#the scar theories are all absolutely wild (but i do have the answer in my fic and it involves his early rivalry w/Anko) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eats-the-stars · 3 years

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so i’ve decided to write a naruto fanfic. well, a lot of them. and in the process i’ve been making OCs and...i forgot how much i love making OCs and going wild w/my original plots. especially for a world like naruto where you can get away w/basically anything. like right now my fav OC is a little girl from shimogakure. i gave that kid a feisty little talking nin-goat for a bff. why? because i could. they both exist to get escorted back to Shimo but i still put a lot of work into them. they’re not interested in making anyone’s life easier and it’s beautiful. iruka, kotetsu, and izumo are all children of refugees from Uzushio (they were on the same genin team bc i love them. also i made an OC jounin-sensei for them and she’s just...perfect. trap master. summons ninja weasels. expected her genin to die in like week 1. likes to ditch them randomly. doesn’t show up to mandatory events and ppl are like ‘did they even give u a jounin-sensei or?’ sometimes she sends a weasel w/them instead. half of konoha thinks their jounin-sensei is an actual weasel. might throw in some confusion where they’re like “...Itachi? The Uchiha? isn’t he...too young? and not a kunoichi?” (because his name means weasel lol) iruka’s grandma left a nin-cat behind and she (the nin-cat) decides to teach iruka and his pals the art of fuuinjutsu. iruka/izumo/kotetsu get more instruction from random ninja animals than actual people. izumo can see ghosts and they pitch in. nobody in konoha knows who/what their jounin-sensei is. w/the exception of Anko and Hayate. Ibiki is done. he keeps walking in on things and walking right back out). i made a whole plot about ppl from Konoha treating refugees n their kids like shit. Kotetsu gets a cool uncle. Izumo gets shitty parents. there’s an Uzushio district in Konoha. iruka’s grandma was a dragon. he adopts naruto. the peeps from Uzushio are more chill about the jinchuuriki thing. naruto gets lots of stories about his kickass mom. iruka teaches him how to summon seagulls and immediately regrets it. plot things happen and the uchiha massacre doesn’t go down. instead madara ends up getting his ass kicked by iruka’s grandma (the dragon one). itachi doesn’t defect. sasuke is just like...a teenager with a helicopter bro. still got dead parents tho. danzo’s plans keep going to shit. no breaks for him. team 7 is semi-functional since sasuke isn’t as messed up and naruto has tons of support and doesn’t need to go so hard to prove himself. i mean he still goes hard and he wants to be hokage but sasuke’s not a massive dick to him and there’s a good chunk of the village rooting for him already. plus sakura isn’t crushing on sasuke. since he’s not ‘the last uchiha’ there’s no girl craze over him. i just realized that a ton of my OCs are like...ninja animals. also relatives of characters + jounin-sensei for characters that never got those fleshed out in canon. but yeah this fic/AU is slowly spiraling out of control but i’m just gonna let it at this point.

#naruto #fanfiction #i swear i just keep thinking of 'oh wouldn't it be sweet if?' and then running w/it #since we know basically nothing in canon about iruka and kotetsu and izumo as genin #i basically just went wild #and now in my AU nobody knows exactly what happened w/them as genin #the biggest mystery after 'how did iruka get his scar?' is 'who was their jounin-sensei?'#the scar theories are all absolutely wild (but i do have the answer in my fic and it involves his early rivalry w/Anko)#and jounin-sensei theories include: a weasel / a nin-cat / the ghost of various shinobi / one of their future selves / a spy /nobody #ppl who guess spy think that it must've been a cover-up and for security reasons #T&I sealed all the info and erased everybody's memories or had them replaced w/ridiculous ones #Anko loves coming up w/increasingly improbable explanations for things #Hayate knows all the secrets and bluntly tells ppl the truth but nobody believes him #they think he keeps getting duped and he needs to be less gullible #like 'hayate you gotta think critically my dude. you can't just believe anything ppl say'#and he's just like 'no but iruka's grandma really is a dragon and her cat taught him fuuinjutsu and izumo can see ghosts–'#and they're just like 'hayate. it's sweet that you believe all of that's true but...you're being duped. this is another mind game.'#and i know in canon Ibiki and Hayate were on the same genin team...so he'd hear all the truths #but then be like 'mmm. no. that's ridiculous buddy. lol. like really? he couldn't come bc his grandma's cat was teaching him fuuinjutsu?#and then like ten years later he's just walking along minding his own business #and he sees Iruka and Naruto at Ichiraku and he can hear them talking to somebody but there's nobody else there #and there's a gruff voice saying 'your sensei here took a whole month to master that seal.'#and ibiki pulls back the flap #and sitting on the 3rd stool w/its own bowl of ramen is a literal cat #it makes eye contact w/him #he drops the flap. walks silently all the way back to T&I and promptly has a minor mental breakdown #he spends the next 3 days flashing through every crazy think hayate ever told him

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ptergwen · 3 years

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hi val can you maybe write something about the reader being dared to kiss peter/tom/arvin (you choose) since her friends knew that she has a big crush on him, but once she did he seems disinterested after which makes her sad, but what she doesn't know was after she kissed him, he practically runs to his friends freaking out that the girl he's had his eyes on this whole time just kissed him??

kiss and tell

w/c: 1.8k

warnings: like one swear and awkwardness

a/n: yeeee i went with peter! this is adorable :,)

“i can’t!” you scold betty and her annoying smirk. you’re bored at lunch, so liz suggested the three of you play truth or dare. you’d made the mistake of choosing dare. in your defense, betty is the nosiest person in all of midtown, so you thought you were dodging the bullet and guarding your deep dark secrets. how could you have known she’d make you do... this?

“that’s so, like, forward. he’s gonna freak out.” you glance over at peter’s table to see what he’s up to before you possibly scar him. he’s laughing along at a heated conversation ned and mj are having. the way his face lights up, and his eyes crinkle as a smile crosses his features, it gives you butterflies throughout your whole body.

“in a good way,” liz grins her most charming grin at you. it’s not working this time. you roll your eyes up to the ceiling. “i thought you liked him,” betty huffs, gesturing over to peter and keeping her eyes on you. “all you do is talk about how he’s so cute and smart, and his lips look so soft-“ “i never said that!” you look at her with wild eyes. liz bites her lip to hold in a laugh. “the last part, i mean,” you clarify in a murmur.

liz puts a hand on you and pats your shoulder knowingly. “you’ve probably thought it, though. i’ve seen you checking them out.” there have been quite a few times your gaze has landed on peter’s lips, watching them curve while he talks to you about some new science theory he’s excited to share. you end up zoning out and pretending you retained any of what he said. betty puckers her own lips at you.

“you wanna kiss him,” she insists in a sing song voice, resting her chin on your other shoulder. “i’m doing you a favor.” “you’re really not gonna change the dare?” you sigh, your friends leaning on you in support. liz taps your cheek. “so, you don’t wanna kiss him?” “there’s no way,” betty comments from your side. “no, i...” you start, focusing in on peter again.

he meets your eyes across the cafeteria. his smile fades slightly, then a shy one is replacing it, ned dragging him into his and mj’s debate. you turn back to liz and betty.

“i do, but do you think he wants me to?” you ask them both, and they share a you have to be kidding look. “only one way to find out.” liz gives your shoulder a nudge. betty beams at you. “i triple dog dare you now, so you have to.” considering your options, you bounce your leg up and down. you’ll either get the nicest rejection ever from peter or a kiss back. you can handle this.

“ok, i’ll do it,” you decide, betty clapping her hands and squealing. liz throws an arm around your neck. “yay! i love love.” “let’s calm down,” you giggle so she doesn’t get too carried away. you and peter haven’t even established that you like each other. “i’m calm, i’m calm. do you need to borrow chapstick?” she offers, betty simultaneously pulling a tube out of her purse. “or lip gloss?”

you’re appreciating their over involvement now.

“both,” you breathe out, letting them get you ready for your big kiss.

liz and betty send you good luck wishes in a hushed tone while you make your way to peter’s table. mj went to get a snapple, and ned went with her so they could continue whatever argument they’re in. that left peter by himself. it’s almost like this is meant to happen.

“hi,” you greet peter, making him look up at you with raised eyebrows. he notices right away that your lips are shiny, more so than usual. a color that you always seem to bring to his face takes over his cheeks. “hey. you wanna sit?” he gives you a small smile. you return it. “yeah, sure. thanks.” instead of taking the bench across from him like he assumed you would, you find your place next to him.

he doesn’t mind.

“how’s your day been?” you wonder, body turned towards him while he answers. peter scrunches his nose. “kinda busy. i got so much homework in spanish tonight, and i’ve been putting off this essay about...” you do the thing you do every time he goes off on a sort of tangent, watch his lips. lucky for you, that’s the whole point today. “i don’t know. all i have so far is the intro-“

you cut peter off with a kiss. liz and betty cheer to each other the second it happens. peter doesn’t move, only freezes up as you press your glossy lips to his and grab his shoulders. it takes a few seconds for you to realize he’s not kissing back. his arms are stiff at his sides, eyes wide in shock. absolutely humiliated, you pull back, moving as far away as you can.

“fuck, i’m sorry. i should’ve asked you first,” you apologize, voice shaking. you’re already getting to your feet. peter blinks a few times, grounding himself back in the moment. “no, no. it’s okay. i-“ “that was weird, i know. you don’t have to lie or make me feel better.” he furrows his eyebrows, in a way that seems regretful even though you’re the one who messed up. “i’m trying to tell you, y/n. it’s fine. we-“

ned’s voice fills the room, making you snap your head in his direction. him and mj are coming back. you need to get out of here before you embarrass yourself even more.

“i’m gonna go. i’m sorry,” you mumble out, running back to your table, where liz and betty are instantly asking what’s wrong and if you’re alright. peter licks his lips that are now coated in your gloss and clenches his jaw. he’s pissed. not at you, at himself. it’s clear because mj brings attention to it when she sits down.

“what’s up with your face?” she narrows her eyes at him, popping the cap on her snapple. ned elbows peter in his spot next to him. you were just there less than a minute ago. “you okay, dude?” he checks. “no.” peter closes his eyes in frustration. “what’s wrong?” ned kicks mj’s foot under the table so she’ll stop making out with her drink and help him.

“i... y/n kissed me,” peter admits, sounding oddly upset about something everyone knows he’s been hoping would happen. “she what?” ned gawks. “isn’t that a good thing?” mj points out. “you love her.” “like her,” peter corrects and chews the inside of his cheek. “whatever. shouldn’t you want her to kiss you?” she takes another sip of snapple, passing this off to ned.

“yeah...” is all ned says. he awkwardly rubs peter’s back while mj tries not to snort. “that’s not the problem. i didn’t kiss her back, and she took it as me not being into it,” peter shakes his head as he recounts your weird moment. “which i was,” he tells them for the record. ned makes a funny face at him. “so why didn’t you kiss back?” “no shit she ran away,” mj mutters to him. she saw that part.

“because i wasn’t expecting it!” peter frowns at his friends’ reactions and at what he did. “you guys know how much i like y/n. i can’t believe i screwed this up so bad.” mj squints in mock confusion. “i can.” she quickly drops her sarcasm for encouragement after that. “ok, seriously. just go find her and apologize.” “maybe kiss her this time,” ned chimes in.

“if she really likes you, she’ll get it.” mj smiles genuinely, nodding back at your table. ned gives him a push forward. “you got this, dude. come tell us all about it after.” a rush of confidence enters peter from their advice. he’ll fix this. “thanks, guys. here i go.” he shoots up from the table, ned and mj getting back into their debate once he’s out of sight.

betty is hugging you way too tightly when peter gets over there. she goes on about how much peter sucks, overcompensating because she’s the reason you kissed him. you only hum in response. you don’t have the heart to tell her you blame yourself. only liz notices peter come over, so she talks on your behalf. “oh, hey,” she says drily. “hey. can i talk to y/n?” peter gets out, twiddling with his thumbs nervously.

she has to decide if she’d rather go into protective friend mode or let him. from your unenthusiastic responses to betty’s hate rant, she figures you’d like to hear him out.

“come on, betty,” liz takes her arm suddenly, betty trying to pull it back. “what? why?” “i’m gonna buy you ice cream. let’s go.” that’s her cover. peter shoots her a look that says thank you, liz pressing her lips into a line and dragging betty along. betty sees peter standing in front of your table and glares at him, liz walking faster. you don’t get the chance to ask them where they’re going because they leave so fast.

the bench dips down on one side of you, making someone’s prescense known. you’re surprised to find it’s peter. you talk first.

“if you’re gonna apologize, don’t. it was my fault-“ “you never let me finish earlier,” peter interrupts, the hint of a smile on his face. his clammy hand links with one of yours. “what were you gonna say?” you ask quietly, peter threading your fingers together. your heart is racing at the simple touch. “that i like you,” he replies at the same low volume. “and, that i wanted to try again.”

he’s sitting a lot closer to you than you realized. you welcome it, your hands in between you two on the bench. “i like you too... try what again?” you question, although you hope and pray it’s what you think. “kissing,” peter says what you were hoping and praying for. “wasn’t ready the first time.” you’re about to go into cardiac arrest as he rests his forehead on yours, curls brushing your face. a few broken up breaths escape him.

“can i?” he nearly whispers, warm hand still gripping at yours. “yeah,” you agree before your eyes flutter shut. he wastes no time, parting his lips and brushing them against yours gently, you reciprocating. he kisses as sweetly as he is, his free hand on your cheek and fingers careessing your skin. your other hand ends up on the back of his neck. you grin against him, lips detaching momentarily so you can engage him in another kiss.

peter doesn’t hesitate to kiss back this time, nose nudging yours as he moves in more. you tug on some hair at the nape of his neck and laugh into the kiss, reminding him you’re in school. he pulls back with a chuckle, but keeps his forehead on yours and your hands in each other.

“sorry. got too excited,” he laughs out, you leaning into his open palm. “i told you don’t apologize.”

liz and betty joined ned and mj at some point. the four of them are whistling at you and yelling out suggestive jokes. they’re too much. but, to be fair, you owe this all to them.

#tom holland #tom holland fluff #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you #tom holland imagine #tom holland fic #tom holland fanfiction #peter parker #peter parker fic #peter parker fluff #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker fanfiction

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urstruly-ghst · 3 years

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Hc of (if its ok) where dorm leaders' s/o suddenly runs and hides behind them, they were running away from a person who they accidentally spilled water ? And they are just- really scared maybe crying (idk) ? And how would the boys react to someone trying to hurt their lover ??? Thank you !

fight or flight, i choose flight. also, if someone intimidates you, in any sort of way, that you know is wrong. tell someone who can deal the problem sufficiently. anD huhu sorry this took so long to makeee

riddle rosehearts

You were drinking water on the go, you just got back from a mission that Crowley sent you on and you really wanted a break. Catch a break and probably rest on your now comfortable bed (Crowley finally invested money on you).

But you had a very important meeting with Riddle, and heavens know how scary it is to be late on a meeting with Riddle. So, you really rushed to go into the Mirror that leads to Heartslabyul.

However, accidents happen almost everywhere, chaos can reign even in the most peaceful of places. By that, you accidentally spilled a butt load of water on a Heartslabyul student, sadly, it wasn't the one you were very close with.

It was the same dude who you kind of aggravated by breaking a certain egg on the carbonara. He was scared to approach you at first, after all, you were with a certain ex-delinquent, and how you are a lover of a certain Red Tyrant. But now you're alone.

He cracked open his eyes, moving his fringe to reveal a stare that was terrifying to say the least. But as soon as he focused his vision on your form, his eyes widened with familiarity. He knows you too well.

At first, you tried to apologise, but he chuckled meanly, knowing you're all alone on this one.

The delinquent cracked his fists and smiled meanly to you, no words were spoken, but you can tell the longer you stayed— the beating of you would be brutal.

Tears sprang and soon you screamed, running in a random direction, trying to get away from the student. You were scared, that man looked like he was ready to bring hell.

Luckily for you, someone heard your scream, that someone is your beloved— Riddle. Riddle was absolutely on the edge when you didn't appear. About to scold you actually.

But he heard your scream, he knows your voice! He whipped his head over to the sound, but what happened was too fast.

You slipped behind him, holding his cape, crying and pleading that Riddle has to help you.

Riddle, being Riddle, was mad and instantly put his dorm head status to the test. By test, he stood upright, and his firm face on.

Riddle basically tried to assert dominance over the person, and it worked! The delinquent was no longer fuming, but he did have a scared face, he was about to run away again...

Until... "OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" was shouted, and the delinquent struggled as he tripped, collar on his neck.

Said delinquent was forced to do more chores and a 3 page long apology addressed to yoj.

leona kingscholar

You planned a date with Leona, and he (somehow) agreed to it. However, prior to your date, you had a small small errand with Crowley.

It was just get a pale of water from the well, found in the Courtyard, you shrugged off the weird ask, money was bound to be their.

Despite the fact you were careful, you slipped and tumbled, causing you to spill the pale of water to the group of bullies that was just lounging on the courtyard.

That was the beginning of the chase.

For someone who lounges a lot, he was somehow on time on your date. Unlike his usual dates with you, he wanted to spice up and give a nice outdoor date.

Ruggie also bugged him to do it, just so he could avoid chores, but also gave him a good reason to. You might need air and some excitement!

However, you're ten minutes late, which is unusual. You planned the date, you ought to be early! But, something was wrong, he can feel it. He feels it in his gut. You could be in trouble!

Leona knows when you are in trouble, he memorized you already. So, he has theories on what may have happened to you, and all seemed not good outcomes.

And, he was right! As you came rushing into the scenic part of your date, disheveled and crying. A pack of bullies hot on your trail, a mocking smile gracing their lips.

Leona, whose partner was his jewel, was ready to defend and kill. You ran towards him, your heavy breathing from the running somewhat calmed down, as he put you behind him.

He bared his fangs, a growl escaping his throat, as he smugly stood proud and tall. He rose an eyebrow to the bullies, which they cowered in.

Leona banished them from both of your sight, and hugging you tightly, asking if they hurt you and why did they do such things.

He made sure some hyena was going to have a bunch of helpers for the chores!

azul ashengrotto

A bad contract case was common for Azul, he had a lot of experience with such bad mouthed people. He made sure you weren’t going to be affected with such bad people, especially he has such a strong love for you

Now, usually after a few words, they become really compliant, if they are a bad and tough nut to crack, Those were the times he sent in the Leech brothers, they deal with the tough customers.

Azul is always safe, he has contracts, the twins and you! However, that sense of security will tumble once a particular customer was being quite the fuss in the Mostro Lounge

That sense of security was broken down one day, when you came in, rushing with tears streaming on your sad face. Fear was evident in your eyes.

You ducked behind him, asking for protection that only he can provide, which made him scared as he knows he can't fight physically. Truth be told, he was scared as hell.

You see, you made rounds in Mostro Lounge a lot, usually carrying a drink to help with Azul's survey of customers. You checked on whether the customers are storming in or not. In summary, you analyze and people watch.

But one day, whilst drinking a glass of water, you tripped. A moment after your trio, the glass had been emptied and spilled on a very pissed off customer.

The said customer was mad at Azul, he didn't keep the deal, now he wanted revenge on such. When you tripped and spilled water on the (delinquent) customer, he had burst out laughing and started to threaten and make up ideas on how to hurt you

Thus, a wild chase of chaos ensue, many tried to help you— but you didn't want to involve innocent customers. So, you ran to Azul, knowing he probably has something to fix this.

The twins were gone too, so you were alone on this journey of chaos. Your aching feet ran through the dimly lit part of the lounge to meet Azul's office.

Now, bursting through the door of the office doors of Azul, you had a fear driven adrenaline as you rushed behind Azul.

The Twins were there too, Jade helping Azul sort out the contracts and Floyd listing names of potential bad contracts that won't pay up.

Your arrival was unexpected, and it didn't help how you were crying your eyes out to the trio. You babbled on about the delinquent, but the tears and heavy breathing was not helping you form a sentence that one can comprehend.

The delinquent burst in, and the trio was startled at that, but it made you scream and hold onto Azul tighter. The atmosphere felt tense, and everyone knew that something bad is going to happen.

"Jade, Floyd... You know, he seems familiar. Remember him?? Oh, and it seems he made quite a fuss to my angel fish.."

kalim al-asim

It was another party at Sacrabia, the festivities begin with a joy and rowdy crowds. This was the norm for most parts.

However, a bitter look was on one's face, a certain delinquent student from Savanaclaw. He was bitter as the is party happening, no one knew why. But no one dared to approach, after all... His scars and bruised knuckles were signs.

Now, the festivities were starting to get more and more hyped— lots starting to jump and rejoice in such ways that was so rowdy.

You, Kalim's darling, was just jumping and smiling as the party seems to be growing more. You lost track of Kalim a few minutes, he said he was going to get something special for both of you, so he slipped away from the party.

Drinks were serving like crazy, the party making everyone crave sweet or refreshing foods and drinks. That being said, you were now getting pushed by many and many students, causing your glass of water spilling on someone. The delinquent.

You tried to apologise, grabbing your napkin, but the student grunted and glared at you. Everyone kept partying, but some distanced themselves from you. You gulped and decided to run, abandoning your glass of water and trying to find Kalim or Jamil.

You saw Kalim walk down the stairs, and you pushed through the crowd, crying and pleading to get out of the damned way. Kalim saw you and was confused when you rushed behind him, bawling out your eyes.

He then cried too, feeling bad for your suffering, and crying when he realized a big scary guy as coming! Kalim hugged you and shakily promised that he loves you and will protect you.

Jamil was speeding through the crowd when he saw you running, and ran up to face you and Kalim crying your eyes out. He rose a brow, but then he saw the student. He was glaring accusingly at you.

Jamil sighed and decided to take matters in his own hands.

vil schoenheit

How dare someone make his precious darling cry and hide behind him and Rook? How dare a vile creature made you run and cry?

Now, how did all of this happen? You were enjoying a picnic and then a few moments later you were sobbing and crying for help to save you from a delinquent.

The story was simple, you and Vil were enjoying a nice brunch, when all of a sudden Vil had a call to make. It was odd, as usually the calls don't come at his brunch. Vil ignored it, but the persistent calls made him answer. He sighed, asking for forgiveness that an interruption had to be made.

He was gone for a few minutes, a lot of things were going on and it seemed to irritate Vil.

Apparently, the call was an impromptu meeting, and needed Vil's presence ASAP. It was a modelling shoot not too far, where Vil is needed to replace a sick model. And Vil was also the only one near enough, so they really needed Vil's presence.

You told him to go, which was a very hard time, but he allowed to leave you and pack up. He instructed you to not do anything rash while he was gone. Now, while you bid farewell to Vil, a man came up to you.

Delinquent by the looks of it, he had shaggy hair, preposterous clothing choices and a smirk that felt violating.

You tried to send him off, but he kept on persisting on taking you out. As if he wasn't smart enough to know you belonged to a certain blonde Pomefiore dorm leader.

It bugged you off that you threw a glass of water and ran to the Pomefiore dorm, crying as he threaten to kill you on the spot. Rook heard and saw this, and swooped in to rescue you!

Vil also arrived albeit late, but he saw you run up to him, crying and pleading the delinquent to go away.

"Rook, what is this lousy potato doing here? Oh? Hurting my potato, hm?"

"That won't do.. not at all. I'll leave the work to you, Rook. Do tell me what they have to say about this event."

After giving the troublemaker to Rook's hands, he led the way to the dorm; where he leads you to his room to do a makeover and spa day.

Its self care day!

idia shroud

He shouldn't have gone to the outside! Everything bad seems to happen when he steps out of his room!! Idia would not go out on many occasions, but you were a special case. A very special case.

Yet, he didn’t expect for you to cry behind him, with a big delinquent closing in on you with a very bad grin on their face. He trembled at the thought of having to face a bully!

You guys were supposed to be on a date by now, why of all days where you get in trouble its this!

How did it even come to this? Well, it was simple. You spilled a buttload of water on the delinquent when doing your weird Crowley assigned. He said to water a few bushes and clean some parts of the school.

You cleaned furiously, scrubbing the dirty moss walls, spraying a bunch of water with the help of Grim and a few ghosts.

The problem? A delinquent bad boy hangs out in a place where water was bound to be splashed, and then an angry chase began.

Idia tried to think of so many video game or anime moves that could intimidate the fast running delinquent. It was amusing, his constant mumbling and the constant sweat made things funnier. Tough, you need to run or distract him so you can avoid getting punched or become a bloody pulp.

"If I use the "LIGHT BEAM LASER" or the “SWEET DEATH!” it could work.. Oh but those muscles look like he has a lot of AP”

The sweet Ortho was also looking for you, he had a s=nice and sweet pep when you started to persuade his big brother more, this calls for a celebration!

While looking for both of you, he saw the delinquent running towards the area he saw you earlier. The worry bubbled inside Ortho, so he followed and he grew angry at the man who seemed to have every intention to hurt you!

Preparing a light beam, Ortho shouted “Stay away from Onii-chan!”, then a large beam hit the bully,

malleus draconia

Malleus was strolling around the area of your dorm, just to visit you and update on his life, and new found treasure places you and him can visit, he made mental notes along the way. Whilst strolling, he saw you and when your eyes met, you ran and cried behind him.

Rage bubbled within the young prince, he always had taken good care of you-- making sure you can be comfortable with him, to see you crying and hiding cowering in fear behind him makes him feel of great sorrow and joy.

His rage took over again when he saw a large bully, clearly scowling at you, and Malleus couldn’t hide his rage. He had risen his green flames, with a frown on his face-- clearly upset at the bully.

Before Malleus can burn the bully, you stopped him, pleading him to spare him and that it wasn’t the bully’s fault. You spilled a water bottle on said bully, while rushing to see Grim and his troublemaking friends.

That explanation didn’t help, it spurred him even more to burn the ground and make sure the bully suffers in a bad way-- just for making you cry and making you uncomfortable. That itself was a punishable crime!

In the end, your crying didn’t stop Malleus to at least leave some burns on said bully.

‘It was only necessary to burn him, leaving a few burns, a few reminders that you are way more important than him. And you value so much to me.”

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twst headcanons #riddle rosehearts #twst riddle #leona kingscholar #twst leona #azul ashengrotto #twst azul #kalim al asim #twst kalim #vil schoenheit #twst vil #idia shroud #twst idia #malleus draconia #twst malleus

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dapandapod · 3 years

Text

Hollow pt 4

It is finally here. After a year, the last chapter of Hollow is here. Prompted by my darling shiny @chaotic-fae-queen and a careful beta read by wonderful @kuripon (both are amazing writers, go check them out!) and Im so happy for them both!

Thank you all for following me through this. I hope you like this last chapter 💖

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Ao3

He is anger and hurt and shuddering breaths and thunder and sadness.

It trembles through him, when Jaskier looks at him with no recognition. Geralt knew, he knew it would happen and still it hurts. It was wise to let Yennefer approach first as he is not sure he would have been able to do it again. If the bard feels any fear, the wind has swept the scent of it away.

Jaskier leads them towards a little hut a short walk from the beach. It is a nice hut, walls tightly fitted and barely letting any of the raging wind inside. The inside is as modest as the outside; there is a bed, a fireplace and a small bookcase. The lute is leaning against the wall in the far corner of the room, seemingly untouched. A table stands in the middle of the room with two chairs. Of course.

Yennefer sits down while Jaskier bustles around to start a pot of tea, and Geralt leans against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“May I offer you anything? I didn’t bring much but I'm sure I still have biscuits somewhere.”

Geralt ignores him, eyes locking on a familiar notebook on the bed. It is a bit worse for wear than last he saw it, the pages worn with use. Jaskier always brought that with him, and that seems to be true still.

“So, Gerald was it?” Jaskier says, looking through cabinets and drawers in his hunt for biscuits. “Have you been around these parts before?” Smalltalk. Jaskier is making smalltalk.

Geralt nods silently, still avoiding to look at the bard. He can hear the bard turn to look for a reply, so he nods again, staring holes into the notes.

“Jaskier, would you please sit down with me for a moment?” Yennefer finally asks, snapping Jaskier out of his hosting duties. When Yennefer asks like that, it is better to listen.

“There is something I need to tell you, and I need you to listen and tell me if you recall anything.”

Geralt chances a look at Jaskier, who is swallowing hard and darts a look back at Geralt. Fuck. He aches inside, and he looks away again with a frown.

“What do you remember from before you came to Oxenfurt?” Yennefer asks.

“I- uh…” Jaskier frowns, looking down at the table. “I'm not sure. I remember I hired someone to bring me there, but I can’t recall his name anymore. I think I was attacked on the road, because I have a scar on my side.” As Jaskier talks, he idly touches the side where the scar hides.

Yennefer nods and then looks pointedly at Geralt.

“I took you to Oxenfurt,” Geralt grumbles out. “And it was because of me you were hurt.”

“Geralt!” Yennefer protests, but it’s the truth. Geralt's truth.

“You did? But I don’t recognize you at all!” Jaskier says and Geralt just wants to leave.

“Alright, we will do this another way.” Yennefer sighs, clearly done with Geralt already. “Jaskier, memories were taken from you. Are being taken from you. You and Geralt spent years together, and something is making you forget him.” Jaskier frowns at that, then puts his face in his hands.

A soft moan comes from him, as if he were in pain.

“Do you know what you have forgotten, good and bad, or do you wish to carry on? I need to know if you want to remember.” She asks, and puts a hand on his shoulder. “I won’t force it on you. You have a choice.” Yennefer shoots Geralt a glare as she says this.

The seconds tick by, and Geralt is all nerves.

On one hand, he desperately wants Jaskier safe. On the other hand, he desperately wishes to have him close. They don’t go well together, sadly.

“I think I need to know.” Jaskier finally says, and Geralt feels like someone has punched him in the chest. “But I don’t think I can do it today. It is a lot to take in.”

Yennefer and Geralt return to the hut in the morning. The skies have cleared up and the gulls are circling high above them and diving into the wild sea. Jaskier sits outside his door, leaning back against the dirt wall, chewing on a piece of straw. His eyes are closed, head tilted up towards the sun. The breeze is warm and brings a salty tang with it. When they come closer, Jaskier startles.

“Yennefer! I'm so glad to see you! It’s been so long!” He bounces up, arms wide like he is going in for a hug. He doesn’t, thankfully, so Yennefer doesn’t have to do something cruel. It doesn’t bode well that he doesn’t remember yesterday, but at least they are about to do something about it.

Then Jaskier's eyes snag on the witcher behind her, and his eyes widen comically.

“Bringing a bodyguard while visiting little ol' me?” His eyes rake Geralt up and down. Not a modest bone in that one.

“He will be staying outside,” She says with a smirk over her shoulder and Geralt scowls. “Do you have chamomile tea?”

She stalks into his hut without waiting, sitting down in the same chair as yesterday. Jaskier comes inside after her, giving one last look at Geralt before he closes the door, and then he starts the same routine as yesterday, looking for herbs and kettles.

“It really is such a great coincidence to meet you today, Yennefer,” He tells her, banging the same cabinets and drawers. “There is something I need to ask you.”

He puts the water on, takes out mugs for them and finally, finally sits down. There is a short silence, only disturbed by the sound of waves and seabirds from the outside. Yennefer is sure Geralt is listening to every word they say through the door.

“I think,.” Jaskier begins, clutching his empty cup in his hands,” I think there is something wrong with me.” He looks absolutely miserable, twirling the cup back and forth.

“What makes you think that?” She asks, knowing full well.

“I have a notebook,” Jaskier says quietly, like a confession. “It is filled with my handwriting, but I don’t remember a thing.”

Oh.

“Yennefer. I think I was in love.”

Oh fuck.

“May I see it?” She asks. She doesn’t know why she asks, but it is too late now. Jaskier hesitates for a moment, then he stands up, checks on the pot above the fire, and fetches a collection of notes that Geralt was trying to stare to death yesterday.

That explains a thing or two.

“I can’t for the life of me figure out why I don’t remember them. And everything in here is just hints, the shapes of secrets,” he says as Yennefer looks through the worn pages. It’s beautiful and rough, and just as he said, shapes. But Yennefer sees Geralt in them, and he sees the feelings Jaskier talks about.

“I might know what is wrong with you,” she says, closing the book and pushing it over the table. Jaskier takes it and strokes it’s cover lovingly. “But I need to do something to be certain. Jaskier, are you sure you want to know? Because there is so much pain in your past.”

Jaskier takes a moment, thinking it over. When he looks at her again, he looks troubled.

“It feels like someone is raking through my mind, and there are so many things I just can’t wrap my head around.” Jaskier says, looking down at the table. “It is eating me up inside, carving and emptying me out. I need to know.”

The same reply as yesterday then. Good. She can work with that.

Yennefer is strong. Incredibly powerful. Julian can’t wield magic, but he feels the vibrations of it in his chest, in his mind.

“You have a powerful curse on you,” she tells him, sweat forming on her forehead. She makes no attempt to wipe it away, only trying to force her breathing into a more steady rhythm. “It is going to be a bit tricky undo. I need to find what it is centered around.”

The vibrations stop, and he feels strangely empty when it’s gone.

“How?” Julian asks, and Yennefer smirks. She is indeed terrifying when she does that.

“I'm going to ask intrusive questions and you are going to answer them honestly.”

And she does. She asks about everything and nothing. When she asks him about his lute, he is surprised. He has a lute? Since when? Then he looks around the small hut and sees it standing in a corner. Not for the first time, he feels fear’s icy fingers grip around him.

Then she asks him about the songs, the poems, if he remembers where it all comes from. He finds he cannot answer.

“I have a theory,” Yennefer finally says, sipping her tea. “It is a little insulting if it is true, but nonetheless.”

“Let's hear it,” Julian replies, will he finally, finally know what’s happening to him.

“I think the curse makes you forget what you love most.”

Julian gapes. A million things run through his mind. A million things, his minds fingers grasping after them as they slip away.

“I can break it, but it will take some work. Do you want that?” She looks at him, he feels her in his head. He knows she has found his answer, but he says it anyway.

“Yes.”

Geralt hears bits and pieces from the conversation going on inside. He has taken the chair that Jaskier vacated, the sun warming his face in the breeze. Geralt tries not to listen in. Nothing good would come from hearing their conversation.

He focuses on the sea instead. On the gulls cry, on the roar of the waves, on the familiar lull of Jaskiers voice. It is peaceful. Quiet. If it wasn’t for the storm inside him, he would have been content.

Jaskier's eyes on him today, assessing him like he would a stranger in a tavern, it was… sad. Geralt misses his friend. And fears for him too. The scar that already mars his body, the curse, just being with Geralt puts him in danger.

What will happen next? When Jaskier remembers? What if he can’t remember, if Yennefer can’t break it? Geralt is not sure which is worse, but being forgotten hurts. There are many ways to lose a friend. But it stings even now, as he knows that the word friend is not enough. Not near enough.

Geralt has many friends. Many people he cherishes. But with Jaskier, it’s bigger. What he feels when he looks at him, it’s… frightening. He knows the word for it. It is waiting on the tip of his tongue, hidden behind firmly shut lips. The reason he needs to protect Jaskier.

Geralt falls into meditation easily. Their voices through the wall become a backdrop, his mind following the clouds instead of the raging sea. It soothes him to hear Jaskier again. Yennefer is right. It is not his decision to make.

Shame and fear drove him to this.

Geralt is selfish, he knows.

His medallion vibrates, a flash of light and the smell of sulfur breaks him out of meditation.

In the blink of an eye, Geralt is on his feet, sword in hand and heart in his throat. He sees no threat, senses no one else in the area, and slowly straightens again. Right.

So it’s done then.

This is when Jaskier leaves him, memories intact.

Silence reins inside the hut. Geralt doesn’t dare break it. He sits back down, leaning his head back against the wall. He closes his eyes and feels every emotion that rushes through him. All the what-ifs, all the if-nots.

Maybe Geralt should leave. He could leave, right now, and Jaskier wouldn’t get hurt because of him again.

Jaskier comes out of the hut, Yennefer close behind him. Geralt turns his head and looks at them, but says nothing.

Yennefer puts a hand on Jaskier's arm, squeezing it and smiling. Jaskier stands with his back turned, but Geralt thinks he is smiling too.

“I’ll be in town if you need me,” Yennefer says quietly. She turns, opens a portal, and then she is gone.

Once again silence sits between them, thick and heavy.

When Jaskier turns, he is frowning.

For a long moment, they just look at each other. Geralt feels locked in place, the roar of his emotions keeping him firmly stuck.

“Why?” Jaskier asks finally. He looks angry, hurt, disappointed.

“Because I can’t lose you,” Geralt says before he can stop himself. It is the truth anyway.

“So you let me forget?”

“To keep you safe.”

“Geralt. Do you know what the curse was?” Jaskier asks, and Geralt shakes his head. Jaskier presses his lips together into a thin line, another flash of anger behind those blue eyes.

“It made me forget what I love the most. Who I love the most.”

Geralt did….not expect that.

“Vital parts of me, gone. Do you know what it’s like to feel hollow inside, Geralt? To have a piece of yourself so thoroughly missing?” Jaskier's voice is calm, and Geralt can’t stand it.

Geralt swallows thickly and stands up, walking closer to Jaskier.

With one hand he grips Jaskier's chin and angles it up so that they look at each other.

“I do.” Geralt confesses. He is pain and fear and hurt and shuddering breaths and thunder and sadness.

It tears through him, and he lets himself feel it, show it, and Jaskier watches it all.

Jaskier loves him.

Jaskier forgot him.

Geralt let him.

“Why did you let me go?” Jaskier whispers, his own hurt and sadness and shuddering breaths falling from his lips. His hand comes up to wrap around Geralt's wrist, his eyes searching for the something hiding on the tip of Geralt's tongue.

“Because I… Because I love you,” Geralt says quietly, and the something builds. Builds and builds in his chest, so big that he can barely breathe. Geralt lets his other hand come up and cup Jaskier's cheek.

They are standing close together, the wind tearing at their clothes, but they are holding on to each other so tightly.

“Because I can’t stand to see you hurt, not because of someone like me.”

“Geralt-”

“Please let me say this. I think I need to tell you this.”

Jaskier nods and shuts his mouth, his hand on Geralt's wrist warm and grounding, keeping him steady.

“I am selfish, Jaskier.” It feels so good to say his name again. “The only way for me to let you go, I-”

He falters. It is hard to speak. Once again he admires Jaskiers ability to express himself.

“To forget me, to let you go this way was the safest way I knew how. It hurt me, but I could live with that pain if it meant that you are safe.”

Anger and hurt flashes in his eyes again.

“Geralt. She tooks my memories, yes, she made me forget all I love, all that brings me joy. Not just you. I forgot my name. My lute. My songs. My friends. One after another, they all faded away. Do you know how terrifying that is?”

With his words, Geralt grows cold. He didn’t realize it was so bad.

Let it hurt you like it hurt me.

It made perfect sense now. The spell was aimed at him, not Jaskier. And Jaskier has so much love in him.

“And I kept you from those things.” Geralt realizes with a shaky whisper. “I thought I could keep you safe, but I hurt you. Again. I don’t know how to keep you safe.” Jaskier smiles sadly at him and pushes their foreheads together.

“Idiot witcher,” He says, and Geralt closes his eyes. “Life isn’t safe. I am very angry with you for leaving me, Geralt. But I am incredibly happy you came back for me.”

“I almost didn’t.” Geralt confesses with a whisper, because he can’t seem to stop himself from hurting either of them. “I was so convinced that you were safer without me.”

“I probably would be,” Jaskier agrees, and the confirmation rips through him, sharper than any blade. “And you will never stop believing that. But you don’t get to make that choice for me. That choice is mine.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I think that is only the third time in my life I have heard you apologise,” Jaskier says, and Geralt can hear the teasing smile in his voice.

“I have something I need to say too, but I think you already know by now.”

Geralt swallows hard again, a roaring need rising in his chest.

“Would you look at me, Geralt?” Jaskier whispers, and he does. Their eyes lock, inches from each other, and Jaskier's grip on his wrist tightens. His eyes are so incredibly blue.

“I love you,” Jaskier tells him, smiling sadly again.

No, that sad smile is not allowed.

Geralt leans forward that last inch, tilting his head, closing that terrible distance.

It is soft and a little awkward. Jaskier kisses him back, lips dry and clinging to each other, but Geralt wants nothing else.

“Don’t ever let me forget again.” Jaskier whispers against his lips.

Geralt can do nothing but promise.

#memory loss #geraskier #light angst #the witcher #geralt x jaskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #julian alfred pankratz #dapanda writes #jaskier the bard #yennefer of vengerberg #getting together #difficult conversations

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themonkeycabal · 3 years

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Wandavision Ep 5 Spoilers

Wherein I watch Wandavision at a stupid hour of the morning because I do not sleep like a regular human being, and sometimes I have things to say.

Previously on Wandavision, we all discovered that Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo were the BFFs we never knew we needed and now can't live without. Also Wanda reminded us that she's really scary.

We should be in the 80s now, right? Ahh the 80s. Leg warmers, Aquanet, and MTV.

Baby shenanigans with crying twins. Wanda tries to magic them to sleep and it doesn't work. "Maybe we just need some help." And in pops Agnes without waiting for them to answer the door. As you do in a sitcom hell. She's got a headband and leg warmers on and is on her way to jazzercise. Of course. Is the point of Agnes to really anchor us in a decade? Asking for real. She's very "this is the era, and these are the tropes, let's all play along now."

Vision is very protective of the babies, to such a degree and with such intensity that Agnes literally forgets her line and nervously asks Wanda if she wants her to take that again. Well, then. Agnes very super a lot does not want to be wished to the cornfield.

The babies stopped crying during the whole "should we do this scene again" interlude. Vision noticed the weirdness and is trying to figure out what's going on, Wanda is trying very hard to pretend everything is normal. Agnes is being super duper bizarre in the background. And suddenly the twins are like three years old. Agnes has given up and got into the liquor. I don't blame her.

Opening credits. Okay, I'm sorry, 'baby' Vision is almost more stupidly funny than I can take. Like … what? I think I want that as my new icon, though. Also the credits are too long. I think they were very proud of their theme song, so we have to hear it all. These are my least favorite so far. Very 80s, but meh.

In the real world, Monica is getting x-rays and giving a report on being yeeted from Wanda World.

Jimmy Woo and Darcy are there to greet her at the end of the exam. "This is Doctor Darcy Lewis." Yes, she is! Still very proud. She's also the doctor of encouraging people to wear pants, shoving a pair at hospital gown-clad Monica. Erik's no-pants phase was very scarring.

The medic comes back and says the medical tests didn't work or something. The medic wants to do x-rays again because the first came back blank and also she's going to have to do another blood draw. Hmm. Monica is still somehow affected by Wanda World? Unclear on how that would work. Some sort of weird witchy radiation-like energy? Monica says 'no' to more needles and also wants to put pants on. Just let the woman have her pants.

Now we're on to a briefing with the acting Director of SWORD whose name I don't remember. He's very "government suit" bland, I have a hard time caring about anything he says. Also, does anybody else pronounce the 'w' in SWORD in their head when they read it? Like I cannot make my brain stop doing that. "s-WUH-ord'.

"Our initial theory had Wanda Maximoff as one of many victims. We now know she is the principle VICTIMIZER!" Settle down there, acting director guy. Why not say 'subject', 'suspect', 'perpetrator', or boring old 'cause of the anomaly". VICTIMIZER! Geez then. I'm going to guess his solution will be a tactical nuke or some such rot.

Jimmy gives background on Wanda.

Acting Director Guy: "The twins were subsequently radicalized, volunteering at Hydra." Jimmy Woo: "That's an oversimplification of events, but yes." I'm giving you heart-eyes Jimmy Woo.

"After unspecified experimentation with the mind stone, Maximoff gained telekinetic and telepathic abilities."

Then a weird aside where the Acting Director — who shall now be known as Acting Director Dick — wants to know if Wanda had a code name or a something, seeming to imply that not having one made her a bad guy?, and then he points out how the first time she used her powers it was against the Avengers. He totally just ordered a tactical nuke from "overreacting-government-douchebags r us". I hate this particular character trope, the government heavy who never listens to anybody and is always ready to napalm the suburbs because reasons. It's so tedious.

Jimmy points out that Wanda earned the Avengers trust and then became an Avenger herself, thank you very much. Acting Director Dick doesn't care, he's decided Wanda is a terrorist and he'll turn half of New Jersey into a glass parking lot to get rid of her. Sure am glad he's in charge of some sort of mysterious and powerful agency.

Jimmy Woo is not a fan either, and he walks back over to his new bestie and tells Darcy that while he tries not to speak ill of anybody … Darcy interrupts "then allow me", and she has no trouble saying that Acting Director Dick is, in fact, a dick. That's my girl.

Elsewhere AD Dick is blathering on about how they don't negotiate with terrorists. Well, since Wanda hasn't made any demands, or released a manifesto or anything …. Monica also points out Wanda is not a terrorist. AD Dick twists her report to make Wanda sound as terroristy as he can. I'm bored with him now.

Monica argues with him a bit and say she doesn't believe Wanda World is a premeditated act of aggression. I vote Darcy, Jimmy, and Monica wait until AD Dick is alone, and then they shove him in a locker for the rest of the season. If anybody asks he had to run back to sWUHord for meetings or something, "Darn, you just missed him. I'll tell him you're looking for him. Great. Buh-bye now".

AD Dick needs to make his big jackass point that Wanda is the most terroristy terrorist who ever terroristed, so he shows off footage of Wanda breaking into a SWORD facility to steal back Vision's body. Because that seems terroristy and not at all like some sort of emotional breakdown. As far as I can tell, she just busted open a few doors, but didn't hurt anybody. I think AD Dick doesn't know the meaning of the word terrorist.

And, yes, then she resurrected Vision in an idealized sitcom world in a small city in New Jersey. That's exactly like something a terrorist mastermind would do. Mmmhmm. Is it nice for the people trapped there with them? No, clearly not. Agnes and Herb in particular seem aware and are scared. They need to be rescued and Wanda needs LOADS of therapy. But Director Nuke the Site from Orbit over here isn't going to make anything better. Darcy, sister, shove that asshole into a locker stat.

Jimmy notes that stealing Vision's body is a violation of the Sokovia Accords. And while I appreciate his dedication to maintaining the Accords … well, I mean, look, it's body theft and all. It's not a great look; I absolutely allow that. But you can just sort of stop there. Though, that's very the Sokovia Accords "if this guy dies, his body must go to a shadowy government agency. for safety. yep."

Also Vision had a living will, where he didn't want to be used as a weapon. Sure, okay. Because I'm sure SWORD was just totally not doing anything at all with his body. Nope. Look, I'm totally a SHIELD girl and even I wouldn't necessarily trust SHEILD with that. So, who is SWORD to me? Pfft. I'd give him to Thor or something and ask him to be buried far far away. I'm just saying. I'm supposed to trust Johnny-Come-Lately S-WUH-ORD?

(In my head now is an inter-agency rivalry where SWORD is like "We have rocket ships!" and SHIELD is like "lol, our lead scientist got eaten by a rock and survived on an alien world for like six months". "But rocket ships?" "We've traveled through time a dozen times in the last year alone. We're a bigger chaotic disaster than you can ever hope to be".)

AD Dick undermines his own "SHE'S A TERRORIST!" thesis by saying she acted out of grief. And then he dismisses everybody. "Work the problem!" Uh … whut? Fine? What is the problem? That she's a WILD MURDERY TERRORIST who must be stopped! or a grief stricken woman who stole her technologically advanced boyfriend's body and probably should be talked down? Acting Director Lack of Clarity.

Jimmy wants to know how Wanda could have resurrected Vision without the Mind stone and Darcy wants to know what Vision will do when he figures it out. Fine questions, friends, fine questions. Monica is just like "acting director dick used to be a buddy but now I kind of want to punch him and am very conflicted. oh and wanda kind of freaks me out but also i feel bad for her" only she says all that without words.

Tommy and Billy are now about like 5 or 6 or something. I'm terrible with kids ages. They're up to shenanigans. Oh, they found a lost puppy dog and they're giving him a bath in the sink. It's all super adorable.

Vision wanders in and greets his family all formally and in his human face. He says he has a premonition someone might pop over. He's not a fan of sitcom neighbors either. And there's Agnes now with a dog house. How does she know whether to enter through the front door or the back door?

The dog tries to burn the house down by licking an electrical outlet? so they name him Sparky (harr harr) and Wanda magics him a collar with Agnes right there. Vision's all "wtf darling?" and she points out Agnes didn't even notice when the boys went from babies to five-year olds, she certainly didn't notice the magic collar. Agnes is trying very very hard not to notice anything. Poor Agnes.

Wanda says she's tired of hiding her abilities and Vision is Very Concerned. He's starting to figure things out.

They tell the boys they can't have a dog until they're 10, so the boys grin at each other and age themselves up to 10. That is all very unsettling. Agnes "Let's just hope this dog stays the same size." as she screams internally "save me!"

Real World. Jimmy's hustling back to the science room with coffee for Monica and Darcy. Monica is asking for some sort of wild mobile bunker to help her get back into Wanda World and Darcy's like "well, yes, but also no". But Monica knows an aerospace engineer who'd totally make it for her.

"I can't guarantee the Hex won't just mind wipe you as you go in." "What's the hex?" "Oh, it's what I'm calling the anomaly because of it's hexagonal shape. It's starting to catch on." Darcy's so proud, but Jimmy's like 'not so much' but he's too polite to say.

Monica's determined to go back in. Jimmy wants to know who the kids are, if they've id'd them or the babies and Monica's all "oh, no, those are legit Wanda's." Darcy says if she can make stuff with her mind, and all the props and whatnot in the Wanda World are real then she's wielding an insane amount of power. Monica is sure she could have taken out Thanos if he hadn't cheated and snapped her. Jimmy thinks Captain Marvel could have done it. Monica very much doesn't want to talk about Captain Marvel.

Monica has an Idea!

Ah, she wants to see her outfit from Wanda World, which is now in the real world. So, is it real matter Wanda created, or is the perception field bleeding over to make them all see that outfit in the real world. That would have been hella awkward if Monica got yeeted out of her clothes.

Monica confirms they're real then steals Jimmy's gun and shoots them. Ahh, she was wearing a kevlar vest when she went into Wanda World, and that changed shape to be her super fly 70s outfit. "Wanda is rewriting reality." Changing things to fit the hex. So they'll send in something that doesn't need to be changed. Um. Sure. Fine. I don't know what that means, or how that would help in this context, but I'm sure I'll find out.

Meanwhile, Vision is at work, and all his coworkers are amazed at the actual computers. Golly shucks. Computers. Hey, so, computers have been around since the 40s. ANYWAY.

"Should we surf the internet?" We're progressing rapidly through the 80s. Oh, lol, Darcy sent an email. And the whole office creepily reads it out loud. Vision is very weirded out. As well he should be. He wipes the computer with his glowy synthezoid powers and then he glowies Norm when Norm tells him 'none of it is real'. Norm wakes up "please help me. what day is it? how long has it been?". Oh dear. Poor Vision. This is all going to go so very badly. Norm gets very freaked out begging Vision to "stop her". Vision resets him.

At the house the boys wonder where dad is, and Wanda tells them it's Monday and he's at work. Except the boys are all "um, no, it's Saturday". Wanda, your house of lies is tumbling down! You shouldn't have let them grow up so fast. Babies don't ask inconvenient questions about why Daddy needs some space from Mommy and her questionable choices for their shared reality.

Wanda takes the opportunity to impart the 80s family sitcom trope of the weekly life lesson about how family might fight, but they still love each other and family is forever. One of the twins asks if she has a brother. She does. He's far away. But, Sparky goes barking at the door. Wanda looks far away herself. She goes to open the door and Sparky runs out.

Monica has sent in a drone from the 80s. Well that wasn't really a thing. But, how does the 1980s rc plane look more high tech than the 2020s drone they sent in first? Talk to your design team, SWORD.

Anyway, Wanda spots the drone, but she's keeping it out of the broadcast, because she's the editor and director and producer of Wandavision, of course.

Monica announces herself and tries to get Wanda to acknowledge her. Whoops. Wanda's eyes go glowy. AD Dick says "take the shot" and Monica's all "what? no, the drone isn't armed." Except of course it is, because AD Dick is a monumental dick, and he's got a backup drone pilot who takes the shot. Wandavision goes off air. And, oh no, there's a breach at the Hex!

Lol. It's Wanda coming through, dragging the mangled corpse of the drone with her. That was entirely deserved, AD Dick. I hope she shoves it up your ass, dick.

"The missile was just a precaution". AD Dick backpedals quick, like a coward. You gave a three second attempt to talk to Wanda before you pulled the trigger, I don't like you. "You can hardly blame us."

Wanda warns him to stay out. "You won't bother me, I won't bother you." Okay, well, he does kind of have a point, in that there's a whole town of people who are stuck as bit players in Wanda World. That's not very nice. I mean, surely she could have found a nice empty spot somewhere and created her sitcom utopia. That's at least a fair criticism.

Monica tries her best to talk Wanda down. It doesn't work particularly well.

"What do you want?" "I have what I want and no one will ever take it from me again." And she mind controls the soldiers training their guns on her, to turn them on AD Dick. Whoops. And Wanda goes back to her world. The Hex glows all red as she goes.

And we go to commercial. Lagos Brand paper towels. "For when you make a mess you didn't mean to." Wow, so that was brutal. Wanda's not mad at you, Monica. She's just carrying a lot of guilt. Ouch.

Back in Wandavision, the boys are looking for their dog. They find Agnes hiding in the bushes with the dog. Poor Sparky apparently ate some azalea leaves and died. The boys are very sad and Wanda warns them not to age up. They can't run from their feelings. Oh Wanda. "It's too sad," Billy says. "You can fix anything mom," Tommy cries, "Fix the dead". Yikes.

Wanda "I'm trying to tell you there are rules in life." Poor Agnes is trying not to have a total meltdown. "We can't reverse death. No matter how sad it makes us. Some things are forever."

Billy and Tommy try to talk her into bringing back Sparky. And Vision turns up. Well, this is just brutal.

Vision is entirely outside of Wanda's control. "I spoke with Norm. I unearthed the man's suppressed personality and I spoke to him free of your oversight." Yikes. "He was in pain, Wanda."

Okay it's kind of funny they're arguing over the end credits. Vision is very very pissed. "I'm scared." Aww.

Wanda insists she's not in charge of every life in Westview. "I don't know how any of this started in the first place." Huh. Is that really true? Because she's pretty sure of it now. Somebody or something convinced her into a sitcom world and now she's just like "yeah, this is good"? really asking.

Ding-dong.

"I didn't do that."

Vision: *doubt*

DING DONG

Wanda goes to answer the door.

In the real world, alarms are blaring but Darcy notices a new revelation on Wandavision.

Wanda Word — and it's Pietro at the door. See! I knew it had to be Pietro who'd be the surprise guest thingy. I mean it's hilariously X-Men Pietro (Evan Peters, like @lewstonewar suggested), but Pietro nonetheless. There's nobody else it could have been.

Darcy be all WTF? "She recast Pietro?" lol

Okay, Wanda seems legit shocked. I don't think she did that. And I super really don’t think she’d make him sound like a NYC cabbie.

And end.

Well. I mean, I'm not sure what to think. Wanda insists she's not controlling everything. I don't think she created Pietro. But, she totally stole Vision's body and created the kids and seems mostly happy in her sitcom universe and she can traverse the Hex, which obviously suggests its her doing. Dunno. I have questions about Agnes and her convenient timeliness here and there.

The mystery continues.

Disney wants to know if I want to watch Age of Ultron next. How poorly you know me, Disney.

#wandavision #wandavision spoilers #long post #didn't mean for it to get all long #wandavision liveblog

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jaskiersvalley · 3 years

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The Eternal Empire

My dearest @ohnomybreadsticks, this is my humble offering to you as part of @thewitchersecretsanta. I hope it is everything your little heart could hope for, a Modern AU of our OT4 being idiots.

Rating: Mature Pairings: Lambert/Eskel, Aiden/Cahir, Lambert/Eskel/Aiden/Cahir, Eskel/Cahir, Lambert/Aiden Summary: What better way to figure out whether there was any jealousy between them than by going to a strip club? Lambert and Eskel had done all the talking about finding a third to invite into their relationship. In theory they were fine with it, but they needed to see whether theory held up in practice too.

The Eternal Empire

The Eternal Empire was a rather impressive building. It loomed over Lambert and Eskel, slick, dark with golden accents. There was no doubt about what kind of establishment it was, the silhouettes of dancers in the windows, just obscured enough to be nothing more than elegant, barely there shadows. Eskel looked over it in approval.

“Hasn’t really changed.”

Coughing nervously, Lambert glanced between his partner and the building. He really hadn’t expected to ever end up at such an establishment, let alone with Eskel. While he knew his partner had been to strip clubs before, that was before they got their heads out of their arses and actually started dating rather than casually fucking. On the surface, Lambert was the wild one, the unpredictable, hot-headed idiot while Eskel was the quiet, dependable, respectable one. It gave Lambert a bit of a kick to know how wrong those impressions were. After all, he wasn’t the one who had snorted a line of fisstech off the chest of a one night stand.

That was all beside the point, Lambert was now following his partner into the depths of The Eternal Empire, absolutely absorbed in the décor which was dark, highlighted with soft yellow lights that really looked like a never ending line of fire. From deep within the building music reverberated through the walls, making Lambert’s whole body pulse with the beat.

“Are you sure?”

“As long as you are,” Eskel replied, linking their hands. “This is a safe way to see if either of us gets jealous. We’ll find a couple of nice looking and willing performers, buy a couple of dances, have a nice time. It’s just dipping our toes in and seeing how we feel.”

A fine plan, one that had seemed so much better in the light of day. The two of them were so very happy together, Geralt liked to tease they were sickeningly in love. But, over the years, they’d grown to realise that maybe they had room in their lives for an extra person. A threesome hadn’t really been the way they wanted to test their theory, they wanted something more subtle. Hence a strip club and a wedge of cash in Eskel’s pocket.

The main area of the club was quite breath-taking. Lambert stared wide eyed, taking in the large room with a main stage and a couple of smaller ones. There were performers of every kind dotted around the place, doing seemingly impossible things on poles or shimmying against patrons.

“Just remember the rules, look but don’t touch. And look respectfully.”

Lambert was doing just that. Looking very very respectfully, jaw only slightly slack as his gaze caught on two beautiful people, leaning against a bar. Both were lean, strong, and looked like they’d walked off a photoshoot of some description. They were both wearing very little, only tight golden booty shorts that left not a whole lot to the imagination. Their skin glistened in a shimmer of gold - not enough to be overpowering but highlighting all the gorgeous muscles on display. The lady they were chatting to glanced over at them and smirked.

“Oh shit.” Lambert managed to mutter before the glamorous woman was standing in front of them.

“Good evening gentlemen,” she said. “I’m Fringilla, I’ll be your hostess for the evening. I see those two rather lovely idiots have caught your eyes.”

Eskel nodded, more comfortable with the situation than Lambert could ever hope to be. He put an arm around Lambert’s waist and offered a quirk of his lips. “If they have some spare time and don’t mind our visage, a dance would be most welcome.

Fringilla smiled like a shark that smelled blood. She nodded. “Of course. Why don’t I show you to a private booth and I’ll send them over with your preferred drinks. What will it be?”

“Two sodas, a wedge of lime in one if you’re feeling generous,” Eskel replied. There was no drinking to be had that night, this was something they needed to do sober.

With a nod, Fringilla led them to one of the side booths that could be curtained off. It even had a pole in it. “Aiden and Cahir will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you!” Lambert squeaked and Eskel had to hide his fond laugh. He loved his partner but he was so nervous.

“Relax,” he breathed and squeezed the muscles along Lambert’s neck and shoulders with one large hand. “It’s just us having a bit of fun.”

“Shouldn’t we have talked prices first? You said we won’t order off the menu.”

Before Eskel could reply, the curtains fluttered and the two dancers stepped in. He had to hand it to Lambert, he really did spot a beautiful pair. They were rather lucky to have them free for a dance and, looking at them, Eskel already knew it wasn’t going to be cheap but it was so very worth it. Anticipation thrummed impatiently under his skin.

“Hello, thank you,” Lambert said as he took a drink from the shorter of the two. “I’m Lambert, this is Eskel.”

Nerves were obviously getting the better of him but the dancer winked with a cheeky smile. “You can call me Thank You but I generally prefer Aiden. And this is my partner Cahir. I believe you two asked for a dance this evening?”

“Yes please. If it’s no trouble. And we’ll look respectfully but nothing more.”

Cahir turned from Eskel to look at Lambert with a wicked grin. “You are too precious, sweetheart. Why don’t we dance for you and, if the mood takes, we might even let you touch. Okay?”

Eskel settled on the padded bench along the wall and tugged Lambert next to him. They were just within touching distance of the pole and, as Aiden fiddled with the controls artfully disguised in the wall, the lights came down into something darker, more intimate just as music started playing.

With the fluidity of a dancer, Cahir stepped up to the pole and, with seeming ease, pulled himself up it, turning upside down, gripping with his legs while he reached for Aiden. Lambert had no clue where to look. His eyes were drawn to the expanse of stomach and chest revealed by the move but also the way Cahir’s legs wrapped around the pole, thighs flexing. It was just as well they were in a private booth because Lambert wasn’t certain he wouldn’t combust if he’d had to watch this with strangers.

Similarly entranced, Eskel settled in comfortably, sipping at his soda, a hand on Lambert’s thigh. He was impressed by the prowess both Cahir and Aiden showed, they were definitely showmen, used to performing. There was no doubt that Aiden was the cheeky, fun one who stuck his tongue out at Lambert from the top of the pole before seemingly rolling down it, only to catch himself in a sitting position a foot off the ground. It was impressive to say the least. Chancing a glance at Lambert, Eskel had to smile. His partner looked enthralled, leaning closer to watch as Cahir leisurely spun around the pole, more showcasing his muscles than actually dancing. Thankfully, there wasn’t even a flicker of jealousy in Eskel at the way Lambert devoured the show with his eyes.

As the song wound down, Cahir was up on the pole in a similar position to how Aiden had started. But, by virtue of being taller and Eskel also leaning forward, as he leaned back, his face came level with Eskel’s.

“Hello handsome,” Cahir purred and a hand stroked down Eskel’s scarred cheek without hesitation or disgust. Eskel had to hand it to him, the guy was a professional through and through. He turned to look between Lambert and Eskel before his eyes flicked to Eskel’s lips. Before Eskel could give into temptation and lean in, Cahir was pulling himself up and flipping off the pole with flourish, a teasing grin on his face just as the song ended.

“Wow.” Lambert was speechless and he looked ready to start clapping. It was only Aiden slithering to sit next to him that stopped him probably.

“Enjoy the show?” As if he even had to ask and he knew, if his cocky smoke was anything to go by.

“It was amazing,” Eskel cut in when Lambert just nodded and kept nodding without stopping. “How much do we owe you?”

“Nothing.” Cahir flopped down next to Eskel in a sprawl. He had to be aware of how delectable he looked, nobody could be so blind to their own appeal. “We did this because of a bet.”

“You lost a bet?” Lambert finally piped up, eyes big and disappointed. Next to him, Aiden scoffed.

“Lost? No! We won.” He looked altogether far too proud.

That made not a whole lot of sense and Eskel decided to take a drink rather that try and fathom out what kind of idiot bet on something and their prize was dancing in a club while wearing next to nothing. Well, he knew what kind of idiot, the two they were currently sharing a booth with.

“So, were we your great gay awakening?” Aiden asked and held up a hand for Cahir who obediently reached over to high five him.

“Nah. That was Eskel a long while ago.” A laugh actually bubbled up in Lambert’s throat as he shyly looked at his partner. “This was my polyamorous awakening I think.”

“Nice.” Cahir nodded. “I remember Aiden and I figuring that one out.”

“Wait-” Eskel looked between the two, “-when you said partner did you mean-?”

Aiden’s bright laughter answered that and he nodded merrily. “Yep. Eight years and counting. Had a few people stick around for a roll in the bed with us but nothing ever stuck.”

Lambert squeezed Eskel’s thigh. They were both thinking it. Obviously Cahir and Aiden were up for at least a fumble if not more too. Especially given how Aiden scooted closer to Lambert, almost sitting in his lap.

“So, what do you say?” Aiden murmured, leaning in.

Eskel watched as Lambert’s tongue darted out and wet his lip. He leaned in closed too, whispering “go for it” and watching as Lambert kissed Aiden. What Eskel didn’t expect was for Cahir to trail a hand across his chest and up his throat to snag two fingers under his chin and turn him back.

“I believe I rudely teased you earlier.” His words curled around a smile. “And, if we do this, I need to go pay Fringilla for your drinks. I would love this to be a bet I lost.”

More than happy to oblige, Eskel wasted no time in kissing Cahir. However, his hand still reached to link his fingers with Lambert’s. As far as first meetings went, it was definitely not a traditional one. Then again, nothing about Lambert and Eskel had ever been traditional and it all worked out just fine. This too would be the start of something unusual but perfect for all four of them.

#lambskel #lambden #eskhir #eskel/lambert #eskel/cahir #lambert/aiden #aiden/cahir #eskel/lambert/cahir/aiden #witcher secret santa #long post

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ffamranxii · 3 years

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Sailor Stars thoughts:

1. The anime does its absolute best to make the Starlights unlikable. Taiki is a fucking asshole (he won’t even give a dying girl, who he explicitly was taken to visit, an autograph, and tells a bunch of children that their grandfather’s theory about souls becoming stars is dead wrong), Seiya is a Nice Guy who hits on Usagi constantly despite being told multiple times she has a boyfriend, and Yaten is a mildly sarcastic cardboard cutout. I know the manga doesn’t expand on them much but the anime is supposed to help make these people real. Counterexample is Chibi-Chibi, who hardly speaks in the manga and relies on her cuteness alone to be likable. They gave her a very cute voice because it was literally all they had to work with, given how often Chibi-Chibi actually appears

2. The dub cast for the Starlights is frankly awful. As civilians, Taiki alternates between a woman trying too hard to make her voice deep and having a bad cold, Seiya sounds like a prepubescent boy, and Yaten sounds like a woman (which they’re not, as civilians); as Starlights their voices are VERY high pitched, especially Yaten’s. Their sub voices just sound like woman talking a bit deeply and then normal women.

3. Why the FUCK did Toei think literally changing sex was less controversial than crossdressing? The Starlights are women and have always been women. Plus, them being male civilians in the anime creates a paradox, because if they’re men with sailor crystals who can become senshi, why can’t Mamoru - who is confirmed multiple times throughout the series as carrying the earth’s star seed and thus being Sailor Earth - do the same? Naoko said Mamoru can’t be a sailor senshi because he’s a man, but the Starlights don’t abide by this rule, they change their fucking biological sex

4. Why is absolutely no one concerned that Chibi-Chibi, a THREE YEAR OLD, just goes off on her own and has her own little adventures? She wanders into some strange old man’s house and they’re all “oh that’s just Chibi-Chibi,” and no one is worried that a literal stranger invites a three year old into his house where he gives her toys and candy? The 90s were WILD, man

5. Why does Chibi-Chibi, again who is THREE YEARS OLD, have a thigh gap?

6. This one’s on Naoko because it’s like this in the manga, but the anime is supposed to expand on the universe so I blame them too: Why does literally nobody question Chibi-Chibi’s motives? Some strange pink haired child who fucking falls out of the sky one day up and brainwashes Usagi’s mom into thinking she’s her second daughter, and nobody bats an eye at this? That’s sus as fuck and literally the only question anyone has is “is she your kid or Chibiusa’s?” She doesn’t even have a NAME, “chibi” is just a random word she says!

7. I am DIGGING the mobster feel of the Animamates’ civilian forms. Especially Iron Mouse and Tin Nyanko, who clearly launder money through a shady car dealership.

8. The Starlights’ only redeeming qualities are their snazzy entrance music and Seiya’s red suit

9. Why is Aluminum Siren the only Animamate who understands that a senshi has a pure star seeds? Like, y’all killed the senshi of your home planets to take their star seeds so YOU could be senshi (which is presumably why Galaxia wants more seeds, to make more Animamates with them), shouldn’t you know that?

10. Aluminum Siren/Lead Crow are trying their damn hardest to give Harumichi a run for their money in the quest to become the Best Space Lesbians.

11. So the Moon Kingdom fosters loyalty through child soldiers. I’m assuming Queen Serenity has her own senshi in the form of our senshi’s mothers, etc. (Which begs the question of if the Asteroid Senshi are supposed to be the future kids of our senshi or if they too are child soldiers from the asteroids they’re named after.) Kinmoku seems to foster loyalty by having the Kakyuu’s senshi fall in unrequited love with her. (In the manga it’s stated Kakyuu has a husband who died when their planet was destroyed.) I mean, whatever works, right?

12. I LOVE Tin Nyanko’s dub voice. She’s only around Usagi’s age and she sounds it

13. The dub actress for Lead Crow seems like she’s half assing it. Her voice doesn’t raise properly when she yells, she never sounds really angry, and it’s just so odd. I find a lot of dub voices do this, while the original Japanese VAs will scream their lungs out into the mic

14. On the reverse, Galaxia’s voice actress is a badass. She’s supposed to have a deep menacing voice but I like the one they gave her in the dub. She’s quiet, and sounds almost kind, and that’s a fucking TERRIFYING sort of villain we don’t see a lot of. Even when she’s pissed she doesn’t raise her voice.

15. Why are Lead Crow and Tim Nyanko the same height? Lead Crow is like 5’10 and Tin Nyanko is 4’11 like Sailor Moon

16. As an aside, Tin Nyanko and Lead Crow don’t like each other, which reminds me of the cats vs crows trash can showdown in Haikyuu lol

17. Haruka’s hate boner for Seiya gives me life

18. FINALLY someone calls the Starlights out on being assholes but it’s only after Makoto sees them harassing a THREE YEAR OLD (Chibi-Chibi). Literally everyone BUT Usagi thinks they’re assholes. “They sing such beautiful songs!” Bro. You can sing pretty and still be a fucking dick.

19. Lead Crow goes after Sailor Moon only after reading Siren’s notebook. Ditzy SIREN is the smartest Animamate, lord help them

20. Kakyuu’s dub voice is SO GOOD. She’s my favorite minor character, I’m still bitter they didn’t show Sailor Kakyuu

21. Seiya’s crush on Usagi was so awkwardly shoehorned in. I hate it. Jesus fucking Christ Usagi is sobbing in the goddamn rain about how much she misses Mamoru and Seiya is STILL coming onto her.

22. It is literally so fucking funny to me that Mamoru spends all of Stars fucking dead. He’s just a perpetual damsel in distress.

23. Rei literally lectures Usagi about leading Seiya on and how “you need to do the right thing and tell him you already have someone,” AS IF USAGI HASN’T BEEN DOING THAT AT EVERY AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITY. THE FIRST TIME THEY MET SHE SAID SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND, SHE’S TOLD SEIYA OVER AND OVER THAT SHE ISN’T INTERESTED IN HIM, THAT SHE’S GOT A BOYFRIEND, THAT SHE LOVES HER BOYFRIEND. The fucking MISOGYNY here, like it’s Usagi leading Seiya on instead of Seiya being a fucking Nice Guy who can’t take no for a goddamn answer. Shut the fuck up, Rei.

24. Pretty sure under Kakyuu’s headdress is a pair of odango

25. The fact that Iron Mouse and Aluminum Siren both die when their bracelets are removed yet Tin Nyanko doesn’t implies that Tin Nyanko was the original Sailor Mau. Mouse and Siren dying implies that forcing senshi powers on a civilian is dangerous and that Galaxia’s bracelets are the only thing keeping them alive (albeit brainwashed). Yet Tin Nyanko seems to revert to “good” when one of her bracelets is destroyed. Galaxia has to intervene and kill her personally. Tin Nyanko may have offered her senshi powers to spare Mau (this applies only in the anime; in the manga she’s explicitly said to have killed Sailor Mau)

26. Oooh Galaxia’s angry voice is so commanding and sexy

27. Don’t gimme that “we love Usagi but we love you Starlights just as much.” No you fucking don’t. The whole death scene in the anime is just so... ugh. Bad.

28. The Outers fighting Galaxia is hilarious. They’re supposed to be stronger than the Inners yet Galaxia never even has to get out of her chair to kick their asses. The writers were trying real hard to make us fear the worst and back the senshi into a corner but literally they’ve made this an impossible battle to win that only becomes winnable due to plot armor.

29. Rewatching Stars and classic after Eternal and Crystal makes me miss the battle damage the fuku took. The new series always has them looking pristine, but in classic they actually get roughed up and battle scarred. It makes it more real.

30. Aww how come Uranus and Neptune got to keep their names when they joined Galaxia? I wanna know what whack ass Animamate name they would’ve gotten. (Also Galaxia literally just sent them out like Pokémon, wtf)

31. I feel like Saturn dying shouldn’t be possible since she’s literally a senshi of death but... whatever, go off I guess.

32. So.... Uranus and Neptune joining Galaxia to try and take her star seed is a cool idea that absolutely did not happen in the manga, and needed more than half an episode of development. Would’ve been a cool plot if it wasn’t so rushed.

33. So much of this season was rushed so they could tie the series up at a beat 200 episodes. If they really didn’t want to go over 200, they should’ve cut the Nehelennia arc (which isn’t in the manga anyway) and and focused on developing the Animamates, this sweet Harumichi betrayal plot, and explaining Chibi-Chibi??? Her existence makes no sense without Sailor Cosmos, and they just... didn’t include her??? Wtf

#sailor moon #ffamran watches anime

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bbq-hawks-wings · 4 years

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hey! I've seen a bunch of posts on how HPSC is slightly corrupted and all, could you explain if you understand this? They're (die hard villain fans) usually using this as a justification to slam the heroes for raiding the army. I'm quite confused sorry

I’d be more than happy to, friend! I have a strong feeling it’s going to be a key detail in the story moving forward so it’s good to go back in reviewing everything we know now; plus, it gives me the perfect chance to offer up my theory that ropes in Aizawa, Midnight, and Present Mic. Buckle up, though, because this gets a little long.

The HPSC tells heroes what to do.

The Hero Public Safety Commission is a pocket of the Japanese national government in this universe, sort of like how the FDA is in America.

It’s important to note that HPSC is a separate entity from the heroes. They’re the ones giving out licenses, disciplining rouge heroes, overseeing hero training, acting as liaison between heroes and law enforcement, organizing cooperative efforts with multiple heroes across different regions, and managing the general image of heroes with events like the Hero Rankings Billboard.

Heroes have to obey directives given by the HPSC and hero schools have to align with guidelines set by the HPSC, but heroes don’t usually get a say in these decisions and often only get to complain about how things are done and are stuck doing it anyway. If someone is caught heroing without a license or not in hero uniform, you can be fined and/or jailed. If a hero doesn’t keep up with paperwork or runs off and does their own thing they can also be fined and have their license suspended. If a hero goes AWOL or completely flips out they can have their license permanently taken away and be jailed.

It’s actually even more important to note that way heroes are allowed to operate and answer to the government is actually closer in line to a militia than a police force. In fact, while heroes are allowed to make arrests and use their quirks, they are more restricted in what they can and can’t do on their own than the police. If a hero wants to work with other heroes on an investigation, they have to use the private network (administrated by the HPSC) or communicate in person. In the case with the Shie Hassaikai or looking for Kurogiri and the LoV where police cooperation was necessary to carry out the investigation and bring in the gang right away there was no choice but to be transparent with the HPSC.

However, the HPSC doesn’t have to be transparent with the heroes.

They require heroes to give up all their information to keep working as heroes, but they don’t have any accountability for themselves and have notably dodged scrutiny up to this point with public backlash almost always falling on the heroes who have little to no say in how they run things.

Starting back at the beginning of the series with the USJ incident, it understandably garnered massive media attention - it should have. Dozens of unknown, random two-bit villains poured into the most secure, prestigious hero school in all of Japan undetected and resulted in the serious injury of two teachers and could have included the students as well if All Might had not been there to fight and subdue the inhuman monster - the Nomu - who had up to that point had never been seen before.

It’s not unreasonable that UA initially got the blowback from this as it could have been chalked up to complacency causing a lapse in security that the HPSC absolutely wouldn’t have been accountable for. It’s treated like a one-off event and despite investigations going nowhere on it, it’s ultimately downplayed and checked out in the background while continuing with the Sports Festival in high spirits. However, things get worse.

After passing their semester exams the Hero Course first-years head off to do practical training in the mountains with a hero team named the Wild Wild Pussycats. Remember, because this is a hero training initiative between a school and a hero team, the HPSC is likely involved at least on some administrative level in regards to granting permission and securing the patch of mountainside to use even if this detail is not acknowledged in the series. Despite efforts to only include the staff, teachers, and heroes involved word somehow still gets out - resulting in more student, hero, and teacher injuries, and most importantly the kidnapping of one of the students.

This can no longer be swept under the rug. A lot happens in the secret hideout raid revealing lots of stuff with the plot, including All-for-One’s direct involvement, but it doesn’t add anything more to our notes besides the fact UA is once again blamed and heroes are thrown under the bus instead of the organization overseeing them.

Fast forward to the Provisional License Arc. This is the first time we see the HPSC acting explicitly. It’s noted that they passed significantly more students this year than previously. Yokumiru Mera, the tired proctor, is overworked. The HPSC has a reason to urgently pump more students into the��“working force” now than it had before, though at the moment it’s written off as a result of All Might’s retirement.

During the Shie Hassaikai arc the only suspect detail we get is the fact that the raid on compound is inexplicably compromised, and somehow the yakuza knew the heroes and police were coming. We’ll come back to this and to the leaks in UA again later.

Skipping the remedial courses and school festival arc, we get to the Pro Hero Arc. Big lights, pomp and circumstance, and a massive powerful Nomu attack that nearly kills the freshly crowned #1 Hero. From this point forward, what we get of the HSPC is mainly through Hawks and his experience with him. After the fight, we get a flashback of the President of the HSPC herself telling him to ignore civilian casualties in his mission to infiltrate the LoV, that he has to do it solo, and that he can’t tell anyone. Briefly in the next chapter he says that despite his objections he can’t actually tell them no.

Hold up!

Did a government agency just tell a hero to secretly get in with the villains no matter what, and when he objects and asks whether he’s just supposed to ignore collateral damage in the process is told, “You can and you will”?! (That’s a verbatim quote from chapter 192.) I thought this agency was supposed to hep people and keep them safe!

We get smatterings of interactions between Hawks and the HPSC, and though we don’t get anything from there side we’re getting that every questionable or deplorable thing Hawks does or needs to get on the LoV’s good side is acknowledged and endorsed by the HPSC. “I’m in contact with the shady guy who loosed that monster in the middle of the city with no warning. He wants me to kill the other top hero who just recovered and to join the definitely-dangerous doomsday cult, and maybe THEN he’ll let me in on what’s going on.” Ok, sure. Nothing morally questionable about any of that...

Jump to chapter 267. Up to this point, this note about Hawks’ past has been hinted at, but is here finally confirmed with a chilling detail. Kids who enter hero work may get special coaching by their families when they’re young, but the threshold for entering formal government-regulated training isn’t until 14/15 years of age in the last few years of their education. Chapter 267 shows a little Keigo Takami no older than about 8, at best, being told by the HPSC that he doesn’t get to call himself by his own name anymore. From now on, he’s going to be a hero, and only a hero, and it’s going to long and hard. Back in 192, two mysterious figures promise the same boy, shown at the same age, that his family will be taken care of.

Whatever circumstances led Keigo’s family to end up in the situation they did, they accepted an offer from a government agency, the HPSC specifically - you can see their headquarters in the flashback - to take away their very young son, take away his identity (and implicitly his family), and groom him to be government tool for the rest of his life - a commitment he had no true say in and that he could not understand at the time.

And it gets worse.

Endeavor works with the HPSC regularly as all heroes have to, but his relationship with them and what they’ll let him get away with gets put into greater question the longer we look at it. He turned to eugenics to create a hero he couldn’t be and surpass All Might for the sole purpose of satisfying his own ego. He bought a girl from her family and forced her to have his kids, then subjected those kids to cruel training - passing over each one until he got to one he felt he could work with -, beat his wife as well, and some kind of action he was involved in lead to the death of his oldest son. While the domestic abuse could be hidden, the death of his child cannot. What’s more, shortly after (very shortly if timelines add up), his youngest son received a permanent burn scar on the heat-resistant side of his face and his wife was locked away in a mental institution for a decade.

And the HPSC never bats an eye. They could take away his license. They could call the police. They could have exposed him to the public or at least ordered an investigation. But they didn’t. On some level they knew, and they did nothing.

But it might be even worse.

I skipped over this detail chronologically, but it’s the linchpin for just how corrupt the HPSC might be if all this lines up. Looking at the Endeavor Agency Arc, we get a seemingly random confrontation with a guy called Starservant (chapter 243) who prattles off a prophecy about the Dark Lord returning and his Dark Stars conspiring against humanity which will bring the world to ruin. He calls out Endeavor specifically as the shining light that beckons the darkness, but this sounds an awful lot like the deranged wailing of some crazy old man, right?

Let’s jump over an entire series now to the spin-off serial Vigilantes. This series takes place in the same universe at an earlier point in the timeline of the main story - and take an extra little note that there’s an underlying subplot about unusual drugs meant to enhance quirks (that often result in mutating the user) and that someone may be using them to clandestinely run experiments on humans from the shadows.

In chapter 59 we get flashbacked to Eraserhead, Midnight, and Present Mic’s childhood experiences at UA, and we’re also introduced to Oboro Shirakumo - their fellow classmate and dear friend. We get a few chapters establishing their relationships and their goals and dream for the future until chapter 63 where things make a drastic turn in tone. On what should be a routine hero training exercise as third-year seniors a giant, monstrous villain shows up and attacks while the UA kids are escorting a class of preschoolers around town.

In the scuffle, though Aizawa is able to single-handedly come out victorious, in the fight and debris Shirakumo is struck in the head by falling concrete as he tries to lead the children to safety and dies on the scene. Go back to main series, chapter 254-255, the villain Kurogiri is detained but the police are having no luck questioning him. They get a sliver of a lead and call in Present Mic and Eraserhead to interrogate him, and it’s confirmed that Kurogiri was a human experiment of Doctor Ujiko - the mad scientist bio-engineer responsible for the Nomu and outspokenly faithful servant of All-for-One - created from the corpse of their dearly departed Oboro.

Here’s the kicker, though, in Japan they don’t often bury their dead. Funerals next to never include an open casket - the loved one is cremated first, their ashes placed on an funeral shrine with their picture, and the loved ones mourn there. That means Ujiko needed to get to the body before it was cremated - which requires some fast work; but that’s not even the worst of it. Jumping one last time to chapter 270, Ujiko recognizes Mic as a friend of Shirakumo and boldly admits the entire time he was after Aizawa for his quirk.

That attack more than 10 years ago was premeditated. This goes back a long ways. How did he find this information - about their quirks and their movements and where to find them? How did Ujiko get the body out of the morgue without anyone catching him? Could it be the same way his fellow servants of All-for-One were able to get into the USJ? And the Training Camp? And the Yakuza raid? All-for-One has a lot of connections for his faithful servants to move about freely in this world of heroes despite every effort being take to stop them.

Somehow, these shining lights can never seem to outrun the dark no matter how hard they try, as if there’s a conspiracy against them. But a conspiracy of that level would have to come all the way from the top! If you wanted to get poetic about it, you could even say the stars themselves are conspiring against us. But that old man was crazy, right? If he wasn’t crazy - if he was right at all - then no matter what way you slice it:

This is bad.

#I'm not the first one to comment on this meta #but that old man looks a little less crazy every chapter #bnha meta #mha meta #mha manga spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #hpsc meta

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thebestestboyo · 4 years

Text

Because I am stressed and my friend requested a prompt, we're gonna do one

Prompt #3: Drunk/Sloppy Kisses

Why Not?

Tw: Alcohol/Swearing/Mention of puking

Originally, Janus didn't mean to end up drunk at some stupid house party. At first, he was hoping on having a quiet Saturday night in for once. Get Chinese food from that nice restaurant down the street, watch documentaries about the social plannies of the world, and curl up with his snake Diana. He was not planning to end up shitfaced on the couch while chaos reigned around him, and he felt as if he was going to puke if he got up to leave.

But unfortunately for him, his stupid cousin Remy decided that he needed to get out more, and dragged him along to this stupid party so that he'd be able to 'socialize for once.'

Please, Janus socialized plenty! He had friends! Two close ones, to be precise. Virgil Timore and Logan Crofter, who he had known for several years and talked to daily. Hell, Wednesday he and Virgil bingewatched conspiracy theories together and got lunch afterwards. Janus was perfectly fine with his two friends thank you very much.

He had showed up to this party, which he was told would be small, and was disappointed, but not surprised to find that it was practically filled to the brim with drunk college kids. He couldn't go two steps without running into someone, let alone get to anywhere quieter in the house without someone probably trying to frisk him.

So he had to settle for the couch. For now. He was at least somewhat away from the action, well, as much as someone could be in this frat house crammed with people. Nursing a ginger ale he found in a cooler (unopened, he didn't trust any of the punch on the table. Was punch supposed to be green?), Janus was ready to stick it out sober. He didn't know any of these people, so why should he trust his drunk self with them?

...which is what he thought, until he saw him.

The absolute gremlin of the fucking year, Remus Whitby.

This little prick not only was in half his classes, but also managed to have a seat near him in every single one. He was absolutely infuriating, and if Janus didn't think better, he could have sworn that guy chose to sit next to him just so he'd have someone to piss off.

And to top it off, he wasn't even half bad looking! True he dressed like a walking fashion disaster, but it was at least a hot sort of fashion disaster. Somehow his smug little self managed to make floral and bright yellow work, while still wearing the most outlandish pair of cowboy boots to class, as if a dad and a gay cowboy had designed his outfit.

Not to mention he was always trying to get Janus to talk with him! All he had to do, was scoot his chair close to him in the lecture hall, spout some new bullshit of the day, and wait. Their most recent debate was about the reasoning why you shouldn't try to befriend wild possums with preprocessed cheese.

He was crude, he was a terrible dresser, he was smart but in a way that infuriated you, he ate weird concoctions in class that probably weren't compatible flavor palates, and Janus was utterly in love with him.

Now this was something Janus would normally take to his grave and never speak of to anyone, but he was bored, fed up, and altogether too headstrong to care right now.

So making what would probably be a bad decision for his future self, he grabbed a nearby bottle of whiskey, chugged half of it, and strode over to Remus in what he hoped looked confident, but more likely looked as if he was drowning in the crowd due to his shorter stature.

Remus perked up immediately at Jan's arrival, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Why hello, if it isn't the non-believer of making friends with garbage critters! And what might the distinguished Janus Milton be doing here?" His front tooth was slightly crooked, Janus noticed. It was cute, in a dork sort of way.

"I could ask you the same thing. Don't you have seagulls to train or something?"

"Usually I would, but unfortunately most seagulls aren't around during the day. I was trying to teach some of the frogs by the swamp to sing Never Gonna Give You Up though!"

"Of course you would." Was it just the overwhelming amount of people milling around them, or did Remus get a little closer to him?

"They all have names! My brother wanted to help but he was going to name them something too cute."

"Let me guess. Horror authors?"

"Close! Serial killers! I got Jack the Ribber, Dalmer..."

"Wait hold up. Jack the Ribber?" Okay he had to admit, it was a good name.

"Of course! It seemed to fit him. But that doesn't answer my earlier question cornsnake. What are you doing here? Doesn't seem like your thing."

"Normally it wouldn't be. But my cousin decided it would be good for me to get out." He didn't add the part about Remy thinking he was a shut in, that wasn't important. "But I'm not a cornsnake. Why would you even think I was a snake?"

"You do lie a lot, my slippery serpent."

"I most certainly do not."

"Ah, but you do! You even do that thing with your s's and c's when you are."

"I have no idea what you mean." Janus took that moment to take another swig of his whiskey, throat burning with the taste.

"Whatever you say Janny! You wanna go in the pool in the backyard? Beats being crushed by everyone here."

"Is there people skinny-dipping?"

"Not yet! Wanna be the first?" Was Remus...wiggling his eyebrows at him? No, it was probably the alcohol. He wasn't exactly known for having a high tolerance for it.

"I'm only going down to my pants."

"Aw you're no fun!"

_________________________________________

Since Janus hadn't fully undressed, Remus only went down to his boxers. By that time, Janus probably wouldn't have even noticed nor cared anyways, because he was already more than a little tipsy.

He was straight up (or gay up) drunk.

The two had already climbed out of the pool and stumbled to the front yard of the house (probably the least crowded place), Janus leaning into Remus for most of his balance.

"You certainly don't hold your liquor well do you cornsnake?"

"Shut, shut up Remus. I hold everything. Bags. Phones. Car keys. Six inch subs."

"Uh huh sure. Do you still have your phone?"

"Most certainly!"

Laughing, Remus held up what looked like...Janus's phone! How'd he get that?

"Hey! Give it back!" He attempted to reach for it, but due to his lack of dexterity while hammered, only managed to throw himself into Remus's lap. It was even more annoying that when he grumbed his discontent, Remus just laughed harder.

"I took the liberty of holding it for you. You left it in the backyard and I don't exactly know if anyone else is sober enough to keep track of both of you."

Before he could do more than open his mouth, Remus's hand began to card through his hair, smoothing out the still damp strands. While normally, the only people he'd ever let touch his hair was his friends, it felt utterly sublime, so he was in no mood to stop it.

"Hey Re? Heh, re."

Remus jolted a little at the sound of his voice, but answered anyways. "Yeah cornsnake?"

"Come ere' I need to tell you a secret."

"What? Why would you-"

"Shshshshshsh no! I need to tell you the secret!"

"Well okay?"

It took quite a bit of effort, but through Janus grabbing at Re's arms for leverage, he managed to sit upright in Remus's lap, leaned into his chest. "You can't tell anyone okay?"

"You needed to sit in my lap for this secret?" His voice sounded like he was teasing, but for some reason his face was just getting redder. Maybe it was Jan's imagination?

"Yes! It's important."

Waiting for dramatic effect (even drunk he was still a drama queen), Janus tilted his head up and kissed him, smiling afterwards. "I love you!"

Was his face always that red? Janus didn't know, but he really wanted to kiss him again. Maybe not at the moment though, right now his stomach was feeling a little sick-

Thankfully for Remus's clothes (and Janus's dignity, whatever was left of it) once Remus saw that look on Jan's face, he wrapped his arms around his middle and turned him to face the other way.

"...I think we ought to get you out of here cornsnake."

Wait was he disappointed? Did he not like Janus back? What was that tone in his voice?

He didn't know, so his drunk self elected to cry. Great.

"Nononononono it's okay! It's alright, fuck, I never expected you to be a sad drunk, it's okay." The arms around Janus's middle moved to cradle him, as Remus lifted him up and away from where they were sitting.

"I just-" He couldn't get through a sentence without hiccuping through the tears. "-You sound- so dissapointed."

"Janus I'm not dissapointed! I'm just, god am I...worried?"

"Re reeeeeee."

"Sorry, just thinking out loud. Look, I don't know where your dorm room is, so I'll take you back to mine okay? I'm not disappointed, you're all good, let's get some water in you and get you to bed."

_________________________________________

It was most certainly against road laws to have someone sitting on your lap as you drove, so Remus had to transfer a teary-eyed Janus to the passenger seat. For some reason, the only thing calming him down was if Remus would hold his hand (which, he did, that was nice).

It was strange, Remus driving while Janus sat in the passenger seat, playing with the fingers of Re's hand, but it was oddly nice. Beats having him stay at the party where he'd probably hurt himself.

Or tell more of his secrets. Like how he got that scar over his face. He seemed to hold that one pretty close to his chest, so it was unfair to learn it through his drunkenness.

He was actively ignoring the secret he was told, about how Janus loved him. If he thought about it right now, he'd probably end up crashing out of excitement of the fact that he himself had been pinning after him for a solid half of the school year to find that his feelings were reciprocated.

Maybe being drunkenly confessed to wasn't the best way to find out, but hey! He'd prefer it to the sappy romance novel way that his brother was always droning on about.

Once they pulled up to the dorms, Remus went around to Janus's side (not trusting that he'd be able to walk by himself) and lifting him up again, much to the delight of Janny.

"Look I'm your princess!"

"Mmhm, right now this princess has to drink some water, and maybe take a nap."

"Heh Sleeping Beauty took a nap for a long time."

"You wouldn't be sleeping beauty I think, you'd be little red riding hood. Because I'm the wolf, and I've stolen you off!" Tickling at his sides a bit, he pushed open his door as his face was already starting to tinge red. He never expected Janus to be a giggly drunk, then again, he never expected Janus to let himself get drunk. Musta been a tough party experience.

His roommate, Patton, was already asleep, so he didn't have to worry about him asking questions, at least till morning. A quick water break, and a successful attempt at getting Jan's shoes off later, Remus had tucked him up into his bed, planning on sleeping on the chair nearby in case he woke up.

"Re re waiiiiit!"

"Hm?"

"Can I have a goodnight kiss?"

He hoped that Janus wouldn't remember this in the morning, he had already shown so much of his softer side, that if he did, his reputation would be ruined. Part of him hoped he did remember anyways, as he lightly kissed Jan's forehead, going off to sleep.

_________________________________________

When Janus woke up, it was certainly jarring to be in a completely different bed than his own. In a different room, with a splitting headache. And...Remus was sleeping on a chair?

Wait....

Was this Remus's room???

Oh lord. He must have blacked out. It was stupid to drink that much, he always knew he was a lightweight, he probably made a fool of himself in front of Remus.

"You ok cornsnake?"

OH GOD HE WAS AWAKE.

"Considering my head feels as if someone is knocking a wrecking ball through it, I'm as good as I can be at the moment. What am I-"

"I uh, didn't think you'd be okay if you stayed at that place while you were drunk. You got pretty emotional."

Oh no.

"So I decided that, since your phone was locked and you had the dexterity of a clownfish stuck in a riptide, I'd let you chill here...?"

"Please tell me I didn't say anything that embarrassing."

Remus was making that face. He knew that face, that face was the same look a dog made when it had been caught digging in the trash.

"What was it."

"It was really, well, uh-"

"Remus please I'm hungover and tired."

"Yousortaconfessedyoulovedme."

"..."

...

Fuck.

"I mean! It was probably a fluke right? Drunk people always go confessing their love for random people, I know I have!" Remus looked...nervous? The world was too painful to look at for the moment to tell. But he was throwing him a line, so that they'd be able to forget it happened.

Well you know what? Janus was tired in two ways. Tired because he ran around a bunch last night and got drunk, and tired of pretending. So why not come out and say it.

"Actually, it wasn't a fluke."

"I- what."

This certainly wasn't the way he intended to go about this confession if it ever happened, but it would have to do.

"Due to your insistence on talking with me during classes, I've grown...fond of you. One might even say I love you."

Before Remus could get anything else out, Jan continued, knowing he was prolonging his inevitable rejection, but powering through anyways.

"And I while I doubt you hold these same feelings, I'd just like to clarify that I was not lying when I confessed to you drunk. So if you wish, we can both go about our seperate-"

"You dumbass! How can you be so smart and yet so dumb?? I've been in love with you ever since you talked to me about crabs!"

"Wait that's oddly specific-"

"It's true! And I'm gonna prove it."

Taking Jan's head in his hands, Remus looked for a nod of confirmation, before kissing him deeply before pulling away to breathe.

"So how bout it cornsnake?"

Hands looped around Remus, he only had one answer.

"Why not?"

#ts demus #remus sanders #ts remus #ts deceit #janus sanders #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides

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takingcourage · 4 years

Text

Miscalculations: A Witness AU

Chapter Six

Catch up here: Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five

Pairing: M!Cassian x MC

Word Count: 3,600

Series Summary: After years apart, fate brings Kellen and Cassian together a third time. Can they learn from the mistakes of the past, or are they destined to repeat them once more?

Note: This update is a day later than I hoped, and I apologize. Chapter Seven should be ready to go this Sunday!

Even as he’d left Kellen’s apartment, Cassian had tried to steel himself for days or even weeks of silence. He didn’t know how long it would take before she volunteered to let him back in, and he couldn’t be the one to make the first move.

He’d been so certain that things were going well. She’d seemed happy, and her usually controlled persona had slipped away to reveal an openness he’d rarely seen before. When they’d kissed, he’d taken it as proof that they’d found their footing, not just as parents who could come together to care for their child, but as people who could reunite and begin building onto they had once had.

Unfortunately, her words had shattered his theory completely. I don’t know if this is a good idea... I need more time... He could hear her voice on a loop, the faint protestations cutting against the hopes he’d had for their future.

Stepping out of his nightly shower, he caught a glimpse of the purple blotch at his shoulder and leaned toward the mirror for a closer look. Mottled and unsightly, he could see why it had been too much for Kellen to take in.

Pursing lips that were still swollen from her kisses, he tested the skin with his fingertips. It was largely because of that scar that he’d returned to Boston in the first place.

During the initial weeks of his recovery, long before surgeries and physical therapy had restored most of what he’d lost, he’d been forced to reconcile himself to the fact that his ability to perform his job might be in jeopardy. But even as that disappointment weighed him down, another worry haunted him all the more: his job wasn’t enough. His career with the Marshal Service was fulfilling, but he needed something else in his life beside work.

He’d expected Boston to give him some of the predictability he lacked, yet his life had never felt so uncertain.

Turning away from the mirror, he embraced the bitter truth: his desire to have Kellen in his life again had supplanted his better judgment. He was just as enamored as he’d been three years ago -- even more, if he was honest. And yet, he had nothing more to show for the attachment, and infinitely more to lose.

To him, the day had been a preview of everything he wanted his future to be -- if only he had the assurance that it had meant the same for Kellen as well. She’d told him she needed time, but the growing pit in his stomach suggested it couldn’t be that simple. Surely it was obvious to her by now whether their lives were better for having him in them.

He tried to work through the sudden tightness in this throat. What if they are better off without me?

After all, Kellen had proven that she could raise their son on her own. Owen was well adjusted and seemed content enough to continue living on in the same way. Much as it pained Cassian to admit, the boy was probably young enough to forget him entirely in a matter of weeks. If he disappeared now, their lives could return to normal.

But even as his thoughts ran rampant, every fiber of his being repelled the notion. He couldn’t leave them. The three of them had made so much progress before tonight’s misstep, and he sincerely believed that further growth was possible.

If only he knew how they could find their way again.

____

For the rest of the week, he threw himself into his job, taking extra shifts and duties to ensure that he had as few free hours as possible. The physical exhaustion helped him sleep at night, in spite of the way his mind raced over possibilities.

Even as he worked, Kellen and Owen were never far from his thoughts. He found himself wondering what steps he could take, if any, to make things right.

When Saturday came and he still hadn’t heard from her, Cassian typed out a brief message:

I hope the two of you are doing well.

In the half hour he spent waiting for a response, he dared to hope that she’d include an invitation to join them at the park the next day. The forecast wasn’t promising, but perhaps she’d stick to the routine anyway.

When her answer eventually appeared, it was painfully brief.

We are, thanks.

He couldn’t bring himself to send another message, for fear that he’d only make things worse. The balance they needed seemed too delicate for him to uphold. He had to prove that he wasn’t going to leave again, but he couldn't threaten her boundaries or need for control. If he did anything to manipulate Owen’s feelings or her own, she might push him out of their lives permanently.

Toward the end of the second week, his apprehension turned to worry. He knew that they were fine. He could discern as much from Kellen’s single-word responses to his texts, though they told him little else.

He hadn’t sent many: only enough to remind her that he was still there and was thinking of them. He didn’t want to annoy Kellen or lead her to the wrong conclusion, but he couldn’t stand the thought that she might think he’d moved on.

As his lunch break approached on Friday, he glanced over their most recent exchange for what must have been the hundredth time.

I’m sorry for upsetting you the other night. Please call me if you want to talk about anything.

okay

Smoothing the glass with his thumb, he gave a heavy sigh. He hated the thought of going another weekend without seeing them. One missed Sunday had been enough to throw him off-kilter for the rest of the week. He didn’t relish the thought of extending their streak any further.

Deep down, he knew they were never going to get anywhere unless Kellen talked with him. But it was possible that he might reach her by proxy, and he was just desperate enough to try. Before he could think better of it, Cassian tapped out a message to Harika and slipped into the break room for lunch.

Would you be willing to give me some advice?

Her response arrived in under a minute. Probably.

He put his leftovers in the microwave and took a seat at the small laminate table. While the food heated, he continued the impromptu conversation. Thanks. Kellen’s hardly responded to my messages this week. Is she okay?’

She’s at work today, if that’s what you mean. She’s been distracted though.

He was typing the followup when another message came:

Don’t tell her I said that.

Returning to the beginning of his text, he made a quick addition: I won’t. Here’s my question. Do you think I should back off for a while? I don’t want to make her life miserable. I can give her some space if that’s what’s best for them.

NO. Absolutely not.

Even if that’s what she wants? The microwave dinged, and Cassian retrieved the dish. Sitting alone at the empty table, it struck him how much easier this would be if Kellen could just tell him what she wanted. The constant guesswork was taking its toll on him.

His phone screen lit with Harika’s reply: It’s not. Not to be cringey, but she needs you.

Ignoring his food, he responded: If that’s true, I don’t think she’s aware of it.

It is. She was a mess when you left. I’ve never seen her like that with anyone before.

He laid down the phone, staring through the steam that rose from his rapidly cooling lunch. On the surface, it seemed like the news should play in his favor, but the Kellen of three years ago and the Kellen of today were significantly different people. Even if she’d missed him dearly all those years ago, it didn’t mean she missed him now.

It came as something of a surprise when the screen lit again, cutting him out of his musings.

If she doesn’t come to her senses soon, I’ll lock the two of you in a closet or something.

He scurried to pick up the phone. Please don’t do that. She really might kill me then.

Or she’d jump you. ; )

With a groan, he pushed the phone away. The last thing he needed right now was a reminder of what he was missing when it came to Kellen’s touch. Those kisses many nights before had been enough to wake the desire that he’d been struggling to keep at bay since seeing her again. That woman still had the ability to drive him absolutely wild.

…Thanks for the advice, he settled on, then flipped the phone over.

Returning to his lukewarm lasagna, Cassian cut a large bite with his fork. It hadn’t even been a fortnight since he’d seen them, but it felt like an eternity. Until this stretch, he hadn’t realized how much he looked forward to their park visits throughout the week. Missing one and not knowing when he’d see them again was starting to wear him down.

He ate quickly, eager to return to whatever distraction work could offer. When he moved to slip his phone into his pocket, he was surprised by the sudden vibration.

“What now, Harika?” he muttered under his breath before seeing the sender’s name: Kellen.

Eyes widening, he unlocked the screen and devoured her message:

Owen’s been asking about you. Any chance you’d be free to come over sometime? The forecast looks awful for going to the park this week.

Hardly daring to breathe, he typed his answer with haste. I’m off at 5:00 tonight. I could bring dinner over after that if you want.

I’ll take care of dinner, but that sounds great. He’ll be ecstatic.

Will you? He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of learning the answer. Instead he wrote, I’ll be there by 6:00.

Great! See you then.

_____

Arriving at her apartment several hours later, Cassian quickly rapped his knuckle against the door. He waited for a response, puzzled when he was met with several seconds of silence. “I’m on my way!” he heard finally, just making out Kellens voice as it carried through the thick wood.

Cassian released a breath he hadn’t noticed he’d been holding.

“Come on in,” Kellen beckoned, rushing off as soon as she’d unlatched the door. He followed her curious movements before Owen’s shrill greeting from the other room caught his attention.

“Mister Keane!”

“He can’t leave the carpet,” Kellen explained. “I dropped a glass and it got everywhere.”

“Are you hurt?” he asked, hurrying inside to ascertain that all was well. Though shards of glass covered the tile floor, he saw no blood or other cause for worry.

“No, but can you take him to his room while I get this cleaned up? If he steps on anything...”

“Of course.” Cassian nodded in understanding and proceeded immediately toward the living room. Owen was tiptoeing the small wooden divider, impatient to see his visitor.

Crossing over to him, Cassian held his hand out for a high five, but the toddler hugged his legs instead. Cradling the small face, he brushed a thumb against the boy’s temple. “What is it, a stór? Have you been good for your Ma?”

“Uh-huh!” He assured, releasing his strong hold to show Cassian a broad grin.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Cassian didn’t even have a chance to unbutton his coat before he felt the toddler’s insistent hand at his knee. “Come!”

The man obliged, allowing the child to lead him through the apartment and to his bedroom.

“Trains,” he explained, pointing to the extensive track circumnavigating the floor.

Cassian found an empty space on the carpet and sat with a grin. “You have an awful lot of them, don’t you? Can you show me how they work?”

“Uh-huh!” he chirped for the second time in as many minutes.

His smile widened at the child’s innocent enthusiasm. He watched the imperfect attempts to couple the engines to the railcars, intrigued by his trial and error as he tested the ends of the magnets until they stuck.

Once the train was in one piece, Owen placed a yellow engine in Cassian’s lap and slid a pair of similarly colored cars in his direction.

“You really don’t like yellow, do ya?”

“Huh-uh.” His own blue and red creation was assembled and ready to leave the turntable. “Choo choo!”

He chuckled at the boy’s accompanying hand motions. Hooking his own pieces together, Cassian set them on the track to join in the play. He’d only moved them a couple of inches before Owen began chasing the yellow train with his own, cackling as he picked up speed.

Cassian’s own laughter soon joined, prompted more from his relief than from the hilarity of the situation. Reunited with his son at last, the frustration of the past several days faded to mere memory.

“Choo choo!” Owen cried again, his train butting up against the final car of Cassian’s.

“I’d better keep it going, hadn’t I?” he asked, rolling the toy around a precariously sharp turn.

Owen angled his face toward Cassian, nose wrinkled and eyes scrunched almost shut with his emphatic grin.

“I’ve missed ya,” he breathed, blinking against the tears that sprang to his eyes. I hope I never go so long without seeing you again, he reflected, wondering if there was anything he could do to dissuade Kellen from such absences in future.

His heart clenched at the reminder of how things stood between the two of them.

He wanted to be part of Owen’s life, no matter what that meant for him and Kellen. Even if he could only have the bits and pieces she was comfortable with, he wouldn’t sacrifice these moments for the world.

Their playdate came to an end sooner than he would have liked when Kellen called them to dinner.

“Dinner’s ready,” she announced, leaning against Owen’s doorjamb. “I hope you still like Spaghetti Bolognese.” If he wasn’t mistaken, there was an almost nervous hesitance in the way she framed the last statement.

“I do,” he rushed to answer as they followed her into the dining room. “And I haven’t had it in ages, so it sounds perfect.”

Kellen let out a quiet breath and set the bag of takeout on the table. “It’s nothing.”

As he strapped Owen into his booster seat, Cassian found himself hoping that it wasn’t really nothing. Was remembering one of his favorite dishes a sign of her impeccable memory, or was it something more?

For the rest of the evening, he endeavored to keep a tighter rein on his thoughts.

Though his composure held through dinner, it wavered during Owen’s bedtime reading. Voice trembling, Cassian’s ability to concentrate on the words was overpowered by an increasingly familiar longing for time to stand still. Kellen offered a smile, and the gesture was almost enough to make his voice crack again.

This was everything he wanted, so close that it was almost within his grasp. He wanted a future of nights like this, even if they were sprinkled through the ones he spent alone.

After he finished, Kellen took the lead in tucking the boy in. Turning the light out behind them, she laid a hand on Cassian’s arm. Intrigued, he sought her face when they stepped into the light of the hallway.

“Sit with me?” she asked, motioning toward the couch.

He followed with some confusion, his brow creasing at the serious look on her face. Even after they sat, it was some time before she relieved his curiosity. “He’s been a mess the past several days,” she uttered, breaking the silence.

“So have I, if I’m honest.”

Kellen’s mouth tugged sympathetically. “I shouldn’t have waited so long.”

Though he hoped her regret signaled a change of heart, Cassian didn’t have the faintest idea how to respond. He didn’t want to condemn a decision she’d made with her best judgment, but he didn’t want to let the opportunity pass either. He was still trying to find the right words when she went on.

“He talks about you constantly. He’s asked to see you every single day.”

“I know that isn’t what you wanted,” he began, hesitating over what he’d intended to be an apology. But he couldn’t bring himself to say that he was sorry for the circumstance.

She looked conflicted, eyes downcast as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I think it actually might be a good thing.”

His eyes narrowed at the bizarre sentiment. “Why?”

“Because I realized he’s not the only one who thinks about you all the time...” Her blue eyes met his, shimmering with the gleam of unshed tears. “And that helped to clarify some things for me. Do you think we could we talk? Not tonight -- it’s been a long week, and I need sleep more than anything else -- but soon?”

He took a cautious breath, afraid that reminding her of his presence would break the spell that seemed to have come over her. “Is something the matter?”

“No,” She paused before carrying on, a resolved expression stealing over her face. “Nothing at all. I'm just ready to say some things that I should have said a long time ago.”

Still somewhat tentative, he took her hand. The way she clung to his fingers did him a world of good. “I’d be glad to talk anytime. I have the weekend free.”

“Maybe we could meet somewhere else? It’s probably best not to have Owen underfoot. ”

“Whatever you think is best. I hate to make you find a babysitter--”

Her hoarse laugh cut off the rest of his sentence. “That won’t be any trouble at all. Harika’s been volunteering for weeks.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Last time I talked to her, she threatened to lock us in a closet until we get things sorted out,” Cassian shared, thumb still running along the smooth surface of her knuckles.

Kellen snickered at the notion, but when she met his gaze, her features had settled into something vulnerable and open. He could count on one hand the number of times she’d been willing to reveal her true self to him like this, and he could only hope that this wasn’t the last time he saw it.

“I swear she thinks we’re back in college sometimes. I’ll have to double check with her about the time, but maybe we could meet tomorrow? I don’t want to put this off.”

“Neither do I. You’re welcome at my place if you’d like. It’s not much, but we wouldn’t be disturbed. I’ve got a well-stocked pantry if you end up staying for a while.”

“I think I’d like that,” she agreed, her eyes still trained on him.

The fine hairs on his neck rose. “I think I would too.” It was still somewhat unnerving to see this side of her -- this honesty about her feelings and desires -- but he couldn’t deny it was a welcome change. “Come by anytime.”

“Thanks -- for everything.” Still holding firmly to his hand, she shifted nearer on the couch. He'd just lifted an arm to wrap around her shoulder when her phone buzzed from the dining table. “I’ll be right back,” she promised.

At her quiet curse some moments later, Cassian rose to his feet to see if he could do anything to help. She was still staring down at the screen, scrolling through what appeared to be a chain of emails.

“It’s something for work. I’m so sorry.”

“Do you need to go back to the office? I can stay here with Owen if you’d like.”

“No, I can take care of it from home. But I’m not going to be very good company for the next few hours.”

“I understand. Don’t run yourself too ragged. You need some sleep too,” he reminded, stretching out a finger to trace her cheek. She caught his hand with her own and squeezed it tightly.

“I’ll try. Otherwise, I might need to nap on your couch tomorrow.”

He tried not to envision a drowsy Kellen showing up on his doorstep, though their time in Nantucket had left him with a wide selection of memories to choose from. So many of their days had started and ended with her ragged yawning and sleep-addled attempts to flirt. “I wouldn’t complain if you did.”

Kellen arched a brow, but said no more.

Pulling back his hand, he allowed it to fall to his side. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kellen,” he promised, making for the door.

“Cassian?”

He paused, pivoting toward her in anticipation of whatever parting thought she wished to impart.

“Before you go, I’m sorry for giving you so many mixed signals -- especially the last time you were here. Can you forgive me?”

Such concessions were hardly like her. If her tone hadn’t been so somber, he might have made a quip about the unexpected nature of her apology. Instead, he simply said, “Of course,” and stepped forward to envelop her in a hug. “Thanks again for tonight; I missed the two of you more than I can say.”

"I hope you won’t have to miss us quite so much anymore,” she told him quietly as she stepped out of his embrace.

Heart thundering wildly beneath his ribcage, Cassian managed another smile. For the first time since meeting Kellen again, he knew the two of them were in full agreement. “I do too. Goodbye, Kellen.”

“Bye, Cassian.”

Still somewhat dazed, he left her and began his long journey across the city.

#playchoices #playchoices fanfiction #witness: a bodyguard romance #cassian keane #cassian x mc

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eehyoou · 5 years

Text

Hotel Del Luna is finally closed their business for good.

This drama has been filling up my mind and heart for the past two months. It is an absolute lie if I said that my heart does not long for it anymore after it ended last week. And finally it has come to an end, where everyone worked there were sent off beautifully.

There were few things I wanna touch on the last two episodes of Hotel Del Luna- which in my point of view, resolve every questions I have for the connections between Manwol and Chansung, as well as the back story of Del Cuties. (long writing alert!)

The beautiful ending of ManChan couple and other characters.

The connections between Manwol and Chansung which kinda shook me.

The messages delivered in the ghosts’ stories and also our Manwol

1. The beautiful ending

The ending was perfect- at least for me. Go Chansung is just a normal and weak human being that fell in love with Jang Manwol and he is not someone who has the ability to stop the natural process of living and death. Many said that it was from Chansung’s dream on the night before he went to New York because he hoped to meet again with his love, Jang Manwol. But for me, I would stand on the reincarnation of their next life.

It was an open ending and we are free to express how we would like them to be in the end. They had given us how they are supposed to be now- living happily with big smiles and laughs painted on their face instead of being cold and full of resentment. Is that what we want for them in beginning? Living happily and let go of their painful past. And Hong Sisters gave us that. There’s nothing more I hope from them. It ended in a very amazing note.

It would be feel very uneasy and unusual for me if they created an ending where Manwol didn’t go to the afterlife and stayed with Chansung. I had that thought too in the first place, because of the last Moon flower that bloomed were in Chansung’s. And we knew that Manwol was originally tied to the Moon Tree and expected to leave when the tree produced flowers. She could have just drink the wine again to stay as Hotel Del Luna’s owner, but, Chansung being very rational and gentle towards Manwol, stopped her. He understood that she was, in fact, a dead person and supposed to go where she was supposed to be now- the afterlife.

His deep and devoted love towards Manwol was unbeatable, was bigger than any love he has for his entire life.

2. The Connections

For me honestly, Chansung was originally meant for Manwol. At first, I just thought he was sent there to help Manwol to relieve her resentment. I never thought him as Chunmyeong even though there were like resemblances were too much. I had a thought for a while that he was Yeonwoo, but in the end, he was the merchant’s son who saved her while she was dying in the wild.

Even in the younger days, Chansung was meant to save Manwol. And it lasted for a long time until the next 1300 years later. Manwol was choosen by Mago to become the owner of the Guest House of Moon at her self-fight to stay alive. As said by Magos before, they were just throwing choices at humans, and they were the ones to make the decision. Chansung’s father wanted to leave but Chansung saved her and gave her the scarf which had been with her for a long time.

Chansung’s was there with Manwol all the time.

Another connection that I was kinda shocked, but it is not a confirmed theory and it is entirely my guts and feelings. We knew that Manwol never took pictures before with her manager or the hotel workers and it were all meaningless meetings for her. Somehow, I feel like Chansung in the previous life might have become the manager for the guest house too. We saw how Mago sent Chansung to Manwol’s Inn in Joseon Dynasty to find the Moon Flowers but he ended up helping Manwol from the beggar Mago, and stopped her from gambling. He was the one who suggested Manwol to have the hobby of gourmet touring, but Mago actually twisted her memories that it was not Chansung.

He was given the chance to stay there with Manwol and became her 85th human steward. If he made a choice to stay there and be by Manwol’s side, he would just a meaningless 85th human steward and all her memories of Go Chansung as 99th human manager in current life would be erased. It was either way and Chansung didn’t want to be just a normal human to Manwol.

When Manwol said that a young man came to her and saved her from gambling, it could actually be Go Chansung too. Or other managers that she has mentioned before. The little Chansung could have died and reincarnated into few life before he came as Go Chansung who fell in love with Jang Manwol.

It was ambiguous but their connection was deeper than ever.

3. The Messages Delivered

It is very clear that the messages they want to deliver through this drama are to live well and leave in a good way. Hotel Del Luna served services to comfort scarred souls and helped them to fulfill whatever wishes they have which they couldn’t do during their lives. It was enticing to watch each of the ghost solved their wishes with the help of Jang Manwol and the weak-heart Go Chansung.

At first, we were presented with ill-tempered Jang Manwol, and very selfish Go Chansung. Manwol who has been there for 1300 years had developed a very bad behavior and Go Chansung who ran away everywhere to avoid her changed over the time. She was once a very cold, nasty, rude, materialistic woman changed because of the weak Chansung. And he was once a show off Harvard graduate, hated ghosts and perfectionist changed because of the weird Manwol. Over the time, they didn’t realize that they were actually touched by each other’s action, protecting each other, and became a soft-hearted person because of each other.

This bring the message where human could be change by the things we don’t even notice. We thought that it would something that would pass very quickly but instead it left an immense impression in our heart. That’s how I think how Manwol viewed Chansung in the first place. The same goes with him, he said he would work there for a short time, but now, he’s not leaving the world Manwol has created for him to keep the promise.

Another thing I love about this drama was they touched on how we have to let go of some thing we thought we couldn’t let go. It was hard, tiring and difficult enough to even think of it, but when it comes to the time to let go, we have to let go. I am so happy that Hong Sisters didn’t stick to the ‘cliche’ happy ending but it was still a happy ending for all of them. Go Chansung, on the other hand, might appeared very pitiful and sad to the audience as he still living in the world of ghost, but remember, it was all his own decision.

Which shows us that he actually has moved on. He supported Manwol to go to the afterlife, knowing that it was very tough and hurtful to live as a dead person in the world, even they are together. Even so, he would keep the memories, the only thing he has now about Manwol until the end of his life.

Thus, for me, it was a drama full of surprises and beautiful messages that we could remember as we living now. I don’t need the sequel or Season 2, it was enough for me to know that both of them are going to meet again in the next life. As what Mago said at the end of Hotel Del Luna:

“Feeling sad and dissapointed is only natural when witnessing disappearances. When a flower withers away, just like it dreams of new blossom, you’ll live, meet and love again. I hope that is the answer you two, an arrogant, foolish yet beautiful lovers, have chosen.” - Mago

Till we meet again Jang Manwol and Go Chansung. Goodbye.

#hotel del luna #IU #yeo jingoo #jang man wol #go chansung

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bnhascribbles · 5 years

Text

Compelling

Hawks x Civilian!Reader

Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Words: 2.3K

Warnings: Swearing

Against your better judgment, you grab your rumbling cell phone from your pocket. When an unfamiliar name flashes across the screen, you sigh and stomp over to the couch, wedging the device between two cushions. You make a mental note to have your number changed. Again. You don’t even know why you bothered leaving it on anymore. For the past week, it’d been nothing but vultures calling in–gossip-mongers and entertainment journalists trying to make you into their next big story. They didn’t want information. Not really. They wanted a misstep–wanted you to say something incendiary that they could put in print and monetize. Even though they apparently already had all the ammunition they needed to rake in the views, given the headline that’d been circulating across every entertainment outlet for the past 48 hours.

Snatched up! The Winged-Hero is finally spoken for, but is it attraction, or indoctrination?

The attention wasn’t completely unexpected; Beyond hero work and agency stuff, Hawks was a celebrity–society’s darling. You, on the other hand, were a mystery, some unknown face that’d been spotted shoulder-to-shoulder with him at a charity ball. Then again at a modeling gig of his. Then again in photos he’d posted across a few of his social media profiles. As far as the public was concerned, you were just some no-name that’d laid your claim over their most eligible bachelor.

Still, that didn’t mean you appreciated the (not-so-subtle) jab at your quirk’s less-than-wholesome reputation. Your registration form–probably slid under a news station door by an old employer looking to make a quick buck–didn’t really do you any favors. “Indoctrinate” was a quirk that just sounded like it should belong to a villain. That, coupled with the newfound target on your back, had been enough to instill this idea that you were some sort of evil mastermind, extorting a poor, love-stricken hero for everything he had. Forget the fact that you absolutely loathed being in the public eye. Forget the fact that you’d been an upstanding citizen your entire life, without so much as a parking ticket to mar your perfect record. Forget the fact that Hawks had been the one to dial up the charm after he’d, quite literally, knocked you head-over-heels as he flew after a purse-snatcher (“Man, what are the chances I bump into an angel this close to the ground?”). Even so, addressing the rumors would be even worse than letting people talk. It’d draw more attention to the issue; What might’ve died down in a couple weeks could be drawn out over the course of months if it was handled badly.

It wasn’t easy hearing everyone talk about how you were manipulating your way into a relationship. The more that people speculated and hypothesized–the more they tried to explain your own quirk as though they were experts on the subject–the easier it began for old scars to burn like new. Gashes ripped wide open by what if’s and maybe’s.

“Do you think it’s possible for a person to use their quirk without knowing it?” You wonder out loud, throwing yourself back onto the couch. “Like, Endeavor–does he have to think about turning off his flames? Is there a default setting, or is it like a light switch that he has to flick on and off?”

Hawks freezes in the doorway, his arm only halfway freed from the sleeve of his jacket. “Uhhh, 42?” He scratches at the back of his head, obviously caught off guard by the spur-of-the-moment interrogation. “Shit, is there a test I was supposed to study for?”

You stretch your back across the armrest, shooting him a pathetic, upside-down smile. “No. Sorry, I’ve just been wondering about a lot of stuff lately.”

“Thank god.” He shrugs off the rest of his jacket. “But ‘stuff.’ Should that word scare me, chickadee?

“Nah. I’m just overthinking things, as usual.” Not the entire truth, but not a complete lie either.

The answer seems to satisfy Hawks though. He hums a little tune as he strides across your living room, plopping down beside you on the couch. Before you even know what’s happening, you’re being dragged by your ankles, then your waist–lifted and twirled until your back is flush with his chest, until you’re trapped in the circle of his arms. You twist in his grip, catching his chin between your fingers just as he’s about to lean in and press his lips to yours.

“Enthusiastic, are we?”

He huffs impatiently at your upturned eyebrows. “It’s been a long day.” He pushes against your hold on his face, closing some of the distance, centimeter by centimeter. “A very, very long day.”

Smirking, you drape your arms over his shoulders. But when your eyes to flutter shut, an all-too-familiar string of words flash across the inside of your eyelids. You can practically hear the middle-aged gossip columnist reciting them as they appear.

It’s an odd match. So odd, that Heroes Global has to ask the question on everyone’s mind...

You turn your face away at the last moment, earning a cheek full of stubble and a throaty grumble that resonates across your skin. Hawks pulls back, narrowing those brilliant eyes of his–perfect and warm, like melted gold. He looks like he’s about to say something, but then there’s a buzz that makes him jump. Unfurling one arm (and only one arm) from your waist, he reaches beneath the two of you and fidgets around until a hand reemerges with your phone, flashing with an unlisted number.

“Please just hurl it at the wall as hard as you can.” You groan, leaning back into his shoulder.

His gaze flits between you and the screen, then a crooked, knowing grin stretches across his face. “The lovely people over at Daily Justice still bothering you?”

“Yup. Them and every other tabloid in the city.”

He makes a tiny sound in acknowledgment, using his thumb to tap away at the device in his hand. “Still milking the whole brainwashing story?”

“You know it.” You drone halfheartedly, watching as he tosses your (now silent) phone so that it skids across the coffee table. You’re not the least bit bothered when it slides off the other end and makes the plummet to the carpet. Judging by the lazy way he just watches it happen, Hawks doesn’t think much of it either.

“And that’s the ‘stuff’ that’s got you all worked up?” He asks.

You don’t have an answer, so you sigh, long and heavy.

It was a little more complicated than news stories and gossip. It was fear; There was a reason you’d worn gloves throughout your entire childhood. When a touch was all it took to compel, that was the best way to try and lessen the rumors, to soothe the distrustful glares. Your quirk was evil–that much had been drilled into you since your birth. The day your parents made you remove those thin fabric shields, you’d cried. Not because you were happy to be rid of them–no, you were terrified. Maybe you’d brush fingers with a classmate. Maybe, when that happened, you’d make the mistake of thinking about how you wanted to be friends with them. Maybe then, they’d be indoctrinated–compelled to see you the way you wanted to be seen and not the way you actually were.

It’d taken a long time for you to stop shying away from casual contact with the people in your life–high-fives, handshakes, hugs. Even then, a couple more years had to pass before you gained the confidence to roll your eyes at the quirk-conspiracists, to brush their theories off as ridiculous. Now, hearing about how unlikely your match with Hawks was, having the idea that it was completely insane drilled into your head at all hours of the day, it was like you were an insecure little kid all over again. What if you didn’t have as much control as you thought you did?

You swivel in your lover’s arms, planting your knees firmly on either side of his lap. He raises an eyebrow, a little worried by your downturned lips.

“I want to look at you.” You explain, allowing yourself to settle back into his lap a little bit. “Just sit there and don’t say anything for a minute.”

“You know I’m no good at that, angel. Wanna tell me w–”

You cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. “Try. Please.”

His hold on your middle tightens, but he nods all the same.

You let your hand drift away from his mouth, tracing its way up the side of his face and brushing a tuft of blonde hair away from his forehead. It sticks up, wild and windswept, even after your best efforts to smooth it down. You deliberately drag both of your hands along his scalp, trying your best not to yank at the fluffy strands that get stuck between your fingers. Off, you chant in your mind. He doesn’t flinch, watching you, idly pinching at loose bits of your shirt that bunch up along your back.

You work your way downwards, drawing a straight line between his furrowed eyebrows. He goes cross-eyed trying to follow the trail of your fingers, and you snort, smiling despite yourself. Hawks always had a way of making you do that. You ghost your thumbs over the harsh markings jutting out at the corners of his eyes. Stop; The word rings in your ears as you concentrate on your fingertips. You’re relieved when nothing happens, when no cloudy haze passes from his face and when no sudden epiphany makes him yank himself away from you.

You breathe, bending forward, pressing your forehead to his and repeating your final, silent plea. Please be real. A trill rumbles deep in his throat, faint and content and coaxing all at once. One of his palms slides a winding path up your back, coming to cup the back your neck.

“You got your minute.” He coos, looking at you with an expression that you can only describe as soft. “Wanna tell me what’s up?”

“It’s just–” You start, but rethink the words halfway through. “I’m not–” You stumble again. What you wanted to say didn’t exactly sound sane.

Hey listen, I’ve got a lot of baggage when it comes to my quirk. Could you repeat the word “yes” if you’re here of your own free will? Oh, and since you’ll probably say that either way and since I’m an emotionally compromised freak, just know that I’ll never actually feel secure in our relationship. This’ll definitely be a recurring thing, and it’s probably gonna be the reason why we end terribly.

You shake your head, pulling away from him to wipe at your eyes. They’re dry, but they feel like they’re burning.

“You know about my quirk.” You finally say, not quite as firmly as you’d hoped to. “Which means you know that those reporters might have a point. That’s what’s bothering me.”

He stares for what feels like hours, like he’s waiting for some punchline. When it never comes, he cocks his jaw to the side, speaking slowly. “You being serious?”

“Yeah, I am.” You don’t hesitate to respond. “I’m not like you–I never got any sort of special training. What if there’s some unconscious kickback from my quirk? What if I had some sort of fantasy about getting with a hero, and then you came along and poof?” You swallow hard. “What if everything you’re thinking and feeling is fake–what if it’s only there because I put it there?”

Your rant is draining–you barely stop to breathe between sentences. By the time you finish, you’re out of breath and your mouth feels incredibly dry. Still, the silence that follows is enough to make you wish you had more to say.

Thankfully, Hawks shatters it. “Then honestly, I’m impressed.” He shifts beneath you, poking at the edge of your frown with his fingertip. “You should be working for me.”

Irritated, you swat at his wrist. “I’m not joking around here, Hawks.”

“And I’m not either. From an agency perspective, you’re a dream. You have a quirk with no restrictions. No time limit, no radius of effect,” he scratches at his chin, his smirk reemerging. “Plus, it apparently works at all hours of the day–even when its owner is sleeping. Or piss drunk.”

And just like that, it happens again–he makes you smile despite the thousands of worries you have.

You let your jaw hang in mock offense. “I do not get drunk.”

“Right, you were just high on life Friday when I flew your ass home.” He shoots back, catching your wrist as you’re about to land a playful smack across his chest.

“But that’s not the point. The point is that there’s never a time when I don’t want you. Now, that could be because you have some fantastic, broken quirk. Or it could be because–get ready for the shocker–I genuinely like you.” He comes in close, tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear. “Which option seems more likely?”

Every part of you seems to relax. Even your brain, once overwhelmed by thousands of thoughts and possibilities, goes silent–put at ease by Hawks’s own personal brand of logic.

Taking both sides of his face in your hands, you smoosh his cheeks together until his lips jut outward. He looks more like a fish than a bird, even with the wings to help him out.

“You talk a lot.”

He grins wide, and it looks absolutely ridiculous. “So I’ve been told.”

“Don’t look happy about it; That mouth of yours is gonna get you into serious trouble someday.

“Really? I think it’s charming.”

“Mmmm, that ego could use some work too.” You release your hold on him, shimmying in closer, pressing your chest into his. “How about you do me a favor and zip it for a little while.”

He peers at you through half-lidded eyes. The kiss he presses to your nose is innocent–short and sweet and unassuming. The words that follow are anything but.

“Make me.”

So you do. You’re pretty compelling, even without using your quirk.

#bnha x reader #hawks x reader #bnha hawks #hawks imagine #hawks #bnha reader insert #mha x reader #bnha #mha #bnha imagines #mha imagines #OMG this request is three months old #Literally from last year #Better late than never tho?#Requests

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tommo-stylinson · 4 years

Text

50 questions you’ve never been asked before

@finelinedwalls tagged me to do this! Thanks so much, I love these!!!

1. what is the colour of your hairbrush? orange and yellow and pink

2. a food you never eat? lasagna or jalapeno poppers

3. are you typically too warm or too cold? honestly depends on the time of the day. usually cold though

4. what were you doing 45 minutes ago? working out? or showering. I honestly could have been in the shower for like an hour and wouldn’t notice

5. what is your favourite candy bar? daily milk fruit and nut! and twix

6. have you ever been to a professional sports event? yeah, a shit ton of hockey games

7. what is the last thing you said out loud? “ha-ha sucks” when I obnoxiously climbed over my brothers to get to my room

8. what is your favourite ice cream? my favourite normal ice cream flavour is strawberry but one time i had this raspberry lychee one and no ice cream will ever compare to how good it was

9. what was the last thing you had to drink? milk

10. do you like your wallet? it’s fine. it’s more of a card holder so i can put it in my front pocket when i go out cause i hate purses

11. what was the last thing you ate? vegan cheesecake with cherries

12. did you buy any new clothes last weekend? nah

13. the last sporting event you watched? the nba skills competition in like february so clearly i watch a lot of sports

14. what is your favourite flavour of popcorn? honestly? butter salt! like caramel corn and chicago mix are good but nothing beats a good butter salt

15. who is the last person you sent a text message to? my boss

16. ever go camping? yeah i live like 45 minutes from the rocky mountains so i go a lot

17. do you take vitamins? nope lol pretty sure my doc told me to take vitamin d cause no one gets sun here but like.... ma’am I have adhd you think i can remember to take a vitamin 😂

18. do you go to church every sunday? i've never been to church. I’ve been for like funerals and weddings but i’ve never “been to church”

19. do you have a tan? it’s april in canada i absolutely do not 😂

20. do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? sweet and sour pork is my favourite thing in the world, but as a whole, pizza.

21. do you drink your soda with a straw? if i get it at a fast food restaurant yes, but otherwise just out of a can. i don’t really like pop that much though

22. what colour socks do you usually wear? black

23. do you ever drive above the speed limit? yeah. it’s super common here like everyone and their grandmas drive over the limit. you usually drive beside cops that are going 10km/h over on average. i won’t in like... playground zones and communities but we’ve got a lot of big freeways

24. what terrifies you? literally the only thing is like giant waves. not like tsunamis just like big ass waves like when you watch movies and the boat has to go over a wave that’s like 50 ft high? wtf is that. no.

25. look to your left, what do you see? a wall. that’s so not interesting. it’s white has wood panels and a scratch-off map of the world on it

26. what chore do you hate? sweeping

27. what do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? steve irwin

28. what’s your favourite soda? root beer. it’s legit the only one i drink.

29. do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? depends on the situation. if my fam is getting dinner then it’s drive thru

30. who’s the last person you talked to? my brothers

31. favourite cut of beef? y’know, for an albertan, i should really know the answer to this but i do not. i like steak- that’s all i got.

32. last song you listened to? best song ever just ended as i was typing this and now it’s to be so lonely

33. last book you read? the last book i skim-read was find me (cmbyn sequel) but the last book i actually read was the martian back in 2016/2017

34. favourite day of the week? fridays and saturdays usually cause i go to my bf’s house for the weekend but like... covid... so now it’s sat/sun cause i don’t have to go to work

35. can you say the alphabet backwards? i tried to learn and gave up so nope

36. how do you like your coffee? black, especially if it’s hot coffee... if it’s iced i’ll get a little more creative but i genuinely really like black coffee

37. favourite pair of shoes? my orange converse

38. at what time do you normally go to bed? i usually put my computer away at like 12/12:30 but read until 2-3

39. at what time do you normally get up? if i work then i wake up at 9 and read until i get up at 10. if i don’t work then like 10:30/11

40. what do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? sunsets... sunrises are only good to me if i’ve stayed up all night to see them. otherwise it just means i’m up way too early

41. how many blankets are on your bed? two- april in canada is cold lads

42. describe your kitchen plates? they’re like turquoise and round

43. do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage? beer for sure. like a good friuty ipa. my city has a shit ton of micro-breweries so i’ve tried some wild flavours

44. do you play cards? sometimes? it’s not like a past time of mine but if someone was like “let’s play cards” i’d be down

45. what colour is your car? silver

46. can you change a tire? in theory? yes.... with my dad teaching me? yes.... in an emergency? yet to be seen

47. what is your favourite state/province? my fave province is alberta, but like british columbia is a close second

48. favourite job you’ve ever had? working at a camp for kids with disabilities- especially the few years my job was focused on kids with complex behaviours

49. how did you get your biggest scar? i sliced my wrist open hopping a chain-link fence while drunk like a year and a half ago.... it’s not that long but it’s in a weird triangle shape cause two different wires cut and then crossed over so it looks kinda cool

50. what did you do today that made someone else happy? i work at dq so i assume that someone was happy with their ice cream

imma tag @that-anxious-blonde @chocolatepepsifloat @larryiswhatilivefor @siriussilly if you want to! no pressure!!

#I really liked this one #thanks again for tagging me!!

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prairiedust · 5 years

Text

The Folklore of Supernatural

Part two of a series I started with this post.

I’m reposting this as the second installment of my midseason hiatus “The Folklore of Supernatural” series, even though it was originally written as kind of a long cracky way of looking at the “sleeping beauty trilogy” of episodes in season 14 (The Scar, Mint Condition, and Nightmare Logic.) The original question I was tagged into was “Is Dean actually dreaming?” and I can not find the original post about this, so I won’t tag anyone in particular (you know who you are and I love you because this was fun to write.) I posted it once in the dead of night with no tags, but I’m republishing it as part of my larger take on folklore as a theme in season 14 of Supernatural. Bear in mind that this was written before Optimism, when it became clear that these were not part of an extended dream-sequence, BUT ALSO before The Spear when it was revealed that Michael could repossess Dean. (I’m going to talk a little bit about timing and writing meta, further on.)

I want to say a couple of things before the cut, too. This is a big old Sleeping Beauty post. I know there’s a lot of SB ideas out there in the metasphere but I’ve deliberately avoided them because I wanted to get my thoughts out here and I am Very Slow. Feel free to tag me into other posts, send me asks, whatever, because I think it’s fun to talk about. However, just because this is a “sleeping beauty” meta does not mean I want to go all the way to the end of that metaphor in this series. This particular post is general audience meta. I can’t tell anyone who might read this that no, you aren’t allowed to see a DeanCas parallel in a meta which relies heavily on a romantic fairy tale and one that was a destiel fandom in-joke after Cas died, at that. I will say, though, that I see it, so if you want to duck out now because I’m a lowkey shipper feel free. Also, I can’t endorse predictions based on meta, either, even my own, even when I think there is a big neon “Texan Star” sign saying “destiel goes here;” there is absolutely nothing stopping anyone involved in the show from making a hard left when the signs said we were going right. So rather than seeing this as a defense of DeanCas subtext, let’s call it an experiment in close reading. If nothing else, it will be fun. (Bear in mind that I am a massive dork so my definition of fun involves Charles Dickens.)

Aaand... here we go.

Is Dean asleep, and have the last three episodes (The Scar, Mint Condition, and Nightmare Logic) been a dream? How can we possibly “answer” that question at this point in the show?

We’re trying to speculate about a text that is a constantly moving target. If, for instance, you start to read the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and you know from a blurb on the back of the book that she was an anthropologist who collected African-American and Caribbean folklore, and you get to the place where the protagonist Janie’s second [redacted] ends, but there are a lot of pages left ahead of you, and you think, wow if this happens a third time, I have a theory that the third [redacted, go read this book] would be special based on what I know about folklore and the “rule of three,” well by the end of the book you will know whether or not you were right. Janie either finds a third [redacted], or she doesn’t, and it’s either special, or it’s not.

Supernatural has not ended, so there is no way of saying “Oh, the main theme we are supposed to take away from this show is ____.” I mean, we can put big money on “family” but still. With a television show, it’s hard to even say, “The over-arching themes in this season are____” until the season finale, because it is a text that is being written, filmed, and published serially. The fluid nature of subtext in serial literature was something I studied under a Brit Lit professor– she said, when we set out to read David Copperfield, that sometimes themes in Dickens concluded early or evolved late, or didn’t pan out, because Dickens changed his mind or was pressured by readers to maintain a character that he hadn’t planned to keep around (I think that character was Micawber but I can not find a shred of evidence anywhere, even in my notes from my Brit Lit class, because she kind of mentioned it in passing and I didn’t like Dickens very much when I was younger, so obviously I didn’t learn it well.) And even when you get to the end of a Dickens serial, you still might not get closure– he totally rewrote the conclusion of Great Expectations because his friends wanted angst with a happy(ish) ending.

But this particular “sleeping” symbolism that has been pointed out is really, really structurally sound and can be very well supported. What it means is (shrug emoji)

Going back to the first post in this series, the support for this reading comes from an understanding of folk tales. I’ll be primarily using European Sleeping Beauty stories, as that is what is most accessible to an American/Western audience. And, it was deliberately alluded to in the text of the show. But first let’s talk about formula tales in more depth because that is what sets this theme up in the very first episode of season 14.

Michael met with three different beings in the season opener Stranger in a Strange Land and asked each of them “What do you want?” This is in no uncertain terms a formula tale found in folklore all over the world, and you know about the rule of three even if you’ve never actually acknowledged it. In Goldilocks and the Three Bears, for instance, Goldilocks tries two bowls of porridge before finding one to her liking. She tries two chairs before settling on Baby Bear’s chair. She tries two beds before falling asleep in the one that was “just right.” There were three challenges, two of which failed and one that satisfied her. Goldilocks is an original work (and please read the Wikipedia article, it is fascinating how many revisions this story has gone through, and in fact “Goldilocks” wasn’t even the original main character) but it was based on a folk formula and has entered American oral tradition. Similarly, in the German folk tale The Three Little Pigs, the first pig’s house is destroyed because it was made of straw, the second house failed because it was made of sticks, but the third house was made of brick and withstood the huffing and puffing of the wolf. So the pattern in the rule of three is often two challenges that fail or are flawed and one that finally succeeds or satisfies the necessary conditions. For short, I’m going to call this grouping 2/1. In the Michael story, 2/1 is human, who fails, then angel, who fails, then monster, who Mikey likes. In addition, there is a primer to the rule of three in that first scene, just to make absolutely certain that the audience notices it-- Michael has Jamel guess his identity three times.

This 2/1 formula could be just something Dabb did because he wanted to do it. It’s ancient, and Michael is an ancient being. But. Can it also mean that “folktales” is a theme on the show now?

As the saying goes, “Once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.” Folklore continues into the season in many different ways.

In Gods and Monsters, the scene where Dean shakes loose and punches the mirror probably lit up everyone who saw it with “mirror mirror on the wall” vibes, from the story of Snow White. The enchanted mirror is such a common “trope” in folklore that it has an index number that folklorists and others use to refer to it in their scholarship– it’s Aarne-Thompson index number D1163. So, another solid subtextual reference to folk tales. There is so much more in that episode about storytelling and retelling and the concept of sequels, but that’s for another discussion.

We get to The Scar and Jack mentions Sleeping Beauty and no lie I ascended for a full minute. “Sleeping Beauty” is Aarne-Thompson-Uther Classification of Folk Tales number 410 because this is another story that is found freaking everywhere. (I have to make an aside about the use of the term “folk tale” just because it is in my nature not to leave things like this ambiguous– it isn’t completely certain that the Sleeping Beauty we know of Brothers Grimm and Disney fame is 100% for shore an oral tale, or at least isn’t a tale that got a little finessed when it was first written down. See, a guy in pre-Renaissance Naples named Giambattista Basile included a version of it in a collection of child’s tales hundreds of years ago (it’s horrifying btw, cw for non-con at the very least if you go looking for it) then Charles Perrault (of Puss in Boots fame) got hold of it and rewrote it in French, and folklorists are pretty certain that the story of “Briar Rose in the Forest” that the Grimm brothers collected was the Perrault story that had made its way back into oral tradition in Germany. And, like, it’s not a huge reach to say that the history of the Sleeping Beauty story that is explicitly mentioned in the show’s dialogue by Jack is more subtext about how stories are transmitted, how they are told, what happens when they get loose in the wild, etc. That’s how allusions work, and that’s coming up in my third post.)

So, three times means green light to consider “folk tales” an official thing this season, at least for a while. And the cherry on top is that Sleeping Beauty was the third story referenced. It’s neat.

But NOW. On to THE question the OP posed:

Have the last three episodes been Dean’s dream?

I’m going to pass up surface mentions of dream states and solely focus on the actual “sleepers” in these episodes in order to get at the allusion’s architecture.

In Nightmare Logic, the sleeping beauty OP has identified is Sasha’s father, who is locked in a dream-state by a djinn. In Mint Condition, the sleeping beauty is Stuart, who is in a mysterious coma-like sleep after an attack by a possessed chain-saw. In The Scar, Lora is in a sleep-adjacent death-state after being hexed by a witch. (I saw that her name on the iTunes subtitles is “Lora” which is a variation of Laura but spelled this way evokes “of lore” and that was pretty neat. Another tiny detail that bolsters the theme.)

Is Lora really a sleeping beauty, though, and why is that important?

Remember our rule of three pattern that we were given in the premiere– 2/1. Two people in this group will be more similar to each other than to the third. Both Stuart and Sasha’s father are alive, while Lora is technically all the way dead when she is in the sleep-like state. Superficially, Stuart and Sasha’s father are men, whereas Lora is a woman. Just throwing that out there. If I were writing this post for a grade, that right there is called “padding for word count.” But it is also a valid point, so we’re going to use it. Neither Stuart nor Sasha’s father are shown to resume consciousness by the end of their episodes– Stuart not at all, and Mr. Rawlings only stirs fitfully. Lora is revived when Jack breaks the spell. On the other hand, Stuart is never in continued danger in Mint Condition after his “touch and go” operation (he’s presumably safe inside the salt circle) and is expected to recover naturally, whereas both Mr. R and Lora will die/stay dead if the threat against them isn’t neutralized. Mr. Rawlings is similar to Lora because they are both under “medical care”– Mr.R is ostensibly in hospice and Lora is in the Bunker’s sick bay, and to top things off Stuart is the only one who was treated by an actual doctor: Mr. R‘s nurse was a djinn and Cas is not a doctor he just played one on TV.

The thing about close readings is that anything you can argue is probably valid, but one thesis might be better supported than another. I’m really really tired and there might be more differences and similarities that I am missing. But when you’re gathering the evidence to support a theory about a text, you can end up going a bridge too far and you’ll find yourself staring into the void, completely unable to make any progress, so at some point you just have to stake out your foundations and start digging. (Yeah, I mixed metaphors, I mixed three of them, it’s awesome, get off me.)

So. There is more evidence that Stuart and Mr. R are more similar to each other than either one is to Lora. If we apply the 2/1 template, Lora is the character who satisfies the parameter of being “odd man out.” That still might not make her a sleeping beauty for the purposes of answering the “Is this Dean’s dream” question, and here’s why.

(This is the speculation part. I love this stuff, but again I offer the caveat that using subtext to make plot predictions in Supernatural is like trying to write on a cloud with smoke. Anyway.)

If she’s the sleeping beauty, the subtextual message is that Dean might actually be dead (or might have to die to satisfy the condition that Michael is destroyed.) That possibility was brought up in both 14x01 and 14x02, before Dean came back. And eugh no one wants that. It also means that we had to have read these three episodes backwards to find the character that fits the template, because if Lora is a sleeping beauty, and if she is “the” sleeping beauty for subtextual purposes, she actually came first in the series, and you have to run the episodes backwards to get to the 1. That is subverting the trope. However, if you get the thing you want the first time why go on to the other two challenges? There is a lot in this season about calling back to earlier parts of the narrative to contextualize the present– for instance, in Gods and Monsters, Michael says to the werewolf, “You think you were picking me up in that bar?” or something to that effect and then revealed that he was, in fact, the one stalking her. In Mint Condition, we are introduced to the Janitor Victim as a Dean mirror, but we do not know for certain yet that Hatchet Man is a post-Azazel John Winchester mirror, so that scene is given greater meaning by information that is revealed later in the episode. Structurally speaking, it would be fair to say that the information we have now, that Lora the dead girl is “the” sleeping beauty, based on having seen the other two candidates, means a dead Dean reveal has been primed by the subtext. And like, no thank you?

The other possibility is that Lora, since she was dead and not unconscious, is not “the” sleeping beauty. The third “sleeping beauty” (IF there is one) would show up in 14x06 Optimism. (That title is really stressing me out.) Why would that be Dean and not some other random character? Because if we exclude Laura, the pattern resets from 1/2 to 2/1 beginning with Stuart. Stuart is a Castiel mirror, though, which is not quite right. Mr. R is a John mirror (although that episode is a lot murkier and I’ve said before if someone wants to say he’s a Dean mirror because of the djinn connection I’d agree, in which case BLAM we already have a winner.) [editor’s note, I only left Jack out because we already knew he was dying and thought this subtext was priming a twist, more at ten, this aside has been brought to you by the letters LOL.]

But then, where have the last three episodes come from? If he is dreaming, it could be one reason why the djinn couldn’t wring a nightmare out of him, and that the moment before he killed the monster with a bookend was his subconscious trying to signal to him that something is wrong…

I have said a couple of times that subtext isn’t always predictive. Some authors will have multiple subtexts or will use subtext to straight-up fool you (*waves to thriller writers.*) But the exception proves the rule here– we as readers/viewers rely on subtext to prepare us for what might be coming next. Subtext helps provide that slow build to climax that makes, say, Neville Longbottom’s absolutely stunning house cup win in The Sorcerer’s Stone such a stand-up-and-cheer moment, or that makes Harry Potter’s realization that it is his patronus, not his father’s, that saves his past self in the Prisoner of Azkaban so satisfying. Lack of subtext is the reason there is so much grumping over Mary/Bobby. I mean, they what? Had a walk in the woods together? She called him “old man” once, is that even a term of endearment??? [full disclosure I never liked those two together until after Nightmare Logic.]

And scene!

That up there is where I stopped, and now it’s clear that the person who all this was pointing at was Jack, who fell into a dramatic swoon at the end of Optimism. There were two “sleeping beauties” in that episode, too in the 2/1 pattern of the folktales we’ve discussed– the zombie, who is in sort of a dream state, and Charlie, who is knocked out by fly guy. (Again, fully dead is a red herring and doesn’t count. That’s some positive subtext.) That was basically a lot of words to be able to summarize that, yes, sleeping beauty and dreamstates is a thing so far, but where it was going was hard to predict.

There is something really important that can be taken out of this close reading, though, that is carrying throughout the season.

Jack was the character who actually said the words “Sleeping Beauty.” Jack sort of volunteered himself as tribute. Another theme this season that was made explicit by Subtext Primer aka Mint Condition is that the words characters are saying are more important than they ever have been.

AND ONE MORE THING! The above was written before Unhuman Nature and Byzantium and The Spear! Dean has been put back to bed by Michael! But but Castiel stepped into the Sleeping Beauty deal! Where are we going! There’s no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going…

Anyway in the next installment of this really long meta that will probably never end I want to explore what the history of the Amero-European Sleeping Beauty brings to bear on this season.

#the folklore of supernatural #the folkloristics of supernatural #season 14 #dabb era

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