#this is me being annoying but i think this heavily applies to death note as well cuz you are going to interpret any action as | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

probably-haven · 3 years

Note

Hello!! After seeing what you wrote about xiaoven fics I went to see what things you usually write and omg, your archon Venti headcanons????? I am absolutely in love. So if it isn't annoying, could you talk about xiaoven or Venti or Xiao or whatever ship or character you like? I don't care what you are going to say, I just want to know more about your thoughts ^^

I- is this... bestie, this is essentially a free ramble pass- kerujsgheskdfug. Trust me when I say that in no way is this, and in no way will it ever be annoying in the slightest- i literally- lets just say rambling off thoughts is kind of my specialty, especially when provided a topic to branch off of because otherwise I'm just- really indecisive about it so- iujskdh yeah- 100% definitely down to talk about Venti, Xiao, and/or Xiaoven XD. Also, yes- it may have been awhile since i last posted one(cuz again, indecisive about which direction to take part 5), but the Archon War Era Venti headcanons are still without a doubt my favorite posts I've made. It's just such an interesting topic with such endless potential that so few people actually think about or consider or even realize is there, so i always just get really psyched whenever i see someone interact with them lol.

.... this ended up being a bit of a mess: warning in advance

Anyway! onto the actual content!

- You see the thing about Xiaoven is that there's a lot of different ways that it could end up working out, and just personally my favorite way of portraying Xiaoven in my mind is as an unlabeled relationship because if anyone in genshin would give off that vibe its these two. And a number of other reasons.

- Firstly, I heavily headcanon Venti as being an aroace polyplatonic or perhaps heavily demiromantic. However, regardless of this I just don't think that Venti is really the kind of person to worry about how he should label his feelings, thinking it's silly to try to put them in one box or the other, especially with feelings and emotions being as fluid as they are in general. Plus it fits his whole God of Freedom vibe. I just- dont think he's the biggest fan of labels or social categorization in general.

- And secondly on the hand of Xiao... his defense mechanisms are very much ingrained in his personality. It's probably hard enough for him to not go into fight or flight(the answer is fight) at the slightest affection at first, at the slightest feeling of vulnerability. Even further down the line, with his fierce dedication to Liyue, I cant help but get the vibe that the moment he recognized that he was falling for Venti he would begin avoiding him, not only to avoid distraction from his duty, but to avoid corrupting him or losing him in general like he has with like basically every other person he gets close with(even believing that the cycle had repeated once more when he first heard of Morax's death)... now imagine Venti tryna slap a label on their relationship and tell me Xiao would have a positive reaction.

- The thing with Xiaoven.... honestly, i feel like theres more ways that it can go wrong than it can go right, but if they do manage to make their relationship work out, it's just simply beautiful in all terms of the word.

- Lets talk about killing. - During the Archon War, both were forced to kill a large number of people and gods alike- Venti out of a need to remain alive to protect Mondstadt, it's freedom, and the nameless bard's legacy by extent- and Xiao out of servitude to the god that was once his master

..... actually- break here- ive talked a lot about Venti on this blog but I havent actually spoken about Xiao all that much- so i should probably do that a bit first... do note though that my characterization of Xiao is pretty flexible actually- this is just- the possible characterization of him that i tend to favor as being the most- uh- "realistically complex"

Theres a line I saw this one time in a certain story: "He is a trained weapon. That's what he is, was, and always will be. You cannot change that so stop trying." And i just- think its a really interesting concept- that applies pretty well to Xiao now that i actually think about it. - the concept behind it is this: After spending more than a vast majority of his life killing or otherwise in battle, it's become a part of who he is, a normalcy that after centuries and centuries would be near impossible to get rid of or reverse, and even if it was possible, with his karmic debt constantly eating away at him its unlikely he has enough time left for that to happen. - it sounds like a cruel thing to say about him- but in context it's actually pretty layered and i think about it a lot. It's not as much a "he's a killer lol, that his whole personality" its more of a "The centuries of trauma he experienced have conditioned him into a constantly alert and battle ready mindset while also shaping his dehumanizing inferior-in-worth-but-superior-in-capability view of himself that would have likely been necessary to get through those time, and at this point he's been under that conditioning for long enough that it's essentially ingrained itself in his personality."

- the main idea is- it's a part of who he is, that needs to be accepted as who he is because its not something that he can just up and change. It's not all he is of course but his constant battle mode, as though always waiting to be ambushed or to be granted a new target to eradicate.

a couple character story quotes:

-"His past of service under the evil god had rid Xiao of his innocence and gentleness. All that remained within him was the means to kill and the weight of his sins. The only way he could be of service to mortals was in combat." -"Xiao does not feel any hatred. Having lived for over two thousand years, no single karmic debt constitutes anything more than a fleeting memory. No grudge can last a thousand years; nor is any debt so great that it cannot be paid off in this time. Xiao has spent many long years alone. But his battles have never been in vain." -"where did Xiao have to return to? He was merely leaving the battlefield." -"since Xiao wages a constant war against dark forces powerful enough to devour Liyue in its entirety, any bystanders who witness him in the heat of battle are likely to end up as collateral damage." -"The war he fights can never be won, and will never come to an end." -"Because ultimately, the one with whom Xiao wrestles is himself."

i feel like at some point this very nearly did consume his whole personality, almost turning him into nothing more than a being of slaughter under Morax's control, devoid of any "humanity" at all, consumed and corrupted by his karmic debt like his fellow yakshas before him. - until he experienced a moment of clarity- a song in the wind, the peaceful melody of a dihua flute. - and pulled back from the border of something he wouldnt have been able to return from, there a was a shift in his mind- a concept grown unfamiliar enough with time that it took him a great time to identify what it was; a curiosity. Something that there was no place for on the battlefield, something that by all means should have been completely useless to Xiao, and yet he held onto that curiosity, slowly regaining over time, a sense of who he was and who he could choose to be with each song that the wind chose to carry towards him every once in a blue moon.

and eventually that curiousity turned to longing. Longing "for a day to come when he will wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers"

...... uh- heh- if you couldn’t tell already i have a tendency to make my characterizations/analyses of characters more serious that i probably should.

to summarize: Xiao is constantly toeing the line between his ingrained nature and his humanity- almost as though still trying to decide how much of that humanity he deserves to have, how much he is allowed to have, and how much is safe to have.

^looking back after writing this, i think the best way to explain it is that this is the view that i keep in mind/the lense that i tend to most enjoy looking through and refering back to while examining and/or analyzing his character, actions, story, lines, and overall personality.

idk- i kinda got off track but i just think its a really interesting interpretation to think about because it has some really interesting implications ig- it’s not the full extent of how i view him of course, but i kinda got ahead of myself and its long enough as is so ill just elaborate as i go- Lol i actually have in progress playlists for both him and venti and just- vibes- i could ramble about the playlists alone for hours explaining everything... It’s probably a problem- uh- ill keep going now lol.

anyways! stepping off the angst path for a brief break! Brought to you by their lines in the snow: both waiting for it to get thick enough, Venti for the purpose of a snowball fight and Xiao for the purpose of a tasty and nutritious breakfast.

but its actually something of note that Xiao doesnt actually need to eat so anything he does eat is usually out of obligation or enjoyment- so like.... snow.... like i dont blame him, but of all things- an adeptus who refuses to eat basically anything but almond tofu looks at the freezing-cold-floor-water that yeeted itself from above and decided at some point- damn- that seems more edible than basically ever single actually edible thing ever.... im gonna eat it- like- im glad if eating snow makes him happy but- at the same time...

He probably convinces Venti to eat snow too though and Venti wouldnt even resist I mean he’s wind and has probably consumed worse things in his time so- 2 anemo cryptids with glowing tattoos sitting in Dragonspine monching snow in the dead of night is an amusing thought to me.

- kay, now back to more serious-toned thoughts

One of the things about the ship that i really like is the different contradicting parallels between them:

A lot of how i view Xiao’s character is someone formed largely by the things he cant control and who was forced to accept that accepted that and learned to thrive in it as much as he can. Venti on the other hand is surrounded by things he cant control and is ever adapting to control as much as he can while embracing whatever he cant as being part of the unpredictability of the world, seeing beauty in it.

both of them have lost people and do what they do to honor their memory: Xiao continues to do what the Yakshas once did And Venti chooses to do what his friend couldn’t

Xiao’s power coming from himself and Venti’s from others And both seem to appear to use their power for their own gain while truly helping others behind the scenes

both have killed a lot of people during the archon war Xiao views it as another necessary event out of his control and Venti would likely view it as a tragedy he chose to enact himself

and this is where we meet out balance

Xiao- contrary to how i think a lot of people view him as thinking of himself as a monster- seems canonically to have accepted this as part of his duty, as long as those he killed are not mortals. I dont think he enjoys it no- but someone has to do it and he’s just accepted that its a part of his duty Venti on the other hand-

See the beauty of the ship- as someone with an angst-centric mind- is this- these are two of the most traumatized mfers in the game

Xiao is by far the one who needs the most help and who can serve to benefit most from the ship- but he is nowhere near self aware enough to recognize that there’s anything wrong or unhealthy about his mindset in the slightest-

whereas you have the contrast with Venti who sorted through most of his trauma with the nameless bard alone during the archon war and while the result appears more healthy- is still really not- but he’s not self aware of that either because i mean- who’s going to tell him? nobody even knows.

however- venti is aware enough to notice flaws in Xiao’s mindset and “Venti” enough to want to help them through it-

Xiao- while not aware enough to recognize the flaws in Venti’s mindset, can recognize where it contrasts with his own, and is blunt enough to point it out- and then it’s out there to be mulled over-

they’re so similar and yet so different and a feel just conversing between the two of them, being in each others precense, just being exposed to two mindsets that are so very different could do both of them a whole lot of good.

GEEE THAT BIT OF RAMBLING HAD LITTLE TO NO DIRECTION AT ALL- LET ME-- LET ME MAKE THIS START MAKING SENSE- WITH... DYNAMICS OR SOMETHING

I don’t think Xiao needs to sleep really- and i dont think that sleeping would do anything except make him uneasy at first- he’d probably just get nightmares after all he’s been through- but with Venti he would soon learn that it doesn’t have to be that way, lulled into the first peaceful sleep he’s had in... as long as he can remember.

anywho back to not making sense cuz im fickle and i think most questions about ships are best displayed through character interactions so like- a possible exchange thats cliche but cliches exist for a reason

Xiao: Why do you try so hard to help me, it isn’t easy. I know that much Venti, with the most adoring expression: Because you’re worth it, obviously Xiao: But surely there are others more deserving of- Venti: No Xiao, everyone is just as deserving as the next person, you included Xiao: Then why me above others? Venti: ehe, cuz ur my warrior of course [O//////O oh shit, hes right] Xiao: My contract is with Morax alone [gay panic but in broody yaksha]

it’s kinda difficult cuz neither of them really address their feelings. I mean Venti does but he does it very indirectly and its rare that he ever does it with like- genuine directness- even spilling his backstory was in the form of a song- and told in the third person- so a lot of their interactions would often have some deeper meaning, especially with Venti being the bard he is.

I come up with a lot of- errant thoughts about Xiaoven- but this is making me realize that a true analysis of their ship is rather difficult because it just encompasses so many dynamics so its hard to settle on just one and not go rambling about who knows what bouncing from one end of the ship to the other- Because you truly can and thats the beauty of it

within one moment you can be having a heartfelt conversation about the archon war the impact of lost friends and times past, and the next moment Venti is trying to forcefeed Xiao an apple while Xiao screams about disrespecting the adepti and its just- so lovely

so while they have picnics with nothing but apples, dandelion wine, and almond tofu they can sit down and talk about the dreams Xiao once devoured, and the dandelion wine and apple cider that the first Ragnvindir invented from the plants that never could have grown in Old Mond. The foods that tasted of familiarity, or of the grilled ticker fish Pervases always used to eat, foods that tasted of friends and frankly family that had since passed, glaze lilies and cecilias and qingxin flowers scattered in the surroundings and woven into Xiao’s neat braids and Venti’s now messy ones, rebraided by the steady and inexperienced hands of one unused to gentle action.

and then of course Venti steals Xiao’s tofu once the mood becomes too grim and replaces it with a bottle of wine that Xiao refers to as “vile poison,” a remark that fatally wounds Venti as he collapses on the floor, proclaiming how he can only be healed by a Yaksha’s kiss. Xiao ignores this of course and simply takes back his tofu with a slight smile on his face, but as Venti persists he soundlessly places a kiss on his own palm before intertwining their fingers and pulling him back up from where he was dramatically sprawled on the floor, grumbling about how such action was “unbecoming of an archon.” A sign of affection only Xiao would ever know about. But Venti is literally wind and I hc his senses work differently anyways so he definitely knows- plus Xiao’s face is red as the blood of his enemies and the way he is pointedly not looking at Venti at all really speaks volumes anyways.

-Venti playing epic battle music whenever Xiao goes into fights in what looks like a ridiculously extra performance to anyone else but is actually doing wonders to keep Xiao’s karma at bay

-Venti preaches the practice of “kissing wounds better” and Xiao is unfamiliar with this medical treatment but views it as unnecessary regardless because adepti have accelerated healing, doesn’t mean he’s going to stop him though.

-Messages whispered on the wind

-Venti’s 1000 year sleep- an accident, not a fun time for the yaksha, and not a fun time for Venti once he woke up. Venti is actually more afraid of restful sleep than Xiao is, hence the sleeping in trees thing, but when Xiao is there, he can sleep restfully with faith that Xiao wont let another millennia slip through his fingertips.

- Xiao tends to make excuses when doing things that aren’t necessary to his duty, like in his birthday voice line “Have this, it’s a butterfly i made from leaves... Okay. Take it. It’s an adepti amulet -- it staves off evil” because at the current point in his progress it helps him to feel like he’s allowed to do these things. Not wanting to put him off from progress, Venti never comments on his excuse but never fails to whisper a quick reminder of how proud he is of how far Xiao had come.

- Xiao’s karma saddens Venti greatly- not only because of how it effects Xiao but also because its a reminder that as much as Venti tries to honor the memory of those he’s killed, there will always be those who resent him for it, and when he took the option of living away from them, he truly can’t blame them. - And when he gets too wrapped up in thoughts, whether around this topic or similar ones or otherwise, eventually, he’ll hear the sound of a flute on the wind. It’s not divine by any means, but as his own wind connects him to the source, he gets the sentiment all the same. “What impact does one individual’s remaining wrath have on the present. You have done much to help the living in the present” the unspoken idea that Xiao has included himself in that statement, because now, with Venti’s help he’s beginning to learn just how to experience living for himself.

- Venti’s form and Xiao’s mask are off limit topics though because if either mentions it the other will counter with the opposite and the mood will turn immediately bitter at the idea that both know that what they’re doing is destructive but neither are willing to change

- Venti who has different tells for negative feelings than most people because as much as he likes to pretend it is- this form isnt his, and Xiao who is able to identify those

- many fanfics and headcanons have Venti recognizing when Xiao is uncomfortable and getting him out of those situations. I see that and I love it but i raise you: - Venti taking Xiao to Mondstadt, careful that he doesn’t get to the point that he’s uncomfortable. And nothing goes wrong exactly, but Xiao notices the the way Venti’s cape is blowing in the wind, the way he’s holding his weight, barely on his feet so much as floating on the wind, connected with the ground only for the sake of appearance, all the while he looks just as happy go lucky as ever. And without a word, he grabs his hand and teleports them both out of Mondstadt. - turns out it was just a slight thing that reminded him of the archon war (cuz i will die on the hill of him having more tragic backstory than just Decarabian), and he of course gives a sincere if not flustered thanks to Xiao, because he’s really not used to people noticing.

- Venti trying to vent sneakily through fictional stories and Xiao is just like “Didn’t that basically happen to you” and Venti is just like “<_< shit”

- Venti once said affectionally that he wished he had met Xiao sooner and Xiao immediately and seriously shot it down by saying “If you had, I would have been forced to kill you” and both of them now stay up at night wondering who would have won that fight, not sure which result would have hurt more. (because honestly I have no idea who would win in that fight and that terrifies me- I like to think it would have been one of those legends that end with “and the fight persists to this day” or something along those lines)

- “How long have you been together?” “Adepti have no need for-” “1000+ years T^T how dare you deny our love” “O///O our...? ...useless”

- its disney- let me explain- i have this- i have this headcanon inspired by watching too many animatics- - so venti has a human form that isnt his- which he would have had to get used to moving in- and he’s a bard- - uh- anyway- as a third degree black belt in mixed martial arts, i can speak as an authority on this(not really an authority since i havent gone since quarantine but lets pretend). We have a thing referred to as the big three(most things do), and those things are martial arts, gymnastics, and dance. The idea is that they reflect really well off of each other and the best in any one category are good in all three. Timing, balance, form, discipline, technique, hand-eye coordination, grace, ease of motion, they all play a part- anyway-

- Venti taking Xiao’s prowess in martial arts and acrobatics and teaching him how to dance, and as someone who’s extremely skilled in the first two, the third comes easy to him, almost naturally. And it’s delicate and beautiful and lovely and it isn’t hurting anyone. And Venti points all these things out and more and despite how much Xiao insists that he feels ridiculous he truly does enjoy it and it goes a long way towards helping him form more healthy views of himself and his worth. - Verr Goldett walked in on him once and made a joke about performing at the inn. unfortunately Venti was there and agreed on Xiao’s behalf before he could protest and- and it wasn’t as bad as Xiao thought it would be... he still wouldn’t do it again though without reason, but with good enough reasoning he could probably be convinced.

- anyways point is he likes dancing to Venti’s songs and i just think that’s really cute - just picture the idea that all the animatics you see actually have the potential to be canon- ugh

- venti tries holding something out of Xiao’s reach since he’s taller and Xiao just fucking teleports

- both need their space but when they dont, all they have to do is speak the other’s name and they’ll be there.

- and because i just had to.... love languages

- lets start with Xiao- i don’t think he’d view acts of service or quailty time as a love language tbh, and he blunt but really bad with words so affirmation is out, leaving gift giving and physical touch. However, he seems to view most material things as meaningless so- - Xiao who’s love language is in his fleeting touches, something he’s only recently grown comfortable with because of Venti, and now is giving back, which he knows he doesn’t have to do, but that he want’s to, though he’ll still continue to make excuses for each one. “you were shivering” “The inn is high up, you could have fallen..... I said what I said, you’d question an adeptus?”

- and as easy as it is to say words of affirmation for Venti- he does that for everyone- i want to say his is actually acts of service - its the acts of service that let him see just how much Xiao has progressed afterall, from teaching him to dance, to playing another song on the flute, to supplying him with the almond tofu he seems to enjoy so much. Every little thing he does helps Xiao to grow and he couldn’t be happier about that.

- of course most of my headcanons for the ship do take place latter into the relationship because- y’know the less serious unhealthy vibes allow for greater range of thought, but i do still love to think about the serious implications so i kinda hopped back and forth. So sorry about how messy it is btw, i kinda- got carried away- it kinda got some kind of structure near the end tho so- maybe it’s okay. anyway- back to... lol something, we’ll see where thought forests lead.

#genshin impact #genshin xiao #genshin venti #xiao #venti #xiaoven #genshin analysis #genshin headcanons #xiaoven headcanons #xiaoven analysis #this is a mess i really shouldnt be putting all these tags but oh well #oh wow the grammar and spelling here is truly repulsive #sorry to all my english teachers i have failed you all

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partnersatfazbear · 3 years

Text

Fazbear Frights: What We Found Analysis

Here’s my analysis for What We Found, the third story in Gumdrop Angel. I wrote this as I read so it may be a little different than my previous analysis where I read the story first and went back.

If you’re a Michael Afton fan I highly recommend this. Also, there’s possibly some insight into William Afton, Mrs. Afton, and Henry too, so it’s worth a skim.

Pg 144 '...a place thirty-some years forgotten' Just reconfirming FNAF 3 is 30 years past *one* of the FNAF closings, presumably FNAF 2 location.

Pg 145 "The whole building was giving him [Hudson] a headache." FIX THE VENTILATION BRUH

Pg 148 '...they were able to use salvaged derelict equiptment original to the old pizzerias.' Another confirmation of something we heard from Phone Guy.

Pg 147 "How old are you?" "Twenty-three, same as you." I think this gives us Michael's age during FNAF 3.

EDIT: This kept me awake last night. Obviously this is impossible because he has to be alive for at least 10 years before 1983, BUT maybe its just reconfirming FNAF 3′s year? 2023?

Pg 149 "Hudsan's dad died and his mom married Lewis, a ridiculous balding man who wore plaid vests and smoked a pipe" Did... Did this book just seriously imply Mrs. Afton left William for Henry? Really? (Yes, there's differences; the husband is dead and the man wears plaid 'vests' but it seems very odd to include that detail. This could just have been the writer's own imagination, though.) I have seen this as a fan theory and 100% explains the jealousy aspect of William, but I can't help but kinda hate it. I think this is very important, though, and probably Scott's intention. "This horrible little man [Lewis]... would make Hudson's next ten years a living Hell" This REALLY intrigues me given the context I just went over. The text implies Lewis was fairly neglectful to our main character / Michael stand-in Hudson. Maybe I'm wrong and for some reason Mrs. Emily left and went to William? XD Haha, I'm reading too much into this page. Maybe I'll come back to this later. I figure it's more of Scott possibly including double-details (contradicting stuff with the same character that really applies to two, which has been something I heavily pointed out in previous anaylsis on this blog) Having said that, I'm going w/the former because I can't imagine Henry being abusive (neglectful yes, abusive no) and he's never been portrayed that way in official works like William has in the novels.

Pg 150 "Hudson began to screw up in class...a product of spending the night in fear that his stepfather [Lewis]... [would] beat him just for the fun of it." Ooof. Big confirm on William actually being abusive. Unless we stick with the Henry theory for Lewis (combined with Midnight Motorist Henry theory / alcoholic). "...near-daily beatings..." "his mom started taking pills to get through the day..." So, whoever Mrs. Afton is, she was definetly not paying attention. But then, most people married to serial killers either don't notice because of denial (like this) or because the killer is so manipulative / careful they can't notice.

"Barry, who had red hair and freckles..." Yo?! Is that a description of Fritz?! These friends in the story could be the other kids Michael knew's stand-in's, aka the two gravestones with names he used (Fritz and Jeremy), as shown in the checks for the games and FNAF 6. I've long figured Michael was probably friends with the victims--it makes them easier, although riskier, targets [for William]. The two friends are male, too, like Fritz and Jeremy. If you're curious about Duane's description (our stand in for Jeremy), it's "tight black shirt... muscles... black hair long enough for a glossy ponytail..." I'm not sure if this matches anything found in the novels or contradicts them, though. (The novels = TSE trilogy)

"And so it went... until the night of the fire." For context, this is before FF burns down. We're learning of Hudson's life from his close friends in childhood, his father's death, his mother remarrying, to his abusive stepfather, to his grades slipping to this line. This would be a new fire not seen/mentioned in the games...

Pg 151 "...go to Charlie's for a sundae..." Really. Really Scott. Just gonna use this name again. OK. I'm not even gonna discuss this because it's probably irrelevant. *This is confirmed on pg 158 to be an ice cream shop. No lore relevance aside the annoying name coincidences Scott loves to troll with.

"This is not... an advance into enemy territory, a fight with demons, or a descent into Hell..." Uh, what? What is Hudson talking about? XD I'm only noting it because it seems so out of place. He's probably talking about video games or something.

Another note, although I don't have a specific reference since it is mentioned off-hand many times, is that Hudson keeps referring to his "history" which is implied to have kept him from getting a well-paying job and a girl he's crushing on doesn't know this "history" which is good for him. Seems good old "Michael Stand-In" has done some jail time or something. Edit: On pg 154/155 the girl asks Hudson, "Did you do it?" Seems he may have killed his stepfather or been involved with something else just as bad. Edit 2: No, I was thinking too deep into it. This probably refers to Evan's death at Fredbear's. DUH.

Pg 156 describes an actual "prize corner" in FF! What am I even reading? IIRC this is in FNAF 3, too. So they just hand out these scary gift boxes to people that complete the attraction? (Hudson says he *would* have fun handing out the scary toys to kids when this location opens--kind of a bully thing to do, eh?)

"[Hudson] avoid[ed] glancing in any of the mirrors..." I'm only pointing this out because it could be reference to one of two things. 1) We know because of one of UCN's music tracks, William has a fear of his reflection. Michael probably shares this trait, especially since 2) after Ennard and all... and later on pg 157 it also says, "he never wanted to face: himself" Sounds like guilt, my guy.

Pg 157 "blonde hair... blue eyes..." Hudson shares an eye color with Michael. It's possible Michael had blonde hair as a child and it changed to brown (it's common, something I personally went through being technically blonde/ blue eyed myself)

"He [Hudson] knew from personal experience that toys could turn from fun...to torture ina heart-beat" Fairly self explanatory. Either Hudson's worked at a creepy location before or he doesn't like remembering Fredbear's.

*checks how much is left.* There's still 35 pages (not counting back/front) left of this... This is gonna be a lot of notes.

Pg 158 Hudson doesn't have a car. Poor Mike, probably having to walk everywhere. Especially as a corpse.

Pg 160 This page describes many physical issues Hudson has that prevents him from entering the Navy, all from the abuse of Lewis. Obvious paralell to Michael becoming an undead [because his father sent him to CBPR indirectly causing his condition]

Pg 161 "How's your granny, Hud?... ...Is she still alive?" "I don't think she can die." Does anyone in the Afton family really 'die'? XD

Pg 162 These few pages discuss Hudson's grandmother. She's described as "a seer who claimed to know the future... ...wore big men's plaid flannel shirts with baggy jeans" Um, more plaid / flannel? AGH. STAHP. Lowkey, I would totally headcanon my Aunt Jen like this, though.

Pg 163 "Hudson's mom... the way she was before Hudson's dad had died... never... particularly warm and fuzzy... but... effiencient and responsible..." More about Mrs. Afton, so that's kinda neat.

"Hudson's dad was fun and attentive." There's a good Dad in this series?

"Unfortunetly, he also struggled with mental illness." "invisible low points" (Pg 164) Kinda reminds me of how Henry is described after Charlotte's death in the books.

Pg 164 "When Steven got himself into a bad deal that cost him his small business... he'd taken his life." Oh, it is Henry! SMH. Way to use confusing paralells. So, from our understanding thus far, Hudson's real father, Steven, is our Henry stand-in. His step-father despite being described similar to Henry, is actually our William stand-in. Fair game, Scott.

Pg 164 "...he [Hudson] was locked into a supply closet..." Oh shit, you guys. So, let me go on a tangent here, because this IS important! I just watched a retrospective on Sister Location and FNAF 6 earlier and one theory for Midnight Motorist was the person in the chair was the mother and the kid was Michael. I think this little line may confirm that. In fact, the story may be the key to figuring things out. Obviously, the line is a paralell to FNAF 4's scene in which Crying Child was locked in the supply closet of Fredbear's. I know some people, including Matpat, believe[d] CC was Michael, and in this book's context, it sort of works. This does contradict Step Closer and 1000 other things that make Michael the older brother, but maybe it's hinting at MM? Abusive stepdad (possibly Henry... maybe William is gone at this point), checked out Mom (hey, grey couch lady with Foxybro's font). IDK, but its definetly something to think about.

Pg 165 Lewis is mentioned as calling Hudson "nothing" and saying "you're nothing" on several occasions on this page. Just more abuse, for those accurate fanfic writers like me. Also I kinda wanna watch Morel Orel again. Yall know my fav character is Clay. Yall know.

"You're smoke." <-- Lewis / The text later reads, "...there was some irony, given what eventually happened." BRUH. Why did your stepdad die in a fire? :V TELL ME.

"When his family's house burned down at the end of his senior year..." Huh. Is there a fire we don't know about in the game-verse? Could this explain what happened to the FNAF 4 house before MM house?!

"...it purged Hudson of Lewis and his mother." MRS. AFTON BURNED ALIVE, TOO? Bruh. I can't with this story.

The text later describes the fire is concluded to be man-made and Hudson was blamed for it. Can't say if this ties to Michael, but it IS interesting... TBF, there is a small paralell to draw between Henry in FNAF 6 and his history of suicide in the books, too.

Pg 166 "...this place's [FF] busted thermostat.." I just find this line funny.

Pg 167 "...after three weeks of keeping an eye on the place" Some more timeline context for FNAF 3. We know that Michael worked there a little while before we start playing the game thanks to one of the phone calls, IIRC, so this makes sense. If Michael was accused of [something] and also wanting to hunt down his father, then it makes perfect sense why he's working a dead end job at Freddy's over and over and over. Fun fun fun.

Pg 169 "He hated to think about a functional character [Foxy]" This line is in regards to Hudson not liking the set up of Pirate's Cove and Foxy's hook to scare people. Sounds familiar, don't it? (For Michael anyway.)

Pg 173 "Some big find is arriving tomorrow." SPRINGY BOI! COME ON BOOK, get on with the show?

Pg 176 "Granny was wearing a red-and-green plaid shirt and her baggy jeans." Nothing special, but it was specifically brought up twice. I'm kind of racking my brain trying to understand what the point of this character is outside of "woooo everything is haunted don't you know that" kind of character.

Pg 180 "...dropped the crate on the linoleum with a resounding thud." HEY. Poor Springtrap, just gettin' tossed around like the trash he is.

Pg 186 "If you weren't so stupid, I'd tell you more about it." Springtrap bringing the burn. =:)

"A voice with a burr-like rasp...hint of a Southern accent" I'm going to assume this is because it's Lewis probably in the suit in this story and not our old British lad.

"It's was Mr. Atkin's voice." THE MATH TEACHER? *goes back to check* 'The algebra teacher'. Okay...

Pg 190 Okay, so Hudson hear's Lewis' voice this time. Okay, I get it now. Springtrap in this kind of imbodies all of Hudson's old bullies, including the teacher. He also has PTSD, just FYI. IDK if anyone finds that important, but it's fairly obvious by the line "He wasn't in his bedroom. Lewis didn't just slam his head into a desk; his head had been slammed into the [arcade] game."

"Why did he hallucinate a scene from his childhood?" Oh, it's not PTSD, then. It's just the VENTILATION ERROR. lol Okay.

Just a note, as I'm reading through the more action-based stuff, I kind of feel bad for Michael if he had flashbacks like this guy. They're intense.

So, Lewis' voice finally comes out of Springtrap on Pg 213. There's that.

Pg 220 "You can just stay there [in his room]" Kind of a paralell to Midnight Motorist. Lewis is saying it to Hudson. I really feel like the kid in the MM game is Michael because of this story...

Pg 223 "Heat purges. Fire heals." I'm sure that's Henry's life motto.

The ending was stupid, but most in these stories are. Hudson is hallucinating and is implied to have burned himself alive in FF's oven. Meh? The first half of this one is A TRIP and a little insight into what I 100% believe is Michael's childhood. I think the saddest part of it all is that we never got Springtrap speaking to Michael in FNAF 3--and if it's ever remade I hope we get more of them interacting.

#fazbear frights #fnaf spoilers #spoilers #what we found #michael afton #springtrap #fnaf theories #fnaf theory #fnaf 3 #midnight motorist #mrs. afton #henry emily

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costellos · 4 years

Note

I loved the hcds of the bucci gang realizing that they are in love, how is it with the squadra?

YEEEESSS thank you for this suggestion, friend! delicious. finally some good food. I only focused on Risotto, Prosciutto, Melone, and Ghiaccio for this one. it doesn’t seem like there’s much of an audience for Illuso, Formaggio, and Pesci, anyway.

Bucci gang ver. here!

❥ ┋ ❝ la squadra realizing that they’re in love!

risotto nero.

Risotto realizes he’s in love when you prove him wrong.

he’s a man on a mission. as a world-renowned assassin, Risotto knows exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. there is no room for hesitation in this line of work. that’s why he was so surprised when you were placed in his team.

you’re capable, he’ll admit that much. but during his assignments with you, he’s quick to notice those brief moments of apprehension. there might be a glint in the target’s eye, that sign that they’re not ready to die yet. even though he tells you to ignore it, you still hesitate. he concludes that you’re not ready for this.

it happens while following an assignment from the Boss. Sorbet and Gelato still haven’t turned up. despite his team being nothing but obedient (even with their suspicions of the couple’s fate), Risotto doesn’t like the way this mission is carrying out.

chatter fills the streets of Naples. streetlamps are ignited, signing a near-end of the day. there isn’t anything off about this night, not technically. it still doesn’t feel right. Risotto keeps his guard up as he turns with you into an alleyway. you’re supposed to retrieve a yellow envelope from the Boss here.

you catch it before he does. the mission is a set up, with the Boss sending men to dispose of Risotto, as his death would shamble La Squadra. yet before the Boss’s henchmen can do anything, you swipe at their legs, incapacitating them.

there weren’t any giveaways that these men were working for the Boss. yet when you both approach them, they admit they were paid a hefty sum to carry out the assignment. that’s when he sees it: the Aegis tattoos on their wrists.

like always, you hesitate when getting rid of them. thankfully, the job is done and you’re both safe. at least for now.

“you caught their tattoos,” he notes.

you admit that you did. it’s a sign of loyalty that all of the Boss’s higher profile cronies bear. a divine shield, the tool that Zeus himself used to strike fear into the hearts of men. Risotto is shocked that you caught the marks so fast.

you always hesitate during missions. he’s well-aware of that. but while he initially saw it as a weakness, there’s more to you than he anticipated. your ability to analyze the situation, to catch details that even he would miss. it’s... curious. yet intoxicating nonetheless. ↳ “good work.” his hand is on your shoulder, an action that you’ve become familiar with during your assignments with him. this feels different somehow, though. warmer. “but don’t assume that this is the end of it. tonight proves that we need to be more aware.” aware of everything now, he notes. your surroundings, the people you talk to, and as Risotto spends more time with you, his own feelings.

prosciutto.

Prosciutto realizes he’s in love when he sees your efficiency.

he doesn’t like dwelling on things. feelings, main points, and certainly not missions. Prosciutto makes his best effort to complete his assignments as quickly as he can. that doesn’t mean he cuts corners, though. he’s very good at his job.

that said, he gets quite frustrated watching Formaggio and Melone carry out their assignments. they always leave a trace of themselves behind, and in the case of the former, he often has to deal with several needless causalities. going over their paperwork is always such a headache.

then he’s partnered with you. despite your three months on the squad, this is the first mission Risotto has had you collaborate on. not that Prosciutto minds. like all other things, he doesn’t think much of it. he’s seen enough reports of your own fighting style to know that you’re skilled.

it didn’t come so apparent until you landed on-site. the Forum of Augustus, ruins left by Augustus himself honoring the Roman god, Mars. although Prosciutto had visited Rome countless times (sometimes for formal work, sometimes out of pleasure), this is his first time stepping foot in the forum.

you’re supposed to dispose of a small but rival gang. Prosciutto makes diligent work of aging them. but there’s one kid who’s stubborn, using her explosive stand to send shock waves throughout the site.

he sighs. this might be more work than he had anticipated. no wonder Risotto sent two people for this assignment.

but before he can think of his next move, Prosciutto finds the girl at his feet. he scowls. then he looks at you. you’re breathing heavily with your arm still raised, a sign that you had used your elbow to knock her out. he’s not sure how you did it but you did, and now this mission is over before it began.

“nicely done,” he tells you. the forum doesn’t look terribly damaged. there are some collapsed columns and chipped statues, but nothing worth fretting about. so he starts using Grateful Dead to disintegrate the bodies to nothing more than dust. that’s when you start beating yourself up, something about how you could’ve done better. Prosciutto turns to you.

you wanted to cause less damage. the Forum of Augustus is a national landmark; just because it was used as a meeting grounds for some lowlifes doesn’t mean that it should be destroyed. likewise, you wanted to make Prosciutto’s job easier. you had heard that he’s a stickler for inefficient work, and this being your first mission together, you didn’t want to be a nuisance.

Prosciutto blinks. you went that far for some thousand-year-old cement? for him? he’s so used to his colleagues brushing him off (save for Pesci, bless him). being considered for once feels... nice. so he puts his hand on the small of your back, shaking his head at your grievances. ↳ “to be honest, you far exceeded what the others would have done.” Prosciutto comes off as a cold man, but he’s actually quite comfortable giving praise as he sees fit. it certainly applied here. “don’t dwell on it. let’s just finish the job.” and it was true: you did great work, exceeding beyond his own expectations. how else will you surprise him?

melone.

Melone realizes he’s in love when you go out of your way to protect his stand.

yes, he can make a new junior at any time. this one, though... di molto! it’s absolute perfection! the ideal combination of nature and nurture, this junior is sure to put up a beautiful fight. Melone is brimming with excitement.

he first thought it was a mistake. your using your stand to protect his, defending it from an onslaught of punches from your target. “I can’t tell if they did it on purpose or not,” the junior reports to him. Melone simply waves his hand in the air, telling it not to worry. it can trust you protect it. he only says that to reassure the junior, however. while his other colleagues had protected it in the past, they never went out of the way to do so. Melone thinks nothing of it.

even still, he’s puzzled. he knows he can make a new junior at anytime. you know this too.

ugh. whatever. he won’t think too much about it.

but then it happens again. this time, your stand swoops the junior into its arms, saving it from a falling lamppost. when Melone hears word that you defended his stand — for sure now — he’s not sure how to react. so he leans back in his seat, hand stroking his chin.

he’s become so accustomed to Formaggio mocking Baby Face. not like that idiot would understand, anyway; Melone’s gotten used to it. he knows what Baby Face is capable of. his colleagues do too. and certainly you.

that’s why he can’t wrap his head around why you would do it. it’s the first thing he asks you when you return back to the squad’s hideout.

because I knew how proud you were of this one, you respond. you make it sound so casual, with your bright smile and shrug of the shoulders. Melone simply looks back at you, eyebrows scrunched. even Risotto would let the junior perish if it meant completing the mission. you obviously went beyond simply defending it. at that point, it’s just risky for everyone.

despite that... he can’t stop thinking about it. your prioritizing his happiness over the mission might have been foolish, but he still appreciates it. how you smiled when you told him, how you made it sound like the easiest task in the world. Melone suddenly finds himself wanting more missions with you. so he approaches you as you’re leaving for your next assignment, frame overlooking you, expression amused: ↳ “heading out now? di molto! let me have Baby Face assist you!” he’s so obvious about wanting to spend more time with you but he doesn’t care. someone who entertains his silly, little pleasures is something worth keeping an eye on. “no, no, I insist. please, it’s nothing worth fretting about.” maybe one day, you’ll have eyes for him too.

ghiaccio.

Ghiaccio realizes he’s in love when you indulge his rant.

although he can remain level-headed during a mission (to a certain degree), there are many things that makes Ghiaccio tick during moments of peace. his most obvious grievance being inconsistencies in diction and proverbs.

everyone is familiar with the Venezia rant. that said, most had become familiar with what makes him annoyed. and unfortunately, most do it on purpose.

it happens while planning for the next group assignment. it’ll take place at Teatro di San Carlo, a historic opera house next to the Piazza del Plebiscito. Prosciutto is running over the details when he says it: foyer. not as foi-yur, however. foi-yeh. and Ghiaccio loses it.

he goes off on a tangent, explaining that the word stems from old French and it doesn’t make any sense for it to be pronounced like that. he’s slamming his fist on the table, voice raised as he makes his point. Prosciutto and Pesci are looking at him blankly. Formaggio and Melone are stifling a laugh. Risotto and Illuso let out a sigh and turn to each other. with a nod from Illuso, Risotto holds up his hand, asking that Ghiaccio save this for a different day.

despite his obvious displeasure (crossed arms and a soft click of the tongue, typical of him), Ghiaccio quells his argument. Risotto gives Prosciutto the okay to continue.

so he does. but this time, he makes it a point to continue using ‘foi-yeh.’ he emphasizes it every time he uses it, his azure irises flickering toward Ghiaccio with every use. he’s enjoying this. Ghiaccio clearly isn’t.

at the end, Prosciutto asks if there are any questions. you raise your hand. to be honest, Ghiaccio isn’t paying attention to most of what you’re saying. that is, until he hears you use ‘foi-yur.’ you emphasize it as clearly as Prosciutto had with ‘foi-yeh,’ sprinkling it wherever you can. when you finish, you turn to Ghiaccio (who’s now staring at you, eyes wide) and flash him a thumbs up.

Ghiaccio isn’t sure what to do. so he responds with an ‘okay’ sign, eyes still wide from your little show. no one has ever defended him like that. “defended” might be a strong word for most, but to have his point be acknowledged in such a small way has Ghiaccio at a loss for words. so he just sits there, wordlessly, staring at the blueprint that Prosciutto is using for this next mission. once Risotto calls the meeting adjourned, though, Ghiaccio is the first to spring from the table, taking his spot beside you as the others file out of the room. ↳ “you didn’t have to do that, you know.” he blinks. shit, was that to harsh? “they’re going to call you a kiss up now.” there. that puts the concern on you, because truly, he is worried that the others will tease you now. but you just shrug and say that you don’t care, that you didn’t want him to feel ignored. Ghiaccio is, in spite of White Album’s abilities, a hothead. he’s a man built from passion and liveliness and enthusiasm. and after hearing you say that, he’s starting to feel those sentiments apply to you, too.

#la squadra #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #golden wind #La Squadra Esecuzioni #risotto nero #prosciutto #melone #ghiaccio #headcanons #Anonymous #side note this was RIDICULOUSLY hard to write #we're given so little information about la squadra that it was hard to dig into their characters when there's like.... nothing there :')#which is why most of these focused on missions #still #this was a really fun challenge #thank you for the request!

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inkykeiji · 3 years

Note

hello, bby💞💞 i absolutely ADORE everything u write, ur insanely talented!! I wanted to ask, you’ve mentioned several pieces of art, precisely songs and films, that have inspired ur work; could u give us some music and movie recommendations that have similar vibe to some of ur fics??? Thank u in advance, I hope u have an incredible day/evening, lysm💓💞💖

THIS QUESTION OOOOOOOH YES ANON YES okay okay first of all, thank you so much!!!! i appreciate that a lot <333 YES i love film so much hehehe <3 my music recommendations are pretty much the same as they always are. the films i’m recommending here; i’m not exactly sure if they have a similar vibe to my fics as i’ve found it difficult to find many films that fit that criteria, but here’s a nice huge list of films that have influenced my main series’, and how!!

beware!! very long post under the cut hehehe AND POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR BMB IF YOU KNOW THE FILMS HEHEHEHEHE

𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬

the godfather, part 1 + part 2

AAAAAAAAH okay, literally one of my favourite films of all time, the godfather (+ the godfather pt 2) is a fucking masterpiece. tomura’s close relationship with his father was both inspired by bnha itself as well as michael corleone’s relationship with his father, vito. michael is the golden child even though he’s the youngest, and i love love love how cold and ruthless he can be!!! he’s also super smart.

goodfellas

listen. if henry hill from goodfellas and michael corleone from the godfather had a baby, it would be tomura. he’s slightly more henry than he is michael, but his characterization pulls from both of these characters!! henry is fun, he’s reckless, he’s young, he feels like a god and he loves cocaine. henry also becomes very paranoid, a path with tomura is currently speeding down (albeit much more intensely, with legitimate mental health issues, but you get it). i also love the subtle ‘mafia princess’ trope goodfellas has going on with henry’s wife, karen (that scene where she says she’s going shopping and asks him for money, and he takes out that massive wad of cash?????? brilliant, one of my faves hehehe). henry also has some difficulty dealing with his emotions!!

narcos season 1 + 2

k, i can’t say too much about how this incredible show inspired bmb; i kind of feel like listing it is already giving away too much hehehe BUT i love the pure POWER pablo exudes, and i love his relationship with his wife and how family oriented he is.

scarface (both the original 1932 version and the 1983 version)

WOOOOOOOOOO OKAY. for the 1983 film: cocaine my friends. cocaine and violence and toxic relationships!!!!!!! i kind of love elvira hancock more than anything else; she’s so glamorous and fun and just aaaaah she’s definitely not as ‘baby’ or ‘good girl’ as bmb!reader is, but her sheer class and cute dresses and just how SPOILED she is reminds me a lot of bmb! for both 1932 + 1983: tony’s relationship with his sister, gina (which tbh borders on incest). gina’s another one of those ‘mafia princess’ types, and tony is extremely overprotective of her and spoils her like mad, too. she’s also fits that ‘good girl’ archetype a lot more!!

reservoir dogs

purely the violence. the violence the violence the violence, the crude and crass way the men talk to each other, and the fact that they’re like a lil organized crime group put together by a boss. i am IN LOVE (IN LOVEEEEEEEE) with mr blonde (aka vic vega <333). mr blonde’s extreme sadism reminds me quite a bit of both dabi and tomura, and he’s even referenced in the lil torture piece i wrote!! also, you literally cannot tell me that vic wouldn’t spoil the absolute HELL out of his good lil princess if he had one <3

(not a film, but!!!!!) hamlet

break my bones is very very very loosely based on hamlet (which is my favourite story of all time. literally. i love hamlet so much i can’t even put it into words); with tomura as hamlet, dabi as a mixture of horatio and laertes, and reader as ophelia. hamlet, my precious baby, is a spoiled fucking brat, who loved his father and was loved by his father. he’s also very intelligent, but falls prey to his indecisiveness and his inability to make decisions, in addition to the rapid decay of his mental health. that’s all i’ll say hehehe

baby driver

the relationship between baby + debora reminds me of the relationship between dabi and reader a lot <333 i also just love the aesthetic of this film, and the undercurrents of organized crime!!

the shining

just a teeny tiny bit; i cannot say anything about this or i think it’ll give something away!!!!!

burning

trios!!!!! trios!!!!!!!!!!!!and the relationship dynamic between jong-su, hae-mi and ben??????? absolutely incredible and reminds me quite a bit of the dynamic between tomura, dabi + reader!!

𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐀𝐔 (𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞) + 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐲𝐚-𝐧𝐢𝐢

i’m grouping these two together, because a lot of their influences overlap in terms of dabi + reader’s relationship!!! (i’m pretty sure we can all agree that touya-nii is so fucking Daddy, too <3)

true romance

i fucking love this movie, so so so much. i’d go as far to say that clarence and alabama’s relationship has without a doubt inspired or influenced every single romantic relationship i’ve written in at least some way, shape, or form. i LOVE them. i love their co-dependency on each other, i love their whole ‘it’s you and me against the world’ vibe, and i love how far they’re willing to go for each other. also, again, organized crime (no surprise), and alabama is just the cutest fucking thing i swear to god. that scene of her + virgil in the hotel room will forever be one of my absolute FAVOURITE scenes in cinematic history. i would die for this woman i love her more than anything. she’s so cute yet so strong, so brave, so IN LOVE, and aaaah that is just one of my favourite characteristics ever ever ever. i love women who are soft and strong at the same time, even if that strength isn’t physical.

sid and nancy

hello to one of the most famous toxic relationships ever!!! honestly, i don’t think i have to explain this one much LMAO. obviously my readers aren’t as hardcore as nancy and almost always fall into the ‘innocent good girl’ category, but their RELATIONSHIP itself reminds me quite a bit of the relationship between touya-nii and his princess <3

bonnie and clyde (1967)

ahahaha yet again, another very toxic, very co-dependent type of love. like clarence and alabama, i love how these two are literally willing to die for each other—they’d go straight to the ends of the earth for one another, no questions asked. this type of love is extremely unhealthy, obviously, but it’s something i am extremely fascinated with and love exploring in my work! also, that whole ‘fuck the world let’s commit crimes together’????? very tag you’re it dabi x reader!!!

pulp fiction

more specifically, the relationship between mia and vincent. the sexual tension there is fucking crazy, and i love how mia is yet again one of those ‘mafia princess’ types. really, this film applies to bmb as well, but i’m putting it here because the way vincent gets so so SO soft for mia reminds me of the way touya-nii and dabi in these two series in particular get soft for their readers. also, to a lesser extent, the relationship between butch and fabienne. i know a lot of people don’t like fabienne and get annoyed with her, but i think she’s just the cutest thing and i heavily relate to her and her babie/crybaby nature <3 and of course, the relationship between pumpkin and honeybunny (for tag you’re it especially!) <33

breathless (a bout de souffle)

there’s just something about michel that reminds me of touya-nii SO much. i think it’s a combination of his attitude as well as his petty life of crime, and the way patricia hides him in her apartment...i don’t know, it’s difficult for me to put into words, but i love him a lot <3

𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤

the joker + harley quinn: i feel like this is so obvious LMAO but i’m obsessed with the idea of that all consuming voracious love that borders on serious obsession. extremely possessive socio/psychopath and his dumb lil baby????? yes <3 (**i also wanna make a note to say that harley isn’t dumb AT ALL, but J will often insult her in such a way, and sometimes the men who write her portray her as such as well >.> but harley is one of my favourite female characters ever. i LOVE how girly and fun she is while still being extremely strong and (sometimes, depending on the version) independent. she isn’t without flaws, and i love how her mr j is basically her kryptonite <3)

speaking of batman, bruce wayne: what can i say, i just love spoiled rich men who have serious issues dealing with their emotions and walk the line of good and evil <33333

anakin skywalker/darth vader: listen, anakin was seriously slighted by those prequel films. but underneath all of that bad writing, at his core, anakin is a fantastic character. he is SO strongly governed by his emotions and is extremely selfish, and his love for his wife and family is ultimately what leads him down the path to the dark side <3 his emotionally charged motivations remind me a lot of CANON dabi!!!

thelma and louise: i just love their relationship, like, a lot hehehe. their relationship and the ending of this film reminds me a lot of my snowman & me; just yet again that whole ‘it’s you and me or it’s death’ type thing.

the darjeeling limited: it should be obvious at this point that i love trios, and i love complex characters and the relationships that come along with them. the relationship between the whitman brothers, the dysfunctional family, the truama and sadness...i love it all. this film is absolutely beautiful and really doesn’t connect much to my work other than the character dynamics, but i love it so dearly.

mad men: again, those misogynistic toxic relationships and the dependency betty has on don for the first few seasons!! also my god, the aesthetic, i am obsessed.

twin peaks: this hasn’t shown up too much in the work i’ve posted on my blog just yet, but i’m head over heels in love with the dreamy unsettling feeling that saturates this entire series, as well as the drugs and crime. also dale is my baby, protect him with everything <3

blade runner (both films): for city aesthetic

suckerpunch: an absolutely awful film but also one of my guilty pleasures, purely because i love babydoll so so so so so much <33 again, more for aesthetic than story.

𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂

honestly, my music recommendations are exactly the same as they are in this post right here. lana del rey, lil peep, chase atlantic + the neighbourhood are the four that i’d say influence my work the most tho, and have the most similar vibe to my stuff!! also, nicole dollanganger is an incredible artist and lyricist, and i’ve been told more than once that my work and her work are quite similar (which i agree!!!). her stuff is hauntingly beautiful, but i have a lot of difficulty listening to it because it hits a little too close to home and makes me cry literally every single time. so please be wary of that, i’m giving a general trigger warning for her because she can get quite dark. but her work is absolutely fantastic, i highly recommend as long as you feel that you can handle it!!! <33

AAAAAH I KNOW I’M MISSING LIKE A MILLION THINGS I SWEAR but these are the films (and tv shows) + artists that readily come to mind!! thank you again for your question anon, i love stuff like this so much and i love discussing films and art hehehe <33

#THIS POST IS FUCKING *MASSIVE*#U HAVE BEEN WARNED LMAO #i could just go on forever about film i love it so much #so so so much #i know i'm missing so many that have had an impact on me i can feel it #but yeah!!!#really the biggest trigger warnings here are for toxic relationships and drugs #so proceed with caution please!!#i hope you're having a fantastic wednesday anon bb <333 #please stay safe out there and drink enough water!!! ily!!!#clari gets mail #clari RAMBLES #my goodness #inky.bb

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twdmusicboxmystery · 3 years

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Hints of Beth and the CRM War in 5x09

So, after I re-watched 6x08 and 6x09, which I posted last week, I also decided to re-watch 5x09. I did so for various reasons, including a comment I received on an old theory. But mostly, I’d been wanting to rewatch this episode for a while. I had a hunch that there might be hints toward the CRM war in it that we couldn’t possibly have known about or recognized back in S5. I was not disappointed.

Tyreese, Lizzie & Mica:

So, in this new comment I got, this commenter said she thought Ty was likening the twin boys to Lizzie and Mica. And I’m sure this has been discussed in some iteration, but I sat and thought about it in a way I hadn’t before. I know I’ve discussed that it seems, from the photos, that there seemed to be a “good” and “evil” twin, and obviously that has ties to Lizzie and Mica. But just think about it this way. Ty was obviously present for the Lizzie/Mica tragedy. Then, he’s killed by one of these twins as a walker.

A random line from 5x04, 4 Walls and a Roof, came to my mind. After Abe and co get on the short bus to go to D.C., Ty is digging graves (for the Termites they killed) and Rick goes to help him. Rick asks him something about what happened on his way to Terminus or something like that (can’t remember the exact question) and Ty answers that what happened “killed me.” Rick, looking a little annoyed, says, “No, it didn’t.” And that’s it.

But it occurred to me that Ty’s line is a foreshadow. He was speaking about Lizzie and Mica, saying that their deaths killed him (emotionally) but it was a foreshadow that another set of siblings would actually kill him a few episodes later. I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this particular thing, though I’m going to talk more about Ty in a minute.

The thing is, I really don’t think we understand the point of Lizzie and Mica, yet. We’ve had lots of theories, talked about how they impacted Carol, the ways in which they could be Beth proxies. But I don’t think we understand their significance in the grand scheme of things, and I’ve never quite known what to do with them symbolically. But given that they’re in Ty’s hallucination WITH BETH tells me we will probably figure it out when she returns.

Hints of the CRM in 5x09:

Several years back (like during S6) I tried so hard to figure out what the radio messages in 5x09 pointed to, and couldn’t really come to any solid conclusion about them. Of course, back then we knew absolutely nothing of the helicopter people, so how could I?

We’ve definitely seen some of the things they talk about come to pass, both before and after this episode. They mention prisons (prison fell before this) and setting people on fire (Carol did that both in S9 and also to Karen and David in S4) and of course they mention machetes (Red Machete). All important symbols.

But these messages also tell a story. Look at what they say:

“At least 68 citizens of the Republic have been killed in four deadly attacks along the main coastal district. The group has continued their campaign of random violence, moving across the countryside unfettered, with the Republic’s military forces in disarray.”

Okay, so I’m assuming the “republic” is the CRM. This suggests a different group performing guerilla warfare against them. Think about all the symbols these lines encompass. We have a group of rebels attacking the CRM, the COASTAL district, and of course the CRM itself. So it’s talking about some rebel group that will be fighting against the CRM.

I think that’s super significant, especially because of the TWB template. Remember that we saw a group of rebels, perhaps led by Will, though it’s a little unclear as yet, who is Beth’s proxy in that template. And they’re outside the CRM and, presumably, because they saw the slaughter at the college, going to fight against it. So I’m seeing this as a huge hint for Beth’s return.

The other thing to bring into the mix here is the Wolves. Because all of this in 5x09 definitely foreshadowed the wolves, and it’s where we first saw their “WOLVES NOT FAR” signs. And where did we see TONS of Beth symbolism: around the wolves.

Second message: “…then terrorizing the village by night, carrying out revenge attacks which include hacking innocents with machetes, and in some cases setting them on fire.”

Okay, so I get that this isn’t flattering for Beth or her group if she’s with the rebels, but it is really hard to know what they’re talking about here, since we don’t get the full sentence. The point is, these are acts of war, and even if this is talking about the rebel group doing this (and I think it probably is, given that wolves did all of these things a few episodes later in 6x02) it’s no worse than what we’ve already seen the CRM do.

But I can also see that if Beth is with or leading this group, this is a very Grady-like issue to be dealing with. Are we killing these people for the greater good, because the war needs to be won? You can see how Grady could easily have been a setup for what she’d be dealing with later on. And maybe she’s the “new sheriff” because she has to police her own people and not let them get too blood thirsty. Or maybe I’m reading into this WAY too much and the point is simply that there will be a violent war. ;D

There’s only one more message that comes out of the radio. So we had the first one, talking about the CRM war and a rebel group attacking the CRM. Then talk of wartime violence.

The third message is Beth singing her song. That’s super on-the-nose, if you ask me. No more clear way to say that Beth will be part of the conflict the radio voice was just talking about. See why that made me happy?

Tyreese…Again:

I’m gonna make a sweeping claim, here. I think the themes around Ty’s death are pretty much the point of the entire series. Yes, I know that’s a tall order. Let me explain. It does tie heavily into Beth’s return, but it encompasses other things as well, and I think it’s a huge part of the current Negan/Maggie/forgiveness story line.

So, when I first went to watch 5x09, I pulled up S5 on Amazon and it shows all the episodes, the first one, of course, being 5x01. And the little picture it had for that episode was Ty in the cabin with baby Judith. I sat and thought about that and that there’s the picture of a cabin in 5x09 that gets blood on it and it occurred to me that those two things are probably related.

So I watched 5x01 after watching 5x09. I’ll admit I didn’t see tons of smoking guns that haven’t already been discussed at length in 5x01. The biggest thing is simply that it was a setup for Ty’s death themes in 5x09, and I definitely need to revisit my cabin theories. ;D

So, if we look at the people Ty hallucinated, there’s the Gov, Lizzie, Mica, Beth, Bob, and Martin, right? These are all obviously people and events Ty feels guilty about. Bob’s death, because he lied about Martin and that sent the Termites after them. He feels guilty about being duped by the Gov and not realizing what a bad guy he was. Lizzie and Mica for obvious reasons. And Beth.

I honestly don’t think Tyreese did anything to feel guilty about with Beth. Not in the same way we think Sasha might have (Sasha/Tyreese Theory). But based on what the Martin hallucination says, I think he’s just really broken up about it and wondering if he could have done anything to change it. Just my opinion, though.

So, if you listen carefully to who is saying what in the hallucination, we have two different representations of good and evil. There’s 1) Bob vs. Martin and 2) Beth/Lizzie/Mica vs. the Gov. In each case, they’re like good and evil angels sitting on Ty’s shoulder and they’re arguing.

So, for example, Martin says the thing about Ty lying about his death and how, maybe somehow, if Bob hadn’t died, it would have changed things with Beth. Domino shit. And then Bob says [paraphrasing] “No, that’s bullshit. I got bit at the food bank. It went the way it had to. The way it was always going to.”

And we have the same thing going on with the Gov. He’ll basically tell Tyreese what an idiot he is, and then one of the three (Beth/Lizzie/Mica) will say, “No. It’s all right. It’s better now.”

So, you can see that Ty is really at war with himself internally.

It’s important to note that one big thing that’s mentioned is that he forgave Carol for Karen’s death. The Gov actually says that Ty is weak and ridiculous because he sat across the table from a woman that murdered someone he loved, and he actually forgave her. The Gov really razzed him about that.

And this is one of the things I mean about over-arching themes. Carol killed Karen and David in S4, which we all know was one great big foreshadow of arcs to come, and Ty forgave her.

I really think this was probably meant to be a foreshadow of Negan. Negan’s story, killing Glenn, was a way bigger deal and way more front and center, mostly because no one really knew Karen except for an episode or two and Glenn was such a beloved character.

Now, we have this redemption arc for Negan and Maggie is going to have to decide if she’ll forgive him, moving forward. We could apply this to plenty of other story lines where Rick took the violent route or forgiveness wasn’t had, and it leads to trouble and death. So, I think this is pretty huge for the overall show.

And I really think it points to Negan doing something to save TF in some way. Because they forgive him and he’s allowed to live, that will save lives. We’ve talked about this with Daryl showing Dwight mercy as well.

My Biggest Beth Takeaway:

As the episode progresses, before Rick and Michonne come to get him, Tyreese does finally stand up to the Governor. He says that the Gov was a bad guy, and that wasn’t his (Ty’s) fault. He says what he talked about with Noah: that he never turned off the radio. He always faced it, and did what he could to help. He said he forgave Carol specifically because “it’s not over.” Which I take to mean that he has hope for the world’s future, and forgiveness is the only way forward. Being angry and holding a grudge only brings death.

And then he said the thing that jumped out at me most:

“People like me CAN live.”

Okay, so what does he mean by ‘people like me?’ Because obviously Ty didn’t live, so this doesn’t apply to him directly. Or if it does, he means that he’ll die, but people like him CAN live under some circumstances.

To figure this out, we have to go back to his cabin in 5x01. During that entire scene in No Sanctuary, Martin was giving him crap about being a “good” guy. Ty answers, “you don’t know what I’ve done.” And Martin looks at baby Judith and says, “no, you’re a good guy. You save babies. That’s a little like saving an anchor when you’re without a boat in the middle of the ocean.” (Total boat/water reference.)

So, when Ty says “people like me,” he means those who choose to be good. Who choose to be hopeful and moral, rather than violent. There’s a long-running theme in the show that Chris Hardwick mentions a lot, that people who function as the moral compass of the group often die. And that’s true.

But here, Ty says, “people like me” (meaning the moral compasses) CAN live.

And Beth is in the room with him when he says that.

She’s looking at the clock radio that simultaneously reads 5:10 (music box) and also 8:22 (Resurrection).

The skeptic might argue that all these other people are in the room too, and how can we be sure he means her? Well, putting all the mountains of TD evidence aside, they do have a point. After all, all the “good” characters Ty hallucinates (Bob, Beth, Mica) are moral compasses and fit the criteria. There are plenty of others not represented here (Hershel, Dale, Glenn, Denise, even Abraham to an extent) but these are the ones Ty felt particularly guilty about.

But I would argue that we only heard one person’s voice come through the radio: Beth’s.

So once again, look at this from a bird’s eye view. Talk of the CRM and a coming war. Then Beth’s voice comes through that same radio, suggesting she’ll be part of it. And later on, “people like me CAN live.”

See what I mean? As I told my fellow theorists, this episode really had all we needed to predict Beth’s return. We just couldn’t have understood the meanings back then.

And honestly, this may be the explanation for the Lizzie/Mica thing I mentioned above. It’s a representation of the evil killing the good, which is super traumatizing and messes everyone up because as humans, we’re hard-wired to believe good will win out.

So, we had Lizzie/Mica, Noah’s brothers, and then the good vs evil hallucinations I already talked about. And we might even have a representation of this at Grady because of evil officer Bob.

We had good Bob who died in 5x04, and then Evil Officer Bob, who directly led to them only having two prisoners, which directly led to Beth getting shot. And I remember when it aired, the show brought a lot of attention to it by doing clickbait articles about why there were “two Bobs.”

So, it’s something they wanted us to notice. And then we see Bob in Ty’s hallucination here. I gotta think that Sasha and Ty’s sibling relationship plays into this in some way as well.

Okay, I’ll shut up, now. But re-watching this gave me tons of hope. We can’t say for sure that we’ll see her in the bonus episodes (though obviously I hope we will) but I’m more sure than ever that she’ll be part of the CRM war. And we’re kind of on the cusp of that. We just have to sit back and wait. ;D

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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strangeinternetwasteland · 3 years

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The art of growing up

Authors Note: Follows the Naruto universe, some slight changes I tried, let me know if you hate it. Also italicized words indicate thought

Character: Obito Uchiha

Prompt: Canon compliant with I didn’t do it! or Angst with this why I fell in love with you. I chose both.

TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of suicide, death, some gore, and blood

Word Count: 1.5 K

Growing up in Konoha for Obito was arduous. He didn’t know who his parents were and was left in the care of his grandmother. Growing up he felt alone and unimportant. A burden to his clan and his grandmother. He wanted to become Hokage so that he would finally be acknowledged.

Obito was often seen as clumsy, bothersome, and unnecessary to his teammate Kakashi. Obito often was late for training and meetings, and this annoyed Kakashi immensely. He regularly liked to point it out to Obito. This caused a lot of contempt between the two.

Rin, however, was the glue of their team. She was always there to cheer Obito on and settled any flare-up between himself and Kakashi. Obito had known and grown up with Rin. They were best friends, and he liked to believe they were inseparable.

While waiting for their sensei to show up to the team meeting, Obito took this time to stare at Rin. Looking at her is like I am looking at an angel Obito thought. He couldn’t stop staring a the chestnut-haired girl. Kami, she is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Obito was unabashedly and absolutely in love with Rin Nohara. She was unquestionably perfect in his eyes. Her radiant smile lit up his whole world. The giggle of her laugh was music to his ears. The way her hair framed her magnificent face and the way her amber eyes lit up when she talked about the things that interested her was perfection to him. This is why I fell in love with you.

It was a shame to Obito that he had to share Rin with Kakashi. Even though he couldn’t currently bring himself to tell Rin, Obito knew he loved her. He loved her more than anything in the world. Unbeknownst, to him, was that Rin loved Kakashi. Why are all the girls in love with you? I bet you’re ugly underneath that mask. There is nothing special about him anyway.

“Obito, what are you thinking about in that head of yours?” Rin questioned him playfully.

“Yeah, Obito, you’ve got this stupid look on your face,” Kakashi remarked casually.

Seething, Obito bit his tongue knowing that if he said anything to rude back to Kakashi he would never hear the end of it from Rin. She’d go on and on about how they were teammates and were to act as one.

A blush coming over his face, Obito finally said. “I was just thinking.”

“Must be hard for you to do,” Kakashi stated flatly, clearly looking to get a rise out of Obito. Rin gave Obito an apologetic look as Obito stuck his tongue out at Kakashi.

“I am glad we’re all here” Minato- sensei said trying to break the tension.

“Obito was late, as usual,” Kakashi blatantly announced.

“Oi! I was helping an old woman with her groceries!” Obito yelled back.

Minato said while smiling, “ Well, our next mission will be to blow up the Kinnabi Bridge. This bridge is a major supply line for the Hidden Stone Village. With clear indication that there was no more to be said, they all left. Along the way, the team felt an uneasy presence as if they were being watched from the trees. A Hidden Stone ninja silently watched the team looking for an opening to attack. Kakashi thought this was a good time to try out his new technique, the Chidori despite Minato’s reluctance saying it could go awry with so little practice.

Kakashi hastily ran off to attack the enemy ninja. Okay, just go run off and be Mr. Perfect. Obito was distracted with his thoughts to notice that the Hidden Stone Ninja had used the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Kakashi had decided to focus on attacking the clones leaving Obito accessible to the enemy. The Hidden Stone ninja laughed at the look of dumb fright on Obito’s face and without delay, the clones descended upon Obito. While Kakashi was distracted with saving Obito, Kakashi felt a sharp stab of a katana into his right shoulder. At that exact moment, Minato tackled their opponent and attached his special tag to the ninja’s foot, and immediately transported Kakashi to Rin’s location. Instantaneously, Minato was gone.

Perfectly beautiful. Rin sat and worked on Kakashi’s wound taking gentle care not to hurt it or apply too much pressure. Kakashi didn’t seem to mind any and the pain didn’t seem to affect Kakashi at all. Instead, it seemed as if all the pain was redirected as animosity towards Obito.

“You’re a coward Uchiha!” Kakashi spat. Anger boiling deep inside and started to explode. “You hesitated on the battlefield! What an idiot!”

Blinking back tears Obito retorted, “At least, I didn’t rush out there blindly!” The boys were at one another’s throat. Rin just stood there nervously.

Minato’s voice boomed out, “Alright! Now that the threat is neutralized, for now, I think we should rest.” He is visibly upset by Kakashi’s biting behavior. Why did Kakashi act that way? Why does he act like he’s better than everyone?

After a while, feeling restless and unable to sleep, Obito got up to find Minato. After a bit, he found his sensei and sat down next to him asking, “Why did Kakashi act out like that?”

Minato took a deep breath and said, “Well, Kakashi’s father was the White Fang. Instead of finishing a mission, he decided to save his team. He was ridiculed and eventually killed himself.”

Obito sat and pondered Minato’s words and eventually drifted into a dreamless sleep. It wasn’t a surprise when the next day Minato disclosed to the group that Kakashi would be the leader for the next part of the mission.

“We will be separated at this point. You will be a team of three, with Kakashi as the leader.” Minato announced. Obito didn’t reject this decision. I hope this makes you proud of me, Rin. Rin was caught by surprise by Obito’s maturity, as much as Kakashi was. She looked at Obito with astonishment and curiosity. Am I better than Kakashi? Minato nodded and headed off alone.

Kakashi led the team farther into the enemy territory, where they were suddenly ambushed by two ninjas’ looking for their fallen comrade. They captured Rin before escaping.

NO! NOT RIN! Obito panicked without a second of hesitation, he told Kakashi plainly, “I’m going after her.” His heartbeat racing.

“I think that we should complete our mission.” Kakashi bit back.

With a huff, rage boiled inside of Obito, followed by a punch directly to Kakashi’s face. “Your father was a true hero when he saved his friends.” With that, Obito turned around and left to go save Rin on his own while Kakashi went the other way. Obito’s words weighed heavily upon Kakashi. Obito frantically searched for where Rin was being held captive. Where are you? Please be safe. If I ever- When I find them I will kill them for taking you away from us.

Obito came upon the hideout concealed deep in a cave where Rin was being kept. Okay, I need a plan. What is the best way to get Rin out of here? While Obito was planning Rin’s rescue, a Hidden Stone Ninja crept upon him. Using his camouflage technique to hide, the enemy ninja snuck closer to Obito. Just as the foe was ready to attack, Kakashi suddenly appeared.

“I don’t think that you could handle this all by yourself, idiot,” Kakashi said as he fought off the incoming attack, that would’ve maimed Obito. The consequence was the loss of Kakashi’s left eye. Oh, my kami. Oh no! What do I do? Panicking and afraid Obito began to cry when he saw Kakashi. I can’t- I can’t- I. NEED. TO. GET. TO. RIN!!!!

Refocusing his attention on the battle happening before him, Obito awakened his Sharingan. He was able to see the enemy, Obito quickly killed him. Kakashi looked at Obito with wide-eyed surprise, “Obito- You. Your- Sharingan.” With a quick shake of his head to acknowledge Kakashi’s stammering, he replied, “ Bandage yourself up and then let’s go get Rin.” Kakashi quickly bandaged himself up. The duo made their way to the cave where Rin was being held.

Wordlessly and effortlessly, the two entered to find Rin tied up and weak. Using their teamwork, Obito’s newly obtained Sharingan, and Kakashi’s skills, they fought off the last of the three Hidden Stone Ninjas that were following them in the forest. While battling inside the cave the walls had weakened significantly around the group. With all hope lost for the enemy, he made one last effort to defeat Obito and Kakashi which caused the cave to fall in on them. With all of the rocks collapsing around them, Obito noticed a rock plunging toward Kakashi. Leaping forward with extended arms, Obito threw Kakashi out of the way. The boulder landing on Obito and crushing the entire right side of his body. “Rin, take my Sharingan and transplant it in Kakashi’s eye. As a late gift for making Jounin.” Obito smiled weakly.

Rin and Kakashi were forced to leave Obito behind while the cave was crumbling around them. The last thing Obito saw before darkness took over was the tears in Kakashi’s eyes and the hopeless look of failure on Rin’s face. This can’t be the end. Shutting his eyes and surrendering to the void Obito’s final thought was ‘I didn’t do it! I didn’t get to tell you I’ll love you always and forever.’

#naruto #server collab #obito uchiha #canon mostly

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itstheendofthegoddamnworld · 4 years

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Silver In The Sea (Julian Devorak! Pirate x Mermaid! Reader) 2

Summary: A year into his travels at sea, Julian Devorak is faced with the highs and lows of sailing across the southern sea; facing the dangers that come with it. As a physician, he is given many opportunities to live out the days in surviving for himself - especially against many things that want him dead.

Notes: Julian is certain that there isn’t a massive half-human half-fish creature in front of him, but he is certain he has lost his mind.

SUPPORT ME ON A03, MY USERNAME THE SAME AS HERE!!

Prologue - 1 - 3 - 4

Silver In The Sea Chapter 2 (Disbelief)

Julian lowered his spear, watching with curiosity and horror as before him in the shallowness of the red-mixed water, the head floated to the top, and eyes were staring back with anger back into his.

In that instant, he thought truly that the denial and lack of shade had brought him to insanity; staring down into the waters, dirtying up to mix the blue with the red, creating a brown-green hue.

The droplets were thick and hanging off the person’s head, a head that looked most likely from a female if he had remembered what they had looked like. Their eyes - almond-shaped and dark - held no warmth, the only fury as they seemed to snarl and squint back up at him.

Quickly, Julian hastily threw the spear back over his head, the sound plonking and wadding in the water behind, as the wave caught it and dragged it to and from the shoreline, drifting further and further away from him.

Wrapping the imagery in his mind of what could’ve possibly been in front of him - a strange lady with only her head floating on top, Julian tried to get some sounds resembling words out of his drying mouth.

Wracking his fingers together decidedly, he tried to give a nervous smile. “Erm, hi?”

The creature, not impressed, didn’t answer, instead, bringing out another low whine mixed with a hiss, something similar to what Pepi would let out when she was annoyed; and downright, the creature was too.

I’m not surprised, if you had been speared in the leg, would you be chipper about it? Ilya studied dumbfounded, lifting his arms to give off the look of submission.

The creature didn’t take its eyes off him, and instead, in a last-second scramble, tried convulsing and twisting its way back into the water where it had come from.

Julian gave off a small noise of uncertainty, trying to clamber back to the bottom of the creature hastily and clumsily, all long limbs trying to reach out to help. “Here, let me- woah!”

His hand hadn’t even come out properly in reach yet and instead of not touching soft flesh, he found his fingers feeling for the same slimy texture found when he touched wet seaweed or from fishes they had caught from his time onboard Eliana’s Song.

He recoiled, as a something thick and long came and swiped underneath his feet, with the same texture he had felt on his fingers, now knocking him backwards into the shallow waters below.

He tumbled and luckily being tall enough to properly submerge, he spluttered when the saltwater reached his mouth and nothing else, but now he would have to deal with wet clothes once more.

“Gosh darn it, not again.” He lamented heavily, his eyes briefly looking up before doing a double-take, startling him at what was now in front.

It wasn’t just now an angry woman’s head just floating above, but now a proper head attached with a torso and lower body, but something was whipping out like an aggravated snake through the water, and in that flash, the same silver flickering of a snake-like tail snapped back into the small waves.

Oh crap.

Julian tried pushing himself backwards, finding that the seabed was growing deeper the more he went in, watching in fear as the drowned woman crawled like a predator towards him.

Their human skin was blue-ish, making them look more like a drowned corpse than a living being, matching the bodies he had tried saving when seamen fell into the waters.

Their hair hung over their face, altering their features as their lips opened, and Julian pulled back in dread when he saw jaws pointing back at him.

So, the tales of the merfolk were true all along? He thought in morbid fascination, awaiting what would be his end. He had remembered the stories he had been told by Mazelinka; of beauties prowling in the deep rich seas, seducing sailors in and bringing them more than just trepidation.

The siren was near now to his face, hissing with its mouth pulled back in almost an animalistic and horrific display; eyes black with no pupil, fingernails sharpened and growing into talons, they tried to reach out and take a final swipe at his face, and Julian awaited the end with both awe.

At least I will go to my grave knowing that they always existed. Ilya thought, shutting his eyes finally as he waited for it, the hideous slash across his throat and the feeling of drowning in his blood, but that never came.

Opening one of his eyes slowly, Julian observed from the other side what was taking place in front of him.

The siren pulled back with another low forlorn whine from the throat, ceasing all movement as the pulled back, the same hand coming to touch at their tail.

Julian watched, not moving nor speaking, watching more of the blood seeping out as the creature watched on and wriggled at its ultimate demise.

Poor thing-- no! I shouldn’t pity it! It tried to kill me! Ilya bickered in his mind, trying to think what Mazelinka or Pasha would do if they were in his shoes. They certainly wouldn’t of allowed this creature to live.

Another pathetic, yearning whine came from the siren, as they waded through the shallow depths, their skin pale, and almost in the soft sunlight of the day, they looked so much like a woman he had remembered back in Nevivon.

Dammit, Pasha will think of me as weak. He sighed in defeat. I just cannot say no to a pretty face.

“Medicine... Medicine! I can help you-- wait there, darling!” He scrambled back up to his feet, rushing past the half-naked woman as he ran back to his camp, trying to find anything useful. Dried up seaweed and some cloth he had found in his pocket that resembled a handkerchief, he ran back into the shoreline, happy to still see the siren still laying there.

“Okay, I’m just going to add pressure, this may hurt.” He brought the dried seaweed as it still had some moisture to look like a paste, bringing up the silver tail that looked heavier than it looked.

He heaved it into his lap, kneeling before her on his knees as he inspected the wound. It wasn’t too deep, but it certainly looked like it would hurt and leave much more of a puncture wound for sharks to come out and find her.

He applied the seaweed to the end of the tail, and again, another drawn-out hiss came from the lips of the siren, the longing arrival for death, yet tortured for it all; sadly looking on as they watched Ilya at work.

Skilful with his work and hands, he was able to wrap the cloth around the wound and seal up the wound with enough seaweed, using some string he wound the bind it all together as he set to marvel at it all.

For the lack of supplies and anything to stitch it up, he thought he did quite the good job.

“There, I’m sorry about... all that. I suppose you got back at me for all that earlier.” Julian apprehensively spoke, running a hand through his drying hair.

The siren watched him, not speaking to him, as if more watchful of the craft of his aid on her. She lifted the end of her tail above the water, looking at the bandage with close inspection and squinted eyes.

Julian nervously observed it all, and before he could utter another word to the creature, the siren had rolled onto their stomach once more, and dragging with their nails back into the water, until they had engulfed themselves’ fully, and disappearing fully below the darkening waters.

Ilya hummed in thought, maybe more in interest as to what he just took part in. “Huh, Pasha will laugh at me for believing I just saved a mermaid.”

#Julian The Arcana #julian devorak the arcana #julian devorak #pirate julian devorak #julian devorak x reader #mermaid au #ilya devorak #The Arcana AU #the arcana #mermaid reader #julian x mc mermaid #reader x julian devorak

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atlas-of-a-human-soul · 4 years

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Fix Me (doctor/soulmate AU) {3}

Summary: When emotions run high, even soulmates fight. But, following his brother’s advice, Ethan finds a way to make up for it by including his soulmate in solving a conspiracy theory leading to events that would surely make them much closer than they first were. Plus, it shows what a dynamic duo they make.

Warnings: angst, fluff, sexual innuendos, swearing

Word count: 7.5k

Fix Me (doctor/soulmate AU) series Masterlist

A/N - heavily inspired by Grey’s anatomy, my own experiences and thoughts, but also by songs: Birdy - Not about angels, Bear’s den - Fortress, Matthew and the atlas - Out of the darkness, Harry Styles - Falling, Kodaline - Wherever you are.

I really hope you guys like it! Feedback is always wanted and appreciated, no matter how small or big it is!

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Induratize – to make one’s own heart hardened or resistant to someone’s pleas or advances, or the idea of love

Pain. That's her first grasp on reality. It's not something she's unused to; just as she's used to the smell of the disinfectant, Y/N knew of pain in all varieties. However, for the first time ever, she had something different in a hospital setting - a hand to hold.

From time to time, Ethan’s eyes drop to the bed sheets, but mostly they are fixed on her ashen face in a soft stare so that whenever she opens her eyes he’d be the first thing she sees. And once he notices her fingers twitch in his hold, he holds his breath in anticipation of her reaction. He feared she might be unhappy with his presence, but he refused to let go, simply closing his eyes to hide his vigilance.

Opening her eyes in a flash, her neck cracked with the sudden movement for she had to see who the hand belonged to. For a moment she thought it might be one of her parents, the painkillers playing with her mind, making her forget. But she knew it couldn't be them. It was impossible unless there was a new drug that raises the dead.

"Grant?" She croaked, her throat scratchy and her voice hoarse, the consequences of her throat closing leaving her with something to remember for a few days. Who knew she'd manage to get a penicillin allergy after her...fiftieth time taking it? She always felt like a magnet for bad luck and that incident didn't dissuade her.

Ethan wasn't really asleep, not after the night he's had. She needed oxygen more than once and her blood pressure kept dropping even with his efforts to keep it up. It felt like she decided to leave him and no matter how badly he fought for her, she was slipping through his fingers like sand.

"Yes?" He murmured, eyes still closed, lips set in a frown as if hearing her call him Grant didn't make his heart jump. He wasn't a morning person and she just realized it. Three nights they've truly known each other, three nights spent together and only on the third did she stay long enough to learn that and the only reason why she stayed is because she was physically incapable of leaving.

"Do I have the fucking plague?" She cracked a smile, struggling to speak but for a reason she couldn't quite understand, Y/N wanted to speak to him, for him, to make him laugh. The frown on his face hurt her more than it should.

She didn't get a smile, but he did open one eye in uncertainty, allowing him to bask in her meek smile. It wasn't much to someone watching from the sidelines, but it meant the world to him. She wanted to cheer him up. She wanted to see him smile. Even with her know it all, sassy, fuck the world mask, Y/N cared for Ethan and he knew that now. Even if that part of her is small, it's a start. Her heart may be hardened to love and soulmates, but he was softening her up. It’s a slow, difficult process, but Ethan is nothing if not dedicated.

"No. Neither of us got the plague, but the man who did have it died." Ethan told her, deciding hiding it from her isn't wise. She'd ask about him anyway.

Clearing her throat, she pulled her hand out of his, wiping it on the sheets as if his touch is unwanted - as if he was the one who initiated the whole thing.

"Great, so when can I get back to work?" She propped herself up on her elbows, willing to get back on her feet. In her ambition to get back in the operating room, Y/N completely missed the dismissive shake of Ethan's head and the way he jumped to his feet to pull her back.

"You're not going anywhere. In fact, you're on leave for the next week." Ethan stated, a little harshly for his taste but she gets his blood boiling way too easily and he always falls for it. She's a beautiful woman, but it's not her beauty that drives him insane.

"What do you mean? I'm an intern! Interns don't take sick days!" She insisted, sitting right back up, the stress his words caused raised her cortisol and adrenaline levels up in an instant. In all his years, he had never met a woman as stubborn as she is. For Ethan, Y/N was either wildly naive or dangerously intelligent and it is the kindness of her heart and the sharpness of her mind that enriched her soul and drew his close.

"Well, they do when their boss says so and I'm saying so. I've talked to the chief and he agrees. So, you better not show up here before next week and when you do come back, you will be doing scut for a week." Eyebrows knit together, eyes hard, Ethan seemed like an unrelenting force she couldn't fight. Not now when sitting up made her woozy and she knew he was right.

Not that's she'd tell him that.

Ever.

"Why scut?! As if being home isn't punishment enough? What am I being punished for? Huh?" Lowering her voice, Y/N felt her heart skip as the thoughts formed in her head and her mouth was quick to follow. Sometimes she acted on impulse and it wasn't always for the better.

"For leaving the morning after? Because I'm not your hookup, Grant, I am your intern. You don't get to tear into me just because I fucked you once." Swallowing thickly as she stared at his impassive face, she knew she went too far and it wasn't the time nor place and far from the way she wanted to address that night. She was just angry, trying to get some control over the situation she had no way of controlling and it absolutely drove her mad. Perhaps she wanted to get a rise out of him too. So she fucked up. She could tell just by the way his shoulders tensed and his jaw clenched and the warm flames in his eyes were extinguished.

"You have your orders. I have nothing else to say to you." Ethan turned on his heel and before she had a chance to stop him, to apologize, to thank him for saving her life, Ethan was already gone and she was left with regret and guilt.

Too used to pushing people away to protect herself, Y/N now spent her time hating herself for being so quick to speak her mind. Maybe if she was softer, playing dumb like men expect girls to, Ethan would have let her come back to work. But no, she couldn't hold her tongue and she could never play dumb to get anyone's approval. She'd hate herself more if she did.

However, she could always annoy him for progress. What more could he do? He already put her in the corner for doing everything right and then he gave her the worst job for a week to keep punishing her! At least she could get some justice by getting on his nerves, texting him random facts about animals, sending him memes on mean bosses and even voicemails where she talks herself to death about how she was right and he wasn't. All she got was Seen and a daily delivery of chicken soup with bagels and a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice. The Get Better basket never had a note, but she knew it was his doing. Ethan cared, even if it’s a little and she couldn’t hide the smile that appeared on her lips every morning she received his thoughtful gift.

But Ethan was worse off than her. After finally having her back in his life, he managed to make himself the enemy. And he knew what he was doing was for her own good so she wouldn't make the same mistakes again, so she could use the week off to get back on her feet because going into anaphylactic shock isn't a walk in the park like she pretended to be. If he didn't bench her she would have put her health at risk and he couldn't let her do it.

Eunoia – beautiful thinking, a well mind

"You sent her home?" Grayson whisper shouted, swiftly pulling Ethan into the on-call room.

"She almost died! What am I supposed to do? Put a scalpel in her hand and let her cut someone open when she's barely standing on her own two feet?!" Ethan wasn't quite as quiet as his brother, his emotions on the verge of spilling out like a river once the dam breaks. Ethan always went through the extremes – he either loved too much or didn’t care at all, the same could apply to his temper.

"No, but you could have let her do paperwork? To observe? To watch your department for you?" Grayson listed which made Ethan's eyes widen, realizing he might have been harder on her than he thought. She’s too good at pushing his buttons, he knew it, but this good? For him to think so irrationally he couldn’t understand his own choices or see beyond his emotions? Never did he realize her influence went so deep.

"Just look at it this way: if you got sent home for a week in your intern year, you'd hate the attendee who did it. And she's more than just an intern and you need to be more careful if you want her to see you as more than just her boss. You're acting like a soulmate not a professional." Grayson explained and his clarification had stumped Ethan. He really needs to think before he acts but she makes all rational thought go out the window.

"But I also gave her a week of scut." Ethan sucked in a deep breath, shaking his head. He couldn't take it back just like that because she'd see him as easily manipulated and he couldn't allow that to spread among the other interns. He had to be a little harder than he should if she wanted to know that everything she got was due to her hard work and not because she slept with him or because she is his soulmate.

"You're in big trouble. But I do recommend you to find a way to work with her on something. It doesn't have to be a surgery and it doesn't have to be in this hospital. Find something to connect over."

Thinking how his brother is now the one who has his shit together made Ethan smile but it also made him worry. Isn't Grayson the one who does things impulsively and fucks things up? Seems like that's no longer the case but at least the advice he gave Ethan was enough for him to get an idea.

It took him a couple of days but when inspiration struck, Ethan was so excited for the implementation of his plan for more than one reason – it was for the greater good and he’d get to see her again. Any excuse to do that was more than exhilarating.

He didn't wait after his shift was done, driving to her apartment with the sole intention of convincing her of a theory many would think was insane but he was sure it was a conspiracy she could help him with.

Knocking on her door, he exhaled loudly, shaking his hands vigorously to get the nerves out. It took everything in him to stop himself from running because his heart beating so loudly was driving him insane and quite literally making him panic.

When the door finally cracked open, Y/N peeking through, Ethan felt his heart calm down and his lips pressed together.

After the way she attacked him the last time they saw each other, Ethan didn't expect her to smile at him nor let him in so easily, however, she opened the door widely and gestured for him to come inside.

He was still angry about how she spoke to him, the crudeness of her words making his blood boil but he also missed her in the past five days she had been away and he desperately needed to see her.

"What can I do for you, boss?" She leaned against a wall, looking at him intently with a small smirk upon her lips. It fell odd having him in her private life, as if he was slowly infiltrating every part of her life, making it impossible for her to ignore how badly she wanted to rip his clothes off and ride him until they're both sweaty and tired with loopy, lazy smiles as they hold each other close even after they finish.

Blushing with her thoughts, Y/N cleared her throat as it seemed Ethan wasn't listening to her before and was too busy looking around. He wanted to see her life, the part of her he'd never know if she was just an intern.

He loves the flowery light scent of the room, even more so the colorful yellow walls and green couch. He loved the art hanging on the walls and the way her carpets were all flower themed. Her entire apartment, or at least what he saw so far, had a spring theme and Ethan felt at ease.

"I'm assuming you're here for a reason, not for decorating ideas?" She cocked an eyebrow, speaking louder this time around and it certainly got his attention even if him turning around had made her breath halt in her throat. It enraged her just how attractive he is.

'Why does he have to be so fucking sexy? Like, he’s just kinking his eyebrow and not even in the obvious, over the top way he usually does! He does it so casually, so unaware that it only makes it sexier and damn it, Ethan Grant Dolan, you are ruining men for me!'

But she doesn't say any of her thoughts out loud, only swallows thickly, reminding herself of the reasons why he's not right for her.

"I have a theory and I need your help to confirm it." Swiping his thumb under his bottom lip, Ethan stepped closer. "I had a patient a while ago with breast cancer and her heart was failing due to chemo. After two doses. So, I did some tests and found there were no signs of breast cancer." Ethan waited for her to realize where he's going with this, wanting to see how quick she is on her feet and not even a second later she stood up, no longer casually leaning on the wall.

"So they're giving chemo to earn more money to patients who don't need it? They're purposefully giving people fake cancer diagnosis? How are their stats?" She spoke quickly, passionately as if she was angry, wanting to start a war. And he liked it - the way she thinks, the way her mind works and how it perfectly matched him. What he lacked, she compensated for and what she lacked, he was more than capable to cover for her. They were, despite all odds, a very dynamic duo and Ethan would soon find out just how well they work together.

"They have a ninety percent success rate for breast cancer patients." Ethan noted and he knew she was on board by the way her fists clenched and her eyes hardened. It felt like she was fire and he would have to contain it - contain her, although he’d love to set her loose on the world and see just how extensive the ruin would be.

"Well, I assume you want me to go with you and act like I found a lump so they can misdiagnose me and order me to be on chemo? To see how it works before we burn them to the ground?" She crossed her arms, raising both eyebrows in expectation and even if he wanted to, Ethan would follow her - to the ends of the Earth if necessary.

Forelsket – the euphoria you experience when you’re first falling in love

"Welcome to Smooth Cat." Ethan exclaimed as the passenger door closed and she joined him inside. She didn't quite linger on the car, barely sparing it a glance at first and he knew right away no amount of expensive shiny things will win her over. She wanted something deeper than his pockets.

"You named your car Smooth cat?" She deadpanned, her determination for this case wavering as the amusement showed in her eyes. For once, Ethan managed to make her break the cold surface with just words. Although he didn't think it was as ridiculous as her tone made it out to be.

"Don't hate the kitty when it purrs so nicely and runs so smoothly." Ethan responds, his head high and his lips pursed and so dramatically that Y/N had to crack a smile. For a moment, she mistook him for a humorous person, one that she could imagine herself laughing beside her whole damn life and that thought alone made her heart erratic and her mind chaotic.

"So, you plan on letting me come back to work a bit earlier?" She questions, figuring it's worth a shot especially when they have nothing better to talk about and the awkward silence would drive her insane otherwise. She needed the distraction and he posed as the perfect one. Just as he did that first night.

"No. Not after you went into anaphylaxis and I nearly lost you." Attempting to keep his voice calm and his head leveled, Ethan felt like his heart couldn't follow that instruction. It was more than obvious he couldn't just go back on his word. A leader is consistent and in that hospital he is meant to be a leader, not her soulmate. But his words also showed her his feelings run deeper than he shows.

"Can you honestly tell me that this is how you'd treat the others? I'm not trying to start anything but would anyone else have to do scut? Or is this about our history?" Gnawing on her bottom lip, her tongue dancing along the inside of her teeth as she waited for him to respond. She noticed his eyes turning to the screen of his car instead of the road ahead, tapping something before he turned to her entirely, his hands off the wheel and it made her eyes widen. "And can you please not get us killed?!"

"It's a Tesla. Drives itself." Ethan spoke as if that meant anything to her, as if her anxiety didn't spike at the notion of a car driving her to safety on it's own. She didn't believe that would be a safe way of traveling at all, not that Ethan seemed any better.

"And you're right. I wouldn't treat any other intern like this. In fact, if it were any other intern talking back like you did? They would be suspended." And his eyes didn't waver, looking deep into her own without blinking. Ethan meant what he said with every atom of his being and she knew it too. She knew now that she was right; he did treat her differently, she just didn't know it was for the better.

"I was angry." She quipped, swallowing her pride she saw fit to apologize even if it went against everything she wanted to do. "I'm sorry for being an ass to you...in fact, I wanted to thank you for saving my life that night."

Ethan nods, tongue swiping his bottom lip as he opens his mouth to speak. "Which night? The first one felt like I was quite heroic too." Winking, he couldn't help but notice the way she plays with her fingers, fidgeting nervously, affected by the same memories that haunt him.

"It certainly wasn't heroic but it wasn't...anything less than enjoyable either." She remarked, raising an eyebrow at his statement as if she is unbothered when in fact she is very, very bothered and horny and he could probably tell by her shy smile, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction just yet. Not until she knows where his soulmate is. Whoever it is, she needed to know if that person was in his life, to what extent and if he would be able to ignore that she has a soulmate too, wherever they may be...In a way she wondered if he was the one, but life would never serve her such luck. She's used to not getting favorable things...or men in this particular case.

"Oh, I think otherwise. I even have a certain pair of torn up lace panties and a bra to remember it by." Ethan raised his brow just the same, teasing her relentlessly, genuinely curious how red can her cheeks get. Because as much as he tried to, he couldn't forget the moans he evoked or the way her head would fall back with every dance his fingers played on her. She was and still is the muse for every dream, every fantasy and every lonely night he had to take care of himself.

"I -", Ethan leaned in, ready to hear what she has to say, thinking this might be the right time to tell her he's her forever, but Smooth Cat decided cock-blocking is acceptable and announced their arrival.

Clearing her throat, Y/N broke the eye contact, feeling the intensity of his earthly hues deep inside her heart - eyes that hooked her soul to attention only he could provide. "We should probably get in."

With a nod, Ethan opened the door and she followed his example, walking inside without turning back to look at him, determined to do this right. But for that, she had to swallow her pride once more and play the role.

Just as they enter the main hall, Y/N wrapped her arm around Ethan and his heart almost stopped with the sudden contact. She pulled him closer, glancing up at his poorly hidden shock and smiled meekly but her eyes were anything but - her eyes were hard and they were warning him to play along.

"Hi. Could you help us?" The way she asked felt so...polite? So sweet and innocent, too naively put for Ethan to ever buy the act but the sap on the other side seemed fooled.

"Of course, what can I do for you?" The guy smiles nicely, straightening his back ever so slightly to seem more confident.

"My name is Bailey Nolan and this is Grant Nolan, my husband. I, uh..I was doing a little checkup during shower and I think I felt a lump. In my breast." Shifting her voice to a smaller, fragile tone had surprised Ethan because for a moment he actually believed her too. She is all too convincing. Especially on the husband part and he can’t help but tense up when she calls him that, nor can he stop his heart from pounding uncontrollably with the notion. He imagined her calling him her soulmate and husband so many times since they first met, but to hear it felt divine. It felt better than he thought it would and he just wished she could have said it while gazing in his eyes, his arms around her as he holds her close.

Leaning in closer to the receptionist, Y/N glances left before she whispered softly: "I'm scared it might be cancer."

It didn't take long for the two to be accompanied to an examination room. With instructions to prepare for the exam, Ethan and Y/N found themselves alone for a little while.

"Expecting a free show?" Y/N narrowed her eyes at Ethan, her hands clinging to the gown left for her to change into so the examination would go quicker. She was more than willing to lose her clothes that night they met, but that was under the cloak of night and this? Being in a well-lit room with nothing to draw his attention from her body? It didn't make her as happy to strip down and flash her boobs.

"It's not like I haven't seen them before, ya know? I know exactly how they look." Ethan's cocky voice had caught her off guard just as the little step forward he made toward her. With a raised eyebrow and a vain smile Ethan tilts his head and Y/N wanted nothing more but to wipe that smirk off his face. But she couldn't. Not when his words are facts, not fiction and especially not when her body ached for his weight on top of hers.

"I kissed every inch, even the little mole nested right between -", stopping him before he finished his thought, Y/N wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes set aflame as she felt her face burning, her voice low and cold as she spoke. "I get it, but I'm asking you to stop. To not look at me now and not look at me during the ultrasound and please, for the love of God, bring me my bra back." She spoke fast and with uncertainty, mostly because she was more than lost in this new situation where she managed to not just stumble upon a one night stand but to work for him and the power balance is way off and she can’t help but feel very threatened by that.

Did she love how powerful and ambitious Ethan is? Absolutely. Did she enjoy him bossing her around? Not a chance. And she is right, the power balance in their relationship is way off, but not in the way she thinks.

She was completely unaware how whipped Ethan is for her and the way she leans a little closer to him when they talk but she doesn't do the same with anyone else. And he's absolutely crazy about the way she ties her hair in a braid so quickly while she's in the hospital, or how she seems to have fire in her soul, making her a force of nature. And yeah, she is making it hard for him not to move in and kiss her every chance he gets, but he needs to do this right. Her views on soulmates don't seem to match his and he wanted her to love him for who he is and what they've experienced together, not just a bond made by a single look as a gift from destiny. And while she changed behind the curtain, Ethan wanted her to know that too.

"I won't look. I wasn't going to. Just teasing you, darling. But the bra is mine to keep."

Necrophobia – fear of death and associated things

Before she gets a chance to retaliate, the doctor entered the room, introducing himself as Y/N laid on the table, her eyes glancing to Ethan who focused on the doctor instead of her breast as the man began a palpable examination first.

"I don't feel the lump, but I'd like to do an ultrasound too, just to be sure." Raising both eyebrows, Y/N wondered if the man had been wrongly accused by Ethan, making brief eye contact with Ethan who forgot himself and his promise for a moment in his own surprise.

"Oh." But then the doctor stopped, looking closer at the screen with his eyebrows furrowed and eyes narrowed and Y/N lifts her head.

"Oh? What do you mean by oh?" She demanded, Ethan leaning toward the screen to see better himself but even he wasn't the best in reading breast ultrasounds, that was more Grayson's specialty.

"I'm sorry to say, but I believe your worries were right."

Ringing in her ears, Y/N felt like someone hit her over the head with a rock, her mind stopping as her eyes moved to the screen the man turned for them to see.

"This", the doctor pointed at the screen and Ethan leaned in closer, his heart beating out his chest as his hand blindly searched for Y/N's to hold, wanting to give her comfort as well as seek some reassurance for himself.

"This is a solid mass and while we will need to do more tests when you're ready, my experience taught me this is often a malignancy. It's where most cancers show statistically, but you're young and I feel we caught it in time. We can set up an appointment for confirmation and more imaging, but I'm confident we will win this."

And the doctor spoke, explaining things Y/N could barely hear, feeling like she's under the water, dragged back into hell she barely escaped.

Not even realizing it, she found herself back in Ethan's Smooth Cat, her hand held tightly - no longer gingerly touched, but strongly feeling Ethan's presence. She was so thankful for that. So, so thankful.

With a growing lump inside her throat, Y/N couldn't speak, panic spreading through her as she felt Ethan's other hand touch her cheek, his thumb on her chin, tilting her head toward him.

"I called Grayson and he will meet us in an examination room at the breast unit as soon as we arrive. Remember we can't take anything he says as factual before we check. Okay? You're okay, darling. It's going to be okay." And while he tried to put up a brave front, she felt the tremors in his hands and she heard him swallow tears.

Nodding, she let out a heavy sigh of relief, his words reminding her why they were at the clinic and although she saw the lump on her ultrasound clearly, she prayed she wasn't that unlucky to get cancer. Again.

Rushing to the breast unit, Grayson is already at the door, waving the two inside. Upon entering, Ethan is basically helping Y/N rip her shirt and bra off, her breasts no longer off limits as both of them are out of their minds with worry.

"Wow, Ethan, stay the fuck outside!" Grayson shouted, throwing a sheet over an exposed Y/N, horrified by his brother and his disregard for her comfort and needs.

"We're way past that!" Ethan and Y/N scream in unison as she tosses the sheet off. Breathing uneven, her cheat rising with every shallow breath she takes, Y/N turned to Ethan who was ready to scream but stayed a few feet away. But then she outstretched her arm, her hand open with the palm turned up, her fingers wiggling to invite him closer.

Slightly reluctant, Ethan took her hand in his, fingers intertwining as he rests his elbows on the gurney, his eyes looking into hers only to find fear and unshed tears that disarmed him faster than he believed possible. It's not a secret she's been ruling his heart and mind since they met...since before that, but he never realized how willing he'd be to fall victim to her, to be her captive, to stand in the eye of the storm and admire it even when it threatens to destroy him.

Two hearts beating as one, their eyes speaking volumes about what they can't say just yet, it felt like the world faded and no one but them remained.

But the magic had been broken once Y/N felt the coldness of the gel on her breast, her hand tightened around his and her eyes closed shut. She couldn't handle seeing it again: her dreams all die and her journey to return to start - alone again, rotting in a clinic with nothing to hope for. She found medicine the first time, her graduation and desire to travel the world the second time, but third time? What will she have to look forward to? Eminent death and impending doom of finding a soulmate she never even knew about? Or Ethan?

But he has his soulmate, she reminds herself. He probably has someone waiting for him to come home, a beautiful woman, maybe a couple of kids? Who knows? He wouldn't be her saving grace this time around.

"Good news. The guy's a fraud. This ultrasound is clear. There's nothing malignant here." Grayson's smile is quick to spread, to lighten the somber atmosphere and while he probably should have stopped there, it wouldn't really be Grayson if he did, especially when Ethan and Y/N remained silent, processing the news a bit too long for Grayson's liking.

"Yeah, in fact, this is beautiful breast. It's truly phenomenal, like exquisite -", and that's when Ethan and Y/N finally tuned in, the looks on their faces saying just how far he went. Ethan covered her breasts so fast, pulling his body halfway over hers to protect her from view, his glare burning holes into his brother who raised his arms in mock surrender, defending his honor and quite frankly his life.

"I was just going to say it's like a perfect anatomy, nothing sexual."

"Bro, just go. Leave while you're still ahead." Ethan practically growled through gritted teeth and Grayson didn't plan on sticking around for those teeth to grab a hold of his throat. Because Ethan reminded him of a lion, king of the jungle and he looked ready to kill to protect his lioness.

Selenophile – a person who loves the moon

Scratching the back of his head, Ethan stepped away, releasing her hand reluctantly with a sigh. He wanted to keep this moment going, to have her so close and while he hated himself for it, he liked being needed that day. Every look she gave him, every touch no matter how small, it made him feel wanted like never before and for the first time in forever he just wanted to stay in the moment with her.

"Are you okay?" Ethan's voice is rough, his throat scratchy and his heart slowly calming down. Clearing his throat, he averted his gaze, allowing her to sit up and get dressed without having her yell at him for peeping.

"I...I guess. What are we going to do about this guy?" She changed the topic deliberately, scared she might say too much because this fright had brought her back to all those times she was stuck in the hospital, alone and terrified of what might become of her. It reminded her of the friends she saw die and of the days she thought she would too.

"Grayson? He didn't mean anything by that, he just word vomits whenever he's nervous and it got fairly awkward really fast." Ethan chuckled, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth, dragging them across the soft flesh before releasing it a shade darker.

"No. Not Grayson. I mean that quack of a doctor who told me I have cancer!" She raised her voice inadvertently, hoping Ethan wouldn't notice the raw emotion behind it nor the loss of common sense that washed over her.

"I have a solid amount of paperwork proving his scams. I just wanted to know for sure today. Grayson is already dealing with it. As you can tell, my brother is a boobie lover and he won't let this man get away for all the boob owners that were tricked into this." Ethan watched her back move with her shallow breaths, her inability to turn around and look him in the eye raising his anxiety levels with each passing second.

"You don't fuck with people like that. You just don't." She mutters quietly, her voice just above a whisper and Ethan can feel his heart break and he doesn't even know why.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Y/N stood up, meek and shaken and so clearly in need of distance because if she stays even just for a minute, Ethan will know one of the worst things she had to endure and she couldn't do that. She couldn't let him in. Not when he can't stay. So she did what she does best. She bolted out the room, ignoring Ethan's pleas for her to stop and talk to him.

She went to where she was the first time she met Ethan. She went to where her life was supposed to start and it did...In a way, that day was the best day of her life - she was free of the curse her body was under and she met Ethan.

So yes, she ended up in the Oncology ward, gowning up before entering the room where comatose patients struggled to survive. As weird as it is, it had always been her favorite and least favorite place to hide from the world, a place she could find peace and serenity but also reconcile her life might end in one of those rooms as well, so she always sat there and just reminded herself to breathe as long as she could, as fiercely as she could.

She sat by one of the patients, looking sadly down at their broken, beaten bodies and how it betrayed them in the worst possible way. As usual, most patients are older or have their grey hair as proof they found their soulmate, but then again, she saw two kids there too.

She was once a kid on these ventilators too. Her friends were on them too. Not all of them made it out.

Comas aren't romantic at all like in the movies, she knew it better than anyone. The person in that bed isn't flawlessly combed nor do they have make up to cover their flaws. They aren't comfortable nor is their spirit waiting by the bed as their loved ones come and go, confessing how much they love the unlucky bastard for years to come. No...coma is what takes the basic human pride and decency. It strips you of all that makes you human. Some survive and recover, going home with amnesia for the time they spent in their state, some don't survive it at all...but there is a third option for those who survive, but they aren't exactly alive. For them, coma means tubes being stuck into their nose for feeding, into their mouth for breathing, into their urethra for peeing and a diaper for shitting. It means eyes covered with gauze to help keep their eyes moist, their throat cut open to move the breathing tube if that state continues; wires, needles, medical students practicing on them because they aren't supposed to feel the pain. It means pressure ulcers that turn into huge gaping wounds because the nurses are understaffed, overworked and underpaid and can't possibly move every patient in time to prevent complications. And the worst part is that the longer they are comatose, less people come to see them. They're alone, abandoned in a room without any chance of recovery, robbed of their right of moving on, truly being liberated. They would welcome death doctors are forced to keep away.

And she had witnessed it happen far too often. She had seen many comatose patients in her time during her stays in the hospital because of her cancer. Some of them she'd visit at night because she felt bad for them, others were her cancer buddies who were losing the battle. Either way, there wasn't anything to romanticize. Coma isn't a pretty state, it's her worst nightmare.

"You're not okay."

Startled, Y/N looks back at the door, aware who it is before she sees the person the voice belongs to. And there he is, the man she wants to know more than anything but can't allow herself to care. If they were meant to be, if he is her soulmate, he'd tell her by now. Right?

"You're always running after me." She smiles weakly, the sadness in her eyes tearing into Ethan who, even now, saw her as the most beautiful creature to walk the Earth. In his hundred plus years, Ethan never saw a human as flawlessly beautiful as her.

"Someone's got to." With a slight shrug, Ethan sat on a chair beside her, his eyes fixed on her with a softness behind his hazel hues she rarely saw in anyone. He cares. She could see that now and no amount of fear that evoked would make her walk away. She wanted to stay. She wanted him to look at her as softly as he does now for the rest of her life.

Y/N no longer cared about whoever her soulmate is because she couldn't imagine caring about someone as much as she does for Grant, not ever.

"When I was nine I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer with metastasis in surrounding lymph nodes. After surgery and chemotherapy they said I'd be fine. They said it would be like nothing ever happened. But it wasn't fine." Swallowing a growing lump in her throat, Y/N glanced at Ethan who looked distressed by her story, like his heart had fallen through the cracks and shattered on the ground. But it was too late and she could tell he was staring at her throat for signs of surgical scarring and she felt self-conscious just like she did when they first cut her open.

"I learned to hide the scar with either scarfs or make up. And I thought I could move on and be happy but I was fifteen when I was rushed into the emergency room because I collapsed in school. Turns out the metastasis were in my lungs and while they were unsure if it was truly related to the first cancer diagnosis or if it was a new sort, one thing was sure...I needed more chemotherapy...more pain, more hospitals, more lonely days and nights and I had no one. My parents were always too involved with each other and their jobs than me. I was alone. And scared. Studying medicine saved me." She sighed, looking over the patients.

"The chemotherapy ruined my bone marrow, a little something I found out in my last year of med school after which I had to wait almost a year while I got a transplant and my immune system normalized. It was the only good thing my dad ever did for me." She shrugged, daring to look back at Ethan who looked so frustrated with what she went through, horrified by the thought of her being alone all those years when the worst has happened to her. And he hated he wasn't there for her.

"The night we met? At the bar? I was here for a final checkup because my doctor moved. I got the all clear and I was depressed I had no one to celebrate the official news of my remission and my life getting back on track." She admitted sheepishly.

"But as great as it was, we can't go back to that. You are my boss and I'm your intern and while it's going to be hard, we have to let it go. So, can I please just get back to work?"

Shaking his head, Ethan chuckled in disbelief.

"You're with Grayson next week and every free moment you have you will deal with my paperwork. That's all I can give you. But you can't seriously expect me to forget that night. Or any of it since." His demeanor changed and the softest he had about him had disappeared.

"I appreciate you telling me all this and I wish I could have been there for you, I do! But I am here now and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I care for you. But you drive me so mad sometimes." Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ethan tried to calm down and actually be supportive because it was hard for her to open up to him like she did and he wanted to be understanding but every move forward ends up being two steps back with her and Ethan was stressed and tired and he needed her to realize she was stuck with him.

“You’re like a book! A big, strange book I barely understand.” He was slowly losing patience, she could tell. And a part of her hoped he’d let her go and give up. A part of her prayed for it to happen. But another part, one hidden deep inside, that part wanted Ethan more than the oxygen she needed to breathe. He was her oxygen, the air her soul needed. And he wasn't letting up, despite it all.

“Learn me slowly then. Please? Just be patient with my pages.”

And in that moment, they shared a silent agreement. In her darkness, he saw her light shine through. He is a selenophile and she his moon.

In that moment, Ethan saw fit to lean closer, his eyes glancing at her supple lips before focusing on her eyes again. He wanted to make sure she wanted it to happen as much as he did, even if it was completely inappropriate from the place it was happening down to their work relationship. It was all kinds of wrong, yet it felt right. It felt so, so right.

She didn't move away, she didn't make a sound. All she did was close her eyes and part her lips and in that fraction of a second, she allowed herself to get lost in the beauty of a lover's touch for when Ethan's lips brushed hers, nothing mattered anymore.

Just before letting go and surrendering himself to this gentle surprise, Ethan looked at his soulmate with a new hope in mind and a promise he would never let her demons drown her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tags: @beinscorpio @peacedolantwins @heyits-claire @dolandolll @godlydolans @dolanstwintuesday @ethanhes @iwastornsincethestart @graydolan12 @fxkthatdairy @zeusgrayson @libradolan @justordinaryjen @pineappledolan @graysavant @voguekristens @imayoutubere @livexdolan @shadowsndaisies @maybgrayson

#ethan dolan #grayson dolan #dolan twins #ethan dolan x reader #ethan dolan soulmate au #ethan dolan series #ethan dolan doctor soulmate au #ethan dolan doctor au #ethan dolan fluff #ethan dolan fanfiction #ethan dolan fic #ethan dolan fanfic #ethan dolan angst #ethan dolan au #ethan dolan x you

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the-other-totally-normal-account · 3 years

Text

Lobotomyhammer 40k: The Most Dangerous Enemies The Average “Clerk” Will Face

> OPEN FILE; ARTICLE 378-B OF THE CLERK REGIMENTAL STANDARD?

> [YES] [NO]

...

... ...

Greetings, Clerk Omega-45978888402. Today, you will learn about two of the most common, and most dangerous foes you will face against. But do not fret or fear, Carmen Protects.

Here, we do not believe in sugar coating or downplaying threats, as that is likely to waste important resources, such as you.

SWEEPERS

They are named due to their tendency to "sweep" entire planets of all life; And to level with you, entire Regiments of Fixers and Clerks (Clerks just like you, mind you) have been reported to vanish without a trace besides a few distressed radio transmissions. They are often one of the most threatening entities one can encounter in the cold vastness of space, next to only Aleph class (and above, though those are rare) Abnormalities.

Their strength is that of their numbers, which is Legion. They are one of the more numerous threats you will have to face, though, thankfully, they do not often attack. When they do, however, it is devastating.

It is unknown exactly what they are, but they appear to be composed of a techno-organic shell, containing liquefied biomass inside. They need to regularly replenish this disgusting material in order to continue living; Like how we eat to survive, yet more dire.

Sometimes, citizens among those areas they "sweep" are reported by survivors as not having been liquefied for consumption. It is unknown where they are taken or what exactly happens to them, but theories and rumors are in abundance. It is best not to dwell on their fates, quite frankly.

Next up are the agents of the Great Enemy, Abnormalities.

ABNORMALITIES

Abnormalities are, as you have likely been informed during training, abominations that often must be purged from existence at all cost. One of the main threats they pose is that they have the tendency to corrupt those that encounter them, if they don't outright kill, so cleansing and oftentimes the "firing" of Clerks that encounter them often take place post conflicts.

Thankfully, "firing" is rarely done unless one is corrupted beyond repair, which often does not happen with the more common abnormalities, so you may rest easy after most engagements with Abnormalities.You will find a list below, however, of more dangerous Abnormalities, dangerous enough to have been cataloged by survivors and submitted to our archives. Some accounts may be obscured by personal hatred of the abnormalities mentioned on account of the experiences the aforementioned survivors had with them. Also, unlike other enemies you may encounter, they are far more diverse and varied than most. Thusly, it’s best to approach them if encountered as a unique entity instead of a greater part of a whole, despite that being exactly what they are.

ARCHIVED INFORMATION ON NOTABLE ABNORMALITIES

[The Blue Shepherd and his Infernal Hound. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: Especially cruel. Do not be taken alive if encountered. Recite prayer number 987 if encountered. It helped.)

[The Great Devourer. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: Remember that battlefields don’t have pretty glowing flowers sticking out of the ground. That’s this thing about to devour you if you’re tricked by it.)

[Infectious, Burning Love. Threat Level: Aleph] (Note by Veteran Clerk Alpha-118: That [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] turned half of my entire Regiment into mounds of bone and melted flesh. They were still moving and vocalizing and shrieking. If encountered, apply bullet to your skull.)

[The Greedy King. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: Stay behind It at all times. It's one of the dumber ones I've encountered.)

[The Ashen Child. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: If you're marked, you'll immediately be able to tell. You'll smell burning wood, and sometimes flesh. For the good of your comrades, die before it reaches you, or tactically retreat.) [Eurydice. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: Do not interact. Under any circumstance do not interact. Do not listen. Do not look. Walk away slowly. Don't look.) [The Mechanical War Machine. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: It's an oddly common one to encounter, and for that reason, a lot of information has been compiled on it by various regiments, but one of the most important parts is, perhaps, its origin. First appearance was during the Heresy, during a raid on a Sector that allied with The Sons of The Well. Unlike most Abnormalities, it seems like this one was made. It's unknown how this is even possible. It also seems to collect hearts. It's best to keep your distance from it and call in artillery support. Just don't let anyone die due to it, or, well, you don't want to see what happens. Also, it has a massive axe with a pretty decent reach on it. Don't get within range, though that goes without saying.) [The Brainless Scarecrow. Threat Level: HE] (Note: Tricky, vile [EXPLETIVE OMITTED]. If you're above the minimum education- why are you even a Clerk in that case- needed for getting a job at a Conglomerate Factory, keep your distance and set up a firing line. If you have a flamer, even better. It's a bit of a weakling if you've got enough manpower. On your own, pray for your life and run.) [The Living(?) Apple Threat Level: WAW] (Note: Burn it before the vines get you. I doubt you've ever seen a man be impaled [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] to mouth by a vine before but you're going to if you encounter this thing. Only thing you can do is prevent as many needless deaths as you can, really. Good luck.] [The Beautiful Beast. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: Do not interact. Do not under any [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] circumstance even remotely think about attacking this thing. You really, really don't want to know what happens to the person who manages to kill it in a futile attempt to send it back to where it came from) [The Patchwork Abomination. Threat Level: HE] (Note: PULSATING EYES. EMPTY. STITCHES. DEATH OF INNOCENCE. WRITHING ORGANS.) [Alriune The Crumbling. Threat Level: WAW] (Note by Veteran Clerk Alpha-118: Destroy it as fast as possible, before it relocates and causes an entire squad or something to lose their minds violently. Also, tip, if you notice those floating petals, take the thing out before there's a large amount of them. It's an odd sort of timer, I've found.) [The Queen Bee and Her Hive. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: Do not inhale the spores. If your regiment has helmets that use filters, consider yourself one of the luckiest people alive- hopefully, at least. If you don't have helmets like that, you probably have melta charges. If you inhale the spores, I hope you know how to use one and are willing to give your life to Her and Her corporation.) [The Shard of The Galaxy. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: Plug your ears with something. Anything. If you don't have anything to do that with, consider deafening yourself. You can always get implants later.) [The Jittering Doll. Threat Level: HE] (Note: If she tries to give you a present, punt that little [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] across the battlefield. It's fairly stupid and mindless so you can probably pick it up and use it as a meatshield or sandbag if the need be. It has the annoying tendency to survive a ridiculous amount of punishment, though.] [The Butterfly's Burial. Threat Level: HE] (Note: Utilizes ranged attacks heavily. Engage in glorious melee combat from behind or pelt with grenades. Either way tends to work) [The Black Swan's Nightmare. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: Take great care when it comes to the lookalikes. If you do something they don't like or harm them, be prepared for a difficult fight with a massive mutated bird-like abomination and brace for casualties. To be honest, I'm not even sure what a swan is but if that's even remotely similar to what one looks like, I don't want to know.) [The Sleeping Carcharodon. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: Back off and don't provoke it. You do not want to be ran through by a drug addled... fish thing(?) going at ridiculous speeds, I'm sure. I've seen all of my squadmates die from that, and only managed to survive because I was taking a piss in the corner in the shell of a bombed out building.) [The Burrowing Tree. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: If you have servitors, order them to watch it. If you don't, I highly advise you to either end yourself before it gets an opportunity to turn you into a really messed up Carmenmas tree, or if you're confident enough try your luck and keep eye contact.) [The Mountain of Wailing Corpses. Threat Level: Aleph] (Note by Veteran Clerk Alpha-118: I sincerely feel bad for you if you have the misfortune to encounter this abomination. Melta and Flamer weaponry do wonders against it, but not all regiments have that kind of equipment. If you do, start burning corpses once it's spotted. Good luck.) [The Observer. Threat Level: HE] (Note: Look away if you don't enjoy being split in two by massive buzzsaws. Also, Abnormalities apparently are manifestations of human concepts, feelings, stories, traumas, and things we experience; But for the life of me I can't figure out what this thing even is supposed to be. It's just... awful. Anyway, call an artillery strike on the thing before it's too late if you encounter it.) [The Dimensional Refraction. Threat Level: WAW] (Note: [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] [EXPLETIVE OMITTED]. This thing, this [EXPLETIVE OMITTED] thing. Newly emerged Abnormality, I'm a survivor of perhaps the first encounter with it. Almost the entirety of my regiment was wiped out by this abomination. 1,000 lights snuffed out in a blink, suffocated and pulled apart violently. We couldn't fight it. We couldn't see it. By sheer chance it was discovered that it could be viewed with Thermal and even then we couldn't deal meaningful damage to it. The vessel we were on was blown to bits as a handful of us managed to escape. Carmen protect you all.) [The Event Horizon. Threat Level: Aleph] (Note: I've seen the end of all things, the ultimate, finality of everything that ever was and will ever be. And it was heart shaped. I'm probably going to be "fired" shortly. Remember that there's no hope if you see the Blue Star.] [The Shy One. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: This one is very finicky. Best to leave it alone. It's harmless unless you catch it in a bad mood or take a peak behind the curtain.) [The Dreaming Void. Threat Level: Teth] (Note: I hope you have Recaff on hand and enough people who are insomniacs to wake everyone else when this thing shows up. If you don't, chances are you're going to fall asleep and never wake up. Also, don't attack it, even if people are dying due to it. It will raise your chances of death from "possible" to "completely screwed".) [CENSORED] (NOTE: CENSORED FOR YOUR SAFETY) [He's Not There. Threat Level: Aleph] (Note: Don't trust anyone around you if there's even the slightest chance this thing's around. It's gotten really good at acting since it was first encountered ages ago. You will die painfully, horribly, and you will be used as a skin suit by this abomination. And, if one of your squadmates suddenly says that they love you, put them down without hesitation. Whether it was genuine, or whether it was this thing wearing them, it doesn't matter; You may have just prevented a disaster. Don't express sorrow for the loss of a possible happy future if you were mistaken, it was for the good of all mankind. ...And, got to admit, it sucks that these things always come back, never truly dying.)

#pretty long post ngl #but i've been working on this for awhile #abnormalities #dark humor at some points #graphic death tw #often grimdark #[expletives omitted]#I was actually working on another codex but got bored #body horror tw #Lobotomyhammer #Lobotomyhammer40k

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thestruidora · 4 years

Text

The Renegade

Supernatural Fanfiction

Rating: Explicit

WARNINGS: This story will contain but it’ll not be limited to explicit 18+ content including Obsessive Behavior, Smut, Car Sex, Shower Sex, Edging, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Fluff, Oral Sex, thigh riding, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Love Triangle

Category: F/M

Pairings: Sam Winchester/Original Female Character, Dean Winchester/Original Female Character and Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester/Original Female Character

Summary: An angel is a spiritual creature, who dwells in heaven and serves as a messenger between God and the human race. They have no desires of their own, that is to say, they have not been given free will, as with men, and were created with the sole purpose of giving glory and fulfilling their Lord’s plan. For this reason, Eva would always be a renegade amongst her kin. A fallen angel receives no compassion or mercy, it is a black sheep strayed from its flock.

Author’s notes: This is gonna be a big story, it has actually lived in my head for many years now. Hope it brings you joy.

Chapter One

Wheel in the Sky

Then

“The wheel in the sky keeps on turning

I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow

Wheel in the sky keeps me yearning”

— Journey

“Elyon, why couldn’t you have stayed calm, for once!” Maya’s voice ringed across the field, exasperated. There were harsh lines forming in her forehead, the knuckles of her hands bright white from the pressure applied in there. “Instead of flying off the handle, like always.”

The birds that lived on top of the high pine trees didn’t seem to mind her loudness, chirping away, unbothered, much like the posture of the other woman that listened attentively as her friend spoke on the verge of shouting.

“He knows how to push my buttons, ok?” Elyon’s reply annoyed Maya even more. The way she just shrugged off her reasoning so nonchalantly, playfully almost.

“Doesn't surprise me, he was the one that put them there in the first place.” Her hands were on her hips now, not in the way used to sass someone one may think of themselves as being superior to, more so in the way one might use in the process of reprimanding an ill behaved child.

“Shut up.” Elyon chose to say, disregarding any possible truth in her friend’s statement.

Backing down or giving up now wasn’t an option, she knew that much. When she made the decision to bring forward her concerns to Michael she knew it could go left, easily. As it did.

But gone were days in which Heaven could be called true paradise. God had simply disappeared with no notice or goodbye, leaving no guidelines for his children, that were now placed in charge of the whole Earth and it’s well being. At least that was how it was supposed to be.

Growing up with archangels for brothers was a challenge, being that they were literally seen as royalty in Heaven. As immediate decedents to God himself, the first angels to be created and the first line of soldiers of the Lord, they occupied a holy place within the garrison. The top of angelic hierarchy. And she was their baby sister.

Something was moving underneath the perfectly conceived structure of Heaven, Elyon could feel it. Whispers were being campaigned about the death of God, and that without Him, Scripture meant nothing. Therefore, Earth and all the humans that inhibited it meant even less. It was a dangerous route to go by, over boarding on blasphemy. And even if those that openly diminished the importance of human lives were heavily punished, those that did it in the shadows were the true liability.

If that was true, all of Heaven and Hell would be painted red due to the war that was about to break. And even though angels were no strangers to war, Elyon feared losing her brothers and sisters, she feared the deaths of billions of humans, and mostly, she was terrified of the rising of Lucifer and the repercussions that would follow it.

There was some form of plot unfolding amongst the angels, and Elyon suspected the worst. Because the only way to truly get rid of the responsibility that was taking care of Earth, would be to bring paradise to all the imperfect living creatures. And that meant initiating the events of the Book of Revelations¹, the ones that precede the Apocalypse.

Seeing her most beautiful brother, the Light Bringer², after all of this time locked up in a cage, after all of those years fighting off the demons he created himself, yet again trying to rival with their own Father… Seeing the Devil would mean facing the reality of her broken family.

Since the war in Heaven, seen in the Book of Daniel³, nothing was the same. Lucifer was thrown to the pits of Tartarus⁴, but that didn’t mean that his view on humans was imprisoned with him. Lots of angels secretly agreed, loads still do. And because of the hairless apes' violent nature, soon Earth decayed into the bounds of deprivation.

What succeed was painful to watch. Gabriel, Elyon’s most beloved bother, left Heaven right after God did, and Michael became the ultimate ruler, as it was his birthright. But more and more she realized that her oldest brother had turned cold and uncompassionate. Letting high ranked angels like Zachariah make the shots while he pondered away, not caring for the suffering that continued to rain down upon the human race.

She have had enough, but when confronting him with her fears and suspicions, she was met with incredulity and rage.

“Angels are warriors of God, His presence resides within ours, and we were made to honer and represent Him. Especially in times such as this, where His guidance is lacking. There is no war emerging, and if it is, we’ll do everything to stop it, not initiate it. The fact that you came to me with this proves that you’re still a child. Nothing but a silly child with a mind filled with childish ideas.” He had said to her, anger cutting around the edges of her ego as he scolded at her as if a principal to a schoolgirl.

After that, she saw red. What proceed was a vicious fight that half the garrison overheard. But it was pointless, neither of them ready to make concessions.

“Well, I hope you’re happy now. You’ve hurt your cause forever.” Maya’s words brought Elyon’s mind back to the moment at hand, in the field.

It was dusk, the sky merging the shades of pink, orange and lilac into the dark blue of the night slowly. The grass pricked underneath their bare feet as they stood in the old space used for battle training once upon a time. It felt like thousands of years ago, when everything was ok. When all of their existences had a clear purpose and they didn’t need to make sense of anything for themselves, because their Father was there to make sure every single act was meaningful.

“Like he would have believed me if I had done anything different.” Elyon heard herself in her own head, over processing the sentence to be sure she had no doubts about it herself. Because to be mistaken now could mean a big price to pay later.

“You could have tried to-”

“There’s nothing I could have said, Maya. He won’t listen. He doesn’t want it to be true.” She walked over to the small lake that resided in the alcove of the garden that grew in the deserted land. Her feet playing with the water just so she didn’t need to be still while under the scrutinizing gaze of her friend.

“Shit, I don’t it to be true. Do you?” Maya sounded scared now, voice trembling. But Elyon did not hold it against her, she was terrified herself.

“Of course not. But if it is, you know we need to do something.” She was trying to make her own voice imposing, large enough to hide her insecurity.

“What can we do by ourselves? We need Michael.” Maya walked over to her now, searching for answers in the angel’s features.

“Yeah, that’s clearly not an option anymore.” She pushed her shoulders back, chest forward as to show dominance. To show emotional detachment.

“What?” Frowning, her voice got loud enough to actually scare the birds, some of them flying away to look for refuge in more distant tree tops.

“Elly, just… Just say you’re sorry.” Maya rationalized, an underlying condescension in her tone that only Elyon could quite pinpoint.

“He’ll listen to you if-”

“If I show submission, if I bow down to him, the Firstborn, in all of his glory.” Her face contoured into a sarcastic sneer, anger gathering up inside. “No, I won’t. I refuse. Especially since I’m right.”

“What good you and your pride will achieve?” Maya’s right hand came up to land in her companion’s shoulder, trying as she might to convey some soothing energy through the touch.

“Nothing if we just sit tight and wait for the freaking Armageddon to unfold!” Elyon brushed Maya’s hand off, taking a step back and looking straight into her eyes now. “But if we stand together, you and I, we can gather others, build an army and stop this.”

“Can’t I make you understand that you’re having delusions of grandeur? No angel in the garrison will follow you, Michael is our leader.” Maya took a step closer, wanting to cure her sister from this combative thoughts.

“Our leader?” One of her eyebrows arched, and Elyon knew she was screaming at that point.

“Yes! Am I crazy to miss the simpler times? Where we all fought as one, when we all saw things the same way…�� Maya’s voice followed suit, getting higher by default, except the last part was whispered. “But I guess that was before some of us developed their own ambitions.”

“Ambitions? Do you think this is about me? About some sorta vendetta against the big brother, that I’ve grew tired of being in his shadow?” Elyon’s head tipped back while she laughed bitterly. “Is that really how you see me, as some immature child that’s just dying to rebel and stick it to the big man?”

“What else I’m supposed to think, Elly? You’re not listening to reason.” Maya tried, speaking softer.

“Reason is a meticulously fabricated lie, a product they have been selling to us our whole existence, Maya.” Her tone turned serious, becoming almost ominous. “I’m done with it. If there’s nothing that can be done from the inside, I’m going outside.”

“Excuse me? What…” The wheels turned in Maya’s head as her sister cocked her head, daring her to continue. “Elyon, you don’t mean going to Earth.” Big eyed, she shook her head, rejecting the premise. “No! You can’t, our orders were the exact opposite of that. We are to not interfere with the angels that are already down there, your presence can ruin their mission. Elly, what you are talking about is… Is a crime.” She lectured, even though that wasn’t much of a surprise to Elyon.

“Well, I’ve tried the defensive and that blew up in my face. Now I’m trying the offensive, see how that works out for me.” She walked across the field gain, distancing herself. Shoulders tensing as she turned, letting Maya face her back.

“But!”

“And if I take a spill it’s me and not you.” Her brows were furrowed as she slightly tilted her head to the side, only allowing the other angel to see the profile of her face.

“Elyon, please, sister. Reconsider.” Voice running low, Maya knew that once her friend had made a choice, there was no convincing her to back down.

“I know you want the best for me.” Elyon sighed, giving up on the indifferent facade and turning back to Maya, stepping in closer once again, watery eyes. “I know you want to believe in your leader and to be the good soldier you were trained to be. But something menacing is coming, can’t you…” Question hanging in the air, suspended. Eyes trailing off into the night sky, focusing in the horizon.

“What is it?” Maya asked, murmuring in apprehension, trying to see whatever it was Elyon was seeing.

Then, the entire garden stood still, no more wind blowing through the leaves, no more crickets rubbing their wings together briskly. An owl emitted a shrill hoot far away in the south, frightening the birds in such a way that they all flew away.

“Something’s happening.” Elyon proclaimed.

The ground underneath their feet shook, a vibration coming from all around and putting pressure on their bodies. Maya’s balance faltered, and she almost fell before Elyon held her by the elbows, bending her knees to secure herself up. There was a cosmic push that reverberated through Heaven, appearing from below and upwards. And as both angels stared at each other, a sense of recognition took hold in both of their expressions.

“There’s no way.” It was Maya’s turn to get watery eyes, as she sucked in a breath as if her life depended on it.

“The first seal just broke. John Winchester’s firstborn succumbed in Hell.” Elyon was still looking up, watching as the sky settled. “It started.”

“Don’t go.” Maya begged.

“I need to stop this.”

Now

One Month Later

A meteor has hit Lawrence, Kansas.

It was allover the news. When the clock stroke midnight on March 17, a blinding light took over the sky and it flashed so fast and so sudden that it looked like a fallen star. It landed right on the side of one of the main roads in the city, creating a crater that overtook the busy intersection and would need to be repaired as quickly as possible.

The funny part was that when the place of the crash went into further examination, the area had no apparent masses of rock formation to be found. It seemed as if whatever had hit the ground that night, had vanished completely. But none of that information ever became public, of course.

Even funnier was the fact that, however, that wasn’t the only inexplicable thing that happened in that very same moment. Because far away from there, in a deserted graveyard in Pontiac, Illinois, Dean Winchester had been resurrected.

End notes: ¹The Book of Revelations is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore also the final book of the Christian Bible. Revelation is an apocalyptic prophecy with an epistolary introduction addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. “Apocalypse” means the revealing of divine mysteries; John is to write down what is revealed (what he sees in his vision) and send it to the seven churches.

²Lucifer (‘light-bringer’) is a Latin name for the planet Venus in its morning appearances, and is often used for mythological and religious figures associated with the planet.

³The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology which is both cosmic in scope and political in its focus.

⁴In Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where souls are judged after death and where the wicked received divine punishment.

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iwillbeinmynest · 5 years

Text

Hold On Loosely - Biker!Steve x Reader(f) Chapter 6

Authors Notes: If you’d like to be tagged please send me an ask. I keep better track of tags that way.

Word Count: 1.6k

Special Thanks: Here’s to @itsanerdlife for fueling my Biker obsession and being my Beta for this whole thing. To my girl over at @girl-next-door-writes who also beta’ed for me. And an extra shout out to @bettercallsabs for this beautiful graphic. She is amazing and y’all need to check her out!!

Notes/Warnings: (My notes and warnings are for the story as a whole. Some notes and Warnings will not apply to every chapter.) smoking (I do not support smoking. keep your lungs clean y’all.) drinking, (be of age, don’t be stupid) minor violence, backstabbing, attempted murder, anxiety, stress, mentions of death, car accident, trauma, …I think that’s it. let me know if I’ve missed something.

Masterlist

They’d milled around until a half hour before their dinner reservation at Jacques’ Place and Steve had kept his distance the whole time.

Y/N noticed the definite change in Steve’s attitude and she was second guessing her feelings for him. Maybe she read to much into it and he only wanted to be friends. Maybe he was just doing this because Nat told him to, like all the other times recently. She was an idiot. Of course, he’s just following orders from the President’s wife.

Steve gestured an arm towards Jacques’. “After you.” He said and looked down the alley to the right.

Y/N paused. “The door is over there.” She pointed back to the front.

Steve looked over his shoulder, then back to her with a hint of a smile. “We aren’t exactly dressed to impress are we?”

Y/N looked back and saw a woman in a nice dress step out of a Mercedes. “Yeah, I guess not. Burgers again, then?”

There was an odd feel to the conversation. It was like they both wanted things to go back to the way they were but neither of them knew how.

“Nat went through a lot of trouble to get this reservation. But she hooked us up. The owner is a friend of hers.”

Steve put a hand on Y/N’s back to lead her then took it away as soon as she started walking. Y/N rolled her eyes. He needed to decide if he was going to be nice to her or not. This back and forth was frustrating.

They reached the back door and Steve gave it a knock.

A Strawberry blonde in a pencil skirt and heels answered. She gave Steve a grin. “Hey, there. How can I help you?”

Steve gave her a look and she chuckled. “Come on, I’ve got a hidden table in the back so my customers won’t be scared by the big, bad, biker.”

She winked at Steve and Y/N felt a twinge of jealousy. Was this an ex from Steve’s past? She was beautiful. Not someone Y/N wanted to compare herself to. Steve grinned back at her then held the door for Y/N. His smile had faded by the time she passed him.

The woman lead Y/N and Steve through the kitchen and a set of white double doors onto the floor of the restaurant. She took a sharp left and sat them at a booth in the corner by the bar.

“Can I offer you two a bottle of wine?” She asked.

“Do I look like the type of guy who drinks wine?” Steve smirked at her.

“You look like the type of guy who doesn’t want anyone to know he drinks wine.” She winked again.

“None for me,” Y/N interrupted whatever eye game they were playing. She really didn’t like it. “But I’ll take a sparkling water.”

The woman gave a tight smile and a jump of her eyebrows to Steve. “Coming right up, Miss.” And she left.

“What was that?” Steve asked. He leaned back against the plush cushions and spread his arms across the back of the seat.

“What was what?” Y/N acted innocent as she raised her menu to cover her face.

“That. Whatever attitude you just gave to Pepper.”

“Pepper? That’s an odd name for a lady.” Y/N kept her face hidden.

Steve reached forward and pressed the menu to the table, forcing Y/N to look at him. “You’re gonna wanna respect her. Okay?”

“Or what? You’ll stop talking to me? We’ve already gotten to that point.” She sassed.

“Y/N-”

“Or will I no longer be welcome at the club? Honestly both would be preferred to this hostage-like situation.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Steve spit, offended.

“Ever since the boutique you’ve been acting like I’m plagued and now you’re mad because I don’t want to play nice with your ex, who is clearly hitting on you, I might add.”

Steve’s brows shot up and he almost laughed. “My ex? No, Pepper isn’t my ex. She’s Tony’s wife.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Y/N crossed her arms. The motorcycle charm pinched her wrist but she ignored it.

“Tony Stark is the President of the Rebel Brotherhood.”

“You said Bucky is the president.” She huffed.

“Of this chapter. Tony is the president of the entire Rebel Brotherhood. Pepper is his wife and, therefore, someone you need to respect.” He heavily enunciated his last word.

At that same moment Pepper approached the table. “A beer for the biker and a sparkling water for you.”

Pepper looked at Y/N and although her demeanor was perfectly calm and in control, Y/N got the feeling she was waiting to see what she’d say next.

“Thank you.” Y/N looked up and smiled quickly before taking the glass to sip.

Pepper glanced at Steve, who’s expression was obviously annoyed with Y/N. “A waiter will be out to serve you in a few minutes.” And she was gone again.

Y/N silently let out the breath she’d been holding. “I’m sorry.” She muttered.

Steve just nodded his head and took a swig from his bottle. He looked out into the floor of the restaurant and observed just how many couples were there enjoying a nice evening. Pepper hadn’t helped by offering wine. Nat had probably told her to do that.

Y/N lifted her menu back up even though she knew what she was going to have already. “So, how does it work if both Bucky and Tony are presidents?”

“Tony lives in Georgia and runs the chapter over there. Bucky runs Mobile.” Steve’s tone was softer. At least she was trying to understand.

“So, what is Pepper doing here?”

“She owns this place and a few other restaurants across Alabama and Georgia. It’s how she and Tony make most of their money. She owned the bar until she gave it to Bucky when he took over this chapter.”

Y/N nodded. “Oh, okay. So is that the...only way the club makes money?” She looked at Steve through her lashes.

“You googled motorcycle clubs?” The corner of his mouth twitched up. And his suspicions were confirmed by her blush. “Yes. The restaurants and bars are the only way we make money. We are one hundred percent legit. We’re just really good at what we do which is why were so successful.”

“Of course, sorry.” She hung her head a little and fiddled with the charm on her bracelet.

“Look,” Steve felt obligated to explain at her sad expression. “I’m sorry I’ve been acting weird this afternoon. I just...I know how much Danny means to you and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable so I was just trying to give you some space.”

Y/N looked at him directly.

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I thought I made you uncomfortable.”

“No, It was fine. I-” Steve stopped and huffed out a laugh. “I didn’t mind.”

Y/N inhaled to say something but in the same moment, Steve’s phone rang.

He glanced at the screen. “I’m sorry, It’s Bucky. I’m going to take this out back.”

She shook her head. “Yeah, of course.” She smiled.

Once Steve was around the corner, Y/N slumped in the booth. She was making a fool out of herself. All because of a crush. Y/N groaned into her hands and huffed.

“Rough night?” Pepper's voice startled Y/N. She'd sat in the seat across from her and took a swig of Steve's beer. “Sorry to bother. Steve asked me to keep an eye on you.”

Y/N sat up. “Where am I going to go? I can't exactly ride a motorcycle.” She smiled. “I'm sorry about earlier. I... I thought you and Steve used to date or something and I-”

She laughed short but loud. “Me and Steve? No. No way. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Yeah, he told me. I really am sorry.”

“Did he also tell you who my husband is and that you had to respect me?” Pepper raised an eyebrow and smirked as Y/N nodded. Pepper rolled her eyes. “He’s ridiculous. Don't let him scare you like that.”

“So, you're not Tony's wife?”

“Yes, I am.”

Y/N grinned and picked up her glass. “I think I'll take his advice then.”

She smiled. “Can I give you some advice?” Y/N looked back at Pepper surprised. “Even if I had been one of Steve's ex’s, jealousy doesn’t look good on anyone. You don’t seem like a girl who sports green all too well and even if you do, Steve has a thing for red.” She winked.

Y/N bit the inside of her lip. “I don’t know if he’d care what color I’m wearing.” Pepper chuckled in a way that made Y/N squint her eyes. “What?”

Before Pepper could answer, Steve approached the table. “Sorry about that.” He noticed Pepper’s smile. “What are you two talking about?”

“Christmas colors.” She smirked as she got up from his seat. She patted his cheek and left the table.

“What the-”

“What did Bucky say?” Y/N asked desperate for a change in subject.

“Uh,” Steve shook his head slightly to try and forget whatever nonsense Pepper was up to. “He was just letting me know your house is ready.”

“Should we go?” Y/N poked a thumb towards the front door.

Steve took a sip from his beer. “And miss this super-fancy, super-free food?”

“Perks of having dated the owner?”

Steve looked at her sharply ready to defend himself again but, when he saw the smirk playing on her lips he chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”

*************

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mrslittletall · 4 years

Text

Prompt: Self-Harm

Fandom: Bloodborne Characters: Laurence the first Vicar, Vicar Amelia Word Count: 2.297 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18718291/chapters/54999370

Summary: Amelia is fulfilling her duties as a blood saint and sometimes that means that she has to rely on some more extreme measurements.

(Author's note: Self-Harm could have been used for a lot of different scenarios, but when I thought about it I had a clear picture in my mind and I used it for this fic. Please enjoy!)

Written for @badthingshappenbingo Hey, look at this, this prompt earned me a bingo ^^ I still have quite a few to fill out and even though I have ideas for some of them, I don’t have them for everything. I won’t take requests, but feel free to shoot me suggestions, maybe you help inspire me for a prompt.

“Amelia.”

Amelia looked up from her schoolwork to see Laurence standing in her door frame. “Yes?”, she asked.

“Do you have a little bit of time later?”, he asked, but not looking at her, gaze slightly averted. Amelia found it a tiny bit strange, normally he wasn't so distant with her.

“I need to finish my schoolwork but then I am free.”, she said.

“Good, come see me in my office once you are finished.”

And as suddenly as he had appeared in her door frame Laurence had left. Amelia shrugged and continued her schoolwork. She was sure that she didn't had done anything wrong, so whatever Laurence wanted to talk about was probably church related.

An hour later she knocked on the door of his office and heard the shuffling of paper and a distressed sounding cat before Laurence' footsteps were heard and he opened the door.

“Please, come in.”, he said and gestured for Amelia to sit on the couch, which she did, right next to that white cat with the fluffy fur.

“Mary, go sleep elsewhere.”, Laurence said and picked the cat up who complained with an annoyed meow and then joined the other cat Amelia had heard earlier on the shelf. She looked at them while she waited for Laurence to remove the cat fur from his clothes and to sit down next to her.

“So, Amelia, do you know why I called you here?”, Laurence asked.

Amelia shook her head and said: “I don't know but I assume it has to do with the church.”

“You are correct.”, Laurence said and took a deep breath. “Amelia, you are 13 years old now. It is time for you to start your duties as a blood saint.”

“Oh.”, Amelia always had known this day would have come it just had felt so far away all the time. Since the time Laurence had told her that her blood had reacted in a special way to the old blood she knew she would be a blood saint once she grew up, she just never had thought about how her life would be once she had grown up.

“What does that mean for me?”, she asked.

“Well, I will make sure that your duties don't intermingle with your school days, so we will take it slow first. One evening in the week and on the weekends.”, Laurence explained. “You know that your blood has a certain quality that is similar to the old blood. People will come to you and ask you for a vial.”

Amelia nodded along to his words, she had seen the other blood saints work, it was a constant drawing of blood and handing it to the sick or injured. Although... some of these people didn't look like they were sick and injured. Maybe they needed the blood for a bedridden relative.

“This means you need to learn how to draw your own blood with a needle.”, Laurence said. “At first you can feel free to ask the other blood saints for help but you must be able to draw your own blood in a matter of seconds for the future. It becomes especially important when we have the night of the hunt.”

Amelia nodded again and then spoke: “Will you show me?”

“Yes.”, Laurence got up and opened a few drawers until he found what he searched for. He returned with a needle and one of these medical tubes, the ones they used for the blood ministration, just smaller, and a vial. “I show you how to draw blood and then you do it yourself.”, Laurence spoke, kneeling in front of her. “There are different veins you can use but I prefer to take the one in your elbow crook. Could you please roll up your sleeves?”

Amelia complied and extended her left arm for Laurence. He dipped some cotton in a bowl of clear tincture and applied it to her arm. It was cold but didn't hurt. “Always use a clean needle.”, Laurence said. “We had quite some trouble with recurring sicknesses until we realized that sharing needles was what made people sick...”

Amelia once again nodded. She always had found it gross that people used to share needles and she could barely believe that it had been a regular occurrence at the early days of the Healing Church, that was when she still had been in her mother's womb. She was glad they realized that mistake.

“You put the needle into your vein, like this...”, Laurence murmured and Amelia flinched because of the sting. “And then you let the blood running into the vial.”

Amelia had her gaze locked on the tube and the vial. It was kind of fascinating seeing her own blood coming out of her body, first a crimson red before turning a slightly darker tone.

“And once it is full, you pinch the tube and then can pull the needle.”, Laurence said, pulling the needle as he spoke. Being relieved from the constant stinging pain Amelia breathed out and then watched as the wound on her arm closed right away. Small wounds like this would always close on their own.

“And then you put a cork in the blood vial and give them to the recipient.”, Laurence finished and put the cork in. “And in really urgent cases, you can apply it as a kind of blood ministration, but then you need two needles, one for the drawing and one for the inserting. Understood?”

Amelia nodded but then a thought occurred: “Um, Laurence... what do I do when there isn't a needle to draw blood?”

Laurence gaze darkened a bit before he spoke: “If you really must, then cut yourself a wound to get the blood flowing. It won't heal right away when it is deep enough. Your blood also should work when directly applied on the wounds, the important thing is, that it gets into the blood stream of the injured or sick person.”

“Understood.”, Amelia said.

“And now.”, Laurence continued. “Let me see you draw your own blood.”

Amelia blinked as she slowly shook herself awake. A dream... or a memory? Just how had she managed to fell asleep with a night of the hunt coming?

She looked at one of the antlers that decorated her office. It had fallen off the beastly skull of Laurence and she had kept it... Was his death really already twenty years ago? As well as Ludwig's shortly after? She shuddered as she thought about how the hunters had found a grotesquely transformed horse creature with the moonlight great sword stabbed through it's chest.

The official versions had been that Laurence had died during the great cathedral ward fire and that Ludwig had fallen in the hunt. But she knew better. They had transformed, had fallen victim to the scourge and every night of the hunt Amelia feared that she would show signs of the scourge too...

For know, she should get herself ready to act as not only the current vicar of the Healing church but also as a blood saint, giving out some blood to the hunters and then wait for anyone who needed her help. She gave Laurence' antlers one last glance and then got up from her desk to prepare herself for the hunt.

Hours later, once the sun had set over Yharnam, Amelia waited in the Grand Cathedral, praying to Laurence skull like she would do so often during the night of the hunt. The sounds coming from outside were terrifying and she just hoped that everyone managed to hide in their homes and... and that they wouldn't lose as many hunters to the beast this time.

It had been twenty years and the hunt would become more and more frequent. It had started once a year but gradually increased and now they could bet that it would happen every quarter year, just as the seasons would change. That for some reason Yharnam never seemed to cease being populated fascinated her, but at the same time, she had the feeling that they had became less in the last five years.

However, there wasn't time for musing because she could hear the knocks on the Great Cathedral and knew that her service was needed.

Amelia had given herself a blood ministration this morning to make sure that she had more blood in her body because a blood saint could only give out blood a certain amount of times before she needed to recover for a while. And today vials with her blood were heavily requested. Again and again she stuck the needle in her body and send the hunters off with a blessing, always wiping over the small wound once the needle was out, even though it would close in seconds. While the wound wouldn't stay the pain was still very real and she knew she could thank the old blood that she hadn't scarred yet.

The night went on and less and less hunters came for her services, either not needing any more of her blood or having fallen in the hunt... or having succumbed to the beastly scourge, it always seemed to peak during the hunts. As she continued her prayer to Laurence' skull Amelia thought about the recent years. She had the feeling that the hunters struggled more and more. Of course, it had been years since there had been talents like Lady Maria or Gehrman, both of them had died when she still had been small and Laurence had... changed after that. It got better when he met Ludwig and Ludwig was another one of the most skilled hunters but now...

There wasn't much structure in the hunt anymore. The Healing Church mostly took care of it, but the time of the Old Hunters, how the age around Laurence had been called as well as the time when Ludwig had rallied Yharmanites to join the hunt, it was over. The church hunters did their best, but every and each hunt Amelia had the feeling that the beasts took one too many.

Sometimes... sometimes there were tales of a truly marvellous hunter. A hunter who faced fears none of the others would ever think going close. A hunter who didn't seem to fear death. A hunter without a name who vanished as suddenly as they had came. These usually were the hunts with the least victims. Amelia often asked herself just from where these hunters came and where did they go too.

Thinking about it, Amelia hadn't left the town in twenty years. Why had she never tried to venture outside of the town? It wasn't like someone was forcing her to stay inside... or was it...

Her thoughts got interrupted by another knock and a hunter dragging their clearly massively bleeding and heavily injured companion inside.

“By the blood.”, she gasped and got up. “Get them inside, I prepare a blood ministration.”

“There's no time.”, the hunter replied, voice croaky and heavy. “We need some of your blood, now. Please, Vicar, we are all out of blood vials and he is bleeding out.”

Amelia gasped again and went to grab for a needle... only to see that they all had been used. And she hadn't given out only vials today, she also had done a few transfusions. Damn, she should have used the time to clean the needles instead of getting herself lost in musing about the state of the city.

She was quick to react however, Laurence voice in her mind as it was yesterday. She grabbed for a knife that she always was wearing under her robes and rolled up her sleeve.

“Show me the wound.”, she demanded and the hunter carefully lowered their companion to the ground, unveiling a large wound on his stomach, clearly ripped open by the claws of a beast. Amelia had seen a lot of injuries in her life, but it still almost made her gag.

She extended her arm so that it would hover over the wound and then braced herself as she took the knife and cut deep into her own arm, ignoring the shocked face of the hunter in front of her. She hissed in pain as she pressed the knife deeper into her skin, making sure that the wound would be deep enough to bleed. And it worked, blood seeped out of the wound and dripped onto the stomach wound of the hunter, ceasing the bleeding. Amelia still let herself bleed, making sure to cut herself a bit more every time the wound wanted to close, until the gaping wound on the hunter had started to heal.

She removed the knife from her arm and started to pant, feeling a bit light headed. She had used up too much of her blood and would need a blood ministration after the night ended.

“He should be out of danger but get him inside for a blood ministration immediately.”, Amelia said with a stern look on her face.

“Vicar Amelia, thank you. Without your help he wouldn't have made it.”, the hunter gave her a bow and then picked their injured companion up, wandering deeper into the church.

Amelia looked after them until they had disappeared and then looked at her own arm. The cut slowly had started to heal but she could see that her own blood was staining her robes and the floor and still dropped of her own arm.

Silently she picked up a piece of gauze and wiped it clean, then proceeded to wipe the floor and her robes even though it did nothing.

Then, she sat down and started to clean the needles. (Author's note: I already told in an earlier entry that I headcanon Amelia to have been a blood saint, mostly because she can heal herself in her boss fight and healing spells aren't a thing in Bloodborne minus one tool that can heal others, but I also like to think that blood saints can't heal wounds that are too heavy and so your continuous attacks are what is able to kill her, unless you let her concentrate. The cleaning needles thing? To be honest, every time I search up medical practice from victorian times I facepalm because these guys were idiots but I felt like the Healing Church quickly got that needle sharing was a bad thing and that some basic hygiene could maybe help people who just got a blood ministration to not get sick two days later again...)

#badthingshappenbingo #self-harm #bloodborne #fanfiction #vicar amelia #laurence the first vicar #cw blood #cw wounds #cw needles #littlewritesstuff

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

Text

Michael After Midnight: Dragon Age II

Dragon Age is a series very near and dear to my heart; ever since playing Origins back when I was in college, I have been inspired by the stories, characters, and lore. Hell, Origins alone is a huge inspiration to my writing, and why wouldn’t it be? It has great locations, deep lore, a core main party without a single weak link with each and every party member you have being unique and entertaining in their own right, and an epic story with all sorts of twists and turns. And it only has two really shitty segments in the whole game! It’s truly a great first entry in a series.

But despite my love for it, I put off playing the sequel for most of the decade, only playing it for the first time this year. And why is that? Because… the critics said it was bad… yes, unfortunately in my younger years I took what critics said without any grains of salt. Dragon Age II was not very popular back around the time it came out, mostly because of its radical departure from the style of the first game, with more hack-and-slash-esque combat, a much more simple and self-contained story, and a cast of characters far more divisive than the first time around. It’s only over time that people have started to give it the respect it deserves, but much like fellow fantasy series The Legend of Zelda it comes at the cost of the current game being bashed.

So how is this red headed stepchild of a sequel, anyway? Did the critics have a point, or is this really an underrated gem? Well, I’m happy to report that this is indeed a fun and fantastic game, and I heavily regret being kept apart from the lovely Merril for so long due to poor critical reception, but there are a lot of problems too. For everything it does really well, it kind of shits the bed in other areas, and a lot of that can be contributed to a rushed development cycle that got this game churned out just over a year after the first one, leading to things like all items lacking the detailed descriptions they would get in the first game, which doesn’t sound like much, but then you get an item called something like “Uncle Horky’s Spanking Rod” as a magic staff and there’s no explanation as to why it’s called that and you have to imagine up some ludicrous backstory for it.

The lack of flavor text is a minor gripe, though, compared to the obnoxiously repetitive environments of dungeons. Reusing and flipping dungeons around and reusing assets would be one thing, but here they literally just take a map, flip it a bit with no changes to the details of the level, and just block off doors that lead to areas they don’t want you going. The worst part is on your mini map you can see the blocked pathways you likely saw ten minutes ago in another dungeon, which just makes a lot of the missions feel bland and samey. It also doesn’t help that enemy types are rather paltry, so you’ll be fighting a lot of the same mooks in the same maps over and over as you grind for items, gold, and EXP.

And then there are some of the characters. The worst of the bunch are sadly two characters who are returning from the first game and its expansion Awakening – Anders and Isabela. Isabela is arguably worse, because she honestly seems rather fun and nice at first, if overly and aggressively flirty, but as the story goes on, it’s revealed that she is actually the cause behind some of the biggest issues in the first few acts, which she neglects to tell you until it is far too late and unless you decided to maximize your friendship with her, she will run off and never return to your party. I can’t deny that this completely soured me to her, and at the end of the quanari invasion of Kirkwall I was only upset I couldn’t find her in act three and kick her ass for what she did.

Then there is Anders. Poor, poor Anders. In Awakening, he was one of the most funny and charming characters, a nice little substitute for Alistair that I actually ended up liking for than the Weenie King of Ferelden. Here though? Anders can not go one fucking conversation without bringing up how oppressed mages are and how much the templars suck and blah blah blah. The worst part is I do agree with him, but he’s just so whiny and obnoxious about it I left him behind all the time, dooming my party to having no healer even as I fought high dragons, blood mages, and Corypheus. It was worth it to not hear Anders bitching about templars and insulting Merril and Fenris. Oh, and Anders nukes the chantry and sets off a civil war. Isabela may be a nasty bitch, but Anders definitely comes out looking like a huge cunt by the game’s end.

The entire endgame is kind of an utter mess too, seeing as no matter whose side you join you end up fighting the same two bosses, with one of them just not making any sense whatsoever. And then the game just sort of ends on a very unsatisfying cliffhanger. And as much as I just complained, all of this stings because really, the rest of the game is quite good, and the story is fun if scaled back from the epic tale of Origins.

Let’s get the obvious best part out of the way: Varric. Varric is literally the best part of the entire Dragon Age franchise. He’s a snarky, wisecracking surface dwarf with no beard who writes best-selling novels, constantly has his shirt open to show off his magnificent chest hair, and has a crossbow named Bianca that he is uncomfortably attached to. He is one of the greatest characters ever created, and there was not one single moment I left him out of my party, because he is a blast to have around, and what’s more, if there’s ever a situation where the dialogue wheel pops up and you can let him talk… you’ve won. This guy can talk his way out of any situation. There’s nothing bad you can say about Varric, and he is in fact the only companion in the game I can wholeheartedly stand behind as a paragon of great writing.

I love the other characters, don’t get me wrong, but they have their issues. Aveline and Fenris in particular, with Aveline being a bit too by-the-books at times to the point where she exacerbates the quanari conflict by demanding that elves who killed a guard who raped one of their own be turned over to her after they converted to the Qun. This is all despite her knowing full well that the poor elf girl would have otherwise gotten no justice seeing as how city elves in this setting are second class citizens at best. Still, she has a rather adorkable romance questline where you hook her up with one of the guards, and she’s not a bad person, just a touch misguided at times.

That last sentence can also apply to Fenris, but on a grander scale. He’s a cool, edgy, brooding elf who absolutely fucking hates magic with every fiber of his being. He is the Anti-Anders, though he’s far less annoying about it, and it’s hard to really blame him for being bitter seeing as he was a sex slave for an evil wizard for most of his life and then just had misfortune after misfortune piled on him. I really hated how mean he was to Merril, but otherwise I warmed to him and befriended him.

And that brings us to a very special girl, Merril. Merril is an adorable, klutzy, scatterbrained blood mage elf who is hated by her people due to the lengths she is going to repair an ancient artifact to bring a piece of her people’s heritage back. While she can be a bit arrogant and stubborn about the whole thing, it’s mostly due to how no one around her seems to believe in and support her; naturally, I believed in and supported her, and while things still managed to go south, she seemed at least to learn a little bit. Overall I found her to be an absolute sweetheart, and she never left my party, much like Varric; frankly, I was going in expecting not to like her and was going to romance Fenris instead, but as it turns out Merril won my heart immediately and my Hawke went lesbian this playthrough.

On that note, as much as I like how Merril, Fenris, Isabela, and Anders can be wooed by either gender in principle, I do kind of feel making everyone bisexual with no rhyme or reason kind of cheapens things. It’s weird for me, a bisexual myself, to be saying that, but it just feels off to be able to get together with everyone, with everyone being Schrodinger’s Bisexual until a romance is initiated. It’s nowhere near as bad as Skyrim, but I just feel it kinda cheapens the romance options. I prefer Origins and Inquisition in that regard, where you don’t have all the options but you do have some unique choices. But, hey, at the end of the day I’m hardly complaining that my Lady Hawke got to polish Merril’s Eluvian, if you know what I mean.

Aside from the characters, I think the game’s real strength lies in its story, which is fitting since the entire game is framed as a story being told by no less a storyteller than our pal Varric. It has a three act structure, with each act detailing a different year in Hawke’s rise to become the Champion of the city of Kirkwall, which is a crime-ridden wretched hive of scum and villainy. The first act mainly has Hawke making a name for themselves, living in the slums with their uncle, doing dirty work to try and get back a little prestige, and recruiting all of their allies, with the act culminating with a trip to the Deep Roads, every DA fan’s favorite location. It’s a nice setup for a lot of twists and turns later in the story, and choices you make in certain dialogue options or quests actually can change what sort of quests you get later. Then again, this is Bioware, so this sort of “action have consequences” gameplay is expected.

Act two deals with just how Hawke becomes the Champion. Rich from the expedition into the Deep Roads, Hawke gets to do all sorts of fun things, such as track down a serial killer who ends up murdering their mom, being stabbed in the back by one of their friends, accidentally inciting a race war that nearly burns down the city, and having to duel the warrior leader of the qunari to the death in combat. Yeah, act two really piles it on to Hawke, but it does tie into the game’s themes of how no matter the level of success, great actions will also come with great consequences, even actions meant to better one’s lot in life, which also resonate in the personal quests of characters like Merril and Fenris, who despite ultimately achieving their goals in the third act feel hollow, lost, and even broken by the end, and that’s not even getting into what Anders does. However the conflict with the qunari is resolved, Hawke is declared the Champion, and things seem ok.

But then comes act three, and boy do things go wrong. Knight-Commander Meredith has gone cuckoo for Coco Puffs and conflict between templars and mages seems inevitable; this act is basically wrapping up hanging plot threads and companion quests until Anders finally nukes the chantry and all hell breaks loose, leading to the final battle. The ending here isn’t particularly happy, with Hawke ultimately ending up a fugitive in the epilogue, and things can get even worse if you make poor choices in Inquisition, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

Here’s the thing: everything I just said? It could be entirely different from my playthrough depending on the choices you make. Sure, some things are inevitable, like Anders committing terrorist acts, Hawke’s mother dying, and Meredith going absolutely bonkers and making you fight statues, but depending on how you play, maybe you’ll like/romance Isabela, maybe you’ll resolve things with the Arishok differently, maybe you’ll side with the templars… the story ends the same but there are so many ways to make your story different. Throw in some great lore, some fun DLC that reveals some shocking truths about the lore, and the fun albeit simplified combat, and you’ve got a game here that has a lot of replay value if only to see where all the plot threads can lead.

I definitely think this is a good game, even a great one. It has its share of problems, but so did Origins, and frankly I’d sooner put up with the backstabbing pirate hooker and the pissy mage terrorist again then go through the fucking Fade and Deep Roads one more time. If you liked the first one, definitely give this a shot; you may end up liking or disliking some of the stuff I dislike and like. That’s the fun of these Bioware games, different aspects are going to appeal to different people. The question is, do I find it better than Origins?

In some respects, yes; I much prefer the simpler combat here, and I like the more down-to-earth story in this one, but at the same time Origins just had stronger characters overall and I’m a sucker for “save the world” fantasy tales. While Origins infamously had some real mind-numbing slogs in the form of the Fade sequence and the Deep Roads, while those environments were tedious at least they weren’t boring. But on the other hand… Origins didn’t have Varric.

It’s really a tossup, frankly, and I love both games a lot. I think each of them has their place and each of them brings something interesting to the table for the series. It’s one you really need to play for yourself to get a good grasp on; don’t be like me and put it off for nearly ten years, give it a go right after your done with the first game and see how you feel. Your experience is going to be a lot different than mine, that’s for sure.

#Michael After Midnight #Review #video game review #Dragon Age #Dragon Age II #Bioware

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1stunseeliefaelass · 5 years

Text

Darksiders: Arthurian Tales

Chapter 3: Nerve Ending Nightmares

Uther spent the night pacing about his study. Fretting over where Strife could be right now and wondering how best to get Death to talk. He could set his prisoners in the fight the elder Horsemen by offering freedom. But even with that prize precious few would ever face him willingly. And those that'd face him, would likely not survive. As he pondered and guessed through ideas, a cold presence came into the room. With it, a tall, slender man with a spindly sort of a build entered the room. Despite being gaunt, he held an intimidating presence as his little minions that attended him proved. Two Redcaps with caps fresh with blood scurried around in pure reverence to their dark master. Clearly quite frightened of him. Other features included the wings of a wasp drone, a thin rectangular shaped head, piercing blue eyes, and black hair with streaks of blonde here and there.

"King Uther, I've heard from my children that you've got one of the Four as your prisoner." The man says, his tone full of ice.

"You have no children last I recall. And yes I do have Death himself in my grasp." Uther snaps at him.

The wasp wings flitted in surprise at that, "Ah but I was not told which of the Four you had. To know that it's the Reaper himself is both an intriguing and.....concerning matter."

"Cease your fretting, all I want from him is to know where his brother is. Once they're both locked away I'll have them answer to a plea bargain if they want to be free." Uther says.

"Unfortunately since you've neglected to think on this I am forced to do so for you, King of the Seelie." The man says with some venom.

"Enough with the vague terminology Unseelie Bug, tell me plainly what you're here about."

With an audible hiss at the insult, the man spoke again, "You've got the eldest of the Four, but how will long can you hold him? He won't just 'sit tight' like an average prisoner may. As for his younger brother, it doesn't matter which one, they've likely fled by now. In which case you're soon to have the Council hounding you. Even if they do not care, the other three Horsemen certainly will. You're a sitting duck here Uther."

"I have the book! Not even they can stand against that."

"Maybe not. But your weapon has a 'sentient' component to it. She won't do as you say I'm sure. She destroyed the original one after all. And last I heard she wasn't very fond of you."

"My sweet Morgana will come through for me. One way or another, I'll get what I want from her. I always do." Uther says a bit cocky.

"Then might I suggest limiting her visits with the Horsemen you've locked up? I fear his influence on her may sway her feelings on you all the more. Assuming your current actions haven't already done that."

"Don't concern yourself with her, you've more important things as a King to worry about. Speaking of which, why don't you go back to your 'children'?" Uther says mockingly.

"Very well, but heed my warnings King Uther. And do feel free to come crawling back when you inevitably need to. In the meantime take these gifts, they may help you in your endeavors."

The Redcaps placed two jars upon the table in front of Uther. Inside one were black colored spikes that seemed to follow Uther's hand. These he knew well enough. But the contents of the second jar confused him, inside it was a mass of black and dark gray tentacles that were moving slowly. When Uther peered closer, the thing practically sprang to life and tried to jump at his face. Only to just knock the jar on it's side as Uther jumped back.

"What in the name of the Creator is that?!"

"This is a baby Nerve Ender. In their larval stage, this creature feeds off of Nerve Cells in the Nervous system. They prefer new cells in particular, so they have a trick for sending false messages to the brain to recieve these cells. However, if they're forced to eat quickly, they will also send false messages of pain into the brain for even more cells. Naturally this triggers the pain receptors of the body heavily, causing intense pain. In the big creatures they typically feed on, no real damage is done. But on a man....well it's quite the show. To trigger the little fellow, just apply pressure spells to it. Their squishy bodies can't handle too much pressure." The Unseelie King says matter-of-factly.

"Ah so that's what a Nerve Ender is. I've only heard stories of them, but to be able to use one is quite tempting indeed. I'll need to think on this. But thank you for your gifts. I shall put them to good use." Uther says.

The Unseelie King leaves at this, and Uther hears a knock upon his door.

"Yes?"

The door opens and a maid comes in with a bundle. Inside is a squirming babe clearly upset and hungry. Uther came to the maid's side and took the baby from her. It did calm to an extent, but still ultimately was hungry.

"Where is my Morgana?" Uther asks the maid.

"Sleeping my lord."

"Have her wake then, her presence is always necessary for little Arthur." Uther demands.

Morgen is slowly roused by the rapid knocks on her door, and asks groggily, "Who is it?"

The maid opens the door frantically and tells Morgen quickly as she catches her breath, "Lord Uther requires your presence milady."

"Arthur is awake isn't he?" Morgen asks with a slight sigh.

"Yes ma'am, and very hungry."

"Oh...do you have a bottle ready?" Morgen asks her.

"I do miss."

"Good, let us go then."

The two women then hurried to Uther's study. Once there Uther gave little Arthur to Morgen. He calmed down all the more when seeing her, and began tugging at her dress where her breasts were.

"You heard the little man, feed him girl." Uther says simply.

"Very well." Morgen says taking the bottle from the maid. Only for Uther to take it from her in turn.

"Now now, you know how this works Morgana."

"Uther....I cannot produce. You know this." Morgen says concerned.

"Nonsense, you are a woman and your breasts are developed wonderfully. Now lower your dress."

Both Morgen and the maid looked at each other in disgust at Uther's blatant sexism and need to point out Morgen's 'development', but Morgen begrudgingly lowers her dress. The little tyke does certainly try for sure, much to Morgen's annoyance. But he gets nothing from it, so Uther shoves the bottle back to them. Grumbling in disappointment as Morgen finally lifted her dress back up and gave the bottle to Arthur. He was a bit fussy after picking up on Morgen's anger, but after some food he calmed completely. Falling asleep as he got full on the bottle, which was close to empty. The maid quietly and carefully scooped Arthur up to return him to his crib and then Morgen got up to leave. However, Uther raised his hand,

"Wait a moment Morgana. I have something to ask of you while you're here."

Morgen stayed and nodded to the maid so she'd leave with Arthur.

"What is it you require Uther?" She asks firmly, trying not to show any fear.

"It has come to my attention that you've been visiting the Reaper in his cell. Quite a bit in fact."

"I've only been there twice."

"Just twice is enough for concern. He can influence your mind, fill your head with thoughts you don't need. Therefore, I forbid you from seeing him further." Uther says authoritatively.

Morgen however clenches her fists, and after a moment of silence says, "No. Your actions at the ball show me that you will not treat him with fairness. Therefore I cannot and will not stop visiting him. Someone has to do what you will not."

Uther stands up at this and raises his hand again. This time Morgen feels the slap his her hard and despite her efforts a slight yelp slips out. Uther raises his hand to slap her a second time but stops just as she flinches,

"You will do as I tell you. I forbid you to ever see him again. There will be no other visits starting now. Am I clear Morgana?" Uther asks her in pure anger.

Morgen goes silent, giving him time to say to himself, "Hmm, perhaps the Unseelie King's little Nerve Ender will be of use to me after all."

He then walks back up to Morgen again, but she only shouts at him as he raises his hand to touch her face, "No! Get away from me!"

She runs off as Uther calls for his guards to stop her. They're highly reluctant to do this, but ultimately feel they have no true choice. Only his Captain refuses to be a part of this. Morgen flees as best she can, dodging the searching guards as she tries to reach Death to warn him. She does run into the the Captain of the Guard, who offers to help her. However, Morgen isn't taking chances and hurries away from him. Eventually she reaches Death's cell and finds that the guard beside the door is asleep. Seeing ink and a quill there on his desk she searches for and eventually finds paper. Quickly and quietly she writes down all she can about what's happened. She also writes about the Nerve Ender comment Uther made. And how she fears he may use the critter on him as torture. She only neglects to mention the slap. Morgen hears more guards coming just as she finishes her note and quickly raps on the cell door.

Death wakes with a start of sorts but upon seeing it's Morgen he comes over.

"Why so late?" Death asks her a bit annoyed.

"I don't have time to explain. Just take this and read it. Once you're done, shred it up." Morgen says frantically.

"Wait a minute slow down. What's wrong?" Death asks her before hearing the guards coming their way.

Instead of answering Morgen shoves the notes through the slit and then hurries away. Death about calls after her, but upon hearing how many guards are coming he decides against it. He crouches in his cell, and waits for them to pass before glancing at the folded piece of paper in his hand.

#Darksiders #Darksiders Fandom #Darksiders Fanfic #Darksiders Arthurian Tales #Mature Themes #Death #Strife

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