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huffle-dork · 8 months

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Anomaly Found: Alt B̶̨̲̯̥̳̱̌͘r̶̡̖̞̓̋͊̀̑͊̔ͅo̸̦͕̮̗̅̀̅̄͘͜͠͠ḑ̵̛̲̰̋̄͠y̴͙̼͎̥͔͐̑̾͋́̽

Masterpost | More Swapboys

This is a continuation of Alt’s Transition technically so make sure you read that first if you haven’t!

AN: This fic contains medical whump but is not super descriptive when it comes to operations! It also is not scientific what so ever and deals with magic-science bullshit! So don’t take it too seriously lol

This also introduces the Swapboys equilviant to IRIS! And a new character I’ve been very excited about! Enjoy :)

—————————-

Something was wrong. Alt didn’t know what yet but… something was wrong.

At first, the spell seemed to have been working just fine! When he woke up again He felt amazing, he felt strong, he felt right. He felt like he could take on the world- could take on Bro Fantastic himself!

But Magnificent told him to be patient and continue to rest. So the day passed by miserably slow… but at least he got extra cuddles with Glitches. It was so much nicer to cuddle with her now… no extra flesh getting in the way of her laying on his chest.

As night fell though… Alt started feeling strange. The room was wavering in front of him. It was too hot- yet also too cold. A fever…? His limbs felt like static- like something was stealing the strength from his muscles without his permission. He pushed himself up and felt a wave of dizziness nearly knock him over. What the hell?

Did Mag warn him about this? About side effects? …if he did Alt couldn’t remember- couldn’t force his voice to replay in his head, all he could hear was his blood and his heart thumping way too loudly.

The Dooms… they knew the truth about Alt’s body. Maybe they could help? Though they might freak out about the changes that were definitely not there the other day.

He tried to think it through but anxiety was strong in his body and brain. He felt himself glitching- but that felt wrong too! That made Alt panic even more. His glitching never felt wrong- not since he first got his powers. But now it all felt too sharp- too invasive. It felt like it was stealing the breath from him… something that was now as easy to him as breathing.

Would the Dooms even be able to help out if this was magic? He hadn't really shown or explained his glitches or magic to them but- they worked with superheroes, right? They knew of Bro- they… they could help. He just needed to explain. Besides… magic always seemed connected to something physical- something that could be explained and fixed within the body.

Alt made up his mind, grabbing the first coat he can and stumbling to yank it on. He then takes a step forward and glitches, picturing the Doom Clinic.

He nearly runs into the glass doors, slightly bonking his head. Then they slide open as Alt grumbles and rubs the sore spot out. He looks around and… doesn’t recognize the place. Did the Dooms redecorate?

He shakes his head and tries to focus- but it feels almost impossible with how his vision is swimming. He stumbles to what looks like the front desk. A blonde woman blinks in surprise and looks up at him.

Alt can barely stand as he puts his hands on the desk to steady himself.

“I… I need… O-Oliver- Oliver Doom, please!” He slurs, intense eyes boring into the woman’s. “Or well- any of them I guess- but I… I like… O-Ollie-“

The woman looks at him with confusion- jumping slightly as Alt jerks his arm, holding it down against his side as he can feel it trying to glitch.

“Um sir…? I-If you’re looking for a specific doctor I… I’m afraid there’s no one here named… Doom, was it?” She replies slowly, carefully watching Alt with a guarded expression.

Alt’s eyes widen. “What…?” He looks around in more panic and curses under his breath. This isn’t the Doom Clinic! The fuck…? He doesn’t normally glitch to places he’s never been before! He doesn’t recognize this place at all. Whatever is happening… it’s affecting his magic.

“S-Sorry,” Alt stammers, tongue feeling thick in his mouth. “Wrong… wrong place-“

“Sir, you look like you need to sit down! I can get someone to look at you and maybe get you some juice if you would just take a seat and-“

“No!” Alt interrupts, gripping his arm tighter as he feels it spasm and feels pixels trying to break off. He can’t glitch here! They’ll throw him into a psych ward or something!

“I’m fine… t-thank you-“ He grits out, trying to stumble back towards the door.

Then the walls and everything around him felt like they are blending into static. Purple seemed to invade the sides of his vision. The sounds around him turned into nothing but white noise. He didn’t even feel when he hit the ground.

———

When Alt next opens his eyes, all he can see is a bright light shining in his face. He grimaces and tries to lift a hand to shield himself but- he can’t move his hand. Alertness hits him like a truck as he pulls on his wrists some more- finding them strapped down to the table.

“T-The fuck?!” He growls, rocking himself to try to get free but he’s- he’s stuck! “What’s going on?!”

There’s sensors stuck to him- under his shirt and attached all over his arms and now he can even feel them on his temples too.

Alt tries to glitch but he shouts out in pain as the action seems to hurt him. Why? Why can’t he glitch??

Panic threatens to eat him alive.

Then, he hears a chuckle- and the table he’s on starts to move. It tilts upwards, until Alt finds himself upright, staring at the expanse of a large white room, medical equipment everywhere. Tall machines and computers he doesn’t recognize.

And he’s met face to face with an older gentleman who smiles at him, but Alt can’t even see his eyes behind his thick glasses.

“Ah! You are awake! Funny, I thought you’d be out for longer~!”

The man had dark black hair with a streak of white right in the middle, the wild locks pulled into a messy braid. He had bright green glasses that could also be googles? But they seemed way too thick to see out of properly. He had a scraggly beard and a white lab coat on… with a logo of an eye with 3 irises but the whites of the eye were colored black. It read SCLERA under the logo.

Alt bares his teeth at the stranger and thrashes a bit in his binds. “The fuck are you?! Where the fuck am I?!”

The man chuckles and adjusts his glasses, smirking at Alt. “Ooh, so touchy already! This will be fun~!”

He goes to grab a clipboard and starts to read it as he paces in front of Alt.

“Well- you were admitted into my care, Mr… Brennan? After you fell unconscious in the lobby of Hope Water Hospital. And the staff there saw some… unusual activity.” He looks back at Alt and the boy shivers, causing his arms to vaguely ripple with glitches, pixels vibrating in the air.

The doctor’s eyes light up as he surges forward, looking at his arm closer. “Yes! Like that! Oh fascinating… absolutely remarkable…!”

Alt felt his blood go cold- he glitched when he fell unconscious? Oh no- oh nononono-!

The man writes down a few more notes before straightening and addressing the glitch again. “But anyways! The Hope Water staff didn’t know how to handle that so they called in the specialists! And that would be me~!”

He lifts up his glasses to rest on his head as he smiles, his brown eyes almost looking gentle. But Alt shivers at the sight. Why does… this man feel familiar to him…?

“Dr. Israh Cornelius is what they call me! I’m a magic analyst here at SCLERA!” The doctor spoke with pride.

“Sclera…?” Alt muttered in confusion. “The hell is that? I-Is it even legal to tie up unconscious patients without their consent?!”

Dr. Cornelius laughed, actually throwing his head back. “Perhaps, if we were dealing with a normal civilian!”

His expression then drops as he looks knowingly at Alt.

“…but you’re not that, are you? Impulse~”

Alt’s breath leaves his lungs as he stares wide eyed at the doctor. “W..what…? H-how-?”

The doctor laughs and goes to pick up something off his office chair, turning to reveal a jacket. He twists his hand to show the back- the signature emblem of the villain Impulse clear for all to see.

“You were wearing this when you were admitted, Mr. Brennan. Not a very smart thing for a villain to wear as a civilian, is it?”

Alt swallowed a lump in his throat. This wasn’t good… but at least whatever ID they found of his was one of his fake ones. Still… This was bad.

“E-Even if I’m a villain you- you can’t just strap me to a table l-like a lab rat!” He argues, trying to struggle some more against the restraints.

Dr. Cornelius just shakes his head as he laughs. “You are a dangerous criminal with unknown powers, Mr. Impulse! This was merely a precaution.”

He strides forward and then grabs the straps to make them tighter. Alt bites back a squeak of pain that wants to slip out of his lips. The doctor whispers to him with hardly contained glee.

“However… a villain like you… will not be missed, will they?” He laughs more, his dark eyes now showing madness. “You could say we are doing the public a service! Keeping you here~!”

“Y-You can’t do that..!”

“Oh but we can, Mr. Brennan… you have no paper trail. No formal records- no sign of any family… you are just perfect! A perfect specimen to study~!”

Alt feels terrified tears in his eyes that he tries to keep hidden, but his shaking voice gives him away. “M-My friends…!”

But then he stops himself, feeling his breath caught in his throat again. He… doesn’t have his friends anymore. No one knows he’s here… not even Magnificent. …he’s really alone.

Now the tears fall as he breathes out. “I… I came here for h-help…! Something was wrong and y-you can’t just-!”

“Oh yes! That!” Dr. Cornelius sang as he turned heel to look at, then wheel over one of the monitors currently hooked up to Alt.

The monitor almost looked like it was showing Alt’s heart rate. But it wasn’t- it was showing something Alt didn’t recognize. Two lines of data were shown on the screen, one line white, the other purple. The purple line was steady, with plips of higher readings here and there. In fact- they seemed to correlate to when Alt felt his skin try to glitch or pixelate. The white line was also steady but with very low readings.

Dr. Cornelius studied the screen some more before addressing Alt. “When you were admitted, we ran some tests. This is an alignment reader- it reads the concentration of magic in your body, and whether or not it is dark or light.”

He points to the purple line, “The concentration of black magic in your body was abnormally high.”

“…okay?”

The doctor smirks, “Black Magic is illegal here in the UK, Mr. Brennan. Well actually, it’s illegal in most countries. Especially at such extreme levels. Honestly- surprised with these levels a magic circle officiant didn’t find you first… lucky us, I guess!” He laughs and then shakes his head.

“In fact- this kind of magic… I’ve really only seen such pure black magic from one source. I’m assuming it’s magic you got from the one you work for, correct?”

Alt shivered- feeling his new scars almost burn against his skin. He bites his tongue though and bares his teeth. “I don’t gotta tell you shit!”

The doctor laughs again, “Oh, I don’t need you too. It can only be him, the one who’s calling himself Magnificent, yes?”

Alt said nothing at first and then mumbled. “…you know too much about all of this, Dr. Creepy.”

Dr. Cornelius shrugs. “All apart of my job, Mr. Brennan!”

He goes back to pick up his notes and look at a collection of more papers on the wall. As Alt focused on it, his blood turned to ice. There was… pictures of him on there- as Impulse. And not only that… he saw Chase on there too- Bro Fantastic. There were dozens of pictures of what Alt could only assume was people this crazy doctor was aiming to study. Super powered people… things he didn’t understand but was determined to. He swore he saw the blurry image of a green gray cat mask among the pictures.

“Anyways, Mr. Brennan! That black magic was attacking your internal magic system- the source of power that runs the magic through your body. Black magic is known to do that. It will ‘eat’ any possible light magic it can find until it corrupts all the magic completely orrrr sucks the life clean out of ya!” Dr. Cornelius said a little too cheerily.

“W-What?!” Alt exclaimed. Magnificent never warned him about that!

Dr. Cornelius chucked, “Don’t fret, lad. We siphoned that out of ya real quick! So, see? We already helped you, just like you wanted!”

Alt shakily bit his lip before asking quietly, “So then… I-I can go home… right?”

The doctor’s smile turned impossibly cruel.

“I’m afraid not, Alt. We have much we need to learn from you~!”

Something clicked from the table below him and then suddenly that something is jabbing him in the neck. The room almost instantly starts to dip and sway as Alt feels his eyes roll up into his head and his body gives out, falling unconscious again.

———

Alt opens his eyes to find that now he’s somewhere new. He’s behind glass in a tiny white room. He’s not tied down-

Adrenaline courses through him- maybe he can glitch out now! He tries to glitch- and it feels like his insides are on fire. It’s like whatever energy he was preparing to use to glitch had erupted two-fold, making his entire body feel overloaded. He yells out and crashes down to the ground. There’s a tug on his foot and he can see now, he’s strapped to the wall by some sort of cord, a cuff around his ankle. What’s even worse is he’s barefoot- and in a completely new set of clothes, a dingy set of green scrubs, almost like hospital wear. Alt starts to panic again, realizing his throat and his scar are exposed. He touches light fingers to his scar as he pushes himself up. He feels a shiver go down his spine as he hears familiar laughter.

Dr. Cornelius is smirking at him through the window.

“Nice try there, Alt! But I can’t have ya glitching before we do some proper tests on ya~!”

Alt bares his teeth like a feral animal, pixels flying around him but not able to settle in one place. “How are you stopping me from glitching?!”

The doctor smirks and lifts up a tiny device in his hand. “Electromagnetic pulses. Normally these have no effect on humans… However, we’ve already established you’re very special, Alt.”

The boy just glares at the doctor, wanting nothing more than to strangle that smug look off his face. However, Dr. Cornelius just uses the silence as an excuse to keep talking, pacing back and forth in front of the window to Alt’s cell.

“Did you know it’s a common misconception that the human body produces electricity like that of a machine? It mimics and works as a circuit would, but our bodies don’t carry charges of electrons between synapses. No no- inside our cells there’s a chemical gradient of ions that create a difference in charge between the inside and outside of the cell membrane! That mimicry of electricity as ions pass between each cell membrane is what keeps, say, your heart pumping. However there is research that a human body can produce almost 100 watts of electricity at rest… however you, Alt, seem capable of so much more~!

It seems your body has been adapted to not only conduct electricity better, but also produce it better than normal human beings. In fact, it’s like you actually have that fabled current running through your veins… a constant flow of electric magic that fuels your glitching!

So an EMP blast seems to disrupt that electric flow within you… overloading it enough to stop you from glitching. For now at least!” The doctor laughs, grinning like an excited school kid, “There’s so many tests for us to run! You’re going to provide us with such good data, Mr. Brennan~!”

Alt yells in anger at this, trying to rush at the window. The doctor hardly looks phased as he presses a button on his remote- and something shoots out of the wall behind Alt. Two robotic arms with ends just like the cuff on Alt’s ankle lash out and clamp onto his wrists, yanking the glitch off his feet and slamming him into the back wall. Alt struggles as best as he can but the arms have him locked against the wall tight.

Dr. Cornelius lets out a delighted laugh, “Already so eager to start! That’s what I like to see in a subject!”

“N-No, you psycho! Let me go!” Alt tries to protest.

The doctor looks back to one of his colleagues that Alt can barely see. He nods to them, “Start the procedure.”

The other doctor nods then flares out hands in front of… an orb? Their hands glow white and soon the cuffs on Alt do too. As they glow, Alt starts to feel like his energy is waning. Pretty soon, he slumping in his binds, his fighting getting lazy and then altogether stopping. He has to fight to keep his head up and his eyes open. He vaguely notices the glow on his cuffs seems to be turning green blue- the color of his magic.

Dr. Cornelius checks a monitor next to the window and then gestures to the other doctor. “That’s enough.”

The glowing stops as they take their hands away from the orb. Alt’s head falls sharply but he quickly tries to pick it back up so he can glare at Cornelius. “Wha… d’you… do?” The glitch slurs, hating the feeling of his body feeling almost empty… and cold.

Israh adjusts his glasses and smiles. “A simple draining spell! One we probably won’t be using often since we want to study your magic as it works within you but~! There’s one thing we need to see first before proceeding with those tests!”

He lifts the remote again and presses another button.

Alt immediately starts to scream, his body locking up as waves of electricity crash back into his body. His muscles attempt to spasm despite having nowhere to go, his neck craning back like he can escape the onslaught. It feels wrong! Usually if he comes across rogue electricity he can absorb it into his own… but with none in his body- the electricity has nothing to merge to. So it courses painfully into his body, attempting to mesh with his magic but not being able to. It’s agony. He feels his skin sparking and burning- tears trying to be shed but steaming upon impact with the bright sparks.

It feels like an eternity before it gets shut off. The cuffs on his wrists release and Alt falls heavily to the floor, still twitching and spasming from the leftover electricity. It feels impossible to think, everything he feels is pain. The energy in his body has been replaced with hot sparking rods that are quickly cooling down, leaving him completely spent. Alt wheezes brokenly, eyes wide and not able to focus, tears falling down his cheeks as he struggles to regain control over his limbs.

“Well?” The doctor's smarmy voice coos, “Alt, why don’t you try to use your magic for us, hm?”

“C…c-can’t…” Alt croaks, hardly able to grip his shaking hand into a fist.

Dr. Cornelius frowns at this, tapping his pen against his face. But then he smiles and scribbles down some notes. “I see! Pure electricity doesn’t have the same properties as the electric magic you produce, so you can’t purely substitute that!”

“Tell me, Alt, have you ever used a source of electricity to fuel your magic when it was low?”

Alt attempts to move his head to glare at the doctor. Dr. Cornelius frowns, and lifts up the remote, one eyebrow rising high over his glasses. “Or, should we give you some magic back and see for ourselves?”

The glitch winces and curses quietly before muttering, “…y-yes… but only o-once… I- I didn’t think it would work but… i-it gave me enough e-energy to glitch home…”

The doctor nods and writes down some more, “Fascinating! It seems if you have some magic left in your system that magic can then translate pure electricity to match its own!”

He then looks over his notes to smile at Alt as the glitch’s vision dims and sways. “Well! Let’s pause for a bit, hm? Feel free to rest your eyes, Mr. Brennan~!”

————

Alt lays there on the floor for a bit, trying to get his brain to work. He needs to think of a way out of here! Because help wasn’t coming… there had to be some way… something these scientists hadn’t thought of.

He glances up to see Dr. Cornelius isn’t observing him. Guess he decided to take a break too. Maybe Alt can attempt to do something…

He listens to the room around him… and catches onto the buzzing of the lights above.

Alt still didn’t really get how his powers worked, he really only understood his glitching. But… if what the doctor was saying was true and he has electric magic… and his body could basically disappear for an instant when he glitched… could he glitch into something that had an electric current?

…if there was any time to try this it was now. He can’t let these lunatics turn him into a fucking lab rat. He grips his hands into fists, feeling his magic zap around him. Guess they gave some of it back… their mistake.

In a flash, Alt glitched out of his cuff and in a shock of blue-green electricity rocketed into one of the lights in the cell. The burst of energy was enough to shatter the light, making the other lights and the machines below flicker from the electricity lingering in the room.

God! This felt so weird- but… not too different from glitching. He was just- glitching for longer. Which means he couldn’t keep this up for long- not with how spent he was already. He needed to find a path out of here, and fast.

He let his magic feel out a path on the wires and started to follow it, making machines and lights glitch and flicker and burst. An alarm started to blare but Alt only pushed himself faster, faster, faster-!

Suddenly, everything went dark and it felt like Alt hit a wall. No no! They turned off the power! With nowhere else to go Alt was shot out of another light and onto the cold tile floor of what looked like a hallway.

He coughed and curled up, his body feeling like the wires he fired. His skin sparked, pixels sizzling off him in a confusing array.

Quiet clapping echoed down the hall before that awful laugh filled Alt’s ears again.

“Very impressive, Alt! You damn near almost reached the exit!” Dr. Cornelius praised. He then bends down by the trembling boy as Alt tries to scoot away, fear clear in his eyes.

Dr. Cornelius’s smile doesn’t waver as he lashes out and pulls Alt in close by his shirt. But his voice drops to a dangerous whisper as he leans in closer. “You’re not getting away from me that easily, glitch.”

Then, Alt felt another painful round of shocks set his body ablaze- until his vision dimmed once again to black.

————-

He was back in that tiny room. Was it still the same night he got captured…? It was hard to tell with how much he was dipping in and out of consciousness…

He groaned and sat up, rubbing at his head. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood on end, the air still feeling electric. Alt felt a shock of panic run up his spine as he felt something cold and smooth around his neck. Was this… a fucking shock collar?!

Alt’s body sparked with anger and as he saw that all too familiar silhouette in the window, he rushed at the glass, anger controlling his body. The doctor hardly flinches as he clicks something on that damned remote, sending Alt crashing to the floor, crying out and clawing at the collar as it shocks him.

Dr. Cornelius tsks in a disappointed manner. “What a temper… really, Alt? We shouldn’t be playing these games.”

Alt gritted his teeth ferally to snap at the doctor, “Y-You shouldn’t be collaring people like they’re animals, you sick fuck!”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you didn’t behave like one.” Dr. Cornelius countered. Alt growled, eyes glowing with slight power. The doctor shook his head and then started to flip through his notes.

“Well, since you’re awake again, we can move onto the next test!”

“W-wait…!”

The doctor pauses and tilts his head at the glitch.

“I… I have a q-question,” Alt wheezes out. Dr. Cornelius raises his head, not used to hearing the glitch be anything but hostile towards him. Alt glares but continues. “You… you said before… that the… the magic circle should have found me… why… why didn’t you take me… to them?”

Alt heard vaguely of the magic circle from Mag. He said they were a bunch of foolish covens trying to govern their fellow magicians. Trying to put a cap on magic potential and capture any one who misuses magic. Alt thought they sounded almost like magical police... But he could hear the disdain plain in his mentor’s voice when talking about the circle.

That same disdain seemed to be present in the doctor as he pursed his lips and rolled his eyes.

“Pah! The magic circle…” He put down his notes as he paced slightly in front of Alt’s window again. Seemed to be a habit of his.

“They might be the magic authority here but their methods are medieval- all based in older traditions and the feel of it all. Barely any rhyme or reason- no desire to study and push limits- merge magic with what can make it even more useful! Make it accessible for everyone! Not just the special ‘elite’. They wouldn’t do a damn thing with you except slap you on the wrist and monitor you. Bloody waste if you asked me. They’d let any villain run around if they are ‘blessed’ like they are.” Dr. Cornelius growled. He stops to look down at Alt with burning eyes.

“They refuse to see magic as something that can harmonize with science! They refuse to see that magic can be bent to our level- that it can be understood at a level we humans know better than any other living thing! They’re blind… blind to the ways we can make magic better! How we can provide anyone… everyone with magic!”

Alt blinks and then laughs darkly. “God… you’re even crazier than Mag! I might be a novice… but even I know that magic s-shouldn’t be tampered with like this…! There’s a reason it’s not given to everyone…”

Dr. Cornelius matches his laugh and shakes his head. “Oh Alt… even without meeting the circle they’ve already corrupted your mind! You are as blind as them… but no matter! I’ll help you see your potential~ the potential of mixing science with magic!”

The doctor giggles and looks at Alt with those hungry eyes of his. “In fact~ this is such a great transition to our next test!”

He grabs his notes again and then gestures to something in Alt’s cell. Alt tiredly pushes himself up to look back- seeing a camera that seems to focus in on him. He shudders.

“That’s a WITNES camera- something SCLERA is developing to go public very soon! It’s a perfect merge of magic and tech… in fact- it’s been helping us to observe you better than ever, Alt!”

The doctor clicks on his remote and the right wall of Alt’s enclosure flashes to life, showing a wall full of text and data.

“Our WITNES camera can detect the fluctuations of magic within you- helping us see when you might glitch or go haywire~! They also have been monitoring your vitals so we don’t have to keep you hooked up to machines- and it can even monitor your emotions!”

“W-What? That’s… that’s insane!” Alt whispers, backing away from the wall with the camera. “You wanna just- give these to the public? That’s a crazy violation of privacy!”

Dr. Cornelius shrugs with a laugh, “Oh nowadays, this kind of stuff is hardly hidden anymore! And we offer the chance for our consumers to feel safe and protected!” He shakes his head, “But, enough of a pitch- our next test is gonna involve you interacting with our WITNES camera, Alt! We want to see how your magic merges with ours! If they’re compatible!”

Alt raises an eyebrow and looks back at the camera. He shivers as he sees the lens shrink and focus on him. That thing gives him a horrible feeling.

“… how’re you gonna do that? You can’t just… hook me up to it-“ Alt mutters.

The doctor chuckles, “Oh Alt, you misunderstand! We know now that you can glitch into tech- so that’s what you’re gonna do! See if you can glitch into the camera!”

The glitch shudders again and is about to bite out a retort when he stops and looks back. …this could be another chance to escape. If he can get past this thing he can try to follow the power source out again. But… they also must realize that’s what he’ll try to do. Is this a trap…? But… What can a camera do to him anyways?

Dr. Cornelius smirks. “I know what you’re thinking, Alt. And, I’ll make a deal with you!” Alt’s head snaps back to look at the doctor, his eyes wide. “If you can overpower our camera and get past it back into the power grid, well… that would be such an impressive sight I would consider letting you go~!”

Alt’s eyes widen more. He… seems overly confident in the camera. But, Alt was determined to get out of here. He could take a stupid camera! His eyes glowed bright as he glared at the doctor. “Alright… fine.”

Dr. Cornelius grins and the cuff on Alt’s leg snaps off, as well as the shock collar. Alt watches as the doctor shuts off the wall and other electronics, leaving only the camera powered on, it’s green light blinking at Alt. Alt gritted his teeth and then in a zip of green blue magic he glitched into its systems.

….

Something is wrong.

Diving into the camera feels nothing like going through the lights- it's harsher, feels like a strong pressure is pushing down on him at all angles. Like sharp needles sinking into his being. Alt tries to push through, tries to find a weakness, a kink in the system. But, the more he pushes the more this strange energy seems to push back.

Then, it overpowers him, swallowing him whole.

Alt crashes out of the camera and back onto the ground, shaking and spasming like crazy. Purple electricity crackles around his limbs as he shakily pushes himself up. As he looks out towards the doctor, his eyes are quickly filling with pulsing purple magic.

Dr. Cornelius grins manically, “Oh darn! I forgot to mention~ all SCLERA tech is powered by our patented Black magic core~! Something we perfected thanks to that lovely boss of yours!”

Alt whimpers, heaving in panic, even as anger flares wildly in his body. That fucking bitch tricked him! This feels wrong- it feels way worse than whatever came over him the night he was captured. It’s more invasive, the corruption digging into every weakness in his body and driving itself in. He bends over against the ground with a cry of pain as waves of magic crash against him, trying to overwhelm him. Trying to take over his magic, his mind-! He yells out and half crashes against the floor entirely, digging his head and nails into it, trying to fight whatever this is off.

All of sudden, he goes still, frozen like a statue as the purple magic completely fills his eyes. The monitor Dr. Cornelius is observing suddenly blares with alarms, the screen flashing. Alt’s black magic reading has reached dangerous, uncontrollable levels! Dr. Cornelius gasps and drops his clipboard, watching the testing room with wide eyes.

The tile beneath Alt suddenly cracks and splits, purple magic rippling across the floor. The debris floats up around him, suspended in glowing purple hues. Alt rises up like someone trapped in a dream, his head lulling limply on his shoulders. The magic crackles around him in a powerful display, bolts of electricity blasting tiles off the wall, destroying screens and equipment. Quietly, Alt starts to giggle and then fully bursts into crazed laughter, his veins darkening and glowing with purple power. As he laughs, he seems to bring up one of his hands to look at, gazing at it as if it was new. He stretches his fingers and then grins, laughing louder as the magic continues to zap and sizzle and destroy the room around him.

The sound of a squeaked shoe has the possessed glitch’s head snapping towards the noise. His eyes lock onto the terrified face of Dr. Cornelius, trying to back away from the window. Alt grins and in a flash is in front of the glass, pressing his hand against it. He tilts his head inhumanly at the doctor, his soulless eyes leaking magic like electric tears.

“Is this what you wanted, ̶̳̀D̷̯̏o̷̮̊ć̶͜t̶̗̕ỏ̶̯r̴̖͒?̵̟͝”̸̨̂ ̸̦̐ He giggles, gripping nails into the glass as electric bands of magic shoot out and crack against it, shattering it completely.

There’s a chorus of screams as the other SCLERA workers try to flee. Dr. Cornelius yells out as the glass explodes on him, cutting and slicing into his skin. He quickly looks around, then hightails it to his desk in the back corner, slipping on the glass as he runs. He quickly rummages through drawers, throwing contents and notes everywhere, muttering desperately, “C’mon! C’mon! I… I have to have that stupid thing somewhere!!”

Alt rises off the ground as the magic surrounds him. His body glitches and contorts as he giggles and slowly approaches the doctor.

“Oh D̴̙̀ṙ̸̠.̷̬͒ ̸̬̐C̶͚̈́ó̷̢r̵͇̈́ṋ̶͝ę̵͘l̷͈̋i̵̬̽u̷̖͛s̶͎͗~̵̺̓!̷̜̿ Where are you going? Didn’t you want to have some f̶͙̲̯͎͇̙̥̂̈́͋̿̂ȗ̷̗̊̽͑ͅṋ̴̄̉?̴̢̟̙͙͚̱̩̈́̀͑̈́͊͝?” Alt laughs, his voice sounding darker and racked with static. He barely sounds like himself.

Dr. Cornelius is sweating bullets as he looks through the drawer of objects they obtained from the magic circle. He then cries out in elation as he finds what he’s looking for, holding it out towards the approaching glitch.

It’s an amulet of some sort, a chunk of amethyst in the center. Alt seems to freeze, his eyes widening.

Cornelius grits his teeth. He hates having to resort to the methods the circle uses but… desperate times. Once they had Alt contained, they can figure out a better way to control this… a better, more scientific way.

He sighs and then starts to mutter a spell, one they haven't had to use since starting the WITNES project. Luckily, he still remembered the words.

“Creature of black magic, your minds, your purposes, your plans, do we cause you to bend! With my mind do I seize your minds, With my power, do I seize your power. Do ye with your thoughts follow my thought. I place your hearts in my control: Come ye, directing your way after my course!”

Alt lets out a choked exhale of breath, his body locking up against his will. The magic starts to recede and die down, but still crackles around his body and keeps him airborne.

Dr. Cornelius shoves the amulet forward and barks out, “Now, Cease!”

Alt crashes to his knees as the magic dissipates and drops him. His head falls forward, his pure purple eyes wide and blank. He looks like a broken doll as Dr. Cornelius cautiously makes his way over.

He kneels down by the boy and tilts up his chin, studying his eyes and the way the magic flickers within.

“Fascinating…” The doctor breathes, slowly regaining his smile. “Alt, can you hear me?”

“Yes…” The glitch answers breathlessly, his voice still having a slight echo.

“Are you going to listen to me now?”

“...we are subjected to your will, Sorcerer…” Alt replies, his eye twitching slightly but the rest of him remains slack.

Dr. Cornelius chuckles, shaking his head. “Excellent. Now… subject, did you find this host worthy? Were your energies able to converge well?”

The magic in Alt’s eyes crackles and glows brighter as he suddenly grins, giggling quietly. “This vessel was very easy to corrupt! The darkness smells strong on it… but it also swims in its blood. Its magic meshes well with ours- control of it was so easy~!” He giggles slightly louder, madness leaking into his words. But, his voice echoes and cracks, sounding completely different, like something else is speaking for him. “Its magic is so different from ours yet has so much potential! We can cause so much destruction with it! Corrupt many souls, raze cities and scorch the earth~!! Ha h̶̥̄a̸̹͑h̴̡̒a̵̗̽h̸̯̍a̵̩͗!̷̯̓!̸̡͌”

“Enough.” Dr. Cornelius snaps. The subject’s giggles cut off immediately as it looks out at the doctor with blank eyes again. “Your power only exists here thanks to us, you will follow our will and let us direct your purpose, understand?”

“...yes…” The subject breathes weakly. He shudders, a wave of nausea rolling over him, skin feeling too warm, sweat starting to drip down his forehead. His hands shake and he sways in the doctor’s grip.

Dr. Cornelius adjusts his glasses then commands Alt quietly. “Sleep, subject. Let’s see what use we can find for you…”

And Alt crumbles to the floor, once again falling back into darkness.

----------

Alt struggled to open up his eyes, bright light searing his vision. Then, he realized he recognized that light. It was the same one he woke up under when he was first brought here.

He tries to move his wrists, and finds he’s once again strapped down to a table. He holds back a whimper, his body feels incredibly weak and spent. The ordeal he went through with the camera had been plaguing his sleeping mind- the feeling of being controlled by that freaky magic… he didn’t want that to happen ever again!

He heard voices talking and quickly shuts his eyes, pretending to still be passed out.

He hears Dr. Cornelius, talking to another doctor.

“It took a lot of work but I think I found the perfect solution for VARIBL 11220! Letting the black magic of our machines corrupt his own is key… the display he showed was phenomenal! It could rival what we saw of VARIBL 1317! …but we need a way to control it. This device should infuse his magic with some of ours, and link his body to follow the orders of whoever powers the chip! We just need to make sure the magic has some sort of traceable signal so the artificial magic we’re working on should work! A much more elegant solution than using that amulet and spell... This can put him under our control in mere seconds~!”

Alt’s heart threatened to stop, his blood running cold. Are they planning on turning him into some sort of weapon? A puppet for them to use??

His eyes snap open and he immediately tries to thrash against his restraints, his eyes wild with panic. Dr. Cornelius was over his arm, looking like he was about to cut it open with a scalpel. He jumps back then tsks, looking annoyed.

“Fuck…! He just needed to stay asleep a bit longer!”

Alt bares his teeth ferally, pixels buzzing off him and electricity sparking around him in dangerous arcs. “I-I won’t become your puppet, Cornelius…! I refuse to be a-anyone’s puppet!”

Dr. Cornelius snarls and clicks on the remote, shocking Alt with increased intensity. Alt screams and screams, pulling against his bindings even as they seem to melt against his skin. The abuse keeps going until Alt slumps limply to the table, skin smoking and breath coming out in harsh ragged bursts.

“Hold him down,” Cornelius barks to his assistants. There’s seem to be some hesitation but soon two sets of hands are holding down Alt’s left arm. Alt chokes on a sob, shaking his head as he tries to keep from passing out again. “Please…! Please s-stop…!”

The mad doctor giggles as he picks up his scalpel again, going over to Alt’s side. He studies the boy then pets back his hair some, almost like a father would.

“You know Alt… you remind me of a subject I had so very long ago… one of my firsts actually!”

Alt screams as the scalpel cuts into his skin. The hands keep him from bucking against the restraints.

“She had the same kind of fire in her that you have… similar hair color and skin tone too. Then again- a very common combination!” He chuckles and digs in deeper. “She had similar powers to you too! Think her name was… Annie or something like that.”

Alt’s eyes flew open and widened. No- no he… he couldn’t have… could he…?

The thought is quickly thrusted from his mind as Dr. Cornelius seems to insert something in his arm. It feels foreign and wrong and Alt screams and screams, fighting with everything he has to get out- get it out!!!

It seems to latch onto something he can’t quite explain- but it’s agony and it hurts- it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!! Alt feels like something is grabbing hold of his magic within the pain. He sobs and arches his back to try to get away from the feeling. More hands push him down and keep him still.

He feels the doctor stitching up his skin as he cries, pleading with the doctor to stop, please stop!

Then, Alt seems to hear something new. It sounds like… magic. Searing magic blasting away at walls, screams of terror and… growls. Familiar growls- they sound like the panthers.

Alt feels delirious relieved tears flow from his eyes as he starts to laugh. The doctors seem to pause and start to look towards the noise that is only getting louder. Some start to let Alt go and back away, fear clear in their eyes.

The glitch makes sure to find Cornelius’s eyes as he grins, whispering to him. “You… you’re f-fucked…! You’re so fucked…!” He giggles wildly.

Dr. Cornelius’s eyes widen and he curses, trying to finish what he started.

Then the door to the operating room explodes with green and purple fire. Black masses start to tackle doctors left and right, causing chords of agony to echo throughout the room.

Magnificent emerges through the smoke, sweeping out an arm and glowing like an avenging Angel. Or perhaps, more like a devil. He bares his fangs at the doctor still looming over Alt.

“Release my Apprentice, Sclera scum!”

Dr. Cornelius tries not to show his fear as he lifts up his hands and steps away from Alt. “Well hello, Marvin! It’s been such a long time-!”

The doctor gets cut off as green magic surrounds his throat and lifts up upwards, choking him. Magnificent’s eyes are bright with angry fire as he spits out. “You do not get to say that name, Israh Cornelius! You and this fucking facility killed that man a long time ago!”

He grips his hand further, sick satisfaction burning in his stomach as he hears cracks- but then he hears the whimper of the boy behind them. Mag looks back to see his bleeding and burned apprentice and he pauses.

Then he growls and uses his magic to throw Israh hard against the wall. In a wave of magic he appears back over by Alt and sears off his restraints. He picks up the delirious boy and whistles, his panthers all looking up and then bounding over to his side.

Magnificent looks down coldly at Cornelius as he snarls, “Killing you right now is more than you deserve. And this place could be… useful to me. But know this, doctor, if you and this wretched company touch my apprentice again, I’ll make it look like an accident when I raze this place to the fucking ground.”

He then snaps and in a swirl of tv static, him, Alt and the panthers all disappear.

———

The trip to wherever they are now was a confusing mix of colors and voices that Alt hardly remembers. His vision dipped in and out of darkness as he felt himself be moved and looked over. But, this time it felt… different. It felt safe. Eventually he allowed himself to close his eyes and drift.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in a familiar room. One with white walls that had a bright stripe of yellow. Alt smiles faintly, recognizing the sight of Ollie’s office at the Doom clinic. He then hears the faint sound of shuffling and looks out towards the other side of the room.

His eyes widen as he sees Magnificent, sitting in the visitor’s chair. Except, he was in his civilian disguise. Alt had only seen it a few times but…

“M-Mag…?” Alt whispers, his voice raw and hoarse.

Mag seems to startle slightly then relaxes when he sees Alt. “Alt… you’re awake… that’s good.” A tiny head poked itself out from behind Mag’s leg and meowed, and Alt recognized the spotted nose of Lucky in her tinier cat form.

The glitch smiles dazedly at the sight of Lucky but then blinks several times at his mentor, as if he can hardly believe he’s there and not an illusion. “You… you saved… me?” He slurs out.

Magnificent snorts and turns his head, “Of course I did. I just… only wished I had found you sooner.”

“I… kinda thought you’d just… leave me to figure it out on my own.” Alt laughs slightly, “ Figured you’d… lecture me about how we have to look out for ourselves…”

The dark magician purses his lips and grips his hands into tight fists. “…if I hadn’t acted… you’d be a pawn in Sclera’s game. A plaything for them to abuse and use at their leisure.” His eyes darken, “I may be a villain… but I wouldn’t subject anyone to their cruelty. And especially not my apprentice…”

Alt stares at Magnificent, then can’t help but laugh breathily. “I guess… you really do care about me… huh?”

Mag seems to wince. “…it’s a new thing for me… I haven’t cared about anyone for a long time… I thought- I had lost the ability to.”

Alt nods to this, though he’s not quite sure he understands. How can someone lose the ability to care?

Then, all that happened to him crashes down on his mind, especially as he glimpses the bandages on his left arm. “Mag… they- they put s-something in me-!”

Magnificent raises a hand to stop him. “I already disabled it Alt. They can’t hurt you with it.”

“I… I can still feel it though-“

The magician shrugs, “The doctors here said they wanted to remove it but whatever sclera did… they weren’t sure they could do it without damaging your nerves…. They didn’t want you to lose the ability to use your arm.”

Alt swallows shakily and grips at his wrist.

Mag’s eyes glow slightly with determination. “But even if it’s there- I shut it off. I swear to you, Alt, they won’t be able to use it on you.”

Alt seems to relax, slumping against the bed with a relieved sigh. He pushes back his hair, staring up at the comforting yellow stripe.

The room is quiet for a beat before Magnificent speaks up. “…you should focus on resting, Alt. The doctors seem very fond of you, especially that one in the yellow… they’ll keep you safe.”

Alt sighs and nods.

The room falls back into semi-awkward silence. Then, a slightly wet nose is poking against Alt’s hand. He blinks down to see Lucky’s eyes blinking up at him. She seems to have a big bundle in her mouth that she nudges against his hand.

Alt struggles up and goes to grab it- and gasps as he sees it’s… it’s his bandana and his jacket. Dr. Cornelius took them away but-

“Lucky was very excited to have found those during our raid,” Magnificent says, smirking slightly. “She wouldn’t let them go.”

The glitch laughs and pets Lucky’s head. Then he quickly looks back up and grins at Mag. “Hey! You’re using my nicknames for them!”

Mag blinks and then messes with his hair, looking away. “Well… they are easier to tell apart that way… and your names do… seem to fit them well.”

The door to the room slides open, cutting off their conversation. The person coming in seems distracted with the clipboard he’s carrying. Then he looks up and breaks into a wide smile, hurrying over to Alt and giving him a huge hug.

“Alt! Oh thank god! You’re awake!” Oliver cries. Alt feels his face heat up slightly as he stiffens in the hug. He awkwardly pats Oliver’s back and laughs. “Y-Yeah dude- I’m okay!”

Oliver quickly lets go and seems to blush himself, waving his hands. “Ack! Sorry! That was… w-wildly unprofessional! It’s just- when Mr. Macaodha brought you in- you… you were in such horrible shape!”

At the sound of that surname Alt looks back at Mag and raises an eyebrow. The magician shrugs with a smirk.

Oliver lifts up his glasses, seeming to wipe at his eyes. He then smiles brightly at Alt, sighing out, “I’m just so glad you’re okay…”

Alt felt warmth surge through his chest. When he was captured by those bastards… they really made him think that he was all alone- that no one really cared for him, now that he wasn’t around his friends anymore.

But… that wasn’t true, was it? Even a villain like him… had people who cared about him.

Alt hid his face as he felt tears come to his eyes. When he changed the past… what would happen to the people he cares about now?

As Oliver checks over Alt’s vitals and asks him questions about his condition, Magnificent leans back to observe. Lucky loops back around to sit under Mag’s legs and he pets her head lightly.

His eyes lingered to the bandaged up arm on his apprentice. That device Sclera planted… he wasn’t going to let them take Alt.

But, perhaps… the thing could be of use to him down the road. Only as a last resort though. Mag smiled as he studied the boy. He had this cub wrapped tightly around his finger, his loyalty only getting stronger.

Not much longer now… once Alt was stronger, the real fun could begin~.

#swapboys #hufflewriting #dr. israh Cornelius #alt anti #black magic #sclera #medical whump #lab rat #jacksepticeye #swapboys au #swap magnificent #magic corruption #this was super fun cuz it’s setting up a bunch of stuff I’m excited to explore later!!#establishes some world building and magic bullshit that just fun for me to think of #readswapboys

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aescapisms · 4 years

Text

everything is blue [b.barnes]

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader word count: 6k ??? warnings: violence, death, the usual prompt: Gang leader White Wolf had his shipments stolen from him, and you were the prime suspect. You did steal something, yes that’s true, but it definitely wasn’t the shipments.

happy birthday hoe @bluerorjhan

“Bullshit Barton.” Bucky’s voice echoed around the room, papers were flying everywhere. He was pissed and nothing was safe from his anger. Clint let out an exasperated sigh, he had explained it to him five times now and Bucky still hasn’t accepted it. “How the fuck does our shipment just fucking disappear like that? Do you know how much we have riding on this?”

Clint wanted to answer him that he knows, how could he not when Bucky had already told him about it six times in the last 30 minutes. Clint knew better though, he knew not to further agitate the boss.

“Bring in Parker.” Bucky said to Barton after a few minutes of silence. This cannot be happening right now. How could Barton be fucking careless? Bucky already told them how important this shipment was and how people would be gunning for it but they still messed up the security. There aren’t enough papers to throw across the room that would appease his anger. He needed to punch someone, he’ll probably do that later but right now he needs to handle the missing shipments.

“Mr. White Wolf, Sir?” The kid, Parker, quietly said as he entered the room. “Y-You called for me?” Bucky nodded and asked him to sit down. Peter Parker, the young hacker was recruited in the gang at the age 15 after Rogers found him beaten up in an alleyway somewhere in his neighborhood. “I need you to pull up all of the CCTV footage from the night three days ago.”

“Is this because of the robbery, Mr. White Wolf sir?” Bucky nodded, “I want all of the CCTV footage from the moment the truck left the building until it reached T’Challa’s place. That truck left here full of guns and ammos and arrived in the warehouse empty. Figure out what happened in between.” Parker nodded and left to work on his new found assignment.

This is the first time that this has happened. He founded this gang nine years ago and began the business of supplying people weapons, ammunition and services. Everything can be taken care of for a price. They were the best in the business, that was until this. And in this world, one mishap can cause you your credibility. Luckily, T’Challa has always been a friend and was willing to keep the issue quiet on the condition that it had to be resolved by the end of the week.

“Hey, you want some beer?” Rogers asked as he handed Bucky a can then sat down on the couch. “Parker is already working on it, we’ll find out what happened and resolve this matter quickly.” His words of encouragement didn’t really do Bucky any good. He still felt miserable and hopeless and angry. Bucky grabbed the beer and sat on the chair opposite Steve. Silence enveloped the room until Sam appeared holding four more beers and a shit-eating grin.

The three of them sat there in silence drinking until Sam finally asked, “Do you have any idea who took the shipment?”

“A lot came to mind.” Bucky replied, crushing the now empty beer on his left arm before grabbing a new one. “But I have a feeling that it was the other gang. Hers.” That last word escaped Bucky’s mouth with such poison that it sent shivers up Sam and Steve’s spines.

“If it was any other gang, they wouldn’t be able to one up Barton like that. But if it’s her. It may be possible.”

No one inside or outside of the gang has ever heard Bucky call you by your name. He always referred to you as ‘her’ or ‘that person’. No one ever really figured out why.

Your gang, or as other people unofficially call it ‘Shadows’ was only established three years ago but you have swept every other gang on the map. Winning fights, races, gambling, and even escaping the police were just child’s play to you. You quickly earned your place as the gang to be feared and not be messed with.

Bucky had met you twice, first was in a fight two years ago. A subordinate of yours stepped into Bucky’s territory and caused trouble for quite a few of his people. Every gang has a different territory. And crossing territories is an offense in your world, causing trouble while you’re at it is worse. Loki did both.

Loki was sort of unhinged yes, but he was a valuable asset to you and so you personally came to collect him from Bucky.

“I heard you have one of my people.” were the first words you ever said to him. “I’m here to take him back.”

Bucky heard a few things about you. People called you names, one prominent one was that you were an insufferable bastard. “So you’re the one causing trouble back there huh.” You smiled at him and bowed “I’m surprised that the infamous Wolf is keeping tabs on me. Consider me flattered.” There was something wrong with your voice, you were smiling at him but your voice was completely cold and monotonous. Lifeless.

“Your subordinate crossed my territory. What should we do about that?” Bucky asked, dismissing your previous statement. You looked at Loki who was bound on a pillar with ropes. “I would like to offer my sincere apologies, he still hasn’t learned the customs of this world and he is also, frankly, very stupid. I will pay for the damages and teach him a lesson myself.” You sent Loki a glare which got him to stop making faces at Steve.

“Why should I accept your apology?”

You smiled “Isn’t it customary for gang leaders to give each other a gift?” Bucky raised his eyebrow “Yeah, if you’re the gang leader of your territory which I believe that you are not.”

“Yet.”

“Huh?” Bucky asked.

“Not yet. Give us six months, and once we become the gang leader we’ll consider you letting this matter go as your gift to us.”

Bucky hated arrogance, but he hated hollow arrogance even more. “You’re nothing but a small gang and you really think you can take over that place? Don’t make me laugh.”

“I’m not trying to make you laugh. If I was I would’ve brought you to the fucking circus.” Ah there it was, Bucky thought. That’s why they called you a cold heartless insufferable bastard. “If you believe that we can’t do it’s fine. It’s your right to be wrong. But if we do become the gang leader, it would be very awkward for you.”

Bucky has had enough and pulled a gun on you. “What’s stopping me from putting a bullet into your brain?”

“Nothing really,” you smiled as if taunting him to pull the trigger “but I can just hear the whispers now. Oh you know that Wolf? Yeah, he killed Y/N because he was afraid of what she’s capable of. What a fucking pussy really.”

Bucky’s finger slowly moved away from the trigger, and you smirked. “C’mon Loki. Let’s go. I know you’ve already released yourself from those ropes hours ago.”

Everyone looked at Loki who smiled as he let the ropes fall to the ground. Before the two of you left, you looked at Bucky who still had his gun pointed towards you and gave him one last smile and before disappearing into the night.

The next time he saw you was at the gang leaders’ meeting. He was surprised to see you there, although to be fair, everyone was. A clan meeting was held every six months. He wasn’t expecting you here. You said you would take over the territory in six months, but you managed to do it in three.

Bucky noticed the change in you though, you were quieter and if it was even possible, even colder than you were before. He wondered what were the things that you went through in those three months for you to change drastically. How was it possible for your little gang to take out Erik Killmonger, a notorious killer with a thirst for blood and wipe his gang clean.

“Do you really think that it’s her?” Sam asked pulling Bucky back to reality. Bucky shrugged, he had a gut feeling but that was all there was. A gut feeling. Movies and TV shows portrayed gangs as chaotic with no regard for the law but they’re wrong. Gangs are lawful, only they follow their own. And one thing that you cannot do is accuse someone without any evidence. You do that, and you will die before you can even say the words I’m sorry.

Bucky stood up and went to where Parker was to try and see what he had dug up so far. “What do you have?”

“Nothing yet Mr White Wolf Sir. All the CCTV footage was deleted and I’m still trying to get the files back but it’s going to take a while. But I feel like I know this work…”

“Evidence?”

“Well, you know how hackers like to leave their own tag?”

“Yeah,” Bucky answered, “To let people know that it’s them. It’s common in gangs and in hacking. You found something?”

“Yes Mr. White Wolf, Sir. I found this.” Peter Parker blew up the screen with a single word. Death. “Now, I checked if there are gangs out there called Death or even a gang member with that codename but I came up empty. That;s when I realized that this wasn’t a part of the code. It’s an image, so I checked it in photoshop and brightened the image and there it is.”

Bucky’s suspicions were confirmed, because the image showed a shadow behind the word Death. You did this, and you were going to pay.

“Rogers, gather up everyone. We leave in 5 minutes.” Bucky was pissed. He never thought that you would do such a thing. Was this payback? Maybe, he just hasn’t figured out what for. Or maybe it wasn’t payback. Maybe you just really like fucking with people.

“Should I inform them that we would be coming?”

“No. We’ll pay them a surprise visit.”

It was a Thursday night, which meant it was a gang game night, and gang game nights are easily the highlight of your week.

“No we are not playing that magic trick game again, Scott. You always win.” Wanda complained as she pushed Scott from his chair.

“That’s why I always suggest that we do it.” Everyone grabbed their empty beer cans and chucked them all at Scott. “Oh come on, just because you all don’t know how to do magic doesn’t mean it’s not fun for me!” Scott took a five second pause to understand the words that just came out of his mouth. “Oh shit that really sounded bad”

Everyone laughed, “It really sounded bad you dumbass. Everyone get up and go to the firing range. We’ll do archery, since you guys suck at archery. Lowest score becomes the designated driver for two months.”

Everyone rushed to the firing range and grabbed a bow and arrow. “Are you not going to join?” Scott asked, and you just laughed. “Please note that I said, ‘you guys’ suck at archery.” Which wasn’t true. You might have an advantage, but you still very much suck at archery.

Once you said go, arrows started flying out and they mostly hit the target, if the target was the wall. God they are hopeless, you thought. They were on their 7th arrow when the door suddenly opened wide and all you guys saw were guns pointing at you. It was Bucky Barnes and he looked like hell.

Questions started forming inside your head. Why was he here? Why is he handsome as hell? What does he want? And more importantly, why are your friends pointing arrows at them as if those arrows will go right at their intended target?

This is the third time that Bucky met you. “Everyone put your arrows down. It’s not like you’ll be able to hit them accurately, you’ll just ruin the walls.” Your voice was playful, but commanding. Bucky saw everyone lower their bow but grabbed on to the arrow to just chunk them at people.

You walked towards him with your arms wide and welcoming. “You know, if I had a dollar for all the times that you pointed a gun at me I would have 2 dollars. Which isn’t a lot but it’s really weird that it happened twice.” You grabbed the barrel of the gun and put it down.

“I highly advise that you guys put your guns down. It’s very rude.” Everyone almost instantaneously put their guns down just by the sound of your voice. They all looked at Bucky and he just nodded. “Take a seat, and speak. You’re interrupting our game night. Everyone get out. Mr. Wolf, you stay.”

“But--” Loki wanted to speak but you just interrupted him. “I know. We’ll continue game night after I talk to him. Just go prepare for the beer pong.”

“I will be civil about this--”

“Civil? Mr. Wolf, there was nothing civil about you crossing our territories without informing me. And then just showing up and pointing guns on our faces. Plus you interrupted our game night.”

“Game night? Why do you even have game nights?” Bucky asked, a question he’s been meaning to ask since he walked inside the building.

“Well, someone’s jealous.” Bucky rolled his eyes “Anyways, tell me. Barnes why should I not put a bullet between your eyes right now.”

Bucky felt something that he hasn’t felt in a long time. Excitement. No one has openly refused and dared to talk down on him before. Or even had the courage to use his real name on him. He wasn’t at all confused as to how you knew his name. He knew that you had the means to get all the information about him.

“I have been informed that my shipment from three days ago came upon its destination empty.”

You just looked at him, uninterested “Rip to your shipments but what does that have to do with me? Why does my game night have to suffer just because you guys were careless in handling your packages?” And then it dawned on you, “Unless you think I did that?”

“I know you did.” Bucky said confidently, “Your hacker is careless, and arrogant. He left a signature when he deleted the security tapes and we were able to track it down to Shadows. You should really get rid of your hacker, he’s useless.”

“You’re wrong.” You answered and leaned back on the couch.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re wrong. We didn’t do that. Our hacker didn’t do that. We don’t give a shit about your fucking shipments. So unless you have a solid proof that really ties this incident to us. Leave my building because you’re totally bumming out my mood. Unless you want to join a virtual Cards against Humanity with us later.” “I just handed you the evidence. Your guy slipped up and was too arrogant---”

“I’m the only hacker in Shadows and I won’t be that fucking dumb to leave a fucking signature that could be traced to me.Do you even use your fucking head? Jesus christ, you’re lucky you’re handsome.”

That did it for Bucky, he quickly stood up from the couch and leaped towards you grabbing your shirt and pulling you close to him. “Don’t fucking mess with me. Give me back my shipments or I will burn your place to the fucking ground.”

“Not gonna lie,” you said as you looked up at his blue eyes “this is kinda hot.”

“Give me back my shipments.”

“I’m sure that you have already searched through my place.Did you see any shipments, dumbfuck? Just because you messed up doesn’t mean you can use me as your fucking scapegoat.” This was the first time that Bucky saw you get mad. You grabbed his hand that was still holding your shirt and then pushed him away, “Now, I didn’t do anything when you barged in my territory without telling me. Didn��t do anything when you pointed your guns at my people. And didn’t do anything when you accused me of this bullshit without any hard evidence.”

You were right. All three of those warrants an instant death, it doesn’t matter if you’re the gang leader or not. Tarnishing the reputation of someone else for the sake of doing so warrants death. Because that indicates that you don’t respect them. Respect is important in keeping the harmony between the gangs, and Bucky just violated that.

“I suggest that you leave now, before I lose all respect for you. You have disrespected my gang, my family. You’ve been in this business far longer than I have, and I know the rules better than you. Get out of my sight, because I will not be merciful the next time.”

“Okay so game night still back on?” Loki asked as soon as he entered the room.

You smiled “Yes, new game though. It’s called find the culprit. It’s anyone’s game and whoever wins will get to choose the next job.” Everyone immediately went to work, after explaining to them what happened everyone just got fired up and did every†hing humanly possible to track down the bastard that wants to implicate you.

You lied when you said that you were the only hacker in the gang. Everyone in here has a background in hacking but no one would be that stupid as to steal from Bucky Barnes. Not when they know that he's the person you're hopelessly in love with.

"Boss! Something just arrived, it's a box and it has a drawing of a wolf on it" Sam announced as he entered the room, clutching the said box. “Don’t worry, we already scanned it for bombs, it has nothing. We just didn’t want to open it because we thought that it was addressed to you.” And Bucky Barnes hates when people touch the things that are his.

Bucky grabbed the knife that he carried with him at all times, and opened the box. Inside the box there was a note, with a single drop of blood. “Take this to the lab. Check whose DNA it is. We’ll go to the address, just message me if you figure out who it is.”

In the car, Steve finally asked “Do you know who sent the note?”

He knew of course. It was the same writing as the one on the blackboard from the building that they went to three days ago. The building that they rudely barged in, and interrupted the game night, and spoiled the mood for everyone.

The address brought them to a warehouse on the far side of the town. And when they got in, his missing shipments were there along with tied up people from the gang from this town. And on top of his shipments there was another person there, one he recognized. “Rumlow, you betrayed me?”

So that’s why it was so easy for this gang to be able to intercept their shipment and how they were able to delete all the records. They had a man inside. Bucky told them to take the shipments straight to T’challa and took Rumlow back with them.

Rumlow already looked like he was beaten the shit out of. Blood splattered across his shirt and he just smiled. “Wondering why I did it?” He asked Bucky.

Bucky didn’t really care, he always knew that Rumlow was up to something and he was also at fault for being too careless. “Don’t try to act high and mighty, Rumlow. You’re already done for. Blood is splattered across your face and your face. You don’t have the upper hand.”

“This isn’t my blood.” Rumlow replied, “It was from that fool who thought that she could take me down by herself.” There was a deafening silence that enveloped the room. “You know, that girl that you like? Yeah, this is her blood.”

Bucky took out his gun and in an instant, Rumlow was lying dead in the middle of the room.

“Clean this up. I have to go.”

Rumlow got you good and you know it. That fucking bitch didn’t play fair, and even dared to use a knife on you. You were surprised to figure out that there was an actual rat inside Wolf’s gang, and you couldn’t help but think about your own people. Your family. It was obvious that Bucky treated his subordinates well, but if he could treat his subordinates like that and still have those people turn against him. You began to wonder what that could possibly mean for you. It’s not that you won’t be able to take them down, it’s just going to be hard to punish the person you considered your family for the past few years.

“Look at you.” A voice suddenly spoke behind you, “You’re wounded.”

It was him, and suddenly you felt calm. Too calm.

You fainted in Bucky’s arms.

It was a good thing that he was able to find you when he did because you would’ve been devoured by the people lurking in the dark. Everyone who was lurking knew who you were, and every gang leader has a price on their heads. Yours was the highest, but Bucky had an inkling that if you found out how much you were worth you would be furious and demand that you’re worth more than that.

And in a way you were. Maybe that’s why Bucky has always been different when it came to you. Maybe that’s why he always made sure to keep tabs on the things that you were doing so that if something were to happen, which thankfully it didn’t, he could lend a hand and help.

He didn’t know how to form friendships. All he ever had was the gang and being the leader all that they gave him was the respect as a leader. Yeah, Sam and Steve were there and they try their best to make it seem like they’re friends and they are but there’s still that wall separating them and Bucky.

Everyone treated him differently. Except you, you quickly made an impression on him as someone who doesn’t give a shit about other people than her own. You made the other gangs mad, but you made Bucky curious. Curious if you had any idea what this world is truly made of. This world is full of monsters and demons and your idealism and unorthodox ways would not be tolerated here. He was curious about what this world is going to do to you.

“Go get a doctor, quickly.” Bucky ordered as soon as the car stopped in front of the warehouse. He carried you up and took you straight to his room. “Your wound isn’t that deep, but you bled a lot.” There was still no response from you.

“I know you’re awake. You can stop pretending.” Then he hears it, your laugh. It was something that he wasn’t expecting to hear but he was glad that he did.

“You were carrying and cuddling me from the car to this room. How could I not take advantage? It’s not everyday you get to be wrapped up around the arms of the White Wolf himself.” You said and tried to sit up and leaned against the headboard. “Is this your room? Kinda plain isn’t it?” You said and looked around. Bucky was about to say something along the lines of ‘Can you just worry about your wound first.’ Until he realized that you were trying to distract yourself from the pain stemming from the wound on your side.

“Why? What’s wrong with my room?” Bucky asked, indulging your statement. Might as well help you forget about the pain, even if it's just for a little while.

“I think it lacks soul. It’s lonely.”

“Rooms don't need to have souls. They just need to have a bed to sleep in.”

“Ah, it really is true what they say. Someone’s room can tell so much about the person sleeping in it.”

Bucky was about to ask what kind of room you had but a frightened doctor came into the door. “S-Sir?” Bucky pointed at you and he got the hint.

“Who is this guy?”

“Sorry sir, Thor is currently dealing with a surgery and he can’t come. So we had to take the nearest doctor that we could find.”

“Sam, what did I say about kidnapping people.” Bucky asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He just looked at him and shrugged “That it’s okay if it’s for love?”

That moment Steve knew better and just dragged Sam out of the room without giving Bucky the time to punch him in the face.

The doctor cleaned up your wound and bandaged it up, then left after prescribing some antibiotics and some medication for the pain.

“I’ll get someone to get you some of these meds.” Bucky said as he grabbed the note that the doctor left on his bedside table.

“What you’re in a gang related business and you don’t have any pain medication. What kind of sorcery is this?” You asked laughing, Bucky just rolled his eyes. “Are you going to leave me? Can you not leave me. I may not look like it but I’m actually really afraid of being alone.”

Bucky’s heart did something, but he didn’t know what. So he just shouted for one of his subordinates and asked them to buy the medication as he stayed inside your room. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Take it as an apology. I was wrong for accusing you like that, and for ruining your game night.” He confessed, which was another first thing for him.

“Aww, can’t believe that you’re a big softie, like a teddy bear. Yuck. Disgusting, get out of my room. I want to rest.”

“This is my room.” Bucky reminded you, “And you said that you hated being alone.”

“And you’re the dummy who fell for it. Just leave, send a message to Shadows tell them no need to panic and that I’m going to be sleeping over.”

“If you’re going to sleep here, where am I supposed to sleep?”

“Aww, does the big softie want to sleep beside me? Maybe get some cuddles as well?” Bucky just smiled and walked towards the door. “Didn’t think so. Such a shame, I’m a very good cuddler. Good night boobear.”

Something inside Bucky snapped, he shouldn’t do it but he did. He looked the door and climbed on the bed which prompted you to shout “What the fuck are you doing?”

“You were right. I wanted some cuddles.”

Never in your life did you imagine that Bucky, the White Wolf, the most feared gang leader in your area, would say something as corny and as cheesy as that. To be fair, Bucky didn’t think it would be possible as well but here you guys were.

Bucky only wanted to tease you, that was all. But the moment you wrapped your arms around him he felt so giddy and so happy that he felt as if he would burst.

That was the first night that Bucky slept peacefully.

And the night that he fell in love with you without him knowing it.

Something changed between the two gangs after that night.

There was an unspoken rule that people from your gang aren’t to be messed with and would be given priority access each time you cross. The gang community quickly took notice and followed. Few weeks later they realized that they couldn’t afford to offend either one of you.

The Wolves made a good example to one gang that decided to cross Shadows. It wasn’t the fact that Shadows couldn’t handle it, it was more on showing them that they had their backs. That Bucky has your back.

It was almost as if the Shadows and Wolves decided to merge into a bigger gang. And that would be the most terrifying thing to ever happen on the goddamn planet.

“So you’re telling me, you’re not going to attend game night?” You asked Bucky who is currently on the phone with you.

“Yeah, I have some things to take care of.”

“Okay, but you’re missing game night. Game. Night.” Bucky rolled his eyes. And gestured for Sam to drag the guy away from his sight.

“I know. Sorry.”

“You can shove that sorry up your ass. Don’t talk to me. We’re cancelling the pizza we ordered for you guys. Bye.”

“I told you---”

But you ended the call before Bucky could say anything.

“Lover’s quarrel?” Steve asked, “You can go. We can take care of this motherfucker.”

“You really think that, that would solve it? Game night means you all should be there as well, she’s going to kill me if I just show up there alone.”

Bucky had planned to go. How could he not? At first he thought that game nights were useless but seeing the look on your face and the laughter that echoed around the room. It felt like home. It didn’t feel like they were in the world full of guns and blood, but instead it felt like they were normal people just enjoying each other’s company.

Bucky laughed at the thought of you. You were probably cursing him right now, wondering why you ever invited him to join your game nights if he was just going to ruin it.

But this was something that he needed to take care of. Because this man, Pierce, was the one behind Rumlow’s betrayal. The reason why you were hurt.

And Bucky couldn’t forgive him for that.

You ignored Bucky after that. Didn’t bother returning his phone calls, so instead he just leaves you a voice message every night without fail.

It made you happy of course. Made you think that perhaps it wasn’t a one-sided love affair after all. That maybe there could be a love story between the two of you despite your past, despite the present and despite the future that the two of you have so little of.

You were worried about the meeting today because Bucky would be there. You wonder if you would still be able to keep this act up and continue to pretend to ignore him when he’s standing right beside you looking like a god sent by the heavens.

“Pierce was found dead.”

“WHAT?” You shout in disbelief, “What the fuck? Who did this? Pierce--”

“I did it.” Bucky confessed after you calmed down, which prompted you to shout again. “Pierce was the one behind Rumlow and he was scheming against every single one of us. Including you. When I found out I had to take him out. In this folder, you can see all of the evidence that I have gathered the past few months. I’ll see myself out.” Bucky stood up and tossed the folder that he was clutching so tightly that you wanted to ask him earlier what that folder did wrong.

Turns out the answer was a lot. After skimming through the contents it all made sense.

While Pierce was indeed a scheming son of a bitch, it still didn’t change the fact that he was the one who helped you, and treated you like his own daughter.

“I guess i just didn’t want to believe that he would do that to me.” Your sad eyes made Bucky’s heart hurt. Betrayal isn’t something that you were used to. “Did you ever figure out how he was able to control Rumlow?”

Bucky knew, he had the matter investigated a week after they knew about Rumlow’s betrayal. “There was a girl.” Bucky didn’t need to say any more. You figured it out. How pathetic, how could you almost forget the situation that you are in?

You’re not some teenager who’s free to love whoever they want. You were a gang leader who had duties and responsibilities. What this incident taught you was a cruel lesson, but one that you should be taught early on.

“Love really is a disadvantage huh.” You muttered, “I never want to be in that kind of place.”

“At a disadvantage?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah. Love is cruel and messy. And it would ruin everything that I have worked for.”

“So, you don’t want to fall in love?”

Bucky asked, and he waited for an answer that never came. Oh well, maybe that was an answer too.

A visible strain in your relationship intrigued everyone but they decided to stay quiet and not meddle in your affairs. After all, the two of you were the highest ranking members and should not be messed with. But one particular afternoon things got heated after a job that the two gangs took. “I just don’t fucking get it. I had the shot.” You huffed as you threw your jacket on the couch. “Yeah. A shot to his leg, he has a clear shot of your head. You were going to die.”

Bucky decided to jump at you earlier, effectively throwing the both of you on the ground and wasting a precious bullet meant for someone else.

“It’s none of your fucking business. I could do it.”

“You would’ve died.”

“What is it to you?!”

Ah, there it was. The question that Bucky hoped you never would ask. To be honest you didn’t think that it was a question that would escape your lips as well. But you were just so pissed off that you lost all of your rational thoughts and were left with these stupid ones. You never wanted to ask that because you were afraid of what his answer would be.

No, you weren’t afraid that he would say that you didn’t mean anything to him. That would be a relief. You were scared that he would say that you meant a great deal to him and you don’t know if you can handle that. Love is a dangerous disadvantage. And you would not hesitate to move the mountains and part the seas if Bucky asked you to do so.

You were scared because you loved him so much.

And Bucky just sat there wanting to tell you the truth. To tell you how much you meant to him. How much he loves you and how far he is willing to go for you. How he could kill anyone who looks at you wrongly with his bare hands.

And instead of being honest to each other, the two of you sat there. The truth stayed inside of your hearts, desperately trying to claw their way out.

But the truth will prevail. One way or another. And if the two of you knew that this is what’s going to happen. You would’ve confessed when you had the chance.

You wouldn't have cared. Because right now, Bucky is bleeding in your arms and you couldn’t stop the tears from falling down your face. “Bucky, stay with me. Okay? Stay with me. Please.”

There had been an attack in the warehouse that you owned and Bucky went to help, but no matter how strong you guys were you were still outnumbered. It wasn’t like how it was in the movies where everyone just miraculously survives no matter how many opponents they were faced with. And so Bucky was shot trying to protect you.

“You fucking idiot. Don’t fucking close your eyes.” Bucky smiled because despite all of the curses that you were saying, your voice still sounded sweet. It was a good thing that the sense of hearing is the last to go before a person dies.

‘This is alright,’ Bucky thought, ‘I was never meant for a long life anyway. And what better place to die than in the arms of your loved one.’

Bucky tried to open his eyes, to remain conscious. But his strength is leaving him, he tried to lift his arm up to wipe the tears from your eyes but he couldn’t. He could only listen to your sobs, until he couldn’t hear anything at all.

There were so many things that you weren’t able to say to Bucky.

So many things that you wanted to tell him, so many things that you wanted to do with him. But you weren’t able to do so because you were scared. “Bucky, please wake up.” You cried as you grabbed his hand. He still hasn’t woken up ever since his surgery and Thor said to not get your hopes up but you can’t just give up on him without him knowing how you truly feel. “Please don’t leave me alone. I promise you I won’t let you go. So come back to me okay?”

Twelve days have since passed, and there were still no signs of him waking up. Thor was already talking about preparing for the worst, and so you punched him in the face.

You grabbed some blankets from the other room and went back to your room where Bucky was, “You were right. You can tell alot from a person by their room.”

You dropped the blankets that you were holding and just ran up to hug him. “I was so scared that you were dead.”

“I’m sorry. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Bucky I--” But he just smiled and said ‘I know.’

He knows.

But that wasn’t enough for you. You had to let him know. You had to let him hear it. And there was only one way to convey these feelings properly.

“James Buchannan Barnes. Marry me.”

#holy fuck this was long #im sorry #bye #bucky barnes x reader

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adamarks · 5 years

Text

simon snow has fucking dragon powers or some shit and this is my goddamn proof

Whilst you people were having a meltdown over Baz and Simon not hashing it out (Simon’s not in a place of understanding his self worth enough for that yet.), I was having a meltdown about Simon Snow The Literal Fucking Dragon.

Now, this is obviously going to have major spoilers for Wayward Son. I’m going to assume you’ve read it if you’re reading this. I’ve put a lot of thought into this theory and this is a long ass post so I’m putting it under the cut. Now. Let’s go, lesbians!

First and foremost, let’s start with the wings and tail.

Simon’s wings are established at the very beginning of Wayward Son to represent something. We don’t really get to quite know what that something is until they start referring to Simon’s wings the same way they used to refer to his magic.

The most direct reference to Simon’s wings symbolizing his magic is in Simon’s section of the prologue at the very end of the book:

“It’s time for me to stop pretending I’m some sort of superhero. I was that-- I really was-- but I’m not anymore. I don’t belong in the same world as sorcerers and vampires. That’s not my story.

Dr. Wellbelove said he could remove the wings. And the tail. Whenever I’m ready. I could go back to school then, or get a job...”

This section directly confirms that yes, these wings are a metaphor for Simon’s magic. They’re all he has left connect him to the world of magic. They’re the only thing still making him feel even remotely on the same level as Baz and Penelope. (This book really was all about the concept of self-worth and how completely lacking it affects not only us but those we love. Phew, talk about a doozy. No wonder we’re all crying.)

Now that we’ve established that Simon’s wings, at the very least, are his one tether to magic, let’s drive the nail into the coffin of the wings and tail being absolutely, 100% symbolic of his magic.

As I mentioned earlier, the book starts treating the wings exactly the same as it treated his magic. This even starts before Wayward Son. The first mention of Simon’s emotions relating to his wings and tail is in the first book. In the epilogue, in Baz’s section, during the dance scene.

“His tail whips out of my hand. It tends to slash around when he’s upset.”

This really starts to come out in the last fourth of Wayward when he’s “itching for a fight.”

His wings constantly poke, prod, and generally annoy Baz and Penny because he refuses to put them away. Almost.... like... how his magic..... felt suffocating.... and too much... and he couldn’t push it back... or tamp it down. *cough*

Okay, so that was all pretty basic, boring, base-building stuff, yeah? Pretty “whatever we get it.”

Well, here’s where it starts to get fun.

Let’s talk about Simon’s Mirrors.

Lemme just explain what the hell a mirror is, first. In case we all flunked our high school Lit classes.

A mirror character is, in simple terms, a character that acts, looks like, or reminds you of one of the main characters. Through these “mirror characters” some important information about the main character is revealed to us subtextually.

Let’s name our Simon mirrors:

Ebb

Agatha (she’s being developed as her own character but that’s not stopping her from mirroring our good lad.)

Aunt Fiona (to some extent anyway. she doesn’t really factor here.)

There might be some minor ones I’m forgetting (I’m not including foils) but these are our main guys.

I put Ebb on the list first, but let’s start with Agatha, the cranky heroine of our dreams.

Throughout the whole first book, Agatha is shown to be Simon’s mirror. Them both mooning over Baz in almost the exact same way. (Jesus Christ they’re embarrassing to watch.) The waiting on rooftops, the handkerchief. (Don’t get me started on Simon carrying around Baz’s scarf in Wayward. I’m soft and everything hurts. Our poor, stupid, stupid boys.) It’s not exactly subtle.

In Carry On, Agatha reveals just how much Simon also resents his fate. He never really expresses it, but Agatha is reflecting to us how he’s feeling. They both get progressively less resigned to the bullshit “Chosen One” fate as the book goes on. They both make it out alive. Maybe everything will be okay.

But then Rainbow rolls up with a Sex On The Beach and Gucci sunglasses to tell us that “fuck no everything’s not okay.” (She’s right. God, I could go on a rant about how no one ever talks about how you feel when you’ve defeated the villain. When you’ve escaped the dungeon. Hhhhh)

Wayward Son immediately sets Agatha up as even more of a mirror than she was in the first book. We’re shown right away that the two of them are both in a depressed funk. They’re both at “15%” and miserable. These two are echoing each other like NEVER before and I am LIVING for it.

Like, we even get this amazing bit in Chapter Four:

“That would feel like an answer to... the question of me. Then I could say, ‘Oh, that’s who I am. That’s why I’ve been so confused.’”

They! Are! Struggling!

Now, how does this relate to Simon having literal fucking dragon powers? Good question, thank you for asking.

In Chapter Fifty-Six, when Pen and Agatha are stuck in the back of Fuckwad Vampire #3′s car, Agatha says this:

“I honestly thought I could walk away from it all-- like magic was a place. Like magic was a person. Or a habit I could break.

When Simon first came to Watford, he couldn’t make his wand work. He could barely cast a spell. He thought they were going to kick him out, that he wasn’t magic enough.

“You don’t do magic,” Penelope told him. “You are magic.”

I... am magic.

Whether I like it or not, whether or not I claim it. Whether or not I carry my wand.

It’s in me, somehow. Blood, water, bone.”

They!! Are!! Both!! Magic!!

Magic is in them! Magic is with them! They’re made of the stuff! They can’t cut off this part of them, no matter how much they want to. (lmao. talk about good old internalized homophobia. I don’t really have an opinion on what Agatha’s sexuality is, btw. I’m using homophobia as a blanket term because I have no clue what’s up on that front.)

Simon is made of magic. He doesn’t want to remove his wings. Even though he has to hide them. Even though he thinks he’s a Normal now. Like Penny said, “an aeroplane is still an aeroplane even if it’s on the ground.” (I’m not sure that’s verbatim, apologies.)

Simon still has magic. We just can’t see it. He’s made of magic. He is magic. He was literally conceived during a spell. Bitch is as magical as you can get.

But where is the magic???? Where’d it go???? Hello????

I’m getting there. I promise. First, we need to talk about Ebb.

Ebb wasn’t only Simon’s weird Aunt figure; she was his mirror. Ebb was what would’ve happened to Simon if he hadn’t rejected the mage at the end of Carry On. Ebb just gave in. She didn’t want to fight anymore, and she figured Shithead The Great knew more than she did.

God I just fucking hate Mage so much like holy shit. Anyway, anyway.

Ebb was the strongest magician next to Simon. She didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want to use her magic for any great purpose. She just wanted to be. Agatha even reiterates this in the epilogue of Carry On.

“Like, they couldn’t just let her be.”

(No, Simon doesn’t miss killing things in Wayward. He misses excitement and having a purpose. He mainly misses having a purpose. Not having one of those fucking sucks.)

What the fuck does Ebb have to do with this? Why can’t I just get to the point?

My point is!

My Point IS!

That goddamn dragon with the sheep was supposed to remind you of Ebb.

So, let’s do the math. If 1=1x1= 1 then...

Ebb = Margaret = Simon

Sure, sure we had Simon screeching that he wasn’t a dragon. But Margaret was immediately like,

“Not yet.” She pets his wing. “Are kitten. Someday dragon. Someday ferocious.”

Simon smells like a dragon, but also apparently “smells like iron.” Whatever the fuck that means. I mean I guess it means that Baz could still sippy sippy. (Which is gonna happen or I’ll eat my own toe.)

One more thing:

“I wanted wings,” he says. “I wanted to fly.”

“Why tail?”

“I wanted to be free!”

Gee, that sure sounds like what Agatha was saying earlier, huh?

YEAH OKAY HE’S HALF DRAGON!! WE’VE ESTABLISHED THAT!!! WHAT THE FUCK AM I ON ABOUT!!!!

Omg thank you for asking. I’m going to blow your mind with my final point.

The Final Point: The Baz Problem.

Wayward Son is, by all accounts, Baz’s book. It develops everyone beautifully and everyone has an arc, but this book is where Baz gets to shine.

We found out in this book that vampires are immortal.

This introduced a whole new issue, an issue that surfaces every time immortality is introduced as a possibility for one character but not the rest.

Someday, Baz will be left alone.

He’ll inevitably outlive everyone he cares about. We all know our poor, beautiful, delicate bastard boy couldn’t take it. How deeply he cares is his most beautiful and wonderful trait, and this could break him.

I wonder, how long does a dragon live?

Penny talks about the improbability of Simon and Baz in Chapter Three.

“Star-cross’d lovers. ‘From forth the fatal loins of these two foes.’ The whole shebang.”

Simon’s magic was always described as smoke and fire. The first creature we learn about Simon fighting was a dragon. (Chapter 1, first page of Carry On)

“You’ve slain a dragon, Simon. Surely you can manage a long walk and a few buses.”

God, I just really hate Bitchface the Mage. Anywho.

Simon. The One Who Came to End Us. Simon. The One To Save Us All. Simon is the dragon and the knight. He’s his own worst enemy. His arc will be completed once he accepts the “dragon” part of himself. It’s poetic as fuck, I must admit.

Simon has to find love and care for himself, and then this baby dragon will be grown. He’ll be “on top” as Margaret had said. (God, could you imagine all the dragons waking up? How fucking epic would THAT be? Fingers crossed.)

The monster that drains living things and the monster that burns all in its wake. These losers are starcrossed, but they complete each other. Dumbasses. I just love them so much why can’t they get their shit together.

Simon and Baz’s storylines are utterly intertwined. They’re perfectly matched. Simon might not know it, but their hearts are already tied together; they beat in sync. They’re two stars orbiting each other. And, if we’re all very lucky, maybe they won’t crash. Maybe this story won’t end in flames.

So, in conclusion, I really really really want Simon to breathe fire. The only other way I could see this twisting is the wings somehow going away and Simon getting a regular-magician amount of magic. That’s kinda lame tho and doesn’t complete his arc correctly. This dumb boy is a dragon now and there’s nothing we can do about it. (EDIT: actually yeah simon’s not gonna lose his wings no way in fuck. check out my meta.) Also? I would sell my soul to see Simon getting really possessive over really weird objects for his hoard.

Thank you for sticking with me this far, dear reader. I’ll leave you with this thought: Baz is Donkey and Simon is the dragon from Shrek.

Check out my other meta on the future of simon and baz’s relationship and how penny and agatha relate

scarf meta as well check it

Gonna be tagging peeps so this can circulate better.

@carrybits @neck-mole @watfordwallflower

#Wayward Son #wayward son spoilers #Carry On #Simon and Baz #Simon Snow #Baz Pitch #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #penelope bunce #agatha wellbelove #ebb the goatherd #meta #carry on meta #wayward son meta #snowbaz #this will end in flames #long post #i did put a read more

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tanadrin · 5 years

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So all the terrible retcons and geographic inconsistency (Kul Tiras wtf) and the time travel and the bullshit with the night elves is bad (Illidan is the worst character ever, don't @ me), but the most frustrating part of WoW lore to me is its failure to explore certain complex emotional themes in a really satisfying way--like, the people who expound and expand on Warcraft lore are canny enough to notice that these emotional themes *exist*, but not clever enough to actually work with them or build them out, and so the whole thing collapses into rule-of-cool melodrama. There's nothing wrong with rule-of-cool melodrama; I love rule-of-cool melodrama. But Warcraft lore is *begging* to combine that rule of cool melodrama with some really rich and interesting emotions and character interpretations, it sets them up and is all ready to knock them down, and just... doesn't.

Take the conversation between Saurfang and Garrosh in the Borean Tundra, in WotLK, the one that ends with Saurfang saying "I don't eat pork." I think that's emblamatic of the big theme that unites the Horde, that makes it make sense as a faction. The Alliance, after all, started as a defensive association in the face of the Orc invasion; its renaissance after the creation of Durotar and the invasion of the Scourge is only natural. But what is the theme of the Horde? Is it honor? Strength? Sheer brutality? Well, none of those things. Orcs claim to value honor and strength; the Forsaken are certainly various shades of very dark gray at best, the Tauren and the Orcs *do* seem like natural allies of a sort, but all the races of the Horde have something even deeper in common: trauma. The Orcs are still (cf. Saurfang) dealing with the emotional turmoil of having been both forced and partially complicit in the atrocities of the First and Second War--after which their homeworld was destroyed, they were forced into concentration camps, and they had to rebuild their culture and their identity from the ground up. They have to find a new place in a new world, and there's this tension between the younger generation that doesn't have firsthand experience with any of this and just remembers that the Horde used to be a name that struck fear into the hearts of their enemies (Garrosh Hellscream, for instance) and the older generation that remembers how awful that time really was, and doesn't want to see the old ways revived because it might just destroy their people for good this time. Then there's the Darkspear Trolls and the Tauren, who were both driven out of their old homelands, and fell in with the Horde as natural allies with similar cultural points of reference; and the Blood Elves, whose suffering in the Third War was severe enough to radically alter their culture, coupled with being betrayed by their ruler who decided that joining the Burning Legion and abandoning them sounded like a better time than rebuilding Quel'Thalas.

And then there's the Forsaken. Oh, man, the Forsaken. The Forsaken and Sylvanas are some of my favorite characters in all of WoW, because sure, you could look at it and say, "okay, creepy undead who like green things that go plop and mad science = evil, bad guys." But you'd really be missing what makes the Forsaken interesting. They're not the Scourge--they explicitly broke away from the Scourge when Arthas left Lordaeron. They're not invaders, either. They're in fact mostly the human population of the destroyed kingdom of Lordaeron, the inheritors of that land, but who are treated by the Alliance as interlopers with no right to the very towns and villages they have *always* called home. They're treated as monsters by every living person who ever knew them, and they can't help but regard themselves that way, too. "What are we, if not slaves to this torment?" is one of the casual interaction lines you get when you click on Sylvanas: they do not *like* being dead. But Sylvanas is ruthless and cruel and after Arthas is killed, wins the Val'kyr over to her side so she can keep making more Forsaken. Why?

Simple. Let us imagine: you are an ordinary person, of no unusually great or poor moral virtue. You are hurt, badly. Grieviously. In a way you will never recover from. And everyone you love, all of your friends and your family, the whole society you come from, now sees you as an unredeemable monster that should, no, must be destroyed. How long must you be called a monster before you decide--fuck it, I *will* be the monster they call me. Because, at least that way, no one can ever hurt me again.

The overpowering motivation for the Forsaken is not power or bloodlust; it's not money, or forbidden knowledge. It's making sure no one in the whole world is ever able to make slaves of them again. To make sure they will not be hurt. And the biggest misstep the Alliance ever made was not reaching out to Sylvanas with overtures of friendship as soon as she established her kingdom--because like it or not, she has the support of the people of Lordaeron, and thus a damn good claim to her position. Maybe, if they had, they could have influenced the Forsaken, shown them that they had friends and didn't need to resort to amoral methods to defend themselves. But as it stands, they only have allies of convenience in the Horde (at least until Sylvanas becomes Warchief), and they know that no one in Azeroth is quite happy to see them continue to exist and be free. Everything else about the Forsaken--their use of dark magic, their development of a new, even more destructive plague, their recruiting former servants of the Lich King and raising new Forsaken from among the dead of the ongoing wars--makes perfect sense from the standpoint of a people that knows they are under threat from all sides, and will do anything to survive.

(The Draenei could have been something like this, too, FWIW. Like, a broken people, a people of exiles who are most comfortable in the shadows and with moral ambiguity. But then Metzen had to go make them Righteous Space Goats. I mean, come on. They're just boring now. They were never going to be Horde-aligned--there's too much history with the Orcs there!--but having a group like that on the side of the Alliance, to help drive home the point that there is not a clear good guys/bad guys distinction here, would have been really nice.)

That actually makes them a pretty damn good fit for the Horde. Moreover, it creates an interesting point of tension with the Alliance, which is clearly *not* always the good guys. I mean, there's the matter of orc concentration camps, but also consider the refusal of leaders like Daelin Proudmoore to contemplate peace (and the subsequent, somewhat... forced turn of Jaina Proudmoore from dove to hawk) and the steadfast refusal of many on that side to deal fairly with the races of the Horde just because they appear monstrous. And arrogance, hoo boy. Dalaran, Gilneas, the Night Elves--huge swathes of the Alliance are characterized by being arrogant and not a little cruel.

And what of Sylvanas becoming Warchief? I don't know where the BFA lore is going (I'm not playing retail anyway), but right now it looks like they're setting up another Garrosh type situation, and preparing for Thrall to retake the Warchief-ship, but if they do that it would be a real pity. First of all, because, well, we saw that already in Mists of Pandaria! What, are we going to besiege Orgrimmar again? Second of all--Sylvanas and Garrosh are *very* different people. Garrosh was, well, Proud; hence the Sha of Pride. He wanted glory and power, he wanted war for war's sake, so he could live up to his father's reputation as a warrior. He was willing to sacrifice everything else that made the Horde the Horde for that. Sylvanas, though, has one overriding motivation: Keep Her People Safe. Punish the people who hurt her is a strong secondary motivation--but it's part of that first one, because if she can make her enemies' victories painful enough, she might discourage them from trying to press their advantage. And her people *trust* her on this: "Dark Lady watch over you," they say when you take your leave. She is not an autocrat--she is their beloved protector. So, she makes the ruins of Lordaeron uninhabitable. She annihilates Teldrassil. Does she spend very many Orc and Troll and Tauren lives doing so? Very well. They aren't *her* people.

I don't think this has to be a tragic flaw leading to her downfall. It sure doesn't make her a good leader for the rest of the Horde, though (even though, on an emotional and aesthetic level, I am 3000% here for Warchief Sylvanas, even more than Warchief Vol'jin, who also had a lot of the creepy threatening vibe that made him a much more interesting choice than either Thrall or Garrosh). But you could make it one, and you could do it very well--they've already mentioned in the tie-ins that Calia Menethil, Arthas's sister, teeeechnically has a claim to the throne of Lordaeron. And, even more interesting, is no longer quite among the living, even if the mechanism of that unlife is happy fun magic instead of evil death magic. Moreover, she has some sympathy for the Forsaken. You could have a squaring-off between them, and you could have a Queen Calia--maybe. If you could bridge that gap and make her understand that the Forsaken feel fundamentally apart from the other human kingdoms now, if she could come to understand just how much evil the Alliance has done to them, if she could really grok what it's like to be them. Then you could have a leader who understands their trauma--but also wants to heal it, rather than lash out at anyone and everyone that might conceivably be a threat. That, too, would be very interesting.

(There’s a reason that, while I loved the Alliance as a kid, I only play Horde toons as an adult. It’s not just that the Horde feel more interesting and vivid to me. It’s that the hypocrisy and the arrogance of the Alliance stands out in much greater relief now. The Horde aren’t good guys--nobody’s the good guys, here--but they don’t lie about their motivations, and they don’t act with cruelty and then play the victim in response. Jaina was an important exception, but they badly mishandled her character in the runup to MoP, which I find very hard to forgive.)

But knowing Blizz, even if they go vaguely that route, they won't stick the emotional landing. There is a very good, if very OTT and melodramatic (in the best possible way), series of fantasy novels or games lurking *behind*, or perhaps parallel, to Warcraft's lore. It is a shame that Blizzard has done so much to obscure it with obnoxious cruft, retcons and timeline compression, repetitive use of the same handful of characters, stupid-ass time-travel plots that create ten thousand plot holes and inconsistencies, shitty tie-in novels (cf. everything by Richard Knaak), and a total failure to make half the world's characters (i.e., everyone in the Alliance) at all interesting. I have a daydream of doing my own version of WoW lore and posting it somewhere like on AO3, but one of the things that makes WoW lore simultaneously so interesting and disappointing to me is that it's embedded in the explorable, realized space of video game worlds. Hard to reproduce that in print, I think. Might be worth it to try.

#world of warcraft #lore #warcraft lore #the forsaken #sylvanas windrunner #the work of chris metzen and its discontents #but hey #at least i got full chain of the scarlet crusade on my warrior in classic

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izumisays · 4 years

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dear yuletide author

Thank you so much for reading this and taking part in this wonderful annual conspiracy! 

First of all, I hope you have a lovely time! If any of the fandoms below pique your interest, I’m delighted already, and ready to hear all the stories you want to tell.

Fandoms: Chihayafuru, Nirvana in Fire, Thunderbolt Fantasy

As for reading preferences, I’m happy with a wide variety of tones and genres, of any rating, ranging anywhere from lighthearted antics to dramatic casefics. But the core of all the stories I love has always been character interaction and interplay of their competences.

How the characters play off each other and bring out their best/worst, how they’d react to a divergence of events, how true they’d stay to themselves in a different setting – I love fanfiction for allowing us to reconnect with our favourite stories time and again by asking these questions. And there are so many ways to do it! To name a few favourites, I’m always game for POV hijinks, a missing scene, a casefic, canon expansion, backstories and what-ifs.

You may notice that quite a few of my requests lean towards shipfic – those, too, are welcome in a variety of tones – but I also tried to include openings for gen ideas if that’s your jam. Additionally, while it is not usually my top interest, I don’t have anything against AUs if there is something that you are itching to explore: I tend to enjoy them for a new aesthetic that fleshes out the favoured character dynamics in a new light, or a fusion that redefines the playing ground to allow the characters to exhibit their core competences in new and exciting ways.

I would be very grateful if you could avoid a/b/o and similar kinktropes, played-straight soulmate fic, and character interpretation that runs contrary to their core values. If in doubt, please reach out to me on anon - the askbox is open!

CHIHAYAFURU: Mashima Taichi, Wataya Arata, Suou Hisashi

You don’t have to include all three characters, but I’d love to see a fic that explores the connections between them better. I’m up to date with all manga scanlations.

Wataya Arata/ Mashima Taichi

In the immortal words of Henjin Meijin, Arata is that person for Taichi whose opinion makes or breaks him. (His wording may have been different, but if I go rummaging into the chapter archive to find the exact quote, I’ll end up binge-rereading year three into the night again, and then where would my Yule sign-up be?) (On that note, what kind of a MASSIVE LOSER waxes poetics about Taichi’s boyfriend problems to Taichi’s MOTHER, whom he JUST met? Suou Hisashi, that’s who.) Needless to say, that paramount opinion was not always great, and neither was Taichi’s general wellbeing.

Good news is, Arata is confident in his manliness, and he has no problem acknowledging Taichi’s ridiculously pretty and not too bad at karuta these days, and he’s also moving to Tokyo. Taichi’s definitely pretty and has an apartment in Tokyo, where a country bumpkin of paramount importance may possibly stay over until things are sorted out… eventually. Hint hint.

Jokes aside, I pine for the dynamics between the two of them. I nearly lost it, reading the Meijin semifinals — and if you can show me a person who saw them bawl as they crawled into each other’s laps on Japanese national television and didn’t bawl in response, well, that person is sure not me.

I’d like to see a story that lets them build and explore that connect. I do not object to eventual OT3, but I think Chihaya is on a quest to find her own footing and pursue other goals at the moment, and I’d really like it if she was allowed to do this (join forces with Shinobu to drag karuta into a professional league, girl!). I’d like to think that in that space, different bonds and relationships can develop and strengthen, starting with Arata and Taichi.

Taichi the overanalyzer, the hardworker and the looker, the golden boy who at some point surely hit that red button, meme-style: you will be perfect at everything, you will have everything, except the one thing that you want above all. Arata appears to be his perfect foil: steady and serene where Taichi’s scrambling and flawed, adorably awkward and disarmingly sincere where Taichi’s groomed, smooth and miserable about his own deceptions. But they don’t see it like that! And they keep tripping each other up so beautifully!

I’d love to read your take on them growing closer and hopefully smooshing their faces together. Roommates in Tokyo? Long-distance friends? Figuring out how to tell your flatmate you’ve been in love with him since you were 12? Established relationship while hijinks happen? AWKWARD THIRDWHEELING WITH SUOU?!

On that note:

Suou Hisashi & (or / - wejustdon’tknow.gif) Mashima Taichi

I cannot believe that ridiculous man. Did you see a grown ass adult swoon because his unrequited disciple I mean not-friend I mean Taichi just up and went to meet his relatives??? To help reconnect them?? One can do things like this?? What next, being able to make phonecalls like an adult??

Does not compute.

I was there, Gandalf. I was there when the story first indicated that we might be getting an unlikely team-up of the world’s weirdest Meijin and Tokyo’s most miserable overachiever. But even in my wildest dreams I did not dare hope to see them sprawled on the carpet on a humid summer afternoon, Taichi comfortable in his own skin and Suou, erm, probably not very comfortable with his fascination :D He did not sign up for this. He, a grown ass man in what must be his early twenties, is too old for this youthful seishun sakura bullshit. And yet it is he who mournfully accosts Taichi’s mom to talk about how this other boy is paramount in Taichi’s universe. He who gets offended because Taichi knowing how to adult and work the social ropes is too sexy and competent. He who finds something compelling in the painful struggle of genius and skill.

Arata - Taichi - Suou

For maximum indulgence of yours truly, bring those into one place. Arata coming to Tokyo and finding Suou a fixture in Taichi’s life how?! Suou being infinitely pissy at the Fukuyi upstart and yet dragging himself to socialize with the boys regardless like a totally-not-pathetic adult with a social life of his own? Arata being mildly puzzled about the antagonism, but in there for the sweet snacks?

You tell me! I delight in my anticipation.

NIRVANA IN FIRE: Mei Changsu, Xiao Jingyan

Is this a complex, narratively inevitable historic tapestry strangling people with its treads, full of delicious politicking and identity porn? Yes, it is.

Is my burning – nay, primal – desire so simple as to smoosh two faces together and watch them kiss? Yes, it is :’)

I mean, I will obviously not say no if the kissing is giftwrapped in the said tapestry of beautiful, politicky plot, but the fever I can’t get out of my system is this: LET THEM KISS, GODDAMMIT. LET THEM BE HAPPY. I welcome canon divergences, alternative endings, fix-its, insert eps and codas where it looks like they would have kissed (erm, or at least confronted each other in a way that would inevitably end with them making out) if only Mei Changsu wasn’t so caught up in self-loathing and fluffy foxfur coats, and Jingyan didn’t talk too loudly about his so dead, so very dead beautiful ex to hear Mei Changsu weep stoically into his beautiful white furs.

I adore Prince Jing. He is 90% cheekbones and 20% heartbroken pouting over his so very dead friends, and all of it noble and awkward and stubborn and deserving of happiness. Mei Changsu is ridiculous, and capable, and twisted into pretzels of his own creation: not above gloating over his enemies while daintily dipping cookies into his tea, he gets too caught up in weaving the tapestry to notice he is a part of it. Pull him off his high horse, Jing! Render him helpless by being yourself! Do something about being hopelessly charmed with each other, through resentment, loss, bitter pining, and narrative inevitability! JUSTKISSALREADY.gif!!

THUNDERBOLT FANTASY: Rin Setsua; Sho Fukan

I LOVE THIS SELF INDULGENT WUXIA NONSENSE AND I CANNOT LIE!

Sanfan is a mixture UTTER GLEE and deep fondness for the genre staples, self-aware and masterful playthrough of all the wuxia tropes in the book, and one goddamn well-constructed story. It plays the tropes straight, calls them out with a knowing wink, walks the tightrope between the two with panache, and just as you are relaxed and enjoying this trapeze show, it grins cheekily at you, sets the discoball on fire and pulls a bunny out of a hat. It’s DELIGHTFUL and fun and lovingly crafted, just like a good passion project should be.

I want anything that capitalizes on the absolutely hilarious dynamics between Rin Setsua and Sho Fukan (and while personally I end up using the Japanese versions of their names more often, please feel free to go with the Chinese names if you prefer). Sho Fukan does not want any of those heroic quests, he’s the human equivalent of been there, done that mood, and he just wants to REST and hopefully dump a bunch of magical murderswords someplace safe. Rin Setsua is a Totally Respectable and Non-Villainous Member of Society, of which he will inform you firsthand in the most high spoken and verbose way possible, and maybe even produce paperwork that has definitely not been tampered with. He harbours no ulterior motives, ever, and does not trail behind Sho Fukan for any reason beyond the pleasure of his company, and his mission to personally victimize and cockblock every morally derelict villain in two countries, by no-one’s request.

Whether you go shipfic (yiss!) or canon levels teamup circus (also yiss!), don’t hold back your horses. Everything about this is Extra, and should continue to be so <3

I am okay with both expanding the canon and playing with AUs/crossovers/fusions for this one, provided they retain the character dynamics. I love the extended cast as well: any characters including the Seiyou gang (and on that note, if you want to write the Seiyou backstory for Shou’s gang that has no Rin in it, you’re welcome as well), reappearance of the familiar faces from Touri (read: Rin’s victim list, past, future and present), original characters lined up and waiting to be screwed over (guaranteed) and rescued (the administration does not bear any responsibility etc etc).

Thank you for taking the time to read the letter, and I’m greatly looking forward to reading your story — and hopefully, getting to chat about these ridiculous and wonderful characters post-reveals :)

#dear creator letter #yuletide #yuletide 2020

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shuttershocky · 5 years

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Why you should watch Canaan

Alright friends it’s time to bring out the cursed content. Here’s a big post about why you should watch Canaan, an anime based off an extra scenario in the visual novel 428 Shibuya Scramble, conceptualized by none other than the most infamous duo of Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.

What’s it about?

Canaan is a goofy action movie in a 13 episode format about a Middle Eastern mercenary / super-spy with magic eyes called Canaan and her quest to take down her adopted elder sister Alphard Al Sheya, the leader of a bioterrorist organization called Snake, all while keeping her Japanese photographer girlfriend Maria Osawa safe from the crossfire.

The Main Cast

Canaan

Shiki Ryougi BUT WITH A GUN

No really she’s got some magic synesthesia that gives her Mystic Eyes abilities

She can see feelings and emotions as colors, which basically lets her wallhack by seeing enemies through walls and quickly discern between enemies and civilians.

Gun-fu specialist

Deeply empathetic to others but has difficulty expressing herself

Wants to live a normal and happier life but is consumed by vengeance

Sees herself as a gun instead of a person; no real sense of self

Entertains herself with string like a cat

GAY

FUCK GRAVITY

Alphard

Voiced by Maaya Sakamoto doing her Shiki voice so she’s also Shiki, WITH A GUN

Actual Resident Evil villain down to her terrorist plot making use of a sci-fi virus

Extremely hammy and makes little sense.

Even more skilled at gun-fu than Canaan.

Cold sociopath who literally shot her own adoptive father in cold blood

Can literally beat a truck full of men with both arms tied behind her back

O O F

Maria Osawa

GAY

Fearless journalist, a photographer out to prove herself.

GAY

Precious pure cinnamon roll

GAY

Canaan’s damsel in distress and the only one who sees Canaan for the person she is

GAY

Her reporter partner treats her like a kid but respects her idealism and instinct

GAY

Poorly hidden Jeanne D’arc recolor, thanks Takeuchi

GAY

Don’t be fooled you can tell these are Nasu characters when half of their scenes are fucking eating

The Romance

“Ok Shutters you talked up the romance a lot this shit better be good”

Allow me to present the following points for why Canaan and Maria are worth your time

1/3rd of Canaan is made up of their dates.

They go out for ice cream, see the stars, hold hands, affirm that they are the single most important person to each other in the world. Happens like every two-three episodes.

It’s not fanservice.

Make no mistake this is a Nasu and Takeuchi work: you’re getting your fanservice, just not from these two. Their interactions are very pure, focusing a lot more on the emotion of the moment than any male-gazey camera work. I’m gonna tell you now though, they don’t kiss at the end. (BOOOOO)

Their relationship is the story’s main priority

Canaan’s story is dumb as fuck, having a hilariously bad understanding of biological concepts and going about its twists and turns with all the subtlety and care of an 80′s action movie. Where it does put the effort in is portraying how important Canaan and Maria are to each other, spending a lot of time that could have been used to make a more cohesive plot to instead further flesh out their relationship. You learn how they first met, exactly how different they are in terms of their backgrounds, their personalities, and their ideologies, as well as how they build each other up to be better people.

Shit to watch out for

Like all things that spring from the mind of the Mushroom Man, this show is obviously not without its caveats. Some of these include:

The crazy (possibly incestuous) imouto

Yes Nasu’s worst trope is back in this one. A woman claiming to be Alphard’s biological younger sister appears as a villain who is crazy obsessed with getting her love and approval. She becomes increasingly deranged as the series progresses, and her downfall is a genuinely disturbing thing to see.

Shit gets violent

There is blood everywhere. Bullets, knives, grenades, gas, superpowers, an experimental virus and live wires go flying in every episode. Canaan does not fuck around; she has absolutely no qualms with plugging a man full of bullets should they endanger herself, civilians, or especially Maria. It’s a marked departure from Nasu’s usual protagonists, all who dislike or at least refrain from killing until it’s the only possible option.

Body Horror

Plenty of Canaan’s enemies are superpowered humans who have made themselves bioweapons in order to gain various powers. Some of these powers manifest as light body horror. While I don’t think there’s anything one can classify as extremely nauseating, try not to think about your popcorn while watching. It’s better that way.

Other things you may like to know

The dub is good

If dubs are your thing then Canaan’s got you covered. I can personally confirm that the English dub is excellently done and while you may miss out on some fantastic voice acting from the JP cast, the English cast puts in a few great performances themselves. Especially Maria’s partner, his English VA is hilarious.

Great action scenes

Canaan is adept at fighting in any situation whatsoever, whether that be on the roof of a truck, on top of a train, or inside an underground sci-fi bunker being assaulted by mindblowing (literally) soundwaves. The fights are all really well animated, and there’s even a noticeably distinct fighting style between Canaan and Alphard despite having had the same training, which really helps establish their different personalities.

Jouji Nakata plays a crazy fucking taxi driver who drives on anything but the road all the while singing along to his favorite idols.

YOROKOBE, CANAAN

No seriously

I probably should have led with this

See it for yourself

youtube

Now do yourself a favor and watch Canaan. It’s dumb. It’s fun. It’s a good, gay time and your best look at what the Type-Moon duo can do when asked to make an action movie. If you love Type-Moon’s balance of Unlimited Bullshit Works with Endearing and Well-Written Character Relationships, you’ll have a grand old time.

And if for some reason you’re following me and seeing this post despite not being a Nasu fan, see it anyway! It takes place outside his literary universe and does things just differently enough that it just might be your cup of tea.

#Canaan #Canaan anime #Kinoko Nasu #Type-Moon #(but not really)#Please watch it I'm so alone

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lizzybeth1986 · 5 years

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Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 1 Chapter 8

• So…umm…I LOVE this chapter! More in hindsight than when I was actually playing it because back then it just sounded like a jealous woman trying to sabotage the MC and failing. But now having played through this chapter and even written a fic about it…I have to say there’s a lot going on in this one.

• I’ve often found the 8th chapter in the series pretty interesting. This was the first chapter in the series to feature diamond scenes from all three of the original LIs in a single chapter. This would happen again in Book 2, but by Book 2 the imbalance was a lot more tangible. I will speak more about this later…but suffice to say that back when we had just two books in the series, I would call the 8th chapter The Magical Number Eight.

• A common misconception that seems to stem from this chapter (and others, often by Kiara-haters) is that Kiara “agrees to be our friend” this chapter, and then jumps ship to Madeleine in Book 2. That’s bullshit. Kiara never mentions the word friend. She says ally. And she delivers.

• THIS is also where you get the first little inkling that Maxwell could be romanced, though we would only know for sure by the middle of Book 2. This chapter is also where you also get the first of many Drake’s plot related scenes. Which meant that sometimes, even if a fan did not like him, they would end up buying his scenes anyway for some crumb of information on their LI. Drake was already getting popular, but dropping hints of plot into his scenes gave him an added edge and often encouraged fans of other LIs who didn’t like him, to buy his scenes.

• Anyway, since the buildup took an entire chapter, the book pushes us straight into the dressing room for this one!

• Title: A Waltz to Remember.

Alternative Title: Lizzy Turns This QT into a Kiara Gush-fest And Does Not Regret It (Even If It Gave Her Hand-Cramps).

I love how over the course of three books, this particular dance form of Cordonia has gained the importance it has. And it’s lovely how - even though we’re not meant to like Olivia at this point - our first glimpse of Cordonian culture through this dance, is in her estate.

• Hana’s silver dress makes its debut here! Honestly, I kinda would’ve liked this one a LOT better as a gown than as the bodycon it eventually became. That pleated bodice really needed a long, flowy skirt to work. I’m always going to be a little sore they made it a short bodycon instead 😑

• Okay I love both our options for the ball, okay. They’re both big, and glamorous, and make a real statement. Which is necessary, because the plan is to show Olivia up at her own home.

Winter Goddess is gorgeous - it has that vintage Hollywood feel to me, and the caption for it sounds pretty romantic (“will capture the winter moonlight”). Snowflake Sweetheart is very on-point for the whole snow/ice theme Lythikos itself has going on. I’m very fond of the crystals and the illusion sleeves on the second one….but I have to say that silk-satin one with the fur stole is the winner for me 😅

Me Back Then (on one of my million replays): If I really have to take a diamond option, I’m taking the second one. I’m cheap.

Me Now: Still cheap. I’m not spending 25 whole diamonds on another gown when there’s already a cute one free in my closet.

• Maxwell is trying hard to channel Bertrand 2.0, and is badgered enough by 1.0 over the phone to almost succeed.

• One of the formal phrases he uses is “a diamond of the first water”, a phrase you’d see very commonly in the Regency era…which kind of solidifies my belief that Regency England was one of their world building inspirations even back then.

• We don’t fully understand the kind of power the hostess can wield in her homeplace, until this sequence. On principle, Olivia is not exactly answerable to anyone, not even the royals visiting her in Lythikos - she can decide on seat arrangements, she can give instructions to the staff on who gets the best portions of the meals and who gets the worst, she can monopolize on the Prince’s time with her if she wants. And she takes full advantage of that.

• However, her being the hostess doesn’t always leave her completely free to do what she wants, without consequences. Lythikos is not just a turning point for us - it’s one for her as well. And not exactly in a good way.

• Here’s what Olivia does to sabotage us at the ball:

- seats us away from our sponsor, and away from the head table. In fact this is something she does to all the suitors - Maxwell tells us that not a single one has a place at the head table.

- seats us way back, next to a commoner who is also constantly given the same treatment - which Hana points out is meant to be viewed in the court as an insult. To an MC who is still learning the ways of the nobility, this move is pretty much a miss…but it does give us a very clear idea of how hypocritical the nobility and royalty can be. Hana is not immune to the prejudice either (seen as she does not censor the statement when she says it in front of Drake, a commoner), but she eventually grows to fiercely guard him and defend him from those kind of attitudes later on… and you can see a lot of that growth in TRH’s Walker Ranch chapters.

- has her servers give us ice-cold lobster bisque on purpose, thirty minutes after serving has begun. With no lobster in it. Remember, we’re in a wintry region where you require piping hot, creamy, fattening foods to stay warm. This isn’t just ruining a meal: Olivia is sending a clear message about how unwelcome they are, by giving them cold food devoid of the main protein, in the freezing cold of Lythikos.

- given the timing of her kiss on Liam during the waltz, she probably did that to send a message to us as well. It happens shortly after our dance with him, and from her reaction (angry, immediately establishing claim on him) to Liam’s dance with the MC, we can tell she’s more affected than she’d like to admit, and that’s what informs her actions during her second dance with him.

• Me Back Then: There is a nice option and a rude option. It’s Drake, but he’s Liam’s bff and I want to be nice.

(+ romance point)

Me Back Then:

Me Now: Romance points in Lythikos fall from Drake the way pee falls from someone with weak kegels. One tiny laugh and pssssshhhh.

• From the rude option you find out that Drake plays chess and often wins in his matches with Liam, so that’s a nice touch.

• The MC can acquire the fresh bisque for herself and her friends if she dramatically faints in front of a server. I quite like this (optional) moment because it shows her thinking on her feet and quickly ensuring she gets her way. The other options are pretty hilarious too, though, the obnoxious “do you know who I am” option comes with a Game of Thrones reference 😂

•

Me Back Then: …someone should leave Drake hungry at a party till the wee hours of the morning with access to only whiskey bottles. Whiskey for entrèe, whiskey for main, maybe we’ll be kind and give him brandy for dessert. Let’s see how far his love for whiskey goes then 😈

Me Now: Holy shit, Me Back Then, you just predicted the best scene in Book 3 🤣.

• One of my favourite TRR Tumblr posts ever, was the one where someone took a screenshot of Drake saying “I’m not one to complain about food” from this chapter, and placed a gif of Nicholas Fraser’s “Why You Always Lying” lyrics just beneath it 😄 If that isn’t the truth idk what is.

• Most of the chapter after this will focus on the Cordonian Waltz, Olivia’s little stunt and getting allies, so the buildup to Drake’s scene will happen now (and Hana’s just before we meet Drake). Hana will be dancing with Tariq, and then other partners in the meantime, so no opportunities to dance with her there.

I loved this dialogue option when I first saw it, but now that I know how much in love with dancing Maxwell is, this scene is ten times more fun! 😃

• On first playthrough…this didn’t seem like that big a problem. Maxwell was fun, and seemed to genuinely like us, and was berated a great deal by Bertrand - so it was easier then to perhaps forgive his gaffes and want to comfort him instead. But when you approach his character as someone who brought a complete foreigner to his country and then didn’t make much of an effort to educate her with what little time they both had…I wind up finding his character a lot less endearing. I’m honestly more irritated by his carelessness. There was a lot he could have done even if he forgot or didn’t know what to do. He could have asked around! Hana was right in front of him! He could have found out what to prepare for if he didn’t know or if Bertrand didn’t handhold him (which Bertrand himself isn’t exactly doing a good job of in the first place). The other LIs shouldn’t have to constantly step in and do his job as sponsor and guide!

• It’s only when we’re dancing that Maxwell realizes he’s not taught us the dance. Of course, if you bought Hana’s waltz scene, she whispers her advice just before you dance with him, and you give her credit for teaching you. If not, you go into it knowing very little (but because the options are easy to choose from, so you can still manage). Maxwell does explain its uniqueness in terms of the flirting potential and the fact that it’s a courtship dance…but the true beauty of that description only comes with Hana.

• Istg, if Hana weren’t around to repeatedly save our ungrateful asses…

• So THIS is the first opportunity you get to ‘romance’ Maxwell. He looks sad and tells you that you should only be here for the Prince, but it’s also that vague kind of sadness that you can interpret differently and write detailed fanfics about! I think a huge part of Maxwell’s appeal (besides the overall sparkling personality, and the fact that he was so different from both Liam and Drake) was the “will-he-won’t-he” nature of the LI question itself.

• We now move on to Liam, who is fighting a losing battle with his desire to favour the MC exclusively, but wants her to know that she is special to him. Notably he does say this in the “courtship” part of the dance.

• How do you know that the Cordonian Waltz was a strategic choice? Because Olivia chose to dance with Liam twice! And because she’s the hostess, it’s harder for Liam to refuse.

I remember being pretty uncomfortable with this scene the first time I saw it, I still am, and often I wonder if I’m the only one who feels that way. Whenever I see this scene being referenced, it’s often referenced in the most flippant ways. And it baffles me.

• Honestly, Olivia was clearly overstepping her boundaries here and didn’t even bother to ask Liam before doing it (Liam himself mentions he was “caught by surprise” and calls it an “unexpected advance”). Was Olivia doing it out of complex, understandable reasons? Like jealousy or frustration or showing the MC up? Well, sure I guess. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that her doing so was nonconsensual and downright wrong.

The funny thing is often this incident is either downplayed or erased completely, especially in contexts where people try to argue that Olivia “deserves better” than Liam, or sympathize with her for loving a man who “does not care about her”.

Does Olivia deserve to be loved back by a person she loves? Absolutely.

Is Liam a lesser person for not loving her back? No, and he shouldn’t have to be penalized or judged by a fandom for not doing so.

Is the fact that most people who uphold this “penalizing/blaming Liam for not returning Olivia’s feelings” argument, also tend to forget/downplay this particular incident…particularly disturbing? Well, yeah, definitely.

• Even the narrative fails with regard to this, actually. It is written in a comical style, with a couple of out-there dialogue options (like screaming loud enough of break poor Maxwell’s eardrums) and the MC is given a chance to lash out at Liam for not reacting fast enough or throwing Olivia off of him. And guess what his reaction is. Sad, contrite, trying to explain his position. It’s almost like it’s okay for him to feel guilty about something that was done TO him, that he was never asked permission for.

Olivia does suffer consequences, but more for her “power play” than for anything else. Her move isn’t viewed as negative for what it may do to Liam, it is negative because it is seen as a direct “fuck you” she is delivering to her competitors. The scene itself is written for laughs…which I’m surprised more people don’t find even a little uncomfortable.

• The reactions from the other suitors is pretty on point for their character types at this point. Madeleine is smug and condescending, confident that she will never be “unrefined or insecure” enough for such “ostentatious displays” (says the woman who will bully her entire court, run around Italy roaring drunk and name a drink after herself in Book 2). Penelope doesn’t exactly have a personality at this point, she merely comments that the kiss was a bold play. It is Kiara who points out the power dynamics involved and views it as the last straw in her waning support for Olivia.

Remember - the ladies of the court weren’t treated half as badly as we were, but they were probably more aware (than us) that they were being denied a seat at the head table, and had to put up with Olivia monopolizing Prince Liam’s time. While Kiara’s suspicions that Olivia is “mad with power” here probably aren’t too far off the mark (even though her feelings of jealousy and confusion may be involved, we can’t deny that there is a clear sense of “I’m the hostess here, I can do what I want”), it’s not just an assumption that simply stems out of nowhere.

• Maxwell sees and opportunity to gain allies, and encourages us to capitalize on it. The wrong options are pretty interesting: if you mention “slapping the smirk off Olivia’s face”, Maxwell tells you that the political equivalent would be to “attack her alliances”. If you suggest making out with Liam in public, Maxwell exclaims that doing so would lead to people gunning after you. Which is telling, because in Book 1 PDA is mostly shown as being frowned upon in Cordonian society in general. So Olivia’s very public kiss isn’t just brazen and bold to the courtly ladies, but also viewed as inappropriate and a jab at their own lack of power in this situation.

• I love that Maxwell gets the opportunity to encourage us to play politics. Love it. He is the first one to notice the change in Kiara’s attitude towards Olivia, and he recognizes that the time is ripe for us to captialize on it. While Bertrand, or Bertrand-and-Maxwell, are the ones who tell us the importance of gaining support from the press and the royals, getting the court to support us is wholly Maxwell’s idea. This added another layer to the way he was built in the story, and I’m not happy that we didn’t see a lot of that perceptiveness and skill around court later on. By Books 2 and 3, he was mostly relegated to the funny guy, the court jester. Book 1 Maxwell may make a lot of mistakes but you bet he’d be too smart to toss brushettas in the face of dignitaries at the UN. It was like his own writers forgot Maxwell was capable of more.

• OKAY SO THE KIARA SECTION IS A FAVOURITE OF MINE OKAY. And it only wound up being a favourite when I realized there were changes in her dialogue between my Esther playthrough and my Persephone one. I mean if I weren’t already a fan of her…this definitely would have converted me.

Before I get into the actual gushing…I’ll just summarize what the MC has to do to gain her approval:

- Language: Kiara is known for her proficiency with languages - it is the skill that defines her in court (to the point that you barely notice her other qualities). Her home language is French, and if you know how to respond to comment ça va she is cheerful and more willing to hear you out (if you choose the fromage answer she’ll a bit surprised but not too hostile, and if you say voulez-vous coucher avec moi, well…of course she’ll be pissed off because you just accidentally asked her to sleep with you). In any case, to gain her approval you need to respond in French.

In fact even Kiara’s goodbyes vary based on whether she becomes your ally or not. If she’s your ally, she says à bientôt before leaving (which is “see you soon”). If she’s not convinced by your arguments, she says adieu, which has more of a sense of finality to it and is often said when you don’t expect to meet again (in fact I’m surprised they had her say it) and is different from au revior (which means “until we see each other again”).

- Olivia’s Actions: Kiara reiterates to you what she’d just told the others - Olivia is on a power trip, and while Kiki is well aware that she’s not a top contender in this competition, she is not going to stand for being treated like she is lesser than the ones who do have power. Interestingly, in both Chapter 7 of Book 2 and this chapter, Kiara’s first visible signs of discontent/frustration come when both Olivia/Madeleine go on massive power trips (“she even named a drink after herself. Quelle narcissique”, Kiara says about Madeleine in the next book).

I feel like Kiara’s frustration may have already been there with Olivia’s treatment of the ladies of the court at the start of the Ball (but perhaps she may have been brushed it aside as a strategy you could expect from a noblewoman in her own estate) but it is Olivia kissing Liam and trying to establish a claim on him that is seen as the tipping point for her.

However, she’s also pretty pragmatic and is lowkey impressed with Olivia if you state that she went too far. She is irritated by the message Olivia is sending, but acknowledges that not many would have dared to do that in her place. A more neutral response works well with Kiara’s train of thought, because to her the important thing is seeing what works in the long run, and the MC has to convince her that she is a good alternative.

- Alliance: Kiara already anticipates this, since she is the one who straight-out asks this question. At this point Kiara is not exactly aiming to be Queen - she knows she is up against more powerful people, people who have more access to the royal family (perhaps her dad Hakim would have had a similar amount of access if Constantine wasn’t such a dick). She is not going to waste her time wishing for what she won’t get, when she can easily network instead. The answer that works best with her is the one where the MC speaks of Olivia’s friendship as being a one-way street where she always gets her way, which is ironic considering how the MC behaves in a likely worse manner towards Kiara in Book 3.

• One of my favourite Kiara lines is from the wrong option (“I’m nicer than Olivia”) for the Alliance segment: “Nice? Nothing about being here is nice. If I wanted nice I’d buy a teacup pig. 😡”

• Back in Books 6’s QT, I mentioned Queen Regina and Duke Bertrand as being the two people in the first book who watch out and keep track on our progress. Bertrand does it because he is our sponsor, Regina does it because after all we are one of the candidates for her stepson’s hand in marriage, and we’re the one he eventually shows the most interest in. But there is one other person who seems to be taking notice of our good performance as well:

On my fail run, where Persy doesn’t gain approval either from the press, or from the royals, those last two lines simply do not appear. She asks us about whether we’re looking for an alliance, and we immediately answer her. She will still join hands with you if you convince her (I did a test run where Persy said all the right things) but those words will not feature anywhere. Because the dialogue is coded such that it will only appear if you’ve done well in your previous two tasks.

That is fascinating to me, because Kiara is the only lady of the court who is written as noticing these things at such an early stage in the competition (the Lythikos Ball is only the third event in the social season, and the maximum approvals come from the Derby, which was the event just preceding it). She is the only person, besides Bertrand and Regina, who keeps track of our progress (even if that is only uptil this point, because if you win her support here, it stays that way until the Coronation). Even Madeleine, who has been part of a social season before and is viewed as having a lot of experience in the court, compared to the other ladies, spends most of her time simply underestimating the MC. It isn’t until Applewood and Ramsford that Madeleine even begins to think there might be more to this person.

Kiara, on the other hand, is observant. She is competitive but she knows when other people have the upper hand, and she will honestly acknowledge that you have an edge if you have proven yourself to the press and the Queen. For someone who would be seen as just a lady of the court….that level of foresight, observation skills and pragmatism is pretty phenomenal to me.

• I’ve said this many times and I will say it again: Kiara has always been upfront about what she’s bringing to the table in an alliance. She isn’t your friend and she won’t pretend to be your friend either. She mentions she will put in a good word and support you in becoming Queen, and she keeps her promise.

She keeps her distance from you otherwise, so you can’t dub her a ‘friend’ even then, but she will do her work as an ally. She doesn’t get involved in smearing your name while supporting you to your face. At the end of the day, she is a woman in the court trying to thrive and carve a space of her own, but she won’t dirty her hands to do that - and I don’t think she gets enough recognition for that.

• Alright I’ll stop gushing about Kiki otherwise this QT will never end 😂

• We now meet Liam, who tells us about the hot tub in his room, and invites us there. The intent is clearly romantic (the MC specifies as such, smiling, and Liam winks at you before he leaves).

• This chapter also marks the second time you see Penelope with Liam, after which you will only see her directly interact with him at his Coronation. Funny how Kiara doesn’t get even one opportunity in the narrative to talk to him.

• It’s the end of our big night in Lythikos, and we’ve got three invitations to spend time with an LI! Liam’s setting up candles near the hot tub, Hana is playing exquisite melodies on the piano, and Drake is drinking whiskey in Olivia’s wine cellar. Maxwell is…doing Maxwell things that we are not privy to yet. Or taking a nap.

• I won’t be going too much into detail esp for Liam and Hana’s scenes - because I have essays written on both! Both will be under the “Liam: Diamond Scenes” and “Hana: Diamond Scenes” sections of my essay masterlist if anyone is interested 😃 They will be titled “Hot Tub at Lythikos” and “Piano at the Parlour”, respectively. (another recommended read is “Exploring Hana in Her Context” where I talk about this scene, and her characterization. It’s a little further down on the masterlist).

•

(Screenshots for Drake from the HIMEME YouTube channel)

Liam: This is undoubtedly meant to be a romantic scene, and is hinted as much in the lead-up to it while still giving the MC the space to not go (since she says “I won’t make any promises”). He puts candles around the tub, and the tub itself is situated in an area where you can get a wonderful view of the mountains.

This scene is divided into two parts: the first where Liam gets to sincerely tell the MC he trusts her (optionally) and where they lightly flirt, and the second where he admits to feeling conflicted between giving in to his feelings and being fair to the other women. At this point he knows his feelings for the MC are stronger, implicitly trusts her (“I thoroughly believe that if you thought I was a pompous ass, you wouldn’t hesitate to tell me. I trust you, MC. Anything you say”), doesn’t want to call it love just yet but is well on his way to doing so. He tells us about his brother Leo, hinting at the events of the RoE series and explaining that seeing how love affected him made Liam think more about it. It’s not one of Liam’s absolute best scenes…but it is a sweet one where Liam tentatively explores his growing love for her - in some ways leading to his “almost-declaration” of love at the Forgotten Falls. In each scene of Liam’s, he takes a step further, and another, and another, to admitting his love for her and growing less guilty about his desire to be with her. He is still torn between his duty and his desire at this point, but you can already see him slowly inching towards the prospect of keeping what he wants first, for once.

Hana: This, in my mind, is Hana’s most powerful scene. As many adjectives as I can use to describe her in this scene would be inadequate, because it’s that good, that layered, that rich with nuance and detail. But I do think I can sum a bit of it up with a quote from a Book 3 Liam scene that instantly took me back to this one:

“Hana’s a tough one. She’s clearly had the kind of lessons I’m giving you now, and then some. Her posture is almost always polite and attentive…but when she feels strongly about something, you can sense her real feelings even before she speaks up. Her eyes grow darker and more serious.”

Compare the scenes from last chapter where she speaks about ice-skating, or even waltzing, to this one. In both those scenes, her expression is mostly neutral (or joyful when she is imparting her knowledge), speaking of it in a way that makes you understand that her heart isn’t truly in doing those things. But in this one, she is lost in her music when she plays it, she is feeling its melody in her bones, she speaks of guarding her most precious skill fiercely against her parents’ control because it’s the one thing she wants for herself. She is fierce and passionate and absolutely beautiful in the way she expresses her love for music.

In an essay I did on exploring Hana’s character in her larger context, I spoke at length about how this scene is important because it highlights that her struggle for her own autonomy began at a very young age - she recognized her art as sacred to her and had the foresight to understand that parading it around the way her parents wanted her to, would make her love it less. This scene is amazing because Young Hana is described as pushing back in the only way she knew how, so she could keep what was hers, on her terms.

The other thing this scene explores is her childhood loneliness and lack of friends, and how music helped her in those difficult times too. At this point we now know how deep that loneliness was, and how damaging to her, but back then this scene gave a wonderful insight to Childhood Hana.

So for her to trust us with her art - with the art she fought to keep her own…that’s a tremendous leap in that relationship - whether the MC is a friend or a potential lover. Romantically, she is at the point where she is slowly…slowly getting comfortable with the MC’s touch, allowing it to linger before she pulls away from her. She’s a bit like a butterfly who doesn’t know yet if she’s ready to leave her cocoon.

Drake: The picture presented to us of Drake here is the diamond-in-the-rough, the underdog, the one who views court and palace differently from everyone around him. He is there to remind us that this is not the charmed place we think it is, that even friends can stick knives in our backs. He speaks of the forced politeness of the nobility, the fact that he’s here only to protect Liam, that the MC is an innocent woman who doesn’t know what she is getting into and needs protection as well.

This scene comes with what was regarded as an important plot point at the time: who almost sold pictures of Liam’s bachelor party to the press? Drake and Bastien managed to get hold of them and prevent them from being published, knowing that having those printed before the social season would cast Liam in a more negative light, and make things harder for him. At this point, Drake is sure that someone he knows and possibly considers a friend is involved (close enough, but not quite there yet), but can’t yet figure out who (because, yknow, Olivia was the brains between the two, she cracked that mystery in under five minutes or something).

If you don’t buy this scene, you only get to know about the pictures in Book 2 Chapter 4. A lot of Drake’s scenes involve important plot points - some of which we won’t even hear the same way - or at all - if we don’t buy the scene (eg. the flashback scenes about Hana’s return and the Italian restaurant scene about Liam’s assassination). I recall buying quite a few of his scenes in the latter half of Book 1 and most of Book 2 just to find out stuff about other LIs.

The scene is pretty sweet - it highlights his now-famous whiskey obsession, has Drake openly show his protectiveness towards her minus the jaded sarcastic veneer, and has him warn her about the nature of this court. It has a line that I quite liked when I first saw the scene, but that fandom has pretty much ruined for me - “the moments in between”. Where he speaks of how the nobility are so busy schmoozing and being superficial that they miss the really important parts. It’s a beautiful thought, but the fact is I’m still paying like 17 diamonds to get it, which makes it a…pretty expensive moment.

But overall…it’s a nice scene. The look and feel of it is different from the other two, and so is the purpose.

• The focus of all these three scenes is clearly trust.

Liam completely trusts her opinion of him and confesses openly his desire to let go of all that is holding him back, even though he is still confused and conflicted about his own feelings.

Hana trusts her so much, that she will share piano pieces that she lovingly composed to the MC, even though she never performs for people. It is a measure of how much Hana values the MC that she will share such a secret part of herself with her.

Drake, who once came this close to calling the MC a crown chaser, now views the same woman as an innocent who doesn’t know what she is getting into. He will later tell her that that aspect of her journey reminds him of Savannah. He trusts the MC enough to give her important information about something he still views as a possible plot targeted at Liam, and tells her their moments mean something to him.

Chapter 8 of the second book took this theme forward for the initial three LIs, by showing us trust in other forms. Liam’s firm belief in his father’s dedication to his nation (which will crumble soon). Drake’s being convinced by the MC to stay on and hear out his sister, to give her a chance to explain what really happened to her, and his emotional reunion with her. Hana’s scene…was more about gaining someone’s trust - particularly Penelope’s. (it is also one of the worst scenes the series has ever given an LI, whoever wrote that one can fall on a cactus).

We are approaching a midpoint in the story, so at this point the narrative is progressing each of these relationships towards the point where they trust this woman, view her as a valuable person in their lives, and inch ever-so-slightly towards that eventual realization that they are in love with her.

•

Another point in the Tariq shoe tally!! I wonder if this ‘ghost’ deals with 'future misdeeds’ as well…

• We spend a few more days in Lythikos before we move back to the Capitol for the Royal Regatta, and both Esther and Persy are like “YOU HAD A FEW DAYS TO ASK IF I KNEW WHAT A FUCKING REGATTA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MAXWELL”.

• So…a lot happens this chapter. The MC begins to rope in (or not) her first allies in the court, she has a strong foothold by now and is beginning to get noticed as more than just a random contender who wouldn’t last, she gains the trust of the people she is growing close to.

But most of all…Lythikos is where Olivia begins to lose the hold she once had on the court, and this is never more apparent than if you are losing supporters rather than gaining them (if you are more popular, it won’t be that apparent, since you will move far ahead of the competition). There will be times when the press may not pay attention to her, there will be ladies who club the MC and Olivia both together as “not a proper fit for becoming a queen”. She is still very much a frontrunner, she may win the Regatta if you fail all the steps to the boat race, but after this it will be harder for her to gain support whether or not the MC succeeds.

Shortly after this point, Olivia also doesn’t antagonize the MC as blatantly as she did in Lythikos, save for a snide remark to the MC (with a life jacket of all things) if you choose to go to her yacht in the next chapter. She will eventually begin to thaw towards you in Applewood.

• Constantine and Regina are conspicuous by their absence this chapter, and Constantine announces that he is stepping down the next. Which probably means he found out sometime between the Masque and this event that he was ill (since we don’t see him at the Derby). I’m headcanoning that they visited Leo around this time (optionally with the RoE MC, since the housewarming party in Newlyweds seems to happen sometime around the social season (it could be earlier or later too…but humour me 😂)

• So…Regatta in Chapter 9! Lots of sun, fun and (Persephone-willing) PLENTY of mess.

• Before I sign of, here is Persy’s Share of Mess this chapter (except for the bloodcurdling scream she gives when Olivia kisses Liam, I forgot to screenshot that 🙈 How on earth did Maxwell’s poor ears survive??):

• Until next week, folks!

–

• Tally Counts:

Number of Times Drake has Called Esther/Persy by Their First Names: 5

Number of Times Tariq Has Mentioned His Shoes: 3

Number of Times Drake Has Taken An Alcoholic Drink that’s Not Whiskey: 1

Number of Times Someone Has Called A Reigning Monarch 'Your Highness’: 2

Number of Times You Can Leave Hana Shook. SHOOK I TELLS YA: 4

Number of Times We See Penelope’s Angryface: 2

–

#long post #the royal romance #trr quick thoughts #trr qts #hana lee #trr kiara #king liam #olivia nevrakis #drake walker #i stan for kiki #this was honestly one of my fave chapters to write for

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cromulentbookreview · 4 years

Text

Werewolves of Florida

I saw a werewolf with a parrilla menu in his hand /

Walking through the streets of Miami in the rain /

He was looking for a place called Novecento /

Gonna get a big dish of entraña /

Aaoooooo /

Werewolves of Florida /

Aaoooooo /

Sorry.

(I’m not sorry. Aaooooooo!)

And by that, I mean: Lobizona by Romina Garber!

Well, if you’d expect werewolves to show up in America, where else but Florida?

Ha. Florida. The butt of so many jokes. It’s easy to make fun of Florida (fun, too!), so as a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest...I’m going to continue making fun of Florida, a state I’ve never been to and will likely never visit as I have no intention of being eaten by a gator or a python or a python gator or whatever insane creatures live down there.

I kid, I’m sure there are places in Florida that are perfectly lovely. They just happen to coexist with the insanity that is the rest of Florida.

Anyway! Werewolves in Florida! It sounds possible. Seriously, could you imagine the headlines? “Florida werewolf brings drugs to a drug bust, gets himself busted”? “Florida werewolf charged with assault with deadly weapon after throwing alligator through Wendy’s drive-thru window”?

In this case, however, there aren’t just werewolves in Florida, but Brujas as well! Both sound like people you would find in Florida. “Florida Bruja drops pants, licks man, dances naked in Waffle House parking lot”?

Where was I? Oh. Yes. Lobizona by Romina Garber!

Seventeen-year-old Manuela Azul (she goes by Manu) and her mother, Soledad, have been living in Miami illegally for most of Manu’s life. Manu has a strange eye condition, in which her pupils and irises look like stars so she has to wear sunglasses 24/7 to avoid freaking other people out. Though I’m certain if she walked into an optometrist’s convention with eyes like those she’d immediately be the most popular girl in the whole room, but since she and her mom are in the country illegally, that sort of attention would be very, very bad.

Soledad had to flee Argentina because Manu’s father, Fierro, was supposedly high up with some bad people who disapproved with his relationship with Soledad. So much so that they killed him, sending Soledad into hiding. If they knew Soledad was alive, and that Manu even existed, Fierro’s people would kill them both.

And, as if hiding from Fierro’s people were bad enough, Manu and Soledad are on a constant lookout for ICE. If their apartment building is raided by ICE, they could be deported, back to Argentina where they’d be sitting ducks for Fierro’s murderous family and friends. So Manu has lived a sheltered life within a tiny apartment with her mom and their elderly friend Perla, who has sheltered them for years.

And! As if being an undocumented immigrant with freaky-eye syndrome forever anxious that the next car might be full of ICE agents while stuck in a tiny apartment was bad enough, Manu also - also! - suffers from horrible periods. Joy. Every month, her mom gives her a special pill that puts her to sleep for three straight days just so she sleep through the pain. That’s shit makes PCOS sound like a walk in the park. (Note: do not go for a walk in the park right now and if you do remain 6 feet away from everyone else at all times). Also, where can I get a hold of a drug that can let me sleep through my period? I like the sound of that.

So Manu has spent much of her life dreaming of escape and a life without fear. Currently, her only hope is the knowledge that her mom is doing her best to get them both legal status. Then one day, Manu notices some strange people hanging around her apartment building. Then Perla is attacked and hospitalized. In a panic, Manu rushes off to find her mom...only to find that Soledad has been lying to her for quite some time. Soledad isn’t a maid for some rich lady - she works at an underground Miami clinic. And she never intended to apply for legal status for her and Manu.

Just as she’s reeling from this revelation, ICE raids the underground clinic. From here, the story takes a weird left-turn. On the run, Manu leaps into the back of a truck, and, after a long ride that sounded way more comfortable than a long ride in the bed of a truck should sound (seriously, there’s no jostling, no being flung about, no wind burn...I get that Florida is pretty flat, but aren’t there potholes? Rocks? Also, isn’t it illegal for someone to ride in the bed of a truck? How did no one else not see her and call the cops?) she ends up deep within the Florida Everglades. After somehow hopping out of the guy’s truck without him noticing that she was ever in there (again, how??? I drive a truck and would absolutely notice if someone were hitching a ride back there. Hey, how come I’m fishtailing significantly less than I usually do? Oh, wait, there’s a human back there) Manu stumbles upon...

A secret school for brujas and werewolves. In the Florida Everglades. And she meets people her age who have eyes just like hers. Suddenly, the puzzle pieces start fitting together - her father must have been a part of this society, not some criminal organization. Manu is half magic. She’s living the ultimate Harry Potter dream! And, somehow, without paying tuition or applying, Manu is allowed to join the school. Finaly, Manu has somewhere that she belongs, and even begins to make friends. She even starts making eyes at a hunky werewolf named Tiago.

There’s just one problem, though. The society that Manu has found herself in has some pretty strict gender roles. Girls are brujas, guys are werewolves. Period, end of sentence. But, even though she definitely belongs among this magical society, Manu doesn’t really have the powers of a bruja. She’s something else.

And there is one thing her mom wasn’t lying about - Fierro’s people are still pissed. Brujas and werewolves are not supposed to have relationships with humans. It’s forbidden. Like, really forbidden. Ultra forbidden. If Manu is found to be half-human, she’ll be killed.

So Manu has traded living forever in fear being an undocumented immigrant in America...for living forever in fear being half-human in a world of magical creatures who think hybrids are evil.

Good luck with that, Manu! Also, there’s still the question of the whereabouts of her still missing father. Is he dead? Alive? And what is Manu, if she’s not a bruja?

(If you speak Spanish, the title is a dead giveaway. Let me give you a hint: Manu’s hair is perfect. Aaooooo!)

Despite a couple of hiccups in the beginning - the book starts pretty slow before taking that weird left-turn into the Everglades and Bruja Werewolf academy. And, as is typical in the first book of a series, much time is spent establishing everything, and less on giving us closure or answers to the big questions. Like, for example, the fate of Mimitos. See, Manu has one friend in the apartment complex, an adorable cat named Mimitos. Mimitos’s owner is a bit senile, so Manu takes care of him...only after Manu flees after Perla is attacked, Mimitos disappears and is promptly never mentioned again. What happened to Mimitos? Is he OK? Is someone feeding him or giving him water and pets and cuddles and WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MIMITOS, ROMINA?!!?! I demand answers.

Maybe he went off to live in the Cat Kingdom from The Cat Returns? Maybe? Probably? Hopefully?

Ahem. Well, my ability to render a serious and well-thought out book review in the time of COVID-19 has gone to shit, so I’ll be brief. Lobizona is gorgeously written and a fascinating blend of YA contemporary and YA fantasy. I also love the warring gender dynamics within the magical society of brujas and werewolves - not everyone loves the strict binary, or the fact that they’re not allowed to hang out with humans. Ultimately, Lobizona is a brilliant story of a girl looking desperately for a place to belong within not just one, but two worlds that don’t want her - that have deemed her wrong. Illegal. And Manu is tired of that bullshit. If the human and magical worlds don’t want her, damn it, she’s going to go off and find a place that does.

Go forth and kick ass, Manu!

Another aspect of the book that I really liked (your mileage may vary, depending on how big of a language nerd you are) is how Garber discussed how there are many different dialects of Spanish. Argentinian Spanish apparently has a sing-song quality which makes me wonder if the English dialect equivalent of Argentinian Spanish would be Upper Midwest English, you know, like in Fargo. The Upper Midwest was settled heavily by Scandinavian immigrants and the Scandinavian languages do have a sing-song quality to them, then, well...

I'd love to know more about the different dialects of Spanish. If only I'd learned Spanish. I didn’t. I learned German, Schwachkopf that I am.

Which brings me to my rant, because I do love to rant. This does have something to do with Lobizona. Kind of. Anyway:

One of my biggest pet peeves in fiction is untranslated dialog. For some reason it really irks me, mostly because it reminds me of how dumb I am and how I should have learned more than just one other foreign language. I mean, seriously, I should have learned Spanish. I never did because I was that contrary moron who, upon seeing that everyone else was taking Spanish said, “screw you, I’ll take German!” Ultimately a bad idea, but, hey, Deutsch ist eine Wunderschöne Sprache. I don’t mind bits of untranslated stuff, so long as there are context clues as to what they might be saying.

I also find it annoying to have a sentence in a different language, and then have the sentence immediately after translate the preceding sentence. For readers that are fluent in both languages, you just made them read the same sentence twice, unless there’s a bilingual bonus in there. For readers out there who don’t speak that language, their eyes just glaze over and they skip the dialog entirely, in favor of the translation. Why not just say they were speaking in [insert foreign language here] then continue on?

I mean, I get wanting to show off your foreign language skills, or make the reader feel good about their language skills, or give a nod to fellow native speakers who also have had to master the cluster fuck of a language that is English (seriously, one of the best descriptions of the English language I’ve read is that English is basically three children in a trench coat pretending to be an adult, but as a language). Still, I find untranslated dialog super annoying. Because I dumb.

The worst example of this that I’ve ever encountered (and probably what soured me for any other instances of untranslated dialog ever in the future) was in this terrible translation of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain that I read in college - you’d think an English translation of a German book would be entirely in English...yeah no, 3/4 of the way in, I found myself facing pages - multiple pages! - of untranslated....French.

French!

In a book that had already been translated from the German.

Damn it, translator, was there some sort of contract dispute in which you said, “well, they’re paying me to translate the book from German to English, so I’ll just leave these several pages of French conversation untranslated.”

Rrraaaage.

I was already frustrated with that book (it’s not great) but slogging through several pages of untranslated French with zero footnotes or even a translation provided in the afterward made me want to set the book on fire.

What does this have to do with Lobizona? Very little, except there are a few instances of untranslated dialog that, even if you speak zero Spanish, you’ll be able to figure out pretty quick. It just gave me awful Zauberberg flashbacks that brought back all that rrrrrage.

Fuck it, guys, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and I promise cromulent reviews, not good ones.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone looking for an amazing blend of YA contemporary lit and fantasy that features kickass werewolves living in the Florida Everglades.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Bigots, assholes, people who use the word “illegals” to refer to other human beings, werewolves who hate brujas, brujas who hate werewolves, non YA fantasy fans, anyone who objects to YA fiction containing actual real world problems.

RATING:4/5

RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2020

WEREWOLF RATING:

HOW TERRIFIED I AM OF COVID-19 RIGHT NOW:

Ahahahahaha I’m scared you guys. I still have to commute via public transportation to work downtown in a major city.

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initiumseries · 5 years

Note

I wanted to ask: What were your thoughts on the CAOS season 2 finale?

Oh my god thank you for asking, I’ve had the beginnings of a review sitting in my drafts forever because I’ve just been so busy. But I can definitely break down my thoughts on the CAOS finale here (this gonna be long lol)!Ok so, a few points that stick out from memory (all building to that shitty finale):

- I wish CAOS took far more care and was more deliberate in building this world and the mythos. Like…anti-pope? Really? That’s the best they could come up with? DRESSED LIKE THE ACTUAL POPE, just in black and silver instead of red and gold? LOL. How fucking original.

Also, they need to explain this universe to me because if everything about witches and the Dark Lord is the complete antithesis of Christianity then, explain why they insisted on beating me to death every damn episode with how patriarchal, chauvinistic and oppressive this world is? Like, that IS christianity lmfao. So like, why isn’t this satanic world not more free loving, progressive and matriarchal? Why aren’t women revered? Why is Lilith the Dark Lord’s servant? Her origin story is still stupid because the whole reason she was cast out was for not being subservient to Adam, but she met Lucifer and just blindly bent the knee and tolerated centuries of abuse and mistreatment…for the hope of becoming the Queen of Hell? Her reason to Sabrina makes literally NO SENSE. Also, they’re so inconsistent, sexual fluidity is fine, orgies are great, promiscuity is celebrated, and encouraged, even in teenagers:

but women must be subjugated? How does that even make sense? And like…why? They don’t even provide a reason. It’s literally just “because we say so. Lol.” I guess they’d have to actually think of something interesting instead of leaning on the crutch of white feminism and choking us all with it, so it was easier to just…do this. - Season 1 establishes Prudence to be extremely dedicated to her culture and customs, she was prepared to die as Queen of the Feast, and she was gonna have fun on her way out.

(im gonna come back to the blessing that is P&A in A MOMENT) While she wasn’t prone to questioning witch customs, she was still the leader of the weird sisters (she even gets upset when they make decisions without her prior approval) and controlled that school with an steel grip or whatever. It was well established she thought for herself and wasn’t afraid of challenging someone when she thought it appropriate.

But she finds out her father is Father Blackwood, whom she’d only shown the appropriate amount of deference to up until now, and now all of a sudden she’s mewling and begging for his acceptance and name? All season? Why? The first couple sexist ass rejections should have been enough for her to say, ok well fuck you, but instead she goes so far as to imprison Ambrose and allow him to be tortured all because of whatever Father Blackwood said? With no questioning, no guilt or second guessing even? She just blindly believes Ambrose is guilty until she herself is under fire? But like why? This shitty plot required an extreme dumbing down of Prudence’s character and that really sucks. - Ambrose and Prudence were the best part of this show and I want a spin off and I want it YESTERDAY.

Like…I would watch a whole season of them dressed like this just hunting down Father Blackwood and hooking up and maybe mashing up some other things on the way lmao. This is all I want from CAOS is these two, nothing else. This was the best moment of the finale tbh. And it was high key dry because I watched them get up to foolishness for too long before it.

- Sabrina is supposed to become the Dark Lord’s queen/wife…but he’s her Dad? Can y’all just slow tf down on all the damn incest? Also, this is literally the most chemistry Sabrina has had with literally anyone on this show because ofc it is (and that’s not saying much but like…it’s less painful than Austin Harvey).

- Also BIG FAN (not) of the random musical moment on the last episode to top off this extremely tacky, extremely corny season on a peak of bullshit. Also…who is the costume designer? Who can I send my formal complaint to about that crown? And this entire outfit? Anyway… - Sabrina is SO DUMB for taking THIS LONG to suspect Ms. Wardwell before now. SHE LEGIT WAS GONNA LEAVE YOU IN LIMBO SIS LOL. Her white feminist speechifying was boring and wack but I guess it led to Lilith becoming Queen of Hell so…yay? I guess?? A more progressive Hell with a woman leading it!! Also, I’m still waiting on an explanation of Sabrina’s resurrection and those RANDOM ass archangels that showed up out of nowhere. That could have been super interesting if the writers didn’t write this show like it was a bad acid trip.- Satan needed more bass in his voice. - my biggest gripe: How did we get here Father Blackwood? Like…you was always intense, but we went from using magic on your wife (Zelda really should have expected as much tbh I’m not sure how she didn’t from that moment they were walking down the steps. I hate how this plot required ALL the women to be dumber than normal) to using magicked teenagers to murder the anti pope and then pulling a Jonestown on like…the entire coven and dipsetting in like 2.5 seconds? But like…WHY? I don’t understand how everything escalated so fast and so far out of the realm of sense. Dude just decided “well IF I CAN’T OPPRESS WOMEN, NO ONE CAN.” And killed everybody? And given that the show went through great pains to articulate just how thoroughly sexist all the men in authority positions were…I don’t understand why he even bothered. Based on their attitudes, there’s literally no reason the anti-pope would accept Sabrina’s father’s ideas for the future of the coven. He would just be like “mmm cool story but I like assaulting women too much.” And kept it pushing. Talk about CONTRIVED. This show is just SO WACK but at least Sabrina and that crunchy wig of hers got cussed out a couple times I guess.

#long post #caos spoilers #anti caos

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dent-de-leon · 5 years

Note

I heard Season 7 wasn't so great. I'm sure you think otherwise, but what were some highlights that you think made it worthwhile, if you did?

Alright,, get ready for this, cause I think Season 7 was pretty good, so let’s get to it:

I think lots of people who were disappointed with season 7 conflated the importance of certain things and events--especially Adam--and their hatred for the season is more so a result of it not adhering to expectations they arbitrarily decided on.

For instance, before season 7 even dropped, we still had people claiming Shiro and Adam were fiances previously, somehow still fiances, or were meant to be. People honestly thought they’d get back together after a messy breakup and years of distance. So many fans thought a wedding was inevitable. All of this in spite of the show runners repeatedly confirming that they were never engaged, the relationship was permanently over, and Adam was really just part of Shiro’s backstory. And you can bet lots of them treated Shiro like he wasn’t “real rep” after Adam was gone, which wasn’t fair honestly.

So anyway, some of the things season 7 did for us:

fINALLY REVEALED THE LONG AWAITED PREKERBEROS BACKSTORY BETWEEN SHIRO AND KEITH,, we’ve waited years for this guys!! It was so heartwarming and beautiful to see how their pasts intertwined to shape the present, how Keith is still by Shiro’s side all these years later,, even paralleling his devotion to Shiro with Shiro’s literal ex-boyfriend,,

REVEALED SHIRO WAS CANONICALLY MLM,, LIKE,, THIS WAS THE REPRESENTATION THE SHOW RUNNERS HAD BEEN FIGHTING FOR ALL THIS TIME. AND IT WAS EXPLICIT, ONSCREEN REP FROM A LEAD CHARACTER. THAT’S FUCKING AWESOME,, and I’ll literally never be okay with people still crying “queerbaiting” after everything the staff went through to do this for us,,

Keith literally willing Shiro back to life with the power of love made me like cry I can’t get over how soft and sweet they are,,

Exploring the inner-workings and politics of the Galaxy Garrison

WE FINALLY GOT SOME MORE QUINTESSENCE SENSITIVE KEITH AND DRUID CONTENT!!! Again, this is the payoff we’ve been waiting for since season 1!! Do you know how long I’ve wanted a Druid with more of an established character and background beyond just Faceless Enemy?? We got so much interesting info here. And the episode played out with all these neat little horror tropes--Keith hiding and tensing up when the Druid walks over his spot and that one step creaks, that maniacal laugh and mask splitting open, some of Macidus’ creepy mannerisms, ect. Parts of that episode gave me chills, I loved it!! And again, these are some of the answers and world building tidbits we’ve been waiting ages for,,

Shiro’s new hand is cool and I love the design. I don’t care that lots of people think otherwise lmao. It’s so fun to me,, I love how big and floaty it is,, and I love that scene where Allura uses the tiara crystal to salvage Shiro’s connection with it. She was so ready for that, no hesitation, and I wish that maybe there was more of a followup to that--Allura thinking of how she got the tiara from her mother in a flashback, Shiro thanking her afterwards, something.

SHIRO CONNECTING WITH ATLAS WAS BEAUTIFUL,, that moment where everything just sort of clicks into place. And everyone looks to him for guidance. It’s really magical. And I honestly think Shiro being able to create his own mech through his bond with Atlas is kind of a callback to that scene where Allura tells him he was meant to create, not destroy.

In the same vein, I also think it was actually really great that Keith was the one to cut down Sendak. You can read my whole thought process on it here, but long story short, Shiro was tortured both mentally and physically by Sendak for so long. And all the time, he kept trying to push Shiro, trying to force him to be the monster the Galra always intended to make him. Killing Sendak just isn’t Shiro to me, but it’s the kind of thing Sendak would love. At least then, he’d get in a last word about how they’re supposedly the same or some other bullshit that would just torture Shiro more. And honestly, I think Shiro has been forced to do enough violence at the hands of the Galra. Keith killing Sendak is him shouldering the weight of taking a life so Shiro doesn’t have to. It’s a reprieve. It’s Keith cutting down Shiro’s demons and then being there to hold Shiro in his arms afterwards. Psychologically, I think this is so much more healing for Shiro than the alternative. That shot where Keith takes Sendak down? That’s not a Big Hero moment, it’s dark and viscerally personal. It’s not Keith stealing the spotlight from Shiro or anything, it’s Keith doing something gutting and ugly so Shiro doesn’t have to, it’s freeing Shiro from Sendak’s influence for good--and ensuring Shiro won’t have to make the killing blow frees him in a way, ends the cycle of Shiro potentially being haunted by the continued cycle of violence Sendak tried to trap him into.

And again, I’m saying all that with the context that Shiro always pushed himself to do everything on his own, to shoulder the weight of the world--hello Atlas--because he spent so long with others looking at him with the misconception that he needed to be shielded and protected, that he couldn’t do things alone or couldn’t push past a certain point, reducing him to the symptoms of his illness--hi Adam. This season doesn’t coddle Shiro or remove him from the action. He’s not “retired,” he’s Captain, Commander. He lets himself lean on Keith for support, be held safe in his arms. But then shoves a medic away and runs to his battle station in the very next episode. Part of his character arc is learning that there can be a balance between others thinking they know what’s best for him and doing everything on his own. He learns, through his bond with Keith, that he can lean on someone and look to them for support--without being coddled or looked down on. “We saved each other”--Keith has always believed in him, has never once doubted his abilities, so trusts him enough to let be vulnerable with Keith, to let him help out when he needs it.

WE FINALLY GOT A BIGGER HUNK STORY ARC--ALSO THE AMAZING SCENE BETWEEN HUNK AND KEITH THAT BUILDS ON THEIR EARLIER DEVELOPMENT TOGETHER,,

We see the wonderful payoff for Lance and Allura’s feelings for one another--the cute little exchanges,, Lance’s sister noticing What’s up,, the blushing and soft looks...it was so good...a lot of people hated that cause they hate the ship, but like, it was a buildup of natural progression for these characters.

Everything in regards to Hunk, Lance, and Pidge’s families building on their respective backstories and character development

KEITH TAKING KROLIA TO VISIT HIS FATHER’S GRAVE WAS SUCH A NICE TOUCH IT HURT BUT IT FELT LIKE GOOD CLOSURE,,

ALTEAN REI,, THE WHOLE NOTION OF HAGGAR ABANDONING THE DRUIDS AND CREATING AN ALTEAN ARMY,, THAT’S SUPER INTERESTING IM READY TO GET MORE INTO THAT,,

ATLAS IS A REALLY AWESOME MECH AND IM GLAD SHIRO HAS IT,,

So,, in conclusion--I don’t think the season’s perfect, there are some things I think could’ve been improved, but I also think it honestly did a lot of good things and built on established canon. Season 6 is what I see as the writing’s highest point for reference, btw.

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keelywolfe · 5 years

Text

FIC: Partners in Grime (baon)

Summary: Stretch has survived a lot over the years. Surviving Edge's vacation week should be a piece of cake.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Mentions of Depression

part of the ‘by any other name’

Read on AO3

-or-

Read More Here

~~*~~

Stretch wasn’t used to babysitting and that was a fact. Oh, he played games with the neighborhood kiddos, showed them experiments and occasionally planned events but he was pretty sure none of their parents had fooled themselves into thinking that anything he did could be called supervision.

He hoped so, anyway, or there was going to be some inevitable disappointment somewhere along the line.

Anyway, so yeah, babysitting. Not so much. He was used to having the house to himself for most of the day where he could sleep in or watch television or go to the lab—

(don’t think about that)

—or post on twitter while hanging out with the chickens. His days weren’t planned so much as they were loosely connected reoccurring events, and Stretch was fine with that.

Having Edge here every day was ruining his carefully disarrayed schedule and he loved Edge, he loved him so much, and he’d love him even more if he’d sit down for five fucking minutes.

Stress, yeah, sure, Stretch was going to gather up his own stress and shove the whole messy wad of it up Ass-gore’s namesake. But Red had warned him if his bro didn’t chill the fuck out, Asgore was considering sending him on a longer vacation and Stretch was pretty sure that was a sanity massacre waiting to happen.

In the interest of saving them all, Stretch would do his duty to Monsterkind and help.

So far, that had consisted of letting Edge do whatever the fuck he wanted around the house. Just because Stretch didn’t see the purpose of attacking the grout with an old toothbrush didn’t mean it wasn’t an important task, (or so he guessed because he’d spent a lifetime not cleaning grout and he hadn’t dusted yet.)

And just because their neighbor’s smiles when he brought them yet another plate of cookies or muffins were getting a little tight didn’t mean there weren’t other people who would appreciate a treat and so what if Stretch was shortcutting two streets away to find them?

Problem was, cleaning and baking looked like they were losing their luster.

He’d give a half-hearted thought to taking Edge into town to go shopping or maybe a movie but subjecting innocent Humans to him didn’t seem like the best way to build good relations between Humans and Monsterkind.

That left sex as Stretch’s main form of entertainment, hey, may as well enjoy the forced confinement, right?

But after a few days even his libido was starting to make flimsy excuses to call it a night, and while Stretch was usually ready for any reason to desecrate the couch again, if they ever wanted anyone else to sit on it again, they were going to need to let it air out for a couple days. At least washing the sheets gave Edge something to do.

That afternoon he was sitting on the poor, abused sofa, still aching pleasantly in a few key areas from earlier when he realized Edge hadn’t followed him back downstairs. The shower had been turned off for a suspiciously long time and he’d believe Red and Sans were swapping condiment preferences along with spit before he’d believe Edge was laying back down for a nap.

It set off more than a few alarm bells. Time to investigate. For the safety of the City and everyone in it.

Who knew that Edge taking a vacation would give him Superman tendencies?

Shortcutting could be silent if he put enough effort into it. Last time he’d bothered was when he was grabbing all the kids during the ‘human invasion’, if that’s what they called a handful of dipshits, but he did it now. Otherwise Edge would hear him on the stairs.

When the void cleared, Stretch could see Edge was sitting on the bed facing away from the door, almost hunched over, a far cry from his usual perfect posture. Checking his phone from the looks of it, naughty naughty.

“what are you dooooooing?” Stretch asked, pleasantly.

Edge jumped and nearly dropped his phone, fumbling to catch it before it fell on the floor. The look on his face was like a damned neon sign, flashing his guilt for all to see.

“Nothing,” he said brusquely.

Oh, yeah, smooth, that’d fool a lie detector, for sure.

“uh huh,” Stretch leaned against the door jamb and crossed his arms over his chest. “nothing. so, my guess is either you’ve taken up watching porn on the sly or you were checking in on your work email. and we both know you’d show me the porn, i always like a good laugh.”

His silence spoke volumes. Edge didn’t like to lie and since he couldn’t Obi-Wan his way out with any ‘some other point of view’ bullshit, he was going with keeping his mouth shut.

Stretch shook his head sadly. His baby was letting him down on the sneak factor; he should’ve checked while he was still in the bathroom. “you know, i promised that i’d keep an eye on you this week. you wanna be responsible for making me break a promise?”

“I didn’t promise,” Edge muttered but he sighed and let Stretch take his hand, followed him back downstairs like the world’s saddest, boniest puppy, “This is ridiculous.”

“uh huh.”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“you’re definitely fine, babe, always loved those jeans.”

“I’ve taken a couple of days, I’ve relaxed—“

“uh…yeah…about that. you might need a refresher on the whole ‘relaxing’ thing. i could google it for you.”

“And I’m ready to be back at work.”

“you and me both.”

“What was that?” Edge asked distractedly.

“sit.” And when he didn’t, Stretch pushed on his shoulders until Edge gave in and finally sat down heavily on the sofa. Sternly, Stretch told him, “stay there.”

When it looked like Edge was probably going to obey even if it was with all the grudging he could muster, Stretch went to the kitchen. Time to bring out the secret weapons.

He came back out with a heavily laden tray, covered in plates that held the sort of things that required toothpicks and stupid green garnishy things, and announced, “i have snacks. i have drinks. we are watching netflix.”

“Where did you get this?” Edge eyed everything suspiciously, like Stretch had taken up poisoning as a part-time job. “I know you didn’t make it.”

Well, if he had, then he would probably be well on his way to his first paycheck as an amateur poisoner. “i did not, my brother did, so it’s probably safe. you know you love his spinach puffs. now, eat and watch tv.”

“Must we?” Edge groaned. He flopped back against the cushions and honestly, this was fascinating from a scientific point of view. Edge on the verge of a tantrum was a state of being that Stretch hadn’t even known existed, much less that he’d be the one to discover it. He should write a paper. “I’ve seen enough television to last the rest of the year.”

“i hope not, i’m looking forward to the new season of ‘masterchef’. anyway, i think you’ll like this one.”

He picked up the controller and started the episode. Bright music began along with a man explaining, “It’s a never-ending battle to fight the clutter—"

Edge sat up and grabbed a spinach puff, stuffing it into his mouth and chewing with an impressive amount of grudgingness before slumping back to glare at the tv.

If Stretch survived this he was asking for a raise.

An hour later and Stretch was ready to mark this one as a win. Edge was riveted in a way even Gordon Ramsey rarely managed. Probably a good thing Stretch had already married him, or he might be on a plane with flowers in hand, ready to spark a little joy.

Stretch wasn’t quite as enamored; he was okay with the show, sure, the host was a sweetheart. It was just a hell of a lot more fun watching Edge. The way he quivered as the families tried to excuse their messiness, like he was resisting the urge to reach through the screen and shake them. His visible satisfaction when they showed they were on the right path and the episode ended with triumph and order.

It was fucking adorable.

He didn’t get to watch Edge like this very often. Usually if they were watching television, Stretch liked to live up to his namesake and stretch out, laying half on Edge and half off the sofa, soaking up the warmth from his blanket and his baby both.

It was moments like these that he was jarringly reminded that Edge really was younger than him, the same age as his little brother. With his crimson eye lights wide and focused on the screen, enchantingly absorbed, he looked his age in a way he rarely did.

He’d gone through so much in his life; some of it was visible on his bones, the crack in his socket was the most obvious but there were others, scars that had healed roughly without a gentle hand to press soothing magic into them. The other scars were buried a hell of a lot deeper and whether they were why he needed a break from work or they were the reason he drove himself so hard to begin with was anyone’s guess.

Stretch had his own theories.

But that combined with his unrelenting attitude made Edge seem older than he was. Didn’t help that it was hard to gauge ages with skeletons. Plenty of Monsters guessed that Stretch was the younger one.

He liked to think it was because he was young at heart, fuck you very much.

And then after everything he’d gone through, Edge went ahead and hitched his life to Stretch’s broke-ass wagon. Looking at Edge and thinking about the years he had yet to come sometimes made that bitter little voice that lived in the back of Stretch’s thoughts come to life, syrupy-thick, persuasive, and as foul as swamp water, asking him what the fuck he thought he was doing here, telling him he didn’t deserve this. Edge had earned better than having to spend his life dealing with Stretch’s brand of generic bullshittery.

Today more than usual it was easy to stuff that voice back. What kind of asshole would it make Stretch to try to make his choices for him? Stretch had a little too much experience with that and once you allowed it to start happening, it was fucking difficult to flick the switch back. Besides, if his taste in partners was questionable, at least his baby had a good soul.

He was selfish, knew it, but still. He wanted to be the one to spark joy in Edge

When the episode ended, Stretch didn’t even ask. He reached out automatically to push the button that skipped the intro on the next one. The spinach puffs were a distant memory but there were still the tapenade toast points to contend with.

A glance back at Edge made Stretch duck his head to hide a smile. Edge looked like his inner neat freak was getting a deep tissue massage. Now that, friends and neighbors, was relaxed.

“can i ask something?” Stretch said, idly, “how is it a clean bee like you can stand to be with me?”

Edge managed to tear his gaze away from the television long enough to look at him with genuine surprise and a little fond scorn, probably for the pun. It tore away the last bit of the illusion of youth and that left nothing but his own husband, who told him archly, “Marie says it herself. I love a mess.”

Okay, damn, affection and insult in one, and by the Angel, Stretch loved him so, so much. “i asked for that.”

“You did,” Edge agreed. But he caught hold of Stretch and pulled him in anyway, tucking him in comfortably against his side. He was soothingly warm and Stretch snuggled in happily, sighing as Edge pressed a kiss against his skull before whispering to him, “You bring me joy.”

Well, hey, mission accomplished. Now Stretch only had to keep it up for a few decades, no biggie.

But first, he needed to survive the week.

-finis-

Notes:

I can't help but feel that Edge would love 'Tidying Up With Marie Kondo'. His platonic soul mate. ^_^

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underswap papyrus #underfell papyrus #by any other name

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comicteaparty · 5 years

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July 1st-July 7th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019. The chat focused on Obelisk by Ashley McCammon.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Obelisk by Ashley McCammon~! (http://www.obeliskcomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until July 7th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Why do you think Evelyn isn’t fond of David’s new fiancee? As the wedding approaches, how do you think David’s changing life status will affect Evelyn? Further, how will it affect her relationship with David?

Eilidh

My favourite scene is... Many of them But one that sticks out is just the one after David reveals he's marrying Alice when Eve says to herself "Your brother is getting married. And what are you doing...?" With her expression on the last panel it just... It conveys the feeling of being queer and feeling different so well to me, just by the dialogue and expression. I can recognise how she feels and I know I've felt that way in the past, and that's good storytelling.

Eilidh

As for why Eve doesn't like Alice... have to think about that. But I get the feeling it's related to her having been the big sister and looking after him for a long time, and now that's changing (another feeling I can indirectly relate to) and she's not sure how to deal with that big a change? And Alice could be seen as the cause of that

draculing

My own favorite scene is probably the whole end of chapter 1... finally being able to give people a peek into Margot's private world but I made all of them so I have a bias

Eilidh

That's definitely a very good scene

I just... Eve's quiet panic about normality just really hit me as something I've not really seen so well shown

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think Evelyn’s father was up to regarding the properties with missing documents? Is it just Margot’s property, or do you think there are more out there? How could this come back to help or hurt Evelyn?

Zidely

I'm kind of like David a lot. Perhaps because is the litle brother, but also the his personality, linda bubbly to me. And Evelyn of course! A modern woman indeed.

Absolutepsycho

At the moment it is hard because it's between Eve and Margot. For Eve it's really understanding where she is coming from especially dealing with all levels of grief ( loosing a parent, her only blood family getting married) on top of recognizing and being herself through her queerness. ( i hope that makes sense). I also understand the anxiety of like figuring it all out as an adult and having it together.

As for Margot it is really the representation piece cause i love spooky things and it is so refreshing seeing someone who looks like me or i can relate to take on a spooky role. In addition, someone who is self assured and confident and doing her thing. I love Margot for bringing that forward.

As for q 4. I really think her dad was working with all sorts of people ( supernatural included). he could of just been helping out people who couldn't afford properties and who knows maybe be someone's familiar and we don't know that yet. But I am pretty sure there are other properties out there that fall under the vampire category. Margot can't be the only Vampire in all of NYC, but ultimately I think it can both help and hurt Evelyn. As with any decision especially in a horror sense it can be in a grey area.

It can help her build resources and allyship but it can also be a downfall because one wrong move and it could lead to a disaster or even her demise

Attila Polyák

Let's see... Favourite scene. That's without a doubt when we're entering a vampire's lair shop. Even if that place was not related to a vampire, it's still brimming with the mysterious, so it's a place I'd like to see more of. I might be really off with relationships and all, but I kinda feel like Eve's major problem with Alice is that the marriage will also mean the end of her Big Sister status, which is mostly what her life seemed to be since their father, based on the flashback, sees to be someone who chose work over family. Donno... I'm probably off here.

Attila Polyák

Also favourite character: Pete. No bullshit, just getting things done. On one hand I'd like to see him moved by some supernatural stuff happening, on the other I totally expect him to be like "Been there seen that, nothing special." which I totally expect to be the case since he does have a connection to Eve's father and all... And then talking about her father. I'm pretty sure he dealt with the supernatural a lot and that's also the reason why some documents are missing. When supernatural events happen in a story it's often being intentionally kept hidden from the general public, as a matter of fact I have a sneaking suspicion that his work was directly connected to keeping all sorts of magical being within human society but still under cover. I think something might have gotten awray while dealing with either Margot or some other vampire he was dealing with before he died.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What do you think brings Margot to Evelyn’s town? Is it just a typical move, or do you think Margot is there for a specific reason? Further, what might Margot’s status as a vampire have to do with anything?

Eilidh

Illustration: the last page of chapter 1. So striking, the way Margot's hair isn't distinguished from the shadow is just mmm it's good

As for why she's moved.... She doesn't seem like the type to start and army of the night, so maybe it's just easier to hide in a big city. And the more people there are, the less obvious it is when they start dying

Favourite character... Dean. Mostly due to word of god information such as his dream is to run a bakery which I support wholeheartedly, he deserves it

Eilidh

And I think there's definitely more "missing" properties out there, I wouldn't be surprised if several of them belong to Margot (there's enough Dracula vibes going on after all) The supernatural lettings agent theory is pretty neat... I was personally thinking he's working mostly with normal human clients but somehow Margot got involved. Whether he was okay with this or got dragged into it, I'm looking forward to learning. But I definitely wouldn't be surprised if Margot had something to do with his death, and I definitely think his death is among the reasons Margot is now in NY.

I'd be inclined to say the missing properties are deliberate or the work of someone else since we're told that Eve's father was the organised one (like Eve is), so it seems less likely that someone with a reputation for keeping things in order would just lose a bunch of records. Then again, working with Margot or other supernatural clients might have started taking a toll... Who knows

Eilidh

That all said, he was involved with Peter Murphy who as well know, is no good

I'm just rereading some pages and I'm getting pretty certain that Peter Murphy is either well aware of what he's doing or doesn't care

Like... Margot knows Eve's father is dead, I know Eve mentions it but Margot knows him on first name terms and no one else has said his first name afaik, and she doesn't seem surprised at all. Someone had to have told her, and Peter is their "mutual associate"...

RebelVampire

@Eilidhan You definitely read that scene way differently than I did. I didn't get the impression that Margot knew, more that she just didn't care. I got more the impression that she's so used to being a vampire, some mortal dying isn't really that surprising or a big deal. But my point being I enjoy the alternate interpretation.

1) My favorite scene is the one when they enter the shop. This is largely due to the dramatic tone shift when Margot starts affecting Dean. Like both between the illustration work, the suddenness, and so forth, it really added this great horror vibe that put me on edge. <3 2) I think there's two things going on in terms of why Evelyn doesn't like Alice. Part of it I think is as everyone else said, it's kind of destroying Evelyn's role as a big sister, and nobody likes change all that much. The second thing I feel is going on is that maybe David just isn't that into Alice. Not to say he doesn't care, but for someone getting married he was immensely and overly casual about it. Like he was telling Evelyn he was getting the oil changed in his car. So while I don't think they have a toxic relationship, I kind of get the impression that their relationship lacks passion and David is with Alice for other reasons. Reasons that Evelyn knows and hates because of societal expectations. I don't think it'll have much affect for Evelyn though anytime soon, mostly cause she has vampires to deal with at the moment.

3) Dean, because Dean is a sweet boy who just wants to help his family. But then keeps meeting all these shady people. He's like an innocent blossom waiting for the innocence to be sucked dry from him. 4) I think Evelyn's father was straight up just helping supernatural people, mostly vampires, get properties under the table. Cause I imagine as a vampire even if you have money, you don't necessarily have identification or anything else that most realtors would want. So Evelyn's father took pity on them and helped them get some properties and kept law enforcement off them. Definitely do not think it's just Margot's property though. There are gonna be more properties an more vampires, probably also not just through Evelyn's dad. Inevitably, I feel Evelyn is gonna be in a lot of danger. Because Margot seems pretty ready to hurt Evelyn, or at least expose her to a world Evelyn is prepped for.

5) Definitely the page for the end of chapter 1. I really the bold usage of the red and the body language of the victim. There is something horrifying about it all together, which is definitely the mood I want to feel when vampires are involved. 6) I kind of think Margot's presence is just for the mundane reason of neeeding to move. Cause I can't imagine as a vampire you'd stay in one place too long, so moving around a lot is for the best. So it was just time for her to show up.

Attila Polyák

5, Favourite illustration. Hmmm... Margot's portrait image on the cast page, if you don't know why, just hover over it. ^^ 6, As boring as it sound I don't feel like there's anything special here. Needs to move once every while, since... You know... Being a vampire and not aging and all... Kinda' like in Man from Earth.

draculing

the hover animation on the cast page breaks very often because wordpress hates it, so I'm glad to know it works at least for some people ^^;

draculing

I love when people love Dean just because he's a sweetheart, and I will confirm the word of god Q&A thing that not everyone may have seen, that he does want to open a bakery one day

if only there weren't vampires happening

Eilidh

Okay so the hover animation has NEVER worked for me so I just turned off my adblock to check it and nearly jumped out of my skin(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What role do you think Dean will play in regards to Evelyn’s story? How will his brief encounter with Margot continue to affect him? Further, what do you make of Dean’s phone call with Angie who is estranged from the family? Why is Dean still helping her?

Eilidh

I really love Eve and her friends

They just have a really authentic feeling of trust and caring and I really enjoy it

draculing

Ooo an Angie question curious what everyone thinks

I really love including Eve's friend dynamics... making sure there's a sense of queer community/safety in a historical setting is really important to me as a creator

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. How do you think Evelyn feels about her place in life and the society she lives in? Do you get the impression she’s an outcast? Regardless, how do you think these feelings have and will continue to influence her actions?

Absolutepsycho

Eve and her friends has to be my favorite dynamic thus far alongside the one scene with her and Margot. It just sets the mood of how their dynamic is going to play out and and the interesting part about it is that it can go so many ways, which makes it great.

As for Dean I feel he will be a center or semi-center part to her story, for the sole fact he is somehow connected to Margot. I have this gut feeling Dean is going to become a familiar that didn't want to be one in the first place. As for his sister, I think Dean is trying to bring family peace or trying to bring her back because he gives off 'family guy' vibes and he is such a wholesome cinnamon roll. So of course he would want to mend things because he loves his family

to answer 9. Not sure if this counts but I would love to know how Vera, Bess, and Eve met since they are so close. Friendships and normalcy within horror contexts are probably one of my favorite themes

10. Evie I see that she feels like she belongs but at the same time she feels doesn't. We see that in the first few pages of ' oh what are you doing with your life?' It's more than the anxiety of figuring it out, but the fact her only remaining family is going to get married and while she could find a partner and do those things it isn't widely accepted or would be 'odd' cause she is queer. While queer folks thrived, in that era it wasn't as visible and Eve could be feeling that 'outcast' notion. While she has wonderful friends to support her and is very head strong those feelings are may influence her actions to work harder, which is good and bad.

RebelVampire

7) Honestly, this is gonna be a strange choice, but Evelyn and her dad's old co-workers. Cause this is just flat out a subject I never see explored. When people die, stories almost always focuses on close friends or family and how the death affected them. Yet, there are a slew more people affected that are never talked about. So the fact we get to see through Evelyn how her dad's co-workers are holding up in a business setting and learning about Evelyn's personality that way was really novel for me. 8) I feel like Dean is gonna be the one to raise red flags and say, "Hey Evelyn. Margot over there is a vampire or something. Maybe lets not and just hide." Cause Dean strikes me more as the type to be the voice of reason in the face of things that scare him, compared to Evelyn at least. Thus he will be a grounding force in her story to kind of spell out the dangers for both her and the reader. As for Angie, I assume she did something culturally and societally unacceptble. Like fell in love with someone the family didn't like. Got knocked up as a teen, etc. etc. As for why Dean is helping her, probably he just has a more modern and progressive viewpoint than his parents (for the historical time at least). Which is generally how life works and society progresses. So instead of being mad, he just says whatever man this is

9) I really love the use of red in general in this comic. It's always used in such a bold way that really stands out. Plus, nothing like having a mostly black and white comic show some red blood. Drives that terrifying nail right into the soul. 10) I feel like Evelyn exists in this weird purgatory of belonging and not belonging. Since it's obvious she stands out in certain ways for the society, yet I think most people wouldn't think anything of it without getting to know her. But regardless, I think that makes her feel lost. But also helpless, cause I feel like she also has no clue how to address these feelings emotionally. Thus just buries it in other concerns so she doesn't have to confront her own personal feelings or consider the future or anything like that. As such, I kind of think this will be a driving force as the story continues. As she takes risks and does other things, just so long as she has some escape from having to think about the question of what she's doing with her life.

draculing

Eve definitely sits in that kind of in-between space! for a woman in the 1900s she fits quite a few kind of stereotypes appearance-wise, too, which.. adds another little layer to things

Burying your problems in work, and other tales as old as time

Attila Polyák

7, I'm a bit thorn on this, either Eve and her friends or Eve and her father's co-workers. I'm leaning towards the latter, but I'm not really sure why, I can't really express what I liked about their little banter, but I was quite fond of those pages. 8, Dean is probably going to be fairly important later on and for several reasons. First he kinda has become intertwined with the evens because of Margot, but even if that wasn't the case his interactions with Eve and the fact that he's the only connection she can reach that has anything to do with the house with no documents are more than enough reason for him to be around plotwise. Aaand since he and Pete moved stuff there and the entire situation gave him the creeps and kinda legit suspicions, this looks like the perfect situation for him to intentionally or not, push Eve into a direction where she'll be more interested in the supernatural. And I totally expect that she will some way pull him alongside herself while plunging into supernatural business, a bit like an unwilling sidekick.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Do you believe that Margot and Evelyn will meet again? If so, whose terms will it be on? If they do meet, do you think Evelyn will be safe, or will Margot aim to harm her in some way to keep secrets hidden away?

draculing

What if they never met again...

Eilidh

They'll definitely meet again, I think it'll be on Margot's terms (after her "she wouldn't just forget it, would she?" comment, a bit ominous)

Absolutepsycho

11. The strengths that this comic possesses is telling a fantastic story through a historical, horror, and queer lens. Mixing genres' is a challenge, but the story seems to balance them all so well that it continues to pull it's audience back in.

12. Oh they are for sure going to meet again, because Evelyn is trying to piece things again and while Miss Margot was not to friendly Evelyn is persistent to get the information and her work done correctly. As for her doing that no doubt Margot will grow annoyed at her and may plot to attack her or set up plan 'kill her' because secrets are meant to be kept as secrets. However, if she does make a plan i feel it will ultimately may fail, because maybe an agreement will be made. We will see(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Overall, what obstacles do you foresee Evelyn having to face in the future? Given the comic is classified as a romance, what do you see in regards to Evelyn’s future prospects (if any)? What other things do you hope to see as the story continues?

RebelVampire

11) I think the comic's most abundant strength is tone shifting. Like one minute you're just in a quirky in silly scene but then whoops, serious emotional drama or terror or something else. Be able to pull off sudden tone shifts like that is extremely hard, especially in the face of trying to make something seem like a consistent story. Yet this comic pulls it off spectacularly because of the story context and the balance between the tones used. 12) I mean Margot seems bent on hunting Evelyn so umm, yes. And it will definitely be on Margot's terms. She'll be like "I want to apologize over totally not dangerous tea" and Evelyn will be curious and agree. I don't think Evelyn will be complete safe. I think it'll work out where Evelyn will leave in tact cause conscience will stop Margot, but I don't think Margot will let the issues drop so quickly.

13) I am looking forward to seeing Margot for because I'd like to get to know her more. Like right now we see suave and spook vampire, but I'd like to see the more vulnerable and, for lack of a better word, human sides that must exist within her. 14) Obstacles wise, I think I've mentioned it several times, but I do believe Evelyn is gonna get pulled into more supernatural danger. And part of it is just going to be because of her own desires to avoid her problems using distractions. However, I think she's gonna run into other problems too. Like maybe finding out she super really didn't know her father as well as she thought, maybe dealing with the fact businesses are not easy to maintain even with help. In the terms of hopes to see, I really hope we get to see Evelyn interact with the historical setting more, if that makes sense. Both in mundane and serious emotional drama ways.

draculing

aw man @RebelVampire I'm really happy to hear the tonal shifts work for you! I feel like horror (and really any story, but horror is sort of.. an extreme) really needs this.. sense of normalcy, almost boredom or banality to it. Characters need to have their boring, every-day "normal" in order for something abnormal/supernatural/frightening to really have impact later on

plus I love creating goofy little interpersonal moments in general :>

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Obelisk this week! Please also give a special thank you to Ashley McCammon for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Obelisk, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.obeliskcomic.com/

Ashley’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/obelisk

Ashley’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/draculing

Ashley’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/draculing

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #obelisk #ashley mccammon

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weirdness-on-the-roof · 5 years

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critical role episode 48 campaign 2 notes and funny lines post break edit:this has detailed notes on all the stuff that happened later in the episode including physical descriptions near the end. enjoy ya nerds

don’t steal the books from a high powered mage; don’t kill the dude; beau turning into cad; look at beau planning for the future

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is marisha flirting with matt via matt playing yasha and beau flirting with yasha?

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‘tea the international language’ but no earl grey

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wensworth the goblin

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coming from Cad ‘im a fine tea maker’ is kinda a threat tbh

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elf that isn’t white/European??? yay! also really old elves are cool

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beau and cad tag teaming a political chat with a mage this can’t end poorly

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Nott: :beau ruins every situation shes in and is very abrasive

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send the freaking cat!!! why not?? caleb my dude

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god i miss allura and gilmore currently

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fucking fuck don’t lie to the mage beau plz stop this is painful ‘you’re not wrong’ sure blame the ancient sea god

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‘on the verge of returning’ yea no duh you let him out 2/3 of the way so fjord could get a spell

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‘we found a thing’ so smooth and eloquent beau ‘it was presented to us as the happy fun time ball’

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‘butter fingers with magical items’

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beau getting a geography lesson from a very old powerful elven mage

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‘magical geometric orb that has the ability to bend time and space and fate’ which is kept in a hot pink magic bag that happened to ‘fall into [their] lap’

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‘if youre down im down is what im saying... i have a few slots open in my loyalty bank if you’re willing to pay rent’ says the 20 some human who punches things to the centuries old wizard ‘

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liam stress eating

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cad’s hope in the group is heartwarming

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tower metaphors and a conversation!!!

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caleb reading shitty romance novel and nott eating a fish outside a mage’s tower in the morning sunlight in a major city

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caleb takes the rear

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first name drop and a while

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holy shit 200 years of magic using

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cad explaining materialistic nature of the rest of the party to elf dude is hilarious

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teleportation circles?????? in return for access to the sphere!! oh shit thats good

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or candy

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crap. no one has insight checked this dude and they gave him the happy fun ball and made a deal kinda.

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‘how do we prove our loyalty?’ ‘by not fucking me over’ sounds like a good plan

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is this guy just caleb’s patron now on the low idk this is how my head works and he said learn

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“you have a geometric shape that makes babies?” “yea they talked about that”

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fjord just kills the dude

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‘i got banishment on hold just in case’ *cackling laughter*

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i agree with elf dude, him not knowing anything about the dodecha is more concerning than him knowing about it

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ALL THE CITIES FROM CR1 MENTIONED FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! I STILL MISS ALLURA AND GILMORE

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good to know the pink bag protects from divination on this plane but just this one

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jester and the traveler figurine

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cad included the Traveler in the ‘chaotic forces’ i still think the traveler is some kinda arch fey evil things idk its real late here and this is incoherent

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‘well, thats been my morning tea‘

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caleb getting additional tour

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good aesthetic for the room tbh

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letting weird people in for morning tea is entertainment is a mood and something i strive to be able to do without getting murdered one day

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so yasha and caleb both have gotten the ‘stay with friends’ chat from a powerful being which is nice. but also the ‘use who you need to’ going to caleb is vaguely concerning

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personalized biscuits [bourbon, cinnamon, lobster, fish and three unknowns]

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‘caleb, what happened in there?’

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cad not believing caleb’s bullshit and opening doors for caleb warms my heart

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‘if this isn’t the death of us, and if not hes a good ally. somethings gonna be the death of us so [yolo]’

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‘you can’t bullshit everyone in this world’

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cad talking about beau telling the truth: ‘you’re not very good at it but you tried

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jester looking out for nott and her home town

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caleb and beau being cute while also giving each other shit is the most sibling like thing

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omg going back to allfield that was so long ago for fucks sake BRYCE my person thank god

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jester had a boy band phase its cannon and i think the girls had a sleepover in jester’s old room. also marion never leaves the hotel. THE RUBY NECKLACE MY HEART AND THE HONEY AWWWWW

‘the army of men and women and inbetween that will do as i want them to’ god i adore her being protective of jester

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also the fact matt makes such a good mom why is he like this

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travel time!!!! ‘roll for initiative’-tal

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how does matt keep these notes so organized and remember all the npc names

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the ranger/beast master in Laura is coming out with nugget

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caleb is a devout cat person and jester is the definition of a dog person

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nott refining oil on a magical moving cart, while jester reads a romance novel and trains a dog,

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Dyren- Beau’s roommate at colbot souls; ‘taught beau lots of really cool things’ got sent to a warfront. shaved head, dark clothes, buff b/c ‘been workin out’, ‘do you love her?’ they had ‘good times’, then literal booty call, and dropping locations, Dyren was in Bladegarden. ‘fierce eyebrows, pointed nose’

OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES

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Vandren info drop to Fjord ‘he was making amends’

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Dyren responded and was hurt in Bladegarden but is safe. Beau looked immediately worried and happy about jester’s imput [’sounded way into you’]

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empire kids chat and caleb admitting insecurities about powerful people and being scared about the consequences of his actions and the group’s actions. caleb is scared about being forced to leave for safety and being ‘flayed alive’. my thoughts are he would leave if he became a threat to the others by being there or vise versa. trent would extort that b/c hes a dick

“caleb, unfortunately, you don’t get to choose who cares for you” you’re fucking correct Beau

“the problem with friends is that you have to care for them”

walks away “wow cool caleb! see- jester thinks you’re cool because shes your fucking friend!”

me too Tal “everything i like about those two characters in one conversation”

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5 years since Caleb left Trent and crew ie had a nervous breakdown

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gustav left town after being freed and trostenwald now has a WV accent that is too familiar

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100 extra soldiers in allfield. bryce is still up and kicking and wonderful. stuff ‘got this far east [quickly]’. the attacks came from underground apparently so fuck. the fields were burned, building destroyed a bit then they [Xhorhasians] left

“good thing is they’ve already been attacked so lightning doesn’t strike twice” oof thanks bryce

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beau just dead ass asking for illegal writing statements

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fjord having a thank u jesus bryce moment

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jester giving cad a pretty present is ‘so exciting’ and precious

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Cad not knowing cookbooks were a thing!!! and not being utterly literate enough to understand it

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wtf happened to liam’s voice in the ‘main export is oysters’ thing

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FELDERWEN!!!!!

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a dozen squads of 50 ppl each patrolling felderwen area so rippppp

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Nott knows where the halfing’s house is.... interesting... and is heavily drinking

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BLUE FLASH

elven woman in fine clothes of green and black ----lady vest durogna the arch mage of antiquity serboros assembly

a male figure in deep blue robes, older pale elf, fine clothes, the flash came from him----- martinette luden’th de____ arch mage of domestic protection

CALEB KNOWS THEM BOTH FROM THE ACADEMY AHHHHHH

he just lays flat and hides in the cart internally: ‘nopenopenopenope’

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several burned buildings, a warehouse, an inn, apothecary and several houses

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ohhhh shit the halfling was the owner of the apothecary and nott was looking for the shit she had been sending back this whole adventure....... im sad now that was confirmed

havent found a body of yeza

luke is yeza’s son at old edith’s house

halflings only produce halflings according to something i read at some point but forget where sooooooooo

shattered vials and materials and house stuff

CHILDREN'S TOYS

locked basement which nott knows of?? Nott is anxious and impatient when the door doesn’t open. jester fails, yasha rages and at a 19 and doesn’t break the door. ‘it wasn’t [trapped]’ but dispel magic worked to open it.

a 15′x15′ room, tossed ‘not like you remember’ to nott, a 2x3 iron chest. a single chair in the center of the room. definitely a struggle with heavy impacts and blade scratched on wall

nott was the torturer from the goblin tribe

chair was placed in the spot after the struggle

this was where he [yeza] kept chemicals according to nott

poisoned iron locked box (dull black glass) inside a retractable silver tripod to hold something atop it, 3 empty vials 1 full one with a liquid/gas fog like dull colored thing, a pile of destroyed notes [two pieces of still legible paper which have props]

dunamous field, causes ppl slow to be slower or faster, ‘captured crin operatives’ dunaments and dunamacy, origon gliffs, exist outside established schools of magic, theory in deeply rooted in arcana taken for granted, rooted in _____ town, 12-16 months to refine, word has found me that trent’s kiddos have knacks for this things, dreams are thrilling

well shittttt

crin on battle fields, ‘breaking fields of fate, fuck the raven queen

SHIIIIIT

a piece of dunemous

dodecha goes in tripod according to beau

chair facing chest

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cricks did this apparently

a little under 100 crowns guard killed, 4 civilians burned

soldiers just ‘slowed down’

left via tunnels and collapsed them behind them

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nott dont be a bitch and don’t get mad at caleb and call them ‘his people’

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cad picks up caleb and ‘youre not at fault here, youre the solution here. don’t let her anger... its not about you’

my HEART

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the chest is too big for the haver sack but fits in lorenzo’s bag of holding

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people have entered and exited since the attack and left the chair and stuff

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lots ‘o chairs

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nott needs to see ledith and uke (?) and not flip the fuck out

‘humble hobble’

nott looked like halfling plump face, braids, tan skin

edith- human older, grey hair, beady eyes, ever present smile like face

LUKE IS HER SON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CANNON

*edit- rewatching this and seeing ever one’s faces “wheres my son?!” particularly laura/liam/travis just hurt. liam just looked up after a second and travis did his face he does and laura just stiffened and eyes and hand to face. caleb/liam who knows just hugs himself the rest of the convo. marisha is note taking and fuck the video off now

about 5 yrs old, blue eyes, tan/light brown skin, halfling

gave him the doll of the king

IM GONNA CRY NOW BYE

‘HES PROABLY DEAD NOW TOO LIKE I THOUGHT YOU WER’

yenza locks him away when ‘the mean lady comes by’

mean lady has pointy ears and comes often, luke was kept in room, luke was pushed out of the house and told to go somewhere safe so he ran to edith’s house and ‘everything was on fire’

‘im not strong enough to come back yet but know that [im stll thinking of you and i send things] and i hope dad sends them to you.“ fuck my heart

“in my heart i think he is” “well don’t die”

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the elves are gong to the ruins of yenza’s house

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marisha looked so betrayed

tal ‘i was waiting for the riegel shoe to drop’

WOW

HEY CALEB- WOOOW

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we’ll pick up hiiiere

fuck you sam and matt and everything abou this my heart is just FUCKKK

ummm so enjoy the frantic poorly taken notes <3

#critical role spoilers #spoilers #lore drop #ohh shit #fuck you sam #not okay in the slightest why are you like this #i dont have words at this point

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rorykillmore · 6 years

Note

and i'd love to hear about any aus you've been thinking about/working on!

okay so lately i’ve been getting nostalgic about charmed, as sometimes happens with me,

but i’ve always loved the idea of playing with charmed aus because the universe is so extensive! you can get so creative with translating character concepts into it! and it’s just really fun in general?? so i’ve been thinking about building on that more often buuut for lack of a core concept to center anything around rn, i thought i’d just talk a little bit about the ideas i have for my characters! some might be subject to change depending on how much i keep developing this, but

okay so lucille i think would probably be some kind of darker, underworld-aligned species. i’ll just say a demon to make it easier. lucille is some species of demon, but probably with some human blood in her background. human traits probably initially manifested more in her brother, thomas, than they did her, but after he died she started struggling and succumbing more and more to grief and guilt (which full-blooded demons can’t typically experience) and probably ends up trying to explore that and grow from it at some point?

to reflect the redemption arc she went through on denny i even like the idea of her eventually making a deal similar to the one drake made, where he got to be human for a year but then had to die at the end of it. i mean,, that’s really sad but i also feel it’d be kind of rewarding for lucille in a charmed au. she’d really get to experience life properly for the first time and learn shit about herself and it’d have all the more meaning for her if there was some kind of time limit on it.

siobhan -- easy one, she’d be a banshee!

...actually charmed banshee lore isn’t toooo different from siobhan’s family curse, save for the fact that banshees in this universe essentially ‘infect’ each other (if you’re a witch who’s stagnated in deep grief or pain and you hear a banshee’s scream, you slowly begin to transform into one). so yeah siobhan starts out a witch, gets turned into a banshee at some point and loses her humanity, is a pretty spooky villain for awhile. maybe at some point there’d be hope of turning her back though?? like whatever involvement rocket or red would have in this au, maybe they’re the ones to do it.

sara.... i dunno, i’ve considered a few aus where she’s a witch, but she could also potentially make for a very interesting whitelighter? a sassy damaged whitelighter who kinda stumbles her way through helping people sometimes but can also be very good at it; kind of paige-esque. because sara’s death in her canon is like, an infamous event, and sure characters die and come back all the time on charmed. but with how much sara’s death changed and transformed her (and how she has to leave her old life behind afterwards), i think it’s appropriate to bring her back as a whitelighter, and have her get assigned to watch over a group of ragtag, time traveling witches who are supposed to save the world. you get the picture!

i’m keeping heather a witch because i really like the ideas you’ve already come up with re: her, duke, and mcnamara kind of being this buffy-esque teenage demon fighting trio!! and then like meeting/joining up with veronica later on and stuff. one little twist i was considering adding in (appropriate to heather’s character,) is maybe making her a witch/demon hybrid? which... isn’t a fact she’s keen to disclose because if revealing you’re a witch is dangerous in normal society, revealing you have demon blood is dangerous even in magical societies. she has a slightly more aggressive nature and more destructive powers because of it, but is by and large pretty firm about defining who she is and what she wants to be.

okay and for madeline, i’ve kind of fallen in love with (no pun intended,) the idea of her being a cupid! i love. charmed’s cupid lore. a cupid is essentially a like a whitelighter where after you die, if you were a good person in life, you get offered a ‘higher calling’, except instead of being a guardian angel you’re essentially just... an angelic matchmaker?? you spread love, help people fix their relationships, etc. i feel this is something madeline would be genuinely good at, but also like, i can think of nothing more appropriate than giving her a job where she literally has to meddle in people’s relationship bullshit. she’d LOVE it.

trish would be a witch who i’d kind of envision playing a role similar to prue where she’s like, a really headstrong, formidable, slightly obsessive force of nature in the magical community who has a pretty established reputation for taking down demons. i’m not sure what her active power would be... maybe one of the elemental powers?? or maybe something like molecular combustion like piper has. it’d be something pretty in your face, much more offensive than defensive.

i also had the the thought that an interesting thing to throw into trish’s arc is to have her... join up with the avatars at some point?? or be strongly tempted to. because in this au, trish is still... trish, she still struggles a lot with wanting to save people and wanting to save herself and not wanting to be helpless. so this organization offering her a shitton of power and also the opportunity to save the world would be IMMENSELY tempting for her, and of course if you remember anything about the avatars, things would spiral into disaster from there,

dolores... man i still haven’t settled on a strong idea for her, i feel like, because there are so many different directions i kind of want to go in. one thing i do feel strongly about is she would be a GREAT character to demonstrate like, what absolute assholes the elders can be in service of the “greater good”. the elders seem like a good standin for the park engineers in this context because like, both are all-powerful forces (in their respective settings) who oversee things and have no moral qualms with manipulating events as they feel they need to.

so one idea i’m playing with is dolores being a witch (or possibly a witch/whitelighter hybrid?) who has some kind of Big Destiny she’s involved in that the elders are Very concerned with. but it kind of fucks with her life a lot and puts immense responsibility on her, so at some point she kind of just decides to fuck off and break free onto her own path

...but the elders don’t like that, and reset her memory so they can train her for their purposes from scratch

so you’d still get those same elements of like, her trying to figure out who she really is and what’s really true and trying to break free from something really huge and complicated?? yeah i think i like this

sophie-anne, of course, would be a vampire! easy one! i honestly can’t remember if much is known about charmed vampires except for that a) they’re considered outcasts even in the underworld, b) they live in clans and are run by queens, c) are actually mostly women (with some exceptions i remember) for some reason. basically i’m pretty sure that charmed vampires are a bunch of gay demon ladies who decided they were fed up with the underworld’s bullshit. so that all translates pretty well for sophie! she’s the queen of one of the more prominent clans and basically just likes to chill. and flirt with witches sometimes, which exasperates her advisers constantly because don’t draw their attention, sophie!!! maybe she also turns cloud at some point, depending on whether you’d want to translate that aspect into a charmed au for him

as for camille... i think she’d either start out a normal human, or some kind of witch with pretty chill powers who doesn’t usually get involved in the witch/demonic conflicts. camille just wants to live a quiet life, basically. BUT in this au she does have a ~destiny~ as a future whitelighter, but it’s evident to like. basically all of the powers that be that she has a lot of shit to work out before she’s ready for that. so camille would basically be the character in this au who gets ASSIGNED a whitelighter to try to help her through things as my opportunity to explore that. i’m not sure who it would be yet but i just feel that is the best way to translate some of her pre-existing character stuff and play with some really interesting growth. camille with a guardian angel would be a disaster. but she’s also so unwaveringly kind and resilient as a character that i think she’d ultimately make a good whitelighter herself if she had someone to work through some things with. so.

i wasn’t sure what concept to settle on for sly. maybe he’d be a wizard... ? i remember wizards kind of being this like, offshoot branches of witches who are kind of mischievous and sometimes untrustworthy (and also they’re almost entirely extinct and the remaining survivors seem to have a lot of issues with that, which... is fitting for poor sly...). do you remember that wizard who wanted to become the source of all evil so he could use the power to revive his entire species? yeah i feel like sly in this au would ultimately go up against that kind of well-meaning but very dangerous villain and really struggle with it

alternatively maybe he’d be a werewolf or something, to express the fact that he’s a furry, but i don’t have as much of a developed idea for that,

delia is both easy and difficult to fit into this au. obviously she’d be a witch of some kind, but i’d have to figure out some kind of extra edge to express the whole supreme thing. maybe she comes from an especially powerful bloodline like the halliwells, or maybe she’s some kind of demigoddess... ? idk i’ll think of something interesting

and honestly i feel like some of my cats would actually work very well as familiars, especially if i could figure out some interesting characters to pair them with

#long post #BECAUSE I HAD A LOT OF IDEAS APPARENTLY #thanks giz i hope you enjoy this!!!#i am already kind of hooked on this au #cuts dennys lvad wire #digitaldragoon

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agreementtale · 3 years

Text

Chapter 23: What did the skeleton say to the starving puppy?

“who died and made her the alpha?” asked a bit too loud with a smirk on his face it was a direct punch to Dogamy and his dad, Muttler. The Dogi always lost their cool when someone brought him up.

“You better shut your trap or we are going to chew on some bones for dinner” But today Dogaressa wasn’t here to back him up. And Lesser seemed to be in too much of a good mood to brawl. Alone, the mutt had no chance against him, and Sans knew Dogamy knew that.

Looking upwards at the dog, Sans smiled widely, making his golden tooth apparent, magic running on his bones and the hand on his pocket already readying it for an attack.

Other monsters could sense the harming intent on his look, but the dog in front of him had a great sense of smell, so he could literally smell his agitated magic itching for a chance to impale the first fucker that crossed him today.

Dogamy posture changed, not by much, but enough for Sans to realize he was retreating.

“all bark no bite, huh?” that only earned him a low growl, so he pushed him a bit more “where is your bitch of a wife?” there it was.

“You want to put the pack against your brother? Low HPrick?” Dogamy hackles were raised and teeth bared, he was one step from starting a fight. If he wasn’t currently on Grillby’s he would have to be careful with his next words.

“like to see ya try, mutt” his smile was menacing, but he wouldn’t rile him up any longer, he had had enough fun as it was, if only because the puns had put him in a good mood again.

For any other monster 8 HP was a death sentence. But Sans always had a knack for cheating on the rules. The ‘well rested’ bonus was something he soon learned to take advantage off. Besides, he hardly ever got hit, and the pack knew that all too well.

Leaving a single golden coin on the table he left the establishment, it wasn’t nearly enough to pay for his fries, but it would appease Grillby’s for now. Stars forbid he started demanding Sans paid his tab again, like last year, that had been a hassle to deal with.

And right now he had more important things to deal with.

A thing.

Taking advantage of the darkness and making sure no prying eyes were on him, he teleported to his target’s last location.

They were still in the same spot, hidden from the town, behind some trees, the bed they had been working on when he left was finished… that is, if he could call it a bed… Boss wouldn’t, but Sans assumed the human wasn’t picky.

A few sticks and leaves here and there would keep them from freezing for tonight.

Boss would have a fit if he reported this as a bed though…

And Boss…

Boss was dead set on fighting them, honestly he didn’t know why he didn’t killed them on sight. Maybe it was because they were wearing stripes, maybe was because he didn’t want to kill a free-EXP.

He knew his brother, and Papyrus had never, ever, killed a free-EXP. It was below him, he had said. If he couldn’t manage to fight a free-EXP until a sliver of its life, and chain it to their basement to be dealt by the authorities, he would not be worthy of the Royal Guard.

Boss letting them go and try the traps was the luckiest they’ve been so far.

“WATCH THEM” ordered the taller as soon as they walked far enough for the newfound human disappear behind them “I WANT DAILY REPORTS” Boss paced on the snow, closed fists and quick steps “AND IF THEY DUST A SINGLE MONSTER, DROP EVERYTHING AND REPORT TO ME IMMEDIATELY!” he shot him a warning look “DON’T BE SPOTTED”

“got it, Boss” was all he had said.

He never had an easiest week of work in his life. His nap spots had been horrible, but he wasn’t a fleshy monster, the cold went right through him, ‘sides, they were plain boring…

At the time, he thought their soul was Patience.

Being overwhelmed by too many events in one day and stopping to take a nap.

Sounded awfully like the way he was when younger.

That and being hard to anger, and patient with the old Gal… one could make an easy living on the Ruins acting like that.

Just sleeping and walking around.

That was all they did now.

Making friendly conversation with however attacked them.

Annoying the Weed. With. Puns!

He had to give it to her, this human was hilarious!

Well, if they were going to be funny, he could as well for once do his job right. So he paid attention and slowly his interest was picked.

He knew humans had colored souls, the possibilities were endless, but they all fell on a spectrum of seven basic colors. Now, he didn’t have the best eye for it, but he had studied them enough to remember they corresponded to the seven main traits.

And by the way they talked with the dogs, running around like they owned the place, bluffing and jumping like they had nothing to lose, it was so stupid, it could only be Bravery shining on their inverted soul.

But then there was the snowman incident, and how they build him up, giving him arms and more snow to make him stronger, and the exact moment he proved he could fight back an attacker, Sans could almost see a yellow light emanating from them and illuminating the night, the yellow spectrum meant Justice, an theirs were the clearer he ever saw.

Not that it was that hard, Justice was something he didn’t see a lot underground, still, to see almost a physical manifestation of magic from a human, it made him uneasy, if the human was a mage… Justice, to top it off…

The stories about the fallen human with a Justice soul and how they single handed wiped the floor with trained guards… He thanked the stars this had been before his and Boss’ time.

But before he could freak out about the possibility, they surprised him again.

After all, only a Perseverance soul could go through the electric maze the way they did, he had adjusted the shocks to all but kill them, and still they soldiered on, not passing out until the last step… then immediately collapsed. Clearly their will to keep going surpassed their body capabilities to hold on.

There was no other trait that could explain it better than one with a vein of DT, and that made sense with what the old gal had said about them. It wasn’t just because they were human, but the Patience he had guessed on the first day plus a good dosage of the poison every human naturally had, creating a great purple.

He was betting on Perseverance… Until they stood before the Gauntlet of deadly terror.

And this time he wasn’t the only one able to sense their Integrity.

Even his brother, that never had a formal education on soul traits, and only picked up a thing or two Sans had taught him, even him commented about their morals. They had no idea that protecting their family, and sticking to their beliefs, even when facing the certain death was the only thing that had saved them from actual death.

Faulty traps… pfff. As if his brother would build anything that didn’t work.

But what Boss wouldn’t admit, he wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

And surely, the more he observed them, more and more he would find out about them.

Useless things, like, they would eat anything, even his leftovers of condiments, but only once a day, despite the Weed’s insistence. Or that they would often mindlessly walk around, eyes glazing like they weren’t paying attention to the path before them.

The way they touched their cheek when they were thinking or trying to remember something, the way their brow frowned when someone implied something violent, how they sported a smile in every fight, never once holding their stick against any monster... except for lesser, the bitch always liked to fetch.

His soul softened, they were just like the old gal had described them.

Finally he made a new bet on their soul. Kindness. It was the only trait that could explain that kind of behavior.

He was almost tempted to dropping his guard around them.

Almost.

But Sans hadn’t survived this long by believing in people. He had seen liars before, they baited you into believing on a free-EXP, then took advantage of you, either exploiting you for money, or bringing your defenses down so their masters could get the kill.

In this world, no one was that kind.

He didn’t know what the human wanted, but they were determined to get it.

And there were those other signs…

Ones that only happened once in a while.

The way they positioned their shoulders on the fight against the Snowdrake, an air of superiority every time they faced an attack. The excess of confidence and seemingly practiced rolling they used to dodge the Dogi’s axes, the final movement of the fight, where they contorted themselves like a cat that always lands on their feet.

There was something lying underneath, he couldn’t quite see.

So he would pay more attention.

The kind only he could.

He had an unique ability. One that had saved his and his brother’s lives more times than he cared to count.

The first time they met, he was going to use that, taking advantage of the few moments of surprise after the joy buzzer done its thing. But they had never triggered it, and by their awareness and reflexes, Sans had decided that he couldn’t afford to be distracted by anything else at the moment.

The whole situation unfolding afterwards was unprecedented, thinking about it, he should have performed a check the moment Boss ordered him to follow them, but then he was either too bored or too entertained by watching and guessing what they would do next, checking and risking finding out would only spoil his fun.

But now, he wouldn’t delay it any longer.

He waited until they were distracted and teleported to a tree right above them, this close he could take a good look.

With magic that defied the rules of combat, Sans checked the human. No fight was initiated, they wouldn’t even feel his eyes analyzing them. But he would get all the information of a common check, and much more.

Their name.

If the action wouldn’t give away his position, he would be laughing here and now.

‘Weird Puppy’

He had called bullshit when they told the Dogi that one, it seemed he had just lost a bet to himself.

He doubted that this was their real name. But hey, if they were being completely honest with the dogs, to the point that they really believed that that was the most correct form to call themselves… Who was he to say otherwise. They were pretty weird…

‘LV 1’ for all the comments old gal had made on them, he was expecting that much.

‘EXP 0’ now this was just comical. Execution Points were not something monsters could see in checks. As far as he knew, he was the only one with that ability. Not that he would go asking around.

Most monsters didn’t worry about Execution Points, they would either rise the LV or not. Even a LV 1 would safely hide a few EXP. Having none… it was real rare.

Never killed, not even to defend themselves, never stood compliant while someone else in their group killed either. The true forgotten definition of a free-EXP.

‘ATK, DEF, HP’ those were viewed by every monster, he had expected better stats from a human, but their HP sounded about right for a middle stripe.

Nothing special on the items equipped too.

The two or three first lines were always true about the monster.

Be it a definition, a psychological state, a battle instance, whatever it may be, they were open, to everyone to see.

It was all about how their magic communicated what they were, and how your magic understood the message.

Two people could get fairly different sentences based on how well they knew the monster, how much the monster wanted them to know, or how observant they were.

Every monster knew how to keep their barriers up, to only show strength and aggression on those lines.

To boast about titles and accomplishments.

But then there were those four lines that no one else, but him, could see.

Now this was a tricky read… no one had taught him what the sentences meant. But he was smart enough to figure it out by himself.

The four closed lines always followed a specific order.

First, their definition, something more stable than the description he got on the open lines, something that summed up what anyone needed to know about them.

Second, a weakness, one to distinguish them from other opponents, maybe a unique set of thinking, or an information that could aid in confrontations.

Third, their relation towards him, a weakness that he could easily exploit if push comes to shove.

And, of course, the most useful one.

The fourth, how to get the kill.

‘Determined to continue’ sounds about right, humans are said to have determination on their souls, even lingering a bit after death. And they did, for some reason, left the Ruins, they had to have some business out here.

‘Squander mercy’ that one he had noticed all the way here, they were a kind human, it made him question if that was how the Kindness soul would go on with their journey if he hadn’t…

Anyway…

‘Will talk their way into your head’ Ha! Good luck with that! That meant they wouldn’t fight, and worst case scenario he could easily blast them out before they got the chance to say anything.

But it was the last sentence that got him.

‘Let them starve’

His smile twitched.

Not because of the harshness of the words, he had seen it in plenty of monsters starving both on New Home and Waterfalls, but he had never seen it without reflecting on the open lines. It would always be there as a clear statement, or hinted somehow, if the monster was trying to hide it.

But this human…

He re-read the open sentences

‘Feels cold’

‘Bored of walking’

‘Waiting for their brother’

There was nothing that hinted starvation… Cold was there, but also boredom?

How sturdy humans were? Didn't hunger affect them as it affected monsters? Or were they that good at hiding something that was killing them inside?

The later would mean trouble. Someone that good at keeping secrets... It meant they couldn't be trusted…

What else could they be hiding? Could he ever trust the person behind a fake smile? How twisted would they be once the mask fell?

Fool me once, shame on me.

Fool me twice...

He fidgeted with the loose strings on the insides of his pocket. Those fakers were long dead, he had the scars to prove it. Never again he would trust people like them…

Humans had to be excellent liars to hide something like that. Filthy bastards.

He was going to walk away, let them do whatever they planned to.

But…

Remembering how this morning they shared a piece of food with the town beggar... and they had also been just careful enough to pick a time when the weed wasn’t looking… they hadn’t eaten anything else since, was it their last piece of food?

Maybe they were a lying piece of shit.

But they also were a kid with too much kindness to keep themselves from starving.

And hell if that didn't hit too close to home…

“having fun?” he found satisfaction at how they jumped at his voice, so easy to ambush, such an easy kill.

“Plenty” they recovered from the jumpscare in no time, turning to him with a friendly smile, he didn’t trust it to be a real one, but at the same time couldn’t sense any malice behind it.

Just to be sure, he checked them ‘Not actually having fun’ and ‘But amused either way’ appeared on the open lines, no change on the rest.

“How about you?” they asked, twitching their head slightly, the same way they did when the Weed said some trivia about the underground “Had a good day?” their eyes were wide open, the inner part a big ball of black, something that only seemed to happen when it was dark.

“yep” he shrugged, but didn’t think they saw it “didn’t got yelled at, got to sleep on the job, just a lazy day” their smile widened, it was funny how their skin wrinkled around their eyes when they did it. No fur or scales to hide their expressions, were all humans like that?

“That’s good! Just don’t let Papyrus catch you” they teased, and again, he couldn’t sense anything but complete sincerity emanating from them “I bet he would give you an earful” it didn’t sound like a threat, like it would if it was said by anyone else.

“yea, he would” no harming intent, no sense of danger… they would die out here “where is Weed?”

“He told me to wait for him” alone? Did he finally had enough and ditch them?

“gonna die here all by yerself” he could do it, it would be easy.

Three bones and their soul would be ready to be collected. His brother would be the hero he deserved to be… What was one more broken promise? She could hate him all she wanted from her new cozy home under the stars…

He would make it quick, his fingers twitched on his pocket, no time for pain, they would die before they could scream… This free-EXP deserved a better fate than…

He could make it quick and painless… unlike…

“No one can kill me if they don’t find me” they interrupted his thoughts.

Little did they know…

“And I’m actually a master of disguise!” they held two branches with little foliage in front of their face “See I’m a tree!”

It was ridiculous, and they knew it. He couldn’t avoid but pity them a bit... they didn’t deserve this.

“Hey Sans, how do you know when a tree had too much to drink?” that… he hadn’t heard that one…

“how?” it couldn’t hurt, it was just one last joke, before he impaled them, one final laugh. It was mercy, to die on a happy memory.

“It won’t stop trunk texting their ax” before they could deliver the punchline they were already barely holding in the laughter, real enjoyment, he could tell.

“how do ya identify a dogwood tree?” he shot back without thinking… he really shouldn’t be indulging this.

“How?” there again with the head tilt. Stars, they would be eaten alive…

“by the bark” but a sincere laughter was something he rarely heard those days.

“Wait, I have another one” did they? He hoped it was new material “How do you know when a tree doesn’t know the answer to something?”

“how?”

They made a movement with their shoulders “It shrubs” and managed to say with a straight face.

“what did the skeleton say to the starving puppy?”

“What?”

“follow me and find out”

“I… didn’t get that one…” he face palmed, this level of obliviousness was unheard of, only a surface spawn to be so weird.

Somehow they got startled then, holding the shrubs defensively.

“Are you ok? I’ve heard something” heard? Heard? They were in fact completely blind! By the stars! How did they even survived this far?!

“yer starving and I’m going to Grillby’s” he spelled it out for them “try not to trip on a root when ya follow me” their immensely thankful face was all he needed to see to know that they were in fact starving, he didn’t need the many verbalized ‘thank you’s to know they were being honest.

Hunger did some odd things to monsters, maybe it made humans dumber than normal… and still they gave all their remaining food to a monster that would gladly kill them, if he knew what they were… and they did it with a smile on their face…

Maybe he could throw ‘em a bone.

Just this once.

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#AgreementTale #undertale #AGF!Human #AGF!Sans #fanfiction #archieve of our own #long fic

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bakechochin · 6 years

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The Book Ramblings of February

In place of book reviews, I will be writing these ‘book ramblings’. A lot of the texts I’ve been reading (or plan to read) in recent times are well-known classics, meaning I can’t really write book reviews as I’m used to. I’m reading books that either have already been read by everyone else (and so any attempt to give novel or insightful criticisms would be a tad pointless), or are so convoluted and odd that they defy being analysed as I would do a simpler text. These ramblings are pretty unorganised and hardly anything revolutionary, but I felt the need to write something review-related this year. I’ll upload a rambling compiling all my read books on a monthly basis.

Gogol - The Collected Tales (as published by Granta) It took me a while to find a Gogol collection with all the stories that I wanted; this is still not it, but it’s as close as I could get without buying the Everyman’s Library edition with the shite cover. I’d describe Gogol as a nice writer; his narration is always warm and inviting (even when adopting different voices for the frame narratives of the individual stories), his tales are often engaging, funny, and easy to follow, and there’s no shortage of amazing weirdness. The book is separated into his Ukranian tales, which remind me a lot of Russian fairy tales (and I guess by extension Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale), and his St Petersburg tales, which are more like what I’ve known Gogol to be from my readings of his work in the past. I haven’t the foggiest idea what to call his works, which is just as well since critics can’t figure this shit out either; it’s like magical realism but with subdued magic and a loose grasp on realism, where weird and unrecognisable events happen in a weird but recognisable world. I love both of these varieties of stories for different reasons, but I reckon I prefer the St Petersburg stories; fairy tales can get a wee bit repetitive (especially if you read them one after the other), but the St Petersburg stories are just inherently interesting, if only because of how bloody difficult they are to describe. Gogol manages to create some bloody great characters, distinctive and memorable, out of just a few sentences of description, and yet his descriptions are worded so nicely as to find the good in everyone and never outwardly antagonise any position in society (with the noteworthy exceptions of dissolute drunkards and the devil - Gogol really hates those guys). This does mean, however, that the really minor characters get a maximum of one sentence dedicated to establishment, and when there’s a shit load of minor characters being introduced as soon as they appear, it can be a tad confusing and not a little frustrating when it comes to trying to figure out if I’ve missed something. Also, not to seem thick, but I found remembering all of the million Russian names, and being able to match everyone to their names, a bit of a challenge (especially since, in some stories, the spelling of said names changes every now and then). There are some much-appreciated fiddlings with the storytelling format in Gogol’s tales that usually make for interesting reading; some of such additions to the stories, such as the establishment of some definitive narrators to form a frame narrative to the tale in question, or how unreliable narrators mess with the reality of the story, work quite well, but there are some that are a tad frustrating by how unnecessary they seem. For example, 'The Terrible Vengeance' does not reveal the framing explanation for the story’s events until right at the end, making everything prior to the explanation confusing and subsequently tedious, and 'Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt' is deliberately written to not have an actual ending - I get enough of incomplete stories from writers who unintentionally don’t finish their works, without Gogol pulling a deliberate fast one on me because he cannot be fucked to resolve one of his stories. I will, however, admit to being a tad hypocritical in this complaint; consider for a second ‘The Nose’, how it is deliberately written to be obscure or to have no clear explanation for the story’s bizarre events, cuts away from every encounter without revealing why anything happened as it did, is questioned even by the author, and yet is probably my favourite Gogol story (to some extent because of this stupid structure). The titles of the story’s bely how interesting they actually are; in the St Petersburg stories, the titles are short and succinct and can convey mystery through ambiguity in just a few words, but the titles for the Ukrainian tales were often needlessly verbose and consequently established the stories as perhaps being a tad boring (kind of like the titles of the short stories in Lem’s anthology Mortal Engines).

Voltaire - Candide This is some quality satire right here. This is a ridiculously fast-paced rollercoaster of a novel, a wild world-spanning picaresque narrative of stupid proportions. Harking back to Oliver Twist, another novel that uses satire to examine the world, I wrote that I found its highlighting of social issues to leave a sour taste in my mouth, as I didn’t believe the reasons for foregrounding these issues to be noble; society doesn’t dramatically change its flaws just because some dickhead wrote about them, and so I reckon that writing with the intentions of ‘improving the world’ is folly and what’s more total bollocks. However, this book is not trying to change anything. It is a big fuck-off harangue in novella form, less concerned with changing anything as it is with taking the piss. It expertly highlights exactly how the optimistic philosophies spouted by its idealistic cast are total bullshit, by writing this whole book to completely and utterly fuck these characters up. Reading these characters stumble from one horrendous catastrophe to the next is bloody hilarious; you’re prompted to keep on reading just to see what shit these lads would end up in next, and how their circumstances could possibly get any worse. Obviously a book that emphasises the very worst acts and disasters that the world has to offer might come across as a bit sad and fucked up, but this book avoids such labels by a) making the pace so fucking fast that you don’t have any time to have a contemplative pause about the atrocities being written about before you move on to the NEXT horror, and b) our protagonist Candide is so unwaveringly happy and genial, emphasised excellently with the reductive language of the characters and narrator. The story is absolutely ridiculous, spanning half the bloody world and satirising every city Voltaire could get away with writing about (although I will say I wasn’t a fan of how England was not a major part of Candide’s adventure), and yet characters still fortuitously stumble across one another (usually in significantly shittier circumstances than when we last saw them). If I was feeling cynical I would say that the constant returns of characters previously thought to be lost was due to the fact that there really aren’t many memorable characters in this story, and so Voltaire needs to get the most out of the few interesting characters that he has; of course all of the characters are funny because of their status as reductive character archetypes (and because of their laughably hyperbolic downfalls), but aside from Pangloss and Martin there aren’t many characters in this story who will stick in your memory. However, I am well disposed to this convoluted and stupid story, not only because such serendipity is justified within the framework of the picaresque narrative, but because the circumstances behind characters’ impromptu returns to the text are often fucking hilarious (especially Pangloss). The story is just the right length; it’s fast pace ensures that it gets more than enough out of its ninety-something pages, and if it was any longer than it would probably outstay its welcome and lose some of its novelty trying to come up with new problems for its protagonists to be fucked over by. I’ll freely admit to knowing absolutely fuck all about the setting that this book takes place in, but for the most part, thinking about that was hardly forefront in my mind as I was reading; the setting changes so rapidly that you hardly have a chance to focus on any one setting, and since the story is entirely defined by a long stream of grim and miserable events, it’s hardly as though you need to know all the relevant historical context to understand what’s going on. This does, however, make the constant namedropping of place names and historical details seem a tad incongruous with the breakneck pace, as I’ve got to keep flicking to the annotations at the back to understand them. (Yes, I really ought not to bother, as not knowing all this shit isn’t essential to understanding what is going on, but I still feel like I’m missing something in my reading if I’m not understanding everything). I feel that the story takes quite a long time to get to the moral; as much as I love the great amount of shit that is dealt to the characters, the book really keeps dealing out the shit right to the very end, to the point where when the ending moral does finally come along, it seems very much out of the blue and wasn’t really given enough build-up.

Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita This is among the more interesting texts that I have had to analyse, due in part to the fact that the narrative is split into two storylines, one of which is incredibly compelling and fun to read and the other is really rather dull and boring (especially by comparison). I suppose it’s lucky that the Pontius Pilate storyline (i.e the really boring one) is overshadowed by this book’s vast quantity of good shit. I’ve been trying to take a more professional look at the books that I ramble on - these are classics, after all - but I must admit that I struggle to think about this book in a professional way, because it’s very reminiscent of the usual low-brow fantasy nonsense that I pass the time with. Anything ‘proper' I can think of to talk about this book pales in comparison to the nonsense and hilarity of its content. Supposedly it is a satire, and I’ve held the view that all messages in satire are painfully obvious once you know that the text in question is meant to be satirical, but I struggled finding the message of this book. The gist of the book is that the Devil comes to Moscow to bring havoc and disarray to society, but the trouble with this is that I’m no expert on how the seemingly very complex and convoluted Russian society is supposed to run, and so any disarray catalysed by the Devil and his entourage is somewhat lost on me when I could have just as well attributed it to the overall madness and chaos of this sensationalised depiction of normal Russian society. Even before the Devil comes along, there are aspects of society that are told by the narrator as though they are attributable to otherworldly or otherwise fantastical sources, but because I often wasn’t fully sure as to what such fantastical stuff was actually satirising, I didn’t really get the full impact. Some elements of the satire are basic comments on universal human nature, with the Devil making fools of people who are vain or gluttonous or whatever, but oftentimes the satire is indeed dependent on knowing the ins and outs of 1930s Moscow; some of it I could surmise, some of it I couldn’t. The story follows a series of different characters whose lives are negatively altered by the influence of the Devil’s entourage, with things going wrong in any number of ways, and it is amazing fun to read; it’s very disorderly, but that’s the whole point. What did pose a challenge to me is how, with all these characters popping in and out of the story, with minimal descriptions and often not as much characterisation as I would have liked, I often got confused between them all - because, of course, we’ve got an abundance of three-part Russian names with ten bloody syllables in them (honestly whoever thought up the idea of patronymic surnames can bugger off). Obviously this isn’t a deal breaker, and anyone who reads this book will get the hang of it, but this book’s abundance of minor characters posed a bigger challenge than usual. (Oh and also the character names differ in different translations of the text, which is ever so fun to have to figure out). The characters are all alright, especially the Devil and his retinue, who are an absolutely delight (though they are admittedly best when they don’t have to carry stories on their own). I did however feel that the eponymous Master and Margarita didn’t really seem like main characters; the Master isn’t introduced until a good ways into the book and even then could easily be mistaken for another of the minor characters who appear and disappear in that part of the book, and though Margarita has a good few chapters to herself that really establishes her as quite a good character, by the end of the book she is subsumed pretty much entirely by her relationship with the Master. Also their connection to the ever-so-boring Pontius Pilate storyline can get a tad vexing, having to keep on returning to read about Pilate for a bit before the actual storyline can continue. I was wondering how a book with such a basic premise as this would have ended, since I didn’t really think this book could have ended in a way more interesting than ‘the Devil went home again and things returned roughly to normal’, but this book cleverly subverted my expectations by making the ending more Pontius Pilate bollocks.

Burgess - A Clockwork Orange I get the feeling that a lot of modern classics that are heralded as ‘the book that will change your life’ are going to be like this one, in that the actual story will by far and away be the most forgettable aspect of the book. Most of the things I love about this book are attributable to the narration. As someone who loves colloquialisms, Nadsat is an absolutely incredible language and it colours the book so brilliantly. Not only does it make the book incredibly fun to read, but it’s incredibly versatile, being able to diminish the horror and repulsion of the book’s acts with its alien descriptions and subsequently reflects Alex’s desensitisation to such matters. Alex is an incredibly interesting and compelling character, to the extent that I can forgive the book for not really having any other memorable characters. The book is really rather disturbing at points (to the extent that I don’t reckon I’ll ever be able to watch the film), but the aforementioned beautiful writing style/language and overall black comedy tone of the book carries it well. You don’t get a detailed look at the dystopian setting that the story takes place in, but what you can glean from Alex’s perspective is bloody amazing. However, the story is exactly what I expected it to be; heavy-handed satire with a few cool bits interspersed throughout, but overall the least interesting part of the book simply because it only serves to highlight the issues that it is satirising. The premise for this book is really cool, but in practice the story cannot do much other than display Alex being a bad person, or describing how his sadistic tendencies are remedied, over and over again. And in the end it hardly really mattered, because he goes back to the way he was at the beginning of the novel, and the one permanent change of his character occurs right at the end of the book in a rather anticlimactic manner. But of course you can’t feel too irritated by it, because the story, seemingly uneventful and circuitous as it is, is written so eloquently and fantastically that it is still a joy to read, and you’re willing to forgive its possible flaws.

Himes - The Heat’s On I haven’t read many books in the hardboiled genre, mainly because I felt that I didn’t need to read a lot of them to get a feel of what they are all like. This book features most everything I would expect from the genre, but perhaps a tad more sensationalised, which I like a lot. There’s a big horrible crime-ridden city, and there’s not one but TWO hard-as-nails policemen who have got to swear a lot and pistol-whip some motherfuckers for the good of society. Reading the blurb of this made me think of Sin City; the setup is generic but the characters and events within the story are absolutely ridiculous and very memorable. Characterisation is kept minimal because this is hardly the most profound of books, but none of the characters are one-dimensional. The writing is of course bloody great; it’s tight and clear, employs some excellent turns of phrase that make for surprisingly rich analysis despite how simple it is when taken at face value, and facilitates the story’s fast pace. Oh and of course, an important trope of hardboiled literature, this book included, is that the ending simply must be an anticlimactic frantic tying together of all loose ends. Since this book is essentially what I’d expected from a hardboiled text, I don’t have anything to say about it as an overall piece that couldn’t have already been surmised from me saying ‘it is a hardboiled text’; therefore, any comments that I have on this book aren’t really especially academic, but are more of just little subjective nitpicks. I do think that this book does venture at points into being a bit too silly; obviously I’m not expecting, or even hoping, for sophisticated literature here, but there needs to be consistency in its established stupidity. There’s a fine line this book walks between Machete’s level of dumbness and Machete Kills’ level of dumbness, and it often threatens to audaciously cross that line. Though I do appreciate the fast pace, because you need a fast pace in a book like this, there are times where character development occurs too quickly to be logical, and said development is often made when the plot itself has somewhat slowed down, which makes the irrational changes within people all the more noticeable. I base what I know about the hardboiled genre off of Hammett’s Red Harvest, and I reckon that although Himes is better than Hammett, Hammett did a few things better. Red Harvest took place in a fictitious city, and whilst Himes’ representation of Harlem is very sensationalised and fun, his constant name dropping of real place names can be a bit alienating when I know fuck all about anything American. Also this book isn’t really as centred on Harlem itself as I would have liked, instead continuously reaching out to other places in the world for its characters and plot progression. The lack of any molls or femme fatales was a bit saddening in some regards because that is a trope that I enjoy, but honestly the pursuit of love isn’t really forefront in the protagonists’ minds, and I’m content to substitute some romance subplot with more stupid action sequences.

Stuff I read this month that I couldn’t be arsed to ramble about: Maud: A Melodrama by Tennyson and a few miscellaneous poems from Christina Rossetti.

#book reviews #book ramblings #gogol #candide #voltaire #the master and margarita #bulgakov #a clockwork orange #burgess #the heat's on #himes

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