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thewizardmus · 7 months

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PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR MORGAN FIRE EMBLEM AND LILITH FIRE EMBLEM SHIP

You know how to butter me up my friend

So first things first the in-universe ship often is either Grimaspawn!Morgan(no mother involved) or Tiki!Morgan for Dragon Reasons but absolutely works without Morgan being a dragon(when in doubt make Morgan related to one of the Awakening Trio, never fails)

There's a lot of Fire Emblem Dragon headcanons involved too this is very much a "there wasn't enough Canon here so I made the rest myself" thing going on. Sue me I'm ace I like dragons.

One of my favorite dynamics with them is Morgan practically watching her own past through Lilith and trying to make it as easy on our beloved fish-sister as possible, even if it means a little bit of either tough love or making Morgan look like a monster(because she is rawr)

Lilith: I don't deserve Corrin, after all I'm the reason our father is dead

Morgan: What would have happened if you said no at any point prior to meeting Corrin? If you had hypothetically learned your lesson before killing him? I'll tell you. You would have been killed because *he* never cared about you, you were a weapon to be used until you were useless or a threat. Then you'd be desposed of, tossed aside and he would have made a second, worse, Lilith.

Honestly from the first conversation with Lilith I think Morgan was ride or die for her, but I think falling in love happens much later and more importantly, without her realizing. She'll teasingly flirt because Lilith is cute when she's embarrassed but it's not like she has a crush... unless? Truthfully she didn't realize she was in Love Love until she was already cuddling whenever they happen to sit next to each

As for Lilith she's still punishing herself for killing Anankos Soul so I think that she would realize she loves Morgan much faster and immediately try and reject it cuz she's not allowed to be happy(she said like a liar). It takes a while before she realizes she doesn't need to make herself miserable in order to atone for something that no one blames her for.

As for how they actually show their affections:

Morgan is extremely affectionate, she loves to just be right next to Lilith, cuddling while reading, she's the smallest big spoon known to man, and LIVES for scratching. She also infodumps. A lot. Her ideal date in a Modern AU would be watching anime at home, lazy day with bae.

Lilith's Love Language is absolutely service. There's nothing that quite makes her happier than seeing something she did make someone she cares about life better. Her ideal date is going out and doing something, from an aquarium to a hiking trail to a sports game, just something out and about.

Of course you really can't have a cross game ship without talking about how they'd interact with each other's friends and loved ones.

Lilith + Awakening characters

Lucina- listen Lucina is either Morgan's (former?)nemesis or best friend and there's no in-between and either way Lucina has threatened Lilith. Once that's out of the way they get along decently, Lilith stays on the other side of her from Falchion though.

Noire- Noire and Lilith are besties and Lilith might be more willing to kill for her than for Corrin. Their friendship started just trading recipes because Nohrian and Plegian cuisine are so different and expanded from there.

Nah- the two of them get along great, Nah is the newest member of the Norther Fortress Book Club and that's an exclusive club. Also Nah is free to run around guilt free in the Astral Plane when she gets the Dragon Zoomies.

Yarne- Lilith is half shark half koi and she smells blood in the water with this poor boy. He's safe from Morgan's pulling but can never escape the most accurate and effective teasing known to man.

Gerome- Gerome would have tolerated anyone Morgan brought home, she's one of the few that he interacts with willingly. However once Minerva got her talons on Lilith, Gerome knew she was a keeper. The two of them get along like peanut butter and jelly and will rip INTO anyone who disrespects wyverns. Don't get them started on the alpha theory.

Cynthia- Canon didn't put Cynthia in fates because they knew they'd be too powerful of best friends. The perfect support for the brightest hero around who also knows to keep her grounded. Honestly a second crack ship I just haven't thought of plots for it.

Inigo- I know they're already friends but let's be honest Lilith has nothing in Fates so I have to set up something. Inigo has never intentionally flirted with Lilith and is a open shoulder at any point in time. Lilith has just pulled him away from Xander and dared him to do anything about it. He's also one of the most ardent supporters of Corrin's music and Lilith often helps in writing lyrics, but never singing you couldn't possibly get her onsta- hey how'd that crowd get there.

Owain- first harmed by Lilith and first to forgive Owain Emmet Darache is a heartfelt protector of the beaten and broken and maybe Lilith's first crush(not that she'd ever admit it). Owain's storytelling never gets old and several nights in the Fortress were spent listening to him talk about the tales behind the constellations both in Nohr and back home.

Severa: Severa took one look at Lilith and said "is anybody going to get her out of her comfort zone so she can grow" and then didn't wait for an answer. Severa is the one who told Corrin Lilith was related to them because Lilith was clearly never gonna. Severa very much took Lilith under her wing and made it everyone else problem.

Robin- Listen I think most of Robin and Lilith's first interaction was Lilith crying because Robin has perfected the "comforting a traumatized teenager who doesn't realize it" routine at this point. Their second interaction was Lilith yelling at him for being the cause of most of Morgan's bad habits.

Morgan + Fates characters

Corrin- Morgan LIKES Corrin, and is honestly one of the most consistently reliable parts of Corrin's very inconsistent and confusing life. The two are kinda close knit like that, Corrin provides the ultimate source of entertainment and enrichment for Morgan's enclosure and Morgan is, while not a mentor figure, absolutely going to tell Corrin where they're wrong and how. I can absolutely see Morgan going "I'm never going to directly lie to you. But I may withhold the full truth depending on the circumstances. About serious things I will lie to you if it's funny" and immediately getting Corrins seal of approval for being willing to tell them how their life got to this point. Honestly Corrin and Morgan is an entirely separate headcanon filled explanation of their dynamics. My first idea for a Fates AU was specifically Morgan as Corrins retainer and while I don't think Morgan works well in an official role like that she remains the perfect stray cat that keeps coming back. I also totally see Corrin as being one of the only members of royalty/nobility Morgan respects(our girl is a princess because her grandfather was the leader of a death cult, of all characters to see that the royalty is a sham it'd be her). Is this two of my blorbos slapped together and saying they'd be best friends? Yes. Am I wrong? No.

Laslow- More so explaining a headcanon that adds to their existing relationship. Inigo gets Morgan to stop working for a pot of tea at 2:00 on the dot every day. It's break time, tea time with Inigo to the point that Morgan can only drink tea made by Inigo, he just gets what she likes. It's also one of the only things that actually gets Morgan to take a break, no tea time? No break. No Inigo? No tea time. It's part of Morgan's System(tm) and very important.

Jakob- Lilith and Corrin are the only reasonz that Jakob still lives. He's difficult to get along with even IF he likes you and unfortunately he and Morgan are completely incompatible. It's kinda like Morgan and Laurent's relationship without the underlying respect for each others intelligence, or the shared interest in deepening their studies. He can't even make a cup of tea to save his life. Morgan would be down to hang out with Dwyer though. He's chill.

Flora- After a bit of a chilly reception originally Flora warmed up quite a bit to Lilith and will put any threat to her happiness on ice. I hc that Flora is the only person that Lilith told that she's related to Corrin, on accident when complaining about Camilla. Flora immediately understood and felt a kinship between the two of them because they both want to protect their younger siblings from King Garon's ruthlessness. Also HC this slip up is why Flora canonically was mean to Corrin and then was kind to them. In terms of Morgan, Flora approaches her with concerns about leading the Ice Tribe when the time comes and Morgan's advice isn't as useful as the livelihood of an isolated Tribe is very different than a country.

Felicia- Morgan used the spell to temporarily rewind time in order(from the Henry Sumia support) to save a few papers Felicia spilled ink all over and Felicia begged her for how to use it until Morgan taught it to Flora. Morgan also teaches her some tactics from time to time given her skill as a commandee.

Gunter- a couple fics I have in mind start with Morgan meeting Gunter instead of being called by the Awakening Trio or something. There's something about him that Morgan just respects. He can take snark and hits and he's a knight without a stick up his butt and he's actually nice?? Somethings wrong here. Gunter already is collecting teenagers and this one is entertaining.

Nyx- Being 4'8.5"(did not check that number) for the lengthy foreseeable future Morgan is one of the only people who treats Nyx like an adult on the first try. She's also an amazing study-buddy, if Owain doesn't know something about Nohrian spellscript, Nyx is a safe bet. The two of them try and teach each other as much as they can and Morgan really wants to show Nyx the College of Khadein where Plegia's best mages trade research freely.

Camilla- Lilith and Morgan both hate Camilla for different reasons, Lilith because she effectively flaunts her being Corrin's big sister right in her face(not that she'd tell him) and also doesn't know how to care for anyone without holding them so tight that they can't escape her because she's a broken woman(Lilith recognizes that should make her pity Camilla but she's too busy being mad) and that directly affects 3 of the people closest to her, including Beruka. Morgan hates Camilla because she gets in Morgan's bubble and when she hugs she picks Morgan up.

Stories I have in mind for the pairing:

A pokemon AU where Morgan is a Professor involved in a Pokè abuse case where a large amount of Aron where starved so they vould be released in the city. Lilith a Nurse who's called in to give check ups on the Aron. After the case the two get closer and end up calling upon each other for more of their expertise in their fields. More of a pokemon headcanon fic than a serious plot one. Morgan specializes in Steel Types and Lilith specializes in Psychic types.

Morgan gets called to/tricked to go to Izumo by Moro to be either his upcoming replacement or the replacement for Grima. On her way she meets Lilith post-father killing and pre-Corrin meeting and talks with her. Morgan ends up being the second person to ever actually show care for her and Lilith crushes hard. When Lilith works at the fortress she often takes trips to Izumo to visit Morgan(everyone assumes she's just very religious) on these trips she is being escorted through Hoshido because they noticed the Nohrian traveling to Izumo 6 times a year. It doesn't take long before Reina starts escorting her personally and letting Mikoto know of her old war buddy Gunter's new maid. A lot of the plot ends up being Mikoto trying to find out what Lilith knows about Corrin, Lilith trying to keep her girlfriend being the real reason for her travel secret from Nohr, and Corrin trying to figure out why some of the souvenirs Lilith brings back give him Deja vu.

Immediately after going Revelations path(it didn't go well) Corrin ends up traveling to Ylisse looking for 1) someone to fix Lilith and 2) someone to teach him how to use magic to make music like his Good Friend Odin told him about. More so an Awakening fic with Corrin and Lilith slapped in but hey they fit so well with the Awakening cast. A Corrin/Lucina slow burn with Morgan/Lilith in the background. Corrin is honestly peak sopping mess here.

Corrin's tabletop group swings by his and Lilith's house just after dinner and Lilith fully intends on hiding in her room until Morgan shows up early with a cavalcade of plushies to use as minis. Corrin poker fun at her for obviously only playing because she has a crush for the full night and Morgan is blissfully oblivious because she has a murder mystery to set up.

I'm gonna have to stop Because I've been working on this ask on and off since I got it last night and it's probably incomprehensible I just love these two so hecking much.

#fire emblem awakening #fire emblem fates #morgan fire emblem #fire emblem morgan #lilith fire emblem #fire emblem lilith #fe morgan

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susandsnell · 10 months

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Coco ilu PLEASE drop the queer reading of Bunnicula essay 😭 hope ur having a good day, i am dying at the thought of (chester??) the cat looking at that tiny bunny sucking the red off an apple like 'i know what u are..'

!!!! I love you too, anon, omg, thank you so much for sending me such a delightful question! Had a surprisingly decent day as well, so I hope you had a great one too!

Thanks so much for asking me about Bunnicula - I read it in about second grade, after my 'introduction' to Dracula beyond pop culture was Dead and Loving It the year prior (and seeing Bela Lugosi clips on the old movies channels here and there), and this was a much more digestible, less terrifying experience of vampires for baby Coco.

First off, the "I know what you are" memes are funny, but genuinely, I think Chester the cat and Harold the dog were such an old married couple. They're not quite as acrid as Statler and Waldorf or as affectionate as Timon and Pumbaa, but the way they snark at each other, affectionately disparage one another's literary tastes, and tease about various neuroses, as well as playing Holmes and Watson for the mystery of the story speaks for itself! That Chester is the one who needs to overcome his prejudice of outsiders is an interesting wrinkle to this, but he's working on it through therapy and, literally, as the text says, "finding himself". I mean, if this isn't a gay cat unpacking his internalized issues and respectability politics with the help of the zanier Bunnicula and the more self-assured Harold, I don't know what is.

Next, there's Bunnicula himself; an homage to tropes of both classic vampire films and the trashy television fare of the mid-20th century, which is already historically very popular with queer people for many reasons - camp factor, the affinity many of the LGBTQ+ community towards horror, and especially how easily identifiable the vampire in particular is as a queer figure. The core message of the story is that of accepting and celebrating the differences of others; Bunnicula is indeed a vampire, but, being a vampire rabbit, only sucks the life out of vegetables and is therefore harmless - it's Chester's judgment of him making him an outsider that's the issue. (Sidenote that the concept is cute + funny + kid-friendly enough that it sidesteps the usual lame cop-out that is the vegetarian vampire.) The vampire as an outsider - and hence queer - is an age-old reading. Further, while there's definitely space for queer narratives of feeling like a monster and/or imperfect/toxic stories aimed at teenagers and adults, the vampire as specifically oppressed and in a work aimed at kids works uniquely well in this context since Bunnicula's harmlessness allows him to sidestep the usual conundrums of monster-posing-genuine-threat-as-stand-in-for-oppressed group (looking at you, Zootopia.). (Added addendum that while I mentioned narratives for kids having to exist in a simpler moral universe here, this 1:1 is an issue I have with many 'vampire as a stand-in for queer people' narratives -- True Blood/Southern Vampire Mysteries ran into it frequently, although otoh I found the latest Interview With The Vampire TV show to handle it with better nuance. It's tricky territory, to say the least)

The meta-narrative to this can't be ignored. The author, James Howe, came out as gay decades after writing this with his late first wife, Debbie, and has expressed many times that though he was closeted/uncertain at the time of writing the original novel, he on reflection must have subconsciously imbued it with themes of being a horror-loving, artistic, bullied outsider that reflected his own childhood experiences. Likewise, he's noted that Debbie, who was Jewish and had similar tastes and experiences, was probably doing the same. Since coming out, James Howe has engaged in extensive anti-bullying and equality-focused advocacy work, and has since made his priority incorporating themes of compassion towards the outsider in all his writings for kids - his later works have even featured canon gay characters. From what I've read, these themes have persisted through the rest of the Bunnicula series (though I think I only ever read the first book).

All this to say: Chester and Harold are married, Bunnicula is their flamboyant housemate.

#bunnicula #queer readings #this was fun! thanks for asking!

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jadelotusflower · 3 years

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It’s Cold in that Fridge: The Case of Nakari Kelen

Since The Case of Mara Jade has been doing the rounds again, I’ve finally gone back to this post that has been sitting in my drafts for literally years. So let’s honour this absolute badass who deserved better:

Once upon a time, the Star Wars universe was but six films (and a tv series) in the story of the Skywalker family. But beyond George Lucas’ story was an absolute boatload of books, comics, games, and other materials that made up the Expanded Universe. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the rights to the Star Wars saga, everything in this universe was decanonised and deemed “Legends” - some aspects of this universe were retained or re-purposed, others sit in Disney’s figurative vault and will likely never see the light of day (and seeing how the ST turned out, maybe that’s for the best).

But this transition between Legends canon and Disney canon was not so simple, because the nature of publishing meant that there were novels approved during the time of Legends canon that would be released in the time of Disney canon. In particular, there had been the planned trilogy “Empire and Rebellion”, set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, with each novel from the perspective of one of The Big Three.

Razor’s Edge (Leia) and Honor Among Thieves (Han) were released prior to the Great Canon Split of 2014. But while the Luke-centric novel had been planned, it was not due to be released until well after the Split. So Heir to the Jedi (so called as an homage to the Legends progenitor Heir to the Empire) became one of the first books of the Disney canon.

What does this background have to do with Nakari Kelen? Perhaps nothing, but I do wonder how the writing process was affected by the shift from Legends to Disney - was the novel a relic of the old EU with any reference the LFL storygroup didn’t like excised during editing, or was it a trendsetter for the new EU, a Sign of Things to Come?

The most salient point being, of course, that Nakari Kelen - like so many love interests before her - was not allowed to go along her merry way at the conclusion of the novel, but was shoved into the fridge.

If there was one constant of the Legends EU, it was that Luke Skywalker’s love interests couldn’t catch a break. Mara Jade naturally lasted the longest relationship-wise, with almost twenty years of marriage to Luke before some bright spark decided she had to go (as per the aforementioned case study). But before Mara there was Jem, Shira Brie, and Gaeriel Captison (who came close to escaping the curse), and in the Legacy of the Force series they brought back sole survivors Akanah and Callista, only to kill them off for good too (and rather brutally, if I may add).

So perhaps when Kevin Hearne began writing HttJ within the confines of the Legends continuity, he was merely sticking to the status quo, or perhaps once subsumed by Disney they needed to make sure Luke's slate was clean (so to speak). And I can’t put all the blame on Hearne since I don’t know whether it was his idea, or LFL mandated - but regardless it was a poor decision.

The root cause of fridging, imo, is limited imagination. How best to cause your male protagonist pain if not kill off someone they love, or at least have strong feelings for? The answer is of course, easily. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Luke Skywalker of HttJ is fresh from his victory in ANH, a lieutenant in the Rebellion: young, not dumb, and full of...

Nakari Kalen is an absolute Queen a civilian volunteer and crack-shot sniper who loans her ship Desert Jewel to the Alliance. Luke is immediately attracted to her, they bond over a mutual love of fast ships and leaving behind desert home planets, and engage in the inexpert flirting of two nineteen year olds while also risking their lives several times over.

I want to make it clear: I actually really like this book. It's a breezy read, almost serialised as The Early Adventures of Luke Skywalker, and is ofttimes genuinely funny. And credit where it’s due to Hearne, many of of the supporting roles in the novel are female. Other than Nakari, there's Soonta, the Rodian who gives Luke her uncle’s lightsaber, Sakhet the Kupohan spy, and the Givin cryptographer/math genius Drusil Bephorin. In a genre where male characters are often the default for these kind of roles, it was nice to see, but makes the regressive fridging of Nakari even more egregious.

Luke and Nakari make a good team fighting brain-sucking monsters and Imperials, but more importantly they have fun together - she encourages him to work on his Force skills, and he successfully moves objects with his mind for the first time (leading to Nakari adorably dub him "a little noddle scooter"). It's a very sweet, if brief, relationship, and a respite from the danger of the mission. They spend the night together (leaving the reader to decide exactly what happened behind closed doors), and share a kiss before splitting up to try and escape bounty hunters. No prizes for guessing what happens to Nakari immediately after she received the Skywalker Kiss of Death.

I assume there were two motivating factors for why Hearne and/or LFL couldn't let Nakari live:

1. If she survived, fans would wonder why she doesn't appear in ESB/subsequent material.

I recall this bandied about on forums back at the time of the book's release, and to that I say - so what? Fans are always going to wonder, and try to paper over the gaps in canon, to make up their own headcanons to explain any any perceived inconsistencies. It's certainly no reason to kill someone off.

It is in fact possible for two young people to have a romance that just fizzles, or doesn’t work out for whatever reason - it should not require great maneuvering or explanation. If Nakari doesn’t show up in the next book in the timeline, what about it? The reader is smart enough to assume she and Luke broke up, decided to just remain friends, whatever. But it seems that the only way for a female character to exit stage left is for her to die, which is bullshit.

And actually, there's no reason why she couldn't have shown up again. ESB and RoTJ cover a month and a few days, respectively, of Luke's life - just because there was no mention of Nakari doesn't mean she didn't exist at that time, whether or not she and Luke were an item. She could have made an appearance in a subsequent novel, or Rebels, or the comics - she could have become a recurring character, showing up when the Rebellion needed her, or - heaven forbid - even have her own comic/book/show! Her existence in Star Wars canon didn't need to begin and end with Luke Skywalker, merely to service his plotline and backstory and abandoning the richness of her own.

No, the only reason Nakari had to die was to facilitate this:

It was a blow to the gut, realizing what that sudden absence meant. I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but I had felt Nakari's life snuffed out through the Force, and into that void where she had shone anger rushed in - anger, and a cold sense of raw power and invincibility...I took a step to join in the hunt but stopped, breathing heavily, unaccountably sweating even though I felt so cold inside and the power of the Force roiled within me... I shook with emotion and power, and none of it felt the way the Force had before...I saw what kind of space it was , a black hole that would always be hungry no matter how much I fed it. I might never feel warm again if I didn't get myself under control.

Luke feels the dark side and is tempted by the boost of power it offers him, but immediately identifies it as dangerous and unnatural. I can understand why Hearne wanted to include this - it is a book of firsts after all: Luke's first solo mission, his first time using telekenisis, and ending with story with his first experience of the dark side makes sense. But it wasn't necessary, which leads to:

2. How to push Luke to touch the dark side without killing someone he has romantic feelings for?

Also, obviously, shite of the bull (or nerf, if you prefer). Even if this brush with the dark side was absolutely necessary for the novel's climax, there's any number of ways it could be achieved. At this point, Luke is fresh from losing important people in his life - Owen and Beru, Ben, and Biggs - lumping another death on top of that a narrative trick for Luke to react not only to losing Nakari, but the others as well. But it's cheap, the first card in the deck, and why not show a bit of imagination? Luke is young and inexperienced enough at this point that any number of things could be the catalyst - the whole book he's struggling with his growing powers, why not try and reach too far in the firefight with the bounty hunters, his anger and frustration with himself in not doing enough trigger the dark side temptation? It would work thematically and doesn't involve a fridging that ultimately has very little payoff.

Because Nakari is killed less than ten pages from the end of the book - afterwards Luke grieves, but ultimately chooses to honour her memory and be grateful for what he learned with her, recommitting to becoming a Jedi. It's all very surface level, and once again a female character's death facilitates a male character's development. Was it so imperative that Luke lost someone he cared about as part of this story? Sure, this was a time of galactic civil war, and it's far from unrealistic that these stories have a high body count, but who to make collateral damage remains an authorial choice, and in this case Nakari Kelen was (a) a female character of color, (b) a love interest of the protagonist - not just of this book, but the entire Original Trilogy.

I don't know to what extent (if any) race had to play in the decision. I'm sure there was a segment of the fandom absolutely livid that Luke Skywalker kissed (and maybe had sex with) a black woman. Was her death LFL hedging its bets, or demonstrative of the general lack of attention/respect they show their characters of colour?

In any case this was a chance to stand out from the old EU and it's fridge full of Luke's dead girlfriends, but instead they chose to introduce and kill off Nakari for the sole purpose of Luke's manpain and character development, and that's gross.

And then there's this:

A grisly yet reliable fact about custom bounty hunter ships is that you can always count on them to have body bags stashed somewhere for the easy transport of their kills. They often have built-in refrigerated storage, too.

NAKARI IS KILLED AND LITERALLY STORED IN THE FUCKING FRIDGE I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS READING.

I really hope this was unintentional on Hearne's part, because yikes. He was halfway there, this book was full of interesting female characters who had agency - Drusil in particular was a delight with her super math and inability to understand human interaction. Nakari was full of life and fun - capable but relatable, showing a different side of the Rebellion and those that suffered under the Empire's rule. Fridging her in her first appearance is considerably more vile, because it reduces her to a footnote of Luke's story, a plot device to Help Him Grow, rather than a springboard to tell more of her own story.

Because Nakari was a compelling character ripe for spinoff potential. I would absolutely have read or watched her continued adventures, juggling missions for her father's Biolabs company and trying to aid the Rebellion, shooting her slug rifle and cracking wise, maybe even finding a way to amplify her mother's song Vader's Many Prosthetic Parts to really stick it to the Empire, or try and free the political prisoners on Kessel.

The old EU was made great by allies and enemies of Our Heroes showing up again to help or hinder them, and/or branching out into their own material. We fell in love with them, and followed their stories even as they diverged from the main saga, eager to read more about their lives.

Nakari Kelen never got that chance. In many ways, she exemplified what Disney Star Wars was to become: an exercise in wasted potential.

#star wars #star wars meta #heir to the jedi #nakari kelen #luke skywalker #fridging #it's cold in that fridge #star wars expanded universe #nucanon

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voidstilesplease · 3 years

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Swords and Arrows

or That Summer When The Ares and Athena Cabins Finally Allied For Capture The Flag part 1 of 3

⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹

(A Steo Demigod AU) || For @anonymous's prompt: "Scott as a Roman demigod instead of Greek" || word count: 2,647 || The Entire Demigod Series -> [AO3][Tumblr] (it's finally a working link tfg)

Stiles pulls back, "I was going to ask if you missed me," he says, face flushed and beaming. "But it appears I don't need to."

"You never need to."

🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️

"Why the long face, little brother?" Tara asks cheerfully, wedging herself on the bench between Theo and one of their half-siblings, and placing down her tray brimming with colorful food as opposed to Theo's bleak and half-empty one. She grins at Theo, but he's not in the mood to return the goodwill.

Theo pokes half-heartedly at the contents of his tray: a lonely sealed bag with a couple squares of ambrosia inside - the food of the gods - some cheese and two slices of wheat bread. "Don't call me little brother," he mutters with little heat, leaning to the table to whisper a request to his goblet, which immediately fills up with sparkling water.

Tara looks over Theo's head at Fred, their Head Counselor, sitting on Theo's other side. "He's not back yet?"

Fred shakes his head, wiping the bbq sauce at the side of his mouth. "Nope," he replies, popping the 'p' and catching on to the question without much elaboration. By now, there's only one 'he' that reduces Theo to a brooding and sulky man-child. "He hasn't answered Theo's last IM, too."

"Try the last five Iris Messages," Theo grumbles in annoyance. He turns to Tara, face contorted in a sour expression. "I mean, how difficult is it to take my call? He always has drachmas in his pocket exactly for this reason."

"He's probably busy disintegrating monsters," Fred says reasonably. Which, of course, makes sense. Monsters make the most infuriating and persistent roadblock of all. They make any journey twice as long for demigods - if they don't manage to kill you, that is. "Or, you know," Fred adds, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "maybe he's being an accomodating companion to the Son of Jupiter."

Theo grinds his teeth hard and fixes his head counselor with a death glare. Fred only shrugs at Theo's reaction, obviously aiming for the exact response, and chuckling through a bite of ambrosia. Theo has half a mind to punch him in the jugular. He doesn't need a reminder of who Stiles is with, thanks. Spitefully, he harshly impales a piece of grape from Fred's tray with the tines of his fork and shoves it to his mouth in the most menacing manner he can project.

It only makes Fred guffaw, spraying bits of food onto the table. The campers across from him slide their trays away protectively, shrieking an indignant chorus of "Fred!" as they make sure no stray bits made it into their platters. Fred raps at his chest as he reaches for his goblet, still laughing his dumb ass off while trying to wave his hand in apology.

Their neighbors also share their opinion on the appalling table manners of the Ares brood - spitting out food may slightly be a common scene from their lot, unfortunately.

Brett from the Apollo cabin throws corn kernels at Fred, a strange display of solidarity if you can believe it, while Ara, the half-Korean junior counselor of Athena cabin, gives the Ares and Apollo tables a look of disapproval. She's a pretty terrifying 15 years old, which is why Stiles is extremely fond of her. With Stiles gone to New Rome the first week back to camp, Ara is doing a kickass job taking over the head counselor duty. (But, to Hades with it, Theo would much prefer Stiles to be scowling at their table.)

"Okay, first of all," Tara says over the little chaos. "Fred, you're disgusting. Second," she holds Theo's chin to compel him to look at her, then smirks, "Stealing a piece of fruit is not a cabin 5-worthy intimidation tactic."

Theo opens his mouth for his scathing retort, but at the same time, one of Stiles's younger siblings points in the direction of the cabins. "Hey, it's Stiles!"

Many heads look up, but Theo springs to his feet instantly, scanning the area for Stiles. He catches sight of him almost immediately, bounding to the Mess Hall in his orange shirt, face bright under the camp's enchanted borders, as radiant as the last time Theo saw him four long months ago. Without much thought, Theo finds himself carried by his feet towards Stiles.

Stiles sees him coming too, and his smile broaden. Theo sprints, forgetting himself and where they are. They meet halfway, by the entrance of the Mess Hall, with Theo knocking into Stiles's open arms strong enough that it's a surprise they're still upright on the ground.

Theo squeezes him to make sure his mind did not conjure a Spectre to appease his longing. Stiles feels solid under his hands, if a little sweaty, and he smells as if he was run over by monsters. But underneath the grime, he catches the scent of Stiles's favorite body wash. He feels himself sagging in satisfaction.

Stiles pulls back, "I was going to ask if you missed me," he says, face flushed and beaming. "But it appears I don't need to."

"You never need to."

Theo doesn't know how long they stood just smiling at each other, but they break apart at Chiron's pointed clearing of the throat. It's not even in Theo's head to be embarrassed by his actions despite the cackling and many leering faces of the other demigods. Mr. D merely raises an unimpressed eyebrow, though the twinkle in his eyes can only be from amusement.

Chiron is sitting on his wheelchair today, hiding his horse's ass behind the illusion of human legs - why he still does it is a wonder - and rolls forward to them.

"Stiles Stilinski," he greets merrily, the lines of his eyes crinkling when he smiles. "Welcome back." Chiron gazes a little behind them, then, nodding kindly towards another boy Theo only notices, is standing patiently at a distance.

The boy, Scott McCall, son of Jupiter and a praetor of the Roman demigods' army, the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, steps forward to bow his head in respect of the centaur. "Chiron," he also acknowledges Mr. D who didn't bother to get up from the head table. "Lord Bacchus."

"Hm," Mr. D hums without correcting the demigod, sipping on his diet coke dismissively.

Theo doesn't hate Scott, but he also doesn't like him - strongly, irrationally, dislikes him. Instinctively, he shuffles closer to Stiles as if his boyfriend is going to dissolve into the Mist if he isn't close enough to pull him back.

Theo's been agitated since Stiles told him, a week prior, that he was flying to New Rome in California where Camp Jupiter is, the Roman camp, for a 'friendly' visit. Everyone's allowed to cross borders, but no one has really done so just to tour around. After all, the camps are on opposing sides of the country and monsters don't pause to consider not killing vacationing demigods.

A couple of times before last week, when Theo visited Stiles in his Manhattan apartment, he'd, out of the blue, mentioned the varied courses and scholarships that New Rome University offered, as Theo laid his head on Stiles's lap while the latter read. Theo hadn't minded it at the time, as Stiles quickly dropped the subject. But another month passed and Stiles mentioned it again, randomly, during one of their IMs, adding that he might check into the enrollment requisites. Theo started to worry, then.

If Stiles goes to New Rome for college, Theo can't follow him. He never even got to finish eighth grade. And Scott, he's one of the Romans, their leader, and grudging as he is to admit, one of Stiles's friends now the more he visits Camp Half-Blood. He will eagerly encourage Stiles, telling him of the countless perks that Camp Jupiter has. He will be as big a hero there as he is in Camp Half-Blood, and he can rise to praetorship alongside Scott if the Legion so wishes it.

Scott is not a bad person per se, but he wears the color and insignia of the place Theo might lose Stiles to. And if Theo blinks the wrong way, he might not see quick enough that Stiles is being whisked away to the other side of the coast, leading a life without him.

⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹

After officially welcoming the son of Jupiter to the camp, feeding him, and getting him settled in Cabin One, the campers go about their daily routine of training.

The blade vibrates when it hits the shooting log, right on the marked spot. Then it disappears into thin air and reappears in Theo's hand only to be thrown back to the same spot. He does it repeatedly, unrelentingly, until Tara aims with his bow and hits his blade with an arrow to send both weapons clanging to the ground, a few meters away.

Theo heaves; he doesn't even know he's breathless just from throwing until then. Wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, he nods appreciatively at the bow in Tara's hands when his sister stands beside him with a smile. "If we aren't siblings, I'd mistake you for a daughter of Apollo."

"Please," she laughs, opening her palm, gesturing at the fallen weapons. Both her arrow and Theo's blade fly to her hands in a matter of seconds. "I don't want to light up like a glow stick while waxing poetry during a fight." Children of Apollo don't actually do those in the middle of a fight, but they do glow when they're healing, and they can make others speak in rhymes just for fun. Tara offers the knife back to his brother. "Also, we're children of Ares. By birthright alone, we should know to wield any weapon of war."

Theo takes the knife and snorts, "And yet, I suck at archery."

"I can't summon weapons out of thin air," She points out, grinning at him as she puts the arrow back to its sheaf. "I guess we just can't have it all or Zeus would be zapping us one by one."

Theo scoffs, leaning into position to begin throwing again.

"Speaking of Zeus," Tara says, a playful tone in her words. "Where's your favorite son of the Sky God?"

Theo spares her a glare before flinging his knife and burying it onto the battered practice log. He purses his lips before answering, "He's at the Big House with Chiron, Mr. D, Stiles, and the other head counselors." He clenches his fingers around the blade's hilt when it returns to his hands. "They're talking about a little orientation on New Rome University's scholarships and handing brochures and study guide for the DSTOMP." Theo doesn't bother hiding the acid in his voice from his sister. She'll recognize it anyway, even if he masks it with neutrality. He can't mask it with neutrality.

She quirks a brow, "You don't sound too eager," she notes. "Are you still jealous of Scott, little brother?"

"I'm not jealous of Scott," he says, gritting his teeth. "And don't call me little brother."

"Why are you so strung up, then, if you're not baselessly jealous?"

He finds his reply being interrupted for the second time that day, this time by a distant rumbling coming from the sky. All activities on the ground cease as everyone turns to the increasing volume of an invisible running engine. Theo scans the space above them, at first not grasping anything in motion, until a burst of light reveals a flying, glowing red bus coming down fast to the ground.

🏹⚔️🏹⚔️🏹⚔️

Someone goes to alert Chiron as the rest of them scamper to the landing site by the amphitheater. The bus landed surprisingly smooth, despite its breakneck descent.

"Is that a Ferrari bus?" One of the campers points out.

Sure enough, the logo at the front of the vehicle, a black prancing horse on a yellow background, is of the famous luxury sports brand. But why would there be a flying Ferrari bus at Camp Half-Blood?

"Oh gods," Lori gasps somewhere on Theo's left. "Is that dad's sun chariot?"

As if on cue, the bus door opens, and a teenager who looks about Theo's age exits, wearing what he can only describe as a hipster look. He flashes a blinding grin - and quite literally at that, since they have to shield their eyes momentarily from the glimmer of his teeth - clears his throat dramatically, and announces:

"Hello demigods

The sun landed on your grounds

I am so awesome."

There's silence at first, then a series of enthusiastic applause from Brett and the rest of cabin seven comes next. The teenager bows theatrically, although Theo finds nothing extraordinary about what he just said. But soon, the others join in with half-hearted claps, recognizing the powerful aura suddenly seeping into their skins that could only mean there's a god among them - well, another god, aside from Dionysus, their Camp Director. And with the terrible haiku, there will be no mistaking who graced their camp today. The last time Theo had seen him, during the almost war on his first year at camp, the god had worn the body of a muscular mid-20's blond man. Now, it seems he favors to look even younger despite his four thousand years.

"Lord Apollo," Chiron's voice drowns out the applaud as he trots forward, now in his form as a white stallion from the waist down. "It's a pleasant surprise. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Mr. D isn't as warm. He snorts, rolling his eyes. "Oh, bother, what brought you here now?"

Apollo's bright persona doesn't falter as he gestures at the bus - that is apparently his sun chariot. Theo remembers the time when he almost drove Apollo's chariot, if the Hermes cabin did not snitch it from under their noses, and thus putting three cabins grounded after a severe prank war. He had to take Liam's dish duties and pay him just so his present for Stiles could be delivered in time for Christmas.

"I'm here at the request of my little sister." The god says proudly, as the door opens again, this time with grumbling teenage and prepubescent girls coming out from the bus. All dressed in the same outfit: silver jackets, silver camo pants, and black combat boots, and they carry at their backs a quiver of sharp silver arrows. They glance at Apollo with apparent distrust, standing as far away from him as possible, as the god continues, "To deliver her hunters safely while she's away on a personal errand."

Several demigods groan in displeasure at the news, and even Chiron's lips form a thin line, though he tries to smile through the tension. Mr. D seems to be delighted now, though, happier to see the strange, vicious-looking ladies than his own brother. Personally, it feels like an omen of danger. Mr. D is never happy unless something perilous is about to descend upon his campers - even if his own daughter, Malia, is among them.

"Thank you, Lord Apollo." One of the hunters says albeit she looks physically pained by her words. She stands at the front of the group, a silver ring headwear around her head, with bouncing black curls, a pointed nose, and a strong chin. The other hunters also look at her when she speaks. It's easy to recognize her as the group's leader. "And thank you, Lord Dionysus, Chiron, for accomodating the hunters of Lady Artemis."

Chiron nods at the girl, eyes softening with kindness born out of familiarity, "You're always welcome, Allison."

Mr. D laughs boisterously, then. Like his punishment has just been lifted and he can go back to Olympus and away from the brats, celebrating by getting drunk on wine after years of prohibition. "Well, at least, Capture the Flag this Friday seems more enticing now, don't you think so, Chiron?" He gives a wicked grin at his campers, not waiting for a reply, his change in demeanor promising a torturous next few days for the demigods. "Ready to lose the Camp Half-Blood banner to these little girls for the 58th time in a row?"

~•~

#steo #steo fic #demigod au #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #stiles x theo #so idk what the heck happened #but i wrote 1k words more than my target word count #ahdbdjdjskxb idk #also for the demigod anon here's a response to one of your prompts!!#it took a hot minute but i hope you see this #scott mccall #brett talbot #tara raeken #allison argent #fics tag #demigodseries

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synnefo-nefeli · 3 years

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Hello!! Just wanted to say I just re read Heard Your Heart Beating for like... The fifth time, probably?? And now that I know ur tumblr, I just wanted to say. Its probably one of my fav Klapollo fics. I LOVE your characterization in it. Especially Apollo's, in which he gets flustered and provoked quite easily but he can also get super sassy and bitchy lmao. And I love his and Klavier's friendship? It makes me so happy to see fics where their pre-relationship is explored. I love seeing romantic interactions but it's also SUPER nice to see them just being... Platonic and hanging out together and supporting each other and being friends!! I mean relationships are founded upon friendships so it's really cute to read about them before they get all romantic too. I loved reading about their Valentine's Day hangout at Apollo's house. It's just... So chill. Even though you touched on the big Kristoph issue, it is also lighthearted at times. It was really nice to see Kristoph being addressed but it not being the whole point of their 'date'. And their banter...... Omg.... Especially Klavier's highkey flirting LMAOOO ITS SO FUNNY TO READDD!!! And Trucy omg.... I love the inclusion of her because of course she needs to be included. Love her. Anyways thank you so much for writing it!!! I don't want to, like, unknowingly pressure you into continuing or anything though!!! I just wanted to share my thoughts! I know how hard it can get continuing a fic when you have real life obligations lol. Anyways I will be suppperr happy if you do but even if you don't! I am still so glad you wrote the chapters so far. PHEW THATS IT. HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY

Anon, I am just dead from this comment. When I read this, I wanted to cry because I am just so touched and humbled.

“Heard Your Heart Beating” has such a special place in my heart and I am sorry that it takes me 5ever to write in general that the updates to it are slow. Never did I think that a story I came up with nearly seven years ago (lsdkfmslkfdm) would take me this long to write but also I like taking my time with it, as I’ve never ever written a slow-burn fic.

I love Klapollo so much, and I just want to do them justice (haha), because there is so much there between them as characters. They’re two characters bound by tragic events but, they’re both forthright individuals who have a lot of external factors (good and bad) impacting their relationship.

AA5 was such a great game and full of emotion, but there was a lot to read in between the lines- Apollo had suffered a personal tragedy in losing Clay, and his introduction as an attorney had been fraught with betrayal and a lot of fighting against the odds, then he nearly has to accuse Athena for Clay’s murder...and it was just a lot for him.

As for Klavier, the year prior had left him with the truth that he’d been used and betrayed by his brother and his best friend...and then as he’s picking the pieces of his life together, transitioning from the rocker life that was his way of life/protection from Kristoph for 7 years, his mentor is murdered. Klavier is a genius prosecutor, he most likely advanced early through Themis, changed his career path, graduated, got his badge, and then his debut is just a mess. Apollo brought him back to the courts but Klavier, it seemed at least to me in DD, was still trying to figure out where he fit in.

Constance Court’s impact on Klavier is a big part of Heard Your Heart Beating and will be explored in later chapters.

But yeah I liked the idea of these two coming together organically- they’re both highly empathetic people, so there is common ground there. Klavier knows that Apollo has seen the Kristoph that Klavier once knew and admired. It’s easy to paint Kristoph as a monster, but when you look at how Apollo and Klavier speak of him (before the murders obvs) you can tell that all they both wanted was to make Kristoph proud. And I also wanted to explore those human moments with Kristoph too. Yes, he’s an asshole- but he was someone that Apollo and Klavier looked up to. So that betrayal and grief is something they can both share, and while Daryan is still alive, Klavier’s friendship with him died metaphorically. But the hurt and pain of not having that friendship, not having that person you love platonically in your life for the rest of your life- is a death unto itself not unlike Apollo’s pain and grief over losing Clay.

They strike me as two people who are just looking for safety, and they both recognize (Klavier more quickly than Apollo, although I feel it’s subconscious on Apollo’s part) that they can have that safety with each other. This theme is reflected in the title. It’s from the song “Cosmic Love” by Florence + The Machine.

“Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too So I stayed in the darkness with you “

When I heard this song while writing the opening drafts of this story, I felt that this song summed up Apollo and Klavier in this story- they’re both in personal darkness that no one else seems to understand, but when they recognize that the other is in that same darkness- they reach out, even if it means remaining in that grief and sadness, there is comfort in knowing that you’re understood and not alone.

Oof that was a tangent hahaha.

The Valentine’s Day scene was one of my favorite scenes to write. It comes from such a personal moment between the comfort I’ve found with my own friends during a time where I was trying to get my footing in life. Also, not to side note again, but this fic is actually pretty personal- I’ve never really put my own personal experiences or feelings into a story to the extent that I have in this fic. The opening chapter was written during a time when I thought I was losing my best friend- I had commiserated a lot with Apollo while playing DD- I cried while writing it and I still cry when I read it because it is so intrinsically tied to that time of grief and a feeling that the universe was taking my friend away from me.

So the Valentine’s Day scene was meant to be a scene of comfort and banter- two friends, just hanging out together rather than being alone on “Singles Awareness Day”. I love that everyone had an expectation of where I was going with that scene. Especially when alcohol was introduced and then it ended up with them being in Apollo’s bed XD. It amuses me that their first time ever sharing a bed together would be under the most platonic of circumstances XD.

Anyway, thank you so much anon for the lovely comment- it definitely made my day and made me look over my drafts for this story :) Maybe an update will come soon!

Have a good day!

#Klapollo #apollo justice #klavier gavin #Heard Your Heart Beating #fic asks #writing

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yetanotherauthor · 4 years

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Day three of @narutorarepairweek. Today’s prompt is any au.

Pairing: HashiramaTobirama Word count: 4333 Rated: E Summary: They have all they need out here on the waves with no expectation but a new horizon - and to end the day in each others' arms.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

I Don’t Want A Harp Nor A Halo, Not Me

The sea did not judge. Watching the waves part before them and the sea spray up to mist them all with her tempestuous benediction, Tobirama wondered if that was what had called him out to roam the open waters all those years ago. Here where there was frequently no other humans for leagues in any direction and no land in sight for days there was never any need to worry about judgment. No eyes followed him that did not already know and accept and look away when he needed them to. There were no voices to curse and denounce the things that made him happiest.

If not for the wind snapping the loose material of his brother’s shirt he would never have heard the man coming up behind him, bare feet silent on the well-scrubbed deck. He smiled to see Hashirama's pout for not being able to startle him.

“You should have buttoned your shirt if you wanted to be sneaky,” he said, knowing he was only helping to set himself up for the next time but not truly minding. As with most things in life, if it made Hashirama smile then it was worth it, even if he came away looking like a fool.

As quickly as it appeared the pout was gone a moment later in favor of a broad smile. Hashirama looked out at the sea around them, long hair streaming in the wind until he looked nothing short of a siren, beautiful and tempting, the only difference being that Tobirama had answered the call a long time ago and never once had his precious brother given any hints that doing so would end with him scuppered on the rocky ocean floor. Though he could have spent hours of the day standing here admiring the view he was interrupted when Hashirama turned to look back at him. He couldn’t be too mad at the sacrifice though, not when he was then treated to the full weight of that glorious too-wide smile.

“Where are we going today?” his brother asked him.

“That depends,” Tobirama replied easily, the same words they traded every morning. “Wherever your heart leads, there shall I follow.”

“Such a dutiful Otouto.”

“You say that every day.”

Hashirama reached up to trace the ink tattooed in to pale white cheeks as he murmured, “I mean it every day.”

Before there was time for Tobirama to do anything but hum with the slight embarrassment that always accompanied strong emotions, their attention was hailed by one of the crew. He turned aside and very carefully did not react to the way his brother’s fingers trailed along the line of his neck and shoulders until he had moved out of reach. The sea did not judge but his heart was weak to temptation and if he followed the promise of that touch he knew very well that neither of them would get anything done that day. Neither of them had run away to the sea to be lazy.

Helping Kisame with the rigging wouldn’t have taken half as long as it did if either of them were inclined to put a little hustle in to their bustle. But they had made port only a week before, supplies were plentiful while the fishing was good, and none of their crew were going anywhere but for wherever the waves took them. It was a good life for anyone willing to work hard in exchange for escaping the trappings and restrictions of a land bound existence.

Like most of the men and women with them, Tobirama and Hashirama had both grown up on the ever-changing tides. Their father was a minor lord wasting away on the small estate that could have been theirs if they had stayed to inherit it. Instead they followed their mother and learned to love the sea from the bow of the ship she named Home, returning home barely a handful of times before they reached adulthood and decided for themselves that proper society was not for them. Proper society gasped and hissed and cursed them as unnatural for things beyond their control. When their mother passed they inherited their Home and never once had either of them looked back to the places they could never belong.

As first mate Tobirama could have rested on his laurels and left the work of sailing to those who were paid to do so. Luckily for them he’d been raised better than that – not to mention how bored a mind like his would have been if he squandered his days away in such a manner, feet kicked up and hands idle. Men of his intellect were more likely to be found in one of the universities around the Great Elemental Nations but Tobirama was more than happy to entertain himself of an evening with whatever books they were able to pilfer in their travels. Out here where every helping hand counted he was better put to use pulling the fishing lines and trimming the sails, scrubbing the decks or taking his turn cleaning out the bilge water below. More than just efficient, it helped to build a strong rapport with the crew, earning their trust and loyalty both. It was their mother who had taught them the importance of treating those around them well.

Hard workers that they both were, neither Tobirama nor Kisame noticed the day slipping them by until the shadows behind them grew long enough to tempt the monsters hidden by the dark waters around them. It took Hashirama marching out to pout at the both of them for Tobirama to agree with some degree of amusement that perhaps it was time he attended dinner.

Or at least that’s where he assumed he was being pulled away to. He suspected Hashirama might have another destination in mind when they bypassed the mess hall entirely and instead made their way towards the officers’ cabins.

The door to the space they shared had hardly been shut when Tobirama felt himself being tugged around again and he was already wearing a smile even before catching sight of the way Hashirama had to duck under the low ceiling, the single curse of life on the sea. Hashirama had grown up just a little tall for the ship’s construction. They had talked about saving their spoils to have a new one built, something of their own and built to accommodate Hashirama's height on every deck, but nostalgia had so far held them back.

“I believe you owe me something,” his brother murmured.

“Mm? And what would that be?”

“A kiss.” The pout reappeared, shameless. “I never got a kiss this morning and you’ve spent all day away from me.”

Doing his best to smother his amusement, Tobirama affected a solemn expression. “How terribly rude of me to leave you lonely like that. I suppose I’ll have to make it up to you now.”

The words had only barely left his mouth when Hashirama was leaning forward, eyes slipping closed, and the idea of making him wait any longer felt nothing less than cruel to both of them.

A quiet sigh almost of relief whispered in the space between them and Tobirama couldn’t help but smile as their lips pressed together and strong arms slid around his waist to pull him closer. On sea or on land there was only one place he had ever truly belonged: here in his brother’s embrace, fingers sliding up in to his wind-ruffled hair, hearts beating in tandem through flesh and ribs. This was precisely why they had left their father and the judgment of others behind. Tobirama had never known the touch of anyone else but it had taken no more than one fumbling kiss in the night as a storm tossed their Home back and forth for him to know that he would never want to.

Surely nothing in the world could compare to the bliss of a strong hand browned from years under the sun tracing down the side of his neck to slip under his collar. A thumb pressed itself against his fluttering pulse but it was a comfortable weight. Many times before he had trusted his life to this man. Hashirama would not hurt him. In fact he very clearly had plans to the opposite, shuffling forwards to push them towards the large bed bolted to the far corner of the floor.

For the sake of contrariness – and his own amusement – Tobirama resisted when he felt the edges of the frame bump in to his thighs, wrestling with his brother until the two of them tumbled laughingly down to mess the blankets. They continued to tussle until he found himself pinned beneath a solid body with both arms held above his head and a curtain of brown hair spilling around them to block out the rest of the world. It struck him, as it did so often, just how beautiful a man his brother was. Hashirama's eyes were sparkling with warmth as they playfully narrowed at him, almost daring him to be any more difficult.

“Disobeying orders from your captain?”

“I don’t remember you giving me any orders,” Tobirama purred, lifting his chin to show off the sleek line of his neck.

“Very true.” Just as suspected Hashirama was unable to resist. With a low groan he bent to mouth along the fading marks he’d left only a few days prior. “Always so sneaky and clever.”

Feet bare as they were most days, thighs spread to accommodate a thick waist between them, it was all too easy for Tobirama to clench his abdominals and bring his legs up to wrap around the other man, flipping their positions before his partner had time to realize what was happening.

“Sneaky am I?”

“Or maybe I am. How do you know this wasn’t what I was after the whole time?” Hashirama's lips curled up in a sly grin as he rolled his hips agonizingly slow, chuckling when Tobirama glared down at him.

“Have I been outmaneuvered?” he asked.

“You might be a genius but you’re not the only smart one around here,” Hashirama answered with a bit of mock preening in his voice.

Tobirama considered that for a moment. Then he rolled his own hips just to listen to the startled gasp from below and feel the interested twitch against his bottom. “If you were really smart you would quit stalling and get to the point, Anija.”

“I’m not the one who interrupted with play fighting!” His brother flashed him a mighty pout. “You started it!”

“Semantics. Now I’m going to finish it.”

His brother was laughing again when he leaned down but that was okay, joy always tasted sweeter when shared between them. When he rolled his hips again this time they were caught between two palms so Hashirama could drag him down and grind their bodies together properly. Quite suddenly there seemed to be too many layers of cloth between them, too much clothing separating their skin. Tobirama offered no protests as he felt the ties of his pants being struggled with, wriggling one hand between them to pull at the loose hem of Hashirama's voluminous shirt. Sometimes it was annoying that the man never bothered to tuck in his clothes but in moments like this when desperation drove him to clumsiness it was nothing short of a boon.

Getting either of their shirts over their heads was a bit tricky when Hashirama all but refused to move his hands away from struggling with a particularly stubborn knot in the pant laces he couldn’t seem to figure out. Several minutes had already passed and little whines of frustration were beginning to slip past his lips by the time Tobirama had wrestled his top off and slapped the hands away from his crotch to do it himself. Patience had never been his greatest virtue.

It wasn’t the most graceful maneuver he’d ever made but somehow or other he managed to divest himself of cotton and leather without removing himself from such a delicious position spread over his brother’s lap. Hashirama's pants, thankfully, came undone so much easier but by that point they were both a little too impatient to do anything with them.

Tobirama arched his back and stretched up, almost able to touch the low ceiling still, rumbling with pleasure under the nails that raked themselves gently over his chest and sides, circling his nipples teasingly. When he looked down again he flicked his eyes towards the nightstand bolted next to the bed. Only officers were afforded the luxury of private quarters and furniture rather than an open room lined with hammocks and cots. He couldn’t imagine a life without somewhere to stash the balm Hashirama twisted to scramble for now or four walls to muffle the sounds of their pleasure. Being on top had its perks.

And that applied to more than just the chain of command.

The first soft touch against his entrance was a question that very nearly made him scoff. If he wasn’t in the mood he would not have gotten himself in to position so freely. He answered by rocking his hips down against those questing fingers and lifting one brow in challenge, huffing in amusement when it made his partner shiver with want. Hashirama had always rather enjoyed his enthusiasm for the love they shared. Others would condemn the depths of their partnership but Tobirama had never known the love of another and he would never want to. This was where he belonged and where he wanted to stay. Putting his money where his mouth was had never been a problem for him before and it wasn’t now, rocking with the rhythm of the ocean beneath them and teasing them both with the slide of Hashirama's trapped cock between his cheeks.

“Such a minx,” the man breathed, making him laugh.

“Only for you, Anija. Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy it.”

Hashirama's fingers left his skin for only as long as it took him to cover them with balm and then they were back, tracing the edges of his hole more to tease now than to explore. “I like everything about you, Otouto.”

When he pressed the tip of his finger inside it was like being invited on the path towards home. Tobirama braced himself against the solid sun-kissed chest he loved so much and arched to show off the lines of his neck again, soaking in the whispers of admiration and the whines that Hashirama couldn’t reach to lavish him with new love bites. He paid little attention to the latter. They would have more than enough time for that after he was properly stretched and finished giving the show he knew his partner wanted.

As almost always happened, any sort of hurry that Hashirama might have been in seemed to dissipate as he pushed in a little deeper and sighed with the simple pleasure of being inside his lover in some way. Tobirama would have offered him a fond smile, amused by such a silly idiosyncrasy, but he was rather distracted at the moment by riding the finger working its way deeper and the murmurs of praise from below. If Hashirama could not reach to lavish attention on him with lips and teeth he was always prepared to do so with words whispered in to the heated air between them.

Holding himself in place, Tobirama bit down on his lower lip and thanked the gods of the sea that they had skipped dinner, grateful the rest of their crew was distracted with the roar of the mess hall. There was undoubtedly no one close enough to hear whatever noise they were about to make.

Not that it would matter very much if there were. Each of the crew members on board their ship had been hand selected for their trustworthiness and their utter lack of shits to give about two brothers who wanted to roll around in the sheets together. There was no one here that wasn’t aware of their relationship. And there was also no one here who cared. If there did happen to be anyone late for dinner who heard a noise they didn’t like they were more than welcome – and likely – to simply remove themselves from the area.

“Come back out of your head, Otouto,” Hashirama's voice murmured. When he blinked the ceiling came back in to focus and Tobirama realized that he had drifted away to float, his thoughts tenuous and fleeting, ruled by the sensations heating his skin from the inside out until the rest of the world seemed almost to fade away. It wasn’t distraction, per se, but it had always made his brother pout not to be the center of his attention. He leaned forward and bent to lay a kiss on those lips in apology.

“I’m here with you,” he said.

“Really?” The skepticism was only teasing but still he pushed close for a deeper kiss.

“Always.”

Lightning sparked along his nerves when Hashirama answered by adding a second finger, wiping out the ability to even let his thoughts wander. For a time nothing else existed but the bliss of being opened at such a torturously slow pace. He was approaching the verge of begging for his partner to speed things along a little when a slight shift just so sent fire licking through his veins as spots of color exploded behind his eyes. Only by sheer force of will was he able to hold himself off from spilling his seed right then and it was clear the move had been deliberate when Hashirama chuckled low in his throat. When he began to rumble praise for holding together so well Tobirama cracked his eyes open and glared.

“Do get to the point, Anija,” he said. Hashirama let out a bark of laughter.

“Such sweet words from my precious little Otouto. You really know how to seduce a man, don’t you?”

“I shouldn’t have to seduce anyone with three fingers in my ass!”

With a nod like he was conceding the point Hashirama slowed his movements, free hand reaching for the little jar of balm. Tobirama reached out to snag the jar first and shuffled backwards impatiently the moment he was empty so his partner had room to finish disrobing. Viscous and smelling faintly of the herbs it was made from, he’d never been fond of having it slathered all over his own hands but desperate times called for desperate measures. He hardly allowed Hashirama time to free his legs before reaching forward to curl his fingers around the steel-hard invitation just waiting for him to sink down on to it. A smirk flashed across his lips when the other man gasped. Then he was climbing over those gorgeously solid thighs once more and reaching behind to line himself up just right.

As thorough as his brother was he very nearly slid right down to the hilt immediately. Both of them moaned in unison as though the sounds had been punched out of them, ragged, edged with relief like this was where they belonged. Tobirama let the motion of their Home rock him gently, inching down until he rested flush in the cradle of his brother’s hips. With his eyes closed he listened carefully to the unsteady breaths filling the small room and smiled.

Then he braced himself and rose up only to glide back down with carefully controlled movements. Bliss. For this he had spurned the land and the mutterings of those who cared for such inconsequential things like morality and social standing. For this he would travel the sea from end to end with nothing but a raft and a scrap of sail to get him there. This, the feeling of belonging, completion, the safety of knowing that no one could ever love him better, this was all he needed to be whole. No jewel or treasure or any pleasures of the land could ever call him away from this. It was hard to imagine anything that could ever make him feel better than he did when he was filled to his limit with Hashirama, hot and hard and perfect in every way. And from the unfettered gasps filling the room he would guess his brother agreed.

“Otouto,” Hashirama breathed, “gods you always feel so good!”

“Flattery will get you everything you want.” The teasing tone he was going for was lost in a gasp when his brother rolled his hips up, grinding deeper in to him.

“I could - ahhh - I could flatter you for hours if that’s what gets you going.”

Tobirama ducked his chin to level his partner with a heated look. “You know exactly what gets me going.”

And so he did. Hashirama rose to the unspoken challenge beautifully, both hands coming up to trace the shape of his hips, dipping in to scrape at his sensitive inner thighs before skimming farther up to pinch at even more sensitive nipples. Both of them had spent endless hours learning each other’s bodies and all the places to drive the other wild. All he had to do was ask and Tobirama knew he could have any fantasy come true in an instant.

Had, in fact, fulfilled them all many times over throughout the years.

Were they in any other position he might have almost been tempted to call himself selfish. As he lifted himself again and rode their bodies together like an inevitable wave he decided this was fair. He was the one doing all the real physical work here, it was only right that Hashirama indulge him a little in return. With as much exercise as he got on a daily basis it wasn’t exactly a strain holding his own body weight but that was entirely besides the point. So what if he enjoyed being spoiled sometimes? He didn’t need to ask to know that Hashirama did not mind at all being handed an open opportunity to lavish attention on the man he loved.

Of course, there were side effects to being the center of such an enthusiastic man’s attention. Both of them had been blessed with stamina in spades but even Tobirama’s iron willpower couldn’t hold out forever under the onslaught of so much focused pleasure. It was somehow too soon and too quick when he felt his thighs begin to quake; not with the strain of muscle but with the effort of forcing himself to go on when all he wanted was to collapse and allow these glorious sensations to course through him. He could tell his brother was close as well when he felt hands pawing at him to draw him down where he was met with a fierce kiss that curled his already permanently curled toes.

“You’ll be the death of me,” Hashirama gasped.

“Let it be a good death,” was all the response he managed before he watched brown eyes roll back and the hips underneath him surged upwards, punching a guttural cry from his throat at the same time that Hashirama gave vent to the same long rumbling moan that had first awakened this desperate need they still shared for each other, a sound he first heard in the dead of night when he was supposed to be asleep that sent him tumbling over the edge now because he knew it had belonged to him ever since.

When the rhythm of his movements faltered Hashirama took hold of his hips and bodily lifted him, rocking him up and down just to listen to him gasp at the sharp bursts of overwhelming pleasure. Only when he slammed one hand out to support himself against the wall and begged for mercy was he allowed to come to rest. The moment he was stationary Tobirama collapsed forward and buried his face in Hashirama’s sweaty neck.

For several minutes he simply breathed, taking in the scent of salt and sex, as free here between four small walls as he had ever been. Eventually he felt his perch shifting and a hand came up to stroke down the length of his bowed spine.

“Alright?” Hashirama’s voice rumbled.

“So long as I’m with you,” Tobirama whispered, so many promises in so little words.

“I love you too. We should probably get cleaned up though. Now that I’ve sated this hunger my belly has a lot to say about another.” He chuckled and it was almost apologetic as though he wasn’t the one who usually wanted to lounge around in bed and cuddle for hours afterwards.

Gathering the will to sit up did take another minute or so but Tobirama forced himself to straighten, wrinkling his nose at the mess now smeared across both of their bellies. Cleaning themselves sounded heavenly at the moment. He grimaced a little more at the feeling of his brother’s softened length sliding out if only because he was a sentimental fool who had never enjoyed the emptiness that always followed these moments of being whole. Thankfully they had long built the habit of keeping a basin in the room with water and a cloth which he used now to clean his own backside, rinsing the cloth and tossing it over for his brother to use as well.

The two of them had only managed to slip their trousers back on when the sound of a brass horn met their ears through the wooden decks. Both men froze, their eyes meeting. In the next instant they had abandoned the rest of their clothing in favor of reaching for weapons hung by the door. That sound could only mean only thing: an unfriendly ship was approaching. Battle was calling. Neither of them gave even a single thought to how it would look for the both of them to appear on deck in such matching states of undress when the rest of their crew had been busy at dinner. It didn’t matter to them who saw the evidence of their happiness.

The sea did not judge.

#yetanotherstory #narutorarepairweek2020 #hashitobi #hashirama #tobirama #fanfiction #pirate au #in which no one gets around to any actual pirating #a general theme of mine

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traincat · 5 years

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I've been ranting to my friends about Johnny being abused and raped recently and one of them said: Lyja has damaged and put an element of distrust into every relationship he may ever have. which is really fucking me up and I wanted to share in part bc I don't wanna be sad alone and also bc I think that's an interesting side effect of Lyja's time in his life that doesn't get talked about enough

Thank you for sharing this because the thing is I do think there is a very definite divide in how Johnny acts particularly in regards to relationships before and after his marriage to “Alicia.” I doubt this was entirely intentional on the parts of the writers who handled the book after, but I’ve said before that I think after a certain amount of time and with enough stories behind them characters tend to take on a life of their own, and even if the writers are hesitant to address it there’s no way an event like his relationship with Lyja couldn’t have deeply effected Johnny.

Simply put: I don’t think “playboy Johnny” exists before Lyja. I don’t buy into “playboy Johnny” much as a general phenomenon, because if you actually look at the canon there’s just not much to actually back it up, but he certainly has at periods played into this public (both in and out universe) perception of himself. What I mean is, pre-Lyja, there is absolutely no proof Johnny had ever engaged in casual sex. (There’s actually no proof he wasn’t a virgin when Lyja began working her way into his life while masquerading as Alicia; this panel from Fantastic Four #275 is the first time Johnny having sex is addressed:

That shirt is Johnny’s – you see him wearing it the issue leading up to this one. To be clear, there’s nothing in the issue that supports this being Johnny’s first time, either – it’s just that he doesn’t have any sex scenes prior. Either way, this is not the reaction of someone who had a good time.)

Pre-the Alilyja incident, Johnny had a grand total of three relationships: Dorrie Evans in high school, Crystal Amaquelin, Frankie Raye. He had a few dates with a girl named Lorrie Melton who called things off with him because he was more serious than she wanted to be, and shared a whole one kiss with a girl named Valeria from the Fifth Dimension (no relationship to his future niece). He also briefly pursued a girl named Julie Angel, who blatantly wasn’t interested in him. When Julie’s friend Sharon came onto him during this period, he reacted with discomfort:

(Fantastic Four #259)

So, playboy Johnny Storm, a womanizer who sleeps around – he doesn’t exist in canon at this point. (If anything, Johnny repeatedly reacts negatively to being kissed suddenly and without his permission leading up to and during the marriage.) Then you have the marriage, which happens fairly quickly – Johnny and Alicia’s relationship is “cemented” in FF #275, they get married in FF #300. I want to note that Johnny’s pretty young when he gets married, especially by modern standards – you have to do the Spider-Man math with this one, since Johnny’s age at this point in canon isn’t stated, but he and Peter both get married at roughly the same time. We know that they’re roughly the same age, Johnny being 16 when he got his powers and Peter being 15 and these things happening fairly closely together. Peter comments very shortly after he’s married that he’s been out of high school for five years, which would make both him and Johnny roughly 23 when they respectively tied the knot. Alicia is labeled during Byrne’s run as three years older than Johnny, but it should be noted that Byrne has a habit of making women younger and putting them in relationships with much older men – which would track if it’s his opinion Alicia first met Ben when she was 19. (It’s my personal belief that she should be older than that, but that’s neither here nor there.) We have no idea how old Lyja is in comparison to Johnny. So he’s young, and the relationship escalates very quickly, which, looking at it with the retcon in place, makes sense, because Lyja is on a mission to infiltrate the Fantastic Four. So it’s quick. The marriage, the Skrull reveal, and the ensuing melodrama lasts… a while after that.

Then the big reset button that was Heroes Reborn got hit after Fantastic Four #416 and Johnny and family were shunted off to a pocket universe for a little bit, sans Lyja. Fantastic Four v2 is the first look we get at a more playboy-ish Johnny Storm in line with, say, the Chris Evans version of the character – older when the accident hits instead of being a fresh-faced teen, a bit irresponsible, comes off a little bit like he might be a dog. But this reboot canon can’t really keep it up: it reunites Johnny and Crystal temporarily, and then everyone gets snatched out of their alternate reality bubble and planted back in their regular timeline anyway.

So let’s look at Johnny’s relationships after his marriage:

1) Alysande “Caledonia” Stuart: A young woman Johnny found and rescued in another dimension who lived with the Fantastic Four for a while. I’m including this even though it isn’t strictly a romantic relationship – Johnny appears to have feelings for Alsyande, but it’s unclear if they’re reciprocated or if she just feels a deep debt of loyalty to him for rescuing her. Either way, I really like how this relationship is handled; they’re both very respectful of each other in a way that’s missing from a lot of Johnny’s actual romantic relationships. They definitely didn’t have sex.

2) Namorita Prentiss: The first actual romantic relationship Johnny has post-Lyja. This one’s another weird one; Johnny and Namorita first get together after teasing the paparazzi and commiserating about being famous. They then proceed to spend next to no time together. Seriously, like, to the point where the books remarks on it:

(Fantastic Four v3 #55)

Johnny and Namorita do do things like attend celebrity functions together, so I label this as Johnny’s first “publicity” relationship – less about being in love, and more about him and the other party looking really good together for the public eye. (This is also something he never did before his marriage.) Anyway, they break up off panel, although Johnny did apparently ask Nita to move in with him at one point, which she refused.

Kourtney: A second and much more prominent “publicity” relationship. Kourtney is a supermodel who we’re first introduced to when she breaks up with Johnny when the Fantastic Four go broke and he falls out of public favor. They do get back together for the duration of Marvel Knights 4, and then they apparently break up again. Nothing to write home about in this relationship – she and Johnny don’t really appear to actually like each other all that much, especially on her end.

We enter a relationship deadzone for Johnny as we hit Waid’s run. He starts it off apparently shaking off a bad celebrity breakup, and while he goes a bit moony-eyed over a few pretty girls at the beginning, basically nothing happens. He at one point meets up with a girl from the internet who claims to be a fan of his and things seem like they might get romantic… except his body language really is screaming the opposite:

Fantastic Four #514 – I’m not saying how much of this was intentional or even what the intent was, but if there’s something a comic book artist should be good at conveying, it’s body language. Here Cole’s is aggressive – leaning in, touching his face – and Johnny’s is closed off – hands in his pockets, leaning away from her. It’s just interesting if we’re supposed to believe he’s hot for this girl.

Anyway, Cole turns out to be the Wizard’s daughter, catfishing Johnny to find a solution for her unwanted superpowers. So. That lasts two issues and nothing happens between them.

Psionics: And now we enter Millar’s run. Millar’s run is probably the biggest contributor to Playboy Johnny – not only does he have an ill-advised sexual affair with a superpowered bank robber named Psionics, he also gets walked in on – apparently – about to have a threesome with two girls cosplaying as Storm and the Scarlet Witch. I’ve had a problem with the cosplay scene for a while now, because it just doesn’t fit with Johnny’s 616 personality. Something about it has always felt very off. And while I could just go “well it’s Mark Millar,” it occurred to me on a recent reread what’s wrong with it: it feels staged. Johnny’s in the middle of filming a reality show; the camera crew is who walks in on him. If he was trying to cultivate this playboy image, well, one way to do it is to make sure you’re walked in on in a compromising situation. He and the girls are all still fully clothed, and he actually ditches the scene as soon as they’re discovered – to congratulate Ben on his engagement, but still – while the girls frankly seem more interested in each other. It’s a weird scene still, but there’s nothing in it either way to say he was or wasn’t setting it up to make it look like he was the kind of womanizing carefree celebrity party boy who has threesomes with hot cosplay girls while not actually doing that.

As for Psionics, the hot bank robber he sleeps with? Well, turns out her family from the future kidnaps him and uses him as a giant power battery in a machine that has a good chance of killing him. No bad feelings or anything, though.

Again with the awkward body language. He certainly just stands there while she kisses him. This is the exact opposite of smoldering passion. Also, next time he sees her she tries to kidnap his niece, kills his longtime family friend Alyssa Moy in front of him, and then gets murdered right before his eyes. So. That all happened.

He has one apparent would’ve-been one night stand in Hickman’s run after this, except she turns into a bunch of bug monsters and activates the Negative Zone portal. He also has a highly implied brief sexual relationship with Daken Akihiro at this point, who… uses that connection to make Johnny feel horribly guilty over Daken’s apparent death and then so Daken can steal a weapon from the Fantastic Four. There’s a weird pattern here.

Darla Deering: The last and most recent of Johnny’s publicity relationships – Johnny starts seeing Darla, a major pop star, sometime after his experiences in the Negative Zone. This is another “they’re in a relationship but they don’t spend any time together” fling, too – at the end of the relationship, when Darla’s gotten together with Scott Lang, Johnny actually admits that he liked dating Darla because of Darla’s celebrity lifestyle more than he liked her.

Here we hit Robinson’s run. Johnny does a lot of partying after he’s lost his powers, and while it’s not explicit, there’s something of an implication during this point that he is sleeping around. However, his most serious relationships in this run are with his family, Wyatt Wingfoot, and Peter Parker, and he has no consistent romantic partner.

Which brings us to his last serious relationship: Medusa. This one’s a weird one, too, and it’s one where I’m not hesitant to blame the writer’s lack of research at all when Medusa and Johnny were genuinely very close during her stint on the Fantastic Four team. It’s clearly a placeholder relationship – we know Black Bolt/Medusa were going to get back together. If anything, I think here Johnny’s holding onto a piece of his then-missing family the only way he knows how.

So, a couple of relationships post-marriage, but by in large, with the exception of Namorita where we see hardly any of their actual relationship on page and perhaps Medusa, nothing serious. Certainly nothing like his impassioned “head over heels” falls for Crystal and Frankie Raye. So there’s very definitely a change in Johnny after Lyja and in how he behaves in romantic relationships – the implication that he does have casual sex, the uptick in relationships that are clearly for the public eye, a lack of a previously held deep devotion to his partner. I think you could make a really good case for all this coming about as a result of lingering and unaddressed trauma from Lyja.

There’s also, and this isn’t explicitly romantic, the appearance of this little quizzing game:

(Fantastic Four: Secret Invasion) This actually is Lyja in her only appearance since FF #416, disguised as Sue and trying to convince Johnny that Ben is a Skrull for… well for nothing good, obviously, but the book never actually gets into why she’s attempting to separate Ben from Johnny, except that separating him from his family is exactly what she tried to do before she was discovered to a be a Skrull during their “marriage.” But it’s telling that when Johnny feels like something isn’t right, he immediately starts quizzing “Sue” about things she should know. Definitely seems like the kind of game someone who unwittingly married and was abused by a shapeshifter would invent to make sure that the people in his life are really who they’re supposed to be.

So I definitely think there’s a lot of lingering trauma there that, if a really good writer dug into it, could inform a lot about both the romantic relationships he had after that point and his romantic future, especially if it was paired with a story where he explores his romantic feelings for men. It’d be interesting to see it doubled up with doubts after his relationship with Daken in that regard, since Daken also used him to gain access to the Fantastic Four. I’d love to see it all really gotten into and actually, for the first time, addressed, especially if it was in the context of a romantic relationship with Wyatt Wingfoot, who was present during the early days of Lyja’s seduction of Johnny and is also who Johnny ran to after he discovered the truth about the monster Lyja told him was their child. A lot of history to get into there.

#johnny storm #marvel comics #long post/#traincat talks comics #*replies #Anonymous

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salvatoreschool · 5 years

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Legacies And Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 5 Ways They Are Similar (& 5 Ways They Are Different)

It may seem unfair to compare and contrast the groundbreaking Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the freshman The Vampire Diaries' spin-off, Legacies. After all Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for 7 seasons, is considered a cultural phenomenon, a cult classic, and a trailblazer due to its strong female lead.

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, famously said that he had grown, "so tired of slasher film cliches, especially the dumb, oversexed blond stumbling into a dark place to have sex with a boyfriend, only to be killed. I began thinking that I would love to see a scene where a ditsy blond walks into a dark alley, a monster attacks her and she kicks its ass." How can Legacies compare to such an iconic show?

Legacies is the second spin-off of The Vampire Diaries. In it, we follow the children of important characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals.

10. SIMILAR: SETTING

Both shows start in a high school setting. Our main characters, Buffy and Hope, are 16 and 17 respectively. While Buffy is new to this high school, Hope has grown up at her school. However, the struggles they face are similar. While recognizing that they are different than their peers, they want acceptance and to be more "normal."

In addition, both of the schools are in a town that has its own supernatural connection. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, a gateway for demons to enter Earth.

Legacies takes place in Mystic Falls, the small town where The Vampire Diaries took place. Mystic Falls has a long history with the supernatural. Even Hope's father, one of the original vampires, lived there. Though it has a small town charm, its history is much darker and deeper. The school they attend is full of magic.

9. DIFFERENT: THE TONE

While Legacies does have a much lighter tone than its predecessors, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, it still is darker than the first couple seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This may be due to the previous shows casting a shadow over Legacies. As viewers, we know that Hope suffered extreme tragedy and is learning to cope with life and living. This is apparent from the pilot episode.

To contrast, Buffy is excited to be at a new school and meet new people. She swaps trendy advice with the resident mean girls and finds good friends in Willow and Xander. Although it's true that Buffy the Vampire Slayer's tone does change, especially in Season 6, it starts out light with loads of humor.

8. SIMILAR: MAIN PROTAGONIST'S JOURNEY

Buffy and Hope are the only one of their kind. Buffy is the chosen one, the only vampire slayer (until she dies, of course, and another slayer awakens). Hope is the only tribrid: a vampire, werewolf, and witch. Buffy knows her quest but, like most classic protagonists on a hero's journey, struggles to accept it. On the other hand, Hope suspects that she has a quest but doesn't understand her purpose until the last episode. Wrecked with guilt through much of the season, Hope wants to prove that she is worthy of the sacrifice that her family made for her.

In addition, Buffy and Hope are strong female leads. While they have supernatural strength, they also have strong personalities and morals. They both defend others, even if it could mean their own deaths. They care about others and consider it a duty to help and protect those incapable of protecting themselves.

7. DIFFERENT: THE DIALOGUE

Joss Whedon was praised for his use of witty, smart dialogue in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was another aspect that set his show apart. Due to the praise, Joss Whedon actually challenged himself to do an episode where there was no dialogue, Season 4's Hush. He succeeded in this episode as well, proving that while the dialogue was great, the show's success was due to more than just all the clever words.

The dialogue in Legacies doesn't stand out as much as the dialogue in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While it has a little lighter tone than the dialogue in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, it is still dramatic. The humor and wit are mainly missing. The focus is on the mythology of The Vampire Diaries universe, rather than witty teen dialogue.

6. SIMILAR: MONSTER OF THE WEEK

In Season 1, Legacies uses a monster of the week story-telling device. We have a dragon, a unicorn pooping mind-altering slugs, a necromancer, and more. Each monster does have the same goal: Retrieve the keys to release the Malivore. While they are one-off monsters, they are connected to a larger issue.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer practices this same strategy. Each episode had a monster of the week and, for the most part, the conflict was resolved by the end of the show. Also, we have monsters that are connected to the big bad, the Master. This, of course, changes in the later seasons, where we have stretches of episodes revolving around a solitary antagonist.

5. DIFFERENT: THE SCOOBIES

Though Buffy was the heroine of the show, she had her buddies - nicknamed the Scoobies or the Scooby Gang - help out frequently. At first, the Scoobies didn't possess supernatural abilities, but that changes throughout the show. Perhaps one of the Scoobies' strongest powers is to hold Buffy accountable. In the show, Spike (a vampire) tells Buffy that what kept her alive longer than the other slayers is her connections to others. The Scoobies may not be the title characters, but they are just as important to the show.

Hope doesn't want friends or a team to help her, besides Alaric, but she does get a team. Most of the members are supernatural beings. Hope acts primarily as a solo agent. She doesn't listen or consider their advice, thinking that she knows best. Buffy's friends feel uniquely themselves. We have yet to see all the members of Hope's team accomplish the same.

4. SIMILAR: MAIN PROTAGONIST BECOMES AN ORPHAN (BASICALLY)

Many shows and books with a heroic child protagonist willing to risk or sacrifice their lives in order to save others, feature orphans (think Harry Potter). They aren't held back by parental love and aren't regarded as children. In Legacies, Alaric is okay with Hope risking her life but not his own young children (Lizzie and Josie), who are the same age.

Legacies begins two years after Hope lost her mother, father, and uncle. Partly due to her grief, she both isolates herself and risks her life to save others. At the end of the season, she sacrifices her life to save others. Sadly, they won't remember the sacrifice due to the Malivore erasing the memories others have of magical beings. Hope, as a tribrid, is a magical being.

Buffy doesn't start out as an orphan. She has a loving mother and a mostly absent father. In one of the most heartbreaking episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Body, Buffy loses her mother. The episode shows us how each character reacts to the loss. Joyce, Buffy's mom, didn't die from anything supernatural, making Buffy feel truly helpless. Buffy's father isn't really ever there to be a parental figure. Even if this only happens in Season 5, Buffy keeps her vampire business a secret from Joyce. Consequently, the hero has to act on her own most of the time.

3. DIFFERENT: MIRRORS AND METAPHORS

Buffy the Vampire Slayer uses many different creative writing techniques like mirrors or metaphors. Its text was layered with a lot of meaning ripe for analytical study. Passion of the Nerd, a vlogger, does a great time analyzing such techniques. In his series, he identifies Cordelia as Buffy's mirror, serving as Buffy's identity prior to becoming a slayer. The fact that vloggers, college professors, and fans can analyze Buffy the Vampire Slayer in such depth and for so many years, shows how well the use of mirrors, metaphors, and other creative writing tools worked.

Legacies is a younger show, with only one season to its name. So far, there hasn't been much creative writing strategies. This could change in the future.

2. SIMILAR: ENIGMATIC BOYFRIEND

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel presents a great mystery. Along with Giles, Angel is the only person who knows Buffy is the slayer when she arrives in Sunnydale. Angel gives her a cross necklace for further protection. It isn't until he stays at her house that Buffy finds out what he is a vampire. Later, we find out that Angel is a unique vampire since he has a soul. When the show was new, Angel's reveal was a huge deal.

Whereas Angel might have been hiding his true nature intentionally from Buffy, Landon of Legacies doesn't know his true nature. He doesn't know his past or his parents. Later, due to a drastic death, we learn that Landon is a supernatural being. He is a phoenix, rising from the ashes, from death. In addition, we find out that Landon's "father" is the Malivore. Matter of fact, Landon's parentage makes Hope's family look like a golden family.

1. DIFFERENT: A SCHOOL OF SUPERNATURAL TRAINING

Alaric and Caroline created the "Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted" so that children like Lizzie and Josie would have a safe place to live and learn about their abilities. The idea was to provide a place where they could become stronger and better citizens to each other and to humans. Hope has been learning and improving her abilities since she was a child. She also has the support of her family and the other students with magical abilities. Although Hope believes herself to be alone, she is surrounded by other students who relate to what she is going through.

On the flip side, Buffy doesn't even know that she is the slayer until she is a teenager. She learns that most slayers don't live long lives. While she has Giles to provide one-on-one training, she is alone. Rather than being eased into her gift, Buffy was submerged in the icy water instantly. Later, she does meet other slayers (like Faith) that help her feel less alone, but she remains separate. She may have benefited from learning more about her gift; however, it would have limited her more ordinary experiences.

We'll see what Season 2 has in store for Hope in Legacies. It could be that there will be even more connections with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

#Legacies #TheOriginals #TheVampireDiaries #TVD #BuffyTheVampireSlayer #HopeMikaelson #BuffySummers #LizzieSlatzman #JosieSaltzman #AlaricSaltzman #LandonKirby #KlausMikaelson #HayleyMarshall #Tribrid #NewOrleans #MysticFalls #SalvatoreSchool #JuliePlec #TheCW

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horsepriest · 3 years

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I did this meme for Adelie on a whim and to link to her Refsheet page. There is hints towards spoilers for "The Moonlit Path" but none for "A Glimpse Beyond the Illusion."

There is some content warning of general malice and mentions of murder.

Elite Adelie

Basic stats:

Name: Elite Adelie

Gender/Pronouns: Agender she/her

Height: 8 ft with crown

Species: Other-Merged Hirudian Elite

Domain: The Firmament

Sexuality: Undefined

Romance: Undefined

Birthday: Dec. 12

Age: 260

Occupation: She is the Hirudian Elite that oversees all efforts outside of the sphere of Hirud and Light's Landing. Her wing of the military goes off-world to other planets to reap their resources. Her civilian forces mine the asteroid belts and guard them heavily. With her lab nestled in space rock, she is close enough to oversee the extraction processes. However, there is a large facility of hangars on Hirud that is incorporated into her domain. She occupies her time mostly with her experiments with the Other, sapient alien species, and her Liberated.

Weapons: Like all other Elites: innate control of the parasite in nearly every form. This includes her own, the metal plates that form the shell of her body can be molded into weapons she can control tele-empathically. She can, and does, use the Liberated parasite to force Liberated to fight for her- even if they don't want to.

Personality: Aloof, haughty, fickle. Adelie is the highest rank within the Great Hirudian Empire and she knows it. All other beings are below her, beasts or ooze. Adelie likes total control and will do whatever is needed to gain it (even ally with another Elite). Even her experiments are Liberated. She "loves" her experiments, like a person does with pets. This includes her Warlord Gresham. She has raised him from a kit. She indulged his worst impulses and encouraged him to follow through with them. She rewards him for his malice- in a way, she finds it cute.

OC Question Meme

1. How easy is it to make them angry? Do they show their anger or hide it? Extremely easy. Adelie likes everything to be exact to her mysterious specifications and she becomes irritated by anything that does not meet those specifications. Due to the immobility of her face and lack of vocal voice, it is difficult to see or hear her emotions, but it is easy to feel them due to her tele-empathy. She may kill you or take over your Liberation to do her bidding regardless. (In the case of Gresham, she loans him out to other Elites as she knows that is what hurts him most).

2. Do they believe in soulmates? Maybe she did, before becoming an Elite and essentially immortal. Her understanding of companionship has been twisted by her access to extreme power and merging with the Parasite. It has made her manipulative and view others as pawns, beasts, or ooze. Other influence has further twisted her view of the world causing her to lose touch with feelings. The closest thing she feels to “love” is akin to a human’s love for pets, including all the horrible aspects that crops up (breeding for specific traits for aesthetics/the hell of it to the detriment of the being’s health). Gresham is the perfect example of this.

3. Do they have any pet peeves? Disobedience. Disorderliness. Chaos. Anything that is outside of her expectations. While she is familiar with the drawbacks of many of her monsters (such as drool or blood in unsightly places), she prefers sterility. For Gresham, she just holds his jaw shut in her presence. Most others are stored in appropriately sized glass terrariums or aquariums for observation.

4. Do they have a happy place? Somewhere to go to in their heads when they need to relax? Adelie probably does not feel happiness in the same way a mortal could. Such a long life and access to such power and information leaves Elites numb to most emotions. She passively watches her newest experiments when she needs a distraction. She does this by passively accessing the Hirudian collective conscious to access the Parasite’s hivemind (not HiveMind) to watch through janitorial swarms.

5. At what stage of their life were they the happiest? Probably right before Ascension. The process requires being entirely in tune with one’s parasite and exerting one’s will beyond the parasite’s needs. It requires a lot of stubbornness and ambition—typically one ascends when they are at their most powerful, confident, and sure of themselves and thus, typically at their happiest.

6. At what stage of their life were they the least happy? Probably around when she realized that she required the starlight to live initially. Prior to infection, Hirudians are your typical organic-based organism, they don’t naturally require sunlight to function. It is a common frustration when becoming speakers to learn how to be purely diurnal and not require assistance with getting home before the star sets. It is a typical time of mourning of their lives that they have “lost” in the dawning of the new life they face (like many great shifts in life). Perhaps this is what spurred Adelie to become the Star Shunner? It is much easier to protect oneself from the light, than it is to require it.

7. At a bar/tavern/pub are they more likely to buy someone a drink, or have someone buy them a drink?

Adelie is more likely to buy someone else a drink. She cannot drink anymore and lacks a mouth. As for interplanetary negotiations, an expensive drink and hospitality goes a long way. Despite Adelie’s beliefs of her superiority, she knows you catch far, far, far more flies with honey. Or champagne.

8. Have they ever broken any bones? If yes, how?

Ascension is a bloody violent process where the mechanical form tears through the flesh then crushes the organic body under its metal weight. Deep in Adelie’s core, her organic body remains, crushed and unrecognizable by every means. Yet, it is still alive. It will still live long after her “ending” as well.

9. Do they have any memories/experiences they would rather forget? Not really. She does have the ability to remove harmful memories as needed. Also, her long life has numbed her to most of her memories and feelings.

10. What is their favourite memory from their childhood? Her long life has numbed her to most of her memories and feelings.

11. Do they have a “type” they are usually attracted to? Bestial, mutated, and as changed from their natural form as possible. She tends to pick larger specimens, breeding them into a much larger form if needed (usually artificially except for Vactyr).

12. Do they have any favourite possessions? Probably Gresham. He is her show pony, a prime example of her skill in bioengineering and in raising a horribly loyal war machine. He is a monstrous titan that is wrapped around the smallest finger of her smallest hand; he is utterly under her control under his own will—Liberation is just a cherry on top.

13. Do they have any tattoos? If no, would they ever consider getting one? At her present form, she is incapable of receiving tattoos. Not that she would want one anyways.

14. Do they have any piercings? If no, would they ever consider getting one? At her present form, she is incapable of having a piercing. Not that she would want one anyways.

15. What is their dream house like? They already live in it. An isolated asteroid containing all her active experiments and a handful of personal servants to assist her.

16. What is something about them that people would not expect just by looking at them? She is a lot more reactive emotionally than she looks, and her mind is a lot more active than she seems. Adelie is focused on her experiments far away while also handling matters requiring her attention.

17. How good are they at choosing gifts for others? In terms of impressing a potential business partner, she is exceptionally good at selecting things to do and give that feel extravagant and luxurious. However, for those she “cares” about, the gifts are not quite gifts. She will only give something that will benefit her. For instance, she rewards Gresham with the opportunity to torture others to his content for being a good Warlord.

18. Do they have a certain skill that they are particularly proud of? She can survive in the dark, unlike the rest of the infected Hirudians. She can somewhat controlthe Other, as much as one can at least. Her military wing is also running tightly and without direct need of her control; much unlike the crust, which is a mess and is out of control. (Adelie and Argiope have some tension between them)

19. How would a stranger they just met describe them? Intimidating, ethereal, alien. Interacting with an Elite is much like interacting with a biblical angel. Only, they are okay with you being afraid.

20. How would a close friend they have known for a long time describe them? Stuck up, aloof, perfectionist, a bitch, etc. The other Elites do not like her, but honestly, the Elites do not like each other overall.

21. Do they have any personal insecurities? Not really. She is comfortable in the fact that her minions will not revolt and issues in the home world do not bother her much at all.

22. What is their highest physical stat? (Strength, stamina, defense, speed, etc.) and their highest non-physical stat? (Intelligence, perception, charisma, luck, etc.)? Physical: Stamina. She is a machine infused with the mysteries of the universe- there is not anything that could stop her if she really wanted something. Non-physical: intelligence.

23. How would they react to finding out someone lied to them, even if it were for their own safety/well-being? She would get the truth out of you. Lying shows too much free will and that will not do.

24. Do they prefer cold weather or warm weather? Adelie does not really mind any temperature but keeps her lab cold.

25. How easy is it for them to say, “I love you”? Easy, too easy. It is as sincere as an abusive pet parent saying I love you to their pet though.

26. How easy is it for them to tell someone about their worries? Others would be able to feel her worries around her, there would not be really any question of what is bothering her. Adelie probably talks to herself in her lab.

27. Have they ever witnessed someone die? She has killed people in unique and messed up ways. So yes.

28. Are they ticklish? No.

29. How high/low is their pain tolerance? Exceedingly high. She is a machine at this point.

30. Is there something they secretly wish they could do but are too afraid to? Probably take a vacation. Adelie is a bit of an introvert and the Hirudian collective consciousness is probably low-key torture.

31. Are they a messy eater or a neat eater? Adelie is currently incapable of eating like an organic being. Mysteries of how Elites consume resources has not been determined yet, but Adelie is probably neat with the process.

32. What moment of their life made them feel most unloved? As she is so detached from every other being, Adelie probably does not feel very loved as is. Everything around her is either working against her or is a servant of hers. Not that she cares.

33. What moment of their made them feel most loved? If she paid attention, it would be in how Gresham adores her and cares for her. But she does not care.

34. Which of the senses would they hate to lose the most: vision, hearing, smell, taste, or touch? I have good authority to say that she will probably hate it when she loses pretty much everything.

35. Are they good at small talk? Adelie does not engage in small talk; she will steer such conversations back to important matters.

36. If they could ask anyone one question and get the absolute truth, who and what would they ask? She would ask the “powers that be” if her trust in the Other will betray her someday.

37. If they had the chance, would they prefer to travel to the past or to the future? If she knew what is in her future, she would go into the past.

38. Who had the biggest impact in their life, both positive and negative?

A mix of the parasite and the Other. She became an Elite due to the parasite and became more powerful through merging with the Other.

39. Would they rather life a life always surrounded by people, or always alone? Always alone.

40. Is there anyone or anything that immediately instills fear in them? There is a moment in the story she feels terror for the first time since she became an Elite—It’s when Gresham chooses to stay with her.

#oc meme #the moonlit path

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