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thekingofwinterblog · 17 days

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Man the one thing Bionicle will allways have my respect for is the whole giant robot reveal amd planning, that shit was cool.

Like I never read any books or comics (just watched the movies as a kid lol) and of what I read of the lore I feel iffy, but just that idea alone is legendary

Funny thing is, the movies are actually the single WORST part of the bionicle franchise XD

Not only are the 3 good one, only decent movies at best, but they were made explicitly FOR fans, and fans alone, and has no shame about not telling you stuff because they fully expect the viewer to know all the lore through the books, the comic books, or games.

They are also absolutely terrible in terms of action, as the Toa in pretty much every other medium are stupidly powerfull, with elemental powers easily on level with an avatar state avatar if not beyond, physically capable of lifting over one ton, and as the toa mata estimated during their fights with the Bohrok swarms, while they might ultimately win if they just went all out, they would certainly destroy the island of Mata Nui(about the size of mainland denmark) in the process.

To say the movie toa arent quite on that level is... kinda an understatement XD Not to mention that the comics actually fills in scenes in between cuts in the movies, or just makes actual movie scenes better. It's kinda a mess to follow.

overall, I've always described the Bionicle franchise as the actual Star Wars extended universe. It's a whole mess of in-canon with each other stories, that has a very clear cronological flow, but would have been way better if they just made a tv series that covered the main story(which was basically the only thing bionicle DINDT have).

That said, i can tell you exactly why you think the lore is iffy. It is related one one, single sentence.

"Doing in the wizard".

Doing in the wizard, is a story telling trope, where something that was presented as magical or mystical, is later revealed(wheter it was planned or retconned in later) to actually have a mundane, scientific explanation.

And man, is Bionicle the single WORST example of this trope ever made.

So to explain this, and how it all relates to the series big twist reveal, I need to explain how Bionicle started out, and what it became over time.

Because when it began, Bionicle started out as a myth in the making.

On paper the story of the story of the six toa coming to deliver the land from a great evil is as stock as you get it.

But what made it special from day one, was that it managed to capture the feeling of a deeply spiritual tale, of faith, destiny, and myth.

The story of the six toa coming to deliver Mata Nui and his chosen people is treated, both by the narrative, and the people in it, as a great religious story, with the coming of the six Toa Mata essentially being this universe's coming of christ.

There is a moment in the mata nui online game that really encapsulates this, as when Tahu first meets the Ta-Matorans he is supposed to deliver, they attempt to trap him, and he easily breaks free, but then the fighting is halted as Vakama, the turaga(basically priest king) of the ta-matoran shows up, orders his men to stand down, after which he walks up to Tahu seemingly to talk, only to kneel down before him.

because for him this is basically the equivelant of the coming of christ. the divine prophecy that came from God himself is finally coming true.

Now Bionicle has a lot of things to love, as other than the movies, it has great action, it's characters are generally actual people with flaws and developments, and it has lots of awesome moments, amazing and deep world building that is stupidly thourough, and sweet character moments, and of course one of the biggest twists in fiction... but it is this very religious and spiritual tone that sets Bionicle apart from pretty much... everything else western childrens media has ever made.

It is this deep, unfliching and honest portrayal of a world that feels like a myth come to life that drew so many people to this story when it first came out, what ellevated it over yet another story about good and evil clashing.

The people in this story feel real, not only because they generally have actual character(some way more than others), but because they Believe in their world. as in, they believe in Mata Nui, his tennants, his story, and the six saviors he promised would come to deliver them and wake up their god.

this is how you create a real, genuine setting. it is why Bionicle has a feel to it that you never see in western childrens media(nor that often in adult either), other than some very, very few exceptions, due to our deep aversion to showintg religion to children.

and then of course there are the gods in question.

Mata Nui and Makuta. the two brothers who set this story into motion. The first who came here to this world, and created the matoran, and the second who followed him from paradise, and cast a spell that put mata nui into his current deep, deep sleep.

Now these two could have been just another set of "evil brother who who was jealous of, and hates his good brother and attempts to usurp him".

but that's not quite what we get.

When the toa Mata finally do confront Makuta, they get his perspective on it all. Now they ultimately write this off as just an evil villain trying to justify his actions... but if you actually break down what makuta is saying, he is a way more interesting villain than the very simplistic reading the devil figure the matoran believe he is.

"Destroy me? You cannot destroy me. No more than you can destroy the sea, or the wind. Or - the void."

"You are like the sea? The sea bears life! The sea bore us!"

"I bore you, for I am Nothing. And out of Nothing, you came. And it is into Nothing that you will go. I stand with Mata Nui, side by side. I am his brother. The people of the world are builders. But look into their hearts ... and you will find that they also have the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I WILL destroy you."

ultimately, the story of the gods Mata Nui and Makuta is not the story of heaven and hell, but instead a story of yin and yang.

Mata Nui is the god of light, and that is the element that everyone associates him with... but thats not his main trait. his main trait, his defining virtue, is creation. That is what he is most famous for after all, creating the matoran and this island home for them.

Similarily, Makuta is tha god of darkness, as that is his element... but his main virtue is destrution.

as the creators themselves noted, using a lego methaphor, mata nui is the drive to create new things, to make something bigger and more interesting out of the parts you have... but Makuta is the drive to destory that creation, to take the lego set apart either before creating something new, or to put it away into the box so that you can use it later. before you create something new, you must destroy.

And this ties into the actual story as well, as one of the big main plots from the start is that to reawaken their god, one of the things that would happen, is that the toa and the matoran would have to give up on Mata Nui the island, their home, their promised land, as only by it's destruction could their god reawaken and lead them to the paradise he originally came from.

its really, really good stuff, and one of the things that ellevated Bionicle over so many other children stories.

now, you might have noticed i said, and continue to say, early bionicle.

There is a reason for that.

and it ties into two very, specific turning points in the development of the story.

the big twist that Mata Nui was actually a giant robot was always going to be the center of everything, the explanation for all the wierd mysteries of the series. Even if his final form didnt end up being quite as big as this above concept piece made him out to be, the overall point stands.

The god of the Matorans was a gigantic robot, and his childrens proper place was inside of him, both to live their lives, and to serve as part of the great ecosystem that was the universe inside of mata nui.

Mata Nui the island, which he created for the Matoran to live on, was always a temporary thing, and their true destiny was him brining them back to "Paradise", aka the great planet of the solar system this story takes place in.

Spherus Magna. a planet that was broken into 3 before he left, and left a hellscape.

his original home that he left long ago.

Now, you might have noticed that i said not a word about what Mata Nui's backstory on said planet actually was.

The only thing that is important as it was originally portrayed, was that Mata nui left the planet for whatever reason, ended up on the water filled moon he currently rests on, and his brother followed him there from paradise.

now, you could create a scenario where there was some scientific, "Mundane" reason for all of this, but if you read this summary so far, the first thought in your mind is probably that what broke this planet into 3 pieces was probably related to something Mata Nui and Makuta, the two known gods of this universe, did. Maybe it is the reason why Makuta no longer has a body, and ended up on this moon in a much weakened form as basically a spirit who can only inhabit souless machine parts.

and im going to take a wild guess that this is probably what was originally planned... but you see, there was a shift at some point. actually on two points.

The first shift was at the very start of Bionicle as we know it, for the series was actually meant to only last 1 year. The toa would defeat makuta, then awaken Mata Nui, and that was that. The end.

However, Lego, who was at the verge of bankruptcy at the time, saw potential in the setting, and given it was a hail mary to save their company said "Screw it, lets expand on this universe!

and so the original one year story became 3 years.

now this artifical extension could have been disasterous, but unlike so many other similar tales, it was the exact opposite.

Mata nui the island got more fleshed out, the big mystery got more build up, the characters got to go through more development, both in the form of a kickass new upgrade, but also character arcs as a result of their power increase going to their head.

new villains, new places to go, new developments.

all leading up to the point where it was now decided that they would end the story. The arrival of the seventh toa of light, which would be where makuta was finally defeated, and at the end of the planned movie that would be the finale, mata nui would finally awaken.

Except this part didnt happen.

at the last moment, Lego essentially pulled the plug and decided to extend the series, and the point where they would reveal the big twist for a second time.

that said, the following storyline of the big flashback to explain metru nui was always going to happen, its just that as originally envisioned, this would be a flashback as the Toa, Turaga and Matoren traveled to Metru nui, as Mata Nui was flying through space back to spherus magna.

So essentially the story was over, but lego got to get one more line of bionicle toys out of it, while the bionicle team got to have fun one more time.

But thats not what happened, as not only did mata nui not awaken(it would take 3 more storylines past this point before that happened), but the big flashback was where everything went wrong so to say.

this is where bionicle shifted hard from a story trying to be a myth with very clear religious and spiritual overtones, into full on sci-fi.

and you can tell that shift occured very clearly as they abandoned all their original plans for how metru nui was supposed to look like in the poster above, showing the very alien like enviornment that was mata nui's insides, into the far more boring and safe(as well as full on science fiction) setting in the poster below.

now im not going to say that everything that came after this point was bad, far from it, there was a lot of really awesome stuff that happened afterwards, but it was the critical turning point where Bionicle steered away from the essence that made it more than just another toyline, an attempt at creating a myth that while it had sci-fi aspects, was ultimately a story of faith, destiny, and trying to find ones place in the universe, into just another sci-fi story.

Basically you can sum it up as the point where mata nui went from a god who was also a giant robot, into just a giant robot.

and man, does it make the lore, and tone a mess.

while the new universe does make logical sense, it lacks the soul(pun very much intended) of what made bionicle, bionicle.

and you know what the really sad thing is?

The final part of the story, where Mata Nui is FINALLY awakened, only to lose his own body, and find himself trapped in his mask as its launched into space before crashing back on the shattered planet that he came from, could so easily have fit into this mythical storytelling.

what actually happens is that mata nui learns he was actually just a giant robot created by some scientis in a lab 100 000 years ago to travel the cosmos, learn about the universe, then come back and fix the broken planet. then he repairs his own, unstable, proto type body that wasnt really working out, makuta senses him and follows him, they duke it out, mata nui kills him, then uses the last of his energy to fix the planet, before dying. oh, also rather than being his actual brother, makuta was actually just a computer program mata nui created. and Makuta isnt even his real name. his actual name is Teridax. im not kidding. oh and the actual thing that destroyed the world? it was a fight amongst some tribesmen using the resident dues ex machina substance that began oozing from the planet's core. again, im not kidding.

here is how you could easily fix it, while keeping in the same tone with what was suggested in the first three years about makuta and mata nui's origins.

The exiled and humbled divine being, cast from heaven, and forced to wander the world he himself played a role in wrecking so long ago, as he travels across the world, and befriends the people he essentially left behind to create the matoran in a better place, rather than fix the mess he, ironically enough given his defining attribute, created.

basically a bionicle take on the atonement/labors of hercules.

and then, having wracked his brain on how to solve the problem of his brother having taken control over his own body, he stumbles upon the solution.

his brother's own, broken, non-active body, which after their ancienct, and catacylsmic clash his brother left behind to follow him to the ocean moon.

and so his journey becomes to essentially take a page out of his brothers book, and do what he did to him in reverse. Repair the mighty body of a god, and then take contrel over it.

after the great journey of hardship and pain, now comes the ressurection before ragnarok, the final battle.

see how easy it is to rewrite this story about what is essentially two computer programs fighting over different continent sized bodies into a story about gods fighting a thematic and climactic showdown on the ruins of a planet they themselves wrecked to pieces to begin with?

but of course the story has to end, and it ends on a note tying into the original message. you cannot create, withouth destruction coming first, and so to win this conflict, mata nui has to destroy something. himself.

His own body.

Like any good jesus analogue, he gives his own life in a sense, as he chooses to give up on the possibility of regaining his own body and with it, regaining his true power and goodhood for the sake of the future of his people and this planet, driving his own skull into the oncoming moon that served as his home for all these years.

and with his final bit of power as his brother's dying body begins to give up on life, he spends the last moments of godhood to do what he, the god of creation should have done from the start. fix the mess he and makuta left behind.

putting the massive planet back together into one whole, while also terraforming it into the green wonder it used to be.

then, we end the story as we began. with a prophecy, where Mata Nui predicts before his toa, as his spirit returns to slumber once again that he will return, but for now, they must make their way forward withouth him, in this new world, that they now must make their own destiny here on the Paradise he promised them so long ago.

I dont know about you, but i think that would have been a lot more interesting that desperately trying to rewrite the entire setting to be full sci-fi because you didnt want to continue with the spiritual and religious themes that you never managed to shake off anyway.

mind you, it's not impossible to have this kind of twist and make a good story about it, but when you commit to telling what is essentially a religious tale that is basically the coming of christ, Ragnarok, the exodus, and the eternal kingdom on earth into one, you are not going to be able to swerve into making it full on sci-fi withouth it feeling, really, really jarring.

And guess what? it makes Bionicle Lore feel really, really jarring. Or iffy as you put it.

#bionicle #bionicle lore #meta analysis #questions and answers #mata nui #makuta #toa mata #toa nuva #spherus magna

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pinkiepiebones · 4 months

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Oh?? Well now my interest is piqued! I would like to know The Shirt Saga! 👀 If youre comfortable with it, of course

Ah, yes! Come, gather by the fire, and I shall tell the tale of The Shirt. 'Tis a long tale, so, so grab a snack or a drink. Okay. Good? Then here we go.

PART ONE: A PACT IS FORGED

How it started was July 2017. I got to the venue far too early. I was the only Ghost VIP in line. There were at least twenty Iron Maiden VIPs already there. It was a good time, they were all really nice and had obviously waited for concerts before (this was my first concert outing since 2006 or so). But it was hot. It was so fucking hot, even in the shade. I was wearing a black Ghost shirt I got off Fright Rags but I wasn't going to survive four more hours of sitting outside on the pavement. My brother had just got to the line- he had been looking for a parking spot (technically this concert was his birthday gift; I bought the tickets because he loved Iron Maiden and yes because Ghost). We both agreed to go back to the hotel, grab some food, etc. I had packed another shirt, just a white shirt with a red anatomical heart diagram on it, and decided to change into it. White shirts are better for hot days, right?

Then it's a blur until I met Papa III. I was frozen at the doorway of the photo tent and he opened his arms, his chasuble glittering with intricate beadwork, and he beckoned me with gold talons "come in! Come on in!" I didn't budge. Papa brought his claws together and tilted his head a little, owlish. "I like that shirt you have there," he said. For whatever reason, that broke the ice inside me. I got a hug. I got a picture.

I barely remember the concert now. The A/C was fucked so it was hellishly hot inside. Any time I stopped recording during Maiden's set some old veteran fan would gently grab my shoulder and say "you're gonna wanna record this next bit!" :,) Rock on, old guy who was spending his retirement following Iron Maiden around.

Anyway, the show ended and my brother was trying to get a cab back (we Ubered to the venue from the hotel) and I insisted we wait by the buses. He relented, eventually. XD We waited about an hour with ten or so other Ghost fans. Billy Vanilla regaled us with tales from the road. Ben Cristo (I think that's his name), who had at that point been playing the Nameless Ghoul who played the black and white guitar (I think the fandom calls him Ifrit) came out first and signed all our stuff with the alchemical symbol for fire.

After another half hour, I saw a group on the sidewalk walking towards us. They appeared to be led by a man in a white Misfits shirt and the skinniest skinny jeans I ever saw. He looked ahead and I swear we locked eyes for an instant. I started punching my brother's arm and yelled IT'S HIM IT'S HIM IT'S PAPA PAPA IS HERE. The people went into the bus and him, Papa, Tobias, stopped to say to us all "let me put my things away, I will be back out shortly."

Tobias and Chris Catalyst (played the Nameless Ghoul with the black guitar, aka Aether, until last year) came out with Sharpies and security staff to make sure no pictures were taken. And like I said, Tobias restated how much he liked my shirt. I said, "I actually have two of these, I'll bring you my spare next time I see the band!" He looked genuinely surprised and said "really? Wow, thank you! That's very kind of you!"

PART TWO: THE YEAR OF THE CARDINAL

In May 2018 I saw Ghost again. And Evening with Ghost, it was called. I packed The Shirt and it's twin and flew to Pittsburgh to crash on @csevet 's sofa and drag em to the show. And I got to meet @jayyynine too!! Oh, and Cardinal Copia, we all got to meet him. @csevet and I got to go into the meet and greet photo tent together because we wanted a "family photo" with Copia. According to em, when Copia shook my hand, his gaze went 'face, shirt, face, shirt, face.' Ey insisted he recognised me. I left a gift bag with the security staffer. Inside was several hand-woven bags I made for all the ghouls, and The Shirt. And an SASE because I was feeling cocky, I guess.

Two weeks after the show, the SASE came back. Inside was the card I had provided, along with a Sharpie-scrawled autograph above a THANK YOU next to a little tiny smiling devil face. Literally 😈

Five months later, I got to see Ghost again, wearing The Shirt, my mom in tow. Why? Because she rocks. Anywho, we do the meet and greet. Copia shakes my mom's hand, then goes to grab mine but stops. "That's a cool shirt you have there," he says, gesturing. "You know, I happen to have one just like it." My mom says "that's because they gave you one" and Copia looks over his shoulder at her and says "Yes, I know this."

Mom says that after the pictures I was shaking and yelling "he remembered me" in a "dinosaur shriek noise." I have no memory of this. But the notion that Cardinal Copia- Tobias Forge- had one brain cell with my information stored on it? Well, I can understand why I may have squawked.

PART 3: THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

In April of 2019 I got tickets for the October show in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I would be meeting up with @csevet again and would drive a rental across the state. No biggie! Well, slight biggie. You see, in September I had a full hysterectomy. My OBGYN and the surgeon *barely* cleared me for travel. But I bought the fucking tickets in APRIL and @csevet got the time off approved at er job so. I couldn't not go.

I had a cane. I was six weeks post op, four weeks actually up out of bed. Ghost's meet and greet crew and the staff of the venue were super accommodating, let us take an elevator to the photo area, someone brought me a folding chair for the lineup. Copia was in his red suit on this leg of the tour. There were so many people, no one had much time to chat with Copia. But I know ...I had the shirt. He took my hand and said gently, "I know we have met before..." I kissed his sideburn.

PART FOUR: PAPA EMERITUS THE FOURTH

Copia was promoted to Papa! Then the world shut down. So for years, nothin'. Then, 2022. Just after my birthday. St. Louis. Ghost.

I had to go. And of course do the meet and greet. Happy birthday to me.

I was alone for this one, for the first time. I felt less alone by talking to other fans, and helping ease the nerves of first timers. Everyone's been a newbie at some point, gatekeeping is for jerks, etc. I was wearing The Shirt and regaling those who would listen with the saga. But I was nervous. I tried to play it off. "Of course he won't remember you," I told myself. "It's been way too long."

Then I get into the tent. Due to the ongoing health concerns there were no hugs or handshakes, and the photos had you and Papa separated by a pane of plexiglass, which would be photoshopped out later. Papa had taken a step from his designated photo spot to explain these things to me, but he stopped mid-sentence, looked me up and down, and said,

"I'm getting like a deja vu here. I have a shirt just like that."

Then his eyes widened and he snapped his fingers and said,

"You gave me it! Yes! Hello, how have you been doing?"

He chatted with me like we were old friends. I told him about graduate school and my hopes for a Masters degree. He said he would love to see me with it.

And then the moment was over. I was overcome with emotions and the group of fans who had gone before me all huddled around and gently sat me down (I guess I looked like I was going to faint) and I started crying and said "after three years he still remembers me" and then "I need to call my mom."

I did also see Ghost this past September, but they weren't doing meet and greets, and as close as I was to the stage, I don't hold hope that me and The Shirt were seen.

PART FIVE: HERE'S TO THE FUTURE

I don't know what the future for Ghost will hold. But I do know that I have been squirreling away money for the next inevitable show. And The Shirt will be ready. Papa III passed it on to Papa IV. Will Papa IV pass it on to Papa V? I don't know, but I am excited to find out.

#long post #very long post #the band ghost #tobias forge #ghost the band

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jennyandvastraflint · 6 months

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Xena Reactions S1Ep13! Bards, neat!

And we start with a flashback?

Ahhhh, Gabrielle as a bard relaying tales

Gabrielle your gay is showing

They're so gaaaay

A bard competition

Who is this boring white boy

I wanna punch the sexist prick

AZAHAHA XENA'S GLARE WHEN SHE ASKS ABT ATHENS

Gods Lucy Lawless is gorgeous

"EVEN IF I HAD AN ARMY AROUND ME I'D NOTICE YOU MISSING" 😭😭😭

Xena is super gay

HOW GAY. TELLING THE STORY TOGETHER

"the only family he ever needed was standing right beside him" GAY!?

Thank you for being my family (if I had a nickel for every lesbian couple saying something like that-)

Ah yes. "sister" sureee

"Draco. Nononooo"

Love how all of Gabrielle's stories are about her girlfriend

"Was your name in there someplace?" 😂

EURIPIDES

pFTTTT SHE SMUGGLED IT IN

OH SHIT

The was stabbed? Or... Not? Ah.

Ohhh, the Celeste storyyy

When I say I cannot tell all these brown haired men apart... Half the "attractive" men look the same... 😂 (maybe I'm just being a lesbian about this)

SHSHSHSHS PLS THE STORYTELLING OF THE GUY "There's like, all these guys fighting"

"The moral is... He kills all the bad guys"

Awww, a storyteller with a stutter.

What is this uncomfortable straightness.

"And then arghhhh, right in the gut!"

Holy shit? Can we maybe not torture Xena?

She's just like get OUTTTT I WANNA SLEEEEP Also I miss Xena :(

"If you don't like it, nobody else will" FUCKING RIGHT

....... Ffs. Shithead snitch

Blergh

YES. YOU TELL EURIPIDES. YOU CAN SPEAK FOR YOURSELF.

"Turns out we had a lot in common" You're both gay for the person you travel with

ATCH THE SOULMATE STORY (the aroace in me doesn't like it because it implies Aro and Ace people are "broken" for not craving that. Also non-monogamous people. But apart from that it's still a cute notion)

Autism honestly. Euripides and the other one.

Twickenham? I can't read his name, so... (It's fine I looked it up. Did think it was Trigonom because I have bad auditory processing)

Awwww she gets to perform

THE BABEHHH

Right. She yeeted that baby a lot. XD

"It's madness that she was left out" SLAAAY

Art will never take second place to rules and regulations

Ffs you stupid father. Stop living through your son.

"He'd do better if he was allowed to be himself" EXACTLY

Love this monster costume XD

WTF is this man's problem!

OMG THEIR MEETING STORYYYY Lesbianism showing

"You're not alone" I'm gonna go sob again byeee

NOT THE GUY TAKING THE HANKIE TO WIPE HIS TEARS

"Hu?" "I liked it a lot." Shdhsgsgs

Shielded his orbs sjdhshhs PLEASE SIR YOU WOULD DO NUMBERS ON TUMBLR IN MEMES

I think I should care about this, but all I can think about is how that Spartacus guy looks old enough to be this girl's father at LEAST

Ohhhh, the Twickenham guy (or whatever) got in!

HOMER!!!! THAT'S HOMER. OOOOOO

She didn't get in tho. But ah well.

Xenaaaa :D

OH SHE WON. I THOUGHT SO.

"It's good to have you back" you missed Gabrielle so much it makes you look stupid, Xena

"This is gonna make a great story" indeed!

I love that this was a really Gabrielle centric episode? Well we had flashbacks to lots of previous adventures but y'know

#v watches xena #xena warrior princess #xena and gabrielle

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eveandtheturtles · 1 year

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This whole "Love" thing

Fuck it, here's incredibly personal-Headcanon Mikey (including some mentions of other brothers) one shot. I hope I won't make people mad xD

Summary: Mikey has thoughts about himself and is struggling with his identity.

Rating: T for a mention.

Tagging: @madammuffins @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @pheradream15 @dilucsflame33 (lemme know if anyone wanna be tagged/untagged in the future! Also plz do tag me in your stuff too!)

Mikey loved love. He loved the concept of it. The magical fairy tale sold by the TV and comic books.

He loved his family, pizza, New York. He loved being a hero, his skateboard and the ancient teddy bear he got from his dad when he was a kid.

But no matter how hard Mikey tried romantic love evaded him.

There were women, guys and nonbinary pals that he tried to have this love with. Sex was great, don't get him wrong. He enjoyed it and it made people he was with happy but he always could tell like something wasn't quite there. It led him to believe there was something wrong with him.

He had seen his brothers finding love. April eventually getting with Casey. He was happy for them all. He himself though was... confused.

"What is eating you my son?"

Mikey looked up startled from his own thoughts by Splinter's voice. "Me? Psh, nothing, all good, yeah," he replied a bit too quickly waving his arm dismissevely. "What makes you think that?"

"For starters, Michealangelo, you decided to join me for a game of go," the rat smiled at him. "You also have been considering your move for about 15 minutes now and didn't notice when I got up to bring myself some tea." Splinter gestured to the fresh cup next to him.

Mikey glanced there and sighed then looked at the board. He moved one piece, rather unmotivated.

"Sensei, is it possible for someone to... not feel love?" He finally asked.

Splinter stroked his chin before answering slowly. "The simple answer this this would be no, but that is a very complex question and cannot be answered with just one word." He hummed to himself. "In Ancient Greece they have named different kinds of love a person can experience - Storge the love of kinship and familiarity, Philia the platonic love, Eros the lustful love and pure, divine Agape. There are other of course. In the phylisophy of Confucianism there's love expressed by duty and action, focused more on the relationship rather than feelings. In oposition to it stood Mozi with his idea of universal love, equal among everyone."

Normally, with this lenght of lecture Mikey might have gotten distracted by his need to learn more about what he was feeling mixed with anxiety kept him listening. All this information was making him a little dizzy though.

"What does it mean?" He asked.

"It means my son that there is more to love than romance the shows on TV are trying to teach you," his father explained patiently. "You can feel one love without experiencing another. It doesn't make you any less worthy of love or incapable of it."

"What? Who said it was about me? I was, you know asking for a-" he stopped seeing the look on Splinter's face.

"I believe the Internet that Donatello and the rest of you enjoy so much, could have more modern outlook on this topic." He moved a piece on the board, giving Mikey an amused look.

"Right." Mikey nodded. "I better go then. Thanks, sensei."

He stood up and bowed before going further to the lair. What his dad said made him feel better. A little. He was still feeling a bit alone in his head with all that. He could check online like dad suggested but he wasn't sure just how much did Donnie monitor their phones.

He bit his lips. Fuck it. He'll deal with it later. He opened his phone and typed: "Is it normal to not feel love?" His thumb hesistated over the search icon, suddenly feeling a bit scared.

Deep breaths, Mikey, he told himself, then hit it.

Hours later he knew more. There was a name to it. Aromantic, that's how it was called. Leo was poly-bi, Raph was bi, Donnie was demi and he... he was Aromantic. Or aro for short. So this was okay. It really was okay.

Somehow the knowledge that there was name for it. That there were people like him out there, the scope of experiences varying of course but... He wasn't alone. It was such a relief he almost wanted to cry.

He was going to be okay.

#I'm struggling a little with my romantic identity so #time to dump it all on Mikey!#he he pfft #eve scribbles #mikey #michealangelo #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt mikey #tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2014 #bayverse turtles #bayverse mikey

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teecupangel · 11 months

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Desmond but a megalodon

Do what you must

Ngl, nonny, when I read this, my mind went immediately to Jason Statham’s movie The Meg so my brain went “Desmond versus Jason Statham???” before I remembered that Desmond wouldn’t be a dick like the megalodon in The Meg.

For those unfamiliar with megalodons, here are some approximation of its supposed scale from its wiki page:

So, let’s talk about how this would work.

Now, the easiest way to kick him into being a megalodon is around the games with naval combat so AC3, Black Flag, and Rogue specifically.

Odyssey is also a viable setting since the Adrestia did sail all around Ancient Greece.

We can make an argument for Origin but that might limit him to Aya’s naval combat section unless we set this after the main storyline and Bayek travels further to start building the foundations of a Brotherhood in other places.

Valhalla’s section would be enclosed during the travels between Norway and England although I like the idea that Eivor saw him when she was traveling to Vinland, like Desmond was staying close by to Ratonhnhaké:ton’s people (and the Grand Temple).

Now, for the main naval combat AC games, Desmond could be like a great shadow they would sometimes see during their travels with Ratonhnhaké:ton seeing him the most while Shay sees him the least.

Ratonhnhaké:ton could even hear from Haytham how there is a legend about the great shadows of the sea. How it supposedly follows Assassins to guide them. From the soft almost pained way Haytham spoke, Ratonhnhaké:ton realized that he had heard of the tale from his father.

And Edward liked to tell Haytham about it when he was a boy, about how the legends of a great large shark were one of the most sought-after bounty during his time, how he had been cocky enough to think he could hunt it down, only for it to appear during the times when the Jackdaw was in dire situations, almost as if it was assisting him even after Edward had tried to take it down more than once before.

Ratonhnhaké:ton doesn’t say anything but something inside him knew that the sea guardian was there for him. That he was there to help and he certainly did during the more dangerous missions he took with his ships, always there to ram or straight up headbutt an enemy ship from underneath them.

Mister Faulkner cautioned him to be careful for it was a beast.

But Ratonhnhaké:ton knew…

It was more than a beast.

No.

He was more than a beast.

Other possible ‘sightings’:

Altaïr: While it would be funny if Desmond straight up just gobbled Sibrand during the whole mission in the Acre docks (giving a big fuck you to one of the most annoying Assassination missions in the game in my experience because water), his current size would make that a bit hard to do. He would have a better chance ‘interacting’ with Altaïr during his travels to Cyprus in Bloodlines or when he was trying to find Adha in Chronicles. Also… Altaïr did travel a lot and we didn’t get a full confirmation where he had traveled to (one of his destination had been Constantinople though) so Desmond could have made contact with him during one of those times he was traveling by ship.

Ezio: He did use a ship to travel from Forli to Venice so it’s possible he’d had a chance encounter then but it might be better if it was during the times Ezio traveled to Spain (for Discovery and the final memories of Brotherhood) since he would have probably taken a ship to get to Spain but it would be dramatic if his first sighting of Desmond was during the heavy wave sequence of Revelation’s intro movie while he was traveling to Masyaf. Also sorta symbolic since he’s going to a place that held a connection to Desmond as well (and he meets Desmond during the time when his parts in the calculations were coming to an end)

Arno and the Frye twins: Look, Desmond’s size as a megalodon would make it hard for him to swim in the Thames (which is full of ships in Syndicate) or in Seine but if we’re going by Sharnado rules, go for it XD

#does this count as part of the #desmond as an animal series #???#that’s not a real tag that would show you other desmond as animal asks btw #it should probably be #but i’m currently too lazy to check all the other posts and add it #maybe some other time XD #desmond as a megalodon #ask and answer #assassin's creed #desmond miles #altaïr ibn la'ahad #ezio auditore #ratonhnhaké:ton #connor kenway #edward kenway #haytham kenway #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed

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adeliethevilsimp · 6 months

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Here is also some rookvil brain rot and head cannon stuff

Rookvil actually used to be my OTP but you know leovil the dark horse just have to break it but hey I am not complaining. One thing I really like Vil is his dynamic can really change when you ship him with different people and his multifaceted personality really shines.

What I really like about twisted wonderland is they like to change/manipulate some of the conventional dynamic. Like it becomes a different interpretation of the dynamic. Like how does like Vil just adopts other students who are just a few years younger than him? But hey it works.

It is like how they did in chapter 5 when Rook said the line of the prince who said to Snow White. But you know English translation are cowards they have to scrap that. It is then the hunter become the prince and the evil queen become the princess. It is just too cute. Rook always strike me as the fairy tale prince/high class noble but in a corrupted/changed sense. Like he is not a lot of people consider conventionally attractive(but he is very charming I will fight anyone who disagree xD) there will be no conventional prince with his interest(I guess you can argue the prince loved Snow White when she was “dead ” which is pretty sus ) he come from a wealthy and potentially maybe noble family but the family is shady as hell. You never know what he is thinking and usually prince is very sincere.

I always found it very interesting they decided Vil to be from a commoner family. I feel he probably comes from very humble beginning surrounding wise. I found it to be quite interesting choice because it is not they shy away from making people royal/noble/very important family decent. And they chose vil who is inspired by the evil queen for that. Like he actually understand Epel’s accent and have some weird vegetable analogy sometimes while his demeanour and how he carries himself is what you usually associated with people who is far removed from these.

Usually the queen character is surrounded by their loyal subjects. But you have the feeling Vil is , lack of a better word, more loyal with his affection. Vil is often very harsh if you don’t behave properly and is very strict with Epel. But he really trust Rook and he really strike me as the person who say “no he is just eccentric he is not a bad guy” while idk Rook is hiding a dead body in the background. It is so unbelievable for vil to keep Rook around like this and gaslight himself about Rook’s shenanigans if he is not mad loyal about that man okay.

Oh yeah btw Chapter 5/6 and beans event spoiler

For example he will still have his back aka his vulnerability open to Rook after the betrayal. He does not even get any blot from that. He still clings on to it after the betrayal. It is really unexpected because it is not often what you get.

I get because Rook is the hunter who betrayed the evil queen. But I also feel like his affection towards Vil really grows over the years. The effort he puts in his gift to Vil just grows exponentially. I think at first he refers to vil as the fairest in the school and by the and of chapter 6 he said vil is the most beautiful person in the world or I can be wrong.

I don’t know why but Rook seemed like a person who don’t like physical contact. He just give me that sort of a feeling. Maybe because he wears gloves. He rarely touch others too i think. He just stalks and study them. But in the beans event he captured Vil by hugging Vil. You never really know what Rook is thinking and I really love that. He is an enigma. There is no telling of his true intention. You often feel he is probably lying because he is so theatrical it feels it is fake. But again he will always do these sort of small things you can’t help but think that is genuine. Like he does not have to hug vil to capture him. He was the only one does that when capturing. It is strangely intimate. Also if he was faking it, would he be still praising Vil’s beauty while being choked on Vil’s poisonous gas like I CANT TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU COUGH COUGH COUGH

Like I just can’t believe it can be faked. Why go to this extent? I can’t help but feel the feeling Rook have for Vil is very special and is growing exponentially as we speak.

Also like I don’t even have to start with their origin story okay? It is the cutest thing ever. How they talked outside for hours and they all got really bad cold? And I have headcanon that Vil gave Rook a makeover and this is the look Rook stuck with ever since. And they will do skincare together.

Also like I have headcanon Rook is really really freaky and likes choking Vil. There is no way anyone can convince me Rook is vanilla. I just can feel it I think the guy is sadistic and freaky as hell, and probably enjoy choking Vil every night. If Vil died he will have a entire room dedicate to his shrine with his dead body inside a crystal transparent coffin. you can’t convince me otherwise.

I love them so much.

Also like I just really really like yandere Rook potential okay? XD

#twisted wonderland #rookvil #rook hunt #vil schoenheit #i love them so much #headcanon

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kumeko · 2 months

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A/N: For the Moments of Solitude zine! I wanted to try something a little different with my style for this fic. I also really like bullying Paimon XD.

…

The world almost ended in a torrent of rain. From the rooftops of Liyue, Xingqiu wiped the water from his eyes as he watched adepti and humans alike fight Osial before it could destroy the city—maybe even the entire country. Swords clashed, sending sparks in the distance, and even over the storm he could hear the din of battle.

And, at the heart of it all, a woman stood resolutely against the waves of enemies. In the gloom, Xingqiu could just make out Lumine’s familiar profile, her confident stance as she raised her weapon again and again. Like a hero of old, she kept fighting no matter what evil was thrown at her.

Even as he fought the monsters below, his eyes were drawn to her again and again.

Lumine’s hands were small, for a world-saver. She had fought Harbingers, abyssal lords, and ancient monsters; every deed added to her name made her feel larger than life. Yet, she was shorter than him, and her hands were small. Xingqiu’s hand covered hers entirely as they both reached for the same book in a second-hand shop. Her skin was rough from battle. A sharp contrast to his own, softer palms.

He smiled automatically as he peered down at a familiar mop of messy blonde hair. “I did not expect to see you here.”

Lumine looked up at the same time, her honey-coloured eyes meeting his. Her lips parted in surprise, though she didn’t retract her hand, her grip on the book firm. It was a funny sense of stubbornness and possessiveness. “Oh.”

“What, did you find it—” Paimon poked her head around the bookshelf. Noticing Xingqiu, she cut herself off and squeaked, “It’s the bookworm!”

Lumine shot her a tired look. Her tone was icy. “Paimon.”

“Oops.” Paimon covered her mouth and giggled sheepishly. She wore all her emotions on her sleeve, the complete opposite of her taciturn companion. Hovering at eye level, she rubbed her neck as she apologized. “Sorry?”

“Are you?” Lumine questioned, her free hand on her hip.

“It is fine.” Xingqiu chuckled, lowering his hand as he ceded the book. It was hard to feel insulted in the face of such guileless honesty. “It is nice to see you two again. Especially after everything that happened last week.”

“Did you see it?” Recovering from her faux pas, Paimon floated up and boxed the air. Her smile was as broad as the sea as she puffed her chest proudly. “Lumine was so strong! And cool!”

“You were there too?” Lumine asked, ignoring Paimon entirely. She pulled out the book as she spoke, a volume of Inazuma’s travel guide. He didn’t miss the slight upturn of her lips at the acquisition of her target.

“Yes, mostly to help protect the town and clean up any smaller skirmishes. Nothing compared to what you did.” Even now, he could remember how the sun shone on her on the docks as she stared at the calming seas, her body weary from the battle. A noble profile. Xingqiu smiled at Paimon. “You are right, she did look cool and powerful.”

Paimon chortled. “Of course I’m right!”

Lumine flushed lightly, the back of her neck reddening at the unexpected praise. Despite that, she didn’t deny his words. “It was a hard fight.”

Hard. Xingqiu snickered. Most people wouldn’t use such a simple word to describe a fight with a sea god, let alone one that saved an entire city. Then again, he’d long heard of Lumine’s exploits before he’d met her; maybe this was all in a day’s work for a woman who’d faced a dragon and lived to tell the tale. When Lumine looked at him curiously, he cleared his throat and changed the topic. “That book—are you travelling to Inazuma next?”

“I was thinking of it.” Lumine tapped the book cover lightly, her expression wistful. It was easy to guess who she was thinking of. The posters of her missing brother were plastered on every board. “I’m not sure which place is better to go to.”

Xingqiu laced his hands behind his back. It would be a long time before he could leave Liyue, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t thought of it. He read every travel book, every piece of news, anything that kept him abreast of the world. And all of that had told him one thing: Liyue and Mondstadt weren’t the only places facing a crisis.

Their world could use a hero.

Fortunately, there was one right here. Xingqiu glanced at the book. “Inazuma’s a good choice as any.”

“It is?” Lumine cocked her head slightly, her eyes beckoning him to continue.

“I trust him,” Paimon chimed in confidently, her hands on her hips. “He’s a nerd! He knows everything!”

“I’m not sure if I should let that slide…” Xingqiu frowned, glancing at the hovering sidekick. At least, he assumed she was a sidekick. Considering he had never seen nor heard of anything like Paimon, for all he knew she really was a pet or emergency food at this point.

“Pretend she doesn’t exist,” Lumine replied evenly, talking over Paimon’s horrified gasp. “It’s easier that way.”

Indignant, Paimon stomped her feet in the air and shouted, “What do you mean it’s easier?”

Lumine didn’t even flinch. “Anyways…”

“Anyways!?” Paimon screeched.

Clearing his throat, Xingqiu followed Lumine’s lead. “The other countries are more or less equidistant from here. Inazuma’s a closed-off country, but from what little news escapes its borders, the Electro Archon is keeping her people in a tight grip. In a contract of eternity.”

Liyue had been like that, in a sense. However, it had been a contract that both god and humans alike wanted, one where they had chosen to stay still. And now the contract was broken and Liyue was forced to step forward. Alone. To find its own way, with or without the gods.

It was a strange thought.

Xingqiu forced himself to continue. “I hear the people there could use a hero like you. They require your help.”

Of all the reactions he expected, a frown was not one of them. Lumine shook her head. “I’m not a hero. I’m not interested. I’m only trying to find my brother.”

Something coiled in him at the answer. “I am not suggesting abandoning your brother, only that you can help them like you helped us. All while searching for him. It is no different than your current actions to date.”

“It wasn’t like I planned any of that…” Lumine tapped the book again, her expression thoughtful. “It just happened. I’d rather not get dragged into another mess again. It takes up too much time.”

The coil wound tighter. Mess. The potential destruction of Liyue, and she saw it as a bother, a mess. A time-waster.

Heroes didn’t talk like that.

Lumine gnawed her lip, not noticing his silence. “If it’s closed off…if Aether’s there, of course no one’s heard of him…” She nodded. “Thanks, I think I’ll go there after all.”

It was a usual thing: Chongyun came to find Xingqiu once a week like clockwork, his expression hopeful as he asked for leads for an exorcism. Or rather, a ghost strong enough to last until Chongyun could actually exorcise instead of just relying on his ridiculous aura.

“Found anything?” Chongyun asked, his eyes bright and hopeful.

“I…” And this was the part where Xingqiu normally laid out the groundwork for his next prank, his next stress relief. This was the part where he got Chongyun in trouble yet again and then bailed him out when it got over his friend’s head.

I’m not interested in helping.

His breath hitched. The memory stung.

“There’s a village filled with ghosts,” Xingqiu replied instead, discarding plans he’d made months in advance. “I’ll lead you there.”

“You’re sure it’s here?” Chongyun asked, scratching his head as he glanced around the mountainside. The forest was thick, making it hard to see anything but the small dirt path leading forward. “We’ve been walking for hours now and I haven’t even seen any villagers.”

“The villagers are all ghosts, of course you won’t see them yet.” Xingqiu exhaled softly. His chest still felt heavy, his body wound up. Maybe he was coming down with something. Maybe he should just abandon this all and go back to his original plan.

“I can back that up,” Hu Tao chirped cheerfully as she slung an arm over Xingqiu’s shoulder and effectively blocked any chances of escape. Sometimes, he wondered if she was a mind reader. “Ghost stories are my speciality, of course!”

Chongyun’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, his frown growing deeper as he regarded them. “Somehow, that makes me more suspicious.”

“Huhhh?” Hu Tao drawled in mock shock and horror. She clutched her chest with her free hand. “Why? We’re only trying to help, right?”

It was easy to slip into old patterns, old taunts. Xingqiu didn’t have to think as he buried his face in his hand and sighed. He slumped his shoulders slightly. “I had spent so much time and effort researching cases for you. However, if you do not wish to delve into—”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Chongyun interrupted, his expression turning apologetic. He rubbed the back of his neck and bowed slightly. “Sorry for doubting you, thank you for the effort, and I won’t let you down.”

Xingqiu suppressed the urge to laugh. Their acting was atrocious, sure, but it didn’t take much to convince Chongyun. Even though by now, after all of their pranks, he should have been ready for it. Yet, despite that, their friend fell for the traps every time. How’d that saying go? Fool me twice, shame on me?

“Ohh, confidence. The village is just up ahead.” Hu Tao grinned like a Cheshire cat as she withdrew, her arm slipping back to her side once more. She cocked her head and taunted, “You need any help? They’re peaceful enough but there’s a lot of them.”

Her voice dropped eerily but Chongyun didn’t so much as flinch as he spun on his heel. His shoulders squared, he marched forward. “I’ll be fine! This problem’ll be solved in no time.”

“Will he?” Hu Tao wondered idly, stroking her chin as they lagged behind. “They’re a stubborn group. I think they’ve been here for centuries.”

“If he could do it in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Xingqiu replied, watching as Chongyun started to call out for the ghosts.

“Boo, if we’re both on the same side, we can’t bet on it.” Hu Tao sighed, her cheeks puffing as she pouted. Her disappointment lasted a whole minute before she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, her expression sharp. “So, what’s up?”

It took him a moment to realize she was asking him seriously. Xingqiu raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, this is an actual ghost.” Hu Tao clasped her hands behind her back and stretched her arms. The entire time, she kept her eyes on him, studying his reaction. “I only came because you said you’d set up a prank, but this is actual help.”

“It can be both,” Xingqiu replied evenly, averting his gaze. Hu Tao had always been observant in the worst ways. “And I’ve always helped him.”

Hu Tao snorted. “Not with actual exorcising.”

“Even with actual exorcising,” Xingqiu refuted, stubbornly repeating his point.

“And I’m a terrible salesman. You had him actually try to exorcise the last Yaksha last time,” she scoffed, shooting him a disbelieving look.

“The rumours sounded like a ghost story,” he defended, biting his cheek at the memory. “Besides, I helped sort out the situation after.”

“Uh-huh. And that time you sent him to Xiangling’s kitchen?” Hu Tao crossed her arms as she stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop. Despite her short stature, her presence was overwhelming. “So, what really happened?”

There was no point in hiding it from her; she’d only get more annoying and persistent. And Xingqiu had seen the lengths she’d gone through for a sale. He exhaled softly. “The battle last week.”

“Ah, the big one,” she said, as though there was any other one to talk about. Hu Tao shrugged carelessly. “I mean, it was great for business, don’t get me wrong, but…it was a little too close for comfort.”

Even now, Xingqiu could feel the cold sea water pelting down on him, see the choppy waves from Osial’s rage, hear the low din of a fight. He bit his lip. Close was an understatement. “Yes, it was.”

“So?” Hu Tao rested a hand on her hip and leaned closer. Her eyes were flecked with gold. He was certain she’d never heard nor understood the concept of ‘personal space.’ “It’s not like that’s the first time you’ve almost died.”

For some reason, that made him think of Lumine and he felt a sharp twist in his chest. “It wasn’t that.”

“Then what was it?” Hu Tao poked his chest, annoyed. “Get to the point.”

He rubbed the spot she’d hit. “Lumine…I met with her after.”

“Our great hero?” She chuckled gleefully, rubbing her hands together. “Now, she’s good for business and safety. Even without buying a single policy from me, she’s already helped me with some clients. Pro bono!”

“Did she now?” It sounded exactly like Lumine. It sounded so much like her and that was the part that bothered him the most. “For all she claimed she did not want to help others, she does.”

Her laughter faded and Hu Tao regarded him quietly. She reached down and squeezed his hand. “You’re disappointed?”

“Maybe.” He didn’t know what to call the heavy feeling in him, the one that refused to leave no matter how deeply he breathed. “I do not know.”

“You’re disappointed,” Hu Tao repeated, more confidently. She laced her fingers above her and stretched her arms. “Why?”

Xingqiu bit his cheek. “She does not behave like a hero, she does not desire to be one either, and yet…”

“She is one?” Hu Tao guessed, finishing his sentence when he fell silent. “She doesn’t sound like a hero from a story, does she?”

He flinched. “When you put it like that, it sounds childish.”

“It is,” she agreed amiably, though there was nothing scornful about her words. “Lumine didn’t really want to help me either; I kinda forced her to. And she does commissions for money.”

“Anything else?” Xingqiu asked dryly, scowling.

“But, you know, even though she complained, she still helped. And not just me.” Hu Tao smiled brightly, her eyes glowing. “That sounds like one of your stories, right? A reluctant hero?”

“That…” He pursed his lips. Perhaps that was the difference between reading and living through it; stories with heroes like that were more exciting from a distance, where you could clearly see the characters’ thoughts. With a real person, you never knew what they were thinking, why they were acting, where they would end up. The final page was still unwritten.

Hu Tao added, “Besides, we’re at the start of her journey, who knows what she’ll be like by the end.”

Xingqiu stared at her. What a stupidly simple concept. He should have thought of it earlier. He shouldn’t have forgotten something so instrumental to any hero’s journey. With a sigh, he raked a hand through his hair and shook himself out of his stupor. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am!” Hu Tao laughed cockily, jabbing a thumb to her chest. “Who do you think I am?”

“Right, right.” Xingqiu glanced ahead of the path. Chongyun was long gone by now and the forest was eerily silent. “Should we go look for him?”

“Uh…” Hu Tao scratched her cheek before reluctantly nodding. “Yeah, he’s been quiet for too long and that village…he might have bitten off more than he can chew.”

“You said they weren’t dangerous.”

“Mostly?” Hu Tao elbowed him as they hurried forward. “Maybe you can be the hero this time.”

Months later, Xingqiu read about the fall of Baal, the changes in Inazuma, and the blonde stranger who’d instigated it all.

He laughed.

He shouldn’t have doubted in the first place: for all her words, Lumine was a hero.

#genshin impact #xingqiu #lumine #chongyun #hu tao #paimon #fanfic

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tiggymalvern · 1 year

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Burn Notice - S3 take two and some AU musings

Season three is when I became strongly Team!Fiona and I’d been fully on board with Sam since season two. Season three is also when Michael starts to became more obsessive and make more dangerous choices, and those things clashed badly on the first watch as I went into full Fiona and Sam protection mode XD So, rewatching, and forearmed with knowledge of what’s coming, I could be more objective about Michael this time. He’s definitely doing some dickish things, and I still don’t like them, but I wasn’t as actively enraged by them the second time. And honestly, I suspect some of it’s also that I became a lot more sympathetic towards Michael in the later seasons. With everything that this show put the poor bastard through, it was impossible not to, especially in the first half of season seven. Michael spends a fair bit of time dodging Fiona at the start of season three. She wants to talk about their relationship, what it means, and whether there’s a future here, and Michael’s all, ‘No time! Got to go! Later!’ which is pretty shitty of him. But he does eventually sit down and tell her what she doesn’t want to hear – that for him, the job comes first and it always will. Which sucks for Fiona, but it's Michael's choice, and at that point, it’s up to her to make her own. She can either accept that this is the guy she fell in love with, that he’s not going to change and live with it, or she can move on and find someone who’ll make her the priority. The thing with Sam and the flight plans still bugs me. That’s a friendship with very little in the way of limitations, which is a damn good reason Michael should respect the few boundaries that there are, not push harder at them and expect they'll go away too. But Sam caves pretty easily on the first point, which is his call, and on the second point he (rightly) refuses to, and in the end Michael does accept a compromise. Not great behaviour, but Michael eventually recognises that. And the worst of Michael in that ep is partly explained by the fact that he’s simultaneously trying to deal with Larry, which is definitely a strain. Michael’s deal with Strickler is what really raises all my hackles. Michael knows Strickler’s a snake, Fiona and Sam both loudly second him being a snake that Michael should have nothing to do with, and Michael goes for it anyway. Unlike in his dealings with Gilroy, there’s no argument here that Michael’s doing it for the greater good, to try and stop something nasty from happening. It’s entirely about what Michael wants, and it's a decision that nearly gets Fiona killed and does get Diego killed. But it’s also a decision that sets into motion all the long, slow sequence of disaster that arcs through the rest of the show. Strickler leads directly to Gilroy, which leads to Simon and a deal with Management, and then Vaughn, and eventually to Anson. It’s a perspective that can only come up the second time through, and I’ve been trying to figure out how much, if any, of the decline might have been avoided if Michael had made a different choice here. If not for Strickler, Gilroy probably wouldn’t have latched onto Michael. He would presumably still have been paid to free Simon, though, just found someone else to help him do it. So assuming all of that happened anyway, Simon would have been coming after Michael, with Michael knowing nothing about it in advance. But Simon would still have had to find Michael, and Michael would have been better situated to deal with it because he wouldn’t have already been in high stress mode with the police and the FBI after him. Vaughn was able to get his hooks into Michael because he yanked him out from under arrest. If Michael had survived Simon without being arrested, would it have changed anything? Vaughn could presumably have approached Michael at some point, spun him the same tale of, ‘There are bad people and you can help us stop them.’ Michael wouldn’t have stayed to hear him out, though, if he had a choice. He would have told Vaughn to go screw himself, and Management didn’t try coming to Michael again until after he reached out to them, because they knew that. So I’m left wondering what else might have made Michael desperate enough to go to Management. He might have if one of the team screwed up and got some major jail time, and Michael thought Management could get them out. Unfortunately, I also have to conclude that Anson would have got bored of waiting for Michael to hang himself at some point, and done the same kind of set up-and-blackmail thing that he did with Larry and Fiona anyway. So there’s probably no getting away from that part, and on some level Michael was inherently screwed. But even then, all he had to do was NOT shoot his boss in the head in a public setting to avoid all the joys of season seven. Michael's usually so careful and logical and thorough with his pre-planning, which is great, because when he does things that are reactionary and impulsive, they're often not very good things...

#burn notice #michael westen #season three #arc plot musings

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starlitangels · 2 years

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(Not Just) A Fairy Tale

Pups AU. Back at it again with the Collins family! I’m pretty sure this stemmed from one of the many random tangents my DM thread with Zozo took a while back XD 2.5k words Potential CW: mentions of fantasy violence

—

Micah was hanging off Sam’s leg when I went into her bedroom to find out what all the screaming and squealing was about. Sam was trying to grab our four-year-old daughter by the ankle to hoist her in the air, but Micah was scrambling around like a gremlin to get away. “What’s with all the noise?” I asked.

“Storyyyyy!” Micah said.

“Micah, I already read you a story,” Sam said as Micah started trying to climb up his pajama pant leg.

“One more!”

I stooped at the same time as Sam did and we caught her between us. I pulled her off Sam’s leg while she whined. “Alright, little monster,” I said. “Howsabout I tell you a story?”

“Story!”

I twisted her so she was upright instead of hanging upside down and sat on the rocking chair in her room, putting her on my lap. “Once upon a time,” I began, “there was a big scary werewolf.”

Micah gasped. “You?”

I nodded. “Mmhmm. The other werewolves liked to call the big scary one Tank. Because they were big and scary. Like a tank.”

Micah watched me with wide amber eyes, nodding along.

“And Tank, one day, wasn’t with their pack. Tank and the pack didn’t always get along. Sometimes Tank and their alpha—the pack’s leader—had a hard time remembering to be nice to each other. So Tank tried to be alone as much as they could. On this particular day, Tank met a man.”

“A nice one?” Micah asked, looking at Sam.

I shook my head. “No. An evil one. You know how I told you that most vampires are nice?”

She nodded eagerly. “Like Daddy and Uncle Vin and Freddie and Bright!”

“Mmhmm. Well, the man Tank met was a vampire. But he was a bad one.”

Micah inhaled sharply. Not quite a gasp. Still watching me with those big amber eyes widened. “Oh no,” she said.

I started running my fingers through her dark hair. “Mmhmm,” I said. “But he pretended to be a nice vampire when he was around Tank. Because he wanted Tank to like him and he wanted to get Tank to use their cool werewolf powers for him whenever he wanted.” Micah watched with rapt attention. “So he acted like a nice vampire, but he wasn’t.”

“What happened then?” Micah asked, even as her eyelids started to droop from me scratching her head.

“Well, one day, half a year after Tank met this vampire, Tank realized that he was bad and mean. And Tank tried to tell the magic police. But this vampire got really mad, and he tried to get back at Tank by hurting Tank’s good friend. This friend didn’t have any magic. Just a human. Not a wizard and not a werewolf or a vampire. And the bad vampire tried to drink Tank’s friend’s blood until it was all gone.

“But Tank was smarter than the bad vampire, and knew he would do something like that. So Tank went to go find their friend. And they found them with the bad vampire still drinking their blood.

“And that made big scary Tank mad. Because no one hurts people Tank cares about and gets away with it.

“So Tank turned into a wolf and fought the bad vampire. The bad vampire nearly won, but Tank scared him off. And Tank managed to keep their friend alive long enough for the magic doctor to come save them. But the magic doctor had his magic friend take Tank’s friend’s memories of the fight to make sure that friend wasn’t haunted by the bad vampire for the rest of their life. Which made Tank sad, because the memories of Tank being a cool wolf were also taken.”

Micah stuck out her lower lip, looking sad. Her eyes had closed and she’d snuggled against my torso.

“But the bad vampire got away. And he’d hurt Tank so bad that Tank had to leave their pack and the city and go far away to get better. Tank stayed away for a long time. And when they finally came back, they met another vampire.” I met Sam’s eyes and smiled. “This one was nice, but he was a bit grumpy when Tank first met him.” Sam rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “And they started to see each other a lot. The nice vampire found Tank hurt really bad after Tank got into a fight and the nice vampire patched them up, using his magic to make them feel better.”

“That’s nice…” Micah trailed off quietly. Her breathing was getting slower.

“Mmhmm. And Tank found out, after they and the nice vampire had gotten to know each other over the course of some time, that the nice vampire had been hurt bad too.”

“By who?” Micah asked in a tiny voice.

“An evil dragon,” I said. Sam covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing. “And she was really mean. She and the nice vampire had been friends, when the nice vampire was still human. But the dragon wanted the nice human man to marry her—and he didn’t want to. Because she was evil. So he said no.

“And that made the dragon really mad. So she used her magic and cursed the nice human man to become a vampire. Forever!” Micah’s gasp was quiet and she was definitely falling asleep. “The dragon made the nice vampire immortal like her so that eventually he would have to agree to marry her because everyone else he loved would die and he would be alone, apart from the dragon.

“But the nice vampire got away from the dragon with the help of an older vampire named Grampa Will. And after a few years, the nice vampire met Tank. And as they became good friends, Tank realized they were in love with the vampire. And the vampire told Tank he was in love with them too.”

Micah smiled a tired, lazy smile. “That makes me happy,” she said.

“Yeah,” I agreed, smiling at Sam. “Tank and the vampire eventually got married and decided to have a baby. And they did. They had a sweet baby girl named Micah Skye Collins. And she was their sweet little monster.” I wanted to tickle her sides, but didn’t want to wake her up.

But Micah giggled anyway.

She peeked her eyes open and looked between me and Sam. “I’m glad Tank ended up with Daddy,” she said quietly.

I glanced at Sam too. “Me too, kiddo. Me too.”

She cooed in contentment and snuggled against me. I stood and put her in her toddler bed, tucking her in.

“Sleep well, my little wolf.”

“Night night,” she mumbled.

Sam and I both kissed her hair and slipped out of her bedroom.

—

Ten Years Later…

—

“Micah,” I said as she, Sam, and I went into the house. We’d just driven back from the clearing, where David had helped her shift for the first time. She turned, looking a bit tired. “Come sit down. There’s something I want to tell you.”

“Darlin’?” Sam asked quietly.

“She’s a wolf now. She’s old enough to know about Quinn and Alexis.”

“William’s progeny Alexis?” Micah asked as she sat down. I nodded. “What about her? Who’s Quinn?”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked tentatively.

I nodded. “She deserves it.”

“Still sitting right here,” Micah said, waving her arm above her head.

I sat down on the coffee table across from her. Sam perched on the other end of the sofa, apprehension in the lines on his face.

I took a deep breath. “Remember those fairy tales I used to tell you when you were a little girl? The ones about big scary Tank and the bad vampire. How they met a good vampire who beat a dragon?”

“Yeah. You told me that one all the time.” Micah nodded.

I twisted a lock of her thick, wavy hair between my fingers. “It’s not just a fairy tale. When I was in my early twenties, I fell in with a bad crowd. The pack and I didn’t get along. David and I were always at each other’s throats. We’re pretty similar, so we butted heads a lot. I always had a hard time making friends and connecting to people. Even with my pack.” I cleared my throat. “I met a vampire named Quinn, when I was the most distant from the pack that I’d ever been. He led me on. Made me think he loved me. He was using me.

“I realized he was a monster about six months into it. And I reported him to the Department. He retaliated by attacking a friend of mine. I fought him off and he damn near killed us both. But I beat him and he ran off. The Department did nothing about it. I left Dahlia and went to Washington to stay with some family and recover from my injuries. I stayed there for several months before I came back to Dahlia. I didn’t tell David I was back for months.”

“Why?” Micah asked.

“I came back to Dahlia to hunt down Quinn. I wanted to tear his throat out and end him once and for all for what he did to me and my friend. Quinn was nomadic. Never stayed in one place for long—and the Department did nothing to try and catch him while I was gone. So I was going to handle it myself.

“And during that fight that he and I got into, we both bit each other. Tasted the other’s blood. It’s rare, but possible, for a shifter and a vampire to make a blood bond when that happens. I could feel a place where Quinn had spilt blood in the city.

“So I followed the trail. And it led me to Wonder World.”

Micah blinked, her eyes flicking to Sam.

I smiled. “Yup. Your dad was watching the park that night. Confronted me. I was trespassing on his territory. He had every right to pick me up and shot-put me into the darkness. But…” I smiled at Sam. “He heard me out. Listened. And I found out… we had a hatred of Quinn in common.”

Micah scrunched her eyebrows and looked at Sam. “Why did you hate him?” she asked.

“Quinn is the vampire who attacked and nearly killed your siblings,” Sam replied. “I turned Fred to save his life. I didn’t know there were two people there that night. Fred had to turn the other—or else they would have died too.”

Micah’s eyes unfocused. She’d never asked us or Sam’s progenies how her siblings had been turned. She’d just known that her dad turned them. The truth seemed to have startled her.

“What… what happened to Quinn?” Micah asked quietly.

“He was taken care of, about a year and a half… maybe two years, after your dad and I met,” I said. “He’s not a danger anymore.”

The tension in my daughter’s jaw eased out. “And… William’s progeny Alexis? How does she fit into this?”

“She’s the dragon—from the story,” Sam said.

“I guessed as much. But how does she fit into this?”

Sam met my eyes. “Want me to tell her?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I can,” he said. He faced Micah. She twisted on the couch to face him. “Alexis turned me. And I’ve hated her ever since.”

“What happened?”

“I used to be a Freelancer. Graduated from the academy with a healin’ certification. Worked as a healer. And… fell in with Alexis. We were… friends, teeterin’ on the edge of bein’ a couple. She was fallin’ for me, I wasn’t feelin’ the same. The night I ended things with her, we got in a car accident. T-boned halfway through an intersection. Car plowed into my side of the truck. Piece of the door got lodged in my side.” Sam lifted his flannel and then his T-shirt to reveal the scars. Micah had seen them, but Sam always brushed them off when she was younger.

She reached out as though to touch, but thought better of it and dropped her hand to her knee.

“I was one of the best healers in the city. I could have healed myself. Alexis ignored me. Tranced me not to move. Turned me against my will. Never even apologized.”

Anger clouded Micah’s expression. “What did Grampa Will say?”

Sam smiled. “He was livid. Invoked Alexis. Made it so she could never invoke me,” he replied. “I spent over a decade… buried deep in my mind, hatin’ her for what she did. Barely livin’ my life.

“Then. One night. It was my turn to watch the park. Progenies were still pretty fresh off the fang, so Uncle Vincent was babysitting them. And I smelled a scent on the property.

“I tracked it down, and found a lone wolf—” His eyes turned to me. “—prowlin’ around. Most incredible-lookin’ person I’d ever seen. Not that I was paying attention to that at the time. We agreed to pass whatever information we found out about Quinn back-and-forth to each other when we found anythin’ new. Made a habit-a bein’ there for each other. Became friends. Became somethin’ more. Fell in love. Became mates. Eventually got married and had a little troublemaker.” He reached up and ruffled Micah’s dark hair. Micah laughed and tried to squirm away. “Although, it took us a while to trust ourselves with raisin’ a kid,” Sam added.

“Which is why I’m the youngest in the pack?”

“Pretty much.”

Micah nodded. Her expression fell a little. “I’m sorry for what you both went through.” I noticed color rising on her neck. Anger boiling inside. Same way it did for me. “Wish I could do something to help.”

Sam chuckled. “Micah, all-a that went down long before you were born.”

“I know—but Alexis is still part of the clan and—”

“And she and I both accepted a long time ago that we would never speak to one another again,” Sam interrupted. “She knows I hate her for what she did. She knows that there’s nothin’ she can do to me, because-a William’s invocation. She knows I have less than no desire to ever say another word to her for the rest of our lives. And we both avoid the other just fine. Settled into an… uneasy truce. A silent agreement to leave the other alone. She won’t try anythin’. There’s nothin’ for you to worry about.”

I reached out and set a hand on Micah’s knee, drawing her attention. “And you already do a lot to help us. You’re our feisty, tough, happy girl. You remind us every day that there’s good in the world to endure for. We love you. And none of that is just some fairy tale we tell you at bedtime. It’s the truth.”

“I love you both too.” She looked between us and held her hands out. We both gave her a hug. She met her dad’s eyes. “If Alexis ever so much as looks at you the wrong way, I’ll help you rip her fangs out of her face.”

Sam started laughing—hard. He met my eyes. “She sounds just like you.”

“Surprised?” I asked.

“Not in the slightest. Delighted.”

—

Pups AU Tag List: @zozo-01 @mainhoesstuff @arialikestea

#Pups AU #Redacted ASMR #fic #Micah Collins #Redacted Sam #Redacted Darlin'#Sam Collins #Darlin'#Sam #Starlit Fic

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a-mag-a-day · 1 year

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MAG 98 - mowing the lawn

Glad that at least Tim and Martin are kind of alright together.

Elias wanting Martin to continue reading statements really is super suspicious for the BackupArchivist!Martin theory.

MARTIN "He did suggest I try to get you involved and –" - God, my boss is like this and I hate it… Pushing the task of telling my colleagues what to do onto me. It's not my job to do that, I don't even think it's my place to do that. But if I don't, the work gets stuck on me…

TIM [Sigh] "Look, have you talked to Jon about them?" - Aw, that's so cute. I'm sure at this point Tim totally knows about Martin's crush. Must have happened some time after he thought Jon's seeing Basira?

TIM [Grunts] "Kind of. We tried to talk, but he, he reached for that – Ah, he, he wanted to turn on his recorder. I freaked out a bit" - Also good to see that Jon and Tim at least tried to talk. Wonder why Jon wanted to turn on the tape recorder though…

MARTIN "Yeah, we talked. Not long, he – Y’know, I think he thinks that the distance keeps us safe, you know? Like, like, if he just makes sure that we’re not involved, we’re somehow fine." TIM "He’s an idiot. Look, we didn’t know what that door was, and it still trapped us. Ignorance isn’t going to save anyone." - I mean, Jon is a bit of an idiot [affectionately]. But I don't think that's what Tim meant here?

MARTIN "No, I mean, you’re right, I guess. He was… Y’know, we know about Sasha now, and… he said he doesn’t want to lose anyone else. Like, y’know, it’s his fault." TIM "Isn’t it?" MARTIN "No! No, it isn’t! I mean, you heard Elias… We never really stood a chance." TIM "Yeah. Maybe. But Elias wasn’t actually the one who offered me the job down here." - OFFERED! And YOU TOOK IT. This is a really unhealthy mindset, constantly blaming others, especially for things that are just so out of everybody's hands. I know, Tim's mental health is too far gone at that point to realize this and Jon is an easy target since he was actually very guilty of stalking Tim.

MARTIN "No, I – Sure." - Martin realized there is no possible way of convincing Tim otherwise even when providing him with objective information. Tim has a certain mindset and won't deviate from this so easily. This is also why the deficit model for science communication won't work for a lot of people. The problem roots in cognition.

Hehehe Martin talking to tape recorders as if they are pets xD Does this also count as part of Web!Martin?

"It was an oilskin packet of documents, supposedly from the log-books of Franklin’s lost ship, the HMS Terror." - OMG how have I never noticed this until now (I mean, I know why, because it's an old-ass statement and I always have a hard time following them). By that I mean the mention of the HMS Terror.

"It was a German tome titled Die Nachtstücke" - Almost, Alex. ST in German is pronounced SHT. But he managed the CH and Ü, so props to him.

"and contained several morbid tales by a man named Hoffman." - God, I almost didn't recognize the name. Nobody here just says "Hoffman", it's always E.T.A. Hoffman. I never read any of his works, though someone in my class did a presentation of Das Fräulein von Scuderi. The Cardillac Syndrom described in it always spoke to me (just not to THAT extent xD)

"Far from the comforting friend of children he is so often portrayed as, he was rendered as quite the monster." - tbh, a lot those old German folk or fairytales (for children) were quite brutal and scary. I knew of the Sandman as both as a kid, of this benevolent little being as well as the one punishing kids with their sand until their eyes bled. Thought it was cool.

MARTIN "I wish Jon kept better organised notes because I know he’s mentioned someone called Maxwell Rayner, but I cannot find much in the way of any info –" - I love how both of them complain about the other one's working style xD Interesting, that we now got the information that Rayner seems to be old af.

Hm, is it a coincidence that Martin and Melanie talking about recording statements when he just did one of the Dark and Melanie also did one of the Dark?

MELANIE "Al-Although I was just going to have a talk with Elias, so, uh, maybe I can convince him to cut you some slack." - That's very nice of Melanie. Though I believe she thought they would be rid of Elias in about an hour XD

MELANIE "Right. Fair. Listen, you really look like you could use a drink. Um, me and Basira were just about to pop out. So… do you want to join us?" - Also very nice of her. Glad to see that the archival team sticks a bit more together here.

ELIAS [Chuckles slightly] "I don’t know everything, Melanie. Do you know how exhausting that would be?" - Slight nod to the state he'll be in after the Change? Or how much it's also gonna be a strain on Jon.

ELIAS "Let’s have no more clumsy assassination attempts, alright?" - So, is he alright with not-clumsy assassination attempts? XD

All the Archival assistants are going through a hard time this season. Melanie especially in this episode.

#a mag a day #tma #the magnus archives #episode asks #mag 98 #lycanlovingvampyre #mod elian #tma spoilers

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lycanlovingvampyre · 1 year

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MAG 159 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: You know, for the life of me I cannot remember what I was doing or even where I was when I listened to MAG 159 and 160. I know it was the next day and that I was working in the garden at MAG 160. But those two... My brain just blanked it seems XD

Episode title "The Last"... The last mark... Thanks ashes, I probably would have never got that xD I thought it has something to do with Martin and Jon being in the Lonely. The last always makes me think of being forsaken.

Ahhh, the gentle crashing of the waves. I think I didn't really register them when I heard that episode the first time because I remember being a bit confused why I had the image of them being on a beach in my head...

JON: "What’s wrong, Lukas? Afraid of talking face-to-face?" PETER: "(chuckles) "Of course. Or haven’t you been paying attention?" Yeah, I feel you Peter XD (My fear sign is the Eye and I’m Lonely is my Ascendant xD)

PETER: "So. What are you seeking? The image you’ve each created of the other?" You can only know a person in that way of the image you created of them. I can't know what they're thinking, or really feeling. I do think Jon and Martin had enough time to create a educated image of each other! This capacity to understand other people is called theory of mind btw. I have a hard time getting into ships, because a lot of times I don't see them coming, no development, no tell-tale dynamic etc. I don't see this gradual and slow dancing around each other happening. This doesn't mean it can't be a slow burn, there are times a ship gets canon after a long time, but when they first see each other they're already so obviously set up to be a couple that it doesn't feel natural to me. I don't know if that’s an aro thing, but I've never understood this "love at first sight"... or even "love at third sight" although friends told me that this very much exists for them... We don't see Jon and Martin doing super much stuff together, but that's because it's not important for the story. Important is, that we know that it is happening. And I saw that with Jon and Martin. I saw them probably spending more time in the second half of S1 because Martin lived in the Archives and Jon is a workaholic. That interaction in MAG 40, where Martin almost starts crying for accidentally leaving Jon (and Tim) and the way Jon answers sympathetically. We know Martin fusses a lot about Jon in S2 ("very attentive to my needs" xD), and Martin knows about Jon's Distortion stab wound. And then they had lunch together at least once and I like to think they did this more often (even if Jon convinces himself he does it to observe Martin as a murder suspect - and while we're on it, Martin asked if he should bring Jon something from the cafe and Jon decides on his own to go with him... so he can't poison him of course!!!11). Aaaand then Jon finds out about Martin's CV, which also brings them closer. Okay, you see where this is going? None of these actions were already meant in a romantic way by Jon, but because of them he got to know Martin better. This is just romance (accidentally) written very, very well! Perhaps the fact, that it wasn't planned makes it feel so natural and not like a forced set-up from the beginning.

PETER: "The people you think you love don’t exist. Not really." So we've decided on counting Elias' not really in MAG 158, which was not-really 21. Oh, this episode still has a few of them^^ Not-really counter of S4: 22!

JON: "The Lonely and the Eye aren’t too far apart, are they? Not really. " Not-really counter of S4: 23! (I told you we're still getting somewhere^^) Also, I think the Lonely and the Eye are still tricky. Because not being seen, so being hidden, is also very lonely. Peter doesn't like being found, so there the Eye works against the Lonely (similar to the Dark with the Extinguished Sun being seen).

JON: "Come on, we’ve got to get out of here." MARTIN: (echoing) "No. No, I don’t think so." That sound effect while Martin answers. I have seen this often depicted as Jon trying to reach out to Martin, but just swirling through Martin like mist. But that is actually exactly like this sounds!

MARTIN: (wry laugh) "I really loved you, you know?" AHHHHHHHHHH! Although Jon told him it's really him, Martin doesn’t believe it. That's just what imagination!Jon would say. It sounds like Martin is talking to his own imagination of Jon, saying goodbye to him. He's saying this to come to terms with his fate of fading away now and this is also why he uses past tense. Because he also thinks he's stopped existing. If there is no Martin anymore, then he also can't love Jon anymore, right? (Just like in MAG 170. If Martin forgets himself, there is nothing left for Jon to know his way to.)

JON: "Obviously he’s done something. Peter’s done something to mess with you– Damn it! Martin! Martin!" Jon knows there is something very wrong with Martin, and it only took Martin to say that he past tense-loved him for Jon to notice it.

PETER: (echoing) "I tried to tell you. He’s gone. He made his choice. And it wasn’t you." Because of this sentence I always thought it was Peter letting Jon find Martin, so Jon could learn it from Martin himself, that he doesn't want to be with him anymore. Hoping it would break Jon.

JON: "It was for me, though. I’m the reason he…" Aaaand Jon isn’t so convinced about that. He knows Martin did still care about him.

JON: "I did this to him as much as you." PETER: "Yes. I suppose you did." Eehhh, bit of pessimism coming through though. And Peter immediately latches on to this to get Jon's guilt going. Telling him the fates of all his friends are his fault.

PETER: "You’re alone, Archivist. The last one standing." That probably made me think the episode title was meant to refer to a person. After all, being the last means being alone.

PETER: "perhaps it would be better if you stayed a while. After all – you can’t hurt anyone in here." JON: (seemingly defeated) "Yes." PETER (AS THE ARCHIVIST’S ECHO): "Yes." JON: (flatly) "Or perhaps you could answer some questions." PETER: (echoing) "…what?" [STATIC RISES AND DEEPENS AS THE ARCHIVIST SPEAKS] JON: "I wouldn’t try to leave if I were you. I can see you now. I can find you wherever you go." Poor Peter, getting played by everyone today... Played by Martin, which means he lost his bet with Elias and now even the wet paper bag of an Archivist gets him. I love it every time Jon gets all angry using his powers. And he flat out threatens Peter here.

PETER: "From what I understand, severing the connection to your humanity is a cornerstone of an upper-class education…" Yeah, that sounds about right. Only keeping people because you can use them, not because you like them. And at a certain level, you can't be more successful if you're not willing to hurt others, to live on their expenses... That probably doesn't make you very popular.

PETER: "I had no time for books or television, or any of the escapes and artificial friendships of fiction." Hm yes, clever that this is addressed. Parasocial relationships are relationships after all. And they are dangerous in a sense because with them you actually shape that celeb/character/influencer/whatever exactly how you want them to be. Especially with characters, they don't have a mind on their own, they are exactly what you make them to be. And that's probably without any flaws that bother you, ever in favor of you. That friend, who is just perfect. And that can keep you from making actual friends. Because real people aren't perfect, they won't always do what you want to do and that's complicated and frustrating. Why stick around with them, when there's this perfect person just around the corner of your mind.

PETER: "My crew is out there, waiting for a call I think I am now unlikely ever to give them." Does that mean he's already suspecting not to get out of this alive?

PETER: "The thing is, the loneliness I crave, that fills my heart with that reassuring unease, relies on distance from other people. But a world without people at all, or at least anything I would recognize as people…? It is meaningless. Without the lighted window in the distance, how am I to see myself apart from it?" Hmmm, and that is what makes the Lonely close to the Eye, even though the Eye can be very dangerous for the Lonely.

You know, Peter's ritual could have been a perfect reverse panopticon. (And therefore a perfect middlefinger as celebration to his 5th divorce with Elias xD) Picture a round building, spread out the windows and you would never be able to see the neighboring one around the corner. So instead of being able to see everyone on the inside, you can't see anyone on the outside.

I'm not a flat-person, but Peter's design sounds actually wonderful to me...? xD

PETER: "Do you know how she did it? What devastating weapon she used to derail my plan? The newspaper. She tipped off someone in The Guardian." Yeah, even when not looking at the consequence of people not wanting to rent any of Lukas' flat anymore, I'm guessing the press can also be very invasive. Peter must have hated that.

JON: "hat was his prize? What did he get if you lost?" PETER: (disinterested) "Oh, he got you." This might be the most last-minute foreshadowing in TMA xD

JON: "Tell me, or I will rip it out of you." PETER: "No…" [THE STATIC GROWS LOUDER.] JON: "Answer my question!" PETER: (echoing again) "No! Leave… me… ALONE!" JON: "TELL ME!" [THE SQUEALING CRESCENDOS AS THE ARCHIVIST RIPS PETER LUKAS APART. LUKAS LETS OUT A FINAL DEFIANT SCREAM THAT FADES INTO THE REGULAR STATIC.] After Brutal Pipe Murder this might be the second most brutal thing we hear live on TMA. That splash-sound, letting us know that he was indeed ripped apart, blood and gore splattering all over the place. I never had the impression that this was Jon's intention. I always thought it was very clear, that this is exactly how Alex and Jonny described it in one of the Q&As - like pulling on a person's arm with enormous strength for so long it finally just rips off.

JON: "But we need you. (desperately) I need you." OMG this is happening *OFMD Lucius style*

MARTIN: "No, you don’t. Not really." There it is... the TRUE reason this episode is called The Last. Because this is the last not-really of S4. It has been an honor to point this out and perhaps ruin this a bit for some of you now that you're aware of it and can't unhear it. And with these words, I now will say for The Last time: Not-really counter of S4: 24!

JON: "I don’t just want to survive!" MARTIN: "I’m sorry." JON: "Martin. Martin, look at me. Look at me and tell me what you see." Jon can't get through to Martin, not by talking. But a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

MARTIN: "I see…" [MARTIN’S VOICE QUAVERS.] MARTIN: "I see you, Jon." [HE LETS OUT AN INCREDULOUS CHUCKLE, THEN ANOTHER. HIS ECHO GOES AWAY.] MARTIN: "I see you." JON: (relieved) "Martin." [MARTIN’S BREATHING GETS FASTER. HE SOBS, HIS VOICE BREAKING.] Ahhhh, this is really happening!!! (Jon let Martin see his love, right? Let him feel it! God, I can imagine so well how Jon takes Martin's face in his hands so he has to look at him. And then Martin breaks down and Jon just goes in to embrace him.)

MARTIN: "I… I was on my own. I was all on my own." JON: "Not anymore. Come on. Let’s go home." MARTIN: "How?" JON: "Don’t worry. I know the way." [THEY BEGIN TO WALK, AND THE TAPE ENDS.] This did happen! Jon takes Martin's hand and safely leads them out of the mist of the Lonely, right? I wonder though... Where did they come out? I feel like at the panopticon again would be a bit dangerous for Jonah. If they came out right there again, why didn't they, say, take Jonah's body with them? Drag him off his throne, take his power from him. I mean, a bit unromantic, sure, finally hand in hand with the one you love and then there's this old corpse of a third wheel, urgh... But Elias was very insistent to get Jon to grow his powers, he didn't do that for nothing. There still is something Elias wants with Jon.

Well, that's it folks, this was The Magnus Archives! They went home and lived happily ever after, right?.... Right?...

Those two scenes with Jon and Martin were just written beautifully, it was perfect! I was so psyched for them to finally be together, that pining was almost unbearable! (almost!) Not just is JonMartin a wonderful slow burn with lots of unresolved tension (like S4 was perfect for this, have another obstacle to drag this out even more the moment the other person finally realizes their feelings! And again, it didn't feel forced. Often these obstacles in slow burn romances get pretty ridiculous and you can see how this was done just to keep them apart even longer.), this is also not the end of it! I love slow burns, but I hate having the ship finally getting canon on the very last episode(s) of the entire series! It's so frustrating, it's what you're waiting for the whole time and then you don't get to actually enjoy it because the story is over. And even this TMA does exactly how I like it, because this is only S4 and we still get an entire season canon JonMartin! Not gonna lie, there were certain ships I liked and routed for, Adrienette (Miraculous), Catradora (She-Ra), but I was never die-hard invested in them. JonMartin hit me like a train! I never got this borderline obsessiveness with some ships (a good friend of mine for example is a HUUUGE Stucky fan) and yeah, I get it now. And it's not even, that this plot point was sooo surprising for me because that was the one thing I caught a spoiler of, JonMartin. Buuuut, it was only sometime at the beginning of S3, and I already saw potential for them as a ship by the end of S1 and beginning of S2, so even the spoiler wasn't that big of a surprise to me. And I of course didn't know when and how it would happen, only that it's going to be canon.

@a-mag-a-day (also thanks for reblogging my What-if fanart of MAG 158!! I totally forgot I had that, lol

#a-mag-a-day #mag 159 #tma #tma spoilers

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waitingforwinterwinds · 1 year

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A Clash of Kings - 60 SANSA VI (pages 763-769)

Sansa and Cersei dine with the highborn women and wait for news of the battle.

The torches shimmered brightly against the hammered metal of the wall sconces, filling the Queen's Ballroom with silvery light. Yet there was still darkness in that hall.

Oh that's some good metaphor. The room is filled with an illusion of safety and security, but they aren't safe, and the room isn't actually that secure and that possibility is hanging over them as much as the death of the men on the walls.

"I would sooner face any number of swords than sit helplessly like this, pretending to enjoy the company of this flock of frightened hens." "You asked them here, Your Grace." "Certain things are expected of a queen. They will be expected of you should you ever wed Joffrey. Best learn." ... "- So it behooves me to give their women my protection.If my wretched imp of a brother should somehow prevail, they will return to their husbands and fathers full of tales about how brave I was, how my courage inspired them and lifted their spirits, how I never doubted our victory even for a moment." ... Sansa was horrified. "These are women, unarmed , and gently born." "Their birth protects them," Cersei admitted, "though not as much as you'd think. -" ... "Were it anyone else outside the gates, I might hope to beguile him. But this is Stannis Baratheon. I'd have a better chance of seducing his horse." She noticed the look on Sansa's face, and laughed. "Have I shocked you, my lady?" She leaned close. "You little fool. Tears are not a woman's only weapon. You've got another one between your legs, and you'd best learn to use it. You'll find men use their swords freely enough, Both kinds of swords."

Sorry, I've been taken out of The Horrors but the realisation that Sansa is Cersei's only friend. Like it's very easy to accept at face value that this is just Cersei flexing her limited power to feel in control by lashing out at Sansa, but damn if this doesn't read like Cersei genuinely thinks of Sansa as her protege, the closest thing she has to a confidant.

Ii mean yes, Cersei has other people she can talk to, but none who she can be honest with without the fear that they'll be able to use that against her. In a weird and twisted way, for Cersei at this moment: Sansa is her only friend.

This is very emotionally conflicting for me because on one hand ^ that ^ and on the other: The Horrors and the Lurking Doom Waiting the Eventuality of Failure.

"Another lesson you should learn, if you hope to sit beside my son. Be gentle on a night like this, and you'll have popping up all about you like mushrooms after a hard rain. The only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy." "I will remember, Your Grace," said Sansa, though she had always heard that love was a surer route to the people's loyalty than fear. If i am ever a queen, I'll make them love me.

Oh! It's the line!

"Would that I could take a sword to their necks myself." Her voice was starting to slur. "When we were little, Jaime and i were so much alike that even our lord father could not tell us apart. Sometimes as a lark we would dress in each other's clothes and spend a whole day each as the other. Yet even so, when Jaime was given his first sword, there was none for me. -"

Well hello Arya|Cersei connections.

No but, I've mentioned before, Cersei represents the "sold child bride" narrative Dany and Sansa both have going on, or at least a potential outcome for their narrative, but Cersei also has "Arya's path/Lady warrior: Denied" going on in the back story.

...I've just realised this has basically become a Cersei chapter review, whoops. XD

"- I know all about your little treason in the godswood." "The godswood?" Don't look at Ser Dontos, don't, don't, Sansa told herself. She doesn't know, no one knows, Dontos promised me, my Florian would never fail me. "I've done no treasons. I only visit the godswood to pray." "For Stannis. Or your brother, it's all the same. Why else seek out your father's gods? You're praying for our defeat. What would you call that, if not treason?"

Well handled! Never confess to a crime, especially if it hasn't been directly stated which crime, and there is no evidence, you will only end up condemning yourself. Sansa did really well not to look at her partner in crime, cause that kind of thing is a reflexive action, very hard to avoid. People will often look to accomplices or hiding spots or move to hide those things without thinking, only to end up exposing them because people notice.

I've actually exploited this habit myself to trick my dad once, he was looking for the candy stash years ago, so I "subtly" moved in front of the broom closet, and he ended up spending several extra minutes looking in there for the stash that had never been there in the first place because he'd become convinced I'd been trying to hide it. >:3c

"He's here for us, he says," the queen said. "Stannis may take the city and he may take the throne, but I will not suffer him to judge me. I do not mean for him to have us alive." "Us?" "You heard me. So perhaps you had best pray again, Sansa, and for a different outcome. The Starks will have no joy from the fall of House Lannister, I promise you." She reached out and touched Sansa's hair, brushing it lightly away from her neck.

"Cersei brushes Sansa's hair away from her neck." Yeah, no, we get it Cersei, matching haircuts with a little too much off the top.

Cersei: I'm not letting them take us alive! Sansa: wait what? Cersei: we are gonna Thelma & Louise right of this edge! Sansa: Can I unsubscribe to this plan? Cersei: Beheadings

I was very distracted for most of this chapter by the "Cersei's only friend" realisation, but it's very much Sansa doing an amazing job of keeping it together under increasing pressure while Cersei slowly lowkey loses her shit in the face of their potentially unfortunate fate.

#a clash of kings #a song of ice and fire #sansa stark #a chapter a day reading #acok #asoiaf

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quotemenevervore · 2 years

Text

I keep talking about the other parts I’m working on but hang on because I wrote this in like three days because I liked the idea

Content warnings: temporary unsafe vore, fearplay, injuries to pred, safe, soft g/t vore.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He’d been chasing Dream down, the former not having shrunk yet. They’d agreed to do some training for the upcoming manhunts, and though neither of them really needed it, Sapnap felt that if he got to store his friend in the end then it was justified. At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with the nagging of ‘you can’t just store your friends all the time’. He’d been right on his tail, so close he could have grasped the back of the other’s hoodie, when suddenly he’d disappeared. Bewildered, the fireborn looked around, trying to see ender particles or a glimpse of the other, simply assuming that the other pearled away.

He was so, so wrong.

He saw a peek of lime green from behind a tree, and grinned, stalking towards it. “Oh Dream~” he called, smirking as the figure began moving away. The chase began once more, Sapnap not getting a close enough look at the figure he was chasing. It only occurred to him that he was getting led far away when he came across a temple, hesitating to follow the other inside.

It was exquisitely made, deepslate and quartz combined to make a beautiful structure similar to that of a jungle temple. But then the green hooded figure slipped into the temple’s entrance, and he stopped staring in awe to pursue.

Once he’d stepped inside, the temple became pitch black, and for a heart-stopping moment he thought he was encountering a warden several levels higher than he should. Even his night vision had been wiped out, and he quickly picked up a torch from his inventory and held it out. It helped, if only slightly, and he hesitantly began to search for the other. “This isn’t a funny joke, Dream. Come on.” He huffed, turning a corner and narrowly avoiding an arrow from a triggered trap. He cut the string quickly to avoid another arrow dangerously close to the head and continued onwards, the dim light from his torch being the only thing that kept him from pitch blackness. Turning a corner, he was almost blinded by a new light, one of the power levels of a lamp, or a lantern. It lit up a small chamber, completely made of black stone, with a lectern and book in the center of the room. As he stepped in, the darkness faded, and he could see properly again. The hooded figure he’d chased in here was nowhere to be seen, and Sapnap let out a frustrated groan as he looked around, trying to spot where he could have gone. Without a glimpse of the figure, his attention turned back towards the lectern, the book catching his eye. Curiosity got the better of the fireborn, and he stepped closer to look at the open page.

Instantly, the building rumbled, cracks forming on the walls and ceilings and raining debris down onto his hair. He didn’t hesitate to run, leaving the book and pedestal and trying to sprint to the exit. Something caught onto his leg, and before he hit the ground, his vision left him once more.

When he came to, he could tell was dangling by his leg, but..

hadn’t he passed out in a crumbling temple?

“Finally awake?” Only then did it register in Sapnap’s head the slight warmth radiating from the thing wrapped around his leg. Eyes snapping open, he was face to face (despite being upside down) with a gigantic, smiling mask. Unlike his friend’s however, the smile was made out of an X for eyes and a D for the mouth. Before the fireborn could even open his mouth, the mask changed, cracking and breaking in places to reveal a gigantic smirk beneath. “Perhaps you don’t recognize me?”

“…Dream?“ an amused hum was the first response he got. “Not quite. Most call me XD, though not many know me or tell the tale.” Sapnap did not miss the intention of the sentence, the fact that people didn’t say anything about the presence before him either from not living to speak of him or being too scared to. Trying to swallow his nerves, despite being upside down still, he debated what he could say to get out of this dangerous situation. “I can see how you became confused, though. We do look somewhat similar.

What I’m curious of, is why you’d follow me into a temple you know nothing of.” Fuck. “I told you, I thought you were Dream, my friend. We were training.” “Hm. Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, ‘curiosity killed the cat’?” “I have…” “Then you should be aware as to what comes next.” A wicked grin, sharp teeth the size of his arm, widened the face of the being before him, forcing himself not to shudder. “Accidents don’t count?” His voice was slightly higher thanks to nerves, and the other’s eyes narrowed, glowing a poisonous green. “Perhaps… we can have some fun. I’ll give you two minutes.” And he was dropped to the ground, choking back a yelp as the impact sent a jolt of pain through his arms. Forcing himself not to lose any more time, he took off into the foliage around him, trying to zigzag and push the god off his trail. Despite his attempts, the pit of dread in his stomach told him it was futile.

~ ~ ~

“What happened to him?” Dream was watching the areas around him, desperately trying to see any glimpse of his friend. One moment, Sapnap had been on his trail, and the next it was like he vanished. He hadn't even gone that far since he’d lost sight of his friend. He began moving away from the point he lost the other at, walking forward and keeping a sharp eye out. At least, until he came across a structure he’d never seen before. And with it, a familiar presence made itself known to him.

Oh, shit.

He didn’t think twice before sprinting in the direction he felt its presence in, praying he’d be fast enough to save his friend from the clutches of the chaotic god.

~ ~ ~

Sapnap was still running when he could tell that the god called the time up, and despite the exhaustion plaguing his body, he forced himself to go faster. He couldn’t stop, if he stopped he knew that he wouldn’t be seen again. His vision was beginning to tunnel, each breath stabbing at his lungs as his feet kept hitting the ground. He couldn’t tell how long he’d been running for, but he did know when fingers wrapped around his leg once more, the fireborn barely able to protect his head from hitting the ground before being tugged upwards.

He thrashed wildly, trying to get out of the god’s grasp, only to be lifted up once more with a tsk. “Funny, I thought you’d try harder to survive.” Fury filled the other, blood beginning to run hotter as his eyes flashed. “I fucking tried! You weren’t ever gonna let me leave!” The larger being looked at him with neon green eyes, contemplating his words before a wicked grin stretched out from under the broken mask. “The feisty ones are always the funnest. It’s been too long since I’ve last interacted with a mortal this interesting. Maybe I’ll keep you.” Suddenly the fingers released him, and he was free falling for a heart stopping moment before he was almost choked as the back of his shirt was grabbed instead. He was lifted closer to the being’s face, scrambling to try and grab at his shirt as he swore he could hear it tear. “Or maybe I’ll just eat you now.”

“Don’t!” XD froze, and Sapnap shuddered at feeling his cool breath washing over him. Turning his attention to the small voice, he was shocked to see- “Dream?” “Don’t eat him.” “Why not? I haven’t eaten in ages. What could you possibly want with him that would be more useful than what I need?” “Because,” the blonde forced himself not to falter at the harsh tone. “I was going to.” The fireborn froze completely, processing the words that just left his friend’s mouth. What? “Aren’t you a little small to do that?” When a verbal answer wasn’t received, he was brought even closer to the god’s maw, flinching when he was suddenly yanked back. The god looked angry as Sapnap started to process that he was not in his hands any longer, but Dream’s. He had to have used a growth potion and made himself larger, as he could fit in the other’s hand, just like if he had drank a shrinking potion.

A noise similar to growling echoed through the air. “If you’re going to eat him, get on with it, then.” The blackette looked up, unable to see his friend’s eyes and figure out what he was doing. He.. he wasn’t actually going to follow through with that, right? Surely he knew it would kill him. On Dream’s side, the unmasked terror in his friend’s eyes stung. Not all of it was directed at him, he knew, but it didn’t make him feel any better with what he was about to do.

Ever so hesitantly, the blonde raised him up, using his other hand to push his mask up just enough so his mouth was exposed. Sapnap usually had blood so hot it made poison ineffective against him, but he swore he felt it turn into ice as he was lifted closer and closer to the other’s mouth. “Dream?” No response, except for a light nudge of his fingers as he was gently pushed into the large, open maw. Before he could even orient himself, he was trapped, teeth sealed shut to prevent his escape. “Dream!” He tried to claw at the other’s gums, only getting himself squished to the roof of his mouth in retaliation. Writhing madly did nothing but make his exhausted body ache more, and help get himself soaked in warm saliva. He couldn’t even be thankful for the warmth melting away the cold of outside, too concerned with the fact that his friend apparently planned to eat him alive. He really wished he could put more trust in his friend, but he knew it was too dangerous. They were in the middle of the forest and he knew Dream wouldn’t immediately spit him out. If he got swallowed, he was done for. Desperately trying not to hyperventilate, he continued to yell out at his captor to release him.

And release him he did. Sapnap suddenly fell down as the other lowered his tongue, not given the chance to orient himself or do anything more than squirm before he was pushed back quickly and swallowed.

Outside, Dream glared at the god, feeling guilt claw at him from his friend’s blatant fear. He wasn’t screaming anymore, and he was too wet to attempt to set himself ablaze and hurt him, which Dream was thankful for. But the frantic yet faltering movements of the other was all he needed to know how badly he’d scared him. “Are we done here?” “I suppose, since I have to find a new meal now.” With that, the god was off, and Dream counted to ten before using a splash potion of shrinking. Frantically, he tore through his inventory to find the purple potion, downing it as fast as he could.

Sapnap was scared, betrayed, but most importantly, pissed. How dare Dream throw away all their history just to piss off a god!? The second he was released from his throat, he lashed out, clawing at the nearest wall. Instantly, he felt the walls tense up and his captor yelp in pain, only making him swipe more at the walls around him. He was only interrupted when a new liquid joined him, surprised to see it wasn’t a healing potion, but a purple liquid. An unhappy growl rattled the organ as the potion began absorbing into the walls, and Sapnap didn’t have the luxury of thinking for more than a second about it before throwing himself back into attacking the walls around him.

If he had thought about it, he may have recognized the mint smell to it, or the fact that drinking it seemed to upset the user’s stomach. He would have been able to piece it together that he wasn’t in any danger. But it wasn’t like he could stop, panic and adrenaline forcing him to continue. He knew he was hurting his friend, but he didn’t want to die.

“Sapnap!” His friend’s panicked yell reached his ears, and he faltered only slightly. It was enough for his surroundings to help significantly smaller, robbing the shrunken man of the ability to move. It did not rob his voice, however. “What the fuck, Dream!? Do I really mean this little to you!?” “Sap, stop, you’re safe, just stop clawing.” Looking down at the wall pressed against him, he could see the blood dripping from the wounds he’d inflicted. Gritting his teeth, he bit back, “Why should I? To make myself an easier meal for you?” “You’re not! You’re not going to die, you’re not even going to get hurt! You really don’t recognize the potion?”

Potion? There was a good amount of it left in the organ around him, and only then did he recognize the scent and color of it. He.. really wasn’t in danger. His friend wasn’t trying to kill him. A shuddery breath left the smaller, very similar to the shaky breaths he could feel his friend taking. Looking back down at the wounds as his space increased again, he couldn’t help the guilt that flooded him. “Do.. are you going to drink a healing potion?” “Can’t. Once I drank that potion, I lost the ability to absorb anything until I drink milk to deactivate it.” “..oh.” “It’s not your fault, Sapnap. I can’t really blame you for your reaction.” “Still. I.. should have trusted you more.” “You know good and well if I had claws I would have done the same the first time you stored me. Granted, they’re different circumstances, but.. yea.”

Sapnap couldn’t do much about the wounds he’d inflicted, but there was something he could try to make them stop bleeding, at least. “Dream?” “Yea?” “Do you want me to try and cauterize the scratches?” There was a long period of silence, and he could tell the other had stopped moving. “I.. don’t know. How badly do you think it’ll hurt, if you can even do that?” “I’m hoping not too bad, I wouldn’t know. I can’t use fire, but I can heat my core temperature up as high as it can go, maybe it’ll stop the pain?” “I.. no. Because it could open back up when I let you out and it’ll just be worse. I’ll be okay, I just gotta get back to base. Just sit tight.” It’d be easy to, honestly. His exhausted body relaxed near instantly, and through his attempt to settle his breathing, his consciousness flipped off like a light.

~ ~ ~

For the first time, he wasn’t woken up by being released. When he did wake up, it was on Dream’s couch, clothes dried and back to normal size. And when he woke up, George was sitting on the chair across from him waiting for him to awaken. “Good morning.” “Morning?” He tried to prop himself up on his elbows, wincing at the soreness of his body. The brunette rolled his eyes. “It’s actually evening. I’d say we have supper waiting, but Dream couldn’t really eat so I didn’t really make anything.” Sapnap cringed at the reminder of what he’d done. “Fuck, I don’t know how I’m gonna make that up to him.” He ran a hand through his bangs, looking down in shame. “Nothing, really. He’s not mad, and he doesn’t blame you. I don’t either, he told me what happened.” “About that fucking weird guy in the forest?” “You mean XD?” Sucking in a breath through his teeth, he nodded.

“Why don’t I make us something to eat? We can talk a little more about XD after we get some food in you.” As George stood and headed to the kitchen, the fireborn began to do the same, only for his communicator to begin ringing. Opening it up, he didn’t even get a chance to say hello before a loud yell disrupted him. “Where the HELL are you!?” “I’m at Dream’s.” “You went over there this morning! Why haven’t you said anything to anyone!? Karl’s damn near having a panic attack and I’m stuck in Las Nevadas! I had to send Wilbur to go get him!” Guilt flooded his body at the avian’s words. “I.. sorry, Q. It’s been a fucking rough day, I promise I’ll make it up for both of you when I can get home.” The rough shape of his voice seemed to snap the other out of his anger, and his next sentence was spoken much softer. “Not tonight?” “No, I just woke up, and I’m really sore. I can barely move. I promise I’ll tell you both what happened.” “Shit, man. Just take care of yourself, okay? I’ll stay home tomorrow so I can be with you and Karl, okay?” “It sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, I love you.” “I love you too. I’ll tell Karl for you, okay?” “Thank you.”

The call ended quickly after that, and George came back into the room with a sandwich. “Something easy, I don’t know how well you’re doing after everything today.” “Thanks, George.” “You’re welcome.” Now that the other was sitting up, he sat down beside him. “So, I encountered XD a while back. At first I thought he was just a curious god, kinda like how Foolish was when he first came to our SMP. But when I tried to leave, he knocked me unconscious. He wanted a toy. I’d been missing for like a week, with him treating me like an expendable doll before Dream found us. And he was pretty pissed.”

“That’s why he came to find me so quickly, because he knew who it was?” “Yeah. It’s not my first time dealing with him.” Sapnap’s head snapped to the side to look at the blonde who’d just walked in. “How’re you feeling?” “Better. I got a healing potion, so I’m alright.” He took the other seat beside the fireborn, a bittersweet smile on his face. “XD’s kinda fucked up in how he thinks of humans. I’ve tried talking with him about it, but he just got mad at me in return and treated me a similar way he’d treated you. I knew he was gonna take an interest to you, so I had to get you out of there by any means necessary.” “And George?” “George isn’t brave enough to try taking on a god by himself.” “More like I’m not stupid enough to.”

“I’m sorry again, Dream.” “It’s not your fault, Sap. Don’t even worry about it. We have plenty of healing pots. You didn’t even do nearly as much damage as I thought you were going to.” “So now what? If he’s coming back this quickly, then there’s no way any of us can just go wandering about.” “At least I know for sure he won’t come after us in a larger group. Why do you think we haven’t seen him anywhere near the manhunts since we’ve added more hunters.” “But what about when me and Sapnap need to go back to Kinoko kingdom? We can’t just stay here.” “He shouldn’t bother you guys if you use the nether trails, I can walk you two to the portal if you want me to.” “I mean, I planned on staying here tonight but if you want me to go-“ “No, you can stay, George. But I probably should go home, the boys are worried about me.” “Understandably so. You sound like shit, Pandas.” “Here, Sap. I’ll walk you to the portal and call Karl-“ “No, Quackity called earlier and said he’s panicking. But I should be able to run into Wilbur in the Nether, he had to go check on him because they’re not letting Q leave.” “Alright, I’ll call Wilbur then. Let’s go.”

As they set off from the house, Sapnap couldn’t help but look around warily as they walked, despite the confident aura his friend had. He’d pulled his communicator out and held it to his ear. “Hey, Wilbur. I hear you’re on your way to Kinoko.” A beat passed, and Dream then responded. “Can you meet me at the nether portal? Or, the one in the nether at least? Sapnap’s heading home but he’s still not in good shape.” They walked up the steps towards the nether portal, and Dream sighed. “Thanks, Wilbur. We’re going through now.” Ending the call, he noticed the other’s hesitance, holding a hand out for him. Taking it, they walked through the portal together.

~ ~ ~

The door was opened softly, Wilbur calling into the house before stepping in. Karl was curled up on the couch, in his human form and eyes a dark blue. Tears had long since fallen, but his breathing finally had evened out. “Wil?” “I brought someone.” “Is it Q?” He hesitantly uncurled, eyes meeting with the tired eyes of the fiancé he’d been so scared about. Flashing an icy blue, he jumped off the sofa, running into the fireborn’s arms. “I’m sorry I scared you, Karl. It was a rough day, I meant to come back sooner.” “What happened? You didn’t even reach out to us.” “I.. can I wait for Q before I tell you? I'm sorry, I just.. don’t want to say it more than once.” Looking at the other, he felt his tension ease as the other’s eyes became a sympathetic and loving rose shade. “Of course. I can tell you’re tired.” “I bet you are too.” “I’m going to go back and see if I can get Quackity to come home. I know they’re gonna be mad, especially with him taking off tomorrow, but this isn’t about them.” “Thank you, Wilbur.” The revived man offered both of them a smile. “It’s the least I can do. You two have a good night.” “You too!” A happy golden took over the other’s eyes for a minute, as the other took his leave. Sapnap was tugged towards the bedroom, and he didn’t fight it, letting the other help him lay down and trying to find a regeneration potion for him before laying down himself. He gratefully took the potion, drinking it down before he settled into the taller’s arms. And in the morning, when he woke up and found his other fiancé cuddled on his other side, he smiled despite the discussion bound to come. He knew, with his fiancés and his friends by his side, he wouldn’t have to worry about what happened the previous day.

Bonus: Sapnap was laying on the grass near the prime path, relaxing with Dream and George. “Out of curiosity..” peaking both of his friend’s interests, he continued with his question. “I’ve always woken up when someone was letting me out. So, how come I never woke up when you let me out?” Logically thinking, he’d have to be released similar to Quackity releasing him. “Oh, that’s because I went in to get you out.” Sapnap sat up to look at the brunette after the causal way he said he let Dream eat him. “I’m sorry?” “Yeah, I shrunk and Dream tied a string around me so I could get you and he could pull us out without hurting himself worse.” The shock on his face was enough to pull a chuckle out of George, and Dream joined in. “This isn’t our first time doing this, Sapnap.” “…What?”

#shrunken manhunt #mcyt g/t #mcyt vore #mcyt gt #safe vore #soft vore #g/t vore #fear play #unsafe vore tw #temporary though

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cere-za · 2 years

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Yoo! First of all, I just have to say that ur stories are amazing, they always brighten up my day!! I always start grinning like an idiot when you post ngl XD I wanted to ask you if you could do a grandad!Tea Knight cookie x child!reader (platonic ofc) but the child does not have any parents, and Tea knight takes care of them :> Thanks in advance🫂

A lovely visit

{ grandpa tea knight and child reader!}

[ A/N: before anything..yes i know I've been gone for a long time it's because it's almost the end of my school year meaning I've been extra busy with that being said i appreciate that people like you are enjoying what i write! My day gets better when I read that people are enjoying my stories!]

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Tea knight cookie was resting at home..and boy was he tired,but also worried that his grandchild hasn't visited him in days

So much so that he thought of the worst!.. maybe they had been attacked..or worse taken away!.. his histeria came to a quick halt when he heard a knock on his door..he got up from his chair to go receive whoever was at the door..

“Hi grandpa!”

What a lovely visit! His grandchild! His worries were wiped off now that they were there

"why hello there [y/n], come in..!”

He said moving aside so you could step inside, you always loved going to your grandpas house he would tell you old tales, help him around and spend the day together.

Today you had brought some baking supplies from the store! You had saved up enough money for everything you needed it took days of saving up Penny's but it was more than worth it!

"Quite a surprise you came to visit [y/n],tell me how've you been these couple of days?"

Your grandpa spoke as he saw you hurry your way to the kitchen to make sure you don't drop anything

"it was okay! A bit lonely though"

You said all the way from the kitchen as he stood in the living room, he frowned at your response.. technically..tea knight cookie isn't your actual grandpa..he found you a year ago when you were lost and since then you've become attached, in that period he also learned that you didn't know who your parents were..he is sure they didn't stick much either in your earlier years..

So people kind of found it sierra that you called him grandpa, the two of you were nothing alike, neither in looks or personality..but it mostly didn't matter to you, you were just happy to have someone to look up to..wait is something burning?..

You looked down at the oven and instantly began to panic, turning the it off you saw that your cake had indeed burned.. you began to sulk, all hard earned money was now wasted..

“[y/n]? Is everything alright? i smelled something burning”

Tea knight had walked in and saw you sulking on your knees in front of the oven where you saw with undying sadness the burned cake

He slowly walked up to you and picked you up from the waist

"c'mon now, there's no need to be sad..! We can go to the near bakery and buy something from there, we'll drink tea with sweet's, how's that sound?"

He tried to cheer you up which slightly worked

“soo.. were having a tea party?"

You asked with excitement and your grandpa chuckled and nodded..yes!

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After the two of you had brought the fresh biscuits and slices of cake from the bakery, tea knight had began to brew some tea while he kept an eye on you, he watched you set up the table and he began thinking..

< they're so sufficient at such early age.. maybe they can take of themselves.. maybe they don't need the offer to stay here.>

His thoughts came to a stop when he heard the water boil in which he turned off the stove and began to prepare the tea..by the time he had finished you were already waiting patiently at the table.

The two of you were having a good time with eachother, talking about friends, about things you've done a few days back.. when he suddenly asked something you've been waiting for awhile

“say [y/n]..i know you're far more capable of taking care of yourself,but i would like it if you come live with me?..i can't help but get worried when you live by yourself”

You sat up from your chair in excitement

“yes! I want to live with you grandpa! I want to learn more about everything you had been through!”

He was glad you've accepted the request, he chuckled at your response, classic child enthusiasm

“now finish your tea before it gets cold hehe”

It was a lovely visit from you after all

#cookie run kingdom #cookie run #cookie run kingdom x reader #tea knight cookie x reader #platonic #tea knight cookie #cookie run x reader #x reader

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