#to continue my thoughts from the previous post

[acourtofclutter]

Nightlight (Part 2 of ?)

"All the laughter... waiting for ever after..."

Pairing: Rhysand / Night Court Emissary (Now Pixie!) Reader

Format(s) and Word Count: Headcanons and Drabbles, 885 words.

Summary: Amarantha was High Queen of Prythian now, and you had become her cronies' new pet while Rhysand was somewhere out of sight, out of reach. You endured her ongoing torment, but at least Rhysand was safe and had not been harmed - right?

Tags: Heavy Angst, Hurt / Little To No Comfort, Depictions of Violence, Torment, and SA, Set During Under The Mountain, Things Get Worse Before They Get Better

Notes: A continuation of my previous post, thank you for reading!

You were tossed into an old silver lantern when Amarantha finished using you as an example for what other spells she could cast on the high lords and their courts. You could hardly make out what she said from within the lantern, her voice muffled, but you heard the words ‘new pet’ before she passed you to the Attor.

And when the Attor had taken you away from Rhysand, from the party, you placed a hand on the lantern’s glass and tried to reach his mind, to tell him that he was not responsible for what was happening – but there was nothing but a few drops of magic left in your new body, and that was all that would remain.

The first thirty years of your imprisonment mostly consisted of the Attor and the other dark faeries drowning you in faerie wine and making you sing and dance for them when they were bored and had nothing else to do. You were nothing but a pretty songbird to them, and they would poke and prod at your body to hear the sounds of bells leave your mouth.

“Why’d you stop?” They hissed, their talons and claws gripping your head and shoulders to make you stand upright, but it was no use. They had emptied three bottles of faerie wine, the amount too much for you to handle as you collapsed on the table and threw everything up. But they wouldn’t stop, not now, not when the night was long.  Instead, they made you their little doll and forced your body into various poses and positions that would’ve had you screaming if you were sober. You could hear them laughing and sneering at you, but the room was spinning and you couldn’t do anything but close your eyes, waiting for it to end. By the time they were done, they had left you on the table in that puddle of wine, your hair and body stained red. You couldn’t wash off the stench, but you had crawled back into your lantern and made yourself small, your body trembling as you cried yourself to sleep.

You hadn’t seen or heard Rhysand during that time, and you had convinced yourself that Amarantha hadn’t done anything to him, that all she had done was kill half of his court and turn you into a pixie. But on the thirty-first year of your imprisonment, on the night of Starfall, she had your lantern moved to her bedroom.

“I thought you would like a change of scenery,” Amarantha purred. “It is Starfall, in case you had forgotten.” She placed your lantern on-top of her dresser and had it face her bed before the door opened and someone else entered the room. You couldn’t stop the broken chime that left your throat, the sound making those old violet eyes meet yours for a moment before she spoke again. “I thought I would give you a surprise, Rhysand,” she smiled. “For servicing me and my body all these years.” You didn’t recognise your High Lord, not when he was wearing those exposing sheer clothes and turned to Amarantha with a smile. You thought it was a trick, an illusion, that she had merely found some other high fae who resembled him well enough. Those thoughts faded when a familiar darkness surrounded you as she beckoned Rhysand to her bed, making it nearly impossible to see or hear what was happening, what he was doing. But you had known, and that was all it had taken for you to fall apart.

From that night onwards, you remained in Amarantha’s bedroom for ten more years, and Rhysand would continue to pull that darkness over your eyes and ears. It didn’t take long before you became unresponsive and stopped chiming, and eventually she asked Rhysand to move your lantern to another room.

You had thought he’d take you to a room with more dark faeries, but he placed your lantern on-top of a bed in a dark and unused room. You didn’t dare move, didn’t blink until he finally spoke your name, your eyes meeting his for a moment before they welled up with tears, the sound of cracked bells filling the room.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” he murmured. “When she shoved you into the lantern and ordered the Attor to take you, I thought that was it.” Rhysand leaned down, his arm outstretched and his hand upward. When you walked to his palm, he slowly lifted you up until you were close to his star-speckled violet eyes. “Through the hardships, and to the stars,” he said, the words evoking a distant memory. It was something the two of you had told each other before you attended a meeting with the Illyrian lords or a conference with Keir. They reminded you that regardless of the long hours or the late nights, that you had been doing this for something important, something that involved a distant night sky with faces that you couldn’t remember, but loved nonetheless. He placed you back down on the bed before turning to leave, most likely being summoned by Amarantha, but he turned back to look at you one more time. “We’ll get through this, I promise.” And with those words, you slowly put yourself back together.

[clockwork-ashes]

All You Have Is Your Fire - Part XVIII

Find all previous parts on Ao3 :)

Summary: 'I can hear your heart beating through the stone.' For the briefest of moments, Lucien wondered if his mate would know exactly when his heart’s steady rhythm came to a sudden stop.

Note: A huge thank you to the lovely @sad-scarred-sassy who deserves all the credit for the post that inspired me to start writing this :) Another huge thank you to everyone reading! ALSO please look at this post, I gasped it's so lovely. All of @teddyhoneybear's moodboards are stunning <3

Tag List: @anishake / @nocasdatsgay / @mybestfriendmademe / @talibunny30 / @halfbutneverwhole / @wishfulimaginings / @goldenmagnolias / @emmers-bens123 / @cauldronblssd / @xirose / @rarephloxes / @thehighlordishere / @the-darkestminds /

Lucien adjusted the cuff of his sleeve, wanting to look his absolute best during the dinner his father had decided to personally invite him to. 

The corridor was empty and quiet, Eris was his only company as they both waited for Elain to finish getting ready for the evening. Lucien could sense she was equally as nervous to be spending more time with his family. 

He bit the inside of his cheek as he straightened his jacket. 

“Stop worrying,” Eris snapped, voice cold and uncaring, as if he could not be bothered to reassure his youngest brother. Lucien thought It sounded more like an order than an attempt to settle him. 

He sighed as he faced the High Lord’s heir. “Are we late?” 

Eris rolled his eyes, the torches along the walls flashing momentarily. “Take a breath and stop fidgeting, this dinner is a peace offering.” 

While his brother had not actually answered his question, Lucien was almost sure Eris would have made an effort to rush them if they were at risk of upsetting their father. He had once believed wholeheartedly that Eris would not let any harm come to him. After Jesminda’s death, he had come to the conclusion that Eris only had his own best interests in mind. 

Lucien looked at Eris as they continued to wait for Elain, questioning if his eldest brother fell somewhere in the middle of his assumptions. Eris had gone out of his way to ensure Lucien had been released from the dungeons, and had proven himself an ally to Elain. 

Lucien’s golden eye clicked into place and Eris turned to face him. 

Eris frowned as their eyes met, almost as though he knew exactly what Lucien was thinking about. The torches flared once more as he opened his mouth to speak, but the doors to the chambers opened suddenly and they both turned to face Elain and Cora. 

All of Lucien’s thoughts about what Eris might have said had they not been interrupted quickly left his mind as Elain walked elegantly into the corridor.

Lucien straightened as she approached, her dress was lovely, the material fading from black to orange, her skirts looking like the forest floor as they dragged along the stone ground. Like most dresses in Autumn, it was modest, and very little of her skin showed. Elain had pinned her hair up with the comb of pearls Eris had gifted her, and Lucien’s eyes fell to the pale column of her throat. 

Elain Archeron was stunning, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and Lucien suddenly became very aware of the scars that marred his face.

Elain looked at him and blushed, she paused, skirts in her hands as she spoke. “Sorry to make you both wait, it took Cora ages to figure out the ties,” she laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the corridor, echoing loudly in Lucien’s mind. 

“Did it?” Eris raised a brow at Cora as she shut the doors to the suite and walked to Elain’s side. 

Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she said, “I hate Autumn Court gowns.” 

“Some lady’s maid you are,” Eris replied with a scoff, clearly intending to annoy her.

“Do all the clothes really need so many laces and buttons?” Cora clipped, gesturing to the back of Elain’s dress. “Hardly my fault the females here have to suffer in such a fashion.” 

Eris waved a hand lazily and Lucien watched with great interest as his brother’s lips tilted up at the corners, flames in his eyes. “You should have stayed in Night, where the nobles have much simpler tastes.” 

Cora looked prepared to bite back a response, but Lucien pitied the poor female for having to put up with Eris’s moods and spoke before the situation could escalate.

“You look beautiful, Elain.” 

His mate blushed an even darker shade of red. “Thank you,” she said softly, trailing her eyes from his booted feet to the high neckline of his jacket. “You look nice, too.” 

Lucien bowed his head, keeping their gazes locked. It felt as if just the two of them were in the dark space, that no one else existed beyond them. 

Lovely. 

Elain was breathtakingly beautiful, and Lucien questioned the cauldron’s decision to make them mates. 

Eris cleared his throat, shattering the silence between them along with the illusion that only Lucien and Elain were present. 

“You also look very handsome, Eris.” Elain added as she reached for Lucien’s arm. He offered it to her without hesitation, and she grabbed onto him with no consideration. If it were not for the amusement ringing in her tone, Lucien might have been irrationally jealous at the statement. 

Cora hummed in agreement, and Lucien could have sworn a flicker of shock flashed across his brother’s features as he glanced at the Night Court female. “Are family dinners always so… formal?” She asked none of them in particular. 

Eris merely shrugged in response, “It’s not every night you welcome back an exiled son.” 

Lucien nodded, keeping his expression serious. “I’m so flattered.” 

Elain giggled at his side and Lucien caught himself genuinely smiling. 

“Wish your lady’s maid a goodnight,” Eris interrupted, “we should be going.” 

“I’ll find you in the morning,” Elain promised, waving at her friend as Eris began to walk away.

“Enjoy yourselves,” Cora called after them and Lucien almost snorted, knowing the evening would probably be torturous. 

Elain was comfortable as she loosely held onto his arm, her heartbeat steady, nothing negative making its way down the bond. Eris slowed his steps, letting them catch up, and he walked next to Elain. 

As soon as they walked up a flight of stairs, ensuring there was enough distance between them and Cora, Elain used the hand that was not holding onto Lucien to swat his older brother. 

“You could use her name,” she scolded, "it's not as if you don’t know it.” 

Lucien’s mouth fell open in silent shock. He wondered when his eldest brother might have last been chastised, who might have been brave enough to dare. 

“Whose?” Eris said, disdain dripping from the one word, although it was obvious he knew who Elain was referring to.  

Elain hit him again, this time with more force. “You could be nice,” she suggested, disappointment lining her lovely features.

“Being nice might actually kill him,” Lucien mumbled, but they both seemed content to ignore his presence. 

“Stop hitting me,” Eris said, sounding unbothered.

As Elain raised her gloved hand one more time, Eris did not miss a single step as he winnowed to Lucien’s side, maintaining their pace effortlessly. 

Elain attempted to get through to him one last time, leaning past Lucien so she could frown at him. “It’s rude, Eris,” she observed. “You ought to know as much.”  

Lucien could have told her that arguing with Eris was akin to arguing with a stone wall, but he watched as they interacted, surprised at how comfortable they seemed to be with each other.

“Remember yourself at dinner,” Eris warned, “I’m not too sure that the rest of my brothers will appreciate your more violent side.” 

While Lucien could tell Eris was not being serious, he felt as Elain tensed, clearly worried by the words. 

Lucien shot Eris a glare, but his brother had already begun to speak, paying attention only to his mate.  

“You’ve managed to charm even my father, Elain Archeron,” Eris added, having noticed her change in demeanour, and Lucien was grateful as she straightened her shoulders back. She already looked more confident as Eris gave her a final piece of advice. “So keep at it.” 

Eris’s praise was enough for Elain to maintain an attitude that made her seem entirely at ease among the most important family in the Autumn Court. While the High Lord sat at the head of the rectangular table, no one else faced him from across the other side. 

Lucien’s mother was at his father’s left side, and Eris was on his right. Elain had quickly found her place sitting between Lucien and the Lady of Autumn, who she spoke with softly, answering all of his mother’s pleasantly worded questions while everyone else ate their perfectly cooked meal. 

Lucien was surprised with how well-behaved his brothers were, considering how he had witnessed more than enough brawls during their family dinners before he had been exiled. Beron watched with observant eyes, paying attention to the conversation between Elain and his wife. 

Eris had said very little, just like Lucien remembered, choosing to eat slowly and avoid meaningless small talk. Callum was expectedly next to their eldest brother, looking at the very least like he was carefully listening to Elain as she spoke. Ronan had drunk so much wine Lucien was wondering if he would be able to walk out of the dining room on his own, which seemed a bit unusual. Felix had his elbows on the table, head resting on his fist, decidedly choosing to be disrespectful. Lucien was surprised that their father had yet to say anything, knowing how much the High Lord valued appearances. 

“I was thinking of sending invitations out in the next couple of days,” Lucien heard his mother say, a repressed excitement in her voice. She placed her napkin next to her full plate. “Of course, Night will be receiving theirs first.” 

“Thank you,” Elain added, “We’d been planning a smaller affair, very few knew about it outside our little circle of friends.” She glanced to Lucien shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear endearingly before turning her attention back to the Lady of Autumn. 

“We could send Spring an invitation,” Beron added, voice quiet but authoritative. He looked at Lucien with a raised brow, “We wouldn't want to offend Tamlin.” 

“How considerate,” Lucien said, feeling his teeth grit in annoyance. 

“And we must invite the human queen and her general,” his father continued.

“I don’t expect them to travel into our court.” Lucien responded, wanting his friends to stay far away from the Forest House. 

“Why not?” Felix asked. “We have such a lovely court,” he flashed Lucien a grin daring him to argue. 

Lucien set his cutlery down with a loud sound as it hit against the side of his plate. 

“I don’t care much for Queen Vassa,” Elain interrupted before Lucien could say anything. There was honesty in her words, he could tell, perhaps even a hint of jealousy, but he knew she was only saying it for his benefit, 

Elain had come to his defence in the hopes that Beron would leave his friends alone, and the respect he had for his mate only soared at the thought.

Ronan chuckled, raising his glass in a salute towards Elain, which she returned elegantly despite her clear discomfort at being addressed directly. “I like your mate’s honesty, little brother,” he confessed before drinking deeply.

Beron hummed in response, placing his hand, palm up, onto the table. Lucien watched as his mother laced their fingers together, the gesture coming to them naturally. His much larger hand engulfed her smaller one, and Lucien had to fight the urge to wince.   

Everyone went back to eating in silence, and Lucien recalled the countless family dinners he had silently sat through. With Beron present, his brothers were achingly careful with their words and their actions, not wanting to upset him. It was like trying to walk in the woods without snapping a branch, nearly impossible without practice, but each of them had learned to read their father’s moods. 

As though Elain could sense the troublesome direction of Lucien’s thoughts, she placed a comforting hand on his knee. Covered by the table, no one else noticed the startlingly soft gesture. 

Lucien realised quickly that Elain’s action had not been for show, that it had not been a part of their roles, it was simply a moment shared between the two of them.

[petriwriting]

Vero Amore - Theodore Nott X Reader (Part 4)

Summary: Theodore is on trial for being associated with voldemort due to his father and family history, His odds arent looking so good. Luckily for him you are called to the stand to testify on his behalf, and you just might be the key to his innocence.

Fluff, established previous relationship, Exbf!Theo, Older!Theo and others. Post hogwarts.

Previous part here

The prosecution had painted Theodore as a greedy criminal, despite his previously spotless record. It was all about the chatter, and breaking away from the path his father had paved for him would have proven to be difficult. You were ushered back to your seat, away from the center of the courtroom. a mixture of skeptical and sympathetic faces passed you by, if these people wanted a love story, they got one. there was not a single ounce of dishonesty in either you or Theodore, or any of his witnesses'.

During closing arguments, Your escort gave an impassioned plea about Theodore's outstanding character and the complete lack of real evidence against him. The prosecution tried its best to poke holes, but their arguments rang hollow after everything. and it was now in the hands of the jury, you hoped and prayed they would be forgiving. After just an hour of deliberation, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty on all charges and accounts. You finally let out the breath that felt like you had been holding for months. His life and reputation had been salvaged, he was no longer tied to his past. and he would not have to be sent away to suffer for his fathers wrongdoings. you were overjoyed, elated to be able to see him one day do all of the things he always dreamt of. Once the court was dismissed, you scurried over to Theodore to embrace him, he picked you up into the embrace, holding you closely with a huge breath of relief and fresh air. Blaise appeared, he had been sitting quietly somewhere in the courtroom, though you hadn't noticed. "I told you it wouldn't be so bad." he assured Theodore with a stern pat on the back. Theodore was practically in tears, happiness. "I'm so shocked," Theodore says, the courtroom is now being emptied. you are all being ushered to leave.

As the three of you continue forward into the lobby, Theodore lets out a heavy sigh. He says your name, gently. "I'm so happy you are here," he begins. "Thank you, so much. I am indebted to you." he says. You smile softly. "You don't have to thank me," you say. "I'm glad I could be here." you say. 

After a sentimental moment between the two of you, Blaise is quick to leave. "I do have to get work now, but I'll leave you two to have a more proper reunion." he says. "It was great to see you again," you say politely. Blaise was never super close to you, although you were cordial since he was friends with theo. "Thanks, for everything. We'll celebrate at my place later, yeah?" he says, Blaise nods, and then is off. 

"I don't suppose you have plans after this?" Theodore asks you as you both walk, exiting the ministry building spilling onto the busy street. "No, actually, my calendar is clear for the day." you explain. "Would you like to come to my place? we can catch up- I'd just like to properly thank you for being there today." he says, his hands reaching for his pockets. "That sounds really nice actually." you agree. 

Before too long you are at Theo's small flat. It's messy and lived in. "Sorry it's a mess." he says. "But it's home." for someone that grew up a pureblood slytherin who was well off financially, it was quite modest. "It's fine. I don't mind it." you say, sitting at the kitchen island. Theo is standing on the other side. "Would you like a drink?" he offers. "sure" you say. Although you are both happy that he is now a free man, there is still a slight tension from spending so many years apart after school. you are both attempting to make up for the lost years. Theo offers you a glass with some tea, your favorite kind. He's incredibly thoughtful. "What happened to your father?" you ask, after some contemplation. "After the war, he realized he would be prosecuted. He attempted to flee to America, but he was caught and he passed shortly after." Theo says. 

"I'm sorry to hear that." you say. "It's alright, I don't miss him. but he's the only family I ever had." he says sadly. "That isn't true," you retort. "You have draco, pansy, and blaise." you thought. "and me." you say softly. Theodore gives a grateful smile. there's a special exchange between you. His mother passed away when he was young and his father was awful...  "The past few years have been rough," he sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "with the trial dragging on for so long, and with everyone busy moving on with their lives I always felt like I was stuck back in time... It's been really lonely." he says. "Sometimes I think back," you begin. "and I remember all the things we did, all the fun we had. Laughter, Tears, all of it. I'm sad it's gone now, but I'm grateful that it happened. Those are my best memories." you admit. "Seeing us in those memories kind of changed me." Theodore admits, biting his lip slightly. there is uncertainty. "What do you mean?" you question."I just meant that," he begins, but he back tracks, his hands resting on the counter behind him as he leaned back, his arms stiff. "I've been really lonely and part of that has to do with missing you." he exclaims. "For a long time I absolutely hated myself for leaving you there like that without an explanation, knowing that I ruined one of the best things I've ever had in my life. For a while I couldn't get out of bed, It was so heavy. But I asked you here today so that I could just let you know I'm sorry for that." His head is low, he's ashamed of himself. "Theodore, you don't have to apologize for that." He shook his head. "I do when I've thought about it almost everyday for years." he manages to say softly. "We all did things we aren't proud of, there was a war happening," you say. "That doesn't matter, but I am sorry," he says. 

You shift in your seat, taking a sip of your tea and placing the cup on the counter. you swing your feet over the edge, and you are now standing in front of Theodore. "I know that you had to do that," you comfort. "You had no other choice to survive. and that's okay." you comfort the man in front of you. "And by the way, I thought about you too. a lot. an embarrassing amount. But I wanted you to grow, even if that meant leaving me to do so." you say. Theodore is speechless, he feels like the same teenager he was all those years ago, scared to say anything. so he didn't, he pulled himself forward to place a gentle kiss on your lips. 

[batsplat]

wait, is there a dovi/jorge feud???? i didn't know this!! also thank you so much for all you do for this community ❤️

not the only ask I've gotten about this and... look, rather than doing a proper write up that would take forever, I'm just gonna give my top ten fun... facts? bits of trivia. tidbits related to the two of them. quite long tidbits, on second glance. the highlight reel, if you will

(1) that time andrea dovizioso made 14 year old jorge lorenzo cry

the two of them already raced each other before the start of their grand prix careers, competing for the first time in 2001 in the cev when dovi was around 15 and jorge around 14. in riveras tobia's biography, here's jorge talking about their first fight:

I led the way at the start and Dovizioso and I escaped. It was our first head-to-head encounter, the first time we raced each other. My dad had heard that Dovi was a really clever rider and he warned me before the race. But just like in 1998 at Jerez, with Olive, I acted like a dummy and pushed for the whole race. I kept looking behind me to see the bastard still there! It was impossible to shake him off, he was watching me the whole race until the last lap. Three comers from the end I could hear his engine getting closer and I saw his shadow to my left, but he didn't come past. I thought to myself "This guy is going to try something in a second!" I decided I had to on a tighter line and close the door. Sure enough, Dovi went wider through that comer and then dived up the inside. I didn't close the door in time and tried to get in his slipstream, desperately hoping I could get him the next corner, but I ran wide and he won. I came back in tears, I didn't even want to go to the podium, I felt so cheated. I'd been on the limit for the whole race and I felt like I deserved the win more than he did.

so that's a nice and positive start! there's something charming about how even fifteen year old dovi was an absolute menace on last laps

also about that race:

'Jorge beat Dovi in Braga but in the previous race at Most, what a tantrum!' recalls Juanito, laughing. 'He didn't even want to go to the podium, he was crying like a baby! I can still see Dani (Antatriain) talking to him, trying to convince him. In the end he went but he didn't want to look at anybody.'

(2) the photo finish

in 2004, they were rivals in 125cc - a year in which dovi claimed the title and jorge was p4 in the standings. in the very first grand prix ever at the lusail circuit (pretty eventful weekend, you have to say), jorge and dovi crossed the line at the exact same moment

(3) dovi's top three favourite career win

dovi and jorge progressed through the categories at the exact same rate, and after their 125cc rivalry they continued fighting in 250cc. they were title rivals in both 2006 and 2007, with jorge's aprilia winning out both times against dovi's underpowered honda. (the general pattern was that dovi clawed back a bunch of points from jorge in the wet - jorge, with perhaps the exception of a few years in the premier class until around 2013, has never been much of a wet weather racers, while it's always been one of dovi's strongest traits.) for dovi's 300th career start in 2019, he was asked what his top three wins were - and one of his picks was from way back when in 2007

I'd recommend the race! which... well, I did in the race rec post - and I can only reiterate that these two kids do not acknowledge each other, not good vibes at all

(4) jorge's thoughts on young dovi from 2008

Jorge has a lot of respect for Andrea Dovizioso and feels that his two 250cc world titles have even more prestige because he had to beat the Italian to win them. 'You wouldn't label Dovizioso as fast, particularly, but he's much faster than he looks. He doesn't set many pole positions but he is always up front in a race, fighting to win. He is very intelligent and you can't trust him an inch on the last lap. He has been faithful to Honda, he has great belief in them. His negative side is that he tends to play the victim too much. He'll say that if his bike had a better engine or if it was a bit faster he would win. He's even said that if he was on the same bike as me he'd give me a hiding. I think he looks for excuses too often sometimes, but as a rider and a person I don't have a bad word to say about him.'

some dovi traits read as very familiar, from how he's a better racer than qualifier to the intelligence to the last lap prowess. as for jorge saying dovi plays victim too much? well

also this:

ER: Don't you think that Dovizioso wanted to be World Champion too in 2006 and 2007? Don't you think he gave everything to achieve it? JL: He will think he gave his maximum but he will be lying to himself because nobody does that. Nobody gets close to their maximum, not even me. He will think that he didn't win because he was riding a Honda. There are very few sportsmen who will say, I deserve what happened to me and there are no excuses. I didn't know how to do any better and I've done things wrong.' That is the only way to be the best, the only way. People who make excuses don't get to the top. I know riders who haven't made it for just that reason.

plus ça change

(5) jorge's thoughts on young dovi from 2018

when they were doing their thing as ducati teammates (bickering), here is one of the things jorge said about dovi:

dovi's been trying to undermine jorge's morale his WHOLE career... even when they were but teenagers... love it when you can really tell someone's been sitting on something for over a decade

(6) "also lorenzo is not my friend"

both of them moved up to motogp in 2008, jorge with factory yamaha and dovi with satellite honda. dovi had a very strong rookie season and finished in p5, only sixteen points behind jorge in p4 (who after a promising first few races had spent a lot of time that season crashing). after that, their fortunes diverged. dovi did not have a particularly happy time in the factory honda team and needed to do some shrewd negotiating to be retained by them for 2011 in that three-man squad, while jorge of course won the championship in 2010

here's a deep cut from 2011, a season where much of the excitement and drama was caused by marco simoncelli alone. jorge had exchanged tense words with sic in estoril, one race before simoncelli was responsible for a crash where dani broke his collarbone. the crash and sic's subsequent penalty meant that the three-way fight between jorge, dovi and valentino became one for the podium, with dovi and valentino eventually grabbing the two remaining spots behind casey. but during the race, jorge had executed a... questionable manoeuvre on dovi, one that did have some similarities to the sic/dani incident. given jorge's strong previous comments on racing standards, unsurprisingly the journalists pounced on this incident in the post-race presser and ask the podium sitters about it. here is the clip:

in this clip, dovi essentially says it was a dangerous move from jorge, but he wasn't sure what jorge's intent had been and he needs to watch the footage again. valentino (who had been the most outspokenly critical of sic of the three of them earlier in the presser) takes the opportunity presented to him to have a bit of a potshot at jorge. he says that dovi doesn't have the best relationship with sic but jorge had done something pretty similar in the race... at which point dovi goes "also lorenzo is not my friend"

which, you know. not exactly a major incident, but I find it very charming dovi felt the need to clarify that, actually, he doesn't like either of them. valentino also adds that by jorge's own standards, surely he too should have gotten a penalty. not exactly a meeting of jorge's biggest fans hm

(7) mapping eight-gate

well I can't leave it out, can I

so in 2017 jorge switches from yamaha to ducati and does not have a great time of it. a lot of weekends, he's just too slow, other times he shoots to the front of a race at the start (typically not great news for the rest of the field in his yamaha days) and then chews up his tyres before gradually dropping like a stone back through the field. at some point that year it became a bit of a running gag - especially when you saw he was the only big name to be picking a soft tyre and just went... buddy we ALL know how this is gonna end....

while this was happening, his teammate dovi was for the first time in his premier class career in championship contention. an extremely close title fight throughout the year with five protagonists until pretty late in the season, it eventually went to a title decider in valencia between dovi and marc. you know, the kind of year where every point counts. the race where marc put a bit of daylight between himself and dovi was phillip island, with marc winning a great dogfight out front while dovi had a bit of a horror show of a weekend. this meant that a lot would have to go right for dovi to have a chance of still winning the title... and sepang was already a match point race for marc

ducati had not won a championship since their 2007 title, courtesy of one casey stoner. after that year, their bike became steadily less competitive every season, reaching a nadir around the 2011-13-ish period. so by the time 2017 rolled around, they wanted this so so badly - even if they wouldn't have expected dovi to lead the charge. dovi had only narrowly beaten out iannone in the 'who's going to be fired for our shiny new lorenzo hire' contest of 2016, and really it was supposed to be jorge who was carrying ducati's dreams on his shoulders. but, never mind, they were throwing everything behind dovi now... no stone left unturned

which brings us, of course, to the subject of team orders. this discourse really took off at the penultimate race of the season at sepang, but was already brewing before that - and in phillip island, satellite ducati rider redding had been told early in the race to let dovi past

here from marc at sepang:

dovi had been in great form all weekend at sepang - and with his wet weather prowess being what it was, really there shouldn't have been any need for team orders at all. but he got a sluggish start, and the race unfolded from there... until eventually jorge was in first, dovi was in second and marc in fourth. in those positions, marc would have clinched the title there

and then, jorge got a message on his dashboard. suggested mapping: mapping 8. pit boards and dashboards and all sorts of boards will feature various codes during races, most of them completely innocuous - but of course they are a healthy source of all sorts of conspiracies. the timing of this one was certainly... notable, and speculation immediately started about how it might be a way of telling jorge that he should swap positions with dovi

jorge didn't end up letting dovi pass - it is questionable whether he really would have done so with what would have been his first ducati win on the line. in the end, he made a mistake that let dovi through so that dovi claimed the win anyway, keeping himself in mathematical contention in valencia. and jorge did say afterwards he was keeping dovi's title hopes in mind, kind of

jorge also said he hadn't gotten any message indicating team orders, and of course nobody at ducati confirmed that mapping eight did have anything to do with team orders

for what it's worth, this is what dovi said about their relationship at this stage:

lovely! let's see what the vibes are like a few months later

anyway, onto valencia. this race was pretty boring despite being a title decider, but the jorge/dovi bits were just unequivocally the weekend's most enjoyable aspect and rather nicely spiced up the whole thing. dovi's chances were always slim going in, given he'd have to win the race and marc would have to barely get any points at all... but still, you never know, right? marc could always crash (narrator: he did almost crash). jorge plays coy early in the weekend about the whole 'helping dovi out thing', and basically just started putting in place...? ... very specific conditions...? under which he'd help:

so during the actual race, dovi got stuck behind jorge in p5, with marc ahead of both of them. valencia is traditionally not a fantastic track to overtake at... so even if dovi had been faster, it's not like he'd have an easy time clearing jorge and cracking on. but they were beginning to drift further away from dani in p3 as ducati watched on, increasingly unamused by what was happening - and the tv cameras were of course kind enough to repeatedly show the ducati box looking deeply unamused. again, they went for the good old mapping eight message, which, hey, that could mean anything! they sure did keep showing it to jorge though, almost like he wasn't paying attention to it

eventually, they abandon all subtlety and go for a pit board message that does just straight-up tell jorge to swap positions. jorge kept ignoring the messages, lap after lap, and he never ended up letting dovi past. eventually they both crashed and marc claimed the title with a p3 finish, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway, but... still. the feeling was that this might things rather awkward inside of ducati

publicly, ducati was extremely keen to smooth over the whole controversy, saying they totally weren't mad at jorge blatantly ignoring team orders. jorge had, after all, explained to them (and the media, repeatedly) that he had totally been intending to help dovi by dragging him closer to dani

Giving his take on events, Lorenzo acknowledged that he ignored Ducati’s instruction because he felt Dovizioso’s chances would be boosted by having him directly ahead. “Even looking at this [dashboard] suggestion, I keep pushing until the end, because I knew it was the best thing for me, for Ducati and for Dovi,” said Lorenzo. “I helped him to improve his pace by one or two tenths, to be as close as possible to the first group. My intention was, and it was the case, that we arrive at the first group. If he had the option to win, I would have gone wide and let him pass. But unfortunately it was not like that. Maybe in some corners Dovi was close and I slow down a little bit his pace, but in general terms, having my wheel in front of him made him improve slightly his pace. I helped him stayed closer to the front group. “I knew Dovi was struggling, I knew his pace during all the weekend, and I knew he was making the best pace of the weekend just in the race. It was [because of the] help from my wheel. I’m happy because I was not wrong. If I was wrong and slowing him, I would be very sorry. But it’s not like that, my feeling was true.”

which, you know. is it really that easy to tell how much faster you are than someone who's sitting on your rear tyre? who's to say. dovi did certainly seem rather keen to get past

anyhow, of course there were plenty of fun dramatics post-race:

'our rider ignored team suggestions not team orders' is a great line, fairs. there's plenty more of this from ducati, some excellent spin doctoring - and dovi was extremely magnanimous about what had happened:

the whole thing was pretty undignified from all non-dovi parties, but it was also very funny so who's to say if it was bad or not

(8) runner-up-gate

let's check in on them in 2018, the second and ultimately last year in which they were teammates. remember that 'undermining morale' quote from above? those are from early 2018, after dovi says he wouldn't be surprised to see jorge elsewhere the following season. so, once jorge has complained that dovi had been trying to put him down his entire career, comes this:

so that's something. jorge, dovi and dani have a three-in-one crash in jerez, after which some fingers are pointed but it all remains fairly civil, and a bit later dovi says that jorge's approach doesn't work at ducati:

by the summer break, jorge's results had gotten better, but it was already too late to save the relationship with ducati and they parted ways. anyway, here's dovi and jorge having another go at it:

And while a rough patch for Dovizioso coupled with breakthrough back-to-back wins for Lorenzo in Mugello and Barcelona have now left the pair just three points apart in the standings, Dovizioso refused to back down from his claim when speaking to Spanish sports daily Marca ahead of the upcoming Brno race. “He’s won two races,” Dovizioso said. “Winning two races does not solve the problem of a year and a half. Lorenzo was not signed to win two races. Therefore I do not change my mind.” When the comments were put to Lorenzo, the three-time champion offered an ardent retort, stating that Dovizioso's rhetoric was proof of the claim he'd made back in April. “I'm a bit fed up with this situation, mainly because when I had trouble and he was winning, I was down there applauding,” Lorenzo told Spanish broadcaster Movistar. “What I said in Argentina - and the comments caused a big surprise - you can see that I was right. “He tried to undermine me, or downplay what I achieve or just attack me. As you can see, I wasn't lying. He's still doing it and now he says my method is not good, according to him.” Lorenzo intimated that Dovizioso was in no position to criticise him, as the Italian could do no better than runner-up to Marc Marquez in a 'perfect' 2017 season. He said: “I think my method has not worked too bad in my career. I've won three MotoGP titles and have 46 wins.” “In my second year in Ducati I'm usually faster than him, but maybe I should look at his method closer if in his best season, with everything going perfectly, he was second. Otherwise he's fourth or seventh usually. I'd tell him to leave me to go my way and to focus on his own and everything will be better, because when you have an angry Lorenzo it's usually worse for you.” 

fair to say that by this point the pretence at civility has mostly been dropped. I'm rather fond of the "lorenzo was not signed to win two races" line, though "when you have an angry lorenzo it's usually worse for you" is also really strong stuff. dovi tries to restore a little bit of peace:

Responding in turn to Lorenzo's tirade, Dovizioso sought to play down the conflict. “Jorge has his ideas and I think they are based on particular things. I don't think like him, but it's not a problem,” he told Movistar. “Everybody creates their own ideas based on what they see and how they live. “I don't think he has everything clear in his head about what's happened, but we continue the relationship that we started last year with respect, there's no particular problem. If he thinks this way, that's his problem."

so basically the classic 'idk what he's on about but it's not my problem' approach to attempting to defuse feuds

(9) twitter-gate

there's a few more on-track battles where it's nicely obvious how badly they want to beat each other, with jorge beating marc just ahead of dovi in austria and then dovi beating jorge in brno. jorge's season is increasingly derailed by injuries, which sets the stage for their next big spat:

The row was sparked by Dovizioso's comments to Sky Italia after qualifying at Sepang on Saturday, as he was asked what he thought of Lorenzo having to pull out of the Malaysian GP weekend with injury. "I don't know the details, I don't want to get into this, it's a bit of a strange situation," said Dovizioso."It happens often in Ducati or to certain riders, but I don't understand the details and I don't want to get into it and give my opinion." When it was put to him he was offering 'cryptic words', he added: "I leave things there, it's not my problem."

pretty vague, yeah. but anyway, I'm sure jorge had a proportionate response to this

Dovizioso's comments prompted a series of irate posts from Lorenzo on Twitter, with his first reaction being "Thank you very much @AndreaDovizioso! You are a real gentleman!". In his next post, he went on to call Dovizioso "an exemplary teammate", adding: "You applaud him under the podium when he wins and then... (That's right, he does not give his opinion, it's not his problem)." After that, Lorenzo labelled Dovizioso "envious" and described him as "a world champion... in 125cc."

the podium thing really bothered him, don't you think. their ducati in-fighting follows that general pattern where dovi says something... a little shady, a little ambiguous, where his intentions aren't entirely obvious... at which point jorge goes all in at fighting back and has a go at dovi - often not as much for what dovi is actually saying, but what jorge thinks dovi is implying. which is based on his understanding of dovi, the image of dovi he's built up in his head over the years, so that he is... predisposed to think ill of the intentions of the 'intelligent' dovi who always knows exactly what he's saying

again, dovi tried to downplay the argument, while simultaneously not exhibiting much patience for jorge's stance:

After the Malaysian GP, Dovizioso was asked about Lorenzo's responses to his comments, and the Italian accused his teammate of reading too much into headlines. He said: “Why should I talk to Lorenzo? I do not waste time on these things. He makes the usual mistake of giving too much importance to what is written, even without the context. "I have not pointed my finger at anyone and I have no problem with Jorge."

if I were ducati, I probably would've let the whole thing blow over given jorge was off soon anyway. but they decided the whole thing was so bad they had to organise a peace summit

Asked about the situation, Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti admitted to Motorsport.com that the Bologna marque has already planned to sit its two riders on Tuesday in Milan to make it clear what its priorities are. Ciabatti said: “It is clear that the interests of Ducati come before personal problems between riders. On Tuesday we will be together in Milan, for the EICMA [motorcycle show] and we have in mind to spend half an hour to sit and talk to Jorge and Andrea. "We want to avoid similar things to what happened last weekend. "I understand that these kinds of situations can happen. Sometimes riders get nervous during a Grand Prix weekend and on a rainy day, with tricky conditions, sometimes they say things they shouldn’t have said."

god knows how that turned out

(10) wow, you guys aren't gonna let this go, huh

late 2020 and jorge's career is already over, while dovi's looks like it will be... paused, at the very least. which is always a good time to check in with riders on how they feel about their rivals - if they're still being nasty you know that shit was personal. from december:

some quality petty material here. "I can't understand his somewhat peculiar mind" vs "he was envious of me since 250cc, but I wanted to give our relationship a chance". note too jorge talking again about how generous he had been in the face of dovi's 2017 successes, and how he feels like this was not reciprocated at all. jorge's complaints don't stop there:

merry christmas!

not the only rider jorge has beefed with post-retirement, but compare and contrast with how he really hasn't been doing any of that with some of his biggest career rivals. valentino, marc, dani - sure, he still talks about the controversies he's had with them pretty regularly (to put it lightly), and he's hardly free of complaints... but mostly it's a distinctly nostalgic tone he's adopting with these guys. admittedly, it helps that none of those three have gone out of their way to say anything particularly inflammatory about jorge. still, the absolute lack of any sort of rapprochement with dovi of all people is pretty funny

bonus: that time when jorge skittled all of marc's rivals

you know how in catalunya 2019, jorge took out like? all of marc's major rivals in that era including himself in one go? with half a decade of hindsight, this was kind of hilarious, and it did also feature jorge having to eat a hell of a lot of humble pie and go to the three other blokes to apologise. anyway I have a lovingly assembled set of screenshots of all three of them emoting in their boxes after the incident, all suffering some form of an existential crisis. here is dovi contemplating the bleak realities of our brief lives on this planet:

truly one of the world's least enthusiastic waves

bonus 2: another one for old time's sake

already posted this elsewhere, but this from late 2023 made me laugh

"jorge came to ducati and thought he was going to beat everything, but in the end he didn't" uh huh

[pikahlua]

If you don't mind, can I ask something from BNHA? What do you think are Bakugou and Midoriya’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic? Sorry if you've answered these questions before.....

Also, If you don't mind me asking (again), can I also ask your top fav characters and fav moments from the series (BNHA)...? Thanks if you want to answer....

P.s

From which moment that made you sure that Bakugou is going to be your fav character ever....

I kinda have trouble with understanding your meaning behind "personality strengths and weaknesses." I've always described Izuku's and Katsuki's personalities with nuance such that their personality traits are good in some situations and not in others. Not to mention they both grow over the course of the story, so their personalities change a bit. But, if there was a trait they each clearly work on over the course of the story, for Katsuki that would be communication, and for Izuku that would be trusting others. As for a trait that serves each of them well, for Katsuki that would be holding himself and others to high standards, and for Izuku that would be his disregard for social norms and expectations when someone needs saving.

It's hard for me to just sum up what I love about their dynamic together lol. You can always reference this post of mine if you like. I guess to just name one thing, I like that they both are the catalyst for each other's growth. The way they change over the series is intricately connected with their relationship with each other. It's lovely to see how much of an impact someone can have on a person.

I don't think I can answer the "top fav characters and fav moments" any differently than I always have. It's Katsuki Bakugou, and then everyone else. Any Katsuki Bakugou moment is my favorite lol.

I think you'd be surprised by "the moment" when I knew Katsuki would be my favorite character ever. It's actually in the Overhaul arc lol. I started reading MHA while the manga was in the Overhaul arc. I finished watching season 2, then I decided to catch up with the manga. By Deku vs Kacchan, Part 2, I genuinely thought something to effect of "if the manga were to end here, I'd be happy with it." The story continued on, however, into the Overhaul arc...which I do not like lol. I read it with an open mind, but as time went on I found it more and more boring. It wasn't adding anything new or exciting to the shounen genre like the previous arcs had. At some point I stopped to evaluate why I was so bored reading it, and I realized the answer was the lack of Katsuki Bakugou. That's where all of this comes from:

If Katsuki Bakugou ain't in frame, it's probably boring.

[mycadences]

Some things are more important than fear.

Gwyneth Berdara. I adore this woman. She had my attention from the first moment she appeared on page and sassed back against the Nesta's icy retorts. Her growth throughout ACOSF alongside her two chosen sisters was phenomenal and touching. As she gradually began to reacclimatize herself to the outside world, the small steps she willingly took (reading smutty books, stepping out of the Library to go to Emerie's shop) all paved the way to her self-healing journey.

I’ll face it with you. Promise me we’ll face it together.

Her friendship with Nesta and Emerie was the highlight of ACOSF for me. Gwyn would rather die alongside Nesta than abandon her. Loyal to the core, fighter till the end. Their moments of bonding throughout the book made me smile, laugh and cry. When they chose to tackle Ramiel together, it made me so proud of them and I felt like I was there with them in spirit, urging them on.

(P.s. I demand a scene in the future where our Valkyries ride on their own pegasi and charge into battle!)

I don’t need to be coddled. Only spoken to like a person.

Gwyn is strong. She doesn't let her previous trauma define her. She was the first to sign up for the training, and I kid you not, when I saw her name on the sign-up sheet I whooped out loud through blurry eyes. She was clearly nervous, apprehensive, but she fought past her internal demons to gain a new strength that would let her never be weak again. But what Gwyn doesn't know is that she was never weak in the first place. Hiding Sangravah's children, watching her twin get beheaded and enduring through her assault to protect those children? That takes immense strength.

I am the rock against which the surf crashes. Nothing can break me.

Gwyn was right. She survived Hybern. She survived the Blood Rite. And she will continue to survive against whatever the Mother or the Cauldron or whoever decides to throw against her in the future. Gwyn was the first to revive the Valkyrie tradition by cutting the ribbon, and she was also the first to utter the above line (after which Nesta thought about it in her mind). Anything and everything that dares to obstruct her path will break against her indomitable will and resilience.

I don’t want to take the safe road. I want to take the road that no one dares travel.

Gwyn's journey is far from over. At the end of ACOSF, she returned to the Library, which makes sense after going through her ordeal. However, based on what she has said herself ("With more to come"), I am eagerly anticipating her future adventures and the path that she will take. Believe me when I say that we have not seen the last of this Valkyrie-Carynthian-priestess (what a mouthful of a title, one that I'm sure will only get longer). Her unexplored lineage and powers remain a mystery that I hope we'll delve deeper into!

Our stories are worth telling.

They are.

They are.

THEY. ARE.

SO SJM, GIVE ME THAT EMORIE NOVELLA AND GWYNRIEL BOOK 😭 (I have gushed enough about Gwynriel on all of my previous posts, so for this special Gwynweek opening post I decided not to rehash on those points haha.)

[i-heart-hxh]

Does Togashi normally post this much of his Gon and Killua artwork? It may just be me getting my hopes up but I’m crossing my fingers that he’s giving us subtle hints that they may be making a comeback in the manga soon.

There isn't actually much of a precedent to go off of--two years ago when Togashi started tweeting, he mostly just shared his progress, and rarely he'd pull a drawing out of his archives and share it, like this awesome Hiei. But he wasn't in the regular habit of sharing things from his archives at that time. Him pulling out previous art and sharing it daily is a new thing he just started doing over the past few weeks.

I was really excited at how much Gon (and some Killua) he started posting all of the sudden, but now he's been showing off various HxH covers in general regardless of characters featured. There has been a large amount of Gon and some Killua featured, but this makes sense because they're the main characters and tend to be featured the most on covers. I don't think it's as much of a serious hint as I was hoping for initially, sadly.

However... I do think he's posting them with full awareness that his fans miss them and want to see them again, so it's not like he's obliviously putting them out there with no thought to the ramifications and no notice of how much attention towards them it creates. It may not be a sign that they're about to be in the manga again imminently (though that is possible, you never know), but...how to put it...him posting them so much makes me hopeful that he's continuing to use them as a vehicle for the popularity of the series and he's continuing to remind us of their existence in the story. It does add a bit more hope than I already had for their future in the series, and maybe even in the not-too-distant future even if it's not a case of "Omg he's definitely bringing them back in the next few chapters!!!"

He likely already has a plan in place (or perhaps even a few different plans he's deciding between, like with his ending scenarios) for when they'll re-enter the series, and it could be that there's still quite a ways to go until then. That's certainly what it seems like with where we're at in the story. But HxH is unpredictable--for all we know, they could appear in the next chapter. It's quite unlikely and, honestly, I'm not holding my breath at all on seeing them in the next 10 chapters (aside from maybe in art unconnected to the story or quick cameos in memories, etc.).

But I don't think Togashi has lost sight of how popular and beloved these guys are at all, and he might even be paying attention to how excited people are to see them, knowing how much the fanbase will explode when their time does finally come again. ❤️

(This is from years ago, but I think it shows Togashi was already aware that his fans want to see them all again, Leorio included!)

[loz-3]

Luminous: Chapter Two - Bad Timing, Worst Luck

Pairing: Loki x female reader (eventually) Word Count: 3,797 Tags/Warnings: Language, mention of death, forcible confinement

Notes: Alternate universe! This happens post Avengers 2012 / in place of the TVA. The opening for Loki S01E01 is how we get here.

Previous: Chapter One - Welcome to Trifid

taglist: @vbecker10 @lulubelle814 @huntress-artemiss @meowmeow-motherfucker @gruftiela

You crept up the street, moving quietly between the shadows. While it was a wide street, the buildings that lined it had plenty of nooks and crevices that threw decent shadow coverage. Three blocks from the plaza, you ducked out to the right, locating a little hovel with a loose storm drain cover. Popping the cover open, you placed your pack into the hollow. It would be safe there and wouldn't be in the way for what you planned to do.

Sliding back out to the street, you closed the distance to the plaza quickly. All the lights in the building were on, brightly luminating the the figures within. The plaza was also filled with curious citizens, all facing towards the lit doorway. 'Alright, gotta go around the back' you thought as you pulled up your hood, further casting your face in darkness, and headed around the back of the council building.

You continued until you reached a tower of scaffolding attached to the outer walls. 'Excellent, still doing work on the facade I see'. Hoisting yourself up to the first level, you slunk along the narrow planks, slowly working your way to the high window at the top of the wall. Due to the arid weather on Dyeus 9 and that this was the public council building, there was no glass in the upper openings so you were able to squeeze inside.

The catwalk you emerged on was dark and dusty. It had been a long while since someone had been up here. You crept along, moving as not to disturb any dust particles, and found a good spot listen to the below conversation from your vantage point.

Loki followed Codec, Phase, and Dominion up the street, finally stopping in front of a large and ornate building. 'This must be the council building.' He thought, looking around. A small crowd of city inhabitants had gathered behind them, all similarly fashioned to his escorts. Luckily, they did not have to wait long as the great doors opened and a group of four people in brightly colours robes walked out into the darkening night air.

"Welcome! It has been many years since an Asgardian has graced our city with their presence!" they bowed low, face downturned, "Tell us, how fares King Bor? Does his house still rule in Asgard?" An elder dressed in a bright orange robe spoke, their various buckles and gaudy gems tinkled together, gesturing for Loki to step forward. The crowd shuffled when Asgard was mentioned, murmuring amongst themselves.

Loki did as he was prompted, moving up a couple steps to be closer to the elders. "No, King Bor is no longer ruling in Asgard. He was my grandfather and… hang on. Just how long has it been since Asgard sent an ambassador?". The last thing he needed right now was a visit from his brother, or worse… his 'father'. The bifrost had been destroyed the last time he was in Asgard, so hopefully its status hadn't changed.

"It has been at least 4,000 years since, but…oh..!" The elder bowed again, the others following suit. "My apologies, my lord Loki, but that would mean you are of royal descent!"

Loki hated being reminded of his lineage, especially that of his father's, but he did quite like being recognized for the royalty that he was. "Yes, I am the rightful heir of Asgard and Jotenheim." The elders extended their bows, faces nearly pressed against the polished cobble of the buildings' landing. "Rise, my new friends, and tell me about your city."

The elders straightened and quickly glanced between each other. "Of course! Please, join us inside where we can discuss privately." The orange elder threw a glare and firm nod towards Dominion, who began to disburse the throng of on-lookers. They all transitioned inside, Loki trailing, and came to stop under the decorative chandelier.

'Perfect', you thought. This shielded any ground floor views of where you crouched up in the rafters. It also gave you an ideal perspective to check out this tourist. He was tall, far taller than he looked lying in the sand. Dark boots melded seamlessly to leather trousers, all tucked under a long tunic laced with green and gold accents. A thick luxurious cape flowed from his shoulders to the floor. There were a few scratches and cuts that marred his face, but those seemed to be partially healed.

Aside from the fine dusting of sand, his hair was long, loosely curled and deep black. Even from this distance, you wondered if it was as soft as it appeared to be. You couldn't decide on the colour of his eyes. From this angle, they looked very blue but when he had spotted you in the street earlier, they were almost green-tinged. It was if he was sculpted by a god for the single purpose of being the most beautiful thing in creation. 'It must be a trick of the lighting, nobody is THAT perfect.' you concluded with a shake of your head.

Once the doors had closed behind them, a second elder stepped forward. This one was wearing brilliant blue robes, with little bells and chimes sewn into the fabric. "This is the great city of Lugalirra- The Above…"

"What does that mean, 'The Above'?" Loki interjected. As city names go, this one was odd.

The blue elder looked confused… then flustered so the third elder, in pale purple robes, spoke up with a shrug, "It is what we call it, I suppose." Loki looked dubious, there had to be a reason for the strange moniker. The elder continued, smoothing out their robes with anxiety "We offer apologies for our unpreparedness, my lord, we only receive transports every couple of years so we do not see many visitors."

'Ah, excellent!' Loki was very pleased with that knowledge. Once every few years meant as long as the bifrost remained out of commission, there would be very limited contact with other worlds. "And how do your politics work here?"

The last, wearing deep scarlet, spoke “We rule as a unit, a solid front against any and all issues.” The others agreed, nodding to each other, “and with a pedigree such as yours, my lord, we ask you to join us. To help and lead us to the greatness that is Asgard.”

Loki smiled, his face contorting with menace. You jerked back, clinging to the catwalk as a sprinkle of dust descended from beneath your hand. ‘And that’s my cue to go’ you thought, creeping back to the window. If he was going to help them, you wanted to be as far from this place as possible. You scampered back through the slit in the wall, and fled down the scaffolding as fast as you dared. Once your feet hit the cobbles, you darted for the street.

Coming around to the open plaza, you checked both directions for people before sprinting straight across and towards the alley in which you left your pack. You turned the corner, keeping an eye on the square behind you and came to a sudden dead stop. “Ooof! Watch it…” you stopped talking, noticing the chest that stopped you, particularly the emblem stitched to it. Dominion. Not good. Dominion’s hands clasped tightly around your upper arms. With very little effort on their part, you were lifted off the ground, brought to eye level with your capturer.

“Hey bud!” You smirked, “to what do I owe the pleasure of this lovely meeting?”. Your words dripped with sarcasm. Dominion’s eyes narrowed, breathing sharply out through their nose. “Ah, yes! You’ve always been a lovely conversationalist… but I really should be off, loads to do, you know?” You rocked your feet, waiting to be put down.

“Not a chance.” A new voice mocked you from behind, one you definitely recognized. Double not good.

“Reaper. You’ve got nothing on me. Like always.”

“You’d think that…” The one called Reaper circled until they were within your sight line. “I was originally planning on another interrogation session, as you somehow escaped me last time. But…” they extended one finger and scrapped off a bit of your face paint, allowing the colour to peek through, “it would seem I’ve found the one we’ve been hunting all these years.”

Fuck. After all the years on the run, all the effort on keeping your marks a secret, it only took one ill-fated visitor to Dyeus 9 to bring everything crashing down “Shall we?” Reaper turned and motioned for Dominion to follow. You, dangling in their grip, had no choice in the matter.

Crossing back across the plaza, you noticed that Loki was just exiting the council building. ‘Great. Now there’s THIS guy…’ you thought vehemently.

“What's happening here?” Loki asked absently as your procession passed by. His eyes were immediately drawn to the patch of glow cleared of paint. ‘That colour, the alley… it’s from a person?’ As confused as he felt, he kept his face stoic.

Reaper stopped mid-stride “Oh! Master Loki! I would pay her no concern, she is merely a detainee with valuable information. We didn’t mean to disrupt your evening.” You rolled your eyes with a sigh. Loki locked eyes with you, before angling his face towards your captors. The brief glimpse you got confirmed his icy blue irises, and caused you to break the eye contact first.

He squinted down at Reaper, “I’d like to accompany you." He proffered, “I’m very curious about your interrogation tactics.” Reaper glazed over, thinking hard about the offer. Time ticked by, minute by minute. Loki had started to look annoyed.

You, stupidly, opted to open your mouth. “Sorry for the delay, Reaper’s about as sharp as a marble.” Two pairs of eyes shot in your direction, Loki and the aforementioned Reaper. Dominion’s eyes had not left your face since they scooped you in the street. You returned all their gazes with a brilliant smile, your pointed canines glinting in the dim twilight.

Reaper closed the distance to you in two steps and brought their hand sharply across your cheek, flaking off more paint. “Miscreants like you need not speak!” Loki snorted, he was beginning to like this planet. Reaper extended his arm, sweeping it towards Loki as a gesture to join the crew. Loki stepped in line beside Reaper and your group carried on.

Your cheek tingled, you were sure it would bruise by this time tomorrow. ‘Damn it! Why did we have to run into this jerk?’ You thought. He was going to make your escape that much more difficult. This was not the first time Reaper had you in their clutches, not by a long shot. But it was the first time they had discovered who you really were.

Your mother had always said to keep to the shadows, to not go out in The Above after moonrise. “Your birthmarks are very rare, and they are what makes you special.” She had told you once when you were much younger. “You have to promise to keep hidden.” The little-you had agreed… but as time went on, you got more adventurous and reckless. Even more so after she passed on. All you knew about the marks was that they were inherited along the maternal bloodline; that there were no other families you knew of that got them; and that they were what had gotten your mother killed. Your father had been with her on a trip to The Above. He had tried to protect her, but they both ended up losing their lives. From that point on, you had only trusted a select few, and never revealed your marks outside of home.

Until today. If he hadn’t landed on Dyeus 9, you would have been safe at home upon moonrise and would not be in this situation now.

The building you were brought to was several streets down from the main plaza, near to the pump house and its loud generators. This was an ideal spot for interrogations as any noises associated with gathering intel wasn’t heard from the residential or council units.

Inside, they took everything you had. Belt, boots, bits of lint from your pockets. You were put into a strong metal cage, with a new looking locking mechanism. “As you can probably tell,” said Reaper, “we’ve upgraded our system. You should be nice and secure now.” You stuck your tongue out and crossed your arms.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Loki piped up, “what if it gets stuck that way?” You turned your attention to him, withdrawing your tongue but extending both middle fingers. He sneered back.

Reaper paced back and front across the small room. “I’ll need to notify the council…”. They paused and looked at Loki, “We will have to wait until then before we can start on her.” jamming their thumb in your direction.

“Does everything here have to go through the council? It would seem you could have the capacity with me here to get whatever information now, and THEN take it to the rest of elders.” Pushing the boundaries of his newly appointed status, Loki watched as Reaper’s eyes popped in shock.

Reaper shook their head, “Absolutely not! The whole council must be informed. Apologies, my lord.” Loki’s jaw tightened, but he nodded in agreeance. He must play by their rules…for now. Reaper spoke again, “Come, Dominion. We shall go inform the elders.” Together, the two of them moved towards the door.

“I shall retire to my chambers.” Loki joined them at the door, “Make sure I am informed the moment the elders are meeting.” Reaper’s face split into a smile, happy that their refusal didn’t anger the newcomer. Dominion threw open the door and the three stepped out.

From your cage, you waited for the door to close behind them. Just like always, no guard would be left. Typical. The two locals sped away, wanting to inform as soon as possible that the last 'person of interest' was caught. Loki lingered just long enough for them to move out of sight, and stepped back in to room in which you were captive.

“Well, well, well…” he spoke in haughty tones, “How does your little light trick work?” Loki stalked over to your prison, circling around, taking a good look at you. “Why are you so special?”

You barked a short laugh, keeping your eyes on him as he rounded the cage, “And why in the world would I tell some pompous space ass anything about myself?”

“Because I’m curious.” He stopped walking, waiting for an answer. You merely smirked up at him.

You gestured to the pile of your things on the floor. “Pass me a boot and we can talk.”

“I don’t think a boot will help you get out of your predicament, little one.”

“Ugh, ‘little one’. Soo condescending…” you waved your hand at him dismissively, “you know what, just go. I’ll figure it out on my own.”

You turn your focus to the boot sitting a good ten feet from your pen. It took a ton of energy when you’ve done this in the past, but seeing as you had no other option and ‘Mr. Green’ was useless, you’d have to do something. Licking your thumbs, you rub the remaining paint off your face to fully reveal the birthmark running over your nose horizontally from temple to temple.

Loki stared intently, pausing mid-step. The radiant fuchsia across your skin luminated your large, expressive eyes. ‘Beautiful…’ he cut off his thought, ‘No, shut up, she’s a strange creature on another world, she’s not for you.’

Rolling up your sleeves, you expose more birthmarks, all of which are glowing. You close your eyes and visualize only the boot. The glow suddenly intensified and your eyes flash open, now the same shade of pink. The boot twitched and fell over.

Loki’s jaw dropped, but he doesn’t say a word. You reach further into your telekinesis. The boot slowly rose from the floor and absentmindedly drifted towards you. Once it reached your outstretched fingers, you grab it but so does Loki. "Give it!" You strain against his strength.

“How…”

“Give me the boot!”

“No.”

“Look, just let go and I’ll tell you how I did that.”

“Oh, but I like this.” He bent at the waist and brought his face closer to yours.

“Please…” Loki noticed the change in your tone, no longer as fearless but more pleading, desperate. He released his grip and you slammed into the far side of the cage. You scowl, picking yourself up off the floor. “Thanks.”

Digging into the heel with your fingertips, you peel off a section of the sole and expose a hidden lock pick. You threw the boot aside and jabbed the pick into the lock, only needing to tweak it around a few times before the deadbolt popped and the door swung open. “I’d say it was a joy to meet you…” you start, finally able to stand up straight, outside of the cage.

“But that would be a lie.” Loki finished. Given the look on your face, he elaborated, “I have a certain way with distinguishing lies and truths.”

You looked leery, but he hadn't been wrong, so you shrugged and stooped to retrieve your cast-aside footwear. You pulled on each boot, followed by your jacket and other gear, and moved towards the exit. "Well, thanks for nothing, Loki." You turned and stepped one foot outside the door. His reply was so soft and quiet that you almost missed it. You spun around, frowning in his direction, "What was that?"

"I said," Loki spoke a little louder, "'I didn't get your name.'". He shifted awkwardly, pressing a hand to his brow.

You paused, trying to decide if you should give that information up. It's not like Reaper and their goons didn't know your name already, so what could be the harm? "It's Y/N." There, he could have that much. You raised your hand in parting, and disappeared into the darkness.

As soon as your feet hit the ground outside, you bolted to the nearest road grate. You threw it open, sliding down into the small gap you had made, and swiftly slid it closed above you. That was far too close, and now Reaper and the others would know that you were their target, the last of your bloodline. You sat in the pit, catching your breath and allowing some time to pass before you re-emerged. That particular grate didn't connect to where you needed to be, so you hastily mixed some loose dirt with spit to at least dull the marks across your nose.

Suddenly, you heard the quick footsteps of multiple people approaching from the plaza. Reaper must have found the other council members. Tucking down, you lowered your head and pushed your hair forward to camouflage your glow even further. No-one slowed, so you figured you had done a good enough job. When the posse had gone, you re-opened the grate and ran back to your stash, collecting your hidden pack before returning to the garden and down towards home.

Loki stood alone in the empty room, wondering to himself as to why he asked your name. You were a criminal, a vile monster that needed to be captured and most likely disposed of… but there was something oddly intriguing about you and your mysterious abilities. 'I should not have allowed her to escape.' he thought to himself, just as Reaper and the elders burst in.

"You see? The last of…" Reaper's mouth gaped open when he saw the empty cage, "What the hell happened here?" He rounded on Loki, grabbing the front of his leathers. Reaper tried to get as close to Loki's face as possible, but they were quite a bit shorter and could not manage to be threatening at such a small stature.

Loki looked down at the hands on his lapel, and back up to meet Reaper's eyes. "Unhand me." It was an order, not a request. Reaper at least had enough foresight to do as they were told. "I am an honoured guest in your city, why would I bother with something so trivial as babysitting a captive?".

"I…you…" The words were lost to Reaper. They were livid and their face was turning an unsightly shade of purple.

One of the elder council members stepped in, "Reaper, relax. Loki is correct, you should have sent Dominion to us or kept a better eye on your captive." The elder moved swiftly to Loki's side, "She has been slipping through our grasp since long before we knew of her lineage. Perhaps with your help, my lord, we can learn how she's been able to outwit us?". The elder and the five others looked at Loki expectantly.

Loki smoothed the front of his leathers, which were slightly askew after Reaper's assault. There was a part of him, a tiny part, that screamed for him to NOT tell them what had occurred. He pushed the little inner voice down deep, willing it to be silent. He needed to tell them what he saw, if he ever planned on taking over leadership. "She’s telekinetic.” He said simply “the strength of it is enhanced by her light.”

"So how do we combat that?" asked another elder, "There must be a weakness to it…"

Loki opened his mouth, then closed it. Something felt off about this. He pressed himself along, "It seems to take a great bit of energy on her part. If you were to immobilizer her…" 'Stop.' "…or use very bright lights to disorientate…" 'Stop it, this is wrong.' "…you could keep control.". 'What is happening to me?' Loki had never fought so hard with his internal self, 'This needs to cease. Now.'

While Loki struggled internally, Reaper had been nodding and getting ever more excited about the ideas. The elders also seemed to be enthused. They were all talking over each other, trying to organize a plan. One elder mentioned using the large lights from the council chamber, another discussed the use of restraints. Yet another said they should host a great feast to see if they could draw out the threat.

"Enough!" Loki's piercing voice ripped through the chatter and everyone fell quiet. "Get what we need and she will come to us. As for myself, this day has made me weary so I shall retire to my accommodations." The elders all moved forward to shake his hand and bid him a good night. Loki graciously returned the sentiment, but made sure to make a quick exit.

Once outside and away from the noise, he looked up into the dark night sky and took a deep breath. He wondered if he had made the right choice in sharing your secret.

[chaikajpeg]

kageyama tobio | haikyuu

reference photo: link to the japanese website

model: Ran Takahashi, photo shot by 矢島康弘 (Yasuhiro Yajima i think)

[thejasontoddarchives]

Jason Todd, eepiest boy in the dcu

Why’d they add a wig/hair to the robin mannequin …..

Batman: The Adventures Continue (2020)

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

on my quest to find more books to read this year, there's been something kind of heartwarming to see that of the books on hold at my local library, or on the weekly bestseller's list at my local bookstores, there's always at least one book up there that's about Palestine. It's at least nice to see that some people in my area want to learn about the historical context of what's happening now, and learn far more than what a few posts on their feed can tell them. It makes me hope that public perception will continue to change for the better - and that the kind of support I've seen in my area won't die down immediately after a ceasefire is called

[stars-self-ships]

All of my life it's been heartbreak weather

Thinking to myself it won't get better

It can be so lonely in this city

But it feels different when you're with me.

🖤💚🖤💚🖤

[revrads]

Adding to my Dougal propaganda; Reasons Why Father Dougal McGuire Qualifies as a Sad Priest

He was exiled by the diocese for an incident where he performed a Baptism that went wrong and “irreperably damaged” several nuns

He has no known relatives who are alive; His parents and uncle are dead

He was struck by lightning a few times as a kid and never taken to the hospital, also implied he never went to a hospital even when he’s sick

This also heavily implies his parents were either absent, already dead, or abusive

Doesn’t know the difference between fiction and reality therefore he’s easily manipulated

Literal saint, kind-hearted with no ill intention, the most loyal and the nicest character in the series yet usually treated poorly due to his lack of understanding of most things. He’s trying his very best, but sometimes his best isn’t enough and it gets into other people’s nerves which results in him getting yelled at, mostly by Ted (heavily implied to be autistic)

Survived getting hit by a car while riding a bike, wrongly arrested for shoplifting, stuck in a building fire, fell into a den of tigers and mauled (all of these are mentioned in the same episode)

Literally cannot feel physical pain; His arm was twisted and bitten yet he felt nothing

Acts as Ted’s moral compass constantly but fails as he’s so loyal and obedient to him

The only time he displayed negative emotions was when he was on the verge of tears when he thought Ted was leaving him behind in the final episode

Is terrified of women (gay? AroAce? perhaps)

Was almost killed because he wanted to help out the local milkman after revealing a scandal of one of their employees

Framed by his other best friend for a crime he wasn’t even aware of

Cannot perform a single mass or service alone without potentially killing several people (i.e. He tried to do a funeral and it ended up crashing the car onto the coffin and the car exploding, presumably killing the driver) (this is more funny than sad but imagine being a priest not able to do the one thing you’re supposed to do)

[thedegu]

Thanks to @fishbeholder for letting me know about Hox genes.  After this paragraph is an in-universe description of dragons, all real-world locations described in the text are equivalent of not direct 1:1 comparisons; for Reath, I’m using our world as a map and outline but many of the details are vastly different.

Dragons have a mutated Hox Gene causing them to have an extra set of small limbs. This mutation happened sometime during the early Jurassic era; these limbs were originally only used for mating displays. Though in one species found in Southeast Asia, these fins evolved into tools for gliding. This arboreal species was much smaller than those we know and recognize as dragons today.  This was the only draconic species that survived the  K-T extinction event.

With the skies open after the extinction of non-fay pterosaurs, the niche of flight was available for anyone willing to grab it first.

Yes, birds got there first by just a few million years,  but they never really grew much use for magic, generally preferring more mundane means of flight. The only species within the class that bear any major magic ability are harpies, sirens, phoenix, and Rocks. So Dragons fully embraced the niche of massive magical flyers.

During the Pleistocene, with the explosion of megafauna, the growth of dragons followed. This period is where the only major split of the draconic class happened. With the early semi-aquatic forest-dwelling smooth Dragons moving into rockier, flatter terrain and deeper seas: The mountain-dwelling horned dragons, the forest-dwelling sail dragons, and the fully aquatic finned dragons were born.

During this time, there was an intriguing mammalian upstart in Africa who grew a deep coevolution with dragons were born.  Maybe you've heard of these two-legged hairless apes.  While the interactions between early humans and dragons are challenging to study, it is known that humans and dragons hunted the same prey and lived in the same regions. Many traditions say Dragons taught humans magic, speech, and how to make fire.

Though it is known that dragons and humans must have been able to find some sort of truce. Early humans had no way of defending themselves against dragons, but entire generations of humans could be born, reproduce, and die in the time it takes for a single dragon egg to hatch and reach sexual maturity. So while any one-on-one fight with a dragon would easily defeat any human, the death of a single dragon, especially young dragons, could devastate the entire population. But we found peace

Dragons are deeply magical creatures, and without this magic, they would not be able to function at all; their bodies are too heavy for their bones to carry them, let alone fly.  They also simply cannot live off of consumed calories alone, their hibernation periods being used to take in, filter, and store magical energy inside their bodies like batteries for their animated periods

While it is unknown if dragons were the ones to teach humans basic magic, it is known that humans taught dragons refined spellcasting.  Only a handful of species are known to purposely and consciously manipulate the magic around them rather ten passively using it as a means of predation or defense. In other words, true spellcasting. Dragons are also the only known species, outside of humans, to not take their magic through the filter of Fairy; instead, they directly manipulate the magic from the magical plane.  

This leads us to today; dragons are our collaborators, an equivalent to humans, if not surpassing us. Another species that is considered to be a person amongst us fay and sephlopods.  While dragons as a species live very different lives to us, you may be surprised to meet one on the street or have one as a coworker, they are rare; with only a few thousand alive today, and only a fraction of those living outside their suspended animation but they are people, our peers, and living history. Though we may need to return to the amniotes to find our common ancestor, I am happy to call dragons brethren.”

- Prof. Julian Corzo 

Space Magazine, October issue 2012

[gothicvalentine]

Here are the qualities Americans value most in kids

[away-ward]

Should there be extra points for the bride???

Dex/Will...

Also, Will counting on his fingers and Em catching him doing it is just funny.