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idk6123 · 4 months

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The Morph (Hector X Male Reader)

At the water, Eliwood’s and Hector’s army are fighting the Black Fang once again. This time, they’re fighting against the morph, Sonia. During the battle, both sides are clashing their fullest against each other. Nino does the same but stops when she recognizes one of the morphs.

“Y/N!”

In front of her, a man with black hair and golden eyes looks at the little girl with an emotionless face. He’s on the other side, however, it doesn’t seem he intends to fight her.

“Stand aside. I have zero intention killing you, even if Sonia orders me to do so.”

“You don’t have to kill anyone.” Nino tries her best to safe one of the people she loves dearly. “Me and Jaffar are on the other side. They treat us nice. Please, can’t you join us?”

“I can’t. I’m still a puppet of Lord Nergal. I can’t disobey him. Besides, I’m not human anymore. All I am is the remains of my former life.” Y/N argues.

“So what? You’re still Y/N. You’re a kind guy that is always up to help me. When I’m having trouble casting a spell, you were there to help me. And I know you don’t want to hurt me. Please, can’t you switch sides? Or at least stop fighting.”

Y/N thinks about it. He got nothing to live for. To him, fighting for both sides grant him no benefit. Still, deep down, he cares for the mage. “Very well. I stop fighting.”

Nino gives him a grateful smile. “Really? Thank you!”

And so, the battles continue. Although dangerous, nobody manages to get killed. And with the death of Sonia, the army are taking a break for their next battle at their camp. As everyone dispersed, the lord trio catch up with their units, making sure everyone is alright. When they get to Nino, Jaffar and Y/N tent, they’re surprised to see a morph.

“What the-!?” Hector quickly grabs the nearest weapon and point it towards the morph.

“Don’t!” Nino quickly jumps between them, making Jaffer quickly jumps in front of the girl with his dagger out. “He’s good! He won’t hurt anyone.”

Hector stops and takes a closer at the morph, recognizing him. Eliwood too recognizes the man, while Lyn is focused on the fact a morph is at their base.

“Nino, who is he?” She asks calmly, wanting an explanation.

“This is Y/N. He’s one of my friends. He usually was with my mo- Uhm… Sonia. But unlike her, he’s good.” Nino explains.

“I understand the wary attitude. I don’t expect you to trust me. So if you’re willing to kill me, I understand.”

“Y/N…” Hector mutters. He drops down his weapon. Everyone is curious why he’s acting odd. “It’s really you?”

Y/N raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we never met, nor should you heard my name.”

Hector’s face saddens. “You don’t remember us, Y/N?”

Still, the morph doesn’t get what he’s talking about. “Remember what?”

Hector frowns further. After looking at him for a second, he turns around and leaves the tent.

“Hector?” Lyn is surprised by his sudden behavior. “What’s up with him?”

Like the brash general, Eliwood also frowns, but a lot less. He looks back at Y/N. “He’s upset to his dead friend back alive.”

“Huh? He knew him before?” Lyn asks.

Eliwood nods. Y/N is curious what their history is. “Lord Eliwood, you know who I am was before, do you?”

“Yes. We three used to be childhood friends. You were a noble of House Nightfall. There was an incident almost two years ago, where the entire house got died by a fire. Looking back, the Black Fang were definitely involved. …We never discovered your body. We definitely thought you were murdered, but we didn’t had any leads. We merely needed to accept what happened and move on, but… I don’t ever think Hector ever did.”

This is the first time Y/N heard this. It’s hard to belief, however he knows it’s true. He remembers his first memory almost two years ago. The timeline makes sense. His family got murdered, he got captured and then he got turned into a morph.

“Thank you for telling me.” The morph now wonders how this is all going to get down.

Back at Ostia, the group recovers after the loss of Ninian. With the castle heavily guarded, they got plenty of time to regroup before the next battle. During which, Hector continues to stare at Y/N, who is reading his times. He doesn’t know what to think or feel. Sadness, anger, irritation, he’s feeling it all.

It only took a couple of seconds until Y/N senses Hector staring at him. The man looks back at the general and closes the tome. “Good day, Lord Hector. Is there something you need?”

“That tome… I saw you use it at the last battle. It’s dark magic.” Hector points out.

“It is. What about it?”

“Dark magic was always you’re specialty back when you were… you.” Hector let out a sadden frown. “Is there is any chance you don’t remember me?”

“I don’t. My apologies.” Hector let out a huff. He remains quiet, merely looking at him. “Is everything alright, sir?”

“You look like him. You sound like him. You even have the same skills. But you besides that, you’re nothing like Y/N.” Hector clutches his hands, becoming annoyed. He remains quiet for another few seconds, until he grabs an axe. He wonders if he finishes the morph off, if it makes the real Y/N happy in the afterlife.

As he gets closer to Y/N to strike him down, he stops to look at Y/N’s face. His face is without any emotion, but his eyes look alive. There is definitely some kind of life in front of him, yet he can’t help but view the morph nothing more than a walking corpse. He hesitates, wondering if he should do it, before giving up.

“Hector?”

“Don’t say my name… please.”

Hector leaves, feeling more conflicted then he did before. Y/N wonders if there is anything he can do to make him better.

It’s near the end of the journey. The army is at the dread isle, ready to end it the entire conflict. They head to the Dragon’s Gate, guarded by the final, upper morph, Limstella. Though first they have to get through the opposing army. As they get to the other side of the battlefield, Y/N spots Hector as they’re no enemies nearby.

“Everything going well, Lord Hector?”

Hector turns back, somewhat surprised to see the morph. “Oh, it’s you… Everything is alright. What about you?”

“The same can said to me.”

Hector hums. “You don’t feel conflicted about fighting your former allies?”

“I guess I don’t. Besides Nino and the Reed Family, I never had much pleasant times with the Black Fang. Even the short time with your army brought me more joy then spending time with Lord Nergal and his men.” Y/N explains.

“Were you lonely?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how life is with people I care about, so I never experience feeling loneliness.” Y/N answers. “But enough about me. I’m curious about you. Our last conversation left me wonder what is going on with you.”

Hector’s eyes sadden again. “I’m sorry if you felt scared.”

“I didn’t.” Y/N responds coldly, while sounding casually. “If you were to strike me down, I would be alright with it. Death doesn’t scare me.”

“Don’t say that!” Hector raises his voice. “Don’t say that again.” His shakenly says. “Whatever you are. Whatever parts of Y/N remains in you. I don’t want it gone. You deserve better than that.”

“Do I deserve that, or the Y/N you knew?” Hector remains quiet, refusing to answer. Y/N wonders what his answer is. “Lord Hector-”

“Hector. Drop the lord part.”

The dark mage accepts his request. “Hector, if you don’t mind, after this is all over, can I visit my former self’s house? I’m curious about my past.”

Hector shows a sad smile. “Sure thing. Maybe then you remember something…”

And so, after the final battle against the resurrected Black Fang, Nergal and the fire dragons, Lycia is saved once more. And so, the army got disbanded. Some quitted the life of fighting. Some start a family. Others are continuing their ambition. For Y/N, however, is visiting his heritage, alongside with the Marquess of Ostia.

They get to the former house land. Although recently destroyed, the castle looks to be rebuild. As the two looks at the building, Hector wonders if there is any bell ringing back at Y/N.

“We buried your folks in the garden. You want to visit them?”

“Yes.”

The two get to the back of the castle to enter the garden. It looks tranquil, with many water features like fountains placed around with trees sprouting everywhere. In front of the two is a massive shrine. Flowers are placed everywhere. The names of the victims are carved on the stone, even Y/N’s.

“So, here are my real parents…” Y/N looks to his right to talk to his friend. “Can you tell me something about them?”

“They were real bookworms, always hungers for knowledge. Somewhat distant, but you were always positive about them.” Hector shares what he can remembers, making him smile. “Everything you know about them is thanks to him.”

“That so?” The morph looks back at the shrine. There is no emotion on his face, merely looking out with a bleak stare.

Hector wishes he could read Y/N better. Although there are resemblances, the Y/N before and now are completely different. “We used to play in this garden, y’know? Tag, hide and seek, the list goes on. I miss those days.”

“I wish I could remember it.” Y/N confessed. He turns back to his friend. “Not because of me, but because it makes you happy.” Hector gives a genuine smile, happy to hear it. “What about later in our life? Were we also good friends?”

“…The best.” Hector hesitates for a bit before answering, which Y/N notices.

“Hector?”

Hector, who was forcing a smile, drops it. “We weren’t friends. …We were more than that.”

“Oh?” That explains his behavior a lot more. Compared to Eliwood’s behavior, Hector looked distraught, and it appears this is why. “My apology.”

“It’s alright.” Hector reassures. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just… lost. I thought god was playing some cruel joke on me when I saw you like this. I lost the man I loved, and then I got him back, stripped away from his memories and identity. And as I continue looking at you, I can only hope there is some way Y/N can come back at me.”

“I wish I could help, but…”

“You don’t remember.” Hector could’ve guessed that. “I guess I just have to accept the fact the Y/N I knew is gone.” There is an awkward silence between them. The two look back at the shrine, looking at it for a couple of second before the general speaks up. “I stop trying to make you remember the past. You’re not the same Y/N I knew. I probably shouldn’t treat you like the same person. If there is anything you want, ask.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can provide a house if you want to live a normal life. If you have any other desires, I’m sure I can provide it. Whatever life you want to live, all you need to do is say it.” Hector explains. “What do you want to do?”

Y/N thinks about it for a minute. He doesn’t have a place to call home. The only people he properly knows is Nino and Jaffar, but he doesn’t want to interrupt their peace with his presence. He doesn’t have any ambition to live for. There is only one thing he can think of.

“I want to be by your side.”

“Huh!?” Hector gets caught off guard. “Why?”

“I don’t have any other place to go. You’re the closest thing I got. You treated me with kindness.”

“But I tried to kill you.” Hector objects.

“But you didn’t, nor did you want to.” Y/N corrects him. “I know you still mourn my former self, and if really don’t want to see his face anymore, then I’m fine with it. But… I would appreciate holding part of my past, even if I don’t remember it.”

Hector looks at him for some seconds, before he shows a warming smile. “Maybe you aren’t too different from him. You were always considered towards others. Maybe even without you’re memories, parts of the old Y/N remain. I don’t expect you to remember, but maybe we should look at differently. You can make new memories. Happy ones, like we had.”

“Is that a yes?”

Hector smiles wider. “Yes. On this day, you will be by my side. I make sure nothing, or anyone is going to hurt you again.”

#fire emblem #fire emblem x male reader #fire emblem hector #hector x male reader #fire emblem hector x male reader

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helenadurazzo · 1 year

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The Gorgon Statue

Welcome to a rewrite of In The Shadow of the Relic. As always this is meant to help rework Sebastian’s character and story and this particular quest rewrite will have some major changes so keep that in mind.

Trigger Warning: Death, Imperius Curse, Misunderstandings, Angst

“So what was it you wanted to show me?” Phineas asked with curiosity as he followed Sebastian to the ruined castle on the hill not too far from Feldcroft.

“I found some runes that I’d like to see if you could decipher on the castle’s walls.” Sebastian explained, “I found a lead that Salazar Slytherin might have worked with a previous lord of this very castle back in the days of the founders to work on how to manipulate dark magic. Whether that manipulation was meant to cure people afflicted by it I’m not sure, but perhaps I could reverse engineer it.”

“Was this why you didn’t want to bring Ominis along?” Phineas asked.

“No,” Sebastian assured him, “I know he’s worried for me and he means well. It’s just that this place can be dangerous if you don’t know your way around. I have moved my studying from the catacombs to here after my uncle found me reading the spell book over the holidays, he was insanely furious with me. I just wish he knew I only want the best for Anne, he isn’t doing anything to help her other than acting content with what has happened, I can’t live with that.”

“Just don’t go too far Sebastian.” Phineas warned him, “The further you get from shore, the more likely you are going to drown.”

“Is that some riddle Marie taught you?” Sebastian smirked.

“Perhaps.” Phineas couldn’t help but smile and kept it as he looked at the ruins. The castle walls were made of stone that managed to persist and even the sights of a once flourishing garden was present, along with garden statues. However, many were quite off putting, especially one with a snake haired woman.

“She’s a clever one.” Sebastian noted, “Yet always seems suspicious of me.”

“She just likes to stay out of trouble.” Phineas assured his friend, “However, as much trouble as you get in, I will admit you know how to properly prepare.”

“At least someone does.” Sebastian grinned, “Thank you, Finn.”

“Of course.” Phineas happily replied, “However I thought you were focusing on that pyramid you found in the catacombs, have you already moved on?”

“The guy from Hogsmeade said it would only worsen the condition so I had to find another solution.” Sebastian explained. “It’s another reason I moved my studies to this location, it’s the next oldest place in Feldcroft I could think of, and it should be a while before my uncle manages to rage in here acting like he can control me as if I’m his little puppet.”

“I know your frustrated with him.” Phineas inferred, “But I’m sure he means well, he has kept a roof over your and Anne’s heads for all these years.”

“I suppose so.” Sebastian sighed, “Still, it feels like he’s never actually been there for us, more like a ghost than an actual person. I know he is mourning the death of our parents, he lost his brother after all, however if he truly loved us, he would find another way to help Anne. Her health is already declining quickly as it is, she won’t have much time I worry. She’s withering away like a flower in winter…I can’t bear to lose her…”

Phineas nodded, “Now what did you want me to examine for you?” He asked, hoping to get Sebastian in a better mood

“Right here.” He said motioned to one of the walls.

“Hmm…fascinating.” Phineas remarked, “I can see the traces of where ancient magic was once here, and the symbol of the keepers. And it looks like the runes you saw were only part of the message, half of it is glowing showing it has been created using ancient magical techniques…”

“You mean that drab group of folks who talk about history only slightly more interestingly than Professor Binns?” Sebastian asked.

“I wouldn’t describe them quite like that,” Phineas admitted, “But yes.” He turned his head back to the runes, he tried to read it and decipher it in a notebook he had and scribbled down the translation; Enhanced gazer of enchanted stone awaken and reveal the secrets of old. He wasn’t quite sure what it meant, perhaps Sebastian could figure it out by cross referencing it with his research, yet before he could convey the message, the rustling of bushes caught him off guard.

“You heard that too right?” Sebastian whispered to which Phineas nodded and suddenly figured out where it was coming from when they were quickly surrounded by none other, than the gang of Victor Rookwood, of course, he simply had to pop up at such a time.

“It is nice that you boys do all the hard work for us.” Rookwood charismatically smirked as he brought his dark and sinister gaze toward Phineas, “Hand me the notebook boy or else”.

“Or else what?” Phineas snapped back.

“I believe you know.” Rookwood snarled, “Give it willingly.” He added as he pulled out his wand, “Or I will take it by force.”

Sebastian suddenly stepped in front of Phineas, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, we defeated you back in the catacombs and we will do so again. DEPULSO!”

It was the first spell of many in the fight, Phineas managed to get upper ground by climbing up a staircase as it’s steps crumpled below him, reaching on of the towers of the ruined castle. He watched the fight as it rages on below him, assisting Sebastian by bringing rocks to drop on the unsuspecting dark wizards below him, however it seemed like they had grown in strength and number since Phineas and Sebastian last confronted Rookwood and his cronies back in the Catacombs. It was true that they also had Ominis with them, yet it seemed that as quickly as they were knocking dark wizards off their feet, they were popping back up like daisies in spring.

“Expecto Pataronum!” Phineas called out, clinging to his notebook to make sure he didn’t drop it, and from the tip of his wand, emerged a relatively calm boar that was colored in a pastel blue, he pointed toward Feldcroft and as if it was a pet following orders, the patronus obeyed his instructions. Phineas watched as the boar became smaller and smaller as it went into the distance until it became unnoticeable. He knew full well they needed backup, yet he couldn’t leave Sebastian, he’d be killed for sure. Yet perhaps someone would see the patronus charm and come running.

However, his flow of thoughts were broken into a million pieces as he heard one of the dark wizards yell out at the top of their lungs, “CONFRINGO!”

The blasting curse demolished the tower and Phineas tumbled to the ground, succumbing to the force of gravity and getting closer to the spiky rocks below him that seemed to grow in number. However, his fall was softened by Sebastian who managed to turn the rocks into a series of pillows and cushions.

Despite the pain in his arm from the awkward landing, Phineas satisfied himself in the fact that at least it was his non dominant arm and he was able to cast spells back and forth with ease. He was also thankful that he was still able to run as if he hadn’t fallen from such heights, as being stationary on the ground would be disastrous.

Phineas cast a few more spells, using rocks to practically control the movements of dark wizards and try to get them within the confinements of the castle. He assumed that then he could cut them off by trapping them within the ruins, it would certainly make the dueling much easier, however he still had a long way to go, yet he figured he would get there, with Sebastian by his side.

“LEVIOSA!” A new voice yelled out, levitating one of the red haired dark witches off of the ground and spinning her around like a top before letting her down, allowing Sebastian to use a summoning charm to disarm her of the wand that fell out of her hand.

Phineas turned and smiled at Ominis, “You came!” He explained.

“Anne spotted your patronus, sensed something was wrong, figured out you were here based on the direction the patronus came from, and sent me here while she went to get more help” Ominis explained so quickly that it was hard for Phineas to keep up, “Help is on the way.”

“Good to see you mate!” Sebastian smiled as he fired a couple more spells at the dark wizards.

“Can I leave you two alone for five seconds without you getting into a duel?” Ominis remarked.

“I guess not.” Phineas laughed lightheartedly

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE BOY?” The familiar booming voice of Solomon Sallow ranged out.

“Uncle! It isn’t what it looks like!” Sebastian pleaded.”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” He yelled as he stood in front of statue of the lady with snake hair to get in a good position to fight against the dark wizards and witches, “Get out of here! All three of you! I am ending this now!”

Ironically it seemed like Rookwood ended the raging exchange of spells and curses with the raise of his own wand. It appeared that he was surrendering peacefully yet the exhausted Phineas knew from the scheming look on Rookwood’s face and his stereotypical smirk, that this battle was far from over.

“You all are foolish, all of you.” He mocked them, “Must I remind you that you are in the lion’s den, and you aren’t even lions. NOBDOY MOVE OR YOU WILL PAY.” The statement confused Phineas but not for long as he noticed Rookwood look towards his right hand man with the bowler hat, Theophilus Harlow

Harlow pointed his wand towards Ominis and harshly yelled “IMPERIO!”

Phineas watched in horror as his friend was struck, he supposed it was better than the killing curse, yet the glowing eyes of his friend, symbolizing that he was nothing more than a puppet, simply unnerved him, and by the look on Sebastian’s face, the feeling was mutual.

“Take the notebook from the black haired boy.” Harlow ordered Ominis, “Go stand next to the the Gorgon statue, and read out the translated runes in parseltounge.”

“Ominis don’t-“ Sebastian tried to stop his friend yet it was clear that he had no mind of his own, not any more.

It hurt Phineas to see his friend speak in the language of snakes that he hated so much as it reminded him of his family. Back when they searched for the scriptorium he only did so to help keep them alive, yet now, him doing so unwillingly, was almost too much to bare.

Phineas watched with wide eyes as the statue came to life. It’s eyes glowed green as if it was about to admit the killing curse. However, he supposed it was the next closest thing because it became a repeated beam that shot at whoever it needed to, friend or foe. Rookwood watched the scene, not caring if his own allies were attacked yet only a couple were strike, along with Sebastian’s uncle, who was the first to turn into a statue of stone at the hands of the Gorgon.

“CONFRINGO!” Rookwood called out and destroyed the Gorgon statue, allowing its spree to finally end.

Phineas looked at Sebastian his eyes were just as wide. He knew he didn’t agree with his uncle, yet seeing him as a statue seemed to bring some new feelings into Sebastian that Phineas couldn’t quite decipher as easily as runes.

“Leave boy, go back to Hogwarts and don’t turn back.” Harlow ordered.

“Yes sir.” Ominis obeyed, still as helpless as a puppet and hurried off.

One by one, Rookwood and his cronies apparated, taking the stone sleeping statues of their colleagues as they went. Soon, only one remained with the Phineas, Sebastian and the statue of Solomon Sallow. A man with long red hair and a left blue eye and a right grey eye. Phineas recalled someone refer to the man as Loki Godfrey. However, just as Phineas got a good look at the man, he transformed into a new form, looking practically identical to Ominis Gaunt.

In near perfect timing, Anne came running towards the castle, gasping at the sight of Solomon, “What happened!”

“It was Sebastian.” The fake Ominis assured her, “I tried to stop him but he was out of his mind, I am afraid your uncle is practically dead.”

“He’s lying!” Sebastian pleaded to his sister, “That’s not Ominis, Anne you have to believe me! Please!”

“I have heard enough!” Anne snapped, clutching her side as Phineas assumed another series of pain coursed through her body. She seemed to spot the spell book Sebastian had been studying, which miraculously had escaped the battle unscathed, however, Anne changed that fact with a simple spell, “Incendio!”

“No!” Sebastian yelled out as the ancient spell book burst into flames, he attempted to extinguish them, but it was too late, the pages, already weak due to the passage of time, had turned to ash.

Anne walked closer to the statue of Solomon and placed her hand on his stone face with a melancholic look and seemingly trying to not express any tears as she glared at Sebastian, “You made your choice Seb, stay away from me!” She ordered as she clung to the statue and apparated away with it, and not too long after, the imposter of Ominis seemed to run off to join his colleagues on the run.

Phineas was brought back to reality when Sebastian placed his hand on his shoulder, “Come on, we need to find Ominis, he is the only one who can talk sense into my sister.”

“But your spellbook.” Phineas reminded him, “All of your research.”

“I don’t care about that anymore at the moment.” Sebastian assured him, “curing Anne will mean nothing if she sees me as nothing more than a monster.”

#Phineas Hearst #Sebastian Sallow #hphl #Hogwarts legacy #harry potter hogwarts legacy #Solomon Sallow #Victor Rookwood #Anne Sallow #Ominis Gaunt #Loki Godfrey #Theophilus Harlow

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winelover1989 · 2 years

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"My father had instructed me to befriend Crabbe and Goyle, sons of his close friends, and Potter in particular since him taking down he-who-must-not-be-named as a baby had many in my father's circles speculating if he was the most powerful dark wizard ever born. I was merely trying to disillusion him when he tried scolding me for my tactless offer of friendship and his outright rejection of it right in front of the entire school. I was primarily going off about him, him getting on the Quidditch team in the first year, and him being handed our well earned house cup for the most random reasons. Or Weasley, who is a distant relative by the way. Our families have a history. You were barely an afterthought. I only mentioned you as Saint Potter's best friend, top of our class, and the one who secured fifty points for Gryffindor for 'clear headed logic in a high stakes situation' whatever that's supposed to mean. It wasn't like I was obsessed with you or anything."

"How very convincing, Malfoy," Granger replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, mum said when kids in school act out in problematic ways, the full weight of one's judgment must fall on the parents' shoulders, because, and I quote: the kid is merely parroting what he hears at home and modeling his behavior after the parent he looks up to while lacking the social filter, cunning, and etiquette the parent has mastered as an adult ."

"Are you saying I don't have a mind of my own?" Draco asked, taken aback by her words. He could think for himself, thank you very much. He had all sorts of thoughts and feelings that were entirely his own.

"More like you have a poor upbringing," Granger said like she was genuinely trying to comfort him.

"Excuse me?" Draco asked, disentangling himself from her. "You're questioning my breeding now?"

"Well, have you ever had an original thought or an opinion that was entirely your own?" Granger challenged.

"Are you saying I don't have a mind of my own?"

"Not yet," Granger shrugged quite casually for the weight of her words.

"When when, pray tell me, shall I be blessed with a mind of my own?" Draco demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The prefrontal cortex is done developing in the mid 20s," Granger stated matter of factly. At his perplexed reaction, she explained, "That's the part of our brains that sets us apart from beasts and is responsible for our intelligence."

"So, now I have half a brain?"

"We all do, Malfoy."

"So, what then? Till my mid 20s, I'm merely my father's puppet?"

"Okay, did you come up with my honorary title of 'filthy little mudblood' all on your own? Little being the keyword there," Granger asked like she was talking to an especially slow toddler. "Even though we're in the same school year and I'm ten months older than you."

Read more on ao3: All's Fair in Love & War

#Dramione #Draco malfoy #Hermione Granger #dramione fanfic

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honoredbastard · 3 years

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I COME BACK WITH THOUGHTS/THEORIES ON ITADORI AND HIS RELATIONS- I THINK.

anyways, so i'll just point this out: i'm not good at speaking my thoughts in an organized manner. i absolutely suck at it, i speak on how my brain brings up the thoughts so i might ramble, get over my head in a thought, etc. i can't control it so i apologize in advance for the jumpiness of the texts. i will spell a lot of things wrong and not everything will be correct, as i read translations and on a manga site. don't worry it's not illegal, i believe.

MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD.

i apologize for my absence! last week or two weeks ago the tower to my computer completely broke and will not turn on. i tried to repair it and follow my fathers instructions but nothing worked. even cleaned off the fan and went through countless nights readjusting things. it's not my cords either so to help me out my father is working extra shifts to get me a new pc. so in the meantime i'll do small posts like these but not full writing/head canons until i have a computer tower lol. a family member was kind enough to allow me to have their phone while we work throughout this issue.

now onto the actual topic:

kenjaku and itadori's relationship. ( family wise ).

for context in the most recent chapter, 160 "colony" kamo shows up in sasaki's home and talks to her about the culling game and a barrier. but that's not the point, the point is as he's guiding her to the barrier inside her "dream" at the end he says "oh right. i almost forgot to tell you. thank you for getting along with my son." and then she is awakened inside the barrier, in her pajamas beside iguchi. when sasaki and iguchi look at the barrier and gather themselves they bring up kamo.

sasaki asked iguchi if he mentioned his son and he says no. this leaves sasaki in a state of confusion when itadori flashes in her mind. she says his name aloud like she finally connected the dots. now. why am i bringing up this whole kenjaku thanking sasaki for being his "son"'s friend. it throws me off because why didn't he thank iguchi?

did he not think iguchi meant their friendship? because sasaki was the one uninjured and still counted itadori as a friend? does iguchi not consider itadori as a friend anymore?

because we haven't seen these two at all since the incident. that raised many questions in me. as well "how can itadori be related to kamo?" and itadori is related to choso.

because kamo's technique is explained ( vaguely. we are aware he can create barriers, take over bodies, and has incredible cursed tools. chapter 134. this is also where choso makes his connection ( i believe. ) to itadori yuji as his brother. but because we saw this with todo many thought itadori just had another unconsious technique that allows the person who is hit create false memories and believe of a completely made up relationship with itadori without his knowledge. but alas, i was wrong. ) and we're given more hints shown than told ( imo ) i tried my best to make sense out of the situation and what he said. i think my conclusions are pretty solid, so continuing on.

we're given very little history on itadori, his past, and family. at the start of the manga we know that itadori's only family he knows is his grandfather and that he is ill in the hospital. at the very very beginning we learn that itadori is your average cute, fluffy, laid back but strong and goofy protagonist. in smaller words: itadori is kirby but even cuter and dumber.

my first impressions of him is a pineapple. if you're confused to this saying: it's calling a person prickly on the outside but sweet on the inside. and this is true, itadori's grandfather seems prickly and cold on the outside but he genuinely cares for itadori.

he raised itadori for all we know and did that with his all in assumption. but this ends up backfiring onto itadori, because he cares so much for his grandson - he ends up leaving a " curse " on yuji.

help people. save them.

itadori takes this to heart as his grandfathers speech is his last one. when he looks over to his grandfather the man is dead and now yuji is left alone. then the following events occur.

at this point in time i assumed itadori was an orphan ( he technically is if we're connecting the dots. his parents has not been shown, he doesn't speak of them, they aren't in the picture. we can conclude either they disowned itadori or died before he could make complete memories of them. )

but when we are shown in chapter 143 itadori's parents we see this "woman" jin ( yuji's father ) and his grandfather talking about has the same scar pattern. this scar pattern is either stitching ( assuming that is how kamo keeps the top of the opened skull from coming off. this is also how kamo revealed his cursed technique / body of sorts ( the brain, assuming that is kenjaku in his cursed technique and not the body / puppet he is controlling " getou suguru " ) to gojou. )

this is the only way i find kamo being able to assign itadori as his son. why is that you might be asking this dumbass here.

we do not have the full story, exact date, location, and full context of the memory/dream itadori is having. this cannot be fake either because kamo would than have no reason to call itadori his son. or is there? anyways.

take a leap of faith with me. imagine that before itadori is born ( he seems no more than a few weeks or days old in this memory. hence why i am thinking my conclusion is pretty solid in theory. but yknow gege, there might be something different. ) anywhooo.

TW. D3ATH/IMPLYING ANTI LIFE ATTEMPT

kamo had to have taken over yuji's mothers body after an accident OR after she gave birth to yuji. his grandfather is interrupted by her before he can finish his sentence but it seems to be leading to the conclusion that either kaori ( yuji's mother ) died while giving birth to yuji or kaori could not conceive and tried to take her own life or cause an accident that would take her life. ( i read a fan translation for this part but im pretty sure i also read the official translation today too and it added up to the same. )

i believe in the first idea, but since kamo's cursed technique wasn't explained in detail i don't know the conditions of his body technique. does the original host of the body have to be dead? can he regenerate body limbs ( i highly doubt. getou lost an arm during his fight with yuta. overconfident dick. reminding me of an ex ANTWAYS. i forgive him for being overconfident smooch. he learned. OFF TOPIC but continuing on i promise.

this is being continued from the cut off point. i'm so upset so it'll just be summarized. i can't believe this shit lol i took three hours just to finish it for it to literally cut off the bottom half.

continuing on in a sadge mood. kamo must not have the complete ability to take over a body. after all getou took his only arm he had as he was dying and choked his own body to his full ability. getou was willing to die ( possibly, you never know he could be alive if he killed his own body. moving on. ) just to have the chance to save his friend from being swallowed by a damn box.

so there has to be a chance that kamo cannot fully take over the previous persons complete consious and memory of their body. if getou still had his other arm after losing the fight to yuta, he could've choked kamo with both arms. in theory kamo wouldn't be able to control the right arm and die to the previous host choking him to death.

so why wouldn't the other hosts do it? after all, kamo did say it was his first time experiencing such a thing. assuming kamo has lived throughout many bodies in his 150+ lifespan none of the previous hosts could take control of their body.

i believe getou was completely influenced by gojou and his six eyes. there is no way gojou would even try to speak out to his friend unless he had an inkling or saw getou still in there. helpless and without the ability to save himself from the cage he's in.

being used and puppeteered in his own body by an external force. laughing in the world he could not. putting getou into a constant misery and defeat that he couldn't escape his hell. the one he tried so hard to fight and get out of. even if it was the wrong path.

gojou was the last person to witness getou dying. he had to watch getou bleed out after their conversation because he couldn't bring himself to kill his friend. the one he spent his whole jujutsu student life with. so for gojou to say such a thing to getou despite all that he did had to break getou out of his misery and give him that small sliver of hope that he could do something. of course he failed, but i doubt that's going to be the end of that.

the only way i see kamo being related to yuji is if he took over kaori's body before the pregnancy. assuming that when kamo takes over a body he becomes one with said body and is that person for however long he lives in said body. my only thing is, can he take over a persons body whilst they are alive? i would go more in depth like i did the last time but i am extremely upset about my work being erased so that's the end of this part.

thank you for reading! i have one more thing for you though.

the last time we see sukuna in a manga page after the shibuya incident is where he is on his throne and in his domain. this is after yuji is stabbed by yuta and is presumed "dead" at the time. he seems to be interested in yuta and i can think of 2-3 things. I would love to hear your theories too so don't be afraid to barge into my dms like the koolaid man.

A - sukuna is interested in Yuta because of his ability to use the reverse healing technique ( only a few sorcerers know this. sukuna being the first. shoko being the second one to be told that she has this power and then gojou. ) because of this he sees potential in yuta as well or has added this boy into his plans. after all, there is very few that can make sukuna make an expression that isn't an RBF. aka megumi and possibly gojou. I was looking at the page of him stabbing yuji and noticed we only see the entry point of where the blade enters. it's smaller because some got chunked off so its a possibility yuta used this to his advantage when "killing" yuji and instead hit an artery that could kill him but quickly healed him afterwards. or just his heart. the ideas.

B. Rika, Yuta is able to completely control Rika as shown. Even though he claims he is on the weak side, these two combined seem like an unstoppable force. He may be interested in Rika as she is a curse that has been put on someone that can fully control it. Not many people is shown to be able to control their curse. As we haven't met many.

this was enti and that's the last of my post! thank you for reading and it was a fun one. even though i had to restore this shit. anyways, i'd love you to add or fix up my ideas and tell me your thoughts and opinions! Thanks a bunch!

^ this is for pure humor

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years

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AU where the Wei Wuxian who returns from the Burial Mounds has already had his mind so affected by the resentful energies that he's forgotten - many, many things. He remembers who tried to kill him, so lashes out against the Wens, but everything else? Not so much...

There was something quite freeing about not having much of a memory, in Wei Wuxian’s view; it wasn’t his fault that no one else seemed to agree with him.

It made things very simple. If he liked someone, he liked them; if he didn’t, he didn’t – he didn’t have to worry about how they might have interacted before, or what their history was like, or who they might be. He could just feel what he felt, and act accordingly.

Take the one in purple with the poisonous tongue, who scolded him in public and wept over him in private; Wei Wuxian liked him very much. So what if he couldn’t remember his name, no matter how many times he repeated it?

If he had a memory, he might have resented the way the man ignored his wishes and demanded desperately that he work on a cure to undo the damage the Burial Mounds had caused; as it was, he was able to simply see it as a gesture of love by someone who only knew how to show affection and never how to speak of it.

He liked the girl who made him soup, too. She made him feel safe and small in the best of ways; he’d remember just enough of manners to make sure they were alone before he asked her if she was his mother – it turned out she was as young as she looked, and not younger due to cultivation, and so it was impossible. A pity, in his view, and he told her as much; she’d been sad but also flattered.

She’d patiently explained a few times over what their relationship actually was; from that point on, he tried very hard to remember to call her shijie, and most of the time he even managed to remember it.

So there were two people he liked.

Turned out there weren’t many more than that. The ones in white-and-red – he didn’t like them.

That was something of an understatement, actually.

He loathed them.

It made killing them and denying them the dignity of having an intact corpse, turning their bodies into his puppets, into something that was not only useful, but enjoyable.

The man in purple scolded him about that, too, but maybe not as hard as he seemed to think he should.

Those ones were the easy ones: the rest were a little more tricky, since he largely felt nothing at all about them – as a favor to the two he liked, he didn’t make a move against them unless they provoked him, which they sometimes did, but even when he did take action it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t as though they weren’t all willing to trade a few dead allies in exchange for his power.

Good, bad, indifferent – that was his life now.

Nice, clean, simple.

There was only one problem.

At first he’d thought the one in white was the one in purple’s friend – they spent an awful lot of time huddled together trying to think of ways to cure him – but eventually it’d been explained to him that they weren’t. In fact, the one in purple said that the one in white had previously hated him.

Wei Wuxian didn’t like that.

He had no idea why he didn’t like that, but he didn’t.

“You’re not allowed to hate me,” he told the one in white, cornering him one day and poking him in the chest. “You’re not. You need to like me. You understand? You can’t dislike me.”

The one in white blinked. He had very long eyelashes, and pretty golden irises beneath them. “I don’t dislike Wei Ying,” he said.

“Good,” Wei Wuxian said, satisfied. And then, because he was feeling mischievous, he said, “Your forehead ribbon is crooked,” and laughed when the man immediately reached out to fix it.

He laughed an awful lot when he was around the man in white. He wasn’t sure why, since the man himself seemed to have no sense of humor at all, and barely any more ability to carry a conversation, but the man in purple seemed to think it was a good sign – apparently he’d always done that.

Personally, Wei Wuxian thought it was suspicious.

He laughed around the man in white, he felt bad when he thought the other man didn’t like him, he constantly felt the need to be near him, to tease him, merely seeing him made him lick his lips and taste the phantom impression of sweet wine, and yet no one else seemed to think they were on good terms –

It was really very obvious what was going on.

Even someone with no memory could figure it out.

He snuck up on the man in white late one night when he was off patrolling unnecessarily, as if all their sentries wouldn’t do the job; personally, Wei Wuxian would wager that the man in white just liked to be alone.

“I know, you know,” he said conversationally, and the man in white – totally unsurprised to see him, another mark of evidence in favor of Wei Wuxian’s theory – turned to look at him. “There’s no need to keep hiding it.”

“Hiding what?” the man in white asked, stoic as always.

Wei Wuxian laughed and wrapped his arms around his neck; the other man stiffened, but that was fine – Wei Wuxian reached over and placed the other man’s arms around his body, and yes, it was just as he’d thought; a perfect fit.

“I know we were lovers,” he said, and laughed again when the man in white’s ears turned bright red immediately. “It’s pretty obvious, you know.”

“Wei Ying –”

“Ah, ah, don’t worry! I won’t tell anyone. The way everyone thinks we can’t stand each other – we were clearly hiding it from them for some reason, probably politics, I think I’m very happy that I can’t remember politics – and even if I think it’s stupid, I won’t embarrass you by revealing it. But there’s no real reason we can’t keep on carrying on in private, right?”

“Wei Ying –”

“It’s my memory, isn’t it?” Wei Wuxian sighed dramatically. “You’re so stubborn. So what if I’ve lost my memory? I’m still me. The purest form of me, in fact, untroubled by all that mess…I’m still capable of thought, and I’m an adult, and I’m consenting. You should take me to bed.”

“Wei Ying!”

“Or do I take you to bed?” Wei Wuxian squinted at him. “Do we switch? I did some research, you know, once I figured it out – the cultivator in green, with the fan, has a truly marvelous collection, I hadn’t even known some of that was possible – and it seems – mmmm!”

The man in white had covered his mouth very firmly.

Wei Wuxian struggled for a bit, and the other man’s other arm tighten around him, and oh, yes, they were definitely lovers and he was definitely the one being bedded; he would rather like it if the man went a little further, maybe tossed him down on the ground – or oooh, maybe against a tree, that would be exciting, they’d done that on the fourth page of the book he’d looked over –

“Wei Ying, listen to me,” the man in white said, then jerked away his hand in a panic when Wei Wuxian licked his palm.

“I’m listening,” he said lazily. “Go on. What’re your conditions? Whatever they are, I’ll meet them.”

The man in white had been about to say something, but suddenly hesitated.

“Well?” Wei Wuxian prodded. “You want this as much as I do. I can tell.”

He rocked his hips forward suggestively, and smirked when the red started spreading from those ears into those cheeks.

“You will meet my conditions?” the man in white finally said, and yes, Wei Wuxian was going to get laid!

He had no memory of whether or not he’d done it before, but he was very enthusiastic about the idea.

“Whatever you like,” he said recklessly.

The man in white pressed his lips together for a moment, clearly weighing his options, and finally he said, “Very well.”

Wei Wuxian grinned. “Hit me.”

“Put your full effort into regaining your memory,” the man in white said, and Wei Wuxian’s smile disappeared.

“That’s not fair!”

“You haven’t been trying,” the man in white continued ruthlessly, and he’s not wrong; Wei Wuxian’s been nodding rather than waste effort disagreeing. “If you tried, you would succeed.”

Wei Wuxian pulled back just enough to study the man in white’s expression. “And if I do manage to get my memory back?”

The man in white looked awkward, but determined. “I will – do as you said.”

“Oh no,” Wei Wuxian said. “No deal. Uh-uh. You think I’m going to trade what might be weeks of work for a mere roll in the sheets? Absolutely not. You’re going to need to up your offer.”

The man in white frowned.

“I want to go public,” Wei Wuxian said, and grinned at the way the man’s eyes widened. “I don’t like the thought of sneaking around and not telling my family – my shijie, my…you know, the purple one, him – they should know. I want them to. You want me to put my full effort into getting my memory back? Fine. Then I want you in my bed all the time, not just when we can do it in secret.”

The man in white seemed to be thinking very hard about something.

Wei Wuxian waited.

Eventually, the man in white nodded, and Wei Wuxian beamed.

“Very well,” he said, and his voice was oddly shaky; the thought of going public must really be frightening to him. Good thing he had Wei Wuxian by his side; Wei Wuxian wasn’t scared of anything. “If you successfully regain your memory, I will go to Sect Leader Jiang and ask for your hand in marriage.”

Wei Wuxian hadn’t actually meant marriage, only publicity, but of course a stickler for etiquette like Lan – like Lan Zh- – like – like the man in white, well, of course he’d insist on doing things the right way.

That was fine by Wei Wuxian.

“And when we’re married, we’ll sleep together every day,” he added, feeling especially daring. “You hear me? Every day.”

The man in white nodded. “Every day.”

Wei Wuxian grinned. “Well then,” he said, feeling quite smug at having wrapped things up so nicely. His past and future self-with-memories was going to just have to thank him for doing what he’d clearly been too much of a coward to do before. “I guess I’d better get to work.”

#mdzs #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #my fic #my fics #in which future WWX regrets ALL OF HIS CHOICES FOREVER #well maybe not ALL of them #oneiriad

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lazyliars · 3 years

Text

/rp

DreamXD actually slots very nicely into a working theory I've had for about two or so months now, mainly centering around one question:

What happened to Dream?

Namely, why did Dream change, when exactly did it happen, and was it solely an internal change, or was there an external force at play, specifically a preternatural one?

I think with DreamXD, we might finally have an answer.

Or at least some clues to follow. DreamXD presents a shift in every single paradigm the Dream SMP has had. Like, I think most of it is just being so utterly blind-sided by George Lore Real, but part of it is the massive ramifications of an Actual God* being present in the storyline.

((*On the other resident god of the server, Foolish:

DreamXD is different than Foolish, in that his characterization is so dramatically inhuman - Foolish talks and acts like a (somewhat eccentric) person, and his powers are, as far as we know, limited in comparison to the creative-mode godhood that DreamXD occupies. And whether that is because Foolish is not a "full" god (having been referred to as a demigod) or simply because he's spent so much time around humans, we don't know, but we do know that either way, DreamXD is NOT that.

DreamXD's voice is marked by glitches and dramatic shifts in tone, he seems to lack control over the different aspects of his personality, like the more "Dream" part vs. the darker one that threatens to eat peoples souls. The "normal" part even displays confusion when George references things that the "darker" part said, implying that it may not be fully aware of itself.

TLDR: Foolish acts more human than DreamXD, who has a very eldritch personality.))

To get right to the point:

The Dream we knew before November 16th, and the Dream we know now are not the same. Something changed, and it changed for the worse.

Consider: Dream was always antagonistic to the L'manbergians - he was always imperious to them, and he was responsible for starting a number of fights between his faction and theirs, just as many if not more than they were.

But, he was also not... evil. He'd pick fights with Tommy, the disc wars were still a thing, but the gravity of the spats they had weren't dire. They were fun. They were... actually a game. He wasn't like the way he is now. While in hindsight we can look at these events and detect a serious undertone knowing what's to come, at the time they were far from it.

There is an argument to be made that he had the same tendencies as now, just not expressed as loudly, and while I believe it's a valid argument, I disagree that it's proof of Dream always being the way he is now.

Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Sam. They all remember Dream as their friend - they remember someone who was, maybe a little aggressive and a lot competitive, but not cruel. Not needlessly murderous. Not someone who steals sentimental items and lines the walls of a disgusting museum to use against them.

Dream cut them out. Sapnap was totally blindsided. Bad doesn't seem to fully believe it. Sam blamed himself for not realizing and tried to take the weight of that crime on his own shoulders by becoming the Warden.

There's also the competing theory that what happened to Dream was purely psychological - either the circumstances slowly isolating him from his friends driving him to the do things he's done, or a desire for control that started early and continued to fester until it overshadowed everything else, or any combination of both.

And those theories are still valid, they could still be the case, but I haven't been able to shake the idea that there is something deeper at play. I can't overstate how the exile arc and everything after it have been so inhumane, so cruel, and... not exactly out of character in the sense that I could never see Dream doing them, but in the sense that I could never see him doing them for no reason.

And there really doesn't seem to be one. Dream says himself, it's like a game. He sees people as toys, puppets. And there just doesn't seem to be an inciting incident that could explain how he made the leap from semi-authoritarian leader who, despite being a warmonger, does love his friends, to heartless murderer who wants to reduce everyone he knows to dolls.

There's... ways, he could get there, but nothing that we've seen makes sense. There is a missing piece, something that must have happened from his POV that we didn't get to see because he doesn't stream.

And DreamXD could be it. This godly entity that claims that it is "a part of [Dream]" but that it isn't him entirely. That seems to share the lack of understanding of humanity that Dream has been displaying like when he asks if resurrecting Tommy was “cool.” But that still loves George. He still, despite apparently not having the same history as Dream, desperately wants to be George's friend.

If I had to pinpoint the moment Dream changed, it would be the day that he revealed that he switched sides, and was going to be fighting against Pogtopia. He was paid for this betrayal in the Revive Book.

I mark this as the turning point in my theory because it is the first time Dream mentions his affinity for chaos in the context of hurting others. However, we also know that this likely wasn't the day he actually made the decision to betray - as he revealed that there was a traitor among the Pogtopians, a fact that he likely would have learned before this.

Now, I mark George's lore stream as the introduction of DreamXD proper, and I want that on the record because it isn't technically his first appearance on the server.

Most people will remember him from Techno's stream, where he logged on to break the End Portal in a panic. I doubt the character was properly written into the lore at that time, but it fits neatly with the rest of what we know about him - a guardian of the server, and the keeper of it's rules. No contradictions.

What less people might know, is that DreamXD has made an even earlier appearance, and it's this one where things begin to get... interesting.

Around roughly October of 2020, Tubbo and Fundy did some improv'd streams centering around Demon Hunting, or rather, "Dreamon" Hunting, and it's during the first of these two streams that DreamXD makes an appearance.

The bare bones of it was - Tubbo is an experienced "Dreamon Hunter" and teaches Fundy his ways. They find Dream, and realize that he has a Dreamon inside of him, which is basically an evil version of him. They attempt to exorcise the Dreamon from Dream via various shenanigans, and eventually, they do a ceremony to free Dream. However, they apparently botch it, and unleash the Dreamon within. After more shenanigans, one attempt to fix it utilizing Fundy and Dream's wedding appears to work, but then DreamXD logs on, flys around at Tubbo and Fundy threateningly, and they end stream on the idea that there are probably more Dreamons to hunt.

Now. There's a lot to unpack here. I'm not gonna go into the nitty gritty details in this post, but I do recommend watching the Dreamon streams, as they have A LOT of details that, if this is getting incorporated into the main story line, could be important - especially the focus on duality, having TWO versions of Dream, which end up being potentially separated from each other.

(Also, they're just really funny streams. Tubbo and Fundy are at PEAK chaos and Dream plays along with their inane bit perfectly, it's just good content.)

At the time of the Dreamon streams airing, they were explicitly non-canon. IIRC Tubbo and Fundy referred to them as taking place In an “alternate universe,” which makes sense considering they would have been on opposite sides at the time (Manburg and Pogtopia.)

However.

And this is where I show you my wall of red string and newspaper clippings.

My singular piece of evidence for this comes from one line DreamXD drops. He simply says: “At least you're not hunting me.”

The Dreamon streams take place around early October. Dream reveals his betrayal of Pogtopia around November 6th-7th. The timeline of the Dreamon streams would line up perfectly with the idea that there was a catalyzing event that put Dream on the proverbial path to hell.

I do not believe that they intended the Dreamon arc to be anything other than a side story at the time, but considering that DreamXD himself was barely canon until now, I don't think it's out of the question that they took a look back at a fan-favorite minor arc, saw an opportunity to co-opt it into the current story line, and potentially fill in some holes regarding Dream's characterization all in one move.

On the question of whether this would be a GOOD storytelling move?

The Dreamon theories were prevalent during the exile arc, and I've got to say, I was never a huge fan. The detachment of Dream's actions from his intentions, and by extension his morality, never sat right with me. It feels cheap to make him a victim and say “a Dreamon did it!” in regards to all of the horrible things that he's done. It strips his agency and makes everything that happened less impactful in my opinion, and I stand by that reading.

BUT. With DreamXD introduced, I feel like it's necessary to look at this from all angles. And with the way DreamXD was characterized in George's stream, I don't think it necessarily ruins Dream's character to say that an external force was involved with his descent into evil.

Namely, the idea that whatever happened to Dream was not really a “possession” so much as a gradual loss of humanity, could be an interesting way to look at this. It implies that Dream was always capable of his actions, but grants us understanding as to why he would actually perform them, and why he might have become isolated enough from his friends that they would let this happen.

The Dream we know now could be an expression of his “worst self” brought to the surface by a Dreamon/DreamXD/other. It also begs the question of what would happen if that force were to leave him, and how it might cause yet another shift in character, especially if it were to be portrayed as less of a switch being flipped, and more of a withdrawal, with a gradual process of realizing how far gone he was.

To close this out, I've been stewing on the idea that Dream hasn't entirely been himself since the climax of the Exile Arc.

I think this theory holds water, but it's also not waterproof... there are plenty of holes, and a lot of that comes from the fact that Dream doesn't stream. We're left in the dark when deciphering his character, and what might appear to be the key, could just as easily be revealed as a red herring, or even nothing at all.

Regardless of the validity of the Dreamon theory, I think that DreamXD is one of the most interesting developments we've had on the SMP in a long time, if simply because his arrival coincides with fucking George Lore Real. God. I still don't know how to deal with that.

I always appreciate people adding to the discussion by the way! Feel free to reblog with additions if you like or leave them in the replies.

And if a single one of you comes to my blog on THIS. THE DAY OF MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING. And calls ME a c!Dream Apologist to MY FACE..... I will be v sad.

#Dream SMP #DreamXD #Dreamwastaken #c!Dream #georgenotfound #dream smp analysis #dream smp theory #lazytext

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stainedglassthreads · 3 years

Text

A list of my thoughts on Omnipresence Over Mortals, spoilers obviously--

-On the one hand, delighted because we got both confirmation of Signora Crimson Witch AND her true name, her kickass boss music(which maybe shared a leitmotif with Childe’s did I hear????), confirmation of a Sheet Heat-esque mechanic, AND from her expressions, implication that maybe she feels a bit of remorse over people losing their Visions, despite remaining adamant they were a ‘necessary sacrifice’, even giving us a chance to back down from the battle and leave. (Or perhaps it’s just how much I love female villains who are morally grey and rely on Violence And Arson over seduction coloring my perceptions. Either way, Playable Signora When!)

-On the other hand nooooooooo Signora died I wanted her to reunite with Bloodstained Knight. And also roll her. The second I heard it was a duel to the death I was very sad-- and then got distracted by Crimson Witch confirmation and kickass battle music.

-On the anomalous third hand, goddamn she still insists on going down fucking fighting. Like, kinda futilely since the Fatui already had the Gnosis by then, but good job Signora. I love you you have butterfly motifs and they represent reincarnation, please come back.

-On the increasingly alarming fourth hand, there seems to have been at least three days between Yae doing hostage exchange with Scaramouche, and Signora doing diplomacy with Raiden. Was there not enough time for Scaramouche to report he had gotten the Gnosis and for the Fatui to be withdrawn, or did he just not bother to tell Signora because he didn’t like her? He did refer to her and Childe as his ‘least reliable colleagues’ (’Least reliable, despite Signora being the one to gather two Gnoses, and being seemingly more active than him in pursuing a third. Is it just that they’re impulsive and emotional, or does he really view them as weak or foolish compared to the other nine Harbingers?)

-On that note, I have a feeling that that bone marrow... it’s probably gonna come back, as will how he seemed to be using the Traveller’s anger to fuel... something. At first I thought he was just kinda being an arrogant little shit, but he was purposefully baiting us. I’d say clever, but observing the Traveller’s dialogue options... they’re kinda ALWAYS two steps away from snapping the nearest Fatui’s neck, honestly. So it really isn’t that hard.

-Also, that Ei cut ties entirely with Celestia by giving up her Gnosis years ago... it wasn’t the lore I was hoping for, nor was the reason she was gathering Visions ultimately the one I was anticipating. I was kinda hoping that she’d realized Celestia could spy on people through their Visions, and was confiscating them so they couldn’t see shit about Inazuma. But her cutting ties with Celestia, and confirming that Khaenri’ah is a major motivation in halting Inazuma’s progress and creating eternity... is still interesting. That’s four for four Archons who want nothing to do with Celestia so far. (Since Dendro was promoted exactly 500 years ago, VERY curious what their stance on Celestia will be, I still strongly believe Sumeru will be a major turning point somehow.)

-I love boss fights where you just have All The Buffs. I also love that the end of the fight was just... Yae refusing to let her friend keep sulking all alone. I would have preferred an Ei who was a little more morally dubious, but I still like the version we got. Loneliness and loss fits with the themes of prior archons and does a lot to humanize her-- as does Yae comparing her to a child throwing a fit and locking herself in her room.

-Also... Baal and Beelzebul. The former Archon ‘Baal’ really being Ei’s twin sister. Damn. I didn’t expect it, but I should have. There wasn’t much direct foreshadowing for it, but there’s been such a strong theme of siblings this entire game, and the Archons have such a strong theme of grief and death. It only makes sense the themes would collide in such a way for ONE of the Archons. And likewise, them both being ‘Baal’ explains why there’s never much distinction made in the books and history between the present Raiden Shogun and the past Raiden Shogun. Because from the people’s perspectives, they were probably extremely identical and always assumed the same name and role. That said... it leaves me wondering if it’s foreshadowing Abyss Twin or the Traveller dying, as Ei and Makoto have been the only other set of twins we’ve met so far.

-We should ask Ei about our twin. Watch as she realizes the kind of loss Traveller is going to, and attempts to make amends for trying to kill us by ripping a hole straight to the bottom of the Abyss.

-I like Ei. :) I am happy she is still alive. Even if Signora was not.

-You know what’d be even better tho? If her Gnosis were still in her body and we did keep the Fatui from getting it and we befriended her and then in Snezhnaya Celestia calls the Archons to assault the nation and we see Ei in her puppet body but now another is pulling the strings and we have to fucking fight her again but this time she is Our Friend and doesn’t wanna do this and Tsaritsa uses her as an example of why she was gathering Gnoses while Ei physically strains against Celestia’s bonds and--

-Also that walk, after killing Signora while slowly leaving the Tenshukaku.... that was so fucking creepy, I was wondering if the Tatarigami(?) was still affecting the Traveller and gonna make them ill. It did an excellent job conveying their mental state. And that cutscene with the resistance and Kazuha! A bit sad he didn’t really get any lines, he said in the prologue he’d ‘seek answers from the Shogun too one day’, I kinda wanted him to at least ask after his friend.

-So I guess Teppei’s just gonna die of old age huh. The resistance stuff at the very beginning felt a little rushed, I did see that Teppei was advancing through the ranks Weirdly Quickly, but it could’ve been cool if he tried saving the Traveller from some danger and Traveller realized ‘Hey what the fuck? What’s my friend doing with a delusion? How’d you get that, Teppei? Put that down, we need an infirmary and we need to tell Kokomi’

-On that note-- if using a Delusion aged the resistance at an excelerated rate... why don’t Childe and Diluc look all that old...? Does having a Vision protect them somehow? If the manga is still canon, did using a Delusion age Crepus Rangvindr into dust?

-Signora please come back you were at Sumeru Academia you can tell me all about Sumeru while we wait for it to be released, let’s chat Old Mondstadt and Cataclysm history, Signora-- please Signora, please elaborate on your voicelines and maybe we can get you a good therapist--

-Also who is Lesser Lord Kusanali? I thought Dendro Archon was a he, but Lesser Lord Kusanali seems to be a she? Was the God of the Woods the he? Is someone other than Kusanali the Dendro Archon? But also as a fan of Marielda, oooooooooh FUCK YEAH KNOWLEDGE IS HOARDED KNOWLEDGE IS A RESOURCE LET’S BE KNOWLEDGE SMUGGLERS LET’S GO

-I wonder if Vision distribution is also restricted in Sumeru-- since Lisa seems to have uncovered some Forbidden Knowledge about Visions, and Knowledge is a resource, perhaps it’s also heavily restricted who can get a Vision-- and if Dendro wielders are pursuing knowledge in some way, they’re even smaller in number to prevent them from finding out Too Many Secrets...?

-Celestia lore in Sumeru! Please Celestia Lore in Sumeru!

-Also, Lisa character quest act 2 as prologue to Sumeru please?

I may have forgotten some things I found interesting, and I have not yet played Ei’s Character Quest.

#genshin impact spoilers #archon quest #signora #baal #raiden shogun #genshin ei

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viltrumitesuperboy · 3 years

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Race You There (Steve Rogers x Reader)

Gender neutral. Also I kinda wrote some stuff that sounds like Doctor Who sorry but yall got the same abilities. I could have made this longer but I don’t actually know how to write?

Requested by: anon Could you possibly write a Steve Rogers x Male Reader, who has the power to move through time and space, and also has decelerated aging? Maybe Steve could realise the reader seems familiar and the reader reveals that he saw Steve back in the 40s because of his power, and then lots of fluff and cute romance?

Word count: 1268

You traveled a lot. You'd seen so much in the future and the past. You learned to blend in and hide, how to take the attention away from being the center of attention. It was hard to stay in one place for too long because there was just so much to explore, and making long-term friends was difficult when they noticed you weren't ageing and knowing that you would see their death without ever having to jump in time.

You were currently in 1940's Brooklyn. It was just before they would have to fight in the Second World War. You liked New York. People ignored you in New York, so it was easier to get around. A lot of alleys meant finding secret places that would eventually become something else just as secret in the future. The mystery left you wanting more.

As you slipped into an alley to grab some clothes off of a clothesline, you heard loud footsteps running somewhat in your direction. You barely managed your way through the alley in the night.

"I don't like bullies," said the first voice. "Especially ones who do it through organised crime."

The response was laughter, probably because the first person sounded like a hero complex personified, and sounds of a fist fight got you moving without grabbing any clothing.

"Hey!" you called.

The three men turned to look at you, the smaller and shorter one still in a defensive position as he watched at the other two warily. You tried to adopt a typical 40's New York accent.

"Get outta here. Or I'll call Costello on ya."

The two men looked very afraid, but one looked a bit doubtful.

"I'm his right hand man. You want me to let him know that you're just picking on some kid instead of doing your job? Go on."

They ran off, and the smaller man looked at you with curiosity.

"Costello? Like Frank Costello, crime boss? You know him," he said, though the last question was more like a statement.

"Of course not," you scoffed, slipping back into your usual accent. "I was bluffing. Hoped it would get them away. You know, I don't really like bullies either."

He laughed and held out his hand. Something about his face was familiar. You took it and he gripped with the strength of anyone else, despite his small size.

"Steve. I'm supposed to leave with my friend, but I might have gotten into some trouble a bit earlier than I meant to," he sheepishly admitted.

"Well, don't let me hold you back. You're lucky you got out of that. Don't expect my help again," you lightly teased.

You shook his hand once and let go, walking away and ignoring his questions as you left him behind. You've interfered enough with the poor boy's situation, and you had a feeling that Costello wouldn't be too happy once word got around that someone claimed to be his right hand man.

———

You'd gone further back in time. Your existence was kind of a paradox already, but you were fixing timelines just by being there at the same time. A quick visit to Galileo explaining how to adjust his telescope allowed him to see what the rest of the world never had before. You told him to take the credit, as history marked him to have done. You took a visit to Venice, considering you were already there, taking in the sights before you had to leave again.

You took your time going to different places on Earth and even other planets, but you always came back because it just happened to be your home. Sometimes you could control your power. Other times the universe chose for you.

You were pulled ahead into New York, but this time in 2012. You narrowly missed an arrow to the face. You cursed the universe briefly. You ran towards a parking lot, where the Avengers had decided to stand in a circle, backs to one another with a crowd of aliens around them.

"My god, what kind of strategy is that?" you mumbled to yourself.

You materialised into a middle part of the crowd and using your power to create a forcefield that knocked out a few around you. You remembered a point when Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne had to deal with "Ghost," who you had only seen for a bit. You tried to fight in a similar way, appearing and disappearing in different spots. When you got knocked into the ground from a badly timed jump, you reminded yourself to find Ghost and try to learn from her.

"Get out of here!" Captain America himself shouted, throwing his shield into the Chitauri's neck.

"No!" you stubbornly responded, jumping back into the heat of battle.

He looked surprised for a second looking at you, but you had jumped away, knowing you would need to help Natasha with the portal in a moment.

The rest of the events leading up to the need for renovations in the entire city had you sitting in a shawarma place with the Avengers. You passed by the Hydra agents that were just doing their job on your way down, but you knew they'd be taken down in a few years. They were making small talk with each other now that they had finished their meals, the owners of the restaurant giving them the special treatment that they would obviously get.

Tony was fascinated by your powers, and Bruce tried to hide his excitement but he was practically shaking in his seat as well. Neither had heard much about travelling through time and space before, and in the name of science it was something they would have loved to study. You took their offer when they said they'd wanted to learn from you, since you didn't know much about it yourself. Then Captain America himself decided he had something to say about the situation.

"I know you, don't I?" Steve said from across the table. "I know I've seen you before."

"In the 40's. You're the tiny kid, right?" you confirmed. "Nice to know you're all grown up now. Took you all of 70 years."

The rest of the group laughed at your comment, but the smile on Steve's face was pleasant and not at all upset.

"Thanks for helping me out back then."

"Well, wasn't too long ago for me. I just wait to get pulled around like a puppet on a string really," you sighed. "On that note, I have someone I need to visit."

Ghost was likely active a few years ahead of now. You didn't keep around a book or anything in case of causing a problem. You stood up and left the table without a goodbye.

"Wait!"

You had just reached the curb of the sidewalk as Steve ran up to you. His hand brushed your arm before holding your hand in his.

"Will I see you again?" he asked quietly.

You paused, studying his face as you remembered the future you had seen. You had read enough books to know that you and Steve would go on adventures and share your lives together for a very long time. You smiled fondly and squeezed his hand.

"How fast is your metabolism?" you asked

"Pretty fast. Why?" he replied, his brows furrowed.

"I'll give you 10 minutes to get to your room in Stark's tower. Race you there."

You pressed a kiss to his cheek and pulled your hand away quickly. His bright smile stayed in your mind as you ran into the street, disappearing as you went.

#x male reader #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x male reader #steve rogers x male!reader #steve rogers imagine #male reader #request

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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 24: Fragments (originally published on August 23, 2021)

AN: The end of the Alternate Future begins here! Or this story at least, I've got a few follow-ups planned after finishing this one, one of which I might set up here. But regardless, here we are at the end of Part 3 and from here on out, things will go downhill for our heroes & uphill for our villains. Can Steven be saved from both himself and Black Rutile? Who knows? Except for me that is, and a very select few as well. But I've had enough keeping you in suspense, let's get straight to the action.

Synopsis: Steven's condition gets worse and he seeks help from Jasper.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Ron Perlman as ?

"Hear me my followers and rejoice!" Black Rutile declared, with Aquamarine perched on her shoulder, as she recorded herself making a grand speech to her remaining minions in her cave lair. "Our day of revengeance is at hand! No more shall that sanctimonious half-breed tyrant enforce his iron-fisted rule over our people! Because despite claiming to be a pure-hearted child, recent intel has confirmed he is far from it."

As an example, Black Rutile played the footage of Steven crashing his father's van that her satellite had gathered. "Look at this absolutely abhorrent act." She stated. "What kind of child would ever dare murder their father without any rhyme or reason?"

"Actually, there have been a few throughout this planet's history that have done just that." White Topaz leaned into view to point out.

"SHUT IT TOPAZ!" Black Rutile angrily commanded before turning back to her viewers. "Anyways, soon he will be exposed as the monster he truly is, and with the army we have regrown from the colonies some of my subordinates have retaken, we shall lay siege to the tyrannical Crystal Gems and strike them at our weakest!"

"You sure about that my Rutile?" Black Rutile's Topaz bodyguard leaned back in, much to her master's anger. "'Cause I've gotten word from Cinnabar's faction that some of your former Black Pearls have formed, like, a little squadron to fight back against her."

"Can you not ruin my speech, you ignoramus?!" Black Rutile shoved her Topaz away. Just as she was about to make a grand conclusion to her speech, Black Rutile quickly declared "End transmission." and shut off the recording. "Now look what you did, I was making a motivational speech to my allies, but you had to keep getting in the way just like you always do!"

"Always?" White Topaz replied while making shadow puppets against the cave wall. "Look, I may spoil your plans some of the time, but your ego is just as much to blame the rest of the time."

"That is indeed true Topaz, but now I must ask," Black Rutile said. "what is with this attitude? Where's the overly polite idiot that always followed my orders without question, no matter how horrible they are?"

"I'm betting she's already having second thoughts about your plans." Aquamarine advised her superior.

"You mind if I," Eyeball suggested before making a slashing noise with her mouth and pulling her chisel from her gem. "put her to rest?"

"I'm being serious you guys!" White Topaz said. "The three of you may think you're Gems of the people, but I don't think Gems like those would ever hyperfocus on ruining the life of one person instead of just focusing on something healthier!"

"Like what, forcing ourselves to join those ingrates and deprive ourselves of our way of life in favor of becoming part of a hive-mind?" Black Rutile asked, menacingly pulling out her bowie knife to threaten her Topaz with. "I have been plotting against the Crystal Gems ever since Steven brainwashed the Diamonds, and I refuse to abandon those plans just because you don't like them! Now, are you going to be a good little bodyguard, or do you want to ditch your best friend in favor of the hypocrite?"

Although White Topaz showed tons of reluctance, she nervously got down on one knee and bowed her head to her three teammates. "No, my Rutile. I am at your beck and call, whenever you need me."

"Very good my Topaz." Black Rutile put away her knife to pat White Topaz on the head with an evil smile, before turning away to tap at her visor. "Now if we have nothing else to discuss, it seems the seeds of doubt I have planted in Steven's mind that fateful night have finally begun to grow." She stated before her visor created a holographic chessboard with pieces resembling herself & her minions on one side, and the Crystal Gems & the Diamonds on the other. "Now all we need is just one last push." On that last word, Black Rutile then spawned a chess piece resembling Jasper that she put squarely in the middle of the board.

Far from Black Rutile's lair in the woods, Steven and Greg had finally returned home to Beach City after a father-son outing that turned rather disastrous. Fortunately, the Crystal Gems were already home to be told of what happened and as Steven gazed out over the deck, Bismuth asked Greg what happened.

"So Steven just flew off the handle because of a song?" Bismuth asked while helping Greg put his van back together. "Frankly, I could think of weirder reasons to get angry."

"No, it wasn't because of the song." Greg admitted to the blacksmith. "It was because we drove off to my childhood home in Keystone and he learned that my upbringing wasn't too different from his mom's."

"I don't think you ever told anyone about when you were a kid." Bismuth replied.

"Not that I wanted to until now." Greg stated. "But after that crash, I don't think I ever want to bring them up again. Steven started ranting about how he wished the Gems never found Earth and he had a normal human life like I had."

"Whoa whoa whoa, where did all this come from?!" Bismuth yelled in alarm, raising her hands towards the former rock star.

"That's what I said!" Greg exclaimed before turning to his despondent son. "And now that I think about it, maybe he had good reason for those wishes after all he's been through."

Steven looked down in utter shame and regret before he walked back inside the beach house, clearly avoiding a chance to speak with his father about the incident.

As soon as Steven got inside, the other Crystal Gems were there to greet him, but the looks on their faces told Steven things weren't going to be good.

"Sit down on the couch Steven, we need to talk." Pearl commanded the son of her deceased lover, who did as he was told before Pearl began pacing around. "I just can't believe you, Steven! Crashing the van with Greg inside?! You know how fragile humans are, young man! These pink outbursts need to be dealt with!"

"It's not an outburst!" Steven yelled, briefly inflating himself as he turned pink.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Pearl exclaimed before Steven got back up and started walking away. "What is happening to you?!"

"It's nothing, just puberty, honest!" Steven cried as he struggled to keep his pink form at bay.

"Whoa no little dude, I've seen enough sitcoms to know that is not what puberty is like!" Amethyst declared. "Right, Garnet?"

"I can confirm, this is not regular puberty." Garnet nodded before Steven put up a literal wall between him and his guardians.

"Steven, drop the wall this instant!" Pearl ordered as she pressed against the pink, hexagonal dome.

"I'm sorry Pearl!" Steven gasped in apology before the wall disappeared. "I just need some space, okay? I'll be in my room." But as Steven walked upstairs, Amethyst rushed to keep him from going any further.

"Not so fast, my dude!" Amethyst declared. "You gotta tell us what's going on!"

"It seems like Steven wants to avoid a serious discussion altogether." Garnet analyzed.

"No, I'M NOT!" Steven yelled, dropping to his knees and pounding his fist on the stairs, creating a shockwave that shook the entire room.

"Steven, either you talk to us about what's going on, or you're grounded until you're able to explain." Garnet firmly declared.

"She's right man, you gotta chill!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"We need to do something about this before anyone else gets hurt!" Pearl stated as Steven continued struggling where he stood.

"Don't let these strange powers control you." Garnet tried desperately to calm the half-Gem down. "You're better than this."

"LEAVE ME ALOOONE!" Steven finally roared, causing a pink shockwave to burst from his body and seemingly force the Gems to move in slow motion. Or rather, he was moving faster than everyone else. "I'm speeding up again!" he muttered while gazing at his equally pink hands. "I gotta get out of here!"

Steven ran out of the house and far away from the Crystal Gems. There was barely anywhere he could go right now. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl kept enabling these strange new powers, yet Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth probably barely knew what to do about things. Thus, there was only one Gem left he knew could help him in his time of need.

"The Gems tried to help me, but they just kept making things worse." Steven explained to Jasper later that night while the two sat around a campfire in front of her cave. "And that's why I refuse to go back."

"So what you're saying is," Jasper answered before dramatically removing the cloak she was wearing. "you want a rematch?!"

"What?! No!" Steven exclaimed. "I just told you why I came here in the first place. I think my Diamond powers are coming out, and I have no idea how to control them. I just want to be alone so I can't hurt anyone or be super toxic and controlling."

"So, you finally admitted it, eh?" Jasper rolled her eyes as she got up and walked away. "If you want to be alone, your definition of it is horribly wrong!"

"But Jasper, this is the last place anyone would look for me!" Steven explained before running after Jasper. "Wait, don't leave me here!" he begged the bigger Gem. "This thing with my powers is the real problem."

"The only problem you have is your friends." Jasper declared, much to Steven's confusion. "Just like how you keep holding everyone back, they're doing the same to you!"

"Are you sure?" Steven asked. "I definitely believe I'm getting them all worried."

"That's because they're afraid of you." Jasper responded. "And not just of your powers, but your control over others. And you are too! You came out here to hide, but I'm not one to hide myself. I don't need to hide my power or try to stifle it, I let everything out by training!"

"Like this forest?" Steven wondered, looking around the patch of destroyed trees he and Jasper have stumbled upon.

"Exactly." Jasper answered, walking up to a tree and making it fall over with a single punch. "And to control that power, I have to use it. Those so-called friends of yours don't understand because they always want to make you feel bad for being yourself!"

"Yeah, I do feel bad." Steven muttered to himself, gazing at his fist before walking over to punch another tree, turning pink as he landed a blow that created massive cracks on the bark and wounded his hand.

"Yeah, crush that weakling tree!" Jasper cheered Steven on.

"No!" Steven exclaimed before kissing the tree to fix the damage he did.

"Are you kidding me?! That's disgusting!" Jasper gagged at the sight when she looked down to discover that Steven's kiss caused some grass to grow around them. "No, the grass!" she yelled and rapidly pulled out the grass beneath her. "Get out of here!" Jasper then angrily turned to Steven and picked him up by the collar of his jacket. "Quit helping this planet's ecosystem and show me! Show me your power!"

Jasper harshly threw Steven to the ground, causing him to groan in pain. "No way Jasper!" Steven coughed as he got up from the toss. "I can handle myself!"

"Shut up!" Jasper yelled and lunged at Steven, who turned pink on reflex and created a barrier to defend himself from the Quartz's ruthless attack, but it proved ineffective as Jasper punched straight through it, causing Steven to fall to the ground. "This is it; this is all you were worried about?! What a rip-off!"

As Steven helped himself off the dirt, Jasper just kept on yelling. "I am way stronger than everyone you hold back and are holding you back in return!" she bellowed while pointing at Steven. "Because I'm not afraid of this, and you shouldn't be either!"

In response, Steven turned pink again and created another shield to launch at his opponent. "Yeah, that's more like it!" Jasper declared eagerly and prepared to defend herself, smashing the shield with just her arm. "Now tell me, was it good to let your anger out that way?"

"Y-yeah." Steven realized how good it felt to vent his rage on someone who could be a match for him, allowing Jasper to let out a loud laugh. "If I stay here, will you teach me how to control all this?"

"I won't teach you until you fight me!" Jasper refused the offer.

"Well, I won't fight you unless you teach me!" Steven replied.

"Ugh, fine!" Jasper groaned in resignation.

"Really?!" Steven smiled as he returned to his normal color.

"Here's lesson number one," Jasper responded. "No smiling."

"But I've seen you smile." Steven pointed out the goofy smile Jasper wore when he agreed to fight her not too long ago.

"Lesson two, shut up!" Jasper yelled before she kicked Steven into the air, and the boy landed far from where she could see him with a thud.

"Guess my training starts now." Steven declared to himself before he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to find who was behind him. "YOU!"

"Training with Jasper, Steven?" Black Rutile snickered disdainfully. "Wow kid, you're not just one Spinel, you're an entire circus of them!"

"What do you want with me now Black Rutile?" Steven asked his new archenemy as Black Rutile's three minions appeared behind her.

"We just came here to talk." Aquamarine answered. "As much as we would love to kidnap you and hold you for ransom, or maybe even kill you right here and now, we think hanging with a brute like her is much more fitting."

"Besides, we all know you'll just drive her away like you did to everyone else." Eyeball laughed. "Or maybe even something worse!"

"Look, what we're trying to say is that you should just give up now and get the help you really need." White Topaz cautioned Steven, unaware of how angry she made her teammates. "We only want what's best for you, so you won't get in the way of my Rutile's plan!"

"Are you seriously trying to help our enemy here?" Black Rutile growled with eyelids lowered at White Topaz. "I thought you were at my beck and call whenever I needed you!"

"If you're trying to ruin my life again, it won't work." Steven firmly declared as he got up to face the four insurgent Gems. "I know what you really are, Black Rutile. You're no hero to Homeworld, you're just a callous bully who will do anything to get her way."

"GROW UP STEVEN, GROW UP!" Black Rutile abruptly yelled at Steven's face. "Sociopath, hypocrite! Refusing to save a dying pet because of the natural order when he refuses to accept everyone is leaving him! Who's the real villain between us two, my boy, hm?"

"Still you." Steven remained resolute against the Rutile.

"You can't even begin to comprehend my current plans." Black Rutile replied just as resolutely. "Soon, everyone on this accursed rock will see you for the monster you truly are."

"Hey, where are you?!" Jasper bellowed from afar, and Black Rutile saw this as her cue to leave.

"Wouldn't want to keep a certain someone waiting." Black Rutile smirked. "But at least the three of us agree the Crystal Gems are the real problem."

"Aw, but I wanna turn Jasper against Steven too!" Eyeball complained. "Plus it would be an honor to see her in person again. The real deal, not an Amethyst shapeshifting into her."

"Oh, shut up, and let's get out of here." Aquamarine slapped her Ruby partner and dragged her away by the hand.

"Hey, no hard feelings kid?" White Topaz asked Steven, causing Black Rutile to slap her mouth shut.

"We'll see each other again Steven." Black Rutile declared. "But until then, I'll be watching you, just like I've always had since our last fight."

As the four rogue Gems left, Steven was left alone with his thoughts once more. And with those thoughts, a certain voice in his head re-emerged. "You know, she does raise a few good points."

"You again!" Steven said to the voice. "What do you want now? Are you another Gem working for Black Rutile?!"

"Well, kind of." The voice answered. "I'm not directly working for her, but it's thanks to her that I'm even speaking to you now. Remember that night while the Gems were out in Los Diego? She helped me grow."

"I thought so." Steven muttered in a moment of clarity. "But please, just leave me alone!"

"Maybe I'll just sit back and watch while you worry your so-called friends sick." The voice laughed deeply. "Don't you worry, we'll be seeing each other again very soon."

With that foreboding goodbye, the voice once again vanished from Steven's thoughts. Was it true, was that voice even haunting Steven because of what Black Rutile said to him? Or could it perhaps be even older than that?

"Are you dead or something?!" Jasper yelled for Steven. "Come back over here if you aren't, we got training to do tomorrow!"

"I'm coming!" Steven cried and raced back to Jasper's cave. As soon as he got there, Jasper threw her cloak at his face. "What was that for?"

"Think you might need this." Jasper stated while peering out from her cave. "Humans need to sleep, right?"

"Aw, you really do care for me." Steven blushed at the seemingly kind gesture, but Jasper just scoffed and retreated into the darkness of her home. Steven then just shrugged and laid down on the ground with the cloak covering him like a blanket, gazing up at the stars and wondering how the Crystal Gems must be doing.

The next morning, the Crystal Gems were now searching across Beach City for the missing Steven. Pearl had placed posters all over town while Greg helped Lion and Amethyst sniff around for him, but so far they found nothing that would help them.

"Whoa, easy Amethyst!" Greg yelled as he tugged on the leash of a purple-furred Dalmatian with an amethyst gemstone on her chest, which then turned into an exhausted Amethyst.

"We're getting nowhere with this!" Amethyst complained. "I mean, I learned how he could slow down time through Smoky Quartz, and even I don't have a clue!"

"I hope we find him soon, I'm getting worried." Pearl whimpered before she found Garnet walking up to them. "Anything from Little Homeworld, Garnet?"

"Nothing, Peridot and Lapis told me they didn't see Steven recently." Garnet answered. "However, Zuli said she did see a pink blur zoom past yesterday."

"That's the same one I saw with Bismuth while we were fixing the van!" Greg declared. "Could that be Steven?"

"It probably is." Pearl said before she began to break down into tears and hug Greg tightly. "I miss my baby!"

"We all do Pearl." Greg sniffed and returned the hug, followed by Garnet, Amethyst, and Lion joining in to comfort the Pearl. "We all do."

However, little did the Gems know, Steven was perfectly fine. But not the kind of fine they want him to be.

Far off in the woods, Steven had fallen fast asleep underneath the blanket Jasper had lent him. But his rest wouldn't last long as Jasper emerged from her cave and smashed a wall, shocking him awake.

"Rise and shine, your training begins today!" Jasper barked as she walked up to the half-Gem boy and picked him up by the neck. "Now tell me, what are you here for again?"

"Uh, to get a better control of my powers?" Steven answered.

"Not enough energy." Jasper shook her head in disdain. "Why don't we start with the only way you can talk to people?" she suggested and then cleared her throat. "So you're here because of your mother, kid? Well, whoop-de-doo!" the big Quartz began singing while circling Steven. "You still haven't realized more have suffered than just you! If you wanna get tougher kid, here's a tip. I got three little words for you: get a grip!"

"Shouldn't that apply to you too?" Steven asked his new mentor.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jasper growled while walking towards some boulders and picked one up.

"I mean, you're stuck here because of me." Steven continued, much to Jasper's anger. "Not to mention closets full of-"

"Do you want my help or not?!" Jasper roared.

"Yes ma'am!" Steven nervously complied before Jasper threw him a boulder.

"That's better." Jasper grinned smugly as she hoisted up more boulders on her back and walked away. "Follow me."

"You've been through a lot brat, but let me say something about that." Jasper began singing again as Steven followed her up the mountain with boulders in hand. "As a veteran, I've seen far messier, you should've seen the Clash at the Theater."

"I don't think I've heard of that before." Steven stated while setting the boulders down nearby.

"Doesn't matter, just giving an example." Jasper replied as she dropped her boulders too. "Now come on, throw me some shields!" Steven nodded before he turned pink and summoned multiple barriers to unleash on Jasper, who managed to break through all of them. "The fusion's all high and mighty. Amethyst can be pretty flighty. And the Pearl, wow, she's nuts, you see! They all got experience, but none like mine!"

"Maybe when you're done, you'll be feeling just fine." The next day, Steven continued training via splitting logs in half on a stump, while Jasper demonstrated her superior strength by knocking down a tree with just a push. In the meantime, Black Rutile whispered something into Jasper's ear without her knowing the Rutile was even there.

"If you wanna get tougher kid, here's a tip." As night began to fall, Jasper challenged Steven to a race, her spin-dash against his pink form's speed. "I got three little words for you: get a grip! Ya hear me!"

"Yeah, those three little words are 'Get a Grip!'" Steven joined in on the song as he began catching up to Jasper.

"Now we're talking!" Jasper cheered triumphantly.

"No time for healing!" As the training went on to the day after that, Steven had grown slightly taller and more muscular, and even began growing a beard as he threw another barrier at Jasper. "Who needs feeling?!"

"You're still reeling?" Steven caught a fish in the river with a more polygonal bubble that he cooked up to eat, while Black Rutile loomed behind him with another lie to tell him. "Well, my tips are quite appealing! Let's say it again!"

"If you wanna get tougher kid, here's a tip." Steven and Jasper harmonized while clashing fists in a forest clearing. "I got three little words for you: get a grip!"

"Yes, for everything to go as planned, get a grip." Black Rutile muttered while watching the two train with an evil smile, eager to see how far Steven has come and how far he'll fall.

The next day, thunder began rumbling far from Steven, who knelt in front of a campfire with a more muscular body that made him as tall as Jasper and a wildly different hairstyle.

"I found more rocks!" Jasper called out to her student while tossing over some more rocks for him to train with. "You won't believe how hard it is to find a good rock around here, especially since we broke most of them."

"I'm done with rocks Jasper." Steven declared while getting up to face Jasper. "I'm finally ready. For our rematch." He then put out the fire behind him with one stomp, showing the other Gem how serious he was.

"Took you long enough!" Jasper cackled as she cracked her knuckles and prepared for her long-awaited round 2. "Then come on, show me what you got!"

Steven responded by creating another hexagonal shield to launch at Jasper. However, Jasper jumped over the shield and attempted to punch Steven, but suddenly, she got punched instead. As Steven let out a gasp, Jasper summoned her horned crash helmet and slammed it into Steven's head, sending him tumbling backwards into the ground.

"What are you holding back for Steven?!" Jasper yelled while the resulting smoke began to clear. "You think you can't take it, that I'm just going to coddle you the whole way through, just like the Gems?! You still want to go back to them?"

"No!" Steven coughed from the smoke.

"You still afraid to be strong?!" Jasper continued taunting her foe. "Are you dull?! ARE YOU PITIFUL?!"

"I AM NOT!" Steven bellowed out loud, causing a shockwave that knocked Jasper back, and nearly shook a certain Rutile from a tree she was hiding in as he lunged at Jasper with fury in his eyes.

"Is that all?!" Jasper cackled arrogantly, forcing Steven to create more barriers to strike at her with, which finally landed a hit on Jasper and slammed her into a tree. "That's more like it!"

Steven let out a sadistic giggle before he lunged again, far faster than normal as he started repeatedly punching Jasper while the two soared through the forest and into the air.

"Come on, come on!" Jasper beckoned Steven as their brawl took to the skies. "Show your master what you can really do!"

Steven's maniacal laughter grew louder and louder with each punch before kicking Jasper to the ground. "You were right Jasper!" he declared while summoning more shields to trap Jasper with before forming an even larger one in front of him. "I HAVE BEEN HOLDING BACK!"

With a murderous smile and white diamonds in his eyes, Steven made his barrier grow razor-sharp spikes before launching it at his captive opponent. And for the first time in what felt like ages, as the spiked shield rocketed towards her, Jasper felt one emotion that she barely showed to anyone else.

Pure, unadulterated terror.

What had she done?

The cloudy skies gave way to a loud thunderstorm as Black Rutile climbed up to the top of another tree to watch the outcome of the fight, and she was more than happy with what she was seeing.

"Bravo Steven, I never knew you had it in you!" Black Rutile clapped loud enough for Steven to hear as he returned to his senses to realize what he had just done. "If I hadn't planned for that, she would've made a great bodyguard!"

With tears and raindrops staining his face, Steven hid whatever he was hiding in his balled-up fist while glaring at Black Rutile before he raced back to Jasper's cave. When Black Rutile decided to climb down the tree, she was greeted by the nervous look on her Topaz's face. "So, who were you betting on to win?"

"I was betting on Steven to curb his problems more healthily, and you just kept stringing him along!" White Topaz accused her superior, but her accusations were shut down by a bowie knife pointed straight at her face. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Would a shadow puppet make you feel better?!"

"No need." Black Rutile frowned, hiding behind the tree to watch as Steven, now wearing his jacket again, hid his fist in one of the pockets while running out of the woods. "Nothing makes me happier than seeing him squirm."

"Oh yeah, it's funny how pathetic he is." White Topaz laughed nervously in agreement. "Come on, let's head back to the cave. Don't wanna get wet."

"Indeed," Black Rutile agreed and strolled back to their lair with her arms behind her back. "wouldn't want anyone knowing what we did to him."

"I sent so many messages, but he hasn't replied!" Pearl fretted while pacing around the beach house as the storm continued. "Do you think he even had his phone when he ran away?! What if something horrible happened and it's all our fault because he wanted to stay away from us?! What if-" Pearl's panicking soon turned to hyperventilating as she curled up into a ball on the floor and began rocking back and forth when Amethyst stepped in to calm her down.

"Pearl, chill out!" Amethyst literally shook Pearl out of her traumatized state and picked her up off the floor. "Panting and sweating over everything won't bring Steven back! It's not like he's going to just barge in as soon as I finish talking!"

Just then, Steven finally returned home, much to the Crystal Gems' delight and worry. However, he had no time to tell them where he's been as he gunned for the bathroom.

"Steven, where have you been?!" Pearl cried out in fright for her surrogate son.

"No time to talk!" Steven exclaimed before ducking into the bathroom.

"Seriously man, we've been looking everywhere!" Amethyst added just as the door closed in front of her. "Hey, what was that in your hand?"

"Nothing important!" Steven replied, peeking out the door one last time before going back.

"The way he said that makes me get a bad feeling about this." Garnet declared ominously.

'This has been a horrible day.' Steven thought to himself while filling up the bathtub and snatching the three Diamond essence bottles from the mirror, taking a moment to find a dark shadow in the exact shape of his muscular self from earlier standing behind his reflection.

"I never knew you had it in you either." The shadow growled before Steven turned to dump all the Diamonds' essences in the bathwater and pulled his fist out of his pocket, unfolding it to reveal Jasper's shattered remains in his palms.

"Please work, you gotta work!" Steven muttered in total panic while piecing Jasper's broken gemstone the best he could and submerging it in the water. "Please Jasper, I'm sorry!" he began sobbing for the deceased Gem, his hot tears streaking against his face and dropping into the water.

"I'm sorry."

END OF PART 3: FRAGMENTED MIND

TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART 4: WE WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FAMILY

Wow. Great googly moogly, it's all gone to shit, just the kind of shit that Black Rutile likes. Is Jasper truly gone? Okay, definitely not since next chapter after the break will be Homeworld Bound. Has Black Rutile won? Maybe. Will the voice in Steven's head take the wheel? Who knows? Find out on the epic final part of Steven Universe: Alternate Future, to perhaps begin after the usual two-month hiatus. Or maybe I should go for a shorter hiatus this time. Or maybe longer? What do you guys think? I mean, by the time I publish this, I'll be getting ready for sophomore year of college so my time will most definitely be filled up. But regardless, there are now only eight chapters left of laughs, tears and adrenaline rush, so don't even try to miss the next arc! Okay, peace!

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #garnet #amethyst #pearl #jasper #black rutile #white topaz #aquamarine #eyeball ruby #greg universe #bismuth

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a-secret-bolton-vampire · 3 years

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Brief Thought on Theon in TWOW

Theon has been a huge mystery for me and a lot of people, because his story could go just about anywhere. He's currently held prisoner by Stannis, who plans on executing him (after interrogating him, of course). Although he is to be executed by fire, Asha comes in to tell Stannis to instead execute Theon himself with Lightbringer at the weirwood islet, all the while the caged ravens scream "Theon" and "tree"... hello Bran, hello Bloodraven.

Now, the fact the ravens are screaming about the tree and Asha mentions executing Theon at the tree to me is a clear indication that it is going to be an important location. Now, I don't quite think Theon is gonna die here (see below), but rather Bran is going to find a way to keep him around. He already called to Theon when Theon went to beg absolution in the Winterfell godswood. Summon some ravens to interrupt the execution, maybe even appear in the tree like he did to Theon at Winterfell.

Such a display from the old gods might make the northmen think it is a sign that Theon has paid for his sins. Stannis might not really care, although... if you get a sign like that, I'm not entirely sure what Stannis would think. Regardless, I think Theon is going to survive, and Bran wants him to. Why? Well, I don't actually think Bran is manipulating Theon here. It's been months at this point since we've had a Bran POV, and who knows what he's been doing this whole time. However, if he has been focused on Winterfell, he probably has seen Theon being tormented by Ramsay.

Theon betrayed the Starks. He took Winterfell. He killed two boys and passed them off as Bran and Rickon. He is a traitor and a turncloak and a murderer. But seeing Theon in this light might change Bran's perspective on him. He's suffered so much. He may have deserved execution for his crimes, but the torture he endured from Ramsay was not justice.

At the end of ADWD/beginning of TWOW, Theon is pretty resigned to dying. He wants to die, and he feels immense guilt for what he did. Bran is tapping into the power of the old gods and communicates to a broken Theon at Winterfell. Even though Theon has prayed to the old gods (really praying to Bran) and gotten some sort of reply, he doesn't know what it means. If Bran stays Theon's execution, that's a huge change for Theon. He believes he deserves to die for what he did.

If the old gods show some sort of presence that stops Theon from being killed, that changes everything for him. If the gods don't want him to die, what is his purpose now? What reason is there for him to be around? Does he truly deserve to be killed? Can he redeem himself? Part of the reason why I don't believe Theon is going to be executed here is because I think there is much more rich narrative and thematic depth to explore than him simply resigning to his fate and getting it.

As for what he will do in TWOW, apart from the theories that he simply just dies, some people also believe he might stay Stannis's prisoner, or be used by Asha to undo the kingsmoot on the Iron Islands. The latter theory is based on the mention of Torgon the Latecomer, by Rodrik Harlaw and later Tristifer Botely.

"When you put your name before the captains you submitted yourself to their judgment. You cannot go against that judgment now. Only once has the choice of a kingsmoot been overthrown. Read Haereg."

Archmaester Haereg wrote History of the Ironborn. And what was this one time the kingsmoot was overthrown? Well, Tris explains it the very chapter Asha has this memory of Rodrik.

"Torgon Greyiron was the king's eldest son. But the king was old and Torgon restless, so it happened that when his father died he was raiding along the Mander from his stronghold on Greyshield. His brothers sent no word to him but instead quickly called a kingsmoot, thinking that one of them would be chosen to wear the driftwood crown. But the captains and the kings chose Urragon Goodbrother to rule instead. The first thing the new king did was command that all the sons of the old king be put to death, and so they were. After that men called him Badbrother, though in truth they'd been no kin of his. He ruled for almost two years." Asha remembered now. "Torgon came home …" "… and said the kingsmoot was unlawful since he had not been there to make his claim. Badbrother had proved to be as mean as he was cruel and had few friends left upon the isles. The priests denounced him, the lords rose against him, and his own captains hacked him into pieces. Torgon the Latecomer became the king and ruled for forty years."

This is often used as evidence that Asha will use Theon in a similar manner; since he was presumed dead but is actually still alive, he did not put his claim forth, and thus the kingsmoot is invalid, as is Euron's ascension to the Seastone Chair. Theon the Latecomer will be Euron's undoing. While Theon is in no fit enough state to even be considered king, perhaps his presence will be enough to assuage Euron's control on the Iron Isles.

I think that the fact this is mentioned is important, and something like this might happen. Personally, I think that when the battle of ice turned against Stannis's favour, Theon escaped with the help of Asha and her supporters, and they grouped together at Torrhen's Square, which is held currently by Dagmer Cleftjaw, master-at-arms at Pyke, whom Theon had a close relationship with. And the idea will be to use Theon as a tool to invalidate the kingsmoot and Euron's role. Also, it would be very neat to see Theon reunite with Dagmer after all he's been through, since Dagmer was an important figure in his childhood.

The problem is that I don't think Theon Latecomer is going to change anything. For one, although he doesn't need to be king, just be used as a way to invalidate the kingsmoot because he never pressed his claim, what is that going to change? Is Theon really going to press his claim? And if he did, he would be laughed out. He has no interest in kingship, and he is not in any state to rule as one. So he's definitely not going to be elected. Who does that leave?

Well, Victarion is away in Meereen. Asha might have supporters but her gender works against her. Perhaps old Erik Ironmaker might try his hand again, but I doubt that will work any better. Aeron is supposedly in hiding (although really he's being tortured by Euron). Gylbert Farwynd wanted to sail beyond the Sunset Sea and see what lands lie west of Westeros.

Meanwhile, Euron is bringing the Old Way back to the ironborn in a way Balon never accomplished. He took the Shields and gave lordships to the raiders there. He has been sending ships up and down the Mander, in the Whispering Sound, even sacking the Arbor. He is giving the ironborn a great deal of wealth. What's even more, it appears that some of the things he wouldn't have dared before are a lot safer to do now. For instance, at the kingsmoot, he put on his facade as doing everything for the Drowned God. Now look at how his captains talk about the Drowned God in The Forsaken:

"Your curses have no power here, priest,” said Left-Hand Lucas Codd. “The Crow’s Eye has fed your Drowned God well, and he has grown fast with sacrifice. Words are wind, but blood is power. We have given thousands to the sea, and he has given us victories!”

It's not "the Drowned God" but "your Drowned God". They don't care anymore. They don't care if it's different or against their traditions. Euron has been giving them victories and riches and glory, and that's all that matters. This is something that is easy to see in the real world too (just look at what Donald Trump did in office and how the GOP reacted to his actions). Euron has taken the bulk of the Iron Islands military strength with him, and is living up to what he's promised so far. Why would they want to go back?

However, the most important part, for me anyways, is that ultimately, Euron doesn't care. He doesn't care about the Iron Isles. His goal is Westeros and the Iron Throne. The islands mean nothing to him. He loses some people there, so what? What's there for him to use? He's gonna try to become a god-king anyways so the Iron Islands aren't important.

In the end, even if Asha wanted to use Theon for these purposes, it won't do anything. The ironborn are in southern Westeros having the time of their lives, why would they return here? Now, if this is doomed to do anything against Euron, then why mention Torgon? Why have Theon go through that? I think it's all part of his internal journey of identity and allegiance.

He's always been stuck between Greyjoy and Stark. He didn't feel like he belonged with the Starks, but he wanted to. When Balon rebelled against Robb and insulted him, Theon wanted to prove himself to his father, so he betrayed the Starks. He was outsmarted and captured by Ramsay, however, and now regrets doing what he did. But he still hasn't chosen, Greyjoy or Stark. He wants to simply die.

I think that this journey for him is him recovering from Ramsay and finally finding his true self again. Theon has been a puppet of Ramsay's, and is poised to become a puppet for Asha and her followers. It's time he start to make his own decisions. I think this journey as Theon Latecomer (whether he literally returns to the isles or not) is him dealing with his own internal struggle, before finally resolving it. My theory is that he will decide to choose the Starks, because they are his true family, and there is nothing for him that he wants or can do with the Greyjoys.

#theon greyjoy #bran stark #the winds of winter predictions #asoiaf meta #euron greyjoy

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nintendylan64 · 3 years

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My problems with FNAF Lore

Hey guys. I felt like I wanted to explain my problems with the FNAF lore, and how the lore was ruined for me years ago.

My history with the franchise and the lore Now, I discovered the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise back in 2014 through DanTDM's Let's Play of Five Nights at Freddy's 2. It was the first time I had ever been introduced to the jumpscares and characters in-game. But I actually discovered the first game through a YTP someone made of it. With how little I knew from discovering that YTP, I assumed that Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy were anthropomorphic animals that ran the place, and that Freddy just liked to leave scary stuff in his office because he was a horror guy. That assumption was way off and DanTDM's Let's Play let me discover that the antagonists weren't anthropomorphic animals. I then discovered Markiplier's videos on the games in 2014, and fan-animations of the games like SMG4's Freddy's Spaghettiria series, and Piemations' 5 AM at Freddy's series. Besides the surprising jumpscares, what really got me hooked on the FNAF series was the 80s-90s aesthetics, and the lore behind it all. Around late 2014 and early 2015, I had discovered the hidden lore series by MrCreepyPasta, which was what got me interested in exploring the lore. I loved the FNAF lore when it was just, "Man kills 5 kids in pizzeria joint and the animatronics become haunted by the spirits of the kids". This made it feel much more realistic, as murder of kids in a place like this can happen in real life. The fact that the staff weren't behind any of it, and that the guards were originally just some average joes who got hired for a night guard position without knowing the dangers of it was also very realistic too. And the inclusion of another tragic event known as the "Bite of '87" was also interesting. But the biggest thing that made the lore have a charm to it, was how there was an implied history of Fazbear Entertainment, and FNAF 2 showed us the history of the place before the tragedies happened, as well as implying that the negative impression was stuck before the murders was also interesting. The lore was interesting back then because of how realistic and mysterious it was. And when the third game came out, it was a great conclusion to the franchise, in which the killer got his comeuppance, leaving the kid's souls to rest in peace. And the killer haunting the suit he died in as an attempt to escape his torment of being trapped in a suit, eventually leaving him to be burned alive in the location he was at was a very nice way to end things. But the way it had expanded on the story by taking place thirty years after the events of the first game, with the unsolved mysteries of Fazbear Entertainment trying to be recreated by people was a good way to expand upon the story. So basically, I prefer the FNAF lore when it was the story of how kids were murdered in a pizzeria joint, and how they eventually got revenge on their killer, while room was made to show us how the pizzeria joint handled this, and how the alleged hauntings were shown through the animatronics being possessed. Because of the lore being so interesting, I tried making up my own timelines to tie the story of the first three games together. And seeing as how the lore was concluded, it should've just ended there, right? Well... it didn't.

Where the problems crept in I think that the problems with the lore crept in with the fourth game. Now, this game could've had potential, as it could've taken place in the location where the withered animatronics were used in before FNAF 2, but it didn't do that. We got instead a child suffering through nightmares, with animatronics that have particularly stupid designs. Plus, what made it worse was that the Bite of 83 was introduced, making the topic of the Bite of'87 confusing since it was implied it happened in the second game, but now it was happening in the fourth game? But then it was revealed to be a separate event, why two separate events of the same thing? What constitutes the idea of establishing a similar event to the Bite of '87? It had nothing to impact the games itself at all. The bigger thing that was confusing is this, Fredbear's Family Diner was implied to have been closed for longer than 1983-1987, and the fact that you see the unwithered versions of the withered animatronics in Fredbear's makes it all the more confusing, since Fredbear's was established as a separate, and early location before it was later re-enfranchised as Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. So why retcon what was established in the previous games? Why not just show us in the fourth game what happened with the withered animatronics before they became withered, and then make a fifth game that took place in Fredbear's Family Diner? I don't know why Scott felt the need to retcon things, especially since most people thought that the franchise had already ended with the third game. Later on down the line, Sister Location came out in 2016. And I honestly hate Sister Location, lore-wise that is. The reason I say this is because Sister Location fucked up everything more than the 4th game. This time, there was more retconning, the horror tone and 80s-90s aesthetic was gone, the game felt like Sci-fi and less like the older games. Worse, Purple Guy was given an actual name, and turned from a cold-blooded killer that killed kids because of being a psychopath, into a mad scientist obsessed with placing souls into animatronics using soul juice in an attempt to create murderous animatronics, and he killed kids to do this, but most of them were his own or his friend's kids, Fazbear Entertainment was actually started by this maniac, and Mike Schmidt from FNAF 1 was no longer an average joe working a night shift job, but instead the son of the killer and later became an unrealistic purple zombie that somehow got hired for night shift positions. Jeremy and Fritz were no longer average joes either, and were now aliases for the purple zombie who's actual name was Michael Afton, making Mike Schmidt another alias for this zombie. And now, this was more about a family that was insane to begin with trying to put their own personal demons to rest, rather than the story of the murder of 5 children in a pizzeria joint, and the killer gets his comeuppance while the faceless pizzeria chain tried keep its reputation afloat, eventually failing which lead to the closure of it. All of this shattered how I interpreted the lore. The biggest things that Sister Location fucked up were the following. 1. Taking away the 80s/90s aesthetic. In the first and second game, the game has an 80s and 90s aesthetic with the looks of the locations and decor, as well as the camera sounds sounding like cassette tapes, and the first took place in the early 90s, while the second took place in the late 80s. FNAF 3 kept the 80s/90s aesthetic, and I'd argue FNAF 4 kept the old aesthetic too, such as how old everything looked in FNAF 3, and how the house looks particularly old in FNAF 4. FNAF SL's aesthetics look way too futuristic for a FNAF game, especially since it's said to take place before the first 4 games. 2. Making it more sci-fi. The original FNAF games, and the fourth one were meant to be horror games, and they established this greatly with audio and visual cues, as well as the storyline having a horror-esque feel to it during the first 3 games, and even the 4th game kept. The focus on sci-fi traits or elements in SL kind of kills the horror-esque feel that FNAF originally gave off, especially the whole soul juice and mad scientist part. 3. Making Fazbear Entertainment have an owner. Fazbear Entertainment should've just been left as a faceless corporation that had nothing to do with the murders, the type of company to try and cover up the damage done to their reputation by cutting costs or not batting an eye when a man kills children in their restaurant. 4. Making Mike, Jeremy, and Fritz into aliases. It doesn't make any sense as to why a company would hire a foul smelling zombie who kept changing his name. I think that Mike, Jeremy, and Fritz should've just been average joes that got night guard positions not knowing that their jobs were dangerous and not knowing the hauntings of the pizzeria they applied to work for. And 5. The Afton Family. The Afton Family completely ruined the idea of the children being killed at Freddy's by an unknown man, since now it's just about a family killing his own for a dumb mad science experiment and the son is trying to stop his own father, making it so you no longer play as an average joe that discovers the dark secrets and hauntings of a pizzeria joint, but instead you're just playing as a zombie that needs to kill his own father in order to stop his father from killing anyone else. Seriously, it feels less like a horror game, and now feels more like a badly written self-insert sci-fi story with some bit of horror mixed in. The FNAF series is way too complicated to figure out now due to loads of retconning and unnecessary changes made to the story. Worse, the Nightmare, Funtime, and other animatronics that have been added to the franchise just seems like an excuse for Scott to just add new characters simply to keep the franchise going. Now, let's look at a FNAF fan-game series with a better written story.

Five Nights at Candy's Five Nights at Candy's has a much easier to understand story than FNAF. In the first game, you play as a female night guard at a burger joint where an unfortunate incident occurred between an animatronic and a customer, and an incident involving two kids at the factory where the animatronics were made. The backstory of everything, such as the original location and the burger joint's opening are explained in FNAC 3, showing how two unfortunate incidents at the puppet/animatronic theatre led to the closure of the place. We also learn more about the main character from the first game, and the one who caused the murders as well as the victims. In the second game, everything is concluded with the daughter of the guard solving the mysteries of the old factory. The reason is because Emil Macko managed to actually tell the story in an effective way, without retconning anything and without relying entirely on twists and misdirection.

Conclusion So yeah, I can't stand FNAF lore post-FNAF 4, because of how it became way too confusing to understand, and with how the series started retconning tons of things and making unnecessary changes. And it's amazing how a FNAF fan-game was able to tell its story better than the actual FNAF fan-games. So for me, I'm sticking with the FNAF 1-3 lore, which is my interpretation of it. Before I end this blog though, what's annoying is that no matter if you mention the FNAF 1-3 lore on YouTube, people will instantly start bringing in the modern FNAF lore and correct you, even if you're following you're headcanon.

#fnaf #rant #random rant

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ot5ismyhome · 3 years

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33. Destruction Breeds Creation

To read from beginning click here.

*****

Coulson looked at agents- remaining agents- in front of him. They all had the hollow frightened look in their eyes. If he was alone, he would have adorned the same look but he had seen and gone through a lot to know that the team is just the reflection of the leader. When he spoke up, his ever-playful chirpy voice filled the room.

“No Darkhold. Base gone. If anybody has ideas now would be the good time to say it.”

“Me and Fitz have been looking up about Loki. The normal ways used to kill a vampire will not work on him” started Simmons.

“How fucked are we?” Hunter quipped.

“He is a vampire and a witch” Fitz replied with a tilt in his head. “Sunlight, Holy fire, Stake, I guess even beheading cannot stop that guy. So, I will say very much.”

“That explains his powers. I knew something was up with that guy” Mack said.

Simmons cut through the banter bringing the focus on the research. “Sir, All the powers, every single thing we saw out there was witchcraft. Actually, he is a winter witch. His powers are more prominent in colder weather. According to the data Agent Romanoff provided earlier, he can bring winter anywhere.”

“He needed the Darkhold to cast permanent winter. If he succeeds, we can’t turn it back. Maybe the book would help us turn it back but it’s just a theory” Fitz said. He sighed and placed his hands on his hips.

“But there is one thing that could bring him down. The Stake of the First Vampire”

“Now, we just need to know where it is” Hunter said looking expectantly at Lincoln.

“I have no idea,” Lincoln shrugged.

“I will contact Jiaying. Trip and Thompson evacuate the city. Hunter and Elena run ops.”

The agents nodded to their Director’s order and took off.

“Sir, I need permission to bring my daughter back here,” Mack asked. When Coulson gave affirmation, he left with Trip and Thompson.

…..

The young man walked into the Gothite Industries. He was stopped by the security.

“Who do you want to see?”

“Oh yes. Mr. Malick. You could say I’m his family. Hail Legion.” Nathaniel said the last two words in the guard’s ears. The guard immediately stepped aside.

“Sorry sir. I didn’t know you were... But I have never seen you around.”

“This visit is long overdue.”

…..

“We came across five bloody massacres and we still haven’t covered Brooklyn.”

Elena sighed. “We need to prepare for the upcoming battle.”

“Hey. You there. What are you doing here?” shouted a man grabbing the duo’s attention. They turned around to see a policeman. “Don’t you know you have to vacate the city?” he shouted. “Fuckers. Making my job difficult.”

Back in the jeep Elena’s mind was racing on what to do. “We need to do something,” she told Hunter.

The policeman shouted racial slur at a black teenage boy who just exited the nearby shop. The police neared the terrified boy.

“What have you got there?” sneered the man, taking his gun out. “You are stealing, aren’t you?” he threatened the kid.

The kid started stammering and dropped the things down. He lifted his arms above his head.

“No sir, I left some mone-”

The kid’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t finish his sentence as he saw a man sneak behind the harasser and sucker punch him. The policeman went down to the ground, unconscious. Hunter turned towards Elena and made an ‘okay’ gesture with his hand.

Hunter approached the kid. “Hey are you okay?” he asked, still keeping his eyes on the police.

“You punched him.”

“Yeah, if I hadn’t, he would have shot you”

Elena making her way towards them. “What’s your name?” she added looking at the boy.

“Flint”

“Flint, the city is in great danger. We need you to get out as soon as possible. There is a bus five blocks away. We will drop you there.”

“No. I can’t leave my sister. She is handicapped. I need to take care of her.”

“Then let’s get your sister.”

…..

Mack went to collect his daughter. When he reached school, he saw that it was a total mess. All the parents and children were running around trying to find each other. Mack joined them desperate to find his daughter.

“Hope” he shouted. There was no response. He called her for her again and again. Finally, he heard a feeble voice answering back.

“Hope” he shouted again.

“Daddy” a little girl shouted from inside the classroom. She ran to him and he swept her in his arms.

“Daddy, what’s happening?”

“A bad guy had taken over the city. We need to get out soon.”

“You always said we should always fight back. Also help others. Aren’t we going to do that?”

“First, I’m taking my little princess to safety”

As he reached the Quinjet, he placed Hope on the seat. “Be here. Daddy will be back.” He turned to Trip, “Can you watch her till I come back?”

…..

Gideon Malick was on the conference call with the higher ups in the government. He used them as puppets in his master plan. What he didn’t expect was Loki coming back. He needed to put an end to it. For the Legion to grow over here, he needed to have control over The Council. Had Loki not come back, the ATCU would have been a success.

Gideon heard a rapport knock on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone. He signalled to Giyera to be on alert as a young man stepped inside. The blood drained from the businessman’s face. His eyes widened and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“You weren’t expecting me, were you? I have always wanted to hunt you down. But Barnes and Wilson were also about letting it go. They don’t know the inner turmoil. They don’t know what you did to me” Nathaniel said pacing the big office. Giyera was on his guard ready to attack on his boss’ order. Gideon had lost the ability to speak as he looked at his so thought dead brother.

“Finally, my time has come. Anarchy is here. The Council would never understand that” Nathaniel stopped his pacing and glanced at his petrified brother. “Gideon, you trapped yourself in the Legion and the government, bound by their history, rules, hierarchy” he spat the last word. “You go around saying ‘Hail Legion’ and ‘God bless America.’ Say goodbye to all that. Say hello to anarchy.”

“Nathaniel-”

“I didn’t come here to listen to your pathetic pleas.” Nathaniel closed his hands around his elder brother’s neck and lifted him. Giyera ran forward to stop him. But he caught the bodyguard with his other hand and threw him against the wall. Giyera went down unconscious. He turned his attention to Gideon.

“You planned and tried to kill me back then. Just for this Legion. You know what? It all turned out good. Your organizations are all the same. More and more hierarchy. It diminishes one’s true potential. It creates unbalance. I’m going to destroy all that. Destruction breeds creation.” Nathaniel snapped the neck of Gideon Malick. He dropped his brother’s limp body and walked out.

…..

Flint took the agents to his home. The door was slightly open and there were signs of forced entry. Elena and Hunter shared a look but didn't say anything.

"Tess" called out Flint. Hearing no reply, he panicked as he approached her room. He opened the door to see his sister lying on the bed. At first it looked normal but on closer look he felt something was not right.

Elena and Hunter noticed that Tess was pale. Her skin looked grey. Flint shook his sister awake but got no response. Hunter checked the pulse. He realised she must have just died now. There was no pulse but the body was still warm.

Hunter signalled Elena to scan the house. As she slipped away quietly, Hunter pulled the crying boy towards himself. He tried to get Flint out of the house but he resisted.

“Lad, we need to get out soon,” Hunter urged. But Flint pulled himself away from Hunter’s hold.

“My sister is dead, man. I’m not going anywhere” he shouted as he pushed Hunter further away.

Hunter’s eyes widened as he saw the figure in the bedroom doorway.

“Duck” he shouted as he drew out his gun and pointed at the man. The man came out of the shadows. He wore old crumpled clothes. His face was in contrast. His skin glowed healthy. His eyes were red and his fangs had descended. Hunter shot the man but it was in vain. He kept shooting again and again. Blood poured out of his chest but he kept walking. Hunter protectively pushed Flint behind him.

Elena was in the other room when she heard the gunshots. She hurried back to check on her companions. She saw an unknown man approaching Hunter and Flint. Hunter fired the next consecutive shots but it didn’t seem to stop the stranger. Elena took out her gun and shot the man straight through his skull.

The vampire fell down. Everyone breathed out in relief. Hunter kneeled down to examine the body. He noticed that the bullet was still lodged in the skull.

“Does a bullet kill a vampire?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Why isn’t he moving?”

“Do you want him to?” she said snarkly.

A new person appeared on the doorway startling the group. Elena swung around her gun raised. A man holding a baseball bat was standing there.

“He is a friend,” said Flint, putting himself between the two. Both of them lowered their weapons.

The newcomer was Mike Peterson. He was in the apartment next to Flint’s. He and his son were on the way to the evacuation bus when he had heard the commotion. So, he came to check on his neighbours. Hunter gave his gun and ammo to Mike. He asked them to head to safety.

“What should we do with him?” Elena asked pointing at the wounded vampire on the floor.

“Simmons would have fun cutting him up.”

*****

Chapter 34

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dariaslore · 3 years

Note

1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 20, 21 for Griffin x Valtor

1.What was their first impression of each other?

Well, the first thing that crossed Valtor's mind as he saw her was to play her. He was in front of a good looking witch and he thought she would've been swooning over him in no time. Valtor had just found his new puppet, ready to satisfy all of his ego's whims. He began flirting, but little did he know, Griffin hated his attitude. She hated his manners, everything about him seemed over stressed, emphasized and fake, he was playing a character she didn't like at all, plus she couldn't stand his bigger than life ego. Griffin could see what he was aiming at and she immediately tried to be straightforward and it turned out like "Everybody knows you're hot, but I'm here to work. I don't have time for sex."

3.Describe their relationship dynamic.

Bickering couple, they take everything as an intellectual fight and live for their bantering. Debating is their favorite activity and the topics can range between "what is best to eat for lunch" and "is the Council biased?". They tend to joke (some are very sexual) a lot, sass and sarcasm at their full potential, who can annoy the other the most is the winner.

( Valtor: Take that stuff away from my room!

Griffin: It's my plants, I live in this room now and I want them to stay with me.

Valtor: I don't care!

Griffin: Poor thing, I forgot they ruin your whole 'dandy wizard' aesthetic!

Valtor: Exactly. Buy me red roses instead, they look good with marble. Better if almost rotten, the decadence, the sweet perfume of death, you know?

Griffin: *facepalm* )

When it comes to feelings he's very closeted, but she tries to get him out of his shell.

4.What was their relationship like before they got together?

Bad. Griffin hated him and he hated her. Coven' members were annoyed by their dynamics and couldn't understand how childish their 'cracked to be power duo' was.

6. What do they love about each other?

Valtor is in love with her brain. He finds her simply brilliant and is always listening to her in awe whenever she comes up with a new plan. She's got wit and sass, her heart is as big as her brain is. He loves how she doesn't mock him for everything he does and she is willing to pay attention to his interest (something his mothers never did), so he feels comfortable enough to share his passions and doubts. He doesn't feel under scrutiny when she's around, he can be free to be and her smiles when she's proud of his doing are priceless. He loves the fact she truly cares about him and she's soo confident (it makes her so hot).

Griffin is a die hard for his charisma and she was quite surprised when he turned out to be most sensitive person she had ever met. She fell in love with his soul.

7. What do they have in common?

They are both ambitious and so into magic knowledge. Without magic and their drive for knowledge they would've never met. Their love bloomed between researches, books, ancient spells, strategies and missions, that's why even after they had gotten together, they still referred to each other as "partners" and not "boyfriend or girlfriend". Their partnership was almost sacred with a very deep bond. They're both dreamers, even though she's way more pragmatic and he's an hopeless decadent, they're prideful, vain and value their privacy. They may share some similarities and common interests (magic, history...) but their strength comes from the differences.

9. What made them realize they were in love?

They were fighting and teasing each other as always, they realized the might've liked and enjoyed that merciless bantering.

Griffin and Valtor started growing closer and their partnership got stronger and stronger as time passed. Sex came first, there was sexual attraction and they became "partners in crime with benefits". Then, after overcoming some barriers, they began to get to know each other more and more, he was finally showing her something real and she liked the fact he trusted her so much that he put aside the mask of the almighty and fabulous sorcerer from time to time. Valtor had gotten used to having her around, she was a great company and when he felt jealousy inside him for the first time by seeing her talking to another member of the Coven who had wanted her for a while, he realized that maybe it was more than just a partnership between the two of them. He hated to stay away from her and all her sides he had hated before, were now his favorites: the same witch he had thought a control freak and mean, whose now he adored the intelligence and sarcasm. Griffin knew she was slowly falling in love, but she was in denial, she believed it would've been just a fleeting crush and she tried every way to make it go away, she calculated pros and cons and looked for every single flaw in Valtor's personality to make him repulsive. But she loved those flaws. The witch was in love.

16. What do other characters think about this relationship?

Coven's members were happy they kinda stopped fighting all the time, some women (and men) were envious Griffin was his partner and lover. Griffin's friends were thrilled and found their couple really hot (where did she find such a good looking man?).

The Ancestral Witches had a controversial point of view, whilst they were satisfied they finally got along, their convergences were a blast and Valtor had a babysitter (the witches knew about his mental state, at least there was someone keeping him safe and sane now. The years before meeting Griffin had been really dark, the Ancestral were tired of the wizard self destructive behavior.) they feared the relationship might've distracted their son from fulfilling his destiny (he was created to be a weapon, not for love and kisses). They saw a threat in Griffin's figure, therefore they never treated her roughly, but always kept an eye on her. When Liliss found out of their relationship she said "This is going to end bad." Belladonna and Tharma were thrilled, Liliss was not, she knew the repercussions on their son if she ever left.

Griffin's father wasn't happy, he was worried and he tried to warn her daughter about what she was getting herself into, but she had to follow her path and he couldn't stop her from living her life and making choices (the witch was too stubborn).

Faragonda was also worried, very worried.

20. What does a typical date look like for them?

They're partners in crime, always together, and they can make a date out of nothing. A raid on a planet? That's a date. Stealing spells? Date. Spying on enemies? Another date. Theft on Eraklyion? The. Best. Date. Ever.

Whisperia is a bustling planet (I hc they lived there), there's always a ton of stuff to do. They didn't have a lot of free time, but they managed to make it worthy by going to some very classy nightclubs and going shopping (for Valtor's happiness. She's into fashion as well, but he's addicted)

He sometimes likes going to the theater and the opera (the drama queen he is), she doesn't understand a thing she's watching and it can bore her to death, but he's happy and she loves seeing him so engaged while he's explaining to her what is going on (she has to admit he's a wonderful storyteller and his humanistic culture is astonishing). She will definitely drag him to museums and scientific and political conventions where they discuss about magic and Magix's politics in a very technical way. Stargazing was another main activity, they could've spent hours talking under the dark sky (they did).

21. What’s a really significant moment in their relationship?

One of the most significant moment in their relationship was the first night they hang out together. The Ancestral were tired of their tantrums and decided it was time for them to bond, so Valtor and Griffin were forced to spend some free time together. The Witches thought it was important for their partnership to be strong also out of the battlefield, only in that way it could've unleashed its true potential. They had a new mission and it was building trust. And that night was just the beginning. (They were both slowly introduced in each other's own world). Another significant moment was Griffin seeing his demon form for the first time. It was a divide, a fracture, after that, their relationship was in free fall. Darkness became too much to handle, he was breaking, his mental health spiraling down towards insanity and she couldn't fall into pieces with him. It was toxic, his behavior, how Valtor got so obsessed with her she couldn't leave him alone for more than a minute. Griffin was sleeping next to a ticking bomb ready to implode, pressure from his mothers was too much, the demon rising, and she was afraid to hurt him.

There was no communication, she tried to understand and he erected walls, pretended everything was fine and at the same time he blamed it on himself if she was sad or angry for whatever reason. A dichotomy, the demon pursuing his mother's biddings and the man living just for her smile, fleeting sanity still standing in the name of their love.

#this took a long time #thank you for your question💕#winx #winx club #winx griffin #winx valtor #griffin × valtor #covenshipping #darkpoisonouslove

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