#her name is bubble and she is the equivalent of chaos | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zooterscooter · 7 months

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thank you for asking @expensive-muscle i will be doing that for sure

i had this sitting in my drafts for a while so here we go hehe. it'll be quite a bit so i do apologize in advance

original post with the tags

the guy with the mask will be first :) his name is mars (legally his name is micah, but he doesn't go by it anymore, not a deadname or anything he just doesn't like it. not terribly important but yknow) he's part of a group of four... outlaws... i guess ? the group consists of him, his sister, the other girl in the drawing (who's also the one in the fifth drawing) and one other guy (when you look a bit closer on the 8th drawing, he's the one in the speech bubble they're talking about. their names are cecil, finch and karman, in order of being mentioned

he was unfortunately caught in a warehouse fire a few years back (story wise) and was pretty badly scarred bc of it. he wears the mask so he doesn't have to walk around with his scarred face and blind eye showing. he really only wears it out in public and around strangers because it is quite uncomfortable

i'm still working on a group name for the four of them, and nothings really sticking. but since we're on the topic of them i'll talk about finch a bit :)

she's a hitman, late 20s. she's been employed by a bunch of higher power people in the city where she lives, so she's kinda sorta untouchable by law. she's been taken in a few times but is always bailed out by someone somehow. money can buy anything i suppose

the other two mentioned, karman and cecil, are kind of a team... as someone who has no clue how sports betting works (yet) i don't really know how to explain, but cecil is like... this worlds equivalent of a nascar driver kinda ? kinda not really. anyways. betting is legal in this city, but for karman and cecil it's like an inside job, if that makes any sense at all. i haven't thought about this group as a whole much if i'm being honest, but it'll come in time i hope

moving on !!

onto the "mf in the beanie" :3 her name is lilith and she's a screenwriter. her dad kinda sorta skipped town when she was younger, but she is super close with her mom, and they're so awesome. her mom gets a bit sick at one point, spending a lot of time at various hospitals, but she ultimately turns out fine

lilith wanted to peruse comedy as a career at one point, but she didn't really get as into it as she thought she would, so she just sticks to the behind the scenes by writing :)

the "homosexual friendship" is about her now girlfriend, who was an alchemist at one point a few years ago but i've changed her career a bit and don't know the exact word to describe it 😭 her name is ophelia, very smart, very pretty, younger sister.

i'm going to be honest with you, dear readers. lilith was a danganronpa self insert at one point. she comes from a simpler time. her and her girlfriend, tho said gf wasn't a self insert, just a dangan oc. not anymore tho....

the more i rack my brain for info the more i realize i just. don't have the descriptors for anything that they do. questions welcome and encouraged

now onto the rest of the people in the drawings, i'll attempt keep them short and simple hehe

1st drawing- ophelia/her sisters moms, vada medea (left) and sage (right) both are biological. i took inspo from how the "making babies from bone marrow" stuff that's kinda sorta happening in the science scene. the timeline for all this takes place about a hundred years from now, so i think they'd be figuring out how to do it with little complication. i am not a scientist myself, so i have plenty research to do to get the specifics down

2nd drawing- ophelia's sister, rue, and some 180 year old freak scientist. the freak is the one in the sewer. he had a grand time fucking up a bunch of people and giving them what appear to be lizard scales, and then was told to get the hell out of the city lest he causes more chaos. unfortunately the scales get passed down, but they really have no impact on the lives of the people who have them. rue is nurse who lowkey gets corrupted by the freak (his name is emrys) after her girlfriend passes from a long battle with various medical complications. she takes her grief to the wrong person and starts to lose her mind.

3rd drawing- their names are kaleo (left) and Non (right) not quite sure what their deal is exactly if i'm being honest. kaleo is a boxer, and Non just... exists really. he's alive to be pals with kaleo so far 😭 he's one of the people who had the scales passed down to him, which is silly and fun. kaleo is related to the person in the 6th drawing, which i will get to

4th drawing- zephyr (left) and kairos (right). detective and cop due respectively. sometimes they're tasked with keeping up with finch and her little gang of criminals but they can't really do much.

5th drawing- that's finch. love her

6th drawing- her name is desdemona and she's a spirit freak. she's been alive for hundreds of years or maybe she was just willed into being alive yesterday. she's got a bunch of weird spiritual abilities, like time travel (sounds cheesy) and communicating with the dead. she also eats people sometimes but that's a minor thing don't worry about it. she's the "wrong person" rue went to after her girlfriend died... oopsie. kaleos relative somehow also. the body on the floor is her ""human disguise"" because she can't really walk around town with a skull on her head. said skull isn't hers btw

7th drawing- holt (welding the sandwich) and caspien (watching him weld) they're just a little duo of gays tbh. it would take a while for me to explain it all so lmk if anyone wants to hear about it. holt is a mechanic, early 20s, and caspien is legally dead but he's fine. has wicked nightmares a lot but other than that he's fine. caspien and zephyr are brothers.

8th drawing- finch and mars :)

9th drawing- lilith (explained above) and her pal alaric. alaric is the guy that knows everyone and everything about the city they're in. somehow related to emrys (sewer freak) but neither of them are exactly sure how. emrys shouldn't even be alive but here he is, corrupting the youth

10th drawing- eve and varden :) (varden is @yaffles-world 's oc, shoutout to you) eve is sage's sister, making him ophelia and rues uncle. one of the only guys in the family which is lowkey funny bc he's a trans guy. someone had to attempt to balance the scales i guess. varden is his secret partner he hid from everyone for like 15 years because he was scared of being made fun of for some reason. i dunno. he's my main projection oc and even i don't get it. his full legal first name is evening btw. he's named this because i was like "hey wouldn't this be funny ?" and then it stuck. eve is an astrophysicist (which is why his name is funny to me) and varden is a mechanic :) lots of mechanics in the city

and with that im gonna cut it off or else i'd just keep yapping on in a single post about everything. thanks for taking the time to read this all if you did, please PLEASE ask questions i obviously love talking. asks are encouraged

#god who the fuck let me talk about these clowns bro this ain't even half of them #or half of their stories tbh.#there are a tonnnn of things i need to keep looking into if it wasn't obvious LMAO #anyways. shutting up now 🫶#lee oc posting

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weekend-whip · 2 years

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Nya + S: Sirens by Hop Along

S. Music Choice (Sirens by Hop Along) (Major Spoilers for Crystalized)

(Send me a letter and a character and I’ll write a small fic!)

AO3 Version

. . .

For a single year and a few days, someone once named Nya had twirled around the waves in an eternal dance, echoing the calls of her dolphin friends and fish followers. She had seen the bottom of the deepest trenches of the ocean that divers and fishermen could only dream of, and breached the sea’s surface to bask in the sparkling rays of the sun on the finest mornings. She made the ocean her sky as she spread her wings in the form a dragon and glided through cloudy waters, and she’d sing siren songs in a solo choir born of melodies and sea salt, inviting anyone out there who could hear her to join in or simply listen.

She could go anywhere, be anything, see everything...

She just couldn’t be Nya anymore.

Her mind briefly flashes back to the precipice of it all, standing atop the highest building in all of Ninjago, where the division between Nya Smith and the Endless Sea began to rapidly disappear. If someone had asked her right there and then if it was going to be worth it...

She’d think of the hopelessness the world faced, all of Ninjago threatened to be returned to the sea from which it was wrenched out of. She’d think of all the people that would become lost beneath the waves had she’d done nothing. She’d think of the friends, family, and loved ones she’d leave behind in the single act of saving them all.

And she’d think of how the sea itself lures her in with a siren call that harmonizes perfectly with the tune of her own watery soul, and how there’s no way she could possibly deny the pull. Even if she tried...even if she wanted to.

She’d dive off the edge of the building, spreading her arms as she flies into her new domain and dragging the flood along with her in her departure to the ocean.

She’d give up her freedom, all that she is to become everything of something else, and in an act of love, in a bid to preserve life itself...

She’d give up everything with a smile and she would say,

“Yes.”

It was worth it.

. . .

But suddenly, all that vastness is swept away in a brilliant burst—her connection to every last drop of water within this realm severed and the immense comfort it offered is replaced by two arms that pull her in and hold her close. Which, somehow, is nearly equivalent. As if by instinct, she clutches at the hand that drifts into her vision, drawn together like the pieces of a yin and yang.

She feels another familiar hand run through her hair—a hand roughened by both hard work and battle, and somewhere in the bubbling, resurfacing memories that had been drowned...Nya recalls that it belongs to her brother.

The moment of reprieve is brief and fleeting—just when she gets used to sensing things that are dry and warm and solid again, this familiar comfort finds itself chained in handcuffs.

She’s not fully conscious, but through bleary eyes she can see her friends, her teammates, her family dragged around like criminals, and they’re surrendering themselves willingly, and they’re all smiling at her for some reason despite the fact that this is all wrong and she’s not even entirely sure of why or what’s happening or who those other ninja are or what but—but—but—

“I hope it was worth it, criminal.”

She hears the question asked over the sound of the helicopters outside; over the sound of the police sirens surrounding their once peaceful monastery. She wants to protest, wants to move, wants to scream in opposition and unleash a watery wrath unto those who would treat her friends like this, who risked everything just to see her live her life again—

But, she can’t seem to find any of that fight in her, all of her energy going just towards staying awake.

And when asked again if the chaos they’d sown was worth it, if the lives they’d uprooted in the process had been worth it, if going against their own principles just for this had been worth it, Nya’s own personal resolve shakes a bit—she did this—her choice led to this—this is her fault—

But Lloyd Garmadon only casts his green gaze in her direction, where she’s now safely surrounded by Wu, Pixal, and Skylor, and he’s got the nerve to smile in the wake of all these disasters occurring at once—

—and fleetingly, Nya wonders if this is how they felt when she had fled into the sea grinning with content—

—and she can’t find it in her to get angry over this, because all of them, even Zane with his neutral expression, have made peace with their decisions...and are pleased by the outcome regardless.

She thinks of the hopelessness the world will face without them, all of Ninjago potentially threatened by villains that will come to believe the world has no one to protect it anymore. She thinks of all the people who once believed in the goodness of Ninja, turned entirely inside out by what could be painted as a selfish endeavor for their own ends. She thinks of all the friends, family, and loved ones they’re all leaving behind in the act of saving a single soul.

And she thinks of how the group is led outside in a single-file line, pulled closer and closer towards the dulled sound of the sirens outside that harmonizes with the dissonance within her mind, and how they aren’t possibly fighting against the pull. They don’t even try...and they don’t even want to.

Lloyd marches with his head held high out of the monastery, taking the rest of the ninja along with him in their departure to be placed behind bars, where the light of the outside world wouldn’t reach them again for years to come.

They give up their freedom, all that good reputation that they’ve built up over the years in exchange to become the very thing they once fought against, and in an act of love, in a bid to preserve a single life itself...

Lloyd gives up everything with a smile and says,

“Yes.”

It was worth it.

. . .

Nya currently lays in the place she calls home, in a monastery upon a mountain once filled with people that loved her—a number cut by over half now that the boys have found themselves in jail. The sirens of the police helicopters echoed throughout the night as they carried her brother, her boyfriend, her best friends all away...and left behind only a melancholic silence.

Nothing calls her any longer: not the siren song of her friends in the ocean, not the sirens of the police or firemen or the ambulances that swept the city in the wake of the ninjas’ quest just to get her back...

Her ties to the entirety of the sea, her greatest ties to the land...both of them, gone within the same instance.

Wu, Pixal, and even Skylor drift back and forth past her room, always exchanging looks of concern or pity, but unable to actually figure out how to help. None of them could relate to the sudden–and apparent—complete loss of one’s element. None of them knew how to be human again, once you’d briefly been among the realm of something nearly divine.

And when you were once the vastness of the Endless Sea, reaching out to every corner of the realm they now call Ninjago...

The sudden silence is suffocating, and somehow

being almost alone in all the world

unable to hear the call of another

out there, somewhere waiting

has never felt quite as

lonely as it does

now.

And she wonders, if giving up everything truly is worth it, when the ones you gave it up for aren’t around to even appreciate it.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #nya smith #nya ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #fic tag #listen i couldn't come up with ANYTHING #so i just blasted the song in my ears and went off baby #why am i so dramatic in these #im doing a fluffy one next #crystalized spoilers #ns16 spoilers #ninjago crystalized #ninjago spoilers #spoilers

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maguro13-2 · 16 days

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The Dark Picture ~ Origins of the Ink Demon : Operation Drawcia Pt.7 ~

"Back at Water Palace..."

[JINMEN GYO - Sota Fujimori]

Sonic : Oh boy! He seems pretty hungry! Unless, we're worm food!

Seto : I never thought that Konami has some pretty good tricks up in it's sleeves, but I can't let anyone do something foolish for this, just lure us as bait.

Solva : We gotta fry that fish creature!

Sonic : Any plans on how to stop this creature?

Eve : Things are quite hasty for this kind of battle, but I don't look that very tasty!

Seto : I think I have a solution! If we can we use a powerful attack that will make the human face fish bleed out, he can be toast for sure! He won't able to feel a thing when he is in pain! He'll be sushi for breakfast!

Solva : I know how to roast this monster death!

Sonic : But how!

Eve : [Thinking] Hmmm...[determined] I think I got an idea, what if we used this burn him out quickly? I know we'll use some fire power!

Sonic : Great Idea, that will--*bubbling* Was that me, passing gas?

Solva : No that wasn't you, that's something else in underwater. *bubbling*

Sonic : Like what?

Solva : Like duck! (sonic evades as Jinmen Gyo jumps) Everyone evade the platforms from side to side so we don't get eaten by this organic creature!

(the group evades by jumping on the other platforms while Jinmen Gyo is trying to eat them)

Seto : Hope I don't get sea sick from all of this jumping!

Eve : No worries! We gotta stick to the plan!

Solva : And how exactly! We don't know how to take human face fish creature down! Now are you going to help us or we'll be stuck fish food to that thing!? I hope I don't drown and don't wear a floating, practically good at swimming!

Seto : How should I know!? Even hedgehogs don't know how to swim!

Sonic : How should you know!? Of course I don't even--!? Oh very funny! You finally recognized that hedgehogs doesn't have the ability to swim and took me to sudden realization that I could use a swimming vest to swim in the ocean! Drowning suck you know!

Eve : Uhh, guys? I think you might wanna look at him.

Seto : Uh-oh. That can't be good!

(Jinmen Gyo starts swallowing up the platforms)

Sonic : Yikes! He's drinking up the water to get us swallowed! If he does that, we're all gonna be fish food!

Eve : Then we'll have prove something useful!

(scene flips to show Jinmen Gyo submerged to the surface and defeated)

Eve : Wow! That went quite an amazing idea! How did you know that he was gonna bleed out.

Sonic : Incredible, despite this calling itself an alien, I can't believe that he was one of Red Falcon's Organic creatures.

Tails : (via radio) Hey, Sonic. How's going?

Sonic : Pretty much, Tails. So you discovered who caused a tear in the space-time continuum?

Tails : It's Eggman Nega isn't it? He's an interdimensional criminal from another dimension and he came here to destroy our world, but eventually, there's something fishy about the rift of the space-time continnuum, it's because of the powers of the Sol Emeralds, seven jewels that are equivalent to the Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic : Yeah, but right now, it's more interested that 2005 is the year that the Dreamcast Era is going to convert into the new era right before the Black Arms Invasion started. Why does this years becoming a pain to me? I'm not interested in a shadow fetish.

Seto : Don't get too cocky, I heard rumors that a young girl named Patricia Thompson, aka Patty, went two years ago after her sister Liz discovered something hidden within Brooklyn that contains a dark secret that New York has fed up with the lies of Soul Eater. What's their angle?

"Meanwhile later..."

[San Francisco, California]

[Kombinat - Naofumi Hataya]

Liz Thompson : So... How was the whole being stuck in a love triangle thing after having ties with Makoto Asagiri being the childhood fiance of Maka Albarn. So this is what it's feels like to be alone, huh? Can't say how things are going to turn so well after Maka disappeared from this here town she grew up on.

Soul Evans : It's only been a day since I started my own army organization, I discovered what will happen if no one would notice that I started as a sidekick, but me being a weapon such a dangerous tool think of. I wonder how long does this Ohkuboverse will unveil secrets after a guy named Shotaro the Dokeshi had went missing during the investigation. Not interested after what happened to Maka Albarn. I guess, she didn't to be taken away. (Drinks a can of root beer) How do you like that, Mr. guy who brought the madness. Tell that Hercules.

Liz Thompson : Yeah, I felt your pain. I'm still wondering about my sister's missings. She could be out there in New York City, why would Maka ever be obessed with that Crona Kid? Can't she get off this Crona Kid for once and find herself a real boyfriend? It's driving us nuts!

*footsteps approaching*

Liz Thompson : Thank god, where have you been after two years, patty?

Soul Evans : Thank god, somebody showed up! Patty Thompson, I heard about Maka Albarn being taken away by the other reaper, I just wanted to tell you that--*DBZ SFX : Grab* NGH!? (gets thrown) WOAAAAAAAHHHH!!!

*CRASH!*

Soul Evans : You motherf***er! How could you do that to your own comrades!?

Liz Thompson : Patty, what do you're think doing!? What do you got against Soul Evans!?

Patty Thompson (?) : Who are you calling patty for...? I knew that I could not be any longer in this disguised form that I was the reincarnation of Iris, but you are wrong.

Liz Thompson : What are we wrong for what, Patty? A reincarnation of Iris? If you're a reincarnation of someone who died about 1000 years ago, then you sounded like...

[Burning Combat - Sota Fujimori]

Patty Thompson (?) : True. I never thought that a couple of bratty teenagers would uncover the truth fairly accurately. But beyond that comprehension, do you know who I really am?

Liz Thompson : Someone sounded like that you're not even my sister!

Patty Thompson (?) : Correction! (Her head began convert her appearance, revealing to be nothing more than Amaterasu)

*DBZ SFX : Surprise*

Soul Evans : Where's her sister? What did you...

Amaterasu : Her sister went hiding in Japan, she's still fine as the Ink Demon we all know, but don't worry, I'll let you proceed so that the so-called gods of the Ohkuboverse wouldn't suspect my real intentions.

Liz Thompson : What do you want from us stranger?

Amaterasu : I'll tell you what I want, Shinra. (Points to Chao World onto the right) He residing in that place.

Soul Evans : You wanna know something? You some kind doppelganger or do you know about the guy who started Soul Eater?

Amaterasu : Yeah, what do you wanna know something about Shinra. And by the way, I was the one who tricked you into being the devil of Brooklyn, you've been only a puppet to me.

Liz Thompson : You mean the real Patty Thompson was kidnapped all this time and nobody told me this!? Alright, if you wanted something to give me a fight, (takes off shoes to go barefooted and prepares to fight) Then I have no choice by duel with you fair enough! Let's settle this, woman to woman! And I'm not giving up without a fight.

Amaterasu : I worth saving this for a quite sometime. With Shinra in the palm of hands, I'll be able to get you out of the shadows. But I'm gonna have to deal with you first!

"A BATTLE WITH A TREMENDOUS IMPOSTOR!"

~ Mission 06 : Amaterasu Returns ~

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songbirds-of-halcyon · 4 months

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And now for a happy post after the enraged post…

We had a birthday meal today! It was great. It went way better than the last one which was absolutely chaos and ended up triggering 🌑 out, which is almost impossible.

Anyways, we went to a sushi restaurant (for me), then we went to build-a-bear (for me the kids), then we got bubble tea (for someone who’s not on the blog). It was mild chaos, but a good kind. Traffic in the capital or where we live is a nightmare and parking’s fun when the entrance to the parking lot is like the road equivalent of a spiral staircase, but it was fine. My parents both tried sushi (liked it), and I ended up teaching mum how to use chopsticks (which she ended up ditching for a fork anyways).

We got a froggie. Their name’s River. We bought them clothes too. We wanna get custom clothes for them because we have 2 (other is a bunny called Angel we got before our PIP assessment) and one just has no clothes.

Soon we’re going for another meal with our mum and auntie. We have leftover cake too.

(Then it’s back to constant doctors appointments and not leaving the house until our surgery date. We told them about the DID btw and we didn’t even have to explain it to her, she actually knew what it was, and that was literally the first time that’s happened to us lol. Also they’re cool with it. Our care team’s gonna know and help with any issues that might happen like unexpected switches, amnesia, panic attacks, etc. It’s all good and things are going right for once if you ignore the looming chaos in regards to our other health issues.)

-🌸

#🌸#the songbirds sing #system stuff

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botanicallyinclinednerd · 3 years

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The knights as dads:

Elyan:

Always sits with his kids after they wake up from nightmares, reassuring them and rocking them back to sleep

Reads them bed time stories and always does voices for the characters

Forehead kisses his kids a lot

When they are little he swings them around while dancing with them in the candle light of their home, and when they get older, they stand on his feet and dance around with him like that

Makes them presents just because

Fusses over them when they are sick, bringing them soup and cheering them up in anyway he can

Percival:

His kids use him as a jungle gym when they are little and he loves it. He also gives them piggy back rides

When they are small, he would gently toss them in the air and catch them again (he could still do this even when they got older, but they started to object to it so he stopped)

Is scared when they are babies he's going to accidentally hurt them because they are so tiny and he's so big, but of course he never does. He turns into an even bigger softie than usual when he's around his kids. The gentlest giant

I dont know what the medieval equivalent would be, but Percival gives me vibes of a dad that would try to help his kids with their homework and just be so incredibly lost and confused. Especially math.

Is good at calming down his kids from tantrums when they are little and from stress and anxiety attacks when they are older

Leon:

Teaches his kids life skills, how to fight, use a sword, fire a cross bow. If he were to have a daughter and she asked to be taught, he would teach her

He isn't around as often as he'd like due to his position, but whenever he is around, he makes every moment count

When ever one of his kids expresses a new intrest, Leon always listens and learns about it so he can talk to his kids about it and assist them with it if it has a physical aspect to it

His kids know so much about weaponry and the history and process behind weapons because Leon loves talking about that stuff

Is proud of his kids and is sure to tell them so

Reads them bed time stories and tells them some of the tamer knight stories he has

Leon ruffles his kids hair a lot. Its a sign of his affection. Hugs and hair ruffles that sounds like the name of the parenting book he writes and gives to gwaine so he stops coming to him in a panic every other hour

Lancelot:

Lancelot is a funny dad. He cracks dad jokes and puns left and right and breaks into a giant smile whenever his kids laugh at them (and if his friends happen to groan at his jokes, well thats just an added bonus)

He has the energy of "What did mom say?" "No" "then why are you asking me? The answer is still no" while winking at them

Is a confidant for his kids and makes sure they know he is always on their side and there for them

He's a fun dad but is also very aware and concerned for their safety and well being

"I'm not mad. Just disappointed"

Gwaine:

Is the last of the knights to have kids and he is always going to the others for advice, usually in a panic

The other knights are Gwaine's version of a modern day parenting book

Leon is either the most patient or least patient of the knights when it comes to Gwaine's questions, I can't decide

Gwaine is fairly hands on, and I see him as a bit of a helicopter parent. If bubble wrap was a thing, he'd wrap his kids in it

He becomes less reckless about charging into fights after he becomes a dad. He doesn't want his kids to grow up without a father

When they are older, like teenagers, he finally starts to relax more. Regales them with stories, help them get away with mischief. He becomes a cool dad later in life

He has a teasing sassy dynamic with his kids when they get a bit older. Loving insults that Gwaine pretends to get dramatically offended by (the smile gives him away)

He's so proud of them "they are so much smarter than me, look at them"

All of the knights:

They are all incredibly proud of their kids and brag about them all the time

The knights are uncles to each other's kids

Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, and Gwaine all dramatically "die" when they first teach their kids how to sword fight and they land a hit. Leon is much more serious about it and while he heaps on praise, he does not play dead

They get into massive prank wars with alliances. The knights have alliances with each other and they think their kids have the same alliances but they are wrong. It devolves into chaos. Alliances are broken and it becomes a free for all. In the end though, everyone teams up against Gwaine

Shout out to my irl friend Abby for squeeling with me about Dad!Knights and helping me come up with half of these head canons.

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hasmashdoneanythingwrong · 4 years

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Please! The Elder Scrolls lore!

Oh man bad wording on your part, we’re going to start from the beginning and I am going to have fun with this!

The literal blood sweat and tears of creation

So, like all good cosmologies, this one starts with a good old fashion “in the beginning, there was nothing”. And then, from this nothingness came two... let’s call them gods, that’s the closest term we have. Really, they’re more akin to the Greek Protogenoi In that they were closer to sapient forces of cosmic power than anything else. These two gods represented what many will call the great dichotomy: Anu, God of Stasis, and Padomay , God of Change. Another way to think of it is as order and chaos, but more in the sense of “things staying the same” and “things changing constantly”. These two just kind of sat around doing cosmic forces things...

When BAM! Another cosmic force (Likely representing the idea of creation) appeared. Her name was Nir, And she was so sexy that all two other people in creation at the time were like “Holy shit...!” And then Nir looked at Anu And was like “Holy Shit…!” So of course, the two of them immediately hit it off, got to work making worlds, and we’re really really happy together because they exist in the universe before “Being a shitty person to your spouse” was a concept. However, you know what was A concept? Murder and also maybe jealousy. Padomay Looked at the two of them being happy and was like “That should be me, those fuckers!” So he went up to Nir And was like hey you should ditch my stupid brother and go out with me instead we can make all sorts of cool shit. And Nir was like “What am I a cheater? Go away jerk”.

Padomay did not like this. So he went full Yandere and killed Nir and her 12 or so children/worlds.

Anu did not like this, because he helped make those and even in a timeless primordial void life was sacred.

So Anu was like “Stop! You violated the law! Pay the court a fine, or serve your sentence! Your stolen goods are now forfeit.” Padomay obviously said no and Anu was all like “Then pay with your blood!” And started fighting Padomay. However, unlike the average city guard that makes the exact same speech, Anu Was actually a powerful individual, and proceeded to rip Padomay So many new assholes that Padomay died. Then Anu was like “My wife... My Children... There’s only one thing left to do here...!”, took their shattered remains, and began piecing them together into something new. If this sounds weird and/or creepy to you, consider our own real world mythologies, and realize honestly, by creation myth standards, This is pretty tame and actually kind of nice.

But before Anu could really do anything...

Padomay: (DBZ teleport noise) Omae Wa Mou... Shindeiru.

Anu: Nani?!

(Both proceed to explode into massive puddles of blood and soul)

And from there, these massive pools of blood and soul (now named Sithis (Padomay’s Blood, The Primal “Is Not”) and Anui-El (Anu’s Blood, The Primal “Is”)) began to expand out infinitely. Where they touched created this weird sort of… Not order not chaos but also yes order and yes chaos area that we will simply call… The Aurbis.

Of course, truth is this is but one variation of How It’s Made Aurbis Edition. Some versions have snakes, some have Anu and Padomay simply eject their souls into Anui-El and Lorkhan/Sithis, who can say. All of them are technically true and false at the same time anyways. But more importantly, all of these variations are both canon, non-canon, and quasi-canon. Fun!

Hakuna Et’Ada

So in this bloody pit, The Aurbis was not the only thing to come out of this. From these three blood settings (Anu, Padomay, and Mixed) came the original spirits, which later peoples would call Et’Ada. Depending on who you ask, certain spirits originated from particular mixtures, But the reality is different spirits just sorta became different things regardless of which blood puddle they originated from. Some claim what would become the Daedra came only from Padomay’s blood, But if that were the case, then Jyggalag is hella weird since that would make him a Chaos God of Order. And Meridia was a Magna-Ge so... yeah. So for now, lets just assume every named Et’Ada that isn’t Lorkhan came from evenly intermingled blood.

Anyways, as all these spirits came to be they emerged to what is best described as a the metaphysical equivalent of a pyramid made of tesseract spirals colored RedOrangUrPinCyan but also YellOchErmilliFuchIte being formed into a pentagon. That is to say, hella interesting to watch. So the Et’Ada were kind of content to couch potato and watch the resulting three way of the 3rd, ith (as in the imaginary number), and -680th dimensions.

All but one. See, one Et’Ada was purely Padomayic/Sithic, and his name was Lorkhan. And being essentially the embodiment of Chaos and Change, Lorkhan was like “Man this isn’t exciting enough”. So he kept getting bored, until one “day” (day as a relative term since time didn’t exist yet) he got so bored he went to the edge of The Aurbis and saw it looked like a wheel with 8 spokes. He said “huh that’s weird” tilted his head to the side and immediately Understood(tm) because he beheld the letter and concept “I”. Except not really, because as an Et’Ada he could never Understand. But he understood he did not Understand, so he knew how other spirits could Understand. So he was like “I have an Idea” and left to tell/cajole/convince the other spirits to participate. Some didn’t like his idea, bust secretly they kind of did. So they fucked off and made their own worlds out of themselves while retaining all their power. The 13 most powerful became the Daedric Princes, and all together the spirits that did not participate in Lorkhan’s plan became known as the Daedra (An old word meaning “Not Our Ancestors, singular form Daedroth (not to be confused with the crocodile like Daedra)). Meanwhile, all the other spirits thought this totally sounded cool, especially the one who would become Kynareth/Kyne (note that many creation myths have her heavily associated with Lorkhan and/or his equivalent figures, like Shor). One of these Et’Ada, a mighty spirit of mostly Anui-El named Magnus, was of course chosen to be the Architect and planner, for he understood the concept of order and planning better than anyone save maybe Auri-El/Auriel/Akatosh, who was basically Anui-El’s equivalent to Lorkhan. And eventually, after many not-months and a whole lot of untime later, Magnus was like “It’s done, let’s put this bad boy together!”, and Lorkhan was like “It’s Just According To Keikaku”, and unfortunately he said this right as the spirits were in the middle of making Lorkhan’s Cool Thing and realized it was kiiiiind of killing them to do. Also unfortunately for Lorkhan, they all knew Keikaku means plan. So Magnus and his closest followers/diciples/apprentices were like “fuck this!” And tore holes into reality to escape to Aetherius, which is what surrounds the bubble of reality Lorkhan’s Cool Thing exists in. However, Lorkhan immediately said “It’s Just According to Keikaku” again because by doing that, Lorkhan’s Cool Thing was exposed to Magicka, and also that made the stars (with Magnus’s exit becoming The Sun).

Never let it be said Lorkhan didn’t know how plans worked.

After that the remaining gods decided to Convene upon Lorkan’s Cool Thing to decide on how to punish him for saying the old memes and also for nearly killing them. This meeting (called Convention) was held upon what would become Adamantine Tower, aka Ada-Mantia. Eventually, it was decided that Lorkhan was to be executed for being a massive tool who tricked the Et’Ada into sacrificing themselves for Lorkhan’s Cool Thing. They also decided to rename Lorkhan’s Cool Thing to Nirn as they realized that Lorkhan’s creation had sort of recreated Nir as she was before Padomay killed her (I forgot to mention his killing Nir kind of maimed the fuck out of her too) without really bringing her to life again. So eventually it was decided that Lorkhan was to be executed, but that didn’t work out as well since everything they tried to do to him just didn’t work. So Lorkhan once again said “It’s Just According To Keikaku” and Auri-El was like “Anu and Padomay dude what do you even mean by that?!”, to which Lorkhan explained:

“My Heart is the Heart of the World, for one was made to satisfy the other!” (By the way I’m 90% certain he actually said something like this.)

So hearing this, both Auri-El and a spirit named Trinimac proclaimed “If your heart is so satisfied by the world, then the world can have it!” (Not really, But it builds up to what they really did). Then, Trinimac tore Lorkhan in half and pulled the heart out before Lorkhan could be not torn in half, then gave it to Auri-El who fastened it upon an arrow and fired it from his bow.

You may know this bow, it takes a form mortals can use sometimes. Which bow? Think of Auri-El’s other names.

Anyways, as the heart was flying over what would become Tamriel, it’s blood flew all over the damn place. Most of the blood would become the metal Ebony, which is why it’s so powerful a metal as it’s essentially dried god’s blood. Other places, such as... oh, let’s throw out the middle of Cyrodiil for no reason, the blood would crystalize. Oh, and I lied because I threw out Cyrodiil for a reason and that reason is one crystalized blood lump would become the Chim-El-Adabal, and later the Amulet of Kings, a very important necklace.

Meanwhile, the other gods used Lorkhan’s halves to make the Moons, because what else would you do with dead god corpse parts?

Eventually, the Heart of Lorkhan would hit the ocean, where it would give rise to a massive volcano island people would later call Morrowind, and from this volcano Lorkhan’s heart would give one last “It’s Just According To Keikaku”, for this too was planned. For you see, by doing this Lorkhan subconsiously introduced the concept of a straight line to Auri-El, the spirit of time. And by doing that, it forced Time to go from one point to the other instead of doing what it wanted. The first two Towers were made, and Nirn was at last out of Beta and in Release Phase. Bugfixes and stability patches (more Towers) to follow later.

Realizing they could not live forever with their divinity drained into Nirn, the Et’Ada (now renamed Aedra, meaning “Our Ancestors”) began to have descendants, the Ehlnofey (Earthbones, aka Demi-Gods). These Ehlnofey were the creators of the laws of physics, so to speak, known as Truths. Some created gravity, others said “hey maybe all this magicka floating around should be usable” and invented magic, and so on and so forth. These became known as The Earthbones. That said, many Ehlnofey simply had children, what would become Mer (elves) and Men. Argonians, meanwhile, came about because a chunk of one of those old worlds Nir created landed on Nirn in the form of the Hist. And the Khajiit... uh... I have no clue actually, I’ll get back to you on that one. Something involving the moons I know that much.

Towers, the Tacks of Reality

So, I’m sure you’re wondering, since I’ve mentioned the concept at least twice now, “hasmashdoneanythingwrong.com, What are The Towers in the metaphysical sense?”, To which I say… This is actually a very interesting concept. It’s best explained with The Map Metaphor. Imagine, if you will, Mundus (the pocket of reality Nirn resides in within the Aurbis) as a corkboard. Now, lay a map of Tamriel/Nirn over the corkboard. And now, take several pins and/or tacks and place them in areas roughly akin to the following areas:

High Rock’s Adamantine Tower

Morrowind’s Red Mountain/Red Tower

Summerset Isle’s Crystal Tower/Crystal-Like-Law

Cyrodiil’s White-Gold Tower/Imperial Palace

Yokuda’s Orchalc Tower (just imagine it somewhere in the ocean. You may notice a problem here, we’ll get to that soon...ish.)

The Dwemer’s Numidium/Walk-Brass/Brass Tower (pin this one pretty much anywhere on the Daggerfall region, basically somewhere in High Rock or Hammerfell). This one’s weird because it’s techincally in the future but active now. For best bets represent it with a tack made of transparent plastic.

Valenwood’s Green-Sap

Skyrim’s Snow-Throat/Throat of the World

Keep a few other pins on hand in case Bethesda reveals a tower in either Akavir, Pyandonea, or (unlikely but possible) Thras.

So, now you imagine the map, right? These pins, The Towers, hold Mundus/Nirn together and keep them from sinking into Oblivion.

So of course here’s where it all goes to fuck. Do the following:

Remove Red Mountain, Crystal Tower, White-Gold Tower, and Orichalc Tower.

Pull Snow-Throat half way out (while not deactivated it is “damaged” somehow.)

Not a whole lot of pins left, eh? But, one good piece of news: there is one more force holding Nirn/Mundus out of Oblivion.

Do the following:

Put a metric fuckton of gold tacks around the edge of the map, and imagine them being set up to automatically pull the Tower Pins out if they all get pulled out.

What tower is that? None! It is instead Talos, who is secretly holding the world together. Horrifyingly, this means killing the dude in Whiterun that preaches about Talos is bad, as Talos needs worshippers to maintain his power. Which means the Thalmor will unmake reality if they completely remove Talos Worship.

Don’t worry, they know and are banking on that happening. Why do you think that one Thalmor in the College of Winterhold questline was so excited about “the power to unmake the world at [his] fingertips”?

Wait, no. Do worry.

And somewhere, Akatosh is complaining about his neck and his back.

Time is a funny thing on Nirn. Turns out, making Time be based on making a single god know what a straight line is is very... unstable. Unstable enough that it’s possible to Break it. Yes, capital B. A Dragon Break is what they’re called. When a Dragon Break occurs, Time goes back to what it once was and becomes... fucky. Children birth their fathers, mothers divorce men they never met until five years from a prior divorce they never had, and dogs and cats decide now’s a good time to be friends. Fun! So when this happens, the Jills come out to Shout at Time until it bitches down and stops being broken, like a hoard of shitty therapists. If you’re wondering what a Jill is, basically it’s a female Dragon. Well, female by mortal standards. See, dragons’ genders are based on whether they want to fix thing or break things, and I am completely serious on that. So far, the most famous two Dragom Breaks occured:

When the Maruhkati Selectives, a rabidly Anti-Elf cult sect of an already pretty Anti-Elf group known as the Alessian Order, attempted to purge Auri-El from Akatosh because Auri-El was the aspect elves worshiped. As you can imagine, that went horribly.

The endings of Daggerfall, where at parallel points in different timelines several factions attempted to use Numidium all at once. The end result was the Warp In The West, Mannimarco becoming a God of Necromancy, Orcs getting rights, and the Illac Bay not being a massive clusterfuck (mostly). Numidium tends to do that, being the Dwemer’s walking middle finger to reality.

More Fun Facts about stuff available upon request, But for now I need to stop or I’ll make this too long for anyone.

#not fate #tes lore #long post

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slightlyrebelliouswriter23 · 4 years

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Ace of Spades

This beautiful cover art was drawn by @corpsecro ! ♠︎💫

Summary: Inej Ghafa, most certainly not a tomato, endures the drunken Barrel King’s witticisms and the Kaz Brekker equivalent of a lacy negligee. That is all.

Chapter 2- A Smiteable Offence

There was not much Inej Ghafa wouldn’t have done to have been able to frame a portrait of his expression in that very moment.

She was used to seeing Kaz’s scheming face. In fact, they’d once made a game out of spotting it, all those months ago. Her heart still ached for those memories, and the people she’d had to leave behind.

But the expression Kaz wore was nothing at all like his scheming face.

I have a proposal, she’d said.

And for the first time in all the years she’d known him, Kaz Brekker had looked truly flummoxed. As if he was trying to puzzle out what it was before she told him.

The opposite of his scheming face, in every respect.

Inej imagined it was the expression he was so used to seeing reflected on the faces of others while he plotted. A little thrill ran through her. That she had been the one to draw that expression on his face was a feat worthy of endless bragging rights.

But Inej had promptly schooled her features into cruel amusement—a mask she’d perfected during her time on the high seas, when there was no other option than to remain either cruel or amused or some mad combination of both.

Then, Inej had ordered Kaz out of the bath.

“Why?” he’d groused. “I can hear you just fine from amongst the bubbles, Inej dear.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Inej had said. “However, I think Ghezen might just smite us both for discussing matters of business in such an unbusinesslike setting.”

He’d given her an incredulous look, his eyes like pools of spilt ink, and she’d thought of lemons and elephants and vomiting over the side of her ship to keep herself from blushing.

Kaz had held her gaze from under sable lashes, his head wreathed in clouds of pink bubbles. “So this is for Ghezen’s sake,” he’d said, words slurred by the effects of alcohol and a disbelieving tone.

She’d shrugged. “And yours. Unless you like the idea of being smitten by the gods.”

“You don’t believe in Ghezen, Wraith.”

“Ah, but Ketterdam believes in Ghezen,” she’d said, sage and sober as a scholar. “And we are in Ketterdam, are we not? Best respect the gods of the land, Kaz.”

At that, Kaz had only sunk further into the bubbles, mumbling something about her saints.

“I’m nothing if not pious,” she’d said sweetly, and slid with graceful ease off the counter.

This bathroom, Inej had decided, was much too small, much too hot for bubbles and verbal sparring and Kaz Brekker. With everything save for his nose and eyes below the water’s rosy surface, she’d felt him tracking her movements towards the door.

“I’ll be waiting,” she’d thrown over her shoulder as she sauntered into the adjoining room and silently let out a held breath.

Now, Inej was staring at a soot stain in the carpet while Kaz dressed in the bathroom. He had left the door ajar, and she could hear the sounds of water slowly circling the drain, the lazy donning of dry clothes. Steam and a bouquet of wildflowers wafted through the open door.

“I hope your dressing process is not as indulgent as your bathing process,” she quipped from her perch on the cherrywood dresser. She hadn’t dared to sit on the bed for… more than a few obvious reasons.

The top of Kaz’s dresser functioned as a second desk of sorts. It was covered in stacks of parchment and books, ink bottles and silver pens and loose nibs. But Kaz had managed to carefully organise the assortment of bits and bobs into something that was not chaos. Inej expected nothing less from him.

Besides, she thought, it made it easier for her to find a space amongst the official documents and other business accoutrements.

She picked up a wooden block that looked like a game and a puzzle wrapped in one from atop a perfect stack of papers.

She could imagine Kaz sat here, at his desk, fiddling with the puzzle block while scheming to keep his hands busy, making a delightful myriad of concentrated faces. Or late at night when he couldn’t sleep—

Inej placed the cube back down. A dangerous spiral, her thoughts.

“You’ll forgive me for doing a certain amount of primping,” Kaz drawled, his gravelly voice smoothed over by remnants of whiskey, echoing off the tiles of the bathroom. “I was threatened with a brutal smiting.”

“You don’t have to do any primping,” Inej snorted. “I didn’t drag any of the Dregs up here. It’s just me.”

“No,” he said. “It is you and Ghezen.” He poked his head into the bedroom. “Arguably the two most deific figures of my decidedly immoral life.” Kaz gave her a languorous smile, and all the saints damn her for noticing he had yet to put on a shirt.

For a fraction of a moment, Inej’s eyes went wide. Then she remembered herself and thought of cabbages (which she’d survived off of for months and despised with every bone in her body) and the way Nina had looked the last time she saw her.

There. Now she most certainly was not blushing. She hoped.

“So you see,” Kaz said, “I must comb my hair.” And with that, he disappeared into the steam of the bathroom once more.

Perhaps, she thought, as anxious as she was to begin, allowing Kaz some time to sober up a bit before discussing such serious matters might not be such a bad thing. Especially since drunk Kaz seemed to have a penchant for uncharacteristic joviality and exchanging witticisms that made her susceptible to turning pink.

Inej swiped away the thought and stared hard at the baroque rug.

Kaz had attempted to cover the soot stain with a lamp, and the sight of it made that small ache in her chest bloom again.

A carpet, which had not been here the last time Inej was in this room, and was likely just as expensive as it was new. A soot stain, the sign of a story she had not been told, had not been there to witness.

Both things, signs of life ebbing and flowing around her like the tides.

Inej saw life in the little things, the small and insignificant changes made while she’d been away. There were so many—and they were all reminders of just how much she’d missed.

Of course, she’d been busy, too. Enormously so.

She had followed her heart’s desires. Captained a ship of ruthless female pirates and warriors, traversed the True Sea, tracking down slavers and bringing them to their watery demises.

She had made a name for herself. A name that was hers and only hers.

Inej Ghafa, Slaughterer of Slavers.

It had a nice ring to it.

None of what she had accomplished was negligible in the slightest. She was proud of the work that had been done by herself and her crew.

Even still, this ache nudged her every now and again.

Inej couldn’t help but feel that while she’d been following her heart out to the stormy seas of great and honourable deeds, life and all of its soot stains and stories and small things had swirled around her, passing her by, leaving her stuck in the eddies.

She had missed this place dearly. Grown up in these alleyways and canals. Despite the misfortunes that brought her to Ketterdam, or perhaps born of them, she had spread roots here.

It wasn’t until she was pulled away by the ever-changing, ever-competing currents of decisions and fate, that Inej realised just how deep those roots had grown.

It was something like longing, this ache. A longing which felt every bit as much like what she’d felt a lifetime ago when she’d been desperate to find her family again.

Before Kaz had found them, and brought them to her.

And then she’d left. And done so much good. And had missed so many small things.

Inej shook her head, scattering her thoughts like light across the waves.

“I doubt Ghezen would smite you for not combing your hair,” she grumbled at Kaz to distract herself.

“Patience, Inej,” Kaz said. “Is a virtue.”

“Of which I have many,” she retorted, and she swore she heard his answering smile through the walls.

“Undeniably. But uncombed hair to a business meeting?” he hummed. “The impropriety of such things.”

With Kaz safely in the other room, Inej allowed the creep of heat like poison ivy to crawl up her neck. Which was ridiculous. And which she immediately shoved down when the bathroom door swung open in full.

Termites and restaurant leavings and bloody ship decks.

He was not wearing a shirt. Still.

To her great horror, Inej realised what he was wearing: pyjamas. Black satin pyjama bottoms, which she figured must have been the Kaz Brekker equivalent of a lacy negligee.

She would be utterly vexed with him if she was not so wholly concentrated on not turning into a tomato.

He was all moon pale and shadowed night. Inej managed to spread a smooth smile across her face like sickly sweet jam, if only to spite him.

“As the most deific and pious person in this room,” she said as she appraised his outfit (or shameless lack thereof) with a carefully unbothered eye. “I should tell you that out of all of Ghezen’s smiteable offences, not wearing a shirt to a business meeting is a great deal higher on the list than forgetting to comb your hair.”

Kaz’s grin was a slashing scythe as he started across the room—towards the dresser, she realised. Towards Inej herself.

Her heart leapt. She did not dare breathe. Didn’t think she could, even if she wanted to.

He was a hand’s breadth away when he stopped before her, his bare torso so close to her legs dangling over the side of the dresser that she could feel the heat from him as if he’d brought the bath to her.

“I’m starting to think,” he murmured, “Ghezen is more goat than god where this conversation is concerned.” Amusement percolated his tone, a drip of black coffee.

Her heart stumbled, but Inej merely eyed him with the sort of authority she would invoke if he were a rowdy member of her crew.

“What are you doing, Kaz?” she asked him. She knew it’d been a good long while since she’d seen him, but she did not think for a second that his traumas no longer ailed him.

Inej knew this because regardless of the passage of time, her own traumas still sat right under her skin, still woke her at night.

She knew what it was to struggle with the darkness of a past you’d rather forget. Sometimes, Inej even thought that no amount of time or vengeance would ever fully separate her from it.

As if this pain had been sewn and soldered right into the very marrow of her bones.

And now, Kaz’s nearness was toeing the line between the brand of closeness they were familiar with and something much more dangerous. Something she didn’t think either of them could handle.

All either of them need do was lean forward a few inches, or reach out a hand.

Inej remained frozen, eyeing Kaz warily, even though he made no further moves toward her. Even as his gaze traced her lips, midnight eyes brushing her flushed cheeks in a soft caress, trailing the angle of her jaw down to her neck where her thundering heart surely gave away any pretence of indifference she might still hold.

He smelled like roses and whiskey and myrrh.

“I’m merely doing what you’ve asked,” Kaz responded innocently. “Or, at least, I’m trying to.”

Inej furrowed her brow and the boy before her smirked.

“Would you kindly move your legs so I can get a shirt out of this drawer?” he said, his breath fanning across her face. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about the dress code.”

Inej’s blush was evident now. She couldn’t help herself. Could not so much as think of a response, much less a witty retort.

It was all she could do to hold Kaz’s unwavering gaze as she tucked her legs to her chest.

He opened the second drawer from the top, pulling out a button-up of the same ilk as the pyjama bottoms he wore, and shrugged it on. Then, he sat down in the large swivelling chair at the desk and spun it around to face her.

“Now,” Kaz said, steepling his fingers as if this were indeed a very serious business meeting, and he was indeed not very tipsy. “You were proposing.”

♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎

AN: Some more Kanej fluff for you because I’m self-indulgent af. Thank you so much for reading! And a massive thank you to The Serrated Spades - @6crowgang @fishmaid @corpsecro @ravenclawsandbeak @shelbychild @something-else-mella789 @dregsoftea @flerkenkiddingme and @artbyisambeleza - the team of creators, editors, and beta readers who’ve been working with me these past few months to create something really special for @grishaversebigbang !!

More chapters to come soon- if you’d like to be on the tag list for future chapter updates, just shoot me a message/ask 🖤💫

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#grishaverse big bang #ace of spades #aos #six of crows #crooked kingdom #soc #ck #leigh bardugo #the grisha trilogy #grishaverse #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #wylan van sunshine #wesper #kanej #jesper x wylan #kaz x inej

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notasiren21 · 4 years

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The Darkness Comforts Me More (Ch. 1)

(Female Byleth x Felix)

*My version of Byleth is a bit different to fit certain upcoming aspects of the book and to make her seem more flawed (aka she’s a bit shorter for one example)

Though a young Dimitri and Byleth has formed a bond of sorts during their school days as student and professor, that bond couldn’t outweight the intensity of which Felix and Byleth began to realize they were one another’s missing piece. Everyone expects the soon to be king to wed the professor as soon as he claims the throne, but the reality is that while the child of feigning light and brightness holds out his hand, the swordsman that’s been lurking within the depths of shadows and darkness has already grabbed onto hers.

It had been five days of the professor’s absence.

A freshly young woman that could handle any battle thrown at her on the spot, a punctual advisor and brilliant tactician, was now tucked away in her room.

Byleth spent a large majority of her life void of many emotions. Her humor was expressed through a girlish snort or chuckle at most, her anger was the equivalent of facing a brick wall that refused to acknowledge the offender’s existence or pretended nothing was the matter, and her sadness was just a residing void of never having a mother figure.

That’s all there was to her really.

He remembered after the battle; Sylvain and Dimitri arguing about something useless to do with lances alongside Ingrid who couldn’t make up her damn mind over the matter.

Dimitri had shown his true colors that once plagued his nightmares from the Battle of Duscur when Glenn passed. His anger bubbling at the thought of no one paying it any mind or addressing it after the diseased villagers were taken care of. Now they took care of the demonic beasts that happened to be students and he saw that look flash across his face when he went to call out an incoming swipe directed towards him.

That boar... does no one see the chaos lying beneath?

He couldn’t stand to be around him within that moment, his mind swirling with hurt and anger from the past and now.

He stalked off, he wanted this day to end and he needed to wash up to rid himself of the stench of sweat and blood. He was alone when he stumbled upon a scene where Jeralt was conversing with Monica and Byleth was waiting nearby looking tired and wanting to rest.

Because he was alone, he let his tired mind indulge in the random thoughts he had been having of his professor lately. Like how when she was exhausted, her breathing differed with subtle visibility as she sometimes held the air a bit longer and her cheeks puffed up for a fraction of a second each time. How she stood as tall as Hilda or Bernadette even in those boot heels, but she paid no mind about how others may tower over her and freely looked up with just her eyes when she was tired when talking.

It would take years for Felix to admit he loved when she tilted her head up to look at him when speaking- prompting his ears to grow hot as his mind struggled to acknowledge the thought of her being cute in his eyes.

Or her cocky eye roll and that snort only she could pull off as Sylvain or Claude tried to crack a joke about her height and looking young like the rest of them.

He often caught her staring off, her face reacting minimally but enough for someone as observant as him to notice.

It looks like she’s talking with someone in her head.

He became acutely aware of the things she did within the monastery and on the battlefield. He hated it; hated that he couldn’t control his thoughts or feelings.

Maybe it was this moment that opened a door for him as to who Byleth really was.

He was in the middle of rubbing tiredly at one eye when he noticed a flash of anger, hatred, fear and pain hit her face as she reached for the Sword or Creator, the blade already erupting in flames as she hurried to step forwards. The look in her eyes was murderous and aimed towards Monica.

Does he stop her? Is he supposed to join forces with her?

Monica had already occupied his thoughts in terms of her being different since being found. She had seemed too cheery and okay with what happened. Felix didn’t trust her at all, but then again he didn’t trust most to start with.

He had only managed to reach for the handle of his sword -ultimately deciding to back Byleth up because she wouldn’t set out against anyone without reason- when Monica darted out behind Jeralt with a smirk and reached for a dagger, her intent already clear when another person showed up and did the bidding for her and saved Monica before Byleth’s sword could save her father.

And then she was left alone on the field, holding her dying father in her arms as she began sobbing. He didn’t notice his fellow classmates catching up with him and having seen from a distance what happened, he didn’t notice that look flash across the boar’s face yet again, he didn’t notice a lot of things that weren’t Byleth.

She was crying and clutching him tighter as he muttered his last words to her and then she let out a bloodcurdling scream that racked his entire body with the pain she felt as it carried on several seconds with immense vocal range he didn’t know she had.

She was exhausted and in an overwhelming amount of pain and anger that she soon found herself wavering as she continued to cry. And she, herself, didn’t notice a set of armored arms quickly catching her as she tipped backwards before blackness set in.

The students followed in a hurry as Dimitri and Sylvain worked to carry Jeralt’s body carefully to Manuela in hopes of reviving him. Ingrid grabbed her sword and Mercedes shouted healing spells at the dying man.

It was the first time they were on the battlefield without the guidance of their professor who was tucked under Felix’s chin and nuzzled into his neck as he ran back to the monastery, shouting orders in her place alongside Dimitri.

It had been five days.

Five days and Felix found himself worried like he had never been. He helped bury Jeralt’s body with Sylvain and Dimitri, watching as they covered the wooden casket and seeing the man who cherished his professor more than anyone in the world. It struck hard with him as he forced himself out of the scene and fighting off any memories that dared to resurface.

He couldn’t sleep later on, whether it was the worrying that kept him awake staring at his ceiling or Sylvain’s latest breakup, or the bout of insomnia only Sylvain and Mercedes were aware of, he would never know. In the end, he found himself wandering around the monastery like many nights had brought him to do. Light on his feet as he learned to correct through his spars with the professor, he wasn’t heard in the night. He wore his uniform that was halfway buttoned despite the chill in the air, fully expecting to spend the entire night awake and then head to a seminar maybe when the others woke as well.

He was just edging the bridge that connected to the church when he caught site of dark teal swaying in the wind. His foot steps stopped abruptly as his breath caught at the woman who had been locked up in her room. She wore her riding shorts and her black top without the armor or laced tights, her jacket gone and replaced with a thin robe she must use for bed, and her neck bare of the connecting collar piece. Her feet were shoeless as she stood on the half wall of the bridge, crying quietly and forcing down choked noises that didn’t pass the swordsman’s ears. He approached carefully from behind her.

She was mumbling to herself, barely intelligible enough to understand but he heard words and phrases such as, “I can’t”, “sorry,” “Sothis”, and the one that made his stomach drop, “I give up.”

Her foot moved to step off the bridge ledge as Felix ran up behind her and caught ahold of her waist before she fell forwards. He yanked her roughly as she let out a startled gasp and tumbled backwards with him into the middle of the bridge walkway. It was a second before she started kicking and trying to fight her way out of his clasp to finish what she started. Felix held on tighter for every blow, gritting his teeth and sitting them upwards as he pushed them both backwards with his feet until he was leaning against the wall with her in his arms.

“Let me go, Fraldarius!” She growled and pushed at his arms as they clung tighter to her.

“Professor, please stop this!” She kept going, her nails reaching up and making contact with his jaw down towards his neck, leaving red marks in their wake as he bit down, “Professor you have to stop this idiotic scheme and calm down!”

“Fuck you, fuck everyone. I don’t want to keep going anymore.” She was halfway out of his strong arms and hold when he yanked her back down and his face was inches from hers.

“Fucking test me, Byleth.” He hissed, his amber eyes glared her dark teal ones down as hers suddenly seemed more awake and shocked at her name slipping from his lips. “Do you think this is the right choice? Do you think you can solve all your problems by giving up and leaping off this bridge? Killing yourself won’t ease the pain, it’ll just spread it to everyone else.”

His eyes eased up and panic filled them as her nose scrunched up and her face fell in dispair, her lips trembled as whimpers passed them. He wasn’t sure when he moved, but his left hand quickly cupped the back of her neck and brought her face to rest in the crook of his own neck as his right arm supported her weight that laid in his lap, slanted and shaking. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders, clinging on as if she would fall from the bridge without his support to keep her grounded.

His cheek leaned into her hair as he felt hot tears gliding down his neck and chest before they became one with his uniform. Her sobs vibrated against his own chest and her shivering became more pronounced.

Somewhere in the far depths of his mind did he acknowledge that fact that he never acted this way around anyone, somewhere did he realize he has never openly comforted anyone as well, somewhere in those depths did he realize he’s never touched anyone like this or gotten close to anyone as he was now.

Was she breaking a wall of his down?

No, that’d be impossible.

He nosed her teal hair, “Prof-,” she shook her head and made a negative noise in response. “Byleth, let me take you to your room.” She was still crying but keeping it quiet, “You’re freezing, Byleth. You can’t handle the cold like most of us can, you’ve said so yourself.”

He gently pried her face upwards, his hand holding her cheek that was puffy from the exhaustion. His thumb wiped away at the tears, “Please, let me take you to your bed, Byleth.” He was shocked at his own whispered tone, even further more when she nodded and he found himself guiding her face back to where it was before he stood up with her small frame in his arms, walking the long trek back to her room.

Neither spoke the whole way, they accepted the silence of the darkness and emptied their minds of the nightmarish thoughts that would soon come. Felix wanted to say something snarky and cold, wanted to restablish his personality to prevent tonight from alluding he had developing feelings towards his professor. His mouth opened to bite out a comment about her getting his uniform wet, glancing down to point a glare at her.

His words died in his throat at the sight of her bottom lip quivering against his skin. Instead, his mouth shut tightly and he brought her closer, brushing the tip of his nose against her hair that smelled of roses.

He figured she must’ve chosen to bathe at night in the bathhouse of the monastery when everyone was in bed.

He shifted her light weight to quietly open the door to her room, only a few candles lit here and there by Manuela during her visits to coax Byleth out of the room. He sat on the edge of her bed sideways, leaning down to carefully unwrap her arms from his neck and guided her to lay on her side. His hand brushed her hair out of her face, wiping away a few tears before he shifted some and grabbed her royal blue blanket she was gifted by his class. He pulled it to her shoulders and squeezed one gently before he stood up to make his leave.

His body stilled when he felt a small hand grasp his wrist, “I, I’m-,” he turned to see her sitting up, her eyes on her hand. She breathed deeply, “I’m not great with my words, and this may be wildly inappropriate given my position here, but,” she fumbled some more.

He found himself forcing his usual bitter tone, “Professor, spit it out. I don’t have all night.”

To his surprises, he saw the corner of her mouth twitch upwards. Her eyes met his and he willed his racing mind to calm down. “Got more damsels in distress to save from an insomnia filled night? (Because of course she noticed he was an insomniac). Isn’t chivalry dead in your eyes?”

“You think I’d rather have it that you were dead in front of my very eyes?” He barked back in a hushed tone, hissing through his teeth. Her mouth parted ever so slightly, eyes taking in his state. Amber stared back into her, genuine terror reflected back at her that was hidden behind anger, and his chest stuttered. He faced her fully, “Professor,” she nearly rolled her eyes.

“Professor, Professor, Professor. That’s all I hear everyday. I can’t remember the last time it felt more like a nickname than an obligation.” Hands came up to push back her hair, bangs mixing with the longer strands.

Felix can’t remember a time where he had seen her face fully with her hair out of the way; staring longer than he should, noting the dark black eyebrows that made her teal eyes seem ever more mesmerizing. The lack of shadow on her small button nose that light bounced off the tip of. She had a slim face, but her cheeks were puffy in a way you had to take a great notice of.

“Then what do you suppose I call you?”

“Call me by my name,” her legs hung off the edge of the bed, dangling. “We already crossed a line on the bridge. You’re quiet and reserved so there’s little chance you’ll out me to the church about what happened. Take this as a sign of trust.”

“Fine.” He took a glance at the door, “Well, Byleth, I should take my leave.” He spoke turning his back to her as he made way to the door.

“Felix,” her voice was quiet.

“What is it now?”

The sound of rustling came from behind him as she stood up, hand resting on his shoulder, “You don’t have to leave, you can stay and sleep here.”

He swung around to face her, “By goddess, what the hells do you mean by that?” Surely she couldn’t mean...

Byleth’s hand fell to her side, her lips twitched up for a split second, “I mean you’re not going to get sleep and I’m sure helping me tonight didn’t ease the cause.”

“I,” he stumbled for words, his mind racking for an answer and sense of the situation she laid before him.

He wanted to stay, and at the same moment he wanted to run away from her and pretend the whole night in its entirety never occurred. She terrified him. Everything about her drew him in and it terrified him to bits. He spent almost his whole life without feelings that were beyond mundane in his eyes. Even as a child, Dimitri, Sylvain, and Ingrid could attest to the fact that was a bratty child with manners and polite behavior.

Could he drown himself in her? Could he throw himself into the depth of the unknown that was beyond his element?

He dared not to consider the word that could explain everything he felt entirely. He was smart enough to know that once he did, he wouldn’t be able to ignore or look back.

Those dark teal eyes stared up at him, the very same eyes that the class joked about looking dead and bored to all living hells. He noticed just like they did. But now, all he could notice was the variety of emotions that laid underneath. The brightness that was hidden by pain and grief, trying to push past and show him this new side to her.

He hadn’t realized he was inching closer to her and leaning down until she blinked and her long lashes pulled him out of his trance long enough for the panic to set in.

“I, I should go. I’ll see you when you return to class, Professor.” He rushed out as carefully as he could, ears in flames of embarrassment. He nearly ran out the door with the thought of feigning composure on his mind.

By the time Felix reached his room, his mind had already been consumed by thoughts of Byleth.

He sat on the edge of his bed, hands making quick work of his uniform top as he shrugged it off and felt cool air hit his heated skin. The swordsman laid back, hands pushing his own bangs back from his flushed face as thoughts settled deep into his mind. His hands held alongside his temples as his eyes pierced into the darkness, mouth panting slightly with only sharp, bottom canines peaking out.

He had always been composed, itching for a fight and spar all day, yes, but he was composed and made of steel.

Made of steel that would crumble in the wake of Byleth Eisner.

Besides, he couldn’t possibly be a possibility for her. There was Dimitri, the prince who was so damn smitten with her, it drove Felix up the wall with the lack of subtly he eluded. He had no room in Byleth’s life besides to spar with her.

Even so, the young man found himself awake another hour or so before he was cursing to the night and stalking out the door with his uniform jack being shoved on without a care for the buttons. He was quick to make way down the stairs and through the grass, up the other set of stairs before he found himself opening the door to her room and closing it behind him.

“Felix?”, she sat in her desk chair, tea cup in hand and to her chest. She had changed in the time he had been gone for she was dressed in a silk blue slip nightie that reached above her knees, her thin robe still covering her as well. He once overheard Annette and Ingrid talking of such nightwear clothing before class and how it was most often found in other lands beyond Fodlàn. Maybe he wasn’t alright in the head, maybe he had taken one too many blows and had lost some sense in him for he couldn’t bring himself to appreciate the expanse of skin or subtle curves of her body as much as he should’ve. He kept looking at her eyes and her nose and brows, being drawn in by her face far more than her body that sat cross legged in front of him.

The very same woman that once beat the boys in an arm wrestling match and flipped Felix onto his back during a sparring match was now showing every bit of femininity he forgot laid beneath to a mercenary like her. Even her nails on her feet were flower stained blue from the forget me nots growing in the greenhouse nursery. Felix knew she was attractive beyond words, he did more than a few lingering glances the first day she taught because he was bewildered how a woman like her could fight like a dying man on his last bit of adrenaline with the strength of well, Dimitri breaking scissors.

Not as strong of course.

“Felix? You came back.” She titled her head up at him as he walked over to her chair, her bangs brushed out of her face leaving the entirety of it exposed. He nodded, swallowing hard as she set the cup down and stood to meet him. Her hand reached out to cup his cheek, “Could you not sleep?”

His lips parted once to answer, the warmth of her hand seeping into his skin. He didn’t recoil at her touch, didn’t throw her hand to the side and forced a stern look her way. He felt bile rise to his throat instead, her eyes suffocating him in a way he’s never felt as he towered over her. He swallowed it down and tried to think of it as a sparring lesson between the two to ease his nerves.

“No, I couldn’t.”

“When was the last time you were able to?”

He blinked, trying to recall the last day. “I got at least five hours before the demonic battle. Lately, it’s been one to three hours each night or none at all.” It was easy to talk to her, easy to answer her.

“How often does this happen?”

Almost about every other night since Glenn died.

“Often.” He nearly missed the affectionate look that passed her eyes before they were swallowed by concern.

Her hand was so warm and soft despite the faint callous marks from wielding a sword. “When I first saw you, I knew right away that you must be plagued by insomnia and sleepless nights more often than not.” Her free hand came up to trace gently under his eyes as he stared at her, more of the wall crumbling in the wake of her touch as he found himself leaning into her hand. “Your eyes are so beautiful and surreal, it almost made sense they be weighed out by the goddess to suffer lone and awake nights.”

Felix didn’t know she could say words like this, didn’t know she was capable of thinking thoughts with such depth. She was brilliant and intelligent beyond compare, but she never expressed this side of herself.

She noticed him so early on?

He didn’t flinch at her words, didn’t need to suppress an eye roll either. Instead he leaned his forehead down to hers. “Byleth,..”.

“I’m sorry.” Her hand readjusted itself on his cheek, other following suit until she gently held his face in her hands. Her thumb shyly traced over his bottom lip, sometimes catching it without realization and dragging it out to reveal his straight set of white teeth people had only ever seen in a menacing bearing of them. “I’m sorry you saw me tonight, and I’m sorry you saw me on the battlefield before Monica-,” she closed her eyes, forcing down a sob that threatened to make way. His right hand came to hold one wrist to his cheek, his left hovering over her waist until he took the plunge of a dagger to carefully hold her. “You’ve caught me twice this week, I’m eternally grateful it was you to save me.”

“I don’t, I don’t know what that means.” Her skin was warm and he savored the heat radiating off her while she shivered close to him.

“I don’t either. I just know that you were the one to catch me as I lost consciousness and stability on the field, and you were the one to save me from myself a moment ago.” Her nose brushed up against his, the temptation to lean down and bring their lips together was reeling in his mind for the first time outside of his dreams. “I also know that while he exonerates this ray of light and hope for the kingdom, you’re there in the dark by chance, ready to draw a sword if anyone steps in my path.” He doesn’t have to ask to know she’s talking of Dimitri.

“I think you may be right. I think that may be my purpose.”

“You make me question whether or not I believe in fate and destiny.”

“Me?” Felix pulled back, surprise etched onto his sharp, handsome features.

“You have since we met at the Goddess Tower, I wasn’t going to go but I found myself there and you as well.” She was looking up at him again, that may just be a mere weakness of his.

And he hates staring, but after the insistent tea parties she has with every student and him, he’s starting to relax at the gesture.

“I just felt a strong need to breakaway from the crowd, I don’t do well in them.”

“I know that better than anyone.” She stood on tiptoes, one arm wounding around his neck as the other slid down to place a hand over his chest where his heart laid beneath.

He prayed to the goddess she couldn’t feel how anxious he was feeling.

“Byleth,” her name rolled off his tongue far easier than a mere “professor” did. Her hand nearly scorched his skin that was bare under it. “I feel as though I should take my leave.”

Her button nose nudged his again, “What do you want to do?”

“Stay here.” Felix responded fast and assertive, his hand reaching to hold hers to his chest.

“That’s very unlike you.”

He let out a short and quiet chuckle, “Seeing you like this? That’s very unlike you yourself.”

“Is it that awful?” Her voice was barely audible to his ears.

Did she really think this side to her wasn’t worthy to be seen by anyone? If anything, people weren’t worthy to see it themselves.

His mind acted on its own accord, new thoughts and ideas swirling in his head as he felt his lips connect with her cheek. “I’m drawn to this side as much as I’m drawn to you around the monastery and you caked in blood and sweat on the battlefield with a sword in your hand.” He was panicking; unable to suppress thoughts he had tucked away in the far corners of his mind. Everything was rising to the surface as he felt a new part of himself step forwards that was hidden away with his feelings for the mercenary.

And at the same time, it felt as though he could finally breathe for the first time in a long while.

She peered up at him, a woman with immense might and power, and she looked small and fragile within this moment. Someone that could slay thousands of men if forced to was being held by him like she could break.

His heart nearly collapsed.

She stepped backwards, hand coming down with his in tow, fingers interlaced by goddess knows who or when. He followed her, watching as she blew out the few candles when a thought occurred.

“What about Professor Manuela?”

“I have it on good authority she’ll be nursing a major head pain tomorrow morning and avoiding the outside aroma as it ‘sickens her since love isn’t real and nothing is beautiful besides her’, she won’t be seeing me tomorrow unless it’s beyond afternoon.” She raised the final candle close to him, ready to blow out the final one and set it on the desk behind him, when she let go of his hand instead. “Felix,” she started, eyes flashing with immense guilt.

He knew his typical response would’ve been impatient, telling her to get on with it so he would know what was keeping her, but that part of him that he was unaware of being devoted to her took the reigns of handling his natural reactions that Felix didn’t want to resurface in front of her right now.

Especially if they are directed at her.

It wasn’t a split in his personality per se, and it wasn’t another identity living in his head. It was Felix, finding a lost part of himself unknowingly that was left in debris and rubble.

He went to ask what was wrong when her hand gently titled his head up and angled it, finger tracing along the skin of his jaw to his neck. He hissed, wincing even as she touched the undamaged portion of the skin that was too close to her claw marks. “Shit,” was all he managed out, jerking out of her grasp by habit.

Her hand drew back, “Felix, I’m so incredibly sorry and ashamed for doing that to you. I can’t excuse harming you, I can only say I was trapped within my own thoughts and motives that I must not have broke out in time even as you grabbed hold of me. I don’t expect forgiveness or understanding, I just need you to know I regret it happened and I didn’t do it to intentionally harm you.”

Felix looked at her, catching her eyes lingering on the red trail he hadn’t realized was there after the moment passed. Grief for him and a sense of her being apologetic filled her eyes, but no sense of a desire to be let off so easily like a child would want. Regardless,..

He stepped closer, index finger lifting her small chin up as she tore her glare away from her offending marks and met his eyes, now focusing on the dark, hollowed marks under them that she noticed from day one.

“Byleth, I know what it’s like to be on the battlefield in your own mind, alone. It’s a terrifying experience and I understand that you were protecting yourself in some twisted way that would’ve done worse for you in the end.” His hands trailed down to her arms, “I’m okay, I’m more concerned with you at the moment and rather glad I received these marks than caught you a second too late.” His jaw tightened painfully for a few seconds as he tore his stare elsewhere to get the image from his head. “My point is, it was a moment of weakness. Even the greatest heroes can have them and should be granted them, as long as they have someone behind them ready to save the day and help.”

She reached for his hands, interlacing their fingers. “I figured you would give me the hardest time for it.”

“I may be a simple man on the outside, Byleth, but I’m far more complex than one could imagine.” He pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, “I’m thankful for these scratches just as I am thankful to have you in front of me. We can worry about the marks in the morning, for now let me sleep and you can consider yourself more than forgiven.”

He let out a soft smile when she nodded, unaware of the rare reaction from the swordsman as she pulled the covers back. Felix pulled the uniform top off, resting it on her chair as he stepped out of his shoes and followed her under the blankets. His heart hammered in his chest and he was a few steps from being just anxious, but he settled to the idea of her pushing her pillow further up the bed for him, his right arm extending across the span of the bed. And he became sedated when she opted to use his arm for a pillow instead, her robe-soft back hitting his chest as his left arm hung heavily over her waist, rounding along to the edge of her stomach.

“I’m going to force you to eat more, Eisner. You missed a few meals already.”

She hummed, shifting her back some more until he leaned his chest closer to her, “I’ll comply only if you eat with me.”

“You insatiable woman,” he mumbled out, halfheartedly as he maneuvered some to grab hold of her right hand that had been closest to her face, interlocking their fingers together once again. His voice dropped to a whisper, thumb stroking patterns over her skin, “Byleth, I don’t know what this is or what it means.”

“I know, I don’t either. I just feel,” she trailed off.

“Feel what?”

She tilted her body ever so slightly to meet his eyes, “I feel as though you are my greatest shield against myself and the evil out there. I feel that I need you in ways that are beyond my comprehension as of now.” She saw his startled look, turning back as her eyes started to grow heavy.

“I think you may be the closest thing to a powerful impacting vulnerary to me.” She mumbled a response, her words lost to sleep. Felix felt his own mind become fuzzy and felt a wave of drowsiness hit him stronger than ever. He pressed a chaste kiss into her hair, “Then I’ll be your shield that’s in the shadows if that’s what you need, Byleth.”

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artpoint420 · 4 years

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We Bare Bears Movie Review

🤎🤍🖤

So this is it, other than the Baby Bear spin off, this is most likely the finale to this gem of a Cartoon Network show. The WE BARES MOVIE ! And lemme just say it was a sight to BEAR!

Seriously, my sister and I were hyped to see what big crazy adventure our three bro’s would go on. We LOVED the show itself but didn’t quite know what to expect for a movie. So when I finally remembered it was out yesterday, I rushed to invite her to invade my sleepover at my Nanas house so she could make us some popcorn on the stove and along with some brownies and indulging in my obsession with bubble gum, we layer back and braced ourselves to see the final moments in grown bears story.

So right off I started noticing striking similarities to the Ed, Edd, and Eddy movie I watched exactly a week ago and also gave my thoughts on in a Tumblr post. To avoid giving spoilers for the Edd movie, I might save comparing the two for a separate post. What I will say is, they both have nearly the same theme: the desire for acceptance among their peers.

It also helps that Grizz acts a lot like a more kindhearted version of Eddy, both of them extremely extroverted and always up to a big scheme. Speaking of which, both movies essentially start out with a big scheme going wrong and now the main trio needs to escape to a place that the leader of their group seems to be much better than it actually is. In the Bears case, they want to go to Canada. The only thing that confuses me about this is that Grizz is already Canadian, having been born and raised there until he left the sitcom business. I really thought going in that would play a much larger role in the movie, but it seemed like they completed forgot where Grizz was from when it was time for the bears to go back from whence they came.

Yes, the main plot of this movie is the Bears need to escape a one note villain who wants to separate and send them back to their own country. Not only can you draw your own real life parallel to this, but you know you’ve seen this plot a million times in film. The difference here is how the movie uses this to round out the themes of the show in such a perfect way. I do not want to spoil the ending here, it is so good, it made me smile so hard and wide I looked silly.

The main thing I want to talk about, rather than simply review the movie chronologically, is talk about Grizz, most notably his dream sequences. One of which begins the movie and almost had me thinking this was a baby bear film, which would’ve been fine but yeah. Anyways, it revolves around the bears nearly being hi by a train, and is completed later in the movie when we see that Grizz saved them (using his brain rather than just brute strength) and this establishes how he, before he even knew their names, felt the need to protect his brothers in arms.

Another more abstract dream of Grizz is where he is carrying baby versions of Panda and Ice Bear as Panda repeatedly asks Grizz to help them. This represents how Grizz sees his promise to protect them as a weight on his back that sometimes pulls them down. Confident as he usually is, he, in this situation, lacks confidence that he’ll be able to protect his baby bros.

But seriously, even though Ice is my favorite bear, Grizz was probably my favorite character in the movie, given how is internal struggle balances out the chaos of the external stuggles. As an older sibling myself, I can relate to him feeling inadequate to protect his little bro’s. And yeah, my buff brothers can protect themselves and my sister is a real fighter, I still think there’s a natural, almost paternal or maternal drive in older siblings to protect those closest to them that are young. Yeah, most of the symbolism in this film is about as subtle as the yellow on Mac and cheese, but what matters is that there’s charm to it.

And trust me, this show has always been full of charm, even when they reference memes. And this movie has an entire sequence dedicated to memes. I am so glad the writers of this show seem to have at least some clue as to how Internet culture truly works, and this keeps everything feeling more like a homage to popular meme animals than a sequence thrown in there just to be hip with the kids. I recognized so many of them I felt like a loser, and got so excited when I saw the crabs because yes I still listen to Crab Rave more than I should.

The Meme-nimals are yet another way to represent being an outsider, and, despite not liking the fact the bears crashed the party, eventually sympathized with and helped them, except for pizza rat. He can just leave that pizza be and starve for all I care. And to think he and panda could have been good friends based on they both are hungry for internet fame.

The funniest scene in my opinion was when the bears rode away from the cops and were replaced by hippie versions of themselves. Seriously they have human equivalents and now hippie equivalents? This is great theory material for when I make a theory video on the show in the future. Let’s just say, that was hilarious.

Also, the van they basically run into on the highway was literally the mystery machine from scooby doo. I flipped out because I had literally just noted that their van reminded me of it.

I don’t have much to say about the villain, I don’t even remember his name. I do feel like they’re was plenty of moments were he could’ve been given more character, maybe have him tell some back story that explains why he hates bears so much. But at guess because he’s symbolic of an idea more than a character, this was brushed over.

The other police guy felt had some good development, and I like how he came through in the end, but again not much to say about him.

I do wish we had the other side characters play more of a role, most of them barely got much more than a brief cameo when they could’ve done so much more.

Overall, this was a fantastic movie and though filled with cliches and tropes it has a lot of charm and I plan on watching it again for the pure joy of it. My favorite line I feel like is best to wrap up this review, because they are brothers, they may be different, they may not even look alike but, hey, that’s he best part.

#webarebears #moviereview #we bare bears

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citysvein · 4 years

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* // 𝙻𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴 … /𝚃𝙷𝙴_𝙲𝙾𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙰𝚃𝙾𝚁 : chloe kim also known as zero is wanted for grand larceny . she is a twenty-three year old cis female who has ties to the mastermind because she hacked into his private server ; once at the request of a benefactor and another time for fun . 𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙾𝙲𝙸𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 : strawberry flavored bubblegum , the glow of a computer screen in a dark room , tattoos hidden by oversized sweater sleeves , & cyber stalking your exes . 𝙳𝙾 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁 : yoo shiah .

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ QUICK STATS !

full name : chloe kim .

nickname(s) : chlo .

age : twenty-three .

codename : zero .

role: the coordinator .

zodiac : gemini sun , gemini moon ( click ! )

sexuality : bisexual .

alignment : chaotic neutral .

pinterest : ( click ! )

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ BACKSTORY ! ( tw : death & car crash )

chloe kim was born in and raised in ann arbor , michigan . there was nothing truly remarkable about her childhood — she was an only child born into a middle class family . her mother was a professor and her father was a physical therapist , and they were very happily married , so she had a stable life . ann arbor was a fittingly normal place to grow up . nothing too out of the ordinary ever seemed to happen .

the only anomaly in chloe’s unremarkable existence , it seemed , was herself . from a young age it was obvious she wasn’t like most kids . she was decidedly smarter , an intelligence that impressed the adults around her . her parents often described her as a highly curious , if not a little naughty , child . it seemed like she was born with the desire to know how the world around her worked , and it wasn’t uncommon to find her tinkering around with her toys or household objects , taking them apart just so she could learn how to put them back together .

she graduated from high school at sixteen , a year early , and was offered a full ride to MIT , which she gladly accepted . moving to cambridge, massachusetts marked the most interesting thing to happen to her yet . she’d long dreamed of excitement , the only thing she had to entertain her back home being her love for computers . chloe was ready for a change , which was exactly what she received .

free from the confines of being that one smart girl in ann arbor , she didn’t feel pressured to conform to the idea of her that had been carefully crafted by the people back home any longer . she didn’t just have to care about school , or be shy about how she unironically loved reality tv , or pretend like pink wasn’t the absolute best color in the whole world . facing comments from nerdy boys about how she was too pretty to be smart or about how she was clearly in the wrong class seemed like a small price to pay if she could finally be herself .

MIT , however , did feel like the wrong place for chloe most of the time . she realized very quickly that while she was gifted and bright , she had no passion or drive to pursue typical careers the way most people in her major did . she also had a knack for using her skills in unconventional ( if not illegal ) ways , like when she started charging a pretty penny to hack boyfriends suspected by their girlfriends of cheating , or hacking into the local police database to browse through people’s criminal records like it was the equivalent of reading gossip magazines .

at the end of her junior year , after voicing her concerns about whether or not university life was for her to her parents in one of her weekly calls back home , they’d made the decision to go surprise chloe . after flying into massachusetts from michigan they’d rented a car and were on their way to drive up to her dorm when they got into a fatal accident . there had been a nasty storm that night , and chloe can still remember how she’d gotten a severe thunderstorm warning alert on her cellphone moments before she got the police call informing her of what happened .

in the blink of an eye her life had gone from average to tragic . she couldn’t process the death of her parents — there was no other driver to blame , nothing faulty about the rental car they’d been driving , only the weather and the slippery roads . chloe would have surely flunked out from MIT had her professors , who mostly harbored soft spots for the girl and were especially sympathetic towards her situation , not given her the few credits she needed to graduate that spring .

armed with an IT degree but not much else , chloe went back to ann arbor for her parent’s funeral and the selling of her childhood home . realizing she had no place to go afterwards , she became a bit of a vagabond , spending the entirety of her 19th year living out of motel rooms in various cities . not in the head space for a full time career , and with her mind still foggy from mourning , she started picking up where she’d left off in college in terms of odd and illegal ways to make money.

when she was 20 she caught the attention of someone she quickly realized was important , a client with a request and a payday like nothing she’d ever seen before . all he wanted chloe to do was hack into someone’s private server , and so she did . she didn’t ask questions but she did snoop around , a small act or curiosity that would forever change her world . what she found was almost incomprehensible , a network of some sort with the most detailed plans and profiles . never having been motivated by any sort of moral compass before , chloe couldn’t explain why she lied to the man who had hired her , claiming she hadn’t been skilled enough to get through .

he’d bought her excuse , another man who couldn’t see past a pretty face to the brain behind it . for months afterwards chloe tried to forget about the things she’d seen and read , that exciting world she’d only discovered by chance , but she just couldn’t let it go . she was inexplicably drawn to whoever was behind it all , proving it when she hacked them a second time around , this time for her own entertainment and satisfaction . she couldn’t explain it — especially not when she left behind a trail this time around , wanting to be caught , wanting so desperately to be contacted .

when chloe is recruited by J , it feels like the first blessing since her parent’s deaths . it wasn’t the money she was interested in , but him , the way he makes people feel special and needed filling a void she’d never let herself admit she had in the first place . she’s loyal to him , and so she’s loyal to the crew , and for the first time in her whole life it feels like she might have found the place she truly belongs .

━ ˙ ˖ ☆ PERSONALITY + TIDBITS !

thats right ... i made her a double gemini baby ! 😈 its just chaos all over as u can imagine ... gotta love a sexy sign aha no im not biased <3 she’s got a pretty good balance of intelligence & curiosity in her , so instead of coming off as a know-it-all she’s more likely to come across as nosy . she just loves to figure stuff out . whether it’s code or people she wants to know how things work .

generally speaking , she’s pretty easy going ! when it comes to her relationships with people she’s not that high maintenance , in fact sometimes it’s easy to mistake her easy going attitude with aloofness or disinterest , which isn’t the case at all . when she does get annoyed though she’s not shy about letting you know how she feels , and she’s got a BIG potty mouth ... it’s like when people have road rage SJDBWJDBJW she’ll curse you out in a short burst of anger then decide she’s over it before you even have time to process what happened .

since she’s been on her own pretty much her whole life ( no siblings , no set group of friends ) it was a bumpy adjustment to go from having no one to being part of a team . she definitely wasn’t upset by it , but chloe can get into trouble sometimes because she’s got a knack for always saying what she’s thinking without filtering herself first , so she’s definitely started some arguments or hurt some feelings on accident </3

loves to joke around and treat things like they’re no big deal , even when they are . this is especially true when it comes to her own abilities . she’ll casually mention hacking into a number of high security facilities and servers and how she bought a new sailor moon hoodie in the same sentence like it’s nothing .

almost always either dressed in pink or black , or a combination of the two . she swears she owns clothes in other colors but those two are definitely her defaults . switches between more casual street-styles and girly attire on a day to day basis . owns many sanrio themed articles of clothing , accessories , and plushies and will accept zero criticism about it !

chews gum a lot , but especially when she’s working on her computer . she claims it helps her focus but who knows for sure maybe she just likes chomping and blowing bubbles ...

she’s a serial dater . chloe finally had to force herself to swear off tinder because she kept doing extensive background searches ( hacking ) on the people she was going on dates with . still cyber stalks her exes but she swears it’s purely an act of public service since they were all insane ( in her opinion , which is never wrong ) and she’s just trying to make sure they haven’t committed any major crimes aha x

not very good at being romantic or emotionally vulnerable SDBWJDBJW truly the thought alone is terrifying enough but when she watches pride and prejudice alone at 2am she cries so your girl has it in her she’s just not there yet <3 physical intimacy she has no issue with it’s just the serious stuff that makes her want to eat glass ... or so she says .

has questionable drinking habits . can she out drink a man twice her size ? sure . should she be putting that to the test at 10 am at a chili’s after a night out ? absolutely not but it 100% happened and she would probably do it again because she simply pretends her mistakes never happened in the first place and that’s why she never learns !

absolutely refuses to talk to anyone about her life and what happened to her parents . she still hasn’t fully grieved or processed it , and honestly speaking she’s been using the crew and J as a coping mechanism almost . chloe’s adamant belief in the heists they do and their capabilities as a unit has less to do with the real chances on whether or not they can pull something off and everything to do with the fact that she needs things to work and she needs them to be together . that’s why she’s usually one of the first ones to pep talk people when there are doubts . she can’t risk losing a second family /:

low key addicted to getting tattoos . it started with tiny ones on her fingers and wrists and now she’s thinking about getting a sleeve ... if only she could decide on what to get tattooed #AirSignThings x don’t ask her to make decisions if you want an answer before this decade ends .

strawberry is her favorite fruit and flavor ! if she’s not chewing strawberry gum , she’s drinking strawberry milk .

once started an instagram to review different mozzarella sticks after lorde was outed for running an onion ring reviewing instagram .

won a goldfish at a fair when she was in college , named him stinky , then cried for a week straight after she found him floating dead in his fish bowl the next day ... she hasn’t had a pet since </3

if you ever tell chloe good job she will act cool in the moment but at night when she’s trying to go to bed she will look like this 🥺 never forgets a compliment she loves them even if she pretends she doesn’t need them ...

told myself i’d make this short by not adding a plots section and it’s still a novel truly i hate this life . once again i am asking u to add me on discord glo lovecore ʕ´• ᴥ•̥`ʔ#8172 and plot with me 💖 also my intros are always winged so if i start writing as chloe and her personality does a 180 like dua lipa said PLEASE mind ur business that’s why i made her a gemini ok 😭😭😭 pls enjoy this meme chloe has probably sent to ur muse at least once ...

#♡ ╱ 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒕 ━━ ooc .#nocte:intro #no words.....#absolutely none .

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daresplaining · 5 years

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What If? Daredevil Vs. Elektra

I have been meaning to write a full post about this chilling alternate universe, and Halloween seemed like the perfect time to do so. With the success and popularity of Spider-Gwen’s Hand ninja Matt Murdock, it can be easy to forget that he is not the only one. The first story of a Matt whose life took a darker and more ninja-y path was told in the one-shot What If? Daredevil Vs. Elektra, which is a chilling tale of murder, regret, and painful memories that won’t stay buried.

The story is told from the point of view of Elektra Natchios, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who, in the midst of a successful career in espionage, is forced to face again a traumatic event from her past-- a hostage situation in college, in which her boyfriend tried to rescue her and was killed.

[ID: A flashback to Columbia University, Elektra’s origin story. Cops outside a building shoot into an upper window.]

Cops: “They’re killing the hostages! Wait... what’s that? I can see something... Yeah, a clear shot, and I’m taking it...”

Elektra: “Matt!”

[ID: Young Matt Murdock gets shot multiple times. Young Elektra kneels on the floor, holding his body in her arms.]

It’s a memory she has learned to live with, a little piece of trauma she has long since buried, but then, suddenly, people around her start dying. She and her fellow agents begin to investigate scenes of carnage, carried out with terrifying stealth and skill by an unknown enemy.

[ID: The Kingpin’s office, chaos. The Kingpin sits at his desk while a ninja in red clothes and a devil mask fights Bullseye. The ninja slices Bullseye’s head off with his sword and then advances on the Kingpin.]

Elektra (off-panel): “His bodyguards slaughtered upfront, Fisk’s personal assassin... Poindexter... Bullseye... whatever they called him... was the Kingpin’s only prayer.”

Elektra, horrified but still clueless about how this connects to her buried memory at this point, investigates further. Her character development is an interesting variation in this universe, which presents a fairly clear-cut role switch between she and Matt. Her experience in college was painful, and her career as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent has given her a fairly jaded view of life and people, but she has retained some of the optimism and naivete that was snuffed out in the 616 universe by her father’s death. Elektra wants to see justice done, even if the only people so far killed have been dangerous criminals. She asks around, and eventually finds a surprisingly informed old blind man in a bar.

[ID: A bar. Stick is playing pool and talking to Elektra, who is dressed in a black coat and red head scarf.]

Stick: “Ever heard of the Hand?”

Elektra: “As in ‘talk to’?”

Stick: “You’re a barrel, too, y’know that? The Hand. Corrupted ninja order. Heirs to the Beast. Intent on infiltrating the empires of man. In other words-- one bad outfit. Their current leader, ‘the Advocate’, is a servant turned master. He uses a unique approach to taking out his foes. He finds a discontented underling, exploits their dissatisfaction, nurtures it into betrayal... then attacks from within.”

Elektra: “Very Hong Kong triple-feature, old man. How does it connect to Fisk’s murder?”

Stick: “The Kingpin’s lawyer. Talk to him. And while you’re at it, talk to your boss... he just might help you find another blind guy whose kung fu is better than yours...”

It doesn’t take Elektra long to find the Kingpin’s lawyer, Foggy Nelson. She discovers him sitting alone in his apartment, a bitter shell of the Foggy we know in the 616 universe. Losing Matt hit him hard, and-- as is true in several other alternate universes as well-- sent his life into a tailspin.

[ID: Flashbacks from Foggy’s life: in the library with Matt in college, Foggy sitting at a desk in the Kingpin’s office, a body (Ben Urich) with a bag over its head, Foggy defending the Kingpin in court.]

Foggy (off-panel): “The two of us had high hopes... aspirations. We were gonna open our own practice once we passed the bar... and change the world, or what little of it we could. Funny how life goes. After law school I could barely pay back my student loan. I was desperate for money. Fisk made me an offer I would have been an idiot to refuse. A six-figure retainer. When he was on trial a few years back for placing a hit on Bugle reporter Ben Urich... having an honest, decent man shot dead... body dumped like trash... I fought for his freedom like my life depended on it. Probably did. In the end, it was the judge who’d been bought, but I was party to it. My life had become a sick joke.”

He is bitter with regret and disgusted by the person he has become. He admits to Elektra that he was the weak link in the Kingpin’s organization-- the person indirectly responsible for his murder. He also gives her the name of the man who did the deed-- the Advocate-- along with some terrifying news: that his next target is S.H.I.E.L.D. Sure enough, ninjas attack one of the helicarriers shortly afterward, killing Nick Fury and many of Elektra’s other friends and co-workers. Elektra realizes what she is up against. She realizes who she is up against. The Hand have brought Matt back from the dead and turned him into a killer, and she has to do something about it.

Elektra returns to Stick. She trains with him, attempting to prepare herself to face the Hand. When Stick suddenly vanishes, Elektra takes things into her own hands. She takes the name Sai and forms the new Chaste (one of my favorite alternate universe teams). They prepare to attack the Hand at their home base, and finish things once and for all.

[ID: Elektra, now dressed in her 616-verse red outfit, addresses a group of other heroes: this universe’s versions of Wolverine, Black Widow, Power Man, Iron Fist, Echo, and Silver Samurai.]

Elektra: “Our differences may be many, but we share common ground. Each of us has lost someone... something... to the Hand. We are now the Chaste. The only ones who can stand against them. This is how we go in...”

Caption: “Old names forsaken, each member of this new order of seven took on another one to signify rebirth-- Claw. Sting. Stone. Flame. Seer. Sword. Sai. Woe to the Devil and evil men.”

This comic is relentless in its carnage, which feels exactly right for the flavor of the story it is telling. When the new Chaste storm the Hand’s headquarters, Elektra discovers that Stick is dead. Matt has killed his first teacher, and Elektra knows she is out of options. She has to stop Matt herself.

[ID: In the Hand’s fortress. Elektra has discovered Stick’s severed head.]

Elektra: “Stick... teacher, I’m sorry... you were right. Time to grow up.”

She seeks him out. Of course, he is expecting her.

[ID: The Hand’s fortress. Elektra approaches Matt from behind. He is dressed in a red ninja outfit but without a mask. His eyes are an unnatural red. Elektra has her sai; Matt is holding a gun.]

Elektra: “I’m here to stop you.”

Matt: “From doing what? Bringing order to chaos? Imagine these widowmakers without my guidance. You’re still holding onto the ideals of youth. Your father raised you in a sheltered, protected bubble allowing you limited contact with the rest of the world. Clouded your thoughts with fairy tale notions of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Isn’t that why you hate him? You know this world is a savage garden. Beauty in duality. Good and evil intertwine like copulating serpents. Indistinguishable. It’s not worth saving because there’s nothing to save.”

Here, we see the other half of the role switch. Reanimated Matt is brainwashed, and that is part of it, but his words have the feeling of a deeply ingrained truth. His existence has been nothing but pain. An attempt at heroism cost him his life, and since he has been back, all he has seen is the worst of people. His words echo 616-verse Elektra’s mindset in the wake of her father’s murder-- that the world is a cold and uncaring place and all one can do is attempt to survive in it as best one can. And like 616 Matt in the equivalent situation, Elektra is horrified to see what has become of the hopeful, caring person she knew in college.

They fight, and Elektra realizes the inevitable-- there is no saving Matt. And she is Elektra, no matter the universe, and so finds the strength to do the deed.

[ID: Elektra shoots a bullet past Matt’s head. He drops to his knees, his hands pressed to his ears in pain.]

Caption: “The gun is S.H.I.E.L.D. ordinance... with a built-in sonic disruptor. It sends the Advocate’s senses into overdrive.”

[ID: Elektra draws her sai and stabs him through the chest.]

[ID: Matt lies, dying, on the ground. His eyes now look normal. Elektra kneels beside him.]

Matt: “Elektra...?”

Elektra: “Matt...?”

Matt: “Terrorists... taken care of... you and... your father... safe?”

Elektra: “Yes, darling... we’re safe... we’re safe.”

It’s a beautiful little one-shot, bloody and tragic and poetic as the best Elektra and Matt comics are. I’m sure I’ll discuss it again, but for now, I wanted to give it the attention it deserves as an important alternate universe story and a compelling re-exploration of Matt and Elektra’s relationship.

#What If?#Elektra Natchios #Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Commentary

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tcrmommabear · 5 years

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The Weight of Debts Unpaid

Hi, I’m a terrible fandom mom and best friend, but I’m crawling out of the hell-hole work has buried me in to toss this very late birthday present into the wild, wild world.

So, my lovely @catsafarithewriter, I promised Emara AU, my favorite creation of yours besides the lovely face you maintain (and everything else you’ve written), and by god was I going to give you Emara AU

A few months late.

You can expect your Christmas present on Valentine’s Day XD

Threw in my own theories and slight headcanons, but I’m still excited for when we get the official version of the AU. You know I’ll be screaming and cheering from the stands XD

Let us begin!

He was heavy in her arms.

Not a surprise when his body is half wood and all dead weight. She’s feeling it in her legs as well, the feeling of something viciously sucking at her soul, but really, she’s done this well without legs. Who needs them with arms like these?

He’s still heavy.

The hallways stretch for miles, barely different from one to the next. Swathed in red and carrying the heavy pinging blare of alarms miles ahead of where they started. She doesn’t feel like she’s made any difference running through these halls, finding no relief, no sanctuary, just a million different eyes and guns trained on her limping form.

He’s so god damn heavy.

There’s a door cracked open from fleeing cats who couldn’t be bothered to follow evacuation protocol. She crashes into it and through it, pulling it full shut until the locking mechanism clicked louder than the alarms.

Silence reigned in the small room, the alarms cut off mid dutiful shriek, but the world remained red, flashing through the unnecessary window watching the hallway.

She sets him down as gently as she can spare, sinking a bit more harshly onto her knees before him. He’s still lifeless, torn between two wholes until they couldn’t even form a half. Skin, fur, and wood melted and warred together, fighting for the right to be called “horror”.

In theory, she knew this was what Macavity had planned. Pushing, pulling, twisting, breaking in the name of thoughtless science. Experimenting until every idle curiosity had been fulfilled. Seeing the product of such twisted ideas made her stomach recoil.

His chest rose in sections, eyes startling real glass, and all the rest of him was the exact shade of wrong she wanted to believe the real one was gone, and this was just a fake. She could maybe walk out of here, leaving behind all of this, this world, this fake doll, and go see her real one-.

He is real. He is her real one.

She wasn’t going to abandon him. Not again.

She raised a hand, pressing them against his “scarred” lips, sinking the tips past the teeth and opens his mouth wide. She spares a second for the squeamish and violating feeling, then pulls out the bottle she’d managed to save from the chaos known as Macavity.

She steals a swig of the formula before making his wooden throat choke the rest of it. Her taste gives her enough energy to unlock her legs from their crouch, falling back against the opposite wall. As fast as it came, it tore through her system and flare uselessly out her damaged, mechanical right knee.

For him, it started slow. Chest rising together section by section until it was a whole, left hand shuddering to replace the claws, the right side of his chin shifting between furry and flesh. His chest became more hurried as magic revitalized itself, fireworks beneath his skin until burning out his eyes, green and blue and yellow.

He hacked the formula onto her lap, the blue liquid hitting her legs and sparking up into her chest. She grunted, knee jerking as the black hole was fed, and as quickly as they hit her system, the flared out again, unable to hold much of a charge.

At least the blue left no stain on her clothes. No clean up necessary, mind-numbing sparks guaranteed or your money back. Legs sold separately.

The process of watching him shift, cat, man, wood, was enough of a show she felt an odd motion sickness surge in her gut. Drenched in guilt and expired Creation juice, but she’d really prefer to blame everything on the flashing red lights, cutting streaks across his face like prison bars.

He got his glare back before his words, though she could read “I will eviscerate you” through the context clues. She had told herself a million things as she stalked through the building towards the highest level lab they locked him in.

That she was righting a wrong. That she’d get revenge against the ones who took both sets of legs. That she was helping a friend.

That he wouldn’t be heavy in her arms.

She doesn’t know what to tell herself now. Not when he’s fully back and glaring at her. She never knew the weight of his glare felt like until now.

“Why?” he hisses out, eyes slit in the human face he fluctuates to. His question is followed by a cough, wheeze, and the cat form fully takes over, the human disguise melting away. Less magic being used now that he’s in his more natural state, doing a terribly accurate impression of a badly animated doll. He looks as terrible as she feels, though she’s sure his slightly wrinkled suit would have some words to exchange with her torn and dirty jeans and shirt.

Her heart constricts.

Why indeed.

She's prepared herself for all scenarios. This one scared her the most. She hadn’t the faintest clue for why she did any of this. Maybe because their partnership wasn’t “just a job” anymore? Maybe because of the way he kissed her hand during tea? Maybe because, despite knowing intimately well the soulless depravity, seeing the results up close had been the final straw?

“Why not?” she supplies, going for nonchalant and falling somewhere between robot and blubbering. The answer isn’t an answer, the exact opposite of an answer, a nonanswer that left both of them dissatisfied and hurt.

But was there really any better one to give?

She sold him out. Let him be experimented on and drained of his magic- his very essence, the equivalent of a soul and blood pumping through your veins- until he was catatonic.

His glare doesn’t drop, and a childish impulse tells her to return it. She didn’t want to be an adult when the he, the world, and all the little regrets were being unfair to her. She knows she fucked up. She gave up her partner, her friend, her confusing source of feelings she did not need to identify right now, for…

Hunks of cogs. Scrap metal. Parasites made of the equivalent of an atomic bomb and lighter fluid sucking at whatever scraps of magic a human could contain. All loving connected to the ends of her thighs and twice as shiny.

She focused too hard on distracting herself, a tear slipping through her “brave” facade. She saw him shift, out of the corner of her eye, from murderous to agonizingly sympathetic.

“Haru…” he begins cautiously, eyeing her legs, “Why haven’t you moved your legs?”

“I didn’t want to do it,” she blurts out, instead of answering, “Turning you in. I didn’t even really want to do the whole “Demeter” thing, but hey, who can say no to Macavity?”

She laughs. He doesn’t. She wishes she hadn’t.

“I knew if I turned myself in, let Macavity know I wasn’t going to do this anymore… He’d just send someone else. Someone not me. And where would I be? Locked in a room with no way to get out.”

She takes in a shuddering breath, “No way to rescue you.”

There’s more life to his appearance, more flesh than bark, but he’s just as stoic as when she began. She sits before him, waiting for something to snake across his face so she can get a read, an idea. But nothing. Green eyes, still faintly glowing, remained fixed on lead, and cogs, and betrayal, and a haphazard reason she could barely stand on.

Hardy har har.

“Okay.”

That��s it?

“That’s it,” he echoes back, just as she realizes she’d said the thought out loud.

“But-” she sputters, attempting to lurch up before remembering her body had taken a democratic vote to be everything but useful and complying, “After every- How could you- Do you have- Do you not realize what betrayal is, Humbert?!”

They both paused at the sound of his name, a moment of red light flashing between that’d been all but forgotten. She wonders, dimly, and not for the first or last time, if that was his real name or one he’d picked up over the years.

“You’ve saved my life countless times, Haru, as yourself and as my partner, Demeter. The betrayal was unexpected, and it hurt, but…”

He looks at her, made up of hope and magic, and she realizes how badly she’d read the moments leading here. How easily fear can come across as anger, confusion as hurt.

Oh.

‘Do you trust me?’

Didn’t know the play, but still willing to play the part.

“I think, Haru, I can afford to put a little trust in you.”

Well, now she’s a goddamn fool.

“Humbert,” she chokes out between tears, “I liked you better when you were emotionally constipated. I can’t handle this emotional rollercoaster.”

The laughter bubbles up unwillingly, shared between the two for a second as the whole situation registered into their minds. For a moment, though, she could almost believe they were just back at the tea shop.

If only the “red alert” alarm could be so kind.

The shrieking beeping stops, the flashing red light pinging on and glowing ominously steady.

Lockdown.

“Shit.”

“We’re trapped, aren’t we?”

“Lesson learned, heart-to-hearts saved for after great escapes.”

“With the state your legs are in, we can’t make it much farther, can we?”

Right, those appendages.

They’re busted from the 9th Hell and back, and can’t hold on to much of a charge. At least not the fake magic solutions usually put into the machine. She knows she can’t move. She knows she can’t stay.

She knows she’s too valuable to kill.

“Baron, you need to-!”

She feels a surge starting in her calves where he’d dug his fingers into the grinding gears, frozen lightning blazing through her veins. It shifts, feels like leaves stretching to sunlight, water running through roots, worms churning in the earth, and she’s back.

The light fades, but her legs click before whirring back to life, lowly humming with an abundance of energy. She catches her breath and watches the mirage of flesh melts away until he’s back to the animated wood form that tells her he’s barely got any magic running through him.

He gave her as much as he could.

She’s furious he gave her so much.

She can’t deny that having her legs devour something other than her own energy isn’t a nice feeling, though. She tests it, bends a knee, and watches it move like magic and machine and a normal human limb. It’s foreign and familiar and she wishes it was neither.

Humbert presses against the door, glancing down each end of the hallway through the window.

“We better get moving. I’m not letting either of us get left behind.”

He offers her a hand to stand up, one of many. But this feels different.

Her legs are heavy on her body.

The magic Humbert poured into her is nothing but crumbs for a black hole.

There’s still a dozen more floors before they’re even close to ground level.

She’s pretty sure her foot isn’t supposed to feel itchy.

“Ready, Haru?” he asks.

Well, they’ve had worse days.

Her hand clasps his.

“Ready.”

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themadsamurai · 5 years

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Town of Phoenix Concet

A new series I’ll be writing soon.

In the country of Easifa (storm), there’s a tale of a peaceful town that worshipped a fire bird as their goddess. Thanks to their worship, the goddess bestowed the power of flames upon their bloodline. The elder of this town knew that the royal families would not approve of this revelation and implored his citizens to keep it a secret. But the younger generation disagreed, it’s not like they were doing anything wrong with these powers. They could protect Easifa from foreign threats. The elder was right and the royal families were afraid of these powers. The country was a place of mysticism but never have they ever been able to use the powers of a goddess. What if one of these citizen defect and an enemy country obtains these powers?

The royal families sent thousands upon thousands of soldiers to this city to slaughter all of its residents. The goddess, distraught by the death of her followers blamed herself for bestowing them these powers, went into a state of depression and disappeared. The royal families proclaimed that should any survive resident of this town be discovered, they will be labeled children of evil and slaughtered.

300 years later and easifa is now a country with immense wealth and riches but looks to make up for their sins of the past. Unfortunately they are plagued by Creatures such as jinn (ghosts) and Raeb (blood suckers). A young farm hand named Cain discovers that he can summon the Phoenix Goddess Fire. Cain becoming curious about his past starts looking for answers when a near death experience causes him to meet the goddess herself Homura. She asks him to find her destroyed home and return her spirit to her temple. After some reluctance, he accepts. He journeys throughout Easifa with his Best friend and jinn hunter in training Dalia (A charming girl with a hidden bloodlust), her tiger cub pet Amyr and a man who says he collects souls named Mahaz. His powers capture the attention of the Militia. Who send two of his old friends, Lt. Rekka and his younger sister Rubina… (the also have a pet lemur named Sparx) who are determined to figure out of their old friend is a danger or a hero to Easifa that they were looking for. Along the journey the Trio will learn secrets about the country, becoming stronger as individuals and maybe even save Easifa from its misfortune on the way.

Main Characters

Cain Ishihara - Was a farm hand who discovered he had the ability to summon fire. Formally gave up during the middle of Militia physical. While he is a passive individual looking to do right he can get selfish and stubborn when his curiosity takes over. While he is looking to get Homura’s spirit home, his interest in his home hometown takes president. He has blond hair that reaches the back of his neck and long bangs that fall in front of his face; black eyes. Average height but slim fit build. Long black boots, White linen pants. Black male Kimono flaming cloud design top with red edges. He has a red katana that’s sheathed in a red scabbard that has the same flaming clouds on it.

Magic Focus: Flame

Dalia Volkov - a Jinn Hunter (in training). Cain’s best friend and self professed “wing man”. A bubbly optimistic that also has a darker side when she gets into battle. She put her jinn hunter training to the side in order to journey with Cain. Very long Auburn hair kept in a long long tail to the side; Blue eyes. Tall, slightly shorter than Cain. Well endowed but fit figure. Brown boots, cream color harem pants. Cream colored sleeveless blouse with brown leather corset. White bangle wrapped wrist bands. Two scimitars with black hilts and white scabbards with black flowers that rest on her lower back.

Magic Focus: Spiritual/Split Mind

Amyr the tiger - Dalia’s pet sabertooth tiger cub. Always by her side. With the power transfer magic, he can turn into an adult and assist in battle. As a baby he has light orange fur and black stripes. Also a noticeable scar on his forehead. As an adult he tripled in size and gets two extra curved tusk fangs.

Magic Focus: Transfer

Mahaz Abad -A Traveling mercenary, Mahaz has seen some shit. Despite his appearance, mahaz is a chill dude that always plans ahead. He got the nickname Soul Taker From being accused of a massive murdering spree. long messy black hair, black bandanna on his head with red swirl designs, brown eyes. Very tall, muscular individual with light brown skin. Black heavy flip flop sandals, red sirwal pants, a sleeveless collared black vest with red swirl designs and red bracelet. He has a long black pole staff. With blood magic it becomes a scythe.

Magic Focus: Repulsion/Blood

Homura the Goddess - the phoenix goddess herself. She yearns to return to her home and task Cain to do so whom she met when he nearly died. Homura is elegant and kind but as a goddess has a slight temper. Especially when Cain ignores her. She has saidto have feelings for Cain to Dalia but doesn’t pursue because she’s a goddess. She’s a giant flaming firebird. Her humanoid appearance has long red hair that reaches her back, red eyes and a golden headband. She is curvaceous and beautiful. But wears a large white kimono with red flames on it.

Magic Focus: Flame/Healing

Rubina Nazar - a low ranking captain of the Easifa militia, Rubi as her friends call her, is stoic and calm on the outside but is actually kind and sweet. A brilliant fighter, she is known as the piercer thanks to her rapier. Cain and her have had an intimate relationship in the past. She had short black hair in a bob cut and emerald eyes. A fit figure with ample curves. The Easifa uniform is simple blue getup. As a captain she has two stars on the right breast pocket of her uniform. Casually, she usually wears beige bootcut pants and pink medieval style blouse with black boots. She has a blue hilted rapier with a handguard that extends past the hilt. She also has a silver revolver with her at all times.

Magic Focus: Boost step

Lt. Rekka Nazar - the newest lieutenant of Easifa militia and the older brother of Rubi. Rekka is still getting accustomed to the responsibilities that fall on his shoulders. Rekka is considered a prodigy but new school ideas cause him to but heads with the general constantly. Rekka is hot tempered but cunning. His previous nickname given to him by Cain was Buckshot cause of his obsession with guns. He has short black hair but also a mullet in the back and emerald eyes. A y’all individual, He wears a similar uniform to Rubi but it has 3 stars in the breast pocket and red line going down the left arm. Casually he wears black boots. Brown straight pants and a white shirt. He always has two sawed off shotguns on him. Tends to carry a rifle and combat knife on him too.

Magic Focus: Ice/wind

Sparx the lemur - Sparx is the nazar family pet and sidekick. Usually seen resting on Rekka’s shoulder. Sparx is protective of his family and will jump at anything that hurt Rekka and Rubi. He has white fur and a patch of red fur in the shape of a triangle on his chest.

Magic Focus: Boost step

Akeem Chai - Rekka’s right hand man. He’s not the brightest but excitable and always looking to prove his strength. Akeem is a rarity in the militia as he prefers to use his fist, feet and magic to fight instead of an abundance of weapons. He is also the estranged son of Dr Chao Xhen but only Rekka and Rubi know that. His hair is a brown quiff that almost goes into pompadour territory. Blue eyes, blackrim glasses. He is fit and thick. There is only one star on his uniform pocket because he is yet to be a captain. Casually he wears blue ripped harem pants and a black shirt. He usually is not wearing shoes.

Magic Focus: Equivalent Dmage

Dr. Chao Xhen - the traveling Doctor of Easifa. The Doc can be found in his giant carriage working on his potions and tending to all the citizens, mostly the militia. Even then he can be found once in a while in his 3 offices. But the chances of you being there on a day he is quite rare. The Doc is called mad by the people, some wonder if he actually studied but none can argue he gives results. The older man has wild grey hair that is never combed and blue eyes. He has a rough beard and moustache and enjoyed the feeling of scratching it. Normally he’s wearing brown overalls and boots with a gray shirt and sometimes a white coat but honestly he usually just throws stuff together. Chao is always flipping a quarter. He enjoys the sound.

Magic Focus: Luck

Tae Kagawa - the quiet, almost antisocial assistant of Doctor Chao. Tae was sold to the black market as a young child but saved by the Doctor. He’s one of the people she genuinely cares for, calling him father. Although he doesn’t want her to call him that. She is the person usually managing his schedule and getting him to places when someone actually needs help. She has blue dyed hair with bangs that falls long on the right side of her face and brown eyes. She has a petite frame and tends to wear a white or black dress.

Magic Focus: Study Eye

General Mashru Rafiq - the commander general of the Easifa militia. He’s in the twilight of his career much to his own dismay. He’s not a fan of the changes that Easifa is going through and butts heads with Rekka because of it. His goal is ultimately eliminate all the creatures infesting Easifa. One way or another. He is an older man with slick bald white hair, yellow eyes and a very long beard. His uniform is black and has 5 stars on the breast pocket. He always carries 6 revolvers in his jacket and a long scimitar at his waste.

Magic Focus: Earth

Villains

Lucian Alexander - the 499th King of the Raebs. He is a legendary hero to his people after defeating and exterminating the Raebs long rival species the Mayit (dead walkers) in his youth. Lucian is a terrifying and ruthless individual but also is clinically depressed in his age. Looking for the last bit of excitement in his life, he seeks to plunge his home country of Easifa into an all lit war with the humans. Once the creatures rule the country, he will step down and name his son Stefan as the 500th king. Lucian is very secretive, it is said those who stumble into his castle without invitation is never heard from again. He is a tall man with long flowing black hair and red highlights. Goatee and handlebar mustache. His left eye is white, right is red. Fangs and three scars on his cheek. He wears a suit with black, white and red colors. And white handkerchief in his breast pocket. He carries a stylized sword with a red hilt, gold handguard and broad black blade.

Magic Focus: Varied/Blood

Ramona Alexander - the wife of Lucian and current Queen of Raebs. She is a born succubus but became half raeb after her passionate relationship with Lucian. Ramona is a yandere… madly in love with Lucian to this day and will do anything to seek his attention. In his depressed state he tends to ignore her which leads her to scheming up ways to catch his eye, even staging an affair in front of him. Some say she is more ruthless than Lucian, desmating any woman who looks at him lustfully. Ramona is also protective of her son who she deems will be a greater king then her husband. Ramona is beautiful, curvaceous and thanks to having a mix of succubus and raeb blood, youthful looking. She has long purple hair that reaches her calves; a bang always covers her left eye (which are both dark blue). Her fangs are smaller than most. She wears a long black dress with red on the end and white flowers covering the dress. Black heels as well.

Magic Focus: Arousal/Blood

Stefan Alexander - prince of the Raebs, he is half raeb and half incubus. Stefan can’t wait to be king. He’s brash, arrogant, a playboy and smart. Even though he has so much respect for his parents, he is aware that soon they will have to settle down or die in battle. Stefan always is at the front lines looking for a fight. Much like his parents, he is easily bored. His solution is to go out to the human world, have some fun and cause destruction. Some feel that half raeb should not be king, he always changes that person's mind by leaving them close to deaths door. He has short black hair and purple highlights, two red eyes and small fangs like his mother. He wears a white medieval style dress shirt, black shoes and black pants. He has a sword similar to his father but also has a scimitar with a broken blade which he uses to toy with weaker opponents.

Magic Focus: Arousal/Blood/Ice

Rosawld Rosario Rodini - the mad clown, Roswald has a strange connection to Jinn. Jinn normally have no ruler and tend to run on instinct, but roswald can manipulate them, making him a huge asset to Lucian. No one is sure if he’s a jinn himself, raeb, or even human. While he is an ally to Lucian, he prefers to be called a subordinate. Never taking credit for large scale plans. Roswald is a master of disguise and violent jokester. Always looking to see if anyone can handle his madness. He is a skinny man with messy green hair and yellow eyes. He has clown makeup, white painted face, red x’s across his eyes and a red lines along his mouth that make it look stitched up. He wears candy cane looking pants, white with red stripes. Magician shoes. White shirt, blue vest and red jacket. He also carries Bayard model hand gun on him.

Magic Focus: Transfer/Luck/Study Eye

Dizarah - She is the last of the Mayit. Once a slave to the Mayit king, She is now Lucians vanguard captain. She is entrusted with protecting the prince much to her dismay as he tends to prefer to wander alone. Dizarah enjoys killing humans because they were the ones who created and became the Mayit. Her own people who tortured her before Lucian saved her. She is tall but skinny girl with short black hair and red eyes. 90 percent of her body is wrapped in bandages, including her face, leveling only her hair, eyes and mouth free. The bandages tend to hang off her body and can extend and be controlled by her. She doesn’t wear anything over her bandages at the top but wears a blue ripped skirt and black boots.

Magic Focus: Undead/Repulsion

Xavier Scalebound - the lizard man and leader of Lucian’s Sahalia (lizard people) army. They are the most defensive specialist species in all of Easifa. Lucian recruited there people who were being oppressed by the Mayit and fed to Jinn. Xavier is cunning milterist. He almost never has to jump into battle as his planning and strategies of his army overwhelm his opponents. Xavier personally trained Dizarah in combat and oversees the protection of Prince Stefan. His body is covered in red scales. His stomach has some missing in an x shape which is said to be a scar that Stefan gave him. He has wild red hair flowing from his head and messy short black cloth pants. His weapons of choice are a battle axe, mace and curved scimitar.

Magic Focus: Water/Lightning

#originalstory #TownOfPhoenix #anime #manga #action #adventure #madsamurai

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limitededitionsanderssidesblog · 5 years

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The Stacks - Chapter 10

Ships: Eventual logicality and prinxiety, abusive anxceit, slow burn

Summary: In this society there is a place where the poor and unwanted are placed and kept hidden away from everyone else, where poverty and crime are a frequent and life shines for no one. Stacked up high in the sky, this is the furthest anyone living there will ever reach. When a Depression consumes the land, and the government fails to bring an end to it, society turns even further on the residents of the Stacks, accusing them for bringing the rest of them down. What no one knows, however, is that it’ll take the work of four unlikely people to not only bring an end to the poverty, but also to this inequality.

Chapter One Previous Next

AO3 - Here

The Senate Hall, the building where the summits were held and national records, information, and law was kept, was a circular-shaped grand architectural creation meant to hold the most powerful people in the nation. In the center of it all was the Discussion Hall, the room where legislature was made, executive orders were carried out, and judicial decisions were cast; numerous other meeting rooms were scattered around the building for private meetings between committees. There were fifty members in total, a Senator and Deputy Senator from each of the twenty-five provinces. Sessions were held for ten hour hearings, with breaks for meals in between. The worst part of it was the body’s poor scheduling, as many Senators or Deputies were scheduled to be more than one place at once. After the ten hours on seminars was completed, each of them went on their way to go over their takeaway work and proposals for the next day.

Logan sat in the upper front part of the round stands, the order set up in order of when each province was established, his being one of the last at twenty second, with Joan at his side. The Chancellor sat in the center booth, currently regarding the room on issues of foreign trade with their largest supplier and neighboring country. A good number of the senators felt they were paying too much for goods and wanted to raise the import tax, while others feared straining the ties with their closest ally. Logan was against raising the tax.

“Recent statistics have proven that we have been paying two percent more in international tax than Gemma. We need to show them that we will not put up with this by raising theirs four times as more.” Senator Dean Wainwright declared, slamming his palm on the table every other word for emphasis. Applause from about half of the room erupted before quickly being shouted over.

“If we raise their tax Gemma might see it as a threat and pull back on trade. It is not a risk we can take with the state of our economy.” Senator Lucy Lee argued, shushing the crowd.

“So you think we should simply continue to pay more to the Gemmians?” Senator Rachel O'Connor challenged.

“No I-”

Logan was caressing a bleeding headache from the nearly nonstop yelling of stupid politicians who appeared to love listening to their own voice more than actually accomplishing policy. The back and forth went on for a while more, the Chancellor doing nothing to call order as he should be. Eventually, Logan could no longer take it.

“The resolution is clear.” His voice cut in suddenly over the fighting senators, “Send an ambassador to negotiate a set tax that is equivalent to each other’s. That way we can bring their tax down, and raise ours up without the risk of offending our close ally.”

The crowd began murmuring amongst each other, some seeming to agree, while others bitterly disregarded his option. Not soon after, Wainwright, an old, withered man who was plagued with his own selfish pride stood from his seat abruptly to yell out an accusation; however, Chancellor Jackson stepped in before he could unleash a flood of personal insults.

“That is enough Senator Wainwright; Senator Winchester does make an excellent point, one that must be thought over properly with calm minds before a final decision is made. This topic will be returned to on a later date. For now, let’s move on to the next item on the docket.”

At the moment, Logan would love nothing more than to jump out of a window. He wondered why he had chosen to go into politics sometimes when he was only ever surrounded by idiots. The meeting had just adjourned for the day, the multitudinous senators and deputies exited the room and Logan did not spare a second to escape as well.

Joan was currently in a meeting, having left the main congregation about an hour ago with the Natural Resources and Environment Protection Committee they were a part of, and wouldn’t be finished until late in the evening. Now that his time was, somewhat, free, Logan went to go do as he would almost every day since he had arrived, and that was to scavenge through the Senatorial Archives to continue his investigation. Joan had provided him with all the knowledge they possibly could have on the Purple Revolt, but there were still many questions left unanswered. For the past three weeks Logan has been wandering through the massive shelves of the archives, looking for any details he could find on the subject, but oddly and suspiciously, enough nothing turned up. When he had searched for it by name, it was found nonexistent; when he went to the section dedicated to the history of The Stacks, Logan discovered that much of it was missing, their placements labeled, but the files out. He asked the Head Archivist if someone had checked them out, but he was told that they were confidential and no further explanation could be given.

In the company of each passing day that turned into a week of no more than a speck of data unearthed, Logan’s disturbance and inquisitiveness escalated. He dared not to ask anyone else on the subject, nor share his interest with any of his colleagues, not even Joan. Nevertheless, as the weeks went on, Logan began to feel the creeping suspicion of the others around him at his odd obsession with the archives, he had even been asked about it by Martha Quinn, the Senator of Ivy.

Martha was one of the few Senators who were under forty years old, being the age of thirty, still leaving him as the youngest at twenty-eight. Logan got along well enough with her, agreeing with her views on quite a few policy areas, however she was known to be nosy and quite crafty, any information split to her could immediately be pivoted right back at him with a flick of her wrist. Despite being so young she had many connections within the Senate and outside of it, it was best to avoid her becoming involved in any way at all costs.

Alas, she was persistent in her prodding and often offered to accompany him to the archives to assist him. Logan tried to gently let her down but she refused to hear what she didn’t want to; a reason why she was such a brash Senator. Just as he had feared, her self-inclusion into his investigation only set him back further as he tried to derail her suspicion towards him. At this point he only had three more weeks left with the opportunity to be in the nation’s largest data bank and possibly find what he was looking for, he surely wouldn’t be able to do that with Miss Quinn breathing down his neck every second of the day.

“Actually, on second hand I think I’ll go and rest in my hotel quarters, I have obtained a rather painful headache from today’s chaos. It was a pleasure chatting with you Senator Quinn.” Logan excused himself, politely giving her a small bow before. Martha said nothing in response, staring him down with her calm, calculating as she watched the way every muscle on his body moved, reading him like a book. She offered him a smile.

“You know Logan,” She purred, stalking her way around him as if her were her prey, “there are a lot of rumors floating around you, you best be careful not to draw any more attention to yourself, lest the investigator becomes the investigat-ee.”

Martha bounded off down the hall he had planned to take to avoid her, effectively cutting through his previous bluff to go back to his hotel and revealing his true intentions to stay, or else he would have accompanied her out. Her luscious black curls fell down and bounced off her waist in an eloquent ballet. She had let him go today, but Logan knew she’d be back to try and snuff out the truth from him. Try as she might, there was no way she could hope to get a single meaningful word out of him without it coming with his full intention.

It truly was a pleasure, Miss Quinn.

Logan glanced back to the doors of the archives, contemplating the contents that lay behind them, and then walked away, following in her footsteps. Whatever it was he was searching for, it didn’t exist here, and he could trust no one within these walls to provide the answers he so craved. Yet, there was one who very likely could assist him. The man who had started him on this scavenger hunt of his, his chef.

...

The serene calm of the apartment home, quiet and still from being unbothered and vacant, grey with the light of the sun through the clouds being the only provider in the dim setting sat in a perpetual loop was erratically shattered when the front door was brutishly kicked inwards from the outside hall. A caramel brown briefcase was chucked into the open living area, hitting the edge of the lush red sofa, flinging open with a cascade of papers soaring into the air and across the rich mahogany flooring. The action thusly destroying the prior peace and replacing it with something much more conflicting.

Roman charged into his residence with a heavy huff, slamming the door behind him, and stomped his way to his couch and collapsed into the cushions in a frustrated heap. He paid no mind to the mess he had created beside him, too focused on the vexation that was bubbling erratically inside.

It has been nearly five weeks since the robberies had begun, and not a single fucking trace of evidence had been found. The reporters were describing it as if the treasures had seemingly disappeared by out of thin air. Of course he knew that was a lie and simply the media trying to get views. Talyn themselves was also perplexed about this case, unsure how to pin down the thief when the hits were so sporadic and elusive. This kid was able to rob three homes within a single night, yet go under radar for several days and appear in a completely different part of the city.

Several suspects and captured robbers had been brought in for investigation, but none have been proven guilty for the mass conduct. Talyn had sent him confidential intel on each suspect, but once he saw their faces he knew it wasn’t them. Talyn questioned him on this, becoming suspicious of his behavior.

“How are you so certain that this kid you ran into is the same one whose commiting all these acts? It could be the work of several people for all we know.” They told him earlier that same day when they met for coffee during his break.

“It’s him, Talyn, I know it is.” Roman said firmly, lifting his heavy head from its previous position in his hands on the tabletop.

“No, you think it is.” They denied pointedly, setting their mug to the side with vigor, their voice strong and commanding, but also caring and parental. “Ro, you have to let this go. It isn’t your job anymore and you’re becoming obsessed with this in a way that’s not good for you. As the new head of security, you have other matters to focus on other than a single thief.”

“A thief has single-handedly taken millions worth of possessions from innocent and good people to do lord knows what, striking fear into the minds of the masses, and creating civil unrest. And I’m supposed to just let it go?” Roman hissed bitterly, clenching his fist tightly in his lap and digging his heel into the floor under the table. Talyn sighed resignation and backed away from the whole debacle, knowing that he could not be reasoned with as he was. They stood and slid their jacket on over their shoulders, placing cash on the table to cover their end of the bill.

“This case isn’t going anywhere anytime soon with what’s been showing up. I know you don’t like to throw in the hat, but maybe you should consider it this time and focus on helping the province.”

After they left he didn’t even bother going back to work and instead went home, which led him up to where he was now, lying on the couch in a very bad mood. He was still technically on his break, although it would soon end in less than ten minutes. Roman will most likely be late getting back to work, but he didn’t care about all that at the moment.

I am helping the province. He thought begrudgingly. I’m trying to protect it from this scumbag. I’m not obsessed. Why would I be?

Roman sat up with an exhale of hot air, letting his back sink into the fluff of his cushion pillows, staring blankly at the ceiling. It was true that this was no longer his duty, and he know had something more to look after, but the endless paperwork was never for him, and it wasn’t what he had expected or desired. Roman was best in his element at the front line, facing the criminals head on and taking them down with his bare hands and hand pistol. He couldn’t just suddenly leave that part of him behind, it was what made him who he was. It defined him. When Roman was young he looked up to the police and wanted to be one of them. He entered college and studied then studied in an academy, spending years of his life on this path. Now his life has suddenly changed, but he wasn’t sure if it’s for the better.

That’s not to say he doesn’t see his role as being unimportant, but the mindless hours of dulling meetings and discussions over policy and action, only to come up with nothing in the end didn’t hold a candle to what he once did. He was helping people, sure, but not at the rate he wanted. When he was a cop he always had his radio on, even when he was off-duty, so that he could rush in if danger appeared. From anything to assault, armed robberies, car crashes, or just a noisy neighbor, Roman wanted to help the people no matter what, no matter how small. As a politician he was just arguing over how something should be carried out when it was clearly obvious.

Throwing his head to the side, Roman looked over at his digital wall clock to check the time. He was ten minutes late already. Diana was surely going to give him a firm talking to once he came back.

Logan trusted you for a reason. It may not be what you wanted, but you can do some good.

Moaning out loud, Roman threw himself of the couch and dramatically crawled on his knees to his scattered papers and haphazardly jammed them into his case. He may be blunt and reckless by nature, that was one reason he was such a great cop, but he still stood by the honor of his badge; and for now, that badge called him to be something else.

…

With his glasses in a pot of soup and running off of five hours of sleep, Patton’s day was not going as he exactly wanted or expected it to.

The morning came much too early for him, at three A.M. He woke in a panic, sweaty scare, his hands held in front of him acting as a shield. He looked around frantically, searching for a threat, making sure that his sons were still at his side. Thomas was still knocked out, his arms and legs spread out widely like the little star he was. Emile was in a ball, seeming a bit disturbed by the sudden movement, but was otherwise fine. Patton let out a relieved sigh, although he wasn’t sure why, because, not matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what he had dreamt of to make him that way.

He tried to lie back down, close his eyes, and go back to sleep, but the lingering feeling of unease kept him up. After about half an hour of pointless attempts, Patton got up from bed, careful to not disturb the boys, slipped on his shoes, grabbed his coat. He made his way out into the backyard garden. The first time he had found this place he had instantly become enchanted with it. Something like this never existed in the Stacks, in fact there was barely any natural vegetation there, even the riverbank held little plant life. That’s why when Patton saw this place, full of beautiful flowers and amazing varieties of bushes and buds, he had fell in love with the garden.

Patton would occasionally come out here during his breaks and simply gaze at the plants, finding it therapeutic, but he had never come here during nighttime. Yet he found the result all the same. The moonlit roses and carnations, names he had learned from a plant guide he had found in Logan’s downstairs library, the one he had open to the staff and visitors. The red of the flowers, which were fiery and vibrant in the sun, were now purplish silver. He had been enjoying his time out there; that is until he was suddenly shouted at and tackled to the ground.

Ahmed later explained that he only saw his figure and not any characteristics, causing him to believe that Patton was an intruder. He apologized for doing so, but made him promise that he’d tell him ahead of time if he planned to be in the gardens.

The rest of his morning wasn’t as dramatic, but not any easier either. Due to his lack of sleep, Patton was more sluggish when preparing breakfast for everyone, giving cause for Elise to ridicule and lecture him, even though she already refused to ever eat his cooking. Because of this he ended up being late taking the boys to school and had to sprint there on foot while carrying both of them, Thomas on his back and Emile in his arms. He had managed to get them to class on time, but their teacher had given him an incredulous look, peering down at his food covered apron and messy hair. Patton acted as if he didn’t notice and tried to not let her scorn bother him.

During the return to the manor the grey clouds that had been plaguing the skies since yesterday began to pour down rain on his umbrella-less self, drenching him by the time he made it back. Elise scrunched her nose at him as he dripped water across the floor. Patton apologized to Jamie for the mess but he didn’t mind and was much more worried about him, offering to run him a bath while he changed from his wet clothes. I took a few moments for Patton to oblige, not wanting to be a burden, but he eventually conceded to his wishes.

The bath had been warm and relaxing, so much in fact that he almost fell asleep in it, but by the time he was done it was around the time he cook lunch.

Which had then led him to his present situation.

Patton had decided to make chicken soup with rice, as it seemed appropriate for the stormy weather, but while he was doing so the steam from the pot boiling fogged up his glasses. He wiped at them to clear away the fog, but he accidentally knocked them off and they fell into the pot. Patton frowned a little, bit simply picked up a pair of tongs to pull them out of the boiling broth. It took him several dozen times to pick up his thin, frail glasses, but once he had them snared he pulled them out and placed them in the sink. He cleaned them off under the faucet the best he could and placed them back on his face, but the water droplets blocked his vision. He tried to wipe it off on his shirt, but the smudges made everything blurry.

Patton closed his eyes and swallowed his breath, took a deep breath, then continued with what he was doing, making do with what he could see.

“Hey Pat Pat!” Jamie greeted walking into the kitchen; he was wearing an apron around his waist and had his cleaning gloves still on his hands, meaning he had just started his break.

“Hi Jay Jay.” Patton said as enthusiastically as he could, but ended up sounding tired.

“Whoa, you okay?” Jamie asked in concern, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

“Yeah, just had a bit of a rough day.” He smiled, “I’ll be just fine. I’m sorry that I made you clean up the water I dripped on the floor then had you run a bath.”

“No, no it’s fine! What kind of person wouldn’t do that? Well, besides Elise.” He joked, well versed in how stingy their butler can be.

More people than you’d expect. Patton thought bitterly before catching himself. He shouldn’t be thinking in that manner, it wasn’t healthy or good.

“Do you mind if I turn on the radio? I like to listen to music while I eat.”

“Of course.” Patton confirmed, pouring soup into a porcelain bowl and placing it at the table for Jamie. The youthful looking man, it was still a shock that he was thirty-four, went over to the little radio on the counter and switched it on. The music playing was some sort of instrumental piano, but Jamie quickly changed the channel to something the sounded very angry and aggressive. The main singer was also for some reason screaming a lot. Yet Jamie nodded his small head joyfully as if it was the sweetest the tune in existence. Patton tried to listen along peacefully, but he wasn’t able to get comfortable in the sound.

“I actually feel like eating in the sitting room today.” He announced filling a bowl for himself, turning off the stove and covering the pot with the lid to keep it warm.

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you later then.” He waved, although a bit awkwardly. Patton felt a twinge of guilt and almost decided to stay, but the screaming singer got angrier.

Patton waved goodbye to him as well and walked towards the door, passing Ahmed as he did and pointing out his meal that was waiting for him at the table.

The sitting room was dark and empty, cut off from the outside light by heavy curtains that were practically nailed to the walls, much like the rest of the house. The room was small compared to all the others, only slightly larger than his. The hardwood floors were covered in an old Victorian style carpet in the center of the room, while the rest surrounding it was left bare. The furniture consisted of a loveseat sofa, arm chair, and a chaise longue all circulating around a long coffee table. Across the two, right walls were lines of bookshelves, from where he got his encyclopedia of flowers all jam packed with various forms of literature covering the dark blue wallpaper behind them. In the left corner was a smaller bar table accompanied by two stools and a wine cabinet behind it, not necessary filled with just wine.

While the room in itself was indeed beautiful, it lacked any color or life. Whenever he was home, Logan often spent his time here in the dark reading by the lamplight. From what Patton has gathered from his time at the manor, Logan was a very busy and reclusive man who barely had any time to himself, and if he did he would spend it in the solitude of his study or this room. Much of the mansion was left in the dark due to the order he had apparently given out three years ago according to what Jamie had told him when he asked about the curtains.

Placing his bowl on the coffee table, Patton walked over to the windows and drew them open as wide as he could, letting the light spill in. Even with the sky being riddled with rain, a new spirit was allowed into the sitting room. He walked over to the bookshelves and peered over the titles of mostly non-fiction and educational stories, looking for something to spend his afternoon with. Finally he found a story about ancient heroes and decided to settle with that, always enjoying a good tale of heroic deeds.

Patton took a pillow from the couch and placed it in the ground before the coffee table, taking a seat there instead of on one of on the sofa or chair. Opening the book on the table, he sipped on his soup as he read to himself. The book switched from story to story each chapter, but he found himself really enjoying a story about a woman named Mulan. He was astounded how many of the stories turned out to be sad in the end, such as for Jeanne D’Arc, but their lives were so honored.

All of these heroes had lived hundreds, or thousands, of years ago, their accomplishments being passed down into legend. Patton never knew people like this ever existed. Brave men and women who fought for their people and country; it sounded unbelievable and unrealistic. Why would someone care for their country so much to risk it all? It sounded almost mystical.

After an hour of peacefully reading, and occasionally difficulties with words he couldn’t read or understand, his soup long finished and forgotten, Elise crept in.

“Mr. Sanders, a letter has been sent to you by the young master.” She said briskly, shoving a letter down on the table in front of him.

“Oh, what is it about?” Patton inquired and turned towards her, closing his book.

“It hasn’t been open yet so I do not know, obviously.”

He shrunk back at her words, but nodded at her in apology, taking the letter into his hands. “Perhaps you should sit on the sofa.” Elise said backhandedly as she stepped out.

Patton fidgeted in slight humiliation and sat up of the couch, putting the pillow back into the placement he took it from. He looked down at the letter in his hand, addressed specifically to him, sent from his superior. Ripping the corner, Patton ungracefully tore the envelope open and pulled out a piece of parchment from the inside.

Salutations, Mr. Patton Sanders,

I am writing you in regards of an important and classified issue that is held with the utmost regard. What I am about to ask you I ask in trust that you will keep classified between only our two entities. Over the past weeks that I have been in our nation’s capital I have gone under intense research into the origin and history of The Stacks Experiment Initiative, or TSEI as it is called here. However I have hit a roadblock as I have discovered that most all of the records on the TSEI are missing from the Senatorial Archives. I am due back in a month, but I fear that it will not be enough time for me to finish my research. That is why I am requesting that you reconnect with you old neighbor who served in the military, I believe that she will have some of the answers I need. If for whatever reason you are not able to do so, I expect you to be the one to provide me with any information I may request. I do not have more than an educated hunch that the TSEI somehow ties into the nation’s economic depression, and that solving the issue of The Stacks will only benefit the entirety of the public. I am relying on solely you to help me fix this, as I have no other routes of which to turn to.

Cordially, Logan Winchester

The chef held his breath the entire way through without realizing it, and then let out an enormous exhale of air as he read the last line. He didn’t understand what it all meant or what was being asked of him. Why would Logan be researching the Stacks, what did he mean by the records being missing and why would Patton being his last option to turn to? He trembled lightly in a perplexed awe, a mix of excitement and terror, his mind hurtling in direction it had never been to. Whatever it meant, whatever Logan was attempting, whatever his purpose, he saw opportunity in this letter. The senator was asking for help to understand the Stacks so he could fix society, maybe if Patton was able to mold his focus further onto the state of the Stacks in its own right he could persuade him to adjust the law surrounding them.

But wouldn’t that be deceiving Logan and using him? He’s putting his trust in me after all.

He faltered a bit at that thought, not at all enjoying the prospect of taking advantage of his trust or lying to him. However, what Logan desired was for Patton to help him fix the state of society, and Patton wants the Stacks to be part of that society. If he could merely show him the mistreatment in the Stacks then it may be enough to persuade him by itself. The people born there were just as much of a citizen as any other born in a proper district, this could be the way they finally receive their rights.

If I agree to this, I risk the chance of being caught and being sent back, or worse, being executed.

Patton pondered heavily on this for a while, trying to see the correct path he should take. He could be safe, say no to Logan, and keep his job and family safe, while nothing in the Stacks changes. Or, he could agree and guide Logan through his journey, steering him in the path he desires and possibly aim for a betterment of all Stackers, including his son, Virgil, who was still trapped there. Patton thought back on all of the news updates, the rocketing crimes, the sworn promises of the law enforcement to bring him to justice. Virgil would always be at risk so long as he committed theft, and he’d never stop stealing until he was free of Damien’s control; but with the amount of debt he owed, it would take him more than a lifetime to pay it all back. Because Virgil never borrowed a specific amount of money from the crook, no, it was something more precious than that.

His eyes caught the title of the book on the table, reminding him of the countless amounts of people who put everything on the line for what they believed in. He had his answer.

Virgil had traded his life for Patton’s own, metaphorically and literally. It was time that Patton did the same.

…

The knock came tentatively at his front door, cautious and careful to maintain the secrecy in which they were called in. Roman, still suited up from his long day of work, peered through the peaky hole prior to opening the door, allowing Talyn access into his home. He had called them in on his way back from the office, eager to start planning the layout of his scheme. Roman could tell they were still concerned from their previous conversation yesterday, but had still agreed to come nonetheless.

Roman beckoned them in, guiding them to dining table in the foyer where he had all of his papers, intel, and newspaper clippings laid out as leads for the case. Talyn sighed sarcastically when they say it all, setting their bag on top of the table and papers. Roman whined as they did this, complaining that they had messed with his algorithm.

“Oh yes, I can see you’re definitely not obsessed.” Talyn mocked affectionately, plucking up a newspaper article on an alleged sighting of the man in question, the most recent of them all.

“It’s called being determined,” Roman sang, taking a sip from his coffee mug, handing one over to Talyn as well. They took the cup gratefully, swirling the liquid around as they regarded the work before them. He waited by their side as they gazed on with silent computation, committing everything they saw to memory and locating a route within a few minutes. “Do you have a plan?” He asked once she snapped her head back up, signaling that she had finished her assessment.

“From my analysis as the chief investigator of this case over the past two months, I’ve found that our guy doesn’t strike random houses, everything has a rhyme and a rhythm. The data here didn’t offer any more than what I already know-”

“Geez thanks.”

“-but it appears that all the targets are of well known holders of fortune. No small-time businesses that we know of have been hit up by this guy, nor have there been any jobs on uncharted shareholders. Still, there appears to be no other correlation between his victims other than them being rich and openly so. He also tends to favor working at night, meaning he most likely knows how to manipulate the darkness and stealth to his advantage. It would be useless to act in daylight hours.”

“So, are you saying we have a plan?”

“I’m saying I have a plan, but yes.” Talyn reached into their bag and pulled out a notepad and pen and began sketching out a formulated plot. “It’ll either take a while or work very quickly, there’s no clear way of predicting; but if I’m right, which I always am, this should get him in five days or less.”

Roman looked over their shoulder at the sketch work of childish looking doodles that were meant to be a serious scheme. He chuckled inwards at the cartoony look, finding the art style to be adorable.

“What do I have to do?” Roman questioned, abandoning his previous train of thought to focus on the bigger picture at hand. He felt a tingle underneath his skin at the prospect of finally being able to corner this tricky kid. Oh how close he had at last come.

Talyn smirked, their eyes filling with the shine that could only ever be brought through their love for complicated and dastardly strategy and the thrill of a chase. They were much like him in that regard. Nothing was more satisfying that bringing a villain to justice.

“What you I need to do is-”

Tag List:

@shaeshaetheravenclaw @scrapbookofsketches @scorching-scotch @a-fander-named-skittles @comicsimpson @ccecode

#sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #sanders sides fic #logicality #prinxiety #slow burn #the stacks #ts remy #emile picani #princiety

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whattheactualass · 6 years

Text

☺ ✖ – Providencia was a strange territory when compared to the other’s of the Roman Republic. The aristocrats still played part for the whole and held the most power on their island, but their senator that represented them was a woman. The backlash Fury, the Consul that had chosen her had received was terrifying- but had faded like a hush. Minds had swayed overnight. It then became a providence commonly talked about- whispers surrounding it but never being messed with. Providencia had it’s wars- it’s attempt to conquer and bring home goods, rarities and treasure, but it had never fallen. No one targeted their territory. They didn’t dare- something had always stopped them. Those outside of the city-state believed it to be the center of the gods’ favor. Their hiding place, their central playing ground. It was the only way to explain why it was so vastly different, why minds had swayed so quickly when a decision reached the city of Rome. Why this random island that appeared in the Mediterranean Sea held such a strange set up for their operations, but still lay under the Republic’s rule.

Wade had grinned when he’d first heard the whispers. He had always found humans to be clever- how their ‘stories’, mocked by some, could hold so much truth- but they’d always been strange to him. Weird, wishy-washy characters on the game board.

Strange, like the fact that he’d been the one to receive the most recent peace offering. The fact that they were receiving the peace offering from another territory headed by the senator Antonius Stark was weird enough. But Neena deciding that Wade should receive it was even stranger. Him. The God of War- all because she ‘had a good feeling about it’.

Wade, had given her a bemused look. Tried to remind her that this was an attempt at peace- one that he didn’t even understand- he wasn’t targeting any other providences, though the concept amused him and that he was the general known for heading wars. Enabling them and tearing down other nations. Neena didn’t know how strange it was- how ironic it would be- for him to receive this object of peace. No one knew his deity status outside of the other deities running around on providence- but she’d simply shrugged him off, told him she’d be recommending it to the others.

They’d followed her. They always had. A strange amount of luck that few knew the source of. Neena was a tool of the divine. The unknowing celestial conduit of this age. How many times had Wade witnessed- what was she going by now, Vanessa? - whispering in the woman’s ear? Too many, really.

The gift in question was a gladiator complete with gold and a ‘party to celebrate peace’ from Tony Stark- a disinterested looking aristocrat from a rich, rich family a couple providences over. He hadn’t been happy when he’d met the general. Wade hadn’t been rude- just blunt. Upfront. Confused. Tony had held a distrustful expression on his face, looking unsatisfied with the language that tumbled out of his mouth. Neena had said they needed to ‘work on that language’ and being more ‘diplomatic’, but Wade hadn’t asked for a slave to begin with. He wasn’t interested in slaves. He found the concept to be demeaning. Improper. He’d watched slaves act more noble- more worthy of the gods than even the highest aristocrat.

He didn’t want this gladiator as a slave- even if he had been an apparent believer in the God of War. Emphasis on believer- Wade would guess he devoted. It was evident by the crippling amount of scars, ridiculous body mass, and greying hair. It was rare to meet a gladiator that had even one grey hair- not one that had a full head of it- and Wade tried to remember the last time he’d heard a prayer in his name. He suddenly realized he’d stopped paying attention to the individuals once they’d started dwindling, merely tossed good fortune in the way of those who took their time to worship. Needless to say, he had Wade’s attention quickly- and if his short-attention span remembered right, he’s pretty sure he’d just pointed at ‘Nathan’ and asked, for clarification purposes, if he really “could do whatever the fuck" he wanted.

Stark hadn’t looked impressed. Neena had given him the look. Nathan had been taken away, lodged at Wade’s domus further away from the center of the city.

But he’d buzzed around Wade’s head all night, even as the general bustled around the party, rubbing elbows and making those from the neighboring nation laugh. They were key players- other generals and world leaders that he needed for his next plan. For his next game. And they always fell so easily, settling in line and ready to move forward. Wade tried not to cheat, not using anything to sway their minds. He simply used charm, well placed information and the weaknesses apparent in wandering glances and small frowns. Humans were so easy to read and it had started to get boring, really. After decades of playing the same sort of games.

So Wade had returned to his domus, knocked on the door and gotten a disgruntled ‘you don’t have to knock’ and found the man kneeling. Wade supposed it was strange, the way he disregarded the other’s skewed attempts to show respect- no doubt beaten into him by the arrogant prick that had scowled at Wade all night.

But Wade hadn’t expected Nate to take an interest so quick- to have the balls to push him up against a window after Wade had, nonchalantly, hinted at him being a God. It had been delivered as a joke, but a twinkle of truth in hazel eyes. The closest to a reveal he’d ever gotten.

Two arms trapping him against the window seal, mortal lips ghosting over his skin and sending goosebumps up the vessel’s skin.

Then I'd have no choice but to worship you. Maybe I’ve prayed to you already.

Nate had pulled away before he could respond. And Wade had grinned- something more authentic than the mask he’d wore for the past couple centuries. Reaching his eyes as they looked to the human in curiosity.

Who would ever corner a god? Wade didn’t know, but the answer was apparently Nathan.

His attention had shifted that night, even as they made their way down to the beach. Talked for hours- until Nathan stopped responding and the sun peaked over the horizon. Wade’s feet were buried in the sand, watching the sky twinge with hues of orange. Nathan had woken up in his bed the next morning. Wade left him to assume how he’d gotten there. And he’d yet to be separated from him since. Wade took him everywhere- interested in the fact that he listened to him chatter, took his words seriously and had the audacity to smirk, occasionally, and say something back. Wade had hated how he’d apologized after, voice strained as if he’d been forcing the words forward through his pride.

Today’s adventure had started no different from the rest, really, with Wade shoving the doors of the gladiator’s room open at the crack of dawn. He’d requested that Nate wear his good clothes- the ones they’d bought a few days prior maybe, Wade didn’t really keep up with the passing time unless necessary for a meeting with Neena and the two generals for their stupidly large armies. The two traveled more than Wade- settling on the outskirts of the republic with the intention of gaining more territory. Wade acted more-so as the last result- the one who was used to destroy the nations they wished to take over.

Stéphanos, ‘Steve’, laid to the North. While Coulson laid to the South. It was a planned meeting- nothing impromptu that would cover next steps and strategy. An update for the senate and requests, should there be any.

The looks Wade had received when he’d arrived with Nathan by his side would have led you to think Wade had committed adultery. Nate had protested, of course, but Wade had shrugged him off- much like he’d done with the two men and their heavy frowns.

It took an hour for them to warm up. To accept the fact that Nathan was just there and he wasn’t going anywhere after a couple pointed looks at Neena and a couple jabs at Wade. Wade had only given them a head tilt- a curious brow arch and a response that had nothing to do with the man on his right- but everything to do with ‘your toga seems a little tight today, is it riding up your ass, general?’.

Neena seemed strangely okay- unaffected by this turn of events.

So the talk continued, the glances at the man invading their ‘war room’ fading away as Coulson and Steve yammered away about their plan. Wade watched, taking in the board over the center piece. Taking in the counts, the current status of each man and their legions.

And then he starts talking- not to the two men, but to Nathan. A quiet yammer easily overtaken by the voices of the two generals who were hell bent on talking at the same time. Wade doesn’t necessarily need the feedback- but it’s sorting it out in his mind as he forces Nate closer- into his bubble with a gesture over the top. It’s the equivalent of talking to yourself- but Wade likes having someone there. Someone to listen.

He has his plan in five.

“Here’s what I got for ya,” it comes out nonchalant, but loud- the two generals shutting their mouths at the interruption to their discussion and Steve looks like he has something to say. But Neena is gesturing, waving her hand at the general with the potty mouth. It tumbles out- Wade gesturing to both a undeveloped nation towards the east, and one that’s up and coming, according to the words tangling in the grape vine. It’s a long walk for the two countering armies and a trek that would take a bit of resources. But Wade’s could come from the west, settle on the shore and not take a straight shot. It’s an area most providences don’t bother with, focusing rather on the slow expansion around the republic. But if they start here they can work their way back.

They’d need resources, permission from the republic in exchange for the resources- but Wade liked the odds- liked the ideal of creating one large circle of chaos when everything came crumbling down, eventually.

The other two don’t look happy, but they don’t necessarily disagree. Wade had yet to steer them wrong and having his army in the mix would almost guarantee a win.

So they agree. Finalize the plans and by the sixth hour they’re leaving- Wade the first out the door with a content sigh in his freedom. “Venus’ glorious ass I hate those two. So fucking pretentious.”

#AU: God Among Men #long post #sorry we're world building again #cablesummerss #catch the rome au you never wanted or needed but we're gonna give it to you #we're also gonna fuck with the roman state a lil b/c FUCK it's confusing

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