yelp and laughs like an idiot when Michael tackles him trying to wrestle his phone away, and it’s good, it’s all good.

========

Geoff thinks Michael has a thing for the ocean and all things nautical when he finds out Michael claimed the beach house, and Michael doesn’t have the heart to tell him the reason behind his choice. (Guy just gets so excited they’ve got something in common that isn’t crime-related and he’d hate to break his heat. Plus, he’s not entirely wrong.)

Goes along with it when Geoff invites him out on the Corpirate’s old yacht to share stories and shit. Offers to teach Michael how to sail – the Corpirate left behind a lot of shit for them to claim, and the guy loves his boats and ships and whatever the fuck else.

Michael doesn’t quite have the knack for sailing, but Geoff’s patient and a decent teacher and with the way the guy plans heists there’s no knowing when all that information might come in handy. (And you know. He likes Geoff, doesn’t mind the chance to have some one-on-one time with his boss/friend.)

After he gets settled into the beach house he invites the others out for barbecues and other shindigs every so often. Nurses a beer while Geoff commandeers the grill as Jack fondly heckles him.

Chases that idiot Gavin along the beach and does his best to dodge after the fucker kicks water at Michael when he catches him staring out at the ocean a little long.

They get caught up in shoving matches. Try to dunk each other, dragging themselves up on the sand laughing like idiots and the last of the weight pressing down on Michael's chest left behind somewhere along the way.

Some time later Geoff announces another heist he has planned. Some bastard who gave the Roosters a run for their money back in the day with a grudge against Geoff. (Common theme that must have something to do with Geoff’s sparkling personality.)

Tells them he’s bringing in some hired muscle for it because they were spread too thin when they tackled the Corpirate and he’d rather they not have (quite so many) close calls this time around.

Michael doesn’t really think much of the whole hired muscle thing at the time, at least until the day he walks into the penthouse and Gavin is beside himself with nerves. Stupid fucking sunglasses on his face and this grin fighting to get out like he can’t decide if he wants to run and hide or fucking who knows anymore?

So, you know.

Michael’s understandably wary when he heads into the conference room since Geoff called him there to go over things for the heist and sees why Gavin’s freaking out.

“Oh, Michael,” Geoff says, little furrow between his eyes as he looks up from the conversation he’s having with one of the hired guns. “You’re early.”

Michael shrugs, attention all for the asshole in the skull mask and his buddy in eye-searing colors.

Pair of goddamn clowns, really.

“Gav said it was urgent,” he says, which is paraphrasing things a bit since Gavin’s text was a string of incomprehensible gibberish and a smiley face emoji tacked on for whatever reason.

Geoff nods like yes, okay, perfectly understandable, and Michael -

Michael stands still as the asshole in the mask and his brightly colored buddy go off to handle whatever  job Geoff has for them. (Heart doing fucking somersaults in his chest when the guy slants a look at him in passing, this slight hesitation before he leaves the room.)

“Michael?” Geoff asks warily, because yeah, yeah.

The fucking Vagabond and Rimmy Tim are back in town and are apparently working for the Fakes, no big deal.

========

The job Geoff has for Michael dovetails nicely into the job he sent the Vagabond and Rimmy Tim on and they end up down by the docks again.

Also, shot goes wrong in spectacular ways because not only is this Los Santos, but they’re all part of the Fake AH Crew by now and it’s almost a requirement.“Oh, hey,” Michael says, dragging Ryan out of the water, heart in his throat as the idiot pulls his mask off. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Ryan grins up at him, the lines of his face paint starting to smudge, but something about it seems less angry than what Michael remembers, and maybe that means something.

“Hi, Michael.”

========

There’s a wooden pier on Michael’s property that goes out over the water and a perfect place to bask in the sun on a lazy day. Watch Ryan swim around, sleek form darting beneath the waves and playing peekaboo with curious dolphins and other sea life.

Fucker always, always has to be an asshole when he gets close to the pier and splash Michael, weird little laugh as he ducks under the water to avoid retaliation. When he pulls himself out of the water onto the pier next to Michael and shakes off excess water and he trades his seal form for his human one and lays down next to Michael.

“Hey, Michael,” Ryan says, soft and fond, sweet as anything and Michael’s heart too full for his chest as he leans over him for a kiss.

========

(Later on Ryan explains what the hell he was doing all this time – not quite seven years since they saw each other last, so Michael’s still having a little trouble processing the fact Ryan’s here and you know, human. (Looking.)Tells him all about (okay, mostly about because there are some details Michael’s better off not knowing, a few he can’t share with humans or there will be trouble, that kind of thing) his Quest to be able to take on his human form when he wants to.Bargains made, deals struck, that kind of thing. Tasks he was given to prove how serious he was about the whole deal because wow, not an easy thing to undertake? But he did it. Jeremy wasn’t there for all of it, but he knows how hard Ryan worked for it. Tells Michael he better fucking appreciate it like a good Battle Buddy, because someone has to make sure he knows and it sure hell won’t be lovesick idiot Ryan. And Michael is like. He gets it, and appreciates what Ryan did and Jeremy for sticking by him and it’s just. A lot, okay.And then you know, the Battle Buddies join the crew full time and it’s all chaotic shenanigans all over the place and all that.)

[cultho]

Dororo Epilogue/Post-ending Standalone episode

*WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!!*

So I watched the ending and I had a lot of feelings about it, and I came up with a few ideas for a standalone post-episode to explore some concepts I would like to see from the show. Fyi, the pronouns I use for Dororo vary by situation, with a preference for he/him (my headcanon is Dororo is pretty genderfluid!).

About a year after Hyakkimaru went to find himself, aka end of the series (but before the timeskip where Dororo’s hair is long), the episode opens with opens with Hyakkimaru, feeling more at peace with himself, returning to the village Dororo was developing via dad's Harry Potter level of inheritance.

Dororo, who now basically rules this village despite being a literal 9 year old, hears word from his fellow villagers that a wandering stranger with a sword was spotted helping one of the rice farmers because their horse got caught in a ditch (or anything else of that nature). Of course, Dororo immediately comes running, and barrels straight into Hyakkimaru for the sibling reunion hug we deserve.

Then Dororo punches Hyakki on the arm and gives him a hard time for leaving for a whole year without even a ‘goodbye,’ asks 'So what made you decide to come back after a whole year, huh, punk?’

In response, Hyakki pulls out a small, worn, pouch and Dororo says 'woah - Mio’s rice seeds? I thought you would’ve planted them by now already.’

With a little smile, Hyakki goes 'I thought about doing that, but then I remembered you were close with her too, so you have as much of a right to these seeds… so I decided to wait until we could plant them together.’ 

The rest follows as one expects it to -  Dororo teases him for becoming an even bigger softie, and they set off back to the village to grab some farm tools who Hyakki the place, as the camera pans up until the brilliant blue sky fills the frame. That chapter of their lives ends the same way it began, with Hyakkimaru and Dororo - the latter chatting up a storm while the former quietly appreciates - side by side, wandering where they must. 

Then the camera pans back down, and where before there was bare paddy, the field is now golden and thriving (same as it was in the show's ending). After a half decade timeskip, Dororo is 15-16 to Hyakki’s 21-22, and the rest of the episode follows them dealing with a demon terrorizing their village, who turns out to be Daigo’s butthurt evil spirit. I don’t have a specific plot, but here are concepts that I’d love to see explored.

First, Grown up badass Dororo running her town, being like her own Alexander Hamilton, except not only does this Alexander Hamilton know finances, how to run a sovereign state, how to outsmart any opponent, rouse even the most downtrodden souls to action with just a few words, she also kicks major butt from training with her big bro. Shoutout to that one post that inspired the idea that her dad's Big Boy genes kicked in during puberty so she’s actually like... as tall as Hyakki. Maybe even an inch taller. She says to anyone who asks that her bro can 'die mad about it’ but they both know that he’s just happy she grew up big and strong. 

She totally runs the town and everyone adores/massively respects her; her city takes in the refugees, the poor, the women and children, the diseased, etc, because, in her words, screw samurai and screw their wars. They absorbed Daigo’a old land after offering food, shelter, and jobs to the survivors, thus their town became a pretty respectably sized settlement.

Now, the key to all this - since they don't want to rely on samurai for their power - is the money, right? So Dororo’s power is her knowledge of the treasures secret location (and all the other badass things about her, but I digress). Imagine at some point a small gang of newer villaghers got the bright idea to try and stalk her during one of her mysterious night trips out (she calls them a way to satisfy her wanderlust, but they’re a cover for her sailing to the treasure's location to grab some cash), and they only get as far as spying her enter the docks before their plan goes to heck when they get accosted by Dororo's more loyal villagers who saw them sneaking. ‘Oh sh*t,’ they’re thinking, Dororo sauntering over to them, ‘Oh sh*t, shes got a big sword, oh man oh sh*t this is the end for me - '

But Dororo’s been there before, at the end of her rope and desperate for any edge to survive, she understands how these guys think, and if there’s one thing she’s stubborn to death about it’s that she does NOT run her town like the samurai. Instead, she talks them out of their misdoing and helps them find an honest living, Tales of Ba Sing Se Uncle Iroh style, (except with more volume and verbal threats).

Another concept with Dororo is when Dororo dresses to look like a guy when he and Hyakki take a couple horses and venture into a nearby city (for whatever plot reason), similar to how he did when he was a lot younger.

It’s not fully a secret, but only the older residents of her city know about Dororo’s 'crossdressing' habit, and are accepting of it.

Dororo mentions that while he’s in no way ashamed of presenting female, it often feels more freeing to present male, especially when they're out adventuring - less questions and stares from strangers, etc. Dororo also just likes presenting as male! This way, he identifies with both genders at different times. (It goes without saying Hyakki does his best to use the right pronouns, he never had a strict concept of gender - re: Jukai is the best mom, so it never struck him as odd.)

As for the actual villain of the episode, when she first hears of the Jerk Dad Demon attacking the farms on the outskirts of the village, she only thinks ‘it's just another demon, time to gather the crew and kill this thing-’

It doesn’t go so easily, as the demon’s exceptional strength proves to draw out the confrontation, and it even ends up escaping the first time.

The first to figure it out was Hyakki - he’s most familiar with Daigo’s wrath and the foul creature reeks of the old man. However, everything happened so fast and he sort of… neglected to inform Dororo. When she does find out, they have a short confrontation about it in classic Bickering Siblings Style. It’s understandable that she’s slightly miffed the demonic incarnation of his own awful dad, yes that one, is who they’re fighting and he didn’t bother letting her know.

Hyakki, who, even after a decade of having his voice back, isn't that great at communication/vocalizing his more complex thoughts and working through conflicts with words and thus often comes off as awkward or silently stoic: 'You were busy... and I thought you figured by yourself already?’

Things escalate when the other villagers overhear, and they almost start a riot; angry shouts accusing him of being the reason the demon attacks their settlement from the all the tired men and women, haggard from fending off attacks of not only the demon but also rival bandits and clans who want to take advantage of the city’s time of hardship. Of course, Dororo gets everyone back in lineright before the crowd got to deciding to sacrifice Hyakkimaru, reminding them to focus on the real enemy instead of turning on eachother - but the situation was incredibly bleak. With everyone on edge partially, it was easy to use Hyakki as a scapegoat due to his pacifist tendencies and his stoic nature coming across as almost cowardice.

He taught Dororo how to fight and that's pretty much all the fighting he's done since he came back to plant Mio’s rice, he’s reluctant to pick up the blade again. But the moment a demon shows up he runs off on his own, risking life and limb to confront it head on. Combined with his character’s less than stellar communication skills, it frustrates Dororo in the 'he leaves for a year and doesnt even text me when he's going’ kinda way’ - she's frustrated when he continually refuses to understand that they're family, and at the end of they day theyre kind of all the other has left. So he needs to get it together better and tell her when he’s about to go off and do reckless nonsense. His behavior also presents an interesting dichotomy as Hyakki also struggles with trying to be emotionally detached (lose worldly desires, etc.) and pacifist in the face of attacks from both demon and humans, so he needs to reconcile fighting with the others against attacking clans and risking a redescent into the demon like madness of his teenage years or standing by non violent means of supporting his comrades while facing expectations that he should do more. He wants to atone for his past sins badly and help those who are still living best he can - but how? 

(And also make friends other than literally just Dororo.)

Dororo's arc is about her struggles to do the right thing as a leader - it is a lot, to run a whole city. Recent events have caused more deaths amidst her city than ever before, and moral questions about what to do with captured enemy survivors feed doubt into her mind if one day she’ll turn out as bad as the samurai, and how to continue on after having led people in battles that resulted in their deaths.

P.s. I also entertained the idea of Hyakki’s journey to find himself taking much longer, and so the first time Dororo sees him again ever since he got his eyes back is when she's 20, there's rain pouring from the dark sky as her men are carrying lamps around, accounting for the dead and defeated in a latest skirmish with a small rival band that was trying to access her city the non-peaceful way.

At first her men bring her hyakkimaru, thinking he was with the enemy (he happened to be in the wrong place, wrong time. He simply heard of a group heading to a big place that sounded an awful lot like somewhere he would find Dororo - and followed them).

And from the business end of her sword he's on his knees looking up when she goes 'nah. I know him. This bastard's got hell to answer for, but he's not our enemy.’

Events are more or less the same from there, but filled with way more tension and drama here since Hyakki basically dropped off the face of the earth for 10 ish years and Do’s mad about that because, again, he didn't even say 'bye'. So much has changed, but what hasn't changed is Dororo’s anikki's inability to grasp that if one day he went off without telling her and then died, she would have literally no idea where/when/how that was, she would never know if he was alive or dead, and the idea of living in that limbo would terrify anyone. The story being about them learning to come together again, only at the end do they plant Mio’s rice field together.

I ended up trying to flesh the first idea out more because Do & Hyakki’s relationship is all about the things that don't need to be said; that these two will always be there for the other without needing to be asked. The backbone of their relationship was built up as one that didn’t need explicit affirmation because it was already so ingrained to their characters it would be a disservice to them and a waste of time to contrive an entire plot trying to create unnecessary drama between them.

But then again... drama = satisfying character growth, so perhaps it could go either way! Let me know what you think! 

Thank you for reading all this way :) I also posted second part to this of other thoughts I had while pondering why I felt the need to write a standalone epilogue.

Bonus: these gems I had in the rough draft that unfortunately had to get cut:

“But it’s harder to kill bc jerk dad demon is a jerk”

“Dororo's like 'u mean to tell me ur punk bitch biological male progenitor's demonized soul is attacking our fields??? “

“they take down the big bad dad dude daigo”

“Dororo: - pshffyeahh, ur pissy pissfaced pissbaby dad”

[starbreather-the-shapeshifter]

Pick one!

I’m making a game! It’s going to be one of these three concepts, but I’d like outside opinions for which one is most appealing to people. Will be taking input until September 7, 2018. Trigger warnings in the Read More.

I’m leaning towards the last one but, tell me what you guys think. This will be a project done in a few months; I’ve just decided I need to do this. All games would be done in Ren’Py, so they’re all story-based. I have a lot of work to do once I pin down a game concept, but they’re all ideas I’m very passionate about bringing to life. Reblog, reply, or send me a message letting me know which one I should make! (Some of these topics may be unfit for some readers. Trigger warning for: slavery, racism, sexism, depression, death).

A choice-leading game where the player is in a fantasy setting as a young adult character who is bought by an orc after their home is raided, but instead of adjusting to a life of slavery the player discovers that the orc is running a slave-freeing operation in secret because they have yet to find a way to completely dismantle the slave trade. The player works with the orc to hunt down the leaders of the slave trade and free the people. Will give an option to romance the orc. Different endings result from how the player responds to the environment and other characters. Will involve and address topics of slavery, racism, sexism, enforced patriarchy, and consent.

A V/N about a university student who discovers they have the ability to enter people’s minds while they are asleep/unconscious, but doing so runs the risk of the protagonist’s body dying without their soul inhabiting it. The student explores these abilities with a cast of kind, resolute characters with diverse backgrounds and roles. Will involve and address topics such as depression, PTSD, mental illness, and death.

A dating sim starring a villain character who fights money-grabbing superheroes to take over the corporate government in a dystopian society. The story will follow the villain’s struggle against not only the powers ruling over the nation, but the people themselves as the villain is continuously used as a scapegoat for the government’s more obvious twisted schemes. Characters that the villain can romance include: the villain’s loyal but skeptical sidekick, the villain’s main superhero rival, a civilian volunteer who works to improve the lives of children in hospitals, and a secret romance path for people who want to focus on the main plot instead of the other branching dating routes. Will involve and address topics of corporate crimes, negative publicity, and general themes of bigotry? This one is more lighthearted but definitely not E for Everyone