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wetbloodworm · 1 year

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i’ve got a google sheets of my OCs (linked in my pinned post) and i’ve added extra sheets broken up by storyline/universe/theme with a few more details. not fully filled out yet but i’m working on it, might be working on it a while b/c not all characters are decided and also i might add more sections. the charlie-parker-rhys-sparrow squad (need a better name for them, self-insert-adjacent is a bit wordy and also sparrow doesn’t fully fit that description) is in the ‘other’ section, and they’ve all got full names and birthdays now so here’s their bit

Bullet Points Time under the cut

again, i don’t consider sparrow a self-insert, but a decent amount of their characteristics follow the same patterns of those intended to be self-inserts. i’m including them in that group so they have to follow the patterns.

charlie, parker, and sparrow all have first and middle names that were names i considered picking for myself. i think the only names i’m missing from my list are max and toby but i accidentally stole toby for the dnd pc lmao. and max is a friend and i won’t steal their name

for rhys i just wanted all the names to be the same letter when i thought up ‘rhys ross’ so the two middle names are outliers. they do have a name set-up the same as mine, though! it’s ‘[first] [dad’s middle name] [birth middle name] [last]’. also my syllables for the first three names are ‘3 2 1′ and theirs are ‘1 2 3′.

all their surnames are picked from different aspects of my heritage, so charlie and sparrow have irish surnames, parker has a german surname, rhys has a scottish surname. ‘kinnegan’ has a connection to my mom’s maiden name, it’s not the exact name but they’re related. i would’ve done the same with parker’s surname but i’ve never been able to find a lot of info about my surname lmao so instead i just picked a name that’s fun to say. parker becker. i think i saw ross in a list of german names and liked the sound of rhys ross, and also i have a college friend with that surname, so it could be a combo of those two. sparrow’s surname was picked from irish surnames that sounded nice and also i saw the gaelic origin apparently has ‘not loving’ in it and that feels appropriate

all four are nonbinary without any specifications/microlabels. charlie and sparrow use ‘they’ exclusively, parker and rhys primarily use ‘they’ but are also comfortable with ‘it’ and ‘he’ respectively and include those when asked their pronouns (if they feel safe). the projection here is I’M nonbinary without any microlabels and I use ‘they’ kinda-exclusively but am comfortable with ‘it’ and ‘he’ is alright, although i don’t include them when asked pronouns. they’re not official.

pronouns aren’t color-coded because pronouns aren’t inherently gendered and i have no other associations so the colors would just be arbitrary and that bothers me.

(for the gender section: pink for women, blue for men, yellow for any kind of nonbinary person. nonbinary used to be purple but i didn’t necessarily like having it like... be a middle ground between the male and female colors... the stereotyped colors for the binary genders aren’t necessarily great either but like. it’s easy at a quick glance. i don’t have to actually read the text to get it immediately.)

broke up the orientation and aspec section b/c i got enough aspec kids that i need to specify, and also i wanted to color-code the orientation section and it got messy when everything was combined. couldn’t decide whether to color ‘bi + demiromantic’ as blue for bi or green for aro-spec, y’know? and it’d get worse if i made different colors for all the combinations.

(for orientation: red for gay, blue for bi and pan and bi/pan, gray for straight. for both sections: orange for aroace-spec. for aspec: purple for ace-spec, green for aro-spec, gray for allo. all colors picked from their various flags! i wasn’t sure if i should split up gay men and lesbians, i might but i’d have to change multiple colors and eugh. eugh!)

SO YEAH this squad is all aroace-spec, the first three ARE self-insert adjacent and i just can’t fully relate unless they’re some kind of aroace-spec. and sparrow just needed to fit the pattern. parker is just aroace, not anywhere in the gray, and rhys only labels their aspec identity without specifying the gender/s they’re potentially attracted to. charlie and sparrow both DO specify and ID as bi/pan alongside aroace-spec. i briefly considered making sparrow full aro + ace like parker to even that up but i overthink and i’ve occasionally seen a tendency to make Bad Characters effectively or explicitly aroace or aroallo because they are Evil And Can’t Love Because Love Is Pure And Good. even if they’re not my only aroace representation that’s just something i’m very conscious of so i try to avoid it. of course there’s nothing wrong with shitty characters having any orientation, i just don’t want there to be any accidental patterns with my OCs.

height isn’t fully arbitrary, i was (APPARENTLY PAST-TENSE) 5′6″ so charlie and parker are that height, and then i APPARENTLY LOST AN INCH AT SOME POINT so rhys is 5′5″. and i just wanted sparrow to be very slightly taller so they’re 5′7″.

birthdays also aren’t fully arbitrary! charlie has my birthday. i was born a month premature so parker was born exactly a month later. i also tried to be born VERY EARLY, idk exactly when and i don’t want to explain to my mom why i want to know, so rhys is a little older. chose the 15th at random. well actually i chose the 15th because that’s a tax deadline so when i picked march that’s the first date that came to mind. sparrow just has charlie’s birthday backwards lmao

charlie and parker are the only ones with nicknames so far, and as i’ve mentioned before those are pet names they’ve given each other to play up to the bit of people thinking they’re a couple and also because they’re very close and affectionate.

#charlie tag #parker tag #rhys tag #sparrow tag #reference tag

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olwrathie · 2 years

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Help Me. -Faith

Chapter 3: The Collapse is Upon Us.

Chp 1 Chp 2

***Warnings: spoilers for Far Cry 5 campaign, vulgar language, mentions of loss of life (no descriptions), mention of drug use/abuse.

Word Count: ~3.6K + (really wasn't planning on this one being so long lol)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Far Cry 5, they belong to Ubisoft. The only characters that are my own are Eve and my OC Deputy. Aside from in-game dialogue, all writing is my own. Unless otherwise stated, pictures are my own.

It’s always a good idea to expect the unexpected. It was a philosophy the rookie deputy always tried to remember. But, the events that had taken place over the last couple hours made that idea feel like an understatement. When the deputy had woken up that morning, she had absolutely no idea this is how her first arrest warrant would end up. Least of all did she expect to end up in some strange man’s bunker after being chased, shot at and bombed. Needless to say, the deputy was exhausted, and all she wanted was to go home.

As the deputy came too, she barely had any time to process what had happened to her. The strange man who carried her from the shore line appeared in her vision. His back was turned, facing a radio that sat on a metal table. There was a single light above him, illuminating himself and the American flag that was displayed against the cement wall. Next to the radio sat an ashtray, which held a cigar that had smoke rising from it. The scent from the smoke quickly filled the deputy's nose, making her cringe.

As the deputy looked around, her hearing slowly came back. And the first sound she heard was that of the man who was the reason she was in this mess. Joseph’s voice was droning over the radio, turning the events from the arrest into fuel for his insane preaching. Even though she recognized the sound of the man’s voice, she couldn’t quite remember his name, but the deputy had other things on her mind.

It was only when the man clicked off the radio and turned to face her that the deputy fully released that her hands had been bound to the bed. She tugged gently on her makeshift bonds, making the metal bed frame squeak quietly. There was no telling what the stranger was going to do, even though he had been the one to rescue her from the cultists searching for her, she couldn’t help but feel wary as he approached. Expect the unexpected.

“Do you know what that shit means?” The man asked, taking a seat in front of the deputy. The deputy shook her head, unable to find her voice to answer the question.

“It means the roads have all been closed. It means the phone lines have been cut. Means there’s no signals gettin’ in’ n’ out of this valley,” The man paused briefly, examining the deputy’s blue eyes as he spoke, “But mostly it means we’re all fucked.”

The deputy watched intently as the man leaned back in the metal chair. A heavy sigh fell from his lips as he turned his head away from her. He stared off for a moment, almost as if he was contemplating something. He looked tired. Not only because of his age, but his eyes showed a different kind of exhaustion. One that only showed in the eyes of someone who had been fighting for a long time, never catching a break. And it was obviously starting to catch up.

"Goddamn 'Collapse'," He scoffed, looking back at the deputy, "They all think the worlds comin' to an end now. They've been waitin' for it. For years. Waitin' for someone to come along and fulfill their prophecy. Kick off their goddamn Holy War. Well you sure as shit kicked."

This statement raised feelings of guilt within the deputy. Even though she was merely following the Marshal’s orders, she was the one ultimately responsible for arresting the cult leader. If only she had sided with the Sheriff, and heeded his warnings to walk away. Maybe, just maybe, her and her fellow officers would be safe and sound back at the Precinct. Getting ready to head out for a round of beers to celebrate the deputy’s first day on duty.

“Smartest thing for me to do, would just be to hand you over,” The man said, pulling the deputy from her thoughts. He leaned back in his seat, keeping his eyes on her as he softly muttered, “Fuck.”

The deputy continued to stare in the man’s eyes. She made an attempt to maintain a poker face, not wanting to show her true feelings. But in all honesty, the idea of ending up back with the man she just tried to arrest, it terrified her. She had no idea what would happen if this man did that. And, there was no way she would be able to help anyone if she was handed over to the cult.

When the man suddenly stood, the deputy almost jumped out of her skin. Pairing the fear she already felt with the fact that the man was now towering over her, it made this stranger suddenly very intimidating. Despite all this, she tried to display an unphased demeanor. Especially as he reached into his back pocket and smoothly pulled out and opened a pocket knife. He knelt down, using the knife to slice her bonds before leaning back and closing the blade. The deputy exhaled sharply as he did so, not even realizing she had been holding her breath until that moment. The man stood and slid the pocket knife into his jeans, the two holding eye contact as he did so.

“Get outta that uniform, we need to burn it,” He said, gesturing over to a dresser to her left as he continued, “There’s some fresh clothes there. When you get changed, you come and see me. We’ll see if we can unfuck this situation.”

The deputy nodded, her wrists held close to her chest as she attempted to pull the zip ties off. She watched as the man took in one more deep breath before releasing it as a sigh. He turned swiftly, casually striding out of the room and closing the door behind him. His footsteps retreated down the hallway and soon faded altogether.

After the footsteps disappeared, the deputy stood from the ground. The zip ties now discarded on the ground as she moved to unbutton the cuffs on her wrists. She pulled off her gloves, dropping them onto the bed next to her before walking over to the closet to her left. She opened one of the doors, revealing a dirtied mirror. A deep sigh fell from her as she leaned close to the mirror, a clammy hand reaching up to touch the cuts on her face.

“Dammit,” She huffed, leaning back and standing up straight.

The deputy moved her hands to unbutton her uniform top, pulling it from her jeans and shrugging it off her shoulders. She left on her vest and black tank top. Before continuing to undress, the deputy reached a hand up to comb the knots out of her chestnut colored hair. The strands were oily, and the deputy wanted nothing more than to jump in the shower. But, for now, she just settled with pulling the medium length hair into a ponytail.

After removing her tight cowboy boots and blue jeans, the deputy bent down and grabbed a pair of women’s jeans that sat folded at the bottom of the dresser. The deputy didn’t really want to think much about why this man had women’s jeans, so she just brushed it off as she wiggled into the blue skinny jeans. The jeans were slightly loose, but this problem was fixed as the deputy put on her utility belt that had her thigh holster attached to it.

The deputy felt her mind wander for a few minutes as she pulled on some black combat boots. How had things gotten so severe? Even with the Sheriff’s warnings in the helicopter, and the video she had watched beforehand, things didn’t seem that bad until she was placed in the center of the situation. And how was she supposed to resolve this? Her fellow officers had been taken, and it didn’t seem like there was much she could do.

Finally coming out of her thoughts, the deputy felt goosebumps raise on her skin. The air in the bunker was surprisingly chilly, and it made her reach for the green flannel top that hung in the closet. She slung it over her shoulders, deciding that she could simply tie it around her waist later, should she get too hot.

The door hinges creaked as the deputy slowly pulled it open. A quick peek down the hallway revealed a setting that was similar to the room she was in. There was clutter lining the walls, cans of food, barrels of water, and closed boxes filled the shelves. There were pipes that ran along the ceiling, emitting a constant low hum that the deputy filtered out. She stepped into the hallway, cringing at the musty smell that filled her nose. Finding the source of the smell was the puddles that splashed under her feet as she made her way to the room at the end of the hall.

As she approached the room, the stranger's voice entered her ears. She peaked her head into the room, slowly stepping into the dimly lit room and looking around. She didn’t want to interrupt the man who was attempting to get someone to answer his radio calls. Instead of announcing her presence, the deputy examined the map that was displayed on the wall. It covered the entire wall, and looked to be a map of Hope County. There were four black and white pictures taped to different areas on the map, each picture displaying a different person, one of whom was the man she tried to arrest only hours before.

“I didn’t properly introduce myself back there. Most folks call me Dutch,” he spoke as the deputy entered his vision. When she turned around he continued, “I don’t recognize you from the station.”

“Today was my first day,” She answered, taking a few steps toward Dutch.

“Well you certainly got a helluva first gig, Deputy -” Dutch paused.

“Hailey Bell,” The deputy answered, sticking her hand out for Dutch to shake, “Please, call me Lee.”

“Alright, Lee,” Dutch nodded, pulling his hand back after briefly shaking hers, “Wish we coulda met under better circumstances, but here we are.”

“What the hell is going on?” Lee exclaimed, “One minute I’m executing an arrest warrant, and the next I’m being bombed alongside a Federal Marshal? I knew things were bad, but I didn’t think it was this serious.”

“I’ve been tryna piece together what’s happening up top. It ain’t good. Little I can gather is that your partners are alive, for now,” Dutch paused, taking a moment to consider his next words as he examined the Deputy’s reactions, “Seems they’ve been split up, each one handed to a different member of Joseph’s family.”

“How did things even get to this point,” Lee huffed, “How did a cult from a small town gain so much power they could kidnap officers so easily? We need to call someone, the National Guard, something!”

“I know you want them back, and I get it. I’ve had friends that have been taken, too. Problem is, there ain’t no help comin’,” Dutch sighed, “Nobody knows what’s going on here and they won’t know until it’s too late.”

“So what do we do?” Lee stated, throwing her arms out in frustration.

“There’s gotta be people willing to fight back against the cult. We just…we need to show ‘em how. We need to build us a resistance!” Dutch exclaimed. Lee noted a slight twinkle in his eyes, something that she didn’t see before, ”So, the first thing we’re gonna do is get control of this island. Once we get some breathing room, we can figure out what’s comin’ next.”

“I don’t really know my way around this county, I only moved here a week ago,” Lee sighed, “And what do i do if I run into the cult?”

“There’s a gun and a map in that safe over there. Take ‘em,” Dutch answered, “I’ll give you a call on your radio once you get your bearings.”

“Okay,” Lee said softly, nodding once as she walked over to the safe.

Lee pulled over the unlocked door, her eyes falling on a slightly worn black pistol that rested on top of a folded map. Reaching for the pistol, Lee took her time to make sure the gun was safe to use and loaded. She released the clip, catching it in her free hand before releasing the chambered round. Once she finished examining the gun, she retrieved the bullet that fell to the ground, put it into the clip and inserted that back into the pistol. She released the slide lock, rechambering a round, before flipping the safety on and sliding it into the holster on her thigh. She bent down once more, retrieving the folded map, which she stuffed into her back pocket as she turned to face Dutch.

“Be careful out there – it’s crawlin’ with Peggies,” Dutch said, “Those fuckers are willing to die for that psychopath that’s leadin’ ‘em.”

“Thanks, Dutch,” Lee sighed, “Call you soon.”

Lee turned to walk out of the room, wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into. All her friends that took jobs at Sheriff’s departments in small towns always raved about how calm their jobs were. Only her luck would land her in a position where she would have to fight an entire doomsday cult by herself. She must have missed that class in the academy. Needless to say, she desperately wanted to leave, to hop in a helicopter and fly out of the valley. But she wasn’t about to leave her partners in the hands of those psychos, she couldn’t.

Lee opened the door to the bunker, pushing on the large hunk of metal with her shoulder. It opened with a loud creak before landing on the ground with a thunk. The sounds of birds chirping filled her ears as the sun landed on her skin. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath as she enjoyed the quiet moment. Everything seemed so peaceful here. But that was far from the truth.

“Hey, Deputy,” Dutch called over the radio.

“What’s up, Dutch?” Lee answered into the walkie that was strapped to her shoulder.

“Lemme walk you through a few ways we can start building a resistance.” Dutch said.

A couple hours had passed since that conversation when Lee first left the bunker. She was surprised how quickly she had adjusted to her surroundings. She had encountered a handful of cultists with hostages, as well as a couple outposts she cleared for Dutch. This was the hardest part for Lee to adjust to. Sure, she was trained in self defense, and was taught hypothetical situations where she might have to take someone's life, but she never thought she would have to actually do it. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t feasible to arrest every single cult member she came across. Especially not when they started shooting at her, or went to shoot at the innocent people in the county.

The sun was high in the sky, making the air moist and hot. There were cicadas buzzing in the trees, and birds sang alongside them. Lee was walking through a field of tall grass as she made her way to the radio tower Dutch told her about. As it came into view, a deep sigh fell from her lips as she stared up at it. It was really high. She really didn’t want to climb it. But it was the last thing she had to do - for now.

Pushing down her anxiety, Lee pushed open the gate and walked up to the ladder attached to the tower. She kept her eyes focused in front of her as she started to climb, trying to ignore her surroundings, and most importantly, trying not to look down. As she completed her first ladder, Lee leaned against the radio tower for a minute, attempting to catch her breath.

“I know what you’re thinkin’, and no,” Dutch exclaimed suddenly over the radio, “I ain’t gonna have you climbin’ towers all over the county for me. So don’t worry.”

“Good,” Lee responded with a chuckle, “Cause if that was the case, you and I were gonna have to have a chat. I’m not afraid of heights, but this isn’t exactly what I signed up for.”

“Speaking of heights, try not to fall from up there.” Dutch stated.

“I’ll try,” Lee said.

Lee started to climb the next ladder. She moved quicker this time, feeling a little more comfortable. Even after looking down at the ground, Lee just made sure to keep one hand on the radio tower at all times. It wasn’t long before Lee found herself at the top of the tower. Her right hand gripped the middle of the tower as she tried to remain steady. Now that she was high up in the air, the wind made her sway gently. She focused on the task at hand, and reached out for the yellow lever in front of her. She reached out with her left hand, grunting with effort as she flipped the yellow lever down, which made a creaking, rusty metallic sound as it moved.

“I’m getting a strong signal now!” Dutch exclaimed after a moment, “Open up your map – I’ll walk you through what I’m hearing.”

“Let me get down to the ground,” Lee responded, already starting her descent down the ladder.

Upon making it to the ground, Lee opened her vest pocket she had tucked her map in earlier. She pulled the paper out and unfolded it, waiting for Dutch to tell her what was going on. The size of the county was daunting, a lot bigger than she had expected. She took a seat on the dirt, spreading the map out and pulling out a marker to make some notes.

“Whenever you’re ready, Dutch,” Lee said.

“Hope County is divided into three regions,” Dutch started.

“To the north, you got the Whitetail Mountains. It’s run by Jacob Seed, oldest brother of that fuckin’ family,” Dutch said, pausing for a moment, allowing Lee to scribble her notes on the side of the map, “Jacob’s the one training the cult, and he’s damn good at what he does. Eli and the Whitetail Militia have been tryin’ to hold out. But Jacob is ready to step on their necks.”

“Alright, Whitetail’s is Jacob’s area. Be ready for a fight, got it,” Lee said, “Who's next?”

“Southeast of there you got the Henbane River. That’s Faith’s territory,” Dutch sighed, “The only member of this cult I pity. Joseph calls Faith the little sister, but most don’t call her that. She’s John’s fiance, who I will talk about in a minute. Used to go by Evelyn Jackson. You tried to save her, but she ended up right back in the hands of Joseph.”

“Yeah, I remember her,” Lee sighed.

“She’s done some horrible things, but I don’t think they are willing on her part. I hear a lot of stories of people losing their minds in a place called ‘The Bliss’ and I think she’s one of ‘em. I’m not gonna tell you what to do, but if you can, save this one. She deserves another chance.” Dutch exclaimed softly.

“I’ll do what I can, I promise,” Lee responded, “Who is in the last region?”

“West is the Holland Valley. John’s just rolled in there and is taking everything in the name of the cult,” Dutch said, his normal voice having returned,” Food, supplies, and worst of all. People. If I were you, I would start here.”

“Alright, anything else you can tell me?” Lee asked.

“I’m pickin’ up plenty more calls all over the county. I’ll keep you posted on anything that’ll be useful,” Dutch said, “The fog should be clearing soon, which means we can get you off this island. Sit tight, shouldn’t be much longer.”

“Sounds good, Dutch.” Lee responded.

Lee reached into her vest, pulling out pictures of the Herald’s Dutch just described. Their names were written on the back of the images, and she used a couple pieces of masking tape to secure them near their respective regions. She stared at the picture of Evelyn for a moment. It was a picture of her dressed in uniform, a wide grin on her face as she leaned close to someone who had been cropped out of the picture.

Evelyn’s demeanor in the picture was so different that the girl that sat next to Lee last night in the helicopter. In the picture she was so full of life, her eyes glimmered with happiness, whereas in the helicopter they were filled with pain and fear.

Unlike the pictures of Jacob and John, the picture of Evelyn had another image secured on the back of it. When Lee flipped it over, she was met with the familiar face she saw last night. This picture had been cropped from what appeared to be a family portrait. The girl in the image was adorned in a white dress similar to the one Evelyn had been wearing the night before, and her eyes looked closer to green. Lee wasn’t sure if her eyes had changed color, or if something was clouding the irises making her eyes look pale green.

This girl looked scared, compliant even. But the smile on her face made an effort to hide these emotions. Lee might have even believed this happy facade had she not known some of the truth behind this ‘Faith’ character.

Lee flipped back and forth between the pictures for a moment. Trying to decide what side she should tape down. She eventually settled on the side that displayed the happy, grinning Eve. Hoping that seeing this girl would be some motivation to rescue Evelyn so she can hopefully return to the girl in the image, maybe even to humanize her a little more.

As Lee folded up the map, she released a other sigh. She knew the path ahead was going to be difficult, but she didn't have much choice. A grunt escaped her lips as she moved to stand, at the same time, her radio crackled for a moment.

“Oh shit,” Dutch’s voice finally sounded, “Lee, I’m pickin’ up something new outta Holland Valley. It’s a broadcast from John…You need to see this.”

#far cry 5 #fc5 #far cry 5 fanfic #faith seed #joseph seed #john seed #jacob seed #hope county #far cry 5 fanfiction #far cry 5 fandom #edens gate

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chazukekani · 3 years

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Previous // Next

Summary for Code:03 is here! I hope you guys will enjoy (spoilers, not really!)

Recap: Murase-officer was killed by Verlaine, so Chuuya and Adam were going to find out why he had become Verlaine's target.

From the blue mobile phone acquired from Murase-officer's pocket, Adam believed that the phone was not the original but got replaced by someone, and hence Adam inferred that Verlaine was the one who did this in order to wiretap his call, and Adam was able to get the recording of the final call on Murase-officer's phone.

'It's me, brother,' that's the voice of Murase-officer.

'The gravity guy is here, just like what you said. Wait! There is one more person! Who is this? What's his relationship with Chuuya! Call me when you hear this!" and that's the end of the call.

This recording took place shortly after Verlaine invaded the police station.

'That's very interesting,' Adam was sure about something, 'With reference to my record, his brother was supposed to be dead already.'

Murase-officer's brother, was dead in April 14 years ago. He died in an accident while conducting an experiment. His name was not on the official record, nor there was any photograph of his appearance, so let's call him N for now.

'Officer-san's brother, participated in the research of Arahabaki?' Chuuya said.

The creator of Arahabaki...? Adam could not handle such surprise in his mind. The trio (Chuuya, Adam and Shirase) continue to deduce the hints they have. They supposed N was probably the only survivor as all scientists were dead during one explosion of the experiment. Now they know, Verlaine's next target was N because he was the only one left who knew the secrets behind Chuuya. Henceforth, they have to find N now.

'Hey, you...' Shirase looked at Adam with a terrified face as if seeing a ghost. Adam was confused, but the next second he realised, that was Adam himself talking.

'I am the one who needs your help,' Adam's mouth moved, 'Adversely, you need my help too. I am the one whom you called N.' The man who called N hacked into Adam and delivered this message.

'I can no longer speak to you in such a way, come here, I want to meet you. I will leave the address in this machine.'

'Hey, wait. Meet us? What do you know?' said Chuuya

'Everything, Chuuya. Everything about you.' that voice spoke as if a god with a very calm voice, 'I am looking forward to meet you,' and the connection was lost.

They have arrived at their destination. It was a huge and broad place underground, as big as a tennis court, and there were firewalls built in the surrounding with guards guarding the front gate. Chuuya, Adam and Shirase were stopped by the guards and demanded to do a blood check before they could proceed for security purposes, but of course, Adam was spared from it.

After finishing the check, they finally saw N. That person that stood in front of them, was exactly the one who stood next to Chuuya in the picture that the Flags gave him.

'I am the director of the Arahabaki Project. The military named me as N because this is the initial of Nakahara.'

'I am your father.'

'What do you think ability is?' The group were in a corridor of the facility.

'We, researchers, frankly speaking, don't really know what ability is. How embarrassing,' N proceeded.

But there were few things that were confirmed. Other forms of life apart from humans, such as animals or plants, are not able to possess ability. Also, when the human dies, the ability that he has will together vanish from this world. Every ability has a maximum of output of power, and the military wanted to know so badly how we could break the limits. Yes, there is a way to break the limit, and that's called ability singularity. This is a phenomenon that occurred as a result of two or more contradicting abilities interfering with each other. Which means usually it requires at least two ability users to create such a phenomenon.

However, there is one type of ability user that is able to create an ability singularity on his own. They are able to do so because their ability itself consists of theoretical contradiction. The first person who discovered this was a German scientist, and he named this type of ability 'self-contradicting ability'. To be precise, this ability allows the user to amplify the output of their own ability. Since the user can continue amplifying the power of their own ability, it gives them an unlimited source of power, which breaks through the limit of ability. However, this user also needs to take the risk because once they are granted infinite power, the high density of the energy will create a distortion in space and collapse it into a gravity vortex, and can never go back.

There was an intense competition between Germany, France and Britain on investigating this subject. Since Japan was the ally of Germany, Japan also acquired various techniques and reports regarding this topic. Since most of the countries were running out of resources by the end of the war, they were eager to take theories into practice, and the most advanced country on this topic was France. They successfully weaponised ability singularity, and they found out that the most effective way to control it was heart, in other words, the human's soul. Yet with such huge energy, it was afraid that ordinary humans were not capable to manage it, but ironically, only humans are capable of possessing ability. Therefore, the French scientists came up with a solution, and that is to create a homunculus with a soul, and that’s how Paul Verlaine came. Years later, the Japanese government also obtained the related information and hence proceeded to conduct a similar experiment, which later what was known as the Arahabaki Project.

N wanted to show Chuuya something, but it was considered top secret. So he asked Adam and Shirase to wait while he and Chuuya would go somewhere else.

While going to another room, Chuuya told N that he recognised this place. However, N told him that it was just the No.2 Laboratory which had the same design as No.1 Laboratory, and it was destroyed during the Arahabaki Project. So what Chuuya remembered was actually the environment of the No.1 Lab. Meanwhile, Chuuya recalled some of his memories in this facility. He recalled that he had been staying in darkness for a long time. Yet, he heard 'Invaders!' 'Lock area 8 and 15!' one day. He used to be inside a cradle and locked from the outside world. But that day, someone broke the cradle and a hand touched Chuuya. That's Rimbaud's hand, and next to him was Verlaine.

'You are a miracle, Chuuya,' said N.

N showed something to Chuuya, and that's a cylinder which has a size similar to Chuuya. The container was transparent, and it had some blue and black liquid kept inside it so it was quite difficult to see through.

'Who is inside!' Chuuya yelled, but N didn't say a word.

N pressed a button via a remote in his pocket, and the liquid began to drain, and Chuuya was shocked to see what appeared in front of him.

What inside the cylinder, was Chuuya.

The Chuuya inside the container had his eyes closed, and quite thin. His leg was locked by two chains respectively that linked to the bottom of the cylinder.

'May I introduce, your original,' said N.

Chuuya's jaw dropped.

Suddenly, the teen inside the cylinder was in pain, and could not breathe. He cough badly and almost had his organs cough out.

'Hey! Are you alright!' Chuuya yelled.

'No way he would be alright,' said N, 'he had his living-saving fetal aqueous solution drained after all.

Chuuya grabbed the controller from N and pressed all the buttons on it, but nothing happened. Shortly after, that teen died, and his body including his skin, flesh melted together into a blue-black liquid.

All of a sudden, Chuuya felt dizzy and fell down.

'I designed you, so I know you the best. No matter how strong you are, you are incompatible with poison,' said N. Chuuya realised that poison was injected during the blood check. He was furious and tried to punch N. Yet, a bullet hit Chuuya's forehead, and he lost his consciousness immediately.

On the other hand, likewise, Shirase also felt dizzy. Adam noticed Chuuya might be in trouble as well. After keeping Shirase in a safe placed, he proceed to search for Chuuya.

In a room of nothing, Chuuya's upper clothing was deprived, and he was bleeding. The most serious injury he had was on his chest. His hands were locked up by chains that connected to the ceiling, and electricity went through his body via this chain. Under the order of N, Chuuya was injected with midazolam, and continued being tortured.

N revealed that Chuuya was the only experimental product in the country that consisted of a safety measure - in order to activate his full ability, a spell was needed. Once Chuuya said the spell, his personality will be erased and overridden. Such that Chuuya would be free from pain and darkness. And the spell was-

'O grantors of dark disgrace, do not wake me again! I will endure my solitude, arms seemingly already useless,' N said the spells.

'O grantors of dark disgrace, do not wake me again...' Chuuya repeated after N as if an automatic robot. This was the result of the midazolam.

'Very well,' N smiled

'I will...WHO ARE YOU?' Chuuya yelled.

'Raise the power,' N ordered the assistant to give Chuuya another electric shock, and Chuuya screamed.

Chuuya was not in a stable state of mind. He saw different kinds of illusion. He saw Dazai, Piano Man, Albatross, Ice Man, Lippmann and Doc, and the members of sheep. He was blamed by such an illusion, and his value of existence was denied.

The last person who showed up was Verlaine.

'I will kill this researcher,' said Verlaine in Chuuya's illusion. He gave his hand out to Chuuya and said, 'come here,'

'Why...' said Chuuya

'Didn't I tell you when we first met? I am here to save you,' Verlaine replied, 'Go, my brother. Kill N and take your soul back from this crazy world.'

Adam was dealing with the soldiers that were attacking him. At once, a teenager showed up in front of Adam, and he's Dazai.

'Nice to meet you Mr Inspector,' Dazai greeted, and he continued, ' "Why are you here?" I believe that's what you wanna ask me. I will tell you. That's a stage of the plan. "What's the plan?" you may ask, and I will tell you, everything.'

Dazai explained that the documents that he gave to Verlaine was the information about Murase-officer, N, and everything else. The purpose behind this was to save time, because Verlaine's initial first target was Mori. Hence, by manipulating the information, Dazai can squeeze out extra time and assassinate Verlaine back.

'According to the plan, Chuuya will kill N, and will not be a human anymore. However I want to see Chuuya as a human, so I am here to stop him,' said Dazai.

A fight broke out in the laboratory where Chuuya was staying, and other people were evacuated from the facility.

Chuuya had immense hatred towards N.

'W...wait! I can't help with it! It's all work! I never ever once wanted you to suffer on my own!' N cried and tried to escape from Chuuya.

'Don't listen to him Chuuya,' Verlaine showed up in the entrance.

Chuuya was holding a chain on his hand tightly, and threw it out with the speed of sound and stabbed the target: Verlaine's chest.

'W...what?'

'Didn't see that coming right, Verlaine. It's true that the researcher is harsh, but you killed Piano Man and the others after all,' Chuuya said, and the 'brothers' had a fight.

There was a mass explosion everywhere inside the room. The punches were able to create tiny suns and the gravity made the room collapse.

Amid the fight, N, who was injured nearby, yelled to Verlaine, 'If I died, you would never know your secret!'

' I am not joking, everything. Including the one you wanna know most - the Secret of the Gentle Forest,'

'How do you know this!' Verlaine shouted.

But there was no spare time for them, All of a sudden, a skeleton appeared. That's Chuuya's original, and that's what the body left after dying and melting in Chuuya's arm just now. It was connected with the tube and wearing a coat. The skeleton was under the control of N and launched attacks towards Chuuya, and he couldn't move

Shirase, who woke up and found Chuuya, surprisingly appeared and saved Chuuya by plugging out the tube from the skeleton. A while after, Adam and Dazai also found where Chuuya was. The battle was paused.

All of a sudden, the light in the room was turned off, but turned back on a few seconds afterwards. Yet, Verlaine and N were gone, and the ceilings of consecutive multiple floors above were gone as well.

Code 3 ended

#bungostraydogs #bungoustraydogs #bsd #boungo stray dogs storm bringer #bungou stray dogs storm bringer #bsd storm bringer #bsd nakahara chuuya #bsd paul verlaine #bsd adam frankenstein #bsd dazai osamu #nakahara chuuya #paul verlaine #adam frankenstein #dazai osamu

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captainpikeachu · 3 years

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Steve & John: shared similarities

People have talked endlessly about Steve and John’s differences that made Steve worthy of the shield and John not worthy (plenty of gifsets are all about that), but for me, the contrast of their personalities and how they handle things only really work because the two characters actually share many similarities at their core. And I don’t just mean because superficially they are both blond haired blue eyed white dudes with military experience.

So in this post, I’m going to talk about the ways Steve and John are much more alike than people would like to admit.

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1. Shy down-turned smile (also Imposter Syndrome)

Steve always had this shy/nervous downturned smile when someone took a genuine interest in him, and no doubt much of that came from how often he was looked down upon before his transformation. So he’s genuinely surprised/pleased that someone is interested, and a little nervous too. Because even if he is the big strong man now physically, I think there is always that bit of imposter syndrome with Steve where he still thinks of himself as the scrawny kid from Brooklyn and not this big tall hero that people see him as. John when he gets teases from his wife and his best friend in those locker room scenes does this same shy downturned smile, as if he’s still that nervous anxious high school kid with a lot of expectations on his shoulders, a side that he doesn’t really present to anyone but the people he trusts to let his guard down with because John also has a huge case of imposter syndrome as his past experiences and trauma doesn’t make him feel so strong and qualified and heroic. Everyone may call him the hero, but in his heart, he doesn’t feel like the perfect righteous hero that people expects or sees him as.

2. Discomfort with their public roles + Just want to do the job

Steve was notably uncomfortable being thrown into the USO tours. It’s not what he wanted, it’s not what he intended. He felt like a dancing monkey, performing for people instead of doing the things that he wanted to do to actually help people. And while he reluctantly accepted that all the autographs and fake smiles and acting and fame was part of the job, all he really wanted to do was actually do the real job and save lives, to have the chance to make a difference and do the right thing. This same sentiment is echoed by John, who is equally as uncomfortable being placed into a public role that he clearly does not want to be in. He’s a soldier used to serving a silent and thankless role, we see his discomfort with publicity in his GMA interview, and we see it later in the show when strangers come for autographs. Yes, like Steve, he has accepted this is part of being Captain America, but he doesn’t want it, he just wants to be able to do his job, complete his mission, and keep everyone safe.

3. Loyalty to their loved ones

Steve will always come for the people he loves, he will always stand by them, he will fight for them and die for them. Numerous times now Steve has been willing to risk everything to protect Bucky or anyone else that he cares about, even if no one else is willing, even if the world is against him or his own life is on the line. John carries that same loyalty for the people who matter to him. When Lemar is taken by the Flag Smashers, John’s immediate concern isn’t even about the mission or his job, it’s getting Lemar back. When they were fighting on top of the trucks in Episode 2, when Lemar’s life was in danger, John puts himself at a disadvantage to take a shot at the guy holding Lemar even though it leaves himself open to attack and nearly kicked off the truck roof. And then he throws the shield to cover Lemar’s landing despite it would leave him weaponless as a regular non-powered person to face off a super soldier. Steve and John would both do anything for the people they love.

4. Self-sacrificing

We’ve seen Steve willing to throw himself on the grenade, so to speak, time and time again. He did it in his first film to send the plane into the water. He does it for Bucky in Winter Soldier. And not to mention actually jumping on grenades, even if that ended up being a test. Steve’s instinct to throw himself in danger and sacrifice for others is well documented, but John matches that self sacrificing instinct as well. He’s jumped on grenades before as an active duty soldier. He has three Medals of Honor that would only be earned through willing to sacrifice himself above and beyond the call of duty to save others. And even in the final fight in Episode 6, we see him fighting off the Flag Smashers while trying to pull that truck up even if the Flag Smashers pull him over the ledge. When push comes to shove, Steve and John’s instincts are to jump into danger to shield others with their lives, no hesitation. They both would see it as their duty.

5. “I can do this all day”

This is Steve’s signature line. He doesn’t give up, he can keep standing up to fight for what he believes in, whether against bullies, Red Skull, Tony, the government, Thanos, and even a version of himself. Steve is resilient and his endurance goes beyond just his physical abilities. He has the heart to keep fighting, the stubborn tenacity to never give up even when all seems lost. Yet John has that same stubborn tenacity that Steve has. Those three Medals of Honor are proof of that. You’d have to be able to walk through hell to even get one medal, much less three. The mental endurance required to keep going would have been enormous. And even after Sam and Bucky broke his arm in that warehouse, John got back up and tried to keep fighting, they had to bash him into unconsciousness to even stop him. And even then he went on to forge his own shield and got back into the fight. Much like Steve, he doesn’t know when to give up.

6. Lying (in an attempt to protect themselves and others)

Steve lied to Tony about the truth of his parents’ death. He knew and he kept silent, lying by omission, and he was going to keep lying until Tony finally confronted him for a simple clear answer. Steve even admits that he thought by not saying anything, he was sparing Tony, but he realizes that he was really sparing himself. It was a selfish choice, one born not out of malice, but perhaps a misguided attempt to keep the peace, thinking if the truth isn’t out there then maybe any conflict is unnecessary and everyone can have their peace of mind. And that same line of thinking is what drives John’s lies to Lemar’s family too. A part of him wants to spare them further pain, because what good would come from telling them that their son/brother’s killer is still out there and that he failed to stop them? He wanted to spare them, he wanted to give them closure and peace in their grief, to not burden them with an open ended story with no justice. But he was also sparing himself, because he’s afraid admitting the truth that he didn’t kill the person directly responsible might lead to Lemar’s family hating him and he’d lose them and his last connection to Lemar. This is not a decision of malice, this is a decision born from fear. Steve and John both lie in trying to spare others from pain but also selfishly spare themselves from the further conflict that the truth may cause.

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In a way, yes, John was designed to be a darker mirror to Steve (less solid morality, less emotional control), but that darker mirror only works when they share some core similarities. Their differences are in how those traits can manifest outward into different actions.

Perhaps shockingly, I think Steve would have understood John and his choices more than most, and may have been able to talk him off the ledges better anyone else besides Lemar, and maybe with some more understanding guidance, John might have made for a good Captain America. After all, Steve did say once say in that letter to Tony, “I know you’re doing what you believe in, and that’s all any of us can do, that’s all any of us should.”

#these two are a lot similar than people like to think they are #and i needed to talk about that #steve rogers #john walker #captain america #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #tfatws meta #mcu #marvel #mcu meta

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quietlyimplode · 3 years

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Natasha Romanoff Masterlist of Fic Recs - Version 2.0 - Page 1

Page 1 / Page 2 / Page 3 / Page 4 / Page 5

Updated June 2021

This is not an exhaustive list (and in no order whatsoever) of the brilliant fic that is out there. Please let me know of any i have missed or any recs to put in and I will endeavour to add it. I have not included warnings or ratings. Please make sure you look at the tags, judge for yourself and as always take care of yourself first. (17 authors under the cut)

The Irish Mayhem @the-irish-mayhem

White - part of Perfection of Duality Series - the making of Natasha Romanoff. One of my favourite fics in the world. I will love it forever. - 25/25

Perfection of Duality- part two - Natasha - Natasha in shield - 4/?

Mypedia @sebuttstianstan

anything that bleeds - Natasha - Natasha is a sub. Don’t let that fool you, Natasha’s backstory with bdsm elements. 21/22

Shadesfalcon @shadesfalcon

Like Real People Do - Clint/Nat - ‘Do we have song?’ Iterations of what’s the ties that bind them together. 1/1

Whether you ask it or not - Clint/Nat - Natasha gets poisoned - and has the line ‘“’Night, little dragon. May your fires ever burn hot upon your unsuspecting foes.” 1/1

Sometimes winning means you’re the last one standing - ot6+everyone - don’t play ‘never have I ever’ without some laughs and trauma rearing its head 1/1

I am good - Clint/Nat/Laura - Clint brings Natasha home for the first time. 1/1

Careful She Bites - Clint/Nat - don’t confront Natasha about the handcuffs. Just don’t. 2/2

What happens here stays here - Clint/Nat- Natasha can’t remember Budapest. 1/1

Koren M- cybermathwitch

I’d Make Room for you - Clint/Nat/Laura - perspectives of each other are important. 1/1

Course Corrections - Clint/Nat/Laura - taking care of each other 2/2 snippets into conversations/life Course Corrections (Age of Ultron Fix-It Fic)

As if you have a choice - Clint/Nat - Natasha gets pregnant. They know they can’t keep it. 3/3

The weight of us - series of 11 - my fav is ‘Seeing Red’ and ‘Sharp and Sweet’. Clint/Nat shield days

Red Flag Warning - Natasha - red is a warning colour. Clint should know. 1/1

Edgeofthegalaxy @natasha-romanoff-deserved-better

buried in your bones, i see it in your closed eyes - Natasha dissociates and its a long way back Clint/Nat 1/1

Origins - Young Natasha in the red room, of learning morality and goodness. 1/1

But even the strong can fall - Natasha goes silent on a mission, Clint knows something is very wrong. Clint/Nat 2/2

Just a Kid - sometimes Natasha doesn’t realise how messed up her childhood was. Sometimes she needs to be told. Nat/team 1/1

Collateral Damage - Natasha comes home from a mission; Tony needs to patch her up. Tony & Nat 1/1

Daughter of Rohan @natrasharomanova

Living Louder - Clint/Nat - break my heart. Origin stories. 21/21

Beside you (sequel to living louder) - Clint/Nat - shield falls. Clint and Nat find each other in the aftermath.

It’s still raining - Clint/Nat - everything happens when it’s raining. 1/1

You are a piece of me, I wish I didn’t need. Clint/Nat/Laura/family. Clint brings Nat to the farm for the first time. Healing ensues. 1/1

Impossibilities- Clint/Nat but with Pepper/Maria/Darcy and Jane - Natasha is pregnant? 1/1

Wake my spirit Cold - Clint/Nat - Christmas throughout the years - 1/1

(We could be) infinite - Clint/Nat - ENDGAME FIX IT. The soul stone split in two. No one dies. 1/1

I am not the only traveler who has not repaid his debt - Clint/Nat - ENDGAME FIX IT. Natasha dies but is alive in a multiverse. Clint dies in the alternate. They meet in the middle. 1/1

Sugarfey @sugarfey

Chrysalis - Natasha - this is how it goes and how she came to be. Ashes series 1/3

A walk on part in the war. Natasha - Drakovs daughter is ‘saved’. Ashes. 2/3

World on Fire - Clint (/Natasha) Clint has a history and can play the guitar. Ashes 3/3 - my favourite part.

First Name Basis- Clint/Nat - getting to know you. 1/1

Right where I used to be - Clint/Nat - it’s Natasha’s birthday, Clint uses this to get to know her better. 1/1

Once was lost - Clint/Nat - slow burn, Natasha offers herself to him once. 1/1

Expresso is not an option - Nat/Maria - ‘you could destroy shield in a heartbeat, couldn’t you?’

Thursdays Child - Nat/fury - fury mentors Natasha-from afar. 1/1

Shelter - Clint/Nat/liho/lucky - Lucky puts one big paw on Natasha’s knee and looks at her as though she hung the sky with pizza - 1/1

Almost home - Natasha - find a mooring and settles - 1/1

Long spaces 3/3 - Natasha/Clint - natasha and Clint fit together - all the broken pieces. . 3/3

Inkvoices - @inkvoices

Smile for the living - POST ENDGAME - Natasha is brought back. 1/1

In deed- Clint/Bucky/Nat. In which dogs and deeds are discussed. 1/1

Driver chooses the music. Clint/Nat - get in the car.

On Names - Clint/Nat- she goes by many names - 1/1

AlwaysLera

Fallout Patterns - what happens when your mind is a nuclear bomb? Nat/Clint - sex is not always sex when trauma is as deep as hers - 14/14

Breathe me with your hands - Clint/Nat - navigating sex - 1/2 One Red Thread Series- Nats pov.

Hold you by the edges - 2/2 One Red Thread - Clint’s pov.

Ghosts that we knew - Clint/Nat - aftermath of the avengers. Natasha navigating the world when Clint safewords out. 15/?? Unfinished.

How the day sounds - Clint/Nat - thanksgiving throughout the years - 14/15 (?fluffy)

You were a kindness - Clint/Nat - a perfect look at the trauma of being brought in. Let herself be nothing but a branch. Let herself be nothing but stardust. Stardust could not be hurt. Stardust could not be used. Stardust could not be held. 1/1

Crashing, understanding, blinding, tumbling - Nat/Tony - plane crashes - tony takes care of Natasha whilst blinded - 1/1

Two plus two is five - Clint/Nat - how do you test a concussion? Two plus two is five in large quantities of two. 1/1

Into the dark (song fic) - team after harrowing mission watch Clint and Natasha dance - 1/1

The ocean carry you home - team- pepper is pregnant, Natasha doesn’t cope well with the news. Yellow blue bus. 1/1

Enigma731 @enigma731

Something just like this - Clint/Nat - Clint is depressed. Natasha doesn’t know how to help. 1/1

Going to the Chapel. Clint/Nat - get married in Budapest and have sex.

September - Tony/Nat bonding - Tony makes a memory machine to cure ptsd, Natasha helps. 1/1

Everything Costs - Clint/Nat- Natasha keeps getting hurt on missions, Clint wants to know why. 1/1

That’s way you showed me (I wasn’t quite so alone) - Clint/Nat - 3 christmas’ - 1/1

Prompts (some lovely short 1 shorts) - team assorted - 13/?

It starts with Time - Natasha - Natasha goes looking for her family - 1/1

The war I can’t win - Natasha/Clint - Clint gets injured. Natasha is his support. 1/1 (it mentions Occupational Therapy this is a winner)

We are not shining stars - Natasha/Laura + Clint - Clint dies (fair warning) it’s all Natasha can do to cope. 1/1

Unpack your heart - Clint/Nat - in the beginning they left post it notes - 1/1

Hearts and Bones and Blood - Natasha/Clint - Clint saves Natasha from mental health services when she first comes to shield. Because sometimes she gets lost in her own head.

What Girls are Made of - Nat/team - 5x Natasha has unconventional means of flying. 1/1

Ghost Towns - Clint/Nat - Natasha has memories implanted in her head, shield medical and Clint try to help. 1/1

The glass parade - Steve /Natasha - he watches her become different people. 1/1

Slipsthrufingers

Cleanliness Is Next To… - Nat/Clint- Or Five Memorable Showers Clint Barton and Natasha Have Had, and One Time There Was a Bath Instead. - 1/1

The more you know - Clint/Nat - this is what they learn first (or Natasha is not what is written in her file) - 1/1

Perspectives - Nat/team - perspective and interpretations; what do you see?

OracleGlass

safe as houses - Clint/Nat - what makes them go to a nonshield safehouse?

The clutch of circumstance - Clint/Nat- he helps her start. 1/1

Ranni

Voluntary Procedure - Clint and Natasha agree to be mind wiped. The others are not happy - Clint/Nat/Team 6/6

Stronghold - Natasha and Clint shut down their various safehouse. Clint/Nat (team) 1/1

Spy Vs Spy (recced by Anon) - Clint & Coulson & Natasha - Natasha Romanov was the most beautiful person in the room and nobody asked her to dance. 2/2

Paperairplanesopenwindows @paperairplanesopenwindows

On the first day of Christmas - Clint/Nat/Laura- Laura wants to celebrate, Clint and Nat aren’t so sure - 1/1

A little to the left - Clint/Nat/Laura - she’s Natasha but a little to the left (POST ENDGAME) - 4/4

Family Togetherness Time - Clint/Nat/Laura - Steve gets concerned about Nat and turns to the people he thinks can help. 3/3

Eauline

In every lifetime I choose you - Nat/Steve - Natasha gets captured to get to Steve. 11/11

MillyVeil

Burn baby, burn. Clint/Nat - Clint saves Natasha from heatstroke. 1/1

Teamwork - Clint/Nat - fuck or die, Clint’s not ok but Natasha is. He doesn’t understand. - 2/2

Other people - Clint/Nat- she’s up for some monkey sex until she’s not. 2/2

altheterrible @altheterrible

Shining white in the sun - Natasha - Clint dies, Natasha tries to cope. She doesn’t do it very well. 7/7

tastes - team - different tastes in points in time - 1/1

strix_alba

places to go, people to be- Natasha - Natasha gets to decide who she really is after the fall of shield 1/1

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cm-top-10 · 3 years

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C.M. Top 10: Most Dark & Gore Scenes &/or Characters in Cartoon Series

Warning: The following top ten may contain possible spoilers for those who haven't seen newer series. This post may also contain forms of graphic violence & some gore scenes that maybe too much for you to witness. So for your safety & others do not look unless it's at your own risk.

You've been warned...

We all discover at some point in time that not everything you know is allover the rainbow. Most times we see things we can't unsee or learn dark secrets of someone you thought you knew your whole life. & sometimes we learn things the hard way. Or the messed up dark way...

So for this 1st dark Top 10 features the most characters with a dark histories, secrets or just straight up dark/gore scenes. Which character did you not expect to have a dark side? Sadly you be the judge...

1. Invincible - Omni Man beating his son to a pulp.

After learning the dark truth that was revealed to Mark about his father's true intentions. Nolan tells his son the truth about why he was sent to Earth & why he killed the Guardians.

Telling him the reasons why he's here was so he could eliminate any potential threat to the Viltrum Empire. & that he was raising his son not out of responsibility or heroics, but to have him as a bred soldier of the Empire to kill anyone who stood in their way.

& he wanted Mark to join their cause with him.

After Mark angrily refused to help him conquer the planet. Nolan nearly beats the life out of his own son & yells to the top of his lungs saying how pointless it is to protect his home world. While killing millions of innocent people in the process of their brutal fight.

However before he could finish him off, Nolan suddenly realized what he did to his own child & fled the Earth in machspeed, shedding a tear.

They say fatherhood is complicated, but not like this...

2. Castlevania Lords of Shadow - Gabriel's dark fate

While on his journey to slay all three of the Lords of Shadow. Gabriel slowly learned they were the founders of the Order & told him the truth of his order's true intention from each Shadow Lord who too were being used by the Brotherhood of Light. Then when he finally reached the final Lord of Shadow, he learned about his wife's death & fell into dark despair.

Over time his heart grew darkened. & knew nothing but bitterness & sorrow...

But after defeating the three Lords, Laura appears to tell Gabriel that he awakened another ancient evil known as the Forgotten One. Who had plans to destroy all creation & they had to venture to the Brotherhood's fortress to find the entrance to where he was imprisoned.

However only dark begins can enter the realm. & the only way he can bypass it's effects & to defeat this ancient evil, was to become one himself...

So Laura asked him to drink her blood & free her of her torment. Hesitant at first he did what was asked of her & dranked every last drop of her blood, until she died.

He then defeated the Forgotten One & saved mankind. But at a cost of his soul & happiness.

Thus becoming a vampire.

A vampire the world would soon know & fear as Dracul the Dragon.

But that is another story...

3. Baki the Grappler - Yujiro Hanma

As most know Yujiro is the world's most unstoppable & cruelest warrior in the history of fighters. Not even the U.S. Military dares to go near him. Yes Yujiro the Orge has struck fear into many people, even military personnel of different countries. & he did it with no weapons & has turned the U.S. into his personal playground for death & battles.

But the most cruelest thing he's done was ripping the face of one of China's most respected Kaioh masters while facing him in battle, testing his worthiness. The reason Yujiro did this challenge was not to prove his worth but to show all of China & their leaders that they are worthless to him. & showed them all that he doesn't care about their hatred towards Japan noir their worthiness.

& he struck that fear into all who witnessed Ryu Kaioh getting defaced & brutally defeated. Yes this is one man who's definitely going to hell & is going to smile about it.

Because Satan himself would be pissing his buttflap in his sights in fear. While Yujiro fucks his succubus wife in front of his face knowing how little fucks he gives about his "sins."

4. Primal - Sauropod Massacre

After being infected by the Zombie Virus. The infected sauropod becomes a mad rouge & slaughters it's own herd in a bloody rage & massacre.

It left no survivors, ripped them apart & destroyed many of the herds' eggs leaving nothing remaining...

Truly whatever zombie virus this was it drove this poor creature mad & didn't stop until everything wasn't breathing.

Luckily Spear & Fang were able to run it into a dormant volcano. Where the infected dinosaur burnt to ash.

Hopefully now the poor beast is at peace...

5. Star Wars Rebels - Master Luminara's remains

In the search for Luminara to replace Kanan to be Ezra's new master. They soon learned too late that her remains were being used to lure any surviving Jedi out of hiding. So that any Sith Hunters like the Grand Inquisitor would slay them on the spot.

Sadly no one knows whatever happened to her corpse after they escaped. Or if the Empire even still has her.

Rest in peace Luminara wherever you are...

6. Legend of Tarzan - Death of Clayton

While battling in the trees, Tarzan defeated Clayton by tangling him into the jungle vines. But during his blind rage he angrily swiped vine after vine, until one wrapped his neck. Tarzan tried his best to warn him, but in his rage Claton cuts the vine that he was holding on to.

Then after it broke they both plummet to the ground. Tarzan landed safely, Clayton however was hung from above by one of the vines wrapped around his neck after it snapped it straight out from the fall.

There truly are things worse than fate...

7. RWBY - the Death of Adam Taurus

After weeks of stalking Blake & her group. Blake had no choice but to confront Adam for the last time with the help of Yang. The battle was harsh, but in the end they managed to out-think him by stabbing him from different sides. One in his chest & one in the back.

He then fell to his death over a huge waterfall after hitting his head over a ledge before plummeting into the water. Hopefully they've finally seen the last of Adam Taurus.

But let's also hope he doesn't pull a Cinder...

8. TFP Beast Hunters - Predaking beats the scrap out of Ratchet

After using Ratchet to wipe out mankind. The Decepticons threw him into the frails of a vengeful Predaking. Predaking then beats & claws Ratchet, throwing him around like a rag-doll. Until he was ready to finish him off, luckily Ratchet convinced him to hear him out. & told Predaking the truth about what had happened to his Predacon army.

After he told Predaking that it was Megatron who ordered his race's extermination. He asks why he did so & Ratchet replys--

Ratchet: Being on the receiving end of your might. One theory springs to mind, Megatron fears you & any like you.

In his blind rage Predaking stormed his way to Megatron, wiping out anyone who stood in his way.

Which led to his own demise, but that is a story for another time...

9. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Stealy Joe gets his ass beat by Jotaro

Now this slimy bastard got what he deserves. Not only did he try to humiliate & blackmail Jotaro into doing his bidding. This cocky motherfucker goes & threatens a random little girl out of the blue. If Jotaro didn't face him like a man & does what he says.

With him up to here with the man's assholeness, our boi Jotaro decided enough is enough & beats the ever loving shit out of this guy. & after punching him multiple times, he literally sends him flying into a wall & throws him his receipt.

Rest in Hell, Joe you worthless bastard!

10. The Falcon Captain America & The Winter Soldier - Captain America U.S. Agent gets his arm broken.

John Walker the former Captain America was given a mantle he wasn't worthy of. Don't get me wrong as much as I had my doubts of him, I was willing to give him a benefit of a doubt. That is until he soiled Steve's good name by using his shield to kill a man in cold blood.

During his blind rage of vengeance, he chased down one of the Flag Smashers & constantly beats him over-&-over with the shield. & then kills him with a fatal blow to the chest area in front of tons of people.

After he murdered one of the perps, Falcon & Bucky tried to ask him to hand over the shield peacefully...

You can take a wild guess what Walker's answer was. He then attacked them with rage & ego, losing his shit. However that ego died as soon as Falcon & Buck breaks his arm to get the shield back. He was then discharged by the U.S. government & was relieved of his duties as Captain America.

Not only that but he then found his way into a dark path he may not be able to uncross.

But that part is another story for another time.

Either way he got dealt some shitty karma.

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the-lady-writes-what · 4 years

Text

Gilded Cage, Part One

Summary:

Keigo Takami, AKA Hawks, has turned villain and you don't know why. After a run-in with the League of Villains, you give chase after the former hero. When you end up taking a bullet to the knee, you're surprised that Keigo not only left you alive, but has taken you to his secret lair. He's built a special cage for you. He says it's to keep the League from coming after you, but you can't help but wonder if it's true or if he just wants you for himself.

Content: Kidnapping Sorry. No smut this time, but it'll be in the next one. Stay tuned

Villain!Hawks x Hero!Reader

(You're a pro-hero whose quirk is basically bending metal. Think Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Last Airbender)

PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3

This part does not contain smut (See above mentioned note). For smut, please follow the links for Parts 2 and 3

---080---

It was hard to walk down the halls of Endeavor’s agency these days. The news of Keigo Takami’s, also known as Hawks, betrayal hit Japan’s hero world like a tsunami. It turned into a question of who the next hero will be to go against their moral code and become a villain. Your workload had increased in the drama and paranoia that followed after Keigo’s sudden villainous change. Endeavor worked you down to the bone, but that was because he must have seen you as useful. Your hero name? Iron Maiden on account of your ability to bend metal, such as iron, steel, and copper. Netting bad guys was a whole lot easier when you could wrap them in a fence or trap them with a lamppost.

You finished the afternoon’s paperwork before heading to the breakroom for some lukewarm coffee. You half-expected Keigo to be sitting on the counter where you used to find him. He used to be a fan of Endeavor’s, so he frequented the agency whenever he felt like it. Of all the time you got to see him, it became evident that he wasn’t there to goof around Endeavor’s office. You should have known better than to encourage his casual flirting, but you couldn’t help yourself. Keigo was the first guy who turned your way after a dry spell in the romance department. It had been months since you last had a date, and even if Keigo was joking, it was nice to have a conversation with someone that didn’t involve hero work.

If only you knew back then that his over-confident smile belied an insidious plan to turn to the other side.

Keigo didn’t hurt people. Much. It wasn’t a great comfort to know that he at least didn’t go around murdering people as soon as he became a villain. That didn’t change the fact that he had become one of them. He robbed banks, caused collateral damage to the cityscape, and set the hero society into panic mode. Nobody knew who would switch sides. Heroes and civilians were starting to look at each other with suspicious eyes ever since.

You fixed yourself a cup of coffee when the cellphone on your hip went off. You immediately stopped what you were doing to pick it up. Shocked, you found your boss’s name and number on the screen. You didn’t hesitate to hit ‘receive.’

Endeavor’s voice came loud and clear, even over the sounds of fighting.

“We need you over by Central Park. Takami’s new crew showed up, and we need your quirk to help round them up!”

“On my way, sir.”

Central Park was at least ten miles from your location. Even if you speed, you won’t make it there on time by car. Not this close to rush hour. Of course, you had other methods of getting to where you needed to go. You pried open the nearest window and lept threw it. Part of your hero costume involved strips of steel wire you could sling around with like that American comic book character. Sailing over the city and swinging in between buildings was much faster than any car. You arrived at the scene with the villains terrorizing civilians trying to enjoy their day at the park. You spotted three of them charging at you as soon as you hit the ground. They were nothing but mooks. Clustered together, it was quick work wrapping them in a bundle of wire. You spotted others and repeated the process. Keigo was nowhere in sight. You heard the sound of flames engulfing the trees. Pillars of red and blue flames shot up in the distance. You found heroes to take care of the villains you’d already captured before heading towards what should have been the epicenter of the fighting. Endeavor was busy with Dabi, and there seemed to be no other villains in sight. Still no sign of Keigo anywhere.

“Endeavor!”

You dodged a blue fireball just in time. You hoped that Endeavor would order you to go elsewhere. Five more minutes, and you’d be cooking in your costume.

“Takami headed west. I leave it to you to apprehend him!” Endeavor was so focused on his opponent that he didn’t turn towards you when he gave the order.

You had to dodge more flames, both Dabi’s and Endeavor’s, to head towards Keigo’s last known whereabouts. Away from the smoke and flames, you found a trail of red feathers. There was a moment where you stopped to wonder if Keigo had been injured and left behind some feathers by mistake or if he was deliberately mocking you. However, you didn’t have a moment to linger on that. You followed the trail of feathers regardless if it was a plot.

Keigo made it easy for you to follow. That should have been your first red flag. You were so focused on getting him in handcuffs that the apparent beeline to him was so fucking clear as day. You picked up the feathers as you went. You had a fistful in each hand by the time you reached the end of the park. Your trail went ice cold.

That is until you spotted the shadow of bird wings graze above you. Your head whipped to the sky. Hawks swooped down, nearly knocking you down to the ground. His wings grazed you. He perched himself on a branch far above you.

His appearance was vastly different from the last time you saw him. He wore an all-black suit with a red and gold tie. Pewter rings were on his fingers. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, but his smile was the most unnerving thing about him. You lashed outwards with your arms, the metal from your gauntlets catching him by the ankles.

“Keigo Takami, you’re under arrest. You have the right to—”

Keigo didn’t let the mild impairment weigh him down. His wings couldn’t be easily held down by you. He flew straight towards you. His height never hid the fact that he was powerful. He plowed you into the ground. The wires unwhirled around his feet and let him soar above you.

“Get back down here, bird brain!” You lashed out your wires again in hopes of pulling him back down to earth.

Each time Keigo moves just a little bit out of reach. You already spent so much on capturing those D-level cronies that you didn’t stop to think of conserving your limited amount of iron wire. Keigo’s wings took him high above to where your weapon couldn’t reach him. He smirked down at you before taking off.

You ran after him, going so far as to hopping over the chain-link fence and following on foot. Your wires came in handy twice today as you soared from lamppost to lamppost, tracking Keigo’s aerial movements. Citizens yelled words of encouragement as you chased after Japan’s new most wanted criminal. The air stung your cheeks, and you could feel your eyes watering as you sped faster between rooftops.

Keigo made the mistake of flying to close to the building whose roof you just scaled. There was a split-second decision. You could stop and let him get away, or you could take the chance. You lunged for him, limbs scrambling through the air to find purchase. Your hands grabbed his suit jacket. Hauling yourself upon his back, you managed to secure your legs around him and put his neck in a headlock.

“As I said before, you’re under arrest!” You screamed as the wind busted your eardrums.

Keigo merely looked over his shoulder at you. His smile was cheeky as ever.

“Really, Princess? The way I see it…you’re the one at my mercy. Unless you got a plan to get us both safely on the ground without bashing our brains on the concrete.”

You growled as Keigo caught you. You didn’t think this far ahead.

You screamed as Keigo flew up towards the sun at lightning speed. Light burning your eyes, you had no choice but to shield them. Keigo used your distraction as the opportunity to shift your weight off his back. All too late, you felt your legs and arms loosen around him. Soon you were plummeting back to the ground. With any luck, your wires would find purchase on something and save you from falling to your death at the last minute. At the rate you were falling, good luck.

You were ten feet from meeting a concrete rooftop when Keigo reappeared. He wrapped you in his arms almost in a possessive manner.

“You’re way too pretty to let splatter. Come on. I’ve got a much better place to finish this!”

His clever hands worked your phone from your belt. Keigo dropped it on the ground, where it shattered several feet below you. Your only chance of survival was to let him take you where he wanted and not get your brains to plaster the sidewalk. His wings soared over the city. You once imagined being in his arms like this. It only made your stomach churn with the thought of what he was going to do to you once you were where he wanted you.

Keigo dropped down in the industrial district. Factories surrounded you. The smell of iron and diesel filled your lungs. But of all the places he picked, why did Keigo go where you had the most advantage? Didn’t he realize that with all of this metal, you were the one with the home-field edge? You didn’t have the time to ask or react when he pulled out the gun from his jacket.

In a flash, your life flashed in your mind. You didn’t stand there waiting to die. At least, you were going to make sure they say you died fighting to your last breath. You charged for Keigo, metal whips whirring to life.

BANG!

It was over. Except instead of sweet oblivion that came with death, you found yourself bleeding on the ground. Your blood pooled around your knee, where he shot you. The pain was exquisite as the bullet lodged itself in your knee cap. You weren’t going to be standing on that leg for a very long time; you could forget about fighting. Keigo’s black shoes came into your line of vision. From shock, you got onto your elbows to look at the bastard.

“What…the hell?” You ground your teeth. “I didn’t picture…you to be the sadist. Going to kill…me…slowly? Is that how you roll now?”

Keigo put his gun away. Then, he reached into the other side of his jacket. When his hand came away this time, he held a syringe.

“That was just to keep you from fighting me. I’m going to get you patched up real quick. Just as soon as I give you your medicine.”

Keigo was faster than you. Your hand shot up to grab him, but the needle was already in your neck. He squeezed the trigger and pumped you full of the drug. It took a few minutes for it to kick in. By the time he had you in his arms again, your head was spinning. A moment later, you finally found that oblivion you were looking for earlier. This time, you were reasonably sure you’d wake up this time, and you weren’t going to know where he was taking you. And that was the scariest thought you had before passing out in the former hero’s arms.

When you woke up, you noticed the stiffness in your leg. Your favorite color draped the bed you laid in. Your hero’s costume was gone and replaced with a negligee you wouldn’t own even if you had a boyfriend. It, too, was in your favorite color. The lace hem barely touched your upper thigh.

Further down, your right leg was held in a cast. Your foot rested on a pillow. As your vision cleared, you got a better picture of where you were.

It could have been described as a room if only it had more than one wall. Where plaster walls should have been, stood solid gold bars. The floors were marble tiles. There was a dresser, a desk, a lavish set up on a vanity, and a familiar coffee table on which sat a widescreen T.V. Every item in your cell was made of either wood, fiber, plastic, or metal you couldn’t bend, including the bars. Squeezed between the actual wall and the cell bars stood a small room. With its door closed, so you couldn’t discern its purpose yet. Footsteps came down the hallway. They rounded the corner. Keigo smiled at you like you were a pretty bird in his cage.

“You’ve been asleep for a while now. Doc had to give you an extra shot so you wouldn’t wake up in the middle of your surgery. Sorry I had to bust your knee cap. You can be so stubborn sometimes.”

“Why am I in a cage? Why am I dressed like this? Just what the hell are you on?” You started to get up from the bed, but it was difficult to swing your leg over the bed when it was in a cast.

“In reverse order,” said Keigo, “I’m not on any drugs. I thought you would look cute in that negligee, and it’s in your favorite color. I put you here for your protection, and honestly, you look damn good in it.”

“Why? Why the hell did you do any of this?” You still struggled to move your damn leg.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I’d hate to come in there and show you why.”

His eyes held a glimmer of that charm you once fell for, but there was a predatory light that eclipsed it. Keigo leaned against the bars, stroking the beams.

“Solid gold. It took me a long time to find enough money and resources to build this thing. A pretty little cage for my pretty little bird.”

“Just how long have you been saving?” You wanted to know how long he had wanted to put you in here, yet you still dreaded his answer.

“A couple of years. My original idea was to take us on a cruise. It probably would have been much more romantic, but things come up. You change your plans. Ideals become tainted, and you have to find new ones.”

“What happened to you? You were the number two hero! Some so many people looked up to you. There are still people who believe that this is just a rouse to capture the League of Villains. How could you do that? How could you betray everyone’s trust?”

Keigo didn’t say anything. He held his head down as if lost in the thought. He braced his forearm against the bars as he leaned his head against his arm. Inhaling a long breath,

Keigo let out an aggravated sigh. When he looked up at you, you saw a different man. “Let me ask you this, Princess. How could somebody’s parents sell their kid to the government? How could anyone take a small kid and turn them into a child soldier? For what? So they can pat themselves on the back and say that they’re morally superior to the villains. They take kids from their parents and steal their childhood. And when those kids grow into adults and realize what a shitty system they were raised in, they stare up at you surprised that you had enough of their bullshit.”

“T-Takami…”

“I realized too late that everything that was supposed to be mine was taken from me. My family. My name. My childhood. For what? So I can be number two behind a man like Endeavor. Have you spent time with the bastard? I never noticed it before, but all of a sudden, it becomes clear that society cares less about a hero’s moral code and more about their ability to beat down the nail that sticks out. Ever wonder how his youngest got that scar?”

You nodded. You vaguely remember hearing Endeavor talk about his youngest son.

“It turns out Endeavor pushed his wife around so much that she went mental. She burned the side of Shoto’s face because it reminded her of the man who knocked her around and forced to have his four kids. Does that sound like hero material to you?”

Blood drained from your face. It made sense…in a way. You never met Endeavor’s youngest, so you couldn’t verify the truth or not. For all you knew, Keigo was pulling it out of his ass to make you sympathize with him.

“Why didn’t you go to the authorities? There must have been someone who would have investigated it.”

“By the time I found out, nobody would have believed me at any rate. Endeavor might be a bastard, but he’s still the number one hero. I’m just the rejected garbage the Safety Commission doesn’t want to clean up.” Keigo unlocked the door to your cage.

“Why are you telling me this then?”

Keigo crossed the “room” and picked you up from the bed. You couldn’t move your leg without feeling a jolt of pain go up to your thigh. There was no way for you to struggle. “Because I made a deal with the League. As long as I keep you by my side and you don’t go anywhere, they won’t touch you or your family. I’m afraid you won’t be seeing much of the outside world for a while. At least until Shigaraki accomplishes his goals.”

“You know he’s crazy, right?” You sneered.

“Yeah. Little bit. He’s also the first person who made any damn sense when I realized how badly they screwed me over,” said Keigo as he carried you down the hall.

There were a few rooms that he walked past, but he stopped at the end of the hall. He kicked it open. Your heart fluttered like you were his bride; he carried over the threshold. Your stomach churned with guilt rotting inside it. You shouldn’t be having those kinds of thoughts for the man who turned into a villain and kidnapped you. He confessed to planning to keep you as a prisoner for however long it took for that maniac Shigaraki to complete his mission.

Keigo brought you to an actual bedroom. It was a little more sparse than the cage he planned to keep you in. He must have spent more on you than himself. Looking around, the bedroom contained a giant bed and little else. He had you sit on the bed for a moment. Keigo pulled back the covers and fluffed the pillows before gently grabbing you and laying you out. There was a contraption hanging from the ceiling that he pulled down using a thick cord. He slipped your leg into a sling and adjusted it to your comfort before Keigo left you to pull clothes from the dresser. He disappeared into the adjacent bathroom didn’t return until he was half-dressed in a pair of black sweatpants.

Small scars littered his chest and shoulders. From what, you dared not ask. You remembered his words about a stolen childhood to be raised as a soldier. You wondered if they were true. Your mind was plunged headfirst back into the present when Keigo crawled under the sheets with you. Your face went red.

“Relax, Princess. I’m not going to do anything,” he mumbled. He turned off the lights.

“Then why am I dressed like this?” You asked in the dark.

You felt Keigo’s weight make the bed dip. He settled on his side so he could snake his arm around your waist. He snuggled uncomfortably close, but he kept his hands mostly to himself or above the blanket.

“Because you look damn cute in (fave color). I like looking at you.”

His breath against your skin created goosebumps in its wake. Your eyes eventually closed to sleep. As you drifted off, you asked yourself: How long could you live like this?

---080---

#mha #my hero academia #my hero academia fanfiction #mha fanfiction #mha smut #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha fanfiction #hawks #Keigo takami #reader fic #hawks x reader #au #villains!Hawks #Hawks smut #minors do not interact #minors begone

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mae-gi-writes · 4 years

Text

Behind The Crown (Part Two) | Kevin Moon Imagine (The Boyz)

Prince Kevin Moon x Second-In-Command Reader. A Royal Kingdom AU.

Genre: fluff, royal kingdom au, angst

Words: 3K

Part One | Part Two

-------

The sun is shining a little too bright the next day as Kevin peels his eyelids open. For a minute, he allows himself to mull over the peaceful chirping of birds outside, the gentle lull of waves in the distance crashing against the cliff's edge.

And then, last night rushes back to him like a tidal wave.

He'd held her and kissed her, kissed her till she was nothing but a gasping mess against his lips, until her legs had melted into jelly and his hands had found a way around her waist to hold her up and pressed against his torso.

"Kevin," she had breathed, and that had only incited him to dip his head down and kiss her once more, addicted to the taste of her. She was pure art that he held against himself and Kevin was certain there was nothing more that he wanted if she was in his arms like this forever.

"Wait--" she'd turned her head then, causing his mouth to kiss her jaw instead, "this--this isn't right. We shouldn't--"

"Shouldn't what?" He murmured breathlessly as his lips trailed up her cheekbone, "I'm prince of Meridia, I can do whatever I want."

Hands on his chest, she pushed him slightly so that she could look into his eyes, and that had only caused him to gaze down in naked adoration. Desire swam in the pits of his stomach, rushed through his veins like a drug that left him light-headed.

"Don't," her voice was rough, "don't look at me like that."

Kevin gazed at her. His lips tilted up in the tiniest of smiles.

"Run away with me," he answered.

"What?" She pulled away from him, "how is that going to solve anything?"

"I've listened to my parents all my life, carried out my duties without protest, and I'm so sick and tired of people telling me what to do," he said as his tone hardened slightly, emotion clogging up the back of his throat, "this is my life, I want to be happy with someone I love, someone I care about."

He had always been so open with Y/N, vulnerable enough to let her into his deepest fears and allowed her to treat his wounds like an injured animal. But this, this felt different. A good kind of different. The chemistry buzzing between their bodies was something he couldn't deny, and when he searched her face for any indication, he found the answer he was looking for.

"What about your parents?" She asked softly, "what about everything that you'd been working so hard for?"

He hesitated slightly before responding, "I...I don't know."

They had parted ways without a full conclusion to their discussion, but not without the prince tugging her over once more to kiss her goodnight until she had blushed straight to her toes, a spluttering mess against him as he watched her stumble her way back to her chambers.

Kevin lets out a dreamy sigh at the thought. He knows what he has to do. He also knows that the end result isn't going to be pretty. His parents have so much faith in his leadership, have trained him and built him to be the next king ruling over the land of Meridia. But what good does leadership bring, if he can’t lead with the one he wants at his side?

“Kevin?” The queen gives him a quizzical look as she peers out of the royal chambers, having heard his knock, “what are you doing up so bright and early?”

“I need to talk to you,” he says, and there must be something in his tone that makes her features grow concerned, before she pulls the door open a little wider for him to step through.

Inside, the King is busy having breakfast in bed, face lighting up instantly at his son’s appearance, “Kevin! What a wonderful surprise! You’re usually up by noon, at the very least.”

“Father,” the prince bows, a sign of respect and courtesy, with a hand crossed over his heart. He straightens up and continues, “there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Good timing, because there’s something I’d like to give you.”

Now is really not the time to be bearing gifts, is what Kevin’s mind is urging him to say. But he finds that the words die halfway up his throat when his father pulls out a black box tied with a royal blue bow, the color of Meridia’s flag itself, from his cupboard.

“That’s all yours,” the King extends it out to him, and he has no choice but to take it despite the multitudes of protests screaming through his subconscious.

“What--” Kevin swallows thickly, “what is it?”

The box feels heavy and warm in his arms, a little too warm. Or maybe it’s just him, the uncomfortable prickle at the back of his neck urging him to tell the truth.

“It’s a wedding gift,” the King motions towards the said box, “open it. Go on.”

Wordlessly, the prince slides the bow off before gently peeling back the top cover. A gasp slips out of his mouth when he comes face to face with the crown-- or more precisely, the King’s crown.

His head shoots back up, eyes wide with alarm, “you--I can’t--I can’t take that.” “Sure you can,” the King says jovially, “you’re going to be King of Meridia soon. People will look up to you, respect you for that.”

“But--Father--” Kevin takes a deep breath, “there’s something I want to tell you--”

“And everyone has been waiting for this moment. Just wait till they see you! They’re going to be so amazed--” “But father I--”

“I can already imagine your crowning. It’s going to be a beautiful spectacle. People from all over the country are coming to see you--”

“Darling, dear,” the Queen’s voice suddenly cut halfway through her husband’s speech to halt his ramblings. She gazed at Kevin, prompting him to speak up with a soft open smile on her face.

And that smile breaks Kevin’s heart, for he knows that once the words were said, it would change their world -- their relationship -- forever. Would rock that safe harbour and turn it into a storm.

So Kevin only dips his head down and bit his lip. His eyes flickered up to his parents, saw them waiting with mirroring grins, and only let out a shaky exhale.

“It’s nothing,” he mumbles out and averts his gaze instead, “nothing at all.”

---------------

The moment Kevin opens the door to let her in, Y/N knows that something is off.

“What?” she asks the moment she steps foot into his bedroom. If he thinks that she doesn’t notice the way his shoulders bunch up or the fact that he’s wound so tight she can practically see all the tension holding his body together, then he’s a bigger idiot that she thinks him to be.

Her fingers are still thrumming with the aftermath of yesterday’s events. But she shakes her head, attempting to dissuade her thoughts from straying in places where they are not meant to go.

“Kevin,” she says after a long bout of silence, not really enjoying the fact that 1) he hasn’t looked at her once since she got here and 2) he hasn’t said anything when usually, Kevin can’t shut himself up. When she speaks up next, there is a tinge of concern breaking through her soprano, “what is it? What’s wrong?”

A pause. Then, he turns around like a culprit, eyes cast onto the ground as though he’s done something shameful, something worth being punished for.

Air catches in the back of her throat, “tell me.”

“I--” biting down onto his lower lip and shaking his head, he bristles, “I--I’m sorry.”

Y/N frowns. Sorry? For what? For kissing her yesterday? For declaring the fact that maybe there’s something more than friendship between them? For having made a mistake he now regrets?

“Look, I tried talking to my father about--” he gestures between himself and her, “about us, about what happened. And how I feel.”

Y/N stays quiet. Her stomach clenches.

“I can’t--” Kevin’s alto his shaky, practically trembling with emotion while he shakes his head, “I can’t tell them, Y/N. It--It would break their heart.”

She’s expecting it. So she doesn’t know why it feels like someone has just gutted her, grabbed her by the insides and pulled out the entire contents of her stomach to leave her hanging and filled with a hole.

Swallowing thickly and allowing the words to digest, Y/N just nods.

“Please,” Kevin murmurs roughly, “please say something.”

What does he want her to say exactly? It’s not like she has any choice in the matter. She opens her mouth, closes it when there’s nothing she finds worth saying. Taking a deep, shaky breath and forcing her expression to be wiped blank, she finally murmurs out:

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, your highness.”

“Y/N, please don’t do this--”

But she’s already swivelling around and walking out of his room before her legs give out and before her heart cracks in two, feeling like a dead weight she’s carrying lodged inside her chest. She can still hear Kevin’s protests behind her, shouting at her to come back, but it’s not until she hears his running footsteps on the marble floor that she takes off into a sprint, running blindly and as far away as possible as he can possibly be, until she stumbles out through the stables and keels over to catch her breath.

Tears brim through her eyes like a film blurring the ground before her, and as a soft sob falls from her lips, her head bows in a desperate attempt to regain some of her sanity. She hadn’t known this would be so hard, hadn’t known that there is such pain gripping her heart with icy fingertips before practically wrenching it out of her chest. It leaves her bare, it leaves her vulnerable, and she can’t help but curl her arms over her middle, a pathetic move of self-defense as her knees fall to the ground.

It hurts. The tears fall silently, a steady trail cascading down her cheeks. It hurts like she’s never ever been hurt before. She loves him, always did. And yesterday night had proved that he’d returned her feelings.

And now? Now it’s even worse, because she knows there’s something great that she’s lost.

But she should’ve seen this coming. It’s her fault, after all, for believing that maybe her ending would’ve been bathed in happiness. She guesses that it is the price to pay for having fallen in love with a prince, of all people.

She doesn’t know how much time passes until she can finally lift herself to her feet. Taking another shaky breath and allowing her chest to rattle with the aftermath of the pain, she swivels around and strides back into the castle.

--------------

“Has anyone seen Y/N?”

The King looks up from his daily scroll of news transcribed by his attendants, a list of duties to be completed folded in his lap, and catches sight of Kevin striding into the hallway reeking with agitation.

“Don’t think I saw her around,” the King glances up at his attendant, who only shrugs in response, “maybe she’s training. She usually is whenever she’s off duty.”

“She wasn’t present at all yesterday, she should’ve been around,” Kevin all but stomps his foot. He feels like a child who hasn’t gotten what he’s wanted, but he doesn’t care. Not right now. The only thing he wants to do is try to talk it out with Y/N. His heart is messy enough as it is, torn between his parents’ expectations and the girl whom he cares for deeply. It doesn’t help matters that he hasn’t been able to see nor hide or hair of Y/N from her escapade yesterday morning.

“Your highness!”

Kevin’s head quickly whips back to see one of the soldiers running in with a paper in hand. He hands it over, breathless, as the prince’s eyes scan over its contents.

“What?” his jaw falls slack in surprise. He turns to the soldier, who automatically bows, “where did you get this?”

This isn’t happening, his mind chants, no no no, she promised, she promised--

“She gave it to me herself, your highness,” the soldier stuttered with averted eyes, “said that she didn’t want to work for the Kingdom of Meridia anymore, then handed me her resignation--”

“You’re lying!” Kevin blurts out in a yell, heart skipping in panic.

“I--I swear I’m not. She--She even signed it.”

Indeed, as the prince scans to the bottom, he notices her initials. Anger blossoms through his stomach and without hesitation, he crumples the paper into a ball and throws it to the ground, “where is she?!” he hollered, “I want her brought here, this instant! Now!”

“B--But your majesty, she’s gone back. It’s too late now, she’s already heading to--”

But Kevin isn’t listening, already walking away with rapid footsteps and all too wrapped up in his own world of desperate pain that he almost misses his father’s words booming from behind him, “Kevin! Where are you going?!”

That causes him to halt by the doorway, one hand on the smooth Victorian column. He glances back through his curly bangs, sets his gaze upon his father’s for a full minute.

And proceeds to dash out before anyone can stop him.

-----------

“It’s so nice to have you back Y/N,” Jacob bustles around her like a mother hen as he sets the hearty potato and beef stew freshly made from this morning. Y/N forces her lips into a smile but only manages to pull up a grimace, which her brother doesn’t fail to notice as he sits down opposite her.

Jacob’s place had been the only solution to her after she’d calmed down enough to stop beating herself up about how she isn’t a royal and will never be. Of course, he’d welcomed her with open arms and a bright smile, so bright that it had almost wiped out any negative feelings rolling through her. Almost.

However, as much as he loves seeing his sister present and in the flesh -- they always joked that one day she’ll come back to him with one less leg since she’s always been too brave for her own good -- it is clear from her countenance that there’s something more bothering her, other than her pathetic excuse that she apparently ‘missed’ him.

Y/N’s life had always revolved around castle walls. She’s never really been homesick.

“Tell me,” Jacob gazes at her now, eyes filled with understanding when hers decide to concentrate on the rice bowl before her. There are blue shadows imprinted underneath her eyes and though she has spent the entire day acting cheerful and somewhat carefree as she usually is, he hasn’t failed to notice the puffiness of her eyelids or how her face gets shadowed in sadness whenever she thinks he’s not paying attention.

“Y/N,” Jacob prompts, chopsticks tapping his bowl to get her attention, “tell me. You don’t drop by for anything. So there must be something.”

Her lips pressed together. For a moment, only silence reigns.

A soft exhale escapes her mouth, before she says in a shaky soprano, “I kissed the Prince.”

“You what?!” Jacob’s eyes go as wide as saucers. He can’t stop himself from gawking at her.

“I--” she blinks at the tears now threatening to consume her once more, “I kissed the Prince. I kissed Kevin. And I--I--”

Her eyes fly up to lock on her brother’s own maroon orbs through her film of tears, “I love him,” she chokes.

Silence reigns over the room as she waits, eyes lowered towards her plate, for her brother to berate her with facts and his judgment about how she could even do such a thing or even get involved in a situation that she knew would end up with complications.

But Jacob doesn't say anything. She peeks up at him through her curtain of parted hair, surprised when all she finds is a kind of delicate sympathy glimmering across his face.

"So did you just leave? Without telling him?" Jacob asks softly.

She nods, slightly guilty. It sounds bad when he puts it that way, so she says, "I resigned yesterday--"

Knock knock knock.

The two freeze up in their seats, ears perking up in alert at the intrusion.

Then, a muffled voice echoes through the door, a voice that causes Y/N's eyes to snap up towards the nature of the sound.

"Excuse me? This is Prince Kevin, from Meridia. Sorry to disturb you. Uhm I've heard that you are Y/N's brother. Is Y/N here?"

She blinks, meets Jacob's eyes who are just as wide as hers.

She wastes no time in diving under the table, much to her brother's surprised yelp.

"What are you doing?!" He hisses, head swivelling from her crouched figure to Kevin's figure behind the door.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Y/N scowls, "I'm hiding!"

"Well, he's obviously asking for you--"

"If he asks, I'm not here. I never visited you."

"But--"

"Just go!"

Jacob lets out a heavy sigh, before he reluctantly slides off his stool and heads to open the door.

"Hi," there is sweat glistening off the Prince's face when their eyes meet, his eyes already flying over Jacob's shoulder in search of his second in command, "have you seen--"

"She's not here," Jacob hurriedly interrupts.

"Please," Kevin's alto cracks slightly, "I just want to talk to her. Please."

“I told you she’s not here.”

“I saw her horse. I know it’s hers, please. I know she’s here.”

It’s useless, Y/N thinks to herself while squeezing her eyes shut, trying to stop her heart from running a thousand miles an hour at the tone of desperation clinging to Kevin’s alto and making her heart tug in all sorts of wrong directions.

“Please,” Kevin murmurs.

That does it, causing her to wrench her body out of the cramped table space before she storms over to him, anger slowly simmering in the pits of her stomach.

How dare he show up here after telling her that he wasn’t going to sacrifice his reputation because of what he wanted in life? How dare does he show up here, unannounced, and expect that she’ll be okay with the whole ordeal. As if watching him dance around with someone else in his arms isn’t bad enough!

“What?” She almost barks out from behind Jacob. The latter jumps back to let her march through, obviously not new to her temper tantrums, and Kevin stumbles back impulsively, flinching when he catches sight of her scowl.

“Hey,” the prince of Meridia’s voice is soft.

“What do you want Kevin?” Y/N doesn’t even try hiding her exasperation, knuckles clamped down so hard onto the doorway that she feels the wood chips biting into her fingers.

He takes a moment too long to answer.

“Why did you leave?”

Y/N is too focused on trying to find a coherent answer to notice that Jacob has gently let himself out of the back door.

“Why did you leave, Y/N?” Kevin repeats.

“Did you expect me to stay?”

Guilt swims through his eyes, "you could’ve told me--”

“Told you what exactly? That I didn’t want to see you live your life with another woman after what happened between us? Told you that my heart hurts every time I hear the word ‘wedding’ and ‘princess Delia’?”

She knows that each word sprouting from her mouth is a dagger aimed straight for his heart. But at that particular moment, she really doesn’t care whether he’s hurt or not. She wants to hurt him, wants him to feel the pain she feels.

For once, she wants him to know how it feels to be in her shoes.

Silence drags out between the two individuals, each staring at each other and Y/N practically rendered breathless from her small outburst. There’s so much going on in his face, so many emotions flittig through his eyes but she’d rather not see them. Instead, she clamps her gaze down onto his soaked-through white silk shirt and absentmindedly wonders why in the world would he wear one of his best attires to head to the village.

Not that she cares. She doesn’t care. At all. She doesn’t care what happens to him, doesn’t care whether he gets married off or not. But she’s not going to stick around to tolerate it. She can’t. It’ll break her heart.

A hand comes up to grasp her chin softly, “look at me, Y/N.”

Despite her mind sending out alarms of protest, her body reacts on its own and her eyes slowly drag upwards. What she sees in Kevin’s mahogany pools almost makes her gasp, for they are filled with such tenderness, a fragility mixed with pained guilt, that her chest tightens uncomfortably.

“The wedding is called off.”

She blinks. Frowns. Silence.

Then: “what?”

Kevin’s lips curl slightly upwards, “I told them to call off the wedding.”

She can feel something lodged in the back of her throat, “What do--What do you mean?” she pauses, “I don’t...understand.”

"I don't want to marry Delia, I don't want to be King of Meridia if that means losing you Y/N," he tugs her close with his other hand wrapping around her waist then, so that she stumbles into his chest, "all these things, they're not worth it. Not if--" he takes a shaky breath, "not if you're not mine."

Her heart practically soars through her chest, his words totally throwing her off track and causing her jaw to fall open and gape at him as though he just grew a second pair of eyes.

Kevin only chuckles and brushes his knuckles over her cheekbone, "please say something."

"I--What do you want me to say? What did your parents say? What--No, you can't resign Kevin. You can't do that--"

"My parents have nothing to do with whom I chose to spend the rest of my life with," he cuts her off with a determined glint in his eyes, "I told them that if I'm to rule over Meridia, then I get to choose who the hell I want to marry. And that's not Delia," their eyes lock onto each other, "it never was Delia."

It is relief that Y/N feels first, blossoming through her chest as hope lights up a fire within her. Blood rushes to her face, not knowing how to reply to his sudden confession when she hasn't even been expecting him in the first place.

"So," Kevin exhales a breath, closes his eyes for a brief moment, before opening them again with newfound determination, "will you? Be mine?"

"I--" her brain feels like scrambled eggs. The agreement is at the tip of her tongue, it's just right there. And yet she can't find the strength, nor the courage, to utter them out loud.

Because she's scared. She's scared that this might change everything, because it will.

‘Are you sure about this?’ She murmurs.

He nods firmly, determination glinting in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath and letting it seep through her teeth with her next exhale, Y/N finally dips her head down into a single nod.

‘okay,’ her voice shakes with emotion, ‘okay.’

A sigh so loud and filled with relief shudders throughout Kevin’s entire body and he all but collapses against her.

‘I won’t let anyone hurt you,’ his breath washes against her ear at his murmur, ‘I promise.’

And before she opens her mouth to say anything else, the prince of Meridia has already swooped in to catch her lips in a firm, passionate kiss. A kiss filled with all the promises he agreed to kiss, a kiss that rendered her weak at the knees and made her a gasping mess, hands slipping up his neck as the man tilted his head to kiss her a little deeper, a little longer.

When they both part for air, Kevin lets out the softest of sighs while pressing his forehead against hers.

“I’m no princess,” Y/N says through a choked up murmur, her eyes finding the warmth emanating from his own in shades of golden warm hues making it impossible for her not to melt right into his embrace.

“I know,” Kevin’s nose bumps against hers, “and that’s exactly why I love you.”

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cassava-49 · 4 years

Text

Death 5

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 6/ Part 7

"G-guys," Allegra called as she pointed at the figure from afar. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked worriedly. This made them all go to the windows as Felix's eyes widened in shock. "That's a Geryon," he said in a breathy voice. "A what?" Kenya asked not understanding what he meant. "Look at the structure, it has humongous feathery bat like wings and scorpion's tail. I have only seen pictures of it depicted in the Divine Comedy, but I never imagined Hawkmoth giving someone such abilities to do so," he explained. Marinette, however, was shell shocked as she recognized its rider. "Lila," she said in a hushed tone as she began backing away. Noticing her reaction, Felix knew who the intended target was.

"Everyone, we need to do something," Felix said getting their attention. "What do you mean?" Lindalee asked in concern. "The villain's target is Marinette, and from the looks of it, she wants her dead. We need to protect her," he continued as he took Marinette's trembling hand in his trying to calm her down. "No, it's not only me," Marinette said in a low voice. "From the looks of it, she'll kill anyone in her path. We need to protect everyone in this hospital," she stated in a more powerful voice. "Alright, what do we do?" Claude asked with all seriousness, willing to protect his friend from such fiend.

...

"Stupid Grim," Allan mumbled to himself as he continued destroying the tree in front of him. "Why couldn't you take me away! I want to go home! I want to live in peace already, damn it!" he continued shouting. "What am I going to wait for? When Earth becomes hell?" he sarcastically asked as the ground shook. He then saw a shadow loom over him and the tree. He slowly turned to find three slobbering heads of a vicious dog with an undefinable breed looking at him with hunger in its eyes.

He immediately jumped onto its heads to avoid their jaws as he narrowly escaped. For some reason Cerberus could see him, and it could've bit him. He could feel it's warm breath, which was strange given that he's dead. "What the hell?" he asked to himself as he jumped onto the top of the nearest building to observe what was happening to Paris. It seemed as if hell needed more space and transferred some of its residents to France. To his right he could see that the colour of the Seine turned to blood, with Charon was cruising with some petrified people, while centaurs were at the banks, prepared to shoot anyone who wishes to escape. To his left he could see the akumatized victim stalking it's prey.

"You can't hide from me forever Alya!" the akumatized victim cried. He looked at her and observed. "Come on out. I'd hate for you to be the last, that's Marinette's place," she continued. "There you are," she stated as she made Alecto lift the car that was blocking her vision. "Lady Luck and Monsieur Noir will stop you," Alya declared as she said her punishment. This made Castigare cackle saying, "Oh, I doubt that Alya. No one can, Kim or should I call Monkey King, and Alix are currently having a blood bath battle for their wrathful attitudes. Rose, Juleka, Nathanael and Marc are enjoying their rain fire for being homosexuals. And Max, poor Pegasus, he lost Markov and is currently burning in his tomb. Mylène and Ivan on the other hand, such pure souls, yet were gullible nonetheless to chase sinful opportunities, they're currently experiencing a blind race over an every shifting flag on a ground of maggots," Castigare informed with a sinister grin. This made Alya's eyes prick with tears as she awaited her punishment. "But for Marinette, oh she'll suffer. After my furies tear her limb from limb mercilessly. And her screams are silent, for she is asleep, for now," she added menacingly.

This caught his attention, Marinette? Why would she want Marinette? Unless, he thought realising who this girl was. "Lila Rossi," he muttered under his breath as he made his way into François Dupont to find Lady Luck and Monsieur Noir struggling to keep the she-wolf at bay.

The two continued to fight off the three beasts forgetting the easiest escape, taking a different route. Allan sighed at their attempts to fend them off. Given that these creatures can see the dead, he might as well distract them to give the two an escape to save his friends. He picked up a discarded book and threw it their way. This caught the beasts' attention as the three of them began to corner him. He stood his ground as he watched Lady Luck and Monsieur Noir escape to hunt Castigare down. He smirked as he said, "Well then, let's see if your dead bodies could make a difference."

...

Allegra and Marinette stood inside her room, carefully monitoring her body to make sure no creature would enter. Lindalee and Kenya were monitoring the hallways near Marinette's room, given that they're the second most skillful comatose ghosts in their group. Felix and Claude, on the other hand, were in the frontlines, waiting for the villain's arrival.

"I'm sorry," Marinette blurted out. Allegra immediately rushed to her and engulfed her in a hug. "There's nothing to be sorry about," Allegra assured. "But because of my vulnerable body, it's making all of you worked up in protecting me," Marinette said guilty. "Well, we can't help it can we. It's natural to not want help from those around you, thinking that it makes us feel like more of a nuisance. But we are doing this because we want to keep you safe, because we know that you would do the same for us. You're our friend, we're not going to let anyone harm you. Chin up, darling, everything will be alright. Don't freight," Allegra soothed.

"This would be a lot easier if Allan were here," Claude commented as they watched Lila get closer. "Well, he's never at the right place at the right time," Felix answered. "Let's just make sure that there wouldn't be any casualties. There are a lot of vulnerable people in hospitals," Claude mentioned. "Yeah, we just slow her down until the heroes arrive," Felix replied. With that Castigare jumped off Geryon and waltzed into the entrance.

The nurses gave her an annoyed look as she shouted, "Which room is Marinette Dupain?" The security guard immediately tried to remove her from the building, only to have his actions in vain as Castigare summoned her furies and pointed them to him. This meant for them to take action as they took him away. Castigare approached the front desk to ask the nurse again, the drawers began to vibrate making everyone to look around. The first thing that they used were the vials. Using their enhanced speed, Claude began throwing the glad from different directions. Felix took a couple of surgical needles and aimed it at her, with one was full of general anesthesia.

"What is happening?" Castigare asked as she was being attacked by office and medical supply. "Is this a new miraculous?" she began to ponder aloud. She clenched her teeth, she didn't have time for this. She immediately summoned her Cerberus to find Marinette.

The three headed dog complied and barged into the hospital and began looking for Marinette's room. Upon nearing the hallway to her room, Kenya and Lindalee immediately destroyed the floors, making sure no one was at the floor below them. This did not stop Cerberus though, as he began to fall, he was able to snatch onto Kenya's shirt. It's claws digging deep into her skin, piercing it to the rib cage and damaging her lungs causing the young girl to release an ear piercing scream. "Kenya!" Lindalee shouted as she tried to grab her friend.

Their wandering souls are a lot like Voodoo dolls, any damage they get may affect their actual bodies. Right now, Kenya's body is not receiving enough oxygen. Her heart began to speed up rapidly, causing the nurses and doctors to panic as they try to revive her. Kenya's soul, however, was slowly feeling lighter and lighter. Lindalee jumped down as she tried to look for her friend beneath the debris. "Kenya! Kenya!" she continued to call out. Once she got to one of its paws, she immediately raised it to find Kenya there. She's not bleeding, since she's a ghost, but she was slowly fading. There may be two meanings, either she's waking up or, she's dying. Lindalee placed both her hands on her mouth in shock.

"Did you hear that?" Marinette asked. Allegra nodded as she opened the door to find the destroyed hallway. "Where are Lindalee and Kenya?" Allegra pondered out loud. "Allegra," cried a voice from below. "Lindalee? Where are you?" she asked with concern. "Down here, help me, no, help Kenya, please," Lindalee pleaded, her voice getting softer. "Marinette, I think they're in trouble. I'll be right back," Allegra said as Marinette nodded. "Go, I'll be fine. Keep them safe," Marinette answered.

Once Allegra left, Marinette felt another pit of guilt in her stomach. Please be safe, please be safe, she chanted to herself. Hoping that all her friends were alright. She looked at her body, she looked at peace, her breathing was normal so was her heart rate. She looked out of the window and saw that the blue sky turned into a blood red shade as monsters polluted the sky. People were given different sufferings depending on their heaviest sin. She could see limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence and fraud. Paris turned into a living hell and Lila's destroying it all.

...

"Cerberus?" Castigare tried to call out as she began dodging all the things that came her way. "Damnit, where are you?" she tried again. Realising that the dog will not be coming anytime soon signified that it has failed her. "Geryon," she shouted as the monster came crashing through, protecting her from all the destruction coming her way. With that, she allowed it to block the passage as she stalked her way to Marinette's room.

"She's heading their way," Claude called. "I've got it, don't worry," Allan said as he entered. This made the trip boys smile at their friend's arrival. "What? You didn't think that is let you guys have all the fun. This could be a better way at venting, no holding back," Allan joked as he cracked his knuckles. "Go crazy," Claude supported. "We'll be outside her room to make sure nothing goes that way," Felix said as they nodded at each other and began.

"Hey, ugly!" Allan tautened as Geryon turned to face him. "What are you doing!" Castigare scolded. "There's no one there! Let's get a move on!" she raged as she tried to steer him to Marinette's room. "I see you can't resist the souls of the dead," Allan continued. "Why are you still here? Have you not found your way to the afterlife?" Geryon asked seriously. "Well, let's just say that some souls aren't meant to cross, yet," he answered casually. "Come along, I will take you King Minos for your judgement," Geryon ordered. "Wait, wait, who said that I'm meant for hell," Allan replied. "Knock it off!" Castigare demanded as she smacked it's head with her sceptre to behave. Being a demon, he shook her off as he began chasing Allan around for his judgement saying, "All souls must cross over. No soul must be left wandering the world of the living!" Allan laughed as they began the chase and continued taunting him, "Not this soul. You have to be quicker if you want to catch me."

"Come back you useless monster!" Castigare shouted, feeling slightly embarrassed by being thrown off. "Listen Castigare, you're no longer holding your end of the bargain. Hand me the miraculouses or else I'll take your power away," Hawkmoth reminded. "Shut up, Hawkmoth. You will need me so by taking my akuma away you'll lose your closest ally," Castigare threatened back. This earned an evil laugh from Hawkmoth. "Oh, really now. Don't think that your irreplaceable my dear. If I recall correctly, even if I take your akuma away there's still a chance that you will be deported and your parents will know about everything. You would be trialed for terrorism, even though your a minor, you willingly allowed yourself to get akumatized multiple times. I can even vouch on that, don't forget hospitals have cameras. Don't think that I don't know about what you had don't to your victim, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he slapped the truth in her face menacingly. This made her grit her teeth at the truth that Hawkmoth slapped in her face. "Shut up! Shut up!" she cried out as she held her head trying to block him out. "Never bite the hand that feeds you," he mumbled to both of them as he began threatening the removal of her powers, but unlike Evillustrator, this one's more painful. This made her screech in pain as she felt her whole body on fire. "Alright, alright, I'll get the miraculouses," she conceded. "Good girl, now you'll hold up your end of the deal. Use your new found powers for both yours and my desire," he said as he stopped her suffering.

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incarnateirony · 3 years

Photo

So here we are, The Great Supernatural Rewatch, 01.01 Pilot. If unfamiliar with this rewatch, please check my Objectives and Bracketing post [x], and then my Methodology Notes [x]; Also, reminder that I’m not the only person doing this, though each in their own ways. My Objectives and Methodology are my own.

I’m trying to get a little ahead of the official Jan 3 start date, since I know I will... inevitably fall behind, and this episode was ripe for the initial pick-through for the inevitability of a thousand call backs.

That said, with level 1. SYNCHRONIC: As it reads, unto itself, as best divorced from future knowledge of the story, it’s difficult to do much actual “meta” as much as review and commentary since literally it’s all character and story introductions. There’s some to be had, but beyond things like lighting, the Level 1 viewing tier is not going to lend towards much beyond basic archetypes, and a lot of mythology breakdown. This post will be heaving Level 2 weighted as a result. Most tier-1 posting is going to be an early build of key words, phrases and signs to assemble throughout the season watching (and tap back on later for tier 2 by tagging.)

Also a few unannounced side projects; I’m about to start a “Combat Counter” and “Marksmanship Counter”, to see how Sam and Dean handle both in physical battles/scraps over time compared to each other, and who has the better overall aim in the long term.

Some things saved in this post will seem random and arbitrary, but are potential flags I intend to keep, mostly for later level 2, DIACHRONIC study.

Now to get to the meat:

STUDY: REWATCH/REVIEW STAGE

Allow me to lead with: this episode even unto itself is a fine spectacle of just how much the genre shifted over time. I am a huge fan of David Nutter’s directing; many would know him from, say, Game of Thrones. He didn’t stay long--just Pilot and Wendigo--before moving on. But some of his touches stayed with the show for a few years. The entire ambiance is a giant testiment to survival-horror, a grimness to it, even if the CW itself could never truly capitalize on it. The mood and ambiance was successfully played on. The entire episode is rife with cloudy lighting beaming between bars and through windows, bold silhouette shots, and more that gives an air of mystery even after some characters are established. Dynamic shots are plenty.

Your early reading here isn’t going to tell you much you don’t already know, but is for filing, review, and even reminder/refresher purposes. As the season unfolds, there’s going to be more to interconnect, obviously. If you would like to read more observations on actual parallels, scroll to the DIACHRONIC STUDY header. If I’ve taken a screenshot, even in Synchronic, it’s because it’s a flag I do expect to come back up in diachronic study later and need to catalogue for future parallels and address.

So, imagining it’s 2005, we’re watching Supernatural for the first time. We’re in a very different world, Both in the show, and in the real world. A standard, haunting discord rattles the minds of the audience as a tree moves like a hand towards the window of a suburban home.

We see a classic, nuclear family in this standard home, saying their charming goodnights to an infant. But within moments, we’re told in every classic way that everything is wrong. The infant’s mobile turns on its own accord; the clock stops.

It’s 8:12pm when the world goes haywire. The decorative moon in the room flickers, growing dim. The mother wakes to the sound of a distressed infant on the baby monitor. She rises from bed in her gown.

This is a point I’m left to negotiate cursed knowledge: to all visual cues, the mother’s attire appears to be white. The audience perceived it as white. But we know it, and Jess’ gown later, was actually pink; the film stock failed to capture it. Both short term and much louder in the long term, these two colors can deliver two very different meanings. But for us, a viewer consuming a digital medium with no knowledge beyond what they published, I’m left to decide that the text seems to determine her in a white gown.

The wife sees a stark silhouette, asking if the child was hungry, assuming it was her husband that quieted her. She turns away, tapping on a flickering light over an old marriage portrait that one can only assume was a previous family generation. She descends the stairs.

Here she finds her husband is sleeping. Panic takes her, bringing her to the room. Quickly, chaos erupts. As does she, once seen bleeding down onto the hand of the father from above the crib. We see her, sunken eyes, already dying, screaming without a sound. Silent. Unable to make a noise.

The camera details the desperation of the father rushing his infant to his older child. “Take your brother outside as fast as you can, don’t look back. Now Dean, GO.”

I’m unclear what John thinks he’s going to achieve running back in for Mary as fire takes the home. But soon, he finds young Dean, 4, outside, holding an infant, “I've got you Sammy.” John erupts out of the house as the windows begin to blow, sweeping in to carry Dean, who carries Sam.

As the fire department arrives, the first cords of a song we would later come to recognize as Americana haunt through otherwise chilling music that climbs actively to punch out through our first cold open.

The Winchesters are our first cold open.

We find ourselves in modern day with the rick of a rock cord, and a young woman in a white nurse outfit adjusting her earings while framed by an image of John and Mary--the mother and father--in a picture frame. Though she calls for Sam, we see nothing of Dean--not even a picture. The image on the counter tells of a life Sam(my) was too young to even know, but perhaps is in his blonde-haired woman who teases him about halloween while standing in front of a mirror.

Sam is clearly in his young prime, celebrating his LSAT with a 174 score much to his chagrin with friends dressed up in all styles of wardrobe. Behind Sam a neon black cat sign may just jinx his future in warm but dull lighting; ghostly drapes hide behind Jess in a blue, sharper light.

Sam’s friends perceive he must be the Golden Boy of the family. Jess is proud of him. “What would I do without you?” “Crash and burn.”

Night onsets. Dim lighting feels dusty despite the otherwise hopeful environment. Heavy creaking, groaning, footsteps; Sam rises on instinct, spying an open door and catching haunting noises--sounds. An intruder. And one fateful fight. The choreography spares little.

In actual combat, the intruder--quickly identified as Dean--comes out on top. (Combat ticker: Sam vs Dean: Dean 1) Easy there, tiger. As Dean haunts, revealing his roguish personality quickly, he’s then gotten the better of (this is not going to be considered a combat ticker, it’s not actual combat, but aftermath).

Sam challenges why Dean broke in, but Dean knew Sam would have never picked up without him. They’re interrupted from their silhouetting by the light flicking on, and Dean further displays his roguish charm, enjoying her smurfs, not dreaming of her getting dressed; but soon, it’s down to business--Dean says it’s private family matters. Sam, a unit in the doorframe with Jess, says it can be said in front of her. Until the fateful line: “Dad’s on a hunting trip, and he hasn’t been home in a few days.” The camera zooms on Sam’s set jaw to tell the audience how much weight is in that line as the audio itself drags a raw cord of suspense.

The dizzying stairs are a descent into a world Sam seems to have left behind, with the audience viewing from below. Quickly, we’re introduced to ideas: the Poltergeist in Amherst, the Devil’s Gate in Clifton, “always missing and always fine.” Sam’s bitterness is thick: rather than telling him not to be afraid of the dark, “dad gave me a .45″, though Dean challenges what he should have done. They soon stand in a cage of sharply lit bars, arguing if this was what their mother would have wanted--to be raised like warriors.

Dean challenges if Sam would want a normal apple pie life; Sam slaps back: not normal, safe. “And that’s why you ran away.”--But John told him to stay gone. Regardless, Dean doesn’t want to do it alone. Sam asks what he was hunting, and why Dean wasn’t there; Dean was working a voodoo thing in New Orleans.

Dean reveals Jericho, California--10 men over to years on the same 5 mile stretch of road.

The “Ran it through A Goldwave” is a funny side comment but I’m not gonna get into why beyond LOL “through a goldwave”, that’s-- whatever. But we hear, in EVP, “I can never go home.”

The average viewer, at this point, isn’t going to be deeply instructing the story parallels--and in the scheme of it, Sam’s fear of going home barely scratches the meta surface. We do know John has been missing for three weeks. And find out Sam has a Monday deadline for his entry to lawschool, “whole future on a plate.” Jess worries over disappearing with his family, reminding of the deadline, but he promises to be back in time.

A sharp cut to JERICHO, CALIFORNIA. The driver shares similar concerns to Sam, “if I miss it, dad’s gonna have my ass,” he tells his girlfriend on the phone. A woman in white appears down the road as the car clock fries at 10:17, asking to be taken home. “Take me home?” “She lives at the end of breckenridge road.” “A girl like you shouldn’t really be alone out here.” She hikes her skirt. “I’m with you. Do you think I’m pretty? Will you come home with me?” hell yeah.

They arrive at a dillapidated home. “I can never go home.” No one even lives here. He steps out, turns around, and she’s gone. An eerie handprint appears on the window.

He decides to leave, clearly feeling the offsettling vibes, but isn’t alone. She steams with animosity in the backseat.

He looks into his mirror.

And wipes out.

After a violent death, we cut back to our boys and another exposition: credit card scams (jesus, could sam have yelled it any louder?), breakfast in a gas station bag, you gotta update your casette tape collection--why? because for one, they’re casette tapes. Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica--it’s the greatest hits of mullet rock. “House rules Sammy, Driver picks the music, rider shuts his cakehole.” “Sammy is a chubby 12 year old.” “What, can’t hear you.”

ENTER, JERICHO

Internal impala shots galore will end up being a major vibe of our next few years. A spunky guitar theme plays that we will eventually come to know. Dean pulls out a cigar box full of fake badges ranging from FBI to Bureau of Tobacco from the glove box, quickly showing us how deep this path goes for them already.

The cops review the mystery: no fingerprints, spotless; we find out that the victim was dating the cop’s daughter, who was posting missing flyers downtown. The boys introduce themselves as federal agents, are challenged for being too young, and Dean sasses his way through, “that’s very kind of you.” -- while gathering basic intel, we quickly find Dean’s tongue getting ahead of him, calling their lack of ability to find a connection beyond them all being male victims, calling it crack police work. The brothers’ dual personas exit the crime scene with a cuff upside the head from Sam to Dean, a bickering match, and Dean leaving a Mulder and Scully crack on the cops.

They quickly find Amy, the girlfriend, and lie to claim that were Troy’s relatives and had heard about her, and move to a diner to talk about events.

No major unusual things to warrant events; Sam compliments her necklace. She jokes that Troy got it for her to freak out her parents for “devil stuff”, but Sam quickly educates her on the pentagram meaning the opposite, a symbol of protection.

But there are weird rumors in town--people talk. In-sync, “what do they talk about”; a local legend. She tells them of a girl murdered on centennial where anyone who picks her up disapears forever. The brothers quickly move on to a library with a clunky monitor, fully dating us; not just the lack of good cell phones and wifi, but the equipment and the appearance of the search engine alone. Right, we’re watching this in 2005.

The brothers slapfight again, but Sam shows that even away from the life he never lost his prowess. He asks, “Angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?” and searches for suicide. 1981, 24 years prior. “Our babies were gone and Constance couldn’t bear it.”

So they go to see where Constance took the swan dive.

The brothers begin to fight.

SAM Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday—

DEAN turns around.

DEAN Monday. Right. The interview.

SAM Yeah.

DEAN Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?

SAM Maybe. Why not?

DEAN Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?

SAM steps closer.

SAM No, and she's not ever going to know.

DEAN Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are.

DEAN turns around and keeps walking. SAM follows.

SAM And who's that?

DEAN You're one of us.

SAM hurries to get in front of DEAN.

SAM No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life.

DEAN You have a responsibility to—

SAM To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back.

DEAN grabs SAM by the collar and shoves him up against the railing of the bridge. A long pause.

DEAN Don't talk about her like that.

They’re interrupted as Constance appears, diving off the cliff, and immediately taking control of the Impala.

“Dude, who’s driving your car?” Dean holds up his keys.

They flee, over the bridge, and share another movement. One more fake card later, they find themselves in John’s room, room 10, in a motel. Sam remarks that the place is covered in Salt, and Cat’s Eye Shells. The entire room is covered in case work and lore.

I’ll break down the lore of these in a later mythos reblog, though the Asmodeus one really catches my eye for reasons outside of this episode.

Sam finds a photo-- a distinctly different family than the one on his college dresser. There, it’s John and Mary as an ideal image that framed Jessica. Here, it’s the life he walked away from. But while Dean heads out, he’s spotted by police, and their old coded dialect pops out, “Five Oh, take off.” Federal marshalls confront him: They’re looking for his partner (cue Wincest fans trying to make meta that’s about to be shot down one scene later, in the distance), fake US Marshalls, fake credit cards, is there anything about you that’s Real. My boobs.

Just putting a flag in the name Sheriff Pierce, we’ll figure out if that’s ever valid to anything later. But he tells Dean of the trouble he’s in with a room full of missing people and devil worship, for Dean to snap back he was 3 when they went missing. But they knew he had more than one partner. An older man. John’s journal is thrown out (Wincest meta dies a terrible death beyond previous scene)

Again, I’ll translate the FUTHARK in a follow up post, this is already taking a lot of time as it is.

Meanwhile, Sam is investigating the leads they and John both found. Previously spoken intents to burn her has him ask about her being buried at an old plot by Breckenridge at their old place.

SAM And why did you move?

JOSEPH I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died.

SAM stops walking. JOSEPH stops too.

SAM Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?

JOSEPH No way. Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known.

SAM So you had a happy marriage?

JOSEPH hesitates.

Putting a flag in this for later.

But Sam decides to call the man out.

SAM A woman in white. Or sometimes weeping woman?

JOSEPH just looks.

SAM It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really.

SAM starts back toward JOSEPH.

SAM Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women.

SAM stops in front of JOSEPH.

SAM You understand. But all share the same story.

JOSEPH Boy, I don't care much for nonsense.

JOSEPH walks away. SAM follows.

SAM See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them.

JOSEPH stops.

SAM And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children.

JOSEPH turns around.

SAM Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again.

JOSEPH You think...you think that has something to do with...Constance? You smartass!

SAM You tell me.

JOSEPH I mean, maybe...maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!

Sam is flushed out, and makes a fake 911 call to break Dean out, pointing out that the husband had been unfaithful. More dramatic silhouette shots really capture the early spirit of the piece, with Dean using a phone booth in lieu of other options. Hell, Dean was able to find a phone booth, let that take you back. They determine that John left Jericho, and establish his ex-marine habits with the coordinates, 35-111 that Dean had lied through to the cop. But while on the phone, the woman in white appears in front of Sam on the road, non-crashing.

She controls the car again, and forces him to drive to a broken home, repeating, “I can never go home.” Sam recognizes: “You’re scared to go home.” And that’s when the creepy ghost rapey vibes start, mounting him, demanding he hold her, she’s cold. “You can’t kill me, I’m not unfaithful.” He argues. You will be. Just hold me.

As she goes to rip out his heart, she flickers with the beat of his.

Dean breaks into the scene, unloading 12 shots into the ghost with iron bullets to disrupt her manifestation, giving Sam time to sit up and say, “I’m taking you home.”, where he drives through the house. Dean helps Sam out of the car, only to be telekinetically pinned by a dresser to be disabled.

The lights flicker again. Children manifest, water runs down the stairs, looking eerily like the light could be the Winchester’s old home

Here, she falls when reunited with her children. Sam clarifies--she could never go home, she was too afraid to face her kids (while not viable for the synchronic study, for my own sanity I’m going to note this season, Home will be all but mandatory to touch back here.) Dean says Sam found her weak spot.

They drive down the road with a blown headlight, Sam using an old map and ruler to locate the coordinates. But it’s realized Sam isn’t going with Dean to blackwater ridge, colorado 600 miles away. His interview was in ten hours. Dean declares, “I’ll take you home.”

There’s banter over meeting up later, and being a good team, but Sam goes inside and calls for Jess. “You home?” He finds a plate full of cookies with a note “missed you, love you” and relaxes in bed with the distant sound of a running shower.

And of course.

And so it began.

SYNCHRONIC STUDY: IN-EPISODE PARALLELS

In a first episode, there’s only so much to address. While we may question how much the Woman in White being in White may have been intentional with Jess and Mary, who wore pink (a diachronic full text body note later), in the initial review, it’s worth mentioning for the reasons in part 1 I’ve decided to air towards white in the final text product. Resultingly, the tie between Constance->Mary->Jess seems tangible. But it isn’t really so simple.

“Home.” Home is a huge keyword.

"I can never go home." within the episode unto itself, Sam is struggling to well, get back home. And frankly, returning home is the key of it. (hears distant uppity Wincest stans) The difference here is, this isn't a direct parallel, of course, as much as a general ambient mood that will haunt is forward through the show, even if current viewers just watching episode 1 don't recognize it yet. Sam going home kills Jess, essentially; or at least witnesses her death. At the same time, Sam fears returning to the hunter life, or more doesn't think he can because John told him not to come back. But now that Jess is dead, well, Sam can never go home to the life he was building. He has no choice but TO go back to the other home--the hunter life. Even if he’s certain it’s not what Mary would have wanted for them.

DIACHRONIC STUDY: IN-SEASON PARALLELS, LOOKING FORWARD

There’s no way I’ll have them all in mind, these are just what are flagging me along the way.

1.09 Home As the “Home” rewatch is not that far away, I’m going to save this as a placeholder with general notes about “Mary apologizing to Sam,” even if frankly, she should have to Dean too. But even if, at the time, the exact details of the deal may or may not have been established or hashed out by the authors--we’re not picking at arguing if the authors intended it or not here. Here, Mary apologizes for her deal. Here, Mary apologizes--for drowning her children. For magnetizing this poltergeist to this place that she demands let her sons go, where she forces the spook to let go of Sam. She couldn’t really go home in the truest sense until that passed. (I’ll have deeper chain-link connections on this looking-forward once actually at the episode.

DIACHRONIC STUDY: IN-ERA PARALLELS, LOOKING FORWARD

They’re here, but not pinging me at 1 AM beyond vagueblogging about Lucifer showing up as Jess to haunt Sam and the inevitable time travel episodes about Mary, so placeholder for later updates.

DIACHRONIC STUDY: BEYOND-ERA PARALLELS, LOOKING FORWARD

Obviously compare to above-dropped screenshots.

11.04: Mistakes were made.

Listen, Dean’s grimace seat has been in discussion lately, don’t blame me for thinking of Joseph’s mistakes right after the season as Dean-mirror Pastor Joseph. Funny how Sam’s get shown and Dean’s don’t.

11.23/12.01: Mary’s return in the (white or pink, I’m rolling with white as-above) gown, and all extending details.

12.22: Mary's dreamspace.

12.23: Dean, Castiel's death, Sam removing Dean

15.01: Woman In White, We've got work to do

I feel like the Woman in White is the most interesting of these that hasn’t been as talked to death as, say, the 12.23 elements with the Destiel parallel. After all, the Woman in White largely focused on Sam. It was his fear of home. It was him being faithful to Jess (and being unfaithful can be more than sex, really; after all, he made a promise to come back.) But in season 15, it’s Dean that the ghost of the jilted lover approaches, shortly after Dean nearly killed Jack in his pain. Was Dean the weeping woman? Or was Castiel? Who held the animosity in the back seat?

Or is this a shared path? As Dean puts the Equalizer away under the Cigar Box, he has his own haunting issues in the mirror.

Those will be addressed more deeply when we get to that episode in like half a year. But for now, I’m just putting a pin in it. With a side scribble of “Cas got his Secrets/Mary, Sam got his serial killer and clowns and Dean got... the woman in white with Belphegor.”

15.02: Road Closed

15.03: If one insists Mary and Jess’ dress are pink, Rowena’s dress upon wedding and unbirthing to death (and queendom)

15.04: I still think about Jess (shortly before Eileen’s return.)

15.13: If one insists Mary and Jess’ dress are pink, atop the eventually-addressed meaning of lighting (death and transformation) vs the Empress symbolism (fertility, rebirth), Castiel in pink light.

15.15: If one insists Mary and Jess’ dress are pink. Amara’s trenchcoat.

15.20: Beyond the obvious quotes, and the (IMO failed) attempt at nostalgia, there’s honestly very little callback to the original episode.

That’s it on first glance, I’m sure more will rattle out as we go forward. Well, mostly. Keys to the Legacy from Mint Condition is flagging me alongside control mechanisms like Castiel losing control of his vessel. But those are thoughts to put pins in for now and develop later.

COMBAT COUNTER:

DEAN VICTORIES: 1 (sam vs Dean)

MARKSMANSHIP COUNTER:

DEAN SHOTS: 12 shots, 12 hits.

(hits for any individual will be considered accurate even if targets teleport/flicker out as long as it should have hit the body)

The mythology pasted all around John’s Room is worth a second trip, but off the top of my head I see the Bell Witch and Asmodeus from the Lesser Key of Solomon (near the motel door).

I’ll reblog later to add commentary on that.

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its-me-jessi · 3 years

Text

Love Finds Its Way PT4

Summary: Preventing Ivar from joining the crew even if well intended might eventually backfire and Ivar's presence brings back not so pleasant memories.

A/N: I hope you like the fourth part of “Love finds its Way” as well. It turned out much longer than the previous parts. Feel free to leave any kind of feedback. 🤗🧡

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5

I turned around quickly and adjusted my pirate hat so that it casts shadows over my face. Ivar knew me too well; he would recognize my face immediately. I had no choice but to hide it. But if he had already recognized me, I would be hamstrung, my cover would be blown in front of the entire crew, including the captain, and my plan to find my parents, while forgetting Ivar and leaving the time with him behind, would burst like a bubble. Then the procedure would start all over again.

I was shocked when a hand landed rudely on my right shoulder. Ever since I pretended to be a man, I was treated accordingly. A handshake was no longer a harmless handshake, it was a test of strength. My dainty, rather small hand was gripped and pressed; crushed ruthlessly. It was not uncommon for the men to make fun of my small hands. For them, I was the undersized wimp. As an actual woman, I found it difficult to keep up with them.

I had raised my head slowly and cautiously. I grabbed the brim of my pirate hat and raised it, as a sign of respect, before tilting it again. When the captain stepped past me and went to the crew's table, unmistakably full of meat and pitchers of rum, I sighed in relief. At first I was afraid the captain's hand was originally Ivar's, who might have recognized me. However, my hope that Ivar had decided against this step, joining the piracy or that the captain had refused him, vanished when I saw him follow the captain to the crew.

Our crew was complete, we didn't need another man, which is why I was quite optimistic about Ivar getting rejected, but he had tremendous stamina. When he got something on his mind, he held onto it, no matter how difficult it was, and even if it took a long time for him to achieve. There was hardly anything that he did not claim for himself. Whatever he had done to win the captain over, he was now part of the crew, which meant he would be at sea with us for a long time, on board of a small, overseeable ship that didn't provide much room for a hideaway. Ivar and I would often run into each other and I had the feeling that it would cause a lot of problems. One thing was set as if engraved on stone tablets, I would never be able to forget him. On the contrary, his presence would arouse feelings I had repressed for a long time. It was already difficult for me to keep my distance. It had been two years since I was close to him, let alone exchanged a word with him and I longed for it. Especially now since I saw him physically standing right in front of me.

"Everybody, listen up!", The captain spoke with a raised voice and the laughter of the crew instantly ceased. He grabbed Ivar by the shoulder and squeezed it firmly as he announced the news, “From today on this landlubber here will be part of the crew. He will sail the seas with us, fight, capture and plunder under our flag. - We're well staffed, but we'd definitely like to welcome adventurous, daring youngsters on board of the Rubin, wouldn't we?”, after listening to the captain’s speech, the crew bursts out laughing and roaring, excluding me. If I had the chance to, I would have immediately got him out of trouble. "You are now outlawed, boy - the freedom of the seas lies ahead of you, enjoy it as long as you can!" The captain laughed scornfully.

"Captain!" I cleared my throat. Now I had to sound convincing and at the same time manly enough not to make Ivar prick up his ears. As if it wasn't difficult enough. One crooked tone and my cover would be blown, this time not only in front of the crew, but also in front of Ivar. It was extremely risky to ask for a hearing in this situation, I knew that, but I could no longer stand aside and do nothing.

Since I hardly ever spoke to the captain, he was all the more surprised that I was now standing directly in front of him. My heart sank to my boots as I felt the eyes of the entire crew in me, including Ivar’s and the captain’s. The last time I got so much attention was when I was introduced to the crew and even then, I felt uneasy. I swallowed hard, before I eventually proclaimed my request: “We're already overstaffed, captain! Our supplies are just enough for the crew. In addition, he would just stand in the way, there is no task left that he could take on. That's only wasted supplies, space, and spoil. After all, he is one man more who is eligible of a part of the treasures.", I tried hard to remain standing confidently in front of him. I had never questioned any of the captain's decisions. Under other circumstances I would have held myself back this time too, but the thought of Ivar made me push my limits, especially since I didn't know what he was up to. It could not only harm the crew, who had grown dear to my heart after the long time I’ve sailed with them, but also Ivar himself and I wanted to prevent that.

The captain laughed. He must take me for a joke figure. Taking deep breaths in and out, I tried to stand firmly. The smell of alcohol rises to my nose, no wonder, most of the sailors here were no longer even able to hold their jug upright. At the smell, I felt the rare need to take a sip, to use a bit Dutch courage. "Very true! We are indeed overstaffed, we don't have enough supplies and, as you already said, the ship has no space for another sailor.”, He scratched his braided beard, “I have a better idea! How about him taking your place?”

I did not expect that kind of reaction. Instead of preventing Ivar from joining the piracy, I provoked my own expulsion. My plan threatened to fail miserably. Without a pirate crew there would be no clue to the whereabouts of my family and without a ship I had no means of transportation. I had risked all of that without thinking.

I clenched my teeth with anger. I was now in trouble and I was mad, mad at myself and my own stupidity. “What do you think,” the captain grabbed my shoulders and turned me to Ivar, “which of you two would really be an enrichment to the crew? Obviously, he's not such a wimp (here we go again) like you!”

I bowed my head. First, to avoid Ivar's eyes, and second, because I knew he was right. Ivar was strong, much stronger than an obscure kid like me. I only took care of the inventory and medical care of the men. In the beginning I also participated in fights. I knew how to use a sword, I had secretly taught myself to do it at night behind a bar, but my problem was, I couldn’t, and I didn't want to kill. A human life was far too valuable. How can you sacrifice someone's existence so senselessly? I didn't understand and I never wanted to.

“I'm sure there will be enough space for both of us!”, Ivar said. His voice sounded like music to my ears. The words "I look forward to it", which he had whispered in my ear in that deep male voice, came to my mind and again, a pleasant tingling sensation went through my body that caused my eyes to close for a brief moment. With a smile on my face, I enjoyed the pleasant, warm feeling.

Ivar had reached out a hand, hoping for a forgiving handshake and was waiting for me to shake it, but I didn’t. He was taken aback when I didn't return the handshake and just nodded politely instead. I would have loved to return the gesture, but I preferred to play it safe. During my absence he had surely met some women, maybe it’s been way more easier for him to forget me and all we had, than it was for me, but that still did not assure me that he did not remember my little hands. To be honest, I was hoping he'd remember at least a tiny little thing about me, even though he had every right to want to forget me. After all, I disappeared from his life without a word. Every day I imagined what would have happened if I had stayed, if I had just not paid so much attention to the conversation between him and our foster parents. Each time a different variant of our future came to my mind. Would we be married? Would we already have a child, a young son, or a young daughter? I sometimes imagined us teaching our child how to walk in the meadow in front of the yard, where the cows grazed in the afternoons. If it fell down, it would laugh, and his or her light blue eyes would shine with joy. I was sure our child would have Ivar's eyes.

Whenever I imagined our future like this, I regretted what I had done back then, but then the negative thoughts reminded me of why I had acted the way I did.

I waited longingly for Ivar to return from the market. I always felt overjoyed when I got to see him again after such a long day, but on that evening, I was overflowing with happiness and bliss. After we had finally confessed our feelings to each other and got together, I couldn't wait to feel him in my arms again. I wanted to be enveloped in his body heat and scent again as soon as possible. I wanted to bury my hands in his hair when we kissed. Just the thought of the feeling of his lips on mine made me melt away. They were so warm, soft, and clung to mine as if they were made for each other. After only one time I was already addicted to them, to him. I could hardly wait for him to come back.

It was already getting dark outside. I stood in front of the kitchen window, out of excitement completely forgetting about dinner, and watched the clouds as they rolled by the orange-pink coloured sky. Meanwhile I daydreamed about no less than Ivar to sweeten up the waiting time. I couldn't wait for the daydreams to come true.

When I saw him turn the corner, I was about to open the window and call him. My longing was almost unbearable. But before I could even utter a sound, our foster mother's voice rang out. She sounded extremely worried, and she must have been if she couldn't even wait for Ivar to enter the house. People nearby also took notice of my foster mother's calls and watched the scene for a brief moment before they went back to their own business. Normally Ivar would have come to me first. He would have told me briefly about the events that took place at the market, which were sometimes more and sometimes less exciting, and I told him what had happened on the farm while he was away. He then entered the house, disclosed the revenues to our father, and afterwards the two of them sat down together at the dining table and discussed the following morning schedule before the food was served. Tonight, everything was different. Ivar also noticed our foster mother’s concern and eventually he started to run.

I wondered what it was, that threw our mother in such a turmoil and I wanted to help her, just like she had helped us when Ivar and I were standing completely soaked to the bones and freezing in front of her door and she still took us in not hesitating for even a second. She was always there for us and I tried every day to prove myself grateful for everything she did for us.

I put out the fire of the hearth so that our dinner did not suffer even more damage than it had already suffered because of my dreaminess. To look for my foster mother, I left the kitchen, but stopped halfway and hid behind the door frame that separated the kitchen from the hallway and dining area. Astonished, I listened to the conversation that my mother was having with Ivar. "Look, my son!", Elisabeth, our foster-mother, referred to the article that covered the entire front page of the daily newspaper, "There are important news from the royal family. Your mother, Queen Aslaug, gave birth to a son, your brother!". Queen? I knew he came from a wealthy family, which the noble clothes he wore back then revealed, but I didn't know he came from a royal background. Ivar had never spoken about it, at least not to me. That must be a misunderstanding. Come on, Ivar, say something. My hands grabbed the fabric of the apron I was wearing as I listened tensely to the conversation, which was never meant for my ears.

For a short time, it was quiet in the hallway. Everyone fell silent, including Ivar, even after reading the article carefully he uttered not even a single word. "Ivar!", Elisabeth exclaimed indignantly, as Ivar pushed the newspaper aside and fetched the bag with the money, as if he wanted to move on with the usual daily routine and without paying any more attention to the article. "You can't live like this forever, here with us, on the farm and working for us! You are a prince, you belong to the royal family!", she preached to him, as he emptied out the bag on the table, completely lost in thoughts, and the clattering of the thalers drowned out some of Elizabeth's words. "I'm not going anywhere! My home is right here, you're my home and I'm won’t abandon you", he said, raising his gaze. He looked firmly at Elisabeth and Helge, our foster father. “With the child, the succession to the throne is now taken care of, there is no reason left for me to return!", Ivar said. "You are the child of the first marriage! The son of the once reigning king, to whom everyone looked up! Do not allow your father’s inheritance to go to waste and take the place that you are entitled to, as the legitimate successor of your father!" Elisabeth argued. She just meant well for him. She always wanted only the best for us. "I will never set a foot in that castle again! I will never forgive my mother for replacing my father without further ado! She hasn’t sent out one single ship for us!". I peeped from behind the door frame to Ivar. His eyes reflected the anger and the disappointment as well as the pain that he felt. At that moment I realized where his sleepless nights came from. He had such an infinite burden to bear, the burden associated with the death of his father and that of the rest of his family, for which I felt partly responsible. If only all of this hadn’t happened. His father would still be alive if my father had not attacked him and Ivar would have been in his rightful place, perhaps even king by now.

Now, since I knew that Ivar was not just a noble man, but a prince, I felt very different. My joy was blown away and what remained was the feeling of loss. I did not belong to the higher class. My mother worked as a cook and my father was a pirate. I was the daughter of a pirate, the pirate, because of who Ivars farther, the king, died. So, our relationship was star-crossed. Our future together, which I have always longed for, would remain a dream forever. A relationship between a prince like him and a woman of the lower class like me would never come to a happy end, only to an end full of sorrow and pain. If I couldn't spare him the death of his father, couldn't take away the pain of the past, I wanted to spare him at least all the pain of the future.

"Ivar, keep your father in mind! Do it for him. I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted anyone but you as his successor!", because of the ongoing heated discussion, all three of them were distracted enough for me to sneak into my room unnoticed. I sighed deeply as I closed the door behind me. I remembered the morning. I've never been as happy as when he confessed his feelings to me. The memory of the following kiss brought tears to my eyes. The sad thing was not the kiss, it was the thought that it would be the last one. From an early age, I abhorred goodbyes, but none of them hurt as much as saying goodbye to my one and only great love. I have to go, and I have to hurry before they notice me. Just as the tears were threatening to fall, I wiped them out of my eyes. I didn't own many things, so, that saved me from having to carry heavy luggage. I just reached for my cape that was lying on my bed. As I hung it around my shoulders and as I let my eyes wander around my little chamber, a shell catched my eye. The Arcida shell has a unique shape and I liked it very much, even more because it was a gift from Ivar. One day Ivar found the shell entangled in the fishing net and he decided to gift it to me. "Look what I caught, just for you!", he had said as he presented the shell.

I took my only keepsake of him and carefully put it in the little bag I always carried around my hip. In this bag I usually kept several variations of medicinal herbs, which I, if necessary, administered to the animals, such as mint for maldigestion.

Not only bidding farewell to Ivar, but also to my foster parents was extremely difficult for me. They raised me like their own child, taught me important life lessons, loved me, and stood by my side throughout my life. I couldn't have wished for better foster parents and I would be grateful forever. I hoped I’d someday get the chance to see them again.

Before I finally left the house and the people I loved behind, I took my pen and ink and wrote a letter to Elisabeth, Helge, and Ivar. In the end, I didn't have the heart to leave without saying goodbye to them.

Dear Mother, Dear Father

I'm terribly sorry and I wish I could stay, but I have to go.

I thank you with all my heart for everything you had done for me. You have always been there for me, you have never rejected me, even though you knew where I came from.

I have found a new home and a family in you and I will be grateful forever.

Thank you for everything and may God protect you

In Love Y/N

While I was writing the letter, I couldn't choke back my tears. They ran down my cheeks, but before they could drip on the paper, I quickly wiped them away.

My beloved Ivar

I remember the day we met as if it were yesterday. I thank God for placing you on my way, I just wish it would have been a different occasion that led us to each other.

Ivar, please don't get me wrong, I love you with all my heart, but I fear our love will not have a future. Our destiny is too different.

I know you are destined for greatness and I ask you to promise me that you will follow your destiny, I firmly believe you will succeed. Your father would be proud of you!

I wish you all the best of the future and may God always accompany you on your way.

In Love Y/N

Quickly I wrote the letter addressed to Ivar before stepping out of the window into the darkness. The sun had set about three-quarters of an hour ago. Only the light of the moon and the stars guided me through the darkness.

One last time I looked back before I started running. It’s only a matter of time until someone would notice that I was gone, so I had to hurry up. I didn’t know where I was supposed to run, I hadn't thought about it yet. I just tried to get away as soon as possible, so I ran as far as I could in that short amount of time.

After a while I found myself at the harbor. The wind howled and spread ice cold air. The waves hit the ships, causing them to shake. I stood in the middle of the impending storm, trembling in the cold, looking for a refuge. Trying to shield myself from the cold wind, I covered my upper arms and walked along the harbor. I listened to the sound of the sea and the salty smell of the sea reached my nostrils.

If I kept staying there, in the exact same city, Ivar would sooner or later find me and I knew that if I saw him again, I couldn't bring myself to leave him again. Consequently, I had to leave the city as soon as possible. Coincidentally, I became aware of how some men were constantly carrying boxes on board of a ship. Individual men on deck readied the ship for departure, which implied that this ship would soon be running out of port. This was my chance. So, I grabbed it without thinking too much about it and mingled with the men carrying heavy wooden boxes who gradually boarded. This was the second time I boarded a ship without permission, but this time I made sure it wasn't a pirate ship. It was a merchant ship, which I recognized by the infinite variations of goods. From rare fabrics through to exotic spices, they had everything. The ship would go to several mercantile cities and I decided to jump ship after arriving at the next port.

Before I knew what was happening, the ship had already left the harbor and I officially left everything I connected with the small town behind and sailed towards a new stage of life.

Thank you so so much for reading! Stay safe!😇🧡

Tagged: @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @curvynerdfan @xvxcarolinexvx

#ivar the boneless #ivar x reader #ivar vikings x reader #vikings ivar #ivar fanfiction #ivar fanfic #ivar fic #vikings tv show #vikings fanfiction #vikings fanfic #vikings imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #vikings #ivar imagine #ivar ragnarsson

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shiny-procrastinates · 3 years

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(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 13

part 12 here

Hello and welcome everyone to the last post in this series. Most people probably would watch this ep right after the other one and there's much to be written, so let's skip the recap and get right to it.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 13

This show in a nutshell.

Really though, poor Iroha. She only came to this town to look for her sister and now she's learnt a cruel secret and is being urged to join a cult. Talk about someone who must have no idea what's going on anymore.

Back in reality, Yachiyo has finally caught up. She tries to stop Mifuyu from showing them the truth, but I'd say it's too late now. Also, Mifuyu's sure being a jerk today. You don't get to blame Yachiyo for letting them come when you're the one who made sure this would happen!

Yachiyo gets upset, and Mifuyu disappears. Iroha wakes up with Yachiyo cleaning her Soul Gem and Yachiyo says this but, nah Yachiyo, they'd have to learn this sooner or later and you don't seem like you'd ever tell them.

Iroha and Yachiyo start making their way out of Memory Museum. Tsuruno and the others were with Iroha when they went down but now they're nowhere to be found. Wait, does that mean we don't get to see their reactions to learning the truth? What a let down.

On this topic, Iroha's also pretty calm despite everything, which is probably part because realization hasn't settled in yet, part because she's occupied worrying about her team... but maybe also in part because Iroha has a wish she can’t regret, so she just doesn't care about the price as much as others. Doesn't she look like this kind of character? "I don't care what price I have to pay if that means I'll save them"-like.

Oh.

Hey Yachiyo 1: that was really outta nowhere; 2: that's not very nice of you, jumping ship just as things have hit rock-bottom. What the hell

Iroha, of course, is as shocked as we are (we are?). Sure Yachiyo had been acting strange since yesterday but this is a bit much. You can't just decide this on your own when 3/5 of the team is MiA

Iroha follows after Yachiyo, pressing her for an explanation, but Yachiyo refuses to give one.

Iroha's understandably upset at Yachiyo's attitude and asserts she refuses to leave Yachiyo's side if she won't give her a convincing reason to. And really, she has all the reasons to lose her cool here: one of her best friends is leading a cult, she's destined to a fate worse than death, half her team is missing and now the last one wants out for absolutely no discernible reason besides because she wants to. Even a saint has their limits.

Also, like, Mikazuki Team is like family to her, Yachiyo can't just decide to destroy her home with no explanation like this

Hearing what Iroha said, maybe Yachiyo realized she wouldn't get Iroha off her tail without saying anything, so she reveals her reason for wanting to disband the team. Yachiyo says that her wish was to survive. However, the way it worked was that she sacrificed others for her own survival. So she thinks Iroha and co. will die if they stay with her.

Even hearing this, Iroha's not convinced. Could such a wish really exist?

So yeah, Yachiyo was having a little crisis there and ended up being eaten by the Rumor(?). Thankfully, Iroha could still see her signal on the Soul Gem GPS, so the girl firms her determination to save her.

While Iroha's doing that, Yachiyo's having a lecture by herself to herself inside the Rumor. Quite the novel way to do introspection, if I do say so myself.

Here, we learn that Yachiyo originally wished to survive in the modelling world (we're never directly told that she's a model but there's lots of visual cues to it throughout the series). She did it because she thought she had to be a strong leader to protect her companions. She didn't want to survive at their expanse; so, uhhh...

She isn't then. Wishes in this series come true in the exact way the Magical Girl wants it to, so Yachiyo's wish can't be killing anyone if that's not what she wanted. She's misunderstanding.

...I wish they'd have put Kanae and Mel's last words in the actual scene they belong to rather than just a still, since they're literally one of the main reasons Yachiyo even reached the conclusion that their deaths were caused by her.

Iroha has learned "hold B to charge".

So, yeah, Iroha must've had a training arc off-screen because even though she's only been shown sucking at battles the whole series, she's now suddenly strong enough to defeat a Rumor on her own. Or maybe she just wanted to save her wife Yachiyo that much.

Iroha defeats the Rumor of Memory Museum (the place's an actual building, if a weird one, so that stays), hugs Yachiyo and is about to literally drag her by the hand to go search for the others, but Yachiyo's still reluctant. Iroha then tells her that Yachiyo and the others are the one who made her this strong, so she'll prove to her that her wish isn't what she thinks it is.

Don't jinx yourself, idiot! Thank god you've got protagonist plot armor.

Now, if only years of survivor's guilt could be cured this easily in real life too.

Yachiyo finally calls Iroha by her first name, accepting Iroha's promise.

The museum starts falling apart, probably thanks to the damage it received when Iroha was fighting the Rumor, so Iroha and Yachiyo have no choice but to leave the place now, even though they haven't found the others yet.

Iroha barely dodges some debris, stumbling, so Yachiyo carries her instead. Iroha's Soul Gem has been drained from fighting the Rumor, so she's having a hard time moving already. Doppels may be a thing, but there's no guarantee that they're safe, so Yachiyo's call of going to the Coordinator's to get a Grief Seed is probably correct.

As Iroha's situation worsens, Yachiyo follows Chibi Kyuubei until almost the entrance. Then, she meets with someone we know very well.

Mami says something about a gospel, and Yachiyo asserts that she and Iroha have no intention of joining the cult.

Which makes Mami snap. This girl is clearly not on her right mind. In fact, one could say she lost her head (ba-dum-tss).

Mami and Yachiyo start fighting, and I guess as expected of a veteran of 7 years, we have to commend Yachiyo here on meeting Mami's blows while carrying Iroha on her back. Yachiyo pleads with Mami to hear them out but Touka, the brat who was just watching the battle, tells Mami she doesn't have to, and Mami just keeps on her offensive.

Of course, there's only so much Yachiyo could do handicapped. But today is not the day Yachiyo's getting a bullet to her head, because

A certain someone who really likes impromptu hydrant smoke bombs is here.

Sayaka! Nice save, shining cape hero of justice! You have no idea who exactly you're calling weak tho

Seeing Sayaka, it looked like Mami had went back to normal for a moment, but nope, she's still borked. Like in all timelines where she learns it, seems like Mami didn't take the truth well here either. The difference is that she can't witch out in Kamihama so something happened instead.

Mami keeps monologuing, with Sayaka of course not understanding a single thing she's saying. Then, Mami starts to doppel out. The girl has seriously lost her mind and is now obsessed with salvation. (and man 10/10 on the VA’s voice acting here)

And here comes the bullet hell! This is so overkill Mami

Sayaka and Yachiyo do their best to deflect the rain of bullets, with Yachiyo turning back and trying to compete in number of spears. Jesus, just how big exactly is the amount of magic a veteran magical girl has? This is insane!

Yachiyo tries to send a stream of spears, who are deflected with one Tiro Finale, with another one headed their way right after

Sayaka blocks the Tiro Finale with her sword. The shot is so powerful one of her arms is torn off AND SHE ATTACHES IT BACK MID-AIR

holy-moly!

Hope this museum has insurance.

Sayaka just barely manages to reflect that bomb, which saves them from being blown to smithereens. Touka was having a nice tea time watching the spectacle, but then realizes she had something else to attend to so she exits, leaving the stage to Mami, who resumes her bullet hell.

Sayaka uses Yachiyo's spears as a platform to get closer and attempts to grab Mami, to no avail. She falls down and tries to take cover, but Mami's bullets are now homing bullets apparently, because they just change direction and start raining in her direction again.

Down below where Yachiyo's hiding, Iroha manages to wake back up, but she looks, like, on the verge of dying or something. Iroha tells Yachiyo they have to help Sayaka and Yachiyo rebukes there's no way they could win, to which Iroha subtly implies she wants to use her doppel, assuring Yachiyo it'll be okay and raising yet another flag.

Mami finally corners Sayaka, but before Sayaka can become blue Swiss cheese, Iroha comes in with her doppel to cover her. Very convenient that she suddenly knows how to control it.

Aaand Yachiyo can do that too, because of course she does, why wouldn't she. (/sarcasm)

But, uhhh, hers is considerably more creepy, what with the extra arms and stuff. Yikes.

Yachiyo says that doppels are dangerous, but one has to wonder when and how did she even learn about them. After all, she did seem surprised when Iroha did not turn into a witch in Seance Shrine.

While that's going on Touka's just out here deciding by herself that Mami would want to die for the sake of salvation. Just, uh, I don't think you can judge that when she's gone nuts, and you're a jerk if you put her in that scenario expecting her to die. Not that anyone had any doubts you're a jerk, mind you.

Also, what does she mean with Mami helping with developing Rumors?

"hey Kyuubei, I don't want to be meguka anymore, can I retire?"

Even using their doppels, Iroha and Yachiyo are not managing to make even a dent in Holy Mami. Iroha ends up getting bashed into a wall, the doppel taking over for real and her becoming a sitting duck for Mami, but Yachiyo yeets Mami before she can shoot. I'm sure this wasn't supposed to be funny but there's just something hilarious to me about Yachiyo just yeeting Holy Mami and her bouncing away.

Yachiyo transforms and shakes Iroha back to reality.

Again, why the heck do you know this, Yachiyo.

Iroha raises yet another flag for herself. What next? Are you going to say you want to marry her when you two go back?

Somewhere else, Touka arrives on her appointment: a speech for the cult. And oh my hell just look at how many magical girls there is! The amount of Black Feathers always blows me away, since the impression I got from og and even the spin offs is that, sure, there are some groups of magical girls around like the Holy Quintet and the Pleiades, but I still though it was more of a rare thing. It's shocking to see THIS many in the same place. (...I suppose the game needed the cannon fodder :x)

HEY what are these two doing here?!

Touka continues her speech over Iroha and Yachiyo's battle.

This cult leader here continues her discourse, preaching about how the power to wish for something is what advanced civilization, so magical girls, who have the power to make a wish reality, are better than normal humans, and so are deserving of being released from their fate.

OH NO, TSURUNO HAS GONE WEIRD TOO

*bonk*

There goes Holy Mami down the collapsing museum.

It's not like Touka's completely wrong (except for saying that magical girls are superior), but if it wasn't clear enough already, their actual actions makes her speech be full of hypocrisy.

Back at the crumbling Memory Museum, Iroha has managed to jinx herself so hard throughout this episode she pierced her own protagonist plot armor. Great job!

Try as she might, Yachiyo just cannot pull her back up, which also makes no sense when you consider how strong magical girls are, but alas.

And to make things worse, Mami is also pulling a literal "you're going down with me", so Iroha, making a split second decision, pulls her hand away from Yachiyo's grasp, lest both of them fall and get buried... breaking the one promise she made probably not even a hour ago.

I think that last thing she said was "sorry", but don't quote me on that.

What a loyal Mokyu. Never mind that if they can turn into water they probably can't die from this.

Yachiyo's about to follow her fate too, but thankfully Sayaka comes in for the save, only giving a brief glance to where Mami disappeared before getting the heck out of there.

Well, people promise lots of things, Yachiyo.

OH I KNOW YOU, what was your name again? It's been so long I forgot.

Back at the The Wings of the Magius' HQ, Touka's done with her speech. The way the anime cuts from Yachiyo falling to the depths of despair to the cult clapping is just *chef's kiss*

Oh no Felicia and Sana also joined the cult :(

EXCUSE ME, WHAT

oh frick we'll have to deal with that too!? Aren't things already effed up enough as is!?

...being meguka is suffering.

Also the song playing over this last sequence, Nigredo, is a real banger. Momentarily filling in that hole Kalafina left in our hearts.

After the end credits there's the teaser for season 2, with lots of overlapping lines and blink-and-you-miss-it frames hinting at the things that'll happen. I'd have to screenshot basically the whole sequence to get everything and season 2 is coming out like, today, so I'm not even gonna bother.

- x -

Aaand that's it folks! Puella Magia Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record Season 1! (still a mouthful)

I cannot express just how hyped I was by the end of this episode back when it aired. Did you get fired up watching it too? I was so into it back then I just couldn't stop theorizing for like, over a month, so eventually the curiosity was just too much and I caved in and watched the game.

On that matter, ironically, despite me loving the game story to bits, this is the ONE episode that makes me wish I didn't go and watch the game. Why? Because I liked this episode well enough before, but now I just can't get over how stupidly better the resolution to Yachiyo's arc was done in the game. I get runtime constraints and all, but it's almost an offense to her character having her believe in Iroha right away just because Iroha said she wouldn't die. Aaaaghh what the heck, I don't know how they could have done this better with the time on the episode but this wasn't it. I'll be eternally salty we got robbed of the full extent of alpha Iroha, too.

So yeah, I do apologize if this post sounded more salty and sarcastic than usual.

One thing I realized re-watching this though is that the reason this episode is so awkward with that character part is exactly because they halfheartedly tried to stick to the game. Yachiyo bringing back her "it's none of your account" and Iroha defeating the Rumor on her own were part of the game, but because they hadn't kept those character traits throughout the anime it falls flat here, because anime Yachiyo didn't use that almost as a catchphrase, and anime Iroha is never shown to be competent enough to take on a Rumor on her own (the opposite, in fact), so those come out of nowhere. Even last episode, Yachiyo 180ing because of what Mifuyu said comes out of the blue in the anime, because we're missing the context that she actually went back to behaving like she used to when she first disbanded her team, and anime Yachiyo didn't have the hold-up with the word "friends", at least not as clearly. On the other hand, Yachiyo being willing to accept Iroha's words right away does fit in with anime Yachiyo, who was always more soft than game version, but here it becomes awkward because they had had her acting like her game counterpart since last episode and then suddenly she snaps back to the anime self again.

What I'm trying to say here is that they should've changed this scene even more to fit the actual characters anime Iroha and Yachiyo are, rather than halfheartedly trying to force it to go the same way as in the game. That's what I think.

Besides that, Tsuruno and co.'s reaction to the truth was cut out, but I'm sure we'll get around to seeing that next season. Holy Mami's fight is cool but... I dunno. Except Sayaka reflecting that Tiro Finale, it felt really uninspired. It could've been shorter if that meant giving more time to the story, imo

Now for things I REALLY like in this episode, there's the whole sequence with Touka's speech. You might've even guessed this considering I said the dream sequence way back in episode 1 is my favorite ever. IT'S JUST SO GOOD. The constrast between Touka delivering this super charismatic discourse about magical girls, the saint of her cause being lunatic and their actions being just the opposite of the noble cause she says they're preaching is marvelous. They even manage to use this time to reveal that KaMoRe and Tsuruno and co. are on the cult. Really, really well done.

This ending tho. Iroha disappearing is the biggest anime original thing to happen besides Kuroe, so that's got me curious to see what they'll do with this. I love the game, so I have complicated feelings about the anime diverging from it, but I can't deny it's exciting to think about what they'll change up. Ultimately, it's more likely that they're just rearranging some stuff to make the progress more straightforward, but it'd be really cool if it went full anime original too. Just I'm not sure on the odds for that.

I'm sure they'll keep us on the suspense until the very last moment possible but I'm sure Iroha's not actually dead. Looking at a meta sense, there's no way they'd kill a main character off-screen. Storywise, it'd be hard to move Ui's mystery forward without the one person who remembers her and they're not just going to drop this plot, and also for Iroha to be dead Holy Mami would also need to be dead and we can't have that because they haven't even went into what's wrong with her yet. So yeah. I'll believe it when I see it. Would it be absolutely crazy if they did? Yeah, but it ain't gonna happen. (please don't make me have to bite my tongue show)

Whew, this post is long af. I didn't plan for this. I don't feel like writing a season impression because all of s1 was mostly set up for what's to come, so I can't say if it was good or bad until the series is over. Originally, I'd planned to put up another post with my theories for s2, but considering that comes out today I'm not sure there's even a point to doing it anymore lol

In any case, I hope I could provide you some fun with these posts! Being honest, the reason I decided to write this was because I've always liked to hear people's opinions on the shows I like, but I don't really have people to watch things with me, so I just read reddit and stuff. Doing that, when I was watching Symphogear s1 some years back, I stumbled across these posts of someone watching it for the first time and had a blast reading those as I watched. So I wanted to provide someone with that experience too. I'll never reach the comedic genius that person had, but I can at least keep you company while you watch :)

...these are also super useful to check back on the order of events too :v

So yeah, writing these was fun, though there were lots of parts where I really went out of ideas of what to say; it forced me to actually sit down and rewatch (or else I'd procrastinate) and made me pick up on a lot of things. That's a plus in my book.

Now that we are done with this, I hope you are as excited for season 2 as I am! I'm not sure if I'll keep writing about it here, so yeah. Whether we ever meet again or not, remember:

Don't ever make a contract with a white weasel.

#Magia Record #magireco #pmmm magia record #puella magi madoka magica side story #this post is super late #it's 7 in the morning #and I haven't slept help

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viviae · 4 years

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Dissecting the Newspapers

What are those newspaper articles?

Well, I’m here to give MY interpretation of what is going on. Simply put, I think Anastasia is planning a coup to overthrow Vesuvia.

1) We have Anastasia fixing the canals

First off, Anastasia has no reason to fix the canals, she does not live in Vesuvia and her niece and nephew aren’t exactly permanent residence either. So why? These canal’s have been a long standing problem in Vesuvia’s history, no one knows who built them or why and half of them are unfinished so it’s safe to say they’ve probably been around since the city was founded. And then to have this mysterious benefactor who is putting in some very expensive resources to solve this issue? It’s to gain public approval for her and leave a positive impression on the masses (she did not actually speak publicly at the trial).

Her fixing the canals lead to her digging underground as well which seems to have resulted in the flooded district collapsing.

And speaking of public approval...

2) Nadia had to delay the masquerade

This threat of flooding is so serious Nadia delayed the masquerade. This should be a huge red flag as in all the other routes Nadia cannot cancel the masquerade. It’s obvious Nadia has a lot riding on the masquerade politically speaking. The people of Vesuvia love a good ole fashion masquerade and it’s pretty much the only reason anyone liked Lucio and did not start a revolution.

So we have a public figure who has been absent from the public eye for years who tries to offer two different events to improve her public standing. The hanging, which does not happen, and now the masquerade which is delayed. Even in the parts of the city where Lucio was always disliked and may have had their hopes riding on Nadia it just shows to them they are failing. Not to mention that now a foreigner is now fixing one of Vesuvia’s longest standing problems which obviously looks like it was always an easy fix but the Vesuvian royal family has been to incompetent to fix it. As well as now we have the flooded district being completely destroyed which is only going to hurt Nadia’s image more with the people.

In one fell swoop Tasya just ruined Nadia’s public image. Which if you want to plan a coup, it would be incredibly beneficial to have the current ruling figure fail.

3) Tasya has already won over the court

In the last book we got to see Tasya at work. Giving Valerius an incredibly expensive vineyard and Vastomil some rare worms isn’t exactly cheap. And while yes at face value this was just to convince them to rule Julian innocent I doubt it was just to rule Julian innocent on an even vote. They are indebted to her and have a great respect for her now as well.

And although she only has 2/5 members of the court it won’t be hard to win over the others.

4) a renowned expert in poison has been found mysteriously dead

Acontius Dogwood has been found dead, why would they include this seemingly irrelevant individual’s death for a teaser image? Well I’ll give you the biggest hint and it’s in the pudding.

If you don’t remember Nightshade allow me to remind you of this lovely quote from Julian

This poison is incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands but it’s only safe to be touched because it needs to be distilled. The distilling process for a poison can be pretty complicated and would need an expert to do so successfully. And an expert was just mysteriously killed (probably by his own creation). If he’s used to crafting this poison specifically for overthrowing kings he’s probably smart enough not to live in a city where its being used.

Until what I believe is Anastasia asking for a poison to be crafted for her. I think she killed him to keep him quiet and no one to be the wiser. And where do I think this poison is? Well let’s take a look at the flower itself.

A pale blue with darker veins inside of it.... Now lets take a look at that necklace that Anastasia gifted Portia real quick.

A pale blue with darker veins inside of it...

I think this necklace is a Chekhov’s Gun, its an incredibly odd thing to be drawing attention to as much as it has been, with even Valerius making a comment on it. More specifically I think it’s a reference to the Game of Throne’s necklace that Sansa wears at the purple wedding. It’s a pale blue necklace that has one of it’s dangling gems removed during the events as the gems hold a poison to overthrow a king... and subsequently frames her for murder.

Another point is how in the paid scene with Portia at the pillow fight it’s noted that had taken the necklace off. Now you could make an argument that this is simply because Portia didn’t want any damage to fall to the necklace but I think this was a way to make sure we the readers don’t accidentally break this gem containing an incredibly dangerous poison.

5) What is going on with the crabmen?

Ok, they aren’t actually half crab hybrids.

But what people are seeing at men in carapaces running around under ground. So I believe that they aren’t crabs, but rather men in armor. We know Anastasia is in charge of repairing the canals which has lead to her having to go underground. I think the fixing the canals is also a cover to get her to sneak armed troops underground which people are seeing. And they seem to be quite territorial and aggressive as it’s scaring the citizens... almost like they don’t want to be seen.

6) The storms

Ok, this wasn’t part of my original theory because I thought the storms were the Devil getting mad at delaying the masquerade but I saw @thesanguinerose ‘s post talking about how Julian and Portia’s parents were killed in a storm that mysteriously on the Devorak children and Tasya survived.

And now that there are these violent storms brewing in Vesuvia... in the only route where Tasya is present raises some major concerns. Tasya explained to Portia that she had offered to buy their parent’s merchant ship to add to her fleet but they denied her. And then said parents happened to die out at see on a violent storm with Tasya present. It is definitely suspicious and I think these storms are connected to Tasya and are following her around. Perhaps in the same way that the plague followed Lucio around for having an uncompleted deal.

She does seem quite well traveled and despite being a baroness isn’t at her country ruling like she probably should. Probably to avoid destroying her city but there is no reason she can’t use this to an advantage. But I am making a lot of leaps with this one that I’m not even 100% about.

7) Foreshadowing in Portia’s Route

In Portia’s route there is a certain... theme to it. Portia is pretty bent on solving the mysteries of everything going on around her. Portia in general has a real penchant for snooping and keeping secrets. So we already know what one of the bigger mysteries of the overall story of The Arcana is “Why did Julian kill Lucio" but the problem is... Portia already solved it. She solved it before anyone else did back in book X (Yes Muriel’s route answers the question of if Julian did it at the start but not why) and yet we still have a massive story.

There seems to be a theme in the secondary routes that they take a different approach to the world and story than the main three. Portia has been following the story pretty much beat by beat so far but there is something incredibly special about Portia. She has no connection to the Devil at all.

If you follow (I believe it’s @apprenticeofcups ‘s meta) the idea that Lucio is only as big as a threat in the route based on that character of that route you have an odd situation where... Portia doesn’t know Lucio at all. Portia has never even made a deal with a major arcana like all the other members of the route. Currently, Portia’s biggest obstacle and threat to her personal morals IS Anastasia. It’s not crazy to think that she’d become Portia’s biggest villain and a major villain in general.

Here is also some fun screencaps to show some foreshadowing about Portia’s route maybe holding something a bit bigger. She used to pretend she was a lost princess and says these words exactly:

And well, she might not be betrayed for her own personal throne... the throne she serves is about to be betrayed...

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