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offtorivendell · 3 years

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The Dusk Court, The Hewn City, and Hybern - Part I, The Theory

Please don’t share or screenshot this post without credit.

Disclaimer: These thoughts are based on my own interpretations of the text, and are obviously not intending to say with any certainty what may or may not happen in future ACOTAR books.

This post was inspired by the amazing Eighth Court theory, which was first posted on Tumblr by @shadow-singing. While my thoughts took me in a slightly different direction than Shadow Singing, this post does not mean to denigrate her original post, which connected so many dots, and has become a widely accepted headcanon. In fact, this post likely would not exist without it, so I give much of the credit for this post to her.

TW: for mentions of canon abuse, torture and child birth related trauma.

This series contains mild spoilers from SJM’s Throne of Glass series, with regards to Celaena’s past - so reader beware.

Like many who read the ACOTAR series, on learning of the existence of the seven Courts of Prythian - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Dawn, Day and Night - my first thought was, what about Dusk? It bugged me, but nothing in the text jumped out at me… until ACOSF.

One of the more popular theories making the rounds of the ACOTAR fandom after the release of ACOSF is Shadow Singing’s mind blowing Eighth Court/Dusk Court/The Prison theory. Like most people who read it, I was instantly hooked, and it’s been a headcanon of mine ever since - do yourselves a favour and make sure you check it out. Once again, the following post is not intended to belittle Shadow Singing’s original theory at all, it just came to me when I was thinking about Merrill, her "remarkable" twilight eyes, and her ancestor, Rabath of the Western Wind, and grew from there. While the link between twilight and dusk is obvious, Rabbath Ammon was an ancient city that was conquered by an Egyptian king in the third century BCE, and was renamed after him, and the Western Wind title made me - eventually - think, look west.

So! What if the Dusk Court used to exist as what is now Hybern? Did the fae who currently live in the Court of Nightmares - in the Hewn City - originally hail from the Dusk Court, and were they escapees from its fall? When Elain killed the King of Hybern in ACOWAR, did she reclaim the Dusk Court throne for its rightful High Lord or Lady? Who would that even be? Merrill, Azriel, Mor… or even Elain herself? Read on for Part I, The Theory.

A HUGE thank you goes out to both @wingedblooms and @nikethestatue for all of the time that they spent discussing ideas with me, their valuable thoughts, and giving this a once (or twice) over when it was done.

PS. This is almost 10,000 words... I'm sorry. There's a very brief summary just below the "read more."

TL,DR: I suspect that the Dusk Court historically existed as what is now known as Hybern, and that the Prison island, while not the Dusk Court itself, contains a group of trapped fae that hail from there. Evidence exists that suggests that Elain and Azriel combined are a metaphor for dusk, and they - or their child - may eventually inherit the Dusk Court.

Where in the World Was the Dusk Court?

While the Prison island will almost certainly play a role in Elain’s personal story (so far Feyre and Nesta have both visited it, in addition to each of them conquering their own "sister peak"), as well as the overarching plot of the second ACOTAR trilogy, I think that the island that holds the prison mountain itself is too small to be an entire court - though I do still think it could be significant.

When I tried to split the map of the Night Court into two, thinking that it had perhaps annexed the Dusk Court at some point so long ago that even the fae cannot remember - perhaps when Rhys’ line of High Lords took power from Mor’s line - I could not make it work neatly… initially, at least.

I went through the following iterations of potential Dusk Court territories:

Image source: ACOTAR ebook

Option 1 - Southern Night Court

One would assume that the Dusk Court would have been the southern half of the Night Court, given the logical progression from Dawn to Day to Dusk to Night, but while that region would comprise the Court of Nightmares (more on this later), it is isolated from the Prison island, which I assumed was crucial at the time - while they were collecting the Harp from the Prison, Cassian mentioned to Nesta, that Rhys had told him that “this island might have even been an eighth court” (ACOSF, chapter 53). This area could also potentially include Velaris, depending on how far north you drew the boundary line in an attempt to claim the Prison island, which would then create an oversized Dusk Court, and an incredibly undersized Night Court.

If the border was, in fact, much further north than I drew above, further even than the line for option 2, it’s plausible that a previous High Lord or Lady of the Night Court could have been envious enough to attempt an invasion of an overpowered Dusk Court to their south, which could have explained Rhys and Mor’s family history - remember that the line apparently swapped from Mor/Keir’s line to Rhys’ line so long ago that no one really remembers why - but it doesn’t explain why Velaris, the City of Starlight, would have originally fallen inside the Dusk Court.

Option 2 - Northern Night Court

Thinking, then, that if the Prison island was simply part of the Dusk Court, and not the Dusk Court in its entirety, it could have meant that the Dusk Court was actually the northernmost half of the current Night Court; however, that region currently houses the Illyrian Steppes and the Illyrian Mountains, which includes Ramiel. It seems a little unbalanced, at least in my mind, for the original Dusk Court to hold two of the “sister peaks,” - Ramiel and the Prison, with the third being the mountain in “the Middle,” under which Feyre was trapped in ACOTAR - if it is less than half the size of the current Night Court, but it still could have been the case.

However, the reason why I don’t see this happening is that reinstating the Dusk Court, and reclaiming its land from the Night Court, would involve even more angst for the Inner Circle, both politically and emotionally, than I believe SJM currently has planned for this trilogy; it would probably require an entire trilogy on its own to do it justice, instead of having it as a subplot to a book in the Koschei trilogy, as well as a majority cast of Illyrian characters, assuming they were the original stewards of the land. Not to mention that Elain (or anyone else who isn't an Illyrian) wouldn’t be a suitable main character, given she is High Fae, so has not experienced the prejudice that the “lesser faeries'' often do, in particular the prejudice that is unique to Illyrians, and she does not know their culture.

I believe that, if SJM chooses to delve further into an Illyrian-centric storyline, it will be in a future trilogy, and would centre around Emerie, with Cassian and Rhys, and potentially Balthazar, for support. The Valkyries and their respective partners would probably play a secondary role, but in a way that both honours and centres the experiences of the Illyrians, especially the females. This would also be a great way to learn more about Cassian's past, and perhaps see a teenaged or young adult Nyx embracing the Illyrian half of his father's heritage.

Option 3.1 and 3.2 - Eastern Night Court, plus or minus the Prison

In an attempt to catch both the Court of Nightmares and the Prison island, either the purple or magenta lines could have allowed for an appropriately sized Dusk Court (and Night Court); however, these lands would again involve a potential “high fae saviour” plotline for Elain, as they include Illyria. They also lie to the east of Prythian, and not the west - westerly winds come from the west.

Thinking of Rabath of the Western Wind led me to what I think is where the Dusk Court may have been located.

Hybern.

Image source: ACOTAR ebook

Option 4 - Hybern (but currently under the Court of Nightmares)

Hybern lies to the west - the direction from which we'd see a westerly wind, and the direction in which the sun sets; Hybern is an “island” approximately the size of a Prythian Court, and has a king, not a High Lord - though we don't know what happened after the end of ACOWAR. What if Hybern was the Dusk Court and, at some long-forgotten point in time, conquerors came from another court, in search of land, power or riches, and overthrew the ruling High Family?

As for the Prison Island, I don't think that it was necessarily a part of the Dusk Court, though I do think it could still contain trapped faeries; it's too close to the Night Court to have belonged solely to Dusk. My crack theory is that it was the seat of the High King, and the eight-pointed star was the symbol of a unified, whole Prythian - but that is purely conjecture at this point. The Prison theory and the Hewn City/Hybern theory aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive - some form of both could be correct, and I can’t wait to see what will actually happen.

How Did the Sun Set on the Dusk Court?

It is well-known that SJM draws inspiration from myth and legend when writing her books, combining different aspects of multiple tales into a new, cohesive, whole. Given that a single glance at a map of Hybern, Prythian and the Continent is enough to demonstrate the region’s more than passing resemblance to our real-world Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the European continent, it - plausibly, at least - stands to reason that the stories specific to real world locations could influence the history of their Prythian counterparts.

The Tuatha de Danann and the Daoine Sidhe

This is, of course, purely hypothetical, but I see some potential parallels between the Dusk Court as I’ve hypothesised it, and the Tuatha de Danann and Aos Si/Daoine Sidhe from Irish mythology. Tuatha de Danann translates to Tribe of the Gods, or People of the Goddess Danu, and The Daoine Sidhe, People of the Mounds, are said to be their descendents, a supernatural race who live underground, in a world that is said to coexist with our own. Some stories call this world an alternate universe, and it is known as the Otherworld - the realm of both the gods and the dead.

Rhys said, “We will walk onto that field and only accept Death when it comes to haul us away to the Otherworld. - ACOWAR, chapter 69

We learnt in ACOSF that the priestess Merrill was researching parallel universes, and apparently there were up to twenty six of them; does that mean that there are twenty six possible “mounds” of faeries from the Dusk Court, trapped in one way or another, and scattered around Prythian, or their world? Where could they be?

“Merrill’s brilliant. Horrible, but brilliant. When she first came here, she was obsessed with theories regarding the existence of different realms -- different worlds. Living on top of each other without even knowing it.” - Gwyn, ACOSF, chapter 13

The Ireland of the Tuatha de Danann was invaded by the Milesians, and the Tuatha de, said to be either elves or faeries, escaped into their burrows underground. I suspect that this could parallel the faeries of the Dusk Court, or at least their High Family and other important figures, who would have been more likely and able to flee the invasion that toppled their court. However, given what the Harp showed Nesta when she was under the Prison mountain, I believe that some are more trapped than others.

The Invasion

Warning: minor Throne of Glass spoiler.

While the fae of the Hewn City - and potentially others like them - are metaphorically trapped, they are free to leave their mountain to watch Starfall, and go off to war etc.; other fae may well be fully trapped, since either during the initial invasion, or at some point later on. Whatever was used to trap the faeries underground must have been extremely powerful, and I agree with Shadow Singing that the Harp could have been used in the assault.

I do wonder if the ruling class of the Dusk Court was somehow lured and trapped before the main invasion, as Nesta was shown by the Harp, either on mainland Prythian, or in Hybern, which would make the rest of their court easier to conquer. If you have read SJM’s Throne of Glass series, I could imagine it as having happened similarly to how the King of Adarlan overthrew Terrasen’s royal family.

“I don’t know. He’s been smart about keeping the extent of his power hidden. But he had to resort to trickery and threats to beat us that day in Hybern. He has thousands of years of knowledge and training. If he and I fought … I doubt he will let it come to that. - Rhys, ACOWAR, chapter 20

While the above quote was referring to the Inner Circle’s disastrous attempt to steal the Cauldron from the King of Hybern, to prevent him from taking out the Wall that protected the Human Realm from the faeries, I think it could also potentially hint at how exactly the Dusk Court was overthrown to begin with. Rhys may have also provided us with some more context when he showed Feyre parts of Azriel's interrogation of the Attor.

It didn’t even know I’d slipped inside, but—there: images of the army that had been built, the twin to the one I’d fought against five centuries ago; of Hybern’s shores full of ships, readying for an assault; of the king, lounging on his throne in his crumbling castle. No sign of Jurian sulking about or the Cauldron. Not a whisper of the Book being on their minds. Everything the Attor had confessed was true. - Rhys, ACOMAF, chapter 28

Did the Attor unwittingly show Rhys the Dusk Court just after it had fallen to Hybern? There was no sign of the Cauldron or Jurian, no thoughts of the Book of Breathings; everything the Attor had confessed was true. The King of Hybern appeared to be a man in his forties, which means that, for a High Fae, he is old.

Amren said, “The King of Hybern is old, Rhys—very old. Do not linger.” A voice near my chest whispered, Hello lovely, wicked liar. - ACOMAF, chapter 61

Could he be the same King who took control of Dusk, all those centuries - millennia - ago? Perhaps, but where did he come from?

The Spell-Cleaver Connection

This section is, like this entire post, simply ‘speculation with quotes,’ so I could definitely be on the wrong track, but I suspect that the Day Court, and more specifically a branch of Helion’s family, may have had something to do with it. Could the person who was responsible for conquering the Dusk Court have been either the King of Hybern himself, or his ancestor if he wasn’t alive at the time, and could they have hailed from the Day Court? The imagery of the Day (Court) flowing into Dusk, then the Dusk turning (in)to Night for help, as well as combining history and mythology from multiple origins, is something I can see SJM having done.

Now, as a life-long atheist who purely studied science-based courses, please forgive the following section if I have misunderstood anything but, given Merrill’s ancestor was Rabath of the Western Wind, I think that the history of the city of Rabbath Ammon could have inspired what I suspect happened to the Dusk Court. Initially, I thought that it was purely because both lands had fallen to an invading force, but when I was reading a little further, I thought it could be something more.

Rabbath Ammon was conquered multiple times over its extensive history, including by the biblical King David, then by Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Alexander the Great, and then an Egyptian king in 322 BCE - Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who renamed it after himself… so maybe the King of Hybern was called Hybern, after all. Further, the Day Court is assumed by many to be inspired by either ancient Egypt or Persia; if this is true, could this be another hint to the events of Prythian history?

In addition to both Helion and Hybern sounding like names that could come from the same family (that’s purely subjective on my behalf, I know), both are known for their abilities with spells, and spell cleaving. Helion is even known as “Helion Spell-Cleaver,” though it isn’t apparent as to whether that’s just a nickname, or a family name. But I digress, if the ability to break spells and bargains runs in the Day Court line - Lucien appears to have inherited something like this from Helion, and Feyre has, too - then it is plausible to suggest that the King of Hybern and Helion could have been related, even if only distantly. After all, Tamlin asked Helion for help in breaking Feyre’s bargain with Rhys before he went to Hybern, at Ianthe’s insistence, after Helion refused.

Why, though, would a faerie from a branch of the Day Court’s High Family invade the Dusk Court, if he hailed purely from Day? Given that the High Lord’s magic chooses for itself, I suppose he could have been hoping that the power would leave the bloodline altogether - as Cassian mentioned it could in ACOSF - but it would make more sense if someone from the Dusk Court’s ruling family had married into the Day Court. If the King of Hybern had both Day and Dusk heritage - if he was a “cousin” to Dusk - he could have thought he had a higher chance of being chosen by the High Family’s magic, and becoming High Lord himself after he’d deposed the previous High Lord. The fact that he called himself a King, and not a High Lord, would appear to suggest that this was not the case.

It also sounded like Helion has a family history with the Mask, or perhaps another object from the Dread Trove. This, again, is leaning heavily into crack theory territory, but if either the Mask or the Harp were used to invade the Dusk Court - I assume by a branch of Helion’s family that didn’t get along with the ruling line - then perhaps that is why Helion appeared to be affected more by the Mask than any of the others.

Helion whirled to Nesta, all sensuality vanished. “You truly wore this and lived?” It wasn’t a question meant to be answered. “Cover it again, please. I can’t stand it.” Rhys tucked in his wings. “It affects you that much?” … Helion shuddered, and Nesta threw the cloth over the Mask. As if the cloth somehow blinded it to their presence. “Perhaps an ancestor of mine once used it, and the warning of its cost is imprinted upon my blood.” - ACOSF, chapter 41

If an ancient member of Helion’s family had died while using an object from the Dread Trove, perhaps it could have imprinted some sort of warning into the rest of the family. Once again, this is likely incorrect, but this is ACOTAR, and stranger things have happened.

Why the Hewn City?

But Rhys only said to Mor, “Send word to your father. We’re going to pay him and my other court a visit.” My blood iced over. The Court of Nightmares. - ACOMAF, chapter 41

The Hewn City, home to both the Court of Nightmares and Mor’s delightful family, who act as stewards, has long stood out to many as being odd, for lack of a better term. Why is it called the “Court" of Nightmares, when it is located inside the Night Court? If Keir’s line is related to Rhys’ ancestors, why is he called the “steward,” and not a Prince of the Hewn City, as Varian and Cresseida are the Prince and Princess of Adriata in the Summer Court, to Tarquin’s High Lord? Why does Rhys need Keir’s permission to assemble the Hewn City’s Darkbringer legion for war, when Rhys himself can call the Illyrian army to battle?

I believe that this is because the Hewn City is an offshoot from the Dusk Court, from the time it was located in what is now known as Hybern; When Dusk fell, a cohort from their ruling class/family must have managed to escape, as Aelin escaped Adarlan’s invasion of Orynth and Terrasen. Someone from the then High Family’s line must have escaped with them, and the line chosen by the Dusk Court’s magic has been slumbering ever since. Mirroring Aragorn as the King of Gondor, with Denethor as the Steward, Keir appears to be the caretaker of the remaining Dusk Court, until the High Lord Lady of the Dusk Court returns.

Keir himself gave us hints, with his comment that he had found himself “... sympathetic to Hybern’s cause,” (ACOWAR, chapter 25). Given that Feyre noted that “the Steward clung to power, it seemed,” it appears that Keir may have been considering allying himself with Hybern. Does he know, or suspect, the true origins of the Court of Nightmares? Keir is “older, far older” than Rhys; it is feasible that he has heard rumours of the true origins of the Court of Nightmares, and was seeking to reunite the Dusk Court, most likely hoping to gain more power for himself as a result.

Before Rhys, Keir was nothing more than a sullen child. Yet I knew Mor’s father was older. Far older. The Steward clung to power, it seemed. … And no doubt Keir would inform his almost-allies in the Autumn Court. Or one of these other monsters would. - ACOMAF, chapter 42

Later on, in ACOWAR, Nesta Archeron asked all the important questions; under the guise of informing Nesta about the Court of Nightmares, and discussing the politics behind the Night Court using Keir’s Darkbringer legion, Rhys and the rest of the Inner Circle surreptitiously give us a lot of hints about the Hewn City’s relationship to the Night Court, and - potential - future revelations. Of course, they don't know that what they're saying holds more than one possible interpretation.

“What is the Court of Nightmares?” Nesta demanded. Lucien answered for us. “The place where the rest of the world believes the majority of the Night Court to be.” He jerked his chin at Rhys. “The seat of his power. Or it was.” “Oh, it still is,” Rhys said. “To everyone outside Velaris.” … “And yes. Keir’s Darkbringer legion is considerable enough that a meeting is warranted.” … Nesta’s brows narrowed. “Why not just order them? Don’t they answer to you?” Cassian set down his fork, food forgotten. “Unfortunately, there are protocols in place between our two subcourts regarding this sort of thing. They mostly govern themselves -- with Mor’s father their steward.” … “The steward of the Hewn City is legally entitled to refuse to aid my armies,” Rhys explained to Nesta, to me. “It was part of the agreement my ancestor made with the Court of Nightmares all those thousands of years ago. They would remain within that mountain, would not challenge or disturb us beyond its borders… and would retain the right to decide not to assist in war.” “And have they -- refused?” I asked. Mor nodded gravely. “Twice. Not my father.” She nearly choked on the word. “But… there were two wars. Long, long ago. They chose not to fight. We won, but… barely. At great cost.” - ACOWAR, chapter 18

Why would a High Lord need to “negotiate” with members of their own court? From all that we’ve read, the courts weren’t historically democratic - they were far from it - so this, to me, is a hint that the Court of Nightmares was not originally part of the Night Court. Perhaps the Dusk Court refugees arrived at the Palace above the Hewn City, and negotiated terms of sanctuary from the then High Lord or Lady of the Night Court. I assume that the Night Court was chosen because the two courts had a pre-existing relationship, potentially with alliances by marriage, which could explain Rhys and Mor’s distant relationship, and Rhys calling the Court of Nightmares his "other court" in ACOMAF. If that was the case, the High Lord or Lady of the Night Court would understandably want to reduce the likelihood of a Dusk Court family member making a move for power in the Night Court, hence the agreement to not “challenge or disturb” beyond the borders of the Hewn City.

If this negotiation happened "all those thousands of years ago," it's possible that this was what triggered Rhys' ancestor - the "ancient High Lord with a different vision" - to sacrifice himself to protect Velaris, which had been kept secret for five thousand years before the attack in ACOMAF (chapter 14, 57); some time after the arrival of the Dusk Court, that High Lord may have used the associated disruption to hide a coup that worked in favour for both his personal plans, and keeping the hidden Dusk Court secret, safe.

“There was a time when the Night Court was a Court of Nightmares and was ruled from the Hewn City. Long ago. But an ancient High Lord had a different vision, and rather than allowing the world to see his territory vulnerable at a time of change, he sealed the borders and staged a coup, eliminating the worst of the courtiers and predators, building Velaris for the dreamers, establishing trade and peace.” … “To preserve it,” Rhys continued, “he kept it a secret, and so did his offspring, and their offspring. … Rumor has it that ancient High Lord cast his very life’s blood upon the stones and river to keep that spell eternal. … “But along the way, despite his best intentions, darkness grew again—not as bad as it had once been … But bad enough that there is a permanent divide within my court. … And we allow the Court of Nightmares to continue, blind to Velaris’s existence, because we know that without them, there are some courts and kingdoms that might strike us." - ACOMAF, chapter 29

For all that ancient High Lord’s efforts, though, it appears that "darkness grew again" - language that screams dusk symbolism to me - and that a "permanent divide" remains within the Night Court. Might this be because they are actually two separate courts?

Whether the Hewn City existed then, in any capacity, or whether the Dusk Court escapees built it into what it is today, we'll have to wait to see; though, given the embellishments, they must have had some input into its design, as they appear to be significant - but more on that later. The Hewn City being located under a mountain is significant in that it could potentially symbolise their trapped counterparts of the Court of Nightmares, whether they are still in Hybern, at the Prison, under Ramiel, or elsewhere altogether. As Keir mentioned in ACOWAR, both peoples are "trapped -- stagnant," and he recognises Hybern’s people as "kindred spirits."

Keir frowned up at the obsidian chandelier, fashioned after a wreath of night-blooming flowers -- the center of each a twinkling silver faelight. “There are many similarities between Hybern’s people and my own. Both of us trapped -- stagnant.” “Last I checked,” Mor cut in, “you have been free to do as you wish for centuries. Longer.” Keir didn’t so much as look at her … “Ah, but are we free here? Not even the entirety of this mountain belongs to us -- not with your palace atop it.” “All of this belongs to me, I’ll remind you,” Rhys said wryly. “It’s that mentality that allows me to find Hybern’s stifled people to be… kindred spirits.” - ACOWAR, chapter 25

The word "stagnant" is an interesting choice. We know that SJM is very particular about her wording - creating puzzles out of sentences, spread over an entire series - so the fact that it has only been used to describe three things so far in the series leads me to think that they are connected. The water-wraith from the Spring Court had wholly black eyes, like a "stagnant" pond; wraiths are associated with death, so the word stagnant here makes sense. The Hewn City, Hybern and the Spring Court, however, should not be stagnant - unless something is wrong.

She wore no clothes. Her long, dark hair hung limp over her high, firm breasts—and her massive eyes were wholly black. Like a stagnant pond. And as she moved, the afternoon light shimmered on her iridescent skin. - ACOMAF, chapter 8

The Spring Court had felt stagnant. Hollow. Empty despite its growing life. - ACOSF, chapter 43

We know that Tamlin has all but abandoned his post as the High Lord of Spring, and that given he refused to participate in Calanmai the year Feyre left for the Night Court - having a reluctant Lucien stand in for him - and that he has only gone further downhill since, he probably didn't participate in the most recent Great Rite, either. Has Spring begun to stagnate because it has no functioning, or worthy, High Lord? Or is Spring languishing because it's High Lord hasn't participated in the Great Rite for, presumably, two years now? Did Lucien taking over for Tamlin at Calanmai two years ago even work, given he is not of the Spring Court - and if it did, did anyone complete it for Tamlin the following year? If my interpretation is correct, then ACOSF ended not long before the third Calanmai since Feyre left the Spring Court… what will happen this year?

Lucien mentioned in chapter 21 of ACOTAR that minor dalliances on Fire Night "will help the land, too," and that "here, our crops depend upon the magic that we regenerate on Calanmai" - if no one is regenerating the magic at the High Lord’s level, no wonder the Spring Court is suffering.

“We do this by conducting the Great Rite. Each of the seven High Lords of Prythian performs this every year, since their magic comes from the earth and returns to it at the end—it’s a give-and-take.” - ACOTAR, chapter 21

Similarly, and assuming that Lucien is correct - that each High Lord participates in the Great Rite in some form, even if it's not identical to the Spring Court - if the Dusk Court has not had a High Lord or Lady for, presumably, five thousand years, to participate in this "give-and-take" of magic between the High Lord and the earth, then it stands to reason that it, and its people, would also stagnate.

The final piece to the Hewn City puzzle - one that I struggled to make fit for a while… reader, I started this in early April, send help! - was, why was a transplanted Dusk Court called the Court of Nightmares? I understand that they potentially kept the name of the old Night Court seat of power to help with their ruse, but I couldn't think of how "Nightmares" could have also been linked to the Dusk Court until I read the following quote again, but this time paying more attention to the sentence before the mention of the "bridge" that appears to foreshadow a mating bond between Azriel and Elain Archeron, whom many suspect could inherit the Dusk Court:

I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife. - ACOWAR, chapter 69

Azriel is a Shadowsinger, and with what magic does Keir’s Darkbringer legion fight? Shadows.

What is an alternative term for nightmares? Night terrors.

And, finally, what time of day is a blend of light and dark? When light blends into dark, and not the other way around? Dusk.

Etymological Evidence

SJM is well known for being intentional with her word choice; because of this, it is reasonable to make deductions based on the names of places (and people) that are used in her works. The following is a - most likely incomplete - list of words whose etymology and definitions could suggest a link to the Dusk Court.

Darkbringers

The Darkbringer legion fights with shadows, so their name appears to make sense, and not require much additional thought. However, if we think about the Court of Nightmares in the context of dusk, then the sun setting brings the dark of night; the imagery of Darkbringers as the Dusk Court’s potential army, then, is appropriate.

Dusk

Dusk is the time of day when the sun sets, twilight, the "state between light and darkness." Which two characters are strongly associated with the darkness and the light? Azriel and Elain Archeron.

Hewn City, The

To hew something is to chop or cut it out of something else. The parallel here is simple; the Hewn City was carved from the stone of the mountain under which it sits, but its people were hewn from a different court altogether.

Hybern

It cannot be a coincidence that Hybern, whose shape and location, in context with the rest of Prythian, so closely resembles that of the island of Ireland, was so named when the Roman name for Ireland was Hibernia, The Land of Winter. Hibernia is derived from hibernus, which means "wintry."

Another word that stems from hibernus is hibernate, and so, by extension, hibernation. To "pass the winter in torpidity and seclusion" sounds very similar to what the Court of Nightmares has been doing in the Hewn City. For those unaware, "torpid" describes a state of being "numb, lethargic, or dormant," and historically also meant "without feeling or power." Not only has the Dusk Court lost its power, but the two characters who many suspect will end up responsible for its rebirth are also known to keep their feelings close; after his argument with Rhys at solstice, Azriel was described as feeling "nothing at all," and Elain, and Azriel, to a lesser extent, also had their agency - their power - removed from them during their bonus scene in ACOSF.

Keir

The name Keir is often said to mean dark haired, dark skinned, or swarthy, but a lesser known term that is attributed to it is dusky.

Morrigan, The

The Morrigan is a goddess from Irish mythology, who is associated with both war and fate; she is said to foretell death, doom, or victory in battle, and is the guardian of the dead. The Mor we know from ACOTAR has the power of Truth, which could be paralleled to The Morrigan’s ability to observe fate, although we are yet to know its full extent. Given that Azriel, the person whom I suspect is the heir to the Dusk Court, is strongly associated with Death throughout the series, this all fits. For an interesting theory on ACOTAR-Mor’s potential powers, look at what @silverlinedeyes had to say here and here.

Nightmares

If the people of the Hewn City are truly descendents from the Dusk Court, and the symbology of a hibernating court holds true, then it must all seem like a bad dream to them. Hopefully, they will soon be woken up.

Realm

Merrill was researching the theories behind the existence of different realms - other worlds. Many of us initially thought of the worlds that contain SJM’s Throne of Glass and Crescent City characters, but “realm” can also refer to any land, such as a kingdom, country, domain, or duchy etc. What about a court? The use of the word “realm” in that instance could potentially have had multiple meanings; true parallel worlds, such as Erilea, the Dusk Court, and an alternate plain, in which members of the Dusk Court could have been trapped.

The People of the Mounds

The Daoine Sidhe, who I mentioned above in 'How Did the Sun Set on the Dusk Court?' are thought to be descended from the Tuatha de Danann, which translates to either Tribe of the Gods, or People of the Goddess Danu. It is likely significant, then, that the Hebrew version of Azriel and Elain’s names mean the following:

Azriel - God is my help.

Elain - my God has answered me.

As I mentioned earlier, I do think that the Prison will play a role in the rest of the story going forward, but I suspect that it could be one of the ‘mounds’ that contain trapped faeries - perhaps a group of escapees from the Dusk Court, rather than being the Dusk Court in its entirety. Alternatively, if the Prison was significant to a unified Prythian, could the fae have been trapped when then High King Fionn was overthrown by his queen and general? Both? While I do like the idea of the eight pointed star being the symbol of the eight courts of the Prythian of old, I am leaning towards the fae trapped in the wall having belonged to the Dusk Court, as Shadow Singing suggested.

The information that the Archeron sisters combined have gleaned has to be significant:

The Harp showed Nesta a group of faeries being trapped in stone, when she was collecting it from deep inside the Prison.

Fae screamed, pounding on stone that hadn’t been there a moment before, pleading for their children’s sakes, begging to be let out let out let out -- … It was a trap, and our people were too blind to see it… The Fae clawed at stone, tearing their nails on rock where there had once been a door. But the way back was now forever sealed… - Nesta’s vision, ACOSF, chapter 53

Elain could hear both a heart beating through the stone, and the sea, while sleeping in the House of Wind, at least back in ACOWAR - many suspect that it was not Lucien's heart that she was hearing. In addition to Elain hearing “the crashing sea” in her sleep, when she was too far away from the coast for even a fae to hear them, Feyre heard “the crashing sea” when she was at Hybern.

She said, “I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing sea -- and the screams of a bird made of fire.” - Elain, ACOWAR, chapter 24

Faelights slithered along the bone-white walls, the windows looking out to the crashing sea far below. - Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 63

Feyre suggested that the jagged stone walls inside the prison appeared to have faces hewn into them.

With the small lights floating ahead, I tried not to look too long at the gray walls. Especially when they were so rough-hewn that the jagged bits could have been a nose, or a craggy brow, or a set of sneering lips. - Feyre, ACOMAF, chapter 18

The use of the word “hewn” could be significant, especially if the Hewn City does hold (some of the) remnants of the Dusk Court. The fact that the fae that the Harp showed to Nesta were “too blind to see” the trap also sounds incredibly familiar:

The King of Hybern said, “The trap was so easy, I’m honestly a bit disappointed you didn’t see it coming.” Faster than any of us could see, Jurian fired a hidden ash bolt through Azriel’s chest. Mor screamed. - ACOMAF, chapter 63

Like Koschei in chapter 71 of ACOSF - “I spend so many months preparing for you, and you don’t even wish to speak to me?” - I believe that the King of Hybern could have been talking directly to Azriel, and that the reason that Jurian shot him with the ash bolt was linked to Az being - unbeknownst to him, but not to others - a potential heir to the Dusk Court line. I think that he may have also recognised Mor. If the Prison does contain fae from the Dusk Court, then the following statement from Azriel gains extra importance.

Azriel just shook his head. “I’ll go. The Prison sentries know me -- what I am.” - ACOMAF, chapter 16

If Azriel is a contender for heir to the Dusk Court, then this line was not just referring to him being a spymaster, or a shadowsinger, but something more.

Further evidence that the Prison contains at least a portion of the fallen Dusk Court was provided by Rhys, when he first took Feyre to the Prison island in ACOMAF. While he mentioned that the Prison was made “before High Lords existed,” and that some inmates remember “those days,” it is significant that the line regarding Mor’s family is in a completely separate sentence, almost as if it was a new thought. Perhaps one to which we should pay attention.

“Where are we?” I said… “On an island in the heart of the Western Isles,” Rhysand said, staring up at the mammoth mountain. “And that,” he said, pointing to it, “is the Prison.” … “This place,” he said, “was made before High Lords existed. Before Prythian was Prythian. Some of the inmates remember those days. Remember a time when it was Mor’s family, not mine, that ruled in the North.” - ACOMAF, chapter 17

The Prison would have been strongly warded before the Dusk Court fell, which was after “Prythian was Prythian,” but what if the “sentries” to which Azriel referred were the more recently trapped fae, some of whom were potentially sacrificed by Hybern in the name of stronger wards - perhaps not unlike Rhys’ ancestor sacrificing himself to protect Velaris? As Amren said - and in keeping with the tradition of Nesta asking the important questions in ACOWAR - we have the following:

“What’s the Prison?” Nesta asked at last. “A hell entombed in stone,” Amren said. - ACOWAR, chapter 21

As I suggested, I suspect that Merrill’s search for different realms is important, not necessarily because she will help Azriel and Elain search for and free those fae in their book - however interesting that would be, there likely isn’t time; Koschei waits for no one - but because it informs us of the possibility of up to twenty six different caches of faeries, who could be trapped in one way or another. Could there also be a portal to a truly alternate realm somewhere in each "mound" that exists in Prythian's world?

Where could the mounds be?

Hybern

The Prison island, and potentially others in the Western Isles

The Northern Isles

Under the Mountain - Amarantha literally trapped fae there during her reign

Ramiel - means ‘the thunder of God’

The Sleeping Mountains

The mountains in which Neve’s people live and run their mines

The Library under the House of Wind

I’m sure there have been other hints dropped throughout the series that I have missed so far, so please let me know if you have any other ideas!

The Seasonal Imagery Employed Throughout the ACOTAR Series that Symbolises the Dusk Court

I plan to delve further into this topic, as it pertains to individual characters, in a separate post, but I will include the basics here. Many readers have picked up on the fact that Azriel is written as cold, was called Death, the knife in the dark, while Elain Archeron is warmth, spring and golden sunlight personified. While poetic on its own, this imagery is significant in terms of the Dusk Court; dusk is the meeting point between light and dark, a “blend of the two,” if you will, which is why Elain and Azriel together appear to strike the right balance. After all, just like a slumbering beast, a hibernating court will need the warmth of a blooming spring to finally awaken.

The following comprises a brief - I tried, truly - selection of the examples scattered throughout the series with, I assume, the intention to place this imagery in the back of a reader’s mind, ready for that “ah ha!” moment in a future book. I have colour-coordinated the appropriate passages, blue for Azriel (cold, death, dark), pink for Elain (warmth, life, light) and purple for the Dusk Court (the Hewn City, a balance of Azriel and Elain).

First, we have our initial impression of the palace on top of the Hewn City, setting the scene.

Then the darkness vanished. I smelled jasmine first—then saw stars. A sea of stars flickering beyond glowing pillars of moonstone that framed the sweeping view of endless snowcapped mountains. “Welcome to the Night Court,” was all Rhys said. … It was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. Whatever building we were in had been perched atop one of the gray-stoned mountains. The hall around us was open to the elements, no windows to be found, just towering pillars and gossamer curtains, swaying in that jasmine-scented breeze. It must be some magic, to keep the air warm in the dead of winter. Not to mention the altitude, or the snow coating the mountains, mighty winds sending veils of it drifting off the peaks like wandering mist. Little seating, dining, and work areas dotted the hall, sectioned off with those curtains or lush plants or thick rugs scattered over the moonstone floor. - ACOMAF, chapter 5

Window-side vigils is another theme that is strongly tied to both Azriel and Elain, which @suelky has discussed here, but I digress. After the scene was set by the passage above, we have plenty of examples of winter being dominant; again, some of these are related to Azriel and Elain, others just using the imagery in general, but all of them act to remind us of the importance of death and winter and dark being juxtaposed with life and spring and light.

I watched the light shift inside the sapphire Siphon instead, as if it were the great eye of some half-slumbering beast from a frozen wasteland. - ACOMAF, chapter 22

“She was shunned for bearing a child out of wedlock, and forced to give birth to me alone in a tent in the dead of winter.” - Cassian, ACOSF, chapter15

I was not frightened… Not of the roaring wind as we winnowed into a familiar, snow-capped mountain range refusing to yield to spring’s awakening kiss. - ACOMAF, chapter 42

Even in the middle of winter, she was a bloom of color and sunshine. - Feyre, about Elain, ACOFAS chapter 17

Amren had curled herself into an armchair, bundled in a gray fur coat, as if the nip in the air today were a blast of winter. No Elain, no Morrigan. - ACOSF, chapter 20

Then, to show progression, but again scattered throughout the series, to avoid arousing suspicion, we have hints of spring being on its way.

Her sister’s delicate scent of Jasmine and honey lingered in the red-stoned hall like a promise of spring, a sparkling river that she followed to the open doors of the chamber. - ACOSF, chapter 17

Patches of snow still crusted the hilly, open land, though the first buds and sprouts of spring poked through. - ACOSF, chapter 65

And lastly, we have winter retreating, and spring beginning once more. Significantly, the final chapter of ACOSF begins with "spring bloomed fully," which I suspect symbolises both Elain’s readiness for her own journey, and the fact that the Dusk Court is about to wake from its centuries long hibernation.

Spring dawned on Velaris. - ACOSF, chapter 62

A smile bloomed on Azriel’s mouth… - ACOMAF, chapter 24

Winter had indeed yielded to spring. - ACOMAF, chapter 43

Spring bloomed fully around Velaris. … The city spread before them, glowing in the spring sunshine… - ACOSF, chapter 80

Azriel and Elain are dark and light, winter and spring, death and rebirth. In short, they are Dusk made flesh.

Will the Sun Rise on the Dusk Court Once More?

As it inevitably happens, winter will eventually yield to spring, but the question is: to what extent? I have a feeling that Azriel and Elain will do something that awakens the scattered Dusk Court from its long hibernation, but what could that be?

I let them creep closer, sniffing around, as I said to Rhys, “Surely, my love, they would like to stand now.” Rhys smiled down at me, then at the crowd. “Rise.” They did. And some of those tendrils of power dared climb up the first step. I pounced. - Feyre at the Court of Nightmares, ACOWAR, chapter 25

Calanmai

Warning: minor Throne of Glass spoiler.

We were introduced to the concept of Calanmai in ACOTAR, an apparently important bit of Prythian lore that has been essentially forgotten ever since. Maybe the lack of Calanmai in the books since ACOTAR has been intentional - perhaps SJM is saving it for the sister who is most closely associated with spring?

“Fire Night signals the official start of spring -- in Prythian, as well as in the mortal world,” Lucien said. While his words were calm, they trembled slightly. I leaned against the wall of the hallway, forcing myself into a casualness that I didn’t feel. “Here, our crops depend upon the magic that we regenerate on Calanmai -- tonight.” … “We do this by conducting the Great Rite. Each of the seven High Lords of Prythian performs this every year, since their magic comes from the earth and returns to it at the end -- it’s a give-and-take.” … “The magic will seize control of his mind, his body, his soul, and turn him into the Hunter. It will fill him with his sole purpose: to find the Maiden. From their coupling, magic will be released and spread to the earth, where it will regenerate life for the year to come.” - ACOTAR, chapter 21

A crack theory of mine - even more of a crack theory than this entire post, really - is that if Azriel and Elain are together on Calanmai, their “give-and-take” could trigger the rise of the Dusk Court. If each of the seven High Lords partakes in some shape or form, and we have no reason to doubt Lucien’s information, then the hypothetical eighth High Lord would also do so. Many readers assume that ACOTAR’s Calanmai is at a similar time to the real-world Calan Mai, which occurs on the first of May; this seems to fit, time-wise, with Feyre’s comment that she and Rhys accepted their own mating bond on that night.

“No. When Calanmai came along, he refused. He flat-out refused to participate. I replaced him in the Rite, but…” I’d forgotten. Forgotten about Calanmai and the Rite. I did a mental tally of the days. No wonder I’d forgotten. I’d been in that cabin in the mountains. With Rhys buried in me. Perhaps we’d generated our own magic that night. - Lucien and Feyre, ACOWAR, chapter 3

While I assume that, like Nynsar and Starfall, the Courts’ individual celebrations of Calanmai/Fire Night could vary, it is interesting, at the very least, that while there was no official hunt of a white stag, Rhys did still have to hunt Feyre down, because Mor wouldn’t tell him where she was. Whether the union has to occur on Dusk land, or it just has to be between the heir of Dusk and a partner at any location, I’m not sure; we also don’t know whether the heir of the Court has to be the Hunter or the Maiden - which would be a twist I’d love to see, Elain as the Hunter, and Azriel as the stag, or Maiden! - but I suspect, if this crack theory eventuates, that Elain, spring personified, the lovely fawn with her “doe-eyes,” would make sense as both the stag and Maiden, while Azriel, warrior and spymaster, would appear to be the Hunter.

If I’ve interpreted dates correctly, Fire Night should be pretty soon after the final chapter of ACOSF, in which spring had “bloomed fully” around Velaris; blooms appearing subject to climate, and not the date. Depending on how close the start of Elain and Azriel’s book is until Calanmai, there might not be enough time for this to happen - like I said, it’s a crack theory - but I could imagine that, if Elain gets frustrated with being “stifled” in her further attempts to help her family with the search for the fourth Dread Trove item, as well as being in a worse place due to the stress of her situation with Azriel (she may think that she's lost him as a friend, after the events of solstice, if he has stuck - so far - to Rhys’ order to “stay away”), she may attempt to go after the final Trove item herself, with whatever skills she has been taught by Nuala and Cerridwen, and maybe Azriel himself, in the last two years. This could be the impetus that Azriel needs to throw off Rhys’ order and “get her back” once more, thereby hunting her down. If he finds Elain on Calanmai, and they give in to their feelings, then perhaps they could also unknowingly trigger the rise of the Dusk Court. This reawakening will probably be hinted at subtly throughout the book, perhaps in a similar manner to the kingsflame flower of Terrasen in SJM’s Throne of Glass series, but won't be fully realised until later on.

Will Azriel and Elain Move to Hybern?

While many would love to see the Dusk Court rise to its full former glory - assuming that it was, in fact, glorious at one point in time - both for the people of Hybern, who have been suffering - "stifled" - and for the suspected Dusk Court faeries who may be trapped inside multiple mounds, both literally and figuratively, I don’t think that SJM has the time - or the pages - to properly explore a peaceful ascension to the Dusk Court’s throne, let alone one that is barred by Hybern’s current ruling class, or whatever remains after the end of ACOWAR; SJM’s Throne of Glass, which contained similar themes, had more than one book to do so.

Azriel and Elain taking control of the Court of Nightmares would be a good compromise, as it would symbolise their place as the - again, hypothetical - presumptive High Lord and High Lady to the Dusk Court, while not adding in more events than SJM has the space to write about in their book, while moving the overall Koschei plot along, and leave the possibility open for future books. It would also mean that the sisters all remain together, in the same court, at least for the foreseeable future.

I will interpret the lack of two thrones to be due to the fact that this visit came upon you quickly,” Rhys said with lethal calm… Our loyal subjects,” he added, smiling faintly. - ACOWAR, chapter 25

The Prince and Princess of the Hewn City

Back in ACOWAR, when Mor was discussing the lack of a romantic relationship between herself and Azriel with Feyre, she said:

“ … but it won’t matter if Rhys makes him the Prince of Velaris -- he’ll see himself as a bastard-born nobody, and not good enough for anyone. Especially me.” - Mor, referring to Azriel, ACOWAR, chapter 52

Nesta also told Cassian that, while she was never her father’s princess, Elain was:

“We weren’t always poor. Until I was fourteen, my father was as rich as a king. They called him the Prince of Merchants.” He gave her a tentative smile. “And you were his princess?” Ice cracked through her. “No. Elain was his princess…” - Cassian and Nesta, ACOSF, chapter 14

Further evidence of Azriel and Elain's potential positions of power was provided in ACOFAS, when Azriel stopped their entire family from eating until Elain had returned, at which point Elain sat at the head of the table. Not only this, but Elain is canonically caring and wise, but willing and able to act to defend her people when required - all traits that would make a good ruler.

@mrspettyferr has delved much deeper into this, but Azriel and Elain ending up as the Prince and Princess of the Hewn City appears to have been foreshadowed throughout the series so far.

In parting, I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes about Elain, which I believe both demonstrates her innate goodness, strength and potential, and is also suggestive of the themes with which we have come to associate both her and Azriel.

Days passed. The shadow within me didn’t lighten, and even the thought of painting was abhorrent. Instead I spent most of my time with Elain in her little garden. I was content to listen to her talk about every bud and bloom, about her plans to start another garden by the greenhouse, perhaps a vegetable garden, if she could learn enough about it over the next few months. She had come alive here, and her joy was infectious. There wasn’t a servant or gardener who didn’t smile at her, and even the brusque head cook found excuses to bring her plates of cookies and tarts at various points in the day. I marveled at it, actually -- that those years of poverty hadn’t stripped away that light from Elain. Perhaps buried it a bit, but she was generous, loving, and kind -- a woman I found myself proud to know, to call sister. - ACOTAR, chapter 29

It appears that SJM may have set up Elain’s future arc all the way back in ACOTAR, and it looks like it was always meant to include both Azriel and the Dusk Court.

If you’ve read all the way through this monster, then thank you for your time; if you want to read any more of my thoughts on the Dusk Court, then I have more posts on the way.

If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging. 💜

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anemo-writes · 3 years

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I heard that you write for scaramouche :0 so can i request a soft cuddling headcanon for scaramouche 👉👈 thanks OwO have a great day!

yes, that’s right!! i hope i captured his personality right though, this is the first time i’ve wrote for him,, i may have made it a little angsty in the beginning but i promise you it’s really fluffy in the end (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ i just really like writing angst hehe.. i know this might be a little ooc though, so beware and feel free to criticize me !! THIS GOT SO LONG—JUST SKIP TO THE BOTTOM TO READ THE ACTUAL CUDDLING HCS HAHA

Scaramouche having a soft cuddling session with his S/O

Let me just say,, cuddling is extremely rare with him. He can’t help but view it as something that makes him feel vulnerable, which he hates. Although he doesn’t particularly dislike the way your arms wrap around him and the way that he finds it easier to sleep in that position, the two of you still don’t cuddle very often :( Other forms of physical affection are also rare with him, and it’s mostly you who showers him with affection—while he doesn’t mind it most days (he especially enjoys it if it happens in front of Childe, just so he can hear him whine about it), he finds it extremely annoying and overbearing him with you overstep your boundaries, especially if he’s stressed or busy.

peep the keep reading line— it got way too long because i couldn’t stop writing LOL

It really doesn’t help that you’re extremely touch-starved from the lack of attention and affection he’s shown you in the past few days (since he’s been involved in a lot more missions than usual ) when he snaps at you for visiting the workplace in an attempt to spend some time with him—you didn’t mean any harm. “Are you too blind to see that I’m busy, Y/N? Go find someone else to bother in the meantime, will you?” He says, turned away from you, failing to notice the way you feebly run out of building. He wouldn’t spare a second glance, assuming that it would all be fine when he met you back at your dwelling; after all, l you were used to his back-handed comments, right? Surely you would understand that he was under a bit more stress than usual—right?

Wrong. That night, you went home alone, touch-starved and a mess. Maybe it was the lack of affection making you this emotional, or maybe it was the fact that he had embarrassed you in front of so many subcoordinates, people you knew for Barbatos’ sake! He’s slightly surprised when you don’t answer the door later that night, despite the light in your bedroom still being on. He figures you’ve gone to sleep, so he leaves with a second thought. It’s only after two weeks of you ignoring him does he realize, “did I do something?”

He’s a human too, and humans can get touchstarved at some times—especially when you haven’t made an effort to show him any form of physical affection in the past two weeks! He’d rather pair up with Tartaglia to carry out the Tsarita’s orders than admit it to you, but he does miss you—somewhat. Don’t get me wrong, he knew when he accepted your confession that he would have to deal with things like this, but keep in mind that he’s probably never even thought about being in a relationship prior to you asking him out (especially with the way he treats other people; yes, he’s very well aware that he could be a lot nicer to his people, but does he care? no.) But I’d like to think that at least a little part of him is insecure about how his other harbingers view him, but we’ll save that for enough time—

But the thing that bugs him the most is that the people around him have noticed—it’s hard not to, really, when you turn a blind eye to whenever he tries to make conversation with you. Childe constantly bugs him about it too, which makes it even worse. “Trouble in paradise~?” The ginger would taunt, only smirking when Scaramouche huffs in response, too wrapped in his thoughts to come up with a witty remark back. He can’t help but feel frustrated; why were you getting mad over such a stupid little thing? This wasn’t the first time he’s said such a thing to you, so why? Why were you so upset at him that you couldn’t even spare a glance at him? As much as he hated to admit it, he had to do something before it got worse.

And so the brilliant plan of ambushing you in your home was created! Really, there’s no need to applaud; he already knows how great it is! However, under the layer of confidence that he displays, a little part nags at him; he knows that there’s always the possibility of you not forgiving him for whatever he did this time. He’d never say it but a little part of him is scared to lose you.

You let out a loud sigh as you entered your apartment, kicking off your shoes as you walked into the main room. It was another long day of ignoring your boyfriend. Could he even be called that anymore? You thought to yourself, before tensing up at the sound of approaching footsteps from your bedroom.

“Took you long enough,” An exasperated voice rang from within the shadows, the figure stepping into dim light of the moon to reveal your boyfriend. “I was beginning to think you got kidnapped on your way home or something.” He crossed his arms across his chest, staring you down with an unreadable gaze.

“What are you doing here, Scaramouche?” You asked, a bitter ring to your voice. “I thought you were busy. Surely someone as busy as you couldn’t spare time to drop by my house—so why are you here?” As much as you hated to sound so bitter, what else could you do? It took two weeks for him to realize that you were ignoring him, and suddenly he comes to your house and pretends everything is okay? How does that work?

“I’m here because...” Scaramouche said, walking towards you until your back hit the wall, your eyes wide as he extended his arm until his palm hit the wall. He was close enough for you to feel his steady breathing against your neck—you tried to push him away, but he kept you trapped within his arms. “I needed to say that I was sorry.”

You blinked momentarily at him, silent with shock.

“Geez, was it that weird for me to say that?” Scaramouche rolled his eyes, backing away from your shocked figure. “Stop staring at me as though I’ve grown a second head.”

“Sorry, it’s just—I’ve never heard you say that before!” You spluttered, looking at him with wide eyes. “You mean it though...right? You’re not just saying it, right?”

“Ugh—yes, I mean it. Now,” He said, taking off his hat to place it on top of your head in an attempt to hide the light dust of pink growing across his cheeks. “Can we just...you know—”

“Cuddle?”

“Yes, that. Now get over here, you idiot.”

Again, cuddling is not Scaramouche’s thing, so expect it to be extremely awkward the first couple of times. He runs warm, so cuddling sessions don’t last very long when they do happen. He’s not too keen on physical touch, but he’d make an exception for you—in private, of course. He’d rather die than be caught cuddling with you in a public area, especially by the likes of someone like Childe; he’d never hear the end of it. Cuddling is reserved for only private, rare vulnerable moments—of course, it also applies to moments after arguments like the one shown above. Don’t call him out for it, because he will stop, but he’ll definitely play with your hair for a bit if you decide to lay down in his lap.

If you’re sitting on his lap, he likes to rest his chin on your shoulders; it’s the perfect opportunity to lay a peck on your cheek when you’re least expecting it—your flustered reaction that follows after has him smug about it for at least the next hour. He has you pulled up against his chest and his arms wrapped around your waist and if he’s feeling especially touch-starved, he’ll nuzzle !! into !! your !! neck !! Though, you can feel that smug smile against your neck as you try to push him away, flustered, which only fuels him to do it more~

If the two of you are laying side by side, it could honestly go either way; if he’s extra clingy, he’ll be the big spoon and literally hold you against him in a d e a t h grip. But if he’s feeling a bit insecure or vulnerable, he’ll let you hold him—of course, this is very rare, but it still happens! As said before, it’s extremely comfortable for him in this position and he can fall asleep quietly easily, as much as he hates to admit it.

After an argument or bickering, expect the sessions to last a bit longer than usual; even though it’s uncomfortably warm, he can’t bring himself to let go of you that easily (not that you’re complaining!) Sometimes, he’ll murmur stuff into your ear such as, “I didn’t mean it, okay?” or “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this.” It could go either way, really—

#anemo-writes #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #Scaramouche x reader #scaramouche genshin impact #THIS GOT SO LONG FOR NO REASON PLEASE

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yandere-dark-cupid · 3 years

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Yandere alastor from hazbin hotel if that is ok?

It's okay, T.Angel.💜❤💜

Yandere Alastor:

Yandere type: Charming, Possessive, Violent, Manipulative, and Sadistic

How you guys met can end in many different scenarios. Maybe you're a citizen of hell that caught wind of Charlie's hotel; and decided to go there for the false humanity that's called "redemption", Maybe you're a desperate human that's facing the harsh, ugly hardships of life and made a foolish decision to summon the all powerful 'Radio Demon' since you heard he can make deals and can be of assistance for your rather tough life, or maybe you're some type of poor creature that was chosen ( by the man himself ) to be a certain Deer demon's prey. Whatever it is,...Babe..Honey..Sweetie, Darling, ANGEL....Please do understand..you are Totally, Royally FUCKED the moment he's noticed you.

Like I said, the moment Alastor has met you; it's all over. But you don't know that yet. He's already twisting gears in his mind to make you HIS. That being said; Alastor is going to put his Smooth, Charming persona on, to sway you to him. So at first instinct you're gonna fear him ( believe you're gonna, it's natural ), but to me I believe you're going to be drawn to him in away. And Alastor knows he has that affect on people ( he's also smug about it because it'll be easier on his part/ but harder on your part ). So he knows you're going to be his in no time. All he has to do is use his natural charm on you and it won't be long before you fall for him, but if you are hesitant or resist his charm he'll have to amp up his charm even more ( and possibly intimidate you even more ) to get you to comply to him.

Then after that, the outcome all depends on you. If you fell for him then, congratulations you just saved your self from a kidnapping ( but the kidnapping will be used later though ). If you didn't fall for him by now ( which is kind of weird since you should have, he made sure of it ) and you're still hesitant and is still too afraid to acknowledge only other feeling other than fear..well...all I just got to say is....I hope you like getting chased down and kidnapped by a psychotic, homicidal bambi. Just to get this straight T.Angels; even if you do fall in love with him and pledge yourself as a loyal partner, he's still going to kidnap you. It's just going to take longer ( but that's if you do fall for him ). Never forget Alastor is naturally a possessive creature, and as a yandere it only gets worse.

Once Alastor has kidnapped you, escaping is the equivalent of the impossible. A little reminder that Alastor is an Overlord from Hell, a powerful one at that. It shouldn't be to no surprise that he has connections, many of them. But if you do some how managed to escape his heavy secured manor ( I believe he owns a manor, it's my own little headcanon ), then ooooh booy I hope you like games; because ready or not here he comes, because Alastor has came out to play. It's like a sick game of hide n go seek with a murderous deer, Cat and mouse, Predator and prey. Yes he has connections, but he's one of the small handful of yanderes that won't use his connections(... Yet ). No, Alastor wants you to think you got away or has a chance of getting away. He thinks it's so cute on how you are holding to that little bit of hope, so he can rip it away and tease you after towards. Then after that the real "fun" will begin.

By "fun" I mean punishments. Takes great joy and pleasure in that you think you could escape him. But he takes even greater joy and pleasure into giving you the penalty afterwards for attempting to escape. At first he'll go easy on you ( this was your first escape attempt after all ), he'll chip away at your confidence and self-esteem. And it will hurt you mentally and maybe emotionally, and when pain ( from you or anyone, but mostly you ) comes pleasure to Alastor. We all know Alastor is a Sadist ( EVERYONE KNOWS ALASTOR IS A SADIST ), so while he's punishing he'll with most disturbing "happy" smile on his face ( No wait, he always has that smile on his face ). Now if you escape a second time, expect to be not only talked down but to be smacked around too. Now first escape attempt he went "easy" ( if being easy means having your confidence and self-esteem being cut down to nothing in a slow painful process, then yeah Alastor has been going easy on you ) on you, so on your second escape attempt he will get physical with you ( and not in away you want it ). If you're bold and try to escape the third time, you will be hit around radio/ microphone cane ( thing ???) and talked dow too. Now if you're still bold and still think that you have a chance of escaping.. Oh... Oh Angel, May the Lord above have you in his good graces and may he have mercy on you, because Alastor on the other hand; will NOT in 6 rings of hell will have mercy on you. You see on your fourth FAILED escape attempt, Alastor will get.... crafty. It'll be like your first failed escape attempt all over again, but instead of him just searching for you by himself; Alastor will use his Demonic powers too ( and at that moment... You.Are.Fucked Angel ). Now to those that know, Alastor powers revolves around shadows, portals, tendrils, and deals ( or as we know of right now ). So when When Alastor puts that out to play, it's basically the equivalent of one man hide n seek ( If you know what that is, give yourself a pat on the back ). But this time Alastor will give you a 1-2 hours head start. Once your time is up, he and his shadows will come looking for you. And It's hella scary. But like I said before Alastor likes to take his sweet time and make you think you got away or have a chance of getting away. And as time pass by agonizingly slow, you know Alastor is still out there looking for you and like to take his sweet time. And since you've been with Alastor for a while or at least for some time to know him, you know Alastor will take his time and get himself railed up. So basically the more time you spend away from Alastor from escape, the more eager Alastor is to punish you. So Once Alastor has found you and like I said he's getting crafty with with this punishment; Your mind will be broken down into nothing, you'll be tossed around by his tendrils, and thrown into a portal and Alastor will let his shadows handle you. Not only that but He ordered them to leave a few marks, as a reminder to never cross him and never leave him.....

So after all the failed escape attempts and being mind broken and having your spirit broken, the molding process will begin. It was fun; having you run away, hunt you down, and break you down to nothing. It was truly adrenaline filled and it kept Alastor's blood pumpin. But in the end every yandere would want a seemingly docile submissive darling. And surprisingly Alastor is no different. And now that you know that you are his and only his and your place is only by his side; Alastor is going to praise you. You're finally being the good little Darling your supposed to be. Not only that but Alastor is going to shower you with love and take you places. Ooooh he can't wait to take you to his radio station, or to go out dancing, or OR maybe he'll take you to the hotel to see his friends and colleagues. But beware, you may have this new found "freedom"; but Alastor has a sharp eye on you. And to be completely honest with you, part of the reason why Alastor has given you this "freedom" is to mock you and wave it in your face. So in hindsight, you're still trapped with him. And if you are not truly broken and take this new found "freedom" as an option to escape, the game will start up again and Alastor will happily break you for REAL this time. You are his after all, ain't ya?........

Bonus ✨✨✨:

Since Alastor is both Aromatic and Asexual, that won't stop you from being in a relationship. In fact, the both you will be in a queer platonic relationship. So you guys can still be together. Alastor will love to plant kisses on your hands, hug you ( though he'll have you in a possessive, and almost bruising grip ), and over all be close to you. ( Since I don't know where Alastor is on the Aromatic and Asexual spectrum, I'm playing it safe and trying to keep it as platonic as possible. )💜💚💜💚

Like I said before Alastor would to take you out dancing, and will love to do the swing with you. So if you're a darling that specializes in dancing or just like dancing, saying Alastor will be happy is an understatement. He'll be absolutely ecstatic! He'll just love to dance the night away with you ❤💃❤

Another thing I said, Alastor will take you to his Radio station. And with him being a Radio host he'll ask you opinions and sometimes questions. Alastor will like to have a talkative darling or a darling that likes to ramble on certain topics. To some it may come of as weird or annoying, but to Alastor he sees it as cute and charming ❤📻❤

We all know Alastor is a Overlord from hell, and one of of the most powerful out there. So if you think someone will help you, you are dead wrong. Once everyone knows your the property of the Radio Demon, no one will much even look at you. If anything they'll avoid you like the plague, So they know your off limits and knows what's good for them. So no one would dare or has the balls to go against Alastor, anyone with a brain would know what's coming to them if they do. But If someone was brave and kind enough to help you ( more like ignorant and naive ), they are the equivalent of a dead man/ woman/ person. If you watched the pilot episode, you saw what happened to Sir Pentions the same thing will happen to them; just far more worse. So you might as well kiss that help good bye Angel( that's if you get help that is ), because it won't last long. 💀💀💀

Sorry your ask took so long T.Angel. But I hope it's to your liking. Well until next time my Little Tainted Angels, see you soon ~💜❤💜

#yandere hazbin hotel #yandere Alastor #hazbin hotel #Yandere

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bonnini · 3 years

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Well I promised you a post about my bi Geoffrey Martewall headcanons so here it is guys <3

So…as I previously mentioned in a tag under one of @agapantoblu's posts, I've been half-seriously headcanoning Geoffrey Martewall a.k.a. the best character in the Hypervesum series as a clueless bisexual for... well, for some time. Let's say a year and a half. I've never bothered actually sharing these headcanons online because I didn't really have a clear idea for an actual argument in support of this claim of mine, but now I’m finally ready to put the all the reasons why I get extra-strong bisexual vibes from Geoffrey Martewall into words. Beware…it’s a lot of words :’’)

Exhibit A: Geoffrey and women

1.1. Geoffrey’s taste in women is just too good

Listen. LISTEN. Our man’s taste in women is IMPECCABLE: he could, as Brianna said herself, have chosen to take any young noble maiden as his wife, but he decided to go for a woman that 1) is a couple years older than him 2) is not noble at all and, you know, used to be just a poor paesant before coming to Châtel-Argent 3) already has a son who was fathered by a French knight to whom she was never married and that she had to raise as a teen single mom 4) at the time of their first meeting had a crush on his current worst enemy. LISTEN!!!!!!!! Geoffrey’s taste in women is suspiciously good, way too good, in fact, to be that of a medieval straight guy. I mean…Ian, a man who comes from the 21st century, fell for the textbook angelic maiden, while Geoffrey literally did not even bother looking around for some young blushing bride and just decided that the hot milf who threatened him with a pitchfork in book 2 was his first and best choice. What an Absolute Fucking King. This choice of his is, in my opinion, very telling of the kind of view he has of romance and women in general.

Which brings me to the next point, namely:

1.2. Geoffrey appears to have an attitude towards women and a view of womanhood that are significantly more modern than those of an average knight of his time

Is it just me or is Geoffrey actually the one with the most… modern mindset out of all the knights starring in the saga? There are a couple of specific scenes that kind of make me think of him as an outlier among his peers, and although some of those are definitely there for the purpose of showing us that Martewall is indeed a rather peculiar knight, others contribute to creating the picture of a character that is almost… out of place in the 13th century?

Allow me to expand a bit further on the “Geoffrey and women” topic: we saw how chivalrous and respectful Geoffrey was towards an unconscious and injured Brianna. First he made sure her son was comfortable with him warming her up using his own body, and reassured him he meant no disrespect by removing her clothes; then, he proceeded to strip her in the most methodical and detached way possible, which let us know Geoffrey respects a woman’s body and modesty the way any proper, courteous medieval man would. But then there’s another, and in my opinion far more interesting, instance in which Geoffrey is seen interacting with a woman: I’m talking about his brief conversation with Blanche of Castile in book 3. Here we see 1) how Geoffrey treats women he is not attracted to (“not attracted to” as in: women he has no interest in romancing), and 2) to what degree he actually respects female authority.

Our first introduction to Blanche is the scene in which Guillaume, Ian and Henri de Bar are talking about her right before the audience in Paris, during which we learn that the vast majority of noblemen do not take her opinions seriously and do not appreciate seeing her talk during political debates. Even Henri de Bar, although he does not mean to be insolent, raises an eyebrow at the thought of a woman participating in conversations that concern military strategy, while Guillaume seems almost amused at Ian’s heartfelt defence of her speeches. Which is why Geoffrey’s brief interaction with her stands out so much: when she starts talking about the war in England with him, he carefully listens to her as if she were just another male superior officer: he does not appear even slightly surprised by her competence, he does not try to dumb down the topic of discussion, he listens carefully to what she is saying, he offers his opinion only when she asks for it and he answers her questions in the most straightforward way possible. At no point during the conversation does he ever attempt to pull the condescending “with all due respect, madame…” to correct or contradict her statements. He is not in courteous knight mode, he is in soldier mode, and is unfazed by the fact that the one he is discussing logistics and war strategy with is a delicate looking princess. Once again, the author is fleshing out Geoffrey’s character by having the protagonist and point of view character draw a direct comparison between him and other men. Martewall does not simply respect women as in “oh I’m a proper knight and I use my blade to protect defenceless maidens”, he actually, genuinely respects women.

Which in my opinion is such an interesting facet of his values and personality: in the second half of book 2, Ian notices how thoroughly Harald Martewall managed to drill the code of chivalry into his son’s head, and remarks on the fact that the Martewalls are all perfect examples of the True Old School Knights. Both Harald and Geoffrey are the embodiment of the honourable, unyielding, upright warrior trope, and they perfectly fit the image we modern people conjure in our minds when we think of a knight of the Middle Ages. This specific aspect of Geoffrey’s set of values gives his character a strong, let’s say “old-fashioned” connotation, and yet said set of values seems to come from an internal source rather than rely on tradition and external rules. He, for example, got rid of his helm and shield when he saw his adversary in combat was not fully equipped, but he also willingly assisted the Dauphin in taking over England despite having previously sworn an oath of loyalty to John Plantagenet, since his sense of honour compelled him to aid the man who provided him with the help he needed to get his home back. Geoffrey is way more likely to base his choices on what his own moral compass compels him to do rather than resort to convention and tradition to tell right from wrong. This makes Geoffrey a perfect blend of both old and modern qualities, and in the context of his relationship with women he tends to lean quite heavily on his more modern side.

Let’s go back to discussing his first introduction to Brianna for a second: he witnesses Brianna express her unrequited attraction to Ian, flirt with him and even mock-kiss him straight on the lips, and yet not only does that not make Geoffrey respect her any less, it also does not concern him at all later in book 3 when the story hints at the fact that he might have an interest in taking her as his wife. This is a rather unusual attitude! I mean, even the exuberant Etienne de Sancerre, who has shown an overt preference for feisty and confident women, grumbles and protests in jealousy when his wife Donna and Daniel greet each other with a hug while out in public, deeming the gesture to be inappropriate. What I’m trying to say here is that this is a man who is waaaaay ahead of his peers in regards to his view of women and womanhood, and who also appears to be very confident in his masculinity (so confident, in fact, that the thought of having to “put women in their place” never once crosses his mind), hence why I keep sensing the most excellent kind of bisexual vibes coming from him.

Exhibit B: Geoffrey and men

2.1 Jerome and Geoffrey’s friendship makes NO sense

And I mean it. Yes, we do read about Ian wondering how two people with such different sets of core values (ok maybe Jerome lacked core values all together lol) could have ever been friends, which means that yes, readers are in fact meant to notice how misguided Geoffrey is in his commitment to honour this bond of friendship and avenge Jerome’s death, but the more I think about this, the more I convince myself that this whole situation is, in fact…really weird.

Let’s start from the beginning: so, Geoffrey’s anger over Jerome’s death is the main source of conflict between him and Ian, and it puts the plot of book 2 in motion. Now, we never actually saw Geoffrey and Jerome talk to each other in book 1 (because at the time of its drafting the author had not yet planned on writing a sequel for it) so all the available details about their relationship (mind you, there aren’t that many) have to be gleaned from Geoffrey’s recollections present in book 2 and pieced back together in order to get a clearer picture. Another fact that should be noted is that we also never saw Jerome talk about Geoffrey (again, because Geoffrey wasn’t really that relevant to the plot of book 1): Geoffrey’s words are the only source available when it comes to trying to reconstruct what their interactions might have been like, which means that our perspective on their friendship is going to be inevitably, extremely one-sided.

So here we go, book 2, chapter 5: Geoffrey has decided to abduct Ian and Daniel and drag them to his home in England to get some answers and avenge Jerome’s death and he currently has Ian at his mercy, so he immediately starts asking questions. He asks why he currently is not home, he asks why his brother has no knowledge of his whereabouts, he asks if his name really is Jean Marc de Ponthieu, and these are all very dangerous questions: they pose a real threat to Ian’s credibility. But then, when Geoffrey asks why Jerome was so certain he was an imposter, Ian breathes in relief, because that means Geoffrey knows nothing about the ambush in Couronne.

But. Wait a second.

How could Geoffrey possibly not know about Couronne? That’s how Derangale KNEW without a shadow of a doubt that Ian and Jean de Ponthieu were never the same person! Dude was busy forging incriminating letters left and right with Ponthieu’s help??? He was the one who helped Ponthieu and Renaud De Dammartin set Isabeau up to be assaulted by Claude de Dammartin??? Geoffrey explicitly says Jerome was obsessed with Ian, so Derangale must have talked his ear OFF with all his incessant rambling about him being an imposter…and Geoffrey did not bother asking him about the details of this weird doppelganger theory of his ONCE? We know how sharp and observant Geoffrey is. We know he is perceptive, and straightforward in voicing his opinions, and not easy to fool. We know he is the type of guy who likes to ask direct questions and get believable, clear answers in return, so he MUST have asked Jerome why he was so sure about the illegitimacy of Ian’s identity. How did Jerome answer? Did he make up a lie on the spot? Geoffrey is equipped with a very functional built-in anti-nonsense super-sensor (the one that allowed him to immediately spot all the places in which Ian’s deception and intentional gaslighting were coming off at their seams even after Ian had managed to convince Geoffrey’s own father that he was Jean de Ponthieu’s second-born son), so if that was the case – if Jerome had indeed tried to make up some story about why he knew who the real Jean de Ponthieu was – Geoffrey (in theory) would have easily been able to tell that he was being lied to.

Do we then have to assume Jerome simply replied with “I just know”? Well…the text implies that this is the most plausible option: as Ian and Geoffrey’s heated conversation goes on, we realize that the only reason Geoffrey believes Ian to be an imposter is…because Jerome said so. And this, in my opinion, says a lot about both Geoffrey’s relationship with Derangale and his current emotional state. Let’s really think about what this little kidnapping stunt of his must look like from an outside perspective: Geoffrey just decided to abduct a man whose identity has been publicly confirmed by Guillaume de Ponthieu, one of the most powerful men on French soil, who also happens to be a relative of king Philippe Auguste (which means Ian has ties to the royal family as well lol???), who ALSO confirmed that Ian is the youngest Ponthieu brother and PERSONALLY BESTOWED the title of Faucon du Roi upon him. Geoffrey does not (currently) have a shred of proof against Ian: he just chose to believe that Ian is some random foreigner who has been allowed to pretend to be a nobleman and marry Isabeau de Montmayeur by the count of Ponthieu and the king of France because that’s what Jerome believed. Jerome stood alone in front of the entire French court, subjecting himself to ridicule, to denounce Ian as an imposter and Guillaume as a liar (and readers know he is 100% right, but look at this from the perspective of one of the characters who are not involved in this intrigue), which are such far-fetched, absurd, ludicrous accusations, even the closest of Jerome’s friends would have demanded at least some evidence in order to give his version of the story some credit. And yet Geoffrey, who has not been given even one crumb of information on the real Jean de Ponthieu’s actual political alignment, simply decided to stand with him against the rest of the world.

And then, Ian starts answering Geoffrey’s questions by telling him all the vile things Jerome did to him, his family and his friends (while still carefully avoiding the Couronne topic): he tells him of his sadism, villany and criminal actions, and Geoffrey does not believe a single word of what he’s saying. He straight up calls all these accusations lies, and he urges Ian to stop insulting a knight of England his peer and a man of honour deserving of respect. Geoffrey refuses to listen to any negative remark Ian has to make and threatens him with violence when he insists on calling Jerome an unworthy man. “Jerome wasn’t a liar”, he says; “he was my friend, and you killed him”. This is exactly what I meant when I said their friendship strikes me as extremely weird: I mean come on, really? Derangale was a textbook piece of shit. He was violent, vengeful, and arrogant, and yet Geoffrey describes him as a “man of honour”??? It almost seems as if he and Ian are not even talking about the same person??? The sadistic felon Ian met in Cairs is nothing like the friend Geoffrey has such a high opinion of. Which can only mean one thing, namely that when he was with Geoffrey, Jerome was on his best behaviour. And in order to have adapted his behaviour to fit Geoffrey’s expectations of a good and honourable friend, Derangale must have had a very clear picture of the kind of person his “friend” was. Jerome knew Geoffrey would never have allowed all that malicious shit to happen under his watch, so he decided to keep all his plotting a secret from him. Geoffrey never was Jerome’s accomplice in aiding Renaud de Dammartin, Ferrand de Flandre and Jean de Ponthieu steal the Montmayeur fief for king John, and therefore has no reason to believe Ian’s words.

There are two things about this situation that strike me as particularly weird. First of all: Derangale wasn’t just witholding information from Geoffrey, he was also hiding his true nature from him. And Geoffrey…never noticed? Geoffrey, who can usually smell bullshit and deception from a mile away, who has no difficulty in telling a man of honour from a felon, who normally would not bother wasting his time being friends with such an insufferable prick, never managed to guess the true nature of Jerome’s character? Huh??? And secondly: why exactly did Derangale ask for help from a guy he was so sure he would never have been able to turn into one of his accomplices he had to actively keep parts of himself and his plans hidden for months up to the battle in Bouvines? What we know, thanks to Harald Martewall, is that Jerome was the first to reach out to Geoffrey back in book 1: apparently, the two of them used to be friends as young boys, then stopped seeing each other for a couple of years until Derangale decided to pick up the phone and give him a call. Geoffrey was in England, minding his own business, when Jerome contacted him to ask if he was willing to join him in Béarne. He, as sir Harald recalls, “was busy raising a cavalry troop for Ferrand De Flandre, and wanted my last-born as champion in a tournament”. It is not difficult to guess why Derangale asked specifically for Geoffrey to join his faction. Martewall is, simply put, the baddest bitch in the area: he is easily the scariest and most skilled warrior out of all the knights we get to meet in the saga, and an experienced tournament champion is precisely what Jerome needs for the little show he has in plan for Béarne. What I really want to know here is: couldn’t Derangale have called for literally any other English knight to help him win? Why did he risk enrolling a guy he knew would never have approved of his schemes and totally could have kicked his ass if he ever found out about his misconduct? Couldn’t he have called for a couple more champions who would have been overjoyed at the opportunity of beating the shit out of all those French knights? Why did it have to be just him and Geoffrey against the ENTIRETY of Philippe Auguste’s lineup? Why was he so confident in his ability to manipulate Geoffrey? Oh AND. This is an information that is nowhere to be found in the actual books but it is something I asked the author to confirm because I was just too curious: Geoffrey…did not have fun in Béarne, like at all. He did not care for the show Jerome wanted to put on, he did not enjoy participating in that display of strength and superiority, and he was grumpier than usual during the whole ordeal. So our man Jerome basically decided to rely exclusively on Geoffrey’s excellence and made him travel all the way to Béarne instead of putting together a slightly larger faction of fellows who could have maybe shared his immoral cause (like hello?????? it’s literally JUST the two of them against ALL the French nobles competing at the tournament lmfao??? I mean ok girl!!! give us drama! give us spectacle!) despite knowing that 1) he would have had to completely alter his behaviour around him 2) he could never have explained to him why he knew with absolute certainty Ian was an imposter and 3) Geoffrey would have intensely disliked being at the centre of theatrics. Like…I get that Geoffrey is your most skilled friend when it comes to the art of jousting, but… his presence is also a bit too inconvenient in this context? I mean really? You didn’t know any other knights in the area who could have been available as champions? You had to call for Geoffrey? Specifically for him? Haha girl ok! (oh and you also saved some of the custom higher quality blades you had made for your squadron to arm Geoffrey? Ok! Oh and you decided to pick Geoffrey as the other leader of your special squadron? Girl Ok!!! The guy would leave your ass in less than a second if he ever found out about your awful crimes so keeping him at your side is quite the risky move, but you do you I guess).

And another thing is, not only did Geoffrey hate every second of that charade, he (and this is also information that I got directly from the author) was downright shocked at Derangale’s unprompted act of violence against the young count of Grandpré… that was something that caught him completely off guard and that left a bitter taste in his mouth. It makes total sense for Geoffrey to feel this way, that’s very in character for him. What actually, really surprises me is Geoffrey’s reaction at hearing Ian mention this particular incident. You were there, says Ian, you saw Derangale attempt to kill a friend of mine with your own two eyes, and yet you insist on threatening me for calling him a criminal and an assassin. And that’s what finally prompts Geoffrey to lay hands on him. He silences him with a slap so violent it almost makes him fall on the ground. Geoffrey reacted with anger and disbelief when Ian was describing him heinous crimes that he never witnessed and did not believe to be true, but only resorted to physical violence when Ian forced him to acknowledge and condemn an action he actually saw Jerome commit. This brief scene alone is enough for me to confidently conclude that Geoffrey is, there are no other words fit to describe his current emotional state, deep in DENIAL. He hears an uncomfortable truth he has no way of denying, he lets that send him into a violent rage, he acts that violence out and then he ends the whole conversation there. He just. Leaves. And he repeats the same exact pattern of behaviour a second time! Book 2, chapter 12: Martewall starts to interrogate Daniel, who tells him about Derangale’s first attempt at kidnapping Isabeau AND manages to have one of his own men confirm his story. Then Geoffrey becomes visibly agitated, to the point he inadvertently breaks the rod he brought to beat information out of his prisoner in fucking two, CHANGES THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION ON PURPOSE, and then when Daniel insists on bringing the conversation back to Derangale’s crimes he draws his sword, points it at him in another fit of anger and then! He LEAVES!! AGAIN!!! Bro???????????? You keep saying you “want the truth” and yet when you finally get it you cut the conversation off because you don’t like what you’re hearing? Hello???

“You insist on defending him only because you do not want to admit you have been lied to and manipulated by him”, this is what Daniel says to Martewall’s face, and the most articulate rebuttal he is able to come up with on the spot is “that is not true”. He absolutely did not expect to be confronted with such merciless answers, and he has no idea how to cope with Ian and Daniel ripping into the image of the good and honourable Jerome that only exists in his mind, so he just rejects anything negative they have to say and breaks things like a moody teenager.

His behaviour is extremely erratic. For the entirety of the first half of book 2, Geoffrey is clearly not his usual self. His own father tells him he does not recognize him anymore. And when Sir Harald confronts him and makes an attempt at urging him to release Daniel, Geoffrey reacts with something I would almost describe as a…temper tantrum? Sir Harald’s request for an explanation from his son is more than legit: after all, he just learned from Daniel that Geoffrey decided to kidnap a renowned nobleman on a whim, without any evidence of his supposed crimes, WITHIN THE BORDERS OF HIS FIEF IN FRENCH LANDS. That could get them in SERIOUS trouble with both his brother Guillaume de Ponthieu and Philippe Auguste himself, as Salisbury will later remark on. I mean, this action is not only dishonourable, as Sir Harald will be very quick to point out, but also extremely stupid. And Geoffrey is not stupid. Like, at all. He knows when to shut up, his rage is usually under check, he is not prone to acting out in anger or taking rash decisions. But here, Geoffrey is letting his emotions run rampant. His father is being perfectly reasonable, and he replies quite disrespectfully by stating that he is not a young boy anymore and that he will not allow for any reproach o interference on his part.

It should be noted that Geoffrey’s troubled state of mind is not solely the result of Jerome’s death. In fact, in chapter 12, Geoffrey makes it clear why he is so angry and frustrated. He lays out all of his reasons to his father:

“I’ve always done my duty and I lost my honour because of those to whom I owed my loyalty. I fought loyally until the very end, I paid my defeat with imprisonment, only to discover at my release that my name is associated to those of a friend deemed a felon and a king judged a coward; I return to my homeland and I end up on a list of traitors because of you! I am forced to be subject to the last two accusations, but the first…that one I intend to acquit myself from with any means necessary. At this point, I have already lost my dignity as a knight and you are the last person who can reproach me for it, since you are the one who dealt me the final blow”.

Geoffrey’s words reveal that he is also doing all of this for himself. He is now more desperate than ever to prove Jerome was always in the right, since this seems to be the only means of coping with the loss of his precious honour. The thought of having been friends with a felon of this magnitude is something Geoffrey could never, ever tolerate, because what would this say about him as a person? This explains the state of denial he currently is in: he has done something he would normally see as despicable by kidnapping Ian in his own lands, but he could excuse acting like a vulgar bandit if only he managed to force a confession out of Ian and avenge Jerome’s death (have I already mentioned Geoffrey has NO business being mad about Jerome meeting his demise at Ian’s hands? Dude was killed in fair combat. On a battlefield. Ian did not assassinate him or anything of that sort, there simply are NO good reasons as for why Geoffrey could ever want to “avenge” his friend’s death?? like there’s literally nothing to avenge here??? Lol???). And although Geoffrey is indeed defending Jerome’s honour because he feels that his crimes, if proven true, could reflect badly on himself, Geoffrey’s words still betray real attachment and a genuine feeling of affection for Jerome. Ian himself will later recognize their bond as valid by directly comparing it to the sentiment of friendship he shares with Daniel. At the time of Ian’s abduction, Geoffrey did not yet know that he would eventually be forced to fight yet another war once he’d finally reach his home: at that point in the story, Geoffrey’s motives for taking Ian and Daniel as prisoners had little to do with him wanting to gain back the honour he now feels his father tore from him by ordering him to side with him against their king. The primary motivation for his disreputable conduct in chapters 4 to 10 was, in my opinion, grief.

Another thing that I find extremely interesting and that in a way contradicts what I mentioned above about Geoffrey not being able to tolerate the thought of having been friends with a criminal, is that once he starts to come to terms with the proof of Jerome’s misconduct…he never disavows their friendship. What he says once he finally accepts Ian as his friend and lets go of Jerome’s obsession is: “I did everything in my power to honour our friendship, going even beyond common sense”. He never tries to claim they were never really friends or proclaim he wants to cut all ties with such a man. And towards the end of book 3, when Geoffrey and Ian are discussing what Ian’s exile really implicates and Ian is finally forced to admit he never was Jean de Ponthieu, Geoffrey all of a sudden brings Derangale into their conversation to reflect on how Jerome was right all along and how happy he is to learn that he at least did not lie to him about this one specific thing. Well, maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I was expecting him to focus on the sheer amount of lies he had been fed by…you know, Ian, the friend who happens to be alive and whom he is currently confronting. He does not even seem interested in asking Ian to explain himself, it is Ian who apologises to him, completely unprompted. They were having a conversation about Philippe Auguste and Guillaume de Ponthieu wielding the power to destroy his life, and after several beats of silence and intense consideration, what Geoffrey decided to say out loud was “I’m happy Jerome didn’t lie to me about you”? Ummmmmmm ok??????????? Lying to him certainly was not the worst thing Jerome has ever done? What about the many crimes he committed against Ian, his friends and his family? What I’m trying to say here is that Daniel’s argument about Geoffrey having been manipulated by Jerome must have cut deep, since here he is, bringing this up again. Derangale died more than two years ago, and Geoffrey already gave up on trying to redeem his honour and reputation, but he appears to be still in the middle of the process of learning to truly let him go. Dealing with the idea of having been deceived in such a cold way by a close friend to whom he though he owed unwavering loyalty is proving to be challenging. I might be delusional but I can only make sense of the fact Geoffrey brought Jerome into their conversation about Ian only to briefly touch on a strictly personal matter that concerned his own feelings and his private relationship with Ian’s old archenemy if I assume Geoffrey was, at this point in time, still dealing with some very intense and complicated feelings (….furthermore…………it doesn’t…really…make sense…for Geoffrey to be happy about Jerome telling him that Ian’s identity was a hoax…since the whole point of telling him that…was getting his help in destroying Ian and not really “being honest” with him…like…Geoffrey, love, why are you so desperately hanging on to these miniscule scraps of “““honest and genuine interactions”””, why do you still treasure this literal MICROSCOPIC CRUMB of “““sincerity””” on Jerome’s part…hello…………………???). Sorry but this whole Jerome/Geoffrey mess just exudes one-sided, unfulfilled and unacknowledged tenderness in copious amounts once you really start to read into it. My personal interpretation of the situation is that Geoffrey is having such a hard time trying to make sense of the extent of Derangale’s manipulation and condemning him as someone who was always undeserving of his friendship and devotion because he completely lacks the tools to properly analyse and interpret his own feelings on the matter.

2.2 Geoffrey and Ian vs Geoffrey and Jerome

I’m touching briefly on Ian and Geoffrey’s friendship dynamics in book 3 mainly because I think that their relationship will provide me with some good clues and parallels that could be of help in determining what Geoffrey was like when he was in Jerome’s company, since the third instalment in the series gives us such a wonderful and complete picture of the kind of friend Geoffrey is. Remember how Geoffrey immediately sided with Ian against Gant without asking for evidence against him and came to Ian’s rescue twice despite having very important businesses to attend to? Geoffrey has repeatedly shown that he has a tendency to be aggressively protective of his closest friends, to the point he has no problem resorting to extreme violence to ensure their safety (Ian, bleeding on the floor, gripping Geoffrey’s arm: “please tell me you took at least one of my assailants alive I’m going to need a witness???????” Geoffrey: “…” Ian: “…” The pile of corpses right behind them: “…” Geoffrey: “…sorry lol I kinda dealt with them in a bit of a heavy handed way” Ian: whimpers and collapses in his arms). Geoffrey’s attitude in regards to Ian’s enemies perfectly explains why he never had any qualms siding with Jerome against Ian despite the fact Derangale wasn’t telling him shit about the supposed evidence behind his outlandish claims. This is actually part of his regular pattern of behaviour: Geoffrey has consistently shown a thorough commitment towards undying trust and unconditional support through direct action. He might seem cold and aloof since he is never seen behave in an overtly friendly or approachable way when he is out in public (he also does not smile ONCE throughout the whole trilogy), but this right here is, in my opinion, a very affectionate man who is capable of forming true and intimate bonds with a handful of hand-picked men whose company he deeply treasures. Let’s talk about how Geoffrey U-turned at the speed of light to go back and help Ian corner Gant even though he was in the middle of carrying out an extremely important mission for Blanche of Castile. Let’s talk about how Derangale did not even have the time to fall to the ground after Ian delivered him the finishing blow, because Geoffrey literally teleported behind him to catch him, hoist him on his horse and take him to safety (let’s also talk about how Ian later found Derangale’s corpse among those of all the abandoned fallen soldiers the imperial army was not able to retrieve, and saw that his dead body had been laid on a shield with care, which means Geoffrey probably was the one responsible for preserving his dignity in death since we know for a fact he was there to hear Derangale’s last words and witness him die – I am literally about to start screaming please send help :)))))))). Do not let his grumpiness and harsh words fool you, Geoffrey is the most dedicated best friend another knight could ever ask for.

HOWEVER, the main difference between the two relationships I am comparing is that Geoffrey’s support of Ian is always unconditional, but never irrational in the same way his pursuit of revenge on Jerome’s behalf was, and at no point in the story does Geoffrey fail in evaluating Ian’s character or intentions. Furthermore, Ian’s gaslighting game was ON POINT in book 2, he was warping reality around Geoffrey like a damn magician, but Geoffrey never fully bought into his carefully crafted lies. And yet I am expected to believe that Derangale was such a skilled master manipulator he was able to conceal his true nature and agenda from Geoffrey for months? Hello??? PLEASE! Make it make sense!!! The ease with which Derangale was able to withold crucial information from him is extremely suspicious. Really? You mean to tell me Jerome Derangale had one of the least gullible people in the saga wrapped around his finger for years and never once slipped and misbehaved in front of him? Sorry I know at this point I must sound extremely redundant but Geoffrey’s selective blindness towards anything that concerns Derangale really is the weirdest thing ever, like, uh oh! Are you sure you didn’t catch any overly soft feelings for your bestie? So…I’m gonna say it: my theory on why Geoffrey’s behaviour was all over the place in the first chapters of book 2 is that he has always been completely unaware of the true nature and extent of his emotional attachment to Derangale, and this cluelessness of his contributed to worsening his already frustrated state. Furthermore, I also think Derangale must have noticed something was going on with Geoffrey and decided to use it to his advantage. Dude was a bit too confident, suspiciously confident in his ability to keep Geoffrey at his side without having to disclose any kind of compromising information.

In conclusion:

What I’m trying to say here is that I’m pretty convinced Geoffrey Martewall is not one of the straights. To sum all of this up, he:

-drinks astronomical amounts of his own extra strong brew of respect women juice on a daily basis

-has a tendency to get very attached to a few selected male friends who he then proceeds to protect with everything he has

-never noticed his old friend (👀) was lying to him, acted in a very out of character and erratic way for a while after his old friend’s (👀👀) death and was ready to commit actual crimes in an attempt to honour his old friend’s (👀👀👀) memory.

So. Yeah. The bi vibes are there. I would rather die than give up my Clueless Bisexual King Geoffrey Martewall headcanons! Sorry but a straight Geoffrey would make zero sense to me. Your honour can’t you see!!! this guy is WAY too cool not to be bi!!!

I rest my case.

P.S. I cannot BELIEVE I’m actually posting this monster on the day of the anniversary of the battle of Bouvines??? I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, at first I was really annoyed at the fact that putting this together was taking me weeks but then yesterday while I was editing I realized I would eventually be able to publish this on the very day Derangale died and Geoffrey was taken prisoner :’’) Perfect timing am I right?

#I love....Geoffrey Martewall...so fucking much i literallyhschbcbg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#He!!!!!!! HNGGGGG #also this is probably full of mistakes and typos and whatnot but i don't care at this point i just want to get my point across #and my point is that Geoffrey has to be bi and i am . right #haha ooops my Jerome/Geoffrey agenda is finally out in the open for everyone to see haha ooooooopppppp #anyway i've never posted anything this long before #Geoffrey was worth every single word I spent talking abt him tho #hyperversum #I'm tired I'm going to bed now byeeeeee #Geoffrey Martewall #Jerome Derangale #Ian Maayrkas

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spidernana · 3 years

Note

This is a random question. But do you ship DustTale Frans if so what do you think of them?

I do... but it’s my own version of them, as with all things ahaha.

For awhile, I wouldn't touch Dust Frans, simply because of the nature of the beast. Dust HATES Frisk, killed so many monsters, including his brother, just to stop her, ruined himself for good in her name. How could there ever be anything there?

But then along came a new headcanon in the fandom. Dust has memory loss, from his extensive traumas, and is so hard and so cold he can barely feel anything besides the thrill of the kill. And with that came my own headcanon...

What if she and Dust were together BEFORE her possession?

It requires some finagling, of course, some diversion from the canon... But that's what fanon is all about, isn't it XD its all in good fun, and no one takes me and my little Frans sandbox galaxy seriously anyway.

(Beware, long kinda crazy explanation)

So Frisk stays in the Underground, she and Sans are together. The possession tears them apart, and the world falls down around them. Reset after reset, heartbreak after heartbreak. Betrayal, misunderstanding, anger, resignation. He tries to stop her with words, tries to move her with the gravity of the things she's done. She can no longer hear him, if she even exists at all. What he's hoped for his entire life, centuries, is dashed at his feet, in the blood and the dust... And with the hundreds and hundreds of replayed days, the resets that distance him from the time where they were 'Meant To Be'... He makes the decision that finally breaks him.

Just one monster, a little old creature in a cabin in the woods. Just enough LV to give him an edge in the fight. He'd stop her, he'd make her go back before she changed, he'd do it right. It must have been his fault... He'd protect her better. He'd make sure she stayed well.

And though it wasn't enough, though he still was no match for her homicidal fury or the lifeless red of her eyes or the cruel smile on her face... It was different. Something changed. He was stronger, he could tell.

Two. It was for the good of the entire Underground, for him and for her, for the world itself. He'd make it right in the reset. He would. He just needed their power for now.

And so it went.

Two became 5, and 5, 10. More and more with each shattered timeline, the possibility of being enough to actually stand in her way so tantalizingly close each time. He excused his actions less and less, as the sins crawled on his back, until only one mantra resounded in his head.

It was all for her... He'd sworn he'd do anything for her, and wasn't this part of it? Wasn't it his job to save her, by any means necessary?

10 became 100. 100, to 1000. It was a race, at that point, to kill more than she did, to gather power without considering why, without looking in their faces as they dusted and knew who had killed them. He didn't dare to look at it, hardened his soul to it as he'd once preached against.

He began to lose things, within himself. There was no room, within, for jokes or for old friendships. Physics didn't matter... Old memories, before her. All for her... All for her, so he put them aside. Emptied himself of all but his quest, so righteous, so true, until he forgot them entirely, filled the spaces with the quickest way to kill, the shortest path to the next victim, the cleverest ruses to gain a foothold. The more he killed, the harder he became, and the more he forgot... So much, that he forgot even his love for his brother.

Another soul to add to the list. A mercy, even, spared the cut of the demon's blade, to fall beneath his own.

He was obsessed. His mantra echoed within him with every step, every murder, every new timeline, every foul deed... Every laugh, as he found rhythm and rhyme within the kill, as the patterns formed and he found a simple joy in the fear. His mind began to crack, with the advent of his glee...

And it left him entirely, with the first time he found that his excess was far, FAR more than he'd needed to defeat her.

So easy, to overcome her now. The duress of his power was unmatched... While his LV had soared, hers had crumbled with the lack of enemies to be found, and had left her his defeated for at last.

It was instinct. It was bliss. She trembled with her fear, cried his name and wept for mercy, as the demon left her to her fate... But there was no mercy left in him.

It was all for her.

And time rewound.

With the breaking of his mind, the twisting of his purpose, he became a hunter, a savage lover of blood and pain and vengeance. He hadn't particularly liked killing her, it had twinged at his frozen soul in a way that recalled better times, memories he'd put aside to make room for murder, but it was necessary, wasn't it?

It had to be. It was all for her... Everything he'd done had been. There was no past... There was no future. Only the blood on his hands, only the path that led him back to her, only the mantra.

Time shattered, broken as his mind and his heart. Meaningless, with each reset, every time the light in her eyes died and she lay beneath him, colder and colder with each passing moment. She'd started to try to hide from him, now... The demon showed itself less and less.

Has she killed even one monster, this time? Had he gotten them all? He didn't know. It didn't matter.

It was all for her.

Why? He honestly couldn't recall. It had been so long, since they'd been lovers, been soulmates, been 'Meant To Be'... He barely remembered who she was, beyond the obsession, beyond the words ingrained. A pretty thing, a shell on the beach to be admired, cleansed of the filth inside, and collected like all the others.

It was all for her.

The demon had abandoned her. Fled back to its shallow grave, petrified by him. Frisk was alone, with the sins she hadn't commited and her fear and her endless tears... Timeline after timeline, trying to convince her smirking, tutting suitor that all was well again.

He cannot hear her. There's nothing left inside him but the need for power, the demented whisper of ghosts... And the mantra.

It was all for her.

All love he had once held for her was gone. All his tender hopes and dreams for desire and family and forever were fled, as broken as she was as she plead for mercy, for him to remember her. All that remained of the thin red line of their fate was the one he drew across her throat.

And then, one day, the impossible. The breaking of a force more lasting and more powerful than the universe itself... Her determination shattered. Her soul refused to rewind again... Time would not be moved. She lay as he had left her, bloodied in the snow, his face reflected in her lifeless eyes, and as he watched, and waited, and chuckled to himself...

He felt.

It was the end of all things before, the beginning of after, and he had no clue what to do with it. It had always been her, the words inscribed on the inside of his sockets, etched into the stone of his soul. All for her, and as she lay beneath him, drained of all that had made her his world and his life, he remembered. He remembered what was before, and he wept. He wept for lost love, and a future in the sun, and for everything robbed of him. He wept until he was numb, more than he ever had been before...

And then he traced the thin red line for himself.

A miracle, perhaps, to wake again from such a nightmare. He still felt twisted, he still felt hollow and cold, could feel the unnatural smile on his face and the itch to claim lives... But there was also something else. The mantra, yes (all for her, all for her), but also a love, a sickly, needful love, that brought him to his feet, that hurried his search all the faster, that took him to her with a desperation that outbid the want for blood, the desire for power.

She was as hollow as he, bereft of all but the barest spark of her once so enormous power... Begged him one last time, for a mercy she no longer believed in.

And he gave it to her. Held her face in his bloodstained hands, cradled her to him, precious thing... Promised, one he meant to keep, that he would never hurt her again.

This new love was an emulation of what they had once held, a sickly shadow and a diseased facsimile... It was an unhealthy, obsessive, controlling thing, untrusting and, at times, hateful, but he has no power to resist it now. It was all he had, the only thing that could move his frozen soul.

All for her, and all of her.

#woof #dusttale #frans #genocide #murder #suicide #insanity #obsession #unhealthy relationship #a truly terrible thing #and perhaps not even a real one #maybe she really did come back that one last time #maybe she's just a ghost like paps #a figment of a hopeful lonely imagination #who knows~#sorry sorry lol #i got carried away #you opened a real can of worms with that one lol

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casualotptrash · 3 years

Text

Fixes to the Persona Series

Oh boy I hope you all are ready to talk about this for the hundredth time!

My recent tirade about the FES vs Portable discussion started to make me think about what I think could be done in the next coming installments of the series to make it either feel a bit more fresh or just as an overall improvement. Now, I know many of the things I’m about to say have been said time and time again, but...this is my post so I’m going to give my opinion on this :)

Enjoy and feel free to vent with me about your biggest gripes with the series, because I’m always ready for a salt-fest.

(This post will pretty much have any spoilers about Persona 3, 4, and 5 (including Royal) so beware if you haven’t finished those)

To clarify right off the bat, anything I don’t mention in here as something I would fix I either don’t think it is a problem or I just happened to forget it.

1. Player Gender Options

(Royal Spoilers)

Starting off with a great one, I think that an improvement to the series would be to allow an option between a male and a female MC. I don’t think this choice would affect the story in Persona 3 or 4 very much (and we’ve seen that with Persona 3), but I have imagined and seen so many fanfics about how it would actually be a really interesting twist for Persona 5. For most of the story it probably wouldn’t matter too much, but it could impact the first palace so much. The first palace/story arc is already one of the best arcs in the game, so imagine if the player could relate to Ann and Shiho on an even deeper level? To be clear, I’m not saying the player has to be sexually assaulted or something, but I imagine Kamoshida would at least treat the player more like Ann rather than just a delinquent nuisance.

Also, and this just came to mind, but picture this: in the third semester Maruki actualizes things that he thinks will make others happy. Obviously, Joker and Akechi are against this. In the game itself there are a lot of clues to point that Joker does care about Akechi, and does want to see him again, but in the end they both agree that they need to fight for the real world that they worked for, not for a fake reality. If Joker was a female, they could still go the route of doing this (especially if romancing Akechi was an option? Or they just hint at them having feelings but Akechi doesn’t want to commit because he’s a self-loathing boi who needs to work on himself first).

Alternatively...what about a badass narrative of a girl, in a powerful position as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, fighting against a man who believes he knows what’s best for her and tries to appease her by just bringing back Akechi? Kinda like a “Yeah fuck what you did, you just need Akechi/a man and he’ll make you happy” type of thing. Obviously this would all be subtle, because I do think Maruki has good intentions, but he also blames himself for all of the hard things Rumi has gone through and may internalize that as women needing a “strong man” to protect them. Of course this might seem too preachy for people, but I thought it was an interesting idea to run with and that some people could relate to the whole “Woman trying to think and do things for themselves? Nah just sit in your little fake world and be happy, thanks.”

(Sidenote, Sae would be such a good role model...after her change of heart of course. You crush it girl.)

However, I do understand that this could be a lot of extra work, especially when the game is so long and tedious. That’s why I would also be fine with the strategy of “switching off” per say. By that I mean if Persona 5 has a male MC, then Persona 6 would have a female MC, and if a 7th game was made (in 2040 or whatever) then it could go back to a male. This would eliminate the issue of having to record all the voice lines twice or any other extra work that would come with having to make both genders an option. Honestly I know this option doesn’t matter too much to people, they just want an MC who is either a self-insert or actually a character (more on that later), but I do think it would be a very nice inclusion especially for the female fans of the game. It kind of sucks that three of the most popular games in the series all have male protags, and the female protag who was introduced often gets shafted for very dumb reasons. (Oh no, you have the option to romance a kid that most people don’t even choose or like, that means she’s a p*do! :I I know this comment is normally a joke but seriously it’s not funny).

2. Setting of the game (not transfer but also maybe involve the other games?)

(Spoilers for the Arena games and Persona 5/Royal)

So there are two main points to this suggestion: where the game takes place and how it relates to the other games.

As we all know, the three latest entries in the mainline Persona series have all followed a certain trend. They are all high schoolers, who transfer to a town, and know basically no one there. This formula has been repeated for the last three games, and while they are still great games, I think this trend needs to change. Any amount of switching this up would be better than nothing in my opinion. For example, the MC could be a new college student who goes to a new place for college (if they wanted the MC to move somewhere), and there meets the party members who are a mix of people who also don’t know the area (new to the college) and those who do know the area/some people there. This would appease people who have been really wanting an MC to not be a high schooler, while also giving the feel of meeting new people and seeing a new place.

On the other hand, the next game could take place in the MC’s home town, where plot stuff happens and they connect more to the people they already knew (aka party members) to solve the plot stuff. They could be in high school or college, either I think would work, but it would appease people who don’t just want to be a transfer student each time and also have some connection to the characters prior to the game. However, this would be difficult to do given the current “flow” that the games have, that is that the MC doesn’t know anything and has to ask a million questions. It would be very strange to go up to someone you have known most of your life and ask them a basic question, which is why that style of storytelling(?) would not fit well with this and other methods would need to be used.

Now, for the second point, I understand that they don’t make strong connections to the other games because they want each game to be able to be played as a stand-alone, and not to hold people back by forcing them to play the other games to understand this. Makes sense, but usually what happens is that people play one game in the series and then try another game, if they really like the one they started with. After playing through the ones they want to, and if they like them, then there is an appreciation for the series as a whole. Of course Atlus sneaks in little references here and there, like having the P4 gang go to Iwatodai or some TV news announcements on P5 that allude to Adachi and other characters, but those cant always cut it. One of the biggest letdowns I would come to know is the fact that the Shadow Operatives are not mentioned at all, outside of those small references, in P5.

Persona 5 literally has the PT’s broadcasting all of their heists, and includes major government officials like Shido. There are also the mental shutdowns/psychotic breakdowns, which also have people confused, along with how the PT’s steal hearts in the first place. I don’t know about you all, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to get the Shadow Operatives involved. This is like...literally what they were made for? Investigating persona/shadow activity and such, and we already know that the PT’s deeds reached at least Hawaii so it would be strange for the SO’s to have not heard anything. There are headcanons that they were blocked by Shido or something, which is pretty interesting to think about/develop, but it was only thought up to make an excuse for why they aren’t there. Persona 5 introduced a lot of people to the story, so yeah some people would probably be very confused about who the SO’s are and stuff, but it could payoff in the long run for long-time fans and those who play the other games after.

Depending on the story of P6, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to start including casts from the other games into newer ones...especially when each game introduces 8-9 new characters per game, and those games usually get made into spin-offs that include the characters made in the previous games! Counting only the characters introduced in the previous games (3-5), Persona Q2 has 33 characters (11 P3, 10 P5, 10 P4, and 2 P3P, this includes the velvet room assistants for each respective game). That’s a ton! Sure, having new characters each time is part of the fun, but I believe there is definitely a way to split them up. I don’t think it would be too much of an issue to have a smaller party member group (you can only have 4 fight at a time anyway), that way there is still the enjoyment of seeing new characters, while also filling up some of those spots with preexisting ones.

3. Characterization

This kind of piggybacks off of the second point, but personally I think they need to stop with the self-insert protags. First, like I mentioned earlier, it kind of messes up the “flow” of the game since they have to pretend that the character doesn’t know anything because the player doesn’t know anything (yet). For example, how many times did the option to say “Probation?” or “Expelled?” or something like that come up as a dialogue choice in P5? Too often, in my opinion. I assume anyone over the age of 15 would probably know what those things mean, but in case anyone doesn’t they have to make it an option to say.

Adding onto this, it also seems like people start to like the characters a whole lot more when spinoffs or movies/animations come out that really expand on the character, because in those games/mediums the player is taken out of the self-insert role. I would say out of the three games, the Persona 3 protags have the most characterization in game through their dialogue. I haven’t watched the movies, but I heard it fleshes the MC out a lot more. In Persona 4...well, I see what they’re going for but I also feel like Yu has the personality of a cardboard box. The animations definitely helped out this one, as did Arena, and I’ve seen other people agree that they liked Yu a lot more after playing/watching those things.

As for Persona 5, I think they tried to give Joker some characterization (and oddly enough “Joker” has a lot more to him than Akira/Ren, but he still fell more on the side of self-insert. P5 the animation is...of questionable quality, but I think Xander did a good job in the Dub (which is the one I watched) in trying to make him feel more like a human being. I haven’t played Strikers, but I assume it goes more on the route of P5 because you’re still controlling Joker. Oddly enough, I feel like the dancing game gave him the most characterization? Call me crazy, but his dance moves and voice lines just ooze of his suave, friendly, and supportive attitude. I wish that they took whatever those voice lines embodied and just put them into the game, because I would like Joker a lot more than I already do (which, to be clear, I do still like him a lot).

Although this doesn’t have much to do with the characterization, it would also be nice if Atlus could just put the “canon name” in the game while also still having the option to choose your own name. Again, this might add a little more work but maybe if someone chose the “canon” option then their name could be spoken in voice lines, but if they don’t then the names would be left out (except for text) like usual. Honestly this is mostly up to personal preference because I like some of the “not canon” names more so I would want to use those if I could, but I also don’t like having the characters just randomly cut off in the end of sentences when they’re saying your name. Just kind of breaks immersion, which is probably why I really like Joker because at least they say “Joker” quite a bit.

(Little rant, but why do the PT’s get like two group names? At first Morgana defaults to “The Phantom Thieves of Hearts” but then when you get to choose the name of your team, that name is what shows up instead. However, everyone still calls you the “Phantom Thieves” and the gang refers to themselves as that too! I get naming the group is kind of cool, but I would have preferred if they were just called The Phantom Thieves (of Hearts) and that way their name could be spoken in dialogue too.)

4. Choices matter...please? (romance and regular dialogue)

This might be easy or difficult to implement, I’m not so sure because I’m not a game developer, but I really wish choices mattered more in this game. I feel like most of these suggestions (especially later on down the list) are just little things that could be added to the game that would really amp it up, and this is one of them.

When I talk about choices mattering, I do not mean that dialogue should be so open that there are branching paths and that your choices affect the story. What I mean is that you could choose two different options and not get the same exact answer. I get that this isn’t always the case, but when it is it feels very strange. In this same vein of things, please stop with the illusion of choice because everyone sees right through it. I didn’t really see this as much in P3, and I still need to finish P4, but it was definitely apparent with P5. I felt that so many times in the game there were two options that were just “Option A” or “Synonym for Option A” as the choices.

Along the same lines, I think it would be great if romance choices were actually acknowledged. Again, there is a little of this in P3 and P4 where some party members comment on your relation to the other party members (Ex. Junpei saying to take care of Fuuka if you date, Yukari stating that Akihiko probably wouldn’t want FeMC going on a group date if they’re dating, and Yosuke coming to assumptions about who Yu spends the summer festival with), but they are very few and far between. I also saw no evidence of this at all in P5, which was pretty disappointing. In fact, in Persona 5 Royal if you are dating Ann and go on the Christmas Date with her, she makes some comment about not wanting the others to find out about them. Like...girl, considering someone can finish Ann’s social link as early as June or so on NG+ I’m pretty sure your friend group would notice if you’ve been dating for 6 months?? I know that romance is definitely not the focus of the game, but if you’re going to include it why is it shoved into the farthest corner and never touched?

Don’t get me wrong, it is cute to see the romances in the game play out and such, but on the same hand I can see how much better it could be. In reality it kind of sucks to romance someone in the Persona games because no one acknowledges it, and you only get like 3-4 small scenes in each game to spend with them (beach in P5, festival in all, Christmas in all, valentines except for 3, White Day in P5R). Just imagine if you could take a walk in Kyoto with whoever you romanced, or were able to take your partner to the Jazz Jin in P5R and they would get like special date dialogue or something? Very very small additions, but it would go a long way in making the romances feel a bit more connected.

5. LGBT Romances

I went into this in some detail in Part 3 of my FES vs Portable debate post, so I to save your eyes from reading more I’ll just quickly say that Atlus definitely needs to add in more LGBT romance options because it’s ridiculous at this point. The fact that you can’t romance any guy (because all of the MC’s are male, this is not including the FeMC stuff because that’s not typical in the Persona series) but can have a whole harem (despite what they may do to you) is just ridiculous. They’d rather let you date a fully-fledged adult than someone of the same gender.

Also they’re cowards for scrapping the Yosuke romance and that’s that :)

6. Fixing Social Links

Link to the stand-alone post about this section.

I literally was going to include this in this post, but this section alone (which I knew was going to be the biggest) was almost as large (a few hundred words off) than everything prior to this point put together. I’ll make a separate post with just this section soon, but this criticism of mine can basically be boiled down into the fact that the main growth of a character should happen outside of their social link in order to avoid tonal whiplash in the story, and that this will fix the problem of some characters feeling “one-note” if you do not do their social links/confidants. Essentially, go back to the P3 method.

However, something that needs to be fixed for all of the games is that you shouldn’t only get social link points for saying what the person wants to hear. I get the train of thought that if you say what they want to hear they will like you more, but that’s not how real friendships work? Obviously you shouldn’t be saying something that offends them and think it will raise your points, but sometimes people just need to hear things?

I can think of three standout examples: Nozomi in P3 (Gourmet King), Mishima in P5, and Shinya in P5. Nozomi’s link is a hot mess in of itself, but it was very frustrating to at one point just be like “Hey can you chill?” when he’s trying to induct you into a scam/cult or whatever, and it reverses the social link. Like ok buddy fuck you too, I was just trying to say no and that you need to stop scamming people?? For Mishima in P5 (I’ll go more in depth on him in a later post), it’s just kind of strange that you can clearly see him starting to obsess about the PT’s but you can’t really tell him he needs to stop until the social link demands it. Even then, the only way to get points is pretty much to go “Wow Mishima, you’re the best! You’re the reason we exist! We love you!!!” and it just feels kind of wrong. Shinya’s is very much along the same line as that, except you basically have to do something even worse and encourage him to keep being a bully? Thankfully P5 doesn’t reverse confidants, but I probably would have done so with Shinya because I kept telling him he shouldn’t bully others until I realized how to get points with him. It just feels wrong to encourage such behavior until the character suddenly realizes they’ve been acting wrong. No shit, I’ve been trying to say that.

I think social links need quite the fix to them, but this is definitely one of them. Strong, real relationships are not just built upon telling the other person what they want to hear.

7. Have Characters Hang Out

This is mostly a suggestion based off of P5′s downfall in this aspect. I think that P3 and P4 did a good job at showing the characters hang out in other aspects, or hang out separately outside of the MC. P4 had a lot of good group hangouts, but not many scenes without the MC. P3 had the opposite where members kind of hung out together a bit, but also showed or mentioned them hanging out without the MC. However, P5 didn’t have much for the group hangouts and also I can’t really recall a single scene of the party members hanging out outside of the MC.

Along with all of the problems I mentioned earlier with the cardboard cut-out personalities, I feel that this contributed to P5′s group feeling a bit less cohesive. Obviously when they all hung out they acted like a real group of friends, but it’s hard to see it as legitimate when 95% of their hangouts are just meetings for the Phantom Thief stuff. The only times they hang out outside of the PT stuff is the TV station, the fireworks festival, helping Futaba + the beach trip, and the culture festival. Like I said, I can’t recall them hanging out together outside of being with the MC/PT business, although I could have missed some stray text message if one was mentioned.

In this aspect, P5 feels like a small step down from P3 and a huge step down from P4. I think some of the events in P4 are a bit unnecessarily long, but at least they go through the effort of showing that the group is also a real friend group, not just people trying to solve the murder. Strikers may be a step up from P5, but I haven’t played it yet so I can’t judge that.

Also bring back school trips to prior locations of Persona games. Imagine P5 group going to Inaba and it turns out this is the small country town that Joker came from? And they sprinkle in references to P4? *chefs kiss*.

8. Remove/Change Certain Tropes

(Spoilers for the babe hunts, stupid ass hot springs scenes, and Ryuji abuse after certain palace)

By that spoiler tag, you can probably tell that this is the category I’m most passionate about. I can deal with social links feeling a bit disconnected. I can deal with the MC being a self-insert. What I cant deal with anymore? These. Dumb. Ass. Scenes.

Let me explain (insert Sojiro voice here)

Every game has three main tropes. One, the babe hunt scenes. Two, the hot springs scenes. Three, one character being dunked on by everyone else. I’ll go through each, scream about my feelings about them, and why they need to change.

First, the babe hunt scenes. I don’t have much of a problem with this trope to be honest, I just think it could be done better in some games. I actually think the one in P3 was quite funny, because the group treated it like an “operation” which added a bit to humor. Truth be told, I was just a bit disappointed in P3P FeMC route when you didn’t have your own version of the “babe hunt” thing. I know Yukari and Mitsuru aren’t the types to go hunt for boys, but perhaps the MC could have suggested it as a fun idea. In P4, this scene happens in Okina and largely remains the same as the P3 formula, but I think it lacks just a bit of the humor that the P3 one had. Lastly, in P5 this scene happens during the beach trip but compared to the others it’s pretty...lackluster?

It shows a montage of Joker, Ryuji, and Yusuke talking to girls but no actual dialogue goes on. After talking to three or so, Yusuke disappears and this is when Joker and Ryuji meet the two “flamboyant” men again. This time, the men either chase them down or call after them (?) depending on if you’re playing Vanilla or Royal. I don’t like how they use these men in the first place, but on top of that it kind of takes the “babe hunt” out of “babe hunt” if you don’t actually...hunt for babes? Like no actual dialogue is spoken when trying to convince the girls, which was most of the fun in the other scenes. You don’t even have free reign to walk around at the beach, and the scene is formatted in a more cutscene type of way. It just makes P5′s babe hunt fall flat in many ways, and overall I finished the scene with a strong “meh.” The only good things about this was watching Makoto and Ann defend themselves and Yusuke with the lobsters.

Now for the hot springs scenes....hoo boy.

Simply put, in my opinion, these scenes suck ass in almost all of the games. P3 is the least egregious in my opinion, for a couple reasons. First is that it shows that Junpei and Ryoji were kind of trying to peep on the girls, and Akihiko and MC were just dragged into it. They have some funny dialogue, and in FES and Portable they even included the option to try and evade the girls. I found the little evade minigame to be really fun, even though every time I can’t help but fail because I want to say “It was a cat!” I find it interesting that there is the option for the men to get off scott-free, and that their dialogue after the trip is over changes slightly because of this.

On the FeMC side, I also find it fun that you have the reverse of the minigame and actually seek out the boys. My only letdown with this entire scene is if the boys are caught. I get it, it’s supposed to be funny with Mitsuru executing them and such, but as a reasonable person with a brain it seems really dumb to me that Mitsuru would just punish all of them when it’s just Ryoji and Junpei’s fault? This is nothing against Mitsuru, but her actions just seem so...exaggerated for some reason? Like Mitsuru is usually smart, and even if she is embarrassed I don’t get why she would punish innocent party members. A huge disappointment for me was that the FeMC isn’t able to stop Mitsuru from doing this either. Not even a choice to try and encourage Mitsuru or discourage her (so both options would be available). You just kinda sit there and watch, even after Akihiko say “It was a misunderstanding!” or something. For me it was especially strange because MC was dating Akihiko at that point, so why wouldn’t I try to hear him out? Just struck me as kind of dumb.

If I thought that was dumb, P4 and P5 were out to really make me roll my eyes and sigh in disappointment. Unlike P3, which has most of the scene being pretty good besides the very end where Mitsuru punishes the boys, the P4 and P5 scenes are all bad. This is not the first time anyone has said it, and won’t be the last, but they aren’t funny scenes in the slightest.

In P4, it’s actually the girl’s fault that they’re in the hot springs when the boys walk in. They stayed over their allotted time and into the time when boys are supposed to be in there. So what do they do? Get flustered, yell at them, and throw buckets at the group. Oh, and they don’t listen to the boy’s protests at all. Really.

Who thought this was a good idea?? The girls even realize after that they were in the wrong, say they should apologize, but I don’t think they ever show a scene of them apologizing after. This whole scene, like the hot springs ones in general, are just exaggerated (ie. throwing masses of buckets) to be funny, but they really fail in my opinion. It just serves to make the player kinda angry (since they’re usually on the receiving end) and make the girls look wildly unrealistic and dumb. I have never really thought that needless physical abuse is funny, so these scenes are just the bane of my existence apparently.

There actually isn’t a hot springs scene in P5, but they did add one in Strikers.

If they wanted to still do these scenes, maybe they could switch from making it “just beat up the boys” into something else. For example, the girls could try to peep, or walk in on the boys. Equality y’all, sometimes girls can do those things too (but still don’t beat them up. Just don’t beat anyone up). If none of that happens, or maybe that’s how the scene ends, the rest of the scene could just be a chill, relaxing scene between those involved. Essentially, how the scenes go before the whole “lets beat up the boys” thing comes in.

Lastly, on basically the same vein as why I don’t like the hot springs scenes, I’m starting to get real sick of the “let’s shit on this one character” trope. In Persona 3, I don’t think it’s that bad because they kind of do it with Junpei but they also give him a lot of character development, and eventually the sort of hostile shitting on him turns into just gentle teasing.

For P4 I still don’t think it is too bad, because Yosuke is kind of the one being shit on but he also does the same to the other people in the group? I suppose the only thing that really sticks out to me is how Teddie abuses Yosuke’s wallet (making him buy/pay for a lot of stuff with his hard earned cash), but I also don’t like Teddie at all in the first place so I may be biased about him. Oh well, he still shouldn’t do those things and I don’t really find it funny but to each their own.

However...this problem walks and rocks the fucking runway in Persona 5. Namely, this happens with Ryuji. The most obvious aggressor in this is Morgana, because him and Ryuji butt heads so often, but the other thieves kind of do it as well. Obviously they don’t do this all the time, but it’s extremely frustrating when they do. Morgana getting into arguments with Ryuji at the drop of a hat get old very quick, and the other thieves poking a bit of fun about how dumb Ryuji can be is also not that riveting. Despite all of that, the scene that highlights all of this is the scene after Shido’s palace collapse.

You all knew this was coming, but I couldn’t resist talking about it. The scene is so tone deaf in so many ways that it takes away all of the emotional impact that they were trying to build. Even the first time I watched this scene, in which I didn’t think they would kill off Ryuji, I could still sympathize with the group being concerned about him. Then when he shows up they...just beat him up and leave him unconscious next to a pole while they walk away? Wow.

On all subsequent playthroughs I just skip this scene, but I truly cannot understand why that was the angle they went for. Were they trying to insert some humor right after an emotional scene? That can be done in certain cases, but....why??? It’s so unbelievable it’s almost laughable. It’s not even like the bath scene where the the girls think the guys are trying to peep on them. It’s simply because he survived which I assume is what they wanted!

“Oh no you made us thought you were dead (even though he didn’t because he couldn’t control any of this), we’re going to beat you up!” Now you just make the characters look like irrational idiots.

Seriously Atlus, stop doing this. In most cases it just serves to make the player kind of frustrated, and in this case it it literally takes all of the emotional weight out of the scene and makes me think worse of the entire female cast. Please. Stop.

Well that’s the end of that. I don’t think I said anything too revolutionary, although my opinions about the social links and characterization might get me some flak. I just want the characters to be more than one personality trait... This was a really long post again, so kudos to whoever made it to this point!

Next time, on Dragon Ball Z Casual’s pointless posts: something Persona related :)

#long post #persona 3 #persona 3 portable #persona series #persona 4 #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #p3 #p3p #p4 #p5 #that's a lot of p's #ready to get shit on for my opinions #but maybe just ask me first before doing so #who's ready to play persona 6 when it comes out and be slightly disappointed #I am!#but I'll still like it because it's persona

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rise-above-the-grave · 4 years

Text

beware stained glass shards

for @dekusmynamecryingsmygame. you said angst was fine, so uhhhh have some mf-ing erasermic angst I guess. please note that a) I am brand new to this fandom and am still figuring out headcanons and characterizations. hopefully I didn’t screw anything up too bad in that regard...but if I did, please at least be gentle in your critique :’)... b) I wrote this in...about 4 hours, all completely after midnight. it’s not gonna be my best work :/ but I did my best! and I wanted to get this up asap so you could see and read it sooner rather than later.

tw for: canon-typical injuries, hospitals (and everything that goes along with hospitals like doctors, nurses, surgeries, etc.), some implied (it’s only implied!! and it’s super duper uber vague) nsfw stuff, and an off-screen (debatable; maybe-it-was, maybe-it-wasn’t) suicide attempt. (was it a suicide attempt or a villain attack? I don’t even know myself! - at least not yet. read it however you wanna read it. I purposefully leave it open for interpretation.)

and if you don’t wanna read it because of that even potential suicide attempt, lemme know and I’ll write you something else, Peachy... alkdsjflkjdsf unfortunately I have a bad case of “I didn’t think this through” after midnight, and I didn’t even think of that possibility until I was basically done writing it. at that point I was like “It’s 5:30 and I need to sleep, I might as well post this on the off chance they do want to read it...” if you don’t wanna read it tho lemme know and again, I’ll write ya something else tomorrow <3

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

He falls.

There is lightning, there is thunder, there is rain—and for an instant (a second, a heartbeat, a breath), he is a swallow, a sparrow, a falcon. He flies with invisible wings, the air is caught beneath him and above him and before him, the world spreads out into infinity below the raindrops hanging suspended in the air. The lightning gilds his dark hair in quicksilver, the thunder that follows an instant later shakes his bones, and the rain that drives him to the earth soaks his clothes into a second skin.

He falls, the asphalt of the alley that runs beneath the comet of his body rising nearer and nearer in a rapid sequence that he thinks, distantly, should be alarming.

I should be afraid, he thinks.

This is going to hurt, he thinks.

Hizashi—

And then there is pain, and there is fear, and there is darkness gilt by lightning, silence shrouded by thunder, blood watered by rain.

---

Yamada Hizashi is 22, desperate, and dangerous.

He is older than he thought he would ever be. When he was young, he had imagined himself living to the infinite age of 50. He would look at himself in the mirror hanging in the bathroom, fingers combing through hair he imagined going silver, palms smearing smooth skin he imagined going wrinkled and weather worn. He would pluck at the band t-shirts he’d wear under too-hot, too-heavy jackets with fidgety hands, wondering what he’d wear then.

I’m gonna be a hero! he’d told his moms, and when they laughed and hugged him and told him, You’re going to be the best hero there is!, he believed himself immortal, invincible, inevitable.

And he was. He was immortal, invincible, inevitable. He could be hurt, he could be beaten, he could be knocked down. But no matter what—no matter the pain, the struggle, the difficulty—he healed, and he fought until he was victorious, and he stood back up. No one could keep him down. No one could diminish him. No one could threaten his impenetrable view of the future.

And then—and then Oboro. And it had all crashed down around him, like so many shards of shattered stained glass.

With Oboro goes his heart. His future. His eternity. He is taught, with the sharpness of stone, with the heaviness of rubble, with the choking taste of dust, that death lurks in the most innocent of shadows, that pain waits in the wings of the theater, that certainty is a lodestone chained around your neck.

Nothing is certain. Not everything can heal. No one is invincible.

He stops thinking he’ll live to 50.

He stops thinking he’ll live past 20.

“Fuck you,” he spat, and Shouta flinched as if he’d been struck, the Happy birthday that had been on his lips dying a silent, painful death. “Fuck everything.” Without warning—without even fully processing what he intended to do; he just hurt, and he needed something, someone, to hurt with him—Hizashi threw his tumbler against the wall behind the bar. The shelf the tumbler hit broke, and a cascade of bottles and liquor crashed to the floor in so many shard of glass and fragments of dreams and spreading rivers of blood.

There was a shout, and then Hizashi felt Tensei’s and Nemuri’s hands on his shoulders, heard Shouta’s voice sounding unusually placating and apologetic as he spoke to the bartender who had rushed over.

“Get him out of here,” Shouta snapped a few seconds later, turning and looking straight at him with death in his eyes. For an instant, Hizashi almost felt guilty. Then Tensei and Nemuri were dragging him away from the counter, away from the gathering crowd, away from the bar.

“Idiot,” Tensei muttered as Hizashi listed against him in the alley behind the bar, all at once too drunk and too sober to function.

“Idiot,” Nemuri sighed, guiding him into the cab, buckling the seatbelt across his chest and waist and then letting him collapse against her shoulder.

“Idiot,” Shouta hissed at him as he undressed him and shoved him unkindly into bed.

He stops thinking he’ll live—and so he stops caring. He drinks too much. Eats too little. Throws himself into his work with a single-minded mania.

His relationship with Shouta suffers. They grate, like two broken ends of a once-whole bone, the nerve that is Oboro’s death still laid bare between them. Shouta can’t sleep without Hizashi in his bed; Hizashi can’t sleep unless he’s alone. Hizashi drinks to drown his memories, his emotions, his pain; Shouta tries to starve his out. They argue about it, until Shouta erases Hizashi’s quirk and Hizashi throws a punch—about Shouta’s energy pouches, about Hizashi’s whiskey. About the lights Hizashi wants to leave on at night. About the socks on the floor inside the door. About the uncapped toothpaste left by the bathroom sink. About the half-eaten takeout sitting in the fridge. About the nights Shouta will disappear without warning, without a trace. About—

Hizashi wonders if it is his fault the day Shouta walks out, slamming the door behind him.

Shouta doesn’t come back.

Hizashi drinks more. Eats less. Works harder. Does anything, anything to distract himself from the event horizon opening inside his chest.

I’ve lost my best friend, he thinks, curled up alone and unable to sleep in a bed that had once held two.

For the first time in years, he wishes someone was sleeping beside him.

It is dangerous. He knows this—knows the risks, knows that the rewards are negligible compared to the ruin it could bring him. His career is on the line. His future hangs by a thread.

Hizashi doesn’t care.

He isn’t going to live past 21 anyway.

Only a few of his partners know who he is. Those that do keep silent. It is never wise to paint a target on your back, and Hizashi makes it clear that he doesn’t want a relationship, isn’t looking for a connection—that there is no reason for them to think there is anything between them but drunken carnality.

He learns fast how to duck cameras—and how to attract them. He learns how to avoid reporters, except when he wants to talk. He learns how to sidetrack paparazzi with glamour shots. He finds he is good at this game of chess, of Russian Roulette, of cards built into fragile palaces. He is good with people, good with crowds, good with playing the symphony’s strings.

I’d make a damn good villain, he thinks one night before he drifts off to sleep, a cute blond whose name he can’t remember already asleep beside him.

And then he thinks of Shouta—of Eraserhead—and the guilt he’d swallowed eight months before, when Shouta had walked out and left nothing but empty shadows where he’d been, threatens to choke him. He barely makes it to the bathroom before he vomits, bile tasting of too-much alcohol and too-little food, of regret and shame.

What am I doing? he thinks, leaning his forehead against cool porcelain.

“Are you okay?” the cute blond asks. He stands in the door to the bathroom and looks down at Hizashi with concern in his pale eyes.

“Get out,” Hizashi says, not looking up.

“But—”

“Just—just go.” And then, softly, voice breaking halfway through the only syllable that matters, “Please.”

The cute blond leaves, and Hizashi is left totally, utterly alone.

---

“You’re listed as his emergency contact.”

Hizashi stares at the window overlooking the city and sees nothing but smears of too-bright light against a stormy night. Sees nothing but the unknown caller ID flashing up on his phone screen after its ringing had woken him. Sees nothing but the memory of Shouta’s face just before he’d turned away and stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

What had they even been fighting about? Hizashi can’t remember.

“I’ll be right there,” Hizashi says, unsticking his throat just long enough to remember what he’s supposed to say.

The line clicks dead, and Hizashi stumbles blindly out of bed and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He throws on a jacket, a pair of boots, a set of headphones. Ties his hair up in a bun to keep it out of his face and, hopefully, dry once he pulls the hood of his jacket over his head.

The trip to the hospital is spent in a haze of emotion, fear, and dread. He can’t parse any of it, though. Can’t understand it, give voice to it, give structure to it. All he knows is that he is feeling, and that he is afraid, and that he is certain that the scythe has finally fallen once again—only once again it hasn’t come to reap his life.

The hospital is bright against the rain-swept night, clean and sharp and stinging. Hizashi feels bad about the mud he tracks in, feels bad about the water he drips on the floor, feels bad about the lingering scent of gel and hairspray that seems to hang around him no matter what shampoo he uses.

He tells them who he is, who he is here to see. The nurse helping him looks at Hizashi with a curious expression that he is too strung out to try to interpret, and then leads him down a maze of white corridors that he knows he will never remember. They stop outside a door in the ICU, and the woman rests a hand on his forearm and says something Hizashi does not hear. Then she opens the door, and Hizashi steps into the room.

Shouta is unconscious on a bed, surrounded by machines. His chest rises and falls with intubated breath, and two IVs are hooked into the backs of his hands. His eyes are closed beneath the purple and black bruising shadowing his face, and Hizashi can just see more bruising peering out above the bandages swathing his chest.

“How—” He chokes, unable to form the words that he needs to say.

“We don’t know,” the nurse says. “He was found in an alley by a couple of drunk college students. We think he fell.”

“Fell?” Hizashi repeats dumbly. “But he never falls.”

The nurse is silent. Whatever she is thinking, she does not share with Hizashi.

For that, Hizashi is grateful.

“Is he going to make it?”

“We don’t know,” the nurse admits. “He has to stabilize before we can use any healing on him. If he survives the night, his prognosis will be good—but it’s a big “if”.” She hesitates, then says, “It’s a good thing you came.”

Hizashi moves to sit in the chair pulled up to Shouta’s bedside and sinks into it. He does not see the nurse watch him with concern—does not hear her pager go off a few minutes later. He does not even notice when she disappears through the door, or when the door clicks shut behind her.

For a long time, Hizashi is silent. There is too much to say—too much he needs to say, too much he wants to say, too much he can’t say. The words sit heavy on his tongue, in his throat, behind his teeth. They are stones in his stomach, glass in his lungs, thorns in his heart.

He opens his mouth. Closes it. Opens it again.

He laughs weakly.

“You always did have a way of leaving me speechless, Sho,” he says at last. His voice is a clap of thunder in the silence of the room.

Hizashi sighs and buries his face in his hands.

“Please wake up,” he whispers through his fingers. “There’s so much I have to tell you. So much you have to know. Like, you have to know that I—I’m sorry. For…for everything.”

He swallows. His throat constricts, and his breath comes in shaky gasps.

“I can’t lose you too,” he says to his palms, because looking at Shouta is too much. His voice is hoarse and barely audible and pleading. “Please, Sho…”

The machines beep. The vents rattle. Shouta’s false breath hisses.

And Shouta doesn’t wake, even when Hizashi begins to cry.

---

Hizashi is asleep when the doctor comes in, just after dawn. He startles awake at the sound of the door closing, blinking blearily and turning his head to stare at the tall, dark man. The doctor smiles at him, and goes to check on Shouta.

He had survived the night. That much, at least, is a relief.

“We still don’t know,” the doctor warns Hizashi. “But we can start to be hopeful.”

They take him away for another surgery. This time, they promise Hizashi, a healer will be involved.

Hizashi stands, stretches, and goes in search of food. He finds the cafeteria, and buys a meager breakfast that smells bad and tastes worse. When he looks at his phone, he sees that he has missed calls from both Tensei and Nemuri. He shuts it off and shoves his phone back into his pocket to deal with later.

He’s going to have to call his agency soon, too, but he has a few minutes until that call is critical.

He spends a quarter of an hour sitting at the hard, plastic table in the cafeteria, staring out of the window at the overcast morning and thinking. He thinks about what he is going to say if—when—Shouta wakes up. He thinks about what he is going to say to Nemuri and Tensei. He thinks about his choices, and about the certainty of death, and about the possibility of life.

He thinks about Oboro, and about Shouta, and about how he lost one and how he might lose the other.

Hizashi stands, shoving his chair back so hard it topples onto the floor with a bang. What few others are in the cafeteria stare at him with varying degrees of irritation and wariness, until he rights the chair and walks away with a casual wave of apology.

He calls Tensei.

Tenya is running around in the background, laughing maniacally, and Tensei is distracted during the call in spite of his concern. He promises to come by the hospital when he can, though, and tells Hizashi to call Nemuri. Hizashi promises he will, and hangs up.

Nemuri is unusually quiet as Hizashi tells her what he knows of what happened, and while he tells her that Shouta is back in surgery. When at last she speaks, she only says, “You were still his emergency contact.” It is not a question. It is barely an observation. More than anything, it is a revelation.

“I guess so,” Hizashi says, cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he feeds a bill into one of the vending machines. His breakfast had been bland, and he wants sugar.

They talk for another few minutes about nothing in particular, and as Hizashi unwraps his candy bar and begins to eat, he is struck with the notion that Nemuri is just trying to distract him. He appreciates it. Before long, though, she hangs up with a quick goodbye, and a promise to come to the hospital after her last patrol.

Hizashi crumples the empty wrapper and tosses it into a trash bin, and wanders his way back toward Shouta’s room.

He calls his agency once he is seated by Shouta’s still-empty bed. He tells them there was a family emergency, and that he will not be able to patrol today. They are surprisingly accepting of his feeble excuses, and Hizashi wonders if someone else had already contacted them. Probably Tensei, he decides. That was always the kind of thing Tensei thought of.

His phone calls made, Hizashi settles uncomfortably into the hard, plastic chair to wait for Shouta to be brought back. He tries not to think. He mostly fails.

He thinks of Shouta. He thinks of Oboro. He thinks of invincibility, and of shattered stained glass, and of birthdays. He thinks of a broken shelf of liquor bottles. He thinks of screaming at Shouta in their apartment, so angry he’s lost control, and of Shouta silencing him with a red-eyed stare. He thinks of broken promises, and broken hopes, and broken dreams.

They bring Shouta back in sometime around noon. He is still unconscious, but he looks a little better than he had the night before. The bruising is lighter—more red and purple than black and purple—and he is breathing on his own. Some of his color has returned as well, though he was never anything but pale.

The nurses leave again, after telling Hizashi things he does not hear, his attention fixed on Shouta to the exclusion of all else. He wonders, vaguely, as he feels them leave the room, if they had figured that out, or if they had just finished telling him what they had to say.

The seconds drag into minutes as Hizashi waits, the minutes into hours. Hizashi sits, stiff and sore, in the chair by Shouta’s bedside, watching his chest move beneath the bandaging, watching his eyes flicker beneath his eyelids. He wonders what Shouta dreams of.

The doctor comes in again. Leaves again. Hizashi ignores him.

Nemuri comes, but does not stay long. She talks, and Hizashi listens with half an hear, saying nothing as she tells him about her day, about her night, about everything but her worry over Shouta. It’s there, though, lurking beneath every strained story, every forced laugh, every brittle word.

Nemuri is older than him and Shouta and Tensei—but, like Tensei, she had found them adrift in the wake of Oboro’s death, and like Tensei she had decided, “These are mine, now.” Hizashi is grateful for it most days.

It is only after Nemuri stands and presses a kiss to Hizashi’s cheek in farewell that he speaks.

“They think he fell,” Hizashi says, not looking anywhere but Shouta’s face. Nemuri freezes.

“But he never falls.”

“I know.”

“Do you think—”

“I don’t know what I think,” Hizashi says, short and sharp. “And neither do you.”

Nemuri hesitates. Then says simply, “Okay.” She leaves without another word.

---

Tensei visits for an hour, and when he leaves he promises to return later in the evening so that Hizashi can run home to shower and change clothes. Hizashi agrees without really knowing what he’s agreeing to.

Night has just well and truly fallen when Shouta’s eyes flicker, then open. He looks around, taking in the lights and the ceiling and walls—and then his eyes fall on Hizashi, and he freezes.

“Hey,” Hizashi says.

Shouta turns his eyes away and stares up at the ceiling.

“Uh,” Hizashi says, feeling suddenly awkward and tongue-tied. “Thanks for leaving me as your emergency contact.”

Shouta grunts. Hizashi wonders if he can even talk right now, or if it’s too painful.

“Look, Sho…” Hizashi grimaces. “Shouta,” he corrects.

Shouta looks at him again, eyes flicking over to his face. Hizashi rubs the back of his neck, and tries to figure out how to say what he wants to say.

“I know this is a bad time,” he says finally. “But I have to say this before the doctors come rushing in, and before you get up the strength to kick me out.” Shouta’s eyes narrow at him, but Hizashi isn’t looking at him anymore—is staring, instead, at the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out. “For…” He takes a deep breath. “For everything.”

Shouta looks back at the ceiling, and does not speak.

Hizashi calls the nurses. They come quickly, and Hizashi excuses himself from the room so that they can fuss over Shouta in peace. By the time they are done, Tensei is back, and Hizashi finds himself kicked out of the hospital until he has showered, changed, and eaten a full meal. He agrees to the terms grudgingly, but only because the memory of Shouta not even being willing to look at him is still fresh in his mind.

It haunts him as he showers, as he changes, as he walks to a small take-out restaurant a few blocks from his apartment and places his order. He wonders if he should even go back to the hospital, or if Shouta would prefer it to just be Tensei there.

He almost decides he would.

Tensei calls him just as he’s finishing his dinner, though.

“You on your way back?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Hizashi says, because he can’t quite bring himself to be selfless enough to say no.

---

Shouta is still awake when Hizashi walks into the room again. He looks at Hizashi when he opens the door and steps inside, then looks away again before he can close it. Tensei notices the silent exchange with a pensive look, but says nothing.

“Well,” he says, standing, “I have to go. I’m babysitting Tenya again tomorrow morning, and that little monster drains more out of me than twenty villains.” The soft smile on his lips belies the cutting words, though, and Hizashi knows that Tensei would give the world to his little brother if given the chance.

“Thanks,” Hizashi says, and claims the chair Tensei had just vacated.

Silence fills the room in the wake of Tensei’s departure, heavy and awkward and uncomfortable. Hizashi looks everywhere but at Shouta. Shouta stares at the ceiling.

“I…” Hizashi begins at last, entirely uncertain where he means to go with his next sentence but knowing he can’t bear the silence any longer.

A sigh cuts him off. Then, abruptly, in a ragged voice, Shouta says, “I’m sorry.”

Hizashi finally looks at him, startled. “For what?”

“For…everything,” Shouta says. “For walking out. For not being there for you. For ignoring you when you needed me.”

“Shouta, I…” Hizashi swallows hard. “I dug my own grave. I don’t expect you to dig me out. I never have.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” Shouta whispers. “Our problem.”

Hizashi frowns. “What happened, Sho?” he asks suddenly. “How did you fall?”

“Someone pushed me,” Shouta says without hesitation. “I didn’t see them until it was too late.”

For the first time in seven years, Hizashi isn’t sure if Shouta is lying.

“Okay.” The word tastes like ash on Hizashi’s tongue, but there is nothing else he can say. Not now, anyway. Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

Shouta is silent again, but it is a different kind of silence. Hizashi waits, knowing he is preparing to say something. At last, after a few heavy moments of pregnant waiting, Shouta says, “Can we start over?”

Hizashi looks at him, surprised. “I’m not sure that’s going to be possible,” he tells Shouta.

“Maybe,” Shouta agrees. “But…try again, then.”

For the first time in over a day, Hizashi smiles. “Yeah,” he says. Then, again, “Yeah. I’d…like that. I’d like that a lot.”

Shouta nods, just a little, against the pillow behind his head. He closes his eyes.

“Will you be here?” he asks, voice already thick with sleep.

“Yeah,” Hizashi says, knowing what he’s asking. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Shouta nods again, eyes still closed, and in seconds his breathing evens out into a soft, sleepy cadence.

Hizashi settles back into his uncomfortable chair, preparing for another long night of half-conscious sleep. It’ll be worth it, though, he thinks. Anything is worth having my best friend back.

And for the first time since the stained glass of his invincibility shattered, Hizashi thinks that maybe, just maybe—if Shouta is at his side—he’ll see his 25th birthday. Maybe even his 30th.

Maybe even his 50th.

#erasermic #hizashi yamada #shouta aizawa #aizawa shouta #hizashi x shouta #suicide attempt tw #(or is it???? was it just a villain attack????? idk my dudes. idk)#hospital tw #canon-typical injury #*finger guns* anyway i know hizashi is super like. NOT flamboyant and Weird in this #but this fic is also literally about how his life is falling apart around him (with the implied meaning that this is hidden beneath his #hero persona - and is before he has his radio show i think? idk i haven't figured everything out yet)#but regardless i purposefully wanted to show a hizashi that wasn't him putting on any sort of act or persona #but was him in his rawest and most desperate emotions and thoughts and feelings #soooooooooooo he's p serious in this #*shrugs* i worry about characterization a LOT fam #pls don't be mean but also pls do tell me if i screwed up big time? i guess #just...pls be gentle. my heart is fragile #my disposition weak #if you've read this far into my tags bless you lmao #oh also if i need to tag anything else lemme knoooooooooooow because i'm really bad at tagging stuff #i've also never been in a fandom that has such THOROUGH tagging so usually i can skate by no problemo #but i have a feeling i'm missing some stuff i should have tagged. *shrug*#okay i'm posting it now before i lose my nerve and then going to SLEEP

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stinkyratshadowgod · 4 years

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My Apex Theory about Rev and the Shadowfall Dimension

[Apex Legends Story Quest spoilers, beware]

So basically, i think Revenant, in this storyline, it’s going to win and then achieve godhood and then create another shadowfall-like dimension

Keep in mind that this is just my theory and honestly i think that i may go bonkers in some places, but idk i just felt like sharing this with the fandom (also sorry if i break my english, it’s not my first language)

Okay so basically i believe that Revenant it’s going to win the treasure hunt and then become a shadow god, and i’m gonna tell you why:

1-Voidwalker:

I wanna start by saying that i believe that the Shadowfall dimension (gonna call it dimension SF) is actually the storyline dimension (SD dimension) but in a future time, now you might be asking on how is that possible and my explanation

In the voidwalker trailer, we see a diferent dimension Wraith coming to help our Wraith, and we can belive that VoidWalker Wraith has mastered her void powers, while our Wraith have not, now you might see where i’m getting at: V-W Wraith came from another dimension AND TIME to help past wraith to escape.

Now you might say that this isn’t possible (and i would believe you cuz you would be more knowledgeable than me) but what i’m trying to say that the only way that our wraith could’ve have escaped was with the help of a more experienced Wraith, that with her maestry of the void powers, achieved the ability to travel throught space and time.

One of my point being that VW Wraith couldn’t helped Wraith more than getting her out of the facility and giving her a portal timer(?) (for example, giving a piece of technology to control the void) is because VW Wraith doesn’t use a special tech to control the void because it’s not tech (even tho she uses a fancy futuristic suit) and even the dimension arm counter doesn’t control the ability, it just tells VW if she can use the portal, not precisely controling the ability, thus showing us that even the ability to time travel, VW Wraith still have to trully master her abilities (thus setting the unknow capabilities of the void powers)

You may be asking where i want to go with this information: I am trying to say that a diferent dimension where it takes hours-days-weeks-months-years in the future/past is possible, and that after some weeks in the Storyline dimension the Shadowfall dimension will become reality

2-Storyline dimension is not our cannon timeline (where i go the most bonkers)

You might be asking what i mean by that, and before i answer you, ask yourself? “If the Apex Games has this crazy tech of bringing dead boxes back to life and having multiple legends at once INCLUDING WATTSON (and Tom confirmes that it’s possible, but i can’t find the tweet, if someone find it, dm me) even tho in the lore shes in critical state, then where is the Apex Games and their crazy healing tech? Cuz i do believe losing a legend would be bad for business and would make a lot of her fans sad.

I know your response would be for gameplay reasons, but it’s really strange that the Apex Games doesn’t just heal her with their crazy tech, well my theory is that our Wattson is doing a-ok while Storyline Wattson is with boo boos. (Now this is just my headcanon of my theory, but Storyline Apex Games is not so technogically advanced like our Apex Games, and SL Apex Games does less matches than our Apex Games, with my point being that in the SL Apex the legends have whole days to do their casual stuff [evidence being the whole chapter 3]).

Another point for my theory is the presence of Prowlers (the creatures) on King Canyons. When you think about it, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for having these creatures in KC, sure in WE we have the trials, but in not a single moment there was an explanation on why there are Prowlers in KC (no event, no map change, etc). Heck, it doesn’t even make sense the presence of Prowlers on the Shadowfall KC. My explanation is that at some point when Rev took over King Canyons, some corporation (The IMC, Hammond Robotics, the Syndicate or another faceless faction) tried to re-take KC, and did some experiments about the supernatural changes made by Rev, and so they brought Prowlers as test rats, but they were quickly destroyied by Revenant and his army of monsters (Thats also my headcanon)

3-Why Revenant will and should win (Pls hear me out first)

You might be asking me why? ...Do you want my personal reason or the lore reason? Well i get to choose because i’m the one writting the theory (thats why it’s so bonkers)

The lore reason is because that would explain the Shadowfall event, think about it, every event had an explanation on why it’s happening (Christimas event - Mirage opens a new flying boat bar and due to his popularity hes set to organize the christimas event; System override - Hammond robotics starts to take controll of the Apex Games; Grande Soirée - Pathfinder throws a party; Old Ways and Voidwalker - Events related to a new piece of lore introduced, with Old Ways being Blood’s origin story and Voidwalker explaining Wraith’s past; Battle armor - Hammond [i assume] introduces a new type of armor to the Apex Games, the Evo shield; I don’t have a exact explanation for the “Iron crown” and “Legendary hunt” so let’s just say that it was the Apex Games idea to do these events).

The personal reason is that i love Revenant with all my heart, and honestly i would enjoy seeing the antagonist winning at the end (without them turning good or getting killed seconds after their victory)

Also i believe that in the lore and outside of the game (and by that i mean PC/PS4/XBOX), Revenant is the strongest between all the legends, cuz not only he’s the strongest phisically (agile metal body and being build with the whole purpose of being a killing machine) but he also have supernatural powers (that doesn’t have a lore explanation, which makes me sad, so let’s assume that it’s a supernatural emp that works for both machine and flesh) and he can’t die, so hes basically unstoppable, and now that he knows about his godhood in the alternative dimension, how would the legends stop him

That was my TED talk, thanks for reading throught all my mad ramblings, if there is something you would like to ask/add, let me know

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beyond-the-mirror · 4 years

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DMC x Pokemon AU - Which pokemon they would choose

So an idea appeared out of nowhere in my head: If Pokemon somehow existed in the DMC universe and pokemon training and battles were officially a thing too, which pokemon would the crew choose as their companions?

For these headcanons, I will give each character two kinds of pokemon: the first one will be a pokemon they would totally choose as a friend and partner for adventure as well as competitive battles, and the other will be one they would keep at their side mostly as a cute or silly companion, whether it’s a baby pokemon or a fully evolved one, it’s one they are really fond of and always look after.

So let’s get started! More bellow the cut because it’s a really long post.

Dante

Ideal partner: Houndoom

He considers Houndoom’s general appearance as cool and badass, of course he would love having a literal hellhound in his team.

If you think about it, they share lots of similarities: The same color palette, the devil motif, the fact that Dante has horns too when in DT or SDT form… it’s as if this pokemon was made with him in mind.

Dante found him when he was a little puppy Houndour. The poor thing was all alone in an alley near his shop and seeing him crying out made his heart ache.

So he brought the little one back home and nursed him. Now he’s a powerful Houndoom who loves nothing more than to fight alongside his trainer. There’s nothing that can stop those too when together.

Silly companion: Alcremie

Obviously.

One reason only: Infinite strawberry sundaes.

That’s it.

Would totally have an entire team made of Alcremies. He wouldn’t even battle or anything. He just wants to enjoy his lifetime supply of strawberry sundaes.

Vergil

Ideal partner: Aegislash

Vergil is a man of the sword, so it’s clear he would choose an Aegislash as his partner.

The first time he spotted this particular Honedge, he knew. He could see the great power dormant in them, so it was a matter of awakening said potential.

He trained them vigorously, making them evolve into a Doublade, and finally, into an Aegislash. To this day, not a single pokemon has managed to defeat them, the only exception being Dante and his Houndoom.

That won’t stop them though. They are both too prideful in their quest for strength and power.

Silly companion: Snom

Yeaaah, this is a weird one. Snom is such a cute baby, maybe this adorableness can melt Vergil’s heart?

It was Dante who gifted his twin a Snom. To quote him: “You’re too grumpy. Maybe this cute little guy can help you ease some of that grumpiness away.”

Wherever he goes, the little baby follows behind. Vergil will never admit this out loud but he does smile at the peaceful sensation his silly friend gives him.

Also imagine him trying to pronounce their name in that nasal voice of his. SHnom.

Ideal partner: Corviknight, Umbreon and Dusknoir

It was a tie between these pokemon since they represent V’s three demon familiars: Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare respectively.

Corviknight may have a playful personality, but during battles he’s dead serious. He’s down right merciless and enjoys tearing apart his foes.

Umbreon is as calm as a housecat, but beware! She is a fierce one and won’t think twice to attack those who step out of line. Even more ruthless than Corviknight.

Dusknoir is as mysterious as the man himself, but V still trusts them and lets them do pretty much their own thing. Despite V never giving them orders, it almost looks as if Dusknoir can understand his thoughts telepathically. No one is sure how the hell he does it though. Quite a mystery indeed.

Silly companion: Mr Rime

Both wear a coat. Both carry a cane. Both love to tap dance. See what I’m getting at?

The first time V spotted a Mr Rime and witnessed their comical moves, he couldn’t help but laugh in endearment.

You will often find them enjoying a nice cup of tea together. They may speak different languages, but somehow they understand each other so perfectly.

When feeling in a dance mood, he and Mr Rime will dance together in perfect harmony and sync. Singin’ in the Rain is their favorite musical btw.

Nero

Ideal partner: Toxtricity

It only made sense to grant our punk boy Nero a punk pokemon like Toxtricity.

Both share an explosive and energetic personality, as well as an identical inclination towards rock and metal music. They especially love taunting their foes by doing an air guitar together.

The way these two fight is absolutely brutal. Do not anger them, you cannot defeat them.

However, despite their looks like they could kill you, they are actually sweet cinnamon rolls in front of the right ones. Pet them, they are good bois after all.

Silly companion: Mankey

Two grumpy bois grumpying around. Don’t talk to them, they are angy.

Kyrie often teases them with how identical they are. They literally share the exact same expression when angry.

Nero says it’s not funny. It is.

Little Mankey only calms down when given pets and cuddles. “Just like you Nero!” she teases again.

Trish

Ideal partner: Luxray

Step aside everyone. Two bewitching and electrifying devils are coming through.

Trish was new to the world when one day she encountered a Shinx, except their fur was yellow? Wasn’t the fur supposed to be blue??

She took them to Dante and Lady for an explanation. Their eyes widened in complete awe. “Trish… it’s a shiny. You found a shiny!” “…Oh.”

Now the two are an inseparable and lethal duo. Many have made the mistake of challenging them, only to end up battered and humiliated.

Silly companion: Yamper

Just look at this good boi.

A cute pupper? AND with electrical powers?! Trish is so in!

You bet she spoils her Yamper rotten. She particularly adores baby-talking her lovely companion to no end.

“Have you seen my puppy? He’s not lost or anything, I just wanted to show you how awesome he is” Yep. She did this at one point or another.

Lady

Ideal partner: Inteleon

A couple of ‘Walking Arsenals’ indeed. Ready to take on any challenge they may encounter.

Lady remembers how she met her partner when they were a tiny and shy Sobble. Now that they’ve become such a strong pokemon, Lady feels so proud of their growth.

Extremely resourceful, even in dire situations. Will use all the tools at their disposition to finish their job.

Their sniper skills are unparalleled so you’d better watch out. In a battle of wits, there’s no beating this duo.

Silly companion: Eevee

Lady is such an Eevee fan, her childhood dream was to befriend one and have numerous adventures together.

So when she finally got one many years later, she actually started crying happy tears. (It was a gift from Dante. He figured she deserved a companion after what happened in the Temen-ni-gru incident.)

She spends her free time playing with her adorable Eevee, there’s even a whole collection of toys for their playtime together.

If you happen to have an Evolution Stone with you, DO. NOT. COME. ANY. CLOSER. Lady adores her Eevee just how it is. You have been warned.

Kyrie

Ideal partner: Gardevoir

I personally consider Kyrie as a woman with a righteous heart and a strong sense of justice just like her brother Credo, so it’s no surprise her pokemon partner is actually a Gardevoir.

Mess with them and hoo boy. So you have chosen death.

She and Gardevoir are actually among the strongest teams in the region. In fact, to this day, Nero and his Toxtricity haven’t been able to defeat these two in a pokemon battle.

Do not underestimate these girls. They can and will drag you through the mud if you dare hurt them or their loved ones.

Silly companion: Wooloo

Kyrie melted at the sight of Wooloo. So soft, and adorable, and puffy!

She loves knitting, so they would be perfect to provide her with lots of top quality wool.

Once during Christmas, she donated handmade sweaters to the children at the local orphanage. Wooloo and her were so happy to help the little ones, they made it a tradition for them to do every year.

The sweaters and scarfs she knits with the help of her friend are actually very fashionable and pretty. Everyone in the crew loves showing theirs off any chance they get.

Nico

Ideal partner: Arcanine

A fire pokemon with majestic fur, excellent speed and an extremely keen sense of smell. Nico knew Arcanine would be a perfect partner to have.

She can count on their powerful fire to melt the metals she needs to forge her weapons. Her works of art have been made possible thanks to them and she could not feel more thankful.

Using their olfactory sense, Arcanine can track and retrieve any demon parts or carcasses which can later be used to create Devil Arms.

Although they are not that interested in competitive battles, they’re still a very strong duo that should not be taken so lightly.

Silly companion: Rotom

So one day a wild Rotom sneaked into Nico’s van, causing a ruckus everywhere. Despite the disaster, Nico was incredibly fascinated since Rotom sightings are extremely rare.

She befriended the poltergeist pokemon almost right away. She even built a device for them to inhabit (just like Ash’s Rotomdex in the anime).

Now they’re Nico’s very own pokemon assitant! Thanks to her device Rotom can communicate, take pictures and save files and notes, which is perfect for her work.

Also they’re really nice to have a chat with! Just beware the unflattering pics they may take during battles.

Lucia

Ideal partner: Absol

It’s easy to see the similarities between Lucia and her Absol.

With Absol being erroneously blamed for natural disasters and Lucia being an artificial demon her creator labelled as ‘defective’, you could say they both share similar backstories. They felt outcasted by everyone else.

These two are incredibly agile fighters, using graceful and precise moves that prove to be lethal to their foes.

Personality wise they both appear to be stoic and aloof, but they’re actually very kind. They do tend to worry a lot about their friends though.

Silly companion: Espurr

Espurrs are known to constantly try to control and contain their enormous psychic power with all their might. Lucia understands her cute little companion all too well.

Being with each other has helped them both a lot, their shared company feels therapeutic for them.

Also Lucia enjoys cuddling Espurr. They feel so soft like a plushie!

Often have staring contests with each other. They always end with a tie though.

#devil may cry #dmc headcanons #dmc x pokemon au #pokemon

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canumoveurseatup-no · 5 years

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Bex's Masterlist!

Hi, I’m Bexie! A masterlist was highly requested so here it is! I will add more along as we go! Hope you enjoy and remember, Feedback is appreciated on my works <3

Updated: july 27, 2021

NOTE: All my stories will have a black reader! Some of my smuts are not for the faint of heart so beware!! and please DO NOT REPOST MY WORK

Angst (A) Smut (S) Fluff (F) Trigger Warning (TW) Author’s Fav (AF)

Stucky:

Masking (A, cg/l dynamics 18+)

-sharon is and always will be a bully especially in your little state. it takes a while for Steve and Bucky to catch on. who knew trained agents could be so oblivious?

Fallen Flower Petals (A, F, AF)

-the one where Sharon comes back and reconnects with Steve while Nat and Bucky reconnect and you’re left sullen

Hymns to Heal a Broken Heart (A, F)

-Civil war tore you apart. You missed Bucky and Steve, what happens when they come back and there’s a major change?

Steve:

Myself (A, AF)

-You loved Steve more than you loved yourself. But was that enough?

Rot (Myself Part 2) w/ Doctor Strange (A, F)

-It’s easy to say you’re over someone if you aren’t seeing them. The real challenge is to look them in the eyes and see their smile and hear their voice and still be able to say “this is not what I want anymore”

Tell Me (Myself Part 3 18+) w/ Doctor Strange (A, S, F)

-Ever since that night at the party where you ran into Steve, your mind has been elsewhere and you’ve fallen back into the same uncomplacent tendencies from when you were with him. You just need Stephen to tell you on thing.

Lush 18+ (S)

-The team gives Steve some options to help blow off some steam. Little did he know he’d come face to face with you in one of those chat rooms.

Lush pt.2 18+ (S)

-You and Steve have now set the rules for your new relationship and things are going extremely well. With an influx of college work and trying to do well with your internship, you get too deep into your own head and Steve is there to help you release that stress.

Lush 3 (w/ Bucky) 18+ (S)

-it’s time for another show and this time you have a new toy

Lush 4 (S, A, F)

-you and steve have some alone time. no cameras, no bucky. just you, steve and vulnerability.

In the Dark (Myself pt.4) w/ Doctor Strange (A)

-You and Stephen were now going strong and you couldn’t be happier. Stephen meets up with Steve and they exchange a few words.

Save Me (Myself pt.5) w/ Doctor Strange (A)

-Will Stephen save you in enough time before Steve takes you somewhere completely off the grid? Before Steve’s mind gets the best of him and he goes over the edge?

Voir Dire (Myself Finale) w Doctor Strange (A)

-the end is getting near and you’re getting scared. Will you be saved? And will the truth of Steve’s actions be revealed?

Voir Dire (alternate ending #1) (A)

Voir Dire (alternate ending #2) (A)

Nothing More (A, F)

-headcanon where Steve gets insecure due to your friendship with Sam.

Belonging (A)

-life was wonderful for you and steve but when the opportunity to go back arises… does he take it?

Oh Lord (18+) (part 1 to the Halo Boy and Horn Girl series) (S)

-cast the devil away

Witching Hour (18+) (S)

-(part 2 to the Halo Boy and Horn Girl series) Steve struggles adjusting to life without his wings. You share his pain.

--------

Tony

Footsteps (A, F)

-You being Tony Stark’s only child, you though you’d be his prize possession but no...

"Protocol" My Ass! (A)

- Tony realized silence in situations of injustice is acceptance of injustice. So he’s using his place in society to speak the hell up and stand up for what is right.

Little Girls Like You 18+ (S)

-It’s little girls like you that don’t know how to keep their mouth shut unless it’s stuffed.

Little Girls Like You pt.2 (18+) (A, S)

-Your mother starts working from home for a while and that leaves less time for you and Tony to continue your rendezvous. One night you hear your mother and Tony going at it and it sparks something in you to get back at him.

Baby Boy 18+ (S)

-Tony always takes care of everyone and it takes a toll on him. You take matters into your own hands and show him he doesn’t always have to be the big guy.

Baby Boy pt.2 (18+) (S)

-After you too control in the bedroom, Tony can’t help but want more so he purposely sets you up in a situation that he knows will make you explode

Baby Boy pt. 3 (18+) (S)

-tony just needs a release and so do you

Ready (18+ because of trigger warning) (A, TW)

-You’re going through some personal battles and don’t want to talk about it. Tony realizes something is wrong when it’s too late.

I Wasn’t Ready (EG spoiler, loose sequel to Ready) (A)

-parent’s teach you a lot of things, prepare you for a lot of things to face in life... but what they don’t prepare you for is to be ready when it’s their time.

Pop-pop’s Babysitting Chronicles (pt. 3 to the Honeybee Series) (F)

-You and Bucky took some time for yourselves and went on a vacation. Annalise wants pop-pop to babysit and this is just a peak into the babysitting chronicles.

Teddy Bear (18+) (F)

-It was hard trying to hide your secret as a Little. Until it wasn’t a secret to a certain someone anymore.

Luxury of Loving You (18+) (F, S)

- Dating Tony is a full package. Sure he has the cars and the money. But it’s the late study sessions that turn into more, the date nights and university adventures that you value most.

Luxury of Loving You (ii) (A)

-it’s all okay until it’s not

Luxury of Loving You (iii) (A)

-as you and tony’s relationship continues to grow, it’s only a matter of time before you meet each other’s parents. tony isn’t sure that’s such a good idea.

Luxury of Loving You (iv) (A)

-you and Pepper get close under unexpected circumstances and it leaves Tony confused and concerned.

The Art of Intimacy (18+) (S)

-nights alone with tony where there’s no evil to fight always bring the best events.

Survive- prologue (A)

-tony has to risk his life to save yours. you may be the secret to saving all human from the worsening zombie apocalypse.

Survive- Where it all Started (A)

-no one knows how it began, all they know is that it’s here.

--------

Bucky

Puffballs (A, F)

-You and Bucky’s daughter starts to have some self identity and self-image issues at a young age. Bucky lets his daughter know there is nothing wrong with that she was given

Subdue (A, S)

-Reader kind of has a hulk of her own. Despite her and Bucky’s no secrets rule, she kept this from him until one day he finds out in a way she didn’t want him to.

Shadow and Shade (Part 1) (A)

-You, the Goddess of Night, oldest Goddess in Greek mythology, find yourself on the team with Earths’s mightiest heroes. The brooding man seems to be the only comforting thing during your transition.

Shadow and Shade pt.2 (A, F)

-You let the team know that your son, Thanatos, is soon to come and though you don’t know what he plans on doing, you recruit all the help you can get. Bucky and the team meets your kids and in the midst of all the trouble, he wants to get used to you and your life.

Shadow and Shade Casting Lists: Part 1- Part 2 - Part 3

Shadow and Shade pt.3 (A)

-Training has begun, bonds are being made, but you can’t shake the feeling of knowing that they’ll be broken because things might not work out 100% like you want

The Mission (Pt 2 of Puffballs. The second installment to the Honeybee series) (A, F)

-You went on a mission and while tying to save everyone you could, it wasn’t enough. You go home and the dynamic of your family changes because of it.

Nerves (part 4/ prequel to the Honeybee Series) (A, F)

-prequel to the Honeybee series where Bucky finds out you’re pregnant and everything that ensues after.

The Gift Of Life (part 5 to the Honeybee Series) (A, F)

-father’s day is coming up and bucky tells you want he wants for his gift.

Coloring Book Adventures (18+) (S, AF)

-As a way to stay abstinent, you color in coloring books to distract you when you feel sexual urges. That’s until your father’s gardener comes to play

Coloring Book Adventures pt.2 (18+) (S, F)

- Though Bucky has finished the garden, he still visits you during the day tp help you color more pretty pictures. He takes you on adventures outside of your garden and you experience so much more of life and feelings you don’t know

Coloring Book Adventures pt.3 (18+) (A, F)

-You and Bucky tell your parents that you have been seeing each other. Once the truth comes out, it’s all a domino effect

Knots (18+) (S)

-You tell Bucky you want to be dominated in the bedroom and he pulls all the strings to make it wonderful for you... or should you say ropes?

Lush 3 (w/ Steve) 18+ (S)

Behind Closed Doors (A, F)

-It’s the 40s and you find yourself falling for a certain Sergeant. You know it’s hard for you in a time like this but the love you two have for one another in insurmountable.

Not You (A)

-bucky wasn’t supposed to be the one to hurt you. not like this.

Not You pt.2 (A)

-you’re still getting used to the idea that bucky and winter soldier are two different people

Say ‘I love you” Before You Leave (A)

-you and bucky are going through a rough patch in your marriage

The Fear of Starting Over Pt. 2 (A, TW)

-sometimes staying in a toxic situation sounds safer than starting over.

Act Four: Lucky Hand (part 6 of Listening party) (S)

-you love to see the glimmer of silver, now you get to see it up close and personal

Colors (A, TW)

-a series of describing colors without using its name.

--------

Natasha

Underestimated Butterfly (A)

-One thing you hate is being underestimated and you’re put to the test when your dead past comes back to life.

Ant Farm (F)

-davina wants an ant farm… but why?

Humanity (A, F)

-you’ve flipped the switch to your humanity and there’s only one person who can bring you back

Just a Minute (A)

-a minute turned into never

Act Two: Rock, Paper... (pt. 4 of Listening Party) (S)

-time to stick your hand back in the blind bag and the next one is revealed

----------

Clint

Call of the Void (18+ and w/Pietro) playlist (S, F)

-you’re the rock star heartbreaker but Clint wants to change that and it took him a long time to do so, he finally introduces you to the team and come to find a certain speedster can’t help but head of heels for you.

Forget Me Not (18+ due to cg/l dynamic) (A, F)

-clint is your caregiver but it doesn’t feel like it when nat goes into little space and bucky is away so he’s second in command to take care of her.

Act One: Sensory Deprivation (pt. 3 to Listening Party) (S)

-the solo fun begins and clint is the first to play

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

Wanda

Phantom (A)

-Reader’s powers get a bit out of control and sort of instills fear in the others. Some hurtful words are said, hearts are broken.

Aches of the Heart (A)

-friends with benefits never ended well, did they?

WIsh I Could Tell You (AotH pt.2) (A)

-you and wanda try to move on from each other

---------

Pietro

Call of the Void (18+ and with Clint) (S, F)

Easter Egg Hunts (18+ because of CG/L dynamics) (F)

-who doesn’t love Easter? And Easter egg hunts?!

Peter

99 Cent Store (A)

-He could have built you a whole 99 cent store with all the cheap lies he sold you. But were they really cheap?

Tie Me Down 18+ (S)

-Peter was never the kind to be dominant. He had trouble asserting himself when it came to everyday tasks. So it didn’t surprise you when he finally admitted he likes to be controlled in the bedroom.

Fortress (A)

-he doesn’t get in your brain, he doesn’t fill up the spaces. you don’t whisper his name now that you’ve built a fortress.

---------

Thor

Blue Push Pops (A, F)

-Everyone has their own way of coping with anxiety, Thor knows that. But he gets confused whenever he sees his girlfriend pull out a blue push pop. But his confusion grows when he finds her bedside table drawer full of them

Ruin Me 18+ (S)

-teasing Thor was always fun. Especially when you worked him up so much he has no choice but to ravish you for all you’re worth.

I’m Leaving Soon (A)

-sometimes there’s only one way to handle things, it may suck but you feel it in your gut that it has to be this way

Act Three: What’s a king to a God? (pt. 5 of Listening Party) (S)

-who knew the sweetest of them all could be so disgusting in a way that had you drooling and wanting more?

---------

Bruce

Date Night (18+) (A, S)

-Bruce keeps missing date night and he feels bad about it so he does his best to try and make it up to the reader.

Bruce discovering her has a daddy kink (Headcanon) (18+) (S)

Dr. Daddy (18+) (F)

-You’ve come down with the flu and there’s only one person who can make it better

Listening Party (18+) (S)

-he can’t get enough of you and the others like to hear it.

Front Row Seats (18+ w/ the team) (S)

-why listen when they can just watch? and maybe even… participate?

----------

Sam

Authentic Intelligence (S)

-F.R.I.DA.Y becomes personified as a beautiful black woman and has her eyes on Sam. Though it’s weird for him, he reciprocates the attraction.

Shin Kicks and Wall Sits (18+ because of CG/L dynamics) (F)

-you’re a brat through and through and can’t help it. Sam sets you straight.

Dark Room (A, TW)

-grow through what you go through.

Shadows Dance (dark room pt. 2) (A, TW)

-your pain is their dance floor.

-----------

Doctor Strange

Rot (Myself pt. 2) (A)

Tell Me (Myself pt.3 18+) (A, S)

In the Dark (Myself pt.4) (A)

Save Me (Myself pt.5) (A)

Voir Dire (Myself finale) (A)

-----------

Loki

Outlaws 18+ (A)

-It’s easy for a good girl to go bad. But once they’re gone, best believe they’re gone forever.

Outlaws pt.2 (A)

-While wreaking havoc around the nation, it became a little lonely with just you and Loki, so you bring some friends along for the ride

---------

All Avengers

Shy/Innocent Black!Reader Roasting the Team (headcannon) (F)

Avengers as Vines (F)

Avengers as Weird Shit I’ve Said (F)

Avengers as Youtubers (F)

Avengers as Different Water Brands (F)

------

Random Works

You and Chris bet on the Super Bowl and he wins (headcanon) 18+ (S)

Headcanon: Pietro walks in on your dance session

Ascension (Chase Collins) (A, F)

-When Chase was on his power hungry rampage, you helped him push through. Now you’re about to ascend and the boys find out. You find yourself in the same shoes as Caleb when one of your sisters come after your power

Not Some Ken Doll (Thanos smut)

-the fate of the world falls on you, or better yet, what’s in your pants.

More coming soon <3

6K notes · View notes

calamity-bean · 5 years

Text

Aziraphale/Crowley Fic Recs

AKA “There is SO much Good Omens fic nowadays, with more being added at SUCH an incredible rate, that I keep forgetting to bookmark things and thus completely lose track of what I’ve read and what I liked and which ones to watch for updates and which ones I might want to read again and etc etc. So, for the sake of my own sanity, I have made A List.”

And I thought, hey, might as well share.

I’ve divided this list into WIPs and Complete Works, but otherwise, it’s a jumble: canon-verse and AUs, short and long, ranging in rating from G to E and incorporating various tropes and headcanons. I tend to gravitate toward happy endings, so there’s probably nothing too dark or soul-crushing, but as always, buyer beware, pay attention to tags and content warnings and your own personal tastes. Works are listed in chronological order of first publishing, simply as a neutral and objective way to list them, and more will be added intermittently as I read new ones or rediscover ones I forgot.

Hope this helps someone find some good reading and directs more attention to some well-deserving work!

-- WIPs --

On Espionage and Prophecy (or How to Accidentally, but Wholly, Fall in Love With a Soho Bookseller) by RockSaltAndRoll (June 15, 2019)

1941 is the London Blitz and the year that MI5 really comes into its own with the now infamous ‘double cross’ system. The service keep tabs on suspects, root out enemy agents and try to turn them into doubles.

Anthony J Crowley is fucking great at this job. He can be sneaky, underhanded and damn ruthless but also charming and kind. It’s what makes him good at turning.

Aziraphale is just a regular Soho bookseller who loves his shop and books and good food and wine when he’s approached by a woman claiming to be MI5, wanting to recruit him for espionage. The poor man is too trusting and gets the shock of his life when he’s approached by a charming but dangerous-looking man also claiming to be MI5.

Crowley recruits Aziraphale to double cross a double crosser and Aziraphale takes to espionage like a duck to water.

Danger, hijinks, and sex ensue.

Show Me a Great Plan by WriteDreamLie (June 17, 2019)

A.J. Crowley is an eccentric "business man." A.Z. Fell is a bookseller who refuses to sell any books.

After Fell (unwillingly) helps Crowley out of a sticky situation, the two become oddly fixed on each other. And their relationship could just be the thing that saves them both.

icing on the cake by Etheostoma (June 18, 2019)

Between the black attire, swaying hips, slouching pose, and affected “devil-may-care” attitude that actually belied an incredibly sensitive nature, A.J. Crowley was a walking puzzle—and one that Aziraphale, when he allowed his thoughts free rein, wanted desperately to solve.

That being said, at the end of the day Crowley was also technically his employer, and therefore even the thought of anything more was decidedly not a Good Idea.

Vita Nova by AMidnightDreary (June 18, 2019)

“Angel, bloody hell. Hi. You doing okay? Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

It was quiet for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry,” Aziraphale said then, still polite, but a bit perplexed. “Who is this?”

Crowley, upon finding that Aziraphale does not remember him, is very much Not Okay with the changes Adam made after the Apocalypse That Wasn't. He can't do anything but try and make the best out of it, though. (Which is a lot easier than it should be.)

Sparse Clutter by ItsClydeBitches (June 26, 2019)

A fic bingo collection featuring twenty-five, one word prompts. Whole thing is probably best described as "Ineffable husbands stupidity with a hefty dose of gen world building," but I'll chuck brief summaries below as I update!

Strange Pilgrims: Being the Account of a lost Angel, the Journeys of a Demon, the meaning of Free Will, of the Unravelling of a Prophecy, and of Being Unravelled by it in Turn by sousverre (June 26, 2019)

"Aziraphale going missing" would be quite enough drama for Crowley to be getting on with, thanks very much - even without a prophecy that seems to be implying the significance of Feelings, and especially with every gargoyle in London trying to reunite them.

But when he does find the angel, Aziraphale has lost his memory, his wings, and insists that he is happily married to some kind of investment banker.

Right. So the first step is to fix all that, somehow, and then - and then - and then everything can go back to normal, like it was before, which is all Crowley wants.

Right.

How do we fix this?

Put Out The Fire by Aleakim (June 27, 2019)

Aziraphale finds himself in a very awkward position as some sort of spell makes everyone merely glancing in his direction instantly fall deeply and desperately in love with him.

Absolutely everyone.

Well, apart from Crowley, that is.

And while both angel and demon search for a solution to this fairly unique problem, Crowley can’t help wondering whether Aziraphale might finally figure out some things he kept hidden for so very long.

Ink Blots and Forget-Me-Nots by gutsandglitter (July 3, 2019)

Ninth Circle Ink was hardly more than a stone’s throw from the flower shop; Aziraphale knew from past experience that it took less than thirty seconds to go from door to door (forty-five if you had to wait for a car to pass). It had been a perfect arrangement in the beginning, when they were just starting out.

aka the flower shop/tattoo parlor (human) exes AU that nobody asked for!

You Can Have Your Cake by eragon19 (July 4, 2019)

Aziraphale has been working as Anathema's assistant at her wedding planning service for near on a year now. He thinks he's seen it all, from meddling parents to nervous brides, and in one case an ex with a penchant for arson.

What he isn't prepared for is a reluctant groom with a liking for black leather and a smile that has Aziraphale's mind going to places it most certainly shouldn't. Especially since the man is getting married, no matter how awful his fiance is...

To the Stars by StarRose (July 9, 2019)

The happy ending Titanic!Au no one ever writes but everyone always imagines in every possible fandom. Aziraphale is being forcibly sent to America to be forcibly married to Gabriel. Crowley is going to forcibly screw that up.

A Matter of Convenience by ylc (July 15, 2019)

There comes a time when even the most fervent enemies must call a truce and what better way to cement such truce than a marriage? And if the involved parties happen to be the most troublesome members of the ruling families… well, that’s all for the best, isn’t it?

Barriers, and the Breaking Thereof by Cardinal_Daughter (July 16, 2019)

Ezra Fell has long been comfortable in his loneliness. He’s content to simply run the Soho Public Library and otherwise keep to himself. However, when a handsome stranger bursts in one evening with a baby, frantic and in need of help, Ezra finds those carefully constructed barriers he’s long maintained begin to crack.

Perhaps it’s time to let them fall.

Series of one-shots focusing on the lives and developing relationship between Ezra Fell and Anthony J. & Adam Crowley. Human AU.

Lavender, Chamomile, and a Rather Permanent Arrangement by southdownsraph (July 17, 2019)

Crowley owns the flower shop across the street from A. Z. Fell's tattoo shop, and can't help but be intrigued by the slightly eccentric, yet incredibly friendly tattoo artist. When Crowley does finally pluck up the courage to talk to him beyond the occasional pleasantries, he kicks off the beginning of a friendship that could so easily drift into something else entirely.

Pride and Prejudice and Angels by SanSanFanFan (July 20, 2019)

Hampshire, England, 1809

Miss Crowley's plans for a small temptation near the South Coast go awry as she realises that Aziraphale is not only a guest of a neighbouring landed gentlelady but also suffering under some kind of malady.

Match-making! Balls! Fainting! Happily Ever Afters???

Celestial Bodies by LieutenantLiv (August 3, 2019)

The year is 1923. Aziraphale's friends at the gentlemen's club invite him for a weekend away in Devon. He asks Crowley to join. It gets very silly and very messy very quickly.

That's just how things were in the roaring twenties.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm (August 9, 2019)

As soon as Aubrey Thyme, psychotherapist, had opened her office door and seen her new client, Anthony J. Crowley, sitting in her waiting area, she was observing and assessing him. At first glance, she paid attention to the following:

--His clothing was expensive and stylish; --He wore very strange but noticeable cologne; --His relationship to the seat he occupied could only, very loosely, be described as “sitting;” --He looked angry; --He was wearing sunglasses.

What Aubrey Thyme, a professional, thought, upon first seeing her new client was: you’re going to be a fun one, aren’t you?

-- Complete Works --

Anthophilia by FortinbrasFTW (July 7, 2014)

Anthony J. Crowley's life seems like it's finally falling into place: his floral shop has begun to gain an undercurrent of appreciation in the design elite of London, and he might have even finally found a boyfriend who looks just right lounging on his Tenreiro sofa. Things seem almost perfect, until one day the empty shop across the street is leased to frumpy fellow Oxford alumni, who doesn't seem to remember Crowley nearly as well as he remembers him, which really shouldn't bother him as much as it does - it was ten years ago after all, and it wasn't even that good of a kiss.

The Rose Thief and the Priest by ImprobableDreams900 (January 8, 2018)

When horticulturist A. J. Crowley sees a rare breed of rose in a churchyard, he decides he won't stop until he can get a cutting—even if he has to go through the church's stuffy priest to do so.

Running in the Shadows (Damn Your Love, Damn Your Lies) by soft_october (May 10, 2019)

"In plain terms, Mr. A. Fell was a man of impeccable conduct and unusual habits, and in a similar manner to many of whom bore the first two traits, he must also take up the third: dire loneliness. Yet it had not always been thus. Indeed, there once was a time when it seemed as if he should never know solitude or want of suitable company for the rest of his days, but the circumstances by which Aziraphale might have unwound the knot that now bound up his heart had long since dragged themselves, mortally wounded, to die in the shades of regret. Their ghosts hung in his past, growing in consequence with the singular passing of each year until they eclipsed even the death of those who had the foremost hand in their making, and had the effect of separating the sequence of his days of into a gentle, blooming Before, whose painful beauty made the egregious scars of the After that much more appalling."

What Aziraphale does not know is that, from across the ocean, Mr. Anthony J. Crowley is returning to England with his newly aquired wealth, wanting nothing more than to rebuild his life after a terrible shock and, perhaps, discover why he had been abandoned by his fiancé ten long years ago.

You Might Think I’m Crazy (All I Want is You) by soft_october (March 29, 2019)

'“Look I understand, you’ve got to check up on the new occupants, make sure I’m a proper ‘fit’ for the neighborhood or whatever euphemism you’re going to use this time, 'the greater good,' I saw the film, I get it. But I peeked in at the place next door the agent mentioned and if you aren’t bothering him I really don't think you should be-”

“I’m your neighbor,” Aziraphale interrupted. “I own that place next door?”

“Oh.”'

Since the next shop over closed down, Aziraphale's had a peaceful few months, barring those unpleasant interactions with the men in cheap suits who keep trying to persuade him to sell his shop. But now a (handsome) new owner has taken up residence beside him and, horror of horrors, he wants to open up a coffee shop.

A Home at the Beginning of the World by stereobone (June 6, 2019)

"Oh," Aziraphale says. "I think Crowley might have moved in with me."

creatures of circumstance by attheborder (June 10, 2019)

Anthony J. Crowley, Jr. is the prodigal son of CrowleyCorp, the UK’s most powerful, dangerous, and controversial technology company.

A one-night stand with a mysterious man who calls himself Aziraphale tips his hopeless life upside-down into a dangerous obsession.

And somewhere else entirely, a girl-shaped creature is presiding over the back room of a bookshop in Soho, where an angel and a demon lay unconscious on the floor…

Bending Space and Time by Draco_sollicitus (June 11, 2019)

Crowley could never have envisioned a miracle quite like making an angel smile.

And when that angel is Aziraphale, well, he'll do whatever he can to experience that miracle again, and again, and again.

(Crowley spends the twentieth century bringing books to Aziraphale in an effort to make his angel smile a little more)

the words of the prophet are written on the subway walls by volantium (June 11, 2019)

Aziraphale and Crowley do the twenty-first century. (Or, Aziraphale and Crowley, dorks in love, post-Apocalypse).

a picnic plan for you and me by theapplepielifestyle (June 12, 2019)

“It’s angel food cake,” he said. He waited. When Aziraphale did nothing but nod politely: “It’s funny, see, ‘cause-”

“No, no, I get it.” Aziraphale nodded again. “Very funny.”

“Oh, shut up, it is-”

“May I ask what brought this on?”

Crowley paused. “Can’t a guy just want to try baking?”

(Or, Crowley makes Aziraphale food after the world doesn't end. It has absolutely nothing to do with how much he wants to make Aziraphale smile.)

with urgency but not with haste by Sanwall (June 13, 2019)

Aziraphale moves to the South Downs and gets bees, and Crowley gets into one of his moods.

The Play’s The Thing by volunteerfd (June 16, 2019)

“Who was at the very first rehearsal, hmm? Who read over Shakespeare’s shoulder as he put ink to parchment? If anything, I know Hamlet just as intimately as I know you.” Aziraphale picked up his teacup again and looked at Crowley over the rim of it. “Maybe even more.”

Crowley was tempted to ask if he’d fucked Hamlet.

****

Aziraphale is cast as the lead in a community theatre production of Hamlet, a lifelong dream of his and a lifelong night terror of Crowley's. But, as the hapless Crowley helps him run lines, it becomes a mystery why anyone would let Aziraphale on stage. Tears are shed, skulls are crushed, monologues are butchered, and through it all, Crowley remains supportive. After all, the show must go on--even if it is the fifty billionth production of stupid, overrated Hamlet.

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy by 13thDoctor, JHarkness (June 17, 2019)

5 times Aziraphale and Crowley were mistaken for a couple, and the 1 time they weren’t.

A Regular Rip van Winkle by aurilly (June 20, 2019)

After almost an entire century spent asleep, Crowley wakes in 1888 to find the world more changed than he thought possible. His first order of business is to find his angel.

Also concerning the origin of the Baroque gavotte (spoilers: Aziraphale was feeling thirsty).

A bookshop is not a business by anactoriatalksback (June 22, 2019)

In which Aziraphale has no intention of selling books to anyone at all, let alone this infuriatingly persistent customer. No matter how nice his cheekbones are...

like a prayer for which no words exist by lipsstainedbloodred (June 23, 2019)

“What do you want, angel?” Crowley asks before Aziraphale is even properly in the room.

“Hullo my dear,” Aziraphale sounds cheery but also awfully worried, “I hadn’t seen you since - well, since-” Since they’d swapped bodies back; since Crowley had turned tail and ran from St. James’s Park like the Devil himself had been on his heels.

(in which Crowley and Aziraphale do not dine at the Ritz after that nasty business with Heaven and Hell, and Crowley has an existential crisis instead)

far too much in love to see by imperiousheiress (June 25, 2019)

“Hello, can I help you with anything in particular?” Aziraphale asks. And then, he freezes.

Inexplicably, impossibly, it’s the same man who had entered the shop the last time they’d been open. He’s sure of it. The man who he’d felt a rather insistent urge to garrote.

(Or, one of Aziraphale’s regular customers takes a little too much interest in Crowley, and Aziraphale feels somewhat unfamiliarly unpleasant about all of it.)

The Holiest by merle_p (June 26, 2019)

So when Aziraphale hears, through the grapevine, that an exorcism is supposed to happen on New Year’s Eve in Major Gruber’s flat, he knows that despite his general distaste for exorcisms, this is where he is going to be, on the slim chance that the demon Major Gruber and his spiritist friends have found is the same one Aziraphale appears to have lost.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers by Gefionne (June 26, 2019)

Because they can’t see each other more than once every few decades, Aziraphale suggests that he and Crowley write to each other to pass the time apart. As quills for their letters, they exchange wing feathers: a gesture of great intimacy that Crowley is convinced only he perceives the depth of. But time will tell that it’s not just him who sees it that way.

Night and Day by Gigi_Sinclair (June 27, 2019)

Five times Aziraphale and Crowley encountered queer historical figures who know more about them than they do, and one time they actually have a clue.

Needed a break, gone to France x by sleepymccoy (June 28, 2019)

A week or so after the nopocalypse Aziraphale takes a holiday that, unfortunately, sends Crowley into a bit of a tailspin about where they're at

In Holy Matrimony by Myracuulous (June 29, 2019)

From the private journal of Alisha Jones, wedding planner, concerning the nuptials of Anthony J Crowley and Aziraphale and the planning process thereof, containing an account of chosen decor, guest list construction, and the holy war against the Antichrist that nearly ruined six months of professional organization and a very nice dinner.

Acts of Service by seekwill (July 2, 2019)

After receiving direct instruction from God, village reverend Aziraphale leaves his countryside congregation to serve the underserved and in-need at an urban church in London, a transition made all the more complicated by the mysterious and handsome Crowley, who always seems to appear when Aziraphale least expects him.

greatest hits by attheborder (July 2, 2019)

“But my dear, I just can’t believe you never told me that you had joined a musical group. I would have come out to support you— at your gigs!”

“First of all, never say ‘gigs’ again. Second of all, not my fault you never noticed when I showed up to dinner with a great big guitar case slung over my shoulder.”

(Aziraphale accidentally discovers Crowley’s secret: he was in a band in the 90s. And he wrote a whole album of love songs…)

Nanny Knows Best by DictionaryWrites (July 5, 2019)

Being a nanny, that should be simple. Simple. Easy as pie.

Crowley wished that were true.

human childcare for the occult (and ethereal) by suzukiblu (July 10, 2019)

The Dowlings miraculously need a nanny and a gardener at the same time, and Aziraphale suggests they flip for it. Crowley takes one moment to picture Aziraphale nannying anyone and calls dibs. It’s not that Aziraphale’s terrible with humans, he’s just, well. Terrible with humans. Truly, truly terrible.

He doesn’t want to deal with Aziraphale getting metaphorically guillotined or kicking up security’s paranoia, basically. A gardener can be a little odd, and no one will notice or care. Except Warlock, perhaps, as the only other person with any real reason to spend much time out on the lawn, but Warlock’s the one they want noticing so that’ll be fine, Crowley’s sure.

Even if it does make him cringe a little, leaving Aziraphale in charge of the plants.

keep me close by Iselmyr (July 17, 2019)

Aziraphale was expecting to see a talented but otherwise ordinary performance of Les Misérables with a genderswapped cast. Aziraphale was not expecting who came onstage.

Crowley was expecting an ordinary second night show, because Aziraphale always goes to opening nights, and Crowley never performs on them.

Except, this once, Aziraphale missed the opening, and came to the second night. Everything else snowballed from there.

lit in the darkness by ToEdenandBackAgain (July 17, 2019)

Aziraphale returns to Crowley's flat for the night after Armageddon. After all, it's hardly the first time they've shared sleeping arrangements. Or: Times throughout history Crowley and Aziraphale have shared a bed.

Reflect What You Are by Owenjones (July 17, 2019)

It's a year after the almost-apocalypse. Aziraphale makes Crowley go see a therapist.

“Have you been having any issues in particular?”

“Issues? Such as?”

“You tell me.” She could tell he had something on the tip of his tongue.

Crowley sat for a second, then blurted out, “He thinks I’ve been sleeping too much. He’s worried.”

An Answer to Prayer by Jupiter_Ash (July 20, 2019)

Prayers can be answered in a multitude of different ways. When it came to a certain cottage in the South Downs though, no one had expected it to be answered by the squealing wheels of a classic Bentley and Queen's Princes of the Universe.

All Karen wanted to do was sell a house.

The Ineffable Temptations of Oysters by gimpy_terry (July 20, 2019)

Wherein Aziraphale sometimes invites Crowley to dine on oysters with him and Crowley definitely takes him up on that offer.

did you open up your heart there? by weatheredlaw (July 21, 2019)

or were you quiet and afraid? — Aziraphale and Crowley meet over and over and over again. Aziraphale doesn't know what Crowley is, or why their souls can't seem to be parted, but he is a creature of love, and he's not going to argue with that.

A Machine for Living In by pineapplesquid (August 6, 2019)

All Crowley wants is to see the inside of the bookshop so that he can get this design for the building next door done so the clients will be happy and his bosses will stop yelling. What A.Z. Fell wants, apparently, is for Crowley and the project that’s he’s working on to disappear. Permanently.

One of these might be more attainable than the other.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #fic recs #op #also PLEASE let me know if any of the titles link to the wrong fics #i was doing a lot of rapid copying & pasting #and also if you have any others to rec... feel free to add or let me know!

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ofbloodmagick · 3 years

Text

ROSE ARABELLA GORE

pronouns: SHE & HER + THEY & THEM

age: TWENTY - FIVE

sexuality: PANSEXUAL * DEMIROMANTIC * MONOGAMOUS

astrological signs: GEMINI SUN * SCORPIO MOON + ARIES RISING

occupation: BARTENDER @ DUTCH’S + MULTIPLE SIDE HUSTLES

+ traits: PERSUASIVE. ARTISTIC. RESILIENT. FASCINATING. ORIGINAL. RESOURCEFUL. WISE. ADVENTUROUS. BOLD.

-- traits: ECCENTRIC ( CREEPY ). SECRETIVE. DAMAGED. RESTLESS. TWO-FACED. JUDGMENTAL. RECKLESS. IMPULSIVE.

faceclaim: BILLIE LOURD

soul sounds: PLAYLIST !

aesthetic: ( TW: BLOOD ) BOARD !

YO YO YOU YO — it’s lydia here with my lil blood witch arabella , i have yet to get the chance to r e a l l y play her and i’m super excited for the chance bc i love them so very much. i have headcanon after headcanon for them , so hit me up if you want to do something bc i am ready to do some shit. anyway , LYDIA ( nary , nettle , snottie , etc. ) here again and i love a good name change , i’m twenty-five years old , a pansexual demigirl ( she / her * they / them ) like arabella themselves , and i reside in the central timezone ( FLORIDA IS HELL ). continue reading to learn all about ARABELLA GORE — the intense , mysterious clever little powerhouse that loves to be number one.

PERSONALITY

RULING PLANETS: pluto — planet of power & regeneration * mercury — planet of communication * mars — planet of war & energy BODY PART: crotch * reproductive organs * shoulders * hands * head * face GOOD MOOD: resilient , magnetic , passionate , loyal , protective , artistic , brave , fascinating , original , resourceful , wise , adventurous , unstoppable , bold , devoted BAD MOOD: obsessive , possessive , jealous , secretive , vengeful , manipulative , eccentric ( creepy ) , restless , two-faced , judgmental , proud , self-centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless ( SOME ) FAVORITE THINGS: obscure underground music , spicy food , an air of danger , one of a kind objects , organic ingredients , vinyl , magic , the color black , horror films , blood , fast cars , guitars , new clothes , road trips ( in fast red cars ) , expressing themselves through stunning verbal and physical feats ( SOME ) THINGS SHE HATES: simple small-minded people , insincere flattery , personal questions , living at someone else’s house , mornings , dress codes , authority figures , silence SECRET WISHES: to have complete and total control + to have all the answers + to be number one HOW TO SPOT THEM: intense eyes , hawk like gaze , smooth movements , dry blood/bruises/cuts/scars on pale skin , silver hair , big black bow , mischievous twinkle in their eyes , talking with their hands , focused or manic energy , aggressive stance WHERE TO FIND THEM: listening to bauhaus in her dark room , sitting at the corner table of a shitty underground bar smoking a cigarette , selling her magic and / or blood in some dimly lit room KEYWORDS: intimacy , secrecy , power , intensity , obsession , cleverness , wittiness , inventiveness , ingenuity , willpower , initiative , determination , passion , self-belief

arabella’s mind and mouth are busy machines , always moving at warp speed. this witch is one of the most curious and cutting-edge individuals you will meet. there are at least two personalities inside of her at all times. adventurous , she can change her mind faster than the weather and is constantly flipping between moods.

a true pioneer and trailblazer they’re the first to initiate things , fight for their beliefs and fearlessly put themselves out there. headstrong and determined , ella’s energy can be stubborn and willful a lot of the time. she does have a tendency to dig in her heels , stand her ground and absolutely refuses to be pushed around.

they will butt their own metaphorical horns against the same obstacle until they break it down — often with sheer force of will. extremely confident , she believes in herself and will on occasion champion others she deems worthy.

she does love to chatter and has a million great ideas , always keeping a notebook handy to jot down her thoughts and ideas at any time. at times , their energy can circulate in a quick and frenetic way , the silver haired wiccan is known to inspireswitty wordplay and dynamic dialogue.

when she applies herself , arabella is great at brainstorming and socializing. she also craves her “ twin flame ” and kindred spirit’s energy , always up for an intellectual meeting of the minds.

under the influence , they find themselves with the gift of gab; talking and conversing with others for hours , hopping from pop culture trends to deep political topics. beware “ gossip girl ” ella though , they can crank up the rumor mill sometimes unknowingly. as renowned dr. bernie siegel says , “ [ we ] have the ability to cure with either ‘ words ’ or kill with ‘ swords. ' ”

powerful and sensual arabella is perhaps one the most misunderstood and mysterious person you could ever meet though. secretive by nature , this southern witch tends to linger in shadowy and hidden places that most wouldn’t usually have the courage to face.

she believes strongly in life , death and resurrection and arabella embraces these life cycles. she is continually transforming and reinventing herself. there are actually more like four sides of arabella and it really just depends how she feels about you.

the first is venomous and possessive like a scorpion ; the second as slippery , charming and deadly as a snake ; the third like a soaring eagle whose piercing gaze sharply observes the landscape ( and its prey ) below ; and the fourth side ever burning and all seeing as a phoenix that rises up from the ashes into eternal rebirth.

your muse may find themselves dealing with an intense individual with lots of energy. she has been known to hole herself up late at night to process complex emotions or channel her overwhelming feelings into focused work and creativity.

the essence of arabella’s personality is magnetic , fascinating , original , passionate , loyal , protective , trendsetting , controlling , unstoppable , bold , powerful , resourceful , wise , adventurous , focused , bond oriented and brave. on the flip side though , she can also be obsessive , possessive , jealous , prideful , self-centered , impulsive , bossy , stubborn , reckless , competitive , two-faced , judgmental , overwhelmed , secretive , vengeful , to even cruel , calculating and manipulative.

she channels her intuitive tides into a forceful stream of psychic and healing energy. arabella excels in exploring the darker , unexamined sides of life. it has given her excellent research and sleuthing skills , helping her plumb the depths and peer below the surface. this witch likes a challenge , but she does have to really try hard not to fall into being selfish and domineering.

she will without question help out in the darkest hours; this witch bitch is not afraid to go into the murky waters of the emotional and spiritual unknown. intense feelings surface around her closest ties , but around those she isn’t close to ella has a wall up.

believes strongly in merging , bonding and sharing resources. she may get obsessive about a passion project or lover ( forrest ) , even becoming jealous or insecure. this mysterious demigirl wants to hide all of their vulnerabilities. yet , those raw and unprocessed feelings are often their access to power.

arabella can be tricky to understand. with her reserved persona , she seldom starts a conversation or expresses interest in others openly — unless she feels out the situation first.

once you get her to open up , however , you’ll feel her scorching passion for whatever topics fascinate her. be warned: arabella can focus on one subject to an extreme , so you may be in for a deeper dive than you or your muse expect — or want lol

her natural charisma can quickly pique someone else’s interest in the topic too though.

another way to spot the witch ? look for her piercing gaze , which is hawk like at times narrowing in on her “ prey ”. if you happen to be the focus of that look , watch out. you will feel read as easily as a children’s book as arabella seems to just KNOW all your secrets , soft spots and fears.

their focused attention can be addictive , even painful when pulled away. be careful how quickly you fall down their rabbit hole — it’s not as easy to crawl back up once you do. when you befriend them , you are likely entering into a power couple or formidable alliance. while she doesn’t give up loyalty and trust easily , once she does she’ll stick with you through thick and thin.

don’t even think about double crossing her tho bc she WILL unleash her fury on you , divulging secrets and airing dirty laundry or worse. revenge is her favorite dish to serve and it’s ice cold. on a positive note , arabella’s like the perfect person to help explore darker emotions or sexuality , happy to guide most through fifty plus shades of irresistible and soul communing experiences.

arabella can come across as clever and quick-witted , but part of the fun ( and curse ) of interacting with the witch is that you’re never quite sure which personality you’re going to experience. will it be the vivacious jokester or the snarky , mean-spirited critic ?

although they may crave complete and utter control over everything , they secretly yearn for the very thing they fear: true intimacy with others. it takes a lot for ella to reveal her vulnerability , so guard that privilege with the utmost care. as she opens up and learns to show her shadow side , she can heal in ways that are truly profound.

highly impatient and competitive , they have the fighting spirit. ella were born to be number one , a star who steals the spotlight and inspires with her confidence. yeah , they can be impatient , even a little bossy , especially when they don’t get their way. she need lots of attention and can throw quite the tantrum when she doesn’t get it. fortunately , arabella rarely has a problem turning heads.

others love to follow as they take the lead on the latest adventure. she has to be reminded to make sure and let other people be the boss every now and then too , because she has a tendency to alienate potential allies. when they focus their competitive streak into a diva-worthy goal and delegate , they will always rise to the top !

they have a lot of energy , which they apply to everything from tackling supersized projects to unleashing their lusty libidos with forrest. this confident demigirl is known to leap before looking , diving into each new experience with a zest for life that few others can muster.

they love to be number one and can be a bit of a trendsetter. she has been described before as ‘ a true original who inspires the rest. ‘ with all of their fire power and can-do attitude , there’s nothing arabella can’t ( or won’t ) take on. at times , ella can be selfish or overly focused on herself and it can be a “ blind spot ” for them , they may need a gentle reminder from time to time to share.

she likes to shatter glass ceilings but can also be off-putting to people in extreme doses. this go-getter can come across as abrasive or overly aggressive , however; arabella will never back down from a challenge and can take on being the champion of those in distress when need be.

BACKGROUND

( TW: child abandonment ) so arabella doesn’t know her parents are but she does know that they ended up in some small southern town called suspiria , located in virgina of all places. her mother was really into the surface level southern gothic aesthetic suspiria offered and the unlikely couple settled there until arabella was born. her parents didn’t keep her very long though seeing as their shotgun wedding was never built to last and after she was born they both returned to where they came from or at least that’s as far as the story goes if you ask anyone in suspiria.

( TW: military ment. , death ) her parents actually went their separate ways , her mother returned to her wealthy family and comfortable life never to seek out the unnamed child she’d left behind in some no name town. her father went on to join the military and was lost in the line of duty with no one to even pass that knowledge on.

the infant rose , as they were first called back then , was left on the doorstep of an orphanage and that was where they would spend their childhood. it was not a pleasant place to grow up at all , but she was incredibly lucky in finding her twin flame in a sad , lonely young boy also growing up there.

little ella was never once adopted and she made damn sure to change the minds of anyone who so much as looked in her direction or asked her name. they grew an unhealthy attachment to forrest almost the minute they laid eyes on him , but they are connected very deeply and even as children arabella was acutely aware.

growing up ( maybe even to this day ) they were considered a loner , an outsider , the weirdo , a creepy kid , etc. and the bullying only got worse. the people in the shitty children’s home and the tiny backwoods town in virginia ? they didn’t really respond too well to the two strange kids that collected animal bones and hunted for ghosts.

in their early teen years ella started practicing satanism , but that was really just a gateway religion into wicca and her true passion , witchcraft. forrest took to it just as quickly as they did and soon the two had formed their own little coven , something that didn’t stay secret very long.

forrest , being the more scholarly of the two , found himself working for the governor on his campaign and eventually recruited arabella to do the same , but she worked more closely with the governor’s wife and the children. it only took a week , two tops , for the power hungry woman’s true intentions to came to light — dark magic.

( TW: cheating , infidelity )it’s true that ella helped with the gardening , the children , the cleaning , the cooking , all the usual suspects but she also did a number of spells involving blood and shadows. the items they created most for the governor’s wife was their own recipes for love potions and anti-aging blood serums. the woman was extremely suspicious of her husband having affairs with younger women , pretty self explanatory as to why she was seeking help from a known magic user.

( TW: blood ment. , devil ment. ) it was something of a hot topic in suspiria , the governor and his family hiring the two freaky orphans and why. not long after , a photo was leaked of the governor’s wife as arabella painted her face in the bright crimson blood serum they had concocted themselves. it was common knowledge by then that the two practiced witchcraft and suddenly every headline was about the governor and his wife being ‘ corrupted by the evil devil worshipers the kind family had taken pity on. ‘

( TW: assault ment. , death , arson , house fire ) the town ? literally ready to burn them at the freaking stake and the two couldn’t go anywhere without fear of assault of some sort or worse. to make matters all the worse , the governor’s wife and children perished suddenly in a terrible house fire and who was the easiest target to pin it on ? arabella and forrest , the two town rejects , which is exactly what the governor did. they were treated as murderers , hunted like criminals , which is why as soon as they found out about the raging fire they left town.

( TW: death ) for the next four years arabella and forrest were on the run from the governor and his goons , not stopping in any one place for very long for fear of being caught up to. over a year ago they finally got word that the governor had kicked the bucket and that anyone still looking for them likely had stopped by now. not long after , arabella came across a beautiful , vintage gothic home far more expensive than it was priced , but luckily for them the home had a rather grisly history and had been on the market for so long that the owners had cut the asking price tremendously.

( TW: scamming ) arabella was convinced that it was a sign from the universe letting them know it was okay to settle down for good now and once she’s convinced there’s no real changing her mind. so , by halloween of 2019 they were moving into the beautiful gothic home of the witch’s dreams and not long after they had rooms in their ‘ haunted home ‘ listed on every website possible to lure in dark tourists everywhere. how true everything is ? well , the two did take quite a few creative liberties and the occasional diehard , truly experienced fan of the paranormal would ( possibly have ) call them con artists.

( TW: scamming ) not only do they rent out rooms , but they also have the occasional ‘ murder tour ‘ of their ‘ serial killer ‘ house. what it really boils down to is arabella has been hustling their whole ass life and it’s never going to stop. there is quite a bit of truth to their stories , but though both ella and forrest have encountered the paranormal multiple times in their lives , not just in pleasance either , they’ve never had any real activity that could count as reliable proof. everything involving the businesses run out of the house are little more than sideshow entertainment for pleasance dark tourists.

( TW: blood ) the witch also has a part time job working for jules at dutch’s , her official title would be a bartender but she really just does what is asked of her. you probably guessed it already , but she does also have a side operation selling her blood magic from underneath the bar at dutch’s and they’re hopeful that their boss is none the wiser.

ETC.

she does still have a slight accent because she is from such a small town where everybody had a drawl or twang. she doesn’t have a good education by typical societal standards , because she had such shitty public education growing up as an orphan and no one who enforced her learning or attending. they are , however; incredibly street smart and by no means stupid. they have since taught themselves how to learn in a way best for them and are always devouring book upon book in order to teach themselves things otherwise she may never know.

( TW: blood ) ella is a blood witch and often uses her own blood , animal blood , someone else’s blood , pretty much if there’s blood in any form she’s set. she 100% sells her magic to anyone who wants it and does dabble in the shadow side. it might not actually work all the time , but that’s not entirely her fault.

( TW: bruising / injury ment. , blood , scar ment. , self harm ) a pretty big feminist , used to be in an all femme band called the hex girls ( come for me ) , goth and proud ??? a really big horror movie fan , pansexual demigirl representinggg ! always has bruises and cuts , dried blood covers their skin a lot where they miss it or just don’t care to hide it , also has quite a few scars from where she’s cut too deep ( some maybe on accident , some maybe on purpose ).

( TW: blood ) ella’s very creative ! they like to read , write , make art — out of blood lol she uses blood of all types to create a lot of art. she takes blood baths ( animal blood ) occasionally on the full moon , drinks animal blood during certain rituals , etc. also super into bone and taxidermy , you can definitely find her at deblanc’s. they also like to haunt the cemetery and creep around spotlight cinema , film is a big passion of hers.

( TW: drugs & alcohol ment. , blood ) DOES imbibe lol a partaker of alcohol ( prefers animal blood with red wine or vodka ) and certain drugs. ella definitely smokes weed & cigarettes , they enjoy partying just like the rest but she’s more reserved and likes to people watch.

okay so it’s getting late and i can’t believe how long this intro actually took me to finish tweaking , but if you want to plot with me pls pls pls hit me up bc i’d love to do some stuff !! my tumblr DMs are always open and you can always hmu on discord too !! i also write bryce winslow ( milo ventimiglia FC ) but you likely know that lol. i’m sure there’s more i could say about arabella honestly , but if you have any specific things you’d like to know or it seems like i left something out or need to take a second look at something i’d appreciate any / all feedback. can’t wait to get some replies out , but that might have to wait until the morning. @phqextras

#DOSSIER.#phqintro #TO BE TAGGED.#she like actually has tags #i swear #like already done #bless up #swear to post them tomorrow #BLOOD TW #DRUGS TW #ALCOHOL TW #INJURY TW

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