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#i don’t remember life before e3
felassan · 2 years
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Transcript of Jeff Grub’s latest DA4 info, from a GiantBomb livestream, for those who missed what was said:
“Then we get, um, a little bit of Dragon Age news. Now, I'm gonna like, temper expectations immediately. Don't expect a lot. Do not expect.. um. Don't - I don't think there's gonna be like a trailer or gameplay or anything like that. Um, and really I'm not even sure of the reason why they're doing exactly this thing that they're doing. It seems a little bit weird. But, um, in about an hour and a half or so, uh, they should come out and say the name of the game. And I think that might be it. So, if you are - okay, I always do this thing where I'm like 'Oh, you know, who's gonna care about that', and then I remember BioWare fans exist, and how nuts they are, 'cause this happened with Mass Effect, where I was talking about Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, and I was like 'yeah that sounds cool, I love those games, I'll play those games again', and there were people who were just like showing up for the first time in my comments or whatever, or showing up on GamesBeat, or showing up in the YouTube comments and just losing their minds. Just the biggest fans in the world. And then uh, so really, I think, just dropping the name, some Dragon Age fans are going to be like 'OH MY GOD, this is amazing' but I think if you are expecting more than that, today might be a little disappointing. But yeah, seems like they're coming out with the name, seems like they have their reasons, again I don't fully understand why exactly we're going to get just this little thing and then move on, um, but I mean maybe it's just like they wanna keep, give fans a sign of life, say 'Dragon Age is still coming, Dragon Age 4 is still coming'.
Now, when is it coming, we've talked about it before on this show, if you're a regular viewer or regular listener, you know this already, nothing's changed there, if you're just tuning in, I know more people watch during the E3 timeframe. If you're wondering when it's gonna come, it's still not coming until at least the middle of next year, and then probably a little bit later, towards the end of next year, um, so we're at least a year away, at least, and then probably closer to still a year and a quarter, a year and a half off, like, you know, we're talking about the end of next year, something like that. So yeah, it's not coming out this year, it's not coming out at the end of this fiscal year. Do not expect it before basically June of next year, is the earliest. And then, really, are they gonna put it out in the summer? I doubt it. It's probably gonna come out closer to the fall.
But yeah, that's like the big news I can give you there. They're gonna give you many of these details. They'll probably, they probably won't say a timeframe, cause they haven't really been saying that much, except for they might say, like, ‘oh, Dragon Age: Blank’, you know, the name is out there if you really want it, I've, we've teased it on Twitter a little bit. Credit to Tom Henderson who started doing this stuff, teasing this first this morning, if you really wanna know the name go check out his Twitter feed, he basically just said it, so. At least as far as I know. I guess, maybe they pulled a fast one on us, but that's my understanding, is, y'know, we'll get that name today. And yeah, that's it. So again, temper those expectations."
Source: Jeff Grubb / GiantBomb on Twitch
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blazenka · 1 year
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The Clone of Nick Cutter
Being the clone of Nickolas Cutter involves being manipulated by your ex wife, betraying your team and instructed to destroy the place you love. With only one day of life, can Cutter's clone make the right decisions? Fix-it for s3 e3.
Original source: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6229989/1/The-Clone-of-Nick-Cutter
Chapters: 2
Published: August 12, 2010 - August 13, 2010
Words: 4335
Rated: Fiction T - Language: English - Genre: Drama - Characters: N. Cutter - Reviews: 3 - Favs: 3 - Follows: 2
Exported with the assistance of FicHub.net
Part 1: Initiating the Plan
Part 2: Post-Blast
Part 2: Post-Blast
A.N.: I know present you with part 2. Hope you enjoy the actual "fix-it" part and conclusion of this story.
Cutter's clone waited until Nick was past the door and out of the danger. Then he moved away from the suitcase and towards the other exit. When he just barely still in range of the remote, he detonated the bomb.
The blast was stronger than he expected as all hell seemed to break lose around the ARC. Cutter's clone managed to duck into one of the offices before the fire from the blast traveled down the hallway corridor.
Becker and Connor searched through the rooms that use to be the ARC. Cutter felt debris lift off of him while Connor called out his mentor's name. Connor managed to lift the man he assumed to be Cutter with help from Becker. The trio hurried out of the crumbling ARC to meet with the rest of their team.
Once they were safely out of the plumes of smoke, Cutter took a good look around. He sighed a breath of relief to see his whole team was alright but was concerned when he did not see Helen or his other self. "Where's Helen?" he asked, hoping someone had an answer. "Think she's still inside," Connor coughed out as Abby tried to sooth him. What happened to Helen and the important object she had?
He had to find out so he quickly grabbed a flash light. Just as he was ready to go in, Jenny was by his side in an instant, "Nick! She wouldn't lift a finger to save you." He smiled as he remembered the earlier conversations in the main room of the ARC. "Yea, I know," he replied to her. "Don't go," she pleaded, "This is a mistake."
He knew she was right but then, who would go back in to find Helen, the object and Nick Cutter?
"I'll be fine," he reassured her as he went in; after all, he was only a copy.
Nick Cutter knocked some fallen debris off of him as he managed to get up. Helen had really out done herself with the bomb. The place was destroyed completely he noticed as he tried to avoid snapping wires and groaning beams. He noticed his dark surrounding as he managed to find a flashlight while he tried to make it to any exit from the building.
(Scene cuts to…)
Cutter's clone flinched away from the building flames as he searched for any sign of Helen or Nick. He instantly drew away from a door for fear of back draft. Even though he did not fear death, he was pretty sure he did not want to catch on fire. The heat radiating from the flames seemed… painful.
(Scene cuts to…)
Nick continued to search for any life but all he could find were dead cleaner clones. He couldn't help wonder what happened to Helen and the object. He tried to keep his thoughts focused on finding Helen even though he wished his clone did not blow himself up. While he wasn't too thrilled to have conversations with himself or anything of the life, he did however value the man's life and wish he did not have to die because of Helen and her orders.
Smoke and fire grew as Cutter finally spotted the artifact lying on the floor. Right next to that was an unconscious brunette, Helen. He quickly took off his jacket and used it to grab the artifact then stashed it away before he tried to rouse Helen.
She coughed as she awoke; well at least she was alive despite the smoke inhalation. She seemed awfully surprise when she gasped, "You came back for me?" "Yea," he simply replied while his worries about the fires grew. "You were always so sentimental," Helen stated and Cutter couldn't help but think she assumed a little too much.
"Where's the artifact?" Helen demanded. "I don't know. It'll be wherever you left it," Cutter informed her as he avoided eye contact with the fallen pipe. "What did it do, Nick? Why is it so important?" she continued to demand. Cutter found himself in a hard place so he decided to be honest. "I haven't the faintest idea. Now, you coming or aren't you?" he asked as he made his way through the door frame and hopefully towards the exit.
"I'm sorry, Nick," Helen called out as she followed him, "but I can't let you go." "What the hell are you talking about… now?" Cutter questioned as he turned to face her but instead was face with a gun. He turned away from her for a moment in astonishment, "Oh, for god's sake, he muttered as he wondered if this was how he was going to die.
Cutter faced her again as she began to somewhat explain, "Things have to change, Nick. The future is more important than either of us." Cutter could have rolled his eyes as he stated, "You really know how to pick your moments, don't you?"
"If you'd seen what I've seen then you would understand," she continued, despite the distance between them Cutter could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Nick," she stated as she reached to cock the gun but continued, "I wish there was another way."
She hesitated as Cutter realized that despite her conviction and beliefs she was not going to shoot him. He did not know where the real Cutter was or when he might appear. If he did and Helen found out which was the clone or if she just decided to shoot both… it left Cutter's clone with only one option.
"You know what, Helen? You're not as smart as I thought you were," he stated. It was true when he had thought the world of her for creating him. Yet now, when she couldn't tell the difference between the 'copy' and her real husband, his opinion of her greatly waned.
He saw her pull the trigger, he heard the shot rang out but nothing could prepare his body for the pain he felt afterwards. The cold and loneliness that soon followed as Helen ran off leaving him to die. He managed to limp back into the office where he had stashed the artifact before he collapsed.
Suddenly a shot sounded out and Nick realized it was on the other side of the ARC building. Realizing that Helen possibly had a gun from one of the clones he quickly rushed as fast as he could through the amounts of debris. He hoped she hadn't been foolish enough to take her anger out on a member of his team.
(scene cuts to…)
After the fire burst from the ceiling and Connor got permission from Abby, he ran into the burning building after Cutter. The place was a wreck with falling pipes and insulation. He searched the room again in effort to find Nick Cutter, hopefully alive.
The smoke continued to blind him but he eventually found his mentor on the floor clutching at his chest. "Cutter…" Connor's words died as he saw the way Cutter was coughing in pain. "Connor," he muttered in return as he realized who the young man was, "Good man," he stated.
Through his memories, possibly from their shares DNA, he knew Connor always did the right thing and he was terribly brave for risking his own life to find his mentor. "Listen, I'm going to get you out of…" Connor began as he tried to lift the man but Cutter screamed. He definitely did not expect the pain; he never felt anything like it before.
"Don't… don't do that," he requested as he slumped back. "Sorry," the young man apologized with sincere eyes. Cutter only wished he could have met more kind people like Connor Temple in his short life. "It's okay," he reassured him, "Just sit with me, alright?" he asked as he supposed he could get a last request.
Connor managed an 'okay' as he sat next to the man. He seemed solemn and Cutter realized the young man probably thought his mentor and team leader was dying. He probably should have corrected his assumed reasoning but he would find out anyway. Besides, there were more pressing matters to attend to in the short time they had.
Cutter managed to sit up and reveal the artifact from his jacket. "Listen," he began as he handed it to Connor, "This matters. Don't know why but it does. So you have to find out what it means, okay?" he asked and Connor agreed. "It's on you now," Cutter began but Connor shook his head this time. "Don't worry," Cutter said as his voice weakened, "You have your whole team to help you. You have your friends and you have your life. Be happy about that Connor, please." Connor resented and nodded to the man but stated, "Come on, we can do this together. We've always done it together." Cutter nodded before saying, "You will and you can, just not with me per say." Connor was confused deeply by what the man was saying but decided to bring it up when he was dying.
"Tell," he began, "Tell Claudia Brown…" but decided that was best for the real Nick Cutter to do, "Never mind. Doesn't matter," he finished before he leaned back and closed his eyes. If he was some part human and did have a soul, through the short time he had with this life, he prayed he had done the right things.
Connor felt like weeping right there as he continued to look down at his mentor and the artifact he had been presented with. He did not want to continue at the ARC without Cutter. Sure, he had Abby and everyone else but Cutter was the reason he had even wanted to join. And Cutter had been the reason he stayed on after Duncan and Stephen had both died. He was at a lost what he was going to do…
"Connor?" a voice called from the door frame and as Connor looked up the man's confusing words suddenly made sense. There stood his professor, Nick Cutter with a flash light and confused look upon his face. Then the man beside him had to be… the clone, Connor realized.
"What happened? I heard a gunshot and…" Cutter stopped as he saw the man next to Connor and rushed over to check the pulse of the man. "I… ah… I found him like this. I came in looking for you when you didn't come back and thought…" Cutter held up a hand as tears leaked from Connor's eyes and nodded with understanding,
"You thought he was me. Connor, don't worry, I'm the original. I just thought he died in the bomb explosion," Cutter stated with amazement. Connor nodded as he held out the artifact to Cutter. "Thank you Connor. You're a good man," Cutter stated, as he referred to Connor risking his life once again.
Connor couldn't help but beam a smile, "That's what he said too." Cutter smiled in return before looking down at his cloned self, "He's done a lot to help us, especially being one of Helen's clones. I think this man deserves a proper burial, don't you?" Cutter asked and Connor immediately agreed. The young man gathered the clone in his arms and the two men made their way out of the burning ARC.
Even though everyone had been relieved in some way that it had been the clone Cutter to die instead of the original, it did not make the funeral any less depressing. The man's grave was left anonymous with a simple John Doe for the name but a grand statement about how he helped others and died for his country. The funeral itself was full of everyone from the ARC home office paying their respects.
"Helen was wrong," Cutter stated as the casket was lowered into the ground, "Even if he was just a copy of me, he was a human being with free will. It just saddens me this is all we can do for him."
The rest of the team nodded quietly in agreement, and even Lester kept his mouth shut about the funeral's expenses. "At least I can carry out his final wishes," Connor stated. Cutter nodded as he wrapped an arm around the young man's shoulders in the gesture of a hug.
"We'll unravel the mystery of the artifact and stop Helen before she does anything else this drastic," Cutter said with determination as the team watched the dirt tossed into the grave. Deciding it was now the best time to leave; the team turned to their vehicles and headed back to the ARC- all together as a team.
A.N.: Hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for reading anyway.
If you wanted to know why I have the (scene cuts to…), I don't know if it's my television recording unit (I recorded this episode for my two stories - I wasn't confident about my memory), but the scenes seemed to switch between Cutter in ARC with flames and Cutter in ARC with darkness. If you have the chance to watch the episode, then please tell me if this is the case. It seemed like good places to switch between the two Cutters.
Plus I wasn't sure which Cutter I wanted where and when so I left those parts as vague as I could till the end. So, despite the confusion I'm glad it is finally written.
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bahamutgames · 1 year
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RPG TIME: LEGEND OF AFTERTHOUGHTS
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Game: RPG TIME: The Legend of Wright (March 10, 2022)
Console: Xbox One
Look at that! My first RPG of 2023! RPGs are always the biggest part of every year to me, naturally since it’s my favorite genre. So of course it doesn’t take long for me to sink my teeth into one at the start of the new year. And the one we have here is VERY interesting.
I actually bought this game when it launched but it just took me a really long time to finally sink my teeth into it. But I’m very happy to say I did FINALLY play it and now you can read all my thoughts on the experience! How exciting!
As always, this is not a review. This is just me throwing up my thoughts on the game now that it’s done. If you’re interested in playing the game at all, PLEASE check it out and support the devs! Please don’t expect my thoughts to be super well written and don’t expect any serious critique.
SPOILER WARNING FOR RPG TIME: THE LEGEND OF WRIGHT! DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS!!
Opening
SO! This is a little game I’ve had my eyes on since it was revealed a good long while back. It was shown off during E3 I think at one of the Microsoft conferences? Regardless, it was a game I was SUPER excited for, an RPG with a super cute notebook aesthetic? I used to draw my own RPGs all the time as a kid!! I was stoked... And then it just completely fell off my radar.
Until it launched! Then I remembered it existed and had to pick it up asap! But like I said, it took me a good while to play it. But at the start of this year I was out in the living room and decided to finally play it since it had been sitting there for so long. And I’m glad I did cause this was actually a very interesting game.
Stuff I liked
There’s a LOT to love about this silly little game. I think right out of the gate I need to talk about the art style and whole theme around this game’s graphics and aesthetics. I ADORE how this game looks. It’s all played from a first person perspective of you playing an RPG a friend made in their notebook. And because of that the main gameplay is all cute handdrawn pencil sketches, occasionally interrupted by real life items and other fun stuff in the classroom it takes place. I LOVE how this game looks. In addition to being very charming the actual pencil sketches all look great, are cute to look at, and even the real world elements look very good and cute. Thankfully they made a good call by not showing any of the real world humans so I really think the graphics in this are basically never gonna date themselves.
As for other not gameplay things. I think it has a SUPER cute ost (again the theming around the music is ADORABLE as your friend is playing it through an MP3 player and you like, actually see the track names and they come from other made up in-universe games and sources). The writing is also very funny and charming, it’s got a lot of scenes that gave me a good chuckle. Lots of goofy as fuck and random stuff happen so if you want a game where there’s never a dull moment you really cannot go wrong here. The story is also pretty basic BUT it’s standard RPG fare which I always love. Similar to Dragon Quest where the stories are pretty standard high fantasy stuff but it’s always unique enough or something you really haven’t seen before regardless.
I think the part that stuck out to me the most and was probably the most surprising with how much I enjoyed it was the gameplay. Particularly the battles. I LOVED the combat! Like, a LOT. Basically the way it works is you have a pencil sword (the you in the game, not Wright, the guy you play as.) and you have to pick where, when, and what direction to slash across the enemies on the page with that pencil sword. It’s probably not super easy to understand if you don’t see it, but it’s a REALLY clever idea that I LOVED. You’ll have to use it to slash things with timing, hit between bars, ect ect. It’s super cool and I genuinely had a blast with the fights! I do have only 1 problem with them but we’ll get to that later.
Even outside of combat is pretty cute. Not amazing but it’s fun to wander around and see all the little details in each map (there’s TONS). The whole game is just full of loving little details sprinkled across every single page of the notebook. One of my favorite details is how the center fold in the notebook is actually something Wright will walk behind. It’s cute. This game is just so damn cute!
The ending in particular really got me, the final boss is fine but I was pretty surprised that the ending almost made me cry. It’s so good and really emotional. The kid in universe who made this game is a pro. Overall the whole experience was fantastic, there’s great visuals, great character designs, interesting gameplay, and LOTS of crap to see and do. I didn’t even do everything and I already saw stuff I missed out on. There’s special move slot machines, mini ninjas hidden on every page, a drawing minigame. There’s TONS of shit to see and do in this game.
Stuff I didn’t like
Truth be told, with a smaller and more experimental game like this, there’s not a whole lot I can really take away from it as being bad. But there are 2 points I have here that bugged me a little bit through the game.
Number one is just that the game gets a little boring part way through. I would say the airship, town sections, and dice adventure chapters are kind of a drag. Thankfully they’re very short. The game never gets so boring that I don’t want to play but it has some sections where I’m kinda like... Eh? The tank game really stands out to me as being kinda dull. But again thankfully it’s short.
No my main issue with this game is that there’s not enough combat!! I LOVE the battle system in this game! Like SO much! But every fight is a very scripted affair so there’s only a handful you really do through the whole game and you don’t really refight any enemies. This is fine, it worked perfectly fine. But I can’t stop thinking about how much I would LOVE if this game had like, random encounters and stuff and each enemy was a puzzle to figure out. I’m sure that could drag the game’s flow down pretty hard but I think it can be done right, Undertale is a great example of enemies who are puzzles to solve but it works pretty well. And you could have random encounters be done on flash cards so it explains how the pencil markings go away every time.
I think this whole game could benefit from being a more traditional RPG. I know that’s really not the point. But I do think having more battles, a more standard gear system, and junk like that, could be pretty cool! Regardless, if you like RPGs that are lacking in a lot of RPG staples but are still VERY good, I think you cannot go wrong here. I swear this is not an insult but this really reminds me of the secondary Paper Mario trilogy. Both in its art style but how it also tries to make an RPG without doing a lot of the stuff that makes RPG games what they are. However... And I hate to say it, RPG TIME does this a lot better in my opinion, particularly by having REALLY fun combat. I think this new Paper Mario style could honestly learn some stuff from this game.
Final Thoughts
And that’s that on that! My first RPG of 2023! It wasn’t a very traditional one, but it really is a love letter to the genre and now it’s got me REALLY fired up to play a straight up traditional turnbased RPG.
But yeah, I had a great time with this game! It’s a fantastic little game that I haven’t really seen ANYONE play and that is SUCH a shame. I think a lot of people I follow would be REALLY into this. Like seriously if you like RPGs or goofy and cute games or ESPECIALLY Mario RPGs I think you really should check this game out. It’s now out on everything including Steam and Switch, so if you’re interesting I REALLY recommend giving it a chance! This game deserves a lot more attention than it got!
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Thank you for reading! For some reason I had a hard time forming my thoughts on this game so it was a little difficult to write up what I wanted to say about the game. That’s why I liked doing these as twitter threads, it helped me keep my thoughts concise. But sadly I am stuck here... doomed to share my thoughts where no one can see them for eternity. Oh well.
I’ve got a lot of games I want to play this year, so I really need to get a move on. Sad to say I’ve been a little distracted from gaming this month due to being depressed, work, or just getting sidetracked with other games like Fraymakers (which is SO MUCH FUN HOLY SHIT. I hope Wright can show up in it!) and... Embarrassingly, Fornite. Which me and 2 of my siblings who are both very into Battle Royales have gotten very into recently. But I’m FINALLY making some progress into my next major game! So that’s nice. There’s some releases coming out this year I want to check out, lots of stuff on Game Pass I’ve had my eyes on for a while (which I guess I should take advantage of ASAP if it’s gonna go up in price. ugh.) And just TONS of old games I gotta play. My to-play list for 2023 is really stacked! Hopefully I can make time for everything, but if I get distracted by other games not on my list, so be it.
As always follow me on twitter for... uh, twitter stuff... And follow me here for more.... uh, gaming stuff? The year is still young, so let’s make the rest of 2023 great!
That’s all I got, thanks for taking some time out to look at my thoughts! Go out and play a game that makes you feel super creative!
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hyaesia · 3 years
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this year’s e3 has genuinely changed me
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javisjeanjacket · 2 years
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The Knights in the North (robb stark x female knight! oc)
PART ONE
A/N: if there are any Robb Stark fans left in the world-hello :) I’m watching GOT for the first time (I’m currently on S5, E3 so pls don’t spoil it!!) and ofc I fell in love with Robb and have the unquenchable need to be a knight now lol enjoy
This is also my very first OC character and the photo below is her faceclaim! 
Warnings: friends to lovers trope but neither of them know it yet, swords are used, brief descriptions of a duel, kind of yearn-y but not super intense
Word count: 2.1K
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Years had passed here under the weirwood tree. Or so it seemed.
Scenes from the past filtered through my mind, dancing before my eyes and over the small pond just ahead. I looked back down to my sword, it’s hilt decorated with vines and blossoming wildflowers, and remembered when I had played here as a child. Jon and Robb at my side, all three of us with wild eyes and mussed hair. Dirt underneath our fingernails and the face in the white bark of the tree watching over the three of us solemnly. Cleaning the blade carefully, I smiled and began to ponder my time here in Winterfell. Growing up alongside the Stark children and their ward, Theon Greyjoy, was as idyllic as one might have guessed, but, as I was reminded constantly, I was not really a part of the family. 
After the death of my family on the Sapphire Isle, all save for my beloved sister, Brienne, I did the only thing I could and fled to the North. Taking father’s coin, his sword, his ringmail wrapped in a cloth, and a block of sourdough, I ventured to the edge of Tarth and journeyed across the Narrow Sea. Finding the Starks had been all but coincidence, but now, looking back, I couldn’t imagine a life without them.
My sword was finally clean and I stood from the marbled bench. The stark white tree and her dripping red leaves watched me as I sheathed my sword and tucked the cleaning rag into my belt. 
My heart skipped a beat in my chest as I stole a glance to my left and looked upon the tree Robb had hacked away at on the day of his father’s death. It still bore the marks of his wrath.
I could picture his face when I found him there, still feel his hands clenching at my shoulders. His wails pulsed in my ears and his inflamed words rang out in my mind, 
‘I’m gonna kill him!’  The venom with which he had said them had given me chills then, and did now. 
I thought back to the feeling of my hands on his chiseled face. His bright blue eyes looked down into mine and I thought for a moment they each donned swords of their own; as they had pierced through my armor with such ease. I had told him then that I would be the devil for him, if that meant he would stay with his family. He was the heir to Winterfell, and he needed to remain with his family. If that meant I dueled with an angry king looking for revenge-so be it.
Robb had taken me into his arms and pulled me against his chest, his breath was hot and catching against my neck and his nose pressed into my shoulder. I didn’t know what else to do, so I wrapped my arms around the young wolf, holding his trembling body until he caught his breath again. 
But that was years ago. Robb was older now and so was I. Both used to the heavy weight of grief and loss, the even heavier weight of responsibilty. For a glorious moment, I had hoped the gentle hug and my words to him would have sparked an opening of deeper friendship between us, but it didn’t seem that had been the case, as he had chosen to bury his grief under the skirts of some of the most eligible women in Winterfell. 
With a heavy sigh, I looked from the tree and back down to my boots.
‘They need a wash.’ I said to myself before walking out of the courtyard and into the training grounds. 
~~~~~~~~~~
Robb pulled tightly on the reins as he and his brothers turned the corner into the gates of his capitol city. 
His horse slowed and Jon and Theon’s did the same. The trio moved through the city, slain deer strapped to the backs of their animals. Robb pulled his horse to a stop and tied it on the post nearest to the knight training grounds. As he dismounted, his intense blue eyes looked over his brood of knights while they sparred. 
Robb would never let me know it, but his eyes always sought me out. Always. He knew my form better than his own and dreamed about it when he slept at night. But, as the king, it was imperative he marry a lady, as his mother instructed. She talked very highly of Walder Frey’s women, but Robb knew better than to strike a deal with a snake.
“Can’t believe the boys haven’t killed her yet.” Jon said with a sheepish smile as he moved to stand beside Robb. Jon readjusted the game he had flung over his shoulder as Theon approached, his bounty of rabbits dangling from his neck. 
“I’m surprised Alise hadn’t killed all of them.” Theon smirked, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword.
“She could, couldn’t she?” Robb said softly, more to himself than to his company. 
~~~~~~~~
My dark brown braid hung down my back as I gave my sword another playful spin. I chuckled as I walked in a taunting circle, moving as my opponent moved, my sword quick and agile and ready in my hand. I caught sight of Robb, Jon, and Theon as we circled and I shouted out to Landor, the knight opposite, “What’s wrong, Lan? You don’t want to lose to a girl now that the king is watching?” My eyes flicked up to Robb’s and found them piercing through me.I just caught a hint of a smile on his face before Landor roared and lunged towards me.
His teeth grit and his eyes were set as he made his attack. He striked at me and I lifted my blade to block it. The whine of metal against metal made my smirk falter. I made an attack of my own, twisting to the right and slashing before twisting to the left and blocking his jab. We danced like this, right, left, right, left; my body forcing his back and back and back until Landor grew frustrated and drew his sword up above his head. 
~~~~~~~~
“I’m not lugging your game in for you, Robb, come on!” Jon clapped his hand on Robb’s shoulder, trying to shake his half brother from the trance the knight’s sparring had put him in. 
Robb stood transfixed on the battle, his eyes studying Alise’s form as she blocked then jabbed. 
Jon smirked. 
Robb had had a crush on her since they were children, he’d just never had the sense, or the backbone, to tell her. 
“Just let me watch the end of this.” He said, his eyes focused on the battle but his hand reaching out towards the deer strapped to his horse’s rump.
~~~~~~~~~~
I brought my sword up to block Landor’s blow and grimaced under the weight of his swing. With a loud groan, I twisted both swords and brought my blade around our heads and then downwards, forcing Landor to drop the blade into the mud below our feet. 
The older man grumbled, held his hand up in surrender, and then bent to pick up the blunt edged sword.
I smiled and brushed an errant lock of hair back behind my ear. I held my hand out to Landor as he rose, “You were a formidable opponent.”
“You’re a woman; doesn’t take much to be a formidable opponent to you.” He huffed as he turned his back to me.
I sighed heavily and ran my tongue along the backs of my teeth. I followed quickly in step behind him. “I may be a woman, but I still bested you, old man.”
Landor turned back towards me, his teeth bared and a growl in his throat, “Watch your tongue, bitch, or someone will cut it out for you.”
My features darkened and turned stony. Before I could reply, a hand yanked hard on my braid, throwing me back and into the mud.
~~~~~~~~~~
Robb could see the offense before it happened-Landor’s reddened cheeks and the way the men rallied around him. Robb’s chest puffed and his breath quickened as he watched on. He could almost make out the hairs on the back of my neck bristling when Landor threatened me. I landed in the mud and Robb began his march over to the lot of us, all his kingly justice burning bright in his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~
The men chuckled as I struggled in the mire, wiping the filth from my eyes and spitting it out of my mouth. 
Robb almost growled as his hand gripped the knight’s pauldron. He pushed into the group and forced the man backwards. Robb’s chest was pounding and he spoke to the man quietly, with words dripping in venom, “Who are you to make a mockery of my knight?”
“Your Grace, we were just having a bit of fun; it’s friendly competition, that’s all.” The man held his hands up in surrender and hung his head.
Robb’s nostrils flared and a muscle in his jaw twitched. “You would lie to your king, Ser Arton?”
“No…no, your grace.” The man stuttered. 
Robb’s attention shifted to Landor. “Is that what this is, Landor? Friendly?”
Landor swallowed and looked down at his boots. “No…no, my lord. It wasn’t.”
The king made an exaggerated look of enlightenment and turned from one knight to the other. “You two are to go to the stables and clean out the horse’s stalls. Now.”
“But, my king, we were just about to head in for supper…” Arton protested, widening his eyes and looking at Robb with as much of a pouty lip as his poor thin ones could manage.
“Oh, were you?” Robb chuckled. “Then take that into the stables with you, I’m sure the horses will enjoy your potatoes.”
Both men stood with their mouths parted, tension and offense simmering hot in the air. A moment passed, wherein Robb had to remind them there was work to be done, “Off you go then.”
After the agitators had gone and the rest of the knights had retired to the castle for supper and ale, Robb turned back towards me.
I was back on my feet and brushing as much debris as I could from my tunic. My heart thundered in my throat and I kept my gaze locked on his boots. “I apologize, my lord, for you having to interfere. It was nothing, I assure you.”
Robb stood in front of me and let out a deep sigh. “Alise.”
I dared to look up into the tantalizing blue of his eyes. As he’d grown older, Robb’s jaw had grown more pronounced, the soft curve of his Adam's apple more bold and the scruff on his jaw long and a dark red brown color. For a moment, it was all I could do to hold back from reaching out and placing my hand on his cheek. 
“You can be honest with me,” He said. “we’re friends. You’re safe with me.” 
I nodded and took a deep breath. “I am not afraid of an old man who is scared because I am stronger than him.”
Robb smiled softly. “But are you afraid of his counterparts?”
My eyes flitted from Robb, to a horse and cart passing behind him, then back again. “Any knight who harms a woman is not a knight at all, and I don’t believe they will jeopardize their livelihoods on my account.”
The smile on Robb’s cheeks widened and I couldn’t help but to soften at it. 
“I think you’re right.” He answered, quirking an eyebrow upwards. A moment of reflection passed as Robb and I turned to walk towards the castle. “You have grown very skilled with the sword.” He said.
My cheeks filled and I smiled broadly. I bent my head down to try and keep it out of his line of sight. “It was all those hours we spent practicing under the weirwood when we were children.”
Robb chuckled and nodded in response, “Those were very good lessons.”
“You thought they were at least.” I teased.
He gasped dramatically and retorted, “They were! You would never have mastered the ‘Stick and Poke’ if we hadn’t!” His gasp turned to a flirtatious smirk and his eyes glittered with excitement.
I wanted to set up camp right there on the footpath into the castle, to keep his face looking at me like that, to keep his eyes filled with adoration. I laughed aloud, my voice flitting up through the stone walls and over the trees. 
Robb thought his heart might beat out of his chest at the sound of it. 
“That’s not a real attack, you just made it up!” I chided him, the grin on my face spreading wide and my cheeks growing hot.
Robb laughed aloud now, his shoulder brushing against mine as he walked. “One day the ‘Stick and Poke’ is going to save your ass and you’re going to have me to thank for it.” That smirk was so close to me now, his eyes looking into mine intently and the smell of him, like leather and pine, overwhelmed my senses. 
I fought to keep from grabbing his cloak and pulling him into a kiss right then and there. “When that day comes, I’ll send you dozens and dozens of flowers in thanks, my lord.” 
Robb tilted his chin upwards and looked down at me in a smug expression. “I look forward to it.”
~~~~~~~~~~
We were still laughing and reminiscing as we walked into Winterfell’s great hall, big green banners hung along it’s rafters, each emblazoned with the direwolf symbol I knew and loved. The sound of men laughing and plates clattering and ale sloshing in horns filled the air. The warmth from the big hearth greeted us happily. 
Robb turned back to me, “Enjoy your dinner, Alise.” His features were touched with melancholy, but his eyes like honey-sticky and overwhelming and warm in my chest.
Before I could say my farewell, Jon Snow interrupted us.
Happy from the ale, I guessed, he clapped a big hand on my shoulder and sent me stumbling forward towards Robb.
The king held a hand out in case I fell.
I blushed, but looked up at Jon.
“Alise,” Jon bowed his head at me and then, “Brother.” he bowed again.
We both nodded back to him and Jon smiled as he looked over Robb’s broad shoulders.
“You forget something?” He teased, his dark eyes sparkling and his eyebrows high on his angular face.
“Ah! The deer!” Robb cursed. 
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Wasn't sure who would want a tag for this!! Lol 😅
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tineechi · 2 years
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Kono Oto Tomare! Chapter 106 English Summary
Raw: https://manga1001.com/%e3%80%90%e7%ac%ac106%e8%a9%b1%e3%80%91%e3%81%93%e3%81%ae%e9%9f%b3%e3%81%a8%e3%81%be%e3%82%8c-raw/
I’m making a raw translation because I am so excited but again, I am not a native speaker and may have tons of wrong things to say. So, take this with a grain of salt. :p Also, it is not a complete translation.
The chapter is entitled LOVE (with the Kanji for Love, which is also how Chika’s name is spelled). The line “All I needed was a bit of kindness” is written on the cover with Satowa giving a piece of strawberry cake to Chika.
It starts off with Atsumu and Momoya running together to where Chika is. Tetsuki sent the location via chat. This is a bit sad but Atsumu asks Momoya to show him the map because over many years of being bullied and chased after, he knows a lot of shortcuts and ways around this place.
Momoya says that he talked with his older brother on the phone and he said that he just wants to get Kudou back. Momoya continues on to say things about his older brother. His older brother is smart and how people don’t notice something because he looks excellent on the outside. On Momoya’s mind though, he thinks that “No, I was just pretending not to notice... the reason why you reached out to the son of your father’s mistress, why you contacted me regularly...”.
Momoya then remembers sitting on a swing with Uzuki and Uzuki saying things like “sometimes I think of destroying everything but everything is a hassle afterwards” and “I don’t even know myself when I’m in the middle of lies all the time”. Momoya then thinks that it has been Uzuki’s call for help (SOS) that has been going on for a long time. But at that time, Momoya chose not to get too deeply involved with his issues. Then he verbally tells Atsumu that this is the result of just continuing to look (not getting involved).
Atsumu pulls him to the right way and says that he noticed Uzuki’s situation now. It’ll be okay and they’ll make it in time. Awwww. These two!!! <3
The scene changes to Satowa and Chika and the thugs. Chika is surprised and tries to ask why she is here. Satowa shouts “Shut up Stupid (baka) Chika” hahaha.
She continues to scold him because he keeps choosing to do things on his own. Chika tries to explain that it wasn’t really like that but Satowa cuts him off with “I’ll tell you. I don’t want to be someone who is only protected behind you!” <3 Gaaah. Queen Satowa. Chika is left speechless! (I would too tbh)
The evil gang leader (forgot his name) interrupts and says things like he was surprised that a woman came to help Chika, etc. and continues to threaten them. He also keeps on calling Satowa “ojou-chan”, which is a way to call someone a “young miss” (from privileged families) and asks Satowa if she really understands the situation here. A goon comes a bit closer and Satowa kneels in front to Chika to cover him. Chika tries to pull Satowa’s arms and tells her “stupid, stop this” but Satowa turns around and hugs Chika.
THIS IS EPIC. Satowa said that if they want to hit, go ahead and hit her (while she’s hugging/protecting Chika). That is if they want to be caught by the police. She also says that they planned to make the Meiryo students their shields (pretending that Chika attacked the Meiryo student), but this will be the end of your stupid/dirty plan (if they hit her, she can just say the truth that they attacked her first). Some goons hesitate a bit but the stupid gang leader continues being stupid. 
Uzuki interrupts and asks “Why?” and “Who are you to Chika?” Uzuki continues saying that he has checked/investigated all the people around Chika and says that she’s not his girlfriend (NOT YET BUT SOON! HAHAHAHA). Uzuki continues with “You’re just in the same class and club” and “You’re certainly the young daughter of the clan head (Houzuki clan) and you’re on the opposite world from Chika”.
He asks why she is willing to do this much. He says that after this, she might regret this for the rest of her life. Chika tries to interrupt by calling her name but Uzuki keeps saying “you don’t need to go that far..”
Then Satowa hugs Chika tighter and Chika is left speechless again. Satowa says “Because I like you.” She then shouts out “About Kudou... I like you VERY much!” while hugging him and crying. T_T Chika is SUPER surprised. Hahaha.
Satowa continues to say, “so I don’t want you to get hurt, I want to definitely protect you, I want to cherish you, I want you to laugh always and I want you to always be happy”. GAAAAH! <3
Then she shouts (probably for Uzuki to hear), “Is that wrong/bad?! Do you have a problem with that?!” (Uzuki is also stunned) Then, back to Chika she says “so, I won’t let go forever” (Satowa uses the 絶対 zettai- forever/always word here again) and “I won’t leave/ won’t let go”. My heart promptly exploded here. <3
Then Chika remembers his grandfather in the hospital (after the attack on the Koto shop) saying that he has one wish/request for Chika. Gramps said that he wants Chika to be happy.
Gramps said that he already told Chika before but he should use his hands to protect things/people important to him. Use them to catch/get things that make him happy. Gramps said that Chika can understand it. Even though he might not be good at studying (hahaha. the shade!), Chika’s not stupid. But Chika (with his personality) might sometimes treat himself roughly, or give up on himself or cut himself off from others. For now on, Chika will have moments when he has to make various choices. When that time comes, don’t hesitate. Choose the path that will make you happy. That is something only you can do. No matter how much someone reaches out or pushes your back (supports you), whether or not you step forward, only you can decide if you grab that hand. (The scene is Chika’s hand starting to move around Satowa’s back) Then, with Gramps smiling face, he says “Be happy Chika”. (Gramps is the best. T_T)
Then the full panel of Chika hugging (reaching out to) Satowa back tightly. <3 
Uzuki is surprised and pulls the pipe from the leader’s hand. He is going to hit them with a pipe and Chika starts to react but DADDY Tetsuki comes to the rescue. He stops the pipe bare-handedly and throws Uzuki back. Everyone from the Koto club arrives and Hiro-senpai jumps at Satowa to hug her too! Hahaha. Hilarity ensues a bit because everyone is here.
Tetsuki asks the goons if they are not embarrassed because Chika is alone and there are 7 of them. 
Then, DADDY TETSUKI looks at Uzuki (with that cool-ass handsome face of his) and says “Anyway, that’s it Uzuki...” (In Japanese, the line is ここまでだ koko made da Uzuki, so kind of like... This is it/or this is where it ends/this is as far I'll let you go, you get the meaning I think! Hahaha)
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH! hahaha. I’m so happy for Satowa and Chika (Although I initially thought that Chika would confess first but Amyuu-sensei made the best confession scene.) I can’t wait for the sweet shyness that’ll probably come after this though. Just imagining Chika and Satowa being shy and awkward is making me so happy inside. Hahaha. Although, we would have to wait for December for the next chapter I think. Gaaaah! 
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lemonsqueezee · 3 years
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Osblaine Week - Day 1
Moment that made you ship:
I don’t really remember the moment I first started shipping them. The first time I watched the show I was stressed out because it’s so dark and I was waiting for something bad to happen. I blame my anxiety for that. I couldn’t relax and ship them immediately because I was worried Nick would turn out to hurt her. Boy was I wrong. It was more of a slow build for me. Looking back I think the moment that all of us, including June, first started really trusting Nick was S1 E5 when he told her he’s an Eye and when he apologized for saying yes to Serena and having sex with her. People in Gilead just don’t do those things, especially men.
The scene that really moved me into shipping territory was when June told Nick that she’s pregnant in the finale of S1. Nick had just broken up with June probably days before this because he was scared, and realistically they don’t know much about each other at this point. June had no idea how he’d react, and the idea of being pregnant, particularly by a man she actually loves, and having to give that baby up to these monsters is terrifying. Nick shocked her by not only being happy about it, but doing what he does best by bringing her hope and peace. He swallowed his fear and showed her that he’s all in. I feel like when he rests his head on her arm, you can actually see him vowing to himself that he’ll do everything possible to get June and their baby out of Gilead and protect them at all costs. This is the moment he becomes a father.
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Favorite scene or episode:
Pretty much every scene of theirs is my favorite. I love everything about these two, even their fight scenes. Nick and June have the most incredible chemistry I’ve ever seen, and their love is just so pure. They fell in love without all the frills and grand gestures we usually experience in our daily lives - they’ve seen each other in their rawest form under the worst kind of circumstances, yet their love is stronger than ever.
My favorite scene is when they tell each other I love you on the bridge in S4 E3. It’s the first time they say I love you at the same time on screen. It’s so powerful because everything that happened between them in the first 3 episodes was so complicated. He had her arrested, and he brought her to a torture facility. She could have easily pushed him away and cut him out of her life forever. But she understands why he had to do it - she understands that good people have to make complicated decisions in Gilead in order to survive. On the bridge Nick brought her the information that Hannah is safe and she loves June, and June gave Nick her vulnerability and her unending trust. If her arrest and torture didn’t break them, nothing will. That’s why it’s so powerful that they tell each other they love each other - they’ve proven to each other that their love is transcendent and it will survive anything. This scene upped their love to soulmate level status.
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My favorite episode is probably S2 E9 - Smart Power. The entire thing is powerful. But the game changer moment is Nick seeking out Luke in the bar to tell him June is ok, and then bringing that info back to June, knowing it’s going to break his heart. He didn’t have to go see Luke, but he did it for June. He risked his life by doing that, and also by bringing the Jezebel letters to Canada and giving them to Luke. He had to listen to June’s husband tell him that he loves June and will never stop, which had to shatter Nick’s heart. But being the good man he is, Nick not only went to immediately see June as soon as he got home (also risking his life), but he told her word for word everything Luke asked him to. He could have protected his heart and been selfish to try to keep June for himself and not relay the message, but he couldn’t do that. His love for her and her happiness is more important to him than his own feelings. This scene proved how strong his love is for her and how selfless he truly is. This scene is the reason why I will never understand antis thinking Nick is a bad person.
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Underrated scene:
One of my favorite scenes that people don’t really talk about is in S2 E10 when Nick comforts June in the snow after Hannah leaves the lake house. She’s absolutely destroyed from seeing Hannah, hearing her daughter express her anger at June for not saving her, and knowing she can’t see her baby again. She had just been horrifically raped by Fred and Serena, and she knows she’s going to have this baby and have to give it up any day now. June is a wreck at this point, and she’s literally on her knees in the snow, crying harder and feeling the most pain she’s ever felt in her life. Nick knows all this, except for the rape (although he knows Fred did something bad), and he tears up watching June be a good mother to her daughter. He also realizes that he’ll be feeling similar feelings of pain by being separated from his own daughter very soon. He gets down in the snow and just holds her, kisses her head, and comforts her with his love. She clings to him for dear life, soaking in all of his love and comfort. It’s the only peace he can bring her, and it’s just so loving and pure. This scene is so them - supporting each other, being each other’s rock, using their bodies to show their love for each other.
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jokertrap-ran · 3 years
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(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Osborn’s 5✩ Inspiration: Interdigital Heartbeat [指间心音] Date Translation (END 2 + 3 + 4: Call Out)
“C'mon. It's a choice they've made on their own terms. You don't have to feel sad for them.“
*Light and Night Master-list | Osborn’s Personal Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (^▽^)~ ♪ *This 5✩ Inspiration has 6 Endings!! *Osborn’s tag will be #For Night, For Freedom
✥ Choice: Call Out [呼唤] ⊹Speak⊹
Do I want to join the band's celebration?
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⊹ I'd rather not intrude ⊹
Although I was very interested in Seed, we were still outsiders at the end of the day.
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MC: I think we shouldn't intrude on them…
Osborn nodded in assent. He turned to Liyuu.
Osborn: Go on ahead with your get together. I'll send her home early.
Liyuu smiled, giving us a knowing nod in farewell. Osborn pulled me along with him once more, following the crowd that was leaving the venue and exiting the bar.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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The roads outside were deserted and silent, much unlike how it was inside the bar. The faint breeze was refreshing as we mutually slowed our footsteps.
Osborn: I saw Liyuu's SNS that day. They're actually going to disband.
MC: Huh? But why…?
Osborn: Maybe they have more important things to focus on.
I froze, stunned, as I slowly digested this shocking piece of news. I suddenly understood why Liyuu had shedded tears earlier atop the stage.
It felt as if I'd just bore witness to the end of someone's youth. My heart filled with an overwhelming sense of loss and regret that I couldn't do anything about.
Then, Osborn ruffled my hair with a vengeance, bringing me out of my regretful musings.
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Osborn: C'mon. It's a choice they've made on their own terms. You don't have to feel sad for them.
I nodded, rubbing at my own wrist in a moment of sadness… only to gradually realize that something wasn't quite right.
MC: Huh? My bracelet's gone.
MC: ...It might have fallen off at the bar.
Osborn: Let's go back and fetch it then.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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However, when we got back to the entrance of the bar, we saw that it was pitch-black inside through the unlocked doors. All the lights inside were off.
Osborn: Wait here for a bit, I'll go look for it.
Then, he turned to enter the bar. I hurriedly called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.
MC: Wait, how do you know what my bracelet looks like?
Osborn: I saw it earlier on.
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MC: Is that so…
Never thought that he'd notice even something so tiny on my person...
MC: Um! It'll be faster if we have two people searching for it, so it'll be better if I come along!
Osborn: Sure. Stick close then.
I pushed open the door, the "closed" sign that hung off it swaying at the motion.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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The door slowly closed behind me as I entered the bar. The only lights here we're the sporadic lights that shone in from the street outside, passing through the wine bottles and glasses alike.
All I could see was his wide back, standing tall in the dimly-lit environment. I followed closely behind him, almost as if he was the embodiment of my predetermined direction.
After walking for a while, I suddenly caught sight of something glimmering on the ground. I quickly knelt down to see what it was. However, after getting a closer look at it, I realized that it wasn't my bracelet.
Standing up again, I realized that Osborn had vanished before me.
A wave of panic overwhelms me. I decided to call out to him…
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
⊹ E2: If you fail to call him ⊹
Osborn: Calling for me?
A faint voice called out from behind, spooking me.
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MC: AHHH!!!!
I hurriedly whipped around, only to see Osborn frowning with his fingers stuffed into his ears.
Osborn: Hey! Overreacting much?
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MC: Who asked you to suddenly appear behind me like that!?
Osborn: But, you're clearly the one going round in circles.
Osborn: I've found your bracelet. Let's get back outside.
I breathed a sigh of relief, trailing after him as we left the dark bar together.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
⊹ E3: If you call him OSBORN (萧逸) ⊹
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Osborn: I'm here. Scared? There's a tremor in your voice.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar voice. I turned and ran in the direction of the voice when I bumped right into someone's chest.
MC: Ah!
I'd only gone two steps before a hand shot out to hold my shoulder, steadying me.
A feeling of safety suddenly envelops me, further clarifying the fact that this was really Osborn. I couldn't help but clutch lightly at him.
MC: Where did you go? You scared me there!
Osborn: About two steps away from you. Saw you circling on the spot.
MC: Hey! Meanie!
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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Even if all I could hear was his voice, I could still imagine the playful look that must be on his face right now. I was beyond pissed, but the ceiling lights had suddenly flickered on.
Footsteps sounded not too far away from us as a staff walked towards us, looking at us with utter suspicion.
Staff: Hey, who are you lot? Event's over.
I only realized in hindsight that I was still completely plastered to Osborn and quickly pushed him away in embarrassment.
Osborn: Do you know that if you have such a big reaction to it, it just makes you look like you're hiding something?
MC: ...Shut up, you.
Osborn raised his head and loudly replied to the staff.
Osborn: Sorry, we came here to find a lost item.
Staff: We're about to lock up, so I'll give you guys another two minutes.
MC: Okay. Sorry about that!
Searching was much easier after the lights came on, but I still turned out empty-handed from the search.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
Our two minutes soon passed. I walked out of the door together with Osborn, feeling slightly regretful about it as we returned to the brightly lit street outside.
MC: *Sigh* Looks like I really did lose it.
MC: And I bought it when I went for a vacation abroad last year, at the market of a small village last year too…
Osborn: You remember it so clearly? Do you always get something as a souvenir whenever you do something that leaves an impression?
MC: Yeah.
Osborn: Have you got one for today?
MC: Uh… Not yet…
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Osborn raised a hand, waving it before me. A glimmer of light fell from his fingertips just like magic before he brought it before my eyes.
Focusing my eyes, I realized something. Isn’t that my silver daisy bracelet!?
Osborn: Surprise! Now you do.
It was a pleasant surprise. Then, he lifted my wrist, lowering his eyes as he carefully returned the surprise, lost and regained, to its rightful position around my wrist. With the soft light spilling from the street lamps above, I couldn't help but feel that it appeared more exquisite than ever before.
MC: Thank you. It has not changed from being “a bracelet bought from a market overseas”, to “a bracelet that Osborn gave me”.
Osborn: Then don’t go losing it so easily anymore.
MC: Yessir~
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
⊹ E4: If you call him HUBBY (老公) ⊹
Perhaps it was the impenetrable darkness around us that gave me an unusual surge of courage, but I grew thick-skinned and yelled the one title that I’d usually never even dream of uttering.
Alas, the embarrassing name-call echoed, reverberating through the room for a long while; perhaps due to the area being too empty and quiet….
A familiar chuckle sounds from the dark.
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Osborn: Hey, hey. That's a pretty nice manner of address.
Osborn: How about you yell your support to me like this during my competition? Deal? Deal.
MC: You… I'm only looking fun at you! Where'd you go? Come here. I'm scared.
Osborn: Are you? I thought you were plenty brave.
Osborn: Call me that again and I'll come right over.
MC: You—
Osborn: Be good now, dearest~
His purposefully lowered voice sounded enchanting in the dark. It rippled towards me, inciting a pleasant tingle within my being.
MC: You… Shut up, you. Enough of that already…
Osborn: But you were the one who called me that first!
Osborn quietly waited for the call to come. He didn’t seem like he was going to let up on this matter. However, the impenetrable darkness only increasingly unnerved me. I hesitated for a good three seconds before I gathered my courage and called out once more...
??: Are you guys quite done yet?
An unfamiliar voice suddenly cut in, making me freeze dead on the spot. Then, the lights above us flickered to life.
A member of the staff stood atop the stage, glaring vehemently at us with his hands on his hips.
Staff: I’m sick of seeing all you couples! Are you that bored that you’ve gotta come here just to be all lovey-dovey for kicks!?
Wha… There was a 3rd party here all along? He heard everything…
My eyes immensely darkened as I felt utterly embarrassed, wanting to disappear on the spot if I could.
I could hear the sound of Osborn’s footsteps come from behind. So he hadn’t been all that far away from me after all. Unfazed, he calmly walked up to the stage to explain the situation to the staff.
Staff: Huh. A bracelet? Is it this one?
It was only at the mention of a bracelet that I snapped back to my senses. I buried my face in my hands as I slowly made my way over, peering through the gap between my fingers.
MC: Uh… Yes. Thank you.
Staff: Take it and go; stop being all lovey-dovey in here!
Flushed red, I lowered my head in embarrassment. I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even make out a word. Osborn only smiled as he placed his hand around my shoulders and led me out of the bar.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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Another two weeks passed after that.
One night, Osborn and I were having dinner at a place near Warson when his phone suddenly lit up with a message.
He took one look at it, his face gradually morphing into one of suspicion.
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Osborn: It’s a number I’ve never seen before, telling me to go to “Chimes Piano Shop”. They say I have something there.
MC: Oh? How curious.
MC: But, Chime’s Piano Shop? That’s just nearby. Won’t you know if it’s a scam or not if you just drop by and pay them a visit?
Osborn: Okay, Miss Directionless. How about you lead the way this time?
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MC: Hey! This place is around my workplace! Don’t you underestimate me!
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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After we’d finished our meal, I easily led Osborn to Chime’s Piano Shop, a place that was located deep inside an alley.
Peering through the glass windows of the shop, we could see that it was brightly lit inside. Its interiors were tastefully furnished with a mix of retro and trendy, and there were a variety of brand-new instruments scattered around, being displayed out on the floor.
No matter how we looked at it, it was nothing more than an ordinary piano shop. Hence, we pushed open the doors and stepped inside.
The bell hanging from the door made a pleasant jingle, alerting the clerk to our presence. The uniformed clerk raised his head, smiling as he made his way towards us.
Clerk: Oh. You must be Mr. Osborn, right? I was the one who sent you the message earlier. I’m a friend of Liyuu’s.
Clerk: He left Guangqi City a couple of days ago and placed his electronic keyboard here before he left. He said that he hopes to entrust it to your care.
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Osborn: ...An electronic keyboard?
Clerk: Over here.
Following the clerk, we stopped before an electric keyboard that was placed in a corner.
It was clean, but old, considering its slightly outdated style. It stuck out like a sore thumb despite having been placed in a corner, like an old man that possessed a good many stories.
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Osborn: He wants to put something this huge in MY house? Gee, he sure knows how to trouble someone.
Clerk: He’d also said that you can give it to someone else or even leave it here for sale if it’s inconvenient for you to take it.
Osborn wearily rubbed his temples before he turned to question me.
Osborn: Do you know how to play?
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MC: Oh… Just a little.
Osborn: How about I give it to you then? It's your idol's beloved keyboard.
MC: Don't want it.
He was teasing. I glared at him in dissatisfaction, taking a serious tone with him.
MC: This is the keyboard that Liyuu has used for many years, it must mean an awful lot to him.
MC: I think maybe he doesn’t intend to give up on music.
MC: You’re the one who gave him the motivation to do it, so I think that he’s hoping that you can take it under your wing. To protect and take care of this important dream of his.
MC: Who knows, maybe he’ll come back one day to reclaim it from you!
Osborn: That guy… He’s still as whimsical as ever even after all these years, huh.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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Osborn glanced at the keyboard, helplessly shaking his head, as if what stood before him wasn’t his friend’s keyboard, but rather, his friend himself.
After a while, he sat down on the sofa before the electronic keyboard, slowly lifting the heavy black cover that had hidden the keys of the keyboard from view.
The keyboard had been maintained well, but the keys all shone brightly from years of wear and tear, inflicted by years of practising.
His slender, yet strong, fingers slid across the keys, gently pressing on a few.
The black and white keys played a series of pleasant-sounding notes. He lowered his eyes in thought as the sound reverberated in the air.
Osborn: "Take care of his dream for him"? ... I'm not all that noble.
His tone was reminiscent of a sigh. I shook my head and walked up, standing before him.
MC: You don’t have to bear any responsibility for this, Osborn.
MC: You might not understand, but…
MC: Some people just have to exist and do whatever it is that they wish to do. That in itself is something that those who do matter will find solace in.
You fixed your gaze firmly onto him as the thought ran past your mind.
And you, Osborn; you are that existence.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
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After a while, Osborn sighed, seemingly having come to a compromise about it. He covered the keyboard and stood back up once more.
Osborn: Alright. I'll take it for your sake.
He looked me up and down playfully, his dashing eyes slowly curving upwards in joy.
Osborn: But, you've got something wrong here.
MC: Huh?
Osborn: How could I ever "not understand"?
Osborn: I’ve already long since found the one who’ll safeguard my dreams and aspirations for me.
I froze. I was just about to ask just who this person was when he bent down slightly, his piercing pale green eyes staring deeply at me.
Just as I took notice of the little figure being reflected within his orbs, I heard the notes of a keyboard ringing out in the air, resonating with my heart.
It was then, at that moment, that the answer to the underlying question hanging in the air was self-evident.
⊹ ˚✩ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ∘◦ ✥ ◦∘ ━━━━━━━━━━━ ✩˚ ⊹
✥ Choose your Ending:
END 1 | Choice: Do Nothing [都不做]
END 2 + 3 + 4 | Choice: Call Out [呼唤] ⊹Speak⊹
END 5 | Choice: Listen [倾听] ❖ASMR
END 6 | Choice: Heart-throb [心动] ★Night★
❖☆————— ⊹ For Night, For Freedom⊹ —————★❖
Previous Part: Prologue
38 notes · View notes
whump-town · 3 years
Text
Minimal Loss AU
This is for @hotchley because I've been saying I was going to do this since just about forever and now I finally did it. Is it really that different? No but I like this version more than the original
Warnings: death.
Pairings: no but like if you want it to be Mortch it can be and you don't really have to squint to see it either way
Summary: Minimal Loss (S4, E3) but I made it so much worse because I like misery
In less than five years Derek Morgan has watched the BAU rebuild from nearly the start twice. Watched it dwindle down to just a few creeping agents but this time… Derek’s not sure the resiliency is there. After Boston, the shift had been fairly clear. Gideon lost it. Hotch stepped up. Now Derek can feel the weight of the BAU settling on his shoulders, wonders if this is the panic that Hotch felt. The pressure of the future looming over him, weighing him down. His chest is trapped between hefty boulders waiting for the impending doom of when his bones can no longer sustain the pressure. Is this how it was for Hotch? Holding his breath and waiting for the snap of release? For the weight to settle and find out if this time it would be too much?
The bull pen’s door swings open and Derek looks up, he’s expecting the gloomy presence of Hotch. His slow, anxious movements drawn out in each of his steps. Before he’d just been gloomy but now he seems to drag the weight of the dead behind him. The groaning of chains shackled to his feet-- he’s got the key to unlock the burden but there’s something too familiar in suffering for him to let go. But these steps are too light. Too unburdened to be Hotch.
With a snapping halt, Dave stops at Derek’s desk. They give one another a look they’ve been sharing a little too much as of late. One of them always carrying the next bought of bad news. This time it’s Dave, next it will be Derek. “He failed his gun qualification.” It may not carry the same weight as the other things they’ve had to speak of but it’s no good, it’s still bad.
Derek supposes he should have known this was coming. He’s a profiler but even emotional intelligence doesn’t negate childish hope. Blind faith in one another has gotten them a long way, it’s the foundation of what makes them a unit. Derek assumed it would get them through this too. “Dave,” Derek calls to the other man’s receding back. “How bad is it?” he asks the floor. Unable to look Dave in the eyes and let the older man see just how crushed he is.
Dave pauses, stands with his back to Derek and his feet still attempting to move him forward. He wishes he knew what he could say to make this better. The tension between the team and, even worse so, that which remains Derek and Hotch is thick enough to choke on, makes the air unbearable to breathe and be in. But he doesn’t know what to do. He’s run out of things to say. All he can do is shrug, offer Derek a simple shake of his head.
There’s no going back. For any of them.
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Hotch loses his ability to speak clearly, punctually when Benjamin Cyrus targets Emily. His hands start to shake and take a constant flight of motion when he speaks. He’s conscious of their jitters, of the way his own nerves are comprising the mission, but he can’t walk away. A power shift this late into the operation will be disastrous and he won’t put Prentiss and Reid’s lives on the line.
He feels it in his chest before he sees it. His hoarse, powerless scream is swallowed by the crack that shakes the world. By the bomb that upsets his entire life.
He surges forward, guided by cloudy adrenaline. Years of field training have taught him plenty about these scenarios, logically he knows it’s a lost cause. Instinct screams for him to back away from the smoke thrown up in dark, rolling plumes. To get away from where the fire licks out of the building. Yet he moves forward regardless because Reid has overcome too much for all of it to end here. For this to be his final stand.
Arms snag his waist, an instant sharp jerk as he’s pulled backward with more might than which he pushes forward. “No!” he doesn’t recognize the desperate sounds coming out of his mouth. The way he screams Reid’s name into the flames and cries out for Prentiss. “No, let go!” He pushes down against the arms around his belt. “Get the fuck off me, Derek! Get off me!” He manages to throw them both into the dirt and he lands with a breathless thud to the ground, pausing only to his own desperation like a mirror in Derek’s eyes.
This time Derek isn’t fast enough and he’s left panting on the ground, his voice cracking as he yells at his boss’ receding back. All he can do is follow after him.
Dave yells for both of them to stop, italian curses tangled into his frustrated orders.
Derek Morgan hadn’t been there when Adrian Bale bested Gideon and killed their team. Hotch had been preparing the next wave of officers and agents just outside the building. When the bomb went off Gideon thought he was dead. Phoned Derek at the hospital and told him he hadn’t seen Aaron, didn’t know what to expect officers would find. A body, he supposed. But Hotch was alive by some slim miracle. Spent two weeks in the hospital recovering from the shrapnel wounds embedded in his upper torso, from the beating his heart took keeping him alive. Smoke inhalation from laying under burning bits of the building and too many broken bones to be worth remembering. The fact that he had only nearly died set him apart from the others. Nearly wasn’t the same as dead. It could have been worse.
So much worse.
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Derek never learned or even worked his way up to forgiving Gideon for what happened that day. He’d lost friends within a blink of an eye and then his best friend slowly over the course of the next year. Ripped to shreds by shrapnel and stitched back together only for Jason Gideon to let the job take and take from Hotch until there was nothing left. Until he could no longer smile. Incapable of joy. Carrying on like a robot.
“Hey,” Derek is stepping into the hall when Hotch gets off the elevator. “You okay, man?” He steps forward to place his hand on Hotch’s elbow but the other man moves too quickly, too fixated on his goal. The material of his suit just passes right by Morgan’s fingers. Hotch just keeps ghosting alone. Not so much as blinking in response.
He wants to be pissed. Derek wants nothing more than to feel something so irrational and so consuming that he can lash out and scream and curse and make a scene like a child so much as these feelings are burned through. But those stones keep adding upon his chest. His body just keeps taking the weight and no release comes.
Hotch is a sharp-shooter.
He’s had tactical training and awards all over his office that demonstrate just how good of a shot he is. Give him a gun and he won’t miss his target. So how does a man like that fail his gun qualifications?
Them. Because of them.
Derek moves his eyes down to the floor the second he sees the outlines of the frames. He’d known where they were headed, Hotch always ends up right back here in this one spot. Staring at their pictures like he can will them back to life. Maybe Derek really is no better than Hotch. Unable to bring himself to look at his best friend’s faces memorialized behind glass picture frames. Smiling for the rest of eternity.
Emily had been in the hall. She’d gone back, from what they could tell, and dragged an injured woman with her down the hall. The other woman was already dead before the explosion took place but Emily never knew when to give up. From the diagram drawn up after the explosion, she was three feet from the door that would have lead her to freedom when Cyrus blew up the compound. Three fucking feet.
Spencer had died immediately. Blood dribbling down his chin and a proud smirk on his lips. Gideon had assured him over the years they worked together that he was just enough like Hotch to be a little too resilient. Said they both had that same sort of strange curiosity mixed with unyielding oddness that made them so unapproachable to other people. Reid’s death had looked like defiance, what he thought was at least one more second of distraction to save his friend. As the hammer of the gun struck Reid knew Hotch would be proud, that Gideon was right. It took balls to argue with Cyrus. To back the leader into a biblical corner but his words had struck a new rebellion: doubt.
Cyrus had leveled his Glock to Ried’s temples and torn his genius brain to shreds.
But Reid had never known strength as he did in that moment.
The bomb didn’t even leave them a body to bury.
Derek looks up at Hotch, keeps his eyes trained on the man’s tear-stained eyes. Lethargically swollen with the tears he never sheds. “Cyrus killed them,” he whispers. “They wouldn’t want this Hotch.”
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Emily had never seemed so small. She was several inches shorter than both Hotch and Derek but he’d never noticed just how small she really was. Not until she was still, limply laid in Hotch’s arms as he gently moved her from fallen debris. His tears splashing the soot off of her pale face. A broken doll he holds so carefully.
Derek steps around debris, working around the largest pieces slowly. Lowering his head in defeat at the way the emergency personal look at him, their sympathy burning the lining of his stomach. He’s standing in the middle of it all, a sea of black body bags measuring out each individual failure committed today. Hotch is crouched on the edge of it, uselessly cleaning soot off Emily’s face.
“Hotch..,” Derek sinks down to his knees. Opens his mouth but no words come out, he just looks at his boss. His oldest friend. “She’s gone,” he manages, thickly. “Emily’s dead, Hotch. You have to let her go.”
“We have to go,” Morgan says and he’s not sure he can do much more than repeating the words that other people have been repeating to him. He’s incapable of thinking past just how broken Emily is. He’d just spoken to her. The flashing light and her boot in the window.
Hotch tears his eyes away and up to Morgan. There are tear streaks on his dirty face, “I can’t.” He looks back down at Emily and holds her closer. Daring Morgan to take her away. “She--” the words get caught in his throat. “She didn’t think I trusted her.”
Morgan shakes his head but… he can’t find the words to form condolence. They’d grown to trust one another. Become friends. Surely Hotch knows that. She loved them all, even him.
“I do,” Hotch says. His chest heaves as he pulls in a broken sob. “I trust her.”
Morgan nods his understanding and places a hand on Hotch’s shoulder. “She knows,” he promises. “She knows, man.”
------------
“Dave told me you failed your gun qualification this morning.” Derek isn’t even sure why he leaves the pause in their conversations anymore. Hotch hardly ever speaks. Never reacts to things anymore. Just sort of floats by. He’s not the only ghost in the BAU but he’s the only living one. “It’s not a big deal,” Derek mumbles. Not much is anymore. “You don’t need to go out in the field.” Hotch shouldn’t be anywhere near the field. Not for a long time. Morgan can’t take another Gideon. He can’t watch another friend unravel. He’s tired of losing people.
But that is exactly what’s happening.
Derek looks up and locks eyes with Reid and Prentiss, their unseeing, unmoving eyes. Both funerals had their share of drama. The Ambassador hadn’t come to Emily’s. She’d sent back a letter about being in Moscow, couldn’t get a flight, and informed them not to bother making arrangements for another date. Reid’s mother had slapped Hotch, cursed, and screamed until she was taken away. He’d found this fair punishment, he deserved worse. He couldn’t even act as a pallbearer. He wasn’t even hurt. His hands just haven’t stopped shaking, like the adrenaline never faded out of his system.
“Come on,” Derek mumbles. He turns on his heel and makes for the bullpen, knows from the rustle of fabric Hotch is following closely. His hands tucked deep in his pockets to hide their tremble, his head bowed so no one sees the tears he hasn’t let go. “We’ll be okay,” Morgan tells him, as he holds the bullpens door open. Morgan just needs to work on convincing himself that as much as Hotch.
They’re not but some lies are worth the attempt at making them truths.
36 notes · View notes
k-s-morgan · 4 years
Text
Will’s vs. Hannibal’s Ways of Expressing Love
The fact that Hannibal loves Will and is in love with him is openly stated in the show several times. Will’s feelings, on the other hand, are more ambiguous, which is why some viewers often doubt whether Hannibal’s love is reciprocated. I think that exploring the ways these two men experience and react to love can explain the varying degrees of their openness about it.
I’ll put TLDR right here: Hannibal is more open about himself and his feelings, including love, hence he doesn’t have many challenges with admitting it. Will is closed off, stiff, and emotionally repressed, so he expresses his feelings in a much more subtle way.
Let’s start with Hannibal. Details about his past are scarce, but we know that he admits to loving two people throughout his life, his sister and Will.
E3 of S3.
*Bedelia: What your sister made you feel was beyond your conscious ability to control or predict … I would suggest what Will Graham makes you feel is not dissimilar. A force of mind and circumstance.*    
*Hannibal: Love.*
Undoubtedly, Hannibal’s love for Mischa was traumatic and unhealthy. He loved her so much that he ate a part of her body after she was killed, devastated by this loss. But it was still love that made him feel all the related emotions, so Hannibal has some experience with it. From what we know of him, he has a very broad mind. He despises limitations and overcomes them, and he is not ashamed of who he is. He isn’t embarrassed to cry in the opera or to be the first to stand up and applaud; he delights in stereotypically ‘feminine’ hobbies like cooking and clothes selection; he draws fan-art and openly expresses his admiration when it’s due. For this reason, Hannibal doesn’t have many problems with expressing love either.  
Upon meeting Will, he is immediately drawn to him. He sees him as his potential partner and decides he wants to try and build a family with him as early as E2 of S1. That’s when he starts planting the idea of Abigail being their shared daughter in Will’s mind. He does the same to Abigail, urging her to see him and Will as her parents, even giving her shrooms to evoke the desired associations (unsuccessfully since Will doesn’t come to dinner). So, Hannibal acknowledged his pull/infatuation with Will from the very start, and he acted on it right away.
It’s not 100% love at this point, but Hannibal still easily follows his emotions. He doesn’t stop to consider how strange it is to want a family with a man he just met; he doesn’t agonize over the idea of how his life has more risks now that he allows another human being to know him. When these feelings progress at the end of S1/start of S2, Hannibal is finally taken aback. While he never planned to leave Will in prison and it was a part of his plan, he still didn’t expect to miss him so much — he admits it to Bedelia, looking forlorn, in E1 of S2. He repeatedly pines for Will by sitting in front of his chair at the time of his supposed appointment, glancing at the clock despite knowing Will is not going to come. This is a shift to an actual love, but Hannibal still doesn’t fight it. On the contrary, he embraces it, and he spends the entire S2 doing repeatedly romantic gestures for Will. Namely:
1) Protects Abigail to reunite Will with her later.
2) Shares a part of himself he doesn’t seem to have ever shared with anyone else. He talks to Will about Mischa, reveals his views on murder and God, acknowledges he cared about Abigail, and shows vulnerability. He shares his teacup ritual with him, which is something precious and deeply personal.
3) He digs up fake Freddie’s corpse and decorates it as a way of courting Will (as directly said by Alana).  
4) He draws a fan-art of himself and Will as Achilles and Patroclus.
5) He is ready to abandon his well-established life in Baltimore and reputation to run away with Will. In Hannibal’s view, no one truly suspects him and there is no evidence against him, but Will is in danger. So he’s willing to discard everything he’s been building for 20 years for him.
Finally, he calls Will a loved one more or less directly in E13 of S2 (in fact, he implies that they both love each other).
*Hannibal: Do you know what an imago is, Will? … An imago is an image of a loved one buried in the unconscious, carried with us all our lives.*
*Will: An ideal.*
*Hannibal: The concept of an ideal... I have a concept of you, just as you have a concept of me.*
Will hurts him with his betrayal, and Hannibal still finds himself unable to kill him. He is openly crying in the finale, admitting how Will hurt him, breaks his (and his own) heart by killing Abigail, and flees to Europe to start a new life. But things don’t go as he hoped they would. Bedelia is not a worthy substitute, and Hannibal is increasingly slipping into a self-destructive state because of his love for Will. He kills Anthony, who was an improved copy of Will, and turns him into a Valentine heart for him. Again, this is a very explicit and open emotional action. Hannibal doesn’t hide his feelings. He’s an emotional wreck with Bedelia in E3, and as they are talking about Will, he admits he’s in love with him.
*Hannibal: You cannot control with respect to whom you fall in love.*
Bedelia points out his self-destructiveness.
*Bedelia: You're going to get caught. It's already been set into motion … I know exactly how I will be navigating my way out of whatever it is I’ve gotten myself into. Do you?*
After Hannibal keeps spiraling and kills Sogliato, she adds: *You're drawing them to you, aren't you? All of them.*  
Hannibal gets so self-destructive over Will that he lets Jack beat himself almost to death, not even attempting to fight him. The first words he says to Will after they reunite in E6 are:
*Hannibal: If I saw you every day forever, Will, I would remember this time.*
He’s a romantic. The courtship, the Valentine heart, the romance — Hannibal did have some struggles, but overall, he accepts these feelings and isn’t afraid to act on them.
When Will pulls a knife in E6, Hannibal classifies it as another betrayal. This is where he decides to kill and eat him in the hope to put an end to this misery (which is what he and Bedelia discussed back in E3). However, even blinded by another heartbreak, Hannibal tries to save Will at the same time. He knows the police are coming and he puts off the moment of sawing for as long as he can, first fussing over Will and his wound, then waiting for Jack, then doing everything slowly as hell.
Everything changes in E7, when Hannibal faces the real risk of losing Will and comes to terms with the fact that a hope of life with him is better than life without him. So Hannibal carries Will home bridal-style, takes care of him, waits for him to wake up and writes formulas to reverse time. He directly tells Will that Will won, and that he, Hannibal, is at Will’s mercy.
*Hannibal: Your memory palace is building. It's full of new things. It shares some rooms with my own. I've discovered you there. Victorious.*
He gives himself up, sacrificing the freedom he’s been fighting for back in E2 finale, in the hope that one day, Will is going to come back to him. After this, Hannibal is all about Will, with all his heart. Throughout the second half of S3, he says things like, *“I gave you a child. You are family, Will. Was it good to see me?”*, etc. He agrees to risk his life by agreeing to Will’s plan, knowing he’s planning something but not knowing what and if he’d die in the process. In E13, Hannibal says:
*Hannibal: "No greater love hath man than to lay down his life for a friend"* and shields Will from the bullet. Later, he allows Will to push them both down, and he stays with him afterward.
Conclusion: Hannibal is very accepting of himself, so he doesn’t undergo severe challenges on the path to acknowledging what he feels for Will. He knows what love feels like because he felt it for Mischa before, so he embraces loving Will pretty quickly, even though he doesn’t know how to best approach it at times. That’s why we get direct and explicit confirmation of his feelings several times.
Now, on to Will.
Unlike with Hannibal, there is no evidence that Will has ever experienced love before (at least love for people). We know he had a father and was lonely as a child.
E4 of S1.
*Will: We were poor. I followed my father from the boat yards in Biloxi and Greenville to lake boats on Erie.*
*Hannibal: Always the new boy at school? Always the stranger?*
*Will: Always.*
His choice of words indicates that his relationship with his father wasn’t all that good (for instance, *I followed my father* instead of *My father and I had to…*). So, it doesn’t look like Will ever had meaningful connections. More than that, he says:
*Will: There’s something so foreign about family. Like an ill-fitting suit. Never connected to the concept.*
We can suggest that he doesn’t know what love is or how it feels like. From E1, we know he isolates himself because he hates himself for who he is: he understands he’s different, that there is darkness in him, but he desperately tries to subdue it and deny this fact. He’s rude, twitchy, and unhappy, but like Hannibal, he understands the extent of his loneliness only upon meeting him. That’s when he tries forming relationships with others.
Will’s relationships with Alana and Abigail are a good indication of his problems with love. He wants to be with Alana because he needs to feel normal. In 99% of cases, he remembers about her only when she comes to seek him out first. He kisses her for the first time at the moment of particular vulnerability, fearing that he’s finally losing his mind (in E8). When Hannibal calls him out on it, Will doesn’t deny it and semi-nods. He actually had to agree with it verbally according to the script.
*Will: I feel unstable.*
*Hannibal: That’s why you kissed her. A clutch for balance.*
*Will: Because I’m losing mine.*
So, it’s not that Will feels romantic love for Alana — he uses her because he desperately needs to feel like everyone else. Alana is a pretty, smart, normal woman who fits this goal perfectly. He doesn’t allow himself to be genuine with her unlike he does with Hannibal, to whom he opens up.
Will confesses to Hannibal that he loved killing Hobbs in E2, which got him down and made him panic. Hannibal supports him, and Will keeps coming back to him. He talks about everything important with Hannibal, opening parts of himself that he guards from everyone else. Will asks Hannibal to look after his dogs as early as E4 — he doesn’t have other friends, and he’s already focused on Hannibal. He buys into an idea of having a family with him and Abigail, which is amazing for Will, who has just said he could never relate to the concept of family.
When Will buys a gift for Abigail in the same E4 and freaks out, Hannibal asks him:
*Hannibal: Feeling paternal, Will?*
Will’s reaction is instant and defensive:
*Will: Aren’t you?*
Hannibal easily says “yes”, which disarms Will. This is a great contrast between them: Hannibal isn’t afraid to talk and acknowledge his feelings while Will is embarrassed of them and shies away from them. In fact, this is a repeat of their conversation in E2.
*Hannibal: You saved Abigail Hobbs' life. You also orphaned her. It comes with certain emotional obligations.*
*Will: You were there. You saved her life, too. Do you feel obligated?*
Again, Will deflects. He’s wary of emotions, especially of admitting them out loud.
Will shows a hint of romantic interest in Hannibal in E7. He brings him a bottle of wine out of blue, but unfortunately, he stumbles upon the party Hannibal is preparing. Hannibal invites him to stay, but Will says he won’t be good company. He’s shy and awkward, smiling nervously and dropping his gaze in embarrassment. Then we have this lovely line:
*Will: I’ve got a date with the Chesapeake Ripper.*
So, in S1, Will makes considerable emotional progress. He realizes he wants a family after all, and while he makes several half-hearted attempts to court Alana, he’s mostly focused on Hannibal and Abigail. He opens himself up to Hannibal, receives official guardianship over Abigail with him, arguably flirts with Hannibal (like in the wine scene above), and covers up murder to protect their family. But then Hannibal betrays him. Will doesn’t know his reasons yet, but this betrayal plunged him into darkness, bitterness, and new stage of emotional repression. It’s worth mentioning another point of Abigail here: in the end, Will doesn’t know her. He spoke to her only several times, and even fewer times were genuine. He loves the idea of her, and this idea was introduced by Hannibal, not by Abigail’s presence. It’s Hannibal who forced Will to confront his need to love and be loved.  
In S2, Will is incredibly conflicted. He acknowledges to Hannibal that he hurt him, tries to kill him via Matthew, but when he recognizes that Hannibal wants him as a friend (as spoken in E7), his attitude changes. Will doesn’t plan to forgive him, he’s still angry at Hannibal for killing Abigail (which is his biggest conflict, as evident from his talks with Hannibal himself and Freddie), but now, he can’t bring himself to harm or betray Hannibal.
He gets his first chance in E7, after being released from prison. He threatens Hannibal with a gun and has a perfect chance to make him pay, but he doesn’t. Instead, he conspires with Jack and decides to cultivate co-dependency, creating an environment where only he “and the fish exist” (E8). What does Will do to start? He makes himself physically attractive, grooming and dressing prettily. It’s a seduction on all levels, and Will plans to use emotions to hurt Hannibal back. At the same time, Will admits to being confused over what he feels for Hannibal.
E8 of S2.
*Will: I envy you your hate. Makes it much easier when you know how to feel.*
E9 of S2 (talking about trying to kill Hannibal with Margot).
*Margot: Did he have it coming?*
*Will: What do you think?*
*Margot: I can't say that I know.*
*Will: Neither can I.*
He spends the rest of the season lying to both Hannibal and Jack, unsure whose side to choose, too lost in his own feelings to make sense of them. At the same time, he has a dream where Hannibal calls him beloved in E9. It shows that Will contemplates the idea of love in relation to Hannibal. In E10, Will tries to fantasize about Alana as he’s having sex with Margot. However, he sees the image of Wendigo near the fireplace, Wendigo who he’s used to associating with Hannibal. Two interesting things (copied from my other meta): first, Will actually sees Hannibal’s room and consequently, he sees himself in it (or he sees their rooms united). Second, he sees the Wendigo near Hannibal’s fireplace. Fireplace has many meanings, including passion, sexuality, home, family, and resurrection. It emphasizes the sexual and romantic subtext of this uniquely shot scene, where people destined to be together have sex with the wrong partners. Will’s vision begins to contract, focusing on Wendigo: he is having an orgasm at this very moment, imagining the Wendigo’s face very close, approaching him. Still through the misty eyes, he tries to focus on Alana again, but his gaze moves up to Wendigo above her, as if he can’t help himself. He and Hannibal reach orgasm first, with Alana and Margot following them. So, Will dragged Hannibal into his sex fantasy. It’s both symbolic and physical: he tried to imagine Alana just like he tried to have a relationship with her before, in S1, out of his desire to be normal. But his attention is inevitably drawn to Hannibal, who’s his “real deal”.
Based on this scene, it’s underlined once again how Will struggles with emotions. Even in the safety of his own mind, in his own fantasy, he tries to think of Alana but still ends up with Hannibal. Will is always fighting himself and who he is. He refuses to accept his darkness just as he refuses to admit he loves Hannibal. It’s the essence of who he is, denial is his second name.
Among the important moments, there are Will’s words to Hannibal:
*Will: You are right. We are just alike. You are as alone as I am. And we are both alone without each other.*
So, Will accepts the bond with Hannibal, and at this stage, he even has the courage to voice some of his emotional thoughts. His progress is slow, but it’s there.
In E11, Will has a nightmare. He sees a burning corpse of ‘Freddie’ in a wheelchair, a symbol of his betrayal of Hannibal, and he hears his own increasing screaming. It’s easy to interpret, knowing the context: Will feels guilty for lying to Hannibal.
When Margot loses her child, Will feels renewed anger at Hannibal. He fantasizes about killing him and gets to realize his fantasy with Mason’s help in E12. But at the last moment, Will changes his mind and chooses Hannibal. He does the same thing in E13 by calling him. When he sees him, he doesn’t even try to point a gun at him: he asks why he didn’t leave as he was supposed to, and he even leans forward to accept the knife, accept the punishment for betrayal.
So, Will chooses Hannibal over Abigail, for whom he wanted justice; over his and Margot’s child, for whom he wanted revenge; over Jack and Alana, who were his only semblance of friends; over his own confusion and desire to be normal. For someone as emotionally stunted as Will, it’s huge. It proves that he loves Hannibal and is willing to compromise all other relationships he has formed as well his own beliefs for him (while Will is dark, he tries to fight it because he doesn’t think people like them are normal). Is it romantic? Will’s dream with the word “beloved” and his sex fantasy, as well as his acceptance of the idea that he and Hannibal were Abigail’s fathers (which makes them partners) imply that yes, romantic feeling is a part of it.
Hannibal’s romantic feelings became explicit in S3, and so did Will’s. But since Hannibal is more open and self-accepting, his were discussed out loud while Will’s were mostly portrayed silently, implied, and alluded to.
Will builds a boat to sail and find Hannibal, which is pretty romantic by itself. He spends his time in Hannibal’s house, in the kitchen where their bloody break-up happened, imagining Abigail near him. When Alana comes to find him, he asks her to leave. He’s cold and indifferent toward her — she’s not what he wants, and he’s not interested in even friendship with her. All he wants is to mourn his lost family with Hannibal and Abigail. Again, Hannibal is Will’s priority.
Will imagines his perfect world as the one where he and Hannibal killed Jack together. This scene is intercut with his Mizumono memories, namely, with Hannibal's face that emerges every time he moves yet another part of the engine. This is a vivid demonstration of Will trying to repair what is now broken. When Jack asks him why he called him, Will is indifferent and genuine:
*Will: I wasn't decided when I called him. I just called him. I deliberated while the phone rang. I decided when I heard his voice … I told him to leave. I wanted him to run … Because he was my friend. And because I wanted to run away with him.*
That’s a big admission for Will. This is the first time he openly acknowledges Hannibal as his friend in front of another person. Chilton calls Will and Hannibal’s interactions a “flirtation” in this episode, which once again points us in the romantic direction.
The entire E2 of S3 is dedicated to Will’s love for Hannibal, where he argues about it with himself in the form of imaginary Abigail. This is another proof of Will’s problem with emotions in general and emotions for Hannibal in particular. He can’t just think to himself as normal people do — no, he can’t admit how much he loves Hannibal this. Instead, he imagines Abigail and talks to himself through her to make it easier. He berates himself for lying.
*Will/Abigail: We were all supposed to leave together. He made a place for us. Why did you lie to him? He gave you a chance to take it all back, and you just kept lying.*
Will is reverent about Hannibal; he keeps talking about him over and over again.
*Will: This isn't Hannibal, it's just where he begins. Beyond this, far and complex, light and dark, is the vast structure of his mind. A thousand rooms, miles of corridors. Everything he remembers, wonderfully and fearfully reconstructed.*
Will goes as far as lies at the place where Hannibal’s Valentine heart for him was, reconstructing this image and trying to feel close to him. The heart comes to life the moment Will touches it, which is romantic. Will says:
*Will: A valentine written on a broken man … I do feel closer to Hannibal here. God only knows where I would be without him … He left us his broken heart … He misses us.*
He looks on the verge of tears, so Hannibal’s gift touched him. Will is overcome by emotions. At this very moment, his more frightened side suggests that Hannibal is also playing with him.
*Will: Hannibal follows several trains of thought at once without distraction from any, and one of the trains is always for his own amusement.*
We know it’s not the case, especially here, but Will has trust issues and a low self-esteem. He’s worried that Hannibal’s feelings for him aren’t as strong as he thinks they are, which is why he’s not sure how to react himself. He asks himself, *“You still want to go with him?”* and replies, *“Yes.” He wonders about what life they’d have if they left.
*Will: What if no one died? What if we all left together? Like we were supposed to. After he served the lamb. Where would we have gone? … In some other world.*
Pazzi comes and tells Will that he hopes they’ll catch Hannibal together.
*Will: What makes you think I want to catch him?*
Later, Pazzi says:
*Pazzi: He let you know him. He sent you his heart.*
E2 ends with Will scaring Pazzi and telling him, *“You don’t know whose side I’m on.* Then he tells Hannibal he forgives him, which is also a huge step in his direction.
This entire episode proves that yes, Will loves Hannibal. Considering how he isn’t awkward from receiving a Valentine or hearing that Hannibal gave him his heart, Will shares the romantic aspect of Hannibal’s feelings for him. He regrets not running away with him and their daughter, he places himself on the floor where the heart was to feel closer to him — this is such a rich romantic subtext that it’s practically text. Especially for Will, who remains so conflicted and emotionally restrained all the time.
Will’s attitude changes after seeing Chiyoh. He becomes more bitter. Considering how dark he is in these scenes and how he constantly compares himself and Chiyoh, he likely sees her as someone Hannibal was supposed to love but easily abandoned. It makes Will draw the parallels between them, and he starts to doubt that Hannibal loves him, that his “broken heart” has any authentic meaning. That’s where he starts thinking about killing Hannibal again. He still says:
*Will: I’ve never known myself as well as I know myself when I’m with him.*
This line also speaks volumes. Hannibal gave Will a precious gift of understanding himself; he showed that he could accept him, and Will is drawn to it. Will admits the depth of their connection to yet another person. Then he makes a firefly from Chiyoh’s prisoner, a tribute that is clearly done with Hannibal in his mind, considering the style and the central topic.
Chiyoh sees right through Will’s emotional constipation. She implies that he should “kiss” Hannibal rather than keep being “violent”:
*Chiyoh: I told you, there are means of influence other than violence.*
She kisses Will then, thus showing him what others means exist. He doesn’t get it, though, since he responds to her kiss despite not feeling anything for her, and she pushes him off the train, likely admitting he’s a hopeless case.
Meeting Jack, Will tells him that a part of him will always want to leave with Hannibal. This is yet another declaration from him. Will isn’t scared of the consequences — he speaks of his feelings openly now. It’s a great development of his character.
But the feeling of doubt about Hannibal likely resurfaces further after Will sees that Hannibal replaced him and Abigail with Bedelia in E6 (hence his hatred for her since that moment). He mocks her alibi and then leaves to reunite with Hannibal. The following moment was deleted, but it still discloses some of Will’s romantic feelings:
*Will: I looked up at the night sky there. Orion above the horizon and, near it, Jupiter. I wondered if you could see it, too. I wondered if our stars were the same.*
From the words that did get into the episode:
*Will: You and I have begun to blur ... We're conjoined. Curious if either of us can survive separation.*
Will doesn’t just admit the bond between them, he elevates it the level of soulmates, implying they are one and the same. It’s also a declaration of love in his language. But love doesn’t stop Will from being vindictive, hurt, and angry, so after meetings with Chiyoh and Bedelia that affected his perception, he pulls out a knife as he and Hannibal are walking together.
There is a brain-sawing disaster after this and E7, where Will looks done and tired from the madness and his constant attempts to figure Hannibal out. He does bite Cordell before looking at Hannibal, seeking his approval; he uses “we” pronouns when speaking about Hannibal with Alana. One example:
*Will: You helped Mason Verger find us.*
So, he still sees himself and Hannibal as a team, but he’s still tired and bitter, so after everything is over, he hurts Hannibal by saying he doesn’t share his appetite and by attacking him emotionally.
*Will: I miss my dogs. I'm not going to miss you. I'm not going to find you. I'm not going to look for you. I don't want to know where you are or what you do. I don't want to think about you anymore.*
This is all personal and emotional. It sounds like a break-up, which is exactly how Bryan Fuller and others referred to it. When Hannibal leaves and Jacks arrives, Will puts on his glasses, an indication that he’s hiding again.
Fast-forward 3 years. Will is married now, but from the very start, we see that this marriage isn’t all people usually expect it to be. The first scene shows the family apart. Molly and Walter have gone fishing, which is something Will loves. He had dreams about teaching Abigail how to fish, but he doesn’t go to do that with his family, preferring to stay alone instead. It’s the first hint that his heart isn’t in this relationship, that he’s too hung up on the past to move forward and make new happy memories.
Jack came to drag him to Dragon’s case, and Will makes it look like he’s reluctant. At the same time, he doesn’t send Jack away, even though we know from the past that he has no qualms being frank when he wants to. More than that, he asks him not to show pics to Molly, but when they have dinner, Will deliberately leaves the house with Walter, leaving Jack and Molly together. At night, when Molly’s asleep, he crawls out of bed and goes to read Hannibal’s letter. He doesn’t tell the truth to Molly about himself and his dark urges, about everything he has done – Molly clearly has no idea who he truly is, considering how she jokes about his ‘criminal mind’ in later episodes and how Will immediately closes himself off from her. He never initiates physical touches with her; he doesn’t return her “I love you”, which is an even bigger indication of his lack of commitment. Will is emotionally stiff with Molly for the most part, and the only times he laughs with her or shows any emotion is when they are talking about superficial stuff in the former case and when he’s furious after Francis’ attack in the latter one. Other than that, there is no closeness or honesty.
Another point of Will’s inability to express or even give his love to someone is in his scene with Walter in E11. This child, his step-son, has just been attacked by a serial killer with his mother. His mother was hurt and they barely escaped. Will doesn’t hug him or offer him paternal emotional comfort; he’s very awkward. All he says is, “You're both safe here,” which is something an officer might say but not a father. Will was much more emotional in his fantasies about Abigail.
This is what Will says about Walter’s reaction to Jack:
*Will: He read about me in a Freddie Lounds article. I had to justify myself to an eleven year old.*
He’s resentful and not emotional. He doesn’t say, “I had to justify myself to my son!” – he distances himself from him. Will is cold. He has expressed his feelings for Hannibal at this point in rather poetic ways, but he can’t be bothered to do this for his wife and his son.
He treats Hannibal in a very reserved fashion too, in comparison to how he acted 3 years ago. However: first, there is the fact that he came to visit him in the first place. Will didn’t need his help, we saw very clearly how he managed to easily reconstruct the crime scene the night before. It proved that his mindset is in a good shape, so he didn’t need Hannibal’s assistance. But it’s Hannibal he requested to see right away.
Will distances himself from him by calling him “Doctor Lecter” and insisting that he’s more comfortable the less personal they are. His eyes glisten, though, and he can’t look away from Hannibal. The impersonal approach doesn’t last very long, too, and soon, they are talking like they always did. Hannibal accuses Will of marrying for false reasons.
*Hannibal: How did you choose yours? Readymade wife and child to serve your needs. A stepson or daughter. A stepson absolves you of any biological blame. You know better than to breed. Can't pass on those terrible traits you fear the most.*
Will doesn’t bother to deny it, though any man would have been offended, particularly if he truly loved his family. In Will’s case, from the experience and all the precedents, silence = agreement.
In E10, Will seeks Bedelia out. He acts catty and jealous, targeting her personal connection with Hannibal.
*Will: You didn't lose yourself, Bedelia, you just crawled so far up his ass you couldn't be bothered.* - personal, targeted against Bedelia's attachment to Hannibal.
*Will: You hitched your star to a man commonly known as a monster. You're the Bride of Frankenstein.* - personal, attack with romantic connotation. Bedelia catches up on it and mocks him:
*Bedelia: We've both been his bride. Have you been to see him?*
*Will: Yes.*
*Bedelia: Haven't learned anything, have you? Or did you just miss him that much?*
*Will: Have you been to see him?* - personal again. Will wants to know if Bedelia is keeping contact with Hannibal.
*Bedelia: I've seen enough of him. I was with him behind the veil. You were always on the other side.*
*Will: Something we should talk about.* - again, personal. It's all personal, which is why Bryan and Hugh called them Hannibal's jealous bitchy exes. Will is palpably jealous and he shows his resentment to Bedelia openly.
Later, we have some more romantic references.
*Bedelia: My relationship with Hannibal is not as passionate as yours. You are here visiting old flame. Is your wife aware of how intimately you and Hannibal know each other? … Your experience of Hannibal’s attention is so profoundly harmful yet so irresistible, it undermines your ability to think rationally.*
So, there is romantic text, parallels between Hannibal and Will’s wife, and Will doesn’t deny any of this again. He keeps coming to Bedelia because she’s the only person he can talk about Hannibal to without being watched.
After Hannibal sends Francis after Molly and Walter, Will spends about a minute being angry with him. Then he accuses Hannibal of staging a competition between him and Francis. It is startling: Will spent months, years mourning the loss of Abigail who he didn’t even really know personally, yet he forgets the gravity of what happened to his wife and won very quickly. He leaves Molly and Walter and tells Bedelia that they are finished. One traumatic event, and Will left. It coincides with something very important that happened here: after this, Will finally figures out Hannibal is truly in love with him. So he goes to Bedelia to discuss it with her.
*Will: Is Hannibal in love with me?*
*Bedelia: Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you, and find nourishment at the very sight of you? Yes. But do you ache for him?*
Will is predictably silent. Obviously, if the answer was no, he would have said no. But he struggles because like we established, he has issues with expressing emotions. He only managed to start referring to Hannibal as his friend openly in this season, opening up about some of his feelings, but he’s not ready to go this far. It would be absolutely out of character for Will to say, “Yes, you know, I’m in love with him! Thanks for helping me see it.” Every confession Will makes is preceded by struggles and heartbreak. But he’s going to reply to Bedelia’s question, only not explicitly-verbally.
Will sets up Chilton and then comes to allegedly say good-bye to Hannibal. He lies several times in their conversation (about Chilton and Molly with Walter), so all his words are automatically suspicious. Regardless, he destroys Hannibal emotionally and walks away. Personally, I believe he was already planning to break him out, so he was playing it up for cameras and also taking a chance to hurt Hannibal for everything again. But whatever his plan was, what happens next is that Will conspires with Francis against Jack, Alana, and the FBI. They agree to break Hannibal out together. Will lies to Jack and then gets to ask Hannibal for help. He’s being flirty and manipulative in this scene.
*Will: I need you, Hannibal … You're our best shot, Hannibal. Please.*
He’s smirking, he leans close to Hannibal, he sends him a flirty look from under his eyelashes. Will is thoroughly enjoying himself, and he does it best when he has some excuse to hide behind.
Later, he lies to Jack and Alana again, leaks info to Francis (who nearly killed his wife and son), and gets many officers killed by proxy. He tells Bedelia the truth that he doesn’t “intend Hannibal to be caught a second time.” He also implies that he’s going to let him go free, which is why Bedelia should pack her bags.
*Bedelia: Can't live with him. Can't live without him. Is that what this is?*
This time, Will agrees, although in his way.
*Will: I guess this is my Becoming.*
For Will, Becoming was always connected to his feelings for Hannibal because accepting himself and his darkness meant being free to escape with Hannibal.
*Bedelia: You found religion. Nothing more dangerous than that.*
In E3, it was stated that love is a God (you can find more here https://www.reddit.com/r/HannibalTV/comments/7w54dg/lovegodreligion_s3_parallels/), so it’s possible to say that religion = love in this context. It certainly makes sense. Will is accepting himself and his emotions, and the trigger was establishing for sure that Hannibal is in love with him.
Will and Hannibal drive to the cliff house. When Hannibal asks Will if he intends to save himself by killing them both (Hannibal and Francis), Will replies:
*Will: I don't know if I can save myself. And maybe that's just fine.*
This is the first time he confesses that he might be incapable of killing Hannibal. Predictably, when Francis comes, Will can’t handle seeing Hannibal killed, so he reaches for his gun.
Will and Hannibal work as a unit and protect each other. Hannibal is shot, nearly strangled, thrown onto the ground, and he is still weakly holding on Francis' leg to prevent him from going after Will, even though it leaves him in an open and vulnerable position — Francis does kick him in the face with his other leg. There is fierce determination on Will's face as he stands up despite the pain and runs to save Hannibal. They act in synch, consummating their relationship.
Then, Will admires how blood looks on his hand and repeats Hannibal’s words:
*Will: It really does look black in the moonlight.*
He remembers the words Hannibal said to him weeks ago in one of their endless interactions. A bit earlier, he perfectly recalled the words Hannibal told him *years* ago, back in the middle of S2.
*Will: I understand that “blood and breath are only elements undergoing change to fuel your Radiance." Hannibal said those words. To me.*
So, Will remembers everything Hannibal told him. He stores these memories. It’s a small but still important proof how important Hannibal is for him.
At the cliff, Will finally accepts the truth.
*Hannibal: See. This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.*
We know what Hannibal wanted: a Murder Husband. What does Will say to this?
*Will: It’s beautiful.*
This is a loud “yes” to Bedelia’s question about his feelings. Will acknowledges, accepts, and admires them. He doesn’t feel awkward, as he would if he knew Hannibal is in love with him but didn’t feel the same. No, he reaches forward to embrace him, and such physical contact from Will is mind-blowing because he almost never does it. He clings to Hannibal, puts his head on his shoulder, touches him as if he wants to melt with him. Then he gives the fate a chance to stop both of them or to set them free. They fall into the ocean under the Love Crime song, another romantic element.
Water symbolizes reborn, and post-credits scene indicates that Will and Hannibal have paid a visit to Bedelia and are in the process of eating her while she’s hiding the fork to stab one of them as he approaches. The deleted epilogue to the series shows that they are in perfect harmony now.
**Conclusion**: Will has passed through a long, painful journey. He went from hiding from emotions and deflecting to not denying and carefully acknowledging them. We don’t hear words “love” or “in love” from him in relation to Hannibal because Will is not that kind of person. He doesn’t use these words freely, and for him, every small emotional step is a struggle. He tried to deceive himself and other numerous times; he tied to deny the truth and manipulate his own mind, but with each season, his feelings for Hannibal became more and more explicit. Will reaching out for physical contact, Will saying “It’s beautiful” are his way of saying, “I ached for you. I love you.”
This is a story of mutual love and obsession, about soulmates, about unique type of connection that few people share. It’s not about Hannibal falling in love and Will not feeling the same. Their feelings are equally strong, but they express them differently, particularly as Will’s are tied to the acceptance of his own darkness.
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freddie-weaselbee · 3 years
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E3: The One with the Wedding//F.W.
Series Summary: FRIENDS but with Harry Potter characters after Hogwarts graduation, trying to figure out their lives and relationships. Non Voldy AU. 
Pairing(s): Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader, Ron x Lavender, Romione
Warnings: Language, mentions of food, drinking (legal), mentions of sex, nudity
Summary: As Hermione hustles to interrupt Ron and Lavender’s wedding in New York City, Fred and Y/N have a heart to heart which quickly turns into something much more. 
Word Count: 4.8k
A/N: This may or may not be 9 days late (my b) but it’s the 5th and final fic in Abby’s Week of Weasley !! The FRIENDS series will continue!
Message me to join the FRIENDS taglist or my general taglist
-Episode 1-  -Episode 2-
~Abby’s Week of Weasley Masterlist~  ~Masterlist~
May 2004
Previously on FRIENDS
“Hey Luna?” Hermione called from her bedroom. She and her friend had spent the day discussing her feelings for Ron and trying their best to help her get over him. Apparently recounting the horrors of their relationship was not helping in the slightest. 
“Yeah,” Luna called back from the kitchen. 
“Do you remember where the pygmy puff food is?” Her muffled voice sounded rushed and anxious, even more so than Hermione usually was. 
“Yeah, it’s under the front counter of Fred and George’s shop. Why?”
Luna turned her head to see Hermione come flying into the room dragging a packed suitcase behind her. “Because I’m going to New York.”
The pregnant girl nearly had a heart attack at Hermione’s declaration. “What? What do you mean you’re going to New York?”
Hermione grabbed a few more essentials from around the apartment, rushing in order to catch the next flight. “Yeah, I have to tell Ronald that I love him. Now Luna, you take care, you don’t have those babies until I get back.”
“I--but what about all of the finding his flaws and burning his picture rituals we’ve been doing?” Luna asked, straining to stand up and chase after her friend. 
Hermione easily moved past the slow-moving girl, zipping up her bag and heading to the door. “Yeah, that didn’t work. I know he loves Lavender but I have to tell him how I feel! He deserves to have all of the information and then he can make an informed decision.”
Phoebe shook her head and continued to hobble around the room. “No, Hermione, it’s too late, you missed your chance! I’m sorry, I know this must be really hard, it’s over.”
The other girl paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “Y’know what? No. It’s not over until someone says ‘I do.’” And with that she took off out of the apartment and to the streets of Diagon Alley, on her way to another country to declare her love for Ron Weasley. 
------------------------------
“Would you look at this place,” George sighed in awe, staring around at the beautifully decorated dinner hall. There were chandeliers hanging everywhere and everyone was dressed in clothes that looked like they cost more than everything the Weasleys owned combined. Fred and George twisted uncomfortably in their mediocre suits. Sure, they were successful businessmen with some money to spare, but they could never compete with this. 
“Holy shit,” you said, coming up behind the twins. They turned around, startled to see you suddenly appear. Fred took a second to look you up and down, mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. 
“Holy shit is right, Y/N,” he said. “You look bloody amazing!” You glanced down at your outfit, a slim fitting long dress that hugged your form perfectly. You smiled and did a little twirl for the boys who whooped and whistled at you. 
“While I appreciate the compliment,” you said, “I was talking about the hall. How rich is Lavender’s family anyway?”
Fred shrugged. “Apparently loaded. I mean, it’s not like our family could ever compete with this. How Ron was able to pull someone this high up is a mystery to me.”
He and George picked at their clothes self consciously, trying to straighten their ties and smooth out their suits. 
“Oh come now,” you said, “you two are perfectly successful. Who cares if the Browns could afford to buy all of London if they wanted to? Let’s just enjoy the night and eat all of the expensive food they bought!”
“Y/N, you’re my dream girl,” Fred said, putting his arm around your waist. “If you ever want to marry a Weasley, I’d be happy to oblige.”
“I appreciate the offer, Weasley, but I do think George and I would be a couple to be reckoned with.”
“Ha! Suck it Fred, I get Y/N and you’re stuck alone,” George said, kissing your cheek and stealing you away from his brother. 
Fred was about to reply when a loud voice echoed through the room and everyone turned to see a short red haired woman come hurtling through the door. 
“Mum!” cried Ron from across the room. He grabbed Lavender’s hand and they made their way over where you and the twins were standing, now accompanied by the latest arrivals, Molly and Arthur Weasley. 
“Sweetheart!” Molly squealed, pulling him into a tight hug. “Oh sorry we’re late, Muggle transportation is such a hassle, especially in this country. Your father spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to call a taxi and he wouldn’t stop asking the driver everything you could ask!”
“I still never got an answer to my rubber duck question,” Arthur grumbled before a warm smile appeared on his face. “Hello, Lavender, it’s lovely to see you again.”
“You as well!” she said before hugging Arthur and then Molly. “Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, here come my parents.”
Sure enough, two very wealthy looking people were walking over to join their daughter and future son in law. 
“Hello, hello,” said Lavender’s father, shaking the hands of the Weasleys. “How do you do? Very nice to meet all of you.” He glanced over at his wife. “Darling, it’s the Weasleys.”
“Sorry, what?,” she said, finally looking up at the family, a hint of distaste in her gaze. “Oh, lovely to meet you.” Her snobby look never faltered, making the rest of the Weasley clan even more uncomfortable. 
Arthur cleared his throat. “It’s great to meet you both. I’m sorry we couldn’t help pay for much of the wedding, but we hope that we can at least cover the cost of dinner tonight.”
“Yes of course,” said Molly. “We know how expensive weddings can be, besides this may be the last time I watch one of my sons get married.” 
Fred and George rolled their eyes at their mother, who wouldn’t stop pestering them to settle down since Bill, Percy, and now Ron were all either married or close to it. 
“We’ve heard the complaints, mum,” said Fred. 
“But hey, at least we’re saving you money!” George said. 
“And not giving me grandchildren,” she mumbled, but loud enough for everyone to hear. 
You decided to jump in and defend your friends. “At least you’ve still got other kids who are starting their own families, Molly. And besides, do you really want to have these two bring little Fred’s and George’s into the world?”
Molly smiled and put her hand on your shoulder. “I suppose you’re right dear. They were, and still are, quite a handful.”
“Hey!” they both shouted, clearly offended.
You giggled and wandered off with Molly, telling her the latest stories of the many troubles the twins had gotten into. 
------------------------------
Hermione, never one for athletics, was suddenly an Olympic sprinter, flying down the halls of the London airport. She reached the ticket counter, cutting off some very angry travelers, and threw her bags onto the scale. 
After a few long seconds of leaning over and catching her breath, she finally muttered a “hi” to the ticket agent. 
“Hello,” she replied cheerfully. 
“Oh, umm, hello!” Hermione replied, mirroring the chipperness of the agent. “When is your next flight to New York City?”
“There’s one leaving in 30 minutes,” she replied. 
“Oh, thank Godric,” she muttered, earning herself a few odd looks from passersby at her unique choice of language. 
The woman behind the counter typed a few things into her computer. “The last minute fare on this ticket is twenty seven hundred dollars.”
Hermione reached around in her purse, fumbling with gold and silver coins. “How about galleons?” she asked. 
“I’m sorry?”
“Nevermind,” Hermione sighed, sprinting off again to apparate to Diagon Alley and exchange her galleons for Muggle money. There was no way she was going to miss this flight. 
------------------------------
“I’d like to make a toast!” Fred announced, standing up from his table with a wine glass in hand. “Ron and Lavender. Of course, my big toast will be tomorrow at the wedding, so this is kind of my little toast or Melba toast, if you will.”
He was only met with silence and you and George very visibly facepalmed. 
“Okay…” he continued hesitantly. “I’ve known Ron for a long time. His whole life, actually. See I got the first two years of my life without my baby brother, but nope he’s always had me, and I know he’s so incredibly grateful for that.”
When once again there was no reaction, Fred decided it was time to up the performance. 
“I remember when Ron was going out with his first girlfriend. And I thought things were going to work out for him. Until the day he over inflated her!” Fred winked at his little brother, whose face was redder than his hair. For the third time in the last minute Fred did not get anywhere close to the reaction he had expected. “Oh dear Godric…”
“How about I take over for you, Freddie.” George said, taking the microphone from his slightly older brother. “Everyone knows I am the more charming twin, isn’t that right?” He was met with some soft giggles and a whoop from one of the bridesmaids sitting a few tables away. Fred begrudgingly plopped down into his seat, leaning his head on your shoulder as he pouted for the rest of the dinner. 
As everyone finished their speeches, you giving one about your friendship with Ron that even brought Molly to tears, you found yourself sprawled out on a fancy couch still consoling Fred. 
“I was laughing,” you said while patting him on the knee. 
“Out loud?” he asked, crossing his arms and shoving your hand away. 
You looked down at your wine glass guiltily. “Well I didn’t want everyone to think I was stupid.” Fred groaned and buried his face in his hands, ruffling his hair in frustration that you knew went deeper than a few poor jokes. “Hey, how are you doing?”
He looked up at you questioningly, cocking his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t try to hide it from me, Freddie, I can tell when something’s bothering you, and I know it’s not just that your jokes sucked arse.”
“No, the audience sucked arse, I’m fucking hilarious.” You kicked him lightly, urging him to tell you. With a long sigh Fred sat up and turned to face you, his big brown eyes void of their usual cheerful gleam. “Mum’s driving me crazy! I mean, I get it, she wants me to get married and settle down and have kids, but she has 6 other children, two of them with kids of their own already! I don’t know, this whole wedding thing has just put a lot more pressure on me, that’s all.”
You tenderly rubbed his shoulder, feeling him relax slightly at your touch. “Don’t listen to her, ok? Marriage isn’t for everyone. Same with kids. You’re independent and carefree, and you shouldn’t feel like you have to settle down if you don’t want to.”
He mumbled something under his breath, too quiet for you to hear. “What?” 
“I said…” he began slowly, “I said that it’s not that. It’s the complete opposite actually.”
Fred glanced across the room at his youngest brother holding hands with his fiancée and whispering something into her ear. “It’s just...he’s my younger brother. He’s Ron, for Merlin’s sake! How did Ron get a girl before me?”
“Aww, is Freddie jealous of his little brother?” you teased, knocking your shoulder into his. When he didn’t answer you tried to sober up, not used to seeing this side of Fred. 
“I’m 26, Y/N,” he cried out. “And I know that’s not old or anything, but I just figured I’d have my life together by now. Maybe a long term girlfriend, or even--” he paused for a moment, continuing to watch Ron and Lavender. “--or maybe it would’ve been me walking down the aisle with someone I love.”
“Come here, love,” you cooed as you pulled Fred into your chest. “You know there’s no rush. Sure Ron’s getting married, but I think he found himself the only person in the world who’d ever date him and he had to tie her down quick.”
Fred shuddered into your chest with a small laugh, bringing his hands up to aimlessly play with your hair. “Yeah,” he said, “and we all know that the girls are lined up just waiting for me. I guess I’ve got time.”
“Exactly. And plenty of it.” Fred continued to play with your hair as you did the same with his, occasionally scratching at his scalp and listening to the quiet whimpers he would let out. 
He shifted so he was looking up at you, mere inches away from your face. “Y’know, you’ve been acting strange lately too. What’s bugging you?”
“It’s nothing Freddie, I--”
“Uh uh.” He shook his head. “I poured my heart and soul out to you, the least you could do is do the same to me.”
Sighing, you checked around you to make sure no one would be able to overhear. “Promise you won’t tell Ron? I don’t want it to make anything weird in our relationship.”
Fred snapped his head between you and his younger brother, eyes growing wide as he jumped to the nearest possible answer. “You’re bloody in love with him, aren’t you?!”
“What?” you asked, laughing at the ridiculous accusation. “No! Oh, no no no, not at all! I’ve known him since we were 11, and trust me, watching young Ronnie throw up slugs will turn anyone off of him.”
Fred smiled down at you and breathed a sigh of relief, glad that you weren’t getting your heart broken by being at the wedding. “So what is it then? Promise I won’t tell, swear on George’s life.”
You rolled your eyes but snuggled up next to him, feeling much more comfortable with your best friend as close as possible. “Fine. You’re not the only one having to deal with parent problems. Like I said I’ve been friends with Ron since my family first found out I was a witch. My parents, being Muggles, immediately fell in love with your family, and Ron as well whenever he would come to visit over the summer. My mum has this whacked out idea that it should be me that’s marrying him tonight. She’s so disappointed, told me I’m passing up the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But he’s just Ron! I could never see him like that. He’s like a brother to me.”
Fred sat silently throughout your whole rant, rubbing small circles over your knuckles with his thumb. When it seemed you had finally finished, Fred had no idea what to say. He had never been the comforting sort and had always managed to make it worse. As he did this time as well. 
“Do you see me like that too?”
You looked at him with scrunched eyebrows, trying to understand how he decided on that as a response. 
“As a brother, I mean.” He stuttered through his words. “Am I just another brother to you?”
“‘Course you are, Freddie. I love you like family.” He gazed at you lovingly, wondering what he had done to have a friend like you in his life. 
“How about this then?” he asked. “How about, since your mom wants you to marry a Weasley, if by the time we’re both 40 and still single, why don’t we marry each other?”
He looked so sweet offering this to you, so kind and thoughtful. You knew that the deal would benefit him as well, but to you it felt like he was doing this only for you. And you knew he would do anything for you. 
“I appreciate the offer, but I actually only promised George the same thing,” you said, making Fred’s jaw drop and a scowl appear on his face. 
“George! My own bloody twin? How could you, Y/N? I revoke my proposal.”
“I’m practically in tears,” you said stoically. Deciding it was time to go out and mingle instead of throwing yourselves a pity party, you grabbed Fred’s hand and made your way over to find George, only to be stopped by a very obviously drunk man. 
He put a hand on your shoulder which made both you and Fred tense up. “I just want to say,” he said through slurred speech, “that Ron is a wonderful young man.”
Fred eased his grip on your hand a little bit, sensing that this man wasn’t going to do anything to you. You gave him a thankful look before turning your attention back to the hammered American. “Well thanks, we like him.”
The man stepped closer to examine your face, his booze breath going straight up your nose. It took all you had not to throw up because of it. 
“My God!” he exclaimed, “you two must’ve been teenagers when you had him!” 
You and Fred both stared straight ahead, insecurities and doubts increasing tenfold at the misunderstanding. You gritted your teeth and held back from slapping the man, who luckily made his way to another table to insult someone else. 
Fred turned you to face him and gripped your shoulders tight, leaning down so he was eye to eye with you. “The guy was hammered, okay? There’s no way that you look like Ron’s mum. Nor I his dad for that matter!”
“Then why would he say it?” you grumbled, pushing Fred away from you and going to get rid of your sadness by gorging on some food. 
“Because he’s crazy!”
“Oh, my mother’s right. I’m never going to get married.”
“Ahh, you know what?” Fred touched the small of your back softly, turning you around to face him, his breath growing heavy in exasperation. “This is...who wouldn’t want you?”
------------------------------
The next morning, the biggest day of Ron’s life, he was racing down the hallways practically bouncing off the walls. He was getting married. After a failed relationship with Padma years before, Ron had finally been able to heal and pour his love onto someone else. Lavender Brown. 
Sure, the relationship had moved fast. Really fast, actually. They had only been together for a few months before Ron popped the question, to which a very ecstatic Lavender happily agreed. He knew it was unorthodox. He knew it was impulsive. But he didn’t care. Because someone loved him. 
He shot through the door of Fred and George’s hotel room, making Fred jolt awake with a start. 
“I’m getting married today!” he screamed. “Whoo-hoo!” 
Fred scrambled around in the bed sheets for a few seconds before scowling at his brother. “Morning, Ron.”
“I’m getting married. To-day!” he said, ignoring the annoyed looks Fred was shooting him. 
Relaxing a little Fred smiled. “Yeah you are!”
Ron jumped around and sprinted out of the room, screaming as he ran down the hall to announce his feelings to all of the other hotel guests. 
The bed in which Fred was sleeping shifted once again, but it wasn’t Fred’s doing. You shot up from under his covers, holding the blankets to cover your naked chest and panting heavily in worry. “Do you think he knew I was here?”
Fred slowly shook his head, refusing to make eye contact with you. He shifted in the bed, his leg accidentally brushing yours. You yelped and he quickly moved away, apologizing profusely. 
After a long awkward silence, Fred finally spoke. “Well, I’ve--I’ve never done that with you before.”
“Nope,” you replied, popping the ‘p’ and sinking down further into the bed, trying to disappear. 
“So, ahh, how are you?” he said slowly. “You okay?”
You nodded, clutching the sheets so hard that your knuckles were turning white. “Yep, yep. You?”
“Yes, yes, uh huh. You?” The two of you finally made eye contact, faces equal shades of vermillion. “We did you. I did you. I--umm, sorry not the time.”
It got quiet once again. You let out a long breath, wondering how you were supposed to move on from sleeping with your best friend. You wanted to blame the alcohol from last night, but neither of you were drunk. You’d only had one glass of wine, just enough to make you a little more confident than normal. Apparently that was enough to do the trick. 
“Well… I’d better get going,” you told him, starting to sit up before remembering you and Fred were both naked under the sheets. 
“Oh, yea yea, absolutely,” he stammered, gesturing for you to leave. 
“Could you not look, please?”
“I don’t want to look.” Fred covered his eyes, not even pretending to peak through them. It was uncomfortable enough as it is, he really didn’t want to be joking around at the moment. 
You slowly slid off the bed, taking a moment to let what had happened last night fully sink in. Had you ruined your friendship with Fred? Was it going to be this weird from now on? You hustled to grab your clothes from yesterday, ready to complete the infamous walk of shame. Thankfully, your room was just down the hall so any chances of you being caught were slim. All you had to do was put on a happy face for the wedding, pretend to enjoy yourself, and forget any of this ever happened. Yeah, that would work. Right?
------------------------------
Lavender’s eyes went wide as she took in the scene around her. The wedding hall was absolutely gorgeous, decorated in elegant fairy lights and flowers hanging from baskets on the ceiling. It was like she was a princess in her own personal fairy tale. 
She spun around in her wedding dress, not even caring about the weird looks some of her parents’ friends were giving her. She never cared for them, or the family status, anyway. She just wanted to live her life as her own person, taking each step with someone she loved holding her hand. 
“Hey.” Lavender was interrupted by the voice of her lover, standing bashfully a few feet away with his hands in his pockets. 
“Ron!” she chastised playfully. “You’re not supposed to see me in my wedding dress, it’s bad luck!”
“I think we’ve had all the bad luck we’re going to have.” Lavender grinned and jumped into Ron’s arms, giggling as he swung her around. He finally put her down kissing the top of her head as he did so.  “I’ll see you in a few hours, when you’re finally mine forever.”
“It can’t come soon enough.” The brunette was then distracted by Parvati calling her name, so she bid Ron goodbye and skipped over to her maid of honor. 
She didn’t notice the unexpected guest standing at the end of the aisle, listening to their entire conversation. Or maybe if she did, she chose to ignore it. After all, her and Ron’s bad luck was over. She was finally getting the one thing she wanted most in life. To be loved. 
Ron stared longingly at the girl he loved so deeply talk to her best friend, before the same unexpected guest that Lavender hadn’t noticed caught his eye. “Oh Merlin, Hermione!”
He ran up to her and kissed her on the cheek, ecstatic that his friend had decided to come to New York for his wedding. “You’re here. I can’t believe it! What happened? Why are you here?”
Hermione took a quick glance over at where Lavender was standing. She had seen everything. Heard it all. She knew how much they both cared for each other, and who was she to stand in the way of their love? She had missed her chance with Ron, but Lavender hadn’t. 
“Well I just came…” She touched his chest right near his heart, tears threatening to spill. “I just needed to tell you…” 
She couldn’t do it. It wasn’t fair to either of them. Hermione took a deep breath and put on a fake smile. “Congratulations.”
Ron grabbed her tightly and hugged her with all of his strength, tears of joy pooling in his eyes. Tears continued to grow in Hermione's, but for completely different reasons. Today was the day everything changed. Today her chance was gone. Forever. 
------------------------------
If the chapel was beautiful before, it was even more extravagant with all of the lights lit up and the band playing soft, romantic music. Any normal day you would’ve enjoyed the site, wishing that someday you could have a wedding just like this. But unfortunately the only thing on your mind was the events of the previous night. 
“Ready?” George whispered to you, getting ready to walk one of the other bridesmaids down the aisle. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn’t want to push you. You nodded your head, sending your friend a thumbs up before it was his turn to make his walk. 
“Ready?” asked a nearly identical voice to the one before. Fred stood behind you, his hair styled for once and his clothes neatly pressed and cleaned. He did clean up well, you had to admit. But, not that you would ever say this to anyone, you quite liked it better when he wasn’t wearing anything at all. 
“I’m ready.” He linked his arm in yours, guiding you slowly down the dimly lit aisle. 
Fred couldn’t help but steal a few glances at you. Your eyes were focused straight ahead, refusing to look at anything except the alter at the end of the walk. If you just made it to the end of the walk, everything would be ok. Everything would be over. But maybe Fred didn’t want everything to be over, just not yet. He sucked in a breath and decided to take a chance. 
“What he did last night,” he whispered, slowing down as to elongate the conversation as much as possible. 
“Stupid,” you muttered. 
“Totally crazy stupid!” Fred got a few rude glances at his loud volume, so he checked himself before continuing. “I...I’m coming over tonight though, right?”
Your breath hitched in your chest. You were so close to the end of the aisle. You could ignore him and ignore whatever was going on between the two of you. It could all go back to normal, just a few more steps. 
But your heart took over, and you said something that you knew future you might regret, but you didn’t care. It was worth the risk. 
“Oh yeah, definitely.”
Fred squeezed your arm as you made your last steps to the front of the chapel, separating and taking your places in the rows of wedding participants. 
You scanned the crowd, seeing Hermione fidgeting nervously in her seat. You felt awful for what she must be going through, but proud that she decided to accept it. Hermione was tough, that was for sure. She could handle anything. 
“Friends. Family. We are gathered to celebrate here today the joyous union of Ron and Lavender. May the happiness we share with them today be with them always. Now Lavender, repeat after me. I, Lavender.”
“I, Lavender,” she said with a grin so big it looked like it would jump right off her face. 
“Take thee Ron,” the minister continued. 
“Take thee Ron.”
“As my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death parts us.”
“As my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death parts us.”
She giggled and squeezed Ron’s hands tighter, mere seconds away from being united with the one she loved oh so much. 
“Now Ron,” said the minister, turning to the groom. “Repeat after me. I Ron…”
George winked at him and Fred gestured for him to speak. No matter how much they teased their little brother, they were so proud of him for finding someone to spend the rest of his life with. “I Ron…”
“Take thee, Lavender…”
“Take thee, Hermione…”
Gasps filled the room. You covered your mouth and looked out to the crowd at Hermione, who looked as if she had seen a ghost. Fred and George started whispering frantically to each other and Molly seemed as if she was about to either faint or slap Ron into another country. 
But nothing compared to Lavender’s reaction. She stood there, frozen, hands going numb in the grip of the person she thought loved her. The one who only thought of her. The one who chose her. 
“Lavender!” Ron corrected, nervously chuckling in order to hide the growing humiliation. “Lavender.”
The minister looked between the bride and groom, having no idea where to go from there. “Uhh...shall I go on?”
Hermione couldn’t take her eyes off of Ron. He had just said her name. Her name. Not Lavender’s. Hers. 
What was supposed to happen next?
Tag List: @fandomhideout @amourtentiaa
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frogboy0 · 3 years
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Amphibia season 1 rewatch + notes :)
So I just finished rewatching the ENTIRE season 1 of Amphibia and I have some notes on the episodes that stood out to me! There are some quick notes, a couple lengthy analyses and even some headcanons sprinkled in! It's like a written stew of season 1! I'll be doing a written Amphiba stew for season 2 too!!
It's kinda long so you could just skip this or hit the keep reading button and give it a read! 
S1: E2 Cane Crazy
Anne shows general disregard over other people's things
(Mimicking Hop Pop and breaking his cane, throwing all the wood carving things that Loggle made, even a coo coo clock that she even said was nice (And for him to say it took 20 years to make right after she broke it))
S1: E2 Flood, Sweat and Tears 
Anne would be the WORST during sleepovers and I LOVE IT!!! My girl is just being a tween, staying up late, playing would you rather and keeping everyone else up. I think that's ADORABLE and now I'm thinking about how sleepovers might've been back home with her, Sasha and Marcy… 
She also just stays up late in general?? She reads dumb magazines and eats CRUNCHY snacks. She is really just 13,,,
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And it looks like Sprig does it too, not as much as Anne (probably because he is younger than her) but it seems like it has to be in his terms. Before, he looked to be annoyed with it when he was trying to sleep. But, if he was awake, like in the beginning or at the end of the episode, he had no problem staying up playing would you rather!!! 
S1: E3 Hop Luck 
Anne: Old things are dumb! 
And 
Anne:* violently GRABS Sprig and shoves him against the wall* don't you DARE talk about pineapple in my pizza… Ever…
Anne: 
Sprig: 
Anne: Okay! Let's go get these ingredients! 
HHHH ANNE!!! I love this funky little child SO MUCH!!! 
Hop Pop loves these kids so much that he was willing to put aside his old, traditional family recipes in exchange for making pizza with them. My heart is gonna explode I'm-
Anne please don't make your surrogate frog brother get married just to get some pizza dough I'M BEGGING YOU-
S1: E3 Stakeout 
Hop Pop: I'm a crisp 68!
Is Hop Pop actually 68 or does he mean more of 68 going on 80 68? Either way he looks great! 
Anne has Blam Berry Blitz ("the drink that punches you in the face and doesn't stop") in her bag along with all the OTHER stuff we already saw (air pump, toe nail clipper, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs, etc)
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Anne is officially those friends that have EVERYTHING in their bag no matter what. 
I really like the relationship between Anne and Hop Pop, how they both in some way yearn for what was but in different ways (Anne wanting to go home and Hop Pop's olden ways when he was a little pollywog) but are still similar in how they try to remember. They try and try and try to keep what little family/friends they have safe and protected. They love the relationships they've formed with other people (And with each other) and would go great lengths to help and protect them!
Also I MAY be looking way too into it buuuut was Boulder-Tron (that rock dude that Polly hallucinated at the end) supposed to foreshadow Frobo??
S1: E4 Taking Charge 
Okay quick one, Anne nearly having a whole ass panic attack when her phone dies because she couldn't look at her photos or videos of home actually made me sad. This girl is only a CHILD and her entire home and everything is gone and she for real thought she couldn't ever get it back,,, 
Hop Pop: I mean, the part where the island itself is revealed to actually be…!
Sprig: No! 
Polly: Don't!
Anne: Spoilers 
I dunno why and again, I MIGHT BE LOOKING TOO DEEPLY INTO THIS, but maybe this is foreshadowing something with the land of Amphibia? That maybe there is more to this crazy land than we know? Maybe even a reason it, along with all the other universes even exists??? 
S1: E5 Breakout Star 
AHSBWJOA ONLY EPISODE 5 AND ANNE ALREADY HAS HER PHONE'S LOCK SCREEN OF THE PLANTER FAMILY I'M-
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S1: E7 Dating Season 
Anne said that ⅔ of ALL soul mates start out as "just friends" 
I'm looking at you, team Sashannarcy 
S1: E7 Anne vs. Wild 
Hop Pop's behavior at the end of the episode when Anne finally shows them the calamity box is awfully sus…
He doesn't say anything but "may I?" To inspect the box and then is like "Nope, never seen it" I just feel like he knows something and then adding onto it with the whole burying it to protect his family just sounds like… he definitely knows something, maybe not a lot but there is something he's not telling the others 
Also, why would a book that HE has have information on the Calamity box?? 
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(I fully support the Dr. P was a Planter and also possibly the pink frog who was friends with King Andrias theory)
S1: E10 Toad Tax 
At this point, Anne said that she has already been in Amphibia for over a month now. 
(And damn, Sasha's been in prison for like a month,,, yikes)
Also Hop Pop teaching Anne how to pay taxes is so adorable, she really is part of this family now guys,,,
And I love how Anne was able to win over the Wartwood people by being her natural, charming and not to mention caring self. Anne, like Marcy and Sasha, can be selfish because honestly what kid, especially a 13 year old, isn't. 
But what matters is that she always tries to make up for it. 
Yes she did join the arguably sketchy toads into getting the taxes from everyone in order to feel somewhat included in ANYTHING, but while she was doing it, she knew it was wrong. Anne knew it was wrong and tried to give back some of the stolen stuff. Hell, even at the end she risked her safety to protect people she felt didn't even LIKE her, like, Anne literally broke her arm from them because that's just how Anne is. 
S1: E10 Prison Break 
I always forget how like,,, SUPER cunning Sasha is. I mean, she was able to talk FIVE toads into quitting within a WEEK as a PRISONER. Like?? 
Grime: That's not a bird. It's a heron, a murderous predator that happens to love the taste of flesh 
Sasha: Cute 
The lines in this show I'M-
So Anne was a varsity tennis player and Sasha was a cheerleader and did Tai Chi. I still can't believe they were both jocks,,, 
(Well, Sasha I get but Anne? Sweet ol' lil baby with the lanky limbs Anne???) 
Hey um, why the FUCK does Grime have acid spit?
Sasha: *looking at photo of her, Anne, and Marcy* Hold on for a little longer, girls. I'm coming for you. And when I find you, we're gonna get home. But first, I think we're gonna have some fun with this place 
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Okay so this line right here. Now I may not be even remotely correct but this line, this last piece of dialogue spoken by Sasha right before the episode ends leads me to believe that she… doesn't take this world seriously. 
At least not yet. 
I think the 3 girls all see Amphibia differently: Anne as more of an obstacle, a wall preventing her from being home, Marcy sees it as an escape from her life with constant stimuli, and Sasha, she sees it as just really another thing to control. Everyone and their mothers know that Sasha can be a little more than controlling and we all know that she liked being lieutenant just a little too much. 
This world is interesting to Sasha, not in the interesting that Anne sees it (who is interesting in the new people and the relationships she's formed) or Marcy (who is also interested in the relationships she's formed along with the thirst for knowledge and again, the constant stimuli in an environment where she isn't stifled and allowed to flourish). 
No, Sasha sees Amphibia as interesting because it gives her something to control. In a world that is not your own, a world that you will leave eventually, who would actually FOLLOW the rules put in place there? Especially a 13 year old who is basically like a war commander who, even if she does do something wrong or breaks a rule or two, the only person who might even dare to stop her is Grime, and even then, he might just encourage it because it is season 1 and they aren't that close and he doesn't really care for Sasha at this point. 
She also is actually very logical. Everything she does in Amphibia, all the morally questionable things she does, it is always for the same reason (or at least at first), to get her and her girls home. Wanting to sacrifice and kill Hop Pop at the end of season 1? Well The toads had promised if she helped, they'll help her find Marcy and bring the 3 of them home. She cares for Anne and Marcy SO MUCH that she is willing to go great lengths to help keep them safe. 
But even though Sasha didn't really care about anyone in Amphibia besides Anne and Marcy at first, it doesn't mean she won't ever. We see countless times throughout season 2 of Sasha caring. She feels regret with her impending betrayal on Anne and Marcy, she cares enough to try and warn Anne about King Andrias' evil plans. Hell, even in the season 3 intro we see her and Grime at Wartwood and it looks like they're gonna be starting another rebellion against the king to help all the amphibians in Amphibia. 
I just really like watching Sasha's appearance and knowing what will happen in the future with her character. 
S1: E13 Trip to the Archives 
Anne: I get this place. It's like a library from my world. Zoo books and manga, here I come! 
So whenever Anne goes to the library, presumably with Sasha and Marcy, she'd go straight to books on animals and manga probably while Marcy did whatever work they needed (if Anne's dialogue in season 2 with Marcy always doing the work for their group projects was anything to go off on)
I dunno, I think that's kinda cute that Anne liked reading books on animals and probably reading all the manga that Marcy recommended. 
Maybe Anne and Sasha would sit right next to each other while Marcy worked and read fun manga together and cackle with each other while Marcy tried SO HARD to concentrate and NOT infodump to them because she's read that specific manga 20 times and HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO THAT ONE PART WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER GOES- 
S1: E15 Wally and Anne
MOSS MAN!! 
When Anne wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to grab Wally at town square, her hood is up and it's dark. The only thing we can make out of her face are…
Glowing blue eyes.
Glowing eyes that share an uncanny resemblance to the moss men.
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And Anne loves doing elaborate, silly handshakes? That's so CUTE! Too bad none of her friends liked them as much as she did :( 
When they finally reached the foggy mountain place, Anne noticed glowing blue butterflies and started to follow them, which led her right to the moss man.
WAIT ANNE ALSO DID ROCK CLIMBING BACK HOME?? FUCKING JOCK!!!
S1 E20 Reunion 
Okay I WAS about to say that there wasn't anything to say about this last episode that hasn't already been said before BUT
The last couple moments, when Anne is holding Sasha off the cliff and trying to pull her up with the Planters, there's a couple interesting shots that I would like to talk about. 
While the Planters were holding onto Anne, they say things like "Hang on, Anne! We got you no matter what!" 
And even when the stone cliff starts to chip and break, none of the frogs back off, they don't loosen their grips, they just keep holding onto Anne. 
And they will never let go. 
Because they love her. Because in only 3 months, Anne was able to get a surrogate frog family and dozens of other frog friends in Wortwood. Because Anne has this amazing support system both literally and metaphorically. Because Anne is Anne. And Sasha...
Isn't like Anne. 
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Matt Bradly himself even said that both Sasha and Anne are different from Anne, Anne is the heart, the emotional connection in their logical worlds. Anne can make so many friends so easily and Sasha… Sasha became a war genral, she lost a fight against the one person who she thought would never fight back. 
Sasha doesn't have what Anne has. She doesn't have the kind of skills to make such strong relationships, the kind where you risk your life for the other, in such a short amount of time. 
Hell, they even play a song called "Lean on Me", Anne has people to lean on and they would lean on her just the same. She found these people, made these friends, formed amazing relationships, in only THREE months. 
"Maybe you're better off without me"
And Sasha was only dragging her down. 
Sasha loves Anne, she cares for her and would do anything to protect her. That's why she let go. She didn't want to drag Anne down, to hurt her more than she already has. 
Sasha would do anything for Anne, even die. 
Over all notes: 
Season 1 is SUPER FUNNY!! The lines hit and they don't rely on toilet humor to get the audience to laugh. They use great one liners and physical humor that isn't fart or butt jokes. They do an excellent job on showing how crazy the world of Amphibia is through humor like how the animals are always eating each other. 
I really like how the characters were crafted so carefully! And the storyline!!! You could notice things that get explored in season 2 and I can't WAIT to see how many bread crumbs were left to lead up to season 3!
HOW DOES ANNE KEEP SO MANY THINGS IN HER BOOK BAG??? 
That stuff is in her SCHOOL BAG, why would she bring it to school??? So far I've got an air pump, toe nail clippers, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs and an energy drink. WHY??? I wonder if she held on to any of Sasha or Marcy's things too or ever forgot to give them back
Also again, I'M STILL IN SHOCK OF ANNE BEING A JOCK. I don't even know why I am, I knew she played sports and stuff it's just,,, she's so lanky,,, 
Her and Sasha are jock buddies and WILL shove other jocks in lockers if they ever pick on their nerd Marcy.
I also am in LOVE with Hop Pop's screams lmao
Be ready for an analysis of season 2! 
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Monster
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Dean Winchester x Reader
Words: 3497
The Deal S2 E3: Series Masterlist
Summary: Another shocking reveal rocks the Winchesters and the reader battles with what Lavina told her. Everything seems like it’s supposed to be until the darkness takes over her. 
Notes: I experimented a bit with this one, so I hope you guys like it. Also, I have officially laid out the rest of this series, so I hope you are as excited as I am! Keep letting me know what you think!
Warnings: Plenty of angst, some sexual content (I don’t know if it counts as 18+, but it’s there, so ye have been warned) Mentions of suicide and torture.
-
The rage in his eyes was unmistakable. You’d only ever seen him give that look to a monster he was ready to kill. He didn’t know how right he was. 
“Dean!” Sam boomed, putting his hand on his brother’s arm. Dean pushed him away aggressively. 
“That’s not her, Sam.” He growled, taking a step towards you. The hatred in his voice made you flinch. 
“She isn’t a shifter, Dean.” Jody tried to get in between you, but he kept getting closer. “She isn’t anything. I did every test.”
“Then you didn’t do it right, because Y/N is in hell!” He screamed, wishing that he could pull the trigger. But something inside him was stopping his hands from moving. “She’s in hell.” 
“I was in hell.” You said slowly. “For a long time. But somebody pulled me out. She brought me back.” 
“Amara.” Sam blurted, his eyes darting between you and his brother. “Dean, she brought mom back, she could have brought Y/N back, too.” 
“Your mom, I saw her.” You tried to move closer, but Dean still had his gun up. “When that woman pulled me out, I saw Mary, but only for a second. And then it was just that woman and all of this... darkness. She said her name was Amara.” 
Everyone was silent. Dean was frozen in place, weapon ready and mind reeling. Sam slowly walked towards you, finally able to get in between you and the gun. He looked down at you with tears welling in his eyes. 
“It really is you.” He smiled and pulled you into his arms, lifting you off the ground. 
“I missed you too, Sam.” You held onto him, partially to make sure he was real and partially because if you didn’t, you’d fall. You had almost forgotten how tall he was. Sam set you down, but kept his arms around you. 
“I can’t believe this.” He grinned. He turned so that he was no longer in between you and his brother, who still hadn’t moved. You could tell from the look on his face that his mind was tearing itself to pieces trying to decide what to believe. You put a hand on his cheek and he didn’t jerk away. Just the touch of his skin lit up your body like wildfire. 
“It’s really me, baby.” You smiled through your tears. “I’m here.” 
Dean didn’t realize he had lowered his arm until he was tucking his pistol into his waistband. He covered your hand with his and he just knew. He knew that it was you. 
“I…” He wanted to say so much, but he didn’t know how to say it. So instead he just crashed his lips into yours. You had been dreaming of this moment for centuries in hell and now it was really happening. He was here, holding you, kissing you, keeping the darkness of the world away. This wasn’t one of Lavina’s tricks. It was real. 
-
Jody insisted that the boys stay for dinner. Sitting there- Dean’s hand on your knee, Sam’s laughter in the air, Jody’s cooking piled on your plate- it felt like nothing had happened. You felt like you again. After a few hours of eating and catching up, the boys decided it was time to get back to the bunker. To take you home. 
Sam let you ride shotgun. Dean even let you pick the music. They still just couldn’t believe you were back. Dean was worried that you would vanish any second, his hand keeping a tight grip on yours. 
“Oh yeah! Alright! Take it easy baby. Make it last all night!” You sang, Sam and Dean being your back up singers. 
“Make it last all night.” They echoed.
“She was an American Girl.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you belted every lyric. It took your mind back to that last night before the hound came. One last road trip, singing to Drift Away, and spending the night in Dean’s arms. It came flooding back like it happened yesterday. Every memory from your life seemed clearer now, having spent years locked in the back of your mind. 
It wasn’t long before Sam had drifted off in the back seat and your eyes were growing heavier by the second. You had barely slept at all while you were staying with Jody and now the exhaustion of the past week was hitting you like a brick. Dean was quietly singing Still Rock and Roll to Me to himself when you finally fell asleep. 
You’d been avoiding sleep because you were afraid of what nightmares would attack, but there was nothing. Everything was just dark and black and cold. And somehow that was so much worse. 
-
By the time you woke up from the dark, Dean was pulling up in front of the bunker. You felt numb, like the darkness had seeped inside you and was gnawing at your bones. You entered the bunker without saying a word. Sam and Dean exchanging a look behind you. 
“What happened?” Sam whispered. Dean shrugged. 
“Nothing. She just fell asleep like you did. I imagine she’s pretty damn tired after rising from the dead.” 
“Dean, we need to make sure she’s okay. I don’t even want to think about how long she was down there and-”
“Sammy…” Dean sighed, running a hand down his face. He looked at his brother with a hope that Sam hadn’t seen in him in a long time. “Y/N’s back. She’s really back, man, and I don’t want to screw that up again. I know she was in Hell for a long time and I know that’s gonna come with its own kind of baggage, but Sammy, I can carry it. If it means getting the woman I love back, then I will take on anything.” He let himself smile a little. “But can we just be happy. At least for tonight? Can we just celebrate that she’s here? Hell, that both her and Mom are back?” 
Sam didn’t know what to say. He wanted to be happy, and he really was. He was overjoyed with the fact that you were back, but he also knew that all of those years of torment were still inside of you. They changed you and neither Dean or him could fix that. For now, he just nodded. 
“You’re right. We should celebrate.” He pat Dean on the back as the two followed you inside. 
While Dean and Sam went to the kitchen for some late night beers, you had made your way to Dean’s room; the one you once shared with him. 
It looked the same, of course. While you were sure plenty had happened while you were gone, it was comforting that the bed and four walls were just as you had left them. One of the drawers in his desk was ajar and you caught a glimpse of something silver. Your hands were shaking as you took out your old picture box. 
“He kept it.” You gasped, running your hand over the battered surface. You smiled as you looked inside, laughing when you picked up the picture of you and Sam with sharpie mustaches. It was odd to hear the sound of your own laugh again. It was so foreign and yet so natural at the same time. You tried to keep your tears from hitting the photographs as you continued to look through them. 
“Hey,” Dean leaned against the doorframe, offering a beer in one hand and beckoning you towards him with the other. You put the box back in the drawer and gladly took the drink, feeling his arm snake behind you, pulling you closer. “How are you feeling? You seemed a little off in the car.”
“Oh I’m fine…” You tried to lie, but you knew he’d see right through it. “I don’t know, Dean. Everything feels so different and so similar all at once. I’m remembering all of these wonderful, amazing things that I blocked out a long time ago because they hurt too much to think about. But even with all of that, I still feel like there is something… wrong in me.”
“You were in hell, Y/N. That’s going to stay with you forever.” Dean sighed. You pushed away in frustration. 
“But it's more than that.” You exclaimed. You grabbed his hand and placed it flat on your chest. “Don’t you feel that? Don’t you feel the dark that’s inside of me?” Dean’s eyes just stared into yours. The green eyes that were the one thing you held onto for 365 years. He shook his head. 
“I only feel you, baby.” 
You stared at each other for a long time, just taking in the other’s presence. You were the first to move forward, throwing your arms around his neck and pulling his lips to yours. This kiss was different than before. This wasn’t just a reunion kiss. This was needy and hungry and wanting. It was the kind of kiss that slowly unbuttoned your shirt and undid his belt. The kind of kiss that had you pushing him onto the bed and straddling his hips. 
“Are you sure about this?” Dean suddenly asked, his fingers hovering over the clasp of your bra. “If you aren’t ready, I don’t want to-”
“Dean.” You interrupted, lifting his shirt over his head. “I have been waiting for this for 365 years. Just kiss me.” 
“Yes ma’am.” He smirked, roughly pulling you back down to him. 
Every touch sent a fire through you and every sigh against your skin burned, but it was a beautiful kind of pain. A pain that chased away the numbing darkness that you’d felt in the car. 
Dean sat up, his arms locked around you to hold you in place. There was nothing separating you now and your skin was pressed against his, lips still moving against each other. He broke away first, letting his lips travel down your neck to your chest. You let out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as he moved his hips up into yours. 
You felt everything, from the grip of his fingers to the growing heat inside of you. If there was truly darkness in you, then Dean was the spark that would light your way through it. 
When you both felt that familiar relief, you fell onto the bed with Dean’s face still nuzzled against your neck. 
“I’m never letting you go again, sweetheart.” He whispered, kissing a soft spot of skin. You pressed your lips to his forehead. Maybe he wouldn’t have a choice.
-
“There’s no worse company than yourself when you’ve become what you have.” Lavina circled around you, joined by big clouds of darkness. “You’re going to tear them apart and then it’ll be too late.” She tsked, shaking her head. 
“She’s right, you know.” Cas emerged from the clouds, but you knew it wasn’t him. He grinned at you. “I’d cut and run while you still can. You know, before things get ugly.” A hand reached out from the dark and grabbed your ankle. It dragged you to him before you could scream. Lucifer stood over you and in his eyes, you could see it. His face. You didn’t scream this time, though. Instead you kicked his legs out from beneath him and pinned his shoulders down with your knees. 
“You can’t hurt me anymore and I’m not going to let you hurt them either.” You snapped. A blade appeared in your hand and you put it to his throat. “I’m not afraid of you anymore.” Lucifer chuckled darkly. 
“Well we both know that’s not true, Y/N… Y/N...Y/N…” As his lips repeated your name, the dark clouds closed in on you, taking away any feeling of anger or fear and leaving absolutely nothing. “Y/N… Y/N… Y/N…”
“Y/N!” Dean screamed, breaking you out of the black. 
Your eyes shot open and you were frozen in place. Dean’s eyes stared up at you with horror, his heaving chest rocking you up and down. You were sitting on top of him, knees on his shoulders and a knife at his throat. 
“No,” You gasped, watching blood drip onto the blade. 
“Sweetheart, put the knife down.” Dean said calmly. You dropped it onto the pillow and crawled off of him. 
“Oh my god, she was right.” You cried, putting a hand over your mouth to keep yourself from screaming. “I’m so sorry.” Stumbling backwards, you grabbed the first article of clothing you could find. You slipped your arms into Dean’s flannel and slowly backed away from him. Dean moved cautiously, slowly getting out of the bed and walking towards you. 
“It’s okay. Just calm down. Everything is going to be fine.” He soothed. You shook your head and kept moving towards the door, walking faster now. “Y/N wait!” He yelled after you as you took off. “Damnitt.” Dean grabbed his jeans and hurried after you. 
First you ran into the bathroom and ran cold water over your face. You shouldn’t have looked in the mirror. All you could see were your black eyes. 
Your shrieks of terror rang through the whole bunker, waking up both Sam and Mary. 
“Y/N!” Dean yelled again, spotting you sprinting down the hallway. “Wait! Baby, stop! We can talk about this! Stop running!” 
“I’m a monster. I’m a monster. I’m a monster.” You kept repeating to yourself until you finally found the place you belonged. 
You slammed the door to the dungeon behind you, sliding a shelf in front of the door so no one could get in. Dean tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. 
“What’s going on?” Sam asked, running to join his brother. “What happened to your neck?” 
“It’s Y/N. She’s locked herself inside.” Dean put his hand against the metal. “Y/N, open the door, baby, please.” 
“Get away from me!” You screamed. “I’m one of them! I’m a monster!”
“Sweetheart, you’re not a monster, just opened the door.” 
“Damn it Y/N. Open the door!” 
Dean winced, his mind taking him back to that night. Why did it feel like it was all happening again?
“I shouldn’t have come back. Amara should have left me down there.” You cried, sliding to the floor, pressing your back against the wall and bringing your knees up to your chest. “I shouldn’t be here. I’m one of them. I’m a demon.” 
“Y/N, open up and we can talk about this.” Sam called through the metal. 
“What’s going on?” Mary wondered. She was taken aback by the scene in front of her. Sam and Dean had their ears pressed against the door and Dean was only wearing a pair of jeans. She had been asleep when the boys and you got back, so she was completely in the dark. 
“Y/N’s back and something happened with her and Dean and now she’s locked herself in the dungeon.” Sam sighed. “I’ll explain later.” 
“Baby, please come out.” Dean begged. 
“Let me talk to her.” The three Winchesters turned to the new voice, surprised to find Castiel standing there. 
“Cas, what are you-”
“I came because I heard about a soul breaking out of hell and I thought it could be…” His voice trailed off. “Maybe I can try talking to her.” 
Dean thought for a second, but figured there couldn’t be any harm in him trying. You and Cas had a different bond than you had with Dean or Sam. 
Cas took in everything in front of him and couldn’t help but compare it to that night. You, shutting yourself out from everything while Dean and Sam desperately tried to reach you. Only, Cas wasn’t going to turn his back this time. 
“Baby, please.” Dean begged, his voice quieter than it was before. You didn’t listen. Instead, you were rummaging through the cabinet, looking for a very specific blade. 
“Y/N.” A new voice made you freeze. Putting as much distance between you and the door, you sank to your knees. 
“Stay away from me!” You screamed. “Stay away! I’m not afraid of you anymore!” 
“The hell is she talking about?” Dean asked, barely able to make out your words through the door. 
“She’s talking about me.” Cas sighed. “More specifically, she’s talking about Lucifer.” 
“What?” Sam visibly tensed and Mary’s confusion only deepened. 
“What are you all talking about? Like, the Devil, Lucifer?” 
“Yeah, like the Devil.” Dean ran a hand down his face. “Cas, you never mentioned anything about Lucifer taking your body for a joy ride to see Y/N.” 
“I know, I couldn’t…” Cas inhaled deeply. “I couldn’t bring myself to tell you.” Dean grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall, his voice lowering to a deep growl. 
“What. Did. He. Do?” 
“Dean, whatever happened wasn’t Cas’ fault.” Sam exclaimed. 
“Yeah, but he knew about it.” He snarled. “What did he do to her?” Cas just looked at him with sad, guilty eyes. 
“The worst things he could think of.” He said and Dean let him go, running his fingers through his hair. “Any possible way to torment her, he used it. He showed her you, impaled by Metatron and turned into a demon. He made her watch it over and over again for decades to remind her that everything she did was for nothing. That broke her more than any other torture, which he was also very keen on.”
“Okay, we get the picture.” Sam closed his eyes. He remembered vividly exactly what Lucifer was capable of and felt a deep weight settle in his chest. Dean’s eyes were still locked on Cas, but they were unfocused. Sam knew he was picturing every cut and every slice to your flesh. 
A loud clatter from behind the door brought them all back to the moment. Dean released his grip and Cas and pressed his ear against the door. It was silent. A sudden panic flooded his system and he turned to Sam with wide eyes. 
“Is the demon-killing knife in there?” Sam started to shake his head, but stopped suddenly, understanding what his brother was asking. A new surge of panic rushed through both of them.
“No, but there’s an angel blade.” 
Now Sam and Dean were frantic, trying to get through the door before it was too late.  Cas put a hand on Dean’s shoulder. 
“Let me.” He said. The two stepped to the side and Cas laid his palm against the door. There was a loud thud and a surprised cry from inside. 
The three men burst into the room, Mary close behind. Your wild, frightened eyes scanned the intruders, landing on Cas. Your hands gripped the angel blade tightly, hovering its point over your heart. 
“Stay away.” You warned, but your voice betrayed your fear. 
“Y/N, don’t.” Dean stepped towards you, but Cas put a hand out to stop him. The angel walked towards you slowly and you pressed your back into the wall, trying to get away from him. 
“Get away from me. Y-You can’t hurt me anymore.”
“Y/N, Lucifer is gone.” He said cautiously. “None of us want to hurt you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to hurt you if you don’t let me kill this thing.” 
“Y/N, put the angel blade down. We can help you.” Sam pleaded. Dean was ready to charge you and take the blade by force, but Cas kept inching closer and closer to you until he was crouching in front of you. 
“I know you think that there is no saving you. That you have become so dark and corrupted that you are undeserving of life, but it isn’t true. You are still you. Yes, you are broken. You have been beaten down and destroyed too many times to count, but you are here. If you give up now, then you let Lavina and Lucifer and every demon in hell win.” Cautiously, he put his hand on the end of the blade. “But if you stay and fight through this, if you show them what’s really inside of you, then you will defeat them.” 
He stared at you with the eyes of a friend who didn’t want to lose you again. You felt him gently pull the angel blade from your trembling hands and pass it back to Sam. You slowly started to uncurl your body, stretching out your legs and arms so that you could pull Cas into a hug. 
“It wasn’t your fault.” You whispered and you felt his arms tense, holding you just a little bit tighter. Cas wrapped his trench coat around you, noticing the goosebumps forming on your bare legs. You had forgotten that you were only wearing Dean’s flannel. He stepped back so Dean could scoop you up in his arms, tucking your head under his chin. 
“Never do that again.” He whispered, kissing your temple with the desperate desire to never let go.
-
General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks; @kendahl0216​
Supernatural: @desimarie12; @deandreamernp; @vicmc624; @halesandy; @livshaes; @d-whinchestergirl87; @mrspeacem1nusone;  @crist1216
The Deal Series: @writeroutoftime; @ minninugget; @mia-ono; @erule; @ dannyo000
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actualbird · 4 years
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nobody asked but here is every unraveled episode (as of may 2020) as how they’d be as a lover | a 2.5k word long post written in the style of an unraveled about unraveled and also love
Ah. Unraveled. Polygon’s golden boy of a video series where Brian David Gilbert is beckoned into a suit, lured into a blackbox studio, and is only granted escape after he has explained to three cameras whatever batshit video game adjacent thesis he has been cursed with this time. Unraveled is a wonderful video series, and we all love it.
But what if it could love us?
If you’ve ever asked this question to yourself, boy, do I have some content for you, because for the past 2 days, I’ve been working on this post where, for entirely too long, I explain to you how each Unraveled episode would be as a lover. And more importantly, which ones would be the best lovers.
Before I fall deep into this unhinged hole and take you down with me, I need to explain some things.
First: I want to make it clear that I am not categorizing BDG as he portrays himself in each Unraveled. I am instead taking each Unraveled episode as a fully formed being, the story, performance, etc, and letting that shape a character of its own. This character is where I extrapolate details from to create an Unraveled episode’s qualities as a lover. What I’m basically doing is anthropomorphizing Polygon dot com video content. And then making you date them. If this doesn’t make sense, don’t worry, it will as you read along. And if it helps you to visualize the Unraveled Episode As A Lover, I invite you to just imagine whomever it is you are most attracted to---or for those who don’t experience attraction, whomever it is you find most aesthetically pleasing---and then just add in the wild personality traits I describe through the course of this post.
Second: I know what you’re thinking. “Avian, the characteristics of what makes a good lover is subjective!” And I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been through college, and I’ve witnessed my friends whom I love so dearly enter relationships with some of the most wack ass motherfuckers I’ve ever met. I know that people are into different things. But do I judge them for it? Well, kinda, yeah! Yes, what we want in a lover is subjective, but I’ve consumed a metric fuckton of romance media over the course of my life and am also in a wonderful relationship with my own girlfriend, and thus have my own personal idealized ranking for what makes a good lover. Feel free to disagree with my rankings of Unraveled Lovers, but also, I’m writing this post. I say this with as much love as I possibly can, but if you disagree with me, make your own post. If you don’t wanna make your own post, you’re just going to have to trust me for 2.1k more words.
With that out of the way, let me take you on a journey through the 23 Unraveled Lovers, from worst to best.
BAD TIER: I would probably advise you to break up with these Unraveled Lovers as soon as you are emotionally capable of doing so.
Hoo boy, we’re starting at the bottom. The perfectionists, the nitpickers, the emotionally unavailables. These Unraveled Lovers would have good intentions, but just have aspects within their personality that will wear you and your relationship together down until both of you can no longer take it.
“Ranking all 200+ Megaman robots” is a lover obsessed with the concept of “is this worth it?” They would unknowingly but inevitably rank parts of your own personality on a scale of ‘worth the trouble in this relationship’ and ‘not worth the trouble’. Any lover who deals with you with this kind of dichotomy is somebody you should not be with. You should be accepted and loved for all your parts, the beautiful and the ugly.
“How to make the perfect E3 press conference” is a lover who spent years consuming romance media and has a list of what makes the perfect relationship. So not only do they have unrealistic expectations for what a relationship is, but they will be obsessed with reaching that unreachable perfection. That will definitely put a strain on your relationship until the veneer of desired perfection crumbles away, leaving you both tired and sad.
On a less deep note, “How to tell apart all 596 Fire Emblem characters” just won’t remember any of the names of your friends or family. Sure, they’ll try, but they’ll give up in like 15 minutes and you’ll never be able to take this Unraveled Lover to a family reunion or a party with your friends. Probably not a dealbreaker, but as the Spice Girls said “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends.” This Unraveled Lover will not. Next.
“No one asked but I found Mortal Kombat’s best cuddler” and “I wasted 3 weeks of my life finding Castlevania’s hottest monster” are two Unraveled Lovers with a similar problem: they both won’t shut the fuck up about their exes. Mortal Kuddler constantly brings up all the other cuddles they’ve experienced and Castlevanias Hottest Monster will tell you you’re beautiful, but also bring up like 69 other monsters they think are also beautiful. This might not be a red flag, but personally, this would tire me out, always being thought of in comparison or contrast to others.
That ends the BAD TIER and brings us to the OKAY TIER where a large chunk of the Unraveled Lovers fall into, so much so that I had to create more specific sub tiers under the OKAY TIER.
So let’s get into the OKAY TIER: These Unraveleds Lovers are alright, you’ll just have a sublimely weird relationship.
These Unraveled Lovers will treat you right but they’re also just very peculiar. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I’m here to explain to you just in what ways these okayest lovers are bizarre. Let’s start with the first sub tier.
OKAY SUB TIER: College Students who are way too into their major
There are a lot of Unraveled Lovers under this subtier, and this shouldn’t surprise you, because Unraveleds are inherently nerdy. These are lovers that will be good to you but also just never fucking shut up about what it is they’re studying.
“I read all 337 books of Skyrim so that you don’t have to” and "Understanding Kingdom Hearts (and every other story" are Creative Writing majors obsessed with analyzing every single thing they read. As a Creative Writing major myself, I would advise you to never date a Creative Writing major unless you are a Creative Writing major yourself. I think that’s the only way the relationship can be ethical. Being sent essays from the New Yorker every day would be torture if you didn’t actively enjoy it.
“We made all 78 Breath of Wild recipes in one day” is a Culinary Arts major and, score, they’re gonna wanna cook for you! A lot! Beware though, because it’ll be a hit or miss on whether or not the food will be good, but you must admit, that there is nothing quite as attractive as your lover making you food (let’s just hope the food doesn’t harm you).
“Smash Bros. owes millions of dollars in OSHA violations” is going to law school and that should be a dealbreaker in itself, but I’ll be a bit lenient because they’re always working towards the safety of everybody. This Unraveled Lover will always remind you to put your seatbelt on and also tell you exactly what laws you are violating.
“Bowser’s military hierarchy” is a Political Science major, and Political Science majors scare me. So I’ll just say they’re okay, and leave it at that.
“Which Dark Souls Boss is the best manager?” is a rare non-evil Management major because they actually truly care for the welfare of employees. They just will always talk about it, even when you guys are on a date. I know worker’s rights are important, but it’s not exactly what I want to talk about in between kisses, yknow?
“I fixed Fallout’s music by creating a totally new genre” is a Music major who keeps accidentally making Ska love songs to you. You didn’t know Ska love songs could be a thing. This Unraveled Lover makes it a thing.
“Scientifically Calculating the Game of the Year” is a Math major so you will never have to worry about calculating bills because they can do it for you.
“Calculate your pet’s HP with my 100% legitimate formula” is a Veterinary Medicine major so if you’re an animal lover, this Unraveled is the one for you! Just beware, because this Unraveled Lover will also spend a lot of time observing you from afar to quantify your health points, but both of you will inexplicably find this activity strengthens your relationship.
And last but not least for this sub tier, “When can Mario retire?” is a disillusioned Accounting and Finance major who chose this line of study to get a job and, through the years, realized what a hellscape capitalism is. You may have to deal with a lot of zoning out and staring off into the distance, with this Unraveled Lover, but a lover who hates capitalism sure is a good egg.
That brings us to our next sub tier!
OKAY SUB TIER: Cultists or Conspiracy Theorists (AKA...College Students who are way too into their extracurriculars)
These Unraveled Lovers are alright! They’re just a little bit off the shits.
“Every Sonic game is blasphemous” will get really really worked up about things and probably try to start a cult. For most, that’s a definite dealbreaker, but what makes Sonic Bible an okay lover is that they eventually calm down from the cult outburst and apologize. So this Unraveled Lover will treat you well, you just have to be ready to ground them when they get a little bit bonkers.
“Solving the Zelda Timeline in 15 minutes” is very similar to Sonic Bible, except instead of starting a cult, every once in a while they’ll just sit you down on a chair and explain to you their latest obsession while slowly and intensely stripping. Which, hey, that could make for a fun night, if you’re into that kinda stuff! Definitely okay in my book.
That brings us to our last okay sub tier.
OKAY SUB TIER: Your Unraveled Lover might need to schedule some sessions with a therapist, and that’s Okay
Listen, we all have baggage. We all have problems. These are Unraveled Lovers who want to be the best for you, but at the same time have issues of their own, and you’re going to have to support them when they pop into their local psych clinic to make themselves better people.
“Waluigi” is an Unraveled Lover who is going through some identity issues. They want to be good for you, but they don’t even know who exactly they are. They may feel as if they are tricking you into being in this relationship, that they aren’t who you think they are, and while these fears are irrational, they wholeheartedly believe it and will never feel fully secure in this relationship until they have made peace with themselves. If you love this Unraveled Lover, you’re going to have to stick with them as they learn more about who they are.
“Kirby” is an Unraveled Lover who, for some reason, is obsessed with the constant quest to make things make sense. This need of theirs bleeds into every aspect of their life and can definitely affect your relationship. This Unraveled Lover may sometimes perhaps cite that they don’t deserve you because they can’t seem to figure out a logical and objective answer for why you are with them. This issue of treating everything like a puzzle to solve is an issue they will have to work out and recover from, and they will be receptive to this process of recovery because they cherish the relationship they have with you and understand that not everything has to be solved; some things can just be felt. If you choose to stay with this Unraveled Lover, you must be prepared to support them when they take a mysterious but needed soul searching journey in the woods. You must be prepared to sit with them along the shores of the beach and reassure them that life is about living, not about answers.
And that, dear readers, ends the OKAY TIERs. Now it’s time for the tier you have all been waiting for.
Drumroll, please!
GOOD TIER: Pop open the champagne, bring out the strawberries dipped in chocolate, and let Spotify play Careless Whisper, baby, because we’re in the Ideal Lover zone.
Welcome to the Ideal Lover Zone. Here, we have three Unraveled Lovers who are just extremely good fellas.
“I used the Sims to perfect my apartment” is an Unraveled Lover who will work their hardest to be the best for you, but unlike the BAD TIER perfectionists, it will naturally dawn to them that perfection is unattainable. After this realization, they will find comfort and happiness in your romantic relationship and the other healthy relationships they have with other people. This Unraveled Lover will be sincere with you when the time calls for it, but will also not be afraid to be goofy for it. Above all, this Unraveled Lover will ask for help when they need it. They may often be shy, at first, but they understand their limits and will openly communicate to you when situations call for it. Communication is the bedrock of any good relationship, and this Unraveled Lover will never keep you guessing.
“The Perfect Pokerap” is similar to the Sims, in the sense that they will at first strive for perfection in the honeymoon phase of your relationship but then understand that that isn’t possible and then set more reasonable and realistic goals. What sets this Unraveled Lover out from the crowd though is just how much they cherish you. How devoted they are to you. The love you will feel in this relationship will be transcendental, and, even if you do break up, this Unraveled Lover will never forget you.
And finally. Who---according to me, a mildly delirious 21 year old rando on the internet---is the most ideal Unraveled Lover?
It’s “Find your Kojima name with my simple 11 page form.” Why? Because this Unraveled Lover wants to know you. They want to know everything about you, the parts you like and the parts you don’t like. This is a lover who will not shy away from any aspect of yourself, but instead, embrace you for who you are as a full fledged person.
They’ll also give you a whack ass pet name, and boy, isn’t that romantic?
Well, there you have it. All (as of May, 2020) of the Unraveled Episodes as 23 Unraveled Lovers. What did I learn from this endeavor? That romantic love is complicated, but if you’re into it, it is definitely worth the trials and tribulations.
...As long as I’m not dating the Castlevania Unraveled. Seriously, when we’re making out, I don’t wanna hear about how sexy the Hyena With Gun is. Learn how to read the room, dude.
(Thanks for reading.)
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mishavacado · 3 years
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SPN has so much spinoff potential and so much canon to work with, it's such a waste that none of it's getting used. This post is just all of my spinoff ideas, I'll apologize in advance because it is VERY long.
Wayward Sisters, obviously. There are so many possible storylines to work with, so many stories to tell. I'd really love to see some Charlie, Eileen, or Krissy Chambers cameos. I think that Charlie and Claire would get along really well (just read this post). Rowena is another character that I think could easily be worked into the canon. She could teach the girls all kinds of magic and be the fun wine aunt that spoils the girls on their birthdays. I don't think that Claire would like her very much, but, Rowena and Alex would probably get along just fine. How much I need this in my life: 1000000000000000000000000/10 when I heard that this idea had been tossed out I was so angry. Why doesn't this exist?
Men of Letters prequel that's mostly set in the bunker. This show could really expand on the canon lore and give us some more background on the Men of Letters, as well as any other similar/rival organizations that were around before the main show's time. The Men of Letters have so much story potential for a spin-off; corrupt leadership, new monsters, other organizations, expanding the MoL to outside the U.S. Episodes could be in a monster-of-the-week (MOTW) format, starting and ending with the Man of Letters the case is assigned to making notes in his journal or case file or talking about the case, as well as the overall season arcs. Episodes would be titled by their case number, i.e S1 E1 Case No. 1925-4, etc How much I need this in my life: 1000000/10, the supernatural/historical drama combo would be absolutely stunning.
A series focusing on all of the alternate timelines and universes, both the ones mentioned in the main show and ones just randomly created for an episode. There are infinite possibilities. Each episode would be in a MOTW format, but with different versions of Sam and Dean. The HunterCorp universe, Jared and Jensen from the French Mistake, a universe where their names are switched, a universe where Dean went to college and was the one with the demon blood powers, a universe where they drive a Mustang instead of the Impala, a universe where Sam isn't scared of clowns. I could go on, but I'm going to stop myself here. How much I need this in my life: 9/10 I think it would be pretty funny, but it's not my best idea.
A Bobby and Rufus spin-off where they talk about cases they worked on together or with other hunters, but the stories are told similarly to Tall Tales. It's the same story but told from different points of view depending on who's talking. I wish we'd gotten to see more of Bobby and Rufus because I think those two are hilarious and really think that this could be funny, even if it was just a web series with twenty-minute episodes. How much I need this in my life: 10/10, I love Bobby and Rufus and I think that they have a lot of interesting hunting stories to tell.
GHOSTFACERS GHOSTFACERS GHOSTFACERS. How much I need this in my life: 100000000000000000000000/10, I love the Ghostfacers. That's my whole idea.
A Jack-centric show that's almost a political drama. Jack is the ruler of heaven and is constantly being manipulated by angels, demons, and Death herself. He just wants to make an afterlife paradise, but power-hungry angels won't leave him alone. Remember that Jack is very young and trusting by nature, so there is a lot of potential for disaster if he gets goaded into doing something, like making new universes or ending existing ones. Cas is a main character and he does his best to protect Jack, but he has to be careful to not seem overprotective/like another manipulator or Jack won't trust him either. I have no idea if I'm making any sense, but shoutout to me if I am. For some reason, I've always thought that heaven would be an interesting setting for a spin-off, and those angels are pretty similar to power-hungry politicians. How much I need this in my life: 800/10, I would totally watch this.
A very short series that just destroys the canon finale. Twelve episodes, detailing the storylines that were ignored or destroyed by Carry On. E1: Rescuing Cas from the Empty and he and Dean have a long talk about their ~feelings~. They kiss, and for the first time, Dean’s mind is free of doubt about whether or not anyone could ever love all of him. E2: Eileen returns. She says nothing when she sees Dean and Cas holding hands, just raises her eyebrow and smiles knowingly. Some excellent movie night content. E3: 1 year later. Sam and Eileen’s wedding. Dean and Cas aren’t legally married, but their matching gold rings are very prominently shown. It isn’t mentioned. The wedding is almost canceled because of the rain, but with a wave of Jack’s hand the clouds disappear and the birds start to sing. E4: Sam and Eileen have moved out of the Bunker. Cas finally convinces Dean to downsize, so they find a little house in Lawrence and settle down. Cas works as a special ed teacher. Dean works as a mechanic. Miracle loves the backyard but makes sure to stay away from the beehives in the back corner. E5: Sam and Eileen’s twins, Mary and Maura, are born. Dean and Cas love their nieces, and Jack loves them too. He doesn’t know what to call himself, so they settle on Uncle and call it good. E6: Deaths. They all die old. Cas’s vessel has aged, but he can’t die, so when Dean finally passes away in his sleep, Cas scatters his ashes in the woods and disappears, ascending to heaven, to spend eternity with Dean. The closing scene is a dark screen, with the whoosh of wings and a soft “Hello, Dean.” OK. That was a long one. My apologies. How much I need this in my life: 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000/10. I would reach nerdvana thirty seconds into episode one.
Another spinoff of that idea is just...Dean and Cas living a normal life. Short episodes. Cas goes to the grocery store. Dean drags Cas to a horror movie fan convention. Cas meets a roomba. How much I need this in my life: I can’t type enough zeroes to express it.
Campbell prequel that focuses on Mary and her childhood. Mary being raised as a hunter but not being allowed on hunts. Mary rushing home to finish her chemistry homework so she can help her dad track a nest of vampires moving east. Mary missing her prom to help Samuel on a hunt. Mary trying to keep her real life secret from John, a man she knows loves the parts of her he knows about. Mary always being an outsider, the kindest and most beautiful girl in her class, but so slow to trust and quick to speak that everyone is afraid to be her friend. Mary is a character that has the potential a lot more development, for twelve seasons she’s the burning martyr in every Winchester’s imagined paradise. She deserves more. How much I need this in my life: 11/10, Mary isn’t my favorite character but I would die for her.
Gabriel spin-off. That’s it, that’s the idea. How much I need this in my life: 10000000/10, Gabriel is a character that we don’t know a lot about so there are so many possible directions for a story about him to go.
Show set in the SPN universe that doesn’t really interact with the main show’s canon. It’s about two cops in the 30s that become hunters by accident. After investigating the apparent suicide of a hunter in their small town, they become enthralled by her library, filled with books about ghosts and vampires. They pour over her journals on their own time, fascinated by what they’re reading. They get to know the hunter through her writings, her accounts of her hunts and travels. Eventually, a nest of vampires settles in the town and the two put their newfound knowledge to the test. This show would just be based on canon lore, there wouldn’t be any mention of the Winchesters or other main characters, although a few MoL team-ups is definitely a possibility. The two become quite a team, tracking werewolf backs on bulletin boards in their basements and hoarding rock salt. How much I need this in my life: 89/10, I think this could be really interesting and I am a sucker for historical hunters.
Speaking of historical hunters-Samuel Colt prequel. Cowboys, vampires, cowpires. Hunting in the wild west, galloping across the prairie chasing a pack of werewolves. This show could also tell us a lot about how different types of monsters spread across the U.S. Ghosts will go anywhere people go, but what about vampires? Shapeshifters? Ghouls? What was it like to hunt without technology to help with research? The hunters in this series would be the authors of the journals that modern hunters use every day. They’re the ones that tested tracking and trapping methods. Again, no idea if this is making sense, but I think that a supernatural western would be really awesome and would expand/substantiate the canon lore. How much I need this in my life: 1000000000000000000000000000000/10, I love cowboys and I love Supernatural. This is literally the best thing that could ever happen to me.
Crowley. I want to know more about him. A series that tells us all about Fergus Roderick MacLeod, starting with when he was born in Scotland and ending with his death in All Along the Watchtower. We know that Rowena was his mother, that he was a tailor, that he sold his soul for an extra three inches ~down there~, and that he was a terrible dad. I want to know more about his childhood, about the people he made deals with, about how he became king of the crossroads and of Hell. Crowley was a very interesting character that was abused by the story. I want to know more about him. How much I need this in my life: 10000000000000000000000000000000000000/10, I really do love Crowley and I would watch this a thousand times over.
Final idea: MOTW only. No season arc, no overall storyline. New hunters every episode, from all different times, from over the world. All kinds of monsters. One episode in Victorian England, the next in 1990s Los Angeles. Very few recurring characters, if any. The recurring characters would be the Bobby Singers of the world; the lore guys that you call when you need help. Each new character has their own style, own car, own music, own personality. The show could have some a m a z i n g guest stars because they’d only appear in a few episodes. There are so many possibilities for episodes, even if they weren’t full length. How much I need this in my life: 100000/10, I love MOTW episodes and would really like to get to know the characters. It would be very easy to write one-off fanfics for this show, and also very easy to introduce this show’s characters into Supernatural’s canon.
You made it to the end!!!!!!!! That’s all I have for now. Sorry for writing so much, I just can’t stop thinking about SPN and all of the wasted stories.
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higuchimon · 3 years
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[fanfic] Extra Training
"Where are you going?"  Ryouga wanted to know.  Iris tucked her D-Gazer into her pocket, checked on her deck, and shrugged.
"To the movies with Haruto,"  she told him.  Like she did every weekend.  It was something to do that wasn't dueling - not that she disliked dueling, there wasn't really any way that she could, not with having grown up in a household of duelists.  But it wasn't the be-all and end-all of her existence, and she only carried the deck around because Vector would start handing out knives if she didn't. 
Not that Iris had anything against knives, either, but the way Ryouga and Rio both stared at Vector when he offered her extra lessons told her quickly they didn't need to know how good she was with them, even without Vector's help.  Uncle Michael gave her sword-fighting lessons every weekend after all.  Edged weapons were as useful a tool as a dueling deck, and one that most people were less likely to think an eighteen year old might use against them.
Iris far preferred to handle her own problems.  The last time she'd complained about someone being annoying, everyone in the family plus a few extras - such as Uncles Michael, Thomas, and Chris, as well as Uncle Yuuma and Uncle Kaito, came down on the offender like the proverbial ton of bricks.  It took months> for anyone to ever talk to her again at school.
At least she didn't have to worry about that with Haruto.  They all liked Haruto and he knew how not to get on their bad sides.  Plus, he'd learned more than a few things that his brother didn't know about, so he kept her secrets about what she could do that her elders didn't know.
And he was a fantastic sparring partner.
Ryouga regarded her thoughtfully, then nodded.  "Enjoy yourself,"  was all he said.  Iris knew what that meant - don't murder someone without one heck of a good reason.  She was fine with that.  Rio had taught her what a good reason was.  So far she hadn't had to kill anyone and she didn't really want to.  She liked learning dueling and fighting for reasons aside from blood-lust, no matter what Vector swore by. 
So she headed out of the mansion and to the center of town, where Haruto sat outside of Heartland Tower and waited for her, kicking his feel lazily in a fountain.  She vaguely remembered that he'd been a bit sickly and weak when they were children.  Most of that had been before she'd come to this world, so she'd heard of it mostly as stories from Ryouga and Uncle Kaito, or from Haruto himself.  When she'd first met him, he'd been getting better, and she'd helped him improve over the years.
Now one couldn't tell that he'd ever been at risk of dying at all.  He leaped to his feet as soon as he caught sight of her and waved, eyes bright with joy.
"Ready?"  He wanted to know as she drew closer.  Iris smiled; she did enjoy spending time with him.  And she enjoyed what they were about to do just as much.  Maybe even a bit more.
"Ready."  She nodded, one hand dropping down to where she kept her duel disk - and the little secret hidden inside the same pocket.  Haruto nodded as well, and the two of them headed off.  Both of them knew very well that Omoid - oldest offspring of Obomi and Orbital 7 - followed them.  Omoid followed Haruto anywhere he went and did anything he could in order to help him. 
Haruto had had to do a little reprogramming as he got older to make sure Omoid kept certain things he and Iris did a secret, but as long as they came home without any major injuries, most things could be hidden from the eye of elder siblings.  Iris did wonder how much Uncle Kaito really knew.  He didn't seem like the type of person who would easily be deceived. Yet if he did know what they did - not every lesson they had from Uncle Michael was sanctioned - he said nothing at all about it.
They arrived at the Arclight mansion relatively quickly.  This wasn't their original home, or so Iris had been told.  They moved to Heartland on a regular basis a few years earlier and set up residence.  That was fine with her.  She liked spending time with all of them.
Though she wasn't ever going to forget the day that Uncle Thomas and Uncle Vector both ended up baby-sitting her at the same time.  Three fire trucks, five police cars, and she still didn't know how they'd avoided being arrested.  Ryouga didn't like to talk about it.
Michael welcomed them there as soon as they entered, guiding them to the familiar sparring grounds. 
"It's just us today,"  he told them.  "Chris is working with Kaito and Mizael helping out Father."  His lips twitched.  "I'm not quite certain where Thomas is, though.
That was fine with Iris, and apparently Haruto to.  She'd known about them being busy anyway.  She slipped her duel disk out, flipped open the hidden slot in the back, and her sword hilt dropped into her hand. 
"I'm ready for training!"  She declared, and Haruto matched her motions with his own.  Michael chuckled.
"I didn't expect anything less," he told them, and the three of them settled down to the business of sparring together.  Iris snapped the hilt, hitting the hidden button, and the blade itself unfolded.  This was new technology, spurred on by various companies in the city, and Michael had given each of them one of these as a surprise present.  It certainly made keeping these lessons secret from the rest of the family a lot easier.
She took the lead, approaching quickly, and striking.  They didn't often work with live steel first, but Michael's point of view on the matter was that one, they needed to use it as often as possible, and two, they needed to be careful. Using wooden or foam bats wouldn't teach caution. He knew how to take care of virtually any injury they could inflict on each other, and after five years of learning, they both knew how not to hurt the other.  Michael promised that they would be able to hurt other people if the time ever came.
Iris wasn't so sure if she wanted that, but she also knew the first lesson he'd taught her - never to pick up a weapon of any kind, be it a sword or a duel disk, unless you were both willing and capable of using it.  The Numbers War was long over, but who knew when something else might happen and she might be one of those called to arms.  Better to be ready and never need it, than need it and not be able to do anything.  Ryouga and Rio absolutely agreed on that, at least.
So she sparred and she learned, and Haruto fought her with all of his strength.  She pushed back, struck down carefully, judging her strength and where she aimed, and pushed him back.  He twisted his blade, making an attempt to disarm her, and she stepped back, getting out of the clinch and taking a different angle for her counterattack.  As time ticked by, Iris could not contain the pure joy that came from being able to do this at all.
She remembered her life in the past very clearly, and how she'd died.  She might not want to attack other people, but she would always want to be able to defend herself.  That was one of the reasons her clothes were specially made to be just shy of being actual armor.  Ryouga had insisted on that after they'd all come back from the trip to the Astral-Barian World.  She'd never been there, but she kind of wanted to, one of these days.
Metal clattered against metal, ringing loudly, but they could still hear Michael's firm voice instructing them on what to do.  Eventually he called a halt - both of them dripped sweat, and Iris wanted something to drink.  She slipped her sword's blade back into the hilt and started to turn around for the exit.
In the exit there stood Ryouga.  No, not Ryouga - Nasch. Her king.  His eyes stern and his lips not smiling at all.  Iris swallowed and essayed a smile of her own.
"This isn't a movie,"  he said quietly.  "This is very much not a movie."
"I know."  Iris agreed.  It wasn't as if she could argue that.  She would keep the secret, but he clearly already knew it.  She'd never been able to argue with him when he looked at her like that.  She worried at her lip, then mentally shrugged.  "It's just extra lessons, that's all."
Nasch nodded faintly.  "How long have you been doing this?"
"A while now,"  she answered.  Neither Haruto or Michael said anything else.  She suspected Michael was a little annoyed, if only because Nasch had entered without - she guessed - asking permission. 
"I can guess."  He crossed his arms, regarding her thoughtfully.  "Have you been hurt?"
"Nothing bad."  Iris shrugged.  "I can hold my own.  We're good at this."
His eyes softened ever so lightly and she began to breathe easily.  Or at least easier. "I noticed.  Did you relay think I believed you were going to the movies?  That you like them that much?"
Iris ducked her head.  "I hoped?"  Didn't most teenagers go to movies with friends?   She didn't think she was that out of touch.  Sure, she didn't have that many friends at school she could open up to, but she'd heard them all talking about movies and going on dates.  She did like movies, but going to see them every week just seemed boring.  She would have far preferred going to the ocean or up to the mountains.  The few times she'd hung out with Yamikawa at the Duel Lodge had been very instructive. 
"I think it's going to be a couple of weeks before you do this again,"  he told her quietly.  "And if you want to do it again, then I want to know about it before you go.  Understand?"
"Got it."  Iris knew she was getting off easy.  Ryouga nodded slightly before he looked at Haruto.  "Kaito's probably going to say the same thing to you."
"Kaito-sama already knows,"  Omoid piped up. "I told him after their firsts unofficial lesson."
Haruto blinked.  "I thought I reprogrammed you so you wouldn't do that."
"You did."  Kaito stepped up next to Nasch.  "I reprogrammed him back." 
Iris could see the pride in Kaito's eyes regardless of his words.  Whatever else he felt, he was glad Haruto could do these things.  If Kaito had really objected, then they would have known it long before this.
Ryouga gestured to her, and she started over.  She knew that she wasn't going to be seriously grounded - he'd let up on the punishments and let her make her own mistakes for a while now.  He wouldn't be that upset about extra lessons.  If anything, what had to have upset him was that she'd not told him the truth.  He'd get over it. 
Just to prove it, she glanced over to Michael and to Haruto.  "I'll see you next week,"  she addressed Michael first, then Haruto.  "Tomorrow?"
"Sure,"  Haruto agreed calmly, with Michael nodded.  He was clearly having trouble keeping himself from laughing.  Kaito and Ryouga both snorted, but Iris knew what they sounded like when they were upset, and this wasn't it.  Everything was fine. 
Together they all headed out.  Iris couldn't have been more satisfied with what happened.  She'd had a great workout and she didn't have to hide her extra trips from the others anymore.  She'd more or less wanted to tell them from the beginning; events just hadn't fallen out that way.  Being older did come with some advantages. 
Ryouga still made her wear her helmet on the way home. 
The End
Notes: One day I might write more about Omoid and Haruto. You really think Kaito wouldn’t have one of those little bots assigned to keep an eye on his brother?
Ryouga was probably a lot angrier than he let on, but Iris is eighteen. She can make her own decisions, and Rio probably lectured him on that. Maybe I will write that side piece eventually.
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