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foreverinadais · 2 years

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Hello 🤗

Can you do a HC when the moon boys realize that the reader is jealous? Like they're not used to the feeling of someone being jealous for them would they enjoy it? How would they assure the reader that they're the one and no one other?

hi, i love this idea!! thank you so much for requesting!! ❤️

STEVEN:

Steven is so excited to show you the museum

like, he’s bouncing off the walls

he’s having some kind of event at work, and of course he brings you as his plus-one

and does not stop talking about how perfect you look

there are literal stars in his eyes

you reciprocate the words, showering him with praises and excitement

to which he gives you the toothiest grin ever seen: he’s elated

so you make your way into the event, clinging onto Steven’s arm as he is already explaining certain artefacts

i can imagine him dragging you to a super specific one because he thought you would like it, and every time he saw it, he thinks of you

anyway, the event is fairly busy, full of historians and academics and professors, you know, smart people

“Woah, this looks... professional.” you whisper as Steven beams

“Doesn’t it?” he (awkwardly) retrieves 2 glasses of champagne off the waiter's tray and passes one too you. “For you, my darling.”

to which your gratefully sip it down because seeing all of these people makes you particularly nervous

it’s then that a woman comes over. and my, does she look... wow.

you physically straighten up as she stalks over, elegant and confident, making you realise how bad your posture was

and she offers you both a smile.

she’s a professor at some kind of fancy university, teaching Egyptology, and has just come back from a year abroad researching archelogy in Egypt.

your jaw drops slowly at her words, because hello, she’s an actual Goddess.

but then... you catch sight of Steven

eyes twinkling with wonder

cheeks rosy with adoration

hands fiddling with each other in nervousness.

oh.

you feel a weird heat in your stomach, rising like bile and settling as nausea

and you feel bad because you trust Steven and this woman is wonderful and accomplished and stunning, why wouldn’t he want her?

and soon enough, you’ve listed every way she’s better than you and it’s already started;

jealousy.

and it’s not in a spiteful, envious way. your admiring her just as much as Steven is.

by the time she’s done talking, it looks as though Steven’s ready to start applauding

...whilst your about to start crying

“I am doing a lecture on my findings in a few days. You should both come by.”

“Woah, really? That sounds, yeah, great. can’t wait.”

and you politely nod, taking a long sip of your drink which is nearly finished

because you don’t know if you can handle any more of it.

the rest of the event goes by quickly, partly due to your growing tipsiness

when it’s finally time to leave, Steven’s beaming

like, glowing with happiness

you find it in yourself to fake happiness as Steven excitedly recites the events of the evening, complete with dramatic hand gestures and small chuckles

“Oh and that professor? Woah, wasn’t she great?”

“So great.”

“Can you believe she invited us to a lecture? I can’t wait to hear her speak, and see the pictures from Egypt- can you believe what she found?”

"Oh yes she’s so amazing, you should’ve got her number.”

you didn’t mean to sound so sarcastic, truly, but the alcohol in your system was amplifying all the emotions you felt and how you were showing them

Steven slowed to a stop, face shifting in confusion as he turned to you smiling

“Oooohhh I see what’s happening. Someone’s jealous! Beware of jealousy, it is the green-eyed monster. ya know? From Othello, innit?”

There’s a twinkle in his eyes as if he’s finding this amusing, clearly because of how good his evening went

and you feel guilty for your stupid insecurities

“Hilarious. Look, can we just keep walking? I’m tired.”

Steven’s smile falters as he suddenly notices how upset you look, how your lips are downturned at the sides and how your eyes are drooping slightly

“Hey, ‘m sorry, love, c’mon, wait a second.”

you do, avoiding his gaze

his hands come up to rest on your forearms and he tuts

“I didn’t mean to be funny. I just- Guess i’m not used to having someone be jealous for me. That sounds silly. I guess-”

“It’s fine, Steven. It isn’t your fault. It’s mine.”

He looks confused, head cocking to the left lightly

“What d’you mean?”

You sigh because this, this is awkward

suddenly the piece of gum on the sidewalk looks really interesting as you try and avoid the conversation

but Steven can read you look his favourite book and lifts your chin with his fingers so that your forced to face him

i can imagine his ‘it’s okay, you can tell me anything face’ and it makes me wanna cry ahh i love him

anyway, you throw your hands up in exasperation

“My heart... and my head...” you hesitate, tryna find the words

“And your shoulders, knees and toes?” Steven tries to joke, making you smile, before he apologies and motions for you to continue

“I think you could do better than me.” oh

he didn’t expect that

“And I guess seeing that perfect woman, like seriously, she was perfect-”

“Hold up, should I be jealous?” He tries to joke again, but he can’t help his heart dropping at how you feel

“It just reminded me how opposite I am, how... you could find your soulmate one day, or one of you could decide you want different, better, than me and leave.”

Steven is silent for a moment

“Huh?”

“I said-”

“Know what you said, just how... how could you think like that, eh?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, what? Sorry? Why on earth are you sorry? This is my fault obviously for not making you feel like I love you enough.”

“That’s not-”

“Your absolutely perfect to me, to us. And I often find myself asking the question of how we got so lucky to have you. S’ perfect, my love, you should know that. My job to show you that, ain’t it?”

and he pulls you into an embrace, smiling into your shoulder as you mutter ‘thank you’ and ‘love you’ whilst smiling back

“Now, let’s get you home, you can pick the movie, and I’ll sort out the snacks... yeah?”

“That sounds perfect, Steven.”

“Just like you.”

MARC

It really wasn’t Marc’s fault

he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and for you? well, it was the worst possible day.

it wasn’t exactly rare for people to be drawn too your boyfriend’s because um have you seen them

so you could deal with their advances normally

normally.

but not today.

not as someone had all but wrapped their body around him

you felt a level of possessiveness at the subtle but intimate act of a drunk girls arm’s around his and with the added push of alcohol, there was a new level of jealousy coursing through your veins

not today

So, putting on your most innocent look, you carried yourself over to where Marc was stood, beer in hand, laughing politely

“Hey, baby. What ya up too?” your voice was slurred and slightly raised as you placed a hand on your boyfriend’s back

and Marc, the soft bean he is, turns instantly, face lighting up

“Hi, babe, got you a drink... somewhere.”

“A drink? Your so nice.”

and to emphasise your point, you place a firm kiss on his cheek

to which slightly-drunk, oblivious Marc just smiles

the girl hanging on to him, also innocent in this situation, offers an apologetic smile- i’ll leave you too it

and you almost feel bad when you get home and feel slightly agitated

because nothing came of the situation and both parties were not in the wrong

“Wanna order some food, Y/N/N? ‘m fucking starving. Hey, baby? We can get some from that vendor you like-”

“Not hungry. Might just go to bed.”

and you hate yourself for being bitchy but you had a terrible week and you were feeling the aftermath of the alcohol and you needed to sleep in case you snapped

“Oh. That’s okay, we can sleep-”

“You can eat. Order whatever.”

Whilst you drift surprisingly fast into an uncomfortable slumber, Marc stays awake

what did I do wrong?

and because he’s drunk, everything feels 100x amplified

soon enough, it’s morning and he’s still awake

ready to cook you breakfast, get you pain relief, watch all the TV you want

but his plans are disrupted when you turn over and wrap an arm lazily over his bare waist

oh.

“ ‘morning, gosh, my head’s banging.” you mumble in a post-sleep haze and Marc is frozen because you were mad at him

“Did you, urh, sleep well?”

“Hmm, well enough.”

and then your snuggling into his side

and he can’t help but ask the question:

“Why were you mad at me?”

“Sorry?”

“Last night... you, well, you were mad. Didn’t wanna eat with me.”

and the events slowly come back to you

“No, no, I’m an idiot, ow!” your head stabbed as you sat suddenly, and you shuffled so you were looking down at him, hands resting on his chest

“I was acting stupid and drunk and, I don’t know, seeing you with that girl made me slightly jealous. And it’s such a gross feeling, and I wasn’t right to take it out on you. I’m sorry, honey.”

“Wait, you were jealous? About me?”

and he can’t help but be in disbelief that someone cares about him enough to feel jealousy

“I mean, yeah. Your the ‘dream man’, ya know? I’m incredibly lucky to have you.”

he’s silent as he looks up at you, suddenly feeling overwhelmed

“I care about you endlessly, yeah?”

and it pushes him over the edge as he pulls you down to lie with him

your head- along with your heart- pounding at the sudden position change but you ignore it, letting him nuzzle his head into your chest and feel the flesh of your thighs

“I love you,” he mumbles, “thank you for caring about me enough to feel jealous.”

and he’s smiling, teasingly, but his words are true

“Why, of course, darling.”

JAKE

Jake Lockley was confident

and why shouldn’t he be?

that man is physically flawless

and definitely has a way with words

so one day, your out on a date, and it’s a really nice restaurant

and your wearing your favourite outfit - and Jake’s favourite outfit- and he has not stopped talking about how good you look

and you feel it- until you see someone slip Jake their number

Jake doesn’t even react, just gives it back to them in rejection

because he’s with you

and suddenly, you feel the odd mix of jealousy and insecurity sweep through your body

because your right there

and whoever slipped Jake that number, well, they didn’t think you were worthy of him, so who else would?

and soon enough, your down the rabbit hole of self-doubt and illusions

you're silent on the way home, despite Jake’s hand on your thigh, or his soft words or his gentle whistling

and when you get back to your shared flat, you all but crumble on the sofa

Jake notices.

“Hey, you okay, Mi vida? You’ve hardly said a word since we left, eh?”

you mutter a half-arsed excuse, that ‘your fine’ and ‘just tired, ‘s all’

“Hmm, likely story. What’s really wrong?”

“Nothing, Jake, I said, I’m fine.”

“And I said I don’t believe you. So, fess up, before I make you.”

he’s teasing you, playful smile gracing his features

but when he see’s you look away, almost sadly, his eyebrows twist in confusion

“Y/N,” he says, “You can talk to me, please.”

“Someone gave you their number.”

Oh.

Jake tries to think back at the interaction he brushed by, because it wasn’t important to him

did he do something suggestive?

“Are you mad at me? I gave it back to them, you know, if you think for a second I would betray you-”

“N-no, no it’s not that! I just-”

“Just what?”

“It made me...”

you feel complete embarrassment as you avoid his eyes like the plague, picking at your fingers, the sofa, anywhere to avoid this

but he’s smiling, you realise, teasingly again

“Your jealous?”

bastard.

“I mean, kind of, but-”

“C’mon, you don’t need to be jealous, ya know your the only one I have eyes for. Especially in that outfit.”

you refrain from rolling your eyes, partly because whilst Jake Lockley is confident, he’s also cocky

“I wasn’t jealous, per se, I was-”

“You don’t have to lie ‘cause your embarrassed, baby.”

“Fuck sake, Jake, I was insecure!”

and then the teasing look on his face drops completely

“Insecure?”

and it’s so humbling to feel his gaze on you, and you want to crawl into bed and sleep and forget you said anything

“I guess, I don’t wanna be, I just, you know, saw that people want you and nobody expected us so why should, should I?”

And Jake is silent before he all but showers you with affirmations you’ve heard before:

‘your beautiful, inside and out’

‘you don’t need to be insecure’

‘people are jealous of you’

and none of it is going through, no matter what he says, and he realizes this, slightly agitated

“You're not even listening.”

you sigh, sinking into the sofa further

“No, I am! I just can’t find it in myself to believe it right now. I’m sorry, Jakey, this is stupid of me.”

“It is stupid. Because how could you ever think so low of yourself?”

yep, he’s angry.

“Look, how can I help? You want to keep talking?”

you don’t respond. no.

“You want some food?”

nothing.

“You want to go on a drive?”

you feel almost bad at your lack of response, but your feeling heavy, the jealousy leaving bile in your stomach and acid in your brain.

“You need me to convince you?”

and you look up at him, finally, making him smirk

“Ohh, I see. That’s what you want.”

and he walks over to you, lowering his face until he’s level with your own

and you shift in your seat because this man is so handsome it hurts

“Fine, mi amor, if you won’t hear my words,” -his lips are ghosting over yours- “then maybe you’ll understand my actions better,” - moving down, trailing along your neck, “Your it for me.”

and he’s leaving kisses between every word

“You're perfect,” along your collarbone, “And you corrupt all my fucking thoughts in the best ways,”

he’s moving back up now, up to your jaw, the spot just under your ear, your cheek, until nearly, finally-

“You done being jealous? You gonna start appreciating yourself?”

you could groan at how close his lips are to yours but he’s not giving in.

then his voice drops low, a hushed whisper so that his breath is mingled with yours as he says:

“Or do you need more convincing?”

then your lips are on each other’s, and it’s passionate and dangerous and desperate

but underneath, the message remains, the love and the care and the wonder

because all Jake wants is to show you, you don’t need to be jealous

you're all he will ever want and need

you're it for him.

#steven with a v #stevengrant #steven grant x reader #marc spector x reader #marc spector #jake lockely x reader #jake lockley fanfiction #jake lockely #moon knight #ff #moon knight imagine #moon knight headcanon #angst #fluff #moon knight fluff #moon knight angst

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spectres-fulcrum · 3 months

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I did finish binging the Alexander docuseries last night but by the end I had a migraine so I went to bed early and just hung out on my phone cause my mind was so not up for bed but it was the most light my head could handle(If I didn't move).

Overall, I did really enjoy it and I learned a lot. I didn't care much for the battles of Alexander in my fandom days, caring more for the relationships and people around him. I also just find imagining action pretty hard. I'm semi okay with Star Wars battles in space but I've like. grown up with them. They don't count. So I learned a lot about Alexander the tactician I think.

And I really did love the acted parts. Like can we get a full drama on Alexander, some TV network???? It could be SO LONG. Cause if there's one thing about Alexanders, they will never sastifyed. The Great, Hamilton, Claremont-Diaz, Kallus. Also: I hated the nicknames Heph and Alex(It's Phai and Xander thank you very much) but the stupid nickname Ptol grew on me. Ptol is so stupid but so cute. But I will never shut up about the lake make out scene cause it's so perfect and Phai giving Xander a place to be human and back out is so perfect.

I really did love the Persian parts too. It was great contrast, and perhaps happiness. Love between Stateira and Darius, luxury, Stateira's actions driven to protect her daughter in contrast to Phillip disowning Alexander when Alexander didn't like him siding with Attalus hoping his new wife would grant him a son, Barsine having to grow up so quickly. Memnon is always love for me and they did him very well. Darius deserved so much better than to be slain by a traitor. I could rant about Hephaestion being in Babylon after the death and how if that was accurate then in my fanfic where he and Drypetis fell in love during the Persian campagin then I could've used that for a good scene but it wasn't accurate so it was all hurt/no romantic comfort :(((((( And I'm kinda salty they changed that up not knowing what they were missing. But I'm not going to rant. (She had Bagoas though at least!)

I wanted so much more. Wanted Aristotle and the boys at Mieza and the flashbacks to taming Bucephalus(I cannot be bothered to check if that is the correct spelling) and more of the Persian royal family(Drypetis! Being strong during Stateira's death! Sisygambis!) and Bagoas and mentions of Phai being Xander's Patroclos and oh and Darius's brother and his daughter Amastris in the baggage train and more of the companions(Not including Leonnatus is a crime imo. Just cause I like Leonnatus).

Like I recognize they needed a small cast but also-a girl can dream. A girl can dream of what she was teased with. One day, maybe we'll get a proper series. *le sigh* I did really like that Lloyd historian guy too.

#alexander the making of a god #alexander the great #i'll probably do a meta post on phai and xander's relationship #overall very good #VERY salty at the post darius death in babylon scene #and them being nice about the barsine and mazeus engagements #that is what headcanons get you ya'll #Official stuff will be criticized for not adhering to stuff that doesn't exist outside your google drive

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onestepbackwards · 1 year

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The Streamer AU got me thinking about romancing Ingo, and about some possible angst over here. If the Streamer ever entered a relationship with Ingo, and it got serious enough that they married I could just picture all of the emotions that the wedding stream could cause. Emmet doesn't even know how to feel. Happy that his brother found love. Glad that someone in Hisui loves and cares about him, and that his brother found someone who makes him happy. However, he is so very sad as well. His brother is getting married. I could see Ingo promising to make Emmet his best man when he gets married. I'm sure Emmet promised to make Ingo his best man at his wedding as well. It was something that they were always going to do no question about it. Yet, thanks to Ingo being in Hisui those promises can't happen. He doesn't get to be in the wedding. He can't be there in person as his brother finally ties the knot with someone that he cares about. He can only watch it on a stream. Yet, seeing it on stream is better then not seeing it at all. It's a very bittersweet for him. On the flip side the wedding stream would be a goldmine for historians. With the wedding stream they can see what Pearl Clan traditions are involved with a marriage. How do people in the Pearl Clan propose? What are Pearl Clan wedding ceremonies like? How do they compare to the typical weddings that are held in Sinnoh now? If a lot of Pearl Clan history and traditions was lost over the years the wedding stream would be something priceless for Hisuian historians. On a separate note the streamer being married to Ingo would mean Ingo would pop up a lot more in streams I imagine. Makes things easier and a bit more stressful. Nicer because everyone in Unova gets to see their missing Subway Boss more often. More stressful for Emmet cause now he has to worry over his in-law's safety every time they duke it out with an enraged Noble. Or an Alpha Pokémon. Or Giratina. On the slightly comical side if/when Ingo and the Streamer ever get back I imagine Ingo's reaction to the fact that the video of his wedding is now considered a Sinnoh historical treasure would be rather priceless.

Oh the angst. It would be so bittersweet for everyone involved

I imagine it’s not just with Ingo and Emmet. What about the Hero’s family back home? Your mother is in tears, unable to see her child get married like she had hoped and dreamed. No mother-child dance either.

Or your friends! Barry is in tears he can’t be your best man, or just see you in person on the day of to support you.

Cynthia is also a bit disappointed. She would have loved to have been there for your big day, having grown close to you before you disappear. She’s happy for you, but she certainly wishes she could be there with you.

They are all grateful if you stream the wedding, but oh, its such a bittersweet feeling.

Though it probably wouldn’t be too hard to get an official marriage done in modern times! When you and Ingo return, no doubt it will be hard to officiate a marriage that happened a few centuries back.

#ask #submas #warden ingo #subway boss emmet #subway boss ingo #streamer au #anon #zed.talks

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answrs · 1 month

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( an attempt at fluff(?) - i hope things get better or at least easier for you soon. virtual hugs, remember that you've got a lot of people in your corner <3 )

Ingo writes a book when he's in Hisui.

Okay, wait. It's not really a book, and he didn't really write it, he would object. It's more of a very very long pamphlet, and he got a lot of help from Zisu and the Survey Corps. It was written for them, after all: it's a primer on how to befriend, train, and raise Pokémon, for the Security Corps and the rest of the Galaxy Team and really anyone else who wants to learn, because he doesn't have time to teach everyone directly but he so badly wants as many people as possible to have the chance to learn.

So it takes a while to put together—not just all of the information, but presenting it well, with graphs and diagrams so that even people who can't read, or can't read the language it's presented in (which is a fair amount of Jubilife tbh) can still get something out of it. Rei and Akari help him make some copies, even, so more than one person can look at them at once.

And then, when he's just about finished—so before he has the chance to see how it's received—he goes home.

To Unova. And he's happy! His memory is still pretty fuzzy, but he knows for certain that this is where he wants to—where he should be, even. It just feels right. But that doesn't mean it isn't also bittersweet, leaving his home of so many years in Hisui behind.

But when he gets back home—to the one he couldn't remember but missed anyway—he finds a book waiting for him on a table.

It's pretty worn-out, like the owner has read through it quite a few times, and he sort of recognizes it, however vaguely. It's a book about Pokémon training and strategy, so old it's nearly out-of-date by this point (if the topic weren't so universally consistent, anyway) but it's still interesting to read, and the foundation is solid, so it's one of the first books he—they picked up. When they were just starting out as Trainers.

And the foreword, written by a modern-day scholar, confirms what he remembers: this is a very old book, that's survived in modern times mostly by virtue of the fact that it was so widely read and copied and (later) translated and added to. There are definitely better references today even for beginners, and most of its value is historical, records of old training methods and "move styles" and an insight into how people of the past viewed Pokémon and... wait a minute.

This is his book. As in, it's the one he wrote.

It doesn't take long, flipping through it, to confirm. Oh sure, some details have been lost in translation or edited out, and there's newer commentary in a few places, but the structure is so familiar that there's no other explanation. He really hadn't expected it to be anything other than a reference for a few people in Jubilife, maybe something a Ginkgo Guild member took with them once if he was lucky—but now, so, so many years later, it's been passed on and reprinted and rewritten and translated into so many languages—because he was right. People and Pokémon were meant to work together, and that one wish of his resonated with enough people that now it's almost impossible to imagine the world working any other way. And this little book (not even really a book, at first) made it all the way around the world and back to him, without him even realizing.

But it's weird—the note at the front also mentions an afterword, and he doesn't remember writing one of those. And it does say that it does seem to be from a different source than the author of the rest of the book (clearly passionate, but elusive in the text itself, a fact which is apparently deeply frustrating to historians, whoops-) but also doesn't talk about it as if it's a later addition from another copier, either. It might have been written by many different people, it says, and there's even been some conflict over whether it should be included in reprints at all, but most people have apparently come to the conclusion that it should be treated as another part of the original book and kept in.

So he flips to the back, to see... and realizes almost immediately what it is.

Just in case you need telling again, because I’m sure you will—you take care of yourself out there. Then we can all rest easy. Our ‘dex is missing a valuable contributor—and ourselves, a good friend—but I’m certain that your destination, as it were, has been dearly missing you for long enough already! And so long as this testament to our shared work lives on, we are never truly gone from each other. I told you I’d keep an eye out for you, whenever I leave, and I’m still doing that. But just in case we don’t wind up with the same home after all, and this does get to you, I wanted to say thanks again. For guiding me, and listening, and helping even when you didn’t need to. It helped a lot. We figured out how to do that thunder barrier thing you were talking about the day after you left, and I’m really mad that you didn’t see it. So you’d better at least be reading this! Oh yeah, and thanks for all the advice. But mostly, I’m really glad that stupid barrier trick didn’t end up in this copy, because if I can’t show you I should at least get to brag to everyone else, and I can’t do that if everyone knows about it. The highlands are doing just fine. Just in case you thought we needed you! My own capable hands are more than enough!

They're... goodbyes. Not just from the other people who worked on the book, but from... everyone. Who, like him, had no way of knowing where this book would go once it left Jubilife—but took the chance anyway, sending these notes on their way to be read and reread a thousand times by a thousand hands... to find him again. As a physical goodbye—not as ephemeral as words or memories, but something able to persist.

But then, if they'd gotten even his fellow highlands warden to leave his own note, what was this last one that was so much longer than the rest...?

Any meeting in this vast world is something to be grateful for, but I am more grateful for one than most. The fullness of our space and time has more potential than I ever dreamed, and I do not know if my eyes would have opened were you not there for those first steps. Dear warden, friend, and guide, on behalf of all of us—I hope you were able to call us your home, at least for a while. And the almighty knows we have asked more than our fair share already, but if we may make one last selfish request of you—

…ah.

—please, for all of us, be happy.

AASDFHJKLCMIASCNNGHHHH SWIFT ;O; IM BLUBBERING IT'S SO GOOD AND SWEET AND GAAH MY HEART. LEAVING THE MESSAGES DESPITE NOT KNOWING WHO IT'S FOR, EVEN WHEN IT WAS FOR, BUT THEIR WORDS SURVIVING THROUGH THE AGES PASSED DOWN FROM TRAINER TO TRAINER AND SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD IN SO MANY LANGUAGES. AND IT'S NOT A MESSAGE OF MOURNING BUT A MESSAGE OF H O P E, AND I JUST.

MY HEART

#fic #sbms #i cannot overstate how much i adore this and may have gotten more than a lil emotional about it when i read it in my inbox the first tim ;o #(and second and third times too shush)

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nqmonarch · 20 days

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Thoughts About Being in a Relationship with HSR Characters

So like we all love to fantasize about being in a relationship with fictional characters but would we want to actually be in one? As a huge fan of the Aeons I did a quick overview. Even though getting into a relationship with one is widely unrealistic (actually impossible because they're video game characters but even in game it's unrealistic).

Warning: This is just for fun

Aha

Wow, Aha is such a goofy Aeon sure the chaos they cause is insane but there's never a dull moment with them around. But like imagine being in the HSR universe and being in a relationship with this Aeon. 99% chance of death (because of a prank), that 1% chance is saved if for some reason you can't be killed.

Literally miserable. You know how you try to have like a normal conversation with your dad, or guy friend, or boyfriend but they just don't take shit seriously. Like they avoid the topic 24/7 because of jokes. Imagine trying to have a serious conversation with this guy, actual terrible experience.

In a modern AU would be one of those prank YouTubers that like pretends to kill your friend as a prank but actually does kill your friend, it's not a prank. Why aren't you laughing?

0/10.

Akivili

If still alive 10/10 in the HSR universe, 9/10 in modern AU. I am down to travel all over the cosmos but since I have a normal life here on Earth I am perfectly happy staying in my room, writing, coding, and drawing. But Akivili would def bring back some banger souvenirs and pictures even if you're just a friend of theirs.

If dead then 10/10 in both.

Fuli

Okay serious question do you think they'd taxidermy their lover? Like I know in HSR there's not really that option (their lover could be one of the memokeepers I guess?) but in Modern AU I feel like they'd taxidermy their lover. I don't know if that's a plus or a negative.

Definitely the kind of Aeon to be hung up on their first love so you better hope you're that first love. Or else they'll be reminiscing over memories and old photos and old videos and constantly comparing them to you-- man that sucks. Probably would take you out to nice dinners though and give you lots of good memories.

In Modern AU I feel like the idea of Fuli gets 10 times more mystical and also 10 times creepier, like someone that tries to record all of the events in the world but also the events happening right now. So historian, journalist combo, except I feel like they would just appear out of nowhere and then just go back to the void and post a bunch of random photos online. They'd definitely have observed their lover before talking to them (likely several times) which is the creepy aspect.

7/10 for the memories.

Actual 10/10 you cannot argue otherwise on this. Okay, you definitely can but 10/10 in my book aside from the fact you die but like you'll either be accepting your death and dying or spend the rest of your life trying to prove IX wrong about the purpose of life.

Wouldn't take you on dates, you'd have to take IX on dates, plan the whole thing out, really fluster them, give them the time of their existence. And IX would sit there like the gentleman... gentlewoman? Gentle creature it is. I feel like they would be very polite :)

In Modern AU I'm pretty sure IX is just your average office worker who hates their life and sees no point to it but for some reason can't die. 9/10. IX loses one point for no longer being a blackhole.

Lan

Honestly... another gentle creature, and like respectfully, very respectfully I would love to take them out on a date. Seems respectful, apparently pays close attention to mortals so there's a higher chance of Lan keeping their lover alive if they're (Lan's lover) a mortal. Pretty sure 90% of the Aeons would accidentally kill a mortal lover.

Just seems very obsessed with their goals and honestly I respect the grind. 8/10, your average grinder. That being said Lan is also absolutely beautiful but I'm not a big horse person.

In Modern AU Lan would be someone that's trying to change the world, one of those go getters. Again very respectful, and cool but would probably work 16 hours a day which makes holding a relationship pretty hard. 7/10.

Mythus

I haven't done Gold and Gears or finished Swarm Disaster but damn Mythus is really hot. Smash. Uh 6/10 because I don't know their personality or even what they represent but they are really beautiful. I like the jellyfish.

Nanook

Aw man, the moment I saw this guy I knew they would haunt my thoughts. And yeah they do. So beautiful from the molten lava, golden eyes, white hair, man if only they didn't have the personality of an absolute asshole. Like I write fanfiction about Nanook sometimes (pretty rarely) and I can say I am literally pulling every possible string I can to make this Aeon a good lover and somewhat in character.

This is just because I like writing lovers that are semi-decent, it's pretty hard when you get to people like Nanook but I do my best. There's no way a relationship with Nanook would work out feasibly because there's no way they'd love you.

But if they did... I don't know, Nanook is still a pretty bad person for trying to kill everything else in the world so I'm gonna have to dock some points for that. Reminds me of the brooding quiet, only soft spot is for you, male lead troupe except Nanook is trying to murder everyone 24/7.

In Modern AU, I don't even know what Nanook would be? An assassin? A serial killer? I can kind of see like a revolution leader cause apparently they were born from the flames of a world in complete destruction and they saw everything as ugly and destruction as the only possible outcome. I can see a twist with Nanook leading a revolution in hopes of creating a more beautiful world but finding destruction as the only possible outcome that will remove the plague known as life.

Even if they loved you, they'd be very busy with their revolution plans, and I feel like you'd probably be caged away somewhere far away from the danger so you'd barely see Nanook if they wanted to keep you alive.

2/10, 2 points for being so FUCKING beautiful. Thanks Hoyoverse for making a character so attractive.

Qlipoth

Okay Qlipoth would be like big puppy partner, you get me. Like golden retriever vibes or uh... that one person that watches over everything to make sure you're safe but not like in the stalker way. Like the government, y'know? Except the government now wants to make sure you're safe! :D

I am a bit thrown off by the fact Qlipoth is a rock but I'm even more thrown back by the IPC. Like they're really fucking annoying (not as individuals I love Topaz and Aventurine) they're like Qlipoth's lil fanclub. They'd also be Qlipoth's fanclub in Modern AU, I'd imagine and I will imagine.

Also they're a bit sus, like I know they're great, but they want to build a wall. What's the wall for, huh?

Anyway as a partner sure they're a rock, and have an annoying fanclub but they'd probably be really caring and would be able to destroy anything that threatens you. I'd imagine it's about the same in Modern AU but destroy anything with money.

Nothing is stronger than money, actually a nuke is but we're going to assume none of the Modern AU versions of the characters would have access to that or make their own because that would change the game.

I'd say 7/10 in both HSR and Modern AU, I don't know they're just kinda sus...

Tayzzyronth

I'm about half way through the swarm disaster and question time--

If insect, why hot? Like I hate bugs, mainly flying ones, but like why is Tayzzyronth half insect half human 100% beautiful? Anyway from what I know they basically became an Aeon because they were lonely and like the last one of their species and honestly, they deserve a hug for that.

Still absolutely terrifying and if you were in a relationship with them you'd probably be smothered with the Swarm which is beyond terrifying. Would be significantly better in Modern AU where they wouldn't have insects around them all the time. 4/10 in HSR and 7/10 in Modern AU.

Xipe

Don't know them but they're so beautiful and with a path like the Harmony they've got to be good, right? Right?

9/10.

Yaoshi

I think Yaoshi is the Aeon I most actively thirst for, like they're so beautiful, and they pull off deranged love so well. They would keep their lover alive until their lover goes insane because of mara. And they're super kind, and empathetic. The threat of becoming mara struck is one I would take just to be in their presence. 10/10.

In Modern AU! they'd be so beautiful, still, like one of those fragile looking beauties that would just approach you randomly and then ask, "Are you in pain?" And it'd be really creepy but because it's Yaoshi it'd be okay and you'd fall in love like instantly. Don't answer yes to the question though. I feel like they'd have mad scientist vibes, probably would do unethical experiments which doesn't really sit right with me. Again, would try to keep their lover alive no matter what but they'd be really nice. 9.5/10.

Alright so I did this in 30 minutes instead of working on my presentation which is due tomorrow and I haven't finished research for.

Again this was just for fun, all of the Aeons have super great designs and are super cool imo :) props to Hoyoverse for this

#hsr #hsr aeons #ix the nihility #nanook #yaoshi #I LOVE YAOSHI SO MUCH LIKE MAN #qlipoth #lan #fuli #akivili #aha

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eightfifteen · 1 year

Text

Silly little Mike and Will in the Regency era AU (I'm thinking Emma by Jane Austin) that is dear to my heart - ignoring the historical shit going on at the time because I'm not a historian or an American. i'm here for vibes only.

The party grew up in a country town not too far from the city, where the Wheelers could man a mansion while Ted could still commute in for work.

Will lived closed by on one of the Wheelers' mills and quickly became friends with young Mike who kept running away to the Byers' mill to hide from his tutors/nannies.

Karen decided to just let Will study along with Mike because it's literally the only way Mike got anything done.

Eventually, Lucas and Dustin, son of the blacksmith and seamstress/saloon owner respectively, join their little study party.

When Will turned 15, the Byers' moved to the city because Joyce married Hopper. It was as tearful a goodbye as you can imagine. Mike tried going into the city with his dad for a few times to see Will, but eventually it stopped happening.

After Will left, and the party lost all contact with him, Mike became way more withdrawn and depressed.

Eventually at age 20, The Wheelers want Mike to marry and they have the perfect candidate. A certain Jane Brenner from a town not far away. They hire a portrait painter to sent her a portrait of Mike.

Mike comes downstairs one day, already in a horrible mood because he's supposed to sit down for a portrait for hours to send to some girl he's never even met before that he's supposed to marry, only to find Will standing in the foyer.

Mike is stunned.

Karen is already chatting with Will, happy to see him again and baffle in the coincidence of the portrait painter sending his apprentice. (it's not a coincidence. she planned this because she could tell Mike needed his friend.)

They're awkward at first, unsure of how to act. There's rules after all and Mike knows even a simple hug would be too much for him.

They reconnect while Will paints him, spending hours together every day getting the portrait done, and spending the nights chatting by the fire (as Will is staying at the Wheelers' for the time it takes him to finish the portrait).

It doesn't take much for everyone to notice how Mike brightens again, how he's happier than he's been in a very long time.

Will of course also gets to reunite with the party, who are just as excited to see him. It's no surprise that Lucas is already engaged to Max and that Will has just missed the engagement announcement that had been sent out to the Byers' home.

One night, after a night of drinking some wine and laughing a little bit too much, the tension between Mike and Will finally breaks, kissing each other like it's their dying breath.

They spend their last week wrapped up in each other, enjoying every secret minute they can get together until they can't possibly pretend the portrait hasn't long been finished.

Eventually, the portrait is sent out and Will has to leave again, but they both have more incentive now to continue finding ways to visit each other. Mike is working with his father anyway, learning out in the city so it's easier to meet up more frequently.

Months later miss Jane comes to visit and make the engagement official. Once again, the painter is invited as well to commemorate the first meeting.

Mike gets engaged as he's supposed to. Jane is nice enough. Polite, yet shy, and even Will gets along better with her than he'd thought he would despite the jealousy.

They both know there's no other option for the both of them.

Except, a few weeks into their engagement, the night before the wedding, Jane catches them together.

Mike and Will are terrified, but it's Jane that begs Mike not to break off the engagement.

Jane asks to strike a deal; she won't say anything either way, but if they get married, she'll help them hide their relationship. In turn, she gets to be Mike's Wife instead of Brenner's Daughter.

It doesn't take much for Mike and Will to understand that Brenner is not a nice a man as a seems to everyone else, and she just wants to get out of an abusive situation so they all agree.

They're all super nervous for the wedding the next day, and as much as Will hated watching Mike marry someone else, he was best man, and that very evening, as promised, Mike gets to fall asleep next to Will instead of Jane.

Mike and Jane's marital home is not far from the Wheelers' manor, and it's big and spacious. Jane takes up so many hobbies - always trying something new - and they all become great friends.

Brenner still keeps bugging them, but then Jane provides some information to Will, who passes it on to Hopper and suddenly Brenner is getting arrested for some fraud/inhumane practices or whatever.

In the process, Hopper and Jane become closer.

They barely have to pretend, all very easily affectionate with each other, and Will and Mike are often in the city for work, meaning that Will isn't there often enough to stir too much suspicion.

Even if Will were to be there a little too much, no one would bat their eyes because Will and Jane very obviously love each other like siblings, and Jane and Mike have such great affection for each other that no one would doubt their "love".

And the entire Byers family is very adamant of having adopted Jane, despite her already being a married woman.

They're all very grateful for each other and love each other dearly.

The End.

#byler #mike wheeler #will byers #jane hopper #el hopper #au #headcanon #victorian au

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roachleakage · 1 year

Text

On Crackpots and Crack Theories

I'll be happy to admit, I didn't share most of the "supporting evidence" in The Story of Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria because I do not have the expertise to debunk many of the claims they're making. I'm not an occultist or a historian, I'm a guy who likes to read horror fiction. However, I do know a couple of things about sussing out crackpot theories, so I figured I would share some of the tells that let me know this book is full of shit.

1: Crackpots make extremely grandiose claims.

Most scientific theories are not what you'd call earth-shattering. Important, yes, but not the kind of thing that would upend your entire understanding of history, the universe, whathaveyou. When exceptions arise in actual science, they're met with surprise from everyone, often including the scientists who made the discovery in question.

Crackpots, on the other hand, are nearly always trying to start a revolution. They might claim to have discovered some heretofore unfamiliar (yet fantastically effective!) form of medicine, an incredible facet of history that will change how we understand civilization, whathaveyou. In the preface to The Secret of Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria, A.P. Sinnett claims that the idea of Atlantis is the missing key to understanding history; that, indeed, it is impossible to understand how humans spread and diversified if you don't take their information into account.

2: They are overconfident in their "findings".

As I said before, real science usually involves very few revolutions. So when an actual scientist makes a discovery that seems to Change Everything, the very first thing they are going to do is try to disprove it. And then, usually, try to disprove it again. Because if your results seem to upend everything that has been observed up to this point, the problem is most likely on your end.

Crackpots do not want to disprove their theories. They don't even want to test them, and avoid actual peer review like a vampire avoids sunlight. Instead, they release their ideas through avenues that they know won't earn them too many questions, such as ordinary book publishers, non-scientific magazines, or TV and radio. They might claim that they were forced to these outlets by mainstream science trying to "suppress" their theories - which is a sure clue that their ideas don't stand up to scrutiny.

3: Their "mountains of evidence" are piles of straw.

As you might imagine, building evidence to support a theory can be tough work. It usually involves a lot of experiments, studies, peer review, more studies, and of course, cross-referencing your findings with fellow scientists to rule out other explanations for what you've seen. And the bigger your theory, the more work and rigor it's going to take.

Crackpots skip all that, and instead scavenge the work of other scientists for any bit of information they think serves their purpose, no matter how disparate or irrelevant. For example, W. Scott-Elliot has pointed to the discovery of underwater volcanoes and significant volcanic activity in the Atlantic as evidence that a continent existed there and was destroyed by calamity, despite the fact that the presence of volcanoes does not prove a continent any more than the presence of dog shit proves there is grass underneath. Similarly, the (supposed) existence of portraits of Black people in Central America does not prove that those people were Atlantean, as the book claims.

He also points to several alleged parallels between different cultures around the globe. While I cannot speak to the extent that any of these may be true, what I did notice is that they are all divorced from any surrounding context that might explain the similarities or reveal them to be less close than Scott-Elliot is claiming. Of course it sounds impressive when you claim that several Central American cultures have practices that neatly echo Christianity, but even if we assume that much is true, what did these practices actually look like? Did they really serve the same exact purpose as similar Christian practices? We are never given the details that might answer these questions, just the vague claim that they are totally the same, you guys.

Additionally, many of the similarities they cite occur between completely different sets of cultures - raising the question of whether they should even be viewed as related in the first place.

4: They frequently appeal to ignorance and speculation.

Crackpots love to use supposed gaps in current knowledge as evidence that their theory is correct. For example, Scott-Elliot claims that we don't know how people successfully brought bananas from the Old World to Central America, and points to a German botanist (notably not an archaeologist or other expert on the subject of human travel) who concluded that they must have been transported prior to the current Ice Age by "civilized man".

The thing is, the existence of a mystery that your theory might potentially solve isn't proof that your theory is correct, especially when it is so elaborately detailed (the claims of "root races" and so forth) and covers such a broad swath of alleged history that it can easily take credit for any random coincidence in the world. Additionally, the idle speculation of one racist botanist does not prove in any sense that there is no other way bananas could have traveled.

5: One or more of their major tenets has already been disproven.

Even if 99% of the claims in this book were correct as written, there is no possible way that it could prove that a continent called Atlantis really existed between America and Europe. Why?

Firstly, because Plato made Atlantis up. He explicitly said as much in the story where he introduced the concept. It was never real, it was an elaborate metaphor created for the sake of a thought experiment.

And secondly, because geological records have already shown us how the continents got to their current shapes and positions - and it makes much more sense than the placement of an entire continent between Europe and America that was sunk into the ocean by natural disasters, especially when you factor into the shit that the Atlantis theory doesn't explain. Now, in all fairness to Scott-Elliot, the concept of Pangaea wouldn't be formed for nearly 20 years after this was published, but now that we do have that information, we can safely consider the sunken continent hypothesis to be bunk.

So that, in a nutshell, is how to debunk crackpots when you have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. You're generally going to run into at least a couple of these red flags, but it also pays to just keep your critical thinking hat on and ask yourself if the claims you're reading really sound all that reasonable compared to anything you might already know about the subject in question. Research helps too, but in this case, since the text handily disproved itself, I couldn't be assed.

That's all, see you later!

#critical thinking #crackpotism #atlantis #theosophy #occultism #pseudoscience

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dystopicjumpsuit · 11 months

Text

Martyrs and Kings - Chapter 5

The One That Survives

Rating: T (rating varies by chapter; mature content will be tagged)

Pairing: Kix x archivist/historian OFC

Wordcount: 3.2k

A/N: For my readers who loved Cerra in "Do It Again," keep your eyes peeled.

Warnings: angst; injuries (no blood); Star Wars swearing; discussions of canon character deaths (not detailed)

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The next day passed in agonizing slowness for Kix. As difficult as it was to hear about the eventual fate of the clones, now that he had begun to uncover what had happened to his brothers, he was desperate to learn more. Seeing Jesse’s number on the 332nd roster had been a gut punch. Of course, he had been at the top of the list of individual troopers that Kix had sent Maree after their first meeting, but he hadn’t been prepared to confront the knowledge quite so soon. Unfortunately, the roster did not provide any information other than a note indicating that Jesse had been assigned as a staff officer to the 332nd Division. Kix would have to wait until his next meeting with Maree to find out what had happened to him.

To distract himself, he checked in with the Meson Martinet and gave an update to Reveth.

“I’ll probably be here a few more days,” he said. “Hard to tell.”

Reveth nodded. Her hologram was distorted by the distance it had traveled, but it was clear enough that he could see the serious expression on the mechanic’s beautiful face.

“How are you holding up?” she asked.

“Fine,” he said shortly.

He and Reveth walked the line between friends and kriff-buddies, but one thing they didn’t do was talk about their feelings.

“Ithano is itching to get back out there and find some more Seppie bases to loot,” Reveth said. “He’ll be happy to hear you’re wrapping things up.”

“Like I said, it’ll be a few days at least,” he said, not liking to feel rushed.

“All right, all right, the bases can wait,” she said placatingly. “It’s not like any other crews have a clone giving them intel.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” he said.

They ended the call, which had killed all of six minutes, leaving him with only another 1,378 to go. Kix scrubbed a hand over his face. He was exhausted. He’d never slept well—none of the clones did—but it had been worse than ever in the year since he’d been pulled out of cryostasis. The previous night, he’d jerked awake, sobbing Jesse’s name. Rather than lie awake for hours, afraid to fall back asleep and enter his nightmares all over again, he had gone to the hotel gym. He had set a punishing pace, not stopping until his muscles cramped and his lungs burned. It hadn’t eased the twisting ache of grief, rage, failure, and despair that gnawed inside him.

He launched himself to his feet and grabbed his jacket, heading out of the hotel with a determined stride. He was in a planet-sized city, for kark’s sake. He could find something to distract him.

Taungsday morning, Maree hurried to work. She arrived half an hour early, but a familiar figure was already waiting outside the staff entrance. Kix turned to her as she approached, and she skidded to an abrupt halt.

“Holy kriffing sith!” she exclaimed. “What happened to your face?”

“It ran into a fist,” Kix said. “A few times.”

Maree traced her fingers softly across his hairline and then gently tilted his jaw so she could get a better look at the angry bruises mottling his skin.

“Force almighty,” she cursed. “Don’t you have any bacta?”

He shook his head.

“Come with me,” she said, taking his hand and tugging him toward the entrance. “There’s an emergency medkit in my office.”

The mazelike corridors were empty, for which she was grateful. She could only imagine what rumors would swirl amongst the interns if she were spotted dragging the gorgeous, battered man through the library. She pulled him into her office and locked the door behind them.

“Sit,” she directed him as she rummaged through the kitchenette cabinets to find the medkit.

Thank the stars, there was plenty of bacta inside. She washed her hands and dispensed a little of the gel onto her fingertips, warming it slightly as she crossed to him. She spread the bacta generously over the bruises and lacerations. His lip was split, so she dabbed a small amount on it. He held perfectly still beneath her touch, never flinching, even when her fingers grazed over a particularly nasty cut over his eyebrow.

“Where else are you hurt?” she demanded.

“Nowhere,” he said, avoiding her gaze.

He took a hitching breath, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Take off your shirt,” she ordered.

He shot her a startled glance.

“What?” he asked.

“Off. Take it off. I know you’re hiding more injuries.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, rising to comply.

He shed his jacket and then slipped his shirt over his head with a tiny grunt of pain.

She hissed in a breath and unleashed a torrent of curses that made Kix’s mouth drop open in awe. The entire left side of his ribcage was covered in dark bruises.

“Will you teach me how to swear like that, doc?” he asked as some of the tension in his face began to ease. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“This isn’t funny,” she said severely. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Relax,” he said. “I was just blowing off some steam.”

“Do you know what I do when I need to blow off steam?” she demanded. “I go bar hopping, or dancing with my friends, or I go for a run if I’m feeling virtuous. I don’t go out and get my ass stomped into the plastcrete!”

He shrugged. “We all handle stress in our own self-destructive ways. Besides, you should have seen the other guy.”

She glared at him, muttering darkly under her breath as she emptied the tube of bacta onto his impressively muscled torso. She would have enjoyed the view more if she hadn’t been so irritated with his recklessness.

“You’re a mean medic,” he said. “I was never this mean to my patients.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a good thing I’m not that kind of doctor, then,” she snapped.

She smeared the bacta across the bruises on his chest and then blew on it to help it dry. He shivered, and she realized he must be freezing. She handed him one of the numerous throw blankets scattered around the office.

“Here,” she said. “Wrap up in this until the bacta dries and you can put your shirt back on. Do you want some pain meds?”

He shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll get us some tea.”

“And biscuits?” he asked hopefully.

“And biscuits,” she sighed.

Kix was fully clothed again by the time the rest of the archival staff trickled into the library, but Maree kept her door locked until the bacta could work its magic on his face. He looked truly shocking, and her concern for him made her cranky. He seemed unaffected by either his injuries or her exasperation. On the contrary, he was in a surprisingly good mood considering that they were about to dive into the heartbreaking task of reviewing the individual trooper reports he’d requested.

Kix was on his second cup of tea and his fourth biscuit as Maree booted up the holoprojector. She was deeply envious of his metabolism. How could he subsist on a diet of sweets while maintaining that breathtaking physique?

“These are really good,” he mumbled around a bite of biscuit. “Did you make them?”

“No, they’re from a bakery by my apartment,” she said. “I’m not much of a cook.”

“It must be nice to live so close to good restaurants,” he said.

“Perks of living in the city,” she said.

“Would you ever move away?” he asked.

If one of my expedition proposals got approved, I’d leave in a heartbeat, she thought. But that wasn’t exactly the sort of sentiment she should share with a major donor to the Library, so she gave a more diplomatic and less truthful answer.

“I don’t know. I never really thought about it. My work is here, and it’s not like the rest of the galaxy is clamoring for archivists.”

“Did you always want to be an archivist?”

“It was a way to put my doctorate to use,” she hedged. “And the New Republic pays well. I still have access to research opportunities, and I’m the faculty advisor for the military history internship program, so I get to see the emerging trends in the field firsthand. It’s always inspiring to see young people excited about learning history. When I was their age, I always wanted to do field work.”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked.

“Credits,” she said bluntly. “It’s not cheap to finance excursions, and it’s almost impossible to drum up funds if you don’t have the publications to demonstrate your expertise. I joined the Archive to build my professional reputation, and I stayed because I grew up and realized there’s more to life than chasing dreams.”

“Like earning that sweet, sweet New Republic salary,” he said.

“Having a stable income is nothing to sneer at,” she retorted.

“Right, and you can spend it on pretty dresses to wear to the galas you love so much.”

“Or on travel, or fine dining, or opera tickets, or art, or glitterstim, or a wine collection that I’ll never drink, or massages, or whatever the kriff I want, because it’s my money, and I get to decide how I spend it,” she said, feeling her earlier ire start to return.

“Fair enough,” he said. “When was the last time you did any of those things?”

“It’s been a while,” she admitted. “I’ve been kind of wrapped up in work recently.”

He looked thoughtful.

“What about pursuing field work now?” he asked. “Doesn’t the library provide any opportunities for senior research staff like you?”

“They’ve scaled back in recent years,” she said. “There are still opportunities on the Core worlds, but there aren’t many sites that are relevant to my research in the Core. The library administration says the Mid and Outer Rims are too risky to send research expeditions. The First Order has been expanding in those regions. The New Republic doesn’t want to acknowledge them publicly as a threat, but they’re being cautious behind the scenes.”

“Risk is an inherent part of life,” Kix said philosophically.

“True, but a New Republic badge in the Outer Rim might as well be a target,” Maree said. “Particularly for a civilian researcher.”

“Well,” he said, “I hope you don’t stop chasing all your dreams, doc.”

She gave him a wan smile, trying not to acknowledge the sting of truth in his words.

“Shall we get started?”

“CT-0292, Captain Vaughn, was killed in action during the siege of Mandalore. Boil is the next name on the list. Without a numerical designation, I wasn’t able to find a record, unfortunately. Same with Wooley. After that is CC-2224. Marshall Commander Cody served with distinction through the end of the Clone Wars and the formation of the Empire,” Maree said. “His file states that he went AWOL the year after the end of the war. There are no other extant records of him.”

Maree heaved a frustrated sigh. They had been at this for hours. The lack of clone records in the Imperial era was becoming a recurring theme. Of the list Kix had sent her, nearly half of the clones had either missing or incomplete files. It was as though the Empire had found yet another way to subtly twist the knife—they considered the clones to be of such little value that they were not even worth the effort of updating the records.

“Who’s next on the list?” Kix asked.

“CT-7922, Dogma. His record states that he was detained after the battle of Umbara, but there is nothing else in the file.”

Kix brooded. He knew it had been a long shot to ask about Dogma. He had never seen the clone again after Umbara. While Kix believed Dogma had been more than justified in executing that karking traitorous Jedi Krell, it seemed that the Republic had disagreed. Another casualty to add to the long list of brothers he hadn’t been able to save.

“What about after that?” he asked.

“CT-7567, Captain Rex,” she said. “Wait, I thought he was a commander?”

“Maybe my source was from earlier in the war,” Kix replied vaguely.

Maree scrolled through the data until she located Rex.

“Ah, here he is. And finally, some good news!”

Kix looked up. “What is it?”

“When I pulled the files, I cross-referenced the Imperial records with those from the Rebellion. Commander Rex was one of a few clones who appeared in both.”

Kix leaned forward in anticipation.

“The Empire listed him as Killed in Action at the end of the war, but the Rebellion files confirm that he survived at least another nineteen years. He fought for the Rebellion, and he was present at many battles, including Endor.”

Kix was stunned. Rex had survived! Not only that, but he’d had a whole life, and he’d gotten his revenge against the Empire.

“He must have been an old man by then,” Kix said.

“That doesn’t seem to have slowed him down much, judging by his activities in the Rebellion,” she said.

“You mentioned that other clones fought in the Rebellion,” he said. “Can you tell me their names?”

“Yes, I found records of at least two others,” she said, scrolling a bit further in her data. “CC-3636, Commander Wolffe, and CC-5576, Captain Gregor. Both participated in the liberation of Lothal. Gregor fell in the battle, but Wolffe survived. Unfortunately, we don’t have any further records of Rex or Wolffe.”

Kix leaned back in his seat, his mind alight with speculation. If Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor had survived that long, maybe more of his brothers had lived long, peaceful lives after the war. It didn’t change the fact that Kix was now the sole surviving clone trooper in the galaxy, but the thought brought him some measure of comfort.

Maree looked tired. Kix stole a glance at the chronometer on the wall and realized it was late in the afternoon. They had spent the entire day combing through individual trooper files.

Maybe we should end the day now, when we at least have found some good news, he thought. We can pick up again tomorrow.

“How many more are left on the list?” he asked.

“Just one more: the natural-born supply officer you listed, Lieutenant Cerra Kilian.”

Kix leaned forward in anticipation.

“According to the files, she deserted immediately after the battle of Coruscant. There’s no other record of her; she just disappeared.”

Kix frowned. What the hell could have happened at Coruscant to make Cerra desert when she’d stayed a loyal soldier even after everything she’d been through?

“That was the end of the list,” Maree said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to locate files on all the troopers you requested. So many records were lost when the Imperial Center of Military Research on Scarif was destroyed, but there is one more possibility that we can explore.”

“What is that?”

“The Imperial Military Records Archive on Coruscant,” she said. “There’s a huge amount of data there that hasn’t been released to the public, but I can access it. I just have to go in person for security reasons.”

“Would they allow you to share the data with me?” he asked.

“I believe they would if we are only accessing trooper files,” she said. “They wouldn’t authorize me to share any sensitive information, though.”

“What could be so sensitive after half a century?” he asked.

“You’d be surprised,” she said cryptically. “There is one complication, though.”

“What’s that?”

“I can’t remove the files from the archive.”

Kix stared at her. “So how could you share them with me?”

“I would need to bring you with me into the archive. I can arrange a visitor pass, if this is something you’d like to pursue.”

“I would appreciate that,” he said.

“I’ll have Teejay set it up,” she said. “It might take a couple of days to make all the arrangements. Can I comm you with the details?”

“Of course,” he said. “Here’s my comm channel.”

Kix made sure to give her the triple-encrypted comm channel that he used when he wanted to make sure nobody from the Meson Martinet crew could snoop in his messages.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll let Teejay know what arrangements to make,” she said.

As she left, Kix crossed the room to stare at the magnificent view. He thought about how Rex had made a life for himself after losing so many brothers. Was it possible that Kix could do the same? He had spent the past year in an agony of grief and regret. Had Rex also suffered the intense guilt that seemed to be the price of survival? What would his captain say to him if they could speak to each other one last time? Kix closed his eyes and tried to imagine. He remembered the times when Rex had come to the med bay after a particularly grueling campaign, laying a comforting hand on Kix’s shoulder as the medic grieved over the patients he hadn’t been able to save. Saleucami. Kiros. Ringo Vinda. So many campaigns, so much death.

Umbara.

That cursed battle had nearly broken Kix. He was a combat medic. He dedicated his entire life to saving his brothers’ lives. To realize that he had ended them instead—that he had killed his own brothers—it was more than he could stand. In the bloody aftermath, overwhelmed by the sheer number of injured and dying clones, he had treated the wounded, helping as many as he could, but it was all too few. After days of triage, Rex had tried to order him to get some sleep. Kix had refused.

“I have to save them!” he’d shouted.

Rex had tried to calm him down, but Kix shoved the captain away as his body began to shake uncontrollably. Rex refused to back down, wrapping Kix in a tight hug as the medic sobbed into his captain’s shoulder.

“Sometimes in war, it’s hard to be the one that survives,” Cody had once said.

But Kix had survived, whether he liked it or not. And now he had to find a way forward, no matter how impossible it seemed to be. As he took a final look at the gleaming city outside the window, Kix decided to take his first step on that path.

When Maree returned to her office a few moments later, Kix had pulled on his jacket. He thought he saw a glimmer of disappointment in her face. Her eyes looked heavy, and a few wayward strands of hair had worked their way out of her hairstyle and brushed across her cheeks.

Stars, she is breathtaking.

“Your face is looking much better,” she observed. “The bacta worked quickly.”

“Is it improved enough that it won’t set the office gossip chain on fire when I leave?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said. “If anyone notices, we can say that we got into a debate about which Jedi was the most reckless general, and things got out of hand.”

“Skywalker, without a doubt,” Kix said. “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

She blinked in surprise, and Kix realized that she might prefer to rest after such a taxing day.

“No pressure if you don’t want—”

“Yes!” she cut him off. “I would love to have dinner with you.”

Kix flashed a smile. “How does 1900 sound?”

“Perfect,” she said. “We can meet at my place.”

Kix took his leave and sped back to his hotel, comming the Meson Martinet on the way.

“Reveth, I need a favor,” he said.

---

Chapter 6

Tagging: @blueink-bluesoul @secondaryrealm @spicy-clones @wings-and-beskar @523rdrebel @goblininawig @merkitty49 @anxiouspineapple99

#dystopicjumpsuit writes #martyrs and kings #tcw fanfic #clone medic kix #tcw kix #sw tcw fanfic #star wars tcw #sw fanfic

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driftwithme · 9 months

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Having Raleigh narrate the beginning of the movie makes you so attached to him.

The story starts with something everyone can relate too. Feeling helpless as a child, feeling small, feeling lonely. Looking for an answer in the stars, for companionship, for something bigger.

Then he admits he wants naive, wrong and the statement transfers to you. It's the best way to show to the audience how sudden the Kaiju invasion was on the movie, make them feel the anguish of the unexpected.

It's also a recurring writing strategy to start the story by showing a vulnerable side of the hero. We all want to relate to the struggle of the main character, before he proves he can do things we could never do.

When Raleigh goes:

I used to look at the stars when I felt alone or useless as a kid :(

You get a dreamer. Someone who faces his dark feelings by looking up, for light or hope. You get someone willing to admit something like that with a bitter voice not because he is recriminating himself his own weakness as a child, but because what happened next was impossible to stop and it was bad. It's like the audience is on a therapy session with Raleigh Becket. Not a reporter, not a historian, not a politician. You start trusting Raleigh by the way he speaks. He sounds like a friend who has been drinking a bit and wants to tell you his story. He sounds hurt, you can imagine he has it rough, you see the world his eyes, the news, the propaganda, tv shows and parades and toys, things he watched himself as the events happened, okay?

By the time you're seeing him, his happily jumping from his bunk bed, willing to go face the monsters who terrorize mankind. Cocky but confident, he smiles, he jokes, he looks in control. It makes you feel good because he's not a helpless kid anymore, but it makes you wary because you know something bad is about to happen (he told you himself).

The reason you don't hate him for being so overconfident is that he's proud of helping and defending humanity, right? He speaks in wonder of the jaegers just as you would, he's a child at heart. When he decides to go save the boat of ten men, he has already win the audience heart. Individual lives matter to him more than military orders. He's not a soldier or a senseless follower. Even in a giant jaeger and being a super cool pilot celebrity, he is worried about each life, each person.

Then Yancy dies. Raleigh does the impossible and reaches land after killing the kaiju. And you would follow Raleigh anywhere now. You would chase his happiness with him, the end of the war, whatever it takes to see this kind, handsome, brave man winning.

The movie starts with Raleigh's voice telling you one of his secrets and that's it. It's over. You're doomed. You have fallen for his charm.

#pacrim #pacific rim #pacific rim 2013 #raleigh becket #pacrim 2013

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nix-whythisfilm · 1 year

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Movies and Shows to watch this Women's History Month

Coming from a culture where women are only celebrated selectively, and worshipped as a goddess but also are the majority of victims in the crimes here, I hope we can take back our power and find equality in this world that's meant for us all. From naive young girls to wise older women, from tomboys to prep girls, from emo girls to it girls, from straight girls to lesbian women, from ciswomen to trans women; a very happy women's day, including the identities I might have missed out on.

You are all valid. You are all worth it. You are all powerful. You are all more beautiful than any words can describe. You are more than what you look like. You are more than what other people see you as. You are so much more than any wild imagination.

Bridgerton (2020)

With a new upcoming season about the fictional Queen from the first two seasons, the series has everyone biding time in anticipation. The series is based on the books written by Julia Quinn, eight books for the eight Bridgerton siblings. The show is said to be adapted a little differently, focussing on different details and following a different narrative. The first season is set like a typical chick flick, with the oldest daughter having regal confidence and feminine finesse with everything expected of her. The second season takes on a bolder tone, showing us the perspective of the older brother, known to be a rake, looking for a gentle wife, only to meet a pair of siblings opposite in their natures, both challenging his opinion of love.

I initially found this series through the buzz on social media and the modern aesthetics it appeals to despite being set in Regent England. The music was what drew me in, being classical adaptations of modern songs, but what kept me was the way women were not shown in any distinctive way but as themselves. The show highlighted the little details people forget are a part of being a woman, such as not being educated on the duties of a marriage or the quiet strength we all possess through our social capabilities and gossiping skills. It was amusingly empowering to watch how the women took power by not doing anything special but only by being a typical women.

Gangubhai Kathiawad (2022)

Based on the story of Gangubhai Harijeevandas, this film involves a girl running away with her lover only to be sold to a brothel and forced to work there. While the story is all too common to an Indian and gives us a chill every time we hear of something similar, this film brings us a side of the story that is often shunned and not accepted. Gangubhai was a prominent figure in Mumbai in the 1960s, fighting for the rights of sex workers and orphans rising from the red light districts. She has been shown to change as her life demands and took charge of the brothel she was sold to and was very well known in Kamathipura.

Chilling and raw, this film gave us the reality of sex workers in a barely romanticized narration. Alia Bhatt's performance is startling, and by the end of the film, we can find ourselves having a different opinion of the women in that profession. They have made it widely clear that she not only promoted their commercial prospects but also highlighted the confidence and sense of power in the women there to give them a choice in their lives. She fought for her life, her freedom, and the freedom of choice for other young girls who found themselves in her place. While many others would say that the film glorified the dangerous space that women and children could be stuck into, I will go ahead and say that things that cannot be erased or changed should at least be provided with the space to adapt as required.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019)

Set in Joseon, this series is about the historians who worked in the Royal Courts of Korea, noting everything that happened, from simple interactions to actions taken concerning state matters. They were to be present at all places, documenting silently, around the King and the Court Officials. While politics and patriarchy were present nearly everywhere in that era, this show features a fictional prince who presented the idea of having female historians who would record everything that happened around the Queen while also providing challenging work opportunities to women of that era, who were always held back from higher education.

This series is remarkable for anyone interested in Journalism and gender equality. The main character is a modern thinker who goes out of her way to make people have uncomfortable conversations. Another thing that stood out to me from this show was the way they resolved the major conflict using non-violent methods, and the strike of honest intellectuals was justified from their perspectives. The series highlighted the importance of honesty and the way history is recorded. It focuses heavily on dramatic politics and simple romance, but they equally discuss the importance of literature and history, in the process.

Tribhanga (2021)

Another jewel is this list, this film was written and directed by women, with a story involving mothers and daughters. The movie appears to break the fourth wall, where the characters seem to be talking directly to the audience, but as a start, the story begins with a prominent self-made dancer who hears of her mother being in the hospital. The scenes quickly cut to her hurrying there with her newly married daughter to the hospital, where her estranged mother has slipped into a coma. The film continues with Milan, a follower of Nayantara's work, pleading with everyone to talk more about her story as the mother, who was an author, was in the process of writing her autobiography.

The movie was entertaining, to say the least, and a caressing memoir at its best. Through tears and yelling, fights and hardships, the entire story of three generations of women comes to light in the span of this film. It starts with the mother who separated from her family to be a writer and raised her daughter as a single mother, who then grew up through her hardships to become an accomplished dancer and celebrity. Anuradha was a single mother who raised a confident, poised daughter who then chose to marry into a large family to have the life her grandmother had abandoned. The story picks and talks about the nuances of being a woman while feeling like a personal story to every woman who watches it.

Happiness (2021)

An unlikely genre for this list, this series is a horror-thriller show involving a fast-spreading disease that turns humans cannibalistic. Set in South Korea, this disease spreads much like Covid and the authorities take quick action to control the spread. The story mainly focuses on an unusual couple who move into an elite gated community of apartments. With their jobs being a challenge and being discriminated against for their job benefits, the show quickly focuses on the disease and the ripples of fear it has in the community. I put this show here in this list because the character Park Hyungsik plays, who is an unwavering feminist who goes above and beyond for his wife.

With not much buzz about this show, I discovered it in my interest in watching Hyungsik's work and was pleasantly surprised by the way they captured people's reactions to their epidemic. It was accurate with how the Covid pandemic happened and the trauma a disease can bring to any community through its horror elements. While there are numerous female characters in this show, some antagonistic in nature and others part of the complete story, the series can easily be categorized into a work that captures the story through the female gaze. It's a surprise how well the movies and series can be perceived differently when the perception of the director is guided by their gender.

Bell Bottom (2019)

A Kannada film set in the 1980s, the story follows a man struggling to be recognized as a detective and finally finds a crime that seems like a mystery. Rishab Shetty and Haripriya come together to show us a fresh story that scratches the back of our necks until the end. With their romance bringing an easy laugh and dynamics around the small town that keep us engaged, this film is sure to leave the audience thoroughly entertained.

Curious about the actors' work, I found this film a unique slice of entertainment. The cultural details of this story are highlighted excellently, and the feminist factors need to be dug into passionately. But through it all, the film can be called an easy and entertaining watch. Interesting with narratives that audiences are unfamiliar with, this quirky film brings us a unique set of feminists and characters that cannot be put into stereotypes.

Wheel of Time (2021)

Honestly, underrated for the breathtaking show that it is, this series deserves a much bigger audience. Following a prophecy that was foretold and fighting wars that are beyond humanity, this show is filled with beautiful visuals and meaningful narratives. It starts with one woman guiding five others through the trials for the people they are predicted to be and the story takes us through a journey beyond our imagination. With simplified concepts of fantasy and a world of politics, this show is ruled by the many women who control the stories of numerous others in the show.

A show that was exhilarating and left me wanting more, it was led by women in places of power who decided the fate of people with magic. A unique concept of only women having magic, this series brings us a tale that was written decades ago and gives us characters of various cultures coming together to fight against unfamiliar darkness. With every character holding the potential to be a game changer and everyone hustling to be in places of power, this series presents us with an intimidating world, quite similar to the one we are living in right now. And through it all, it also shows us women finding themselves and bonding with other women in ways that are not highlighted in reality nearly enough.

Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh (2016)

Raw and magnetic, this film is about a woman who defies odds thrown in her direction that are beyond ordinary. It starts with a haunting accident and leads a police officer to investigate it, only to find a woman he never expected to see with a daughter. With her daughter missing and criminal charges against her that make no sense, this film takes us on a sombre journey of her past and the things she faced. The movie has a grip over us with Vidya Balan playing Durga Rani and Arjun Rampal playing the police officer. This film is a slap of honesty and mostly focuses on the various women involved in this story who might not always be loyal to their gender.

Shocking me beyond imagination when I first watched it, this story managed to grip me even today with the narrative of a terrified woman facing the world by herself while also taking on responsibilities that were not hers to begin with. With dangerous people always around her, Durga Rani manages to do the right thing by herself and everyone who depends on her. This film empowered me on the struggles of being a survivor and ways one can push themselves to be more than their ruinous experience. Rooted in India and navigating the clutches of patriarchy, this film is a wake-up call to the silent bystanders and people who believe ignorance is better.

How to get away with Murder (2014)

Following the story of Annalise Keating prominently, this show is a dynamic punch for any audience. The show focuses on murders every season, involving the diverse characters of the show, who all grow through the six seasons. While the first season starts off with a student's narration, the following seasons involve the lives of the main characters and conclude with a full-circle story of Annalise. An intimidating woman to most, and a terrific teacher and lawyer to the rest, Annalise is a complex character who can be studied through various approaches. This show was unique with the narration having a feminist approach and having main characters that do not belong to the mainstream crowd.

I began this show hesitantly, expecting it to be a slow watch that would take me aeons to finish. Instead, I finished the entire series in three weeks and was left reeling on how they managed to involve a plethora of ordeals the characters experienced. From losing loved ones to doing the right thing, from being a single mother to experiencing health complications, from menopause to the struggles of being a part of countercultures, this show has managed to put it all together. Women in this show have been shown as the people they are, with their faults and quirks. Women from all stereotypes have been a part of this show, and somehow, the show manages to empower us with its dark truths and dangerous struggles.

Pieces of a woman (2020)

A heartbreaking film on the experience of losing a child, this film focuses heavily on the woman who lost her baby after birth due to complications. While movies exist about the loss of a child and the many labours of miscarriages, a film had never been made before about the experience. The directors, a couple who experienced this personally, brought out this script after surviving the struggle that was never spoken aloud about. Vanessa Kirby has played the character so beautifully it leaves us speechless on the woes a human being could go through.

Having found this film through a friend, we later wrote a paper on this and nuances that would be commonly missed out. The film is incredibly insightful on the details of motherhood and the changes a woman's body goes through post-pregnancy. It focuses on the way loss can affect a woman and a man, and how both adapt to it differently. The most important element highlighted throughout is the way a woman is expected to cope after a miscarriage. While we all hear the numerous pressures a woman goes through in her life, this film sheds light on the way a woman is expected to behave a certain way even through uncertain, hopeless times.

Bombay Begums (2021)

Starting with women in powerful positions this mini-series takes us on a ride with the stories of four women at different times of their lives. They belong to different social classes and have different aspirations, but they all are shown to have challenges that only someone would experience as a woman. While some are struggling for power and money, others are grappling to hold on to relationships and personal-social ties. Some women here are stumbling to balance everything as women are always portrayed to be doing, while others are exploring their options and finding themselves in the midst of everything.

I was confounded when I finished this series, only having imagined it to be a dramatic show with a plot carried by women. It had nuances to their struggles that couldn't have been explained in mere words and brought out their personalities in ways a male director could never. The series humanized the women to the people they were while also shedding light on the experiences that women are privy to. I recommend this show to every woman as it has captured something that has never been done before. The dialogues hit home as the story moves in an unpredictable direction leaving us with a sharp sting of reality over 6 episodes.

Easy A (2010)

A very typical American chick flick, this film is light-hearted and packs a powerful message. It starts with Olive, a seemingly normal high school girl, making up one lie about having a college boyfriend to appease a nagging best friend. The story then spins out of control quickly with wild rumours about her spreading all over her school making her a subject of gossip and school scandals. Being the good-hearted girl she is, she helps out anyone she can with the attention that she now commands, and once again the narrative is taken for a spin to paint her as a girl with loose characters and a nympho.

I watched this film years ago on television and thought about how people could miss the entire point of the film and only focus on the romantic ending of her story. Having "Scarlet Letter" as the prescribed text in the film, the students all witness their scandalous woman, when she starts dressing as they painted her in spite and to claim her power. A film aimed at teenage girls, this film can easily be watched by anyone who enjoys humour. We see a perspective that is often missed out in chick flicks and a main character who takes power in the stereotype she is pushed into. All in all, time spent watching this would be well entertaining.

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cosplayproblemsposts · 2 years

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Give me an answer

It was a scandal from the very beginning, you caught his eye but you saw him as an experiment leading to your fallout.

Warning: Angst, a user(reader), and an affair.

Male character x Male reader

In the endless line of History, people would say and write how you rise from the Caribbean and paved your way to France along with your aligned affair.

Alice Hart your wife and mother of Hunter and Nicolas L/N ran alongside your two little boys. "HEY SLOW DOWN!" you call as the three dash to the stone steps of the entrance of your brand new home in the countryside of France.

Historians can only describe Alice Hart as stuck in the clouds who dreamt of a happy family but she wore her heart on her sleeves. She had to be one of the most graceful and one of America's greatest ballerinas...only if she saw through Y/N L/N lies then maybe it would have been different.

Books and documentaries have to describe Y/N L/N as the snake of it all and instigator of his own fate. Y/N had an affair with a fellow man who became his experiment and soon-to-be murderer in two years.

1866 April your wife and you were invited to a little game night by Madame Raquin "Isn't it a little far?" Alice sighs. "I know but I thought it'll be nice to spend some time alone and I MEAN alone" she chimes her way to unconvinced Y/N. "The boys would be taken care of by our lovely little nanny while we explore Pairs" she hums and pecks your lips "How does that sound?" you grin "Fine, we'll explore and win" Alice giggles "See, now bedtime".

The two arrived two days early "This apartment is not so bad...oh look one bed!" you frown a little "Don't we already sleep in one singularly bed TOGETHER". Alice huffs "Your killing the magic" she points a stern finger at you "Okay I'll play along...oh my one bed" you throw your hands up in sarcastic amazement.

There you stood in this little painting studio?..." I feel sad for the painter who's stuck here" you whisper to Alice who playful smacks your clothed chest. "Laurent, I'm sorry for the last-minute notice" Madame approaches a man who looks to be around your age "Oh, Laurent these are the L/N's and I hope you could paint them a portrait of each other".

Laurent felt as if his tongue has been swallowed once his eyes saw you "Hello I'm Alice and this is my husband Y/N" you send a nod his way. " Hello?, I hope this wouldn't be a problem" Alice's voice throws his attention back to the task beforehand "oh no, it won't".

That was the first time you ever met Laurent Leclaire and here you are in the midst of him painting your third portrait "I don't know why you've to use me as a reference Leclaire". Laurent could only smile "I'm not using you, I'm merely fascinated by you" you grin "Fascinated? what are you talking about?" Laurent feels the passion ignite within him the moment his eyes lay on you.

"You see, your handsome and you carry yourself differently compared to the men I've met" you hum and lick your lips. "So you're that fascinated by me you'll even paint a portrait of my hands" Laurent freezes, no one isn't supposed to know about his paintings of your hands. "I...yes!" Laurent frowns at you when you stood from your chair "What're you doing sit back down!" he gestures with the help of his paintbrush.

"Do you want to know how memorizing you are Laurent?" this is the first time you have ever called him by his first name and not his last name. "For I'll like you to know how you invade my mind" you coat red paint on the palm and fingers of your hands and look Laurent in his eyes with an unreadable gaze. "Would you like to know? Laurent" the Frenchmen grins and his confidence returns "Yes!".

That muggy evening your red-infested hand imprint places no one would ever imagine a fellow man would dare grope. You even had gone fair as to lock your painted hands in his hair and if Laurent was a little too loud you'll cup his mouth which left a red hand print.

Hunter ran into your arms "Oh my goodness you have grown heavy while I've been away" Hunter laughs and of course, Nicolas follows. Alice comes walking towards you three "Boys please go and play, I need to talk to your father" The two boys pout but you shook your head "C'mon now listen to your mother" you set down Hunter. Once the boys were out of earshot Alice turns to you "Where were you? I thought you'd be home by yesterday?" you frown "I grew picky" Alice cocks an eyebrow at you "Well you see I had to buy you something". An expensive golden necklace came to view "You are worth more than a few minutes" Alice gasped and welcomes the gift "See, I need more than a minute or two to find you a perfect gift" she kisses your cheek "I guess, I forgive you".

You took Laurent out to tailor store after tailor store which leaves him utterly smug for you'd stare at him much longer than normal. You bought him the most expensive paints and brushes, you'll buy him anything "I believe your a little too sweet to me" you grin "Of course". In hidden shadows, you'll share more than a conversation, and behind closed doors, the two of you would feed your endless lust and passion.

Alice wasn't forgotten and for the truth, you could tell she was happy than she ever was "Has France brought a new side to you?, Y/N" and of course, you laugh. "I guess there has been love in the air" Alice giggles but gasps when you practically threw yourself on top of her. "I feel young again darling and you are the cause of it" Alice has never heard such words fall from your mouth before but this is what she wished for. A happy family, a devoted husband, and beautiful and healthy children.

Laurent watches as a heavily pregnant Alice gasps and exclaims how the baby kicked which made you skid to your knees to feel what you two have made. "Oh, your one strong girl aren't you" Alice giggles as Laurent replays what you've said and he felt jealousy shoot through him. "You aren't part of the portrait Y/N now come here" Madame gestures to you to sit down "Fine, I love you" Alice's mood increases.

Laurent splat paint across your back once Alice and Madame left "Ooops" you turn around to meet him fully "Laurent I know you did it on purpose". Laurent scoffs and removes the now painted canvas so that it'll dry properly "Laurent talk to me".

"Talk to you, why should I...She's pregnant with your third child and you are making a mockery of me" you soften your gaze and made your way to him. "I know and I'm sorry, Alice is my wife and she means nothing to me" you hold both of his hands "You have a passion that I want to feel, hear, taste, and smell for you are my sun, Laurent". Laurent fell once again for your words "I feel young again darling and you are the cause of it" you spoke and remember all the words you've said to Alice just so you could repeat them to Laurent.

"Y/N and Laurents affair has been going on for a whole year before their fallout" a voice of a historian spoke on the screen for a bunch of high school students. "Y/N knew what he was doing was wrong but did he care, no he didn't, no one knew and he made sure of it. From the hidden letters to Laurents journal, they made sure nobody found out about their affair" the classroom of students listens.

"But Hunter L/N saw his father and Laurent one day in his father's study"

Hunter stood in the doorway and he saw both you and Laurent kissing "Hunter, I know you won't understand but if you keep this a secret I won't tell your mother that you spoiled your appetite". Hunter nods "Our little secret" Hunters looks at Laurent both running off "Don't worry he won't say anything" Laurent nods and reconnected your lips with his own once you closed the door.

Once little Peter and Polly was born you became distant for twins were a rare case and now you finally have a daughter. "Now look at you two, I already can't tell the difference" Alice giggles while Hunter and Nicolas stare with wonder in their eyes. "I can't believe Hunter going to be six soon while Nicola's fifth birthday is approaching fast" Alice says. "They're growing up what are you expecting" Alice buries her face into the side of your neck "I don't want them to grow up" you chuckle "Sorry darling they can't be your babies forever".

"Don't you love me?" Laurent says as you walk away from him and the swing that hangs from a tree. "Pardon?" the hill you both stood upon held more than your emotions "You said I made you feel young again and she was NOTHING!". you sigh as Laurent makes his way to you. "I said things and done things but they'll never change the fact I'm a father" Laurent felt sorrow and it spread like a disease.

"Good day Leclaire" Laurent wasn't just going to give up "NO!, I understand I'm not half of the man you want or need but I don't understand why you can't love me too!". "I don't apologize Leclaire and I can't love you the way you want me to" Laurent stops in his track.

"Can't"

#in secret #male x male reader #fanfic #male character #male reader #steven grant #marc spector #jake lockley #oscar issac imagine #oscar issac x reader #laurent leclaire #moon knight #oscaar isaac #male x male #foreign affairs #angst fanfic #angst fuel

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eluxcastar · 2 years

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Meeting their s/o's reincarnation in the next life, but on the enemy's side

── ୨୧：ky luc, chess belle, crowley eusford x reader (separate)

୨୧﹑synopsis :: a past lover departed all too soon, never supposed to meet them again, though immortality will make that possible. it was never how they expect it to end up.

୨୧﹑genre :: fluff

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, mentions of violence, brief mentions of suicide (staged), implied kidnapping, stockholm syndrome if you squint, 90% of these are for chess, she may be ooc, crowley's past s/o is amab, also not explicitly his s/o (historians say they were roommates)

୨୧﹑words :: 4.5k

ky luc apparently WASN'T IN THE FIRST ONE??? 🤨 so anyway our catboy gets put here, Chess' deleted because I fell asleep writing it and istg I could cry Idk hers was an idea that tickled my brain. I was gonna include Horn but then I saw the word count at just Ky and Chess and withered away

part one | part two

─ ୨୧： ky luc

He always knew that at some point, you must leave this world before him.

Ky can remember the times he used to watch his dear lover, his still very Human lover from his very Human life, yet as he leaves that life behind in order to pursue the thing that interests him next he finds that he can not yet stray too far. Even when Sika Madu will scold him for sneaking out he ignores the many warnings in order to see you, watch you more like. It comes from a place of good in his heart.

The person he watches day to day to ensure your health and happiness. As far as you knew, Ky had passed in a tragic accident, though you never were fond of hearing the specifics, and your life goes on with a hole where he used to be. He begins to notice when you come out of your shell again and slowly cheer back up, it's visible in your demeanour and the spring back in your step. Your beautiful smile, your warmth is back for the first time in a while.

It's also very visible when you begin to grow ill, first just a minute cough here and there that began to grow into full-blown fits, you told the Doctor you couldn't breathe at times, and that these fits were beginning to make you dizzy. He could see you deteriorate more and more with each day, and none of the treatments you were trying were working and it frustrated him to no end. Ky rarely knows the specifics of how sick you are, having to wait for you to mention it to someone and only then, it had to be one of the times he was in earshot to hear it, because in your mind he was long dead. You start making the odd jokes every so often that this is 'just Ky becoming impatient', and something tells him you're worse off than you're letting on.

"God, now I'm imagining my dead husband." is your response when he first breaks his deal with Sika Madu not to get too close. Ky doesn't deviate from that narrative, using it as his leeway to take your hand and shush you, telling you to just rest. "Things were finally starting to look up again." You have done nothing but worry him, and now you seem to enjoy that more than ever as you talk to what you still believe is a mirage. "They say that there's nothing they can do, just to arrange my affairs and pray. Perhaps we will be together again sooner than we thought."

And just like that he snaps from his thoughts, staring at one of the soldiers who had arrived on the bus with the gang of teenagers, one who looks so eerily similar to a string of memories he has that it's impossible to shake. Ky could take a picture of that one, travel back in time and hold it up to his lover and he'd see two of the same people staring back at him. It's almost scary, thinking about how easy it would be to break that little soldier even when he wouldn't dream of laying a finger on the person he mistook them for at first.

Just as quickly as you appeared you're running off with those kids telling them not to cause a fuss, like they were little children you're hopelessly trying to parent, and it clicks with him your uniform is different. It's not so drastic you look like you're in a different army but the adornments it holds say enough—the reason you're scolding those five are because you are like their parent. You're one of their superiors. Feasibly any curiosity he may have held would've been much easier to indulge with a standard private rather than an established higher up.

It feels as if it all went too fast, as an innocent little assignment from Lord Urd leads to him getting chased around by this very strong, very angry 'little soldier' who he thought would be so easy to crush between even his fingers like a pesky little insect. Ky thought sacrificing Ferid would be enough, but you ran after him after his retreat like you had a death wish. Indeed, as he manages to grab you by the throat and slam you against the ground where you will stay put, he does finally get to see you closely.

It's as if he looks down at his lover, sleepy and at peace, reaching up to caress his cheek and murmur something to him; he can't quite remember word for word, but he remembers enough. Everything down to the smell of the room ingrains itself within his mind and etched out a clear picture, even the smell is there as he swears he can pick up the faint scent of smoke and wax from the candle he recalls living at your bedside where you would light every night. The feeling of your hand touching his skin and leaving a pleasant ringing in the wake of your fingertips as you stroke his cheek to ask if he's tired yet, all before Ky leans down to place a gentle kiss against your forehead.

Then he realises he has you pinned to the ground, and he's choking the life out of you as you claw at his face after giving up on his hands which had reddened due to how vicious your nails were scratching him. Ky eases up his grip on your neck and you immediately gasp for air, your chest heaving just to try and pull yourself together. He realises he's killing the only trace of you left on this earth, a little soldier who shares your face, and who hates him in just the way you must for what he's done to you.

He can't bring himself to squeeze any harder, he releases you completely and stands from where he had crouched by your side. Ky watches as you roll yourself over and cough on seemingly nothing a couple of times, barely even reacting as he practically scurries away knowing you'll be better off if he leaves while you're stuck in a state you can't possibly chase anymore.

The third time you meet is the middle of your newest battlefield, a mess of blood, fire and the smell of death as you're both standing in the remnants of countless of your comrades. He's far too close, inspecting your neck closely, and his thumb brushes over the deep purple marks imprinted in your skin, the bruises yet to fade. You shove Ky away almost the second he touches you, and he allows it. He's watching you be sent flying within seconds, a chain far too recognisable coming down between you and flicking at you with what looked like barely any force. You had been relatively passive until now, but it must've taken you from observer to fighter. Offence fighter. It's what tips you from tolerant, and he can only assume you saw it as a breach of this relatively peaceful interaction. You launch yourself at him, weapon in hand, and he's forced to weigh his opinions in the few seconds he has to decide whether or not to strike. It feels as if time stops just for this decision, and he wonders, if he couldn't kill you before what changed?

Even if he wanted to, Ky knows he could never hurt you, the you he loved that is, but you look so much like that person…you look so much like that person he can't take the thought.

He wonders if you ever once hesitated in your decision the way he has every time he's tried to hurt you, but contrary to how he imagined it, he doesn't feel even a hint of pain. If he wasn't watching his body collapse to his knees and begin to deteriorate into the air, he wouldn't even know you'd cut his head off. It feels peaceful. It feels peaceful to think of what life could've been if he had never left you in the first place. He certainly wouldn't be watching Lest Karr charge at you in a fit of childish anger, nor would he have seen what became of you as he is now. Perhaps he could've gone with you, to the place where you found your peace, your family. He can only think back again, back to what you last said to him, about seeing him again…at the time you couldn't wait.

"At last, we'll be together again, love. I'm sorry I made you wait so long."

─ ୨୧： chess belle

The turn of the century offers you just about everything you could ever ask for in a life of crime and con artistry — an atmosphere, clothes, the people, the places, the boom in the economy that was making you richer and richer — and you both cash your cheques with a laugh knowing you'll be set for a while now, this will tide you over even if you decide to have a little fun and drink together like you don't have a limit.

Many people look at the way you look at each other and scowl, but it's never stopped you before. The thing that would stop you sounds closer to a bad con, or more like cheating. You suspect one of the players is observing the cards of the people around the table through a third party, the one serving you drinks, so you slip an unwanted card away under your clothes where it's out of sight while nobody is looking too closely. You thought it was fine, until you win the round now with more than a few cards tucked away and suddenly he explodes. It's so unreasonable it completely ruins the mood, but nobody wants to stand against him.

He obviously knows you're a 'damn con artist' as he puts it, but playing dumb and collecting Chess from the other table insisting to her you have to leave now doesn't get you far. You both decide to get out of town and move on before the whole ordeal is blown out of proportion. It already is as he's got his panties in a twist over the money you just made him lose, valuable time he could've spent playing someone who wasn't a cheating bitch. You know it's safer not to loiter just because there's profit to be made, there's so many better places you can run to with your darling girlfriend that one place will mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, and you'll find some place where you can happily marry whether or not deception may be necessary.

You're not exactly sure how a card game where you returned the notion of cheating to win ended this way, with a gun to your head in a place where Chess would find you. A pen in your hand and a piece of paper in front of you, writing exactly what you're told word by word as it evolves into what looks like a suicide note. You're not in love with her anymore, and you won't live a loveless life. You can't fathom those things let alone writing them for her to read and blame herself for your death. You try to work things in under his nose, stupid pet names you've never called her before, or that she heard and laughed uncontrollably because you were intentionally being embarrassing or some event that never happened as you're told to 'give an explanation'. The last thing you write is how you can't stand her abuse anymore, and you know that she'll know you don't have a say in this, you know she's never actually raised a hand to you or chewed you out when you didn't do something to deserve it.

Chess finds you some hours later, taking your body in her arms even when she hears the gun fall to the ground, you're staining her clothes with blood and she's covering her hands in it just to cradle you in her arms begging you to come back.

You find yourself bound and restrained, laying on the bed you'd been sleeping in in a daze where the little purple-haired Vampire has you held down with her own body straddling your waist and pressing you into the mattress. It feels like she's draining you, and you can't push her away when your arms are tied. You feel light-headed. You aren't even sure how you ended up here, vaguely recalling her asking if she can keep 'this one' in reference to you. You think you were ambushed by her. At some point she decided to keep you more than ever, and had taken you home with her where you had been for a few days now. Sometimes Horn watches you to see exactly what she's has been doing with her new toy, sometimes you're alone with Chess and she's oddly tender.

It's one of the times you're alone, and you're trying to think of how many days it's been since she began this. "I thought I would never see you again." She says it suddenly, like you're supposed to know what she's talking about as she lays down beside you, "We made that guy so mad he got us kicked out, but we had lots of fun in that place." You turn your head to look at her, and she reaches up to stroke your cheek.

"Can…Can I be untied yet…" You almost don't want to interrupt her, but there's an ache in your joints from how uncomfortable it is and you wonder if catching her at this moment will make her comply.

"Hmph!" She pushes herself back up and sits back on top of you, her thighs squeezing you tightly, "Are you gonna run away?" You vigorously shake your head, a noise something like a whimper escaping you. "You're not much like you used to be y'know, or maybe you just aren't like that for me anymore… Are you always this much of a fraidy cat?"

She shuffles back to make room for you to sit up, reaching behind you to untie you as she said she would. "You've been keeping me as livestock after killing all of my friends." The amount of relief you feel having your arms freed is indescribable, "Sorry I'm not all over you."

"Hm. It's just like we were when we first met, except you thought I was a fraidy cat. The police wouldn't investigate your death, they were glad one of us was gone."

"My what?" You can't quite follow what she's saying, though you can piece some things together. She seems to have mistaken you for someone she used to know, and she loves that person enough to be delusional to the fact that if they're dead and you're supposedly them, you can't be under her 'care' right now. She is so unimaginably gentle towards you that you allow it when she wants to curl up in your arms, partly out of fear and partly just so she'll think twice about hurting you again if she thinks you're warming up to her.

On and off for months she comes to you, allowing you minimal freedom but slowly providing you more trust. She let's you wander, but not too far, keeping you mostly in the one room where she visits you and feeds you, she tells you a lot about who you used to be. You understand now, and you're so grateful she found you again. It's a pity you don't have any memories of that but she never spares a detail in telling you all about it. You used to think she was keeping you something like her pet, but you start to grow more and more fond of her.

You let her have you, now that you know she's just trying to help her misguided lover break away from how much the Humans brainwashed you. You can't ask for more, even when people are starting to question why she devotes so much attention to a Human, even Horn wants to know. She especially wants to know whether Chess is just dancing about the rather glaring issue: your body will not remain this way forever, you'll grow out of looking the way she remembers you very soon. She insists Chess must give you her blood, right in front of the both of you, and Chess initially brushes it off.

Then she starts thinking, the best way to keep you by her side is to never be able to be killed by the likes of Humans ever again. Besides, if she does that, then you'll finally be safe. The Humans won't even want you back let alone try brainwashing you into believing Vampires are unruly monsters again. Yes, this way, you will truly be safe from them and all their lies.

"Will you let me give you my blood now? You never have to die again, we'll always be together."

─ ୨୧： crowley eusford

There is a semblance of repose he finds in speaking to you, a crusader still in training just under him, and Crowley finds your antics rather amusing if not a little out of line sometimes. It isn't easy to reign you in until he's more practised at the 'skill', but something about just how carefree you can manage to be is a relief to him, a breath of fresh air he isn't used to. He likes listening to you laugh about something childish and possibly quite stupid in his eyes, not because he completely shares your idea of humour but just because he likes your look of joy. He likes seeing you try to run away to escape the children who have decided you're the coolest person in the world all for their entertainment, so they can 'catch' you and brag about it.

Most of all, Crowley likes that you'll come visit him if and when you please, not because of any particular obligation to do so or because someone asks. Sometimes he just likes hearing about what you have to say, even if you just came to him bubbling with excitement about something you absolutely had to tell anyone right this second. He's flattered you choose him for that all the time. Of course you listen to him, and you have made remarks that you feel like more than just friends, ending it with 'like brothers'.

He doesn't think of you that way, something more than friends, but not brothers, it just…doesn't feel right. He wants more from you, but that seems to be more you can't provide, especially not in your current position, not when you want to be a holy knight so badly. You may be a bit of a goof ball, but you try to take your oaths seriously. You try to ease his mind with a promise that you'll keep coming to him for your bouts of energy. Crowley treats that as a vow, a silly vow and rather innocent but a vow no less.

He knew that one day it would happen, and you'd find yourself out in the world at war. What he didn't expect was for you to end up on the ground in a heap, a pool of blood forming around you. A hand is desperately trying to cover the wound and stop the bleeding. There's so much blood that even if he did stop it your vision is already waning, your consciousness wearing thin. He tries to take hold of your hand, though you can't seem to find where his hand is as you grab at the air, then finally he takes your hand. The frustration that had been building on your face dissipates as you manage to relax and almost melt into the arm that's holding you up. You slur your words when you try to speak to him, feeling him hold you tighter than he had been before the hand that you had been leaning on was at your head, holding you close to him.

Neither of you pay attention to the battle raging on around you, the screams and bloodshed, not to the body that falls right in front of you or at the metallic sound of swords clashing, a harsh sound. Suddenly you can't feel the ground beneath you, and Crowley fumbles in place trying to keep you steady. "You have to keep fighting, Sir Crowley."

"No! No, we're going home." He tries to insist that, but you know you'd never make it close to home, nor will you as he falters and is forced to drop back to his knees and lower you down. "Let's go home." He says.

"We can't go home. Don't leave everyone else just for me, they need you." He doesn't want to listen, trying to convince you to save your strength. It won't help anything and he knows that, but he's clinging to your life more than you are, until he knows he's holding nothing but an empty shell in his arms. He still doesn't want to let go, but one of his comrades is urging him to get up and fight. Avenge him.

He notices one of the Demon Army uniforms pass by him out of the corner of his eye, and as soon as he looks over he sees you sitting beside him in the passenger seat where Ferid had wandered off from. It's not unwelcome but he finds it odd that you'd be so comfortable, or maybe just choosing his company over Ferid's pestering. He likes having company, but he doesn't like company that talks as much as his dearest friend, something about it sounds…different. It's not as enjoyable when they don't seem to have a lot of enthusiasm, he can't make their eyes light up with questions, they just speak for the sake of speaking.

"We saved a Mother and child, from the horsemen, just before we spotted you guys actually. It makes me wonder if we'll run into more but since we haven't spotted any so far, I think we should be fine. Spotting them has never really been my strong suit, and I'm kinda tired so I'm not 100% right now— Oh, but uh, anyway, getting ahead of myself again. Do you always have to deal with that?" You ask, glancing over away from the road, unable to deal with how awkward it was after spilling every thought you'd had in the past house while you were just trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep. "With him, I mean."

He's noticed you tucked away in the corner of the group the whole time, never having much to say and none of them really seemed to know what to say to you either. You seem more like an outlier who just so happened to be there as well, not well known enough to be instantly part of conversation but too important to be left behind. He's starting to take a liking to you, or at least a liking to the way you talk, it's strangely familiar like you've known him for years and can talk to him so casually. He has next to no idea who you ever are.

"It's all he's done since the day we met. I take it that deserting the army wasn't exactly what you had in mind?"

"My team died, it was my fault." You confess, turning your eyes to the floor, shifting your feet, "I turned my back for a second and suddenly all hell broke loose. I saw Narumi and followed." Despite that you don't sound distraught, just inconvenienced, but maybe you'd adopted the mentality that crying about it won't bring them back.

"What were you supposed to do? Fight off all the danger they were in by yourself?"

"I should've coordinated them better, and maybe then they wouldn't have died." Your smile fades, but your mind quickly starts to wander. "Do you mind if I sleep here for a while? I don't think I've slept in days."

"We're almost there, so it probably won't be very long. Sleep when we get there instead."

One scare later and you're so exhausted you could collapse any second, Crowley himself notices as much when you decline a test of skill and pass right by him. He comes to see you later, to ask if you'd like to go see what's downstairs and see what's down there now that everyone's chatting amongst themselves and has moved on from it. You decline again, but you're in the mood to talk again, and he wants to hear you talk, so he sits on the edge of the bed you took up and are laying in.

Crowley begins to pick up on things, little things, even in the way he's heard about you from asking around. Apparently the kids in the town you took refuge in liked you, their awesome and very respected Lieutenant who ran around with them playing their games to keep them entertained. Apparently you're easy enough to get along with. He agrees with that, finding you interesting just to listen to, it's a strange thing. He forgot what is was like to have someone so excited to talk, and with you bring a soldier…no, that's a whimsical thought. You have no idea who he is, just that he's more than happy to listen.

You're just so welcoming toward him, so reminiscent of that person he knew and who he held in his arms. Crowley knows that man is dead, he felt him still in his arms, and he felt his breath stop, the blood that coated his hands and the dull look in his eyes uncharacteristic of him. He looks at you in the same way he looked at him and he sees someone that isn't you staring back at him. He doesn't have the same kind of feeling, but give it enough time and he'll find himself head over heels for that memory you ignite in him. The memory of him listening to you talk, and the memory of losing you.

He likes to listen to you, he likes your company. He spends more time around you, and you accept him as the closest person you have in this new circle. You are becoming an object of his affections, and he welcomes you as you stray from your group to follow him. He knows how to protect you this time, from anything, as your title is returned to nothing in the face of millennia old monsters he will be there to fix it. Even if he's a little too late, having a Vampire by your side means a little stab wound would never be enough to kill you.

He doesn't quite believe the fact you may very well be his dear friend reincarnated, but that will hardly keep him from protecting you all the same.

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